Ewald Over

Ewald Over was a German-American entrepreneur and veteran of the American Civil War. He was born to his father, William Over, and his mother, Caroline Boecke, where he received his education. At about the age of 15, he immigrated to America with his mother and father. They settled in the town of Wheeling, West Virginia. There, he became a bookkeeper and a clerk at a local hardware house. During the American Civil War, Ewald Over served as Captain of P. Company in the 6th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry. joined the Union Army at Camp Carlile, Wheeling. Upon entering, he became Captain of P. Company, 6th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and mustered into service on December 26, 1861. Over remained the position of Captain of the company up until becoming military commander of Wheeling on March 4, 1862, which served as a feeder to the larger prison, Camp Chase. Over recalled the conditions of the military prisoners in an article by the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer as "...a sight to behold." He then again became commander of P. Company on April 3, 1862, During the following months, Ewald Over helped advocate for the establishment of a local army hospital in Wheeling, and after its establishment, on April 15, 1864, he appointed Dr. John Kirker, the acting assistant surgeon, to take charge of the hospital. The following summer, on June 9, 1864, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, under the orders of Major General David Hunter, Captain Ewald Over, along with a small cadre soldiers from his company, arrested Lewis Baker and O.S. Long, the editors of a Confederate sympathizing newspaper called the "Wheeling Daily Register". Over remained in his position until November 1, 1864, when he then became Assistant Military Commander of Wheeling before mustering out of the war on December 29, 1864, upon which he received criticism by the "Wheeling Daily Register" in their newspaper.

Career as an entrepreneur and life in Indianapolis In 1865, Ewald Over moved to Indianapolis, Indiana along with his wife. He became an entrepreneur and went into the wholesale grocery business on South Meridian Street. He became a senior member of the firm, "Over & Krag" but this was short lived, and Over went out of the business in 1871. Over also ventured into the importing and dealing of china, glassware, and queensware in a business named Over & Raynor on 58 South Meridian Street. Ewald Over eventually became the owner of the Victor Foundry & Machine Works in 1877. water filters, sewer inlets, spring washers, and soil pulverisers. It mainly supplied commodities to customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and Ohio, but also to buyers across the thumb nation, as well as in Canada, Australia, and England. and after the death of his wife on August 18, 1894, she was buried there as well. Ewald Over remarried on September 11, 1895, to thumb Elizabeth Ginsler, and they had one son, William Ewald Over, in 1899. Ultimately, the foundry property was sold some time later to make way for a railroad, and the foundry relocated to 921-923 Biddle Street, also having been renamed the Ewald Over Foundry. Ewald Over was an early member of the Old Choral Union, as well as the George H. Thomas Post, and the Grand Army of the Republic. He was a charter member of the Indianapolis Board of Trade, Commercial Club, and of the Rooks Chess Club where he became a state champion. He was also an important part of building the Second English Lutheran Church in Indianapolis.

Death Ewald Over died in 1912 after a two weeks illness due to hardening of the arteries, and he is now buried at Crown Hill Cemetery. After his death, the ownership of the Ewald Over Foundry was transferred to his wife, Elizabeth Over, while his son served as the superintendent.