History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 87

Author: Archibald Shaw
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1123

USA > Indiana > Dearborn County > History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 87

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Horace G. Squibb, through his genial temperament. makes many friends. and there is accorded to him the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem throughout the community.

JACOB M. BAUER.

Jacob M. Bauer, of the Bauer Cooperage Company. of Lawrenceburg. Indiana, is one of the best-known citizens of this section of the state. Mr. Bauer is also well known in Cincinnati. where he is prominently identified with the business and commercial life of the Queen City. It was in Cincinnati that Mr. Bauer was born, and it was here that his father was engaged in the hotel business for many years. Jacob M. Bauer received his education in the pub- lic schools of Cincinnati, and was graduated from the high school there nearly forty years ago. Educated for the law, a profession which Mr. Bauer did not find to his liking, he turned his attention immediately to business, and after a short experience in a Cincinnati mercantile house, he engaged in the coop- erage business with his brother, John G. Very shortly afterwards they came

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to Lawrenceburg, and were prominent factors in the organization of the com- pany of which they now have the complete control. Mr. Bauer has been wonderfully successful in business and his firm not only gives employment to more than two hundred persons, but has large holdings in Kentucky, where the raw material for manufacture is prepared. The company has a large and prosperous trade throughout this section of the country. and Mr. Bauer's keen business foresight has been no inconsiderable factor in the growth of this great business. In politics Jacob M. Bauer has long occupied a conspicuous place. Not only has he been an active and influential counsellor in the ranks. of the Republican party, but for many years he was a close friend and coun- sellor of United States Senator Beveridge in this section of the state.

Jacob MI. Bauer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. February 12. 1858. He is a son of Jacob and Katherine ( Schmidt ) Bauer. the former of whom was a native of W'urtemburg, and the latter of Bavaria, Germany. Jacob M. Bauer was one of four children. His brother. John B., lives in Cincinnati. Catherine is the wife of E. H. Ringel. of Cleveland, Ohio. Emma died in infancy.

Mr. Bauer was reared in Cincinnati, and was graduated from the high school there in 1876. He then studied law under Judge Straub, but not liking the law, he became associated with the mercantile house of Jeffras. Seely & Company, and remained with the firm until 1880. He then engaged in business with his brother. John G., at Cincinnati, and there they established a cooperage plant. They came to Lawrenceburg in 1882, and consolidated with the Walsh interests, organizing the company known as the Bauer Cooperage Company, which was incorporated with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars. This organization remained intact until 1895. when John G. and Jacob M. Bauer bought out the Walsh interests, and have continued the business ever since, a period of twenty years. The factory has a capacity of eleven hundred whiskey barrels a day. The trade of the company extends over the middle and eastern states. The Bauer Cooperage Company is the originator of the famous Bauer seven-hoop barrel.

Jacob M. Bauer was married on June 10, 1885, to Evangeline Hayes. the daughter of Ezra and Laura (Morgan) Hayes, and to this union four chil- dren have been born, Laura Hortense, Catherine Evangeline, Ezra H. and Inez. Laura H. was graduated from the Bartholomew Ely School. of Cincinnati, and her sister Catherine also was graduated from the same institution. Laura H. is the wife of Clifford S. Diehl, and they live in Lawrenceburg. They are the parents of one son, Robert Bauer. Catherine is the wife of John F. Luhr- man, and they have two children, Evangeline Mary and John Jacob. Ezra H. died at the age of four years, and Inez died in infancy.

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Mr. Bauer's father was reared and educated in Germany. He came to this country and located in Cincinnati, Ohio, in pioneer times, and there he engaged in the hotel business. He died in that city in 1885, at the age of fifty- seven. His widow still survives him and lives in Cleveland, and is now aged eighty years. Jacob Bauer was a member of the Lutheran church, and his wife is a member of the same denomination.

Mr. Bauer's paternal grandfather was Christian Bauer, who died in Ger- many at a very advanced age. Among his children were Michael Gottlieb, William, Jacob and Emma. Mr. Bauer's maternal grandfather was a farmer in Germany, and among his children were Catherine, Barbara, Emma, Mary and George.

Mrs. Jacob M. Bauer was born in Greendale, near Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Her parents were natives of Dearborn county, and her father is still living at the age of eighty-eight. Her mother died at the age of forty-five. They were the parents of the following children: Laura, Matilda, Nannie, Evangeline, Theresa, Ezra, Arthur and Joseph. Mrs. Bauer's paternal grand- father, Joseph Hayes, was one of the pioneers of this section and one of three brothers who were prominent in the early life of Dearborn county. Joseph Hayes married a Miss Billingsley, and both were natives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Joseph Hayes' ancestors were of Revolutionary stock. Mrs. Bauer's ma- ternal grandfather married a Miss Glasgow, of Scotch descent, and he and his wife were early settlers in Dearborn county.

Jacob M. Bauer is a Republican in politics and for several years was a member of the Republican state central committee of Indiana, serving from the Fourth Congressional District. He was one of the ardent supporters of Senator Beveridge's organization, and was a delegate to several conventions, among them being the conventions which nominated President Roosevelt and President Taft. Mr. Bauer is still regarded as an influential factor in the councils of his party in this section of the state, and is a man who is freely consulted by Republicans living in other sections of the state. Mrs. Bauer is a member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Bauer is a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Bauer is a thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite Mason, and belongs to Lawrenceburg Lodge No. 4, Free and Accepted Masons; Law- renceburg Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Aurora Commandery, Knights Tem- plar, and Murat Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of Dearborn Lodge No. 49, Knights of Pythias.

Jacob M. Bauer is a director of the Peoples National Bank, of Lawrence- burg, and is also well known in the financial and commercial life of Cincinnati,

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where he is a member of the Business Men's Club, the Queen City Club, and the Chamber of Commerce.

When the history of the present generation in Dearborn county, Indiana, is written, no man will stand out more prominently in the history of this county than Jacob M. Bauer.

CAPT. HANSEN DOWDEN MOORE.

Capt. Hansen Dowden Moore belongs to an interesting and aristocratic Maryland family, whose descendants have lost none of the family pride. They have also retained that keen foresight so prominent throughout the generations, and have always possessed great force of character and managerial ability. The record of Captain Moore in the Civil War speaks well for his ability to meet any and all emergencies, and he has never been at a loss for good judg- ment in doing the proper thing at the proper time.

Hansen Dowen Moore was born on February 2, 1838, at Moores Hill, Indiana. and is the son of Jolin Collins and Indiana Ruth (Dowden) Moore. His early education was obtained at the public schools at Moores Hill, after which he entered Moores Hill College, but was compelled to leave here before he finished, because of the ill health of his father. He assisted his father in the store until the breaking out of the Civil War, and in 1862, he organized a company. of which he was made captain, serving in Company K, Sixty- eighth Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for three years. Some of the battles in which he participated being those of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. in the latter of which he was severely wounded. and others. being dis- charged at the close of the war in 1865. After the war. Captain Moore re- turned to Moores Hill and went into partnership with his brother, taking over his father's business, which was conducted under the firm name of J. C. Moore's Sons. This arrangement continued for ten years, when Hansen Dowden Moore took over the entire business and conducted it until 1905, when he sold the stock, buildings and all. to Moores Hill College, moving back to the old homestead. where he still resides. Captain Moore has always given his loyal support to the Republican party. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was an officer. holding the offices of treasurer and trustee for a number of years. He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

John Collins Moore. father of the subject of this sketch. was born on February 8. 1810. near Salisbury. Maryland, and when eight years of age

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came with his parents to Lawrenceburg, settling here for a time, and later moving to Moores Hill, where they entered a quarter section of land from the government in 1818. Mr. Moore was educated in his home town, and at the age of seventeen, went to Lawrenceburg to learn the harness-maker's trade, and later learned the wood-worker's trade at Wilmington, when the city was the county seat. After learning his trades, he returned to Moores Hill and bought fifty acres of his father's farm, and after his marriage, he built a comfortable home and opened a saddle and harness business, in connec- tion with which he operated a general store, and afterwards started a cooperage factory, a large plant in which he employed forty or fifty people. John Collins Moore was originally a Whig, and later became a Republican. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he took an active and prominent interest, being treasurer and trustee. His fraternal membership was with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife, Indiana Ruth (Dow- den) Moore, daughter of Samuel H. and Sophia (McCracken) Dowden, was born on January 16, 1811, near Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were married on December 23, 1834, in Dearborn county. Mr. Moore died on June 4, 1871, and his wife survived him to a good old age. She was a woman of fine intellect, and a devoted Christian, having joined the Methodist Episcopal church at an early age. Their children were: Hansen Dowden, Isaac S., America S., Helena J., Benjamin F., William J., John W., Virgil Mc., and Mary Thompson.

The paternal grandparents were Adam and Judith (Smith) Moore, na- tives of Maryland. Mr. Moore was a man of good sense, general information and strong moral convictions, always having his own opinion in questions of religion and politics. Their children were : Isaac, John, Levi Smith, Elizabeth, Mary, Nancy and Harriett.

The maternal grandparents were Samuel H. and Sophia (McCracken) Dowden, natives of Virginia, where they were united in marriage, immigrat- ing in 1810, settling in Dearborn county.

Capt. Hansen Dowden Moore was married on May 8, 1868, to Jane Susan Davies, daughter of William and Ann (Jenkins) Davies. She was born on a farm near Guilford, Indiana, November 14, 1838, and received her education at Guilford and Lawrenceburg, and later taught school at Dover, Indiana. To this union were born two children, Ruth and Mary E. Ruth was born on May 15. 1870, and became the wife of J. W. Setters, of Pueblo, Colorado, who is a ranchman. Mary E. was born on January 18, 1873, and is married to Claude B. Thomas. They are living at Moores Hill, where Mr. Thomas offi- ciates as postmaster.

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William Davies, father of Mrs. Moore, was born on April 20, 1788, in Car- marthenshire, Wales. His wife, Anna (Jenkins) Davies, was born on August I, 1793, at Glamorganshire, Wales. They were married April 20, 1814, in Wales, coming to the United States in 1816, landing at New York City, coming later to Cincinnati, and after a residence there of four years, entered land from the government and settled near Guilford, clearing the forest away, and living there until their death. Mrs. Davies died on April 19, 1867, and William Davies died on June 12, 1868. They were the parents of ten children, namely : George W., John F., Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Helen, Thomas, William, David, Jane S., and one who died young.

Through his sterling integrity, and his good judgment, Captain Moore's life has been a financial success, and as a citizen and neighbor he is highly esteemed wherever his name is known.

REV. JOHN FLORENTINE SONDERMANN.

The early settlers of Dearborn county, Indiana, very shortly after social order had been established in this section, organized churches where they might worship and develop their spiritual life. These churches have been loyally sustained by the descendants of the pioneers; and it is to the pastor of one of them, the Rev. John Florentine Sondermann, of St. Lawrence's Catho- lic church, that this biographical sketch relates.

John Florentine Sondermann was born near Attendorn, Westphalia, Ger- many, December 2, 1884, and is a son of Theodore and Mary Catherine (Theile) Sondermann, natives of Westphalia, Germany. They had eight children, as follow : John Florentine, Frank, deceased; Joseph, who died in in- fancy ; Mary, a Sister of Providence at St. Marys of the Woods, Vigo county ; Anna, who died when nine years old; August, of Jasper, Du Bois county, Indiana; Meinrad, who died while a theological student at Saint Meinrad Abbey, in Spencer county, Indiana; and one who died in infancy.

Theodore Sondermann was reared and educated in Germany, and was a farmer and horticulturist. He came to America first in 1846. to look at the country, with which he was well pleased, and returned to Germany to make arrangements to return to this country at once. He returned and brought his wife and first born child, settling, first at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where they lived a year or two, and later moved to Allegheny City, where he was in the grocery business. When he came to America the second time, he and

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his wife and son embarked at Havre, France, July 16, 1847, and after a journey of thirty-eight days on the sailing vessel, "St. Nicholas," landed in New York City, August 23, 1847. They went to Pittsburgh, where they arrived on September 8, the same year. They lived there until March, 1848, when they returned to Allegheny City, where he engaged in the grocery business until December, 1852. He then came west to Du Bois county, Indiana, and settled in what was then Hall township, and developed a farm there. He bought a large tract of land and lived there some years. He was elected county assessor and served two terms, until the fall of 1885, when he was elected county treasurer of Du Bois county, and at the end of his second term as treasurer he was elected county auditor. At the expiration of the term he removed to Mount Vernon, Posey county, Indiana, and established a hardware store there. He was in that business about four years after which he returned to Jasper, Du Bois county. to spend the rest of his life. He died there at the age of eighty-seven years. His wife died at the age of seventy years. Both were members of the Catholic church. He belonged to the "home guards" at the time of the Morgan raid during the Civil War.

The paternal grandfather was Francis Xavier Sondermann. His wife was Mary Theresa (Kranz) Sondermann, natives of Germany. He was a teacher, and occupied a position similar to that of our county superintendent of schools. He was also a large farmer and horticulturist. They died in Ger- many. He was born in 1774. and died in 1830. His wife was born in 1777 and died in 1836. They had a family of four children, A'nn Mary. Mary Josepha, Mary Magdalene and Theodore. The maternal grandfather was Frank Theile. a farmer, whose wife was Margaret Bulle. They were natives of West- phalia. where they both died, he at past middle age, and she at eighty-four. He was born in 1779, and died in 1850. She was born in 1787 and died in 1872. They were the parents of the following children : Henry. Anthony, Francis Joseph, John Joseph, Magdalene. Mary Catherine, Rachel and Louisa.

Mary. the fourth child of Theodore and Catherine Sondermann, is now Sister Mary Albertine. a Sister of Providence at St. Marys of the Woods, Vigo county. Indiana. She is an artist of a superior order. and her paint- ings are to be seen in many public institutions, among them being one of Sena- tor David Turpie, in the state house in Indianapolis. She also painted a lion. on which she received first prize at the World's Fair in Chicago. in 1893.

The Catholic congregation in Lawrenceburg was organized in 1840. consisting at the time of fifteen families, among which George Huschart. Peter Werst. John Kimmel. Jacob Meier, Louis Cransart, Anthony Schwartz and Michael Lang were prominent. Divine services were held at first in a house in Newtown (a part of Lawrenceburg). then, in the following year. in the

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house of George Huschart, and at times also in that of Michael Lang. The corner-stone of the first church was laid in 1841, on Walnut street, one square south of the present church. It was built of stone, sixty by forty feet, but was not completed until 1847, when it was blessed. Rev. Joseph Ferneding, of New Alsace, attended the place from 1840 to 1841; Rev. F. O'Rourke. of Dover, from 1841 to 1844, when he returned to Ireland; Rev. Andrew Bennett, of Dover, from 1844 to 1850; Rev. M. Stahl, of New Alsace, during the first part of 1850; Rev. A. Carius, of Madison, during the latter part of 1850; The Franciscan Fathers, Revs. G. Untherdiener, Sigismund and Anselm Koch, of Cincinnati (St. John's church), had charge from 1851 to 1859. Rev. Ignace Klein, of St. Nicholas, Pipe Creek, from 1859 to 1866.

On January 6, 1866, Rev: Clement Scheve became the first resident pas- tor of Lawrenceburg. The present beautiful St. Lawrence's church was erected in 1866 on Walnut street, one square north of the old church. The church is of brick, one hundred and twenty by fifty feet, with a large basement of stone, at first used for school purposes, but since converted into a chapel and meeting-room for societies. Father Scheve also built a parsonage in 1867, a spacious two-story brick building, and in 1869 a large three-story school house of brick, with a basement of stone. The school is the property of the Sisters of St. Francis. Father Scheve was born on October 4, 1828, in Lusche, Oldenburg, and immigrated to America in 1848, and was ordained on March 19, 1859. Loss of health compelled him to resign his charge in Lawrenceburg in August, 1870, when he went to Minnesota and died there in the spring of . 1875. Rev. Julius J. Duddenhausen was appointed pastor of St. Lawrence's on October 1, 1870, and successfully administered to the needs of the congregation until May 15, 1875, when he was transferred to Holy Trinity church, at Evans- ville.

Rev. John Florentine Sondermann, the present pastor, took charge on May 15, 1875. He studied at St. Meinrad, and was ordained there by bishop de St. Palais as priest, September 22, 1868. His first mission was Mt. Ver- non, Posey county, of which he was the first resident priest, until May 15, 1874, when he replaced Father Viehaus during his absence at St. Mary's church, Evansville, until October of the same year. Next, he became pastor of St. Joseph's, Vanderburgh county, until May, 1875, when he was transferred to Lawrenceburg, where he has continued as pastor to the present time, a period of forty years. It is needless to say that he is strongly entrenched in the hearts and affections of his church membership and the citizens of Lawrence-

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burg. and no eulogy of words can better attest liis worth as a priest and a citizen than this enviable record of his, having ministered for so many years continuously to one congregation. This is an evidence of faithfulness and efficiency. The church now has a membership of over two hundred and fifty families, and the school varies, but usually has about two hundred pupils of both sexes.

FREDERICK SLATER.

The career of Frederick Slater. of Moores Hill. Dearborn county. Indiana, whose name introduces this sketch, has been a long and busy one, and is a record of industry and courage that could be emulated very profitably by many of the younger generation.

Frederick Slater was born on October 6, 1828, in Hanover. Germany, and is a son of Frederick and Matilda (Repe) Slater, and came with his parents to America in 1838. and settled in Kentucky. He grew to manhood, and was educated in the public schools of Alexandria. and assisted his father in agri- cultural pursuits until twenty-one years of age when he came to Aurora, Indiana, and clerked in a store. returning to Kentucky in a short time. In 1852 he went to California on a gold prospecting tour. While there he developed valuable properties, and in 1856. he returned to Kentucky and assisted his father in paying off the farm debt. After his marriage Mr. Slater bought a grocery store at Aurora. which he sold at the end of three years, and bought another. In 1862. he organized Company E. Eleventh Kentucky Cavalry, and served as captain. being promoted to major in 1863, in which capacity he served twelve months, and was then promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the same regiment, which he commanded until the close of the Civil War. He was engaged in a skirmish at Hartswell. Tennessee, where he was captured, but was released after a few weeks. He also participated in many other battles of prominence, thirty-six in all. After the close of the war. he went to Sparta, Indiana, where he conducted a general store for thirty years. during which time he was appointed postmaster, in which capacity he served for twenty-eight years. Mr. Slater has always been an active and interested member of the Republican party, serving as county commissioner for a period of six years, and as trustee of Moores Hill four years. He is an earnest member of the Baptist church. He is a member of the Masonic order, and the Grand Army of the Republic.

Frederick Slater, Sr., was born in 1801, in Hanover, Germany. He brought his family to America in 1835, settling at Pittsburgh, and later

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moved to Cincinnati, where he remained a short time, and then moved to Lawrence county, Ohio, remaining there five years. He then moved to Alex- andria, Kentucky, and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres and lived there until his death, which occurred in 1878, at the age of seventy-seven years. He was a strong believer in Democratic principles. His wife, Matilda (Repe) Slater, was born in 1797, in Hanover, Germany, and died in 1874, aged seven- ty-seven years. They were the parents of five children, Henry, Frederick, Matilda, Emily, and John, all of whom are in the United States.

Frederick Slater was united in marriage on June 23, 1856, with Sarah Ann Corbit, who was born in 1832, in Pennsylvania, and died on August 4, 1888, leaving six children. William H .. Frederick .A., James (deceased), Law- rence (deceased), Emily and Sada.

William H. Slater was married to Kate Johnson, and lives at Scotts- burg, Indiana. They have five children, Gertrude, Anna, William, Ira and Edith. Frederick A. is married to Alice Givan, and resides at Pendleton, Indiana. This union has been blessed with four children. Milton, Albert, Lulu and Naoma. Emily became the wife of William Heustis, and resides at Cov- ington, Kentucky. She is the mother of four children, Ira, Sada. Emily and Merril. Sada is the wife of Fred. Churchill, and resides at Springfield, Ohio. They are the parents of three children. Fern, Vira and Donald.

Frederick Slater was married, secondly, December 23. 1890. to Sarah Stewart Harrison, daughter of John and Mary (Lawrence) Harrison. She was born in 1842, in Cincinnati, and was educated in that city.

John and Mary (Lawrence) Harrison, parents of Sarah ( Harrison) Slater, were born and reared in England, coming to America in 1829, and set- tling at Cincinnati, where Mr. Harrison was engaged in the foundry supply business. John and Mary (Lawrence) Harrison were married in 1828, at St. John's church, Wakefield, England, and on their arrival in America. landed at New York, and from that point came overland by wagon to Ohio, being one month en route to Cincinnati. They were members of the English Episco- pal church. Mr. Harrison died at the age of fifty-six years, and his wife, Mary, died aged eigthy-two years. They were the parents of eight children : William, Elizabeth, Anna, Mary, John, Sarah, Martha and James.

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History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 87

Author: Archibald Shaw Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1123

Author: Archibald Shaw
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1123