USA > Indiana > Memorial record of northeastern Indiana > Part 38
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LARENCE W. EDSALL .- In connection with the preceding memoir of one of Fort Wayne's honored pioneers. there is a marked congruity in offering a brief outline of the life of his son who has worthily maintained the honors which have come as his natural heritage, and who is himself a representa- tive citizen of the city. Clarence W. Edsall is a native son of Fort Wayne, the date of his birth having been June 28, 1850.
He attended the public schools of the city until he had attained the age of thirteen years, when he went to Hayesville, Ohio, and effectively supplemented his preliminary discipline by pursuing a two-years course of study in Vermillion University. At the expiration of this period he returned to Fort Wayne, and from here accompanied his father to Chicago, where he assisted the latter in his business operations for a year. He then accepted a position as bookkeeper for the Spalding Iron Works, in Ohio, retain- ing this incumbency two years, after which he returned to his native city and here assumed the management of a warehouse for his father, buying and shipping grain. After a year he again went to Ohio and for six months conducted a general merchan- dise business in that State, and at the expiration of that time disposed of his store and became associated with John and Daniel O'Connell in a contract to build eight miles of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. The road was completed in 1870, in which year our subject's father was elected County Clerk and Clarence became his deputy, con- tinuing his services in that capacity until 1878. In the meantime he had taken up the study of law, and in 1875 he was ad- mitted to the bar. On retiring from the office of the County Clerk he established himself in the practice of his profession in Fort Wayne, and soon acquired a represent- ative clientage, his professional ability and honorable methods gaining to him the respect and confidence of the public and securing to him unmistakable prestige as a member of the bar of the county. In 1894 he was elected to the important office of Auditor of Allen county, and is now serving in that capacity. In his political adherency he is a stalwart member of the Democratic
J. D. Hunt.
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party, in whose interests he has been an active worker.
Mr. Edsall has maintained a deep in terest in the Masonic order for a number of years past and is prominently identified with the several bodies of the same, having advanced to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite.
The marriage of our subject was con- summated on the 5th of June, 1872, when he was united to Miss Cordelia M. Crane, daughter of A. M. Crane, of Illinois, and they are the parents of three sons: William S., Manford S., and Henry Colerick. The first named is the efficient deputy in his father's office.
OYT B. HUNT (whose portrait appears on the opposite page) .- It now becomes the privilege of the biographist to offer a resume of the life of one who stands forth as a prominent and influential citizen of Fort Wayne, one who is concerned with the city's industries and one whose ancestral history has been conspicuously identified with that of the United States since the early pioneer days when were essayed the initial steps which marked the inception of the grandest repub- lic the world has ever known. Representa- tives of the family have loyally served their country in the time of war, and their patriotic devotion was unstinted while they were recognized as honorable and valuable citizens. The subject of this sketch has labored effectively in the cause of Chris- tianity, having for many years been engaged in active ministerial work, and having been a power for good through his efforts in that calling, as has he ever in the private walks of life. At the present time he occupies the
distinctive preferment as general agent of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, one of the most magnificent and reliable organiza- tions of the kind operating in the entire Union.
Our subject's father, Theodore Hunt, is a native of Fostoria, Ohio, where he was born on the 20th of May, 1826, and where for many years he was engaged in contracting and building. At the outbreak of the late war of the Rebelllon he enlisted as a member of Company B, Fifty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which he was made Corporal, proceeding with his command to the front, where he served with signal honor and dis- tinction. In recognition of his gallant conduct on the field of battle he was pro- moted to the rank of Lieutenant. Among the engagements in which he participated were the battles of Montgomery, White Sulphur Springs, Cedar Mountain and second Bull Run. For three weeks prior to the last named he was under continuous fire. In the fall of 1862 he received a severe sun- stroke and not until after five days had elapsed was he taken to the hospital, having passed this interval in the woods where he received no medical attention and only such slight care as his comrades could offer! In the second battle of Bull Run he was wounded in the hip and ankle and also received internal injuries from the effects of which he has never fully recovered. On account of the physical disabilities thus in- curred he was honorably discharged from the service in January, 1863. He is still living and now maintains his residence in DeKalb county, Indiana. His patriotism came to him as a natural heritage, since both his father and grandfather were active par- ticipants in the wars of their country, the
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former having served as a soldier in the war of 1812, and the latter in that of the Revolu- tion. Theodore Hunt was united in mar- riage in 1847 to Miss Hannah Broughton, a native of the Buckeye State, and they became the parents of eight children, of whom six are now living.
Hoyt B. Hunt, the immediate subject of this review, was born at Hickory Corners, Barry county, Michigan, on the 20th of De- cember, 1851. When he was six years of age the family removed to Fostoria, Ohio, where he entered the public school and con- tinued his educational discipline until he at- tained the age of seventeen. This disci- pline was supplemented by an academic and college course. In the meantime he had de- termined to devote his life to the noble work of the ministry, and accordingly began the work of preparation for his holy calling by devoting three years to the study of theol- ogy. He graduated at Drew Theological Seminary in 1879, and soon after this be- came associated with the Minnesota Confer- ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church, his initial charge in said conference being at Princeton, Minnesota. From that place he was subsequently appointed to Litchfield in the same State. After an acceptable service there he was transferred to the North Indiana Conference, receiving an appoint- ment at La Grange, which circuit embraced four churches. Later he was assigned the pastorate at Bristol, Indiana, where he re- mained for two years. In 1884 he was transferred to the Michigan Conference and stationed at Parkville and subsequently at Vicksburg. He was an earnest and devoted worker, and in his efforts in behalf of the noble cause in which he labored he spared himself in no way, drawing so heavily upon his physical and nervous vitality that he was
stricken with nervous prostration and was compelled to cease his labors and to take a vacation. As his recuperation was slow, his physician advised him not to re-enter the ministry, or at least not to resume his labors in that field until after he had entire- ly recovered. Believing it imperative that this advice should be followed he continued for some time aside from the active duties of life. A position in the employ of the Equitable Life Insurance Company as special agent having been tendered him by J. C. Day, the manager of the company's interests in Michigan, and feeling that a change in occupation might be beneficial, Mr. Hunt accepted the position and for two years served as such agent of the company. Within this interval he fully demonstrated his ability and eminent capacity for the successful carrying on of this line of work. At the expiration of the time noted he was tendered a general agency of the company with which he is now associated, -the Northwestern Mutual Life. He accepted the overtures and entered upon the duties of his new office on the Ist of January, 1890. His original contract with this company cov- ered a period of five years. Upon the ex- piration of this term, January 1, 1895, so effective had been his efforts in advancing the interests of the company that the con- tract was then renewed for a period of ten years. Within the five years that he main- tained the agency the volume of business in his jurisdiction increased fully three-fold. He is considered one of the most capable executives and most discerning of the repre- sentatives of this celebrated company.
While he has retired from the work of the ministry, he is still an active laborer in behalf of the church. He is now identified with the Westminster Church of Fort
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Wayne, is assistant Superintendent of the Sunday-school, and a teacher in the school. In his political adherency Mr. Hunt is a stal- wart advocate of the principles maintained and advanced by the Republican party. Fraternally he is prominently identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 19.
The marriage of our subject was sol- emnized May 27, 1874, when he was united to Miss Ida M. Rockwood, daughter of Louis Rockwood, a prominent resident of Ohio.
ENRY KELLER, manager of the Fort Wayne Steam Stone Works, is one of the worthy citizens that the Fatherland has furnished to northeastern Indiana. He was born in Ger- many on the 7th of November, 1853, and obtained his early education in his native land, attending the government schools until sixteen years of age. When he left the school-room he crossed the Atlantic to America, the date of his emigration being 1870. Becoming a resident of Chicago, he there learned the stone-cutter's trade and made that city his home until 1884, for five years holding the responsible position of foreman of one of the largest stone yards in the State and the oldest in the city. He ap- plies himself diligently to any task which comes to him and this thoroughness made him master of his business and enabled him to command the position which he so cred- itably and acceptably filled. Through his own efforts therefore he accumulated some capital, which he resolved to invest in a busi- ness of his own.
Accordingly, on the 2d of February, 1884, Henry Keller removed to Fort Wayne, and purchased a half interest in the stone works
of Frederick Roth. The firm of Roth & Keller met with splendid success and is now doing the most extensive business in the city. Mr. Roth died September 14, 1888, but the firm name was continued until 1890, when Charles G. Braun was admitted to a partnership, and the firm style of Keller & Braun was assumed. They have the only steam derrick in northern Indiana, and every other appliance for conducting a successful business. This business was established about twenty-three years ago and has con- tinued at the same location to the present time, passing through various hands. When Mr. Keller became a member of the com- pany operations were conducted on a small scale, but each year has seen an increase in the patronage, and they employ from forty to sixty men and do a general stone-cutting business. They also take large contracts for furnishing stone for various buildings and have supplied the cut stone for the United States court-house and postoffice building, city hall, asylum for feeble-minded, Schmitz block, Baltes build- ing, Sængerbund Hall, Sentinel building, Rich & Baker's building, Soldiers' Monu- ment at North Side Park, St. Mary's Cath- olic church, St. Peter's Catholic church, St. Paul's German Lutheran church, at Fort Wayne, Indiana; Huntington County bank, high school, I. O. O. F. building, First M. E. church, residences of Jacob Boos and George J. Bippus, at Huntington, Indiana; county jail and Humphrey & Hughes block, at Van Wert, Ohio; Wells county court- house, at Bluffton, Indiana; Paulding county court-house, at Paulding, Ohio; Westcott Hotel, at Richmond, Indiana; Fire and Po- lice Station, Elkhart, same State; Wysor Grand Opera House, Muncie, this State; Catholic church, at Peru, Indiana; city hall
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and engine house, opera house at Defiance, Ohio; county jail at Decatur, Indiana; resi- dence of William Rumely and A. J. Stahl at La Porte, Indiana; St. Joseph's Catholic church, Mishawaka, Indiana; St. Henry's Catholic church, St. Henry, Ohio; Com- mercial Club building, Marion, Indiana; First National bank, Newcastle, Indiana; Columbia Hotel, Montpelier, Indiana; Ho- tel Ingram, Hartford City, Indiana; Jay County Infirmary, Portland, Indiana; I. O. O. F. and F. A. M. building, Pennville, Indiana; C. J. Eyanson's building, Colum- bia City, Indiana; Shamrock Hotel, Geneva, Indiana, and others too numerous to men- tion. The company are now working on the Slocum Library building for the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. The fine character of these buildings indi- cates the high standing of the firm of Keller & Braun, who receive their patronage from the best class of people. They faithfully fulfill every contract, and their honorable, straightforward dealing has won for them the high regard of many friends.
While residing in Chicago, Mr. Keller was married, on the 4th of January, 1880, to Miss Ida Scheibe, a native of that city, who died in 1882, leaving one son, Fred- erick. On the 11th of November, 1884, was celebrated his marriage to Miss Mary Leitl, a native of Germany. By this mar- riage there were five children, of whom four are now living, namely: Henry, Ida, Mary and Adolph.
Mr. Keller's life has been purely a busi- ness one. Throughout his career he has made the most of his opportunities, and owes his success not to a fortunate combi- nation of circumstances but to his well directed and earnest efforts and enterprise. He has known how to do the right thing at
the right time, has won the public confi- dence by his honorable life and well merits the liberal patronage he receives.
ARLOS E. RHOADES, secretary of the Indiana Farmers' Savings & Loan Association, is a young man of sterling business qualities, who has successfully worked up to his pres- ent position by the strictest application of his splendid business qualities. He at- tended the public schools until he was eight- een years of age, and, being of a studious disposition, he made good progress in his studies and was well equipped when he left school to transact the ordinary business of commercial transactions.
His school days over, he accepted a po- sition in the mercantile establishment of Mr. D. White, of Clyde, Ohio. Here he stead- fastly remained until attaining his majority, having won the confidence of his employer as well as establishing a personal popularity with the trade. Obtaining employment in the service of the Ohio Farmers' Insurance Company, of Le Roy, Ohio, he resolutely set his face to the prosecution of a work that was entirely new to him, and the difficulties he encountered at the outset would have discouraged most persons. Mr. Rhoades' pluck and persistency are best illustrated by his experience on his trial trip, so to speak. He traveled afoot for thirty days before he wrote a policy. Some men would have done that sort of thing for a week and dropped out; others might have "stuck" for another week and gone down to defeat and never heard of again in the insurance business; but not so Mr. Rhoades: he was made of sterner stuff; he plodded on. It may have occurred to him that other men
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had sold insurance and that insurance could be again sold, -a fact he verified at the end of the month; and it also proved to him that if one man could be induced to protect his property any number could. The result was, Mr. Rhoades remained in the business, completed the trip and upon his return home to Clyde the same company assigned him to Indianapolis, Indiana. He bought a horse, saddle and bridle for forty dollars and started on a jaunt of 150 miles to his territory, which he reached in seven days, and had $20 more in his pocket at the end of the journey than when he started. With this company he remained two and a half years, writing 1,478 policies. This was, indeed, a phenomenal success, -so much so that, knowledge of it coming to the Continental Insurance Company of New York, the man- ager of that company tendered to him the special agency of the State of Indiana, which Mr. Rhoades accepted, contracting for three years, but he remained seven and was emi- nently successful. Then the Providence Life Assurance Society of New York gave him the commission of a general agent for the State of Iowa, for which company he worked two years, when, not feeling at home in Iowa, he returned to Indiana. A year later he accepted a position as State agent for the National Accident Insurance Company of Indiana, which position he surrendered two years later to accept the management of the Union National Building & Loan Associa- tion of Indianapolis, at a greatly increased salary. Being familiar with the building and loan methods he came to Fort Wayne, in 1892, and organized a company of which he is now secretary,-one of the most suc- cessful and popular building and loan associ- ations in the State of Indiana; its office is 32 East Berry street. Socially, Mr. Rhoades
is a member of the K. of P., Elks, Mac- cabees, and the Order of Ben Hur.
His marriage to Miss Hattie, daughter of Rev. Henry, of Flora, Illinois, occurred in 1893. They have two children, -Master Harry and Miss Blanche. Dr. E. Rhoades, the respected father of Carlos E., was a na- tive of Troy, New York, while his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Clark, was a native of Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Doctor Rhoades were born seven children, two sons and five daughters, of whom Car- los E. was fourth, his birth occurring in Medina county, Ohio, on March 17, 1856.
A NGELO KUTCHE .- Into the com- plex fabric of our national com- monwealth have entered elements representing almost every civilized nation on the globe, and each element has had its part in conserving the textile strength of the composite whole-an entirety indi- cating the grandest republic under the blue firmament. In the subject of the present review we have one who not only holds rank as one of the representative and most high- ly honored of the progressive business men of Fort Wayne, but one to whose career peculiar interest attaches in the premises, from the fact that he is a native of Greece, and that he is the only Greek residing in the city, conducting here an extensive wholesale and retail confectionery business.
Mr. Kutche was born in Greece and there passed the first twenty years of his life, receiving a good practical education, thereafter learning the art of manufacturing fine candies, spending a number of years in eon of the leading manufactories in his na- tive land. His father, Demitre Kutche, was a Greek and "to the manner born," being
MEMORIAL RECORD OF
Ascended from our of the old and promi- Wont Mmilies of that fair and classic land. He was an extensive land-owner and a man if wealth and influence.
Angelo Kutche gained in his native land a good idea of the inducements which were offered in the United States to young men who were ambitious to secure a tangible success in the affairs of life, and he became thoroughly imbued with the desire to try his fortunes in the New World-the result being that, at the age of twenty years, he left his sunlit Eastern home and set sail for America. Unlike the average foreigner who comes to this country, he was provided with considerable means and was able to retain the dignity to which his native social posi- tion entitled him. Upon arriving at New York city he did not immediately seek em- ployment or business associations, but wisely determined to give a certain time to familiarizing himself with the people, their manners and their mode of life-realizing that this plan would prove economical in the end, since he would not be so greatly handicapped in his initial efforts. Some- what less than a year had elapsed ere he fully determined to make America his perma- nent abiding place, and by this time he had so sufficiently investigated the advantages and inducements offered as to be able to direct his efforts intelligently and consecutive- ly toward the goal of success.
Mr. Kutche decided to locate in the South- west, and selected Galveston, Texas, as the field of his endeavors. He directed his course to that city and there entered into partner- ship with Peter Berdos, in the wholesale and retail confectionery business, believing firmly in the old adage that the shoemaker should stick to his last. He was conversant with all the details of this line of industry and felt
that it offered him the maximum possibilities in the way of a successful business career. Our subject continued operations at Galves- ton for three and one-half years, after which he sold his interest to his partner and re- moved to Mobile, Alabama, where he be- came associated in business with Peter Ax- inthe, continuing in the same occupation which had been that of his early youth. He remained in Mobile only six months, and thence came north to Indiana and located in Fort Wayne, where he has since retained his residence and where he has built up a most prosperous business, representing one of the important commercial enterprises of the city. The date of his arrival here was June, 1892, and he has conducted operations on his individual responsibility, having taken no associate. From his establishment is conducted both a wholesale and retail busi- ness and in each department the concern enjoys distinctive popularity and support. The favorable reputation gained is the result not only of the correct business methods maintained, but of the superior excellence of the products of the establishment, which include the finer grades of French confec- tions, creams, bon-bons, etc., in addition to the goods of more moderate price. The manufactory is equipped with the most im- proved mechanical devices and other acces- sories, and while a corps of trained assistants is retained, yet Mr. Kutche himself super- vises every detail of the work, scrutinizes all products and knows exactly the class of goods he is offering to his patrons, no inferior article being allowed to pass muster. Honor and integrity have characterized his business career in Fort Wayne and he is held in high esteem in the city and among all with whom he has had dealings.
Mr. Kutche is a man of excellent mental
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acquirements, has supplemented his prelimi- nary education by careful study and reading, is well informed in regard to current topics and is an honor to the city and the country which he has adopted as his home. By reason of his facile command of his native language and his distinctive knowledge, he is held in high favor by and is much sought after by the students in the Fort Wayne College, who appreciate him for his many excellent qualities and for the instruction and information he is always willing to impart.
ON. CHAUNCEY B. OAKLEY .-- Industry in useful pursuits, truly and vigorously applied, never fails of success: it carries a man onward and upward, brings out his individual char- acter, and powerfully stimulates the action of others. The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means and the exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense and perseverance. The every-day life, with its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunity for acquiring experience of the best kind, and its well beaten paths provide the true worker with abundant scope for effort and room for self-improvement, and ultimate advancement to positions of high trust and responsibility.
It is now our purpose to take briefly un- der review the life history of one who has attained a marked prestige in the holding of the highest office in the gift of the people of Fort Wayne-that of Mayor of the city- who has rendered to the Union the valiant service of the patriotic and loyal son of the republic, and who has made his life one of signal usefulness in the more prosaic lines of business or commercial enterprise. As Mayor of Fort Wayne, Colonel Oakley maintains a
progressive attitude in regard to municipal improvements, aiming at all times to insure wise economy in the dispensation of affairs, and to effect such reforms in service and government as the best interests of the pub- lic demand. He manifests his appreciation of the honor conferred upon him by untiring efforts to promote the material prosperity of the city, believing that in so doing he can justify the trust reposed in him, and his ad- ministration is one which will ever be re- verted to as one of utmost fidelity and hon- esty.
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