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. II > Part 16
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Bachelor of Laws, with virtually coincident admission to the bar of his native state. From 1907 to 1909, inclusive, he was engaged in the general practice of his profession in Fort Wayne, and for the ensuing two years he held the position of general manager of the Fort Wayne Hosiery Com- pany. Since his retirement from this position he has given his attention most successfully to home building enterprise in his native city, and in this field of endeavor he has found ample scope and opportunity for the achieving of success worthy of the name. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, and in the time-honored Masonic fraternity his ancient-craft affiliation is with Home Lodge, No. 342, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons. He has received also the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Masonry and is affiliated with Mizpah Temple, Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, besides being a member of Concordia Lodge, No. 228, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On August 18, 1908, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Curdes to Miss Mabel Edith Wood, daughter of Frank and Margaret (Steinhaur) Wood, of Fort Wayne, and the two children of this union are Virginia Wood Curdes and Louis Arnold Curdes, their respective years of birth having been 1909 and 1910.
Louis F. Curdes has shown in his independent career a vital energy and resourcefulness that have brought to him not only a large measure of success but also a position of prominence and influence in connection with one of the most important lines of enterprise touching the civic and material welfare and progress of the community. As a vigorous repre- sentative of the real estate business he has done much to further the ad- vancement and upbuilding of the city of Fort Wayne, and his versatility and his cumulative success are the more gratifying to note by reason of the fact that, coming from Germany to America when a mere youth, he has relied entirely upon his own resources in making his way forward to the goal of independence and prosperity-the record of his advance- ment offering both lesson and incentive. Louis Frank Curdes was born in the village of Wettesingen, Province of Hessen Cassel, Germany, May 22, 1863, and is a son of Henry and Henrietta (Klingelhofer) Curdes, both of whom passed their entire lives in that section of the German Empire, where the father died in 1873 and the mother in 1887. Louis F. Curdes attended the excellent schools of his native province until he was eleven years of age, and thereafter he continued his higher studies in the well ordered gymnasium at Warburg, Westphalia, and a similar institution at Hademar, in Hessen Nassau. At the age of sixteen years he came to the United States, and after passing a few months in the home of his sister, Mrs. Amelia Brown, at Defiance, Ohio, he came to Fort Wayne to visit another sister, Mrs. Mary Kriger, who died in childbirth only one week after his arrival in the city in which he was destined to gain prece- dence as a representative business man. After the death of his sister Mr. Curdes was here variously employed for several months, within which period he worked for the White Fruit House, the firm of K. B. Miller & Company, dealers in men's furnishings, and the book store of Sieman Brothers. In 1881 he entered the employ of the Packard Organ Company, with which he continued his association during the ensuing twelve years- or until the financial panic of 1893 brought about so great a curtailment of the company's business that he withdrew from its employ. Ambitious and self-reliant, he carefully consulted ways and means and finally estab- lished himself in the real estate business, his early sales having been made
Louis F.Lourdes.
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PUBLI LIL
ASTOR, LE. I TILDEN FOUNE
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on a commission basis. His indomitable energy and honorable methods so expanded his business that in 1895 he was enabled to engage in buying and selling real estate in an independent way. His first venture under these conditions was that of purchasing nineteen lots in the Ewings Grove addition to Fort Wayne, and he was successful in exploiting and selling these properties advantageously. A year or so later he bought one hun- dred lots in the Industrial Park addition, and, with increasing confidence and characteristic circumspection, he later amplified operations by the purchase of sixty lots in the Swinney addition. To Mr. Curdes is in large measure due the splendid development of these properties and also of seven hundred and forty-four lots of which he assumed control in the beautiful Forest Park addition to the city. His activities have been in- sistent and cumulative and have included the development of Forest Park boulevard, the Driving Park addition, containing one hundred and five acres, and numerous smaller additions and subdivisions, including Weisser Park, the Driving Park addition likewise continuing its development under his effective supervision. Mr. Curdes has become one of the fore- most exponents of real estate interests in Fort Wayne and through his broad operations has shown his faith in the future growth and increasing prosperity of the metropolis and judicial center of Allen county. Con- cerning his admirable activities in his chosen sphere of enterprise the following pertinent statements have been written: "Mr. Curdes is a man of artistic temperament and talent, and has been able to visualize in his own mind the beautifying of a landscape that to others represented but shrub-covered, barren knolls, and some of Fort Wayne's most beauti- ful additions and charming drives are but the outgrowth of his planning. He has had and still retains the utmost confidence in the splendid future of Fort Wayne, and the additions which he has so successfully exploited have been planned not only for the present but also for the city that is to be." In politics Mr. Curdes is unwavering in his allegiance to the Republican party, he is an active and influential member of the Fort Wayne Commercial Club, and both he and his wife are communicants of the German Lutheran church. On June 18, 1885, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Curdes to Miss Clara J. Harris, daughter of John Harris, a prosperous hardware merchant of Fort Wayne. Of the four children of this union Arnold G. W., and Walter L. are associated with their father in the real estate business; Herbert died at the age of ten months; and Helen L., the only daughter, now Mrs. Arthur W. Rose, is a popular factor in the younger social circles of her native city.
Charles E. Dailey followed the blacksmith business in Leo, Cedar Creek township, from 1892 to 1915, when he retired from active labors and settled down to a life of comparative ease. He was born in Cedar Creek township on July 1, 1867, son of Samuel and Mary (McCrory) Dailey, both of Pennsylvania birth. They came to Allen county in about 1846, locating on a wilderness farm in this township and there spent the remainder of their lives. The father died, in 1880, leaving a fine improved farm of one hundred acres, and the mother is now living quietly in Leo, Indiana. They were the parents of seven children. Wil- liam M. lives in Leo. Dora is the wife of C. L. Hollopeter, of Wooster. Ohio. Franklin met his death by accidental drowning. Charles E. was the fourth child. Sarah became the wife of Samuel Souder, of Michigan. Nevada lives in Fort Wayne, and Abner is located in Grabill. Mr. Dailey stayed on the home farm up to the age of twenty-five years, when he
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went to St. Joe, Indiana, and there learned the trade of a blacksmith. He worked there for two years, then returned to Allen county and, settling in Leo, built and equipped a modern blacksmith shop, which he operated with all success until he retired, in 1915. Mr. Dailey was mar- ried on March 22, 1891, to Miss Nellie Maxfield, who was born in Leo, Indiana, and five children have been born to them. George, the eldest, is located in Detroit, Michigan, and the others-Marjorie, Ronald, Ada and June-are still in the parental home. Mr. Dailey is a Democrat, active in local politics, and was one of the township trustees from 1908 to 1916. He is a Mason and a member of the Eastern Star, his wife also having membership in that branch of Masonry.
John Dalman .- Not all men are permitted to order their lives exactly to their liking but they are the strong and worthy ones who make the best possible use of their powers and wrest from fate the fullest measure of success which conditions impose. He to whom this memoir is dedicated was a man who lived up to the maximum of his ideals and powers of achievement and his sturdy character, his ambition and his industry enabled him to win in his native country a secure vantage-place as a representative farmer and land-holder and as a citizen of more than ordinary influence, this latter assurance having been verified by his effective service as treasurer of Allen county, an office of which he con- tinued the incumbent four years, prior to which he had served nine years as trustee of Pleasant township. Mr. Dalman was born at Fort Wayne on October 13, 1843, and was the eldest of the four children-all sons- of Edwin and Mary (McNeir) Dalman, the former of whom was born in England and the latter in Ontario, Canada. The parents were numbered among the worthy pioneers of Allen county, and here they continued to reside until their death, the father having done his part in connection with the early stages of material and civic development and progress in this now favored section of the Hoosier state. The four sons, John, William, Charles and Thomas, are all deceased. Mr. Dalman early learned the lessons of practical and productive industry, had confidence in his ability to achieve independence through individual effort, and at the age of twenty-one years took unto himself a young wife who was destined to be his loyal and devoted coadjutor and to aid him materially in the accomplishing of their ambitious purposes. At the time of his marriage he settled on a farm of eighty acres, in Pleasant township, and not a little of the true pioneer phase of agricultural development was touched by him in his initial labors as an agriculturist. Self-reliant and indefatig- able, he pressed steadily forward toward the goal of success, and at the time of his death was the owner of a valuable and well improved landed estate of two hundred and seven acres-all in Pleasant township. He did much to further the development and advancement of that fine section of Allen county, commanded the unqualified confidence and esteem of all who knew him and made his life count for good in its every relation. The farm property is still owned by his widow, who also owns and occu- pies one of the attractive residences of Fort Wayne, the same being at 2732 Fairfield avenue, besides which she has other property, both country and city. There was nothing static or vacillating in the nature of Mr. Dalman, and he not only proved himself a worthy member of the world's noble army of productive workers but was also loyal and liberal as a citizen and well fortified in his convictions and opinions. He was a leader in the councils of the Democratic party in Allen county, and, as before
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stated, was called upon to serve in offices of significant public trust, including that of county treasurer. In the Masonic fraternity he re- ceived the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, he was affiliated . also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he was a consistent and devout member of the Christian church, as is also his widow. The gracious marital companionship of Mr. and Mrs. Dalman covered a period of more than forty years, and the relations were severed only when the loved husband and father was summoned to the life eternal, on June 23, 1905. On August 27, 1863, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Dalman to Miss Louisa Helle, who likewise was born and reared in Allen county and who is a daughter of the late Frederick and Charlotta (Pens) Helle, both natives of Germany, Mrs. Dalman being the youngest of their three children; Frederick and William both are deceased. In conclusion is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Dalman : Charlotta died in childhood; Jennie L. is the widow of Elgi Rich and resides in Fort Wayne; Merica E. is the wife of Howard Shordon, of Fort Wayne; Edwin F. is actively identified with business interests in Fort Wayne; John W. is associated with the American Steel Foundries, in the city of Chicago; Mary Frances died at the age of two years; and Florence D. is the wife of Jesse Marquardt, of Los Angeles, California.
William E. Dalman was one of eight children born to his parents, William and Rebecca (Osborne) Dalman, early and estimable citizens of Fort Wayne. The elder Dalman came from England as a young man, in 1833, and settled in the original Fort Wayne community, in the days of the old block house. He was a true pioneer, and he spent his remain- ing years in that locality. He was a shoemaker by trade, and served his apprenticeship in England. He farmed some in Allen county, but for the most part gave his attention to the business of shoe-making, and enjoyed a good deal of well merited success in that work. The children born to William and Rebecca Dalman were James F., a resident of Fort Wayne; Charlotte Jane, deceased; Mary Rebecca, living in Wayne township; Hanna A., the wife of John Corson; Julia, of Fort Wayne ; W. E., the subject; Agnes E., of Lagrange, and Matilda Luemma, who is deceased. W. E. Dalman had his schooling in Pleasant township, the family having lived on a farm there for a period of years in his boyhood, and he eventually came into possession of the home place there. In later years he came to own other farms, but the old home was always his headquarters. During his last years he lived retired from active farm life, after enjoying a generous measure of success in his chosen occupation. Mr. Dalman was a Republican in politics, as was his father before him, and he served his township in various official capacities. One office he filled was that of township assessor, and he served from 1896 to 1900. He was married on December 16, 1877, to Miss Mary Bradbury, a native daughter of Pleasant township, and they became the parents of eleven children. Edwin, the eldest, is a farmer and is located in Wayne township; Albert is established in Fort Wayne and is connected with the City Light and Power Company there. Nellie is the wife of William Daffron of Pleasant township. Roy is engaged in farming in Pleasant township. Guy is also connected with the City Light and Power Company in Fort Wayne. Ida married William Ria, a farmer of La Porte county. Arthur is the third of the family to be identified in an industrial way with the Fort Wayne Light and Power Company. The Dalman family is prominent and popular in Pleasant town-
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ship, and they are likewise well known in Fort Wayne, where various members of the family have identified themselves with the business world, and where numerous representatives of the family of a prceding generation are also to be found.
Rev. Henry Paul Dannecker .- In 1890 the Rev. Henry Paul Danneck- er came to Fort Wayne to take charge of St. John's Parish of the Evan- gelical Lutheran church. He has continued in that position to the present time, and the development of the parish in the past twenty-five years has been a credit alike to the pastor and to the community. The church was established on October 2, 1853. An unpretentious frame building was erected and at the same time they established a parochial school. The little church prospered and in 1861 the old frame structure was razed and a new and more modern building took its place. Again, in 1881, improvements were in order, and a fine brick structure took the place of the preceding frame building. Hand in hand with the growth of the church proper, the parochial school made sturdy development, and the present fine brick school that serves the parish was built in 1897. Three teachers are required to handle an attendance of 150 pupils and the standards of the school are most creditable. The first pastor of the church was Rev. Christian Hochstetter and the first teacher in the school was William Burger. Since those early days five pastors have served the parish. The second was A. Kleingees, who came in 1854 and served until 1857. He was followed by Hugo B. Kuhn, who served until 1861, and was replaced by E. Bauman, whose service continued until 1868. In that year Johannes Kucher came and remained for twenty-one years, and in 1890 the present pastor, Henry Paul Dannecker, assumed charge of the parish, which numbers about 350 families. His services have continued over a period of more than a quarter of a century, and the improvements that have marked his pastorate have been many and varied. St. John's is the second Lutheran church of the city, and with Grace Church is connected with the Ohio Joint Synod. Rev. Henry Paul Dannecker was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 22, 1860, and is a son of Frank and Fredericka (Koch) Dannecker, both of German birth. The mother comes from Wuertemburg and the father from Baden, Germany. When Frank Dannecker came to America he located first in Cincinnati, Ohio, and remained there for several years. He married there and there the subject was born. When Henry Dannecker was about seven years old the family moved to Delphios, Ohio, and there the father worked at his trade as a cooper. There were three children- Clara, Henry Paul, and Max, of Van Wert, Ohio. Henry Paul Dannecker had his education in the public schools of Delphos, Ohio, and there learned the printer's trade, at which he worked for three years. He then entered Capital University at Columbus, Ohio, spending four years in study and was graduated in 1881. He engaged in teaching then and spent a year as instructor in a Lutheran parochial school at Youngs- town, Ohio, after which he entered the theological seminary at Capital University and was graduated in 1885. He was ordained at New Wash- ington, Ohio, and his first pastorate was at that place, where he spent five years in worthy service. He was then called to Fort Wayne to take charge of St. John's Parish, where he has since continued as has been stated above. Rev. Mr. Dannecker was married on January 14, 1886, to Miss Catherine Schneider, the daughter of William and Catherine (Bach- man) Schneider, of Genoa, Ohio. Nine children have been born to them. Theodore, the eldest, has followed in his father's ways and is now
BLIC LIER
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATION
7
HUGH M. DEIHL
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serving as assistant pastor of the church at Marysville, Ohio. Clara is the wife of Otto Sauertig, of Fort Wayne. Anna is deceased. Freda, Luther, Paul, Henry and Catherine are still under the parental roof; and one died in infancy. Mrs. Dannecker's parents were natives of Hessen Castle, Germany, and they came to the United States in 1871, locating in Genoa, Ohio. He was a forester in his homeland, but had retired from service before coming to America, and he was not engaged in active business pursuits after settling in Genoa. Both he and his wife are deceased. Rev. and Mrs. Dannecker have two grandchildren- Marguerite and Marian-the daughters of their eldest son, Theodore.
William Decker is another of the native sons of the fine old Hoosier state who has here found ample scope and opportunity for successful achievement in connection with the basic industries of agriculture and stock-growing, and he is consistently to be designated as one of the representative farmers of Maumee township, where he has maintained his residence since the autumn of 1893 and where he is the owner of a splendidly improved farm of ninety acres. Mr. Decker has shown his progressiveness not only in bringing the farm up to high standard of productiveness but also in the making of the best of permanent improve- ments, including the erection of one of the best farm residences in the township, the building of good fences and the installing of tile drainage. He takes loyal interest in community affairs, is a Democrat in politics and he and his wife are communicants of the Lutheran church. Mr. Decker was born in Adams county, Indiana, on September 14, 1862, and is a son of Frederick and Mary (Comar) Decker, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Switzerland. The parents came to America in 1852, the voyage having been made on an old-time sailing vessel and thirteen weeks having elapsed ere it reached its destination. Frederick Decker came to Indiana soon after his arrival in the United States and for a time drove mules on the old Wabash and Erie canal. Later he obtained a tract of land in Adams township, where he reclaimed and improved a good farm and he and his wife are now numbered among the venerable pioneer citizens of Adams county, he having celebrated his eighty-fourth birthday anniversary in 1917. Of the five children the subject of this sketch is the eldest and he is the only son, the names of his sisters being here indicated in the respective order of birth: Louisa, Sophia, Anna and Mary. William Decker gained in his boyhood and youth a goodly quota of valuable and invigorating discipline in connection with the work of the home farm, and in the meanwhile he did not fail to profit by the advantages afforded in the public schools of his native county. He continued to be associated with the work and management of his father's farm until his removal to Allen county, and here, as previously stated, he has won for himself a large measure of success in connection with his vigorous operations as a farmer and stock-grower. On January 27, 1888, Mr. Decker wedded Miss Elaine Buuck, who likewise was born and reared in Adams county, and who is a daughter of Louis and Louisa Buuck, early settlers of that county. Mr. and Mrs. Decker became the parents of five children : Paulina is the wife of John Korte, a successful farmer in Milan township; Rudolph and Amy remain at the parental home; Nora died at the age of seventeen days, and the youngest child, a son, died in infancy.
Hugh M. Deihl, whose death occurred in Fort Wayne on August 8, 1913, was a resident of this city for more than half a century, and he walked the path of life with the great simplicity and strength that ever
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prove an inspiration to honesty and worthy endeavor, the while he was ever loyal to high ideals and was an intuitive optimist and humanitarian. In a quiet and unassuming way he played well his part on the stage of life, and it is but consistent that in this history of the city and county that so long represented his home there shall be entered a tribute to his memory. Not the least of the honors that were his were those gained through loyal service as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war, and his patriotism was reinforced by the knowledge that though he was of staunch German lineage he was a member of a family that was founded in America prior to the war of the Revolution, his parents having passed their entire lives in Pennsylvania and he himself having been born in the city of Philadelphia, on October 23, 1845. He was a son of Charles and Margaret (Martin) Deihl, and concerning the other children the following brief data are available: Mary is the wife of John Smith, of Philadelphia; Charles likewise resides in that city ; Peter was the next in order of birth; Mrs. Ella Scott still maintains her home in Philadelphia, as do also Margaret, who is the widow of Joseph Test, and Agnes, who is the youngest of the surviving children; Sarah is deceased. While attending the schools of Philadelphia, Hugh M. Deihl heard his country's call to the defense of the union, and he suc- ceeded, though but sixteen years of age, in being accepted for service in the Union army. He first enlisted for a term of ninety days as a member of a Pennsylvania regiment of infantry, and, after the expiration of his original term, he re-enlisted, his service having continued during practically the entire period of the war, and his valor and fidelity having brought about his promotion to the office of captain. In later years he manifested his abiding interest in his old comrades by means of his appreciative affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. Directly after his war service, Mr. Deihl joined the ranks of the world's productive workers by entering upon an apprenticeship to the trade of machinist. Then he came west, and, after remaining in the city of Chicago for a brief period, he came to Fort Wayne and found employment in the shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, his fine mechanical ability mak- ing him a skilled and valued employe who commanded substantial com- pensation for his services. He continued with the railroad company in the Fort Wayne shops for a long period of years and thereafter served thirteen years as chief of the police department of Fort Wayne-an office in which his long incumbency best demonstrates the efficiency of his administration, as well as the high popular estimate placed upon him as a man and a public official. He finally resigned his position as head of the police department and returned to the employ of the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company, with which he continued his connection until the time of his death. Mr. Deihl's entire life was guided and governed by the highest principles, his buoyant nature found expression in kindly words and kindly deeds, and he drew to himself the most loval of friends among all classes. His political allegiance was given to the Democratic party, he was prominently affiliated with the time-honored Masonic fraternity, in which he received the Knights Templars degrees and also the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, as well as those of the Mystic Shrine. He took deep interest in the affairs of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and was one of its most popular members. He was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and for many years prior to his death had been a zealous member of the First Presbyterian church, in which his widow still holds membership.
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