USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > Valley of the upper Maumee River, with historical account of Allen County and the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Volume II > Part 13
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lodge, No. 70, chapter No. 19, council No. 4, commandery No. 4, K. T., and consistory S. R. He and family are members of the Episcopal church.
James C. Hewes, foreman of the boiler shops of the Pittsburgh railroad company, was born in Delaware county, Penn., January 26, 1822, the son of Samuel and Margaret (McCullogh) Hewes, both natives of Pennsylvania. The father died about 1860, and the mother four years later. James C. Hewes removed with his parents to Phila- delphia when he was about fifteen years old, and after receiving a good education he was taught the trade of boiler-making in that city. Sub- sequently he removed to Reading, and there remained eleven years. In 1855 he entered the employment of the Pennsylvania company at Al- toona, as assistant foreman and was sent to Pittsburgh in 1861 to take charge of the boiler shops of the company there. Coming to Fort Wayne in September, 1864, he took charge of the boiler shops of the company here, a position he has since held, creditably filling a place of much importance. His engagement with the Pennsylvania company has existed now for thirty-five years. Mr. Hewes married at Reading in 1848, to Julia John, a native of that city, born in 1826. To their union three children have been born. A son is deceased and there survive, Ella, wife of William Cherry, of this city; Jennie, wife of John Piper, of Altoona. Mr. Hewes is a member of the Presbyterian church, is a republican, and is a member of Summit City lodge, F. & A. M., and for forty years has been a member of the I. O. O. F., now of Montgomery lodge, No. 59, Reading.
G. H. Judy, foreman of the blacksmith shop of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad company, was born at Point of Rocks, Frederick county, Md., February 11, 1847. He is the son of Thomas L. and Susan (Garrott) Judy, both natives of Maryland. The father, who was a blacksmith by trade, having been retired from service, came to Fort Wayne in June, 1888, and died here in the following January, at the age of seventy years. His widow survives at the age of sixty years. Their son, G. H., was reared at Cumberland City, Md., and in 1865 entered the employment of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad com- pany at that place. Two years he was engaged with the Cumberland & Pennsylvania company at Mount Savage, Md., and remained there until 1870, when he returned to the B. & O., and was foreman of the blacksmith shops of that company, at the rolling mill department, until 1877, when he again entered the employment of the Pennsylvania com- pany at Altoona, Penn., working until 1880 as forger. In 1880 he removed to Huntingdon, Penn., and took charge of the blacksmith shops of the Huntingdon car and car-wheel works until 1883, when he came to Fort Wayne. He was at first engaged in the Pittsburgh shops here as forger, and received his appointment as foreman in September, 1884. This he has since held to the entire satisfaction of the company and is popular with all. He is a member of the Kekionga council, No. 93, National Union, is a republican in politics, and he and wife are members of the
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United Brethren church. He was married in 1868 to Emma Myers, of Cumberland City, Md., who died in 1880, at Altoona, Penn., at the age of twenty-nine years, leaving two sons, David L. and L. W., who are now in the Pittsburgh railroad shops, one in the blacksmith and one in the car department.
Thomas J. Rodabaugh, foreman of the paint shop of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad company, is one of the veteran railroad men of the city, having been first connected with the work of the rail- road with which he is now employed, in 1850, grading the road bed in Ohio. After the track was laid he was engaged in repair work on the section between Louisville and Canton, Ohio, until the spring of 1855. Mr. Rodabaugh was born in Summit county, Ohio, October 9, 1835. He is the son of Adam Rodabaugh, born near Harrisburg, Penn., who was a miller by trade and in early life removed to Lorain county, Ohio, and thence to Summit county, and finally to Stark county, where he died in 1887 at the age of eighty years and over. His wife, Mary Heath, was born in New Hampshire, and died in 1843, at the age of thirty-five years. Their son, Thomas J., was reared on a farm to his twelfth year and was then in a store with his father until he began work at railroad- ing. On June 5, 1855, he came to Fort Wayne in a stock car, and then went to New Haven and engaged in tracklaying on the Wabash railroad between that place and Defiance. In the following August he returned to Fort Wayne and was engaged with J. J. Kammer in learning the painter's trade. Eight months later he found employment at his trade in the Wabash shops, where he remained until June 20, 1860, when he entered the employment in the same capacity of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago company, with which corporation he has since remained. March II, 1868, he was made foreman of the paint shops, a position he has held for over twenty years. Mr. Rodabaugh was a volunteer fire- man in Fort Wayne for sixteen years and eight months, and was in active duty during all that time. He was foreman of Vigilant company, No. 2, for eight years, first assistant of Mechanic company, the first company, for three years, and was acting chief engineer for a short time. In politics he was a democrat and voted for James Buchanan first, but in 1860 became a republican. He became an Odd Fellow in 1858, and has since been a member of Fort Wayne lodge, No. 14, and has since 1864 been a member of Wayne lodge, No. 25, F. & A. M. Of both of these fraternities he has acted as deputy to the grand lodges of the state. He was married in 1857 to Elizabeth J. Snyder, of Fort Wayne, who was born at Canal Dover, Ohio, in 1841. They are members of the Congregational church.
In 1879 Alonzo L. Woodworth came to Fort Wayne and took a po- sition as tool dresser in the blacksmith department of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad shops, and in the fall of 1884 he was promoted assistant foreman of the department. Mr. Woodworth was born near Boston, Mass., July 16, 1847, the son of John Woodworth and wife, whose maiden name was Stearns. They came to Indiana in 1852
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and settled near Kendallville, where the mother died in 1861. The father came to this city in 1879, and is now living, in his eighty-first year, with his son Alonzo. The latter had hardly reached his fourteenth birthday when he enlisted (1861) in Company C, Forty-fourth regiment Indiana volunteers, as a private. He served bravely throughout the war, being wounded at Chickamauga in the lower jaw, a hurt which disabled him for nine month. He was honorably discharged at Chatta- . nooga in September, 1865, and then came to Fort Wayne and learned the blacksmith's trade at the shops of Murray & Bennigan, remaining there three years. For four years he was employed at Bass's foundry, and then went to Logansport, where he attended Hall's commercial col- lege. After five years at Logansport and one at Terre Haute, he spent a year in travel through the west, before engaging with the railroad company as above stated. Mr. Woodworth is a member of Summit City lodge, No. 170, F. & A. M .; of Kekionga lodge, No. 93, National Union; he is a Baptist, and in politics, republican. Mr. Woodworth was married to Annie Holmes, of Maples, Ind., who died in 1872 at the age of twenty-four, leaving one son. In 1875 he was married to Rosa Bennett of this city. Mr. Woodworth is the father of these children: John, born in 1872; Margery, 1877; Frank, 1886; Newton, 1888.
An esteemed and worthy citizen of Fort Wayne, Louis Buckwalter, is a native of the city of Philadelphia, born October 18, 1831. He is the son of Jacob and Mary (Thomas ) Buckwalter, the former of whom was born near Phœnixville, Penn., where his ancestors settled on emi- grating to this country from Switzerland, in 1749. At sixteen Louis began the trade of a machinist and served an apprenticeship of five years in the Baldwin locomotive works of Philadelphia, where he re- mained until 1860. In that year he came to Fort Wayne, and he has ever since been employed as a machinist in the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railway shops. At no time during this long period has he been off duty more than a month at a time. For several years past he has been an assistant foreman. Mr. Buckwalter was married February 21, 1866, to Mary E. Houenstein, a native of Fort Wayne, and they have had four children : Mary E., Charles H., Clara H. and Mathilde A., of whom the second died in infancy. In politics Mr. Buckwalter has been a republican since 1856. He is a skillful mechanic, and a first class citizen.
One of the skillful machinists who find occupation in the shops of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad company, is John R. Bitner, who first engaged in that employment in March, 1869. He is the son of Andrew J. Bitner, who was born in Center county, Penn., December 18, 1816, and at the age of ten was taken by his widowed mother to Holmes county, Ohio. June 8, 1846, Andrew Bitner was married to Eliza Nabe, who was born in Franklin county, Penn., July 8, 1827, and had removed to Holmes county with her grandparents in 1836. At Gallion, Ohio, November 23, 1850, John R. Bitner was born to these parents. Three years later the family removed to Roanoke, Ind., where
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they resided until the fall of 1863, when they returned to Holmes county. Six months later they made their home on the Bluffton road, twelve miles south of Fort Wayne. In 1865 the family came to this city, where the father died November 7, 1887. Mr. Bitner has been one of the trusted men in the Pittsburgh shops ever since engaging there twenty years ago. He was married November 14, 1877, to Emma Helfrich, a native of Crestline, Ohio, and they have five children: Lula M., Andrew C., Charlotte F., Charles L. and Irving E. Mr. Bitner is a member of Wayne lodge, F. & A. M.
Andrew Heimroth, a well-known citizen of Fort Wayne, engaged in the tool room of the Pennsylvania shops, was born in Prussia, January 16, 1819. Coming to America in 1847, he reached New York at four o'clock p. m., August IS. Having learned thoroughly the trade of a machinist in the old country he soon found employment at the West Point foundry, at Cold Springs, N. Y., beginning on the 26th of the same month. In June, 1848, he lost his right eye through an acci- dent in the shops in which he was engaged. In 1852, he went to New York city, and was there engaged until 1855, when he entered the shops of the Camden & Amboy railroad at Bordentown, N. J. After an engagement there of several years he started to Fort Wayne, and on March 9, 1865, took a position in the Pennsylvania shops. For twenty years he was a faithful and valued assistant in the machine shop, and after the close of that period in 1885, he went into the tool shop. Mr. Heimroth is in politics a republican, and he is a member of the Summit City lodge, No. 170, F. & A. M. He was married October 20, 1848, to Catherine Shelton, who was born in Oxfordshire England, November 24, 1830. To them three children were born, of whom two survive; Matilda, now Mrs. Joseph Ellsner, of Chicago; and Sarah, now Mrs. William Hattersley, of Fort Wayne.
A representative of one of the pioneer families of Fort Wayne, Alex- ander M. Tower, an esteemed citizen, for several years connected with the machine shops of the western division of the P., Ft. W. & C. rail- road, was born in Fort Wayne, January 6, 1855. His father, Benjamin H. Tower, a native of Michigan, who came to Fort Wayne during the thirties, resided here until his death in 1872. He was a lumber and furniture manufacturer, and was a prominent citizen. During the days of the old Wabash & Erie canal he was connected with that enterprise, and for some time was paymaster. He was a member of the city coun- cil for a considerable period. He married Kate Paul, who died when her son, Alexander, was but three years of age. The latter was reared in Fort Wayne and attended the public schools, receiving a first-class education. He entered the machine shops above named in June, 1872, as an apprentice, and serving out his apprenticeship, he continued as a foreman. In 1884 he went to Scott, Ohio, where for two years he was engaged in the manufacture of patent barrel hoops, but in 1886 he returned to the shops. He is a member of the Third Presbyterian church. Mr. Tower was married September 15, 1880, to Anna A.
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Kinnaird, who was born in New York city, June 6, 1855, the daughter of Robert Kinnaird. Mrs. Tower died May 13, 1889, leaving two daughters, Mary W. and A. Louise.
During the past seventeen years, Daniel Campbell, a well-known railroad man of this city, has acted as foreman of the blacksmith de- partment of the Wabash railroad shops. He began working at his trade in Buffalo, and in 1859 came to Fort Wayne, and then entered the employment of the Wabash company, in the department of which he has since served so long and efficient as foreman. He is a skillful work- man and a good citizen, and his acquirements in life include those prime factors of happiness, an attractive family and a pleasant and comfortable home. Mr. Campbell was born in Edinburg, Scotland, December 6, 1835, son of Daniel and Ellen (Clapin) Campbell, both natives of Scot- land, who spent their lives in that country. He came to the United States in 1853, and at first spent seven years at Buffalo, N. Y. He was married in 1862, to Jeanette Muirhead, and they have three chil- dren, Daniel A., Nellie and Jennie. Mr. Campbell is a prominent re- publican, and is a member of Fort Wayne lodge, No. 14, I. O. O. F.
The foreman of the boiler shops of the Wabash railroad company, Ernst Rehling, has been a resident of Fort Wayne for forty-one years, and has gained during that extended period the good-will and esteem of the community, and a high standing among the leading artisans of the city. Mr. Rehling is a native of Prussia, born March 24, 1841, the son of Frederick and Dora (Tegtmeier) Rehling. The parents emigrated to this country and came to Fort Wayne by the Wabash & Erie canal in 1848. Here the father, who was born in 1792, died in 1861, and the mather passed away in 1872, at the age of seventy years. They had eight children, of whom seven are living, Ernst being the youngest. Mr. Rehling, after receiving his education in the Lutheran schools, began work at the trade of boiler making, in 1857, which has been his life occupation. He served his time with Bass, Jones & Co., and sub- sequently was engaged by the Pennsylvania railroad company and remained with them until 1871. In 1872, he entered the employment of the Wabash railroad company, and his thorough knowledge of his craft, and trustworthiness as a man, led to his promotion in 1882, to the important position he now holds. He was married in April, 1864, to Sophia Starke, a native of Prussia, born January 3, 1842, who came to
this city in 1854. They have four children: Fred. H. E., born December, 1864; Lizzie, born 1867; Ernst C. E., born 1870; and Charles, born 1873. Mr. Rehling and family are members of the German Lutheran church. He is in politics a republican, having cast his first presidential vote for U. S. Grant.
The foremanship of the Wabash railroad paint shop is ably filled by H. F. Banta, who has been a resident of this city since 1853. During his first two years here, he was engaged in the furniture business. In 1858, he entered the employment of the Wabash company, and for twenty- five years has occupied his present position. He is a skillful and com-
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petent man and his services are highly valued by the company. Mr. Banta was born in Hanover, Germany, August 12, 1836, the son of Henry and Anna (Oclgeschleger) Banta, both natives of Hanover, where they passed their lives. Mr. Banta, the youngest of their children, was educated in his native land, and there learned the business of a gar- dener, a more important occupation there than here. He was married in 1863, to Catherine Schmidt, who was born in Germany in 1838, and came to this country in early childhood. Mr. Banta and wife are members of the Lutheran church, and he is in politics a republican, having first voted, in a presidential contest, for Abraham Lincoln.
One of the responsible men connected with the Wabash railway company is William J. Bensman, a valued citizen of Fort Wayne, who follows the trade of boiler maker. He was born Hanover, Germany, July 24, 1840. His parents, Rudolph and Elizabeth Bensman, were born in Germany, the father in IS07, the mother in 1805, and came to Fort Wayne in 1845, where the father died in 1886, and where the mother is now living. Of their three surviving children the eldest is William J., who being only five years old on his arrival here, received his education in the German Lutheran schools of this city. At eighteen years of age he began the learning of his trade, and since 1873 he has been in the employment of the Wabash railway. He is one of the best qualified in his occupation, and has prospered, having a handsome home, which he built in 1867. On December 5 of the following year he took to his home as wife, Frederica Boseker, who was born in Saxony, June 1, 1844, and they now have two children: Mary, born in 1869, and Della, born in 1883. They are faithful members of the Lutheran church.
Olds Wagon Works .- The famous Olds wagon works were estab- lished in 1881 by Henry G. Olds, who was succeeded in 1882 by the present corporation. The works were built by the Hamilton estate, and the buildings are supplied with machinery, operated by a 150 horse power engine. The trade extends to every state and territory in the union. Farm wagons, freight wagons, lumber and cotton wagons are all manufactured, and every piece of material used in their construction is of the best quality. H. G. Olds, the president, is also interested in N. G. Olds & Sons' wheel works. A. H. Hamilton is vice-president, William Johnston, jr., secretary, Charles McCulloch, treasurer.
William Johnston, jr., a popular and capable business man, occupying the position of secretary of the Olds wagon works, was born in New York city, October 10, 1845, to William and Sarah (Pollock) Johnston. The parents were born in Ireland, the father in 1798, and the mother in ISOI, and came to this country in 1828. The father died at Foster's Meadow, Long Island, in 1876, and his widow eight years later. Will- iam is the youngest of seven children, three of whom are now living. He obtained a common school education in New York, and in 1862 came to Fort Wayne, reaching here March 21. He entered the employ- ment of McDougal & Co., afterward Root & Co., as book-keeper, and
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held that position for six years, after which he was for ten years in the employment of Coombs & Co. He became connected with the Olds wagon works in 1881, and has acted as secretary since the incorporation in 1882. Mr. Johnston was married January 21, 1878, to Ada B. Fuller, a native of Michigan, daughter of John and Lois Fuller, and they have one child, Grace L. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston are members of the First Presbyterian church; he is a prominent republican; a Mason of the. thirty-second degree, and Knight Templar.
Peter Andersen, a skillful mechanic, occupying the responsible posi- tion of foreman at the Olds Wagon works, began learning the trade of wagon maker in his native land, Denmark, at the age of fourteen, and in 1870 came to the United States, settling at Racine, Wis., where he lived twelve years, carrying on his business and also doing general car- pentry and contracting. He came to Fort Wayne in 1881, and has ever since been connected with the Olds wagon works. He is a practical mechanic and skilled workman. Mr. Andersen was born in Denmark, June 10, 1845, of John and Mary (Henrickson) Andersen, who were born in that country, the father in 1796, the mother in ISII; and died there, the father in 1855, and the mother in 1885. In 1874 Mr. Ander- sen married Matine Rasmussen, a native of Denmark, born January 17, 1849, who came to the United States in 1874, and both are members of the Lutheran church. They have four children: Matilda C., Thorwald A., Olga R. and Herman A. Mr. Andersen is a republican in politics.
Kerr Murray Manufacturing Co .- Hugh Bennigan, who came to Fort Wayne in 1859, in that year with Jones & Mclaughlin, established the Fort Wayne machine works. In 1862, he and Kerr Murray built the foundry near the south depot, which was the beginning of the Kerr Murray works. Kerr Murray became the sole owner in 1868, and in 18SI the concern was incorporated, with a paid up stock of $100,000, and in the same year was built the present brick shops. In 1868 the company commenced to manufacture gas works machinery and holders, to which has been added grain elevator machinery and general foundry and machine work. Their foundry is a one-story building with a cupola, its area is IIOXI15 feet, and the average melting is thirty tons per day; the machine shop is a three-story building, 60x150 feet, and its machines are run by a 100 horse-power engine; the wrought iron and smith shop is a two-story building, 75x175 feet, having seven forges and one steam hammer, pattern houses, yards, etc., to accommodate their stock, and a railroad track running through their works to facilitate their receiving and shipping departments. Employment is given to about 300 men, and the trade extends to all parts of the United States and Canada. Gas works have been erected by this company all over the continent, a few cities in the list being Pittsburgh, Mobile, El Paso, Dallas, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Davenport, Minneapolis, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indian- apolis, Cleveland, and London, Canada.
Alfred D. Cressler, president and general manager of the Kerr Mur- ray manufacturing company, was born at Lucas, Richland county, Ohio,
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July 7, 1852. His parents, George H. and Nancy (Miller) Cressler, were natives of Pennsylvania, the father born in Franklin county in 1811, and the mother in Cumberland county in 1813. The father was a rail- road contractor and took part in the construction of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad. He survived his wife, who died in 1868, until August, 1875. Alfred D. Cressler spent his early life upon a farm, ,and from 1867 till 1869 worked at carriage making. His uncle, D. M. Miller, of the Aveline House, being a prominent citizen of Fort Wayne, Mr. Cressler came here in April, 1870, and found employment as a cash boy for Foster Brothers. In a few months he had risen from that posi- tion to have charge of the dress goods department, and he then entered Eastman's business college at Poughkeepsie, where he spent four months. Returning to the employment of Foster Brothers, he was stationed at Grand Rapids until October, 1874. He was next engaged one year in the dry goods business at Wooster, Ohio, and then returned to Fort Wayne, where he took the position of time clerk for the Kerr Murray manufacturing company. In 1877-8 he traveled for the company and acted as bookkeeper in 1879. On the death of Mr. Murray, May 6, 1880, Mr. Cressler took charge of the business for the heirs, and con- ducted it during the remainder of the year. In 1881 he organized and incorporated the present company for the manufacture of gas works machinery, and was elected to his present position. He is one of the most prominent and energetic of the young manufacturers of the city. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having attained the thirty- second degree and the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Cressler was married Octo- ber 13, 1874, to Eliza E. Murray, daughter of Kerr Murray.
Since September, 1888, G. Adolph Schust has held the position of secretary of the Kerr Murray manufacturing company. He was born in this city November 1, 1862, the son of J. M. and E. M. ( Hoffman) Schust, both natives of Germany, who emigrated to this city in 1849. The family removed to Wheeling, W. Va., in 1864, but returned to this city in 1874, where the parents are still living. The father is now employed in the pattern making department of the Wabash railroad shops. Their son, the subject of this sketch, attended school at Wheel- ing and Fort Wayne, and in 1877 entered the law office of Jenison & Alden. A year later he became a student at Addison seminary, near Chicago, and remained there until 1882. He then returned to this city and took a commercial course in the business college, afterward taking a position as bill clerk and assistant ticket agent in the Wabash railroad freight office. In 1883 he entered the employment of the Kerr Murray manufacturing company as shipping clerk, and has since been promin- ·ently connected with that company. He is a member of the Lutheran ·church.
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