Biography of Isaac Myers Zent, pages 368/369/370. History of 
DeKalb County, Indiana; B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., 
Indianapolis, 1914. 



The biographies of enterprising men, especially of good men, 
are instructive as guides and incentives to others. The 
examples they furnish of patient purpose and steadfast 
integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each 
to accomplish. Some men belong to no exclusive class in 
life; apparently insurmountable obstacles have in many 
instances awakened their faculties and served as a stimulus 
to carry them to ultimate renown. The gentleman whose life 
history is herewith outlined is a man who has lived to good 
purpose and achieved a splendid success. By a 
straightforward and commendable course he has made his way 
to a respectable position in the business world, winning the 
hearty admiration of the people of his county and earning a 
reputation as an enterprising, progressive man of affairs 
which the public has not been slow to recognize and 
appreciate. Isaac Myers Zent was born near Massillon, Stark 
county, Ohio, on November 19, 1859, and is the son of 
Jeremiah and Mary C. (Armstrong) Zent.  Jeremiah Zent was a 
son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Hage) Zent. Samuel Zent was 
born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, December 7, 1790, and 
died March 2, 1855; the latter’s wife, Elizabeth Hage, was 
born July 25, 1792, in the same county, and died August 31, 
1874. Samuel Zent was the son of Jacob and Susanna Zent, the 
former having been born January 30, 1763, and died October 
25, 1845, his wife’s birth occurring April 30, 1765, and her 
death on March 13, 1841.  Jeremiah Zent, who was a farmer, 
moved, in 1850, to Vandalia, Illinois, where he bought a 
large tract of land and there carried on agricultural 
operations during the rest of his life. He was public 
spirited and took an influential and unselfish interest in 
the upbuilding and welfare of his community. He was a man of 
definite convictions on the great questions of the day and,  
though living in a hotbed of secession, he openly espoused 
the cause of the Union and during the Civil war he proved 
such a friend to soldiers and soldiers’ families that the 
Grand Army of the Republic afterwards made him an honorary 
member of that society, though he had seen no military 
service. He died in 1901 and his widow still resides in 
Vandalia. Isaac M. Zent lived at Vandalia until he was 
seventeen years old and received a good practical education 
in the public schools, He then left home and started out in 
life on his own account, his first effort being to learn the 
trade of a telegrapher. Entering the employ of the Wabash 
railroad, he was assigned to different stations on that 
system and in June, 1882, was appointed agent at Auburn 
station. His service were here so faithfully performed that 
he was retained in the position for twenty-eight years, 
through several changes of administration and after the 
Wabash company sold the road to the Vandalia Railroad 
Company-in fact,  up to the time he was appointed postmaster 
of Auburn, his commission to the office being April 15, 
1910. In the latter position he exhibited the same careful 
attention to the performance of his duties as characterized 
him when in the employ of a corporation, and his relations 
with his superiors and the patrons of the office have been 
mutually  satisfactory and pleasant.  In the business and 
commercial life of the community Mr. Zent has long been an 
active and prominent figure. He was one of the organizers of 
the Citizens National Bank, of Auburn, and is now the 
largest individual stockholder of this institution, of which 
he has been a director ever since its organization. He also 
assisted in the organization of the Savings Loan and Trust 
Company and was one of its first directors, but he later 
sold his holdings in that company to Monte L. Green. He is 
the only local stockholder, and is a member of the board of  
directors of the Indiana Fuel and Light Company, the company 
that furnishes gas to Auburn. Of the Auburn Commercial Club 
Mr. Zent has been a member since its organization and a 
director for many years, while in many other ways he has 
exerted a wholesome and appreciated interest in the 
advancement  of the business interest of Auburn and DeKalb 
county. Physically, built on the Abe Lincoln or Joe Cannon 
style, Mr. Zent is, like them a man of strong convictions 
and earnest purpose, optimistic in his views of life, and 
affable and agreeable in his relations with his fellow men. 
These qualities have combined to gain for him a marked 
degree of popularity in the community in which so  many of 
his active years have been spent.  Politically, Mr. Zent 
has, for many years, been an active and influential member 
of the Republican party and in local political circles he is 
a prominent figure, having for a number of years served as 
treasurer of the county committee. Fraternally, Mr. Zent is 
a Mason, having attained to the thirty-second degree of the 
Scottish Rite, and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine, 
and the Auburn lodge, Knights of Pythias, having been a 
charter member of the last-named organization, being a 
popular member of these several fraternities.  On July 25, 
1885, Mr. Zent married Laura E. Ensley, who was born and 
spent her entire life at Auburn. Her parents, George and 
Lydia (Noel) Ensley, were among the pioneer residents of 
Auburn, the family being for many years prominent and 
influential in the affairs of the community. Mr. Zent was 
called to the higher life on October 5, 1910. All in all, 
Mr. Zent is a worthy representative of the sturdy, 
intelligent and progressive class that gives stability to 
the body politic and character to the community, being 
broadminded, with wide views of men and affairs, and a true 
type of the enterprising American of today.

Submitted by:

Arlene Goodwin

Auburn, Indiana

Agoodwin@ctlnet.com