A small frame church building, twenty- four by twenty-six feet in dimensions, was completed at Garrett in 1876, and the little edifice was opened for services on the 29th of June of that year. Rev. August Young, who was at that time pastor of the Catholic Church at Auburn, the county seat, looked after the spiritual interests of the small congregation at Garrett. The embryonic parish was prospered in its spiritual and temporal affairs and soon its membership increased to such degree as to require an addition to the little church building, this addition having been 110 by 50 feet in dimensions. The demands of the parish were such that in the same year Father Young found it expedient to transfer his residence to Garrett, in 1886. In 1893 was made another addition to the church edifice, the seating capacity of which was thus increased to 400. In the meanwhile a parochial residence had been acquired and the school building erected. In 1918 Father Young retired from the pastoral charge and established himself at the Sacred Heart Hospital, an institution that he had founded in Garrett. In this hospital he passed his declining years and here he died in 1925, shortly before his eighty-third birthday anniversary and revered by all who had come within the sphere of his gentle and benignant influence.

After the resignation of Father Young his friend, Rev. Father Francis A. King, succeeded him as pastor of the church at Garrett. Father King at once set about raising funds for the erection of a parochial residence and a new church edifice, to be situated on property he had acquired at the corner of Houston and Ijams streets. Providence, however, made such ruling that he never should see the building for which he worked so faithfully and earnestly, for, after an illness of several months, he was summoned to the life eternal, his death having occurred April 24, 1927. In later paragraphs of this review will be made further mention of these two revered pastors.

Upon the death of Father King, Rev. John G. Bennett, who had been assistant to Rt. Rev. J. F. Delaney at Saint Patrick's Church, Fort Wayne, was assigned to the pastorate at Garrett. Father Bennett forthwith instituted plans for carrying forward the movement for the erection of the rectory and the new church. In the following April, just one year from the date of his arrival in Garrett, a beautiful new rectory was opened to the public for inspection. Built of buff-colored brick and roofed with multicolored Mexican tile, the new building has proved a noteworthy contribution to the material beauties of the city. Within six months plans for the new church edifice were completed and the construction of the new building was instituted early in November, 1928. The new church is built under the patronage of Saint Joseph and will be known as Saint Joseph's Church. Impressive ceremonies marked the laying of the cornerstone of the new edifice in April, 1929, when more than a score of priests of the Fort Wayne Diocese assembled for the occasion, including Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph F. Delaney, of Saint Patrick's Church, Fort Wayne, who was prime officiate in the laying of the cornerstone, the sermon having been delivered by Rev. John A. McCarthy, pastor of Saint Ann's Church, Lafayette, who was the first son of the Garrett parish to be ordained to the priesthood.

The new church is of Italian Renaissance architecture and is 52 by 136 feet in dimensions. The church is of the best type of modern and consistent architectural artistry, and its interior is in harmony with the best ecclesiastical dictates. The limitations of this review do not permit detailed description of the splendid church edifice that has become one of the major attractions of the beautiful little City of Garrett.

The present building of the parochial school had its beginning in 1888, when its south wing was constructed. In the new school 180 pupils were enrolled and were taught by five Sisters of the Precious Blood. In 1904 the building had become inadequate and another wing, of equal size, was added, thus giving the parish a schoolhouse with six large and airy rooms for classes and a spacious hall for social activities. The usual eight grades are taught, and provision is made also for a fair amount of classical training, together with a three years’ commercial course. At the present time the school is conducted by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, whose motherhouse is at Joliet, Illinois.

Of Rev. John G. Bennett, the present pastor of this parish, individual mention is made elsewhere in this publication, and in the following paragraphs are given the outlines of the life records of the two former pastors.

Rev. August Young was born in Alsace, Diocese of Strassburg, German (now France), March 29, 1842. His early studies were pursued in Strassburg and later he continued his classical studies at Carthagena, Ohio. His course in philosophy and theology was obtained at Saint Vincent's in Pennsylvania and at Tiffin, Ohio, he was ordained to the priesthood January 1, 1868, by Bishop Rappe, of Cleveland. He came to Indiana March 19, 1868, and was assistant at the Catholic Church in Huntington until August, 1869, and thereafter was assigned to service at the Catholic orphanage at Rensselaer until October, 1871, when he became assistant priest at Saint Mary's Church, Fort Wayne. On the 5th of the following August he was assigned to the pastorate of the church and missions in DeKalb County, and in November, 1886, he became pastor of the parish of Saints Peter and Paul Church at Garrett, where he continued his faithful labors until he resigned and retired to the Sacred Heart Hospital, which he had here founded, and in which his death occurred in January, 1925.

Rev. Francis A. King, who succeeded Father Young as pastor of the church at Garrett, was born at Delphi, Indiana, March 25, 1861, and he retained the charge at Garrett until his death, April 24, 1927, his remains having been laid to rest in the Catholic cemetery of his native Town of Delphi. Father King studied at Mount Saint Mary Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Saint Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in the latter city s he was ordained priest June 29, 1885, by Archbishop Heiss Thereafter he served as pastor of Covington and missions in Indiana until 1890; he was pastor at Union City in the period of 1890-99; was pastor at Goshen, 1899-1903; was at Saint Vincent's Hospital, Logansport, , 1903-07; was pastor at Ege from 1907 to 1919; and during the remainder of his life held the pastorate of Saints Peter and Paul Church at Garrett.

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

HARRY FITZWARREN KENNERK. A member of the Fort Wayne bar for thirty years, Harry F. Kennerk is one of its most forceful members and for a long period has been credited with standing in the front rank of general practitioners. The elasticity of his mind, his keen faculties of perception and analysis, and his mastery of the principles of the common law have made him a remarkably striking and successful advocate. If there is a close legal point involved in any issue his examination of authorities bearing upon it is exhaustive. With a thorough knowledge of the case in all its bearings and an unerring and ready application of the principles of the law, his address before court and jury are necessarily models of clearness and convincing logic.

Mr. Kennerk was born June 10, 1873, in Allen County, Indiana, and is a son of Timothy and Mary (Hourigan) Kennerk. His paternal grandfather, Edward Kennerk, was born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States in 1828, taking up his residence in Allen County, where he met and married Salina Dalman, a native of England. They became pioneers of Pleasant Township, where they worked industriously in the clearing and development of a farm, and there Mr. Kennerk passed away in 1874, his widow surviving until 1900, when she died at the age of eighty-three years. They were devout members of the Catholic Church.

Timothy Kennerk, the father of Harry F. Kennerk, was born March 27, 1839, the first white child born in Pleasant Township, Allen County, and received his education in the primitive district schools of his day and locality. His boyhood and youth were spent in assisting his father on the home place, and when he reached man's estate he embarked in farming and stock raising on his own account. From small beginnings he became through industry and good management one of the substantial men of his community, and died, honored and esteemed, January 1, 1922, when nearly eighty-three years of age. Mr. Kennerk married Miss Mary Hourigan, who was born in Ireland, and died February 1, 1914, when about seventy years of age. Both were faithful members of the Roman Catholic Church, and Mr. Kennerk was a stanch Democrat in politics, although no office seeker.

Harry F. Kennerk was reared on a farm in Marion Township, Allen County, where he acquired his early education, and after completing eighth grade entered the Tri-State College. He then taught school for two years in Allen County, and in 1892 and 1893 was a student at Valparaiso Normal School. He then again turned his attention to teaching, continuing to follow this vocation for six terms, and in 1899, with much self-acquired knowledge of his chosen calling, entered the Indiana Law School at Indianapolis, from which he was graduated in September, 1900. Mr. Kennerk immediately began practice at Fort Wayne, where he has gained a leading place among his contemporaries and has a large and gratifying practice which has necessitated his appearance in all of the courts. During his long and active career he has been connected as counsel with much important litigation, in which he has displayed his versatility and thorough knowledge of all the departments of his perplexing profession. He maintains well-appointed offices at 508 Standard Building, and is a member of the Allen County Bar Association, the Indiana State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He also has a number of social and civic connections and is a member of the Knights of Columbus.

On September 14, 1904, Mr. Kennerk was united in marriage with Miss Nora Wickens, of North Vernon, Indiana, a graduate of the Indiana State Normal School, class of 1898. To this union there have been born the following children: Gregory T., born July 27, 1905, a graduate of the Catholic Central High School of Fort Wayne, class of 1925; Harry Hugh, born April 13, 1908, a graduate of the Catholic Central High School, class of 1926, who is a graduate of John Carroll University, at Cleveland, Ohio, and is now attending the Indiana Law School in Indianapolis; Owen J., born September 30, 1909, a graduate of the Catholic Central High School and now a student of the John Carroll University; Mary H., born March 31, 1913, a student at St. Augustine Academy; Terrence D., born October 13, 1915, a sophomore at the Catholic Central High School; David W. and Perry A., twins, the former of whom died December 31, 1928, and Perry is attending the Catholic Central High School; and Gloria Josephine, born July 4,1918.

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

Mr. Coe was born at Big Rapids, Michigan, November 18, 1888. His parents, Frank and Nellie (Earl) Coe, were also born in Michigan. His father was a veterinary surgeon, and for some years had a large establishment at Big Rapids, where he took care of the horses in the lumber camp. Once while engaged in his professional duties he was bitten by a sick horse, and blood poisoning set in and caused his death. Arthur L. Coe was then a very small child and soon afterward he came to Fort Wayne with his mother. There was one other son, Earl, who became an engineer and was killed in Missouri, December 1, 1927, as the result of the caving in of earth where he was working.

Arthur L. Coe graduated from the Central High School of Fort Wayne in 1906. His mother died here in 1913. After leaving school he spent five years in the garage business, operating one of the finest public garages in the city and also carried on business in accessories and battery service. When he sold out his garage interests he took up detective work, and has made a long and careful study of the profession as well as the business. Mr. Coe in 1917 joined the colors, attended the Officers' Training Camp at Fort Benjamin Harrison, was commissioned a second lieutenant and was with the army until honorably discharged in December, 1918. He then resumed his detective work and in November, 1926, became associated with the firm of Abbott, Gerard & Coe. Mr. Coe bought the interests of Mr. Gerard and since then the business has been the Abbott Detective Agency. It is one of the largest detective organizations in Northern Indiana.

Mr. Coe is a member of the B. P. O. Elks, American Legion, Fort Wayne Country Club, Y. M. C. A., Chamber of Commerce, Jim Eby Post No. 857, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Fort Wayne Lodge No. 14 of the Fraternal Order of Police, and is a member of the Plymouth Congregational Church.

He married, in 1919, Miss Louise Pixley, daughter of one of the most prominent families of Fort Wayne. Her father, George W. Pixley, was one of the organizers of the Tri-State Loan and Trust Company, now one of the largest financial institutions in Fort Wayne. Mr. Pixley, who died March 1, 1922, on his eighty-eighth birthday, was a thirty-third degree Mason and was widely known throughout Northern Indiana, not only as a financier but also for his public spirited and generous participation in the life of his community. He provided the funds for the Pixley Home for Children. He married Miss Sarah Lewis, who is now seventy-eight years of age, and their only child is Mrs. Coe. Mrs. Pixley and her daughter usually spend the winters in Florida, while the family at Fort Wayne occupy the beautiful Pixley home at 330 West Wayne Street.

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

CHARLES HOWARD HALTER. Since his admission to the bar of Indiana, in 1919, Charles H. Halter, of Fort Wayne, has been identified with a large and constantly growing practice, having brought himself into public attention and prominence by the masterly manner in which he has handled important litigation placed in his care. In addition to his professional activities he has been connected with civic matters of importance, and his career thus far stamps him as one of the rising legal lights of a city not lacking in men of high ability.

Mr. Halter was born at Cedarville in Cedar Creek Township, Allen County, Indiana, March 5, 1896, and is a son of Henry L. and Addie A. (Cook) Halter. His paternal grandfather, David Halter, came as a young man to Allen County, Indiana, and during the war between the states enlisted in the Union army, in which he served with gallantry and fidelity for three and one-half years. Subsequently he returned to his Allen County farm. He later moved to Napoleon, Ohio, where he died. He became one of the substantial citizens of his community. He married Miss Caroline Parker, a daughter of Christian Parker, who was a pioneer of Allen County, subsequently became a large landholder and prominent man, influential politician, and served as a member of the Indiana State Legislature at an early date.

Henry L. Halter, father of Charles H. Halter, was born February 18, 1861, in Allen County, where he received his education in the public schools of St. Joseph Township. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, but has been a resident of Fort Wayne since 1910. He is a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Miss Addie Cook, who was born in Allen County, October 24, 1866, a daughter of Reuben and Sarah Cook, pioneers of Cedar Creek Township, where both spent their last years on a farm. To Henry L. and Addie A. Halter there were born eight children, of whom six still survive.

The public schools of Cedar Creek Township furnished Charles H. Halter with his early educational training, following which he pursued a high school course, supplemented by attendance at the Fort Wayne Business University and the International Business College. He then studied law at home for four years and in June, 1921, graduated from Benjamin Harrison Law School, at Indianapolis, receiving the scholarship medal in his senior year. He immediately engaged in practice in his present offices, 219-220 Swinney Building, and, as before noted, has built up a large and gratifying professional business. He is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association, the American Yeomen and the P. H. C., and of the L.L. B. Club, of which he was one of the founders. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1918 Mr. Halter entered the Officers Training Camp at Louisville, Kentucky, where he was in training from July 23, 1918, until receiving his honorable discharge December 23, 1918. He is a stanch and active Republican in his political allegiance, and was one of the organizers of the Young Men's Republican Club, of which he is a member of the executive committee. He is also a member of the County Central Committee. Mr. Halter is a man who takes an active part in all phases of civic life, and willingly contributes his services to all worthy causes.

On June 12, 1924, at Fort Wayne, Mr. Halter was united in marriage with Miss Blanche E. Disler, of this city, and they reside in a pleasant and attractive home at 2414 North Clinton Street.

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

WILLIAM EDWARD BROWN has been a business man at Boswell for over forty years. His harness and leather store is a business which supplies much more than a local service, his trade extending throughout Benton and adjoining counties.

Mr. Brown was born at West Lebanon, Indiana, November 4, 1856. His father, Willard Brown, was a native of New York State and came to Indiana when a young man. The mother of Mr. Brown was Sarah Williams, who came from Gallipolis, Ohio.

William Edward Brown was educated in West Lebanon and as a boy learned the trade of harness maker. He has been established in business at Boswell since 1886. For a number of years he was a harness maker for other employers and in 1914 established a business of his own.

Mr. Brown was a staunch Republican in politics, is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen of America and attends the Presbyterian Church.

He married, December 2, 1878, Miss Maggie Erskin, who was born in Montreal, Canada. Their married life continued for over forty-five years, until the death of Mrs. Brown in July, 1924. Later he married Jennie E. Gubbs. Mr. Brown by his first marriage had two children, Clarence and Myrtle. The daughter died in 1913.

Clarence Brown is a talented musician and has done some notable work as a band instructor. At the present time he is training four bands, located at Ambia, Williamsport, West Lebanon and Boswell. Clarence Brown married Belle McCuan and has a daughter, Jean Carolyne, born in 1922.

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

FERDINAND ELLSWORTH SHROCK had his first relationship with the industrial affairs of the City of Marion as an office boy. He has been a hard worker, fitted himself for executive responsibilities, and is one of the very popular and prominent young business men of the city today, acting as general manager for the Indiana Fibre Products Company.

He was born March 27, 1891, at Wawpecong, Miami County, Indiana, where the Schrocks are a numerous and well-known family. Mr. Shrock's great-great-grandfather was Casper Shrock. His great-grandfather was John C. Shrock. His grandfather was named Jacob Shrock and was born near Farmersburg, Jones County, Ohio, July 20, 1827. He moved his family to Indiana, settling in Miami County, and died near Wawpecong, February 7, 1895. Jacob Shrock, Jr., was born near Farmersburg in Holmes County, September 9, 1860, and died at the early age of thirty-three, on March 18, 1893, at Wawpecong. Jacob Shrock, Jr., married a first cousin, Sarah Ann Shrock, who was born at Delta, Fulton County, Ohio, September 24, 1869, daughter of Levi J. and Rachel (Bugher) Shrock. Levi Shrock was born in Holmes County, Ohio, August 5, 1839, and died near Plevna, Howard County, Indiana, March 2, 1923. His wife, Rachel Bugher, was born November 10, 1840, at Dover, Ohio, and died near Wawpecong July 16, 1909.

Ferdinand Ellsworth Shrock was a small child when his father died and he grew up in the home of his grandparents near Wawpecong. In 1905 he graduated from the common schools of Clay Township, Miami County. His early life was spent on a farm and he had only the normal opportunities and advantages. In 1908 he graduated in the bookkeeping course from a business college at Kokomo, Indiana, and that with his natural capacity constituted his formal preparation for a business career.

Mr. Shrock in 1910 found his work consisting, in part, of the sweeping of the office floors of a chain manufacturing company in Marion. Eight months later he was advanced to junior clerk and stenographer, at ten dollars a week and after another eighteen months was doing the work of chief clerk, at $19.50 per week, regarded then as very good wages.

Mr. Shrock in 1915, being unable to see a future with that organization, accepted the place of bookkeeper with the Indiana Fibre Products Corporation. This brought him in personal contact with perhaps the outstanding industrial master and executive in Marion today, Mr. George Alfred Bell, who was the founder of the Indiana Fibre Products Corporation. In 1920 Mr. Shrock was made auditor and in 1923 became office manager. In 1929 he became plant manager and since January, 1930, has been general manager. During all these fourteen years he has been an able lieutenant to Mr. Bell and has developed his own talent for business under his guidance. When Mr. Bell took over the active duties of president of the Marion National Bank he selected Mr. Shrock as his personal successor as manager of the Fibre Company, so that today Mr. Shrock has the chief executive responsibilities in directing a$400,000 corporation. For some time Mr. Shrock has also had charge of the Bell Coal Company, another of the Bell enterprises.

Mr. Shrock is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Masonic fraternity and the United Brethren Church. On October 14, 1914, he married Miss Edna Rebecca George, of Marion. Her father, Orzo George, was a Blackford County farmer who died at Marion September 18, 1921. Mr. and Mrs. Shrock have an interesting family of six healthy American children. The oldest, Anna Linelle, was born at Marion, April 10, 1916, attended grade schools and in 1930 entered the Marion High School. Much attention has been given to cultivating her musical abilities. Arthur Ellsworth, the oldest son, was born June 29, 1918, is a pupil in the grade schools, and has shown special proficiency in mathematics. Verne Franklin, born August 29, 192,0, is a grade school boy and gives unusual promise of athletic prowess. The younger children are Esther Elnora, born November 3, 1922, Goldie Rebecca, born February 5, 1925, a pupil in the Marion kindergarten, and Hebert Preston, who was born December 31, 1929.

Click here for photo.

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

JUDGE CHESTER LLOYD DUCOMB represents a pioneer family of Saint Joseph County, and he and several of his brothers have been leaders of the bar at South Bend for many years. Judge DuComb has a commanding position as a lawyer and has been one of the ablest leaders in local politics, and his name stands high in the Republican party of Indiana.

He was born near Lakeville in Union Township, Saint Joseph County, September 6, 1882, a son of Philip P. and Bertha E. (Wright) DuComb. Philip P. DuComb was born in Ashtabula County, Ohio, February 22, 1839, and was a child when the DuComb family moved to Northern Indiana and settled in Saint Joseph County. Philip DuComb left home to enter the Union army during the Civil war, and served in the Twenty-ninth Indiana Infantry. He was in the battle of Shiloh and was with Sherman on the march to the sea. His brother, James DuComb, was killed near Corinth, Mississippi. After the war Philip DuComb returned to Saint Joseph County and for fifty years conducted a leading mercantile enterprise at Lakeville. He was always a staunch Republican, and he and his wife were loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Philip DuComb died at Lakeville in 1915. His widow was born in Ohio, in 1844, daughter of John S. and Euphrasia (Foote) Wright. She died in August, 1930. John S. Wright was born in New York, in 1820, and his wife in Ohio, in 1822. She died at Walkerton, Indiana, in 1873. John S. Wright after his marriage settled in Saint Joseph County, Indiana, locating on a farm. After the death of his wife he moved to Nebraska, and died at Archer in that state in 1900. He was a Republican and a Methodist. The children of the Wright family were: Mrs. Bertha DuComb, Ella, who died at South Bend in 1917; Frank, who died at Ada, Iowa, in 1904; and Charles F. Wright. Charles F. Wright as a boy clerked in the store of Philip DuComb at Lakeville for three years, then went to Colorado Springs and later to Omaha, Nebraska, where he was for thirty-five years connected with the Stock Yards Company. He is now living retired at Omaha. He was married in Saint Joseph County, in 1887, and has a son, Tennis, a railroad engineer at Omaha, who is married and has two children, Ruth B. and Edith B.

Philip P. DuComb and wife had a family of five sons and one daughter, one son dying in infancy, and the others are: Rolland F., born in 1869, taught school, afterwards graduated from DePauw University, for fifteen years was an employee of the South Bend postoffice, and is now in civil service work at Texarkana, Arkansas; Courtland P., born in 1872, also taught school as a young man, was graduated from the law department of the University of Indiana in 1895, and for over thirty years has been an able member of the bar at South Bend, and is a Republican in politics; Florence, born in 1875, attended the grade and high schools of South Bend, and is the wife of Evo Olivet, of Texarkana, Arkansas; Clifford V., born March 1, 1879, taught school at South Bend, was graduated in the law from the University of Indiana in 1909, and for twenty years has practiced in South Bend. Four of the DuComb brothers taught school and their teaching covered every township in Saint Joseph County. Indiana.

Chester L. DuComb, the youngest of the family, grew up at Lakeville, was educated in public schools there, completing two years of his high school course, and finished his high school education at Valparaiso University. In 1910 he was graduated from the law department of the University of Indiana, and at once located at South Bend, where he has enjoyed a highly successful professional career. After getting well established in his profession he took an active part in politics and in 1921 was elected city judge and reelected in 1925. In 1929 he became the Republican candidate for mayor of South Bend. Judge DuComb is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen of America, Knights of the Maccabees, and the Lions Club.

He married, November 21, 1910, Miss Jessie Scott, of South Bend, a graduate of the high school there. They have two children, Robert James, born January 12, 1917, now in junior high school; and Jean Frances, born December 31, 1918.

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