History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 133

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648

USA > Indiana > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 133

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GEORGE HOLTEL.

Great and prosperous businesses frequently have very small beginnings The lives of our captains of industry show over and over again how a busi- ness has been builded from a mere local enterprise to an institution that op- erates throughout the world. The oil business, the steel business and the manufacture of farming implements are examples of this kind. Oldenburg, Franklin ounty, Indiana, has a large planing mill that was started with the purchase of a small saw and planing mill. As a consequence of the industry and patient attention to business of its proprietor, George Holtel, it has now grown to large proportions and does an extensive wholesale and retail busi- ness. The success of Mr. Holtel should be an example to younger men who are looking for the most practicable rules of success.

George Holtel was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, October I, 1844, the son of Herman Henry and Gesina (Gronefeld) Holtel, both na- tives of Germany. George Holtel's grandfather was John George Holtel, a carpenter, who reared a family of seven children, four sons and three daugh- ters. He was born in the same house in which his grandson, George, Jr., was born, and lived there all his life.

George Holtel was educated in the public schools of Germany. As a young man he entered the German army and served in the war of 1866. Nearly all of his comrades were killed in battle. He was under fire at one time in the front line from eleven o'clock in the morning until five in the after- noon, and was not even wounded. He retired from the army in 1866, at the close of the war, and in May of the following year came to America and

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settled in Cincinnati. He remained there for six months, when he came to Oldenburg, and has lived there since that time. He began in Oldenburg as a carpenter and contract builder. In 1872 he started a sawmill and planing- mill, at the same time giving up the contract business. In 1890 he left the mill in charge of his sons and returned to his old business of contracting. In 1894 he built the Franciscan monastery at Oldenburg, and several years later the Catholic church at Brookville. Later he built St. Marys of the Rock church, at Raymond, in Butler township.

Mr. Holtel's planing-mill business experienced a rapid growth from the beginning. He does both a wholesale and retail business and is quite pros- perous. He is now a stockholder in the Oldenburg bank and in the electric light plant at that place.

Mr. Holtel was married May 24, 1870, to Mary Ortman, who was born in 1850 in Ray township in this county, the daughter of Herman Henry and Mary Ortman. To this union the following children have been born: Mary, who married George Feldkamp, lives in Oldenburg, and is the mother of seven children, Leona, Adelinda, Marie, Clarissa, Eleanora, Joseph, Virginia and Helen, the latter of whom died at the age of three years. Anna is unmarried and living at home with her parents. George, who married Louisa Berning, has three children, Alvin, Clarence and Leonard. George is employed with his father in the saw and planing mill, and is also postmaster at Oldenburg. Frank died at the age of one year. Joseph married Jennie Connelley and has three children living. Rosemary. Ambrose and Clara, Alphonso having died. The sixth child, Rosa, is unmarried and living at home. Clara is a nun, who joined a convent at Oldenburg. Eleanor, also a nun, died in 1913. Bertha is unmarried and living at home. William is also unmarried and employed with his father.

John George Holtel, the grandfather of George Holtel, had a family of seven children : Herman Henry, who married and lived all his life in Ger- many. John Henry came to America and settled in Cincinnati. Barnet Her- man came to America and also settled in Cincinnati, but the last forty years of his life he lived at Oldenburg. The rest of the children died when young.

Herman Henry Holtel, the father of George, was educated in Germany, and as a young man started in the carpenter business with his father. He owned a small farm in Germany, from the produce of which the family se- cured most of their living. He and his wife were the parents of two chil- dren, George and Anna Mary, the latter of whom married Edward Schur- mann, to which union four children were born, one son and three daughters, all of whom are married and rearing families of their own. Mrs. Schurmann

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died in 1904. Herman Henry Holtel died in 1854, and his wife was remar- ried in 1856 to Henry Buscher. She died in 1894.

George Holtel is a Democrat, although he has never been active in the councils of his party, but has given his entire attention to his business, now being conducted under the direction of his sons. The Holtel family for sev- eral generations have been Catholics. Mr. Holtel is regarded as one of the most prosperous and highly respected citizens of Oldenburg, where he lives, and where the rest of his life will be spent.

EDWARD E. STONE.

In 1820 the grandfather of Edward E. Stone located in Franklin county, Indiana, and, consequently, the family has been identified with the history of the county for ninety-five years. Agriculture has been the occu- pation to which most of the members of the family have turned and, without exception. they have been successful men of affairs and substantial and worthy citizens of the communities in which they have resided. Edward E. Stone has a well improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Spring- field township, and this farm is the direct result of his own initiative and effort.

Edward E. Stone, the youngest son of Acel and Margaret (Kennedy) Stone, was born in White Water township, Franklin county, Indiana, July 15, 1867. His father was born in New York state, January 7, 1820, and died at his home in Franklin county, November 17, 1899. His wife was the daughter of James Kennedy and died on August 27, 1900. Acel Stone and wife were the parents of eight children: Mary, who became the wife of Arnold Vanausdall, of Brookville, and has three children, Burt, Walter and Curtis; Eliza, the wife of Louden T. Hollowell, has three children, Rosella, deceased, Eva and Albert; Rebecca, deceased, who was the wife of John Vanblaricum, and the mother of six children, Margaret, Edward, Eliza, Curtis, William and Rollie, the last three named being deceased; Hannah, deceased, who was the wife of Harrison Watkins, a farmer of White Water township, left four children, George, Endora, Ida and Harry, the last two being deceased ; Louisa, the wife of Samuel Goble, has nine children, Albert, Henry, Harry, Ernest, Clara, Lurton, Otis, Ada and Arthur, deceased ; Emma, deceased, who was the wife of Silas Wing, became the mother of eight children, Ollie, Roxie, Minnie, William, Effie, Robert, Alma, and

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MR. AND MRS. EDWARD STONE.

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Charles, deceased ; Orman, deceased, married Hannah Bulmer, and they had three children, Irene, Pearl and Anna, deceased; Edward, of Springfield township, with whom this narrative deals.

Acel Stone was less than a year old when he came with his parents from the state of New York to Indiana, his father entering land in this county in 1820. Grandfather William Stone owned one hundred and sixty-four acres at the time of his death. He and his wife were the parents of seven chil- dren, Lorenda, Sylvester, James, Jr., Orman, Mary Ann, William and Acel, the father of Edward. Acel Stone and his wife were both members of the United Brethren church and were highly respected in the community where they lived so many years.

Edward E. Stone was educated in the common schools of White Water township, attending school during the winter seasons of his boyhood days and working on his father's farm during the summers. In this way he gradu- ally acquired a knowledge of all the different phases of agriculture, so that he was competent to manage a farm of his own after his marriage. He. first bought twenty-four acres of land in White Water township, later adding sixty-two acres, and in 1902 he disposed of his first holdings in White Water township, and bought another tract of one hundred and fifteen acres; in 1906 he added another forty acres to his farm. In 1911 he disposed of this farm, having in the meantime purchased his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Springfield township. He divides his attention between general farming and stock raising in such a way as to get the maximum re- sults from his efforts.

Mr. Stone was married, December 15, 1887, to Mary Reiner, and to this union have been born six children: Ethel, born October 29, 1889; Clyde, born March 4, 1891; Nettie, born February 12, 1893; Frank, born March 31, 1895: Elmer, born February 22, 1897, and Claude, born August 16, 1899. Ethel is the wife of John Strohmier, a farmer of Springfield township, and has two daughters. Ruth and Mary. Nettie is the wife of Riley Appleton, a farmer of Springfield township. Mrs. Stone is a daugh- ter of Ferdinand and Catherine (Harding) Reiner. Her parents had thir- teen children, all of whom are still living, Mary, Thomas, Frederick, Jacob, John, Lewis, Albert, William. Walter, Catherine, Robert, Edward and Charles.

Politically, Mr. Stone is a stanch adherent of the principles of the Democratic party, and has always taken an active interest in the affairs of his community. He served as road supervisor of White Water township for

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eight years while living there. Mr. Stone and his family are loyal and earnest members of the United Brethren church and take an active interest in the work of their denomination.

THOMAS SALMON.

Many citizens of Franklin county have enjoyed unique and extremely interesting careers. Few have experienced a greater variety of incidents in connection with their life's work than Thomas Salmon, a successful farmer of Salt Creek township, who has traveled over the country a great deal and worked in many cities.

Thomas Salmon was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, in Cincinnati, January 27, 1851, the son of Jeremiah and Keziah (Campbell) Salmon, both natives of Hamilton county, Ohio.

The parents of Jeremiah Salmon were Jeremiah, Sr., and Nancy Sal- mon, one born in New Jersey and the other in Delaware. At the age of ten or twelve years, Jeremiah Salmon, Sr., with his brother, who was a little older, ran away from home. They located in Cincinnati in 1807. Later his brother went to Lexington, Kentucky. He followed the sea for many years, became wealthy and went to England where he made his home. Jeremiah Salmon was a wholesale butcher in Cincinnati but later retired to a farm in Colerain township, Hamilton county, Ohio, where he died. His wife died in Cincinnati.

The material grandparents of Thomas Salmon were Thomas and Ke- ziah (Daily) Campbell, who were natives of New Jersey. They located in Cincinnati about 1820 where both died. Thomas Campbell and Jeremiah Salmon both served in the War of 1812.

Jeremiah Salmon, Jr., the father of Thomas, was educated in Colerain township, Hamilton county, Ohio, and there remained on his father's farm until he had reached his majority. He then went to Cincinnati and there learned the blacksmith and carriage-making trade, following these trades there the remainder of his life, except the period between 1855 and 1863, when he operated a shop at Grewsbeck in Colerain township, Hamilton county. He died in Cincinnati, January 10, 1898, and his wife, February 21, 1903.

Thomas Salmon was educated in Cincinnati and there learned car- riage making and wood working which he followed in various cities in the

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United States for six years. For thirty-two years he worked in Cincin- nati, except one year, 1878-1879, at Washington Courthouse, Ohio. In 1901 Mr. Salmon bought a farm of eighty acres in Salt Creek township, Franklin county, Indiana, where he now resides. In May, 1902, he moved to Peppertown where he resided while a house on the farm was being built. In January, 1903, he returned to the farm and since has been engaged as al general farmer.

Thomas Salmon was married in 1877 to Anna Wiltsee, who was born in Cincinnati, but who, at the time of her marriage, resided near Amelia, Clermont county, Ohio. She was the daughter of John Wiltsee, a scale- maker in Cincinnati, who was later in the butcher's supply business in the! same city. Still later he lived on a farm. Subsequently, he lived at New- port, Kentucky and Elmwood Place, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, where he purchased a home and lived until his death.

To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Salmon one daughter, Ethel May, was born. She died May 19, 1904, at the age of twenty-one years and ten days. She was a beautiful young woman and her passing was a great shock to her parents and friends.

Mr. and Mrs. Salmon are highly respected in the community where they live. They are active and devoted members of the Methodist Episco- pal church and contribute to the support of this church.

FRANK B. MOORMANN.

The history of mankind is an interesting study. It is particularly inter- esting to follow the careers of men from unimportant beginnings to the achievement of power and affluence. Not all men are equally successful, and some men are successful in one thing and failures in another. Frank B. Moormann has made a success in several lines of endeavor. He is a suc- cessful farmer, a prosperous miller and a thoroughgoing banker.

Frank M. Moormann was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 17, 1864, the son of George and Elizabeth (Winkeljohn) Moormann, both natives of Germany, the former having been born in 1824 and the latter on June 6, 1829.

Frank B. Moormann was educated in the parochial and public schools of Millhousen, Indiana. As a young man he worked with his mother in a gen- eral store and grist mill, and lived at home until he was twenty-six years of age, when he went to Cincinnati, where he engaged in the produce business

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for six years, after which he came to Oldenburg, Indiana, about the year 1898. After coming to the latter place he secured employment with Joseph A. Luesse, proprietor of a flouring mill. Later he bought out Mr. Luesse, and has been the owner of the mill nine years himself. Mr. Moorman does a general milling business. He employs four men in the mill, and operates a farm of eighty acres in connection with the mill. Mr. Moormann is a stock- holder in the Farmers and Merchants Bank and the electric light company of Oldenburg.

Mr. Moorman was married in 1885 to Elizabeth Herbert, who was born at Millhousen, Indiana, April 15, 1865, on the day Lincoln was shot, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Thiemann) Herbert. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Moormann: Joseph, who died at the age of six; Albert married Mary Brockman, and has one child, Mary Caroline; Lawrence died at the age of two years; Henry, a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio; Herman, George, Clara, Edgar and Arthur, the last five being still at home.

Mr. Moormann's grandfather was Herman Moormann, who was born in Germany and was a soldier in the war against Napoleon, having been one of the great army at the battle of Waterloo. He came to America late in life, at the suggestion of his son George, and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his son was living, and there he spent the rest of his life. Herman Moormann had seven children: George, Barnard, Joseph, Lewis, Caroline and Henry and Mary, twins. The family were all devout members of the Catholic church.

George Moormann, the father of Frank B., was educated in the public schools of Germany and came to America at the age of eighteen, settling first in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked as a laborer and as a porter in the old Gibson hotel. He was there about three years, following which he worked in a chair factory for three years, after which he engaged in the grocery business on old Buckeye street, remaining in that business for twenty years. He then moved to Millhousen, Indiana, where he continued in the grocery business, his death occurring about five months after going to Millhousen. His wife kept the business going after his death. George Moormann and wife were the parents of seven children: Herman, who is a Franciscan monk under the name of Father Clement; Joseph, who married Dora Vocke; Philo- mina, who is unmarried and owns and has charge of the store at Millhousen ; Frank B., the immediate subject of this sketch, and three who died in infancy.

The Moormann family have all been adherents of the Democratic party since coming to America, although they have not been actively interested in political affairs, preferring to devote their time and energies to their own

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business and to their families. All of the Moormann families are devout members of the Catholic church and contribute liberally of their means to its support.

Frank B. Moormann is an unassuming, unpretentious man of good judg- ment and a public-spirited citizen, who by his habits of fair dealing and his genial disposition, has endeared himself to a large circle of friends in Frank- lin county.

WILLIAM H. DIECKMANN.

One of the splendid German families that has contributed very much to place Franklin county in its high rank as an agricultural section is the Dieckmann family, worthily represented here by William H. Dieckmann. Mr. Dieckmann was born on the farm in Ray township where he now lives nearly three quarters of a century ago and has been identified with the his- tory of his township and community during all these years. He is now past the active stage of life, but he has performed good service in every cause that to him has appeared worthy.

William H. Dieckmann was born July 15, 1848, in Ray township, Franklin county, the son of Henry and Dora (Hanking) Dieckmann, na- tives of Germany. They were married in that country and came to America a few years later with two small children. They first located in New Or- leans but were told that the climate was too hot, so came to Cincinnati, where they remained two or three years. On account of the death of two of their three children, they decided the city was unhealthful and about the middle of August, 1839, moved to Ray township, Franklin county, Indiana, where they bought ninety-three acres of land from the government. The farm was wholly a wilderness and they were compelled to walk out to it. Mr. Dieckmann built a log cabin and shed and cleared most of the land while he lived there. Later he bought eighty acres more, making a farm of one hundred and seventy-three acres. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dieckmann were the parents of eight children: Henrietta, who married Frederick Krieger; Hermann and Wilhelmina, both of whom died young; Sophia, who married Henry Goldmeyer; Henry, who married Louisa Kahlmeyer; Rosina, who married Herman Koester; Caroline, who first married John Schwetfeger and later Charles Weil, and William, the subject of this sketch. The family are all members of the Lutheran church at Huntersville.

William H. Dieckmann was educated in the public schools of Hunters-

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ville and as a young man worked on the farm where he now lives. He owns one hundred and seventy-three acres where he engages in general farming and stock raising.

William H. Dieckmann was married December 30, 1875, to Wilhel- mina Kahle, who was born February 18, 1853, the daughter of Frederick and Margaret (Knipker) Kahle. To this union have been born eight chil- dren : William, born November 10, 1876, who married Alice Berg; Charles H., born February 10, 1878, who married Anna Wessel; Dorothea M., born December 22, 1881, who married Fred Gartemuller; Fred, born Janu- ary 10, 1885, who married Freda Siebert, deceased; Elizabeth, born Octo- ber 20, 1883, and died seven days later; Emma Rosina, born January 5, 1889, who married William Klusmann; Alfred H. and Edward Fred, twins, born August 27, 1893. The grandchildren of William H. Dieckmann and wife are as follows: Della and Harvey, the children of Charles; Alvera, the daughter of Emma; Geneva, the daughter of William H., Jr .; and Walter, the son of Fred. The mother of the latter child is deceased and he makes his home with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Dieckmann.

William H. Dieckmann and wife are splendid citizens in every respect. They have a comfortable home, are progressive and enterprising and enjoy the esteem of their neighbors and the people throughout Franklin county who have known them so long and favorably.

HERMAN H. WESSEL.

No industry, however humble, which combines enterprise, industry and well-directed purpose, will fail to produce a reasonable degree of success. These elements are particularly essential on the farm. They are particularly evident in the career of Herman H. Wessel, a well-known and highly re- spected farmer of Ray township, Franklin county, Indiana. Mr. Wessel has not only obtained for himself a rather large measure of success, but his spirit and energy have greatly benefited the community in which he has lived.

Herman H. Wessel was born in Ray township, near Batesville, February 3, 1872, the son of Henry and Mary (Stickfort) Wessel, both natives of Ray township, Franklin county. Henry Wessel was born in 1840 and died in 1905. Mrs. Wessel was the daughter of Frederick Stickfort.

The paternal grandparents of Herman H. Wessel were Frederick and Maria (Lubbe) Wessel. The former was a native of Germany and came to

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America when a young man, settling on a farm of two hundred and forty acres in Ray township, Franklin county, on which John Wessel, his brother, now lives. Frederick Wessel cleared most of the land and put the first build- ings on the place, the farm being mostly a wilderness when he came to it. Frederick Wessel and wife were the parents of four children: Henry, the father of Herman H .; Herman, now deceased, who married Margaret Schrei- ber, also deceased; Mary, who married August Krieger, a farmer of Ray township; and John, who married Mary Hackman. The family are mem- bers of the Lutheran church at Huntersville. Mr. Wessel was a Democrat in politics.

Henry Wessel, the father of Herman H., was educated in the public schools of Ray township, and when a young man worked in his father's brick yard and assisted on the farm. When he started farming for himself, he likewise operated a brickyard of his own, and continued in this line of activ- ity the rest of his life. He sold large quantities of brick to local buyers. His farm consisted of one hundred and fifty acres in Ray township. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Wessel were the parents of thirteen children: Mary, who married Fred Binke; Frederick, deceased, who married Louisa Kops; Cettie, who died at the age of twenty-two; Anna, who married John Korte; Herman, whose history is here presented; Elizabeth, who married Henry Wert; Yettie, de- ceased, who married August Narwald; Louisa, who married Benjamin Besler ; Dora, who died young; Henry, who married Yettie Hasse; Sophia, who mar- ried Fred Mattick; William, who married Selma Belter, and John, who died at the age of two years. Henry Wessel and family are all members of the Lutheran church.

Herman H. Wessel was educated in the public schools of Huntersville and while a young man worked in his father's brickyard. He began business for himself in 1898, when he started a brickyard, adding the tile business to the same in 1902, and has built up his present business from the foundation. He now has a very prosperous and profitable business at Huntersville, his brick and tile yard being situated on his farm at the edge of the town. His farm consists of sixty-seven acres, and here Mr. Wessel engages in general farming and stock raising.

Herman H. Wessel was married May 4, 1898, to Mary Kops, the daugh- ter of John and Catherine (Huffmeyer) Kops, to which union five children have been born: Clifford J., born July 7, 1902 ; Monroe H., born January II, 1904; Nora Anna, born April 17, 1906; Clarence W., born September I, 1910, and one daughter who died in infancy.

Mr. and Mrs. Wessel are well known in the community where they live

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and are rated among the most substantial citizens of Ray township. Mr. Wessel comes from good old German, stock and is a man of large and gen- erous heart.

PETER HITTEL.

Every nation on the earth has contributed to the population of the United States but no country has furnished better citizens than Germany. Hundreds of thousands of the best people of Germany have come to this country and have become substantial citizens of their adopted country. Fortunate indeed is the locality which numbers German descendants among its citizens. Wherever they are found they are always among the most sub- stantial citizens of the community. Habits of thrift and frugality which they have inherited from their parents contribute to make them valuable as- sets of any locality. The example set by our thrifty German citizens has been wholesome and beneficial, not only to our native Americans, but to the citizens of other countries who have come to our shores. Indiana has at- tracted many citizens of German descent and Franklin county has not a few of them. Among the substantial citizens of Franklin county of Ger- man descent is Peter Hittel, who was born at Hamburg, January 12, 1868, the son of George and Anna Mary (Weigan) Hittel. both natives of Ger- many.

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History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 133

Author: Reifel, August J Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1648

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648