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 39
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a Mason of high degree, and in the matter of church affiliation it should be stated that he was reared in the Congregational faith, became a member of the Church of England, and when he became a resident of Fort Wayne he became a member of the Presbyterian church, in the advancement of whose interests he gave much of his time and those more material benefits without which any institution prospers but indifferently.
Owen N. Heaton .- Judge Heaton has played a large and benignant role in connection with the civic and material advancement of his native county and is a scion of one of the best known and most honored pioneer families of Allen county, his paternal grandfather, Jesse Heaton, having come from the state of New York to Indiana early in the second decade following the admission of the Hoosier commonwealth to the Union. He became one of the earliest settlers in Dearborn county, where he ob- tained a tract of government land and continued his residence until 1833, when he came to Allen county and purchased a tract of three hundred and twenty acres of wild land, in what is now Marion township. The major part of this tract was covered with heavy timber, the nearest neighbors were a band of Indians, under Chief Godfrey, and thus the sturdy pioneer was called upon to face the vicissitudes and herculean labors that were involved in initiating the development of a farm from the primitive wilderness. Jesse Heaton did well his part in furthering the social and material development of the county; here he and his wife passed the residue of their lives, and the names of both merit enduring place on the roll of the sterling pioneers of the county. Judge Heaton of this review has long been numbered among the representative mem- bers of the Allen county bar. His activities have not been confined to service as a lawyer and jurist but have also touched definitely the civic, political and business phases of the county's history, involving special prominence in connection with the affairs of the Republican party in this section of the state. He effected the organization of the Citizens Trust Company of Fort Wayne, of which he is now the president, and his has been a dominating influence in developing the same into one of the most important financial and fiduciary institutions of northern Indiana. Judge Heaton was born on the old homestead farm of his father, in Marion township, this county, and the date of his nativity was September 2, 1860. He is a son of Jesse and Samantha C. (Larkin) Heaton, and his father was long known and honored as one of the most substantial and progressive exponents of agricultural and live-stock in- dustry in the county, as well as a liberal and public-spirited citizen who was specially influential in the furtherance of the cause of the Republican party, in the establishing of good schools and in supporting all measures and enterprises legitimately advanced for the general good of the community. He was the owner of one of the well improved and valuable landed estates of Allen county and during the later years of his active life gave his attention principally to the raising of live stock of superior type. He was a man of indefatigable industry, of broad mental ken and of that sterling character that ever compels objective confidence and approbation. He was affiliated with the Masonic fra- ternity for many years and served as master of the lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons in the village of Poe. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and his memory is revered by all who came within the sphere of his kindly influence. Mr. Heaton passed from the stage of life's mortal endeavors in 1889, and his widow resides in Fort Wayne, being now in her eighty-fifth year. Concerning their children
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the following brief data are available: Freeman died in childhood; Charles E. was engaged in the successful practice of his profession at Fort Wayne and was a skilled physician and surgeon of prominence at the time of his death; Margaret D. is a resident of Fort Wayne; Judge Heaton of this review was the next in order of birth; Elmer and Etta are deceased; Mary is the wife of Homer B. Smitley, of Fort Wayne; Ellis J. is a successful contractor and builder in Fort Wayne; Luella May resides in Fort Wayne; Benjamin F. is one of the prominent members of the Allen county bar and is associated in practice with his brother, Owen N., immediate subject of this sketch; and Pearl is the wife of George Allen, of Fort Wayne. Judge Heaton found the period of his childhood and youth compassed by the invigorating influences and disci- pline of the home farm and while attending the public schools continued to assist in the work of the farm during the summer vacations. In 1884 he completed a course in Fort Wayne College, and then began, with characteristic energy and ambition, the study of law, under effective private preceptorship. He made rapid and assured advancement in the assimilation of the science of jurisprudence and, in 1886, was admitted to the bar as one eligible for practice in the various courts of Indiana, including the federal tribunals in the state. He forthwith engaged in active general practice in Fort Wayne, and his powers as a resourceful and versatile trial lawyer have been put to many an important test through his association with many leading causes brought into litigation in the various courts, including the supreme court of the state. He continued to give his close attention to his large and representative law practice until he was elected to the bench of the superior court of Allen county, on which he served from 1902 to 1910-the longest tenure of office that the history of the county records in connection with an in- cumbent elected on the Republican ticket. The admirable record of Judge Heaton on the bench has become an integral part of the judicial history of the county. Upon retiring from the superior bench Judge Heaton was made the Republican candidate for representative of this district in the United States congress, and though he was unable to over- come the large and normal Democratic majority he was defcated by a small margin of votes. In 1899 Judge Heaton effected the organization of the Citizens' Trust Company of Fort Wayne, which was incorporated with a capital of two hundred thousand dollars, and he served as vice- president and a director until 1910, when he was elected to his present office, that of president. Under his regime as chief executive of this" important institution its assets have been increased from five hundred thousand to more than two million dollars, this substantial and consecu- tive growth designating it as one of the strong and important financial institutions of the state. Giving close attention to his executive duties in this connection, Judge Heaton still continues in the active practice of his profession, with well merited status as one of the strong and influential members of the Indiana bar. He is affiliated with both the York and Scottish Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity and also with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. On August 23, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Heaton to Miss Katherine Russell, daughter of Benton C. and Sarah (Amidon) Russell, of Branch county, Michigan, and the one child of this union is Miss Dorothy Russell Heaton, who was graduated in the Fort Wayne
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high school and who is, in 1917, a student in Washington College, in the city of Washington, D. C.
Gottlieb H. Heine .- Even the brief data possible of incorporation in this sketeh will show conclusively that Mr. Heine has proved himself a young man of assertive initiative and executive ability, and he is consistently to be designated as one of the progressive and valued young business men of his native city. He is now president of the Meyer Broth- ers Company, which conducts a chain of six well equipped retail drug stores, four of which are in the city of Fort Wayne, one at Anderson, and one at Kokomo, so that the company is one of the prominent and representative concerns in this line of business enterprise in the state. Mr. Heine has become influential also in other fields of business, being treasurer of the Meridian Amusement Company at Anderson and vice- president and treasurer of the company of the same title at Danville, Illinois, both operating moving-picture establishments of the best grade. Mr. Heine was born in Fort Wayne, January 10, 1878, and is a son of Fred W. and Augusta (Stoppenhagen) Heine, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in Adams county, Indiana. The father was for many years a resident of Fort Wayne, where he was long em- ployed as a skilled car-builder in the shops of the Pennsylvania Rail- road, and here his death occurred, his widow being still a resident of Fort Wayne. Gottlieb H. Heine was afforded the advantages of the parochial schools of the Lutheran church in Fort Wayne and here supple- mented this discipline by a higher course of study in Concordia College. His initial business experience was of clerical order and, in 1897, he became stenographer and assistant bookkeeper in the retail drug estab- lishment of Meyer Brothers & Company, of which position he continued the ineumbent three years. He then became a principal in effecting the reorganization and expansion of the business, under the present title of the Meyer Brothers Company, of which he became treasurer and general manager. His resourcefulness and energy resulted in bringing to bear most progressive policies in the conducting of the business and, about 1910, he became president of the company, of which office he has since continued in tenure, this company now having a chain of six retail stores, as has previously been noted in this article. Mr. Heine is essentially and emphatically a business man and, though he takes loyal interest in public affairs, especially those pertaining to his native city, he has never had any predilection for public office and is independent in his political proclivities. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which he is a communieant, and is a member of the Fort Wayne Commercial Club and the Quest Club. In 1901 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Heine to Miss Etta Littleton, daughter of Charles J. and Maria (Babbitt) Littleton, of Sandusky, Ohio, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Heine have two sons-Harold and Elwood.
Anthony W. Heit has been identified closely with the industrial and commercial interests of Fort Wayne during practically his entire active career and is now one of the interested principals in the Heit-Miller-Lau Company, which here controls a large and important industrial enterprise in the manufacturing of high grade confectionery and specialties. Through his own initiative and constructive ability Mr. Heit has gained secure vantage-ground as one of the representative business men of his native city and for many years has also been quietly influential in civic affairs. Mr. Heit was born in Fort Wayne May 23, 1860, and is a
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son of Anthony and Josephine (Most) Heit, both of whom were born in Germany. Anthony W. Heit acquired his rudimentary education in the public schools of Fort Wayne but he early became largely dependent upon his own resources, as he was but eleven years old at the time of his father's death. Thus his broader education has been that gained under the preceptorship of that wisest of all head-masters, experience, and well has he profited by this discipline. When a lad of fifteen years he became identified with the candy-manufacturing business in the city of Toledo, Ohio, and with the exception of an interval of three years has been concerned with this line of business enterprise during the long intervening period. The interval mentioned, from 1878 to 1881, found him employed in the Fort Wayne office of the Empire Fast Freight Line, and upon severing this association, May 1, 1881, he took a position as traveling salesman for the firm of Trentman & Fox, manufacturing con- fectioners and cracker bakers. With this firm and its successors he continued his alliance' until September 1, 1902, when he became asso- ciated in the purchase of the confectionery department and incidental good will of the Fort Wayne branch of the National Biscuit Company, and the enterprise has since been successfully conducted under the title of the Heit-Miller-Lau Company. Mr. Heit continued "on the road" as traveling salesman for the new company until 1907, when he came to the house headquarters, where he has since held the position of man- ager. In the well equipped factory the company gives employment to a force varying from sixty-five to one hundred and twenty-five persons, and efficient salesmen are retained in representing the house throughout its trade territory-in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. In addition to his connection with this important commercial enterprise Mr. Heit is a stockholder and director of the First and Hamilton National Bank of Fort Wayne. Taking a lively interest in all that concerns the welfare and advancement of his native city and also in public affairs in general, Mr. Heit has designated himself an independent Republican in politics, but he has had no ambition for political activity or public office. He is a valued member of the Fort Wayne Commercial Club, holds membership also in the Country Club and the Quest Club, and in the Masonic fra- ternity has received the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. On October 8, 1886, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Heit to Miss Nellie Roelle, who likewise was born and reared in Fort Wayne and who is a daughter of Frank and Caroline (Stake) Roelle, both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Heit became the parents of two chil- dren-Edna, who is the wife of Herbert W. Fee, of Fort Wayne, and Howard J., who died at the age of twenty-two months.
James Heliotes is one of the substantial and progressive business men of Fort Wayne, where he has developed a large and prosperous busi- ness as a manufacturer of and dealer in high-grade confectionery. His well equipped factory is situated at 1314 Calhoun street and is designated as the Columbia Candy Factory, and at 1002 Calhoun street is located his attractive retail establishment, known as the Columbia Candy Kitchen. Mr. Heliotes was born in Greece, November 20, 1881, a son of John and Lena (George) Heliotes. He was a lad of about twelve years when he immigrated to the United States, in 1894, and joined an uncle who was successfully established as a candy manufacturer in the city of Chicago. In the western metropolis Mr. Heliotes remained seventeen years, and in this interval gained a thorough knowledge of all details of candy
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manufacturing, in the establishment of his uncle. In 1912 he came to Fort Wayne and purchased his present retail confectionery store, shortly afterward establishing his modern factory, through which he supplies an extensive wholesale trade as well as his own retail store, his annual business having now attained to an average aggregate of about thirty thousand dollars and its scope and importance being such as to mark him as one of the progressive young business men of the Allen county metropolis, where he has gained secure place in popular confidence and esteem. Further evidence of his success is that given in his being finan- cially interested in other prosperous mercantile enterprises, not only in Fort Wayne but also in the states of Ohio and Illinois. Mr. Heliotes is a Republican in his political adherency, he and his wife are active com- municants of the Orthodox Greek Catholic church and he is affiliated with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and the Loyal Order of Moose. His further business alliances in Fort Wayne include a half interest in each the Summit City Restaurant and the Metropolitan Lunch Room. The maiden name of the wife of Mr. Heliotes was Amanda Lambrakes, and she likewise is a native of Greece, in which historic land both received their early education. They have three children-George, John and Angelus.
John C. Heller is an able and influential exponent of a line of business enterprise that has most important bearing upon the general prosperity and progress of Allen county, as he is president of the Allen County Abstract Company, the excellent records of which conserve most per- fectly the surety and legitimacy of all real estate transactions in this favored section of the Hoosier state. John Conrad Heller was born at Port Mitchell, Indiana, on January 23, 1861, and is a son of Thomas S. and Carrie M. (Nill) Heller, the former of whom was born in Pennsyl- vania, of German ancestry, and the latter in Allen county, Indiana, where her parents settled in the pioneer days and where she is now one of the venerable native daughters of the county, her home being in the city of Fort Wayne. Thomas S. Heller came to Indiana from Bushkill, Pike county, Pennsylvania, and he was long known and honored as one of the representative and influential citizens of Allen county, where he continued his residence until his death, when sixty-one years of age. Here was solemnized his marriage to Miss Carrie M. Nill, and of their six children the subject of this review is the first born; George M. is deceased; Flora remains with her widowed and venerable mother at the pleasant home in Fort Wayne; William likewise resides in this city; . Ada is the widow of Charles J. Bulger and now resides with her mother and older sister; and Louise is the wife of Edwin J. Lindman, of Fort Wayne. John C. Heller acquired his early education in the public schools of Monroeville, this county, and there also served his novitiate in con- nection with practical business affairs as an assistant in the general merchandise store conducted by his father. He finally assumed entire charge of the store, and when his father was elected county recorder and the family removed to Fort Wayne, the judicial center of the county, he assumed the position of deputy recorder. In this connection he gained ample and valuable experience in regard to real estate in Allen county, and when about twenty-three years of age he became associated with · the abstract business, with which he has since continued to be identified and as a representative of which he is now president of the Allen County Abstract Company, as previously noted. The records of the
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company are recognized as authoritative in regard to all realty in the county, and they greatly facilitate all real estate transactions besides making the incidental titles clear and unassailable. Mr. Heller, both as a business man and as a loyal and public-spirited citizen, is well up- holding a family name that has long been honored in Allen county. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party, he and his wife are communicants of the English Lutheran church, and in 'the time- honored Masonic fraternity he has received the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, besides being affiliated with the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Mizpah Temple, and the Knights of Pythias. On May 20, 1885, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Heller to Miss Hattie V. Shell, a daughter of the late Franklin V. V. Shell, who was a representative member of the bar of Allen county, he having been originally engaged in the practice of law at Monroe- ville and having later established himself in practice at Fort Wayne, where his death occurred. Mr. and Mrs. Heller have one son, Eugene L., `who was born June 22, 1900, and who is now a member of the class of 1918 in the Fort Wayne high school.
Edward A. Helmcke, who is treasurer of the Wayne Knitting Mills and who has contributed much to the permanent development of the great industrial enterprise of which adequate description has been given on other pages, was born in the principality of Lübeck, Germany, on March 9, 1862, and is a son of Wilhelm Helmcke. In his native land he received excellent educational advantages, including those of the Kath- arineum Gymnasium, and as a youth entered upon an apprenticeship in a mercantile establishment in his home city. After one year of service in the German army he went, in 1884, to Venezuela, South America, under a three years' contract for service as clerk for Mestern & Com- pany, at Puerto Cabello. At the expiration of this period he came to the United States and established his residence in the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, where for the ensuing ten years he held the position of cashier in the large fur establishment of Gordon & Ferguson. He then went to New York city, where for eighteen months he held a responsible position with a prominent commission firm doing business with Mexico, and in June, 1898, he came to Fort Wayne and entered the employ of the Wayne Knitting Mills, in a clerical capacity. His ability as an executive and aggressive business man led to his becoming one of the stockholders of the corporation, and of the same he has served as treasurer since 1902. He is identified with the Fort Wayne Commercial Club, the Fort Wayne Country Club, and also with the Lincoln Yacht Club in the city of Chi- cago. Mr. Helmcke is significantly loyal to his home city and takes lively interest in all things pertaining to its welfare and advancement. He is one of the popular business men of Fort Wayne and is one of the strong and vigorous executives who have aided in the upbuilding of one of the city's greatest industrial and commercial enterprises. Mr. Helmeke's name is enrolled on the list of eligible bachelors in Fort Wayne.
Henry Dietrich Helmke came to America as a lad of sixteen years. He was born in Germany on November 12, 1860, son of Henry and Margarette (Hohnemann) Helmke, both native Germans, where they were all their lives identified with farm life. They had a family of ten children, named Mary, Minnie, Henry, Fred, Henry D., Herman, Anna, William, George and an infant who died unnamed. Henry D. Helmke
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had some education in his home land, and when he was sixteen he em- barked for New York alone, intent upon seeking what prosperity he might find in a new world. Arriving in New York he soon after set out for Henry county, Ohio, where he remained until 1903, a period of twenty-seven years, when he came to Allen county and located on a farm in Maumee township. He bought 130 acres in Section 34, and with characteristic diligence applied himself to the task of reclaiming that wilderness tract and making a productive and habitable place of it. The success of his undertaking is everywhere apparent today, and the improve- ments he has effected are well in keeping with the best standards set by modern agriculturists of this section of the state. Mr. Helmke was married November 27, 1884, to Miss Katie Schroder. She died October 15, 1885, leaving a daughter, Katie. On September 3, 1886, Mr. Helmke was married to Miss Minnie Rohrs, daughter of Henry and Mary Rohrs, both native Germans who came to America in 1859, following their mar- riage. They settled in Defiance county, Ohio, and there spent the rest of their lives. The father was born on October 30, 1824, and died on February 10, 1901, and the mother, who was born February 19, 1834, died on August 20, 1903. They had ten children, named Fred, Henry, Minnie, Herman, William, Anna, Mary, Sophia, George and Katy. To Mr. and Mrs. Helmke were born nine children. They are Nora, Mary, Anna, Dorothea, Ernest, Henry, Frank, Otto, Martin and Hellen. Doro- thea died when she was three and a half years old, but the others are living at this time. Mr. Helmke and his wife and children are members of the German Lutheran church and he is a Democrat in politics. He has been active in local government and has served his township ably for four years as a member of the Maumee township advisory board. His influence in the community has always been for the best good of the greatest number and he has done his full share in the development and advancement of Maumee township since he came to be a resident in it.
James A. Henderson, who resides on his well improved farm of eighty acres, in Springfield township, is now one of the venerable citizens of the county that has been his home since he was a lad of about ten years and which he represented as a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. A sterling citizen who has made his life count for good in all its relations, he is well known and commands unqualified esteem in Allen county, and is specially entitled to definite recognition in this history of the county. Mr. Henderson was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, July 8, 1841, a son of John and Elizabeth (Zimmerman) Hender- son, both natives of Pennsylvania. In 1851 John Henderson came with his family from Ohio to Allen county and here made settlement in Milan township, where he reclaimed and improved a good farm and he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, both having been well ad- vanced in years at the time of their death and having been honored pioneer citizens of this favored section of the Hoosier state. Of their family of children, the first died in infancy, as did also the second child. Of those now living the subject of this review is the eldest, he having been seventh in order of birth, and the other surviving members of the once numerous family are Hattie, John and David. The names of those deceased are as here noted : Josiah, Mary, George, Sarah, and Joseph. James A. Henderson gained his rudimentary scholastic discipline in his native county and, as before stated, was ten years old at the time of the family removal to Allen county, where he further prosecuted his
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