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GERMAN SETTLERS

AND

GERMAN SETTLEMENTS
IN INDIANA

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A MEMORIAL FOR THE
STATE CENTENNIAL 1916
BY
DR. WILLIAM A. FRITSCH
EVANSVILLE, IND., 1915

"COPYRIGHT"
Williara A. Fritsch, 1915

Dedicated to the {Members
ofthe
German- American ^Alliance
in Indiana
"By the Author

PREFACE.
The author of this small volume has
been a citizen of Indiana for over fifty
years. A German by birth and educa
tion, he has ever taken an interest in
the German language and literature. In
his travels over the state as a member
of the State Board of Health and in re
sponse to calls for speeches, he has come
in contact with a large number of Ger
mans throughout the state. He believes
that over half the population of the state
are either German or of German descent
and feels that they have not received
due credit for their share in the de
velopment of the state. For many years
he has devoted his leisure hours to the
task of gathering facts and data regard
ing the Germans as a factor in the up
building of the state and offers this lit
tle book as a result of his labors, with
the hope that it may prove of interest to
the reader. W. A. F.

THE EARLY SETTLERS OF INDIANA.

When in the year 1786 the United States Congress
passed the "Ordinance for the North West Territory,"
by virtue of which the large domain comprising the
present states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and
Wisconsin were freed from eastern control and open
ed up to general immigration no one thought that in
little more than one hundred years the great forests
and prairies of the Middle West would be trans
formed into five great states.
Governor St. Clair took control on July 15, 1788,
the territory having then only a sparse population,
but the fertile lands and the provision excluding
slavery from this territory and granting entire re
ligious freedom to every settler brought a flood of
immigration, which in a short time converted these
woodlands and prairies into places of human habita
tion and progressive cities.
Among these immigrants there were from the very
beginning men and women of German descent who
contributed their share in the upbuilding of these
states, and to them must be attributed in some meas-
5

ure the progress in science and culture for which the
state of Indiana is famous.
The first settlers in Indiana were Frenchmen im
migrating over Canada. King Louis XIV of France,
who had seized the German countries on the Rhine,
also sought conquests in America; and after the dis
coveries of de La Salle, the French pressed down the
Mississippi valley. To establish their claims, several
forts were built on the Wabash river, the first being
Fort Quiatonon, not far from where the city of La-
Fayette now stands. Ft. Vincennes, about 100 miles
below, was built in 1727. In the wake of the soldiers
came tradesmen, and Ft. Vincennes became a thriv
ing French village and subsequently the first capital
of Indiana. Among the early inhabitants we find
men with German names, evidently Germans from
Alsace Lorraine, who had immigrated with the French.
When the English tried to seize this wild country in
which the Indians were still on the warpath, Virginia
sent General George Rogers Clark with an army west
over the Ohio to take possession of it for the United
States. Among his troops there were many German-
Americans, one of whom. Captain Leonard Helm, was
appointed commander of Ft. Vincennes and agent
for the Indians of the Wabash valley. When an Eng
lish force under Colonel Hamilton came south to re
capture Vincennes, they found Helm in command of
the fort with but one soldier, the French inhabitants
having fled. Butler, in his "History of Kentucky,"
6

tells us how Captain Helm, at the approach of the
English, bravely placed a loaded cannon before the
entrance of the fort and upon their coming within
hailing distance, commanded them to halt, empha
sizing his demand by brandishing a firebrand and
shouting that he would shoot if they came nearer.
Hereupon the English proposed a parley in which they
agreed that Captain Helm and his men should have
free passage from the fort with their arms. Imagine
their surprise when Captain Helm, with his command
of one man, stepped forward!
When General Clark, who was in Kaskaskia, heard
of the fall of Ft. Vincennes, he hastened through the
wilderness of Illinois with his army and recaptured
it, reinstating Captain Helm in his old command.
In 1792 the Mennonite preacher, John Heckewelder
came to Ft. Vincennes, having been sent by President
Washington to act as counselor and interpreter of
Indian languages to General Rufus Putnam, who con
cluded a treaty of peace with the Indians at this place.
Later we find another Mennonite missionary, A.
Luckebach, on the White river in Indiana. All these
good intentions availed but little at this time as the
Indians were restless.
"St. Vincennes, July 4, 1800. On this day com
mences the government of the Indiana Territory;
William Henry Harrison being chosen as governor;
William Clark, Henry Vanderburgh and John Grif
fin judges for the Indiana Territory."7

With these words of the journal, the young Indiana
government announces itself. Indiana Territory was
at that time composed of Indiana and Illinois with Ft.
Vincennes as the seat of government. In 1800 its
whole civilized population amounted to 5,651 souls,
but large hordes of Indians roamed about in this
wild country. In the year 1811 when Chief Tecum
seh and his brother, the Prophet, encouraged by the
British in Canada, stirred up the Indians against the
white settlers in the territory. Governor Harrison held
conferences with the Indians and strove to pacify
them, but when he saw that they were bent to go on
the war-path, he gathered troops and with his little
army of 910 men, of whom 213 were militia from Vin
cennes, Corydon and other places along the Wabash,
marched against the Indians.
Coming upon the Prophet's town in the neighbor
hood of the present city of Lafayette on the morning
of November 7th, 1811, he was attacked by the In
dians, and the battle of Tippecanoe ensued. This was
the first battle in the second war with England, Gen
eral Harrison dispersing the Indians and destroying
their stronghold. Among the men who distinguished
themselves in this battle were two officers, whose
names are familiar to German-Americans and plainly
indicate their German ancestry. One was Captain
Geiger, who with his men conducted himself bravely
to the last. The other. Colonel Luke Decker, com
manded part of the militia. When the Legislature
8

soon after met in Vincennes, the assembly passed a
vote of thanks to Colonel Decker and his men for the
valor with which they had fought for their homes and
firesides. Luke Decker, who lived in Knox County,
not far from Decker's Station was a man of great
energy and versatility and held several positions of
importance in the new territory. In a fight with In
dians on Mississinewa river, December 12, 1812,
Lieutenant Waltz of Captain Markel's company,
was killed and praised for his valor in the reports of
his superior officers. In the year 1796, some Swiss
citizens of the Canton Waadt, attracted by a German
traveler's vivid descriptions of the country, organized
a company to buy land on the Ohio River and culti
vate vineyards. They bought a large tract of land
in what is now Switzerland county and founded the
town of Vevay on the Ohio river in Indiana. Vine
yards were planted which are still in existence. In
1810 considerable wine was made here while the
women of the colony wove straw hats, which they
sold to Cincinnati merchants and to the boats passing
on the Ohio river. This was the first settlement of
the Swiss, later we will mention others.
In the year 1816, after the separation of the state
of Indiana from Illinois, the constitutional Conven
tion assembled at Corydon, whereto the new capital of
Indiana had been transferred. The convention
opened on June 10th, and the first constitution of the
state was adopted, Indiana becoming a state of the
9

Union on December 11, 1816. One member of this
assembly, Frederick (Reichard) Rapp, we will meet
with again in the next chapter.

NEW HARMONY A GERMAN SETTLEMENT.

In a fertile valley on the lower Wabash river about
sixty miles from its confluence with the Ohio, lies
the town of New Harmony. It is one of the oldest
towns in Indiana and some of the quaint old build
ings of the first settlement are still standing. The
history of this beautiful little town is certainly inter
esting. Let us see who its first inhabitants were and
whence they came.
Under the government of Duke Charles Eugene
of Wuertemberg, Germany (by the grace of Napoleon
I, the rulers of this German province are now kings),
who had established the Karlsschule, the alma mater
of the great German poet Friedrich Schiller, there
lived in the rural village of Iptingen, near the city of
Maulbronn an active and intelligent weaver by the
name of Johann George Rapp. Besides weaving for
other people, he cultivated a few acres of land and
conducted a wine-press. During his leisure hours he
read the Bible. Becoming intensely imbued with
communistic ideas he began to preach in his twenty-
fourth year, urging the return of the customs and
10

ceremonies of the early Christians. Annoyed by his
teachings, the pastors of the Wuertemberg state
church and other religious denominations petitioned
the government to forbid Rapp's preaching to the
people. The duke of Wuertemberg, however, regard
ed Rapp and his doctrines as harmless and refused to
interfere. Rapp's propaganda bore good fruit and he
soon had a large following. Desiring to live together
free from persecution they decided to emigrate to
America. Rapp, his son Johannes, and two elders
were sent to investigate, and purchased a tract of
five thousand acres of land twenty-five miles west of
Pittsburg at three dollars an acre. In the spring of
1804, Rapp went to Baltimore where three hundred
of his people landed with the ship Aurora on July 4th.
Another party of two hundred and sixty, headed by
Frederick Reichert arrived the next month at Phila
delphia, where Rapp received them. Arriving at
their settlement a constitution was adopted, all the
members giving up their money and agreeing to live
and work together under chosen leaders. The com
munity was named Harmony, Johann George Rapp
being elected the spiritual leader and teacher, and his
adopted son, Frederick (Reichert) Rapp, the business
manager of the new town, three elders being associa
ted with them in the management of affairs. The
Rappites, as they were generally called, built over
one hundred houses in their village and soon had over
three thousand acres of land under cultivation. As
11

far back as 1807 a great number of the society adopt
ed the celibate life; still marriages occurred in the
society, Rapp's only son among them, Rapp himself
solemnizing the marriage. If young couples married
and left the community, the Rappites helped them and
took a kindly interest in them. In the year 1814 the
Rappites sold Harmony to a Pennsylvania German for
$100,000, and with their goods, agricultural imple
ments and machinery valued at $45,000, moved down
the Ohio River to Indiana, where they had bought
30,000 acres of land, and founded Harmony, later re
named New Harmony. Here they established a dis
tillery, brewery, mills and factories and manufactured
cotton and woolen goods, the daily output of their
factories in 1822 amounting to $262.00, according to
the "Niles Register."
In order to guard against river pirates and warring
redskins who were prowling about, the Harmonites
built a fort which is still in a fair state of preserva
tion. The falls of the Wabash near the town were uti
lized to furnish water power for a mill and hammer
factory. The town grew steadily. The work was done
in groups or companies, each group selecting its own
foreman whose duty it was to deliver the products
to the general storehouse. Soon the lofts of the store
house were filled with all kinds of manufacture'd pro
ducts and from near and far came farmers to pur
chase necessities and to have their grain ground. The
producing power of these enterprising Germans be-
12

coming too great for their immediate neighborhood,
branch stores and agencies were established in Vin
cennes, Ind., Shawneetown, 111., Louisville, Ky., Pitts
burg, Pa., and other places, their products and man
ufactured articles finding a ready sale throughout
the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, from Pittsburg to
New Orleans. From a report of the English colony
at Albion, Edwards County, Illinois, we glean that the
manufactures of the Rappites were given the prefer
ence over all others, and that in the years 1818-1824,
the English settlers had purchased $150,000 worth of
goods from the Rappites. River transportation was
mostly on flat boats. In 1823 Jonathan Lenz (then a
lad of sixteen, but later one of the trustees of the so
ciety) had charge of such a cargo valued at $1,369
and containing thirty-nine kegs of lard, one hundred
kegs of butter, six hundred and eighty bushels of
oats, eighty-eight barrels of flour, one hundred and
three barrels of pork, thirty-two oxen, sixteen hogs
and forty barrels of whiskey. Today its entire cargo
would be worth many times more. Among the Rap
pites there were good farmers as well as good me
chanics; travelers coming from far and near to ob
serve the commercial life and the well conducted
farms and vineyards. The typical dwelling house of
the Rappites had no door facing the street, the doors
being on the sides of the houses towards the beau
tiful flower gardens which were to be found every
where. Some of the houses are standing today, bear-
13

ing evidence of the substantial manner in which they
were erected. Ferdinand Ernst passed through New
Harmony on his way to Illinois in 1819. Coming from
Princeton on horseback, he arrived just as the vesper
bells were ringing, the familiar sounds of which,
though strange in America, carried his thoughts back
to his fatherland. In a book published in Germany,
he gives a good description of the town and his visit.
Of special interest to us is his description of a thresh
ing machine, which the Harmonists used at this early
date. Schoolcraft visited the town in 1821 and writes:
"They have no spendthrifts, idlers or drunkards in
Harmony — everybody is working." Another writer,
George Flower, says, "With surprise all who went to
Harmony observed with what facility the necessaries
and the comforts of life were acquired and enjoyed
by every member of Rapp's community. When com
pared with the privations and discomforts to which
individual settlers were exposed in their backwoods
experiences, the contrast was very striking. The poor
hunter who brought a bushel of corn to be ground,
coming from a distance of perhaps ten miles, saw
with wonder people as poor as himself living in good
houses surrounded by beautiful gardens, clothed in
garments of the best quality and regularly supplied
with meal, meat and other food without any apparent
individual exertion. He could not fail to contrast
the comforts and conveniences surrounding the dwel-
14

lings of the Harmonites with the dirt, desolation and
discomforts of his own log hut. It opened to his
mind a new train of thought. One of them said to
me, 'I studies and studies on it,' an expression that
depicts the feelings of every person that obtained a
sight of Rapp's German community at Harmony."
Father Rapp was at this time still the head of the
communtiy and their spiritual advisor. His adopted
son, Frederick Rapp carried on the business with the
outer world, while Romelius L. Baker was the mana
ger of the general merchandise store.
When Indiana adopted a state Constitution at
Corydon in 1816, Fred Rapp was a delegate to the
assembly from Gibson County, and as a man of af
fairs had great influence in that body. In 1820 he
was appointed a member of a committee of ten to
select a more central place for the capitol of the state
of Indiana, which committee subsequently selected
Indianapolis. In the year 1824 the Rappites or Harmonites,
through the agency of Richard Flower, sold all their
possessions on the Wabash, including the town of
Harmony, to Robert Owen of Scotland for the sum of
$150,000, and nearly all moved back to Pennsylvania,
where they built a third town on the Ohio River be
low Pittsburg, which they named Economy. A few
remained in the state and these were the agitators
for a large German immigration in the southern part
of Indiana. Owen took possession of New Harmony
15

and promulgated his humanitarian ideas in the wil
derness of America. Financially his experiment did
not meet with the success that favored the thrifty
Germans, who to the number of eight hundred had
labored and built up a community which could be
considered a model in its day. Yet Owen, McClure
and the naturalists who frequently made New Har
mony their abode, among them two German princes
from the fatherland, contributed their share in the
uplifting of humanity and the progress of the state.
Since the Civil War, New Harmony has had a healthy
growth and with its fine working men's library do
nated by one of its public spirited citizens. Dr. Mur
phy, together with other endowments, is now one of
the most beautiful and progressive little towns of its
size in the country.
At Economy, the Rappites displayed the same ac
tivity and industry. Father Rapp died here in the
year 1847 at the age of ninety. The German historian
Franz Loeher, visited him shortly before his death
and gives a good account of Rapp and his co-workers
in his book: "Land und Leute in der alten und neuen
Welt" (Land and people of the old and new World.)
During the civil war the Rappites displayed their pa
triotism by taking into their community orphan chil
dren of Union soldiers, who had been killed in the
civil war, and raising them until they could support
themselves. Among these was J. S. Duss, whose
father had been mortally wounded at Gettysburg and
16

died in a hospital. Young Duss was raised in Econ
omy, attended college, became a teacher and musi
cian, and after his marriage joined the Harmonist so
ciety and as one of the trustees directed the affairs
of the community until it was dissolved in 1906. Sev
eral German books were published at Economy, the
best known being the hymn book of the society with
the title: "Harmonisches Gesangbuch, theils von
anderen Autoren theils neu verfasst" (Harmonic
hymn book partly by other authors, partly original
compositions). The first edition appearing in 1827 contained the
militant songs of the old protestant church from the
time of Martin Luther to Ernst Moritz Arndt and
some newer songs by members of the society.
It was in 1869 that the writer first saw New Har
mony, many of the buildings reminding him of struc
tures in the old country. Observing the neglected
condition of the massive old Rappist church which
was being used as a packing house, he wrote to the
trustees of the society at Economy and suggested that
they buy the building and donate it to the town for
some good purpose. After some correspondence on
the subject, Mr. Jonathan Lenz, one of the trustees
of the society came to Evansville to visit the writer
and then went to New Harmony, where he purchased
the church and turned part of it into a public school.
He also bought the burial ground of the Rappites,
which had been unintentionally sold with the other
17

land and used the remaining bricks from the church
to build a brick wall around this cemetery where sev
eral hundred of the Harmonist pioneers lie buried, no
monuments or mounds marking their resting places.
Some fine trees which had grown up in the cemetery
were ordered cut down by Mr. Lenz, much to the
writer's regret.
In the week of June 6-13, 1914, New Harmony cele
brated its centennial anniversary, many literary
men, statesmen and others assembling at the little
town on the Wabash to pay homage to the early Ger
man pioneers whose keen intellects and indomitable
zeal had blazed a path for future generations. The
first day of the celebration was Rapp Day and many
people of German descent, the ancestors of some of
whom had been pioneers of the town, came from near
and far to honor the memory of the sturdy builders
of New Harmony in song and speech in the old ceme
tery of the Harmonists. The occasion was a most
happy one and many were the wishes for the future
prosperity of fair New Harmony on the banks of the
Wabash.

18

OTHER IMMIGRANTS.

After the departure of the great body of Harmon
ists for Economy, Pa., only a few remained behind on
farms near the old home town. Soon, however, other
Germans came to help build up existing villages and
to establish new ones. Vincennes had been established
before Knox county, of which it is the county seat.
Soon other counties on the Wabash and Ohio were or
ganized, the first immigration, which came from the
eastern states chiefly from Pennsylvania, Virginia,
North and South Carolina, being directed to the
southern part of the state. At the constitutional con
vention at Corydon in 1816 only 13 counties were
represented by delegates. On a chart of Indiana pub
lished in the year 1817 the northern part of the state
was a large empty space, only the following counties
being given, Gibson, Posey, Warrick, Perry, Harrison,
Clark, Jefferson, Switzerland,. Dearborn, Wayne,
Franklin, Ripley, Jennings, Jackson, Washington,
Orange, Pike, Daviess, Knox and Sullivan. To these
counties there came many Germans, who as sturdy
19

/

pioneers had a large posterity though sometimes
with slightly altered names.
Wayne County on the Ohio border naturally be
came the home of many Germans across the line,
chiefly from Cincinnati. Later, however, many immi
grants came directly from the old country, a large
number coming from Hanover, Germany. Among
these there was a pioneer physician. Dr. Wedekind,
who settled in Richmond. Dr. Wedekind became
widely known through his contributions to news
papers and magazines. At Centerville, nearby, a
Pennsylvania-German Lutheran preacher, Samuel K.
Hoshour, conducted a school and was the teacher of
Oliver P. Morton, Lew Wallace and other eminent
Indiana men. Lew Wallace gratefully mentions Hos
hour in his autobiography. The poet Joaquin Miller
was born near Marion, Grant County, among the In
dians, who had a reservation there; and in his old
days he wrote feelingly of his Indiana home and his
old neighbors. Miller's mother was born at Frankfort
on the Main.
The Hoosier poet, James Whitcomb Riley, is also
of German descent.
In the year 1847 the first railroad in the state was
built from Madison to Indianapolis. Madison attract
ed many Germans and for a short time a German
newspaper was published there. In 1850, John L.
Mansfield (Johann B. Lutz) came to Madison from
Lexington, Ky., where he had been a professor of
20

mathematics in Transylvania University and where he
had married a lady by the name of Mansfield, whose
name he adopted. Mansfield became very popular in
Madison and was repeatedly elected to the state legis
lature. During the civil war he was appointed general
of the state militia by Governor Morton. The India
napolis-Madison line was utilized during the war to
transport many northern regiments to Kentucky.
Between 1820 and 1840 large numbers of German
immigrants came to Indiana via New Orleans and up
the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. This immigration
came chiefly from Hessen-Darmstadt, Wupperthal
and the Rhein province. Among those from Hessen-
Darmstadt was William Heilman, who worked for a
while on a farm in Posey county, became a successful
manufacturer in Evansville and represented the 1st
Indiana district in Congress.
From Hueckeswagen, a town on the Wupper where
broadcloth is manufactured, came William Rahm with
his wife and eight children. Boarding a sailing vessel
at Antwerp in October, 1848, they landed at New Or
leans after a voyage of ninety-three days. Another
trip on the steamer "Uncle Sam" finally brought them
to Evansville, Indiana, on March 1, 1849. At Lamas-
co, then a suburb, but now a part of greater Evans
ville, Rahm established a general merchandise store
with a stock of dry goods and hardware which
he had brought from Germany. He soon built up a
large business and his success attracted a large num-
21

ber of people from his home town. Of the new ar
rivals some established themselves in Knox County,
around Bethlehem Church, Ferdinand, Westphalia
and Vincennes. Warrick county was divided and a
new county formed which was named Vanderburg,
after Judge Vanderburg of Vincennes, who was of
Dutch extraction. Many Germans also settled in the
river towns of Newburgh, Rockport, New Albany,
Jeffersonville, Madison, Lawrenceburg and Mt. Ver
non. A Swiss-German colony established Tell City,
which soon became a live manufacturing town.
In early days New Albany was the largest city in
the state, but was soon outstripped by Indianapolis
and Evansville. The country farther away from the
Ohio gradually came under the plow. A fine Catholic
seminary and monastery were established at St.
Meinrad, while Fulda became the home of a pros
perous Swiss-German settlement. The towns of Fer
dinand, Huntingburg and Jasper, Dubois county, have
a large German population, a German paper, "Das
Signal," being published at Huntingburg. The names
of such villages as Elberfeld, Haubstadt and Darm
stadt indicate their early settlers, whose descendants
still love their mother tongue and German customs.
New Elsass, Dearborn County, was founded in 1839
by Frank Anton Walliser. Its early inhabitants ar
ranged shooting matches and other German celebra
tions which were attended from far and near. The
passing through the state of the railroads brought a
22

large influx of Germans, Carl Schurz writing to his
wife in 1852 from Indianapolis that of the 18,000 in
habitants of that town 2,000 were Germans. Today
Indianapolis has over 300,000 inhabitants, with a
large, intelligent and prosperous German population.
In the northern part of the state several counties
were named after Germans who had distinguished
themselves in the Revolutionary War — Steuben, De
Kalb and Jasper.
Terre Haute, La Fayette, Peru, Logansport, Elk
hart, Bern, Michigan City, South Bend, Crown Point,
Hammond and Ft. Wayne all have a large number of
German citizens, many of whom take a prominent
part in the commercial and social life of their re
spective communities.
When Germans settled in a town they generally
soon built a meeting house or church, the preacher in
the early times generally also assuming the duties of
teacher in the community.
When Dr. F. A. Wylie came from Pennsylvania to
teach at the state university in Bloomington, he was
accompanied by Lewis Bollman, a nephew of that
genial adventurer, August Erich Bollman, who had
tried to liberate General LaFayette when he was a
prisoner at Olmuetz.
The Bollmans came from Hoya on the Weser, Han
over, Germany. Lewis Bollman was born May 24,
1811, at Williamsport, Pa., where he studied medicine
before going to Bloomington, continuing his studies
23

and taking his degree at the Indiana University. Dr.
Bollman was reporter of the Indiana Legislature for
many years until appointed statistician of the Depart
ment of Agriculture by Abraham Lincoln-. Upon his
return from Washington, Bollman edited a paper at
Bloomington and took a great interest in agriculture
and the cause of the workingman. Bollman died at
Bloomington on Sept. 3, 1888. Contemporaneously
with Bollman there lived in Terre Haute a leading
German lawyer by the name of Albert Lange. Born at
Charlottenburg near Berlin on Sept. 26, 1801, Lange
studied history and law at Berlin. The spread of the
liberal movement attracted Lange to this country in
the year 1829. For a short time he edited a German
paper in Cincinnati. From there he went to Hancock
County, Indiana, where he married the daughter of
an old settler and farmed for some time. Moving to
Terre Haute, he took up his old profession and prac
ticed law. Drifting into politics, he joined the Whig
party under Taylor and Filmore was U. S. Counsel at
Rotterdam. Returning to Terre Haute, he was repeat
edly elected to office, serving as mayor of the city for
many years. In 1860 he was elected state auditor and
proved of great assistance to Governor Oliver P
Morton during the civil war. Relinquishing his of
fice he retiirned to Terre Haute, where he continued
to practice law until his death on July 25, 1869.
An estimate of the German population of Indiana
may be gained by the number of German papers
24

which circulated among them. When one considers
that in pioneer times newspapers could not be sent
long distances owing to lack of transportation facili
ties, and were for the most part local papers published
for the town and surrounding country, the large
number of German papers published in various parts
of the state in the early days bear evidence of the
large and scattered German population.
Let us see where German papers were published in
this state and where they still exist. In Vincennes,
when the first French settlers had died out, they were
replaced in greater numbers by the Germans. This
the oldest town in the state, now has several German
congregations with fine churches. A number of its
leading merchants, manufacturers and professional
men can read and write German, but the German
paper maintained by its citizens for some years no
longer exists, the larger and more newsy German
dailies from St. Louis and Evansville having replaced
it at their breakfast table.
Mt. Vernon also once had a German paper for the
large German population of Posey county but it also
was forced to give way to the St. Louis and Evans
ville papers.
Evansville, being the center of a large German
population, has had many German newspapers. The
first German paper, Der Volksbote, edited by J. Roh-
ner was established in 1851 and was maintained for a
long time. In 1853, Theodore Dietsch established "Die
25

Reform." Dietsch had been a member of the Frank
furt Parliament and was perhaps too radical in his
utterances as "the Reform" soon ceased to exist. An
other reason for the brief existence of the "Reform"
may be found in the circumstance that the publisher
of its competitor, "Der Volksbote" had secured the
services of a brilliant young German by the name of
Frederick Keller, a theological student of Heidelberg,
who was forced to leave the fatherland in the period
of political unrest of 1848-1849. Passing through
New York, Canada and Ohio, Keller drifted to Indi
ana where he found employment as editorial writer
for a number of German papers.
Keller resided in Evansville twice and died here of
pneumonia on Dec. 14, 1876 in his 48th year while
editing "Die Union." Dr. Amelia R. Keller, of Indi
anapolis is a daughter of this pioneer newspaper man.
The "Union" and "Demokrat" existed in Evansville
for a long time, the former as an evening and the
latter as a morning paper, the "Union" finally selling
out to its competitor, which is now the only German
paper in Evansville appearing there over fifty years,
and edited by Frederick Lauenstein.
Rockport and Tell City also once supported Ger
man local papers but are now supplied by Evansville
and Louisville.
At New Albany, Henry Lange for many years pub
lished a German newspaper which was, however, final-
26

ly crowded out by the larger Louisville paper. Lange
is also the author of two volumes of poems.
At Jeffersonville, G. F. Engelhardt for many years
published the "Beobachter aus Indiana." He also
published and circulated many valuable German
books and pamphlets. An accident on a traction car
unfortunately put an end to Engelhardt's activity.
At Huntingburg, Dubois County, there is the
"Huntingburg Signal," its long existence proving the
strong hold it has upon the Germans of that town
and vicinity.
Richmond and Bern also published German papers.
At Indianapolis a number of German papers have
been circulated among the people of this and neigh
boring towns. In the year 1848 Julius Boetticher es
tablished a weekly paper, "Das Indiana Volksblatt."
It was well managed and secured a large circulation.
The publication by this office in 1853 of a transla
tion of the Indiana Statutes into German gives evi
dence of the scope of this establishment and the large
German population of the state at that time. Other
papers making their appearance were "Die Freie
Presse," "Tribuene," "Telegraph," and "Spottvogel."
At the present time there appear the daily "Tele
graph" and the "Tribuene," and the Sunday "Spottvo
gel," both having a large circulation. Indianapolis has
had some very able editorial writers, among whom I
might mention Julius Boetticher, Adolf Seidensticker,
27

Frederick Keller, Carl Beischlag, T. B. Jeup and
Phillip Rappaport.
Terre Haute has also had several German papers,
the "Terre Haute Journal" still existing.
At La Fayette, Francis Johnson edited the "Deutsch
Amerikaner," and published several books in the
English language.
Logansport still maintains a German weekly, while
the large German dailies of Chicago seem to supply
the needs of the large German population of Crown
Point, Michigan City, South Bend and Hammond.
At Fort Wayne we find the strong German daily
"Freie Presse und Staatszeitung," ably edited by Her
man Mackwitz, and well supported by Concordia Col
lege and the many good German families of Ft.
Wayne and vicinity. Thus we find German newspa
pers published and eagerly read in all parts of the
Hoosier State.

28

GERMANS IN THE CIVIL WAR.

The early German pioneers of Indiana took little
interest in National politics, their minds being too
much occupied with putting their homes in order. The
presidential campaign of William Harrison, who had
been their war governor when Indiana was yet a ter
ritory and with whom they had marched in their wars
with the Indians and the English, served to stir up the
Hoosiers. Little did they dream then that half a cen
tury later many of them would fight in a greater
war. At the organization of the Northwest Territory it
was ordained that slavery should be excluded from
its bounds, but the slavery question continued to be
agitated with more fervor as the years passed by. It
was, as Carl Schurz termed it, "an irrepressible con
flict," while Abraham Lincoln in his famous debate
with Douglass said, "a house divided against itself
cannot stand. I believe this government cannot en
dure permanently half slave and half free." The
Germans of the United States were for freedom of
the colored race and bitterly opposed to slavery. Out
29

of eighty-eight German newspapers in the United
States eighty opposed the Kansas-Nebraska bill, the
Germans of Indiana sharing the views of their com
patriots in the Nation at large. As stated in a prev
ious chapter, the German revolution of 48-49 brought
to this country many well educated men, such as Carl
Schurz and others. Many of these became newspaper
editors and opposed slavery from the lecture plat
form. In the National Republican convention at Chi
cago in 1860, a large number of the delegates from
Indiana were Germans. The committee on resolu
tions which drafted the party platform had among
its members such well known Germans as Carl Schurz
of Wisconsin, Gustav Koerner of Illinois, and Judge
Wm. H. Otto of New Albany, Indiana. Judge Otto
being the secretary of the committee. A Hoosier
German was thus largely instrumental in drawing up
the platform on which Lincoln was elected.
When the war broke out Evansville had a military
organization known as the Steuben artillery, com
posed entirely of Germans and organized several
years before. The company consisted of fifty men,
eight or nine of whom came from Tell City, Martin
Klauss serving as captain. They were sworn in as
state militia and equipped with two cannons and
twenty-four Mississippi rifles. They were first sta
tioned at Evansville where they examined boats on
the Ohio river for contraband of war for the south.
In June, 1861, they were sent to Indianapolis to en-
30

list in the United States service as the First Battery
of Indiana. Here the company was further equipped
with cannon, ammunition and horses and sent to Mis
souri. The battery arrived after the battle of Wilson
Creek and took part in the campaign following, doing
such good service at the battle of Pea Ridge on March
7 and 8, 1862, that they received the commendation
of General Franz Sigel for their prompt action in
carrying out orders. The First Indiana Battery aided
in the siege of Vicksburg and took part in many other
engagements during the war until mustered out of
the service on August 22, 1865.
The Sixth Indiana Battery was also recruited in
Evansville, and composed of German volunteers with
Fred Behr as Captain. Behr lost his life on the first
day of the battle of Shiloh, the Sixth Indiana Bat
tery being stationed in the woodland at the extreme
right when caught in a flank movement by the enemy,
from which only one cannon commanded by Lieuten
ant Wm. Mussman was able to extricate itself. This
cannon and two others of Hoffmann's battery in
charge of the men of the 6th Indiana Battery helped
to recapture the cannons which had been taken the
day before at Shiloh Battle. Michael Mueller was the
successor of Captain Behr and ably led this company
till mustered out of service on Sept. 9th, 1864.
The largest body of Germans was the 32d Infantry
Regiment recruited from the larger cities of the state,
there being a company from Evansville, Terre Haute,
31

LaFayette and other places, August Willich being its
first Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel H. Von Trebra
its drill master at Indianapolis. Both Willich and
Von Trebra had been officers in the Prussian army.
The latter was living with his family on a small farm
near Danville, Illinois, when the war broke out. Hear
ing that a German regiment was being organized at
Indianapolis, Von Trebra went there and enlisted, be
coming its drill master and bringing it to a high state
of efficiency. August Willich was a dashing and fear
less leader and was often called the Bluecher of our
western armies. The 32d Indiana infantry regiment
was commanded in the German language, each com
pany having a book in which the orders of the colonel
or superior officer were written in German. When
the regiment was ready for military service, it was
sent by rail to Madison and from there by boat to
Louisville, where it joined General Buell's army.
The first engagement of the 32d Indiana regiment
was at Rowletts station near Munfordville, Ky., on
December 17, 1861. Four companies had been sent
south over the Green River to observe the enemy
when they were suddenly attacked by an overwhelm
ing force and the bugler called for help. Colonel
Willich being absent at a council of war. Colonel Von
Trebra assumed command and hastened with a part
of the regiment to the assistance of the troops en
gaged, driving the enemy back with great loss. In

32

recognition of the valor of the regiment. General
Buell issued the following order:
General Orders.
No. 23.
Headquarters Department of the Ohio.
Louisville, Ky., Dec. 27, 1861.
The General Commanding takes pleasure in bring
ing to notice the gallant conduct of a portion of C«l.
Willich's regiment, 32d Indiana at Rowletts Station in
front of Munfordville on the 17th inst. Four com
panies of the regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Von
Trebra, on outpost duty, were attacked by a column
of the enemy, consisting of one regiment of cavalry,
a battery of artillery and two regiments of infantry.
They defended themselves until reinforced by other
companies of the regiment, and the fight was con
tinued with such effect that the enemy at length re
treated precipitately. The attack of the enemy was
mainly with his cavalry and artillery. Our troops
fought as skirmishers, rallying rapidly into squares
when charged by the cavalry, sometimes even defend
ing themselves singly and killing their assailants with
the bayonet. The General tenders his thanks to the
officers and soldiers of the regiment for their gallant
and efficient conduct on this occasion. He commends
it as a study and example to all other troops under his
command and enjoins them to emulate the discipline
and instruction which insure such results.
The name of Rowlett's Station will be inscribed in
33

the regimental colors of the 32d Indiana regiment. By
command of Brigadier General Buell, James B. Fry,
A. A. G. Chief of Staff. Many years after the war
General John M. Claiborne, a southern aristocrat, as
he styled himself, in a series of articles for the Gal
veston News, gave an exaggerated account of the part
that Terry's Texas Rangers took in the fight at Row
lett's Station, which caused Wm. Friedersdorf, an old
soldier of the 32d Indiana regiment, to send the fol
lowing communication to a Missouri paper. "In
stead of 3,000 "federal Dutch" engaged that day, our
force did not number over 700, all belonging to the
32nd Indiana infantry. We were called Germans
(Dutch by the enemy) but the majority of us were
born or raised under the flag, which we served — the
stars and stripes and understood for what we were
fighting. We were all American citizens. I think
fifty-five of our regiment had seen service in the old
country. We received the same pay as other soldiers,
and like most of the others, the majority of us could
have made much more outside than in the service.
We were doing picket duty, not having started on the
march, when the rangers attacked us. There were
just four, not fifteen cabins, "nigger quarters" at the
place. We had only thirteen killed in that engagement, in
cluding brave Lieutenant Sacks, a Jew who died re
volver in hand, rather than surrender.
On a little mound in Munfordville are twelve
34

graves holding the remains of all our men killed in
action, except those of Lieutenant Sacks, which were
sent to a brother in Philadelphia. A farmer showed
us two graves six or seven miles south of our little
battle and told us they contained the bodies of two of
our men murdered by Col. Terry's son while prisoners.
We never heard of that youthful "aristocrat" aveng
ing his father's death in open battle. Not over twen
ty-five of our men were wounded ; they all recovered.
We admired the bravery and dash of Col. Terry
and his command, but facts are facts, and facts are
said to be stubborn things. If the battle was over "in
a period of four minutes," that was all the time re
quired by the "Dutch" to clean up the rangers, aris
tocracy and all. They left their dead commander on
the field and asked for his remains the next day."
The 32nd Indiana was with General Buell at Shiloh
and helped win that battle, on the second day. Col
onel August Willich was soon afterward assigned as
Brigadier General of the 6th Brigade and Lieutenant
Colonel Von Trebra took command of the 32d Indi
ana regiment on Aug. 9th, 1862, at Battle Creek. Un
fortunately Von Trebra took sick and was obliged to
return to his home in Illinois, where he soon after
died. A younger brother of Von Trebra who had en
listed as a private in the 32nd regiment, later became
a captain and remained with his company to the end
of the war. Colonel F. Erdelmeyer was the last com
manding officer of the 32nd and remained so until it
35

was mustered out of service in the fall of 1864. This
regiment had a good reputation and took part in all
the great battles in the West: Stone River, Chicka
mauga, Mission Ridge and the Atlanta campaign.
All the regiments from Indiana had Germans in
their ranks, some having whole companies. Of the
14th Indiana, which was sent to the Shenandoah Val
ley and fought at Antietam and Gettysburg, over half
were composed of Germans, Company E being wholly
Germans. In the 24th regiment, organized by Alvin
P. Hovey, later Governor of Indiana, one company,
led by Captain John Grill, was entirely composed of
Germans, while other companies were about half Ger
man. A large per cent of the 42nd Indiana regfment
were also Germans, John E. Eigenmann rising to the
captaincy of Company D. Eigenmann was severely
wounded and captured at the battle of Stone River.
Being unfit for further service he was paroled to the
end of the war. Company A, of the 136th Indiana
regiment, was German with the exception of one
comrade, whom we taught so much German that he
was able to understand us. Other companies of this
regiment were also largely composed of Germans.
Many of the commanding officers of our regiments
were born in the fatherland and had seen service
there. Among these we might mention General Wil
lich, Colonel Von Trebra, Colonel Erdelmeyer, who
commanded the 32nd regiment. Colonel Carl A. Zol
linger of the 129th regiment, and Colonel Rheinland-
36

er, of the 25th. Colonel Richard Dale Owen, son of
the social reformer, Robert Owen, of New Harmony
fame, was educated in Switzerland and spoke German
well, his regiment having many Germans in its ranks.
Lieutenant Colonel Gustav Gerber died at the head of
his regiment in the battle of Shiloh.
Among the Indiana generals there were some of
German descent, as well as some of German birth.
Thus the grandparents of General Pleasant Adams
Hackleman had immigrated from the fatherland in
1773 and 1774 settled in the Carolinas, whence
they crossed the mountains to Kentucky and 1800
moved to Indiana. Hackleman's father was born in
North Carolina in 1786, while he himself was born at
BrookviUe, Ind., in October, 1816. As I was told by
Dr. Hackleman of Rockport, a cousin of the general,
Abraham Lincoln, after his inauguration as President,
appointed the general as a member of a peace con
gress which held a conference with representatives
from the south, without, however, accomplishing any
thing. When the war broke out Governor Morton
appointed Hackleman colonel of a regiment. On April
28, 1862, he became a general, his old regiment hon
oring him by presenting him with a fine sword. He
was destined not to enjoy his promotion long, as he
was killed on October 3, 1862, at Yuka, near Corinth,
while leading a charge of his brigade. General Hack
leman was the only general from Indiana to lose his
life on the field of battle. 37

August Willich was born at Braunsberg, Prussia,
on Nov. 14, 1810. At the age of 12 he was sent to a
military school at Potsdam. Upon graduating he en
listed in the Prussian military service as lieutenant
of artillery and was assigned to the fortress of Wesel.
The wave of liberalism which swept through the
Rhineland in the forties led him to quit the service,
which he re-entered, however, in the revolutionary
period of 1848, becoming an associate of Franz Sigel
in Baden. At the close of this revolution Willich and
many others emigrated to America. Being an able
civil engineer, Willich soon found employment in the
Coast Survey of North and South Carolina. Here he
became acquainted with the intrigues of the southern
slave holding aristocracy. Coming north to Cincin
nati he edited a German paper and at the outbreak
of the civil war organized the 9th Ohio regiment and
later the 32nd Indiana, of which he became colonel.
Willich was a courageous leader and splendid disci
plinarian, and good to his men. After the
battle of Shiloh he was appointed general of the 6th
brigade. In the battle of Stone River (Murfeesboro)
his, impetuosity led to his capture by the Confeder
ates. He was soon after exchanged and with his regi
ment again and distinguished himself with his troops
in the battles of Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge.
At Resaca he was shot in the right arm, which was
lame after that. After the war Willich retired to
St. Mary's, Ohio, where he died on January 22nd,
38

1878. A fine monument erected to his memory by his
comrades, who respected and loved him, marks his
final resting place in Elm Grove cemetery, near St.
Mary's. General Fred Knefler, another Indiana man, was a
German-American. He was in the thick of the fight
at Chattanooga and Mission Ridge, of which battles
he later gave vivid descriptions.
In the early part of the civil war there was great
need of all sorts of war utensils and Governor Morton
therefore established an arsenal to manufacture these,
putting in charge a German by the name of Herman
Sturm, who was at that time conducting a small ma
chine shop in Indianapolis. Sturm proved himself
equal to the task and under his direction articles to
the value of $800,000 were manufactured for the In
diana troops. At the conclusion of the war the Na^
tional Government took possession of the arsenal.

39

AFTER THE CIVIL WAR.

At the close of the war one regiment after another
was mustered out of service, the soldiers left for their
respective homes to become civilians again, and this
country, so rich in resources, prospered as never be
fore. The thrifty Germans made good farmers, and often
on land where others could not eke out an existence,
they made a good living. In the cities the German
artisan, tradesman and professional man also pros
pered. They generally had large families, often gave
their children a college education and otherwise pro
vided for them. Some of these German-Americans
are worth remembering. We will give a brief sketch
af a few. In the spring of 1853 there came to Green
castle, Ind., from Bischofsheim on the Rhine, not
far from Strassburg, a young baker by the name of
Louis Weik. Young Weik established and successfully
conducted a bakery for a number of years. He raised
a large family and was highly respected in the com
munity, being repeatedly elected to the city council.
His son, Jesse W. Weik, together with William H.
40

Herndon, Abraham Lincoln's law partner, edited one
of the best biographies of Lincoln in existence and he
IS now engaged to verify the route the Lincoln family
took in moving from Spencer county to Illinois.
Ex-Governor Conrad Baker and his brother, Wil
liam Baker, a former mayor of Evansville, Indiana,
were Pennsylvania Germans, who had come to Indi
ana from Bethlehem, Pa., long before the war. At the
beginning of the war, Conrad Baker, who was then
practicing law at Evansville, was appointed colonel
of the First Indiana cavalry. He was subsequently
elected lieutenant governor and governor of Indiana.
Indiana has had five state treasurers of German de
scent. The first of these, August Lemcke, became
well known as a writer and financier. Lemcke was
born in Hamburg, Germany, and as a young man
came to this country to make his home with an uncle,
who had a general merchandise store in Posey Coun
ty. Young Lemcke later moved to Evansville, where
he held several positions in the city administration
and was elected sheriff of Vanderburgh County for
two consecutive terms. As state treasurer he was very
popular and at the conclusion of his term of office
made his home in Indianapolis. In 1905 he wrote a
book entitled, "Reminiscences of an Indianian, from
the sassafras log behind the barn in Posey County
to broader fields." Several large office buildings in
Indianapolis bear his name.
Indiana has also had several good judges, who came
41

from the fatherland. George Ludwig Reinhard was
born on July 5, 1843, in Unterfranken, Bavaria, and
came to America with his mother in 1857. At the be
ginning of the civil war he enlisted in the 15th Indi
ana regiment and fought in the battles of Green
Briar, W. Va., Perryville, Ky., Shiloh, Stone River,
Lookout Mountain, and other engagements. After
the war Reinhard took up the study of law at Owens-
boro, Ky. A few years later he removed to Rockport,
Ind., where he was elected prosecuting attorney for
Spencer and Warrick Counties, and in 1882 judge for
these two counties, to which position he was re-elect
ed in 1882. Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in the
Appellate Court in 1891, Governor Hovey appointed
Judge Reinhard to the position, the people of the state
sanctioning the appointment in the election the year
following. Upon his retirement from the bench, Judge
Reinhard was called to a chair in the law school of
the State University at Bloomington and died as dean
of this school some years later. Judge Reinhard was
the author of several law books.
Judge Peter Maier emigrated to Ohio when quite
young and after receiving his education there, began
the practice of law in Evansville, Ind., was elected
judge of the Circuit Court in Vanderburgh County
and many years later justice of the peace in Evans
ville, but died before finishing his term of office.
Judge Johannes Kopelke, of Crown Point, Ind., was
born on June 14, 1854, in Buchwald, near Neustettin,
42

Pommern, Germany. After studying law at Ann Ar
bor, Michigan, he started the practice of his profes
sion at Crown Point, Ind. The high esteem in which
Kopelke is held by the people of his section of the
state is shown by his election to various positions of
trust. He has served in the State Senate and on Feb.
23, 1911, he was appointed Judge of the Lake County
Superior Court by Governor Marshall. He is a ver
satile writer, and upon his return from a visit to
Europe he published a fascinating book on his trip
entitled "Sommerausflug nach Europa, hauptsaechlich
Deutschland," (Summer Outing to Europe, especially
Germany.) Indiana has had quite a number of German-Ameri
can representatives in the lower House of Congress.
John Kleiner, a German school master, was elected
mayor of Evansville and then elected to represent the
First district of Indiana in Congress.
William Heilman, a manufacturer of portable saw
mills and other machinery, and who in his time was
one of the leading manufacturers in the state, was
elected to the State Senate and later represented the
First district in Congress.
John W. Boehne, who was born in a German settle
ment in Vanderburgh County, came to Evansville
when a young man and by dint of industry and thrift
amassed a fortune in the foundry business. After
twice serving the city of Evansville as mayor, he was
43

elected to represent its large commercial interests as
Congressman in Washington.
Charles Lieb, of Rockport, the present Congress
man of the First district, was born in Flehingen, Ger
many, May 20, 1852. Coming to Rockport when
young he has since resided there, and as one of its
leading bankers, has contributed his share in build
ing up this prosperous little town. Before his election
to Congress, Lieb served three terms in the State
Legislature. The 13th Congressional District of Indiana is rep
resented in Washington by Henry A. Barnhart, son of
a German Baptist minister.
It has frequently been said that Germans do not
take enough interest in politics. The names of the
above, together with the large number who have been
elected to the legislature and filled county and city
offices, prove the contrary. However, it should be of
greater interest to know how this large immigration
has aided in the development of the state.
The Germans are frugal and industrious, persever
ing and thrifty. They do not speculate nor gamble
and by their economical mode of living they have set
a good example to others.
Two German schools of Indiana have exerted a
great influence for good in this state, Concordia Col
lege of Ft. Wayne, which is still in existence, and the
"German-English Independent School" at Indianapo
lis, which existed for many years and in which many
44

of the best citizens of Indianapolis received their edu
cation. Teachers of the public schools frequently
visited these schools to study the methods of the Ger
man teachers.
Theodore Stein of Indianapolis, who was once a
student of the German-English Independent school,
has written an interesting history of his alma mater,
which is well worth reading. When the school ceased
to exist, its teachers readily found positions in the
public schools of the state. One of these, Professor
Theodore Dingeldey, taught school for many years in
a small country school in Posey County, and upon his
death his former pupils erected a fine monument over
his last resting place in the Zion's Church Cemetery,
Posey County. The writer once stood at the grave of
this good and learned pedagogue and saw the follow
ing epitaph on his tombstone:
Here Hes the body of Prof. Theodore Dingeldey,
born in Germany, 1845.
Died Feb., 1903.
Sleep on dear friend
and take your rest.
We know that you
Have done your best.
This stone was erected here
By those to whom he was dear.
Wherever Germans lived in any number a meeting
house was built and a singing society organized. The
Harmonists of New Harmony were the first to organ-
45

ize a singing society. They had a good band and on
the Fourth of July invited the farmers of the neigh
borhood and entertained them with patriotic songs
and music. From New Harmony singing societies
spread over the whole state, the larger societies in the
cities employing music directors to teach them. Thus
the Germans have undoubtedly done much to bring
music to the homes and firesides of the people of In
diana and popularized Mozart and Beethoven.
They also introduced gymnastics here. German
turning societies existed in the state long before the
civil war. Today calisthenic exercises form part of
the curriculum of our public schools.
Though only a modest beginning has been made in
art, the future promises much. The Soldiers' and
Sailors' Monument at Indianapolis, perhaps the most
pretentious architectural and sculptural achievement
in the state, was planned by a German, Bruno
Schmitz, and the artist, who made the fine sculptural
work at the foot and around the monument, was Rud.
Schwartz, another German.
In many other things, making for progress, the
Germans have taken the initiative. From them we
have learned a great deal in scientific and intensive
farming and the care and breeding of our domestic
animals. The German word for domestic animals is
"Hausthiere," which would signify that they belong
to the house and should receive humane treatment.
With this impulse Adolph Melzer, a citizen of Ger-
46

man birth and a friend of animals, has built a
"Friendly Inn" for horses in Evansville, the second
largest city of the state, where he boards hungry and
neglected horses, giving them shelter and food at the
lowest possible cost to their owners. He has also
caused to be placed in one of the streets of the city
a fine fountain for horses and dogs.
It is a little early to speculate on the influence of
the Germans on the English, or rather American lan
guage, yet we find many German words used in Eng
lish b,ooks. Thus we find the words "plunder" and
"plunder box" in the works of Eggleston and other
writers in expressing things of little value and boxes
for storing them.
Not long ago while walking through the public
market the writer saw a small boy walk up to a stand
with a bowl in his hand and call for a dimes' worth
of Schmier-Kas (cottage cheese). Sauer-kraut has
also become almost as popular here as in the old
country, while Froebel's kindergarten has now a
strong hold in our public communities and with it,
the word kindergarten has been incorporated in our
language. We could extend this list of household
words of German origin, but these few may suffice.

47

GERMAN INDUSTRY AND PUBLIC INSTITU
TIONS.

One of the largest factories in Indiana is. the South
Bend establishment of the Pennsylvania-German,
Studebaker Brothers, the greatest wagon builders in
the state. These Americans were proud of their
Pennsylvania-German origin.. They moved from
Pennsylvania to Ohio, later to South Bend, Indiana,
where they started with moderate means their large
wagon factory, which has grown from year to year,
notwithstanding many discouragements and a severe
loss by fire, which consumed the entire plant. Un
dismayed, the brothers set to work and rebuilt it, with
added improvements, making now also automobiles
and kindred articles. Their products go to every part
of the civilized world. The Studebakers were patriotic
people. In a park near Lincoln City, which now is
state property, Peter E. Studebaker had a slab raised
to the memory of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, the Presi
dent's mother, whose grave had been neglected for
more than 60 years. The erected slab bears this in
scription : To the mother of our martyred President.
48

Erected by a frienlS. No one knew who gave it, with
it were directions that it should be placed above the
grave of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, with an iron fence
around it. The request of the unknown donor was
carried out, but the men who did the work at the
time did not know who paid them. The money came
through a bank in Rockport and that was all that was
known. Col. Geo. M. Studebaker, eldest son of Clem Stude
baker, was the commanding officer of the 157th Regi
ment Ind. Vol. in the Spanish war.
John Moler Studebaker, the sole survivor of the
five brothers, celebrated his golden wedding in 1910
and is still hale and hearty. He has been a munifi
cent patron of South Bend, one of his recent gifts
being a $25,000 electric fountain, erected in one of the
parks — and furthermore has done much to aid in the
promotion of the South Bend park system.
In Evansville we have the largest cigar factory un
der one roof; the ground on which the factory stands
measures 241 by 469 feet, the buildings of brick, are
modern and sanitary, a model of its kind. 2,000 per
sons, mostly girls, work in this factory and when they
go to or return from work swarms of neatly clad
women throng the sidewalks of the streets. The
daily output of hand made cigars is 400,000. Diamond
Joe and Charles Denby are the main brands of the
factory. The founder, Hermann Fendrich, was born
on the Mth of April, 1813, in Baden-Baden, Germany;
49

when 8 years old he came with his parents to Balti
more, where he worked with four brothers in the to
bacco business. In 1850 he came West and established
his own tobacco store on Main street, between First
and Second streets. After many years of hard labor
and industry, he became wealthy and after death left
the management of his large business in the hands of
his son, H. Fendrich, who erected the present build
ings and enlarged the business.
Another example of foresight and perseverance is
Herman Hullman, Sr., of Terre Haute. Born in Ger
many he came to this country without means and laid
a foundation for his wholesale business so strong and
good that he could branch out and extend his busi
ness in Terre Haute to other cities, where he estab
lished new stores; by and by he established new stores
in Mattoon, 111., and Evansville, which flourished as
the mother house. At the same time he was a benevo
lent citizen in his home town and wherever he went.
He donated large sums to a hospital, and other insti
tutions received aid from him ; when he died two years
ago he left a large fortune to his two sons. On Pigeon
Creek, near its confluence with the Ohio river, is sit
uated the oldest and well arranged saw mill in Evans
ville. It was erected by John A. Reitz, an emigrant
from Dorlar in Westphalia, Germany, who came to
Evansville, December, 1836, and was followed by
many relatives; he started the mill in 1845, which has
foeen in continuous operation since. After the death
50

of John A. Reitz, his eldest son, Francis Joseph Reitz,
born in Evansville in 1841, became manager of the
saw mill; he is interested in the furniture business
and other industries and had been for some time a
trustee in the City National Bank of Evansville, when
he was elected its president. The new bank recently
occupied, was erected under his supervision and is as
substantial as it is beautiful. Francis Joseph Reitz
is a kind hearted man, righteous in his dealings with
others and well liked. The Old State National Bank
in Evansville, the oldest in the city, has also a Ger
man president, Henry Reis, born on February 15,
1847, near Mainz, Germany; came with his parents
from the fatherland in 1849 to Indiana; they settled
in the country, but soon moved to Evansville, where
young Reis had better opportunities to receive an
education. When he left school, he worked for some
time in a drug store, then in a bank and worked him
self up from a bank clerk to his present position. He
celebrated not long ago his 50th anniversary as a
banker and received on this occasion many acknowl
edgments of good friendship and fellowship. The
bank is building a splendid new business house, in
which the Old State National Bank will occupy the
lower floor, in the spring of our centennial year.
The People's Savings Bank is too presided over by
a German pioneer, Henry V. Bennighof, born in 1833
in Wonheim, Rhein-Hessen, came to Evansville in
1852, engaged in business and took part in the Sav-
51

ings Bank, where in 1875 he was elected a trustee and
is now the bank's president. Mr. Bennighof at the
age of 82 is still active and goes to the bank every
day to greet his many friends. The reader will not go
amiss if he concludes that the other officers and the
stockholders of these banks are mostly Germans or of
German descent. Many German business men and
artisans have helped to build up these banks and they
have done their part faithfully, as no bank has ever
failed in Evansville.
Such a good, honest citizen, for instance, was Gott
lieb Bippus; he was born in Holtzhausen, Wurtem
berg, October 13th, 1813, and arrived in Evansville
in 1836. He married the following year and estab
lished himself as a house carpenter and contractor in
Lamasco, an adjoining town ; many houses were built
by him there and in the surrounding country. He was
one of the founders of the "Dreieinigkeits Gemeinde"
(the first Lutheran church) and built their first frame
church. He and his wife raised a large family and
one son, Jacob Bippus, the well known contractor, and
nine grandsons followed in his footsteps and became
carpenters in Evansville and Illinois, as he had been.
Indianapolis has many German business houses and
financiers. Men like Hermann Lieber, who was not
only a manufacturer but also an art connoisseur and
progressive citizen; Clemens Vonnegut, O. N. Fren
zel, president of the Merchants' National Bank, and
his brother, J. P. Frenzel, president of the Indiana
52

Trust Co., Theodore Stempfel, Armin Bohn, are well
known throughout the state. Over the state, in many
other places, we find manufacturers and financial in
stitutions, which are controlled by officers and stock
holders of German descent, who have proved them
selves capable men.
The churches of the different religious denomina
tions and their schools are substantial and fine struc
tures, which do honor to the religious sentiment of
their people. Indiana can also be proud of her many
benevolent institutions, to whose support the Ger
mans have freely contributed.
There are hospitals in the larger cities, a home for
old people in Indianapolis and an orphan asylum. The
singing societies and turners have fine buildings with
large, splendid halls and in Indianapolis they are
rightly proud of the "German House."

53

PIONEERS IN THE PROFESSIONS.

As rich as commercial activities of the Germans in
Indiana were, we must not forget what was accom
plished in the professions by them. In the course of
our narrative, we called the attention of our readers
to officers, lawyers and judges, who were known and
respected by the people; so we had physicians and
doctors who held an honored place in their communi
ties. The pioneer physician was not an expert in ab
dominal surgery or modern bacteriology, but never
theless Tie was an adept in the healing art and prac
ticed it conscientiously in his neighborhood. Such an
old pioneer physician was Doctor Konradin Homburg
in Indianapolis; he was born in Rhein-Pfalz, Ger
many, in 1797, and came to the United States in 1826.
Cincinnati was his first stopping place, but he soon
came to Indianapolis. A busy practitioner, he was
also a progressive citizen and at one time a trustee
of the German-English Independent school; he died
in Indianapolis March 1, 1881.
In Evansville, Doctor Francis Muehlhausen was the
pioneer German physician. He emigrated with his
54

wife and son Mathias, from Hesse Darmstadt, Ger
many, in the fall of 1838. They landed at Baltimore
and moved to Taylorsville, Ohio, where Dr. Muehl
hausen practiced medicine for about one year, and
then came to Lamasco, an adjoining German town of
Evansville, which was incorporated later into the
greater Evansville, where he opened an office on Ful
ton avenue. In this new country and among his coun
trymen from abroad he gathered a large practice and
soon built a commodious house in Lamasco, where he
died in the year 1862.
Doctor Ludwig Fritsch, born February 3, 1824, in
Paderborn, Germany, came to Evansville from Cin
cinnati in 1849; he was a well educated physician, a
very busy practitioner; being also a horticulturist,
he loved to cultivate flowers on his farm just outside
the city. Dr. Fritsch has done much to popularize
natural sciences; he died June 26, 1900.
Doctor Adolphus F. Wulkop was another pioneer
physician in Evansville. He was born in 1809 in the
province of Hanover, Germany, and came to the
United States in 1838. For some years he practiced
in Louisville, Ky., where he was also interested in a
drug store. In 1855 Doctor Wulkop came to Evans
ville and for 30 years until the time of his death, on
November 24th, 1884, was a successful practicing
physician of this city.
In Ferdinand, Dubois Co., there lived about this
time Doctor Matthew Kempf, who was known as a
55

surgeon and whose services were in great demand in
the country and in the surrounding territory. No
doubt there were other physicians throughout the
state who made friends in the families in which they
served.. The clergy of the Catholic and Protestant churches
were generally scholars and school masters, teaching
the children in the German language. When the con
gregation became larger and could afford it, a teacher
was employed. A number of the pastors and teachers
wrote books and through them became more widely
known. Pastor Henry Meissner, of St. Charles
church, in Peru, Ind., came from Muenster, Germany,
where he was born in 1842. He watched over his peo
ple, who honored him as a father, about 30 years, and
when he died, he left some literary productions, which
are worth reading. One, "Knabbeln," is written in
"Low German," the language of his native country,
and is, as the title indicates, of a humorous nature.
His poems, "Orgeltoene," printed in 1887 in Bocholt,
Germany, contain beautiful specimens, the inspira
tions of a talented man. Dr. W. Sihler, pastor and
teacher in Concordia College, Fort Wayne, Indiana,
published in 1872 "Epistel Predigten," which were
much read by members of his church. In the State
University at Bloomington first class German in
structors were employed. Carl Osthaus, who gradu
ated from the Gymnasium in Hildesheim, Germany,
and later from the State University, has for many
56

years been an efficient teacher in our University. He
is the author of several German text-books for
schools and has contributed articles in German and
English for magazines and newspapers.
Dr. Carl H. Eigenmann was born in Flehingen,
Germany, March 9, 1863. He came to America as a
boy and received his early schooling in Rockport,
Spencer Co., Ind. He studied at Indiana University
and at Harvard and has been Professor of Zoology at
Indiana since 1891. He has won especial eminence in
the field of ichthyology and has written several books
and numerous papers on his favored study.
We have quite a number of German authors in In
diana, who deserve mention in this chapter.
Otto'Stechhan of Indianapolis came to this coun
try with his parents from Berlin, his birthplace, at
the age of three. He attended the German-American
Independent school in Indianapolis and remembers
with pleasure his school days and his teachers. He
was in the furniture business and became independ
ent. Elected to the Indiana legislature as a represen
tative from Indianapolis, he went there with good in
tentions for reform, but was not so successful and
was glad to return to private life. He has written
novels and poems in English and German. A volume
of poems, "Lieben und Leben,!" (Love and Life) ap
peared in 1894.
Lorenz Rohr, born in 1847, in Vinningen, a village
two miles from Landau, Rhein-Pfalz, studied in
57

Munich and Tuebingen, and was for many years and
at the time of his death in 1902, editor of the German
Demokrat, in Evansville. In 1869 he published a small
volume of poems under the title, "Zwewle, Knowloch
un Marau," in the dialect as spoken in his native vil
lage. These humorous poems inspired by his love
for his old home, were received with great pleasure
by his countrymen. ,
Joseph Keller, of Indianapolis, has given us a good
book in a volume "Zwischen Donau und Rhein." He
gives therein an account of his younger years and de
scribes the beautiful country of his native land, the
Black Forest, Hohenzollern, Hohentwiel and other ro
mantic places. The beautiful views and pictures of
villages and cities in the book make it still more
agreeable to its readers.
The singing societies over the state, especially in
Indianapiolis and Evansville, had the best of teachers.
The Maennerchor in Indianapolis had, as its director
for many years. Professor Carl Baruch, and the Ev
ansville Liederkranz, the oldest singing society in the
metropolis on the Ohio, had Professor Johannes Wer-
schinger and other talented directors.

68

GERMAN-AMERICAN ALLIANCE OF INDIANA.

Like the great banyan tree, whose branches and
foliage cover more than an acre of land, the German-
American Alliance spreads its network of societies
over the whole country. The German-American Al
liance of Indiana is a branch of the National Organi
zation and is governed by the same principles. They
are in brief:
1. The Alliance refrains from all interference in
party politics. Whenever its principles are attacked
or endangered by political measures, the society re
gards it as its right and duty to defend these in the
political field.
2. Questions of religion are strictly excluded.
3. It recommends the introduction of the study of
German in the public schools on the following broad
basis: Along with English, German is a world lan
guage. Wherever the pioneers of civilization, trade
and commerce have penetrated we find both English
and Germans represented, and wherever the knowl
edge of two languages prevails an independent, clear
59

and unprejudiced understanding is more readily
formed and friendly relations promoted.
4. We live in an age of progress and invention.
With the rapid pace of our time the demands on the
individual are inexorable, requiring a healthy mind
in a healthy body. The Alliance therefore favors sys
tematic instruction of physical culture in our public
schools. 5. It favors taking the school out of politics, for
only a system of education that is free from political
influence can attain the best results.
6. It urges all Germans to acquire the right of citi
zenship as soon as possible, to take an active part in
public life and to exercise their right at the polls.
7. It favors either the liberal interpretation or the
abolition of laws that put unnecessary difficulties in
the way of acquiring the right to citizenship and fre
quently prevent it. Good character and not the abil
ity to answer a set of arbitrary questions on history
and politics ought to determine the fitness of the ap
plicant. 8. It opposes every restriction of immigration of
healthy persons of Europe, exclusive of anarchists
and convicted criminals.
9. It favors the abolition of laws which check free
intercourse and restrict the personal freedom of the
citizen. 10. It favors the founding of societies which fos
ter the German language and literature; teach those
60

anxious to learn; and arrange courses of lectures on
art and science, and topics of general interest.
11. It favors a systematic investigation of the
share Germans have had in the development of their
adopted country, in war and in peace as the basis of a
history of German-American activity.
The German-American Alliance of Indiana this year
held its 12th annual session at Ft. Wayne. The Alli
ance now embraces 123 different societies, including
singing and gymnastic societies. Catholic and
Protestant benevolent societies, etc. Since its organ
ization it has been ably presided over by Joseph Kel
ler, of Indianapolis, who with the other officers, have
spared no effort to make the Alliance a success. The
various societies and city organizations constituting
the State Alliance give all kinds of German entertain
ments, engage good lecturers, promote the German
theater, singing, etc.
The State Alliance now has a membership of over
10,000 members of both sexes, there being a number
of women's clubs. Every year the Alliance meets ih
one of the cities of the state, the various organiza
tions being represented by delegates. The session of
the convention generally closes with a German day
celebration of speech-making, song and frolic. The
proceedings of the convention and the reports of the
various societies and the committees of the state or
ganization are published in pamphlet form and are
eagerly read by Germans in this and other states.
61

CONTENTS

FAQB
The Early Settlers of Indiana  5
New Harmony a German Settlement  10
Other Immigrants  19
Germans in the Civil War   29
After the Civil War  40
German Industry and Public Institutions  48
Pioneers in the Learned Profession  54
German-American Alliance of Indiana  59

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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