Charles O. Wiltfong, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Charles O. Wiltfong
CHARLES O. WILTFONG, M. D. - A veteran of Chesterton, was born July 7, 1876, the son of John W. and Sarah E. (Wade) Wiltfong, in Plymouth, Indiana. His parents were natives of Marshall County, Indiana, and the former was engaged for a number of years in the grocery and bakery business at Plymouth; he also served as county clerk of Marshall County from 1892 to 1896. To John and Sarah Wiltfong were born five children: Ethel, the widow of Leslie Bell; Charles O.; Arthur L.; Harry R., deceased; and Maud, who passed away at the age of seventeen. The father died at the age of sixty-eight, and was buried in Maplewood Cemetery, Plymouth. Doctor Wiltfong graduated from Plymouth High School in 1895, after which he was associated with his father for a year as deputy county clerk; he then took a year pre-medical course with Dr. Winfield Shafer of Rochester, Indiana, and in 1898 entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons, which is now a part of the University of Illinois. He received his degree of M. D. in 1901, and then served one year as house surgeon in the College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Westside Hospital of Chicago. In 1901 he established his practice in Chesterton, and has successfully practiced there since, his specialty being proctology. Doctor Wiltfong was married to Grace, daughter of Frank and Ella (Harrison) Axe, of Valparaiso, the former of whom is a merchant of this city. Mrs. Wiltfong takes a proper interest in the women's activities of this community. Doctor Wiltfong is a fellow of the American Medical Association, Indiana and Tenth District Medical Societies, and served as president of the latter organization; he also served as president of the Porter County Medical Society. He is a member of the Tri-State Medical Association, Mississippi Valley Medical Association, a fellow of the American Academy of Ambulant Proctologists. He is also a member of the Masonic Order, Calumet Lodge No. 385, Fort Wayne Consistory, Chapter, Council, and Commandery of Valparaiso, Orak Shrine of Hammond; he is past chancellor and past district deputy grand chancellor of the K. of P., and is also a member of the Elks. Doctor Wiltfong participates in the public life of the community, and he has found time - in spite of the demanding practice - to give a good citizen's attention to the discharging of civic affairs properly. He served as president of the Chesterton Town Board, and during the war was a member of the Examining Board of Valparaiso.
Source: Cannon, Thomas H., H. H. Loring, and Charles J. Robb. 1927. History of the Lake and Calumet Region of Indiana Embracing the Counties of Lake, Porter and Laporte. Volume II. Indianapolis, Indiana: Historians' Association. 827 p.
Page(s) in Source: 723-724
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