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 17
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Shortly after coming to Fort Wayne he was married to Miss Ada Romelia Jones, who was born at Lockport, New York, and who is a representative of an old and honored family of the Empire state. She is a daughter of the late Thomas and Nancy (Guernsey) Jones, and the latter's father, Hon. John Guernsey, served as a member of the state senate of New York, as well as a representative in the United States congress. Mrs. Deihl is the eldest in a family of three children, Fannie J., being the second and John having died at the age of sixteen years. When the silver cord of long and devoted companionship was loosed by the death of Mr. Deihl his widow found the greatest measure of consolation and compensation in the gracious memories of the loving association that had been theirs and of all that he had represented as husband and father. Mrs. Deihl resides at 525 East Berry street, where she delights to extend welcome to her many friends. Mr. and Mrs. Deihl became the parents of two daughters and one son : Lillie is the wife of Hon. James M. Robinson, of Fort Wayne, and Alice M. remains with her widowed mother.
Rev. Joseph F. Delaney, pastor of St. Patrick's Catholic church in Fort Wayne, was born January 15, 1860, at Thompsonville, Conn. He was one of six children born to John and Mary Delaney, the former of whom was a native of Roscrea, County Tipperary, and the latter of the parish of Den, County Cavin, Ireland. His classical and philosophical courses were made at the Niagara University, after which he entered St. Francis' Seminary, Milwaukee. His death breaking after one year, he was sent to St. Vincent's Seminary, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he completed his theology. He was ordained priest in the Cathedral at Fort Wayne, by Bishop Dwenger, June 29, 1887. He received his ap- pointment, July 17, as assistant to Very Rev. J. H. Brammer, V. G .. at the Cathedral. Two years later he succeeded the Rev. T. M. Leary as pastor of St. Patrick's church. He was named irremovable rector by Bishop Alerding and is a Diocesan Consultor.
David Dennis .- The dignity of labor raises the farmer to a level of importance that corresponds favorably with that occupied by any class of producers. To labor long and faithful years, giving the best of one's ability and talent along any line of endeavor, is to rightly fulfill the destiny of mankind and to make possible a happy and content- ed age. David Dennis, one of the substantial farmers and highly es- teemed citizens of Lafayette township, is a man whose life has been one of constant industry and honorable labor, and though busy about his own affairs at all times, he has never lacked the time to identify himself with the social life of his neighbors or to contribute of his means to the advancement and welfare of his community. He is not a Hoosier by birth, but claims Guernsey, Ohio, as his place of nativity. He was born there on January 1, 1829, and he was seven years of age when the family moved to Monroe county, Ohio, where he continued to be identified with the home life of the family until he was twenty-four years old. His parents were farmers and he had a vigorous and valuable training in the elements of successful farming, so that when he launched out on his own responsibility he was ready to move on to success and inde- pendence without passing through the harrowing experiences that beset the early years of many young farmers. It was in 1853 when he left his native state and made the somewhat difficult journey across country to Allen county, Indiana. He drove the entire distance, having a light camping outfit and such equipment as was necessary for such a trip,
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and arriving in Lafayette township he bought a "forty" of uncleared land, grubbed out a space for a small log cabin and applied himself diligently to the business of making a home for himself and his little family in a new and practically undeveloped district. After some fifteen years of close application to the business in hand, Mr. Dennis had cleared every inch of the land and it was in excellent shape. He sold it to good advantage and bought another farm, this time an eighty-acre place, and it is on that place he is living to-day. It is one of the well developed and highly productive farms of the township and reflects a good deal of credit upon the industry and energy of its owner. Mr. Dennis was married on January 28, 1850, while yet a resident of Ohio, to Miss Elizabeth Bolinger. Nine children were born to them. They were named John, Blanda, Barbara, Marion, Ida Catherine, Ralph D., Mar- garet, Mary and Edward. The only ones living are Blanda and Edward, the latter of whom lives in New Haven. All were married and reared families, who in turn have families of their own, so that at the present writing Mr. Dennis has sixteen grandchildren and eighteen great-grand- children. Mrs. Dennis passed away on September 28, 1916, and is buried in Zanesville.
William H. Dennis .- Members of this well known family have been conspicuously identified with the development of Allen county and its agricultural resources during the past seventy-five years, and it is eminently fitting that some mention be made of them in a publication of the nature of this one. Their activities have been praiseworthy to a degree and William H. Dennis has ably carried on the work his father began in 1843, when he first came to Allen county as a pioneer from Pennsylvania. The subject was born on October 22, 1857, and his parents were Jacob and Nancy (Hickman) Dennis, both of Pennsylvania birth and parents. They came from their native state to Indiana in 1843 and settled in Allen county, buying a farm of one hundred acres in Lafayette township, which has since been the center of the family labors and accomplishments. Their early life on this new land was fraught with many difficulties incident only to pioneer life, and residents of the community of the present generation have little realization of what it meant to their parents to establish homes in what is to-day a well-settled and thriving district. Jacob Dennis prospered with the passing years and added land to his holdings from time to time, so that he was excel- lently equipped to carry on diversified farming on a fairly large scale during the later years of his life. He was a prominent man in his community and served as justice of the peace for many years in Lafayette township. He was generally known as "Squire" Dennis among his associates and his standing in town and county was a creditable one. He was a life-long member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as was also his wife, who was one of the most estimable women of her day in La- fayette township, and who is still remembered for her many excellent qualities of heart and mind. Mr. and Mrs. Dennis reared a family of twelve children, four of whom are deceased, and the others are filling useful places in their various communities. Named in the order of their appearance they are Barbara Ell, who married Amos Busch and is deceased; Martha Anna, the wife of Adam Buscher, of Fort Wayne; John M., who died young; David C., a resident of Roanoke; Mary B., the wife of Nelson Bart, of Fort Wayne; Elizabeth, who is deceased, was the wife of Taylor Bell, and he also is no longer living; William H. is the subject of this review; Albert is deceased; Jacob is a Lafayette town-
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ship farmer; Alice married Fred Pence, of Huntington; Susan became the wife of Newton Darr; Frank R., lives in Lima, Ohio. William H. Dennis was born in Lafayette township and he had his schooling in the public schools his community afforded. Until 1882, when he was about twenty-five years old, he stayed on the farm home, helping in the management of that place, and then, having married, he branched out for himself. He bought a place of eighty acres in his native community, settled down to independent farming, and from that time his success was assured. He has prospered with the passing years, adding gradually to his land holdings, and to-day has one of the fine farms of the township, where he carries on a progressive and remunerative variety of farming. He has devoted a good deal of special attention to the breeding of Chester White hogs, Durham cattle, Shropshire sheep and Norman and Belgian horses, and the live stock produced on his place is well known for its general quality. Many improvements have been instituted on the farm in the past few years, and a new house and fine barns lately acquired speak definitely of a substantial prosperity that is the aim and ambition of every successful farmer. Mr. Dennis is interested in the Farmers State Bank of Roanoke as a stockholder and at the present time is a member of the township advisory board. He is a Democrat in poli- tics, but does not let his political convictions interfere with his local duty as a citizen. He was married in 1882 to Alice Smalts, daughter of George and Elizabeth Smalts, and they are the parents of four children. Stella and Roy are at home. Celeste is at Fort Wayne and Media is the wife of Jewel Wickliff of Zanesville, Indiana. She has two children, Keith L. and Floyd D.
Robert W. T. DeWald .- From an early stage in its history the city of Fort Wayne has been favored in enlisting men of energy, enterprise, strong initiative and sterling character in the furtherance of civic, in- dustrial and commercial advancement, and in insuring such cumulative precedence there are certain names that are specially prominent and honored in the city's history. Such distinction specially applies to the family of De Wald, and one of the most substantial and important com- mercial enterprises of the city at the present time is that represented in the extensive business controlled by the wholesale dry-goods corpora- tion of The George DeWald Company, the history of the concern cover- ing a period of nearly three-fourths of a century, so that it is consistently to be designated as one of the pioneer business houses of the Allen county metropolis. Developed along normal and legitimate lines and built up definitely upon honor, the business has stood creditable alike to those who have been in control of the same and also to the city in which its headquarters have been maintained. This representative house has been a leader in commercial and industrial progress in Fort Wayne and in the general annals of the city few names have been more notably and worthily conspicuous as exemplifying civic loyalty and impressive busi- ness progressiveness. Robert W. T. De Wald, president of the corpora- tion of The George De Wald Company, was born March 7, 1862, and the place of his nativity was the old family homestead that stood on a now vacant lot adjoining the Fort Wayne postoffice building. His father, George De Wald, was born in Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, on May 14, 1831, and acquired his early education in his native land. At the age of eighteen years he came to America and after remaining for a time in the states of New York and New Jersey he came to Indiana and became one of the representative young business men of Fort Wayne,
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where he passed the residue of his life and where his death occurred June 27, 1899. In the old Catholic cathedral that stood on the site of the present Library Hall, his marriage to Mrs. Sophia Angeline Nett- horst was solemnized February 10, 1861, when he was twenty-nine years of age. His wife was a representative of one of the oldest and most distinguished families of this section of Indiana, her father, Francis D. LaSalle, having been of French lineage and a scion of the historic and partician old family of LaSalle: he came in an early day to old Fort Wayne, where he served as paymaster to the Indians, and it is a matter of historic record that he took a prominent part in conducting the Indians from the settlement when the government made provision for them elsewhere. In 1849 George De Wald engaged in the retail dry- goods business in a modest way, and it is specially interesting to note that his original store was on the site of the fine building now owned and occupied by the large wholesale dry-goods house that perpetuates his name. In the early years he was associated in business with Robert Wade Townley and Jonas Townley, who were succeeded by Townley, De Wald and Bend, but eventually he gained sole control of the business and established the firm of George DeWald & Company, this title having since been retained and the concern having been incorporated within a short time after his death. He continued to be actively identi- fied with the business until the close of his life, and the enterprise was continued exclusively along retail lines until the establishment was de- stroyed by fire, December 27, 1899, about six months subsequently to the death of the honored founder. George De Wald was a man of fine character and much ability. In his business affairs he was the sturdy exponent of progress, and the same held good in his attitude as a loyal and broad-minded citizen. His interest in Fort Wayne was not merely one of sentiment but was manifested in liberality and constructive energy. He did much for the advancement of the city and at all times held to the highest civic ideals. He was essentially a business man and thus had no desire to enter the arena of practical politics, though he was a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party. He and his wife continued their membership in the Cathedral parish of the Catholic church until the founding of St. Patrick's church, when they transferred their membership to this parish, the church edifice being situated on De Wald street, which was named in honor of this sterling pioneer merchant. Mrs. De Wald passed her entire life in Fort Wayne and this revered and gracious gentlewoman was summoned to the "land of the leal" in 1906. Of the children Robert W. T., of this review, is the eldest ; Mary E. is the wife of James A. McDonald, and they main- tain their home at LaGrange, a suburb of the city of Chicago; Caroline L. is the wife of Henry J. Beuret, of Fort Wayne; Miss Elizabeth M. resides in Fort Wayne, her home being on the site of the old De Wald Square, which was named for her father; George L. is vice-president of The George DeWald Company .. Robert W. T. DeWald acquired his youthful education in the parochial and public schools of Fort Wayne and, in 1876, when about fifteen years of age, he initiated his practical training with his father's retail mercantile business. In 1888 he was admitted to partnership, and he has continued his active alliance with the business during the intervening years-a resourceful and valiant force in the development of the large and important enterprise now con- ducted by the incorporated concern of The George De Wald Company. After the disastrous fire that destroyed the firm's retail store, in the
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winter of 1899, Mr. DeWald effected a prompt reorganization of the business, and the company was incorporated in January, 1900, under the present title. Ile became president of the corporation and has con- tinued as its chief executive, his brother being vice-president of the company and William P. Beck being its secretary and treasurer. The wholesale business of The George DeWald Company had its inception in 1900, and the trade of the house, represented by eight traveling sales- men, now extends over a broad territory in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Mr. De Wald has not only been one of the prime factors in the upbuilding of this substantial and important commercial enterprise in his native city, but has also given capitalistic and executive co-operation in the upbuilding of other representative business institutions of Fort Wayne. He is vice-president and a member of the executive board of the People's Trust & Savings Company, is a director of the German American National Bank and the German American Trust Company, and is a member of the directorate of the Fort Wayne Morris Plan Bank, the Wayne Oil Tank and Pump Company and the Commercial Investment Company. He is an active and valued member of the Fort Wayne Com- mercial Club and the Rotary Club, besides being affiliated with the local Country Club. In politics Mr. De Wald gives his allegiance to the Dem- ocratic party and both he and his wife are communicants of Catholic Cathedral. On June 25, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. De- Wald to Miss Mollie Henebery, a daughter of Matthew and Mary Hene- bery, her father being a prominent merchant and banker at Peoria, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. De Wald have no children.
Daniel W. DeWitt, long a resident of Lafayette township and one of the well established men of the community, was born in Delaware county, Indiana, July 28, 1833. He is a son of Daniel and Rebecca (Thorn- burg) De Witt, who came to Indiana from Mercer county, Kentucky, and were farmers all their lives, practically. The elder DeWitt was a soldier in the War of 1812. In 1848 he came to Allen county, bought land and settled down to the unromantic business of founding a home in the wilds of what later came to be Lafayette township. He was an old-time Whig and later a Republican, and through all his life was a substantial factor in the development of those communities with which he found himself identified. To him and his wife were born a family numbering sixteen sons and daughters. Daniel De Witt was reared in Huntington and Dela- ware counties and had his education in the schools of the communities wherein he had his residence. The schools were of the primitive type, peculiar to the day, and educations derived within them were meagre indeed. The boy grew up with a thorough working knowledge of farming and was twenty-eight years old when he left the shelter of the family roof tree and turned his attention to independent farming. His first purchase was a tract of fourteen acres, which formed the nucleus of his present comfortable place. There was not an acre of cleared land on it, and he began his private career with as little of material resources as a farmer boy ever set out with, it is safe to say. His first cabin home, built in 1860, had no windows, and they lived in it for some time before a door was hung. But with the passing years Mr. DeWitt achieved real independence and is today one of the most successful men of his town- ship. He was married on February 10, 1860, to Mary Jaxe Hackett, and she bore one son, Don W., who is at present running the home farm, and who is married and the father of three children-Audra Irene, Frances
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Justine, and Ruth Elizabeth. Mrs. DeWitt died at a comparatively early age and on December 1, 1886, Mr. De Witt married Belinda Dennis, daugh- ter of David Dennis, concerning whose family extended mention will be found in other pages. Mr. DeWitt and his son are Republican in poli- tics, and both are leaders in their community. The father has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1872, and his son is also a member of that fraternal organization.
Harry E. Dial .- "The Farm Man" needs no introduction to Allen county people, for in his capacity as dealer in farm lands, Harry E. Dial has made the acquaintance of practically the entire community. His operations extend through Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, and while he has not confined his real estate activities alone to the sale of farm prop- erties, he specializes in that particular field, and is known as "The Farm Man" to a large and ever-growing clientele. Mr. Dial is a firm believer in the efficiency of printer's ink, and is prepared to vouch for the truth of the well-known saying, "It Pays to Advertise." He was always more or less interested in farms and farming, and his first inde- pendent venture was as a farmer. He abandoned his first enterprise for railroad work, but later returned to agricultural life, and continued in it until he came to Fort Wayne in 1912. In that year he established a real estate business in the city, and he has enjoyed a gratifying meas- ure of success in his work. Mr. Dial is a family man, and his marriage to Miss Marion Herr took place in 1894. They have three children- Duayne. Harry, Jr., and Sulvia.
William A. Diffenderfer has been a resident of Allen county since he was a lad of seven years and through his own ability and well directed endeavors has become a prominent figure in connection with the more important business interests of Fort Wayne, where he is now treasurer of the Mossman & Yarnelle Company, a prominent concern here engaged as jobbers in carriages and wagon materials and auto acces- sories, and where he is also secretary and treasurer of the Wayne Spoke & Bending Company, another of the important industrial corporations of the Allen county metropolis. Mr. Diffenderfer was born at Mount Sterling, Van Buren county, Iowa, on October 25, 1857, and in the schools of the Keystone state he gained his rudimentary education, his parents having been numbered among the pioneers of Van Buren county, Iowa. He is a son of Benjamin O. and Isabella (Alcorn) Diffenderfer, his father, a native of Pennsylvania and a machinist by trade, having gone to Iowa in the pioneer days, returning to Pennsylvania in 1858, and having there remained until 1865, when he came with his family to Allen county, where he and his wife passed the residue of their lives and where he was long employed at his trade in the Fort Wayne shops of the Penn- sylvania Railroad. He was a sterling citizen who had inviolable place in popular confidence and good will and both he and his wife were zealous members of the Third Presbyterian church of Fort Wayne, in which he held official position for fully a quarter of a century. Of the two children the subject of this sketch is the elder, and Mary is the wife of James B. Stewart, of Coffeyville, Kansas. As previously inti- mated, William Diffenderfer was about seven years old at the time of the family removal to Fort Wayne, and here he continued his studies in the public schools until he had completed the curriculum of the high school, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1876. There- after he proved the basic value of his cholarship by serving a short period as a representative of the pedagogic profession, he having achieved suc-
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cessful work as a teacher in the district schools of Monroe township. Thereafter he devoted three years to the study of law, in the office of the late Judge Colerick, of Fort Wayne, and in 1879 took a position of clerical and executive order in the office of Coombs & Company, en- gaged in the heavy hardware business in Fort Wayne. This alliance continued a short time when he became associated with the Mossman & Yarnelle Company, with which he has since continued his connection and in which he has become a prominent stockholder. He has aided materially in the furtherance of the company's business and has been treasurer of this well known and representative corporation since 1908. Though he has had no ambition for political preferment Mr. Diffender- fer gives loyal allegiance to the Democratic party and he takes lively interest in public affairs, especially those of his home city and county. In the Masonic fraternity he has received the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. Both he and his wife are members of the Third Presbyterian church. In November, 1895, Mr. Diffenderfer wedded Miss Blanche Davis, and she passed to the life eternal September 20, 1897, the one surviving child of this union being Davis A., who is attending the University of Michigan. On November 10, 1909, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Diffenderfer to Mrs. Harriet M. Riblet, of Fort Wayne. No children have been born to the second marriage.
J. Frank Dinnen, M. D., is established in the successful practice of his profession in his native city of Fort Wayne and is giving special atten- tion to the surgical branch of his profession. Bringing to bear the results of thorough technical training as well as resolute purpose and perhaps inherited predilection, he has gained assured place as one of the able and representative physicians and surgeons of the younger generation in Allen county, his father having long been one of the leading medical practitioners in Fort Wayne. Dr. James Frank Dinnen was born in Fort Wayne on October 25, 1884, a son of Dr. James M. and Catherine (Flem- ming) Dinnen. Dr. James Dinnen was born in Clermont county, Ohio, and was fourteen months old at the time of his parents' removal to the city of Chicago, where he was reared and educated and his professional education was acquired in the celebrated Rush Medical College, from which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Fort Wayne for many years, is known as one of the most skillful surgeons in northern Indiana and in late years has concentrated his energies largely in the surgical department of pro- fessional service. His wife is a representative of one of the honored and influential pioneer families of Allen county, and her father, the late William Flemming, was at one time very prominent in connection with political and general civic affairs in the county, as well as a figure of influence as a capitalist and financier Dr. Dinnen of this review is the youngest in a family of nine children, and the eldest of the number is William, who is now a representative member of the bar of South Bend, this state; Helen remains at the parental home; the next younger daugh- ter is Sister Mary Adele, of the Order of the Sacred Heart; Josephine re- mains with her parents in Fort Wayne; John Richard is a civil engineer in the service of the Nickel Plate Railroad; and George, Robert and Charles all reside in Fort Wayne. Dr. J. Frank Dinnen acquired his early education in the parochial and public schools and thereafter attended in turn the great Notre Dame University, at South Bend, and the Univer- sity of Indiana, at Bloomington. In the city of Chicago he completed a
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