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Najdeski, Henry Peter
Henry Peter Najdeski, 52, passed away April 22, 2023, in Fort Wayne, IN. He was born April 2, 1971, in Fort Wayne, IN, the son of Petar and Ivanka Najdeski, whom survives.He is survived by his wife, Sarah Najdeski, their children, Jack Henry and Emma Najdeski, brother, Orfej Petar Najdeski, sister Make (Nikola) Karagule and a niece Simona Karagule. Also surviving are in-laws Jay and Sandra Habig; brother-in-law Greg (Terri) Habig; sister-in-law Jennifer (Derek) Reid, nieces Hannah Reid, Olivia Reid, Alexa Habig, Isabella Habig and nephew Andrew Habig. Henry graduated from Canterbury High School 1989, and studied Economics and Political science at DePauw University where he graduated in 1993. Henry earned his Juris Doctorate from UIC Law School of Chicago, in 1997. Henry was a proud member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and nurtured his relationship with his fraternity brothers throughout his lifetime. Copied from Dignity Memorial online obituary.
More than 200 of Henry Najdeski's family, friends and colleagues gathered Wednesday to both celebrate him and to raise money for a Canterbury High School scholarship in his name. Najdeski died April 22 after being struck by an unmarked Fort Wayne Police Department vehicle while he walked across a downtown street a few days earlier.
Fort Wayne native George Jean Nathan (right), who died on this day in 1958, worked with H.L. Mencken editing the literary magazine "The Smart Set." I have always liked a discarded motto they came up with for the journal: "The magazine for the civilized minority."
September 8, 2007, the Basketball Hall of Fame debuts a presentation highlighting Fort Wayne as the birthplace of the NBA. See our Fred Zollner section.
National Horse Thief Detective Association
Constituting whiteness: The National Horse Thief Detective Association and racial mores in Indiana, 1850–1930 Erik C Wade, Purdue University Abstract This dissertation tells the story of the National Horse Thief Detective Association (NHTDA) based in Indiana, a group that has received little attention until now. The NHTDA represents a story of how white supremacy was state sanctioned and enabled the transformation of Indiana into a modern political domain. I argue that the framing of the 1851 Indiana constitution and the development of the NHTDA offer a top-down-bottom-up model for examining how the boundaries and performances of citizenship in the United States along the lines of race, property, and the law are constructed and fostered. The NHTDA was composed of white propertied men that were granted the right to organize by the state for the protection of their property against criminals. The association began in central Indiana in 1845 with one company; by 1926 there were as many as 300 active companies, some of which formed alliances with the second wave of the Ku Klux Klan. I contend that the attitudes that produced the 1851 Indiana constitution directly reflected not only the anxiety over and resistance to black immigration and equality, but also influenced other movements based on local interests and social discrimination. In the case of the NHTDA, their activities persisted for nearly a century, which is testimony to how "natural" white supremacy was in Indiana. Purdue e-Pubs at Purdue University Libaries and School of Information Studies.
Horse Thief Detective Association collection This collection contains receipt books (1892-1929, 1931-1933), roll call book of members (1914-1932), a certificate of appointment to a constable, payment cards for dues, a metal sign, and a petition for constable powers from the Horse Thief Detective Association of Warren Township in Marion County, Indiana ranging from 1892 to 1933. At the Indiana State Library Manuscripts Catalog.
Horse Thief Detective AgenciesAbout this collection This collection is part of the John Martin Smith collection, digitized by the Eckhart Public Library, Willenar Genealogy Center, Auburn, Indiana. The materials were digitized with a Library Services and Technology Act grant made possible with from the Institute for Museum and Library Services and administered by the Indiana State Library. An Indiana Memory Hosted Digital Collections at IN.gov
A short biography is on pages 40-42 in Allen County Lines December 2011.
He was first president of the Lindenwood Cemetery Association in 1860 when the cemetery was established in Fort Wayne. He married Elizabeth Rockhill, a Quaker from New Jersey, their son William Rockhill Nelson, became founder, owner and editor of The Kansas City Star newspaper which has his story in a William Rockhill Nelson: The Story of a Man, a Newspaper and a City free ebook on Google.
He was fondly known for many years in Fort Wayne, was much more renowned as a nursery owner. His own estate, Elm Park was considered the showplace of Allen County. Copied from Isaac De Groff Nelson on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Born in 1841 Fort Wayne, died in 1915 Kansas City. His father was Isaac De Groff Nelson (1810–1891) and his mother was Elizabeth Rockhill (1816–1889), the daughter of William R. Rockhill (1793–1865), an important farmer and politician in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He sold his ownership in the Fort Wayne Sentinel newspaper of Fort Wayne and went west in 1880, no longer hopeful that Fort Wayne would change. He had photos and a writeup in the June 24, 1907 The Journal Gazette newspaper. William Rockhill Nelson The Story of a Man a Newspaper and a City printed in 1915 by the staff of the Kansas City Star, where he was the owner and editor. Also discussed September 5, 2015 on You know you've lived in Fort Wayne too long when... Private Facebook group. See William Rockhill Nelson on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Charles was billed as “Commodore Foote, born September 14, 1848 Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana, and died April 17, 1937,” and Eliza,1857 to 25 April 1937, was billed as “The Fairy Queen.” The two were part of a genre of acts sometimes referred to as “Thumbiana” and often appeared with other small people. See more about the Fairfield-Nestel House.
Was a story at the bottom of Hard times hide storied history Repairs planned for 1860s Creighton house built by canal skipper by Rosa Salter Rodriguez of The Journal Gazette newspaper September 2, 2007.
In the afternoon, President Lincoln and his family host a "private reception" in the White House for some "celebrated little people." Lincoln's guests include Charles Nestel and his sister Eliza Nestel, of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The siblings are members of an entertainment troupe that is performing at Washington, D. C.'s Odd Fellows' Hall. The Nestels are better known, respectively, by the stage names Commodore Foote and the Fairy Queen. A newspaper reports that a large number of the "elite...of the city" have been attending the "wonderful performances." Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 20 February 1864, 2:5, 3:1; Daily National Republican (Washington, DC), 20 February 1864, 2d ed., 2:6. from Friday, November 19, 1864 on The Lincoln Log A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln .
1816-1904, born in Duedinghouse, Stolzenau, Germany, came to America in 1836, was captain of Wabash & Erie Canal boat, from December 21, 1904 newspaper. Married Caroline Brueggeman of Whitley County, six children, Louis H. , Henry C., William and Ernest F. Niemeyer, Mrs. Henry Hattendorf of Fort Wayne, and Henry a fireman on the Wabash RR at Ashley.
Joel Roberts Ninde on the Heritage Trail by ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage) lists Further Readings and addresses of several Notable Structures Designed by Joel Roberts Ninde. Joel Roberts was born in 1873 in Alabama and moved to Fort Wayne after her 1900 marriage to Lee Ninde. Instead of living in her in-laws’ dark and old estate, she decided to design her own house. Joel proceeded to design additional houses for family and friends and by 1909, she and Lee formed Wildwood Builders Company, a real estate and building company where Lee handled the real estate and Joel designed houses that were focused on the housewife and were individualized. Architect Grace Crosby joined the company to convey the technical aspects of Joel’s designs. The women were immensely successful with their designs and the business flourished. Eventually the pair opened their own separate company for both architecture and interior design. Unfortunately, Joel died in 1916 at age 42 and the partnership ended. Wildwood continued for awhile after Joel’s death, but Grace Crosby found other work. Copied from a May 7, 2022 Facbook post with several photos by Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA).
ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage) posted on Facebook March 27, 2013: Here's what the 1996 Fort Wayne Historic Sites and Structures Survey has to say about Joel: Joel Ninde (1874-1916), a woman self-taught in architecture, designed and built over 300 houses by 1914. Working with her husband, attorney, and salesman Lee J. Ninde, through their Wildwood Builders Company, Ninde and her design partner Grace Crosby created Colonial Revival and Craftsman style houses with innovative features appealing to the housewife. The company also published The Wildwood Magazine, a nationally known publication on the subjects of architecture, city planning, and interior design, from 1913-1917. Joel Ninde died of a stroke in 1916 at age 42. Although examples of her work survive in various parts of the city, both the South Wayne Historic District and the Shawnee Drive Historic District contain significant concentrations. Her own home (pictured) is located at 902 W. Wildwood Avenue. The house on St. Joseph Blvd., later occupied by Philo T. Farnsworth, was designed by Joel Roberts Ninde for her brother-in-law Daniel Ninde, one of the founders of Lincoln Nation Life Insurance. Newspaper article and photo by Cathie Roland June 12, 2009.
Joel Ninde and Grace Crosby were both architects who designed comfortable, convenient, and efficient homes at affordable prices. By 1910, Ninde’s designs were so popular that she and her husband, Lee J. Ninde, formed the Wildwood Builder’s Company. Grace Crosby joined the company soon after its founding. Crosby and Ninde formed the design department and supervised construction. This company designed and developed the neighborhoods of Wildwood Park, Lafayette Place, Brookview and others.
Ninde became known for her innovative ideas regarding city planning, and eventually became one of the publishers of The Wildwood Magazine, which grew into a forum for city planning throughout the country. Joel Ninde died in 1916 after suffering a stroke. Crosby continued to work for Wildwood Builders and other architectural firms until her retirement in 1930. #sociallyhistory
March 24, 2023 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:
March is Women’s History Month! Each Friday this month, we are featuring stories to highlight the contributions and work of Fort Wayne women over the years! Today, we are featuring Joel Roberts Ninde, a Fort Wayne architect!
Joel Roberts Ninde was born in 1874 in Alabama to Willis Roberts and Moffitt (Peacock) Roberts. She moved to Fort Wayne at a young age and married Lee Ninde, a Harvard educated attorney, in 1900.
After marrying Lee, Mrs. Ninde did not want to live in “Wildwood”, the old family estate. Instead, she desired something cozy with a yard that she could cultivate. She house-hunted, searching high and low, but could not find what she was looking for. Although she did not possess a formal education in architecture, with a creative eye, she designed her first home for herself and her husband Lee. People were immediately interested in buying the home that Mrs. Ninde had designed - her career blossomed!
Soon, Lee gave up his law practice and the couple went into business together, forming the Wildwood Builders Company. The husband and wife team, along with design partner, Grace E. Crosby, created two of the first subdivisions in Fort Wayne - Wildwood Park and Lafayette Place. She was known for “the practical as well as the artistic” in her homebuilding. She planned houses with ample windows for light and ventilation and “sleeping porches that could be turned into cozy rooms”. Mrs. Ninde also furnished the homes that she built and would plant vines, flowers, and trees as she “believed in using nature whenever possible to enhance the beauty of the homes.”
Mrs. Ninde died March 7, 1916 at the age of 42 from a stroke. She was described as having “great personal charm, nobility of character, tender sympathy” along with a great love for the “beautiful and artistic”. She is buried in Lindenwood Cemetery along with her husband and their infant daughter.
(1914, November 14). Fort Wayne Woman Turns to Architecture and Becomes Creator of Honeymoon Row. The Fort Wayne Sentinel, p. 31.
(1915, February 4). Makes a Specialty of Designing Homes. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, p. 23.
(1916, March 20). Resolutions Passed Upon the Death of Mrs. Lee Ninde. The Fort Wayne News, p. 9.
(1992, March 4). Founding Mothers. Journal Gazette.
American Association of University Women, Fort Wayne Branch. (1988). Memorable fort wayne women: A women's history project of american association of university women, Fort Wayne, Indiana branch.
Did you know that the first Synagogue in Brooklyn, New York, the Union Temple, was founded in 1848, the same year Congregation Achduth Vesholom was founded as the first known Synagogue in Indiana History?
Below is a drawing of The Nirdlinger Home in Ft Wayne, which was utilized as the first known Synagogue in Indiana's History!
Nirdlinger, Samuel Frederic
Samuel F. Nixon, born Samuel Frederic Nirdlinger was an American theater owner. He was known as one of the organizers of the Theatrical Syndicate, which monopolized theatrical bookings in the United States for several years.
Samuel Frederic Nirdlinger was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on October 13, 1848, the son of Frederic Nirdlinger and Hannah Meyerson. The Nirdlingers were of German Jewish origin. They had traveled by covered wagon from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, to Fort Wayne, where they founded a frontier trading post. His father and uncle became clothiers. The Jews of Fort Wayne formed the Society for Visiting the Sick and Burying the Dead in 1848, with Frederic Nirdlinger as president. Nirdlinger's daughter Ella married Charles Naret Nathan. Their son was the drama critic George Jean Nathan, editor of The Smart Set and co-founder with H. L. Mencken of The American Mercury.
Samuel F. Nirdlinger first worked for the family business, then left to work for George K. Goodwin, a Philadelphia theater entrepreneur. Nirdlinger adopted the name of Samuel F. Nixon for business purposes. He became a partner of J. Fred Zimmerman, Sr. (1843–1925), an advance agent. They formed the Nixon & Zimmerman theatrical firm. The two started as lessees of theaters, and later became owners. Nirdlinger married Sallie Strauss. They had 2 children, Carrie Nixon Nirdlinger (1874–1970) and Fred G. Nixon-Nirdlinger (1877–1931). Copied from Samuel F. Nixon Early Years on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Samuel F. Nixon, born Samuel Frederic Nirdlinger (13 October 1848 – 13 November 1918)
"Theatrical entrepreneur. He began life as the son of a Fort Wayne clothier but became an important force in American theater at the turn of the 20th Century. In 1896, he and his partner, J. Fred Zimmerman of Philadelphia, joined Alf Hayman of San Francisco, Marc Klaw, Abraham L. Erlanger, and Charles Frohman of New York to form The Theatrical Syndicate. The syndicate gave the six a monopoly on theatrical bookings of road companies throughout the United States. By the 1900s, they managed over six hundred first-class theaters coast-to-coast. The power of the Syndicate was so restrictive that it eventually brought about the unionization of actors in the legitimate theater; however, that power was finally broken by Philadelphia's Schubert brothers in the 1910s. Nixon-Nirdlinger was the uncle of drama critic George Jean Nathan."
Born January 25, 1875, in Fort Wayne, one of 19 children. He was baptized at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception where he also attended grade school. He entered the preparatory seminary at St. Lawrence College, Mount Calvary, Wisconsin when he was 13, and went on to Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati for his theology and philosophy studies. John Noll was ordained at the cathedral at the age of 23 on June 4, 1898. Founder of Our Sunday Visitor weekly newspaper in Huntington, Indiana. Read his story John Francis Noll Founder, Visionary, Defender of the Faith by Ann Carey on FOREVER NOLL: CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF HISTORY.
Of NPR All Things Considered, at the Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) Omnibus Lecture Series Michele Norris - The Grace of Silence and the Power of Words recorded February 20, 2012 and published September 18, 2014 on the ipfwhelmkelibraryYouTubechannel. Had a family history aspect to her lecture on race relations. “This is the last place (Fort Wayne) that I saw my father alive,” Norris said. “I had to take a moment at the airport (Monday.) It’s one of the first scenes in the book – saying goodbye to him.” Her father was visiting his brother in 1988 (Fort Wayne) when doctors discovered an aggressive brain tumor. Norris rushed from Chicago and put her dad on a plane back to his hometown of Minneapolis. By the time Norris got there, her dad had died." from February 21, 2012 Race Card has U.S. talking by Dominic Adams of The Journal Gazette on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. References for Omnibus. Her Race Card web page. The Omnibus Lecture Series Past Speakers.
Norton, Edward
Edward Norton is featured in: Season 9 Episode 1 Hidden Kin of finding your roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr on PBS. One of his great-great grandfathers is Frank Baals, who was a railroadman in the Fort Wayne. Around the 24:30 mark the video shows a newspaper clipping: Former Wabash Man Dies in Kentucky. Frank Baals, at One Time General Yardmaster at Andrews. Frank S. Baals, an old Fort Wayne railroad man, who was for years yardmaster for the "Wabash" at Andrews; died at Ashland, Ky., Saturday and his remains arrived in the city last evening. They were taken to the home of Mrs. Rosina Baals; mother of the deceased, at 1134 West Jeffeson street, and the funeral will take place Tuesday afteroon.
Remembered with John Nuckols Memorial Park on the block at Jefferson Boulevard, Harmar Street, Maumee Avenue, and King Street.
HONORING BLACK HISTORY: John Nuckols, the Democratic candidate in what was then the 1st District, had been gathering support from the Black community for years working as a barber.
HONORING BLACK HISTORY: John Nuckols, the Democratic candidate in what was then the 1st District, had been gathering support from the Black community for years working as a barber.
