Person:Isaac Zent (5)

The following biography was posted on the following site: DeKalb County, Indiana - Indiana Biographies Projuct http://www.rootsweb.com/~indekalb/dcibp/dcbio/1914/zent-isaac.m.txt

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, IndianaAgoodwin@@ctlnet.com

Subj: Zent Date:03/30/2000 7:25:25 AM Pacific Daylight Time From:agoodwin@@ctlnet.com (Arlene Goodwin) Reply-to:@@ctlnet.com (Arlene Goodwin) To:delijim@@aol.com (Jim Veregge)

Hello Jim, Found these Zent in the records of DeKalb County, Indiana. Marriage: Walter Zent married Geneva E. Crise 20 Feb 1932 (bk 17 pg 272) Will Zent married Mayme Welch 20 Aug 1831 (bk 17 pg 166) Jessie J. Zent married Christeen V. Moody 29 May 1890 (bk 14 pg 295) Mary Zent married Frank Kesterson 10 Nov 1929 (bk 16 pg 508) Gertrude Zent married Orwelle Moog 7 Feb 1931 (bk 17 pg 91) Nancy J. Zent married Abraham Dornely 18, May 1910 (bk 26 pg ?)

Cemetery Inscription Book page 195, Woodlawn Cemetery, Auburn, Indiana: Isaac Zent 1859 - 1933 Mary E. Zent 1896 - 1987, buried 22 Aug 1987 Jesse J. Zent 1861 - 1943 buried 15 Jul 1943 Christena V., 1866 - 1939, buried 21 Mar 1939

Obituary Book page 228: Former Citizen of Auburn Dies at 81--Jesse J. Zent of Fort Wayne to be Buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in This City Thursday--Ill for Seven Months. Jesse J Zent, age 81, a former resident of Auburn, passed away at his home in Fort Wayne Tuesday afternoon following an illness of seven months. The deceased and his wife lived in a residence on the site of which the Auburn Y. M. C.A. stands, for many years. During his residence in Auburn, Mr. Zent was a representative of the McCormick Harvester Co. and traveled for that firm. Funeral services will be held at the late home in Fort Wayne Thursday afternoon with Dr. George William Allison officiating. The funeral party will then come to Auburn, where Mr. Zent will be buried beside the body of his wife in Woodlawn cemetery. The deceased was a brother of I.M. Zent, deceased who was connected with the City National bank in Auburn for many years. Jesse J. Zent was a retired branch manager for the International Harvester Co. He served as the company's first representative in South America and later traveled in Europe. He was a member of the Masonic lodge in Auburn and of the Scottish Rite at Fort Wayne. His wife, Mrs. Christine Zent, died in Fort Wayne in March, 1939, and was buried in Woodlawn cemetery in Auburn. Survivors include a daughter, Miss Mary Zent, and instructor in the Central High School at Fort Wayne; two sons, Gerald of Fort Wayne and Moody Zent of Indianapolis; one grandchild; a sister, Mrs. George Capps, and a brother, Raleigh Zent, both of Vandalia, Ill. (someone wrote d 7-13 bur 7- 15- 43)

Obiturary Book page 271: Body of I. M. Zent Rests in Woodlawn Cemetery--Final funeral Rites in Auburn Tuesday Afternoon were Attended by Many Friends--- The body of Isaac M. Zent, beloved by every child inAuburn who knew him and respected by citizens of every class, was laid away tuesday afternoon in Woodlawn cemetery besides the grave of his wife who died on October 5th, 1910. The final rites were held in the flower banked hall of DeKalb Lodge No. 214 F. & A. M. in the Masonic temple in Auburn. Although Mr. Zent had resided in Indianapolis for the last eight years, Auburn was his home town. The funeral services were attended by many friends. The attendance would have been much larger had not a snow storm prevented them from being present at the services. Lodge opened at 1:00 o'clock in form on the third degree and at 2 o'clock the Rev. Hubert F. Craven, pastor of the First Presbyterian church, delivered the funeral eulogy and after he concluded with the works of comfort from the Psalmist, "Let not your hearts be troubled" he gave a prayer of courage for the bereaved relatives. The ritualistic service of the Masonic lodge was then recited and the body was borne from the temple in which Mr. Zent took great interest when being built --he was one of the building committee--and the funeral cortege proceeded to Woodlawn cemetery where the last rites were said and the body was consigned to the earth. The pallbearers were Mr. Zent's closest friends and associates, Judge W. P. Endicott, former Jidge Dan M. Link, Congressman-elect J. I. Farley, Mayor Warren Lige, W.H. Willennar and H. L. Brown Mr. Zent died Saturday morning at the home of his mother, Mrs. Mary Zent at Vandalia, Ill., from a relapse of pneumonia. He had gone to visit over Christmas with the aged mother, now ill and bedfast when taken sick. Those from out of the city attening the funeral were Mrs. E. J. Bost, George B. Capps, and O. F. Barkley of Vandalia, Ill., Jesse Zent, his sons, Moody and Gerald and their wives. (no date or paper

mentioned)

Arlene