Joseph H. Ameling, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Joseph H. Ameling
JOSEPH H. AMELING. Among the many useful citizens of Porter county for whose enterprise she is indebted to Germany is Mr. J. H. Ameling, born in Hanover, on August 30, 1868. When posterity has passed judgment upon this generation and the one immediately preceding it, from the distance which reveals events in their true perspective and shows their real significance, it is not improbable that the influence of the German upon the development of the middle west will be comparable to that of the early settlers, the New Englanders, upon the east, and upon the districts settled by the pioneers from that portion of our country. From them can be learned new lessons in thrift and efficiency and while many less patient and skilful workers are pushing toward the newer fields in the far west, where money is still to be "made" by carelessly reaping the harvests of the virgin soil and filling an unoccupied place in the industrial world, they are finding the great possibilities in the older communities and showing what are the real resources of the country.
Mr. Ameling's parents came to this country when he was but four years old and settled in Porter county. Later they went west, and the boy was left to shift for himself. He learned the carpenter's trade and later became a contractor. Early in his active career he was married to Miss Anna M. Wiseman, the date of their union being June 5, 1894. At the time of his marriage Mr. Ameling had but little in the way of money or property, but seeing that, in the language of the great essayist, he had "given hostages to Fortune," he began a steady climb to success. Now, less than two decades later, he is the owner of the J. H. Ameling Lumber Company, and a stockholder in the bank of Chesterton, in which latter institution he holds the office of vice president. In addition to these Mr. Ameling is president of the Home Water Company and of the Chesterton Cooperage and Lumber Company.
There are seven children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Ameling, three sons and four daughters. Their names and the dates of their birth are as follows: Agnes C., March, 1895; William J., July, 1897; Lauretta M., 1901; Margaret L., 1904; Angeline H., 1906; Paul H., 1908, and Herman, 1911. Miss Agnes Ameling is a graduate of the commercial college, and the others, except the two youngest, are attending school. The family are communicants of the Catholic church, and Mr. Ameling is a member of the order of the Knights of Columbus and Independent Order of Foresters. He is not an ardent partisan in political matters, but is liberal in his views. In fact, he gives the most of his attention to the conduct of his business and it is in this capacity as a man of affairs that he is best known to Porter county, of which he is one of the leading citizens.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company. 1912. History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. 881 p.
Page(s) in Source: 849-850
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook