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 81
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which is conceded to be one of the best-equipped and thoroughly modern structures devoted to the teaching of dancing in the United States. At the Trier Academy of Dancing the average class organized at the present day involves an enrollment of from four hundred to six hundred pupils. The class organized in September, 1916, recorded an enrollment of five hundred and seventy-eight pupils the first day and one hundred and twenty-seven acquisitions the second day. It may be truthfully said that of the devotees of dancing in the city of Fort Wayne at the present time Mr. Trier has been the instructor of fully ninety per cent., and he reverts with pleasure to the fact that he has run as a teacher the gamut from childhood to venerable age, the year 1915, for instance, having given him one pupil who was but three and one-half years old and another who was "seventy-nine years young." In 1905 Mr. Trier was one of the first to advocate the expediency and consistency of estab- lishing a privately owned and conducted dancing pavilion in a public park in the United States, and his conviction was one of action, as demonstrated by the fact that since that year he has conducted at Robison Park in Fort Wayne a pavilion of this order and one that is maintained on a high plane. It has ever been his aim in his profession to elevate the standard of the American ballroom and to provide for the people clean, healthful amusement and entertainment throughout the entire year. The popularity of the park pavilion was such, that, in 1914, he found it necessary to enlarge the attractive structure at a cost of about five thousand dollars, in order to meet the demand for admission to the well-ordered summer dances and classes. He is a thorough enthusiast in his profession and may well be satisfied to note the financial success which he has achieved and the high standard he has maintained at all times in his work as an instructor, with a constant determination to make dancing interpretation physically and morally effective and ideal. In national affairs he gives support to the cause of the Republican party, but in local matters is independent of partisan lines and supports men and measures meeting the approval of his judg- ment. He was reared in the faith of the German Lutheran church, of which he is a communicant, but customarily attends the Plymouth Con- gregational church, of which his wife is an active member. In the Masonic fraternity he has received the chivalric degrees of the York Rite, besides being affiliated also with the consistory of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, as well as with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. His civic loyalty is indicated by his membership in the Fort Wayne Commercial Club. On September 14, 1898, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Trier to Miss Estella Mul- queen, daughter of John Mulqueen, a railroad man then residing at Bucyrus, Ohio. The attractive home of Mr. and Mrs. Trier is at 501 Washington boulevard and is known for its gracious hospitality and good cheer.
Joseph Lyle Tucker .- Joseph Lyle Tucker was born in Orono, On- tario, Canada, February 28, 1885, a son of Arthur A. and Viola (Staples) Tucker, both natives of Ontario. The father was a successful manu- facturer of furniture in Canada, where he died on April 1, 1910, and the mother has since then made her home in Fort Wayne. Their children were Joseph Lyle, the subject; Leslie Staples, a dentist in Fort Wayne; Arthur Roy, also a dentist in that city, and Carl McPherson Tucker, of Fort Wayne. Joseph Tucker had his education in Ontario, and follow-
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ing his graduation from the Collegiate Institute in Orillia, Ontario, came to Fort Wayne, where the family was then established, and took a busi- ness course in the International Business College. He then entered the White Bank, later entering the employ of the First National bank, with which he was connected for eight years as bookkeeper. He left that institution to accept the post of treasurer of the International Business College, which position he now occupies and which he has handled most successfully and satisfactorily to all concerned. Mr. Tucker was mar- ried on September 6, 1911, to Miss Jeanette Morris, daughter of Samuel L. Morris, Sr., concerning which family more extended mention will be found on other pages of this biographical work. Mr. and Mrs. Tucker have one son, Joseph Lyle, Jr., born July 17, 1915. The family have membership in the Plymouth Congregational church, and Mr. Tucker is a Blue Lodge Mason. In politics he is a Republican, but is not a poli- tician.
James Albert Turner .- When the Turner family made its way from Maryland to Indiana, in 1835, they settled at Fort Wayne, then a mere trading post. Many have been the changes that have been wrought in the face of the landscape thereabouts since that hardy pioneer, Enoch Turner, left the comforts of a settled country and dared the uncertain- ties of one that was not only unsettled, but unsafe. He, in company with nine other brave spirits, came by wagon train from Maryland, their native state. Their little families accompanied them, and while it is probable that the husbands and fathers were more venturesome and daring than their wives, they were not more courageous or self- sacrificing. A part of the little band left the company at Richmond, Indiana, but the others, including the Turners, Clarks, Jack Peacher and Daniel Welker, and one other family, pushed on deeper into the unknown country until the Indian village of Fort Wayne was reached. It was the wish of the majority of the group to settle in the village, but Enoch Turner was not of the same mind, and he chose to locate eleven miles west of Fort Wayne, where in the wilderness he settled upon a government tract of land comprising six hundred and forty acres, or one section. Today that piece of land is a beautifully improved farming tract, but at the time Mr. Turner located upon it, it was in the center of the Pottawattomie Indian Reservation, and their only neighbors on all sides were Indians. The first cabin home of the family was the approved log structure, which in later years was replaced with a substantial country dwelling, conforming to Colonial lines in archi- tectural style, and being one of the fine places in the district. The family were old-time Methodists and Enoch Turner had the distinction of giving a building site for the first Methodist church to be built in that part of the country. They called it Friendship Church, and surely no apter name might have been chosen, for the people came to it from miles around to hear the circuit rider expound the scriptures on Sunday morning, and it was no uncommon sight on such occasions to see fifty to one hundred families gathered at the home of one of the neighbors near the church, a dinner being served the like of which no son or daughter of the present generation has been privileged to partake of. The church itself was builded of rough hewn logs with the puncheon floor common to that period, and it was the scene of many joys and sor- rows that came into the lives of the simple folks who worshiped within its walls. Enoch Turner was a leader in his community all his days and
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died, well advanced in years. Levi Turner was born in Maryland on November 11, 1829, near Rielmond, where the family had its home, and was about seven years of age when the family pioneered into Indiana. He was reared on the farm in the vicinity of Fort Wayne and on May 13, 1858, married Osa Jane Bayless, a daughter of Whitley county, Indiana. They were the parents of five children, of which number two are living at this time-James Albert, whose name heads this brief family review, and Delia, who lives at home with the mother. Levi Turner died, in 1907, when he was seventy-eight years of age. He had disposed of his country property a good many years previous, however, and for about thirty years was engaged in the grocery business in Fort Wayne, though he was living retired at the time of his death. James Albert Turner was born in Aboite township, Allen county, and had his early education in the public schools of Fort Wayne, following his train- ing there with a course of study in the Fort Wayne Business College. He finished his studies there, in 1899, and his first position of a elerieal order was that of bookkeeper for a wagon factory. He spent some months in that position and for several years thereafter was connected with a wholesale heavy hardware house, spending four years in Rich- mond, Indiana, as manager of the heavy hardware department of a prominent hardware house. He then went to Cleveland and was for a number of years a traveling salesman for the George Worthington Company, which was established in 1829 and is recognized as the oldest and largest house of its kind in the United States. Mr. Turner was transferred to Fort Wayne after some little time and for a number of years handled the Fort Wayne territory. In 1909 he withdrew from the concern and purchased an interest in the Protective Electrical Sup- ply Company, becoming vice-president and sales-manager of the firm, which position he is now filling. On June 27, 1900, Mr. Turner was married to Miss Elsie M. Meiser, the daughter of John Meiser, a well- known farmer of Lake township, in Allen county. Mr. and Mrs. Turner have one son-James, Jr., born September 14, 1903. Mr. Turner is a Republican and a member of the Wayne Street Methodist Episcopal church, his wife also being affiliated with that church as a member. He is a member of the Commercial Club, the Odd Fellows and the Amer- ican Insurance Union.
Henry C. Ulmer is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and fifty-three aeres in Jefferson township and is consistently to be desig- nated as one of the progressive and representative exponents of agri- cultural and live-stoek enterprise in his native county. He was born in Milan township, this county, on January 1, 1861, a son of Christopher and Catherine (Steele) Ulmer, whose marriage was solemnized in Allen county, where they passed the residue of their lives. Christopher Ulmer was born in Germany and was a young man when he established his home in Allen county and turned his attention vigorously to agrieul- tural pursuits, in connection with which he achieved independence and prosperity, the while he was respected as a man of sterling character and of productive stewardship in the varied relations of life. All of his children are still living, namely: Frederick, Emma, Henry C., Rosa, Theodore, Gustave and Christopher. Henry C. Ulmer was afforded the advantages of the public schools of Fort Wayne and virtually his entire independent career has been one of close alliance with agricultural indus- try, of which he has become one of the successful and valued represent-
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atives in Jefferson township, the excellent improvements on his fine farm having been made by him and everything about the place giving clear indication of thrift and prosperity. The farm is about two miles distant from New Haven, from which village the family receives service on rural mail route No. 3. Mr. Ulmer is liberal and public-spirited as a citizen, always ready to aid in the support of measures and enterprises ad- vanced for the best interests of the community, but he is non-partisan in politics and has had no desire for the honors or emoluments of public office. On November 10, 1890, Mr. Ulmer wedded Miss Margaret Monnot, daughter of Louis and Nancy (Snyder) Monnot, of Jefferson township, and the one child of this union is Christian H., who is associated in the work and management of the home farm.
Edmund M. Van Buskirk, M. D., has manifested the consistent solid- arity of ambition and effort that are essential in preparing a man for the exacting work of the medical profession and it is by ability and earnest application that he has gained secure vantage-place as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of his native county. He is engaged in active general practice in the city of Fort Wayne, was for ten years a member of the health commission of the city, is an appre- ciative and valued member of the Allen County Medical Society and the Indiana State Medical Society, of which latter he served as first vice- president in 1910, besides which he maintains active affiliation with the American Medical Association. Doctor VanBuskirk was born at Mon- roeville, this county, on February 11, 1875, a son of Linford VanBuskirk, a well-known and honored citizen of the county. The Doctor is indebted to the public schools of his native village for his early educational disci- pline, which was supplemented by a course in the Jefferson school in the city of Chicago. In preparation for his chosen profession he entered the Fort Wayne Medical College, and in this institution was graduated as a member of the class of 1902, with the well-earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. Later he took an effective post-graduate course in the medical school of Harvard University, and has otherwise vigorously and circumspectly applied himself to study and research that have kept him in full touch with the advances made in both medical and surgical science. His initial professional work after his graduation was that involved in a year of effective service as resident physician of the Indiana School for the Feeble Minded, at Fort Wayne, and after his retirement from this position he engaged in the general practice of his profession in this city, his unequivocal success affording the best voucher for his ability and also for his secure place in popular confidence and esteem. His practice is now of representative character and he subordinates all else to the demands of his profession. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. On January 10, 1906, was made record of the marriage of Doctor Van Buskirk to Miss Louise Schwarze, daughter of Henry Schwarze, of Fort Wayne, and the two children of this union are Edmund and Alice.
Otis W. Van Buskirk .- The state of Ohio contributed much to the settlement of Allen county, and many of the prosperous and prominent men of this section today claim Dutch parentage. Otis W. Van Buskirk is one of those whose parents migrated from Ohio and settled here more than half a century ago, and to these sturdy people and their contemporaries is due much credit for the development work they carried on so energetically and so successfully. The parents of the subject were
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Linford and Mary E. (Knouse) Van Buskirk, born and bred in Ohio, and they came to Indiana in 1855, settling on a farm in Allen county, where they made their home permanently. The father died there in 1910 and the mother still lives on the old home place. Their four chil- dren are all living today. Otis W. was born on June 28, 1876, and had his schooling in the Allen county schools. He completed a course in a local high school, and made his home on the old place until he was twenty-four. He married then, Miss Nannie Clem becoming his wife, and bought a farm in Madison township, to which he took his young wife. He has had good success as a farmer, and is counted one of the solid young men of the community. He is a member of the Masonic order, thirty-second degree, and of the Red Men, and politically is a Democrat. He has been more or less active in party politics, having held a number of offices, and he is now serving his second year as town- ship trustee. He was township assessor for six years.
William M. Van Horn .- The late William M. Van Horn, though a native of Ohio, was reared and educated in Allen county, whence he accompanied his parents as a small child, and was a contributor in no small measure to the development of this section of the country. His parents were Jonathan and Mary (McLachlan) Van Horn, the father of Dutch and the mother of Irish parentage, and they settled in Ohio in their early married life, later moving to Allen county, where they passed the remainder of their days in the quietness incidental to rural life. Eight children were born to them, all now deceased. William Van Horn was born in Ohio on December 1, 1843, and was reared and educated in Allen county as stated above. When the war broke out he enlisted for service as a member of Company F, 130th Regiment of Indiana Infantry. He was in active service during three years, and though he participated in that time in numerous important engagements, seemed to bear a charmed life and escaped the slightest injury. He was mustered out in North Carolina and, returning to his home in Allen county, settled down to farm life. In 1868 he married Miss Sarah Hess, daughter of Jacob and Harriett (Smith) Hess, who were people of Ohio birth, and who came to Indiana and Allen county in 1850. They were the parents of eight children, of which number four are now living. Following Mr. Van Horn's marriage to Sarah Hess he bought a farm and settled down to agricultural life in real earnest, continuing in that work until deathı claimed him in August, 1912. Success in a generous measure was his, and Mr. Van Horn was known in Monroe township for one of the stable citizens of the community. He had the esteem and friendship of all who knew him and his passing was conceded to have been a genuine loss to the town and county. Mr. Van Horn was a Republican all his life and was a staunch supporter of the party, though never an office seeker nor an aspirant to political favor. He was a Mason and a mem- ber of the Methodist church. Four children were born to him and his wife. The eldest, Amos, is deceased. The others are Charles, Jim and Mary, the latter the wife of Joseph Martin. The mother is still living on the family homestead of eighty acres in Section 10, Monroe township. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of that community, and is a woman highly esteemed of all who have her acquaintance.
Homer L. Van Meter has shown much circumspection and energy in his business activities in the city of Fort Wayne, where he has devel- oped a prosperous and representative enterprise in the handling of real
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estate, with special attention given to central and improved properties and general investments. As one of the progressive and influential expo- nents of this important line of business enterprise in Allen county Mr. Van Meter is properly given consideration in this work, and such recog- nition is the more consistent in view of his public-spirited attitude as a citizen. Mr. Van Meter was born on a farm near Antwerp, Paulding county, Ohio, August 28, 1872, a son of Perry H. and Anna M. (Hollis) Van Meter, the former of whom likewise was born in Ohio and the latter was a native of Wisconsin. The father was one of the prosperous men of Paulding county, Ohio. He died in Defiance county, Ohio, in 1887, and his widow survived him by more than a score of years, her death having occurred June 24, 1908. Of the children two died in infancy ; Margaret is the wife of Albert C. Haviland, of Fort Wayne; Mary T. is the wife of Thomas Barber, of Antwerp, Ohio; Fannie J. is the wife of Wallace E. Doud, of Fort Wayne; Carry B. likewise resides in this city; Homer L., of this review, was the next in order of birth; and Alpha B. resides in Fort Wayne. Homer L. Van Meter acquired his early education in the public schools and was a lad of fifteen years at the time of his father's death. After leaving school he was employed about four years as a clerk in mercantile establishments, and in 1896 came to Fort Wayne, where he was associated with his brother-in-law, Wallace E. Doud, in the real estate business until 1909. He then engaged in the real estate and investment business in an independent way and his success has been of unequivocal order, his specialty being the handling of central business property in Fort Wayne, though his records at all times show other desirable investments, in both city and farm properties. He is a staunch advocate and supporter of the cause of the Republican party and is affiliated with the Fort Wayne Lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.
Garrette Van Sweringen, M. D .- The honored father of Doctor Van Sweringen established his residence in Allen county, in 1859, and for virtually a period of half a century here maintained high standing as one of the able and representative physicians and surgeons of this section of the Hoosier state. Under such conditions it may well be understood that it is a gracious family and professional heritage that has come to the subject of this review, who is well upholding the prestige of the family name both as a sterling citizen and as a well-fortified exponent of the profession that was signally dignified and distinguished by the services of his father. Doctor Van Sweringen was born in Fort Wayne on June 21, 1882, a son of Dr. Hiram Van Sweringen and Edna M. (Hanna) Van Sweringen. The father was born in Stark county, Ohio, and the lineage on the agnatic side traces back to staunch Holland Dutch origin. Dr. Hiram Van Sweringen brought to the work of his profession the full equipment of a strong and noble nature and the most careful technical training, his ambition and his fealty to his pro- fession having never waned with the passing years and his study and research having at all times kept him abreast of the advances made in medical and surgical science. He came to Allen county, in 1859, as previously stated, and, with residence and professional headquarters in Fort Wayne, labored with all of zeal and kindliness in the work of his humane vocation for practically fifty years, earnest and self-abne- gating in his ministrations to those in affliction and distress, so that his name and memory are revered in the city and county that so long
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represented his home and in which his death occurred in 1911. IIc served as health officer of Fort Wayne and for a long period was a member of the United States board of pension examining surgeons for Allen county. He was identified with leading professional organizations, in- cluding the American Medical Association and the Indiana State Med- ical Society, and was one of the most honored and influential members of the Allen County Medical Society. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party and he was long affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. Mrs. Edna M. (Hanna) Van Sweringen is still a resident of Fort Wayne. Of the children the eldest is Dr. Budd Van Sweringen, of Fort Wayne, who is individually mentioned on other pages of this publication; Frank is now a resident of Chicago, Illinois; Alice is the wife of Charles Fellowes, of Chicago; George likewise resides in the great western metropolis; Stella is the wife of William R. Hillary, of Toledo, Ohio; Dr. Garrette, of this review, was the next in order of birth; Howard resides in Chicago; and Newton and Harry died in in- fancy. Dr. Garrette Van Sweringen is indebted to the public schools of Fort Wayne for his preliminary educational discipline, which was supplemented by well-directed higher academic course in the University of Indiana. In preparation for his chosen profession he entered the historic old Jefferson Medical College, in the city of Philadelphia, and in this great institution was graduated as a member of the class of 1903. Immediately after thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he returned to his native city, where he has since been engaged in suc- cessful general practice, not depending upon paternal prestige but achieving success by virtue of his own ability and close application, the while his personal popularity has emphasized the representative charac- ter of his clientele. The Doctor is a Republican in politics, but has never appeared as a candidate for any public office save that of coroner, for which position he was nominated in 1906, his defeat being compassed by reason of the political exigencies involved in the superior strength of the Democratic party in the county. Doctor Van Sweringen is iden- tified actively with the Allen County Medical Society and the Indiana State Medical Society, is affiliated with both the York and Scottish Rite organizations of the time-honored Masonic fraternity and is one of the popular and appreciative members of Fort Wayne Lodge of the Benev- olent & Protective Order of Elks. In 1910 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Crete Zink, daughter of Gustave and Mary E. Zink, well-known citizens of Vincennes, Indiana. No children have been born of this union.
John L. Verweire has been identified with the profession of music all his life, and since coming to Fort Wayne has been connected with prac- tically every well-known musical organization of the city. He is a Belgian, born in Ghent on November 3, 1869, son of John Bernard and Philomena (Peelman) Verweire, both of Belgian birth and parentage. The father was a merchant in his native land and came to America in 1885, settling in South Bend, where he died. The mother survives and has her home in that city today. Their children were Leopold, of Los Angeles, California; Charles Louis, of Fort Wayne; John L., of this review; Oscar, of Matanzas, Cuba, and three others who are dead. John Verweire had excellent educational advantages, as did also his brothers, having access to the best educational institutions provided by a land noted for her universities. He was graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music at Ghent and came to South Bend as a member
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