cigar manufacturer and dealer in tobacco, Vevay, was born in the city of Madison, Jefferson Co., Ind., July 10, 1849. His father, Nicholas, was born in France, December 25, 1799, his mother, Margaret Hirtz, in Germany, in 1819; she died July 4, 1859. His father worked on the present fortifications in France, before immigrating to America. He has been a vegetable gardener near Madison for over thirty-five years. Mr. Nick Hirtz learned cigar-making in 1866. In 1867 he lost his left leg by being caught in a steam chopper in a butcher shop, which disabled him for life. He came to Vevay in 1869, and worked at journey work in cigar shops, and here he was married December 18, 1871, to Miss Julia Benoit, a native of Switzerland, born in 1850. Of late years Mr. Hirtz, having "sown to the wind" to his full desire, has given his attention strictly to his business, and prospered. He has established a good trade in his line, and enjoys the confidence of substantial business circles, and a host of patrons and warm friends.
Source: History of Switzerland County, Indiana 1885. Chicago, Illinois: Weakley, Harraman & Co., 1885
Transcribed by: Sheila Kell