USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River, Vol. I > Part 48
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From
ONE SEAT Palestino To Alfianco and Return. P.S. Chamberlains ENT
KNOT TRANSFERABLE.
agent orrville FREE OF CHARGE ON THE Cuttsburgh. Fort Wayne and Chicago RAIL ROAD
From Orrville
Fiby 13 861
President
SOME OLD RAILROAD TICKETS.
The three railroad tickets here shown are from the collection of W. M. War- drop, former superintendent of the west- ern division of the Pennsylvania system. The ticket dated 1852 was issued before the Ohio and Pennsylvania road was completed to Crestline. The Ohio and Indiana road was not finished to Fort Wayne until two years later. The lower ticket bears the signature of President George W. Cass.
OCHMIG BIRD.
Of the earlier residents of Fort Wayne whose services have been of lasting value should be remembered the name of Ochmig Bird. Interested in many local projects, Mr. Bird was frequently hon- ored with political positions of trust. From 1854 to 1856 he served as county treasurer; in 1849, 1863 and 1867, he was chosen as the county's representative in the lower house of the legislature, while in 1871 and 1875 he represented Allen, Adams and Wells counties in the state senate. Mr. Bird was a man of practical mind, the type of citizen to represent the people at a time when many important public questions forced themselves upon the state and county authorities. Governmental affairs were in an experimental state, and the prop- er solution of many peculiar problems affecting the future welfare of the state came before the legislatures of which he was a member.
428
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
christened, we suggest that 'Summit City' will be very appropriate. for Fort Wayne, its altitude indicating the appropriateness of the same."
From that time forward the name has been applied to Fort Wayne.
HOW THE TIMES HAVE CHANGED.
The antebellum condition of Allen county farms appears to have been deplorable in comparison with that of the modern days of progress and prosperity. The Times, referring to the newly- established market place, says :
"The vegetable market of this city is a very poor one, which arises from an unparalleled inefficiency, tardiness and unskillfulness in the farming community around here. No city in Indiana is sur- rounded by such a set of sluggards as Fort Wayne, and until the present generation runs out we may expect the same."
The comment is amusing in the light of the prevailing times when the farmers of Allen county are classed with the most pro- gressive of the middle west.
THE CITY MARKET.
The city market to which the writer refers had been erected by H. Nierman earlier in the year 1853, for $2,800, on a contract awarded by the city council. It consisted of a building which occu- pied the site of the present city hall. Extending southward between this building and Washington street was a double row of display stands beneath the shade of trees planted to afford shelter for the farmers and their patrons. This site is now occupied by the modern market house, erected in 1910.
During the summer of 1860 a retail market was established on the west side of Broadway, between Main and Berry streets. It was a one-story structure, provided with the usual stalls and counters. Until 1877, when it was demolished, the building was used as a storage place for a portion of the fire department equipment.
ACTIVITIES OF 1853.
As a result of an exciting election attended by democrats only, John G. Maier was chosen postmaster of Fort Wayne, to serve under President Pierce. There were seven aspirants. Mr. Maier located the office in his place of business on Columbia street; his service extended to the close of the Buchanan administration. Mr. Maier was the first postmaster to receive mail by way of the railroad; he met all trains and carried the mail in his coat pockets. The first letters to arrive by rail were three for Royal W. Taylor. The distant rumble of possible war between the north and the south found its frequent re-echo in Allen county. In this year the military spirit was shown in the organization of a strong company called the Mad Anthony Guards, with George Humphrey, captain, and R. McMullan, O. D. Hurd and C. D. Bond, lieutenants, and the Fort Wayne Dragoons (cavalry) with H. W. Jones as captain, and Sion S. Bass and T. N. Hood, lieutenants. The city council or- dered that the shade trees on the west side of Calhoun street oppo-
L
429
THE FIGHT FOR "FREE" SCHOOLS
1853 1854
site the courthouse square be trimmed "so that the branches of said trees offer no obstruction to persons passing on the sidewalk."
farm. John A. Robinson was hired to build a house thereon for $750, and George Parker was engaged to superintend the farm for one year for $600. A new county clerk's office was erected
N
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TOLEDO & WABASH R.R.
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PIONEER RAILROADS OF NORTHERN INDIANA AND OHIO.
The maps show the Ohio and Pennsyl- vania railroad, the Ohio and Indiana rail- road and the Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad, which were consolidated as the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad-now under lease by the Penn- sylvania Railroad company. The sta- tions on these roads are shown as they existed in 1859, upon the completion of the line into Chicago. The dates indi- cate the time when the roads were con- structed through the various towns. The map also shows the other railroads of the period which traversed the territory included in the maps. Acknowledgement is made to W. M. Wardrop, late superin- tendent of the western division of the Pennsylvania railroad, for the informa- tion here presented.
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, The county commissioners purchased a site for a poor-
LA CROSSE
OWAYNE
430
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE -
on the northwest corner of the courthouse square, at a cost of $1,856.20; Charles G. French was the contractor. Joseph Fremion (born in France, in 1829) established a brick yard north of the city. Among the new residents of the year were William S. ("Popgun") Smith (born in Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1816), gunsmith and school trustee; Frank B. Vogel (born in Zadeldsorf, Germany, in 1840), tailor and fire chief, and Rudolph Siemon (born in Germany, in 1837), merchant. County commissioners elected were Henry Dickerson, William Robinson and Peter Parker. James W. Borden was chosen to succeed Nelson Mclain as judge of the court of common pleas. A brewery was established in 1853 by Herman Hartman; the Phen- ning brewery was erected later in the same year. St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church was founded in 1853. Among the pastors were Revs. Christian Hochstaetter, A. Kleinegees, Hugh B. Kuhn, C. Baumann, John Kucher and H. P. Dannecker.
ACTIVITIES OF 1854.
Among the citizens who dated their residence in Fort Wayne from 1854 were William Ropa (born in Germany in 1834), canal boat owner and market-master; Frederick J. Rodenbeck (born in Hors- pen, Germany, in 1831), iron worker; Henry W. Hilgemann (born in Germany, in 1830), iron worker; Hiram Poyser (born in Starke county, Ohio), contractor and railway coach builder; Solomon Bash (born in Roanoke, in 1853), merchant and miller; Thomas Mannix (born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1837), merchant; Captain James B. White (born in 1835, at Denny, Stirlingshire, Scotland), who rose to prominence in the mercantile, manufacturing and political life of the city and attained to high military honors; Jacob Klett (born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1831), lumber manufacturer; Judge James Cheney, from Defiance, Ohio, prominently identified with banking interests, and one of the promoters of the Atlantic cable, the Wabash railroad, and gas interests; Charles H. Waltemath (born in Westphalen, Germany, in 1849), merchant; Kerr Murray (born in Lanton, Scotland, in 1822), founder of the later extensive gas machinery plant of the Kerr Murray Manufacturing Company ; John J. Jocquel (born in France, in 1812), proprietor of a book and stationery store; Dr. Cornelius S. Smith (born in York county, Pennsylvania, in 1820), physician; John C. Davis, from Bucyrus, Ohio, transportation agent of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad; Thomas R. Pickard (born in Cornwall, England, in 1829), for nearly one-fourth of a century superintendent of the Bass Foundry and Machine works; Abraham Wolf (born in St. Grethen, Germany, in 1830), merchant; and Anthony Zimmerman (born in Baden, Germany, in 1830), merchant. In 1854 Rev. Eleroy Curtis became the pastor of the Second (Westminster) Presbyterian church. His son, William Eleroy Curtis (born at Akron, Ohio, in 1850), rose to distinction as a traveler, journalist and newspaper correspondent. For several years he was director of the bureau of American republics and served as chief of the Latin-American department and historical section of the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago, in 1893.
431
THE FIGHT FOR "FREE" SCHOOLS
1853 1854
NOTE ON CHAPTER XXXIV.
(1) Minor city officials of 1853 were: Marshal and fire chief, S. C. Freeman; street commissioner, William Lannin; treasurer, Ochmig Bird; attorney, F. P. Randall; councilmen, E. Bostick, John J. Trentman. James Vandegriff, W. B. Walter, Milton Henry, F. Nirdlinger, Jacob Foellinger, John Drake (succeed- ed by Richard Chute); J. L. Worden, Henry Drover and Lambert Martin.
Mayor Whitmore was re-elected in 1854; the minor officers were: Treas- urer, Charles F. Muhler; attorney, Charles Case (succeeded by Isaac Jen- kinson); fire chief, Louis Wolke; mar- shal, F. J. Franke; sealer of weights and measures, D. W. Burroughs; civil engineer, J. M. Wilt; street commis- sioner, B. Hutker; assessor, S. S. Morss (resigned, succeeded by William D. Henderson) ; councilmen, W. Borger, Francis Aveline, J. M. Miller, M. Drake,
L. Lauferty, John Arnold, W. H. Link, A. M. Webb, John Orff, H. Wehmer, J. M. Snively and Platt J. Wise; board of health, Dr. W. H. Brooks, P. M. Leonard and James Ormiston-the lat- ter resigned and was succeeded by Dr. Francis Lieber. W. A. Ellis, elected city clerk, misappropriated funds left in his charge, disappeared and left his bondsmen to make good the deficit; A. J. Emrick was appointed to fill the vacancy. In 1854 the city was redis- tricted into five wards.
County officers elected were: Auditor, R. Starkweather; treasurer, Ochmig Bird; sheriff, Richard McMullan; re- corder, E. F. Colerick; clerk, I. D. G. Nelson; surveyor, J. M. Wilt; coroner, John Johnson; commissioners, Henry Dickerson, F. D. Lasselle and William T. Daly; prosecuting attorney, Joseph Brackenridge.
CHAPTER XXXV-1855-1856.
The Execution of Madden and Keefer-Workingman's Library.
Two murderers are put to death in the jail enclosure-A tale of horror- The building of the Wabash railroad-The earliest photographs-The Workingmen's Institute and Library-Major Curtis and his bank-Valu- able storage-Horace Greeley's "Apology"-Early slavery discussion.
T HE MEMORY of a shocking tragedy, accompanying the execu- tion of the demands of the law, remained as a disturbing element in the minds of the people of Allen county long after the day of the hanging of two murderers in Fort Wayne in April, 1855. The law's victims were Benjamin Madden and George Keefer, who confessed to the murder of John Dunbar, on being found guilty after a trial before Judge E. A. McMahon. Samuel Romaine, an accomplice, was saved from the gallows by the hand of Governor Wright, and he received a life sentence for his crime. The execution of Madden and Keefer, in charge of Sheriff Richard McMullen, took place within an enclosure at the Allen county jail. Said the Sentinel :
"At an early hour large crowds of persons began to flock in from the country, and before the time appointed for the execution, the jail was surrounded by a multitude of anxious spectators eager to get a glimpse of the awful tragedy. The Mad Anthony guards [under command of Colonel George Humphrey] and a large police force were stationed around the place to keep the crowd back."
An eye-witness to the execution gives the following detailed account of the tragedy :
"The two men were brought from the jail and the two ropes which were attached to the cross-beams above were placed around their necks. As the word was given, the main rope was cut and the platform dropped, leaving Keefer suspended in mid-air, his life rapidly ebbing away. Horrible to relate, however, the rope by which Madden was suspended snapped in two and dropped him to the ground with a deep red gash at his throat. The miserable wretch walked around among the horror-stricken and almost paralyzed witnesses, saying, 'Don't murder me, boys!' No one moved, until Joel Forbush took Madden and led him again to the scaffold and fastened the rope a second time around his neck. Then a new difficulty presented itself. The platform could not be raised to position, because the body of Keefer was still hanging and life was not extinct. The rope having been placed around Madden's neck, he was suspended a second time, but his feet rested upon the ground. Forbush then climbed to the top of the cross-beam and, holding the rope up from the ground with his strong arms, literally hanged Madden himself."
The crime for which Keefer and Madden were hanged was the brutal murder of Dunbar, an old man, in a lumber yard which 432
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EXECUTION OF MADDEN AND KEEFER
1855 1856
adjoined on the west the present Lincoln Life building, on East Berry street.
THE WABASH RAILROAD.
The construction of the Wabash railroad, now one of the great trunk lines of the middle west, was begun in Ohio in 1854, and the line was completed as far west as Lafayette, Indiana, in the fall of 1856. In the following year the road was completed to the Indiana-Illinois border line, where connection was made with the Great Western and Illinois railroad, then nearly completed to Deca-
ET WAYNE PRINT - ENG
THE ORIGINAL CLAY SCHOOL BUILDING.
The Clay school, completed in 1856, was the first of the city-owned structures. It was destroyed by an incendiary fire in February, 1894, and the present Clay school took its place.
tur, Illinois. Later the two companies were consolidated and the road completed to St. Louis, making the original line 436 miles long.
In 1882 the company lengthened the distances included in its various divisions and at this time Andrews, Indiana, was made a divisional point, requiring the removal from Fort Wayne of about 150 employes. The company's shops at Fort Wayne, erected at the time the first portions of the road were building, included a large dome-shaped roundhouse, one of three of the type built by the road, which was afterward burned,
The Butler branch of the road was constructed in 1901 and opened to traffic in January, 1902.
434
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPHS.
The art of photography, as distinguished from the production of daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and other forms of pictures by mechanical and chemical processes, was first practiced in Fort Wayne by B. H. Benham, who had been engaged in other lines of portraiture. Next in order of the early photographers were William Dunckelberg, who came in 1860, followed in 1862 by John A. Shoaff and Theodore Conklin.
THE WORKINGMEN'S LIBRARY.
The Workingmen's Institute and Library, organized in 1855, was the result of a meeting held at the courthouse, when the follow- ing officers were elected : President, Thomas Tigar; vice-president, John Cochrane; librarian, William Fleming; secretary, John M. Miller; treasurer, George Humphrey. Others interested were Wil- liam S. Smith, John Drake, W. H. Bryant, D. W. Maples and John Arnold. The establishment of this and similar societies and libraries in various parts of America sprang from the benevolence and enthu- siasm of William Maclure, a native of Scotland, a man of wealth and scientific attainments, and an earnest desire to spread the means of popular education. The will of Mr. Maclure provided that his estate should give books to the value of $500 to any society of
THE JEFFERSON SCHOOL.
The woodcut, re-engraved from one of the earlier reports of the Fort Wayne public schools, shows the architectural form of the second city-owned building, the Jefferson school at the southwest corner of Fairfield avenue and Jefferson street. It was erected in 1856, and gave way to the present building.
:435
1855 1856 EXECUTION OF MADDEN AND KEEFER
workingmen who already had a library containing at least 100 volumes, and this provision easily was met.
In the same year the Young Men's Literary society merged its organization and library with that of the "workingmen," and the institute remained a power for good until 1869. A part of the library books are now the property of the Fort Wayne high school ; others are on the shelves of the Fort Wayne public library.
MAJOR CURTIS AND HIS BANK.
A private banking institution, known as the Bank of Fort Wayne, established by Samuel E. Curtis, existed for a brief period during 1856. The decision of the banker to close his doors resulted in his attainment to high military honors, for as a West Point
On my return from
ItPaul, could soon un down again to Newyork , in July, a look in then whon "the skin market + see an advise what we had best do - One thing in certain our coon minst be held back at home until late in august :- (Can this be done) x thus be Certain to keep them out of London Call Sales - in Hefte next We don't want to hell ine Raccoon Akin until March Sales, 1857 - Ar regards our beer, whatday you- what think you?
FRAGMENT OF A LETTER OF COLONEL GEORGE W. EWING.
Above is a reproduction of a portion of a letter written at St. Louis in May, 1856, by Colonel George Washington Ewing to his business associate, Byron D. Miner, at Fort Wayne. It gives a suggestion of the importance of the fur trade of the region even as late as the period indicated. In a later letter, in the possession of the writer, Mr. Ewing informed Mr. Miner that the New York manufacturers had discovered a means of preparing muskrat skins in imitation of mink and there was a great demand for "rat." In compliance with Mr. Ewing's Instructions, Mr. Miner organized a secret expedition to the Kankakee marshes, where thousands of muskrats were trapped and their hides shipped to New York.
graduate he offered his services at the opening of the cival war and became Major General Curtis, with a brilliant record as a leader in Missouri, at Pea Ridge, and as commander of the United States forces in the campaigns in Arkansas, Missouri and Indian Territory.
When Major Curtis came to Fort Wayne he brought $25,000 in silver, divided equally into the contents of twenty-five wooden boxes. These were stored in a room in the Hedekin house and guarded day and night while the banking rooms on the east side of Calhoun street, north of Columbia street, were being prepared for use. Says Charles McCulloch :.
"He intended to establish a free bank, by purchasing bonds and issuing currency, but the rapid depreciation of most state securities,
STATE OF
INDIANA;
Dollars
on demand
to the leaves
Warme
1856
Cashier
WEOrmalry, New York
A REMINDER OF A FORGOTTEN BANK.
Probably the only visible evidence of the existence of the Bank of Fort Wayne is the original three-dollar bill owned by James Trythall and of which the above is a photographic reproduction. The bank was established in 1856 by Samuel E. Curtis, on the east side of Calhoun street, north of Columbia street, but it passed out of existence soon afterward and the banker became Major General Curtis, with a brilliant civil war record.
William Stewart, who already had served as mayor of Fort Wayne from 1849 to 1851, was again chosen to serve as the city's
ing office."
ACTIVITIES OF 1855.
I think, frightened him, and as ordinary banking without circula- tion and local acquaintance and credit did not look favorable to him, he closed his doors in a few weeks before he had received many deposits. In those days many free banks came into existence and as they could buy state bonds on credit, to be paid for as soon as the currency could be engraved, many banks started with only capital enough to pay engravers' bills and the furniture for a bank-
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
436
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EXECUTION OF MADDEN AND KEEFER
1856 1855
chief executive during 1855 and 1856.1 The list of new residents of Fort Wayne, who came in 1855, includes Andrew Weber (born in Eppertshausen, Germany, in 1828), railroad man and a singer of reputation; T. J. Rodabaugh (born in Summit county, Ohio, in 1836), railroad man; Anthony Kelker (born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in 1835), railway engineer; Frederick J. Thieme (born in Liepsic, Germany, in 1823), tailor; John Ferguson (born in 1834, near Quebec), lumberman; Dr. Isaac Knapp, dentist; Christian Gumpper (born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1833), baker; Jacob Weil (born in Lagnau, Switzerland, in 1828), dealer in furs, hides and wool; Marcus F. Woodward (born in Varnstead, Vermont, in 1826), railroad man and clothing merchant; Thomas C. Mungovan (born in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, in 1830), railroad man; Neil McLachlan (born at Saltcoats, Scotland, in 1819), founder of first boiler factory in Indiana; he served as United States consul to Scotland, under appointment of President Lincoln; Amos Heit (born in Ulmbach, Germany, in 1836) ; Henry H. Bossler (born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1824), earliest fire insurance agent. The Summit City Journal, edited by the Young Men's Literary society, was published during 1855. . Samuel Brenton, who had served in congress for two years, was re-elected. Shortly after- ward Horace Greeley, following a newspaper attack on Congress- man Brenton, apologized, "not because it was unjust, or that the effect was to injure the gentleman, but because it had resulted in exciting a sympathy for Mr. Brenton to which he is not entitled."
ACTIVITIES OF 1856.
The Democrat, a German newspaper, published by E. Engler, appeared in 1856; it was discontinued after 1858. A cam- paign newspaper called the Journal was issued during 1856, by Hood and Kimball. Franklin P. Randall became a member of the board of directors of the southern prison. A secret society, known as the "Sons of Malta," with local lodges in many of the larger American cities, was organized in 1856 by A. G. Barnett and Morton Taylor. The details of the somewhat sensa- tional initiation ceremony were laid bare by Frank Leslie, the New York publisher, and the order went out of existence. The Fort Wayne lodge enrolled many of the prominent men of the day. It was instituted by General Stedman of Toledo, Ohio. James Robinson erected a three-story brick building on the site of the present Randall hotel, west side of Harrison street, at the head of West Columbia street; this building was remodeled in 1871 as the Robinson house. William Barker and B. W. Oakley opened a plumbing shop and brass works on Columbia street; this estab- lishment developed into the present enterprise of A. Hattersley and Sons. Herman Nierman established a brewery at the corner of Harrison and West Superior streets. During the parade of a circus the middle span of the canal bridge over the basin at Harrison street collapsed under the weight of a band wagon loaded with musicians. Amidst the cries of the occupants of the wagon and the screams of the women and children of the crowd, the vehicle, musicians, driver and five horses were dashed into the water. There were no fatalities. During the heated period of the Fremont-
438
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
Buchanan campaign for the presidency, the slavery question was prominent in the discussion of the issues of the time. Public meet- ings, addressed by local orators and visiting campaigners, provided several lively weeks of political activity. Among the organizations of the time was the Young Men's Fremont club, of which William P. Newman was the president, E. H. Hawley secretary and H. Mere- dith, treasurer. Allen county polled 3,211 votes for Buchanan and Breckenridge, and 1,593 for Fremont and Dayton. . . Among the Fort Wayne residents dating their coming in 1856 were John W. Hayden (born in Franklin county, Ohio, in 1837), attorney, pension agent, register in bankruptcy, and deputy United States marshal; Charles Stellhorn (born in Prussia, in 1838), shoe merchant and coroner; William Ranke (born in Prussia, in 1838), manufac- turer of cooperage stock; Ignatius Freiburger (born in Alsace- Loraine, in 1815), prominent farmer and active citizen; William Schmidt (born in Alsace-Loraine, in 1823), hardware merchant, and Oscar J. Wilson (from Keene, New Hampshire), railroad man.
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