USA > Indiana > Dearborn County > History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 93
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The paternal grandparents were Dietrich and Dorothea (Enders) Decker, and both died in their native land, having never joined their children in this country. They were the parents of the following children: George. Jacob, Lizzie (wife of John Doenges), Louis, Martin and Charles.
Carl Decker's mother was Mary, daughter of John Brauer, a native of Germany, and was among the early settlers of Lawrenceburg. John lived
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to the ripe old age of ninety-seven years, having been twice married. By the first marriage he became the father of ten chilldren, Mary, mother of the subject of this sketch, and Michael, deceased, the others dying when young. By the second marriage he had fourteen children, of whom there are still living John, Frank, Frances, Carrie, Anna and Rosa.
Carl W. Decker is one of a family of four children and, together with his brother, George, also of Lawrenceburg, are the sole surviving ones. The two daughters of the family are both dead. Catherine was the wife of Fred Eberhart, also deceased, and Emma was Mrs. Joseph Graser. Carl W. Decker received his education in the public schools of his native city and when of suitable age went into the coffin factory under his father to learn cloth covering and trimming. He advanced so rapidly and proved himself so expert, that within two years he was made a foreman and con- tinued in that connection for the next eighteen years. In August of 1912 he bought out the business of the Lee Company, dealers in books, stationery, wall paper, notions, etc., and is conducting that business at the present time.
On October 6, 1897, Carl W. Decker was united in marriage with Emma Ethel Misner, a daughter of Scott and Mary Rebecca (Smith) Misner. To their union have been born four children: Charles, Chester, Elizabeth and Mary Lucille. Mrs. Decker is a native of Dearborn county, born in Dillboro, at which point her parents were born. They are now living at Richmond, this state, where her father does carpentry work. There are three children in that family, Margaret, Lawrence and Emma Ethel. Mrs. Decker's father was a son of Scott and Suit Misner, natives of Pennsylvania, who were the parents of the following children: Scott, Clint, Elias, Jennie, Anna, Alice and Eva. Her mother was a daughter of John and Sarah Powell Smith, of England. They had the following family: Henry, John, Harriett, Emma, Anna, Rebecca.
Mr. Decker is a member of the Lutheran church, in which faith he was reared, while his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. He holds his fraternal affiliation with the Knights of Pythias through the Dearborn Lodge No. 49, being also a member of Union Lodge No. 8, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and belongs, too, to the encampment. In politics he gives his support to the Republican party, although never having shown any inclination for the intricacies of the political game. Mr. Decker is one of those quiet men of sterling worth who add dignity and character to a com- munity, being anxious always for anything that will advance the general welfare.
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ANTHONY HOFFMEIER.
Anthony Hoffmeier belongs to that class of men who win in life's battles by sheer force of personality and determination rather than by the influence of friends or freak of fortune, and in whatever he has undertaken he has shown himself to be a man of ability and honor, true to whatever trusts have been imposed in him. As proprietor of a model bakery and grocery in Lawrenceburg he has the confidence and good will of the entire community, and is accounted one of the prosperous and enterprising business men of the community. He can truly claim the honor of being a self-made man, for he started out in life as a poor, boy and by industry and good management has accumulated a nice property and is highly esteemed by all who know him.
Anthony Hoffmeier is a native of this county, having been born on his father's farm near St. Leon, September 29, 1871, the son of Jacob and Mar- garet (Kern) Hoffmeier. His father was born in Switzerland and his mother in Alsace-Lorraine, both being reared and educated in their native land. The father was thirty-three years old when, in 1851, he and his family immigrated to America. They came directly to this country, locating first in Kelso township, where they engaged in farming, and later removing to York township, where he owned a farm of seventy-four acres and where the family was reared. He died at that place in 1896, at the age of seventy- nine years, and his widow survived him a number of years, passing away on January 14, 1915. lacking just one month of being eighty-one years old. There were nine children in the family, as follow: Christina, wife of Charles Kuebel, of York township; Jacob, of the same township; Lena and Anna, both sisters in the convent of Saint Francis, Oldenburg, Franklin county, this state; Margaret and Caroline, residing with the immediate subject of this sketch, and two children who died in infancy.
Jacob Hoffmeier was twice married, his first wife being Benedicta Koch, who bore him four children, but one of whom is living. Charles. Rosa, the eldest daughter, was the wife of Peter Emenecker, of Plymouth, this state; Pauline was the wife of Lawrence Klump, of Cincinnati, and Mary was a Sister in the convent of Saint Francis. The paternal grandparents never left their home in Switzerland, and died there at a good old age. They had but two children. Jacob and a brother. John. Likewise, the maternal grand- father of subject died in his native land of Alsace-Lorraine, but after his death his widow came to America and here passed away. They had three children. Margaret. George and Anna.
Anthony Hoffmeier was reared on his father's farm in York township.
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this county, and attended the public schools near his home. He remained under the paternal roof until twenty years of age, when he came to Lawrence- burg and went into the bakery shop of Joseph Kreiger, to learn the trade. He was with him for two and one-half years, when he went to Cincinnati and worked for a time, later being employed in Louisville, Dayton and other places. He returned to Lawrenceburg in 1901 and bought out the business of Herman Nordmeyer, which he has since given the best of his attention and has developed a most lucrative trade. His business occupies a fine two- story building which he erected; the bakery has all modern appliances and the second story is fitted up for delightful living rooms, and there Anthony Hoffmeier, together with his two sisters, Margaret and Caroline, makes his home. The three of them are members of St. Lawrence Catholic church. Mr. Hoffmeier holds his fraternal affiliation with the Order of Eagles.
Mr. Hoffmeier stands as an example of what a young man with the determination to succeed in a business way and with right principles of living may accomplish, for not only is he successful in material things, but he has won and retains the confidence and respect of all with whom he comes in contact.
RICHARD CARROLL MOORE.
Richard Carroll Moore, a brief sketch of whose career follows, is one of the well and favorably known citizens of Lawrenceburg, Dearborn county, Indiana, where he has lived for the most of his life. He is one of the gov- ernment's faithful employees, having been in the railway postal service for the past eighteen years.
"Carroll" Moore, as he is familiarly known. was born at Patriot, in Switzerland county, this state, a son of Richard C. and Alice (Woods) Moore, he a native of Illinois and she of this state. When a boy the senior Richard C. Moore came to Patriot and there he grew to manhood. receiving his education and when of proper age being apprenticed to the carpenter trade. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted as a private in Company H, Forty-second Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served through that great struggle. He was in a great many engagements and was made a prisoner and forced to spend a year in Andersonville prison. After the close of the war he returned to his home in Patriot and followed his trade for a while. He took up his residence in Lawrenceburg in 1890, at which time he entered the United States revenue service, in which he remained
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until the time of his death, in 1902, at the age of fifty-nine years. His widow still survives and makes her home with the immediate subject of this sketch. He was for a number of years a faithful member of the Universalist church, of which his widow also is a member, and he held fraternal affiliation with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic.
The paternal grandfather Moore and his wife lived at Grand Chain, Illinois, and there the wife died in 1853. At the beginning of the Civil War the father enlisted for service and lost his life by drowning in 1863. At that time he was but in middle life. They were the parents of the following children: Jane, John, Richard C., Joseph, Erastus and Harriett.
Alice Woods, mother of Richard Carroll Moore, was a daughter of John and Vienna (Herrick) Woods, both natives of Switzerland county, where the latter died. After his wife's death John Woods went to Missouri, where he located and spent the remainder of his days. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence and, when a younger man, had been an instructor in the public schools. He became interested in politics and was at one time a member of the Indiana state Legislature. There are but two surviving children, Alice and her sister, Marian, several others having died young. Mrs. Moore's maternal great-grandfather was Elisha Wade, the first settler at Patriot and the founder of that town.
Richard Carroll Moore is one of a family of ten children, as follow : Carrie V., unmarried; Horace B., of Cincinnati; Charles R., of Kansas City, Missouri; John Howard, deceased; Marian H., wife of George Fahlbush, of Lawrenceburg; Allen W., of Greencastle, Indiana; Albert L., of the United States regular army, stationed at Fort Barsancas, Florida; Ruther- ford B. and Richard C .. of Lawrenceburg. Richard C. was eleven years old when his parents moved to Lawrenceburg and here he has since made his home. He attended the public schools of this city, being graduated from the high school in 1895, and two years later he was appointed to the railway mail service, where he has since remained. He is well known among the citizens of his home town, by all of whom he is universally liked. He is modest and unassuming in his manners, faithful to whatever duties befall him, and efficient in the discharge of his labors in the service. His "run" is on the Big Four railroad, between Chicago and Cincinnati.
Richard Carroll Moore's marriage was celebrated on the 4th day of October, 1904. when he led to the altar Alice Kepper, a daughter of Charles and Louise (Schleicher) Kepper. Two children have come into this home, Albert V. and Louise V. Mrs. Moore is a native of Lawrenceburg. Her
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parents were of German parentage, and the mother died in 1894. Her father now resides in Indianapolis. . They were the parents of eight children: Sarah, William, Alice, Carlos, Gertrude, Lelah, Celestine and Earl.
Mr. Moore is a member of the Universalist church, in which faith he was reared, while his wife is a member of the German Methodists. He holds his fraternal affiliation with the Modern Woodmen of America through Lawrenceburg Camp No. 7460. In politics he is a Republican, although he has never been an aspirant for the honor of public office. He owns a com- modious home at No. 301 West High street and is properly numbered among the substantial citizens of his locality, having from boyhood enjoyed the undivided respect and esteem of all who know him.
MICHAEL M. HUSCHART.
Michael M. Huschart, monument dealer, of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, was born in that town, October 10, 1849. He is a son of George and Margaret (Lang) Huschart, natives of Bavaria, Germany. They had five sons and five daughters: Margaret, who was the wife of Joseph Limbach; Frances, deceased, who was the wife of John Joergen; Mary Magdalene, a Sister of Charity in St. Elizabeth Hospital, Chicago; George H., of Pleasant Ridge, Cincinnati; Michael M., of Lawrenceburg; Magdalene, wife of Marcus Kieffer, of Camden, New Jersey; Clara J., wife of Frank J. Henn, partner of the subject of this sketch: Frank M., of Cincinnati; Henry Alphonsus, a Franciscan Brother in Cincinnati: Edward, who died when four years old.
George Huschart lived in Germany until fourteen years of age, and received a common school education there. At the age of fourteen he came to America with his parents, who landed at New Orleans and came north on a steamboat. settling in Cincinnati, where he remained a short time, and then removed to Dearborn county, Indiana. settling near Dover, where he worked on a farm and grew to manhood. When he was married he left the farm and came to Lawrenceburg. and at the age of twenty-four went into the monument business, which he followed the rest of his life. He died in Lawrenceburg in 1889, at the age of seventy years and past. His wife survived him and died in 1906, at the age of eighty-six years. They were both members of the Catholic church. Before there was a Catholic church in Lawrenceburg, services were held in their house, which early priests made their home when they came to town, until the congregation was able to
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build a church edifice. He served several terms as a member of the city council.
The paternal grandfather was Henry Huschart. He and his wife were among the early settlers in Lawrenceburg and in Kelso township, where they permanently settled about 1833. They were farmers, and died on their home place at a ripe old age. Their children were: Emma, who married a Mr. Meyer; Magdalene, who became the wife of Francis Weintraut; George and Peter.
The maternal grandfather, Lang, died in Germany, as did also his wife. Their children were, Michael, Margaret, Frank and Magdalene.
Michael M. Huschart was born and reared in Lawrenceburg, where he attended the parochial and public schools. He then began learning the marble and stone-cutter's trade under his father, and was with him up to 1876, when he visited the Centennial Exposition, at Philadelphia, and from there went to Baltimore, where his brother, George H., was in the provision and pork-packing business, under the firm name of Meyer-Huschart Packing Company. Mr. Huschart entered their employ for a year and a half, and then returned home for a year, after which he went to Delphos, Ohio, and was in the china business for a short time. He then went to Cincinnati, where he was employed in the Meyer-Huschart packing business for four years, going from there to New Orleans for a year, and thence back to Cincinnati again, where he and his brother, George, opened a provision house, in which business they continued until 1900, when he returned home to Lawrenceburg, where he and his brother-in-law, Frank J. Henn, have been in the monument business ever since.
Mr. Huschart is a single man, and is a member of the Catholic church. He was once appointed by Judge Givan with others to inspect the county poor house and prisons. He and Mrs. Henn, his sister, are the only ones now here of the immediate family. He has seen most of the development of Lawrenceburg during his residence of sixty-five years.
MARTIN J. GIVAN.
One of the most prominent lawyers in the city of Lawrenceburg is Martin J. Givan, junior partner of the law firm of Givan & Givan. While he has for many years occupied an eminent position in the ranks of the Dearborn county bar, it seems fair to believe that his claim for distinction
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rests not so much on the fact that he is an eminent lawyer and prominent in the fraternal, political and financial life of Dearborn county, as that he has lived to rear a large family of children, who either have, or are being educated in the best institutions of learning which the state of Indiana affords. It is a credit of no mean distinction that two of Mr. Givan's children are already graduated from Indiana's leading educational institution; that two more are well advanced in their university training : that one child is pursuing his studies in the high school. and that still another. a daughter. already is married and lives in her own home. Moreover. Martin J. Givan not only. has been able to provide his children with the highest educational opportu- nities, but he will leave to them a good name which they may cherish when his work is done.
Son of Judge Noah Samson Givan. one of the well-known citizens of southeastern Indiana. Martin J. Givan was born on August 21. 1867, in Lawrenceburg. Indiana. Although the Givan family history is given else- where in this volume in the biographical sketch of Judge Noah Samson Givan. it may be noted here that the family has been connected with the history of Dearborn county for nearly a century. Established in Dearhorn county by Joshua Givan. the paternal grandfather of Martin J., who came here from Sussex county. Maryland, in 1825. few families have been more prominently connected with the century of Dearborn county history than the Givans. The father of Joshua Givan, who was the Rev. George Givan. a Baptist minister. and his wife. after rearing a large family of children, died in the state of Maryland.
Martin J. Givan, the son of Judge Noah Samson and Mary (Martin) Givan, was born and reared in Lawrenceburg and attended the public schools of this city, graduating from the high school in 1885. After completing a normal course in Moores Hill College, he taught one year in Manchester township, and three years in the public schools of Lawrenceburg, after which he took up the study of law under his father, being admitted to the bar in 1888. Having practised law continuously in the city of Lawrenceburg since 1888, he has been associated with his father since 1890, with the exception of about a year and a half during which he was in partnership with William R. Johnson. This period covers a part of the time his father was on the bench.
In 1888 Martin J. Givan was married to Anna Curtis Hodell, daughter of George and Mary E. (Shoemaker) Hodell, and who was born in Lawrence- burg, Indiana, in 1869, her father and mother being natives of this state. The father, who lived to rear a family of three children, Anna C., Charles
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W. and George, is now deceased. The mother is still living. George Hodell, a prominent manufacturer in his day, after serving for many years as presi- dent and general manager of the Miami Valley Furniture Company, removed to Shelbyville, where he organized the Hodell Furniture Company, and where he remained for eight or nine years. Eventually he moved to Indi- anapolis, where he was living at the time of his death. A soldier in the Civil War, he participated in many of the hard-fought battles of the war along with the Guthrie Grays, of which he was a member. He fought val- iantly in the battle of Shiloh. Mrs. Givan's paternal grandfather. George Hodell, Sr., came from Alsace-Lorraine, and after settling in Lawrenceburg early in life lived here until his death. His five children were Fred. George. Henry, Mrs. Carrie Walter and Mrs. Emmert. The maternal grandparents lived near Winchester, at Lynn, Indiana, and were farmers in Randolph county. They died there after rearing a family of four children. Mrs. Givan, who was graduated in the same class of the Lawrenceburg high school with her husband, attended Moores Hill College, and soon after this was married.
Of the nine children born to Martin J. Givan and wife. three are deceased. Mary and Julia died in infancy and Miriam lost her life in an accident at the age of three years. Of the six living children, Madge, who was graduated from DePauw University and who taught for two years at Queens College. in Charlotte, North Carolina, a Presbyterian school for girls, is now taking a post-graduate course in the University of Indiana, at Bloomington. Clinton H., who was graduated from Indiana University with the class of 1912, having finished both the academic and the law work. is now a teacher of commercial law and public speaking in the Sioux City high school. at Sioux City, Iowa. Elizabeth married Clyde Huffman and they live in Lawrence- burg. George, a senior at Indiana University. who is completing a course in journalism, reported the proceedings of the Indiana Legislature for the Associated Press during the winter of 1914-15. Ruth is a junior at the State University and Charles is a junior in the Lawrenceburg high school.
During the early part of Mr. Givan's practice he served as deputy prosecuting attorney for four years, and faithfully discharged the duties of this office. During the past eight years he has been county attorney of Dearborn county, an appointment which came to him by virtue of his ability as a lawyer and his prominence as a Democrat in this county. When the soldiers' monument was dedicated at Lawrenceburg Mr. Givan delivered the dedicatory address on that occasion, an address which is well remembered by the people of this county as one of the best occasional addresses from the standpoint of thought and eloquence ever heard in this section. A director
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in the Dearborn National Bank, Mr. Givan is also prominent in fraternal circles, being a member of Lodge No. 4 Free and Accepted Masons, Law- renceburg Chapter No. 56, Royal Arch Masons, and Dearborn Lodge No. 49, Knights of Pythias. Mr. and Mrs. Givan are members of the Methodist church. He is a member of the official board.
For many reasons Martin J. Givan merits the confidence and respect which have freely been bestowed upon him by the people of this county. Step by step. he has carved out his own career in the world, and reared a family to honorable and useful lives.
JOHN N. KNIPPENBERG.
It is a pleasure to investigate the career of a successful, self-made man. Peculiar honor attaches to that individual who, beginning the great struggle of life alone and unaided, gradually overcomes unfavorable environment, removes one by one the obstacles from the pathway of success and by the master strokes of his own force and vitality succeeds in forging his way to the front and winning for himself success in a commercial sense and a position of influence and esteem among his fellow citizens.
Such in brief is the career of the subject of this biographical sketch, well-known carriage and wagon manufacturer of Lawrenceburg, Dearborn county, Indiana. John H. Knippenberg is a native of this county, born in Center township, May 6, 1868, a son of Herman and Elizabeth (Siecher) Knippenberg, the former a native of Germany, and the latter born and reared in this county. Herman Knippenberg remained in his native land until he had attained years of maturity, being well educated there and mastering the trade of a stone cutter. He immigrated to America before the Civil War and worked for a time at his trade in Cincinnati. While a youth in his native land he had served his time in the regular army. After coming to this county he worked out by the month as a farm hand and then purchased a farm in Center township, where he reared his family. In later years he disposed of that property and farmed rented land, eventually purchasing a farm in Lawrenceburg township, about a mile from town, and there his life closed at the age of seventy-five years. Both he and his wife, who survives him, were devout members of the Lutheran church. Nothing is known of the history of Herman Knippenberg's parents other than that they lived and died in their native land.
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Elizabeth Seicher was a daughter of Caspar and Katherine Siecher, farmers and early settlers of Dearborn county, coming here in earliest pioneer times. The mother died in this county and after her death Caspar Siecher moved to Cincinnati, where he lived for a number of years, passing away at the advanced age of eighty years. There were three children in their family, Elizabeth being the youngest. The others were Katherine and Louise.
John H. Knippenberg is one of a family of eight children, as follow: Henry, William and August, all farmers of Lawrenceburg township, the latter on the old home place; Louis, carriage and wagon maker, of Lawrence- burg; Emma, wife of Fred E. Lutherbeck; John H., of Lawrenceburg; Albert, of Aurora; and Clara, who died when a child of seven years.
John H. Knippenberg was reared on his father's farm, attending the schools of the district when a boy and remaining at home until grown. His first venture in life for himself was when he worked out among the neigh- boring farmers for about a year. This decided him that something other than farming was to be his life's vocation, and he decided to learn the trade. of wagon making. He mastered this and in 1882 started in business for himself and has continued to the present time. He began in a small way and through good management and excellent business ability, he has brought his business up to its present excellent state and his product is known all over the country.
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