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 59
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J. Frank Mungovan has been influential in governmental affairs in his native city and county and has also become prominently identified with local business interests. In 1905 he was elected city clerk of Fort Wayne, and after serving four years in this important municipal office there came to him further manifestation of popular confidence and esteem, in that he was elected municipal judge, an office of which he continued the incumbent four years and in which he gave a most effective administration. Further interest attaches to his career by reason of the fact that he is a representative of a family that was founded in Fort Wayne more than sixty years ago, as indicated by the fact that here his birth occurred on August 11, 1857. He is now associated with James Ryan in the ownership of one of the leading undertaking estab- lishments in Fort Wayne, and the well-appointed headquarters of the firm of Mungovan and Ryan is at 1908-10 Calhoun street. Mr. Mungo- van is a son of Thomas and Mary (Fox) Mungovan, both of whom are now deceased. The father was born in Ireland and the mother in Lan- caster, Pennsylvania. Thomas Mungovan was a skilled artisan and was employed as a tool dresser in the shops of the Wabash Railroad about fifty-five years. He was one of the venerable and honored citizens of Fort Wayne at the time of his death, in 1914, and of his fine family of ten children all are living, except one. To the parochial and public schools of Fort Wayne J. Frank Mungovan is indebted for his early edu- cational training, and as a youth he found employment in a local grocery establishment. In service for others and in independent business he continued his association with the retail grocery trade in Fort Wayne for a quarter of a century. He then entered the employ of the McCor- mick Harvester Company and was with this great Chicago corporation for four years after its business had been consolidated with others to constitute the International Harvester Company. Soon after this, in 1905, he was elected city clerk of Fort Wayne, and in this capacity and that of judge of the city court he continued in the municipal service for a consecutive period of eight years. In 1914 he purchased an inter- est in the undertaking business of James Ryan, with whom he has since been associated under the firm name of Mungovan and Ryan. He is a stalwart in the local camp of the Republican party, he and his family are communicants of St. Patrick's Catholic church, and he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Holy Name Society of St. Patrick's parish. On May 20, 1886, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Mungovan to Miss Caroline Fry, who likewise was born and reared in Fort Wayne and is a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Phillips) Fry, both now' deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Mungovan have eight children. Genevieve is the widow of Frank J. Kindler and resides in Fort Wayne; Harry, Raymond and Donald are all married and well established in life; and at the parental home remain Magdalene, Franklin and Caroline, who are twins, and Thomas, who is the youngest of the number.
Adolph C. Muntzinger .- Adolph C. Muntzinger, proprietor of the furniture establishment in Fort Wayne that bears his name, was born in Van Wert county, Ohio, December 15, 1880, a son of Ernest and Eliza- beth (Stamm) Muntzinger. The father was born in Germany and came to America in 1865, locating in Van Wert county and engaging in farm- ing. He married there and reared a family of five children, all living but one. The parents still live on their farm in Ohio, and are active and hale for people of their years. Adolph Muntzinger had his early educa-
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tion in the public schools of his native county, finished the high school course of his home town, and then entered college. When he was twenty- one years old he came to Fort Wayne and found employment with the Indiana Furniture Company for the ensuing five years, after which he went to Bryan, Ohio, and there engaged in the furniture business on his own responsibility. After three years he disposed of the business, re- turned to Fort Wayne and established the Muntzinger Furniture Com- pany, which he has since conducted very successfully, his place being recognized throughout the county as one of the thoroughly up-to-the- minute furniture stores of the city. Mr. Muntzinger is a member of the Lutheran church and in politics is a Democrat. He was married May 17, 1917, to Clara, daughter of Joseph Brudi, of New Haven.
Abel L. Murchland .- The late Abel L. Murchland was a native Vir- ginian, born there on December 29, 1856, and he was a son of James and Martha M. (James) Murchland, also born in that state. The parents moved into Adams county, Indiana, when their son, Abel, was a small child, and settled on a farm, but later came to Allen county, where they ended their days after quiet and uneventful lives of farmer folk. They reared a family of thirteen children, of which number four are living at this time. Abel Murchland was reared in Allen county and there had such education as he was privileged to gather. He was mar- ried, in 1885, to Miss Jennie C. Erwin, a daughter of R. K. and Margaret (Armstrong) Erwin, both of Ohio birth and parentage. Their daugh- ter, Jennie, was born in Allen county, whence they came soon after their marriage, and where they passed the rest of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Murchland, after their marriage, followed the custom of impecu- nious couples of country origin, and, having no farm of their own, rented one. They were able to save enough in a few years to purchase a farm in Monroe township and that place still represents the family home. It is a prosperous place of eighty acres, with comfortable dwelling and other buildings, and has been highly improved in every respect. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Murchland there. They are Richard Lee, now' deceased; Frank E .; Dottie B., the wife of Walter Barkley; Ross K .; Guy F., who is farming the homestead ; Mildred A. and Mary M. The husband and father died on January 6, 1913, at the comparatively early age of fifty-seven years. He was a lifelong member of the United Brethren church, and his family likewise are adherents of that faith.
Darwin S. Myers has been a resident of Fort Wayne from the time of his birth and for more than thirty years he has been in the employ of what is now designated as the Fort Wayne Department of the General Electric Company, in the gigantic plant of which he is the executive head of the alternator section. Through the various changes that have marked the up-building of the most important industrial enterprise in Fort Wayne Mr. Myers has continued his services with marked efficiency and his technical and executive ability have not lacked consistent recognition, as indicated by the important position of which he is now the incumbent. Mr. Myers is the youngest in a family of three children, the eldest, Meigs, being deceased, and Herschel. The parents, Dr. William H. and Mary Ann (Van Swenger) Myers, were natives of Ohio and established their home in Fort Wayne in the year 1851, the remainder of their lives being passed in this city, where Dr. Myers, a man of fine scientific and pro- fessional attainments, gained precedence as one of the most distinguished physicians and surgeons of Indiana. It is a matter of record in medical
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history that he performed the first Caesarian operation in Indiana, the same being the third delicate operation of this type to be recorded as performed in the entire world. Darwin S. Myers acquired his youthful education in the Fort Wayne schools and was further fortified by having been reared in a home of distinctive culture and refinement. He initiated his active business career as an employe in the Meyer Brothers drug estab- lishment, with which he remained two years, and in 1884 he found em- ployment in the plant of the Fort Wayne Electric Company, his con- nection with the concern having been consecutive during the intervening years and his being now secure status as one of the able and valued executives in the local establishment of the General Electric Company. Though he takes loyal interest in public affairs and all that touches the welfare of his native city, Mr. Myers is independent in politics and has had no desire to become a candidate for public office. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. On December 3, 1891, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Myers to Miss May Mahin, who was born and reared in Indiana, and who is a daughter of Rev. A. E. and Catherine Mahin, the former of whom is deceased and the latter of whom now resides in Huntington, this state. For six years Rev. Mahin was presiding elder of the conference district that includes Allen county, and he was the revered pastor of the Wayne Street Methodist Episcopal church for several years. Mrs. Myers is the youngest in a family of five children; John W. is now a resident of Denver, Colorado; Sadie is the wife of C. E. Smith, of Moores Hill, Dearborn county, Indiana; Elizabeth is the wife of M. W. Kimball, of North Dakota; and Schuyler is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Myers became the parents of four children-Mary, Cather- ine, Ruth E., Darwin S., Jr., and Elizabeth Jane. All are living except Ruth E., who died in early childhood.
Charles J. Naughton is one of the three interested principals in the partnership concern that conducts a loan and credit business under the title of the Fort Wayne Credit Company, and special attention is given to real estate loans and the handling of securities of diversified order. He was born in the city of Lafayette, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, March 10, 1890, and is a son of Daniel and Mary (West) Naughton, who were born and reared in the city of Albany, New York, where their marriage was solemnized. Upon coming to the west the father was for a time engaged in the retail grocery business in the city of Chicago, and later he became one of the prominent business men of Lafayette, Indiana, where he and his wife still reside and where he is now living virtually retired. Of the children the subject of this review is the youngest ; Agnes is the wife of Chester Kitch, of Fort Wayne; John resides in the city of Indianapolis; and William remains at the parental home, the religious faith of the family being that of the Catholic church. After completing the curriculum of the Catholic parochial schools of his native city, Charles J. Naughton there continued his studies in the high school and later took a course in the Union Business College, one of the excellent institutions of Lafayette. He came to Fort Wayne in 1909 and entered the employ of the Fort Wayne Credit Company, in which he was later admitted to partnership, the other two principals at the present time being his father- in-law, Sherman Stults, and O. W. Lake. Mr. Naughton is a Democrat in politics, is affiliated with the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Benevo- lent & Protective Order of Elks, and both he and his wife are communi- cants of the Cathedral parish of the Catholic church. On April 26, 1911,
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was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Naughton to Miss Virginia Stults, a daughter of Sherman and Ione (Windle) Stults, who maintain their home at Huntington, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Naughton have one child, William S., who was born August 7, 1912.
Herman C. Neilsberg, who holds the office of manager for the firm of Walsh and Company, engaged in general insurance business in Fort Wayne, has proved himself a young man of versatility and has been identified with various business concerns of important order, the while he has developed marked resourcefulness as an executive and capable man of business. Herman Charles Neilsberg was born in the city of Chicago, Illinois ,on February 5, 1880, a scion of fine Swedish ancestry on both the paternal and distaff sides. His parents, Samuel and Ma- tilda (Anderson) Neilsberg, were both born in Sweden and came to America about half a century ago, when they were young. The parents still reside in Chicago, where the father is living retired, after a success- ful career as a contractor in that city. He was educated in Germany, his father having been a lawyer by profession and connected with the diplomatic service between Sweden and Germany. The maternal ances- tors of the subject of this review were prominently identified with the military service of Sweden, and one of his uncles was a captain in the Swedish army. Mr. Neilsberg was the second in order of birth in a family of four children; Jennie S. is the wife of Theodore Hass, of Chicago; Hattie M. remains at the parental home; and Minnie is the wife of Earl L. Garns, of Chicago. Herman C. Neilsberg profited by the advantages of the public schools of his native city, including the Hyde Park high school, and thereafter took a one year's course in Armour Institute and a law' course in the LaSalle University, in 1910. Prior to having fortified himself by his study in the latter Chicago institution he had held various positions in his native city-principally of clerical order. In 1900 he was employed in the Chicago general offices of the Illinois Central Railroad and in 1902 was similarly em- ployed at Elkhart, Indiana, in the service of the New York Central Lines. From 1903 to 1907 he was a clerical executive in the offices of the Hawley-Downdraft Furnace Company, of Chicago, of which he be- came assistant secretary. On account of impaired health he resigned this office, in 1907, and returned to Elkhart, Indiana, where he engaged in the real estate and insurance business. There he remained thus en- gaged until the spring of 1913, when he came to Fort Wayne and entered the employ of the firm of Walsh and Company, of which he is now manager. By reason of the service of his maternal ancestors and relatives Mr. Neilsberg apparently inherited a predilection for military affairs. At least it is to be recorded that, in 1898, he enlisted as a member of the celebrated First Infantry Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, at the inception of the Spanish-American war, and after the mobilization at Camp Lincoln, at Springfield, was transferred to the First Illinois Cavalry, with which he was mustered into the United States service and with which he served until the close of the war. Thereafter he continued an active member of the First Cavalry Regi- ment of the Illinois National Guard until 1903, when he was honorably discharged, by reason of leaving the state. Mr. Neilsberg is loyal and progressive as a citizen but is not constrained by strict partisan lines in politics. He has the staunchest of friends in both business and social circles.
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Samuel W. Newell, president and manager of the Indiana Paint and Varnish Company, was born in Ontario, Canada, August 1, 1870, son of James and Nancy (Johnson) Newell, natives of Canada, where they passed their entire lives. They were the parents of five children, four of whom are living at this time. Samuel Newell had a common school education, passing through high school, and he had his first introduction to the hardware business in 1893, when he came to Detroit from Ontario and continued there until 1904. During six years of that time he was engaged as a traveling salesman in the paint and varnish line and in that time gained a thorough knowledge of the business, so that he was particularly well qualified to launch a business venture of his own when he came to Fort Wayne, in 1905 ,and engaged in the sale of paint and varnish under the firm name of the Indiana Paint and Varnish Company. He became president of the concern and has since continued in that office, as well as having charge of the business of the firm in a managerial capacity. This is one of the thriving con- cerns of its kind in Fort Wayne and its success may properly be said to be due to the efforts of Mr. Newell. On December 27, 1905, Mr. Newell was married to Miss Anna M. Swayze, daughter of John P. and Sophronia Swayze, Michigan people still resident there. Four chil- dren have been born to the Newells-James S., Samuel Foster, John D. and Rae C. Mr. and Mrs. Newell have membership in the Third Pres- byterian church of Fort Wayne and he is clerk of the church at the present time. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and a member of the Quest Club of Fort Wayne, as well as being a member of the Com- mercial Club.
Herman C. Nieter, who now holds precedence as one of the vigorous and successful exponents of the agricultural and live-stock industry in St. Joseph township, was born in Germany, on January 1, 1850, and in the following year his parents came to America and established their home in Allen county, where he has continued to reside during the long intervening years and where he has contributed his quota to civic and industrial development and progress. Mr. Nieter is a son of Chris- tian and Dorothy (Horstmeyer) Nieter, the latter of whom died within a comparatively few years after the home had been established in Allen county, Indiana, the subject of this review being the younger of the two children, and his brother Henry being now a resident of Fort Wayne. The father ultimately contracted a second marriage and of the same were born three children-Christ, Frederick and Minnie, Fred- erick being deceased. He whose name introduces this sketch acquired his early education in the public schools of Fort Wayne and after attain- ing to years of maturity engaged in the trucking business in that city. With this line of enterprise he continued to be identified until 1912, when he purchased his present farm of eighty acres, eligibly situated in St. Joseph township and five and a half miles distant from Fort Wayne, on rural mail route No. 15 from that city. He has made many substantial improvements on the place, including the erection of a good barn, the building of proper fences and the installing of a system of tile drainage. In connection with general agricultural enterprises Mr. Nieter is proving successful also in the raising of Shorthorn cattle, Po- land-China swine and Bronze turkeys. In politics Mr. Nieter is found arrayed as a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, he is a Protestant in his religious views, and in the city of Fort Wayne maintains affiliation with the lodges of the Benevolent and Protective
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Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On June 2, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Nieter to Miss Lizette Still- horn, who was born and reared in this county, and of the three children of this union-Grace, William and Edward-only the one daughter is living.
Charles M. Niezer has the intellectual and technical equipment that has enabled him to achieve success and prestige as one of the repre- sentative members of the bar of his native county. He is engaged in the practice of his profession in Fort Wayne. He is a scion of the third generation of the Niezer family in Allen county, where his paternal grandfather, a native of Germany, settled in the pioneer days and became one of the county's staunch exponents of civic and industrial develop- ment and progress. The family has been one of prominence and influ- ence in the county during a period of fully three-fourths of a century. Charles M. Niezer was born at Monroeville, Monroe township, this county, on March 31, 1877, a son of John Bernard Niezer and Sarah T. (Eyanson) Niezer. Both parents died in Fort Wayne, the father, Sep- tember 15, 1912, and the mother, December 16, 1915. The names of the six children of the family are here designated in the respective order of birth. John T., Maurice C., Charles M., Louise H. Kroeff, George B., and Marguerite C. Andrews. John Bernard Niezer was born in Milan township, this county, July 21, 1846. He became one of the influential citizens of his native county, where he achieved worthy success through his active association with mercantile enterprise and the banking busi- ness. As a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party he was a prominent figure in local politics and served many years as township trustee. Popular confidence and esteem were further shown in his selection to the office of county auditor, of which important position he was the efficient incumbent for a term of four years-1886-90. He was the organizer of the Citizens' State Bank of Monroeville, the first bank- ing institution founded in Allen county outside of the city of Fort Wayne. He served as president of that bank from the time of its incor- poration until his death. During the closing years of his life he lived virtually retired in Fort Wayne. He was one of the organizers of the German-American National Bank and the German-American Trust Com- pany, and was a director of each at the time of his death. Sarah T. Niezer, the mother, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1845, of a pioneer family. Her ancestors were among the first settlers in the colony of Maryland and served as soldiers in the Revolutionary war. Both father and mother were sincere communicants of the Cath- olic church. Charles M. Niezer acquired his preliminary education in the public and parochial schools of his native county and his higher academic advantages were of the best order, as he pursued his studies not only in the great Notre Dame University at South Bend but also in the University of Indiana, at Bloomington. In preparation for his chosen profession he entered Columbia University, in New York city, and was graduated as a member of the class of 1901, with the degree of Master of Arts. He had previously received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Laws. Admitted to the bar of his native state, in 1901, Mr. Niezer forthwith engaged in the general practice of his profession in Fort Wayne, and his energy, ambition and ability have gained for him success. Mr. Niezer is aligned as a loyal and effective advocate of the cause of the Democratic party, he is affiliated with the Knights of Co- lumbus and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and both he
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and his wife are communicants of the Fort Wayne Cathedral parish of the Catholic church. On October 18, 1906, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Niezer to Miss Rose Fox, daughter of Louis and Sophie (Lau) Fox, of Fort Wayne, and they have three children, whose names and. respective dates of birth are here indicated: Louis Fox, September 10, 1907; Rosemary Lau, May 6, 1909; and Margaret Sarah, September 3, 1910.
Maurice C. Niezer .- It was in the year 1843 that the German ances- tors of Maurice C. Niezer emigrated from Germany and settled in Allen county, Indiana, there engaging in farming activities. They were Ber- nard II. and Christinea Niezer, born in 1809 and 1816, respectively. Of their seven children, John B. was the fourth, born on July 21, 1846, and he was the father of the subject. He was seven years of age when he accompanied his parents to Fort Wayne, and such schooling as John Niezer had was gained between then and his fourteenth year, for when he was fourteen years old he was apprenticed to a tinner in Fort Wayne. When he had completed his apprenticeship he worked at the trade of a tinsmith for seven years, quitting the work, in 1866, to settle in Mon- roeville, where he established a small hardware business. Ile was suc- cessful, but withdrew in later years from that field to establish himself in the hay, grain and coal business, in 1886. That enterprise, too, was high prosperous, and his sons-Maurice C., first named in this brief family review, and George B .- are today in control of the business established by their father. John Niezer was a man prominent in his community as long as he lived. He served his township as a trustee for a term of three years, succeeding himself in the office in 1882, and for seven years he was treasurer of the Monroeville school board. In Sep- tember, 1886, he was nominated by the Democratic party from six can- didates for nomination for the office of County Auditor and was elected by a very comfortable majority. He served the county most capably in that office, and when he retired there was none who had aught but praise for his official record. Mr. Niezer was married, in 1869, to Miss Sarah T. Eyanson, who was born in Philadelphia in 1846, and six chil- dren were born to them: John T., Maurice C., Charles M., Louisa H., George B. and Marguerite C. Maurice C. Niezer was born in Monroe- ville, Allen county, August 23, 1874, and was reared in that community. He attended the schools of his home community and when he had fin- ished his high school training took a course of study in the McDermott- Whiteleather Business College at Fort Wayne, graduating in 1893. His first position was in the employ of his father, who was then engaged in the wool, hay and grain business, and he continued there, studying the work from all sides. In 1909 he moved to Fort Wayne and incor- porated the business, his father having in that year turned the reins of management over to him and his brother, George B. They have since that time branched out considerably and today conduct a thriving busi- ness in hay, grain, seed and coal. The father died, September 15, 1912. Mr. Niezer, in common with others of the family, is an adherent of the Roman Catholic faith and attends the Fort Wayne Catholic Cathedral. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and of the Elks. He is a Democrat in politics and is unmarried at this time.
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