William M. Wiesemann, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of William M. Wiesemann
WILLIAM M. WIESEMANN, a farmer in Jackson township, Porter county, Indiana, comes of a family whose thrift has brought to them a substantial reward for the efforts which they expended in agricultural pursuits. The original family fortune consisted of seventy-five cents, which through the cumulative effort of years of industry, and with the assistance of careful investment has grown into hundreds of broad and fertile acres.
William M. was born in New Durham township of La Porte county, Indiana, on May 19, 1865, a son of Frantz Wiesemann, who was born in Prussia and who married Regina Herr. Jackson township in Porter county might almost be claimed as his lifelong residence by William, who was but two years old when the family moved there. He attended the common schools of the region until sixteen years of age, when he decided on farming for his life's occupation, and set to work at it. He reached manhood's estate on the home place and remained for two years in the employ of his father.
His marriage to Laura V. Shaner took place on January 28, 1890. She was born in Pine township, April 12, 1868, a daughter of George W. and Martha Augustine Shaner, the former a native of Virginia and the latter from Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Shaner came to La Porte county, Indiana, when they were married in June, 1867. Four children were born to them, three of whom are now living -- Laura V., Ida M., wife of Robert Highwood, and Henry B., who married Clara Zabrowski. Mr. and Mrs. Wiesemann have been blessed with six children, five of whom survive. They are William, who is unmarried; Pearl M., a graduate of the local schools and who is engaged as clerk in the establishment of J. A. Johnson & Brother; Mabel, a school graduate, and Otto and Rolla. Mr. Wiesemann is a Democrat and has been active in the party for years. He has served on the election board. He owns a farm of eighty acres.
Prussia was the native land of the senior Wiesemanns. Frantz was born in Westphalia, Prussia, June 23, 1828, and was the eldest of three sons who were born to Adrian H. and Margaret (Grossmann) Wiesemann. His parents were born, reared, married and died in Prussia. His father died November 1, 1853, and his mother in 1856. In 1852 Frantz Wiesemann came to the United States for the purpose of procuring for himself a home in a free country. He stopped in La Porte county, Indiana, for a couple of years, then resided at Westville until 1869, when he came to Porter county. He located in section 15 of Jackson township, where he resided until his death, on May 28, 1911. His wife died September 8, 1892. Steady perseverance toward the goal of independence was the medium by which Frantz Wiesemann won his way. He had but seventy-five cents when he arrived in this country, and at the time of his death was possessed of 440 acres of excellent farming land in Jackson township.
His marriage to Regina Herr occurred while they were residing in Prussia. Their family consisted of the following: August, who married Mary Kieffer; Peter, who married Elizabeth Rosenberg; Franklin, who married Christina Geisen; Charles, who married Clara Cary; William, who married Laura V. Shaner; Josephine, who married Peter Rosenberg; and Dora, who married Jerome Brown. The senior Frantz was a Democrat. His son, who is the subject of this sketch, has followed worthily in the footsteps of a worthy father. Like him he is a prosperous agriculturist, a good citizen and a desirable neighbor.
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: 806-807
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