USA > Indiana > Memorial and genealogical record of Representative Citizens of Indiana > Part 16
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"You can recall the old struggles of this parish, what was ear- ried on for the welfare of this parish, whether whatever was un- dertaken to advance its interests, whether they were spiritual or temporal, whom did you see, alongside of that zealous and great priest, but the man whose remains are here today, Killian Baker ? And, O, my friends, I am glad that I am permitted to stand here and utter a word of tribute over the remains of such a grand and noble hero.
"In days gone by, when this structure needed aid, needed as - sistance of men like Killian Baker, men sprung up in faith, who preserved that faith and manifested it by word and action or
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deed, in that strong and binding faith received at his mother's knee, and what has he not done by his example, especially ever to aid as far as he could religion in Fort Wayne?
"O my friends, let us hope that he is enjoying the glory and happiness of Heaven with his friends, with whom he associated here in this life; let us hope that his well-spent life, that he who was so faithful in everything, especially in endeavoring to save his soul to present it before the judgment seat of God and there obtain the rewards that were merited-eternal and everlasting life. Let us hope that God himself, that Jesus, the All-redeeming, when he appeared before the judgment seat, that these very words of Holy Writ which I have quoted for you today, were spoken to this faithful man, to this faithful husband, to this loving father whose heart and soul were entirely taken up with the welfare of those who constituted his home; let us hope and pray that Christ said to him as his soul appeared before the judgment seat, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.'"
Killian Baker grew up with the city of Fort Wayne, con- tributed largely to its development along industrial lines and in due time became an influential factor in promoting its varied in- terests. Energetic and public-spirited, he soon took an active part in all enterprises for the common good, gave countenance and support to every landable undertaking for the advancement of both city and county, and in many matters his judgment was con- sulted and his opinions ever carried weight in the councils of his fellow citizens. He was essentially a business man and as such achieved a high standing in the community for the best interests of which the greater part of his life was devoted. Unflagging in- dustry, discriminating judgment and wise foresight were among his chief characteristics and during the years of his prime his strength and vitality as well as those clearer mental qualities which enabled their possessor to take advantage of opportunities, stood hin well, in pushing to the largest success the important undertakings in which he was engaged. Coming to the state in the pioneer period, he witnessed the phenomenal growth of the city with which his life was so closely interwoven.
AUGUST C. TRENTMAN.
Great achievements always excite admiration. Men of deeds are the men whom the world delights to honor. Ours is an age representing the most electrical progress in all lines of material activity, and the man of initiative is one who forges to the front in the industrial world. Among the distinctive captains of indus- try of a past generation in the city of Fort Wayne, a place of priority, must be accorded to the late August C. Trentman, for to him was due the upbuilding of an industry which was not only one of the most important in the city of his choice, but also one of the most extensive of its kind in Indiana, while the comparatively brief time within which these great results were obtained further testify to his exceptional administrative power and executive ability. He was in the fullest sense of the word a progressive, virile, self-made American citizen, thoroughly in harmony with the spirit of the advanced age in which he lived, while he made the most of his opportunities and worked his way upward from a beginning none too auspicious to a noble and worthy success. He made good use of his opportunities and prospered from year to year, conducting all business matters carefully and systematically, and in all his acts displaying an aptitude for successful manage- inent. He did not permit the accumulation of fortune to affect in any way his actions toward those less fortunate than he, and he always had a cheerful word and a helping hand for those in need. Indeed, Mr. Trentman was a most companionable gentleman and had a host of warm and admiring friends throughout northeastern Indiana. All who came within range of his influence were profuse in their praise of his admirable qualities and the high regard in which he was always held, not only in commercial life but socially, indicated the possession of attributes and characteristics that fully entitled him to the respect and good will of his fellow men which were freely accorded by all with whom he came into contact.
August C. Trentman was born in Marion township, Allen county, Indiana, February 20, 1843, the scion of a prominent old pioneer family of this section of the state, being the son of Bernard Trentman, for many years a leader in business and civic affairs
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in Allen county in the pioneer period. Bernard Trentman was born in Hanover, Germany, in July, 1816, and there he grew up and received his education, emigrating to the United States in 1838, locating first in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained two years. In 1842 he came to Fort Wayne, where his brother John had settled two years previously, and he soon afterward began farming in Marion township. Later he worked on the old Wabash and Erie canal and was employed in the City mills. In 1848 he embarked in the retail grocery business and in 1864 converted the same into a wholesale business. He was a self-made man in every respect, having come to Allen county when poor in worldly goods and, in due course of time, succeeded admirably in a busi- ness way. His death occurred on March 27, 1874.
While living in Cincinnati, in 1838, Mr. Trentman was united in marriage with Mary Anna Rheinert. She, too, was a native of Hanover, Germany, from which country she emigrated to America when a young girl. Her death occurred in 1859. The subject of this memoir was one of a family of eleven children.
It was in 1840 that Bernard Trentman and his wife moved to, Fort Wayne, and, although he found here a mere country village, he had the sagacity to foresee its splendid future possibilities and therefore established the family home here, and thus it was in this city that the son, August C., grew to manhood and received the early advantages of a liberal education, attending both the public schools and the Brothers' school, and completing his studies at Notre Dame University, having made a splendid record for scholarship in these institutions.
After leaving school young Trentman, in 1864, entered upon his brilliant business career by engaging in the wholesale grocery business with his father in Fort Wayne. Rapidly mastering the details of the same, the senior Trentnian admitted his son as a partner in 1865, the firm name then becoming B. Trentman & Son, this business having been started by the father in 1848 on Colum- bia street. It grew rapidly and continuously and in 1868 it was converted into a wholesale concern and moved into larger quarters on Calhoun street. Upon the death of the father in 1874 the son became complete owner, succeeding to the business of which he was so long proprietor, and he continued head of the same until the establishment went out of business about 1895, and he himself retired from active business life some fifteen years prior to his
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death. Commercially it was for many years the largest institu- tion of its kind in Fort Wayne and its business was of vast propor- tions, covering a very wide territory. The Trentman wholesale grocery was the practical commercial school in which many of the men who have later figured conspicuously in the mercantile circles of Fort Wayne received their early training in the business world; it was always managed under a superb system.
In addition to the grocery business Mr. Trentman was other- wise prominently identified with Fort Wayne business interests. He was for some time a director in the Hamilton National Bank, and he was a partner in the business of J. B. Monning & Company, extensive spice and flour millers, and he was a stockholder in the Herman Berghoff Brewing Company, all of this city. He was treasurer of the Koenig Medicine Company of Chicago.
The domestic life of August C. Trentman began on October 19, 1865, when he was married to Jennie A. Nierman, of this city. She is the daughter of Herman H. Nierman, who was born in Munster, Germany, in 1818, and there he spent his boyhood days. He emigrated to America about 1832. He located in New York City, where he was united in marriage with Mary Catharine Fel- ger, a native of Hanover, Germany, born there in 1814. She was young when she came to New York. The parents of Mrs. Trent- man came to Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1840, making the long-over- land trip by wagon and boat. Mr. Nierman first engaged in the limestone business here, operating a quarry in Huntington, Indiana. Then he engaged in the brewery business, operating the first brewery in Fort Wayne, at the corner of Superior and Harrison streets, and he continued successfully in this line of endeavor until the time of his death in 1871, his wife having pre- ceded him to the great beyond in 1864. He married, second, in 1865, Mrs. Julia Frank and their three children are Mrs. Chas. L. Aulvire, Mrs. Julia Lang and the last Dr. H. G. Nierman. He was a member of the old and original volunteer fire brigade. He was always very much interested in eity affairs, and he was one of the most active and influential in the upbuilding of the city, one of the prominent men of this section in his day. He and his wife were worthy members of the Cathedral Catholic church, of Fort Wayne.
Mrs. August C. Trentman was born on August 13, 1845, in Fort Wayne, and was the third of four children, daughters, the others being Mrs. B. H. Trentman, of No. 513 East Wayne street,
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Mrs. Joseph B. Fox, of No. 212 West Superior street, of this city, and Mrs. F. H. Bartemeyer, of Davenport, Iowa.
The union of August C. Trentman and wife was blessed by the birth of these children, named as follows: Mae, who lives at home, the beautiful modern Trentman residence at No. 360 West Wayne street, Fort Wayne; Carrie, of the order of the Sisters of Providence, of Indianapolis; Augustin N., who also lives at home with the mother; Joseph B., who married Pansy M. Smith, of Terre Haute, resides in Fort Wayne, and they have one daughter, Rose Mary Trentman.
Surviving August C. Trentman are a sister, Mrs. Mary Muh- ler, of Fort Wayne, and four brothers, Henry, of Auburn; Barney and Anthony B., of Fort Wayne, and Herman, of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Trentman was a very active member of the Cathedral Catholic church, of his home city, and of the Catholic Knights of America. He was active and influential in Democratic politics, but never aspired to public leadership or the emoluments of office, having been content to devote his attention exclusively to his business and his home, being best contented when with his family, and therefore he belonged to no clubs or secret orders except that named above.
The death of this distinguished citizen and prominent busi- ness man occurred on August 13, 1909. In its account of this event, one of the Fort Wayne papers said, in part: "August C. Trentman, long a citizen of Fort Wayne and former prominent business man of this city, died early Friday morning, in Jefferson Medical College Hospital in Philadelphia, at the age of sixty-six years. For many years Mr. Trentman conducted the largest wholesale grocery business in Fort Wayne, but for the past twelve or fourteen years he has been living in quiet retirement at his home, No. 513 Washington boulevard west.
"For several years Mr. Trentman had been in failing health. Some years ago he sustained an attack of paralysis, and early in the present year there developed a tumorous growth upon his neck that caused much apprehension. He received treatment under Fort Wayne physicians for a time, and about six weeks ago, accompanied by his wife, his daughter, Miss May, and his son. Angust, Mr. Trentman went to Philadelphia to consult a special- ist. A few days ago friends in Fort Wayne learned that the patient had submitted to an operation in Philadelphia, and today came the news of his death."
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Another paper said, "Few men in Fort Wayne were better known than Mr. Trentman, though of late years he had not taken an active interest in affairs. For some years he was the head of the greatest mercantile establishment in northern Indiana, and through his business connections he was known over a wide terri- tory. His commercial career was everywhere spoken of as a brilliant and successful one and he was recognized as one of the leading wholesale grocers of the West. As a citizen he ranked among the most prominent of Fort Wayne; in commercial circles he was recognized as the compeer of any man in the state and his reputation in that respect was spread throughout the West. He was always ready to assist all movements looking to the advance- ment of his city.
JOHN HENRY TIBBLES.
Among the well-known citizens of northern Indiana who have finished their labors and gone to their reward, the name of John Henry Tibbles, who was one of the prominent business men and highly esteemed citizens of Fort Wayne for over forty years, is deserving of special notice. He was a product of the pioneer epoch, he himself being a pioneer, and was one of those sterling citizens whose labors and self-sacrifice made possible the advanced state of civilization and enlightenment for which the Hoosier state has long been noted. He was a benefactor in the truest sense of the term. His career was fraught with inestimable bless- ings to the world, for he was a man who did not believe in living to himself alone, but desired to help those whom fortune favored less on the highway of life, consequently his memory will long be revered by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in Allen county or wherever he was known.
Mr. Tibbles was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, April 8, 1831. He was a son of Henry and Mary Ann (Kirby) Tibbles, natives of Maryland, where they grew up and were married, and lived until 1820 when they came west and located in Cincinnati, Ohio, making the toilsome journey from Easton, Maryland, overland, and there they established their homes.
John H. Tibbles spent his early boyhood in Cincinnati and attended the publie schools there up to the time he was sixteen years of age when he learned the cabinet-maker's trade, but instead of settling down and following the same, he heeded thie voice of the wanderlust spirit and started on a trip which took him practically around the world, giving him a wide and varied knowl- edge of many foreign peoples. In 1852 he went aeross the plains to the Pacific coast country, and after spending several months mining he sailed for Honolulu, Sandwich islands. During the snc- ceeding two years he visited the Samoan islands, Aukland, New Zealand, and Australia, residing in the latter country little more than a year. He then returned to America by way of England, reaching Philadelphia in the fall of 1855. He was by nature a
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keen observer, and later in life talked most entertainingly of his travels and experiences in foreign lands.
Shortly after returning to Cincinnati, young Tibbles went to Cambridge City, Indiana, and later to Peru, where, on March 5, 1856, he was united in marriage to llarriet E. Gould. She was one of nine children born to Solomon Gould, one of the most prominent of the early residents of that city. He was born in Massachusetts and his wife, Eliza Elizabeth Rose, was born in Ireland. Three brothers of the Gould family originally came from England, and all the Goulds in America are descended from them. The parents of Mrs. Tibbles were married in the East and they came by wagon, by way of Fort Wayne, to Peru, Indiana, when Mrs. Tibbles was but eight years of age, she having been born on January 5, 1838, at Watertown, New York. Her parents were among the early pioneers of this part of Indiana. Mr. Gould was in the hotel and furniture business at Peru, and was very prominent in that section of the state for a number of years.
John H. Tibbles and wife came to Fort Wayne in May, 1858, and they made that city their permanent home. For a period of thirty-two years, up to April 1, 1890, Mr. Tibbles was connected with the furniture house of J. M. Miller, and after retiring from that position he was engaged in the real estate and insurance busi- ness. He was a very successful business man and, by persistent effort, indomitable industry and honorable dealings with his fel- low men he accumulated a handsome competency.
Politically, Mr. Tibbles was a Republican, and during the last fourteen years of his life he was a member of the election board of the fourth ward, Fort Wayne. He was a member of Kekionga Council No. 93, of the National Union, and for thirteen years was its treasurer. He had been a member of the Wayne Street Methodist Episcopal church for a period of thirty-six years and one of the pillars of the same, being for many years a member of the official board. He was a man who performed every trust reposed in him in a conscientious and eminently satisfactory manner, and was known to all as a man of sterling worth and serupulous integrity, and in every circle of acquaintance he was most highly esteemed. He was a great home man, and while he took considerable interest in public affairs he never sought office. He was scrupulously honest, too honest, in fact, for his own good, but he had the undivided confidence and esteem of everyone as
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a result of his honesty and genuine worth. He had a pleasant home at No. 1223 Fairfield avenue, Fort Wayne, which has been the family home for a period of thirty-one years.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Tibbles: Mary, born in Peru, Indiana, was one month old when her parents brought her to Fort Wayne. She married John Donivan, who has been for forty years in the service of the Pennsylvania railroad, and for many years has been passenger conductor, and he has always been regarded as one of the company's most trusted and faithful employes. Mr. and Mrs. Donivan live with her mother, Mrs. Harriet Tibbles, at the old homestead. They have two children. Harry Tibbles Donivan, who inherited from his grand- father the desire to travel, also took a trip around the world. After his return home he settled down and married Maude Fer- rero, of Colorado. He is now associated with the Southern Pacific railroad and lives in Portland, Oregon. The other son, Frank Tibbles Donivan, married Blanche Young, of Fort Wayne, and they also live in Portland, Oregon. They have one daughter, Dorothy Elizabeth Donivan. Emma Frances Tibbles, the second child of the subject of this memoir, married Alfred S. Johnson, and they live at Hermiston, Oregon, where he conducts a fruit ranch. The youngest child of the subject and wife, Frank E. Tibbles, married Clara Coulter, of Fort Wayne, and they have continued to make their home in that city. They have two sons, John Coulter Tibbles, who married Gail Spangly, of Fort Wayne, and lives in Denver, Colorado, and Frank Raymond Tibbles.
The death of John Henry Tibbles occurred on April 22, 1900, after a protracted illness, at the age of sixty-nine years. The official board of the Wayne Street Methodist Episcopal church passed the following resolutions on his death:
"Whereas God, in His mysterious and all-wise providence, has called our late Brother Tibbles to his heavenly reward, and
"Whereas, in the death of Brother Tibbles the official board of Wayne Street Methodist church feel that we have lost a kind, warm, true-hearted friend and co-worker, a conscientious, stead- fast and earnest Christian in the church, and a noble exemplifier of the true spirit of Jesus Christ. His family has been bereaved by the loss of a loyal, true and loving husband and father; be it
"Resolved, that we bow in humble submission to the will of our Heavenly Father, fully believing that Brother Tibbles has
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been called from the church militant to the church triumphant, and whilst we deeply sympathize with Sister Tibbles and her family in their present bereavement, we confidently commend them to the comforting assurances given them who trust in the promises of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, and be it further
"Resolved, that a copy of these resolutions be spread upon the church records, published in the daily papers and a copy be sent to the family of our deceased brother."
Henry M. Sommers.
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HENRY GOTTLIEB SOMMERS.
Under a popular form of government, like that of the United States, where the democratic idea of equality is as fully developed as the present imperfect condition of mankind will permit, we ex- pect as its legitimate result the triumph of individual worth and energy over all the competition that wealth and class may array against them. Here the avenues of wealth and distinction are fully opened to all, which faet enhances rather than detracts from the merits of those whose energy and integrity have triumphed over all obstacles intervening between an humble position and the at- tainment of those laudable ends. Obscurity and labor, at no time dishonorable, never assume more attractive features than when the former appears as the nurse of those virtues which the latter, by years of honest and persevering effort, transplants to a higher and richer soil; hence, the biographier of those men of sterling worth whose active enterprise has won for them the distinction, pre-eminence and commanding influence in the society in which they move must be replete with facts which should encourage and instruct the young. Such was the late Henry Gottlieb Som- mers, who for many years held marked prestige in business and civic circles of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and who by the exercise of those talents and qualities which were cultivated from liis youth, reached an honorable position in the public mind and earned the respect and high esteein of his fellow citizens. In his earlier years he was a man of tireless energy and indomitable courage, and although considerably discommoded during the last decade of his life through ill health, he never repined nor became discouraged, but, taking an optimistic view of things, he became habituated to his changed condition and found much for which to be thankful, not the least being the universal regard in which he was held by his fellow citizens throughout Allen county, where his entire life was spent and whose interests he ever had at heart and sought to promote whenever occasion presented itself, and he was one of the most interested spectators to the growth of the city of Fort Wayne from a country village to a metropolis of great importance, performing well his part in the same transformation.
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Mr. Sommers was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, September 16, 1863, and here he grew to manhood and spent his life. He was the scion of a sterling old pioneer family, the son of Frederick and Mary (Mergel) Sommers, both parents natives of Germany, where they grew to maturity, received their education and were married. Frederick Sommers was a miller by trade. He brought his family to America a half century ago or more and settled in Fort Wayne, where he established the family home, and here he and his wife spent the rest of their lives, both being now deceased. They became the parents of six children, and three daughters still reside here; they are Mrs. George Humbrecht, Mrs. William Pomeroy and Mrs. William Boediker, also a brother.
The parents of the subject both died within a short time of each other, and their son, Henry G., went to live with his unele, the late H. G. Wagner, in whose family he was reared, and when he reached the age of ten years he took employment in his unele's drug store and spent the remainder of his life in that business. Following the death of Mr. Wagner, which occurred seventeen years prior to that of Henry G. Sommers, the latter became owner of the property and he retained the ownership until his death, the business being continued by him under the firm name of H. G. Wagner Drug Company. He was very successful in this line of endeavor, kept well advised on the progress of pharmacy and his store was one of the most popular in the city and one of the best managed, drawing its customers by the hundreds from all over Allen county, throughout which he was known as an estimable citizen.
Politieally, Mr. Sommers was a Democrat and was always loyal to his party's principles, and he served several years in the city council as a representative from the second ward, for three consecutive terms, during which he did much for the permanent good of the city, and was so officiating at the time of his death. which ocenrred on April 23, 1906, at his beautiful and commodious home, No. 122 Washington boulevard, East, at the age of forty- two years. Ile had been an invalid for some time, almost helpless, in fact, for nine years.
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