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 57
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ownership of the well established and prosperous business, with which he continued his active identification until his death-a man of energy, progressiveness, integrity and genial personality, and one whose circle of friends was virtually coincident with that of his acquaintances. Mr. Moran was a staunch supporter and advocate of the cause of the Demo- cratic party, was a zealous communicant of the Catholic church, as a member of the Cathedral parish, and was affiliated with the Catholic Knights of America. On May 24, 1881, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Moran to Miss Mary E. Baker, who was born September 10, 1859, and was reared in Fort Wayne, where she still maintains her home and where she is an active communicant of the Cathedral parish. Mrs. Moran was educated at St. Augustine's Academy, conducted by the Sisters of Providence, in Fort Wayne. Of the children of this union, Peter J. and Bernard A. are active young business men of Fort Wayne; Mary M. is the wife of Frank Callahan, of this city; Gertrude died in infancy, as did also Alphonsus; Celeste died at the age of ten years and Thomas at the age of six years; and Amelia remains with her widowed mother. Mrs. Moran is a daughter of the late John and Mary (Faust) Baker, the former of whom was born in the historic old city of Worms, in the beautiful Rhine district of Germany, the date of his nativity having been October 17, 1817. He was reared and educated in his fatherland and as a youth of seventeen years he came to America and established his residence in the city of Pittsburgh, Pnnsylvania. In 1848 he became a resident of Fort Wayne, where he was a pioneer wagonmaker and where he continued to be actively identified with enterprise in this line until a short time prior to his death, which occurred on February 19, 1895, at which time he was known and honored as one of the sterling pioneer citizens of the Allen county metropolis. He was a staunch Democrat in politics and both he and his wife were communicants of St. Mary's Catholic church. Mrs. Baker was born in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, on July 25, 1824, and her death occurred February 24, 1909.
Peter C. Morganthaler has achieved in his native city of Fort Wayne a position of marked prominence and influence as an exponent of elec- trical engineering enterprise and is now managing engineer of the meter department of the General Electric Works of Fort Wayne. He was born in this city on August 28, 1879, a son of Peter and Ella (Clifford) Morganthaler, the former of whom was born at Massillon, Stark county, Ohio, and the latter at Concord, New Hampshire, she being now a resi- dent of the city of Chicago. Peter Morganthaler, Sr., was reared and educated in his native state and established his residence at Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1865. He engaged in the mercantile business here and was one of the pioneer merchants and honored and influential citizens of Fort Wayne at the time of his death, on October 1, 1892, his widow being now a resident of Chicago, as previously noted. Of their five children the first born was Zillah, who died in childhood; Clifford and Calot now reside in the city of San Francisco, California; the subject of this sketch was the next in order of birth ; and Russell is deceased. Peter C. Morgan- thaler is indebted to the public schools of Fort Wayne for his early educational discipline, which was supplemented by an effective course in the Chicago Manual Training School. In 1897, when eighteen years of age, he entered the employ of the General Electric Company at Fort Wayne, and two years later became a traveling representative for this corporation. In this capacity he continued his service until 1902, when,
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to further his technical knowledge, he identified himself with the meter- manufacturing department of the business. He was punctilious and characteristically ambitious in this connection and gradually won his way forward until he was given his present responsible office of manag- ing engineer of the meter department. As a practical and scientific electrician he is affiliated with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he and his wife are active members of the First Presbyterian church of Fort Wayne. On February 1, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Morganthaler to Miss Evelyn Rossell, who was born in Wabash county, Indiana, but who was seven years old at the time of the family removal to Fort Wayne, where she was reared and educated. She is a daughter of Joseph Amos and Lulu (Miles) Rossell, the former of whom was born in Wabash county and the latter in the city of Logansport, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Rossell still maintain their home in Fort Wayne and he is a traveling commercial salesman for a wholesale shoe house. Of the children, Mrs. Morganthaler is the elder, and the younger is Della, who is the wife of Ernst C. Rurode, Jr., concerning whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work. Of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Morganthaler the first, a daughter, died in infancy, and the one surviving is a fine little son, Joseph Cornell.
Dr. Elmer E. Morris was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, on March 23, 1868, son of Jonathan L. and Hannah (Mitchener) Morris. He is directly descended from Robert Morris, an early American financier and famed as a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Jonathan Morris was born in Beaver, Pennsylvania, and the mother came from Westchester, Pennsylvania. Both parents were of the William Penn type of Quaker. They were farming people and devoted their lives to that industry. The father died at Alliance, Ohio, in 1902, and the mother still lives, sharing a home with her son, Dr. Morris, of this review. The two sons of these people entered the medical profession and Dr. Isaac E. Morris, the second son, is established in practice in Fort Wayne. Dr. Elmer E. Morris had his early education in the public schools of Alli- ance, Ohio, and later attended Mount Union College, the Tri-State Normal at Angola, Indiana, and the University of Cincinnati. He was graduated from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in dentistry in 1898 and, in 1902, took his medical degree in the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati. He practiced dentistry in Cincinnati for a brief time, then took up the practice of medicine in 1902, locating at Hoagland, where he spent nine years in his work. In 1911 he came to New Haven and engaged in general practice. He has enjoyed a pleasing measure of popular con- fidence and esteem and has a secure place in the community he so recently settled in. Doctor Morris is a member of the directorate of the Peoples' State Bank of New Haven and is now vice-president of the in- stitution. He is a Republican in politics, a member of Plymouth Con- gregational church in Fort Wayne, member of the New Haven Com- mercial Club, member of the County Medical Association, a member of the Masonic fraternity with all degrees up to and including the thirty- second Knight Templar and a Shriner. He was married on June 20, 1901, to Miss Addie E. Smith, daughter of Doctor Smith, of Hoagland, who was one time auditor of Allen county. Doctor and Mrs. Morris have three children-Joseph E. Bernice and Jean W.
John Morris is widely recognized as one of the most prominent members of the bar of northeastern Indiana. As a man, a loyal citizen
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John Thomas
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TILDEN FOUNDATION
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Samuel L. monis, fr.
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and able lawyer he is held in the highest regard. His father, the late Judge John Morris, was one of the leading lawyers and jurists of Indiana for many years, and attention to a review of his life has been given in connection with the sketch of the career of Stephen Morris, on other pages of this publication. John Morris was born in Fort Wayne, on March 24, 1860, and the maiden name of his mother was Theresa J. Farr, she having been a resident of New Lisbon, Ohio, at the time of her marriage. In 1844 the parents of Mr. Morris came from Ohio and estab- lished their home at New Auburn, Dekalb county, Indiana, and in 1857 they came to Fort Wayne, where occurred, three years later, the birth of their son, John, the immediate subject of this review. Following his course in the public schools Mr. Morris entered upon a course in the law department of the great University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, in which institution he was a member of the class of 1883. He studied law also in the office of his father and Judge William H. Coombs and this effective preceptorship continued three years. It was under these fortuit- ous conditions that he laid the foundation for the successful career that has been his in the later years of his vigorous professional activities. In June, 1886, Mr. Morris formed a law partnership with Charles H. Word- en, and this alliance continued until May 22, 1893, when Mr. Morris retired from the firm and entered into a professional partnership with William P. Breen, the firm of Breen & Morris, having since held an important place among the strong legal firms of Indiana. They occupy an extensive suite of offices on the second floor of the People's Trust building. Mr. Morris is a director of the People's Trust & Savings Asso- ciation. In politics he has always been a staunch supporter of the principles of the Republican party. In 1889 he was appointed to the office of deputy clerk of the United States court for this district, and of this position he continued the incumbent until the selection of Thomas J. Logan as his successor. He is affiliated with the Scottish Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity, as well as with the local lodge of the Benevol- ent and Protective Order of Elks. He is actively identified with the Allen County Bar Association, the Indiana Bar Association and the American Law Association. He has at all times evinced a deep and loyal interest in civic and political affairs, holds membership in the Fort Wayne Commercial Club and is also a member of the Columbia Club, a representative social and political organization in the city of Indianap- olis. He finds satisfaction also in maintaining membership in the Fort Wayne Country Club and is one of the well-known and popular citizens of his native city and county.
Samuel L. Morris, Jr .- Descended from a long line of distinguished jurists, Samuel L. Morris, Jr., of Fort Wayne, already has attained to an enviable place among the leading men of the bar of Indiana. Mr. Morris was born in Fort Wayne, September 22, 1884, son of Samuel L. and Carrie E. (Ambos) Morris. His grandfather, the late Judge John Morris, who was long a leading practitioner of the bar of Allen county and of Indiana and whose place among his fellows was recognized in his selection as the representative man to lay the corner stone of the Allen county courthouse, was one of the ablest of the pioneer lawyers of In- diana. At a critical time in the history of the state he was summoned to the capital to serve as a commissioner of the supreme court of Indiana, and in this capacity gave to the state splendid service. Samuel L. Morris, son of Judge John Morris and father of Samuel L. Morris, Jr., was born at Auburn, Dekalb county, Indiana, in 1851. He has long held a prom-
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inent place among the attorneys of Indiana, his practice being confined largely to corporation cases. He is a member of the firm of Barrett, Morris & Hoffman, of Fort Wayne. His wife was born at Columbus, Ohio, and of their four children the following data are entered: Gert- rude E. is the wife of Percy G. Olds; John is deceased; Samuel L., Jr., was the next in order of birth; and Jeanette is the wife of Joseph Lyle Tucker, treasurer of the International Business College in Fort Wayne. Following his graduation in the Fort Wayne high school, in 1904, Samuel L. Morris, Jr., entered the offices of Barrett & Morris, where he studied law for five years. In 1907 he was admitted to practice before the bar of Allen county. In 1909 he opened an office in the Shoaff building, where he practiced law until the latter part of 1915, when he formed a partner- ship with Albert E. Thomas and Howard L. Townsend, under the firm name of Thomas, Townsend & Morris, with offices at 721-726 Shoaff building. This firm has a large miscellaneous practice and is considered one of the strongest in the city. Mr. Morris has been admitted to prac- tice in the supreme and appellate courts of Indiana, the United States ยท district court for the district of Indiana, the United States circuit court of appeals for the Seventh circuit and the supreme court of the United States. He is general attorney for the Midland Engineering Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the attorney at Fort Wayne for the Sin- clair Refining Company of Illinois, which is a subsidiary company of the Sinclair Oil and Refining Company of New York. He is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Ameri- can Society of International Law, the Masonic order and the Phi Alpha Psi fraternity. He is a staunch supporter of the principles of the Demo- cratic party. His church affiliation is with the congregation of Trinity parish, Protestant Episcopal. Mr. Morris has ever been a close student of the law and is recognized as one of the ablest of the younger members of the bar of northern Indiana. His law library, comprising more than twelve hundred volumes, is one of the most valuable collections in the state. On December 10, 1913, Mr. Morris was united in marriage with Miss Helen Margaret Good, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Charles H. Good, of Huntington, Indiana. Mrs. Morris, a young woman of many admir- able qualities and most gracious personality, is an accomplished pianist. Mr. and Mrs. Morris have one son, Samuel L. Morris, III. The family home is at No. 1002 Wildwood avenue.
Stephen Morris .- As a member of the Morris family which has left the impress of the higher character of its representatives upon the life and development of Fort Wayne, down through the years, Stephen Morris, cashier of the Old National Bank of Fort Wayne has contributed his full share. Mr. Morris was born in Auburn, DeKalb county, Indiana, November 17, 1856, and was brought to Fort Wayne when he was but six months old. He has resided here continuously ever since. His grand- father, Jonathan Morris, was a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, where he was born, June 9, 1788. While yet a young man, Jonathan Morris removed to Columbiana county, Ohio, and settled on a farm near New Lisbon. He there married Miss Sarah Snyder, who was born in 1790. The death of Jonathan Morris occurred in 1865; his wife died in 1875. John Morris, son of Jonathan Morris, and father of Stephen Morris, was born on the farm near New Lisbon, December 6, 1816. Following his schooling, he studied law in the office of William D. Ewing, in New Lisbon, and was admitted, in 1844, to practice at the bar of Columbiana county. In 1844 he removed to Auburn, DeKalb county,
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Indiana, where he opened an office for the practice of his profession. His success here laid the foundation for a long life of usefulness and service to the people of northeastern Indiana as well as the state at large. His first political honors came in his election as judge of the Court of Common Pleas, the district at that time comprising a number of counties in the northeastern portion of the state. In 1857 Judge Morris removed to Fort Wayne, where the remainder of his life was passed. In April, 1881, he was appointed by Judge James L. Worden, with whom he was at one time associated in the practice of the law, as one of the five supreme court commissioners who were called to assist the state Supreme Court at Indianapolis to undertake the important work of disposing of a large budget of cases. The appointment was noteworthy, in that Judge Morris was a staunch republican, while Judge Worden, who made the appointment, was a democrat. The explanation comes with an understanding of Judge Worden's appreciation of the ability of his former associate. The written opinions of Judge Morris in the Indiana Reports frequently are cited as authority in the settlement of legal questions. Judge Morris died in 1906. To him and his wife were born seven children; namely, Mrs. Woodworth, of Fort Collins, Colorado; Edward, whose death occurred when six years of age; Samuel L. of Fort Wayne, a leading attorney of the Allen county bar; Mary, residing at home; Stephen, the subject of this sketch; John, of Fort Wayne, a prominent figure in the legal fraternity of Allen county ; Mrs. Julia M. Barnes, of Detroit, and one child who died in infancy. Stephen Morris received his education in the public schools of Fort Wayne and in the Methodist college, a prominent Fort Wayne institution of the earlier days. At the age of nineteen years he entered the employ of the Old National Bank, in which institution he served through successive posi- tions of greater importance until he reached the responsible office of cashier. On August 23, 1882, Mr. Morris married Miss Anna B. Miller, of Fort Wayne, daughter of John and Sarah Miller. The children born of this union are J. R. and Stephen, Jr. In politics Mr. Morris has always been a staunch Republican. As a member of the Commercial Club of Fort Wayne, and in other ways, Mr. Morris has ever displayed a loyalty to Fort Wayne interests.
William S. Morris maintained his home in Fort Wayne nearly a quarter of a century, was long a prominent and influential figure in con- nection with practical railway operations, and in all of the relations of life gave assurance of strong and noble manhood, so that he commanded the confidence and good will of his fellow men, the while he played well his part as a loyal and public-spirited citizen. After years of earrest and effective endeavor he felt justified in retiring from active business and executive alliances, about 1909, and thereafter continued to reside in his pleasant home in Fort Wayne until his death, which occurred June 15, 1915. William Samuel Morris was born in the city of Chicago, Illinois, on March 4, 1857, and was a son of Samuel and Frances (Webster) Morris, his father having been one of the pioneer passenger train engineers on the line of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. He was in the prime of life at the time of his death and his widow subsequently contracted a second marriage, the name of her second husband having been Swasey and two children having been born of this union-Grace, who became the wife of Richard D. Morgan, of Richmond, Virginia, and Arthur, who died at the age of twelve years. William S. Morris profited by the advantages of the public schools of
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Chicago and also the Cook County Normal School, and his original mechanical training and practical experience in connection with the railroad business were gained in the shops of the Housatonic Railroad at Fall River, Massachusetts, under the direction of his uncle, Chauncey R. Morris, who attained to high reputation as a mechanical engineer and who held for many years the position of master mechanic of the Fort Wayne shops of the Wabash Railroad. About the year 1885 William S. Morris established his home in Fort Wayne and here held for several years the position of master mechanic in the Wabash Railroad shops. Within the course of his long and varied experience as a railroad man of marked ability he was associated with various railway companies, including the Pere Marquette, the Erie and the Chesapeake & Ohio. In the employ of the last mentioned company he held the position of super- intendent of motive power and subsequently consulting engineer, and while he was thus engaged he was a delegate to the meeting of the In- ternational Railway Association held at Berne, Switzerland, in 1910. His wife and two children accompanied him abroad and after the ad- journment of the convention mentioned the family made an extended and interesting trip through various European countries. Mr. Morris achieved unqualified success as a practical railway man and executive and was an active and popular member of the American Railway Guild, of which he served one term as president, as well as of the Mechanical Engineers' Association of New York. He held the position of super- intendent of motive power in the service of both the Chesapeake & Ohio and the Erie Railroads. His political allegiance was given to the Repub- lican party and through many sources he manifested his deep and helpful interest in the welfare and advancement of Fort Wayne, where he was a valued member of the Commercial Club. Mr. Morris was an earnest and zealous churchman of the Protestant Episcopal church and served many years as a member of the vestry of Trinity church in Fort Wayne, of which he was for some time the junior warden. In the time honored Masonic fraternity he was affiliated with both the York and Scottish Rite bodies. His first wife, whose maiden name was Lillic Ward, was a daughter of Horatio N. Ward, of Fort Wayne, and she is survived by one child, Helen, who is the wife of Bernard M. Jones, of Richmond, Virginia. The second marriage of Mr. Morris was solemnized November 9, 1898, when Miss Grace M. White became his wife. Mrs. Morris was born and reared in Fort Wayne and is a daughter of Captain James B. White, one of the well known and highly esteemed citizens of Allen county. The one child of the second marriage of the honored subject of this memoir is William, who was born March 21, 1900, at Richmond, Va. The family home is maintained at 813 West Berry street.
Edward Moser, M. D .- Though Dr. Moser has been a resident of Indiana since his childhood he can claim the fair little republic of Switzerland as the place of his nativity, his birth having there occurred, in the canton of Berne, on January 12, 1874. He has been engaged in the active general practice of his profession at Woodburn, Allen county, since June 13, 1906, and is recognized as one of the able and representa- tive physicians and surgeons of the county, his substantial practice extending throughout the territory normally tributary to his home village. The Doctor is the second in order of birth in a family of twelve children, all of whom are living, and he is a son of Jacob S. and Mary Ann (Studer) Moser, who continued their residence in Switzerland until April, 1881, when they came with their children to America and
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settled on a farm near Berne, Adams county, Indiana-a locality known for its fine element of Swiss citizens, as the name of the village of Berne well denotes. The father became one of the substantial farmers and honored citizens of Adams county and is now living retired in the village of Berne, his devoted wife having passed away in 1898. Of the twelve children the eldest is Rev. Louis A., who is a clergyman of the German Reformed church, and, as before stated, Dr. Moser, of this review was the second child. The names of the other children are here entered : Jacob J., Herman F., Rudolph, Martha, Leah, Arnold, Lydia, Lena, Leo and Louise. Dr. Moser was about seven years old at the time of the family immigration to the United States and was reared under the invigorating descipline of the home farm, in Adams county, Indiana, where also he profited fully by the advantages afforded in the public schools. His ambition has ever been one of action, and thus he was not satisfied with less than a liberal education, in the attaining of which he was finally moved to prepare himself also for the exacting profession in which he is now giving most effective service. He attended the normal school at Portland, Jay county, for one term and thereafter was for three terms engaged in successful pedagogic work, as teacher in the district schools of Adams county. In 1902 he entered the Indiana Medical College, at Indianapolis, where he continued his studies one year. During the following three years he was a zealous student in the Hahnemann Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, in the city of Chicago, and in this fine institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1906. Within a few days after having thus received his degree of Doctor of Medicine he established his residence at Woodburn, where he has since been engaged in general practice and where his ability and gracious personality have enabled him to build up a large and rep- resentative practice. He is one of the able exponents of the beneficient Homeopathic school of medicine in northern Indiana and continues a close student of the best in standard and periodical literature pertain- ing to medical and surgical science, with the advances in which he thus keeps in effective touch. He maintains affiliation with the American Institute of Homeopathy and is a member also of the Allen County Medical Society and the Indiana State Medical Society. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he and his wife are active members of the Missionary church. October 8, 1898, recorded the marriage of Dr. Moser to Miss Mary Neuenschwander, daughter of Christian Neuenschwander, a well known citizen of Adams county, and she passed to the life eternal on February 5, 1902. Of the two children, Viola died in infancy and Frances Effie remains at the paternal home. On September 18, 1904, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Moser to Miss Mary Egly, who was born and reared in Allen county and who is a daughter of Jacob and Lydia (Musser) Egly, the family being represen- tative by more explicit mention on other pages of this publication. Dr. and Mrs. Moser have three children-Madeline, Marion Edward and Richard Donald.
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