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 65
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Michigan Henry M. Ransom became one of the pioneer farmers of St. Joseph county, where he reclaimed his farm from the forest and became a substantial and influential citizen, both he and his wife having contin- ued their residence in the Wolverine state until their death. Lyman H. Ransom was reared to the sturdy discipline of the pioneer farm and in addition to availing himself of the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period also pursued a higher course in a well-ordered academy at LaGrange, Indiana-a place not far distant from that of his birth. That he made good use of his scholastic opportunities was demonstrated in the success which attended his pedagogic efforts during the period of about five years that he was a teacher in the common schools of southern Michigan and northern Indiana. He finally engaged in the hardware business at Burr Oak, an attractive village of his native county, and after a period of seven years sold his stock and business and became a traveling salesman for a wholesale hardware house of New York. In 1874 he established his residence in Fort Wayne. For the ensuing seven years he was a traveling representative of the firm of Prescott Brothers and Company, here engaged in the hardware business, and after severing this association he passed ten years in similar service for the firm of Morgan and Beach, also of Fort Wayne. In 1899 he assumed his present position, that of secretary and treasurer of the Fort Wayne Mercantile Accident Association, and has been primarily instrumental in the development and upbuilding of the substantial busi- ness now controlled by the representative corporation. Mr. Ransom has from his youth given staunch allegiance to the Republican party and has shown himself at all times a broad-gauged and progressive citizen, the while he has been accorded the full measure of popular confidence and good will. On May 14, 1862, Mr. Ransom wedded Miss Jennie L. Duncan, daughter of Alonzo Duncan, of Coldwater, the judicial center of Branch county, Michigan. Mrs. Ransom was summoned to the life eternal on September 6, 1913, and of the four children of this union only the eldest, Newell H., of Fort Wayne, is living. The names of the deceased children are here designated : Nellie P., Edward P., and Maude N. On January 26, 1915, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ransom to Mrs. Hannah Gross, of Fort Wayne, and she is the popular chatelaine of their pleasant home.
Carl L. Rastetter .- When the late Carl L. Rastetter left the Father- land and made his way to America, he settled in Fort Wayne, there estab- lishing himself in the drug business. He knew no other American city as home, for he spent the remainder of his life in the community in which he settled upon his arrival on our shores. He was a prosperous merchant and a good citizen, and Fort Wayne lost a desirable and estimable mem- ber of society when Death claimed him. Mr. Rastetter was born in Germany on March 18, 1866, and died at his home on December 3, 1911. He was a son of William J. and Mathilde Rastetter, both now deceased. The father was for many years director of a prominent German insti- tution of learning. Carl L., of this review, was one of three children of his parents. He was the eldest, and the others are Anna, the wife of Prof. O. Reans, of Constance, Germany, and Gustav, of Breslau, Ger- many. Mr. Rastetter was just twenty-four years of age when he came to America. He had been well educated in his native land-was a grad- uate of the Polytechnic and an accomplished linguist. When he located in Fort Wayne he decided that a practical business enterprise might be
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more remunerative than the educational field, and he accordingly estab- lished himself in the drug business at East Washington and Harmar streets. He continued to conduct a successful drug business at that place up to the time of his death. Mr. Rastetter was married on February 1, 1893, to Miss Rose Miller, of Fort Wayne. She was a daughter of John J. and Barbara (Weber) Miller, both natives of Germany. The father was a jeweler by trade and was engaged in the jewelry business in Fort Wayne, where he was one of the earliest settlers. Mrs. Rastetter was one of the five children of her parents and the youngest of the family. The others were John, of Chicago; Erwin, of Fort Wayne; Anna, who died in Fort Wayne, and Angela, the wife of John Lennart, of Fort Wayne. To Mr. and Mrs. Rastetter five children came. The eldest, Erwin, is living in Detroit. Hilda, Anna, Carl and John are still at home with their mother. Mr. Rastetter was a Democrat in politics and adhered to the faith of his fathers, the Roman Catholic church. During his life in Fort Wayne he accumulated a considerable property and the family home is located at 915 East Washington street.
Charles A. Rastetter .- Real estate is the basis of all security and in every community of populous order there is imperative demand for the interposition of dealers and agents of vigorous enterprise in controlling or directing real estate transactions, as such operations touch the most vital civic and material interests of the communal life. In his native city of Fort Wayne Mr. Rastetter is an able and progressive represent- ative of the real estate business and as a young man of marked energy, initiative and good judgment has not only succeeded in developing a substantial business but has gained the confidence and good will of all with whom he has had dealings. He was born in Fort Wayne on October 21, 1883, a son of Louis and Elizabeth (Howenstein) Rastetter. Louis Rastetter was born and reared in Germany and was a young man when he came to the United States and established his residence in Fort Wayne, where he found employment at his trade, that of machinist. He was an exceptionally skilled artisan and it is worthy of historic note in this connection that he manufactured the clocks that long and effect- ively marked the passing hours in the tower of the old courthouse of Allen county. He later engaged in the manufacturing of carriages and long held secure vantage-ground as one of the substantial business men and highly esteemed citizens of Fort Wayne, where he died in February, 1898, at the age of sixty-four years, his widow still maintaining her resi- dence in their old homestead, on Broadway. He was a stalwart Repub- lican in his political proclivities and was affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His venerable widow has been a devoted communicant for many years of the Salem Reformed church. Of the four children the subject of this review was the third in order of birth and all still reside in Fort Wayne: William C. is here engaged in the manufacturing business; Helen is the wife of John Wilkins; and Mary Ann remains with her widowed mother in the old homestead. Charles A. Rastetter continued his studies in the public schools of Fort Wayne until he had profited by the advantages of the high school and thereafter com- pleted a course in the Fort Wayne Business College. For many years he was associated with the work and management of his father's carriage factory, and, since 1913, has been engaged in the real estate business. He handles both city and farm property, has gained a substantial client-
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age and upon his books are represented at all times most desirable invest- ments and properties for exchange. He gives attention also to collections and rentals of an order consonant with his general real estate operations. Mr. Rastetter is found aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, also Masonic Order, is a member of the United Commercial Travelers' Association and C. T. M. A., and both he and his wife are communicants of Salem Reformed church, also a member of the con- sistory ; of the Sunday school of which he is serving as treasurer for a second time in 1916-17. In 1911 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Rastetter to Miss Sarah Meschberger, daughter of Fred Meschberger, of Fort Wayne, and their pleasant home is known for its hospitality. Mr. Rastetter is secretary of the appraisement committee of the Fort Wayne Real Estate Board, having been appointed as a member of the same for a period of three years.
Henry A. Rathge was born in Germany on September 25, 1864, a son of Cort and Mary (Feldman( Rathge, who came from Germany to Amer- ica, and in 1878 settled in Henry county, Ohio. They lived in that region until the death of the mother, in 1889, when the father moved to Allen county and at the present writing makes his home with his son William, a resident of Maumee township. He was the father of five children, named Fred, Henry A., Herman, William and Diedrick. Henry Rathge had his early schooling in Germany, being ten years old when the family came to America, and he added something to his education in the schools of Henry county. He early learned the carpenter trade, in which he became proficient, and followed the trade for thirteen years in Ohio. In 1903 he came to Allen county, Indiana, gave up his trade and bought a farm of one hundred and seventy-three acres in Sections 34-5 of Mau- mee township. He has lived there from then to the present time and has cleared, tiled, fenced and otherwise improved the land so that it is today one of the fine places in the township. Modern buildings maintain the general high standard of the place and general farming and stock- raising are the enterprises to which the owner and manager devotes his energies. Mr. Rathge was married on November 22, 1906, to Alvina Theek, daughter of Christ and Caroline (Ettleben) Theek, German born people who came to America in 1883, settled in Defiance county, Ohio, and the father became a successful brick-mason there. To Mr. and Mrs. Rathge three children have come. They are named Evelyn, Esther and Harold. Mr. and Mrs. Rathge and the children are members of the German Lutheran church and Mr. Rathge has served as a member of the Advisory Board of Maumee township for the past four years. He is a Democrat and takes a proper interest in local politics, though in no sense a politician. He has no fraternal affiliations.
George F. Rauh .- Among the successful and well-known farmers of St. Joseph township George F. Rauh has, in nineteen years of continuous residence and activity, found a secure place and many friends. He is one of the quiet, steady-going men of the community, always to be relied upon and certain to be found supporting those measures and movements designed to wield a beneficent influence and to better civic life. He was born in Germany on April 2, 1861, a son of Nicholas and Elizabeth (Mil- ler) Rauh, both of whom passed their lives in their native country. George Rauh had his early schooling there and was twenty-two years old when he came to America in 1883, settling at once in Fort Wayne, where
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he continued to reside until 1889. In that year he married Sabine Schrumm, daughter of Jacob Schrumm. Her parents were from Ireland. After his marriage Mr. Rauh moved to St. Joseph township, where he bought eighty acres of land and settled down to farm life. He has enjoyed a pleasing measure of success, developing his farm to a high degree and carrying on general farming and stock raising. He has never been openly active in politics, though he votes the Democratic ticket as a rule, and has held no offices in the community. He and his wife are members of the German Lutheran church and are among its staunch supporters. They have no children.
Edwin H. Redding, auditor and assistant secretary of the Lincoln Life Insurance Company in the city of Fort Wayne, has won advance- ment and prestige in connection with this line of business enterprise and is one of its able exponents in his native state. Mr. Redding was born at Bluffton, the judicial center of Wells county, Indiana, on Novem- ber 12, 1880, a son of William A. and Caroline (Elick) Redding, who still reside in that county, the father being a representative farmer and also having given most effective service as county commissioner, his incumbency of this important office indicating definitely that he is one of the honored and influential citizens of Wells county. After having availed himself of the advantages of the public schools of Bluffton Edwin H. Redding prosecuted a higher course of study in Valparaiso University and later completed an effective course in Voorhees Business College, in the city of Indianapolis. After leaving the latter institution he served for a short time as stenographer for the Big Four Railroad, in its office at Mattoon, Illinois, and then returned to the capital city of Indiana, where he held for eighteen months a position as clerk and stenographer in the offices of the George T. Evans Mining Company. He next initiated his association with the insurance business by assuming the position of assistant cashier in the Indianapolis offices of the Equit- able Life Assurance Society of New York city, an office of which he continued the incumbent four years. At the expiration of this period, in 1906, he came to Fort Wayne to accept a similar position in the offices of the Lincoln Life Insurance Company, and his efficient service led to his being advanced, in 1911, to his present responsible office of auditor and assistant secretary of this important company. He has entered fully into the progressive spirit and business vitality of the Allen county metropolis and judicial center and is an active member of the Fort Wayne Commercial Club. On May 17, 1909, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Redding to Miss Bernice Pommert, daughter of Joseph and Etta Pommert, of Auburn, DeKalb county, and the one child of this union is a fine little son, Robert.
Adam A. Reinhart .- In connection with the history of Fort Wayne and Allen county far more than cursory interest attaches to the repre- sentative citizen and influential business man whose name introduces this article, for on both the paternal and distaff sides he is a scion of sterling pioneer stock in this city and county, his father having been a young man when he became a resident of Fort Wayne, soon after arriving in America, his emigration to the United States having occurred in 1849, in which year he established his home in Fort Wayne. The maternal grandfather of Adam A. Reinhart was one of the earliest settlers of what is now the judicial center and metropolis of Allen county, and this section of the state was a primitive wilderness at the time, with but few white
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settlers to dispute dominion with the Indians. Mr. Reinhart has been a resident of Fort Wayne from the time of his birth, which here occurred, June 2, 1868, and is now one of the leading merchants and progressive and valued citizens of his native city, where he is associated with James L. Shields in the conducting of a most prosperous clothing and men's furnishing business, under the title of the Shields Clothing Company, he being the junior member of the firm. Matthias Reinhart, father of the subject of this review, was born in Germany, in the year 1831, and thus was about eighteen years of age when, in 1849, he immigrated to America and became a resident of Fort Wayne. He was a shoemaker by trade and with the passing years became one of the successful business men of the city in which he passed the remainder of his life and in which he commanded unqualified popular esteem, his death having occurred in 1891. His wife, whose maiden name was Anna Bargus, was born in a log house that stood on the site of the present Palace theater in Fort Wayne and was the first child born of German parentage in Allen county. Her father, Martin Bargus, came to Fort Wayne, in 1824, and made the long and arduous journey from New York to Fort Wayne with an ox team and a wagon. His marriage was solemnized when he was a youth of twenty years and the nuptial ceremony was performed in the old Anthony Wayne fort, by an itinerant missionary. Mr. Bargus assisted in the construction of the old canal that had much to do with furthering the development of Fort Wayne and which was an important medium of transportation in the pioneer days. He was a skilled workman at the carpenter's trade and utilized his mechanical ability by the con- struction of many of the old-time wheelbarrows used in the pioneer com- munity. At the time of his arrival in Fort Wayne Mr. Bargus wore a seemly German coat and waistcoat gaily ornamented with brass buttons, and the Indians manifested great admiration for the buttons, which they proceeded to cut from his garments. Because he made no objection to their taking of the buttons they gave to him, in their own language, the title of the "Blessed Dutchman." During the great cholera epidemic that many years ago ravaged Allen county, Mr. Bargus personally escaped attack and was able to do noble service in the stricken commu- nity, not only in caring for the afflicted but also in making the coffins for the victims of the scourge and assisting in the burial of the dead, it having been his melancholy duty to render this service for his loved and devoted wife, who was among those who succumbed to the dread malady. He was a charter member and earnest communicant of St. Mary's Cath- olic church in Fort Wayne, as were also the parents of Mr. Reinhart, subject of this review. The mother of Mr. Reinhart survived her hus- band and was venerable in years at the time of her death. Of the ten children Adam A. is the eldest of the four now living; Mary and John likewise continue their residence in Fort Wayne, the latter being a trav- eling salesman by occupation; and Laura is the wife of James B. Cahill, who is engaged in the undertaking business in Fort Wayne. Adam A. Reinhart is indebted to the parochial schools of St. Mary's church for his early educational training, and after leaving school became identified with mercantile enterprise in his native city, where he has won advance- ment to secure position as one of the representative business men of Allen county. For a number of years he was independently engaged in the conducting of a general haberdashing business and finally formed a partnership with James L. Shields, with whom he has since continued
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to be associated in the conducting of one of the leading clothing stores of the city, the establishment of the Shields Clothing Company being essentially metropolitan in its equipment and service and its trade being of substantial and representative order. Mr. Reinhart naturally takes loyal interest in all that touches the welfare and progress of his native city and county, his political allegiance being given to the Democratic party and both he and his wife being zealous communicants of the Cath- olic church. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Loyal Order of Moose. On August 8, 1893, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Reinhart to Miss Elizabeth Heiny, who likewise was born and reared in Fort Wayne and is a daughter of the late Nicholas and Mary M. (Schele) Heiny, her father having been for a long period engaged in the grocery business in this city, where both he and his wife died. Mr. and Mrs. Reinhart have four children: Mar- garet remains at the parental home; Edward is in the employ of S. F. Bowser and Company; Marie is in the employ of the Lincoln Life Insur- ance Company as stenographer, and Jeanette Laura Josephine is the youngest.
Charles J. Reuss, the efficient and popular assistant secretary of the Centlivre Brewing Company, is one of the representative young business men of his native city of Fort Wayne, where he was born July 2, 1880, a son of John B. and Amelia (Centlivre) Reuss, the former of German and the latter of French lineage. John B. Reuss was born at Bad Kissengen, Germany, and was fifteen years of age when he came to the United States and established his residence in Cincinnati, whence he later came to Fort Wayne. He learned the jeweler's trade in his youth but eventually became identified with the business of the Cent- livre Brewing Company, of which important Fort Wayne corporation he is now secretary. He is one of the city's progressive and influential business men, is a Democrat in politics and both he and his wife are communicants of the Fort Wayne Cathedral parish of the Catholic church, as are also their five children. Charles J. Reuss gained his early edu- cation in the parochial school of St. Mary's church and in that conducted by the Christian Brothers. At the age of fourteen years he entered the great Notre Dame University at South Bend, where he continued his studies for the ensuing six years. In 1900 he left the university, while in his junior year, and became a clerk in the offices of the Cent- livre Brewing Company, his advancement to his present office, that of assistant secretary, have been recorded in 1913. Mr. Reuss is one of the popular young bachelors of Allen county, is an active member of the Fort Wayne Commercial Club, the Country Club and the Rotary Club, and is affiliated with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, besides holding membership in the local Rifle and Revolver Club. His political allegiance is given unreservedly to the Democratic party and he is a communicant of the Cathedral parish of the Catholic church. He finds his chief recreation and diversion in periodical hunting and fishing trips and as a progressive young citizen takes loyal interest in all that concerns the welfare of his home city and county.
John B. Reuss .- A vivid and buoyant personality is that of this well known citizen and influential business man of Fort Wayne, and through his own ability and efforts he has made his way forward to the goal of prosperity and to a commanding place in connection with business affairs of broad scope and importance. Mr. Reuss has been a resident
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of Fort Wayne for more than forty years, is secretary of the C. L. Cent- livre Brewing Company, and his prominence as an influential figure in the civic and commercial life of Fort Wayne is further indicated by his being a stockholder and director in the Home Telephone Com- pany, The Tri-State Loan & Trust Company and a number of other important corporations. In his close association with the social and industrial progress of Fort Wayne he has brought to bear the full force of a tense, vital and resourceful individuality, and his civic loyalty has been shown in divers avenues of enterprise and promotive energy. Mr. Reuss was born on April 1, 1851, in Kissingen, a prominent European watering place in Bavaria, Germany, made famous chiefly through its medicinal springs which bubble up in sparkling profusion from nature's laboratory, for the purpose of curing various human ills. In the excel- lent schools of his native land Mr. Reuss acquired his youthful educa- tion, and, in 1865, just at the termination of the great Civil war in the United States, through the influence of an uncle, a piano manu- facturer in Cincinnati, Ohio, he came to America and established his residence in the Ohio city, where he soon accepted a position with H. Duhme & Company, a large jewelry manufacturing firm. In 1874 he came to Fort Wayne and entered the employ of George J. E. Meyer, who was then one of the city's leading jewelers. In November of 1876 Mr. Reuss was married to Miss Amelia M. Centlivre, of Fort Wayne, and to this union were born five children. During the long intervening years Mr. Reuss has continued his vigorous identification with business activities in Fort Wayne, and in 1891 he became one of the interested principals in the C. L. Centlivre Brewing Company, of which he has served as secretary since its incorporation, in 1895. It has been con- sistently said that "much of the success of the enterprise is due to the efforts of Mr. Reuss, whose wide acquaintance and unqualified popu- larity have been potent in furthering the upbuilding of the large and prosperous industrial enterprise." He has had much to do with the development of Fort Wayne along both industrial and commercial lines, is cosmopolitan in his tastes, and his experience, as he has traveled extensively, "there being few points of interest in the civilized portions of the globe that have not been visited by him." He is one of the vital and valued members of the Fort Wayne Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, with which he has been affiliated during practically the entire period of its existence. He is an adept and enthusi- est in floriculture and in this gracious domain of nature's finest art he finds both satisfaction and recreation.
William Richard is a representative of one of the old and honored families of Allen county, has personally contributed his quota to the upholding of the agricultural and live-stock prestige of the county and is now living virtually retired in the village of New Haven, though he still owns his well improved farm in Jefferson township. A man of vigor and poise, he is not content to be inactive and gives his attention to service in connection with the New Haven postoffice, besides which he is the owner of a half interest in the Happy Hour theater, an attractive amusement resort of the village. Mr. Richard was born in Jefferson township, this county, on February 4, 1859, a son of Christian and Eliza- beth (Ditzeller) Richard, both of whom were born in Germany and were children at the time of the immigration of the respective families to America, the original settlement having been made in Pennsylvania
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