Notable Vanderburgh County Mentions in Indiana History

Adam N. Adler, the proprietor of a flourishing grocery and
meat market business at 230 East Delaware Street, Evansville, is
one of the firmly established business men of the city. His connection 
with the grocery business started in his youth, and his long
experience in this line has enabled him to build up a large and
representative patronage in each of the communities in which his
establishments have been located. Mr. Adler was born on a farm
in Armstrong township, Vanderburgh county, February 21, 1874,
and is a son of Nicholas and Margaret (Steckler) Adler. His
father, who was born in Germany, November 23, 1836, came alone
to the United States as a lad of fifteen years, and after spending
some time at New Orleans, his landing-place, made his way to
Indiana, where he applied his energies to farming. Eventually
he became the owner of a valuable property in Armstrong township, 
and he is now retired from active labor and a resident of
Vanderburgh county. Mrs. Adler, who was born in Germany.
August 14, 1846, was one year old when brought to the United
States, and died in March, 1888. Adam N. Adler attended public
school in Armstrong township until reaching the age of twelve
years, at which time he went with his parents to Haubstadt, Gibson 
county, where he attended the parochial school three years and
the public high school two years. When he was about sixteen years
of age he came to Evansville, and in January, 1893, he secured 
employment with the M. Lyon Clothing Company, at the corner of
Third and Main Streets, in the capacity of clerk. After three
months he resigned his position and entered the employ of Louis
G. Kiefer, who conducted a grocery at the corner of Read and Virginia 
Streets, and in 1894 became identified as clerk with the
grocery of Fred Weber, at First Avenue and Columbia. Mr. Adler
remained in the employ of Mr. Weber until he embarked in the
grocery business on his own account, October 21, 1899, at the
corner of Fulton Avenue and Virginia, a location at which he remained 
for two years. He then moved to Fulton Avenue and
Iowa, where he remained for ten years, and in October, 1911, came
to his present location, at 230 East Delaware Street, where he soon
built up a large and prosperous grocery business. In 1913, he
added a meat market to his establishment, and now has one of the
best patronized and most modern enterprises of its kind in the city.
Mr. Adler has been represented in the grocery department of the
Municipal Market ever since its inception in 1918. He belongs to
the Retail Merchants Association and holds membership in the
Knights of Columbus, the Knights of St. John, St Henry's Society 
and the T. P. A. For thirty-four years he has been a member 
of St. Anthony's Catholic Church. February 21, 1900 Mr.
Adler was united in marriage with Miss Lonie R. Emmert, of
Haubstadt, Indiana, whose father was a carpenter of that city.
Three children have come to this union: Neal, born February 17,
1901, who attended the parochial school of St. Anthony's parish,
graduated from Porter's Business College in the class of 1916, and
is now manager of his father's store; Leo A., born October 23, 1903,
attended the parochial school, graduated after a two-year course
from Lockyear's Business College, in 1918, and is now manager of
his father's department at the Municipal Market: and Raymond N.,
born May 5, 1907, formerly a pupil in the parochial school, who is
now attending the Catholic High School. The family home is
located near his place of business on Delaware Street, and is a
hospitable one, where good cheer abounds.
 
George F. Ahlering, The management of a large.and important
business in a thriving and growing city in itself pre-supposes the
possession of something more than ordinary ability, and when
linked with this is the capacity for the securing of successful results 
where before only failure had existed, it becomes a matter of
certainty that the individual responsible is able and energetic. This
statement applies in every particular to George F. Ahlering, president 
and manager of the Auto Tire and Rubber Company, of Evansville, 
formerly known as the Otto Tire Company. Mr. Ahlering
was born at Evansville, October 2, 1887, and is a son of George B.
and Anna N. (Yeager) Ahlering. His grandfather, Henry G.
Ahlering, a native of Germany, immigrated to the United States in
young manhood and first located at Cincinnati, leading out of which
city he built the first turnpike road at a very early day. He then
came to Evansville and established himself in the dry goods business 
at First and Water Streets, where he remained for many years.
Later be was engaged in the lumber business and was thus occupied
at the time of his death. George B. Ahlering was born November
1, 1854, at the present site of the fire house headquarters of Hose
Company No. 1. He was engaged in the sawmill business, associated 
with Clements, Reitz & Sons, until his death at the age of
sixty-six years. He and his worthy wife were the parents of the
following children: George F.; Herbert L., who is deceased;
Louis J., general storekeeper for the Chicago & Eastern Illinois
Railroad at Danville, Illinois; Louise M., secretary and treasurer
of the J. F. Sake & Company brokerage concern, Evansville;
Leona. and Gertrude (Mrs. Paul H. Kuhn). George F. Ahlering
attended St. Mary's parochial school and the public schools of
Evansville. but it was necessary that he begin work early, as the
family was large and the finances small. Accordingly, he took a
position, at the age of fourteen years, as a messenger boy for the
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad. Later he was promoted to the
store room department and then to the accounting department, and
thus, working his way up through the different departments,
learned the business thoroughly, and when he resigned, at the age
of twenty-three years, was general accountant, quite a responsible
position for so young a man. When he gave up railroading he
joined the New York Life Insurance Company at Evansville, and
remained therewith for ten years. While he was thus employed he
became financially interested in the Auto Tire Company of Evansville, 
and became actively engaged in the enterprise. The business
had been incorporated in 1920, with Mr. Ahlering in the vice-presidential 
position, but in June, 1923, was made president and general
manager, and since that time the Auto Tire and Rubber Company
has proven an unqualified success. This can be traced directly to
the abilities of Mr. Ahlering, who has demonstrated the possession
of judgment, acumen and foresight in the handling of difficult
problems and the readjustment of methods and policies. In politics
he is an independent voter. He belongs to the Knights of Columbus, 
fourth degree, and the Evansville Country Club. November
24, 1914, Mr. Ahlering married Miss Elizabeth A. Kollkecr, of Evansville, 
daughter of Henry Kollker, who was an early tailor of Evansville, 
and to this union there have come three children: Mary
Jane, born in 1916; Betty Louise, born in 1918; and George Henry,
born in 1921.
 
John Andres. A leading and important enterprise of Evansville.
and one which contributes to the prestige of this city as a point of
manufacture, is the Standard Brick Manufacturing Company.
Since 1903, the office of secretary-treasurer of this concern has
rested in the hands of John Andres, who, in addition, is largely
interested in civic affairs and has been active in various ways in the
development of the city's welfare. Mr. Andres was born not far
from Chicago, at Somonauk, DeKalb county, Illinois, January 13,
1870, and is a son of Rev. John and Magdalina {Schoepflin) Andres.
His father, born August 31, 1840, in Switzerland, was a graduate of
a theological seminary at Basle, Switzerland, and was sent by the
Church of England to Argentine, South America, and Patagonia
territory, in the same country, and was engaged in missionary work
there for five years. Returning then to Switzerland, he married
Magdalina Schoepflin, who was born May 22, 1839, in the province
of Baden, Germany, and attended a college at Carlsruhe near
Strassburg. Shortly after their marriage they emigrated to the
United States, in 1866, and here Reverend Andres held various
charges. He died in 1896, at Henderson, Kentucky, where for five
years he had been pastor of the Zion Evangelical Church. Mrs.
Andres survived her husband until May 2, 1902, when she passed
away at Henderson. There were four children in the family: John,
of this review; Gottlieb, employed by the Parson-Scoville Grocery
Company; Rev. Benjamin, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at
Bardstown, Kentucky; and Obed, a locomotive engineer with the
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. The public school education of
John Andres was acquired in different points in Ohio and Michigan, 
but the greater part of his schooling was obtained at Cleveland, 
Ohio, where his father had charge of the oldest Evangelical
Church of the city for eight years. The family income was not
large, and John, the second eldest of the brothers, entered the
employ of the Western Union Telegraph Company, January 10,
1884, at Cleveland. He started as a messenger boy, but before leaving 
had worked his way up to operator and had worked every
wire with the exception of the Associated Press wire. Mr. Andres
then went to Henderson, Kentucky, with his father, and took a
clerical position with the Hodge Tobacco Company, a concern with
which he was identified for three years, after which he connected
himself with the Planters State Bank at Henderson, where he
remained for eight years. He embarked in the brick manufacturing 
business through the invitation of H. C. Kleymeyer, joining
the Standard Brick Manufacturing Company as secretary and
treasurer in 1903. These positions he has retained to the present,
with offices in the Furniture Building. Mr. Andres has been a
member of the water works board of Evansville for eight years,
and, having previously been president, was again chosen to hold
that office in 1923 and still retains it. In politics he is a republican,
and is minority member of the water works board. He belongs
also to the board of the Evansville Rescue Mission; is a director of
the Indiana State Sunday School Association; was formerly treasurer 
of the Henderson (Kentucky) Young Men's Christian Association 
for seven years; was formerly on the Boys' Work Committee
of the Y. M. C. A. for ten years; is past president of the Rotary
Club; is serving his third term as treasurer of the Manufacturers'
Association; and has been an associate member of the Real Estate
Board practically since its organization. During the past fourteen
years Mr. Andres has been superintendent of St. Luke's Evangelical 
Church Sunday School, and for ten years was a member
of the executive board of the Vanderburgh County Sunday School
Association. November 24, 1897, Mr. Andres married Miss Caroline 
Kleymeyer, of Henderson, Kentucky, daughter of Henry and
Louise (Bruning) Kleymeyer, and to this union there have come
three daughters: Louise M., Adele W. and Marianna.
 
John B. Archbold. Among the honored citizens of Vanderburgh 
county, none are more worthy of being commemorated in
its annals than John B. Archbold, of Evansville. For forty-five
years he has lived within its borders, during which time he has
been a prominent factor in its business and civic affairs, fairly
earning a reputation for honorable dealing with his fellow-citizens
to such a degree as to make his name a synonym for all that is
honorable in business and correct in morals. The president of the
John Archbold Coal Company was born in the North of England,
in 1848, and received a common school education there. Likewise,
in his native land he received his introduction to the mining business, 
but at the age of nineteen years he emigrated to the United
States and took up his residence in the coal regions of Pennsylvania, 
where he remained several years. Next he went to Washington, 
Daviess county, Indiana, where he remained about two
years, subsequently worked in the mines of Warrick county, this
state for a time, and still later spent a short period in Alabama.
In 1878, Mr. Archbold came to Evansville, which has been his home
ever since. For about nine years after his arrival he was variously
employed in the coal business, a part of the time as superintendent,
and finally he embarked in business alone, in 1887, when he founded
his present business, located at the corner of Fifth and Walnut
Streets. This business was incorporated as the John Archbold
Coal Company, in 1901, and the present officials are: John Archbold, 
president; Edmund J. Archbold, mine superintendent; Elizabeth 
Burket Archbold, secretary; and Victor Herrenbruck, treasurer. 
Mr. Archbold may well be termed a representative man. His
has been an honorable career and is an example of honest perseverance 
successfully winning fortune's smiles and a handsome competency. 
Prior to his coming to Evansville he had been a member
of the Knights of Pythias, having been a charter member of St.
Georges Lodge of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. He still belongs to
that fraternity and to the Masonic order and holds membership in
the Chamber of Commerce. He is an ardent Republican in his political 
views, and his religious connection is with the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church. In 1868 Mr. Archbold married Miss Harriet
Burket Longridge, of Sunderland, England, and they had four
children: Elizabeth Burket, secretary of the John Archbold Coal
Company; George F., who died January 8, 1922, who left one
daughter, Elizabeth, educated at the Evansville High School and
now bookkeeper for the John Archbold Coal Company; and Frederick, 
who died in infancy. Mrs. Archbold died in 1872, and Mr.
Archbold married Miss Mary E. Sauer, of Evansville, by whom he
has two children: Edmund J. and Blanche. Edmund J. Archbold
attended the graded and high schools of Evansville and when still
a lad entered the coal business, having been associated with his
father for some years. He married Bertha Britzius, daughter of
Charles Britzius, of Newberg, Indiana, and they have one daughter,
Mary Margaret, who is now attending high school. Blanche Archbold 
married A. J. Ritter, of Evansville, and they have one son,
John Archbold, a student in the public school.

Victor David Herrenbruck, treasurer of the John Archbold Coal
Company, was born at Evansville, January 15, 1879, a son of Fred
W. and Barbara Herrenbruck, the former a native of Posey county,
Indiana, and the latter also born in this state. Mrs. Herrenbrnck
died when her son was an infant, and the father, who was engaged
in the shoe business as a member of the firm of Rahm & Herrenbruck, 
at 210 Main Street, passed away in 1884. There were three
children in the family: Fred, who died at the age of ten years;
Mamie, now the wife of E. G. Kerth, of Anna, Illinois; and Victor
D. Victor D. Herrenbruck secured a high school education and
after pursuing a course at Lockyear's Business College became a
newspaper reporter, a business which he followed for one year.
He then became a bookkeeper for the Bedford, Weikel & Nugent
Company, and in 1901 became associated with the John Archbold
Coal Company. Mr. Herrenbruck is independent in his political
views, and as a fraternalist belongs to the B. P. O. Elks. His
religious connection is with the Walnut Street Presbyterian Church.

Maurice C. Arnold, D. D. S. In the ranks of the dental profession 
at Evansville, one of the younger practitioners who is making 
rapid progress in his chosen calling is Dr. Maurice C Arnold,
who has gained notable distinction in this field of activity. 
Doctor Arnold was born in Cannelton, Indiana, October 28. 1896, and
attended the public schools of his native community, graduating
from the Cannelton High School as a member of the class of 1915.
He then enrolled as a student in the dental department of the
University of Louisville (Kentucky), and was graduated therefrom
with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1919, in June of
which year he located at Evansville and began practice. Doctor
Arnold, during the course of his dental studies, had his education
temporarily interrupted by the World War. Enlisting in 1917, he
was sent to Camp Taylor, where he was assigned to the M. E. R. C.
Corps. He received his honorable discharge in December, 1918,
and at that time resumed his studies. Doctor Arnold belongs to
several professional bodies, as well as to civic and social organizations, 
and in every way is an active participant in the life of his
adopted city. He maintains offices at 303-4 Peoples Savings Bank
Building.
 
Paul E. Ashby. Nowhere is the value of thorough preparation
in professional life more evident than in the domain of the law, for
in the legal field the university is practically a necessity if the
young man reasonably hopes to get beyond the small courts and
the region of pettifogging. The maxim of one's being sure before
going ahead is one which need not alone be posted in business
houses. Hurry, feverish haste without forethought, is fatal to the
lawyer as well as to the merchant. Still a young man, Paul E.
Ashby prepared himself with patience and thoroughness before
be entered into the activities of his profession, with the result that
in the short period of his actual practice he has made noticeable
strides toward success. A native of Webster county, Kentucky,
where he was born August 22, 1892, he is a son of Henry L. and
Mattie R. (Elliott) Ashby.   Henry L. Ashby was born September
1855. in Hopkins county. Kentucky, and after growing to manhood 
first adopted the vocation of farming, which he subsequently
gave up in favor of merchandising. He was an active member of
the Methodist church, a stanch republican in his political views and
as a fraternalist was affiliated with the Odd Fellows. Two of the
Ashby's, one of them Benjamin, fought in the Union army during
the Civil war, and took part in a number of fiercely-contested 
engagements, among them Shiloh and Fort Donelson. Louis Hancock, 
paternal great-grandfather of Paul E. Ashby, was a soldier in
the war of 1812, and also participated in many engagements of that
war.  Mrs. Ashby, who now resides at Evansville with her son,
has always been active in promoting the welfare of the communities 
in which she has lived. Her father, Elias D. Elliott, fought
as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war. He later became a
minister of the Methodist church and for many years was prominent 
in church affairs. The early educational training of Paul E.
Ashby was acquired in the country school of his home community
in Webster county, Kentucky, following which he attended the
high school at Sebree, Kentucky, and was graduated therefrom in
April, 1910. He at once entered the University of Kentucky, where
he took first the academic course and then spent eighteen months
in the agricultural college, and in February, 1919, enrolled as a
student of the law college, from which he received the degree of
Bachelor of Laws, June 14, 1922. In September, 1922, he was 
admitted to the Kentucky Bar, and in the following month to the Bar
of Indiana. Since October, 1922. he has been engaged in the practice 
of his profession at Evansville, where he has a large clientele
and maintains well-appointed offices at No. 510 Old State Bank
Building. Mr. Ashby is a member of the national honorary law
fraternity. Phi Alpha Delta, a college fraternity, and belongs to
Diamond Lodge, No. 79, I. O. O. F., of Onton. Kentucky. His
religious faith is that of the Methodist church. Politically he is a
Republican. January 4, 1913, Mr. Ashby married Bessie W.,
daughter of W. W. and Julia (Hardin) King, of Louisville, Kentucky, 
and they have two children: Pauline, born May 8,1914; and
Henrietta, born November 11, 1918.

Source: Amanda Jowers, citing "History of Indiana, Vol. 3" - transcribed by, Amanda Jowers

Page created: 2 June 2009

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