I was born on the twenty-first of August, 1863, in the village of Voltlage, Court Furstnau, Kraesbersenbruck, Province Hanover, Germany. My mother was Maria Catherina Tebbe Winkeljohan, the daughter of Henry Tebbe and Catherina Tebbe Wigmann. My father was Mathias Winkeljohan, a carpenter. As a young man, my father served in the army under King George VI of Hanover and advanced to the position of aide-de-camp to the king. Soon after Father’s release from the army, he and Mother were married and made their home with the Tebbe family. It was the German custom that one of the children of every family should continue to live with his family after his marriage and should assume the responsibilities of that homestead after the death or the incapacitation of the parents. During the fall and winter, Father was engaged in carpentering and farming. Most of this farming was done with oxen. Occasionally four such animals would be attached to a wagon or plow. Several years my father spent approximately ten weeks in the spring-time digging turf in Holland. The wages paid for this latter activity enabled Father to pay rent on his property in Germany.

Father had six brothers and one sister. Henry, the oldest of the family was a general contractor. His wife I did not know. This brother -had four daughters and two sons, both of whom went to South America. One daughter, Elizabeth, died when still a young mother. Another, Christine became a nun in a Paris convent. Annie married Henry Determan; and Mary married a farmer from Schopin, a town about eighteen miles from Voltlage.

The next brother, Ferdinand, had worked as an apprentice to learn the blacksmith trade. As was the German custom, Ferdinand, after completing his apprenticeship, traveled about the country to widen his ability in the trade. While in the city of Hambrug, he became acquainted with a man who said he had a brother in South America and who finally persuaded Ferdinand to journey to that continent. This fri9nd may possibly have given Ferdinand the funds necessary to pay his passage. Some time later, Ferdinand persuaded his brother Dominic to come to South America. The two brothers operated a machine shop and foundry in Valencia, Venezuela; and both married Spanish women. After a few years, Dominic’s wife died and he obtained permission from the clergy to marry his brother Ferdinand’s daughter. Ferdinand had five other daughters and one son, the boy dying while still a young man.

Judging from recent letters which I have received from South America. Dominic had seven children, three boys and four girls. The girls are still living; and I have received letters from three of them. Carolina and Josephina Winkeljohan Marvez and Emma Winkeljohan Boryas. Their address is Av. Bolivia 255, Valenzia, Venezuela.

Both uncles made several visits to Germany. On one occasion Ferdinand journeyed to his home-land with three of his daughters; and for the first time, the young women saw ice. I believe it was on the occasion of Ferdinand’s last trip to Germany that he returned to South America with one son and two daughters of his brother Joseph. Joseph had previously died, within a short time of his wife’s demise.

Father’s brother William was a tenant farmer, who lost his wife and one daughter by typhoid fever. William chose a second wife, by whom he had three children. By his first marriage, William had had four children. One of Uncle William’s grandsons lives in Hamilton, Ohio, at the present time. In 1881, William became custodian of the Hoepker Estate in country of that name. This estate was called Schlichhorst.

Uncle Joseph was a hotel and saloon keeper in Hassalune, six miles north of Furstnau, the county seat. The youngest brother, August, came to America when still a young man, married, and raised a family in Quincy, Illinois.

Father’s only sister Elizabeth was the wife of Johan Behrens, a carpenter. With their three boys and one girl, they made their home with Father’s parents. The Behrens’ daughter married August Linnen Schmit, a wooden shoemaker; and I believe these two died in their mother’s home. The oldest son of the Behrens’ went to South America, but remained only two years as he had developed tuberculosis. He lived for only year after his return to Germany.

Another son, William, married in Germany, brought his wife to North America, and lived for a few years in Cincinnati, Ohio.  He then rented what was known as the Taylor farm, northeast of St. Henry, Ohio. This f arm was part of an estate managed by John Beckman. When the farm was offered for sale, William purchased it. After about twenty years, William’s health having failed, he sold the farm and moved to St. Henry. In the meantime, his wife had died, leaving him with two girls. The oldest girl, Lizzie, married George Gerlach and lived near New Weston, Darke County, Ohio. The other daughter became the wife of Peter Studer and died when a young mother. By his second marriage, to Mary Wessel, William had one daughter. After living in St. Henry for about ten years, William’s second wife died. William himself died in 1937. The daughter of this second marriage, Rose, lived alone for a time, and later became the wife of a man by the name of Staugler. This union was of short duration, as Rose died within a short time.

Bernard, the youngest of the Behrens family, came to the United States about 1886 at the age of twenty-two. After he had been in this country for a few months, he began to work as a carpenter for me. While we were building a barn on the Knappschaffer farm, east of Coldwater, the scaffolding collapsed with both of us on it. I landed on my feet on a wagon-load of roofing lath, but Bernard struck his head on a wagon wheel. He was bleeding profusely and was unable to move without assistance. We succeeded in reaching the house with him. A doctor was called and first aid was administered. On his second visit, Dr. Brumm, Sr. realized that Bernard was paralyzed from the waist down. The following day we called Dr. Bohlman, also of Coldwater, and Dr. Morrey of St. Henry. These three doctors agreed that Bernard would never walk again.

After caring for him for several days, I went to see Father George, who was then the pastor at Coldwater, to determine the possibility of removing Bernard to a Cincinnati hospital. We later received word from the hospital that he would be admitted. I accompanied him on the trip. We placed him in a rocking chair on a farm wagon and made the trip to Coldwater where we boarded the train. We engaged a taxicab from the station to the hospital. I remained in Cincinnati for three days. By the time I left, he had been placed in a cast. He complained of the pain, but his appetite was improving.

I was happily surprised about two months later when I received a letter from Bernard, saying that he believed he was improving. He was then in what was called the Bett Street Hospital, where he remained for eight months, convalescing and doing chores around the hospital. After his discharge from the hospital, he went to work as a cabinet maker, married, raised a family, and died at the age of sixty-eight.

Mother had two brothers and two sisters. Henry was a tenant farmer who also made the yearly trips to Holland to dig turf. During his absence in 1874, he received word that his wife, Jenny Schilling Tebbe, had died, leaving him with two daughters and two sons. His second wife, whose name I do not know, may possibly have died while journeying to North America. After about two years, Henry married a third time. This wife was a widow named Elizabeth Tecklenburg. Uncle Henry died on January 21, 1911.

Uncle Henry’s daughter Mary married George Walters who operates a truck farm north of Cincinnati. Another daughter, Annie, married Henry Gerdes, who died as a young man. Annie herself is still living. The oldest son, Henry, came to Cincinnati in 1885, and was joined a few years later by his father and the remainder of the family. Henry lived on Bank Street, married, and was the father of four children. He worked in a tannery for many years and died in 1942. His wife is still living.

Uncle Henry’s other son, Ben, became an employee of a Mr. Herber’s in a Cincinnati brick yard and later married Mr. Herber’s daughter. She was recently killed in an automobile accident; but Ben and his son still live at 1032 Purcell Avenue, Price Hill, Cincinnati, and Ben is the owner of several brick buildings near St. Henry’s Church in that city. He is now approximately eighty years old.

Joe, another of Mother’s brothers, never married. He was killed in a fall from a hay mow. One sister, Mary Tebbe, married Henry Boegers. He, with his wife, two sons, and two daughters, came to Cincinnati in 1892. Previous to this event, the oldest daughter had married Tom Tillerson and had come to America. This couple has been dead for many years. Uncle Henry worked as a concrete finisher after his arrival in the United States. Another of his daughters, Josephine, married Joseph Sutter who died in 1930. Mrs. Sutter died in 1932, leaving four sons all of whom live in Cincinnati. Another son of Uncle Henry’s, Clem, died unmarried. August married, had one son and one daughter. His wife died in 1931 and he remarried in 1946. He and his second wife now live in Cincinnati.

Mother’s other sister, Christina, came to America as a young girl and worked for several years in Cincinnati for a Himpelman family. Later she married Theodore Winegartner, who was employed in a tannery. Some years later, Theodore was persuaded to move to St. Henry, Ohio, there to operate the Steinlage tannery. He soon purchased property west of St. Henry and erected a house, barn, and a tanning building, where he operated his business until his death many years later. This couple had four girls and two boys. When three of the daughters found employment in Cincinnati, their mother sold the family property in St. Henry and joined the girls. One son died when very young; but the other, Edward, is still living. He is engaged in business with the “Queen City Tent and Awning Company” in Cincinnati. Annie, the oldest daughter, married Ben Loehaus who operated a saloon on Second Street in Cincinnati until his early death in July of 1947. This couple had one son that drowned. Another daughter of Aunt Christina’s, Kate, married a Niehouse; but unfortunately, this marriage was not successful. Katie is still living. Katie had one son who became a famous baseball player, associated with the Cincinnati Reds Ball Club. Another daughter, Rose, lives in Oxford, Ohio. The youngest girl, Henrietta married Joe Sanders, a tailor, who is now retired.

As my brothers Matthias and Herman and myself had come to the United States, our father decided to dispose of the family property at a public sale and follow us to America with the remainder of the family. After fourteen days on the ocean, they arrived at Baltimore on August 21, 1889. Father rented an apartment in the Reiner’s Building on Linn Street near St. Joseph’s Church in Cincinnati. The family lived there for approximately nine years. Father engaging in carpenter work, was frequently employed by a Mr. Doepke. In September of 1898, Mother and Father came to Celina where they had purchased a small house which I had just built at the rear of the lumber yard. This house became the property of my sister, Mrs. Anna Art, after the death of our parents and was moved to the south side of Logan Street. Father died on February 20, 1914, at the age of seventy-six. Both are buried in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Celina.

I, the oldest of eleven children, started to school at the age of six in a one-room school house which was attended by approximately sixty boys and sixty girls. When not in school, I worked in the garden and assisted with the general farm chores. After the completion of my formal education at the age of fourteen, I worked for a farmer by the name of Roettger for fourteen dollars a year. The second year I was rehired for eighteen dollars. The third year I worked for another farmer, Theodore Dreos, who had spent five years in the United States but who had returned to Germany when his father’s health declined. Here I received twenty-four dollars a year.

As I had always been interested in carpentering, I then became an apprentice of my father’s brother Henry for whom I worked for two years and one month. As was the German custom, I received only my board for the two-year period. For the additional month’s service, I was paid four dollars.

As compulsory military training was in force in Germany and as I was approaching the age at which one entered the army, I decided to leave my native country and go to America. My brother Matt had provided me with a pass from Bremerhaven to Lima, Ohio. The order from the ship’s company required me to be in Bremerhaven three days before the sailing. My father and I left home on a Sunday morning after Low Mass and were taken in a sample wagon to the railroad station in Furstnau. Father accompanied me to Bremerhaven and remained for one night at the hotel. During the three-day stay at the hotel, I became acquainted with a family who were sailing on the same ship. As there was some irregularity concerning my deferment from the army, the father of this family permitted me to remain with them and provided me with a small box to carry on my shoulders as we walked up the gangplank. The officer-in-charge, assuming that I was a member of this family, did not require me to show my army papers.

We were permitted to board ship, the Hohenzollern, about ten o’clock on Wednesday morning. On the second day at sea, it became very stormy; and everyone was ill for the two days and nights that this rough weather continued. After the third day, the sea became calm and everyone’s’ spirits noticeably improved. Music, singing, and dancing were continually in progress. The passengers were very gay, despite the fact that accommodations were exceedingly bad. All the food, excepting the bread and salted herring, tasted of sea water. When the ship was approaching Baltimore, we were asked if we would like to see the first-class cabins. Before being granted this privilege we had to sign papers stating that we were satisfied with the treatment we had received during the crossing.

After docking in the afternoon, we were asked to remain another night on the Hohenzollern to wait for the special immigrants’ train which would leave the following afternoon, a Friday, at two o’clock for Milwaukee. We arrived at Deshler, Ohio, where I was to change trains, at eight o’clock on a Sunday morning. I attempted to get some information from the station officials but I could not find anyone who understood me. Finally the railroad agent pointed to the clock and explained by sign-language that I would have to wait until twelve o’clock that night to get a train for Lima, Ohio.

While on the train to Lima, I became acquainted with a man who spoke both German and English. As it was necessary for me to buy another ticket from Lima to Coldwater, Ohio, he agreed to help me make the purchase. I had had only two dollars and some cents when I arrived in Baltimore, but Mr. Steinlage in St. Henry had sent two more dollars to enable me to get from Lima to Coldwater. The ticket-agent in Lima informed me that the fare was ninety cents. I gave him a silver dollar which he promptly returned to me. My friend asked me if I had any other money, and I replied that I had another silver dollar which I then gave to the agent who handed me a ticket and a dime. I began to wonder what sort of a country this United States was. I had just arrived and already I possessed counterfeit money. My friend explained that the first dollar was a Canadian silver piece which the railroads refused to accept, but which was worth ninety cents in other places.

I arrived in Coldwater about four o’clock on a Monday morning. The town was completely quiet and the station was deserted. Eventually I spied a man walking down the railroad tracks. I hailed him; and after discovering that he could speak German, I asked him for directions to the Steinlage farm. He told me to follow what is now the New York Central Railroad tracks. The land had been graded but as yet no rails had been laid, and consequently I could easily walk the three and one-half miles to my destination. After walking about three quarters of an hour, I stopped at a farm house where the people pointed out the Steinlage farm. I was greeted by the Steinlage family at breakfast time on the third of July, 1882.

The next day being a holiday, the Fourth of July, Mr. Steinlage took me to Coldwater in a buck-board wagon to get the wooden box which contained my belongings. In the afternoon we visited his son-in-law, Fred Borger, who promptly hired me to work on his farm for ten dollars a month. When fall arrived and the farm work diminished, Mr. Borger reduced my salary to seven dollars and fifty cents a month. After remaining there a few months longer, my Uncle Winegartner persuaded me to live with him and work in his tan yard. The next February I began to work for John G. Boeckman, a carpenter-contractor in Cassella, Ohio, for eighty-five cents a day plus board. I recall one, unusual incident that occurred while I was an employee of Mr. Boeckman.. On the twenty-second day of May, 1883, there was six inches of snow on the ground. As some of the corn had been planted early that year, farmers had to go into the fields with knives to cut off the frozen tips of the plants.

When Mr. Boeckman’s work was lessened, I became an employee of Michael Boehmer, also a carpenter. As winter approached, I returned to St. Henry and divided my time between working in the tan yard, helping to make ice for the breweries, and driving a team for Mader (?) Brothers’ Saw Mill. In the spring, I worked for Anton Miller, a carpenter and cabinet-maker in St. Henry. While we were building a barn for Henry Moeller, he and Mr. Miller had a disagreement and I made arrangements with Mr. Moeller to complete his barn. I continued working there all summer for a dollar a day. The following winter, I began purchasing timber to make stave and hedden bolts which I shipped to George Marsh in Van Wert and to Allen Brothers who operated a stave mill in Celina. In connection with this project, I was buying pulpwood which was used to make excelsior. This I shipped to Franklin, Ohio; Carlisle, Ohio; and to Mill Rose, Ohio, where Daniel Mooney was the agent. This same Mr. Mooney later served as a United States’ Ambassador to Uruguay.
The next spring I contracted with a Peter Rhinehart to build the first grist or flour mill in St. Henry at a dollar twenty-five cents a day. I was assisted by Mr. Rice, a nephew of Mr. Rhinehart’s and later by Jake McCowan, a mill-wright. The machinery and equipment were furnished by the Case Manufacturing Company of Columbus, Ohio. After the mill was completed, I was sent by Mr. Rhinehart to collect the twenty-five hundred dollars which the people of St. Henry and the vicinity had agreed to pay him. This donation was paid in its entirety. I was then employed as a custodian of the mill and instructed to wait on the customers. Mr. Rice served as the engineer, and John Hole of Celina as the miller. As Mr. Hole used some-what older techniques, he and Mr. Rice had some differences of opinion with the result that Mr. Hole was replaced by Mr. Cuny Crook who was a mechanic with more advanced methods.

After the mill had been in operation for one and a half years, Mr. Rhinehart sold it to Jacob Kreusch, Frank Romer, Sr. and David Guy. My position was occupied by Frank Feldhake, a nephew of Mr. Romer’s.

Once again I engaged in the carpentering trade and built several barns and houses in the vicinity of St. Anthony, a small settlement which received mail through the Padua Post Office. After an accident at the Knapschaffer farm east of Coldwater, I decided to do no more carpenter work and to begin once again to buy timber for staves and pulp wood. The following year Ben Hoying purchased the flour mill and persuaded me to assume my former position. I continued purchasing timber in addition to my work at the mill, however. Within a short time I had purchased from Mr. Hoying a half interest in the mill. Two years later Mr. Hoying sold his interest to Mr. Forsthoff to whom I subsequently sold my share as our business connection was not completely satisfactory. After another year, Mr. Forsthoff traded the mill to George Hirsch, who was operating a grain elevator and a general store at Rossburg in Darke County, Ohio. Mr. Hirsch moved into a house which I had just completed. I was the godfather of Conrad Hirsch, George’s son, who was baptized in my home. Conrad now lives in Grass Creek, Indiana. After Mr. Hirsch’s purchase of the mill, I was once again employed there.

On June 27, 1891, I married Annie Meinerding, the daughter of Clemens Meinerding and the former Agnes Romer. My wife had one sister, Elizabeth, then Mrs. Joseph Gardner. The two sisters were the custodians of the Germania Hotel. The following year, on August twelfth, my wife died and was buried in the St. Henry cemetery. She was survived by her father; Mr. and Mrs. Gardner; and a brother, Henry Meinerding, who later married Rose Bany. All of these people have since died and are buried in St. Henry. The Gardners had no family and the Henry Meinerdings had two girls and one boy.

I later built a house for myself in the west part of St. Henry known as the Romer Addition. On June 27, 1894, I married Rebecca Anne Romer, the oldest daughter of Bernard Romer and Mary Beckman Romer. The father was the only son of Bernard Romer, Sr. and a Gravenkamp girl. He had married in Germany and had come to Minster, Ohio, in 1843, after being on the ocean for three months in a sailing vessel. About the time of the small pox epidemic, the family traveled by canal boat from Cincinnati to Minster. They soon moved to St. Henry, bought a piece of land in the wooded section, and erected a log cabin. My wife’s father had six sisters; Mrs. Henry Lenhertz (Bernadine) of Philothea, Mrs. Clemens Meinerding, Mrs. Fred Athmer, Mrs. Kate Beckman, Mrs. Mary Meyers of Florida, and Mrs. Henry Doess (Annie). Mrs. Fred Athmer was the first white child born in St. Henry.

My wife’s mother, the daughter of Henry Beckman, had two sisters, Mrs. J. H~ Romer and Kate Beckman who died unmarried. One brother, John G. Beckman was postmaster and notary public for many years. In 1893 he was elected probate judge of Mercer County, but served only a short time when he was forced to retire because of ill health. He died in Celina and was buried in St. Henry. Surviving him were his wife, four boys, and three girls. One son, Leo, for several years was a promotor of lead mines in Missouri, later served as recorder for Hamilton County, Cincinnati, and is now retired. The son Vincent is a prominent attorney in Cincinnati. Mark was formerly connected with the J. A. Romer Company in Celina and for approximately five years was employed by the Federal Government as a tax collector. At the present time he is engaged in his own business as a public accountant. Clem, the youngest son, lost his life in World War I. The daughter Emma died as a young girl. Rose died, unmarried in 1942. Viola serves as deputy probate judge for Mercer County.

My wife’s uncle, Frank Beckman and his wife, the former Margaret Herman, conducted a general store in Burketsville, Darke County, Ohio, for many years. They had five boys and two girls. One son, John operated a dry-goods store in Celina with Lawrence Remarklus. John died in 1935, leaving his wife, Elizabeth Biersdoffer Beckman. Henry Beckman operated a store in St. Henry, married Clara Goetmoeller, became postmaster and notary public in St. Henry, and died in 1938 [1923]. Ed Beckman lived for several years in Indiana and at the present time works as a timrner in Dayton, Ohio. Lebold Beckman operated a grocery store near Dayton. Albert, the youngest of the brothers, died about 1914. One daughter, Minnie, married Mac McMinnis, for several years a city policeman of Dayton. Mr. McMinnis is now retired and now lives with his wife in St. Henry. Annie married a Mr. Gordan, also a member of the Dayton police force.

My mother-in-law, Mary Romer, died in 1902 and was survived by her husband, Bernard Romer, three boys and four girls. Rebecca, whom I had married in 1894, died on May 6, 1936, after forty-two years of painstaking devotion to her family. She was survived by her oldest daughter, Agnes, (Mrs. L. E. Hierholzer); Lucille, who manages the family home on Logan Street in Celina; Ferd and his wife, the former Jean Lippincott; Lillian, bookkeeper for the Celina Lumber and Supply Company; Rita, who has taught for fourteen years at the St. Henry High School; and Hilda, the wife of Dr. George Weber, a general practioner in Delphos, Ohio.

Agnes’ husband, L. E. Hierholzer, died in 1939, leaving his wife, three sons, and one daughter. Although all three boys served with the armed forces in World War II, Tom, the youngest, was the only one sent overseas. He served with the army in Japan. John and Charles now own and operate a wine and beverage store in Celina, and Tom is employed by them. The older boys are both married and each has two children. John has a boy and a girl; Charles has two boys. The daughter, Martha, completed her nurses’ training at St. Josephs Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana; and is now employed at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Dayton.

In 1943, Hilda’s husband, Dr. George Weber, enlisted in the Coast Guard of the United States and was stationed in California. His wife and two small daughters, Sue and Nancy, traveled by auto to California and remained there until Dr. Weber was transferred. They returned to Celina. After his release from the Coast Guard, Dr. Weber resumed his medical practice in Delphos, Ohio. This family welcomed the birth of a son, David, in 1947.

Ferd and his family live on Johnson Avenue in Celina. Ferd is the manager of the “Celina Lumber and Supply Company” and is the father of two boys and two girls. Joan graduated from the University of Pittsburg and is now employed by the Dayton Public Health Department. Emilie is a student at the Ohio State University. Jack is in high school and Bobby is eleven years of age.

My wife’s sister Agnes married Bernard Reiling, a native of Ankum, Germany and a shoemaker by trade. After coming to the United States, he engaged for many years in his trade and then had a milk route for the “White Mountain Creamery Company.” He is now retired. For many years, this family lived in the old Romer log house which they later tore down and replaced with a modern bungalow. Agnes died in a Dayton hospital after a goiter operation and was buried in St. Henry. She was survived by her husband, four boys and two girls. Richard is associated with the Hobart Manufacturing Company and conducts a home supply store in Columbus, Ohio. His wife is the former Inez McClain of Terra Haute, Indiana. Bernard operates a gasoline and oil station in California. Walter lives in Virginia. William and his wife, the daughter of Bernard Shenking, live in St. Henry. William drives a gasoline truck. Esther Reiling, the wife of Julius Bruns, conducts a grocery and meat market in St. Henry and lives with her husband and son in the home of her father who is still living. Irene, the other daughter, married Sam Rossackow and lives in New Jersey; they have no children.

My wife’s sister Emma, who died on February 23, 1942, was the wife of Joseph J. Moeller. For many years he operated a hardware store in St. Henry and then became manager of the St. Henry Lumber Company. For a brief interval of two years, Mr. Moeller managed the Kuntz and Wright Lumber Company in Greenville, Ohio. Returning to St. Henry, he purchased the controlling interest of the Auglaize Lumber Company in Wapakoneta, Ohio. This couple had four girls. Bertha, the oldest, is the bookkeeper in the lumber company. Eulitta married Carl Kleinhenz, who is the general supervisor of the company. Marie and Marcella are at home.

Lillian, the youngest of the Romer family, was her father’s housekeeper after the death of Mrs. Romer. After the death of her father, she was the housekeeper for Father Kanney in St. Henry. She remained there for several years and then was employed by a Melcher’s family at Shawnee, south of Lima, Ohio, She remained there until her death in March of 1948.

My wife’s brother Frank and his wife, the former Annie Moeller, lived for many years on a farm in Cranberry Prairie, Ohio. After selling the farm, the family moved to Dayton where Mr. Romer was employed as the caretaker for the Frank Stroop stock farm. Later he worked for the Sucher Packing Company and the Foecke Packing Company. Because of ill health, Mr. Romer was forced to retire. His wife died in the autumn of 1944. This couple had two sons and five daughters. Mary is the wife of Bayles Butler. Norma is married to Bob Bishop. The remaining three girls are single. Florence is employed by the Dayton Power and Light Company and with his wife, Lucille, one daughter, and one son occupies a modern home in Dayton. Alphonse and his wife also live in Dayton where he is associated with the Inland Manufacturing Company.

Another brother, Ferd Romer, married Carolyn Kreusch, became manager of a lumber company in Cambridge City, Indiana, where the couple first went to housekeeping. Ferd died in December of 1918 and was buried in St. Henry. After Mrs. Romer had disposed of her interest in the Cambridge City Lumber Company, she moved into a new home which I had contracted to build for her on Livingston Street in Celina. Their only daughter, Mary, is the wife of Earl Dull and the mother of two sons. This family lives with Mrs. Romer at the present time.

My wife’s youngest brother, Albert, married Mary Baker, the daughter of George Baker and his wife, a former Schunck girl from Dyer, Indiana. Mary was also the niece of Father Dominic Schunck, a former pastor of the Celina and St. Henry parishes. Albert was the manager of the “Coldwater Lumber Yard.” He engaged in the livestock business and farming. For many years he suffered from a stricture of the esophagus. He spent two months in a Chicago hospital under the care of a Dr. Murphy. There was little improvement in his condition, and for four years he was compelled to take nourishment through a rubber tube. Meanwhile Albert and his wife moved on the farm which we owned in partnership. When, in 1918, we disposed of this property, Albert contracted for another farm southwest of St. Marys along the east bank of Grand Lake, and an additional twenty-two acres on the Celina-St. Marys highway from Tom White. This latter they intended to be their home. Already at this time they had taken with them a young orphan named Joe Richardson whom they had taken under their care as a child. They had no children of their own. Albert died at my home in Celina in September of 1919 and was survived by his wife, father, brothers, and sisters. After his death it became evident that our partnership liabilities exceeded our resources. It was deemed advisable that I assume all his liabilities against credits. It required twenty-four years for me to pay these debts.

As mentioned previously, my mother-in-law’s sister, Rebecca Beckman, was the wife of J. H. Romer. For many years Mr. Romer conducted a general store in St. Henry. About 1900 he started the first banking company in St. Henry. This couple had four boys and two girls. William married Amelia Moeller who died from the effects of an automobile accident. William became the custodian of the St. Henry Bank after the death of his father in 1935. The son John married Elizabeth Vanoss of Minster, Ohio, and was an attorney in Celina for several years. The family moved to Dayton sometime later and John engaged in probate work. He died in 1944, and was survived by his wife, one son, and two daughters, all of whom still live in Dayton. His wife continues to engage in the insurance business and in probate work. For several years, Ed, another of Rebecca’s sons was employed by the First National Banking Company in Celina. He later went to Cincinnati where he was associated with the Cosmopolitan Bank on Gest Street. After a few years he became an employee of the “Fifth Third Bank” in Cincinnati. He married Josephine Goulde of St. Henry and was the father of five boys and three girls. His wife died in 1940 and four years later, Ed married again. This family resided in Norwood, Ohio, until Ed’s death in 1947, when they moved to Cincinnati. George, the youngest, was a rural mail carrier for many years. He is now dead but his wife, the former Nora Fredricks still lives in St. Henry. One of Rebecca’s daughters Tillie, was the wife of Henry Bernard, a teacher and former assistant school superintendent in St. Henry. The other daughter, Elizabeth, and her nephew, Leo Romer, the son of William, are the present custodians of the St. Henry Banking Company.

My brother Matthias, after completing his schooling in Germany, was employed by Father’s cousin, B. H. Winkeljohan on his farm in Germany. When, in 1887, a friend of the family’s, Mr. Steinlage, was in Germany on a visit, he delivered a message from our Uncle and Aunt Weingartner suggesting that someone of our family return to America with Mr. Steinlage. I myself was not interested in the proposition as I had just begun my apprenticeship in the carpenter trade. Brother Matt decided to journey to the United States with Mr. Steinlage. They were on the ocean in the middle of winter for three weeks. Matt first worked f or Mr. Steinlage on his farm, then witha brother of Mr. Steinlage’s. He later worked for Ben Borger on his farm and then for John Fortman of St. Anthony. On November 19, 1890, he married Rose Dabbelt, the daughter of Catherine Wellman Dabbelt. They lived for one year on the Drake family farm across the Indiana state line and then returned to the Ben Borger farm, which they rented for two years. Later they rented the Duval farm, northwest of St. Henry, and soon purchased the Herman Umgrun farm, also northwest of St. Henry. Selling this property sometime later, they purchased another farm on the St. Henry-Philothea road. Here they remained for five years. Later selling this property, the family moved to St. Henry where Matt bought the St. Henry drain-tile plant. This business was later sold and Matt purchased the building then occupied by the St. Henry furniture company. For several years he served as mayor of St. Henry.

After the death of his wife, he purchased the Dan Freeman property on the corner of Mill and Fayette Streets in Celina. Here he and his family resided for approximately fifteen years. For several years, Matt was a fireman at the Catholic school in Celina, and in season, was an engineer for the Feltz Brothers Company in Cassella. He also served as an engineer and fireman for a Dayton printing firm for a brief period. When his health failed, he sold his home and lived in an apartment, where his daughter Frances was his housekeeper. He died at the Gibbons Hospital in Celina on October 1, 1942, and was buried beside his wife in St. Henry.

One son died on March 20, 1925. The oldest daughter, Eleanor, married Al Feldhake, who operates a hardware store in St. Henry. They have two daughters, one of whom married Robert Mesttemaker, serving with the United States Army in Alaska. His wife followed him there with their one child. The other daughter of Matt’s, Annie, married Julius Mader, a former school teacher. They reside on a farm west of St. Henry.

Helen, another of Matt’s daughters, is the wife of Alvian Everman and lives in Dayton, Ohio. Harry married Edna Hartings and works as an accountant for the Mersman Brothers Corporation in Celina. Clarence married Rosella Schemmel from Minister, Ohio, and now lives in Dayton. Edward married Marie Freitag from Fort Loramie, built a brick home on the corner of Brandon Avenue and West Fayette Street in Celina, Ohio. This he later sold when he and his brother Walter moved to Findlay, Ohio, and began operating an auto supply store. Walter, the youngest son, had served as a captain in the United States Army and is married to the former Margie Joerger from Biloxi, Mississippi.

Brother Matt’s daughter Marie is now in Dayton where she is employed as a bookkeeper and secretary. Frances is in Beverly Hills, California; and Catherine is employed by the Gibbons Hospital in Celina. These last three are unmarried.

Brother Herman was born in June of 1868 and came to the United States in 1885 accompanied by two cousins, Henry Tebbe and Bernard Behrens. Uncle Weingartner persuaded Herman to learn the saddler trade. Herman was employed by Josep~i Dramann in St. Henry. When the first World Exposition was in progress in Chicago, Herman and a friend, Henry Schoeneberger attended. On their return journey, they stopped in Toledo, Ohio, where Herman decided to remain and make harnesses for a Mr. Statler. He married Mary Samberg, the daughter of Herman Samberg of Toledo and bought a home on Napp and St. Clair Streets where the family resided for many years. After several years, Herman discontinued his trade and was appointed a district committeeman by the Republican Party. He also engaged in notary and associated work. This couple had three boys, Leo, Ralph, and Elmer. Leo is engaged in business in Florida at the present time. His first wife died and he has since remarried. Ralph recently went to Florida in a house trailer for his son’s health. He was employed by the United States Express Company and retains the same position while in Florida. Elmer is a salesman in Toledo for the “Westinghouse Electric Company.” He is married and has two Sons.

Herman died on New Year’s Day in 1921. After his death, his wife sold their home on Napp and St. Clair Streets, bought a lot in the southwest part of the city on Glynn Drive, and built a duplex where she and her unmarried sister have since lived. They rent the other portion of the house. Theresa, the sister, died about eight years ago; but Mary is still enjoying good health.

My sister Elizabeth, after arriving in the United States with the family, worked as a domestic servant for the Fred Tuke Family. She later was employed by a Father Polinsky at a Polish Church on Liberty Street in Cincinnati and later by a Father Gehres in Sedamsville, Cincinnati. She accompanied him to the Holy Family Parish in Price Hill, Cincinnati, where he was transferred. Here she remained until her health failed some thirty years later when, in 1931, she came to Celina and lived with her sister, Mrs. Annie Art. She passed away on December 18, 1931, and was buried in Celina.

Brother Bernard was born on May 5, 1870; and after completing his education worked for Uncle Henry as a carpenter. After journeying with the family to this country, he became a decorator and paper hanger in Cincinnati. He married Clara Ennenking and had two daughters both of whom now live in Chicago. Ben died on March 28, 1924, and is also buried in Celina.

My sister Annie was born in Germany on August 21, 1874, and fifteen years of age when she accompanied her parents to the United States. She worked as a domestic servant in Cincinnati and later married Bernard Art. They had three sons all of whom are now living in Celina. After the death of Mr. Art in 1909, Annie moved to Celina where she lived with her father and mother until their deaths, at which time sVe inherited their home. This house she later had moved to the west side of Logan Street. She became ill and was taken to a Dayton hospital in 1943 where she later died.

Brother August was born on May 31[30], 1876, and came to this country with his parents. After remaining in Cincinnati for about six months, he went to St. Henry and was employed by Theodore Moorman on a farm. One year later he returned to Cincinnati and was employed as a bartender by Ben Louhous, his cousin by marriage. Later he began his own saloon [Gus’s Place]. His wife was the former Philomina Teitmeyer who is now deceased. This couple had four sons and four [5] daughters. One son, Leo, died when five [15] years of age. Harry was first married to Bernadina Steuve by whom he had two children [sons], of whom the older lives with his great-aunt [Rose Teitmeyer] in Celina. The younger lives with [adopted by] the Victor Pulskamp’s in Celina. After the death of his first wife, Harry remarried and again had two [4] children [2 sons and 2 daughters]. He now has a clerical job in Lima, Ohio. Another of August’s sons [Alfred] lives in Dayton, Ohio, and is married to a Beckman girl [Mary A], the daughter of Clara Beckman. Herbert, the youngest son, lives in Celina, is married to the former Lucille Nottingham, and has one [2] son[s]. Helen, who is unmarried does secretarial work in Cincinnati [married Jack Cavanaugh]. Madonna is a member of the Sisters of the Precious Blood and teaches school. Ida married Fred Gilberg, who operates a printing shop in Celina. Herbert is employed by Mr. Gilberg. One daughter, Loretta, is married to Victor Pulskamp. [Marcella died at age 9 months.]

Another sister, Mary accompanied her parents to the United States where she worked as a domestic servant, and later married Herman Bueltel. Mr. Bueltel was born in Emsburen, Germany, and had come to America on August 31, 1884. After the marriage they moved to Seneca, Kansas, where they first rented and later purchased a farm. Mr. Bueltel, being a carpenter by trade, did some carpentering in addition to farming. Mr. Bueltel died at Seneca, on November 11, 1940. This couple had eight children, one of whom died when a small child. Joseph is married to Helen Winkler and have five children. Leo C. is married to Estella Hochard and is the father of two children. Elizabeth McGrath is the wife of Frank Bueltel and they have four children. Henry M. is employed by the Mersman Brothers Corporation in Celina; and he is married to Madonna Pulskamp, a former nurse. They have four children. Ann Bueltel is married to Richard C. Weigel and is the mother of one daughter. Vincent Bueltel married Ruby Lee Brown and served as a petty officer in the United States Navy. Being a carpenter, he was at one time part of the construction crew that built the Huey Long Bridge in Baton Rouge [New Orleans?], Louisiana. Cecelia Bueltel is a member of a religious order (Benedictine) and teaches school in Kansas.

Brother Joseph, born June 19, 1878, came to this country with his parents. He learned the barber trade in Cincinnati where he worked for several years. Later he came to Mercer County and operated a barbershop in Chickasaw. He also engaged in the real estate business. Elizabeth Hagedorn was Joseph’s wife. They had two boys and three girls. One boy hitch-hiked to Texas to improve his health but the following year he returned to Ohio and died at the home of his parents. The three girls and one boy are all married and live in Dayton where Elizabeth moved after Joseph’s death.

My sister Frances also came with the family to Cincinnati, married John Metcko, a tailor by trade who died in 1947. They have two children. The son is a member of the Franciscan Order, and the daughter is married and lives in Detroit. Frances died before her husband, and Mr. Metcko lived in Detroit with his daughter until his death.

The youngest child, Clifford, came to the United States with the remainder of the family. After completing his schooling, he was employed at the Cincinnati-Northern Railroad Depot in Celina. He did office work in the “Kuntz and Wright Lumber Company” in Greenville, Ohio. He also has been employed in Middletown lumber company, at the Cincinnati-Northern office in Greenville, and at a railroad office in Anderson, Indiana. Returning to Mercer County, Clifford again worked for me, this time in the “Mendon Lumber Company.” His family later moved to Detroit where he was employed in a lumber company office. His wife was the former Bertha Morell. They have four sons and one daughter. The oldest boy, Tom, is married and has two children. His home is in Wabash, Indiana, where he is employed in a supervisory capacity by the General Tire and Rubber Company, which engaged in government work during the war. The daughter, Ruth, is married and she lives in Baltimore. One other son is married and the remaining two are living with their parents.

After my marriage in 1894 and during my period of employment by the St. Henry Flour and Mill Company, I was approached by Mr. Peter Kuntz, Sr. of Dayton, Ohio who asked me to engage in the lumber business in Celina. As I was interested in the proposition, a meeting was arranged for that same afternoon in Greenville, Ohio. When I arrived in Greenville, Mr. Kuntz met me at the railroad station with a lame mule hitched to a dray. He insisted that I sit on the seat while he stood behind me and drove the wagon. We discussed the business proposition at the Peter Kuntz and Wright Lumber Company in Greenville. Mr. Kuntz suggested that we start a lumber company in Celina on a partnership basis; but learning that I did not have sufficient funds, he presented the alternative plan that I work as his employee in the proposed lumber company. I agreed to this and also to my salary which was to be seven dollars and fifty cents per week for the first year, twelve dollars per week for the second year, and eighteen dollars per week for the third year.

My father-in-law, Mr. Bernard Romer of St. Henry; Mr. C. E. Wright; and Mr. C. J. Herr later agreed to invest one thousand dollars each in the project and Mr. Kuntz supplied the balance.

During the fall of 1894, a farm belonging to a Celina attorney, Frank LeBlonde, was advertised for sale. A loan on this farm had accumulated to such an extent that it was divided into sections and offered at sheriff’s sale. Mr. Romer and I went to Celina and bid on the seven and one-half acres where the lumber yard is located at the present time. The price was eleven hundred dollars. As there was only a small mortgage on the whole farm of one hundred and twenty acres, the encumbrance was only two thousand dollars. The owners of the mortgage debated on whether to sell this small portion since there had been no other bids on the remainder of the farm. They finally agreed to the transaction.

As I was searching for timber with which to build a shed, I went to Burketsville, Ohio, to see a Mr. Wesly Burt, who operated a sawmill. There I purchased sufficient timber for a two-story building, thirty by sixty feet, with two connecting sheds, each sixteen by thirty feet. This material was delivered on the railroad siding in Celina for ten dollars a thousand. I then employed carpenters to construct this building. The first carload of shingles, arriving on December eighth, was delivered and unloaded in the yard for two dollars and fifty cents.

My wife and I moved to Celina on the seventh of November, 1894, and rented a house on Warren Street. This house belonged to a Mr. Sarf who was a timber buyer. On the first day of July, 1895, we moved into the seven-room house which had just been completed on the lumber company’s premises. After living in the new home for approximately eleven years, we decided to move the house seventy-five feet west of its original location. We then began to build the house in which we have lived for over forty years.

The lumber company in Celina was an immediate success. The first three cars of lumber to arrive were twelve inch, number four white pine boards. Before I had finished unloading these, I had sold the siding for three barns.

After operating on our original program for two years, it was decided to incorporate the “Peter Kuntz and Herr Lumber Company” f or ten thousand dollars. Mr. Kuntz bought five thousand dollars worth of preferred stock and the remaining partners purchased the other five thousand dollars worth of common stock.

 About 1900, Mr. Kuntz, Mr. Romer, Mr. Herr, and Mr. Wright, and I decided to construct a lumber company in St. Henry. My brother-in-law, Mr. Joe Moeller, became the manager of this yard. This yard was originally operated as a branch of the Celina company and later incorporated.

In 1916, Mr. Joe Moeller and I decided to exchange our interests in the “Peter Kuntz and Herr Lumber Company” and the “St. Henry Lumber Company.” As our investments in the two yards were equal, there was no exchange of money in the transaction. Then, upon the death of Mr. C. E. Wright at Greenville, Mr. Herr became the owner of Mr. Wright’s interests in the St. Henry and Celina yards. About 1915, Mr. Moeller, Mr. C .J.Herr, Mr. B. Romer and myself bought the Coldwater lumber yard known as the “Hixon Lumber Company” where my brother-in-law Albert became the manager. After six years, when it became apparent that the citizens of Coldwater were desirous of having the company owned by local men, we sold this company to Mr. Henry Synck, Mr. Jake Wilhoff, Mr. Roman Rauh, and Mr. Hoying, who are the present owners.

A few years previous to our purchase of the Coldwater company, we had started a yard in Mendon, known as the “Mendon Lumber Company.” This yard was located along the C. H. & D. Narrow Gage Railroad; and when the railroad was abandoned about fifteen years later, business dwindled in Mendon. For several years we trucked lumber from Celina yard to Mendon. It was at this time that I bought Mr. Herr and Mr. Moeller’s interests in the Mendon Company. After continuing the business for several more years, it became evident that the yard was no longer a profitable concern and it was decided to abandon company. Everything was sold at public auction.

Mr. Herr; Mr. Joe Moeller; his brother, Mr. Louis Moeller; and I then started the “Fort Recovery Lumber Company.” After we had operated there for three years, Mr. Louis Moeller offered to buy my interest. My original investment in this yard had been only thirteen hundred dollars. I sold it to Mr. Moeller for six thousand. About this same time Mr. Herr offered to sell me his stock in the “Peter Kuntz and Herr Lumber Company” in Celina on the basis of annual inventory. I purchased his stock for eleven thousand dollars. While Mr. Kuntz retained the five thousand dollars’ worth of preferred stock, I was, by this time, sole owner of the common stock of this yard.

In 1920, this common stock was increased from fifty dollars per share to one hundred dollars per share. My son Ferd bought nine shares; my wife, one; and I purchased forty. In 1929, I was given the opportunity to dispose of my interest in the lumber company by the Peter Kuntz Company. As the dissolution of the Winkeljohn, Romer & Son partnership had been weighing heavily on me, I agreed to this sale. The company was reorganized on the basis of the December thirty-first inventory of 1929. The company’s investments were changed to complete common stock and the organization was reincorporated as the “Celina Lumber and Supply Company.” The Peter Kuntz Company purchased sixty per cent and Ferd the remaining forty. They later remodeled the office and the hardware rooms. A new cement shed was constructed and finally the driveway between the two main buildings was enclosed and the drives all laid in concrete.

In 1902, Mr. Peter Kuntz, Sr. arranged with the railroad company to convey all lumber-yard managers who were his business associates to the saw mills in Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. In Arkansas we visited the A. & K. Railroad in which Mr. Kuntz had some interest. We also inspected the Bodkaw Mill of which Mr. Kuntz was partial owner. Some of the cities we visited and in which we were lavishly entertained, were Mendon, Louisiana; Texarcanna, Kansas; and Sulphur Springs, Arkansas. I particularly recall crossing the Swanee River when the train traveled five miles an hour.

In 1920 a second trip was arranged, this time by Mr. Peter Kuntz, Jr., who had inherited the managership of his father’s business when Mr. Peter Kuntz, Sr. died in 1919. The entire trip was of twelve days’ duration and all expenses were borne by Mr. Kuntz. We stopped at Hutting, Arkansas; Graysonia and Warren, Arkansas; Springdale, Florida; and other places of interest. At Atlanta, Georgia we were feted at a dinner by the residents of that city. We were also taken on a sight-seeing trip of this vicinity. I was very much impressed by Stone Mountain, which is completely composed of marble. From there we journeyed to Jacksonville, Florida where we also were entertained.

Six of our party decided to travel to St. Augustine, Florida which is about thirty-five miles from Jacksonville. The extremely narrow highway was composed of brick laid in loose sand and the old Ford which we had hired had five blow-outs enroute. In addition to this inconvenience, the temperature that particular day was about ninety-five degrees. St. Augustine, the first permanent settlement on this continent, is particularly interesting because of the architecture is of Spanish design. Those men who accompanied me to St. Augustine were Mr. Richard Kuntz; Mr. Charles Sanders; Mr. Walter Weber; Mr. Carl Graves, a brother-in-law of the Kuntzs’; and my son Ferd.

About 1918, Dr. Miller, a practicing physician in Celina, and I bought the Abner-Davis property on East Livingston Street in Celina. This included about five lots and an old brick house. The furnishings in this home belonged to John Davis, an adopted son of Abner Davis’. We disposed of the household goods at a public auction. Two years later, a man named Wenning offered to trade a farm south of Fort Loramie, Ohio, for our property. We investigated the proposition and discovered that his farm was encumbered for two thousand dollars. We agreed to the trade after Mr. Wenning mortgaged the brick house and one lot to a George Snavely for the necessary two thousand. Dr. Miller and I employed a man by the name of Elmer Baker from Chattanoga as a tenant. After about two years, when Mr. Wenning failed to pay the interest on his mortgage, it was foreclosed. In order to save our investments, Dr. Miller and I were compelled to buy back the Livingston Street property.

In 1922, Henry Lemonon offered to trade farms for one he owned on the Celina-St. Marys Road, southeast of Neptune. This trade was effected and we hired a Mr. Springer as tenant. Owning this farm for about three years, we sold it to a Mr. Hinkle for fourteen thousand dollars. This property is now owned by August Spieler.

About 1905, Mr. Edmund Brandts, who was associated with the Mersman-Brandts organization; Mr. George Booze; and I formed the Celina Realty Company. This company was incorporated for the purpose of building homes which were very scarce in Celina. From Mr. David Overly, we purchased a piece of land on what is now North Sugar Street. We divided and platted this property into town lots, graded it, and built sidewalks. The new addition was entered in the county records. I contracted with the company to build six houses, all of the less-expensive type. Before completion, all of these were sold.

The following year, we bought another piece of land from Mr. Overly on what is now North Mill Street. This property was divided into lots and called Fairview. Again I arranged with the Celina Realty Company to construct six houses. All of these were readily sold. At this time, Mr. J. E. Hamburger, owner of the former Mercer County Fair Grounds, offered to sell this property to the company on condition that he would become a partner in our organization. W~ agreed to the proposition and once more I contracted with the company to build several cottages on these premises. Since this time, all these homes have either been removed or remodeled.

I then contracted with the company to build what is now the Mercelina Hotel for six thousand dollars. My contract did not include the wiring, heating, or plumbing, all of which were handled by Mr. Brandts.

Our next project was the organization of the Celina Chattaqua, in which we soon interested Mr. J. D. Johnson, Mr. Ira Crampton, Mr. P. E. Kenney, and others. The Chattaqua was operated for about four years, during which time we attracted such noted orators as Maude Ballington Booth, William Jennings Bryan, and Billy Sunday. Eventually the organization seemed to lose interest in the project and it was abandoned. During these Chatauqua sessions I had moved my family into a tent on the fair grounds and had later built two cottages, one for Mr. Brandts and one for my family. These cottages are still standing in their original location. About 1912, Mr. Brandts suggested that the Celina Realty Company be dissolved. He, being particularly anxious to acquire the former fair grounds, was given that property in the dissolution. I obtained twenty lots in the Citizens Addition in Celina and all of the Brandts Addition which we had formerly purchased. Before the dissolution, I had built six houses on what is now Godfrey Avenue and ten in the Citizens Addition. These homes and the remaining empty lots were easily sold.

I had just completed two houses in the Citizens Addition, about 1928, when a Mr. Joseph Kreusck offered to trade his mother’s property and brick house on West Fayette Street near the railroad tracks for the two new houses, both of which were valued at three thousand dollars. This property on Fayette Street I remodeled, added four rooms, enlarged the basement, installed a new heating system, and built a porte-cochere.

In 1918, Mr. J. E. Hamburger inquired as to the possibilities of my purchasing a farm. Although I told him that I was not interested, he persuaded me to inspect one particular farm with two real-estate men from Dayton. The farm was located southwest of Macedon. The price was about twelve thousand, but the property was mortgaged to the Citizens Banking Company for seven thousand. I remained disinterested until the agents suggested that I trade part of my town property for the farm. I replied that I would consider trading my property on West Fayette Street. After a week, the agreement was finally reached. Rilt Baker of Dayton, the owner of the farm, immediately mortgaged the property on Fayette Street to complete the transaction.

This farm, on which I employed a Mr. Sam Norris as tenant, was formerly known as the Martin-Nickerson property and had been used as the location of a saw mill. On it were located a fairly good house of five rooms and a large barn which was shaped in an odd fashion because it had been built for use as the saw mill. It was twenty—two feet high and about a hundred feet long. The barn had an excellent standing—seam metal roof; but as it was sided with rough saw mill lumber, I resided it with cypress. I also remodeled the stables, constructed a hog house and a grainery, reroofed the house with slate, and added a porch to the house. After owning this property for three years, I sold it to a Mr. Boehmer for eighteen thousand dollars.

When, in 1923, housing again became scarce in Celina, another realty company was organized by Mr. Zura Riley, Mr. Henry Pulskamp, Mr. Ed Hierolzer, myself, and others. We purchased two lots on West Wayne Street opposite the furniture factory and I agreed to build two houses for the company. By this time, Dr. Miller and I had divided into lots the former Davis property on East Livingston Street. We called this section the Miller Addition. Here also I built two houses, these being more modern than those on Wayne Street. All four were easily sold.

When the economic situation in this country gave evidence of an impending depression, the members of this new realty company voted to dissolve it. Only a slight loss was incurred. When the former Davis property was sold at sheriff’s sale, Mr. Snavely acquired the half interest which had been owned by Dr. Miller.

Dr. Miller, in the meantime, had contracted tuberculosis; and in order to improve his health, he moved to Denver, Colorado with his wife and two young daughters. They remained there until Dr. Miller’s death a year and a half later. Mrs. Miller had his body sent to our home in Celina. After his internment in North Grove Cemetery, Mrs. Miller returned to Denver and disposed of their household goods. As she also had developed the disease, she went to Minnesota and built a cottage in the woods about two hundred miles northwest of Minneapolis. She also spent brief periods in the hospital. After her health had improved she married and architect by the name of Sam Wentworth. They purchased a home in Minneapolis but lived part of the year in the cottage.

My three daughters; Lucille, Rita, and Lillian, and I visited them about eleven years ago. We left Celina on a Sunday morning and arrived in Minneapolis on a Monday evening. Tuesday we left for their cottage. This is located about five miles south of Black Duck and twenty-five miles northeast of Bemidji. We remained there for five days and then returned to Celina. Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth and the two Miller girls have visited us on several occasions. Both girls are married and each has one child. One resides in Detroit Michigan, the other in Lansing, Michigan.

In 1918, Mr. William Jasperson, then associated with the Jasperson Supply Company in St. Marys, Ohio purchased a farm formerly known as the Montgomery-Stearns farm. He laid out a golf course, divided parts of the wooded section into lots, some of which bordered the lake, and began to sell them. Several lots were priced as high as three thousand dollars. He interested me in building cottages on this property. I originally constructed six and later completed an additional ten. All of these were sold and occupied during the summer season. Many were later remodeled and developed into better class homes. I recall several homes in particular. One, built for Ernest Vein Fleet, cost more than eighteen thousand dollars. This is now occupied by Justin Oppenheim. Another cottage, originally constructed for H. R. Blagg, a Dayton contractor who has since died, is now occupied by Ted Oppenheim. Mr. William Maier built an eight— room summer house and Mr. Jasperson’s house cost approximately twelve thousand dollars. I sold the material for and supervised the building of the vast majority of these homes.

In 1920, Mr. Jasperson persuaded me to build a cottage for my personal use. I exchanged with him two lots which I owned in St. Marys for two lots in Northwood, the name given to his venture. Once I had begun building my cottage, it became evident that only a rather large home would prove adequate. It consisted of four rooms downstairs, five rooms upstairs, a bathroom, screened porch, and an adjoining garage.

When the depression struck, Mr. Jasperson was in a bad condition financially and his Northwood venture had to be abandoned. This occurred in 1930. Realizing that Mr. Frank Sommers of the Brandts Furniture Company was looking for a summer home, I suggested Northwood to him and he agreed to buy some property there. Most of Northwood now is owned by Mr. Sommers, the Oppenheims, and William Maier of Troy, Ohio. The golf course is still in use and Northwood is continually being improved.

After the last world war, I wished to renew my correspondence with my surviving relatives in Germany. As I had not received any letters for thirty years, I did not know to whom to write. One of the last persons with whom I had corresponded had been a cousin named Henry Determan. As I did not believe he would still be living in 1945 as he was older than I, I addressed my letter to his family. I received a prompt answer and for the past two years I have received many letters from Germany. From these I learned that practically all the sons and daughters of my two uncles had died. One with whom I corresponded died in May of 1947. Two cousins-by-marriage remain, Johann Thuemen and Mary Thuemen Winkeljohan, the wife of Johann Winkeljohan. I have received letters from four second cousins; Maria Vierkamp, George Determan, Henry Heimbrock, and Mrs. August Nichting.

Disregarding the damage which resulted from the war, conditions have improved greatly in Germany during the last fifty years. The majority of families who were classed as tenant farmers forty or fifty years age, now own small pieces of land. This land was formerly considered as waste land because of the high sand content and had been used only to grow pastorage. After it was divided into farms, the land was sold to the poorer classes of people who erected small homes. Apparently the system was successful and the financial condition of these people was greatly improved. At the present time, of course, conditions are bad in Germany.

George Determan wrote me that during the war, bombers, presumably Russian, crossed over their vicinity on three consecutive nights. The residents of the town had to leave their beds and seek shelter in ditches, air-raid shelters, and other places of safety. In that particular community, sixteen houses and the school which I had attended as a child were destroyed by fire. The church adjoining the school also suffered some damage. The broken stained glass windows had to be replaced with plain glass. The large metal bells which the government had removed at the beginning of the war, have now been replaced by six new ones.

Maria Vierkamp, whose husband still remained in France, wrote early last winter and said that she and the seven children expected his arrival in Germany within a week. On January 2, 1948, I received another letter from this family saying that Mr. Vierkamp had returned about the middle of the previous November.

As I recall the events of the last fifty years, I realize what great changes have occurred. Certainly World Wars I and II were the most out— standing and disastrous events of these years. Many Americans were killed in the first war and hardly had we recovered from its effects when the depression occurred. Shortly after economic stability was returned, the world was again plunged into a desperate conflict. While Germany and Russia suffered greater loss of life than the United States, nevertheless our killed and wounded reached into the millions. The financial cost of the war was also great in the country. Our national debt today amounts to two hundred and fifty-eight billions of dollars, which may require a hundred years to pay in full. However, as this money is owed to the American people, the debt is not an immediate burden.

Shortly after the war ended in 1945, prices in this country sky- rocketed. Livestock today is selling from twenty-five to forty dollars per hundred pounds on the hoof. Wheat is about three dollars a bushel; corn is two and a quarter; butter is eighty-five cents per pound and eggs are sixty cents a dozen. The farmers in this country are particularly prosperous at this time. The cost of labor is unusually high also. Common laborers receive from one dollar and twenty-five cents to five dollars per hour and coal miners receive about thirteen dollars a day.

I was a member of the Immaculate Conception Church Choir for more than thirty-five years. I served on the City Council for four terms and was the president of the first Celina Commercial Club. In 1931, I served as an appraiser for the Home Owners Loan Corporation and during 1921, 1937, and 1943, I was an appraiser for the City of Celina.

On October 9, Mr. Peter Kuntz, Jr. was honored at a celebration on the fiftieth anniversary of his association with the Peter Kuntz organization. This festivity, costing about eight thousand dollars, was given by the members of the association. I received a special invitation and was the oldest member of the organization present. During the program, I was called upon to address a few remarks to the group. I was particularly proud that my son, Ferd, was chosen as master of ceremonies for the occasion.
 

As I review the past fifty years, I am amazed at the many changes which have occurred. One of these changes which particularly surprises me is the rise in prices of building material. In 1895 the annual business of the lumber company amounted to approximately $100,000 annually. At the present time it equals $600,000 annually. The greatest advance has taken place since the last war.

At the present time, nearly all the American people are prosperous even though the government takes a large portion of these earnings. It should also be mentioned that four years have passed since World II ended, but that America is still jittery, fearing a third world conflict.

I also wish to include a brief account of an accident I had in 1933. During that year I had the misfortune to fall eight feet from a roof. For eleven weeks, I was hospitalized; and after the dressings were removed, it was discovered that my one leg was 2.25 inches shorter than the other. Since that time I have been compelled to walk with a cane. Fortunately, however, I have been able to do light work.