EDMUND ALEXIS WILLS, of South Bend has exhibited that type of brilliance which is a manifestation of persistent effort and complete devotion to the purpose and objectives on his immediate horizon. He is a lawyer by profession, a courageous citizen, and several institutions and organizations in South Bend have felt the stimulating benefit of his zeal in their behalf.

Except for a few years while practicing at Detroit and while in school he has lived in South Bend all his life. He was born there August 11, 1882, son of Emanuel R. and Margaret (Coquillard) Wills. His father was born in York County, Pennsylvania, and settled at South Bend in 1865. He was in the real estate business and for many associated with the American Trust Company. He held the office of city treasurer in 1882-84 and was county treasurer of St. Joseph County from 1884 to 1886. Emanuel R. Wills died in July, 1910, at the age of seventy years. He married into one of the oldest and most distinguished industrial families of St. Joseph County. His wife was born in German Township, that county, and died May 7, 1915, at the age of seventy-two. Her parents settled in St. Joseph County in 1830, coming from Detroit and Canada. The name Coquillard shares honors with that of Studebaker in the history of the pioneer industrial enterprise of South Bend. Mr. Edmund Alexis Wills' oldest brother, L. J. Wills, is deceased. There are two sisters, Mrs. Salem Towne, of Los Angeles, California, and Miss Adele, of South Bend.

Mr. Wills was reared at South Bend and after the local schools completed his classical course in St. Joseph's College at Rensselaer, Indiana, graduating with the A. B. Degree in 1903. In 1906 he was graduated LL. B. From the law department of the University of Michigan, and during the following four years was a member of the bar at Detroit. He returned to South Bend in 1910 and for twenty years has diligently and faithfully looked after the interests of his extensive clientage. He is well known in banking circles and has been especially prominent in the First National Bank and the Union Trust Company, in both of which he occupies the office of director and is vice president and attorney for the Union Trust Company. He is a member of the St. Joseph County, Indiana State and American Bar Associations.

Mr. Wills is one of South Bend's most prominent Catholic laymen. He is a past president of the National Council of Catholic Men for the counties of Indiana contained in the diocese of Fort Wayne, and a past district deputy of the Councils, comprising the South Bend district of the Knights of Columbus, also a member and a Past Faithful Navigator of the South Bend Fourth Degree Assembly, Knights of Columbus. He is a member of the board of trustees of St. Patrick's Church. He has shown a fine spirit of self sacrificing zeal in behalf of the Knights of Columbus. He was active in the organization of the Knights of Columbus Building Corporation for the purpose of acquiring title to the real estate upon which the home of that order is located. Besides performing much of the legal work connected with the promotion of this project he created the plan for financing the building and obtained the money from the banks in accordance with that plan At the present time (1930) he is president of the Columbus Building Corporation, which owns and controls the Knights of Columbus Building at South Bend. He is a member of the Knife and Fork Club, University Club, Chamber of Commerce, and the St. Joseph Historical Society.

Mr. Wills married, September 26, 1911, at Ann Arbor, Michigan, Miss Loretto Tice, who was born at Ann Arbor, daughter of Clarence Tice. They have three children, Margaret Elizabeth, Mary Louise, and Edmund Richard.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


MARTIN RUSSELL has for forty years been identified with the business of undertaker and embalmer, and owns one of the finest establishments of the kind in South Bend, located at 220 Jefferson Boulevard.

Mr. Russell was born in Allegan County, Michigan, February 16, 1873. His grandparents were pioneers of Michigan. He is a son of George W. and Julia (Sherwood) Russell, both natives of Michigan, where his father was born in 1845 and his mother in 1849. The paternal grandfather, Charles Russell, moved to Michigan from New York State. The maternal grandfather was Luther W. Sherwood, who married a Miss Abbott, also from New York State. George W. Russell was educated in public schools in Michigan and at the age of sixteen entered the Union army for service in the Civil war. He was wounded in one battle, but remained with his command until the war ended. After the war he became a carpenter,and for many years carried on a contracting and building business. He died in 1893, He was a Democrat in political affiliations, was a member of the Knights of Pythias, and always had much to do with the musical work of the Christian Church. At one time he sold organs, when that instrument was popular all over the country. His wife died in 1907, and of their four children the youngest died in nfancy. Virginia is the wife of William H. Swintz, now grand secretary of the Masonic Order for Indiana, their home being at Indianapolis, and Mr. Swintz is a brother of George A. Swintz, county treasurer of St. Joseph County. John P. Russell was president of the Taggart Freight & Transfer Company of South Bend and is now living retired.

Arthur M. Russell attended school at Otsego, Michigan and after leaving high school went to Kendallville, Indiana, in 1887. On January 1, 1893, he became a resident of South Bend, and here became an employee of D. E. Huntsinger, undertaker, at the salary of six dollars a week. After a year and a half with the Huntsinger establishment he was employed by another undertaker, A. Patterson. On June 1, 1898, he engaged in business for himself and was located at 307 South Michigan Street until 1923, In 1922 he put up a building especially designed for his undertaking establishment and funeral chapel at 220 West Jefferson Boulevard, and this has been the home of his business since 1923.

Mr. Russell has also been active in business and civic and fraternal affairs. For five years he was a director of the National Discount Corporation and is now on the board of directors of the Winnsett Finance & Thrift Company of South Bend. He is a Republican, a Presbyterian, and was a director of the Rotary Club of South Bend for two years. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, having taken both the York Rite and Scottish Rite, and also belongs to Murat Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Indianapolis. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, Knights of the Maccabees, Woodmen of the World and Modern Woodmen of America, the Country Club and the Indiana Club.

He married, June 5, 1901, Miss Helen A. Knevels, a native of South Bend, where she finished her high school education. Their son. Arthur Martin Russell, Jr., who was born at South Bend October 21, 1902, graduated from high school, spent one year in the University of Virginia, and in 1925 graduated Bachelor of Philosophy from Yale University. He was a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity, the Grolier Club of New York City and the Yale Club. He married in New York City in January, 1926, Miss Eleanor Egbert, of Goshen, Indiana, where she attended high school, later going abroad for study in Switzerland, and also attended school in New York City. Mr and Mrs. Russell have one grandson, Arthur Egbert, born in February, 1928.

Mr. Russell as a business man is self made, having started as a poor boy, experience bringing out the mettle of his character, and he showed such capacity for business that there was no difficulty in getting financial assistance when he needed it. He has one of the most complete undertaking establishments in Northern Indiana. He is very popular, possesses a fine personality, and has always shown a disposition to be helpful to those less fortunate, and his kindliness and generosity have made him popular with all classes.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


HON. GEORGE AARON SWINTZ. In Hon. George A. Swintz, treasurer of Saint Joseph County, the people of South Bend and the county itself have a man of unblemished reputation for uprightness and probity, and a business man of unquestioned capability. His family is one of the old ones of this region, and he is proud of the fact that much of the development of the county is due to the effort of his forebears.

The birth of Treasurer Swintz occurred at South Bend, August 23, 1874, and he is a son of Henry and Margaret (Berhardt) Swintz. Henry Swintz was born near Erie, Pennsylvania, October 25, 1842, and died November 16, 1907; and his wife was born in Germany, in 1849, and died July 20, 1915.

Brought by his parents to Saint Joseph County, Henry Swintz was reared at South Bend, and when still a boy entered the employ of the Studebaker Company, when that now mammoth corporation employed but four persons. For the succeeding thirty-three years he remained with that concern, and became one of its most trusted employes. During the war between the states he served with the Indiana regiment of infantry known as the "Bloody Ninth," and it was while in the service that he learned to sign his name, for he had received no schooling. His bravery and ability to handle men, however, brought him promotion, and he was honorably discharged as a sergeant. Upon his return from the army he reentered the employ of the Studebaker people, was promoted to the position of foreman of the wood shop and continued to hold that place until his retirement. In politics he was a Republican. For many years he was a Mason, a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and in religious faith he was a Methodist and belonged to Saint Paul's Church of that denomination. Eight children, two sons and six daughters were born to him and his wife, the brother of Treasurer Swintz being William H. Swintz, a past grand master of the Indiana Grand Lodge in Masonry, and now grand secretary of the Grand Lodge, which latter office he has held for nine years.

George A. Swintz attended the public schools of South Bend, but began selling newspapers on the streets of South Bend when only six years old, for the South Bend Tribune. When he was eighteen years old he secured a position with D. W. Russ, as shipping clerk in his wholesale grocery establishment at South Bend, and continued with him for several years. When he left him it was to take a position in the South Bend fire department, and by the time he was twenty-one years old he was captain of Number 6 station. For the subsequent six years he remained in the service of that department, leaving that to enter the postal service, in which he continued for twenty-two years. He began as a mail carrier, was transferred to the distributing department; later becoming superintendent of deliveries, and still later was made postal cashier, and held that position from 1920 until he resigned and became a candidate for the office of county treasurer. Upon his election he assumed the duties of his office, January 1, 1925, and discharged them until December 31, 1926, as he was defeated in that year, although he ran 3,200 ahead of his party ticket. In 1928 he was again elected to the office, taking over the office January 1, 1929. In 1898 he enlisted for the Spanish-American war, and served until peace was declared. He belongs to all the bodies in Masonry, in both the York and Scottish Rites, and is a member of Murat Temple, ,A. A. O. N. M. S., the Grotto, Eastern Star and the White Shrine, and he holds several offices in the different bodies. Saint Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church is his religious home, and he is one of its very zealous members.

On November 25, 1902, Mr. Swintz was married to Miss Maud Gertrude Rush, of Mishawaka, Indiana, and they have one son, George Rush, who was born September 24, 1903. He was graduated from the South Bend High School, and from the dental department of the University of Michigan in 1926, since which time he has been engaged in active practice. He, too, belongs to all the bodies in Masonry, and to Murat Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. While in the university he made Psi Omega, the Greek letter dental society, and in his sophomore year he was president of his class. On June 26, 1929, Doctor Swintz was married to Miss Mary Louise Page, of South Bend, society editor of the South Bend Tribune. She was graduated from the South Bend High School as a member of the same class as her husband. After that she attended a school for girls, and still later the University of Wisconsin, at Madison. They have one son, George Page Swintz, born October 7, 1930. All the members of the Swintz family are well-known all over Saint Joseph County, and are held in high esteem as people of importance and well worth knowing.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


FRANK JOSEPH HISS was born at South Bend, January 2, 1890, and in that city he grew up and his practical experience has identified him with a special field of engineering, the construction and operation of power plants. His reputation as a power plant consuIting engineer is by no means confined to Northern Indiana.

Mr. Hiss' parents were Joseph and Mary (Gardner) Hiss. His father was a native of Ohio and came to Indiana in the early 80's. For some years he was in the grocery business at South Bend, where he died in 1924. His wife was born at Plymouth, Indiana, and passed away January 8, 1930. Of their eight children seven are living, Frank J. being the fifth in age.

Mr. Hiss attended the grade and high schools of South Bend and in 1916 graduated from the mechanical engineering department of Notre Dame University. His experience has made him an authority on problems of power plant operation, and as a specialist in that field he has been called to all parts of the Central West to plan and install power plants and special features of power plant engineering. Mr. Hiss also has some important local business connections. He and his brother, J. C. Hiss, are proprietors of the Automatic Stoker & Engineering Company at South Bend, with two offices in the city, and providing a special service as distributors and installers of the Iron Fireman Automatic Coal Burner. In 1924 Mr. F. J. Hiss joined Mr. Daniel A. Peters as owners of the Superior Coal Company, a retail and wholesale fuel organization at 1512 West Western Avenue, and since August, 1929, Mr. Hiss has been sole owner of this business.

His hobby as well as his work is power plant engineering. He is an associate memberof the American Society of Master Engineers. Mr. Hiss belongs to the South Bend Country Club, is a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus. He married. November 7, 1916, Miss Loretta Kruyer, who was born at Plymouth, Indiana. Her father, the late P. J. Kruyer,was for some years internal revenue collector at Indianapolis. They have three children, Helene Rita, Bernard Francis and Mary Jane. They reside at 615 Portage Avenue.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


JOHN WALTER KITCH. In John W. Kitch the bar of Plymouth and Marshall County have a man who fully recognizes the fact that he is an officer of the court as well as a private practitioner, so that although he accepts his clients' instructions with his retainer, he regards himself nevertheless subject to the higher obligations of professional ethics. Probably because of this, in addition to his undoubted ability, both natural and acquired, he had from the start of his career a following, and today enjoys a very large and valuable practice, and has been the recipient of high political honors.

John W. Kitch was born at Bremen, Indiana, June 8, 1866, a son of Martin V. Kitch, born in Crawford County, Ohio, August 3, 1839; grandson of John B. Kitch, born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, in 1810; and great-grandson of Martin Kitch, a German by birth in all probability, who with his father settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The mother of John W. Kitch bore the maiden name of Amanda M. Lehr, and she was born in St. Joseph County, Indiana, November 12, 1844, a daughter of Samuel Lehr; great-granddaughter of Samuel Lehr; and great-great-granddaughter of John Heinrich Loehr, born at the village of Wallahausen, Prussian-Saxony, who came to the American colonies in 1777 as a bond servant for passage money. He settled near Germantown, Pennsylvania. The mother of Mrs. Amanda M. (Lehr) Kitch was Malinda Geiselman; and Mrs. Kitch's grandfathers were Michael Geiselman and Samuel Lehr. Martin V. Kitch's mother born the maiden name of Sarah Doebler.

John W. Kitch attended the common schools of Marshall County, Indiana, and Valparaiso University, from which he received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. He began the study of law at the university and continued it in the offices of Frank E. Gates, Adair, Iowa; George B. Lynch, Adair, Iowa; and Mr. Lee of Coon Rapids, Iowa. While he was preparing himself for professional work Mr. Kitch taught school, for four years in the country schools of Marshall County and then during 1890 and 1891 he was principal of the high school at Holland, Michigan. From Holland he went to Adair, Iowa, as principal of schools, and held that positions for two years, and then for two years he was superintendent of the schools of Coon Rapids, Iowa. At the same time, during 1892, 1893, 1894 and 1895, he was also publishing the Adair News.

In 1898 Mr. Kitch was admitted to the bar at Plymouth, Marshall County, Indiana, and was engaged in practice at Bremen, and later at South Bend, Indiana, remaining in the latter city for fifteen years. Since February, 1916, he has been in practice at Plymouth. During the sessions of the Indiana State Legislature in 1923 and 1925 Mr. Kitch represented Marshall County in that body, and in the former session was a member fo the budget committee. He is a trustee of the Indiana School for Feeble Minded youths and the Indiana Farm Colony for Feeble Minded.

Mr. Kitch has been twice married, his second wife having been Miss Mae Southworth prior to her marriage. There are two children: Lorene R., who married Clement Fox and lives at Gilbert, Arizona, where her husband is superintendent of schools; and Don F., who is associated with his father in the practice of law. Mrs. Fox is a graduate of the South Bend High School, the University of Chicago, where she took the degree of Bachelor of Arts; and the American Conservatory of Music, Chicago. She and her husband have three children: Arlene, Barbara H. and Don Fox. Don F. Kitch married Marie Clossen, of Kit Carson, Colorado, and they have three children, Robert J., Beryl Jean and Lora Leah. He was educated in the high school of Cheyenne Wells, Colorado, and the University of Colorado, Boulder. During the World war Don F. Kitch served for twenty-six months with the One Hundred and Fifteenth United States Engineers, participating in the offensives of Saint Mihiel and the Argonne Forest, and was with the Army of Occupation, stationed near Coblenz, Germany.

Mr. Kitch of this review is not a member of any religious organization, but he attends the Episcopal Church. He is a member of the York Rite and Shrine in Masonry, and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Kiwanis Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the Plymouth Country Club. His Masonic connections are as follows: Plymouth-Kilwinning Lodge No. 149, A. F. and A. M.; Plymouth Chapter, No. 49, R. A. M.; Plymouth Council No. 18, R. and S. M.; Plymouth Commandery No. 26, K T.; and Mizpah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is a Democrat in politics. In golf and fishing and the reading of history and biography Mr. Kitch finds recreation and pleasurable relaxation from his heavy professional responsibilities. Of a literary turn of mind, he wrote, in 1916, Centennial History of Indiana, a burlesque, which was well received.

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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 5
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


Deb Murray