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 54
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Frank C. Martin .- One of the most gratifying and consistent phases in the compilation of this history has been that it has been possible to incorporate within its pages specific mention of so appreciable a number of the representative exponents of farm industry in the county, and especially those who stand as seions of sterling pioneer families of this favored section of the old Hoosier commonwealth. Such an one as Mr. Martin, who is one of the most substantial and progressive farmers and stoek-growers of Perry township, where his well improved farm, com- prising one hundred and sixty acres, is eligibly situated in Section 35. His memory links the pioneer past with the present period of opulent prosperity and progress in Allen county, and in his youth he had his full share of the ardnous work pertinent to the reclaiming of a farm from a virtual forest wilderness. He has been in the most significant sense one of the world's productive workers and has achieved success and sub- stantial prosperity through his own ability and efforts. On both the paternal and distaff sides Mr. Martin is a scion of pioneer families that were founded in Allen county in a very early day, and there is much of interest attaching to his genealogieal history. Mr. Martin was born in Perry township, this county, January 29, 1855, a son of August J. and Josephine (Rassatt) Martin, both of whom were born in France, the stage of much of the stupendous military operations in the great European war that is fiercely raging at the time of this writing. August J. Martin was a lad of twelve years at the time of the family immigration to Ainer- iea and his future wife was eleven years old when she accompanied her parents to this country. The Martins came to Stark county, Ohio, and the Rassatts settled in New York state, and it was from those localities that these two families eame, by medium of stage and ferry boat, to Allen county, Indiana-about the year 1844. Settlement was first made at Fort Wayne, which was then little more than a forest hamlet that clustered about the site of the old fort that gave to the present city its name. On the south line of Perry township August J. Martin purchased a tract of heavily timbered land, at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents an aere, and there instituted the reclaiming of a farm from the wilderness. He bore the full tension of pioneer life and aided in laying the foundation for the great superstructure of prosperity that later generations in the county were to enjoy, both he and his wife having passed the remainder of their lives on the old homestead farm. Of the children the subject of this sketch is the first born, and the other surviving members are Jules J., Alexander, Henry, Nestor, August E., Mrs. Louise Laurent, and Mrs. Josephine Cahoe. Charles is deceased. The boyhood and youth of Frank C. Martin were passed under the conditions and influences of the pioneer epoch in Allen county history, and it was his to gain the fullest fellowship with arduous toil and endeavor, to endure hardships with fortitude and to gain experience at first hand. He assisted his father in clearing and otherwise improving the home farm, his educational advantages were very limited, but his ambition and vital mentality were such as to over- come this handieap in large measure, for he has made the best use of self-discipline and has become a man of broad mental ken and mature judgment. He has studied and read with discrimination and speaks and reads French as well as English, thus showing a loyalty to the land of his ancestors. With the passing years Mr. Martin made his labors count for advancement toward the goal of definite independence and prosperity, and he is now the fortunate owner of one of the finely improved and
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valuable farms of his native township and county. As a youth he assisted in the erection of the log house that was the family abode for a long term of years, and it is interesting to note that he and his brother Jules felled the trees and hewed the timber that were utilized in the construction of the present barn on his farm. He has since remodeled the structure, and has also modernized the house on his farm. When he reverts to the con- ditions that were in evidence in the pioneer days and then recalls that at the present time he utilizes in his farm enterprise the best of modern implements and machinery, even including a traction engine, Mr. Martin must realize that he has himself been an exponent of progress and has played well his part in furthering civic and industrial prosperity in his native county. In connection with well ordered agriculture of diversified character Mr. Martin has been specially successful as a breeder and grower of fine live stock, including short-horn cattle, Poland-China swine, and registered Cotswold sheep. The buildings on his farm are of a type that further indicates his progressiveness, and everything about the place betokens thrift and prosperity. In a general way Mr. Martin supports the Democratic party, but in local affairs is independent of partisan lines and votes for men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment. He and his wife are zealous communicants of St. Vincent's Catholic church in Washington township. It is pleasing to note that Mr. Martin has given to his fine homestead the attractive and consistent name of Oak Lane Farm. On May 8, 1877, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Martin to Miss Louise A. Urbine, daughter of John B. and Adele (Litot) Urbine, natives of Alsace-Lorraine, France, which is now a German province. The parents of Mrs. Martin were young when they came with their parents to America and established their home in Allen county, and both the paternal and maternal grandfathers of Mrs. Martin assisted in the construction of the pioneer canal that afforded to Fort Wayne its first definite medium for transportation, besides which the paternal grand- mother likewise assisted in the arduous work, with payment equal to that paid to her husband, and she sturdily used a wheelbarrow and other primi- tive implements with remarkable vigor. The parents of Mrs. Martin were honored members of the farming community in Perry township until their death and their names merit enduring place on the roll of the honored pioneers of the county. Their surviving children are James, Mrs. Mary Morrell, Mrs. Louise A. Martin, and Mrs. Clara Bobay. Frank is deceased. In conclusion is given record concerning the large and in- teresting family of Mr. and Mrs. Martin : Leonore L. was born September 30, 1877, and on February 13, 1900, became the wife of Victor Sordelet. They reside in Perry township and have three children-Alfred, Hubert and Crystal. Florence I., who remains at the parental home, was born August 3, 1879. Stella M., who was born November 26, 1880, is the wife of Edward Schrader, of New Haven, their marriage having been solem- nized May 1, 1900. They became the parents of six children, all of whom are living except the fourth, Robert. The names of the surviving children are Walter, Frank, Edna, Maurice and John. Alice M., the fourth child of Mr. and Mrs. Martin, was born October 15, 1882, and remains a mem- ber of the home circle. Grace A., born November 14, 1884, is the wife of George Hardest, of New Haven, their marriage having occurred July 26, 1911. Clarence A., who was born September 10, 1888, resides in Bluffton. His marriage to Miss Adeline Sordelet was made a matter of record on November 25, 1916. Frances H., who was born May 17, 1891,
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was united in marriage to John B. Surface, March 5, 1912, and her death occurred on the 23d of the following month. Eunice F., born May 17, 1891, a twin of Frances H., became the wife of Adlore Carl, July 2, 1912, and they have three children-Hazel, Martin and Wanda. Edith C., born February 27, 1895; 'Viola J., born February 15, 1898; and Margaret J., born April 4, 1900, are the younger members of the gracious home circle. Louise B. died at the age of four months and Moses E., who was born September 1, 1892, died September 10, 1901.
Henry J. Martin .- Another of the native sons of Allen county who has built up a secure position for himself through well-directed efforts and the application of commendable zeal is Henry J. Martin, born in Perry township, Allen county, on July 27, 1863. He is a son of August J. and Josephine (Rasett) Martin, both natives of France, who came to America in youth, settled with their families in Allen county and there met and married. They came as young people to Fort Wayne, in 1845, and later located in Perry township, there identifying themselves with the agricultural activities of the community and continuing to be thus employed through the remainder of their useful and honorable careers. They retired, in 1898, but lived only a brief period thereafter. They were the parents of eight children-Frank, Julius, Alexander, Henry J., Nestor, August E., Loren and Josephine. Henry J. Martin had his edu- cation in the Perry township schools, in common with his brothers and sisters, and early identified himself with the farm life of Perry township, later on settling in Washington township. He finally came to St. Joseph township and has since had his home here. He is today owner of a fine farm of two hundred and ten acres in what is known as the Richardville Reservation, and his is one of the fine improved farms in the township. In 1887 Mr. Martin married Matilda Pepe, daughter of Lewis and Mary (Petregney) Pepe, both of French birth and parentage. They came with their respective families to Allen county in 1833 and were thereafter identified with the development of this region. Mr. and Mrs. Pepe were the parents of ten children-Louisa, Emily, Ellen, Angeline, Joseph, Alfred, Alexander S., Flora and Harriet. The third, fourth, fifth, sixth and tenth named are deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Martin have been born four children. Georgia married William Blume, of St. Joseph township. Hubert married Esther Sordelet. Charles and Gerald are unmarried and share the family home. The parents, with their children, are mem- bers of the Roman Catholic church, and Mr. Martin is a Democrat in politics.
Edward Coy Martz, postmaster of Grabill since 1914, and one of the well-known citizens of Cedar Creek township, is a native son of Adams county, born on July 23, 1881, and the eldest child of his parents, George W. and Magdalene (Kessler) Martz. The father was born in Adams county, Indiana, and the mother in Celina, Ohio. She is deceased, but the father still lives at Berne, Indiana, where he is engaged in farming, in which industry he has been engaged all his active life. The children of George and Magdalene Martz are five in number and are named as follows: Edward Coy, the subject of this review; Thurman, a resident of Joplin, Missouri; Bessie, the wife of Menno Wittner, of Berne, Indiana; Ira, of Portland, Indiana, and Ferdinand, also of that place. Edward C. Martz had the usual experience of the farmer boy and up to the age of sixteen had opportunity to become fairly well acquainted with the joys and discomforts of farm life. He left home
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when he had passed his sixteenth birthday and applied himself to car- penter work for about three years, after which he turned his attention to the barber's trade and was engaged in that work for something like nine years. Ile was still occupied in that field when he was appointed to fill the office of postmaster at Grabill. July 22, 1914, receiving his appointment at the hands of President Wilson. He is still discharging the duties of that office and has acquitted himself most commendably in the service of the government. Mr. Martz was married on August 29, 1905, to Miss Grace Vergil Hill, a young woman of Adams county, and they have three children-Hester, Bessie and Edward, Jr. Mr. Martz is a Democrat and is active in local polities. His only fraternal affiliations are with the Modern Woodman of America, in which he has long been a member of Leo Camp 10121.
George E. Mason and his father, Joseph S., were native sons of Allen county, and the family was established in this district in the early days of the nineteenth century by Frank Mason, the paternal grand- father of the subject. He left his native state of Pennsylvania as a young man and made the long wilderness journey overland with an ox team. This intrepid pioneer acquired title to a tract of government land and established a home where he reared a family that has done its full share in the later development of Allen county. Joseph, the father of the subject, was reared to farm life, had little schooling, and in youth settled down in Wayne township, where he was born and occupied himself with the cultivation of a wilderness farm, much as his father had done. He acquired more and better land in later years, and branched out into stock-farming, in which he was prosperous and successful. He gave some time to stock-buying also, and was known to be a capable veter- inary surgeon in his time. Though not schooled in the work, he had a natural talent for it and was depended upon in his community and thereabouts by his fellow citizens. Mr. Mason was a Republican in pol- itics, though he never aspired to political favors. He married Catherine Sites and they were the parents of two children-George E. and Bell, who is the wife of Dr. Daniel Sled, of Fort Wayne. George E. Mason was born in Wayne township, this county, December 18, 1856. He acquired a substantial education in the district schools of his community and a practical training in the business of farming at the hands of his father, who died in 1904. After his marriage, in 1884, he rented a farm of two hundred and forty-two acres in Lafayette township, where he settled and carried on extensive farming and stock raising. He purchased this farm in 1886, and resided on it until he retired and moved to Fort Wayne in 1913; though he still owns the farm, and also owns a fine home at 1206 Dayton avenue, this city, where he lives. Mr. Mason was married on January 11, 1884, to Miss Catherine Baker, daughter of one George Baker, an Englishman and a resident of Fort Wayne. Six chil- dren were born to the Masons. Joseph is a prosperous farmer in Wayne township, now living on and conducting the old family homestead. Roy is an employe of the Fort Wayne street car company. Harley is in the employ of the city electric light company in Fort Wayne. Ida married Norman Prince, of Wayne township. Montgomery is in the employ of the Wayne Oil Tank and Pump Company. William MeKinley, the youngest of the six, is living with the parents in Fort Wayne, and is also in the employ of the eity electric light company. Ten grandchildren add to the joys of the elder Masons. Joseph has five children, named
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James, Wayne, Velma, John and George. Roy has a son named Harold. Harley is also the father of a son, George. Montgomery has a little daughter, called Virginia, and Ida has two sons-George and Roy.
John W. Meeks, who is now engaged in the insurance business at Monroeville, has been a resident of Allen county from the time of his birth and is a representative of a well known pioneer family of Monroe township, where the place of his nativity was a primitive log cabin of the type common to the pioneer days. He has now passed the scriptural span of three score years and ten and thus it may well be understood that his memory forms a definite link between the pioneer past and the present period of august and stable prosperity in Allen county. He further honored his native state by going forth as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war, and as one of the prominent and honored citizens of the county he is well entitled to recognition in this history. Mr. Meeks was born in Monroe township, January 13, 1843, a son of Thomas and Nancy (Bartlett) Meeks, who were born and reared in West Virginia, where their marriage was solemnized, and who came to Allen county, Indiana, in the year 1840. The father purchased a tract of heavily timb- ered land in Monroe township, and for the property he paid at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. For a domicile he erected a log cabin of the true pioneer order, the little dwelling having had a roof of clapboards or shakes, the floor having been of puncheon, the chimney of the old-time fireplace having been of stick and mud construction, and the entrance door, with its latchstring, having always been gladly opened to extend hospitality to neighbors or the worthy wayfarer. Thomas Meeks and his noble wife lived up to the full tension of pioneer life, and with unremitting toil he effected the reclamation of his farm from the wilderness. He developed his homestead into a productive tract and on this place he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, their names meriting enduring place on the roster of the sterling pioneers of Allen county. They became the parents of six sons and four daughters, and of the number two sons and three daughters are living at the time of this writing, in 1917. John W. Meeks reverts with no small degree of rem- iniscent satisfaction to the experience which was his in the pioneer period of Allen county history, and it is still more pleasing to him that he has been able to witness and aid in the development and progress of his native county, along both civic and industrial lines. From the little log- cabin home he went forth in his boyhood to gain his rudimentary education in the pioneer schools of Monroe township, and he so applied himself as to lay a substantial foundation for the broader education which he has since gained in the school of practical experience. Mr. Meeks was eighteen years of age when the Civil war was precipitated and forthwith gave evidence of his youthful loyalty and patriotism by responding to President Lincoln's call for volunteers. At the second call in 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company D, Thirtieth Indiana In- fantry, and continued in active service for a period of three years. He took part in numerous engagements, including a number of the important battles marking the progress of the conflict, and for a time was assigned to detail duty in the quartermaster's department. He was mustered out and received his honorable discharge in the city of Indianapolis, and then returned to Allen county and resolutely turned his attention once more to winning the gracious victories which peace ever has in store, "no less renowned than war." For a number of years Mr. Meeks con- tinued his successful activities as one of the representative farmers of
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Monroe township, and later engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock, to which line of industrial enterprise he applied himself about three years. For twelve years thereafter he controlled a successful meat- market business at Monroeville, and in this village he continues to reside as one of its best known and distinctly influential citizens. Here he is now engaged in the insurance business, besides which he is a notary public. He formerly owned a well improved landed estate in his native township, and at the present time is the owner of seven valuable resid- ences properties in Monroeville, each of these properties being improved with good houses and other buildings. Mr. Meeks is a staunch
Republican in politics; he and his wife are active and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Monroeville, of which he has served as trustee and steward for fully thirty-seven years, and he has long been affiliated with the local lodge, No. 283, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all of the official chairs. His continued interest in his old comrades of the Civil war is shown by his appreciative affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. In the year 1864, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Meeks to Miss Mary C. Dobbs, who was born in Allen county, Kentucky, whence she came with her parents to Indiana when she was a girl. Mr. and Mrs. Meeks had but one child, Mary Idella, and the supreme loss and bereavement of their wedded life was that which came when their cherished daughter passed to eternal rest at the early age of ten years.
Charles A. Meigs has developed through service of the most effective order a substantial and important business as one of the leading optomet- rists and manufacturing opticians of Fort Wayne, where he engaged in the practice of his profession in December, 1905, with headquarters on Calhoun street. He came to Fort Wayne from his native city of Chicago and was thoroughly fortified in his equipment as a scientific optometrist, so that he soon built up a prosperous business. His retail establishment is now situated at 1012 Calhoun street and he has amplified in a significant way his operations in his chosen line of enterprise and has become the executive head of the Fort Wayne Optical Company, which occupies the entire second floor of the Lyric building, at the same location -1012 Calhoun street-and which has control of a substantial manu- facturing and wholesale trade in the manufacturing of lenses for the correction of all irregularities of vision. For the grinding of prescrip- tion and other lenses the establishment is equipped with the most modern facilities, the company imports hasic lenses and other accessories in a direct way, and its dealings are entirely with physicians, oculists, opticians and professional optometrists, two traveling representatives be- ing employed and the house force numbering eleven persons. This important manufacturing concern was established in 1909, the business is incorporated with a capital of ten thousand dollars and Morris Blau is the general manager. The factory at the beginning employed but two men, but the enterprise has shown a substantial and consecutive expan- sion in scope and importance and is now one of the prominent industrial corporations of Fort Wayne, its trade territory embracing Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. Mr. Meigs is consistently to be designated as an eyesight specialist and has gained the highest reputation in the diagnosis and correction of errors of refraction in the vision. He not only has his prescription lenses manufactured in a direct way in the establishment, but also has the best facilities for supplying the mountings and properly adjusting all lenses, so that the absolutely perfect correction is assured
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in every instance. He has individually patented an improved nose piece for what are commonly designated as nose glasses, the device being easy of manipulation, secure in its grip and designed in such forms as to make the adjustment always accurate in focal distance and maintaining the unwavering alignment of cylindrical and other special lens for the correction of astigmatism and other irregularities aside from myopia and presbyopia. The Doctor gives special attention also to the pre- scribing, manufacturing and adjusting of kryptok and other bifocal lenses and also those of colored type, for the elimination of eye strain. In his retail establishment he employs nine assistants and his repre- sentative supporting patronage attests the higher popular estimate placed upon him and his work. Dr. Meigs was born in the city of Chicago, on July 25, 1880, and his father, John Stanley Meigs, a native of the state of New York, was long engaged in the optical business in Chicago, where his death occurred. Dr. Charles A. Meigs was afforded the advantages of the public schools of his native city and his original technical experience in connection with the optical business was gained under the effective direction of his father. He attended school also at St. Johns, Vermont, took a special course of professional study under the preceptorship of Dr. Earl J. Brown, a prominent oculist and optician of Chicago, and in 1898 was graduated in the Northern Illinois Optical College. Thereafter he was employed in the old and celebrated optical establishment of L. Manasse, of Chicago, until 1905, when he came to Fort Wayne and initiated the business which he has since developed to large and substan- tial proportions and to which he gives his close attention and the careful personal inspection and supervision that insures to patrons effective service in every instance. The Doctor is a loyal and appreciative mem- ber of the Fort Wayne Commercial Club, a member of the Rotary and Quest Clubs and an officer in several of the Masonic bodies.
Charles M. Menefee, who has been engaged in the foundry business for a full quarter of a century and who is one of the prominent repre- sentatives of this line of industrial enterprise in the city of Fort Wayne, was born in Greene county, Ohio, on September 4, 1857, a son of William Henry Menefee and Laurena (Deneal) Menefee, natives of the Old Dominion state, where the former was born in 1833 and the latter in 1837, dates that indicate that the respective families were founded in Virginia in an early day. Charles Milton Menefee, the immediate subject of this sketch, received limited educational advantages in his youth, but has made good this handicap to a large extent through his active association with business affairs during the course of a significantly busy and useful career. In his youth he learned the various details of the foundry industry and through his alliance with this domain of enterprise has long been one of the successful business men of Fort Wayne, where he has applied himself earnestly and where he has at all times commanded unqualified esteem. He is a Republican in politics and both he and his wife hold membership in the United Brethren church. The maiden name of Mrs. Menefee was Mary Elizabeth Allen, and the children of Mr. Menefee and his wife are ten in number, namely: Harry B., Oscar F., James W., Earl H., Edith, Rebecca, Mary, Amy, Leah, and Allen. Edith is the wife of Edwin M. Pfeiffer; Mary is the wife of Kenneth Harbaugh ; Leah is the wife of Clarence Coover; and Rebecca is the wife of F. E. Wilmore.
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