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 20
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61
165
BUSINESS INTERESTS.
of the same. He held this position until June, 1887, when he quit rail- roading and took the position of bookkeeper with the house of Joseph Hughes & Co. During the absence of Mr. Hughes in Europe, from July, 1888, to July, 1889, he had the management of the business. Mr. Orr has always been a democrat, and has taken an active interest in the party affairs. He has been a Mason since 1854, and is a member of Summit City lodge. He is a member of the First Presbyterian church. Mr. Orr was married December 27, 1853, at Fairview, Ohio, to Ellen, daughter of Joseph Carlisle. To their union five children have been born: Joseph H., who holds a position in the First National bank of Fort Wayne; Charles W., assistant cashier in the Hamilton National Bank; Flora E., wife of Charles S. Bash, grain and commission man; Kate C., a teacher in the city schools, and James A., a stenographer for Bash & Co.
Lewis O. Hull, one of the leading business men of Fort Wayne, came to this city in 1865 at the close of the war, and in 1870 he engaged in house and sign painting. Nine years later he undertook his present enterprise, dealing in wall paper, paints and decorative materials, artists' materials, etc. He also carries on the business of painting and deco- rating, and does a large business in all departments, standing in the front rank in Indiana. He was born in Lucas, Richland county, Ohio, August 7, 1849, son of Wesley and Elizabeth (Deems) Hull, the first of whom was born in Ohio in 1817, the latter in the same state in 1826. In 1863 the parents came to Fort Wayne, and here the father died in ISSS, but the mother survives. Mr. Hull enjoys the distinction of having been one of the youngest soldiers in the war of the rebellion, having enlisted as a drummer boy August 10, 1862, at the age of thirteen years and three days. He was a member of Company B, One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio regiment, and saw hard service, participating in the bat- tles at Vicksburg, Arkansas Post, Jackson, Miss., Mobile, run the block- ade on the Mississippi at Vicksburg, was with the army of the Gulf, was on the Red river campaign, and was honorably discharged Novem- ber 5, 1865. Mr. Hull is prominent as a republican, and he is a mem- ber of the Masonic order. He was married October 25, 1875, to Viola C. Markley, of this city, and they have three children: Grace, Clara and Mabel.
On the west bank of the St. Joseph river, a mile and a half northeast of the court-house and a short distance beyond the limits of the city, Charles L. Centlivre, a native of one of the Rhine provinces, established a brewery nearly twenty-five years ago. There were at that time seven other concerns of the kind in Fort Wayne, one of considerable extent being owned by Franz J. Beck. The new enterprise thrived remarkably, and now many thousands of dollars that went to other cities for this beverage, is spent at home, to the great profit of the city. The brewery was established on a strip of ground between the feeder canal and the river, the difference in the levels of which is twenty feet, and thus a constant supply of water was obtained. The cellars were sup-
-
166
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
plied with a patent cooling apparatus which constantly maintained a very low temperature throughout the extensive area in which the beer is stored. At first a white frame building was the principal structure and this gave way to' a handsome brick building, which was destroyed by fire, July 16, 1889.
Among the improvements of recent years, are the artesian well, which furnishes a constant supply of the purest water. Two new cel- lars of immense size were added in 1887, greatly increasing the storage capacity, and now the original plat of ground is nearly all excavated, and devoted to cellar room. The new building which takes the place of the one destroyed by fire, exceeds the old one in extent and is per- fectly adapted to the requirements of the business.
The immense proportions to which this business has grown may be inferred from the fact that the real estate, buildings, machinery, cellars, etc., are valued at over $300,000. The output in 1887 was 20,000 bar- rels. Associated with C. L. Centlivre in the management of this great establishment are his sons, Louis A., general manager, Charles F., super- intendent of the works, and John B. Reuss, general agent. Mr. Cent- livre has been very enterprising in improving the approaches to his establishment, and invested $9,000 in a street car line, which connects with the Citizens' railway, and he was a prominent promoter of the macadamizing of Spy Run avenue. The boat house, and the improve- ment of the delightful sylvan surroundings of that vicinity, are due to the enterprise of this house.
The Berghoff brewery, which was founded in 1887 by the Herman Berghoff brewing company, is one of the prominent establishments of the kind in the west, and has a wide-spread reputation for the purity and wholesomeness of its product. The company makes a specialty of purely malt and hop products, being the only house in the west of that kind, and it has an extensive trade throughout the northwest and west- ern states. The special export brands, " Salvator" and " Dortmunder," the latter named after the birthplace of the Berghoffs, are well known. The capacity of the establishment is about 100,000 barrels a year. The building of this company is conspicous in the eastern part of the city, near the eastern end of Washington street, and is six stories in height, with a ground plan of 100x160 feet. It is equipped throughout with all the new and improved machinery for this industry. This building was erected in 1888 to replace the first one destroyed by fire. The company, of which Herman Berghoff is president and Henry C. Berghoff secre- tary and treasurer, was incorporated in 1887, with a paid up capital stock of $100,000. The estimated value of the plant is $250,000. Her- man Berghoff, president of the company, a man of remarkable business and executive ability, is a native of Germany. He came to Fort Wayne in June, 1870, and has been engaged in mercantile business ever since. Henry C. Berghoff came to this city in 1872, and has since been engaged in business, and was for eight years treasurer of the city of Fort Wayne, an office he filled to the general satisfaction.
167
BUSINESS INTERESTS.
Albert J. Dittoe, the well-known proprietor of the Boston tea store at Fort Wayne, was born in Perry county, Ohio, August 23, 1845. His parents were Jacob A. and Catherine (Cluny) Dittoe, the former of whom was born in Perry county, the latter near Wheeling, W. Va. Mr. Dittoe had his home upon the farm of his parents until he was twenty-three years of age, receiving his education in the common schools, and in St. Joseph's college in his native county, which he at- tended two years, after having passed the common branches at the early age of fourteen. At eighteen years of age he accepted a position as teacher :in St. Thomas's Catholic school at 'Zanesville, Ohio, for one term, and during the winter which followed he taught in Perry county. In the spring of 1869 he came to Fort Wayne, where he has since been an active and prominent citizen. For two years he held deputyships in the offices of the county recorder and the' clerk of the circuit court, and was for four years employed as bookkeeper and cashier of the whole- sale hardware firm of A. D. Brandriff & Co. In the season of 1873-4 he was engaged in the ice business with his father-in-law, the late Peter Moran. Afterward becoming a clerk in a grocery store, he held that position until July, 1882, when he purchased the store, which he has since conducted with marked success. It is recognized as one of the leading establishments of the kind in the city and is popularly known as the Boston tea store. Mr. Dittoe was married January 25, 1870, to Margaret G. Moran, and they have had nine children: Mamie C., Charles W., Loretta A., Vincent A., Anna G., Peter A., Margaret May, Alice G. and Burnadette, all of whom are living save Anna G., who died in childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Dittoe are members of the Catholic church.
Mason Long, a citizen of Fort Wayne whose career is widely known, has thus epitomized his life in his famous volume entitled " The Converted Gambler, and Save the Girls": "My story is that of a bleak and cheer- less childhood, a youth of ignorance and hardship, a manhood of intem- perance and vice." This, however, he wrote from a standpoint he had attained of prominence among those who labor for the good of their fellow men. He was born in Luray, Licking county, Ohio, September IO, 1842, and six years afterward his father died. He went with his mother, Margaret Long, a noble woman, to the home of her father, in Ashland county. There, when Mason was ten years old, his mother died, leav- ing him to the mercy of the world. He was bound out to a wealthy farmer of Medina county, and his life for seven years afterward was one of slavery, doomed to cruelty, incessant toil, and deprived of education. This service finished he went to Illinois, where he worked and went to school a short time. In the spring of 1862, he enlisted in the One Hun- dred and Twelfth Illinois regiment as a private. Throughout the war he served, performing brave and patriotic duty with his regiment, which participated in the memorable defense of Knoxville, the bloody battle of Franklin, and the defense Nashville, under Gen. Thomas. During the service, having had no early training as a guide to conduct he entered
-
I68
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
recklessly into the gaming which was resorted to in order to pass away tedious days in camp, and here the bent of his life, for many years to come, was formed. In August, 1865, he came to Fort Wayne and opened a grocery store, and abandoned cards, devoted himself to busi- ness, and for a while did well. But about a year later he accepted the invitation of a saloon-keeper to drink, and the invitation of a prominent citizen to play, and from that time his business was sacrificed. Fort Wayne was at that time a paradise for gamblers and confidence-men, and some of the largest games in the United States were maintained. In 1866 and 1867, the city was also the headquarters of as desperate a gang of pick-pockets as could be found in the country, thoroughly organ- ized under the leadership of one Edward Ryan. They exercised a potent influence in politics and carried things with a high hand. Finally, Ryan robbed an old man named Tucker at the saloon which was the headquarters, and the latter attempted to shoot him. The result was the burning of the saloon by a mob, and the end of the gang. Mason Long, thrown into such surroundings, became known as a gentlemanly gambler, elevated above his associates by business-like honesty, manli- ness, high-mindedness and remarkable generosity to the poor. He had been an occasional attendant at the church of Rev. J. R. Stone, but the influence of that good man did not seem to be felt. In 1877, during the great temperance revival, when the the rink was crowded nightly, and the good women of the city labored heroically for the reformation of the community, a struggle was made for the enlistment of Mr. Long in this movement, he having attended the meetings out of curiosity, and finally he yielded and signed the pledge. The struggle that followed against his habits was a fearful one, but he conquered and soon became a famous speaker in the temperance cause. A great revival followed, the results of which for good are of incalculable extent. He was admitted to the Baptist church in 1878. Since then he has carried on the work of tem- perance agitation far and near, and has made many warm friends, and has done great good in many localities.
A. Mergentheim, proprietor of the most extensive retail millinery house in northern Indiana, was born in the province of Westphalia, Ger- many, June 18, 1847, and in 1862 began the millinery business in Bre- men, Germany. In 1865 he emigrated to the United States, and set- tling in Philadelphia, was there for three years a clerk in the wholesale notion house of Metz Brothers. In 1870 he came to Fort Wayne and embarked in the notion business in a small way. His custom rapidly increasing he located at his present place of business in 1883, and the establishment now employs twenty-seven people. Mr. Mergentheim is the fourth of seven living children of Joseph and Bertha (Gans) Mer- gentheim, natives of Germany, who both died in their native land, the father in 1864, at the age of sixty-two, and the mother in 1854, at forty- five years of age. He was married in 1875, to Josephine Hirsch, born in Newark, N. J., in 1856, and they have one son, Morton A. Mr.
169
BUSINESS INTERESTS.
Mergentheim has been very successful in business, which testifies to his sagacity and enterprise, and is a popular and worthy citizen.
Thornton J. Fleming, a prominent merchant of Fort Wayne, has been engaged in merchandise since his majority, when he entered the dry goods business in Jay county. In 1883, he went to Dakota and returned to Fort Wayne the next year, and purchased what was known as the " old Kiser stand," where he has since done a flourishing busi- ness in dry goods, notions, and all kinds of gentlemen's furnishing goods. His father, J. W. Fleming, who now resides in this city, is a native of Virginia, and married. Nancy Sunderland, who was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1819, and was killed by a railroad accident at Detroit, Mich., August 17, 1888. Thornton J. Fleming, the sixth of ten children, seven of whom are living, was born near Huntertown, December 30, 1849, and spent his youth upon the farm, receiving a common school education. He is a member of Sol D. Bayliss lodge, having become a Mason in 1885; in politics he is a democrat. The building occupied by Mr. Fleming is an historic one, the date of its erection being 1838 or 1839.
Aurora C. Keel, dealer in books, stationery, etc., at 139 Broadway, was born in Stark county, Ohio, July 19, 1835, son of Joseph and Eliza- beth (Chestnutwood) Keel. 'The parents, who were natives of Pennsyl- vania, removed to Ohio when young, and were married in Stark county, where they resided the rest of their lives. The father died August 8, 1877, at the age of seventy-two, and the mother died October 18, 1882, aged seventy-eight years. Aurora C. Keel was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools. At the age of seventeen years he entered the hardware store of James A. Saxton, at Canton, Ohio, and three years later took a position as traveling salesman for the wholesale grocery and drug house of Weimert & Steinbacher, of Akron, Ohio, with whom he remained until the breaking out of the rebellion, April 18, 1861; enlisted in Company G, Sixteenth regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, for three months' service, and went into quarters at Camp Jack- son, Columbus, whence the regiment was sent to West Virginia. It took part in the first battle of the war, at Phillipi, and was at Laurel Hill, when General Garnet tried to make his escape down Cheat river, and was engaged at Garrett Ford, where Garnet lost his life. The regiment then returned to Ohio and was mustered out after four months' service, receiving as payment $II in gold per month. September 7, 1861, he re-enlisted in the Nineteenth Ohio regiment and was elected second lieutenant of Company F. The regiment was assigned to duty in the army of the Cumberland. During the winter of 1861-2 they were in camp at Columbia, Ky., and after the battle of Mill Springs joined the army at Bowling Green. At the latter place Mr. Keel was taken with typhoid fever and was sent to Louisville. Recovering from his illness he joined his command at Corinth, having been promoted first lieutenant April 30, 1862, and participated in the siege of that place. They were next at Battle Creek, Tenn., and with the army dur- ing Buell's movement from Chattanooga to Louisville. He was at the
170
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
battle of Perryville, and afterward participated in the battle of Stone River. Just before the close of the last day of that battle he received a gunshot wound in the right arm which caused excission of the elbow joint, rendering that arm useless during life. He was placed in a field hospital, and later returned home on furlough. In the following Sep- tember he rejoined his command at Chattanooga, having been pro- moted captain on July 22, 1863. His disability unfitted him for field duty and he was recommended for the veteran reserve corps, and received his commission as second lieutenant of such from President Lincoln, March 8, 1864. He was on duty at Camp Rendezvous Dis- tribution, at Washington city, performing exacting and arduous work, until June, 1865, and received promotion from President Johnson to first lieutenant, and was sent to Concord, N. H., to assist in mustering out state troops. He resigned his position November 30, 1865, and returned to Ohio. In 1866 he removed to Ligonier, Ind., and engaged in the grocery and provision business. March 17, 1868, he came to Fort Wayne, and in company with H. V. Sweringen, M. D., established the Broadway drug store. The establishment was destroyed by fire in 1873, after which he was engaged in the preparation of an atlas of the state of Indiana. In 1876 he established the Broadway news depot and added thereto the present extensive stock. Mr. Keel is a member of the G. A. R. and the I. O. O. F. He was married in 1866 to Miss Mary G., daughter of Sarah J. Mckenzie, of Ligonier, Ind., and they have had five children, one now deceased.
J. G. Thieme, the senior merchant tailor of the city, in years of busi- ness career, was the senior member of the firm of Thieme & Bro., which was organized in 1850, and did business for many years at the corner of Columbia and Clinton streets, Since February, 1889, the firm has been known as J. G. Thieme & Son. They do an extensive merchant tailor- ing business and manufacture clothing on a large scale, employing forty to fifty hands. Mr. Thieme is a prominent citizen, and a member of the board of Concordia college, an institution which he helped to build and organize. He is a native of Saxony, born March, 20, 1821, son of Andrew Thieme, who was born in Germany in 1791, and died in his native land. J. G. began to learn the tailor's trade at eight years of age, and in 1846 came to the United States and settled at Fort Wayne in 1847, having spent the intervening time at New York. By his first wife, Mr. Thieme had one daughter, Engel, born in 1850. In 1851 he married Sophia Blecke, his present wife, who was born in Prussia in 1833, daughter of Christian Blecke, who was born in Germany in 1800, and settled at Fort Wayne in 1839. Mr. and Mrs. Thieme have the following children: Pauline, born 1853; Mary, born 1855; Traugott, now a minister at South Bend; Gottlieb, born 1860; Clara, born July 25, 1864, and Emma, born 1868. Mr. Thieme and wife are prominent members of the Lutheran church. Gottlieb C. Thieme, the junior mem- ber of the firm, was born at this city, February 20, 1860, graduated at Concordia college in 1880, and in the fall of that year went into busi-
17I
BUSINESS INTERESTS.
ness with his father, being admitted to the firm in 1889. He is one of the popular young men of the city, and is an earnest democrat.
The late Frederick J. Thieme was, during his active life, a leading spirit in some of the beneficial enterprises of the city of Fort Wayne. He was a good business man and prospered in his private affairs, but besides this, his public spirit led him to engage in projects for the gen- eral good. He was a prominent Lutheran, was one of the charter members of Immanuel's church, and for many years a trustee. He was also the first president of the Lutheran Mutual Insurance company. He was one of the founders of the City hospital, and its first president, a position which he held for three years. Mr. Thieme was born at Leipsic, Germany, February 7, 1823, and immigrated in 1854, settling at Fort Wayne the next year, when he engaged in the clothing trade and merchant tailoring with his brother, J. G. Thieme, as a partner. The firm was first located on Calhoun street, subsequently removed to the corner of Calhoun and Clinton streets, and there lost everything by fire in 1862, but rebuilt in 1863. The firm continued in business until the death of Frederick J. Thieme, December 16, 1887. His wife died on October 14th of the previous year. Her maiden name was Clara Weitzmann; she was born in Saxony, in May, 1832, and was married to Mr. Thieme, July 12, 1852. They left the following children: Lon- nie, born 1855; Theodore, born 1857; John A., born 1859; J. G., born 1863; Frederick J., born 1865; Pauline, born 1867; Hugh P., born 1870, and Matilda, born 1873. John A. and J. G. are leading merchant tailors of this city, at 12 West Berry street, under the firm name of Thieme Brothers. They are among the most promising and enterpris- ing young men of the city, and are active republicans.
Edward J. Golden, of the firm of Golden & Monahan, whose busi- ness career has been a brilliant and successful one, is a native of the city, having been born here January 17, 1854, son of Patrick and Mary (Barrett) Golden, natives of Ireland. The father was born in ISIO, and emigrated to this country when a young man. He was a contractor by occupation, and was engaged in the construction of the Wabash & Erie canal. The mother was born in 1815 and died at this city in 1880. In the same year the father passed away suddenly, dropping dead in the court-house. Of their six living children, Edward is the fifth. He was educated at the Brothers' school, and in 1877 began business in partner- ship with Dennis Monahan, dealing in hats, caps and men's furnishing goods, and manufacturing shirts. In 1886 they established a branch store at Defiance, Ohio, under the name of Golden, Monahan & Co., and in 1889 another branch at VanWert, Ohio, all doing a good busi- ness. The firm is the leading one in its line in this part of the west. Mr. Golden was married in November, 1881, to Louisa Hutzell, a native of Fort Wayne, born 1861, and they have two children: Charles E. and Edward G. He is a member of the Catholic church, and is a democrat in politics.
Dennis Monahan, of the well-known firm of Golden & Monahan
I72
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
was born in Jefferson township, February 27, 1846. His father, John Monahan, a native of Ireland, born in 1811, married Catherine Driscoll, a daughter of the Emerald Isle, and they came to Allen county in 1834, after which he was engaged upon the Wabash & Erie canal. The father died in 1866 and the mother in 1885. They had six children, four now living, of these latter Dennis being the youngest but two. He worked upon the farm and attended the common schools until December, 1863, when he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Twenty- ninth Indiana regiment and served until the close of the war, participat- ing in the battles of Resaca, Kenesaw Mount, and the engagements about Atlanta and Kingston, N. C. Upon again taking up peaceful pursuits after this worthy military career, he engaged in the merchandise of men's furnishing goods in 1868, having an interest in the firm of Harper & Co., and in 1877, he formed his present partnership with Edward J. Golden. He is one of the prominent men of the city, is in politics a democrat, has served on the city council in 1886-7, and is a member of the Catholic church. He was married in September, 1872, to Elizabeth Golden, who was born in Fort Wayne in 1849, and they have eight children: John J., Franklin G., Grace B., Thaddeus B., Alfred E., Benadette C., Dennis L., and Edith J.
One of the oldest tailoring establishments of Fort Wayne is that of Joseph M. Clark & Co., of which firm a valued member is Perry N. DeHaven, one of the enterprising young business men of the city. Mr. DeHaven is a native of Wayne county, Ohio, born May 20, 1853. His father, Harrison DeHaven, married Nancy Stonehill, and they came many years ago to this city, where the mother died in 1872. Both par- ents were natives of Ohio. Of the three surviving children, Perry N. is the oldest. He received his education in the city schools, and in 1867 entered the employment of Joseph M. Clark, who had been doing busi- ness here since as early as 1857. February 7, 1889, Mr. DeHaven became a member of the firm. Their establishment at 32 East Berry street, is one of the finest of the kind in the city and eight to ten skilful workmen are constantly employed. Mr. DeHaven is a popular citizen, is a past chancellor of Fort Wayne lodge, No. 116, K. of P., and in politics is a democrat.
A worthy ex-official of Allen county, Charles Stellhorn, is a native of northern Prussia, and was born May 27, 1838. He remained upon the farm of his parents and attended the common schools until fifteen years old, when he learned the trade of boot and shoemaker. In 1856 he emigrated to America, landing in New York city on Novem- November 2nd. He came directly to Fort Wayne, where three of his uncles were living, and began work at his trade. In 1870 he engaged in business for himself at his present stand, at 146 Calhoun street, at first doing only custom work, but in 1886 he added a stock of books, station- ery, cigars, tobacco and notions. In 1886 he was elected coroner of Allen county on the democratic ticket, and served two years. Previous to that he served as clerk for the coroner two years. Mr. Stellhorn was
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.