The Story Of
A German American Family In Indiana

Germans arriving in America in the nineteenth century constituted one of the strongest groups building the new nation. They prospered through hard work, and by 1895 ninety percent of businesses in the heart of the Indianapolis business district were owned by German Americans.

Beverly Raffensperger Fauvre tells the story of these families through the eyes of her own forebears who came to the Hoosier capital as early as the 1830s. Intertwined with the stories and achievements of the Bauers and Raffenspergers (officers and co-founders in the national KO-WE-BA foods company and the nationally known Raffensperger, Hughes and Co. brokerage house) are the stories of other German Americans. The talents which resulted in the formation of many of Indianapolis' cultural institutions are part of their story. Attachment to the fatherland which sent them to travel abroad to see the Kaiser and sadness when World War I began, the achievement of gracious lifestyles and the legacy of success which finally became both a challenge and a burden to later generations, all of these are told in this remarkably frank book.

This book includes the products of more than one generation of original talent: photos, drawings, poetry and a Victorian romance are included.