Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 40

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 932

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present position of affluence and influence, and you have an object lesson, plain and practical. It is not luck or influence or in- herited wealth that makes such men, but work, persistence and pluck.

J ULIUS NATHAN. - He whose name initiates this review is distinctively one of the foremost business men of the city of Fort Wayne and has by his enterprise and progressive methods con- tributed in a material way to the commer- cial advancement of the city and is regarded as a representative citizen in every sense of the term. Of keen discernment, he has in the course of an honorable career been most successful in the business enterprises with which he has been concerned, and is well de- serving of consideration in this connection. Our subject is well known throughout In- diana and adjoining States as the senior member of the firm of Julius Nathan & Company, distillers and wholesale dealers in wines and liquors. Their establishment, which is located at Nos. 137 and 139 Cal- houn street, is recognized as one of the most extensive and important liquor houses in the State. In the conduct of this conspicuous enterprise our subject has as his associate Max Rubin, who also is an able and honora- ble business man. They are the proprie- tors of a large and finely equipped distillery in Daviess county, Kentucky, and there are produced the celebrated and popular Belle of Daviess County hand-made, sour-mash Bourbon and rye whiskies, whose superior excellence is unmistakable, as is shown in the constantly augmentive demand for the goods. The firm place none but thoroughly inspect- ed and well matured whiskies on the market, and they have on hand at all times a large

stock of their celebrated brands, both in the bonded warehouses at the point where the distillery is located and also in their store rooms in Fort Wayne. They also handle other whiskies of standard national reputa- tion, as well as domestic and imported wines, gins, brandies, etc. Their great specialties, however, are the fine rye and Bourbon whis- kies. The trade territory covered by the establishment comprises not only Indiana and neighboring States, but the sale of the products extends into many distant sections of the Union, and is showing a constant ex- pansion. Having briefly noted the charac- ter of the successful enterprise to which our subject devotes his attention, we will now turn in detail to the more salient points in his career as leading up to his identification with the business interests of Fort Wayne.

Julius Nathan is a native of Bavaria, Germany, where he was born on the 15th of January, 1847, the son of Jacob and Reka (Loeb) Nathan, representatives of old and prominent families of the German empire. The father was a wealthy and prosperous merchant in Bavaria and was a man of high character and marked business ability, being one of the influential citizens of the com- munity in which he lived. He died in his native land after he had rounded out a long and useful life, his death occurring when he had attained the venerable age of seventy- two years. The mother of our subject died at the age of forty-two years. Jacob and Reka Nathan became the parents of six chil- dren,-three sons and three daughters, -of whom six are now living. Julius was the fourth child in order of birth and he was afforded in his boyhood and youth all the advantages which could be given by devoted parents whose means were ample, and also there was wisdom shown in the instilling into

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his mind the principles of honor and integ- rity and a regard for honest and consecutive industry. Until he was fifteen years of age he attended the excellent public schools of his native province and he then entered col- lege at Frankfort-on-the-Main, where he completed a thorough course of study, fitting him for the active duties of life. After leav- ing college Mr. Nathan accepted a position in the wholesale dry-goods house of A. Wolf & Company, at Frankfort-on-the-Main, retaining his connection with this house until 1866. In the meanwhile he had read and investigated much in regard to the superior advantages afforded for advancement in America, and after revolving the matter fully in his mind he determined to come to this country, which he did in the year mentioned. After his arrival in New York he remained for a short time in the East, but finally de- cided to further follow the star of empire, and accordingly came West to Indiana. After looking about for a favorable location, he finally established himself in the dry-goods business at Winamac, this State, formulat- ing a copartnership with Herman Falk. He soon effected the purchase of his part- ner's interests, and conducted the enterprise individually until 1875, when he sold the business to Frankel & Oppenheimer. Within the same year he came to Fort Wayne, with the interests of which city he has ever since been identified. Here he associated himself with his brother, Herman, and engaged in the wholesale liquor business, an. industry with which he has been consecutively con- nected since that time. In 1878 Leo Straus was admitted to partnership and from that time until 1891 the business was conducted under the firm name of Nathan Brothers & Straus. In 1881 Herman Nathan removed to Chicago, as did also Mr. Straus, and Mr.

Straus also withdrew from the firm, where- upon the present association of our subject with Mr. Rubin was formed. The success which has attended operations is in a large measure due to the correct business methods and the scrupulous integrity which our sub- ject has brought to bear, and he has in- cidentally gained the respect and confidence not only of the residents of the community, but of all with whom he has had dealings in his extensive business operations.

Our subject married Miss Carrie Wolf, and they have three children, concerning whom we make brief record as follows: Rose is the wife of S. J. Straus, a promi- nent and influential resident of Ligonier, Indiana, where he now holds the honorable preferment as Mayor of the city; Charles is a member of the firm of A. Hirsh & Com- pany, extensive wholesale dealers in paper in Fort Wayne, and Chester, who is twelve years old and at home. The family residence of our subject is one of the most beautiful in the city, having been erected by him in the year 1887. The attractive home gives every evidence of the taste and refinement of its occupants.

In his fraternal relations Mr. Nathan is prominently identified with the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias, in the former of which he has advanced to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is also a member of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, a Hebrew benevolent society of noble functions. It contributes to the effective care and maintenance of Hebrew orphans and has an asylum at Cleveland, Ohio, which is recognized as one of the finest eleemosynary institutions in the Union. Other organizations with which our subject is associated are the Allen County Building and Loan Association and

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the Lindenwood Cemetery Association, in each of which he is a director. He is closely identified with the time-honored and noble religious faith of his fathers, and is one of the Trustees of the Jewish Church in this city.

Mr. Nathan has not circumscribed his enterprise and progressive spirit within selfish and narrow boundaries, but has ever stood ready to lend influence and tangible aid in furthering such interests as will prove of benefit to the city and its people, being broad-minded and public-spirited and a" business man whose value to the community is not to be lightly estimated.

EORGE A. BISHOP, of the firm of Bishop & Lackey, dry-goods mer- chants of Auburn, Indiana, is one of the best known and most popu- lar business men in De Kalb county. Fol- lowing is a resume of his life:

George A. Bishop was born in the his- toric town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, September 17, 1845, son of Peter Bishop, also a native of that place. Peter Bishop was by trade a manufacturer of woolens. In 1849 he emigrated with his family to Indi- ana and settled at Spencerville, De Kalb county, where he bought a tract of land and engaged in farming, and where George A. was reared. Young Bishop attended the district schools and the Newville high school and had not yet completed his studies when the Civil war broke out. As the war con- tinued to rage and as more troops were needed to fill up the depleted ranks, he en- listed in the fall of 1863, then at the age of eighteen, and went out as a private in Com- pany F, 129th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was with his command in all its move-

ments, acting the part of a brave, true sol- dier, until they were mustered out at Wash- ington, District of Columbia, in September, 1865, the war being over.

Returning home, Mr. Bishop was em- ployed in assisting his father on the farm until the fall of 1867. At that time he ac- cepted a position with Root & Company of Fort Wayne, with which firm he remained four years. The next year he traveled in the interest of the Fort Wayne Tobacco Company, and on leaving the road he re- turned to Spencerville and entered the em- ploy of J. D. Leighty, dealer in general merchandise. Subsequently he and his father purchased Mr. Leighty's stock of goods, and until 1888 conducted business under the firm name of F. Bishop & Son. In the mean- time, in 1887, Mr. Bishop assisted in organ- izing the Zimmerman Manufacturing Com- pany, and, later, he was one of the organ- izers of the Auburn Manufacturing Company, of which he was for four years president. In 1886 he was elected County Clerk of De Kalb county, the duties of which office oc- cupied his time until October, 1892. In 1893, in partnership with Mr. G. W. Lackey, he bought the stock of merchandise of W. P. Harter & Company, and has since con- ducted business under the name of Bishop & Lackey. They occupy a two-story building, 44 x 120 feet in dimensions, and in addition to their large and well selected stock of dry goods they carry a fine line of carpets, the second floor of their building being devoted to carpets. This is the largest store of its kind in De Kalb county. Both Mr. Bishop and Mr. Lackey are business men of marked ability and are justly deserving of their large patronage.

Mr. Bishop was married in 1872 to Miss Mary Silberg, who died in 1881, at the age

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of thirty-four years, leaving two children. George .A., Jr., the elder of these two, is now cashier in his father's store; the younger is Mary V. November 24, 1881, Mr. Bishop married for his second wife Miss Lillian L. Silberg, a sister of his former companion. Their union has been blessed in the birth of three children, two daughters and a son, namely: Catherine E., Bertha and Walter G.

Like most of the veterans of the Civil war, Mr. Bishop is identified with the Grand Army of the Republic. He is also a Knight of Pythias. Politically, he is an ardent Republican.

LFRED S. JOHNS is entitled to distinction as the pioneer saddler of Indiana, his shop being the old- est in the State, and is one of the venerable citizens of Fort Wayne, whose well spent life has brought him the honor and respect which should always crown old age. In the years of his business career he was prominently connected with the com- mercial interests of northeastern Indiana and became widely known. He has lived through the administration of every presi- dent since James Madison was the chief ex- ecutive of the nation. He has seen the de- velopment of the great Northwest, the open- ing up to civilization of the vast territory be- yond the Mississippi, has seen the introduc- tion of railroads, and steamboat navigation, of telegraph and telephone, and has wit- nessed the great revolution in the methods of manufacturing. To-day, in the midst of the advanced civilization of this latter part of the nineteenth century, he is living re- tired, surrounded by the fruits of his former toil and enjoying the confidence and high

regard of young and old, rich and poor, humble and great.

Alfred S. Johns is of Welsh lineage. His grandfather, John Johns, was a native of Liverpool, England, born while his par- ents were on their way to America, in 1733, crossing the briny deep to the New World and locating in Pennsylvania. His son, Arnold S. Johns, the father of our subject, was born in Philadelphia, January 19, 1784, and died in Toronto, Jefferson county, Ohio, March 15, 1866, at the age of eighty-two years. On attaining adult age he engaged in the manufacture of agri- cultural implements in his native State, and when he had followed that pursuit in Penn- sylvania for some years, he moved to Ohio. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Moore, was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which historic old town was laid out by and named in honor of her grandfather Getty. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Johns was celebrated July 17, 1809, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Blyban Ramsey. As the years passed by their union was blessed with eight sons and daughters, Alfred S. being the third in order of birth.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, August 24, 1812, Mr. Johns of this sketch was born. On the 22d of October, 1822, his mother died, and he then started out in life for him- self, at the age of ten years. In the town of Washington, Pennsylvania, he secured em- ployment as errand boy and later became clerk. In his youth he manifested a steadi- ness at his work and a fidelity to duty which argued well for future success. At the age of eighteen he entered upon an apprentice- ship to the trade of saddlery and harness- making at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and in three years had thoroughly mastered the

Chas. E. Frcielt.

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business in all its details. He was then em- ployed as a journeyman in various places, including three years spent in Dayton, Ohio, and in 1837 he arrived in Indiana, bringing with him a number of saddles and bridles which he had made to sell to the Indians. On the 10th of January, he reached the lit- tle town of Fort Wayne, and so favorably was he impressed with this part of the coun- try and its future prospects that he decided to locate in this city and engage in business here.

After ten years spent in this frontier town, during which time he had succeeded in estab- lishing a good business, he returned, in April, 1837, to Dayton, Ohio, where he was united in marriage to Miss Evelyn Baker, daughter of John Baker, of that city. He then brought his bride to his new home, seven days being required in making the journey by team to Fort Wayne. A year later, on the 22d of October, 1838, the wife was called from this life, leaving a little son, Edward S. Johns, who is now a resident of Columbia City, Indiana, being connected with the Daily Mail of that place. On the 24th of August, 1843, Mr. Johns was again married, his sec- ond union being with Miss Malvina J. Thomp- son, daughter of Caleb Thompson, of Cin- cinnati, Ohio. She died January 16, 1861, leaving five children, all of whom are living, as follows: Garrett, who resides in Duluth, Minnesota; Alfred L., who succeeded to his father's business; Emma O .; wife of Richard Kirby, of Toledo, Ohio; Louis B., a resident of Kansas City, Missouri; and Malvina, who presides over her father's home in Fort Wayne.

For nearly half a century Mr. Johns en- gaged in the harness business in Fort Wayne. He was the pioneer in his line of trade and for some years commanded the entire 19

patronage of a wide-extended territory; and as the population of northeastern In- diana increased and similar establishments were started, he yet retained a liberal patronage, which made his business a profit- able one. He began operations on a small scale, but as his trade increased he extended his facilities until he had a most complete harness and saddlery establishment. In 1874 he admitted to partnership his son, Alfred L., who ten years later bought out the business, while the father retired to pri- vate life. Alfred L. Johns is still at the head of the concern, which was founded by his father fifty-eight years ago, and now has the largest trade of the kind in the State.

During his early residence in this city Mr. Johns took an active part in municipal affairs, was elected Alderman in 1841, and was nominated for a second term, but de- clined to run. Since the organization of the party he has been an ardent supporter of Republican principles, and throughont life has kept well informed on the issues of the day. He is a public-spirited man who has always been interested in the progress made by the nation and along the lines of commercial activity. His community has found in him a valued citizen, who has with- held his support from no worthy enterprise of interest. Fort Wayne owes it upbuilding to such men as he, and this record would be incomplete without the sketch of this honored pioneer, Alfred S. Johns.

a HARLES E. EVERETT .- Success in any line of occupation, in any avenue of business, is not a matter of spontaneity, but is the legitimate offspring of subjective effort in the proper

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utilization of the means at hand, the im- provement of opportunity and the exercise of the highest functions made possible by the specific ability in any case. In view of this condition the study of biography becomes valuable, and its lessons of practical use. To trace the history of a successful life must ever prove profitable and satisfying indulgence, for the history of the individual is the history of the nation, the history of the nation that of the world. The subject of this review is a man to whom has not been denied a full measure of success, who stands distinctively as one of the representative citizens of Fort Wayne, and who is a recognized factor of importance in connection with the political affairs of the State. Mr. Everett is con- spicuously identified with a line of business which has marked bearing upon the indus- trial activities and the material prosperity of any community,-that of real estate and in- surance, -and his acumen and discrimina- tion in the conduct of extensive operations have given him prestige as a financier and practical man of affairs.

Mr. Everett is a native of the old Buck- eye State, having been born at Mansfield, Ohio, on the 10th of May, 1857, the son of J. H. and Rebecca (Miller) Everett. J. H. Everett was a native of Virginia, and by profession was a physician, having been a man of signal ability and high intellectual attainments. His erudition in scientific lines was most exact and comprehensive, and dur- ing the last twenty years of his life he trav- eled extensively throughout the Union, lec- turing upon scientific questions and acquir- ing distinctive honors. He was possessed of superior oratorical powers, and this at- tribute contributed in a large measure to his success as a public speaker, for he was enabled to clothe the dry facts of science in

such verbiage as to render his utterances not only a vehicle of information but of en- tertainment, his discussions appealing strong- ly to popular favor while also enlisting the careful attention of the most discerning scientific minds. He died at Bryan, in March, 1895, having attained the age of sixty-seven years, and having gained recog- nition as one of the able, scholarly and hon- orable men of his day. The mother of our subject was a native of Ohio, and by her marriage to Mr. Everett she became the mother of three sons and two daughters.

Charles E. Everett, to whom this review is dedicated, attended the public schools until he had attained the age of fifteen years, when the death of his father rendered it necessary for him to resign his studies and to assume a personal responsibility. The family were left in somewhat straitened cir- cumstances, and our subject, mere boy that he was, did not flinch from the filial duty devolving upon him, but willingly went forth to aid in caring for his mother and the other members of the family. He first se- cured employment in the grocery of S. S. Knapp, of Bryan, Ohio, and retained this incumbency for the period of three years, within which interval the business had be- come the property of E. S. Jones. He was thereafter engaged for two and one-half years as clerk in the employ of Garver Brothers, who conducted a successful hard- ware business in Bryan, Ohio. The practi- cal discipline thus gained by Mr. Everett had proved far from valueless and had quickened his appreciation of business af- fairs and of the ultimate possibilities for in- dividual accomplishment. He was ambi- tious to broaden his field of endeavor, and his ambition was one of action and of thoroughly defined purpose. With a com-

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prehension of the possibilities for success in the line of insurance he became identified with that phase of business industry in 1885, entering with a full determination to spare no effort, to neglect no opportunity for thoroughly informing himself upon de- tails of system and operation, and to find in- cidental satiety in naught but the maximum of success which it was possible for him to gain in the connection. He secured a po- sition with the Union Central Life Insurance Company, of Cincinnati, and was installed as their special agent at Hicksville, Ohio. Following out the plans already formulated, he gave special attention to the study of the basic principles of life insurance, the minu - tiæ of operations and the comparative values of the different methods pursued by leading companies in offering indemnity. His abil- ity and his fidelity to the interests of the company in whose employ he was retained soon brought to him distinctive recognition through this source, for after two years he was appointed a general agent of the asso- ciation, in which capacity he came to Fort Wayne and here opened an office. His management of the field under his jurisdic- tion has been essentially wise and judicious, and while duly conservative he has spared no effort to broaden the scope and province of his business and has increased the same until it is now to be recognized as one of the most important in the line that the city can claim.

Realizing the natural alliance between insurance and the real-estate and loan busi- ness, Mr. Everett determined to supplement the functions of his agency by the adding of the two lines noted. In March, 1894, he entered into a partnership association with Wallace E. Doud, and under the firm name of Everett & Doud, they now conduct an

extensive and successful business in the way of dealing in city, suburban and country real estate, the extending of financial loans on real-estate security and the handling of mortgages. The agency is one of the most important of the sort in this section of the State, and its range of operations is con- stantly increasing. The public confidence in the representations and the invariable honor of the firm is shown in the support accorded, and through no source could su- perior accommodations be secured or more punctilious regard for clients' interests be observed. The great measure of success which has attended the efforts of Mr. Everett since he started out in life on his own re- sponsibility, and without adventitious aid or influence, stands not only to his honor and credit, but also in evidence of his ability, his assiduous application and his singleness of purpose. Such success is worthy the name.

In his political adherency Mr. Everett is a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and he has been a potent factor in forwarding party in- terests in the State, being an actice worker and displaying the same practical ability and judicial acumen which have conserved his success in his private affairs. He is serving as chairman of the Allen County Republi- can Central Committee, and the estimation in which he is held in the party ranks is shown in no one particular more pertinent- ly than in the fact that his name has been frequently and most prominently men- tioned in connection with the candidacy for Governor of the State, -a position in which he would do honor to himself and the com- monwealth and for which he is eminently qualified as a man of signal ability and one of unswerving integrity of purpose.

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In his fraternal relations our subject is conspicuously identified with the Masonic order, being a Knight Templar and having advanced to the thirty-second degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish rite.

0 AVID W. FAIR, Treasurer of De Kalb county, Indiana, is the eld- est son of Abraham and Christena De Long) Fair. He was born in Butler township, this county, August 9, 1838, being now the second oldest native born male within the limits of De Kalb county. Abraham, the second son of Peter Fair, was born in Frederick county, Mary- land, in 1815; and in 1827 his parents moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, where, in 1835, Abraham was married to Christena De Long, daughter of George, an Ohio pio- neer and soldier. Immediately after the consummation of this important event, he and his young wife started for the wilds of northern Indiana and settled on section 33, Butler township, where he had previously entered 160 acres of land. They built a small log cabin on the banks of Cedar creek, the first in the township, and three miles from their nearest neighbor. He also aided in erecting the first home in Auburn, a dwelling for Wesley Park, in which the first court was afterward held, and met with the first board of county commissioners July 28, 1837.

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Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 40

Author: Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 932

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 932