Fretz - Daniel
Daniel B. FRETZ
Source: Past and present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana. Indianapolis, Ind. B.F. Bowen & Co., 1909, p 787.
Daniel Fretz, who was born in PA had a son named Enos, who was born at the parental home in Lehigh County and married Sophia Brunner of Alsace-Lorraine. Both father and son came to Tippecanoe County in 1853 and located in Perry Twp where they spent the remainder of their days. Enos Fretz, who was an only child, learned the shoemaker's trade and followed it as an occupation for 27 years, during which time he gave instructions to 9 apprentices for terms of two years each. When he came here along in 1852 to look up a location, he bought 80 a cres of timber, a half mile south of PEttie, and next year his parents joined him. He purchased the Bains saw and grist mills, which he ran for over 30 years, while farming at hte same time. He was an active worker in the German Reformed church and became quite prominent as a citizen and business man in his community. He died in 1889 age 77and his wife passed away in 1886 aged 68. When they came to Tippecanoe Co there were 8 children in the family. Elizabeth the eldest married TF Reis of Mulberry, Ind; Enos, the third child died in November 1908 at Mulberry while in the marble and monument business; he married Sallie Moyer; William the fourth child married Pauline Roth and is a farmer 1/2 mile east of Monitor, ind; Sophia is the widow of Presley Baker of Perry Twp; Henry who married Lulu Frey is a sawmill owner in Mellott, Fountain county, Indiana; Charles who married Kittie Karn is a wealth and up-to-date farmer and stock dealer, owning 3 large farms; Mary is the wife of James Rothenberger of Mulberry; Philip, the youngest child and the only one born in Tippecanoe County married Retta Harlen and runs a sawmill and lives in Va. Daniel b. Fretz, second in age of his father's 9 children was born in Lehigh Co PA Jan 20, 1839 and was about 14 years old when his parents settled in this section. He remained at home until 22 years old spent 3 years in Indianpaolis, working two years in the Etna mill and one year in theCapital Flour Mill. Immediately after coming to Tippecanoe County he began working with his father in the mill and was consequently well up in the business by the time he reached his majority. In 1864 he was married at Indianapolis to Amanda Brown of Lehigh Co PA who died in 1866 leaving one child named Sarah now the wife of John Myer of W. Lafayette with two children, Carlton and Aldine. In 1867 Mr. Fretz married Almina Roth of Clinton Co Ind who died Aug 12, 1895 without issue. Jan 28, 1896. Mr. Fretz married Mary E. Etter of Perry Twp, a daughter of John H. and Susan Leinger Etter of Franklin County, PA who came to Tippecanoe Co. in 1865. By this marriage, Mr. Fretz has 3 children: Solomon, Maude and Theodore. After his first marriage he ran the Pyrmont MIll for two years and managed his father's mill for the same length of time. Feb 22, 1870 he located at Monitor, in Perry Twp, and bought the mills owned by Daggert, Potter & Martin. In 1871 he fitted up one of these as a gristmill and converted the others into a sawmill in 1885. Mr. Fretz has always done some farming on the side and now owns a place of 59 acres, which he cultivates. He belongs to the English Lutheran Church and helped build the one at Pettit. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Monitor. Mrs. Fretz is a breeder of White leghorns and Light Brahma chickens and has a fine lot of this class of high grade poultry. In 1892 Mr. Fretz built a fine home which has gas and all the modern improvements.