Source: History of Fort Wayne and Allen County, Volume II, By B. J. Griswold, Page 66, 1917.
William Bittler has given nearly half a century of effective service in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and is one of the veteran men of this corporation in the city of Fort Wayne. Technical and executive ability on his part have not failed of official recognition in the passing years, and, since 1875, he has had full charge of the maintenance and repair work on the water stations of what is known as the western division of the Pennsylvania Lines - between Crestline and Chicago being the line over which he has jurisdiction in his assigned position. He has the status of an expert stone mason, and it was his ability along this line that led to his advancement in the service of the great corporation with which he has been long identified, the while his sterling characteristics and worthy achievement have brought and retained to him the fullest measure of official and popular confidence and good will. Mr. Bittler was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, December 19, 1850, and in the same historic old commonwealth were born his parents, Reuben and Elizabeth (Smith) Bittler, the father having been a shoemaker by trade and vocation and both he and his wife having been residents of Reading, Pennsylvania, at the time of their death. Of the children Mary, Rebecca and Leah are deceased; Emma still resides at Reading, Pennsylvania; Hannah is the wife of Jacob Wannemaker, of New York city; William, of this review, is the elder of the two sons; and Samuel is a resident of Pennsylvania. As a boy and youth William Bittler gained practical experience and discipline in connection with farm industry in the old Keystone State and in the meanwhile attended the public schools when opportunity offered. At the age of sixteen years he made his way to Tiffin, Ohio, where he worked about eight months as a stone mason, a trade in which his natural predilections and careful application eventually gained to him full qualification as a journeyman.
In 1868 he came to Fort Wayne and here was employed at his trade by the late Henry Paul, father of William Paul, who is still a resident of this city. On August 6th of the following year Mr. Bittler took a position as stonemason and pipe man in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and then initiated his service in looking after the water stations of the company on the western division. In 1875 his ability and effective service brought to him advancement and from that year to the present he has been in full charge of the work of keeping in proper condition the water stations of the company on the line between Crestline, Ohio, and the city of Chicago. Mr. Bittler is one of the oldest employees of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company attached to the Fort Wayne headquarters, is well known and held in high esteem among the railroad men and the same estimate is placed upon him by all others who know him. He has never swerved in his fealty to appreciation of Fort Wayne, takes loyal interest in the city's prosperity and progress, has served as a trustee of the municipal water system, is a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife are earnest communicants of the Lutheran church, in the faith of which he was reared. On October 3, 1873, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bittler to Miss Mary Jacobs, who was born in Germany and came to America when young. Of the four children of Mr. And Mrs. Bittler, the eldest is Edward, who is now assistant cashier of the People's Trust Company of Fort Wayne; George is the recent state treasurer of Indiana; Hannah remains at the parental home; and Herman is identified with business interests in his native city, all of the children having honored the family name and the city of their nativity.
Submitted by Jane.