GENEAL.OCV COLLECTION
3 1833 01814 7162
G€ MEAL 06V
977. roi
AL3P
I
VALLEY
OF THE
Upper Maumee River
WITH HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF ALLEN COUNTY AND THE CITY OF
FORT WAYNE, INDIANA. THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS
FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION.
V • 3~
QrvO
VOLUME II.
111^1
Ats/u
\'Jb
ILLUSTRATE
MADISON, WIS.:
BRANT & FULLER,
1889.
\p
Democrat Printing Company, Madison, Wis.
1510233
INDEX TO VOLUME II.
GENERAL HISTORY.
Amusement, places of 284
Architectural growth 223
Assembly, members of 384
Asylum 225
attorneys, prosecuting (see
Courts).
Banks 246
Bench and bar (see Courts).
Berghoff brewery 166
Breweries 165, 166
Buildings, government 224
Business interests 145
Canal Era 17
Centlivre brewery 165
Churches, Catholic 411
Cathedral 415
St. Aloysius 434
St. John the Baptist 432
St. Joseph's 432
St. Joseph's hospital 427
St. Leo's 429
St. Lo-uis 430
1 S t- Gary 's 416
IT Patrick's 433
St. Paul's 422
St. Peter's 423
St. Rose of Lima 433
St. Vincent's 431
. . 4 St. Vincent's orphan asylum 428
/Church, Hebrew '. 314
I Churches, Protestent 296
Y Baptists 301
Christian 315
Churches. Protestant. Page.
Congregational 315
Evangelical Association 315
Lutheran, English 311
Methodists 306
Presbyterian, First 296
Presbyterian, Second 300
Presbyterian, Third 301
Protestant Episcopal 310
Reformed 313
United Brethren 316
College, Fort Wayne 30"
County infirmary 381
Courts 439
Common Pleas 460
Circuit, first session 440
Criminal 463
Probate 458
Superior 465
Under first constitution 440
Under second constitution . . 460
Dentistry 370
Finances in 1825 376
Fire department 257
First election 375
Gas, natural 286
Hospital 284
Improvements, aid to 381
Manufacturing enterprises 86
Medical college 335
Medical profession 330
Medical societies 334
Milling interests 23
Municipal and federal 254
Page.
Newspapers 317
American Farmer 319
Dispatch 322
Freie Presse 322
Gazette 320
Journal 321
Miscellaneous 319
News 322
Poultry and Pets 322
Sentinel 317
Staats Zeitung 319
Times 319
Officers, city 255
county 383
federal 276
Organization of Allen county . 374
Parks 281
Physicians licensed 336
Physicians, Monroeville 369
Poiice, The 256
Population 390
Postoffice building 224
Public buildings 378
Public enterprises 281
Railroads 54
Statistics, financial 382
political 385
Street railways 288
Transportation, local 288
War record 391
Water-works . 259
Wayne Hotel 228
Y. M. C. A. building 224
PERSONAL HISTORY.
Page.
jAlkins, A. W 77
klbrecht, Martin L 133
Alden, S. R 502
p.rnes, Geo. W 292
i^jjderson, Calvin 47
jjjSperson, J. R 84
jja&ersen, Peter 115
gfJiber family ■ 35
yjyiger, Benjamin L 192
t\i ,,iger, Charles 52
jjJ3s, Bloritz 49
Nel" es < Henry B 163
Neg -es, Henry P 339
Nev :er, B. H 46
Niei er > J° nn 243
Nj e3 er, John ■ 46
Ninc er, Kilian 45
Nian.es, M 244
Norfdt, Fred 236
£,, s iks, Creed T 362
ta,H.F 113
Page.
Bard, Samuel 193
Barnett, W. W 345
Barnum, George P 293
Barr, William J 193
Barrand, John B 39
Barrand Peter F 38
Barrett, James M 502
Barrows, Frank R 174
Bass, John H 93
Bastian, Jacob 194
Baxter, Thomas 271
Beaber, Abraham G 194
Beaver, A. C 139
Beaver, Charles B 85
Becker, Frederich \ . 50
Becks, Rev. Julius 427
Becquett, John B 40
Begue, John C 50
Beighler , John 195
Bell, R. C 498
Bender, Louis 195
Page.
Benoit, Rev. Julian 423
Bensman, Rudolph 98
Bensman, William J 114
Beverforden, Henry F 195
Bierbaum, F. R 74
Bigger, Samuel 487
Bitler, Samuel D 139
Bitner, John R Ill
Blair, Solon K 74
Blair, Thomas W 279
Blakesley, Lyman 77
Bobilya, Louis J 178
Boerger, A. H 178
Boester, F. H 234
Bonne, Carl 117
Boltz, Ferdinand F ... 100
Boltz, Fred. C 124
Bond, Charles D 252
Bookwalter, E. H 329
Borden, James W 476
Boseker, Christian 228
INDEX TO VOLUME II.
Page.
Boswell, Asa C 361
Boswell, A. J 360
Bowen, George W 342
Bowser, Sylvanus F 135
Brackenridge, Joseph 486
Brackenridge, G. W 34
Brackenridge, Robert 34, 507
Brames, Louis 141
Brammer, Rev. J. H 429
Brandt, Diederich 96
Brannan, John H 405
Braun, John 142
Breen, W. P 505
Breidenstein, Simpson 192
Breimeier, Ernst 233
Brimmer, Joseph 242
Brenton, Samuel 406
Brink, John J 178
Brinslev, George 184
Brinsley, John C 295
Brooks, William H 338
Brossard, John 196
Brown, Seneca B 370
Brown, William H 39
Bruebach, George T 343
Bruns, C. W 244
Buchman, A. P 351
Buck, Charles W 73
Buckwalter, Louis Ill
Buhr, Henry 197
Bullerman, Henry F 404
Bursley, Gilbert E 157
Busching, Henry 197
Byrne, Rev. M. J 416
Caldwell, James 355
Campbell, Daniel 113
Carnahan, William L 159
Carpenter, Warren 270
Carrier, A. H 192
Carson, W. W 478
Cartwright, Charles 102
Case, Charles 509
Chambers, John D . . 352
Cbapin, A. A 500
Cody, Maurice 42
Colerick, David H 482
Colerick, John 485
Colerick, Walpole G 483
Connolly, William A 366
Coolman, John H 237
Coombs, William H 474
Cooper, Henry 473
Cosgrove, Franklin K 364
Cosgrove. F. D 400
Cox, Enoch ... 70
Cramer, Matthias 103
Cran, Robert 96
Cratsley, Frank C 162
Craw, Edward L 191
Crawford, John T 238
Dressier, Alfred D 115
Cromwell, Joseph C 137
Cromwell, Joseph W 246
Dalman, Frederick 41
Dawson, C. M 476
Dawson. John W 324
Dawson, Reuben J 474
De Haven, Perry N 172
Delaney, Rev. J. F 416
Derbyshire, Samuel W 360
Detzer, Mai tin 179
Dickinson, Philemon 168
Diehl, Hugh M 272
Diet her. Jehu H 127
Diether, Louis 127
Dills, Thomas J 851
Ih mien. James M 351
Dittoe, Allien J 167
Doehrmuim, William 268
Doswell. George W 197
Doswell, John H 283
Dougall, A. H 188
Dreibelbiss, John liil
Dreibelbiss, Robert B 191
Dudenhoefer, George P 131
Dunham, Frank W 104
Dwenger, Rt. Rev. Joseph 436
Eckhert, John C 198
Edgerton, A. P 33
Edgerton. Joseph K 63
Ehle, August N 199
Ehrmann, Charles 198
Ellison, T. E 503
Ely, George W 267
Erne, Claude F 47
Entemann, Christian 199
Ersig, William A 199
Essig, Charles O ... 86
Ewing, Charles W 472
Ewing, W. G. and G. W 31
Fay, James A 487
Felts, George F 401
Ferguson, John 128
Fink, Frank H 97
Fischer, Henry E 402
Fisher, Abel 106
Fisher, R J 95
Fitch, Charles B 121
Fitzpatrick, Bernard 105
Fleming, Thornton J 169
Fletcher, Charles P 76
Fletcher, Josiah F 292
Foellinger, Jacob 45
Foster, David N 149
Foster, Samuel M 151
Fox, Louis, and Bro 160
France, Joseph S 488
Frank, Mendel 201
Franke, A. H 271
Frankenstein, Max L 200
Freeman, Samuel C 44
Freese, August 200
Freiberger, Ignatius 200
FreiStoft'er, Henry 201
Fremion, Joseph 143
French, Brooks 118
Fulton, Charles W 294
Gage, Robert 145
Gale, George A 202
Gallmeier, Ernst 240
Gallmeier, William , 240
Gard, Brookfleld 350
Geake, J.J 231
Geake, William 230
Geller, W. F 203
Gessler, Albert F 202
Gibson, David N 406
Gilbert, John 164
Gilmartin, Edward 173
Glenn, Thomas M 187
Glenn, William M 80
Gocke, Anthony 51
Gocke, Louis H 51
Golden, Edward J 171
Gordon, George P 75
Gotseh, Theodore O 176
Graff e, Frederick, jr 161
Graff e, Henry C 160
Graham. James A 1U5
Granneman, H. C 179
Gray, James P 78
Griffith Levi 234
Griswold, Crawford 74
Green, M. Frances 44
Greenwell, Franklin 367
Greenawalt, George L 356
Gregg, James S 344
Gruber, John Michael 203
Hackius, G. L 116
Haiber, Charles F 204
Haiber, George W 204
Haller, Gottlieb 204
Hamilton, AJlen 250
Hauna, Samuel 2T
Harding, D. L 262
Harrison, Robert H 107
Harrison, Walter S 245
Hartman, Rev. B 434
Page
Hartmann. Henry 405
Hartman, Jacob 205
Hartman, John H 205
Hartman, Joseph H 206
Hartman, S. B 372
Hayden, John W 279
Hazzard, Louis 275
Heaton, Owen H 507
Hedekin, Michael 42
Heimroth, Andrew 112
Hench, S. M 497
Henderson, A. R 132
Henderson, S. C 40
Henderson, Zenas 40
Henry, James M 232
Hensel, Peter 236
Herber, J. F 226
Herbst, Otto P 278
Hetrick, Jacob 356
Hettler, C. F 265
Hewes, James C 109
Higgins, C. R 277
Higgins, Frank P 82
Hill irecht, Henry 266
Hilbrecht, Henry, jr 269
Hild, Henry 242
Hilgemann, H. F 206
Hill, Thomas 118
Hilton, Charles S 120
Hinton, John C 206
Hoagland, Pliny 62
Hoffman, Henry A 237
Hull, Lewis 165
Hunt, John T 207
Hunter, Lewis C 403
Hyman, Philip H 139
Iten, Frank 269
Jaap, George 235
Jackson, Thomas 72
Jackson, William T
Jenson, James O r
Jocquel, John J 175
Jones, Fremont L
Jones, Joseph H <Jq
Jones, Maurice L 'fj
Johnson, A ~o
Johnston, William, jr \,
Judy,G. H
Kabisch, Rudolph 20r
Kalbacher, Anton
Kaough, William
Keef er, Christian ,11
Keel, Aurora C M
Keil, Frederick W &
Kelker, Anthony j
Keller, Henry. 140
Kendrick, Frank B 229
Kendrick, William H 231
Kern, Jacob J 40"?
Kerr Murray manufactu
company
Kintz, A. W
Klett, Jacob i:
Kline, C. W -..'
Knecht, F. J
Knight, William 10*,
Knothe, Charles F I2i|
Koehler, John A 1 '• I
Koehler, Paul j
Koenig, C. F j
Koenig, Rev. E
Koerdt, Rev. Ferdinand
Kollock, Fred. N
Korn, August
Korn, John
Kortee, Frederick
Kraft, Frederick (
Kreite, Charles F I
Krock, John !
Krohne, H. H. L
Krusy, H. F. W
Kryder, John L f
Kuhne, F. W
Kunkle, E. B
INDEX TO VOLUME II.
Page.
Laubach, A.J 354
Landenberger, John M 131
Lauer, Gregory 240
Lauferty, Isaac 253
Lang, Rev. J. F 415
Law, CD 67
Lenz, Frederick 211
Leonard, Nathan R 326
Leonard, Nelson 143
Lepper, Charles O 180
Leykauf, John N 211
Liebman, E. F 233
Liggett Bros 291
Lillie, John 129
Lindlag, Philip J 142
Lintz, Anthony 43
Loag, George W 396
Loesch, George H 180
Long, Mason 167
Longacre, M. P 138
Lowry, Robert 496
Luers, Rt. Rev. J. H 426
McCaskey, George W 357
McCausland, John W 358
McClellan, Charles A. O 408
McClure, Andrew 83
McCorraick, Thomas H 362
McCulloch, Hugh 248
McDonald, P. J 269
McDonald, R. T 120
Mcintosh. William 53
McKay, James M 157
McKinnie, W. M., & Co 228
McLain, Nelson W 403
McMahan, Sylvester 76
McMullen, John 235
McNamara, Washington 103
McNiece, Nicholas R 212
McNutt, L. D 288
McQuiston, John W 52
McQuiston, Wilson 124
Madden, James D 244
Mark, Rev. J. A 433
Markey, A. C 212
Martz, Christian 358
Matsch, J. Christopher 96
Mentzer, Simeon E 369
Mergentheim, A 168
Messman, Rev. A 423
Metcalf, S. C 348
Meyer, Diedrich 264
Meyer, Frank H 213
Meyer, Henry William 95
Meyer, John F. W 152
Meyer, William D .267
Meyers, Charles F 289
Meyers Frederick C 98
Miller, Cassius A 182
Miller, Frederick 235
Moellering, William. 226
Moffat, D. W 298
Monaban, Dennis 171
Monning, Henry 419
Monning, John B 127
Moran, Peter A 212
Morgan, Joseph D 365
Morgan & Beach 149
Morris, John 480
Morris, Samuel L 499
Mo wrer, Isaac 397
Moynihan, A. J 328
Muldoon, John W 242
Munson, Charles A 399
Murphy, George 364
Neireiter, Conrad 189
Nelson, Isaac DeGroff 409
Nestel, Daniel 53
Newton, Charles H 71
Niemann, Gottlieb 213
Niezer, John B 397
Ninde, L. M 508
Niswonger, Henry W 359
Northrop, S. A 304
Nusbaum, Peter 142
Page.
O'Brien, Dennis 265
O'Connor, Bernard 66
O'Connor, B. S 67
O'Leary, Rev. T. M 415
O'Rourke, Edward 489
O'Rourke, Patrick S 68
O'Rourke, W. S 505
O'Ryan, Patrick 273
Oechtering, Rev. J. H 421
Ogden, Robert 243
Olds, N. G. ,& Sons 98
Olds' Wagon Works 1 14
Orr, John W 164
Page, William D 325
Pape, Charles 123
Pape, William C 126
Paulus, Frank D 183
Pearse, James W 289
Perrin, A. C 294
Peters' Box Co 123
Peters, John C 122
Pfeiffer, Henry 175
Pierce, Ogden 182
Pixley, George W 153
Porter, Miles F 355
Powers, Emmet W . 290
Pressler, John 134
Quinlan, Rev. W. J 433
Racine, Aime 135
Randall, Franklin P 37
Randall, Perry A 501
Ranke, Wm 130
Rastetter, Louis 129
Read, H. A 291
Rehling, Ernst 113
Reidmiller, John M 52
Reinewald, Rudolph C 263
Reiter, George 214
Remmert, H. J 117
Renfrew, Robert G 104
Rhinesmith, John . . 125
Rich, Sanford 227
Rippe, Frederick 237
Robertson, R. S 493
Robinson, H.H 499
Robinson, James H 46
Robinson, James M 506
Rockhill, William 406
Rockhill, William W 328
Rodabaugh, Thomas J 110
Rohan, John H 119
Romer, Rev. CM 421
Romy, Robert L 190
Rose, Charles 215
Rose, Henry A 214
Rosen thall, Isaac M 344
Ross-Lewin, Edward A 132
Ross, James P 215
Rossington, R. B 71
Rowe, Nicholas B. 216
Rudisill, Henry 36
Ruhl, Wm. DeLa 367
Rurode, E. C 158
Ryan. Patrick 265
Sallot, Victor A 102
Sarnighausen, J. D 324
Sau vain, Samuel H 216
Schaper, Charles H 238
Scheid, Peter J 268
Schiefer, Christian 49
Schlatter, Christian C 176
Schmueckle, Frederick 267
Schneider, Matthias 216
Schone, H. H 184
Schroeder, Henry 239
Schroeder, L. S. C 280
Schultz, Henry 243
Schulz, Adolph F 118
Schulz, William Fred 185
Schust, G. Adolph 116
Schust, George A 271
Schweir, Henry 217
Seaton, John 345
Seavey, Gideon W 162
Page.
Seibold, H.J 180
Shafer, Edward A 358
Shambaugh, William H 402
Shea, Michael F 83
Shordon, Daniel 183
Shrimpton, Alfred 232
Shryock, William W 373
Shaman, E 183
Siemon, A. F 161
Simonson, James H 126
Singleton, Michael T 273
Singmaster, Joseph 49
Sites, E. F 372
Sites, Henry C 372
Siver, Emett L 359
Slater, John 274
Smaltz, Francis M 218
Smaltz, John 217
Smead, Frank K 218
Smith, Cornelius S 343
Smith, F. M 177
Smith, J. L 366
Smith, J. Sion 270
Sommers, H. G 181
Souder, Daniel W 396
Sosenheimer, C. J 264
Spereisen, Jacob A 218
Spice, John 177
Spiegel, Gottfried E 219
Spiegel, Gustave 173
Stapleford, L. P 41
Stellhorn, Charles 172
Stemen, Christian B 352
Stemen, George B 357
Stephan, William 107
Stier, Jacob J 97
Storm, J. A. M 177
Strodel, John George 219
Studer, Himerius L 219
Stultz, Charles E 362
Sturgis, Charles E 338
Stutz, John A 361
Suelzer, John 238
Sullivan, Andrew 220
Summers, James 220
Sweet, Samuel B 68
Sweringen, H. V 346
Tagtmeyer, David 137
Tapp, Herman W 236
Taylor, John M 398
Taylor, Robert S 488
Thieme, Frederick 171
Thieme, J. G 170
Thomas, William A 125
Thompson, M. M 401
Thompson, Nelson 137
Thompson, Nelson W 73
Thompson, Richard G 70
Tinkham, John P 220
Torrence, George K 190
Tower, Alexander M 112
Trautman. John 274
Tresselt, Christian 48
Trentman, August C 147
Trentman, Bernard 148
Underhill, Elliot S 141
Urbine, James 181
Van Buskirk, A. E 353
Vesey, William J. . 504
Veniard, Rev. Felix 431
Viberg, George H 398
Virgil, Thomas S 348
Volland, Henry 50
Wa^enhals, Samuel 312
Wagner, John C 175
Wahrenberp, Fred 27'4
Weber, Andrew 107
Weil Brothers 185
Weisell, David D 371
Wenninghoff , Christian 221
Wheelock, E. G 341
Wheelock, Kent K 342
White, James B 154
Wichman, A. C. F 124
INDEX TO VOLUME II.
Wilder, Joseph H 99
Wilkens, Jacob V 231
Wilkinson, Frank 272
Williams, Jesse L 61
Wilson, John 221
Wilson, Thomas W 506
Winbaugh, George W 144
Winch, Calvin J 133
Wise, William 222
Withers, W. H 479
Wolf, Louis 158
Wood, George W 322
Woodworth, Alonzo L 110
Woodworth, B. S 340
Page.
Woolsey, Hiram B 103-
Worden, James L 465
Worley, George N 368
Yergens, William 130
Zolla'-s, Allen 490
Zurbuch, Joseph F 222
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Bass, J. H 96
Benoit, Rev. Julian 424
Boseker, Christian 192
Brackenridge, Joseph 304
Brooks, W. A 336
Carson, W. W 480
Colerick, David H 448
Edgerton, J. K 64
Ferguson, John 128
Page.
Griebel, A. L 288
Hackett, E. A. K 320
Leonard, N. R 320
Loag, George W 384
Lowry, Robert 496
Moellering, William 256
Monning, Henry 416
Mowrer, Isaac 468
Old Fort Frontispiece.
Page, William D 320
Sarnighausen, J. D 320
School for Feeble Minded 224
Thompson, M. M 400
Tillo, Charles D 320
White, J. B 160
Zollars, Allen 464
THE CITY OF FORT WAYNE,
By W. P. COOPER.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION,
By B. S. WOODWORTH, M. D.
ORGANIZATION.
CATHOLIC CHURCHES,
By Rev. JOHN F. LANG.
COURTS OF ALLEN COUNTY,
By Judge ALLEN ZOLLARS.
THE CITY OF FORT WAYNE.
THE CANAL ERA.
HILE journeying from east to west on the New York,
Chicago & St. Louis railway, the traveler experiences in
western Ohio an uninteresting ride through heavily-wooded
districts until, a half hour after crossing the Indiana line, he
comes suddenly to a noble river, along whose precipitous
banks he is whirled for several miles. Houses multiply,
and are seen to be aligned in streets; the smoke of many
factories curls about the train, shutting out the glimpses
of stately churches, tall business blocks, tasteful residences and the other
abundant evidences of a rich and prosperous city.
The journey is now along an abandoned water way. Suddenly,
close to the railroad, but high above it, comes in view a modest little
park. On a tall staff floats the American flag and from the well kept
enclosure a cannon looks out, as if to keep watch and ward against
assailants, who may be expected to swarm up from the valley below. In
a moment more the train halts and the passengers for Fort Wayne
alight.
The river whose meanderings he has followed is the Maumee; the
abandoned water way is what remains of the Wabash & Erie canal;
the little park with its flag-staff and cannon mark the site of old Fort
Wayne, and the traveler stands upon a bustling depot platform which
has taken the place of a part of the canal dock along which the business
of the town was for many years transacted.
The stores that line the old dock in solid rank have made a right-
about face from the line of the canal and front upon a handsome street,
but over what are now the back doors of the oldest of them may yet
be seen signs of quaint and indistinct lettering advising the world that
West India goods, sugar, rope, provisions, rum, and what not, are to be
had within.
Not until the days of railroads did the commerce of Fort Wayne
begin to forsake the old waterway, and then the city passed forever
from an interesting era that people love to chat about. The event of
the day, the day of forty years ago, was the arrival of the gorgeous
packet. It was drawn by better-whipped mules than those that tugged
at the slower freight boats; and was a craft of larger size and fitted
with comfortable accommodations for a passage of many days and
nights. A packet's approach to a town was always heralded by a great
ii
1 8 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
blowing of horns from the deck, followed by a prodigious bustling of
the tradesmen on the wharf, and the hurrying to the dock of no small
portion of the population. The passengers, having debarked, were
refreshed at the public houses, made purchases, were questioned about
the places they came from, the object of their journeys, and were
thoroughly interrogated for the news that mail and telegraph now
supply.
Then the horn summoned on board those who were to continue their
voyage, the swaggering driver, in slouch hat and top boots, cracked his
whip, away trotted the mules toward the next stopping place and the
bustle on the wharf was over until the approach of the next packet boat
was sounded.
Though the Wabash & Erie canal has long been a thing of the
past, it was the most important factor in the development of Indiana and
the northwest, and the accomplishment of its construction will always
remain a monument to the memory of a few far-sighted and energetic
pioneer citizens. It was a most stupendous work of internal improve-
ment — the largest continuous line of artificial water communication in
the world, and did more to give to Fort Wayne its early impetus than
all other agencies combined. All of the more important towns of the
northern Indiana counties, through which it passed, have similarly pros-
pered, and have grown to be large and wealthy county seats, viz. : Fort
Wayne, Huntington, Wabash, Peru, Logansport, Delphi and LaFayette,
and by reason of the earlier advantages derived from the canal, have
easily outstripped all neighboring places in both population and business.
Indeed the first car of progress was not drawn through the Maumee
and Wabash valleys by the shrieking locomotive, but by the patient and
plodding mule.
The plan for uniting by canal the waters of Lake Erie, with those of
the Ohio river is said to have been entertained by Gen. Washington, a
practical surveyor, but the glory of the accomplishment of the great
undertaking rests principally with Hon. Samuel Hanna and Mr. David
Burr of Fort Wayne. It is related that in a familiar conversation had
in a summer house, attached to his then residence at the northwest cor-
ner of Barr and Berry streets, Judge Hanna first broached the subject
to David Burr. The latter was a man of broad character and great
ability and much influence. He entered into the spirit of the undertak-
ing with great ardor and in frequent meetings the plans were matured
which bore such grand fruitage. For some time before this the project
of an artificial waterway from the Ohio river to Lake Erie had been
agitated in Ohio, and a survey of the Miami canal was made in 1824, under
the direction of Micajah T. Williams, an elder brother of Jesse L. Will-
iams, who was connected with the party of surveyors. This survey was
carried to Defiance, on the Maumee and thence to the lake, forming a
southern branch of the great system. The canal was anticipated in the
treaty of 1826 with the Miami Indians, in which, where the reservations
were mentioned, it was stipulated, that the state of Indiana may lay out
THE CANAL ERA.
I 9
a canal or road through any of these reservations, and for the use of a
canal, six chains along the same are hereby appropriated.
Messrs. Hanna and Burr supplied themselves with facts touching the
length and direction of the proposed canal, and became acquainted with
the engineering difficulties in the way of the undertaking, and they began
a correspondence with the representatives of Indiana in congress, and
so impressed upon their minds the importance and feasibility of the pro-
ject that a survey of the canal by a corps of the United States topo-
graphical engineers was ordered. As has been previously mentioned,
this corps, under Col. James Shriver, worked heroically on the survey
from the mouth of the Tippecanoe to the head of the Maumee rapids,
though Shriver and Moore, his successor, fell victims to malaria. The
survey was completed to the Maumee bay by Col. Howard Stansbury,
who was one of the original party. This work was begun at Fort
Wayne in May or June, 1826, and completed in 1828.
Then followed an act of congress, approved March 2, 1827, grant-
ing to the state of Indiana " every alternate section of land, equal to five
miles in width for six miles on both sides of the proposed line and
throughout its whole length for the purpose of constructing a canal from
the head of navigation on the Wabash at the mouth of the Tippecanoe
river to the foot of the Maumee rapids. This munificent grant of
land, amounting to 3,200 acres for every one of the 213 miles of the
proposed work, was the first of any magnitude made by congress for
the promotion of public works, and initiated the policy of land grants
afterward so liberally pursued. A subsequent act approved May 24,.
1828, provided for a similar grant to Ohio for the southern branch, and
also for the cession to Ohio by Indiana of the territory granted to Indi-
ana within the Ohio boundary. Commissioners were appointed by each
state, W. Tillman on the part of Ohio, and Jeremiah Sullivan on the
part of Indiana, who arranged a treaty between the two states, by which
Ohio agreed to construct the part of the Wabash & Erie canal in her
territory in exchange for the land granted to Indiana between the lake
and the Ohio boundary.
The prominence into which Messrs. Hanna and Burr grew as the
champions of such an important work appears to have excited a strange
and powerful opposition, but Judge Hanna, in a hard-fought contest,
was elected to the legislature as the special champion of the canal policy.
The grant of land was accepted by the Indiana legislature in the session
of 1828, and the sum of $1,000 was appropriated to purchase the nec-
essary engineering instruments and make a survey of the summit level.
Samuel Hanna, David Burr and Robert John were appointed a board of
canal commissioners, and ordered to make the survey mentioned.
Mr. Hanna went to New York, purchased the necessary outfit of
instruments and returned by way of Detroit, bringing the instruments
from the latter place by horse-back to Fort Wayne. John Smythe, the
engineer, accomplished no more, after arriving at Fort Wayne, than to
gauge the river and adjust his instruments when he became a victim to
20 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
the diseases of the region, and Judge Hanna and Mr. Burr were com-
pelled to take it up, with the aid of a surveyor and finish it without the
assistance of the engineer. They provided for the construction of a
dam on the St. Joseph river six miles north of the town, from which
point a feeder canal led an abundant supply of water to a point a mile
west of the town, where the main line was intersected. During the year
1830, the middle or summit division was located and prepared for con-
tract by Engineer Joseph Ridgeway. At the legislative session of
1 83 1-2, the canal commissioners were authorized to place the middle
division under contract, creating a board of fund commissioners, and
authorizing a loan of $200,000 on the credit of the state. At the
first meeting of this board at Indianapolis, in the spring of 1832, it
was found that the total amount realized from the sale of canal lands
was $28,651. During this spring Jesse L. Williams was appointed chief
engineer.
Here, to give an intelligent idea of this great work, from an engi-
neering point of view, it will be well to quote the altitudes of various
points along its line and at the sources oj the streams which were to
supply it. The elevation of the Maumee above the level of Lake Erie
at the head of the rapids is sixty-two feet, at Defiance eighty feet, at the
state line 135 feet, at Fort Wayne 163 feet. The summit level of the
water of the canal was 193 feet above the lake, two feet higher than
the marsh which is the summit between the Maumee and Wabash riv-
ers. The surface of the head branch of the St. Joseph is at an altitude
of 423 feet; Jackson railroad track at north line of Allen county, 270
feet. The reservoir at Rome city, built by the state in 1838, to aid in
supplying a proposed canal from Fort Wayne to Lake Michigan, has
an altitude of 367 feet. Low water of the Wabash at the forks, 126
feet. The formal breaking of the ground, with such ceremonies as could
be performed in a little frontier town, was performed at Fort Wayne
just in time to save the land grant under the limitation of the act of
congress.
The ceremony attending the commencement of the work of build-
ing the canal is interestingly described in the Cass County Times of
March 2nd, 1832. The preceding birthday of Washington, February
22nd, had been selected as an auspicious time for the beginning, and by
order of the board of canal commissioners, J. Vigus, esq., was author-
ized to procure the necessary tools and assistance and repair to the most
convenient point on the St. Joseph feeder-line at 2 o'clock on that day
for the purpose named. A public meeting was called at the Masonic
hall and was attended by all prominent citizens not only of Fort Wayne,
but of the Wabash and Maumee valleys. Henry Rudisill was
chairman and David H. Colerick, secretar}^. A procession was formed
and proceeded across the St. Mary's river to the point selected. A
circle was formed and the commissioners and orator took their stand.
Hon. Charles W. Ewing then delivered an appropriate address and was
followed by Commissioner Vigus. The latter after adverting to the
THE CANAL ERA. 21
difficulties and embarrassments which had beset the undertaking, and
referring to the importance of the work and the advantages which would
be realized, concluded by saying: "I am now about to commence the
Wabash and Erie canal, in the name and by the authority of the state
of Indiana." He then struck a spade into the ground and the assembled
gentlemen cheered. Judge Hanna and Captain Murray, two of the able
advocates of the canal, next approached and commenced an indiscriminate
digging, and the procession then marched back to the town.
Laborers were employed in great numbers, among them men who
afterward grew to wealth and prominence, and the expenditure of money
thus made necessary had a marked and healthful influence on the busi-
ness affairs of the place. The first letting of contracts was made in
June, 1832, under the direction of the then commissioners, David Burr,
Samuel Lewis and Jordon Vigus, of fifteen miles, and in the fall, four
miles more, including the feeder-dam, were put under contract. Work
was done to the amount of $4,180 by the close of that year. In the
following May the remaining thirteen miles of the summit division were
let, and in 1835 this division of thirty-two miles was completed, at the
small cost, including lockage and an important dam, of $7,177- This
united the sources of the Wabash with the great lakes, and on the 4th
of July, the canal boat " Indiana " passed through the canal to Hunting-
ton. At Fort Wayne, on this occasion there was a great celebration of
Independence day, with an oration by Hon. Hugh McCulloch.
The work on the line in Ohio was much delayed by financial diffi-
culties, soon also to overwhelm the Indiana division. The dilatory action
of the Ohio government led to the sending of Jesse L. Williams as an
embassador to Columbus, to hasten the action of that state. The work
was hastened but proceeded slowly, nevertheless. In 1843, when the
work was completed, Ohio owed $500 for its share of the work
and the whole resources and credit of the state was exhausted. The
position of Indiana was the same, and the work was carried on under
embarrassments now altogether unknown. In this state, the engineer
on his own responsibility, procured the printing of notes, bearing interest
and receivable for canal lands, which became a part of the currency of
that era, and received the picturesque name of " White Dog."
The completion of the canal was celebrated July 4th, 1843, by a
grand demonstration held in Thomas Swinney's grove just west of the
town. The attendance was beyond any precedent, people coming from
Cincinnati, Toledo, Detroit, Cleveland and many other points. There
were few delicacies to serve at that feast and it partook rather of the solid
and substantial character of the meals of the pioneers and the backwoods
men.
Peter Kiser drove a fat ox from the Wea prairie, 145 miles south-
west of Fort Wayne, at the rate of ten miles a day for the barbacue.
The principal orator was Gen. Lewis Cass, the projector of the great
Erie canal in New York state. His speech is still recalled by the older
residents as glowingly anticipating the development of the country the
22 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
canal would make possible, a development he might have added quite
beyond the ability of the orator or his hearers to comprehend. The
remarks of Gen. Cass were punctuated by frequent firing of a cannon
that had been captured from the British by Commodore Perry, and which
now does service as a hitching post in front of Hon. F. P. Randall's
residence.
Fast fading from the memory of man are the recollections of that
historic celebration. The orator has been dead nearly half a century.
Judge Hanna and the other projectors of the canal have long since passed
away, and there remains of those who gathered in Swinney's grove but
a few white haired men and women. Peter Kiser the butcher, survives.
He has since served in the legislature, and for thirty years kept a gen-
eral store,- which old settlers made headquarters. He was the last of
the earlier merchants, and is nearly the only living connection between
the prosperous and wealthy city of Fort Wayne and the straggling vil-
lage that gathered about the historic fort.
The first canal boat at Fort Wayne, was one built in 1834 by F. P.
Tinkham, to add to the pleasures of the 4th of July celebration of
that year. In the following year Capt. Asa Fairfield had a boat built, the
" Indiana," which under the command of Oliver Fairfield, an old sea cap-
tain, started on the 4th of July from Fort Wayne to Huntington, carry-
ing a large party of gentlemen, including Dr. L. G. Thompson, Judge
Hanna, Allen Hamilton, Samuel and William S. Edsall, W. G. and
G. W. Ewing, Francis Comparet, Capt. J. B. Bourie, William Rockhill,
Col. John Spencer, J. L. Williams, D. H. Colerick, L. P. Ferry, James
Barnett and others. Thereafter trips were made every day. In 1843,
Samuel and Archie Mahon began running packets between Toledo and
Fort Wayne, and in the summer of 1844, a regular line was organized
by Samuel Doyle and William Dickey, of Dayton, with eleven boats and a
steam propellor, foruse on both branches of the canal. In 1854, the opening
of the Wabash railroad caused the withdrawal of the packet lines for-
ever. Following are the names of the old packet captains: Thomas B.
Filton, W. S. B. Hubbell, M. Van Home, John M. Wigton, Clark Smith,
Byron O. Angel, William Sturgiss, Benjamin Ayres, Joseph Hoskinson,
William Phillips, George Alvord, James Popple, Nathan Nettleton,
Thomas B. McCarty, Elias Webb, William Dale, George D. Davis and
J. R. Smith.
In 1847 the Wabash and Erie canal, under the state debt act, passed
into the control of the board of three trustees, two of whom were
appointed by the holders of Indiana bonds and one by the legislature of
Indiana.
That portion of the canal running through Fort Wayne, was, as
has been stated, purchased by the New York, Chicago & St. Louis
railway company, which has filled it up, turning it into a magnificent
right of way through the center of the city. The long acqueduct over
the St. Mary's river, was taken down several years since, and near its site
has been erected a handsome iron railway bridge. The wide canal just
THE CANAL ERA. 23
west of the St. Mary's is filled up and converted into a splendid railway
yard, capable of the storage of hundreds of cars, and near the point of
the junction of the old feeder with the main line of the canal, stands the
company's round-house and repair shops.
Early Enterprises. — The earlier enterprises of Fort Wayne, speak-
ing in a mercantile sense, were trading with the Indians for the furs and
peltries in which this region abounded, and great packs of the skins of
the beaver, the otter, bear, deer and raccoon were regularly shipped in
pirogues down the Maumee to Detroit, whence they were taken by
lake to Buffalo and other commercial centers.
A peculiar industry was that established on the river bottom near
where the jail now stands. It was the trying of fish for their oil. This
business was managed by Cincinnati parties, and had a profitable exist-
ence of several years. It gave employment to a number of Indians
and whites who caught and delivered canoe loads of muskalonge and
other large fish, which were then so plentiful that they were often caught
on the ripples with the hands of the fishermen or were driven into a
cove where they were captured in great quantities.
The forests of northern Indiana have long been celebrated. Nowhere
was walnut found of finer grade or in more plentiful quantity. Great oak
trees of the white and red variety had lifted their strong arms in the gales
of a century and nodded to the straight hickory, the graceful poplar and
the stalwart ash. The early settlers who set about hewing farms out of
the wilderness gave to the business of saw-milling its early prominence,
and at many points where a water power could be had by damming the
streams, the sawing of logs into lumber was extensively carried on, the
farmer being glad enough to rid his land of an incumbrance so great as
a grove of walnut trees. Where the distance to the saw-mills was
great these trees were cut up into rails, or oftener still, were burned.
The first steam saw-mill of Fort Wayne, and one of the best known in
northern Indiana, was that established by George Baker and his two
sons, John and Jacob, on lot No. 7, county addition, corner of La-
Fayette and Water streets, and lying between the canal and St. Mary's
river. The situation was exceedingly advantageous and permitted ship-
ments of logs by canal, river or wagon road. The mill was fitted with
two " muley " saws and employed ten men. It is still operated by Kil-
lian Baker, but its capacity of 5,ood feet a day is not now often tested.
In 1842-43 William Rockhili and Samuel Edsall built two saw-mills
on the north side of the canal and on the east side of St. Mary's river,
and having effected a lease with the canal company for water privilege,
built two saw-mills and operated them for a number of years.
In 1848 William H. Coombs and Mr. Edsall built a steam saw-mill
on the north side of the canal on lot No. 568, Hanna's addition, and in
1862 a large and splendidly equipped saw-mill of two stories in height,
was established on the north bank of the canal between Ewing and
Cass streets. The original proprietors were John B. Krudup, Louis
Schroeder, Fred Brandt and Julius Kenoder, the firm's title being
24 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Krudup & Co. After many changes in partners the mill was sold in
December, 1876, to D. Tagtmeyer, who continues to operate it. This
mill's average daily work was the sawing of 4,000 feet of lumber. The
circular saw was sixty inches in diameter. The capital employed was
$6,000.
Other saw-mills were there of H. G. Olds on the north bank of the
canal at Coombs street bridge and a saw-mill operated in connection
with the Beaver, or Esmond, grist-mill at the crossing of the St. Mary's
river by Broadway and the one established on the Maumee river near
the foot of Hanover street by Mr. Coles. This mill was afterward sold
to Marshall Wines.
But by far the most important of the saw-mills is the one of most
recent establishment. Reference is made to the band saw-mill con-
structed on the south bank of the old canal between Van Buren and
Jackson streets in 1S68 by Hoffman Brothers. This firm leads all others
in America in the extent of its walnut lumber business, and has for a
number of years been quoted as the largest owner of this timber in
America. The firm is composed of Messrs. A. E. and W. H. Hoffman,
and was established nearly twenty years ago. The shops have grown
to vast proportions and are occupied in the manufacture of fine hard
wood lumber for house furnishing and for furniture. A capital of
$300,000 is employed, and the firm has constantly in its employ from
150 to 200 men. Eight timber buyers make purchases in Kansas, Mis-
souri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and other
states. These mills have cut 125,000 feet of lumber per week. A new
300 horse-power engine has just been added to the works. The yards
of the firm have become so extensive that every foot of ground that
can be leased within three blocks of their mills is covered by their lum-
ber and logs.
The first grist-mill was built in 1827 by James Barnett and Samuel
Hanna on the west bank of the St. Mary's river, near the crossing of
the Bluffton road. The mill was sold to Louis H. Davis, who again
sold to Asa Fairfield and Samuel C. Freeman, who in turn sold to
A. C. Beaver. It was next sold to George Esmund, and was destroyed
by fire on February 27th, 1878. Mr. Esmund immediately organized a
company of which the late O. A. Simons, banker, was a principal mem-
ber, and erected on the site of the old structure a splendidly equipped
brick mill three stories in height, 44 by 64 feet, fitted with three pow-
erful turbine wheels and five run of stone. The establishment had a
storage capacity of 10,000 bushels and could manufacture eighty barrels
of flour a day. The failing health of Mr. Esmond induced the sale of
this mill to Messrs Tevis & Proctor, and in 1888 it too was burned
down and has not been rebuilt.
Along the canal which early became the great highway for grain
shipments, a number of good grist-mills and warehouses sprang up. In
1842-43 the City mills were established by Messrs. Allen Hamilton and
Jesse L. Williams on the north bank of the canal, between Calhoun and
THE CANAL ERA.
25
Clinton streets. The business was very successful. Within a few years
Mr. Hamilton retired, and later Pliny Hoagland was admitted as a part-
ner. After some changes Mr. Christian Tresselt was admitted in 1870,
and since the death of Mr. Hoagland he has been the principal owner.
The power was furnished by an over-shot wheel, supplied with water
from the canal, but since the occupancy of the canal held by the New
York, Chicago & St. Louis railway, this power has been lost and the
mill is devoted to warehousing only.
For many years the Woodlawn mill or Wines mill was one of the
best known. It was erected in 1838, by Marshall Wines at a dam
thrown across the Maumee river near the foot of Hanover street and a
short distance west of the old canal lock. Mr. Wines sold to Samuel
Hanna and Ochnig Bird. Subsequent owers were Bostick & Frone-
field, Fronefield & Volland, Trentman & Volland, Orff & Volland,
Comparet & Haskell, and finally Esthen A. Orff, during whose owner-
ship the mill was burned, ten years ago. The floods have since nearly
obliterated the dam. This mill had a capacity of fifty barrels of flour a
day, and at the time of its greatest prosperity a capital of $6,000 was
invested.
The Empire mills or the " Stone mill,"as it used to be called, is one
of the few old ones that continue to grind. It is the largest in this part
of the state, and is probably the best known. Its building was begun
by Samuel Edsall in July, 1843, and it was first put in operation in 1845.
Soon afterward Milford Smith was admitted to partnership, and in 1856
the property was sold in its entirety to Messrs. Orff, Armstrong & Lacy.
Mr. Lacy died, and Mr. Armstrong retired, and since then the business
has been continued by Mr. John Orff. For a long time, however, the
active management of affairs has been in the very capable hands of his
two sons, Edward A. and Montgomery Orff. The elder son, Mr. John
R. Orff, is the miller. A grain warehouse has of late years been added
to the mill. The capacity, under the old process, was 200 barrels per
day, but under the new process it is twenty-five barrels less. The capi-
tal employed is $6,000. The power was originally supplied by a great
overshot wheel which was fed from the canal, but a 100 horse-power
engine was afterward put in, and since the abandonment of the canal
the sole reliance for power is upon steam.
In 1853 George Little and Hugh McCulloch built an elevator on the
south bank of the canal near the foot of Maiden Lane. The elevator
was afterward converted into a grist-mill, and was the first steam flour-
ing mill to be operated in Fort Wayne. From 1855 to 1859 ^ was
owned and run by William Pratt & Co., who sold to John Brown.
In 1867 it was sold to Hill, Orbison & Whiting, and in 1869 was
destroyed by fire.
One of the best known among the early business houses was that
of Comparet & Hubbell, forwarding and commission merchants. The
business was established in 1846 by Joseph J. and David Y. Comparet.
In 1850 M. W. Hubbell was admitted to partnership. In 1857 a three-
26 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
story steam grist-mill was built which, like so many other of the mills,
was destroyed by fire. This occurred in 1861. In 1862 Mr. D. F.
Comparet having succeeded to the sole ownership of the business
erected another grist mill on the same sight. The capital invested was
$35,000. The mill was sold to A. Powers in 1871. Next year he died
and the business was carried on by L. P. Stapleford & Co. until Decem-
ber, 1876, when fire wrecked the property and the busiuess of milling
was not resumed.
The first mill operated by an overshot wheel in this section of the
country was that built on the St. Joseph river, a mile north of the city,
by Henry Rudisill and Henry Johns, and this is said to be the first of
the local mills to manufacture merchantable flour. The building and the
dam were commenced in 1830. The mill was first known as Johns'
mill and after Mr. Johns' death was known as Rudisill's mill, taking the
name of the surviving partner. Mr. Rudisill died February 6, 1858,
and was succeeded by his son Henry J. Rudisill. He was succeeded in
1866 by John E. Hill & Co. The mill is not now in operation and is
somewhat dismantled. The property has passed into the hands of
Messrs. John H. Bass and the estate of O. A. Simons, principal owners
of the canal feeder. It has one of the most valuable water powers in
the state and its value is being increased by leading water from the level
of the canal feeder to the mill, giving a fall of some eighteen feet with
an abundant supply of water. This splendid power will be utilized to
operate the power station of the Jenney Electric Light compan} r , which
has been newly established within a few yards of the mill, and power
will be cheaply let to other manufactories by the Fort Wayne Water
Power company, which owns the property. The water of the St.
Joseph river will be reinforced by Fish lake, in DeKalb county.
Before the heavy tax was laid upon distilled spirits their manufacture
in Fort Wayne was profitably carried on. William Rockhill, in 1836,
built the first distillery, on the north bank of the canal immediately in
the right of way of the Grand Rapids & Indiana railroad. It was con-
structed of hewn logs and was two stories high. A man named Hays
succeeded to the business and the building was abandoned in 1841.
By far the best known distillery was that built in 1840, by Francis
Comparet on the south side of the canal, just west of where Coombs street
now crosses. It was two stories in height. Mr. Comparet conducted the
business for ten years, when he leased the premises to Jesse Smith and
J. Dudley. They subsequently removed to Peru, and in December, 1848,
the common council by ordinance, prohibited any distilling of liquors
within the city limits.
The history of a city, however earnest may be the attempt at gen-
eralization, can best be told by the narrative of the deeds of the men who
worked together for its upbuilding. Of some of those prominent in the
history of Fort Wayne, as this account 'of its progress proceeds, brief
mention will be made, and here appropriately may be noticed some of
the early residents, sketches of whom have not already appeared in the
THE CANAL ERA. 27
account of " the village of the fort." Among these now to be mentioned
are still honored and leading citizens.
Of Samuel Hanna, whose name frequently occurs in this work, it
may be said without exaggeration, that it is impossible to write an ade-
quate account of his life without reciting the history of Fort Wayne, nor
is it possible to give a complete history of the city without embodying an
account of his career. Loving biographers have detailed the events of
his life with much care, and in this work little more than a brief outline
can be attempted, in addition to what appears throughout its pages.
Samuel Hanna was born October 18, 1797? in Scott county, Ky. His
father, James Hanna, removed to Dayton, Ohio, in 1804, and cleared
him a farm near the site of that town. Here Samuel's early days were
passed, and his educational privileges were no greater than those of
most pioneer boys. His first occupation, away from home, was as a post-
rider, distributing newspapers to subscribers throughout the country,
there then being no mail service for that purpose. In his nineteenth
year he was a clerk in a Piqua store, and he and another ambitious young
tradesman bought out the store, giving their note for $3,000. Soon
afterward these notes were transferred to an innocent purchaser, and a
writ of attachment followed, taking the goods away from Hanna and
his partner. The notes being pressed for collection the partner pleaded
infancy, a valid defense, but Hanna refused to do so, and though he had
been swindled, he declared his purpose to pay his obligations in full.
When he was able he did so, principal and interest. Such incidents as
these explain the remarkable strength he afterward had in the financial
world, and the almost unbounded credit which enabled him to assume
the main burden of great enterprises. After teaching school some time,
he next became prominent as a purveyor at the treaty at St. Mary's in
1 81 8, with his brother Thomas. They hauled provisions from Troy,
Ohio, and by their enterprise secured a small sum of money, a little of
which was potent in those days on the frontier. At St. Mary's he
decided to come to Fort Wayne, and at this little settlement he arrived
in 1819. He established a trading-post in a log cabin, the work on
which was mostly by his own hands, on the northwest corner of Colum-
bia and Barr streets, thoroughfares at that time, however, unknown. In
the Indian trade Mr. Hanna was a notable exception to those harpies
who unscrupulously enriched themselves, and his fair and honorable
dealing endeared him to the red men, and afterward to the settlers who
took the place of his dusky customers. Legitimate profits were the
basis of his princely fortune, upon which foundation he built with a rare
business sagacity, and an economy which dissuaded him from spending
$1 for personal luxuries until he was worth $50,000. During the period
of his early trade here, manufactured goods were purchased in Boston
or New York, and came by the lakes, and down the Maumee in piro-
gues, or were brought from Detroit with pack-horses. Provisions of
all kinds were brought from southwestern Ohio, by way of the St. Mary's
river, in the care of sturdy boatmen who were frequently delayed by
28 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
fallen trees which barred the stream until they were cut away. These
discomforts of commerce early turned the attention of Mr. Hanna to the
improvement of routes of transportation. Before the time of canal agi-
tation began he had widely extended his possessions. He had acted several
years as agent of the American fur company, and was rapidly acquiring
land throughout Indiana. His influence was aided also by his service
as the first associate judge of Allen county. The canal project had its
inception in a conversation between Judge Hanna and David Burr, at
the home of the former, and their efforts secured the land grant by
congress. There was opposition to the acceptance of the grant and
Judge Hanna was elected to the legislature as a champion of the canal.
He had previously served in the house in 1S26, and his subsequent
membership of that body was in 183 1 and 1840. He also served in the
senate from 1832 to 1836. He went to New York to purchase the
instruments, which he brought on horseback from Detroit to Fort
Wayne, when the survey was begun on the St. Joseph river, Mr. Burr
acting as rod-man and Mr. Hanna as axe-man, both at $1.0 per month.
The climate vanquished the engineer on the second day, and the two
invincible pioneers continued the work alone. They reported to the
next legislature, and Judge Hanna being a member, secured the passage
of an act authorizing the construction of the canal.
No one contributed more to the success of the work in the early and
trying years of its history than Samuel Hanna. From 1828 to 1836 he
was successively canal commissioner and fund commissioner, negotiat-
ing the money with which the work was carried on, besides acting in
the legislature as chairman of the canal committee.
During the same period he took a prominent part in the organiza-
tion of the financial policy of the state, subsequent to the veto of the
United States bank act. The creation of state banks being recom-
mended by the president, Judge Hanna was given an opportunity to con-
sider the proper measures to take in that direction. He strenuously
opposed and defeated a measure proposed, and in the next legislature
was given, as chairman of the committee having the measure in charge,
the duty of drafting a charter. This he did so wisely that the state
banking system of Indiana, which stood until the time of civil war, was
always substantial, and a credit to Indiana. A branch was at once
established at Fort Wayne, of which Judge Hanna was president for a
considerable period.
In 1836, Judge Hanna purchased the remaining land interests of
Barr & McCorkle, now within the city limits, and until the opening of
the canal brought a large increase of population he was much em-
barrassed by this absorption of his capital. But he never distressed
those who had purchased his lands and failed in meeting their obliga-
tions, preferring to suffer inconvenience himself, and many landowners
owe their prosperity to-day to his kindness. After the building of the
canal, an era followed in improvement which may be termed the plank
road epoch. Jesse Vermilyea visited some of these highways in the
THE CANAL ERA. 29
east and Canada, and his report incited Judge Hanna and others, to the
construction of such roads for the benefit of Fort Wayne. A route
was provided by the canal from east to west, substantially that of the
Wabash railway of to-day, and now a route from north to south, a fore-
runner of the Grand Rapids & Indiana road, was a desideratum. The
Fort Wayne & Lima (LaGrange county) plank road company was
organized, and stock subscriptions solicited. But cash was very scarce,
and subscriptions were mostly made in goods, land and labor. Nearly
all the necessary capital was borrowed from the branch bank, and this
was expended in erecting saw-mills. Contractors being timid, Judge
Hanna himself, took the first ten miles north of Fort Wayne and per-
sonally superintended and ax in hand, did much of the work. Like a
born general, he led, and as a necessary sequel, others followed. With
the efficient co-operation of William Mitchell, Drusus Nichols and others,
within two years there was a plank road from Fort Wayne to Ontario,
a distance of fifty miles. This, the pioneer plank road of northern
Indiana, was followed by the Piqua road, in which Mr. Hanna was also
an indispensable factor. Now the era opened in which the prosperity of
cities depended upon the building of railroads, and again Judge Hanna
led the army of progress. Peculiarly in this direction did he have great
influence upon the future of Fort Wayne, in the growth of which the
railroad industries have had a predominant part. When that grand
national line of railway, which is now the pride and strength of Fort
Wayne, and with which his name is forever identified, the Pittsburg,
Fort Wayne & Chicago railway, was first projected — beginning with
the section from Pittsburgh to Massillon, thence from Massillon to Crest-
line, thence from Crestline to Fort Wayne, and finally developing in the
grand idea of a consolidated continuous line of railway from Pittsburg
to Chicago — Judge Hanna was among the first to see, to appreciate,
and to take hold of the golden enterprise, that was, in ten years' time,
to bring up Fort Wayne from the condition of an insignificent country
town, to rank and dignity among the first commercial and manufactur-
ing towns of Indiana. When the construction reached Crestline, Judge
Hanna and his friends induced the voting of a subscription of $100,000
by Allen county, which was the turning point toward the completion of
the enterprise. He and Pliny Hoagland and William Mitchell took the
contract for the construction of the section from Crestline to Fort
Wayne, 131 miles, but in a short time funds gave out, the work stopped,
and gloom overspread the hopes of the city. Dr. Merriman, the presi-
dent of the company, resigned. In this emergency, the great strength
of character of Samuel Hanna was the unfailing resource. He was
elected president, and in three days was in the ea st, pledging the indi-
vidual credit of the contractors for the necessary funds. Being success-
ful, he hastened to Montreal and Quebec, and redeemed the iron, which
was held for transportation charges. The work was resumed, and in
November, 1854, the trains from Philadelphia ran into Fort W ayne.
While yet overwhelmed with the work just mentioned, the Fort
30 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Wayne & Chicago railroad company was organized, and Judge Hanna
elected president. Money was to be derived from the sale of stocks
and bonds, and stock subscriptions which were paid in cash amounted
to less than three per cent, of the cost of construction and equipment.
The main part of the subscriptions were paid in land and labor. The
sale of bonds was slow and discouraging.
Quoting again the appreciative words of Hon. J. K. Edgertoun : The
powerful corporation, now so strong and prosperous, measuring its
annual income by well-nigh half a score of millions of dollars, from the fall
of 1854, to the close of i860, passed through a fearful struggle, not only for
the completion of its work, but for its own corporate and financial life.
The financial disasters of 1857 found the consolidated company with an
incomplete road, with meager revenues, and a broken credit. Many of
its best friends, even among its own managers, were inclined to grow
weary and to faint by the way. Through all this trying period no man
worked more faithfully and hopefully, or was consulted more freely, or
leaned upon with more confidence, than Judge Hanna. He was a
tower of strength to an almost ruined enterprise. He was at brief times
gloomy and desponding, but he was a man of large hope, and a robust
physical organization, that eminently fitted him to stand up and toil on to a
successful end. No man who has ever been connected with the manage-
ment of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad has had a larger
share of confidence of all interested in it than Judge Hanna possessed.
In all phases of the company's affairs, in the midst of negotiations involv-
ing the most vital interests in Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadel-
phia and New York, surrounded by the most sagacious financiers and
railway men of the country, such men as J. F. D. Lanier, Richard H.
Winslow, John Ferguson, Charles Moran, J. Edgar Thompson, William
B. Ogden, George W. Cass and Amasa Stone. There was in Judge
Hanna a weight of character, a native sagacity and far-seeing judg-
ment, and a fidelity of purpose to the public trust he represented, that
commanded the respect of all, and made him a peer of the ablest of
them. Judge Hanna was especially the advocate and guardian of the
local interests of the road. He was ever watchful for the home stock-
holders, the local trade, the rights and interests of the towns and coun-
ties on the railway, and of the men who worked on the road. In those
dark days, when the company could not, or did not, always pay its men,
and suffering and strikes were impending, Judge Hanna sympathized
with, and did all he could for, the men on the road who earned their
daily bread by the work of their hands. He had always in his mind the
welfare of Fort Wayne, and worked unceasingly for the establishment
of the immense shops of the company at this city. In this he had the
aid of able men, but he had to encounter the opposition of others no less
active. By direct demand, by strategy and invincible persistence, in the
meetings of the directors, he pursued his object to success. Before the
road reached Chicago, the consolidation and formation of the great
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad company was accomplished,
THE CANAL ERA. 3 1
mainly through the efforts of Judge Hanna, who became vice president.
The road being completed to Plymouth, there was sentiment in favor of
using another line from that point to Chicago, but Mr. Hanna pressed
for an independent through line, and was soon successful.
About three months before the end of his career he was called to a
meeting at Grand Rapids of the directors of the proposed Grand Rap-
ids & Indiana railroad company, another project which languished, and
was chosen president of the company, though he feared to assume the
responsibility. In addition to these greater projects, he was a partner
in the establishment of the woolen factory, the great Bass foundry and
machine shops, and the Olds manufactories, to the founding of which he
contributed capital. His religious training was in the faith of the Pres-
byterian church, of which his father was an elder for some fifty years.
He joined that church in 1843, and was a ruling elder during the greater
part of the remainder of his life. His last illness was of short duration.
Taken ill June 6, 1866, he died on the nth. The city mourned as it
never had before. The council, passing resolutions of sorrow, adjourned;
houses were draped with somber crape; and the railroad shops and
buildings were festooned with evergreen, through which ran the inscrip-
tion, " Samuel Hanna, the Workingman's Friend." The bells of all the
churches tolled in unison while a procession two miles in length followed
his mortal remains to the grave.
Marked features of Judge Hanna's character were his untiring
energy, hopefulness and self-reliance. He was not a polished or highly
educated man, but enjoyed the benefits of a higher education than
schools can give. He was eminently a leader, a general of civil life, an
administrator of affairs. Not a man of minutas or notably systematic,
his office was to call such intellects as lieutenants to his service, while he
held in his broad and comprehensive mind the great plan with all its
bearings and objects. He was a planter and builder, rather than a leg-
islator. With high elements of statesmanship in his character, the work
that lay before him was of the formative kind, and to him was given
the opportunity to be higher than a statesman, in that he was one of
those great characters of imperishable memory, who are known as the
builders of cities and the founders of commonwealths. Like all such
men his private character was irreproachable and his family life quaint
and lovable. A monument to this noble man stands in Lindenwood, but
Fort Wayne itself is his most worthy memorial, and right worthily
might be copied for Samuel Hanna that famous epitaph to the architect
of the great London cathedral, "Si monumentum requiris, circumspice."
William G. and George W. Ewing, prominent in the early history of
Fort Wayne, were sons of Col. Alexander Ewing, who was born in Penn-
sylvania, in 1753, the third son of Alexander Ewing, a native of Ireland.
Alexander enlisted in the revolutionary war at the age of sixteen, and
served during the last three<years of that struggle. In 1787 he engaged
in a trading expedition to the Six Nation Indian tribes, and established a
post in the wilderness on Buffalo creek, now the site of the city of
32 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Buffalo. He prospered here, and a few years later settled on a splendid
farm, on the Genesee, about sixty miles above Rochester. Here he
was married to Charlotte Griffith, a sister of Captain William Griffith,
who was one of the garrison at Chicago at the time of the massacre.
In 1802 thev removed to the river Raisin and settled near where the town
of Monroe now is, and in 1807, they moved again and settled in the town
of Washington, Ohio, now called Piqua, and lived there and at Troy
until 1822, when they came to Fort Wayne. Here Col. Ewing died Jan-
uary 27, 1822. During the war of 181 2 he served in a company of scouts
under his brother-in-law, Capt. Griffith, and there gained his honorary
title. His wife passed away March 13, 1843. Their children were:
Sophie C, who married Judge Hood: Charles Wayne, formerly presi-
dent judge of the eighth judicial circuit of Indiana; William G.; Alexan-
der H., a successful merchant of Cincinnati; George W. ; Lavinia, who
married George B. Walker, of Logansport; and Louisa, who married
Dr. Charles E. Sturgis. William G. and George W. were born during
the residence on the river Raisin. In 1827 they formed the firm of
W. G. & G. W. Ewing, and by the articles of partnership, all their estate
became the property of the firm until one died. During the whole
period of their association no settlement was asked for between them, such
was their mutual confidence. There were many side branches. Will-
iam S. Edsall was one of the firm of Ewing, Edsall & Co., and he was
succeeded by Richard Chute. At Logansport, G. B. Walker was the
partner in the house, and at LaGro was the establishment of Ewing &
Barlow. At Westport, Mo., a business was done under the title of W. G. &
G. W. Ewing, and many other branches were located in Michigan,
Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Indeed the name of the
Ewings was familiar from the Alleghanies to the Rocky mountains.
William G. Ewing died July 11, 1854, and his brother then devoted his
whole energies to settling up the estate, and this settlement was made
to the satisfaction of the administrators, Hugh McCulloch and Dr.
Sturgis, in October, 1865. Col. George W. Ewing began his business
career at a trading post at Wapakoneta, and he took a prominent part
in the subsequent treaties in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois. In
1828 he was married to Harriet Bourie and then lived at Fort Wayne
until 1839 when he removed to Logansport, which he and a colony from
Fort Wayne founded. From 1839, to October, 1846, he lived at Peru,
and was then at St. Louis until the death of his brother. He then made
his residence at Fort Wayne until his death, December 27, 1865.
George W. Ewing, the son of Col. G. W. Ewing, was born at Peru,
Ind. He was an esteemed citizen of Fort Wayne, where he died. In
1864 he was married to Mary Charlotte Sweetzer, a native of Fort
Wayne. Their son, George W. Ewing, the third of that name, and the
only living male representative of the famous family, was born in this
city September 26, 1866. He is a well known citizen, and takes an
active interest in politics as a republican. In July, 1889, he was appointed
a member of the staff of Governor Hovey, with the rank of major.
THE CANAL ERA. 33
Hon. Alfred P. Edgerton, a notable citizen of Fort Wayne, who has
been prominent in the political history of Indiana and Ohio, was born at
Plattsburg, Clinton county, N. Y., January n, 1813, the eldest son of
Bela and Phoebe (Ketchum) Edgerton, who were married at Platts-
burg, March 24, 181.1. His father, a descendant of Richard Edgerton,
one of the original proprietors of Norwich, Conn., was born in New
London county, Conn., September 29, 1787. Pie was a lawyer by pro-
fession, a graduate of Middlebury college, a member of the assembly of
New York from Clinton county for several years, and died at Fort
Wayne, September 10, 1874. H* s wife* Phoebe Ketchum, was born at
Livingston Manor, N. Y., March 27, 1790, and died at Hicksville,
Ohio, August 24, 1844. Mr. Edgerton, after graduating from the
Plattsburg academy, took the editorship of a newspaper in his native
town in 1833, but in the fall of the same year removed to New York
city and engaged in commercial pursuits. He removed to Ohio in the
spring of 1837, and became the representative of the American land
company and Hicks & Co., and established an office at Hicksville, where
107,000 acres of land were sold by him to settlers. He became the
owner, himself, of nearly forty thousand acres, which were mostly sold
by him to settlers on liberal terms. In 1845 he was elected to the Ohio
state senate from a large territor}^ which embraced nearly ten of the
present northwestern counties. He immediately took an active part on
the side of the democratic minority, and showed himself a master of the
important financial questions which were the subject of discussion in the
senate by the ablest men of the state. Becoming prominent by a debate
with the Whig leader, he was mentioned as a candidate for the gover-
norship of the state, and he was alluded to by a leading democratic
journal as "an able and talented statesman; while faithfully adhering to
sound democratic principles, his unimpeached private character, high
sense of honor and sterling integrity as a gentleman, have commanded
the respect of his most bitter opponents." So even and consistent has
been the long career of Mr. Edgerton, that this early expression regarding
him, may still be truthfully quoted as an estimate of his character. In
1850, after a brilliant career in the state senate, he was elected to the
United States house of representatives, and re-elected in 1852. He
was second on the important committee of claims during his first term
and chairman of that committee on his second term. On the floor his
arguments commanded the respectful attention of his associates. From
1853 to 1856 he held the important position of financial agent of the
state of Ohio, at New York. In 1856 he was chairman of the com-
mittee on organization of the democratic national convention held at
Cincinnati, and subsequently he was one of a committee selected by
the legislature of the state of Ohio, to investigate the frauds upon the
state treasury. In 1857 Mr. Edgerton removed to Fort Wayne, but
retained his citizenship in Ohio until 1862. He became lessee of the
Indiana canal, associated with Hugh McCulloch and Pliny Hoagland, in
1859, an d held the position of general manager of the division from the
hi
34 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
state line to Terre Haute until 1868. In January, 1868, he was nomi-
nated by the Indiana democratic state convention for lieutenant-gover-
nor, Thomas A. Hendricks being at the head of the state ticket, which
was defeated, it will be remembered, by 861 votes. Other political
positions he filled prior to the latter date were those of delegate to the
Baltimore convention of 1848 and the Chicago convention of 1864, but
since 1868 he has not taken an active part in politics. In 1872 he was
tendered the nomination for governor of Indiana by the O'Connor dem-
ocrats, but declined to endorse that movement. He was for many years
a member of the school board of Fort Wayne, and resigned that position
to accept the appointment of civil service commissioner tendered him by
President Cleveland. This office he held until 1888. The latter posi-
tion, like all others, was filled by him in a manner satisfactory to his
party, and his constituents, with whom he has always been popular. In
private life Mr. Edgerton is an accomplished and genial gentleman, and
during his residence in Fort Wayne, has been held in high esteem by
the whole people.
One of the most distinguished citizens of Fort Wayne in its early
days was Capt. Robert Brackenridge, who enjoyed the distinction of
being a pioneer in both the cities of Cincinnati and Fort Wayne. He
was born at Springfield, Bucks county, Penn., February 8, 1783, and
there resided until 1805, when he made a trip as far west as Cincinnati,
and then in 1806 became a resident of that place, where he remained
ten years. When the war of 181 2 broke out, he was one of the first
to volunteer as one of a company organized at Brookville, Franklin
county, Ind., and when this met with other companies at Lawrence-
burgh, for muster, he delivered a patriotic address to his comrades, and
was elected first lieutenant. After marching to Urbana, Ohio, they were
ordered by Gen. Harrison to remain in Indiana as a reserve force. Sub-
sequently the company was disbanded, and Capt. Brackenridge then
held a position in the paymaster's department at Cincinnati until peace
was declared. He made his residence at Brookville in 1816, and was
appointed cashier of the branch at that place of the territorial bank.
In 1829 he was appointed by President Jackson register of the land
office at Fort Wayne, and was reappointed, holding the office eight
years. He resided at Fort Wayne from the fall of 1830 until his death,
May 9, 1859. He was a prominent Mason, and one of the charter mem-
bers of Fort Wayne chapter. Capt. Brackenridge was a man of con-
scientious religious convictions, was of incorruptible integrity and filled
the responsible positions assigned him with honor and fidelity. He was
married July 27, 1820, to Mrs. Hannah Northrup, nee Culley, who was
born in New York, and died at Fort Wayne in 1870, at seventy-six
years of age. They had five children (two now living), of whom the
third born is George W. Brackenridge. The latter was born at Brook-
ville, September 28, 1825, but spent his life after his fourth year at Fort
Wayne, where he received the education of the pioneer days. One of
the teachers to whom he is principally indebted was Alexander M.
1519233
THE CANAL ERA. 35,
Mcjunkin, a Pennsylvanian, and another is Myron F. Barber, now a.
resident of this city. For twenty years from 1848 he engaged in farm-
ing, and then removed to the city and conducted a spoke factory. He
is in politics a democrat of the old school. For two years he was trustee
of St. Joseph township, and in 1888 was elected trustee of Wayne town-
ship. He was married in 1848 to Mary D. Orwig, who was born io
Perry county, Ohio, in 1829, and they have three children: Julia B.,
Robert O., and Hannah M. He and wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church.
The Archer famiby is one conspicuous in the history of the early set-
tlement and mention is made of their achievements under the head of
Washington township and elsewhere. Benjamin Archer, the progenitor
of the family in Allen county, though an elderly man when he came
here, was full of energy, and his usefulness was recognized by the peo-
ple in his election to the associate judgeship upon the organization of
the county. He found time, however, to manage his brick yard in Wash-
ington township, and he and his family made the brick for and erected
the first brick buildings in Fort Wayne, one upon the first lot west of
Morgan & Beach's hardware, the other now owned and occupied by
John Schweiters. They also furnished the brick and built the first court-
house, and the first Masonic temple, on the site now occupied by Sol
Bash & Co. They also aided in the construction of the feeder division
of the canal and the feeder dam. Judge Archer was of Scotch-Irish
descent, of the Protestant faith, a whig in politics, of intellectual and
moral sturdiness, and many mourned his loss when he died at Fort Wayne
in 1833. The Masons, to which order he belonged, buried him in the
old grave yard where the county jail now stands. His remains and those
of his wife, who was a native of one of the Carolinas, and some grand-
children were afterward removed to the Broadway cemetery, but now
nothing remains to mark their resting place. Of the few now living
who attended that funeral one is Peter Kiser, and another Judge Archer's
son-in-law, Edward Campbell, who lives at Albion, Noble county, and is
now about ninety years of age. Judge Archer left three sons, David,
John S. and Benjamin, and three daughters, Susan, Elizabeth and Sarah.
John S. was a brother-in-law of the Hon. Hugh Hanna, and left one son
James S., who married Catherine King, of a family which recentlv left
a valuable estate in the heart of the city. They had three sons and one
daughter, now the wife of C. E. Archer. Benjamin Archer, jr., married
a Miss Petit. David, the eldest son, married Anna Chrisenbury, a native
of Kentucky, and his eldest son, Samuel, married Matilda Whiteside.
These were the parents of John H. Archer, now a prominent citizen of
Fort Wayne. The Whiteside family were also notable in the early days.
The family came from Ireland to Virginia before the war of the revolu-
tion, during which the grandfather of Matilda Whiteside made clothing
for Washington's men and received a great quantity of continental mon ey
in return, which he afterward burned as worthless. His son James and
his son Samuel removed to Baltimore, where James married Mrs. Ward,
36 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
a very handsome and intelligent lady who was related to the Baltimores
of Maryland. They came west and settled at Chillicothe, and came
thence to Fort Wayne in 1825, accompanied by all the children of Mr.
Whiteside. Of the children by his first wife, Madison, John, Harvey,
and Jane, and the children by his second wife Mrs. Ward, Jeremiah,
Matilda, Malinda and Harriet, all are dead except Jane who is living
with a daughter in Kansas. James Whiteside settled near the Archers,
and the marriage of the children of the two families above referred to
soon occurred. Then Samuel and Matilda Archer moved upon their
land, three eighty-acre tracts of canal lands, three miles north of Fort
Wayne. They had eight children, six sons and two daughters, five of
whom are living: David R. is engaged in real estate business in Omaha;
Mary J. is a resident of Fort Wavne, and Anna, of Piqua, Ohio; John
H., the eldest son, was born on the farm March 23, 1837, and passed
his early life there, receiving such education as was possible to gain by
attending a country school three months out of a year. His father died
in 1S52, en route to California. June 10, i860, Mr. Archer was married
to Anna M. Hopple, born of German parentage in Northampton county,
Penn., and they have had five children, all residents of Fort Wayne:
Charles E., born March 28, 1861; Joseph F., born January 23, 1864; W.
Sherman, born October 19, 1866; Olive Edith, born August 24, 1868,
and Mary L., born November 19, 1870. Charles E. and Sherman form
the firm of Archer Bros., printers, who have been doing business as the
Gazette Job Printing company, and are now located in a handsome
office of their own on Clinton street, near the new government building.
In 1872 Mr. Archer purchased fifty acres of land in the northern suburbs
of the city of Fort Wayne, at a cost of $20,000, and had it platted as
Archer's addition. The remarkable advantages of this tract as a resi-
dence portion of the city has made it a popular site for many comfort-
able homes. Mr. Archer has a vivid memory and can recall many
historic scenes and characters back to the time almost of his infancy-
He is one of the leading citizens of the metropolis he has witnessed the
growth of, and his unfailing energy has contributed much to the progress
of events. The sixth generation in Allen county of this family are now
counted in the census. The family are nearly all republicans in politics,
and are independent, manly and honorable in all the relations of life.
Henry Rudisill, a pioneer in manufacturing in northern Indiana, was
born at Lancaster, Penn., in 1801. His father subsequently moved to
Franklin county, Penn., and at the age of fourteen, Henry was placed
in a mercantile establishment at Shippinsburg, Penn. Three years
afterward he removed to Chillicothe, Ohio, as an employe of Barr and
'Campbell, who were then engaged in merchandise at that and other
points, east and west. He remained with this firm till 1824, when he
moved to Lancaster, Ohio, where he engaged in business on his own
account, and was subsequently married to Elizabeth Johns. In 1829 he
came to Fort Wayne, and, as the agent of Barr and McCorkle, the
original proprietors of Fort Wayne, had charge of their interests here
THE CANAL ERA. 37
until 1837; and while acting in that capacity, cleared and cultivated a
large portion of the "old plat" and "Hanna's addition" to Fort Wayne.
Mr. Rudisill was of active and energetic temperament, and a true rep-
resentative of the men, who, under Providence, have made the western
country what it now is. As early as 1830, he, in connection with his
father-in-law, Henry Johns, commenced the improvement of the water
power of the St. Joseph river, at the point where the St. Joe mills are
now located, one mile north of Fort Wayne, and built there a saw-mill
and the first flouring-mill capable of manufacturing merchantable flour
in northern Indiana. A few years later, he put in operation the first
machine for carding wool that was ever used in Allen county; and,
several years subsequent, in company with Mr. L. Wolkie, he started
the first mill for making oil from flax-seed; and also established the first
woolen factory of northeastern Indiana. In church and educational
matters also, and in such public improvements as tended to develop the
resources of the county, he was always ready and willing to aid. Being
of German descent, and for a number of years the only one in the city
who could speak both languages, he became the counsellor of many
who came from the old world, and there are many in the county who
can date their first steps in prosperity to his assistance. He was a prom-
inent supporter of the democratic party, and served as postmaster at
Fort W r ayne eight years under Jackson's administration, and a term of
three years as commissioner of Allen county; and probably did more
than any other man, through his personal influence with the Germans,
to make the democratic party the ruling power in the county. While
superintending some work at one of his mills, he fell in such a way that
his spine became affected, causing partial paralysis and subsequent death
in February, 1858. His uprightness, kindness, and affability, won for
him a host of friends among the early settlers, the survivors among
whom cherish his memory.
Hon. Franklin P. Randall, an old citizen, and prominent in the his-
tory of Fort Wayne, was born in Madison county, N. Y., June 2, 1812.
His ancestors emigrated from England and Mayor Randall is of the
seventh generation in descent of the family in America. His grand-
father was an officer in the army of the revolution, and commanded a
regiment at the battle of Saratoga, and witnessed the surrender of Gen.
Burgoyne. His father was an officer in the American army during the
war of 1812, and after peace was declared, he resumed his occupation
as a farmer in Madison county, where the early youth of the subject of
this mention was passed, attending school meanwhile during the leisure
of winter. He also was a student in the Cortland and Hamilton
academies, and obtained a good education, especially in mathematics
and classics. He taught a select school in Oneida county, two years,
and then in October, 1835, went to Williamsport, Penn., where he read
law in the office of Judge Ellis Lewis, who was for fourteen years chief
justice of the supreme court of that state. In February, 1838, he was
admitted to practice, and in April of the same year, he removed to Fort
38 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Wayne, and began the practice of law. Soon, however, he entered
upon an official career, which has been long and honorable. In 1840 he
was elected school commissioner of Allen county, and for four years
had the control and management of the school lands and funds of the
county. In 1847 he was elected state senator for the district composed of
the counties of Allen, Adams, Huntington and Wells. He was commis-
sioned by Gov. Wright as colonel of the state militia for Allen county,
and in 1855 was promoted by Gov. Hammond to brigadier-general of
the tenth division. In 1856 he was appointed director of the state prison
south, by Gov. Willard, and in the same year he was chosen one of the
presidential electors who voted for James Buchanan for president. Be-
sides these higher offices, he has from the early years of his residence
been closely identified officially with the progress of the city. He pre-
pared the first city charter, which was made a law in 1840, and since
then he has thrice been employed to revise the ordinances of the city,
and publish them in book form, the edition which he published in 1874,
forming an octavo volume of 300 pages. He was city recorder in 1840
and 1841; city attorney for three terms, beginning in 1840, 1853 and
1865, and alderman in 1843 and 1855. He was elected to the office of
mayor in 1859, and re-elected at the following dates, 1861, 1863, 1869
and 187 1, serving in all ten years. Taking an active interest in the
projects for the development of the city, he was for about ten years a
director, representing the city, of the Grand Rapids & Indiana railroad
company; and for many years, was either president or prominently con-
nected with the county agricultural society during the flourishing days
of that organization, to the success of which he contributed in no slight
degree. In horticulture and • floriculture he is a standard authority, and
his handsome residence and grounds on Berry street are filled with rare
exotics, a delightful resort for all as enthusiastic as he in the study of the
beauties of nature. His interest in the collection and preservation of
the remains of the past, have saved to the student many interesting
relics of by-gone da} r s, and his memory is stored with a seemingly inex-
haustible treasure of anecdotes and reminiscenses of the early history
of Indiana and especially of Fort Wayne. His antiquarian collections,
Indian antiquities, old and rare books, and cabinet of coins, are among
the most valuable in existence. Mayor Randall in social life is genial
and hospitable, preserving to this latter day the fine qualities of the
gentleman of the old school, and is still remarkably active and vigorous
both in mind and body.
One of the pioneer families of the county was that of Peter F. Bar-
rand, who was born in France in 1804. He received a good education and
became a teacher in his native land. In 1836 he emigrated and came
directly to Allen county. The trip from Toledo to this place he made
in a pirogue upon the river as far as the rapids. At the date of his
coming the population was small, and there was little but a trading sta-
tion at the site of the present city. Mr. Barrand's first employment here
was with the Indian chief, J. B. Richardville, and he afterward worked on
THE CANAL ERA. 39
the construction of the canal. November 22, 1838, he was married to
Ann J. Poirson, who was born in France, in 1820, and immigrated with
her parents in 1834. The family spent a few years at Tandawanda,
N. Y., about eighteen miles from Niagara Falls, and then settled on the
old plank road four and a half miles from Fort Wayne, where they
farmed and kept the " French Mary's Tavern," so-called by the early
settlers. Peter and Ann Barrand began farming on the Penn farm,
about one and a half miles north of Fort Wayne, and three years later
purchased a farm in Washington township, where they have since
resided. In 1888, they celebrated their "golden wedding." They
have reared nine children out of eleven born to them. Their son, John
B. Barrand, born in Washington township, April 23, 1849, is now super-
intendent of the sash, door and blind factory of Louis Deither & Bro.,
and an esteemed citizen. Before he left the farm he learned the carpen-
ter's trade, and in 1869, began working at that occupation at Wallen,
where he remained ten years. Since 1879 ne nas been a resident of the
city. For the first two years he was engaged in the grocery business,
but afterward resumed his trade. In February, 1887, he entered the
manufactory referred to, and in the following June was made superin-
tendent. He was married May 24, 187 1, to Catharine L. Cremer, of
Washington township.
William H. Brown, a popular citizen of Fort Wayne, is one of an
honored family of the city's pioneers. He was born here, March 3,
1839. His father, John Brown, was born at Dayton, Ohio, September
10, 181 1, by birth, indeed, a western pioneer. He is a blacksmith by
occupation, and in 1825 came to Fort Wayne, where he was married in
1833, to Dorcas Rodgers, who was born in Ohio in 1814. They are
both living in the city, esteemed and venerated by all. Her father, John
Rodgers, born December 9, 1785, died September, 1877. He voted
first for Madison, and was afterward on the winning side for Monroe,
Harrison, Taylor, Lincoln, Grant and Hayes. William H. is the oldest
of their living children, the others being Benjamin H., John C, Alex-
ander M., and Susie. The paternal grandfather was Samuel Brown, a
native of Ireland, who was one of the early settlers of Allen county, and
died here at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather, Collins by
name, was a Frenchman who came to the United States and fought
for the independence of his adopted country in the war of the revolu-
tion. Early in life Mr. Brown learned the blacksmith's craft, and was
so occupied until 1866, since which date he has been engaged in team-
ing and heavy transfer business. His career has been an honorable and
successful one, and he and his family have won the respect and esteem
of the community. He is well-known to have a great regard for
thorough-bred horses, and among his valued possessions are some of the
most handsome of those valued co-workers with man. Mr. Brown was
married in 1870 to Cassander Yost, who was born in Preble county,
Ohio, in 1833. Mrs. Brown is a daughter of Isaac Yost, who was
born in Virginia and died in Cincinnati in 1850, while returning from a
40 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
trip to California. Her mother was Susanna (Collingsworth) Yost, a
native of Ohio, who died there in 1851. Mrs. Brown is one of six
children living. Mr. Brown is a staunch republican having cast his first
vote for Abraham Lincoln, and his father's first vote was cast for Henry-
Clay. The residence of the family is at No. 73 Holman street. Mr.
Brown has by his first wife, one daughter, Mary, born in 1866.
John B. Becquett, a pioneer citizen of Fort Wayne, was born in
Detroit, Mich., January 13, 1824. He is the son of John B. and Theresa
(Durett) Becquett, the former a native of the province of Quebec, and
the latter of Detroit, Mich. In 1826, their son John B., being two years
old, they removed to Fort Wayne and located on the corner of Colum-
bia and Clinton streets. Here the father followed the trade of an Indian
jeweler until his death, September 17, 1846. His wife survived him
until March, 1884, when she died, aged eighty-four. At eighteen years
of age, John B. Becquett began an apprenticeship of three years as
brick layer; this trade has been the occupation of his life, and he has
pursued it in this city for nearly half a century. Mr. Becquett was married
November 16, 1855, to Elizabeth, daughter of George and Catharine
Baker, with whom she immigrated from Germany 'when she was five
years old. They located at Fort Wayne where Mr. Baker followed the
trade of wagon-maker. He-and his wife are now deceased. Mr. and
Mrs. Becquett have four sons and four daughters, all of whom are grown
to maturity. Their names are: John A., Jacob, Henry, George F.,
Catharine, Mary, Elizabeth and Theresa. Mr. Becquett and family are
members of the Catholich church. In politics he has been a life long
democrat. He is one of Fort Wayne's earliest residents now living,
having been here for sixty-three years. His memory is good and his
recollections of early times are man} r and varied. He possesses an
extensive acquaintance and is highly respected.
« Zenas Henderson, who has been referred to in this work as one of
the pioneers of the city of Fort Wayne, was born in Cleveland, Ohio,
and came to Fort Wayne early in the thirties. He was an interpreter
for the Indians and was also in business as an Indian trader. This he
subsequently abandoned to engage in hotel keeping, on the corner of
Calhoun and Columbia streets. He married Rosina McKee, who was
born in Wheeling, W. Va., and died in 1855. His death followed two
years later. To these parents seven children were born, rive of whom
are living. Samuel C. Henderson, one of these, was born December 17,
1 841, on the corner of Main and Barr streets, and is now foreman of
the tin, copper and flue department of the shops of the Pittsburgh, Fort
Wayne & Chicago railroad company. He attended the school at the
corner of Clay and Washington streets on the first day that it was
opened, and gained a good education in the city schools. At the age of
eighteen years he set in to learn the trade of copper-smith, and entered
the shops of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad company
for that purpose September 20, 1859, an( ^ si nce tnat date has been one
of the trusted employes of that corporation. Three years after begin-
THE CANAL ERA.
4 1
ning work he was appointed assistant foreman of the copper department,
and in 1877 he became foreman. He is a member of the First Presby-
terian church, and of Home lodge, No. 342, F. & A. M., and of the
National Union. He was married in September, 1876, to Mary Kin-
nard, who was born at Sidney, Ohio, but reared in Fort Wayne.
Frederick Dalman, a well known and esteemed citizen of Fort
Wayne, has had the rare privilege of becoming acquainted when a boy
with the tangled forests then covering Allen county, and has enjoyed
the pleasure of observing the growth of a beautiful and prosperous city.
He was born near Burton-on-Trent, Derbyshire, England, May 30, 1824.
His father, John Dalman, who was born in April, 1774, married Anna
Burcher, who was born in 1790. They had eight children, of whom
Frederick is the youngest, and three of whom survive. The father, a
carpenter and joiner, became dissatisfied with life in the old country, and
in 1833, to seek a field where his energy and industry would yield better
rewards, sailed for America, landing at New York in June, with his
family. After stopping two weeks in Madison county, N. Y., they
sailed from Buffalo' to Maumee City. Being transported by wagon to
the head of the rapids, they there embarked in pirogues, and reached
Fort Wayne after a week's journey. They located at Barnett's Springs,
now within the city limits, but in December removed to land they had
purchased in section 33, in Wayne township, a tract of 120 acres on
Little river. On this land Mr. Dalman had built a cabin in the dense
woods, and there was not to the south of him another habitation of
white men for twenty miles. Here the parents lived the life of pioneers,
self-sacrificing, patient and persevering. At a ripe old age, they passed
away, the father in 1864, the mother in 1868. Frederick remained on
the farm, managing it until, July, 1884, when he divided the land amount-
ing to 301 acres among his three children, and removed to town. He
still was the owner at the time of dividing the farm of 140 acres, sixty
of which is still in his possession. His property in the city includes
seven houses and lots, among them his residence at 116 Williamson
street, and three vacant lots. The superintendence of his property
occupies his time mainly, though he is also superintendent and treasurer
of the Bluffton gravel road, in which he was one of the original stock-
holders, and superintendent of the construction of a portion of it. Mr.
Dalman was married in 1846 to Mary M. F., daughter of David Hill,
a native of Pennsylvania. She died in 1870, leaving the following chil-
dren : David, and Jesse, farmers in Wayne township; America E., wife
of Thomas King, a prosperous farmer of Pleasant township. In July
1884, Mr. Dalman was married to Louisa Flinn.
Among the early settlers of Fort Wayne, Edward Stapleford will be
remembered as one widely known and generally esteemed. He came
to this city in 1833, and for many years was a prominent merchant. He
was born in Delaware in 1809, and at an early age he accompanied his
father and mother and brothers and sisters to Piqua, Ohio, where his
father died, and he thence came to this city. He was eminently social
42 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
in his relations to the public, affectionate to his family, and strictly hon-
orable as a business man. He married Susan E. Powers, and to them
was born October 15, 1838, Lucien P., now a resident of this city. The
latter gained his education at the Methodist college, in which he com-
pleted a full course. He afterward entered the Fort Wayne commercial
college, of which C. J. Diedrich was principal, and attended it some two
or three years, graduating at the age of nineteen. He acquired mean-
while a high proficiency in penmanship, and has the credit of being one
of the best penmen in the city. Up to the time of his father's death,
January 1, 1861, he clerked in his store, and after that date became his
successor, and successfully managed the business until 1872. Soon
after that date he purchased the Comparet mills and warehouse on the
corner of Columbia and Lafayette streets, but after remodeling the
property and making extensive improvements, Mr. Stapleford suffered
the crushing loss of the whole property by fire, a loss of $40,000. For
several years past he has given his attention to the livery, coal and wood
business and the management of the Herdic coach line, of which he is
proprietor. For more than thirty years he has also acted as auctioneer,
and in this manner has an extensive acquaintance throughout the whole
county. He was married in January, 1871, to Caroline E., daughter of
Peter Heller, the founder of Heller's corners, of Eel River township.
They have had two children: Leonidas P. and Norris E., the latter of
whom died in the ninth year of his age. Mr. Stapleford was reared in
the Methodist faith and takes much interest in the Sunday-school work,
having been secretary of the Wayne Street Sabbath school five years.
He was formerly a Good Templar, and is an ardent temperance man.
He is secretary of the Liverymen and Hackmen's protective association,
and formerly was secretary of the Audubon club. In politics he is a
republican.
Michael Hedekin, frequently referred to as an early settler, was a
native of County Westmeath, Ireland. Emigrating to America he was
married to Rebecca Pau, a native of Ohio. They came to Fort Wayne
in 1834. In 1843 and 1844 he built a three-story brick hotel building
on the east side of Barr street south of Columbia, and on May 15, 1846,
Calvin Anderson opened it as a tavern. Under various proprietors it
was maintained until 1876, since when it has been conducted by Jacob
Swaidner. The Hedekin House is a notable monument of early da}'S,
and was, when built, excelled in its size and appointments by none in the
northwest. Thomas B. Hedekin, son of Michael, who was not a year
old when his father came, established a grocery in 1848, which he man-
aged for twenty years.
Maurice Cody, well-known among the early settlers of Fort Wayne,
was born in County Cork, Ireland, September 15, 1818, the son of John
and Mary (Bolland) Cody. His parents were both born in County Cork,
the father in 1790, and the mother in 1804. They emigrated to America
in 1825, and settled at Oswego, N. Y., where the mother died in 1829.
In the following year the father died at Horseheads, Chemung county,
THE CANAL ERA. 43
N. Y. In 1832, Mr. Cody removed to Penn Yan, and from there to
Maryland, in the fall of 1833, and in December, 1834, he came to Fort
Wayne. His route thither was over the Alleghany mountains to Wheel-
ing, W Va., thence to Columbus, Ohio, and then to Troy and Piqua,
and up to St. Mary's, and then overland to Fort Wayne through what
was then called the Black swamp country, the difficulties of which may
be imagined from the fact that it required three weeks to make the trip,
and one six miles of the way required three days to traverse. In com-
pany with him were his uncle, Patrick Cody, and Patrick and Garrett,
his brothers. On reaching Fort Wayne Mr. Cody engaged in cutting
stove wood and other odd jobs, until 1839, when he became a clerk in
the pioneer store of Michael Hedekin, with whom he was associated for
four years. In 1841 he was interested with Mr. Hedekin in a store one
mile east of Antwerp, Ohio, where he lived eleven months, but subse-
quently he returned to Fort Wayne, was married, and purchased a farm
in St. Joseph township. He had occupied this but six months, when he
went to Paulding county, Ohio, and was there engaged in merchandise
for two years. Returning to Fort Wayne, in October, 1845, he went to
Chicago, and became engaged in merchandise at Blue Island. In May,
1847, he resumed business at Fort Wayne, and was in merchandise
until 1862, when he went into the milling business on the St. Mary's
river, ten miles south of the city, and was so engaged for twenty years.
Previously he had been engaged in the ice business for four years, in
the city. Since 1882 he has been living in the city, on the same lot, on
the corner of Barr and Superior streets, that he rented in 1835, and
bought in 1847, and is retired from business, but busies himself in man-
aging his farm. Mr. Cody is a democrat and cast his first vote for Mar-
tin VanBuren. For ten years he was councilman for the second ward,
and in 1852 was elected marshal of Fort Wayne, and street commis-
sioner at the first election by the people. He is a member of the con-
gregation of the Cathedral. Mr. Cody had the following brothers and
sisters: Ellen, John, James, Bridget, Mary, Patrick and Garrett, of
whom Mary Bonfield alone survives. February 1, 1843, he was mar-
ried to Mary Daugherty, a native of Ireland, who died in December,
1859, leaving six children, John H., Margaret, Ellen, Thomas G., Ann E.
and Mary R. May 14, 1861, he was married to Mrs. Bridget Muldoon,
a native of St. Lawrence county, N. Y.
Among the pioneers who came here at a time when Fort Wayne
was a village and Allen county was almost a wilderness, was Anthony
Lintz (deceased). Mr. Lintz was born in France, of German parents,
in 1806, and emigrated to the United States in about 1832. He spent
about two months in New York city, then went to Rochester, N. Y.,
where he remained almost a year, and then to Detroit. In 1834 ne re ~
moved to Fort Wayne, and about two months later went to Rochester,
N. Y., and was married to Delia Klem, who was born in Baden, Ger-
many, in 1814. When two years old she came to America with her
parents, who settled in Rochester, N. Y. In coming to Fort Wayne,
44
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Mr. and Mrs. Lintz went from Rochester to Buffalo by canal, thence
to Toledo by lake, and from Toledo came to the head of the rapids by
wagon, and then in a pirogue on the Maumee to Fort Wayne. Four
weeks were spent in making the trip, which to-day can be made in less
than eighteen hours. To Anthony Lintz and wife eleven children were
born, eight of whom survive : Delia, the widow of Casper Schoeripp, of
Marion, Ind.; Mary Wirley, of Rochester, N. Y.; Catherine Bauer, of
St. Louis, Mo.; Josephine Martin, of Socorro, New Mexico; Anthony,
of Fort Wayne; Carrie Sigl, of Rochester, N. Y., and Theodore L.,in
business in Fort Wayne. Anthony Lintz was for years in the boot and
shoe business in Fort Wayne. In about 1865 he went to Europe on a
tour for pleasure and health, and remained nine months. Upon his re-
turn, and while in New York city, he met with an accident in which his
leg was broken, and his death occurred in that city on February 6,
1866. His remains were interred at Indianapolis. For five weeks be-
fore his death his wife was with him in New York city. He was a
member of the Cathedral Catholic church of Fort Wayne. In about
1859 tne f amn y removed from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis, and contin-
ued to live there until 1867, when they returned to Fort Wayne. Mrs.
Lintz is among the oldest citizens in point of residence at Fort Wayne,
and in December, 1889, she will have been here for fifty-five years.
She is a member of the Cathedral congregation. She and husband
gave all the black walnut lumber for the pews of the first church, and
he was one of ten who bought and donated the land upon which the
Cathedral now stands. Before the erection of a Catholic church in
Fort Wayne, services were held in Mr. Lintz's residence. In the fall of
1884 Theodore L. Lintz established the China Bazar at No. 12 E.
Columbia street.
Samuel C. Freeman (deceased), one of the early settlers of Fort
Wayne, was born at Williamstown, N. Y., December 6, 181 2, son of
Samuel and Sarah (Hoffman) Freeman. At his native place he was
married in 183 1, to Mary A. Taylor, born in Connecticut in 1810, to
William and Electa Hale Ta} T lor. In 1S36 Mr. Freeman and wife, and
her brother, Royal W. Taylor, came to Fort Wa}me, where Messrs. Tay-
lor and Freeman became known as successful and enterprising business
men. Mr. Freeman was engaged at different times in milling, merchandise,
and the foundry business. His first wife died in 1838, leaving two children.
One, M. Frances, who became the wife of Seth R. Green, now deceased,
is a practicing physician of the city. The other, Samuel P. Freeman,
died in 1873, at the age of thirty. In 1840 Mr. Freeman married Sarah
Bigelow, a native of Massachusetts, who formerly had charge of a suc-
cessful school for young ladies in this city. He died March 7, 1888,
his loss being deplored by the many citizens who had for so long had
with him pleasant associations. His widow survives in her eighty-first
year. Mrs. Green, daughter of Mr. Freeman, graduated from the
Women's Homeopathy college of Cleveland, in 1871, and has since then
been enjoying a very successful medical practice in Fort Wayne. She
THE CANAL ERA. 45
is the mother of four children: Freeman R., Malcolm A., M. Gertrude
and Seth F. Green.
One prominent among the pioneers of Fort Wayne is Jacob Foel-
linger, who settled here in the latter part of 1836. He was born in
Prussia, December 19, 1817, son of Jacob and Sophia (Goebel) Foel-
linger, the former of whom died when his son Jacob was fourteen years
old. The son found a home in the family of his uncle, George Foellinger,
for two years, engaged in farming and worked at the shoemaker's
trade. The latter vocation he followed in France, and at eighteen years
of age, April 2, 1836, he sailed for America on the sailing vessel
"Majestic," and was seventy-eight days at sea, landing at New York
August 19. Arriving at Fort Wayne he worked three years as a
journeyman and then set up a shop of his own and conducted it many
years, finally becoming a dealer in boots and shoes, to which he gave
his attention until 1880. Subsequently, owing to impaired hearing, he
has been leading a retired life. In 1872 he removed his family to the
beautiful home they now occupy on Fairfield avenue. His residence is
a large and handsome brick situated on a tract of ten acres which, owing
to its nearness to the city, is very valuable property. He is also the
owner of two valuable business blocks on Calhoun street, from the rent
of which he realizes a handsome income. He also has a residence
property on Harrison street. He possessed nothing whatever when he
came to America and his present prosperity speaks creditably of his
business ability. Mr. Foellinger was married May 30, 1840, to Margaret
Kiefer, a native of Prussia, born March 17, 1S18, the daughter of Chris-
tian and Barbara Kiefer, with whom she came to America in 1837.
Mr. and Mrs. Foellinger have had ten children: Elizabeth, Frederick,
Jacob, Christian, Martin, Augusta, Julia, Adolph, Louis and Margarita,
of whom Jacob, Martin, Adolph and Louis are living. Mr. and Mrs.
Foellinger are members of Emanuel's German Lutheran church. He
has been a life-long democrat, and has served as a member of the
city council two years.
Kilian Baker, a prominent manufacturer of lumber, is one of a fam-
ily which were among the pioneers of Fort Wayne. He was born to
George and Catherine (Baschinger) Baker, in Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger-
many, December 15, 1830, and five years later the family, including
eight children, emigrated, and after landing at New York went to Pitts-
burgh. In the following year, 1836, the father came to Allen county
and entered a piece of land in Cedar Creek township, and removed his
family in the spring of 1838 to Fort Wayne, then a town of about 400
inhabitants. He worked at the wagon-maker's trade until 1848, when
he erected a saw-mill and began the manufacture of lumber. In this he
was associated with his sons, John, Jacob, Henry and Kilian. Two
years later the father and John sold the mill to the other brothers.
Henry retired in 1867 and Jacob in 1878, leaving Kilian the sole proprietor.
This mill, founded by his father, he continues to operate. The mother
died in 1850, and the father in 1S70. Kilian Baker was educated in the
46 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Catholic schools. He has grown up with the city, and is possessed of
many valuable historical reminiscences. His life has been devoted to
business, and in it he has achieved a high standing in the community.*
Mr. Baker was married in 1859, to Annie Daugherty, who was born at
Areola, Allen county, in 1840, of Irish parents, and they have had
eleven children, of whom nine survive. He and wife are members of
the Catholic church.
John Baker, an old citizen of Fort Wayne, was born in Hesse-Darm-
stadt, Germany, in 181 7, and came to America in 1835 and to Fort
Wayne in 1838. He is the son of George and Catherine (Baschinger)
Baker, both natives of Germany. The father was one of the early
blacksmiths of Fort Wayne, and his son worked with him, the latter
doing the wood-work. Later he was engaged in a saw-mill enterprise
with his father and brothers, Jacob, Henry and Kilian, but after two
years at that business he sold out and began the manufacture of trucks
and delivery wagons. He was very successful and built up a large busi-
ness which he conducted until 1883, when he retired and was succeeded
by his son, B. H. Baker. In November, 1841, he was married to Mary
Fauth, who was born in Baltimore in 1826, and came to Fort Wayne in
November, 1840. To their union, five daughters and three sons have
been born. Both Mr. and Mrs. Baker are members of the Catholic
church, and are among the most highly respected of Fort Wayne's old
citizens.
B. H. Baker, son of the above, is a prominent young manufacturer,
being extensively engaged in the production of carriages, trucks and
express wagons at Nos. 16 and 18, Lafayette street. He was born in
this city in 1856. Mr. Baker was given a liberal education in the Catho-
lic schools, and then entered the factory with his father, and succeeded
in 18S3, to the business which he is now successfully conducting. He is
a member of the Catholic church.
James H. Robinson, born near Morristown, N. J., January 31, 1802,
died at Fort Wayne, May 2, 1878, was one of the conspicuous figures
in that period of the history of Fort Wayne covered by his residence
here. He was a lineal descendant of Rev. John Robinson, the pastor
of the pilgrims, and his family had- resided in New Jersey for more
than a century. At sixteen years of age he went to Newark, and when
still a young man became a partner of Caleb B. Shipman in the whole-
sale boot, shoe and leather trade. The firm of Shipman, Robinson &
Co., was one of the most important in the country, and its very large south-
ern trade was attended to in person by Mr. Robinson. He retired from
business at the age of thirty-five, with a handsome fortune, and built
him a residence at Newark afterward occupied by Gov. Marcus L.
Ward. In the panic of 1837, however, he lost most of his possessions,
and then he engaged in the wholesale dry goods trade at New York.
Removing to Fort Wayne in 1843, he purchased the tan-yards at the
head of Columbia street, at the site of the Robinson house. After man-
aging that property for several years he engaged in the boot and shoe
THE CANAL ERA. 47
trade, erecting the large buildings for that purpose which have subse-
quently been converted into a hotel. He was the pioneer wholesale
merchant of Fort Wayne and carried on a large and profitable trade
until 1868, when he retired from business. In 1872 the buildings were
refitted for hotel use, becoming the most popular hotel in the city, and
of this establishment Mr. Robinson had personal charge two years be-
fore his death. Mr. Robinson took an active interest in politics, first as
a whig and then as a republican. He represented Newark in the New
Jersey legislature in 1840 and 1842, and was the whig leader, enjoying
the personal frienship of such men as Governor Pennington and Theo-
dore Frelinghuysen. Further political honors he never sought, though
repeatedly asked to become a candidate for mayor of Fort Wayne. He
was a leading member of the Presbyterian church, and was a member
of the First church, then during the pastorate of Rev. Charles Brechen,
of the Second church, subsequently returning to the First church. He
was in bearing a dignified gentleman of the old school, in character
upright, pure and strong but unobtrusive. He was married in 1822,
to Mary Crane, of Newark, who died in 1835, m Georgia. Their four
children all died in childhood. In the spring of 1837 he was married to
Mary C, daughter of Hon. Obadiah Meeker, of New Jersey, and they
had two children: James H., jr., of Chicago, and Henry H., of this city.
Among the old residents should be mentioned Claude F. Eme. He
came to Allen county with his parents, who settled in St. Joseph town-
ship in June, 1844, and has been a resident ever since. He was born
in France, July 8, 1831, son of John H. and Claude Frances (Cotes)
Eme, who were born in France, the father in 1808, the mother in 1813,
and now. live in Fort Wayne. Two of their children are living, Claude
F. being the elder. He spent his youth on the farm, receiving a com-
mon school education, and in 185 1-2 was employed for two seasons on
the " state boat," on the canal. He was then employed for a year and
a half with A. H. Carier, and afterward lor fourteen years with H. R.
Schwegman in the dry goods business. In January, 1870, he formed a
partnership with Henry Rohs and Frederick Reinking in the dry goods
trade, and this firm continued until 1882, when the death of Mr. Rein-
king occurred, when it was succeeded by the firm of Rohs & Eme,
which did business until 1888, when Mr. Eme permanently retired from
mercantile pursuits, in which he was successful and prosperous. He
was married in 1856 to Adele Duval, a native of France, born in 1836,
daughter of Nicholas and Catherine (Bastien) Duval. Her father
came to this county in 1844 and died in 1849. They have three chil-
dren: Julius J., Josephine and Joseph F. Mr. and Mrs. Eme are mem-
bers of the Catholic church, and he is in politics a democrat.
Calvin Anderson, a venerable and honored citizen of the city, has
been a witness of its growth and a participant in its commercial enter-
prises for the past forty-three years. He was born at Manchester, Ben-
nington county, Vt., July 3, 1803, son of Andrew and Sarah (Sexton)
Anderson, natives of the Green Mountain state. The father was born
48 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
in 1760, and died in 1816; the mother was born in 1769, and died in Ohio
in 1837. Of their six children, Mr. Anderson is the only one living
now. At the age of twelve he came to Ohio with his parents, and
remained on the farm until he was twenty-one, when he embarked in the
hotel business, which he followed for thirty years. Nine years of that
period was spent in Fort Wayne, whither he came in 1846. In 1855 he
opened a grocery and provision store, which he conducted successful^
for twelve years, and then retired from business life. He was a pioneer
in the settlement of Ohio, and also one of the earlv settlers of this city.
He was married April 13, 1828, to Rebecca Lybarger, born in Penn-
sylvania, June 26, 1803, still the faithful companion of his life. The} r
are the oldest couple in the city, and are highly honored and esteemed.
They have six children: Laura Ann Lvdia, Sarah Ann, Mary Eliza,
Theresa, Calvin A. and Eli G. Mr. Anderson is a member of the First
Presbyterian church. He cast his first presidential vote for John Quincy
Adams in 1824, voted for Gen. W. H. Harrison in 1836 and 1840, and
has been a republican since the organization of the party.
Christian Tresselt, proprietor of the City Mills, was born in Thurin-
gia, Germany, September 3, 1823. His father, August Ludwig Tresselt,
an artist by profession, was born in 1776, and died in Germany in 183S.
His wife, Hannah Machold, died in her native land about 1828. Of the
eight children of these parents, three survive: Doretha, Benjamin Will-
iam and Christian. Mr. Tresselt was educated in Germany at the com-
mon schools, and in 1838 engaged in mercantile pursuits at Gross
Brietenbach, at which he was engaged for seven years. In 1845 he
emigrated to the United States, and after his arrival at New York, re-
maining there fifteen months, clerked in a dry goods store. His resi-
dence at Fort Wayne began in 1846, and for four years he was
employed as a clerk in the store of Hill, Wilson & Company, afterward,
for one season, running a freight boat on the canal. In the fall of 1850
he was a clerk in the City Mill, and from 185 1 to 1854 was m the dry
goods business with George Wilson as a partner. Then, after one
year as a partner of his brother-in-law, H. R. Schwegman, he returned
to the City Mills. In 1866 he was engaged with Siemon Brothers, and
four years later became a member of the firm of Hoagland, Tresselt
& Co., proprietors of the City Mills. Mr. Hoagland died in 1884, and
since then Mr. Tresselt has been sole proprietor, the firm now being
known as C. Tresselt & Sons. The mill which they operate was estab-
lished in 1843. Mr. Tresselt was married in 1854 to Elizabeth Siemon,
who was born in Prussia in 1829 and came to Fort Wayne in 1853.
They have three children: Oscar W., born in 1858; Herman C, born
in 1859, and Frederick G., born in 1866. Mr. Tresselt is in politics a
democrat, and he is a member of the Lutheran church. His long resi-
dence in the city, and worth as a man and honorable in business life, have
made him a prominent and respected citizen. He was one of the city
commissioners from 1872 to 1885, in which year he was elected to the
city council and served for two years.
THE CANAL ERA. 49
A well known early business man of Fort Wayne, Christian Schiefer,.
is now at the head of a successful boot and shoe house of the city, that
of Christian Schiefer & Son, of No. 8 East Columbia street. The senior
member of this firm, Christian Schiefer, was born at Hamburg, Ger-
many, in 1829. In 1846 he came to America, and going directly to
Toledo, came up the old canal to Fort Wayne. He had learned shoe-
making in the old country, and as soon as he reached Fort Wayne he;
began work at his trade. In 1854, he formed a partnership with E.
Vordermark, in the boot and shoe business, and they were associated
for seven and a half years. After that he was in partnership with one
Hood, for about one year, and since then managed the business alone
until 1 88 1, when his son-in-law was admitted to the business. Mr.
Schiefer was married in 1851, to Elizabeth Harbecker, who was born
in Lancaster county, Penn. To them two children have been born, of
whom two are living: William D. Schiefer, ex-sheriff of Allen county,
now in the boot and shoe business on Calhoun street, and Lizzie, the
wife of Herman H. Hartwig. Mr. Schiefer is a member of the Luth-
eran church, and is a Master Mason. Mr. Hartwig, above named, was
born in New York city, December 17, 1855. In that city he was reared
and educated in the Lutheran and public schools, and also in commercial
college. In 1875 he engaged in the window glass trade in New York
city. In 1877, he was married to Lizzie Schiefer, and in 1881 he
removed to Fort Wayne, and entered the firm of Schiefer & Co. He
is a member of St. Paul's Lutheran church, in which connection he is a
trustee of the church and treasurer of the building committee. To his
marriage four children have been born.
Moritz Axt, one of the prominent pioneers of Fort Wayne, came to
the town when it was in its struggling infancy, and he has witnessed its
magnificant growth, and not a little by his industry and good citizenship,
aided in the growth of the city. Mr. Axt is a native of Germany, and
was born January 29, 1811. In 1847 he immigrated to the new world,
and in the same year made his home in this city, from which he has not
removed. His life occupation has been the carpenter's trade in which
he was a skillful and expert workman. He is an esteemed, member of
St. Paul's Lutheran clurch. Mr. Axt was married July 12, 1848, to
Christena Brackenridge, and their union has given them eight children::
William, Henry, Catherine, Charles, Christena, August, Sophia and
Moritz, the last two of whom are deceased.
Joseph Singmaster, a venerable citizen of Fort Wayne, was born irt
Bucks county, Penn., October 2, 1804. His parents, Jacob and Susan
Singmaster, were both natives of Pennsylvania. He was reared to man-
hood in his native county, and in youth learned the tanner's trade.
About 1S48 he came to Fort Wayne, and worked awhile at his trade,
after which for twenty-five years he was employed in the Pittsburgh
shops. For the past thirty years he has acted as agent for the Great
American Tea Company of New York. Though now eighty-five
years of age he still acts in that capacity, and transacts business with as
IV
50 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
much accuracy as he did twenty-five or thirty-years ago. Mr. Sing-
master was married in early manhood to Catharine Stager, who died in
September, 1880. He has living three children: Catharine E., Sarah M.
and Joseph M. Six others all deceased. Mr. Singmaster is a member
of the English Lutheran church, and in politics is a democrat, having
cast his first vote for Andrew Jackson. He was very fond of hunting
in the early days and frequently indulged in that sport. His memory is
still good and his recollections of early times are interesting and varied.
A member of the early German families of Fort Wayne, Frederick
Becker, now a well-known citizen, is a native of Fort Wayne, born
November 4, 1849, son of Frederick and Margaret Becker, both of
whom were natives of Germany. They were married in that country in
1847, and coming to America in 1848, located at Fort Wayne, where
the father, who by trade was a blacksmith, died in 1882. The mother
is still living. Frederick Becker learned the blacksmith trade with his
father very early in life, and the pursuit of it has, thus far, received his
entire attention. He makes a specialty of shorseshoeing and for a
great man) 7 years past has done an exclusive business of that kind. He
erected his present shop in 1S83. It is a splendid brick building at 13
East Washington street, and is an establishment which does credit to the
city. Mr. Becker is a member of the German Lutheran church, and is
a democrat in politics. The firm name now is Frederick Becker & Bro.
Henry Volland, one of the prominent millers of northern Indiana, has
devoted more than forty years to that business, and has been a resident
of Fort Wayne for the period named. In 1847 he came to America and
settled in Ohio, coming thence to Fort Wayne on foot in 1849. The
two previous years he had been alternating his time between work in
a mill and labor upon the farm. Reaching this city he found employ-
ment in the city mills for three years, after which he was for nine years
engaged in Judge Hanna's flouring mill on the Maumee river. Prior to
the war he purchased an interest in this property and held it for three
years, subsequently to that period being for fourteen years connected
with the mill of John Orff on West Main street. Then the firm of H.
Volland & Sons was formed, and for the last four years they have been
•doing an extensive business at No. 14 West Columbia street. Their
■mill is equipped in the best manner for the production of an excellent
grade of flour, etc., having the full roller process. Mr. Volland was
"born in Bavaria, January 21, 1827, son of John and Margaret (Shoulty)
Volland, who were born and passed their lives in that country. He
was married in 1851 to Isabella Billman, born in Ohio, October 4, 1835,
-of parents who came from Pennsylvania. She died in 1885, leaving six
children: Henry J., born 1857; Tillie, 1859; J onn 5 1861; William, 1863;
Mary, 1S65; Charles, 1871. The family are members of the Lutheran
church. Mr. Volland is in politics a democrat.
One of the prominent early manufacturers and worthy citizens of
Allen county, John C. Begue, now deceased, was born in Alsace, France,
April 11, 1827. When he was but three months old he lost his mother
THE CANAL ERA. 5 1
by death. In 1844, he accompanied his father and step-mother to
America. They landed at New Orleans, and settled about twenty miles
from Dayton, Ohio, on a farm. The son obtained employment with a
tanner, and worked at that trade four years, and afterward came to
Fort Wayne, in the fall of 1850. On November 23, 185 1, he married
Marie Beugnot, daughter of Francis and Collet Beugnot, natives of
France. She was born at Hautsonne, France, March 24, 1830, and
accompanied her parents to this country when she was thirteen years
old. Theystopped first in Stark county, Ohio, but in May, 1848, settled
in Jefferson township, Allen county. For some time after their marriage
Mr. Begue and wife resided in Fort Wayne, and then removed to Jefferson
township, where he worked as a cooper. In May, 1S54, they settled at
New Haven, where they resided about twenty-one years, Mr. Begue
giving his attention to coopering and the stave manufacture. He aided
in the building of the Maumee Valley Mills, and was one of the owners
of that property about two years. He helped build a stave • factory at
Antwerp, Ohio, and was connected with it three years. He was also
connected with the Indiana Stave campany, which had three factories at
New Haven, and one in Fort Wayne. In the fall of 1875, he removed
to Fort Wayne, and was engaged during the remainder of his life as a
contractor. He was prominent in politics as a democrat, and served two
terms as one of the commissioners of Allen county, from 1869 to 1874.
In the fall of 1874 ^ e ma de a visit to France for the benefit of his health,
and remained several months. He died October 2, 1880. Of the eight
children of Mr. Begue, only two are living, Mrs. Alice Schoenbein and
Mrs. Amelia Baker. The former, who is also a widow, resides with
Mrs. Begue at 164 East Wayne street. Mrs. Begue is a member of the
Catholic church, as was her husband.
Anthony Gocke, an old citizen of Fort Wayne, was born in Ger-
many, November 3, 1815. In 1851 he emigrated to America, landing
at New Orleans, January 25. He came directly to Fort Wayne where
he has since resided. Before coming to America his occupation was
chiefly that of a coal miner. During thirty years of his residence in
Fort Wayne he occupied a position in the wholesale grocery establish-
ment, formerly owned by Barney Trentman and now by his son A. C.
Trentman. Mr. Gocke was married in February, 1856, to Elizabeth
Rensman, a native of Germany, who came to America at seventeen
years of age. They have had eight children: Frank, Anna, Henry,
Bernard, Louis H., Theresa, August and Clara, two of whom, Bernard
and Theresa, are dead. Mrs. Gocke died January 15, 1875. Mr.
Gocke is a member of the Catholic church.
Louis H. Gocke, above named, is occupied as book-keeper for A. C.
Trentman. He was born at Fort Wayne, July 20, 1863. November 8,
1887, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Grimme, by whom he is the
father of one child, Edward H., born August 10, 1888. Mr. Gocke
and wife are members of the Catholic church, and he is a member of
the Catholic Knights of America.
52 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Charles Auger, prominent among the citizens of Fort Wayne, of
French nativity, has resided in the city since 1853.. He has witnessed
the great development of his adopted town, and throughout his life has
been honored by his fellow citizens. He was one of the first to engage
in business as a florist in this city, and has had an extensive business,
owning as many as six green houses at one time. Having prosered in
his affairs and grown advanced in years, he has retired and turned over
his business to his son, Louis B. Auger, who continues it successfully.
Charles Auger was born in France, March 4, 1822, the son of John B.
and Marie C. Auger. He came to America in 1850, and at first spent
two years in New York city. He was married November 25, 1850, to
Catherine Thorpe, a native of England, daughter of William and Ann
Thorpe, also of that country, but of French descent. Mr. and Mrs.
Auger have had two children, Louis B. and Charles W., who died at
the age of eleven years and eight months. Mrs. Auger is a member of
the Episcopal church. Mr. Auger has made three trips to his native
country, and he and wife visited the Paris exposition in the summer
of 1889.
John M. Riedmiller, a prominent citizen of Fort Wayne, now deceased,
was born in Asbach, O. P., Crailsheim, Koenigreich, Wurtemberg, Ger-
many, on March 14, 1836. He emigrated to America in 1S53, and came
at once to Fort Wayne. He was a shoemaker by trade, and was a
prominent and influential citizen until his death, which occurred August
19, 1885. For three terms he was a member of the common council.
He was prosperous in business and left his family in good circumstances.
Mr. Reidmiller was married May 5, 1857, to Catherine Wolf, who was
born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, December 24, 1839, and came with
her parents to America in 1852. She is the daughter of William Wolf,
an early citizen of Fort Wayne. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ried-
miller three children were born, as follows: Julia Eliza, born May 15,
1859, now t ^ ie w ^ e °^ F re d Rippe, a liveryman of Fort Wayne; Charles
John, born October 3, 1863, now in business in Fort Wayne; John M., jr.,
born August 7, 1866, engaged in the bottling business, and a well-known
business man of the city. Mr. Riedmiller was, and all the family are,
members of St. John's Lutheran church.
John W. McQuiston is one of the early settlers of Allen county, who
has done well financially by bringing shrewd business qualifications to
bear upon the early advantages, and by continuous and intelligent appli-
cation through life has gained a wide fund of information, which well
stands instead of the educational advantages now so abundant, but then
infrequent. His father, John McQuiston, was born in Westmoreland
county, Penn., in 1782, and married Jane McDaniel, who was born in
York county, Penn., in 1789. Both were children of revolutionary
soldiers, who held rank as officers. They removed to Allen county in
1837, settled in Perry township, and cleared out a farm. The father
served as one of Allen county's early commissioners. He died at his
home in 1877, having survived his wife two years. John W., the oldest
THE CANAL ERA. 53
of their eight children, was born in Westmoreland county, Penn., June
27, 1812. He did his share of the pioneer work, and continued farming
until 1887, when he removed to the city. In politics he is a democrat.
He was married November 16, 1836, to Eliza Rodgers, born Septem-
ber 16, 1 8 16, in West Virginia, and they have had thirteen children, of
whom eight are living : Jane, William Henry, Wilson, Allen Perry, Ben-
jamin, Edward L., Charles and Franklin. Mrs. McQuiston is a member
of the Presbyterian church.
William Mcintosh was born in Adams township, November 28,
1 83 1. His father, John Mcintosh, one of the earliest of the pioneers of
Allen county, was born in County Derry, Ireland, and came to America
just after the close of the war of 1812. After spending a few years in
Pennsylvania and Ohio, he came to Allen county in 1823, and entered
land in Adams township. In 1827 he was married to Ruth, daughter
of Samuel Brown, and this was the first marriage that occurred in
Adams township. Mrs. Ruth Mcintosh died when her son William was
but three years old, and a few years later Mr. Mcintosh married Mrs.
Olive Young, who died in September, 1858. John Mcintosh spent all
the rest of his life in Adams township, his occupation being that of a
farmer. He died in December, 1859. William W. lived in childhood
on the old homestead where he was born, and followed farming there
until December, 1888, when he and wife removed to Fort Wayne. He
was married July 4, 1859, to Emily A., daughter of Peter L. and Han-
nah G. (Kenworthy) Carrier, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter
of England. Mrs. Mcintosh was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, Feb-
ruary 16, 1843. They have had eight children: Grace M., Jessie B.,
Elmer E., Alice and Helen (twins), and Lila R. and Lulu A.
(twins), and Archie W., all living except Grace M., who died aged six-
teen months. Mr. Mcintosh is a member of the I. O. O. F., New
Haven lodge, No. 253, and in politics is a republican. He is an honora-
ble, upright man and he and wife are highly respected.
Daniel Nestel, a worthy and honored pioneer citizen of Fort Wayne,
was born in Carlsbronn, Prussia, January 31, 1818, the son of Daniel
and Elizabeth (Klein) Nestel. He attended school until he was four-
teen, devoting his attention during the last year to the study of veterin-
ary surgery. During six years of his youth he was employed in a grist
mill, filling the position of superintendent during the last two. June 1,
1840, he started for America, on the sailing vessel Cotton Planter, com-
manded by Capt. Harley, and reached New York City August 7, after
a voyage of forty-seven days. His entire capital when he landed was
but eight cents and the first meal he ate in America was earned before it
was eaten. He arrived at Fort Wayne on August 27th, having walked
a good portion of the way. He had a companion who had started with
him from Germany, Fred. Foellinger. When within thirty miles of
Fort Wayne thev camped for the night in the woods, after having
walked all day long with no food but green walnuts. The wolves in
the surrounding forest prowled about them and not knowing what the
54 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
result might be, Mr. Nestel took occasion to carve upon a tree near by
the following inscription : " D. Nestel and Fred. Foellinger, died from
hunger and eaten up by wolves." Here he was first employed as a day
laborer but soon began to learn the blacksmith trade, and setting up a
shop of his own he worked at that trade about twenty-six years. While
so engaged he worked sixteen hours a day for more than fifteen years.
Mr. Nestel was married June 4, 1844, to Henrietta, daughter of Adam
Goebel, who located in Preble township, Adams county, Ind., in 1835.
Mrs. Nestel was born in Germany, about 1821. Mr. and Mrs. Nestel
have had six children : Henrietta, Charles W., Daniel, Charlotte, Eliza
S. and Oscar W., of whom Charles W. and Eliza S. are familiarly
known to the world as Commodore Foote and Fairy Queen, and though
perfectly developed, weigh respectively but forty and thirty-five pounds.
They are highly educated in different languages and have traveled
throughout the civilized world, appearing before all the royal personages
of Europe. Mr. Nestel traveled with them for eighteen years, visiting
all the larger cities in the eastern, western, northern and middle states,
and also Canada. For six years after this he was engaged in the dry
goods business in Fort Wayne. For the past three years he has owned
and conducted the Broadway nursery. In politics he is a staunch repub-
lican. He has been a member of the city council two terms. He is
one of the city's old citizens, is extensively known and very highly
respected. Mr. Nestel, in his extensive travels, had an opportunity to
witness the progress of American cities and this excited in him greater
interest than anything else. He has for several years past, given some
time to the real estate business, besides attending to his nursery. The
Commodore and Fairy Queen (Charles and Eliza) have just returned
from their second visit to Europe.
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT.
Few cities are blessed with railroads in number and excellence equal
to those which center in Fort Wayne, and have made of this inland city
a commercial place of the first class, a distributing point for freight and
passengers second only to the very largest of American cities.
It is fortunate that its location is on the fort} r -first parallel of latitude.
On the same parallel New York city is situated and Chicago and Omaha
are not far from it, accordingly. Fort Wayne lies directly on the high-
way which commerce has established between the metropolis by the
Atlantic and the great western cities with which it interchanges so much
of its vast business. Accordingly it is not strange that three great
trunk lines lead from Fort Wayne to New York city with two to
Chicago and that another trunk line now in course of construction will
connect the lakes with the city by the sea through this bustling place.
The fact that six railways enter Fort Wayne and provide easy commu-
nication in ten different directions is of the highest importance to the
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 55
manufacturing and commercial interests of the city. New York, Phil-
adelphia, Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Grand Rapids, Chicago, St. Louis,
Indianapolis, Detroit, Louisville, Cincinnati and many other cities are
reached without change of cars and generally by two or more through
routes.
The fact that the city has the advantage of railway competition
has greatly contributed to cheapen freight rates from eastern trade
centers and thus enhance the profits and strengthen the business of the
wholesale merchant, who can secure his supplies at as low cost as though
he resided at Chicago or Cleveland, Indianapolis or Detroit.
The railroads which enter or pass through this city are the Pitts-
burgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railway company, operated by the
Pennsylvania, the Wabash, the Grand Rapids & Indiana, the Fort
Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville, the Cincinnati, Richmond & Fort
Wayne, the New York, Chicago, St. Louis ("Nickle Plate"), and the
Fort Wayne & Jackson a branch of the Lake Shore.
Within a few miles of the city these roads intersect other lines which
thus become almost as intimate and direct a portion of the general sys-
tem. For example, the Chicago & Atlantic, the western feeder of the
Erie system, is crossed by the Wabash at Huntington and by the Muncie
at Kingsland; the Baltimore & Ohio is crossed by the Wabash at
Defiance, by the Lake Shore at Auburn, and by the G. R. & I. R. R.
at A villa; the " Clover Leaf" is crossed by the Muncie at Bluffton and
by the G. R. & I. R. R. at Decatur; the Lake Shore & Michigan
Southern is intersected by the Fort Wayne branch at Auburn, and by
the G. R. & I. R. R. at Kendallville. All of these points are within a
few miles from the city and the lines there met with regularly contribute
to Fort Wayne's commercial prosperity.
The regular time for fast freight shipments between New York,
Philadelphia and Baltimore and Fort Wayne has recently been reduced
to seventy-two hours, and in some instances of special shipment even
below this low figure. Between Boston and Fort Wayne the time is
five days; between Fort Wayne and Cincinnati and Chicago fifteen
hours, while in the fruit and oyster seasons special trains are run through
the city on the schedule of the fastest passenger trains, thus supplying
Fort Wayne with the fish of the sea and the fruits of the orchard of
delightful flavor and freshness. An immense trade in oysters and fruits
has been developed here in consequence of the unusual excellence and
cheapness of these staple luxuries.
The Pittsburgh Fort Wayne & Chicago railway is the result of the
consolidation, effected in 1857, of the Ohio & Pennsylvania, the Ohio &
Indiana, and the Fort Wayne & Chicago railways. The entire road
extending from Pittsburgh to Chicago, is 469 miles long and Fort Wayne
is the largest city on the line and is the seat of the principal erecting
and repair shops.
In January, 1850, the contract for building the entire length of the
Ohio & Indiana, from Crestline, Ohio, to Fort Wayne, a distance of 131
56 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
miles, was let to Samuel Hanna, Pliny Hoagland and William Mitchell,
for $740,000. This sum was to include all necessary buildings and
fixtures, but no iron or cars. In January, 1852, the entire contract was
sublet. The firm name of the contractors was William Mitchell & Co.
In the same year Allen Hamilton donated six acres for depot purposes,
the site of the south depot, and Samuel Hanna donated five acres, for
grounds for the company's shops. The railroad was completed to Fort
Wayne in the fall of 1855, about one year after the contracted time.
The track deflected from the present straight east and west line at a point
just west of Clay street and swung around to Lafayette street down which
it passed northward to the canal basin at the foot of Columbia street,
where a frame depot and a frame engine house were erected. These build-
ings remained until 1857, and marked the western terminus of the road. A
principal reason for extending the road to the canal was to secure a
profitable interchange of business, and this expectation was substantially
realized, the railroad at once receiving great consignments of east-bound
wheat from the canal boats. The depot and freight grounds embraced
all lands between the canal and the north side of Columbia street, and
extending from Barr to Lafayette street. The first locomotive seen in
Fort Wayne was brought from Toledo on a flat boat, under the charge
of Mr. R. W. Wohlfort. He landed it at the foot of Lafayette street
and for several years run it over the road. After its usefulness had ended,
by reason of greater perfection in machinery of that character, the old
locomotive was stored on the wharf in front of the company's warehouse
where it remained for a considerable time an object of much curiosity
and interest. It has long since been consigned to the scrap pile and the
melting pot. The original depot was a small frame affair, and the
original engine-house was a store which was converted to the purpose
by tearing out the gable end. This old building may still be seen near
the Globe flouring mill of J. B. Monning & Co. The first buildings on
the present site of the south depot were of frame and consisted of a pas-
senger depot and a freight house. The depot was removed to a point
west of Calhoun street, and was subsequently demolished. The freight
house was destroyed by fire. The present elegant buildings were in
part erected to take their places but both have been largely added to to
meet the wonderful increase of traffic.
4 Operating this railroad without through business or connecting lines,
and extending out into a sparsely settled country, with its agricultural,
manufacturing and commercial interests all undeveloped, was by no means
as satisfactory as the owners of the stock and bonds find it today.
In 1854 an d ^55 tne condition of the Ohio & Indiana, and the Fort
Wayne & Chicago roads was by no means prosperous. The first had
been imperfectly constructed; the ballast was largely of sand or a poor
quality of gravel, the bridges and culverts were flimsy wooden affairs,
and the imperfect drainage of the country subjected the track to fre-
quent and annoying washouts. The equipment of the road was woefully
lacking, and, worse than all, the financial credit had been exhausted by
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 57
three mortgages, all of which had been inadequate to complete and
equip the road. The Fort Wayne & Chicago road was at a stand-still,
the track had been laid for a distance of some fifteen miles west of Fort
Wayne, when no more money for construction work was available. In
this predicament a consolidation of the three lines leading from Pitts-
burgh to Chicago was proposed at a meeting of the presidents of the
Pennsylvania railroad, the Pennsylvania & Ohio, the Ohio & Indiana and
the Fort Wayne & Chicago roads. The object of this scheme was to
vitalize the stagnant corporations, and its principal champion was Hon.
Joseph K. Edgerton of this city, president of the Ohio & Indiana rail-
road. Mr. Edgerton's plan of consolidation was approved almost unan-
imously by the stockholders of the various corpprations, and the enlarged
possibilities that grew out of a great line of travel operated for through
business, became at once apparent, and the completion of the road to
Chicago was not much longer delayed.
The consolidation, called the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago
Railroad company, went into operation August i, 1856. George W.
Cass of the Ohio & Pennsylvania railroad, was chosen president, and
Mr. Edgerton, vice president. The first four Indiana directors were
Messrs. Samuel Hanna and J. K. Edgerton, of Fort Wayne, William
Williams of Warsaw, and A. L. Wheeler of Plymouth.
In 1857 the road became seriously involved financially, and German
bondholders applied to the United States court of the Northern District
of Ohio for the appointment of a receiver. Mr. Edgerton was appointed,
and at once the stockholders and bondholders in the Pennsylvania railroad,
who had been gradually acquiring stock in the promising western feeder,
opposed the appointment in the courts and Mr. Edgerton resigned, giv-
ing way to William B. Ogden, who appeared to be better able to har-
monize the conflicting interests. He introduced Samuel J. Tilden,
deceased, as a legal adviser, who devised a plan of reorganization. The
control of the road was finally acquired by the Pennsylvania railroad
company upon foreclosure sale to a purchasing committee of which Mr.
Tilden was one and was at once re-sold to a reorganizing committee.
The name of the road was changed to Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne& Chicago
railway. A lease to the Pennsylvania interests for 999 years followed
and the operation of this great line of travel has since been out of the
hands of its projectors and builders.
It is probably the best equipped trunk line for freight and passenger
business between Chicago and the seaboard, runs solid through trains
of royal magnificence and has established in Fort Wayne the finest
equipped car shops in the west.
The Pennsylvania company, lessees, now run sixteen passenger trains
daily in and out of Fort Wayne. The monthly ticket sales at the Union
passenger station are $13,000, about a third of which amount must be
accredited to the passenger business of the Grand Rapids & Indiana
railroad, which the Pennsylvania company also controls. Mr. C. D.
58 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Law, the enterprising superintendent of the western division resides
in this city.
Fort Wayne is the largest city and most important commercial point
on the Wabash main line between Toledo, Ohio, and St. Louis, Mo.
The company's principal engine shops are located here, and give employ-
ment to 550 skilled mechanics who are largely occupied in the building
of locomotives, famous for their speed and power. Ten passenger trains
arrive and depart from the Wabash depot daily, eight of them being
through trains. The affairs of this road have occupied the attention of
the courts for many years, and the history of Wabash litigations, arising
from the control of jay Gould, the extension of the system, the creation
of the $70,000,000 debt and the various receiverships, would greatly
exceed the compass of this chapter. Under the receivership of Gen.
John McNulta the road has been magnificently equipped, and its man-
agement by General Superintendent K. H. Wade and Assistant General
Superintendent G. W. Stevens, has been exceedingly satisfactory to its
patrons. The gross receipts at Fort Wayne station are about a million
and a quarter of dollars annually and the yearly tonnage is 500,000.
The last sale of the road was in June, 1889, under order of Judge
Gresham, when the entire property was purchased at foreclosure sale at
Chicago by the Wabash Western railway, whose lines are generally
west of the Mississippi. It is now operated from St. Louis, and O. D.
Ashley is president of the consolidated systems.
The Grand Rapids & Indiana railroad forms a north and south trunk
line of vast commercial importance. It extends from the Straits of Macki-
naw on the north, through t he center of Michigan and on through Fort
Wayne in an almost due southerly line 459 miles, to Richmond, Ind.,
where direct connection is made to Cincinnati. The road is noted for
its splendid passenger equipment, and in the summer runs through sleep-
ing cars from Cincinnati to Mackinaw. It is under the control of the
Pennsylvania company, and to that company at Fort Wayne it is a
principal feeder, delivering thousands of car-loads of pine collected from
the Michigan forests, tons of salf, millions of dollars worth of furniture
from the factories at Grand Rapids, solid train loads of ice from Cadillac,
besides Michigan-grown potatoes, apples and other fruit in great abund-
ance. The road is known among pleasure seekers as the " Fishing
Line," and during the summer months a constant stream of tourists seek
the cool, refreshing resorts in Northern Indiana and Michigan, by way
of this road. Mackinaw, Petoskey, Traverse City, Charlevoux, Michi-
gan and Rome city, Ind., are perhaps the best known of these places of
delightful remembrance of the summer tourist. The superintendent of
the southern division, extending from Grand Rapids, Mich., to Rich-
mond, Ind., is P. S. O'Rourke. His headquarters are in Fort Wayne.
Besides ranking very high as a wide-awake and pushing railway offi-
cial, he has taken a leading part in politics, and on the subject of a
reform of the tariff his views have been widely quoted for many
years past.
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 59
Like the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railway the construc-
tion of the " Rapids " was attended with great financial difficulties. In
1866, when Joseph K. Edgerton became president of the company, it
had for more than ten years held a grant of about two thirds of a
million acres of Michigan land, for the construction of a road from Grand
Rapids to Traverse Bay, and in 1864, congress had enlarged the grant
over 200,000 acres, and extended it to a line from Fort Wayne to
Traverse bay. But not a mile was built, nor a bar of iron bought, and
the land grant was subject to immediate forfeiture from January 1, 1866.
Samuel Hanna, during the three months preceding his death, had
initiated movements at Fort Wayne and elsewhere for aid to the road,
and his operations were taken up and continued by Mr. Edgerton, with
vigor. In December, 1866, iron was obtained to begin track laying on
the twenty miles between Grand Rapids and Cedar Springs, the first
section required to be built by the land grant, and at the following
session of the Michigan legislature, Mr. Edgerton memorialized it for an
extension of time. This prayer was granted, though with much oppo-
sition. The struggle for the restoration of the company's credit was a
long and arduous one, but was finally successful. The company is now
in excellent financial condition. Its improvements are of the most sub-
stantial character. Its shops at Grand Rapids are of great magnitude
and excellently equipped. The city of Fort Wayne is a large owner of
its stock, which the mayor votes at the annual meetings held at Grand
Rapids. J. H. P. Hughart is the president of the road and C. L. Lock-
wood the general passenger agent. Eight passenger trains are run
through Fort Wayne every day.
The railways heretofore mentioned, run their trains through the
south depot on Calhoun street, between Railroad street and Grand street.
The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago, and the Grand Rapids &
Indiana, occupy a large and finely appointed brick building, which con-
tains a hotel and an eating house, noted all along these lines of travel for
the excellence of the cuisine. On the opposite side of the tracks and facing
this depot is the passenger depot of the Wabash companv, a frame
building well adapted to the purposes intended.
There are two other depots and all are connected by street cars,
making passenger transfers cheap and expeditious. On the north side
of the city, in the Ninth ward, is the union depot used by the Fort
Wayne branch of the Lake Shore road and the Fort Wayne, Cincin-
nati & Louisville railway. These roads form a continuous north and
south line from Cincinnati and Louisville on the south to Jackson and
Saginaw, in Michigan, and the volume of business transacted is of such
rapid growth that the engine service has recently been very largely in-
creased. Both roads are laid with steel rail. The principal shops of
the Muncie road are at Fort Wayne and here its general superintendent,
W. W. Worthington, who has grown up with the company, has his
office.
The latest addition to Fort Wayne's railways is the New York,
60 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Chicago & St. Louis railway, or Nickel Plate, which was built for the
sole object of profitable sale to the Vanderbilts, which- object was finally
accomplished. It parallels the Lake Shore main line from Buffalo to
Chicago and so greatly threatened the business of the Lake Shore that
after Vanderbilt had denounced it as valueless property, " a string of
dirt leading from nowhere to no place," he paid, a good round price for
it. It has been of the greatest service to Fort Wayne in developing a
new country, famous for its hard wood timber and heretofore quite
difficult of access.
The Vanderbilt management of the " Nickel Plate " has not directed
much attention to its passenger business, though its two daily trains are
well patronized, but the road has been devoted almost exclusively to
the quick movement of freight, especially live stock, dressed meats and
perishable goods generally. Its direct line, from Chicago to Buffalo, with
easy grades, permits of such rapid transportation of these food products
that the Nickel Plate has long since been dubbed the " Meat Express "
line, and the claim is made for it that shipments from the great Chicago
packing houses reach New York by this line from ten to twenty hours
in advance of all other routes. It is common for the Nickel Plate to
haul six long meat trains east through Fort Wayne every night. The
road has a very handsome depot located in the heart of the wholesale
trade, and in this city are the offices of C. D. Gorham, superintendent
of the western division, of trainmaster S. K. Blair, engineer W. McK.
Pardee and other officials. The principal shops of the company are at
Stony Island, 111., where they were located to improve the value of real
estate owned by the road's speculative projectors. There is reason to
expect that these shops may be removed to Fort Wayne, their natural
place of location.
An ambitious project in railway building, which, when accomplished
will greatly benefit the city, is that of the American Midland company.
Its officers assert that its early financial embarrassments have been
arranged, and that before many months its trains will be running into
and probably through Fort Wayne. An aid of $200,000 has been voted
the company, conditioned upon the early construction of the line and the
erection and maintenance of its principal shops in this city. The bonds
of the company are said to have been placed, and a number of miles of
the road are now constructed and in operation. The scheme of the
projectors is for a trunk line between Jersev City on the east, to Omaha
on the west, crossing the Allegheny mountains at the Red Bank pass,
and traversing the country in almost an air-line, paralleling the forty-first
degree of latitude. It is planned to lead a branch from Fort Wayne to
Chicago, and another from -Fort Wayne to St. Louis, making this the
junction point of all branches. It is stated that terminal facilities and
wharfage of the greatest value have been secured at Jersey City and
Philadelphia, and by a traffic arrangement with the Reading and other
lines, access to both New York and Philadelphia may be had whenever
needed. An item of particular interest here is that an arrangement has
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 6 1
been entered into by the Midland company with a large eastern car
building concern by which mammoth car shops, which are expected to
give employment to at least 1,000 men, are to be located here.
Jesse L. Williams, who was for a period of more than forty years
prominent in the history of the public works of Indiana, Ohio, and the
whole great west, was born in Stokes county, N. C, May 6, 1807. His
parents, Jesse and Sarah T. Williams, members of the society of Friends,
removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and subsequently to Warren county,
and in 1819 to Wayne county, Ind. In his early youth he was a student
at the Lancaster seminary at Cincinnati for a short time. He early
selected the profession of civil engineer as his life work, being inspired
by the great schemes of canal improvement then popular. The Erie
canal was nearing completion, and the Miami and Erie canal from Cin-
cinnati to Maumee bay was about to be surveyed. x\t the age of sev-
enteen he accepted a minor position in the engineer corps on this work,
and served until the construction of the canal in the Miami valley. In
the spring of 1828 he was appointed by David S. Bates, then chief
engineer of Ohio, to make the final location of the Ohio canal from
Licking summit to Chillicothe, and to construct a division of that work.
In his twenty-fifth year he was appointed chief engineer *of the Wabash
& Erie canal, and two years later, in 1834, the surveys of all other canals
in Indiana were placed by the legislature in his hands. In 1836, under
an act for internal improvements he was appointed engineer-in-chief of
all the canal routes, to which duties were added those of chief engineer
of railroads and turnpikes in 1837, giving him supervision of 1,300
miles of public works. In the summer of 1841 he attended thirteen let-
tings of contracts, and he journeyed during those four months, on horse-
back, some 3,000 miles, the mental task of mastering the details of
construction being at the same time an equally gigantic effort. His
work was actively prosecuted until 1841, when the improvements were
suspended for want of funds. From March, 1840 until 1842 he was
also by appointment of the legislature, ex-officio a member of the board
of internal improvements and acting commissioner of the Indiana divis-
ion of the canal, including the management of the canal lands. In 1847
the Wabash & Erie canal, under the state debt act, passed into the con-
trol of a board of three trustees, two of whom were appointed by the
bondholders and one by the legislalure. The act required the appoint-
ment of a " chief engineer of known and established character for expe-
rience and integrity," and Mr. Williams was selected for this position in
June, 1847. This was held by him until the canal was sold by decree
of the United States district court in 1876. Prior to 1842 there were
many criticisms arising from political excitement, but a legislative com-
mittee appointed by the legislature in 1842, after making an exhaustive
examination of the management of state improvements, completely
exonerated- Mr. Williams, closing with the words, " every man has
his enemies who deserves them." In February, 1854, ne was
appointed chief engineer of the Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, which
62 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
he held until its consolidation in 1856 in the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne &
Chicago railroad. Of the last named company he became a trustee.
Mr. Williams was appointed by President Lincoln a government director
of the Union Pacific railroad in July, 1864, and held that place until the
Union and Central Pacifies met west of Salt Lake, in 1869, being com-
missioned by three successive presidents. He served on the committee
of location and construction, and made frequent tours of inspection
through the canyons and over the slopes of the Rocky Mountain ranges,
always insisting on the adoption of the lowest possible maximum grade.
He made frequent reports to the secretary of the interior, which were
communicated to congress and printed as public documents. In his re-
port of November 23, 1866, he described ten distinct routes, describing
briefly each proposed line. The lowering of the maximum grade was
his object. Congress, for want of preliminary surveys had fallen into
the grave error of authorizing by law, a maximum grade of 116 feet per
mile. But Mr. Williams, having ascertained that a maximum grade of
ninety feet per mile was possible, resisted the establishment of any
higher grade, which would limit the load of a train for the whole road.
This question was intimately associated with the cost of the road, in
which congress had also acted unadvisedly. Mr. Williams submitted a
report November 14, 1868, showing that the actual cash outlay for con-
structing and equipping the entire road of 1,110 miles would be
$38,824,821; while the cash means provided by the act of 1862, as a
subsidy, together with the company's first mortgage bonds, amounted to
$56,647,600, without including the value of the land grant. Mr. Will-
iams' report led to discussion, and the famous " credit mobilier " investi-
gation followed. January 19, 1869, Mr. Williams was appointed receiver
of the Grand Rapids & Indiana railroad company, and in October fol-
lowing he resigned his position as director of the Union Pacific, and
devoted his energies to the completion of the Grand Rapids road, open-
ing for transportation nearly 200 miles of that road. Mr. Williams was
married November 15, 1831, to Susan Creighton, daughter of Judge
William Creighton, of Chillicothe, Ohio, who was a representative in
congress from the Chillicothe district during the war of 181 2, and from
1828 to 1832.
Pliny Hoagland, who was prominently associated with canal, rail-
road and city improvement of the Maumee valley, began his professional
life as an engineer on the Sandy and Beaver canal, in the spring of
1835. I n I 838 he was engaged in the same capacity on the Ohio por-
tion of the Wabash & Erie canal, and remained so until the canal was
completed in 1843, when he was given charge of the work he had
been engaged upon, and of the Western Reserve and Maumee road.
In the fall of 1845 he removed to Fort Wayne, and thereafter took an
active part in all the schemes for improvement of the city and its com-
mercial avenues. When the Ohio & Pennsylvania road was partly con-
structed to Mansfield, and the company was hesitating whether to build
to Chicago or simply connect with Cincinnati, Mr. Hoagland urged upon
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 63
the projectors the probable advantages of a Chicago extension, and
writing to Hugh McCulloch regarding the situation, he urged that
movement of the citizens of Fort Wayne which secured the road. The
Indiana legislation in regard to this road was secured chiefly by Mr.
Hoagland's efforts, and when the corporation for connecting Crestline
and Fort Wayne with the Ohio & Indiana railroad was formed, Mr.
Hoagland, Judge Hanna and William Mitchell became contractors for
the whole line, except furnishing the iron, and taking the contract Janu-
ary 28, 1852, completed it November i, 1854. From that time Mr.
Hoagland held the position of director of the road, under its various
names, and subsequent to 1866 was a director of the Grand Rapids and
Indiana road. In 1856 he was elected to the lower house of the assem-
bly, and in 1S62 to the senate. His position as senator he resigned to
accept the presidency of the Fort Wayne branch of the bank of Indiana,
succeeding- Hugh McCulloch. When this concern became a national
bank he declined the presidency and became vice president. During
his service in the city council, beginning in 1865, the system of sewer-
age, which is hardly excelled in any city of the land, was begun at his
instance. Permanent street grades and Nicholson pavements were also
begun at that time. In the upbuilding of the schools, models of effi-
cienc}^, his influence was also strongly felt. His career as a public man
was most honorable, and was characterized by a degree of independence
and devotion to the public good, that is apparently becoming most rare.
This benefactor of the city died January, 1884.
Joseph K. Edgerton, who has been prominent in the railroad and
political history of Indiana, is the third son of Bela and Phebe (Ketchum)
Edgerton, and was born at Vergennes, Vt., February 16, 1818. His
maternal grandfather, Joseph Ketchum, was a merchant and ironmaster
at Plattsburg, N. Y., and died in New York, in September, 1794. He
is* of the fifth generation in direct descent from Richard Edgerton (or
Egerton, as the name is spelled in England), one of the band of English
Puritans, who, under the leadership of Maj. John Mason, the hero of
the Pequod war, removed from Saybrook to Mohican (afterward Nor-
wich, Conn.), and on the 6th of June, 1659, purchased from Uncas and
other sachems of the Mohican Indians, a tract of land nine miles square,
embracing the site of the city of Norwich, Conn. Another of the Eng-
lish settlers and proprietors was William Hyde, one of whose female
descendants, in 1744, married Elisha Edgerton, grandson of Richard.
The late Chancellor Walworth, of New York, who was a descendant of
this William Hyde, devoted the leisure of the later years of his life to
the compilation of a genealogy of the Hyde family. In a letter addressed
to the subject of this sketch, he wrote: "I suppose you have seen my
Hyde genealogy. I find, by the congressional dictionary you sent me,
that fifty-two senators or members of the house of representatives, were
either descendants of our ancestor, William Hyde, of Norwich, or mar-
ried wives who were descendants." Col. Elisha Edgerton represented
the town of Franklin in the legislature of Connecticut in 1803, and was
64 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
a member of the constitutional convention of that state in 1818. His
son, Bela Edgerton, born September 28, 1787, was graduated at Middle-
bury college, Vermont, in 1809; was a lawyer and magistrate in Clinton
county, N. Y., and in 1827, '28 and '29, represented that county in the
legislature. In 1S39, Bela Edgerton removed to Hicksville, Ohio, where
for many years he was engaged in farming. In the later years of his
life, he resided at Fort Wayne, Ind., in the family of his oldest son,
Alfred P. Edgerton, and died September 10, 1874. ^ e was a rnan °^
ability and fine social qualities. Joseph K. Edgerton was educated in
the common schools of Clinton county, and at the Plattsburg academy,
until his sixteenth year, when he became a law student in the office of
J J
William S wetland, of Plattsburg — "the great lawyer of northern New
York," as he was called by his cotemporaries. In 1835, Mr. Edgerton
sought employment in the city of New York, and became a student in
the law office of Dudley Selden and James Mowatt. He was admitted
to the bar of New York in 1839, and until 1844 practiced law in that
city, associated with George B. Kissam, under the firm name of Edger-
ton & Kissam. He was married in 1839 to Hannah Maria, youngest
daughter of William and Elizabeth (Chatterton) Spies, of New York.
In 1S43 Mr. Edgerton visited the west in the interests of a New York
client, and being favorably impressed with the country, he removed to
Fort Wayne and established an office here in 1844, occupying the office
of ex-Governor Samuel Bigger, with whom he formed a partnership in
the following year, which was terminated by the death of his partner in
1846. Mr. Edgerton soon established a profitable business as a land and
collection agent, and from July, 1850, to July, 1851, was associated in
practice with Charles Case. He was one of the first to interest himself
in the progress of the Ohio & Indiana and Fort Wayne & Chicago rail-
roads, and on his own account and on behalf of clients made large land
subscriptions, including large tracts in LaGrange county, owned by the
New York house of Grinnell, Minturn & Co. . Mr. Edgerton was made
a director of the Fort Wayne & Chicago road in 1854, an ^ m Novem-
ber, 1855, succeeded Mr. Hanna as president. He was elected director
of the Ohio & Indiana road in January, 1856. During the critical
period of the existence of these companies, Mr. Edgerton was promi-
nent in their affairs, proposed the consolidation which was effected and
the formation of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad com-
pany, and negotiated the preliminary contract for that purpose and the
final articles. He was the first vice president of the new company, until
his appointment as receiver in December, 1859. From 1857 he had
also been financial and transfer agent of the company with his office in
New York, and from February until December, 1859, was tne legal
adviser of the company with office at Fort Wayne. Owing to the oppo-
sition of the Pennsylvania company, which aimed to acquire the new
road, he resigned the receivership, and in March, i860, he was defeated
as a candidate for director, though supported by 37,000 shares. His
defeat in this connection was the end of the final struggle of the builders
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 65
of the road to preserve its independence. The reorganization and sale
that followed, at great expense, put the road forever out of the hands
of those who had struggled for its success in the early da} r s. In July,
1866, upon the solicitation of the Michigan directors, Mr. Edgerton
became president of the Grand Rapids & Indiana railroad company, on
the death of Samuel Hanna, and again had an arduous struggle to
encounter for the establishment of a great thoroughfare. In August,
187 1, after five years' service, Mr. Edgerton left the company on the
removal of its offices to Grand Rapids, being succeeded by William A.
Howard of Michigan. In the mean time, the land grant had been full}"
protected by the construction and putting in operation, under a contract
with the Continental Improvement company, of 200 miles of the road,
from Fort Wayne to Paris, Mich. In the leisure following the cessation
of his railroad duties, Mr. Edgerton, in the fall of 1871, crossed the
continent to San Francisco.
Mr. Edgerton's political career has also been a notable one. Prior
to i860, though until then never active in politics, he had been a whig,
and voted with the party up to 1853. In 1852, after the taking effect of
the new constitution making judges elective, he was an independent can-
didate for judge of the court of common pleas for the district of Allen
and Adams counties. Judge James W. Borden was the democratic
nominee and was elected, the district being strongly democratic. In
October, i860, Mr. Edgerton made his first political speech in Indiana
in favor of Stephen A. Douglas for president. The address was printed,
and with other publications from his pen, gave Mr. Edgerton prominence
as an advocate of the democratic doctrine of popular sovereignty, rep-
presented by Mr. Douglas. In August, 1862, Mr. Edgerton received
the democratic nomination for congress in the then tenth district of
Indiana, against William Mitchell, of Kendallville, the republican nomi-
nee, who had been elected in i860, by nearly 3,000 majority, and Mr.
Edgerton was elected by 436 majority. In the summer of 1863, Mr.
Edgerton visited Europe, but just before his departure published a letter
in the Indianapolis Sentinel, concerning the right to free discussion,
which was widely commented upon. It was called out by the military
order No. 9, of Gen. Milo S. Hascall, commanding the district of In-
diana, following military order No. 38, of Gen. Burnside. In the
XXXVIIIth congress, Mr. Edgerton was a member of the committee
on naval affairs, but for over two months of the first session was kept
from his seat by sickness from small-pox. During his term in congress,
he spoke in opposition to the republican measures of confiscation, the
constitutional amendment as to slavery, and on reconstruction, taking
conservative democratic ground. He was re-nominated for congress in
1864, against Joseph H. Defrees, of Goshen, but was defeated by 5S0
majority. Pending the canvass of 1864, and the enforcement of the
draft of that year, the state was greatly excited, and Mr. Edgerton was
invited to attend a meeting at Indianapolis, on the 12th of August, of
the democratic state central committee. He was requested to prepare
v
66 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
a brief address, in the name of the committee, and his draft, with some
modifications, was adopted, and the address published, which was made
an occasion by Gov. Morton, for a proclamation " To the people of
Indiana." Since engaging in railroad service in 1855, Mr. Edgerton has
never fully resumed the practice of his profession, although he has con-
tinued to be an active business man.. He is among the largest owners
of land in Allen county, but these for a long period proved more of a
burden than a profit. In 1866, he established the Woodburn lumber
and stave mills, on his property in the eastern part of Allen county, but
the mills were burned in 1867, involving a large loss. In 1871, he aided
in establishing the Fort Wayne steel plow works, and in 1875, became
sole owner, and so continues. This house manufactures the Fargo
harrow, the Pioneer plow and Osborn fanning mill, and is an extensive
establishment. In 1878, on its organization, he was made president of
the board of trustees of the Fort Wayne medical college, and is the
author of the law of Indiana, of 1879, to provide means for obtaining
subjects for scientific dissection. For many years, Mr. Edgerton has
been a member of the Vestry of Trinity Episcopal church.
Bernard O'Connor, prominent in railroad and telegraph history, was
born in Ireland in 18 17, and at the age of twelve years journeyed
alone to America. Joining an uncle, a Catholic priest at Lancaster, Pa.,
he resided with him for several years and was educated. About the
year 1835, he became a contractor for the construction of a portion of
the Susquehanna canal, and from that found his way into the then young
science of telegraphy, engaging in line construction. He is now the old-
est living telegraph builder in the United States. In 1845 he built the
telegraph line from Baltimore to Philadelphia, by Havre de Gras, and
Wilmington, which was the first telegraph line built by private enter-
prise, continuing the first line from Washington to Baltimore, built by
the government. Bernard O'Connor became the third operator in the
United States, and he was the first to use the ground as one-half of the
circuit, in opposition to the opinion of S. F. B. Morse, that such an
arrangement would be a failure. Soon afterward, he and Henry O'Riley
made important contracts for the construction of telegraph lines, and
from Buffalo, N. Y., put up lines to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Louisville,
Memphis, Vicksburg and New Orleans. His next important enterprise
was the building of the Charleston & New Orleans railroad, and this
was followed by the construction of the Keokuk & Des Moines railroad.
Obtaining extensive contracts for building levees on the Mississippi, he
was there engaged, and next in the construction of the Vandalia & Terre
Haute railroad, the St. Louis & Southeastern, and 105 miles of the
Houston & Texas Central. In early life he was married at Lancaster,
Penn., to Elizabeth McGonigle, and the completion of a half century of
happy married life was celebrated by them at their wedding aniversary,
October 23, 1888. To them were born five children, of whom four are
living. Mr. O'Connor and family made their home at Fort Wayne in
the fall of 1858, and they have since resided here. He retired in 1872
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 6$
from the occupation which had busied him for many years, and in which
he had been an important factor in the development of the country north
and south. In 1SS1 he engaged in the establishment of the City
National Bank at Dallas, Texas. Bernard S. O'Connor, son of the
above, now a prominent capitalist with interests in Fort Wayne and
Dallas, Texas, was born in Lancaster county, Penn., in 1842. He
removed with his parents to Illinois when eight years old, but returned
to Lancaster a year later. From 1852 to 1855 he resided at Dayton,
Ohio, and there attended school. He finished his education at St. Mary's
Landing, Mo., at a Catholic institution where his brothers also were
educated. During this time the family removed to Alton, 111., where
Charles died. In 1859 ne came to Fort Wayne, and learned the crafts of
machinist and marble cutter. But his father being then engaged in levee
work on the Mississippi, Bernard joined him and afterward was engaged
with his father in his enterprise. His brothers, John and James, subse-
quently joined them and the firm of O'Connor & Sons was formed. In
the banking business, John F. owns a controlling interest and James C.
is president. The latter, in 1873, went to Europe, where he was joined
the next year by Bernard S , and they made a trip through England,
Ireland and France. Mr. O'Connor, with an energetic spirit, has inter-
ested himself in various enterprises. He is a stockholder in the
Salamonie gas company, the Natural gas company of 1888, the Sum-
mit City soap company, the Gladstone land company, of Kansas City,
and has interests at Duluth, Minn. He is a member of the Cathedral
congregation. Mr. O'Connor was married November 4, 1878, to
Marietta Fox, of Mansfield, Ohio.
C. D. Law, superintendent of the western division of the Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, was born in Philadelphia, Novem-
ber 23, 1S44. Three years later his parents removed to Carlisle, Penn.,
where he was reared, and obtained his early education in the public
schools. He then entered the polytechnic institute at Philadelphia, and
graduated from the same in 1863. In the same year he enlisted in the
army of the Union, in Company G, Thirty-second Pennsylvania regi-
iment, and served from 1864 until 1866 with the United States engineer
corps, in the army of the Cumberland. At the close of this service
he began his railroad career with the engineer corps of the Philadelphia
& Trenton, now part of the united railroad of the New Jersey division
of the Pennsylvania road. Subsequently he was engaged with an engi-
neer corps in Connecticut, and in April, 1873, he was appointed civil
engineer of the western division on the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chi-
cago. At this time he became a citizen of Fort Wayne. In February,
1S80, he was given the position of roadmaster of the same division, and
on November 15, 1881, was appointed superintendent. In 1880 he
removed to Chicago, but returned in 18S6, and has since made Fort
Wayne his home. Mr. Law takes an active interest in political and fra-
ternity affairs. During the campaign of 1888 he served as president of
the local Harrison and Morton railroad campaign club. He was made a
6S VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Mason at Matteawan, Duchess county, N. Y., in 186S, of Beacon lodge,
•and has since attained eminence in the order, being past eminent com-
mander of Fort Wayne commander}*, No. 4, Knight Templars, and has
passed through the chairs of Wayne lodge, No. 25, and Fort Wayne
chapter, No. 19. Mr. Law was married in June, 1870, to Josephine
Clarkson, of New York city, and they have had three children, of whom
two survive.
Patrick S. O'Rourke, superintendent of the Grand Rapids & Indiana
railroad company, was born at Newark, N. J., September 25, 1S30.
His parents, Christopher and Ellen (Flannagan) O'Rourke, natives of
countv Kildare, Ireland, were married about 1823, and two years later,
came to the United States, and made their home in New Jersey. In
183S they removed to Ohio, and subsequently to Fort Wayne,
where thev died. Mr. O'Rourke's career, which is a notable
illustration of the opportunities for advancement which the development
of this country offers to talent and energy, however circumstances may
impede at the outset, first found employment on the farm, and
gained his early education in the country schools of Carroll county, Ohio.
Afterward, he was engaged on a construction train on a railroad,
beginning at the humblest point his long and distinguished career as a
railroad man. His executive ability and strength of character were
soon manifested, and in 1856 he was made conductor of a construction
•train, the next year freight conductor, three years later a passenger con-
ductor. He became master of transportation "in 1866, assistant superin-
tendent in 1871, and superintendent in 1872. He is now recognized as one
of the most successful railroad men of the west, thorough!}' acquainted
with all details, shrewd in conception of enterprises, and of undaunted
energy in execution. Mr. O'Rourke has found time also to devote con-
siderable attention to political affairs, and has given the great questions
of statesmanship thorough study. He stands high in the councils of the
democratic party. He is particularly devoted to the doctrine of tariff
reform, which he has ably advocated upon the platform and by the
publication of papers upon the subject. His devotion to party is strong
but more to what he believes the true principles of the organization than
to nominations, so that in 1S72, he supported O'Connor in preference
to Greeley, because of the latter's protection principles. He and family
are members of the Catholic church.
Samuel B. Sweet, a prominent railroad man of Indiana, would be
recorded well toward the top of the list, if such a one were made, of
-those popular men of the state whose place in the general esteem is
based upon worthy lives and solid traits of character. Perhaps the key
to his popularity and success is to be found in that generous devotion to
■(principle and stalwart resolution which led him, when a bov of sixteen,
to enlist in an Allen county company, organized for the defense of the
Union, and serve with it, Company C, of the Forty-fourth Indiana
regiment, through the active and dangerous duties of that command,
until the close of the war. The years of youth usually devoted to higher
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 69
education or business training he gave with hearty enthusiasm to the
nation; and his'cherished diploma is an honorable discharge, and his degree
that of a private in a gallant regiment, to the hearts of the survivors of
which no one of the comrades stands closer. Mr. Sweet's ancestors
came to America in 1636, and were leading people in the Massachusetts
Bay colony. In 1671, some of the family removed to Guilford county,
N. C, and subsequently to Tennessee, where, near Jonesboro, Francis
Sweet was born, July 28, 1806. In early youth he settled in western
Ohio, and was married December 13, 1827, to Abigail Hammond, who
was born in Abbeyvilie district, S. C, May 27, 1S10. She was the
daughter of Louis Hammond, born in South Carolina, May 20, 1785,
who served in the second South Carolina regiment in the war of 181 2,
and was killed in a battle near Washington, D. C, in 1813 Her mother
was Nancy Buffington, born in South Carolina, September 14, i79i,died
about 1856. Francis Sweet came to Allen county in 1835, and in 1836
brought his family by ox-team from Troy, Ohio, and settled in the west-
ern part of the county. He was a prominent pioneer, was one of the
first Masons in this part of the country, was a leading old line whig,
served twenty-five years as justice of the peace, and was postmaster at
the old Indian office of Taw-taw, two and a half miles north of the pres-
ent hamlet, Areola. His first wife died August 13, 1S65, and in 1867,.
he was married to Hannah, widow of John Peabody of Areola, Ind.
Francis Sweet died at Columbia city, March 25, 1884. In this worthy
pioneer family, Samuel B. Sweet was born, near Fort Wayne, March
25, 1845. He is the eighth of ten children born, four others of whom
are living: Nancy, born March 8, 1830; Stephen, April 24, 1834;
Joshua, February 7, 1836 and Rhoda, May 10, 1841. Mr. Sweet
attended the common schools, his first teacher being Edward Litchfield.
August 23, 1861, he enlisted in the union army, and was mustered out
September 14, 1865. At the battle of Shiloh, he was wounded while
serving as a color bearer, the flag of the regiment being repeatedly shot
down in the engagement. He also received wounds in the engagements
of Stone river and Chickamauga. His brothers, Lewis and Joshua,
were members of Company C, Eighty-eighth Indiana, and the former
lost a limb at the battle of Bentonville, N. C, and the latter was wounded
at Stone river. The former died at Edgerton, Ohio, in 1883: Joshua
now resides at Albion, Ind. In 1866, Mr. Sweet entered the employ-
ment of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific railroad company, and served
in various capacities, gradually advancing until in 1874, he was appointed
agent at Fort Wayne. In 1884, he was advanced to the position of
division freight agent, with headquarters at Peru. Three years later,
after a service of twenty-one years with the Wabash company, he
resigned the last named position to become assistant general freight
agent of the Lake Erie & Western railroad company, with his office at
Indianapolis. Mr. Sweet is in politics, a steadfast republican. As a
Knight Templar, he is prominent, having been grand commander in
1882. He became a Master Mason in 1868, Knight Templar in 1S70,
70 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Scottish Rite, 1882, and thirty-third degree, 1885. He was married Sep-
tember 19, 1867, to Amanda, daughter of Allen Pratt,' a pioneer of
Allen county, and they have two children, Frank E., born August 30,
1868; and Jessie M., born May 3, 1872.
Enoch Cox, one of the popular men of the city, and a prominent
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was born at Delphi,
Ind., December 4, 1842. His boyhood was spent upon a farm, with his
parents, and in 1859 ^ e entered Asbury (now Depauw) university,
where he took the classical course and graduated in 1864. After his
graduation he became connected with the ordnance corps of the United
States army, and served eight months, after which he was transferred to
the engineer corps, served with Col. W. E. Merrill, chief engineer of
the army of the Cumberland, and was engaged with Maj. Burroughs
in closing up the engineer depot of that army. Mr. Cox left the service
in May, 1867, and engaged in business in Lafayette, Ind., at which he
was occupied about two years. A subsequent period he spent at farm-
ing and with the Indianapolis, Delphi & Chicago railroad company.
In 1876 he went into the newspaper business at Delphi, and conducted
the Journal at that place until January 29, 1882, when he was ap-
pointed by superintendent C. D. Law as store-keeper of the western
division of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad company,
at Fort Wayne. This department has been reorganized and very effi-
ciently conducted by him. Mr. Cox is a member of the Delphi lodge,
No. 28, I. O. O. F., and in 1879 was elected grand master of the grand
lodge of Indiana. In 1881 he received the additional honor of election
as representative of Indiana grand lodge at the sovereign grand lodge,
at its session at Cincinnati. Mr. Cox was married June, 1870, to
Martha M. Jones, of Delphi, and fhey have three children.
Richard G. Thompson, passenger and ticket agent of the Wabash
railroad, at Fort Wayne, is a native of Iowa, born at Lyons, August 3,
i860. His father, Richard G. Thompson, sr., now residing in Michi-
gan, and following the business of contractor and builder, was born near
Harrisburg, Pa., May 4, 1825, and married Sarah Harris, who was
born in New York, April 29, 1830, the daughter of Judge Davis Har-
ris. Richard G. Thompson was educated at the Reading, Michigan,
high school, and began his railroad life in 1880, in the employment of
the Fort Wayne & Jackson railroad. He was first stationed at Water-
loo six months, and then removed to Fort Wayne. Until 1888 he was
in the service of that company, which in 1883, was merged into the great
L. S. & M. S. system and the Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville.
During this period he gained an enviable reputation for efficiency and
thorough knowledge of the multifarious duties of a railroad agent, and
in 1888, he was tendered the passenger and ticket agency of the
Wabash road, which he accepted May 1, and now holds. Though a
a young man, his thorough grasp of the work in which he is engaged,
and his business-like methods and affable manners, have put him rapidly
to the front in railroad circles. He is devoted to business, but never-
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 7 1
theless is well known throughout the community and highly esteemed.
Mr. Thompson is a member of the Scottish Rite in Masonry, and a mem-
ber of the Fort Wayne lodge of Perfection. His political alliance is
with the republican party.
R. B. Rossington, a native of Allen county, has attairted a prominent
place in railroad affairs, and is a deservedly popular and highly esteemed
gentleman. He was born eight miles north of the city, in 1853. His
parents, William and Julia Rossington, the former a native of Cork, Ire-
land, and the latter of Manchester, England, were married in England,
and emigrated in 1S44. After spending two years at Tarrytown, N. Y.,
they came in 1846 to Allen county, where the father died in 1879 anc ^
the mother in 1888. Mr. Rossington lived upon a farm until nine years
of age, when the family removed to Fort Wayne, and here he attended
school until thirteen years of age. Then seeking an occupation he
learned the trade of a hatter, but in 1872 took the first step in a career in
which he has been notably successful, by entering the railroad office at
Auburn, Ind., as a student of telegraph) 7 . Two weeks later he returned
to Fort Wayne, and was employed by the American telegraph company
until March, 1873, when he became a member of the engineer corps
under John Ryall, assistant civil engineer of the Pennsylvania Railroad
company. Three weeks later he was taken from outside duty by C. D.
Law, and given a position in the Fort Wayne offices. In the fall of 1873
he entered the freight office under J. C. Davis as bill clerk, and in 1875
was promoted assistant cashier, and January 1, 1877, cashier. He was
appointed freight agent July 1, 1886, succeeding J. K. McCracken, and
in that capacity represents the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago, and
Grand Rapids & Indiana railroads. Mr. Rossington is a member of the
Masonic order and the I. O. O. F.
Charles H. Newton, freight agent of the Wabash railway at Fort
Wayne, is one of the valuable citizens of Fort Wayne, and has while a
resident of the city, worked out an honorable career that is deserving of
extended mention. His childhood was mostly spent at Clayton, 111., and
he there attended the public schools until sixteen years old, when he be-
gan an apprenticeship of three years in a printing office, the last year
of which he was employed at Clinton, Mo. In June, 1874, then being
in his nineteenth year, he came to Fort Wayne, and took a position as
messenger boy for the Wabash company. A few months later he was
promoted to a clerkship in the yardmaster's office, where he remained
until December 1, 1879, during which he improved leisure moments by
completing a course in the commercial college. Leaving the service of
the Wabash company, he removed to Clinton, Mo., and engaged in
newspaper work, but in September, 1880, he returned to his former
place, the freight office at Fort Wayne, and took the position of car clerk,
subsequent 1 ) 7 being promoted chief clerk and cashier. The division
terminus of the road being changed from Fort Wayne to Andrews in
May, 1882, the yard force at Fort Wayne was placed in the hands of
the agent, who appointed Mr. Newton yardmaster, a place he filled until
72 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
August i, 1S84, when the freight agent at Fort Wayne was made divis-
ion freight agent, and Mr. Newton was appointed to his place as local
freight agent. Upon the organization of the local freight agents' asso-
ciation Air. Newton was elected secretary, a position he still holds. He
is a thorough railroad man, and his executive ability and rare tact en-
ables him to win the approbation of the company and the esteem of his
fellow citizens in the discharge of his duties. He is a member of the
Wayne street Methodist church, and has since January 1, 1866, held the
position of superintendent of the Sunday-school. He was one of the
organizers of the Railroad Young Men's Christian Association, was
chosen recording secretary and is now president. He was also one of
the organizers and a charter member of the local Young Mens' Christ-
ian Association, was recording secretary and is now first vice president.
Mr. Newton's parents, John Clark and Mary Jane (Chapman) Newton,
were born the father in Connecticut, the mother in New York, and
both descended from revolutionary soldiers. In 185 1 they went to the
Pacific coast, overland, and the father followed his trade of blacksmith
in California until his death in 1857. In that state Charles H. was born
December 31, 1855. In 1865 the widow and five children removed to
Clayton, 111., where she remained until 1887, when she returned to Cali-
fornia where she is now living. Mr. Newton was married June 19,
1878, to Mary J. Wilding, and they have four children, of whom three
are living.
Thomas Jackson, engineer maintenance of way, western division,
P., Ft. W. & C. railroad, with headquarters at Ft. Wayne, was born at
Hockessin, New Castle county, Delaware, March 21, 1845. There he
attended the common schools, and later entered the academy of T.
Clarkson Taylor, at Wilmington, Del., and finished his education at
Westtown Friends' boarding school, in Chester county, Penn. At about
the age of nineteen, he became engineer for the Diamond State Oil
Company, at Beaver county, Penn., and two years later joined the
engineer corps of the Wilmington & Brandy wine Railroad, now known
as the Wilmington & Northern. Later he was made assistant engineer
of the Delaware Western, now a branch of the Baltimore & Ohio rail-
road, serving until its completion, in 1872. In March, 1873, he was ap-
pointed roadman on the eastern division of the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad,
and received various promotions on that division. In January, 1880, he
was appointed division engineer of the western division, succeeding
C. D. Law, now superintendent. In December, 1884, he was appointed
roadmaster of the western division, a title which has since been changed to
engineer maintenance of way, the duties being those of division engineer
and road master combined. During Gen. Trimble's raid on the Phila-
delphia, Wilmington & Baltimore railroad, in 1864, he enlisted in the
Seventh regiment Delaware volunteer infantry, and served sixty days,
doing guard duty on the steamer Maryland, at Havre de Grace. Mr.
Jackson was married to Anna R., daughter of Spencer Chandler, Esq.,
of Mill Creek hundred, Delaware, and they have three daughters and
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 73
one son, the latter is named for Ralph Jackson, an ancestor, who was
burned at the stake, June 27, 1556, in Queen Mary's reign.
Nelson W. Thompson, superintendent of bridges and buildings of
the western division of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad,
from Crestline to Englewood, was born in Clarendon, Orleans county,
New York. His father, Warren Thompson, removed his fam-
ily to Hillsdale county, Mich., in 1838, and resided there until his death
in 1882. When about seveeteen years of age, Nelson W. went to
Logansport, Ind., and was there engaged for two years boating on the
Wabash & Erie canal. Then going to New York he was for two years
employed on the Erie canal. During the next two years he was engaged
in erecting railroad fencing on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
railroad, in Michigan, and in 1854 ne ar, d his father graded one mile of
the air line branch of that road at Waterloo, Ind., by contract, l^or
some years subsequently he was farming in Michigan, then in Nebraska,
working a section on the Lake Shore road, and in 1861, he began work
on that road as a carpenter, a trade he subsequently followed on the state
line branch of the Panhandle west from Logansport, then on the Peru &
Indianapolis road. From 1867 to 1869 he was contracting in Michigan,
then worked on the construction of the Muncie railroad, and in 187 1-2
had charge of the construction of bridges on the Cincinnati, Richmond
& Fort Wayne railroad. He had charge of pile-driving on the Chicago
& Kansas Southern road in 1873, and in 1874-5 was foreman of carpen-
ters on the Valparaiso division of the Pittsburgh road, and in the follow-
ing year was appointed to his present position. Mr. Thompson is a
member of Star lodge, No. 93, F. & A. M., at Osseo, Mich., and Hills-
dale chapter, No. 18. He was married in 1853, at Osseo, Mich., to
Nancy Orcutt, a daughter of Amba Orcutt, a pioneer of that region,
one of whose daughters was the first white child born in Florida town-
ship, Hillsdale county. Mr. Thompson began his railroad career as a
section foreman on the Lake Shore road in Hillsdale county, when he
was sixteen years old, and his record since then has been a creditable
one.
One of the veteran railroad men of the city, Charles W. Buck, who
now holds the position of section foreman, Fort Wayne yards, of the
Wabash railroad, began work at Zanesville, Ohio, on what was then
known as the Ohio Central road, in 185 1. Six months later he entered
the employment of the Mad River railroad, so known at that time, where
he remained six months, then going to Toledo and taking a position on
the Lake Shore goad. He then spent four years in Iowa, and on his
return to this state was employed seven years with the I., P. & C. rail-
road. In 187 1 he came to Fort Wayne and accepted a position on the
Wabash road in 1874, and has since remained in that service. Mr.
Buck was born in Saratoga county, N. Y., November 18, 1830. His
father, William Buck, was born in England in 1S00, came to the United
States about 1816, and married Mary Beach, who was born in New
York about 1802. Both died in Washington county, N. Y., the mother
74
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
in 1852, the father in 1853. Of their five children living, Charles W. is
the oldest. He was married in 1854 to Louisa J. Durfee, of Sylvania,
Ohio, who was born in 1S32, and died in this city, in 1880, leaving six
children: Lucy, George, Mary, Edward Ada and Charles. In 1S83
Mr. Buck married Calista A. Waite, a native of Ohio. Mr. Buck
is a member of Bluffton lodge, No. 145, F. & A. M., and I. O. O. F.
lodge No. 44, at Indianapolis.
Solon K. Blair, trainmaster on the " Nickel Plate " railroad, is a na-
tive of Union county, Ohio, born January 21, 1852. He is the son of
Jabez S. and Elizabeth A. Blair, both natives of Logan county, Ohio.
While he was a mere child his parents removed to Hardin county, Ohio,
and he was reared to manhood at the village of Mount Victory. His
father is a physician by profession and is also a minister in the Methodist
Episcopal church. In 1868 the family removed to Belief ontaine, and
thence to Sidney, Ohio, in 1S70. There Mr. Blair began the study of
telegraphy, January 2, 1871. He was engaged as an operator until
December, 1874, wnen ne was made train dispatcher, and continued in
that capacity until June, 1888, a period of fourteen }-ears. He accepted
the position of train dispatcher on the New York, Chicago & St. Louis
railroad in 1882. In 1883 he was promoted to chief dispatcher, and
June 1, 1888, he was promoted trainmaster. Mr. Blair was married
December 16, 1S79, to Dora F. Mitchell, by whom he is the father of
two children : Kenton L. and Mamie E. Mr. Blair is a Royal Arch
Mason, and is a member of the Association of Superintendents of Tele-
graph, and of the National Union. In politics he is an ardent repub-
lican.
The position of car inspector on the New York, Chicago & St. Louis
railroad has been held during the past seven years by Frederick R.
Bierbaum. He is a native of Germany, born April 19, 1S47, son of
Henry and Elizabeth Bierbaum. He was reared to manhood on a
farm and then served in the Franco-Prusian war three years. In 1872
he^came to America and located at Fort Wayne. Here he learned the
carpenter's trade, and followed it about five years. Since 1877 he has
followed the occupation of car repairer and car inspector. He was
married in 1873, to Louisa Niemeyer, a native of Germany, who came
to America in 1873. They have had seven children: Louisa, Katie,
Emma, Clara, Nettie, Albert and Ed wig; of whom only Katie, Emma
and Edwig are living. Mr. and Mrs. Bierbaum are members of the
German Reformed church, and politically he is a republican.
Crawford Griswold, foreman of the bridge gang, on the western
division of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, is a native
of New York, born at Chatham, Columbus county, July 27, 1842. His
parents took him to Michigan in 1844, but in 1857 they returned to
New York, where they remained. The father died in 1S72. Mr.
Griswold was engaged in mechanical pursuits until the outbreak of the
war, and in 1862 he enlisted in the First New York Mounted Rifles,
with headquarters at 600 Broadway, New York. He joined the regi-
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 75
merit at Suffolk, Va., was promoted to sergeant from time of enlistment
and served in that position until the close of the war. He was contin-
ually engaged in active service. He was the first to discover the
advance of Longstreet upon Suffolk, which place he besieged for two
weeks. After the withdrawal of Longstreet's army his regiment joined
in the pursuit to the line of the Blackwater river, and Mr. Griswold par-
ticipated in all the engagements of the army of the James river, and
numerous raids as an independent organization. He, with two cor-
porals and ten men, occupied an advanced picket position on the ioth
of December, 1864, when Lee made a reconnoissance in force on the
right of the army of the James, and held his post until the entire left
had fallen back, from early dawn to 3 o'clock P. M., when he* was rein-
forced. At the capture of Richmond his regiment occupied the city as
provost guard, for two weeks, and thence went to Petersburg and held
that place as provost guard while Sherman's army was marching to the
grand review. He was mustered out in front of Libby prison, at Rich-
mond, June 13, 1S65. Going to Ohio in the same year, he entered the
employment of the Pennsylvania company at Lima, Ohio, March 8,
1868, and came to Fort Wayne in 1880 in the employment of the same
company. He was first appointed foreman of the bridge gang in 1875.
He is a member of Hope lodge, 114, F. & A. M., at Delphos, Ohio,
and of George Humphrey post, 530, G. A. R., at Fort Wayne, of
which he was a charter member, and is now junior vice commander.
He is a member of Wayne street Methodist Episcopal church. He was
married in 187 1 to Louisa Kessler, of Middlepoint, Ohio, and they have
had five children, three of whom survive: William H., Lena B. and
Ethel L.
George P. Gordon, baggage agent of the P., Ft. W. & C, G. R. &
I., and C. R. & Ft. W. R. R. companies, and member of the common
council of Fort Wayne, was born in Greene county, Penn., June 24, 1833.
His father, William D. Gordon, was born in Greene county, Penn., in
181 2, and was the son of George Gordon, who was born and reared in
Pennsylvania- and died in 1832. William D. Gordon removed to Ohio
in 1835, where he followed farming until his death, December 28, 187S.
His wife was Catherine Keenan, who was born in Ireland in about 181 2,
and came to America when thirteen years of age. Her death occurred
in Ohio in 1879. To them three sons and nine daughters were born,
who are living with the exception of four daughters. George P. was
reared in Ohio until the spring of 1856, when he went to Madison, Wis.,
where he remained until 1869, being engaged in traveling for a whole-
sale establishment. In the latter year he came to Fort Wayne, but
remained here only a short time, going next to Lancaster, Ohio. In
1862 he returned to Fort Wayne and engaged in farming in Pleasant
township, until the fall of 1S65. He next went to Woodburn, Ind., with
J. K. Edgerton, and remained one year. Returning to Fort Wayne he
took a position on the city police force, and held the same for one year.
August 1, 1869, he entered the railroad business as night baggage agent,
7 6 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
and six years later was promoted to his present position. Mr. Gordon
was married in 1857 at Madison, Wis., to Catherine Ring, who was born
in Perry county, Ohio, September 28, 1834. To their union ten children
have been born, six sons and two daughters of whom survive. Mr.
Gordon was elected to the common council of Fort Wayne in the spring
of 1889.
Charles P. Fletcher, a prominent citizen of Fort Wayne, is a native
of Nashua, N. H., born June 13, 1827. He is the son of Paschal and
Rebecca (Boutwell) Fletcher, the former a native of Lowell, Mass., and
the latter of Amherst, N. H. The branch of the Fletcher family to
which Charles P. belongs sprang from Robert Fletcher who immigrated
in 1630, and settled at Concord, Mass. It is believed he came from
Yorkshire, England. The family is of the old English Puritan stock.
During his early life Mr. Fletcher was employed in cotton factories at
Nashua and Manchester, New Hampshire, and Lowell, Mass. In early
manhood he sought the life of a railroad builder, and was occupied for
several years, first as common laborer, then roadmaster, and finally as
contractor. In 1854 ne ^ a ^ the track of the Pittsburgh railway from
Crestline, Ohio, to the Fort Wayne depot, it being the first in the city.
In the following year he laid the track of the Wabash railway from be-
yond Defiance, Ohio, to the Fort Wayne depot. In 1858 he estab-
lished the first restaurant in the city. In 1859 ne erected the Summit
City hotel, now the Harmon house. From 1864 to 1878 he was oc-
cupied as proprietor of an omnibus line. For several years past he has
been the owner of the Academy of Music, having purchased it November
2, 1878. Mr. Fletcher was married to Hannah C. Cline, September 16,
1854. She died November 26, 1856, leaving one child, Luella, who
died in 1872, aged sixteen. October 9, 1858, he was married to Jennie
Heath. She is a native of Connecticut, but was reared at Rochester,
N. Y. Her parents were Schuyler and Sarah (Minton) Heath. By
the latter marriage two children were born, Willie Minnie, and a daugh-
ter unnamed, both deceased. Mr. Fletcher and wife have also had the
misfortune to lose three adopted children. In politics he is a staunch
republican. During the war he served between one and two years as
deputy provost marshal.
Sylvester McMahan, the oldest passenger conductor running out of
Fort Wayne, on the P., Ft. W. & C, was born in Lake township, Allen
county, November 24, 1842, son of Jackson McMahon, a native of
Maryland, born in 1818, who came to Lake township in 1836, with his
parents. In about 1839 he went t0 Licking county, Ohio, and married
Elizabeth Larmore, then nineteen years of age, and returning, made his
home on the farm in Lake township, where he resided the balance of
his life, following farming. He died in 1868, and his widow in 187S.
To their union eleven children were born, eight of whom survive.
Sylvester McMahon remained on the farm until his twentieth year, and
attended the common schools. In 1862 he went to work on the section
force of the P., Ft. W. & C. R. R'y, laying track. He was so engaged
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 77
seven or eight months, and subsequently came to Fort Wayne and was
employed as a brakeman on a freight train of the western division of
the Pittsburgh road. He continued at this about three years, and was
then promoted freight conductor. In 1872 he was promoted passenger
conductor, and was given a run between Fort Wayne and Chicago. He
now has the run known as Nos. 1 and 4, which is the through mail train.
Mr. McMahan is a member of Fort Wayne lodge, No. 19, F. & A. M.,
and of Fort Wayne chapter, No. 19, and also of Wayne lodge No. 19,
A. O. U. W. He and family are members of the First Baptist church,
of which he is one of the trustees. He was married September 26,
1867, to Mary A., daughter of Peter and Catherine Miller, old settlers
of Allen county, who were natives of Pennsylvania. To the union of
Mr. and Mrs. McMahan two daughters have been born, Ella and Dora.
An old and well-known passenger conductor on the western division
of the P. Ft. W. & C, railroad, A. W. Adkins, was born near Toronto,
Canada, June 16, 1835. He came to Fort Wayne about 1843, and was
reared in and near the city. He began railroading July 20, 1859, as
brakeman on the P. Ft. W. & C. road. After about three years of
this occupation, he was promoted to a freight conductorship, and in
December, 1870, he was promoted passenger conductor, and he now
drives the express and mail between Fort Wayne and Crestline. In
politics he is a staunch republican.. He was married in 1861, to Mary
E. Garrison, who was born in New York, and is the daughter of Albert
Garrison, one of the pioneer citizens of Fort Wayne, died about June 1,
1889. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Adkins five children have been
born, one of whom is deceased. Laura, wife of Harry Shafer, Clara,
wife of William Holbrock, Albert C, and Jessie E., wife of Fred
Gardner.
Lyman Blakesley, a well-known citizen of Fort Wayne, and one of
the veteran passenger conductors on the western division of the P., Ft.
W. & C. railroad, was born in Putnam county, Ohio, March 14, 1842.
He is the son of J. B. Blakesley, who was a native of New York, but
resided during. the most of his life in Ohio, being employed as a railroad
bridge contractor. He died in 18S1 or 18S2. Lyman was reared in
Sandusky City, but when ten years of age left home and for five seasons
was a sailor on the lakes, attending school during the winter months.
At about the age of seventeen years he began railroading as a brake-
man with the old Sandusky, Dayton & Cincinnati railroad. In June,
1 861, he enlisted in Company E, Seventh Ohio regiment, and served
three years. At Cross Lane, W. V., he was taken prisoner August 26,
1861, and for nine months was in prison at Richmond, New Orleans and
Salisbury, N. C. He was honorably discharged at Cleveland in June,
1864, and returned to railroading on the S. D. & C. R. R., where he
remained until 1867, and then came to Fort Wayne and entered the ser-
vice of the P., Ft. W. & C. R. R., as brakeman. One year later was
promoted to freight conductor, and in 1872 he was promoted to passen-
ger conductor, and has since been on the run between Fort Waj T ne and
78 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Chicago. The time covered by Mr. Blakesley's service in the P., Ft.
W. & C. R. R., amounts to twenty-two years, and he is one of the oldest
passenger conductors running out of Fort Wayne. He was married
September 8, 1864, to Miss Mary J. St. John, who was born near Tiffin,
Ohio, July 21, 1844; she died December 4, 1888. To their union three
children were born: Harry A., Laura D. and Ralph. The latter died
in infancy, and Laura D. died March 15, 1889. For fifteen years Mr.
Blakesley has been a member of the Order of Railway Conductors, and
he is the oldest ex-chief conductor in Indiana. He is a member of the
Third Presbyterian church of which Mrs. Blakesley was also a member,
and he is one of the executive committee of the railroad department of
the Y. M. C. A.
Among those who have held honorable positions in the railway ser-
vice should be included James P. Gray, who is also well-known in busi-
ness circles as a member of the hardware firm of Gruber & Gray. He
was born at Wheeler, Steuben county, N. Y., April 22, 1850, son of
Daniel Gray and his wife Lydia Myrtle, who were both natives of the
Empire state, and born in the same year, 181 2. Daniel Gray, now a
resident of Goodland, Ind., whither the family removed in 1868, is a
prominent republican, and in i860 and 1862, was elected to represent
Steuben county in the general assembly of New York. He took an
active part in the Harrison campaign of 1888. He had ten children.
James P., our subject, received a common school education in his native
state, and after farming with his father two years, came to Indiana, and
in 1S70, made his home at Fort Wayne, and entered the employment of
the Pennsylvania railroad company as brakeman. A year later he was
promoted to freight train conductor, and after three years' experience in
that capacity, was given the position of passenger conductor in 1875,
having charge of fast trains. In this capacity he is a faithful and popu-
lar officer. In 1883, he formed a partnership with Joseph L. Gruber, in
the hardware business at 364 south Calhoun street, and they are doing
a prosperous business. He is a worthy citizen and prominent in busi-
ness circles. Mr. Gray was married in 1871, to Jane Blackburn, of
Goodland, who was born in 1853, at Decatur, Ind. They have one
child: Ada L. Mr. Gray was made a Mason in 1879, at Wayne lodge,
No. 25, thirty-second degree and commandery in 1888, being member
of the Indianapolis consistory and Fort Wayne commandry, No. 4.
A. Johnson, an engineer on the western division of the P., Ft. W.
& C, railroad company, holding the position of trial engineer, was born
in East Wallingsford, Rutland county, Vt., April 26, 1831. He is the
son of James and Nancy (Sweetland) Johnson, the father being a native
of New Hampshire, and the mother of Vermont. The parents located
in Lexington, Ohio, in 1839, and resided there until 1846, and then
removed to Republic, Seneca county, Ohio. They next removed
to Leasville, Crawford county, Ohio, and three years later removed
to Sandusky City. In about 1850, they removed to Springfield
Ohio, and subsequently resided at Dayton, Patterson, Hardin county,
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 79
Ohio, and next at Lima, Ohio. In about 1875 they removed to
Chicago, where the father died ; the mother then came to Fort Wayne,
where she died. Mr. Johnson began railroading in 1848,. on the Mad
River & Erie railway, and in 1851, was promoted engineer on the same
road. He next spent a year on the Dayton & Greenville railroad, and
in 1856, went into the service of the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad on the
eastern division, running between Pittsburgh and Crestline, Ohio. In
185S, he went on the Central Ohio railroad, running between Columbus
and Bellaire, where he remained until 1863, and then went on the Penn-
sylvania Central railroad. Ten years later in 1873, he came to Fort
Wayne, and took an engine on the west division. He ran an engine
until about 1883, when he was given the position of trial engineer. His
duties are to take in charge new engines and get them in running order,
when they are turned over. Mr. Johnson has been railroading forty-
one years. He is a member of Harmony lodge No. 19, I. O. O. F. Mr.
Johnson was married on January 1, 1857, to Margaret Letts, who
was born in Mecklinburg, N. Y. To their union six children have
been born, three of whom survive, Flora Bell, Carrie A., wife of Seward
Morgan, of New York city, and Lizzie E., now the wife of Thomas C.
Warner. Mrs. Johnson and two daughters are members of the First
Baptist church, and one daughter is a Presbyterian.
Anthony Kelker, a trustworthy and popular engineer of the Pitts-
burgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, was born at Lebanon, Penn.,
March 1, 1835. His father, David Kelker, of an old Pennsylvania
German family, moved when "Tony" was a year old, to Waynesboro,
Penn., and five years later to Butler, Penn. Three years later the fam-
ily moved into Ohio and resided successively at Alliance, New Lisbon,
Damascus Bank and Lucas. At Damascus Bank the father became a
contractor and graded four miles of the road between Pittsburgh and
Alliance. At this place Tony Kelker also began railroading as the boss
of a gang of graders. Removing from Lucas to Crestline the father
graded two miles more of the road, and between the latter place and
VanWert, the son helped to lay the track. In 1854 Mr. Kelker began
work as a brakeman on the Ohio & Indiana road, and a year later
became fireman of a construction train. From this position he became
fireman on the locomotive "Pioneer," the first owned by the Fort Wayne
& Chicago road, now divisions D and E. In the spring of 1856 he was
promoted engineer by D. B. Strope, master mechanic. He had made
his home at Fort Wayne on the 18th of the preceding August. In 1858
he took charge of a passenger engine, and has ever since been entrusted
with this responsible position. His assignment at this time is the running
of trains Nos. 2 and 9, between Fort Wayne and Crestline. His pet
locomotive is No. 199, built in Fort Wayne, after the best pattern of the
Boone engines. - With this powerful machine, Mr. Kelker in 1870, made
a trip from Fort Wayne to Chicago which is memorable in the railroad
annals of the world. Photographs of the engine and its gallant driver,
and a statement of the record were hung in the offices of the railroad
SO VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
magnates of the land, and pointed to with pride as an example of the
mechanical perfection and physical nerve of the great west. On Sep-
tember 14, 1870, Mr. Kelker pulled passenger train No. 1, with one
baggage car and three coaches, from Fort Wayne to Chicago, 146^
miles, with eleven stops, in two hours and forty-seven and one-half
minutes. Making allowance for three minutes at each stop, the speed
made by Mr. Kelker was seventy-five and twelve nineteenths miles per
hour. Other fast runs he has made are from Plymouth to Chicago,
October 2, 1879, with four cars, over eighty-two miles in one hour and
thirty -three minutes; seven days later with four cars-from Van Wert to
Chicago, 179 miles, in three hours and thirty minutes; and several
shorter runs at the rate of a mile a minute or faster. In spite of seem-
ingly dangerous speed Mr. Kelker has never had a collision, and the
only accident he has encountered was caused by the breaking of, a wheel
on the forward truck. He escaped unhurt, but his brother-in-law, who
was firing, was killed. Mr. Kelker's private life is interesting and
happy. Strictly temperate, abstaining entirely from tobacco, he is always
clear in mind and ready for prompt action in any emergency. His home
is a beautiful one, and he is known as one of the finest amateur florists
in the state. He was married March 8, 1857, to Lydia A., daughter of
John Arnold, ex-councilman, and a pioneer of the city, having settled
here about 1837. They have had three children: Francis A., died June
2, 1869, at the age of twelve; Nannie D., wife of H. S. Rodeheaver,
and Harry O., an engineer on the Pittsburgh road. Mr. Kelker is an
active republican, and in 1885, running as an independent candidate in
the fourth ward, was elected councilman in that democratic stronghold,
and re-elected in 1887. He is a Master Mason of Sol D. Bayless lodge,
and a worthy member of the Wayne Street Methodist church. His
unfailing kindness, uniform courtesy and manly character have made
him hosts of friends wherever he is known.
William M. Glenn, a brave soldier of the republic and one of the
most prominent locomotive engineers of the west, began his railroad
career near Alleghany City, his boyhood home. At nine years he en-
gaged as water carrier on section twelve of the Alleghany valley rail-
road, one of the oldest in the country. Afterward at Lima, Ohio, he
carried water for a construction gang on the Ohio & Indiana, now
P., Ft. W. & C. railroad. In 1S57 he rose to the rank of brakeman on
a gravel train of the latter road, at Lima, and in the following year he
went to Upper Sandusky, and held similar positions as well as conductor
on extra gravel trains. May 2, 1S59, ^ e arrived at Fort Wayne and
took the position of fireman on the " Shanghai " engine, " Fort Wayne,"
a single driver machine of the Richard Norris build. He was thus
engaged mostly with passenger trains until August 8, 1862, when he
enlisted in the Eleventh Indiana battery, and went to the scene of war.
His battery was stationed at Nashville, in the army of the Cumberland,
but owing to a blockade, he, with other recruits, was stationed for three
months at West Point, Ky., guarding the Ohio river. Joining the bat-
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 8 1
tery at Nashville in December, 1862, they remained there until the early
part of January, 1863, when they moved to the field of Stone river, but
arrived too late to take part in the action. They were then assigned to
Ly tie's brigade, Sheridan's Third division, Twentieth army corps, and
took part in all the engagements of the army of the Cumberland, about
Chattanooga, including Chickamauga. He was in the siege of Chatta-
nooga, and during the winter of 1863, was one of a party of twenty-five
men, who started from the town with three days rations, consisting of a
little hardtack, bacon and coffee, to take 125 horses over the mountains
to Bridgeport, a distance of 104 miles by that route. The hardships of
the trip may be judged from the fact that all but fifty horses died on the
road from starvation. A week later the party returned to Bridgeport
on foot. He and his battery shelled the enemy on Moccasin point, in
the battle above the clouds, and shelled them also from Fort Wood. He
was next at Tunnel Hill, Buzzard Roost, Resaca, Cartersville, the Chat-
tahooche river, and for thirty-two days and nights, threw a shell every
two minutes into Atlanta. They accompanied Sherman as far as Jones-
boro, and then returned to Gen. Thomas at Nashville. Thence they
did scouting duty and subsequently the battery was discharged, but Mr.
Glenn and others were assigned to the Eighteenth Indiana battery, being
discharged at Indianapolis, July 3, 1865, he again became a fireman on
the Pittsburgh road in September. In the following March, he was pro-
moted freight engineer (No. 155), between Fort Wayne and Valparaiso,
was transferred to engine 113 in 1869, and April 7, 1871, was given a
passenger engine on division C. For twelve years he ran the Lima
accommodation train, and in 1883, entered the through passenger service,
running between Fort Wayne and Crestline. He began running the
limited express in 1885, ar >d now runs the limited west and the fast mail
west of Fort Wayne. His best time was made from Crestline to Fort
Wayne, 131 miles, in two hours and thirty-two minutes. Mr. Glenn
was born in Morgan county, Ohio, May 2, 1842. His parents, Robert and
Ann Smyth Glenn, natives of Ireland, of Scotch descent, immigrated in
1835, and settled at Pittsburgh. They resided afterward successively in
Morgan county, Ohio, Alleghany city, Lima, Ohio and in 1862, removed
to VanWert, where the father died in 1877 and the mother in 1884. Mr.
Glenn was married February 22, 1872, to Mary E. Curtis, who was born
August 23, 1854, and died October 2, 1883, leaving four children out of
six born, Grtice C, Robert Burr, Carrie A. and Eliza F. He was mar-
ried November 28, 1888, to Frances Wright, of Fort Wayne, and they
reside at the handsome residence at No. 26, Dewald street. Mr. Glenn
is a prominent Mason, being a member of Summit city lodge, 170,
F. & A. M., life member of Fort Wayne chapter, No. 19, Wayne coun-
cil, No. 4, Fort Wayne commandery, No. 4, K. T., Grand lodge of Per-
fection, Sariah council, Prince of Jerusalem, Indianapolis chapter Rose
Croix, and Indiana consistory, 32nd degree.
William T. Jackson, a veteran passenger engineer on the western
division of the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad, was born in Detroit, Mich.,
VI
82 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
July 30, 1832. His parents removed to Erie, Perm., when their son was
quite young, and it was in that city he spent his boyhood and attended
the common schools. He began railroading in 1853, as firemen on the
Erie & Northeast R. R., a road running nineteen miles from Erie to the
New York state line, having only three locomotive engines. He was in
the railroad war, in about 1854, between the roads in and about Erie,
which was caused by the citizens of that city attempting to prevent the
consolidation of the Buffalo & Erie and Cleveland & Erie roads, by tear-
ing up the tracks of the Erie & Northeast road. Mr. Jackson was next
engaged on the Chicago & Rock Island road, and in about 1855 was
promoted to a switch and construction engine on that road. About one
year later he was promoted to a freight train, and continued in that
capacity for about two years. He then came to Fort Wayne and run
a freight engine on the Wabash railway about twenty-two months. He
was next on the Terre Haute & Alton railway about four months, and
on the Burlington & Quincy railway, between Chicago & Galesburg,
about ten months, and then returned to Fort Wayne, where his family
were residing. On March 1, 1862, he entered the service of the P., Ft.
W. & C. R'y Co., as freight engineer, and has remained with that com-
pany up to the present time. In 1865 he was made passenger engineer
and ran passenger trains on both divisions until about 1870. In that year
the fast trains were put on between Chicago and New York, and he was
given an engine on the fast run between Crestline and Fort Wayne.
His was the second engine to be equipped with the Westinghouse air
brakes on the western division, in July, 1870. On June 11, 1870, while
braking by hand, he made the run between Crestline and Fort Wayne,
a distance of 131 miles, in two hours and forty-seven minutes. The run
was phenomenal at that time, as the track was not so level as now, the
Westinghouse brakes were not in use, and wood instead of coal was
used for fuel. The record made then was unbroken for a number of
years, but recently, with more favorable conditions, it has been beaten,
Mr. Jackson himself making the same run in two hours and thirty-six
minutes. Even that has been beaten by William M. Glenn, who has
made the run in two hours and thirty-two minutes. In 187 1 Mr. Jack-
son was taken sick and for about eight and one-half months was off
duty. Upon his recovery he took charge of the round-house as fore-
man for about twenty-two months. In 1881 he was given the engine on
the limited express, between Chicago and Crestline, and has been on
that run ever since. Mr. Jackson is a member of Wayne lodge, No.
25, F. & A. M., which he joined in 1869. He was married December
5, 1852, at Westfield, N. Y., to Mary A. Groat, and they have had six
children, four of whom survive: Ada R., wife of George Burger,
engineer on the P., Ft. W. & C; Alice, now Mrs. Albert Cattingham,
of Iona, Mich.; Lillie M. and Edwin T., bookkeeper. Mr. Jackson's
family are members of the Congregational church.
Frank P. Higgins, one of the oldest passenger engineers in the
service of the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad, was born in Ireland, January 14,
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 83
1837. He is the eldest son of John Higgins, who removed with his
family to America about 1845, and settled in Massachusetts. Frank P.
was left with his grand-parents in Ireland, and did not come to Amer-
ica until 1850. His first work was on a farm in Massachusetts, where
he put in three years, and then learned the trade of a shoemaker. Upon
coming to Fort Wayne, in the winter of i860, Mr. Higgins entered the
service of the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad, as a fireman on freight and
passenger engines. Two years later he entered the machine shops and
worked about one year, and was then given an engine in the summer of
1864. He ran a freight engine about six years, and in 1870 he was
promoted to passenger engineer. The period of Mr. Higgins' service
with the Pennsylvania company is twenty-nine years, about nineteen of
which has been as a passenger engineer. In 1881 he was assigned the
engine drawing the limited express between Fort Wayne and Chicago.
Mr. Higgins was married at Webster, Mass., in 1861, to Margaret A.
Carney, who was born in Ireland. To their union a son and daughter
have been born. The family are members of the Catholic Cathedral.
In 1880 Mr. Higgins erected a handsome two-story brick residence at
No. 143 East Jefferson street, where he and family reside.
A worthy gentleman now retired from active business, who has faith-
fully occupied posts of danger, both as soldier and locomotive engineer,
is Andrew McClure of Fort Wayne. He was born in Blair county,
Penn., November 12, 1841, the son of Joseph and Martha Ann (^Am-
brose) McClure, natives of Pennsylvania. At the opening of the civil
war he entered Company D, Fourteenth Pennsylvania regiment, and
served three months, first as private and then as first lieutenant. In
February, 1862, he re-enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Thir-
teenth Pennsylvania regiment, and served with it two years as private
and as second lieutenant. He was appointed captain, but, for some rea-
son, his commission failed to reach him. In the second battle of Bull
Run he was taken prisoner, but escaped about eighteen hours later. He
was also in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. He was dis-
charged at Winchester, Va., in June, 1864. Returning to Pennsyl-
vania, he soon became engaged as locomotive engineer, and remained in
that capacity with the Pennsylvania company until 1872, when he re-
moved to Fort Wayne. Here he was employed as engineer for the
Wabash company. In 1877, on account of exposure during the war, he
had the misfortune to lose his eyesight, and he has ever since been
totally blind. From 1877 to 1886 his attention was given to hotel keep-
ing. Mr. McClure was married in November, 1861, to Eliza Zeth, a
native of Blair county, Penn., the daughter of Jacob and Sophia Zeth.
They have one child, Mary E. McClure. Mr. McClure is a member
of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the G. A. R. In
politics he has been a lifelong republican.
Michael F. Shea, railway engineer, is a native of County Cork, Ire-
land, born September 29, 1S51. His parents, Patrick and Mary (Lynch)
Shea, came to America when he was but a year old leaving him in Ire-
84 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
land, fearing, on account of poor health, he would not then stand the
trip. His parents located in New Haven, where the)'' still reside. After
having been here about nine years they sent for their son, who came to
this country in company with Daniel Shannahan, whose passage was
paid bv the parents of Mr. Shea. Michael joined his parents at New
Haven and remained with them until he was fifteen, when he was ap-
prenticed to a shoemaker in Fort Wayne, and spent two years learning
the trade. Not being satisfied, he returned home and spent one year
on a farm to which his parents had removed. In May, 1869, he secured
a position as brakeman on the Pittsburgh road, and held it two years
and nine months. He then obtained a similar place on the Wabash road
and at the expiration of three months was promoted to freight conductor,
and held that position one year. Returning to the Pittsburgh road he
was employed for a time as switchman, and for five years as fireman.
In 187S he was promoted to engineer, a position he has held ever since.
He was married June 22, 1875, t0 Bridget Broderick, who was born in
Jefferson township, August 31, 1851. She is the daughter of John and
Ellen (Meehan) Broderick, natives of Ireland, who were married at
Fort Wayne. Mr. and Mrs. Shea have had eight children: Joseph P.,
John S., Dennis (deceased), Helen C, Mamie L., Michael F., Anna A.
f deceased), and another that died in infancy. He and wife are mem-
bers of the Roman Catholic church, and he is a member of the Brother-
hood of Locomotive Engineers.
A trustworthy passenger engineer, residing at Fort Wayne, J. R.
Anderson, is engaged on the southern division of the Grand Rapids &
Indiana railroad, and runs between Fort Wayne and Richmond. Mr.
Anderson was born on East Wayne street, November 23, 1852, the son of
Alexander M. Aderson, who came to Fort Wayne from Ohio, his native
state, about 1830. He made his home about six miles west of the city on
the Yellow river road, the Indians still being numerous, and began the
work of clearing a farm. Subsequently he was employed in the shops of
the Pittsburgh company. The son, J. R. Anderson, was reared to youth on
the farm, and at the age of seventeen entered the employment of the
Pittsburgh railroad company in the shops, at machine work. This occu-
pation he exchanged four years later for that of fireman, on the Grand
Rapids & Indiana road. In 1879 he was promoted to freight engineer,
and in 1888, to passenger engineer. He is a member of the Third Pres-
byterian church; of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and of
the republican party. He was married September 6, i88i,to Elizabeth
Lopshire, who was born in Lafayette township, a daughter of William
Lopshire, who was one of the earliest settlers of that township.
Fred N. Kollock, a popular citizen of Fort Wayne, is prominent in
railroad circles as agent of the Union line at Fort Wayne, and traveling
agent for the Pennsylvania railroad company, and the C, St. L.
& P. railroad. Mr. Kollock was born at Burlington, N. J.,
April 27, 1845, and two years later was taken by his parents to
Philadelphia, where he grew to the age of sixteen years. In August,
RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT. 85,
1862, determined to enlist in the army, he attained his purpose by leav-
ing home secretly, and joining company B, Twenty-ninth regiment,
Pennsylvania infantry. He was with the Twelfth army corps in the
army of the Potomac, participating in the battles of Antietam, Chancell-
orsville and Gettysburg, and was then with the Twentieth corps under Gen.
Joe Hooker, at the battle of Mission Ridge and Lookout Mountain, and
Atlanta, and in Sherhian's campaign through Georgia. After nearly
three year's service he was mustered out as sergeant in July, 1865. Two-
older brothers were in the service, one as assistant surgeon in the
navy, and the other as surgeon of the One Hundred and Eighteenth
Pennsylvania. In 1865, Mr. Kollock went to Milwaukee, and was
connected with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad until 1873,.
when he engaged in the oil busines in the same city. He
returned to the service of the railroad company in 1875, ar, d
remained with them until 1880, when in December, he came to Fort
Wayne to accept the position of soliciting agent of the Union line. In
1885 he was promoted agent. Mr. Kollock is at present junior vice-
commander of Antony Wayne post, No. 271, G. A. R., and chancellor
commander of Phoenix lodge, No. ior, K. of P.; of the uniform rank of
the later fraternity he is an enthusiastic champion, and on June 4, 1884,
he was elected colonel of the Second regiment, Indiana brigade, for a
term of four years* Mr. Kollock was married January 13, 1870, to
Mary A. Green, of Philadelphia, and they have three children : John
K., born November 3, 1871, a graduate of Fort Wayne college, 1886,
and now a member of the class of 92, Amherst college; Fred N., Jr.,
born October 25, 1876, and Lester R., born January 9, 1882.
One of the early manufacturers at the city of Fort Wayne was D. S.
Beaver, born in Franklin county, Pa., May 3, 1820, who came to this
city in 1839, and took a position in the mill of Samuel Freeman, and
made his home with that gentleman. He was foreman for six years,
and in 1845 rented the mill, and subsequently purchased the property
which he operated until 1876. He then sold out, and had charge of the
Fort Wayne -poultry yards until his death, December 9, 1888. He was
married at Mexico, Oswego county, N. Y., to Sarah J. Lamb, who died
April 3, 1849, leaving one child, Charles B. Beaver, born February 17,
1848, now a prominent citizen of Fort Wayne. October 17, 1850, he
again married, to Mrs. A. M. Nichols, of Brockport, N. Y., who died
October 16, 1851. His third, marriage was to Mrs. Agnes E. Hamil-
ton, at West Stockbridge, Mass., April 3, 1854. She died March 20,
1877, leaving two children: Edwin L., born October 6, 1855, and Minnie
A., born August 8, 1863. Another child, Frank M., died in 1876. Mr.
Beaver united with the Presbyterian church in 1845, was made an elder
in 1853, and held that office until death. Charles B. Beaver was
engaged with his father until his twenty-first year, when he began an
engagement of eighteen months as clerk for a wholesale house in Fort
Wayne. After a year spent in railroading, he entered the service of
the United States Express company, and has risen through the various
86 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
positions of driver of a wagon, manager of the business at the depot,
messenger between Fort Wayne and Cincinnati, to agent at Fort Wayne,
to which responsible position he was appointed July 28, 1880. He has
also been agent of the Pacific Express company since it came into the
city about 1878. Mr. Beaver is a member of the Presbyterian church.
He was married February 17, 1869, to Mary A. Markley, of this city,
born in February 27, 1847, and the)'' have had six children, of whom the
following are living: Minnie May, Hugh M., Harry C. and Frank M.
The agency of the Adams express company at Fort Wayne is in the
hands of Charles O. Essig, a competent and popular young business
man. Mr. Essig was born in Williamsport, Allen county, Ind., October
15, 1859, the son of Adam P. Essig, one of the worthy early settlers,
who came to this county about 1840, and purchasing land, was occupied
in farming until 1871, when he removed to Fort Wayne. He now
resides in the city. For ten years after coming here he was in the hotel
business. His wife's maiden name was Susannah Mahnensmith. Their
son Charles was reared in the city and educated at both the public
schools and at the Brothers' schools. In 1878 he became a clerk in the
office of the city treasurer, and remained in that position until 1881, after
which he was engaged for eight months as general clerk for tracklayers
of a railroad. He entered the employment of the Adams express com-
pany at Fort Wayne, February 23, 1882, with general duties. In July,
1883, he was promoted to bill clerk, in December, 1887, made acting
agent, and in June, 1888, was appointed agent and manager. During
this period he also had charge of the business of the American express
company which was with the Adams. Mr. Essig is a member of the
National Union, and is secretary of the local lodge. He is also a mem-
ber of the First Baptist church, of which he was treasurer for some
time. He was married June 16, 1886, to Ella Brooks, of the city.
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
From its situation as an inland city, Fort Wayne is dependent to an
unusual degree for its prosperity upon the extent of its manufactories.
Fortunately i^s location on the the great avenues of travel between New
York and the great cities of the west, has made its shipping facilities of
inestimable value, has cheapened its freight rates, and made travel to the
great commercial centers easy and pleasurable. More than this its
location has been fortunate in being in the center of the great hard wood
timber district, which Lieut. Maury once aptly described as the "Steppes
of America."
Fort Wayne has never felt the injurious effects of a boom, but has
made such regular and substantial additions to its wealth, year by year,
which few American cities can boast of. In 1828 the population was
but 500; in 1840, 1,200; in i860, 10,319; in 1880, 25,700; and in 1889,
a population of over 75,000 people is shown by the canvass of R. L.
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 87
Polk & Co., publishers of the new directory. Eight hundred dwelling
houses will be erected this year, and architects estimate that $3,000,000
will not cover the building contracts. So great has been the demand
for brick that the yards have been taxed to their utmost capacity, and
many thousands have been shipped in from other places.
These observations are preliminary to a sketch of the manufacturing
industries of this city. Some of them, it will be noted, are of surprising
extent, wide-spread reputation and of financial solidity equal to any in
the land.
Let us begin with the great shops of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne
& Chicago railway company, of which the Pennsylvania company is the
lessee. Over 1,100 names are now on the labor rolls, and the company
paymaster makes a monthly -disbursement in Fort Wayne of over $100,-
000 per month. Considerably more than half of this great volume of
money is charged to the account of the shops proper, and the salaries of
the superintendent and other officials is not included. The 1,100 em-
ployes referred to, it should be understood, include the men who work
in the yards, but not the engineers, firemen, conductors, brakemen,
switchmen, sectionmen, freight handlers and clerks in all departments
who constitute a distinct regiment of their own.
In order that the magnitude of the company's plant may be better
understood the following figures, representing the ground plan areas of
buildings, furnished to the writer by superintendent of motive power
and machinery, F. D. Cassanave, are here presented: Station and
hotel, two stories, 230x35; freight house, 300x35; office building, 55 X .S55
brass foundry, 60x25; machine shops, 320x110; boiler shops, 145x70;
engine or round-house with stalls, 39; blacksmith shops, 320x80; plan-
ing-mill, 217x75, with two wings, each 187x63; oil house, 35x22.
These great buildings cover a space of four blocks from west to
east and two blocks from north to south, nearly every foot of space being
made available. They are not, however, the whole of the company's
shop plant. Vast as is their extent, splendid as is their equipment, and
although the army of men work ten hours a day and often a night force
labors until morning, there was a demand for additional manufacturing
facilities that must be met with enlarged accommodations. Accordingly,
just beyond the eastern limits of the city the company, two years ago,
laid out a magnificent yard with ten miles of side track and there erected
a vast car shop, built in the segment of a circle, like a big round-house,
for the storage of locomotives. This structure has seventeen stalls,
reached from a turn table and each capable of holding two freight cars,
when in process of construction. When this shop shall have been com-
pleted the turn table will be in the center of a mammoth car establish-
ment containing forty stalls and capable of holding eighty cars. The
surprising growth of the business of the company promises to make the
completion of this great shop necessary within the near future. A large
planing-mill is another of the improvements at the east yards. The old
and new shops of the Pennsylvania company at Fort Wayne cover a
88 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
tract of fifty acres. In them will be built this year forty new locomotives
of the Class S, or Big Mogul pattern, each capable of drawing forty
loaded freight cars at a speed of eighteen miles an hour. Two thousand
dairy, refrigerator, box and gondola cars will be turned out; besides an
immense amount of repair work to the rolling stock of the entire west-
ern division of 279 miles. The performances of the passenger engines
manufactured at these shops have so often been referred to in the public
press that it were idle to state more here than that they have made the
very best of records for speed, power and economy in the use of coal.
Not unfrequently the limited express, or vestibule train, as it is variously
called, is carried over the western division at an average rate of speed
of fifty miles an hour, the train attaining, where there are few railway
crossings to stop at, the surprising velocity of seventy miles an hour.
Exact records of these performances are kept by the company which
claims with its well-constructed track, its perfect system of train dis-
patching, its unexcelled motive power and equipment to be able to run
its trains faster and with less risk to life and property than is done on
any road in the country. Mr. G. L. Potter is the general superintendent
of the shops, and his corps of assistants are all men of many years' faith-
ful and intelligent service.
The main car shops of the Wabash road are at Toledo, Ohio, and
at Springfield, Ills., but the principal erecting shops of the eastern di-
vision of the main line, extending from Toledo, Ohio, to Danville, Ills.,
are located at Fort Wayne, and here, until recently, J. B. Barnes, the
superintendent of the motive power and machinery, had his headquar-
ters. The building, rebuilding and repair of all the locomotives is done
at the Fort Wayne shops. This work is under the supervision of
master mechanic, Frank Morse, and Frank Tyrrell, general foreman.
The dismemberment of the Wabash property by Judge Gresham's
famous decree has had the effect of removing the mechanical work on
what were the Peru branch and the Eel River branch and of reducing
the number of men on the company's labor rolls at this point. How-
ever, 225 men are yet given employment and for their benefit and the
benefit of the train men, freight house men and others, the company's
paymaster makes a monthly disbursement of $20,000. The Wabash
plant at Fort Wayne consists, in buildings, of two round-houses of forty
stalls capacity, an erecting shop 100x160 feet, fully equipped with the
latest and best machinery, a blacksmish shop 40x160 feet, a wood shop
30x200 feet, a paint shop 30x100 feet, a tin and coppersmith shop 30x40
feet, an oil house 20x30 feet, besides a large freight house, passenger
depot, coal sheds, and other smaller structures. The number of loco-
motives turned out every month, either new or generally overhauled,
will average fourteen.
The Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville railway, the " Muncie "
route, has never been as prosperous as some of the east and west trunk
lines, and although its management has been generally wise and eco-
nomical, it has never been able to erect extensive shops anywhere. How-
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 89
ever, the headquarters for the mechanical department are in Fort Wayne.
The principal shop is a large brick structure excellently equipped and
carefully managed by master mechanic, Theodore Habenkorn. Fifty
skilled men are employed under his direction. The business on the
"Muncie" has of late years had a most satisfactory increase, and $4,000
is a fair estimate of the disbursements for all kinds of labor the company
makes at Fort Wayne.
The Lake Shore railway, which reaches this city from the north is
a branch of the main line leading from Auburn Junction, has no shops
at Fort Wayne, although the liberal grant of land made to the com-
pany's predecessor, the Fort Wayne, Jackson & Saginaw railway was
predicted upon their establishment here.
The Nickel Plate makes Fort Wayne a division point for engine and
freight service, and has at Fort Wayne a round-house and repair shop,
but the disposition of the management is toward increasing this little
beginning, it being well understood that the location of the principal
shop plant at Fort Wayne would be most advantageous.
First among the private enterprises that give solidity to the city may
be mentioned the Bass foundry and machine works, an establishment so
vast as to easily rival the mammoth shops operated by the Pennsylvania
company.
It is no easy matter to comprehend, let alone describe, an industry
which covers twenty acres, gives employment to 1,100 men and dis-
burses $35,000 per month in wages, besides paying out many times that
amount for the pig iron which goes into the blazing cupolas, and for the
other material which make up the varied output of this mammoth hive
of industry. The manufactured product finds its way either as station-
ary engines, machinery, saw-mills, etc., to every city in the land, and on
nearly all the trunk lines the car wheels used will be found, upon inspec-
tion, to be marked with the name of this great corporation. It is a fact,
beyond any dispute, that at Fort Wayne, Ind., more car wheels are cast
than in any city in the world.
The Bass works were established in 1853, and the company was in-
corporated twenty years later. The president and principal owner is
John H. Bass, the secretary, John I. White, and the treasurer, Robert-
son J. Fisher. Mr. Bass is president of the First National bank, is an
officer in two other national banks, is president of the Star Iron Tower
company, of the street railway company, and is identified with many
other industries besides. His wealth is estimated at nearly $4,000,000.
He is still in the prime of life and the great institution which his energy
has built up is ever expanding. Many of the employes have been
twenty-five years in his service, and of them, it may generally be said,
that there are^ but few traveling journeymen and that nearly all are of the
better class of thrifty American mechanics, whp strive to save from
their earnings enough to provide well for their families, to educate their
children to traits of industries and frugality, to own a comfortable home
and to secure themselves from want in their old age. In the thirty-six
*
9°
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
years of operation the establishment has never known a strike or even
any serious labor trouble. This results from the remarkable degree of
confidence existing between the corporation and its employes. Large
branches of this establishment are those of the St. Louis Car Wheel
company and of J. H. Bass, Chicago.
Everywhere in America where vehicle wheels are bought and sold,
the name of H. G. Olds, of Fort Wayne, Ind., is a familiar one, for he
is president of a corporation which manufactures more wheels for
wagons, carriages and other vehicles than any other. The record shows
that in this business as in the business of manufacturing car wheels, a Fort
Wayne manufactory excels all others in the extent of its outputs. Think of
90,000 sets of wheels made and shipped in the last twelve months! It
would seem that hereafter not only the rich can ride in chaises, but the poor
will not always be compelled to walk. Upward of 7,000,000 spokes
will be manufactured this year, 1,500,000 strips for felloes will be used,
and about 500,000 hub blocks. Vast amounts of timber are annually
unloaded from wagon at the works, besides over 2,500 cars, each with
an average load of 30,000 pounds. The works are located at the south-
east corner of Lafayette street and the Wabash railway, and cover five
acres of ground. In the various departments nearly 500 men and boys
are employed, and over $16,000 a month is disbursed in wages. The
concern retains the name under which business was conducted in the
lifetime of Noble G. Olds, and is called N. G. Olds & Sons.
The marvel of the manufacturing establishments in Fort Wayne is
that of the Fort Wayne Jenney Electric Light company, its wonderful
growth emphasizing the prediction that the electric spark with the
vaporized drop of water would revolutionize the world. The company
was incorporated in 1881, with a capital stock of $100,000. The five
original incorporators were O. A. Simons, now deceased, J. H. Bass,
H. G. Olds, P. A. Randall and R. T. McDonald. The business started
in a small way in two rooms, in one of the buildings connected with the
Fort Wayne Iron Works, on Superior street, and was afterward removed
to Mr. Randall's building on East Columbia street. The patents used
were at first chiefly those of James A. Jenney, and his son Charles D.
Jenney. Mr. McDonald was elected general manager, and he soon
began to attract for the new company and its light a reputation that was
as surprising as it was gratifying to his friends. In 1887, the capital
stock was increased to $500,000, the company by that time had occupied
new and enlarged shops at the intersection of Broadway and the
P., Ft. W. & C, railway track, gave employment to 500 people, and
had won a famous lawsuit in which the Alder Brush company of Cleve-
land, had sought to cripple the company by suing an Indianapolis firm,
which used the Jenney light, for damages for infringement. About'this
time general manager McDonald secured the services of the 'distinguished
electrician, M. M M. Slattery, whose ingenius system of producing
light by alternating currents of electricity has revolutionized the business
of electrical illumination. The works were burned down on the night
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 9 1
of November 23, 1888, and have since then been rebuilt on a scale of
double the size of the destroyed buildings. The majority of the stock
has lately passed into the hands of a Boston syndicate, which controls
the Thomas-Houston company. Mr. J. H. Bass predicts that within a
few years the shops of the Fort Wayne Jenney Electric Light company,
will exceed the Bass foundry and machine works in extent. The
Jenney light illuminates a large portion of New York cit}^, and is found
in nearly every city in the land and on every navigable lake and river.
The Olds wagon works were established with a capital stock of
$200,000, and its plant, including a four-story brick building, 60x412
feet, with a blacksmith shop 75x150 feet, occupies an entire square, in
which are extensive drying houses, side-tracks, etc. Its wagons are
turned out at the rate of forty and fifty a day and are sold all over
America. The company employs 200 men and has a monthly pay roll
ot $10,000.
The Kerr Murray Manufacturing company is engaged in building gas
apparatus and has put up some of the largest works in the country.
The business was established in 1862, the general foundry and machine
business being then the principal feature. Mr. Murray had scarce
begun the building of gas works when he died and the business has
since been prosecuted with wonderful success by a stock company of
which his son-in-law, Mr. A. D. Cressler, is president and manager.
Large buildings have been erected and are splendidly equipped. The
capital stock is $100,000.
Among the gentlemen to newly enter the manufacturing business.in
Fort Wayne are the Messrs. D. N. and S. M. Foster. The former is
at the head of the Fort Wayne Furniture company, whose large works
lie at the north end of Lafayette street, to the north of the Nickel Plate
track. Two hundred men are employed chiefly in the manufacturing
of a patent folding bed, the most valuable and salable in the market.
The establishment has been doubled in capacity in the single year of
its existence and further large additions must soon be made.
Mr. S. M. Foster is the proprietor of an institution that gives steady
employment to over 300 operatives, mostly girls. The business is that
of manufacturing shirt waists for children, an industry entirely new
hereabouts. An immense building is occupied near the furniture
company's establishment.
The Clark & Rhinesmith Lumber company is one of the solid and
thrifty industries of Fort Wayne. Their extensive works are situated
at the intersection of the Wabash track and Lafayette street, and employ
150 men. Here are manufactured the Anthony Wayne washing
machines, which are sold all over the world. The principal products,
however, are building materials of all kinds, • such as doors, sash,
blinds, etc.
The Fort Wayne Organ company is said to pay the handsomest
dividends of any manufacturing investment in the city. The company
now owns large shops on South Fairfield avenue, and sends around the
9 2
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Globe organs for the church, the concert hall and the parlor, of surpass-
ing excellence for correctness of pitch, durability of workmanship, and
beautv of design. Of late years an immense foreign trade has grown up.
Directly opposite the Fort Wayne Jenney Electric Light works is
located the large establishment of Louis Rastetter. The business is the
converting of ash timber into buggy bows and other articles of bent
wood work, known to the trade. Many thousand dollars are paid to
Mr. Rastetter annually by A. G. Spaulding & Bros., of Chicago, for
racquet bats, base ball bats and other sporting goods. One hundred men
are employed.
A particularly thrify industry is that of the Fleming Manufacturing
company in the Ninth ward. The company owns valuable patents for
the manufacture of road scrapers and leveling machines which are sold
in great numbers from ocean to ocean. The buildings have 40,000
square feet of floorage. Mr. Charles Pfeiffer is the manager.
In the extreme west end of the city are located the works of the
Horton Manufacturing company. The large buildings with the lumber
yard cover over an acre of ground, and over 100 men are employed.
Here are manufactured the Horton washing machine and four styles of
corn planters. Mr. John C. Peters is the principal proprietor.
Near to the Horton works the Indiana machine works have built
new and large buildings which are devoted to the manufacture of wood
working machinery of various kinds, pulleys, etc. An immense business
has been built up.
• One of the oldest and strongest of the wood manufacturing enter-
prises in, the city is that of the Peters Box and Lumber company, situ-
ated in the Ninth ward. The company was founded by Mr. John C.
Peters, and its principal industry was long the manufacture of boxes, but
the concern is now chiefly occupied with the manufacture of furniture
of a high grade, and competes successfully with the big institutions at
Grand Rapids, Mich., and other furniture -making centers. Charles
Pape, William Fleming and Wilson McQuiston are the proprietors.
They have recently added the manufacture of wooden pulleys to their
business.
In the extreme east end of the city Winch & Sons have established a
hub factory, which gives employment to eighty men.
The White wheel works were organized in 1872. The business is
now owned by Capt. James B. White, ex-member of congress, and his
son, John W. White. The latter has the management and gives to it
his entire time and attention. The works have a paid up capital of
$100,000, and the value of the annual output is $150,000. One hundred
and thirty hands are employed the year round and the pay roll is $4,000
per month. Fifty thousand dollars is annually expended for material,
and nearly all of this large sum is distributed in the near vicinity of Fort
Wayne, to find its way again in the local channels of trade.
Made up as Fort Wayne's population is, largely of Germans, and
people of German extraction, it is not strange that the business of brew-
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 93
ing beer has grown to mammoth proportious. There are two great
breweries here. The oldest is that of C. L. Centlivre, an enterprising
Alsacian, and it is, perhaps, best known as the French brewery. The
situation is a charming one on the bank of the St. Joseph river, a mile
north of the city. The brewery bottling works and boat house were
entirely destroyed by fire on the night of July 16, 18S9, and are to be
rebuilt upon a magnificent scale. What, with the brewery, the hand-
some residences of C. L. Centlivre and his sons, the bottling works,
and the fleet of pleasure boats on the river, over $300,000 will be
represented.
The Herman Berghoff Brewing company began business in 1888
and erected a magnificent brewer)'-, equipped with the very latest
appliances for the manufacture of pure and wholesome beer. The
brewery was burned down on August 22, 1S88, before it had well begun
operation. It was immediately restored and does a business so large
that a new malt house is to be erected within a few months. The brew-
ery proper is 120 by 160 feet in dimensions and is six stories high. It
has a capacity of 100,000 barrels a year and represents an investment
of $175,000. The Berghoffs belong to a noted family of brewers at
Dortmunder, Germany, and Dortmunder beer is the name of a principal
product of the establishment.
It was not the purpose of this article to describe all of the manu-
facturing interests of Fort Wayne. Accordingly only a few of the
larger ones have been mentioned and these at no great length. There
might be added extended notices of an hundred other hives of industry,
woolen mills, soap factories, vast pork-packing establishments, tress
hoop factories, mattress factories, cigar manufactories, boiler shops,
planing-mills, sash, door and blind factories, stave and heading works,
harness factories, marble and stone works and so on. But this general
description, with such further particulars as are embodied in the follow-
ing pages devoted to the gentlemen connected with these industries, is
all the scope of this work will permit.
John H. Bass, the most distinguished of the men who have built up
great manufacturing interests in northern Indiana, is of Kentucky nativ-
ity, born at Salem, Livingston county, November 9th, 1835. His father,
Sion Bass, was born in North Carolina, November 7th, 1802, and at
three years of age removed with his parents to Kentucky. He was a
man of great worth, and by occupation a merchant and farmer. After
residing in Kentucky until 1866, he came to Fort Wayne, where he died
August 7th, 1888. He married Jane Dodd, daughter of John. She
was born in Charleston, S. C, June 19th, 1802, and died in Fort
Wayne, August 26, 1874. Sion Bass was a son of Jordan Bass, who
was born in Virginia in 1764, and died in Christian county, Ky., at
eighty-nine years of age. After receiving a thorough academic and
business education in Kentucky, John H. Bass removed to Fort Wayne,
in 1852, and entered the employment of the firm of Jones, Bass & Co.,
in 1854, with which he remained until it discontinued business in 1858-
94 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
His brother, Sion S. Bass, who came to Fort Wayne in 184S, was a
member of this firm and one of the leading business men of this city.
At the outbreak of the rebellion, he left his business and assisted in the
organization of the famous Thirteenth regiment, which was mustered in
September 24th, 1861. Of this regiment, Sion S. Bass was commis-
sioned colonel, and he led the regiment through preliminary movements
up to the battle of Shiloh. Arriving on that bloody field the second day
of the fight he led his men forward in the face of a terribly destructive
fire. In this movement he fell mortally wounded. A more gallant
soldier or devoted pariot never lived. John H. Bass, having mastered
the manufacturing business at which he had been engaged, became, in
1859, interested in the Fort Wayne machine works, which succeeded
the firm with which he had been employed. The stock of this compan} r
coming into the hands of Samuel Hanna and Mr. Bass, the partnership
of Bass & Hanna became controllers of the business in 1863, the in-
terest of Judge Hanna being transferred to H. H. Hanna. In 1S69,
through the death of the junior partner, Mr. Bass purchased the entire
business, which, under his management has had a wonderful develop-
ment, and furnishes employment to thousands of men, as well as aiding
greatly in the upbuilding of the city. In the same year in which he be-
came sole owner of the plant here, he founded the St. Louis car wheel
company, at St. Louis, Mo., of which he has been president and owned
a controlling interest since its organization. With confidence that is
perhaps unparalleled, he established an extensive foundry in Chicago in
addition to his other large investments, in the midst of the panic of 1873,
when many were deterred from any new ventures. These latter
works are also for the manufacture of car wheels and general rail-
road work, and have prospered equally with all his other enterprises.
The works at Fort Wayne, which are prominent among the manufac-
turing institutions of this city, are described elsewhere in this work. In
1880 Mr. Bass established a plant for the manufacture of iron in north-
eastern Alabama, whence iron is shipped to his establishments at Fort
Wayne, St. Louis and Chicago. In addition to his manufactories, Mr.
Bass has invested heavily in enterprises for the advancement of Fort
Wayne. He and Stephen Bond were mainly instrumental in the build-
ing of the street railway, and own a controlling interest. He has been
for many years a stockholder and director in the First National and Old
National banks, and for the past three years has been president of the
first named. The famous Brookside farm, adjoining the city limits, is
also an outgrowth of his wide-spread enterprise. It is devoted to the
importing and breeding of Clydesdale horses and Galloway cattle, and
has attained a national reputation. Of the company which manages this,
farm he is president. The farm embraces more than 300 acres, the
property of Mr. Bass, who cultivates about 1,500 acres in Allen county,
and owning other large tracts in this county, and many thousand acres
in this and other states; notably about 18,000 acres of valuable mineral
land in Alabama. Mr. Bass was married in 1865, to Laura, daughter of
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 95
Judge Lightfoot, of Falmouth, Ky. They have two children, viz. :
Laura Grace and John H., jr. Mr. Bass is, in politics, in favor of tariff
reform and has affiliated with the democratic party, to the national con-
vention of which, in 1888, he was a delegate at large. He was nominated
as one of the presidential electors in that year. But politics is necessar-
ily subordinated with him, to the tremendous demands of his business.
In the splendid development of this he has displayed the rarest executive
ability and a brilliant genius for affairs. The fame he has attained how-
ever, rests upon him lightly, and he is still a courteous, companionable
gentleman to all, and thoroughly occupied with the immediate super-
vision of his business. The work he has done for his city in promoting
its growth will long be remembered. His life work ranks him among
those who are the creators of cities.
R. J. Fisher, treasurer of the Bass foundry and machine works, came
to Fort Wayne in the spring "of 1861, and for about one year was
engaged with William H. Brooks, book dealer, and then for two years
with Reed & Wall, druggists. He entered the employment of J. H.
Bass in 1864, and has ever since remained with him. He was assigned
the responsible position of treasurer in 1873, an d his fidelity and ability
are unquestioned. In politics he is a democrat; is a member of the
Masonic order; socially, is highly esteemed, and as a business man
occupies a leading position. His father, James R. Fisher, was born in
New Jersey in 1802, and was by occupation a furniture dealer. He was
married to Henrietta Burnett, and in 1852 removed to Chicago, where
his wife died the same year, and he passed away three years later.
They had six children, of whom R. J. is the fifth, born at Little Falls,
N. Y., September 24, 1845. Mr. Fisher was married October 30, 1866,
to Julia M. Holton, a native of Covington, Ky., and they have one child,
Laura M. B., now the wife of L. E. Walker, of Los Angeles, Cal.
One of Fort Wayne's enterprising and progressive citizens, Henry
William Meyer, has since August, 1886, occupied the responsible posi-
tion of general foreman of the machine department of the Bass foundry and
machine works. He first became engaged in these works in 1866, has
become a thoroughly posted, practical and ingenious machinist. After serv-
ing as assistant foreman he was promoted to his present place. Mr. Meyer
was born in Sylvania, Ohio, October 6, 1850, the son of John M. and
Anna M. (Loeffler) Meyer, natives of Bavaria. The father was born
July 3, 1823, and died February 11, 1871, in this city, whither he re-
moved with his family in 1858. The mother is living here in her seven-
tieth year. For fourteen years the senior Meyer held the position of
section foreman. October 17, 1875, Henry William Meyer married
Amelia Buhr. She was born in Fort Wayne, May 5, 1852, and they
have three children living: Mamie, Henry and William. A fourth child,
Frederick, died November 29, 1886. The family are members of the
St. Paul's German Lutheran church, of which Mr. Meyer is one of the
trustees. Politically, Mr. Meyer is a pronounced republican.
The foremanship of the core room at the Bass foundry and machine
q6 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
works is intrusted to Diedrich Brandt, a skillful artisan, who though not
a native of this country, and having his own way to make in life, has
acquired a comfortable home, and become a deservedly popular citizen.
He was born in Prussia, September 6, 1850, son of Conrad and Chris-
tina (Humke) Brandt. His father, born in the old country, died in 1862,
aged sixty-one, and the mother, who was born in 1810, died in her native
land in 1855. They had six children, of whom Mr. Brandt was the
youngest. He came to Fort Wayne in June, 1867, and having been
employed on the farm at home, followed the same occupation in this
country for ten months. He then worked two years for Freeman &
Rudisill, and entered the employment of J. H. Bass in 1870, where he
has since remained, having held the foremanship of the core room for
twelve years. He was married in 1879 to Bertha Lohrmann, born in
Germany in i860, and they have four children: Henry, Theodore,
Diedrich and Edward. Mr. Brandt and wife are members of the
Lutheran church, and he is in politics an active republican.
The foremanship of the cleaning room of the Bass foundry and
machine works is held by J. Christopher Matsch, who was born at Kusey,
Province Saxony, May 27, 1844. His parents, John Christopher and
Dora (Lenz) Matsch, came to the United States in 1854, anc ^ settled at
Cicero, Ind., afterward coming to Fort Wayne, where the father died
in 1874, at the age of sixty-two, and the mother died in 1885. They
had three children, now living, of whom the second is Christopher. In
the spring of 1858, he entered Concordia college, but after a year and
a half study was compelled, by failing sight, to leave school. He then
remained upon the farm until 1861, when he entered the employment of
A. D. Brandriff, of this city, and afterward that of T. K. Breckenridge
in the grocery business, and subsequently was engaged with Conner &
Co., merchants. He took a trip during three and a half years, through
the west, and upon his return in 1870, served two years as fireman on
the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad. Afterward he was
with Gillett & Co., and in 1878 became engaged with J. H. Bass, and
has since been connected with the works. He was married in 1873, to
Sophia Woebbeking, born in Adams county in 1849, and they have
three children: Dora, Anna and Emma. They are members of the
Zion's Lutheran church.
For ten years the important foremanship of the car wheel depart-
ment of the Bass foundry and machine works has been in the competent
hands of Robert Cran, who is distinguished as an artisan and esteemed
as a citizen. He was born in the old city of Quebec, February 14,
1840, the son of Charles and Anna (Madison) Cran. His father was
born in England in 181 1, the mother in Scotland in 1813. They came
to Quebec about 1830. The father now resides at Sandusky, Ohio.
Robert Cran was educated in Canada, and at seventeen years of age
began at the moulder's trade in Bissel's iron foundry at Quebec. He
remained in Canada until i860, when he came to Fort Wayne. In 1861
he entered the employment of Murry & Benningin, and in 1862, began
////>/ /Ms-
'-u/C/
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 97
work for J. H. Bass, with whom he has since remained. Mr. Cran was
for twenty-two years a member of the Fort Wayne volunteer fire depart-
ment, and for six years was first assistant chief under Frank Vogel. In
May, 1889, the regard and confidence of the community in his worth as a
citizen was manifested by his election to the city council from the sixth
ward. He is a member of the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Cran, who
is a member of the Catholic church, bore the maiden name of Mary
Ward. They were married in 1882, and have three children, Anna B.,
Charles, and Charlotte.
Driving a canal boat on the Wabash & Erie seems to be an occupa-
tion belonging to a generation past and gone, but such was the first
employment of Jacob J. Stier, who was a boy of twelve years when he
began that work, and is now one of the foremen of the Bass foundry
and machine works. At fourteen years of age he began learning the
moulder's trade with Murray & Bennigan, and in 1866 entered the
employment of J. H. Bass, and in the same works has since remained,
having been for ten years foreman of the moulding department, and
having supervision of eighty men. He was born in this country April
27, 1847, son of Henry and Charlotte (Meyers) Stier, who came to the
county at a very early day. He was married in 1876, to Carrie Weaver,
who was born in Knox county, Penn., May 16, 1849, and they have six
children: Frederick G., Edward, Frank, Joseph, Mary and Anna. Mr.
Stier and family are membecs of St. Mary's Catholic church, and he is
a Catholic Knight, of branch No. 103. In politics he is* a democrat.
Mr. Stier is of thorough attainments in his trade, and is esteemed as a
citizen.
In 1862 Frank H. Fink entered the employment of J. H. Bass, and
has ever since been engaged in the works, ample evidence of his effi-
ciency and value as a skilled mechanic. He has had through life to
depend upon his own acquirements, but he has advanced steadily, and is
now completing his eighth year as foreman of the moulding department
of the Bass foundry and machine works. He was born at Fort
Wayne, July 27, 1847, the son of Anthony and Mary (Dahmann) Fink,
natives of Germany, who came to this city about 1837. His father
died about 1856, and the mother August 4, 1889. This was the second
marriage of the mother, and by it she had two children, of whom
Frank H. is the youngest. He attended St. Mary's school and commer-
cial college, and obtained a good education. He was married in 1S70,
to Elizabeth Kartholl, a native of Germany, born in 1848, who was
brought to this country in an early day by her father, Joseph Kartholl,
who died on the canal boat on the Wabash & Erie canal, this side of
Defiance, Ohio, while coming to this city. His body was brought here
for burial. Mr. and Mrs. Fink have six children: Caroline, Nora,
Mary, Frank, Anthony and Joseph. The family are members of the
Catholic church, and Mr. Fink is a Catholic Knight. In politics he is
a democrat.
VII
n8 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
For over thirty years Rudolph Bensman, foreman of the boiler
department of the Bass works, has followed the trade of boiler-maker,
and in his branch of mechanics and construction, he has few equals in
thorough knowledge and practical ability. Mr. Bensman began his
trade in 1857, with one McLauchlin, of this city. In 1S65 he removed
to Norwalk, Ohio, and was there employed ten years in the Lake Shore
railroad shops. Upon his return to Fort Wayne in 1875 he entered the
employment of the Wabash railroad company, and there remained until
1886, when, in October, he accepted his present position. He was born
in Hanover, Germany, November 16, 1843, son of Rudolph Bensman,
born in Hanover, in 1804, who married Elizabeth Quint, born in Prussia,
in 1807, and removed to Fort Wayne with his family in 1844. He died
here in 1867, but his widow survives. They had five children, of whom
Rudolph is the youngest but one. He was -married in 1865 to Cather-
ine Loran, who was born in France in 1848, and they have five children:
William, born in August, 1870; Alice, November, 1880; Mamie May,
1883; Florence, December, 1885, and Gertrude, October, 1888. Mr.
Bensman and family are members of the Catholic church, and politically
he is a democrat.
In the year 1875 Frederick C. Meyers first became employed at the
J. H. Bass works, and has since been one of the trusted men in that
great establishment. During the past two years he has been one of the
foremen of the moulding department. Mr. Meyers was born in Prussia,
May 22, 1857, the son of Frederick and Louis (Dammier) Meyers, both
natives of Germany, who now reside in Fort Wayne. They came here
with their family in 1872. Frederick was the second born of their five
living children, and received his education in the old country. In 1877
he was married to Mary Kirkel, who was born in this city in 1853, and
died in 1883, leaving three children: Katie, Charles and Minnie. In
1884 Mr. Meyers was married to Cassie Beierline, who was born in
Germany and came to this country when five years old. They have
one child, Frederick. Mr. Meyers and wife are members of the Luth-
eran church, and he is politically, of the democratic faith. He is a
worthy and highly esteemed young man, and in his line of activity has
a bright future.
JV. G. Olds & Sons. — This famous manufacturing establishment was
founded in 1861 by Noble G. Olds, who began that year his residence
in Fort Wayne, which continued until his death in April, 1876. He was
born at Bedford Springs, Penn., in January, 1818, son ©f Daniel Olds, a
native of Pennsylvania, who died in New York at about the eightieth
year of his age. The boy, Noble, having removed to the latter state
with his parents, began work in a saw-mill, and then turned his atten-
tion successively to carpentry and cabinet-making and machine pattern
making. In 1848 he removed to Sandusky, Ohio, and the next year
became master mechanic of an agricultural establishment. Afterward
he established machine works, but sold out, and in 1853 went to Buffalo,
N. Y., where he was for one year master mechanic of the Eagle Iron
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 99
*
works. His next enterprise was at Sandusky, Ohio, where in 1854 ne
established the.N. G. Olds machine works. In 1859 and i860 the firm
of Olds & Occobach & Co. was formed, to conduct the Sandusky wheel
works, but he remained in that city only until 1861. Mr. Olds was in
politics a whig and subsequently a republican; was a member of the
Baptist church. As an artisan and designer he had remarkable talent,
to which were added an executive and business ability of a rare order.
In 1838 Mr. Olds was married to Elizabeth Woolsey, who was born in
New York in 181 5, and died in 1872. They had five children: Henry
G., born in 1839; Charles V., 1841, who was drowned accidentally in
the winter of 1849-50; John D., born September 5, 1843; Jay V., 1849,
and Charles L., 1855. After the death of Mr. Olds, sr., the business
was conducted as a partnership until 1882, when the firm was incorpo-
rated as N. G. Olds & Sons, with a capital stock of $400,000, the officers
being Henry G. Olds, president; John D. Olds, vice president; Joseph
Henry Wilder, secretary; Thomas C. Rogers, treasurer, and so con-
tinues. The establishment covers an area of ten acres, is composed of
a series of brick and wooden buildings and sheds of large capacity, is
supplied with steam power aggregating 600 horse-power, and gives
employment to a large force of skillful workmen. It is probably the
most complete establishment of the kind in the world, and its output is
unrivaled in quantity, and of such excellence that it is in great demand
not only throughout this continent, but is also exported to South Amer-
ica, Europe and Australia. John D. Olds, vice president, was born at
Syracuse, N. Y., and has been a member of the manufacturing organ-
ization since the formation of the old firm in 1873. In 1863 he enlisted
in Company C, Seventy-fourth Indiana volunteers, and served three
months. He was married in 1866 to Allie C. McLaine, who was born
in Knox county, Ohio, in 1843, and they have three children: Egbert C,
born 1868; Charles M., August, 1870, and Hugh B., 1878. He and
wife are members of the Presbyterian church. In politics he is a repub-
lican. In 1868 he became a Mason, of Home lodge, No. 342, and in
1888 became a member of the Scottish Rite, Mystic Shrine and a
Knight Templar. He has added to the value of the product of the com-
pany by the invention of the Olds compound band hub.
Joseph H. Wilder, above named as secretary of N. G. Olds & Sons,
is a native of Holliston, Mass., born in the year 1844, son °f J ose P n an d
Sarah (Bruce) Wilder, both natives of that state. Ebenezer Wilder,
father of Joseph, lived at Lancaster, Mass., to a great age, and the latter
is still living at Holliston, having been a citizen of that place for seventy-
five years. His wife died at their home about 1852, when their son
Joseph was eight years old. The family is of English descent, the
American ancestor having immigrated in the last century. Joseph H.
Wilder is the only living descendant of his parents. He received a good
common school education and was for three years a student at the
Phillips academy at Exeter, N. H. In i860 he came to Fort Wayne,
and in 1863, entered the employment of N. G. Olds & Sons. Upon
IOO VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
the incorporation he became a member of the company, and his career
in this connection has made him conspicuous as a business man. In
politics he is an ardent republican. Mr. Wilder was married in 1867
to Jennie Leland, a native of Massachusetts, born at Holliston, daughter
of Aklen Leland, and they have one child, Constance.
Ferdinand F. Boltz was born at Saarbruck, Rhenish Prussia, Octo-
ber 26, 1839. His father was a prosperous hotel keeper, of a family
which had been in Saarbruck for four generations, though of Bohemian
origin. His father's mother was Savnia Lucas, of St. Avoid, Lorraine.
His mother was Louise Best, daughter of Henry Best, a native of the
Palatinate, and a baker, whose failure in business involved the father of
Mr. Boltz. Her mother's maiden name was Neizer, and she was a
native of Saarbruck. Immediately after this misfortune the father, in
the spring of 1848, emigrated, and reaching Fort Wayne in the fall of
that year, found employment at his trade of cabinet-maker, and sent for
his family* In October, 1849, Ferdinand F. Boltz, and his mother, sisters,
Louise, Caroline and Amelia, and brothers, Gus. J., and Fred. C, reached
Fort Wavne. Here the family became prosperous and highly esteemed.
The father was born November 9, 1809, and is still living, but the
mother died in 1874. Ferdinand F. attended school, to learn the lan-
guage, and then for several years found employment at the home of
Thomas Hamilton. At the age of fourteen he became clerk at the store of
William Jacobs, and until 1857, was in his employ or in that of John Hamil-
ton, and in the latter year became engaged with James H. Robinson,
then manufacturing boots and shoes. At the first call for volunteers for
the defense of the Union, Mr. Boltz was ready to serve his country, and
his name was the first on the roll of a company raised for three months'
service, but which was accepted by Gov. Morton as Company G,
Twelfth regiment, and mustered into service, May 11, 1861, with Will-
iam H. Link as captain. Mr. Boltz was mustered in as first sergeant.
The regiment served first in southern Indiana, and after the first battle
of Bull Run, in July, 1861, the command joined the division of Banks at
Harper's Ferry. Mr. Boltz soon proved himself a soldier of rare merit,
and when the time of enlistment of the regiment expired, he was mus-
tered out in May 1862, as sergeant-major of the regiment, a rank to
which he had been promoted in the previous August. In August, 1862,
under President Lincoln's call for " 300,000 more," the Eighty-eighth
regiment Indiana volunteers was organized, and Mr. Boltz, who had been
out of the service but a short time, enlisted in this regiment as second
lieutenant of Company F, under Capt. Lefevre. As a part of Gen.
Ly tie's brigade, the regiment had its first battle at Perry ville, Ky., Octo-
ber 8, 1862, and lost heavily, though somewhat sheltered by its position.
The soldierly conduct of Lieut. Boltz led to his promotion in January,
1862, to first lieuteuant, and in December, 1862, he became acting adju-
tant of the regiment, a position he filled during the battle of Stone
River. His regiment was engaged here on December 31, 1S62, and
January 1, 2 and 3, 1863, and made the last charge, and fired the first
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. IOI
volley from the Union lines on that bloody field. Lieut. Boltz com-
manded his company during the Tullahoma campaign, and in August,
1863, again assumed the adjutantcy of the regiment, serving in that
position during the Chickamauga campaign and siege of Chattanooga.
Lieut. Boltz was injured at the battle of Stone River by the falling of
his horse, and after being promoted captain of his company to succeed
Isaac Lefevre, killed at Chickamauga, he was not able to assume com-
mand until the Atlanta campaign. In this he served bravely until
wounded August 7, 1864, at the battle of Eutaw Springs. Rejoining his
command October 1, 1864, he participated in the pursuit of Hood as far
as the Tennessee line, and then returned to Atlanta, whence he moved
with his regiment with Sherman to the sea, and from Savannah to Golds-
boro, N. C. The regiment took a prominent part in the battles of
Averysboro and Bentonville. The latter engagement, it was the for-
tune of Capt. Boltz to open, and being unexpectedly thrown into a situa-
tion of great responsibility, he displayed qualities of the best soldiership.
On the morning of the battle he had been specially detailed by orders
from division headquarters to select a picked detail and take the advance,
and go to Goldsboro if he could, Gen. Sherman not believing that Gen.
Johnston was near. Capt. Boltz had no hopes of getting through, but
declaring that he would try, he moved out on the morning of March 19,
with seventy good men. Six miles out they found several hundred fora-
gers gathered, who revealed the presence of the "Johnnies." Deploy-
ing as skirmishers, Capt. Boltz's men advanced and were immediately
under fire ; but drove back the enemy's advance and discovered heavy
columns moving up to attack the army of Sherman. Boltz fell back to
a narrow belt of timber, and continuing firing, sent a messenger back to
warn Gen. Hobart to prepare for battle. In a short time the first divi-
sion came up, and the battle was begun. Capt. Boltz's courage and
promptness in attacking the enemy, gave the Fourteenth corps time to
prepare for action, and he received the personal thanks of Gen. Hobart
for saving the corps. The military career of Capt. Boltz, so full of
honorable deeds, came to a close June 7, 1865, when he was honorably
mustered out. He then engaged in the retail grocery business, at Fort
Wayne, in which, however, he did not succed, and in April, 1875, he
became cashier of the Empire line. Since February, 1880, he has been
timber purchasing agent of the firm of N. G. Olds & Sons. Capt.
Boltz is a past commander of Sion S. Bass post, G. A. R. He was
made a Mason in Perseverance military lodge, No. 1, at Sharpsburg,
Va., in 1862, and is now pastmaster of Home lodge, 342, is a member of
Fort Wayne chapter, No. 19, is past eminent commander of Fort Wayne
commandery No. 4, K. T., is a member of Fort Wayne council, No. 4,
lodge of Perfection, No. 2, and Indiana consistory, and of the Murat
Temple, No. 1, Indianapolis. He was married September 4, 1864, to
Cornelia A. Sowers, daughter of Samuel and Mercy J. Sowers. Mr.
Sowers was one of the pioneers of this county in 1834. Capt. Boltz is
a republican in politics, and a leading citizen of the city.
102 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
For twenty-three years Charles Cartvvright has held the position of
lumber agent for N. G. Olds & Sons. He was born in Miami county,
Ohio, April 24, 1825, the son of Charles and Elizabeth (Paxton) Cart-
wright, who were born and married in Rockbridge county, Va. About
1 8 19 they emigrated to Greene county, Ohio, and later to Miami
county, where the father who was a farmer lived until 1832; his wife
survived him until 1846, when she died in Mercer county, Ohio. At
sixteen Mr. Cartwright began to learn the tailor's trade, which he fol-
lowed about twenty-six years, excepting from June 2, to August 7,
1846, during which time he served in the Mexican war, in Company B,
First Ohio regiment. His service was cut short by sickness. Prior to
this he had worked at Piqua, Dayton, Union, Ohio, Maiden, W. Va.,
and then in Xenia, Ohio. From the war he returned to Ohio, and until
1S53 resided at Union and Covington, and in March, 1866, he came to
Fort Wayne, and has ever since been employed as lumber agent with
the firm of N. G. Olds & Sons. His long engagement is evidence of
his steadiness of character and of the value of his services to the prom-
inent firm which he represents. Mr. Cartwright was married Novem-
ber 10, 1848, to Mary, daughter of John Sinks, then of Union, Ohio.
Mrs. Cartwright was born in Miami county, Ohio, May 22, 1831. They
have had seven children: John C, Jeremiah L., Frank P., Edward A.,
Burty E., Maud M. and Charles, all of whom are living except John C,
who was a conductor on the Pittsburgh railway and was killed on duty,
July 12, 1876, at the age of nearly twenty-seven years. Politically Mr.
Cartwright has been a life long democrat. He has led a strictly tem-
perate life, having entirely abstained from intoxicants and tobacco.
The superintendency of the N. G. Olds & Sons' wheel works has
been entrusted since 1884 with Victor A. Sallot, a careful and accurate
business man, who thoroughly fills that position. He was born in
France, August 27, 1844. His father, born in France, in 1809, married
Josephine Julian, who was born" in 181 1, and in 1841 they came direct
to this city. The father is by occupation a carpenter and cooper, and he
purchased the first lots in what is now known as " Frenchtown." Vic-
tor A. is the youngest of two children. In 1868 he engaged in the
manufacture of sash and doors, and in 1870 the factory was converted
to the manufacture of furniture. This business was continued until
1872, when the factory was destroyed by fire. In 1873 Mr. Sallot
became associated with Barney O'Connor in cutting out dimensions stuff
and shipping the same, which business Mr. Sallot subsequently became
sole proprietor of and continued until 1878. He then entered the
employment of Boseker & White, in their wheel works, and remained
with that firm nearly six years, three years of the time as superintend-
ent, until January, 1884. Mr. Sallot is in politics a democrat, and is a
member of the Catholic church. He was married in 1881 to Agnes
Baker, who was born in Fort Wayne in 1854, and they have five sons:
Remedius, Joachim, Hubert, Stephen and Barnard.
The foreman of the rimming department of the Olds wheel works,
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. - IO3
Hiram B. Woolsey, was born in Jordan, N. Y., December 25, 1840.
His father, Luther L. Woolsey, born in New York in 1799, the son of
Luther L. Woolsey, who lived in New York to the age of ninety-nine
years. Luther L. Woolsey died in his native state in 1841, and his wife,
whose maiden name was Keturah Bloomer, died in Fort Wayne in 1882,
at the age of eighty. Ten of their childeen are living, Hiram being the
youngest. When he was twelve years old he went to Sandusky, Ohio,
and lived there some time with his brother John, receiving his education
at that city. When seventeen years old he returned to New York and
enlisted at Syracuse, in Company G, One Hundred and Twenty-second
New York regiment. He served for three years, was wounded at
Gettysburg and Petersburg, and was honoralby discharged in July, 1864.
In the following month he came to Fort Wayne, and began his engage-
ment with N. G. Olds & Sons, which has ever since continued, with the
exception of three years he has served during that long period as fore-
man, a fact which speaks eloquently of his faithfulness and worth as a
man and as a mechanic. He was married in 1873, to Ella A. Dresser,
who was born at Hillsdale, Mich., in 1849. They h ave two children,
Jay and May. In politics Mr. Woolsey is a republican ; he is a Mason,
a comrade of the G. A. R., and a member of the Baptist church.
In the month of February, 1865, Washington McNamara, now a
popular and worthy citizen of Fort Wayne, entered the employment of
N. G. Olds & Sons, and with the exception of two years, he has been
connected with the wheel works ever since. For eleven years he has
been a foreman, now having in charge the yards and drying department,
and he has the good will of all with whom he is associated. Mr. Mc-
Namara was born at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, April 12, 1849. ^is parents,
William and Susan (Porter) McNamara, were born in Maryland, the
father in 1805, the mother in 181 1. The family removed to Indiana in
1855? settled first in Huntington county, and came to Fort Wayne in
1864. The father died in this city in 1868. Seven of their children
are living, Washington McNamara being the fifth born of these. He
was married October 28, 1885, to Laura Lindsley, who was born Sep-
tember 28, 1 864, at Attica, Ind. Mr. McNamara is a member of the
I. O. O. F., Fort Wayne lodge, and politically is a democrat.
The foreman of the polishing department at the establishment of
N. G. Olds & Sons is Matthias Cramer. He was born in Germany,
December 4, 1844, son of Matthias and Barbara (Doppen) Cramer,
natives of Germany. The mother died in her native land in 1846, and
the father died in Fort Wayne in 1869. Their son Matthias came to
Fort Wayne from Germany in 1856. When the war broke out, though
only a boy in years, he gallantly enlisted in the cause of his adopted coun-
try, August 18, 1861, in Company E., Thirtieth regiment Indiana volun-
teers, and participated in the battle of Shiloh where he was shot through
the head, and on account of his injury was discharged in July, 1862.
But he re-enlisted in the following September in Company K, One
Hundredth Indiana and served until the close of the war, being commis-
104
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
sioned first lieutenant. He was honorably discharged June 29, 1865.
During his second enlistment he participated in the battles of Vicksburg,
Black River, Jackson, Chattanooga, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mount,
Atlanta, and others, and was with Sherman in his march to the sea.
On his return to Fort Wayne he entered the employment of Olds &
Sons, and has been with them ever since excepting nine years spent
in slate roofing. He is a member of the G. A. R., George Humphrey
post, of the Catholic church, and is highly esteemed. Mr. Cramer was
married in 1868 to Augusta Miller, a native of France, and they have
eight children: Mary, Maggie, Rosa, Elizabeth, Anna, Tracy, Mathia
and Cecilia.
One of the boy soldiers of the war of the rebellion, Robert G.
Renfrew, enlisted at the age of fifteen, in Company B, Twenty-first
Pennsylvania cavalry, and served faithfully during the various severe
battles of the army of the Potomac which followed until the close of the
war, receiving an honorable discharge, July 17, 1865. In the same
month he came to Fort Wayne, and for two years engaged in farming.
In 1868 he entered, the employment of N. G. Olds & Sons, and has been
connected with the works of that firm until the present, with the excep-
tion of one year. Twelve years ago he was appointed foreman of the
fitting department, the position he now holds. Mr. Renfrew was born
at Fayetteville, Penn., March 9, 1848, son of Rea K. and Maria (Bohn)
Renfrew, of whose children three others are living. He was married
in 1S72 to Sarah A. Fox, who was born in Lancaster, Penn., in 1847.
She is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Renfrew is a republican
in politics, is a member of Fort Wayne lodge, No. 14, I. O. O. F., a
comrade of George Humphrey post, No. 530, and is honored and
esteemed as a citizen.
Since 1880 Frank W. Dunham has filled with credit to his skilfulness
and business ability, the active and important place of foreman of the
spoke turning department of the N. G. Olds & Sons wheel works. He
was born at Lucas, Richland county, Ohio, January 28, 1856, the son
of James and Frances Dunham. His father, a native of Delaware, was
a soldier in the One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio regiment, and died in
hospital at St. Louis in 1863. Seven children of these parents are liv-
ing, of whom Frank W. was the fourth born. A few years after the
death of his father his mother died. Mr. Dunham remained on the farm
for five years afterward, and then, in 1873, came to Fort Wayne, and
found employment in White's wheel works, where he remained four
years. He entered the employment of the Olds company in 1879, an< ^
his marked ability soon caused his promotion to the foremanship he now
holds. Mr. Dunham is well known and popular in the community. He
and wife are members of the Berry Street Methodist Episcopal church;
he is a member of Phoenix lodge, No. 101, K. of P., and politically he
ranks with the republican party. Mr. Dunham was married in 1880, to
Jennie Dunfee, who was born at Columbia City, in 1862. They have
three children: Charles H., Albert E., and an infant child unnamed.
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. IO5
James A. Graham, general foreman of the car shops of the western di-
vision of the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad, at Fort Wayne, was born in
Alleghany count}'-, Perm., December 25, 1856. His father, John Gra-
ham, was born in the north of Ireland in 1825; emigrated to the United
States in 1847, and settled in Alleghany county, where he died Febru-
ary 3, 1889. By occupation he was an engineer in the P., Ft. W. & C.
shops, at Alleghany City. The mother of Mr. Graham was Martha
(McAleer) Graham, who was born in Ireland in 1827; immigrated in
1S47, and now lives in Alleghany city. James A. was reared in Alle-
ghany City, and received his education at the public schools of that
place. At thirteen years of age he extered the employ of Elliott &
Burges, nurserymen of Alleghany City, where he remained about two
years, and then entered the employ of James Calwell; becoming an er-
rand boy, he was promoted to a clerkship. But he became dissatisfied
with the life and prospects of dry goods salesman, and determined to
learn a trade, and accordingly he entered the car shops of the P., Ft.
W. & C. railway at Alleghany City as an apprentice, April 2, 1872. He
attended drawing-school during evenings, and faithfully applying him-
self, advanced until 1884, he was given charge of all passenger car re-
pairs in the Alleghany City shops, and continued in that capacity until
September, 1886, when he was transferred to Fort Wayne and given
the general foremanship of the car shops in this city. All the different
departments, including the east yard shops, are under Mr. Graham's
supervision, and the extent of his responsibility and the scope of his du-
ties, will be readily understood when it is known that he has under him
no less than half a dozen assistant foremen. In the spring of 1888
Mr. Graham realized the necessity of his company having a different
draw gear or draft rigging for freight cars, and at once began experi-
menting in that direction. In July following he succeeded in inventing
a device, of which he made a full-size model, and submitted it to Messrs.
J. Wood, then superintendent of motive power, F. D. Cassanave, then
master mechanic, and G. L. Potter, then assistant master mechanic,
who examined the invention, approved it, and gave Mr. Graham permis-
sion to equip ten new freight cars with his draw rigging, and the
same proving successful, it was adapted for all cars on the Pennsylvania
lines. On September 8, 1888, Mr. Graham filed an application for a
patent of his device, and on May 7, 1889, was awarded a patent for the
same in the United States. It is no doubt the most valuable draw gear
ever invented for durability and cheapness. Mr. Graham is a member
of the Fort Wayne lodge, No. 25, F. & A. M., and of the royal arcanum.
He was married in November, 1875, at Alleghany City, Penn., to Miss
Ella McNurtney, of Little Washington, Penn., and to them two daugh-
ters have been born : Martha B. and Minnie A. Mr. and Mrs. Graham
are members of the Methodist church.
Bernard Fitzpatrick, general foreman of the machine and erecting
shops of the western division of the P., Ft. W. & C. R. R. company,
was born at Lancaster City, Penn., August 7, 1850, the son of Bernard
106 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
and Margaret (Dougherty) Fitzpatrick, the former of whom was born
in Ireland and the latter at Philadelphia. The parents removed to Lan-
caster City in 1845, where they resided the rest of their lives. The
father became a prominent citizen and held numerous municipal posi-
tions, including that of alderman, for several years. His death occurred
in 1872, at the age of fifty-five years, his wife having died in 1857 at
the age of thirty-rive years. They were both members of the Catholic
church. Four sons and one daughter were born, four of whom survive.
Bernard Fitzpatrick was reared in Lancaster City and educated in the
common schools. In 1867 he began an apprenticeship as machinist in
E. S. Norris & Co.'s locomotive works, and after serving four years, in
187 1 he entered the Baldwin locomotive works in Philadelphia, where
he remained one year, and then went to Altoona. After working at the
latter place, he returned to Lancaster on account of the illness of his
father, and remained there until after his father's death. In 1872 he
worked at Scranton in the D., L. & W. R'y shops. Six months later
at Wilksbarre, in the Lehigh & Susquehanna R. R. shops, where he was
promoted to gang boss in the above shops under L. C. Braston, master
mechanic. He was next with the Lehigh Valley company as machinist,
then returned to Altoona, and next went to Zelinople, Penn., on the
Pittsburgh & Western, being foreman of the shops at that point for one
year. In January, 1882, Mr. Fitzpatrick came to Fort Wayne and
entered the P., Ft. W. & C. R. R. shops as a machinist, but a month
later was appointed assistant foreman of the round-house, in which capa-
city he served five months, and on June 1, 1882, he was promoted to his
present position. Mr. Fitzpatrick is a member of the Catholic Cathe-
dral and of St. John's Commandery Catholic Legion. Mr. Fitzpatrick
was married December 23, 1873, to Louisa Miller, of Baltimore, Md.,
who was born in that city in 1853. To this union three children have
been born : Harry, Willie and May.
Abel Fisher, lumber inspector and foreman of the lumber yards of
the P., Ft. W. & C. Ry. at Fort Wayne, was born in Lawrence county,
Penn., on March 29, 1844. He i s trie son °^ Abel Fisher, born in the
same county, whose father was John Fisher, an officer in the war of 181 2,
and one of the pioneers of Lawrence county, Penn. His wife was a
sister to Bishop Roberts, the pioneer Methodist who was bishop of what
was then known as the Erie conference, numbering all the Methodist
Episcopal churches west of the Alleghany mountains. The mother of
the subject of this mention was Polly Gibson, whose father was a native
of Pennsylvania and a pioneer of Lawrence county. Abel Fisher, sr.,
now over seventy years of age, is a resident of Iola, Kan., where he
owns and manages a hotel. He also conducts a hotel at Victoria, Kan.
His wife died in 1858. Abel Fisher, jr., was reared on a farm in Law-
rence county, Penn., and after obtaining a common school education, he
learned the miller's trade, and worked at the same until at the age of
seventeen years and three months. In July, 1861, he enlisted in Com-
pany G, of the Sixty-second Pennsylvania regiment of volunteer infantry,
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. IO7
as a private. He served three years, and was discharged at the expira-
tion of his time at Pittsburgh, July 4, 1864. He was wounded in the
right wrist at the battle of Gaines' Mill on the Peninsula. Returning to
Pennsylvania, he finished his trade and worked at it in Lawrence county
until 1869, when he came to Fort Wayne. He was engaged with the
railroad company as foreman of the lumber yards, and three months
later was made inspector. Mr. Fisher was married in 1869 to Jennie
Waddington, of Fort Wayne, who was born in Crestline, Ohio. To
them three children have been born: Maude M., wife of E. J. Pirson, of
Columbus, Ohio, Walter B. and William.
Andrew Weber, a well-known and valued citizen of Fort Wayne,
has been chief pattern maker on the western division of the Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad company, since May 2, i860. He was
born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, July 23, 1828, and in his native land
learned cabinet and pattern making. In May, 1851, he left his native
country and came to New York city, where he worked four years, and
then came to Fort Wayne, where he was engaged by Bowser & Story
as pattern maker. He began his engagement with the Pittsburgh rail-
road company as above stated, as foreman of the pattern department,
and is the second oldest foreman in the Fort Wayne shops. While at
New York Mr. Weber learned mechanical drawing with Commissioner
Albert Fink, who is also a native of Hesse-Darmstadt. Mr. Weber was
married August 2, 1853, to Anna Guentzer, who was born on the river
Rhine, Germany, in 1835. To them one son has been born, Carl
Weber, druggist, of Fort Wayne. Mr. Weber is a member of the Cath-
olic church, and for thirty-four years has been the leader of the Cathe-
dral choir. His voice is one of rare compass, two and a fourth octaves,
and there are few voices of that range in the country.
William Stephan, chief draftsman of the Pennsylvania company,
was born at Saxonia town, Mittweida, Germany, August 4, 1848. He
was educated in his native town and attended the Technicum, learning
mechanical engineering, in which he graduated in 1868. He followed
his profession for one year, and then entered the army and served in
the infantry from 1869 to the fall of 187 1, participating in the Franco-
Prussian campaigns. July 20, 1872, he reached the United States, and
coming directly to Fort Wayne, entered Bass foundry as pattern maker,
where he remained a year and a half. He then spent about one year
at New Haven, and afterward returned to Fort Wayne and entered the
employment of the Kerr Murray manufacturing company, in the pattern
department, where he remained four years. In 1878 he was engaged
by the Pennsylvania company as mechanical draftsman, and worked in
that capacity for six years. In 1883 he was appointed chief draftsman
for the Pennsylvania company. Mr. Stephan is a member of Home
lodge, F. & A. M. He was married in Germany in 1871, to Emeline
Baatz, and six children have been born, of whom five are living:
Emeline, William, Lina, Charles and Adolph.
Robert H. Harrison, a well known citizen of Fort Wayne, and fore-
IOS VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
man of the car machine shops of the P., Ft. W. & Chicago railway, was
born in Ireland, January i, 1834. He * s tne son °f Richard Harrison,
a native of Ireland, who was the son of John Harrison, who was born in
, Lancashire, England, but removed to Ireland and spent the remainder
of his life. He was an extensive manufacturer of linen and was pos-
sessed of large capital. Richard Harrison married Eliza Hamilton,
who was the daughter of Glover Hamilton, a titled Scotchman, and her
mother was the daughter of George Laird, also a member of the Scotch
nobility. These parents immigrated to Toronto, Canada, where they
lived until death. Their son, Robert H., was given a good education in
the public schools of Toronto, and at the age of seventeen years, he set
in to become a machinest in the Toronto locomotive works. In 1854
he removed to Philadelphia, Penn., and about 1858, to Pittsburgh, coming
in 1S59 to Fort Wayne. He was in the employment of the Pennsylvania
railroad company, at Pittsburgh, and he came here in that service.
In April, 1861, Mr. Harrison answered the call for ninety days volunteers,
and enlisted in Company E, of the Ninth regiment Indiana volunteer
infantry, as first sergeant. He also served one year in an Illinois regi-
ment, and was then forced to leave the service by sickness. Returning
to Fort Wayne he re-entered the Pennsylvania machine shops, where
he has since continued. He was made foreman of the car machine
shops in 1872. Mr. Harrison is a member, and has been for twenty
years, of Harmony lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F., and is also a member of
Home lodge, F. & A. M. He is a member of the Episcopal church.
Mr. Harrison was married in 1865 to Louisa Wittie, of Fort Wayne,
who was born in Boston, Mass., in 1839, of German parents. To their
union six children have been born: Grace Hamilton, Glover Benjamin,
Viola Louisa, George Arthur, Ida May, and Bertha Eliza. In March,
1888, Mr. Harrison received a handsome legacy from the estate of his
brother, who died at Toronto.
William Knight, foreman of the east yard car shops of the west di-
vision of the P., Ft. W. & C. R. R. company, at Fort Wayne, was born
at Croydon, Surry county, England, November 4, 1832, and came to
America in April, 1854. Landing at New York city, he remained in
that state for a while, and in 1856 came west and located in Fort Wayne.
He learned the trade of cabinet making in England, but on coming to
Fort Wayne he spent six months in bridge building on P., Ft. W. & C.
road. In the winter of 1856 he entered the employ of Jones, Bass &
Co. as car builder, and in 1857 he entered the service of the P., Ft. W.
& C. R. R. Co., in the same capacity. In 1879 he went to work in the
shops of the Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville R. R. Co., as fore-
man, and remained there nearly five years. Returning to the P., Ft. W.
& C. R. R. Co., on July 1, 1885, ne was appointed foreman of the east
yard car shops, a position he has since held. He was married in Feb-
ruary, 1854, to Eliza Jenner, of Leatherhead, England, and to their
union eight children have been born, five of whom survive, and four of
whom are married. Mr. Knight is a Mason, member of Summit City
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. IO9
lodge, No. 70, chapter No. 19, council No. 4, commandery No. 4, K. T.,
and consistory S. R. He and family are members of the Episcopal
church.
James C. Hewes, foreman of the boiler shops of the Pittsburgh
railroad company, was born in Delaware county, Penn., January 26,
1822, the son of Samuel and Margaret (McCullogh) Hewes, both
natives of Pennsylvania. The father died about i860, and the mother
four years later. James C. Hewes removed with his parents to Phila-
delphia when he was about fifteen years old, and after receiving a good
education he was taught the trade of boiler-making in that city. Sub-
sequently he removed to Reading, and there remained eleven years. In
1855 he entered the employment of the Pennsylvania company at Al-
toona, as assistant foreman and was sent to Pittsburgh in 1861 to take
charge of the boiler shops of the company there. Coming to Fort
Wayne in September, 1864, he took charge of the boiler shops of the
company here, a position he has since held, creditably filling a place of
much importance. His engagement with the Pennsylvania company has
existed now for thirty-five years. Mr. Hewes married at Reading in
1848, to Julia John, a native of that city, born in 1826. To their union
three children have been born. A son is deceased and there survive,
Ella, wife of William Cherry, of this city; Jennie, wife of John Piper,
of Altoona. Mr. Hewes is a member of the Presbyterian church, is a
republican, and is a member of Summit City lodge, F. & A. M., and
for forty years has been a member of the I. O. O. F., now of
Montgomery lodge, No. 59, Reading.
G. H. Judy, foreman of the blacksmith shop of the Pittsburgh, Fort
Wayne & Chicago railroad company, was born at Point of Rocks,
Frederick county, Md., February 11, 1847. He is the son of Thomas
L. and Susan (Garrott) Judy, both natives of Maryland. The father,
who was a blacksmith by trade, having been retired from service, came
to Fort Wayne in June, 1888, and died here in the following January,
at the age of seventy years. His widow survives at the age of sixty
years. Their- son, G. H., was reared at Cumberland City, Md., and in
1865 entered the employment of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad com-
pany at that place. Two years he was engaged with the Cumberland
& Pennsylvania company at Mount Savage, Md., and remained there
until 1870, when he returned to the B. & O., and was foreman of the
blacksmith shops of that company, at the rolling mill department, until
1877, when he again entered the employment of the Pennsylvania com-
pany at Altoona, Penn., working until 1880 as forger. In 1880 he
removed to Huntingdon, Penn., and took charge of the blacksmith shops
of the Huntingdon car and car-wheel works until 1883, when he came to
Fort Wayne. He was at first engaged in the Pittsburgh shops here as
forger, and received his appointment as foreman in September, 1884. This
he has since held to the entire satisfaction of the company and is popular
with all. He is a member of the Kekionga council, No. 93, National
Union, is a republican in politics, and he and wife are members of the
HO VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
United Brethren church. He was married in 1868 to Emma Myers, of
Cumberland City, Md., who died in 18S0, at Altoona, Penn., at the age
of twenty-nine years, leaving two sons, David L. and L. W., who are
now in the Pittsburgh railroad shops, one in the blacksmith and one in
the car department.
Thomas J. Rodabaugh, foreman of the paint shop of the Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad company, is one of the veteran railroad
men of the city, having been first connected with the work of the rail-
road with which he is now employed, in 1850, grading the road bed in
Ohio. After the track was laid he was engaged in repair work on the
section between Louisville and Canton, Ohio, until the spring of 1855.
Mr. Rodabaugh was born in Summit county, Ohio, October 9, 1835.
He is the son of Adam Rodabaugh, born near Harrisburg, Penn., who
was a miller by trade and in early life removed to Lorain count)', Ohio,
and thence to Summit county, and finally to Stark county, where he died
in 1887 at the age of eighty years and over. His wife, Mary Heath,
was born in New Hampshire, and died in 1843, at the age of thirty-five
years. Their son, Thomas J., was reared on a farm to his twelfth year
and was then in a store with his father until he began work at railroad-
ing. On June 5, 1855, he came to Fort Wayne in a stock car, and then
went to New Haven and engaged in tracklaying on the Wabash railroad
between that place and Defiance. In the following August he returned
to Fort Wayne and was engaged with J. J. Kammer in learning the
painter's trade. Eight months later he found employment at his trade
in the Wabash shops, where he remained until June 20, i860, when he
entered the employment in the same capacity of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne
& Chicago company, with which corporation he has since remained.
March 11, 1S68, he was made foreman of the paint shops, a position he
has held for over twenty years. Mr. Rodabaugh was a volunteer fire-
man in Fort Wayne for sixteen }^ears and eight months, and was in
active duty during all that time. He was foreman of Vigilant company,
No. 2, for eight years, first assistant of Mechanic company, the first
company, for three years, and was acting chief engineer for a short
time. In politics he was a democrat and voted for James Buchanan first,
but in i860 became a republican. He became an Odd Fellow in 1858,
and has since been a member of Fort Wayne lodge, No. 14, and has
since 1864 been a member of Wayne lodge, No. 25, F. & A. M. Of
both of these fraternities he has acted as deputy to the grand lodges of
the state. He was married in 1857 to Elizabeth J. Snyder, of Fort
Wayne, who was born at Canal Dover, Ohio, in 1841. They are
members of the Congregational church.
In 1879 Alonzo L. Woodworth came to Fort Wayne and took a po-
sition as tool dresser in the blacksmith department of the Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad shops, and in the fall of 1884 he was
promoted assistant foreman of the department. Mr. Woodworth was
born near Boston, Mass., July 16, 1847, the son of John Woodworth and
wife, whose maiden name was Stearns. They came to Indiana in 1852
MANUFACTURING INDTSTRIES. Ill
and settled near Kendallville, where the mother died in 1861. The
father came to this city in 1879, and is now living, in his eighty-first
year, with his son Alonzo. The latter had hardly reached his fourteenth
birthday when he enlisted (1861) in Company C, Forty-fourth regiment
Indiana volunteers, as a private. He served bravely throughout the
war, being wounded at Chickamauga in the lower jaw, a hurt which
disabled him for nine month. He was honorably discharged at Chatta- ■
nooga in September, 1865, and then came to Fort Wayne and learned
the blacksmith's trade at the shops of Murray & Bennigan, remaining
there three years. For four years he was employed at Bass's foundry,
and then went to Logansport, where he attended Hall's commercial col-
lege. After five years at Logansport and one at Terre Haute, he spent
a year in travel through the west, before engaging with the railroad
company as above stated. Mr. Woodworth is a member of Summit
City lodge, No. 170, F. & A. M.; of Kekionga lodge, No. 93, National
Union; he is a Baptist, and in politics, republican. Mr. Woodworth was
married to Annie Holmes, of Maples, Ind., who died in 1872 at the age
of twenty-four, leaving one son. In 1875 he was married to Rosa Bennett
of this city. Mr. Woodworth is the father of these children: John,
born in 1872; Margery, 1877; Frank, 1886; Newton, 1888.
An esteemed and worthy citizen of Fort Wayne, Louis Buckwalter,
is a native of the city of Philadelphia, born October 18, 183 1. He is
the son of Jacob and Mary (Thomas) Buckwalter, the former of whom
was born near Phoenixville, Penn., where his ancestors settled on emi-
grating to this country from Switzerland, in' 1749. At sixteen Louis
began the trade of a machinist and served an apprenticeship of five
years in the Baldwin locomotive works of Philadelphia, where he re-
mained until i860. In that year he came to Fort Wayne, and he has
ever since been employed as a machinist in the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne
& Chicago railway shops. At no time during this long period has he
been off duty more than a month at a time. For several years past he
has been an assistant foreman. Mr. Buckwalter was married February
21, 1866, to Mary E. Houenstein, a native of Fort Wayne, and they
have had four children: Mary E., Charles H., Clara H. and Mathilde A.,
of whom the second died in infancy. In politics Mr. Buckwalter has
been a republican since 1856. He is a skillful mechanic, and a first class
citizen.
One of the skillful machinists who find occupation in the shops of
the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad company, is John R.
Bitner, who first engaged in that employment in March, 1869. He is
the son of Andrew J. Bitner, who was born in Center county, Penn.,
December 18, 1816, and at the age of ten was taken by his widowed
mother to Holmes county, Ohio. June 8, 1846, Andrew Bitner was
married to Eliza Nabe, who was born in Franklin county, Penn., July 8,
1827, and had removed to Holmes county with her grandparents in 1836.
At Gallion, Ohio, November 23, 1850, John R. Bitner was born to these
parents. Three years later the family removed to Roanoke, Ind., where
112 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
they resided until the fall of 1863, when they returned to Holmes county.
Six months later they made their home on the Bluffton road, twelve miles
south of Fort Wayne. In 1865 the family came to this city, where the
father died November 7, 1887. Mr. Bitner has been one of the trusted
men in the Pittsburgh shops ever since engaging there twenty years
ago. He was married November 14, 1877, to Emma Helfrich, a native
of Crestline, Ohio, and they have five children: Lula M., Andrew C,
Charlotte F., Charles L. and Irving E. Mr. Bitner is a member of
Wayne lodge, F. & A. M.
Andrew Heimroth, a well-known citizen of Fort Wayne, engaged in
the tool room of the Pennsylvania shops, was born in "Prussia, January
16, 1819. Coming to America in 1847, he reached New York
at four o'clock p. m., August 18. Having learned thoroughly the trade
of a machinist in the old country he soon found employment at the
West Point foundry, at Cold Springs, N. Y., beginning on the 26th of
the same month. In June, 1848, he lost his right eye through an acci-
dent in the shops in which he was engaged. In 1852, he went to New
York city, and was there engaged until 1855, when he entered the shops
of the Camden & Amboy railroad at Bordentown, N. J. After an
engagement there of several years he started to Fort Wayne, and on
March 9, 1865, took a position in the Pennsylvania shops. For twenty
years he was a faithful and valued assistant in the machine shop,
and after the close of that period in 1885, he went into the tool shop.
Mr. Heimroth is in politics a republican, and he is a member of the
Summit City lodge, No. 170, F. & A. M. He was married October
20, 1848, to Catherine Shelton, who was born in Oxfordshire England,
November 24, 1830. To them three children were born, of whom two
survive; Matilda, now Mrs. Joseph Ellsner, of Chicago; and Sarah, now
Mrs. William Hattersley, of Fort Wayne.
A representative of one of the pioneer families of Fort Wayne, Alex-
ander M. Tower, an esteemed citizen, for several years connected with
the machine shops of the western division of the P., Ft. W. & C. rail-
road, was born in Fort Wayne, January 6, 1855. His father, Benjamin
H. Tower, a native of Michigan, who came to Fort Wayne during the
thirties, resided here until his death in 1872. He was a lumber and
furniture manufacturer, and was a prominent citizen. During the days
of the old Wabash & Erie canal he was connected with that enterprise,
and for some time was paymaster. He was a member of the city coun-
cil for a considerable period. He married Kate Paul, who died w : hen
her son, Alexander, was but three }^ears of age. The latter was reared
in Fort Wayne and attended the public schools, receiving a first-class
education. He entered the machine shops above named in June, 1872,
as an apprentice, and serving out his apprenticeship, he continued as a
foreman. In 1884 he went to Scott, Ohio, where for two years he was
engaged in the manufacture of patent barrel hoops, but in 1886 he
returned to the shops. He is a member of the Third Presbyterian
church. Mr. Tower was married September 15, 1880, to Anna A.
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 113
Kinnaird, who was born in New York city, June 6, 1855, the daughter
of Robert Kinnaird. Mrs. Tower died May 13, 1889, leaving two
daughters, Mary W. and A. Louise.
During the past seventeen years, Daniel Campbell, a well-known
railroad man of this city, has acted as foreman of the blacksmith de-
partment of the Wabash railroad shops. He began working at his
trade in Buffalo, and in 1859 came to Fort Wayne, and then entered the
employment of the Wabash company, in the department of which he
has since served so long and efficient as foreman. He is a skillful work-
man and a good citizen, and his acquirements in life include those prime
factors of happiness, an attractive family and a pleasant and comfortable
home. Mr. Campbell was born in Edinburg, Scotland, December 6,
1835, son of Daniel and Ellen (Clapin) Campbell, both natives of Scot-
land, who spent their lives in that country. He came to the United
States in 1853, and at first spent seven years at Buffalo, N. Y. He
was married in 1862, to Jeanette Muirhead, and they have three chil-
dren, Daniel A., Nellie and Jennie. Mr. Campbell is a prominent re-
publican, and is a member of Fort Wayne lodge, No. 14, 1. O. O. F.
The foreman of the boiler shops of the Wabash railroad company,
Ernst Rehling, has been a resident of Fort Wayne for forty-one years,
and has gained during that extended period the good-will and esteem of
the community, and a high standing among the leading artisans of the
city. Mr. Rehling is a native of Prussia, born March 24, 1841, the son
of Frederick and Dora(Tegtmeier) Rehling. The parents emigrated
to this country and came to Fort Wayne by the Wabash & Erie canal
in 1848. Here the father, who was born in i79 2 > died in 1861, and the
mather passed away in 1872, at the age of seventy years. They had
eight children, of whom seven are living, Ernst being the youngest.
Mr. Rehling, after receiving his education in the Lutheran schools,
began work at the trade of boiler making, in 1857, which has been his
life occupation. He served his time with Bass, Jones & Co., and sub-
sequently was engaged by the Pennsylvania railroad company and
remained with them until 1871. In 1872, he entered the employment of
the Wabash railroad company, and his thorough knowledge of his craft,
and trustworthiness as a man, led to his promotion in 1882, to the
important position he now holds. He was married in April, 1864, to
Sophia Starke, a native of Prussia, born January 3, 1842, who came to
this city in 1854. They have four children: Fred. H. E., born
December, 1864; Lizzie, born 1867; Ernst C. E., born 1870; and
Charles, born 1873. Mr. Rehling and family are members of the German
Lutheran church. He is in politics a republican, having cast his first
presidential vote for U. S. Grant.
The foremanship of the Wabash railroad paint shop is ably filled by
H. F. Banta, who has been a resident of this city since 1853. During
his first two years here, he was engaged in the furniture business. In
1858, he entered the employment of the Wabash company, and for twenty-
five years has occupied his present position. He is a skillful and com-
VIII
IIzJ. VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
petent man and his services are highly valued by the company. Mr.
Banta was born in Hanover, Germany, August 12, 1836, the son of
Henry and Anna (Oclgeschleger) Banta, both natives of Hanover,
where they passed their lives. Mr. Banta, the youngest of their children,
was educated in his native land, and there learned the business of a gar-
dener, a more important occupation there than here. He was married
in 1863, to Catherine Schmidt, who was born in Germany in 1838, and
came to this country in early childhood. Mr. Banta and wife are members
of the Lutheran church, and he is in politics a republican, having first
voted, in a presidential contest, for Abraham Lincoln.
One of the responsible men connected with the Wabash railway
company is William J. Bensman, a valued citizen of Fort Wayne, who
follows the trade of boiler maker. He was born Hanover, Germany,
July 24, 1840. His parents, Rudolph and Elizabeth Bensman, were
born in Germany, the father in 1807, the mother in 1805, and came to
Fort Wayne in 1845, where the father died in 1886, and where the
mother is now living. Of their three surviving children the eldest is
William J., who being only five years old on his arrival here, received
his education in the German Lutheran schools of this city. At eighteen
years of age he began the learning of his trade, and since 1873 he has
been in the employment of the Wabash railway. He is one of the best
qualified in his occupation, and has prospered, having a handsome home,
which he built in 1867. On December 5 of the following year he took
to his home as wife, Frederica Boseker, who was born in Saxony, June
1, 1844, and they now have two children: Mary, born in 1869, and
Delia, born in 18S3. They are faithful members of the Lutheran
church.
Olds Wagon Works. — The famous Olds wagon works were estab-
lished in 1881 by Henry G. Olds, who was succeeded in 1882 by the
present corporation. The works were built by the Hamilton estate, and
the buildings are supplied with machinery, operated by a 150 horse
power engine. The trade extends to every state and territory in the
union. Farm wagons, freight wagons, lumber and cotton wagons are
all manufactured, and every piece of material used in their construction
is of the best quality. H. G. Olds, the president, is also interested in
N. G. Olds & Sons' wheel works. A. H. Hamilton is vice-president,
William Johnston, jr., secretary, Charles McCulloch, treasurer.
William Johnston, jr., a popular and capable business man, occupying
the position of secretary of the Olds wagon works, was born in New
York city, October 10, 1845, to William and Sarah (Pollock) Johnston.
The parents were born in Ireland, the father in 1798, and the mother in
1801, and came to this country in 1828. The father died at Foster's
Meadow, Long Island, in 1876, and his widow eight years later. Will-
iam is the youngest of seven children, three of whom are now living.
He obtained a common school education in New York, and in 1862
came to Fort Wayne, reaching here March 21. He entered the employ-
ment of McDougal & Co., afterward Root & Co., as book-keeper, and
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 115
held that position for six years, after which he was for ten years in the
employment of Coombs & Co. He became connected with the Olds
wagon works in 1881, and has acted as secretary since the incorporation
in 1882. Mr. Johnston was married January 21, 1878, to Ada B. Fuller,
a native of Michigan, daughter of John and Lois Fuller, and they have
one child, Grace L. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston are members of the First
Presbyterian church; he is a prominent republican; a Mason of the,
thirty-second degree, and Knight Templar.
Peter Andersen, a skillful mechanic, occupying the responsible posi-
tion of foreman at the Olds Wagon works, began learning the trade of
wagon maker in his native land, Denmark, at the age of fourteen, and
in 1870 came to the United States, settling at Racine, Wis., where he
lived twelve years, carrying on his business and also doing general car-
pentry and contracting. He came to Fort Wayne in 18S1, and has ever
since been connected with the Olds wagon works. He is a practical
mechanic and skilled workman. Mr. Andersen was born in Denmark,
June 10, 1845, of John and Mary (Henrickson) Andersen, who were
born in that country, the father in 1796, the mother in 1811; and died
there, the father in 1855, and the mother in 1885. In 1874 Mr. Ander-
sen married Matine Rasmussen, a native of Denmark, born January 17,
1849, w ^° came t° the United States in 1874, and both are members of
the Lutheran church. They have four children: Matilda C, Thorwald
A., Olga R. and Herman A. Mr. Andersen is a republican in politics.
Kerr Murray Manufacturing Co. — Hugh Bennigan, who came to
Fort Wayne in 1859, * n tnat y ear with Jones & McLaughlin, established
the Fort Wayne machine works. In 1862, he and Kerr Murray built
the foundry near the south depot, which was the beginning of the Kerr
Murray works. Kerr Murray became the sole owner in 1868, and in
1 88 1 the concern was incorporated, with a paid up stock of $100,000,
and in the same year was built the present brick shops. In 1868 the
company commenced to manufacture gas works machinery and holders,
to which has been added grain elevator machinery and general foundry
and machine work. Their foundry is a one-story building with a cupola,
its area is 110x115 feet, and the average melting is thirty tons per day;
the machine shop is a three-story building, 60x150 feet, and its machines
are run by a 100 horse-power engine; the wrought iron and smith shop
is a two-story building, 75x175 feet, having seven forges and one steam
hammer, pattern houses, yards, etc., to accommodate their stock, and a
railroad track running through their works to facilitate their receiving
and shipping departments. Employment is given to about 300 men, and
the trade extends to all parts of the United States and Canada. Gas
works have been erected by this company all over the continent, a few
cities in the list being Pittsburgh, Mobile, El Paso, Dallas, Kansas City,
Los Angeles, Davenport, Minneapolis, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indian-
apolis, Cleveland, and London, Canada.
Alfred D. Cressler, president and general manager of the Kerr Mur-
ray manufacturing company, was born at Lucas, Richland county, Ohio,
Il6 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
July 7, 1852. His parents, George H. and Nancy (Miller) Cressler,
were natives of Pennsylvania, the father born in Franklin county in 181 1,
and the mother in Cumberland county in 1813. The father was a rail-
road contractor and took part in the construction of the Pittsburgh, Fort
Wayne & Chicago railroad. He survived his wife, who'died in 1868,
until August, 1875. Alfred D. Cressler spent his early life upon a farm,
.and from 1867 till 1869 worked at carriage making. His uncle, D. M.
Miller, of the Aveline House, being a prominent citizen of Fort Wayne,
Mr. Cressler came here in April, 1870, and found employment as a cash
boy for Foster Brothers. In a few months he had risen from that posi-
tion to have charge of the dress goods department, and he then entered
Eastman's business college at Poughkeepsie, where he spent four months.
Returning to the employment of Foster Brothers, he was stationed at
Grand Rapids until October, 1874. He was next engaged one year in
the dry goods business at Wooster, Ohio, and then returned to Fort
Wayne, where he took the position of time clerk for the Kerr Murray
manufacturing company. In 1877-8 he traveled for the company and
acted as bookkeeper in 1S79. On the death of Mr. Murray, May 6,
1 880, Mr. Cressler took charge of the business for the heirs, and con-
ducted it during the remainder of the year. In 1881 he organized and
incorporated the present company for the manufacture of gas works
machinery, and was elected to his present position. He is one of the
most prominent and energetic of the young manufacturers of the city.
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having attained the thirty-
second degree and the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Cressler was married Octo-
ber 13, 1874, to Eliza E. Murray, daughter of Kerr Murray.
Since September, 1888, G. Adolph Schust has held the position of
secretary of the Kerr Murray manufacturing company. He was born
in this city November 1, 1862, the son of J. M. and E. M. (Hoffman)
Schust, both natives of Germany, who emigrated to this city in 1849.
The family removed to Wheeling, W. Va., in 1864, but returned to this
city in 1874, where the parents are still living. The father is now
employed in the pattern making department of the Wabash railroad
shops. Their son, the subject of this sketch, attended school at Wheel-
ing and Fort Wayne, and in 1877 entered the law office of Jenison &
Alden. A year later he became a student at Addison seminary, near
-Chicago, and remained there until 1882. He then returned to this city
-and took a commercial course in the business college, afterward taking
a position as bill clerk and assistant ticket agent in the Wabash railroad
freight office. In 1883 he entered the employment of the Kerr Murray
manufacturing company as shipping clerk, and has since been promin-
ently connected with that company. He is a member of the Lutheran
church.
Since January 1, 1885, Gustave L. Hackius has occupied a position
with the Kerr Murray manufacturing company, and on January 1, 1888,
he was promoted treasurer and head bookkeeper of that establishment,
a responsible position which he at present fills to the entire satisfaction of
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 117
the company. He was born in this city February 19, 1867, and was
educated in the Lutheran schools, attending also the commercial college,
taking a night course during the fall, winter and spring of 1882-3. He
was engaged with A. Kalbacher, in the flour and feed trade, as book-
keeper and clerk, in 1881-2, and then became a clerk in the shop-clerk's
office of the Pennsylvania company from 1883 to 1885. He is the son
of Andrew and Mary Hackius, natives of Germany, who came to Fort
Wayne in 1854. T" ne father being a copper and tinsmith by trade, was
engaged at his trade with the Pennsylvania company at Fort Wayne.
He died December 28, 1885, but his widow survives and is living in the
city. To them eight children were born, of whom Gustave is the fifth,
and all but two are living.
Herman J. Remmert, prominent in the manufacturing interests of
the city of Fort Wayne, was born in Prussia, August 5, 1841. When
fifteen years of age, in September, 1857, he landed at New Orleans, and
after a few months' stay at St. Louis, he reached Fort Wayne in Febru-
ary, 1858. Here he learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner, which
he followed for a year and a half. In the fail of 1S61 he made a visit
to his native country and was absent six months. Upon his return he
became engaged with the Bass foundry and machine works, and re-
mained there until the fall of 1863, when he entered the employment of
Murray & Bennigan, in their machine shops. In the fall of 1864 he en-
gaged in the retail grocery trade, and though out of the shops not more
than three months, continued that business for three years. He has been
connected with the same works ever since, through its various changes
of proprietorship, a period of twenty-six years. Previous to the or-
ganization of the Kerr Murray manufacturing company he acted as gen-
eral foreman for four or five years, and since the organization of that
company in which he is a stockholder, he has been superintendent of the
works. Mr. Remmert was married on June 26, 1866, to Mary C,
daughter of John J. Koester, of this city, and to their union ten children
have been born, six of whom survive. He and wife are members of the
St. Paul's Catholic church.
Among the popular foremen of the Kerr Murray establishment should
be named Carl Bohne, a skillful pattern-maker. He was born in Han-
over, Germany, May 13, 1857, the son of Henry and Engel (Meyer)
Bohne. They emigrated to America in 1857, and came directly to Fort
Wayne, making their home five miles south of Fort Wayne, where the
father followed farming until his death in 1866. The widow then removed
to the city, where she still resides. Carl Bohne was educated in the
German Lutheran schools, and at the age of thirteen years entered the
drug house of his uncle, William Meyer, where he remained two } r ears,
and then began an apprenticeship of four years with J. C. Boser & Co.,
at the trade of pattern-maker. He remained with the above house
twelve years altogether, and then entered the employ of the Kerr Mur-
ray manufacturing company in 1885. In 1886 was engaged at Kendal-
ville, Ind., with the Flint & Walling manufacturing company, as pattern-
Il8 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
maker, for nine months. He then returned to the Kerr Murray manu-
facturing company as foreman of the pattern department of that
establishment, and has continued, in that position. Mr. Bohne was mar-
ried at Kendall vill.e in 1887 to Dora Wehmeyer, who was born at that
place in 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Bohne are members of Emanuel Lutheran
church.
The foremanship of the boiler and blacksmith department of the
Kerr Murray works is in the hands of Adolph F. Schulz, who came to
this city in 18S3, and having learned the trade of blacksmith and boiler-
maker in his native land, immediately engaged with this company. He
was made foreman in 1884, but in 18S5 removed to Decatur, and was
for a short time engaged with a machine shop and foundry at that place,
going then to Alleghany, Penn., taking charge of a depaitment in a
machine factory. In 1886 he returned to this city, and again took the
foremanship he now holds. Mr. Schulz was born in Germany, February
28, 1854, an d immigrated in 1882, having previously been married, 1877,
to Sophia Seidensticker, by whom he has three sons and one daughter.
Mr. Schulz is a member of the Reform church, and a worthy citizen.
Fort Wayne Organ Company. — ■ Of this prominent industry, of
which mention has already been made, Stephen B. Bond is president,
Charles E. Bond, secretary, and A. S. Bond, treasurer and superin-
tendent.
The position of designer and superintendent of case manufacturing
in the Fort Wayne organ factory, is held by Thomas Hill, a native of
Halifax, Yorkshire, England. He was born January 9, 1839, tne son
of Richard and Ann (Lockwood) Hill. At thirteen he began to learn
the cabinet-maker's trade and after a seven years' apprenticeship,
followed his trade at various places in England until 1872. In that year
he emigrated to America, locating in Boston; he remained there two
years and then had charge of a cabinet shop at Worchester, Mass.,
three years and a half. After a few months at Boston, he went to
Appleton, Wis., and took charge of a factory in which chairs and bed
room suits were made. There he was occupied as designer five years
and a half. He then went to Chicago, and was with the firm of Story &
Clark, organ manufacturers, as designer, five or six years. Prior to
this he had spent one year with the firm of A. H. Andrews & Co.
In February, 1888, he came to Fort Wayne and accepted his present
position. Mr. Hill was married July 9, 1S61, to Ellen Stott, a native of
Hebden Bridge, England. They have one son, Richard, born July 4,
1871. Mr. Hill is a member of the A. O. U. W., and the White Rose
lodge, Sons of St. George.
Brooks French is a native of Wilton, N. H., born November 1, 1845,
son of Samuel and Elvira (Grey) French, both natives of the same town.
He lived until eighteen on a farm and then removed to Michigan, and
became employed in a furniture factory at Battle Creek. Eater he held
the position of foreman in a table factory, and subsequently worked two
years in an organ factory which had developed out of the table factory.
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. II9
In the fall of 1871, he accepted a position in the Burdett organ factory
at Chicago, but the establishment was destroyed by the great fire before
he took his situation. He spent the winter of 187 1-2 in Gratiot county,
Mich., with relatives and afterward came to Fort Wayne, and has
ever since been employed in the factory of the Fort Wayne organ com-
pany. He has aided in the construction of every organ that has been
turned out by the institution, and since June, 1872, has been foreman of
the stop action department. During the summer of 1878, he served four
months as acting superintendent. He is the inventor of French's stop
action, upon which he received a patent March 14, 1882, and of French's
grand organ action, patented June 12, 1883. Both patents have been
assigned to the Fort Wayne organ company. From 1876 to 1884,
in connection with his other duties, he had charge of the fly finishing
department, and since 1884 has managed the pedal base double bank
department, all the mechanism of which is of his own invention, as well
as the labor of draughting and manufacture. Mr. French was married
September 14, 1873, to Miss Roberta C. Kent, who was born in DeKalb
county, Ind., but was reared at Coldwater, Mich. Mrs. French is a tele-
graph operator and had worked at her profession two years prior to her
marriage. Mr. and Mrs. French have both completed the Chautauqua
course, graduating in 1886, and since then Mrs. French has completed a
course in the Hailman kindergarten school of La Porte, Ind. She is the
founder of the Froebel kindergarten school of Fort Wayne, established
in 1886. She is a member of the Episcopal church. Mr. French is a
member of the Apollo club and the Morton club. In politics he is an
ardent republican.
The foremanship of the finishing department of the Fort Wayne
organ company has been for seventeen years in the hands of Capt.
John H. Rohan. He was born in County Clare, Ireland, June 24, 1839,
son of John and Bridget Rohan, with whom he came to America in
1845. The family first located at Burlington, Vt., but three years later,
removed to Milwaukee, Wis. In early manhood Capt. Rohan learned
the trade of a finisher of wood, and followed it in Milwaukee until 1859,
and afterward at Buffalo, N. Y. In July, 1862, he enlisted in Company
D, One Hundred and Sixteenth New York volunteer infantry and served
until the close of the war. He was successively promoted from
private to sergeant, first sergeant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant,
and in April, 1864, he was promoted captain and served as such
with company G, of the same regiment, until the close of the war. He
commanded his company in the battles of Port Hudson, Pleasant Hill,
Sabine Cross Roads, Cedar Creek, Fisher's Hill and numerous skir-
mishes of less importance. He received a flesh wound in the left side
at the battle of Pleasant Hill, and a scalp wound in the battle of Cedar
Creek, but fortunately neither proved serious. He was mustered out
at Washington, D. C, June 25, 1865. Returning to Milwaukee he
engaged in the grocery business. Two years later he removed to Chi-
cago and until the great fire in 1871 worked at his trade in the factory
120 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
of the Burdett organ company. After the fire he came to Fort Wayne
and has ever since held his present position. Captain Rohan was mar-
ried May 28, 1868, to Miss Mary Ann Theresa O'Brien, a native of
Rochester, N. Y., and daughter of Lawrence and Mary O'Brien. They
have had nine children, of whom Lottie J., William H., John F., Edwin
G. and Agnes are living, and Mida, Theresa, Maggie and Walter are
deceased. Mr. Rohan and wife are members of the Catholic church.
He is a member of the uniformed rank of the Catholic Legion, the
National Union, and G. A. R. In politics he is a democrat. Captain
Rohan was formerly captain of the Veteran organization of the state
militia and was promoted to the rank of major and finally lieutenant-
colonel, and still serves in the latter rank.
Fort Wayne Jenney Electric Light Company. — Of this very im-
portant corporation Henry G. Olds is president, P. A. Randall, vice
president, R. T. McDonald, treasurer and general manager, and M. W.
Simons, secretary. Ronald T. McDonald, general manager and treas-
urer of the Fort Wayne Jenney electric light company, is a native of
Pennsylvania, born June 24, 1849, at Alleghany City, the eldest of four
children now living of James B. and Margaret (Morrison) McDonald.
The father was a native of Pennsylvania and died at Fort Wayne in
1886 at the age of seventy-six years. The subject of this mention
came to Fort Wayne in i860, and here has since resided. In 1864 he
enlisted in company C, One Hundred and Fifty-second Indiana in-
fantry, and served until the close of the war, when he was honorably
discharged as sergeant major. On his return to this city he was en-
gaged first in the dry goods business as a clerk, afterward as a member
of the firm of Evans, McDonald & Co., leaving that business in 1881 to
engage in the electric light industry. To that he brought all the energy
and enterprise which had already distinguished him as a business man,
and he has greatly advanced the interests of the company of which he
was one of the incorporators in 1882, and which promises to become one
of the leading industries of the city. During the few years he has
been identified with this industry he has gained a wide repute as one
of the prominent men of the country in the electric light manufacture.
Mr. McDonald was married in 1876 to Lillie Morse, of Angola, Ind.,
daughter of Marquis and Elizabeth Morse, and they have one child,
Esther. He is a member of Sol D. Bayless lodge, No. 129, 1870, of
Fort Wayne commander}', 1872, and of the Indianapolis consistory,
1S82. In politics he is an ardent republican.
The master mechanic, with his scientific knowledge of the forces and
materials of nature, with careful training and natural ingenuity, is one of
the prime movers in the prosperity of Fort Wayne. Such a man is the
master mechanic of the Fort Wayne Jenney electric light company,
Charles S. Hilton. He began work as a machinist in the employ of the
Franklin machine company at Lewiston, Me., in the fall of 1865. He
remained there three years, and was then for nine years employed by
the manufacturers of the Cottrell & Babcock printing presses in Rhode
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 121
Island. During five years of the latter period he held the position of
foreman. Removing to Kentucky, he- acted two years as master me-
chanic of the Bowling Green woolen company. In 1882 he came to Fort
Wayne, and was in the employment of the Wabash railroad company in
their shops, after which he entered the service of the electric light com-
pany, first as superintendent of the arc department, and then for two
years past as master mechanic. Mr. Hilton was born at South Boston,
Mass., July 28,1 846, son of Leonard Hilton and his wife Susan Farnsworth,
both natives of Massachusetts, who passed their lives there. Leonard
was the son of Daniel Hilton, who was born at Fitchburg, Mass., about
1790, was a soldier in the war of 181 2, and died in his native state at
about seventy-six years of age. His wife was Julia Sautell, who died in
Massachusetts at about eighty-six years of age. Charles S. enlisted in
1863, in Company B, Fifty-sixth Massachusetts infantry, and served in
all the engagements of the army of the Potomac after the battle of
Gettysburg until the close of the war, being wounded at the battle of
Petersburg. He was married in 1882, to Mrs. Mary E. Sands, of Wa-
bash,, and have two children, Donna M. and Charles W. He has one
child, Hattie, by a former marriage, and his wife one child, May Sands,
by her previous marriage. Mr. Hilton is a republican, a comrade of the
G. A. R., and a Scottish Rite Mason.
The assistant master mechanic of the Fort Wayne electric light
company, Charles F. Knothe, is a native of this city, born February 11,
1851, to J. A. and Louisa (Krochman) Knothe, natives of Germany, who
immigrated in 1846, and made their residence in this city in 1848. The
mother passed away in 1882, but the father is still living, and engaged
in business as a member of the lumber firm of Beaver, Miller & Co.
Charles F. Knothe was educated in the public and Lutheran schools of the
city, and in 1869 began an apprenticeship as machinist with Louis Rastet-
ter, at which he continued three years. He then worked at various
places, and in 1874 became engaged in the railroad shops at East Sag-
inaw, Mich. In 1883 he returned to Fort Wayne, and entered the em-
ployment of the Jenne}^ electric light company, as a machinist, and in
1886 was appointed assistant master mechanic. Mr. Knothe was mar-
ried in 1874 t0 Elizabeth Billing, who died in 1878, leaving two chil-
dren, and in 1884 he was united to Polly Frohmuth, by whom he has
had two children.
The position of purchasing agent and superintendent of shipping of
the Fort Wayne Jenney electric light company is efficiently filled by
Charles B. Fitch, one of the most popular young men in the city. He
possesses winning social qualities as well as business acumen, and is
prominent in Masonry, being a Knight Templar of Fort Wayne com-
mander}', and high in the Scottish Rite. Mr. Fitch was born at Medina,
Ohio, May 23, 1859, the youngest of seven children (six now living), of
William and Aurelia (Brintnall) Fitch. The father was born in Con-
necticut in 1817, was a farmer by occupation, and owned one of the best
farms in the Western Reserve. He died in 1867, at Medina, and his
j 22 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
widow, who was born in 1819, in New York, died at Fort Wayne in
1 881. Her family were pioneers in New York and Vermont. The
father of William W. Fitch, who had the same name, was born in Con-
necticut in 1780, settled in Ohio with his family as early as 1825, and
died about 1865. His ancestors came from England prior to 1660, and
were pioneers in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Mr. Fitch received a
good education in the schools at Medina and Fort Wayne high school.
He came to this city in 1872, and in 1875 began teaching, at which he
was engaged in this county for several terms. From 1879 t0 T ^ 2 con "
ducted a mercantile and grain business at Avilla, but in the latter year
returned to Fort Wayne, and became engaged with the electric light
company, with which he has since been prominently connected. He
was married in 1881 to Elizabeth Fryer, of Noble county, daughter of
Henry Fryer, a prominent farmer.
John C. Peters/ as a prominent manufacturer and owner of the
famous Wayne hotel, has by his various enterprises contributed in a large
measure to "the advancement of the city. Mr. Peters was born in this
city June n, 1848, son of Claus and Caroline (Eberlein) Peters, who
came to Fort Wayne in 1841, from Germany, their native land. The
father, who was born in 181 3, followed in this city the occupation of
builder and contractor until his death in 1849. His widow still survives.
John C. Peters received his early education in this city, and then, in
1862, began learning the trade of piano and cabinet-maker at which he
was occupied for four years, from 1865 to 1869, in New York city. In
1873 he was married to Mary Myers, of Fort Wayne, who was born
in 1853, the daughter of Frederick Myers. To this union has been
born seven children: Frederick, William, Otto, Arthur, Paul, Flora
and Bertha. Mr. Peters is a member of the Emanuel Lutheran church;
and in politics he takes an active interest in the welfare of the demo-
cratic party. He has risen to an honorable place among the foremost
citizens of Fort Wayne, by his character as a man, his unfailing reliabil-
ity as a business man, and his energy and enterprise as a manufacturer.
He conducts an extensive business solely his own in hardwood lumber,
which he established in 1872. The large building devoted to this man-
ufacture, on Osage and Main streets, is equipped with one band-saw
mill, operated by steam, with an average capacity of 7,000 feet per day.
Ash, oak and whitewood lumber are principal features of the product,
which is to some extent disposed of to local manufactories using a line
grade of lumber, but mainly to eastern factories. Dealing only in per-
fect stock, the house is popular and the business is constantly increasing.
Mr. Peters is also manager of the Horton manufacturing company, in-
corporated in 1883, with a capital stock of $30,000, whose works give
employment to seventy skilled workmen. This establishment manufac-
tures the improved Western washer, hand corn planters, and various
wooden novelties, and has a heavy trade throughout Ohio, Indiana and
Michigan, throughout the union, and even to Australia. Mr. Peters
was also a partner prior to 1873 with Charles Pape and Joseph Schaf-
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 1 23
fer in the Peters' box and lumber company, another extensive enterprise
elsewhere mentioned. He is also president of the Indiana machine
works, a company organized and incorporated in 1887, with a capital of
$75,000. This establishment manufactures patented specialties in wood-
working machinery, etc. Mr. Peters built in 1887, the Wayne hotel,
described elsewhere, which is already widely known as one of the finest
places of accommodation in the country. This brief mention of the en-
terprises in which Mr. Peters is engaged is sufficient, though but a
meagre outline, to give an idea of the activity of his busy life, devoted
to the upbuilding of the city of his birth.
The Peters box and lumber company, manufacturers of furniture
and hand-sawed lumber, was established and incorporated in 1871, by
J. C. Peters, Charles Pape and Joseph Schaffer, with a capital stock of
$55,000. The factory is situated at Nos. 79 and 102 High street, and
the salesrooms at Nos. 15 and 17 Court streeet. The factory occupies
four floors, 50x100, two floors, 40x70, one 50x80, and one 40x60, and
the best productions of modern invention are employed in the manufac-
ture. From sixty to seventy-five men here find employment. This
product is also shipped extensively over the state and into Ohio, and
the hardwood lumber produced is shipped to the cities of the east and
to London. A special feature is quartered oak, of which the finest
grades are handled. Two band-saws are run with a capacity of 20,000
feet per day, and one venner saw, with a capacity of 10,000 feet per
day. Of this institution Charles Pape is president, and Wilson
McQuiston secretary.
Charles Pape, prominent among the enterprising men who have
established the greatness of the city of Fort Wayne, by establishing
manufactories that employ hundreds of men and carry the fame of the
city wherever their products are sold, first saw this city in 1850, then
being a German lad of thirteen years, fresh from his native land. He worked
for several months at such labor as he could find. He then went to
Elkhart and remained there two years. Returning to Fort Wayne
in 1861, he engaged in contracting, and continued to be thus employed
until 1873, when he became connected with the Peters' box factory. In
187S he purchased a controlling interest in the Peters' box and lumber
company, and has since then been president of the company. In 1882
he purchased an interest in the Jonathan Fleming road machine, and
established a business which has since become known as the Fleming
manufacturing company, of which he is sole owner and one of the
most extensive producers of road machines and snow scrapers in the
United States. His career has been a remarkable one, and his success
is all the more notable as he has been wholly dependent upon his energy
and talent for affairs, being entirely without assistance at the outset.
Mr. Pape was born at Minden, Germany, December 18, 1837, son of
William and Wilhelmina Pape, who emigrated to the United States in
1850, and settled at Fort Wayne, where they both died. He is the
eldest of their five children. He was married in 1859, to Wilhelmina
124 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Bierman, a native of Germany. She died in 1871, and in 1872 Mr.
Pape was married to Caroline Schroeder. He has eight children. He
is a democrat in politics, and was for two terms a member of the city
council. He is a member of St. Paul's Lutheran church.
The responsible position of secretary of the Peters box and lumber
company is in charge of Wilson McQuiston, who has a thorough knowl-
edge of the business, and performs his portion of it in a way that leaves
nothing to be desired. Though a native of this count};-, his first essay
in business was as bookkeeper in the bank of Sigourney, Iowa, in May,
1868. His efficiency won for him in the course of a year, the position
of cashier. After six years of experience in that function he turned his
attention to newspaper management, and removing to the national capital,
became one of the publishers of the Washington Daily Chronicle. For
four years he held the position of secretary and treasurer of the
Chronicle publishing company. In 1878 he returned to Fort Wayne,
and has since that year, been associated with the lumber manufacturing
of the city. He became secretary of the Peters box and lumber com-
pany in 1884. Mr. McQuiston was born in Allen countv, March 21,
1844, the son of John and Eliza McQuiston, residents of the county, and
he received his education in the schools of the city. In the fall of 1870
he was married to Lydia A. Bean, of Delaware, Ohio. He has been a
member of Summit City lodge, F. & A. M., since 1865, and is in politics
a republican.
The Anthony Wayne manufacturing company, of which John
Rhinesmith is president, and Albert C. F. Wichman superintendent, is
one of the prosperous concerns of the city. Its product is the improved
Anthony Wayne washing machine, the invention of Mr. Wichman, which
is one of the most popular contrivances of that kind. Mr. Wichman was
born in Prussia in 1835, and came to America in 1849. He ^ rst rnade his
home at Cincinnati, but in 185 1 came to Fort Wayne, where he resided
until 1864. ^ e ^ en removed to Kendallville, and during his residence
there served as city clerk from 1869 to 1873. Returning to Fort Wayne
in 1880, he for several years held the position of bookkeeper for
William Moellering, contractor and buiider. In 1886 he entered the
Anthony Wayne manufacturing company, and became the superinten-
dent of the works in June, 1887. Mr. Wichman was married in 1857,
to Elizabeth Eberlein, who is a native of Bavaria, though reared in
Fort Wayne. They have nine children.
The first president of the company named was that well-known and
enterprising citizen, Fred. C. Boltz. In the year 1849, being at that
time one year old, Mr. Boltz was brought here by his parents from his
native town of Saarbruken, Prussia. He was brought up in this city,
and enjoyed the advantages of the public schools. He engaged in busi-
ness in 1864 at the age of sixteen years, and has been identified with
different business interests ever since. In 1864 he engaged in the manu-
facture of cigars, and at present is one of the prosperous men in that
branch of business, operating factory No. 201, which produces several
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 125
brands of fine cigars, the most popular being the " B. & O.," and ' : Fuss."
In 1886 Mr. Boltz became a stockholder in the Anthony Wayne manu-
facturing company, being one of the organizers, and served as president
until 1887, when he resigned, but still holds a directorship. He is also
a member of the contracting firm of Boltz & Dehrheimer. From May,
1881, until 18S5, he served as a member of the city council. He
has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1869. Mr. Boltz
was married October 8, 187 1, to Miss Catherine Best, of New York
city. Mr. Boltz's father is yet a resident of this city, but his mother
died in 1S76.
The Hoosier manufacturing company, A. S. Evans, president, is a
well-known establishment. The superintendency of the factory of this
company is in the hands of William A. Thomas, a capable business man.
He began mercantile life in 1873, in the retail clothing trade- at Addison,
Ohio. This he sold out in 1880, and in 1881 he came to Fort Wayne,
and here was first engaged as assistant bookkeeper for Evans, McDon-
ald & Co., wholesale dry goods merchants. Soon after the incorpora-
tion of the Hoosier manufacturing company he was intrusted with the
position of bookkeeper, and since January, 1887, has occupied his pres-
ent position. Mr. Thomas was born in Champaign county, Ohio, Sep-
tember 2, 1 85 1, son of John H. and Elizabeth Thomas. The mother
was a native of that county, the father of Rockbridge county, Va. Mr.
Thomas attended the district school, and at sixteen entered Denison
University at Granville, Ohio, whence he graduated in 1872. He was
married June 24, 1874, to Mary F., daughter of Capt. Nathan McCon-
key, late of Springfield, Ohio. She was born in Clark county of that
state. They are the parents of two children, Ross and Stella, both liv-
ing. Mr. Thomas and wife are devoted members of the First Baptist
church. He has been a Mason since the night of his twenty-first birth-
day, and has attained the rank of thirty-second degree; he is also a
member of the Knights of Pythias.
John Rhinesmith, senior member of the well-known lumber firm of
Rhinesmith &' Simonson, was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1832.
His father, George Rhinesmith, was born in Pennsylvania, moved to Ohio
when a young man, and after working as a farm laborer about six
months, bought land and began its cultivation, continuing as a farmer
until his death in 1859. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth
Earle, is a native of Ohio. She removed to Fort Wayne in 1862, and
now resides at the home of her son John, in her eighty-second year.
John Rhinesmith, after leaving school, clerked for a few years, and in
1885 came to Fort Wayne and entered the employment of a produce
dealer. Subsequent to 1861 he was a messenger for a few years for
the American Express company, and in 1865 he engaged in the lumber
business in partnership with John H. Clark. The firm was incorporated
as the Clark & Rhinesmith lumber company in 1872, and was suc-
ceeded in 1877 by the firm of Rhinesmith & Simonson, J. H. Simonson
being the partner. The business of this concern has become very exten-
126 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
sive and successful, having increased from a capital of about $33,000 to
over $60,000, and the average annual business is now $200,000. The
product is sash, doors and blinds, and they do all kinds of factory work,
employing between fifty and sixty-five men, and also deal in lumber.
Mr. Rhinesmith is also president of the Anthony Wayne manufacturing
company, in which he owns a one-fourth interest, and is one of the prom-
inent men of the city.
James H. Simonson, member of the firm of Rhinesmith & Simonson,
and secretary and treasurer of the Anthony Wayne manufacturing com-
pany, was born at Peeksville, N. Y., in 1838, the son of Isaac and Abby
J. (Mosher) Simonson. The father was a contractor of considerable
note, and with others built the palace of General Bolivar, at Bogota,
S. A. He was one of an old Dutch family whose ancestors came to
New York in 1643. He died in 1857, and the mother, who is a descend-
ant of an English family that landed on Block Island in 1736, is now a
resident of New York. In that city James H. was raised and educated
in the city schools. He was holding a position as bookkeeper in a
machine shop at New York, at the outbreak of the civil war, when,
being a member of the famous seventh regiment, he went with that
regiment to the capital at the call of President Lincoln. As soon as
relieved from guard duty Mr. Simonson returned to New York, and in
1862 removed to Pittsburgh and entered the empk^ment of the Penn-
sylvania company. In 1864 he removed to Fort Wayne, where, until
1867, ne was cashier in the freight depot of the Pittsburgh railroad.
Resigning his position he entered the employment of Clark & Rhine-
smith, and upon the organization of the Clark & Rhinesmith lumber
company, in 1872, he became a stockholder and director. Subsequently
he and Mr. Rhinesmith succeeded to the business. He is also a fourth
owner in the Anthony Wayne manufacturing company. Mr. Simonson
was one of the projectors of the Masonic temple, and upon the com-
pletion of the opera-house portion in 1885 he was appointed manager of
the same, a position he still holds. Mr. Simonson's genial and happy
nature has gained him many warm friends, and he is one of the popular
men of city. In 1887 he was the republican candidate for mayor, but
though making a gallant contest was unable to overcome the adverse
majority. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the rank of
Knight Templar.
Among the careful and trustworthy foreman of the manufactories of
the city, William C. Pape, of the Rhinesmith & Simonson factory, should
be creditably named. Though a young man, he was given in 1885, a
foremanship at the Peters box and lumber company's works, which he
held until 1887, when he accepted his present position with one of the
leading firms in wooden manufacture. Mr. Pape was born at this city,
May 2, 1863, son of Charles and Minnie (Bearman) Pape. He was
educated at the German Lutheran schools, and August 31, 1884, was
married to Carrie Paul, a native of Ohio. They have one child, Roy.
Mr. Pape is a member of one of the prominent families of the city, and
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 127
is highly esteemed. He and wife are members of the Lutheran church,
and he is politically a democrat.
Louis Diether, senior membr of the firm of Louis Diether & Bro.,
manufacturers of sash, doors and blinds and mouldings, and dealers in
lumber, is one of the notably successful manufacturers of the city of
Fort Wayne. His parents, Charles F. and Barbara Diether, natives of
Germany, were married in New York city and came to Indiana in 1850
to seek a place to plant their home in the new land. They located in
this city in 1850, and here in the same year, their son Louis was born.
The mother died at Fort Wayne in 1885. Louis was educated in the
city schools, and at the age of twenty years, engaged in the hardware
business at Mendon, Mich. He returned to Fort Wayne, however, in
July of the same year, and took a position as book-keeper for the firm
of Cochrane & Humphrey, one of the oldest lumber firms of the city.
He was subsequently with Nuttman & Taylor three years, and was book-
keeper for Meyer Bros., wholesale druggists, five years. Afterward he
embarked in the lumber business, succeeding the firm of Cochrane &
Humphrey. In May, 1887, and on January 1, 1888, the firm of Diether
& Bro. was formed by the admission of his brother John to a partner-
ship. The firm ranks with those which do the largest business in the
city, and employ an average of thirty-eight men. In addition to their
manufactures, which include all kinds of factory work, they deal exten-
sively in rough and dressed lumber and shingles. Their factory, at 100
Pearl street, is one of the prominent concerns of the city, and their lum-
ber yards are located on Superior street.
John H. Diether, junior member of the firm of Louis Diether & Bro.,
above referred to, was born in this city, January 3, 1852, the son of
Charles F. and Barbara Diether. At'the age of eighteen years he set
out to learn the trade of harness making, and two years later, became a
member of the firm of F. Hilt & Co., manufacturers and dealers in sad-
dles and harness, and was so engaged for twelve years, selling out his
interest at the end of that period. In January, 1888, he formed the
present partnership with his brother Louis. For a time he took charge
of the lumber yards of the firm on Superior street, but at present has the
management of the manufactory on Pearl street. Mr. Diether was mar-
ried April 27, 1882, to Malana Mcllvaine, of Fort Wayne, who was born
in New York city in 1862. They have three children.
John B. Monning, the eldest of five children of the late Hon. Henry
Monning, an account of whose life appears in another portion of this
work, was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, May 2, 1852. In the fall of the same
year his parents began their residence at Fort Wayne, so that the life of
the subject of this mention has been almost entirely spent in this city.
In the Catholic schools of the city, as he grew in years, he received
a good and comprehensive education. When sixteen years old he
became deputy county treasurer, serving under his father, then
county treasurer, and after his father's retirement from office, for
one year with his successor. During this period his father and A.
128 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
C. Trentman had established a coffee and spice mill, and John B.
Monning engaged in this in 1S74, and in 1881, under the firm name
of J. B. Monning & Co., began the business of flour milling, at which
he is still engaged. His business sagacity and enterprise, joined with
that honor and integrity which characterizes his undertakings in all chan-
nels of activity, have made him a highly successful man, and one who
ranks among the leading citizens of Fort Wayne. He is prominent in
the affairs of the city, and being a leader among those who delight in
advancing the interests of the whole community, has been secretary of
the business men's association since its organization. Mr. Monning was
married in 1876, to Mary Luhn, who was born in Cincinnati, March 2,
1852, and their union has been blessed with four children: Mary, Agnes,
Anna and John. Mr. Monning and wife are members of the Catholic
church, and he is active in the interests of the order known as the Catho-
lic Knights of America. In politics Mr. Monning is a democrat.
John Ferguson, prominent among the leading manufacturers and
lumbermen of Fort Wayne, was born near Quebec, June 24, 1834. His
father, John Ferguson, a native of Scotland, was born at Westfield, near
Alloa, in 1795, and in 1816 went to sea, and for sixteen years continued
the life of a sailor. About 1830 emigrated and settled in Canada.
Mary Orr, who became his wife, was born in County Armaugh, Ireland,
in 1805, and had come to Canada, about 1829. She and her husband
settled on a farm and they were occupied in its cultivation until their
death. She died March 19, 1879, anc ^ his death followed, February 20,
1883. He was a man of great energy and careful habits, and his rugged
constitution knew no suffering until just before his life went out at four
score and eight years. To these parents were born eleven children, of
whom seven survive. Their son, .John Ferguson, remained on the farm
near Quebec until his twentieth year, when, in 1855, he came to Fort
Wayne, which has since been his home. He engaged in the lumber
business in 1861, and has ever since been successfully prosecuting that
industry, having two large mills on the Fort Wayne & Muncie railroad,
the product of which finds market principally in Chicago. His enter-
prising spirit has led him into other investments for the advancement of
the city, and he is a director of the Wayne natural gas company, and
for twelve years has been president of the Bluffton gravel road company.
Mr. Ferguson's interest in this city, is property valued at $30,000. He
owns about 1,000 acres of mostly improved land in Allen, Huntington,
Wells and Marshall counties, and also $11,000 worth of property in
Lucas county, Ohio. Mr. Ferguson was married November 19, 1861,
to Eliza King, a native of Canada, born in 1837, and they have five
children as follows: Cora M., Fannie, now Mrs. Palmer, wife of Earl
Palmer, who is now engaged in the lumber business with Mr. Ferguson,
Eliza K., John K., and Minnie E. He is a prominent republican in
politics, a member of Harmony lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F., and with his
family are members of the First Baptist church. Enterprise and energy
are the crowning characteristics of his character.
P&n^ ^
'^e^v
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
I29
Louis Rastetter, who has had an honorable career in this city since
September 27, 1857, came here at that date, expecting to find employ-
ment as a machinist, a trade he had well learned in his native land, and
had practiced in America since he landed in 1854, unaccompanied by
any relatives, to search his fortune in a new land. He had been employed
two years at Rochester, N. Y., and one year at Buffalo, before coming
to Fort Wayne. Here he found work in the old Wabash shops. In
November, 1859, he went to Germany to visit his parents, and
returned in June, i860, to resume his position in the shops. Marrying
soon afterward, he set up a small machine shop of his own, which he
conducted with considerable success until 1870, when he sold his busi-
ness and took the position of master-mechanic of the wheel works of
N. G. Olds. Here he remained until the fall of 1876, when, with two
associates, he went to Lima, Ohio, and they established a factory for
the production of hubs, spokes and buggy bows, under the name of the
Lima wheel company. At the end of four years and a half he sold to
his partners and established his present factory at Fort Wayne, which
was removed to the site now occupied on the corner of Broadway and
the Pittsburgh railroad in the fall of 1881. This, the Fort Wayne buggy
bow works, is one of the important manufactories of the city, and in its
management Mr. Rastetter displays notable ability. Mr. Rastetter was
born in Baden, Germany, May 31, 1834, tne son °f Andrew and Anna
Mary (Sutter) Rastetter. He was educated for a teacher by his parents,
but his inclinations led him to learn the machinist's trade. He was mar-
ried August 4, i860, to Elizabeth Hauenstein, who was born in Fort
Wayne, March 27, 1841, daughter of John and Anna Mary Hauenstein,
natives of Switzerland. Mr. Rastetter and wife have had seven chil-
dren, of whom four are living: William C, Helen, Charles and Mary.
Mr. Rastetter is a member of the I. O. O. F.
John Lillie, one of the prominent manufacturers and business men of
Fort Wayne, was born in Scotland, September 12, 1847, the son of John
and Jane (Fowler) Lillie. The parents were natives of Scotland, the
father born October 16, 1819, the mother about 1821. The family came
to the United States in June, 1850, and settled at Fort Wayne. The
mother died at Wells county, this state, in 1852. In 1856 the father en-
gaged in the lime and stone business at Fort Wayne, and in 1875 removed
to Columbus, Ohio, where he died May 21, 1885. John Lillie is the
second of five children of these parents, of whom three are now living.
He received a common school education. In 1872 he became a member
of the firm of James Lillie & Co., and in 1883 became sole proprietor.
In January, 1884, he admitted Charles A. Munson as a partner in the
manufacture of Huntington lime, with their works located at Lillie,
Huntington county. The firm also deals in cement, plaster, sewer pipe,
etc., and does a large business. Mr. Lillie is a valued citizen, is a repre-
sentative business man, and is widely known as one of the most promi-
nent Masons of Indiana. He has attained the thirty-second degree, is
past eminent commander, Knights Templar, has been grand secretary of
IX
130
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
the grand lodge of Perfection, A. A. S. R., at Fort Wayne, since its
organization March 12, 1887, and is one of the trustees of the Masonic
Temple. His prominence in these fraternal connections is a valuable
testimonial to his fine social qualities and worth as a man. The esteem
in which he is held by those who know him best is shown by his having
been elected repeatedly to represent his ward in the city council, though
he is a firm republican, and his is the leading democratic ward in the
city. Mr. Lillie was married March 9, 187 1, to Kate Williams, of this
city, who was born in Canada in 1851.
" William Ranke, of the firm of Ranke & Yergens, manufacturers,
was born in Prussia, September 16,. 1838. In 1854, he immigrated and
landing at Baltimore, proceeded to Cincinnati, where resided two years.
In 1856 he came to Fort Wayne, where he engaged three years later,
in the bakery business. After a career of seven years in this line of
trade, he formed a partnership with William Yergens in a saw-mill,
which they managed until 1871, when they engaged in the manufacture
of staves and heading, to which products were added buggy bows, in
1889. Their factory is one of the extensive establishments of the city,
employing forty-five to fifty men. The product, which annually amounts
to $75,000 to $100,000, is shipped to St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville,
Boston, Buffalo and other points. The manufactory is situated between
Ewing and Griffith streets, fronting on Superior, and extending to the
tracks of the "Nickle Plate" railroad. Mr. Ranke was married April
19, 1863, to Sophia Jacobs, a native of Germany, who was born Febru-
ary 18, 1845, and came to America with her parents in the August fol-
lowing. She is the daughter of Frederick Jacobs, a painter by trade,
who was one of the pioneers of this city, and died in August, 1879. In
the same year his wife died, whose maiden name was Sophia Jacobs.
Mr. and Mrs. Ranke have nine children : William, born January 20,
1865: Sophia, July 21, 1867; Henry, March 1, 1870; Louisa, August
3, 1873; Emma, May 29, 1876; Frederick, October 14, 1878; Clara,
February 4, 1881; Herman, September 25, 1884; Lydia, April 7, 1887.
Mr. andMrs. Ranke are members of the Emanuel's Lutheran church.
William Yergens, of the above named firm, came to America in
1845, from Prussia, where he was born March 26, 1828, and from New
York, came to Fort Wayne by the way of Albany, Buffalo and over the
lake to Toledo, thence by the Wabash & Erie canal. His settlement
dates June 1, 1845, and though that seems a comparatively recent period,
3 7 et he had the experiences of an early settler and pioneer, as there were
then not over 500 people in the town, and Indians were almost as numer-
ous as whites. He has seen the town increase a hundred fold. He
first engaged in canal boating, but in i860, started a saw-mill, and
embarked in lumbering. The mill was destroyed in 1863, but immedi-
ately rebuilt. In 1866, the partnership with Mr. Ranke was formed,
which has developed into a prosperous and important business. Mr.
Yergens was married in 1850, to Eliza Jacobs, who was born in Ger-
many, November 26, 1834, an< ^ came with her parents, Frederick and
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 131
Sophia Jacobs, in 1845, to America, and settled at Fort Wayne. They
have six children, three of whom are living: William, born in 1854, 1S
married, and is employed in the works; Gustav, born in 1861, is mar-
ried, and served as deputy revenue collector during Cleveland's adminis-
tration; and Emma, born in 1864, is the wife of William Moellering, of
the city. The family are members of the Lutheran church.
Noteworthy in the roll of young men of the city who are interested
in manufacturing, is John M. Landenberger, treasurer and manager of
the Indiana machine works. He assumed the duties of his present
position April 7, 1888. Mr. Landenberger is a native of Philadelphia,
born September 28, 1863, son of Gottleib and Mathilda (Storm) Land-
enberger, natives of Germany. The father, who was born in 1843,
came to the United States in early boyhood, and lived in Philadelphia
until his death in 1866. The mother died in the same city in 1871, at
about forty years of age. Of their seven children John M. is the fourth.
He obtained a common school education, and came to Fort Wayne in
1875, and studied three years at Concordia college, subsequently attend-
ing a business college at his native city. He was married October 19,
1887, to Amelia F., daughter of J. F. W. Meyer. She was born in this
city in 1863. They are active members of the Lutheran church. Mr.
Landenberger is a republican, and cast his first electoral ballot for
James G. Blaine.
The City carriage works, established in 1857, is extensively engaged
in the manufacture of carriages, buggies, sleighs, etc., and is one of the
largest of the kind in the city. The plant includes a brick factory,
60x100 feet, on Clay street, and a large storage warehouse on Clinton
street. The firm name of the proprietors is Dudenhoefer, Daniels &
Co., the partners being George P. Dudenhoefer, S. S. Daniels, H. E.
Bueker and H. P. Sherer, recently of New Mexico. The other gentle-
men named are much respected citizens, of long residence in the city,
which they have done their part to advance.
George P. Dudenhoefer, the senior partner, learned the trade of
carriage-maker with his father, George P. Dudenhoefer, who emigrated
from Germany in 1841, and in Pennsylvania married his wife, Mary A.,
also a native of Germany. They resided four years in Ohio, and came
to Allen county in 1845, settling in Marion township, where their son,
George P., was born January 27, 1848. The latter, at eighteen years
of age, came to Fort Wayne, and worked for eight years in various fac-
tories. In 1877 he purchased an interest in the City carriage works, of
.which he has since been one of the proprietors. Mr. Dudenhoefer was
married October 19, 187 1, to Minnie Scherer, a native of Marion town-
ship, daughter of Louis and Elizabeth Scherer, natives of Germany, who
were married in that county, and emigrated and settled at Fort Wayne
in 1847. Mr. Dudenhoefer and wife have had three children : Amelia'C.,
Mary S. and Clara C, the last of whom died in infancy. He and
wife are members of the St. Paul's Lutheran church. His long expe-
rience and talent for business give him a high rank among the manu-
facturers of the city.
132 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Capt. Edward A. Ross-Lewin, one of the foremost of those skillful
men whose work have done so much for the advancement of the city,
now foreman of the Fort Wayne furniture company, was born in Ireland,
June 12, 1833, son of Francis B. and Susanna (Kenney) Ross-Lewin,
both natives of County Clare. The father was born in 1787, came to
the United States with his family in 1849, lo cate d first at Rochester,
N. Y., and in 1857, removed to Elkhart, Ind., where he died in 1858,
and was followed in death by his widow in 1S64, at the age of fifty-
seven. They had eleven children, of whom eight are living, Edward
being the second. He was educated in his native country at King's col-
lege, at Ennis, and after coming to this country began in 1849, an
apprenticeship at the carpenter's and joiner's trade at Rochester, N. Y.
In 1854 he went to Elkhart, and was there engaged for five years as
a contractor. He removed to Rochester, N. Y., in 1859, and in 1861
enlisted in Company H, Twenty-sixth New York infantry, was elected
second lieutenant by his company, in 1862 commissioned first lieutenant,
and in the fall of the same year commissioned as captain. His regiment
was actively engaged for two years in nearly every engagement in which
the army of the Potomac was. His record as a true and faithful soldier
was terminated by his honorable muster out in 1863. In 1864 he came
to Fort Wayne and for fourteen years he was occupied as foreman of
the great wheel works of N. G. Olds & Son. He also acted as fore-
man in the construction of the Masonic Temple and First Presbyterian
church. His connection with the Fort Wayne furniture factory began
in 1S88. Mr. Ross-Lewin was married in 1S58, to Sarah Jane Gardner,
of Rochester, N. Y., who was born in 1837, daughter of John and
Anna Spencer Gardner, and they have two children: Ida L., now cash-
ier of the Fort Wayne furniture company, and Jennie S. In politics he
is a democrat.
Andrew R. Henderson, superintendent of the woolen mill operated
under the name of French, Hanna & Co., was born near Auburn, Cayuga
county, N. Y., March 31, 1826. His parents, Joel P. and Mary Ann
(Rogers) Henderson, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of
Cayuga county, N. Y., removed, when he was a lad of twelve years, to
Chautauqua county, N. Y., where at the age of thirteen he became
apprenticed in a woolen mill. During almost his entire life he has been
employed in woolen manufacture. In 1842 he took a position in a mill
at Erie, Penn. In 1848 he went to Waterloo, N. Y. Subsequently he
had charge of mills at North East, Penn.; Westfield, N. Y.; Kingsville,
Ashtabula county, Ohio. In March, 1856, he came to Fort Wayne to
manage the mill now owned by French, Hanna & Co., of which he has
now been superintendent for about thirty-three years. Mr. Henderson
was married in 1855 to Zervia Berdsley, who died in June, 185S. She
was born in Rochester, N. Y. March 22, i860, he was married to Miss
Annetta E., daughter of Harvey M. and Elvira (Lampher) Putnam,
natives of Lewis county, N. Y. Mr. Henderson and wife are the
parents of an only son, Charles W. Henderson, who was born January
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 1 33
17, 1S61, and is now a bookkeeper in the office of the Pittsburg shops.
Mr. Henderson is a Knight Templar, and politically he is a republican.
Martin L. Albrecht, carriage manufacturer, is a native of Fairfield
county, Ohio. He was born June 6, 1847, the son of Rev. Christopher and
Mary Ann (Conrad) Albrecht, who were natives, the former of Baden,
Germany, and the latter of Fairfield county, Ohio. Christopher Albrecht
was the son of Andrew Albrecht, with whom he came to America in
1S32 and located in Tiffin, Seneca Co., Ohio, being one of the earliest
settlers. Christopher Albrecht helped to construct the Wabash &
Erie canal, and with the money thus earned he took a course in the
Lutheran theological seminary at Columbus, Ohio. He then began
his ministerial duties in Fairfield county, and labored as a minister for
more than forty years, having but four different charges. For more
than twenty-five years he was pastor of the Lutheran church at Miam-
isburg, Ohio. He died near that place in 1887. The mother of Martin
Albrecht died when he was but two years old, in Perry county, Ohio,
whither his parents had moved. After her death he found a home with
his grandfather, Andrew Albrecht, at Tiffin, with whom he remained
until he was twenty-one. His education was received in the public
schools of Tiffin and at Heidelberg college of that place, which he
attended one year. During the greater part of his youth he was em-
ployed as a clerk. At eighteen he entered upon an apprenticeship as a
carriage painter and served three years. In 1868 he went from Tiffin
to Indianapolis where, for a few months, he worked at his trade, after
which, in October, he came to Fort Wayne. Here he worked two
years for Stanley & Bieber. For six months thereafter he was the
owner of a shop in which was done carriage painting. He then formed
a partnership in the livery business with James Liggett, and to it his
attention was given for a year and a half. For the past seventeen years
he has been engaged in the manufacture of carriages, and he has now
done a continuous business of that kind longer than any other man in
the city. From November, 1876, to January, 1883, he was one of the
proprietors of the City carriage works. For the past six years he has
been the proprietor of his present establishment on the corner of Barr
and Main streets. Mr. Albrecht was married May 10, 1870, to Miss
Dora Bloom, a native of Germany, born in 1848, the daughter of Philip
Bloom, with whom she came to America when a child. They have
seven children: Frank L., Samuel W., Edward, Eva M., Fred, Dora S.
and Christopher. Mr. Albrecht and wife are members of the German
Lutheran church. He was the first president of the city hospital and is
the present incumbent, having held the position for the past six years.
Calvin J. Winch, an old and honored citizen of Fort Wayne, and the
founder of Winch & Sons' hub and spoke works, was born near Bur-
lington, Vt., July 14, 1824, the son of Joseph and Almira (Murray)
Winch, who were respectively natives of New Hampshire and Vermont.
The grandfather, Joseph Winch, was a native of New Hampshire. He
was reared to manhood on a farm in his native county, and received a
134 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
common school education. In the latter part of his youth he learned the
blacksmith's trade, and he pursued it for a great many years. In about
1845, he emigrated to Indiana and located in Monmouth, Adams county,
where he conducted a blacksmith shop some ten years. He then erected
a steam saw-mill at that place and operated it about three years. He
then gave his attention to agricultural pursuits until the spring of 1864,
at which time he removed to Leo, Allen county, Ind., having purchased
a grist-, woolen- and saw-mill. He conducted that property about five
years. In the spring of 1869 he came to Fort Wayne, and for about
two years he was engaged in the building of gravel roads and streets.
He then began the manufacture of hubs in connection with his son,
H. D. Winch, the firm name being Winch & Son. The manufacture of
spokes has been added, and the firm is now the owner of a large factory
in Fort Wayne and another in Jay county, Ind. For two years their
business was at Areola, then at Geneva, Adams county, and still later at
Briant, Jay county. The factory in Fort Wayne was started in Octo-
ber, 1886. Another son, W. E. Winch, has been a member of the firm
about five years. Mr. C. J. Winch was married when about twenty-
years old, to Miss Phebe C, daughter of Calvin T. and Fannie (Bell)
Dorwin, who were respectively natives of Vermont and New York.
She was born in Richland county, Ohio, in 1834. Mr. C. J. Winch and
wife have had eight children: Walter J., born March 9, 1850; Homer
Dick, February 24, 1853; Willard E. and Mildred D., April 2, 1858;
Sherman P., October 31, 1862; Fannie M., April 1, 1867; Jessie M.,
July 4, 1869; Howard T., October 29, 1872, all of whom are living ex-
cept Walter J., who died in the fourth year of his age. Mr. Winch is
an ardent temperance man and strongly opposed to monopolies. He is
always active in public enterprises, is an honorable, upright man, and
very highly respected.
John Pressler, proprietor of the Summit City galvanized iron
works, was born at Chambersburg, Franklin county, Penn., October 25,
1845, the second of two children now living of George and Anna Press-
ler, who were natives of Germany and immigrated to Pennsylvania and
there died. In 1863 Mr. Pressler enlisted in Company L, Twenty-first
Pennsylvania cavalry, William H. Boyd commanding, but being under
age at the time, his father required his release and he was honorably
discharged soon afterward. He learned the tinner's trade at Chambers-
burg, and in 1868 came to Fort Wayne. For three years he was em-
ployed in the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad shops, under Joseph Stillwagon,
and for a time at the Wabash shops. He was then for some time oc-
cupied in the tin and jobbing business, and in 1883 established his pres-
ent business, which is the largest and most extensive in its line in the
city. In 1885 he bought his present business property on the corner of
Barr and Columbia streets, which he has greatly improved, to furnish
room for his increased business. In addition to his manufacturing he
deals in hot air furnaces and metalic shingles, and makes specialties of
natural gas and other fittings, and grates and mantels. He was married
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 135
July 1 8, 1868, to Amelia Menze, who was born in Fort Wayne, and
they have six children : Rosa, Charles F., John A., Edith A., Carrie and
George H. He and wife are members of the English Lutheran church.
Mr. Pressler became a member of Sol D. Bayless lodge, F. & A. M.,
April 28, 1886, and in 1888 became a Scottish Rite Mason. He is an enter-
prising, active business man, and though beginning in Fort Wayne with
small means has prospered, and has a pleasant home on West Main street,
which he purchased in 1886.
Sylvanus F. Bowser, a well-known citizen of Fort Wayne, is at the
head of the firm of S. F. Bowser & Co., patentees and manufacturers
of the Perfect Self-measuring oil tank, and perfecting siphon, also
pumps and self-measuring oil wagons. He was born in Allen county,
August 8, 1854. His parents, John H. and Eliza (Kieger) Bowser,
came from their native state of Penusylvania to Allen county in 1833,
and were among the sturdy pioneers, and followed farming in Perry
township. The father was born April 15, 1812, and died March 10,
1879; the mother, who was born September 18, 1818, passed away Sep-
tember 9, 1875. To them thirteen children were born, eight of whom
survive. S. F. Bowser was reared on the farm of his parents, and re-
ceived his education in the common schools. In 1882 he took a position
as traveling salesman for the Chicago paper house of W. H. Wells &
Bro., and was thus engaged until 1885, when he perfected the inven-
tion above named, and began its manufacture. Beginning on a small
scale, he continued the business until July 1, 1888, when the company
was organized, by associating with him August Bowser and William F.
Devilbiss. They erected the factory now in use, a three-story frame
building, with 20,000 feet of floor space, and are doing a prosperous
and rapidly increasing business. Mr. Bowser is a member of the First
Baptist church. He was married October 9, 1878, to Sarah F. Russell,
of Fort Wayne, and to them four children have been born.
Aime Racine, a prominent citizen of Fort Wayne, has developed
here the manufacture of horse collars on a large scale, and the "Racine"
horse collar has a national reputation. In 1865 he fromed a partner-
ship in this city for the manufacture of harness, to which was sub-
sequently added the making of collars, and for more than twenty years
he has conducted that business. The factory occupies a handsome
three story brick building, at the corner of First and North Cass streets,
which was erected by Mr. Racine several years ago. In the near
vicinity Mr. Racine has two comfortable residence buildings, one of
which he occupies. Mr. Racine is not wholly absorbed in his prosper-
ous business, but takes and interest in public affairs, and is prominent as
a republican. During two years he served as councilman from the
ninth ward. He was born in Switzerland, March 16, 1834, son of John
Jacob Racine. In 1849 he accompanied his parents to this country, and
they settled first in Washington township, this county. He remained
upon the farm until 1865, and then began an apprenticeship in the har-
ness business in Fort Wayne. He worked as a journeyman in Chicago
136 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
six months; at Lafayette, Ind., six years, and as foreman in a collar fac-
tory in Toledo, two years. He was married in 1865, to Louisa Sawdy,
of the latter city, and they have living two children: Ollie and Nellie.
Mr. Racine is a member of the I. O. O. F.
Erastus B. Kunkle, member of the firm of E. B. Kunkle & Co., pro-
prietors of the Fort Wayne safety valve works, was born at Greensburg,
Westmoreland county, Penn., December 14, 1S36, the son of Leonard
and Harriet C. Kunkle, natives ot Pennsylvania and New Jersey,
respectively. In his youth he learned the trade of a machinist with his
father, and has followed it during life. In 1862, he removed to Alliance,
Ohio, where he was employed two years, and then in December, 1864,
came to Fort Wayne. During eleven years he was employed in the
locomotive department of the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago railroad
shops, and since that period has turned his attention to invention and
manufacture. He invented the celebrated Kunkle lock-up pop safety
valve, upon which he received a patent May 4, 1875, and another July
24, 1877. In January, 1876, he began the manufacture of the valves,
and as it is an article of much importance and solid merit, it finds an
extensive sale over the continent. Mr. Kunkle has also manifested his
skill and genius in mechanics by the invention of an egg beater, a water
gauge, a gauge-cock, and a steam gauge, on all of which he has received
patents. He is honored as a citizen, is one of the trustees of the English
Lutheran church, of which he and wife are members, and served one
year as a trustee of the water-works, to which position he was elected
in 1887, but was compelled to resign on account of of his private busi-
ness. He was married October 22, 1868, to Louisa E., daughter of
Emanuel and Harriet Bostick, esteemed pioneer citizens. She was born
in Lancaster county, Penn., October 25, 1845. They have these chil-
dren: Ella A., Eva H., Frances C, Blanche M., Lulu S. and Edith P.,
all living except Frances, who died at the age of three years.
Jacob Klett, one of the leading citizens of Fort Wayne, of German
birth, was born in Wurtemberg, in 183 1. In his native land he was
educated, and learned the potter's trade. In 1853 he immigrated and in
the following year, settled at Fort Wayne. Four years later, he entered
the employment of Andrews & Oakley, of Fort Wayne, in their planing-
mill, and remained with them until i860. He became engaged with
Clark & Hurd, lumber dealers, in 1861, and continued with the succes-
sors, Clark & Rhinesmith, and upon the organization of the lumber com-
pany of the same name, in 1871, he became a stockholder, and accepted
the position of yard foreman and inspector. Having become thoroughly
acquainted with the business, he opened an extensive yard on his own
account in 1877, and prospering in this business, added in 1889, a large
and complete planing-mill plant, and began the manufacture of sash,
doors, blinds and general factory work. Mr. Klett's business experience
has extended over thirty-one years, and he is one of the leading lumber
men of the city. Socially, he has a wide circle of friends and acquain-
tances. He was married July 6, 1858, to Louisa Sauter, a native of
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 137
Germany, who came to this country at about the age of about five
years, and they have had eight children, five of whom are living. J. A.,
the oldest son, is engaged with his father in the lumber business.
The management of the extensive lumber yards of Coombs & Co.,
of Fort Wayne, is entrusted to Nelson Thompson, who resides at No.
339 East Wayne street. He is a native of Sweden, born November
10, 1844. He remained on the farm with his parents until 1865, and
then immigrated. He came west and located at Chicago, where he
remained until 1867, and then came to Fort Wayne, where he has since
resided. While in Chicago he was employed in laying Nicholson pave-
ment, and he was engaged in that after coming to Fort Wayne until
1877, being occasionally in the employment of the city in repairing
bridges, culverts, etc. In 1877 he entered the lumber yard of Coombs
& Co., and in 1885 was made manager of the yards. Mr. Thompson
is a member of the English Lutheran church. He was married in 1868
to Augustine Pichon, daughter of Alexander A. Pichon, a native of
France, who settled in Fort Wayne about 1833, and is now in his seventy-
sixth year, making his home with Mr. Thompson. To Mr. and Mrs.
Thompson three children have been born : Peter Alexander, John Will-
iam and Charles Dollies. Mr. Thompson has been very successful in
business, and has recently completed a handsome two-story residence on
East Wayne street. In politics, he is a* republican, and his religious
affiliation is with the English Lutheran church.
Joseph C. Cromwell is one of the prominent factors in the great
lumber industry of Fort Wayne, and has been connected with the busi-
ness here since his coming to the city in 1872. His first employment
was as bookkeeper and measurer for the lumber firm of Hoffman
Brothers, and he remained with them until the summer of 1876, when
he became engaged with Coombs & Co., hardware dealers, as entry
clerk. In 1880 he assumed the position of chief clerk and head book-
keeper with the Kerr Murray manufacturing company. After four
years in this position, in 1884, he engaged in the lumber business on his
own account, and now has an extensive trade, manufacturing lumber, and
shipping that and logs to home and foreign markets. His mills are in
Adams and Jay counties, with headquarters there and in Fort Wayne,
and the annual business amounts to $20,000. Mr. Cromwell was born
at Frederick City, Md., January 17, 1852, the son of Joseph W. Crom-
well, now a worthy citizen of this city, elsewhere mentioned. He re-
ceived his education in the schools of West Virginia, and in 1868 began
his business career as a clerk at Frederick City. He was married in
1880 to Maggie C. Hardt, daughter of John C. Hardt, of the lumber
firm of Hardt & Keefer, of Frederick City. She was born November
23,1850. They have three children. Mr. Cromwell is a member of
Sol. D. Bayless lodge, No. 359, F. & A. M., and of the First Presby-
terian church.
David Tagtmeyer, a leading lumber manufacturer, embarked in
that business in 1861, in company with three partners, and so continued
I38 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
three years, when the mill was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt, but
seemed fated, for two months later the boiler exploded, again destroying
the building. A second time it was rebuilt but was subsequently sold.
Afterward, Mr. Tagtmeyer and a partner purchased the property and
operated it one year, then disposed of it. He was next engaged in the
grocery business on Columbia street for one year, and then in 1868,
purchased a half interest in the mill he now runs, gaining possession of
the entire property five years later. He now manufactures hardwood
lumber, the product being about 1,300,000 feet annually, which is mainly
disposed of to the railroads. Mr. Tagtmeyer, though now a successful
and prosperous manufacturer, started as a poor man. He w r as born in
North Germany, February 5, 1834, and came to America alone in 1853.
He came direct to Fort Wayne, disembarking from the canal boat which
was his con ve}^ nee from Toledo, at the place where Monning's mill
now stands. The first four months of his residence he w T orked upon the
construction of the Wabash railroad, and next spent one winter in the
woods of Adams county, the epidemic of cholera having brought affairs
to a stand-still in Fort Wayne. Mr. Tagtmeyer was married July, 1862,
to Caroline Kaysar, who was born in Prussia, in 1834, and died in 1871,
leaving two children, of whom one survives. In 1873, he was married a
second time, to Sophy Axt, who was born at this city, in 1843. She
died in June, 1875, leaving one child, and in November, 1876, he
married Christine Tilking, who is a native of Prussia, born in 1:854, and
they have had five children. Mr. Tagtmeyer is a member of the
Lutheran church.
The secretary of the Hoffman lumber company, Milton P. Long-
acre, "*is a native of Chester county, Pa., born January 14, 1851. He is
the oldest of five living children of David and Hannah B. (Rhinehart)
Longacre, natives of Pennsylvania, the father born about 1827 and the
mother about 1831. His father is now engaged in farming and stock-
raising in Chester county, where the mother died June 14, 1870. Mr.
Longacre was educated in the public schools at his home, and remained
there until twenty-one years of age, when he went to Pittsburgh and
was for six months in the employment of the Wheeler & Wilson sewing
machine company. In August, 1872, he came to Fort Wayne, and
served four years in the freight department of the Pennsylvania com-
pany, under J. C. Davis. He entered the employment of Hoffman
Brothers in the fall of 1876, and since the organization of the company
has held his present position, becoming favorably known as an alert and
capable business man. May 1, 1873, he was married to Rachel Lilly,
of Perry county, Penn., born January 3, 1852, who died in March, 1876,
leaving one child, Bertha L., born September 20, 1874. September 20,
1880, he was married to Caroline Schlatter, who was born in Allen
county, July 12, 1853, and they have four children: Milton G., born
November 2, 1882; Hazel I., born October 29, 1884; David S., born
March 1, 1S86; and Leon R., born February 19, 1889. He and wife
are members of the First Presbyterian church.
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. I 39
Philip H. Hyman, a prominent citizen of Fort Wanye, is a native of
Germany, born March 19, 1841. In 1852 he accompanied his parents,
William and Anna M. Hyman, to America, and the family settled in Huron
county, Ohio. In 1866 he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Kirby,
Wyandotte county, Ohio, and was so occupied six years. In 1872 he
removed to Columbia City, Ind., and was engaged in the lumber and
stave business, to which his whole attention has since been given. In
1873 he removed to Portland, Ind.; in 1875 to Versailles, Ohio; to New
Washington, Ohio, in 1876; in 1877 to Tiffin, Ohio, changing his resi-
dence frequently with the opening of new railroads. In 1882 he came
to Fort Wayne. His lumber and stave interests at present are at Payne,
Ohio. Mr. Hyman was married August 11, 1868, to Cassie Jetter, who
was born in Philadelphia, March 13, 1851, daughter of Jacob and Anna
Jetter. They have had nine children: William J., Isabel L., Philip H.,
Edward A., Minnette E., Arthur F., Estella C, Wanetta J. and Anna M.,
of whom William J., Isabel L. and Minnette E. are dead. Mr. Hyman
and wife are members of the German Reform church. In politics he
is a republican.
Samuel D. Bitler, manufacture of cooper's truss hoops, corner of
East Wayne and Schick streets, Fort Wayne, was born in Berks county,
Penn., November 23, 1845, son of Daniel and Eve (Frees) Bitler. The
father was one of seven sons of Daniel Bitler, also a native of Pennsylvania,
who was the son of John Bitler, a native of Switzerland, who emigrated
to America between 1740 and 1750, arid became a soldier of the revo-
lutionary war. He was married to an English lady in Philadelphia. Daniel,
father of Samuel D., was a blacksmith and farmer; he died in August,
1867, at the age of seventy years. Eve Frees, the mother, was born in
Berks county, of German descent, and died in 1863. Samuel D. Bitler
left the farm in 1870, and spent a year with an engineering force sur-
veying the Wilmington railroad. In 1872 he came to- Fort Wayne, and for
a year and a half was in the employ of N. G. Olds & Son. In June, 1875,
he became a member of the firm of H. Stephan & Co., in the manufacture
of cooper's truss hoops, and upon the death of Mr. Stephan in January,
1883, became sole proprietor of the business. His trade extends over the
entire country, shipments being made to St. Louis, San Francisco, New
Orleans, New York, Nashville, and even to Cuba and Germany. Mr.
Bitler was married February 9, 1885, to Mary Beidler, of Birdsboro,
Penn., and they have one child. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and
K. of P. Was a charter member of Constoga lodge of Morganstown,
Penn.
A. C. Beaver, for many years an honored citizen of Fort Wayne,
hat witnessed the growth of the city from 1,500 to 40,000 inhabitants,
and meanwhile has contributed in a decided manner to this advancement
by active and enterprising business operations. He has been uniformly
successful in business, and enjoys a well-founded reputation for integrity
as well as talent for the successful accomplishment of his undertakings.
He was born near Hagerstown, Md., April 19, 1822, the son of John and
140
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Dorothy (Mowen) Beaver, both natives of Franklin county, Penn. The
mother died in 1837 and the father subsequently married Elizabeth
Best. The family left Maryland in 1842, settled first in Preble county
and then in Montgomer}' county, Ohio, where the father was surveyor
for the county for four years, with his residence at Dayton. The father
came to Fort Wayne in i860 and here died about 1S81. His widow is
now living at Columbus, Ohio. A. C. Beaver started from Preble
county for Fort Wayne on foot in February, 1844, and walked the en-
tire distance, arriving here March 1, 1844, with a total capital of 75 cents.
He worked at the carpenter's trade, which he had learned in Ohio, until
1S52, when he began contracting, at which he was occupied until he
went into the lumber business in 1867, with Jeptha Mitchell, of the
well-known firm of Mitchell & Rowland, of Cincinnati, as a partner.
The business here with a capital of $10,000 ,was conducted in Mr.
Beaver's name for three years, when the latter purchased the interest of
Mr. Mitchell, and organized the Beaver-Miller lumber company, still in
business, with a capital of $24,000. After the panic of 1873 Mr.
Beaver retired from that firm as an active partner, and organized the
Fort Wayne lumber company, with a capital of about $10,000 devoted
to wholesale trade. The retail business was added in 1888 and the cap-
ital increased to $20,000. Mr. Beaver was married in 184S to Mary
Maples, daughter of D. W. Maples, a pioneer of Fort Wayne. She
died in 1853, leaving three children: Catherine, Mary E. and Elizabeth,
of whom the first only is living. In 1855 he was married to Caroline
Spence, a native of Leeds, England, who died in 1858, leaving one
child, Clara E., wife of Frank Miller, of Sacramento, Cal. In 1861
Mr. Beaver married Emily Parks, born at North Bend, Ind., and they
have two children : Florence E. and Montgomery G., the latter now as-
sociated with his father in business. Mr. Beaver united with the Pres-
byterian church some forty years ago, but recently became a member of
the First Baptist church.
The Fort Wayne steam stone works, the leading establishment in
its line, is managed by Henry Keller. He is a native of Gemany, born
in 1S53. He emigrated to America in 1870, and located at Chicago,
where he learned the stone cutter's trade, and remained until 1884,
being for five years foreman of one of the largest in the state and old-
est stone yards in that city. On February 2, 1884, Mr. Keller removed
to Fort Wayne and purchased a half interest in the stone works of
Frederick Roth. The firm of Roth & Keller has ever since met with
success, and at present it is the most extensive in the city, and is the
only one in northern Indiana having a steam derrick. Mr. Roth died
September 14, 1888, but the firm name is continued. The business was
established about twenty-three years ago, and has continued at the same
location to the present, passing through various hands. When Mr.
Keller entered the firm the business was on a small scale, but each year
it has improved. They employ from forty to fifty men and do a general
stone cutting business. Contracting is also carried on, and among the
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. I4I
buildings for which this firm has furnished the cut stone are the new
government building, asylum for feeble-minded children, St. Mary's
Catholic church, St. Paul's Lutheran church, Schmitz's, Rich's and
Baker's business blocks, at Fort Wayne; First Methodist Episcopal
church, Jacob Bros.' residence and I. O. O. F. block at Huntington; the
Peru Catholic church; city hall and engine house, Defiance, Ohio;
county jail, Decatur, Ind.; court-house in Bluffton, Ind., and Paulding,
Ohio, and various others. Mr. Keller was married January 4, 1880, to
Ida Scheibe, a native of Chicago, who died in 1882, leaving one son,
Frederick. He was married November 11, 1884, to Mary Leitt, born
in Germany, by whom he had four children, of whom three are living,
Henry, Ida and Mary. Mrs. Keller is a member of the Catholic church.
Elliott S. Underbill, one of the prominent young men of the city,
was born at Olmstead Falls, Ohio, December 1, 1858. He is the son
of P. S. and Harriet O. Underhill, natives of Vermont and Maine,
respectively. When he was quite young, his parents located in Fort
Wayne. The father died in 1877? but his widow is still a resident of
the city. In 18755 Mr. Underhill engaged in the grocery business and
was so occupied for three years. In the spring of 1879, he embarked
in the marble business, and in 1881, went to Hicksville, where he was
a partner in the same business two years. Returning to Fort Wayne,
from 1883 until 1885, he was employed as a letter carrier, and then in
the retail oil business. During the session of 1887 of the Indiana legis-
lature, he was employed as a clerk in the house of representatives. He
then resumed the marble business, and is now one of the proprietors of
Underbill's monumental works, a large establishment at No. 82 Barr
street. Mr. Underhill was married April 8, 1880, to Anna E. Scott, by
whom he has three children : George E., Jessie and Hattie. In politics
he is a republican, and he has for four years been a member of the
republican county central committee.
Among the industries of Fort Wayne, a notable one is the manufac-
ture of the various popular beverages of the day. Prominent among
those so engaged is the firm of Louis Brames & Co., manufacturers of
seltzer and mineral waters, ginger ale, birch beer, etc. Louis Brames,
the leading member of this firm, began this business in 1880, the firm
being known for the first year as Brames & Ehrman. He does a large
manufacture and ships extensively. Mr. Brames was born in Adams
county, Ind., near Decatur, January 3, 1847. His father, Christopher
Brames, was born in Germany, in 18 14, and was married in his native
land to Elizabeth Vodde. The family emigrated about 1834, and after
spending four years in New York, came to Fort Wayne. He was by
occupation a farmer and was an early settler of Allen county. He died
at this city, April 25, 1881, and his wife followed him February 12, 1886.
Of their seven children three are living, of whom Louis is the second.
He attended the common schools and a commercial college at this city,
and in 1868 engaged in the grocery business, and three years later
became a bookkeeper, successively for Messrs. Oppenheimer & Heil-
I42 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
broiler, Abraham Wolf, and Frank Hake & Co. He was married in
1 87 1, to Mary A. Tibett, who was born in Allen county, in 1849, and
they have four children: Anna, John B., Antoinette and Louis. In
politics he is a pronounced democrat, and in 1878, he was elected to the
city council from the first ward, an honor which was again conferred in
1S80. He is a member of the Catholic church.
One of the leading and most thoroughly competent brewers of
Indiana is Peter Nusbaum, foreman of the celebrated establishment of
C. L. Centlivre. He was born in Germany, December 26, 1845, the son
of Peter and Margaret (Dietsh) Nusbaum, who were born and passed
their lives in that country. The eldest of their seven children was Peter
Nusbaum. He received his education in his native land, and in 1859
began to learn the trade he has since followed. In 187 1 he came to
this country, and settled at Chicago, where he remained seven years,
coming then to Fort Wayne. He was engaged by Mr. Centlivre as
foreman, and has held the position ten years. His thirty years' expe-
rience has made him a valuable man in that business. Mr. Nusbaum
was married in 1874 to Susanna Mathy, who was born in Chicago in
1857, and they have seven children: Matilda, Joseph, Mary, Malchen,
Victor, Louis and Ida. He is in politics a democrat.
A well-known citizen of Fort Wayne, and a representative of one of
the oldest families, is Philip J. Lindlag. His father, C. W. Lindlag,
was born in Germany in 1818, and there married Sevilla Kiser, who was
born about 1820. They came to Allen county about 1834, and the
father was engaged in farming until 1861, when he removed to the city
from his Wayne township farm. He worked upon the Wabash & Erie
canal during his early residence in the county, and after removing to
the city was elected street commissioner in 1862. He also did business
as a contractor. He died in 1882, and his widow followed him in 1884.
The second of the three living children is Philip J., born at Fort Wayne,
December 27, 1854. He received a common school education. For
some years he was engaged in the contracting business, and was subse-
quently for fifteen years, the Fort Wayne agent for Graser & Brand's
brewery, of Toledo. In 1889 ne became the agent of the Berghoff
brewery company, of Fort Wayne. He resides at the old home, 115
Washington street, and owns 213 acres of land in the township, the farm
of his parents. He is a democrat in politics, and a member of Phoenix
lodge, No. 101, K. of P.
One of the early German settlers in Allen county, was John Braun,
•who came to America about 1847, stopped awhile in New Jersey, and
came to Fort Wayne about 1850. Here he married Barbara Heber,
a country woman, who had immigrated about 1852. She is now living
in the city. He was a carpenter by trade, and worked at that in Fort
Wayne until about 1863, when he removed to St. Joseph, and located
on the farm where his son now resides. In 1880, he began the manu-
facture of brick. His death occurred June 27, 1886. John C. Braun,
the son of these worthy parents, was about seven years of age when
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 1 43
they removed to the farm. He was educated at the St. Peter's Luth-
eran school of St. Joseph township, and was confirmed at St. John's
school in Fort Wayne. He resided on the farm and worked with his
father at brick making, until the latter's death, when he took charge of
the yards, and has since conducted the business. The yards are
among the most extensive, and have a daily capacity of about 11,000
brick. The average product is about 11,000,000 per year. Mr. Braun
and wife are members of St. John's Lutheran church. He was married
in the fall of 1887, to Louisa Braun, who was born in Germany, and
came to America about 1885. To this union a daughter has been born,
Lottie. Mr. Braun has a well improved and valuable farm of fifty-four
acres, upon which he has a comfortable two-story brick residence.
The brick industry enlists no more industrious manufacturer than
Joseph Fremion, whose extensive yards are located at the north limits of
Fort Wayne, between Harrison and Lafayette streets. The daily pro-
duct of these yards is ten to eleven thousand daily, and the .average
annual output is 1,100,000. All of this immense product is sold as rap-
idly as made. Mr. Fremion was born at Lorance, France, April 23,
1829. Coming to America in 1848, he first made his home in Hancock
county, Ohio, but in 1853 came to Fort Wayne. In 1869 he engaged
in his present business. Mr. Fremion was married in 1854 to Sera-
phine Perasote, a native of France. They have nine children, of whom
seven are living. They are members of St. Peter's Catholic church.
The manufacture of brick, one of the important Fort Wayne indus-
tries, is quite extensively engaged in by Leonard & Son. The senior
member, Nelson Leonard, was born in Henry county, Ind., in 1825, and
came to Allen county in March, 1871, and located on the Leo gravel
road, two miles north of Fort Wayne, and established a brick yard. He
has followed brick-making all his life, and is one of the pioneer brick-
makers of the state. He married Drusilla Llewellyn, who was born near
Harrisburg, Va., in 1823, and came with his parents to Indiana when
about thirteen years of age. To these parents five children have been
born, all of whom are living. The junior member of the firm, Jefferson
Leonard, was born in Delaware county, Ind., December 9, 1847. In
August, 1863, he ran away from home and enlisted in Company A,
Twenty-first Indiana heavy artillery, and was with Sherman in his
Atlanta campaign. He was mustered out at Indianapolis, December 20,
1865. After the war he went to southern California, and remained
eighteen months, and then came to Fort Wayne and went to work with
his father. In 1879 he went to Detroit and took charge of the packing
house of Willard Parker & Co., and remained two years. He then
returned to Fort Wayne and went into partnership with his father. He
was married June 15, 1880, to Aurelia Smith, of Freemont, Ohio, who
died February 5, 1884, at the age of thirty-two years and six months.
He is a member of Summit City lodge, No. 132, F. & A. M., Royal
Arch, and of Harmony lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F., of which he has rilled
all the chairs.
i 4 4
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
PaulKoehler, a well-known manufacturer of brick, was born in Wayne
township, February 21, 1856, the son of Michael and Catherine (Kiefer)
Koehler. The father was born in Germany and came to this country in
about 1841, making his home in the same year at Fort Wayne, and
engaging in his business of brick-making. He died March 1, 1S81, at
the age of fifty-six years. His wife, who was born in Canton, Penn.,
died in September, 1886. Of their ten children, five sons and five
daughters, one daughter is deceased. Paul Koehler was educated in the
schools of Wayne township, and worked with his father at brick-making,
and after the death of the latter, he took the management of the yard
for his mother. In 1883 he engaged in brick making at Decatur, and
in the fall of 1884 he went into business for himself, purchasing the
yard of Alexander Armison at Decatur. This establishment includes
twelve acres, and a two-story brick residence. At the yards are made
a daily average of 14,000 bricks, and the annual output is very large.
The product finds a ready sale at Fort Wayne, where Mr. Koehler
resides. He was married in 1881, to Mary Brown, of St. Joseph town-
ship, and they have three children: Andrew, Clara and Charles. Mr.
Koehler and wife are members of the St. John's Lutheran church.
John A. Koehler, a prominent manufacturer of brick at Fort Wayne,
with residence and yards on Lafayette street, just without the city limits,
was born at Fort Wayne, July 6, 1850, the son of Michael Koehler, one
of the early manufacturers of brick at this place. The latter was a
native of Germany, who came to America in 1847, and made his resi-
dence at Fort Wayne in the same year, and died in this city March 31,
1881. John A. received a common school education and remained with
his parents until he was twenty-six years of age, when he established
himself in business. His yards have a daily capacity of 12,000 brick
and the average product each season is very large. Mr. Koehler is also
agent for the Grosser & Brand brewing company, of Toledo, Ohio.
Since 1886 he has been a member of Phoenix lodge, No. 101, K. of P.,
and his religious affiliation is with St. John's Lutheran church. He was
married in 1871 to Anna Bergeman, of Fort Wayne, and to them seven
children have been born, of whom five survive.
The City book bindery of Fort Wayne, though a comparatively new
enterprise, is successful, owing to the good business qualifications of its
proprietor, George W. Winbaugh. He was born in Indiana, June 11,
i860, and came with his father, John Winbaugh, to Fort Wayne in
1865. The father was a wagon-maker by trade, and followed that
calling until his death in 1869. George W. was reared in Fort
Wayne and educated at the public schools. About 1872 he entered
the employ of Davis & Bros., bookbinders, and served an appren-
ticeship with that firm, with whom he remained until 1886. He then
left their employ and formed a partnership with L. D. Ward, and
together they established the City book bindery. In the fall of
1888, Mr. Winbaugh became the sole proprietor, his partner retir-
ing, and he has since conducted the business alone. He does general
BUSINESS INTERESTS. 1 45
bookbinding and paper box manufacturing on an extensive scale, supply-
ing a territory within a radius of forty and fifty miles from Fort Wayne.
He was married December 25, 1887, to Miss Jenny Titus, of Fort
Wayne, and has one son, Charles, born December 21, 1888. Mr. Win-
baugh is a member of English Lutheran church, and of Fort Wayne
lodge, No. 14, I. O. O. F.
In the spring of 1873, Robert Gage, now a well-known and worthy
citizen of Fort Wayne, engaged in the manufacture of brooms in this
city, a pursuit which he has continued to the present. His establish-
ment, which is one of the most extensive of the kind in this region, is
situated at 318 West Main street, and his trade is a wide one. Mr. Gage
was born in Pennsylvania, June 26, 1842, son of Robert and Mary
Gage, both of whom were natives of Ireland. They immigrated to this
state and three months after the birth of their son Robert, arrived at
Fort Wayne, on the night of October 31, 1S42. Robert Gage was mar-
ried November 18, 1S67, to Sarah, daughter of John and Sarah Conley.
She is a native of Ireland. Mr. Gage has succeeded in his business, is
enterprising and popular, and worthy as a citizen. He is a Mason, a
member of the Knights of Pythias and a republican in politics.
BUSINESS INTERESTS.
Beginning with a traffic that ramified throughout the west, then wild
indeed, Fort Wayne has throughout the major part of its career as a
business center been the seat of extensive mercantile transactions. The
traditions of its business are of establishments the dealings of which
were not confined by state lines, and of pioneers in trade whose names
were familiar even to the mountains beyond the Mississippi, and the
story of its modern trade is no less flattering to the enterprise of the city.
With railroad development came the establishment of wholesale houses
at Fort Wayne, which receive goods from manufacturers, or imports
from the seaboard, or fruits from the south, as cheaply as they can be
delivered anywhere. The same splendid system of railroads enables the
retailers in a considerable area of territory in Indiana, Ohio and Mich-
igan, to visit the city more conveniently and receive goods from here
more promptly, than is true of any other important point accessible from
this region. Consequently, the wholesale business of Fort Wayne is
established on a firm foundation, and it is rapidly assuming immense
proportions, and will continue to grow, keeping pace with the increasing
wealth and population of its tributary territory.
A brief enumeration of the houses engaged in the wholesale trade
will convey an idea of the extent of this branch of business which would
require much space to give otherwise. The dry goods houses of Root
& Co., and George Dewald & Co., are widely known throughout three
states. In the grocery trade, and in fruits, there has been the greatest
development, and the houses of A. C. Trentman, G. E. Bursley & Co.,
x
ia6 valley of the upper maumee.
Skelton, Watts & Wilt, C. D. C. Huestis, J. B. White, Louis Fox &
Bro., William Moellering & Sons, Niswonger & Fox, and Pottlitzer
Bros., do in the aggregate an immense trade, their salesmen being sent
everywhere throughout the wide region tributary to Fort Wayne. In
confectionery the houses of Fox & Brother and H. Barcus are prom-
inent; the millinery trade is represented by Adams & Armstrong, and
the wholesale shoe-house of Carnahan & Co., is one of the leading insti-
tutions of the kind in the state. The drug house of Meyer Bros. &
Co. is one of the famous establishments of the city, and has a large
wholesale trade. The field of the wholesale hardware trade is well
occupied by the houses of Coombs & Co., established in 1862, Alderman,
Yarnelle & Co., established in 1883, Morgan & Beach, who have done
business for over thirty years; Pfeifer & Schlatter, established in 1882;
G. W. Seavey, a house established in 1875 by Prescott Brothers, and
saddlery hardware is sold extensively by J. W. Bell and A. L. Johns &
Co. The wholesale paper trade, in its various departments, is repre-
sented by Foster Brothers, the Newspaper Union, Siemon & Bro., also
prominent in the book trade, and M. R. Yohey.
The Fort Wayne newspaper union, which may be termed a whole-
sale house, as it is indeed in paper and printers' stationery, is mainly con-
ducted for the furnishing of ready printed sheets to newspaper publishers
throughout the large parts of the states of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan,
and covers the field quite successfully. It is under the management of
Charles D. Tillo, a thorough business man, who is well known among
the publishers of the states named.
The local trade of some of the famous retail houses of the city
almost reaches the dimensions of the wholesale business, and these estab-
lishments are resorted to not only by the people of the city but fre-
quently by the inhabitants of towns at a considerable distance, customers
who are drawn to the city by the shrewd advertising of Fort Wayne
merchants and by the reputation of the latter for enterprise and attrac-
tive business methods.
The importance of organized action by those financially interested in
the advancement of the city and the enlargement of its field of trade was
recognized in January, 1872, by the incorporation of the Fort Wayne
board of trade, the first officers of which were : A. P. Edgerton, presi-
dent; J. H. Bass and R. G. McNiece, vice presidents; F. S. Shurick,
secretary; Charles McCulloch, treasurer. On the 10th of November,
1875, another organization was incorporated, called the chamber of com-
merce, in which J. D. Bond, Thomas M. Andrews, F. S. Shurick,
George T. Fowler and others were members.
The remarkable improvement of the city during the past few years,
is no doubt due in large measure to the efforts of the business men of
the city to advertise in a systematic way, the advantages of the city, and
attract enterprises which would aid in the increase of population. This
work has been done mainly through the organization of the Business
Men's Exchange. Late in the winter of 1886, A. S. Lauferty, the foun-
BUSINESS INTERESTS. 1 47
der of this institution, caused the publication of several calls for a meet-
ing for organization, primarily to devise ways and means for the
establishment of new gravel roads and the freeing of those now entering
the city. Several meetings were held during December, and the sub-
ject named was exhaustively discussed without result. Finally at a
meeting at which were present J. B. White, G. W. Seavey, Fred Eckart,
J. B. Monning, D. N. Foster, Frank Alderman, A. J. Moynihan and A.
S. Lauferty, the latter introduced a resolution, setting forth the need of
united action on the part of business men, and the convenience of having
a recognized head center for discussion and action concerning questions
relating to the welfare of the city. The proposed association was dub-
bed the Fort Wayne Business Men's Exchange, and A. S. Lauferty,
Fred Eckart and J. B. Monning were selected to canvass for members.
At the next meeting the association was formed with sixty members, and
it was incorporated January 3, 1887- The first officers were: president,
J. B. White; vice president, E. C. Rurode; treasurer, Fred Eckart; cor-
responding secretary, A.J. Moynihan; financial secretary, J. B. Monning;
directors, J. B. White, F. Beach, A. S. Lauferty, E. C. Rurode, Fred
Eckart, J. B. Monning, Frank Alderman, D. A. Foster, L. Wolf, G. W.
Pixley and O. W. Tresselt; trustees, Charles McCulloch, A. C. Trent-
man and C. S. Bash.
First amongst the achievements of the Exchange was the securing
of the location of the school for feeble minded youth at this city. Rep-
resentatives of the Exchange interested themselves in the matter, and
by their efforts in setting forth the claims of Fort Wayne the legislature
was induced to pass by the inducements held out by other localities,
including even the capital itself, and direct the establishment of the
school at this place.
The locating of the Pennington machine works, the Folding bed
company, the Bickford furniture company, at Fort Wayne, are also
due to the efforts of this organization, and the piping of natural gas is
in a considerable degree the result of its out-reaching for all improve-
ments possible to add to the city's attractions and conveniences. In
municipal affairs it is an important factor, and no question of public
improvement is left undebated by the Exchange. Its members repre-
sent the plucky, brainy and enterprising citizens of Fort Wayne.
The present officers are: Samuel M. Foster, president; G. W. Seavey,
vice president; Fred Eckart, treasurer; J. B. Monning, financial and
recording secretary.
August C. Trentman. — The leading commercial houseof Fort Wayne,
and one of the largest concerns in the west, is the extensive wholesale
grocery establishment of A. C. Trentman, located on the northeast cor-
ner of Calhoun and East Washington streets. The laying of the foun-
dation of this prosperous house dates as far back as 1848, when Bernard
Trentman, in partnership with one Mills, established a retail grocery in
this city. Two years later Mills retired from the business, and Bernard
Trentman continued to conduct a retail establishment until 1864, and
1^8 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
then engaged in the wholesale trade. In 1865 his son, August C, was
admitted as a partner, the firm then being entitled B. Trentman & Son.
The senior partner died in 1874, and his son succeeded to the entire
business, but conducted the same under the old firm name until 1878,
when the latter was changed to August C. Trentman, as it has since re-
mained, A. C. Trentman being the sole proprietor. The business con-
tinued to increase from year to year, until in 1883 Mr. Trentman
found it necessary to provide suitable quarters for the same, and in the
fall of that year he began the erection of his present business building
which is the largest in the city, and one of the largest in the west. The
building is of brick, four stories and a basement, built in recent style of
architecture, with pressed brick front, and occupies Nos. in, 113, 115
and 1 1 7-19 and 20^ Calhoun street, and Nos. 1, 3 and 5 East Washington
street, and has a total floorage of 45,000 square feet. The business is
exclusively wholesale, the lines embracing all kinds of groceries, tobac-
cos and liquors. The territory covered by the six traveling salesmen
emploved by Mr. Trentman includes Indiana, southern Michigan, east-
ern Illinois and western Ohio, and the amount of business is enormous,
and increases each year. As before stated this is the leading commer-
cial house in Fort Wayne, and the largest wholesale grocery establish-
ment in the state, and as such reflects much credit upon the city as well
as upon the gentleman who manages the same as the sole proprietor.
Bernard Trentman, founder of this house, was one of the pioneers
of Fort Wayne, and during life one of the most prominent citizens and
merchants. Born in Hanover, Germany, in July, 1816, he emigrated to
the United States in 1838, and was located first in Cincinnati, where he
remained for about two years. In 1840 he came to Fort Wayne, his
brother John having settled here two years previous, and he soon after-
ward engaged in farming in Marion township. Later he worked on the
old Wabash & Erie canal, and was employed in the City mills. In
1848 he embarked in the retail grocery trade, and in 1864 converted the
same into a wholesale business. He was a self-made man in every res-
pect, coming to Allen county poor, and succeeding by good business
qualifications in climbing to a high round in the ladder of prosperity. He
was held in high esteem by the community, was a member of the Cath-
olic church and died March 19, 1874. While living in Cincinnati in 1838
he was married to Anna M. Rheinhardt, who was born in Hanover, Ger-
many, in 181 7. To their union eleven children were born, seven of
whom survive. The mother died in 1859.
August C. Trentman, proprietor of the above establishment, and
one of the most prominent citizens of Fort Wayne, was born in Marion
township, Allen county, February 20, 1843, and is the son of Barnard
and Anna M. (Rheinhardt) Trentman. He was reared in Fort Wayne
and given a good education, attending both the Brothers' and the public
schools of the city, and finishing at Notre Dame, Ind. In 1864 he en-
tered business with his father, and upon the death of the latter, in 1874,
succeeded to the immense business of which he is at present proprietor.
BUSINESS INTERESTS. 1 49
His commercial career has been a successful and brilliant one, and to-
day he is recognized as one of the leading wholesale grocers of the
west. Aside from -the grocery business Mr. Trentman is connected
with other enterprises, being director of the Hamilton National bank,
special partner in the business of J. B. Monning & Co., extensive spice
and flour millers; stockholder in the Herman Berghoff brewing com-
pany, all of Fort Wayne, and he is treasurer of the Koenig medicine
company of Chicago. Success has attended the efforts of Mr. Trent-
man in all his undertakings, and he is now one of the substantial men of
the state. As a citizen he ranks among the most prominent of Fort
Wayne ; in commercial circles he is recognized as the peer of an} T man
in the state, and his reputation in that regard is spread throughout the
west. Enterprising, energetic and liberal-minded, he has always been
found ready to assist all movements looking to the advancement of his
city, and for that spirit and his many commendable qualities he is es-
teemed and respected by his fellow citizens. Mr. Trentman was mar-
ried October 19, 1865, to Jennie A. Niermann, who was born in Fort
Wayne, and is the daughter of Herman Niermann, who was one of the old
settlers and prominent citizens. Seven children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Trentman, four of whom survive: May, born in 1871, graduated
in 1889 from St. Mary's in the Woods; Carrie, born in 1873; Augus-
tine, born in 1881, and Joseph, born in 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Trentman
are members of the Cathedral church, and he is a member of the Cath-
olic Knights of America. Socially Mr. Trentman and family rank
among the first in Fort Wayne.
One of the oldest business establishments of Fort Wayne is the
house of Morgan & Beach. The hardware business to which it suc-
ceeded was begun by Horace Durvy, in 1843, and taken up in 1S56 by
Oliver P. Morgan, a native of Dearborn county, who has' been a resi-
dent of the city since 1832. In i860 the present partnership was
formed. Beginning in the retail trade, the house has now an extensive
wholesale business. Mr. Morgan is a prominent citizen, is director and
vice-president of the Old National bank, and has served as councilman
and as school trustee for many years.
David N. Foster was born at Coldenham, Orange county, N. Y., April
24, 1841. His early years were spent on the farm of his parents, John
Lyman and Harriet Scott Foster, and when fourteen years old he went to
New York city, equipped with such education as he had been able to obtain
in the country schools, and found employment as bundle boy in the store
of William E. Lawrence, then a prominent merchant of the metropolis.
Making rapid progress in his business education, at the age of eighteen,
with his brother Scott Foster, he established the firm of Foster Brothers,
which soon became one of the leading retail firms of the country, and partic-
ularly well known to Indiana people by the large branch establishments
maintained at Fort Wajme, Terre Haute and Lafayette. Mr. Foster
had an ambition for the profession of law, and having devoted his spare
hours to study, in i860 he sold out his interest to his brother, John Gray
I50 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Foster, and entered an academy at Montgomery, N. Y. But his study
was soon stopped by the firing upon Fort Sumter. On the morning of
the day following the first call for troops by Abraham Lincoln the
students at the academy hoisted a flag amid the cheers of nearly all the
people of the town, and the excited throng was addressed by Mr. Foster,
the orator chosen for the occasion, who concluded by announcing that
he should leave at noon to enlist in the Ninth militia regiment, which
had tendered its service by telegraph. He was the first volunteer from
his native county, and going in as a private, carried a knapsack until
December, 1862, when his commission as second lieutenant reached him
while lying dangerously wounded in the hospital on the battle ground
of Fredericksburg. Soon after the battle of Gettysburg he was pro-
moted captain of his company. But he his wounds soon compelled him
to leave the service. He was actively engaged in the battles of Harper's
Ferry, Cedar Mountain, Rappahannock, Thoroughfare Gap, second
Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.
Returning to New York city, he re-entered the dry goods business, and
in 1870 came to Indiana, and established the Terre Haute branch of
Foster Brothers. In 1873 he disposed of his interest in the firm to
engage in journalism, for which he had a decided taste, and he estab-
lished the Saturday livening Post, at Grand Rapids, Mich., an enterprise
which met with immediate success. In 1878 the health of his brother
John having failed, he, at the earnest solicitations of his brothers,
disposed of his newspaper and again entered the firm, coming to Fort
Wayne, where were its heaviest property interests. Here he has since
remained, and the business interests of the city have always found in
him an active and valuable friend. He is the president and manager of
the D. N. Foster furniture company, and of the Fort Wayne furniture
company, and has recently been chosen president of the Central Mutual
fire insurance company of this city. He is the owner of the Aldine hotel,
recently completed, is director in the Indiana machine company, and is
besides interested in a number of other enterprises. The people of
Indiana are indebted to Mr. Foster for the Public Library bill passed
by the legislature of 1881, under which nearly every city in Indiana
has since established a public library free to all its citizens. At his own
expense he circulated petitions in all the large cities of the state, praying
for the passage of the bill he had prepared, and which was introduced
in the senate by the late Senator Foster. Mr. Foster has always taken
an active interest in the prosperity of the Grand Army of the
Republic, and was elected commander of the department of Indiana in
1885. At that time the membership had rapidly grown to nearly 18,000
in the state, but there had been little opportunity for perfecting discipline
necessary to the highest good of the order. This work fell to his
administration, and so thoroughly was it done that when he turned the
office over to his successor there was not a post in the department that
was not in absolute good standing. In politics he has always been an
active republican, but though frequently named in connection with
BUSINESS INTERESTS. 151
prominent positions, he invariably declined such honors. He is one of
the originators of the Morton Club.
Samuel M. Foster, son of John L. and Harriet Scott Foster, was
born at Coldenham, Orange county, N. Y., December 12,1851, the youngest
of seven children, six of whom were boys. When about fourteen years
old he went to the city and entered the New York dry goods store of
his brothers. In 1868 he went to Troy, N. Y., and in 1872 formed a
partnership with his brother, A. Z. Foster, now of Terre Haute, in retail
dry goods. The venture was profitable, so that two years later he found
himself able to carry out his cherished plan of securing a collegiate
education. Disposing of his business interests, he fitted himself for
college, and in 1875 entered Yale at New Haven, Conn. His
career there was a creditable one, and while holding his own in the
class-room he found time to serve as one of the editors of the Yale
Courant, won an appointment on the " junior exhibition," had the honor
of being one of the " Townsend men" chosen from 132 competitors,
and was named by the faculty as one of ten to represent the class on
the platform on commencement day. He received the degree of Bachelor
of Arts, June 26, 1879, graduating fourteenth in a class which originally
had 200 members. Mr. Foster came west, and in the fall entered the
law office of Judge R. S. Taylor, not decided in mind to take up the
profession of law, but feeling that the time devoted to the study would
be well spent. A few months devoted to alternately reading Blackstone
and to regaining the health which had been impaired by his college
work, convinced him that his constitution was not strong enough to
enable him to win that success in law which he desired, and as a result
of this conclusion, in December, 1879, * ne ^ rs ^- i ssue °f tne Saturday
Evening Record, with Samuel M. Foster as editor and proprietor, was
issued at Dayton, Ohio. His experience in journalism was short and
decisive. The paper was a brilliant success in every respect but a finan-
cial one, and though the editor's health gave out before his pocket-book
did, serious inroads were made upon both. In 1880 the Record (now
known as the JJayton Herald}, was disposed of, and Mr. Foster returned
to Fort Wayne and resumed business life in the firm of Foster Brothers.
This firm was dissolved in 1882, by the withdrawal of Scott Foster
to accept the presidency of a New York bank, and the business of the
firm was then divided, Samuel M. Foster succeeding to the dry goods
department of the firm's trade. In this he continued until 1886, when
he withdrew entirely from the retail trade, to devote himself to manu-
facturing, a business which he has built up, and which is assuming large
proportions, the product going into every state and territory in the Union.
Mr. Foster is secretary of the D. N. Foster furniture company, president
of the business men's exchange, and devotes much time to many
questions of public interest and importance. In politics he was
raised a republican but has joined the democratic party on the tariff
issue. Mr. Foster was married in June, 1 881, to Margaret Harrison, of
this city.
152 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
John Frederick William Meyer now ranks among the earlier settlers
of Fort Wayne, having been a resident for forty years past. His career
has been a laudable and excepional one, which justifies in this work a
short sketch of his life of activity and usefulness. He traces with much
pride his ancesters, indirect lineage, to the year 1417, when John Henry
Meyer wedded a modest girl of inferior rank and without domain.
Much as this action displeased the parents, they soon became recon-
ciled and they erected for him, conditionally, a small house on one end
of the large farm, which remained the home of direct descendants for
more than four centuries, until the year 1838. J. F. W. Meyer was born
in Holden, province of Westphalia, Germany, December 19, 1824. His
parents being in humble circumstance, the average limited education of
those days was hardly accorded him, and the greater portion of his ear-
lier days were spent on the greenswarth, herding the sheep. When he
was nine years of age his father died, leaving a widow and six children.
His mother again married, and in 1838 the old homestead, in which so
many generations of one family had passed their days, reverted to the
original domain, as conditioned four hundred years previous, and the
Meyer family removed to a neighboring village. In 1846 the mother
died, and on October 3, the following year, he and his younger brother,
Frederick, set foot on American soil at New Orleans. Their goal was
Adams county, and after two months of tedious travel by boat and afoot,
they reached Monmouth, Adams county, December 3, 1847. The first
four months were spent in clearing the woodlands, and in the following
March, Mr. Meyer became a driver of a canal boat team. February 7,
1849, he was engaged in the drug house of Hugh B. Reed, as bottle
washer, but being of an industrious and ambitious disposition he soon
gained a satisfactory knowledge of the business, and in 185 3 became a
partner in the firm of Wall & Meyer. In 185 1 Mr. Meyer, then earning
a salary of $15 a month, was married to Caroline Schroeder. One
daughter and three sons were the fruits of this union; of the latter one
died at the age of two years. Mrs. Meyer died in 1859, anc * the
following year he wedded Julia Gerke. In February, 1862, the firm,
then located on what is now East Columbia street, suffered a great loss
by fire, but nothing daunted, the ambitious firm had a large consignment
of new drugs started from New York in two days. In 1865 tne pres-
ent location on Calhoun and Columbia streets, was taken, and in the
same year the branch of Meyer Bros. & Co., was established in St.
Louis, which is now numbered among the largest wholesale drug houses
in the country. In 1875 the firm established another branch in Kansas
City, which has since grown to immense proportions. A fire in 1883
totally destroyed this stock, but the push that has always been charac-
teristic of this house was again called into action, and in a few days
sufficed to place then in position to serve the numerous patrons. In 1887
the company also located a house at Dallas, Texas, and the firm of Meyer
Bros. & Co., now stands at the head of the wholesale drug business of
this country. Being of a religious turn of mind, Mr. Meyer attributes
BUSINESS INTERESTS. 1 53
the greater portion of the success that has attended his seeming ventures
to an all-guiding Providence, and modestly he asserts, it was so ordained.
He has done much for the church and charity, both at home and abroad;
always open-hearted and cheerful he counts his friends by legions. A
loving wife and seven children, of whom three are married, afford him
much comfort, and although already sixty-four years of age, time has
dealt leniently with him, and he is as hale and hearty as many young
men of half his age. He was honored by a membership in the city
council four years, and for many years he has been a water-works trus-
tee. Politically, he is a democrat, and his religious connection is with
the Lutheran church. .
George W. Pixley, one of the leading business men of Fort Wayne,
who has gained a wide fame by his successful operations in the clothing
trade, has been engaged in that business since 1872, when he became,
at Troy, N. Y., the cashier of the first branch house of Owen Pixley &
Co. In 1876 he came to Fort Wayne, and as resident partner estab-
lished the house of Owen Pixley & Co., at this city. Mr. Pixley was
born at Kirkland, N. Y., near Utica, March 1, 1834. His great grand-
father Pixley was born in Connecticut, and during the revolution raised,
equipped and furnished a regiment at his own expense. His son, David
Pixley, was a native of Connecticut, and in 1806 moved to Kirkland,
N. Y., nine miles from Utica, with his family, where he lived, kept a
tavern and stage stables on the old Seneca turnpike between Utica and
Syracuse, where the greater portion of the traffic between the east and
west passed over that route before the days of railroads. He died at
that place at the age of seventy-seven years, leaving four sons and two
daughters. The third son, David, was the father of George W. Pixley, the
subject of our sketch. He was born at Bridgeport, Conn., in Septem-
ber, 1798, and died at Kirkland, N. Y., March, 1884. He succeeded
his father in the hotel and stage business until what is now the New
York Central railroad was built, when he went into the manufacture of
brown sheetings and other cotton goods and general merchandise. He
was postmaster and justice of the peace for over forty years, and was
widely known and very highly respected. He married Charlotte
Mygatt, who was born at Berlin, Conn., in March, 1805, and died in
July, 1885, at Kirkland, N. Y. The Mygatt family were early settlers
in Oneida county, N. Y. The father of Charlotte was Austin Mygatt,
who was born in Berlin, Conn., in 1776, and died at Kirkland, N. Y.,
in 1863. He was the inventor and manufacturer of the first tin lantern,
and made a fortune out of it. David and Charlotte Pixley had five
children, of whom four survive: Henry D., Eliza J., George W. and
Abby M. George W. received his education at the Clinton Liberal
Institute, at Clinton, N. Y., and there was occupied in his father's store,
then at farming and dairying until he entered his present occupation. In
1885 tne °ld firm name was abandoned and the firm of Pixley & Co.
was formed, which is now composed of the following: George W.
Pixley, Henry D. Pixley, George W. Pixley, jr., Charles E. Read and
1 54 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Robert H. Parmalee. In 1888 Mr. Pixley and Mason Long erected the
magnificent business building in which the firm is now established at a
cost of $75,000. The spacious room is splendidly equipped and there
is every facility for the proper display of the immense stock and rapid
disposition of their extensive trade, and great credit is due Mr. Pixley
for giving to the city such a grand building, which will always remain an
ornament and pride to the city. The same firm owns branch stores at
Bloomington and Danville, 111., and George W., jr., and Henry D. own
stores at Terra Haute, Ind., Rockford, 111., Streator, 111., Sioux City,
Iowa, Sioux Falls, Dak., and Oshkosh, Wis. Mr. George W. Pixley was
married at Kirkland, N. Y., December 30, 1870., to Sarah A. Lewis,
daughter of E. Chauncey Lewis, born at Kirkland, N. Y., December
30, 1 85 1. Mr. Pixley is a prominent member of the F. & A. M., has
been a member of Clinton lodge, No. 169, at Clinton, N. Y., since 1855,
was made a Knight Templar February 12, 1869, in Utica commandery,
No. 3, at Utica, N. Y. Took the Scottish Rite at Indianapolis consis-
tory, in March, 18S2, and the thirty-third degree in New York, Septem-
ber 17, 1889. He has held for many years the responsible position of
treasurer of the Jenney electric light and power company, and is president
of the Tri-State building and loan association, capital, $1,000,000, a
newly organized association for the purpose of assisting people in build-
ing homes. In politics Mr. Pixley is a republican.
Capt. James B. White, one of the distinguished citizens of Fort
Wayne, was born in the town of Denny, Stirlingshire, twenty miles east
of Glasgow, Scotland, June 26, 1835. His father was manager of a
large calico printing establishment, which gave employment to over 500
hands. His mother, a woman of strong intellect, strict in her religious
life, was careful in the bringing up of her four sons and three daughters.
At the age of twelve years James B. began a period of two years spent
at the trade of tailor, but this he abandoned to take up calico printing,
at which he was engaged until nineteen. Emigration being popular at
that time, he embarked in a sailing vessel at Glasgow, and thirty-four
days later, in the summer of 1854, arrived at New York. Seeking em-
ployment at his trade, he was able to obtain work only until November,
when, considerably discouraged, he resolved to search for an uncle, John
Bains, who had settled near Fort Wayne, then in the far west, some ten
years before. He went to Buffalo by rail, thence to Toledo by steamer,
and by packet to Fort Wayne on the Wabash & Erie canal. He arrived
here in the latter part of November, when his money was exhausted,
and he was compelled to deposit his trunk at the packet office at the old
Comparet basin in the east end of town, for the sum of $3, still due on
his packet fare. He walked six miles out on the Winchester road, and
obtained of his uncle the money to redeem his trunk. He obtained
temporary work with Wade C. Shoaff, as a tailor, until January, then
was employed a few weeks in a machine shop on the corner of Barr and
Water streets, and in February began an employment in the stone yard
of John Brown, which lasted three months at $3 per week and board.
BUSINESS INTERESTS. 1 55
He was subsequently employed with Mr. Shoaff, and Nirdlinger & Op-
penheimer, and in the summer of 1856 opened a tailor shop of his own,
upstairs in the building occupied now by Mayer & Graffee. Not being sat-
isfied he went to Cincinnati in the fall, and then to St. Louis, where he was
employed first as a shipping clerk, and then in a wholesale dry-goods
house, but making only $6 per week, he resumed his trade as a tailor.
This was his occupation for a year longer in Fort Wayne, where
he returned soon, and opened a shop over the dry goods store of
S. C. Evans. During this year, 1857, he was married to the estima-
ble lady who has been his helper through life, Maria Brown, a half-
sister of John Brown. They have seven children, four sons and
three daughters, viz.: John W., Jessie, Anna B., Edward, Gracie,
James B., jr., and Alex B., all of whom are living. Mrs. White was
born in Glasgow, Scotland, in '1836, and came to this country in company
with her brother in 1853. She is a daughter of John and Jennie (Blair)
Brown, natives of Scotland. Her father was a man of more than ordin-
ary ability, and was one of the most extensive contractors and builders
of Glasgow, where he died in about 1840, leaving the family in good
circumstances. The mother of Mrs. White was known for her well es-
tablished Christianity and unswerving faith in the doctrine of the Pres-
byterian church, of which she was a life-long member. She came to
Fort Wayne in 1858, and died here in 1874. Mrs. White, like her
mother, is a pronounced Presbyterian, and esteemed by all who know
her. Mr. White's next enterprise was the acceptance of a position in the
establishment of Becker & Frank, Warsaw, and after working there
two years, he was able to have a shop of his own, a house and lot and
a prosperous trade. The war of the rebellion now broke out, and in
August, 1 861, he sold his little stock at a considerable loss and assisted
in recruiting a company. He was elected captain, and he proceeded
with his command to Camp Allen near Fort Wayne, where it was
assigned as Company I, of the Thirtieth Indiana regiment. After being
equipped at Indianapolis, they were sent to Camp Nevin, Ky., to join the
command of Gen. Wood. The regiment was among the first troops to
reach Nashville after the battle of Fort Donelson, and they reached
Pittsburgh Landing in the command of Gen. Buell in time to participate
in the second day's fight. In this battle of Shiloh, during the attack when
Col. Bass was killed, Capt. White was wounded in the right side by a
spent minie ball, but soon recovered, and took part in the siege of Cor-
inth, and the skirmishes incident to that campaign. The Thirtieth then
joined in the movement to LouisviUe in pursuit of Bragg, and followed
the rebel forces back to Nashville. Soon after the return to the latter
place, Capt. White resigned his commission in the army. In the spring
of 1863, ne with Joseph A. Stellwagon, became suttler to the Eighty-
eighth regiment, and was so engaged to the end of the war. During
this time, he was twice captured by the rebels. Once he lost everything
he had, his wagons and merchandise being totally destroyed in the
Wheeler raid in the Sequatchie valley, near Chattanooga. The next
I56 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
time he was paroled with little loss. Returning to Fort Wayne at the
close of the war he established a grocery and fruit house, and was pros-
pering when his establishment was destroyed by fire in January, 1872.
Though his insurance did not cover forty per cent, of the loss, his reso-
lute spirit did not fail him, and on the next day he opened for business
in a building opposite his old stand, and had ordered a new stock. Two
years later he had repaired his losses, and was again firmly established.
Throughout the panic that occurred about this time he abated in no way
the daring of his operations, and was uniformly successful. He has in-
vested largely in real estate, and added much to the improvement of
Fort Wayne, bv laying out new streets, and embellishing the four city
additions which bear his name. The foundation of his reputation is his
wholesale and retail grocery house, known throughout northern Indiana
and northwestern Ohio as the "Fort Wayne Fruit House." This im-
mense establishment, now quartered in a handsome new building on
Wayne street, employs seventy-five clerks and employes, and does a
business of nearly one-half million a year. He has also, in partnership
with his son, John W. White, established a wheel factory, in which are
employed about 200 workmen. It has a business which extends to every
part of the Union, and is one of the largest establishments of the kind
in the United States, producing all kinds of carriage and wagon wheels.
John W. White is manager, and has made the business very successful.
Capt. White was at one time a partner in the ownership of the Fort
Wayne Gazette, and has always taken a deep interest in politics, though
not often becoming prominent in political campaigns until recently. He
was, however, twice elected to the council from the Second ward, a dem-
ocratic stronghold, and in 1874 he was nearly elected clerk of the cir-
cuit court by the republicans, in spite of a democratic majority of 3,000.
In 1886 he was prevailed upon to accept the republican nomination for
congress as representative of the twelfth district, and though the district
had been surely democratic, usually by about 3,000 majority, he was
elected by a majority of nearly 2,500, revealing his unbounded popular-
ity. During his term in congress he was noted as a zealous worker, not
only for the good of the people of his own district, but for the whole
people, and he introduced several measures for the relief of the working
people, which though they have not yet been adopted, will be recognized
in the future as the proper foundation for legislation for the amelioration
of the condition of the wage earners the world over. Such in particu-
lar was his Minimum Wages bill. Also, during the fiftieth congress, to
which he was elected, he took an active part in debates and particularly
on the tariff bills. On the question of protection versus free trade, he
was able to speak as a business man, with much weight, and his argu-
ments were widely quoted, The following campaign was fought upon
that line, and resulted in the defeat of Grover Cleveland. Since his re-
turn from congress Mr. White has settled down to business with undi-
minished energy, and having so many interests to demand his attention,
real estate transactions, the Fruit House, and the factory, he will have
BUSINESS INTERESTS. 1 57
little time for politics in the future. Capt. White has long been an at-
tendant upon the First Presbyterian church, though liberal and charitable
in his religious views. His kindness and open-handedness to all those
who are distressed is as widely known as his name, and his quiet and
unostentatious charity has made him beloved in many a humble home.
Taken all in all, he is one of those self-made men who have the affection
of their neighbors, and never loses an opportunity to serve them to the
best of his ability.
Mention of the business interests of Fort Wayne would be incomplete
without notice of the famous wholesale house of Gilbert E. Bursley &
Co., wholesale grocers. The house was established in 1880, and now
enjoys an extensive custom throughout a wide territory. The proprie-
tors have a thorough knowledge of their intricate business, buy in the
best markets, and have the brightest and most capable salesmen extend-
ing their trade in the prosperous region tributary to Fort Wayne. The
house occupies a four-story brick building at Nos. 129, 131 and 133
Calhoun street, having an area of 50x100 feet, and especially fitted for
the business. Gilbert E. Bursley, the senior partner, was born at Barn-
stable, Mass., April 9, 1837. His father, Joseph, son of Lemuel Bursley,
a native of Massachusetts, was born in i*]gi, served in the war of 1812,
and died in his native state in 1870. He married Deborah Lothrop,
who died in 1840, aged about thirty-seven years. They had twelve
children, of whom five are living, Gilbert being the youngest. He lived
in Barnstable until sixteen years old, and then went to Boston to seek
his fortune. He was first employed in a book store, and then by the
Old Colony railroad, and enlisted in 1862, in Company B, One Hundred
and Thirtieth New York infantry, and after one year's service, was dis-
charged on account of ill health. He had visited Fort Wayne in 1861,
and in 1868 he returned here and made the city his home. He was
largely instrumental in organizing the Citizens' street railroad company,
and superintended the construction of the road and the operation of it
during the first ten years. A few months after the organization of the
Fort Wayne organ company, in 1872, he became connected with that
enterprise, and was general manager and the largest stockholder for ten
years, during which he placed it upon a sound financial basis, and won
for it an extensive business and high reputation. He married in 1861
Kate P. Smith, of West Virginia, who died in 1871, and in 1876, mar-
ried Ellen R. Aldrich, of Providence, R. I.
James M. McKay, junior member of the above named firm, was
born in Ontario, Canada, January 21, 1856. His father, Neil McKay,
was a native of Scotland, born May 6, 1823, and emigrated with his
parents and settled in Ontario, where he was educated and resided,
holding the position of " Reave" for several years, until he came to the
United States in 1864. He settled at Fort Wayne in 1868, and followed
his occupation of railroad contractor until his death, November 26, 1882.
He was a man of great energy, and was connected with the construction
of many of the railroads of this country. He married Nancy Young,
1^8 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
who was born in Canada, December 29, 1833, and died in Fort Wayne,
in May, 1872. They had eight children, three of whom are now living:
James M., Nannie, wife of Neil McLachlan, and Jennie E. Mr. McKay,
in 1880, became a member of the firm of G. E. Bursley & Co., and has
attained a high rank among the popular and active business men of Fort
Wayne. His career has been entirely the result of personal application,
and his success is noteworthy. October 1, 1885, he was married to
Elizabeth J. McFee, a native of this county, and they have two children:
Neil A. and William. He is a prominent republican and a member of
the Morton club.
Louis Wolf was born in Germany, April 23, 1849, tne son °^ Samuel
and Fannie Wolf, who lived and died in their native land, the mother
passing away at the age of fifty-nine years in 1881, the father in 1889,
at the age of about seventy. There are nine children living, of whom
Louis Wolf is the second. His childhood was spent in Germany, where
he received his earliest education. In 1865 he immigrated and settled
first at Warsaw, Ind., where he entered the dry goods business in the
employ of Becker Brothers. Two years later he came to Fort Wayne,
and for five years was employed by the firm of Frank & Thanhauser.
He then went to Plymouth and embarked in dry goods on his own ac-
count under the firm name of M. Becker & Co. This business was
kept up for four years, at the end of which time he sold out, and re-
turned to Fort Wayne and purchased the interest of Mr. Thanhauser
in the firm which had formerly employed him. Two years later he
bought out Mr. Frank and ever since he has managed the large and in-
creasing trade. The retailing of dry goods, carpets and millinery is the
principal department, though a considerable amount of wholesale busi-
ness is done. The establishment is located at 54 Calhoun street, and
employs fifty to sixty people. Through the indefatigable energy and
exceptional business ability of Mr. Wolf the store has come to be widely
known as one of the foremost in northern Indiana. He was married
in 1880 to Rebecca, daughter of Joseph and Caroline Stiefel, prominent
people of Angola, Ind. Mrs. Wolf was born at that town, in i860.
They have three children: Milton, Edgar and Florence. Mr. and Mrs.
Wolf are members of the Hebrew church.
Ernest C. Rurodeisone of the successful business men of Fort Wayne,
a member of the firm of Root & Co., a dry goods house whose exten-
sive wholesale and retail operations make it one of the most prominent
institutions of the city, and widely recognized as one of the leading
business concerns of the country. The business was established by
McDougal Root & Co., in i860, the present firm succeeding in 1863.
They moved into their present building in 1874; it is a three story brick
52x170, fronting on Calhoun street, and 30x50, fronting on Main street,
all fitted with the most ingenius of modern contrivances for faciltating
business. The wholesale trade is extensive throughout Ohio, Indiana
and Michigan, and the firm, being direct importers, compete with all
markets. The retail trade is very large, the custom of the house not
BUSINESS INTERESTS. I 59
being confined to the city alone, but extending over a territory of fifty miles
in all directions. One hundred and fifteen persons are given employment
by the firm. Ernest C. Rurode was first associated with the business in
i860 with the old firm, and in 1S62 took an interest in the same. For twenty
years he has managed the wholesale and retail departments, and under
his careful and shrewd management the business has grown to its
present magnitude; thereby Mr. Rurode has gained for himself the
widespread reputation as one of the leaders in Fort Wayne's commercial
life. Mr. Rurode was born in Hanover, Germany, and is the son of
Henry and Catherine (Hier) Rurode, who livied and died in Germany.
Mr. Rurode received his early education in his native land, came to
America in 1854, and first settled at Terre Haute, Ind., where he was
in the dry goods business until i860. He was married in 1873 to
Emma Pedecord, of Decatur, 111., by whom he has three children. In
politics, Mr. Rurode is a republican.
Carnahan & Co., wholesale dealers in boots, shoes and rubbers, is
the title of a Fort Wayne house which has an extensive trade through-
out four states. The house was established in 1872 by Carnahan,
Skinner & Co., and this was succeeded in 1875, by Carnahan, Hanna & Co.
In 1886, the present firm Carnahan & Co., composed of William L.
Carnahan and Emmet H. McDonald, succeeded to the business. The
establishment is located at Nos. 76, 78 and 80 Clinton street, a four-
story brick building 60x60, and is stocked with a complete assortment
of all grades of foot-wear, including boots, shoes, and India rubber goods.
The purchases of the firm are made with such business acumen that the
prices it offers are daily recommending it to dealers throughout the vast
territory the salesmen of the firm are traversing. With annual sales of
from $400,000 to $500,000, and a steady increasing patronage, the
future of the firm is a very bright one. William L. Carnahan is the
son of James G. and Margaret (Brown) Carnahan, both of whom were
natives of Ohio. They removed to Indiana in 1833, becoming pioneers
of Tippecanoe county. Settling at Lafayette, the father engaged there
in merchandise. At that place William L. Carnahan was born March 5,
1837, and growing to manhood there, attended the city schools and
prepared himself for entrance to the state university, at which he was
graduated At the close of the year 1856, he went to Nebraska,
and remained in that state three years, the greater part of the time in
Dakota county, and the city of Omaha, in the latter place being engaged
in merchandise, and as clerk in the land office. Mr. Carnahan returned
to Indiana in i860, and established himself in business at Delphi, where
he was occupied for two years, after which he removed to Lafayette and
embarked in the boot and shoe trade. * Two years later he became a
traveling salesman for the firm of Carnahan, Earl & Co., of Lafayette,
in which capacity he acted for eighteen months, at the end of that period
becoming a member of the firm, which did businens under the title of
Carnahan Brothers & Co., wholesale dealers and manufacturers of
boots and shoes. Attending to the wholesale trade, he spent seven
l6o VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
years altogether on the road. In January, 1872, Mr. Carnahan made
his home at Fort Wayne and established the business above referred to.
Mr. Carnahan's long and successful business career gives him a high
rank among the prominent men of the city. He was maried in 1864, to
Clara L., daughter of James Bayliss Hanna, of Allen county, and to this
union four children have been born.
One of the most destructive fires for many years in the business part
of Fort Wayne was the burning of the establishment of Louis Fox &
Bro., dealers in foreign fruits, and manufacturers of confectionery and
crackers. This fine four-story brick building, 145, 147 and 149 Calhoun,
and 1 to 11 East Jefferson streets, was entirely destroyed on the morn-
ing of February 16, 1889, entailing a loss of about $55,000. It had been
erected but two years before. The Messrs. Fox with characteristic
energy set to work to rebuild, and the walls of an equally extensive and
elegant building were erected by autumn. The members of this firm,
Louis and August Fox, are sons of Joseph R. Fox, of Fort Wayne.
The father was born in Germany, March 3, 1820, and came to Fort
Wayne in 1848. He followed farming in Adams township four years,
then engaged in gardening in the city until 1863, when he began his
business of confectioner and restauranteur at 25 East Main street, where
he still does business. He was married in 1848 to Mary Schnetz, a
native of Switzerland, by whom he had three sons, Joseph in addition to
those already named.
Henry C. Graffe has been prominent in the business affairs of the
city for many years. He is a native of Germany, where in the early
part of this century Ludwick Graffe died at the age of thirty-four, leav-
ing two sons, Frederick and Henry. The latter died in his native land
at the age of seventy-four. Frederick, born in Brunswick, January 31,
1809, was married in 1837 to Mar} r Ann Stark, who was born in 18 10,
and in 1838, the young couple came to New York. May 28, 1840,
they reached Fort Wayne. They brought with them their son, the sub-
ject of this mention, who was born at Frankfort, March 1, 1838, the
eldest of eight children, of whom six survive. Frederick Graffe was
engaged in cabinet-making in the firm of Muhler & Graffe for twelve
years, and then with the same partner for twelve years in the grocery
business, until Mr. Muhler died. Mr. Graffe, sr., has since been en-
gaged in the galvanized iron cornice, roofing and general tin business
with his two sons George W. & C. M. His wife died in this city in 1882.
Henry C. Graffe obtained a common school education, and in 185 1
entered the jewelry house of Andrew Mayer, in this city, as an appren-
tice for three years, and after three years' further service went to New
York city, and was employed there three years in the same business.
He returned to Fort Wayne, and after three years more with Mr. Mayer,
went into business on his own account and was quite successful. In
1865 he became a partner with his former employer, the firm being
known as Mayer & Graffe, a partnership which continued until the
death of Mr. Mayer in December, 1875. The latter was a native of
Hjlui^
BUSINESS INTERESTS. l6l
Germany, and immigrated to Dayton, thence to Fort Wayne in 1S44,
establishing his business at that date. The business has ever since been
continued in the same block on Columbia street. November 17, 1859,
Mr. Graff e was married to Eliza A. Myers, who was born at Lancaster,
Ohio, March 3, 1838, and they have three children living out of nine
born: May E., Cecilia and Harry C. Mr. and Mrs. Graffe are mem-
bers of the Catholic church, and he is in politics a democrat. From
1874 t° I 876 he was a member of the city council, and is now president
of the electric light and power company.
Frederick Graffe, jr., a well-known jeweler, is a representative of
one of the old and prominent families of Fort Wayne. He was born
in the city, September 18, 1853, the youngest of six children of Frederic
and Mary Ann Graffe. He gained his education in the Catholic schools
and the commercial college of this city, and in 1871 entered the employ-
ment of the firm of Mayer & Graffe, and served an apprenticeship of
three years. He has since been connected with the same house and
that of H. C. Graffe. For five years, from 1879, he had charge of a
branch house at Wabash. He was married in 1882 to Jennie Polk, the
oldest child of the late Col. Richard Polk, an eminent soldier of the civil
war, who died at Wabash in 1877. Mrs. Graffe was born at Wabash
in 1858. They have two children: Verva and Thomas. Mr. and Mrs.
Graffe are members of the Catholic church, and he is in politics a
democrat.
A. F. Siemon, founder of the old and widely known house of Siemon
& Brother, dealers in books and stationery, was born in Saxony, Ger-
many, at the city of Ziesar, September 18, 182 1. His father, August
Ferdinand Siemon, a native of Saxony, was a prominent man, a mer-
chant at Ziesar, and postmaster and mayor of the city for a number of
years. He died about i860. His wife, whose maiden name was Caro-
line Grams, died in 182 1, eight days after the birth of her son. Mr.
Siemon received a good education in his native town, completing it at
the college of Brandenburg. In 1849 he came to America and traveled
directly to Fort Wayne, intending to study at Concordia college. After
an attendance there of about one year, he entered the employment of
Towley & Freeman, as a clerk, and subsequently held similar positions
with W. T. Abbott and Towley & Brother. He founded his present
business in 1858, and in 1861 admitted his brother Rudolph as a partner,
when the firm became known as Siemon & Bro. In 1885 the interest
of Rudolph was transferred to Mr. A. F. Siemon, and the two sons,
Henry and Herman, were admitted to the business as partners. At their
present place of business, 50 Calhoun street, they have one of the most
commodious store rooms in the city, occupying the entire four floors of
the building, which is in dimensions 20x170 feet, and they carry a com-
plete stock of books, stationery, wall paper, pictures and frames, doing
an average annual business of $50,000 to $60,000. Mr. Siemon is one
of the prominent men of Fort Wayne, a veteran in business and highly
esteemed in all his relations with society. He is a member of St. Paul's
XI
1 62 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Lutheran church, of which he was trustee five years. He was married
in 1854, to Lisetta Berning, of Hanover, Germany, who died in 1859,
leaving two sons. In 1861 he was married to Helena Strunk, who was
born in Fort Wayne, and they have three children.
Gideon W. Seavey, proprietor of one of the largest wholesale and
retail hardware houses in the country, has in a business career of some-
what varied occupation, shown a notable ability in his different enter-
prises. In 1864, being seventeen years of age, he left the farm and
entered Company D, One Hundred and Fortieth regiment Illinois infan-
try, and served until the close of the rebellion. The next year he
entered Michigan university, and graduated from that institution in 1871,
with the degree of B. A., receiving two years later, the degree of Mas-
ter of Arts. January 1st, 1872, he established the Hoopston (111.)
Chronicle, which he conducted five years, making for it a wide reputa-
tion as one of the ablest papers of eastern Illinois. His residence in
Fort Wayne began in 1877, when he engaged in the practice of law
with P. A. Randall. In 1880, he engaged in the lumber business, which
he subsequently disposed of to enter the hardware business in which he
is now occupied. He has been decidedly successful in his undertakings
and is a valuable and enterprising citizen. Mr. Seavey's father was
Winthrop Seavey, born in New Hampshire in 1802, son of Joshua
Seavey of that state, who was a soldier in the war of 181 2. The latter,
who married a cousin of Daniel Webster, died in Illinois in 1862, at the
age of ninety years. Winthrop Seavey married Elizabeth Curtis, of
New York, who was born in 1809, and in 1834, they ma de the journey
from New Hampshire to Illinois by wagon, in forty-five days, and became
one of the pioneer families of Lee county. They died in Illinois, the
mother in 1853, the father in 1865. They had six children, of whom
Gideon was the youngest. He was born at Palmyra, 111., February 14,
1848. In 1874 ne married Amy C. Randall, born in 1853, at Avilla,
Ind., daughter of Judge Edwin and Mary A. Randall. They have two
children, Walter R. and Irma M.
Frank C. Cratsley, one of the prominent book firm of Renner,
Cratsley & Co., is a native of Fowler, Trumbull Co., Ohio, born Decem-
ber 29, 1856. He is the son of William and Sabrina (Kingsley) Crats-
ley, the former a native of Onondaga county, N. Y., and the latter of
Trumbull county, Ohio. He was reared to the age of sixteen on a
farm. His early education was received in the public schools, and later
he completed a course in a commercial school at Elyria, Ohio. In early
manhood he taught school for six months at Oberlin, Ohio. In 1881 he
took a position as bookkeeper with Brown, Eager & Hull, a wholesale
and retail book and stationery firm at Toledo. He continued with them
in the same capacity until June, 1888, when he came to Fort Wayne,
and he has since been a member of the firm of Renner, Cratsley & Co.
Mr. Cratsley was married in February, 1881, to Adella, daughter of
James and Ann (Bates) Hull. Mr. Cratsley and wife are members of
the Baptist church. He is a member of the National Union and Royal
Adelphia societies.
BUSINESS INTERESTS. 1 63
Henry B. Ayres, an esteemed and worthy citizen of Fort Wayne, and
son of the late Dr. Henry P. Ayres, is one of the native busi-
ness men of the city, having been born here on the 8th day of March,.
1847. He has been associated with the drug business almost all his
life, having become initiated in it in the capacity of clerk as early as
thirteen years of age. With one exception, he has been identified with
this business longer than any druggist in the city, and he has built up
an enviable reputation as an honest man and as a competent and reliable
pharmacist. He was married in May, 1870, to Miss Margaret A. Kirk,
by whom he is the father of two sons: Henry Cooper, born in July,
1872, and Kirk Banard, born in February, 1877. The social qualities of
Mr. Ayres are admiraby well developed, and though of a retiring nature,
he is, to his friends, most genial and companionable. He is a good man
and his friends are numerous.
Robert Ogden, in 1858, having just immigrated from England,
came to Fort Wayne, and embarked here in the business of plumber,
which had been the trade of his father and grandfather in the old coun-
try, and which he had thoroughly learned. In October, 1859, he re-
moved to Dayton, Ohio, and in 1870 returned to this city, which has
since been his home. He conducts a large plumbing business, with his
establishment at 26 East Berry street, and has achieved an honorable
reputation. He was the first plumber to establish himself at Fort
Wayne. Mr. Ogden was born near Manchester, England, January 9,
1825, son of John and Alice Ogden, and when a small boy began learn-
ing his trade with his father. He has been three times married. His
present wife, to whom he was married July 3, 1888, is Agnes H.,
daughter of John Fowles of this city. She is a member of the First
Presbyterian church. Mr. Ogden is a member of the Episcopal church,
and is a prominent Mason, being a Knight Templar and a member of
the lodge of Perfection. He is also connected with the Sons of St.
George. He is a republican and a charter member of the Morton club.
He stands high in both business and social circles.
One of the leaders in the musical instrument trade in northern
Indiana is Philemon Dickinson manager in this city for D. H. Baldwin
& Co. He learned the jewelry trade early in life, with his father, and
after the war he engaged in the jewelry business at Richmond, Ind.,
where previous to the war period he had dealt in musical instruments.
In 1866 he removed to Des Moines, Iowa, and was engaged in jewlery
two years, then going to Troy, Ohio, where he was in business four
years, adding musical instruments to his former stock. These two
branches of business he continued from 1873 to 1875, at Richmond,
Ind., and in the latter year he removed to Indianapolis, and next year
became associated with the firm of D. H. Baldwin & Co., of that city,
a business alliance that has since continued. In February, 1885, he came
to this city and took charge of the large establishment of the firm at
98 Calhoun street, and has since successfully conducted it.
Mr. Dickinson was born at Richmond, Ind., September 15, 1839, son
164 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
of Charles A. and Sarah A. (McCoy) Dickinson, who were pioneers
of Wayne county. In June, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company I,
Eighty-fourth regiment, Indiana infantry, and served with the same
company in the line for twenty-six months. He was then promoted first
lieutenant, and transferred to Company H, One Hundred and Fortieth
Indiana, and served as acting quartermaster until the close of the
war. He participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Dalton and
those incident to the Atlanta campaign, and was mustered out at
Greensborough, N. C. Mr. Dickinson was married April 29,
1862, to Olivia Lefevre, who died in June, 1872, leaving two children,
Clarence and Laura May. He was married December 15, 1873, t0
Emma Thompson, by whom he has one child, Mary Olivia. Mr. and
Mrs. Dickinson are members of the Third Presbyterian church, and he
is a comrade of the G. A. R.
John Gilbert, a business man of the city, was born in Bohemia,
March 9, 1833. In 1846, he came to the United States, and made his
home at New York city, where he remained until 1S54. He then
removed to Canada West, where he served an apprenticeship as a
pharmacist. A year later, his brother having gone to Rockford, 111.,
he followed him there, and was engaged eight years at that city at the
drug business. He came to Fort Wayne in 1866, and for fourteen
years held the responsible position of manager of the wholesale and
retail departments of the famous drug house of Meyer Bros. & Co. In
1880 he was appointed manager for the Standard Oil company, at Fort
Wavne, and now has charge of their immense business at this point.
Mr. Gilbert was married at Rockford, 111., in 1861, to Harriet P. Mande-
ville, a native of New York state, and daughter of Michael Mandeville,
a pioneer of Winnebago county, 111., who died in 1885, at the age of
ninety-four years. Mr. Gilbert is a member of Sol. D. Bayless lodge,
F. & A. M., and is a charter member of Plymouth Congregational
church.
John W. Orr, a prominent gentleman, who is now engaged in the oil
business with Joseph Hughes & Co., was born in Brooke county, W. Va.,
May 2, 1829. When ten years of age he removed with his parents to
Belmont county, Ohio, and there most of his boyhood was spent. He
was educated at Barnesville academy, in that county, under Professor
Thomas Merrill, now president of the Newton (Iowa) college, and Pro-
fessor N. R. Smith, formerly of Boston. After leaving school he went
to Wheeling, W. Va., and served an apprenticeship as machinist. After
four or five years he returned to Ohio, following his trade and
clerked in a store. About i860 he went to Illinois and followed farming
and school teaching for two years. October 1, 1862, he came to Fort
Wayne and engaged as a machinist with the P., Ft. W. & C. railroad
company, and later was in charge of an engine on the same road. In
186S he took an engine on the Wabash railroad under W. F. Ray, mas-
ter mechanic, and was so engaged until 1872, when he entered the
Wabash round-house as assistant foreman, and was promoted foreman
BUSINESS INTERESTS. l6$
of the same. He held this position until June, 1887, when he quit rail-
roading and took the position -of bookkeeper with the house of Joseph
Hughes & Co. During the absence of Mr. Hughes in Europe, from
July, 1888, to July, 1889, he had the management of the business. Mr.
Orr has always been a democrat, and has taken an active interest in the
party affairs. He has been a Mason since 1854, and is a member of
Summit City lodge. He is a member of the First Presbyterian church.
Mr. Orr was married December 27, 1853, at Fairview, Ohio, to Ellen,
daughter of Joseph Carlisle. To their union five children have been
born : Joseph H., who holds a position in the First National bank of Fort
Wayne; Charles W., assistant cashier in the Hamilton National Bank;
Flora E., wife of Charles S. Bash, grain and commission man; Kate C,
a teacher in the city schools, and James A., a stenographer for Bash
& Co.
Lewis O. Hull, one of the leading business men of Fort Wayne,
came to this city in 1865 at the close of the war, and in 1S70 he engaged
in house and sign painting. Nine years later he undertook his present
enterprise, dealing in wall paper, paints and decorative materials, artists'
materials, etc. He also carries on the business of painting and deco-
rating, and does a large business in all departments, standing in the front
rank in Indiana. He was born in Lucas, Richland county, Ohio, August
7, 1849, son °f Wesley and Elizabeth (Deems) Hull, the first of whom
was born in Ohio in 1817, the latter in the same state in 1826. In 1863
the parents came to Fort Wayne, and here the father died in 1888, but
the mother survives. Mr. Hull enjoys the distinction of having been
one of the youngest soldiers in the war of the rebellion, having enlisted
as a drummer boy August 10, 1862, at the age of thirteen years and
three days. He was a member of Company B, One Hundred and
Twentieth Ohio regiment, and saw hard service, participating in the bat-
tles at Vicksburg, Arkansas Post, Jackson, Miss., Mobile, run the block-
ade on the Mississippi at Vicksburg, was with the army of the Gulf,
was on the Red river campaign, and was honorably discharged Novem-
ber 5, 1865. Mr. Hull is prominent as a republican, and he is a mem-
ber of the Masonic order. He was married October 25, 1875, to Viola
C. Markley, of this city, and they have three children: Grace, Clara
and Mabel.
On the west bank of the St. Joseph river, a mile and a half northeast
of the court-house and a short distance beyond the limits of the city,
Charles L. Centlivre, a native of one of the Rhine provinces, established
a brewery nearly twenty-five years ago. There were at that time
seven other concerns of the kind in Fort Wayne, one of considerable
extent being owned by Franz J. Beck. The new enterprise thrived
remarkably, and now many thousands of dollars that went to other cities
for this beverage, is spent at home, to the great profit of the city. The
brewery was established on a strip of ground between the feeder canal
and the river, the difference in the levels of which is twenty feet, and
thus a constant supply of water was obtained. The cellars were sup-
1 66 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
plied with a patent cooling apparatus which constantly maintained a very
low temperature throughout the extensive area in which the beer is
stored. At first a white frame building was the principal structure and
this gave way to a handsome brick building, which was destro}'ed by
fire, Jul}' 1 6, 1889.
Among the improvements of recent years, are the artesian well,
which furnishes a constant supply of the purest water. Two new cel-
lars of immense size were added in 1887, greatly increasing the storage
capacity, and now the original plat of ground is nearly all excavated,
and devoted to cellar room. The new building which takes the place
of the one destroyed by fire, exceeds the old one in extent and is per-
fectly adapted to the requirements of the business. .
The immense proportions to which this business has grown may be
inferred from the fact that the real estate, buildings, machinery, cellars,
etc., are valued at over $300,000. The output in 1887 was 20,000 bar-
rels. Associated with C. L. Centlivre in the management of this great
establishment are his sons, Louis A., general manager, Charles F., super-
intendent of the works, and John B. Reuss, general agent. Mr. Cent-
livre has been very enterprising in improving the approaches to his
establishment, and invested $9,000 in a street car line, which connects
with the Citizens' railway, and he was a prominent promoter of the
macadamizing of Spy Run avenue. The boat house, and the improve-
ment of the delightful sylvan surroundings of that vicinity, are due to
the enterprise of this house.
The Berghoff brewery, which was founded in 1887 by the Herman
Berghoff brewing company, is one of the prominent establishments of
the kind in the west, and has a wide-spread reputation for the purity
and wholesomeness of its product. The company makes a specialty of
purely malt and hop products, being the only house in the west of that
kind, and it has an extensive trade throughout the northwest and west-
ern states. The special export brands, "Salvator" and " Dortmunder,"
the latter named after the birthplace of the Berghoffs, are well known.
The capacity of the establishment is about 100,000 barrels a year. The
building of this company is conspicous in the eastern part of the city,
near the eastern end of Washington street, and is six stories in height,
with a ground plan of 100x160 feet. It is equipped throughout with
all the new and improved machinery for this industry. This building was
erected in 1888 to replace the first one destroyed by fire. The company,
of which Herman Berghoff is president and Henry C. Berghoff secre-
tary and treasurer, was incorporated in 1887, with a paid up capital
stock of $100,000. The estimated value of the plant is $250,000. Her-
man Berghoff, president of the company, a man of remarkable business
and executive ability, is a native of Germany. He came to Fort Wayne
in June, 1870, and has been engaged in mercantile business ever since.
Henry C. Berghoff came to this city in 1872, and has since been engaged
in business, and was for eight years treasurer of the city of Fort Wayne,
an office he filled to the general satisfaction.
BUSINESS INTERESTS. 1 67
Albert J. Dittoe, the well-known proprietor of the Boston tea store
at Fort Wayne, was born in Perry county, Ohio, August 23, 1845. His
parents were Jacob A. and Catherine (Cluny) Dittoe, the former of
whom was born in Perry county, the latter near Wheeling, W. Va.
Mr. Dittoe had his home upon the farm of his parents until he was
twenty-three years of age, receiving his education in the common
schools, and in St. Joseph's college in his native county, which he at-
tended two years, after having passed the common branches at the early
age of fourteen. At eighteen years of age he accepted a position as
teacher ',in St. Thomas's Catholic school at Zanesville, Ohio, for one
term, and during tbe winter which followed he taught in Perry county.
In the spring of 1869 he came to Fort Wayne, where he has since been
an active and prominent citizen. For two years he held deputyships in
the offices of the county recorder and the clerk of the circuit court, and
was for four years employed as bookkeeper and cashier of the whole-
sale hardware firm of A. D. Brandriff & Co. In the season of 1873-4
he was engaged in the ice business with his father-in-law, the late Peter
Moran. Afterward becoming a clerk in a grocery store, he held that
position until July, 1882, when he purchased the store, which he has
since conducted with marked success. It is recognized as one of the
leading establishments of the kind in the city and is popularly known as
the Boston tea store. Mr. Dittoe was married January 25, 1870, to
Margaret G. Moran, and they have had nine children: Mamie C,
Charles W., Loretta A., Vincent A., Anna G., Peter A., Margaret
May, Alice G. and Burnadette, all of whom are living save Anna G.,
who died in childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Dittoe are members of the
Catholic church.
Mason Long, a citizen of Fort Wayne whose career is widely known,
has thus epitomized his life in his famous volume entitled " The Converted
Gambler, and Save the Girls" : " My story is that of a bleak and cheer-
less childhood, a youth of ignorance and hardship, a manhood of intem-
perance and vice." This, however, he wrote from a standpoint he had
attained of prominence among those who labor for the good of their fellow
men. He was born in Luray, Licking county, Ohio, September 10,
1842, and six years afterward his father died. He went with his mother,
Margaret Long, a noble woman, to the home of her father, in Ashland
county. There, when Mason was ten years old, his mother died, leav-
ing him to the mercy of the world. He* was bound out to a wealthy
farmer of Medina county, and his life for seven years afterward was one
of slavery, doomed to cruelty, incessant toil, and deprived of education.
This service finished he went to Illinois, where he worked and went to
school a short time. In the spring of 1862, he enlisted in the One Hun-
dred and Twelfth Illinois regiment as a private. Throughout the war
he served, performing brave and patriotic duty with his regiment, which
participated in the memorable defense of Knoxville, the bloody battle of
Franklin, and the defense Nashville, under Gen. Thomas. During the
service, having had no early training as a guide to conduct he entered
1 68 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
recklessly into the gaining which was resorted to in order to pass away-
tedious days in camp, and here the bent of his life, for many years to
come, was formed. In August, 1865, he came to Fort Wayne and
opened a grocery store, and abandoned cards, devoted himself to busi-
ness, and for a while did well. But about a year later he accepted the
invitation of a saloon-keeper to drink, and the invitation of a prominent
citizen to play, and from that time his business was sacrificed. Fort
Wayne was at that time a paradise for gamblers and confidence-men, and
some of the largest games in the United States were maintained. In
1866 and 1867, the city was also the headquarters of as desperate a
gang of pick-pockets as could be found in the country, thoroughly organ-
ized under the leadership of one Edward Ryan. They exercised a
potent influence in politics and carried things with a high hand. Finally,
Ryan robbed an old man named Tucker at the saloon which was the
headquarters, and the latter attempted to shoot him. The result was
the burning of the saloon by a mob, and the end of the gang. Mason
Long, thrown into such surroundings, became known as a gentlemanly
gambler, elevated above his associates by business-like honesty, manli-
ness, high-mindedness and remarkable generosity to the poor. He had
been an occasional attendant at the church of Rev. J. R. Stone, but the
influence of that good man did not seem to be felt. In 1877, during the
great temperance revival, when the the rink was crowded nightly, and
the good women of the city labored heroically for the reformation of the
community, a struggle was made for the enlistment of Mr. Long in this
movement, he having attended the meetings out of curiosity, and finally
he yielded and signed the pledge. The struggle that followed against
his habits was a fearful one, but he conquered and soon became a famous
speaker in the temperance cause. A great revival followed, the results
of which for good are of incalculable extent. He was admitted to the
Baptist church in 1878. Since then he has carried on the work of tem-
perance agitation far and near, and has made many warm friends, and
has done great good in many localities.
A. Mergentheim, proprietor of the most extensive retail millinery
house in northern Indiana, was born in the province of Westphalia, Ger-
many, June 18, 1847, and in 1862 began the millinery business in Bre-
men, Germany. In 1865 he emigrated to the United States, and set-
tling in Philadelphia, was there for three years a clerk in the wholesale
notion house of Metz Brothers. In 1870 he came to Fort Wayne and
embarked in the notion business in a small way. His custom rapidly
increasing he located at his present place of business in 1883, and the
establishment now employs twenty-seven people. Mr. Mergentheim is
the fourth of seven living children of Joseph and Bertha (Gans) Mer-
gentheim, natives of Germany, who both died in their native land, the
father in 1864, at the age of sixty-two, and the mother in 1854, a ^ forty-
five years of age. He was married in 1875, to Josephine Hirsch, born
in Newark, N. J., in 1856, and they have one son, Morton A. Mr.
BUSINESS INTERESTS. 1 69
Mergentheim has been very successful in business, which testifies to his
sagacity and enterprise, and is a popular and worthy citizen.
Thornton J. Fleming, a prominent merchant of Fort Wayne, has
been engaged in merchandise since his majority, when he entered the
dry goods business in Jay county. In 1883, he went to Dakota and
returned to Fort Wayne the next year, and purchased what was known
as the " old Kiser stand," where he has since done a flourishing busi-
ness in dry goods, notions, and all kinds of gentlemen's furnishing goods.
His father, J. W. Fleming, who now resides in this city, is a native of
Virginia, and married- Nancy Sunderland, who was born in Montgomery
county, Ohio, in 1819, and was killed by a railroad accident at Detroit,
Mich., August 17, 1888. Thornton J. Fleming, the sixth of ten children,
seven of whom are living, was born near Huntertown, December 30,
1849, anc ^ spent his youth upon the farm, receiving a common school
education. He is a member of Sol D. Bayliss lodge, having become a
Mason in 1885; in politics he is a democrat. The building occupied by
Mr. Fleming is an historic one, the date of its erection being 1838 or 1839.
Aurora C. Keel, dealer in books, stationery, etc., at 139 Broadway,
was born in Stark county, Ohio, July 19, 1835, son °f Joseph and Eliza-
beth (Chestnut wood) Keel. The parents, who were natives of Pennsyl-
vania, removed to Ohio when young, and were married in Stark county,
where they resided the rest of their lives. The father died August 8,
1877, at the age of seventy-two, and the mother died October 18, 1882,
aged seventy-eight years. Aurora C. Keel was reared on the farm and
educated in the common schools. At the age of seventeen years he
entered the hardware store of James A. Saxton, at Canton, Ohio, and
three years later took a position as traveling salesman for the wholesale
grocery and drug house of Weimert & Steinbacher, of Akron, Ohio,
with whom he remained until the breaking out of the rebellion, April
18, i86i>; enlisted in Company G, Sixteenth regiment, Ohio volunteer
infantry, for three months' service, and went into quarters at Camp Jack-
son, Columbus, whence the regiment was sent to West Virginia. It
took part in the first battle of the war, at Phillipi, and was at Laurel
Hill, when General Garnet tried to make his escape down Cheat river,
and was engaged at Garrett Ford, where Garnet lost his life. The
regiment then returned to Ohio and was mustered out after four months'
service, receiving as payment $11 in gold per month. September 7,
1861, he re-enlisted in the Nineteenth Ohio regiment and was elected
second lieutenant of Company F. The regiment was assigned to duty
in the army of the Cumberland. During the winter of 1 861-2 they
were in camp at Columbia, Ky., and after the battle of Mill Springs
joined the army at Bowling Green. At the latter place Mr. Keel was
taken with typhoid fever and was sent to Louisville. Recovering from
his illness he joined his command at Corinth, having been promoted
first lieutenant April 30, 1862, and participated in the siege of that
place. They were next at Battle Creek, Tenn., and with the army dur-
ing Buell's movement from Chattanooga to Louisville. He was at the
170 VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
battle of Perryville, and afterward participated in the battle of Stone
River. Just before the close of the last day of that battle he received
a gunshot wound in the right arm which caused excission of the elbow
joint, rendering that arm useless during life. He was placed in a field
hospital, and later returned home on furlough. In the following Sep-
tember he rejoined his command at Chattanooga, having been pro-
moted captain on July 22, 1863. His disability unfitted him for field
duty and he was recommended for the veteran reserve corps, and
received his commission as second lieutenant of such from President
Lincoln, March 8, 1864. He was on duty at Camp Rendezvous Dis-
tribution, at Washington city, performing exacting and arduous work,
until June, 1865, and received promotion from President Johnson to first
lieutenant, and was sent to Concord, N. H., to assist in mustering out
state troops. He resigned his position November 30, 1865, and returned
to Ohio. In 1866 he removed to Ligonier, Ind., and engaged in the
grocery and provision business. March 17, 1868, he came to Fort
Wayne, and i 
