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 49
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Thomas Lau is a progressive business man who has shown himself fortified in the elements of personality that conserve worthy and genuine success in connection with the practical affairs of life, and he has today a secure status as one of the influential men of affairs in his native city of Fort Wayne, where he is an interested principal in the Heit-Miller-Lau Company, which is engaged in the manufacturing of confectionery and table delicacies on an extensive scale and of which adequate description is given on other pages, in the sketch of the career of Anthony W. Heit. Mr. Lau is also the executive head of the Lau Building Company, which is doing an important service in furthering the physical development and advancement, as well as the incidental civic prosperity of Fort Wayne, his associates in this company being Oscar and Robert Fox and Mrs.
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Charles Niczer. Mr. Lau was born in Fort Wayne on November 29, 1860, son of Thomas and Mary (Schilling) Lau, both natives of Germany, the father having been born in Bavaria and the mother in Baden and both having been residents of Fort Wayne for many years prior to their death. Thomas Lau, Sr., was an architect of fine talent and in connection with the work of his profession became one of the representative con- tractors and builders of Fort Wayne, his political support having been given to the Democratic party and both he and his wife having been devout communicants of the Catholic church. Of their ten children six are now living. He whose name initiates this review is indebted to well ordered Catholic schools in Fort Wayne for his early educational discipline and his initial business experience was gained through his association with the Greenbaum insurance agency, with which he was connected six months. He then entered the employ of Louis Fox, who was engaged in the manufacturing of crackers and candies, and with this concern he continued until the plant and business were sold to the United States Baking Company, which later consolidated with the Na- tional Biscuit Company. In 1902 the present Heit-Miller-Lau Company purchased the local establishment of the National Biscuit Company, and the business has since been successfully continued on an extensive scale, a description of the plant and its activities being given in the previously mentioned sketch of Anthony W. Heit, the administrative head of the company. The genius of productive service has marked the career of Mr. Lau, and he has at all times held high place in the confidence and good will of the community in which he has lived from the time of his birth and in which he has won advancement through his own well directed endeavors. In a generic way he gives his support to the prin- ciples of the Democratic party, but in local affairs he supports men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment and without reference to strict partisan lines. He is affiliated with the Fort Wayne Lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. October 10, 1893, recorded the marriage of Mr. Lau to Miss Caroline Nessel, who was born at Ken- dallville, Indiana, daughter of the late Christian Nessel. Mr. and Mrs. Lau have one daughter, Miss Helen, who remains at the parental home and who is a popular factor in the social activities of her native city.
George E. Lawrence .- Three generations of the Lawrence family have called Allen county "home" since Jacob Lawrence, the pioneer ancestor, migrated from his native community in Wayne county, Ohio, and settled in Lafayette township. The family is one of pure German extraction, three brothers Lawrence having emigrated from Germany in 1735 and settled in eastern Pennsylvania. From that region they came west to Ohio and were established there for many years. In fact, many of the name and family will be found today in Wayne county, Ohio, and elsewhere in the Buckeye state. The last three generations liave been farming men, but prior to that the men of this fine old American family were identified with ship-building and merchandising, being successful and prosperous in those fields. George E. Lawrence was born in Lafay- ette township on August 13, 1865, son of John J. and Mary (Shank) Lawrence. The mother was born in Huntington county, Indiana, June 12, 1844, and the father in Wayne county, Ohio, January 25, 1837. He came to Allen county with his father at a time when it was almost a virgin wilderness. The Indian was the only human inhabitant and the wilder- ness trails were the sole means of travel. When John Lawrence married
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and took his bride to their new home, they lived in a rude but comfort- able log cabin, built with his own hands, and located on a spot from which he had cleared the timber of the growth of countless years. He was one of five children born to his parents. The others were George B., David, Milo and Amos. The last named is living at 1418 East Lewis street, Fort Wayne, Indiana. The family is a long lived one, and the mother of these men was an Ohian by birth, of Scotch ancestry, and lived to be sixty-nine years old. She was a most estimable character and her sons came to man's estate possessed of many sterling qualities that were the inheritance of a noble mother. She, Mary (Shank) Law- rence, was one of seven children, the others being Wilfred, Anna, Valira, George J., John and Ella. John J. and Mary (Shank) Lawrence reared a family of nine children. Elma M., the eldest, is the wife of Frank Jones. George E., the subject of this family review, was the second born. John and Rose, next in order of birth, are both deceased. William is deceased. Ella is the wife of M. M. Knight, of Bibbis, Indiana. Cora married John Shellin and is deceased. Effie is the wife of Elmer Settes- myer, of Roanoke, Indiana. Mildred E. married Alrick Wickeffer and died in March, 1914. George E. Lawrence is one of the foremost men of his community and is identified with the leading financial and indus- trial activities of the township. He is a director and stockholder in the Farmers' State Bank at Roanoke, owner of some city property in Hunting- ton and Marion, and a farm in Michigan, and is now living retired from active business. He has traveled quite extensively in the west. He is a Democrat, though not especially active in politics, and his fraternal ac- tivities are confined to the K. O. T. M., of which he has long been a member. On May 10, 1910, John J. Lawrence died and is buried at Zanesville. He was seventy-three years of age at the time of his death and his widow still survives him. Both were life-long members of the Church of God, and Mrs. Lawrence still retains an active interest in the work of the church.
John Lawrence .- The family of which John Lawrence is the im- mediate representative has been established in Allen county since 1863, when George and Elizabeth (Geitgey) Lawrence settled here, coming from Wayne county, Ohio. They were early land-holders in the county, though Mr. Lawrence did not give much time to farm life. He was prominent in the county and state and served as a member of the state legislature two terms, and for fifteen years was employed as an adjuster in the service of the Mutual Life Insurance Company. John Lawrence was one of their five children. The others were Oliver, Alice, Ida and Grover, of which the last named is the only living one. John Lawrence may be said to be self-educated. He spent more time in boyhood on his father's farm than in the pursuit of book-knowledge, and he is today in charge of the home place and carries on an extensive stock-farming enterprise. He was married on November 25, 1880, to Miss Alice Feighner, daughter of Jacob Feighner. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence have four chil- dren. Dora is the wife of Albert S. Ewert, of Lafayette township. Elizabeth Rebecca married Samuel Albery Krumma, of Lafayette town- ship. Carrie Pearl married Frank Jackson and Ethel May is living at home. Five grandchildren add distinction to the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence. Dora is the mother of Ruth Marie, Lawrence Lewis and Noel Edward. Elizabeth has a son, born August 18, 1917. Carrie claims a pair of twin daughters, named Mary Fay and Fairy May. Oliver Law-
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rence, the deceased brother of the subject, left one son, who has three children-Frank, Charles and Helene. Grover, who lives in Fort Wayne, has a daughter, Elizabeth Sylvia. Alice left a daughter, Cora May, who also has a daughter named Alice. Ida (Lawrence) Pontius left a son- Laurence W. Pontius. The Lawrence family is well established in the county and Mr. Lawrence, subject of this brief family sketch, is identified with various business enterprises in and about his township.
John T. Leach, Jr., foreman of engine repairs in the shops of the Pennsylvania Lines in Fort Wayne, is one of the city's own sons, born there on February 23d, 1882. His parents were John L. and Mary E. (Loftus) Leach, the former of English birth and the latter of Ohio, and they died in 1903 and 1888, respectively. Mr. Leach was employed for about twenty-five years in the boiler works of the Pennsylvania system and was one of the valued employees of the road at that point. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Leach. Jane E. lives at home and keeps up the establishment for her brothers and sister. Mary E. is de- ceased. James is employed in the motive power department of the Pennsylvania Lines; John T. is the fourth child; Edward D. is a veter- inary surgeon in Fort Wayne. Bertha V. is teacher of English in the Fort Wayne high school. She graduated from the high school and the DePauw University. Sadie is a stenographer and bookkeeper for the Southern Express Company at Tampa, Florida. John T. Leach had a common school education and three years in high school. In 1900 he took a position in the office of the master mechanic of the Pennsylvania Railroad, but after a year entered the machine shops as an apprentice. He served the prescribed time, coming out a licensed machinist, and after some service along general lines was made foreman of the loco- motive repair department. He makes his home with his sister and broth- ers at the family residence on Creighton avenue. Mr. Leach is a Re- publican and his fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is one of the capable and reliable young men who have made good in their home city and he has a wide circle of friends in his native community.
Herman J. C. Leitz, vice-president and general manager of the New Haven Floral Company, has been actively identified with this concern from the time of its organization, on the 1st of April, 1912, and has been a dominating factor in the development of the prosperous enterprise. In founding the business there were associated with him Henry F. Her- man, Rev. H. B. Kohlmeyer, Henry F. Heine and Miss Sophia L. Herman, and operations were initiated with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars. After the lapse of two years Henry F. and Sophia L. Herman sold their interest in the corporation, as did also Mr. Heine, and at this juncture August F. and Henry F. Freese and Theodore Thimlar became interested principals. Together with Mr. Leitz and Rev. H. B. Kohlmeyer these gentlemen now control the substantial business, which is one of the thriving and important industrial enterprises of the village of New Haven. The capital stock has been increased to thirty thousand dollars and the officers of the company are as here designated : August F. Freese, president; Herman J. C. Leitz, vice-president and general manager; and Henry F. Freese, secretary and treasurer. The company have fifty thousand square feet of glass in their greenhouses and propagating con- servatories, and the splendid growth of the business is shown in this ample provision, for at the beginning there were but ten thousand square
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feet of glass in the greenhouses, each year having been marked by an amplification of the facilities. Special attention is given to the propa- gating of the best types of roses, carnations and chrysanthemums and also the providing of bedding stock for spring planting. The out-put of these fine conservatories is sold mainly at wholesale to the retail dealers in the city of Fort Wayne and the enterprise is one of the largest and most successful of the kind in Allen county. Herman J. C. Leitz was born at Farnham, Erie county, New York, on April 12, 1880, and is a son of Herman and Adeline (Herr) Leitz, the former of whom was born at Collinsville, Illinois, and the latter at Kingsville, Maryland. The father is now engaged in the general merchandise business at Fort Morgan. Colorado, and he has the honorable distinction of having served as a valiant soldier of the Union during the entire period of the Civil war. After the war he went to Buffalo, New York, and later he was engaged in the general merchandising business at Farnham, that state. In 1886 he came with his family to Fort Wayne, and later he removed to Fort Morgan, Colorado, where he and his wife have since maintained their home. Herman J. C. Leitz gained the major part of his early education in the parochial schools of Emanuel Lutheran church in Fort Wayne and as a youth began working for the Flick Floral Company. Later he was employed eighteen years in the Vesey greenhouses and at the expira- tion of this period removed from Fort Wayne to New Haven and became associated in the organization of the company of which he is now vice- president and general manager. He is not only an expert but also an enthusiast in floriculture, and his success in his chosen field of enterprise has been the due reward of earnest effort. He is a Republican in politics, is serving, in 1917, as a member of the municipal board of trustees of New Haven, is the leader of the New Haven Cornet Band and is one of the staunch supporters of the progressive civic policies of the New Haven Commercial Club, of which he is an influential member. August 4, 1904, recorded the marriage of Mr. Leitz to Miss Lena Beyer, daughter of George M. and Lena (Cramer) Beyer, of Altenburg, Missouri, and the three children of this union are Walter E., Helen Mae, and Herman E.
John W. Liggett is consistently to be designated as one of the repre- sentative young business men of his native city of Fort Wayne, where he is president of the Singmaster Printing Company, which conducts a finely equipped general job-printing establishment. The enterprise was founded more than a quarter of a century ago, and about 1896 Joseph M. Singmaster purchased the business of the concern, in which he had previously been an interested principal, as a member of the Lipes, Nelson & Singmaster Printing Company. Mr. Singmaster, who was long num- bered among the sterling citizens and successful business men of Fort Wayne, died on March 26, 1914, and the business was inherited by his daughter, Mary S., wife of him whose name initiates this article. Mr. Liggett was elected president of the company, which had been incor- porated in December, 1904, with a capital stock of five thousand dollars. Mr. Singmaster was elected president of the company and served in this capacity until his death, the while Lewis W. Munson was secretary and treasurer. After the death of Mr. Singmaster a virtual reorganiza- tion took place, and the present executive corps of the company is as here noted: John W. Liggett, president; James A. Liggett, vice-presi- dent; and Mrs. Mary S. Liggett, secretary and treasurer. The company has a modern plant of the most approved equipment and its effective
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service has retained to it a substantial and representative supporting patronage. John W. Liggett was born in Fort Wayne on October 4, 1884, and is a son of James and Frances E. (Davis) Liggett, both natives of the state of Ohio. James Liggett became identified with the manufactur- ing of carriages after he had established his residenee in Fort Wayne, and later he here conducted a successful livery business. Later he re- moved to Hammond, this state, where he holds a position as a govern- ment revenue officer, his wife being deceased. He is a Republican in politics and formerly served as superintendent of the police department of Fort Wayne. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and is a member of the Baptist church, as was also his wife. Of their children the eldest is Phortes C., who is a resident of Fort Wayne; Grace resides in the city of Chicago; James A. is vice-president of the Singmaster Printing Company; Blanche B. resides at Gary, Indiana; the subject of this review was the next in order of birth; and Frances Nellie is the wife of Charles McKee, of Lincoln, Nebraska. John W. Liggett made good use of the advantages of the public schools of Fort Wayne, including the high school, and as a youth he here entered the service of the Western Gas & Construction Company, as a machinist. After a service of eighteen months he went to Logansport, this state, where for two months he was in the employ of the Reutenberg Motor Company. He then returned to Fort Wayne and for the ensuing eighteen months was here employed at the Fort Wayne Electrie Works. For two years there- after he was employed as a skilled machinist in the local shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in which service he continued two years. For the ensuing two years he was again employed at the Fort Wayne Electrie Works, and he then engaged in the laundry business as one of the in- terested principals of the Union Laundry Company. In 1907 Mr. Liggett again entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, with which he continued two years, the following four and one-half years having found him identified with industrial activities in the state of California, whenee he then came back to assume his present position as president of the Singmaster Printing Company. He is secretary of the Master Printers' Association of Fort Wayne, is an active member of the Fort Wayne Commercial Club, is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the National Union, the Masonie order as a Shriner and Knight Templar, and both he and his wife are members of the English Lutheran church. On January 1, 1906, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Liggett to Miss Mary S. Singmaster, and they have two children-James J. and Mary E.
C. Ross Lindemuth has gained precedence as one of the able young civil engineers of his native county and state and after giving five years of effective service in the position of deputy surveyor of Allen county he became, in the autumn of 1916, the Democratic candidate for the position of county surveyor, for which his technical ability and prior experience eminently qualified him. Mr. Lindemuth was born on the old homestead farm of his parents, in Maumee township, Allen county, on January 1, 1886, a son of Albert C. and Josephine (Snyder) Linde- muth, both of whom were born in Onondaga county, New York. Albert C. Lindemuth established his residence in Allen county about the year 1870, and he has not only been one of the successful farmers of the county but has also been prominently concerned with a substantial tile- manufacturing business, both he and his wife being still residents of this
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county and both being active members of the Evangelical Lutheran church. Elmer, their first child, is deceased; Ernest G. is still identified with agricultural pursuits in Maumee township; C. Ross, of this review, was the next in order of birth; Albert M. is principal of the high school at Defiance, Ohio; Amy D. remains at the parental home and is principal of the high school in the village of Monroeville; and Addie L. remains at the parental home. C. Ross Lindemuth continued his studies in the public schools of Allen county until his graduation in the high school at Antwerp, as a member of the class of 1904. Thereafter he put his scholastic acquirements to practical test and use by devoting three years to successful service as a teacher in the district schools of his native county, after which he entered the Northern Ohio Normal School, at Ada, in which he completed an effective three years' course and in which he was graduated in 1910 as a civil engineer. For one year thereafter he continued his pedagogic service, as superintendent of the high school at Antwerp, in which he himself had been graduated, and in the spring of 1911 he was appointed deputy surveyor of Allen county, a position of which he continued the efficient and resourceful incumbent until he be- came a candidate for advancement to the office of county surveyor, as previously noted. Mr. Lindemuth is a young man of excellent intellectual and professional attainment, is loyal and progressive in his civic attitude, and is a staunch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor. He is affiliated with the Masonic fra- ternity, the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and the Loyal Order of Moose, and he is distinctively popular in both business and social circles in his native county. He and his wife are communicants of the Evangelical Lutheran church. On June 1, 1910, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Lindemuth to Miss Alta H. Harris, who was born and reared at Antwerp, this county, and they have two children-Hollis Charlotte, born August 12, 1911, and Martha Jane, born May 9, 1916.
George W. Lindemuth, who is now successfully engaged in the real estate and insurance business in the city of Fort Wayne, as one of the prominent and influential exponents of these lines of enterprise, has been a resident of Allen county from the time of his birth and is a scion of a sterling family whose name has been identified with the civic and indus- trial annals of the county for more than half a century. He was born in Scipio township, this county, August 17, 1866, a son of Michael and Sarah (Nevinger) Lindemuth, both natives of Pennsylvania and of staunch German lineage. From the old Keystone state Michael Lindemuth went to Ohio when a young man and there continued his association with agricultural pursuits, near Germantown, Montgomery county, until 1862, when he came to Allen county, Indiana, and purchased a tract of virtually unimproved land, in Scipio township. There he developed one of the productive farms of the county and stood at all times exemplar of the most loyal citizenship, as well as of those sterling characteristics that invariably beget popular confidence and good will. He was a Democrat in politics, and, as a man of ability and mature judgment, was called upon to serve in the office of justice of the peace, of which he continued the incumbent for twenty-four years. Both he and his wife were devout communicants of the German Lutheran church, his death having occurred August 22, 1887, and the loved wife and mother is also deceased. Of their children, the eldest is William, a resident of Germantown, Ohio; Samuel maintains his home at Bunker Hill, Miami county, Indiana; James B.
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resides at Lagrange, this state ; Albert C. lives at Antwerp, Ohio; Clayton A. is a resident of Woodburn, Allen county, Indiana; Laird V. resides in the city of Seattle, Washington; Edward is one of the successful farmers of Allen county, in Maumee township; Vance E. is a resident of Defiance county, Ohio; Frank B. lives at Wolcottville, Lagrange county, Indiana; George W., of this review, is the youngest of the sons; Mary is the wife of John Boyer, of Germantown, Ohio; and DeEtte is the wife of Charles Overmeyer, of Fort Wayne. It is pleasing to note that all of the twelve children are now living, and it may be stated also that the youngest is now more than two score years of age. George W. Lindemuth was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and that in his youth he made good use of the advantages afforded in the public schools of Allen county is indicated by the fact that as a young man he devoted several years to successful work as a teacher in the district schools-principally during the winter terms. For ten years thereafter he continued his active asso- ciation with the basic industry of agriculture, and thereafter served as deputy sheriff of his native county. In 1906, as candidate on the Demo- cratic ticket, he was elected county auditor, and in this office served with characteristic loyalty and efficiency. After the close of his administration as county auditor he traveled for a time, for the purpose of recuperating his impaired health, and in 1914 engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Fort Wayne, a field of enterprise in which he has achieved definite success, with attendant operations of important order in the handling of both city and farm property. Since May 17, 1915, he has held the important office of chief fish and game commissioner of Northern Indiana, and in the same, a state office, he is giving a most effective administration. As previously intimated, Mr. Lindemuth is aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and in a fra- ternal way has received the ancient-craft, capitual and chivalric degrees of Masonry, in which his maximum affiliation is with Fort Wayne Com- mandery of Knights Templars, besides which he is a member also of the Mystic Shrine and is similarly identified with the local organizations of the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and the Loyal Order of Moose. His interest in virile sports is indicated by his membership in the St. Joe Athletic Club. On March 24, 1892, Mr. Lindemuth wedded Miss Mina Boulton, daughter of Henry and Helen (Hatch) Boulton, of Harlan, this county, both parents being now de- ceased. Mr. Boulton came from England to the United States, in 1847, and he long held prestige as one of the specially successful farmers and property-owners of Allen county, where he died, in 1915, at the patri- archal age of ninety-four years. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Lindemuth the following brief data are available: Mildred died at the age of eight years; George Ray is an electrical engineer; Carl B. is a student in a dental college in the city of Indianapolis; Maurice H. remains at the parental home and is attending the public schools.
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