Judge Coulter, who served with his Indiana command on the Mexican border; with rank of colonel, was born in Vincennes on the 10th of September, 1874, and is a son of Thomas F. and Ella (Harrison) Coulter, who were natives of Indiana. They were married in Vincennes and after residing in Saint Louis, Missouri, for twenty years, returned to Knox County, Indiana, where they resided the remainder of their lives. Thomas F. Coulter's father, John W. Coulter, was born in Pennsylvania, and was a son or Hugh Coulter, who came from the old Keystone State to Indiana in 1837 and established the family home in Daviess County. A maternal ancestor of Judge Coulter was Judge William Polk, who settled in Widner Township, Knox County, in 1808, and who became a man of marked prominence and influence, he having been a representative of the same family as was President James K. Polk. Judge William Polk was among the early incumbents of the office of justice of the peace in Knox County, later served as probate judge and associate judge. He was Indian agent at Fort Wayne, and was assigned the management in transferring the Pottawattomi Indians to their assigned reservation in Iowa, besides which he was a member of the first Indiana constitutional convention in 1816.
Judge Coulter is the youngest in a family of three children; Grace is the wife of John Setzer; and John M. is a city official in Saint Louis, Missouri.
After having been graduated in the Vincennes High School Judge Coulter entered the Indiana Law School, Indianapolis, and his reception of the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in 1898, was forthwith followed by his admission to the bar of his native state. Thereafter he was engaged in the active practice of his profession in Vincennes until 1905, and he then initiated services as judge of the City Court of Vincennes. From 1906 until 1916 he engaged in the practice of law at Vincennes. In 1918 he was elected judge of the Circuit Court, his service continuing on the bench until January 1, 1931. In the November election of 1930 Judge Coulter was a candidate on the Republican ticket for the office of judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana.
Just prior to the commencement exercises incidental to his being graduated in the law school at Indianapolis, as a member of the class of 1898, Judge Coulter volunteered for service in the Spanish-American war and was made captain of Company A, One Hundred Fifty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued in service until the close of conflict in Cuba, when he received his honorable discharge.
In connection with the troubles on the Mexican border Judge Coulter became colonel of the Second Indiana Infantry, with which he was in service on the border from July, 1916, until February, 1917. In March, 1917, he was again called to active service, at the instance of President Wilson, and in this volunteer service incidental to World war activities he continued from August, 1917, until January 30, 1918, when he received honorable discharge, with the rank of colonel. Since 1922 Judge Coulter has held the office of colonel in the Officers Reserve Corps. Judge Coulter was disbursing agent for the United States treasury department at Vincennes during the building of the new Government, or postoffice, building in this city. He is an influential member of the Knox County Bar Association and the Indiana State Bar Association. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which his affiliation is with the historic old Vincennes Lodge No.1, A. F. and A. M. He is not only a member of the Spanish-American War Veterans, but is also affiliated with the American Legion and is a member of the board of trustees of the Indiana World War Memorial. He has been influential in the councils of the Republican party in his native state.
In Vincennes on March 29, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Coulter to Miss Nellie Campbell, a daughter of Thomas and Lucinda (Matters) Campbell, her father having here been a leading architect and contractor and having served as a member of the City Council. Miss Ruth, elder of the two children of Judge and Mrs. Coulter, was graduated in DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, and is now a teacher in the Vincennes public schools. Mary E. is a member of the 1932 class of the Vincennes High School.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
GEORGE KUNZ. Few of the business men of Indiana who began their careers here during the '60s remain amidst earthly scenes. Of these few the greater number have long since given up active participation in business fields, passing over their interests to younger hands. A striking exception to this rule is found in George Kunz, who has been a resident of Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, for more than sixty-two years, and still remains in control of his large interests. Coming to this community as a poor and friendless German immigrant youth, he has worked his way steadily into prominence in the business world, and at this time is owner of the Peoples Coal Company and president of the Lawrenceburg Lumber Company, and in addition has numerous other large and important interests of various kinds.
Mr. Kunz was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1849, and there received a public school education. He was only eighteen years of age when he decided that there was a better future awaiting him in the United States, and accordingly made his way here in a sailing vessel and finally settled at Lawrenceburg, Indiana. After a short stay he went to Ripley county, Indiana, where he was variously employed for about one year, but returned to Lawrenceburg and entered the employ of the Ohio Coffin Company, with which concern he remained for nineteen years, with the exception of six months spent at Omaha, Nebraska, in 1872. When he left the employ of the Ohio Coffin Company, Mr. Kunz embarked in the bottling business, in partnership with his brother-in- law, William F. Ritzmann, and this enterprise prospered for ten years, when Mr. Kunz sold his interests to enter the coal business, in 1902. He bought the Lawrenceburg Coal Company, the name of which he changed to the Peoples Coal Company, and of this 'concern he has been president to the present, having built up its prosperity to large and extensive proportions. In 1902 Mr. Kunz also assisted in the organization of the Lawrenceburg Lumber Company, of which he is still president, and which is likewise one of the important business enterprises of Lawrenceburg and Dearborn County. For eighteen years he has been president of the Lawrenceburg Wharf Company, of which his son-in-law, E. G. Harry, is secretary, and he is likewise president of the Greendale Cemetery Association, Mr. Harry being likewise secretary of this. For the past ten years Mr. Kunz has been a member of the board of directors of the Peoples First National Bank, and was receiver of the James Meyer Buggy Company, and is vice president of the Perpetual Building & Loan Association. While he has been exceedingly busy with his personal affairs, Mr. Kunz has not been neglectful of the duties of citizenship, and was a member of the City Council for ten years and of the school board for six years. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to Lawrenceburg Lodge No.4, A. F. and A. M.; is a Knight Templar and Shriner; belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and since 1872 has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belongs to the Kiwanis Club and the Dearborn Country Club, and has been in the Government lighthouse service since 1914.
Mr. Kunz married Miss Elizabeth Ritzmann, of Lawrenceburg, and of their children eight survive: Kate, who married Charles Eberhart, assistant postmaster of Lawrenceburg; Miss Malinda, who is unmarried and resides with her father; Agnes, the wife of Anthony Maischaider, assistant to the general manager of the Big Four Railroad; Mamie, who married Andrew L. Fox, treasurer of the Peoples Coal Company, member of the Progressive Building Association and a member of the Dearborn Country Club; Miss Alma, who is unmarried and resides with her father; and Georgia, who married E. G. Harry, secretary and manager of the Peoples Coal Company, a director of the Peoples First National Bank, the Lawrenceburg Lumber Company and the Perpetual Building Association, president of the K. C. Building Company and connected with the Eberhart-Harry Company, and a member of the Dearborn Country Club and a number of other organizations.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
DR. A. W. MYERS, physician and surgeon, is a resident of Monroe City, and his professional work and service have been given to the county where he was born and reared and where he has spent practically all his life.Doctor Myers was born in Harrison Township, Knox County, in 1870, son of John F. and Lavina (Bonewits) Myers and grandson of David Myers. His grandfather was a native of North Carolina and settled in Knox County, Indiana, about 1830. Both the grandfather and father of Doctor Myers were substantial farmer citizens. Doctor Myers was the third in a family of seven children.
He attended public schools in Knox County, completing his literary education in the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute. He was graduated from the medical college of Indiana in 1902, and since that year has lived at Monroe City. He has been a hard working and conscientious physician, and has long enjoyed a reputation for assured skill. He was honored with election as president of the Knox County Medical Society in 1914 and is also a member of the Indiana State Medical Association. Doctor Myers is a member of Monroe City Lodge No. 548, A. F. and A. M., the Knights Templar Commandery at Vincennes, the Scottish Rite bodies and Hadi Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Evansville. He is a Democrat in politics.
He married Miss Annie Mallory, of Knox County. They have two children, Eulala and Byron M. Eulala received her finishing education in Lindenwood College at Saint Charles, Missouri, and the Indiana State Normal at Terre Haute, also attended the Columbia Teachers College in New York City and spent ten years in educational work. She is now the wife of Carl Gray, state senator from Pike and Gibson counties, Indiana. Byron M. Myers was educated in Knox County, and is an expert in aeroplane construction, now connected with the aeroplane building industry at Battle Creek, Michigan. He married Vena Wallace, of Knox County.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
D. PAUL ZIEGLER. Among the veteran newspaper men of Indiana, few have had a more varied or interesting career than D. Paul Ziegler, president of the Press Publishing Company and publisher of the Lawrenceburg Press, one of the oldest newspapers in this section of the country. Beginning life as a minister, Mr. Ziegler did not take up newspaper work until he had reached middle age, but since then has applied himself strictly and uninterruptedly to journalism, in which vocation he is now one of the best-known figures in the state.
Mr. Ziegler was born in 1867, on a farm in Gibson County, Indiana, and as a child was taken by his aunt to Kansas, where the youth acquired his early education in the rural schools of the prairies. Subsequently he pursued a course at Orleans College, and after his graduation therefrom entered the ministry, holding various pastorates and filling pulpits allover the Sunflower State, also doing evangelistic work in many states and in Canada. At the age of forty-two years he entered the newspaper business at Clay Center, Kansas, where he remained four years and then went to Formosa, in the same state, where for a like period he published a newspaper. Selling out, Mr. Ziegler lived a retired life for some time and then founded the State Line Democrat at Waldron, Kansas, and remained in that city for six years, when he went to Joplin, Missouri, and for four years conducted a modern and successful printing plant. At the end of that period, in 1919, he came to Lawrenceburg and purchased the Lawrenceburg Press, of which he has since been the publisher. This paper was founded in 1825 and about 1850 took its present name, now being in the 104th year of its press service. Mr, Ziegler has built up a large circulation and is issuing an interesting, well-printed, well-edited newspaper, containing live news matter from allover the world, local matter, timely editorials and features, and is being well supported by the merchants of Lawrenceburg and other places in the way of advertising. He is well known in journalistic circles and is a member of the American Craftsmen and other organizations. During the World war he was active in all of the drives and was a large subscriber of Liberty Bonds. While residing at Kackley, Kansas, he served in the capacity of postmaster, and at Lawrenceburg wields an influence in public affairs. Politically he is well and favorably known in Washington, D. C., where he has two sons in the employ of the Federal Government. He also has a son in the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. He is also editor of The Torch of Israel, is the author of several books upon the subject of Israel, and spends much of his time on the public platform, lecturing upon his favorite subject, "The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel."
Mr. Ziegler married Miss Ollie Morris, of Illinois, a daughter of L. M. Morris, a soldier of the Union army during the war between the states, and to this union there were born nine children. Assisting their father in the publication of the Lawrenceburg Press are his two sons, Elmer A. Ziegler and Lewelling A. Ziegler, both hustling and energetic young journalists of Dearborn County. They acquired a public school education in the various places in which the family resided, and learned the printer's trade in the newspaper office. Elmer A. married Gertrude Aplin, of Galesburg, Illinois, and to this union there have been born three children: Mariam, Phillip and Pauline. Lewelling A. married Mildred Justis, of Lawrenceburg, and they have one child, Clayton.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
CORNELIUS O'BRIEN. Since 1909 Cornelius O'Brien has been identified with the prominent concern of A. D. Cook, Inc., manufacturers of deep well pumps and tubular well supplies, at Lawrenceburg, and since 1921 has been president of this large enterprise. It has been his fortune and ability to carry on the work of its founder in such a way as to increase and develop its scope and resources and to place it in a position where it adds prestige to the manufacturing interests of his native city. Mr. O'Brien has also borne his share of the duties of citizenship and on a number of occasions has served capably and energetically in public office.
Mr. O'Brien was born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, February 12, 1883, and is a son of William H. and Harriet (Hunter) O'Brien. His grandfather, Cornelius O'Brien, for whom he was named, was born at Callan, Kilkenny County, Ireland, and was a young man when he immigrated to the United States in 1835 and located at what is now Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, Indiana. Almost immediately he became actively interested in public affairs, and was made a deputy clerk in the county treasurer's office, being subsequently elected county treasurer in 1847 and county clerk in 1850. In 1858 he was elected a member of the State Senate from Dearborn County, and in the discharge of his duties of that office showed himself capable, thorough and conscientious. On leaving that body he took charge of the auditor's office. In the meanwhile, in 1856, he had been chosen state delegate to the Democratic state convention and served his party and constituents well. For a long number of years he was engaged in business enterprises at Dover, Dearborn County, and no man was held in higher respect and esteem.
William H. O'Brien was born in Dearborn County, Indiana, and early became interested in financial affairs, in which he was engaged for more than four decades. Like his father he became interested in public matters, and for four terms served as mayor of Lawrenceburg, and for a long period was secretary of the Dearborn County Agricultural Society. During the World war he was active in the purchase and sale of Liberty Bonds and War Stamps and took an enthusiastic and constructive part in the work of the Red Cross and the Young Men's Christian Association. Two of his sons and two of his sons-in-law fought as soldiers during the World war. For six years he was secretary and for fourteen years chairman of the Democratic central committee, served as mayor of Lawrenceburg, and was a member of the Indiana State Legislature for two terms and at one time state auditor. He married Miss Harriet Hunter, daughter of William D. H. Hunter, who came from Virginia.. Of their children, Maj. R. E. O'Brien, U. S. Army, saw active service in France during the World war; and William H. O'Brien, Jr., a commander in the U. S. Navy, also saw active service in that great struggle.
Cornelius O'Brien attended the public schools of Lawrenceburg, following which he pursued a course at Moore Hill, and then enrolled as a student at Purdue University. After leaving school he entered upon his career as an employe of the Peoples National Bank of Lawrenceburg, of which he became assistant cashier and later cashier, and in 1909 began. his connection with A. D. Cook, Inc., in the capacity of assistant to A. D. Cook, at whose death he became president of the concern, a position which he has held ably since 1921. This concern, which employs about 145 people in its offices and plant, manufactures deep well pumps and tubular well supplies, and its plant covers an area of five acres. It is modern in every respect and Mr. O'Brien has shown himself a capable executive, having the full cooperation of his officials and employes. He is a member of the board of directors of the Peoples Bank of Lawrenceburg and has numerous other important connections of a business and financial character. As a member of the Kiwanis Club he has joined other public-spirited citizens in the promulgation and furtherance of good civic movements, and in addition was a member of the State Board of Agriculture for six years and of the Indianapolis World War Memorial Commission for four years. Fraternally he is a past master of Lawrenceburg Lodge No. 4, A. F. and A. M., and a past chancellor of Dearborn Lodge No. 49, K. of P.
Mr. O' Brien was united in marriage with Miss Anna Belle Cook, daughter of A. D. and Anna M. Cook. A. D. Cook, a man of much mechanical ability and great organizing and executive talent, founded the firm of A. D. Cook, Inc., in 1875, and developed it from small beginnings into one of the important manufacturing concerns of this part of Indiana. He was of sound integrity and high character as a business man and citizen, and fully merited the high esteem in which he was held. As the years passed his interests expanded and at the time of his demise he was identified with a number of large organizations and accounted one of the substantial citizens of his community. When he passed away, in 1921, Lawrenceburg lost one of its able men. Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien reside on Ridge Avenue in Greendale, on the outskirts of Lawrenceburg. in their beautiful home, and are the parents of two children: Anna Belle, a student of Smith College, and Mary, a student at the Hillsdale School, Cincinnati, Ohio. Mrs. O'Brien is a college woman and an active member of the Phi Kappa sorority.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
CHARLES O. SUTTON is not only one of the progressive and influential exponents of farm industry in Marion County but is also bringing to the governmental affairs of this important county an executive service of distinct loyalty and efficiency, as he is a representative of Perry Township on the board of county commissioners. He is the owner of one of the fine farm estates of Perry Township, gives to the property his personal supervision, and his is the distinction of being one of the youngest men ever elected county commissioner in Marion County, the seat of the beautiful capital city of Indiana.
On the home farm that still continues his place of residence, situated on the Sutton Road and about seven miles south and west of the City of Indianapolis, the birth of Charles O. Sutton occurred December 23, 1883, and here his well improved farm estate has an aggregate area of 240 acres. Mr. Sutton is a son of Isaac and Martha J. (Smith) Sutton, and is a scion of a family whose name has been long and worthily associated with the civic and industrial life of the Hoosier State.
Isaac Sutton was born and reared in Johnson County, Indiana, there received his youthful education through the medium of the common schools, and there he eventually won for himself a secure place as an independent farmer and land owner. He later became the owner of a valuable farm estate in Perry Township, Marion County, and here he continued his productive activities until the time of his death. He rendered good account for himself in all the relations of life and his sterling characteristics gained and retained to him the confidence and good will of his fellow men. In the period of the Civil war he served as a member of the Home Guard, and the same spirit of loyalty that he thus manifested in his youth continued to mark his course during all the rest of his life. His father, Jacob Sutton, was born and reared in Ohio, a member of one of the pioneer families of the Buckeye State, and from the vicinity of Eaton, Preble County, Ohio, he eventually came to Johnson County, Indiana, where he passed the remainder of his life as an exponent of farm enterprise, the family name of his wife having been Dody.
Charles O. Sutton is the youngest in a family of four children, the others being Cornelius E., John E., and Martha J. (Mrs. Oren H. Murphy). Mr. Sutton was reared on the old home farm that is his present place of residence, and after completing his course in the school of District No.8, Perry Township, he continued his studies in the high school at Glenns Valley. As a young man he initiated his independent activities as a farmer in his native township, and prior to the death of his father he had become the owner of a small farm in that township. Through inheritance and purchase he eventually acquired the fine farm property that now marks him as one of the prominent and enterprising representatives of agricultural and live stock industry in Marion County.
Mr. Sutton has never railed in appreciation of and loyalty to his native county, and from his youth has taken much interest in local politics and general community affairs. His political alignment is with the Republican party, and as county commissioner he is one of the youngest men ever to be elected to this office in Marion County, where his service in this capacity is being marked by liberal progressiveness and by a distinct maturity of judgment. He and his wife are zealous members of the Christian Church of their community and he is serving as a member of its board of trustees. He is affiliated with Southport Lodge No. 270, A. F. and A. M., of which he is a past master.
In the City of Indianapolis was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sutton to Miss Hazel B. Hartman, only child of Elmer and Ida (Rose) Hartman, her father having been engaged in the candy business in Indianapolis a number of years and being now in the service of the government of Marion County. Mrs. Sutton received the advantages of the Indianapolis public schools, including the high school, and she is a popular factor in the church and social life of her home community; the while she makes her attractive rural home a veritable center of generous hospitality and good cheer. Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Sutton the eldest is Connell T., who attended and graduated from the Perry Township graded school and high school, attended Purdue University three and one-half years and then was graduated from the Lexington University at Lexington, Kentucky, where he specialized in dairying, being now the active manager of his father's farm. The younger children are Violet R., Irwin and Roleen, all of whom remain at the, parental home.
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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
BERNARD McCANN. Among the newspapers of Indiana, the fifth oldest in point of continuous existence is the Lawrenceburg Register, which was founded in 1837 and which has a large circulation throughout Dearborn and the adjacent counties. Under the able direction of Bernard McCann, who owns a half interest in the Register Printing Company, and has been active general manager since 1923, the paper has assumed a prominent position and has an established and recognized place among the publications of the Hoosier State.
Mr. McCann was born on a farm in Logan Township, Dearborn County, Indiana, in 1885, and is a son of Owen and Mary (Dolan) McCann, natives of Ireland. Owen McCann, a tradesman, immigrated to the United States in 1868, and during the next ten years made his home in New York, whence he came to Indiana in 1878 and passed the rest of his life in various pursuits. He and his wife were the parents of eight children: Alice, deceased, who was the wife of William Mahon, a native of Ireland; Thomas, for thirty years an educator, who married Anna Merkel, now deceased; Catherine, who is unmarried and a successful business woman of Cincinnati, Ohio; Isabelle, who is unmarried; Bernard, of this review; John, who served in the United States Army for seven months during the World war, and who married Miss Gertrude Doyle, the daughter of a Dearborn County farmer; Frank, a business man of Cincinnati, who served seven months as a naval instructor during the World war; and Joseph, a business man of Cincinnati, who married Cassie Blackburn.
Bernard McCann attended a parochial school and the public schools of Logan Township, following which he went to Moores Hill College and then completed his studies at the Central Normal College. On commencing his career he chose the life of an educator, and for twenty-two years was engaged in teaching school in various parts of Indiana, becoming widely known as a capable and popular instructor. While he was thus engaged he became interested in newspaper work, and eventually purchased a half interest in the Register Printing Company, of which he took active charge as general manager in April, 1923. He still acts in that capacity, and as before mentioned has developed an excellent country newspaper which is widely read and appreciated. The Register was founded in 1837, as a weekly, and has been published continuously to date under the same name. It is one of the first five newspapers published in Indiana, and occupies the quarters where it was first established, at 112 East High Street. These have been added to and improved on a number of occasions and Mr. McCann now has a modern plant, with all facilities for the production of high class work in the job printing line. The newspaper has always been the official Democratic organ of the county and Mr. McCann is a member of the Indiana Democratic Editorial Association, the Indiana Weekly Press Association, the T. P. A. and the National Editorial Association. During the World war he was very active in all of the drives and Red Cross activities and was a generous subscriber of the bond issues. He belongs to the Catholic Church and is a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Mr. McCann married Miss Madeline Schilling, of Dearborn County, Indiana, daughter of Henry and Mary Schilling, the former for many years a substantial agriculturist of Dearborn County, and at one time township assessor. Mr. and Mrs. McCann are the parents of two sons, William Dale and Eugene Norman.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
HON. GEORGE HOMANN. Within recent years there has been a strong movement toward the fostering of agriculture because the prosperity of the country, economically, socially and politically, rests finally upon the farmer. All else derives from his labor and his intelligence. However in former years there was no such agitation. A man obtained his land, either by outright purchase or through homesteading on the public domain, and worked it as best he could, and to the credit of the pioneers in the industry in Indiana, and other states, he generally succeeded, perhaps because he was willing to drudge the year around, and deny himself all of the luxuries and many of the necessities of life. Then, too, as an important factor, labor was cheaper, and living was not so high. Taxes had not risen to a prohibitive figure, and he was not called upon to contribute so heavily toward public improvements. One of the men who has won the approval of the Dearborn County agriculturists because of his improvement and cultivation of his farm, as well as their support when he ran for public, is George Homann, county recorder, now a resident of Lawrenceburg.
George Homann was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1876, a son of John F. Homann, who was born in Hanover, Germany. In 1870 John F. Homann left his native land and came to the United States, landing at the port of New York City, from whence he came as far West as Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1871. He was a shoemaker by trade, and worked at it while living at Cincinnati, but when, in 1877, he moved to Cold Springs, Indiana, he entered the general merchandise business, in which he remained until about ten years before his death. In addition to carrying on this enterprise he served as postmaster of Cold Springs, from 1884 to 1914, and made an admirable record in that office, managing its affairs economically. He married Miss Emma Schilling, of Dearborn County, Indiana, and they had four children, namely: Dr. J. Frederick, who is a dental surgeon at Washington, Indiana, married a Miss Howard, and they have two children, Frederick and Virginia; George, whose name heads this review; Augusta, who married Rev. Theodore Henkel; Charlotte, who married the late Rev. William Henkel.
George Homann attended the country schools of Dearborn County, and when sixteen years old went to work in a local factory. However, his tastes led him toward agriculture and by the time he was nineteen years old he was farming for his father, in which work he continued until he reached his majority, in 1897. At that time he began farming in Clay Township, Dearborn County, for himself, and continued his operations for thirty years, or until he was elected to his present office. During all of that period he participated very actively in public affairs in the township as a Democrat, being township committeeman of his party for twenty years. In 1926 he was elected county recorder, and is still holding the office, his efficiency and faithfulness making him one of the best men the office has known.
Recorder Homann married Miss Cora M. Tritsch, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and they have four children: Arthur, who farmed with his father, married Lydia Droege; Charlotte, who married Elmer Gerkepott; Leonard, who married Ena Cash, of Dearborn County and they have one son, Leonard Earl; and Edith, who is unmarried and resides with her parents. The Lutheran Church holds the membership of the Homann family. During the World war Mr. Homann was very active, and received an award from President Wilson for his work in connection with the drives for Liberty Loans, War Savings Stamps, Red Cross and other war purposes, and whenever it was necessary he served temporarily in delivering the rural mail. In fact then, as now, he proved himself a good citizen, and one loyal to his Government.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
FRANK MATHIAS MULLER, M. D. In Dr. F. M. Muller Lawrenceburg has one of the most popular and representative members of the medical profession in Dearborn County and a community asset of great value. Always in times of peril the community depends vitally upon its physicians, and it is in times of disaster that its trust and confidence in its medical men have been most demonstrated. In ordinary times as well the physician is necessary to the welfare of the people among whom he lives, not only as a safeguard against fatal results from sickness and accidents, but also as the medium through whom they receive the benefits which medical science has contributed to the welfare of mankind. To this noble and self-sacrificing class does Doctor Muller belong, and his greatest efforts are directed toward keeping the people well, rather than curing them when sick, although in the latter line he has few equals.
Doctor Muller was born in Dubois County, Indiana, in 1873, a son of John B. Muller, a native of Switzerland, a noted educator, who settled in Indiana in 1868, and from then on held positions as principal of schools in different parts of this state. He married Miss Bertha Lochman, of Switzerland, and they had three children born to them.
Reared in his native county, Doctor Muller first attended the country schools, and subsequently took up the study of medicine in the University of Louisville, Kentucky, from which he was graduated with the class of 1895, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. His interneship was taken at Mary and Elizabeth Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky.
Desiring to further perfect himself, Doctor Muller went abroad and for a year studied general medicine in Vienna, Austria, and thus broadened by travel and contact with the minds of the old world he returned to the United States, and in 1897 established himself in practice at Jasper, Indiana. A year later he came to Lawrenceburg, where he felt he had better opportunities for service, and here he has continued ever since, his connections increasing, and his prestige deepening as the years have passed. A strong believer in the value of concerted action on the part of the medical men of the country, he has long been a member of the Dearborn County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and oftentimes reads papers before one or other of these bodies, some of which are published in the medical journals of the country.
Doctor Muller married Miss Matilda C. Frederick, of Dearborn County, and they have had five children born to them, namely: Mildred, who married Robert Hornikel, a civil engineer, and an overseas veteran of the World war; Lea, who is now sister Mary Lee, a nun; Alice, who is an educator in the Dearborn County schools; Mary, a graduate of Seton College and is now dietician at St. Joseph's Sanitarium, Mount Clemens, Michigan, and Paul, attending high school. Doctor Muller is a member of the Lawrenceburg Kiwanis Club, and its fifth president, and he also belongs to the Knights of Columbus. Doctor Muller is honored and respected for his learning, his integrity and worth, and his popularity is well deserved.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
JOHN A. HILLENBRAND. The career of John A. Hillenbrand has been one typical of self-made manhood as exemplified by the sturdy sons of Indiana. Commencing work in his father's plant when still in his early teens, he has worked his way upward through the various departments until he is now vice president of the American Furniture Company of Batesville, one of the leading concerns of its kind in the Central West.
Mr. Hillenbrand was born at Batesville, and is a son of John and Margaret Hillenbrand. His grandfather was William Hillenbrand, a native of Alsace-Lorraine, who came to the United States and settled in Ripley County, Indiana, about 1830, here passing the remainder of his life, principally in the pursuits of agriculture. John Hillenbrand was born on his father's farm and acquired a limited education at the public schools. His father died when he was ten years of age, which made it necessary that he should assist the family, and when he was about thirty years of age he moved to Batesville, where he began operations that were to carry him to the forefront as a man of business genius. His first venture was a general merchandise business, founded as the Hillenbrand Brothers Merchandise Company. Two years later the furniture plant at Batesville was destroyed by fire, and Mr. Hillenbrand purchased the property and built a new plant, in 1880, which covered about 8,000 square feet, gave employment to about twenty employes and specialized in the manufacture of bedroom furniture. In 1888 Mr. Hillenbrand bought his brother's interest in the merchandise business, disposed of the goods, and put the money into the furniture business. Since that time about every five years the plant has been enlarged as to size and equipment, and now covers some 240,000 square feet, employing about 220 skilled mechanics, office workers and salespeople. George M. Hillenbrand, the brother of John A., is now president of the company, and John A. is vice president. The Hillenbrand Company's sawmill and timber manufacturing department was organized in 1890, at Batesville, with John A. Hillenbrand as president and George M. Hillenbrand, a review of whose career will be found elsewhere, in the sketch of John Hillenbrand, Sr., as vice president. The company bought 10,000 acres of standing timber in Ripley County. where seven sawmills were operated, this stand consisting of American walnut, oak and poplar timber, used in the manufacture of furniture, and the business requires the services of ninety men. In 1902 John Hillenbrand became the owner of the Batesville Casket Company, which now has a floor space of 16,000 square feet, with an output of 15,000 caskets monthly employing 160 men. John A. Hillenbrand is now president of the company and George M. is vice president. Their father was also the organizer of the Batesville Electric Light & Power Company, with ten people employed, which furnishes electric light and power to Batesville and other points in Ripley County. It has 900 meters in use in this territory, with a 700 kilowatt production.. John A. Hillenbrand is president of this concern and George M. is vice president and treasurer. In 1901 the Batesville Waterworks Company was founded by John Hillenbrand, but this was sold to the village of Batesville in 1928. In 1913 the Hillenbrand brothers purchased the Batesville Cabinet Company, which now employs about 225 people, specializing in diningroom furniture. This plant covers 345,000 square feet, and is located at Batesville, where George M. is president and John A. Hillenbrand, vice president.
Both George M. and John A. Hillenbrand have been active in public affairs, the first named having been the first mayor of Batesville, in 1908. John A. was chairman of the Liberty Loan drive and the Fourth Congressional District War Savings Loan; both were active in the Red Cross and other drives, and George donated twenty-seven acres of land, in 1919, which has now been developed into Liberty Park.
John A. Hillenbrand was appointed as a trustee of Purdue University by Governor Ralston in 1913 and is a member at this time.
John A. Hillenbrand married Miss Clara Enneking, of Ripley County, and to this union there have been born eight children, of whom seven are living: John W., who is associated with his father in business; William A., also connected with his father's and uncle's business enterprises; and Mary T., George Carl, Helena Rose, Clara D. and Daniel A., who are students.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
GEORGE REICHERT. That the enterprising young business man George Reichert, who built up the Reichert Chevrolet Agency, is a progressive and far sighted man no one disputes, nor that his success has been gained through merit and his belief in the dignity of labor faithfully performed, and contracts honestly carried out. There can be no question but that work pursued intelligently for a purpose that leads a worker on to success in his field makes for good citizenship, and Mr. Reichert can deservedly lay claim to that quality as well, for he is never found lacking when any demand is made upon him to support movements destined to advance his community.
George Reichert was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1899, and he grew up in that city and attended its public schools. When he left school he entered the employ of the Cincinnati Oakland Auto Company, and continued with that concern for two years, during that period learning the fundamentals of the business, and he continued in this line of work with several similar companies until 1924, when he went into the automobile business for himself. In 1924 he took the franchise for the Chevrolet agency for Dearborn County, with headquarters at Lawrenceburg. Here Mr. Reichert has a fine showroom, with floor space of 3,500 square feet for display purposes, and attached to it is a modern repair shop equipped with the latest appliances for auto service known to the business. He handles on an average 300 car sales annually, in addition to doing a large repair business, and he is owner and general manager of the concern he has built up. Mr. Reichert is known all over the county as a man whose probity is unquestioned. If he makes a statement about the car he handles it is received without doubt, because it is a well-known fact that he does not say anything that he cannot back up with absolute proof. In the same way his repair shop is run; the customer is given honest service for his money, at reasonable charge, and not only do the people of this section come back to him, but tourists, all realizing that it pays to deal with him.
George Reichert was married to Miss Anita Barrot, of Lawrenceburg, a daughter of a pioneer hardware merchant of this city, in business here for forty-five years, during which time he has not only amassed a comfortable fortune, but won the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens because of his willingness to do his part in the development of the community. As his own fortunes improved he has given more and more to others until today he ranks among the leading philanthropists of Dearborn County, and it is said that no one ever appealed to him in vain. Mr. and Mrs. Reichert have two children, namely: Betty Sue and Gayla Jane. Mr. Reichert is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, maintaining his connection with that order at Cincinnati, Ohio, and he also belongs to Lawrenceburg Lodge, No.4, A. F. and A. M.; and Lawrenceburg Lodge, I. O. O. F., being an active fraternity man, loyal in his affiliations, and popular among his associates.
INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
JOHN WILLIAM AUGUSTUS EMHARDT, surgeon, began practice at Indianapolis in 1912. The experience of his early years was supplemented by work as a surgeon overseas during the World war, and by extensive post-graduate training both at home and abroad, and his present rank and place in the profession are recognized both by his associates and the general public.
Doctor Emhardt is a native of Indianapolis. His father, John Emhardt was born in Wuerttemberg, Germany, August 21, 1848, being one of the five children of Frederick Emhardt, who married a Miss Schumacher. John Emhardt was educated in the common schools and under private instruction, and after coming to manhood married Caroline W. Brommer; a daughter of Jacob and Magdaline (Metzger) Brommer. In 1881 John Emhardt brought his wife and five children to America, living at Philadelphia one year and three years at Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and in July, 1884, settled at Indianapolis. He was a merchant in that city, and had a financial part in a number of enterprises. In 1905 he retired from business, and he died March 8, 1911. He was a Democrat, a member of the German Evangelical Church, and was a member of the German Alliance of Indiana and of several German clubs. He and his wife had eight children: Paul, who married Ida Dowell; Charles D., who married Lillie De Lury; Pauline, wife of J. C. McKay; Adolph G., an attorney, who married Alma Bernd; Julius E., who married Ann Toll; Christian I., an attorney; Marie C., who married Frederick W. Dierdorf; and Dr. John W.
Dr. John W. Emhardt was born in Indianapolis October 15, 1889. As one of a large household he began putting forth his efforts even while in high school, carrying newspapers, and was also an employee of the Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical Company. He attended the Manual High School and on graduating was employed for a year as assistant chemist and bacteriologist by the Indianapolis Water Company. He then entered the medical department of Indiana University, was graduated in 1911, and had one year of training as an interne in the City Hospital. The period of struggle through which the average young physician goes from the time he leaves off his hospital training until he is well established in practice was confined to about two years in the case of Doctor Emhardt. He has the background of a successful period of work in general practice, always an advantage to a specialist whether in surgery or in other lines.
Doctor Emhardt held the rank of major in the Army Medical Corps during the World war. He was overseas and was in command of four different hospitals in France. His first command was in a hospital in the trenches and he was in the Argonne campaign. As a result of various changes he became commander of three other hospitals and for six months before leaving France had served as surgeon in charge of the Advance Area.
After returning to this country he did post- graduate work in the University of Pennsylvania in surgery, and at the end of two years was awarded the degree Master of Medical Science in surgery. This was followed by another year in Europe, during which he had post-graduate and clinical experience in surgery at Vienna, Budapest and various places in Germany. Since 1920 Doctor Emhardt has limited his work to general surgery. He has offices in the Chamber of Commerce Building at Indianapolis. Doctor Emhardt is a member of the Indianapolis Medical Society, the Indiana State and American Medical Associations and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a life member of the American Medical Association of Vienna, and is on the teaching staff of the Indiana University School of Medicine. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, a Shriner, an Elk and a member of the Phi Beta Pi medical fraternity.
Doctor Emhardt is a widely traveled man, but it is an interesting fact that he lived all his life with his mother in the house of his birth until November 20, 1929, when he married Miss Martha McDougall, who for ten years has been superintendent of the surgery department of the Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis. She was a small child when her father died, and her mother, Mrs. S. McDougall, is of Scotch ancestry. Doctor Emhardt's mother is now eighty-four years of age. Doctor and Mrs. Emhardt are the parents of a son, Charles David Emhardt, born February 13, 1931.
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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931
