Decatur County, Indiana - Chapter 19: Germans and the German Influence, 1915

An account of the growth and development of Decatur county would be incomplete did it not make more than passing mention of the German influence that has been exerted there during the past three-cjuarters of a century. Germans were not the first settlers of the county. They were not the pioneers who first wielded the ax and felled the forest trees. Their voice was not heard in the formative period of the county, their arrival being considerabi}^ later.

German emigration from the Fatherland started in 1848, after the revolution there, and continued until the formation of the empire in 1871. In this score of years thousands of strong, self-reliant young men from Prussia, Hanover, Bavaria and the other German states poured into the United States. Dissatisfied with conditions at home and seeking a more perfect freedom, they came to this country intent upon establishing homes and remaining here. Local records of these immigrants show that most of them remained.

The Teuton came to the United States with the intention of following so far as possible the same occupation by which he made his livelihood in Germany. This was either in agriculture or in business. Thrifty, industrious and frugal, all he needed was a chance to establish himself and his success was assured.

Decatur county owes much to her German settlers. They came at a time when the best lands of the county were under cultivation and were producing profitable crops. The Germans did not seek this kind of land. What they wanted was that which could be purchased for a few dollars an acre, land which was generally regarded as almost worthless at that time. They made their settlements in Marion and adjacent townships, where the poor woods-land abounds, and started in to wrest from stubborn soil a living that would be adequate for their needs.

A less self-reliant race would have flinched from the undertaking; a less competent people would have failed entirely. But they persisted, build- ing up the soil as best they could, guarding their slender savings and diligently striving to increase their stores. Today, a second or third generation has replaced many of these immigrants, and, practicing the same thrifty precepts inculcated by their sires and grandsires, ha\e made the soil respond kindly to their efforts, have reared commodious barns and comfortable dwellings and made the one-time barren places resplendent with the yellow and gold of harvest time.

Some who had busied themseh'es in the marts of trade in the Fatherland, sought the city in preference to the rural community, engaged in merchandising and exchange, and built for themsehes a reputation for honest dealing that is a dominant characteristic of the Teuton's contribution to the great American "melting pot."

The annals of Decatur county's German-Americans are brief. Their names appear infrequently in the court docket. They have rareh' held or sought public office. They have industriously gone their several ways, minded their own business and permitted their neighbors to do the same without assistance or hindrance ; have reared strong sons and daughters and prepared them for efficient and useful citizenship.

From the time Maximillian Schneider laid out the town of IMillhousen and named it Muhlhousen for the ancient municipality in .Alsace, German influence in Decatur county has been none the less marked because of its indirectness. A people that does nothing but set standards of living for the emulation of others has done enough.

The roster of these German-American residents of Decatur county is too long for individual discussion, but there are a few who may be taken as illustrative of the entire list. One of the first among those living might be Louis Zoller, vice-president of two financial institutions and a successful business man. Born in Bavaria, he worked for a time in Berlin, and then came to the United States to try his fortune in this country. He engaged for twenty-one years in the butcher business and then became a partner in a Greensburg dry goods store. He is now retired from acti\-e l)usiness pursuits, but the example of his fine success cannot be altogether lost upon a younger generation.

Barney Zapfe was one of the early settlers at Alillhousen. He opened a store, made that store earn money, in\ested the money wisely and died possessed of a comfortable fortune. Barney Hardabeck - another early German-American - bought the first mill built at Millhousen, conducted a store and woollen mill and achieved financial independence. Joe and Julius (30)

John Johannes, president of the St. Paul Building and Loan Association, started the manufacture of wagons and buggies there upon a small scale, worked early and late, and is now possessed of a comfortable financial rating. John Puttmann, a leading citizen of Newpoint, owning a store and stone quarry and other property, started in life with nothing but the desire to succeed. George Metz, another Newpoint merchant, is also of German blood, as is also John Hoff, successful business man of that place. Henry Schroeder, Sr., the oldest resident living in Salt Creek township, came from Germany to Decatur county, through Louisville, Kentucky, a poor boy, and made his wealth by honest toil.

John Zollner and H. Kaby, who together monopolize the bakery business of Greensburg, are German-Americans. Daniel Silberberg, a German Jew, who .recently died in New York City after accumulating a fortune, obtained his start to success in Greensburg. John Weimar came to the United States with little more than the shirt he wore upon his back. He became a shoemaker in Greensburg and stuck to his last so consistently that when he retired a few years ago he found himself comfortably well-ofif.

Charles Zoller was elected county treasurer in 1874. Henry Metz became one of the wealthiest farmers in Fugit township and once failed to be elected county commissioner by just one vote. Joe Herbert purchased the Millhousen flour-mill from Barney Hardabeck and managed it with success and profit.

And so the list might be run through its entirety. None of them achieved" more than local distinction, but none of them fell into disrepute at home or abroad. They ran their mills, they garnered their harvests, they watched their tills and yet, withal, found plenty of time for recreation and for service.

Decatur county's naturalization records exist only from 1867, when German' immigration was at high tide and almost ready to subside. Since then two hundred and eighty men of foreign birth have been admitted to the privileges and duties of citizenship. Of this number, all but eightyseven were born in Germany. Following is the list complete :