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 48
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89
344
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
Erastus B. Kunkle was one of those strong and loyal men who al- ways faced the right way with the right spirit, and by very nature and integrity of purpose he helped to carry the victorious attitude in all of the relations of a signally earnest and useful career. He was a man of marked inventive genius and revealed this talent in a legitimate and productive way that made him a useful citizen and that brought to him a large and merited success and prosperity. He was one of the veritable captains of industry in Fort Wayne, where he developed a substantial industrial enterprise in the manufacturing of valuable mechanical devices and appliances of his own invention, and his character and services marked him as the model citizen, so that his name and memory are held in lasting honor in the city that was long the stage of his productive activities and to the interests of which he was loyal at all times. Erastus Boise Kunkle was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, on the 14th of December, 1836, and thus was nearly seventy-seven years of age when, on August 2, 1913, he was summoned to the life eternal, after a life replete with kindliness, sympathy and good deeds, as well as one filled with large and worthy achievement of a practical order. His parents, Leonard and Harriet (Boise) Kunkle, passed their entire lives in the old Keystone state, within whose borders he himself was reared and educated, besides there learning in his youth the trade of machinist. In 1862, as a skilled artisan, he went to Alliance, Stark county, Ohio, where he worked at his trade for two years. He then, in 1864, came to Fort Wayne, where for eleven years he was employed in the locomotive department of the shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In the meanwhile he had given much thought and much of his leisure time to study and experimentation and finally effected the invention of the celebrated Kunkle lock-up pop safety valve, to the manufacturing of which he began to devote his attention in January, 1876, after having duly patented the invention, to which he subsequently added numerous other inventions of valuable order and expanded his manufacturing to include the turning out of his various devices. The improved inventions that he thus placed on the market met with unqualified favor, for their superiority and practical value could not fail to gain recognition, and in association with his brother-in-law, W. D. Bostick, he built up one of the substantial and important industrial enterprises of Fort Wayne. He continued his active association with his manufacturing business until his death, and since that time the enterprise has been continued successfully by his former partner and by Mrs. Kunkle, who is a sister of the latter and the widow of the honored founder of the business. Mr. Kunkle was a man of broad and well fortified views, loyal and progressive in his civic attitude, and a staunch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party. He had no desire for political office, but his civic loyalty was such that he was gratified to serve as a member of the board of waterworks commissioners of Fort Wayne and otherwise to do all in his power to further the well being of his home city. He was a deacon and trustee of the English Lutheran church of Fort Wayne, of which his widow continues a devoted communicant. On October 22, 1868, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kunkle to Miss Louisa E. Bostick, who was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, daughter of the late Emmanuel and Harriet (Kline) Bos- tick, who were residents of Fort Wayne at the time of their death. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Kunkle, Ella A. remains with her widowed . mother in the attractive home provided by the devoted husband and
E. B. Huntle
! YORK
LIBRARY
« LUK, LENOX ALLDEN FOUNDATION
345
FORT WAYNE AND ALLEN COUNTY
father whose memory they revere; Eva H. is the wife of Chancey Griffith, of Fort Wayne; Blanche M. is now a resident of the city of Chicago; Lulu C. is the wife of Otis E. Goodman, of Los Angeles, California; Edith P. is the wife of Charles Merrill, of Princeton, West Virginia ; Laura is the wife of Adolph Schumaker, of Fort Wayne; and Frances A. died in infancy.
John F. Kurtz .- That man who justifies himself to the world and to himself through years of earnest and productive industry well merits the gracious environment of peace and prosperity when the shadows of his life begin to lengthen gradually from that golden west where the sunset gates are open wide. Such a sterling representative of the world's great army of workers is John F. Kurtz, who long held prestige as one of the energetic, resourceful and successful exponents of agricultural industry in Allen county and who, now venerable in years, is living in merited retirement in an attractive village home at Harlan, Springfield township. Mr. Kurtz was born in the Kingdom of Wurtemburg, Germany, August 10, 1840, a son of John and Barbara (Stokes) Kurtz, who immigrated to America, in 1841, and settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where they continued to reside seven years. They then removed to Richland county, Ohio, and sixteen years later, in 1871, came to Allen county, Indiana, and settled on a farm in Milan township, where they passed the remainder of their lives, both having attained to advanced age and both having been devoted members of the German Lutheran church, the entire active career of the father after coming to America having been marked by his close and effective association with farm industry. Of the seven children the subject of this sketch is the eldest; Eliza is de- ceased, and the others are still living-Martha, Mary, Kate, Henry and Arthur. John F. Kurtz was about six months of age at the time of the family immigration to the United States and in Ohio was reared to adult age, the while he made good use of the advantages afforded in the com- mon schools of the period. He accompanied his parents on their removal to Allen county, and after having been for fifteen years identified with the work and management of the old homestead farm of his father, in Milan township, purchased his present well improved farm of sixty-two acres, which lies adjacent to the village of Harlan, in Springfield town- ship. He still resides on this well improved farm, but for several years past has lived virtually retired, in the enjoyment of the rewards of former years of earnest and honorable endeavor. He has had no ambition for public office or political activity but is aligned as a loyal supporter of the cause of the Democratic party and has always done his part in the furtherance of those things that conserve the communal welfare. He is affiliated with Harlan Lodge, No. 331, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1876 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kurtz to Miss Mary Swift, who was born and reared in this county, a daughter of the late Philetus and Caroline (Kutts) Swift, natives of New England and early pioneer settlers in Allen county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz have five children-Eva, Agnes, Carrie, Annie, and Gaylord.
Christ Lamle .- Another of the sterling native sons of Allen county who has here achieved definite success as a progressive and energetic exponent of agricultural and live-stock enterprise is he whose name intro- duces this paragraph and whose well improved farm is eligibly situated in Section 12, Lake township, on rural mail route No. 4 from the city of
346
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
Fort Wayne. He is a popular representative of one of the honored pioneer families of the county and his venerable father is now living retired in the city of Fort Wayne. Mr. Lamle was born in this county, March 20, 1866, a son of Gottlieb and Magdalina (Erman) Lamle, both of whom were born in the Kingdom of Wurtemburg, Germany, and were young folk when they came to America, their marriage having been solem- nized in Allen county, Indiana. They settled first on a farm in Wayne township and later the father continued his activities as a farmer in Aboite and Lake townships. He and his wife lived up to the full tension of pioneer life, endured many hardships and privations but were sus- tained by unwavering courage and ambition, as well as by mutual love and devotion, so that they gradually won for themselves and their chil- dren definite independence and prosperity. Gottlieb Lamle used oxen in clearing his land in the early days and in later years often recalls incidents of the pioneer period in Allen county history, especially one in which he was able to rescue his wife from death when she was pursued and beleaguered by a pack of wolves. Mrs. Lamle had set forth, bare- footed, to bring in the cattle on the pioneer farm, and a large pack of wolves trailed her by her bloody footprints. Becoming aware of her imminent danger, she took refuge in a tree, and by good fortune her husband found her when he set out for the search at night, his lantern and the axe which he carried having proved adequate in driving off the ferocious beasts, which were thus cheated of their prey. Mr. Lamle was long numbered among the energetic and successful farmers of the county and is now one of the venerable and revered pioneer citizens of Fort Wayne, his cherished and devoted wife having passed to the life eternal on March 17, 1914. Of their eleven children the eldest, William, is now a resident of California ; John M. is a farmer in Washington town- ship; Mrs. Louise Happle and Mrs. Katie Fritz reside in Lake township; Gottlieb, Jr., is deceased; George, Christ, David and Andrew are all prosperous farmers in Lake township; Gottlieb (second of the name) resides in Fort Wayne; and Magdalena is deceased. Christ Lamle gained his early education in the rural schools of Lake township and was asso- ciated with his father in the work and management of the home farm until his marriage, in the autumn of 1891. For a short time thereafter he and his wife lived at Churubusco, Whitley county, and upon their return to Allen county established their home on the Randall farm, in Lake township. Two years later they removed thence to the Henry M. Williams farm, and later were on a farm in Cedar Creek township. Two years thereafter found them on a farm in Washington township and they then removed to their present farm, which comprises ninety-seven acres and is commonly known as the Litchfield farm. Mr. Lamle has made various improvements on this homestead, including the installing of a considerable amount of tile drain-pipe, and he is recognized as one of the energetic and circumspect representatives of farm enterprise in Lake township. Diversified agriculture receives his careful attention and he is making a specialty also of the raising of Duroc-Jersey swine. He is aligned as a supporter of the cause of the Democratic party and is affil- iated with the lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons at Huntertown. On November 18, 1891, Mr. Lamle wedded Miss Malena Huguenard, who was born and reared in Washington township, this county, a daughter of August and Mary (Humbert) Huguenard, both natives of France and residents of Washington township for many years, the devoted wife
347
FORT WAYNE AND ALLEN COUNTY
and mother having there died on the old homestead farm, June 2, 1900, and the father having thereafter lived retired in the city of Fort Wayne until his death, which occurred June 17, 1916. Mrs. Lamle was the fourth in a family of six children; Louisa, the eldest, is deceased; Felix and Mary still reside in Allen county; Alexander was killed in an accident in the electric power house in Fort Wayne; and Frank died young. Mr. and Mrs. Lamle have no children.
Rev. August H. L. Lange, the able and honored pastor of Concordia Evangelical Lutheran church of Fort Wayne, was born in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, on January 5, 1864, son of Louis and Margaret (Schmidt) Lange, both of whom were born in Hessen, Germany. In his youth Louis Lange learned the printer's trade and for many years was editor and publisher of Die Abend Schule, a semi-monthly, illustrated family magazine that is still published in St. Louis and that under his management gained a wide circulation among the German-speaking; people of the United States and Canada. With this splendid publication Mr. Lange continued his active association until his death, which occurred in St. Louis in 1894, his wife surviving him by a number of years and both having been most devout communicants of the Evangelical Lutheran church. Of their twelve children only three are now living, and of the number the subject of this review is the eldest; Theodore succeeded his father as publisher of Die Abend Schule and is still conducting this excellent periodical; and Pauline is the wife of Otto Doederlein, of Chicago. Another of the sons was the late Hon. Louis Lange, of Chicago, who was for a number of years publisher and editor of a weekly political review known as Die Rundschau, and who served four years, 1893-7, as American consul in the city of Bremen, Germany, his death having occurred in 1898. Rev. August H. L. Lange acquired his preliminary education in the German Lutheran parochial schools of his native city, thereafter pursued a higher academic course in Concordia College, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and his ecclesiastical and philosophical studies in prep- aration for the ministry were completed in Concordia Theological Semi- nary, St. Louis, Missouri. He was ordained a clergyman of the Evangeli- cal Lutheran church in 1886, in the Missouri synod, and his first pastoral charge was at Fremont, Nebraska, where he continued his services five years. For the ensuing three years he was assistant pastor of Zion Lutheran church in the city of Chicago, and simultaneously he assisted his brother, the laté Hon. Louis Lange, as co-editor of Die Rundschau, a publication previously mentioned in this context. In 1894 Mr. Lange accepted a call to the position of assistant pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran church, in the city of St. Louis, and incidentally he assisted in the editorial work and management of Die Abend Schule, the periodical that was so long published by his honored father, who was a man of fine intel- lectual attainments. He continued his pastoral service in his native city until 1896, when he accepted a call to assume the pastoral charge of the eastern district of St. Paul's Lutheran church in Fort Wayne, where he has maintained his residence since that time and where his consecrated zeal and devotion have been prolific in the development and vitalizing of the work of his present parish, which was formally organized on January 1, 1900, as Concordia church, and which now has about twelve hundred communicants, making it one of the large and important Luth- eran parishes of Indiana. Mr. Lange also has ex-officio direction of the parochial school, which retains in service five efficient teachers and
348
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
has an enrollment of three hundred and twelve pupils in 1917. He is president also of the board of trustees of his alma mater, Concordia College; is second vice-president of the central district of the Lutheran synod of Missouri; is secretary of the Lutheran Hospital board of trustees, Fort Wayne; and secretary of the Luther Institute of this city. It will thus be seen that the exacting ministerial and executive duties devolving upon Mr. Lange make full demands upon his energy, thought and time, but his enthusiasm and zeal have proved equal to all such demands and he is indefatigable in his labors in the vineyard of the Divine Master and in the service of his fellow men. As was said of one of the dis- tinguished public men of England, he "can toil terribly" and in addition to all his other service he has found time and opportunity to do a large amount of literary work of enduring value. Thus it may be noted that he is author of the following named works: "The Life of Luther," "The Holy Land," "The Declaration of Principles of the Ministers of the Lutheran Synod on the Separation of Church and State." He has given numerous editorial and other contributions to leading German publica- tions in America and has been called upon to deliver secular lectures in various cities of the Union. Mr. Lange is a man of fine literary appreci- ation and ability, a close student of science, history and general litera- ture of the best order, and his private library is one of the largest and most select in Fort Wayne. A man of broad and well ordered views concerning civic, governmental and economic affairs, he has insistently and ably advocated the policy of absolute segregation of the affairs of church and state. In 1887 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Lange to Miss Magdalena Wagner, daughter of Rev. Anton Wagner, of Chicago, and she was summoned to the life eternal in 1895, the only child of this union being Paula, who is now the wife of Rev. Frederick Lindemann, of New York city. In 1896 Mr. Lange wedded Miss Betty Lange, daughter of Professor Rudolph Lange, a member of the faculty of Concordia Theo- logical Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, and the four children of this union are Clara, Anna, Hedwig, and Magdalena.
August J. Lanternier has been a resident of Fort Wayne since his boyhood and here he early became associated with the gardening enter- prise that was established by his father in the pioneer days. During the long intervening years he has continued his close and appreciative asso- ciation with the gracious products of the soil, his knowledge of plant propagation is authoritative, he long controlled a large and representa- tive business as a horticulturist and general market gardner, and since 1901 has been one of the leading florists of the metropolis of Allen county. He discontinued his general gardening enterprise when he turned his attention to the propagation of flowers and decorative plants, and in the latter field of enterprise he has been specially successful, as he is an expert in the growing of the gracious products that now have his fostering care and is an enthusiast in floriculture. His modern green- houses have an area of about thirty-five thousand square feet and his hotbeds are about twenty-five hundred square feet in their gross area, besides which he keeps up large propagating beds and keeps his establish- ment up to the most approved modern standard in all departments, his retail store, in which are handled the finest of cut flowers and decorative plants, being situated at 1203 Calhoun street. Mr. Lanternier was born in Vouhnan, France, on June 12, 1844, son of Joseph and Mary (Juillard) Lanternier, the former of whom was a skilled gardener in his native land,
349
FORT WAYNE AND ALLEN COUNTY
and who became one of the pioneer exponents of this kind of enterprise in Allen county, Indiana, where he established the family home in 1854, when his son, August J., of this review, was a lad of about ten years. He developed a most prosperous business as a skilled horticulturist and market gardener and his field of operations was the grounds now owned and occupied by the greenhouses and other departments of the florist business conducted by his son, August J. He was a man of gracious personality and sterling character and won to himself the loyal friendship of the community in which he maintained his home for nearly forty years, his death having occurred about the year 1891, and his son, August J., having succeeded to the business. He was an earnest communicant of the Catholic church, as was also his wife, who preceded him to the life eternal. August J. Lanternier acquired his rudimentary education in his native land and after the family home was established in Fort Wayne he attended the Catholic parochial schools for a time. In 1858, as a lad of fourteen years, he became actively associated with his father's garden- ing enterprise, and during the long years that have since passed he has continued operations on the old homestead place which his father pur- chased more than sixty years ago and upon which he has made such improvements as to give him prestige as one of the leading exponents of floriculture in northern Indiana. He has had no desire for political activ- ity or preferment, though he is most loyal in his civic attitude and takes deep interest in all that concerns the welfare of his home city. Both he and his family are communicants of the Catholic church. On the 29th of June, 1865, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Amelia Gerardot, daughter of the late Joseph Gerardot, who was of sterling French lineage and who was one of the representative farmers of Jefferson township, this county, in the early days. In conclusion is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Lanternier: Mary is the wife of George Mohl, of Fort Wayne; Cecelia is the wife of Virgil Racine, of this city; Helena died after attaining to adult age; Louise died in infancy; Louis and Mond are identified with their father's business interests in Fort Wayne; Clara is the wife of Frank Myers, of this city; John, Joseph and Clement still remain in and pay loyal allegiance to their native city; and the two last named are associated with their father, while John is a bookkeeper and stenographer; and Irene is the wife of Edward O'Connor, of Fort Wayne.
Abner Lantz, who is serving most efficiently as trustee of his native township and is one of the representative citizens and successful farmers of Milan township, has passed his entire life in Allen county, where his parents established their home more than sixty years ago and the family name has always stood exponent of loyal and progressive citizenship. Mr. Lantz was born in Milan township on March 15, 1864, a son of Chris- tian and Mary (Hatt) Lantz, both of whom were born in Canton Berne, Switzerland, and were young at the time of the immigration of the re- spective families to America, their marriage having been solemnized in Ohio. From the old Buckeye state Christian Lantz and his wife came to Allen county many years ago and established their home in Milan township, where he reclaimed and improved a good farm and continued to reside until his death, which occurred in December, 1899, his widow having been summoned to eternal rest in November, 1905, when venerable in years and both having ever commanded the high regard of all who knew them, their religious faith having been that of the Methodist Epis-
350
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
copal church. Of their children the eldest is Mrs. Sophia Froelich, who resides in West Virginia; Mrs. Elizabeth Saunders maintains her home in the state of Oregon ; Mrs. Bertha Schwartz still resides in Allen county ; Christian is deceased; Joel is a resident of Iowa; and Abner, of this re- view, is the youngest of the number. Abner Lantz early began to con- tribute his quota to the work of the home farm and in the meanwhile profited fully by the advantages afforded in the public schools of Milan township. He continued to be associated in the management of his father's farm until his marriage, shortly before his twenty-eighth birth- day anniversary, and thereafter farmed on rented land until 1910, when he purchased and removed to his present farm, which comprises twenty acres and is eligibly situated in Milan township. He has made many improvements on the place, including the erection of a modern house and barn, good fences and the installing of tile drainage. Here are mani- fest definite thrift and prosperity and Mr. Lantz is consistently to be noted as one of the substantial exponents of progressive and scientific farm enterprise in his native county. He is equally vigorous and loyal in his civic stewardship and the appreciation of this fact was significantly shown on January 1, 1915, when he assumed the office of township trustee, for a term of four years, his administration having fully justified the pop- ular choice of an incumbent. His political faith is that of the Demo- cratic party and both he and his wife are zealous and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Milan Center. On February 9, 1892, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Lantz to Miss Nona Frecman, daugh- ter of the late Samuel and Mary (Lytle) Freeman, who were honored residents of Allen county at the time of their death, the father having been a native of this county and the mother of the city of Logansport, Indiana. Of their four children, Mrs. Lantz was the second in order of birth ; Mrs. Josephine DeHaven is a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Samuel departed from Allen county a number of years ago and the other mem- bers of the family have unfortunately lost all trace of him; and Elizabeth is a popular teacher in the public schools of Fort Wayne. Mr. and Mrs. Lantz have an interesting family of seven children-Albert F., Ruth E., Frank A., Perry D., Naomi J., Nan, and Gertrude H. Albert F., the eldest son, wedded Miss Mae Hutker and they reside in Milan township, their twin daughters-Margaret and Marjorie-having been born Septem- ber 29, 1915, and thus giving to the subject of this sketch his first claim to the title of grandfather. Another daughter, Dora, has been born to Albert F. and wife. Ruth E. married George W. Moss, of Cedarville; and Frank A. married Stella Smith, daughter of Mathias Smith, and they live in Milan township.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.