Allen County, Indiana Genealogy

J Surnames

Jackson, Samuel D.

January 28, 2023 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook.

#OTD in 1944, Allen County attorney and politician Samuel D. Jackson took his seat in the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Indiana Senator Frederick Van Nuys. Born in 1895, Jackson attended Fort Wayne schools where his peers called him “Serious Sam” for his studious nature. Jackson graduated from law school at Indiana University in 1917. While he was admitted to the bar that year, he delayed practicing for two years in order to serve in the Army during WWI. He began a law practice in Fort Wayne in 1919 and served as Prosecuting Attorney for Allen County during the 1920s. In the 1930s, he served as Chairman of the Indiana Democratic State Speakers Bureau. In 1940, Governor M. Clifford Townsend appointed Jackson Attorney General of Indiana. In 1944, he served as Chairman of the Democratic National Convention at Chicago. That year, he also ran for governor, narrowly losing to Ralph F. Gates as Republicans swept the 1944 elections. When Jackson died in 1951, Governor Henry Schricker told the Indianapolis Times, “Mr. Jackson was one of my very best friends and one of the most conscientious public servants I have ever known.” Read the full obituary courtesy of Hoosier State Chronicles: https://bit.ly/3C3vmi7.

Image courtesy of the Jewish Post, Hoosier State Chronicles.

S. D. Jackson, Former U. S. Senator, Is Dead [includes a photo]

Colorful Hoosier Office Holder Samuel D. Jackson, former U. 8. Senator from Indiana and one of the state's most colorful office holders, died today in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Ft. Wayne. The 55-year-old Allen County native had been in critical condition in the hosptial for several days.

He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was rushed to the hospital Tuesday night. He died at 9:30 a. m.

Indiana’s attorney-general ‘in the first administration of Gov. Schricker, Mr. Jackson was Democratic nominee for Governor in 1944 but lost to Republican Ralph Gates. Copied from page 1, continuted on page 2 of the Indianapolis Times,Indianapolis, Marion County, 8 March 1951 on Hoosier State Chronicles Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program.

Jaenicke, Adolph

1860-1948, born in Berlin, Germany, hired by Col. David N. Foster to be Superintendent of Parks. See 1860-1948 Adolph Jaenicke on The Cultural Landscape Foundation tclf.org which has more information on other parks and designers.

Jasper, George W.

George W. Jasper was born in Fort Wayne about 1859 to Rudolph Jasper and Elizabeth Antrup. George was the youngest of the family, with 6 older siblings. His parents hailed from Germany and his father supported the family working as a carpenter.

He married Anna Stammer in Toledo, Ohio in 1896 and the couple returned to Fort Wayne. They had four children during their marriage: Alba, Irene, Ralph, and Paul.

George worked as hoseman, driver, and Captain in the No. 3 engine house from 1895-1909. He is pictured here in his dress uniform in 1898. While responding to a fire on Calhoun St. in 1896, he fell through the “half-burned floor of one of the buildings” and sustained injury. Jasper was made 1st Assistant Chief in 1909 and served in this role until his death.

He died at home on March 20, 1917 of a heart attack. The Ft. Wayne Sentinel published respects to the firefighter: “In the death of Assistant Fire Chief, George W. Jasper, the city and its citizens have lost a valuable, honest, and faithful official. It was in large part due to his indefatigable labor and persistence that the fire department has been made one of the most modern, complete, and up-to-date departments in the state of Indiana”. Mr. Jasper is buried at Lindenwood Cemetery in Ft. Wayne.

Explore the Ft. Wayne Firefighter collection under Government Records on the Fort Wayne and Allen County Resources page at The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

(1917, March 23) “Gave His Best”. Fort Wayne Sentinel, p. 9.

(1896, September 11) “Two Fireman Injured”. Fort Wayne Sentinel, p. 1.`

Copied from a January 6, 2023 post with photo by Genealogy Center on Facebook titled: It’s #FirefighterFriday! Each Friday in January, we will be featuring photos and historical bios from our firefighter collection (Collection courtesy of Donald A. Weber).

Jehl, Daniel J.

Died Sunday, July 19, 2015, at home, born in Fort Wayne, he graduated from Central Catholic High School. Former Frost, El Mexicano political writer Dan Jehl crosses over at 68 published July 27, 2015 in Frost Illustrated now on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Jenkins, Mary Fairfield

Came to Fort Wayne in 1833 before the canals or railroad. Obituary in the The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette January 30, 1916 was posted onthe original Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana page on Facebook.

Jenney, James

Founded Jenney Electric in 1881. See Light of the world by Kevin Leininger --Dec. 19, 1982 from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

Jewish Community

Beginning in the late 1700's, Jewish fur traders lived in the Fort Wayne area. The first known Jewish resident was John Jacob Hayes, appointed by President James Monroe to serve as Indian Agent. He lived in Fort Wayne from 1820-1823. Jewish immigrants from Germany began to arrive in Fort Wayne around 1830. They worked as peddlers, merchants and craftsmen. By 1848, there was a sufficient number of Jews to form the first Jewish congregation in Indiana, The Society for Visiting the Sick and Burying the Dead. In 1861, the congregation changed its name to the Synagogue of Unity and Peace (Congregation Achduth Vesholom), affiliating with the Reform Movement in May 1874. Read the rest copied February 13, 2017 from Our History The Fort Wayne Jewish Community on Jewish Federation of Fort Wayne website.

Jewish families find roots Local group brings to town experts in field by Blake Sebring discussed forming a Jewish genealogy group that grew to 70 members and over 600 people attending online presentations published December 9, 2021 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
Jewish immigration to Indiana, 1840-1920s posted March 19, 2022 oin the Archives of Hoosier History Live podcast on Saturdays, noon to 1 p.m. ET on WICR 88.7 FMstates: Our guide for a statewide exploration of Jewish immigration will be Michael J. Brown, executive director of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society. Michael is the host of IN-Jewish History Podcast, a series that delves into the Hoosier state’s Jewish heritage. He has recently worked for Israeli start-ups and is a board member of Sinai Synagogue in South Bend.
Indiana Jewish Historical Society Publications & Collections About this collection Indiana Jewish History is the annual publication of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society, founded in 1972 to preserve and promote an interest in the Hoosier Jewish community. This set is made available through a collaborative effort with the Indiana Jewish Historical Society and through a grant from the Robert and Toni Bader Charitable Foundation. Additional materials from the Indiana Jewish Historical Society Collection are being added to this digital collection through the collecting efforts of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society, with grant funding made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Indiana State Library. At We Do History online digital collection by the Indiana Historical Society.
Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Purdue Fort Wayne - The mission of the Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies is to promote public awareness of the Holocaust and other genocides; to encourage and support scholarship, research, and teaching about the Holocaust and genocide; and to promote public participation in efforts to confront contemporary genocide as it occurs. Education Notebook: Purdue Fort Wayne center honored for Holocaust work by Ashley Sloboda December 5, 2022 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
Five questions for Steve Carr, director, Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, PFW December 12, 2022 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
Photo labeled Fort Wayne Israel Bonds Drive in 1955! showing B. Ress, Ruth Ress, Isidor Hassan, Myrtle Shine, ? Etta Sheray, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr., Jules Lederman, Rivah Meyers, Rabbi Weller, Bernie Fine, and Vera Weller posted January 11, 2023 by Indiana Jewish Historical Society on Facebook.
A January 22, 2023 post by Indiana Jewish Historical Society on Facebook:

Indiana State Association of Bnai Brith Women June 1948
March 22, 2023 post by Indiana Jewish Historical Society on Facebook:

In the early twentieth century, Jewish philanthropic organizations provided newcomers with aid and employment opportunities, forever changing the cultural landscape of the U.S. as they relocated immigrants from New York to cities across the country like Indianapolis, Evansville, and Fort Wayne. While the newcomers were aided by organizations like the Jewish Federation, these same organizations often encouraged the erasure of cultural markers and traditions in an attempt to avoid increasing antisemitism in Indiana.

Learn more with our new #IndianaHistoryBlog post: https://blog.history.in.gov/jewish-immigrant.../

Family History Today: Using Facial Recognition Tools to Identify Unnamed Ancestors November 13, 2020 by Center for Jewish History on YouTube
In contrast to vital records, family photos do not impart clear, standardized information and have always posed a genealogical challenge. In 2019, amateur genealogist and data scientist Scott Genzer developed a technique for using free online facial recognition tools to identify people in photographs, and has successfully applied it to historical photos of the Jewish community of his ancestral town, Mielec, Poland, among others. In this presentation, he will offer a detailed demonstration of this technique and explain how it may help you break through some of your genealogical brick walls.
This program was sponsored by the Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute. It was supported, in part, by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Johns, Alfred Lee

A. L. Johns & Co. on page 35 of Fort Wayne illustrated Publication date 1897 on Archive.org.
A. L. JOHNS & CO. Manufacturers of Hand- Made Harness SUMMIT CITY TEAM PADS. W. Columbia St. FORT WAYNE. FORT WAYNE can truthfully claim to have one of the neatest and most practically arranged harness and saddlery establishment, not only in Indiana, but in the entire United States. Saddlery salesmen who travel over the entire country say they know of none that will surpass it. This building was built expressly for the saddle business, is 40x110 feet, six stories and high basement, The fifth and sixth stories having windows on four sides, giving perfect light for manufacturing. It is accupied by A. L. Johns & Co. the oldest established harness house in Indiana, who have made a national reputation by the superior quality of goods manufactured by them. They make a large line of Buggy, Surrey, Driving, Express and Team Harness. In the latter they excel all competitors, they make the broad claim that their team harness is superior to any made elsewhere at wholesale at any price. Thev carry an extensive line of Saddlery Hardware, Whips, Collars, Fly Nets, Lap Dusters, Robes, Blankets, Harness Oils, and Soaps, Axle Grease, etc., etc. and handle harness leather extensively, having the sole agency for Northwestern Indiana. ( Ohio and Southern Michigan, for the celebrated "Globe Pure Oak Hand Stuffed Leather, one of the best wearing and most economical cutting brands of leather made in the United States. It costs several cents more per pound than ordinary leather but up-to-date harness makers, who are looking for future business, find it pays to buy the best leather that money will buy and prefer the Globe to all others. It is by using this leather exclusively in their best grades of harness that A. L. Johns & Co have established their reputation for making the most reliable harness. Harness dealers will find this firm strictly reliable and honorable in all business transactions, as well as wide-awake, up-to-date and hustling to draw trade to Ft. Wayne, the natural source of supply for a very large territory.

Fort Wayne, circa 1890 - Alfred Lee Johns (1850-1936), grew up in the saddlery business of his father and by the early 1880s owned A. L. Johns and Company, seen here at 51-53 East Columbia Street (this building is now gone and the site of Friemann Square). The company manufactured harnesses, as well as sold robes, blankets, nets, whips, and curry combs. In about 1895-96 the business moved into the new Bash Building at 130-132 West Columbia Street, in what is now The Landing Fort Wayne. See the comments for a picture their later building. (The Indiana Album: Kevin Kastner Collection). Copied from a November 13, 2018 post with a 1890 Kevin Kastner Collection photo by the Indiana Album on Facebook.

Johnston, Elizabeth

On September 22, 1807 Elizabeth Johnston was born in blockhouse #1, Fort Wayne, IN. At the time Fort Wayne was still, literally, a fort. She would have come into the world when her father John was US Factor to the Indians. Her earliest years would have been spent in the company of her brother Stephen, for her sister, Rebecca, died approximately 6 months before she was born. This made Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of the family. As such, as a young girl and teen, she seems to have been the little 'mommy' to her younger siblings. ... Elizabeth was married on her sixteenth birthday to John Davies Jones, ten years her senior, in the Upper Piqua farmhouse September 22, 1823. Copied from ELIZABETH JOHNSTON JONES a September 23, 2014, September 22, 2015, 3. February 21, 2017, and March 21, 2022 post by Johnston Farm & Indian Agency on Facebook. Died 19 November 1878 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio from her Find A Grave page.

Johnston, John

Born on 25 March 1775 near Ballyshannon, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, died 18 February 1861 from his Find A Grave page. In 1802, President Thomas Jefferson appointed him as an Indian agent at the new trading agency in Fort Wayne. He married Rachel Robinson on 15 July 1802 in Lancaster, Ohio, see June 15, 2015 and July 8, 2017 post with photo on Johnston Farm & Indian Agency on Facebook. Their honeymoon consisted of an app. 850 mile, two and a half month trip from Pennsylvania to Fort Wayne where John Johnston was to be a Factor for the government, meaning he would run a store where he handled trade with the Indians. On September 4, 1802 goods were purchased and forwarded for the Factory. They came by way of New York, Albany, Buffalo, Lake Erie, and the Maumee River. Their arrival was delayed until May 4 and 12th of the following year. Very few sales took place that year. Total value of this shipment was $13,320. From longer July 12, 2017 post on Johnston Farm & Indian Agency on Facebook. Their first 4 children, of 15, were the first all-white children to be born at Fort Wayne before Indiana became a state in 1816. Read more on John Johnston (Indian agent) on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. In 1811 he transferred to the new Indian agency at Piqua, Ohio. His Johnston Farm and Indian Agency is a local attraction and posts photos and stories on Facebook. September 22, 1807 Elizabeth Johnston was born in blockhouse #1 Fort Wayne before Indiana became a state in 1816. See photos on February 10, 2016 Facebook post for Johnston Farm and Indiana Agency. July 1, 1802 John Johnston was appointed Government Factor in Fort Wayne with pay of $1000 per year and three rations a day, plus $365 for subsistence paid from at the Factory from trade. That same year Little Turtle traveled to Washington to speak with President Jefferson. William Wells traveled with the Turtle and translated for him. Copied from discussion with drawing and key of locations around the old fort posted July 4, 2017 on Johnston Farm & Indian Agency on Facebook. A September 21, 2017 Johnston 101 lesson post discusses about 3,000 Indians on March 25, 1814 order for necessaries near Fort Wayne. An October 5, 2014 post discusses Polly (or Mary) Chatalie Native American girl living with the family that likely was living with the Johnston family in Fort Wayne and traveled with the family in 1811 to Ohio. Apparently she lived 'in' the Johnston family, not as a servant but as more of an 'adopted' member of it. Polly was the daughter of Neebosh (see image below), a minor Pottawatomie chief. Her mother was Keeshwa. She later went on to marry a man by the name of Parent and eventually came into her own with money given to her in lieu of land by the government. Polly was in her 50s when she died. There lots of posts by Johnston Farm & Indian Agency on Facebook that mention Fort Wayne and probably more added after posting here.

Johnston, Rachel Robinson

Rachel J. Robinson, wife of John Johnston, arrived at Fort Wayne in 1802 where she would became the mother of the first all-white children born at Fort Wayne. She later moved with her husband to Ohio and died at Upper Piqua, Ohio July 24, 1840 in the 56th year of her age. “In early times my father was appointed as s. factor at Fort Wayne Indiana. Thither he took my mother, a young girl of sixteen, who for his sake abandoned the ease and refinement of the city of Philadelphia to abide with him in the wilds of the west. She traveled the whole distance, 1000 miles on horseback. At Fort Wayne she was a light in the path of the ladies of the garrison whose vices she reproved without hesitation, and while taking on herself the task of a censor, she avoided making herself odious; so kind was her heart that everyone, the soldiers not excepted, loved her. Copied from the Family Record shown in a July 24, 2018 re-post of the February 9, 2017 post by Johnston Farm & Indian Agency on Facebook from the Johnston Family Bible located at Johnston Farm, Piqua, Ohio transcribed May 2003 by Marla Fair. See her Find A Grave page.

Johnston, Rebecca

Born September 03, 1805, the second child of John and Rachel Johnston, at Fort Wayne in the Indian Territory, died 26 April 1808 from her Find A Grave page. A September 26, 2014, September 12, 2015, 2. February 20, 2017, March 24, 2022 post by Johnston Farm & Indian Agency on Facebook states: it can be assumed that Rebecca was born in the safety of one of the fort's blockhouses, though this is not known for certain. Of all the Johnston's children we know the least about Rebecca. According to the family Bible, she died April 26th, 1807 at the tender age of 2 years, 7 months and 23 days. Fort Wayne, like any far-flung frontier outpost, was filled with sickness, or what were known as 'billious' fevers. In a letter dated 1804, John Johnston states that ‘for twelve months I had it with scarcely any interruption, every summer it is looked for as regular as the season comes. Nothing but my poverty and the circumstances of the Secretary of War having placed me here would have induced me to continue at this place on account of its unhealthiness.’ Another letter of the same time relates that his wife, Rachel, has also been ill. Most likely, the baby, Rebecca, died of one of these fevers. The post continues discussing the family and diseases of the that time.

Johnston, Rosanna

Born in Fort Wayne on July 2nd, 1809. Her 1844 obituary states ‘the deceased had been as child of affliction from infancy’. There is no record of what ‘affliction’ Rosanna suffered, but she was not so severely disabled as to be prevented from traveling and entering into other activities with her sisters. Toward the end of her life she suffered epileptic fits. Rosanna died suddenly at home on August 11, 1844. She was 35. Copied from 4. ROSANNA JOHNSTON on a February 22, 2017 post by Johnston Farm & Indian Agency on Facebook.

Johnston, Stephen

Born April 2, 1803 in Fort Wayne. According to the book ‘At the headwaters of the Maumee : a history of the forts of Fort Wayne’, Stephen was the first white child born in Fort Wayne. See more in 1. February 18, 2017 post, his tombstone photo June 17, 2015, on Johnston Farm & Indian Agency on Facebook. See Find A Grave memorial.

Johnston, Russell K.

86, of Monroeville, Indiana passed away at 6:58 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, 2013 at Lutheran Hospital of Indiana. He was born on February 16, 1927 in Lima, Ohio to the late Paul R. Johnston and the late Hazel I. (Stevenson) Johnston. He married Helen J. Wagner on July 8, 1949 in Morganfield, Kentucky and she passed away on March 29, 2004. A baseball coach, he was recently inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame. He is survived by daughter, Kathy “Koce” Johnston of Fort Wayne, Indiana; son, Randy P. (Patti) Johnston of Angola, Indiana; daughter, Tracy L. (Mark) Lester of Monroeville, Indiana; twelve grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a sister, Jean F. Barkley Leavitt and a half-brother, Harold Johnston. From his Zwick & Jahn Funeral Home obituary.

Jones Eighth Annual Family Reunion

Near Monroeville in September 3, 1919 Fort Wayne News and Sentinel

Jordan, Rev. Ternae

During his 15 years in Fort Wayne, Jordan was pastor of Greater Progressive Baptist Church – and much more. Was in the story Where are they now? Success follows former area newsmakers to their new locales by the editorial page staff published January 6, 2013 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.

Jordan, Justin

South Side High School graduate, served as a graphics production assistant in the 2015 Oprah Winfrey film, “Selma.” His wife, Charity, an aspiring actress and Atlanta native, landed the role of Viola Lee Jackson. Read more in Work on 'Selma' a blessing for city native by Paul Wyche published January 9, 2015 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.

Jordan, Vernon

August 15, 1935 – March 1, 2021. The CNN (Cable News Network) on their first broadcast June 1, 1980 at 6 p.m., was live in about a million and a half U.S. households covering the shooting of Civil Rights leader Vernon Jordan in Fort Wayne. President Jimmy Carter visited him in his room at Parkview Hospital. See Jim Walton: CNN at 30. "On May 29, 1980, civil rights leader and National Urban League chairman Vernon Jordan, Jr., was walking with a white woman when he was wounded by sniper fire in a Fort Wayne parking lot. A few months later, avowed racist and serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin was arrested in Kentucky for armed robbery. A lead suggested that Franklin might be linked to the Jordan shooting. Indianapolis agents studied Franklin’s handwriting and found similar styles in alias signatures from motel registration cards. The FBI Laboratory corroborated the handwriting match; however, Franklin denied involvement and was acquitted of the charges. Nevertheless, 14 years later, Franklin admitted shooting Jordan." formerly posted on Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana with a photograph. Also mentioned in A Brief History 1980s and 1990s The FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation Indianapolis Division web page. Also see Vernon Jordan on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. See The shooting of Vernon Jordan Former Fort Wayne Mayor Win Moses recalls Dr. Jeffrey Towles’ life saving role by William Bryant Rozier published February 25, 2016 on Frost Illustrated now on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. The program for the May 28, 1980 dinner was posted January 24, 2018 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook. See newspaper articles posted and discussed February 13, 2018 on I grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Facebook.

Joyner, Deborah

FWPD photo

February 22, 2019 Facebook post by the Fort Wayne Police Department stated: Continuing our recognition of Black Officers during Black History Month we honor the first female black Captain of the Fort Wayne Police Department;Captain Deborah Joyner. Captain Joyner was commissioned on September 25, 1981. During her career she served as an Officer in the Southeast Division and as a detective in the Vice/Narcotics Division and Juvenile Affairs Division of the Detective Bureau. She was promoted to Sergeant in June 1999 and served in the Southeast Division She was promoted to Captain in January 2014 and served in the Community Relations Division until her retirement in September 2018.

Joyner, Michael

FWPD photo

June 7, 2019 as Public Information Officer and face of the Fort Wayne Police Department, he officially retired with over 20 years of service to the community. Several photos were posted June 7, 2019 by the Fort Wayne Police Department on Facebook.