Ulmer, John Christian; manfr.; born, Wurttenberg, Germany, Dec. 26, 1862; son of Christian and Ann Maria Klein Ulmer; educated in Germany and the Cuyahoga Falls, O., High School; started in the machinist trade, jobbing and marine engine building, but mostly tool-making and foreman until 1893; started a business for the repairing of engineering, surveying and scientific instruments; in 1895, began the manufacture of same, incorporated 1906, as the J. C. Ulmer Co.; since 1896, the “Ulmer” instruments have been extensively used in the laying out of the Cleveland park system, water tunnels, sewers, track elevations, and many public and private enterprises in the city, as well as in many other cities, colleges and private corporations; railroads, as well as the U. S. Government, are owners of “Ulmer” transits and levels, which are built to stand upon their merits and are giving universal satisfaction wherever used; the company also manufacturers the “Lucaschain Tapes,” which are unsurpassed for accuracy and quality, over 75,000 feet being in use by the government in the Philippine Islands, and many times more than that in North and South America; pros. and treas. The J. C. Ulmer Co.; manfr. scientific instruments; member Cleveland Engineering Society, and of all the different Masonic bodies, and the Knights of Pythias, and the Y. M. C. A. Recreations: Hunting, Fishing, Boating and Photography; is one of the very few instrument makers in the U. S., never having been connected with any instrument establishment; the “Ulmer” instruments were designed by him and have many original features which characterize them; motto from the beginning has always been “What is Worth Doing is Worth Doing Well.”
