USA > Indiana > A History of Indiana from its exploration to 1922 > Part 49
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66
P
420
HISTORY OF VANDERBURGH COUNTY
until 1904, in which year he engaged in the milling business at Equality, Illinois, where his death occurred in 1914, when he was fifty years of age. He is survived by Mrs. Purcell, a native of Pennsylvania, who is sixty years of age and makes her home with her son, Guy M. She and her husband had three other children : a son, Orval, and a daughter, Dee, both of whom are deceased ; and a son, James E., who is an upper classman at West Point, and will graduate in 1924. Guy M. Purcell was given his early education in the school at Hickory Ridge, Illinois, and until eighteen years of age was associated with his father in farming. When his father died he came to Evansville, where he attended the 'Lockyear Busi- ness College, and then secured a position with the Small Seed Company, as a common laborer. He was later taken into the office in a minor capacity, and there won rapid advancement, so that at the age of twenty-five years he had become vice president and gen- eral manager of the concern, holding these positions for seven years. In June, 1920, he resigned and organized the Purcell Seed Company, of which he has since been the active head, and which has grown and developed materially under his direction. His establishment is located at No. 110 North Second Street, and en- joys a large patronage. As before noted, Mr. Purcell continues to maintain his interest in farming, and the greater part of his leisure time is spent on his farm a short distance from Evansville. Mr. Purcell is primarily a business man, but has outside interests and belongs to several civic and fraternal organizations. He is an active member of the Baptist church, and is president of the Agoga class, the largest men's class in the state of Indiana. June 9, 1910, Mr. Purcell was united in marriage with Mamie E., daughter of Philip and Margaret Wolfe, of Evansville, where Mr. Wolfe was engaged in the grocery business for many years. Five children have been born to this union : Alice, Isabelle, Berenice, Guy M., Jr. and James Allen.
Harry Raphael. Among the business houses of long standing which are now operating under different names from those which they possessed at the time of their inception, is the wholesale dry goods establishment of Raphael Brothers, located at No. 24 South First Street. This has been developed into one of the largest con- cerns of its kind at Evansville, through the initiative, industry and enterprise of several young and energetic brothers, among whom is Harry Raphael, who occupies the position of treasurer of the concern. He was born at Cleveland, Ohio, May 31, 1890, a son of Abe M. and Lena (Skora) Raphael, natives of Poland, where they were married. The parents emigrated to the United States in 1887 and took up their residence at Cleveland, where Abe M. Raphael, who was a tailor by trade, followed that vocation for four years. At the end of that time he changed his residence to Evans- ville, engaging in the tailoring business, and this city has continued to be the home of himself and wife. Harry Raphael has three brothers, David, Philip and Isadore, and two sisters, Helen and
421
HISTORY OF VANDERBURGH COUNTY
Jennie. Harry Raphael attended the graded and high schools of Evansville, and at the time of his graduation from the latter, in 1906 embarked in the retail merchandise business, with which he continued to be identified until 1920. In that year there was or- ganized the firm of Raphael Brothers, a wholesale dry goods con- cern, which succeeded the old established firm of I. Gans Company. The business has been built up to large proportions, and its pro- duct finds a ready market not only at Evansville and the sur- rounding countryside in Indiana, but in other states as well. In the capacity of treasurer of this house Harry Raphael has done much to advance its interests, and his associates in the business have found reason to place implicit confidence in his judgment and ability. He is a Blue Lodge Mason and a member of the Ki- wanis Club and the B'Nai B'rith Jewish organization. Politically he is a Republican. In 1918 he entered the artillery division of the United States army for service in the World war, but was not called into action, and in 1919 was honorably discharged from the service at Camp Knox. December 7, 1917, Mr. Raphael was united in marriage with Sarah, daughter of Julius Trockman, who has been engaged in the junk business at Evansville for more than a quarter of a century. To this union there has come one son : Irwin.
Peter H. Reddinger. Connected with the vast furniture indus- try of Evansville, and a component part thereof, are numerous lines which being strictly identified with the manufacture of fur- niture, call for a high degree of specialization. In this connection may be mentioned the business of manufacturing dining-room tables and table parts in white, which plays such an important part in the manufacture of furniture, a line in which one of the promi- nent concerns is the P. H. Reddinger Manufacturing Company, of which Peter H. Reddinger is president. Mr. Reddinger was born in Holland, September 20, 1871, and is a son of Harold and Grace Reddinger. Harold Reddinger was of German birth, but as a child was taken by his parents to Holland, where he met and married his wife, a native of that country. In 1878 Harold Reddinger brought the family to the United States, settling at Grand Rapids, Michi- gan, where he followed merchant tailoring for about fourteen years, finally going to Kennett, Missouri, where he followed his trade until his death, when he was fifty-seven years of age. He always followed merchant tailoring and the men's furnishing busi- ness, and was known as a man of integrity and business, ability. Mrs. Reddinger died at the age of thirty-eight years, leaving the following children: Herman, who is deceased; William, deceased ; Peter H .; Johanna, the wife of Peter Feenstrea, who is associated with Mr. Reddinger in business, and holds another position; and Koe L., who is engaged in the furniture business at Big Rapids, Michigan. Peter H. Reddinger was seven years of age when brought to the United States, his boyhood and youth being largely spent at Grand Rapids and Cincinnati, Ohio, where he secured a public school education and at the former city learned the trade
422
HISTORY OF VANDERBURGII COUNTY
of wood and spindle carver. When he was but seventeen years of age he began a drifting career, and as there was a demand for his kind of work he did not lack for employment at his trade. After working thus at various furniture factories, Mr. Reddinger finally settled down at Cincinnati, where he founded what he called the Cincinnati Carving Works, a business which he carried on with a measure of success until 1903. In that year he came to Evans- ville and started a business at the rear of the Bosse Furniture Com- pany's plant, which he called the Reddinger Carving Works. Five years later he built his present plant and organized a company, which in 1914 was incorporated as the P. H. Reddinger Manu- facturing Company, and in 1918 a new and modern three-story building was erected. Mr. Reddinger is president of the company, M. D. Helfrich is treasurer and J. W. Schimmelman is secretary. The product of the concern meets with a big demand in the trade and the company has shown a sound and wholesome growth. In politics Mr. Reddinger prefers to take an independent stand and to trust his own judgment in the choice of candidates worthy of his vote. He stands high in Masonry, having attained to the Scottish Rite, and is also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. June 14, 1893, Mr. Reddinger was united in marriage at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, with Miss Katherine Schuley, of Peoria, Illinois, and they maintain a pleasant home at 812 Wabash Avenue.
Sol A. Reese. A man of broad and extended business experi- ence and progressive and enlightened views, Sol A. Reese, secre- tary and treasurer of the Southern Stove Works, has become one of the leading factors in his field of industry at Evansville. While he is primarily a business man, he has given due attention to the duties of citizenship and has displayed a commendable public spirit in civic enterprises. Mr. Reese was born March 31, 1880, at Owens- boro, Kentucky, and is a son of A. E. and Fannie Reese. His par- ents were engaged in the chinaware business at Owensboro for many years and were well-known and highly respected citizens of that city. Sol A. Reese attended the public schools of Owensboro and after three years at high school spent one year at Milller's Business College. With this training, he entered upon his business career as an employe of the Southern Iron Works, with which concern he remained two years in the capacity of bookkeeper. At the end of that period, he went to Selma, Alabama, where he was also a bookkeeper for two years, in the employ of the Peacock Iron Works, later being located at Birmingham, Alabama, as assistant treasurer of the Southern Car and Foundry Company. He went next to Louisville, Kentucky, as sales manager for the Laib Company, remaining three years, and in 1907 came to Evans- ville, where he joined the Evansville Stove Company in the capac- ity of vice president. In 1917 when this concern was consolidated with the Southern Stove Works, under the name of the latter, Mr. Reese remained with the new company in the capacity of secretary and treasurer. He has materially aided this company to become
423
HISTORY OF VANDERBURGH COUNTY
one of the leading enterprises of its kind at Evansville, and its product is now shipped broadcast all over the country, where it meets with a ready market. The company maintains a modern manufacturing plant at the corner of Keller and Sixth Streets, and gives employment to a large force of mechanics. Mr. Reese is widely known in business circles and his ability and energy are generally acknowledged. He belongs to the Furniture Manu- facturers' Association, the Kiwanis Club and the Chamber of Commerce, and is fraternally affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. March 3, 1913, Mr. Reese was united in marriage with Miss Hattie Mannheimer, whose father was presi- dent of the Evansville Packing Company. To this union there have been born two children: Richard, aged eight years; and Car- olyn, aged three years. Mr. and Mrs. Reese belong to the Wash- ington Avenue Temple.
George E. Riechmann, president, treasurer and general man- ager of the Evansville Furniture Company, is one of the progres- sive and enterprising business men of Evansville, where he has been identified with a number of important enterprises, all of which have benefitted by his judgment and energy. Mr. Riech- mann was born at Evansville, September II, 1887, a son of Fred and Anna (Harmeyer) Reichmann. Mrs. Riechmann, now a resi- dent of Evansville, was born in Pike county, Indiana, October 30, 1852. Fred Riechmann was born in Germany, and when sixteen years of age immigrated to the United States, settling at once at Evansville, where he found employment with the wholesale gro- cery firm of Koester-Korff Grocery Company. A man of industry and thrift, he saved his earnings carefully, and eventually invested them in a modest retail grocery business on Main Street. Under his management and the impetus of his energy, the business grew and flourished, and to it he added first a feed business and then a wagon business, all of which he managed until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-four years of age, in 1898. Following his demise these business interests were taken over by the family, who conducted them for a time, but they later were disposed of. There were five children in the family: Anna, the widow of the late Hon. Benjamin Bosse, for some years mayor of Evansville; Mayme; H. Fred ; August L., of Evansville ; and George E. George E. Riechmann attended the public schools and the parochial school of Trinity Lutheran parish. This education was supplemented by a course at Lockyear's Business College, and his career was started as an employe of the old National Bank, where he worked for a time as bank messenger. He left this position to enter the manu- facturing business, in the employe of Benjamin Bosse, being book- keeper at one of Mr. Bosse's furniture plants, which was known as the Globe-Bosse-World Furniture Company. In July, 1921, he took charge of the present company, known as the Evansville Furniture Company, and following the death of Mr. Bosse was elected president, treasurer and general manager, positions which
424
HISTORY OF VANDERBURGH COUNTY
he occupies at this time and in which he is making this one of the leading manufacturing plants of the city. Aside from his business interests, Mr. Riechmann has been active in politics and civic mat- ters. At the time of President Wilson's elections he served as a member of the Young Men's Democratic Club, at the time of the first election of Mayor Bosse was secretary of the Democratic Central Committee, was treasurer of the Central Committee and served twice as chairman of the County and Central Committees. He has never aspired to office. At present he is a director of the Globe-Bosse-World Furniture Company, the West Side Bank and the West Side Investment Company, a director of the Evansville Courier Company and an officer therein, and a director of the Evansville Top and Panel Company. He belongs to the Travel- ers' Protective Association, the Evansville Chamber of Commerce and the Manufacturers Association. November 25, 1909, Mr. Riechmann married Helen Umbach of Evansville, daughter of John and Mary (Ellerbusch) Umbach, a pioneer agricultural family of Scott township, Vanderburgh county. To this union there has been born one son, Fred Benjamin, named after two of his uncles, Benjamin Bosse and Fred Riechmann, the latter of whom died six weeks after the death of the former. Master Riechmann is some- thing of a prodigy, being but seven years old, but is in the fourth grade of the Trinity Lutheran parochial school, which his father attended. In a recent test he stood the highest of any lad of his grade in the city.
Julius F. Ritter. Included among the rising generation of suc- cessful business men of Evansville is found Julius F. Ritter, secretary of the Evansville Enameling Company, who has spent his entire career in this city and belongs to that energetic class of men who have made their own way. Mr. Ritter was born at Evansville, September 28, 1892, and is a son of Max Ritter. Max Ritter was born March 2, 1857, in Germany, and was eleven years of age when brought by his parents to Evansville, where he has since resided. He is a well-known business man, being a member of the former tannery firm of Ritter & Sauer, on West Franklin Street, and is not unknown to public life, being at pres- ent deputy clerk of the board of water works. Julius F. Ritter at- tended the parochial school of the locality of his birth, later completed the high school course, and then had a year's training at Lockyear's Business College, from which he was graduated in 1908. He then be- came a stenographer at the Indiana Stove Works, and subsequently was promoted to bookkeeper, a position which he retained until 1919, when he joined the newly-formed Evansville Enameling Company, in the capacity of manager. October 1, 1922, he succeeded Charles F. Dickmann in the position of secretary. The other officials are H. J. Karges, president ; William H. Boetticher, vice-president ; and Edward Kiechle, treasurer. The business of the company is the vitreous enamel- ing of cast iron and steel. The company is a member of the American Ceramic Society. To the energetic work of Mr. Ritter must be accred- ited much of the concern's success, which has been remarkable consid-
425
=
HISTORY OF VANDERBURGH COUNTY
ering the comparatively short period of its existence. May 28, 1918, Mr. Ritter enlisted in Headquarters Company, Officers Training School, and was assigned to the Field Artillery, at Camp Taylor, Louis- ville, Kentucky, where he saw service until receiving his honorable dis- charge February 28, 1919. He is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, entertains Democratic views in regard to politics, and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. October 18, 1922, Mr. Ritter was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Reichert, of Evansville, and they maintain a pleasant home at 406 Campbell Street.
Edward Cuthbert Roach. Nearly forty years have passed since the death of Edward Cuthbert Roach, but his memory still remains green and his reputation is perpetuated, because he was one of the strong and virile figures of his day, and a man who was a factor in the founding and developing of several of Evansville's important business enterprises. Mr. Roach was born August 3, 1831, in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, he was a son of Captain Cuthbert Williamson Roach, who was born June 1, 1801, in Virginia. Captain Roach was a well-to- do planter of Virginia, and one of the sturdy men of his time who helped to blaze the trail overland into the then new West. In 1833 he made the journey from his Virginia home to Kentucky, where he spent the remainder of his life, becoming a large land and slave owner, and a man of prominence. He died in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in 1875. Edward Cuthbert Roach was two years of age when he accompanied his parents to Kentucky. When he was nineteen years of age he left the parental roof and located in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he became a successful tobacco and cotton broker. He was in the Con- federate Army in the war between the states, but had been honorably discharged because of physical disability, but had a substitute serving in his stead. When General Butler reached New Orleans, he issued a proclamation to the citizens, giving them their choice of taking the oath of allegiance to the United States or giving a list of their prop- erty to be confiscated, as an enemy of the United States. Mr. Roach made a report of his property for confiscation, and with six other bro- kers of New Orleans, ran the blockade to Cuba, from where they sailed for Europe. During the war, previous to General Butler's occupancy of New Orleans, Mr. Roach had shipped a great deal of tobacco and cotton, by blockade runners to his agents in Berlin and Liverpool. These products had been sent to him to sell on commission at the then value of Confederate currency. The foreign agents had made advantageous sales and paid him in gold. Mr. Roach paid this to his customers, retaining only his commission for selling. The war was over; he could have kept the gold. After his death these facts were published in several southern newspapers, the articles being written by those who had profited by his honesty, Mr. Roach and the other gentlemen who had gone abroad with him, traveled extensively in Europe and the British Isles, after first attend- ing to business affairs. When they believed the war was virtually over, they returned to this country, reaching New York City the night President Lincoln was assassinated. Soon afterwards he returned to
426
HISTORY OF VANDERBURGH COUNTY
New Orleans, remaining there until 1871, when he came to Evansville, making this his home until his death. The first wholesale hat house in Evansville was conducted in the name of "E. C. Roach." It was the business of his brother, John J. Roach, but for business reasons it was deemed best at the time to have the firm's name "E. C. Roach." It afterwards became the "John J. Roach Wholesale Hat Store," and later the "Roach & Torian Hat Store." On coming to Evansville in 1871, Mr. Roach went into the wholesale boot and shoe business in partnership with Mr. Ben Underwood. Two years later he went into the wholesale grain and seed business with Mr. John Hubbard. After two or three years he bought Mr. Hubbard's interest and continued the business alone until his death. Mr. Roach and little son, Keen Roach, met their death in the Belmont disaster, in 1884. Mr. Roach was a liberal man, of high principles and splendid character. He was not a politician, but firm in his convictions, and he possessed sound views on matters of public policy. January 9, 1877, he married Miss Fannie Keen, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, daughter of Rev. L. G. Keen, D. D., and Eleanor Hannah Jones Keen. Doctor Keen was a native of Phila- delphia, and his wife of England. Coming to Kentucky early in life, he was one of the most noted preachers of his day. Mrs. Roach sur- vives her husband, and lives in Evansville. They were the parents of four children, two of whom are now living: Edward Cuthbert, of Evansville, and Thomas K., of Cleveland, Ohio.
Henry Rosenthal. A resident of Evansville for forty-seven years, during this long period Henry Rosenthal has been connected with the printing industry and today is one of the best known men in the trade. His business experiences have made him intimate with every branch of the business, and today, as president of Rosenthal & Seely, he occupies a leading place among the city's promoters of large enterprises. Mr. Rosenthal was born March 26, 1851, in Germany, and is a son of Dr. David and Minna (Goldschmidt) Rosenthal. His father, a student, physician, investigator, writer and publicist, was for some years editor of the "Silesian Church Gazette," the official organ of the Catholics. He was also the author of "The Converts of the Nineteenth Century," a comprehensive and exhaustive literary work which was published in seven volumes, both in Germany and the United States, and was likewise the author of many works of a med- ical character. Henry Rosenthal was fifteen years of age when he came to the United States, and for a time made his home with a nephew of his father. Subsequently he learned the printer's trade at New York City, whence he came to Indiana in 1869 and settled at Vincennes, where he remained five years with his brother, Ludwig, and published a German newspaper. He then sold out and went to San Francisco, where he also published a German paper, as he did at San Jose, with his brother. After two years at the latter place they disposed of their interests to good advantage and Mr. Rosenthal's brother went to China, where he became a merchant and sold American made goods for twenty four years. Henry Rosenthal returned from San Jose to St. Louis. where he worked for one year at his trade, and in December, 1876,
427
HISTORY OF VANDERBURGH COUNTY
came to Evansville and became a printer on the Evansville "Democrat." After one year the foreman resigned and Mr. Rosenthal was given the position, one which he held for fourteen years. At the end of that time, in company with J. G. Newman and Professor Keilmann, he started "The Germania," a Republican afternoon paper, which at the end of three years was sold to the "Democrat." Mr. Rosenthal and George Kuebler then started the Rosenthal-Kuebler Printing Company, on Lo- cust Street, which in 1918 was consolidated with the Speed Press. One year after the consolidation, the president of the company, Emil Weil, died, and it was then that the firm of Rosenthal & Seeley came into existence. The modern plant of this company is located at No. 325 Sycamore Street, where there is the most up-to-date equipment for all manner of job work, in addition to which this company prints the "Advocate." Mr. Rosenthal holds views in accordance with the prin- ciples of the Republican party. He has been secretary of a local court of the Tribe of Ben Hur for twenty-four years, and when it was or- ganized at Evansville, in 1899, brought 100 of the 167 members into the order. He is also secretary of the German Society and belongs to several other German organizations of the city, in addition to which he is a Mason and belongs to the Loyal Order of Moose, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Degree of Honor A. O. U. W. He also holds membership in the Chamber of Commerce. October 1, 1888, Mr. Ro- senthal married Emma, daughter of Dr. Martin Sinz, who practiced medicine at Evansville for many years before his death. Mrs. Rosen- thal was born in Knox county, Indiana, April 18, 1859, but was brought by her parents at the age of twelve years to Evansville, where she was educated, and where she has made her home ever since.
George Martin Royster, M. D. In the line of his specialty, as pertaining to the treatment and cure of diseases of the eye, nose, throat and ear, few men are better known in the Vanderburgh county medical profession than Dr. George Martin Royster, for while his advent at Evansville has been recent, he has been quick to impress his ability upon the community. He was born in Henderson County, Kentucky, December 3, 1887, and is a son of Dr. Floyd and Ruth (Martin) Roy- ster. He belongs to a prominent family of Kentucky, where both the Roysters and the Martins settled early, the pioneers being the great grandparents of Doctor Royster, natives of Virginia. His maternal grandfather, George B. Martin, was a native of Henderson county, Kentucky, where he amassed a considerable fortune. He was a philan- thropist of the practical type; and his death, in 1919 was a loss to his community. He had large land holdings, and Doctor Royster still possesses land interests in Henderson county. After attending the pub- lic schools of his native community, George Martin Royster enrolled as a student at the high school at Corydon, Kentucky, from which he was graduated in 1904. He then took a literary course at William Jewell College, Liberty, Missouri, graduating in 1907, after which he entered the University of Louisville, graduating therefrom in 1911 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. For eight years he practiced at Henderson, Kentucky, then taking post-graduate work with the Mayo
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.