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business on South Michigan Street. In November, 1899 he and Nelson L . Jones <br /> purchased the undertaking business of D . E . Huntsinger at 307 West <br /> Jefferson Street . The partners ran funeral parlors at this address until <br /> 1904 . Samuel was then briefly involved in the hardware business with <br /> Sherman G . Chard at 233 South Michigan . He retired a few years later . After <br /> his death in 1915 , his wife Mary lived in the house until it was sold to <br /> Clifford M. Lontz in 1919 . <br /> Lontz was the president of Lontz Brothers -- dealers in coal , coke , <br /> gasoline and oils -- located at 602-606 South Michigan . He inherited the <br /> business from his father , William H . Lontz , who began the business in 1887 <br /> with his brother , Charles S . Clifford was born in South Bend in 1883 , <br /> attended local public schools and later graduated from Wabash College in <br /> Crawfordsville , Indiana . He married Charlotte Black (Fargo, North Dakota) <br /> in October , 1913 ; the couple had four children . <br /> The coal business was moved to 629-643 North College in 1929 -- a modern <br /> yard with silos , unloading devices , trucks and up-to-date <br /> equipment . After Clifford ' s death in 1927 , Charlotte remained in the house <br /> until it was purchased by Hazel F . and E . Glenmore Wells in 1930 . <br /> E . Glenmore Wells served as Secretary of the Wells Manufacturing Company <br /> when he and Hazel bought the house ; he later became president of the firm. <br /> He was born March 31 , 1888 in South Bend, the son of Elmer E . Wells , who <br /> began the family business with his father , Alvah M. ( 1827-1910) under the <br /> name A. Wells and Son in 1876 . The original business was a cabinet factory <br /> at the foot of Washington Street on the banks of the St . Joseph River . The <br /> company ' s name was changed to the Wells Manufacturing Company in 1912 when <br /> a new and larger plant was constructed on South Main Street . The company <br /> manufactured wood bases for engravers and electrotypers -- its products <br /> were distributed world-wide . The firm was purchased by W . M. Hass in 1944 ; <br /> E . Glenmore remained as its head . <br /> Wells died on November 10 , 1974 . He and his wife had lived at 514 Indiana <br /> until purchasing a new home at 1603 South Broad Drive in 1959 . The house on <br /> Indiana was then occupied by Gervae M. and Donald C . James . The James ' <br /> purchased the property in 1977 from the estate of Hazel Wells ; Mrs . James <br /> remains as owner in 1992 . <br /> Fred M. Holycross <br /> October, 1992 <br /> SOURCES <br /> Anderson and Cooley, comp . South Bend and the Men Who Have Made It (South <br /> Bend : 1901) : 142 , 155 , 176 , 217 , 241 , 281 , 398 , 399 . <br /> Citizens ' Historical Association Biographical and Historical Manuscript <br /> 4P2/B200/D12/E71/F45 (South Bend : n . p . , 1935) . <br /> Deed Book 123 : 237 ; 152 : 129 ; 161 : 170 ; 162 : 34; 239 : 560; 829 : 69 . <br /> Deed Index 85 : 260 . <br /> Howard, T.E . History of St . Joseph County, Indiana (Chicago : <br /> 1907) : 289 , 478-481 . <br /> Portage Township Assessor ' s Reports 1932 and 1989 . <br /> St . Joseph County Plat Book 8 : 62 . <br /> South Bend City Directories (various , 1898-1960) . <br /> South Bend News Times 3-8-27 ; 10-14-27(obit) . <br /> South Bend Tribune 10-13-27 ; 7-25-29 ; 6-14-65(obit . ) ; 6-18-65(obit . ) ; <br /> 3-8-74 ; 10-14-74 . <br /> 2 <br />