USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 60
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Mr. Boozer is an earnest supporter of the Democratic party and has rendered efficient service as a member of the executive committee of his party. He stands for right principles in everything and is a strong advocate of temperance and for all movements that promise to be of benefit to his con- munity in any way. Thrifty, progressive, industrious and a good manager,
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he is not only achieving material success in his business affairs, but has also gained that which is of more value, the regard and esteem of his fellow citizens. No movement for the advancement of the community but receives his hearty endorsement, and, keen-sighted and sagacious, his advice is con- sidered valuable in all affairs affecting the public interests.
F. H. RITTER.
That life is the most useful and desirable that results in the greatest good to the greatest number and, though all do not reach the heights to which they aspire, yet in some measure each can win success and make life a blessing to his fellow men; it is not necessary for one to occupy eminent- public positions to do so, for in the humbler walks of life there remains much good to be accomplished and many opportunities for one to exercise one's talents and influence which in some way will touch the lives of those with whom we come in contact, making them better or brighter. In the list of DeKalb county's successful citizens, the subject of this review occupies a prominent place. In his career there is much that is commendable and his record forcibly illustrates what a life of energy can accomplish when one's plans are wisely laid and one's actions governed by right principles, noble aims and high ideals.
F. H. Ritter was born February 25, 1885. at Hawpath, now Topeka, Lagrange county, Indiana, and is the son of James H. and Mary A. (Hall) Ritter, both of whom were also natives of Indiana, the father born in La- grange county and the mother in Noble county. Both are descendants of early settlers in their respective counties. The subject's father, who followed farming throughout his active life, is a man of strong character and stands high in his community. To him and his wife were born three children, Ashley, Icy and F. H., all of whom are living. Ashley has charge of the home farm and Icy is the wife of U. E. Mast, of Shipshewana, Indiana.
F. H. Ritter secured his elementary education in the common schools of Lagrange county, completing his preliminary studies in the high school at Topeka and then engaged in teaching school for three years. Having deter- mined to make the practice of law his life work, he then entered the State University at Bloomington, Indiana, but a year later became a student at Notre Dame University, where he completed his professional studies and
F. H. RITTER
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received the degree of Bachelor of Law. He at once located at Albion and entered upon the practice of his profession, but a year later located at Butler, where he has since remained and where he has attained to a gratifying degree of success in the practice of law. Well qualified by natural ability and train- ing, Mr. Ritter has successfully handled many difficult cases in the local courts of the county and has earned the warm regard of his professional colleagues. He is careful and painstaking in the preparation of his cases, never going into court with a case until thoroughly prepared and, judging from his record thus far, the future holds promise of still greater successes.
On June 25, 1908, Mr. Ritter was married to Flora G. Holcomb, the daughter of John W. and Amanda (Wert) Holcomb, both of whom were natives of Lagrange county, this state, their respective families having been early settlers of the eastern part of that county. To Mr. and Mrs. Ritter has been born one son, Harold, who is at home with his parents.
Aside from his professional interests, Mr. Ritter has taken an active part in the various civic activities of the community, having served one year as president of the Butler Commercial Club, and is at present city attorney for the corporation. Politically, he is affiliated with the Republican party, taking a deep interest in political campaigns, while fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, belonging to the subordinate lodge at Butler, and is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge at Lagrange .. Indiana. His religious membership is with the Methodist Episcopal church,. in the prosperity of which he is deeply interested and to the support of which he contributes liberally. Mr. Ritter has hosts of friends in DeKalb county owing to his honesty in business, his success in his profession and his upright social and private life and he enjoys a marked popularity in the circles in which he moves.
JOHN FRANTZ
The subject of this review is a representative farmer and stock grower of Grant township, DeKalb county, Indiana, and he is known as one of the alert, progressive and successful agriculturists of this favored section of the Hoosier state. In his labors he has not permitted himself to follow in the rut in a blind, apathetic way, but has studied and experimented and thus secured the maximum returns from his enterprising efforts, while he has so ordered his course at all times as to command the confidence and regard of
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the people of the community in which he lives, being a man of honorable business methods and advocating whatever tends to promote the public wel- fare in any way.
John Frantz is a native of the little republic of Switzerland, which has sent so many of her best citizens to America and who has contributed so largely to the upbuilding and development of the country. He was born on July 5, 1850, the son of Christian and Margaret (Amstutz) Frantz. When the subject was about four or five years old in 1855, the family came to America, locating in what is now the northwestern part of Grant township, DeKalb county, Indiana, where they bought a farm from the mother's brother, who had preceded them here. Here the subject's parents spent the rest of their lives, being numbered among the best citizens of the locality, the father dying about 1893 and the mother in the spring of 1907. They became the parents of eight children, namely: Christian A., who lives with the subject : John, the immediate subject of this sketch; Tillie McClellan, of Huntington, Indiana; Mrs. May Grogg, the wife of Oliver Grogg, who lives west of Auburn: Maggie, now deceased, was the wife of Peter Schull; Samuel, Henry and Fred all died in childhood at the same time of diphtheria, and the subject of this sketch himself almost died of the same disease at that time.
John Frantz has lived on the home farm in this county ever since com- ing to this country and after the death of his father and mother he bought the interests of the other heirs in the estate. He had received a good, practical education in the district schools and devoted himself with indefatigable in- «lustry to the cultivation of the farm so that he has developed it into one of the best agricultural tracts in this section of the county. In 1885 he married Joanna King, who was born in Union township west of Auburn, the daughter of Alexander and Caroline ( Bowman ) King, who were early settlers in this county. They came from Baltimore, Maryland, about 1840, and bought a farm west of Auburn where they spent the remainder of their lives and where Mrs. Frantz lived until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Frantz are the parents of a daughter, Doreas, who received her education in the high school at Waterloo, and who is a popular member of the social circles in which she moves. Mr. Frantz has a pleasant and attractive house and the farm, which is well kept in every respect. is a credit to him. He is a man of marked domestic tastes, his greatest pleasure being found in his home and its sur- roundings, to the improvement of which he constantly devotes his attention. His brother, Christian, who is unmarried, also lives with the subject. John Frantz is regarded as one of the most progressive and painstaking agricul-
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turists in his township, using rare judgment and foresight in all his under- takings and seldom makes a mistake in his calculations. He is liberal minded. whole-souled, kind-hearted and withal a useful and noble man who has justly won the praise and respect of all who know him.
JOHN LUTZ.
To rescue from fading tradition the personal annals of the pioneers of our country is a pleasing but laborious task ; not so laborious, perhaps, as per- plexing, by reason of the fact that many facts and impressions of the early days have faded from memory. To gather up the broken threads of strange vet simple stories of individual lives, to catch the fleeting stories and fireside histories and hand them down to posterity is a laudable ambition worthy of encouragement on the part of everyone interested in his community. John Lutz, who long since passed to "that undiscovered bourne from whence no traveler returns," was one of the pioneers of DeKalb county, Indiana, that noble band who were in the van of civilization moving westward, and who here passed through years of arduous toil and hardships, amid primitive con- ditions which sound strange to the present generation. Because of his labors and his character he is eminently entitled to representation in the annals of his county.
John Lutz was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1826, and was a son of Michael and Magdalena (Crawford) Lutz, who, in 1847, came to DeKalb county, entering a tract of government land in Union township. Here the father commenced the task of clearing the land, but his death occurred with- in two years after his arrival here, leaving to his widow and children the gigantic task to complete. Mrs. Lutz was an energetic, ambitious woman, and worked hard to make a home and rear her children. In this she was assisted by her son, the subject of this sketch, who devoted himself to his mother with a faithfulness and devotion that was commendable in him. She died in 1882, after a life of usefulness and honor. John Lutz inherited seventy-three acres of land from his father's estate and to the cultivation and improvement of this land he bent his energies. He was accustomed from his youth to hard work, which became a habit with him. In his younger days to him was as- signed the duty of hauling the farm produce to market and bringing back the needed supplies. He generally drove over the miserable roads to Ft. Wayne, Kendallville and other points, and it was always necessary to carry along an
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axe to clear the roads of the fallen timber before he could get through. Mr. Lutz, by hard work, good management and wise economy, was prospered and at the time of his death, which occurred on December 15, 1894, he owned two hundred and seventy acres of good land, his farm being well im- proved in every respect, including a splendid frame residence and other feat- ures that made it one of the attractive and valuable homesteads of the county.
On March 24, 1868, Mr. Lutz was united in marriage with Susannah Oberholtzer, who was born in the northeastern part of what is now Grant township, this county, the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Gingrich) Oberholtzer. 'To them were born six children, as follows: One died in in: fancy ; Bessie died on October 17, 1884, at the age of five years, a sprightly and lovable child, of pleasing manners: John, Jr., born in November. 1875. (lied on August 9. 1894. aged eighteen years and nine months. He was sin- gularly exemplary in character, a dutiful son and affectionate brother: the other three, Jennie, Addie and Martha, live on the old homestead, east of Waterloo. They were horn, respectively, on February 28, 1870. December 21, 1871, and August 26, 1873.
John Lutz was baptized in the faith of the Lutheran church, and was faithful to his religious convictions to his death. A faithful husband, kind father and upright citizen, he was respected and esteemed by all who knew him, and his death was considered a distinct loss to the community which had been honored by his citizenship.
DANIEL GROGG.
The student interested in the history of DeKalb county, Indiana, does not have to carry his investigations far into its annals before learning that Daniel Grogg was long an active and leading representative of its leading agricultural interests and that his lahors proved a potent force in making this a rich agricultural region. Through several decades our subject carried on farming, gradually improving his valuable place, and while he prospered in this, he also found ample opportunity to assist in the material development of the county, and his co-operation was of value for the general good.
Daniel Grogg, who became one of the earliest settlers of Union town- ship. DeKalh county. Indiana, was born in Stark county, Ohio, on the 13th day of August, 1818, and was a son of Solomon and Mary (Snyder ) Grogg. who were born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, but who hecame
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pioneer residents of Stark county, Ohio, where the father died, the mother afterwards coming to DeKalb county with her children and living here until her death, which occurred at the advanced age of ninety-five years. The Grogg family is of German descent, and there are still in possession of mem- bers of this family valuable heirlooms, among which is a pewter plate one hundred and fifty years old, on which are stamped German, French and Eng- lish seals; a goose-oil jug of unique design and an old spinning wheel used by Mrs. Grogg. Daniel Grogg was reared on a farm and received his edu- cation in the common schools of his locality. In May, 1849, he became a resi- dent of DeKalb county, settling on the farm in Union township, where he spent the remainder of his life, the farm being located near the county farm. Daniel Grogg had also bought a farm in the northwestern part of what is now Grant township. comprising one hundred and fifty-eight acres, for which he paid five hundred dollars and which afterwards became very valuable land. Daniel Grogg married Elizabeth Hultz, and to them were born six children, namely: John, who now lives in the northwestern part of Grant township : Abe, who lives near him and who is represented elsewhere in this work ; Peter, who lives on the old homestead east of the county farm: George, who died at the age of forty-six years, leaving a wife and one daughter, now de- ceased ; Frank, who lives west of Auburn, and Emily, also deceased. Daniel Grogg died at his Union township home on March 23. 1887. and his wife died in December, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Grogg were for many years active and earnest members of the Lutheran church, in the prosperity of which they were deeply interested and to the support of which they contributed liberally of their means. Mr. Grogg during his lifetime made many permanent and valuable improvements on his farm, so that at the time of his death it was numbered among the leading agricultural tracts in the county. . Among the improvements was a fine two-story brick house, which is still standing. Mr. Grogg's domestic life was exemplary, for the home was a genial and happy one. He was an affectionate and faithful father and his sons have cause to honor him and revere his memory. He was a hospitable man and cordially responsive to all social claims and his home was attractive to all whom he numbered in his list of friends. The death of such a man, even in the rounded fullness of a long life where his work had ceased to be more than an example, was a public loss, and not only his intimate associates but the people generally of the community felt that his passing away was a distinct loss to the com- munity. He left to his family the rich memory of an unstained name and to the locality where he lived the record and example of an honorable and well spent life.
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Reverting to Mr. Grogg's ancestry, it may be stated that his mother. whose maiden name was Mary Snyder, was born in Pennsylvania, moving to Ohio in a day when there were but few white people in all that country. the savage red men being practically the only human beings, and they were not very peaceally inclined to the whites. Her mother's father, Henry Reichel- derfer, came to this country from Germany, and it is related that he was nearly a year making the trip across the ocean, during which everyone on board the ship nearly starved, it being necessary to eat the rats that infested the ship in order to keep alive. Henry Reichelderfer was a great hunter and settled in Ohio in an early day. An aunt of Mary Snyder was captured by Indians in Stark county and tied to the eaves of the cabin by the little fingers of her hands, so that her toes barely touched the ground. and another aunt was horribly gashed and criss-crossed, dying from the effects of her injuries. Following these atrocities Captain Brady and his famous band of Indian fighters followed the red men and wreaked on them vengeance for their misdeeds.
WESLEY FULTON.
The subject of this sketch is one of the progressive farmers and enter- prising citizens of Grant township. DeKalb county, where he has made his- home for a number of years, being closely associated with its development and welfare. He is a thoroughly practical agriculturist and a man of busi- ness, and, like the great majority of successful men, has been the architect of his own fortunes. His fidelity to his duties has never been neglected in acting his part as a worthy son of the great American commonwealth.
Wesley Fulton was born on October 10, 1847, in Fayette county, Penn- sylvania, and is a son of David and Mary ( Knight) Fulton. David Fulton was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and was a son of James Fulton, who was of Irish parentage, his forbears having come from the north of Ire- land. David Fulton was married to Mary Knight, who was born in Som- erset county, Pennsylvania, the daughter of James Knight and wife. David Fulton remained in Pennsylvania about four years after his marriage, then spent about nine years in Perry county, Ohio, after which he returned to Fayette county, Pennsylvania, to care for his parents, who were getting old. He remained there about nineteen years and in 1865 went to Carroll county, Illinois, where he bought a farm and spent the remainder of his life there, his death occurring in February, 1884. He was survived a number of years by
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his widow, who died in 1898 on the old farm in Illinois. David Fulton was a life-long farmer and was also a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church. He was prominent in the local public affairs of the communities where he lived both in the East and in Illinois.
Wesley Fulton lived under the parental roof until 1869. when, at the age of twenty-two years, he was married and then began farming for himself near his home. He conducted agricultural operations about six years and then moved to Lucas county, Iowa, where he bought a small farm, on which he lived until the death of his wife in 1880. About 1882, or the year follow- ing. Mr. Fulton sold his Iowa property and came to Indiana, where he was again married, and he then engaged in farming on the place where he now lives lives south of Waterloo. He is the owner of sixty-five acres of good land, which has engaged his undivided attention and which he has developed into one of the choice agricultural homesteads of the section of the county in which he lives. His life here has been characterized by persistent and wisely directed industry, his efforts being rewarded with a degree of success commensurate with his efforts. He has a good set of farm buildings, while all the operations of the farm are given his personal supervision, and in the conduct of his affairs he has been guided by the soundest of judgment which has characterized him in everything to which he has given attention.
In 1869 Mr. Fulton married Elizabeth Dorns, who was born in Frank- lin county, Pennsylvania, the daughter of John Dorns. Her parents moved to Fulton county, Illinois, when she was but a child, and there she lived until about a year before her marriage, when she located in Carroll county, Illi- nois. Her death occurred in 1880, she leaving three children, namely: New- ton A., Cora B. and Mary L. Newton, who was born in December, 1874. now lives at Danbury, Connecticut, where he is engaged in pedagogical work. being superintendent of a commercial school. He has taught six or seven years in New York and Connecticut. Cora B. became the wife of Frank Williams, and they lived in Nebraska, where her husband died, leaving two children, Grant W. and Jessie. She afterwards became the wife of Oscar Kent, and they live on a farm near Alma, Nebraska. By her second union she is the mother of three children; Mary L. is the wife of Fred Lampman, of Milledgeville. Carroll county, Illinois, and they have three children, Ethelyn, Margie and a baby boy. Mr. Fulton's second marriage was to Mrs. Sarah .\. (Stroh) Dunn, the widow of the late William Dunn. She was born in Greensburg, Summit county, Ohio, and is a daughter of John and Catherine (Dice) Stroh. She was brought to DeKalb county when only nine months old by her parents, who located on the northern edge of Union
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township, and there she was reared and received her education, her mar- riage to Mr. Dunn occurring on January 1, 1865. After that event they lived on the Dunn homestead in Grant township until Mr. Dunn's death in 1871, she leaving three children, namely: Mrs. Ettdessie Goodwin, de- ceased; John Dunn. of Waterloo, and William Dunn, of Grant township. To Mr. Fulton's last union has been born one child, Zella G., who is now the wife of Ernest Cole, of Toledo, where he has a good position with the street car company. Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Fulton are members of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, in the prosperity of which they are deeply interested and to the support of which they contribute of their means. Mr. Fulton is one of the leading citizens of his community and enjoys in a marked degree the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and friends throughout Grant township. His career has been eminently honorable and all who know him speak in high terms of his many sterling qualities and characteristics.
FRANK D. FANNING, M. D.
There is no class to whom greater gratitude is due from the world at large than the self-sacrificing, sympathetic, noble-minded men whose life work is the alleviation of suffering and the ministering of comfort to the afflicted, to the end that the span of human existence may be lengthened and a greater degree of satisfaction enjoyed during the remainder of their earthly sojourn. There is no standard by which their beneficent influence can be measured, their helpfulness being limited only by the extent of their knowledge and skill, while their power goes hand in hand with the wonderful laws of nature that spring from the very source of life itself. Some one has aptly said, "He serves God best who serves humanity most." Among the physicians and surgeons of DeKalb county who have risen to eminence in their chosen field of endeavor is the subject of this review, whose career has been that of a broad-minded, conscientious worker in the sphere to which his life and energies have been devoted and whose profound knowledge of his profession has won for him a leading place among the most distinguished medical men of his day and generation in the city of his residence.
Frank D. Fanning, an enterprising physician and public-spirited citizen of Butler, DeKalb county, Indiana, was born on May 4, 1873, at Butler, DeKalb county, and is a son of Dr. Fred W. and Carrie M. (Myers) Fan- ning. Fred W. Fanning, who was born at Belleville, Ontario, in 1841, was
FRANK D. FANNING, M. D.
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educated in Coburg College, Coburg, Ontario, graduated in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and shortly afterward he located at Butler, DeKalb county, Indiana, where he practiced his profession for thirty- six years, having previously been located at Beaver Dam, Ohio, for two years. His record was an honorable one as a citizen and professional man and he stood among the leaders of his profession in this part of the state. To him and his wife were born two sons, the subject of this sketch and Charles H., who is a stationary engineer at Bryan, Ohio.
Frank D. Fanning received a good public school education and then at- tended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, after which he matriculated in the medical department of the University of Illinois at Urbana, where he was graduated in 1897 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Imme- diately afterwards he came to Butler and became a partner of his father in the practice of his profession, remaining with him until the latter's death, since which time he has engaged in the practice alone on his own account. He has been eminently successful in his treatment of diseases, having handled many very difficult cases and is held in high repute among his professional brethren. He specializes in diseases of the eye. ear, nose and throat, of which he has made a close and critical study, and in which he is considered an authority. He is local surgeon for the Pennsylvania. Wabash and Lake Shore railroads and is a member of the Wabash Railway Surgeons' Associa- tion, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Surgeons' Association and the Pennsylvania Railway Surgeons' Association. He possesses that broad human sympathy which aids him to sympathize with those who come to him for assistance and in the sick room he carries the spirit of optimism and hopefulness which enter so largely into the successful treatment of phys- ical ailments.
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