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 27
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eldest is William, who is actively identified with Fort Wayne business interests. He wedded Miss Marie Hartwig and they have four children- Henry, Esther, Florence and Richard. Bertha, the second of the children, is the wife of George Buehler, of Toledo, Ohio, and Emma, the youngest child, remains at the parental home.
Eldridge Franklin has proved himself an efficient and versatile factor in connection with practical electrical enterprise and now holds the posi- tion of superintendent of overhead construction in the light and power department of the Fort Wayne & Northern Indiana Traction Company, with residence and official headquarters in the city of Fort Wayne. His technical knowledge of applied electricity is equaled by his practical and executive ability and he is one of the representative young men in the employ of the important corporation mentioned. Mr. Franklin was born in Chariton county, Missouri, on April 13, 1889, and is a son of Marcellus and Anna (Davis) Franklin, both of whom were born and reared in Missouri, where they passed their entire lives, the father having been a contractor during the major part of his active business career. They became the parents of seven children, of whom the first born, Maggie, is deceased; Arthur Frederick resides in the city of Omaha, Nebraska; Eldridge, of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Edward Earl maintains his home at Moberly, Missouri; Florence is the wife of William Meyers, of Delphi, Carroll county, Indiana; and Thomas died in childhood. Eldridge Franklin gained his early education in the public schools of his native state and was a lad of thirteen years at the time of his mother's death. He was then taken into the home of his maternal grandparents, on whose farm, in Chariton county, Missouri, he remained two years, in the meanwhile continuing to attend school. In his native county he finally entered Salisbury University, in which excellent institution he continued his studies three years, with special attention given to electrical engineering. Upon leaving the university Mr. Franklin came to Indiana and assumed a position in the employ of Delphi Electrical Company, at the judicial center of Carroll county. He continued in the service of this company until January 1, 1909, when he came to Fort Wayne and entered the employ of the Fort Wayne & Northern Indiana Traction Company, with which he has since been con- nected and with which his ability and effective service have led to his advancement to the position noted in the opening lines of this article. Mr. Franklin is found aligned as a loyal supporter of the cause of the Republican party, he and his wife are communicants of St. Patrick's Catholic church, and he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Tribe of Ben Hur. In 1904 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Franklin to Miss Mary Sales, who was born and reared at Delphi, this state, and they became the parents of three children-Esther Mary, Thomas Marcellus, and Eldridge, Jr., the last mentioned having died in infancy.
Henry Frech .- More than sixty years ago, when he was a lad of about ten years, this venerable citizen of Fort Wayne accompanied his parents on their immigration from Germany to America, in 1853, and the family home was establisher on a pioneed farm in Aboite township, this county. Here the subject of this review lived up to the full tension involved in reclaiming from the forest a productive farm and eventually it devolved upon him to develop a farm for himself. In the most significant way did
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he honor and show his loyalty to the land of his adoption when the Civil war was precipitated, for he was one of the sturdy young men who went forth from Allen county to do valiant service in defense of the Union. As a soldier of the republic he made a record that shall ever reflect dis- tinction and honor upon his name. Mr. Frech was born in the Kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, October 8, 1843, and thus he has now passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten, so that, having borne the heat and burden of the day, he has justified himself to the world and well merits the gracious peace and prosperity that attend him now that he has retired from the active responsibilities that long developed upon him. He is a son of Henry and Christina (Exter) Frech, of whose six children four attained to maturity, the subject of this review being now the only survivor of this sterling pioneer family of Allen county. The other three who grew to maturity in this county and who have passed from the stage of life's mortal endeavors were Frederick, John and Christina. Upon coming to Allen county, in 1854, Henry Frech, Sr., purchased eighty acres of timbered land in Aboite township, and his initial work was to make a clearing for the little log house which he built as the family home. He eventually improved a productive farm and on this old homestead he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, their names meriting enduring place on the roll of the sterling pioneers of Allen county. Both were zealous communicants of the Lutheran church and in politics he became a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party. Henry Frech, Jr., the immediate subject of this sketch, acquired his rudimentary education in his native land and as a boy at- tended for a time the pioneer district school in Aboite township, though he early found that the arduous work of the home farm demanded the greater part of his attention. He did well his part in reclaiming the land and continued to assist his father until there came the call of higher duty, with the outbreak of the Civil war. In 1862, at the age of eighteen years, he enlisted as a private in Company B, Twelfth Indiana Infantry, and with this gallant command continued in service until the close of the war, when he received his honorable discharge. He took part in many of the important engagements marking the progress of the great conflict and was always found at the post of duty. He took part in battles at Richmond, Kentucky, Vicksburg, Mississippi and Jackson, Mississippi, and in connection with the memorable Atlanta campaign he participated in the battles of Missionary Ridge, New Hope Church and Kenesaw Mountain, as well as the siege and capture of Atlanta July 22-28, 1864. Thereafter he was with his command in the engagements at Jonesboro, Savannah, Columbia, Bentonville and Raleigh, in connection with Sher- man's historic march to the sea, and within his military career he was in every southern state except Texas and Florida. He marched more than six thousand miles, and Frank Aveline, the original captain of his com- pany, met death in the battle of Missionary Ridge. Mr. Frech witnessed and assisted in the burning of the city of Columbia, South Carolina, and after the final surrender took part in the Grand Review, in the city of Washington. After his return to Fort Wayne Mr. Frech was here en- gaged in the ice business for a time and then bought eighty acres of unimproved land in Aboite township. His first domicile was a primitive log house which he erected on his land, and he cleared an dimproved the farm, to which he later added forty acres. He made this one of the fine farms of the township and the excellent buildings that now mark
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the place were erected by him. He remained on the old homestead until 1912, since which time he has lived retired in Fort Wayne, where his home is at 754 West Superior street. Mr. Frech has never faltered in his allegiance to the Republican party and his first vote for president was cast for President Lincoln, he having been at the time in service as a soldier of the Union. He has vitalized the more gracious memories and associations of his military career through forty years of appreciative affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic, in Sion S. Bass Post, No. 40, at Fort Wayne. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church and has ever held to the same, as did also his loved and devoted wife, the supreme loss and bereavement in his life having come when she was summoned to eternal rest June 13, 1914. On October 4, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Frech to Miss Jennie Birely, a daughter of David and Anna (Bowser) Birely, who came from Pennsyl- vania to Allen county many years ago and here passed the residue of their lives. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Frech brief record is entered in conclusion of this review : Frank is the owner of a valuable ranch in the state of Colorado, where he maintains his home; Anna is the wife of John Clark, of Perry township; Ida is the wife of Grant Simmons, of Huntington county ; Charles resides upon and operates the old homestead farm, in Aboite township; Jessie is the wife of Henry William McMaken, of Aboite township; and Florence is the wife of Carl Garting, a farmer of Lake township. Mr. Frech receives from his chil- dren the deepest filial devotion and takes just pride in the fact that he has twenty-one grand-children.
Charles Freese has been for many years actively identified with the drug business in his native city of Fort Wayne and is now one of the leading exponents of this important line of retail enterprise in Allen county. In 1910 he organized the Dreier Drug Company, which took over the old established Dreier drug store, at 526 Calhoun street, and he has since continued as the active executive and manager of the well- ordered establishment, which is kept up to the best metropolitan standard and which receives a representative supporting patronage, besides which they also own a drug store at 1402 Calhoun street. Mr. Freese was born in Fort Wayne August 2, 1860, and is a son of William A. and Sophia (Rehling) Freese, both of whom were born in Germany and were young folk at the time when they came to America, about the year 1847, and numbered themselves among the pioneers of Allen county, Indiana. Here their acquaintanceship was formed and here their marriage was solemnized, at Fort Wayne, in 1853. Of their three children the subject of this review is the youngest; Amelia is the wife of George Nill, of Fort Wayne; and William A., Jr., likewise resides in this city. The father gave his attention principally to lumber manufacturing during the period of his residence in Indiana, was a sterling representative of that fine element of German citizenship and progress of Allen county, and he was comparatively a young man at the time of his death, in 1861. His wife survived him by more than half a century and was one of the venerable pioneer women of Allen county at the time of her death, in May, 1914. Both of the parents were lifelong and earnest communicants of the Lutheran church. Charles Freese made good use of the advan- tages offered by the public schools of Fort Wayne and, in 1877, when about seventeen years of age, entered upon a practical apprenticeship in the Dreier drug store. Within his four years' service in this estab-
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lishment he gained a thorough technical knowledge of pharmacy and upon severing his connection with the Dreier firm went to the city of Chicago, where he held a position in a similar establishment for the ensuing two years. He then returned to Fort Wayne and for virtually a quarter of a century thereafter continued in the employ of the Meyer Brothers' Drug Company. He is thus to be considered as one of the veteran representatives of the drug business in his native city, and upon leaving the Meyer company's employ he purchased the old established Dreier drug store, in which he had served his apprenticeship, and in 1910 effected the organization of the Dreier Drug Company, of which he is vice-president. His wide acquaintanceship and unqualified personal pop- ularity have proved potent in expanding the business of the company and as practical manager of the establishment he has brought to it a large contingent of new and appreciative patrons. Mr. Freese is a staunch Republican, but has never had any ambition for public office or for the activities of so-called practical politics. He is a member of the Fort Wayne Rotary Club and is affiliated with the local lodge of the Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks. Both he and his wife hold member- ship in the English Lutheran church. In 1906 Mr. Freese wedded Miss Louise Bulmahn, who likewise was born and reared in Fort Wayne, and who is a daughter of Henry E. Bulmahn.
Henry F. Freese, one of the representative young business men of Allen county, is secretary and treasurer of the New Haven Floral Company, which has a large and modern plant at New Haven and is one of the leading concerns engaged in high-grade floriculture in Northern Indiana. Adequate description of the green houses and business of the company is given on other pages, in the sketch of the carecr of the vice- president and general manager of the company, Herman J. C. Leitz. Henry F. Freese was born in the city of Fort Wayne, April 18, 1891, son of August and Christina (Kiel) Freese, both natives of Munden, Kingdom of Hanover, Germany, whence they came to America and established their home in Fort Wayne, about the year 1881. August Freese was engaged in the retail grocery business in this city for a number of years and is now at the head of a substantial wholesale liquor business in Fort Wayne, his loyalty and progressiveness being denoted by his active membership in the Fort Wayne Commercial Club. Both he and his wife are com- municants of the parish of Emmaus German Lutheran church. Concern- ing their children brief record is here given: Fred is deceased; August remains at the parental home; Herman is deceased; Henry F., of this sketch, was the fourth; Wilma and Esther are with their parents; Elsie is deceased ; and Lydia is the youngest member of the parental home circle. Henry F. Freese gained his early education in the Lutheran parochial schools in Fort Wayne and thereafter completed an effective course in the International Business College, one of the well conducted educa- tional institutions of Fort Wayne, where also he availed himself of the advantages of Concordia College. After leaving school he was em- ployed two and one-half years in the Fort Wayne plant of the General Electric Company, as an office assistant, and for two years thereafter held a position in the office of the firm of Freese & Gale, of which his father is senior member. He next was employed two years in the offices of the Cushion Heel Shoe Company, at Fort Wayne, and in February; 1914, became secretary and treasurer of the New Haven Floral Company, to the affairs of which he has since given his close attention. In politics
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he is an independent voter, he is one of the vital and progressive members of the New Haven Commercial Club and he still retains membership in Emmaus Lutheran church in Fort Wayne, as does he also in various clubs and subsidiary organizations of this flourishing parish. On No- vember 16, 1915, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Freese to Miss Louise M. Yergens, daughter of Gustav and Minnie (Klett) Yergens, of Fort Wayne, and they make of their pleasant home in New Haven a verit- able center of generous hospitality.
John Freiburger .- After years of conscientious application to the industry of farming, John Freiburger found himself in a position where he might retire and enjoy the fruits of his labors. He has lived quietly on his home farm in Sheldon since 1877. Mr. Freiburger was born in Alsace, France, on April 1, 1849, and in 1855 came with his parents to American shores, settling soon thereafter in Allen county, Indiana. He was reared to farm life and as a young man spent some little time in Fort Wayne. He was devoted to the country, however, and in 1897 bought a small farm of seventy-five acres in Pleasant township, to which, in later years, he was able to add a forty-acre tract, and on this acreage he carried on successful farming activities for many years. He is a progressive man in agriculture and his farm is one of the well-kept and highly productive places in the township. On September 30, 1873, Mr. Freiburger married Miss Mary Miller, the daughter of Christian and Lena (Rupp) Miller. The father, it may be said, was of French birth and parentage, but the mother was of Russian ancestry. They were among the early pioneer settlers in Allen county, and dated their coming from some time in the thirties. They knew all the privations and dangers common to the people of their day who braved the wilds in their desire to establish independent homes in a new land, and their names go down in the history of Allen county among those of her pioneer sons and daughters. Seven children came to them, all deceased but two-Cath- erine of Fort Wayne, and Mary, the wife of the subject. The others were Lou, Frank, Andrew, John and Albert. John Freiburger was him- self one of a large family of thirteen children. Barney, the eldest, lives in Fort Wayne. Theresa is deceased. John came next. Ignatius is no longer living. Joseph is living in Fort Wayne. George died in March, 1914. Mary M. and Caroline have their homes in Fort Wayne. Peter is located in Wisconsin, Antony is established in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The three youngest children died in childhood. To Mr. and Mrs. Frei- burger have come thirteen children. Catherine lives in Lafayette, Indiana. Albert and Clara are identified with Fort Wayne. Edward is located in Lafayette. He is a priest in the Roman Catholic church, and serves in his priestly capacity at St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum. Ignatius lives in Ossian. Laurette is in Alliance, Ohio. Mary has honored the family by her entrance into a sisterhood, Providence. Ambrose lives in Shel- don. Ida died June 11, 1914. Rose, Eugene, Estella and Priscilla are still members of the family home. All are members of the Roman Cath- olic church, and Mr. Freiburger is a Democrat in his political faith.
Anselm Fuelber is one of the specially honored and influential repre- sentatives of the sterling German element of citizenship that has contrib- uted much to the civic and material advancement and prosperity of Fort Wayne. He is a man of fine intellectual and professional attainments, has been prominently concerned with newspaper enterprise in Fort Wayne, but he is now giving his attention principally to the practice
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of law and to the insurance business. He is known and valued as one of the loyal and public-spirited citizens of Fort Wayne and is definitely entitled to specific recognition in this history of Allen county. A mem- ber of a family of five children, Mr. Fuelber is the only representative of the family to have established a home in the United States, he being the youngest of the children and his mother having died at the time of his birth. His father, Edward Fuelber, was a prosperous farmer in Germany, and there passed his entire life. He whose name initiates this article was born in Germany 'on April 19, 1851, and in his native land received excellent educational advantages, including a course in the law department of the great University of Berlin, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1875, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In 1878, as a young man of twenty-seven years, Mr. Fuelber came to America and for the first four years maintained his residence in the city of New Haven, Connecticut. He then passed a year at Cincinnati, Ohio, from which city he came to Fort Wayne in 1883. The greater part of his active business career has been marked by close and effective alliance with newspaper enterprise, and as a writer he has proved specially strong in a literary sense as well as influential in the directing of popular sen- timent and action. For twenty-five years he was connected with the Fort Wayne Staats Zeitung, and for four years thereafter was manager and editor-in-chief of the Fort Wayne Abend Post. Since his retirement from active journalistic work he has given his attention primarily to the insurance business, besides which he is making effective application of his ability as a lawyer, though he has held his professional ability in this line as incidental and supplemental to his activities in connection with other fields of business. Well fortified in his political convictions, Mr. Fuelber has been an effective advocate of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, but he is not constrained by strict partisanship and is a stalwart supporter of the policy of a high protective tariff for the country of his adoption, as he has made a close study of governmental and economic questions. He holds membership in representative German societies in his home city and also is affiliated with the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His interest in local affairs has been loyal and insistent and he served three years as a trustee of the Fort Wayne board of education, the Bloomingdale, Washington and Smart school buildings having been erected while he was the incumbent of this office. In 1885 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Fuelber to Miss Anna Rath, who was born in Germany and who accompanied her parents, Dr. August Rath and Caroline (Adam) Rath on their immi- gration to America, the family home having been established at Fort Wayne in 1877 and the parents having here passed the residue of their lives, Doctor Rath having become one of the representative physicians and surgeons of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Fuelber have one son, Otto E., who is engaged in the law business in Fort Wayne, as a member of the firm of Harper & Fuelber, with offices in the Shoaff building; he wedded Miss Edna McClaren, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and they have two children-McClaren A., and Harriet.
Otto E. Fuelber is making his native city of Fort Wayne the stage of his successful endeavors as one of the well-fortified and ambitious younger members of the Allen county bar, and in the practice of his profession is associated with James B. Harper, this alliance having obtained since 1912, the year of his graduation in the law school. Mr.
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Fuelber was born in Fort Wayne on February 24, 1890, and is a son of Anselm and Anna (Rath) Fuelber, who still reside in this city. He profited duly by the advantages afforded in the public schools and the International Business College of Fort Wayne, and in the meanwhile had formulated definite plans for his future career. Following the course of his ambition, he entered the law department of the great University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1912 and from which he received his degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the bar of his native state and has since been engaged in active practice in his native city, where he is proving himself resourceful and successful both as a trial lawyer and as a counselor well grounded in the involved science of jurisprudence. Mr. Fuelber is aligned as a staunch advocate of the cause of the Demo- cratic party and takes an active interest in local affairs of a public order. On June 6, 1913, was recorded his marriage to Miss Edna Mac- Laren, daughter of Henry and Harriet B. Maclaren, of Ann Arbor, Mich- igan, and they have two children-MacLaren A., who was born January 18, 1915, and Harriet, who was born April 28, 1916.
John F. Fuelling is one of the progressive farmers and loyal citizens claimed by Milan township, his being one of the large and well improved landed estates of Allen county, and his achievements having marked him as a man of special energy, enterprise and mature judgment. He is a scion of a sterling pioneer family of Northern Indiana and was born on a farm in Adams county, this state, May 17, 1851, a son of John H. and Catherine (Rheinhart) Fuelling, both natives of the state of Georgia and both young when they came to Indiana, the respective familiies hav- ing established residence in Allen county in the early pioneer days. John H. Fuelling was a lad of sixteen years at the time of the family removal to Allen county and both he and his father assisted in the work on the old Wabash & Erie canal, which gave to Fort Wayne its first definite medium of transportation. As a young man John H. Fuelling entered claim to a tract of government land in Adams county, where he re- claimed a productive farm from the forest and both he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, secure in the respect of all who know them and prospered in the passing years by their earnest and effective in- dustry. Of their ten children the second Angel died October 16, 1916. The first-born, Elizabeth, died in childhood; Clamor is the third born; Amelia is deceased; the subject of this sketch was the fifth in order of birth; and the others are Sophia, Jacob, Henry, Lusetta, Charles and Martin. John F. Fuelling was reared to the sturdy discipline of the pioneer farm and is indebted to the district schools of his native county for his early educa- tional discipline. In early manhood he removed to Michigan, and in that state continued his activities as a farmer until 1888, when he came to Allen county and purchased two hundred and sixty acres of land in Section 18, Milan township, and Section 6, Maumee township. Later he purchased an additional fifty acres in Section 13, Milan township, and on this extensive and valuable rural estate has made the best of improve- ments, so that it constitutes one of the valuable farm properties of Northern Indiana. As an agriculturist and stock-grower Mr. Fuelling brings to bear progressive policies and scientific methods, and thus re- ceives the maximum returns from his farm enterprise. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party. The marriage of Mr. Fuell- ing was to Miss Louisa Catherine Wolf, who was born and reared in
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