Lake County IN Archives Biographies.....Herlitz, Louis W. 1841 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/in/infiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 3, 2007, 10:13 pm Author: T. H. Ball (1904) LOUIS W. HERLITZ. The German citizens are the important personages who have made the wilderness to flower and blossom like the rose in the central Mississippi valley. They are noted for their diligence, industry and economy. Mr. Herlitz was born in Hanover township, Lake county, in the homestead where he now resides. He was born January 22, 1841, and is the third in a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, born to Louis E. and Gesche (Berger) Herlitz. There are five living. Fred, the eldest, is a resident of West Creek township and is a farmer. Margaret, widow of Dr. E. W. Vilmer, resides in Crown Point. Mr. Herlitz is next. Mena, widow of Fred Weber, resides in Chicago. Oscar G. is a resident of Ross township. Father Herlitz was born in the village of Hemann, province of Lippe, about the year 1804, and died in 1869. He was reared in his native land until early manhood, when he came to America. He was nine weeks making the voyage across the Atlantic, and came to New York, thence to a place near Detroit, Michigan, where he remained four years, and where he married. He was an agriculturist, and was one of the earliest settlers of Lake county, coming here about 1839, when there were a number of Indians here. He purchased eighty acres of wild land, and the first home was a log cabin. He was quite successful in life. He was a Republican. Mother Herlitz was a native of Hanover province, Germany, born not far from Bremen about 1807, and died in 1875. Mr. Herlitz is one of the oldest citizens now living who were born in Hanover township. He was educated in the English language and by his own application. He has been reared as a tiller of the soil. He married Miss Anna Meyer April 5, 1877, and eight children have blessed the union, three sons and five daughters, seven of whom are living. Mary, the eldest, is one of the successful teachers of the county. She was educated in the common schools, and was a graduate in the class of 1900 at Crown Point, and was a student in Valparaiso normal and has also taken music. Anna M. was educated in the common schools and at Crown Point high school. She has taken instruction in music and is now at home. Julius is at home. He has completed the common school course and has also been a student at Valparaiso normal. Laura W. and William D. are twins. Laura has graduated from the common schools, and is in her second year at the Crown Point high school, and she has taken instruction in music. William graduated in the common schools and is a student at the Crown Point high school. Louis F. is in the eighth grade of school. Gesche, in the seventh grade, is a bright little girl. Mrs. Herlitz was born in Hanover province, Germany, February 14, 1853, and is a daughter of D. H. and Anna (Beckman) Meyer. There were five children, two sons and three daughters, in the family. Mrs. Herlitz and her brother Herman, living in Nebraska, are the only survivors. Mrs. Herlitz was educated in her native land, as she was sixteen years of age when she came to America, and most of her life has been spent in Lake county. Mr. and Mrs. Herlitz began their married life on the homestead where they now reside, and for twenty-seven years, over a quarter of a century, they have lived in Hanover township, and are citizens of the highest social standing. They own two hundred and five acres of choice land in Hanover township, and their beautiful sylvan homestead is a haven of rest for their friends as also for strangers. Mr. Herlitz is a Republican. He cast his first presidential vote for Lincoln and for each candidate of the party since. He was one of the boys who wore the blue, and was a member of Company D, Eighty-third Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and his regiment was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee under General Sherman. He enlisted in October, 1862, and was ten months in service, being in the battles of Vicksburg, Arkansas Post and Jackson, Mississippi. He was honorably discharged August 2, 1863, at Camp Sherman, Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Herlitz and their excellent family of intelligent children are citizens who are among the better class of people of Lake county, and we are pleased to present this sketch of this worthy gentleman. Additional Comments: Extracted from: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Genealogy and Biography OF LAKE COUNTY, INDIANA, WITH A COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY 1834—1904 A Record of the Achievements of Its People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. REV. T. H. BALL OF CROWN POINT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO NEW YORK THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1904 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/lake/bios/herlitz648gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/infiles/ File size: 5.2 Kb