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 72
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father was a carpenter by trade until his death occurred, in 1888, his ven- erable widow being still a resident of Fort Wayne. Of their three children Mrs. Schroeder was the first born; John died when about thirteen years of age; and Carl is actively identified with Fort Wayne business interests. Mr. Schroeder is survived by one son, Carl Louis, who was born, January 14, 1889, and is now a member of the reportorial staff of the Fort Wayne Daily News; he continued his studies in the public schools until his grad- uation in the Fort Wayne high school and thereafter was for three years a student in the great University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, Michigan. He married, June 21, 1916, Miss Dorothy Kilgore, of Fort Wayne, and they have one child, Charles William, born April 16, 1917. Since the death of her honored husband Mrs. Schroeder has found a measure of reconciliation and compensation in the gracious memories of their years of devoted companionship, and in her native city her circle of friends is limited only by that of her acquaintances.
Louis S. C. Schroeder .- For twenty-seven years Louis Schroeder was engaged in the drug business in Fort Wayne, and in that time came to be regarded as one of the successful and dependable business men of the city. He and his brother, Charles J. H., established themselves in their chosen field in 1871, locating at 1408 Calhoun street, and it was said of them that they were the two youngest druggists in the state of Indiana, Mr. Schroeder being only twenty years old at that time and his brother eighteen. They retired from the business, in 1904, and Mr. Schroeder lived quietly, with no business ties, until, in 1911, he was appointed superintendent of the State Free Employment Bureau, a position he held until January 1, 1917. Louis S. C. Schroeder is a native son of Fort Wayne, born on September 10, 1857, and his parents were Louis and Elise (Rippe) Schroeder both native born Germans, the father coming from Beneckstein and the mother from Bremen, Germany. An engineer and practical sawmill man, Mr. Schroeder settled in Allen county soon after his arrival in America and was connected with various sawmills during his life in Fort Wayne. He died there, in 1908, and the mother still survives. Their children were Louis S. C., of this review, and Charles J. H., who died in 1906. The brothers were reared and had their education in Fort Wayne, and when the elder was fifteen years old he entered one of the local drug stores to learn the business. He gained in that manner a practical experience that was worth vastly more to him in later years than the same time spent in book learning would have been. Both were licensed druggists and careful business men, and they built up a thriving business in the growing city with the passing years. When they retired in 1904, they were among the foremost drug men of the city, enjoying a prestige to which they were well entitled by reason of the nature of their methods and business procedure. They were prom- inent Democrats always, and the subject was secretary of the Democratic Central Committee in 1906, 1908 and 1910. His appointment to the post of superintendent of the State Free Employment Bureau was an espe- cially appropriate one, and he had every qualification for the successful administration of the office. Mr. Schroeder is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of Mizpah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., a member of the Knights of Pythias, of which he was trustee for nineteen years, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is now serving as busi- ness manager of the Elks' Band. Mr. Schroeder has done excellent work in the interests of the city as president of the city council, in 1911-12-13,
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and was revenue collector at Fort Wayne during Grover Cleveland's first administration. On November 20, 1879, Mr. Schroeder married Miss Loretta Bradway, who was a Fort Wayne girl and the daughter of a well-known family of that city.
William C. Schwier has effectively shown his loyalty to his native city and county by effective service in various public offices of local order and is now the able and popular incumbent of the office of county com- missioner, as representative of the metropolitan district of Fort Wayne. He was born in this city on August 3, 1868, a son of Charles and Catherine (Bernhardt) Schwier, both natives of Germany. Upon coming to the United States Charles Schwier first found employment in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked at his trade, that of boilermaker, and within a few years he established his residence in Fort Wayne, where his marriage was solemnized, his wife having come with her parents to this county in 1853. Charles Schwier eventually became one of the suc- cessful merchants of Fort Wayne and was one of the city's venerable and highly honored citizens at the time of his death, in 1898, his widow still maintaining her home in Fort Wayne. Of the three children the subject of this review is the eldest; Catherine is a resident of Fort Wayne and gives the deepest filial care and solicitude to her venerable mother; and Sarah is the wife of Herbert B. Tobey, of Boston, Massachusetts. William S. Schwier acquired his youthful education in the schools of Fort Wayne and, in 1883, became associated with his father in the retail grocery business, under the title of Schwier & Son. The enterprise grew to be one of substantial order and eventually was greatly expanded in scope and importance, under the corporate title of the Montgomery Cash Grocery Company. With this representative mercantile enterprise Mr. Schwier continued his active association until 1913, when he disposed of his virtually controlling interest in the same, to give his time and atten- tion to his duties as a public official. He is, however, still identified with the local business interests as a director of the Morris Plan Bank of Fort Wayne. Always a stalwart advocate and supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, Mr. Schwier has been influential in its affairs in his home city and county, and his strong hold upon popular confidence and esteem has been demonstrated by his being called upon to serve in various local offices of public trust. In 1905, while still active in the grocery business, he was elected councilman-at-large for the city of Fort Wayne, and served four years as president of the council. In 1912 he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners, his effective service needing no further voucher than the fact that he was re-elected, in 1914, his present term of office expiring in December, 1918, and his policies have been at all times progressive and yet marked by a constant desire wisely to conserve and foster the resources of the county and to bring about a consistently economical administration of fiscal affairs. In a fraternal way Mr. Schwier is affiliated with the Benevolent & Pro- tective Order of Elks and the Loyal Order of Moose. Through his busi- ness and official associations he has become well known throughout his native county and it may consistently be said that his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances.
Samuel Scott has resided, since 1864, on his present fine homestead farm, in Section 16, Monroe township, and is one of the venerable, well- known and highly esteemed citizens of this attractive part of Allen county. He is a scion of the staunchest of English stock and finds a due
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measure of satisfaction in the fact that he can claim "fair Albion" as the place of his nativity. He is one of the three survivors in a family of nine children and was born in England on August 3, 1830, his parents, George and Jane (Cotam) Scott, having passed their entire lives in Eng- land. Samuel Scott gained his early education in the schools of his native land and upon attaining to his majority, in 1851, bade adieu to the "right little isle" of his birth and, with determined ambition and youthful cour- age, set forth for America, confident in his ability to wrest from the hands of Fate a due measure of independence and temporal prosperity. His initial experience in connection with American institutions and customs was gained during a residence of two years in Pennsylvania, and at the expiration of this period he made his way to Richland county, Ohio. About a year later he removed to Crawford county, that state, where he maintained his residence six years and there was solemnized his mar- riage to Miss Henrietta Salway, who likewise was born in England and has continued his loved and devoted companion and helpmeet during the long intervening years, the two having wrought side by side and having seen their earnest endeavors crowned with peace and prosperity, so that in the gracious evening of life they are compassed by those influences and benefices that are the merited reward for former effort and righteous living. Mr. and Mrs. Scott came to Allen county, in 1864, and established their home on the present farm, which comprises eighty acres and which is now one of the valuable and well-improved properties of Monroe town- ship. When Mr. Scott purchased this tract of land most of the timber had been cut off, but there remained a plethora of stumps, so that he faced the most strenuous of labors in reclaiming the land and making it available for cultivation. The original family home was a log house of the true pioneer type, and this dwelling was made known for its un- assuming hospitality and good cheer, especially as the family circle was augmented by sturdy sons and earnest and comely daughters who grew to adult age and assumed their share of the farm and domestic duties. This dwelling continued to be the family domicile until 1888, when Mr. Scott erected his present substantial and commodious frame house, the same being but one of the numerous permanent improvements he has made on the farm. Though in his venerable years Mr. Scott consistently has given over to others the arduous labors that were long his portion, he still takes an alert and helpful interest in the directing of the opera- tions of the home farm and is fortunate in retaining splendid mental and physical vitality. He is aligned as a loyal supporter of the principles of the Democratic party and has at all times shown himself liberal and earnest in the furtherance of measures and enterprises tending to advance the communal welfare. He has had no ambition for public office, but in past years gave effective service as road superintendent, a position of which he continued the incumbent for several years. He was formerly in active affiliation with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. To Mr. and Mrs. Scott were born twelve children, their names being here entered in respective order of birth: Lena, Winfield, George, Lillie, Harry, Ena, Cecelia, Jennie, Ida May, Marion, Pearl and Charles. Of the number Lena, George, Lillie, Marion and Pearl are deceased. Ene is the wife of A. Stevenson; Cecelia is the wife of William Zim; Jennie is the wife of Thomas Phillips; and Ida May is the wife of John Lighthoff.
Donald M. Sears is a man whose initiative energy and progressive- ness have come into effective play in the furtherance of the commercial
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and industrial precedence of Fort Wayne. He is president of the D. M. Sears Company, which was organized in 1912 and is engaged in the manufacturing of food products, as a center of which line of industrial enterprise it has given a splendid impetus to Fort Wayne, for the business has grown to be one of broad scope and importance and now represents one of the noteworthy contributions to the vital commercial energy of the Allen county metropolis. In the organization of this company Mr. Sears was associated with Henry D. McLallen and John W. Caswell, and incor- poration was based on a capital stock of $75,000. In 1914 the capital was increased to one hundred and twenty-five thousand and in the fol- lowing year was raised to the present significant figure-one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The personnel of the official corps of the company is as here noted: Donald M. Sears, president; Herbert B. Clugstone, vice-president; John W. Caswell, secretary; Henry D. MeLallen, treas- urer; and Donald M. Sears, general manager as well as president. The company erected for its purposes a substantial main building that is sixty-four by eighty-four feet in dimensions, two stories and basement; the annex boiler room is thirty-two by thirty-six feet, the pickle and salting house is one hundred and four by seventy-six feet, besides which are provided ample storage sheds and loading platforms. In the well- equipped plant employment is given to a force of about forty persons, and for the securing of its needed and large supplies, especially high- grade tomatoes, the company maintains fifteen stations for the purchas- ing, reception and shipping of the raw products. Such branches are maintained at Battle Creek, Reading, Union City and St. Joseph, Mich- igan; Columbia, Ohio; Grabill, Spencerville, Butler, Fremont, Angola, Berlin, Stroh, LaOtto, Columbia City and Newton, Indiana; and at Crocker, Humansville, Galloway, Republic, Monett and Springfield, Mis- souri, in which last mentioned city is also operated a branch factory. The company gives special attention to the manufacturing of tomato products of the finest grade, including pickles and bulk goods, and ship- ments are made in the special tank cars controlled by the concern. A vast acreage is retained as the reserve of the company for the growing of its products and under progressive and well-ordered management the business shows a constantly expanding tendency-the one mark of supe- riority in output and the popular estimate placed upon the same. Don- ald Merton Sears was born at Cortland, New York, on May 20, 1873, a son of Harvey A. and Jeanette (Willyard) Sears, the former of whom was born in Nova Scotia and the latter in Ohio. Harvey A. Sears was five years old at the time of the family removal to the United States and was reared and educated in the state of New York, where he learned the carpenter's trade. In 1854 he became one of the pioneers of Grand Rapids, Michigan, which was then a mere village, and there became a prominent contractor and builder. He served three years as a soldier of the Union in the Civil War-a member of the Nineteenth Michigan Infantry-and he was one of the venerable and honored citizens of Grand Rapids at the time of his death, his widow being still a resident of that city. He was a stalwart Republican, was a Presbyterian in his religious affiliation, as is also his widow, and was identified with the Grand Army of the Republic and the Masonic fraternity. Of the children Hal K. is now a resident of California ; Clifford C. died at the age of eleven years; Donald M., of this sketch, was the third in order of birth; Ben- jamin G. is a resident of Sugar City, Colorado; and Hattie is the wife
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of Forest E. Manz, of Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the public schools of his native city Donald M. Sears acquired his early education and as a youth gained four years of strenuous experience in the great lumber woods of northern Michigan. Thereafter he was employed thirteen years by the famous II. J. Heinz Company, manufacturers of pickles, and in 1906 went to Chicago and entered the employ of Reid, Murdock & Com- pany, one of the leading wholesale grocery concerns of the western metropolis. With this company he continued his association until 1912, when he came to Fort Wayne and effected the organization of the com- pany which bears his name and of which he is president. He is not only progressive as a business man but also as a citizen and is one of the vigorous members of the Fort Wayne Commercial Club. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, in the Masonic fraternity he is affiliated with the York, Scottish and Shrine bodies, and he and Lis · wife are members of the Presbyterian church. April 29, 1902, recorded the marriage of Mr. Sears to Miss Maude E. Nelson, daughter of Johr. B. and Sophia (Gibson) Nelson, of Allegan, Michigan, and the four children of this union are Harvey, Elizabeth, Margaret and Catharine.
Gideon W. Seavey .- Though the period of his residence in Fort Wayne covered little more than a decade, the late Gideon Webster Sea became one of the dominating forces in the commercial and civic affair of the city and was the founder of the extensive wholesale and retail hardware business that is still conducted under the title of the Seavey Hardware Company. Mr. Seavey was a man of fine intellectual powers and much business ability, his versatility having been shown in his having prepared himself for the legal profession, in which he achieved success, but his predilections led him more specifically into the domain of busi- ness enterprise, in which he proved his powers in no uncertain way. He continued at the head of the hardware business until the time of his death, which occurred on March 13, 1893, and his career was one of signal usefulness and honor, so that this publication may well give place to a tribute to his memory and accord recognition of the large place which he filled in the business and social life of the metropolis and judicial center of Allen county. Mr. Seavey was born on a farm near Prairie- ville, Lee county, Illinois, February 14, 1848, and was a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of that section of the state. His alert mentality was coupled with an invincible ambition, and thus in his early educational work he made an exceptional record, as is shown by the fact that he was graduated in the literary department of the great Uni- versity of Michigan when he was but twenty-two years of age. He was class poet and was popular and influential in student affairs at the university from which he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts. In the course of his career he not only gave evidence of his versatility of talent but also of his facility in expedients. Thus it is to be recorded that after his graduation he turned his attention to the newspaper busi- ness, by establishing a weekly paper, the Chronicle, at Hoopston, Illinois. In the domain of journalism he proved himself successful, as did he also in the practice of law, and he continued his residence in Illinois until 1979. when he came to Fort Wayne and became associated with his brother-in-law, the late Hon. Perry A. Randall, in the practice of law, Mr. Randall, who was one of the most honored and influential citizens of Fort Wayne at the time of his death, having been not only a fellow student but also the roommate of Mr. Seavey while they were attending
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the University of Michigan. Mr. Seavey demonstrated his ability as a resourceful trial lawyer and well-fortified counselor, but his assertive and vigorous individuality soon demanded expression in action aside from the routine of law practice. He became identified with the develop- ment of timber lands, and, in 1881, engaged in the hardware business, as the founder of the large and important business now conducted by the Seavey Hardware Company. At the time of the reorganization and incorporation of this company, in the spring of 1914, appreciative record was made in a local paper, and from the article it is but consistent that quotations be made in this context, as the data indicate the splendid development that has continued since the death of the honored founder of the business: "The Seavey Hardware Company was established in Fort Wayne, October 5, 1881, by the late G. W. Seavey, and has continued as a successful and growing business during the long intervening years. The company originally occupied the building at the northwest corner of, Columbia and Clinton streets. In 1888 the business had grown so apidly that new and larger quarters were necessary, so a new location vas purchased in West Main street property, Mr. Seavey acquiring the trwilding at 121 West Main street, where the business was continued voventy-five years. Owing to the continued increase in business this a building also eventually proved inadequate properly to house the stock of merchandise and to execute the orders, so it was decided to change "locations once more, and early in the fall of 1913 the company purchased the building at the northwest corner of Harrison and Pearl streets, for- merly occupied by the Fort Wayne & Northern Indiana Traction Com- pany, and the stock was moved to the new quarters in September, 1913." At the time of the reorganization, in the spring of 1914, the article from which the foregoing quotations have been made gave substantially the following record: "Endeavoring to enlarge its field of operation and extend its service to the public, the Seavey Hardware Company, one of the oldest and largest hardware establishments of northern Indiana, „ has just completed several changes in its organization, and articles of incorporation have been sent to the secretary of state. . The
new company will take over the entire business and property of the Seavey Hardware Company on the 1st of February, 1914, and will con- tinue the business of wholesaling, retailing and manufacturing, besides greatly increasing its sheet-metal products and roofing department. Wal- ter R. Seavey, former manager of the company, who has spent sixteen years in assisting to build up the institution, is president and general : manager of the new organization, and the other officials are: C. E. Greer, vice-president; W. S. Cutshall, secretary and treasurer; and A. S. Coverdale, chairman of the board of directors. Walter R. Seavey, president of the company, is the only son of the founder of the business. Mr. Coverdale has been closely associated with many of Fort Wayne's biggest and busiest institutions; Mr. Cutshall formerly served as city controller; Mr. Greer was actively connected with the business of the Seavey Hardware Company for twenty-two years prior to its reorgan- ization. The other two members of the directorate are Henry J. Kaiser, one of the city's foremost contractors, and Charles Wermuth, a success- ful contractor who has aided in the building up of a greater city." Reverting to the honored subject of this memoir it may be said that he was one of the vital and loyal citizens and progressive business men of Fort Wayne, where he commanded inviolable place in popular esteem.
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He was one of the organizers and vigorous supporters of the Fort Wayne Commercial Club, was a Republican in his political allegiance, and was always very active in the promotion of religious interests, as is also his widow, who still maintains her home in Fort Wayne. Mr. Seavey wedded Miss Catherine Amy Randall, the only daughter of Judge Edwin Randall, of Avilla, Indiana, and of their two children the elder is Walter R., president of the Seavey Hardware Company; and Irma Mary is the wife of C. Allen Merriam, of Portland, Oregon.
Adam Amos Serva .- Twenty-two years ago Adam Amos Serva be- came identified with Fort Wayne in his capacity as expert electrician in the employ of the General Electric Company, then known as the Fort Wayne Electric Corporation. His rise in the electrical field since then has been steady and consistent. In 1903 he was made assistant secretary of the company and in 1911 became sales manager of the Fort Wayne Electrical Works of the General Electric Company. He occupies that position today. Mr. Serva was born in Stark county, Ohio, January 15, 1869, son of Charles and Nancy (Sarver) Serva, natives of New York state and Ohio, respectively. The father was reared in Ohio, having been brought to that state by his parents when a small boy, and was long active in farming operations. His later years he spent in quiet retire- ment on his home place, and death claimed him in September, 1914. The mother still lives and has her home in Canton, Ohio. Of the nine children born to these people, two are living today-Adam A., of this review, and a daughter, now the wife of Doctor Flickinger, of Canton, Ohio. Adam A. Serva had his early schooling in the public schools of Canton, finishing a course in the local high school of his home city and then entering the Ohio State University, where he studied mechanical and electrical engineering. He was graduated, in 1893, with the degree M. E. During Mr. Serva's last year at the university he accepted a position with the Egypt-Chicago Exposition Company as chief of the electrical construction for the World's Columbian Exposition, and suc- cessfully carried on that work in conjunction with his university work, graduating with his class on schedule time. His work in connection with the exposition was considered very creditable, electrical displays at that time being in their comparative infancy, one might say, so that his accom- plishment in that field were a good deal of an innovation. In the summer of 1893 he was appointed assistant engineer to the Board of Awards, under the United States government at the World's Columbian Expo- sition, where he continued to the close of the exposition. His next posi- tion was as foreman of an experimental telephone laboratory for S. D. McKelbey, Canton, Ohio, and, he says, "a little later on we organized the Independent Telephone Company at Canton." In November, 1894, he entered the employ of the Fort Wayne Electrical Company as elec- trical expert and salesman, and a little later on was appointed engineer of the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) district for the Fort Wayne Electric Corporation, still later filling the same relative position in Boston, and in 1898 entering the employ of the General Electric Company as expert and salesman in their New York office. After a short stay there he was transferred to Fort Wayne to fill the position of assistant sales manager of the Fort Wayne Electrical Works, and, in 1903, the duties of assistant secretary were added to those of assistant sales manager. In 1911 came his appointment to the post of sales manager for the Fort Wayne Elec- tric Works of the General Electric Company, and he has since continued
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