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 61
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uously since 1871. Albert S. Bond, the oldest son of S. B. Bond, began his work for the company in 1879. He worked his way up from the bench through the various departments of the factory, also in the office and on the road as traveling salesman, and was made superintendent, in 1886, and secretary and treasurer in 1893, and had an important part in the general management years before that. He has been the capable head of the business for years and its success is very largely due to his broad knowledge and fair mindedness. He was president of the National Piano Manufacturers' Association of America in the years 1911 and 1912. C. J. Scheimann started with the company as office boy, in 1877, after spending a year in the office, and worked for over a year at the manu- facturing end of the business, then returned to the office and has seen it grow from a small to an extensive office. He has been treasurer and sales manager, also a director in the company, for a number of years. He made two trips to Europe in the interest of the business, in 1900 and 1907, and to him a goodly share of credit is due for what success has been achieved. W. H. Wiebke started with the company, in 1885, in the office and has developed into an exceptionally able and competent office and financial man, also a director in the company. H. W. Bond started to work in the factory in 1887, is a thoroughly trained factory man, became superintendent in 1906 and is also a director in the com- pany. S. C. Bond began his work in the Packard factory, in 1897, and worked through the factory and has been assistant superintendent since 1906, and is a director in the company. J. M. Kuhns joined the Packard forces in 1901. He became secretary in 1905 and is a director in the company. J. M. Barrett, J. D. Bond, C. E. Bond, M. W. Simons, G. M. Leslie and Jessie M. Bond served on the board of directors and C. E. Bond was secretary for a number of years. J. M. Barrett, through his important office as attorney and legal adviser, has furthered the interest of the company greatly. A large and profitable organ business was built up and the fame of the Packard organs soon spread all over the world. In 1893, owing to the fact that the demand for reed organs was dimin- ishing and there being a greater demand for pianos, the company em- barked into the manufacture of pianos, changing the firm name to The Packard Company, in 1899. The demand for organs kept diminishing, and from the fact that several other large manufacturing concerns had sprung up under the name of Packard in various lines and who prac- tically adopted this company's style of lettering and trademark, the name of the company was changed to The Packard Piano Company, in 1915, and has been prospering and building up a very extensive business in grands, uprights and player pianos, which it ships not only throughout this country but also to a number of foreign countries. The Packard qual- ity has been attested to by many of the most prominent musicians and is evidenced by its use in over three hundred of the leading schools of music, conservatories and colleges. From the small capital of $24,000 it increased to its present capital of $720,000, besides a handsome surplus. It has factories containing a floor space of 117,000 square feet and its plant and lumber yards 'cover five acres of ground which, through the growth of the city, are now located in one of the most desirable residence districts. The Packard for years has taken pride in having its factory and grounds properly parked and is exceptionally attractive in appearance. The Packard workmen form the Packard Family. They are working under advanced conditions, where they have a say in matters, and under the
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Packard policy not only the hands but the brains and heart of every workman are thoroughly enlisted; and this is probably the reason why the Packard quality is so exceptionally good and why this company throughout the trade is acknowledged one of the very highest from an artistic as well as a commercial and financial standpoint. When the company started manufacturing pianos it also opened a retail store under the name of The Packard Music House, which is the leading busi- ness of its kind in northern Indiana, located on the northeast corner of Washington and Calhoun streets, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and for many years has been under the able management of H. A. Achenbach. The present officers of the company are : A. S. Bond, president and director ; J. H. Bass, vice-president and director; J. M. Kuhns, secretary and di- rector ; C. J. Scheimann, treasurer and director; W. H. Wiebke, assistant treasurer and director; H. W. Bond, superintendent and director; S. C. Bond, assistant superintendent and director ; J. M. Barrett, attorney and director, and G. M. Leslie, director.
George Pancake, who died January 14, 1908, is well remembered in and about Monroeville, where he lived for almost forty years on an eighty-acre farm, the present home of his widow. He was a thrifty man and prospered accordingly, and while he was retiring and unpre- tentious, he was a lifelong influence for good in his home community. He was born in Ohio on February 3, 1847, and died on January 14, 1908. His parents were Aaron and Julia (Throckmorton) Pancake, both native Ohioans who removed to Van Wert county, Ohio, in 1851, and there they passed the closing years of their lives. Of their twelve children five are living at this writing. George Pancake was educated in Ohio and there married Susan Crabill, in 1869, when he was twenty-two years of age. She was born in Champaign county, Ohio, and was the daughter of David and Sophia (Ridenour) Crabill, native Virginians who came to Ohio in their early married life, later locating in Allen county, Indiana, where they died when well advanced in years. After his marriage George Pancake came to Allen county, Indiana, bought a farm of eighty acres and settled down to make the best of such opportunities as were his. He prospered and spent many happy years on his home in Monroe township. There his three children were born and reared and there he died, at the age of sixty-five years, on January 14, 1908. He is buried in the Odd Fellows' Cemetery in Monroe township. His widow and two daughters, Alice and May, are still living in the home he made for them, and his son, William, is making his way in the world on his own responsibility. The family are members of the Lutheran church in Monroe township and Mr. Pancake was a Democrat.
William Pape .- The firm established by William Pape, in 1896, under the name of Pape-Bremer & Company, has in recent years been turned over to the sons, William and Theodore, the father living in retirement. The business is a general painting and paper hanging firm and is one of the most reliable of its kind in Fort Wayne. William Pape was born in Germany on February 4, 1841, and came to America with his father, in 1850, settling in Fort Wayne, where the father engaged in the contracting business. He was prosperous enough to buy a home on Madison street, but when he died, about 1860, he left his wife and son otherwise unprovided for, so that William Pape, at the age of fifteen, found himself facing the necessity of matching his young wits and strength against the world in an effort to provide support for himself
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and his mother in a strange land. He began it with wood-sawing. It was hard work and the pay was small, but he was strong of heart as well of limb and was able to eke out a living and sometimes even save a little for the future. In the early months of the Civil War he enlisted in Company B,, Thirty-fifth Indiana Infantry, and served through to the end of the four-year conflict. Returning to his home in Fort Wayne at the close of the war, he found work in a hotel, continuing in it for about three years. He later engaged in the painting and paper-hanging business, continuing in it successfully for many years. He was married in the latter sixties to Miss Louisa Gaulmeyer and three children were born to them. The eldest, a daughter, died in infancy, and the others are William C. and Theodore, who, in 1904, took over the business and are now carrying on the firm of Pape & Sons, established in 1896 under the name of Pape-Bremer Company, with Mr. Pape at the helm. The business establishment of the firm is at 223 East Wayne street, but the firm is owner of considerable other real estate in the city. Following the death of Mrs. Pape, Mr. Pape married Carrie Wilson, in June, 1908. She is a daughter of Charles and Mary (Wagner) Wilson and is the only surviving member of their large family of nine children. Mr. Pape is a Democrat and a member of the Lutheran church, in which he has long been active and prominent as a worker. He is now living retired from business activities, interesting himself in the affairs of the firm in a purely advisory capacity. He came up, step-by-step, from a youthful poverty into the comforts of an honorable prosperity, and none is better prepared than he to appreciate the blessings of an old age that is lacking in the hardships that marked his earlier years.
The Paragon Cooperage Company is a comparatively new concern that represents one of the important industrial and commercial enter- prises of Fort Wayne, its functions being the manufacturing and whole- sale dealing in cooperage products of all kinds. The company, which is not incorporated and which is a partnership concern, has not only its well established headquarters in Fort Wayne, but also has well equipped manufacturing and distributing plants in the states of Arkansas, Missouri and New York. The enterprise was established in March 7, 1910, and the interested principals from the inception have been Charles A Spanley and John E. O'Connor, of both of whom more specific mention will be made in this article. The company gives employment to a force of about one hundred persons and progressive and reliable policies have been the forces that have enabled the company to develop a substantial and pros- perous business that shows a constantly cumulative tendency as marking objective appreciation of its facilities and effective services. Charles A. Spanley, senior member of the firm, was born in Fort Wayne on April 26, 1881, and both he and his coadjutor are numbered among the aggres- sive and enterprising young business men of their native city and state. Mr. Spanley is a son of Martin and Sophia (Gephart) Spanley, both of whom were born and reared in Wayne township, this county, and are representatives of sterling pioneer families. Martin Spanley devoted the major part of his active life to farming and he and his wife still reside in Wayne township, where he is now living virtually retired after many years of successful association with the basic industry of agriculture. He is a Republican in politics and both he and his wife are earnest communicants of the Catholic church. Charles A. Spanley gained his early education in the parochial school of St. Mary's Catholic church in Fort Wayne and later took an effective course in the Interna-
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tional Business College of Fort Wayne, Indiana. For a short time he was in the employ of the G. E. Bursley Company and later in that of the Fort Wayne & Northern Indiana Traction Company, and then completed his course in the business college, after which he was for eighteen months in the employ of the Horton Manufacturing Company. About four years were then given by him to service in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and he then became associated with the Noble Coop- erage Company, in the employ of which he continued eight years, or until he became associated with Mr. O'Conner in establishing their present business, under the title of the Paragon Cooperage Company. Mr. Spanley is a Republican in politics, holds membership in the Fort Wayne Commercial Club and the celebrated Columbia Club of Indianapolis, and is affiliated with the Fort Wayne Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. John E. O'Connor was born in Fort Wayne on December 11, 1887, a son of Stephen and Louise (Bercot) Q'Connor, the former of whom was born in Ireland and the latter in Allen county ,Indiana, where her parents established their home many years ago. Stephen O'Connor came to Fort Wayne within a short time after the close of the Civil war and had been long and actively concerned with business affairs in this city, where he was secretary of the old S. C. Lumbard Company. John E. O'Connor is indebted to the parochial school of the Catholic Cathedral parish of Fort Wayne for his early educational advantages, and his initial activity in connection with business affairs was as an employe in the local offices of the Western Union Telegraph Company. He then found employment in the establishment of the Noble Cooperage Company and in this connection gained the practical experience that has effectively qualified him for independent enterprise along the same industrial line. He continued with the Noble Cooperage Company until 1910, when, as already noted, he became associated with Mr. Spanley in the development and upbuilding of their now thriving business conducted under the title of the Paragon Cooperage Company. His political convictions are in har- mony with the tenets of the Republican party and he and his wife are com- municants of the Cathedral parish of the Immaculate Conception. Mr. O'Connor is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Friars, and holds membership in the Fort Wayne Country Club. On November 30, 1912, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. O'Connor to Miss Clara Lassus, daughter of the late John B. Lassus, of Fort Wayne, and they have two children-Mary Louise and John E., Jr.
James S. Peddicord is one of the energetic and progressive young representatives of the real estate business in the city of Fort Wayne, and his well ordered operations include the handling of reality on commission and also the development and exploitation of new and desirable residential and industrial tracts. At the time of this writing he is giving special attention to the development of Shady Brook Addition to Fort Wayne and Penn Park Addition at Hamilton Lake, a favored summer re- sort of this section of Indiana. IIe has also conceived and planned Kensington Park, work on which is now under way and which will be one of the most highly improved and attractive residence sections in the city. His success is the direct result of his own ability and well directed enterprise and he is one of the effective and popular exponents of real estate enterprise in Allen county. James Sheldon Peddicord was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, on October 17, 1883, and both of his parents-John and Sarah Peddicord-died during his infancy. The
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orphan child was taken into the home of an aunt, but when he was four years of age he was sent to the orphan's home maintained under the auspices of the Evangelical Association or church at Flat Rock, Ohio, where he remained seven years and gained his early educational discipline, which was supplemented by his attending the public schools of Seneca county, in which the previously mentioned home is situated. Finally he entered the Tri-State College, at Angola, Indiana, where he took a classical and commercial course, the latter of which he completed when twenty-one years of age. He soon afterward established his residence at Fort Wayne, where for four years he was in the employ of the Bass Foundry and Machine Company. He then, early in the year 1909, en- gaged in the real estate business with offices in the Shoaff building, where he continued to maintain his headquarters and centered his con- stantly expanding business. He has made an excellent reputation for resourcefulness and reliability in this important field of business enter- prise and has achieved success that is worthy of the name. Mr. Peddicord is a republican in his political proclivities, was reared in the faith of the Evangelical Association, and in his business and social relations is an appreciative and popular member of the Fort Wayne Real Estate Ex- change, of which organization he was secretary during the first two years of its existance, and also a member of the Fort Wayne Commercial Club. His name is still enrolled on the list of eligible young bachelors in the metropolis of Allen county.
Charles J. Pequignot, who is numbered among the progressive and representative exponents of farm enterprise in his native county, has owned and operated his present well improved farm of eighty-four acres, in Aboite township, since 1902. He is of French lineage, as the name indicates, and is a scion of a family that was founded in Allen county in the pioneer days, his paternal grandfather having come to America from France and having established a home in Allen county, where he re- claimed a farm from the virtual wilderness and where he and his wife continued to reside until their death. Charles J. Pequignot was born in St. Joseph township, this county, on December 6, 1877, a son of Frank and Anna (Lauers) Pequignot, both of whom were born in that township, where they were reared to maturity and their marriage was solemnized. Frank Pequignot was long numbered among the representative farmers of his native township, and since leaving the farm he and his wife have maintained their home in the neighboring town of Roanoke, in Hunting- ton county, where he is living retired. Mr. Pequignot has always been aligned with the Democratic party and he and his wife are earnest com- munieants of the Catholic church. Of their children the subject of this review is the eldest; Sarah is the wife of George Lumway, a farmer in Lake township; Christina resides in the city of Fort Wayne; John is a farmer; Elizabeth is the wife of Samuel Deal, of Fort Wayne; Agnes is the wife of Samuel Kelter, of that city; Nora is the wife of Louis Hines, of Jefferson township, Whitley county ; William D. is a farmer in Aboite township and is individually mentioned on other pages of this volume; and Harry is with his parents in the village of Roanoke. Charles J. Pequignot acquired his youthful education in the parochial and public schools and thereafter continued to assist his father in the work of the home farm until he initiated his independent career by renting land and engaging in the same line of enterprise on his own account. He operated a rented farm twelve years and then, in 1902, purchased his present farm, upon which he has made good improvements, the general air of thrift and
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prosperity which prevades the place giving evidence of his energy and good management. He gives his political allegiance to the Democratic party and he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church. On October 11, 1890, Mr. Pequignot wedded Miss Julia Lovine, who likewise was born and reared in this county. She is a daughter of Frederick and Addie Lovine, the former of whom came to Fort Wayne from Buffalo, New York ; he was a molder by trade but after having been employed at his trade in Fort Wayne for a number of years located on a farm, im- paired health having prompted this action on his part. He has now retired from active labors, but he and his wife still reside on their pleasant homestead farm, north of Fort Wayne. When Mr. Lovine re- moved to the farm he took with him two of his brothers who were blind and for them provided a good home during the remainder of their lives. His first wife, whose maiden name was Minnie Mulching, bore him one child, Charles, who died young. Of the children of the second marriage the eldest is Alice, who is the wife of Charles Weaver, their home being in the state of Colorado; Frederick resides in Fort Wayne; Julia, wife of the subject of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; John re- mains at the parental home and has charge of the farm; George lives at Huntertown, this county ; Cora is the wife of Marion Griswold, of Wash- ington township; William is associated in the work and management of his father's farm; Delia is the wife of Guy Kniss, of Huntertown; and Mary is the wife of John Irwin, of Eel River township. Mr. and Mrs. Pequignot became the parents of four children: Zenetia is the wife of Claude Kinder, of Arcola, this county, and they have four children -- Charles, Bernice, Charles and Earl; Earl, the second child of Mr. Pequig- not, remains at the parental home; Arthur, who resides in Fort Wayne, is married and has one son ; Ansel ; and Oscar is deceased.
Henry C. Pequignot is one of the representative business men of the younger generation in Fort Wayne and through his energetic and progressive activities is contributing much to the civic and material advancement of his native city and county, where he conducts a sub- stantial real estate and insurance business and has done effective service in the improving of city realty, as a builder of high grade houses, the same being placed on the market on such terms as to enable the home- seeker to make provision for his family and add to his value as a citizen. Mr. Pequignot is a scion of sterling French ancestry and a representative of an honored pioneer family of Allen county, his grandfather, Joseph C. Pequignot, having come to America from Paris, France, and, as a man of much technical ability, having been one of the engineers retained in the construction of the old-time canal from Fort Wayne to the mouth of the Maumee river. He whose name initiates this article was born in Fort Wayne on November 3, 1882, a son of Charles C. and Josephine F. (Greve) Pequignot, both of whom were born in the city of Paris, France. Charles C. was a lad of about nine years when he accompanied his par- ents on their immigration to America, about the year 1857, and soon afterward the family home was established in Allen county, his father assuming his executive duties as an engineer in the construction of the canal. Charles C. was afforded the advantages of the Catholic parochial schools and St. Vincent's Academy, of Fort Wayne and was one of the prominent and successful representatives of agricultural industry in Allen county, where he continued his activities as a successful farmer until the close of his long, worthy and useful life, his death having occurred October 16, 1915, and his widow being now a resident of Fort Wayne. He
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served in Company C, One Hundred Forty-second Indiana Infantry, hav- ing enlisted June 1, 1862, and was discharged at Nashville, Tenn., July 14, 1865. He was a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, was a public-spirited citizen of broad mental grasp and his name merits enduring place on the roll of the sterling pioneers of Allen county, where he lived and labored to goodly ends. He was a devout communic- ant of St. Peter's Catholic church in Fort Wayne, as is also his widow. At this juncture are entered brief data concerning their children: Mary is the wife of Frank Runyon, of Perry township, this county ; Eleanora is the wife of John Myers, of Fort Wayne; Ellen is the wife of Edward Littlefield, of this city; Julian C. is a prosperous farmer in St. Joseph " township; Della is the wife of Oliver York, of Fort Wayne; Henry C., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Louise is the wife of Frank Sordlett and they maintain their home in the city of Chicago; Cedonia is the wife of Theodore Bohen, of Fort Wayne; Albert F. and Robert like- wise reside in this city; and Edna is the wife of Robert Fleckenstein, of Fort Wayne. Henry C. Pequignot acquired his early education in the Catholic parochial schools of his native city and later attended the Kentucky State Normal School in the fine old city of Lexington. As a youth he learned the art of telegraphy and as a skilled operator was in railway service four years, principally in the employ of the Wabash Railroad Company. Thereafter he was employed in the Fort Wayne real estate office of Isaac D'Isay and later studied law and was admitted to the bar, his knowledge of jurisprudence having proved of much value to him in connection with the substantial real estate business which he has developed in an independent way, his activities in this field of enter- prise having been initiated in 1906. He handles both city and farm property and his books show at all times most desirable investments, with many opportunities for the exchange of properties. In connection with his real estate operations he has proved successful as a builder and has improved a number of properties in Fort Wayne. In connection with his real estate enterprise he maintains a department devoted to fire insur- ance, and in the latter line is agent for a number of substantial and well known companies. Progressive both as a citizen and as a business man, Mr. Pequignot is found aligned as a stalwart in the local camp of the Republican party, and both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic Cathedral parish of Fort Wayne. In a fraternal way he is affi- liated with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. On June 28, 1904, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Pequignot to Miss Anna Isenbarger, daughter of Henry C. and Sarah (Bruss) Isenbarger, of Huntington, Indiana, and the five children of this union are : Geraldine, Eugene, Robert, Mildred and Marjorie.
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