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 56
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retained this incumbency until 1896, the year that marked his call to his present pastorate in Fort Wayne, upon the death of Rev. Henry G. Sauer, whom he succeeded. The largest Lutheran church in Fort Wayne, St. Paul's, has twenty-two hundred communicants, with an incidental membership of fully six hundred more persons in the parish organiza- tion. Since 1910 Mr. Miller has had as his able and valued coadjutor his son, Rev. Paul F. Miller, who is assistant pastor, and who is doing splendid work in the furtherance of the varied interests and activities of the important parish. The parochial school of St. Paul's church is one in which the pastor and parishioners take just pride, the same having an enrollment of three hundred pupils and retaining a corps of eight men teachers. Mr. Miller holds, in 1917, the office of first vice-president of the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, Indiana and other states. He is liberal and public-spirited as a citizen and maintains an independent political attitude. He takes deep interest in civic affairs in his home city and is zealous in his efforts to aid and uplift humanity, with enduring charity and tolerance and with abiding sympathy for "all sorts and conditions of men." In 1886 Mr. Miller wedded Miss Katherine Goehringer, of Accident, Maryland, and she was summoned to the life eternal in 1889, being survived by two sons, Rev. Paul F., who is his father's assistant, as above noted, and Theodore, who is pricer in the Fort Wayne Drug Company. The second marriage of Mr. Miller was solem- mized in 1891, when Miss Clara Schachameyer, of Chicago, became his wife. Her death occurred in 1900, and of the four children of this union three are living-Martine, Ada and Walther. In 1903 Mr. Miller married Miss Mary Burkhart, of Accident, Maryland, and the five children of this marriage are Henry, Frederick, Margaret, Ruth and Gertrude.
Rev. William Caspar Miller, of Fort Wayne, is a son of William M. and Mary J. (Ackermann) Miller, and was born at Lafayette, Indiana, January 16, 1869. He attended St. Boniface's parochial school until thir- teen years old. He then entered St. Francis' Gymnasium at Cincinnati, and later St. Gregory Seminary at Cedar Point, Ohio, where he com- pleted his classical course. His philosophical and theological courses were made at Mount St. Mary's of the West Seminary at Cincinnati. He was ordained priest by Bishop Alerding in the Cathedral at Fort Wayne, May 24, 1902. After this he traveled in Europe and at Rome had audiences with Pope Leo XIII., August 2 and 7. During the illness of Rev. Dominic Duehmig, he had charge of the parish at Avilla from October 1, 1902, to February 1, 1903. He was then made assistant to the pastor of St. Mary's church at Michigan City. On August 28, 1906, he was transferred to the Bishop's House in Fort Wayne, where he has since remained doing the work of an assistant at the Cathedral and secretarial work under the Bishop's direction.
Samuel Mills is one of the substantial retired farmers and venerable pioneer citizens of Allen county, and for the past twenty years he has maintained his home in the pleasant village of Harlan, Springfield town- ship, where he is a stockholder and director of the Harlan State Bank. Mr. Mills was born in Jefferson county, New York, October 21, 1837, and is a son of Jedediah A. and Jane (Forsyth) Mills, the former of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter in Ireland, she having been a child at the time of her parents' immigration to the United States and the family home having been established in New York state, where was solemnized her marriage to Jedediah A. Mills. In the spring
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of 1853 they came to Allen county, Indiana, and settled in Springfield township, where Mr. Mills engaged in farming, but he was killed four years later in a runaway accident, he having been thrown from the wagon when he lost control of his frightened team and his injuries having been such that he died shortly afterward, his wife having survived him by many years and having remained in Allen county until her death. They became the parents of four children, Mary, Nancy, William and Samuel, and all now deceased except the last named and youngest, who is the immediate subject of this review. Samuel Mills gained his early educa- tion in the schools of the old Empire state and was about sixteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Allen county. After his father's death, four years later, he assumed much of the responsibility involved in the improving and operations of the home farm, and with the passing years he became one of the most successful exponents of agri- cultural industry in Springfield township, where he accumulated a fine landed estate, and where he continued his vigorous operations as a pro- gressive agriculturist and stock-grower until 1896, since which time he and his wife have resided in the attractive home which he then purchased in the village of Harlan. He is still the owner of valuable farm property in the county and gives a general supervision to his varied property and capitalistic interests, including his service as a member of the directorate of the Harlan State Bank, of which he is one of the leading stockholders. Mr. Mills is an implacable adversary of the liquor traffic and shows his consistency by giving staunch and loyal support to the cause of the Prohibition party. August 21, 1861, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Mills to Miss Brown, who was born in Allen county on August 13, 1838, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Miller) Brown, who were honored pioneer settlers of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Mills became the parents of seven children, all of whom are living except the first born, Charles. The names of the surviving children are here given in the respective order of their birth : Samuel, Jr., Abbie, Jeremiah, Alice, William and Jesse.
John Mohr .- From his youth until his death, which occurred July 27, 1906, Mr. Mohr was actively identified with the Hamilton National Bank of Fort Wayne and for many years prior to his demise had served as the able and honored cashier of this representative finaneial institu- tion of his native city. His course in all of the relations of life was guided and governed by inviolable integrity and high ideals, he com- manded unqualified popular respect and was one of the unostentatiously influential business men and loyal citizens of Fort Wayne during the period of a long and significantly useful career. He passed his entire life in the metropolis of Allen county and was a scion of one of the city's sterling pioneer families, his parents having been John and Helen (Witz) Mohr and his father having been for a protracted period successfully established in the boot and shoe business in Fort Wayne, where both he and his wife remained until their death. Of their six children the first was Louis, who is deceased; Adeline is the widow of Clay Taylor and still maintains her home in Fort Wayne; John, subject of this memoir, was the next in order of birth; and Joseph and Conrad, twins, likewise are deceased. The parents were earnest communicants of the Catholic church and their son John thus received his early education in the pa- rochial schools and in a school conducted by one of the brotherhoods of the Catholic church. When but fourteen years of age he became a messenger and general clerical assistant in the Hamilton National Bank,
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and by faithful and efficient service won advancement through the various grades of promotion until he became cashier of the institution, of which important and exacting executive office he continued the valued and honored incumbent until his death. He was one of the solid and influential figures in the financial circles of this section of the state, was a man of broad information and mature judgment, and his consideration and graci- ous personality gained to him the confidence and good will of all with whom he came in contact. He was liberal and public-spirited in his civic attitude, was a Democrat in politics and though he had no ambition for public office his civic loyalty was such that he consented to serve as a member of the city council, in which he first represented the Seventh and later the Second ward. He was affiliated with the local organizations of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and was a devout communicant of the Catholic church, in which he held membership in the Cathedral parish, his widow being still an active communicant of this parish. On October 6, 1874, was solem- nized the marriage of Mr. Mohr to Miss Hannah Helena Nettlehorst, who was born and reared in Fort Wayne, a daughter of the late Charles and Sophia A. (LaSelle) Nettlehorst, the latter having been a daughter of Francis D. LaSelle. Charles Nettlehorst was engaged in the hardware business at Fort Wayne at the time of his death, which occurred when he was a young man of thirty-two years, and his young widow later became the wife of George De Wald, who was born in Germany, and both passed the closing years of their lives in Fort Wayne, further data con- cerning the family being given on other pages, in the sketch of the career of Robert DeWald. Mrs. Mohr is the elder of the two children of her mother's first marriage, and the younger child, Francis, died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Mohr became the parents of two children, both of whom survive the honored father: Frank X. holds an executive position with the First and Hamilton National Bank, and Helen Sophia is the wife of Detlef Ferdinand Urbahns, who is employed in the same banking institution. Mrs. Mohr has been a resident of Fort Wayne from the time of her birth and in her widowhood is sustained and comforted by the filial devotion of her children, by the affectionate regard of her many friends and by the gracious memories and associations of the past.
Rev. William E. Moll, the able and revered pastor of Emanuel Luth- eran church in Fort Wayne, has not only shown the utmost zeal and devo- tion in the work of his high calling but also stands exponent of broad- minded and progressive citizenship, so that he has made his benignant influence extend in various directions. The prosperous parish over which he is placed in charge has found its spiritual and temporal affairs effectively administered by him, and it is interesting to record that this church was founded in the year that recorded also the birth of its present pastor. The organization of Emanuel church was effected in July, 1867, and its first pastor was Rev. William S. Stubnatzi. In the following year the devotion and liberality of the little church organization were shown in the erection of the substantial brick edifice which is still utilized by the congregation, but upon which many improvements have been made in the passing years. The original parish school was opened before the church building had been completed, and soon afterward the present school building was erected. Emmanuel church has played an important part in the spiritual and civic life of Fort Wayne, and the history of the parish school has been marked by splendid growth as well as by efficiency
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of work during the long period of its history. In 1880 Rev. C. Gross assumed the pastorate, and his devoted ministrations continued for nearly a quarter of a century. In the harvest of the Divine Master he bore the heat and burden of the day and left enduring results of consecrated zeal, his retirement from the pastorate having occurred in 1903, in which year he was succeeded by the present incumbent, so that in the half century of its noble history Emmanuel church has had but three shep- herds. Three hundred families are represented in the parish organiza- tion, the present enrollment in the parish school is eighty-five pupils, and three efficient and zealous teachers are employed. The attractive parish house was erected in 1882 and is of substantial brick construction. Rev. William Ernest Moll was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, September 3, 1867, a son of Conrad and Renata (Fuerbringer) Moll, the former born in Bavaria, Germany, and the latter in the state of Illinois. Conrad Moll came to the United States in 1846, as a lad of seven years, and the family home was established in the state of Michigan. He pro- vided ways and means through which to acquire a liberal education, and in Concordia College, at Fort Wayne, completed the thorough philo- sophical and theological course that qualified him for ordination as a clergyman of the Lutheran church, in the faith of which he had been carefully reared. He gave many years of faithful and consecrated service in the ministry and in the same rested from his labors only when death put its seal upon his mortal lips and he passed forward to the life eternal, in 1899, his widow being still a resident of Detroit, Michigan. Of the children the first born was Otto A., who is deceased, and the subject of this review was the second child; Theodore M. resides at Norway, Michi- gan; Clara remains with her widowed mother; Gustave W. is a resident of Foster City, Michigan ; Richard P. remains with his mother in Detroit; ยท Walter L. resides in Fort Wayne; Agnes is at the maternal home; Kurt is deceased; and Nettie is the youngest member of the family circle at the home in Detroit. After having fully profited by the advantages of the Lutheran parochial schools and the public schools of his native city, Rev. William E. Moll came to Fort Wayne and entered Concordia Col- lege, his father's alma mater, in which, as a member of the class of 1886, he continued his studies six years. He then went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he entered the theological department of Concordia College, in which he was graduated in 1889 and incidental to which was soon after- ward ordained a clergyman of the Lutheran church. In the same year he became pastor of a church at Kirkwood, Missouri, where he remained until 1895; thereafter he held a charge at Dunkirk, New York, until 1897; and his next pastoral incumbency was at Ottawa, Province of Ontario, Canada, where he continued his effective services until he accepted his present pastorate, in 1903. Taking loyal interest in com- munity affairs and also those of governmental order, Mr. Moll is non- partisan in politics and gives support to men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment. On July 6, 1892, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Clara L. Keyl, who was born and reared on Staten Island, New York, a daughter of Stephen and Magdalene (Walther) Keyl. The two children of this union are Conrad S. and Esther M., who are still members of the gracious home circle.
Clyde F. Moon .- It is perhaps true that the average citizen in any given community fails to realize to how appreciable a degree the local newspaper, if properly conducted, exercises most important functions
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as an exponent of the diversified interests of that community and how great and benignant its influence in the furtherance and safe-guarding of local civic and material well-being. Specially potent is the influence thus exerted by the newspapers of the smaller cities and different vil- lages, and perhaps equally pronounced is the lack of popular apprecia- tion, so that oftimes the ambitious editor and publisher is constrained in a professional way to look upon "virtue as its own reward." He whose name introduces this paragraph has effectively mustered his forces as one of the representative newspaper men of Allen county and is not only the editor and publisher of the Woodburn News, at Woodburn, the principal town of Maumee township, but also has editorial management and general control of the New Haven Tribune, at New Haven, Adams township, and the Grabill Review, at Grabill, Cedar Creek township. He is a practical exponent of the "art preservative of all arts" and has proved himself a strong editorial writer and able business man, with the result that he has not only achieved success in his chosen field of endeavor but has also brought his papers to such high standard as to gain to them unqualified popular approval and support. Mr. Moon was born at Hesperia, Oceana county, Michigan, on January 25, 1885, and is a son of Thomas and Harriet (Madison) Moon, the former of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter in Michigan, where her parents settled in the pioneer period of the history of that state. Thomas Moon was reared and educated in the old Empire state and upon his removal to Michigan established his residence in Montcalm county, where his marriage was solemnized and where he continued to reside fifteen years, within which he worked at the carpenter's trade and for a time conducted a bakery. He finally removed with his family to Hes- peria, that state, where he became an active and representative business man and highly honored citizen and where he continued to maintain his home until his death, which occurred in 1898. His widow now resides in the home of her son, Clyde F., subject of this review, at Woodburn, and is accorded the deepest filial love and solicitude by all of her children. Of the children the first three-Myrta, Ruth and Lena-are deceased, and besides Clyde F., three others survive the honored father, namely : Clarence, Flora and Altha. Clyde F. Moon is indebted to the public schools of his native state for his early educational discipline, and at the age of eighteen years he entered upon an apprenticeship to the print- er's trade in the office of the Hesperia Union at Hesperia, Michigan. The intricacies and mysteries of the printer's art did not baffle him and he familiarized himself thoroughly with all details of the country news- paper business. He finally purchased and became editor and publisher of the paper in whose office he had learned his trade, and there remained until 1910, when he sold the plant and business and established his resi- dence at Woodburn, Allen county, Indiana, where he purchased the Woodburn News, a weekly paper which he has made a model and through which he has effectively exploited and conserved community interests. His office is a thoroughly modern plant, with excellent equipment in both newspaper and job departments, and this is assured when it is stated that he utilizes in his establishment the Linotype machine. In 1916 Mr. Moon likewise assumed the editorial management of the New Haven Tribune, of which he now has full control, the paper being printed in his Woodburn office. Mr. Moon is not only one of the able and alert newspaper men of Allen county but is also distinctively progressive,
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loyal and public-spirited in his civic attitude. He has not sought political preferment, but both in a personal way and through the columns of his papers has been a resourceful advocate of the cause of the Democratic party. He is affiliated with the National Union and both he and his wife hold membership in the Missionary church. On June 12, 1912, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Moon to Miss Clara Yaggy, who was born and reared in Allen county, a daughter of David and Mary (Schlat- ter) Yaggy, representatives of old and honored families of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Moon have two children-Doris and Arametha.
Luie H. Moore has shown his distinct initiative and executive ability. in building up his present substantial and representative real estate business in the city of Fort Wayne, and upon his records are at all times to be found most desirable investments in both city and country realty, the while his agency negotiates equitable exchanges of property and gives attention to rentals, collections, etc. Mr. Moore was born at Hicks- ville, Defiance county, Ohio, April 26, 1874, a son of James and Eliza- beth (Lindsey) Moore, natives of Noble county, Ohio, and representa- tives of old and honored families of the Buckeye state. James Moore was long numbered among the prosperous farmers of Ohio and eventu- ally removed to the state of Washington, where he is now living virtually retired. He has always given staunch allegiance to the Republican party, has held minor public offices, is affiliated with the Masonic fra- ternity and is a member of the United Brethren church, as was also his wife, whose death occurred in Defiance county, Ohio, December 30, 1905. Of the children Samuel L. is a resident of Haviland, Ohio, and Findley maintains his home in Hicksville, Ohio. Luie H., of this review, was the next in order of birth; and Mary is the wife of Henry Carey, a successful farmer near Hicksville, Ohio. Luie H. Moore passed his child- hood and early youth on the home farm and acquired his preliminary education in the public schools of his native county. He supplemented this training by a course in Otterbein University, at Westerville, Ohio, and in 1893 identified himself with a retail hardware establishment at Haviland, Ohio. In 1895 he assumed the position of traveling salesman for the Evansville Stove Works, of Evansville, Indiana, and later gave equally vigorous and effective service as claim agent for the Bankers' Life Insurance Company, with residence and headquarters in Fort Wayne. In 1911 he established himself in the general real estate busi- ness in Fort Wayne, and his energy and progressiveness have resulted in the development of a substantial and prosperous enterprise, in con- nection with which he has effected many important real estate transfers in Fort Wayne and other parts of Allen county. His political allegiance is given unequivocally to the Republican party. During the guber- natorial campaign of Governor James B. Goodrich, in 1916, he was manager of the Twelfth district. In Masonry he has taken the Scottish and York Rites and the Shrine, besides which he is affiliated also with the Knights of Pythias, both he and his wife being members of the Christian church. July 6, 1904, recorded the marriage of Mr. Moore to Miss Mildred M. Fish, daughter of Orlando and Eliza (Confeur) Fish, of Groverhill, Paulding county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have one child, Evelyn, born in 1914.
Rev. G. J. Mooreman .- It was in September, 1916, that Rev. Fr. Gorge J. Mooreman came to his present position as priest in charge of Besancon St. Louis parish in Jefferson township, and he has ably con-
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ducted the affairs of church and school since that time. About one hun- dred and forty families make up his charge, and the school numbers about one hundred and twenty pupils, with four Sisters of Notre Dame looking after their instruction. Father Mooreman is a native of Indiana, born in Greensburg, Decatur county, October 8, 1883, and he is the son of Joseph and Christine (Hill) Mooreman, natives of the state of Ohio. Father Mooreman had his early schooling in the common schools of Greensburg, after which he went to St. Joseph's College, Illinois, for his academic work, and then to St. Meinrad's in Spencer county, Indiana, where he had his philosophy and theology training. He was ordained to the priesthood and his first service was in the position of assistant at the Cathedral in Fort Wayne, serving there from 1908 to 1911, when he was sent to Kendallville, continuing in service there until January 14, 1914. His next post was at Huntington, Indiana, as assistant to Father Noll, and he served there until September, 1916, when as above stated, he came to his present duties in charge of St. Louis parish. His earlier work was designed to give him an experience that has served him well in his labors in his present post, and he finds much to occupy him in the man- agement of church and school. His influence, not only among the members of his parish, but in the entire community, has been of a high order, and he stands in the forefront of the citizenry of New Haven and of Jefferson township, with a pleasing record for service in civic affairs that marks him as a leader in the ranks of his fellows.
Peter A. Moran was one of the substantial and representative busi- ness men of his native city at the time of his death, which occurred De- cember 3, 1907, and he passed his entire life in Fort Wayne, a scion of a sterling pioneer family and a citizen who ordered his course upon the highest plane of integrity and honor, so that his was secure place in popu- lar confidence and esteem. Mr. Moran was born in Fort Wayne on April 13, 1855, and was a son of Peter and Rachel (Nusbaum) Moran, the former of whom was born in County Meath, Ireland, in 1818, and the latter of whom was born in Frederick county, Maryland. Peter Moran, the father, was reared and educated in his native land and was a youth of seventeen years when he immigrated to the United States and estab- lished his residence in the state of Maryland, where his marriage was solemnized and where he continued to maintain his home until about 1847, when he came to Indiana and located in Fort Wayne, where he found employment in the pioneer tannery conducted by Mr. Fry. He was an expert tanner and continued to be identified with the work of his trade until 1860, when he engaged in the ice business, as one of the early exponents of this line of enterprise in Fort Wayne. He developed a prosperous business and to the same he continued to give his attention until his death, which occurred on the 17th of November, 1880, his wife having survived him by a number of years and both having been earnest communicants of the Cathedral parish of the Catholic church in their home city. Of their children the first was Mary Ann, who died in child- hood; Margaret is the wife of Albert Dittoe, of Fort Wayne; William and Mary Ellen are deceased; Peter A., subject of this memoir, was the next in order of birth; and James Eli likewise is deceased. Peter A. Moran acquired his early education in the parochial school conducted by the Catholic brothers in connection with the Cathedral, and as a youth he learned the tinner's trade. Later he became associated with his father's ice business and upon the death of his honored sire he succeded to the
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