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1233398
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
3 1833 00827 8522
ALVORD'S HISTORY
NOBLE COUNTY . INDIANA
SAMUEL E. ALVORD.
fi1 ,1*
t\)0 V I.A TO WHICH IS APPENDED
A Comprehensive Compendium of Local Biography — Memoirs of Represent vnvi
Men and Women of the County, whose Works of Merit
have made their names imperishable.
ILLUSTRATED
Embellished with Portraits of Well Known Residents of Noble County, Ind.
LOGANSPORT, IND. \
F. Bowen, Publisher.
1902.
1233398
PREFACE.
IN laying Alvord's History of Noble county, Indiana, before its patrons, the publisher
takes pardonable pride in the fact that he has fulfilled conscientiously every
promise made in the prospectus and points with pleasure to the neatness of the
typography; the quality of paper upon which the work is printed, and the elegance
and durability of its binding.
As to its contents the patrons have already had an opportunity of approving of
their biographies before they were placed in type, while the illustrative department
is the ne plus ultra of the art.
The History of Noble county, by Samuel E. Alvord, gives an accurate
and minute history of the county, derived or deduced from the acts of the true
creators thereof, as depicted in their biographies, from the day of the pioneers to
the present time, and biography is, in fact, the true source of all social and political
history.
To those who have been uniformly obliging, and have kindly interested them-
selves in the success of this work, volunteering information and data, which has been
very helpful in preparing this work, I desire to express my grateful and profound
acknowledgment of their valued services.
Respectfully,
B. F. BOWEN, Publisher.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Introductory 17
CHAPTER I.
Geology 19
Geology of Northern and
Northeastern Indiana, in-
cluding Noble County 20
Glaciers and their actions 21
Section of drift 24
Under the drift 24
The Flora of the county 25
The Catalogue 26
Flora of Noble County, by W.
B. YanGorder 26
Forest trees 27
Shrubs 27
Climbing or twining shrubs. . . 27
Original Inhabitants 27
The Mound Builders . . 28
Mounds and Relics 29
A Big Indian 31
A Pre-Historic Battle 32
General Harrison 34
CHAPTER II.
Pre-Organic History 36
Noble County, the Local Heart 36
Explorations and Claims —
French and English 37
Early English Discoveries and
Claims 37
Conflicting Theories 38
The Situation in 1600 — Indian
Tribes 39
The Hurons 41
The Natural Nation 41
The St. Francis Tribe 42
PAGE
The Delawares 42
The Sacs and Foxes 43
The Chippewas 44
The Shawnees 44
The Family of Tecumseh 44
The Dakotas, or Sioux 45
The Pottawatomies 45
Pokagon 45
The Minnewas 46
Champlain, Governor of New
France 47
The First Battle 47
The Brighter Side 49
First Act of English-F"rench
Conflict 50
The Dutch Involved 51
Games at Tushuway, and In-
dian Battle 51
Garangula's Speech 54
King William's War 55
The Final Struggle 57
Sir William Johnson 58
Battle of Lake George 58
Hendrick's Dream 59
Johnson's Dream 59
Pontiac's " Conspiracy " 60
Clark's Expedition 62
After the Revolution 64
The Noble County Indians... 64
General W. H. Harrison's Re-
port 64
Major Forsyth's Statement 65
The Miamis 65
The Miami Confederacy 67
St. Clair's Defeat 68
Campaign of General Anthony
Wayne 68
PAGE
The Treaty of Greenville 69
General Harrison's Treaties.. 70
The First Settlers 72
John Knight 74
Samuel Tibbott 74
Mysterious Disappearance.... 75
Entries of Lands 76
Order of Settlement 78
Entries of the Year 1832 79
Early Settlers 82
Thomas Storey 84
Amanda J. Flint 85
Christina M. Shultz 85
Oliver Harp, Sr 86
Nancy (Young) Holmes 86
Rachel (Rohrerj Galloway 87
John River 88
John Baughman 89
John Jacob Shultz 90
Samuel Foster 90
Mrs. Susan Gillet 91
Mrs. Elizabeth (Morrell) Ger-
ber 91
Silas Doty 92
Zenas J. Wright 94
Judson Wright 95
Sarah Hitler 95
The Press of Noble County... 96
Homer King 97
Samuel E. Alvord as a Biogra-
pher 102
Mercy (Hopkins) Baker 104
Leonard Lyon 106
Obituary of Horace H.Warner 106
Christian Foster 107
John L. Foster 109
Corodon Warner 110
12
CONTENTS.
Martha Isbell
John Washington Kline. . .
Speculative Entries of Land in
1832
City of Kendallville
Schools
Churches
William Mitchell
Luke Diggins
Samuel Minot
Thomas Evans
George Baker
PAGE
PAGE
F. & H. Tabor 119
Mitchell & Hitchcock 119
Artimus Doggins 120
Kendallville Newspapers 120
Railroads 122
Horse Thieves and Blacklegs. 127
The Fort Wayne and Lima
Plank Road/. 129
Brown's Tavern 129
Reminiscences by John Mitch-
ell 130
Wild Hay or Marsh Grass. . . . 132
PAGE
Browse 133
Elections In Wayne Township 133
Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too, or
the Barbecue at North Port
in 1840 134
Carrying the Election Returns
to Port Mitchell in 1840 135
Kendallville Postmasters 135
O. W. Jefferds (Letters) 135
Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too
(Campaign Song) 135
Noble County in the Civil War 136
INDEX
PAGE
Alvord, Nathan 147
Alvord, Samuel E 145
Adair, Prof. E. L 317
Adair, John N 317
Alexander, G.P 163
Allman, William P 595
Asman, Henry C 313
Axtell, William A 495
Bailey, Joseph 205
Baker, William S 399
Baker, James R 360
Baker, William H 430
Baker, J. E 250
Baker, Fred W 566
Banta, Len A 271
Banta, Albert 271
Barber, Isaac 492
Barnum, A 404
Barnum, Piatt 404
Barr, Robert P 248
Barhan, Christian 404
Bassett, P. B 435
Bause, James M 231
Bechtel, H. E 411
Bechtel, Jacob N 411
Bell, Harry 211
Beyer, C. C 577
Beymer, Thomas 305
Blackman.S 431
Black, J. D 172
Black, J. D 407
Black, F. W.,M. D 374
Black, J. W 439
Black, Owen 172
Blackman, Elisha 431
Bliss, Charles W 196
Bliss, William 196
Bluhm, Henry F 562
Bhihm, Ernest 223
Bluhm, Fred L 223
Bonham, J. M 409
Bonham, William 409
Bordner, Albert S 403
Bortner, Charles 456
Boughey, John E 457
Bowen, M. M 505
Bowen, Rev. O. W 262
Bowen, William E 262
Bowman, B. F 406
Bowman, Jonas 406
Bowsher, Boston 386
Breninger, George F 397
Brillhart, Samuel B 571
Broughton, William 550
Broughton, F. H., M. D 548
Boughey, Benjamin 457
Brouse, Curtis 541
Brown, William A 335
Brown, John 335
Buchanan, J. Edgar 221
Buckle?, Robert H 415
Budd, Thomas E 473
Busz, Henry L 235
Busz, Jacob 316
Busz, Simon W 316
Buttermore, George 359
Campbell, Archy 255
Campbell, Donald 255
Campbell, D. L 328
Cary, William W 452
Cary, Abram.: 452
Childs, James N 517
Childs, John 519
] Christie, Hon. O. W 151
PAGE
Christie, Collins M 151
Clapp, Hon. William M 168
Clapp, Charles M 172
Clapp, William F 171
Cleland, J. W 437
Cochran, William A 308
Cochran, Alfred 308
Cochran, Francis 415
Cockley. JohnH 233
Cole, James R 441
Conley, Lewis 590
Conlogue, J. S 244
Cook, John 283
Cornell, H. R 271
Cornell, William A 271
Croft, B. F 425
Cramer, Conrad 601
Cramer, Harrison 601
Cramer, William L 349
Curry, Andrew 406
Damy, D. E , 381
DeCamp, John N 550
Ueibele, John 368
Denney, Hon. J. M '.. 188
Diley, Edward 388
Drain, D. B 414
Drain, |. R 292
Drake, D. H 251
Dunning, Jesse L 274
Dull, John 284
DePew, E.W..M.D 346
Dye, Daniel 530
Eagles, L. B 334
Eagles, N.P 183
Edmonds, Henry W 182
Ellinger, William 422
I N D E X.
Fetter, J. C 491
Fenton, William 421
Fisher, Captain Eden H 508
Fuller, F.C 348
Fuller, Robert 348
Francisco, William 598
Franks, Spurgeon C 569
Franks, Abram 358
Franks, William H., M. D. . . . 269
Franks, Michael 269
Franks, Samuel 269
Franks, William 412
Frick, Joseph 210
Cants, Hon. Adam ] 74
Cants, Samuel 174
Gandy, F. L 445
Gants, John, M. D 378
Gappinger, Fred 460
Gallup, Rufus B 491
Gardner, H 521
Card, Scott 292
Gault, John E 203
Gerber, Hon. E. B 416
Gerver, Reuben C 310
Gibson, Adam G 296
Gill, Charles W 323
Gill, Abraham 323
Gloyd, George W . . . , 341
Graves, Mrs. C. R 343
Graves, John T 304
Graves, James D 344
Graham, Jacob L 564
Green, Sheldon W 306
Green, James C 307
Green, Porter 397
Green, William T., M. D 471
Green, Samuel J 471
Griffin, Charles 269'
Grossman, H. M 503
Gump, Rev. Jeremiah 569
Haas, John 525
Haines, Robert S 545
Haines, Jacob M 551
Hanev, A. E 224
Hardendorf, A 268
Harting, Ephraim 288
Harkless, J. A 242
Harvey, James N 303
Harvey, George 303
Hays, J. W., M. D 366
Hays, Samuel L 232
Hays, William D 236
PAGE
Hays, Levi 236
Heffner, George W 246
Henry, Gabriel S 432
Henry, John L 432
Herendeen, George A 317
Hindbaugh, John S 282
Hitchcock, Don K 220
Hoak, Daniel 266
Hoak, Harvey E 266
Hosier, William H 272
Hostetter, George H 389
Hooper, John S 520
Holsinger, William T 526
Holsinger, Charles F 579
Holsinger, J. F 392
Hoffman, A. C 410
Hoffman, John 410
Hoffman, Adam 411
Hoffman, John H 560
Huber, T 301
Huston, Thomas A 294
Huston, William 463
Huston, William W 295
Huston, John 296
Huston, E. E 412
Hussey, Martin L 212
H uber, Frederick 427
Huntsberger, Jonas 591
Inks, C. V 398
Inscho, George W 455
Inscho, H. A. C 454
Inscho, Robert 455
Imes, Thomas L 198
Imes, William 197
Imes, William A 199
Jacobs, A. M 191
Johnson, F. E 523
Jones, Col. John A 536
Jones, Pomeroy E 536
Jourdan, David 285
Jourdan, Samuel 322
Jourdan, Stephen 323
Keehn, Jonathan 312
Keifer, George 279
Kelly, John D 540
Kelly, James B 541
Keller, Jacob 483
Kenney, John 419
Ktrr, Robert D 370
Kesler, T. P 489
Kimmell, Cyrus 311
PAGE
Kimmeil, Joseph C 311
Kimmell, Hon. Orlando 203
King, H. L 464
King, Ira M 480
Kilgore, Jerome 390
Kitt, fohn M 332
Kitt, John P 332
Kirkpatrick, Alexander 434
Kirkpatrick, H. W 434
Kline, John W 450
Knepper, Hon. E. W., M. D.. . 263
Knepper, Jacob 263
Knepper, William 207
Knox, John Q 466
Koher, W.0 355
Koher, Christian M . . . 356
Krantz, Michael 466
Kriwitz, E. W 511
Kriwitz, Frederick 516
Krueger, H 524
Kuhn, Bayard T 444
Lang, Julius 214
Lasho, William J 572
Latimer, John 429
Latta, James T 354
LeC ount, James A 357
LeCount, William 357
Lemmon, S. W., M. D 426
Lindsey, Hiram C 449
Lindsey, Jacob F 460
Locker, E. A 485
Lock, Jesse E 462
Longfellow, David S 280
Longfellow, Joseph 281
Loy, David 413
Lovett, Rev. William W 580
Lovett, Rodman 582
Lower, John A 267
Lower, Daniel 301
Magnuson, Peter 596
Marshall, Joseph W 238
Mawhorter, A. E 305
Mawhorter, William 306
Mawhorter, Rev. Thomas J . . . 592
Metz, William F 391
Metz, Aaron 391
Mill, r, John B 475
Miller, Lawrence 476
Miller, John 588
Miller, A. U 342
Miller, John W 229
Mitchell, William 153
I N D E X.
15
PAGE
PAGE
PAGE
Mitchell, John
.... 1.52
Park, Henry I
... 252
Shaefer, William G
.. 384
Mitchell, Andrew
. . . . 153
Park, Wesley
... 253
. . 384
Morr, John W., M. 1)
.... 228
Pepple, Albert
... 568
Shaw, Thomas
.. 482
Moore, Joseph Howard. . .
.... 558
Pepple, William
... 569
Shifaly, John
.. 499
Moore, Joseph P
.... 558
Peck, Silas Burton
... 294
Singrey, William H
.. 249
Moore, Frederick B
. . . 247
Pence, I. W
... 359
Simon, Charles
.. 448
Moore, Joseph M
.... 375
Perry, George
... 597
Simon, Christopher C
.. 496
Moore, John M
. ... 422
Phillips, C. B
... 259
Simpson, William
... 381
Moses, Seymour
... 418
Pierce, Ebenezer, Sr
... 297
Shobe, W. A., M. D
.. 350
.Morris, A.J
.... 336
Pierce. E. C
... 296
Showalter, David
.. 343
Morris, James
... 337
... 371
... 312
Pierce, J. C
Pierce, M. G
... 298
. .. 380
Skeels, William
Skillen, Hon. W. W
.. 314
.. 510
Musser, Daniel H
Pike, Samuel
... 262
Myers, William R
... 344
Piper, George W
... 240
Slabaugh, Christian E
.. 385
Myers, Samuel
.... 344
Poem, This New Country. .
... 508
Smith, Simeon
.. 331
Pollock, f. T
... 279
Smith, Abram H
.. 423
.... 376
... 535
Portner, Daniel
Poppy, George W
. .. 529
... 478
McCray, Hon. Hiram
Smith, J. W
.. 283
McCray, Homer
... 393
Poppy, Augustus
... 479
Smith, John A
.. 283
McCray, Eimer E
... 533
Poyser, Alonzo T
... 446
Smith, Jacob
.. 237
McDonald, J. E
McEwen, William A
. .. 187
... 205
Prickett, Thomas
Prickett, Jacob
. .. 165
. .. 165
Sower, Daniel L
.. 276
McEwen, William
... 205
Pricketl, Jacob V
... 573
Sower, Elias
.. 279
McEwen, Will H
... 21(5
Spencer, E. B
Spencer, Samuel C
.. 324
McFarland, L
... 405
Randall, Edwin
... 532
. . 325
McLaughlin, J. A
.. 160
Randall, S. K
. .. 532
Steel, J. G
.. 438
Mc Means, Caleb W
... 194
Ransom, Sandius
. .. 343
Stewart, John L
.. 599
. .. 429
Sunday, Peter A
.. 258
Newnam, Asbury
... 288
Rarick, Jacob
Reidenbach, John
Reidenbach, Philip
•Reidenbach, Jacob
Reiff, N.G., M. D
. . . 429
Strater, George
... 181
Newnam, N. B
... 512
. .. 231
Strater, John F
.. 181
Nichols Charles W
... 470
. .. 231
Stumbaugh, John
.. 383
Nichols, George
Noe, Jeremiah B
... 470
... 319
. .. 600
. . . 482
Sweet, J. W
.. 453
Noe, Aaron
... 319
Renkenberger, John B
Rendel, William
. .. 583
Tate, James
.. 264
Norris, William
... 291
... 372
. 479
... 314
1 ate, John
Taylor, Hon. V. R
.. 264
North, Charles
Roof, George W
.. 556
Ohlwine, Samuel
... 338
Ross, William
Ross, Frank
Roscoe, Hon. James
Roscoe, Levi
.. 167
.. 168
.. 192
.. 192
Teal, J. M., D. D. S
.. 553
195
Thompson, E. G
Truelove, Thomas R
.. 402
.. 587
Ott, Abraham
Ott, Cornelius
... 396
... 451
Ott, [ohn
... 459
. 261
Ott, Thomas M
... 561
Rumbaugh, George
.. 260
Yeazev, William M., M. D.
.. 566
Ott, Jesse
.... 396
Rumbaugh, William
.. 262
.. 495
Owen, M. F..
... 256
Rumbaugh, Willard
.. 582
Vought, John C
.. 352
Palmer, John W
... 442
Schermerhorn, f. M
.. 487
Wadsworth, Eihu
.. 321
Palmer, Henry
... 442
Schlabach, William M.. ..
.. 365
Waldron, Jacob
.. 329
... 289
... 287
.. 284
Waldron, William
Walters, John E
. . 329
Pancake, John
Schlotterback, Gideon
284
.. 585
Pancake, lohn E
... 289
Schlotterback, Henrv
.. 298
Walker, George
.. 387
Seaburg, J. C
Seymoure, C. A., M. D. . . .
Parker, A. S., M. D
... 320
.. 218
Walker, John
.. 275
Parker, Rial
... 322
Seymoure, Mclntyre
.. 218
Walling, D. C
.. 176
INDEX.
PAGE
Walling, James S 177
Waterhouse, C. G. R 493
Weaver, William 226
Weimer, Simon 458
Weston, Thomas B 500
Weir, John 469
Weir, Elijah W 469
Wheeler, Truman 326
White, Nathan 353
Whonsetler, Solomon L 565
Whonsetler, Daniel M. ....... 586
Whonsetler, S. P 591
Winstead, Noah 227
PAGE
Wittmer, John J 291
Wittmer, Benjamin 291
Williams, W.S..M.D 184
Williams, Nathan, M. D 184
Wilson, John H 300
Wolf, Henry 395
Wolf, Jacob 395
Wolf, Washington 400
Woodruff, C. A., M. D 330
Woodruff. George W 477
Wood, Hon. Harrison 200
Wood, Hon. Harrison, Address 538
Wood, F. P 208
PAGE
Wood, Niah 208
Worden, William E 468
Worden, L. G 468
Wright, James W 574
Yarian, Moses 557
Yeiser, Samuel 476
Young, Thomas J 474
Young, J. R 443
Zimmerman, Hon. J. C 161
Zimmerman, Daniel B 161
Zimmerman, H. G 273
*0
Hi
i/ \W
NTRODUCTORY.
THE cordiality with which the an-
nouncement of a furthcoming history of No-
ble count}' has been welcomed by all classes
of the people, shows not only a general rec-
ognition of the want of a complete work of
this character, but also* the prevalence of an
intellectual taste and culture well befitting
the descendants of a band of pioneers whose
mental fiber was as line and strong as their
their will was indomitable, and their physi-
cal energies powerful.
The general plan of the history embraces
a natural succession or order of events and
developments. The story of the formative
periods, translated by geological science;
the flora — that is, the trees, plants and flow
ers; the first human inhabitants, including
some discoveries of mounds and relics of
pre-historic ages; the Indians first discov-
ered here, and considerations of the ques-
tions whether or not they may have been
descendants oi the race of the "Mound
Builders," which will be Covered by the first
chapter. Extracts appear, taken from offi-
cial geological reports and from Professor
VanGorder's work on the "flora" or Noble
county, giving a complete catalogue of the
native trees, plants and flowers, copied by
his permission. This is a must valuable and
instructive feature; and the whole chapter is
of great interest and value on account of the
scientific nature of its contents. Tabular
exhibits of the underlying strata, to a depth
of over one thousand feet, are given, as
taken from the borings of the Albion Gas
Company by Professor W. B. VanGorder
all that was possible in the space at disposal,
of accurate and reliable information con-
cerning the structure of the districts, its
superstructive and garniture of forests and
flowers and its revealed evidences of a pre-
historic people.
The second chapter embraces a brief re-
view of the contests between the French and
English colonies under their respective
home governments, with their native allies,,
for supremacy over the vast and fertile re-
gions of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys —
especially of the magnificent territory known!
as the "Great Northwest," a continued
struggle of nearl}' two hundred years, inclu-
sive of the final conflicts of the American
colonies with the English government, and
also with the Indians. The history of these
two centuries of rivalry, aggression, warfare
anil bloodshed, is intensely interesting and
thrilling to the student of history when con-
templated, in the light of the transcendent
importance of the principles involved and the
ends in view. But to present it in full
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
would not be possible or pertinent to the
history of Noble county; therefore the ac-
count in which was are most directly in-
ested can be taken up with the results of
Gen. George Roger Clark's campaign
against the Indians in the northwest terri-
tory, and specially in that section which be-
came known in subsequent years as Indiana
and Illinois.
The history proper of the district em-
braced in the boundaries of Noble county
will cover a period of sixty-five years, in
which the leading purposes will be to* present
a concrete biography; to depict the char-
acters, and relate the experiences, and chron-
icle the deeds and triumphs of the pioneers
and their descendants and successors. To
tell the truth about and thus do justice to the
people who have by the sheer force of in-
herent physical and mental energy trans-
formed a gloomy wilderness into a paradise
of fertile, cultivated fields, intersected with
over a thousand miles of highways: land-
scapes of cultivated beauty, adorned by
numerous temples of learning and religion;
thousands of comfortable and artistic rural
homes ; well-built cities and towns ; graceful
and substantial bridges; manufactories and
busy marts of trade; splendid county build-
ings, not excelled by any rural district in the
state, not even by those whose location and
natural advantages are vastly superior, and
whose organization and settlement preceded
Noble's many years and all this great ac-
complishment crowned by freedom from
county debt; while the tone of intellectual
and spiritual culture evinces an upward pro-
gress that has more than kept even pace
with the wonderful material development.
Included in this chapter will be a history of
native effort in the field of invention, and
also' the specialties in science. This chapter
is thus specially mentioned, because it is a
novel, though important feature of a unity
history.
Education, religion, schools, churches,
impersonal history of crime, its consequences
and influences upon the public weal — includ-
ing the thrilling incidents and events of the
"Regulator" agitation; courts and lawyers,
their personnel and characteristics; county
offices and official business; township officers
and township business; statistics; history of
Noble county's part in the terrible drama of
the Civil war ; Grand Army organizations ;
Agricultural Associations ; Granges. Fairs ;
in short, a thorough history of the county
throughout the course of its development;
supplemented by separate township, town
and city histories.
ALVORD'S HISTORY
OF
NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA
CHAPTER I
•Geology — Formative Agencies — Glacial Action and Deposits — Character of
Soils — Underlying Strata — Physical Geography — Fauna and Flora — Land-
scape Effects — Human Occupants — Supposed Remains of Prehistoric Peo-
ple — Mounds and Contents — American Indians — Savage Life and Character
The story of geology is naturally the
first chapter in human history. The earth
was created before man ; the stage was pre-
pared before the actors appeared.
"In the beginning, God created the
heaven and the earth ; and the earth was
without form and void, and darkness was
upon the face of the deep ; * * :|: and
God said let the waters under the heaven
be gathered together unto one place, and let
the dry land appear; and it was so; * *
and God said, let us make man in our im-
age, after our likeness ; * * * so God
created man in His own image; in the image
of God, created He him; male and female
created He them," etc.
In accordance with this natural order
some brief account of the formative process
— of the geological genesis of the land of
Noble county seems to be, if not essential.
at least appropriate as a beginning of its
history. Nor is it a subject of curious in-
quiry only; for in the economic phase of
geological science many important factors
of human advancement are found.
The alluring region of contemplative
speculation and theory concerning the sub-
lime eons of the creation has been fully ex-
plored and has yielded glorious fruits in
higher and broader conceptions of creative
omnipotence; the inconceivable immensity,
of the lapse of ages; the stupendous archi-
tecture of the planetary system, and the ever
beneficent tendency of creative wisdom and
power. And though the contemplation of
these tremendous processes at first staggers
the imagination and overwhelms the soul
with indefinable awe and a sense of helpless-
ness to comprehend anything but a sublime
and illimitable greatness and omnipotence,
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
at last science comes to the aid of the swirl-
ing soul and concentrates and directs our at-
tention to the defined footsteps of the ages
and the recorded evidences of their work.
Each creative period left clews to its
labyrinthian secrets — an index to its auto-
biography, in its strata and their composi-
tion, posture and markings. Geology con-
sults this index, translates the mystic annals
and follows the clews ; names the period,
and describes the operations of the giant
agencies ; reveals the treasures latent in the
composition of soils or hidden in subter-
ranean matrices — riches and blessings;
germs of human happiness and progression,
deposited and implanted in inexhaustible
profusion and variety for the benefit and
glory of God's appointed viceroy — man.
GEOLOGY OF NORTHERN AND NORTHEAST-
ERN INDIANA, INCLUDING NOBLE
COUNTY.
A geological survey of the State of In-
diana was made during the year 1873 by the
State Geologist, Hon. E. T. Cox, assisted
by Professors John Collett, W. W. Borden
and Dr. G. M. Levette. Dr. Levette, an ac-
complished scientist, explored northern and
northeastern Indiana, and reported the
counties of DeKalb, Steuben, LaGrange,
Noble, Elkhart, St. Joseph and LaPorte.
His report, as embodied in the Fifth Annual
Report of the Geological Survey of Indiana,
1873, says of the counties above named:
"The above counties lie wholly within
the Boulder Drift or Quaternary epoch, and
are covered with transported material to a
great depth. Bores have been put down at
different points in the northern part of the
state, some of which reached the underlying
limestone ruck, of the Devonian age, at a
depth of eighty-eight feet, while others
have gone to the depth of two hundred and
twelve feet, all the way through glacial clay.
"That these enormous deposits of mater-
ial — equal in solid contents to a small range
of mountains and covering the whole of
northern Indiana, the southern part of
Michigan and the northwest part of Ohio
to an average depth of perhaps a hundred
feet — were brought down from points north
of the great lakes by glaciers (moving fields
of ice) or icebergs floating in a sea which
then covered the whole Mississippi valley
from the Polar ocean to the Gulf of Mex-
ico, is now almost universally accepted by
geologists as a fixed and incontrovertible
fact. The glacial hypothosis of Professor
A. Agassiz, with slight modifications, ex-
plains in a rational and satisfactory manner
all the conditions existing in this section of
the country."
The report described each of said coun-
ties separately, noting the features peculiar
to each. Qf Noble he says :
"The surface is diversified with hills,
alternating with burr oak 'openings,' and
about equally divided between the two;
many small prairies occur, and one of sev-
eral thousand acres near Ligonier, in the
northwest corner of the county. The soil
of the timbered land is loam and clay, with
a stiff clay subsoil, and is proverbially pro-
ductive. That of the burr oak 'openings' is
lighter, containing sand, is easily cultivated
and is considered the best in the county.
The soil of the prairie is a dry peaty loam
and sand with a subsoil of gravel or sand.
Extensive beds of bog iron ore occur. The
largest deposit is on Ore Prairie, in the
western part. It lies in the edge of the
marsh about one foot beneath the surface, is
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
about twenty feet wide and from four to
eight feet thick.
"Immense deposits of peat occur in the
lower lands, along the marshes and over the
'bridged lakes.' A partly completed 'fill' of
the Baltimore, Pittsburg & Chicago Rail-
road broke through the crust of a subter-
ranean lake, a half mile west of the town of
Albion, and exposed a deposit of peat
eighteen feet in thickness. Fish, with per-
fect eyes and colors common to the species,
came up with the water on the submerged
embankment, clearly indicating that this
hidden lake was somewhere connected with
water exposed to the rays of the sun. In
the dim, distant future, when the wants of
a dense population shall demand the culti-
vation of every available foot of this fertile
section of country ami fuel shall have be-
come the costliest item of household econ-
omy, these deposits of peat will be sources
of wealth to the owners and objects of prac-
tical interest to those who consider the suc-
cess and well-being of the community. Ex-
tensive beds of marl are found in different
parts of the county."
In the fifteenth report of the state geol-
ogist for 1886, Maurice Thompson, state
geologist, considerable space is given to ex-
planation of glacial agency in the formation
of a Aery large proportion of the surface of
Indiana and Noble county. It is of high
scientific authority, published by the state,
and popularly instructive. It is almost in-
dispensable to a clear idea of the geology <>i
this county, and is quoted here for the bene-
fit of those to whom these official reports
are not accessible.
GLACIERS AND THEIR ACTION.
"A glacier is a body of ice which, al-
though solid, flows over a part of the earth's
surface. It has been clearly demonstrated
that ice in the form of a glacier, no matter
how rigid it may appear, has a current sim-
ilar to that of water. In other words, ice
will form a solid stream, so to speak, which
will slowly but steadily creep down an in-
clined plane and if this ice-stream be very
deep, so as to give it great weight, it will
overthrow, grind up and bear away what-
ever obstacle opposes it.
"Glaciers are formed by the accumula-
tion of snow which, by pressure and crys-
tallization, is turned into ice. Thus, when-
ever the snowfall in winter is greater than
can lie melted in summer, the snow grows
deeper year by year until at length by its
own weight and by partial surface melting
it is compressed into a sheet of ice enor-
mously thick. Now if the surface upon
which this sheet rests is inclined, the ice
flows and we have a glacier. In the Alps
there are glaciers from five hundred to over
six hundred feet in vertical depth, slowly
flowing down the m> mntain sides. But it
does not require steep mountain slopes for
the making of glaciers ; a comparatively
gentle inclination of the surface of the
ground is sufficient if the ice be thick enough
and other conditions be favorable to motion.
"The general form of a glacier is that of
a wedge, the edge resting on the lowest
point of the surface occupied, the thick end
resting on the highest point of the same.
Of course the motion of a glacial stream
will lie in some proportion to the slope of
this surface, but the thickness of the great
end of the wedge must have much to do
with the force of the current. If we adopt
the theory of Tyndall. or that of Mosely, or
that of Croll, or anv other, we must see that
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
gravitation directs the course of the glacial
movement just as it does the flow of water;
for it can not matter whether fracture or
regulation, as Tyndall claims, or expansion
and contraction by changes of solar heat, as
Cam hi Mosely theorizes, or molecular mo-
tion generated by the conducting of heat
through the mass, as Dr. Croll maintains, is
the agent of motion, the fact remains that
the glacier is very thick at its upper end,
would flow over a surface of comparatively
slight inclination, and its destructive force
would be. in a way, proportional to such
thickness. Fluidity must he regarded as a
property of water, even when the water is
in the form of the brittlest ice. It makes
but little difference what is the cause of this
strange, slow fluidity of ice, it is sufficient
for the purpose of the study of the drift
phenomena that the fluidity exists, and that
it is sufficient to generate, under certain con-
ditions, a force absolutely incalculable.
"The immense glacial deposit, or drift,
that constitutes the structure of northern
Indiana, presents in Noble county all the
varied features resultant from the glacial
movements and effects before described.
The features and aspects of our landscape
were moulded by the hand of the Creator
with the mighty tools of storms and floods;
of floating iceberg mountains, laden with
the spoils of rended arctic cliffs and land-
slides, carrying titanic grists to be ground
in the course of uncounted centuries by the
tremendous glacial mills of God.
"We can faintly imagine a glacial plow,
twenty-five miles wide, going slowly through
and over a range of hills, throwing, as it
emerges upon the lowland, immense heaps,
laterally (lateral moraines), and carrying
forward also great qualities of earth, bowl-
ders, greater and smaller stones, pebbles,
and gravel to its terminal point, to be left
there in irregular piles (terminal moraines).
"A great portion of the area of Noble
county is covered by moraines produced by
the action of glacial lobes, originally de-
scribed in the Third Annual Report of the
United States Geological Survey as the
Saginaw-Erie interlobate moraine, a mass
of drift twenty-five miles wide and from one
hundred to five hundred feet deep, the crest
of which traverses the townships of Green,
Allen and Wayne.
"This crest forms, according to the
Eighteenth Annual Report of the Depart-
ment of Geology and Natural Resources of
Indiana, the divide between the basins of
Lake Michigan and Lake Erie and the Wa-
bash river. It is assumed by scientists from
local indicia that a lobe of the glacier pushed
southwestward from Saginaw bay across
Michigan and northern Indiana, and' an-
other from Lake Erie deposited a moraine,
the southern wing of which crosses the
count}-, occupying small portions of Allen
and Green townships and a greater portion
of Swan. This part of the moraine has the
prevailing aspect of a plain, with a gentle
slope to the southeast. Willow, Black,
and Little Cedar creeks traverse and drain
it, through Cedar creek in Allen and De-
Kalb counties into the St. Joseph river, and
through the Maumee into Lake Erie. The
succession of swells and hollows character-
ize it as an example of mild morainic to-
pography, as compared with the northern
wing, or most prominent range, which pre-
sents evidence of far greater violence and
power, by which was produced the more
abrupt, jumbled and tumultuous effects ob-
servable in several other parts of the county.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
23
"These massive effects of the glacial flow
and push — supplemented by the eccentric
erosions of retiring glaciers, now melted by
increasing heats and pouring forth immense
ll Is. agitated into cross and counter cur-
rents by furious storms, and again advanc-
ing before the tremendous pressure from
the north and over-lapping in recurring
periods of c<>1<1 the stages of retreat — are
seen in the abrupt and man-shaped hills.
profound and irregular valleys, marshes
with strange looking islands, streams in tor-
tuous courses, lakes and lakelets of varied
outlines and different depths interspersed
with level plateaus, rich bottom-lands and
verdant meadows in Wayne, Allen, Swan,
Jefferson. Green, Noble, Albion, York, Or-
ange and Perry townships."
For a general, comprehensive view Of
the topography of the county. State Geolo-
gist Gorby gives the three following natural
divisions of the territory:
"1. The Salamo'nie, or Third Erie
moraine, so called because its southern wing
extends along the right bank of the Sala-
monie river. The general features of the
southeastern slope of this moraine have al-
ready been described. The greatest eleva-
tions are: Swan, nine hundred and five
feet; Potter's Station, eight hundred and
eleven feet.
"2. The Mississinewa, or Fourth Erie
moraine, so called because its southern wing
extends along the right bank of the Missis-
sinewa river, the most massive and pr< 1-
nounced of all the moraines of northern
Indiana, occupying the townships of Green,
Jefferson. Orange, Allen and Wayne. It
has a width of six miles in Green, ten miles
in Allen and Orange, with an average ele-
vation of one hundred feet above the coun-
try on either side. Its crest is the back-
bone of the whole morainic mass, and forms
the principal watershed of the count}'. The
t'evations of this moraine, from canal and
railroad surveys, are: Summit, three miles
east of Kendallville. 1,018 feet; summit,
near Lisbon, 1.017 feet; summit, one and
a half miles west of Avilla, 1,015 feet:
Avilla, oiSfeet; Kendallville, gjjfeet. Gen-
eral level of water shed, 973 feet. The Erie
slope is characterized by a thick deposit of
boulder clay up all the higher points, sand
and gravel being found only in the valleys,
the result of the wash of streams.
"3. The region of Saginaw Drift pre-
sents features widely different from the
compact. well-defined masses of the moraine-
described. It shows great diversity of char-
acter and irregular distribution, producing
the comparatively smooth, level country,
undulating topography, isolated groups of
gravel knobs, broad valleys, extensive
marshes and outlines of lakes now grown
over, characteristic of the Saginaw Drift.
No clay is found near the surface in the re-
gions occupied by the Saginaw Drift. They
are covered with sand and gravel, coarser
or finer, except where deposits of peat oc-
cur."
Evidences exist of very extensive beds
of peat, frequently of great thickness, the
deepest layers being already superior fuel;
and the whole mass, being gradually con-
verted to that condition, promising a future
abundant supply and corresponding source
(if comfort and wealth within easy reach.
As the fuel-producing forests are rapidly
disappearing, practical attention should be
directed toward this superior substitute and
the means for converting it to use. It may
be classed and estimated as the chief avail-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
able mineral wealth of Noble county. Iron
ore, it is claimed, exists under many, if not
must of the lakes and some of the bogs; but
difficulties of access and comparative cost
of transportation render it economically of
httle value.
The genesis and character of the over-
lying drift and the general features of the
surface topography having been described,
we come to a brief consideration of the un-
derlying strata. For a satisfactory view of
these we are indebted to the scientific attain-
ments and skillful investigations of Prof. W.
B. VanGorder, ex-superintendent of the Al-
bion public schools. This information is em-
bodied in the Eighteenth Report of the
State Geologist (1893). from which we
quote, verbatim:
SECTION OF DRIFT.
"During the boring for gas at Albion
a very accurate and complete record was
kept by Prof. W. B. VanGorder, who fur-
nished the following section of the Drift:
Yellow Clay Ill feet.
Blue Clay 1(1 "
Sand and gravel. 115 "
Blue Clay 20 "
Sand and gravel with streaks of blue clay 50
Blue Clay 2 "
Sand and gravel 81 "
Blue Clay 2
Quicksand 5 ' "
Blue Clay 21
Quicksand 4 "
Blue Clay 7 "
Sand and blue clay Ill "
Gravel 5 "
Red bowlder clay 1 5 "
Sand ."> "
Slate 1 '■
Sand !) "
Total depth ! 375 feet
UNDER THE DRIFT.
"Of the formations underlying the Drift
in Noble county, our only information comes
from the careful observation of Professor
VanGorder. at Albion. He furnished the
following section, which, including the over-
lying Drift, as above described, shows the
lineaments of our geology to a depth of
i .9 1 4 feet :
Drift :;;5 feet
Devonian black slate 60 "
j Hamilton and corniferous limestone 65
Oriskany sandstone 5 "
Lower helderberg 168 "
Water lime (containing crystals of gypsum). . . .152 - '
Niagara limestone -inn
Niagara shale 2d "
Clinton (red from presence of hematite) .'in "
Clinton Shale Ill "
Medina (?) 59 "
Hudson River limestone and shale 85
Hudson River shale 200 "
Utica shale 150 "
Utica slate il4 "
Trenton limestone 24 "
Total of 1,014 feet
Such is the scientific history, in outline,
of nature's work. No human imagination
can ever compass its details. No soul of
genius — not even the concentration of all the
fires of genius that have blazed up on the
signal summits of human intellect in all the
ages of mankind — could illuminate the
abysses of time wherein, "The Spirit of God
moved upon the face of the waters." evok-
ing the series of structural epochs that up-
builded the continents from the depths
of the oceans; that interfused their struct-
ures with the various, ever-living germs of
human destiny: that ever spread them with
their garniture of landscapes of unspeakable
beauty and granduer, adorning soils preg-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
nant with the elements of every form of hu-
man achievement and enjoyment. Yet,
while unable to conceive definately the tre-
mendous creative processes, man may de-
voutly ponder about them with ever increas-
ing elevation and expansion of intellectual
and spiritual life. The purest, noblest as-
piration of the human mind and s< ml is the
endeavor "To look through nature up to na-
ture's < !'id," and in this noble cpiest, "science
is the eve of the soul." And it is the guide
of the mind in pursuit of the highest success,
not only in agriculture, the most godlike of
human purusuits, but in all the industries de-
pendent upon it.
The glances we have had on the origin
and structure of the overlying soil and sub-
strata of the country show that Noble county
has a fertile soil, composed of all the
ingredients that constitute the best ele-
ments of all the products of the mid-
dle temperate zone. There are few sec-
tions of the land that do not contain in
their soils the elements of nutrition adapted
to a great variety of vegetables, cereals and
fruits in profusion; and it is not uncommon
to find in single tracts of not more than one
hundred and sixty acres distinct and well
defined zones and areas, each particularly
adapted to the growth of one or another of
one the staple crops.
THE FLORA OF THE COUNTY.
The natural production of the county,
the plants and flowers and forests, illustrate
the claim of fertility and variety; and in
confirmation of this comes the elaborate
classification of Prof. W. B. VanGorder, the
result of years of thorough personal explora-
tion, analysis and comparison, and patient
labor in this interesting and important field
of science. The able report of the State-
Geologist for 1893 refers to Professor Yan-
Gorder's work and introduces it as an im-
portant feature of the state report as fol-
lows :
" A geologist who spends but a few days
or weeks in a given region can report very
little of value in regard to its natural history.
Such work requires the patient and careful
attention of years. Fortunately Noble
county possesses a citizen who has had the
happy combination of taste, ability and op-
portunity, which has enabled bun to do thor-
ough and trustworthy work in botany and
zoi logy. Prof. W. B. VanGorder, of Al-
bion, is a native of Noble county and was for
several years county superintendent of
schools. In 1884 be published at his own
expense a catalogue of the flora of Noble
county, which has been ever since a standard
authority upon the flora of this portion of
the state. The catalogue is here ( in the
State Report of 1893) reprinted with cor-
rections and additions to date; thus making
available to all an important contribution to
the natural history of Indiana." (Then fol-
lows Professor VanGorder' s catalogue as a
part of the state report.)
[In reference to what the State Geolo-
gist says about "making available to all'" the
important contribution of Professor Van-
Gorder, by embodying it in a state report, it
is' proper to consider how limited the cir-
culation of such official documents really is.
Thev are sent to a limited number of offices
and officialls in each county, mostly at the
county seat. The people at their homes —
and on expected occasions when reference to
something therein might be greatly desired
and important, just then — would have to
26
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
forego the explanation and remain in the
dark or make a trip ( perhaps of many miles)
to Albion, in order to satisfy inquiry upon a
casual question. All can see how different
it would be if the information were embodied
in a popular, general history of the people
and the events of the county, and of each
township and town, distributed .in every
neighborhood. This consideration alone is
ample apology, if any were needed, for tak-
ing time and using space, enough to embody
the most essential parts of Professor Van-
Gorder's work in the geological chapter of
this history.— S. E. A.]
THE CATALOGUE.
Professor VanGorder's book contains
fifty-two pages, filled entirely with the cata-
logue in extensive and technical detail. The
purpose and scope of the work are best stated
and explained in the author's preface, which
is quoted verbatim :
FLORA OF NOBLE COUNTY, BY W. B. VAN-
GORDER.
In 1884, after three seasons' careful
work, a list of the plants of this county was
published, enumerating nearly seven hun-
dred species. The work has been continued
since then, as time and opportunity per-
mitted, and the few additions that have been
made lead me to think that the present list
comprises quite fully the flora of the county.
In >>ne respect the flora of Allen, Swan
and Jefferson townships is much the same;
that of Wayne, Orange and Green townships
bears much resemblance; while the flora of
the western half of the county contains
many forms different from the eastern half
of the county. Along the Elkhart river and
its branches grow many plants common
mostly to river territory. It is also notice-
able that some plants, common farther
northward, make their appearance here in
our county, at the same time apparently be-
ing the northern limit of some of those
farther southward.
The following catalogue includes seven
hundred and twenty-four species belonging
to ninety-nine order's, and grouped under
three hundred and sixty-three genera.
Many of them here named are usually re-
garded as "weeds" and "wild grasses," many
others are "wild flowers," while numerous
others are our shrubs and valuable fi ire t
trees ; but all of them have their value and
place in the economy of nature.
In giving the names of the plants, the
order as presented in Gray's Manual of the
flora of the United States, fifth edition, has
been strictly adhered to, although aware that
several changes in nomenclature are now
recognized. The common names of the
plants have been added, as they will be of
more interest to those who are not bi tanists.
The locality and ranges of the plants, so far
as observed, have also been given, along with
such other information as was thought
would be of general interest.
It is not likely that any of our native
plants have yet beeen exterminated, as is the
case in some places; but the cultivation of the
soil, the pasturing of the woodlands, the
I draining of the marshes is rapidly reducing
their abundance. Some are already quite
scarce from these causes; while along our
railroads, roadsides, and in grainfields. new
ones occasionally make their appearance.
The plan and intended scope of this his-
tory do not allow the presentation of the
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
catalogue in full. We give the names of
fi irest trees ami shrubs :
JKST TKKKS.
Black Sugar Maple
Bass wood
Buckeye
Box Elder
Black or Water Ash
Blue Ash
Butternut
Black Walnut
Burr Oak
Black Oak
Bitternut Hickory
Beech
Birch
Cottonwood
Common Locust
Corky White Elm
Honey Locust
Hackberry
Kentucky Coffee Tree
Laurelor Shingle Oak
Pepperidge
American Bladdernut
Arrow-wood
American Aspen
Black Raspberry
Blackberry
Burning Bush Waahoo
Black Haw-
Button Bush
Black Huckleberry
Black Alder
Black Thorn
Choke-Cherry
Cockspur Thorn
Crab Apple
Choke Berry
Coral Berry
Elder
Flowering Dogwood
Glancous Willow
Hoary Willow
Iron wood
June Berry
Juniper
Low Blackberry
Leather-leaf
Pin Oak
Pignut Hickory
Red Oak
Red Elm
Red Mulbei r\
Swamp White Oak-
Scarlet Oak
Sycamore
Shag-bark Hickory
Shell-bark Hickory
Sugar Maple
Swamp Maple
Silver Maple
Tamarack
Whitewood Poplar
Wild Black Cherry
White Ash
White Elm
White Oak-
Yellow Chestnut Oak
Leatherwood
Leverwood
Meadow Sweet
Myrtle Willow-
New Jersey Tea
Pawpaw
Prickly Ash
Poison Sumack
Panicled Cornel
Peteoled Willow
Red Bud
Red Osier
Redberried Elder
Shrubby St. Johns
Staghorn Sumach
Smooth Sumach
Strawberry Bush
Sassafras
Spice Bush
Sheep Bern-
Swamp Blueberry
Silky Cornel
Shining Willow
Smooth Elder
Swamp Blackberry
Swamp Rose
Shrubby Cinquefoil
Wild Plum
Wintergreen (partly:
bery)
Wild Rosemarv
Carion Flower
Climbing Bitterswee
Common Greenbriei
Canadian Moonseed
Fox Grape
Frost Grape
Wild Hazelnut
Wild Rose
Wild Red Raspberry
Wild Gooseberry
Wild Black Currant
Witch Hazel
Yellow Willow-
Hispid Gr
I ',,i-
Summer Grape
Small Honeysuckle
Virgin's Bower
Virginian Creeper.
S. .11-
Brier
t Fruited Thorn
The foregoing lists of forest trees,,
shrubs and climbing shrubs include enough
tn indicate the prominent features of the
native landscapes and the character of soils,
uncultivated. The vast variety of obscure
flowers, and the details of grouping, genera
and species are not essential.
ORIGINAL INHABITANTS.
* * * "About me round I saw-
Hill, dale, and shady woods and sunny plains
And liquid lapse of murmuring streams; by these.
Creatures that lived, and moved, and walked or flew
Birds on the branches warbling; all things smiled.
With fragrance and with joy my heart or'eflov
— Ailniii, in Paradise Lust.
Adam's description of the landscape —
the topography and flora of the region in
which he first awoke to conscious life, might
well have been given by the first human be-
ing who saw the region of Noble county.
Who, and whence, was the first man. or
rather of what race and character were the
original, native occupants? And when?
We ask in vain. The abysses of the pre-
historic ages only echo the question. They
reveal no monuments ; they unfold no rec-
ords: they hold no discovered clews to the
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, IXDIAXA.
time, racial cliaracteristics or condition of
the first occupants, as distinguishing them
from or connecting them with some one or
■other of the historic races. The most ob-
vious and natural conclusion, in the absence
of impressive evidence against it, would be
that the aborigines were of the same race as
the people first found in occupancy. And
they were American Indians ; people of
racial characteristics common to the then
inhabitants of the whole continent. The
same race found everywhere, in tribal or na-
tional divisions, from the Atlantic to. the
Pacific ; from the Arctic ocean to the Carib-
bean sea under varying conditions ; in differ-
ent degrees of physical and mental develop-
ment, and with differing social customs and
■communal policies, probably, but homo-
geneous in basic type — the same race. If
we doubt this, if we say so. must we not
acknowledge the justice of the obligation to
show why not : If we proclaim a doubt,
should we not stand ready to show that it is
a "reasonable" doubt, not a mere specula-
tion ?
THE MOUND BUILDERS.
It is said that ancient works — mounds
and fortifications — are found in decay and
ruin of size so immense and construction so
scientific as to be wholly impossible to the
power and skill of the savages of North
America at the time of the discovery. With-
out going over the grounds of this argu-
ment, for which there is neither time nor
space in the scope of this history, let it be
answered : Possibly, nay. even certainly —
as they were then. But upon what grounds
can it be assumed that they were always the
same as then ?
On the great plain of Shinar once stood
a mighty unfinished tower that seemed to
aspire to the heavens. It was a magnificent
ruin, in the midst of a babbling population
who were utterly incapable of executing
such a work, and indifferent as to its pur-
pose or significance. But their ancestors of
the same race, many centuries before, did
lay the foundations and successfully carry
on and up the mighty and symmetrical pile
toward the sky, until discord, cross purposes
and mental and physical calamity fell upon
them and the}- disorganized, degenerated
and became tribes of hostile and warring
wanderers ; destitute of lofty aspirations, in-
capable of even desiring a higher plane of
existence. Yet they were of the same stock
from whose brain and muscle and towering
ambition, sprang the once magnificent Ba-
bel that now silently crumbles in the shadow
of oblivion.
To those who prefer examples from pro-
fane or secular history, or tradition, many
may be suggested of the retrogression of
nations. Indeed, the decline and fall of
Rome ; the fading of the glories of Grecian
art and science ; the lapse into barbarism of
many peoples, the now broken and crumb-
ling monuments of whose former culture
and power still exist, and to their descend-
ants of the same race, are objects of mystery
about whose origin not even tradition had
survived the night of the Dark Ages. Sure-
ly, it is hardly necessary to suggest specific
examples of such catastrophes of racial de-
terioration and national wreck as may well
support the probability that the greatest of
the monuments of pre-historic origin on the
American continent were works of the same
race of people, who were found inhabiting
the country or wandering over it in savage
tribes, utterly incapable of executing such
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
works and destitute of rational tradition
concerning them.
The foregoing suggestions are applica-
ble to the entire theory of a distinct race of
"Mound Builders"' in the Mississippi valley
and elsewhere in North America. They are
not intended as controverting the possible
fact — which may or may not be some time
established ; but to show that the existence
of works beyond the capacity of the savage
pos-sessors at the time of discovery does not,
necessarily, point to some other pre-historic
race as the builders.
In Noble county itself there is nothing
to suggest such ethnological inquiries ; noth-
ing that the American Indians, as they were
found, were incapable of doing, and in fact
did do so far as extent and skill of construc-
tion were involved. Some of the most ex-
tensive and prominent earthworks in the
county are referable to the animal instinct
and activity of the beavers. Nevertheless,
there were artificial mounds and earthworks
of different kinds that were undoubtedly ex-
ecuted by human hands for definite pur-
poses, and of which the existing tribes i if In-
diana could give no account. Many of them
have been excavated and explored, and rel-
ics of various kinds found — skeletons and
fragments of bones of human beings, orna-
ments and implements, etc., etc. So, aside
from any question of origin or race, these
tumuli and the disclosure of their secrets, as
well as the speculations and theories con-
cerning them, have become a part of the
history of the country, demanding atten-
tion and historic narrative.
Ace irding to the American Encyclope-
dia, the mounds of the Mississippi valley
thus far discovered and explored, "with few
exceptions." were incontestably simple plac-
es of sepulture — memorials raised i >\ er the
dead, varying in size according to the im-
portance of the personages commemorated.
The mounds in Noble county so far as ob-
served are commonly of this class. Classifi-
cation has been attempted, assigning to
them several distinct uses ; sepulchral, sacri-
ficial, templar, memorial, monumental and
observatory. These divisions, however, are
probably conjectural in the main. It should
be remembered in this connection that many
apparent differences in size and outline may
be referable to the erasions of time and the
action of the elements. In some instances
the fact of artificial origin may well be
doubted; in other cases mounds of assumed
natural origin may yet be shown to be clear-
ly artificial works. In confirmation of this
probability the fact is cited that, in 1873,
the state geologist reported that "no
mounds, or mound builders' earthworks
could be learned of in Noble county," show-
ing that up to 1873 the many artificial
mounds now clearly recognized had not
been distinguished from curious natural
formations.
MOUNDS AND RELICS.
In the office of Dr. A. E. Egles. dentist,
over the Bank of Albion, in 1895 there was
an interesting collection of specimens, rep-
resenting nearly all the different relics
usually found in the Mississippi valley re-
gion. The writer, hearing of the collection,
visited Dr. Eagle's office in February, 1895,
and with the assistance of the proprietor,
examined and classified the collections, con-
sisting of arrowheads, awls, a fiesher-saw,
spearheads, fish spears, knife ( stone 1. drills,
stone ax I finely formed and polished) and
3°
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
other instruments, the uses of which could
not then he determined. The arrowheads
were numerous and of many sizes. The
implements, generally, were of flint, fash-
ioned with skill.
The stone was symmetrical and smooth,
and shaped much like the axes in common
use to-day, the blade regularly beveled and
ground down to- a fine edge; instead of an
eye to receive the handle a deep groove was
cut around the head where the handle could
be fastened, either on one side by means of
bark strings ( leatherwoodj or to both sides,
by dividing the end of the handle and bind-
ing the parts in the groove with thongs of
bark or deerhide. The whole instrument
was smoothly polished and finished ; and,
considering the material and the primitive
tools that must have been used, it was a re-
markable piece of workmanship. Probably it
was used as a battle-ax. and with a length of
handle sufficient to give \ sweeping stroke it
could be made to cleave ti e head of an enemy
from top to chin, or break he firmest bones
of the human frame. So^ e of the arrow
and spear-heads were large, . er four inches
in length, fashioned from th> lardest flint,
reduced to the thinness of a sclu "1 slate and
beveled at the sides and points to keen edges ;
others were two inches, and some only three-
fourths of an inch in length, and very light
and sharp, and for birds and small animals
or for the use of little boys to shoot at
marks, and so cultivate from infancy the
highest degree of skill in the use of the bow
and arrow. A form of this training, in-
tended to fortify the infant nerves
against any natural shrinking from the
infliction of torture upon human be-
ings, consisted in marking the bodies
of living war-captives (bound to posts
or trees) in many places, from heads
to feet, and familiarizing the little boys with
steadiness of aim at the quivering marks
and with the flow of blood from the wounds
made by scores of the keen little arrows dis-
charged by the tin)- hands of children of
three, four and five years. This cultivated
at once their strength, skill, and inhuman
cruelty. On the other hand the captured
enemy was trained to stoic endurance of tor-
ture, and was capable of standing, scornful
and defiant, with twenty arrows sticking in
his flesh and covered with blood from
wounds in face, eyes, neck and chest, and
every limb, and hurling bitter and sarcastic
taunts at the weakness of his foes — assum-
ing that the adults s uch awe of his
presence that they were <. of him, even
when bound, and resorted -hildren too
young to know of his prowes vreak their
cowardly hatred upon him in Liieir stead.
This was to provoke them to rush upon him
in incoutrolable fury and end his agony by
killing him at once. But the firm warriors
understood him. They knew he was seek-
ing death before torture became unendurable
— a hero's triumph nt death — to die in
proud defiance nout complaining. They
sought * \ r ">rive him of such a crown of
glory; and Had a further and severe test of
endurance. This consisted in piercing the
j flesh from head to feet with splinters of res-
ionus wood — "pitch pine," or other dry
wood saturated with grease, left sticking in
' the flesh. These were lighted and burned,
! scorching and shriveling the skin and eating
into the raw flesh, causing torture inexpress-
ible ; the object being to conquer the forti-
tude of the sufferer and extort a frantic plea
for instant death; to subdue the spirit and
force the soul to surrender to physical pain.
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Recorded instances of Indian warriors yield
ing and begging for the mercy of death are
very few. Even white captives have been
known to endure this extremity of lingering
torture without crying out. Of course, or-
dinary "burning at the stake" would be easy
in comparison. The mounting flames in-
haled, the columns of suffocating smoke
quickly quenches the vital spark and the
agony is over.
A BIG INDIAN.
Of the interesting collection in Dr. Egles"
possession the most prominent were the en-
tire skull, dorsal and lumbar vertebra, pelvic
bones, and left femur and forearm of a
skeleton exhumed from one of the prehis-
toric mounds of Noble count}', located on the
farm of Jeremiah Noel, section I, Elkhart
township. Some measurements were taken,
which are given below, with the common
names of the measured parts:
Skull, from base of nose* over the top of
head to base of occiput, 1 1 ' j inches ; an ntnd
the skull, from middle of forehead. 15^4
inches; over the top. from ear to ear, ii'j
inches ; around the back of skull, from ear to
ear, io^4 inches. Thigh-bone, 18 inches long,
large and showing by the size of the mus-
cular attachments great solidity and power
of muscle. Forearm. 12 inches in length,
large and strong. This skull, in size and
proportions, was superior to those of many
whites; and the pelvis, backbone and thigh-
bone, all indicated that the form, when
clothed in flesh and animated by the living
spirit, must have been a noble specimen of
manhood. The cranial developments showed
capability of a high degree of intellectual
culture. He was unquestionably an Indian,
and was probably a chief and leader 111 all
the important affairs of a tribe, perhaps of
a confederacy, including their barbarous cus-
toms and superstitions.
The skeleton just described was found
in a large mound on Noel's farm, as above
stated, with parts of twenty-seven others, b\
explorers in the interest of Battey & Co., pub-
lishers of a history of Lagrange and Noble
counties. In describing the excavation of
this mound and others in the same vicinity,
the principal writer of that history notes the
posture of the skeletons as identical with
known modes of Indian burial ; and in allud-
ing to the fact of a "remarkably large and
sound maxillary bone." indicating compara-
tively recent burial, adds: "The reader
must remember that these are the bones of
.Mound Builders, not Indians, and were
certainly placed there at least five hundred
years ago, and very likely longer." And
yet nothing had been advanced to prove or
that tended to prove that the ancestors of
the then existing Indians had not been,
themselves, the Mound Builders. The
mounds under consideration were not more
extensive than many beaver dams, and were
entirely within the known capacity of even
a small tribe of American Indians. "At
least five hundred years," says this writer.
as an evidence of an antiquity ton remote for
connection with the Indians. Why, it was
then nearly four hundred years since Colum-
bus' discovery, when the Indian tribes
roamed in scattered hands over the contin-
ent, with the same customs, habits and lack
of organized power and moral discipline
which were assumed to lie totally inconsist-
ent with the execution of such works as
what ? ( )nly the throwing up and fashioning
of conical piles of earth several feet in
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
height, and terraces of earth sixty feet in
diameter. American Indians in besieging a
fort near Erie, Pennsylvania, threw up
earthworks to cover their approaches many
times greater in extent, and constructed long
tunnels underground for access to the inter-
ior of the fort so truly aimed that they act-
ually reached the very points designed, and
would have conducted the savages to sure
success and victory had not the garrison been
relieved and the besiegers driven off by a re-
enforcing body of troops.
"Five hundred years."' Let us assume
that these mounds were one thousand years
old. Is there any evidence that our Indi-
ans had not inhabited the continent for even
more than two thousand years? Certainly
not. The historian mentions the fact that
"a yellow oak, fifteen inches in diameter,"
had been growing on the top of the mound
on Noel's place a few years before. If
that is supposed to cumulate the evidence
of antiquity, let me say that to-day, growing
in front of my house is a tree twenty inches
in diameter which I personally know to be
only fifty-two years old. All this, it is ad-
mitted, does not disprove the existence of
an unknown people, different in race from
the Indians, and who might have built these
mounds and afterward completely disap-
peared, leaving no surviving representa-
tive and nothing but rude earthworks with-
out inscription or trace of language to dif-
ferentiate them from or connect them with
any other knqwn race. On the other hand
there is not a scintilla of satisfactory evi-
dence that such a phenomenon ever did ex-
ist, at least in Noble county or in the terri-
tory from which it was carved.
Among the first real explorers of arti-
ficial mounds in Noble county were Prof.
W. P. Denny, formerly superintendent of
the Noble county schools ; Thomas A. Reed,
afterward treasurer of the county, and Prof.
W. B. VanGorder, who was collecting ma-
terials for his work, "The Flora of Noble
Count}-." since published. These gentle-
men, in 1 88 1 -.2, gathered the collection, a
part of which has been described as in the
possesion of Dr. Egles in 1895. The en-
tire collection was at first in the posssession
of Air. Reed, who still has the greater part.
Accidental discoveries had before been made
by persons ignorant of their significance.
Twenty of these so-called pre-historic
mounds had been discovered and explored,
and parts of fifty-six human skeletons un-
earthed prior to the undertaking of this his-
tory. Others have since been made known
to the writer.
A PRE-HISTORIC BATTLE.
Late in the summer of 1895 Mr. W. A.
Kuhn, of Albion, told me of the existence
of mounds and of the discovery of a large
number of bones, skulls, etc., in a peninsula
formed by a sharp northeast bend of the
Elkhart river, in section 16, York township.
The excavation took place in 1842, Mr.
Kuhn, then a youth of eighteen years, be-
ing a participant in the work. An Indian
trail, deeply worn and running from Lake
"\Yawassee northeastward toward Mongo-
quinong, crossed the river at the bend,
where there was a fording place. A little
southwest of the point where the trail on
the Eversole farm crossed the river certain
peculiarities of formation in some of the
mounds suggested artificial work and led
to excavation. The result, as above stated,
was the uncovering of many human skulls
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
33
and other parts of human frames. On ex-
posure to the air most of the hones crum-
bled to dust, but some retained their forms
long enough to show a physician and anato-
mist of the party, Dr. W. H. Ninmon, that
they belonged to a race different from the
European, and probably to aborigines or
Indians. Everything about the place indi-
cated that it was not an ordinary burial
ground: Together with the great number
of stone implements of war — arrow and
spearheads, fragments of hatchets, and war-
clubs — found at different times in the vicin-
ity, the trail and ford commanded on either
side of the riser by morainic bluffs, all told
of a savage battle of a past century, long
anterior to the advent of civilized men.
Here, at this strategic point, the warriors
of the Denizen tribe, probably the Miami--,
met the southward advance of invading
foes, who crossed in the face of strong re-
sistance and a bloody battle raged on the
southern bank, the Miamis lighting desper-
ately for their ancient homes and hunting
grounds; the fierce northern hordes for pos-
session of a richer country in a milder
climate than their own, the sterile and
stormy north and northwest. Such incur-
sions are historic. About two hundred and
fifty years ago an avalanche of Chippewas,
W 'innebagos, Sacs and Foxes and Potta-
watomies descended upon northern Illinois
and Indiana, — the beautiful country of the
Minnewas, or Miamis, whose ancestral pos-
sessions stretched from the Scioto to the
Mississippi, and from the St. Joseph valley
in southern Michigan to the Ohio river, in-
habited by peaceful tribes of the common
Minnewa stock, of whom the Miamis were
the parent and ruling family, with the capi-
tal home at Ke'-ki-ow-ga fFort Wayne).
This mention is made in connection with
the evidences of a battle at the Eversole
ford, and is only hypothetical as to the in-
vading foe. It might have been one of the
historic forays of Iroquois warriors from
central Xew York, who more than one in-
vaded the Indiana and Illinois regions and
inflicted terrible defeats upon the Miamis
and Illinois tribes, but never took possession
of any portion of their territory. The vic-
torious and desolating hands invariably re-
turned to their homes in Xew York — the
motives of their six hundred-mile expedi-
tions being a thirst for martial distinction
and glory — or revenge — as in the exter-
mination of the Peorias in punishment for
hospitably receiving and aiding LaSalle. the
great French explorer, the Iroquois being
deadly enemies of the French. But the date
of the battle indicated might have been of
greater antiquity than the seventeenth cen-
tury, and the invaded people, in condition,
very different from that of the seventeenth
century Indians. And again the question
arises tint of the dark abyss of unknown an-
tiquity: "Who and what and how were
they?" If divine revelation were to illumi-
nate the silent bloom of that oblivion, would
it show us a vast and beautiful panorama
of pastoral and agricultural wealth, con-
tentment and peace; lanscapes lighted b]
God's approving smiles; inhabited by teem-
ing, happy millions, under the pure, spirit-
ual dominion of the love of Christ and of
His "Golden Rule." dotted with delight-
ful groves and nestling villages; green pas-
tures with browsing herds and -'olden fields
of grain: grand marts of honorable traffic,
pervaded by the vital spirit of altruism;
modest temples i f worship on gentle emi-
nences embowered in immortelles, and over
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the entrances, woven of pure white lilies,
the fragrant words of this inscription:
"Sought we first the kingdom of heaven;
and all these things were added unto us."'
And while gazing, with eyes suffused -by
sacred emotion, should we suddenly hear
the startling croak of the raven of desolation
and see the awful shadow of oblivion sweep
over and engulf the scene?
Guided by all the clews we have, let us
endeavor to reach a standpoint of logical
probability from which some gleam of cir-
cumstantial evidence may penetrate the chaos
and enable us to see glimpses of something
more rationally substantial than mere fancy,
engendered hypothesis concerning an an-
omalous race, kindred to nobody ever heard
of in America.
General Harrison, when Governor of
Indiana territory — a man of scholarly
tastes and philosophical bent — bestowed
great care and research upon the questions
concerning the Indians under his jurisdic-
tion. Their known history and most au-
thentic and rational traditions were studied
and compared, and in an official report he
announced the conclusion that all the tribes
represented in Indiana were immigrants
from other regions of the continent, except
the Miamis. He could find no evidence that
the Miamis had ever been settled anywhere
else or had removed at any time. They
were "native to the manor born." All this
evidence pointed to them as descendants of
the aborigines, occupying their ancestral
region, their native soil. Accepting this ra-
tional view, is there anything eccentric or
fanciful in assuming that these aboriginal
people a thousand years ago had attained a
semi-civilized condition; that this magnifi-
cent country was densely populated and
flourishing under the benign influences of
peaceful prosperity, and steady progression?
No, for history is full of such examples.
Further, is it unwarranted fancy to contem-
j plate them as victims of a series of catas-
trophes that desolated their fair land ; de-
stroyed the material results of all their
peaceful industry and progress ; reduced
them to the demoralization of abject de-
spair, nor ceased the work of wreck and
ruin until only a few remnants of what had
been a prosperous nation were left — wan-
dering and aimless mourners amid the deso-
late scenes of ruin ? No, for true historic
story is rife with instances of utter national
wreck and downfall. But absolute, total, in-
dividual extinction and disappearance from
the face of the earth — racial death — that in-
I deed would be phenomenal anywhere, except
in the airy regions of pure fancy and fiction.
These demoralized remnants of the
great Miami nation, resorting to the most
primitive means of supplying the demands
of physical existence, we might sav be-
| came hunters and fishermen — gradually in-
i creased in numbers and coalesced by famil-
ies into tribal groups. Forests grew undis-
turbed and wikl game multiplied. The riv-
ers and lakes abounded with fishes; the once
I cultivated fields became clothed with majes-
tic forests and dense jungles, carpeted with
the leaf-falls of many hundred of autumns.
[ The spirit of primitive barbarism resumed
its sway. Superstition usurped the throne
of religious faith. The bright past faded
from the horizon of memory, and the scope
| of tradition was narrowed and shortened to
the compass of single centuries. The most
I prominent and extensive earthworks in the
I Mississippi valley were mysteries ( if they
1 regarded them at all) to the very Indians
1233398
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
whose ancestors constructed them in the
forgotten period of their glory and power.
Four or five centuries of progressive decad-
ence had produced the barbarism that char-
acterized the same race when the discover-
ies of Columbus and others introduced them
to the notice of the civilized world. Never-
theless a great mystery remains to be solved
■ — that of the time and nature of the catas-
trophes that wrecked and ruined the nation
— and as long as doubt shall continue to
shadow the origin and consummation of
the tragedy, so long will the mystery ap-
peal, not only to the curious spirit of histor-
ical and scientific research, but to the fra-
ternal interest of human souls in all beings
of all the ages, living or dead, who are of
the sacred kinship of "God-in-man," and in-
the vicissitudes of their lives and careers.
The questions, "How fared they on their
earthly pilgrimage? What were their parts
in the great drama of human life? may
never be fully answered. But the humane
spirit will continue to brood over their un-
lettered monuments; science will variously
, translate the language of form, location and
| relics, and imagination will fondly essay to
interpret the epic stories chanted by the
winds that for ages have moaned over their
tombs.
CHAPTER II.
Pre-Organic History — Embracing the Train of Events and Influences from
1535 to 1787, Culminating in the Organization of the Northwest Terri-
tory of the United States (Noble County Being a Constituent and
Almost Exactly Central Part of the Territory) — The French and Eng-
lish and Indian Conflicts and Struggles for Supremacy — Actors and-
Acts of the Drama of Two Hundred Years — Pre-Organic Settlements
and Pioneers of the County — Indian Occupants and Their Final Expul-
sion — Pre-Organic Land Entries — The Dawnings of Civil Dominion.
Whenever and wherever a race or na-
tion has arisen and acted — on whatever
plane, high or low — their career is an act of
one sublime drama of humanity; the pro-
jected and undying- influences of their deeds
and their fate are with us now and ever,
modifying the march of progress and the
currents of the stream of destiny. Hence
the historian is always impelled to seek and
trace the origin and influences of the remot-
est events affecting the condition and career
of the people whose story he essays to tell.
Noble county, Indiana, is a component
part of the vast and lovely region known by
French designation at the beginning of the
seventeenth century as Xew France, and
nearly two hundred years later ( 1787) as
the Great Northwestern Territory of the
United States of North America: from
which were carved the five great states of
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wis-
consin. Very near the geographical center
of this magnificent empire is situated
NOBLE COUNTY, THE LOCAL HEART
of the territory; a casual fact to which no
particular significance is attached, but is re-
ferred to as attracting momentary attention
in a mental survey. In 1609 this imperial
region was claimed by France as appurte-
nant to her possessions on the St. Lawrence
by the right of first discovery and explora-
tion. It was the splendid prize for which
the French and English colonists, aided by
their respective governments and their In-
dian allies, contended for a hundred and
fifty years, in several wars, supplemented
and connected by an almost unbroken series
of bloody conflicts and savage forays
marked by merciless massacre, rapine and
conflagrations, in which the customary
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA. 37
ferocity and cruelty of the savages were
equaled by the wanton fiendislmess of so-
called civilized white men.
EXPLORATIONS AND CLAIMS — FRENCH AND
ENGLISH.
It is beyond dispute that the French first
penetrated and explored the interior of the
St. Lawrence basin and set up the first claim
to the territory of France. Jacques Car-
tier, in 1534. after discovering the main
land of Canada, the straits of Belle Isle,
posted at the mouth of the St. Lawrence a
proclamation asserting the French kins, -
right to the country as sovereign. The next
year ( 1535) the same Cartier sailed up the
St. Lawrence to Montreal island on which
was Hochelaga, a fortified native village at
the foot of a hill. He ascended the hill, un-
furled the French flag and again proclaimed
the title of France to the whole country.
The hill he named Mount Royal (Mon-
treal). This was in October. 1535. The
preceding summer he and his crew had
spent in trade and friendly intercourse with
a tribe of Indians at the site of Quebec. The
principal chief of the tribe bore the name of
Don-a-co-na. To Don-a-co-na's village the
French returned after the expedition to
Hoch-e-la-ga and Montreal, ami spent the
winter of 1835-6, cultivating the acquaint-
ance and friendship of Don-a-co-na and his
Indian subjects.
In the spring of 1530, after six months
of profitable traffic, characterized by friend-
ship and hospitality on the part of the na-
tives, Cartier, loaded with furs and valuable
gifts, prepared for his home voyage. His
ship lay anchored in the broad river near
Don-a-co-na's village. As Carder's boat
put 1 'if lor the ship, it was accompanied by
Don-a-co-na's big canoe, carrying the chief,
and nine subordinates, or headmen of the
tribe, all of whom on Cartier' s imitation
went on board the vessel for a formal fare-
well ceremony; but Cartier ordered the
canoe to be set adrift, and the anchor to be
hoisted while all were in the cabin. The
ship sped down the river, the Indians were
imprisoned and carried away captives, to
France and slavery — as specimens of North
American savages for profitable exhibition.
In 1 541 Lord Roberval was appointed
governor of New France, and came with a
colony of two hundred persons to the forts
built by Cartier at Quebec in 1535. They
passed a rigorous winter there. Many died
of disease; all were sufferers from the cli-
mate: the Indians were hostile and trouble-
some, on account of Cartier's treachery.
The enterprise was abandoned, and nothing
more was done in the way of permanent
settlement for more than sixty years.
But the symbol of French dominion
stood at the mouth of the noble river; the
Fleur de Lis had floated from the summit
of the "Royal Mountain" in the far inter-
ior ; French graves marked the soil at Que-
bec ; and in coming decades the lilies and
the cross were to reappear — forerunners of
a tragic finale.
EARLY ENGLISH DISCOVERIES AND CLAIMS.
On the other hand. John and Sebastian
Cabot had furnished England a ci lor of title,
in 1497-8. by sighting the main land from
their decks, and coasting in view of the shore
from Newfoundland to the Carolinas, fol-
lowed in 1585 by a colony on Ro-
anoke Bland, which soon broke up,
38
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
and the settlement and city of Raleigh,
in 1587. This colony mysteriously dis-
appeared and was win illy lust. The first
English attempts at settlement were forty-
four and forty-six years, respectively, later
than that of Cartier and Roberval at Quebec
( 1 54 1 ) and fifty and fifty-two years later
than Cartier' s visit to Hochelaga and Mount
Royal. The first actual permanent settle-
ment by the French was at Quebec, in 1608;
the first pemanent English settlement was in
1607, at Jamestown — antedating the French
one year. They were virtually simultaneous,
while in beginnings of settlement the French
were more than forty years in advance; and
their permanent settlement was a continua-
tion, at the same place, of their first settle-
ment.
CONFLICTING THEORIES.
In French contemplation, "New France"
embraced the whole country, from Labrador
to Carolina. In English contemplation.
"Virginia" included the whole, from Caro-
lina to Labrador. The French were far
ahead in exploration; they were more suc-
cessful in winning the confidence and secur-
ing the co-operation of the native Algon-
quins. On the other hand the English col-
onists had powerful allies in the Five Na-
tions — the renowned Iroquois of central and
western New York, who were traditional
enemies of the Algonquins; and as will ap-
pear hereafter were soon to become inveter-
ate enemies of the French colonists. Here,
truly, was ample ground for bitter rivalry
and uncompromising conflict — a Pandora's
box of terrible troubles, the opening of
which must set free the raging spirits of dire
calamity.
It is not a little shocking to the moral
sense of mankind, to note how utterly the
rights of the native owners and occupants
were ignored in the early charters, and the
disposition of the territory of a continent.
The kings of Spain, France and England
granted empires to adventurers and com-
panies. In 1 61 2 the king of France granted
all North America, from the St. Lawrence to
Florida to an association headed by one
Madame de Guercheville. The charters and
grants of the English kings covered about
the same unmeasured continental regions.
From their lofty elevations of self-conceit,
and so-called "divine" domination, tl ey
handed down to worthless favorites and am-
bitious speculators, grants, leases and char-
ters, disposing without the consent of the
owner and inhabitants, of an unexplored
world.
The natives knew nothing of all this.
Hospitality with them was instinctive. They
were unsophisticated and credulous. They
could not entertain suspicion nf the bright,
good-looking strangers who came to them
bearing the olive branches of peace and
brotherhood. They received them in amity.
In all the traditions, chronicles and histories
of the very earliest intercourse of civilized
men with the savages, there is no instance,
well authenticated, of absolutely unfounded
enmity or unprovoked violence on the part
of the Indians. Of course, there were in-
stances of hostility, for which there was no
visible open provocation. A course, brutal
nature will often unconsciously betray itself.
Civilized garb and social veneering cannot
always cloak internal meanness. The super-
cilious-eye; the scornful gesture; the little
manifestations of aggressive and domine..—
ing disposition ; the favorite look and con-
duct ; the suppressed snarl of the caged'
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
beast, all unnoticed by busy, pre-occupied
people, will be comprehended in a dash by
young children. They read the soul in
countenance, speech, tones of voice, twinkle
of the eye. If what they see is evil, they
frankly manifest their aversion, and either
cower, or shrink away from the lair of the
evil spirit or boldly essay to punish and
drive it out.
It was so with the Indians — the children
of nature. There were, inevitably, some
brutes and beasts of prey among the crews of
Jacques Cartier, wintering among- the In-
dians at Quebec, in 1535-6. The Indian
penetration, quick and clear as that of a
child, recognized the spirit of meanness and
aggressive brutality in the soul, through its
development in the visage; heard it in the
voice; realized it in little instances of ag-
gressive selfishness, that would have been ig-
nored by white and civilized associates in
contempt. Repulsion, suspicion and fear
followed; and hostility, intense in propor-
tion to the degree of sensitiveness of the In-
dians. Hostility towards whom? Why,
against both the individual offender and his
white comrades, who tolerated him on terms
of guild fellowship — a fact that seemed to
the savages to indicate sympathy and ap-
proval. The logical discrimination of "poor
Lo," in his primitive state, was not very
keen. Again, intense dislikes without vis-
ible or rational justification arise, and grow,
sometimes into violent demonstration, unac-
countably.
' ' I do not like you, Doctor Fell,
Tho' why it is, I cannot tell;
Only this I know full well
I do not like you. Doctor Fell."
—Sheridan.
It was natural that the Indians were he-
coming somewhat hostile, during the winter,
to the people who had come unbidden among
them, bringing these exponents of the had.
and affiliating with them. And when, in
the spring, their beloved chief, Donacona,
and the others with him were deceived, kid-
naped and carried away over the great,
mysterious ocean, never l" return, the
simple savages felt justified in regarding
white men as heralds of calamity — agents
of mischief and meanness. But, worse than
all, they were corrupted. The experience
was an education in evil. It was a lesson in
treachery. Thenceforward, dealing with
tlie whites, can we wonder that they accepted
the standards of the superior race; con-
founded the wisdom of true diplomacy with
the deviltry of deceit, and made fraternity a
clcik 1"' r criminal selfishness?
THE SITUATION IX l6oO INDIAN TRIBES.
The great struggle that involved the do-
tiny of that portion of the continent known
as Xew France — Canada and the territory
northwest of the Ohio — began in the dawn
of the seventeenth century. The general as-
pect of the great battle field at that time is
important and of historic interest. The
physical geography of Canada, and the great
basins of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi,
need not be described; but the inhabitants,
who figured more or less prominently in the
mighty drama, cannot be excluded from his-
toric notice. Their agency in the great a n-
flict, their vital interests, at stake in spite of
themselves, and their unconscious influence
upon the results, render them of peculiar in-
terest to the people of this region; and that
interest increases in proportion to the deep-
ening of the shadow of oblivion that is fall-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
ing over the far past — deepening with the
lapse of time.
All the Indians found inhabiting Canada
and the St. Lawrence and Ohio valleys in
1600 were of the Algonquin stock, or fam-
ily, except the Iroquois "True Nations" —
a confederacy, or republic, consisting of
five tribal groups, each divided into sev-
eral tribes, who collectively constituted a
"nation" — as our several townships con-
stitute a county ; several counties a state.
The five tribal groups, associated under the
confederate title. Five Nations, had in all
from thirty-five to forty tribes, or an aver-
age of from seven to eight tribes to a group,
or nation. In their times of greatest nu-
merical strength each of the five nations
could send upon the war-path a force of
eight hundred warriors. Combined, for a
supreme emergency, the republic could mar-
shal an arm}" of lour thousand warriors, in
five divisions. The original Five Nations
were: The Ah .hawks, immediately west of
the Hudson river; Oneidas, at Oneida lake;
Onondagas, of Onondaga lake and valley;
Cayugas, of Cayuga lake; and Senecas, of
Seneca lake.
They were united in a regular confed-
eracy, which recognized the independence
and individuality of each, in its own sphere,
made as the Union of our states under the
constitution, recognized the several states.
Internecine war was prohibited. All tribal
disputes not involving important interests
common to the whole confederacy were re-
ferred to councils of the particular nation
to which the tribes belong. Treaties, and
all concerns of common interest, were set-
tled b\ supreme councils of the whole con-
federacy at Onondaga, the capital. Wars
with outside Indians could not be declared
by subordinate councils ; but if suddenly at-
tacked, a nation could, and was in duty
bound, to repel the assailing enemy with all
the force of the nation attacked, without
reference to the supreme council — unless
the means of defense should prove inade-
quate.
Briefly stated, the unwritten constitution
of this savage republic was a precursor of
the Constitution of the Lnited States, in
all the fudemental principles of the latter.
It was established two hundred years before
the Federal Union, by savages who prob-
ably had never seen a civilized man, and
to whom the political theories of European
philiosophers were unknown. They had
never of Plato: they had never heard of
the democracies of Greece, nor of the Ro-
man republic. The splendid mirages of
Utopia had newer greeted their mental vis-
ion. And yet, their constructive statesman-
ship was equal in political wisdom to the
best fruits of modern enlightenment. And
their personal prowess was equal to their in-
telligence. All the Algonquins feared them.
Their renown extended from Canada to
Florida, and over the New England colo-
j nies. The_\- held the key to the Ohio and
! Mississippi valleys. The natural route from
Quebec, Montreal, etc., was by way of the
St. Lawrence, and through either Lake
Champlain or Ontario, if with vessels, or
by land down (rather up) the great valley
of those lakes to the headwaters of the Ohio
and down that stream, which drained the
whole magnificent region now constituting
( )hio, West Virginia, Indiana and Illinois.
But parties of French colonists and settlers
would have to go through the country of the
Iroquois, which stretched from the Hudson
river at the head of Lake Ontaria and
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
southward to the mountains of Pennyl-
vania.
Originally the country around the foot
of Lake Ontario, and between the St. Law-
rence and Lake Champlain, was occupied
by the Wyandots, a powerful and ward ike
tribe, and the country around the foot of
Lake Erie by the Fries or Erigas. the most
powerful single tribe of all the eastern Al-
gonqins; but very early in the century the
Wyandots had been assailed and scattered
by the Iroquois; and by the same power the
proud and powerful Fries, coming into hos-
tile contact with the Five Nations through
a dispute with the most western of the na-
tions of the confederacy — (the Senecas, of
the Genesee region, and nearest to the
Eries ) — were almost literally exterminated,
and had disappeared as a tribe. The same
fate through the same agency had befallen
the Andastes. a less important tribe further
west and southward on Lake Erie, and in
the country of northwestern Pennsylvania
and northeastern Ohio.
Thus, in the beginning of the seven
teenth century, contemporaneous with the
first matured and organized scheme of
French extension of settlement, trade and
dominion over the Ohio and Mississippi
valleys, the "Five Nations" of Iroquois
ruled, the undisputed masters of the coun-
try, described in general terms as follows:
Bounded on the north and northwest by
the St. Lawrence river and Lake Ontario;
east and northeast by Lake Champlain. the
Hudson and upper Delaware rivers : south
by the irregular line of the Alleghany moun-
tains, including the territory .of the present
"northern tier" of Pennsylvania counties:
west by the Niagara river and Lake Erie, —
covering all that now constitutes the foun-
dation of the glory and power of the "Em-
pire State" outside of its imperial city.
Surrounding the Iroquois confederacy
were almost innumerable nations and tribes
of the prevailing class (numerically) of
North American Indians, the Algonquins.
From Labrador to North Carolina, and ex-
tending west to the Rocky mountains,
swarmed the nations and tribes of the Al-
gonquins — everywhere in the great basins
of the St. Lawrence, Mississippi and Ohio
— the "New France" of the visions of Louis
and Champlain — swept the turbulent and
contending hosts of Algonquin people, gen-
eral animated and agitated by mutual ri-
valries, and demoralized by internecine con-
flicts. I can only mention and approxi-
mately locate the prominent nations and
tribes directly involved in the struggle for
supremacy in the northwest territory.
In Canada, the Ottawas, of the Ottawa
river and valley, were numerous, brave and
enterprising. It is probable that Donacona,
the chief kidnaped by Cartier. was of a
branch of this nation. Cartier seems to
have been indifferent or ignorant, and re-
ports nothing concerning the tribal condi-
tions or connection of any of the St. Law-
rence Indians with whom he came in con-
tact.
The Hurons. the noblest and most pow-
erful of the Canada tribes with whom the
early French colonists came in contact, in-
habited the country east of Lake Huron and
north of Fake Ontario; and it has been stat-
ed that they had a town on the south divi-
sion of the island of Montreal. If true, it
points to the Hockelaga, of Cartier. in
1535-
The Natural Nation, on the northern or
northwestern shore of Fake Erie, composed
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
according to some authority, of tribes from
other nations that were at war. but contrary
to the wishes of these tribes on both sides,
had seperated and established themselves
in an independent and natural attitude, in
force sufficient to maintain their position.
The dates of their secession and independ-
ent organization are unknown. They were
said to be peaceful and prosperous. It is
not distinctively known whether they took
any part in any of the wars and disputes
arising from the French and English claims
and controversies.
The St. Francis tribe, at the mouth of
the St. Francis river, and south of the St.
Lawrence, was a subordinate branch
of the Algonquins of central Canada, and
does not figure in separate prominence in
the beginning of the seventeenth century ;
but they attained terrible distinction, during
the French and Indian war, as enemies of
-the English colonists. In the five years
from 1754 to 1759 they numbered six hun-
dred English colonists of the Champlain,
Vermont and New Hampshire districts, and
were of more trouble to the English settle-
ments than any other six tribes. General
Amherst, after repeated vain attempts to
conciliate them, finally, in 1759, sent a de-
tachment of Rogers' Rangers against them.
The Rangers passed down Lake Cham-
plain, and from the north end of the lake
struck across through the wilderness of
mountains and morasses, marching by night
to avoid discovery, on the way encountering
a spruce bog of so immense size that they
were nine days consecutively marching or
floundering through — the water averaging
a foot in depth and being very cold. Reach-
ing the vicinity of the savage town on the
St. Francis river, thev observed unusual
precaution, and stole upon them in the
night, sleeping, after the drunken orgies of
a nuptial celebration.
The surprise was complete, and two
hundred warriors — all who were at home —
were slaughtered ; several English captives
were rescued, and the town was burned.
Over six hundred scalps of white men were
found hanging in the lodges. Tt was the
final, and death blow. The tribe was anni-
hilated. The next year (November, 1760),
the war having ended in the surrender of
Canada and New France to the English,
these same Rangers, under Captain Rogers,
; were sent to take possession of Detroit.
I The fearful struggle was over. Something
of its horror may be judged from the tro-
phies found in a single obscure tribal vil-
lage — the six hundred white men's scalps
found in the lodges of the St. Francis In-
dians. Undoubtedly the six hundred adult
scalps signified the simultaneous massacre
also of a large number of women and chil-
| dren and the destruction of scores of homes
and village settlements.
The Delawares, at the time of the dis-
covery, or when the Dutch first settled at
Manhattan, constituted a numerous and no-
ble nation — their Indian name "Lenni Len-
ape" (grandfather of nations) indicated an-
tiquity of power and title to veneration.
The seats of the Delawares in 1600 were in
the valley of the Delaware river, adjacent
region of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and
southeastern New York, extending over the
Catskill and Otsego regions. Cooper's por-
traitures of Indians were drawn from Dela-
wares, who lingered in or revisited the Ot-
sego country long after the subjugation and
expulsion of the tribes by the Iroquois con-
federacy. The reader of Cooper's Leather-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
43
stocking Tales will remember, also, some
striking' portraitures of Iroquois warriors,
under the name of Mingoes. The Dela-
wares claimed to home come from the west
— but what part of the west was not known.
In the beginning of the French and Indian
war with the exception of a band who were
influenced by the Moravian missionaries to
abstain from war and bloodshed, the most
of the Delawares fought against the Eng-
lish. Later, through treaties, large numbers
of them became friendly to the English.
Again, they joined in Pontiac's conspiracy
— so called — to destroy the English forts in
the Ohio and Mississippi valleys and Mich-
igan. The part assigned to the Delawares
was the destruction of Fort Pitt and other
forts in that region — the massacre of the
garrisons, and the settlers for whose protec-
tion the forts were maintained. The forts
were invested and besieged, and were about
to be captured, when the forces under Colo-
nel Boquet drove off the besiegers with
heavy loss and relieved the forts. This
was followed by indiscriminate retaliation.
in the course of which occurred the fright-
ful massacre by the whites of nearly a hun-
dred of the Christian Delawares under
Moravian teaching. They were entirely in-
nocent of any participation, either in Pon-
tiac's plan, or hostile demonstrations, but
frenzied by the fearful dangers of the situ-
ation, the whites did not stop to inquire, but
indiscriminately fell upon everybody who
was a Delaware. It is said that, true to
their faith, the devoted people, men and
women, meekly accepted their fate, and
with uplifted hands and thrilling prayers for
the forgiveness of Christ for their murder-
ers received the blows of the assassins.
\\ e have been so long accustomed to re-
gard the deeds of the "red" barbarians with
horror, as unexampled in fiendishness, and
to find excuses for much that was evil and
unjust in the treatment of the Indians by
the whites, in the assumption that nothing
le>s than terrorizing cruelty would suffice
to hold them in check, it is well to pause and
listen to the voice of true history. It tells
us of deed-; of outrage and horror commit-
ted by "civilized" I ?) white men upon sav-
ages, that are scarcely exceeded in fiendish
cruelty by anything in the authentic annals
of savage warfare. Savage ferocity is not
mitigated, nor less to be deplored, because
white men have been equally guilty: but be-
fore arrogating to ourselves the authority
to pronounce judgment, let us think of the
Divine condition: "lie that is without sin
among you, let him first cast a stone," etc.
After the Delawares had been expelled
from their homes in the Delaware valley by
their haughty conquerors, they were dis-
persed to widely distant points. A tribe of
them settled on White river in Indiana, and
became guests and allies of the Miamis.
They contributed effectively to the troubles
of the white setlers and the government
during Washington's administration, and
participated as an organized tribe in the
treaty of peace with General Wayne at
< rreenville, Ohio.
The Sacs and Foxes, a union of the
formerly separate and independent tribes on
the St. Lawrence river, but who had emi-
grated to central Wisconsin together, and
at different times participated in movements
that bore upon the destinies of the North-
west territory, were of the Algonquin stock,
though apparently related to the Iroquois in
some respects, in common with the Chippe-
ways, or Ojihwavs. At what point on the
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
St. Lawrence was located their ancestral
seat dues not appear from their traditions.
The early French explorers found them on
the Detroit river and Saginaw bay, with
forces united, for defense against the Five
Nations of central New York — the Iro-
quois. In their position on Saginaw bay
and the Detroit they were shielded by the
powerful Hurons of Canada, and frequently
acted as allies to the latter in their conflicts
with the Iroquois. But after the Hurons
were scattered and almost annihilated by
their irresistible enemies, the Sacs and Fox-
es were compelled to flee from their coun-
try. They fled to the Green Bay region,
west of Lake Michigan.
The Chippewas. at the time mentioned,
inhabited the Manitoulin islands, and the
countr\" north of Lakes Michigan and Hu-
ron, and extending to the Mississippi. They
were warlike, enterprising" and powerful —
representatives of the highest type of Indian
manhood. With the traditionally "terrible"
Dakotas, west of the Mississippi, the Chip-
pewas were engaged in continued conflict.
They were said to be of the same ancestral
stock as the Iroqouis of New York. Both
had traditions of a wonderful "wise man,"
who appeared mysteriously as a messenger
from the Great Spirit, and who taught wis-
dom and maxims of prudence and good pol-
icy. According to these traditions, it was
this noble monitor, whose name was Hia-
watha, who counseled the organization of
the confederacy of the Five Nations, and in-
spired them with the undying sentiments of
brotherhood that kept them free from in-
ternal dissensions, did unite, and in their
union became invincible. It was the same
Hiawatha who went on a mission of peace
from the Chippewas to the Dakotas.
In Longfellow's beautiful poem. "Hia-
watha," is a noble Ojibway (Chippewa)
youth, a prince of his people, who journeyed
to the land of the great Dakotas, and wooed
and won the sweetest and loveliest of their
maidens for his wife — thus wreathing the
pipe of peace with the roses of love.
The Shawnees were rovers. The}- came
at an earlv day from Florida to the Ohio
river, and settled on the north side of the
stream. There, the great Tecumseh. or
Tecumtha, was born, the son of a warrior
chief of the Shawnees. They claimed to
have been, in the south, only guests of the
Creek Indians, joining with them in some
of their wars. The Suanee river received
its name from this wandering tribe, who for
a time dwelt upon its banks. They were,
at different periods, on the Susquehanna ; in
the Wyoming valley: on the Cumberland in
Kentucky, on the Ohio, and on the Wabash
in Indiana, where they were guests of the
Miamis.
The family of Tecumseh moved from
Florida to the north side of the Ohio about
the year 1765, when the territory was Brit-
ish. The Shawnee hero was born there,
about 1768. Conflict was in the air from
which he drew the first breath of life; and it
grew louder and fiercer as his boyhood years
went on. Within him was a spirit that re-
sponded in sympathy to the battle sounds of
the breezes. The spirit of adventure and
battle — the genius of war and command —
were not more conspicuous in Napoleon's
boyhood and youth, than in Tecumseh's.
Let us recognize the truth, that in the com-
bined elements of spiritual elevation, intel-
lectual power, and energy of will. Tecumseh
was at least the equal of Napoleon : while
the beckoning motive of his ambition was a
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
white-robed angel, in comparison with the
selfish, despotic Lucifer of the Corsican's
career.
There is a well-founded opinion that the
Shawnees were fugitive survivors of the
great slaughter of the Eries by the Five Na-
tions, in the first half of the seventeenth cen-
tury. The\" were a branch of the Huron
nation, who were distant cousins of the Iro-
quois, as well as the Chippewas. The an-
cestral lines of both met, it is believed, in a
common source in the remote past: and the
Iroquois ( the name bestowed by the French )
claimed that their native ancestral name was
"Hode-no-Saw-nee." The derivation of
the different forms of modern names —
Swanees, Suanees, Shawanese, or Shawness,
is evident.
The Dakotas, or Sioux, whose wars with
the Chippewas, and co-operation is an in-
vasion of the Minneway county (hereafter
mentioned ) exerted a direct influence upon
the destines of this territory, were located in
the country west of the Mississippi and op-
posite to' the present states of Minnesota,
Wisconsin and northern Illinois. There
were several tribes or branches known by
other names; but the national or family an-
cestral name was Dakotah. The general
characteristics of this great nation were simi-
lar to those of all the northern Algonquins
— Chippewas, Hurons, Ottawas, Eries,
Wyandots, Sacs and Foxes, and the collect-
tion of clans immediately north of Lake
Erie, called the Neutral Nation — all were of
the highest rank of Algonquins. in physical
and mental development, bravery, endur-
ance, fierce temper and worst disposition.
The Pottawatomies, whose origin and
first location on the continent have never
been ascertained, were once known by the
French in southern Michigan, whence they
lied in terrior before the approaching wave
of some of the Iroquois forays — pn babl)
that from which the Sacs and Foxes es-
caped—to the country west of Lake Mich-
igan, where they were located at one period
in the seventeenth century — evidently, from
the location of other Wisconsin Indians — in
the southern part of the Wisconsin district,
with the Sacs and Foxes and Winnebagoes
north of them, and the Illinois and Miamis
next to them on the south. They were first
know to white men and described as a some^
what vagrant tribe of unambitious and ob-
scure fishermen and hunters, with little ap-
pearance of organization or definite purpose,
and destitute, so far as known, of national
or family totems (coat of arms) or definite
traditions. According to the younger Po-
kagon i who addressed the Old Settlers" As-
sociation at Albion, in 1X1)4), they had a
tradition of being a remnant of a once
powerful nation on the Atlantic coast. What
pari of the coast has n< t been indicated, nor
can traces be found of any Atlantic nation
not otherwise accounted for, nor of any-
similar name given to a river, lake, or other
feature of natural scenery, or to any civil
division of territory, anywhere between the
Mississippi and the ocean, from Key West
to Labrador, from the Gulf to Lake Su-
perior.
Pokagon, although son and successi r 1 f
a chief, and a scholar, could not give the
English words, or significative in English
of '•Pottawatomie." If it be true that their
ancestors came from the Atlantic coast, they
must have been from some nation on the
north Atlantic, hearing another name, or
having been broken up and dispersed before
the lirM explorations by white men — the
4 5
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
fugitive remnants afterwards penetrating
westward and assuming, or receiving from
other Indian nations in the interior a name,
or combination of names indicative of tem-
pi irary local habitation, or some tribal char-
acteristics or customs. The French be-
stowed the name of "Iroquois" upon the con-
federacy of tribes composing the Five Na-
tions — possibly as a name of odium, or evil
import, or possibly not. Other Indian peo-
ple called them "Mingoes," as a term of ap-
probrium. Others named them "Maguas"
or "Maquas," to convey an evil meaning, or
as appropriate to odious characteristics. The
Delawares called themselves : "Lenni Len-
ape" or men. whose original family was the
source of all the innumerable host of un-
adulterated Algonquins ; in other words the
"grandfather of the nations."
In some such way and for reasons not
known, the Pottawatomies may have been
named entirely different from the original
nation whence they sprung, and of whose
destruction they were survivors or remnants.
It is to be regretted that so little light lies
upon the origin and early career of the peo-
ple who inhabited and held exclusive posses-
sion of the territory afterward organized as
Noble county, and whose story, more than
that of any other savages, is appropriate and
important in a history of the county.
THE MINNEWAS.
The several tribes of Illinois and Indiana
— all related as members of one nation or
family — the Minnewas — occupied the beau-
tiful and extensive country from the Scioto
river (Ohio) to the Mississippi, and north
and south from Wisconsin and southern
Michigan and the head of Lake Erie, to
La Belle Riviere — the "beautiful Ohio." The
Miamis constituted the original, or parent
stock, as all spoke the Miami language. The
great valley of the Scioto, Maumee, Wabash
and Illinois were the seats of their power,
and Kekionga ( Fort Wayne) was the capital
of the principal tribe. They were of the
Algonquin stock. In their best condition
tney could have opposed the advance of
English or American conquest and settle-
ment armies aggregating from eight thou-
sand to ten thousand warriors, in defense of
their homes the graves of their ancestors —
their native land. For it was their native
country.
But when the supreme emergency arose
they had been scattered, humiliated and
more than decimated by wanton invasion
and massacre. They were, naturally, friends
of the French, who had first come in contact
! with them, and had conciliated them before
they had any knowledge of conflicting
claims. Their rights were respected. The
Frenchmen, trappers, hunters and fur-buy-
ers who preceded or followed in the wake
of exploration and fortification made no
pretensions to conquest, or individual or as-
sociational "ownership" of the soil. Theirs
was the idea of tenancy in common in leases
under a recognized sovereign. It was the
feudal system, with a loyal priesthood. The
missionaries in the earliest stages of ex-
ploration and settlement were good men.
They were as careful of the rights and priv-
ileges of the Indians, and as earnestly anx-
ious to make them happy and prosperous
as children of Christ's kingdom on earth
and loyal subjects of a Christian sovereign
— all for their temporal and spiritual good
— as they were for the white men among
them. The Indians saw this spirit practi-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY. INDIANA.
47
cully manifested. They saw that the men
who came among- them freely adopted their
modes of living; mingled with them; took
wives from among their maidens, and en-
tered heartily into their sports and partici-
pated in their ceremonies — not knowing,
(if course, that these friendly people were of
the lower strata of civilization. We can
plainly see why it was that the Indiana and
Illinois Indians were allies of the French
in 1600, and mainly so, throughout the
great struggle for supremacy between Eng-
land and France.
CHAMPLAIN GOVERNOR OF NEW FRANCE.
The preceding locations and character
of the Indian tribes and nations apply to the
year 1600. It is assumed that the same sit-
uation, in a general sense, existed during
the closing quarter of the preceding century
— from 1575. The expeditions of Cartier,
and the beginnings of a colony, under
Lord Roberval — from 1534 to 1541 —
evoked no light on the general situation,
tribal names, location and comparative
.standing of the native nation; these topics
seem to have been ignored by Cartier and
Roberval. Nothing was investigated; noth-
ing was found out on these points.
The purpose and scope of this history
dn not require nor permit a search into the
obscurity of pre-historic times, not an at-
tempt to trace, by the uncertain class of In-
dian legend and tradition, the possible or
probable vicissitudes of the Indian drama
during the sixty years that elapsed between
the breaking up and departure oi Rober-
val's Quebec colony, in 1542. and the re-
newal of French colonization in 1602-3. It
seems probable that during that time oc-
curred the beginning of the rivalry and feud
between the Hurons and Five Nations
which Champlain, the governor of New
France, found existing in 1003. It was
enough that it did exist, and that it made
the Five Nations an obstacle in the path-
way of advancing French colonization and
supremacy in the Ohio regions. How
should that barrier be removed? There
were two ways. Either by making friends
of the Iroquois, or by crushing and dispers-
ing them. The Hurons. anxious to see their
enemies punished and destroyed, and certain
from their knowledge of their character that
they would not tamely submit to conditions
of peace requiring consent to combined
French and Huron occupation of their coun-
try even for temporary purposes and pass-
age, counseled forcible measures and a de-
scent upon them with power sufficient to in-
sure their overwhelming defeat. The com-
bined forces of the Sacs and Foxes, with
the Hurons and \\ "yandots, under the com-
mand of Champlain himself and some
French aids, was planned ; the Sacs and
Foxes and Wyandots eagerly responded,
and the formidable array moved forward,
to descend Lake Champlain and attack first
the Mohawks, who inhabited that part of
the country. This was in July, 1609.
THE FIRST BATTLE.
The invaders were met by a band of
Mohawk warriors, on the west shore of the
lake (then first discovered by white men,
and. named Champlain in honor of the gov-
ernor).
A fiercely fought battle ensued. The
brave Mohawks were greatly outnumbered,
but thev rushed into the fray with the fero-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
city of tigers. The consciousness that their
foes outnumbered them, and that they were
far from the aid of their confederates,
caused not a heart to quail or a step to
waver. Then, for the first time, Champlaiu
had an inkling of the character of the Mo-
hawks as warriors. He was yet to learn
that it was a fair exhibition of the spirit
and prowess of the warriors of the entire
confederacy ; and that against outside foes
they acted as one. It was easy to see the
power of a mighty prestige in the individ-
ual onslaughters of the Mohawks. Their
face-to-face opponents visibly cowered and
shrank from personal collision. It was the
prestige of warriors long accustomed to
conquer. "Mohawks" was a name of ter-
ror far and near. It is related in a local
history of the wars of the Massachusetts
colonists with the Indians that on one occa-
sion in western Massachusetts the colonists
had secured the aid of a band of Mohawks
in a battle with out numbering savage foes
who had previously incurred the hostility.
of the Mohawks; that in the onset of bat-
tle the cry was raised: "The Mohawks'
The Mohawks!" whereupon the hostile sav-
ages gave way and fled.
But in the first battle on Lake Cham-
plain the Huron- Wyandots had an advan-
tage greater than that of preponderance in
numbers. The Mohawks were entirely ig-
norant of fire-arms. The muskets of one
or two Frenchmen were strange and terri-
ble weapons. They seemed to combine
the thunder and lightning of the Great
Spirit. Men were stricken down mysteri- j
ously, at every awful explosion. It was to
them a superhuman mystery ; and repelled
several otherwise irresistible onslaughts.
The Mohawks were defeated; but not ;
until so many were slaughtered that the
Hurons bore away from the battle-field fifty
Mohawk scalps, to adorn their Canadian
lodge-poles. The Mohawks retreated to-
ward their villages on the Mohawk river;
but they sent back yells of hatred, defiance
and revenge. The Hurons constructed the
retreat correctly. They did not pursue very
far. They presumed that young runners
were ahead of the retreating warriors, di-
verging toward Oneida and Onondaga, to
alarm and rally the power of the confed-
eracy, ami that two days' pursuit would
have brought them face to face with the
Oneidas, and the Onondagas would be cir-
cling to their rear. They retired, carrying
their hard-earned scalps and a secret con-
sciousness that the light of glory was not
very dazzling on the homeward trail
This battle with what he learned from
the Hurons of the character of the Iroquois
satisfied Champlain that submission, with-
out compulsion, could not be expected. He
had attacked and defeated a band of the
Mohawks. But they were not subdued. He
had destroyed all hope of amicable relations
with the confederacy. Was it not good pol-
icy, by another chastisement, to fully con-
vince these Iroquois that their interests and
safety dqaended upon friendly relations and
co-operation with him and the French gov-
ernment? He had already taken pains to
inform himself of the numerical strength of
the Five Nations, and, to some extent, of
their attitude toward surrounding tribes.
He found the fighting strength of the whole
group to be, in numbers, not more than four
or five tin insane! warriors, even assuming
that they might act together; which he
deemed so highly improbable, judging from
the experience of other Indians, that it
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNT V, INDIANA.
might be dismissed from consideration. The
signal chastisement of one or two tribes
would terrify all ; or set them to fighting
each other. They were surrounded by over-
whelming numbers of Algonquins, who
were hostile to them. The conquest would
be easy. He was impatient with the obsta-
cle of their resistance. The banner of
France feudalism — the ensign of His Must
Christian Majesty of France — was un-
furled, awaiting a clear course to dominion,
in precedence of the lion flag of England.
In April, 1610, De Champlain again in-
vaded the country of the Five Nations,
leading a carefully picked force of the flow-
er of Huron warriors. He met with dis-
aster. His army was badly defeated and he
was seriously wounded. They were forced
to fly. leaving behind them many more
scalps than they had before carried off.
The following June ( 1610) the Iro-
quois, too confident of their invincibility,
despatched a small band ( 100) of warriors
on a foray into Canada. They were sur-
rounded by a vastly superior force of In-
dians and French, under Champlain; and
preferring death to captivity, nearly all were
killed. But defeat, even more than victory,
increased the hostility of the Iroquois to the
French, and the cause of France in all of its
aspects. They were not weakened nor dis-
couraged, but increased in strength and de-
fiant confidence, and the ugly obstacle to
French progress loomed larger at the gate
of the Ohio valley.
THE BRIGHTER SIDE.
Within a few years from the founding
of the first permanent settlement at Quebec,
Governor Champlain had ingratiated him-
self and the cause of France with the major-
it)- of the natives of the St. Lawrence valley
and adjacent region. Through the inces-
sant and adventurous devotion of the French
priests, the Cross of Christ was borne
through the remotest regions, an emblem
of peace and brotherhood, and its holy sig-
nificance was everywhere well translated to
the souls of the savages by the self-sacrific-
ing zeal, meek demeanor and fraternal con-
duct of the missionaries. They shrank
from no toil, nor danger, nor exposure.
The\- penetrated hundreds of miles through
the snow-clad and tempest-tossed forests of
the northern lake region, staggering against
blinding blasts, laden with snow and ice,
that, whilst they observed the blaze of the
northern guiding star, could neither hide
the light nor chill the glow of the Star of
Bethlehem in the inmost soul
The lone missionary, going with savage
guide to distant habitats of strange tribes,
cheerfully accepted every unwonted detail
of privation and suffering. He helped to'
prepare the rough temporary shelter for the-
night; and by the light of the pine-knot fire-
the Indian could see that the noble face was
glorified from an inner light, when uplifted;
in prayer to the white man's Great Spirit.
And lie could, at all times, see the light of
love, awful in its emanations of friendship
from the presence, on the countenance of
his companion. It was a wonder and a
mystery to the superstitious barbarian: but
it was a delightful wonder — a mystery
luminous witli the halo of some inner fount-
ain of goodness.
And these zealous missionaries also rep-
resented the cause of France. The lilies of
French civil and political dominion were
wreathed around the emblems of the spir-
5o
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
itual kingdom of Christ. It was long lie-
fore the Indians could consider them apart.
Champlain — himself a devoted Christian
communicant — cotild not. The king of
France, a consummate flower of the system
of "divine right" and feudalism, was no
hypocrite in claiming his domination as an
essential feature of Christ's earthly king-
dom.
In August, 1610, Champlain went to
France, to arrange with the government
about the fur trade, and a young Frenchman
of Quebec went up into the Lake Huron
country and passed the winter among the
Indians there. The next May he returned
with a party of Indians who went to Que-
bec to trade. Champlain returned from
France the same month, with supplies, and
satisfactory terms and conditions of the fur
trade. He then established a trading post
at Montreal (the Hochelaga of Cartier's
visit in 1535), one hundred and eighty
miles up the river from Quebec, and more
central and accessible to the tribes of the
fur-bearing region. Having established the
post, he immediately returned to France
and spent the year 161 2 actively promoting
the interests of the colony.
In May, 1613, Champlain. returning to
Quebec, actively resumed the work of fur-
ther exploration, extension of French do-
minion, anil founding settlements — making-
Montreal, more frequently, his point of
departure. He ascended the Ottawa river,
and passed the winter in a Chippewa camp,
north of Lake Huron, endeavoring to verify
an Indian story of a great river, flowing
eastward and emptying into the great west-
ern (Pacific) ocean. He found no great
river, other than Lake Superior, which
flowed in the opposite direction. His" ex-
plorations were not extended westward far
enough to ascertain whether the Chippewas
had learned from the Dakotahs of the Ore-
gon. But he thus made the acquaintance of
the powerful Ojibwa nation and won their
friendship for himself and France.
In 161 5, with Father Joseph LeCaron
and twelve men, Champlain visited the most
distant seats of the Hurons — going with a
band of that nation returning from a sale
of furs at Montreal. On this trip confer-
ences were held with distant branches of the
Huron nation and plans laid for another
important invasion of the Iroquois country.
■In pursuance of the plan the French joined
the Hurons, and a third formidable expe-
dition moved against the Five Nations.
The Fries were to support the attack by
striking the Senecas simultaneously with
the arrival of the Hurons and French at the
eastern towns — Mohawks and Oneidas.
This time the expedition reached the im-
mediate vicinity of those towns, and some
unimportant skirmishing took place. The
Iroquois quietly awaited the onslaught. But
the Eries did not appear, and no real assault
was made. The invaders retired. More
fuel to the fire of Iroquois animosity! An-
other bar to the barricade against French
progress.
FIRST ACT OF ENGLISH FRENCH CONFLICT.
In the meantime. Captain Argall of
Jamestown. Va., when collecting a cargo of
codfish at north Atlantic ports, discovered
some new French settlements in Nova Scotia
and Maine, just started. The English, it will
be remembered, claimed the country up to
Labrador, as North Virginia. The French
I claimed the same country as part of Canada
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
and New France. Argall's party attacked
and destroyed these new French settlements.
This was the first act of direct hostility, by
force, between the English and French. The
English then knew nothing about the \
French-Iroquois conflicts.
THE DUTCH INVOLVED.
Henry Hudson discovered the '"North
River" in 1609. the year of Champlain's first
invasii n of the Iroquois country in northern
New York, and fight with the Mohawks.
whose seat was on the west side of that river.
Holland, on the strength of Hudson's dis-
covery, set up a claim to the coast and in-
terior, from Delaware Bay to Maine. The
Dutch founded settlements on Manhattan
Island and at the site of Albany in 1613, four
years after the first fight between Cham-
plain and his Indian allies and the Mohawks,
in which French firearms terrorized the Iro-
quois. The Dutch trading- port at Albany
soon began to furnish these same Iroquois
with guns.
The Five Nations and the Delawares
both began to trade with the Dutch — the
Five Nations at Albany, the Delawares
mostly at Manhattan. But Albany was
easily accessible to the northern branch of
the Delawares also, and they resorted there
for trade. Soon arose the rivalries and
troubles that led to national conflict between
these great people. It ended in the subjuga-
tion of the Delawares, and their expulsion
from southeastern New York, by the victori-
ous Iroquois. Some wandered through
western Virginia and Ohio, joining their Al-
gonquin kindred and French friends ; some
settled for a time in western Pennsylvania
and became converts of the Moravian mis-
sionaries, and -peaceful Christians. Subse-
quently, they were massacred in cold blood
by white men and Indians. A large rem-
nant of the nation went into Indiana and set-
tled on White river, where they became
guests and efficient allies of the Miami con-
federation. This was long after their ex-
pulsion from their native seats in New York.
In the meantime, the everywhere victor-
ious Iroquois were extending their forays,
north, west and south, shattering and de-
moralizing the Algonquin tribes of the
northwest — especially those most closely al-
lied to the French. The Wyandots, who
were connected with the Hurons, were
driven from their ancient settlements at the
foot of Lake Ontario, south of the St. Law-
rence, to become the dependent ,guests of
their cousins, the Hurons on the east shores
of Lake Huron. The great Ottawas of the
central valley of Canada were expelled from
their native country — defeated, decimated
and terrorized by the ferocious and irresist-
ible assaults of the conquering and merciless
confederates of the Five Nations. They
were friends of the French, and terribly did
they suffer for it from the wounded pride,
the hunger for revenge and thirst for con-
quest and glory, of the barbarous Romans of
the New York republic.
The brave Eries, nearest neighbors of
the Five Nations on the west, and who
feared them least, unwittingly invited their
own doom. Parkman's History of Canada
gives the substantial facts upon which the
following account is founded :
GAMES AT TUSHUWAY, AND INDIAN BATTLE.
Tushuway, at the site of the present city
of Buffalo, was the capital of the Eries.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
That of the Senecas, of the republic of Five
Nations, adjoined the territory of the Eries.
The latter were scornfully jealous of the
high distinction and brilliant career of their
Iroquois neighbors. Seeking a cause for
tribal dispute and quarrel, the Eries sent a
messenger to the Senecas, bearing a chal-
lenge to a game of ball between picked
players of one hundred on a side, from each
tribe. The Senecas, loyal to their constitu-
tional duty, submitted the matter to the
great council at Onondaga. After mature
deliberation, the council directed the Sene-
cas to decline the challenge, which was
done. Twice the same challenge was re-
peated, with the same reply. Again the per-
sistent Eries sent the challenge, with added
expressions of contempt. This time the
wounded pride of the young Senecas re-
volted from obedience to the council, and the
indignant turmoil was so great that the coun-
cil relented and gave permission.
The contest took place at Tushuway, the
Erie capital, for an immensely valuable prize
— a large pile of furs, bracelets, beads and
rich ornaments of silver and copper. The
contest was close and desperate, but the Sen-
ecas bore off the prize. The Erie chieftain
immediately challenged them to a foot-race,
with ten runners on a side. It was accepted,
and the visitors were again victorious.
Choking with anger, the chief of Tushuway
proposed a final and sinister test : Ten
wrestlers on a side struggle for the mastery,
one pair at a time, until the ten falls were
finished — the vistor in each case to brain his
fallen adversary with a tomahawk.
The manager of the Seneca team was a
middle-aged, experienced .warrior. He gave
no sign i if bis disgust at the proposition,
but he called his men apart, held a brief
consultation and then announced their ac-
ceptance of the challenge "to wrestle." He
picked his ten wrestlers, and they formed
in line, facing their ten opponents. A look
of sullen determination had settled upon the
features of the Erie chief, and a menacing
fire burned in his eyes. The first Seneca
fairly threw his adversary, but turned away,
refusing to kill him. Like a lightning flash
the wrathful Erie chief sped his own hatchet
into the brain of the fallen man. Twice was
the awful scene re-enacted, the visitors be-
ing victorious in the first three falls, and the
Erie chief killing his fallen kinsman each
time. By this time his suppressed rage was'
terrible to witness. The Iroquois manager
gave a signal and the victorious hundred
retired from the field and hastened toward
their homes.
The vanquished Eries at once prepared,
for war. The Iroqouis expected and were
prepared for it. The whole force of the
Five Nations were quickly mustered and
went forth to meet the Eries, who were al-
ready speeding to attack the Senecas. Half
way between Onondaga and Genessee they
met. The Eries soon discovered that in-
stead of the Senecas alone, the warriors of
the combined Five Nations were upon them ;.
but they would not yield, and they did not
retreat. They were surrounded. They
fought with the fury of demons. All day
and long into the night the bloody pande-
monium raged, until the Eries were nearly
all slaughtered. Not only was the battle ir-
retrievably lost, but nine-tenths of the Erie
survivors were butchered.
Without a pause, the flushed and mad-
dened victors rushed on to the villages and
strongholds of their vanquished enemies.
Frenzied with mericless rage thev stormed
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
53
the defenses of Tushuway, massacred the
inhabitants who did not escape, and de-
stroyed everything. So complete was the
extermination that no nation or tribe bear-
ing the name of "Erie" was ever afterward
known. The theory that fugitive survivors
wandered south, collected in Florida and
took part of the ancestral name common to
the Iroquois and themselves, has already
been mentioned. Under the name "Shaw
nees," from Hodens-Sawnee, roving from
place to place, they finally drifted back to
the neighborhood of their ancestral seat,
maintaining to the last an attitude of hostil-
ity toward the English, and afterward to the
United States settlers. Their hero of later
times, Tecumseh, exhibited all the strongest
traits of the Fries in their days of power
and renown, and added magnanimity that
distinguished him above all his most heroic
ancestors. Had the old chieftan of Tushu-
way been a Tecumseh, no such scene as that
of the wrestling match and its horrible inci-
dents could have occurred.
Nor would the subsequent fatal move
against the Senecas have taken place under
the same circumstances. Tecumseh was
possessed of the genius of broad combina-
tion and command. Had he been living in
his prime in Champlain's time, the Five
Nations would not have been the only con-
federacy. The amazing spectacle of four
thousand warriors terrorizing a continent
and subjugating and destroying contiguous
nations with aggregate numbers five times
as great would not have been seen.
The weakness of the Algonquins was in
their continual discords and internecine jeal-
ousies and conflicts. Hiawatha, the tradi-
tional wise man of the Hod-eno-Sawnee
tribes, realized this, and he saved his people
from like misfortune by organizing the con-
federacy of the Five Nations.
Had the drama of destiny been forecast
for a different progress and conclusion — had
a Tecumseh been the leader of the Eries in
1600, — who can doubt that the Iroquois con-
federacy would have been confronted with
a semicircle of confederated tribes — the Wy-
andots, Hurons, Ottawas, the clans of the
Neutral nation. Fries, Andastes and Dela-
wares — the Eries advanced within the cen-
ter, — immediately confronting the Iroquois.
In such case the Iroquois would have been
powerless to impede the advance of the
French power. The subsequent efforts of
the English would have been unavailing
against the French, backed by the whole co-
operating strength of the Algonquins, under
the direction of a leader of commanding
genius. We have seen that the failure of
the Eries to attack from the west, as plan-
ned, caused the failure of the third expedi-
tion of Champlain. As it was, without the
co-operation of the Iroquois, the English
could not have conquered Canada and the
northwest.
In 1666 Governor Courcelles, of Can-
ada, invaded the Mohawk country with a
force of five hundred men. His march was
uninterrupted until he had reached the vicin-
ity of the Iroquois towns. He found an
ominous quiet prevailing. His Indian
scouts found and reported a condition of
fortification, collected force and calm confi-
dence that influenced him to refrain from
attack, and he retreated into Canada.
In 1684 Governor I )e la Barre marched
into the Iroquois country with a force of
nearly two thousand men — French and In-
dians. Finding the enemy too well pre-
pared, he did not risk an attack at once, but
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
solicited a council, intending to impress them
with the invincibility of the French power
and incite them to acts of hostility against
the English. In response to his invitation
to a council three chiefs of the Oneidas,
Caegregas and Onondagas visited the
French camp. De la Barre placed them in
a circle with his own officers, and, standing
in the center, he addressed Garangula, the
Onondaga chief, who was spokesman of
the Indians. He accused the Five Nations
of favoring the English, to the detriment
of the French and their "royal and good
father," the king of France, and threatened
to make war upon them unless they should
alter their policy and behave themselves.
Garangula heard him with respectful atten-
tion to the end ; then, after walking three
times, with great dignity, around the circle,
he faced De la Barre, and calling him "Yon-
nondio," and the English governor of New
York "Corlear," he replied :
garaxgula's speech.
"Hear, Yonnondio — I do not sleep,
my eyes are open ; the sun gives me light.
I see before me a great captain, who talks
as if he was dreaming, and thinking Garan-
gula is blind. He tells me he only comes to
smoke the great pipe of peace with my
people, the Onondagas. But Garangula sees
it not so. He sees the French are tired and
sick. He sees they are worn out with toil
of the long and rough warpath. If his war-
riors were as strong and brave as when they
started Yonnondio knows he would tell
them to strike us instead of talking. The
Adirondacs brought the French to our cas-
tles. The}- are your allies. The English
claim our trade. We took them to our
lakes, to trade there with the Utawawas and
the Ouatogies. We are born free. YVe do
not depend on Yonnondio or Corlear. We
go where we please. We buy and sell as we
please. If your allies are your slaves, use
them so. Talk to them. Command them to
receive no other people hut the French.
Hear, Yonnondio. What I say is the voice
of all the Five Nations. They are not
slaves. When they buried the hatchet at
Cadaracui (in treaty with the English) in
the middle of the fort, they planted the tree
of peace in the same place, to be watered
and preserved — to keep the fort a place for
j traders and not for soldiers. Take care that
I soldiers too . many do not come there and
trample the tree of peace and prevent from
covering your country and ours with its
branches. Our warriors shall dance under
its leaves, and will never dig up the hatchet
' to cut it down — unless their brother, Yon-
i nondio, or their brother Corlear, shall strike
us in the country which the Great Spirit
gave to our forefathers."
De la Barre was enraged — but he was
: convinced. His soldiers were exhausted.
He was in a perilous situation, and from
being a bold accuser now descended to sup-
plications for compromise and peace Gar-
angula's speech showed him that the Indians
fully understood the situation and knew
thev could destroy his army if they chose,
and following up the blow by harrassing
I raids upon the Canadian settlements. He
j at once adopted a policy of conciliation and
peace, and was permitted to retire unmo-
lested.
The successor of De la Barre, Governor
De Nonville, choosing to ignore his prede-
cessor's peace policy, raised a larger army,
and invaded the Iroquois district. He was
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
ambuscaded, and suffered defeat. This
was followed up by two successive attacks
upon Montreal by the Iroquois, and the de-
struction of several outlying settlements,
and the slaughter of many people. What
De la Barre had apprehended, and endeav-
ored to prevent by his peace policy, now
actually occurred, under the administration
of De Nonville. The French colonies, in-
stead of extension westward, seemed in
danger of collapse, and retreat from the
continent. The Five Nations were now in
a full career of triumphant aggression; and
had become the invaders instead of the in-
vaded. In 1689, they captured the town of
Montreal. But they did not try to retain
possession, further than to secure a ransom,
and to impress the French and their Indian
(Algonquin) allies with a realizing sense of
Iroquois power; for the Iroquois never made
territorial conquests nor founded distant set-
tlements. They never migrated. Their
warrior bands never tarried in the country
of a subjugated tribe. It was mainly for
military glory that they made distant regions
ring with their warwhoops and the tribes of
Canada, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michi-
gan cower and fly before them. They car-
ried away no prisoners. They exacted trib-
ute from defeated and terrorized enemies,
but they established no provinces; they left
no local agencies. Their trophies were the
scalps of their victims in the individual
lodges of their home villages in New York.
They erected no monuments of victory on
distant prairies, but carried home — always
home — their wreaths of glory, and with
them adorned the sanctuaries of their capi-
tals and the mystic brows of their genius
of Iroquois power and patriotism.
KINO WILLIAM S WAR.
In 16S9, the year of the capture of Mon-
treal by the Five Nations, war was declared
between England and France — called "King
William's War." It grew largely out of the
disputes and conflicting claims of the two
governments respecting their American col-
onies and possessions. Good local adminis-
tration of colonial affairs was of the utmost
importance. The French were conscious of
a lack of practical intelligence and wise pol-
icy in the administration of Governor De
Nonville in Canada, and he was recalled and
Count Frontignac installed as governor and
furnished with a large and well-equipped re-
inforcement. Under Frontignac's skillful
and energetic administration the welfare of
the colony was reinstated. The drooping
"lillies" revived and hope once more smiled
and beckoned "onward."
Frontignac endeavored to gain the
friendship of the Five Nations and thought
he had succeeded. In a great council of
sachems and warriors called by him at < )n-
ondaga, he thought he saw manifested a de-
cided inclination on the part of the Iroquois
to join him, and in order to give active direc-
tion to the assumed change of sentiment and
inspire the still despondent French people of
the colony, .he planned the memorable
Schenectady expeditii m.
Two hundred disciplined French regu-
lars, accompanied by Caghnewaga Indians,
set out, and after toiling through deep
snows, resting and resuming their march
for nearly three weeks, reached Schenectady
on the 8th of February, at 1 1 o'clock in the
night. The surprise was complete. The
village was burned, sixty persons were in-
56
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
humanly butchered and many perished in
their flight, naked, through the snow to Al-
bany. The butchery over, and the conflagra-
tion in fully destructive career, the French
retreated, carrying away twenty-seven cap-
tives. They were pursued by a band of Al-
bany young men and Mohawk Indians, who
killed many of the retreating foe. What a
blood_\- blunder! These Mohawk pursuers
and avengers were members of the Iroquois
confederacy, whom he was anxious to con-
ciliate. He had succeeded in inspiring re-
newed and increased hatred instead of
friendship. There seemed to be a sinister
fatality attending all the efforts of the
French to conciliate the Iroquois. Garan-
gula, the Onondaga orator, had warned
Governor De la Barre not to trample the
roots of the tree of peace with soldiers, lest
it should fail to grow and cover the French
as well as the Indians with its branches.
.And now Frontignac had been both tramp-
ling and burning the roots of the sacred tree
and poisoning the earth around it with the
blood of slaughtered innocence.
For seven years the struggle was violent,
and extended from the St. Lawrence to the
Mississippi; La Salle, Marquette and others
had explored the lakes, the Mississippi, the
Ohio and the Wabash. A chain of missions,
trading posts and forts had been projected
to occupy and command the whole "north-
west ;" French traders, voyagers and priests
were traveling- the whole region and occupy-
ing the commanding positions. They every-
where easily ingratiated themselves with the
Algonquin tribes and won their affection
for. and reverent loyalty to, their "great
French father," who smiled upon them from
his royal throne beyond the sea and sent
kind greetings by these white brethren. The
lilies of France were taking root in the soil
of a new Bourbon empire; the genius of
feudal aristocracy ami thraldom of class
was twining silken fetters for time to harden
into steel around the wilds of the children
of the forest.
But the distant interior of the growing
New France was not exempt from the perils
and disturbances of the parent colonies.
The terrible Iroquois war-whoop sounded
through the forests of Ohio, Indiana and
Michigan and over the prairies of Illinois
from bands of warriors who swiftly trav-
ersed hundreds of miles of wilderness, fell
upon French trading posts and destroyed
them, punished the Algonquin friends jf
France in the most distant regions and re-
turned to their capitals, leaving indelible
traces of their ferocity and a continued sense
of insecurity and impending danger.
La Salle, in ]68o, had built a fort at
Peoria (Fort Crevecceur), where he left a
garrison under the protection of the Indians
while he went to Montreal to procure sup-
plies for continuing an expedition down the
Mississippi. When he returned the fort was
in ashes and the garrison was gone. The
Illinois tribe were scattered and their town
was in ruins. An Iroquois band had trav-
ersed the intervening- six hundred miles,
slaughtered most of the Peorias and French
and destroyed the fort and village. The
commandant, Captain Tonti, and two com-
panions, escaped to Green Bay.
After the war, in which the French had
encountered their most effective opposition
from the Five Nations, they took advantage
of the peace to forward their design of west-
ern dominion. Fort Frontignac was erected
at the outlet of Lake Ontario; two vessels
were launched upon the lake and Fort Ni-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
agara erected at the entrances. Governor
Burnet, of New York, remonstrated. He
saw plainly the design to limit the English
possessions to the seacoast region. To frus-
trate that design it was essential to retain
the alliance of the Six Nations.
(Note. — This was in 1720. The Five
Nations had become Six by the accession of
the Tuscaroras from North Carolina in
171 j. They were kindred of the Iroquois,
who had migrated southward and settled be-
fore the organization of the confederacy).-
He summoned the sachems to a public
conference at Albany, to ascertain their senti-
ments as to the operations of the French at
Niagara. The effect of the question on the
chiefs and their answer convinced him that
any apprehension of favor to the French, on
the part of the Iroquois, was groundless.
Their answer was a revelation of sentiment
even stronger than his own. Parts of the
answering "talk" of the Indian orator have
been preserved. Among other things he
said, with fierce emphasis:
"We come to you howling. We speak
in the name of all the Six Nations. We
howl because the governor of Canada en-
croaches on our land, and has built on it. '
THE FINAL STRUGGLE.
In the prosecution of their plan of domi-
nation over the entire trans- Allegany coun-
ty the French were alert, persistent and en-
ergetic. Flanking the obstacle of Iroquois
opposition, they entered the Ohio valley by
way of Lake Erie and projected a chain of
trading posts and fortifications from the lake
to the navigable waters of the Ohio, at the
site of Pittsburg, and laid out an important
one there, at the junction of the Allegheny
and Monongaheia rivers, called Fort Du-
quesne. These menacing incursions into the
Ohio valley indirectly caused the introduc-
tion of young George Washington upon the
stage of action. The state of Virginia, as a
measure of defense, was divided into dis-
tricts, with a major for each. Washington,
though young — just of age, — had highly
commended himself to the governor and
other leading men of the colony by his con-
duct in all relations, and was appointed over
the district embracing the theater of the most
conspicuous French aggressions — the region
of West Virginia and the headwaters of the
Ohio. He solicited a commission from the
governor as a sole commissioner to visit the
French military posts south of Lake Erie
to ascertain the intentions of the commander
and request a withdrawal of French soldiers
from territory claimed as English. He
made the perilous and toilsome journey, ac-
companied only by a guide, executed his
I commission, ascertained that the French au-
! thorities were determined to pursue their
line of action and not to withdraw their
soldiers. A colonial army of about two
1 thousand men was then raised — to march to
Fort Duquesne and take possession. Wash-
ington held an important command in this
force. On the way they encountered a
French force under Colonel De Jumonville,
at Great Meadows, where a sudden illness
of the English commander had for the time
devolved the chief command upon Washing-
ton. He promptly ordered an attack, and,
seizing a musket, fired the first shot. In
the fight the Virginians were victorious, and
De Jumonville. the French commander, was
mortally wounded. George Washington
thus delivered the first blow upon the enemy
in the long, bloody and final struggle be-
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
tween England and France for possession
and supremacy of Canada and the great
"northwest."
SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON.
In the final conflict between the colonies
of France and England and their Indian al-
lies, Sir William Johnson was a conspicuous
figure. Originally sent to New York to be
resident superintendent of an uncle's im-
mense estate in the Mohawk valley, he had
established bachelor headquarters in a sort
of castle in the neighborhood of the tribal
home of the Mohawks, one of the Iroquois
Six Nations. He was unmarried, and from
disappointment in a love affair was self-
alienated from the society of his aristocratic
class. Fie turned in disgust from the gilded
shams and venal politeness of the "cul-
tured" circles and ingratiated himself in the
hearts of his savage neighbors. He soon
became deservedly popular among the Mo-
hawks, and through them with all the tribes
of the Iroquois, as a good friend, judicious
adviser and sagacious leader. He learned
their language (colloquial) and was benevo-
lently active in promoting their best inter-
ests and perfectly honorable and just in his
dealings with them. He was unanimously
elected a chief of the Mohawks, and, finally,
superintendent of the affairs of the whole
confederacy by the choice of the Indians.
They named him "W'ar-ragh-ia-ghv." mean-
ing "he who takes charge of affairs." The
governor confirmed the choice by appointing
him general superintendent of the affairs of
the Six Nations. Alary, sister of the half-
breed Brandt ( afterward' chief sachem of
the Mohawks), was installed as housekeeper
at Johnson's Castle, with a retinue of serv-
ants. She was a young woman of more than
the common education, of the middle class,
superior native intellect, personal grace and
good sense. Her brother, Joseph Brandt,
half white-blood, became a distinguished
war-leader in the confederacy, able and bril-
liant, but brutal and ferocious beyond even
the native ferocity of the full-blooded Mo-
hawks.
BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE.
In 1755 Johnson was appointed sole
superintendent of the affairs of the Six Na-
tions and their allies and dependents, and
the British king commissioned him a major-
general and assigned him to the chief com-
mand of an expedition against the French
and Algonquins under Baron Dieskan, who
had invaded and was holding the Champlain
region in northern New York.
With his Iroquois warriors, led by the
veteran Hendrick. then chief sachem, and
some colonial troops, Johnson attacked, de-
feated and routed the invaders near Lake
George, September 8, 1755. Baron Dieskan
was killed. In this battle the Mohawks, un-
der Hendrick. bore a conspicuous part, and
Hendrick and forty of his warriors were
killed.
Hendrick was seventy years old when he
led his brave Mohawks in that battle. His
death was deeply mourned by General John-
son and all who knew and appreciated him.
To Johnson it was the loss of an intimate
friend. Hendrick bad been a very frequent
and always welcome visitor at Johnson Cas-
tle, and his visits bad been as frequently re-
turned. A pleasant story used to be told of
their friendly intercourse, in substance as.
follows:
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
59
HENDRICK S DREAM.
Hendrick was at Johnson's house i >nc
day when the latter was unpacking sever
suits of fine clothing just received from
England for himself. Of course, Hendrick
had the privilege of examining and admir
ing them, and he expressed the wonder am
delight of a child. Before leaving he be
came silent, and seemed to ponder over sorm
unspoken idea. He reappeared at the castli
a few days afterward, and after the usua
friendly greetings, something like the fol-
lowing dialogue took place :
Hendrick — 'Ale have good dream. War-
riaghv. one-two-t'ree time same."
Johnson — "That was good, brother Hen-
drick. And what did the Good Spirit show
you in your dream ?"
Hendrick — 'Ale see Warraghiaghy in
my dream an' he hoi' up nice coat and
breeches, an' he look so kind and good, and'
hoi' em out to me an' say, Hendrick. take
urn. brother."
Johnson, well knowing the Indian super-
sitition about impressive dreams thrice re-
peated, without hesitation brought one of
the new suits and presented it to Hendrick,
who was profuse in his profession of grati-
tude and pleasure in this delightful confii-
mation of his faith in such good dreams.
It is related that Johnson soon afterward
told Hendrick that he also had a strange but
pleasant dream that was very bright and
clear and was ever before his eyes, even when
he was awake. Hendrick was curious to
know the nature of his friend's dream and
Johnson thus described it :
join
'Mv dream :
I S DREAM.
red me a bright morn-
ing. The sun was shining clear, and smiled
kindly as he cast his gifts of glory and
beauty through the air and down over the
wide forests and laughing waters. The big
trees wore crowns of golden light; the
birds fluttered and sang through the leaves;
the sky was blue and pleasant ; the air was
fresh and sweet. The Great Spirit smiled
blessings on the earth. 1 heard a voice call-
ing: 'Warriaghaghy.' 1 looked, and saw my
brother Hendrick standing on yonder hill-
to]), beckoning to me. I answered and
climbed to his side, and Hendrick. standing
there in the bright morning, pointed to the
wide woodland between the hills and the
river on the farther side — eight arrow-
flights wide and sixteen long, with the big
creek winding through to the river. — and
as he pointed he looked good, and turned his
kind face to me and in a voice of music:
'Warriaghiaghy, take um, brother.' "
For a moment Hendrick was dazed.
The tract described was about six hundred
acres of bottom land, well timbered and wat-
ered and finely situated. But he faithfully
confirmed the dream and ceded the land to
Johnson.
Johnson, with his Iroquois braves, did
signal service for the English cause during
the war. He led a thousand warriors and
provincial recruits and captured the French
fort at Niagara, in 1759, and cut to pieces a
force sent to relieve the garrison. They
were with General Amherst's expedition in
1760. and were present at the surrender of
Montreal when the entire Canadian terri-
tory and Xew France were given up to the
British. The formal transfer was made in
the treaty of Paris, in February, 1703.
The vision of a "Xew France" had
faded, and in its place beamed the yet form-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
less glory of the coming reign of freedom.
The pioneer agencies of the Old and New-
had joined in battle for supremacy at Lake
Champlain in 1609, when the French super-
intendent and his Algonquin allies invaded
the country of the Iroquois. Unconsciously,
but effectively, the latter had been for a hun-
dred and fifty- four years champions of a new
era, which was now dawning. Equally un-
conscious, the Algonquin tribes had clung to
a failing cause. The conflict left them weak
and demoralized, without independent pres-
tige, destined victims, to 1 be crushed beneath
the chariot wheels of an impetuous progress-
ion, and able only to stain the future with
blotches of pitiful, unavailing tragedy.
PONTIAC'S "CONSPIRACY."
After the destruction of the Hurons the
most powerful allies of France were the Ot-
tawas, inhabiting southeastern Michigan,
western Canada and the northwest corner of
•Ohio. Their chief was Pontiac. whose re-
markable power as a leader, politician and
statesman are already historic and need not
to be retold. He first became famous as an
efficient French partisan, and was an im-
placable enemy of the English, as well as
their victorious allies, the Iroquois. He
viewed with disgust and indignation the
vanishing insignia of the French rule and
the advance of an unfriendly power. From
friends to enemies — from sympathetic
brothers to haughty masters, — the change
was too much to be tamely endured. And
Pontiac did not despair. The surrender at
Montreal might not mean irreparable and
final loss. A great blow, that would stag-
ger the British power, might renew the hopes
of France and recall her fleets and armies
to the recovery of her dominion.
Thus, probably, reasoned the great chief.
He did not understand the lesson of a hun-
dred and fifty years of unsuccessful effort —
of unavailing employment of all available
means. In one sense his sagacity was true.
The change was pregnant with misery for
the Indians from their standpoint. The ag-
gressive, self-assertive industrial and politi-
cal enterprise of the Anglo-Saxon, pushing
for material wealth and political liberty — ■
imperatively shouting "Get out of my way!"
and ruthlessly tearing down all barriers in
his pathway — was not manifest in the char-
acter of the French colonists ; it was not the
spirit of France, but it was the genius of the
coming dominion, and to the clear vision of
Pontiac it foreshadowed the destruction of
I the Indian tribes and the ruin of their coun-
try for them.
Results have been for more than one
hundred and thirty years, and still are, vin-
1 cheating his apprehensions. The manner m
which he faced the peril has usually been de-
scribed as Pontiac's "conspiracy." The
sinister word "conspiracy" is copied for his-
torical identity, but not so ought Pontiac's
plan and its execution to be characterized.
Pontiac's plan was to arouse to concerted
action all the Algonquin tribes of the ter-
j ritorv menaced by hostile invasion, and, on
a day appointed, to surprise and destroy all
the British forts commanding and protect-
ing the existing and projected lines of set-
tlement in western Pennsylvania, southwest-
j ern New York, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana
and Illim >is. This gigantic scheme involved
the simultaneous capture and destruction of
the flirts and garrisons of Presque Isle, Le
Boeuf. Venango, Pitt, Sandusky, Detroit,
Mackinaw, St. Joseph. Miami (Fort
Wayne") , Ouatenon and Vincennes. situated
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
6r«
mi lines thirteen hundred miles in extent.
This was to be followed up by driving all
the English settlers out of the territory or
exterminating them, but no French man,
woman or child was to he knowingly in-
jured.
Such, in substance, was Pontiac's mas-
terly scheme for the defense of the Indian's
birthright and the protection of his country-
men, as he viewed it. Less able and com-
prehensive planning has often been lauded
as brilliant generalship and statesmanship,
and when prosecuted with motives such as
Pontiac's — whether successful or not — have
entitled the projector and actor to admira-
tion and gratitude as a hero and patriot.
Why call Pontiac a "conspirator?" The
term is inapt and unjust.
The energy displayed by Pontiac in pre-
paring for the execution of his great design
was wonderful. He succeeded in inspiring
the tribes over a wide extent of country with
the hope that by the execution of his plan
they could save their hunting-grounds and
homes. The Chippewas, Ottawas, Potta-
watomies. Sacs and Foxes, Miamis, Shaw-
nees, Menominees, Wyandots and parts of
other tribes agreed to- co-operate, and in
April, 1763, Pontiac called a great council
of chiefs and warriors and addressed them
in a long and eloquent speech. The plan of
the campaign was approved unanimously,
and in May and June, 1763, three months
after the cession of New France to Great
Britain, nine of the forts named were sur-
prised and captured and their defenders
killed. Detroit, where Pontiac commanded
in Person, and Fort Pitt, which was re-
lieved by the timely arrival of Colonel Bo-
cpiet's company, were saved.
Pontiac continued the siege of Detroit
until the interference of the Six Nations be-
came imminent. The great chief was finally
convinced that their French father had
abandoned them, and he sullenly submitted
to necessity, threw down the hatchet and re-
tired, heartbroken, to his home on the Mau-
mee. Here he lived retired for nearly six
years. In April, 1709, he visited his friend
St. Ange, French commandant at St. Louis.
While there he visited an encampment of
Illinois Indians on the east side of the Mis-
sissippi, and was killed by a drunken Indian
who was bribed by a British trader to do
the deed. He was stealthily followed and
stabbed in the back. A small party of Ot-
tawas there claimed the Indian right to kill
the murderer. The Illinois tribes interfered,
and took the assassin under their protection
and a fight arose. The Ottawas -were com-
pelled to flee for their lives, but they dis-
patched swift messengers to all tribes of the
northwest, north and east, with the news and
called for a general uprising for revenge.
A thrill of horror ran through all the tribes
who had participated in Pontiac's efforts to
save the country. Wisconsin, Michigan,
Canada and northwestern Ohio echoed with
fierce cries for revenge, accompanied by in-
stant action.
From north, east and northeast through
the shadowy aisles of the forest and across-
the vistas of the openings dusky forms with
gleaming eyes and fiendish faces sped to-
ward the rendezvous of retribution. The
avengers of Pontiac paused not to discrimi-
nate. The shock of the onset was felt in
every Illinois village. Carnage reigned over
all the prairies, reddened the rivers and
blotched the green of the beautiful groves.
Pontiac's murder was awfully avenged.
The confederation of Illinois tribes was vir-
62
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
tually destroyed. A few wretched remnants
only were left, and the avengers themselves
were sadly weakened by the terrible strain.
clark's expedition.
During the Revolutionary war the most
important event bearing directly upon the
destiny of the "northwest" was the conquest
of the territory by Colonel George Rogers
Clark, at the head of a small force of special
recruits raised in the name and by the au-
thority of the state of Virginia. The enter-
prise was conceived, urged and successfully-
carried out by Clark, who had great diffi-
culty in first obtaining the consent and co-
operation of the authorities. The history of
those wonderful expeditions, their incidents
and results, are matters of history. It ele-
vates Colonel Clark to a high position among
the heroes of the world and crowns all the
men of his little band with honor in the
memories of their countrymen. They
saved the northwest to the United States
by conquering it from Great Britain — a
magnificent accomplishment, that would
have reflected glory upon an army under
commanders of renown if viewed from the
standpoint of developed consequences. But
the feat had been rendered possible by the
influences of the train of events of one hun-
dred and seventy preceding years, which had
culminated in the domination of a power
whose possession was contrary to the wishes
of, and whose rule was hated by, both the
Algonquin Indians and the French settlers
who occupied the country.
Colonel Clark's first expedition, in 1778,
was successful at both Kaskaskia and Vin-
cennes without bloodshed. He had only to
convince the French and Indians that he was
acting against Great Britain as representa-
tive of a new power and that their former
French rulers were in sympathy with the
new power and aiding it. Lafayette was
fighting by the side of Washington. France
was contributing money and men to the
cause of the United Colonies and had en-
tered into alliance with them against the
English. The triumph of that cause, Colonel
Clark represented, was assured. The Amer-
ican States would soon be acknowledged by
the world as sovereign over all this region
and British power would disappear. The
true nature of the situation and of his mis-
sion once made clear, Colonel Clark, in
August, 1778, had little difficulty in secur-
ing the willing allegiance of the French resi-
dents of Kaskaskia and of the Indian chief
in the neighboring country. The French
priests secured the allegiance of the inhabi-
tants of Vincennes. town and country, and
Clark sent Captain Helm to take charge of
the post. The British governor of Vin-
cennes post was absent at Detroit when this
renunciation of British autthority occurred.
The state of Virginia proceeded to organize
the whole country under the name of "Illi-
nois County, of Virginia."
But the British governor, Hamilton, in-
terfered with this peaceable transfer of
allegiance and title. From Detroit he de-
scended upon Vincennes with an army of
regulars and Indians numbering five hun-
dred. Of course it would have been suicidal
to attempt holding the fort against such a
force, but the bravery and coolness of Cap-
tain Helm did not desert him. The English
force came on without interruption or ob-
stacle. When within plain sight and hear-
ing distance of the gate they were greeted
with a loud and stern command to "halt.''
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
63
The gate was open, a cannon was mounted
in the entrance, bearing directly upon the
front of the advancing column, a man stood
ready to apply the match, and beside the gun
stood Captain Helm, whose voice had just
shouted "halt." The rest of the garrison
(so thought the British) were concealed.
Ceneral Hamilton ordered a halt of his col-
umn and, addressing Captain Helm, de-
manded the surrender of the fort. Helm
promptly answered: "No man shall enter
here until I know the terms."
Hamilton, convinced that his men would
receive the contents of the cannon at short
range if they moved, and supposing the dis-
charge would be followed by a determined
sortie from the concealed forces of the gar-
rison, causing considerable loss of life,
offered the honors of war if they would
quietly surrender. Helm agreed to that,
and Hamilton formed his lines to receive
the outmarching garrison with the custom-
ary militry courtesies, when lo! — to the in-
tense astonisment and chagrin of the Brit-
ish commander and his men, out came Cap-
tain Helm and private Henry, marching in
good style down between the lines — two
men. all told — capitulating with the honors
of war to rive hundred ! General Hamilton's
conservative conduct and respect to prin-
ciple hardly deserved the humiliation, but
there had been no deception, and Helm did
the best he could — he surrendered his entire
force !
Here, it may be remarked, had the
settlers and Indians been in sympathy with
the British cause no such surprise would
have been possible, for Hamilton would
have been informed of the actual strength
of the garrison. And in the first place, had
the Indians not been decimated, weak and
disheartened, as before suggested. Clark and
his little company would have been prison-
ers or slaughtered before they reached Kas-
kaskia.
This recapture of Vincennes put Clark
in a perilous dilemma. The line of hostile
domination through the center of Virginia's
new "Illinois County" was certain to he
formidably strengthened by reinforcements
within a few weeks at most. The situation
demanded instant action to recover the post
; or abandonment of the enterprise. Supplies
for the movement, guarded by an important
part of his forces, had to go around by way
of the rivers and were on the way. but the
emergency forbade waiting for the boats.
They must immediately attempt the recov-
ery of the post by the few men left march-
ing across the country from Kaskaskia. The
I whole intervening country was flooded. In
the valleys of the Great and Little Wabash
rivers it was deeply flooded; boats could not
be used for transporting men or provisions
before reaching these deeply-flooded dis-
tricts, and there were no means for trans-
ferring them overland. The little army
must wade through those winter floods by
the shortest route, without prospect of sup-
plies, shelter or rest, except in the speedy re-
capture of the post. But Clark was indom-
itable; his men were of similar spirit. Then
followed that almost hopeless undertaking,
that march of floundering and plunging
through the chilling waters in February,
1770,, often immersed to their throats, weak
and exhausted ones held up and helped
along by the stronger while on their way to
attack and capture a well-garrisoned Brit-
ish fort in order to save and secure to their
country the wide and fertile region that was
to become its chief glory. They might not
6 4
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
have foreseen the magnificent development
of after times, but they did see and feel that
the perilous undertaking was in their coun-
try's cause, and for the sake of freedom
the}- succeeded. The imperial "northwest"
became Virginia's. Her title she afterward
transferred to the Union by act of cession,
and the territory was organized with condi-
tions that will forever illuminate the upward
course of progress with a benignant glory
akin to that which once o'er Bethlehem di-
vinely shone. "Honor to whom honor is
due." The spirit that sustained those
drenched forms, the inspiration burned in
the souls of the humble heroes of that march
and conquest were vital influences in the des-
tiny of the empire they won and saved for
Freedom. The Ordinance of 1787, the
basis of the constitution of all the states sub-
sequently carved out of the great northwest,
besides prohibiting slavery provided for
popular education by liberal donations of
public lands for the maintenance of common
schools. Freedom and education stepped
hand in hand to the front, and the great
work of settlement and ' civilization com-
menced, in the face of formidable difficulties
and dangers. Great Britain relinquished her
title, but the savage owners and occupants
of the soil remained, and neither the fears
nor the policies of Pontiac were forgotten.
AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
At the close of the Revolution and for
many years afterward no particular locali-
ties, no minor divisions, were contemplated
in discussions or acts concerning the North-
west Territory. It was viewed as a vast
unit. And even after Indiana Territory was
separately organized the northern parts were
not identified bv reference to subdivisions.
such as counties, townships, etc. There
were no organized and separately identified
localities north of Fort Wayne, nor were
there any localities identified by name south
of Detroit and the route through to the site
of the present Chicago, except 'an occasional
Indian village or French mission. Hence
the impossibility, now when all contempo-
raries are dead, of determining whether an
event that might be historical in a general
I way occurred within the present limits of
Noble county or not.
THE NOBLE COUNTY INDIANS.
The Indians inhabiting northwestern In-
diana, especially the Noble county district,
at the time of the first settlement by white
people and long before, were of the Algon-
quin stock and the Pottawatomie nations.
Individuals of other tribes undoubtedly were
j among them — Ottawas, Shawnees, Miamis,
etc. The Miamis were naturally more
numerous than any other people besides the
I Pottawatomies, for the Miamis were the
I aboriginal possessors of the country and had
permanent possession of the regions south,
at Fort Wayne, in the Whitley and southern
Kosciusko territory. On the question of
1 aboriginal ownership,
GENERAL W. H. HARRISON S REPORT
To the War Department, in 1814, says:
"The Miamis are the undoubted proprietors
of that beautiful country which is watered
by the Wabash and its branches, and there
is little doubt that their claims extend as
far east as the Scioto. They have no tradi-
tion of removing" from any other part of the
country; whereas all the neighboring tribes
— the Piaukeshaws excepted, who are a
branch of the Miamis — are either intruders
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
65
upon them or have been permitted to settle
in their country. The Wyandots emi-
grated first from Lake Ontario, and subse-
quently from Lake Huron, the Delawares
from Pennsylvania and Maryland, the
Shawnees from Georgia, the Kickapoos and
Pottawatomies from the country between
Lake .Michigan and the Mississippi, the Ot-
tawas and Chippewas from the peninsula
formed by lakes Michigan, Huron and St.
Clair and the strait connecting the latter
with Lake Erie.
"The claims of the Miamis were
bounded on the north and west by those of
the Illinois confederacy, consisting originally
of five tribes, called the Kaskaskias, Caho-
kias, Peorians, Michiganies and Temorias,
all speaking the Miami language, and were,
no doubt, branches of that nation. When I
was first appointed governor of Indiana Ter-
ritory ( 1800) these once powerful tribes
were reduced to about thirty warriors, of
whom twenty-five were Kaskaskias, four
Peorians and a single Michiganian. There
was an individual lately at St. Louis who
was an enumerator of the five tribes, which
was made by the Jesuits in 1745, making the
number of their warriors four thousand."
From four thousand to thirty in fifty-five
years? The Cahokies and Tamorias anni-
hilated, and of the Michiganian warriors
only one left. Such terrible destruction im-
plied some awful catastrophes: and such
there had been;
MAJOR FORSVTIl's STATEMENT.
Major Thomas Forsyth, who resided
for nearly twenty years among the
Sacs and Foxes, is quoted in Drake's
history as follows: "Mure than a cen-
tury ago (he was speaking in 1836)
all the country from above Rock river
down the .Mississippi to the mouth of
I the Ohio, up the Ohio to the W&bash, up 'the
Wabash to Fort Wayne, down the Maumee
and thence to the St. Joseph and Chicago,
also the country south of the Des Moines
and north of the Missouri, was inhabited by
a numerous nation of Indians who were
called 'Minnewas,' divided into several
I bands, inhabiting different parts of this ex-
i tensive region — Michiganies, Cahokias, Kas-
I kaskias, Tamarios, Piankeshaws, Weas,
Miamis and Mascoutins. All spoke the lan-
guage of the Miamis. These tribes of the
Minnewa nation were invaded by the Sacs
and Foxes, the Sioux, the Chippewas, Ot-
tawas and Pottawatomies (from the lakes),
and the Cherokees and Choctaw s. The war
continued many years, and the great nation
of the Minnewas destroyed, except the
Miamis and the Weas, of whom a few were
left — of the Miamis the most."
The Miamis constituted the parent stock.
And as General Harrison found no tradition
of their having migrated from any other
part of the continent, it is probable that they
were aborigines. The other tribes men-
tioned by Major Forsyth in Illinois and
spreading over into the country south of the
Des Moines, all of whom spoke the language
of the Miamis. were branches of the latter,
and altogether constituted the Minnewa na-
tion, inhabiting the whole broad and beauti-
ful region from the Scioto river to the Mis-
sissippi and from the south end of Lake
Michigan to the Ohio.
In 1745 the Illinois and Iowa tribes had
been driven by the northern and southern in-
vasion away from the Mississippi and to-
ward the east, toward the central position of
66
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the parents stuck — the Miamis. They had
formed a confederacy for mutual defense
against the invaders. The Mascoutins of
the prairies had heen entirely broken up as
a distinct tribe, and the Illinois confederacy
was formed of five tribes. The Michiganies
and Temorias had been forced into the
northern Indiana districts and occupied the
northern parts of the Miami possessions,
the Peorias, Cahokias and Kaskaskias had
been driven eastward, and thus the chain of
the Illinois confederacy, reaching from be-
low Vincennes along eastern Illinois and
around through northern Indiana. constituted
the situation described by General Harrison
in saying that "the claims of the Miamis
were bounded on the north and west by those
of the Illinois confederacy, consisting orig-
inally of five tribes.'" This referred to 1745
•or earlier, at which time the confederacy
could muster four thousand warriors.
But the terrible war of invasion went on.
The fierce hordes of the north coveted the
more genial climate and the better hunting
grounds of the southward regions. Slaugh-
ter and dispossession continued until the Illi-
nois confederated tribes were virtually anni-
hilated. The Sacs and Foxes had usurped
northern Illinois, the Cahokias and Temor-
ias had been destroyed or scattered, the Pe-
orias reduced to four warriors, the Kaskas-
kias to twenty-five, the Michiganies had but
one warrior, the Miamis were decimated
and demoralized and the Pottawatomie in-
vaders took possession of the northern and
western parts of the Miami country, includ-
ing Noble county. The possessions of the
Sioux were greatly extended southward by
the invasion, the Sacs and Foxes extended
their territory, the Chippewas were relieved
from the pressure of surplus population —
the Kickapoos, Pottawatomies and Ottawas.
Immense advantages were gained by the in-
vaders, all around, but the gain was the
blood-stained fruit of trespass, rapine and
massacre.
And this was how the Pottawatomies
came to lie occupants, claiming to be owners
of the Elkhart, St. Joseph and Kankakee
valleys. Their title was that of deliberate
invasion and conquest, possibly afterward
confirmed under compulsion by the native
Miamis. The Pottawatomies also claimed
large tracts of territory southwest. New-
man's cyclopedic "America" tells of terrible
slaughter of the Piankeshaws by the Potta-
watomies in 1801. This, undoubtedly, was
in pursuance of a policy of armed conquest,
which seems to have been as natural to the
savage nations of North America as to the
civilized ( ?) nations of Europe.
The situation with respect to the Indians
at the organization of the Northwest Terri-
tory, so far as the western Ohio and the In-
diana regions were concerned, was generally
the same as when Pontiac retired. During
the Revolutionary war such distant regions
received but little attention. What trans-
pired among the western Indians was un-
known. Rumors of savage internecine strife
in the vast forests and on the great prairies
of the distant interior were unheeded. The
tragedy of the overthrow and extinction of
an Indian nation would not arrest general
attention among people who were themselves
fighting to the death for rights which were
ancestral for generations. The great north-
ern irruption into Illinois and Indiana, and
the conquest of a country so far away by
one set of barbarians from another, even if
known, was not recognized as affecting the
interests of the eastern colonies.
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
THE MIAMI CONFEDERACY.
The dreaded Iroquois, instigated 1>\ mo-
tives of revenge and ambition and some-
times as agents of white cupidity, made fre-
quent incursions and inflicted severe injur-
ies upon the Algonquins, and in Indiana a
loose confederacy had been formed for de-
fense. Parties to it were the Miamis, Potta-
watomies, Ottawas, Delawares, Wyandots,
Weas, Piankeshaws and Shawnees, with
some still recognized fragments of other
tribes. This confederacy bad the name of
the central and native tribe, and was called
the Miami confederacy. It was not a sys-
tematic union, like that of the Iroquois, and
did not prevent internal strife. After their
submission to the British, in 1766. they were
quiet until the war of the Revolution, except
as among themselves. In the border war-
fare in Ohio and Pennsylvania the Shaw-
nees, Delawares, Pottawatomies and Ot-
tawas, in parties, took active part against
the colonial settlers. They were included in
the catalogue of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence as "the merciless Indian savage"
whom the king let loose upon the frontier
settlements. In such raids the Shawnees
were most active, the Ottawas and Potta-
Avatomies next. At the defeat of General
Harmar's force, in 1790, it is probable that
most of the tribes mentioned were repre-
sented somewhat numerously. This defeat
of the American militia and regulars was
more disastrous than was apparent in the
immediate material loss. It encouraged the
Indians, and there were not wanting the art-
ful suggestions of the British agents and
commandants of forts. They pointed out
the weakness of the new power as compared
with that of the British government, saying
in substance to the chiefs: "You see the
difference. When you were all united and
led by the great Pontiac seventeen years ago
you tailed to drive us nut. You were com-
pelled to submit and bury the hatchet. It
was because you were wrong. This country
is rightfully under the guardianship of our
king; not to take it away from your fam-
ilies and tribes, but to superintend and see
that right and justice is done among you;
to protect the weak against the strong; to
maintain peace and order among you and
help you to become prosperous, so that in
our dealings your prosperity sin mid result
in mutual benefit to you and to the king.
But these rebels, who have turned against
their king, want to rob you of your lands
and bouses and drive you out. You have
seen that because you resented their tres-
passes they sent an army t< ■ destroj you.
Did they succeed? No; you defeated Har-
mar's men. They were weak because they
were wrong. You were strong and brave lie-
cause you were right. Why do they not
drive us out of our forts if the country is
right full_\- theirs? You see they do not.
1 tiey dare not. They are a uiscious that they
have not fulfilled the treaty which their king
made with them. They are trying to get
these lands without doing as they agreed.
But they are too weak, and dishonesty
makes them cowards."
A fruitful source of evil inspiration for
the savages was Fort .Miami, on the Mau-
mee. still held by the British. Colonel Mc-
Kee, the superintendent, was especially in-
dustrious in fanning the flame of hostility.
Seven years bad passed since the treaty of
peace was signed, by the terms of which
Great Britain relinquished her claims to all
this territory. Yet she continued to bold
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
these posts and refused to surrender on
trivial pretexts, and the evil influence of her
agents inspired the savages to hostility, and
all the while impressment of seamen from
American vessels went on. The king, au-
thorized by parliament, had formally ac-
knowledged the independence of the United
States, but with bullying insolence Great
Britain continued to violate the plainest rules
of international courtesy and right. The
frontier settlements suffered greatly from
the effects. Indian troubles increased.)
st. clair's defeat. 1791.
The next year, 1791, General Arthur St.
Clair, having succeeded Harmar in the com-
mand of the western forces, marched against
the Indians with twenty-three hundred men.
The surprise, defeat and massacre of this
army by the Indians under Little Turtle,
near the Wabash river, November 4, 1791 ,
made matters worse and extinguished the
hope of peace. The black shadow of dis-
aster overhung the prospect of settlement
and progress. In August, 1793, peace com-
missioners failed to secure a treaty with the
Indians. The tribes, flushed with victory,
became arrogant, and demanded the retire-
ment of the whites beyond the Ohio river.
The British agents advised the Indians to
make peace but not to give up their lands.
CAMPAIGN OF GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE,
I793-96.
In the meantime General Anthony
Wayne had been appointed to command the
army of the west, and knowing that the de-
feats of Harmar and St. Clair were owing,
in part if not mainly, to want of discipline
and equipment, he had been preparing in
these respects. Impetuous in action as "Mad
Anthony" was said to be, he recognized the
importance of the emergency and the calam-
ity of another failure. With a force of two
thousand men he advanced into the heart
of the Indian country, and on the 20th of
August, 1794, encountered a large force of
Indian warriors and Canadian auxiliaries
on the Maumee river, almost within cannon
snot of the British fortified post, Miami.
This hostile force was commanded by the
noted Indian chief, Little Turtle, a Miami.
A sanguinary battle took place and the In-
dians and Canadians were completely
routed with fearful losses. The American
loss was one hundred and thirty-nine, killed
and wounded. The defeat was overwhelm-
ing, and broke the spirit and power of the
savage. They never recovered from the
blow.
General Wayne and his men spent some
days in the vicinity of the fort, which
mounted fourteen cannon and was garri-
soned by two hundred British regulars and
two hundred and fifty Canadian militia.
The cornfields, wigwams and other property
of the Indians for many miles up and down
the river and over the adjacent country were
destroyed. Colonel McKee, the British
agent, lost heavily in the destruction. Prop-
erty was destroyed under the guns and with-
J in pistol-shot of the fort. The command
sent an angry and insolent message to
Wayne, demanding the reason for his out-
rageous proceedings. He received a sharp
answer, with the addition that his cannon
and fort had not been considered any ob-
stacle to the just punishment of the savages
and their abetors; that even had they been
interposed in action to protect the Indians-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
69
it would have been no material obstacle. He
would have surmounted it without pausing.
It is probable that the formal peace between
Great Britain and the United States saved
Miami on the Maumee from the fate of
Stony Point on the Hudson.
THE TREATY OF GREEXYILLE. •
The history is too familiar to require
formal statement that General Wayne left
a strong" force at the confluence of the Mau-
mee and Auglaize rivers and another at
Kekionga ( Fort Wayne ) before proceeding
to Greenville, Ohio, eighty miles southwest
of Fort Wayne. At Greenville he sent mes-
sengers to the Indian tribes concerned, in-
viting them to a council there, to treat for
peace. The Indians hesitated, until their
British advisers were compelled to admit
that the king had solemnly agreed to evacu-
ate the territory and that all the garrisons,
troops and agents must soon pack up and
leave. In fact, the Indians had wondered
at the failure of the garrison at Miami t< ■
interpose and assist in beating back Wayne's
army. Now a great light broke over their
minds, showing the British agents as selfish
liars and General Wayne as the rightful mas-
ter of the situation — the representative of
the real rulers of the country. It was a sad
situation for them; but it was now clear that
the only way to make the best of it was to
treat with General Wayne. They accord-
ingly responded in numbers large enough to
fully represent all the tribes interested.
( )n the [6th day O'f June, [795, the great
council assembled at ( ireenville. Present
and participating: The Chippewas, Otta-
was,. Pottawatomies. Wyandots, Delawares,
Shawnees, Miamis, Weas and Kickapoos,
altogether over eleven hundred strong.
After two months of discussion, in which the
Indian leaders proved themselves to be
shrewd diplomats and able orators, the
council closed in a treat}- confirming
that of Fort Harmar, in 1789, by
which nearly all northern Ohio was made
an Indian reservation, and the cession
of several additional posts, including a
tract six miles square at Fort Wayne
and one of six miles square at Old Wea
Town, on the Wabash (^Oniatenon). The
entire treaty was unanimously agreed to by
all, and was then and there signed by chosen
signers on behalf of the Indians then present
in person or specially represented.
General Wayne thus secured concessions
of the greatest importance and laid the foun-
dations of an enduring peace, in the sunshine
of which full tides of immigration set in
from the east; the recesses of the forests be-
gan to echo the sturdy strokes of pioneer
labor and the chorus of advancing civiliza-
tion. Many years were yet to elapse before
these streams of immigration would reach
northern Indiana. The immense reserva-
tion of northern Ohio deflected them to the
southern sections of that part of the terri-
torv, and all Indiana remained Indian terri-
tory except a few small tracts for posts and
forts and the "grant" to Clark and his men
at the falls of the Ohio. But the faint, far-
away murmurs of progress had begun to
whisper through the forests even before the
beginning of the century. They were heard
in the subdued voices of returned hunters
and braves, telling what the)- had seen in
the far southeasterly territory, the opposi-
tion of the advancing tide of immigration
foreshadowing the red man's doom.
7o
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
GENERAL HARRISON S TREATIES.
After the treaty of Greenville the general
attitude of the Indians toward the whites
was peaceful. It may be said with truth that
the occasional troubles were charged as
much to the rapacity of white men as to the
savagery of the Indians. There were then,
as now, men in whom the instincts of wolves
and vultures were dominant. They swin-
dled, bullied and trespassed upon the In-
dians. They hypnotized them with cheap
whisky and obtained outrageous advantages
worse than robbery, and when, under the re-
sumed sway of reason, the defrauded sav-
ages sought redress, they quieted title by
killing them under color of self-defense and
extended the fraud and injury by throwing
upon the whole race the odium of irredeem-
able treachery and murderous hostility.
Governor Harrison attested to these evil
influences in his official papers, but it was
next to impossible, in the thinly occupied
condition of the territory, to establish ade-
quate police supervision throughout all sec-
tions. Even where the machinery of the
law was in operation it was difficult for local
juries and magistrates to see through their
prejudices the essential truth of causes in-
volving conflicting claims of' white men and
Indians. The sinister shadow of fate pur-
sued the foredoomed red man. Xo treaty of
peace could efface the brand of Cain from
the reputation of the Indians. Thev must
be "driven into the wilderness" of banish-
ment. Governor Harrison was instructed to
effect the extinction of Indian titles of lands
as rapidly as possible ; accordingly he ob-
tained in a comparatively short time the fol-
lowing cessions :
In September, 1802, the Miamis, Potta-
watomies, Eel River, Piankeshaw, Wea,
Kaskaskia and Kickapoo tribes, through the
Miami chiefs, Little Turtle and Richard-
ville, and the Pottawatomie chiefs, Wina-
mac and Topinepic, elected for that purpose,
negotiated with Governor Harrison a
treaty by which lands in the vicinity of Vin-
cennes were ceded to the United States. At
Fort Wayne, June 7, 1803, from chiefs and
head men of the Delaware, Shawnee, Potta-
watomie, Eel River, Kickapoo, Piankeshaw
and Kaskaskia tribes, one million acres.
At Yincennes, August 13, 1803, from the
Kaskaskias about eight million acres on the
Mississippi and Illinois rivers*. At Vin-
cennes, August 18, 1804. from the Dela-
wares their claims to the lands between the
Wabash and Ohio rivers south of the road
from Vincennes to the Ohio river. August
17, 1804, the Piankeshaws relinquished
their claims to the same lands. By reference
to the map of Indiana it will be seen that this
relinquishment included nine counties — ■
Pike, Gibson, Posey, Vanderburg, Warrick,
Spencer, Perry, Harrison, Crawford and
parts of Dubois, Knox, Orange and Floyd,
as now marked, containing about 2,167,200
acres. At St. Louis, November 3, 1804,
i from several chiefs of the Sacs and Foxes,
a vast tract, principally on the east side of
the Mississippi, between the Illinois and
Wisconsin rivers. This included the Sac
village at Rock Island. The celebrated chief
Blackhawk disputed the right of the chief
to cede this territory, and the agitation of
the question led to the Blackhawk war of
1832. At Groveland, near Vincennes. Au-
gust 21, 1805, from chiefs and warriors of
the Delaware, Pottawatomie, Miami, Eel
River and Wea tribes, their territory lying
southeast of a line commencing at a point
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
fifty-seven miles due east from Vincennes
and running northeasterly to' a point on the
boundary of Ohio fifty miles north of the
Ohio, opposite the mouth of the Kentucky
river. This included the territory of the
present counties of Washington, Scott, Jef-
ferson, Jennings, Ripley, Dearborn, Ohio
and Switzerland and parts of Orange Jack-
son, Clark and Franklin — about 1,500,000
acres, — six times as much as Noble county.
December 30, 1805, at Vincennes, from chiefs
of the Piankeshaw tribe two million acres
west of the Wabash river. September 30.
1809, at Fort Wayne, chiefs of the Delaware.
Eel River, Pottawatomie and Miamia tribes,
2,900,000 acres, mostly on the southeast-
ern side of the Wabash below Raccoon
creek. October 30 the chiefs of the Weas
formally acknowledged the validity of said
cession; the sachems and chiefs of the Kick-
apoos confirmed it in December, 1809, and
also ceded an additional tract of their own
of 1 13,000 acres.
Thus, in less than nine years, through
Governor Harrison's treaties, the Indian
titles to about thirty million acres were ex-
tinguished. About ten million acres of this
was east and south of the Wabash, in In-
diana. Thus far the lands occupied by the
Pottawatomies, Miamis and other Indians
seem to have remained unceded, recognized
as Indian lands without dispute. Northern
Indiana, at least the region of which the ter-
ritory of Noble was the central part, was cov-
ered by unextinguished Indian titles. The
Noble county district was so situated as to
be among the last to receive attention from
the government in the way of opening it for
settlement. Some of the reasons have been
mentioned and others will readily suggest
themselves. The Miamis were the original
proprietors. With their kindred and subor-
dinate tribes they had occupied large do-
mains east and south and west, from which,
by treaties already established they had been
pushed or moved, and were crowded around
their ancient capital, Kekionga. The de-
mands of the earlier pioneers of civilization
in the closing years of the eighteenth and
first decade of the nineteenth century were
satisfied by the millions of acres south and
east of the Wabash, and a long time must
elapse before the suspended invasion should
so revive as to demand the disturbance of
the .Miamis and their expulsion from their
resting place on their native soil — the last.
For all the empire northwest, from township
32 north to the site of Chicago and includ-
ing the valleys of the St. Joseph in Michigan
(once theirs), was already in possession of
the alien Pottawatomies. whose title was the
invaders' title — wanton conquest.
The exact dates of the treaties by which
the final extinction of the Indian titles of the
Miamis and Pottawatomies was effected are
somewhat uncertain. A treat}- was made
with the Pottawatomies at St. Joseph's Mis-
sion, near South Bend, September 28, [828,
by which the United States granted in sev-
eralty to Kich-wa-qua, Indian wife of (tie
Pierre Navarre, a section of land, to one
Pierre LeClere a section adjoining Kich-wa-
qua' S on the west. These were sections jo
and 21, in the territory of Perry township.
It would seem that up to that time the Potta-
watomies had not relinquished their claims
to Noble county territory: and further, that
they ceded their Noble county lands, reserv-
ing to the tribe the six miles square in Noble
and Kosciusko counties, with a stipulation
for these grants to Kich-wa-qua ami Le-
Clere. What the particular reas> in fi r chi « is-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
ing these sections for the grant in severalty
were, is probably now unknown to any living-
person, so far as ascertained. Contemporary
local knowledge probably died with Isaac
Tibbott and David P. Bourei, the last living-
persons who were here as early as 1828, who
were old enough to take cognizance of the
interests and relations that led to the choice.
The suggestion occurs that perhaps these
persons were already, by tribal action, the
owners of these sections in severalty. If so,
it was natural that they should be excepted
in the sale to the United States and the title
quieted by special grant. Prospective buyers
would prefer it so.
Another question arises in connection
with the treaty of 1828: Was it the one
in which the Sparta township ( Indian vil-
lage) reservation was made? And was it
the one in which a condition was made that
the government should build a brick house
for "Flat Belly," the Indian chief, for use as
a council house? Every unchallenged prob-
ability would point to that conclusion, were
it not that there was a saying- of Joel Bristol,
the first settler (1827), that there was no
house or ruin of a house when he settled
twelve miles east of that site. If built in
1829 or 1830, under the treaty, of course,
it would not have been there in 1827; but
his statement, if be made it, has been taken
to include the denial of the existence of such
a bouse while be was here. The tradition
is that the chief bad occupied the house but
a short time (how long is not stated) before
if was wrecked by a terrible tornado, or wind
storm, and was never rebuilt. All that is
possible, consistent with the further possi-
bility that the house was erected and de-
stroyed and that Bristol never saw it.
The Flat Bellv house was unquestionablv the
first brick house in the Noble county district.
The writer has a whole brick, which he
found in 1895, buried in the soil on the site
of the old Indian palace.
THE FIRST SETTLERS, APRIL 4, 1827.
The first family of real settlers in the
territory afterward organized as Noble coun-
ty was that of Joel Bristol, consisting of
himself and wife, Susan, and six nephews
and nieces, orphan children of Mrs. Tibbott,
a widowed sister of Mrs. Bristol, who had
died a short time before at Fort Wayne.
The father of the Tibbott children had died
in Marion county Ohio, according to the
statement of Isaac Tibbott, one of the or-
phans, who said his father died when he
( Isaac) was four years old, in 1814. These
facts and dates I find in a sketch of Isaac
Tibbott by the late Nelson Prentiss, founded
upon an interview in 1873, in which the
author, Mr. Prentiss, obtained from Tibbott
his recollections of Noble county pioneer his-
tory — published in the New Era, under the
title: "Isaac Tibbott's Narrative." The
father's Christian name was not given, nor
the place of his nativity, nor the time of im-
migration to Marion county, where Isaac
was born — in 1810, he says — and that bis fa-
ther's death occurred when he was f< >ur years
old, which makes the time of the parent's
death 1814. No month or day given. The
widow and children, it would seem from the
narrative, lived for a time at Defiance, Ohio,
and finally came to Fort Wayne, when, it is
not stated. The widow Tibbott died in Fort
Wavne, leaving- her orphan children with
her sister, Mrs. Bristol, probably under the
care of her elder sons — about twenty-one
and nineteen years old, respectively, and
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
73
Isaac, about seventeen. The other orphans
were three girls, the age of the youngest
being" stated as three years. Whether the
sister of the widow was married to Bristol
before the widow died or immediately after
is not stated. The narrative subsequently
says: "He (Joel Bristol) married my
mother's sister -and removed to the Noble
county district with the children." The
Bristol family, as above indicated, removed
from Fort Wayne by way of the Indian trail,
known as the Fort Wayne and Goshen road,
and settled on the east half of the southeast
quarter of section J3. congressional town-
ship 33, north of range 9 east ; by subsequent
subdivision and organization, in Noble town-
ship, Noble count}-, Indiana. The date of
the settlement was April 4, 1827. at which
time the territory including it was under the
jurisdiction of Allen county — Fort Wayne,
county seat. The location is now identified
as two miles north of the Whitley county
line, and one mile west of the present Green
township line; half a mile northeast trim
the village of Noblesville. A brick church
(Christian chapel) and a school-house are
nearly directly north, across the road. At
the time of the settlement the inhabitants
were Indian savages, of the Pottawatomie
tribe, whose capital ( Indian village) was on
Turkey creek, eleven miles westward and
north. They had occasional temporary en-
campments in the near vicinity, on the lakes,
•with which the county abounded, and visit-
ing or sojourning savage guests — the Mi-
ami, Ottawa, Huron, Delaware and Shaw-
nee tribes. Bristol erected a large cabin on
south side of the Goshen road and made
it a house of entertainment, a road-house or
tavern, where immigrants going further
■west, or traders or travelers, could find tem-
porary rest and refreshments and if neces-
sary, lodging for teams and families. The
place was about twenty-five miles northwest
from Fort Wayne, and about the same dis-
tance southeast of Elkhart Prairie and ad-
jacent neighborhoods in Elkhart county, to-
ward which beautiful and fertile country the
tide of settlers was strongly tending from
1825 to 1830. Bristol's was the "half-way"
house. For more than four years there was
no other white man's dwelling between it
and the prairie, twenty-five miles distant,
northwest. Southwest, to Fort Wayne,
there was a solitary cabin, six miles distant
from Bristol's. Of the life, environments
and incidents of the five years, from April,
1827, to April, 1831, there is no recorded
local history and but few and faint tradi-
tions.
Yet occasionally the thickening mists of
seventy years are pierced by flashes of tradi-
tion, and we can catch mental views of the
Bristol cabin, its occupants and their en-
vironments during 1 827-8-9-30-3 1. The
surface of the county was undulating, and
generally described as "burr-oak openings."
While the groves of majestic trees remained,
their outlines showed a "rise" in the ground,
conspicuous above the lands north and south.
and over which passes the Goshen mad. It
was for many years afterward known as
"Rowdy Ridge." On this ridge stood Bris-
tol's road-house, on what now appears as
a level plateau. This ridge is said to have
been named from the doings of Bristol's
early times. Across the road, where now
stands the chapel, there was an oak grove,
through the branches of which, in the valley
north, gleamed the waters of Bristol's (now-
called River's) lake, distant about a mile.
Another pretty little lake lay east, in Green
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
t( i\\ nship. about the same distance. The gen-
tle undulations, dotted with groves ; the little
vales, carpeted with green ; the lakes shin-
ing in the distance, and often bearing light
canoes with dusky forms — altogether made
a charming landscape, through which wound
the old historic road, trodden by iron hoofs
and measured steps of armed men in the
older days, when squadrons of horse and
infantry companies moved at command of
Wayne or Harrison against the villages of
the Indians on the Elkhart river.
An immigrant family, starting from Fort
Wayne in the early morning, could reach
Bristol's before sunset. Stopping there for
rest and refreshments for tired children and
weary women, the covered wagon would be
drawn into the grove across the road, some-
times into the grove west of the house, on
the south side of the road, and preparations
made for passing the night. This south
grove, however, became a resort for bac-
chanals and gamblers, witli whom Bristol
was a leading spirit, and big carousals were
held in fair weather; a cask of whisky, with
an occasional flask of French brandy, fur-
nishing the zest of the revels. There were
i ccasions were scenes at Bristol's were both
picturesque and dramatic. Groups of sav-
ages standing silently observant, or chatter-
ing and gesticulating around the host or
some traveling fur-buyer; squaws squatting
in front of the bark tent of a temporary
camp; papooses sporting in the grove; pio-
neers' wagons standing in the groves under
leafy canopies, crimsoning the sunset rays:
tired women with pallid babies, gazing from
the wagons with sad faces and wistful eyes
toward the bower in the cherry-tree grove,
where husbands and fathers were participat-
ing in bacchanalian revel, possibly risking
their little hoards of coin at cards, while
angry shouts and curses and ugly menaces
issued from the thicket, and reeling savages,
with maudlin whoops and random gunshots,
attested the anarchic reign of the fiend of
firewater ; the female inmates of the cabin
grouped outside with distressed faces and
evident anxiety — all was confusing and ter-
rifying to the half-sick women and children
in the wagons. "What was the night to be?
What the morrow ? What the future of
their wilderness life?"
The fact seems to be well attested that
John Knight, who settled with his family in
the York township territory, section 29,
township 34. north of range 9 east, was
first after the Bristols and Tibbotts. The
marriage of his daughter Eunice and Sam-
uel Tibbott was the first in this district.
That of Lewis Murphy and Jane Tibbott
(Isaac's sister) was the second, eight months
afterward. There is no account, beyond
mere mention, of the second sister, nor of the
brother William.
Samuel Tibbott entered land August,
1832. in what is now Elkhart township, the
northwest quarter of the southeast quarter
of section 20. township 3$, north of range
9, east. He erected a cabin, lived there for
some time and then went further west. In
March, 1833. Lewis Murphy. Jane Tibbott's
husband, entered eighty acres, the west half
of the southeast quarter of section 23, town-
ship 33. north of range 9, east, adjoining
Bristol's on the west. He afterward en-
tered two eighties in section 22, same town-
ship, Noble, and resided there or in that
vicinity for several years, at least until 1836.
He was the victim of an assault and bat-
tery, out of which grew a trial before James
Knowles, justice of peace, on the 27th of
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
October. 1836. Thomas Sheparcl was the
complaining witness. Murphy, the beaten
man, not complaining, and so far as appears
not being at the trial ; Joseph Galloway was
the defendant. In response to the warrant
he went before 'Squire KnoAvles, owned up
that be assaulted and battered Murphy with-
out legal justification, and was fined cue
dollar and costs. This was more than seven
months after tbe act was committed, which
was on the 19th day of March. 1836, at the
house of Andrew Stewart. The particular
origin of tbe trouble does not appear, but
from the dates and Murphy's failure to com-
plain it might be inferred that tbe real ani-
mus of Shepard's ( complaining witness )
revival of the matter was some subsequent
difficult)- between Sbepard and Galloway,
for which Sbepard was bitting Galloway
over Murphy's shoulder.
MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE.
In Isaac Tibbott's "Narrative" to Nel-
son Prentiss, in 1872, he strongly implies
that life at Bristol's, from 1827 to 1X31. was
varied by many exciting and some "thrill-
ing" events, but does not give the events
nor their nature, except the incident of theft
!of his china pig by an Indian, and his threat
to shoot every member of the Indian's famil- v
if such offense occurred again. Neverthe-
less, from the silence that broods over those
years there have now and then escaped into
the realm of tradition stories that confirm
the impression created by Mr. Tibln tt's
"thrilling" intimation. I take space enough
to give the outline of one that has survived
in the memory of one individual, who re-
ceived it in a confidential way from a con-
temporary witness: In the autumn of the
year 1828, a well-mounted traveler came
leisurely along the trail, noting the features
of the landscape and apparently enjoying
the scene. He had stopped his horse, and
was observing the sports of some Pottawato-
mie children around a tent, eighty rods east
of Bristol's, when one of the "hands" em-
ployed by Bristol emerged from a thicket
south of the road, carrying an ax and a
lunch pail. He had been chopping fire-wood,
and was returning to the cabin from a "piece
of choice woods" on an entered tract. The
traveler accosted him. inquired about the
Bristol house and rode leisurely along by
1 his side, chatting on subjects appropriate to
the time; and observing that it was late in
the afternoon expressed a determination t<>
stop "over night" at the tavern. He was
unusually well dressed, though in the fashion
of hunters, fur traders and land buyers of
the time, had a good horse, and apparently
well filled leather saddle-bag strapped be-
hind the saddle. He was under middle age,
had a frank, open countenance, and was af-
fable and talkative. Everything about him
and his furnishings indicated prosperity and
a cheerful, optimistic outlook upon life, un-
darkened by acquaintance with its evil
phases. In a camp of the worst sort of cow-
boys or gold-seekers, or the rough resi rts - 1
cities, he would have been called a "tender-
i'i 1 t" or greenhorn, according to the style
of the associations into which he was intro-
duced, and undoubtedly some such estimate
was made by several other "guests" of a
certain character, who had arrived before
him. Probably the landlord himself formed
tbe same opinion and was gratified. It some-
how happened on that evening, in an adja-
cent grove, where Bristol bad a "bower" or
tent, a party of the other guests mentioned
76
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
had assembled, with Landlord Bristol, and
soon a full-fledged carousal was in progress.
Liquor flowed freely, ribald songs rose
through the trees at intervals, and games
at cards with high betting was going on.
From an Indian camp near by several sav-
ages were allured by the fascinations of
whiskey and gambling, for both of which
the red men had an irresistible penchant. The
scene attracted our young traveler, and it
was not long before he had accepted and im-
bibed copious draughts of "mixed" liquors
and was eagerly participating in the gam-
bling. Instead of departing early the next
morning, as he had intended, he remained
several days, freely spending money, with
which he seemed to be well supplied, and in-
dulging in drink and gambling without
stint. One of the other guests also kindly
stayed and "looked after" the reckless young
man. with the landlord.
The fourth evening after his arrival, at
twilight he went forth alone upon the dark-
ening trail, hatless and coatless, without
horse or saddlebags. He was seen to swerve
from the trail and stagger into the shadows
of the forest and was never seen again. So
far as the contemporary relator knew, he
then and there disappeared entirely. He
had staked and lost everything — money,
horse, coat and hat. The supposed winners
were adventurers, whose residences were
•unknown to the person who confided the
facts to an intimate friend many years after-
ward. The natural questions. "Did he ever
get out of the woods alive ?" If not, "now did
all traces disappear, and by whose agency?"
— have not been answered; almost certainly
they never will be answered on earth. The
probability is that he was missed, searched
for in vain and mourned for as lost, vears
ago; and the mourners are all dead. It
may be stated that the person who- communi-
cated the story, after many years of reti-
cence, was in a position to know all about
the event, and also in a position of enforced
silence at the time. That witness has been
| dead for many years, and the writer, who
got it in person from the one to whom the
witness told it, thinks his informant is dead
also.
That period, during which only one cabin
stood in this territory, and only one settler
and his family existed on the soil, all of
whom have died without leaving any definite
record or tradition, must be dismissed from
consideration in a historical review, except
the few faintly illuminated traditions like
the one just noted, that serve as guides in
forming correct estimates of what the real
history must have been ; feeling sure that its
I influences became fruitful elements of Noble
county's destiny for good or evil, or rather
a mixture of both.
No river of light, both so pure and so bright,
Ever flowed thro' the landscapes of time;
That no shadows bestained, nor motes intervened.
To bedim, and its beauty begrime.
ENTRIES OF LANDS.
Joel Bristol's was among the earliest en-
tries of land in the district now constituting
Noble county, and the first in the township
of Noble, although it was not made until
June II, 1 83 1, more than four years after
he settled. On the same day Levi Perry and
Isaiah Dungan entered lands in what is now
Perry township: but Perry had "settled" be-
fore Dungan, and the prairie where he locat-
ed was named for him "Perry's Prairie."
1 am informed that the township also- took
its name from him, on account of his being
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
its first settler. During the same year, but
later, twelve different settlers made eight-
een entries, namely : Jacob Shobe, Susanna
Hagan, Adam Engle, Jacob Wolf, Henry
Engle, John lies. William Engler, Daniel
Harsh, Joseph Smalley, Henry Hostetter,
Leonard Danner and Henry Miller.
Shobe, Harsh and Smalley made entries
in the same section with Perry and Dungan,
section 33. Three-quarters of this section
were thus taken up by five settlers in the
year 1831. The entire amount of land en-
tered in 1831 in Perry township, by the
fourteen persons above named, was twenty-
two hundred acres, and all except Leonard
Danner's (section 18) was in the southern
third of the township. The History of La-
grange and Noble counties, published by
F. A. Beatty & Company, of Chicago, in
188.2, after giving a tabular list embracing
the same names and entries above given,
adds :
"The foregoing entries embrace all the
land entered in Noble county in 1831, and
amount to twenty-one hundred and twenty
acres; all of said land being in townshhip
35, north of range 8, east."
The above quoted paragraph is incorrect
in several respects. The foregoing entries
do not "embrace all the land entered in Noble
county in 1831 ;*' and twenty-one hundred
and twenty acres is not the correct amount
of land entered in that year. Another state-
ment of that history, that "the first land pur-
chased of the government was in Perry" is
also incorrect, as the following table, care-
fully compiled from the official records, will
show :
1. The first land entered was in Allen,
and not in Perry.
2. All the land entered in 1831 was not
in Perry, and was not embraced in the tab
ular list given.
3. The amount of land entered in 1831,
instead of being only twenty-one hundred
and twenty acres, was twenty-six hundred
and eighty acres, four hundred in Allen,
eighty in Noble, twenty-two hundred in
Perry. Following is the list of lands en-
tered in Noble county in the year 183] :
Allen Township, 34-11.
April 29, James J. Clark, e hf ne qr sec 8, 80 acres.
May 18, Horace Loomis, w hf ne qr and nw qr sec 8,
240 acres.
Dec. 12, Elihu Wadsworth , e hf se qr sec 8, 80 acres.
Noble Township, 33-9.
June 11. Joel Bristol, e hf se qr sec 23, 80 acres.
Perry Township, 35-8.
June 11, Levi Perry, e hf se qr sec 33, 80 acres.
June 11, Isaiah Dungan, e hf nw qr and w hf ne qr sec
XS, 160 acres.
July 29, Jacob Shobe, ne qr sec 31, 160 acres.
July 29, Jacob Shobe, w hf nw qr sec 33, .SO acres.
July 20, Jacob Shobe, w hf nw qr sec :J2, SO acres.
Aug. 2, Susanna Hagan, w hf nw qr sec :i4, 80 acres.
Aug. 12, Adam Engler, se qr and sw qr sec 28, 260 a.
Aug. 20, Adam Engler, e hf sw qr sec 27, 80 acres.
Aug. 20, Jacob Wolf, ne qr sec 28, 160 acres.
Au-. 20. Henry Engler, w hf sw qr sec 27, 80 acres.
Aug. 20, John lies, e hf nw qr sec 28, 80 acres.
Aug. 20. William Engler, e hf ne qr sec .'14, 80 acres.
Aug. 22, Daniel Harsh, w hf se qr sec 33, 80 acres.
Sept, 13, Joseph Smalley, sw qrsec 28, Kill acres.
Sept. 14, Joseph Smalley, ne qr sec .'52. 160 acres.
Sept. 14, Joseph Smalley, e hf nw qr sec .'!.'! 80 acres.
Sept. 14, Joseph Smalley, w hf sw qr sec :S4. so a< res
Nov. 1, Henry Hostetter, e hf nw qrsec :!4, 80 acres.
Nov. 21, Leonard Danner, se qr sec 18, Kit) acres.
Nov. 2.1, Henry Miller, e hf sw qr sec 34, 80 acres.
The errors are accounted for by the fact
that the compilation of that history was too
much hurried to give searchers and assist-
ants reasonable time for careful and elabor-
ate work.
The foregoing entries of 183 1 are men-
78
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
tioned as the first. The}' were the first regu-
lar land office purchases, but the government
had three years before conveyed twelve hun-
dred and eighty acres in the Perry township
district, sections 20 and 2\, to two persons
by treaty and corresponding deeds. To
Pierre LeClere, section 20; to Kich-wa-qua,
Indian wife of Pierre F. Navarre, section
21-. These sections lie immediately west
of Ligonier. The circumstances of the se-
lections and the nature of the considerations
for the grant are not found in any treaty
accessible to the writer. It is evident that
neither of the grantees wanted the land for
settlement or permanent possession, for
Kich-wa-qua sold section 21 to John Roher,
in October, 1830, for the regular entry price,
eight hundred dollars. LeClere sold section
20 to Alexis Coquillard ( colloquial pro-
nunciation, "Cuttigaw"), of South Bend,
for the regular government price, eight hun-
dred dollars, on the 19th day of June, 1830.
Each of the original sales was approved by
John Tipton, Indian agent, and upon each is
the following indorsement by President
Jackson :
" The within deed of conveyance is approved.
" Andrew Jackson."
Roller's deed to the Teals, George and
Joseph, is dated April 21, 1840. They con-
veyed to George Teal the northeast quarter
and all those parts of the southeast and
northwest quarters north of the Elkhart,
river ; and to Joseph Teal the southwest
quarter and all parts of the southeast and
northwest quarters south of the river. Ac-
knowledged before Albert Banta, justice of
peace of Elkhart county.
It is noticeable that LeClele's deed on the
record, bears his title on a treatv made and
concluded at St. Joseph's September 20,
1818, while Kich-wa-qua's is based on a
treaty made and concluded at the same place
September 20, 1828. Whether or not there
is error in the figures of the year's date in
one of the deeds, and if so, which one, can
not now be conclusively ascertained, but the
evidence points to 1828 as the true date of
the Kich-wa-qua grant, at least. It could not
have been 18 18, for the reason that she was
not married to Pierre Navarre until 1820,
or after, that being the year of Navarre's
settlement as a young, unmarried man at
Soiith Bend. The tract book puts the grants
together, at one time, September 20, 1828.
This, however, is not absolutely conclusive
against the possibility that LeClere's grant
was exactly to a day ten years prior to Kich-
wa-qua's.
ORDER OF SETTLEMENT.
The chronology of the entries does not
always agree with that of actual settlement,
to which we now return.
In 1830 (some say 1829) John L. Pow-
ers settled in southwestern Perry, on the
Goshen road, and erected a small cabin or
hut, in which for a short time he tried the
experiment of accommodating travelers.
Levi Perry, Isaiah Dungan and Richard
Stone came in 1830. In 1831 the popula-
tion of Perry district, the prairie, was fur-
ther increased by Jacob Wolf, Henry Hos-
tetter and family, Adam Engler, Henry
Engler, William Engler, Jacob Shobe and
family, Joseph Smalley and family, Henry
Miller and family. Daniel Harsh. John lies,
Leonard Danner (in section 18) and per-
haps a few others. No settlers, so far as
know, came into any other township in
1831.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIAN A.
79
The people named as settling in Perry,
nearly all of them on the prairie, were first-
class pioneers — orderly, intelligent, indus-
trious, hospitable and generous. Under their
regime the rich prairie was rapidly convert-
ed into fertile fields, hearing in profusion the
staple crops of grain. Educatii n and relig-
ion began with the settlement, growing with
material prosperity, adorning and glorifying
the beginnings of civilization and progres-
sion. The sentiments of "liberty, equality
and fraternity" were practically enthroned
in the minds and hearts of the community,
and a large proportion of the earliest settlers
were competent to lead and guide in the
work of founding and building an "im-
perium in imperio," a state within a state,
in harmony with the system of American
self-government.
In 1 83 1 the entries and actual settle-
ments closely correspond. Speculators were
not attracted until the tide of actual settle-
ment promised such development as would
make investment profitable. Land for
homes, land for prosperous agriculture, land
for leverage, for uplifting the material,
moral and social elements of a Christian
civilization; land upon which to found a
noble future ; such was now the growing
demand; and when its permanent continu-
ance was assured, and not until then, the
speculators bestirred themselves to "corner"
the supply. Should such monopoly in land
have been permitted under the public land
system of this government? It is an im-
portant question, difficult of s'olution in view
of the exigencies of the time. The young
government was loaded with debt. The
country was weak, exhausted by the strain
of the Revolutionary war and that of 18 12.
The income from sales of the public domain
was sorely needed. Yet the question per-
sistently faces the statesman in such emer-
gencies, "Should we he governed by the de-
sirableness of immediate revenue and in-
vite or permit indiscriminate and uncondi-
tional sales; or whether it were truer states-
manship to look beyond the present and over
the lengthening and widening vistas of the
far future, to —
" A vision glorious with rural homes
And modest wealth; contented competence
With loyal pride; a nation's source of strength
And honorable prestige,"
and in the glow of prophetic and purely
patriotic inspiration provide for sales lim-
ited to actual settlers, with judicious condi-
tions, in the beginning and throughout?"
ENTRIES OF THE YEAR
l83-
Finding that nearly the same close cor-
respondence exists between the entries and
actual settlements of 1832 as in 1831, it is
believed that a general view of the progress
of settlement and home- founding in 1832
can be shown in tabular form more briefly
and clearly than by elaborate statement. The
following table, therefore, is formulated,
showing all the entries in the county in that
year :
Lands in Perry Township.
March 12, Henry Hostetter, e and w hf nw qr sec 15,
160 acres.
March l(i. Johnston Latta, n hf and s hf fr'l nw qr sec 2,
150.09 acres.
March 28, William McConnell, fr'l ne qr sec 2, 152.40a.
April 5, Robert Latta. se qr sec :!. 160 acres.
April 7. Isaac Cavin, s hf sec 2. 320 acres.
May 2, Henry Hostetter. e hf sw qr and w hf se qr sec
in. Kid acres.
June 12. Isaac Cavin. sw qr sec 1. Kin acres.
June 111, William McConnell, s hf nw qr sec 1, 80 acres.
June 19, Hugh Cavin. ne qr sec 11. Hit I acres.
8o
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
June 8, John Miller, nw qr sec 11, 160 acres.
June 19, Hugh Caviu. w hf nw qr sec 12. SO acres.
June 19, Seymour Moses, ne qr and e hf nw qr sec 10,
240 acres.
June 30, John Hostetter. e hf se qr sec 10, 80 acres.
June 30, John Hostetter, w hf sw qr sec 11, 80 acres.
Oct. 1, John Crance, nw qr sw qr sec 33, 40 acres.
Oct. 1."). Henry Hostetter, ne qr se qr sec 27, 40 acres.
Oct. 15, Henry Hostetter, e hf ne qr sec 29, 80 acres.
Oct. 15, Joseph Smalley, se qr of sw qr and se qr sec 29,
200 acres.
Nov. 3, Jacob Walters, e hf ne qr sec 9, 80 acres.
Nov. 3, Jacob Walters, w hf nw qr and w hf sw qr sec
10, 160 acres.
Mar. 13, Isaiah Dungan, sw qr sw qr and e hf sw qr sec
33, 120 acres.
Mar. .5, James Dungan. ne qrof nw qr sec 32, 40 acres.
Oct. 1.5, 2.5, Andrew Newhouse, n hf ne qr and fr'l s hf
neqr sec 3, 144.83.
Oct. 31, John Tomlinson, w hf nw qr sec 17, 80 acres.
Sept. 3, John H. Eckert, se qr of ne qr sec IS, 40 acres.
Dec. 3, Jacob Walters, w hf of sw qr sec 3, 80 acres.
Land in Elkhart Township.
Aug. 1.5, Samuel Tibbott, nw qr of seqrsec 20, 40 acres.
Analysis of the tables of entries of 1831
and 1832 indicates that in 1831 fifteen per-
sons who were actual settlers purchased land
in twenty-two entries or descriptions. Bris-
tol, one of the fifteen, represented eight per-
sons, all the rest were Perry township set-
tlers, and represented about twenty-six per-
sons, making with Bristol about thirty-four
ii, the county. Add John Knight and family,
who settled about that time, the population
reached thirty-nine. Andrew Engler, in his
interesting "Recollections," published in the
souvenir edition of the Ligonier Leader,
says the number of persons who settled in
1832 was about thirty. Before the begin-
ning of 1833 the district had a population
(if residents numbering, say seventy-five, of
whom about fifty were adults or youths old
enough to participate efficiently in the labor
and business of converting a wilderness to
the uses of civilization.
On Pern's Prairie, the settlers of 1832
were Engle, Stone, Dungan, Miller and
Wolf, Wolf being a boarder in Richard
Stone's family during the winter of 1832-3.
Andrew Engler's reminiscences constitute a
valuable source of information about those
earliest years, and present some living pic-
ture's of Noble county's infancy. With the
Engler and Hostetter families, in 1832, came
a man named Haines, bringing rude machin-
ery, intending to erect a gristmill. It was
to have been located on Indian creek, about
two miles southeast of the present site of
Ligonier. The work was commenced, but
abandoned by Haines, who. sold out to Adam
Engler, in the fall of 1832. William Engler,
with the assistance of other setlers, set up
some parts for immediate use. We quote
Andrew Engler's own words on this subject :
"The neighbors fixed up the burrs under
an oak tree, put the bed on stone blocks, then
picked a hole in the runner, put a spike in a
stick, fastened it up between the limbs of a
tree, and when the corn got dry and hard
two men would take hold of the spike and
turn. Although the burrs were only thirty
inches in diameter, it required elbow grease
to do the turning. Having no separator, a
deer's hide punched full of holes and
stretched on a frame was used to separate
the bran from the chaff. The meal made
good cakes, and people from necessity were
satisfied. It was the best they could do.
This was the first mill that ground grain
in what is now Xoble county. It was in
the fall of iSt,2. A regular mill was built
by Mr. Engler several years later."
About this time — the fall of 1832 — sev-
eral families settled on Haw Patch ; the
I Baileys, Givens. Stages, Martins, McDevitts
I and Lattas, and the neighborhood of "Buz-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
zards' Glory," down the river, received sev-
eral settlers: Leonard, Joseph and Frank
Banner, the Grismers and Jesse Hire.
"During- the summer of 1832 a man
named Hugh Allison commenced building
a sawmill at Rochester, but before he got it
finished he had trouble with his workman
and sold out." [The table of entries shows
that Hugh Allison entered two hundred and
forty acres in section 26, in February, 1833.
This was six months later than the time
when Mr. Engler says he commenced his
sawmill at the site of Rochester, which is
in section 20. Of course this is not incon-
sistent with the alleged beginning of the
mill in the previous summer. — Ed.]
The first houses were constructed entire-
ly without sawed boards or nails; the walls
were of logs; the roofs, split clapboards laid
on and held down by heavy poles; the floors
were of puncheons, split from logs and
hewed to regular thickness, laid on the
rough, heavy joists; doorways and windows
were sawed in the log walls; doors made of
clapboards, swinging on wood hinges and
held shut by wooden latches dropped into
wooden slots, inside, and raised for opening
by pulling a deer skin string or strap fas-
tened to the latch inside and hanging out
through the door in daytime, pulled in at
bedtime if any intrusion was feared, were
securely held down by firm wooden pins in-
serted over them in the logs; and not un-
frequently ponderous bars of tough wood
were placed across the bottoms, centers and
tops of the doors. There was, however,
but little need of these precautions at the
time of the first settlement of Noble county.
Indians were numerous, but generally peace-
able. Yet at that time 1 1832) the occur-
rence of the Blackhawk war and prox-
imity of the old Indian trail leading toward
the scene of hostilities, might well excite
some apprehension from the contagion of the
war spirit among the surrounding savages,
and of sudden attacks by drunken parties.
But, happily, such apprehension proved
unfounded. The Indians had received in
1812 a lesson they had not forgotten. The
eloquent voice and heroic aspirations of IV-
cumseh no longer stirred their souls and led
them to desperate action for redress and vin-
dication of their rights. The smallest com-
munity of white settlers was backed by a
nation of irresistible power. They had
abandoned all hope of staying the mighty
tide of white progression. They were con-
quered, despoiled of their noble hunting
grounds and reduced to the condition of
alien beggars on the very soil over which
their sway was once complete ami undis-
puted. The spirit of independence was
quenched. Broken hearted, meek and list-
less, the wretched remnants of a once p wer-
ful people were drifting down the current
of destiny to the abyss of extinction. Yet
their fate had in it the elements of poetic
justice. They were being ejected from the
lands from which their ancestors had forc-
ibly and outrageously driven the native own-
ers, the Miamis, more than a hundred years
before.
We omit many names of lake- and
creeks, because the names they now bear
were given by settlers long afterwards, the
object now being to indicate the progress of
settlement, and the actual conditions, physi-
cal and material, at the close of 1832. The
mail roughly indicates this condition with
sufficient exactitude for the purpose of his-
tory, but the scale is too small to locate pre-
cisely the situation of dwellings mi the plats
82
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
of sections and the characteristic features of
landscape environments. No attention hav-
ing been bestowed upon such things contem-
poraneously, it is impossible, except in a few-
cases, to give truthful pen pictures now. If
John Smith's cabin stood on the brink of a
ravine, through which flowed a stream that
in times of flood became dangerous, and ac-
cidents or serious inconveniences and injury
resulted; if pigs or cattle, or both, were lost
and children were drowned or borne away
and rescued with difficulty — so much of the
lives of the pioneer families, so much of
interesting and influential fact and of the
philosophy of the progress of improvement
and the advance of civilization are lost from
the treasury of historic truths that, simple
and apparently insignificant as they may
seem to superficial observers and thinkers,
they often mean much and involve consider-
ations of importance in relation to the wel-
fare of families and, of course, to commun-
ity, state and nation.
"The flutter of the sparrow 1 s wing
When in its dying throes,
May o'er the human spirit fling
A quivering shadow that will cling
Till human life shall close."
The want suggested must continue until
people shall practically recognize the import-
ance of concurrent history in the form of
daily memoranda, or diaries. This practice
would cover the land from ocean to ocean
with a magnificent historical library, with an
alcove "f priceless manuscript in every per-
manent home — inheritances richer than all
the millions of Croesus.
EARLY SETTLERS.
Thomas Storey's earthly life of eighty
years, two months and four days ended at
Avilla, on the 3rd day of May, 1896. He
was born in Yorkshire, England, February
29, 1816, a son of George and Elizabeth
( Sedgwick) Storey. His father was a farm-
er, his mother of the same class — the sturdy
yeomanry, always the sure foundation of
"Old England's" true material grandeur,
and the primal fountain of the spirit that
made her historically glorious.
Honest labor and usefulness were our
subject's ancestral lot. At the age of four-
teen years he became a helper to his parents
by going out to labor for neighboring farm-
ers for his board and twenty-five dollars a
year. As his years and strength and experi-
ence increased, he gradually earned more and
more, until in his full manhood he could
command eighty dollars a year. Up to that
time his earnings belonged to his parents.
The following two years' earnings he saved
to canw out his purpose — to emigrate to
the United States. Think of it, young men,
who complain of fortune and almost curse
your ancestors for failing to provide for
you a "decent start" in life. Thomas Storey
did not stultify himself with the false theory
that his parents "owed" him anything be-
yond the care and protection of his infancy
and the inculcation of true principles, and
that debt they had faithfully paid and over-
paid.
In 1839, aged twenty-three years, with
the meager savings of two or three years'
bard and faithful labor at less than a dollar
and fifty cents a week, he started to cross the
great ocean and find in the wilds of the
American interior — not any fortune or "liv-
ing" that the "world owed him," but the
field and opportunity to make his own living
and fulfill an honorable ambition to be useful
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
83
— a modest factor of In most progress, an
efficient worker in the cause of civilization.
He readied Lockport, New York, destitute
of money. He found employment there in
a stone quarry at wages that would ab< ut
furnish a modern boy with cigars and to-
bacco. He had heard of chances to buy land
of the government in the new county of
Noble, in Indiana, and in three years saved
enough to "enter'" some land. The morn-
ing of his intended start his old employer
besought him to delay long- enough to assist
in loading a boat with some large blocks of
stone. He consented, and in that operation a
huge section of rock fell upon him and
crushed his hip. In the months of illness
and enforced idleness following that acci-
dent, all of his means were exhausted. He
was once more penniless — five hundred miles
from his objective point. Happily, his con-
duct and character of an employee had pre-
empted a place with the same employer and
he patiently resumed his work at Lockport.
■still intent upon settling in Noble county.
He had made one trip here and selected his
land, in [842, and it was when he had closed
up his affairs in Lockport and was about to
return and settle upon the land that his mis-
bap occurred. It is said that this accident
and delay proved to be a stroke of good luck,
after all, for it led to^ his acquaintance with
her whose wifely affection and efficient co-
operation afterward contributed greatly to
the success of his career. Miss Mary South-
worth, a native of Lancashire. England.
In the spring of 1843 Mr. Storey suc-
ceeded in purchasing eighty acres of land —
the east half of the southeast quarter of sec-
tion 17. in Jefferson township. The date of
his entry is April 17, 1843. He and his
brother, Matthew Storey, erected a little
cabin, 12x14 feet, on the high ground west
of the swampy valley of Lewis branch, and
there during the summer of 1843 and winter
of 1 843-4 they kept "bachelors" hall" and
worked at clearing land. In 1844 Thomas
Storey re-visited Lockport. He went alone-.
When Ik returned, Alary was with him, now
Mrs. Storey. The little cabin received as
housekeeper one of the brightest, neatest
women that ever lived. But I must not
omit referring to that bridal trip, that home-
coming. From Fort Wayne to Jefferson
township they walked, carrying upon their
backs their all of household goods. It was
probably impossible to get a conveyance,
anyway, without great difficulty, and even
then at the most extortionate prices. Does
any one think that trip must have been dis-
couragingly weary and painful? Not at all.
Does some modern lad}- exclaim with fine
scorn: "I never would have done it for
the best man in the world ?*'
Madam, the best men. and women, too,
even in this age. pity the narrowness of soul
that cannot comprehend the true nobility of
the deed. And was the long, burdened walk
especially tiresome and discouraging to
them? No. It is unnecessary to say how
bright the forest roadway seemed before
them, in the radiant glow of love and hope,
or how light their burdens were, buoyed by
the exaltation of approving conscience and
pure and honest aims. And then, the alluring
goal — Home! Their own, their first, own.
exclusive home. The green lanes and flow-
ers in the hedges of York and Lancashire
were pleasant memories, pictures for ad-
miration, but this little home was to be a
proud and loved reality, bathed in the sun-
8 4
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
light of freedom and independence, sur-
rounded by broad acres and glorified by the
magic motto: "Our own!"
An incident showing the Storey methods
and pluck, was the undertaking to clear and
fence twenty acres of very heavily timbered
land for Alexis Edwards at ten dollars per
acre. He and his brother Matthew took the
job and finished it with their own hands on
time, without drawing a cent of pay. When
the job was completed they received the
whole amount, one hundred dollars each, and
immediately invested it in land.
Thomas Storey was the initiator in this
section of the experiment of reclaiming"
swamp land by ditching. In this way he
converted a large willow swamp on his
eighty-acre tract east of Albion into rich
meadows and productive corn-fields. The
contrast was wonderful. The success was
astonishing, and much the greater part of
the capital invested in the splendid improve-
ment was his own muscle. In 1853 he trad-
ed his farm to Nelson Prentiss for land in
Green township. Both made money in the
transaction, and that was the kind of deal-
ing in which Mr. Storey delighted — by
■which lie could gain, without loss to the
other side. In Green township, by purchase
from several persons, he acquired some three
hundred acres of land, which he managed
with excellent judgment, sagacity and wise
economy. Within twenty years from the
time he, with his wife, had carried their en-
tire chattel property upon their backs thirty
miles, and commenced housekeeping in a
log cabin room 12x14 feet, he had become
a wealthy landed proprietor and leading cit-
izen, trusted and honored with the chief
official positions of his township, and enjoy-
ing the esteem and admiration of all. He
was among the foremost promoters of edu-
cation. He was an exemplar of morality,,
integrity and wise benevolence, and an open-
handed patron of everything promotive of
public improvement.
In 1865 he removed to Avilla — purchas-
ing there of Peter Weimer a farm of two
hundred and forty acres, for which he paid
twelve thousand dollars. During the thirty-
one remaining years of his life his career
was onward. He contributed much to the
improvement of the town of Avilla, was the
principal founder of the Old People's Home,
which was built upon his land; gave several
thousand dollars toward the erection of the
Catholic church buildings and the charitable
institution there ; distributed several thou-
sand dollars in gifts to his brothers and sis-
ters (being childless himself) ; reserved
rooms for himself and wife in the Old Peo-
ple's Home, where he died ; provided well
for his wife in case she survived him, and
thus disposed, by deed and gift, of all his
property, in accordance with the principles
of benevolence and justice, which had guided
him throughout his life.
In many respects the career of this old
I settler is peculiarly instructive and commend-
able. It is an example of triumph over ob-
stacles apparently insurmountable by a
I young man with absolutely no means ex-
cept his hands and brain and inflexible in-
tegrity. But it must be admitted that in some
most important things he was very fortun-
ate, and above everything else in the capital
prize he drew in the matrimonial lottery. It
is but just to say that his outcome would
have been problematical without the wife he
had. Probably the whole domestic history
of civilization could not furnish a more
nearly perfect example of a "helpmate." He
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
was fortunate in the time of his outset. The
country's era of extravagance had not com-
menced. Fortunately to his backwoods iso-
lation was due his own singleness of pur-
pose and firmness of principle. And now,
after this rambling and horribly written
sketch, I must leave to his old associates, or
their descendants, the just analysis and ade-
quate estimate of his character and the in-
fluence of his example.
Surviving him, of his immediate family
group are: The aged widow. Airs. Mary
Storey, of Avilla ; William Storey, his
brother ; Jefferson, a son, and a daughter of
his deceased brother, Matthew; George
Storey; Mrs. Cabin Keller; and an aged
sister in England.
AMANDA J. FLINT,
Daughter of Elisha and Hannah Flint, of
.Yew York, and wife of John C. Smith, of
New Jersey, was born in Albany county,
near Albany, New York, January 6, 1806.
At the age of twenty-two years she was
united in marriage to John C. Smith, in her
native state. Being unacquainted with her
life and having no specific knowledge of her
individual characteristics, the biographer re-
lies entirely upon the published obituary,
and can do no better than to quote it for
the personal and family history and the
necessarily brief intimations which it gives
of personal character.
"After her marriage she resided with her
husband in New York for twelve years. In
1840 they moved to Wayne county, Michi-
gan, and in 1843 t0 Noble county, Indiana.
and settled here. A continuous residence
•of twenty-three years in Noble county was
followed in 1803 bv 'a brief residence of
nearly two years in LaGrange county, when
they removed to Kosciusko count}, and re-
sided there five years, until the death of her
husband, November 28, 1870. Since then
she had made her home with her children.
She died at the home of her son, John A.
Smith, in Ligonier, on the 25th of Febru-
| ary, 1896, aged ninety years, one month and
nineteen days. They were .the parents of
nine children, six of whom and her husband
preceded her to the other world. The three
who remain, mourning the loss of a kind
and affectionate mother, are. John A. Smith
and Mrs. A. J. Banta. of Ligonier, and Mr.
C. V. Smith, of Syracuse.
"She became a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church in her native state of New
York, in 1824, at the age of eighteen years,
and had lived for seventy-two years a faith-
ful and devoted Christian life."
These points of her history light the
retrospect of a long life of usefulness graced
by a noble tone of spirituality, whose influ-
ences are, and forever will lie. blessing and
beautifying the conditions of society, and
contributing to the best inspirations of on-
ward and upward progression.
CHRISTINA M. SHULTZ,
Wife and widow, first of Caleb Gard and
lastly of Frederick M. Allen, was born in
Wurtemberg, Germany. April 14. 1823, and
died in Noble county. Indiana, January 21,
1896. aged seventy-two years, nine months
and seven days.
Our only accessible source of informa-
tion as to her life and character is in the
obituary which is here appended:
"While vet in her childhood she. with
her parents, came to America, living for a
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
time at Zanesville, Ohio, where she married
Caleb Card in 1842. In 1844 s he, with her
husband, removed to Noble county, Indi-
ana, where they lived together until his
death, which occurred in 1859. In 1863 she
was married to Frederick Allen. The)- lived
together until his death in 1872.
"As a mother she had diligently, earnest-
ly and willingly watched over and reared her
family, consisting of ten children, of whom
six sons and one daughter remain to* mourn
her loss. At an early age she embraced
Christianity and throughout her life she
manifested a pure, noble, christian spirit."'
OLIVER HARP, SR.,
Was one of the early settlers of Green town-
ship, having settled there, I think, in 1844.
Although not a resident at the time of his
death, his residence here for thirty-seven
years and identification with the early affairs
of the county entitle him to a place in the
ranks of the second class of old settlers and
justifies the insertion in our record of the
following quotations from his obituary,
which was published in the Cherubusco
Truth, after the funeral and interment:
"Oliver Harp. Sr., departed this life
Thursday morning. April 16, 1896, aged
seventy-eight years, six months and fourteen
days. Deceased was born in Neversink,
New York, October 2, 1817; was married
to Miss Jane Coon at Neversink, New York,
February 2j, 1838, and moved to Noble
county. Indiana, in 1844. He believed in
reform of every kind and no real happiness
could exist unless the individuals lived pure,
honest lives in every sense. Religiously he
was a strong Universalist, and believed and
followed its teachings for years. He was
kind hearted and exceedingly generous to
those he mingled with. Eleven children
were born to them, four of whom have pre-
ceded their father in death."
I am able to say, from a limited personal
accmaintance, that his frank, emphatic ad-
dress and tones of voice, indicated the very
philosophy and practice attributed to him
in the foregoing sketch. He evidently pos-
sessed an independent mind, had convictions
of his own and was very frank in promulgat-
ing them. In his sphere of action he was a
maker of public opinion and agitator of pub-
lic thought.
NANCY (YOUNG) HOLMES,
Who died September 29, 1895, an( l was
buried in Lake View Cemetery, Kendallville,
aged seventy-three years, five months and
twenty-nine days, was born in Pennsylvania
March 30, 1822. Having a doubt as to her
being actually an old settler, but thinking it
probable, and having no information ex-
cept the published obituary, that is given in
full, so far as it touches upon her life and
family history, as follows :
"She removed with her parents from
Fayette. Pennsylvania, to Knox county,
Ohio, in the year 1836. On the 12th of No-
vember, 1844, she was married to L. J.
Holmes, with whom she walked life's rugged
pathway a faithful and devoted wife nearly
fifty-one years. To them were born six chil-
dren, three sons and three daughters. The
youngest son died at the early age of fifteen
years. The other children remain to mourn
with the father their sad loss and to cheer
the closing scenes of his earthly life. The
deceased was converted in her youth. She
gave her heart to God and her name to the
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
37
Methodist Episcopal church. She lived an
humble, quiet, consistent Christian life, and
died at peace with God and all mankind.
While she will be sadly missed here there
is one soothing, comforting thought — she is
at rest in the place prepared for her in the
many-mansioned house of our Father. Fu-
neral services were conducted at the resi-
dence of L. J. Holmes by Rev. F. M. Hus-
sey, October i, 1895, and the body was laid
to rest in Lake View cemetery."
It will be observed that the notice leaves
her located in Knox county, Ohio, in 1836,
when she was fourteen year old. She
was married to L. J. Holmes eight rears
afterward, but where is not stated. There
were eleven years of time after her mar-
riage, nineteen years after her settlement in
Knox county. Ohio, within which she might
have settled in Noble county in time to be
classed as an old settler, and the impression
is so strong that she and her husband set-
tled here shortly after the marriage (if the
marriage did not occur here), that I have
assigned her to this place in order of time.
It will have been observed that these
obituary characterizations of Christian wo-
men have a sameness of wording, which
some might, without thought, regard as
monotonous. But that is not the right or
adequate view. They are thus shown to us
rather as occupying a high plane of woman-
hood, wearing a common badge of associa-
tion and aspiration ; the atmosphere in
which they move is the same, but the indi-
vidual radiance emanating from personal
character is as varied as that of the stars.
RACITEL (ROIIRER) GALLOWAY
Died at her home in Sparta township. June
4, 1895, aged sixty-five years, one month
and nine days. The death of Airs. ( Jail. »way
occurred two days before the last meeting
(Old Settlers), and probably the funeral
was on the same day of the meeting; the
death had not been reported, and therefore
was not mentioned.
From a very brief notice in the Ligonier
Leader of June (>, 1N95. I have learned a
few facts of her life.
She was born in Baltimore. Md., April
25, 1830. Her parents moved when she
was four years old to the state of Ohio.
This was in 1834. In the year 1X44 they
came to Noble county and located on land in
Sparta township, where die died. At the
lime of their settlement in Sparta. Rachel
was aged fourteen years. The next year,
1845. her mother died. Rachel, at the age
id fifteen years, being the eldest daughter
m a large family of children, was called
upon to fill as best she could the place of
mother to her brothers and sisters — to be
the housekeeper. I need not say what that
involved in care and toil to a girl of fifteen.
We have np particular account of the man-
ner in which she entered upon and dis-
charged the onerous duties of a mother and
houseeeper. It is not necessary. Tint
was a time when it was fashionable to be
content with little; to suffer patientlx ; t •
face the inevitable bravely and cheerfully,
ami when treason to love and duty was al-
most undreamed of. In the absence of
specific knowledge of the contrary, we are
bound to assume she did what she could
without repining; that she endured many
terrible strains upon her physical and men-
tal powers and moral integrity, without
fainting or faltering.
In [852 she was married, at the age of
twenty-two. Her husband was lames C.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Galloway, who afterward was a volunteer
soldier in the Civil ar. He died about fifteen
years ago. Eight children were born to
them, all of whom are living, or were liv-
ing at the time of her death.
The brief published obituary closes with
this sentence, pregnant with beneficent
meaning :
"She was a noble, true-hearted mother,
always kind, gentle and sympathetic."
Kind, gentle, sympathetic, all undying
germs of the influences that control, redeem
and glorify — unconsciously to herself she
implanted these germs of good; and they
are developing into influence, unseen, per-
haps, but real as the certainty of God's
goodness. And they will flow on in His
appointed currents of beneficence forever.
Who died at his home in Noble town-
ship. August 10. 1895, aged eighty-six
years, eight months and nine days, was a
native of Bedford county, Penn.. and was
born nil the 1st O'f January, 1809. He
married Nancy Stoner, a Pennsylvania girl,
a native of Lancaster, born October 26,
1810. They commenced their married life
in their native state and remained there un-
til 1845. when they came to Noble county
with a family of children, the youngest of
whom was an infant of a few months. They
had S18 to start with, six young children
to support and no land of their own.
It is well for us to meditate, somewhat,
on this phase in the life of John River, re-
membering that the condition was not en-
tirely exceptional, hut was the lot of many
settlers of that time. Unquestionably his
was an extreme case on account of the size
of his family. We must conclude that the
first winter, with six helpless children, was
a time to try the souls and test the physical
powers of husband and wife. It needs no
stretch of imagination to comprehend a mul-
titude of details of suffering and privations,
over some of which it were no weakness if
loyal memory should at one moment, but
only for a moment, shed some tears, and
the next moment yield to an uncontrollable
impulse to hurrah for the heroism that
carried them safely through.
It is pardonable, I trust, to make the
contemplation of every one of these typical
cases an occasion for recognition of the real
glory of Noble county's pioneer age. If it
seems a little monotonous, sometimes, it
may he that the fault is in our defective vis-
ions. A cloudless sunset sky to-day may seem
to the indifferent observer the same as all
preceding ones, but it is not. Each differs
from all predecessors in some of its hues
and tints and shadings, presenting a succes-
sion of new aspects and effects which a
thousand years of sunsets would not ex-
haust.
The next spring Air. River planted for a
crop of corn. The next fall while putting
in wheat he was attacked by malaria in an
aggravated form of fever and ague, and
was confined to his bed during the entire
fall and winter for six months, and all the
children except one were stricken clown dur-
ing that time, Mrs. River and one boy only
being able to keep their feet. How did they
get through this second winter, so much
worse than the first? There was hut one
way. They had to depend, for life itself,
upon the sympathy and generous aid of
neighbors, of scant means themselves but
exeat hearts ; the noble pioneers who would
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
89
divide their last crust with a suffering fel-
low -heing and heal the breaking heart with
genuine fraternal ministrations, so pure and
spontaneous, that it seemed a blessed priv-
ilege, a holy joy instead of a charitable duty.
Call those times and those men and women
rough, uncouth, offensively primitive? No!
Rather, in the noblest respects, it was our
heroic age, glowing with spiritual glory and
redolent of sweetest grace and charm. And
we all recognize it in the rare moments
when we can turn away from the brilliancy
and somewhat superficial pomp of mil ward
refinement and external etiquette and con-
template the time and the people when gen-
uine worth and kindness were recognized
in all their essential grace and beauty, with-
out artificial formulas of manner and ex-
pression.
Ten years after their settlement here
Mr. River bought eighty acres of land in
Green township, and commenced there in
the timber. His boys had grown, his forces
were augmented, but sickness came again
and sapped the strength of his sons and re-
duced him to such weakness that he was un-
able to keep upon his feet. But the work of
clearing must go on. and he rode and guid-
ed a horse to haul together and roll up the
logs, the boys doing the hitching and ad-
justing, and piling the poles and brush. In
1 86 1, at the age of fifty-two years, he was
thrown from a wagon and received injuries
that crippled him for the remainder of his
life. Prior to this accident he had sold his
Green township farm and was about to re-
move to Kansas; but the breaking out of
the war of the Rebellion changed his plans
and he purchased the farm in Noble town-
ship, where he died. Three of his sons,
John, Jacob and David, lost their lives in
the service of their country during the re-
hellion, one of them, John, starving to death
in Libby prison.
Air. River was an active worker in the
cause of the Christian religion and a promi-
nent member of the Christian church so-
ciety. These salient points in his life of
fifty years in Noble county will serve to il-
lustrate the arduous labors and formidable
obstacles and discouragements incident to
the work of clearing the ground and laying
the foundations of the noble superstructure
of civilization; the indomitable spirit that
overcame and conquered. John River's ca-
reer was honorable and successful, for him-
self and for his country.
Of Elhart township, was born in York,
Perm., July 31, 1831. He moved with
his parents to Marion, Ohio, in 1821,
was married there to Eliza Mawhorter, De-
cember 24, 1834, and removed to Seneca,
Ohio, in 1835. After a residence of about
ten years in Seneca. Air. and Mrs. Baugh-
man removed and settled in Elkhart town-
ship. Noble county, some time in the year
1845. tie resided there fifty years and died
August 13, 1895. a g' e d eighty-two years and
twelve days.
While not of the original pioneers in
respect to time, he was one of them in the
matter of pioneer experience, toils and pri-
vations, and was technically an "old set-
tler" of the first. <>r oldest class. Of seven
children born, two survive him. We are
destitute of the specific details of his life.
It is said of him, briefly, that he became a
professed Christian early in life, and was
thoroughly a quiet, earnest exemplar of the
Christian religion.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
The facts given above are from the obit-
uary notice written by Rev. W. R. Howell.
JOHN JACOB SHULTZ,
An old settler of fifty years ago, died Au-
gust 31, 1895, aged seventy-three years,
seven months and twenty-nine days. He
was a native of Germany, born in Hei-
mathen, W'urtemberg, on January 22, 1822.
He came to America in 1833, and to Noble
county in 1845 or r &4-6. The obituary no-
tice fails to give his township, but alludes
to the hardships and privations of his pio-
neer life: from this we conclude that he set-
tled in the woods, distant from any of the
more populous localities of that day. The
notice referred to is appended here in full :
"John Jacob Schultz was born January
22, 1822, in Heimathen, Wurtemberg, Ger-
manv, and emigrated to this country in
3833, and about fifty years ago came to No-
ble county, Ind. Another one is added to
the number of pioneers who shared the
hardships and the privations of that day,
whose labor is completed and is no more.
He died August 31, 1895, aged seventy-
three years, seven months and twenty-nine
days. He was married to Barbara Nieden-
berger, who died three years' ago. To them
were born six children. Three sons and one
daughter are living, one son and daughter
having gone before. Many years ago he
became a professor of the religion of Christ,
and died in the faith of Him who gave His
life for us and liveth evermore."
SAMUEL FOSTER,
Of Jefferson township, died February 3.
1896, aged fifty-three years, six months and
eleven davs. He was a native of Morrow
county, Ohio, was born July 22, 1842, and a
son of Christian Foster. He came here with
the family in 1848, then a child of six years,
and was an old settler by virtue of time.
He was reared on his father's farm and by
the plan of distribution arranged by his fa-
ther became the possessor of the old home-
stead farm and house.
Samuel Foster inherited the sterling
characteristics of his parents, and was
recognized as an industrious, enterprising
and honorable man. He exercised a good
influence, was intelligent, public-spirited and
prominent in his locality.
On the 5th day of March, 1868, he mar-
ried Miss Malinda Thomas, a daughter of
Rev. Zachariah Thomas, a prominent min-
ister of the Baptist church. It is hardly
necessary to say to the people of Albion, and
Jefferson township, that he was exception-
allv fortunate in his marriage, nor to make
especial mention of the well-known intellec-
tual, spiritual and physical characteristics,
environments and education that combined
to render the choice a most fortunate one.
But in the meridian of life, the shadow of
disease lowered over his house and obscured
his future. He was the victim. A cure-
less malady become chronic, and he was
doomed to a long period of invalidism with
great suffering, which the best medical and
surgical skill could only temporarily alle-
viate.
He leaves a widow and two children,
several sisters, whose names appears in the
sketch of Christian Foster, and numerous
relatives of the well-known families of Fos-
ter — Thomas. Edwards. 'Walters, and oth-
ers, among the foremost citizens of the
county.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY INDIANA.
MRS. SUSAN' GILLET.
Mrs. Susan (Skinner) Gillet, widow of
William II. Gillet, of Swan township, died
at her home in Swan, October 29, 1895,
aged sixty-three years, nine months and
twenty-six days. Her maiden name was
Susan B. Skinner, horn in Orleans county,
N. Y., January 3, 1832. and lived in her na-
tive state until she was twenty-one years
of age. having been married in 1851. at the
age of nineteen years, to William H. Gil-
let. Two years after their marriage Mr.
and Mrs. Gillet came to Noble county and
settled in Swan township. This was in
I853-
Mr. Gillet was a painter and actively
followed his trade, but he knew the advan-
tages of rural home and property in land.
He purchased eighty acres of land near
Swan and there established their home.
Twenty-one years afterward he contracted
the disease often called "painter's colic,"
caused by lead poison, inhaled and absorbed
when grinding and mixing materials of the
paint. He died in 1874, leaving Mrs. Gil-
let and seven children. Two had preceded
him, in 1862. A third child died after the
father's death.
Mrs. Gillet held to the home and farm
and kept her family together, rearing them to
manhood and womanhood in habits of in-
dustry and observance of strict morality.
She was a member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, having joined in her youth
when the spiritual atmosphere glowed with
clear light; when noble aspirations were un-
diverted: when the path of duty was "strait"
and profession imperatively implied prac-
tice. In her old-fashioned estimation the
true erlory of Christianity was without glit-
ter or intermittent flashes: just a steady,
beneficent, unblinding light — best and
purest when devoid of all adventitious daz-
zle.
Mrs. Gillet was a woman of practical
energy, active usefulness and execu-
tive ability. She maintained a good home
for her children, taught them by precept
and example the essential truths of enlight-
ened humanity and dedicated them to ca-
reers (if usefulness and honor. She has re-
tired from the living procession, but the in-
fluences of her life and deeds go mi. Her
memory lives. May her spirit glow in the
sculs of her posterity, so that the pages add-
ed by "Old Settlers" of future times shall
shine with kindred virtues. Six children
survive her. with several grandchildren.
One son is a resident and esteemed citizen
of Albion, the foreman of Croft's Paragon
Mills.
MRS. ELIZABETH ( MORRELI. ) GERBER,
An old settler of the year 1853. died at her
home in Ligonier, March 1. 1896. aged
fifty-three years, nine months and nine days.
She was a native of Fairfield county, Ohio,
born May 22, 1X42, a daughter of James
and Leah Morrell. The first eleven years
of her life passed in her native county. In
1853 she came with her parents to Noble
county.
Xo unusual events or exceptional ex-
periences affecting her family or herself are
known during the first eight years. It is
presumable that she had the ordinary op-
portunities of a new- country f< r schi ol edu-
cation. In her case they almost certainly
consisted of about seventy-five days' priv-
ilege of attendance at a log-cabin school in
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
winter, with none of the modern appliances
for illustration and aids to understanding.
If the teacher had genius, ambition and en-
thusiasm for the cause, the pupils were ex-
ceptionally fortunate. If he was a young
man poorly qualified by education, whose
main thought was of the forty dollars com-
ing the spring — whether he did well or
not — then the school and patrons were for-
tunate that it was no worse. As to Eliza-
beth Morrell, individually, we are justified
in assuming from subsequent developments
that she profited by her educational oppor-
tunities. If not in large acquirements in
positive knowledge, yet in mental and spir-
itual self -discipline.
At the age of nineteen years she became
a partner with Daniel B. Gerber in the pa-
triotic enterprise of establishing a home
and founding a new family line. The}- were
married December 5. 1861. Her history
for the next thirty-five years is that of most
of the good women of the old-settler class,
whose noble examples and efficient influ-
ences were important, indispensable factors
of progress and improvement — material,
moral and spiritual. Knowing as we do
that the brightest and best aspects of our
civilization are reflections of the influence
of the good women of the age of the pio-
neers and old settlers, it is with peculiar
pleasure, mournful though it be, that this
association performs the duty of individual
commemoration. Her residence of forty-
three vears covered nearly the entire period
of the process of development from primi-
tive conditions to the splendors of advanced
civilization. How different the Noble coun-
ty upon which her farewell gaze lingered
in 1896 from that on which the young girl
first looked in 1853. What a magnificen:
material superstructure! Yet how vain and
hollow, how insignificant, without the in-
dwelling graces of virtue, morality and spir-
itual exaltation emanating from the lives
and labors of them — the glorious "major-
ity" — who have passed and are passing with-
in the portals of the solemnly beautiful tem-
ple whose arches bear the motto: "In Me-
moriam."
Mrs. Gerber left surviving her husband,
Daniel B. Gerber, and five children: Mrs.
John Yoder, of Ligonier; Mrs. Frank Reese,
Airline Junction, Ohio; Mrs. W. H. Hart,
Albion, Ind. ; Miss Carrie and Master Earle
Gerber, Ligonier ; David Morrell, of Hol-
den, Mo. : James A. Morrell ( brother of
David), of Lagrange: and Mrs. A. C.
Lantz, a widowed sister.
SILAS DOTY.
In a group of citizens of Albion discuss-
ing the Regulator movement, the inquiry
was started, whether the world-famous
criminal, Silas Doty, had anything to do
with the blacklegism of Noble county at the
time when its greatest prevalence called
forth the organized efforts of the citizens
to suppress it. The writer, remarking that
a full life of Doty, dictated by himself, was
somewhere extant, expressed a wish to see
it, as it would probably settle that question.
This reference is not to the pamphlet ac-
count of his trial for the murder of Noyes,
but a large book, containing a history of his
life in detail.
Washington Weaver immediately said
he had that book, and the same evening the
writer had possession of it — a nicely print-
ed and well-bound book of nearly three hun-
dred pages, giving a detailed narrative of a
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY INDIANA.
93.
most wonderful criminal career of sixty
years, from 1816 to 1876. The book was
published in 1877 or 1878. Doty died in
1876. He was born at St. Albans. Vt.,
May 30, 1800, the born devil in a respecta-
ble Christian family, of exemplary parents
and honorable brothers and sisters ; a family
where prevailed an atmosphere of daily
prayer and devotion to the best ideals of
duty, and truth, and virtue. "Sile" was the
satanic exception. He. was an irrepressible
thief in early childhood and throughout his
life. His energy and industry in crime
were phenomenal and tireless, and aided by
his wonderful criminal genius, raised (or
lowered) him to the undisputed head-
chieftainship of all the allied tribes of black-
legs from Virginia to Nova Scotia, and
from the Atlantic to the Mississippi river
before he was forty years old.
In 1823, at the age of twenty-three, with
his pal. Wicks, he crossed the Atlantic and
operated for nearly a year in the principal
cities and adjacent rural districts of Eng-
land, quickly becoming the leader of the
desperate gang of thieves, burglars and
highwaymen there — the most personally
daring, skillful and resourceful of all. It
was his purpose to remain in England, ex-
tending his depredations to the continent of
Europe until he amassed a fortune ; but
when absent from London on a horse-steal-
ing expedition the detectives found and
raided the lodgings of Doty and Wicks,
seized their plunder, consisting of money,
jewelry and other valuable articles, and
were watching to intercept them on their
return. Being advised of this by vigilant
friends they never returned to London; but
made all haste, traveling by night to Lands
End, on the southern coast, whence, in dis-
guise and under assumed 'names, they es-
caped on the first vessel for the United-
States and landed in Xew York in the sum-
mer of 1824. The stuff they had to leave
behind in the hands of the police was worth
several thousand dollars ; and they were
thus compelled to regard the European en-
terprise as a comparative failure. But
"Sile" was not discouraged, and for the
next ten years redoubled his energies and
multiplied his stealings. In 1834 be moved
to the west and settled near Adrian, Mich.
Here he began his connection with the
blacklegs of northern Indiana. Of that con-
nection let him speak, in literal epiotations
from his book. He says :
"In the spring of 1834 I emigrated to
Adrian. Mich.) or near there, and rented a.
small house. * * * It took but a short
time to become acquainted with all the
villains in Clinton. Tecumseh, Adrian, Bliss-
field, and soon in Toledo, Detroit, and as
far west as Chicago, the Kankakee river
country. Fort Wayne, Noble and Lagrange
counties, in Indiana, and all the places in
southern Michigan, and east to Milan, Nor-
walk, Cleveland, and as far as Ashtabula. I
found that a very inefficient ring had been
formed between these places by our class
of men; but so imperfect were its workings
that it did but little. I immediately took the
matter in hand, and as near as pi >ssible
brought it up to my standard of thinking
and doing — extending the ring south in In-
diana to and along the Wabash river. This
organization consisted of every possible
grade of mean rascals — thieves, counter-
feiters, burglars and highwaymen — who
were guilty of every act that could be called
crime under the law. Over this immense
both- of men I was head chief, and ruled
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
with an iron will, When I said. 'Do this or
that.' it was done. * * *" On ac-
count of space, only the briefest quotations
have been given, mainly to establish the fact
of Doty's intimate connection with the first
dangerous organization of criminals in the
country described. It was the greatest and
most dangerous criminal organization in
the history of the United States. Its con-
nections radiated to every part of the coun-
try east of the Mississippi and north of the
Ohio, and included the greater portions of
New York and Canada.
The organized phase of blacklegism did
not exist until Silas Doty appeared and cre-
ated it, beginning in 1834, and extending
and completing it so that it was in full work-
ing order and activity about the beginning
of T836; and it may be said to have com-
menced its organic career simultaneously
with that of Noble county; and when, in
1856, the first aggressive movements of the
Regulators were initiated, blacklegism as
an organized power had been in operation
twentv-five years and hail become an un-
endurable tyranny.
ZENAS J. WRIGHT.
At the time of commencing the biog-
raphy of Harrison Wood, no notice had been
received of the death of any earlier settlers ;
and it seemed, as was stated, that he was
the oldest adult settler who died last year.
But since the close of the meeting I have
learned of one — Zenas J. Wright, of York
township, who settled in 1836 — then nine-
teen vears of age. He was ahead of Air.
Wind niic year in date of settlement, and
was old enough to be classed with the real
pioneers. His biography should have head-
ed the roll, in strict sequence to the order of
dates alone; and it would, had he been re-
ported. It is the proper idea in the fitness
of things to give precedence to the "work-
ing" pioneers.
Zenas J. Wright was born in Massa-
chusetts, November 12. 1817. His parents,
Zenas and Nancy (Willis) Wright, soon
after went to New York, where the sub-
ject's youth was passed. It was quite pio-
neerish then, even in "York sta.e." The
family came to Noble county in 1836 and
settled in section 2, York township. They
were workers ; and a finer looking, more
stalwart and impressive family of me': —
father and sons — were seldom ieen. The
father was a leading Baptist, a deacon of
the church and was notable and influential
in society and in religious and educational
enterprises. So also was the mother and
sons. There was a flavor of Puritanism,
that some of the free and easy pioneers af
fected to scoff at as exclusiveness ; but their
honest loyalty to the genius of Americri 1
constitutional liberty, their conservative in-
fluence in favor of right and justice were
unquestioned. In short they were the best
kind of pioneers.
Zenas J., in 1841, at the age of twenty-
four, married Mary Ann Arnold and pur-
chased eighty acres of land, the west half
of northwest quarter of section 11, and built
his hom£ directly south, within sight of the
paternal home. Subsequent purchases in-
creased his farm to two hundred and eighty
acres.
The citizens of York township showed
their recognition of Zenas J. Wright's char-
acter and ability in calling him to public
service, eight years as township trustee and
many years as justice of the peace. He
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
95
was not an office-seeker. The best men for
official services were not then, and never
have been, seekers for it.
The writer knew "Juclson" Wright
forty-six years. Memory teems with inci-
dents, events, anecdotes and attributes, but
time and space will not permit the indul-
gence of a full, descriminative estimate.
His life and character is one of the many
stars whose beneficent glow beautifies the
horizon of memory.
Mrs. Wright died in 1SS1, leaving nine
children, five sons and four daughters:
Silas J., William W., Zenas M., Isaac A.,
Adoniram J., Christa, Elsie ].. Emma and
Minnie. These sons and daughters doubt-
less realize the truth that the invisible cur-
rents of heredity flow on forever, making
or marring, accordingly as they are kept
free and clear, or become obstructed and
turbid. Mr. Wright died October 28, 1896,
aged seventy-nine years, eleven months and
sixteen days.
SARAH HITLER,
Wife of Vincent Lane, deceased, was born
in Pickaway county, Ohio, December 14,
]8io. Vincent Lane was a native of the
same county, born January 31, 1803. They
were married there December 28, 1828.
Nine years later, in 1837, they came with
their children and settled in Noble county,
hid., making their home in York township.
Mr. Lane had, before moving in the fall of
J 835, entered one hundred and twenty acres
in section 30, and a fractional eight}- in
section 31. of that township. He subse-
quently owned three hundred and twenty
acres in York township.
Vincent Lane became at once a promi-
nent and leading pioneer. llis character
and administrative ability at once attracted
the confidence of the people in the "capital"
township of the county. Unfortunately his
brilliant career was stopped by death, twelve
years after his settlement. He died in De-
cember, 1X49, of king fever. He had been
for several prior a comity commissioner,
and figured prominently in public affairs.
The writer never knew him personally, hav-
ing been in the comity only three months be-
fore his death, hut remembers well the sym-
pathy and sorrow expressed everywhere on
the occasion of his death at the early age of
forty-six years.
Of Mrs. Lane's characteristics nothing
could be learned, having never been honored
by personal acquaintance. She stood high
in the affectionate esteem of those who
knew her best, and who concur in attribut-
ing to her in a high degree the qualities of
mind and heart that constitute a noble- wo-
manhood. Mrs. Lane died December 14,
1896, aged eighty-six years, fifty-nine of
which were passed in Noble comity, lacking
but one of all the years of the county's or-
ganic existence. Forty-seven of those years
she was a widow.
Although not personally acquainted
with either Mr. or Mrs. Lane, the writer
enjoyed the acquaintance and. it is believed,
friendship of their sons, George H., John
C, Lewis and Joseph: and thus had the
privilege of seeing the inherited intellectual
and spiritual qualities of the parents as ex-
hibited in the lives of the offspring. Good
stock is evidenced by good fruit : and these
were and are. naturally, examples of excel-
lent manhood, abounding in mental capac-
ity, kindness of heart and vivacity of spirit.
It is said that "the gem of truth lies in
9 6
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the bottom o the well." That means that
our just estii lates of the germs of history
must be derived from the deepest views —
not from superficial glances. And, as a
clear view of the gem in the well is impossi-
ble when the water above is agitated or tur-
bid, and we have to wait until it is calm and
clear, so is just recognition of true character
or just estimates of things done or omitted,
policies advocated and theories advanced,
difficult or impossible while the storm of
agitation and discussion rages . and the
clouds of temporary prejudice obscure the
light. The holy time of calm will sooner or
later surely come. Truth will be seen.
Right will be vindicated ; and while we may
be remorsefully ashamed of ourselves for
mis judgments and misconceptions, the soul
will be true to itself. The God-in-man will
resume the throne, and infinite happiness
will attend the expurgation of error and the
revelation of right.
THE PRESS OF NOBLE COUNTY.
The story of the Noble County Star has
been written under difficulties. The facts
were mainly from hearsay evidence. Tlse
paper stopped before the writer had become
acquainted with the people, connected with
it, except partially and as a stranger in the
county. Coming to the history of its suc-
cessor, the Albion Observer, the writer en-
ters the field of personal knowledge, as well
as of motive and aim, and of every detail
and incident. In telling the story he begs
the indulgence of readers in using the "third
person."
The purchaser of the Star came to Noble
county on a visit and stopped at Northport,
on the north bank of the Reservoir ( now
Sylvan lake), on the nth of September,
J 1849. He had never before been within
four hundred miles of Noble count}-, and
was an entire stranger to everybody except
one man — J. C. Alvord, his uncle. He had
been studying law in northwestern Pennsyl-
vania, and. being a consumptive invalid,
sought change of scene and climate and re-
laxation.
That was an ideal autumn. No poet
ever described a lovelier. And the mystic
glory of it did not fade. The air was balmy
and the mellow light was golden — all the
time — for two months. He did nothing but
ramble and lounge, and drink in the quiet
beauty of sky and lake and woods. It was
a long, delicious day-dream, and in it came
returning health. He said: "Surely this
is God's country," and .stayed, instead of re-
turning in October as originally intended.
Accepting an invitation to teach the win-
ter school, — in a log house in the woods,
eighty rods southwest of the lake. — he
passed the winter there and at Northport.
becoming acquainted with the delightful.
hospitable people and making a few trips on
foot to Albion, the county seat. At Albion
he became slightlv acquainted with several
of the citizens, especially with YV. A. Coon,
clerk of the hotel, his father, Michael Coon,
being proprietor (it is now Mathew's har-
ness shop and residence, northeast corner of
Jefferson and Orange streets) ; W. M. Clapp,
auditor; John McMeans, treasurer; H. H.
Hitchcock, recorder; William F. Engel,
clerk, and some others. William H. Austin,
the newspaper man, was not always at home,
being much engaged as a violinist for balls.
But an interview took place, in which Aus-
tin made known his desire to sell the plant;
and learning that the proposed vendee had
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
mi money to pay, nor property of any kind
to trade for it, offered to turn it ever without
a dollar down, taking a note and mortgage
on the plant, stipulating for the filling out
of all advance paid subscriptions to the Star
to be applied on the purchase price. There
were many of these subscriptions on which
six months remained unsupplied. Austin
was to continue the Star until certain legal
"ads." then running were published the full
time. That would bring it to about the ist
of March. The bargain was closed on those
terms, and the purchaser returned to^ finish
his teaching and to look out for an office
force, particularly a foreman. Austin's
foreman and' printers had already secured
employment elsewhere and would not stay
beyond the time indicated.
Homer King, of Fort Wayne, an ex-
commission merchant of that city and a
brother-in-law of J. C. Alvord, was an oc-
casional visitor to the hitter's home at North-
port. He had failed in business at Fort
Wavne, and, being out of a job and "broke,"
proposed to join in the newspaper "enter-
prise" as a partner. His capital consisted
of a good business education, much costly
experience in profitless ventures, a bright,
genial and generous nature, and an extensive
acquaintance with the people of Noble coun-
ty as well as in Fort Wayne, the then great
emporium of all northeastern Indiana, and
which had a population about the same as
that of Albion at this time.
King felt confident of enlisting en-
couragement from business men of the "big
city," and of obtaining a good list of sub-
scribers and considerable advertising ( the
event proved that his confidence was not en-
tirely visionary), and what was more for-
tunate he was intimately acquainted with a
good printer at Fort Wayne, whom he felt
sure of engaging, James B., Scott. The
partnership was agreed upon and King went
forth on his mission.
All this had taken time, and the decease
of the Noble County Star was close at hand.
That even occurred the first week in March.
1850. Mr. Austin's arrangements required
immediate departure ; his hands, all except-
ing his "devil," who was his younger broth-
er, had gone several days before, as soon as
the types were set for the last number. So,
after "striking off" the last sheet and dis-
tributing the papers, be had left with Re-
corder Hitchcock, the key of the office and
authority to deliver the plant to S. E. Alvod,
and was off. This message, with a "good-
by," was brought to the new proprietor at
Northport by young Austin, who said his
brother, with wife and child, had gone by
the Lisbon road on their way to Steuben
county, and he was to rejoin them at Ken-
dallville. He also brought a note from Mr.
Hitchcock to the same effect, saying "the
printing materials would be safe and undis-
turbed until called for by me." "Teems"
and "Bill" and "Wes" had disappeared, and
the Star had set forever.
No word of King's success, or other-
wise, had been received. The printer and
foreman was needed badly to "right up" the
office and get the forms in shape for a new-
paper. But something, perhaps, could be
done without him. The new editor had not
yet become acquainted with his plant. He
knew but little, and that vaguely, about the
details of a "printing shop." While wait-
ing for the master hand to give it form and
power, why not see what were its o rii-
ponents? He would do it. Accordingly on
a bright morning of the brightest March Ik-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
ever saw, before or after, he leisurely went
on foot over the nine miles of rough road
from Northport to Albion. Observing the
few farm openings, the first of which, if
recollection is correct, was the (now) Os-
born place, then a rough log house, and
immediately north of it one of the finest
peach orchards in the country, the rich ripe
glories of which had evoked his admiration
the previous September when he had stopped
and accosted the owner, a giant Irish-Amer-
ican, sitting in the doorway, and talked with
him about the peaches, so very large and
beautiful, so thickly clustered on the hun-
dred trees that the orchard seemed a solid
mass of gold and crimson fruit. That farm-
er was James B. Kelley, afterward one of
the most popular hotel managers and pro-
prietors in northern Indiana, and one of the
writer's earliest and best friends. In the few
opened farms on the way oats had been
sown, and ox-teams were dragging in the
seed, raising little puffs of dust." Cyrus
Kimmell's (now Huston's) and the Kline
farm are remembered as scenes of this work.
At that time they were unknown to the ob-
server. Memory is not clear as to David
Bucher's place (now M. ,H. Kimmfll's).
The next opening now remembered, and the
last before reaching Albion., was Barnum's.
Present impression is that lie was at work
on the hillside near his cabin, at the south
end of his farm, singing till the woods rang
and the birds joined in. He was a good
singer and whistler fifty years ago. All
these things, the perfect weather, the dry
roads, the rich soil, the magnificent woods,
the early farming and the pleasant people
confirmed the impressions of the preceding-
fall ; and the pedestrian came into Albion
thoroughly in love with this truly Noble
county. Hope elevated his thoughts and
gave him the "big-head," a marked and
pitiable development of visionary exaltation
that was to last until "shaking ague" should _
come and jerk the conceit out of him. And
it did come — but that was afterward. It
need not be anticipated.
Recorder Hitchcock promptly escorted
him to the middle door of the south row of
rooms on the ground floor of the court
house, gave him the key, and, saying he was
just then being hurried to finish an urgent
job of recording, hastened back to his office
at the east end. Soon the prospective editor
stood in that silent room and gazed around.
There was an empty, old-fashioned fire-place
at the south side in the center, and a large
window each side of the chimney. On the
window-sills were little piles of "pi," mix-
tures of various fonts of types that had been
swept up and deposited there when the of-
fice boy had no time to separate and dis-
tribute them ; several warped wooden gal-
leys leaned against the wall, under the win-
dows; a hand-press stood in the center of
the room, the bed elaborately checked with
lines of rust, the tympan thrown back and
the frisket elevated, held up by a hook sus-
pended from the ceiling; type stands lined
against the end walls and backed against
the chimney sides to get the best light from
the two windows against the north walls;
on either side of the door were heavy tables,
bearing imposing "stones" of iron in sec-
tions of 26x34 inches, the upper surfaces
smoothly ground and polished originally,
but then reddened and roughened by rust.
On these iron slabs were the forms of the
last issue of the Noble County Star, undis-
tributed and badly pied, and several job
forms of various sizes, demoralized and
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
99
sprawling, showing many evidences oi
"picking," many of the picked letters being
found in the title-head, date lines and hear!
lines of the paper forms. The whole was a
most discouraging jumble. Over all was a
grim accumulation of soot and ashes which
the March winds had whirled from the wide
chimney and fire-place, and even as the on-
looker stood there an occasional breeze mur-
mured in the chimney and spirit voices
seemed plaintively saying :
" Ashes to ashes: dust to dust."
The first obvious thing to be done was
to remove the dust and ashes. A greenhorn
know enough for that. And it was while
he was engaged with the office bellows, w.ith
coat off and door and windows open, that
Mr. Hitchcock again appeared and said the
room was designed for the clerk's office and
would have to be vacated soon, as the newly
elected clerk, Nelson Prentiss, would move
in early in the summer. He added that there
was a vacant building belonging to the es-
tate of Jacob 'Walters, deceased, whose heirs
and widow were in Ohio, but whose agent,
Ephraim Foster, resided in Jefferson town-
ship, this county, and he offered to assist in
obtaining permission to move the plant into
that building and in securing a lease. Was
ever greater kindness? The hearts of the
people seemed to glow in and reflect the sun-
shine of that matchless March. The Very
next day Mr. Foster was in town: a lease
by the month, at three dollars per month,
was agreed upon, and before night the editor
was cleaning the room for the new printing
office and perspiring profusely. Water had
to be carried about two hundred feet fn im a
pond which then covered most of the ground
now occupied by the Presbyterian church
and parsonage and the houses of Mr. E.
Lloyd and the Sarah Bradley estate. The
only house in that vicinity was the late |udge
Wildman's, a one-stor) house located on the
ground now occupied by X. 1'. Eagles' fine
brick mansion. It was north of the west
end of the pond. But the writer wishes most
to call attention to the water-carrying. It
was done freely, without price, by some vil-
lage boys who offered their services as soon
as they saw the printer man toting his first
bucketful. It seemed by that time to be
generally understood that this printer fellow
was penniless, and couldn't fiddle nor teach
dancing; therefore, everybody, even the little
boys, were ready to help hem. Ah! the
glorious sunshine had a sweeter glow from
such deeds of genuine, spontaneous glad-
ness. ( Does the reader begin to wonder
what this has to do with the history of the
press? The writer feels that it is essentially
a constituent phase of that history, and the
single query, whether an impecunious
stranger could have gone forward with the
work in the face of coldness and frowning
discouragement instead of the cordial kind-
ness which he did meet will suggest the rea-
son why it is an essential part of the storv —
the true history. )
From the chaotic mass of material of
the fallen Star Messrs. Alvord and King
finally succeeded in launching their new en-
terprise, and on June 6, 1850, the number of
the Albion Observer was presented. In pol-
itics it was Democratic and its subscription
price was one dollar and a half per annum.
Its Democracy, however, was not of the
orthodox persuasion, being an advocate of
the doctrine of "Free Soil." with limita-
tion of the extension of slavery ah nig the
lino laid down by the Indiana Democracy
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
and its platform of 1848. But it was not
destined for a long life. In the win-
ter of 185 1-2 Mr. King severed his con-
nection and went to California. Mr. Alvord
continued the publication until the following
Decanber, and then stopped its publication
owing to want of sufficient patronage, the ;
circulation never exceeding four hundred
copies while advertising was comparatively
nothing. On the discontinuance of the Ob-
server a small local paper, the Noble County
Expositor, devoted to financial and official
affairs of the county, was issued by S. E.
Alvord, and continued until March, 1850,
when it was discontinued. From that date
until 1854 Albion had no paper ; but in that
year John W. Bryant, of Warsaw, Koscius-
ko county, brought an outfit to the town and
commenced the publication of a Democratic
paper under the name of the Albion Pal-
ladium. Theodore Tidball became a part-
ner of Mr. Bryant, and the paper was issued
from an office located east of the present
site of R. L. Stone's drug store, William M.
Clapp owning the building.
In the spring of 1855 the press and ma-
terial were levied on by parties in Kosciusko
county. With the characteristic energy of
the men in newspaper business in those days,
Mr. Bryant went to Columbia City with his
office force and obtained the privilege of
issuing the Albion Palladium from the of-
fice of the Whitley County Democrat. The
paper was folded, addressed and brought to
Albion in a buggy each week and there dis-
tributed. S. E. Alvord gave his assistance
to Mr. Bryant during these trying days,
which continued until the autumn of 1855.
In the meantime Mr. Tidball was hard at
work organizing a stock company, which
was finally accomplished, and that fall the
paper resumed publication in Albion under
the name of the Noble County Palladium,.
Tidball & Bryant editors and publishers. Its
life, however, was brief, and after engag-
ing with considerable activity and much
partisan bitterness in the company it closed
its career in 1856. The press and material
were purchased by S. E. Alvord, and in Feb-
ruary, 1857, commenced the publication of
the Noble County Democrat, G. I. Z. Ray-
houser, of Fort Wayne, being associated
with him.
To follow the fluctuating fortunes of the
various journals which have sought favor
and patronage in Albion and other towns
and cities of Noble county would require
much space. We therefore briefly summar-
ize, in order to maintain as near as possible
a connective record. The Democrat re-
mained in the field under the editorship of
S. E. Alvord until 1858, and was discon-
tinued until September, 1859, when a new
series was started under the same name by
E. L. Alvord, a printer from the office of
the New York Tribune. The end came De-
cember 25, 1859, and the Noble County
Democrat became a thing of the past.
Near the close of the year i860 Joshua
R. Randall bought the material of S. E. Al-
vord and commenced the publication of the
Albion Herald. Mr. Randall was a gentle-
man of considerable ability and good busi-
ness qualities, and shortly after the com-
mencement of the Civil war removed the
paper and material to Ligonier. The next
venture to maintain a paper in Albion was
by Kimmell Brothers, hardware dealers,
who started the Albion Advertiser, in 1866.
On the removal of Mr. Kimmell to Ne-
braska the paper was discontinued and the
material stored in the office of C. O. Meyers,
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
who was the purchaser. Several years
elapsed before any further effort was made
to establish a paper. But in the fall of
1872 S. E. Alvord again made an effort,
purchasing material for jobbing purposes.
This, however, awoke the business commu-
nity to their wants, and at the solicitation 1 f
many citizens he started the New Era. It
first appeared as a quarto-medium sheet,
was enlarged t< > a half-medium and soon
after blossomed into a six-column Folio.
Thus the first successful journal of Albion
was established and the ambition of Mr.
Alvord rewarded. Its circulation grew rap-
idly, until in 7875 it reached twelve hundred
subscribers and was enlarged to an eight-
column folio. In 1876 Jacob P. Prickett
and Thomas A. Starr purchased the paper.
Mr. Alvord retiring. It was then enlarged
to a nine-column folio, and its policy from
an independent journal to independent Re-
publican. In 1878 Mr. Starr retired and
the paper passed into the control of Mr.
Prickett. Notwithstanding the defeat of the
Republican party in the county that year
Mr. Prickett made the Xew Era a straight
Republican paper, changing its shape to an
eight-column folio in 1881 to a six-column
quarto.
It will thus be seen that Albion has the
honor of being the birthplace of journalism
in Noble county. Efforts, however, were
made by ambitious young men and politi-
cians in other localities. It seems that in
1856, and prior to the presidential campaign
of that year, a number of Ligonier's promi-
nent business men and active Republicans
felt the necessity of having a paper and went
to Sturgis, Michigan, for the purpose of in-
ducing the proprietor of the Tribune of that
place to move their office to Ligonier. -\
money consideration and a guaranteed sub-
scription list of twenty-five hundred was of-
fered, with liberal patronage in advertising
and job work. The offer was accepted by
.Messrs. Woodward & Miller, of the Sturgis
Tribune, and in less than two weeks there-
after the first issue of the Republican made
its appearance. Adrian B. Miller, of Lig-
onier, was its editor, a brilliant and able
writer. The paper continued until after the
campaign and then, about the first of the
year, was sold to the leading members of. the
Republican party, J. R. Randall assuming
the editorial chair and business management.
Early in 1857 Judson Palmiter, Arnold
& Pierce became its publishers and editors,
under a company of about forty stockhold-
ers, several of whom resided in Albion,
Kendallville and other portions of the coun-
ty. Under the conditions its life was some-
what fitful, and in i860 Mr. Palmiter pur-
chased the material (except press), moved
to Kendallville and began the publication of
the Noble County Journal. Ligonier was,
therefore, again without a Republican paper,
and in 1S80 Republicans succeeded in in-
ducing Mr. E. G. Thompson, of Michigan,
to li cate there, and on June 4. [880, the first
number of the Leader was issued. From its
inception it has met with success and now
ranks among the best papers in Noble coun-
ty. In 1800 prominent Democrats of the
county were anxious to have a thorough
Democratic paper, and after a prolonged
conference with Mr. J. I!. Sti ill, of Pennsyl-
vania, then on a visit in Avilla, an arrange-
ment was made which resulted in the pub-
lication of the National Banner, May 3,
1800. The proprietors were J. P.. Stoll and
Tin -mas J. Smith. The latter gentleman
si on sold his interest to Mr. Stoll, who be-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
came sole owner and editor. Its patronage
rapidly increased, a new building was
erected to accommodate its increased
growth, steam power was introduced, and it
now ranks among the best equipped plants
in the county. In 1879 the name of the
paper was changed to the Ligonier Banner ;
the paper enlarged from an eight-column
folio to a six-column quarto. In 1881 James
E. McDonald purchased a half interest in
the Banner, assuming the chair of the local
department. It is now known as the .Banner
Publishing Company, and continues to exert
a strong influence in county and state pol-
itics.
Kendallville began to feel the wants of
representation in the journalistic field as
early as 1862. In that year Barron & Stowe
issued a small paper, neutral in politics and
designed for the troops quartered there,
making a specialty of war news. After two
years it was sold to O. C. Myers. In 1869
Hopkins & Piatt began the publication of
the Daily Bulletin. It was rechristened the
Independent after a few months, and within
a year ceased to exist. In 1872 Roof Broth-
ers issued a small sheet named the Semi-
Weekly Times; it lived but six months, but
made a strong crusade against intemperance.
Kendallville now enjoys the distinction of
having four excellent papers: The News,
an eight-page paper, published by Dr. A. S.
Parker, independent in politics, and estab-
lished in 1877. The Journal, established in
1889. Democratic in politics, published by
O. H. Downey. The Standard was estab-
lished in 1863, Republican in politics, pub-
lished by Conlogue & Rerick. The Bee-
Keepers' Guide, established in 1876, a
monthly publication devoted to bee culture,
A. G. Hill, editor and proprietor.
The town of Avilla has a well conducted
paper, the News, established in 1886, eight
pages, independent in politics; Harry L.
Askew is the editor and publisher.
Rome City has, enjoyed the luxury of
several publications. In May, 1876, the Re-
view made its appearance under the editor-
ship of Dr. Thornton. After a few months
he sold to Air. J. R. Rheubottom. In pol-
itics it is strongly Republican. The same
year the -paper was removed to Wolcott-
ville. Three years later (1879) Mr. Rheu-
bottom established the Rome City Times, ad-
vocating the "Greenback" doctrine. The
venture lasted but seven months. In 1879
Rev. Lowman & Warner started the publica-
tion of the Herald of Gospel Freedom, de-
voted to the interests of the Church of God.
It was finally removed to Indianapolis.
During the year 1880 W. T. Grose con-
ducted a Republican paper called the Rome
City Sentinel, which only lived until after
the October election of that year.
SAMUEL E. ALVORD, AS A BIOGRAPHER.
The publishers of this volume are in-
debted to a valued and reliable correspond-
ent, a journalist at Albion, Ind., for the
following brief record of the career of Sam-
uel E. Alvord, the editor of the Star and
the able Albion county historian :
"On his first appearance in Albion Sam-
uel E. Alvord's dignified and noble bearing,
his fine, imposing appearance, his correct,
chaste and easy flow of language, as well
as his entire freedom from ostentation,
pointed him out as a verv desirable addition
to the society of the place, and commanded
the almost immediate confidence and en-
couragement of the intelligent and inflnen-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
103
tial portion of the community, and in a short
time the correctness of said first impres-
sions were verified to the satisfaction of the
whole community.
"He first grasped the editorial pen. and
soon newspaper columns reflected his thor-
ough and accurate knowledge of politics ; his
political speeches evidenced his much mure
than ordinary oratorical powers ; his fre-
quent lectures upon literary and scientific
subjects plainly showed his wide survey of
the wide fields of literature and science,
while the rhetorical and captivating orations
delivered by him, upon various occasions,
plainly exhibited his intimate acquaintance
with both ancient and classic lore, as well as
with fiction of the highest order. There-
fore, when his universally conceded high
mental endowments, together with the high
literary and scientific attainments exhibited
by him at the early period above alluded to,
are remembered, as well as the further well-
known fact that these were supplemented by
half a century of further incessant, unre-
mitting research in the same wide-spread
but delightful fields, I feel that the high at-
tainments I have claimed for him should not
be considered exaggeration.
"While his religious views, upon certain
points, perhaps, can not be considered in
strict harmony with the strict standards of
orthodoxy, still, perhaps, no one had a clear-
er vision of 'God in every tree," or more
plainly heard the Divine voice 'in the winds.'
And it may truthfully be said of him that he
needed not 'the wrath of the mad, unchained
elements to teach who rules them.'
"And whether beholding the 'heavens on
fire with falling thunderbolts/ or viewing
the 'milder majesty' of the great I Am, he
believed it the duty of every one to learn
to 'conform the order of his life to the
beautiful order of the great Creator." as
plainly exhibited in his works. He never
made any public profession of religion, lie-
cause, as he claimed, he believed that certain
church dogmas were to a considerable ex-
tent tinctured with some of the ancient and
medieval forms of superstition, still he al-
ways manifested a strong anxiety for the
progress of the cause, feeling that such 'il-
lusory beliefs," which to some extent had
substituted the 'mysterious and the occult
for the natural and the common place." were
being rapidly eliminated from church creeds
by more and more liberal constructions
thereof. Such objections he seemed to seri-
ously deplore as hindrances to the progress
of a great cause. — simplv 'tares among the
wheat,' and, therefore, all calls by the church
for material aid, generally, met with ready
and liberal responses from him.
"He was not a politician in the usual
modern acceptation of the term, nor was it
possible for him to become a popular one
with a majority of such, as his mind towered
so immeasurably above the usual debasing,
revolting tricks and demagogism resorted to
in the modern manipulation of political
wires, that when any such debasing condi-
tions were proposed, as necessary prelim-
inaries to success, they were so promptly
repelled that,' generally, offense followed.
To him they were simply insulting ti 1 the
native simplicity and commendable dignity
which actuated and governed his political
career.
"He was imperfect because human. ( >c-
casionally he exhibited weaknesses that were
regretted by his friends, and. also, by him-
self, but, to a great extent, these were ob-
literated by his very many towering virtues.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
as the weak, twinkling light of the stars is
obscured by the much more powerful beams
of the glorious orb of day. But there are
still a few who remember his weaknesses
and seem to glory in them, as it always has
been, that
" Certain minds look upon the lily with microscopic eyes,
Eager and glad to seek out specks on its robe of purity
And now, as ever, it is found that
Great minds gaze on the sun, glorying in his bright-
ness,
And taking large knowledge of his good, in the broad
prairies of creation:
What, though he hatch basilisks? what though spots
are on the sun?
In fullness is his worth, in fullness be his praise."
"As is generally known, his greatest
weakness was his 'unthinking generosity' in
money matters.
"But the same weakness was exhibited
by Webster, Clay ami others among the
greatest and best men of the nation, vet by
a great and appreciative people these spots
are obscured by the gigantic intellects, the
great services and the many noble virtues
of the men.
"Like those just mentioned, it seemed
that the great desire of Mr. Alvord for the
acquisition of knowledge so far dominates
that for the accumulation of wealth, as to
leave him but little time to- devote to the
latter, and the result was that he died com-
paratively poor in point of earthly treasure.
But though no costly, ponderous monument
shall be erected to his memory to point fu-
ture generations to his honored dust still his
venerable form, his exalted mind, his tower-
ing intellect, his useful life and his 'unpub-
lished charity' will be remembered long
after the costly marble placed over the grave
of many among the gay, the wealthy and the
proud, who died with plethoric purses, but
impoverished minds, shall have crumbled
and their names shall cease to be 'uttered,
revered or even remembered.'
"And the good people of Noble and sur-
rounding counties are anxiously awaiting
the unveiling of the monument to his mem-
ory which will prove much more durable
than polished granite and which is, for the
present, deposited in the sanctum of the pub-
lisher of 'Alvord's History of Noble Coun-
I ty. Indiana," and which is confidently e
pected not only to rescue from oblivion very
much valuable and interesting matter con-
nected with the history of said county, but
also to faithfully reflect the calm, benevolent
and highly intellectual features, indisputable
evidences of the classical learning and clas-
sical style of its eminent author, as well as
to throw 'streams of light' on his many
'deeds of love and the glorious record of his
many virtues.' May it ever be 'held up to
men, bidding them claim a palm like his. and
catch from him the hallowed flame." "
The folloing brief biographies are taken
from addresses made by Mr. Alvord at the
meeting of Old Settlers, at various times,
and reproduced here by himself:
Mercy Hopkins was born in Pittsford,
Rutland county, Vt.. January 3, 1803,
and died at the residence of her son. Frank
A. Baker, in Allen township, Noble county.
Ind.. March 22, 1895. aged ninety-two
years, two months and nine days. She was
married to Silas S. M< tt April 1, [821. To
this union were born two sons and one
daughter: Matthew. Silas and Ruinda
( Potter), all of whom preceded their mother
to the spirit world many years. After the
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
105
death of her first husband she married
Alpheus Baker, February 7, 1830, who died
in January. 1888, in his ninety-third year.
By her last marriage seven children were
born, four of whom, Timothy, Caleb, Mary
(Richards) and Frank are still living. For
the past twenty-five years her home had been
with her youngest son, Frank, four miles
south of the city of Kendallville.
Mr. and Mrs. Baker came to Noble
county in August, 1836, and settled in a
log cabin which stood near the present site
of the school-house in Lisbon. A year or
two later they removed about half a mile
further west and began to make a home on
what has been known for years as the Baker
farm, then an unbroken forest, and now oc-
cupied by Mr. T. D. Baughman and Mr.
'George Tyler. Mr. and Mrs. Baker's fam-
ily was the third to settle in Allen town-
ship, Mr. G. T. Ulmer's being the first. He
came in 1834 and settled where hidings' ad-
dition to Kendallville is now located; Sam-
uel Weimer's was second. They came in
the spring of 1836 and settled near Avilla.
When Mr. and Mrs. Baker arrived in
Noble county there were ten in their fam-
ily, four of Mr. Baker's by a previous mar-
riage, three by her first marriage and three
by their last union. They came with little
means, and the privations and hardships
peculiar to settlers in a new and heavily-
timbered country were experienced by them.
They brought, however, an abundant sup-
ply of indomitable energy, perseverance,
heroic endurance and fortitude, which
served them even better than money, and
they prospered, reared their children and
lived to see them fill honored and useful
places in life. Mrs. Baker was a well-
formed, healthy woman, and possessed a
rugged constitution, an essential requisite to
resist and combat the sickly malarial influ-
ences so peculiar to the early history of this
county. She seemed well fitted for pioneer
life and appeared to enjoy it. She was a
most exemplary Christian woman, endowed
with all the attributes of a grand and noble
womanhood, and it may be said of her that
she filled and rounded out the full measure
of life's aims, purposes and duties. She
was never happier than when ministering to
the comfort and happiness of her family, her
neighbors and friends.
A peculiar feature, and one that deserves
more than passing notice, is the war record
of her family, of which she was justly proud.
Mr. Baker, her husband, was a soldier yi
the war of 1812, and no less than six of her
sons and two sons-in-law took prominent
parts in the bloody drama of the war of the
Rebellion, and several of them carry gun-
shot wounds inflicted upon them during the
contest. During the last year or two of
her life she was afflicted somewhat with
rheumatic trouble, but the immediate cause
of her death was perhaps the result of a fall
she sustained in February last, which frac-
tured the bones of her hip. She was ten-
derly cared for 'by Mr. and Mrs. Frank-
Baker and her daughter. Mrs. Mary Rich-
ards, who was called here from her home
in Michigan. Her funeral took place on
Sunday afternoon and was largely attended.
Mrs. Elizabeth (Crone) Jones, of Garret,
a former neighbor and highly prized friend,
delivered an impressive funeral discourse.
The remains were laid beside those of her
family in the Lisbon cemetery near by, and
overlooked the scenes of her pioneer home.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
LEONARD LYON.
Was a native of Jefferson county, ' N.
Y., born in LeRoy township, August 16,
1816. He came to Noble county, Ind.,
in 1843, am l settled in Swan township on
the land he occupied until his death. In
1850 he married Jane E. Knapp, to which
union were horn five children, two of whom
preceded them to the spirit land. Mr. Lyon
died at his home in Swan township on the
28th day of July, 1895, aged seventy-eight
years, eleven months and twelve days.
"When Mr. Lyon settled in Swan town-
ship the general condition of the country
was but little advanced from that of 1840 —
the original date of this association. The
only distinction between them is the arbi-
trary one of time, and it is well known that
to the settler whose land war? uncleared and
cabin to he built the outlook in 1843 was Dut
very little better than in 1840. The real
test, after all, is in the actual circumstances
of the case. Air. Lyon was a man of twen-
ty-seven years when he came. He became
a worker in the mission of improvement and
civilization at a time when some who now
outrank him as old settlers (in time) were
young children, incapable to "either hold or
drive" the plow of progress. An attack of
hip disease at the age of sixteen years seri-
ously threatened his life, and for five years
he struggled uncertainly between death and
life. He partially recovered, but during his
whole after life was afflicted and his physical
energies impaired. His condition governed
in choice of occupation and he became a
school teacher, continuing in that honorable
and useful vocation for many years with a
success that gained him popular esteem and
exerted a salutary and elevatirs' influence.
He settled permanently in 1843 and
made his home, though unmarried, on the
farm where he died. Seven years after his
settlement, as before stated, he was married
to Miss Jane E. Knapp. Especially during
the earlier years of his life on Noble county
soil Mr. Lyon experienced more than an
ordinary share of the hardships and priva-
tions of pioneer life. He had to endure and
suffer many things which an able-bodied
man could have overcome or avoided. He
was an enemy to injustice, dishonesty and
crime, and was an active member of the
"Regulators" in the later 'fifties. Though
not able to give efficient personal aid in pur-
suit and arrest, he was vigilant and keen in
detection and ever ready when financial aid
was needed.
OBITUARY OF HORACE H. WARNER.
Horace H. Warner was born in the
town of Truxton, Cortland county, N. Y.,
April 25, 1822, and died at his home in
Rome City, Ind., November 28. 1896,
aged seventy-four years, seven months and
three days. He was united in marriage 10
Ursula J. Hitchcock at Parma, Monroe
county, N. Y.. April 2j, 1S47. They
moved west to Indiana in October, 1849,
and located in Noble county, one and one-
half miles west of Rome City. Here Father
Warner labored hard and earnestly for many
j-ears,* clearing up his land and making, as
it were, the forest to blossom as a rose. He
owned two hundred acres and nearly all the
work of felling the timber, logging and
clearing" up the land ready for the breaking
plow was done mainly by himself, his loving
wife being his greatest helper in all things.
He also, with his team, helped his neigh-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
bars in their clearings and ether work on
their farms, lie was one of the pioneers of
that early day, was a great worker, and
lived to enjoy with his family for many
years the benefits of his labors and a remu-
nerative reward. Father Warner and fam-
ily left the farm in April, 1883, and soon
thereafter built and occupied the presen'
home in Rome City, where they enjoyed
great peace and happiness for many years
and a much needed rest from their excessive
farm labors. Mother Warner preceded him
to the spirit land February 6, 1894. Fa-
ther Warner had been troubled with a weak
heart for many years, and had undergone
treatment for the same for a long time.
Finally the heart could not be sustained any
longer by his competent physician or any
earthly help, and ceased to operate very sud-
denly. He was a kind and loving father,
very patient in his illness. We shall miss
him greatly in the home, the last year of
his life having been so 1 tender and loving.
He was prayerful to the end and died peace-
fully, believing and trusting in his Heavenly
Father. He told us that he was near the
end of his journey and felt willing to go;
'he wanted to be with dear mother and for-
ever at rest. He told his neighbors ami
friends that he realized his enfeebled condi-
tion and was ready to depart. The only re-
gret he expressed was in leaving his dear
daughter, whom he loved as his own life.
He always manifested a warm interest in the
welfare and prosperity of the Methodist
Episcopal church of Rome City, and gave
largely of his means toward its erection and
the needed expense of the same. He leaves
a loving and sorrowing daughter, Mrs. G.
T. Brothwell. her husband, one brother and
other relatives to mourn their loss. The
funeral was held at his late residence Tues-
day, December 1st, at 1 130 P. M., and was
conducted by Rev. T. J. Fetro, of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church. A brother, Ros-
well K. Warner, of Marion, and a nephew,
Lorenzo D. Warner, of Palmyra. X. Y.,
with relatives from Lima. Indiana, were
present at the funeral. A large num-
ber of friends and neighbors were in attend-
ance, ilis remains were laid to rest in.
Orange cemetery.
Who came to Noble county from Ohio in
the year 184S, and who died August 19,.
1895, aged ninety-five years and twenty-four
days, was a prominent figure in the ranks
of the old settlers, and one of the foremost
citizens of Jefferson township. He was hi mi
in Baltimore county, in the state of Mary-
land, July 2j, ]8oo. His life began in the
first year of the century. I le migrated when
a young man to Morrow county, Ohio, and
there, on the 4th of March, 1824, he wedded
Miss Elizabeth Edwards, a young woman of
excellent mental and spiritual characteristics.
Nine children were born to them during
their union of forty-eight years. The noble,
faithful wife and loving mother left them
on the 6th of February, 1X72. Five chil-
dren preceded him to the tomb; four, with
several grandchildren and many other rel-
atives, survived him. This is the entire-
substance of his very brief published obit-
uary;
Christian Foster was a man of great en-
ergy, both physical and mental. He was
successful and prominent as a business man,
active, resolute and ambitious. His mind
was intent upon accomplishing the umost
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
that was possible in his sphere of action. His
nature was frank and outspoken. His man-
ner and address was pushing and emphatic,
sometimes bordering upon the boisterous
and censorious, when his sense of right and
convictions of the fitness of things had been
shocked and crossed ; but he was not sullen
and silently revengeful. His way was that
of open rebuke and denunciation. His
strong, aggressive, conquering spirit re-
jected the restraints of diplomacy, and some-
times the suggestions of toleration, when in
the heat of combat. The blow was struck |
(figuratively), the sentence pronounced, the j
step taken, sometimes prematurely, perhaps,
as it may have appeared to those who knew
not the hidden influences and felt not the
■sting of unrevealed wrong. Sometimes men
are misjudged upon false evidence, which
they have ho chance to refute. We mean
this in reference to the elements of character.
We never heard of any ground for mis-
judgment of Christian Foster from his acts.
By his acts, in business intercourse with his
fellow men, he was known universally as an
upright and honorable, as well as a strong
and successful man. He became wealthy by
honest toil, keen sagacity and prudent hus-
' bandrv of the fruits of his labor and econ-
omy. But that was not all. He was an
advocate of true principles. He desired that
all should shape their course by right prin-
ciples and reap the rewards. He was a
preacher as well as an exemplar of well-di-
rected effort and rectitude in dealing. He
was assertively in favor of honesty. He was
also aggressively opposed to fraud of every
kind, and his emphatic, uncompromising de-
nunciations of it often gave an impression
of hard-heartedness and bigotry. But this
was a mistaken view. "Uncle Chris" was
one of the most kindly-disposed and sym-
pathetic of men. He pitied and gloried in
being able to aid the unfortunate.
As his sun descended, the aggressive fire
subsided and the gentler spirituality of his
character became manifest. Resignation,
gratitude, humility, took the places of ag-
gressive force, self-sufficiency and self-asser-
tion. His ruder vital energies had done
their appointed work and spent their stormy
force. The spirit of the inner shrine came
forth and its mild halo made the physical
decay more noble than the strenuous, pas-
sionate prime. Resting from all its tur-
moils the calm soul could meekly but con-
fidently say to a neighbor and confidential
friend : "I am willingly waiting for the last
summons."
A guilty conscience could not have said
that. It revealed the true character. It was
final evidence. It summoned divine charity
to her mission, and at the sweep of her holy
wand the fogs of misconception and all the
clouds of error vanished from the sky of
retrospection, and only love and veneration
attend him to his pedestal m the temple of
honored memories.
Mr. Foster's surviving children are :
Mrs. Joanna Smith, widow of Emanuel
Smith ; Airs. Rebecca Easter, wife of Wash-
ington Easter; and Mrs. Jane Franks, wife
of Uriah Franks. Grandchildren: Mrs.
John Koons, daughter of Mrs. Joanna
Smith ; Mrs. Melvina Hines, daughter of
the deceased wife of Benjamin Black ; and
two daughters and one son of the late Sam-
uel Foster, of Jefferson. His kindred bear-
ing the names of Foster and Edwards are
numerous in Noble county, and so far as
known are active, useful, patriotic citizens,
and promising boys and girls.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY. INDIANA.
JOHN L. FOSTER,
A pioneer of Jefferson township, who died
at his home in the fall of 1895, aged sixty-
nine years, was'the second child and eldest
son of Jehu and Margaret (Levering) Fos-
ter, born in Morrow county. Ohio, Octo-
ber 6, 1826. He was about eleven years old
when his parents moved, in 1837, to the
township with their family of six children :
Mary A., aged thirteen; John L., eleven :
Samuel M., nine: Margaret L., seven; Eliz-
abeth, five; and Sarah M. They settled in
the southwest quarter of section 11. It was
a primeval forest. Magnificent walnut, oak.
poplar, maple, beech and other woods in
dense rank towered above the jungles of
undergrowth and interlocked their branches
and interwove their foliage in lofty arches
over the shadowy aisles into which
" A few shorn rays of sunlight fell,
To glorify the gloom."
But we need not attempt to describe the
grandeur of a mighty, unbroken forest, nor
to interpret its impressions upon those whose
sense of its beauty and sublimity is con-
fused with that of its appalling immensity
as an incumbrance to be removed. It must
be done. There was no retreat. It was like
the situation of Houston and his little band
of Texans after they had crossed the river
at San Jacinto to attack a Mexican army of
double their number, drawn up in battle
array, and had sent adrift the bridge of
boats by which they had crossed. It was
"conquer or die."
John Foster, although in his childhood,
was the oldest boy, and thus was drafted
into hard and unremitting toil — a campaign
in which there was battle every dav. But
he had a leader whose example was stronger
than his commands, and so. performance of
duty, patient, cheerful endurance and for-
ward-looking faith were virtues to be emu-
lated instead of arbitrary demands to be me-
chanically obeyed. All the inspirations and
aspirations of his environments were benefi-
cent and exalting. His mother, a noble
woman, had all the self-sacrificing devotion
and loyalty of the ancient Spartan matrons
without the barbarian grossness. She in-
spired courage, strength, endurance by her
splendid example. She was a woman of
great physical as well as mental power, de-
veloped into a symmetrical form and hand-
j some features with much vivacity and charm
of expression ; a source of good inspiration
as well as an efficient material help to her
husband. The whole family, as they re-
spectively became physically able, contrib-
uted their aid in clearing the farm and es-
tablishing the home.
John remained with his parents, assist-
ing in the work until long after his ma-
jority. He obtained a good common
school education, and was recognized
and appreciated as a bright young
man and all-around "good fellow."
That meant that within a powerful and
handsome physique there was good brain
and a big heart. He learned and worked
to some extent at the carpenter and joiner'^
trade, but soon abandoned it for farming.
In January. 1850, he married Rose A. Eley,
daughter of Michael Eley. a Jefferson town
ship farmer. (Her brother, John H. Elev,
married John Foster's sister. Sarah.)
His first purchase of land was the north-
west quarter of section 1, in York town-
ship, which he sold, and in 1863 purchased
of Jesse Wylde the northwest quarter of
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
section i. in Jefferson, six miles east of his
first land. This was an improved farm, and
here he passed his remaining thirty-two
years in the quiet pursuits of farm life, en-
joying the deserved esteem and confidence
of a wide circle of friends and acquaint-
ances.
His wife and three sons, Eugene, Del-
mer, Perry, and several grandchildren of his
Immediate family survive him. He also left
two brothers. S. M. Foster, of Albion, and
Alvin D. Foster, of Kendallville; three sis-
ters, Mesdames J. H. Shanck and J. H. Ely,
of Kendallville, Mrs. J. K. Riddle, of Jef-
ferson, in Noble county; and his eldest sis-
ter, Mrs. John Steele, in Nebraska, with a
host of nephews, nieces and other near rel-
atives who mourn his loss and, with this as-
sociation, honor his memory.
CORTtDON WARNER
Was born in Genesee county, N. Y.,
September 25. 1829, and came with his par-
ents to Noble county in 1837. He married
Lydia Simon August 15, 1852, and settled
on the farm in Swan township where he
lived until his death, March 24, 1896, aged
sixtv-six years, five months and twenty-nine
days. His wife had died April 19. 1885.
To their union were born eight children, of
whom (inly three are living. He was again
married, uniting with Mrs. Sarah Simon on
the 29th of March. 1888.
He joined the Lutheran church at
Bethlehem March 5, 1853, and remained a
faithful member until death. He was an
obliging neighbor, a loving and devoted
husband, a kind and affectionate father. He
was buried in the Bethlehem cemetery near
his home, respected and mourned by all.
In those five words, "respected and
mourned by all," Mr. J. M. (Simon) War-
ner has the sublime record of a life, the
details of which cannot be obtained. But
it can be truthfully stated that much of his
life was unknown by reason of his retiring
disposition, and only his immediate neigh-
bors realized his sterling worth.
MARTHA M. ISBELL.
Daughter of John and Mary Cosper, and
widow of the late Philander C. Isbell, died
at her home at Kendallville on the evening
of February 21, 1896, aged seventy- four
i years, eleven months and sixteen days. She
I had been a widow- not quite fourteen months,
her husband having preceded her on the 31st
of December, 1894.
Mrs. Isbell was a native of Holmes coun-
ty, Ohio, born March 5, 1821. She lived
there to the age of thirteen years when, with
her parents, she moved to Tecumseh, Mich-
igan, in the year 1S34. Two years after-
ward there moved to Tecumseh another
Ohio family of Wayne count}-, of whom
one was a son of seventeen years, Philander
C. Isbell, and there was formed the mutually
agreeable acquaintance that grew into the
marriage of these young pioneers on the 24th
day of December, 1838, he being about two
months under twenty and she about as much
less than eighteen. The next year, 1839,
fifty-seven years ago, this young couple
came to Noble county, Indiana, and joined
in the battle of the pioneers with the pri-
meval forests and its formidable auxiliaries
— want and loneliness, physical weariness
from extreme toil, racking agues and burn-
ing fevers. They first settled in Allen town-
ship and there cleared a farm.
ALVORD'.S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
To the earliest pioneers their surround-
ings were productive of the noblest influ-
ence. In the best sense they were happily
situated, notwithstanding the privations,
toils and external solitude that now seem,
by contrast, so painful and repellant. The
more that is thought about it the clearer
the conviction grows that, while their sturdy
efforts were clearing the course for a grand
material progression and laying broad and
firm f( mndations for the material superstruc-
tures of civilization, their hearts and souls
were being attuned by the silent influences
of their environments to that sublimer
strain of emotion and aspiration which,
transmitted, should sanctify the dazzling- ac-
complishments of succeeding generations.
And while it is peculiar to the pioneer age,
it is not strange that the very earliest set-
tlers — those who remained and endured and
became the founders of the "state," men and
women, with \ y few exceptions — imbibed
a deep, religio- tone of thou 1 'it and feeling
that impelled to church assoc itions wherein
presided a spirit from the presence of which
that of vain doctrine and theoretic distinc-
tion shrank and fled.
Mrs. Isbell joined such a circle of kin-
dred spirits at the age of twenty-one. Her
husband had preceded her the year before
in assuming such relations. For a concise
review of her personal and family history
the following is quoted from the published
obituary :
"To this union were horn seven sons and
two daughters, two of the sons dying in in-
fancy. The others have grown to manhood
and womanhood. She lived to see the fam-
ily, through Christ, hearing fruits of right-
eousness. Though her form is now silent in
death she yet lives and speaks through the
lives which she blessed and the characters
which she helped to form."
IOHN WASH]
'.TON KLINE,
A settler of the year 1846, who died at his
home three miles northeast of Albion on
April 15, 1896, was a native of the state
of Pennsylvania. He was horn in York
county of that state April 17, 1821, and
therefore lacked but two days of seventy-five
years. From a carefully prepared notice
written by Rev. George Bretz at the dicta-
tion of the widow of the deceased pioneer,
and published, are taken the following facts
of his personal history :
At the age of eleven years he went with
his parents to Canton, Ohio, in 1832. and
resided there or in the vicinity for thirteen
years. In 1845, being twenty-four years
old, he joined the Masonic order, receiving
his initiation in a lodge in the town of Mas-
sillon, Ohio. The next year. 1846. he came
to Noble county, arriving here in November.
Two years and a half afterward he married
Elizabeth, daughter of Lewis Potts, a pio-
neer of 1836, ami a prominent, public-
spirited citizen. The marriage took place on
the 19th of May, 18.50, and on the 4th of
August following, less than three months
from the wedding daw the young wife was
summoned to another sphere. In 1854, De-
cember 21, he married Louisa, the sister of
his deceased bride, and this union continued
until his death, over forty-one years. His
wife, one daughter, six grandchildren, the
son-in-law and one sister survive him. The
sister is .Mrs. Christiana Skinner, of Albion.
widow of James Skinner, the well-known
pioneer of Jefferson township, who died
many years ago.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Mr. Kline was a carpenter by trade, hav-
ing served his apprenticeship in Ohio before
coming to Noble county. It so happened,
however, that his interests attached to farm-
ing, and he gradually abandoned his trade.
Of the extent of his work as a carpenter we
are not informed, but from the character of
the man are prepared to hazard the asser-
tion that what he did do was well done, to
the limit of his skill and ability.
In vindication of his views and opinions
on all the various questions of interest to
society and mankind, from the greatest to
the least, he was strenuous, aggressive and
firm ; often, it seemed to his opponents, even
to the point of unreasonable stubbornness.
The language of his soul in this respect was
appropriately uttered by Scott in his poem,
"The Lady of the Lake/' through the voice
of Fitz-James, when alone in the mountains
he was confronted by Roderick Dhu and his
clan. Backed against a mighty rock, he
said —
ie — come all — this rock shall fly
firm base as soon as I."
And yet John Kline's so-called stubborn-
ness was not wanton. It had always a basis
of logic or foundation of conviction which,
if possibly defective sometimes, was at least
fully approved by his judgment and con-
science. He was simply inflexible in cham-
pionship of what was right and just and true
in his convictions. That this inflexibility
may in some natures become too habitually
predominant, and include non-essential is-
sues, is true- If it was so in him it was
"a fault that leaned to virtue's side."
SPECULATIVE ENTRIES OF LAND IN 1 832.'
In 1832 there is evidence of the purchase
of over one thousand acres for speculation
in Perry township. There were two classes
of speculators in land, non-resident and
resident. The former were the odious "land
sharks" whose operations most retarded set-
tlement and improvement, whose heartless
greed snatched thousands from the hands of
honest industry and diverted it from use in
local improvement to the offers of alien mo-
nopolists; or, large tracts of the best land
were entered and held for years by non-
resident owners — who coolly saw their hold-
ings enhanced in value two, three, four and
five-fold by the hard labor of settlers im-
proving the adjacent country — without lift-
ing a finger to assist or encourage.
Settlers, who had saved something more
than the cost of entering the land for sub-
sistence and improvements, were not only
bitterly disappointed but almost hopelessly
crippled, financially, by being compelled to
pay two or three-fold prices for desirable
lands that had l>een taken by these sharks
and were held for immense speculative
profits. Thus, in scores of instances, in the
years of early settlement half the savings of
years of toil and economy, brought here by
settlers who intended therewith to promote
the improvement and prosperity of the new
country, were drawn back and away from
the lines of intended usefulness by the hand
of avarice : and. instead of strengthening
the factors of development and progress, the
money was added to the capital of older sec-
tions of the country; and the wise policy
of the government, to aid in developing the
resources of the public domain by selling the
land at a nominal price, was thwarted to a
great extent in all parts of the splendid
Northwest Territory, and Noble count}- dis-
trict experienced its full share of the evil.
Of the other class of speculators, those
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
13
actual settlers of ample means who, found-
ing their own homes, sought out the must
desirable locations and fruitful soils in dif-
ferent parts of the district and entered large
bodies or numerous tracts for the purpose of
enormous gains on their investments, it may
be said, in partial mitigation that the wealth
thus accumulated remained here ; but in a
majority of instances it resulted in the ag-
grandizement of the few to the injury of thu
mam- and against the interests of the county.
We need not cite personal examples by
actual names. The facts existed. They
constitute history in themselves and illus-
trate the workings of a system and the
effects of an evil as clearly under fictitious
names and assumed conditions as real ones.
Illustrative of the foregoing we give the
substance of a following conversation that
occurred in the cabin of a settler on a winter
evening: A neighbor and his wife — Mr.
and Airs. Smith — had called to have . an
evening chat with the Joneses, who were im-
migrants from the same neighborhood in
Pennsylvania. Both families were poor, al-
most destitute of earthly possessions except
their quarter-sections of rich land, clothed
with magnificent forests, and their rough
cabins and scant, home-made furniture. The
cabins had barely been completed to a habit-
able condition when winter came. Fleecy
festoons adorned the silent forests; the in-
tensely gloomy avenues had arches of inter
locking branches, draped in snow; the
foliage and the forest flowers hail disap-
peared and all the graceful undergrowths
were covered with dead-white palls. But
within the Jones cabin was the cheerful glow
of a fire that crackled and roared and sent
up volumes of flame and showers of sparks
above the to]) of the capacious chimney and
diout the
primitive
diffused a genial warmth throt
cabin. Assembled around that
hearthstone on the winter evening mentioned
Smith and Jones and their young wives sat
and talked — of the past and then present —
of the scenes and persons and events of the
dear home-land; of fathers and mothers; of
brothers and sisters; of childhood's sports
and the enjoyment and experiences of youth ;
of spelling schools and religious revivals; of
bridals and births and funerals; of the un-
counted things of the blessed memories of
which their minds and hearts were full; of
present conditions and hopes ; of the future.
dimly seen, hut to their simple rectitude of
vision proffering no crowns but those of
righteousness, no rewards but those of
modest merit. Both men had been at a
barn-raising that day for John Cosgrove, a
neighbor five miles distant. It was a very
large log barn, with a long shed extension
for horses and cattle. The magnitude of
Cosgrove's improvements was the admira-
tion, not unmixed with envy, of the entire
community. Speaking of this, Jones said;
"Cosgrove's was the biggest raisin"
we've had in this section. It's wonderful
how he's getting ahead; has more acres,
cleared than all the rest of us. and nearly as
many horses and cattle as any ten other set-
tlers put together; he's bound to get rich in
short order."
"Well," replied Smith, "I don't think
there's anything wonderful about it. cmi-
siderin' that he has the help of other's
money."
"Other folks' money; how's that?" said
Jones.
"Why, didn't you know that there's half
a dozen other settlers that have given from
$100 to $200 apiece towards makin Cos-
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
grove' rich; that his land don't cost him
more'n half as much an acre as theirs did
them? Take your case and mine: we've got
a quarter-section apiece; as good land, of
course, as can be found anywhere; but we
paid him $400. Well, that's $400 more'n
he paid the government for the same land.
Then there's Tom Dunlap, Jim Sanford.
Rob. Diehl and Ben Murphy, every one of
them as good as gave Cosgrove $100 apiece.
He entered their four eighties ahead of them
and thev had to pay him twice as much as
he paid for their land, and that took^about
all thev had saved up for improvements.
Now they are crippled, as you and I are, for
want of that very money that Cosgrove got
without its costing him a cent or a day's
work ; $800 clear profit taken from six
neighbors. Is it any wonder that he can go
ahead and get rich?"
"But where did he get the money to
enter so much with?"
"Why, he got $2,000 that was willed him
by old Elkanah Cosgrove, his grandfather,
who died in Maryland last year. John got
word of it two weeks after his cabin-raising,
and he went back and got the money. With
that money he first added to his first quarter-
section the best two eighties joining, which
made him a solid half-section, all for $400.
Then he commenced entering the finest
tracts in this and other townships until he
spent $1,600 of his legacy. He has got back
from us six settlers that $1,600. and is now
the owner of one hundred and twenty acres
which he holds for sale for $1,400, besides
his home farm of three hundred and twenty
acres." Mrs. Smith here interposed —
"And anybody can see how high-flyin'
Malinda Cosgrove is gettin'. The last time
we had preachin' she says to me: 'Nancy
Smith, I don't see how you manage to make
that calico dress last so long and look so
well, with all your work. Now, she had on
a brand new alpaca dress herself; and she
spoke so everybody could hear. I thought
'twas real mean, though I never thought at
the time that probably other folks' money
went into her finery. And it was sickenin'
to see how poor Susan Murphy looked up
to her, just because she had on nice toggery,
that like as not Ben's money helped to buy."
Mrs. Jones agreed with Mrs. Smith, and
the men agreed — that Cosgrove' s operations
savored strongly of extortion, and were very
unfortunate for the new settlement. All felt
that it was unjust that such things were
permissible. Such were the beginnings of
the growth of a parasitic classism that would
at length exhaust the vital sap of the tree of
liberty- and wither its foliage.
CITY OF KEXDALLVILLE.
Previous to the year 1832 no white man
had made the present site of Kendallville
his home, but everything was just as it had
been placed by the fashioning hand of the
Creator. During the autumn of 1832, or
perhaps the spring of 1833, a man named
David Bundle, a tall, awkward specimen of
the gams homo, who. like the immortal
Lincoln, usually displayed about a yard of
uncovered leg ( at the lower extremity ) , ap-
peared in the primitive forests of Kendall-
ville and erected a small round-log cabin,
with the assistance (some say) of the view-
ers appointed to establish the Fort Wayne
and Lima road. The cabin was little better
than a wigwam, as it was very small, and
the roof was made of bark, while the floor,
which was lacking at first, save the one
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
ii5
funned by nature, consisted of clapboards,
rudely rived from some suitable log. Tins
building was located near where the present
residence of Hiram Roberts stands. Travel
had already begun along the Fort Wayne
road, as settlers from Ohio or farther east
first went to the land office at Fort Wayne,
and afterward came north to settle upon the
lands they had purchased. A settlement had
been formed before 1833 in the northern
part of Lagrange county, and it was mainly
through the petition of these people that the
legislature was induced to order the survey
and establishment of the Lima road. This
road was traveled by a few teamsters when
Bundle first built his cabin, and. with the
prospect of getting a few extra shillings in
view, a small unpretentious sign was hung
out that entertainment could be obtained. In
the fall of 1833 Mrs. Frances Dingman,
whose husband bad died in Fort Wayne
while the family were in search of a home
in the wilds of Indiana, appeared at Bundle's
cabin, and, having purchased his righl and
title to the property for a pittance, moved
with her family into the log cabin, where
she continued the entertainment of the trav-
eling public, while Mr. Bundle disappeared,
and bis fate is still unknown. Whether or
not Bundle owned the land or whether he
was anything more than a squatter: at least
be was easily induced to transfer his right
in the cabin to Mrs. Dingman, who did own
the land. This woman possessed consider-
able money, a will of her own and a family
of five or six children, several of whom had
almost reached their majority. She em-
ployed some man to clear a few acres of land
and, in 1836, immediately after the erection
of the Latta sawmill, in Orange township,
she erected the first frame house in Kendall-
ville. a small roughly constructed affair,
which was built near the old log cabin. Mrs.
Dingman found many hardships to contend
with, and when at last, in about 1N37, after
a brief o urtship, Truman Bearss asked her
to become his wife, she consented, and the
couple, happy in the enjoyment of genuine
love, walked over to the Haw Patch, about
twenty miles distant, to have the ceremony
performed. They were bound together in
Hymen's chains, and then started for home,
but the gloom and darkness came on and
they were compelled to pass the night in the
woods. A fire was built and here the newly
made man and wife sat staring at each other
with loving eyes until morning, when thev
started early and succeeded in reaching
home in time for a hearty wedding break-
fast. In about the year 1835 George Ulmer
located on what is known as Iddings' addi-
tion to Kendallville. William Mitchell, in
the spring of 1830, built a double loo cabin
near where his son now resides. Thomas
Ford came soon afterward. Ezra T. 1 shell,
Henry hidings and Daniel Bixler appeared
in about 1836. all locating within an area of
what is now Kendallville; Imt as they were
scattered around a considerable distance
apart it was not yet dreamed in their philos-
ophy that a thriving village was destined to
spring up around them. Isbell was the first
shoemaker in town. John Finch, a wagon-
maker, located before 1840 where Deible's
warerooms now are, and John Gipe erected
a blacksmith simp on the south side of the
creek on west Main street in 1830. In 1N40
there were living on the present site of Ken-
dallville the families of Mrs. Dingman (or
rather of Mr. Bearss), William Mitchell.
John Finch, George Ulmer. Ezra T. Isbell.
Henry Iddings. Daniel Bixler and possibly
n6
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
two or three others, representing- a total
population of about thirty-five or forty. Mr.
Mitchell entertained the public, though no
sign was hung out. By 1840 the settlement
had assumed the appearance of an embryonic
village. A short time before this, through
the influence of Mr. Mitchell, who owned
about five hundred acres of land and pos-
sessed considerable means, a postoffice was
established at his cabin, but a few years later
it was removed to the residence of Hiram
Iddings, but, in about 1849, was re-estab-
lished at the store of Samuel Minot, who had
erected a small building ( yet standing) on
the old George Ackley property, and had
placed therein between two thousand and
three thousand dollars' worth of a general
assortment of goods a year or two before.
The office took its name from Postmaster
General Amos Kendall, and was known as
Kendallville, and the village, as soon as it
was laid out, in 1847, was christened after
the name of the postoffice. Kendallville did
not grow to any noticeable extent between
1840 and 1849, as perhaps not more than a
dozen families lived within its limits. Lis-
bon, however, was at the summit of its
prosperity.
Some time about the year 1847 a com-
pany of wealthy men at Fort Wayne and
along the Lima road associated themselves
together, with a capital stock of about sev-
enty thousand dollars, for the purpose of
transforming the old Fort Wayne and Lima
road into a plank road. Pursuant to the law
of the state, this road was leased by the
company for a term of years, and sawmills
were erected all along the line to furnish
three-inch oak plank, which were to be laid
down on suitable sills, at right angles to the
direction of the road. The planks were
sawed and laid down in 1847 and 1848, and
toll-gates were established from six to ten
miles apart, and superintendents of sections,
living along the line, were employed to keep
the road in repair. The plank road was fifty
miles long, and in some places deviated from
the old Lima road. A few small dividends
were struck, but the road failed to repay
the stockholders for the outlay of construc-
tion and the stock steadily depreciated in
value. Many of the largest stockholders at
Fort Wayne and along the road were wise
enough to get rid of the stock to eastern
capitalists, upon whom much of the burden
of failure fell when the enterprise collapsed.
Toll was collected on portions of the road
until about 1858, when the route was turned
over to the county commissioners.
The above facts have been dwelt upon,
as the subject was one which for several
years affected the financial welfare of every
tax-payer within the corporate limits of the
city. The writer may have made some mis-
takes above, as the facts in the case were ex-
tremelv hard to get. If so. the forbearance
of the reader is asked. "You know how it is
yourself."
SCHOOLS.
Kendallville children first went to' school
about a mile and a half northwest, to the old
log school-house on the Sawyer farm, west
of road and south of creek, and the next was
east of road and north of creek. School
was taught there prior to 1840. Soon after
this house had been built another was erect-
ed between the residences of Ryland Reed
and Hiram Iddings, and as this was nearer
than the other house, the scholars were sent
to it. Cynthia Parker and Miss Wollingfi ird
were earlv teachers at the Iddings school-
ALV< >RD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
house. In about the year 1847 a '"g school
building was erected on the line between
Allen and Wayne townships, about forty
rods west of the Fort Wayne road. Here
the village children assembled to receive in-
struction. No school-house was constructed
in Kendall ville proper until 1858. For sev-
eral years previous to that date, however,
select schools had been taught by competent
instructors in vacant rooms here and there in
town: but this was found to be unsatisfac-
tory; and accordingly, in 1858, a three-story
frame school building, about 30x60 feet, was
erected on the site of the present school
structure, at a cost of about thirty-five hun-
dred dollars. The two lower stories were
devoted to the use of class recitations, while
the third story was used as a hall in which
to hold public exhibitions, lectures, etc.
From one hundred and eighty to two hun-
dred scholars were in attendance from the
beginning. Dr. Riley, an accomplished schol-
ar and an efficient instructor and organizer,
was employed and taught two years, when
he was succeeded by W. W. Dowling, who
likewise taught two years. During the win-
ter of 1863-64, which was very cold, the gov-
ernment troops encamped at the town suf-
fered so much that the colonel ordered the
evacuation of the school-house by teachers
and pupils, and transformed it into a hos-
pital for the sick of his command. Small-
pox broke out among the men at the hos-
pital, but luckily it was prevented from
spreading. After this talk was freely in-
dulged in by the parents of scholars that the
school-house could not be used longer as
such, owing to the liability of the children
catching the smallpox. A secret attempt
was made, during the summer of T864, to
burn the house, but without success, al-
though late in the fall the attempt was re-
peated, resulting in the destruction of the
building. School was then taught in the
basement of the Baptist, Disciple and Pres-
byterian churches, and in the public halls of
the town, until the present fine brick school
structure was erected, at a total cost, includ-
ing finishing, bell, desks, apparatus, etc., of
nearly forty thousand dollars. The house
is 61x81 feet, is three stories in height, has
ten regular school rooms and several others
which could be made such if necessary. It
is one of the finest school structures in north-
ern Indiana. It was built by means of city
bonds, which were issued and sold, but
which after a time depreciated considerably
in value, owing to several reasons, one be-
ing the hard times at the close of the war,
and another the heavy taxation for the pay-
ment of railroad bonds. Money was hard to
obtain, and it is said that while the city was
kicking like Balaam's donkey against the
payment of the railroad bonded debt, the
school-house bonds were sold at a discount
as soon as they were issued — were thrown
upon the market and sold at a discount.
The building was begun with money 1 about
seven thousand dollars) raised by subscrip-
tion, and with the personal liability (about
six thousand dollars) of James Colegrove,
James B. Kimball and Freeman Tabor.
These amounts were afterward covered by
city bonds. The bonds were paid by install-
ments, and were issued in the same manner,
the most at any one time being fifteen hun-
dred dollars, due in one year; fifteen hun-
dred dollars due in two years; two thousand
dollars, in three years; five thousand dollars,
in six years'; five thousand dollars, in nine
years; and hve thousand dollars, in twelve
years; the first three installments drawing
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
interest at six per cent, per annum, and the
last three at ten per cent, per annum. Tins
issue of bonds was made in March, 1867.
The school-house debt has been liquidated.
Within the last few years a high school has
been created, and now young men and wo-
men, with thoughtful faces, pass out into
the world with "sheepskins" of the Kendall-
ville high school. The present enumeration
of school children in the city is about eleven
hundred.
churches.
The Baptists built the first church in
town, the building being now occupied by
Catholics. The house, a frame structure,
was erected in 1856, and ten years later was
transferred to the Catholics for two thou-
sand dollars. They have owned it since.
The Baptist church was used by several de-
nominations which had contributed means
for its erection. A few years later the Meth-
odists built a frame church, which after be-
ing used a few years was destroyed by fire.
After the Baptists sold their church they
soon bought that belonging to the Protestant
Methodists. This they still occupy. These
two and the German Lutheran are now large
brick edifices, tastefully and handsomely fin-
ished, and are a credit to the city. All the
others are frame buildings. William Mitch-
ell, one of the most prominent and charitable
men ever residing in the city, gave each re-
ligious society ( eight in all ) a lot upon which
tn build the church. He also gave the fine
large lot upon which the high school build-
ing now stands. The old Baptist church
was an important building. Prior to 1863
the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and
possibly other societies, met there alternately
to worship, and the old house was almost
constantly filled with one unending song of
praise and thanksgiving. Before its erec-
tion, and subsequent to the year 1852, meet-
ings were held in various vacant rooms and
halls ; but all this inconvenience is now gone
and the sweet-toned bells calling Christians
to worship are heard from many quarters.
The Lutheran St. John's congregation was
organized in 1856, and was first served by
Rev. Schumann, holding the first meetings
in private houses. In 1865 Rev. A. Y\ uest-
man was called to take charge of the con-
gregation, which continued to grow by the
advent of German Lutherans. In 1871 Rev.
Ph. Fleishmann succeeded Rev. Wuestman,
and by this time it was found that the con-
gregation had outgrown the capacity of the
old church. Accordingly, in 1873. a new
brick edifice, valued at ten thousand dollars,
was erected. The old building was made
use of as a school room. Connected with the
congregation is a private school. The enu-
meration is about one hundred. At the death
of Rev. Fleishmann, in 1879. Rev. George
M. Schumns was given charge of the con-
gregation. Since the origin of the society
up to 1900 four hundred and fifty-four per-
sons have been baptized, two hundred and
twenty-eight confirmed, and two hundred
and seven deaths have occurred.
Mr. Minot had opened his store. He
built an asliery and manufactured a con-
siderable quantity of pearl-ash. which was
conveyed by wagon to Fort Wayne. Minot
also built a sawmill, which soon had all it
could do in furnishing lumber for the plank
road.
Israel Graden opened witli a small stock
of goods about 1848, but the next year sold
to Minot & Evans. Two years later the
store was sold to Clark & Bronson.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
On the ist of June, 1849, William Mitch-
ell secured the service of the county surveyor
and laid out twenty lots on the east side of
Main street.
Luke Dig-gins opened the first hotel of
consequence not far from 1850. Four years
later Jesse Kime built the old Kelly House,
controlled by Judge Burnham and James
Kelly. Diggins' house was known as the
"Calico House," from the Dolly Varden
style in which it was painted.
The first follower of Esculapius was
Dr. Cissel. who appeared in 1849. James
Haxby was the first attorney, although there
were several pettifoggers before him.
In [852 Samuel Minot built a large frame
four-storied gristmill, placing therein three
run of stone. Four or five years later the mill
was purchased by George F. Clark, who
greatly increased its usefulness. He shipped
by rail large quantities of excellent flour to
different points. About the beginning of the
Civil war the property was transferred to
parties from Toledo, and after it had been
heavily insured it was burned to the ground
and the insurance money was demanded and
obtained. Damaging charges were made,
but were never substantiated.
Thomas Evans, a cabinetmaker, ap-
peared about 1852.
George Baker placed a small stock of
groceries in the Graden building, but soon
sold out to William Mitten. After the dis-
solution of Minot & Evans the latter con-
tined the business with Mr. Parkman. Rood,
Daniels & Company started in 1853, with
dry goods and railroad supplies. A few years
later Northam, Barber & Welch opened a
store. Jacob Lessman appeared about 1856,
but sold to J. F. Code a short time after-
ward. A Hebrew partnership ( Loeb Broth-
ers ) began selling ready-made clothing
about [856. Peter Ringle bought out Evans
in 1854. M. M. Bowen engaged in the mer-
cantile pursuit not far from 1857. About
1857 Mr. Welch bought his partner's inter-
est, and soon afterward effected a partner-
ship with G. W. Greenfield. Haskins &
Roller started about 1858.
F. & H. Tabor built the gristmill now
■ owned by Mr. Brillhart in the year 1857.
The mill, which cost $6,000, was supplied
with three run of stone, and in 1859 a saw-
mill was attached to it. Mr. Tabor claims
that this was the first circular sawmill in
northeastern Indiana. At the end of six
years F. & Tl. Tabor disposed of their inter-
est in the mills, but in 1804 built another
sawmill and the following year a gristmill.
These mills cost over $7,000. The grist-
mill has been rebuilt within the past few
years, and G. C. Glatte started up not far
from 1857.
On the 6th of January, 1858. Mitchell
& Hitchcock (William Mitchell and Henry
H. Hitchcock ) began a private banking busi-
ness in Kendallville, and continued until De-
cember 31, 1861, at which time the firm was
dissolved. Hitchcock going out. the business
being resumed by William Mitchell & Sons
(William Mitchell. John Mitchell and
Charles S. Mitchell), continuing thus from
January 1, 1862, to June 11, 1863. On the
1 2th of June the business was merged into
the First National Bank of Kendallville,
William Mitchell being elected President and
Charles S. .Mitchell cashier. The first board
of directors were William Mitchell. John
Mitchell. Charles S. Mitchell. William M.
Clapp, of Albion, and William W. Maltby,
of Ligonier. The first stockholders were
the above, with the addition of Mrs. M. C.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Dawson, of Kendallville. William Mitchell
and Charles S. Mitchell acted as president
and cashier until their respective deaths, in
September, 1865, and September, 1866.
Since the death of William Mitchell his son,
John Mitchell. has been president of the bank.
John A. Mitchell was cashier from Septem-
ber, 1 866, to January 10, 1871, at which
date Emanuel H. Shulze succeeded him.
Mr. Shulze died in November, 1878. Jacob
G. Waltman became cashier on the 14th of
January, 1879, and has held the position
since. The bank is doing a good business.
Thomas Brothers opened with a stock in
1859. Other merchants were engaged in
business during these years, and since that
time their name has been legion.
Jacobs & Brother engaged in the mer-
cantile business in 1862.
Artimus Doggins built a three-story
frame south of the depot grounds and moved
his cabinet shop 'into it, and after several
years it was sold to W. S. Thomas for a
hub ami spoke factory, during which time
William Cliilds. who had figured largely in
sawmills, real estate, etc, and had built the
brick tavern near the Lake Shore depot,
finally failed and bankrupted several of the
best citizens.
William H. Austin started the first news-
paper at Kendallville in April, 1849, it also
being the first newspaper in Noble county,
.mil was issued and published from the sec-
ond story of Samuel Minor's store, and this
building is yet standing and known as the
George Aichele property on South Main
street. The paper was called the Noble
County Star, and afterward removed to Al-
bion and sold to Samuel E. Alvord and then
the name was changed to Albion Observer.
Mention of these journals has also been
made in the paragraph headed "Noble Coun-
ty Press," but in this local record a slight
repetition will not be deemed superfluous.
During the spring of either 1859 or i860
Mr. Judson Palmiter, of Ligonier. a man of
bright intellect, who had previously been
connected with the Ligonier Republican in
an editorial capacity, went to Kendallville
and established the Noble County Journal,
the first newspaper ever published there.
The political complexion of the Journal was
Republican; subscription price, $1.50 per
year: and soon a circulation of about five
hundred was secured, which was afterward
about doubled. The Journal was published
by Piatt & McGovern. The editor, Mr. Pal-
miter, was a cautious, forcible writer; and
the local columns of the Journal were crowd-
ed with terse, spicy news. In the prolonged
editorial fight between the Journal and the
Standard the editor of the former was de-
termined, skillful, and often justly wrathful
and vindictive. His words were daggers,
and his sentences two-edged swords. He
conducted the paper with abundant success
until the latter part of 1808, when the office
was sold to Brillhart & Kimball, and J. S.
Cox took the editorial chair. The Journal
continued thus until the 1st of January,
1870, when it was purchased by Dr. N. Teal,
who. in August of the same year, transferred
the entire property to C. O. Myers, and the
Journal was then consolidated with the
Standard, which .was established in June,
L863, by Dr. Myers, but the excellent busi-
ness qualifications, practical experience and
indomitable energy of its founder soon
placed it in the front rank of county jour-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
nals. The Standard has always been a stal-
wart Republican paper, fearless and inde-
pendent; and from its inception, to the pres-
ent time has received liberal patronage and
universal public confidence. Several of
its contemporaries and rival publications
have gone "where the woodbine twineth,"
while the Standard has been steadily grow-
ing in patronage, power and influence, and
now enjoys a larger circulation than any
other paper in the county. The Standard
editorials were extremely bitter, dealing out
invective and denunciation that rankled long
in the hearts of enemies, while friends were
treated with uniform kindness and courtesy.
Political and other differences between the
Standard and the Journal were fought to
the last ditch, and the personal enmitv en-
gendered will long be remembered by the
citizens of the county. On the ist of No-
vember, 1880, Dr. Myers sold the Standard
office, which he had occupied successfully for
seventeen and a half years, to H. J. Long.
August 1 J. 1882, it was purchased by Rer-
ick & Conlogue. and so continued until April
I, 1887, when Dr. Rerick sold his interest
to his son, John D. Rerick, and after that
the firm name was Conlogue & Rerick.
The first issue of the Weekly News ap-
peared on the 13th of November, 1877, the
editor and proprietor being Dr. A. S. Par-
ker, an old and respected citizen of Kendall-
ville, where he located in 1857. Nearly two
years before the first issue mentioned above
Dr. Parker had purchased the paper, which
was then at Garrett, and had continued its
publication there until compelled by the pres-
sure of hard times to make a removal, which
he did, as stated above. The first issue com-
prised two hundred copies only, as but little
effort had been made to secure subscribers,
though the two hundred copies went perma-
nently into two hundred homes. It started
out without any special friends to boost or
back it up. Without assistance the editor
and family have labored until at present the
circulation reaches nearly a thousand, and
new names were added daily. Its politics is
Democratic, though its editor is not so blind
a partisan as to believe all that is good po-
litically is within his party. The paper is on
a solid financial basis.
The short-lived papers of Kendallville
have been as follows: In 1862 Barron &
Stowe issued a small neutral paper, about
twelve by fifteen inches, designed to circulate
among the many troops then quartered there,
making a specialty of war news and inci-
dents of camp life, especially those in the
camp at the town, and affording an excellent
means of advertisements of the merchants
and others to reach the eyes of the "boys in
blue." The circulation soon ran up to nearly
five hundred, and continued thus for about
two years, when the office was sold to C. O.
Myers.
In the latter part of about 1869 Hopkins
& Piatt began the publication of a small paper
called the Daily Bulletin ; but, after it had
continued a few months with partial suc-
cess, the official management was greatly al-
tered, the publishers becoming Piatt & Hop-
kins, and Thomas L. Graves taking the edi-
torial chair. The paper was rechristened
the Independent, came out with a bright
face, and was designed to be, as its new
name indicated, independent. At the expi-
ration of a few months the office was re-
moved to Michigan, and the Independent
ceased to exist in 1870. while the circula-
tion was about three hundred. In about
1872 the Ro,,f brothers began publishing
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY. INDIANA.
the Semi-Weekly Times, a small sheet, neu-
tral politically, and designed as an advertis-
ing medium. It was issued about six months
and then perished. About the time of the
great temperance crusade in Kendallville,
some ten or twelve years ago, a temperance
magazine, published and edited by Shafer &
Lash, was issued monthly for about six or
eight months. It was an earnest exponent
of temperance principles ; but its death was
contemporaneous with that of the enthusi-
asm arising from the crusade.
RAILROADS.
[Taken from manuscripts sent the author
of the present work. Its authenticity, while
unknown to us, is nevertheless reliable, and
can not be doubted with propriety.]
The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
Railway Company was formed in 1869 by
the consolidation of the following four rail-
roads, each (if which was composed formerly
of two others : Michigan Southern & North-
ern Indiana: Cleveland & Toledo; Buffalo
& Erie; and Cleveland, Painesville & Ashta-
bula. The Michigan Southern was projected
in 1837 through the southern part of the
state from Monroe on the east to New Buf-
falo on the west, but was continued on to
Chicago in 1852.
Of the Northern Indiana Railroad the
Chicago Times of 1877 has this to say: "In
1835 John B. Chapman, of Warsaw, Indi-
ana, a member of the State Legislature, in-
troduced a hill for the incorporation of the
'Atlantic & Pacific Railroad.' He was ridi-
culed out of this ambitious title, and finally
consented to come down to 'Buffalo & Mis-
sissippi Railroad,' but would not yield an-
other mile. Work on the road was begun
in 1835, but in 1837 came the financial
crash that doomed the railroad to a sleep
equal in duration to that of Rip Van Win-
kle. An effort at resuscitation was made in
1847. culminating finally in the road's pass-
ing to the Litchfields, under the name of
Northern Indiana Railroad. The work went
on slowly until at last, in 1855, the Michigan
Southern and the Northern Indiana were
consolidated with a union of those two
names. The road was completed through
Noble county early in 1857. Under the
presidency of the Vanderbilts the road is
paying its stockholders dividends."
During the period of survey through No-
ble county the engineers for the road had
run two lines some distance south of Ken-
dallville, but were satisfied with neither.
Through the solicitation of Samuel Mkiot,
who advanced the funds necessary, a third
line was surveyed through the village bv the
road engineers. This last was found to so
far excel in every manner the two other
proposed routes that it was accepted at once.
From this time the prosperity and growth
of the village was assured. Due credit must
be given to Mr. Minot for the assiduous,
unrequited labor he gave in order that his
"ain town" might rival a pompous neigh-
bor, who made many offers in order to se-
cure the coveted prize, but all in vain. A
j generous spirit actuated all these sturdy pio-
neers, and the interest of the individual be-
came lost in the concern of the community.
Mr. Mitchell, Judge Hanna and Pliny Hoag-
land, of Fort Wayne, at this time were en-
gaged in building a railroad from Crest-
line, Ohio, to Fort Wayne. Ind.. Mr.
Mitchell having invested his entire fortune
in the stock of the company, while the other
gentlemen appropriated the greater portion
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUXTY. INDIANA.
of their wealth in the same enterprise. At
the completion of that road it was made
optional with the stockholders to reserve
their bonds or to take possession of the land
they had given as adequate security. Mr.
Mitchell chose the latter in preference to the
former — undoubtedly a wise choice, as it
formed the nucleus of his fortune in after
years. On his return to Kendallville in 1853
he exerted all his power and influence for
the completion of the Lake Shore & Michi-
gan Southern Railroad and the making of
the village a desirable place of residence.
He surveyed a line of lots on tTTe west side
of Main street from his residence to the rail-
road, the price of the lots being placed at
sixty dollars apiece. To the complaints of
some disgruntled villagers that the lots
would never be sold he was utterly deaf; and
time proved his judgment to be correct, as
the lots "went off like hot cakes." The
railroad was completed through Noble coun-
ty about 1857 and the company at mice be-
gan to operate the business. So far as is
known, the citizens of the village contrib-
uted but little toward the construction of the
road.
Grand Rapids & Indiana. — About this
time another road began its struggle for ex-
istence. From authentic sources is quoted
the following account of the organization of
the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railway Com-
pany:
"The corporation first known as the
Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company
was duly incorporated and organized by arti-
cles of association, bearing date of January
|S, [854, with power to construct, maintain
and operate a railroad from the town of
Hartford, in Blackford county, [nd., to a
point on the line of the state, in the direction
of Grand Rapids, Mich. Afterward, by
various articles of consolidation and incor-
poration with other roads, it assumed the
above corporate name in June, 1857, and at
that time had a declared capital stock of
$2,800,000, including large tracts of valua-
ble timber land grants in northern Michigan,
but the paid-up capital of the company was
so small that it was found impossible to meet
the expense of constructing the road, in
which case the land grants, after a certain
date, would revert to the government. To
prevent this various expediencies were re-
sorted to, and at last extension of the time
for the completion of certain portions of
the road was obtained.
"Work was resumed under several con-
tracts, one of which was with George \\".
Ceisendorff. of Rome City, dated December,
1864, to build and equip fifteen miles of
mad, understood to be between the latter
town of Lagrange, Ind. ; $19,000 paid
by Mr. Ceisendorff to the company were ex-
pended on the road north of Grand Rapids.
Still the company found itself unable to con-
tinue the completion of the road, and a new
executive administration under the old or-
ganization was effected, that some relief
might be obtained. Confidence was partial-
ly restored, and the citizens along the road
in Noble and Lagrange counties subscribed
about two hundred thousand dollars in aid
of the work, the most of which was payable
conditionally, and hence was unavailable
until the conditions had been complied with.
Soon, after considerable difficulty, another
extension of time until January 1. 1868, was
obtained. The Pittsburg. Fort Wayne &
Chicago Railroad was solicited for help,
and furnished it conditionally by endorsing
certain stipulations on fifteen hundred one-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
thousand-dollar bonds of the issue of Janu-
ary. i860. But this seemed to afford only
temporary relief, as in April, 1869, a num-
ber of responsible parties living in New
York, Philadelphia and Pittsburg, and
known as the Continental Improvement
Company, obtained such control of the
Grand Rapids Company that the completion
of the road- was rapidly pushed forward,
with the aid of a declared capital of two
million dollars, owned by the last named cor-
poration, until, in December, 1873, the road,
constructed and completed in accordance
with the contract, was turned over to the
Grand Rapids & Indiana Company. Thus
it was that after a long, distressing struggle
for life, the road, at the price of large profits,
was placed upon a permanent running basis.
"When the Grand Rapids & Indiana
Railroad Company were projecting their
road through the county, citizens along the
hue were asked to take stock therein. Many
did this in and around Kendallville, and fin-
ally the city government issued its bonds
for eighty-three thousand dollars to the rail-
road company, and received in return stock
in the company to the same amount. Some
time afterward it became apparent, from the
depreciation in the value of the stock, among
other tilings, that large tracts of valuable
timber land in northern Michigan, in which
every dollar's worth of stock had an inter-
est, had been disposed of in such a manner
as to deprive the stockholders of any interest
therein. This led the city to refuse to pay
its bonds at the par value of the stock, al-
though it was not the design to repudiate
the debt. A more detailed account of the
whole proceeding is as follows:
' Whereas, a majority of the resident freeholders
of the City of Kendallville have petitioned the common
council of said city to subscribe for and take $83,000
capital stock in the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad,
for and on behalf of said city, and to make and issue
bonds of the city in payment thereof; and, whereas, it
further appears, that the railroad, as proposed to be
constructed, will run into and pass through said city;
therefore,
" ' Be it resolved by the common council of the
City of Kendallville, That said city will subscribe for
and take $83,000 capital stock in aid of the Grand Rapids
& Indiana Railroad, and thatbondsof said city shall be
issued in payment therefor, as follows: Eighty-three cor-
porate coupon bonds of $1,000 each, signed by the mayor
and attested by the clerk of said city, and payable twenty
years from the loth day of May, 1867, with interest at
the rate of six per centum per annum, payable annually
on the 1st day of May of each year (both principal and
interest) at the office of the treasurer of said city, that
said bonds shall be delivered to the proper officer of said
Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company only on
condition — First, that the company issue to the City of
Kendallville. in lieu thereof, certificates for capital stock
of said company to the amount of $83,000; Second, that
sufficient guaranty be given to said city by the presi-
dent of said railroad company that all moneys arising
from the sale of said bonds shall be expended upon
that part of said road lying between the Allen county
line, in the State of Indiana and the city of Kendall-
ville; that the committee upon ordinance prepare and
report an ordinance to carry into effect these resolu-
tions.' "
At a meeting of the city council on the
ioth of June. 1867, that portion of the above
resolution requiring the president of the rail-
road company to guarantee that all money
arising from the sale of city bonds should
be expended upon that portion of the road
lying between the Allen county line and
Kendallville was unanimously "rescinded
and repealed." It w 7 as further ordained, at
this session, that so much of the above reso-
lution as referring to subscribing and taking
eighty-three thousand dollars stock in the
Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, and to
issuing city bonds in payment therefor, "be
and the same is hereby repealed." This was
accomplished by a unanimous vote. Imme-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
diately afterward the following' resolution
was offered :
" 'Be it resolved by the common council of the city
of Kendallville, That whereas, the Grand Rapids & In-
diana Railroad Company has prepared a proper certifi-
cate for capital stock in said company to the amount of
830 shares of $100 each, and by its president, Joseph K.
Edgerton, has also executed a written guarantee that
the proceeds of the bonds ordered to be executed by
said city by special ordinance adopted May 8, 1867,
shall be applied in the construction of said railroad
between Fort Wayne and Kendallville, and not else-
where, and the said company having consented to de-
liver to the said city the private obligations or subscrip-
tions to the capital stock of said company made by the
citizens of Kendallville during the year L866; Now,
therefore, the treasurer of said city is directed to receive
from said Joseph K. Edgerton the certificates of stock-
as aforesaid and the written guarantee and the private
obligations or subscription aforesaid, and in payment
therefor to deliver to said Edgerton the bonds executed
by virtue uf the special ordinance aforesaid, being eighty-
three corporate bonds — coupon bonds of $1,000 each;
and the said city treasurer is further directed, upon ap-
plication to deliver said private obligations to the several
citizens of the city who executed the same and who now
reside in said city.'
"This resolution remained pending
until the next session of the Council, when
il was voted upon and passed without a dis-
senting- voice. On motion, Mr. Edgerton
was appointed to cast the vote of the city
at the annual meeting of the stockholders, to
he held at Sturgis, Michigan, on the third
Wednesday in July. 1867. He was also in-
structed to vote for Robert Dykes as direc-
tor of the company, from Kendallville. In
July, 1869, some misgivings having arisen
in the breasts of the citizens of Kendall-
ville regarding the good faith of the Grand
Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company as to
the fulfillment of its promises and obliga-
tions, and the proper disposal or application
of the city's subscription, the president of
the company was informed that the city
would not pay its obligations — would repu-
diate the payment of its bonds — unless some
further assurance was received that the stock
subscribed would he properly expended, and
that. too. without any unnecessary delay.
Whether such assurance was received is not
known; at all events, matters went on until
it was learned that the Grand Rapids Com-
pany had in some manner transferred its
interest in the road to the Continental Im-
provement Company, and that the stock in
the road held by the city of Kendallville was
either worthless, or nearly so, from the prob-
able fact that the extensive pine timber lands
in Michigan owned by the company, to
which all such stock had a claim, had been
disposed of in a manner to defraud the stock-
holders of any interest therein, whereupon
one hundred and fourteen citizens of Ken-
dallville petitioned the city council, asking
that the Continental Improvement Company
be required to furnish the city with eighty-
three thousand dollars of stock, or upon fail-
ure to do so such citizens would refuse to
pay the principal of their bonds, the interest,
or any part thereof. The petition was or-
dered on file, and the mayor was instructed
to employ Morris & Worden, attorneys of
Fort Wayne, to ascertain the true condition
of affairs, and whether the city of Kendall-
ville was liable for the payment of the eighty-
three thousand dollars stock subscribed. This
last resolution, however, was soon rescinded,
and the council employed L. E. Goodwin to
ascertain the extent of the legal liability of
the city for the bonds given to the railroad
company.
"As time passed it became more appar-
ent to the citizens that they had been out-
flanked when they gave their bonds to the
railroad company, and a bitter opposition to
126
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the payment of the subscription was freely
expressed everywhere. At last a petition
with sixty-eight names was presented to the
council, asking that an agent he appointed
to see whether the bonds of the city in the
possession of the railroad company could lie
negotiated at some satisfactory rate, in view
of the existing hard times and burdensome
taxation : but at the next meeting another
petition, asking that action on the above peti-
tion lie deferred until after the election of
the city officers for the ensuing year, was
presented with one hundred and forty-two
names.
"At the next session the council resolved
to appoint a committee of three citizens to
confer with the holders of the city's bonds,
as to the best terms such bonds could lie ne-
gotiated. A conference between the com-
mittee and Mr. Edgerton, of the Grand Rap-
ids road, and G. W. Cass, of the Continental
Improvement Company, was held, and ar-
rangements were made by which the bonds
were to be purchased by the city, and, in
lieu thereof, the stock-held by the city was
to be transferred to the holders of the bonds ;
but as this was not followed by the proper
action on the part of the bondholders, it
was resolved by the city council that the
treasurer be instructed to pay no more cou-
pons on the bonds until further orders. This
action brought from Mr. Cass the proposi-
tion to exchange forty thousand dollars of
the 1 Kinds of the city with the overdue cou-
pons attached for eight}- thousand dollars
of the stock in the Grand Rapids Railroad,
and also- an agreement to discount twenty-
five per cent, on the remaining debt, if the
same be paid in one and two years. After
long debate through several successive meet-
ings the council finallv rejected the offer of
Mr. Cass, but agreed to exchange twenty
thousand dollars and the stock in the city's
possession for the eighty-three thousand dol-
lars in bonds held by the Continental Com-
pany, the twenty thousand dollars to be pay-
aide in three years in equal annual payments.
Mr. Cass, by letter, refused to accept this
proposition, and further debate was indulged
in by the city council regarding the best
means of adjusting the difference. A com-
mittee of three was appointed to go to Stur-
gis, Michigan — Messrs. Ringle, Cain and
Orviatt. These men could secure no better
terms, and accordingly a mass meeting of
the citizens of the city was called to be held
on the 2d of August, 1870, at which time
an almost unanimous opinion was expressed
not to accept the proposition of Mr. Cass ;
but in the face of this feeling the city coun-
cil, by a vote of three to two, accepted the
proposal. Any further action, however,
was postponed until a petition, signed by two
hundred and thirty-eight qualified voters of
the city, and asking that the resolution of the
council be rescinded, was presented, when the
prayer of the petitioners was granted. The
payment of the coupons on the bonds was
refused, and after threatening suit against
the city treasurer for the collection of the
same the railroad president was confronted
by a resolution from the council supporting
the treasurer in his refusal to pay the over-
due interest. After numerous propositions
from both sides for a settlement without
success, suit was finally begun in the United
States circuit court at Indianapolis, by J. T.
Davis, for the collection of overdue interest
on the city bonds. While this was pending,
further efforts were made to adjust the
trouble.
"The city received a proposition from
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
127
certain attorneys of Fort Wayne to the effect
that if fifteen thousand dollars would be
guaranteed them the}- would clear the city
of its bonded indebtedness. This proposi-
tion was accepted and suit was begun. Va-
rious other complications arose, until at last,
in January, 1874, the following contract was
entered into between the city and Air. Cass,
representing the Continental Improvement
Company :
" 'The said city shall assign and deliver
to the said Continental Improvement Com-
pany the certificates for eight hundred and
thirty shares of the stock in the Grand Rap-
ids & Indiana Railroad, now held by said
city. Second, the said city shall pay the said
Continental Improvement Company twenty-
five thousand dollars in ten (To) equal an-
nual payments, with interest payable annu-
ally on the whole; the first payment to be
made on the 1st of October, 1874, and the
remaining payments on the 1st of October,
annually, thereafter until all shall be paid,
and the interest shall be computed on the
twenty-five thousand dollars from the first
day of October, 1874. Third, the cause now
pending against said company in the Allen
circuit court to be withdrawn, and all suits
against said company in which said city is
interested, either directly or indirectly, to be
dismissed immediately by said city. Fourth,
the installments ($2,500) and interest as
above stated, as it becomes clue, and at the
same time surrenders to said city ten thou-
sand dollars of said bonds or coupons now
held by said company, and when said city
shall have performed all the other stipula-
tions herein agreed to be performed by said
city, then the Continental Improvement
Company will, without further payment, de-
liver to the said city the bonds of the Con-
tinental Improvement Company.' "
Thus, after a long struggle and pro-
longed litigation, the railroad was estab-
lished and the city government secured from
serious loss. Under the management of the
Grand Rapids & Indiana Company the rail-
road has been doing a prosperous business.
Her rails of steel, although laid at great cost
and during a period not at all propitious to
such an undertaking, have long been trav-
eled by the prancing steed of iron, distribut-
ing the luxuries as well as the necessities of
life from section to section, from city to city,
dropping them even by the wayside, carrying
both joy and sadness, both pleasure and pain,
to the many country folk adjacent to the line
of travel. To these enterprises the city of
Kendallville owes much of its present pros-
perity, and indeed they are enterprises which
would and do bring success and prosperity
to any thrifty hamlet, village, town or city.
HORSE-THIEVES AND BLACKLEGS.
In an early day Noble county was infest-
ed with a lot of horse-thieves and counter-
feiters that were hard to beat. They were
gentlemen in appearance, well dressed, edu-
cated, accommodating, good neighbors, and
all that. The leaders came here from Sum-
mit county, Ohio. For a time they con-
trolled the courts and justices, and many
people were afraid of what might happen
from the enmity of these counterfeiters.
To this kind of business William Mitch-
ell was opposed. He was one who feared
nothing — neither man nor devil. One night
Mr. Mitchell was hauling a load of lumber
home from the Latta sawmill, five miles
28
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
north of his home. One of the prominent
blackleg leaders, and a neighbor of Mr.
Mitchell, had given out that he would give
Mr. Mitchell a licking. Well, this man
passed Mitchell on horseback twice in the
woods that night, passing the time of night
with him. Then Mitchell got a club and
laid it on the lumber ready for any emer-
gency, but the fellow's heart failed him and
he did not try it.
Next day this same man was riding by on
horseback, and Mitchell went out and asked
him what there was about his saying that
he was going to lick him. The blackleg said
it was so. "All right." said Mr. Mitchell,
"we will try it right here," and at that they
went at it, and they were pretty evenly
matched. Parties came along and pulled
them apart. The blackleg found that he
could not scare Mr. Mitchell worth a cent,
and ever afterward Mr. "Blackleg" was a
"back-number."
In the fall of 1840 two young men named
Smith and Turner broke jail at Bluffton,
Ind., and came into this neighborhood.
'William blunter, of Huntertown, Allen
county, came to Mitchell's house. A reward
was offered for the capture of Smith and
Turner, and Mr. Hunter told Mr. Mitchell
that these parties. Smith and Turner, had
been in jail for horse-stealing. They had
been seen in the neighborhood, and it was
known where they were stopping.
Mitchell went to Rice's. Sawyer's, Oak
and Tom Johnson's for help in capturing
these two men. Mitchell and Hunter, the two
Johnsons and a few others went to the house.
When thev stepped inside they found Smith
and Turner ready to travel, saddlebags on
their arms, talking to their host. Smith
made a break for one door and one of the
Johnsons went after him. Smith went for
and into a field of standing corn. Johnson
could not run as fast as Smith, and the lat-
ter got away. It is pretty hard to follow a
man on the move at night in a field of stand-
ing corn. Turner broke for the stable,
where horses were saddled, and Mitchell af-
ter him. They ran fur half a mile, and each
got so tired that they rolled over down-
timber. Finally the Rice boys came along,
heard the hallowing and captured Turner,
took him to Brown's tavern, two miles south,
put him in bed, tied with a rope, and set a
fellow to watch him. While the crowd was
outside talking the situation over, Turner cut
the rope, jumped and ran for dear life, but
was caught straddle of the picket dooryard
fence, taken back to bed and later lodged in
jail at Bluffton. He broke jail again, and
I in May, 1841, the barns of Asa Brown (in
j whose tavern Turner had been kept at
Brown's ) and of Mr. Mitchell were burned
I one night at the same time. Mitchell was in
Ohio at the time, near Defiance, working as
a contractor on the Wabash & Erie canal.
The neighbor who had harbored Smith and
Turner was the first man at the fire, and got
on top of our log house to keep the sparks
from setting fire to it. My mother told him
to come down, and he did, like Davy Crock-
ett's coon. She sent John Steel to take his
place. John Steel was true blue. The barns
were soon rebuilt. The sympathizers with
these blacklegs were known. There are
man)- weak people who are afraid to stand
for the right at all times and under all con-
ditions.
Some years later the Regulators were
organized. Some good men and some bad
men went into this organization. They ter-
rorized suspects and strung them up with a
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
rope to cause them to tell what was wanted
to he known, and finally it resulted in a mob
which hung- a man by the name of McDou-
gal, south of Ligonier — a stain which No-
ble county will never get rid of — mob law.
THE FORT WAYNE & LIMA PLANK ROAD.
The farm products along the Mongoqui-
non (or Lima) road, for sixty miles north
of Fort Wayne, all went there for a market,
the outlet being the Wabash & Erie Canal.
Well, a wagon road through a dense wilder-
ness s, i, ,n comes to be almost impassable, and
the Fort Wayne merchants and enterprising
men along this road conceived the idea of
building a plank road. Stock in the corpora-
tion was payable in cash, dry goods, grocer-
ies, hardware, saddles, harness, boots and
shoes, labor, and, in fact, almost everything
conceivable.
Now, to convert this stuff into the pay-
ing for the labor, sawmills, timber, etc., was
a task that William Mitchell, of Kendall-
ville, was selected to superintend, and the
exchanging and trading of the above got to
be called "dicker,*' and Kendallville "Dicker-
town" — no money or so little that it cut no
figure in the trading.
The plank road was built from Fort
Wayne to Kendallville. and then straight
north through South Milford, in Lagrange
county, to Union Mills, and then west to
Ontario. This road was a wonderful benefit
and opened up the country. When a team
of horses got on the plank road away they
went. What was a load became as nothing
as soon as they struck the plank. .Men ran
foot races and everybody was happy because
thev were out of the mud.
During the construction of this plank-
road in Swan township a gang of men were
laying the planks across a small marsh, and
when loaded teams from the north came
down on to the marsh they had to be turned
around by the plank men and go back to get
around the swamp. One of these plank men
takes a piece of coal and marks a hand point-
ing east on a board for a sign, and it read,
"Go, Damn You." That sign told the story,
and all that was necessary to say to the trav-
eler to keep him from getting down into the
swamp, where he had to be turned back.
When the plank road was constructed
from the south up to Kendallville, the people
along the Mongoquinon road were asked to
contribute toward the construction on that
line; but they thought the road had to go
that way, and far-seeing men on the line
through South Milford and to Union Mills,
in Lagrange county, held out inducements,
and the planks were laid on that line, and it
opened a more direct road to Kendallville
from the north as well.
Brown's Tavern (no hotels then), now
Lisbon, got to be a prosperous place, and
when the Michigan Southern & Northern In-
diana Railroad was prospected the line ran
through Lisbon; but Lisbon was a high ele-
vation and the valley of the Elkhart was.
adopted, which brought the line through:
Kendallville.
As a matter of history it may he stated
that William Mitchell, of Kendallville,
owned and laid out the town (now city ) 01
Kendallville, and he. in connection with
Samuel Hanna and Pliny Hoagland, of Fort
Wayne, under the firm name of William
.Mitchell & Company, took a contract in 1852
to construct the Ohio & Indiana Railroad
from Crestline. Ohio, to Fort Wayne,
lnd., one hundred and thirty-one miles
13°
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
While doing this Mitchell took stock in the
railroad and paid for the stock in lands upon
which Kendall ville now stands, and several
hundred acres adjoining the city at a good
price. Later on, when the Michigan South-
ern & Northern Indiana Railroad was being-
located, he bought the land back from the
Ohio & Indiana Railroad, and the last pur-
chase was better than the first sale. So
much for foresight.
REMINISCENCES OF JOHN MITCHELL.
The following reminiscences by John
Mitchell are decidedly interesting: A per-
son looking at the map of Noble county,
I ml., will notice two angling lines of wagon
roads running northwest and southeast —
one runnng through the west side of the
county, called the Goshen road, the other
through the east tier of townships, called
the Mongoquinon or Fort Wayne and Lima
plank road.
These roads were the first in the county,
and those on which Indian traders and land-
hunters found a way for transportation.
These roads were at first Indian trails, and
afterwards became the great highways on
f whch were transported the products of the
country down to Fort Wayne, where a mar-
ket was made by the Wabash & Erie canal to
Toledo, Ohio.
It will be found that from Fort Wayne
north nearly fifty miles the Mongoquinon
road angles most all the way. and it may be
observed that all the first roads leading into
Fort Wayne angled through the country on
the shortest line, and these became the main
lines of travel and commerce.
On the Mongoquinon road settlements
started at Marseilles, Tamarack, Brown's
Tavern ( which later became Lisbon) ; then
came Kendallville. Avilla. Swan, and Hi
Cramer's Corners began to show signs of
commercial prosperity, and the Darwinian
theory, "The Survival of the Fittest," was
to be the result.
The east half of Noble county was a
dense wilderness in August, 1836, — a forest
of whitewood. black walnut, hard and soft
maple, ash, oak and beech, such as would
pall the heart of the strongest in these days,
covered the ground, and had to be got rid
of before crops could be grown. One who
never saw such timber as grew in this coun-
try cannot imagine the quantity that covered
the ground, any more than can one who
never saw the effects of our Civil war
imagine what war is. Talk can give but
little idea of either.
One asks why should people seek to
make a home in such a wilderness, when the
prairies of Illinois and southern Michigan
were already cleared and ready for the plow?
I Emigration came here from central Ohio
and farther east in Pennsylvania. "West-
1 ward the star of empire takes its way." and
they came from a heavy-timbered country
and were not afraid of timber, were used to
chopping- and clearing, and then again, the
lands in the east half of Noble county were
in 1836 in the hands of the government and
sold at one dollar and a quarter an acre.
The settlers were poor people and looking
Eor cheap hinds. Two dollars and a half to
five dollars an acre was the usual price,
1 where land was bought from "eastern specu-
lators," as they were termed then. Again.
you would hear this argument used: Land
that would not grow timber (meaning
prairie land) would not grow farm crops.
For several years there was an exodus
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
131
of strong men from Wayne. Allen and Swan
townships, who went to the prairies up north
with grain cradles to assist in cutting the
wheat there and earn a little money to pa}
their taxes. Money was very scarce in those
times. Black salts made from ashes
gathered from log heaps was a cash article.
Skins of animals were received in payment
of store debts. The merchant then bought
his goods on a year's time in New York.
Profits were large, time of payment 1< nig.
But the country merchant then did not suc-
ceed better than now.
Log houses and log stables were made
comfortable by stopping the cracks with
chinking and mud. The clapboard roofs
were held down by logs running crossways
of the clapboards, with blocks to keep the
logs apart. Many a time the writer, as a
boy, has waked up on a winter morning to
rind the bedclothes covered with snow,
drifted through the cracks of a clapboard
roof. It was nut cold then. Young blood
flows quick and warm. Get out in the snow
barefooted before you go to bed and see how-
warm your feet will get. Try it once, young
reader.
Nails were then unknown, and there
was no money to buy them with even if they
were known. No fences at first: soon came
brush fences and wind-rows of timber. All
stuck ran in the wends and with bells on.
In the woods you could hear the ax of the
woodman, the tinkle of the bell on cattle
and horses, the crack of the hunter's rifle
quite a way oft". One knew about where to
find the cattle and horses each daw Some-
times thev strayed farther off and then had
to be brought home. No underbrush then;
the Indians had kept the young brush burned
off for hunting the wild game. The woods
were full of deer, turkeys and wolves. Now
and then was seen a hear or a wildcat, and
coons without number and many fur-hearing
animals abounded.
Everybody's hogs ran together in the
wo ds and were wild. They got fat in the
fall of the year on "shack" (acorns and
beechnuts). They had good nests in the
woods fi r winter, made from leaves of the
trees on the warm side of a fallen trunk.
The leaves kept the ground from freezing
and they could hud the "shack" by rooting
I the snow away, and then the thick woods
made the climate warmer than now. The
pork from hogs fattened on "shack" was
sweet but soft, and the buyers at Fort Wayne
and farther east would stick their fingers
through it and call it "shack pork." When
fried it all went to grease, and would not
stick to a chopper's ribs like that from corn-
fed hogs.
The breed soon got to be of the razor-
hack variety, and the bristles on some of
them were used by the early cobblers with
the wax-end to sew leather and to patch
slices.
Each man owning hogs had a mark,
which mark was recorded in the county rec-
ords. In this way people could tell their
own hogs in the general round-up in the fall
of the year. .
House floors were made of "punch-
eons:" that is, basswood split into slabs and
then with a bfoadax smoothed off a little on
the upper side. Cracks pretty wide on the
edges and a corner out of the end of one
hoard made a place to put your hand in and
roll the puncheon over and then go down
into a hole in the ground for a cellar. It
answered until we could do better.
This country was full of "cat swamps"
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
(small depressions of from a few rods to sev-
eral acres). These were full of brush and
water — the water drying out in the fall of
the year and getting green and yellow — a
breeder of musquitoes and poison — malaria.
The air we breathed, the water we drank,
nothing but poison. It is a wonder every-
body did not die. Shaking "ager" was the
principal occupation of the newcomer. Peo-
ple would shake until their teeth would
chatter. Shake the bed. shake everything,
and no fun about the shaking, I tell you.
It was in dead earnest. And then came the
fever. As Mace Bowen would say,
"Mighty souls, goodness gracious, what a
fever."
Drink water, more poison. Take bone-
set tea, lobelia tea, then purge, then "puke, '
first one end, then 'tother. Lively work, but
the "ager" had to be worn out. Quinine,
quinine, quinine and calomel to the end.
In such a country the writer's father and
mother came with two small boys — the
eldest six years old in blackberry time in
1836 — to make a home. The Pottawatomie
Indians were here for two years after our
arrival. They were friendly, begging for
something to eat. Papooses strapped to a
board and hung on the squaw's back was
their way of carrying a child. ■ I have seen
the board set down by the side of a log house
while the squaw was inside ; an old sow came
along and rooted the youngster over, and
the cry of the young Indian brought the
squaw out to drive the hogs away and do
some grunting herself and move on.
What a courage for a delicate young
woman to- come from eastern Xew York
among entire strangers to bring her children
into the wilderness!
The people were all alike — no formali-
ties then. Their wants were few, and if a
man was honest he had no trouble at all in
getting on in the world. The every-day
clothing of the men and boys was pretty
ragged. They were patched and patched,
and then patched and patched again, until
they were in colors like Joseph's coat of old.
Wild honey was abundant, and during
! the winter and early spring people could
track bees to the bee-trees a long ways
through the woods, then by cutting the bee-
tree down they got plenty of wild honey.
And to a boy there seemed to be no end to
an appetite for the sweet.
There were few horses among the first
settlers. Oxen were the main draught
animals used in destroying the forest. No
roads. No use for buggies or carriages.
Oxen were trained and got to be experts,
both team and driver, and it is wonderful
what they can be taught to do in such sur-
roundings and in the hands of an expert ox-
driver. The writer has seen them in a
logging-field where timber was put into log
heaps to burn, when the oxen would get
excited and run to the heap, break a log-
chain, break the yoke sometimes, bellow and
paw the ground in excitement. These
breaks would occur when the log was too
big or fast at one end.
WILD HAY, OR MARSH GRASS.
The low muck lands of the country pro-
duced a wild grass, which answered very
well until tame grass could be grown. This
wild grass was cut with scythes, and in the
cutting many massasoger snakes and other
kinds were slain.
All children, boys and girls alike, were
barefooted in warm weather, and it took
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
pretty conl weather to cause them to put on
.shoes, because they had to be mighty saving,
as shoes were not plenty and had to be
made to last a long time. I knew of one
young girl who carried her shoes under her
arm nearly a mile through the woods and
when near the Sunday-school room put her
shoes on. This seems a large story in the
year 1901, yet it was true, and that girl, now
an old lady, is a resident of the state of
Washington, and delights to tell of those
experiences when she was young. Well.
I see I have got switched off from the wild
grass question. The reader will pardon, as
at seventy-one years and past, I cannot hold
the gray matter down to the text as well as
I ought to, but the wild marsh grass was a
godsend to this country. It kept the farm
animals alive: it made roofs for stables and
sheds, and would turn the water almost
ecpial to the feathers on a duck's back. One
of my early recollections was as a bare-
footed boy in carrying water to a lot of men
who with scythes were cutting this wild hay,
and then hear the massasoger snakes shake
their rattles all around you : it makes a fel-
low wake up, you bet.
Cattle and horses in early spring, after
the hay was used up, were taken to the low
grounds, where the soft maple, elms and
basswood trees were cut down, and the stock
lived on the ends of the limbs, buds, etc.,
and got pretty well filled up. I have often
seen the deer, several together, eating-
browse with cattle and horses and when men
were chopping close by. It shows how
hungry the deer were.
If one were going through the woods to
a neighbor's or after cattle, the old trusty
flint-lock rifle was always taken along, and
with the woods full of game, was pretty-
sure to find something to take home.
The water of Noble county runs into
Lake Erie through Cedar creek, the Little
St. Joe and the Maumee rivers; also into
Lake Michigan through the Elkhart and
Big St. Joe rivers; also into the Gulf of
Mexico through the Blue into the Eel and
the Wabash, and the Tippecanoe into the
Wabash, Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Per-
haps there is no other county in the United
States where the water runs in three differ-
ent directions, as does that of Noble county.
The county is full of lakes. Good author-
ity has placed the number at three hundred.
I will not vouch for the exactness of this
statement, but in a carriage ride of five
miles east and north of Kendallville one
can see seven different lakes and all full of
fish.
ELECTIONS IX WAYNE TOWNSHIP.
For many years the elections of Wayne
township were held in the school-house at
Wayne Center. The Digginses, Brun-
diges, Graydons, Stantons, Iddings, Tryons
and other old wheel-horses of the Whig and
Democratic columns used to have great
times at the elections. The first few years
the Center school house was surrounded by
plenty of thick and low oak brush, each
party had a jug of whisky hid in the brush
and a drink of this whisky was supposed
to he the price of a vote, and each party
was mighty careful that the other fellow
did not find their jug in the brush, and of
course there was a great deal of very pri-
vate conversation going on ; each party had
134
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
to go way out and talk low and look all
round and Lie very wise, so the other fel-
lows did not get the start of them, and to-
wards the close of the polls the veterans
would g"et a little thick-tongued and would
be voluable with arguments against the op-
position, and sometimes scraps and hair-
pulling would take place; but wiser coun-
sels would prevail until the next election,
when patriotism would again come to the
front and the old issues be raked over as
before, Whig and Democrat alike.
TIPPECANOE AND TYLER, TOO; OR, THE BAR-
BECUE AT NORTH PORT IN 184O.
Political speeches by Governor Bigger
and other Whig politicians, with fifes and
drums for music (no brass bands in those
times), were to be the order of the day at
North Port (in Orange township). Then
there was no Rome City. William Mitchell,
of Kendallville, bought a black steer from
James Skinner (a Democrat), of Jefferson
township ; then it was common to say if a
man changed his politics that he changed his
coat; well, the black steer changed his coat
all right. At this time Fred Acus (now
living at Albion), as a boy was working
for James Skinner on the farm. Mitchell
paid Acus twenty-five cents, all in silver,
to bring the steer over to Mitchell's house,
about eight miles, and Mitchell said to Acus,
"Now, Fred, that is all your own" (the
twenty-five cents). Mr. Acus has told the
writer this story within a few years past
and with great pleasure. Well, the black
steer was skinned, the head, horns, tail and
legs left on the body ; a stout green pole
run through the body and out far enough
at each end to rest on poles chained together
with log chains so the body was up from
the ground two or three feet ; then fires were
built about it and kept hot all night ; plenty
of salt and pepper brine was applied from
pails at the same time and the ox was care-
fully watched that some "Loco foco" Dem-
ocrat, with evil intent, did not get away
with the beef. The ox was well roasted and
well seasoned, and to hungry men and boys
plain bread and a hunk of beef tasted good,
and was mighty filling. Well, early next
morning the fife and drums could be heard
through the woods as the Whitfords, Is-
bells, Tryons, Sayles, and others crossed
Bixler lake in canoes (dug outs) from the
east settlement, on their way to Brown's
tavern ( no Lisbi in then ) , the gathering place
of the delegation. Old Charley Isbell, who
had fought under General Scott at Lundy's
Lane in 1812, with military cap and coat,
and brass buttons and big sword swinging
round, and his horse rearing up and excited,
led the way till it made a boy step high
and feel mighty big. Well, the procession
started from Brown's tavern ( now Lisbon ) ,
and when they got to the creek at Kendall-
ville, near where Deiblie's factory now is r
it was found that one of the sleepers under
the bridge had been weakened, so the teams
had to be turned round, and fences let down,,
and crossed the creek in Mitchell's field.
Now the roasted ox was ready, horns and
head decorated with a profusion of toma-
toes, then supposed not to be fit for people,
but good for hogs to eat. The writer, as a
boy of ten years, with others, rode in the
wagon with the beef. Well, we got up to
the north side of the creek, just north of
where Frank Oviatt now lives, and there
was a low piece of road; Stephen Sawyer
— a large, tall man and a Democrat — was
working out his road tax by shoveling the
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
35
soft mud into the road. Some one asked
Steve what he was doing that for. He said
"To stall them d d Whigs." and so we
laughed and moved on. After the speaking
plenty of bread and hard cider was on hand
and stout men with long, sharp knives sliced
the roasted beef off, and with a chunk of
bread each and all were filled. Uncle
Jimmy Madison, of Rome City (a Demo-
crat ), has told me many a time how he was
standing in the crowd and looking on, and
my father, taking him by the arm and say-
ing, "Jimmy, come and have some Whig
beef." and Madison said he did and it was
mighty good, too, and so ended the barbecue
at North Port in 1840.
CARRYING THE ELECTION RETURNS TO THE
COUNTY SEAT AT PORT MITCHELL
IN 184O.
Ransom Greenman, of Allen township,
and the writer — both boys — were sent horse-
back with the election returns (not official)
from Wayne and Allen about midnight of
the day of election, through the woods, by
trail, to Port Mitchell, the then county seat
of Noble county. Boy-like, we hallooed
and sung nearly all the way. When we got
to Jim Skinner's (a Democrat) in Jefferson
comity, Air. Skinner came to the door in his
shirt-tail and asked the news. We reported
our return largely Whig and hallooed and
hurrahed, and Skinner said "go to hell" and
went in the house and slammed the door
shut, and so the fun went on. We got to
Port Mitchell just about daylight.
K E.XDALLVILLE POSTMASTERS.
Name. Date of Appointment.
William Mitchell December 7,1836
Samuel Minot, March 7, 1840, office
discontinued May 29, 1849
Barzilla T. Black April 1 ',. 1857
Justus Barron March 29, 1861
Benj. G. Cissell January 19, L864
James J. Lash October 5, 1866
Edwin Lisle June 25, 1869 1
Chas. O. Myers March 24, 1873
James Nellis November 20, [877
John R. Smith January 13, 1886
James R. Bunyan December 21, 1889
Jeremiah Foley February 7, 1.S94
Samuel B. Brillhart January 14, 1898
The following correspondence is self-
explanatory :
Fort Wayne, Ind.. Friday, August 28, 1896.
Friend J. Mitchell,
Kendallville, Indiana:
My daughter, Mrs. Ann Elizabeth Lewis (who was
a visitor in your family some forty years ago), will leave
on to-morrow morning train with her daughter, for Lig-
onier to visit her sister (Mrs. \V. N. Beasel), and ex-
pecting they will have to wait a short time for the train
from the east, would be pleased to meet you if it would
be convenient for vou to do so.
My health is as good as could be expected for a
youth of eighty-four years.
Verv respectfully yours,
O. W. Jefferds.
Fort Wayne, Ind., September ::. 1896.
Mr. and Mrs. John Mitchell,
Esteemed friends:
Your letter of the 29th ult. was received on Sunday
morning, saving vou met my daughters, and took them
in; and I must acknowledge my obligations to you, for
your kind entertainment of them between trains, which
they say, were hours spent very pleasantly and will
be long remembered. I was very sorry you missed me
last fall. As soon as I heard of your call, I went down
town to look yon up, but I could not get any trace of you.
I thank you for your invitation to visit you, and know I
would be well cared for, but for these reasons I beg you
will excuse me.
I suppose you have not much recollection of 1840
election, when we had the log cabin and hard cider
clubs, and sang the old song (to the tune of the striped
For Tippecanoe and Tyler too,
We'll beat little Van— (Van Buren);
Van is a used up M-a-n,
Ami with them we'll beat little V a n —
Oh! have you heard from Vermont— mont — mont
36
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
All honest and true?
It's 30,000 for Governor Grout,
Tippecanoe and Tyler too,
And with them we'll beat little Van,
Van — Van is a used up man-a-n.
The next verse was have you heard Irora Maine?
-which said, that it had gone hell bent for Cephas
Kent (candidate for governor), for which I expect to
hear a similar result in a few days, and not surprised to
hear the same from nearly every other state.
Fort Wayne, Ind.,
September 18th, 1896.
Friend Mitchell: —
Yours of the 1-1 th inst. was duly received, asking for
information about the location of the Northern Michigan
Canal about 1838. As well as I can recollect, it was to
run from Lake Michigan (Michigan City) to Fort Wayne
and connect with the W. & E. Canal, expecting the
Lake (Michigan) to feed it as far south as the Elkhart
river, which they proposed to dam, as well as the outlet
of the surrounding marshes, and make a reservoir to feed
to Fort Wayne. The line was run to Fort Wayne and
connected with the W. & E. Canal, about one-half mile
east of the G. R. & I. K. R. crossing of the W. & E.
Canal, near John Orft's present residence.
A contract for the reservoir dam, and several others,
were let. In April. 1839, the first estimates were to be
paid at the Chief Engineers office, at Port Mitchell,
where Judge Hanna had a mill and store, managed by
his brother-in-law (Taylor) and perhaps there were five
or six families who comprised the town. Major S.
Lewis of this town was one of the three Canal Commis-
sioners, whose duty it was, to attend to the payment for
the State was sick and got me to go for him, the State
furnished the money through the Fort Wayne branch of
the State Bank, and M. W. Hubbell, the Teller, took it
out there. We started out with Col. M. S. Wines (who
had a job this side of Port Mitchell) and went to Hunter-
town, and struck in west about a mile, to the line of the
canal, through the woods (no settlers on the line) to his
iob, and on to Port Mitchell. I do not recollect of the
number of contracts, but the dam. and the one north of
the dam in which Frank Aveline of this place had an
interest. After the payments were made Hubbell and I
started for home, and struck the Mongoquinong state
road at Wright's Corners I think, and on our way home
I think we stopped a short time at your fathers. Mace
M. Bowen, a boy of about l(i or IS years of age, I think
carried the mail to White Pigeon, nearly as far back as
that. Can't he recollect anything about the canal?
After some twenty-five or thirty years the G. R. &I.
R. R. ran their line of road from this place up through
Michigan, and they struck the dam at Rome City. Now
is it not probable that they occupy about the same ground
of the projected canal? If there are any persons now
living who cleared up that part of your county, I should
think they would recollect of seeing, some of the old ex-
cavations which were left.
I think the above covers all your questions.
Respectfully yours.
O. W. Jefferds.
NOBLE COUNTY IX THE CIVIL WAR.
These regiments were the Thirtieth,
Forty-fourth, Seventy-fourth, Eighty-
eighth. One Hundredth, One Hundred
and Twenty-ninth, One Hundred and
Thirty-ninth, One Hundred and Forty-
second, One Hundred and Fifty-sec-
oncl, Seventh Cavalry and Twelfth Cav-
alry. The Thirtieth was at first com-
manded by Col. Sion S. Bass. It first
moved to Indianapolis, thence to Camp
Xevin. Ky., thence to Munfofdsville and
Bowling Green, and in March, 1862, to
Nashville. It participated in the battle of
Shiloh on the 7th of April, losing its colonel,
who was succeeded by Col. J. B. Dodge.
Here the regiment lost in killed, wounded
and missing about 130 men. It participated
in the siege of Corinth, and moved with
Buell's army through northern Alabama,
Tennessee and Kentucky, and also pursued
Bragg. It took part in the three days' bat-
tle at Stone River, losing heavily ; and also
at Chattanooga and Chickamauga, suffering
severely at the latter place. It was in the
campaign against Atlanta, fighting in all
the battles. At Atlanta it was consolidated
into a residuary battalion of seven com-
panies, under command of Col. H. W. Law-
ton. It fought against Hood at Nashville,
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY. INDIANA.
137
and pursued him to Huntsville, thence
moved into east Tennessee. In June, 1865.
it was transferred to Texas. It was mus-
tered out of service late in 1865.
The Forty-fourth, with H. B. Reed as
■colonel, moved to Indianapolis in Decemher,
1861, thence to Henderson, Ky., thence to
Camp Calhoun, thence to Fort Henry, thence
to Fort Donelson, in which hattle it suffered
severely. It moved to Pittsburg Landing,
and fought both days at Shiloh. losing
thrity-three killed and one hundred and
seventy-seven wounded. It fought often at
the siege of Corinth, and pursued the enemy
to Booneville. It moved with Buell and fol-
lowed Bragg, fighting at Perryville. It
skirmished at Russell's Hill, moved to Stone
River, where it fought three days, losing
eight killed, fifty-two wounded and twenty-
five missing. It moved to Chattanooga,
fought at Chickamauga, fought at Mis-
sion Ridge, losing in these engagements
three killed, fifty-nine wounded and twenty
missing. It did provost duty at Chatta-
nooga, and was finally mustered out Sep-
tember, 1865. During the war it lost three
hundred and fifty killed and wounded, and
fifty-eight by disease. William C. Williams,
Simeon C. Aldrich and James F. Curtis
were its colonels at times.
The Seventy-fourth, in August. 1862,
moved to Lousiville, Ky.. thence to Bowling
Green. It pursued Bragg, and reached
Gallatin on the 10th of November. Com-
panies C and K joined the regiment in De-
cember. Before this these companies skir-
mished at Munfordsville, and with Bragg's
advance on the 14th. Were captured, pa-
roled and then joined the regiment. The
regiment pursued Morgan, moved to' Galla-
tin, Nashville. Lavergne. Triune, moved
against Tullahoma, and skimished at Hoov-
er's Gap. It joined the campaign against
Chattanooga, skirmished at Dug Gap, Ga.
It was one of the first engaged at Chicka-
mauga, and was the last to leave the field.
It lost twenty killed, one hundred and twen-
ty-nine wounded and eleven missing. It
sirmished continuously at the siege of Chat-
tanooga, and in the charge on Mission
Ridge lost two killed and sixteen wounded.
It pursued the enemy to Ringgold, Ga.,
participated in the reconnoissance on Buz-
zard's Roost, marched with Sherman on the
Atlanta campaign, sirmishing and fighting
at Dallas, Kenesaw and Lost Mountain,
Peach Tree Creek, and many other places
about Atlanta. It lost in this campaign
forty-six men. It charged the enemy's
works at Jonesboro, Ga., and lost thirteen
killed and forty wounded. Many of the
latter died. It pursued Hood, and skim-
ished at Rocky Creek Church. It moved to
North Carolina, and finally home via Wash-
ington, D. C.
The Eighty-eighth took the field in Au-
gust, 1862. It defended Louisville against
Kirby Smith, pursued Bragg, fought at
Perryville and Stone River, doing splendid
work at the latter battle, losing eight killed
and forty-eight wounded. It fought or
skirmished at Hoover's Gap, Tullahoma,
Hillsboro, Elk River and Dug Gap. Ga. It
fought desperately at Chickamauga. fought
"among the clouds" on Lookout Mountain,
charged at Mission Ridge, skirmished at
Graysville and Ringgold. In the Atlanta
campaign it was engaged at Buzzard's
Roost, Resaca, Dallas. Kenesaw Mountain.
Peach Tree Creek, and Atlanta and Utay
Creek. It pursued Hood, marched with
Sherman to the sea, campaigned through
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the Carolina*, fought at Bentonville, and
moved home via Richmond and Washing-
ten, D. C.
The One Hundreth, in November, 1862,
took the held at Memphis, Term. ; moved
on the unsuccessful Yicksburg campaign ;
did garrison duty at Memphis and vicinity ;
participated in the siege of Vicksburg, and
then in the five days' siege of Jackson. It
moved to Vicksburg, thence to Memphis,
thence to Stevenson and Bridgeport, thence
to Trenton, Ga. It fought at Lookout
Mountain, and then moved to Chattanooga.
It fought at Mission Ridge, losing in killed
and wounded one hundred and thirty-two
men. It pursued Bragg' s arm}- ; relieved
Burnside at Knoxville ; moved on the At-
lanta campaign, fighting at Dalton, Snake
Creek Gap, Resaca, Dallas, New Hope
Church. Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain,
Nickajack Creek, Chattahoochie River, De-
catur, Atlanta, Cedar Bluffs, Jonesboro and
Lovejoy Station, fighting- almost continu-
ously for one hundred days. It pursued
Hoed, joined the famous march to the sea,
fought at Griswoldville, Ga., and Benton-
ville. X. C, then moved home via Rich-
mond and Washington, D. C. The regi-
ment fought in twenty-five battles.
The One Hundred and Twenty-ninth
moved to Nashville, Tenn., .April, 1864,
thence to Charleston, Tenn. It fought at
Dalton, Resaca, skirmished for nearly two
weeks through the woods and defiles near
there, fought gallantly and lost heavily at
Decatur, engaged the enemy at Strawberry
Run. losing twenty-five killed and wounded.
Tt pursued Hood, moved to the assistance
of General Thomas, skirmished heavily at
Columbia, and fought desperately at Frank-
lin, one of the bloodiest battles of the war;
fought in the two days' battle against Gen-
eral Hood, and joined in the pursuit. It
then moved via Cincinnati and Washington,
D. C, to Morehead City, thence to New-
hern, and finally to Wise's Forks, where it
j had a severe engagement with the enemy.
It moved to Goldsboro, Morley Hall, Ra-
leigh and Charlotte, where it was mustered
out of service in August, 1865.
The One Hundred and Thirty-ninth en-
tered the service at Indianapolis, June, 1864..
1 It moved to Nashville, Tenn., and was as-
signed to> garrison and provost duty in the
towns and along the railroads, and, in gen-
eral, was required to guard Sherman's base
of supplies. At the expiration of one hun-
dred days the 'regiment left the service.
The One Hundred and Forty-second en-
tered the service in November, 1864. It
moved to Nashville, where it was assigned
garrison duty. At the battle of Nashville
the regiment was in reserve. After this,
and until it was mustered out, it remained
at Nashville.
The One Hundred and Fifty-second en-
tered the service in March. 1865, moving
to Harper's Ferry, in the vicinity of which
place it was assigned garrison duty. It was
stationed for short periods at Charlestown,
Stevenson Station, Summit Point and
Clarksburg, where it was mustered out in
August, 1865.
The Seventh Cavalry took the field in
1 December. 1863-. It moved to Louisville,
thence to Union City, Tenn. It skirmished
at Paris, Egypt Station and near Okalona,
fighting severely all day at the latter place.
In one charge it left sixty of its men on the
field. During the entire fight it lost eleven
killed, thirty-six wounded and thirty-seven
missing. It moved to Memphis, and finally
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
39
to the support of Sherman's base of supplies.
At Guntown, Miss., a desperate battle en-
sued, the regiment being driven back with
a loss of eight killed, fifteen wounded and
seventeen missing. It was highly compli-
mented by General Grierson, notwithstand-
ing the defeat. It fought at La Mavoo,
Miss., and near Memphis, where seven mem-
bers of Company F were killed by guerril-
las. After this it joined in the pursuit of
General Price; moved with General Grier-
son on his famous raid, fighting and de-
stroying rebel property. It mined down
into Louisiana and Texas, and finally, late
in 1S05, was mustered out.
The Twelfth Cavalry was organized at
Kendallville during the winter and spring of
1884, Edward Anderson, colonel. It first
moved to Nashville, thence to Huntsville,
Ala. Here and vicinity it remained, chas-
tising guerrillas anil bushwhackers. A por-
tion was not mounted; the others were and
were commanded by Lieut. Col. Alfred
Reed. Many men were lost in the numer-
ous engagements. After this the regiment
moved to Brownsboro, thence to Tullahoma,
where they watched General Forrest. Here
it had several skirmishes. Companies C,
D and H participated in the defense of
Huntsville. The regiment fought at Wil-
kinson's Pike, Overall's Creek and before
Murfreesboro, spent the winter of 1864-65
at Nashville, embarked for Vicksburg, par-
ticipated in the movements on Mobile, Ala.,
and joined in the raid of General Grierson.
It occupied Columbus, Miss., Grenada. Aus-
tin and other points, guarding Federal stores
and positions. It was mustered out of
service at Vicksburg in November, 1865.
The following imperfect "Roll of
Honor" of men from Noble county who
were killed, died of wounds or disease, or
otherwise, while in the service of their coun-
try during the war of the Rebellion, is taken
from the Adjutant General's reports, from
newspapers, and from various other sources,
and doubtless contains numerous errors.
Commissioned Officers — Smith Birge,
captain, died in 1865; E. A. Tonson, cap-
tain, accidentally killed in 1865; Thomas
Badley, first lieutenant, killed at Chicka-
mauga, September 19, 1803; George W.
Seelye, first lieutenant, killed at Bentonville,
N. C. March 10, [865; J. D. Kerr, second
lieutenant, died at Evansville, Ind., March
25, 1862; Simon Bowman, second lieuten-
ant, died August 19, 1864; II. Reed, lieu 1
tenant, killed: James Collier, lieutenant,
died; I. T. Zimmerman, lieutenant, died in
1865. *
Non-Commissioned Officers — J. W. Gees-
man, sergeant, died at Nashville. Tenn.,
August 19, 1863; A. J. Linn, sergeant, died
of wounds at Nashville, Tenn.. February 5,
1863; Addison Harley, sergeant, died at
Louisville, Ky.. August 5, [864; J. W.
Clark, sergeant, died of wounds at Mari-
etta, Ga., September 19. 1804; John W.
Hathaway, corporal, killed at Stone River,
December 31, 1862; Rush \Y Powers, cor-
poral, died at Nashivlle. Tenn., Augusl 17.
1863; Emanuel Diffendafer, corporal,
died at Bowling Green., Ky., Decem-
ber 29, 1862; Samuel Hamilton, corporal,
died at Annapolis. Md., February 20, 1865;
Henry Hinkley, corporal, died at Lisbon,
lnd.. November 19. 1864; Charles Wilde,
c rporal, died at Memphis. Tenn.. in 1862;
Henry H. Franklin, corporal, died at Chatta-
nooga, Tenn., November 7, 1804; John D.
Stansbury, musician, died at Louisville, Ky.,.
January 23. 1862; L. D. Thompson, wag-
I40
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
oner, died at Bowling Green, Ky., Decem-
ber 7, 1862.
Privates — William Archer, killed at
Stone River, December. 1862; Levi Atwell.
died at Upton. Ky., December, 1861 : Will-
iam C. Allen, died at Nashville, September,
1862; Otis D. Allen, died at Louisville,
February, 1862; William Anderson, died in
at Camp Nevin, Ky., November, 1861 ;
William Adkins, died near Nashville, Term. ;
Daniel M. Axtell, died of wounds at Mari-
etta, Ga., 1864; John W. Aker, died at
Louisville. April, 1864; A. M. Albright,
died in 1865 ; William Abbott, died at Chat-
tanooga in 1864; Andrew Arnold, died at
Chattanooga, 1864.
William Barthock, died of wounds at
Fort Fisher in 1865 : J. E. Bradford, starved
to death at Danville in 1864; H. J. Belden,
died at Evansville, Ind., April, 1862; Solo-
mon Bean, died at Nashville, November,
1862; Paul Bean, died at Glasgow, Ky.. No-
vember. 1862; A. P. Baltzell. killed at Shi-
lull. April, 1862; James Bailey, killed at
Perryville in 1863; Henry Brooks, died at
Madison, Ind., 1862; Peter Betyer, died at
Grand Junction, 1863; XV. H. Bailey, died
at St. Louis, 1862; T. A. Barber, died at
Nashville, 1865; Noah Bowman, died at
Chattanooga in 1865; L. H. Baldwin, killed
at Stone River. 1862 ; Josiah Benton, died
at Kandallville, March. 1864; Henry Blood-
camp, died at Cumberland, Md.. 1865; Jo-
seph Bull, died in 1865; Anson Bloomer,
died at Murfreesboro in 1864; C. Barns-
worth, died at Chattanooga in 1864; J.
Bishop, died of wounds, Louisville, in 1863.
T. P. Cullison. died at Chickamauga,
September, 1863; Michael Clair, died at Up-
ton, Ky.. December, 1861 : Daniel Chap-
man, died at Camp Nevin. Ky.. November,
1 86 1 ; Patrick Clark, died at Camp Nevin,
November, 1861 ; George Cullors, died at
Nashville. May, 1865 ; J. W. Cruchlow, died
of wounds in 1865; Daniel Coopruler, died
of wounds in 1865 ; G. Caswell, died at Ken-
dallville in 1862; C. Conkling, died at home
in 1864; John T. Cannon, died at Chatta-
nooga in 1864; James Cook, died at Pa-
ducah, Ky., March, 1862; Homer E.
Clough, died at Gallatin, Tenn., December,
1862; Theodore Coplin, died at Louisville
in 1863; Lucius Covey, died of wounds in
the hands of the enemy, October, 1863;
John Chancey, died near Edisto River, Feb-
ruary, 1863; William P. Cheesman, died
in 1863; Joseph H. Clemmons, killed at
Iuka, 1862: H. D. Collins, killed at Stone
River in 1862; W. A. Curry, drowned at
Lousiville in 1863; J. W. Curry, starved
at Andersonville in 1864; H. E. Cole, died
at Camp Nevin, Ky., 1861 ; George Cluck,
died at Collarsville in 1863 ; A. T. dim-
ming, died at Indianapolis in 1862; W. H.
Calkins, killed at Mission Ridge in 1863;
John Clutter, died at Memphis, May, 1865 ;
Joel Clark, died at Nashville in 1865; John
Clark, killed at Stone River in 1862; Ma-
rion F. Cochran, died at Louisville, Decem-
ber, 1864; A. M. Casebeer, died in 1865;
W. H. Coates, died in 1865; Alonzo Chase,
died at home.
Isaac Dukes, died at Murfreesboro,
Tenn.. April, 1863; John Dyer, died at Gal-
latin, November, 1862 : William J. Dyer,
died of wounds, Chattanooga, October,
1863; James Dunbar, died November, 1863;
Helim H. Dunn, died of wounds, Decem-
ber, 1863; Silas Dysert, died at Bridgeport,
Ala., February, 1862; J. B. Dillingham,
died at Collarsvills, 1863: J. H. Drake, died
at Athens, 1865; John Dingman. died at
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Nashville, March, 1865; Daniel Donehue,
died, 1865; William Denny, killed, 1864;
J. A. Denny, died at Nashville, 1864.
Abner Eddy, died at Camp Nevin, No-
vember, 1861; Nelson Eagles, starved to
death, Danville, 1864; John Erricson, died
at Jeffersonville, Ind., July, 1865; Henry
Eley, died of wounds. May. 18(12; John En-
gle, died at Camp Sherman, 1865; Abner
Elder, died at Madison, Ind., 1862; Peter
Eggleston, died at Nashville, January,
1865 ; Henry Eddy, died at Cumberland,
Mi, April, 1865; Eben Eddy, died at In-
dianapolis, March, 1805; A. T. Ellsworth.
died, 1865.
Orton B. Fuller, killed at Resaca, May,
1864; Albert XV. Fisher, died at Cairo, Au-
gust, 1864; Erastus Fisk, died at Upton,
Ky., December, 1861 ; Mackson Fisk. died
at Camp Nevin. November, 1861'; George
Fisk, died at Louisville, January, 1862; An-
drew J. Follen died at Gallatin, November,
1863; Charles Folk, died at Nashville, 1864;
Cepheus Fordam, died at Nashville, 1865;
Frederick Felton, died at David's Island.
April, 1865; William Fitzgerald, missing,
wounded at Shiloh, April. 1802.
Daniel Groves died at Memphis, Decem-
ber, 1862; Samuel Gardner, starved to
death. Danville, 1863; I. J. Carver, starved
to death, Andersonville, 1864: William H.
Green, died at Louisville, Ky., June, 1865;
A. A. Gallonge, killed at Shiloh, 1862;
Owen Garvey, killed at Chickamauga, Sep-
tember, 1803; Matthias Green, died at Mur-
freesboro, February, 1863; B. L. Gage, died,
18(15 ; Michael Gunnet, died, 1864; Simon
Gilbert, died in Michigan, 181.4; Wallace
Gorton, died at home; Cyrus Gyer, starved
at Andersonville, 1864.
Daniel Hodges, died at Baton Rouge,
October, 1864; George Hubbard, killed at
City Point, 1865; Joseph Hart, killed at
Shiloh, April, 1862; Henry Hetick, died of
wounds, Chattanooga, October, 1863; Jo-
seph C. Hill, died at Nashville, April, 1SO5;
T. "C. Hollister, killed at Murfreesboro,
1862; James Hudson, killed at Murfrees-
boro, 1862; Henry Hart, died at Indianap-
olis, 1863; John J killer, killed at Stone
River, December, 1863; C. Hinton. died
at Henderson, Ky., 1862; William H. Hays,
I died at Ackworth, Ga., June, 1864; XV.
Herrick, starved at Andersonville, 1864;
M. Harker, died of wounds. 1864; Orange
Homer, died at Gallatin, 1862; Emanuel
Hoover, died at LaGrange, 1862; Jacob K.
Hartzler, died at Chattanooga. September,
1863; Stockton D. Haney, died at New Al-
bany, Ind., November, 1862; John Hoff-
man, died at Hickory Valley, 1863; Jesse
Hull, killed at Dallas. Ga., 1863; Alvin O.
Hostetter, died at Memphis, September,
1865; Robert Hamilton, died near Vienna,
Fla., July, 1864; E. L. Humphreys, died
in Noble county. 1865; Edwin B. Hanger,
died at home, April, 1865; Eliphalet S.
Holy, died at Indianapolis, March, 1865;
R. Householder, died; Addison Harley,
died at Nashville. 1864; Elisha Harding,
died at Kendalville, 1864; C. Hackett, died
at Nashville. 1864; John D. Harber, died at
Nashville, 1864; W. Hardenbrook, died at
Pulaski. 1805.
Henry Jerred, killed at Murfreesboro,
1862; J. V. Johnson, died at Corinth. July,
1862; Hollis Johnson, Jr., died at Gallatin,
November, 1862; J. D. Joslin, killed at At-
lanta, 1864; Samuel Johnson, drowned near
Beaufort, S. C, January, 1865; Silas W.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Johnson, died at Chattanooga, July, 1864;
Albert M. Johnson, died at Camp Piatt,
W. Va.. August, 1865.
]. W. Kirkpatrick, died at Nashville,
1865; Samuel Konkright. died at Nashville,
1863; William H. Kelley, died of wounds
at Chattanooga, March, 1865; Daniel Knep-
per. died on hospital boat, August, 1865;
Barney Knepper, died at Indianapolis, June,
1862 : L. C. Knapp, killed at Mission Ridge,
1863; M. D. King, killed at Dallas. Ga.,
1864; Elias Kessler, died at Indianapolis,
March. 1865: John W. Klein, died at Nash-
ville, 1864.
Ashbury Lobdell. died at Beaufort, S.
C, February, 1865; Jacob Lanellen, died
of wounds at Fort Fisher, 1865; Joseph
Longly. killed at Shiloh, April, 1862; Ira
Lease, died at Murfreesboro, August, 1863;
Robert Longyear, died at Farmington,
1862; Jacob Long, died, 1862; Hiram Lind-
sey, died, 1864; John S. Lash, died at Mem-
phis, March, 1864; John Louthan, died at
Vicksburg, August, 1865; A. Lunger.
starved at Andersonville, 1864.
Lafayette Mullen, killed at Chicka-
mauga, September, 1863; Andrew J. My-
ers, died at Victoria, Texas. November,
1865; Thomas J. Manhorter, died at St.
Louis, February, 1865;- James Monroe,
killed at Stone River, 1862; F. B. Miller.
starved to death at Andersonville, 1864;
Simon Michaels, died, July, 1865; William
Miner, died at Evansville, December, 1861 ;
H. J. Monroe, died at Andersonville, Au-
gust, 1864; J. B. Matthews, died at Mur-
freesboro, January, 1863; L. H. Madison,
died at Hamburg, Tenn., May, 1862; John
Mankey, died at Athens, Ala., July, 1862;
facob Mohn, killed at Shiloh, April, 1862;
Eli Miser, died at Chattanooga, 1864;
Corry McMann, died at Louisville, Ky.,
December, 1862; William Martin, died at
Louisville, January, 1863; Matthias Mar-
ker, killed at Perryville, October, 1862;
J. McBride. died at Nashville, 1865; Albert
Martenus. died, 1865; John H. Mitchell,
starved at Andersonville, 1864; Charles A.
Monroe, died, 1863; Wesley Moore, died,
April, 1864; Sylvanus Mercia, died at
Huntsville, Ala., 1865; J. McQuiston,
starved to death at Andersonville, 1864;
Charles W. Mullen, died at Whitesburg,
Ala., August, 1864; Henry McGinnis, died
at Decatur, Ga., September, 1864; John A.
Madison, killed at Atlanta, 1864; J. H. Mc-
Nutt, died of wounds, 1865.
G. G. Nelson, killed at Murfreesboro,
1863; J. W. Norton, died at Evansville,
lnd., December, 1861 ; Charles Noteman,
died at Columbus, 1865; Henry Nichols,
died. 1865.
George Oliver, died in hospital, 1864;
Francis Owen, died at Tuscumbia, 1863;
Horace D. Odell. died at Gallatin, December,
1862; T. L. Ourstreet, died at Helena, Ark.,
1862; Samuel W. Orr, died at Keokuk,
Iowa, 1863.
H. Plummer, died at Granville, 1865;
John Poppy, killed at Shiloh. April, 1862;
William Prentice, killed at Resaca, May,
1864; John S. Pancake, died at home, Jan-
uary, 1864; William H. Piatt, died at Mur-
freesboro, February, 1863; Rudolph Phisel,
died at Nashville, 1865 ; Daniel Porke, died
at Camp Sherman, 1863; A. Pennypacker,
died at Murfreesboro. 1864; Earl Powers,
\ died at Cumberland, Md., April, 1865; Les-
ter Powers, died, 1865.
Henry Ridenbaugh, killed at Mission
' Ridge, November, 1863; Abraham Reed,
I died of wounds at Fort Fisher, 1865;
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
143
Charles Rossin, died, December, 1864;
William Richardson, died at home, April.
1862; Louis Routsong, died at Louisville..
December, [862; Isaac Rambo, died at
Chattanooga, [865; David Rink, died at
Bowling Green, Ky., November, 1862; 1 )li
ver Reed, died at Jeffersonville, Ind., June,
1864; Robert Reed, killed at Atlanta, Au-
gust, 1864; L. H. Randall, killed at Chick-
amauga, 1863; George W. Rogers, died at
Tyree Springs, Tenn., November. 1862;
David River, died at Nashville, 1862; .Mil-
ton Richards, died at Nashville, September,
1864; William Rosenbaugher, died at In-
dianapolis, March. 1865; A. Rinehart, died,
1865.
Frank Seamans, died at Grand Junction,
Tenn., February, 1863; George R. Smith,
died at Rome City in 1863; J. H. Sparrow,
died -of wounds at Fort Fisher, 1865; Ed-
ward B. Segnor, died at Baton Rouge, May,
[864; Daniel Shobe, Jr., died of wounds,
Ma\\ 1862; Clark Scarlett, died at Upton,
Ky.. December, 1861 ; Alfred Shields, died
at Murfreesboro, December, 1863; P. J.
Squires, killed at Shiloh in 1S62; John
Shidler, died at Gallatin, December, 1862;
Thomas Stokes, died, March, 1863; Elijah
Starks, killed at Chickamauga in 1863; Ja-
cob Shobe, died at Murfreesboro, May,
1863; Amos W. Seymour, died at Bowling
Green, November. 18(12; David Soule,
killed at Atlanta in 1864; E. O. Sanborn,
died at Chattanooga in 1863; Francis H.
Shaver, starved at Andersonville in 1864:
Alfred Sutton, died at Washington in 1864;
J. Seebright, died on steamer Olive Branch
in 18(14; Jacob Slusser, died at Acworth,
Ga., June, 1864; Theron A. Smith, died,,
January. 1865: John Seips. dieil in 1865;
Uriah Swager. died in 1865.
Frank Teal, killed at Shiloh, April,
[862; William Totten, killed at Chicka-
mauga, September. [863; John Traul, died
at Huntsville, Ala., January, 1865; William
R. Truly, starved to death at Andersonville
in 1865; David Tressel, died at Lebanon
Junction, Ky., December, 1862; William
Tressel, died at Gallatin, December, 1862;
Abraham Tasony, died of wounds. Madison.
Ind., December. 1863; W. T. Taylor,
drowned in Mill creek in 1864; Franklin
Thomas, died at Nashville in 18(13; tsaiah
Tryon, killed at Kingston in [864; Francis
Trask, died at Jackson in 1865 ; Marcus B.
Turney. died at Cumberland, Md., April,
1865. "
William Untadt, died at Washington
I City. 1864.
Moses Walters, died at Memphis, Oc-
tober. 1863; George E. Warden, died at
Scottsboro, Ala., March, 18(14; William 11.
Williams, died at Marietta, Ga., September,
1 8; 4; Adam Weeks, died at Rome. Ga.,
18(14; John M. Wells, starved to death at
Andersonville, 1864; Andrew J. Webb, died
at Camp Nevin. Ky., November, 1861 ; Ira
Worden, starved to death at Andersonville,
1864; Lorenzo D. Wells, died of wounds,
December. 18(13; Zilia Winget. died at
Nashville, March, [863; John D. Warner,
died in 1863; Edmund W'est. died in Ander-
sonville Prison, 18(14; Hiram Waliill. died
at Grafton. West Virginia, June. 181.5;
Joseph E. Walburn. died at Nashville, Feb-
ruary, 18(13; Hiram W Iford, died in
[865; W. R. Wiltrout, died at Washington
111 [864; George Weamei . died of wounds.
April, 1862.
William T. Yort, died at St. Louis. July,
; 1862; David C. Voder, died in Anderson-
ville Prison. August. 1864; John H. Yeakey,
144
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
died at Nashville, 1862; L. D. Yorker, died
at Camp Nevin, 1861 ; A. Young, died at
Memphis, 1862.
John Zeigler, died at Raleigh, N. C.
1865.
Grand total, 301.
SAMUEL E. ALVORD.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
SAMUEL E. ALVORD.
"No life, however humble and insignifi-
cant, if characterized by some degree of
activity and industry, can fail to be instruc-
tive and useful in memory. If any merits
are revealed, it is so far good for example;
if faults are conspicuous and errors numer-
ous,' it is useful as a warning. Lastly, as
individual lives are the bases of history, the
primal springs of destiny, their true deline-
ation is a debt, due at least to lineal poster-
it}-, if not to the community and to the
world."
Such is the beautiful and appropriate
language which introduces the opening par-
agraph of an unfinished autobiography of
one of Noble county's most eminent citizens,
the scholarly and erudite gentleman whose
name appears at the head of this review — a
man whom his fellow citizens repeatedly
honored with important official station and
whose fame as a journalist and in the higher
realms of literature long since won for him
a conspicuous place among Indiana's dis-
tinguished men of letters. In touching
upon the character of one whose life for so
man)- years was an open hook known and
read by the pe iple, whose vigorous style as
a writer still refreshes, whose beauties rav-
ish, and whose judgment leads captive, we
may at least claim that the scant eulogy
herewith presented has worth) precedent,
for such in all ages has been the homage
which common mortals have been wont to
lay at the feet of genius. But in compiling
this brief biography the writer labors under
peculiar disadvantages. The material neces-
sary to the life-sketch of a man. eminent,
not only in the world of literature hut whose
distinguished services in one of the most ex-
acting professions — the law — won for him
much more than a local reputation, is scat-
tered through the volumes of many years,
and to collect it in compact form, now that
the subject is no more, is a task beset with
difficulties numerous and formidable. Had
Air. Alvord lived to complete the beautiful
autobiography, which he began some years
at the earnesl solicitation of his chil-
dren, the literature of the state would have
heen enriched by a life-story of surpassing
interest, and from it the biographer of the
future would have found abundant material
to speak of its author as one of the noted
men of his day and generation. Unfor-
tunately for his friends and for the com-
munity, this labor of love was deferred
from time to time for reasons which are
besl explained in the following words from
his pen: "I have deferred the performance
of this duty until nearly three years beyond
146
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the allotted 'three score and ten,' to a time
when the usual ambitions of earthly life
have ceased and motives of personal aspira-
tion in human affairs cannot justly lie sus-
pected ; but truth compels me to disclaim
this as the only reason for the delay. I
must confess that less honorable considera-
tions have caused it ; doubt as to the propri-
etv of thrusting myself and my experience
upon the notice of others ; dread of criti-
cism and gossip; fear of misapprehension;
especially, fear that the performance might
si amp me as one of the class for whose
weakness I have always felt the utmost de-
gree of pity — the representative of vanity
and egotism — and. more than all, 'the put-
ting off until to-morrow the legitimate work
of to-day.' " Thus modestly are set forth
the primal reasons deferring a work which,
bad it been finished, would have heen cher-
ished as a priceless heirloom by his immedi-
ate family ami friends, besides being, as al-
ready stated, a literary gem. which in inter-
est and excellence would have won a place
with the best literary productions of the
times.
Samuel E. Alvord was born in the town-
ship of Wells, in Bradford county, Pa., on
the 14th day of November, 1824, at the
house of his maternal grandparents, Samuel
and Sarah (Seely) Edsall. The grandfather
was a native of Orange county, N. Y., his
ancestors being of the Hollanders of Man-
hattan. The grandmother's ancestors were
Connecticut people of English extraction,
as some of their descendants claim, while
others profess to know that her ancestry is
Scotch-Irish. The subject's grandparents
of the paternal line, Nathaniel Alvord, Sr..
and Rebecca Deming, were both natives of
Connecticut, of Scotch-Irish and English
ancestry, respectively. The migration of the
Alvords, who were lineal ancestors, occurred
about the year 1687. The)- were among
those win) tied from the terrible scenes of the
great Rapparee insurrection in behalf of
King James and the Romish church, and
took refuge in England under the protector-
ate of William and Mary. Two brothers of
the name afterwards came to America and
landed in Massachusetts, about the year
1700. The families founded by these broth-
ers were located at Greenfield, in the west-
ern part of the above state, and in Fairfield
count}". Conn. Nathan Alvord, the sub-
ject's grandfather, at an early period lived
for several years in Vermont, at Bradford,
where his son, Nathan. Jr., father of Sam-
uel E.. was born. The family subsequently
moved to northern Pennsylvania and locat-
ed in the region known as "The Firelands,"
a large tract granted by congress to the state
of Connecticut in consideration of the losses
suffered at the hands of the British under
the notorious General Tryon, who destroyed
by fire many of the Connecticut towns and
villages near the close of the Revolutionary
war, among which, in 1779. was burned the
town of Fairfield and much of the land bor-
dering Long Island Sound laid waste. The
portion of "Firelands" on which the Alvord
family permanently settled in Pennsylvania
was named Bradford county in honor of
Governor Bradford of Massachusetts. The
family located in Troy township, twenty-
five miles south of Elmira, N. Y. About
five miles north, over a range of hills, dwelt
the Edsall family in Wells township. Here
Nathan Alvord, Jr.. became acquainted with
Hila Edsall, a pupil of his, an acquaintance
which soon ripened into love, which termin-
ated. November 16, 1823, in marriage. On
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the 14th of the following November, as al-
ready stated. Samuel E. Alvord, the oldest
child of this worthy couple, first saw the
light of day in the Edsall home. Of his
childhood home and surroundings we will
let Mr. Alvord describe in his own inimit-
able style :
"My first recollections are of this old
home. My parents had settled three miles
west, and my father was studying medicine
with a Dr. Wood, of Pumpkin Hill, so
named from the immense crops of pumpkins
that grew on the first lands cleared there —
Dr. Wood's 1 icing the principal farm on the
hill. It was table land, of good soil, on the
crest of a ridge four hundred feet above the
valley in which grandfather Edsall's house
stood. Along the ridge, running eastward,
was a way — partly foot path, leading
through dense woods of hemlock, beech and
ma] ile. for three miles, from Pumpkin Hill
to intersection with the Elmira road, half a
mile north, and three hundred feet above
the Edsall home. One day in the Indian
summer, when 1 was four years of age, my
mother sent me with a girl of sixteen, who
was living with us, on a visit to grandmoth-
er's. 1 walked nearly all the way, stopping
often to rest; the young woman carried me
Over the rough places. Once as we sat on a
log by the wayside there was a sudden rust-
ling in the brushes, and a fine large deer
emerged and bounded over the path. It was
the first deer I ever saw. Shortly after
that the light of an opening appeared ; we
walked out upon the Elmira road ; and lo !
there, away below, was a pretty valley, of
pastures and meadow's. A bright little
brook shone in the midst, and near it on a
steep bluff was grandfather Edsall's house.
wagon-house, granary and stable, and a few
rods away a large hay-barn. In that house,
I was told, fmir years before. I was born.
I ix house was built against a steep hillside
facing southward. The first story was of
stone — really, a basement built into the hill,
twenty feet, and projecting sixteen feet,
with a framed porch in front. This base-
ment story was divided into kitchen, pan-
try, bedroom, and cellar, which was entered
direct from the kitchen. A winding stair-
way from this kitchen led up ten feet to a
hall on the first floor of the main part,
w litre were sitting room, parlor and bed-
rooms of commodious size, the whole well
supplied with the usual furniture and uten-
sils used by the better class of that day — the
building and premises breathing an atmos-
phere of industry and thrift which betok-
ened a household in which a spirit of happi-
ness and content reigned supreme."
Nathan Alvord. subject's father, became
a successful physician and prosecuted his
profession in Bradford county for a number
of vears, building up a large and lucrative
practice and earning the reputation of one
of the most eminent medical men in his part
of the state. The mother was a woman of
sterling character and left the impress of her
strong personality upon the mind of her sun,
who in after years never tired of lauding
her virtues, and always admitted that what-
ever success he attained was largely due to
her gentle influence and wholesome instruc-
tion. To the early vears under the tutelage
of parents whose ambition was to engraft
upon the minds of their children such prin-
ciples as would insure lives of honor and
usefulness. Samuel E. Alvord, like thous-
ands of others, was indebted for that integ-
rity of character and honorable ambition)
that pre-eminently distinguished him as a
[ 4 8
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
citizen in the various capacities to which he
was afterwards called. The world is full of
such examples and the student of biography
will have no difficulty in recalling' instances
in which country life in youth left its indel-
ible impress upon the most exalted charac-
ters in history. In these early years, when
the mind is taking its bent, when youthful
ambitions are shaping themselves for man-
hood's achievements, no influences have
ever been found more potential for good
than those which the country and farm have
afforded. The frugalities of the home, the
chaste purity of its teachings, the broad
fields, the orchards, and meadow, hill, wood-
land and dell, the song of the birds, the hum
of the bees, the laughing brook, the silver
river — all the wealth of beauty that nature
spreads out with lavish hand — are the
teachers of youth whose lessons are never
forgotten. It was amid such scenes and-
surroundings that the early years of Samuel
E. Alvord were spent, and to the end of his
days he continued a lover of nature and a
student of its mysteries.
After obtaining a knowledge of the rudi-
mentary branches, young Samuel was sent
to an academy in Pennsylvania, where he
pursued the higher studies, completing the
prescribed course and graduating with an
honorable record, before attaining his ma-
jority. Remaining in his native county until
twenty-two years of age, he went to Troy,
Pa., where, from 1S47 till 1849, he studied
law under the direction of competent in-
structors, making commendable progress
and early displaying the strong mental pow-
ers and critical analysis by which his subse-
cpient distinguished professional career was
characterized. While a student he gave evi-
dence of rare ability as a writer, and as early
as 1847 began contributing to the local press
of Coudersport, Pa., where the versatility
and power of his editorials soon brought
him to the favorable notice of the reading-
public. After his admission to the bar he
spent some time looking for a favorable lo-
cation to practice his profession, and hear-
ing good reports from northern Indiana,
which he was led to believe afforded better
opportunities for a young man than were to
be found in bis native state, he concluded to
seek his fortune in the new and rapidly
growing country. Accordingly, in 1849, ne
came to Noble county, and the latter part of
that year and a month or two of the year fol-
lowing taught school in Rome City. In the
spring of 1850 he located at Albion and
commenced the publication of a newspaper,
called The Albion Observer, which was reg-
ularly issued with varying success until
1853, when Mr. Alvord discontinued the
publication for the purpose of engaging in
the law. From the latter year until 1855
he practiced at the Albion bar. earning the
reputation of an able and judicious attor-
ney, and winning for himself a commenda-
ble standing among the successful profes-
sional men of Noble county. Meantime,
January 26, 1853, he again embarked in
journalism as editor and proprietor of the
Albion Expositor, a sprightly local sheet,
which he published for a limited period, in
connection with his legal business,' but the
enterprise proved of short duration, being-
discontinued some time during the year in
which the first number made its appearance.
In 1855 Mr. Alvord was elected clerk of
the Noble county circuit court, and served in
that capacity four years, during which time
he was connected for two years with The
Noble Countv Democrat, the recognized
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
official organ of the local Democracy. Tic
continued as managing editor of the Demo-
crat until January, i860, making it one of
the strongest and best-edited county papers
in the northern part of the state, and
through its columns many of his best and
most noted literary productions were first
given to the world. At the expiration of
his official term he resumed the practice of
law. continuing the same successfully until
1X72. when his predilection for journalism
led him to establish The Xew Era. which he
published until January 1. 1876. when the
plant was sold to Messrs. Prickett & Starr.
For a short time after retiring from the
newspaper business, Mr. .Alvord was en-
gaged in the practice of his profession, but
in the fall of 1876. at the earnest solicita-
tion of his many friends throughout Noble
county, again became the Democratic can-
didate for the clerkship, being triumphantly
elected to the office in November of that
year and chosen his own successor four
years later. As a public official every duty
coming within his sphere was discharged in
a manner eminently satisfactory to the peo-
ple of the county and he left the office about
one year before the expiration of his second
term, with an honorable record, resigning
for the purpose of turning his attention to
other affairs. Shortly after leaving the
office, he removed his family to the state of
New York, where he lived for a few years,
subsecmently returning to Albion and pur-
chasing of James J. Lesh, in 1886, the Al-
bion Democrat, which, under his manage-
ment, continued to make its periodical visits
until 1893, in January of which year he dis-
posed of the paper to H. C. Pressler. This
was Mr. Alvord's last experience in jour-
nalism, and from the time he sold the plant
until [896 lie was actively engaged in the
practice of law in Noble and neighboring
counties, building up a lucrative business
which he looked after with the ability which
characterized his early professional career.
in [896 he was elected prosecuting attorney
of the Thirty-third judicial circuit, and after
serving with credit to himself and satisfac-
tion to all concerned for one term, yielded
to a desire of long standing by returning to
private life with the object in view of devot-
ing the remainder of his days to literary
pursuits.
Mr. Alvord's marriage with Miss Julia
Sweet was solemnized in November, 1851,
and four children blessed the union — Lillie,
Edward. Nathan and Edith. Of these. Ed-
ward lives in the city of Spokane, Wash.,
Nathan is a resident of Beaver, Pa., Lillie
is the wife of Edwin Engle, and Edith, the
youngest, is unmarried.
Mrs. Julia (Sweet) Alvord was called
from earth, and in December, 1881, Mr.
Alvord selected for his life companion Miss
Amanda T. Bidwell, who bore him three
sons, namely: Lee, who died in September,
1000; Hugh and Guy. The widow and her
children reside 111 Albion, and upon them
the public look with that profound respect
which is due to the family of so illustrious
a husband and father as was S. E. Alvord.
Mr. Alvord has written much and well,
and. but for his modest)-, would long ago
have been one of the shining literary lights
of Indiana. Pie spent much time and pains
in gathering facts and data for a history of
Noble county, and his valuable research in
this line of work will lie greatly appreciated
by his fellow citizens, as the production is
by far the most reliable and best written of
any that has heretofore been published. It
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
will be found entire in this volume, wherein,
in imperishable form, it will be perused with
increasing interest as the years come and go
and remain a monument to his genius.
Mr. Alvord led an active and industrious
life, and from his early youth every hour
was diligently employed. He laid broad
and deep a foundation of usefulness, and
his fidelity to every trust — and of trusts
there were many — brought its certain and
substantial rewards : friends, remunerative
employment, responsible official station, lit-
erary fame, and success. In such lives as
his there are no startling incidents and ro
eccentricities of character. In his walk and
conversation, in his ambitions and aspira-
tions, he sought the table land of life, wbere,
if there are no dizzy elevations of thought
and imagination, there are, as a compensa-
tion, no depressions of infidelity and deceit.
He lived in an atmosphere free from the
malaria which breeds intellectual distempers,
and. pursuing the even course of his way,
was to the community what the fixed stars
are to the navigators. To such men as
Samuel E. .Alvord society is largely indebt-
ed, not only for progress in material things
but for those ideas of order and security
which form its chief guarantees of prosper-
ity and progress. Taking aii active part in
public and political affairs, he was a recog-
nized leader in shaping policies; deeply in-
terested in the success of government, mu-
nicipal, state and federal, he sought by the
most patriotic motives the enactment of
laws conducive to the general welfare. Mr.
Alvord was a Democrat, active in behalf of
his party's interests, but no more of a par-
tisan than that broad view of Democracy
which embodies man's faith in the capacity
for self-government.
In this connection we can give but a
brief glance at Mr. Alvord's ability as a
writer and the success to which he attained
in his favorite domain of literature. In the
language of another, "His literary produc-
tions are characterized by great beauty of
expression, broad and thoughtful analysis of
human motives and a sternly realistic view
of life that penetrates all shams and pours
the focal light of hard common sense upon
all problems involved in darkness."
To whatever subject his attention was
called, though it might have been one
strange to his thoughts, he was enabled,
upon the slightest meditation, to impart an
interest and_a glow truly surprising. Dur-
ing the period of his connection with the
press of northern Indiana, it was universal-
ly conceded that he contributed much to the
extension of its usefulness, did more per-
haps than any of his compeers to elevate its
moral tone, and he made his influence a po-
tent factor for substantial good as long as
he occupied the editorial chair. As a polit-
ical writer, it is no high sounding eulogy to
say that he had few equals and no su-
periors in the state, and it can be truly said
that the leaders which he contributed had a
depth of thought and a dash and brilliancy
of tone not excelled in the great metropol-
itan journals. His style, always clear and
trenchant, was variable, partaking largely of
the nature of the subject under consideration ;
some of his editorials were characterized by
a combative energy, a sarcasm withering in
its intensity, while through all ran a vein of
originality which stamped them as the work
of a deep thinker and a sound, logical reas-
oner. He never failed to impress his_ read-
ers with the sincerity of his convictions, and
in discussion was indeed a formidable an-.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
151
tagonist, yet ever observant of the ameni-
ties of journalism, and never stooping to
vituperation or abuse. Aside from his work
as a journalist he was a graceful and pol-
ished writer on many subjects, some of his
literary productions, bearing the stamp of a
high order genius, while all that ever came
from his pen is worthy of being put in im-
perishable form for future generations to
read. He brought to his aid a mind thor-
oughly disciplined, and with a quick wit.
ready fancy and vivid imagination could
clothe his ideas in most beautiful and appro-
priate words, which rarely failed to please
the most critical and exacting.
I11 every walk of life Air. Alvord was
easily the peer of any of his fellows, in all
that constituted true and virile manihbod,
and during his long- period of residence in
Noble county his name was synonymous
with all that was moral and upright in citi-
zenship. Had he seen fit to have devoted
his attention exclusively to the legal profes-
sion he doubtless would have become one of
the most eminent jurists of the state, and
had it been his good fortune to give his
splendid abilities entirely to authorship, the
world would have been brighter and richer
by the productions of his pen. As it was.
he adorned every station to which lie was
called, and for years to come his name and
fame will be cherished by a people who
looked upon him as a lawyer without pre-
tense, an official whom no bribes could cor-
rupt, a writer with few peers, and a man
who, seeing and understanding his duty,
strove by all means within his power to do
the same as he would answer to his con-
science and to his God. He died at his
home in Albion, August 8. 1901, ripe in
years and rich in honors, and was followed
by a large concourse of his fellow citizens
to beautiful Sweet Hope cemetery, amid the
silent shades of which his body, "life's fitful
fever over, rests well."
HON. OREAN W. CHRISTIE.
Mayor of Ligonier, Ind., and an enterpris-
ing business man of no inconsiderable prom-
inence, is a native of Benton township,
Elkhart county, Ind., and was born Novem-
ber 18,1861.
Collins M. and Charlotte II. (Kitson)
Christie, the parents of Hon. O. W. Chris-
tie and respectively of Scotch and Dutch
descent, now- residents of the township in
which their son was horn, are natives of
Ohio, and have a family of six children,
born in the following order: Orean W.;
Milo E., who is cashier in the Lake Shore
Railway Company's freight office at La
Porte, Ind.. is married and stands very high
in the esteem of the officers of the railway
company and of the residents of La Porte;
Delvin E. is a banker in Illinois and is un-
married : Adrian A. is a teacher in Elkhart
county. Ind. ; Leona is the wife of Curtis
Green, a prosperous farmer and also a resi-
dent of Elkhart county: Laura Edith, who
was formerly a teacher, is now postmistress
at Benton, Ind.. and makes her home with
her parents.
Hon. Orean \\". Christie was educated
primarily in the district schools of Elkhart
county, and, secondarily, at the Syracuse
Summer Normal School, and at the age of
seventeen years he entered upon the perplex-
ing vocation of teaching and for six years
followed this profession in his native town-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA,
ship, where he was both successful and pop-
ular as an educator of marked ability. This
position he resigned, however, to accept a
situation more remunerative and more
agreeable with the L. S. & M. S. Railway
Company, with whom he remained about
three years, when he resigned to accept that
of bookkeeper for the Ligonier Milling Com-
pany, and this position, responsible and
arduous as it is, he has held for eleven years.
Mr. Christie was united in marriage at
Warsaw, Ind., July 4. 1889. with Miss
Theora M. Benner. a native of Kosciusko
county. Ind., and a daughter of James Ben-
ner. She was educated at Syracuse and
there formed the acquaintanceship of Mr.
Christie when he also was a devotee at the
shrine of knowledge. One child, Marie
Cecile. came to crown this union September
6, 1804. and is now, as may be readily con-
ceived by the reader, the central attraction
of the homestead.
In politics Mr. Christie has been a life-
long Republican, and in the spring of 1898
was honored by his party by bis election to
the responsible office of mayor of Ligonier.
He is now filling out the third of the four-
year term, and has had the satisfaction, in
the meantime, of rendering such services in
his position as to win the approbation of all
citizens, of all parties, save, perhaps, that
of a few disgruntled politicians and envious
office-seekers.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Christie
is a member of Ligonier Lodge, No 184,
A. F. & A. M.. and likewise of Ligonier
Lodge. Xo. 123, K. of P.. in the latter of
which he is a P. C. C. and has been a mem-
ber of the standing committee on subordi-
nate lodge, constitutions and by-laws hi
the Grand Lods:e for four vears — three
years of this period as chairman, his pres-
ent office; he is also a member of the K. O.
T. M. He and wife are consistent mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church, in which
he is an elder, as well as superintendent of
the Sunday-school, and in the work of both
the church and school they take an exceed-
ing interest.
Mr. Christie is truly a self-made man in
the colloquial sense of the phrase, and too
much credit cannot be awarded him for the
indomitable courage with which he has
overcome the many obstacles which lie in
the way of the seeker after a competency
and the proper station of usefulness befitting
men of his caliber.
JOHN MITCHELL.
For many years as a banker and promi-
nent business man of Kendallville John
Mitchell has ranked among the distinguished
citizens of Noble county and occupies a con-
spicuous place in the annals of northern In-
diana. No other resident of the community
has been so long identified with its growth
and development and none has so indelibly
impressed bis personality upon the city of
his residence or exercised so potent an influ-
ence in directing and controlling the busi-
ness interests of the county. The Mitchell
family is of Scotch origin and the name fre-
quently appears in connection with the war
/of American independence, in which strug-
gle one of John Mitchell's ancestors bore a
brave and distinguished part. This ancestor
was Andrew Mitchell, a native of Scotland,
horn in Ayrshire county about the year 1728.
His father, Robert Mitchell, was born in the
U^IC^fLt,
K
JUUju*^ bdJF:^L^(
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
'53
same part of the country and there spent his
entire life, dying" when a very old man.
From the most reliable information ob-
tainable it appears that Andrew Mitchell,
about 1753. came to America and engaged in
merchandising in the city of Philadelphia.
Subsequently, 1760, he left that place and
took up bis residence in Schenectady, N. V ,
where he also conducted a mercantile
establishment. Later he went to Ballston
Spa, and while living at the latter place on
a farm he was commissioned second major
in the Twelfth Regiment, New York militia.
October 20, 1775. The regiment to which
he was appointed was raised in what was
known as the "Half Moon" and "Ballston"
districts, ami saw much active service in the
Revolutionary war, during the progress 1 1
which Andrew Mitchell was reappointed
second major on the 22d day of June, [778.
He displayed signal bravery while fighting
for his adopted country, and from Sims'
History of Saratoga County. N. Y.. it ap-
pears that be was not only a gallant sol-
dier but a cool-headed, reliable officer under
a number of very trying circumstances. On
an old county record, bearing date of De-
cember 31, 1779, his name appears assessed
with twenty-one pounds and two shillings
upon a valuation of four hundred and
ninety-nine pounds, which shows the enor-
mous taxes our forefathers were obliged to
pav in order to raise revenue with which to
prosecute the war and sustain the govern-
ment. In 1780 he was elected town col-
lector of Shenectady, and in 1785 the office
of supervisor was thrust upon him. Sub-
sequently, in February, 1791. he was ap-
pointed a justice of the peace — an office the
same as associate justice now — and from the
records it seems that he discharged the
duties incumbent upon him with great effi-
ciency. In \jn->- he was elected a member
of the New York assembly from Saratoga
county, and in that capacity distinguished
himself as an able and discreet legislator.
He was married. July 23, [761, to Miss
Maria Van Eps, a native of the Mohawk val-
ley, and lived the remainder of his life an
honored citizen of New York, dying on the
15th day of October, 1812.
Charles Mitchell, son of Andrew, was
born near Ballston Spa, Saratoga county,
N. Y., January 2, 1773-. He was reared 011
what, in local annals, is known as the "Old
Delavan farm." and followed agricultural
pursuits all his life; he died in the town of
Root, Montgomery county. N. Y., on the
1 1 th day of September. 1X57.
Among the sons of Charles Mitchell was
William Mitchell, father of the' subject of
this sketch and a man not only prominent
in local and state affairs in Indiana, but of
national repute as a member of the United
States congress. William Mitchell was born
January 19. 1807, in Montgomery county.
N. Y., and grew to manhood on a farm. On
the 19th day of February, 1829, he was
united in marriage to Miss Nancy Keller,
whose birth occurred in the above county
and state July 4. 1807. In the year 1836
William Mitchell and family left New York
for Indiana, coming via the Erie canal to
Buffalo, thence by steamer to Monroe,
Mich., front which point the remainder of
the journey was made by wagon to the pres-
ent site of Kendallville, The place where
the flourishing city now stands was a deep
forest in which no work of any kind had
been done. At the time of his arrival at
this new home in the forests of Noble coun-
ty Mr. Mitchell's family consisted of him-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
self and wife and two children, namely,
John and Charles Stewart Mitchell, the lat-
ter (if whom died in Kendallville September
2, 1866.
Mr. Mitchell located a tract of about two
hundred acres of timber land, which he
began clearing and otherwise improving,
and it was not long until be bad a comfort-
able home for that period and a goodly por-
tion of his land in cultivation. With the
influx of population the necessity of a trad-
ing point closer than the nearest market then
patronized by the early settlers became ap-
parent. With shrewd discernment Mr.
Mitchell realized the advantages the locality
possessed as the center of a region which
was rapidly being settled by a sturdy and in-
dustrious class of people. Accordingly, in
the year 1849, ' ie platted twenty lots, some of
which he gave away to such persons as
would locate upon and improve them. This
inducement had the desired effect, and it
was not long until quite a number of people
were attracted to the place, making neces-
sary an addition to the original plat. He
then laid out another block of twenty lots
which were soon disposed of, after which
another addition was platted and put upon
the market. It is unnecessary in this con-
nection to describe in detail the graduated
growth of the flourishing little town, but
suffice it to say that in due time all the
lots in the first three surveys were disposed
of either by gift or sale, thus rendering
necessary a still further extension of the
town in all directions. Its advantages as a
desirable place of residence as well as a trad-
ing point becoming apparent, population
continued to increase, and in the course of a
few years. Kendallville became the rival of
its sister villages of N< hie county. Previous
to this time a postoffice had been established,
with Mr. Mitchell as the first postmaster,
his commission bearing the date of Decem-
ber 7. 1836. He discharged the duties of
the position in an eminently satisfactory
manner, meanwhile using all the influences
he could command to induce settlers to lo-
cate in the new and thriving town, of which
he was the controlling spirit. Mr. Mitchell
was the father of Kendallville. He gave
the place an impetus which made it in the
course of time one of the most thriving
towns in the northern part of the state. He
took great interest in its growth and pros-
perity, and to his efforts is directly attrib-
utable the proud position the city new en-
joys. During his life-time he always occu-
pied a position of distinction and influence
among the people and manifested his interest
by many liberal benefactions, as well as by
I inaugurating" and carrying to successful co'n-
I elusion a number of enterprises for the pub-
I lie good. In the early 'forties, he obtained
a contract for the constructing of a part of
[ the Wabash & Erie canal near Defiance,
Ohio, and it was while prosecuting this
work that his barn in Kendallville was
burned by a gang of "blacklegs," seme of
whom he had been instrumental in arresting
j for acts of lawlessness committed in various
I parts of Indiana, for at that time horse
I stealing and counterfeiting were of common
occurrence. Mr. Mitchell took the lead in
ridding the country of these desperadoes and
was made to suffer for the activity he dis-
played in the good work. Through his ef-
forts two men charged with horse-stealing
were arrested and taken to jail in Bluffton.
Sometime previous to the day set for trial
they succeeded in breaking jail and effecting
their escape. To avenge for their arrest
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
«5S
and imprisonment they watched their op-
portunity for destroying the property of
Mr. Mitchell, and when a favorable one pre-
sented itself his barn; together with others
in the neighborhood, were burned to the
ground.
In 1841 Mr. Mitchell was elected to the
lower house of the general assembly as joint
representative from the counties of Noble
and Lagrange. He served during the ses-
sion of 1842 and took an active part in all
the deliberations of the body, bearing the
reputation of an able and judicious law-
maker. He presented a number of bills
which passed both houses, and the laws <>
which he was the author had a very decided
influence upon the subsequent history of the
state. Prior to his election to the legisla-
ture, Mr. Mitchell served the people of his
part of the county as justice of the peace.
In 1848 he was the leader in the construc-
tion of the old plank road built from Fort
Wayne to Ontario, Lagrange county, a
distance of about fifty miles, which opened
up that section of the country to the trade
of a large part of southern Michigan. He
superintended the work, and the enterprise
was pushed forward in the face of many
difficulties, chief among which were the
heavy timbers and swampy condition of the
country in many places. But little money
was available, and to procure the necessary
labor resort was had to trade, the workmen
receiving their pay in goods at Kendallville.
A man of less energy would have abandoned
the enterprise long before completion, hut
not so with Mr. Mitchell. Having once
undertaken the work, he bent all his ener-
gies to- its successful prosecution and it was
to bis directing and controlling genius alone
that the road was finally finished and turned
over to public use.
Mr. Mitchell, in connection with Sam-
uel, Hanna and Pliny Hoagland, of port
Wayne, under the firm name of William
Mitchell & Co., entered into a contract to
construct one hundred and thirty-one miles
of the Ohio & Indiana Railroad (now part
of the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago),
the first railroad in northeastern Indiana,
extending from Crestline. Ohio, to Ft.
Wayne, Ind. Like his other undertakings,
this work was also completed under Mr.
Mitchell's personal direction, and the towns
and villages along the line, together with
the wonderful development of the part of
the country through which the road runs,
are monuments to his energy and enter-
prise.
Fi r a number of years Mr. Mitchell had
taken an active part in the political affairs
of Indiana and early became a leader of the
Republican party in the northern part of the
state. In i860 be was elected to represent
the old Tenth district, composed of Elkhart,
Kosciusko, Whitley, Allen, Noble, Steuben.
Lagrange and DeKalb counties, in the Con-
gress of the United States. He seiwed with
distinction in that honorable body and made
a record of which his constituents felt
proud. He was placed upon some of the
most important committees, and his sound
judgment, native tact and superior business
training eminently fitted him to discharge
worthily the high trust reposed in him by
the people of his district. He was a great
admirer and warm personal friend of Presi-
dent Lincoln, between whom and himself
the most pleasant and cordial relations long
existed.
56
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
In 1S64 Mr. Mitchell was appointed
with three others a committee to visit Gen-
eral Sherman in the field, and, if possible,
prevail upon him to allow the Indiana sol-
diers in his command to return home and
vote at the ensuing presidential election,
Jesse J. Brown, of New Albany, Ind., be-
ing- the only one who accompanied him on
the trip. Previous to their departure the
matter was submitted to President Lincoln,
who became so warmly interested in the
movement that he wrote a strong letter to
the General, urging him, if possible, to com-
ply with the request of the committee; this
letter is still in possession of John Mitchell,
who prizes it very highly. As is well known,
the Indiana boys did return that fall and the
state, which without their aid would have
been carried by the opposition, was kept in
line with the party of the Union.
At the expiration of his term in Con-
gress, William Mitchell returned to» his
home in Kendallville and turned his attention
to his large business interests. He was al-
ways foremost in advocating reforms and
measures tending to ameliorate the condi-
tion of the people, and his influence was in-
variably upon the moral side of every great
■question or issue.
Although of meager scholastic oppor-
tunities in his youth, yet his good sense,
sound judgment, wide reading and intelli-
gent observation made him master of a
practical education which, with his strong
character and wonderful energy, insured
him financial success in all of his business
affairs. He was a man of decided religious
convictions, but did not identify himself
with any church. He was a regular attend-
ant, however, of the Presbyterian church,
to which his wife belonged, and contributed
liberally of his means to the support of the
gospel at home and in foreign lands. While
on a business trip to Macon, Ga., for the
purpose of buying cotton, he died on
the nth day of September, 1865, in the
fifty-eighth year of his age, deeply lamented
by his family and a large circle of friends.
William Mitchell was in the largest sense
of the term a western man, although of
eastern birth. The effects of his strong con-
trolling power are felt in the city which hie!
founded and his name adorns the roster of
Indiana's eminent and distinguished men.
Mrs. Mitchell was a lady of marked
worth, possessing many Christian traits of
character, and, with her husband, had un-
complainingly and cheerfully shared all the
straits and hardships of pioneers times, and
was his active co-laborer when success came
to him in after years. She died at her home
in Kendallville, February 18, 1864, preced-
ing her companion by one year to the other
life. The father of Mrs. Mitchell was Hen-
ry S. Keller, who died in the town of Root,
Montgomery county, N. Y.. October 12,
1 8 18. Her mother's name before mar-
riage was Lany Failing; she was born
August 1, 1770. and departed this life on
the 9th day of January, 1846. Henry S.
Keller and wife were both natives of York
state and descendants of old and prominent
German families that came to America at an
early period in the history of the colonies.
Mr. Keller's father, a patriot of the war of
1812, was killed in the battte of Oriskany.
John Mitchell, whose name introduces
this biography, was born in the town of
Root, Montgomery county X. Y.. on
the 2d day of June. 1830. His childhood
to the age of six years was spent on the farm
where he first saw the light of clay, and the
Z?fr„/7/(Zfa&t5-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY INDIANA.
familiar scenes of his first home and its sur-
roundings are still fresh in his memory. I [e
recalls the incidents of the long journey by
canal, lake and overland, to the new place
of residence in the primeval forests of north-
ern Indiana, and recounts the part lie took
in felling the timber, clearing the land, and
the hundred and one other kinds of labor a
boy who is reared to manhood in a new
country was obliged to do. To such sub-
scription school as his neighborhood afford
ed he is indebted for his early scholastic
training, but his attendance was not very
regular, being confined to about three
months of each year during the winter sea-
son. The greater part of bis time was spent
on the farm, where he learned the lessons of
industry and thrift which Have character-
ized his subsequent career. Long hours of
unremitting toil with little time for rest or
recreation was the daily routine, the result
of which was the development of strong bod-
ily powers and the building up of a sturdy,
manly spirit. Realizing the need oi a bet-
ter education than the district schools could
impart, young Mitchell afterward attended
a seminary at Ontario several terms, where.
in addition to mastering the common course.
he obtained a knowledge of some of the
more advanced branches of learning. \\ ith
this as a foundation, be added to bis mental
attainments as opportunities presented by
reading such books as he could get hold of,
so that in the course of a few years he was
recognized as one of the best-informed
young men of his neighborhood.
Selecting agriculture for his vocation,
Mr. Mitchell entered heartily into the work
and in due time met with the success his ef-
forts deserved. He continued farming with
encouraging results until 1865. when he
succeeded his father as president of the First
National Lank at Kendall ville. a position
which his abilities eminently qualified him
to fill. Previous to the above date, in con-
nection with his father and several other
business men of the town, he assisted in
organizing the bank and became a stock-
holder and director. He held the office of
president uninterruptedly for twenty-nine
years and as such displayed executive abili-
ties of a high order; also earned the reputa-
tion of a reliable and successful financier;
meanwhile he continued to look after bis
farming and real estate interests, which had
grown in magnitude and importance, and
his attention was also directed to a number
of other enterprises of private and public
nature, in all of which the results of bis
leadership were unmistakably apparent.
Mr. Mitchell retired from the bank pres-
idency in 1894, since which time his private
affairs have engaged his attention. By ju-
dicious investments he has become the
owner of a large amount of valuable real
estate in Kendallville and throughoul Noble
county, as an agriculturist, and keeps fully
abreast the times, ranking with the most
successful and progressive men of this vo-
cation in Noble county. His various real
estate transactions have been uniformly for-
tunate, as has. also every undertaking to
which he has addressed himself. .Mr. Mitch-
ell assisted his father when the original plat
of Kendallville was made and be has lived to
see the town emerge from the forest, with
a few log cabins and pole sheds and a popu-
lation of perhaps a half dozen white fam-
ilies, and grow to be the industrial and com-
mercial center of one of the mosl populous
and fertile agricultural regions of Indiana.
When he came to the place the red men
c 5 8
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
were still numerous, and but few indica-
tions of civilization were in evidence. The
few settlements were as niches in the sur-
rounding forests and the prophecy of what
the town has since become would hardly
have been made by the most optimistic of
the early pioneers.
In no part of our great state are the
changes of last half century more strikingly
illustrated than in the wonderful advance-
ment and improvement that have marked
the history of Kendallville. In its career
fact has assumed the place of abstract theory
and practice has ejected speculation from
her throne. From a wilderness infested
with savages and wild beasts the country
has been reclaimed and transformed into a
very Eden of plenty unsurpassed in all that
tends to build up an enlightened community
and make man content with his lot. In
bringing about this wonderful consumma-
tion Mr. Mitchell from the beginning has
been a wise leader and an untiring worker.
Realizing the needs of the people he has
ministered to them freely and unsparingly
and in various avenues; his leadership has
been fruitful in results, calculated to give
stability to the community and shape its
future destiny. Closely identified with the
place since 1849, his history and the history
of Kendallville during the intervening period
have been pretty much one and the same
thing. He still takes a pardonable pride in
its prosperity, has a firm and abiding faith
in its future possibilities, and makes every
reasonable sacrifice within his power to con-
vert these possibilities into verities. Fore-
most in every movement having for its ob-
ject the public weal, Mr. Mitchell is des-
tined to be remembered as one of Kendall-
ville's most unselfish friends as well as its
greatest benefactor. Mr. Mitchell is as
much interested in the moral advancement
of his city as he is in its material progress.
He has always been an earnest advocate of
temperance, a friend of churches, and his
interest in the cause of education has aided
materially in building up the splendid pub-
lic school system which the city of Kendall-
ville now enjoys. Reared a Whig he was
an earnest supporter of that party until its
disintegration, since which time he has been
a Republican. While taking a lively inter-
est in all political questions, he is not a par-
tisan in the sense of seeking office, nor has
..e any part in the methods such as the poli-
tician resorts to in order to accomplish his
ends. Mr. Mitchell is a believer in revealed
religion, and for many years has been an
earnest and devout member of the Presby-
terian church of Kendallville. At the pres-
ent time he holds the office of trustee and
ruling elder in his congregation. While
loyal to the church of his choice, he pos-
sesses a broad, catholic spirit which leads
him to contribute liberally of his means to
all denominations. In 1867 he donated to
a private company twenty-five acres of
ground for burial purposes, which was plat-
ted under the name of the Lake View Cem-
etery. He advanced means sufficient to de-
fray all expenses until it became self-sup-
porting, and it is now one of the most beau-
tiful and tastefully arranged cemeteries in
this section of the state. His interest in
this attractive city of the dead has never
flagged and since its organization to t'hie
present time he has been officially connected
therewith as treasurer and trustee, also gen-
eral manager. On the 1st day of January,
iqoi. the assests of the Lake View Ceme-
tery amounted to $15,322.41.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
159
Air. .Mitchell is a Mason of high stand-
ing, having taken a number of degrees, in-
cluding that of Sir Knight. Mr. Mitchell
was married on the 7th day of January,
1857. to Miss Sophronia Julia Weston, a
resident at the time oi Rime City, Jnd.. but
a native of Geauga county, Ohio. She was
born in the town of Troy, August 10, [833,
and was the daughter of Hon. John and
Fidelia (Lamb) Weston. John Weston
was born in Middlesex, Ontario county, N.
Y., August 15, 1809. and died in Kendall-
ville, Ind., February 9, 1881. His wife was
born December 4, 1812, in the town of Bath,
Steuben county, N. Y., and departed this life
on the ist day of January, 1884. They
were married December 9, 1830, and in
185 1 came with their family to Noble coun-
ty, settling at Rome City, where Mr.
Weston built a mill and engaged in the
mercantile business. He was elected joint
senator from the counties of Noble, Kosci-
usko and Whitley in 1857, and was promi-
nent in local and state politics for a number
of years. He and wife were active mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church of
Rome City, and are remembered for their
good work and liberal benefactions in the
cause of religion, charity and benevolence.
John and Fidelia Weston had a family
of nine children, namely: Elon D., So-
phronia J., Eli B., John E., Elijah, Albert,
Albert H.. Marilla and one that died in in-
fancy.
Mrs. Mitchell was a lady of marked per-
sonal presence and possessed many sterling
qualities of head and heart. Like her hus-
band, she, too, was a member of the Pres-
byterian church and by her beautiful char-
acter and sweet, moral nature endeared her-
self to a large number of friends and ac-
quaintances in Kendallville. She was popu-
lar in the social world, and being well versed
on general topics and widely read in the
best literature she was calculated to adorn
any circle in which she moved. The mar-
riage of Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell was blessed
with the birth of three children, the oldest
of whom. Lydia Agnes, born October,
i860, married Terry D. Creager, of Ken-
dallville. and died December 15. 1895. She
left three daughters, viz. : Dorothy, Margar-
et and Catherine M.. all of whom make Mr.
.Mitchell's house their home. The second
daughter is Kate Rice, horn December 18.
1863, now the wife of Archey Campbell, of
Kendallville. The youngest of the family,
William, born August 23, 1865, is a clergy-
man of the Episcopal church with a charge
at Redwood Falls, Minn. He is a young
man of fine intellectual attainments, a popu-
lar minister, and has before him a career
of usefulness in his chosen held of labor.
Thus, only too briefly, have been set
forth the leading facts and characteristics
in the 'life of one of Noble county's repre-
sentative men. He has lived long and well,
and his career throughout has been above
reproach. In the language of another, "In
social life he is a genial Christian gentle-
man. His domestic habits are pure and
strong, and his home is the center of* a gen-
erous hospitaility. There, surrounded by
his family and friends, he enjoys that repose
which comes from a cordial interchange of
kindly deeds with those near to him, ami
without which life would lose many of its
charms." To the above beautiful and well
deserved compliment it may he added that
never in the course of his long and useful
life has Mr. Mitchell consciously wronged
a fellow-man nor acquired one dollar of his
[6o
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
fortune by questionable methods. "He has
stood four square to every wind that blows,"
and is a striking type of the symmetrically
developed man. Actuated by the highest
sense of honor in all his relations with his
fellow-man, he has tried to realize his ideal
of manly living, and there is nothing in the
future for him to fear.
jacob a. Mclaughlin.
West Virginia is the youngest state of
the American Union east of Indiana, having
been formed from the 'Old Dominion — the
"Mother of Presidents" — and admitted as
a full member of the sisterhood of states
June jo, 1865 — the dismemberment of the
old state of Virginia being one of the earliest
political results of the Civil war. In the
valley or at the foot of the romantic range
of the Alleghany mountains which mark tin-
present dividing line of the two states on the
east, some two or three years after the state
was admitted the subject of this sketch had
his nativity in Pocahontas county, which, as
every schoolboy knows, was named after the
historic and heroic Indian princess who
preserved the life of one of Virginia's early
English colonists. Captain John Smith, from
the unreasonable malice of her father, Pow-
natan.
Jacob A. McLaughlin was born August
18, 1866. in Pocahontas county, as has been
intimated above, and is a son of William J.
and Susan E. ( Bible) McLaughlin, the for-
mer of whom died in his native state of
West Virginia, November 27, 1887, and the
latter of whom still survives in that state.
Of their family of four children the subject
of this sketch is the third in the order of
birth and was reared on the home farm,
which he assisted in tilling until his mar-
riage, which felicitous event took place in
Pocahontas county, W. Va., October 14,
1888, to Miss Sarah H. Gibson, who was
born in that county on January 10, 1863,
and who is a daughter of William and Polly
F. (Gay) Gibson, the former of whom died
January 21, 1901, and the latter still having
her home in West Virginia. Of the family
of Mr. and Mrs. Gibson, which consisted
of nine children. Mrs. McLaughlin was one
of the younger-born, and under the benign
and health-giving atmosphere of her native
hills and valleys grew to maturity as a per-
fect specimen of lovely womanhood.
In the spring of 1889, almost ere the
bridal wreath had wilted. Mr. and Mrs.
McLaughlin left their West Virginian home"
and sought a new abode in Noble count},
Ind. They found a suitable farm of one
hundred and twenty-six acres in Orange
township, on which they settled and which
they still occupy. This farm is improved
with a handsome residence and well-con-
structed barns and other farm buildings,
mhI is a very desirable homestead. Mr. Mc-
Laughlin, although still a comparatively
young man, is experienced in the vocation
of farming and keeps his place in an ex-
cellent condition of tillage and succeeds in
producing some of the best crops in the
township.
While but a short time a resident of
Noble count}-, Mr. McLaughlin has evinced
a keen and commendable interest in local
public affairs, and has manifested a desire
to aid in every way the promotion of the
general welfare. In politics a Republican,
he freely advocates the principles of his
part}' and aids it in every legitimate man-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
ner, but is not offensively forward in thrust-
ing his convictions upon the notice of others,
as he accords to every one the right to think
for himseuf. In religion he and his wife
adhere to the Presbyterian faith, are consci-
entious in following the teachings of their
church, and socially the}' have secured
through their affability many warm-hearted
friends.
HOX. JACOB C. ZIMMERMAN.
To serve one's country, whether by force
of arms upon the field of battle or in the
halls of legislation, is a duty to which all
American citizens are subject at the call of
their fellow-men. and it is an axiom that
he win ) cares best for the happiness and
material welfare of those who form his
household will prove the surest conservator
m public office. Men do sometimes rise to
positions of honor at the hands of their fel-
low-citizens who are totally unworthy, but
the wisdom of our forefathers provided for
such a possibility, and so framed our con-
stitution that an unworthy representative
would soon be condemned at the bar of pub-
lic opinion and retired to an obscurity from
which there is no recall.
Hon. Jacob C. Zimmerman, former rep-
resentative in the general assembly of the
state of Indiana from Noble county, and a
prominent retired merchant, is a native of
the Canton of Berne, Switzerland, that
grand little republic which has so long main-
tained its independence amid the powerful
empires and kingdoms of Europe. He was
born October 25, 1827, a son of Daniel B.
and Anna ( Messerli ) Zimmerman, both na-
tives of Switzerland. The father was a me-
chanic in his native home, but on removal
to America, in 1832, bringing his family of
six children, he engaged in farming until
his death. Three children were added to
this family after removing to America, but
of the nine born to Daniel and Anna Zim-
merman five only are now living: John,
the eldest, a tanner by trade, died in Wa-
waka, Ind., at the age of seventy-seven
years, having located there in 1841 : the sec-
ond was Anna, who died in Tuscarawas
county. Ohio, the wife of Abram Donney ;
the third, Elizabeth, resides in Marshall
county, Ind.. the widow of John Bulman;
fourth in order of birth is the honorable
subject of this biography, Jacob C. ; fifth,
Susan, the widow of Jacob Schwab, a farmer
.of Noble county; sixth, Mary, wife of John
A. Wagner. Tuscarawas county, Ohio; and
Peggy, who married Jacob Dummermuth.
also of Tuscarawas county. ( Him.
Hon. Jacob C. Zimmerman settled in
Noble county, Ind., in 1X49, and worked as
a carpenter until 1851. when he entered the
emplo) of Judge Clapp, of Albion, as a clerk
in his mercantile house. He remained thus
employed for five years, and then formed a
partnership with Owen I Hack, of Albion,.
;in<\ engaged in merchandising. One year
later he sold out to Mr. Black, and in 1857
moved to Ligonier and engaged in business
alone. He occasionally has had partners
for a brief time, hut mosl of the time has
been sole proprietor of the mercantile busi-
ness in which he has been engaged for forty-
four years.
Mr. Zimmerman was married in this
county in 1853, while a clerk in the employ
of Judge Clap]). Miss Sarah J. Brown being
the lady of his choice, who became the
mother of three children: Greelev M..
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Frank W. and Venona J. They are all asso-
ciated with their father in his establishment.
Greeley M. married Miss Ella Baker and
they have two children: Beulah is the wife
of Harry D. Stone, of Albion, and Bonnie
is now a student in St. Mary's Academy at
South Bend, Ind. The second child of Mr.
and Mrs. Zimmerman, Frank, married Al-
lene Kinsley, and is the father of one child,
Francis K. The only daughter is the wife
of Schuyler C. Sackett. All of the children
have had the advantages of a thorough En-
glish education and are now profitably em-
ployed in business. In [876 Mrs. Zimmer- j
man. the cherished wife, and mother of the
above named children, answered to the sum-
mons and passed away amid the sorrowful
lamentations of her loved ones: but her
memory will ever linger around the lives of
those most dear to her, and her heavenly
consolation be made sweeter by the knowl- j
edge that her upright and exemplary life
on earth was not all in vain.
It has been truthfully said that "He who
taketh unto himself a second wife shows the
highest appreciation of his former consort."
No doubt that is a truism not to be denied,
' and the domestic ties so rudely broken were
in after years renewed by Mr. Zimmerman's
marriage with Miss Callie Young. In 1890
she, too, died, leaving no children, however,
and from that date the household of Mr.
Zimmerman has had for its presiding ruler
his accomplished daughter, who maintains
the honor and dignity of the position with
that grace characteristic of those to the man-
ner born.
In politics Mr. Zimmerman has ever
been an ardent and consistent Republican.
and it is said that in his arguments to sus-
tain the high position which his party occu-
pies has often shown that real democratic
principles can only be found as the result of
the legislation enacted by the Republican
party. Born amid the crags and peaks where
liberty of speech and freedom of thought
were first proclaimed as the universal heri-
tage of mankind, it is not to be wondered
at that aspirations of his youth and a father's
teachings would find him, in the land of his
adoption, other than a Republican — intensi-
fied if possible. His first vote in the land
of his adoption was cast for the "Pathfinder
of the Rockies,'' - and from that time until
the present his vote and influence has ever
been given to Republican candidates for the
presidency. In local affairs, however, he
is fair and liberal and is not inclined to an-
tagonize a good man of the opposition in
favor of an inferior of his own persuasion.
In 1861 he was elected trustee for Perry
township, and served with distinction for
seven years. So well did he perform his
duties that, in 1876, he was chosen to repre-
sent his county in the general assembly,
serving with distinction during the session
of 1877. Subsequently he was appointed by
the circuit judge as a member of the county
council for 1900, serving until the succeed-
ing election. His political life has been
marked with that same care which he has
his, private business, and his
without blemish.
itlining the record of this emi-
nent gentleman, of necessity it is brief as
compared with what his full history would
be, and we now turn to the fraternal anil
religious record, which approaches nearer
to the inner man. Among the first institu-
tions established in Noble county, in 1853,
when a few straggling hamlets and partially
cleared farms comprised the improvements
ever given t(
reputation is
In thus o
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
163
and evidenced her population, the Albion
Lodge, F. & A. M., was duly instituted, and
the first candidate who asked for admission
and was subsequently admitted was Jacob
C. Zimmerman. In after years he transfer-
red his membership to Ligonier Lodge, No.
185. He is also a member of Noble County
Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, No. 4_\ of
Ligonier; member of Ligonier Council, R.
& S. M., No. 59; also member of Apollo
Commandery, No. 19, Knights Templars, of
Kendallville, Indianapolis Consistory, hav-
ing reached the thirty-second degree.
His religious views are evidenced by a
consistent membership in the Presbyterian
church, the faith embraced by his late de-
voted wife and the daughter now at the head
of his household. His life has been all that
a sincere devotion to right and kindly char-
ity toward his fellow-men could make it,
and the friends and admirers of his worth
are to be found in all stations of life and
wherever duty or business may have called
him.
To the young his life is an example they
may well strive to emulate. His success in
business, whereby he has accumulated a
handsome property, is the result of a fixed
and honorable purpose in early life, from
which nothing had the power to allure him.
His large mercantile business, his home resi-
dence, his extensive farming interests which
embrace over eleven hundred acres, and
numerous private dwellings and business
houses in Ligonier, are in testimony of what
is possible to any young man with fixed
purpose and honest application. His first
and only start in life was a three-year old
colt, which he sold for seventy-nine dol-
lars, and it is from this humble beginning
that he has accumulated his present hand-
some competency. Man, he says, is "never
too old to learn." Being deprived of the
educational advantages which surround the
youth of to-day. his present scholastic abil-
ity has been acquired by constant study, the
greater part of his education being acquired
long after reaching years of maturity. No-
ble county may well feel proud to class him
among her most prominent citizens. Know-
ing this, his example will have a strong in-
fluence on the many who have come within
the sphere of his wholesome influence.
GEORGE P. ALENANDER.
Kendallville has long been noted as a
thriving industrial and commercial center,
and its prestige in the business world is
largely due to such men as George 1'. Alex-
ander. His efforts toward advancing the
material interests of the city are so widely
recognized that they form no secondary
part of his career of signal usefulness. He
belongs to that class of representative
Americans who, while gaining individual
success, also promote the public prosperity.
Such men stand pre-eminent among those
who have conferred honor and dignity upon
their places of -residence, no less by well con-
ducted business interests than by upright
iives and commendable conduct.
Mr. Alexander was born in Somerset
county. Penn., April 7, 1844, a sou
of facob and Elizabeth (Keller) Alexander.
When he was two years old his father died,
and some vears after that event his mother
remarried and removed with her family to
Wayne county, Ohio, where George P. lived
until about 1852. He then accompanied
164
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the family to Allen county, that state, where
he lived until 1855, in June of which year
he came to Noble county, Ind., locating
in Kendallville, where the mother died in
October, 1878, aged seventy-eight. Her
second husband was William Edmonds, a
native of Pennsylvania, who died in 1865.
Jacob Alexander and wife had twelve
children, of whom the subject of this sketch
was the youngest born. While passing his
youth at the various places where the family
lived he attended the common schools, and
while growing up assisted his mother :it
home and by working for small wages at
any honorable employment to which he could
lay his hands. Since 1855, with the excep-
tion of the time spent in the service of his
country during the Rebellion, he has been
an honored resident of Noble county, inter-
ested in the material prosperity of the city
of his choice and taking an active part in
promoting its resources. When a young
man he learned the plasterer's trade and
bricklaying, and worked at the same in Ken-
dallville and elsewhere until April, 1864,
when he entered the service of the govern-
ment by joining Company F, One Hundred
and Thirty-ninth Indiana Volunteer In-
fantry. He served as first lieutenant until
mustered out the following November, and
the next January enlisted in Company C.
One Hundred and Fifty-second Regiment,
of which lie was commissioned captain.
Captain Alexander had command of his
company until the expiration of its period of
enlistment, August 30, 1865, and proved a
popular and efficient officer. Entering the
service toward the latter part of the war.
his command was not very actively engaged,
but what service he rendered was bravely
and efficiently performed. He took part in
several campaigns and left the army with
a record creditable in every respect and a
name for bravery which brought him to the.
favorable notice of his superiors in com-
mand.
Returning to Kendallville, Captain
Alexander engaged in general contracting
and building, which he followed with finan-
cial success until 1876. During this time
he erected many buildings of all kinds in
the city and elsewhere and earned the repu-
tation of a skillful and honorable mechanic,
whose work was his best advertisement. In
the fall of the above year he was appointed
clerk in the railway mail service, in which
capacity he continued four years and then
resigned his position for the purpose of en-
gaging in mercantile pursuits. During
the succeeding fifteen years he carried on at
Kendallville a large business in the grocery
line, which proved lucrative to the extent of
enabling him to retire with a handsome com-
petency in 1894. Since that year Mr. Alex-
ander has not been engaged in any particular
business, devoting his time and attention to
his private interests, which are large and im-
portant. He has served at different times in
the city council, and while a member of that
body took a decided stand for all legislation
calculated in any way to benefit the munici-
pality without trenching on the rights of
the people. He has also been a member of
the county council, and as such was untiring
in behalf of the public interests, proving a
safe and reliable custodian of the important
trust committed to him.
Mr. Alexander united with Nelson Post,
No. 69. G. A. R., a number of years ago and
has been one of the society's most enthusi-
astic members. He has served as its com-
mander, besides filling other official posi-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
165
turns, and some of his most pleasant hours
are spent in the lodge room, where with old
comrades he recalls incidents and reminis-
cences of the perilous times of long ago. He
is also a Mason of high standing, having
taken a number of degrees, including that
of Sir Knight.
Mr. Alexander's marriage was cele-
brated June 18, 1868, with Miss Olivia Dem-
mon, daughter of the late Leonard Demmon,
of Allen township, Noble count)-. The
mother's maiden name was Nancy Boughey.
She is still living and has been a resident of
Noble county since a very early day. Mrs.
Alexander was born in Allen township,
March 31, 184'), and has passed the greater
part of her life withih the geographical lim-
its of Noble county. She has been her hus-
band's able and willing co-laborer in all the
enterprises in which he has been engaged
and has proven a factor in bringing about
the success which is now his.
Mr. Alexander is in every respect a rep-
resentative business man, and his present
high standing is the result of superior in-
telligence and clear judgment, directed and
controlled by wise forethought. In the af-
fairs of business and of every-day life his
actions have been governed by a high sense
of honor, and during his long period of resi-
dence in Kendallville he has gained the con-
fidence of all with whom be has had deal-
ings of any kind. Socially he is quite popu-
lar, and those whom he meets or with whom
he has business or other relations unite in
pronouncing him a most genial, companion-
able and courteous gentleman. Mr. and
Mrs. Alexander attend the Christian church.
of which they are conscientious members
and to the support of which they are liberal
contributors. The}- have reared two girls.
Ida McClain, now the wife of G. E. Moody,
of Arkansas City; and Theressa Miller, now
with them at home, aged twenty, brightens
the family circle.
THOMAS PRICKETT
Was born in Elkhart county, Inch, Febru-
ary 11, 1833, a son of Jacob and Thirza
I Pindell ) Prickett, natives of Virginia, and
of English ancestry. In 1831 the parents
came to Indiana and located on a farm in
Benton township, Elkhart county. Here
the father secured a mill, although he did
riot follow milling as a business, being a
blacksmith by trade. The father died in
1845, at the age of forty-nine years, and in
1850 his widow - became the wife of Peter
Fraser, became the mother of one child and
died at the age of seventy-one in 1879.
The family of Jacob and Thirza Prickett
consisted of eight children, namely : Shelby,
a promising young man, died in 1850; Nim-
rod is in the insurance business at Goshen,
Ind. ; Susanna died at the same time of her
father and both were buried in the same
grave; Thomas, the subject of this sketch,
is the next in order of birth; Jacob P. is
editor of the Mail, published in Kosciusko
county; Mahala married Samuel Stettler
and died in 1864: Mary Jane became the
wife of D. F. Ott. of Syracuse; and Nancy
Ann married H. H. Dorsey, of Oswego.
Thomas Prickett was primarily educated
in the public schools of Elkhart and after-
ward finished his studies at the Lagrange
County Institute. He began life as a
teacher, following the profession for a num-
ber of vears. In 1852 be made a trip across
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the plains to California, where he engaged
in mining for rive years, returning to Elk-
hart by way of the Isthmus of Panama and
New York City, landing in that city in the
winter of 1857. He remained at home a
short time and then went to Iowa, returning
Home in the autumn and taking a school
for the winter term. In the spring of 1858
he again went to Iowa, where he remained
until i860, having rented a farm near Cedar
Rapids. During the excitement incident to
the discovery of gold near Pike's Peak,
Colo., Mr. Prickett started for that place in
the spring of 1859, but receiving unfavor-
able reports at about two hundred miles west
of the Missouri river, he abandoned the trip
and returned to Cedar Rapids and remained
there till the autumn of i860, and went to
Elkhart county, Ind., the same fall.
On the outbreak of the Civil war his
patriotism was early aroused, and July 22,
1861. he enlisted at Goshen in Company B,
Twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
He was afterward assigned to Company E,
Ninth Indiana Infantry, and accompanied
his regiment to that portion of the Old
Dominion now known as West Virginia.
The first engagement in which the regiment
participated was at Greenbriar, followed by
the battle at Buffalo Mountain. In the win-
ter of 1861-62 the regiment was transferred
to the District of the Ohio, afterward known
as the Department of the Cumberland, un-
der the command of General Don C. Buell.
In 1862 he was with his regiment in the bat-
tle of Shiloh. The command of General
Buell was then stretched along the Tennessee
river as far east as Shell Mound, not far
from Chattanooga, Term., the right wing of
the army extending into Alabama beyond
Huntsville. When General Bragg made his
famous raid into Kentucky he crossed the
Tennessee at Chattanooga, and thus forced
the army under General Buell to withdraw.
That campaign of rapid and swift move-
ment is a part of the history of the war and
need not be repeated here. General Buell 's
rapid advance caught the rear of Bragg's
arm}- just after the crossing of Green river,
thus forcing Bragg eastward and away from
Louisville. The army under Buell was
being reinforced by new troops assembling
in that city, and after the arrival of General
Buell the entire force was again in motion
and overtook Bragg at Perryville, Ky.
Here McCook's corps was engaged in one
of the most hotly contested battles of the
war, althi nigh hut a small portion of Buell's
magnificent army was engaged. The Con-
federates were driven toward Cumberland
Gap by our cavalry, while the main army
pursued its way through Kentucky and into
Tennessee,
In the meantime General Buell had been
relieved from command by General Rose-
crans, who fought and won the great vic-
tory at Stone River, in which the Ninth was
engaged, Mr. Prickett being, as ever, with
his command. He was with it at the battles
of Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and
Lookout Mountain, being under the immedi-
ate command of General Hooker at Look-
out Mountain and in the pursuit of Bragg to
Ringgold. In the winter of 1863 the regi-
ment was veteranized, and on his return
from the furlough, in February, 1864, Mr.
Prickett re-enlisted. The high esteem in
which Mr. Prickett was held by his com-
rades is evidenced by his being elected, in
1861, as first sergeant, and so well did he
perform his duty that on March 3, 1863, he
was commissioned second lieutenant, and the
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
167
following September was promoted to first
lieutenant. He remained with his command
until March 24, 1864, when he resigned his
commission and returned home. He re-
sumed farming, and with his brother Jacob
erected a sawmill, which they operated in
connection with his farm.
In April, 1882, Mr. Prickett left the
farm and located in Ligonier, and the fol-
lowing year took a health trip to the Pacific.
He did not engage in business again until
1889, when he purchased a stock of shoes
and engaged in merchandising. In 1894 he
was elected clerk of Noble county, assuming
charge of the office in 1896, serving four
years, during which time the family resided
in Albion, but returned to Ligonier in No-
vember, 1900, and is now living retired.
The family own a fine home in Ligonier and
a small farm near by.
Mr. Prickett was married Januarv 21,
1864, while home on leave of absence, the
lad}- who became his wife being Miss Martha
M. Darr. The marriage occurred in the
house now occupied by them, it then being
the property of Mrs. Prickett's grandfather.
Charles G. Vail. Mrs. Prickett was born in
Benton, Elkhart county, Ind., the daughter
of David Darr, one of the pioneers of that
county. Eight children have been born to
Mr. and Mrs. Prickett : Charles S. died in
infancy ; Jessie E. became the wife of Charles
Shannon, a farmer in Elkhart county ;
Thirza A. married Martin C. Pollock, of
Angola. Jnd. ; Eva Anna is at home; Eliza-
beth J. is the wife of Charles G. McLean, of
Ligonier ; Thomas V. died at the age of
seventeen; and Lloyd G. and Joe M. are at
home.
Mr. Prickett has been an active worker
in the Republican party. Fraternally be is
a member of Stansbury Post, No. 125, G.
A. P.. of which he has been commander,
and is now serving as adjutant. Mr. and
Mrs. Prickett are representative people of
the community and enjoy the respect and
esteem of a large circle of friends.
WILLIAM ROSS (Deceased).
Of the revered and most respected resi-
dents of Orange township. Noble county,
Ind., whose removal by death but a few
months ago caused a pang of sorrow ti 1 sin h it
through the common breast of the township,
was William Ross, whom further mention
is made of in the record of George Strater,
bis son-in-law, given in full on another
page.
William Ross was born in .Morrow
county, Ohio. September 21, 1832, where he
was reared and lived until be came to Noble
county, Ind., in October. 1858. Pie mar-
ried, in Morrow county, Ohio, July 1. [858,
Miss Mary Ann Baer, who was born in
Wayne county, Ohio, January 6, [837. The
couple continued to live in the county of his
nativity, where Mr. Ross was engaged in
farming and threshing, until the latter part
of the "fifties, when they came to Noble
county, Ind., and here Mr. Ross purchased
a farm of eighty acres of wild land, which
he improved with modern buildings ami
converted into a first-class farm, on which
he passed the remainder of his days, and
died February 12, 1901. Mrs. Ross -nil
survives and is a member of the Mennonite
church, by the members of which she is
greatly beloved, as well as by the general
communitv.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Mr. and Mrs. Ross became the parents
of six children, three of whom died in in-
fancy or childhood and three grew to matur-
ity, the latter being Jennie, who is the wife
of George Strater, a prosperous farmer of
Orange township; Walter A., a farmer in
Lagrange county. Ind. ; and Frank, who re-
sides on the old homestead, where he was
born August 12. 1874.
Frank Ross was reared and educated in
Orange township, and was married at Rome
City, Ind., April 6, 1897, t0 ^ ss Mana Van
Buskirk, a daughter of John Van Buskirk
and one of the most accomplished young
ladies of Orange township.
HON. WILLIAM M. CLAPP.
( Deceased. )
Human life is much like the breaking"
waves upon the seashore, which flash in the
bright sun for a few brief moments as they
roll majestically inward — marvels of beauty
and almost irresistible in power — but only to
be engulfed in the mighty undertow that
sweeps them back into the oblivious depths
of the unfathomable ocean. As the sea has
rolled in ages past and will continue for
ages to come, thus will the waves of human
life follow each other in countless succession
until heaven's last thunders shall proclaim
the end of time.
An enumeration of the men who won
honor and public recognition in the past and
added luster to the counties in which they
acted their parts in life would be incomplete
without due notice of the distinguished gen-
tleman whose biography is herewith pre-
sented ; a gentleman who, by the master-
strokes of strong mentality, backed by sheer
force of will, rose to an honored position in
Noble county and gained more "than local
repute as a lawyer, jurist and broad-minded
man of affairs.
Judge William M. Clapp was a native of
New England and a splendid type of the old
Puritan element that in former times gave
character and stability to that common-
wealth. He was born in the town of Elling-
ton, Tolland county, Conn., December 18,
181 7, a son of Stephen and Mary (Loomis)
Clapp, both of the same state.
The Clapp family are of Danish origin,
and its record is traced back to 1025. Os-
good Clapp is referred to in English history
as a Danish nobleman at the court of Eng-
land during the period of King Canute,
whose reign date from 1017 to 1036. The
progenitor of the family in America was
Thomas, one of three brothers who emi-
grated to this country in 1633. They aban-
doned the comforts and pleasures of their
native land that they might, untrammeled,
worship God in their own way, and settled
in Dorchester, Mass. William M. Clapp, the
subject of this sketch, was of the seventh
generation in the United States. In youth
he enjoyed extremely limited educational ad-
vantages, as he assisted his father nine
months of the year, with irregular attend-
ance at school the remaining three. When
William M. was a child of six his father
moved with the family from Connecticut to
Windsor, Ashtabula county. Ohio. This,
however, did not improve the opportunities
for an education; but with strong determi-
nation and great industry he pursued his
studies both in and out of school. The Judge
frequently mentioned the pleasures of his
maple-sugar-boiling days. While thus en-
^n^i^^&i£<pU^J^
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
169
gaged in the bush he gave his spare moments
to Murray's Grammar, committing to mem-
ory the coarse print — the practice of those
days — and eventually became master of the
science. At the age of seventeen years
he felt himself the master of as good
a common-school education as could he
obtained in the neighborhood, and con-
ceived the idea of becoming a school-teacher.
Obtaining such a situation, he soon found
that he could not manage the large and dis-
orderly scholars to his satisfaction. He in-
formed the authorities that school-teaching
was not his strong point, voluntarily ac-
knowledged his defeat and abandoned the
field. The following spring he went to Bur-
ton, Ohio, and engaged as clerk in a dry
goods store, where he remained eighteen
months; then to Mantua, Franklin and Ches-
ter. Ohio. He afterward formed a partner-
ship with a Mr. Johnson, offsetting his ex-
perience against the capital of his partner.
After securing a location and building, John-
son proved insolvent and the enterprise
failed.
After vainly seeking employment, and
finding himself in Wheeling. Ya., somewhat
disheartened and with little money, Mr,
Clapp fell in with a gentleman and wife qn
their way to Kentucky as school-teachers,
and was induced to try his fortune in that
field. Securing deck passage on a steamer
about to leave for the lower river, he reached
Maysville, Ky., after an eight-day trip, hav-
ing in his pocket a lone one-dollar note of
the Massillon Bank, Ohio, which proved
worthless, as the bank had failed. After
much searching he secured a position among
the hills, where he taught one year. Subse-
quently he went to Fayette county. After
pursuing his vocation of pedagogue there for
about eighteen months he closed school-
teaching, but felt that his second effort in
that direction had proved successful, and sat-
isfied that he had some money on hand. He
returned to his home in Ohio. His early
ambition having been for the profession of
law, he determined to direct his energies
wholly in that direction ; but, preferring to
make his new venture in a region of country
previously unknown to him, he purchased a
horse, saddle, bridle and saddlebags, filled
the latter with his clothing and some provis-
ions, and set out for Indiana. After a jour-
ney of eight days he brought up at Peru,
Miami county, then but a hamlet, although
the county-seat. Here he secured a place as
student in the office of E. P. Loveland, and
by diligent application and hard work he. at
the end of a year and a half, successfully
passed a rigid examination and was granted
a license to practice in the courts of the state,
his parchment bearing date of March, 1843.
The following April found him in Au-
gusta, where the courts of Noble county
then sat, confidently asking the people's pat-
ronage, of which a full share was accorded
him. He clung to the fortunes of the county-
seat with commendable tenacity, joining in
its migration from Augusta to Port .Mitch-
ell, in 1844. thence to Albion, and finally to
its present location in 1847. To Mr. Clapp,
more, perhaps, than to any other one man,
was due the credit of having it where it now
is. It was during that period that Mr. Clapp
was county auditor, having been elected in
1845, discharging its duties for five years
while maintaining his practice and caring for
the interests of his clients. In 1848, while
still actively engaged in his profession, he
formed a copartnership with H. H. Hitch-
cock in the mercantile business, which con-
[JO
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
tinned until 1849, when Mr. Clapp bought
his partner's interest and conducted the busi-
ness alone until 1868, when C. P. Phillips
became associated with him. In 1873 W.
W. White became a member of the firm,
with the understanding that the company
should continue the business and construct
a building to accommodate the increasing
trade, which resulted in \ht brick block
standing on the corner of Main and Orange
streets. In 1875 Mr. Clapp sold his interest
in the building to Mr. Phillips, but the fol-
lowing year the property fell into his hands
as sole owner. A bank was also established
as a company affair, but in 1875 Mr. Clapp
bought his partner's share and became sole
owner and manager of the institution, which
was conducted by him and his sons until the
former's death, and for many years past has
been successfully managed by Charles M.
From force of circumstances he became in-
terested in a woolen mill at Rome City in
1873, which was operated by the company
at a loss during that period of business de-
pression, and in 1878 was completely de-
stroyed lay fire, without the protection of in-
surance. As a rule. Judge Clapp's profes-
sional and business enterprises were emi-
nently successful, securing to him an ample
fortune.
Brought up in the old Whig school of
politics, he was an active adherent of the
party until 1854, when, the party becoming
disintegrated, he allied himself with the Re-
publican party, and up to the time of his
death was an ardent supporter of its men
and measures, and earnest in the support
of his political convictions. Although for
manv years he held positions of honor and
trust, he accepted party nominations at the
solicitation of his political and personal
friends and not from his own seeking. But
once in the field as the standard-bearer of
the party, his activity was unbounded and his
i methods irreproachable. In 1856 he was
chosen to represent his district in the legis-
lature for a term of two years — elected judge
of the court of common pleas in i860, and
re-elected for thirteen successive years. The
term for which he was last elected should
have continued for three years longer, but
by a change in the judicial system through
legislative enactment the ■ court was abol-
ished. At the close of his judicial life he re-
sumed the practice of law, but failing health
compelled its abandonment and he proceed-
ed to drop his clients as fast as circumstances
would permit, refusing new ones. On clos-
ing his professional career for a time he de-
voted himself to superintending a small
farm which he owned joining the town of
Albion, and looking after his banking' and
other business interests.
Judge Clapp was a Royal Arch Mason.
In religion he was orthodox in belief, but did
not accept all of the dogmas of any church
body. He was a liberal contributor to the
necessities of all the denominations in the
community, and ever willing to aid in any
plan which would increase happiness and di-
minish wretchedness. In the legislature he
was industrious and conscientious in the dis-
charge of his duties, a strong partisan, yet
always tolerant of the views of others. While
auditor the administration of the office was
marked for its promptness and correctness.
j In the days of his professional activity lie
j stood in the front rank with his compeers.
In the trial of suits he was usually success-
ful. The careful preparation of his cases
made him an advocate of very great power
! before court and jury. But even stronger
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
was his pc isitii m i >f ci ►unseli ir. Should courts
of arbitration ever be established by legisla-
tive enactment, men of his mold are the ones
who will be sought to fill the places. He dis-
couraged litigation, and liked nothing better
than an opportunity to settle questions of
dispute outside the courthouse. This was
one of the finest traits of his grand charac-
ter. He was eminently qualified for the re-
sponsible duties of judge, and during his
long years of service administered the law
with impartiality, ability and justness.
As a financier Judge Clapp evidenced
marked ability and conducted business on
principles that commanded public confidence
and universal esteem. Having been identi-
fied with the country from boyhood, and at
a time when it was little better than a wil-
derness of forests and tangled swamps, he
was a prominent factor in its present devel-
opment, and was generously rewarded for
Ids efforts, while others have been enabled to
profit by his example and business activities.
November 14, 1847, ne was united in
marriage to Miss Mary A. Skinner, of Jef-
ferson township, Noble county. She died
November 21, 1875. They were the parents
of six children, three of whom are living:
William Frank, Charles Merritt and Adella.
Judge Clapp was next married December 2j,
1877, to Miss Angeline Skinner, of Albion,
cousin to his first wife and daughter of Al-
fred and Mary (Ross) Skinner; she was
horn in New Haven, Ohio, June jo, 1842,
but most of her life has been spent in Noble
county.
Judge Clapp was the architect of his
own success, beginning life's battles unaided
by a finished education, destitute of worldly
goods, but well stocked with pluck and en-
ergy- A great reader and a close observer,
with quick perceptions, and broad minded,
his judgment almost intuitively gave him the
power to analyze the character and motives
of mankind. Cultivated and urbane, in pri-
vate life and the atmosphere of the home
circle he shone with a brilliancy wholesome
and elevating to the inmates, and was charm-
ingly instructive to the guests who partook
of his generous hospitality. In closing the
recond of Judge Clapp it may he said that
but few men reached so high a place in the
estimation of his fellow men. lie. like all
busy men of affairs, looked forward to the
time retirement from the activities of life
would bring rest and repose — a period never
reached. He continued to look after his
business interests and was active in public
affairs until the naturally robust constitu-
tion gave way, and on January 5. 1SS1, the
successful man of business, the able lawyer,
the distinguished jurist, the honorable citi-
zen and broad-minded man of affairs lay
down the burden of life at the age of sixty-
three and passed away — not forever, but to
that resurrection of immortality that hath
no end.
William F. Clapp, eldest son of Hon.
William M. Clapp, deceased, is among the
prosperous and prominent business men of
his native city, and evidences many of the
sterling qualities which characterized the life
of his father. He was born in Albion, Sep-
tember 29, 1853. His education was ac-
quired in the public and high schools, and
on graduation therefrom matriculated at
Ann Arbor. Mich., but on account of ill
health did not complete the college course.
Mr. Clapp is largely interested in real estate,
conducts an extensive loan and brokerage
business, and is the agent for a number of
the best insurance companies in the country.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Like his father, he stands high in the estima-
tion of the business and social community,
and is no unworthy son of so illustrious a
sire. He is active in the promotion of enter-
prises that will advance the material interests
or add to the prosperity and growth of the
city.
July 13, 1 88 1, Mr. Clapp was wedded to
Miss Alice A. Smith, of Albion, a daughter
of P. T. and Persis Smith, natives of Ohio.
They are the parents of four children,
namely : William M., so named in honor of
"his grandfather, is a lad of fourteen years,
attending the public school ; Zoe, eleven years
of age; Kenneth, eight years of age, also
attending school ; and Helen, eighteen
months old.
Mr, Clapp is a member of two fraternal
organizations — the Masons and the Knights ;
■of Pythias. In Masonry he holds high rank,
being a member of the Blue Lodge, No. 97,
of Albion ; Apollo Commandery, No. 19. and
Chapter No. 64, of Kendallville; and of the
Mystic Shrine, of Indianapolis, having
reached the thirty-second degree. In the
Knights of Pythias he belongs to Albion
Lodge, No. 223.
Charles M. Clapp, second son of Hon.
William M. Clapp (deceased), is also a na-
tive of Albion, and was born December 31,
1855. He is now at the head of the bank-
ing institution established by his father, and
follows those conservative and safe business
methods which insure the confidence of the
business public and lead to success. In
1X7X Mr. Clapp was married to Miss Flora
Woodruff, also a native of Albion and a
daughter of Samuel and Sarah Woodruff.
Samuel Woodruff was a prosperous farmer
of Richland count}'. Ohio, but is now a resi-
dent of Kansas. Two children have blessed
this union, namely : Fred R., now in his
twenty-second year, and a student at Rush
Medical College, Chicago; and Bernice, a
young lady of sixteen, attending school in
Albion. Mrs. Clapp is the efficient and ge-
nial cashier of the bank over which her
husband presides.
JACKSON D. BLACK.
Honored and respected by all, there is
no man in Albion, Noble county, Ind.,
who occupies a more enviable position in
commercial circles than Jackson D. Black,
not alone on account of the success he has
achieved, but also by reason of the honor-
able, straightforward business policy he has
ever followed. He possesses great energy,
is quick of perception, forms his plans read-
ily and is determined in their execution.
His long years of close application to busi-
ness and his excellent management have
brought him a high degree of prosperity,
and to-day he occupies a conspicuous place
among- the eminently successful men and
representative citizens of the county of No-
ble. In a large sense, he has demonstrated
the truthfulness of the adage that "success
is not the result of genius, but the outcome
of clear judgment and practical experience."
Owen Black, father of the subject of this
review, was born in Lancaster, Penn., in
the year 181 5. and in 1838 married Eliza-
beth Goss, a native of Richland county,
Ohio, where her birth occurred in 1816.
These parents, in 1853, moved to Noble
county, Ind., locating in Albion, where for
a period of fifteen years Owen Black carried
on a successful trade in the dry goods busi-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
73-
ness. He also erected the first flouring-mill
ever operated in the town, and additional
thereto built two sawmills, a number of
dwelling houses and in other ways contrib-
uted to the material and industrial prosperity
of this section of Noble county. He was a
man of great public spirit and one of the
hrst to give impetus to a place which will
always be under a debt of gratitude to him
for much of the prosperity it enjoys and
will continue to enjoy for years to come.
Jackson D. Black was born in Richland
county. Ohio, in the year 1845. Given the
advantages of the best education the schools
in his youth afforded, he became, as soon as
old enough, his father's assistant in the
store, and continued in that capacity from
i860 to 1867. He then became a partner
in the concern, which, under the firm name
of Black & Son, did an extensive business
until 1X70, when D. S. Love was admitted.
The linn thus constituted lasted until 1872,
at which time Jackson D. Black purchased
the interests of his associates and continued
as sole proprietor until 1880, when the firm
was reorganized, with J. D. Black and Owen
Black as associates, under the name of Black
& Brother. Under this style the business
was carried on until 1892, since which date
Jackson D. has operated the store alone with
a steadily increasing" business and a o ure-
spondingly enlargement of stock. He owns
the store building, employs capable assist-
ants, and his place of business is now rev
ognized as one of the most solid and reli-
able mercantile concerns in Noble county,
and the progressive, yet conservative, policy
that has been observed from the start has
gained it public confidence and substantial
support.
As a business man Mr. Black has clear
and comprehensive ideas, seeing the end.
from the beginning and knowing when and
how to purchase in order to realize the great-
est returns for the amount invested. By a.
long residence in the town, and fair deal-
ing, together with the taste displayed cater-
ing to the demands of trade, he has won the
regard of the people, and since establishing
the business years ago the store has never
suffered from a lack of paying patrons. Mr.
Black's judgment and foresight are char-
acteristics of the man. and amid all the fluc-
tuations of trade and through various peri-
ods of business depression he sustained at
par his high standing as a safe and reliable
merchant and came through all vicissitudes
with little or no serious financial embarrass-
ments. His house, firmly established and
his credit upon a solid basis, he bids fair to
continue to he, as he has been in the past,
one of the leading business men of the city
of Albion.
Mr. Black was joined in marriage in
1870 to Miss Minerva Young, whose birth
occurred in Northumberland comity, IVnn.,
in the year 1847. Her parents, Samuel and
Barbara ( Klein 1 Young, of Scotch and Ger-
man lineage, respectively, were natives of
the Keystone state, where their marriage
was solemnized in 1840. They became resi-
dents of Indiana in 1853, Inciting tempo-
rarily in the city of Ft. Wayne. The fam-
ily made the trip from the old home 111
Pennsylvania to Lima. ( )hio, by wagon, and
from the latter place rode on the first pas-
senger train that ever ran over the old Pills-
bury, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad from
Onto to Ft. Wayne. There Samuel Y. >ung
loaded his family and household effects on
a wagon and set out for Albion, which he
reached in due time, and a little later pur-
174
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
chased a farm in the township of Noble, re-
moving to the same about the year 1856.
Mr. and Mrs. Black became the parents
of three children, two of whom are living
at the present time. They are: Albert,
born in 1873. and Harry, whose birth took
place in 1879. Bessie was born in 1872 and
departed this life in the month of January,
1886. The older sen is a highly educated
young man, is an alumnus of Purdue Col-
lege, from which he was graduated in 1894.
and one year later he completed a post-
graduate course in Cornell University,
Ithaca, N. Y. Harry is also a young man
of strong mentality, being at this time a
member of the junior class, Purdue Uni-
versity.
While Mr. Black has not made the ac-
quisition of wealth the prime object of his
life, he has, nevertheless, met with most
encouraging financial results in his business
enterprises. By close attention and careful
management he has become the possessor
of a liberal share of worldly wealth, owning
at the present time, besides a fine residence
and other valuable property in Albion, a
large amount of real estate in various parts
of the county, including four hundred acres
of fertile land, nearly all in a high state of
tillage. 'With the exception of one disaster
by fire in 1879, entailing a loss of eleven
thousand dollars, his career has been unin-
terrupted by reverses of any kind. He has
at all times maintained a lively interest in
all that pertains to the legitimate advance-
ment and material prosperity of both town
and county, and his means have been liber-
allv expended in behalf of every moral,
benevolent and religious enterprise that has
come before the public.
Standing distinctively forward as one of
the representative men of Noble county and
as one of the most progressive and valued
citizens of Albion, Mr. Black owes his pro-
nounced success in life almost solely to his
own efforts, and is clearly entitled to the
proud appellation, "a self-made man." His
life story contains little outside the ordinary,
and his every action has been open to the
scrutiny and criticism of his fellow-men, but
few, if any, of whom have found therein
anything to condemn. By no means event-
ful, his career has been true to its possibili-
ties, and there has not been denied him an
abundant harvest in due season. Standing
"four-square to every wiiid that blows," en-
joying the respect and esteem of the com-
munity and having gained distinctive suc-
cess in the temporal affairs of life, Mr. Black
may truly lie classed with the most notable
business men of his day and generation in
the city of Albion and the county of Noble.
HON. ADAM GANTS,
Ex-member of the state legislature of Indi-
ana, and who was eminent as a dentist at
Ligonier, Noble county, Ind., was born
in Starke county. Ohio, near Canton. Octo-
ber 8. 1838, and is a son of Samuel and Anna
( Hoover 1 Gants, natives of Ohio and Penn-
svlvania, respectively.
Samuel Gants, the father, however, was
called to his final home when his son, Adam,
was but eight years of age, and the mother
was left with twelve children to care for. In
the settling up of the estate the administrat-
ors, under the laws then operative, set off the
widow's portion, which portion would appear
to be very meager in the eyes of persons liv-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
1/5
ing under the more liberal statutes of t< i-day.
Six knives and six forks were considered to
be sufficient for the use of this family of thir-
teen perse his, and consequently they were
compelled to take their meals in installments,
and other personal property was adminis-
tered in a similar spirit of niggardness.
Adam Gants was educated somewhat
limitedly in his native state and was reared
to labor at anything' that would compensate
him with an honest dollar. When about sev-
enteen years old he began the study of den-
tistry under the tutorship of Dr. John C.
Whinnery, of Salem, Ohio, purchasing
standard works on the science as his means
would permit. After mastering the vocation,
when about twenty-one years of age. he came
to Noble county, Ind., to engage in prac-
tice, and on reaching Ligonier had a cash
capital of one dollar and a half. With this
amount he "furnished his office," Inlying a
poplar board and a common chair for that
purpose, with which he constructed an "oper-
ating" chair, with a high back. Thus pre-
pared he embarked upon the active practice
of his profession. In this he has been very
successful, as he was at the start the only
dentist in Ligonier, and as such has held the
field for twenty years.
The marriage of Dr. Gants took place
December 2j. 1863, to Miss Josephine Jon-
son, who was horn on a farm in Noble coun-
ty, six miles from Ligonier. Her father,
a pioneer of Noble county, descended
from the Jonsons who founded the
town of Jonsonsburg. near Attica, N.
Y. To the Doctor and wife have been
horn four children, viz. : Frank, who was a
dentist by profession, and died unmarried at
the age of twenty-three years; the second
son, Edward, was called away when but six
years old ; the two surviving children are
twins — Samuel L. and Emma — and were
horn on Xew Year's Day. 1S71. Of these,
Samuel L. was graduated from the dental
department of the Northwestern University
of Chicago, and has succeeded to the business
of his father; he is married to Miss Alice
Parfitt. of Goshen, Ind. The daughter,
Emma, is now the wife of Charles Tayler,
of Kenton. Ohio, who is superintendent of
the fence department of the Champion Iron
Works, at Kenton, Ohio.
Dr. Gants has always taken an active
and patriotic interest in the political affairs
of his county, state and nation, but has
never neglected his professional duties for
the gratification of any ambition touching
public office. Nevertheless, he was called
upon by the more intelligent members of the
Republican party to represent his constitu-
ency in the city council of Ligonier. and so
ably did he fill this position that, in 1899. he
was selected to represent his party in the
sixty-first general assembly of the state of
Indiana, and in this dignified body he man-
ifested such an acumen that he was appoint-
ed by the speaker a member of the committee
on vital statistics, the committee on prison
reform, and on three other important com-
mittees, in all of which he performed active
and effective service.
On the expiration of his legislative term.
Dr. Gants resumed his professional practice,
in which he met with phenomenal success as
a dentist as well as in the acquisition of sub-
stantial and well deserved recompense. The
original "one dollar and a half" which con-
stituted his fortune on his arrival in Ligonier
has swollen in amount, and he is now the
i 7 6
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
possessor of a comfortable fortune which in
part comprises two excellent farms aggre-
gating two hundred and fifty-two acres, be-
sides city property in Kenton, Ohio, and a
line residence in the city of Ligonier, Ind.,
and all this is the result of his individual ex-
ertion and professional ability.
Dr. Gants is a member of the Knights of
Pythias and has also filled the office of past
grand in the I. O. O. F. He, wife and chil-
dren are members of the Christian church in
Ligonier, to the tenets of which they rigidly
adhere and to the support of which the}- lib-
erally contribute financially.
The Doctor states that he has been a Re-
publican in sentiment since he was eleven
years of age, and that his "conversion" to
the principles of the party was brought
about by the speeches and arguments of a
liberated slave who had visited the neighbor-
hood at a time when a Republican was en-
tirely unknown in the community in which
he then lived. As a consequence of his early
conviction he cast his first presidential vote
for Abraham Lincoln in i860.
Socially, the Doctor and family enjoy the
esteem of the best people of Ligonier and are
prime factors in the constituency of its select
membership.
DAVID C. WALLING.
Fame looks to the clash of resounding
arms and the smoke and carnage of battle
for its trophies, but true worth is demon-
strated by a patient and persistent course of
honest industry. The record of a life well
spent, of triumps over obstacles, of persever-
ance under difficulties, of gradual advance-
ment from a modest beginning to a place of
honor and distinction in the commercial or
industrial world, when imprinted on the
pages of history, presents to the youth of
rising generations an example worthy of
emulation. Such a life is that of the large
manufacturer and distinguished citizen, a
brief review of whose remarkable career we
shall here endeavor to present.
David C. Walling is distinctively one of
the foremost business men of Indiana, and
is executive head of one of the largest and
most important manufacturing enterprises
in the West. His name has become known
from one extremity of the Union to the
other. Further than this, the high reputa-
tion achieved by the products of his factory
has caused his fame to be heralded abroad,
and to-day the names of Flint & Walling are
almost as familiar in certain European coun-
tries as they are in the United States. Con-
tributing by his enterprise and progressive
methods to the material and industrial
growth of Kendallville and occupying a pre-
eminent station among the great manufac-
turers of the state, he is regarded as a repre-
sentative citizen in every sense of the term
and a man whose influence for years has
been a potent factor in advertising to the
world the marvelous resources and remark-
able development of the commonwealth of
Indiana.
David C. Walling was born in the town
of Alden, Erie county, N. Y., .September 6,
1835. He is a son of James S. Walling,
who was also a native of the Empire state,
and who in early life followed the pursuit
of agriculture as a vocation. James Walling
was born in the year 1810 in the county of
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
177
Otsego, and when a young man entered into
the marriage relation with Harriet E. Lord,
whose birth occurred about the year 1800.
Airs. Walling was descended from an old
New England family whose history is trace-
able to a very early period in the annals of
that section of the country.
In 1866 James S. Walling and family
came to Kendallville, and made this city his
home the remainder of his days. During
his later years he was engaged in religious
work as a colporteur for the Presbyterian
church, and as such traveled quite exten-
sively throughout Indiana and other states,
accomplishing great good in the cause which
he represented. He was the father of three
children, namely: David C, whose name
initiates this article; Harriet, wife of Sar-
dius Wescott, of Perrysburg, Ohio; and
Mary, afterward Mrs. David Humphrey,
who died at Elkhorn, Wis., at the age of
twenty-five.
Until his eighteenth year David C. Wall-
ing lived amid the familiar scenes of his
birthplace, and while a mere youth the best
of his mind was revealed and his career
foreshadowed by the fact of his seizing every
opportunity to familiarize himself with the
use of such tools as fell into his hands.
When old enough he entered the common
schools, where he applied himself to the
studies assigned with diligent and ready
comprehension. The training thus received
was later supplemented by a course in an
academy at Fredonia, N. Y.. where he made
commendable progress in some Of the more
advanced branches of learning and laid a
firm intellectual foundation for his subse-
quent career as one of the west's most enter-
prising and successful business men. Leav-
ing school when about eighteen years old,
he yielded to a desire of long standing by
turning his attention to mechanics, entering
a manufacturing establishment in the city of
Fredonia for the purpose of becoming a
machinist. After remaining there one and
a half years and becoming quite a proficient
workman, he accepted, about 1855. a posi-
tion in a machine shop at Xorwalk. Ohio,
where he continued eleven years, meanwhile
bending all his energies to master every de-
tail of the vocation which he had selected
for his life work.
In January, 1866, Mr. Walling severed
his connection with his employers in the
above city and came to Kendallville, Ind.,
where, in partnership with William W.
Hildrcdth and die late Simeon Flint, lie en-
j gaged in the machine and general repair
business, the original style of the firm being
Hildredth, Flint & Walling. These partners
were all sound, practical business men. and
their establishment, from a small beginning,
soon grew to be one of the leading industries
of the place. A building of sufficient ca-
pacity to meet the current demand was
erected and for several years the manufac-
ture of various kinds of agricultural imple-
ments, general repairing and job v..
cupied the attention of the firm. The part-
nership continued as originally organized
until 1S7J. when .Mr. Hildreth disposed of
his interest to A. 1'.. Park & Bros., after
which the stvle of the firm was changed to
that of Flint, Walling & Company. They
continued to manufacture agricultural im-
plements and do general mechanical work
until 1N74. when the plant was greatly en-
larged and the manufacture of windmills
and pumps introduced. From the above
}ear dates the most rapid and substantial
growth of the enterprise, which, since thai
i 7 8
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
time, has continually increased in importance
and magnitude until it is now not only the
largest industry of the kind in the state but
in the United States, if not in the world. It
continued to do business under the firm name
■of Flint, Walling & Company until 1886,
when an incorporation was effected under
the style of the The Flint & Walling Manu-
facturing Company, Mr. Walling being
elected president, a position which he still
holds. Mr. Flint was identified with the
firm until his death, on the 15th day of
March. 1894. since which date the concern
has been operated under the direction of the
present official management, namely : D. C.
Walling, president; X. B. Xewnam, vice-
president: H. I. Park, secretary and treas-
urer; and H. PI. Macomber, superintendent.
It is not the province of a work of this
kind to give in detail either the history or
present business status of the mammoth en-
terprise of which Mr. Walling is the leading-
spirit and executive head. A few facts,
however, taken from the beautifully illu-
strated catalogue which the firm issues from
time to time will doubtless prove of interest
to the reader and afford him some concep-
tion of the magnitude of the Flint & Wall-
ing plant and the enormous extent of its
business throughout the United States and
various countries of the old world. In 1879.
■when the superior quality of the goods of
the firm began to be known, the demand be-
came so great as to render necessary an en-
largement of the plant and the manufacture
of other machinery and appliances of vari-
ous kinds to satisfy the demand. In 1889
still greater additions were made, and it was
about that time that the famous Steel Star
Mill. which the firm makes one of its special-
lies, was introduced. The evolution of this
far-famed mill marks one of the most im-
portant eras in the history of modern ma-
chinery. Improvement after improvement
was added, new and original devices in-
vented, until the mill has nearly supplanted
the mills made by other firms, and it is now
considered by experts to be the nearest per-
fect mechanical device of the kind ever
made. They manufacture many different
styles and sizes adapted to various uses,
from the pumping of water to the operating
of heavy machinery, and no pains nor ex-
pense have been spared to bring the mill to
its present high state of efficiency.
Additional to the Star Mill, the firm
makes all kinds of water tanks, steel towers
for mill and tank supports and at least one
hundred kinds of pumps, all which are
either their own invention or improvement
upon other pumps used in the country dur-
ing the last half century. The Walling
pumps are of superior device and workman-
ship, unique in construction and practically
perfect in operation. They are sent to all
parts of the United States, and since their
introduction into foreign countries have rev-
olutionized all mechanism for drawing-
water.
For the manufacture of their various
machinery, implements and devices the firm
has one of the largest and best-equipped
plants in the United States, the various de-
partments being as complete as the most
advanced mechanical research can make
them, while none but the most skillful work-
men are employed. The machine shop, per-
fectly arranged and equipped, having day-
light on all sides, contains tools of the latest
pattern, many of which are of the firm's own
design and manufacture. The tool room is
also perfectly equipped with the finest ma-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
179
chinery for the making- of special tools used
in the various departments. The firm makes
all of its tools for many forms of work
peculiar to its plant alone, and nothing but
the finest and most expensive material is
used in their manufacture. An interesting-
department is the foundry, where tons of
iron are each day poured into numerous
molds, making - the countless forms of cast-
ings which go to make up the various lines
of work turned out by the firm. Only the
best grade of pig iron is used and no scrap,
which accounts for the perfect quality of all
castings, a feature of work to which special
attention has long- been devoted. In addi-
tion to the above there is also a large brass
foundry, where hundreds of red brass ingots
are transformed into a complete line of brass
goods, tubular well valves and fixtures, the
department being under the supervision of a
mechanic skilled in every line of such
work.
The galvanizing department is an inter-
esting feature and is of great importance in
the manufacture of windmills, towers, etc.
The Flint & Walling Manufacturing Com-
pany were among the first to establish an
independent galvanizing plant in connection
with the manufacture of windmills and ap-
purtenances. Everything is galvanized af-
ter completion.
Two large kettles, containing thirty
tons of pure zinc and aluminum, are oper-
ated the year round, and all goods, before
leaving the factory, are thoroughly coated
with this amalgam, so as to protect them
from the effects of the weather for a genera-
tion. In the manufacture of pumps only
leather of the firm's own tanning is used,
as the ordinary leather tanned with steam
and acids was long ago found unsatisfactory
to the trade.
An electric generator, driven by a mass-
ive Corliss engine, generates power and
lights for the entire factory. The power is
transmitted to the different departments,
where electric motors drive the machinery
therein, each department being supplied with
its own independent power. Four hundred
incandescent and fifteen arc lights are scat-
tered about the factory, furnishing daylight
in darkness and enabling the men to work
twenty-four hours a day when necessary.
To operate it to its ordinary capacity the
Flint & Walling plant requires the services
of four hundred skilled mechanics every
working day in the year, and yet the demand
for the various products is so great that
more than that number are at times em-
ployed. The success of the enterprise dur-
ing the past twenty years has bordered up< m
the phenomenal and continued rapid in-
crease in volume of business evidently por-
tends a still further enlargement of the ca-
pacity at no distant day.
The better to supply the great and con-
stantly increasing demand, the firm has
established branch houses and wholesale
agencies in a number of the great commer-
cial centers of the United States, among
which are Philadelphia, Penn. ; Columbus.
Ohio; Indianapolis, Ind. ; Cedar Rapids,
Iowa ; Kansas City, Mo. ; Fort Worth, Tex. ;
San Francisco, Cal. ; Portland, Ore. ; Minne-
apolis, Minn.: San Antonio. Tex.; and Xew
York City, besides local agencies in nearly
every country in Europe and several in the
Orient. The influence of the enterprise, in-
dustrially and commercially, upon the city
of Kendallville is inestimable, while its effect
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
is plainly felt in all sections of northern In-
diana, being, as already stated, one of the
largest and most important manufactories
west of the Alleghany mountains.
As may be readily inferred from the
foregoing brief account of the plant and its
extensive operations, Mr. Walling is a man
of remarkable ability and superior judg-
ment, whose enterprising spirit no difficul-
ties can discourage. With tenacity of pur-
pose as rare as it is admirable, he seems
to possess the peculiar faculty of molding-
circumstances to suit his ends than being
affected by them. He is a man of great
sagacity, is rarely mistaken in his judg-
ment of men and things, and foresees with
remarkable clearness future possibilities
relative to his business interests and de-
termines with a high degree of accuracy
their probable bearing. In all transactions
he has ever manifested scrupulous integrity
and gentlemanly demeanor, and by reason
of large success, unblemished character and
just and liberal life he has nobly earned the
universal esteem which he to-day enjoys.
Without invidious distinction, Mr. Wall-
ing is pre-eminently one of Indiana's most
enterprising men. In every walk of life his
aim has been to do his duty, and his friends
feel justly proud of him as a high-minded,
intelligent citizen and useful member of so-
ciety. While giving personal attention to his
large business enterprises and discharging
conscientiously all the duties of citizenship,
he finds time amid all these claims to devote
to the higher duties growing out of man's
relations to- his Creator. He subscribes to
the Presbyterian creed, and for thirteen con-
secutive years has been an elder in the First
Presbyterian church at Kendallville; his life
has been consistent with the faith he pos-
sesses and for the support of the gospel and
the promotion of all charitable and benevo-
lent enterprises his means have been liber-
ally though quietly dispensed. Believing
from the outset that a good name is more
to be desired than riches, and with no am-
bition for official station, he has been gov-
erned since youth by those fixed principles
of honor and rectitude which stamp him
to-day as an honest man, an exemplary citi-
zen, an obliging neighbor and a kind and
loving husband and father.
■Mr. Walling's marriage was solemnized
in Norwalk, Ohio, May 4, 1865, with Miss
Frances Peters, daughter of Israel Peters,
an early resident of that city. Mrs. Wall-
ing was born in Mansfield, Ohio, but grew
to maturity in Norwalk, where she first met
the gentleman who afterward became her
husband. Eight children have been born to
Mr. and Mrs. Walling, of whom the follow-
ing are living: Luella; George, an employe
of the Flint & Walling Manufacturing Com-
pany; Walter, who is also connected with
the same enterprise; and Grace, wife of
Allen Martin, of Kendallville. Three chil-
dren died in infancy, and a son, James Ar-
thur, was called to the other life when a
promising young man of twenty-three years.
From the foregoing brief outline of a
busy career, furnished with commendable
modesty, many useful lessons may be
drawn. Commencing the battle of life in
comparatively humble circumstances, Mr.
Walling has not only succeeded in remov-
ing from his pathway every obstacle calcu-
lated to impede his progress to the goal of
success, and gained an eminent position in
the business and industrial world, but he has
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
also lived to become a power for good i;i
the community where he dwells. Interested
in all that is calculated to benefit his fellow-
men, materially, educationally, morally and
religiously, his influence has always been
exerted in the right direction, and from
what he has accomplished in the various
avenues in which his talents have been ex-
erted, it is easy to see that the world has
been blessed and made better by his pres-
ence.
In politics Mr. Walling is a Republican,
and for nine consecutive years was a mem-
ber of the school board of Kendallville.
GEORGE STRATER.
Few of the younger agriculturists of
Orange township, Noble county, Inch, are
as well-to-do as George Strater, the subject
of this sketch, who is still rising, both in
the scale of citizenship and that of his vo-
cation.
John F. Strater. the father of George
Strater. was born in Nordhofen, Germany,
in May, 1825, and about 1839 came to
America with his parents, who settled in
Richland county, Ohio, where George at-
tained his majority and was married. In
185 1 he came to Noble count}-, Indiana, with
his family, then consisting of a wife and two
children, having married, in Richland coun-
ty, Ohio, in 1849. Miss Anna M. Toubey,
who was born in Germany, but who, when
probably nine years old. came to America
with her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Strater had born to them
a family of twelve children, eleven of whom
grew to maturity, viz : Catherine, win 1 is
the wife of Samuel Lindsay, of Corunna,
Inch: Mary, who is married to Ephraim Ac-
ton, of Wayne township; Augustus, who
died when two years old; Nettie, who i^ the
wile "l" Nelson Chamblin. of Orange town
ship; Laura; George; Martin, a farmer in
Orange township; Lewis, a fanner in La-
grange count}-; Minda, the wife of Walter
Rhea, of Orange township; Emma is mar-
ried to John Rhea, also of ( )range township;
Albert is in the lumber business in 'Wiscon-
sin.
The parents of this large family died in
Orange township, the mother December 2,
1892, and the father December jo, [896,
the latter in his seventy-second year.
George Strater, the subject proper of
this sketch, was born in Orange township,
Noble county, Ind., April 15. [858, was
reared 011 the home farm and educated in
the common schools. He assisted on the
homestead until he became of age. when he
went to Howard count}-. Ind.. where he was
employed on a farm by an uncle for one
year, and then returned to Orange township,
Noble county, which has since been his
home.
The marriage of George Strater took
place in Orange township on the 15th oi
October, 1885, to Miss Jennie Ross, a na-
tive of Orange township, born September
15, ,1859, and a daughter of the late Will-
iam Ross. In the fall of 1890 Mr. Strater
settled on the farm where he still continues
to reside, and which comprises ninety acres,
and which he has improved with all neces-
sary buildings and has placed in a most ex-
cellent state of tillage. Here have been born
to Mr. and Mrs. Strater three children, of
whom the first born. Lulu, died when nearly
five years of age; the survivors are named
Norman R. and Dorothy 1.. and are remark-
ably bright little ones.
182
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Mr. Strater is in politics a Democrat,
and takes especial interest in public affairs,
being a broad-minded and liberal citizen and
ever ready to lend his aid, morally and finan-
cially, to the advancement of such projects
as promise to prove beneficial to the com-
munity at large. He and his wife are mem-
bers of the Brimfield Methodist Episcopal
church, to the support of which they contrib-
ute most freely, and to the precepts of which
they faithfully adhere. In the social circles
of Orange township Mr. and Mrs. Strater
are among the most respected members.
Mr. Strater traces his ancestry directly
to the High Germans, and the original spell-
ing of Strater was Stroeder.
HENRY W. EDMONDS.
Although America, or, at least, that part
of it now known as the United States, was
colonized in the early days by English people,
the tide of immig-ration now flowing in from
Albion's Isle is not now nearly as great, in
proportion, as that which reaches us from
many of the other countries of Europe, yet
we have occasionally a sturdy and intelligent
native of England who decides to make
America his permanent home, as was the
case with the father of the subject of this
sketch.
Henry W. Edmonds, one of the skilled
and prosperous farmers of Orange township,
Noble county, Ind., who was born in this
township, March 28, 1863, and is a son of
John and Millie (Warren) Edmonds, the
former of whom was born in Armbyshire,
England, March 4, 1822, and the latter
in Lansing, Mich., in 1834. John Ed-
monds came to Noble county, Ind., in
1853, and was married in Orange township
to Miss Warren, and here he made his home
until his untimely death, March 4, 1897, by
an untoward railroad accident at Brimfield,
Ind.. but had lost his wife in Orange
township in the latter part of February,
1888. To the marriage of these parents had
been born four children, who were named, in
the order of birth, as follows: Mary, who
is now the wife of Judson Hardendorf, of
Jefferson township; Edward, who died in in-
fancy: Henry W.. the subject of this biog-
raphy, and Laura, who died August 4, 1888.
Henry W. Edmonds was reared to farm-
ing in Orange township and educated in the
common schools of his district. He married
here, February 19, 1889, Miss Katie
Grossman, who was born in Lancaster
county, Penn., February 19, 1868, and is a
daughter of Henry M. and Mary Jane ( Pow-
ell) Grossman, of whom further information
may be had by referring to the biography of
Mr. Grossman on another page. Mrs. Ed-
monds was reared in Orange township, how-
ever, from the time she was three years old,
and may therefore be looked upon almost as
native born. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs.
Edmonds has been crowned by the birth of
two children, who have been christened:
Forrest H., now in the sixth grade, and
Cleland J., in the first grade in school at
Brimfield, and who still live to cheer the
hearts and home of the parents.
Mr. Edmonds is a Republican in politics
and is one who takes a great interest in local
public affairs both as a party man and a citi-
zen, but has never manifested any great de-
sire for holding public office. He is a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity, Lodge No.
457, and he and wife are both members of
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the Order of the Eastern Star as well as the
U. B. church at Rome City. Air- Edmonds'
two uncles, Horace and George, were sol-
diers in the Civil war. George had his leg-
shot off at the battle of Mill Springs,
Ky. Mr. Edmonds' relatives on the
mother's side are heirs to a large estate in
England. His grandfather, German War-
ren, was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Mr. Edmonds owns a fine farm of one
hundred and sixty acres which he has im-
proved with a tasty dwelling and commodi-
ous and conveniently arranged outbuildings,
and as a tiller of the soil has but few equals
in Orange township, his skill in procuring
profitable and abundant crops being equalled
only by his taste and good management in
giving to' the place an air of coziness and
comfort delightful to look upon.
NATHANIEL P. EAGLES
Was bum April 17, 1824, in Genesee county.
N. Y., and is a son of Leander B. Eagles,
a native of the city of New York, and
Lucy Prentiss, a native of Montgomery
county, N. Y., who were married in Gen-
esee county, settled there for a few years,
and in 1837 moved to Sparta township,
Noble county, Ind., and settled on a farm,
where they remained until the death of Le-
ander B., September, 1859. Lucy Eagles,
his widow, died in 1877. To this union eight
children were born, four of whom are still
living: L. B. Eagles, Nathaniel P. Eagles
(our subject), T. M. Eagles and Mrs. Z. A.
Bothwell.
Our subject was educated in the public
schools of New York and Noble county,
until fourteen years of age. He remained
with his father until twenty-one years old,
and then engaged in teaching during the
winter and clearing land in the summer.
This he continued to do for five years. On
the 18th day of October, 1847, he was mar-
ried to Miss Harriet Frink, an accomplished
daughter of Nathan brink, an intelligent
gentleman and an old settler of Noble county.
After his marriage the subject of this -ketch
commenced farming in Sparta township. No-
ble county, and continued thereat until 1874,
when he was elected sheriff of Noble county,
as a Democrat. He was re-elected in 1876.
During both terms of said office he resided
in Albion, Ind. At the expiration of
said terms he went back to Sparta township
and farmed until about 1890, when he re-
moved to Albion and engaged in the lumber
business, in which he is still engaged and has
been remarkably successful.
Mr. Eagles' wife died November 14,
1886. To this union eight children were
horn: Marion: Alice, wife of D. P. Miller;
Emma, wife of Robert Wiley : Eva V. : Har-
riet E. : Edward P.. in business with our sub-
ject; Albert A., dentist in Chicago; and
Chester N., a resident of Albion.
Our subject has always affiliated with the
Democratic party, has held several offices of
trust, and in every case has discharged the
duties thereof with a strict fidelity to the in-
terests of the people and to the entire satis-
faction of all reasonable persons, without
distinction of party.
Notwithstanding Mr. Eagles has reached
the age when to most aged person- "the
grasshopper become- a burden." he yet takes
an active part in business and still retains
much of his former mental and physical
vigor. I lis residence is commodious and
1S4
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
tasty, and is furnished with all necessary
comforts and conveniences ; and there he will
probably spend the few remaining years of
his long and useful life. Since the death of
his lamented wife three of his amiable, intel-
ligent, accomplished daughters have presided
over his household affairs, and no pains are
spared by them to make it an ideal home — a
home where their aged, indulgent and idol-
ized father may spend the remainder of his
days in peace, with the assurance, "blessed
assurance." of having to the last the genuine
sympathy and hearty appreciation of those
whose support, moral and intellectual train-
ing as well as general welfare, had long to
him been the chief source of anxiety, parental
pride and pleasure.
WARREN S. WILLIAMS, M. D.
Conspicuous. "among the distinguished,
physicians and surgeons of northern Indi-
ana is the well-known and popular gentle-
man whose name forms the caption of this
article. Belonging to the younger genera-
tion of professional men. he has already won
the respect and esteem of all who know him.
not alone by reason of the eminent ability
displayed in his chosen calling but also by
his candid mien, generous heart and free-
dom from duplicity and deceit. He comes
of a family of medical men. both his grand-
father and father having gained much mop
than local repute in the noble profession to
which their lives and energies were devoted.
Dr. Nathan Williams, grandfather of
Dr. Warren S., was a native of Fayette
county, Penn., where he grew to maturity
in the country, having been thrown upon his
own resources at a comparatively early age.
After the death of his father, an early pio-
neer of the count} - of Fayette, he hired out
for two dollars per month as a farm laborer,
and was thus employed until sixteen years
old, meantime attending the old-fashioned
subscription schools as opportunity would
admit and devoting all of his spare moments
to increasing his scholastic knowledge. Sub-
sequently he worked for some time at cab-
inetmaking. and then turned his attention
to the medical profession, fur which he early
manifested a decided preference. At the ex-
piration of four years of professional study
under the direction of competent instruct-
ors, he was graduated from a school of
medicine at Connellsville, Penn.. and imme-
diately thereafter, in 1828. began the prac-
tice in the eastern part of Ohio. From the
above year to 1845 Dr. Nathan Williams
followed various vocations in the Buckeye
state and then located at Columbia City,
Ind., where two years later he again re-
sumed the practice of his profession. In
1847 he returned to Ohio, and for a period
of twenty years thereafter was actively en-
gaged in his chosen calling in the town of
Defiance. In July. 1865. he moved to Ken-
clallville, Ind., where he did a large and
remunerative professional business until his
death, which occurred at the advanced age
of eighty-two. He became one of the lead-
ing medical men of northern Indiana, and
for over fifty vears was an earnest and pious
member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
He was married in 1831 to Miss Lydia
Eicher, of Pennsylvania, and reared two
children, one of whom. Dr. Salathiel T.
Williams, was for many years one of the
most distinguished physicians and surgeons
of Noble county.
&>2s^£^^s
CtL^cs&^T^isi .
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIAN \.
[85
Salathiel T. Williams was born in Mt.
Gilead, Morrow county, Ohio, October 4,
1836. He enjoyed superior educational ad-
vantages in 'his youth, attended for some
years a select school in Defiance, Ohio, and
later entered upon the study of medicine in
the office of his father He also received
valuable instruction from Drs. Calby and
Moss, eminent physicians of eastern Ohio,
and in [858 was graduated from an eclec-
tic medical institute of that state with high
Honors. From [858 to 1863 he was asso-
ciated with his father at Defiance, and in the
latter year entered the United States serv-
ice as surgeon, continuing in that capacity
till 1865, during which period he had
charge of Hospital No. 14, at Nashville,
Tenn.
Returning to Ohio at the expiration of
his period of service, the Doctor resumed
his practice at Defiance, but did not long re-
main there, removing to what he considered
a more inviting field in Noble count}'. End.
Selecting Kendallville as a place of resi-
dence, he again effected a co-partnership
with his father, and the two soon built up a
very extensive and eminently successful
practice, which continued until the death of
the senior member dissolved the firm.
Dr. Williams was united in marriage in
the year 1858 to Miss Alary E. Lehman, of
Defiance. Ohio, who bore him four chil-
dren: Effie: Dr. Warren S. ; Minnie, wife
of Edward S. Thomas, of Chicago; and
Allie, who married A. R. Otis, a prominent
druggist of Kendallville.
As a physician and surgeon S. T. Will-
iams took high rank, and for many years
was considered as standing at the head of
the profession in the county of Noble. He
took an active interest in the deliberations
of the Northeastern Indiana Medical Asso-
ciation, of which he was a leading member.
and for a number of years was surgeon for
the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Kail-
road, discharging the duties of the position
until the office was abolished in 1879. He
was also surgeon of the Railway Hospital
Association of Toledo, and at one time
served as pension examining surgeon for the
government, with headquarters at Kendall-
ville from the time they were established un-
til his death, except during Cleveland's ad-
ministration.
Dr. Williams was a prominent and en-
thusiastic Mason, having held every office
within the gift of the local lodge to which
be belonged, besides being called at differ-
ent times to high stations in the fraternity
throughout the state, lie took a number of
degrees, including that of Sir Knight, and
in 1879 was honored by being elected grand
commander for the state of Indiana. Al-
ways interested in politics, he could never
be induced to accept office at the hands of
his fellow-citizens, although frequently im-
portuned to permit his name to go before
conventions for high and worth}- positions.
Upon one occasion he was nominated by the
Republican party for the Legislature, but
politely declined the proffered honor, pre-
ferring to devote his entire time and atten-
tion to the claims of his profession.
After a long and active career, devoted
to the wants of suffering humanity, he died
on the 30th day of April. [892. His widow
survived him until [895, in June of which
year, mi the 26th day. she. ton. was called
to the other life.
Mr. Warren S. Williams was born Janu-
ary 1, 1802, in Defiance county, Ohio, and
when old enough he entered the schools of
1 86
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
tne city of Kendallville and pursued his stud-
ies until completing the prescribed course,
graduating from the high school with the
class of 1882. Determined to devote his life
to the profession which his father had so
successfully prosecuted before him, young
Warren, as soon as he left school, began the
study of medicine under the careful direc-
tion of the elder Williams, and in due time
entered the medical department of the West-
ern Reserve University. Here he prosecuted
his studies with commendable zeal, making
a splendid record as a student of the stand-
ard authors and also by reason of original
investigation in various lines of the profes-
sion. After his graduation from the above
institution in 1884, the Doctor began the
practice in Kendallville with his father, and
continued the partnership until the latter's
death, since which time he has maintained
an office of his own.
Bringing to his life work a mind thor-
oughly disciplined by severe professional
training. Dr. Williams was not long in
building up a large and remunerative prac-
tice, and by his skill in the treatment of dis-
eases which had formerly baffled the knowl-
edge of old and experienced medical men he
soon won much more than a local reputa-
tion. Although a young man, he is consid-
ered not only one of the most thoroughly
informed physicians in Noble county, but
as a practitioner, familiar with the nature
of prevalent diseases and the ability to apply
successfully his wide and varied knowledge
in their treatment, he easily ranks with the
eminent men of his profession in the north-
ern part of the state. He has an extensive
office practice, besides visiting the majority
of the best homes in a large farming Com-
munity contiguous to the city, throughout
which his abilities are recognized and duly
appreciated. As a family physician he pos-
sesses strong character, is warm-hearted and
generous in his sympathies, and seldom, if
ever, fails to win the confidence of his pa-
tients — one of the first prerequisites to suc-
cessful treatment. Always calm and self-
possessed in the sick-room, he impresses
anxious friends with his ability and con-
scious fidelity, and the marked degree with
which he arouses the love and gratitude of
those under his charge mark him as thor-
ough master of the situation, however grave,
or critical. As a surgeon he has exhibited
special ability, having been remarkably suc-
cessful in this important branch of the pro-
fession. Although a skillful operator, he
never uses the knife unless convinced that it
is the »nly means of prolonging life or pre-
serving some important member of the
body. His practice has been eminently sat-
isfactory professionally and financially and
ins standing as one of the leading men of
his calling in a city known for a high order
of medical talent has for some time been
fully assured.
Dr. Williams is a student and aims to
keep himself coversant with the leading pro-
fessional thought of the day. Familiar with
the latest ideas of the worlds's great minds,
he delights to exchange opinions with his
professional brethren, in addition to which
much of his leisure is devoted to research
and scientific investigation. He has a well-
equipped office and uses in his practice only
the latest and most approved devices and ap-
pliances. The Doctor is a member of the
American Medical Association, the Indiana
State Medical Society and the Medical So-
ciety of Noble county, in all of which he-
manifests a lively interest, not infrequently
vLVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA. 187
taking an active part in their discussions and
deliberations.
Additional to the claims of his profes-
sion, the Doctor is also a public-spirited
man, keenly alive to everything- that bene-
fits his city and county and foremost in all
reforms for alleviating- the condition of the
people. For eight years he served as mem-
ber of the city council, (luring which time
he stood boldly for all necessary improve-
ments and proved a faithful and valuable
public servant in many ways. Fraternallv
lie is a Mason of high standing, belonging
to the lodge meeting in Kendallville. also
to Chapter No. 64, R. A. M. For some
years he has been an active worker in the
Order of Maccabees, and at the present time
his name adorns the records of the local
lodges of Ben Hur and the National Union,
fraternal insurance organizations.
Dr. Williams is a married man and has
a beautiful home in Kendallville. where he
dispenses a genuine and refined hospitali*v
to his many friends and associates. His
marriage was solemnized October 20, 1886,
in Hickville. Ohio, with Miss Jennie Otis,
sister of Amos Ray Otis and daughter of
the late E. D. Otis, a prominent citizen of
that town. Airs. W. S. Williams was born
near the city of Worcester. Ohio, September
ig, 1865, and has presented her husband
with three children, namely: Harold O., Lu-
cille and Anna.
james e. Mcdonald,
Editor of the Ligonier Banner and president
of the Indiana state board of agriculture,
is a native of Columbia Citv, Whitley coun-
ty, Ind., was born September 9. 1855,
and is the eldest son of Colonel I. 1!. McDon-
ald, one of the best-known citizens of north-
ern Indiana, whose gallantry as a soldier and
whose love of country are proverbial and are
as household words throughout the Hoosier
state and even far beyond its boundaries.
James E. McDonald was educated in the
common schools of Whitley county, in which
he qualified himself for the profession of
teaching, a vocation in which he later met
with much success in Whitley county and
elsewhere, but which profession he relin-
quished in 1 88 1. he being then principal of
the Columbia City high school, to engage, in
partnership with Hon. John B. Stoll, in the
publication of the Ligonier Banner, then, as
now, one of the leading Democratic organs
of the state, and in the conduct of which he
has manifested unusual ability and demon-
strated the fact that he has made no mistake
in his choice of a business pursuit.
In 1886 Mr. McDonald was appointed
postmaster of Ligonier by President Cleve-
land, and so ably did he perform the duties
of this office that he retained the position
through the usual term of four years and
continued to hold it two years longer under
a Republican administration, thus earning
for himself a reputation for administrative
ability seldom achieved and never surpassed
by a predecessor in the office.
In 1892 Mr. McDonald was nominated
for joint senator for the counties of Noble
and Dekalb, and at the ensuing election tri-
umphantly carried the polls. Two years
later Mr. McDonald was elected a member
of the Indiana state board of agriculture, and
is now the president of that body.
In October, 1899, at a meeting of the
grand lodge of Indiana, Knights of Pythias,
Mr. McDonald was elected grand chancellor,.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
which high office he has filled with honor to
himself as well as to the credit of the order.
Mr. McDonald is one of the best-known
men in the state and his name has frequently
been favorably mentioned in connection with
some of the most important official position
within the gift of his party, as his past serv-
ice and faithful support of its principles cer-
tainly deserve recognition at its hands.
James E. McDonald was most happily
united in marriage, in 1879, with Miss
Laura A. Brand, of Columbia City, and this
union has been crowned by the birth of three
children — two girls and a boy — the latter
being named James E. McDonald. Jr. So-
cially the McDonald family stand among the
foremost people of Ligonier.
JAMES M. DENNY.
James M. Denny, lawyer of Albion, No-
ble county. Ind.. was 'born October 29,
1827, in Eaton, Preble county, Ohio. His
parents, John and Alary ( McConnell) Den-
ny, were natives respectively of Virginia and
Pennsylvania. His father was of Scotch-
Irish extraction, his ancestors emigrating
from Scotland sometime prior to the war of
1776 and settling in Pennsylvania. Walter
Denny, grandfather of James, was a soldier
in the Revolutionary war and fought for our
national independence, serving in General
Washington's army until the close of the
conflict. His father was elected associate
judge of the circuit court of Preble county,
Ohio, serving for several years. When
James M. was five years of age they removed
from Ohio to Indiana, locating in Eden
township, Lagrange count}-, on what is
known as the Haw-patch, a tract of exceed-
ing value and productiveness. He was kept
j at work as a boy assisting in clearing and
improving the farm. When out of school he
1 was given by bis parents all the educational
advantages so new a country afforded, and
also given those of the better grades of
schools elsewhere, including academies of
good repute, so that at the age of eighteen be
was the master of a thorough academic edu-
cation. When he closed his days as a pupil
and, Yankee like, saw greatness in being a
j schoolmaster, he sought such a situation and
continued teaching for four terms. Being a
natural student he pursued his studies at all
leisure times with diligence and energy. His
industry and manifest interest in the ad-
vancement of his pupils demonstrated adap-
tation to the calling and secured the com-
mendation of parents and the confidence and
esteem of his pupils. In 1849 ne entered as
a student of law the office of William M.
j Clapp, of Albion, under whose instruction
he read for about two years, when he entered
the legal department of the State and Na-
tional Law Sschool at Ballston Springs, N.
1 Y., from which, at the end of the term, he
graduated with honor, receiving his parch-
ment August 11, 1852.
Pie returned to Albion. Ind., and be-
gan the practice of his profession, which he
pursued with gratifying prospects of suc-
cess; but close application produced failing
health and compelled him to limit himself to
the amount of business in his calling that a
well directed prudence would justify. He
has also given much time and study in the
pursuit of science and literature, as well as
much labor in the preparation and delivery
of lectures, orations, essays and addresses on
many subjects of interest to the people. As
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, 1NDI W A.
a speaker he is clear, forcible and convinc-
ing. His popularity as such is more than
local. He has for years been a liberal and
frequent contributor to the papers and peri-
odicals of the day. As a writer he is ready,
terse, logical and comprehensive. His prop-
ositions are always clearly defined and ener-
getically and intelligently defended. Mr.
Demi}- is a man of extensive reading, close
and careful observation, and deep and
thoughtful reflection, which give to his liter-
ary productions both argument and beauty.
Air. Denny is a Royal Arch Mason, and
his pen is ready and fearless in the defense
and support of the usages and principles of
the order. We have been especially impressed
by the perusal of the lecture entitled,
"Charles Sumner as an Example to Young
Men." Its truthfulness and elegance are es-
pecially worthy of notice. His lecture on
"Sabbath-school Workers," delivered at a
Sabbath-school convention a,t Kendallville,
Ind., and many others of bis efforts that
have fallen under our notice, are full of
merit. Mr. Denny is a man of strong brain
power, and like all men of positive character
reads, thinks and acts for himself and on his
own convictions. Although of quick percep-
tions he usually arrives at conclusions only
after due reflection: but when once settled
upon any belief his ideas are shaken only by
the most convincing proofs. Any position
he may have espoused, political, religious or
otherwise, finds in him an able and fearless
advocate and defender. In short, for him to
believe is % to know. He was trained in the
Democratic school of politics and has always
been an active and influential adherent of
that party. While he is zealous in the sup-
port of its men and measures, and liberal in
his contributions of both time and money in
its necessities, he is not a politician nor an
aspirant for office. He has held positions
of honor and trust, but not from bis own
seeking. He was elected by his party, in
1S59. treasurer of Noble county, and re-
elected to the same position in [86l; and
each time by a vote largely exceeding the
regular party strength. In the discbarge of
the duties of his office he was courteous and
conscientious, commanding the confidence
and respect of his constituents. Mr. Denny
is orthodox in his religious convictions and
believes it is not only man's first duty but
his greatest privilege to worship his ( 'rcat< t ;
but, not having been able to accept all of the
usages and dogmas of any church, has kept
himself aloof from membership. He is a
regular attendant of, and liberal contributor
to, the Presbyterian church of Albion, of
which his wife is a member.
He was married, January 1, [856, to
Hiss Frances J. Plumstead, eldest daughter
of Rev. J. B. Plumstead, of Portage City,
Wis., who died September 9, [866, leav-
ing two sons. The elder, Watts P., born
September 14. 1857, is now in his twenty-
third year and is filling his second term at
Rome City school; the younger. James Orr
Denny, born August 20, 1862, is in his sev-
enteenth year and is successfully conducting
a district school. The sons have partaken
largely of the parents' adaptability and love
of school-teaching, which promises for them
a brilliant future. Mr. Denny was again
married, September 10, 1868. on that occa-
sion leading to the altar Miss Julia A. Kib-
linger. of Albion. In private life, Mr. Denny
is a courteous and genial gentleman. His
domestic habits are strong, and his purity of
devotion to those obligations secures the love
ami confidence of his family and friends.
190
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
His honorable dealings with men commands <
the respect and esteem of all who know him.
His friendships are firm and enduring. His
character is above reproach and his position
is assured as a citizen and as a man.
By consent of the subject — the above :
sketch published in a work entitled, "Ameri- '
•can Biographical History of Eminent and
Self-made Men of the State of Indiana," —
the writer adopts said sketch, correcting one
or two errors therein, and will content him-
self by supplying a few omissions and add-
ing a few observations which the lapse of
twenty years seems to call for.
Mr. Denny is still a resident of said town
of Albion, Ind., and still employs much
of his time in further familiarizing himself
with choice literature, in making occasional
public addresses, and furnishing a few arti-
cles to the press. His second wife is still
mistress of their happy home. The elder of
the above named sons, Watts P. Denny, for
the past twelve years has been engaged in
the practice of law in the city of Fort Wayne,
Ind. About four years ago he and Judge
A. A. Chapin, a very able lawyer, be-
came partners in the practice of law under
the firm name of Chapin & Denny, and with
the well-known sterling integrity, good busi-
ness qualifications, thorough knowledge of
the law, fine social qualities, and fine literary
attainments of each, they have succeeded in
acquiring a large and lucrative practice.
The}- make a specialty of patent law. Watts
P. Denny married Miss Anna Lake, of Rome
City, Ind., an estimable lady, and to their
union were born two children ; the elder,
Watts Lake, a bright intellectual child, died
at the age of two years ; and the younger,
Helen, a bright promising little girl of ten
years, still lives to bless the household. The
second son, James Orr Denny, immediately
after the death of his mother, went to live
with his maternal grandparents at Portage
City, Wisconsin, and remained with them
eight years, and while there, and afterward,
acquired a good academical education, and
gratified his strong desire for knowledge by
spending much time in the perusal of works,
of biography, history and choice literature.
Being blest with a retentive memory he suc-
ceeded in acquiring a large fund of valuable
information which he has since turned to
good account. For the past eighteen years
he has been connected with some of the ablest
metropolitan newspapers of the west, a part
of the time as reporter and sometimes as
member of the editorial staffs thereof. For
three years he wrote for the Pioneer Press,
and for eighteen months for the Daily Globe,
both of St. Paul, Minn. The climate
proving too rigid he went to Oakland,
Cal., ami immediately procured the respon-
sible position of city editor of the Oakland
Times. At the end of one year" he was in-
duced to resign and accept the position of
reporter of the San Francisco Daily Chron-
icle, which he held for eight years ; and after-
ward he spent some years writing for other
papers whose names the writer cannot now
give. For several years past he has been,
and still is, writing for the San Francisco
Daily Call. He has frequently had tempting-
offers of the editorship of able journals in
other cities, but preferred to remain at San
Francisco. While the writer does not wish
to deal in fulsome eulogy and. in "strained
panegyric," still from said James Orr Den-
ny's long connection with the very able jour-
nals above named, and from a careful perusal
of some of his contributions to their columns.
as well as from information derived from
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
other reliable sources, he feels warranted in
pronouncing him a highly cultured gentle-
man ; an able, brilliant writer, whose early
display of courage, industry, perseverance.
and literary taste has enabled him to equip
himself for the high and honorable position
he now occupies in the ranks of able writers,
whose productions fill the columns of some
of the ablest journals of the country.
ABRAHAM M. JACOBS.
For a number of years classed with the
able financiers of northern Indiana and at the
present time the efficient cashier of the No-
ble County Bank, the subject of this sketch is
deserving of especial mention as one of the
safe, reliable and progressive business men of
the thriving city of Kendallville. Mr. Jacobs
is a native of this city and dates his birth
from the 8th clay of February, 1864, his
father being Moses Jacobs, one of the sub-
stantial pioneers of this section of Noble
county. His boyhood days, to his eighth
year, were spent amid the familiar scenes of
his birth, after which time he was taken by
his parents to Europe, where be remained
until 1882. Previous to going abroad, he
attended the primary department of the Ken-
dallville public schools, and while in Ger-
many took a course in the gymnasium at
Darmstadt, where he received thorough in-
struction in many branches, including a
rigid physical training, by means of which
his bodily powers were greatly developed
and strengthened. Returning to the United
States in 1882, Mr. Jacobs entered Bryant &
Stratton's Business College of Chicago,
where he completed a full commercial course,
immediately following which he accepted the
position of bookkeeper with the firm of J.
Keller & C>., Kendallville, with whom he
continued until the organization of the Noble
County Bank, when he was induced to be-
come a director of the bank ami its cashier.
He is still connected with J. Keller & Co.,
but devotes the greater part of his time and
attention to his duties in the bank, where his
services are thoroughly performed and great-
ly appreciated by the management of the in-
stitution. Mr. Jacobs possesses clerical abil-
ities of a high order and as a bookkeeper and
skillful accountant, familiar with every de-
tail of commercial business and banking, has
few equals and no superiors in northern In-
diana. With a knowledge of finance both
general and profound, he has made a special
study of monetary questions and his judg-
ment seldom errs in matters of business com-
ing within his sphere. His is a notable ex-
ample of those sound and correct principles
which invariably secure success, while his
genial traits of character and superior intel-
ligence are such as to retain public confidence
and esteem. From his long experience in
financial and commercial affairs his opinions
received much consideration, while his ideas
relative to all matters of business policy have
alwavs had great weight in business and in-
dustrial circles.
Mr. Jacobs married. October 23, [889,
Miss Nannette Keller, daughter of Jacob
Keller, of Kendallville. a union blessed with
two children, Rosalie M. and Milton K.
Mrs. Jacobs was burn in Kendallville. July
II, 1867, and is one of the intelligent women
of the city and a favorite in its best social
circles. She combines in a marked degree
those faculties, mental and physical, which
constitute excellence of character, and with
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
a heart overflowing with the kindest feelings
for humanity, she has become deservedly
popular with a large number of friends in
Kendallville and elsewhere.
Mr. Jacobs was a member of the city
council for several terms, and as such sup-
ported whatever tended to improve the place
and add to its beauty and attractiveness. A
faithful and conscientious public servant, he
discharged worthily every trust reposed in
him by his fellow citizens and proved himself
eminently fitted for the duties that have come
to him as a custodian of the people's inter-
ests.
Mr. Jacobs ranks among the most intelli-
gent and level-headed men of the city of his
residence and in every relation of life has
made a reputation for probity and correct
conduct that has become proverbial. His
impulses, always earnest and generous, are
invariably in the right direction and the en-
couraging success with which he has met is
mainly due to his industry and fidelity and
to the high professional courtesy character-
istic of the well-bred, broad-minded gentle-
man. For a number of years he has been
actively identified with the Masonic brother-
hood, being at the present time one of the
leading members of Lodge No. 276, of Ken-
dallville, of which he is the treasurer.
Mr. Jacobs possesses great force of char-
acter and a pleasing personality, which, com-
bined with fine social qualities and superior
executive ability, make him not only a useful
man in the community but popular with all
classes and conditions of people. In private
life he is quiet and unobtrusive in demeanor,
but within the precincts of his pleasant home,
surrounded by his loved ones, he is the soul
of hospitality and genial good fellowship.
Warm hearted and affable, pleasing in ad-
dress, he numbers his friends by the score,
and the high position which he has reached
in the business and social world is indicative
of the still greater and more influential career
that awaits him in the future.
HON. JAMES ROSCOE.
Hon. James Roscoe, of York township,
Noble county, Ind., a native of Essex coun-
ty. N. Y., was born in Elizabethtown. Sep-
tember 11, 1833. His father, Levi Roscoe,
was born in the same county. June 10, 18 10,
find his mother. Eliza ( Stockwell ) Roscoe,
was born in Essex count}-, Mass., July 14,
1 81 2. These parents removed from Essex
county, N. Y., to Huron county, Ohio, in
1833, an( l tw P years later to Erie county,
in the same state, settling in Milan, where
the father died when sixty-four years old
and the mother at eighty-one. Simeon Ros-
coe, father of Levi, was of English descent,
and died in Essex count}-, N. Y., after he
had attained bis eightieth year ; and Elisha
Stockwell, father of Mrs. Eliza Roscoe, was
a native of Massachusetts, of Scotch ex-
traction, and died in Livingston county,
Mich., when eighty-four years old.
Levi and Eliza Roscoe had born to them
; a family of seven sons and one daughter, of
' whom Hon. James Roscoe was the eldest.
\ James was but an infant when his parents
: settled in Erie count}-, Ohio, and there at-
tended school at Milan and was reared to
the carpenter's and millwright' trade, as
well as shipbuilding, and at these, as well as
other mechanical trades of a similar char-
acter, he worked until April, 1861, when,
with his wife and child in an ox-team, he
walked the entire distance from Erie county,
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ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNT V. INDIANA.
'93
Ohio, tu Greene township. Noble county,
Jnd.. where he resided two years. He then
came to York township and settled in sec-
tion 36, where he now owns five hundred
and fifty-five acres of good farm land. His
Home farm of two hundred and eighty acres
he cleared, stoned and tiled, and erected upon
it a fine set of elegant and commodious
buildings, and here he has since made his
home.
The marriage of the Hon. James Ros-
coe took place in Milan. Ohio, March 25.
1S57, to Miss Aley N. Barr, who was horn
in Genesee county, N. Y., October 29, 1826.
Her father. Rufus Barr. a native of New
York City, was born March 12, 1783, and
died in Noble county. Ind., December 19,
1869; her mother, Esther (Stockwell)
Barr. was born in Massachusetts, June 20.
1803, and died in Niagara, N. Y., October
14, 1835. Of their family of two sons and
two daughters, Mrs. Roscoe was the second
born. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs.
Roscoe have been born three children, viz :
Nelson, who was born July 2, 1858, and
died in York township, Noble county.
March 25, 1888. He was married Decem-
ber 25, 1886, to Miss Celia Clark, a daugh-
ter of Patrick Clark, of Noble township.
and to them was horn one child — Nelson J.
C. Roscoe, a bright young man. who grad-
uated this year from the high school; he
is the heir to our subject. Arvilla was called
away when hut two years of age; and Ed-
gar, who lived but nine months.
In politics Mr. Roscoe is a solid Demo-
crat. He has been very active in his work
for the party, and has served it well, on
and off the rostrum and in promoting its
success at the polls. He is very popular
with the rank and file of Democrats, and has
served them in various official positions, in-
cluding those of justice of the peace in York
township for a term of four years, and in
1890 was elected to the Indiana state legis-
lature; in 1891 he was appointed a ditch
commissioner. Fraternally he stands very
high as a Mason, having been raised to the
thirty-second degree.
Mr. Roscoe has planted four hundred
and fifty evergreens around his elegant resi-
dence, and his estate is well known as the
Evergreen Farm. He takes much interest
in breeding live stock, especially Aberdeen
Angus cattle, and has a herd of sixty head
in excellent condition. He has expended
much time and money in promoting the
drainage of the land in his neighborh 1.
thus rendering it susceptible of profitable cul-
tivation, and in many ways has exhibited
a public spirit and desire for the general
weal that has marked him as a man of broad
and enlightened ideas and won for him the
lasting gratitude of his fellow-citizens. It
is seldom, indeed, that a community is
blessed with a member who at once pos-
sesses an intellect so intuitively comprehen-
sive and acute as almost instantly to grasp
an idea that will conceive of the needs and
find a fitting and speedy remedy for the ills
that at times pervade the region in which he
lives: but York township is an exception in
this respect, as it holds in the person of Mr.
Roscoe one who is ever prompt to grasp the
true condition of affairs and to act accord-
ingly. His presence is a stimulus to hi -
neighbors ami acts as an excitant when work
is to be done for the public good; and the
full force of hisgenius and wisdom is never
taxed to its utmost, as there is always left
a latent < r reserve power that may be utilized
when drastic measures become necessarv.
[94
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
CALEB W. McMEANS.
This gentleman js a prominent merchant
of Brimfield, Ind., and also the genial and
accommodating postmaster of that village.
He was born in Port Mitchell, Ind., March
21, 1842, and is a son of John and Eliza
(Becker) McMeans — the father a native of
Pennsylvania and the mother of Ohio.
They came to Noble county, Ind., from
Montgomery county, Ohio, some time dur-
ing the '30s and settled at Port Mitchell,
where they lived for several years. They
afterwards lived in Greene township for a
time, but later returned to Port Mitchell,
where John McMeans was appointed coun-
ty treasurer to fill out an unexpired term.
The success of his administration was such
that he was elected to the office at the next
tegular election and re-elected at the ex-
piration of his term, serving over two terms
in a highly satisfactory manner. They died
in Albion at advanced ages, the father being
eighty-four and the mother between seventy
and eigthy. They were the parents of eight
children, six sons and two daughters.
Caleb W. McMeans was reared to man-
hood in Noble county, Ind., and there
learned the trade of a tinner. He entered
this business at Albion during the winter
of 1S59-60, and then went to Fort Wayne,
where he finished the trade and followed it
in different places. About this time, July
10, 180 1, Mr. McMeans enlisted in Com-
pany G, Nineteenth Indiana Volunteer Reg-
iment, and served as a soldier in putting
down the Rebellion for live months, when
he was discharged on account of disability.
Returning to his home, Mr. McMeans once
more took up his trade and in 1867 located
at Brimfield, opening a store, which has
grown to quite respectable proportions and
meets all the requirements of the public. He
has built up a large patronage by his honest
dealings and his patrons know that he tries
to meet their wants with honest prices and
honest goods. Accommodating and affable
at all times, he is popular with all classes,
and it was with unfeigned satisfaction that
his many friends heard that he had been
appointed to the position of postmaster on
May 1, 1898. He assumed the duties of
that office on the first of the following July
and has continued to treat the patrons of
the office with the best of service and con-
scientious regard for their convenience.
Mr. McMeans was joined in marriage
October 15, 1867, to Miss Ann E. Seely,
daughter of Hon. Ephraim Seely, who was
formerly associate judge of Lagrange coun-
ty, where she was born in 1837. She is the
mother of one son, John E. Mr. McMeans
is one of the public-spirited citizens of
Brimfield and is never tired of advancing
the best interests of the community. The
enterprising, pushing business man is the
one who keeps himself and his town promi-
nently before the public, helping the munic-
ipality while he is extending his own busi-
ness by showing to others that he lives in
a thriving and wide-awake settlement. Such
a man brings large numbers of shoppers to
our streets by his wise and upright methods
in business. He is a member of Nelson Post,
G. A. R., of Kendallville, and is also promi-
nent in Masonic circles. He was made a
Mason in Albion Lodge, No. 97, in 1867,
and at present a member of F. & A. M.
Lodge, No. 276. at Kendallville; also of
Chapter No. 64, Council Apollo Com-
mandery, No. 19, the Consistory at Indi-
anapolis, and is a Shriner.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
'95
AMOS RAY OTIS.
Ever since the days of old Hippocrates,
the Greek, and Galen, the Roman, the most
ancient doctors of medicine of whom history
gives any authentic record, physicians have
felt the need of reliable assistants in the per-
sons of competent apothecaries and drug-
gists, and the more learned the physicians,
the more skillful does he desire his vade me-
cum to he in his especial art, and this is but
a reasonable requirement, as it has often
times been the case that a well-informed
druggist or pharmaceutist has discovered in-
gredients in compounding medicines that
might prove fatal to the partaker thereof.
said ingredients having been unwittingly in-
troduced into a hastily written prescription,
which the druggist has been called upon with
'equal haste to compound. Therefore a phar-
macist should be as well posted in his art as
the physician in his science.
Amos Ray Otis, the well-known drug-
gist at Kendallville, Noble count v, Ind.,
was born at Dalton, Wayne county, Ohio,
August 31, 1868, and passed the first ten
y-ears of his life in his native town, when the
family removed to Hicksville, Defiance coun-
ty, in the same state, where he lived for
eleven years.
Mr. Otis received a common school edu-
cation, and at the age of fifteen years was
employed as a clerk in a drug store at Hicks-
ville. in which employ he continued for five
years, and was then engaged in a similar
store at Defiance, Ohio, for one year. By
this time he had become so well acquainted
with the pharmaceutical art and was so well
pleased with it that he decided to make it his
life pursuit, and therefore entered the Phila-
delphia College of Pharmacy, where he dili-
gently studied for one year, adding mater-
ially to his knowledge of the art, and then
accepted a position in a large drug estab-
lishment in the city of Brooklyn, N. Y.,
filled the situation one year, and then came
to Kendallville, Ind., where for two years
he was in the employ of G. H. Lohman.
In 1894 Mr. Otis came to the conclusion
that he had long enough given to others the
advantages to be derived from his knowledge
of and skill in pharmacy and determined to
start in business on his own account. Ac-
cordingly he fitted up one of the finest drug
stores to be seen in northeastern Indiana,
and Kendallville has good reason to boast of
this elegant establishment, which is well
stocked with pure drugs as a pre-requisite of
the business, together with every proprietary
medicine of tested value known to the trade.
Beside these, he carries one of the best select-
ed stocks of toilet and fancy articles of in-
trinsic merit that can be found in any similar
establishment in any part of the state, even
in the most pretentious stores of the large
cities. As Mr. Otis is personally very affable
and accommodating and ever willing to
oblige the most fastidious of those who pat-
ronize him, his trade has grown to a volume
that is a surprise to all competiti >rs, and is, 1 if
course, a matter of gratification to himself
as well as to his numerous friends. Outside
of his unquestioned familiarity with his busi-
ness proper, Mr. ( his is a business man in a
general sense, and stands in the front rank of
Kendallville's best merchants.
Amos R. Otis was most congenially unit-
ed in marriage at Kendallville, Ind., Feb-
ruary 1, 1893, with Miss Allie Williams, a
native of the city and a daughter of the late
. 9 6
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Salathiel Williams, formerly one of Kendall-
ville's most prominent citizens. This union
has been blessed with one child — Warren W.
Mr. Otis is a popular and prominent
member of the Kendallville lodge, No. 276,
F. & A. M., and of Chapter No. 64, and that
he is a young- man of exceptionally good
business qualifications is shown by the fact
that he is secretary of the Noble County
Loan & Savings Association. The fact is
also proven by his successful career as a busi-
ness man, as his capital on starting in trade
on his own account was chiefly his accurate
knowledge of his vocation. He and wife are
members of the Presbyterian church, and he
liberally contributes his share towards lubri-
cating the machinery necessary to the easy
running of church work.
Although Air. Otis is a public-spirited
citizen and ever ready to subscribe freely to
all worthy projects calculated to promote the
public good, he has taken no particularly
active part in politics, yet his proclivities are
with the Democratic party.
Mr. and Mrs. Otis are great favorites in
the social circles of Kendallville, owing
chiefly to' their naturally genial dispositions
and their various accomplishments, as well
as their vivacity and pleasing personal graces
and intrinsic intellectual merits.
CHARLES W. BLISS,
An enterprising agriculturist of Orange
township. Noble county, Ind., was born
in Brimfield. Mass.. January 31, 1846,
is a son of William and Fanny M.
(Vincent) Bliss, and a grandson of Timothy
and Margaret (McDonald) Bliss and Dr. J.
H. and Lucinda (Overton) Vincent.
The paternal grandfather, Timothy
Bliss, was born in Brimfield, Mass.,
November 4, 1783, and died in the same lo-
cality, December 31, 1862. His wife, Mar-
garet McDonald, was born in Herkimer
county, X. Y., and died in Brimfield,
June 6. 1838, in her thirty-sixth year. They
were the parents of four children, Aaron,
William. Timothy and Margaret.
William Bliss was born in Brimfield,
Mass., October 2y, 181 6. and there
grew to manhood. He was a farmer by oc-
cupation, but in 1837 went to Chagrin Falls,
Ohio, and was employed by his brother,
I Aaron, who was operating a woolen mill.
William Bliss traveled extensively through
Indiana for several years, buying wool for
this factory, and so well was he impressed
with the resources of the state that in 1857
he moved his family to Lagrange county,
Ind., and for two years operated a wool-
en mill at Rome City. He then moved to
Noble county, and located in Orange town-
ship, on the plat of land which is the present
site of Brimfield and which he named in
honor of the town of that name in Massa-
chusetts, from which he originally came.
Brimfield. Ind., received its name Octo-
ber 2^, i860. Mr. Bliss has been a promi-
nent farmer during his active working days
and set a worthy example of industry for the
younger generations to follow.
He was married in Chagrin Falls, Ohio,
September 16, 1841, to Miss Fanny M. Vin-
cent. She was born in Herkimer county,
X. Y., July r8, 1824. ami is a daughter
of Dr. J. H. Vincent, a native of Herkimer
count}-. X. V.. and a prominent and popu-
lar practitioner of Chagrin Falls, Ohio,
for more than forty years. His last days
were passed at the home of his son, Charles
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
W., where lie died, November 16, 1861.
ag"ed sixty-five years. His wife was .Miss
Lucinda Overton, who died in Orange town-
ship. May 5, 1880, aged eighty-three years.
Four children have been born to William
Bliss and his wife: Frank T., Charles W.,
Emily M. and Mary L., who is the wife of
W. A. McCarty, of Brimfield. Mr. Bliss
was formerly a member of the Congrega-
tional church, but has been closely identified
with the Methodist Episcopal church since
locating in Orange township, and has been
superintendent of the Sunday-school for
years. Mrs. Bliss died February 28, 1889.
Charles W. Bliss remained in Brimfield,
Mass., in his infancy, and then went to
Chagrin Falls till his eleventh year, and
has been a citizen of Noble county, Ind.,
since his fourteenth year. He has followed
the occupation of farming. He was married
in Rome City, Ind.. November 29, 1871,
to Miss H. Cornelia Clock, who was horn
August 25. 1846, in Geauga county, Ohio.
She lived there until her seventh year, when
she came with her parents to Rome City,
where she grew to womanhood and married.
She is the mother of one child, Fannie, who
finished the common school course and re-
ceived her diploma in 1894. She passed one
year at Kendallville and three years at Ober-
lin College. Mr. and Mrs. Bliss take an
active part in church work, his wife being a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
He is also a prominent figure in the caucuses
of the Republican party as he takes an active
and intelligent interest in the success of his
party.
Reverend Jacob Clock, the father of Mrs.
Charles W. Bliss, was born in New York
City, in October, 181 1, and was married to
Miss Abigal Groves, who was born Decern
ber, 1824, in Skaneateles, X. Y. In 1854
they came to Rome City, Ind., where she
died, February 10, 1863. He was a min-
ister in the Methodist Episcopal church
and was the means of accomplishing much
good. He passed to his reward at St. Mary's,
Kan.. April 3, 1886, leaving a blameless
record and a memory of good deeds that
will continue to bear fruit and reflect honor
on his name. He was the father of four
children.
Rev. Jacob Wilkie Clock was horn in
Xew York City, October 2. 181 1. and died at
St. Mary's, Kan., April 2, [886. He was
a minister of the Gospel, many years in New
York, Ohio, Indiana, also in Kansas. He
was a carpenter and joiner by trade, but
after conversion was licensed to preach in
the Oneida conference in Xew York, in 1N31.
He was a useful and efficient pastor and
worker in the church. He came to Noble
county. Ind.. in 1853. He served almost
one-half a century — forty-five years — as
minister. Rev. Clock attended Gainesville
Academy. Orleans count}', X. Y, and
was a student in Garrett Biblical Institute
six weeks. He studied Greek, Latin and
Hebrew on horseback while a traveling
preacher. His remains were interred in To-
peka, Kansas.
WILLIAM IMES (Deceased),
Was for man_\' years an honored resident of
Noble county , Ind.. and during the last half
of the past century was actively engaged in
developing the natural resources of that
county as one of the leading agriculturists
of Orange township. He was born in Bel-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
mont county, Ohio, July 19, 1829, but was
reared in Morrow count}*, that state, where
lie was joined in marriage with Miss Jane
Halferty on March 1, 1849. She was born
in Morrow county, Ohio, May 7, 1827, her
father being William Halferty and her moth-
er Elizabeth (Luther) Halferty, both of
whom were natives of Pennsylvania. They
died in Morrow county, he at the age of
forty years and she aged almost eighty-
nine, a ripe old age. Seven children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Imes, and those
living are all residents of Orange township,
viz.: Thomas L., a prosperous farmer;
John H., also extensively engaged in agri- 1
cultural pursuits; James P., who died at the
age of twenty-seven; William A.; Mary E., '
wife of William Hosier; Milton, who died
at the age of thirty-nine; and Isabella, who
is the wife of Enos Bricker.
After his marriage Mr. Imes resided a 1
short time in Morrow county, and then
moved to Richland county, Ohio, where he
remained until the fall of 1850, when he
came to Noble county and settled in Orange
township on the farm now occupied by his
widow. He was highly successful in life
and accumulated upward of three hundred
acres of land, which he cleared and improved
himself. He was a hard-working man and I
put the best improvements on his land, tak-
ing a lively satisfaction in the neat, orderly
appearance of his farm. He was active in
all affairs which affected the general com-
munity and was the means of accomplishing
much good in Orange township. He served
two terms as commissioner of Noble county
and was the efficient assessor for a number
of years, discharging the duties of his office
regradless of fear or favor. He was also
prominent in church work, and was a devout
member of the United Brethren church. For
almost- half a century be lived and labored
in Noble county, winning friends who^ were
loyal and unswerving, and when he sank into
the dreamless sleep on October 16, 1894, his
taking off was mourned as a personal loss by
the many who had come to know him and
appreciate his worth.
THOMAS L. IMES.
This reputable and highly esteemed agri-
culturist of Noble county, Ind., was born in
Richland county, Ohio, December 3, 1849,
and is the eldest of seven children born to
William and Jane (Halferty) Imes. Will-
iam Imes, whose memoir appears elsewhere
in this work, was born in Belmont county,
Ohio, July 19, 1829, while his Avife was born
in Morrow county, Ohio, May 7, 1827. They
were married in Ohio and made their home
in Richland county for a time, later moving
to Noble county and settling in Orange
township, where the father died and where
the mother-still lives. The name, it may be
mentioned here, was originally spelled limes
— that is, with a double I.
Thomas L. Imes was a child of about
one year when his parents took up their resi-
dence in Noble county. Ind., and it was here
he received bis education and gave his at-
tention to the tilling of the soil. He re-
mained at home with his parents until March
13, 1873, when he led to the altar of Hymen
Miss Mary C. Hosier, who became his bride.
She was born in Morrow county, Ohio, Jan-
uary 21, 1848, and is one of five children
born to Samuel R. and Barbara ( Keifer)
Hosier, namelv : John Henry ; William W. ;
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
'99
Mary C. : Margaret M., who died in infancy ;
and Ella B. Samuel R. Hosier was born in
York county, Penn., November 10, 1820,
and his wife was born in Lebanon county,
that slate, August 15, 1823. After marriage
they located in Morrow county, Ohio*, where
they remained until the spring of 1850, when
they moved to Noble county, Ind-, and set-
tled near Albion. Later they resided in
Rome City, and still later moved to the farm
in Orvnge township where they still live.
One child has blessed the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Imes, namely: Mabel M., who was a
lovable young lady and had reached her
twenty-first year when, on March 26, [894,
she answered the summons which called her
to the home on high.
Thomas L. Imes settled on bis present
farm of eighty acres soon after his marriage,
and has converted it into one of the must
attractive and desirable homes in Noble
county. Time and labor have not been
spared in the work of beautifying and im-
proving the property, and its neat, handsome
apearance can not but attract the attention
of even the casual observer.
Mr. Imes is always busy, either with bis
private affairs or those pertaining to the
township. He was for years identified with
the Democratic party, but later has -affiliated
with the Republicans, though he was elected
to the office of assessor of Orange township
on the Democratic ticket in 1886. a position
he has filled faithfully and well for a period
of five years. Mr. Imes is prominent in fra-
ternal circles, being a member of lodge No.
451, F. & A. M., at Rome City, and the
chapter at Kendallville; also of lodge No.
587, I. O. O. F., at Brimfield, and encamp-
ment No. 156, at Kendallville. and has sev-
eral times been delegate to the state lodge.
WILLIAM A. IMES.
The ancestral history of many of the
members of the Imes family, so long and so
favorably known in Noble county, Indiana,
will be found in the personal biographies of
the late William Imes. the father of the sub-
ject of this sketch, and of Thomas L. Imes,
a brother of subject, and also of William W.
Hosier, a brother-in-law, all of which are to
be found in full on other pages of this vol-
ume, and therefore render it unnecessary to
repeat such information in the present
sketch.
William A. Imes. the fourth in the order
of birth of his parents' seven children, had
his nativity in Orange township. Noble coun-
ty, Indiana, which is still his home, and was
born May 3. 1854, and is therefore in the full
bloom of manhood. He was reared on the
home farm and educated in the district
school and one term in the Normal school at
Ligonier, and like many others of the robust
youth of early days was an invaluable assist-
ant to his father until he found it both proper
and natural to seek a mate for himself and to
become what his father was, a respected head
of a family and a reputable citizen, as a par-
taker in the management of local affairs.
The marriage of William A. Imes ti « <k
place in Kendallville, Indiana, October 2,
1883, to Miss Barbara Ella Hosier, a daugh-
ter of Samuel Hosier, of Orange township.
This lady was born in this township, June
j j, [861. After marriage. Mr. and Mrs.
Imes settled on the old homestead, on which
he has always lived, and has been engaged
in farming, yet for six terms taught school
in Orange and Wayne townships.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Imes
have been born two bright children, Roy A.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
and Orlo H-. who are not only the glory of
the parental home, but the pets of the entire
neighborhood. Mr. and Mrs. lines are con-
scientious members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, and for several years Mr. Imes
has been superintendent of its Sunday-School
at Brimfield. In politics Mr. Imes is a Dem-
ocrat, but has never sought a public office.
As a farmer Mr. Imes is unsurpassed in
management, and his homestead of eighty
acres is improved with one of the neatest
dwellings in the township and with all the
necessary i lutbuildings.
HON. HARRISON WOOD.
The Albion Democrat (in June, 1897)
contained the biography of the late Hon.
Harrison Wood, of this city, written by bis
old friend and life-long admirer, Hon. E.
B. Gerber. It is so replete with incidents
not only of Mr. Wood personally but also of
pioneer life generally that it deserves a place
in the history of the county. Mr. Gerber
says :
"Harrison Wood was born in Franklin
county. X. Y.. August 3. 1813; worked for
his father as a farm hand until 1834, inci-
dental!}" trapping foxes and selling the skins.
The proceeds of this incidental industry,
carefully saved, was all he had when, at the
age of twenty-one, he left home for the
west, on foot to the St. Lawrence, thence by
boat up the river and lakes to Detroit, where
he landed with eighteen cents in his pocket;
paid six cents for a breakfast and started at
once for the country, with twelve cents, in
search of work. He found a job. splitting
raiK for a farmer, at three shillings a hun-
dred. He spent three years near Detroit,
making rails, chopping cord-wood, hewing
timber and teaming, then, making a visit to
his father's family in New York and re-
turning, he resumed his teaming — hauling"
salt and other merchandise to interior points.
"In 1835 he moved a family of pioneers
from Detroit to Chicago, with all their be-
longings, in a two-horse wagon. He un-
loaded near Ft. Dearborn. While there he
visited the scene of the Indian massacre of
1832. near Eighteenth street, and mowed
grass for his team on or near the spot where
the city hall now stands.
"In 1838 Mr. Wood brought from
Michigan to Perry's Prairie the first thresh-
ing machine, and for several years did
nearly all the threshing in that vicinity. At
the age of twenty-five he was a leader in pio-
neer enterprise and industry, and withal, of
clear intellect, sound judgment and business
integrity. In 1840 he was elected justice of
the peace, and while serving in that capacity
became familiar with legal procedure, forms
of practice ami principles of law, as ex-
pounded by eminent lawyers in important
and interesting cases brought before him.
"His service in the offices of sheriff and
probate judge have already been mentioned,
but there was error in stating that his first
permanent home was in Augusta — for in
that vear the county seat was moved from
Augusta to Port Mitchell, which was, there-
fore, the first 'permanent' home of Harri-
son and Barbara Wood. There his first
term as sheriff expired. His second term,
and residence, must have been in Albion,
where the county seat was established in
1846.
"This biography enables the writer to
S"ive some interesting incidents of Mr.
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ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY. INDIANA.
Wood's sheriff aJty : He took convicts to
the Jeffersonville state prise in, first in a farm
wagon to Fort Wayne, thence by stage and
canal to Portsmouth, Ohio, thence by steam-
boat down the Ohio river to Jeffersonville.
Returning, his route was up the river to
Madison, thence by rail to Columbus, I n< 1 . .
and by stage to Indianapolis, where he drew
his pay, thence by stage and canal to Fort
Wayne and home probably on foot.
"In 1846 he was sub-contractor for the
building of Albion's first court house. In
1849 he erected, on Lewis's Branch, one
mile south of Albion, a sawmill, adding
wool-carding machinery, which he operated
until 1853. In the latter year. 1853. he
founded the town of Cromwell, in Sparta
township — laying out an ample plat, which
he lived to see occupied by a thriving town.
He named it for the great English protec-
tor, Oliver Cromwell.
"During his later residence in Perry he
laid out, in 1859. Wood's Addition to Ligo-
nier. He was at one time the owner of city
property in Kansas City, Mo., which he sold
for fifty thousand dollars. 1 le had five hun-
dred acres of good land in Noble county, and
before the great decline in real estate his
wealth must have been considerably over
two hundred thousand dollars. But it would
be doing injustice to his memory to assume
that he was vainly proud of his mere wealth
in dollars, or that he loved it for itself.
Throughout his life he kept and cherished
the rough old fox-trap with which in" the
wilds of northern Xew York he made the
little money that enabled him to start on
foot for the West — to reach the spot where
he could exchange the toil of making a hun-
dred rails for three shillings. That homely
old trap is a cherished heirloom in the fam-
ily to-day.
"Barbara Engle, the first wife of Hon.
Harrison Wood, died in 1859, leaving two
children, Frank P. and Alice, graduates re-
spectively of Ann Arbor, Mich., and Rock-
ford, 111., colleges. In i860 he married El-
mira L. Drake, who died in 1894. leaving
a son, Wilbur, who graduated from the col-
lege at Jacksonville, 111., and is now living in
Vermont.
"About five years ago Mr. Wood had a
severe stroke of paralysis, from which he
never recovered. His death occurred Sep-
tember 17, 1896. at the age of eighty-three
years, one month and fourteen days.
"It will lie seen that Harrison Wood's
career is exceptionally representative of
every phase of pioneer life. In giving it un-
usual space, the biographer feels that he is
to a great extent outlining the life of every
pioneer of Noble county who settled here at
lull age, prior to 1840 — the actual and effi-
cient participators in the work of laying the
foundations for the super-structure of civili-
zation; of clearing the way for the majestic
march of progress. That pioneer work
necessarily consisted of physical, mental,
moral and spiritual activities; all essential
— all requiring power, purpose, moral cour-
age, self-sacrifice — aspiring heroism, of dif-
ferent degrees and shades combined by the
hand of Destiny into a prevailing tone of
accomplishment, of good to humanity, of
glory to God.
"Harrison Wood's pioneer life, like use-
ful pioneer life in general, irradiated gleams,
more or less broad and bright, of all the
physical and intellectual powers, and moral
and spiritual endowments, that are essential
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
factors in the founding and upbuilding- of
beneficent human institutions. Let them be
engraven deeply upon the enduring tables
of memory."
In 1844 Mr. Wood was elected sheriff
of Noble county and was re-elected in 1846.
It was from 1848 till 1851 that he served as
probate judge of Noble county, or till the
office was abolished. He was later in life
elected as trustee of Perry township. He
was a liberal donor of sufficient land, in
1873, to erect the beautiful high school
building at Ligonier. He was a man who
took high ground on the subject of educa-
tion in a general sense, and should here be
immortalized in the history of Perry town-
ship.
Judge Wood was a man of more than
ordinary practical and business acumen, and
his judgment was sought for by all people.
He was a man who ignored neutrality and
aimed to do what was just and compre-
hensive to the weaker side of humanity. He
was an advocate of strict integrity and
scorned the idea of dishonesty.
The following, which will be of great
interest to the reader, is taken from The
National Banner, published in Ligonier,
Ind., June 16, 1869, relative to "Interesting
relics of ye olden times :"
"We were recently shown some interest-
ing papers, written in the good, quaint old
style of the last century. These relics, four
in number, were left by Silas Wood to his
son, Niah Wood, and by him to his son.
Judge Wood, of Ligonier. The oldest of
these papers is a warranty deed from J.
Willard to Silas Wood for a certain hundred
acres of land. In closing the instrument,
the following language is read : 'In witness
whereof I have hereunto set my band and
j seal this fifth day of May, in the fourteenth
year of his Majesty's reign, Annoque Do-
mini 1784.' It will be noticed that this doc-
ument dates back previous to the Revolu-
tionary war. Three remaining ones are
military commissions to Mr. Silas Wood,
gentleman ; the first one is a commission as
second lieutenant in the Third Company of
the First Regiment, New Hampshire Mi-
litia, dated at Exeter the 10 day of May,
Anno Domini 1787, and signed by M. W.
Weare, Esq., president of the state, and E.
Thompson, secretary. The next is a com-
mission as second lieutenant of the same
company, dated at Dunham the 7th day of
September, Anno Domini 1789, and signed
by John Sullivan, Esq., president of the
state, and John Pearson, secretary. The
last one is a commission as captain of the
same company, dated at Exeter the 23A day
of August, Anno Domini 1793, signed by
one of the immortal signers of the Declara-
tion of Independence, Josiah Bartlett, Esq.,
j governor, and Nathan Parker, secretary of
state. Doubtless many of our readers are
not aware that prior to* the war of the Revo-
lution, and for several years subsequently,
the chief magistrate of many of the states
was called president.
"Judge Wood has also a lock of hair of
this old Revolutionary hero, soldier and
patriot, which, together with other papers,
will be sacredly kept and handed clown to
his posterity as proud reminders that their
I ancestor was an actor in the great sanguin-
| ary struggle that established our inde-
pendence."
The children of Judge Wood have in
their possession a list of the original sig-
natures of the citizens of Noble county who
emphasized the fact that McDougal should'
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
203
be hanged without due process of law. This
was the sentiment of the best element and
most prominent citizens of Noble county.
JOHN E. GAULT,
Although one of the younger members of the
farming community of Noble county, I ml.,
has far outstripped many of the older
ones by putting into operation his practical
ideas which have proved both feasible and
profitable. He is a son of the late Jeremiah
Gault, an old and esteemed resident of this
community, who passed to his reward Octo-
ber 22, 1897. Jeremiah Gault was born Oc-
tober 15, 1832. in Ohio, and was a son of
William and Lydia (Fleck) Gault, with
whom he came to Noble county, Ind., in
1844. Here he met and married Miss Mary
E. Myers, who was born in Summit county,
Ohio, February 6. 1838, to John and Polly
( Sapp ) Myers, who came to Noble coun-
ty. Ind., in 1S40. Their marriage was
solemnized January 1, 1856, and they at
once set up housekeeping in Orange town-
ship, which has since been their home.
John E. Gault was born on his father's
farm, near Brimfield, September 28, 1862,
and is the only child. He was educated in
the ci immon schools of Orange township,
taking a supplementary course in the Meth-
odist Episcopal College at Fort Wayne and
finishing with a complete business course in
the same institution. He always has had a
preference for agricultural -pursuits, and
upon leaving college he at once became a
tiller of the soil, bringing to the work practi-
cal as well as theoretical views and applying
them with a vigor that has insured their suc-
cess and has placed him among the foremost
farmers of the count)'. Since the death of
his father, the management of the two-hun-
dred-acre farm has devolved upon him and
it has also been his privilege to care for his
mother, who keeps house for him and looks
after his comfort.
He has been prominent in Republican
caucuses for years and has been justice of
the peace for six years, adding the functions
of notary public about four years past. In
1900 he was elected to the office of trustee
of Orange township, and has made a record
excelled by none of his predecessors. Mr.
Gault is a prominent Mason, belonging to
the Royal Arch Chapter of Kendall ville. and
lie is also a member of the Knights of Py-
thias at Rome City.
HON ORLANDO KIMMELL.
Among the noble sons and truly deserv-
ing men of the Buckeye state who have
found a congenial home and equally con-
genial friends in the state of Indiana should
be mentioned the Hon. Orlando Kimmell,
who was born in Stark county, near the city
of Canton, Ohio, March 2-,, 1830. Joseph
Kimmell, father of Hon. Orlando, was born
in Union county, Penn., and died at the home
of his son when over eighty-four vears of
age; his wife, Catherine (Emmich) Kim-
mell. was born in Pennsylvania, and died
when fifty-four years old. The family of
Mr. and Airs. Joseph Kimmell comprised
three sons and four daughters, of whom Or-
lando was the fourth in order of birth.
Hon. Orlando Kimmell was but eight
years of age when his parents removed from
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUXTY, INDIANA.
Stark county to Carroll county, Ohio, and
there he was reared on the home farm and
aided his father in its cultivation until the
fall of 1 85 1, his education being acquired in
the common schools of the latter county.
The father decided, about the year men-
tioned, that Indiana afforded a more availa-
ble field for the profitable pursuit of agri-
culture, and the family came to Noble coun-
ty, where the father purchased the farm on
which Orlando still lives.
In January, 1857, Orlando Kimmell was
most felicitously joined in matrimony with
Miss Jane White, who was born in 1834, a
•daughter of John and Maria White, of Ma-
rion count} - , Ohio, the former of whom end-
ed his days in Marion county, Ohio; the lat-
ter in York township. Noble county. Ind.
After his marriage Mr. Kimmell. who
had rented his father's farm in 185 1 for a
term of twelve years, continued to occupy
it until eventually it became his own prop-
erty. He has improved it with first-class
buildings of every needful description, in-
cluding an elegant residence, and has in-
creased its dimensions to one thousand and
ninety-eight acres, and this estate he per-
sonally manages.
To the marriage of Hon. Orlando Kim-
mell and wife have been born a family of
ten children: Jessie died in infancy; May
is the wife of Willis Kinnison, of Garden
City, Kan.; Lillie; Jennie, wife of Dr. W.
A. Shobe, of Ligonier, Ind. ; Maud, who is
married to E. P. Eagles, of Albion ; Tbella
is the wife of M. C. Beck, of Albion; Oliver
P. M. ; Thaddeus and Claudius.
Mr. Kimmell is a prominent member of
the Republican party and a leader of its
forces. He is not a mere politician in the
sense in which the word is ordinarily used.
but is a statesman of transcendant abilities.
In 1872 he was elected county commissioner
of Noble county, and served two and one-
half years. He served in the state legisla-
ture of Indiana in the session of 1877, and
was renominated for the same responsible
position two years later, but declined to make
the race. He had previously served as a
member of the Republican county committee
for two and a half years, but resigned the
position to 1 enter upon the canvass for legis-
lative honors, and for four years and a half
served as township trustee, having been first
appointed to that office, and afterward being
elected. In 1892 Mr. Kimmell was nomi-
nated as representative in congress from the
twelfth district; and in this case, also, he
declined to make the race. While he has
been an active worker in the cause and for
the success of the Republican party, Mr.
Kimmell much prefers that the honors of
office be conferred upon others than himself;
but is still of the opinion that it is the duty
of every good American citizen to serve his
fellows when the needs of such service are
apparent.
In the improvement and progress of local
projects Mr. Kimmell has always manifested
a commendable spirit, and in recognition of
this fact the town of Kimmell. Noble county,
was named in his honor. Among his other
munificent contributions to public undertak-
ings was the sum of $2,500 toward the com-
pletion of the Methodist Episcopal church
edifice of Kimmell. Sparta township. The
vast importance to any people of having as
a fellow citizen such a man as the Hon.
Orlando Kimmell can be realized by those
only who have enjoyed the experience of the
residents of York township, as men of his
caliher are very rare, even in the most ad-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
soy.
vanced and civilized of nations, and York
township is therefore entitled to more than
ordinary congratulations. Mr. Kimmell has
been president of the Noble County Agricul-
tural Fair Association for twelve years. He
has now retired from active business and
turned his farm over to the management of
his sons.
JOSEPH BAILEY,
A substantial and highly successful farmer
of Noble county, Ind., was born on a farm
in Ashland county, Ohio, April i, 1834.
When he was about four years of age his
parents moved to Noble count}-. Ind., and
settled in Jefferson township, where he grew
to manhood. He lived with his parents
until he attained his majority and became
well versed in agricultural lore, rinding a
satisfaction in the work that caused him to
continue in it, and he is recognized as a man
who thoroughly understands his calling - .
Mr. Bailey was married, in Albion, Ind.,
April 30, 1865, to Mrs. Rebecca (Gibson)
Collett, widow of Abraham Collett and
daughter of John and Margaret ( Givens )
Gibson. She was born in Pocahontas coun-
ty, W. \'a.. April 15, 1826, and at the age of
eight years came from her native state with
her parents and located in Elkhart county.
Ind.. where they died. They had a family of
ten children. Mrs. Bailey became the moth-
er of two children after her union with Mr.
Bailey, William and Ulila, both of whom
died in childhood and entered into the light
of the eternal morning, where they were
joined by the devoted mother, October 8,
1900. Besides her husband, one child. Sa-
rah E. (Mrs. John lines), the fruit of her
first union, survives her. Mrs. Bailey was a
motherly, home-loving body whose chief
concern was the comfort and happiness of
her family, but she also found time to do
much work outside the home circle. She
had united with the Methodist Episcopal
church in her girlhood, and her entire life
was true to its precepts. The highest tribute
that can he paid her is this: She was a wo-
manly woman, whose sweet nature laid deep
hold on those about her and was a silent in-
fluence for g 1 in their lives. She was the
inspiration of her husband's life, always
ready with words of cheer and counsel, and
watever of success he has met he feels to be
due to her assistance. Mr. Bailey has been-
a devout member of the Methodist church
for more than a quarter of a century, and
enjoys the love and esteem of all.
WILLIAM ANDREW McEWEN.
The states of Ohio and Indiana being-
contiguous and the citizens of one being so-
intimately intermingled with those of the
other, through constant intercourse and the
frequent removals from the former and older
state to the latter, a record of the life of a
pioneer of Ohio is almost equivalent in many
instances to that of a biography of a resi-
dent of the Hoosier state, as is exemplified
in the case of the McEwen family, of which
the subject of this sketch is a respected rep-
resentative.
The late William McEwen. father of
William Andrew McEwen. was one of
Ohio's early pioneers, although he was but a
youth when he first found a home in the
Buckeve state. William McEwen was horn
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
in Pennsylvania April 15, 1814, about eleven
vears after Ohio had been admitted to the
sisterhood of states, and about two years
before Indiana was admitted to the Union.
He was about fifteen years old when taken
from Pennsylvania to Richland county, Ohio,
and in that state his father, John McEwen,
died in Crawford county. William was
reared on a farm, and on February 19, 1839,
was united in marriage, in Richland county,
with Miss Hannah Dickson, who was born
in Washington county, N. Y., May 18, 1818,
a daughter of William and Ruth (Davis)
Dickson, with whom she moved to Richland
county, Ohio, when she was about twelve
years of age, and there grew to womanhood.
To William and Hannah (Dickson) Mc-
Ewen were born five children, viz. : Alford,
Hannibal. William A. Mary ( who is the
wife of A. J. Niswander) and Josiah, all of
whom attained mature years and became re-
spected and useful members of society.
In October, 1854, William McEwen,
with his wife and four of the children, came
to Noble county, Ind., and settled on a farm
in Orange township, near Brimfield, on
which he passed the remainder of his days,
dying November 11, 1891, in his seventy-
■eighth year, honored with the acquaintance
of a large number of warm and sincere
friends, by whom he was deeply mourned,
as well as by the surviving members of his
sorrowing family, to whom he was dear as
a loving husband and a kind and indulgent
father.
William Andrew McEwen (usually
called Andrew ) was born in Richland coun-
tv. ( )hio, July jo, 1845, an< l came to Noble
county, Ind., in 1854 with his parents, who
settled in Orange township, and here Will-
iam A. was reared to farmins: on the home-
stead, and here finished his attendance at the
common schools. April 30. 1872, he was
united in matrimony in York township, No-
ble county, Ind., with Mrs. Charlotte (Bow-
man ) Chilcote, who was born in Columbiana
county, Ohio, May 24, 1845, a daughter of
Philip and Lydia (Harlan) Bowman, also
natives of Columbiana county, Ohio, but
who came to Noble count}-, Ind., in Septem-
ber, 1844, an( l located in York township,
where Mrs. Lydia Bowman died in May,
1857. A few years previous to his own
death Philip Bowman sold his farm and
moved to Albion, where he passed the re-
mainder of his life in ease and comfort,
dying January 14, 1890, in the seventy-third
year of his age.
The first marriage of Mrs. William A.
McEwen was with 1 Samuel Chilcote, who
died in York township, leaving her with two
children, viz. : Anna M., who is the wife of
Noah Barcus; and James M., a mechanic,
and married.
Mr. and Mrs. McEwen are members of
no church, but are active in assisting in any
good work, and they are very liberal in con-
tributing financially to all beneficences. In
politics Mr. McEwen is a stanch Democrat.
A farmer, and the son of a farmer, he has
borne his share in enriching the township
and in making it what it is to-day. His
farm comprises ninety and one-half acres,
and is improved with a cozy dwelling and
substantial barn and other outbuildings; it
is carefully cultivated and produces paying
crops, which, as a rule, are the chief aim of
the farmer. Although Mr. McEwen is great-
ly respected throughout his township and is
very popular with his part}-, he has never
sought public office, yet he is quite public
spirited and is ready at all times to give
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
moral and pecuniary aid to any project that
may offer an appearance of usefulness or
benefit to his fellow-citizens.
WILLIAM KNEPPER.
Practical industry, wisely and vigorously
applied, never fails of success. It carries a
man onward ami upward, brings out his in-
dividual characteristics and acts as a power-
ful stimulus to the efforts of others. The
greatest results in life are often obtained by-
simple means and the exercise of the ordi-
nary quality of common sense. The subject
of this sketch deserves a fitting recognition
among the men whose abilities have achieved
results that are most enviable and commend-
able.
William Knepper, the immediate subject
of this sketch, was born August 18, 1851, in
Sparta township, Noble county, Ind., and is
a son of Anthony and Catherine (Sullenber-
ger) Knepper, both natives of Franklin
county. Penn. This worthy couple were uni-
ted in marriage in their native state, came to
Washington township. Noble county, Intl.,
in 1848, and soon afterward moved onto the
farm in Sparta township, where Anthony
Knepper passed away July 22, 1899, while
she had passed away about six years pre-
viously. To the union of this worthy couple
were born five children: Phares, deceased;
Sarah C, who became the wife of William
Stocker : Susan ; Margaret, married to
Charles M. Prentiss; and William, subject
of this sketch.
William Knepper attended the public
schools of Sparta township until be was
about twenty years "of as:e. After leaving
school he worked one year for his father
and others until 1873, and then located as
a renter on the tract of land known as the
old Galloway place, on which he lived about
a year. His next change of location was to
the farm owned by his father, which he re-
sided on and operated about ten years. At
the end of this period he obtained posses-
sion of the place on which he now lives.
Besides his own place, consisting of one
hundred and eighty-seven acres, he has also
continued to operate his father's farm.
On the 30th day of October, 1873. the
marriage of William Knepper and Miss
Temperance E. Stocker took place. She
is a daughter of Joseph and Esther
E. (Houghtling) Stocker, and a na-
tive of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, but later
a resident of Sparta township, this county.
This union has been blessed with the birth
of four children, namely: Frances E., born
March 30, 1874, became the wife of C. A.
Mock, and has two children, Fay Bernice
and Ralph K. ; Walter was born October -'3.
1888; Rosa C was born September 19,
1890; one who died in infancy.
Politically Mr. Knepper has always faith-
fully upheld the principles of the Republican
party, while religiously the family are all
connected with the United Brethren church.
Without much outside assistance, the
success Mr. Knepper has achieved is large-
ly due to his own efforts. Strong determi-
nation, perseverance in the pursuit of an
honorable purpose, unflagging energy and
can ful management — these are the salient
features of his career, and his life stands an
unmistakable evidence that success is not al-
together a matter of genius, but is the out-
come of earnest and well-directed effort.
Mr. Knepper and family have long occupied
208
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
a place high in the esteem of their friends,
and they are legion.
Father Stocker was born in Pennsylva-
nia August 25, 181 1. and died in September,
1888. He was a farmer, and died in Ligo-
nier, a Republican in his sentiments. Re-
ligiously he was a member of the United
Brethren church. While a resident of Ohio
he was assessor. Mother Stocker was a na-
tive of New York, born in January, 1831,
and died August 12, 1888. She was a kind
Christian worker of the United Brethren
church.
Mrs. Knepper was but thirteen years old
when she came to Indiana, and here she has
been reared. She is a lady of pleasing ad-
dress and her home is her paradise.
Mrs. Knepper's grandmother, Henrietta
E. Houghtling, is a resident of Sparta town-
ship, a lady who is now a century old and
retains her mental faculties fairly well. She
is possibly the oldest person in Noble coun-
ty, Ind.
FRANKLIN PIERCE WOOD.
By universal consent biography is the
most fascinating form of literature. The
gentleman whose review here appears is one
of the leading factors in the development
and progress in west Noble c< unity, Ind.
Mr. Wood is a native of Noble county,
and was born near Albion, April 22, 1852.
He traces his lineage to the old colonial New
England states, as is seen farther on in this
sketch. He is a son of Judge Harrison and
Barbara (Engie) Wood, who are remem-
bered and revered as early settlers of Noble
county. He is a grandson of Niah and
Polly (Hovt) Wood, the former of whom
was born April 2j, 1782, and died in 1869,
and the latter was born February 17, 1783,
and died July 5, 1851.
Niah Wood was celebrated in his vicin-
ity as a joker and wit, and many were the
laughable anecdotes did he tell in the good
old days. The birthplace of Niah Wood and
his estimable wife were in the states of New
Hampshire and Vermont respectively. It
was in the year 1836 that he emigrated to
Detroit, Mich., and in 1837 he came to
Perry township. Noble county, Ind.
For an extended review of Judge Har-
rison Wood, the father of Frank P., see else-
wliere in this work. The Wood family
trace their lineage to the Scottish race, the
great-grandfather of F. P. Wood holding
a commission in the Revolutionary war.
Judge Wood was twice married, his first
union having" been with Miss Barbara Engie
in 1844. She was born December 25, 1823,
in the Buckeye state, and was a daughter of
Adam and Eve (Huffman) Engie. She
died in 1859. Adam Engie was born in
Lancaster county, Perm., December 19,
1776, and died July 26, 1847; Eve, his wife,
was born in the "Old Dominion," December
2-j, 1784, and died August 1, 1862. They
were wedded when the nineteenth century
was in its second year. The following"
named children were born to Harrison and
Barbara Wood : Susan A., born May 29,
1845, died the following October nth; Wal-
lace P., born March 12, 1847, died Novem-
ber 29, 1856; Sylvester E., born October
25, 1849, died September 19, 1852; Frank
P., the subject of this review; Alice, born
September 22, 1854, is the wife of W. H.
Bender, of Ligonier, Mrs. Bender being a
graduate from the college at Rockford, 111.,
and prominenent in social and literary
/*. ??*-z^
yiou jjn^^ y^e-eof
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
209
circles: and Emma, born December 6, [857,
died August 6, 1859. In the fall of i860.
Judge Wood wedded Miss Elmira L. Drake.
of Goshen, Ind. She was a native of New
Jersey, and died January 9. 1894. Four
children were the result of this marriage, of
win an one is yet living — Wilbur, horn Au-
gust 25, 1805, and a resilient of Boston,
Mass. He took the commercial course at
Eastman's celebrated Business College at
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and also attended
school at Jacksonville, 111.
Franklin P. Wood was born and reared
to manhood within a stone's throw of the
home he now occupies, though several years
of his life were spent as a student in the
best schools of the nation. Leaving the dis-
trict schools of Noble county with a fair
knowledge of the branches taught, he en-
tered Notre Dame, where he was enrolled
one year. The succeeding two years he
.spent in the excellent educational institution
known as "The Raisin Valley Seminary."
near Adrian, Mich., and then entered the
State University at Ann Arbor, Mich., grad-
uating four years later from the scientific
course. Mr. Wood wedded, June 4, [878,
Miss Nora Yonker, a most worthy and es-
timable lady, whose natural grace and
charming manner have made her a social
leader and a general favorite with those
who have associated with her. Her par-
ents were Abner and Mary (Ling) Yonker,
of German ancestry, but natives of Cam-
bria county. Pa., whence they came to Mil-
ford, Ind.. and engaged in agricultural pur-
suits in i860.
Mr. Yonker was a defender of his coun-
try's flag and honor during the Civil war.
having enlisted in October. [863, in Com-
pany K, Fifty-seventh I. V. I., and Captain
Billings was his superior officer. He re-
ceived his honorable discharge at Murfrees-
boro, Tenn., in the fall of 1864 on account:
of typhoid fever.
Mr. Wood is a gentleman of means and
believes in making his money subservient
to the comforts and happiness of his family
and many friends, lie is. like his father,
a great reader and his library has some of
the choicest literature from the best authors.
lie lo\es knowledge and wisdom and those
whose sympathy runs in the same channel,
and says he would rather have the experi-
ence of his college days and the knowledge
gained therefrom than ten times the cost
thereof, not only on account of the beaefits
accruing in practical life, but equally on ac-
count of what innate satisfaction it brings
during every moment of his existence.
While eminently devoted to the cares of
his business in every detail, yet he believes
in enjoying the fruit of bis labor as he goes
along, not only in the comforts of life, but
some of its luxuries, and he and his estima-
ble wife are never so happy as when sharing
them with their many friends and acquaint-
ances in their elegant home. Frank is pro-
nounced in his views, when a question is at
stake, though his judgment holds him
aloof from forming an opinion till a ques-
tion has been discussed in all its bearings.
lie is broad-minded, liberal and tolerant
towards others, but has little charity, how-
ever, for those carried away by every
chance wave that comes their way.
Mr. Wood's father was a man who
dearly loved beautiful homes and improve-
ments, and this taste seems to have been in-
herited by Frank P., as will appear later
on in this sketch. He erected a palatial resi-
dence in Ligonier in 1874, and this was his
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
home till his death. Judge Woods, like his
father Niah. was a great joker, and nothing
was more pleasing to him than to gather with
some of his dearest friends, whose heads
the frost of many winters had silvered, and
be hoys again, which would make the list-
ener think of the beautiful poem, "The
Boys." written by Oliver Wendell Holmes.
In his judicial career he was a painstaking
and careful official and conservative in all
his official duties. The Wood family have
in their possession the list of the original
signatures of those best citizens of Xoble
county who voted to hang the outlaw and
horse-thief, McDougal.
Judge Woods left as an heirloom to his
son Frank a family Bible which was pub-
lished in 1814, the oldest yet found in the
county. Before his death, which occurred
in 1896, he disposed of valuable property
in Kansas City, Mo., at a handsome profit,
and left to his heirs five hundred acres of
valuable land adjoining the corporate limits
of /Ligonier, hesicles property in Ligonier,
and much personal wealth.
Franklin Wood, of this sketch, owns
one hundred and twenty acres of line farm
land in Perry township within a mile of
Ligonier, on which he has erected an ele-
gant residence costing over ten thousand
'dollars, and equipped with every modern
convenience. The furnishings of this ele-
gant home are rich and costly, inviting re-
pose of mind and body and contributing ',0
the comfort and ease of the inmates. This
beautiful home will be known as "Winde-
mere Villa." and is perhaps the most costly
and modern in its beauty and rich adorn-
ments «.f any in Noble county, and none
excel it as a country or suburban residence
in northern Indiana. The luxurious par-
lors, reception and drawing rooms, library
and dining hall are beautifully finished in
different natural hard woods, and the ceil-
i ings are adorned with the most exemisite
; designs in fresco. The windows are mar-
vels of design, and the rich furniture calls
to mind a minature palace. What completes
the beauty of this home is the easy grace
and hospitality which are extended by the
host and hostess to the fortunate friends
win 1 enter its portals.
The style of architecture is of the colon-
ial Xew England design. Besides the estate
mentioned he has one-third interest in four
hundred acres of valuable land and other
extensive undivided property belonging to
his father's estate.
Politically Mr. Wood is an ardent Re-
publican, but has never been induced to en-
ter the ranks of office-seekers. Socially he
is an honored member of the K. of P. Lodge,
Xo. 123, at Ligonier, and Mrs. Wood is the
Mistress of Finance of the Rathbone Sis-
ters' Lodge, Xo. 129. Mr. Wood is also
one of the charter members of Elks' Lodge
Xo. 451, at Ligonier. He represented the
K. of P. lodge of Ligonier at the Grand
! Lodge in 1898.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank P. Wood are citi-
zens who rank high in social circles and that
is a happy community which can claim such
as they as being among its membership.
JOSEPH FRICK.
This popular proprietor of the sawmill
n Elkhart township, Xoble county, Ind., is
uitive here and was born August 26. 1865.
lis father, Tohn Frick, was born in Swit-
WINDEMERE VILLA.
RESIDENCE OF FRANK P. WOOD.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY. 1X1 d \\ A.
zerland, and his mother, Delilah (Boyd)
Frick, is a native of Somerset county, Perm.,
where they were married. The birth of
Mrs. Frick took place December 28, 1832,
and after marriage blue couple came to Elk-
hart township. Noble county, Ind., and here
the father engaged in farming until his
death, which occurred February 21, 1870.
These parents had a family of eleven chil-
dren, viz. : Susan, who was married to Cor-
nelius Restler and died April 2g. 1892 ; Mag-
dalena, the wife of William Weaver; Will-
iam A., a farmer in Elkhart township; Bar-
bara, wife of Wesley Weaver; Christian,
who died when about twenty-four years old;
Joseph, the subject of this sketch: Edward;
Amanda, who died when about seventeen
years of age ; Katie ; and two others who died
in childhood.
Joseph Frick was reared in Elkhart
township, and here received a common-
school education. He was also here married,
January 17, 1891, to Hiss Lillie M. Brill,
who was born February 28, [872, and is
a daughter of the late George W. Brill and
his wife. Charlotte ( Trittpo ) Brill. George
W. Brill was born in Muskingum county,
Ohio, April 27, 1834. and died in Elkhart
township, Noble county. Ind., November
14, 1894, and his wife is a native of Mary-
land, born in October, 1836, and still lives.
Their children numbered eight and were
born in the following order: Lorella, Wal-
ter. Franklin, Ida, Ira. Lillie H., Melvin and
Beulali.
T11 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Frick have been
burn three children: Florence E. ; Lois E.,
who died in her second year: and Grace I.
About the year 1887 Mr. Frick erected a
sawmill on his mother's farm of one hun-
dred and twentv acres, and this mill he con-
tinues tn operate in connection with his
farming, and in both industries he has met
with well-deserved success. Mr. Frick in
politics is a Democrat, and socially he and
his wife mingle with the best people of Elk-
hart township. Their family relationship
also extends to some of the oldest and most
prominent citizens 1 if the township and coun-
ty, and they are classed among the most
substantial and progressive of the population,
reedy at all times tn lend aid to the mural
and material advancement of those who sur-
round them.
HARRY BELL.
Harry Bell, sheriff of Noble county. Ind.,
was born in Licking count}'. Ohio, October
25, 1854, and is a son of Robert and Eliza-
beth 1 Francis) Bell, the former of whom
was a native of Scotland, and the latter of
Virginia. These parents had horn to them
four children, two of whom are deceased,
the survivors being John, a farmer in Okla-
homa territory: and Harry, the subject of
this sketch, they being the first and third in
order of birth. Joseph, the second child,
was a member of Company B. One Hundred
and Thirty-second Ohio Volunteers, was ta-
ken prisoner and confined at Andersonville
eleven months, and was there tortured and
starved to death: the youngest child, Frank,
died at the age of sixteen years of that fell
disease, consumption. Ids father having per-
ished from the same disorder in 1861. The
mother survived until [893.
Harry Bell was educated in the public
schools of Brownsville. Ohio, although his
attendance was somewhat limited, as he had
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
been left fatherless at the early age of eleven
years, and his mother had great need, tem-
porarily, of his services at home. The father
was an invalid for many years prior to his
death, although, with the hope of recover-
ing his health, he had traveled around the
world and had included California and other
salubrious parts of this country. For some
time after reaching the proper age yi iung
Harry Bell taught school, but his principal
occupation through life has been that of
farmer. Mr. Bell first came to Noble coun-
ty alone, when he was but nine years of age,
and here grew to manhood. He located on
a farm in Elkhart township, which he rent-
ed until he was able to purchase a farm on
his own account in the same township, and
this farm he continued to reside upon and to
cultivate until his election to the office of
sheriff of Noble county, in 1898, and re-
elected in 1 goo.
His marriage took place in 1878 to Miss
Delia Dodge, daughter of Rev. M. M. and
Delissa Dodge, natives of Ohio, who came
t<> Wawaka, Ind., and are now located at
Somerset, Ky., where the father is engaged
in the lumber business. Mrs, Bell was edu-
cated at St. Mary's Catholic School at Mish-
awaka, and is an accomplished as well as one
of the most amiable ladies of Albion. To
this felicitous marriage have been born four
children, in the following order: Kate M.,
Nora F. and Lena and Leona, twins. Of
these Kate M. is a teacher in the public
schools of Noble county, and the others are
still pursuing their courses of study.
Mr. Bell was made a Mason when he
attained his majority, and is now a member
of the Bine Lodge, the Council and the Chap-
ter; he is also a member of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, Knights of
Pythias and Knights of the Maccabees. He-
has held the principal offices in all of these
orders and has represented each in the grand
lodges of Indiana. His daughters are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
the Bell family may well be considered as
among the most honored of Albion's resi-
dents.
MARTIN L. HUSSEY.
Martin L. Hussey, the prosperous drug-
gist and man of business affairs of Crom-
well, Noble county, Ind., was born February
3, 1855, to George and Elizabeth (Gillam)
Hussey, and was educated in the public
schools of Ligonier. 'His father, George
Hussey, was born in New Baltimore, Md.,
November 19, 1820, and remained in that
state until he had reached his majority, when
he emigrated to Fort Wayne and there se-
cured work at his trade, which was that of a
plasterer. After working in that place for
three years, he came to Ligonier, and again
found employment at plastering, the first
frame house erected in that village being
plastered by him. He was a skillful work-
man and found plenty of work to keep him
busy.
About five years after coming to Ligo-
nier, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Gil-
lam, a native of Stark county, Ohio, who
later moved to Zionville, Boone county, Ind.
Eight children were born to them, namely:
Two that died in infancy; George W., a
plasterer: Martin L., the subject; Howard, a
cooper, who is married and resides in Ligo-
nier: Josie, wife of Harry Keasey, a black-
smith of Ligonier; and two more died in in-
fancy. Mr. Hussey died in October, 1899,.
nmr &
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ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
honoTed and respected by all who knew him.
The death of Mrs. Elizabeth Hussey is re-
corded as follows in a Ligonier newspaper :
"Hussey — Died, in Ligonier. Ind., De-
cember 3, 1891, Airs. Elizabethl Hussey,
aged sixty-four years, one month and twen-
ty-seven days. The funeral took place at the
M. E. church on Saturday afternoon at two
o'clock, Rev. T. M. Guild officiating.
"Elizabeth Gillman was born in Stark
county, Ohio, October 6. 1827, and died at
her home in Ligonier, December 3, 1891.
She was married to George Hussey, Febru-
ary 17. 1852. To them were born eight chil-
dren, four of whom are here to mourn her
loss. The mother, with four children, have
gone beyond, the father and four remaining;
thus is the family divided. Mrs. 1 lussey has
been a resident of Ligonier since 1852, hence
no stranger amongst the people. No word
could add any luster to her fair life or char-
acter, as she was well known as a tender and
loving mother, whose blessings will ever lie
held sacred by her children."
Martin L. Hussey was a student until
his seventeenth year, when he obtained a po-
sition as clerk in the store of Fisher & Lan-
don, of Ligonier, where he remained one
year. His next work was as a clerk in a
drug store in Kendallville, which was soon
abandoned to accept a better position with
Jones & Fry, of Ligonier. When Dr. Jones
located in Cromwell, young Hussey came
with him and was in his employ from 1873
to 1876, at which time he was offered a posi-
tion with Vanderford Brothers, by whom he-
was employed for two years. At the expira-
tion of this time he opened a drug store for
himself and has built up a large and lucrative
patronage from a small beginning. Some
fifteen vears ago he added to the drug busi-
ness, and has since handled grain, wool, and
buggies as well, making a marked success.
He has wisely invested his capital in real es-
tate and owns two business blocks and three
dwellings in Cromwell ami a dwelling house
in Gas City.
Air. Hussey was married, February 4,
1877, to Miss Ella, daughter of Solomon and
, Barbara (Maggeif) Riker. Two sons are
the fruit of this union, viz: Harry, who
was born March 12, [878, and married Miss
Ella Long on March 28. 1898; and Charles,
who was born February 5, [870, and be-
came the husband of Miss Pearl E. Rorick,
who has borne him one child, Luther New-
ton.
Air. Hussey comes from a long line of
Republicans, cast his first presidential vote
for Hayes, and is as strong in the faith as
any of his name. He was elected by his
party to the office of township trustee, in
1890, and was again complimented with the
office in 1900, and has shown his ability to
care for the interests of the people in a man-
ner that is seldom excelled. He is a genial,
affable gentleman who numbers his friends
by the hundred and is popular with every
one. He is an honored member of Lodge
No. 62, Knights of the Alaccabees. at Crom-
well.
Both! sons of Air. Hussey received
diplomas from the public schools, Harry in
the class of 1892. and Charles in 1894; the
latter also took two years of high school, and
three terms at the Valparaiso Normal school.
Mr. Hussey is one of the aggressive business
men of Noble county ; the volume of business
he does will average each year $75,000.
Air. and Airs. Hussey' s pretty home is
adorned by her beautiful paintings in oil,
pastel and water colors. She is a lady of
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
more than ordinary talent, and her produc-
tions show skill of more than is usually
found outside of a professional's studio. Few
homes in Noble county show such skill as
her home. The oil paintings are large in
size, and lifelike in expressions. Some of
the most striking pieces, "The Old Oaken
Bucket," "Saw Falls," a scene in Pennsyl-
vania, "Only for a Moment," — a love scene,
"The Rescue." which is a superb piece of
work, "The Sheep on the Hillside," "Deer
at the Riverside," "The Hunting Scene."
The pastel paintings have been taken up
when at her most leisure moments. She is
also a student in water colors. Her spe-
cialty is in oil. "Sirs. Hussey is a lady whose
taste for the beautiful is so marked that she
is often called upon in decoration and adorn-
ment. She is an adept in silk embroidery
and a worker in the Battenburg laces.
TULIUS LANG.
The sturdy German element in our na-
tional commonwealth has long been one of
the most important factors in furthering the
normal and substantial advancement of the
country, for this is an element signally ap-
preciative of practical values, and also of
the higher intellectuality which transcends
provincial .confines and readily adapts itself
to new and changed conditions. The Fa-
therland has contributed much of the moral
and intellectual bone and sinew for which
the great American republic is noted, while
from the standpoint of the physical no peo-
ple that go to make up our composite na-
tionality have done as much to develop our
natural and industrial resources as the stur-
dy, strong-armed, clear-brained Teutons,
whose love for and loyalty to their adopted
country will admit of no question. Well
may one take pride in tracing his family
history to such a source, and this the well-
known subject whose name appears above is
enabled to do.
Julius Lang, at one time the popular and
efficient treasurer of Noble county, and for
many years a representative business man
of Kendallville, first saw the light of day in
Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, on the ist day
of February, 1828. Until fourteen years old
he attended the public schools of his native
village, and then entered upon an apprentice-
1 ship to learn shoemaking, at which he served
three years. He became a very proficient
workman, and followed the trade at various
places in his native land until 1849, mean-
while carefully husbanding his earnings with
the object in view of some time emigrating
to the new world across the great waters.
In July 1 >f the above year he was enabled to
earn- out his long-cherished plan of becom-
ing a resident of the L nited States, taking
passage in that month on the Victoria, an
English sailing vessel, which made stated
voyages between the cities of London and
New York.
After a long and somewhat tedious voy-
age, extending into the following Septem-
ber, Mr. Lang finally reached his destination,
and within a short time after landing in Xew
York he secured employment at his trade in
the city of Brooklyn, where he worked as
journeyman until 1851. when he engaged in
the manufacturing of boots and shoes upon
his own responsibility. He continued in
Brooklyn until 1866, in Jul}- of which year
he disposed of his business there and with a
part of his stock came to Kendallville, Ind.,
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
where lie soon established a lucrative trade
in boots and shoes in connection with manu-
facturing and general repairing-. From iIk
beginning the business steadily increased in
volume and importance, and in due time he
took in as partners his two sons, Henry P.
and Julius P. Lang, with both of whom he
is still associated under the firm name of J.
Lang & Sons.
By adopting correct business methods
and attending strictly to the demands of the
trade, Mr. Lang soon won the confidence of
the public, the result of which is a very ex-
tensive business and a handsome fortune,
which places him in a condition of independ-
ence. Possessing remarkable foresight and
clear judgment, he takes advantage of every
opportunity to enhance the interest of his
house, and by honorable dealing his name
has become synonymous with fair and up-
right conduct in the business world. Not
only has he won an enviable reputation in
commercial circles, but as an aggressive,
public-spirited man, fully alive to everything
calculated to benefit his adopted city and
county, his influence has always been exerted
in the right direction. During his four terms
in the city council he was instrumental in
bringing about much important municipal
legislation, and while a member of that body
he inaugurated a number of reforms and was
always untiring in behalf of the public wel-
fare. While conservative in all matters of
expenditures he never stood in the way of
any needed improvement, and to him is
largely due the credit of many of the im-
provements for which Kendallville is noted.
As a member of the city school board, for
which he served as treasurer for a period
of three years, be did much to advance the
educational interests of the community and
he spared neither pains nor expense in se-
curing teachers of superior professional qual-
ifications and supplying them with the latest
and most approved appliances. For a num-
ber of years Mr. Lang has been one of the
Republican leaders in Noble county, and his
interest in the party long ago brought his
name prominently to the notice of the peo-
ple. A valuable counselor as well as an act-
ive worker, he contributed much to the suc-
cess of his ticket in a number of campaigns,
and it was in recognition of services well
rendered that he was nominated in 1880 for
the office of county treasurer. At the ensu-
ing election he defeated a popular competi-
tor, and with such ability and fidelity did
he discharge his duties as custodian of the
people's funds that at the next election he
was chosen his own successor, filling the
office to the satisfaction of the public, irre-
spective of party, for two terms. As an
official Mr. Lang was always obliging, and
by uniformly courteous treatment of all who
had business to transact in the office he won
and still retains the warm persona] friend-
ship of the people of the count) - . He retired
from the treasury with the best wishes of
the public, and it is universally conceded that
Noble county has never been served by a
more capable and popular public servant.
In addition to the office of treasurer Mr.
Lang also served as a member of the city-
board of commissioners, and as such dis-
played abilities of a high order. He was
elected to the latter position by an over-
whelming majority, and during his incum-
bency proved faithful to .every trust and
spared no reasonable exertion to promote the
interests of Kendallville and advertise to the
world its advantages as a desirable place for
the investment of capital.
216
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
As already stated, Mr. Lang was mar-
ried in the year 1850, his wife being for-
merly Miss Katherine Dietrich, whose birth'
occurred in Nassau, Germany, February 15,
1828. Eight children were born of this mar-
union, namely: Emily, wife of Rev. Joseph
Bohn, a well-known clergyman of the Evan-
gelical Lutheran church; Henry P. and Ju-
lius P.. their father's partners in the mercan-
tile business; Louisa M., wife of Frank L.
Bluhm; Hermann, a merchant of South
Bend; George, mercant tailor of Kendall-
ville; Minnie L.,now Mrs. Felix Goetthoff, of
Three Rivers, Mich.; and John H., a cigar
manufacturer doing business in the city of
Kendallville. The mother of these children,
a most excellent woman and for many years
a faithful and zealous member of the German
Lutheran church, departed this life on the
7th day of February, 1895.
Although a close observer of public af-
fairs, taking an active interest in the wel-
fare of the city and county of his choice,
and being rewarded for party service with
important trusts, Mr. Lang, with becoming
modesty, has never obtruded himself, pre-
ferring- the quiet and the claims of business
to the distraction of a public career. Vigi-
lant in his care for the interest of his firm,
prudent and conservative in all he under-
takes, his leadership in many of the enter-
prises that tend to the improvement of the
trade or influence of the city is readily ac-
knowledged by his fellow citizens, and few
have taken as lively a part in the develop-
ment of the community, industrially, intel-
lectually or morally. The worthy poor of
Kendallville have found in him a kind and
unselfish friend, and many of the younger
business men of the city are indebted to him
fi n" enci mragement and counsel. By long
residence and honorable career he has won a
name which his descendants will prize as a
priceless heritage, while the people of Ken-
dallville and Noble county will always re-
member him as one of the high-minded and
trustworthy men of his day and generation.
At present he is serving as a member of the
city council by appointment.
^'ILL H. McEWEN.
Will H. McEwen, editor and proprietor
of the Albion Democrat, is a native of Noble
county, Ind., born on a farm in the township
of Jefferson, December 26, 1865. His par-
ents, Hannibal F. and Minerva ( Bowman)
McEwen, were brought to Noble county in
their childhood, the former dying when the
subject of this sketch was a lad ten years of
age. Deprived of a father's counsel and care,
young McEwen was reared by his mother
who instilled into his youthful mind many
valuable lessons, which have had a decided
influence in moulding and directing the sub-
sequent course of his life. After completing
the common school course he entered the
Northern Indiana Normal School at Val-
paraiso, from the penmanship department of
which he was graduated in 1884, and the fol-
lowing winter was employed as instructor
in all kinds of writing and fine pen work.
Animated by a desire to increase his schol-
astic knowledge with the object in view of
preparing himself for the teacher's profes-
sion, he spent the next year in the above in-
stitution, and the following autumn began
his pedagogical labors in Noble count}'. Mr.
McEwen alternated teaching with attending
i the Valparaiso school and the State Normal
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
at Terre Haute, and while a student made
rapid and substantial progress, becoming- one
of the most thorough and competent teachers
in the count)- of Noble. Not caring to devote
his life to educational work, he discontinued
teaching in 1888 and turned his attention to
merchandising, purchasing a stock of grocer-
ies in Albion and continuing in that line of
trade for a limited period only. Disposing
of his business he next opened an insurance
office at the county seat, and to this he devot-
ed his time and attention until 1894, when
he was appointed postmaster at Albion by
President Cleveland.
Mr. McEwen entered upon the discharge
of his duties in the spring of that year and
served until May 1, 1898, proving a most
faithful, efficient and popular official. In
January, 1897, he entered into partnership
with Henry C. Pressler and purchased of O.
II. Downey the Noble County Democrat, of
which he assumed editorial management, his
associate looking after the business interests
of the plant. Under the joint control of
Pressler and McEwen, the Democrat contin-
ued to make periodical visits until May 1,
1898. at which time the latter purchased his
partner's interest and became sole proprietor.
He soon changed the name to the Albion
Democrat, and, supplying the office with new
material, greatly improved the paper in its
mechanical make-up and the quality of its
literary matter, making it not only the recog-
nized official organ of the local Democracy,
but also one of the brightest and most newsy
sheets published in the northern part of the
state. Since taking charge of the Demc >crat
Mr. McEwen has demonstrated decided abil-
ity as a newspaper man. both as a clear, keen,
incisive writer and business manager. The
circulation has continually increased. liberal
advertising patronage has been secured, and
with many new and improved appliances the
paper visits its numerous patrons, a model of
typographic art and an exponent of orthodox
Democracy of the Jeffersonian school. Ed-
itorially it loses nothing when compared
with the majority of local papers published
in the state, and in the hands of its present
efficient proprietor it certainly will continue
what it has been in the past — a clean, digni-
fied, model family newspaper, filled with the
latest general news and all the interesting
local happenings of Noble county.
Mr. McEwen has a laudable ambition to
make the Democrat worth}- of popular fa-
vor, and to this end he spares no reasonable
efforts to procure for its columns the best
reading matter obtainable. While decidedly
Democratic in its political aspect, it is also
designed to vibrate with the public pulse and
to he a reflex of the current thought of the
age. With a large and increasing- circula-
tion and a lucrative advertising patronage,
the Democrat, under the editorship of Mr.
McEwen. is destined to play an important
part in the political affairs of Noble county.
Mr. McEwen is a married man. his wife
being formerly Miss Florence B. Franks, for
some years one of Noble county*s most pop-
ular and efficient teachers. She is the daugh-
ter of Abram and Maria Franks, and the
ceremony whereby her name was changed to
McEwen took place on the 25th day of De-
cember, 1889, at her parents' residence in
Elkhart township. For two years Mr. Mc-
Ewen served as town clerk of Albion, and
discharged the duties of the position in an
able and praiseworthy manner. He belongs
to the Pythian and Odd Fellows fraternities,
and in religion subscribes to the United
Brethren creed. With the exception of a
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
few months in Chicago he lias spent his life
within the geographic limits of Noble coun-
ty, and for the past fourteen years has been
an honored citizen of Albion. To the best
of his ability he has aided the progress and
advancement of the city, faithfully perform-
ing his duties of citizenship and discharging
with commendable fidelity every trust re-
posed in him by his fellow men. His posi-
tion in the esteem and friendship of the com-
munity has long been assured, and he does
honor to the county, which is proud to claim
him as a native son and in which his life
work thus far has been accomplished.
CALVIN A. SEYMOURE, M. D.
Among the distinguished native-born
physicians and surgeons of Noble count}-,
Ind.. is the gentleman whose name opens
this sketch, and who has his home in Wa-
waka, Elkhart township, although his prac-
tice extends through a territory much greater
than that comprised within the limits of both
the townhsip and the village in which he has
his residence.
Mclntyre Seymoure, the father of Cabin
A., was born in New York state in 1802, and
his mother, who bore the maiden name of
Alta A. Alexander, was born in one of the
New England states in 1814, and she was in
all probability of Scotch-Irish origin. Mr.
Mclntyre Seymoure in the fall of 1834 came
to Noble county, Ind., and had in his pos-
session an old-fashioned English sixpenny
piece, his only wealth, hut was strong muscu-
larly and mentally. He first began work
here for Joe Bristol at Rowdy Hill — a place
now known as Christian Chapel — and there-
after worked for different individuals at
farm work until he had accumulated suffi-
cient capital to purchase a tract of forty
acres of land, but at this time he was at-
tacked with ague, and it required all his
means to pay for physicians' fees and medi-
cines. After recovering health and strength
he borrowed money from a Air. Stone, who
lived south of Ligonier, with which money
he entered forty acres of land southeast of
Wolf Lake, which tract is still known as the
old Seymoure home. On this farm he first
erected a round-log cabin, which in due time
gavfe! way to a hewed-log structure of a
more pretentious character, but this house
was shortly afterward struck by lightning,
by which calamity he lost his wife, on the
1 2th day of August, 1853.
Air. Seymoure erected, in 1867, a hand-
some frame dwelling, this being the third
that he put up on his farm, and this dwelling
is quite an ornament to the neighborhood.
After the loss of his first wife Mr. Sey-
moure married, Airs. Sophia ( Boerger)
Treer. who still survives him. To his first
marriage were born seven children, all boys,
viz. : Jonathan, who is a fanner in Jefferson
township; Amos, who served in the Civil
war and died at Bowling Green, Ky. : James,
who was a teacher and farmer and died in
Thurston, Neb. ; Whiting, who was called
away in infancy; Calvin A., who is the sub-
ject of this sketch: George C, who is the
proprietor of a hotel at Cromwell. Ind.; and
Homer A., who is a farmer in Reno county,
Kans. To the second marriage were born
four children, as follows: Alta. who is the
wife of Thomas M. Ott. of Noble township ;
Rudolph J., a farmer in Florida; Florence
C. a farmer in Noble township; and Anna,
who is the wife of F. Hire.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Mr. Seymoure always took an active part
in public affairs, and in 1838 he served his
fellow citizens as constable. He was patri-
otic and public spirited in the extreme, and
died a greatly respected citizen in his sev-
enty-first year.
Calvin A. Seymoure, the subject proper
of this biographical sketch, was born on his
father's farm in Noble township, Noble
county, Ind., March II, 1847, received a
sound English education, and at the age of
eighteen years began teaching school, which
vocation he followed for several winters in
Noble county, and lived on the home farm
until twenty-one years old.
In the meantime Mr. Seymoure began
the study of medicine under the tutelage of
Dr. C. W. De Pew. of Wolf Lake, and after
due preparation by him attended lectures at
the Indiana Medical College, at Indianapolis,
from which institution he was graduated
with the class of 1876. Before securing his
medical diploma, however, he had practiced
medicine at Sheldon, Allen county, Ind..
from the spring of 1872, and later, at the
same place, until the fall of 1881. and there
his medical skill met with unequivocal ap-
preciation and was well remunerated.
About the year last mentioned Dr. Sey-
moure, settled in W'awaka, where he is rec-
ognized as the leading physician and sur-
geon of the township and has a wide and
paying field of practice and but little compe-
tition. The Doctor is a member of the No-
ble County Medical Society, and also of the
Indiana State Medical Society and of the
American Medical Association — all standard
professional associations, to which he has
contributed many essays and other docu-
ments 1 if rare technical value and importance.
For two years he rilled the responsible
position of president of the Noble County
Medical Society, and in 10,01 was selected
as delegate from the local association to the
American Medical Association — a decided
mark of confidence and respect on the part
of his confreres. For eight consecutive
years Dr. Seymoure has filled the office of
coroner of Noble county, having been elect-
ed by the Democratic party, of which he is
a stanch and active member.
Dr. Seymoure has been twice married;
first in Noble township, November 5. [869,
to Miss Callie V. Keller, a native of Vir-
ginia, born July 5, 1849, and a daughter of
the late Samuel Keller, of Noble township,
who died in 1893. when upward of seventy
years of age. Mrs. Dr. Seymoure was called
away March jo. 1887. the mother of four
children, viz: Horace A., who is an archi-
tect, designer and manufacturer, residing in
Chicago: Charles L.. who died when nine-
teen months old: Bert B., who was called
away when fifteen years old: and C. Orvas,
who is a mechanic.
The second marriage of Dr. Seymoure
took place in Lagrange, Ind.. November
27, 1889, to Miss Addie M. Brant, a native
of Iowa, but reared in Lagrange, Ind.. in
which city her father. Charles A. Brant, is
a well-known druggist. This happy union
has been blessed with two children. Brant
and Mildred.
Dr. Seymoure is a member of Brimfield
i Lodge, No. 485. I. O. 0. F. ; also of Albion
Lodge, Xo. [29, K. <X T. M.. and of W'a-
waka Lodge, No. 432, K. of P., and the
! Doctor and family attend the W'awaka Meth-
odist Episcopal church. Socially they hold
a very high position, and professional!} none
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
stands higher in the township and county
than the Doctor himself. The Doctor is like-
wise president of the Zigzag Telephone Com-
pany, of Elkhart township.
DOXELSON K. HITCHCOCK.
America is renowned for her public-spir-
ited men. "Like father like son," is an old
adage, as old as this country of ours and one
that has proven to be true in a vast number
of cases.
Donelson K. Hitchcock is an excellent
example of the proverb above quoted. His
father, the late Henry H. Hitchcock, was for
many years engaged in various enterprises
in Noble county, I'nd. He was born in De-
catur, X. Y., July 25, 1 81 6. His wife was
Mary P. Kedzie, who was born at Delhi,
N. Y.. April 26, 1S25. He moved to Noble
county, Ind., in the early 'forties, and she
came about five years later. Mr. Hitchcock
was first engaged in mercantile pursuits at
Augusta, just to the west of Albion. Later
he moved to Albion and was elected county
recorder, an office that he held part of two
terms. From Albion he moved to Wolcott-
ville, and for a time was engaged in the mill-
ing business with John McMeana. From
AVolcottville he moved to Kendallville, where
he was engaged in banking with William
Mitchell for several years. He then moved
to Goshen. Ind., where he again engaged in
the banking business. He died August 26,
1890, while spending his summer vacation
at Petoskey, Mich. Mrs. Hitchcock died in
Goshen. Ind., April 2$, 1872.
Mr. and Mrs. Hitchcock had two chil-
dren win 1 lived to grow to maturity: Ella.
who married Ira W. Nash, and died at
Union City. Mich., February 11, 1872; and
Donelson K., who was born in Kendallville,
Ind., February 15, 1862.
Donelson K., our subject, spent his early
life chiefly in Noble county. He was brought
up at home and early acquired his father's
ability to accommodate himself to circum-
stances and to be successful in whatever line
of work he might engage. After graduating
from the public schools he completed his
studies at the Michigan Agricultural College,
which for many years has borne the reputa-
tion of being second to no agricultural col-
lege in the country.
Soon after graduating from college our
subject married Miss May L. Cosper, March
8, 1884. Miss Cosper was the talented
daughter of George W. and Emeline Kim-
mell Cosper. Mr. Cosper was born in Tioga
county, Penn., July 18, 1827. Mrs. Cosper
was born in Canton, Stark county, Ohio,
July 22, 1833. The}- were married in Al-
bion, Ind., where they settled and lived for
several years and then moved to Brimfield,
Ind., where he died December 24, 1893.
They had four children, of whom one died in
infancy. The others were: May L., Charles
J. and Schuyler C. May was born in Al-
bion. February 28. 1861.
After the marriage of our subject, he
settled near Brimfield, in January, 1885, on
the farm that he still continues to live on.
His knowledge, gained by his years of study
at Lansing, has been of inestimable value to
him. The one hundred and eighty-four acres
that he owns are in an excellent state of cul-
tivation. The buildings erected on his farm
are models that other farmers would do well
to follow, and show not only the value of a
course of study in farming, but that an edu-
odJj^t
<T7^ /f, /i£csfcS>-
a^< i-c^t>~<-~
7^/^y G /^^/f^ f
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
cated fanner is of greater value to the com-
munity than one who is without an educa-
tion.
Mr. and Mrs. Hitchcock have had but
one child, Mary J., who died September 13,
1899, when but two years of age. Mr.
Hitchcock does not believe that any one
should hide his light under a bushel, much
less one who has had so thorough an educa-
tion as he has had. He is public-spirited, en-
joys society and is a member of several or-
ganizations designed to forward the interest
of mankind. His knowledge of agriculture
lias made him a man much sought after by
the agricultural interests. He has served as
president of the Eastern Indiana Agricul-
tural Society, a fact which in itself ought tu-
be of sufficient evidence of his worth. Fur-
thermore, he has studied Free Masonry. In
this, as in other matters that he has studied,
he has gone to the bottom; he was not con-
tent to obtain a mere smattering of the sub-
ject. So assiduously did he set himself at
work that he has already risen to the thirty-
second degree, and enjoys a distinction ob-
tained by verv few men of his age.
J. EDGAR BUCHANAN.
Holding worthy prestige among the
public men of Noble county, enjoying a pop-
ularity and maintaining a representative po-
sition as editor and proprietor of one of the
leading papers of northern Indiana, it is be-
fitting that in this connection be given a
resume of the life history of the well-known
gentleman whose name introduces this arti-
cle — a young man of marked ability and
wide influence. J. Edgar Buchanan, editor
and proprietor of the New Era. was born
near the town of Corunna, Dekalb county.
Ind., on the 25th day of March, [868. His
father, Albert Buchanan, a native of Ohio,
came to Indiana in 1854 and located on the
farm where he now resides, eight miles east
of Kendall ville. Previous to that time,
about [848, a Mr. Potts purchased the ad-
joining farm, and between his daughter,
Hannah Potts, and Albert Buchanan, soon
sprang up a mutual friendship, which, ripen-
ing into love, finally terminated in their mar-
riage in the mouth of September, i860. To
this marriage two children were born, the
subject of this sketch and Elmer Buchanan,
the latter no longer living.
After attending the district schools of
his neighborh 1 until his fifteenth year.
Edgar Buchanan entered Hillsdale College,
Mich., where he pursued his studies for a
period of four years. By reason of failing
eyesight he was obliged to leave college a
short time before completing the prescribed
course, otherwise he would have been the
youngest student ever graduated from the
above institution. With a mind well forti-
fied by severe discipline young Buchanan en-
gaged in educational work, and for three
years taught very successfully in the country
schools of Dekalb county. His abilities as
an instructor becoming recognized, he was
tendered and accepted the position of high
school principal of the schools of Wa-
terloo, where he made a most cred-
itable record as an instructor and dis-
ciplinarian. He came to Albion in Sep-
tember, 1895. and purchased of J. P. Prick-
ett the New Era, and at once entered upon
his duties as editor. The New Era was
established in 1872 by Samuel Alvord, who
disposed of the plant in 1876 to Mr. Prickett.
Since coming into possession of Mr. Bu-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
chanan the office has heen refitted and sup-
plied with many of the latest and most ap-
proved appliances, and the paper, greatly
improved in mechanical make-up and in the
quality of its reading matter has continued
to grow in public favor until it now has one
of the largest circulations as well as one of
the most liberal advertising patronages of
any paper in the county. Politically it is an
exponent of Republican principles, and
through its columns the productions of local
writers are given publicity. Mr. Buchanan
wields a graceful as well as trenchant pen,
and as an editorial writer discusses the lead-
ing questions of the day in a masterly man-
ner, proving a formidable but courteous an-
tagonist when taking issue with brother edi-
tors. His ability as a journalist is well es-
tablished, and the New Era, growing in pop-
ularity with each issue, compares favorably
in every respect with the majority of local
sheets published in the state. It is clean and
dignified in tone, filled with bright, newsy-
articles, and is greatly appreciated by its
many subscribers as a family paper. Finan-
cial! v it has more than met the expectations
of the proprietor, and being on a sound, re-
liable basis, its friends are' optimistic enough
to predict for it a much larger patronage and
a career of still greater prosperity and use-
fulness. Many of Mr. Buchanan's editorials
have been extensively quoted, and his high
standing among the successful newspaper
men of Indiana has for a number of years
been recognized and assured.
As a politician Mr. Buchanan is a potent
force in the party councils of Noble county,
and has held and still holds the position of
secretary of the Republican county central
committee. He has contributed much to the
success of the ticket in a number of hotlv
contested campaigns, and his services by
means of his paper and as a shrewd adviser
have heen greatly appreciated, not only in his
own city and county, but elsewhere. Mr.
Buchanan owns a beautiful residence prop-
erty in Albion, and his home is presided over
by a lady of culture and refinement, to whom
he was united in marriage on the 21st day
of June. 1890. The maiden name of Mrs.
Buchanan was Nellie D. Brecbill, a native of
Dekalb county and daughter of Christian
Brecbill, a prominent citizen of that part of
the state. Mrs. Buchanan has borne her
husband one child, Verne, a bright and prom-
ising lad, who first saw the light of day Jan-
uary 31, 1892. Mr. Buchanan is a member
of the Pythian lodge at Corunna and active
in all the work of die order. He takes pride
in the material prosperity of Albion and is
public spirited in the most liberal sense of
the term. He is a most affable gentleman,
easily approachable, and possesses a pleas-
ing personality, which, with other amiable
qualities and characteristics, has won him the
confidence and respect of the community.
Mrs. Buchanan is an active worker in the
society known as the Rathbone Sisters, and
as such has earned a state reputation. She
served two years as deputy grand chief of
the second district, composed of the counties
of Noble, Dekalb. Steuben, Lagrange
Allen and Whitley, and is discharging the
duties of the position at the present time.
She is also one of the grand trustees of the
order for the entire state, and in many other
capacities labors to disseminate the principles
of the society. While active in the discharge
of her official functions she is a lady of do-
mestic tastes and spares no pains to make
home what it should be — the ideal spot on
earth for love, happiness and content.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
FREDERICK L. BLUHM.
Among the most respected foreign-born
residents of Kendallville, Noble county, Ind.,
may he found the family of the late Ernest
I'ln'im. the father of the subject proper of
this sketch, and that of Frederick L. him-
self, who is cashier of Campbell & Fetter's
bank.
Frederick L. Bluhm was horn in Lupen-
dorf. Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany,
March jo. 1856. The family continued to
reside in the Fatherland until the fall of
1871. when they came to America and set-
tled in Kendallville, although the father had
been a farmer in his native land.
Ernest Bluhm, also a native of Lupen-
dorf, was born December 16. 1823, and
there married Miss Louisa Droege. who was
born at Levensdorf. Mecklenburg, Germany,
August 9, 1 83 1. To the marriage of Ernest
and Louisa ( Droege) Bluhm there were
born twelve children, of whom ten lived to
reach mature years and were named in order
of birth as follows: Lena, now the widow
of O. L. Woodruff; Frederick I... the sub-
ject of this sketch; Ida. who is the wife of
A. ranker, of Kendallville; Henry F. ;
-Charles J. ; Louisa ; Anna ; Herman ; Minnie;
and Lydia. Mrs. Louisa ( Droege) Bluhm
died in Kendallville April 27, 1900, and
was soon followed to the grave by her de-
voted husband, who died June 21. 1901. In
speaking of the latter event, a local journal
bad this to say :
"Ernest Bluhm was born December 16,
1823, at Lupendorf, Mecklenburg-Schwerin,
Germany. His parents were Christopher and
Dorothea Bluhm. In 1853 Ernest Bluhm
was united in holy wedlock to Louisa Droege
— an exceedingly happy union of forty-seven
years' duration. Emigrating to the United
States in 1871, these parents and their chil-
dren at once took up their abode in this lo-
cality and continually resided here- Great
was the sorrow of the family and of the aged
husband in special, when, on April 27, 1900,
the death of Airs. Bluhm parted those whom
God had put together. Now their souls have
met again before the throne of the Savior,
and their bodies are slumbering aside of each
other in the grave until the glorious day of
resurrection.
'Aye, both within that lovely paradise
At last do safely dwell;
From out their souls the songs of bliss do rise.
Of joys their lips shall tell,
While holy saints are singing
Hosannas o'er and o'er —
Pure hallelujahs ringing
Around them evermore!'
"The age attained by Ernest Bluhm was
seventy-seven years, six months and five
days. His death is mourned by two brothers,
four sons, six daughters and six grandchil-
dren."
Frederick L. Bluhm was educated in the
excellent public schools of bis native land
until about fourteen years of age. when he
came with his parents to Noble county, Ind.
Here he found .employment on the farm of
John Mitchell, for whom he worked from
1 87 1 until 18S2, when he entered the First
National Bank of Kendallville and filled the
position of bookkeeper, with great satisfac-
tion to all concerned, until January 1, 1894.
when the old bank relinquished business and
the new bank' was organized, when he was
promoted to the responsible ofhee of cashier,
the duties of which he has performed with
equal satisfaction to the officers and stock-
holders and credit to himself until the pres-
ent time.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Frederick L. Bluhm was joined in matri-
mony at Albion, Ind., May 29, 1888, with
Miss Louisa M. Lang, who was born in
Brooklyn, N. Y., March 24, 1859. a daugh-
ter of Julius and Katherina Lang, the latter
of whom died in 1896. To the marriage of
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick L. Bluhm two
bright children have been born — Maurice L.
and Ida W. — who are the delight and pride
of the Bluhm household, and give promise of
affording additional pleasure to the paraits
as years grow apace.
In politics Mr. Bluhm is a Republican,
and in 1891 was elected city clerk of Ken-
dallville. an office he ably filled for three
years, and in the spring of 1898 he was
elected a member of the city council, of
which dignified body he is still one of the
most active members. Mr. and Mrs. Bluhm
are devoted members of the German Luther-
an church, in which Mr. Bluhm served for
two years as treasurer and then resigned,
lint both live faithfully up to its teachings
and liberally contribute financially to its
support. Mr. Bluhm holds a high rank as a
business man. and socially he and wife are
welcomed in the best circles of the city.
ALLEY E. HANEY.
This veteran shoer and wagonmaker of
Albion, Noble county, Ind., was born in this
city February 2, 1S58, a son of Pearce and
Mary ( Horn ) Haney. The father was a
native of Berks county, Penn., born March
1, 1 816, and died in Albion, March n, 1882.
The mother was also a native of the Key-
stone state, born in Heidelberg, Lehigh
county, November 17, 1821, and still lives in
her own beautiful home, surrounded by all
her children, and looked after chiefly by her
son, Allen E. They were married at Perry-
ville, Carbon count}-, July 12, 1839, an d be-
came the parents of twelve children, namely:
Samuel, born April 20, 1840, at Mauch
Chunk, died September 12, 1841 ; Amanda
E., born August 28, 1841, at Mauch Chunk,
married George E. Worden, December 13,
\ 1860, who enlisted in Company B, Twelfth
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, on December
31. 1863. and died at Scottsboro, Ala.,
March 20, 1864. His remains were brought
home in October. 1865. and were placed in
the cemetery at Albion. Aby L. was born
November 14, 1842. and was married in
February", 1865, to Simon Weimer, a resi-
dent farmer of Jefferson township; he was
also a veteran of the Civil war. Hannah A.
was born November 15, 1844, and in Febru-
ary. 1866, married Lewis Price, a carpenter
and contractor of Albion. Mr. Price was a
soldier during the Civil war, served three
years, and was a prisoner for nine months
in Libby prison. John C. was born August
31, 1846, and in July, 1875, was married to
Miss Alice Glynn. Charles F., born Novem-
ber 20, 1848, was married in January. 1S74,
to Miss Lida Johnson, and after her death
: married Miss Fannie Russell. Ella J., who
was born May 1, 1851, became the wife of
William S. Riser, an expert accountant and
now a resident of Albion. He was auditor
for Noble county four years, and held the
position of third auditor in the treasury de-
partment under the administration of Mr.
Cleveland. Mary A., born March 9. 1854,
became the wife of Joseph B. Franks, a gro-
cer of Albion, and died May 20, 1897. Vada
E, born October 26, i860, died November
22, 1901, was married on September 6, 1889,
to fobn W. Edwards, a merchant of South
JPbOAsW Kg
CUsW yKnCisu^Y/
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Whitley. Elmer E. was born April 16,
1862, in Albion, and married in 1886 Miss
Rose Miller; and Lilly M.. born December
15, [864, became the wife of Perry D. Cree-
ger, a lawyer of Chicago; she died Septem-
ber 26, 1889.
Pearce Haney, father of Allen E. Haney,
learned the trade of a blacksmith, and be-
came the superintendent of that department
in the works of the Lehigh Coal Company,
of Pennsylvania. On his removal to Albion,
Ind.. he engaged in the business for a short
time and then retired from active life. He
assisted in putting together the first locomo-
tive that was brought to this country from
England, and was on board of it when the
first run was made. In his fraternal rela-
tions Mr. Haney became a member of
Mauch Chunk Lodge, No. 76. I. O. O. F.,
in 1 84 J, passing all the chairs.
The mother of Allen E. Haney, now in
her eightieth year, has lived a life of re-
markable usefulness. During her husband's
life her wise counsel and excellent judgment
in matters of business was of great service
to him, and on his death her successful man-
agement of the estate could not have been
surpassed. She is one of that rare and beau-
tiful type of womanhood who, while main-
taining the greatest reverence for all those
grand principles which governed in the past,
has not allowed herself to live only upon the
lines of thought and progress then laid
down, hut keeps in close touch with the ever
present and recognizes the necessity of con-
forming to its various phases and conditions.
To see her now. one scarcely believes her to
be much beyond middle age. and it is the
hope and belief of her children and mam-
friends that many years of happiness are yet
in store for her.
Allen E. Haney acquired his education in
the public schools of Albion. On laying
aside his text-books to engage in the ardu-
ous duties of life, he determined to follow
the trade of his father, and in a few years
became well and favorably known as a skill-
ful blacksmith and horseshoer. He worked
for a time in his native home, and in 1891
went tn Goshen. Believing that man's no-
blest helper — the horse — deserved better
treatment than is usually given by the aver-
age horseshoer, he went to Chicago and took
a special course in veterinary surgery and
horseshoeing, which has ever been regarded
by him as one of his wisest moves. Return-
ing to Goshen, Ind., being passionately fond
of music, he attended the musical college of
that city, being two years a pupil of Prof.
Rogers, and was afterward under Prof. Den-
nis, at Warren, Ohio, becoming a fine cor-
netist. With this experience he returned to
his old home in Albion and assumed the
management of his shop, which he had pre-
viously purchased and has conducted suc-
. cessfully ever since. That he enjoys the es-
teem of numerous friends is not surprising
to those who have known him from early
youth, and the success which has rewarded
his efforts has been well deserved and hon-
orably earned.
Mr. Haney has in his employ his brother
Charles and his brother-in-law Roy Sheffer,
both engaged in the smithing department;
the wagon department is under the super-
vision of I l.dsev Mach.
On ( Ictober [8, [898, Air. Haney led £0
the altar Bertha A. Sheffer, of Kendallville,
who there received her early education,
which was supplemented by a course in a
Michigan seminar)- and rounded out by a
thorough course in elocution under Mrs.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Wadsworth, of Chicago, at South Bend.
Mrs. Haney is an accomplished musician —
a fine performer on the cornet, and their
pleasant home is made doubly attractive to
numerous friends through their musical tal-
ent. One child has blessed their union, Ban-
ner Pearce, a bright boy of twenty months.
Fraternally Mr. Haney is a member of
Albion Lodge, No. 380, I. O. O. F., and of
the encampment and uniform rank at Ken-
dallville. Mrs. Haney is also a member of
Rebekah Lodge, I. O. O. F.
WILLIAM WEAVER.
This prominent and public-spirited citi-
zen of Elkhart township was born on his
father's farm in Orange township. Noble
county, Ind., September 4, 1855. He was
reared on the home farm and secured an
education in the district school. After lay-
ing aside his books to take up the duties of
the farm he remained with his parents until.
reaching manhood's estate. Marrying soon
afterward, he remained one year longer on
the home place, when he settled on a farm
in Elkhart township, which has since been
the principal scene of his labors. His mar-
riage took place December 25, 1879, to Miss
Magdalena brick, daughter of John and
Delilah (Boyd) Frick. Her father was a
native of Switzerland; her mother was a na-
tive of Pennsylvania, and was born Decem-
ber 28. 1833. They were married Septem-
ber J J, [854, and settled in Elkhart town-
ship. Here the father died February 21,
[870. They were the parents of eleven chil-
dren, namely : Susan, who became the wife
of Cornelius Resler, died in Noble count}'
April 29, 1885; Magdalena, who is the wife
of the subject, was born May 10, 1857;
William is a farmer residing in Elkhart
township; Barbara is the wife of Wesley
Weaver, of Orange township ; Christian died
when about twenty-four years of age; Jo-
seph ; Edward ; Amanda, a prominent young
girl, died at the age of seventeen; Katie
died in childhood; and two others who
passed away in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Weaver are the parents of
two. children, Cora and Ruth. Mr. Weaver
has devoted his years to the vocation of
farming, and the strict application of his
energies and intelligent thought has brought
to him ample return. He has a fine farm
located in the eastern part of the township
of Elkhart, consisting of two hundred acres
of fine land. The well-tilled fields, handsome
residence and commodious barns and out-
buildings bespeak the truly thrifty husband-
man. Representative as he is among a class
of citizens noted for those measures of public
policy which bear directly on material inter-
ests, he enjoys a high reputation for sagacity
and integrity, and his opinions and views are
recognized as worthy the highest considera-
tion.
In matters of religion Mr. and Mrs.
Weaver are earnest and active members of
the German Baptist church, and by their ex-
ample and precept are influential among the
congregation with whom they worship. Mrs.
Weaver is especially devoted in the numer-
ous kindly acts which spring from a high
appreciation of the duties of the church in
promoting the cause of Christianity and that
advancement of civilization which results
therefrom, and well deserves the esteem in
which she is held by her numerous friends
throughout the township and county.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
227
Christian Weaver, father of William
Weaver, was born in Columbiana count}-,
Ohio, January 1. [826; Christian's wife was
Susanna Towns, a native of Stark county,
Ohio, horn February ri, 1828. They were
married in Steuben county, Ind., and settled
in Orange township, Noble county, Ind.,
where she passed away January 10, 1900 —
the father still living-. They were the par-
ents of five children, namely: John, who
died in childhood ; William, the subject ; Syl-
vanus is a farmer residing in Orange town-
ship; Wesley is also a farmer of Orange
township; and Cornelius, who died in child-
hood.
The life work of this worthy couple is
well worth}- the emulation of those who seek
to so live that their future years may lie re-
warded by a competence when the weight of
years shall come, and their memory will long
remain among those with whom their lot was
fortunatelv cast.
NOAH WINSTEAD.
The subject of this sketch has richly
earned and commanded the respect and con-
fidence of those with whom he has been
brought in contact. He has been for vears
more or less prominently identified with the
varied interests of his community and has
contributed largely to its advancement, mor-
ally, educationally and materially.
Noah Winstead is a native son of the
Buckeye state, his birth having taken place
in Fairfield county, May 8, 1859. He is a son
of Fayette and Ellen (Greeno) Winstead.
The father was a native of Pickaway county,
Ohio, but came to Indiana in 1859 anc ' set ~
tied on the old Hittler farm, near Cromwell,
Sparta township. About 1870 he bought
the farm whereon his son Noah now resides
and lived there until his death, February 2-,,
1900. Ellen (Greeno) Winstead was a
daughter of Jacob Greeno, an old and hon-
ored resident of Fairfield, Ohio.
Noah Winstead until he attained the age
of eighteen years attended the public schools
of Fairfield, and was a faithful, persevering
student. Upon leaving school he began
working by the month, continuing at that
employment for six years. Then for several
years he worked by the day at farm work.
Finding employment in a tile yard, he re-
mained there until 1897, when he moved
with his father and cared for him until the
latter's death. He is now the owner of one
hundred and sixty acres of fertile and pro-
ductive farm land, and its well-kept appear-
ance abundantly testifies to the care which its
owner bestows upon it.
The marriage of Noah Winstead was
solemnized on the 2d of April, 18S7. when
lie took for a helpmeet Miss Alice Donelson,
daughter of William Donelson, a native of
Ohio. This union has been blessed with the
birth of four children, viz. : Grover, born
December 14, 1887: Cletis. born April 7,
1891; Nellie, born August 30, 1893; Arti-
mesia. born June 21, 1896. These children
compose a bright and interesting group, in
which their parents take a just pride.
Politically Mr. Winstead is a Democrat,
firmly believing that the principles enunci-
ated in the platform of that party are those
most in harmony with the spirit of our po-
litical institutions and most calculated to en-
hance the welfare of the people.
Religiously Mr. Winstead and his family
are members of the Christian church at
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Pleasant Hill. They have always been active
and consistent in their support of the church
and its interests. Mr. Winstead has been
a public-spirited and progressive citizen, and
is deqaly interested in the welfare of his
community. His business efforts have been
crowned with a degree of success richly mer-
ited, and now he is enjoying the results of
his early attention to details in the manage-
ment of his farm.
JOHN W. MORR, M. D.
John W. Morr, M. D., a well-read and
popular young physician of Albion, Noble
county. Ind.. is a native of Dekalb county,
and was born November 2, 1870, a son of
George S. and Rebecca (Walter) Morr, na-
tives of Pennsylvania, who settled in De-
kalb count}-. Ind., in 1845, where the father
died in 1877. The latter was a successful
farmer and later a merchant at Moores-
ville. a village which was laid out by himself
and of which he was the postmaster for sev-
eral years. Both the Morr and the Walter
families were of German origin. In Amer-
ica, however, the Morr family has in many
instances risen to distinction, politically and
financially, some of its members having been
members of congress, and a number being
now residents of Ashland county, Ohio. The
immediate parental family of Dr. John W.
Morr comprises six sons and one daughter,
born in the following order: Dr. Joseph,
practicing- in Orland, Steuben county. Ind.:
Samuel, salesman for the D. M. Osborn
Company, of New York; Elmer, deceased;
Dr. John W., the subject of this biography ;
George S., a farmer on the parental home-
stead; Peter W., a salesman of musical in-
struments, and of agricultural implements :
Sarah, now the wife of William Snurr, a
contractor and builder and a resident of De-
kalb county.
Dr. John W. Morr received his element-
ary education in the country schools of De-
kalb county, from which he graduated in
1886, took a three-years' course in the Au-
burn (Ind.) high school, and then a one-
year course in the Angola Normal School,
after which, for one year, he engaged in the
voi\iti in of school teaching. He began the
study of medicine in 1889 under the tutor-
ship of his uncle, Dr. Hull, of Hicksville,
Ohio. In 1 89 1 he matriculated at Fort
Wayne Medical College, from which he
graduated with first honors in surgery in
1894, taking a special course of one year in
the latter branch of the profession. He first
located for practice at Spencerville, Ind., re-
mained one year, and in 1895 came to Al-
bion, where his abilities met with flattering
recognition and where he has established a
remunerative practice. Dr. Morr has also
met with political favor and honor in Albion
with the Democratic party. He is superin-
tendent of the Albion Electric Light plant,
city treasurer and chairman of the Noble-
county Democratic central committee, serv-
ing- in the last named capacity in 1900, dur-
ing the campaign, with marked executive
ability and recovering from the opposing
party many important and responsible posi-
tions. He enjoys the distinction of being
the youngest man that ever filled this chair-
manship, as well as of being the youngest
physician and surgeon in the count}-.
January 1. 1890, Dr. Morr was united in
marriage to Miss Amanda Koch, also a na-
tive of Dekalb county, and a daughter
/v^ . ty > JM-^-^ /T?^
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
of Joseph Koch, who was born in Germany.
To this union have heen born three children :
Mary Blanche and Justin Wheeler, the form-
er on September 26, 1893. and the latter
May 12, 189c;: the eldest child. Grace, burn
March 7, 1891, died June 25, 1892. Mrs.
Morr was highly educated at Auburn. Ind.,
and was employed as a teacher at the date of
her marriage. Dr. Morr is a member of the
Indiana State Medical Society, the Noble
County Medical Society and the Dekalb
County Society; he is also a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights
of Pythias, Benevolent and Protective Or-
der of Elks, and the Modern Woodmen of
America, and also of the ladies' departments
of each — the Rebekahs. Rathbone Sisters,
etc. The Doctor and his wife are members
of the Evangelical Lutheran church, of
which the Doctor is a member of the board
of trustees. He has been very successful
professionally and financially, and now owns
several fine pieces of property in Albion,
while the Koch family is equally fortunate
at St. Joe, Ind.
JOHN W. MILLER.
For the past eight years Noble county
has largely profited through the efficient ser-
vices of the gentleman whose name is above
given, John W. Miller, county recorder, and
his numerous friends predict his remaining
in that position for some years to come if he
so desires. Mr. Miller is a native of Ohio,
having been born in Seneca county. Novem-
ber 20, 1840, the son of John W. and Hul-
•dah (Jones) Miller.
form W. Miller, senior, was born in Fair-
held county, Ohio, in 1816, and was widely
and favqrably known throughout that sec-
tion and Allen county, Ind., whither he
moved in 1848, as an able and earnest minis-
ter of the E\'angelical Lutheran church. He
also followed farming, working hard during
the week in cultivating and improving his
property and occupying the pulpit on Sun-
days. He died at Goshen, Ind., December
16, 1892. Some years prior to his death he
devoted his entire time to the ministry, and
his demise was a serious and sad blow to the
congregation over which he presided. His
ancestors were Irish and German.
The mother of John \\\, Jr., born in Vir-
ginia in 1 81 7, was of Scotch- Welsh lineage,
and a representative of the well-known Jones
family of the Old Dominion. They were
among the early colonists, and some mem-
bers of the family became victims of the hos-
tile Indians. Gen. J. J. Jones, of the Confed-
erate army, was the youngest brother of the
subject's maternal grandfather. He. with
four sons, served in the army and held high
positions in the Confederate service. Gen-
eral Jones was in command of a division, his
four sons commanding brigades under him,
and, at the terrible battle of the Wilderness,
was killed.
Our subject's father was twice married.
By his first wife eleven children were born,
and four by the second. Of the first family
eight are known to be living; of one nothing
is known as to his place of residence.
Mr. Miller's early days were passed on a
farm in Ohio; and when his parents moved
to Indiana grew to young manhood under
the same wholesome influences, obtaining
his education through the common schools
of the district, and persistent study and ap-
plication during the vacation season. Like
230
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
thousands of young men of i 861-2, his mind
was somewhat distracted by the great events
of that period, and the fever and excitement
incident to the perilous condition of the coun-
try awakened his love for the Union and,
August 12, 1862, found him in the ranks of
that grand army of patriots, the record of
whose lives can never be blotted from the
pages of history, and whose deeds will be
transmitted through grateful memory to
generations yet unborn. He enlisted in Com-
pany C, One Hundredth Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of
the Tennessee, and as most of the service of
the regiment was under the immediate com-
mand of Gen. John A. Logan, Mr. Miller
had ample experience in (tie field. He was a
participant in the battles around Vicksburg,
was at Jackson, Trenton, Missionary Ridge,
Knoxville, Gray's Mills, Rocky Face Ridge,
Daltdn, Buzzard's Roost, Snake Creek Gap,
Resaca, Dallas, New Hope Church, Big
Sliantv, Kenesaw Mountain, Nickajack
Creek, Chattahoochie River, Decatur, Atlan-
ta, Cedar Bluffs, Jonesboro, Lovejoy's Sta-
tion, Griswoldville, Bentonville, Wise Forks,
and numerous skirmishes. The history of
the adjutant general's office shows that this
regiment was in line of battle and on the
skirmish line more than one-third of its en-
tire term of enlistment — three years — and
marched over four thousand miles. On the
termination of hostilities and when the com-
bined armies under Grant and Sherman re-
turned to the national capital, the One Hun-
dredth Indiana Infantry had the post of
honor and was the first regiment to pass the
stand in that grand review of battle-scarred
veterans, the like of which has never been
equaled.
Mr. Miller was discharged from the serv-
ice as sergeant of his company. Returning
to his home in Noble county he took up the
pursuits of civil life, learned the trade of a
carpenter and followed the business until
1872, when he accepted a position as fore-
man of the wood department of the Flint
Walling Manufacturing Company, at Ken-
dallville. This position he occupied for
twenty-two years.
Mr. Miller was married, December 24,
1865, to Miss Sarah Aldrich, a native of the
state of New. York. Five children were
born to them, as follows: Maude, Rodell,
Carl A., J. Ralph, and Fred D. Rodell is a
talented musician in St. Louis ; Carl is a clerk
in the Illinois Steel Works, Chicago; the
others are at home.
Politically Mr. Miller is a Democrat, and
is stanch in his allegiance to the party. In
1893 he was elected county recorder, and in
1896, in compliment for his excellent admin-
istration of the official duties, he was re-
elected for another term. He has served
the city of Kendallville for nine years as an
active and efficient member of her city coun-
cil, giving his attention and care to its duties
with the same earnestness and thought evi-
denced in whatever he undertakes. In 1898-9'
he was chairman of the Democratic county
central committee.
Among the fraternal associations Mr.
Miller occupies a high place in the estimation
of the brethren, and is earnest in his efforts
to advance the interests of each organization
along the lines of benevolence for which they
are noted. He is a charter member of Nel-
son Post, G. A. R., of Kendallville, and
served as commander the first two years,"
also served two years as commander of Wor-
den Post, of Albion. He is a Mason, hold-
ing membership in the Blue Lodge, Chapter
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
231
and the Eastern Star, his wife being" a mem-
ber of the latter. The Knights of Pythias
also recognize in him a most worthy mem-
ber. All the members of the family are de-
vout worshipers and members of the church
of the Disciples, and Mr. Miller is one of its
trustees. There are few families in the com-
munity more widely known and none held in
higher estimation.
JOHN REIDENBACH.
Of the well-known family of this name,
the gentleman whose name heads this sketch
is a son of the late Philip Reidenbach, of
whom and his wife more detailed mention
is made in the life history of Jacob Reiden-
bach. an elder brother of the subject, to be
found on another page. Of a family of nine
children bom to Philip and his wife Cather-
ine, John is the seventh in the order of birth,
and had his nativity in Elkhart township.
Noble county, Ind.. June 3. 1857, anf l this
township has always been his home. He
was reared on his father's farm and was
educated in the common schools of his na-
tive township, and aided in the cultivation of
the homestead until his first marriage, which
took place March 20, 1882, to Miss Emma
Munk, who was born in Germany, but was
a mere infant when brought to America.
She was reared in Orange township, Noble
county, Ind. She was called away in March,
1883, dying in Elkhart township, and Au-
gust 20, 1884, Mr. Reidenbach led to the
altar in Wayne count}-. Mich., his second
bride, Miss Louise Smith, who was born in
the county mentioned, April 14. 1864. Her
parents, Charles and Sophia (Wendt)
Smith, were born in German)-, but were resi-
dents of Wayne county, Mich., at the time
of their daughter's marriage. Louisa was
the eldest of the thr,ee children born to her
parents, the younger two being Alvina and
Charles. To the second marriage of Mr.
Reidenbach have been born six children, in
the following order: George F., Ella M.,
Cora L., Brady. Roy H. and Florence L.
Mr. Reidenbach and his wife, the latter of
whom is a decidedly accomplished and amia-
ble lady, are members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, and are very liberal in their
contributions toward its support.
Mr. Reidenbach is the owner of one hun-
dred and forty-two acres of as fine a farm
as is to be found in Elkhart township, which
farm ihle has improved with every modern
convenience and cultivates on the most ap-
proved methods. He is diligent and skill-
ful, and his crops are invariably plenteous
and consequently profitable. Personally he
and wife are universally esteemed for their
individual merits, and their home is the
abode of a generous hospitality that is shared
with a large number of sincerely warm-
hearted friends.
In politics Mr. Reidenbach is a Demo-
crat, but although very popular he has never
been an office-seektr.
fAMES M. BAUSE,
County counselor of Noble county. Ind.. is a
prominent and popular man in agricultural,
political and social circles, takes an active
part in town and county affairs, and also
looks closely after his private interests. He
was born in Washington township. Noble
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
count}-, Intl., July 20, 185 J, and is a son of
Aaron and Elizabeth (Paugh) Bause. both
of whom came to Indiana in their young
days before marriage. The father hailed
from Union county. Penn., and the mother
from the grand old state of Virginia. They
were married in Washington township and
made that their home, rearing a family of
eight sons and two daughters to perpetuate
their name and memory. The father finished
his life's work May 8. 1885, at the age of
sixty-eight years, seven months and twenty-
six days.
James M. Bause remained at home until
1S77. when he rented a farm in Noble town-
ship, cultivating it for three years, at which
time he purchased one hundred and thirty
acres of land. This, with forty acres added
since, comprises his present home and is one
of the most productive and fertile farms in
this section. The improvements which Mr.
Bause has placed on his land are of the useful
and substantial order, the comfort and con-
venience of the different members of the
family being considered, as well as the gen-
eral appearance of each added improvement,
with the result that it will be impossible to
find a more desirable property in the county
than that which has emanated from the hand
and brain of Mr. Bause.
On January 7. 1878, Mr. Bause led to the
altar Miss Susan Cramer, whose parents,
John and Susanna Cramer, now deceased,
were prominent citizens of Washington
township, this county, where the nuptials
were solemnized. One child. Miss Treadie
E. Bause. has blessed their union, and she is
an accomplished young lady who is a source
of comfort to her parents and is the center of
all social gatherings. Mr. and Mrs. Bause
and their daughter are members of the Bap-
tist church, in which the)" are untiring work-
ers. Mr. Bause is an honored member of the
Knights of Pythias lodge of Wolflake and is
a popular member of the community in
which he lives. He is a strong Republican
and has taken a keen interest in the success
of his party, being especially active in coun-
ty work, and in the fall of 1900 he was elect-
ed by a flattering majority to the office of
ci amty c< mnselor, a position he has filled with
honor and credit.
SAMUEL L HAYS (Deceased).
The gentleman whose name heads this
review was a young man who was held in the
highest respect for his integrity of character
in Perry township, and came from a family
who is well known in the whole county of
Noble. He traced his lineage to noble an-
cestry, and it is with no small degree of
pleasure as well as sadness that the biogra-
pher presents the following text.
He was born in P'erry township. Noble
county, Ind.. March 8, 1875. and was the
youngest of a family of six children born to
William D. and Harriet E. (Smith) Hays.
An unfortunate circumstance has existed in
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hays, as they
have had to mourn the death of each son
which has been born to them. He was reared
on his fatheCs estate contiguous to Ligonier,
where he received his practical education
both in the district schools and at Ligonier
high school. He was a student also at the
business college at Manchester. Ind.. and
later turned his time and attention to agri-
cultural pursuits. He was a young man
who revered his father and mother, and his
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
aim in life was to live in such a manner as
would reflect honor upon his dear parents
as well as upon his own name. His home he
looked upon as the dearest spot, and his
wife and sweet little daughter were his pride.
Mr. Hays' life for over a quarter of a
century was as an open volume, and was
spent wholly in his native township. He
chose for his dear companion in life Miss
Bessie J. Cook; they were wedded April 27,
1898, and one little daughter, Harriet Lu-
cille, was given them to bless and cheer their
■ hearts and home. She is a winsome little
rosebud, and will be a solace and comfort to
her widowed mother.
Mrs. Hays was born in Noble county
February 15, 1877, is a daughter of William
and Sarah (Welty) Cook, and was reared
and educated in Perry township. She was a
student in Ligonier high school. Her father
was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1823,
and died in 1897. He was an agriculturist.
Mother Cook was a native of Ohio, born in
1833, ancl cuecl m l %79- ^ Irs - Hays is a
lady who duly appreciated her dear husband,
and her home was her paradise-
Samuel L. Hays was a Republican in his
political sentiment, and his maiden vote was
cast for the lamented MeKinley. He fol-
lowed in the footsteps of his father in his
political affiliations. His choice in the relig-
ious field was the United Brethren church
located in Ligonier. He was one of the
most prominent workers of the young men
in the church, and especially in the Sunday-
school. In the latter he was identified in an
official sense as librarian, secretary and treas-
urer for the last four years. Any measure
he could advocate for the advancement and
progress of the Master's work in the Sun-
day-school he was ever ready to perform,
and was deeply interested in the moral, so-
cial, religious and intellectual welfare of his
community.
He was not strictly a rugged man in
constitution, but at the same time was not an
invalid. About 1900 his health began to fail
him, and continued till the grim reaper,
Death, sought him out on Wednesday, De-
cember 11, 1901 : he passed away peacefully
and quietly, his couch being surrounded by
his loving wife and baby girl, his sorrowing
parents and his two sisters, when the spark
of life went out in this world to be again
reignited in the world beyond. The sympa-
thetic tear has been shed, the last sad rites
have been administered by loved ones, and
he sleeps in the beautiful Ligonier cemetery.
There was a large concourse of friends and
relatives present at the obsequies, which
were held at the old homestead. His former
pastor, Rev. G. F.Byrer, who wedded him
and his wife, and is now resident pastor at
Warsaw, Ind., pronounced the funeral ora-
tion, and was assisted by the Rev. J. A.
Groves, of Ligonier.
The family circle has lost another link
in the magic chain, and the bereaved par-
ents, who have interred their last son, have
the universal sympathy of all who know
them. For the gratification of the bereaved
wife and little daughter the above lines are
willingly presented in this record of Noble
county's best citizens, to be perused and held
sacred in the vears to come.
JOHN H. COCKLEY.
This gentleman, to a review of whose life
the following lines are devoted, has been a
well-know and popular resident of Al-
234
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
bion for over a quarter of a cen-
tury, and at the present time is con-
nected with niie of the city's largest and
most prosperous mercantile establishments.
John H. Cockley is a native of Lebanon
county, Pennsylvania, where his birth oc-
curred on the 31st day of March. 1855. His
parents, both born in the Keystone state,
were Peter and Susan ( Rheinhold ) Cock-
lew who were married in the county of Lan-
caster, and there lived until 1885. In that
year they moved to Kansas City. Mo., where
the father was for some time engaged in
buying and shipping live stock. He followed
that business quite extensively for a number
of years, and while thus engaged traveled
over a large part of the middle and western
states, meeting with financial success in
many of his operations. While looking after
some of his cattle he was attacked by an in-
furiated bull, and before he could be rescued
received injuries which resulted in his death.
This was in the year 1888. His widow, who
is still living, is making her home at this
time in the city of Olathe, Kan. Peter and
Susan Cockley were the parents of ten chil-
dren, of whom the following are! living:
Leah. Lizzie, Kate, Sadie, Lottie, Martha,
Charles and John H. The first three reside
in Pennsylvania; Lottie lives in Olathe,
Kan. ; Charles in St. Louis ; while the sub-
ject of this sketch is the only member of the
family with residence in Noble county.
John II. Cockley attended the schools of
Fayetteville and Mechanicsburg, Penn.. until
his fifteenth year, and then entered Palatine
College, where he finished the English
course. For some time after graduating
from the above institution he remained under
the parental roof, and about the year 1875
came to Albion, Ind. He remained in the
city and county, and on the 1st day of March,
1877, his marriage was solemnized with
Miss Delila Pepple, daughter of James Pep-
ple, one of the pioneer settlers of Noble coun-
ty. Immediately following his marriage Mr.
Cockle}- accepted the position of salesman
with one of the large dry-goods firms of Al-
bion, and continued in that capacity until be-
coming identified, in the month of March,
1883, with the business house of J. D. Black.
He has remained with that gentleman until
the present time, meantime becoming thor-
oughly familiar with every detail of the busi-
ness and taking charge of the clerical depart-
ment. Mr. Cockley is essentially a business
man, possessing excellent judgment on all
matters coming within his line of trade, and
a knowledge which enables him to make ju-
dicious purchases. He is a skilled accountant,
and his general oversight of the business is
such that mistakes rarely if ever occur, and
his popularity with the public has been the
means of winning a large number of patrons.
By studying carefully the wants of the trade
and catering to the tastes of customers he
has gradually enlarged the area of the trade
of the house until to-day it occupies a com-
manding position in the mercantile interests
of Noble count)-. He believes in doing well
what is to be done, and by diligent attention
to the most minute detail as well as the man-
agement of greater ' concerns he has saved
hundreds of dollars to his employer, estab-
lishing for himself a reputation as one of the
most careful, painstaking and successful
salesmen that ever stood behind a counter in
Albion.
Mr. and Mrs. Cockley have an interest-
ing family of eight children, whose names
are as follows : Lelia, Mamie, Hattie, John
H., Charles, Walter, Vesta and Anna. The-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
23S
oldest daughter is a teacher in the public
schools of York township. She is a well
educated young- lady, cultured ami refined,
and has made a most creditahle record in the
work of teaching, to which she proposes to
devote her life- The second daughter, also
well educated, is holding a clerical position
in the Albion postoffice, where her services
are greatly appreciated. Mr. Cockley has
always taken great interest in the cause of
education, and as a member of the Albion
school board has been instrumental in ad-
vancing the schools of the city to the present
high standard they enjoy. He served as
treasurer of the board for a period of six
years, during which time he was untiring in
his efforts to secure teachers of superior pro-
fessional qualifications, and to procure for
the schools the latest and most approved edu-
cational appliances. By reason of his own
thorough mental discipline he is well quali-
fied for a school official, and few men
of the city are as familiar as he with
the educational methods of the present
time. In politics Mr. Cockley gives his
allegiance to the Republican party, but
he has never entertained any ambition
in the direction of office. He is well
informed on the leading questions of the day
and discusses them intelligently, but the
schemes and methods of the modern politi-
cian have always been repugnant to his na-
ture. Fraternally he belongs to the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of Albion,
and his religious belief is embodied in the
Lutheran creed. In every position to which
Mr. Cockley has been called his duties have
been faithfully and uncomplainingly per-
formed. He is progressive in spirit, takes
pride in the prosperity of the city of his
choice, and to the best of his ability does the
right as he sees and understands the right.
In a quiet way he has done much to advance
the standard of citizenship, and Albion is
proud to number him among her most wor-
thy and highly respected men. Of domestic
taste, he finds his greatest enjoyment in the
bosom of his family, and his home is a favor-
ite resort for the best social circles of the
town. His life has been fruitful of much
good to his fellow-man and it is with pleas-
! ure that his name is accorded mention in this
volume with other representative citizens of
Noble county.
HENRY L. BUSZ.
Henry L. Busz was born February i,
1838, on the farm upon which he now re-
sides in Noble township, Noble county, In-
diana, his parents being Jacob and Cath-
erine (Reddinger) Busz. Jacob Busz was
born in Switzerland, on October 24, 1796,
and his wife was born in Lancaster county,
Penn., April 25, 18 10. About 1833 in the
month of August they came to Indiana, set-
tling in Noble county, in section 12. Noble
township, where they lived for man)- years
and reared a family of six children, who are
among the most prominent residents of No-
ble county at this time. They are John N.,
Simon \Y.. Henry L.. Elizabeth, Jesse, and
Mary Anil. The father passed away March
7, 1855, and the mother on April 15,
1863/'
Henry L. Busz spent his boyhood and
youth on his father's farm, obtained his
education in the schools of that locality, and
receiving lessons of thrift and industry
which have remained with him throughout
236
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
life and enabled ih'im to lay up a compe-
tency against the time when the declining
years of life shall overtake him. He has al-
ways been a farmer and there are none in
the community who are more deserving"
praise for their careful and methodical
methods, or the success of their undertak-
ings, than Henry L. Busz. He remained at
home until the death of his parents, and
upon his marriage he took his bride to the old
homestead, which has since been his home.
The land comprises eighty-six acres of land
upon which he has placed many improve-
ments in the way of good buildings, etc.,
making it in every way a much-to-be de-
sired property.
At the breaking out of the great politi-
cal conflict which shook our country from
center to circumference, Air. Busz was
among the first to shoulder arms in defense
of the flag, enlisting in Company G, Nine-
teenth Indiana Volunteer Regiment, in
July, [861, and going to the seat of con-
flict. He served faithfully and well fur six
months, experiencing some startling adven-
tures and was then discharged on account
of disability, when he returned home and
again took up the occupation of quiet life.
On September 20, 1866, the marriage of
Henry L. Busz and Miss Maria Pressler
took place in this township. The bride was
born in Fairfield county. Ohio. December
14, 1X43, and is one of those genial women
whom it is a pleasure to number among
friends, and the very embodiment of cordial
hospitality. Her father, John Pressler, was
born in Lancaster county, Penn.. January
-'I). [807, while her mother, Maria (Eglof)
Pressler, was born in Montgomery county,
the same state. They settled in Ohio and
"later moved to W'hitlev county, Inch, where
they died, the mother at the age of forty-
five years and the father at the advanced
age of eighty. Fifteen children were born
to them, ten of whom grew to adult years.
Mr. and Mrs. Busz are members and earn-
est workers in the Freewill Baptist church
and richly deserve the confidence and good
will they enjoy among the many who have
known and appreciated them for so many
years.
WILLIAM D. HAYS.
This gentleman is one of the best and
most favorably known agriculturists of No-
ble county, Ind., who has been identified
with the dairy interests of the state for al-
most a quarter of a century and is one of
the largest land owners in this section. His
parents were Samuel and Jemima ( Ritten-
house) Hays, who settled in Perry township
in 1S46. Samuel Hays was born in Freder-
ick, Md., in 1787, moved to Pickaway coun-
ty. Ohio, in 1802, was in the war of 1812,
and in 1821 was married in Ross county,
that state, to Miss Jemima Rittenhouse, who
was born in the state of Virginia in 1802.
Five children were born to them, namely:
Mary E., who was born January 15, 1823,
and became the wife of William Hancock,
of Pickaway county, Ohio; Rachel J., who
died in infancy; Moses P., who also died in
infancy; William D., subject of these me-
moirs, who was born April 21, 1830, in Pick-
away county, Ohio; and Hester Ann, born
March 31. 1833. married Hamilton Baker,
a farmer of this count}', and passed to her
reward in 1865.
Levi Hays, grandfather of William D.,
was born in Maryland October 1, 1752, in
^®J ikgi
cti?M 46 r$ -i€
*#
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY. INDIANA.
December. 1778. wedded Eleanor Harris,
and in 1805 emigrated to Ohio and settled on
Brush creek, in Fairfield county, where they
remained one year, and in 1806 moved to
Perry township. Mr. Hays made a purchase
of thirteen hundred acres of land of the Fitz-
gerald survey — one of the first surveys of
Ohio — and five suns and four daughters
were horn to them.
'William D. Hays received no advantage
in the way of education other than was de-
rived from the public schools, but he im-
proved the opportunities he had and ob-
tained a practical knowledge that has been
of inestimable benefit to him. He has de-
voted his life to farming and stock-raising,
and is one of the leading agriculturists of
Noble county, whose energy and enterprise
have made him prosperous and therefore
prominent. His unfailing insight into the
affairs of life led him to invest his money
where he was certain of favorable returns,
and his accumulations have increased until
he now owns six hundred acres of the rich,
productive farming land for which Noble
county is famous, four hundred acres in
other states, and houses and lots in Ligonier.
Seeing a chance to add dairying to his other
business with profit, he engaged in that in -
dustry about twenty-four years ago, and has
continued it since as one of the principal lines
of his farming. So successful has he been
in the work he has undertaken that he is re-
garded by his neighbors as an oracle on the
subjects of agriculture, dairying, stock-rais-
ing, etc., and his opinions are eagerly
sought.
Mr. Hays was married to Miss Harriet
E. Smith, who was born in Fayette county.
< >hio, August 10. 1834. and is a daughter of
Jacob and Abigail (Bloomer) Smith. She
is the eldest of six children, the remaining
members of the family being as follows:
Sarah A., deceased, who married Henry
Baker, a farmer of this county ; Benjamin
E., who married Miss Charity Lane, and is
the father of the following children — Emma
Ellis, Frank. Howard. Hattie. William,
Ethel, Lizzie and Clara; Matthias M.. a
farmer in Missouri, who married Miss Anna
Gallatoii, now deceased. Four children,
Lewis, William. Abigail and Daniel, com-
posed their family. Nancy J., who died as
she was entering young womanhood ; and
Phcebe, wlhjo married John L. Shoup, a farm-
er of Noble count)'.
Jacob Smith, father of Mrs. William D.
Hays, was born in Virgina March 29, 1810,
was a farmer by vocation, in religion a
Methodist, and in politics a Whig. His wife
was also a native of Virginia, was born July
1. 1815, and reared in Ohio, and died May
19, 1880, in the faith of the Methodist Epis-
copal church. Mrs. Hays was in tact reared
in Ohio, having been brought to the state
when but a babe, and only twelve years of
age when brought to Indiana. Mr. Hays
well remembers the first school he attended,
the house being but sixteen feet square and
of the rudest possible construction, with text-
books about as primitive as the school-house
itself.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Hays has
been blessed by the birth of six sons and
daughters, viz: Jacob, born February"""i9,
1854, and died when in his twenty-second
year; Rheu Ann, born December 2. 1855,
and was taken home when a sweet little
blossom of seven years; Luella, born August
17. [858, became the wife of W. A. Coch-
ran, of Perry township, and the mother of
three children, Edith ( Mrs. Charles Stage,.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
mother of Glen T. Stage, an infant). Dean
and Jessie: William Schuyler, born July 15,
1868, was a student in old Purdue, and
passed to the better land in 1885 ; Hattie B.,
born February 14. 1865, is the wife of Fred-
erick Greene, a leading stock dealer and
butcher of Ligonier. Their children are
William H., Hays J. ( who died in infancy),
George W. and Magdelana; Samuel L., who
was born March 8, 1875, and is the young-
est of the family. He lives on the home-
stead with his parents and assists in the man-
agement of the work. He married Miss
Bessie Cook, and has one child, Harriet Lu-
cille, a bright little girl. At the death of
William Schuyler Hays the following obitu-
ary appeared in a local paper: "On Tues-
day morning, March 2, 1886, at the resi-
dence of his father, W. D. Hays, in Perry
township, W. S. Hays, aged seventeen years,
seven months and fifteen days. In the
death of Schuyler society in this place and
surrounding country lost one of its bright
lights. The entire community sympathize
with the family of the deceased in this their
sad bereavement. The funeral at the United
Brethren church yesterday was largely at-
tended, and the funeral oration was deliv-
ered by Rev. Knotts ; burial at the Ligonier
cemetery. A gloom has been cast over the
college by the death of one of the students.
Rarely does the angel of death darken the
portals of Wabash College, and on that ac-
count are such visitations felt the more keen-
ly. Word was received announcing the
death of Schuyler Haws at his home
in Ligonier. Two short weeks ago he'
went home to attend the wedding of
a sister, lie was in the junior pre-
paratory class, just beginning his college
course, and was a member of the Sigma Chi
fraternity, both of which bodies will pass
suitable resolutions. He was a pleasant com-
panion, a good student, and gave ever prom-
ise of being an honorable and respected citi-
zen." — Crawfordsville Argus.
Mr. Hays has supported the Republican
ticket ever since they placed their first presi-
dential candidate, General John C. Fremont,
in the field, and while he has never aspired
for political honors, his ability as a financier
caused his friends to place him in the office
of trustee of Perry township, and so effi-
ciently did he perform the duties devolving
upon him that he was retained in that posi-
tion for eight years, a glowing tribute to his
worth and the high esteem in which he was
held. The family are prominent in religious
circles and are members of the United Breth-
ren church, in which they are zealous work-
ers, and to which Mr. Hays has liberally
contributed to' the rebuilding of the church,
which will cost in the aggregate $8,000.
JOSEPH W. MARSHALL.
The art of architecture, although defined
in technological works as that of planning
and erecting edifices, has many collateral and
auxiliary branches on which its perfectness
and beauty depend, and chief among these
is the art of plastering. From the rudest
habitation to the sublimest palaces or cathed-
dral, the art in all ages, from the earliest
dawn of time until the present hour, has
varied in different parts of the world, and
from the bare and chinked seams in the walls
of the primitive log cabin of the early Amer-
ican forest to the magnificent capitol build-
ings of the teeming cities of civilized life,
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the adjunct of plaster lias wrought a change
magical in its effect upon the eye and upon
the comfort of those whose fate leads them
to the occupation of the rooms so desirably
finished. The interior decoration of edifices
of all kinds has been transformed into a fine
art, and in this the subject of this sketch is
an acknowledged expert.
Joseph \Y. Marshall was born near
Farmer, in Defiance county, Ohio, July 25,
1842, and lived in his native place until over
twenty-one years old, in the meantime serv-
ing some months at the trade of plasterer.
In August, 1863, he came to Noble county,
Ind., and finished learning the plasterer's
trade in Ligonier, after which he followed
the trade with varying success for several
years in Rome City, Wawaka and Ligonier.
In the meantime, however, Mr. Marshall
had so prospered that he thought it but prop-
er that he should share his fortunes with a
mate, and he married, in Elkhart township,
Noble county, November 20, 1864, Miss
Elizabeth C. Lower, a daughter of the late
Daniel and Abigail. (DeLong) Lower, a
sketch of whom is given in full on another
page. This lady was born in Noble county,
Ind., July 21, 1830. and made her home
under the parental roof until her marriage.
After he had been joined in wedlock,
Mr. Marshall and his young wife located in
Rome City, and for some few years followed
his vocation, and then removed to a farm in
Elkhart township and began the occupation
of agriculture, and this has ever since been
his calling, at which he has been even more
satisfactorily and profitably employed than
he had been at his original trade. From
Elkhart township. Noble county, Mr. Mar-
shall changed his residence in 'May, 1898, to
the line between Noble and Lagrange coun-
ties, and settled just north of the boundary
in Clear Springs township, Lagrange county.
Here he purchased an excellent farm of one
hundred acres, on which he has a handsome
dwelling and farm buildings of the most sub-
stantial construction, and since then has add-
ed one hundred and sixty-two acres. His
crops comprise all the various grains un-
usually cultivated in this latitude, together
with the usual grasses, vegetables, etc., and
the odor from disintegrating oxide of cal-
cium has been exchanged for pure oxygen
and exhilarating ozone.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Mar-
shall have been born nine children, the elder
two of whom, however. Ida J. and John D.,
died in infancy. The survivors were named,
in order of birth, as follows : Ervin A. ;
Cora E., who is the wife of William C.
Shultz ; Orson O. ; Murray E., teaching
school ; Greeley J. ; William W., and Clyde J.
Mr. Marshall is a Democrat in politics
and takes a great interest in public affairs,
and especially in the success of his party at
the polls and the election of good and com-
petent public officers who can be trusted to
carry out the principles upon which they are
elected. In religion lie and wife are Free
Will Baptists, and are among the most lib-
eral contributors in the township to the Jones
Chapel congregation, to which they belong,
and also work with a good will in promoting
the interests of the church in general.
The father of Joseph W. Marshall was
John Marshall, who was born in Guernsey
county. Ohio. March 10, 1S14, and who, Oc-
tober 2^,, 1840, married in Logan county,
Ohio, Miss Eliza Jane McGee, who was born
in Ireland but came to this country when she
was nine years old. Soon after marriage,
John Marshall and wife settled in Defiance
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
county, Ohio, near Farmer City, and there
Airs. Eliza Jane Marshall passed away, May
23, 1 85 1. the mother of four children, viz.:
Joseph Wi, Robert McGee, Thomas R. and
Martha J. The death of John Marshall took
place at Rome City, Ind., March 5, 1884.
Joseph W. Marshall and wife are classed
with the old settlers of Noble county, and
accordingly share in the respect paid to such
citizens by the rising' generation, while they
also number hosts of warm friends among
the elders, who, like themselves, can call to
mind many of the great changes in the
growth of the country within the past thirty-
five years, and in which they have been im-
portant factors. They are passing their de-
clining years in peace and comfort, with no
sorrowing recollections of the past.
GEORGE W. PIPER.
The gentleman whose name opens this
article has long occupied an eminent and
enviable standing in the county where he has
so long made his home. He has filled with
marked credit public affairs of trust, and
now possesses to an unusually lage degree
the confidence and respect of the people with
whom he has so long been associated. This
standing has not been acquired by him lie-
cause of the influence of wealth or original
social position or the aid of influential
friends, hut has .been honestly earned and
richly merited by his own inherent worth,
by the possession of those traits of character
which have always formed expression in a
life devoted to tin- welfare of his own home
circle, and to the progress and advancement
of the community with which he has been
so closelv connected.
George W. Piper is a native of the Buck-
eye state, having been born on the 19th of
December. 1828, in Clark county, Ohio. His
parents were John R. and Jane (Prickett)
Piper, the former a native of Virginia, and
the latter of Ohio. John R. Piper, when yet a
child, was taken by his parents to Ohio, and
by his marriage with Jane Prickett became
the father of six children, as follows: Ra-
chael K. and William, both deceased;
George, the subject; John J. is now a resi-
dent of Washington; and David and Cath-.
erine are both deceased.
George \Y. Piper's early educational ad-
vantages were somewhat limited. He at-
tended the public schools of his native state
until about the age of twelve years, at which
time he accompanied his mother upon her
removed to Indiana, settling in Washington
township. Noble county. From that time
until he was thirty years old he remained
with his mother, faithfully looking after her
interests. About this time he hired out for a
time, but in 1851, because of the death of his
brother, he returned home and again took up
the operation of the old farm. He continued
at this occupation here until about 1868,
when he moved onto the place of his present
residence. He became the owner of five
hundred and fifty acres of fine agricultural
property, but sold a good deal of this to his
children, his present real estate consisting of
three hundred and eighteen acres. This
was all accumulated by his own unremitting
toil and indefatigable efforts, and he took a
just pride in the results of his earlier labors.
On the 24th of October, 1858. the mar-
riage of George W. Piper took place, Miss
Samantha Shelpman being the lady of his
choice. She was born July 21, 1839, near
Marysville, Ohio, a daughter of William
^JXrtsfrj 2bl-JS^Lso^
c/iCvd Q/^rtyzt ffl uy^i.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, ENDIANA.
241
Shelpman, later of York township. Noble
county, I ml. The latter was the father of
four children — Saniantha, Emily J., Ada-
line and Hannah. ( leorge W. and Saniantha
(Shelpman) Piper became the parents of
eight children, brief mention of whom is as
follows : John J. was horn January 29, i860,
married Mary Buffenbarger, and they have
three children, Goldie M., Marie and.Zelta;
Charles E., horn October 3, 1862, married
Viola A. Brenniuger, and to this union were
also born three children. Rap, Chester ( de-
ceased ) and Jennie; William H., horn Janu-
ary 21, 1865, married Cora Falil, and they
became the parents of five children. Bennie
C, Esther, Carroll. Laura and Clarence;
Elma J., horn July 22, 1807, died September
i, 1889: Addie. horn July 22, 1870, became
the wife of H. I). Miller, and they have one
child. George A., and she is a professional
dressmaker and he is principal of the high
school at Topeka. Kans. ; Phineas, born Jan-
uary 26. 1873, married Ocia O. Smith, and
the}- have one child. Smith; Dora was horn
April 15, 1876; and Xettie D. was horn
October 28. 1882.
Miss Dora completed the common-schi » >1
course in the class of 1893 anc ' received her
diploma. She is her mother's main stay in
the home circle. Miss Xettie has musical
attainments, both vocal and instrumental.
She is now learning the profession of mo-
diste.
Here is appended the obituary of the
daughter, Elma, who died September 1,
1890: "On Sunday, September 1, at the
home of her parents, George and Saniantha
Piper, occurred the death of- their daughter,
Elma J.; her age was twenty-two years, one
month and eleven days. She had experi-
enced a protracted illness of seven months.
during which time she suffered extremely,
though amidst it all she manifested a courage
and though of character which continued to
the last and contributed a beauty even to the,
dying hour. When she perceived that she
must die she called to her bedside the mem-
bers of the family and disposed of the few
articles of worldly effects, consisting of little
gifts, upon this one and that as tokens of
remembrance; and. at her request, being ten-
derly adjusted upon the pillows, she bade an
adieu and triumphantly died in the hope of
life beyond. A beautiful life was followed by
a beautiful death. For a number of years she
had been a Sunday-school teacher and or-
ganist at Ormas, and was one who could be
relied upon as a helper in every good cause,
everywhere displaying the same grand forti-
tude and nobleness of character. The fu-
neral, which was held at the residence, was
largely attended by the friends her life had
won for her. the number of people in attend-
ance being estimated at six hundred. The
sermon was preached by Rev. H. Xicker-
son, pastor of the Methodist church at Wolf
Lake. Though dead, she yet lives in the
hearts of all who knew her. She had se-
cured her teacher's certificate to teach in No-
ble county, but her illness deprived her of
entering upon the profession as teacher."
William Shelpman was a native of Ohio,
and was an agriculturist. He was a devout
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and was a benevolent man, and died in 1856.
aged thirty-nine years. Mother Shelpman
was also a native of Ohio, and she died at
the age of twenty-eight. There were four
daughters — Saniantha; Emily J., deceased;
Adaline. wife of E. T. Rector, residing in
Indianapolis, who is a carpenter and joiner
by trade and was a soldier in the Civil war
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
for three years. The}- are adherents of the
.Methodist Episcopal church. Adaline was
previously married to J. H. Brown, now de-
ceased, and three children were born — Aimer
W., Minnie E. and Frank H. The next
daughter is Hannah, wife of Henry Ste-
phenson, a resident of Lincoln, Neb., and he
is an agriculturist. They have live children.
Mr. Piper lias followed agricultural pur-
suits all his life, though not exclusively. He
has also paid considerable attention to the
breeding and raising of sheep and cattle, the
latter stock being his specialty at the present
time. That be has made a success of his
calling is abundantly evinced by the well-
kept appearance of his farm and the abund-
ant harvests he gathers.
Politically Mr. Piper has been a stanch
and active worker in the ranks of the Repub-
lican party ever since its organization, and
has been honored by his fellow citizens with
several offices of honor and trust. He was
elected a trustee of Washington township,
and that his service was efficient and thor-
oughly satisfactory to his constituents is at-
tested by the fact that for nine consecutive
years he was retained in that office. He
was also elected a member of the board of
county commissioners, serving in that ca-
pacity at the time the present court-house
was being erected. It was at a time when
there was especial call for watchfulness and
attention to the interests of the people of the
county, and Mr. Piper acquited himself of
his onerous duties in a manner that earned
him the commendation of all, irrespective of
party.
Religiously the family are all active and
consistent members of the Free Baptist
church at Cold Springs, Whitley county.
Iinl. Socially the members of this family are
accounted worthy members of the best peo-
ple in their community, and by their courte-
ous manners, genial dispositions and careful
regard for the ethics of life have endeared
themselves to a wide circle of friends.
JOHN A. HARKLESS.
For a number of years the subject of this
sketch has been identified with the business
interest of Albion, and is well entitled to
representation in the biographical compen-
dium of Noble county. Paternally he comes
from good old French Huguenot stock, his
great-grandfather having been driven from
France in an early day by reason of religious
persecution. This ancestor first fled from
his native land to Saxony, Germany; and
later, while going on a visit to a relative, he
was picked up by a British- vessel and pressed
into the naval service. By this means he
reached America, where he escaped from the
vessel, and soon afterward espoused the
patriotic cause in the war of the Revolution.
He served with distinction throughout that
struggle, participating in a number of the
most noted battles, among which was the
storming of Stony Point by "Mad Anthony"
Wayne. The subject's maternal ancestors
were of English and German people ; his
grandfather, John Bradley, having been a
native of the United States, while the wife
came from near the River Rhine. William
Harkless, father of John A., was born in
Ohio, and the mother, whose maiden name
was Barbara Bradley, was a native of Penn-
sylvania. These parents married in Adams
county, Ind., and there began housekeeping
on a farm, devoting their lives to agricultural
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
243
pursuits. In the spring' of 1869 they moved
to York township. Noble county, and after
a five-years' residence migrated to Iowa, set-
tling' in the county of Marion, that state.
After spending three years there they re-
turned to Noble county, where they spent the
remainder of their days, the mother dying in
1882 and the father two years later. William
and Barbara Harkless reared a family of
seven children, namely: David J.. Mary J.,
Emmeline, Louisa E., John A., Sheldon and
Joseph M. Of the above only three are liv-
ing: Sheldon, of Syracuse, Ind. ; Joseph M.,
a photographer of Chicago; and John A., the
subject of this review.
John A. Harkless was born in Adams
county, Ind., January 1, 1858, and spent his
youthful years upon his father's farm. Dur-
ing his minority he attended the winter ses-
sions of the district schools of Adams and
Noble counties. Ind.. and Marion county. la.,
making substantial progress in his various
studies. He accompanied his parents in their
several moves and assisted his father until
twenty years of age. when he came to Al-
bion. On coming to this city he entered a
photograph gallery with the object of learn-
ing the business and in time became a skillful
operator. Possessed of natural artistic tastes,
it was not long until he became proficient in
every line of the work, and his services be-
came very valuable to the proprietor of
the gallery. It was not long before
he made a proposition to purchase
the establishment, which, being accept-
ed, he soon found himself at the head
of a very flourishing and remunerative busi-
ness. Mr. Harkless has greatly enlarged his
gallery and supplied it with all the latest
modern devices for high-grade work in all
lines of the photographic art. His familiar-
ity with every detail of the business, his skill
as an operator and artistic touch as a finisher,
have brought him prominently to the notice
of the public with the result of a large and
lucrative patronage. The work from this
gallery is strictly up to the highest standard
of modern photography, and Mr. Harkless
depends upon his work in even- artistic line,
such as Crayon. India-Ink. Pastel, Water
Colors, etc., as the best means of advertising.
Nothing inferior is permitted to pass into the
hands of patrons. Additional to his gallery
Mr. Harkless is also interested to a consider-
able extent in merchandising, owning the
Racket Store, which, under his management,
is doing a very large and successful trade.
In looking after both enterprises he is kept
very busy, but the results fully justify the
time and energy devoted to his undertak-
ings. Mr. Harkless has an eye to business
and knows how to take advantage of oppor-
tunities. Since coming to Albion his finan-
cial success has been most encouraging, and
to-day he is the possessor of a handsome
competence, accumulated entirely through
his own agency. He is one of the progress-
ive men of the town, takes a lively interest
in its commercial and industrial advance-
ment and stands well with all classes of peo-
ple. With few advantages in youth worth
mentioning-, he has overcome a rather dis-
couraging environment, surmounted a num-
ber of formidable obstacles in the way of his
success, and his life forcibly illustrates what
a young man of energy and determination
of purpose can accomplish. Mr. Harkless
has been twice married, the first time to Miss
Mary J. Johnson, and later, on the 30th day
of November, 1899, he was united in the
bonds of wedlock to Miss Myrtle Y. Simp-
son, of Albion. In his' political views Mr.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Harkless is an earnest supporter of the Pro-
hibition party, believing the ballot to be the
only correct solution of the whiskey prob-
lem. He is strictly a temperate man, and
uses all the ability in his power to counteract
the great curse the saloons maintain
throughout the country.
HON. JOSEPH S. CONLOGUE.
Few men in Noble county occupy as
prominent a position in political and busi-
ness circles as the well-known gentleman
whose brief biography is herewith presented.
The record of a busy and successful life
must ever prove of interest and profit to
the student who would learn the intrinsic
essence of individuality. Such has been the
life of Hon. Joseph S. Conlogue, whose in-
fluence on the political history of Noble
county has been marked and salutary and
whn, through the medium of the journals
of which he is editor, has to a large degree
been a factor in molding public opinion.
Mr. Conlogue is one of the oldest native
sons of Kendallville, having been born in this
city on the 19th day of June, 1843. His
father, Samuel B. Conlogue, was born in
Steuben county, N. Y., June 16, 1809, and
his mother, Mary A. ( Cilley ) Conlogue,
was a native of Livingston county, same
state, and was born on the 6th clay of May,
1814. After marriage Samuel B. Conlogue
moved to Monroe county, Michigan, and
engaged in the lumber business, which he
carried on successfully until changing his
residence in 1S41 to Noble count}-. Ind.
For a few years after locating in Ken-
dallville Mr. Conlogue followed carpenter
work and later purchased a farm in Allen
township and turned his attention to agri-
cultural pursuits. In connection with tilling
the soil he also worked to some extent at
carpentering and spent the remainder of his
days on his place near the Village of Lisbon.
He assisted in building the first houses in
Kendallville, two private dwellings, one be-
longing to Hon. William Mitchell, and the
other to Mrs. Fanny Bearss, in addition to
which he also erected a number of other
residences and other public buildings. He
was a skillful mechanic and a successful agri-
culturist,and as a citizen stood well in the
community where he lived. Two children
were born to Samuel B. and Mary A. Con-
logue — William F. and Joseph S.
Joseph S. Conlogue was a lad of four
years when his parents moved to the coun-
try, from which time until young manhood
he lived on the farm. As soon as old
enough he became his father's assistant, and'
as such did valuable service in all the work
required to make agriculture a successful vo-
vation. During the winter seasons he at-
tended the district schools, and such was
his progress that at the early age of sixteen
he was sufficiently advanced in his studies to
obtain a teacher's license. He taught dur-
ing sixteen winters in different parts of
Noble county, meanwhile devoting the other
seasons of the year to farm work.
He was thus engaged until 1880, when
he opened an insurance office in Kendall-
ville. For a period of two years Mr. Con-
logue carried on a fairly successful business
in the line of general insurance and then, in
partnership with Dr. J. H. Rerick, pur-
chased a half interest in the Kendallville
Standard, continuing its weekly visits for a
period of five years, during which time the
r cun/zj^*
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
245
paper was greatly improved in its mechan-
ical makeup and in the quality of its read-
ing matter. The circulation also largely in-
creased and a liberal advertising patronage
was secured. At the end of five years Dr.
Rerick disposed of his interest in the plant
td his son, John D. Rerick, and the firm as
■changed continued until 1892, when W. S.
( )sborne purchased an interest in the concern
and became Mr. Conlogue's associate.
While the younger Rerick was connected
with the paper the Daily Sun was estab-
lished, the first number of which made its
appearance February 22, 1890. It lias been
issued regularly ever since and is constantly
growing in public favor, the circulation in
Kendallville alone being in excess of six
hundred bona fide subscribers. The Standard
is a well printed, ably edited. Republican
paper, devoted to politics, home and foreign
news, education, choice literature, humor,
progress and improvement. .Mr. Conlogue,
who has proved himself to be one of the
ablest newspaper men in northeastern Indi-
ana. The Standard is highly prized as a
political organ and a clean dignified family
paper. The office is well equipped for all
kinds of work in the printing line and with
a weekly circulation of over thirteen hun-
dred. The Standard has proven a financial-
ly successful enterprise. Mr. Conlogue is
one of the Republican standard bearers in
Noble county, but he conducts his paper in
such a way as to win the esteem of his po-
litical Opponents. He has rendered incal-
culable service to bis party, in recognition
of which he was nominated and elected in
the fall of 1900 to the upper house of In-
diana legislature. Thus far his senatorial
experience has fully met the expectations of
his constituents, and he ranks with the ablest
members of the body to which he belongs.
He has been instrumental in promoting
some important legislation, takes an active
part in all the deliberations of the senate and
is recognized as an exceedingly able com-
mittee worker. His course has justified the
people's confidence in him and his ability to
discharge worthily important trusts has
never been questioned by his friends or po-
litical adversaries.
In 1883 Mr. Conlogue and Dr. A. S.
Parker assisted in organizing the Eastern
Indiana Agricultural Society, of which Air.
Conlogue acted as secretary for fourteen
years and then resigned: in December, 1901,
he was re-elected, and has done much to-
ward making this one of the most success-
ful institutions of the kind in the state.
Mr. Conlogue has served eight years as
secretary of the Kendallville school board
and one year as president, and spares no
pains in looking after the educational inter-
ests of the city. He is also president of
the Xoble County Building & Loan Asso-
ciation, the success of which is largely due
to his efforts. As a member of the common
council, he has stood for municipal reform,
besides being the means of promoting a
number of important improvements conduc-
ive to the public good and adding greatly
to the development and beauty of the city.
In July. 1898, he was appointed stamji
agent and inspector of the United States in-
ternal revenue office at Indianapolis, Ind.,
for the imprinting of revenue stamps. In
all the positions with which he has been hon-
ored he has discharged his duties in a
straightforward, honorable manner, show-
ing himself to be a man of sagacity and dis-
creetness of judgment, of scrupulous in-
tegrity and gentlemanly demeanor.
246
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
In addition to his career as a politician,
editor, legislator and man of business, Mr.
Conlogue has a military record, having
served as a soldier in the late Civil war.
In the fall of 1864 he joined Company D,
One Hundred Forty-second Indiana In-
fantry, and shortly after entering the service
was commissioned first lieutenant.
Air. Conlogue was married in Jefferson
township. Noble county. March 19, 1868, to
Miss Julia Strouss, daughter of the late
Jonas and Anna (Macartney) Strouss, of
Swan township. Mrs. Conlogue' s parents
were natives of Pennsylvania, but came to
Noble county as early as 1836 and settled in
Swan township on government land, which
Mr. Strouss purchased at one dollar and a
quarter an acre. , They were among the
earliest pioneers of Indiana and both lived
to lie quite old, the father dying in Swan
township October 12, 1900. at the remark-
able age of one hundred years and
three days. In all probability he was the
oldest man that ever lived in the county.
His wife, whose death occurred at Axilla,
also reached a ripe old age.
.Mr-. Conlogue was born on the old
homestead in Swan township May 18, 1846,
and has spent the greater part of her life
near the place of her nativity. She has
borne her husband two daughters — Harriet
Virginia and Zella Ruth — the former em-
ployed in the office of the Standard as book-
keeper and proofreader, and the latter one
of Kendallville's most popular and success-
ful teacher's. Both are remarkably bright
and well educated ladies, no pains having
been spared to afford them the best intel-
lectual discipline obtainable. Harriet V.
was graduated from the Kendallville high
school and then took a musical and business
course at the Oberlin, Ohio, University.
Zella R. completed the public school c< urse
and later entered De Pauw University, from
which she was graduated with an honorable
record.
Mr. Conlogue has always had the wel-
fare of his community at heart, and as a
public spirited and progressive citizen lends,
an active support and co-operation to every
enterprise for the general good. He has
upheld worthily an honored ancestral name,
has been faithful in office, loyal in friend-
ship and devotion to his family. He pos-
sesses broad humanitarian principles and
is essentially a man of the people. As an
editor he ranks with the ablest of his con-
temporaries and as a citizen no man in Ken-
dallville or Noble county stands higher in
the confidence or esteem of the people.
GEORGE W. HEFFNER. .
The subject of this brief biographical
mention, George W. Heffner. is an agricul-
turist of Sparta township, Noble county.
Ind., who by strict attention to his honor-
able calling has made for himself an envi-
able reputation as a successful farmer and
an honest and energetic business man. Fie
is a native of the Hoosier state, having been
born in Clinton township, Elkhart county,
on the 30th day of August, 1846. His par-
ents were Frederick and Mary (Miller)
Heffner. the former born in Germantown,.
Miami county, Ohio, in 181 1, and the latter
a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1825. They
were united in marriage in Clinton town-
ship, Elkhart county, Ind., about 1844, and
lived there about eight years. They then
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOELE COUNTY, INDIANA.
247
moved to Perry township, Noble county,
and remained there about six years. About
1858 they came to Sparta township, this
county, and settled on the farm where Mr.
Heffner now lives. Here they both passed
away, he on the 15th of September, 1884,
and she on the 2d»f February, 1899.
George W. Heffner attended the public
schools of Noble county, Ind., until he was
twenty years old. He then worked by the
day for a year of two until his marriage.
After that happy event lie was employed in
a brickyard for about a year, and then took
up the pursuit of agriculture, commencing
the cultivation of the tract which he now
owns and occupies and which comprises
seventy-five acres of fertile and well-tilled
land.
George W. Heffner was united in mar-
riage on the 5th day of July. 1868, at which
time Miss Eliza Sparrow became his wife.
She is the daughter of Richard and Cath-
erine (Kelley) Sparrow, the former a na-
tive of Maryland and the latter of Ken-
tucky. Richard Sparrow died in Sparta
township. Noble county. Ind., in 1880, his
wife dying January 8. 1891. The union
of George W. Heffner and his wife has been
blessed with the birth of ten children, a
brief record of whom is as follows: Ros-
ella, born February 16, 1869, and died Oc-
tober 12. 1869; Mary C. born September
26, 1870. married Frank Growcock, and be-
came the mother of three children. Louisa
C, Otto, who died August 11, 1893, and
Dessa B. ; Cornelius M. was born November
12, 1872, and died July 21. 1886; Neva J.,
born July 11, 1875, became the wife of Ed
Crockett, and has one child, Beulah ; Delta,
born February f>, 1878. married Thomas
Baughman ; a daughter died in infancy;
Calvin F., born October 23, 1883; Chester
II., horn June 5. [885 ; Richard I\. born
November 5, 1887, and Ethel B., born
.March 24, 1892.
Politically Mr. Heffner is an active and
uncompromising- Republican, firmly believ-
ing that the principles and policies advo-
cated in the platform of that party to be
those most conducive to the welfare of this
country. He is a public-spirited and pro-
gressive citizen, deeply interested in the wel-
fare of the people of his community and in
all that contributes to its educational, moral
and material advancement. His business
efforts have been crowned with a large
measure of success, rightly merited, and he
possesses the esteem and regard of a large
circle of acquaintances.
FRED B. MOORE.
Fred B. Moore, civil engineer and county
surveyor of Noble county, Ind., was born in
Orange township, this county, October 6,
18(17. a son or William H. and Jeannette
(Hitchcock) Moore, both natives of Noble
county, and born in Elkhart and Orange
townships, respectively. The father passed
his early manhood as an agriculturist, hut
has now retired from the activities of that
somewhat laborious life and is living in com-
fortable ease with the helpmate of his earlier
days in Rome City. These parents have bad
horn to them a family of live children, all
still living, save one, Grace, who died in
childhood. The survivors are: Fred B.,
Delta W., of Indianapolis: Frank 11.. on the
parental farm in Orange township, who mar-
ried Minnie Pointer, who has borne him one
J 4 8
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
child; Edward C, who married Nora Miller
and lives on the home farm.
Mr. Moore was reared on the old home-
stead and received a sound education in the
district school, and followed this attendance
by teaching school for eight years, but dur-
ing this interval still continued his identifica-
tion with the schools as a student." He took
a special course in civil engineering at the
Michigan Agricultural College, at Lansing,
and in [892-93 was employed on the en-
gineering corps of the Lake Shore & Michi-
gan Southern Railroad. In 1892 he was the
candidate of the Republican party for the
office of county surveyor of Noble county,
hut with the rest of the ticket met with de-
feat. In 1894 he was nominated for the
same office, and in the ensuing election the
ticket proved to he successful at the polls,
and when inducted into office he performed
hi'- duties in so satisfactory a manner that
he was elected his own successor in 1896.
iSi),X and [890, and is now serving his sev-
Frecl Ik Moore was most happily mar-
ried, November 25, 1894. to Miss Fanny Ik
Miller, who was born in Ligonier, Noble
county, lnd.. and is a daughter of David T.
and Mary Miller, of Lagrange county. To
this union ore child has keen horn, Glenn Ik.
whose nativity occurred October 7, 1895.
Mrs. Moore is a graduate of the common
schools of her childhood home and of the
Grand Rapids (Mich.) high school, and is a
lady of refinement and quite amornament to
society. Mr. Moore is a member of Rome
City Lodge, No. 450. F. & A. M. ; Kendalk
ville Chapter, No. '4. R. A. M. ; Ligonier
Council ; also a member of Albion Lodge, K.
of P. Roth .Mr. and Mrs. Moore are pious
members of the Methodist Episcopal church
and are by no means niggardly in their con-
tributions toward its support. The Moores
descend from Irish ancestry and the Flitch-
cocks are of English extraction, the latter
family having - been identified with the Colon-
ial and Revolutionary periods of American
ROBERT P. BARR.
( )ne of the leading attorneys of the state
of Indiana and the present city attorney of
Kendallville, Noble county. Ind.. is Robert
P. Parr, a brief sketch of whose rise and
pn gress is well worthy a place in this vol-
ume of Noble county's prominent and rep-
resentative men. The Old Dominion, of
which West Virginia was formerly a part,
has heen made famous in history by a long
list ( f representative sons, and Robert P.
Barr ably sustains the high reputation they
enjoy wherever their lot may lie cast. Born
in Wood county, W. Ya.. June 8, 1852. he
there spent his youthful days until reaching
his thirteenth year, about which time his
parents made preparation to move to Indi-
ana. April 14, 1865. the family arrived in
Noble county and settled on a farm two and
a half miles east of Axilla, in Allen town-
ship. Flere Robert P. grew to manhood.
receiving such education as the common
schools of the country districts afforded at
that time, and afterward entering the high
school at Kendallville, making excellent use
of the opportunities afforded him. In 1874
he entered the law office of Augustus A.
Chapin, of Kendallville, and applied himself
to the study of iaw under that gentleman's
tutorship for two years, gaining an excellent
preliminarv knowledge of the profession and
H^i^ yZ f^ClAAj
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
249
materially assisted by him in matriculating
in the law department of the University of
Michigan, from which he graduated in
March, 1878.
He returned to Kendall ville and began
the practice of law. meeting with suctess,
and mi March 7, 1881, funned a partnership
with his old tutor. Augustus A. Cliapin,
which continued until 1886, since which
date Mr. Barr has pursued his profession
alone. Mr. Barr has ever held a high po-
sition in the estimation of his fellow towns-
men, and in the spring of 1879 was elected
mayor of the city, and twice re-elected. In
1 892 he was a delegate to the Republican
national convention held at Minneapolis,
Minn., which body chose the late Hon.
Benjamin Harrison as its standard hearer,
a worthy compliment to so worthy a son of
Indiana. Mr. Barr has also served his city
as its legal adviser, having occupied the po- j
sition of city attorney for sixteen rears — a I
position he still retains. While taking an
active part in the political affairs of his
county and state, it has not been to the
prejudice of his professional duties and ex-
tensive practice. He has repeatedly served
as a delegate to the state conventions of the
Republican party, and sagacity and ability
are not unknown quantities in the political
problems there to he solved.
As an attorney he stands well to the
front among Indiana's many able members
of the profession, and in conducting a case —
whether in the lower court or before the
United States circuit for the state of In-
diana — the same receives that careful pre-
sentation. Forcible, clear and comprehen-
sive, he has the power to command the earn-
est consideration of the court and impress !
the jury with the tacts and their logical
application to the case in question and in
harmony with the requirements of law.
Mr. Barr was married in Kendallville,
in 1879, to Eva B. Kingsley, a daughter of
the late Lorin and Hannah Kingsley. Mrs.
Barr is a native of Lagrange county. Ind.
To Mr. Barr's union with Miss Kingsley
two children have been born — Ralph K.,
now a student in the law department of the
University of Michigan; and Robert L., a
sophomore in the literary department of the
same institution. The father of Robert P.
Barr was Isaac A. Barr, who was born in
Jefferson county, Ohio, a farmer %y occupa-
tion. His mother was Martha A. Henry,
also a native of Jefferson county. Ohio.
The father retired from active life some
years prior to his death, which occurred at
his home in Avilla. The mother of Robert
P. is still living. They were the parents of
three children: John IT, the eldest is a
prosperous farmer in Lagrange county:
Robert P. is the subject of this sketch: and
Mary E. is the wife of \\". D. Carver, who
was a soldier in the Civil war. a member of
the Thirtieth Indiana Volunteers, who died
at Avilla.
WILLIAM H. SINC.REY.
William II. Singrey. an enterprising
agriculturist of Noble county. Ind.. was born
in Richland county. Ohio, October 15, 1850,
and is the son of the late Jacob and Sarah
(Cocklev) Singrey, and a grandson of
Thomas Singrey. The grandfather was a
southern gentleman, having heen horn in
Baltimore county, Md., March 12, 1801. He
moved to Noble count}'. Ind.. in the early
'sixties, and will he remembered lw the older
250
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY,' INDIANA.
residents of this community as a man of
strict integrity and courtly bearing, whose
home was the abode of hospitality and whose
chivalric nature ever prompted him to deeds
alike gentle and brave. He continued to re-
side in Jefferson township until his death,
which occurred in the ripeness of age in the
year 1886.
Jacob Singrey was born in Richland
county, Ohio, and there grew to an honor-
able manhood. He was there joined in mar-
riage to Miss Sarah Cockley, who was a
native of Lancaster county, Penn., and re-
sided in his native state until the spring of
[854, when, with his wife and three little
children, Alverda, William H. and John P.,
he moved to Noble county, Ind., and settled
on section 29, Jefferson township. At that
time it was only woods, but he cleared it all
himself and built it up. Here the)- remained
during the remainder of their lives, and here
the two younger children, Sarah' P. and
Thomas, were horn. The eldest daughter,
Alverda, became the wife of William A. Ax-
tell, of this vicinity; and after her death,
which occurred October 30, 1882. he mar-
ried the second daughter. Sarah, who died
in January, 1890. Thomas, the youngest
son, died in Logansport, Ind., in February,
1806, Jacob Singrey passed to his reward
on December 21, 1891, and his wife joined
him March 30, 1899.
William H. Singrey was a child of four
years when he accompanied his parents to
their new home in Indiana, and it was in
this state that he received his education and
reached mail's estate. His father owned a
tine farm of two hundred and thirty-four
acres which was well improved, and where
young Singrey was thoroughly drilled in all
departments of agriculture; and so congenial
did he find the employment that he has since
continued in that occupation, residing on the
old homestead, and is prosperous.
Mr. Singrey was married in Albion, Ind.,
November jit. 1888. to Miss Harriet Dil-
lon, who has been a worthy helpmate. An
interesting family of two children, Blanche
and Helen, have blessed their home and
made glad their hearts. Mrs. Singrey was
born November 25, 1861, in Allen county,
this state, and is the eldest of five children
born to J. Q. A. and Louisa (Baker) Dil-
lon. Her father was a native of Maryland.
and her mother of Ohio. Their home was
in Allen county until 1867, when they locat-
ed in Jefferson township. Noble county,
where the father died at the age of fifty-six
years. Jacob Singrey died December 11,
1894. and Jacques Dillon died when fifty-
one vears old-
JAMES ELMER BAKER.
Among the younger representatives of
the industrial business interests of Kendall-
ville, few have attained a more distin-
guished position than James Elmer Baker,
the popular and efficient treasurer of the J.
R. Baker & Sons' Company. He is a son of
James R. Baker, whose sketch appears else-
where, and was born in the city of Ken-
dallville, January 16, 1868. Provided with
the best educational privileges his native
place afforded he made the most of his op-
portunities, completing the public-school
course. He then entered upon a course of
practical training in the manufacturing es-
tablishment founded and operated by his
father, and it was not long until he became
a useful assistant in various capacities.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
James E. Baker grew to manhood in
Kendallville, and his life and the history of
the city since 1868 have heen very closely
interwoven. Entering Ins father's factory
when young, he familiarized himself with
every detail tit" the .business and in time was
promoted t < > treasurer; the duties of this re-
sponsible position he still continues to dis-
charge. His business training has been long
and thorough, and bis knowledge of every
department of the enterprise with which he
is connected has been a splendid preparation
for the position he holds as custodian of its
finances. He is a skillful accountant; ami
his thorough acquaintance with the business
methods, both in the line of his own activ-
ity and industrial and commercial transac-
tions in general, makes him one of the most
valuable members of the firm. Mr. Baker
is a gentleman of courteous demeanor, and
thus far in life his career has been one of
signal usefulness. He bears an unsullied
reputation in the business circles of his city
and state, and his integrity and honesty have
gained him the unqualified regard of all
with whom he has come in contact. Entire-
ly free from ostentation, he is kindl;
genial in his social relations and h;
friendship of his fellow-c
and honor him for his
worth.
Mr. Baker was married at Danville.
Ind.. November 10, 1896, to Miss Eva
Dooley, a native of Waveland, this state,
and a daughter of John W. and Elizabeth
(Hall) Doolev. He has a beautiful, well-
appointed, home in Kendallville, and with
his excellent wife moves in the best society
of the city. They have one child. John R.
He belongs to two fraternal organization-.
and
ions and has the
tizens. who esteem
genuine personal
Kendallville Lodge, No. 316, I. O. O. F...
and the Knights of the Maccabees.
Thus briefly have been set forth the lead-
ing facts in the life of one of Noble county's
most progressive young men, together with
some of his leading traits and characteristics.
He occupies a conspicuous place among' the
enterprising men of bis city, and is destined
to act a still more prominent part in its
future history.
DATES H. DRAKE.
Sepulture the world over has in all ages
marked the veneration in which man has
held the memory of his ancestors ami to
cherish which he has erected many costly
monuments, even prior to the age of the
wonderful pyramids of Egypt, and embalm-
ents and cerements used to preserve as long
as possible the mortal parts from decay ab-
solute. Embalming, although never alto-
gether a lost art, was not practiced very ex-
tensively for man)- centuries for various,
reasons, but within the last fifty years, or
since the introduction of metallic burial
cases, it has been revived and brought into
almost universal use — and preparation for
the grave is one of the arts used by the sub-
ject of this sketch in his multifarious busi-
ness.
Datus H. Drake was born in Monroe-
ville. Huron county, Ohio, June 6. 1854,
was there reared and educated, and there
made his home until December, [884, when
he went to St. Joe. Mo., where he was em-
ployed by a large furniture concern until
September, 1889. At the last named date.
2 5 2
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
;. sort of turning point in his existence, cul-
minating- in his present prosperous lines of
business, Mr. Drake came to Kendallville,
Incl., purchased the furniture store which,
up tn that time, had heen conducted by
George S. Merklin, to which, the following
June, he added undertaking or funeral
directing, and now stands at the head of the
furniture men and undertakers in northern
Indiana.
Mr. Drake was married in Monroeville,
Ohio, October 10, 1878, to Miss Laura J.
Fish, a native of that city, and whose
mother, formerly Miss Harriet Sherman,
was an own cousin of the famous statesman,
John Sherman, now deceased. The father
of Mrs. Drake was Sidney D. Fish, one of
the most prominent citizens of Monroeville.
To Mr. and Mrs. Drake have been born four
children, viz: Harry S„ William D.. Flor-
ence E. and Sherman G.
Francis H. Drake, the father of Datus
H. Drake, was born in Pennsylvania, near
Wilkesbarre, November 2, 181 5. and mar-
ried Eliza Ann Hubbell, a native of Ver-
mont, born in 1820. The latter was the first
white child that ever was taken to live in
Ridgefield township, Huron county, Ohio,
and was but five years of age when her par-
ents settled in that wilderness, for such it
was at that time. There this young girl was
reared to womanhood amid the rude, yet
pleasant, scenes of the backwoods; but she
imbibed all the romance that life in the wil-
derness and its poetical influences could be-
stow, and at maturity was an intelligent and
accomplished lady, blessed with the robust
health derived from early days passed in a
pure atmosphere; and in Huron county her
marriage took place. The marriage of Fran-
cis II. and Eliza Ann Drake was crowned
by the birth of 'six children, of whom three
died in infancy. The three survivors are
George F. ; Zitilla C, who is the wife of
Heman Thomas, of Granville, Ohio; and
Datus H.. the subject of this sketch.
Francis H. Drake was first a shipbuilder,
which business he merged into carpentering
and building, but since June, i860, he has
been engaged in the furniture and under-
taking business in Monroeville, Ohio, where
his son, George F., is in partnership with
him, and the firm name stands as F. H.
Drake & Son.
Datus H. Drake, who in politics is a Re-
publican, has been treasurer of the school
board of Kendallville since 1892. He is a
friend of all public improvements and freely
aids any and every thing that is proposed
for the good of the public. Fraternally he
is a member of Kendallville Lodge, F. &
A. M.. and of Kendallville Chapter, No. 64,
R. A. M., and also of Kendallville Lodge.
No. 109, K. of P.. and he and family enjoy
the esteem of a very large social acquaint-
ance with truly sincere friends.
HENRY I. PARK.
This gentleman, the secretary and treas-
urer of the Flint & Walling Manufacturing
Company, is well entitled to distinction as
one of the progressive and enterprising busi-
ness men of northern Indiana, and for some
years has been officially connected with this,
one if the largest and most important man-
ufacturing establishments in the state, lo-
cated at Kendallville. Upon the industrial
activitv of a community or city depends in
a large measure the prosperity of the people.
CCly^
YU
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
and the men recognized as leading citizens
and directors of progress are those who have
in hand the management and control of large
business enterprises.
A native of Indiana, Henry I. Park was
horn August 24, 1845, m tne town of Au-
burn, Dekalb count}-, of which his father,
the late Wesley Park, was one of the found-
ers, and his early years were spent amid the
familiar scenes of his birth. Like the ma-
jority of boys in a country town his youth
was comparatively uneventful, and at inter-
vals during his minority he attended the
public schools, where was laid the founda-
tion of the success which later marked his
business career.
On the breaking out of the great Re-
bellion Mr. Park, with true patriotic fervor,
responded to the government's call for vol-
unteers by enlisting in Company H. Thir-
tieth Indiana Infantry, with which he served
about one year, being compelled to sever his
connection with the army at the expiration
of that time by reason of a disability, which
unfitted him for the rugged duties of a sol-
dier. Returning to Auburn after receiving
his discharge, he became associated with his
brother, Amos B. Park, as suttler of the
Forty-fourth Indiana Volunteers, and, as
such, accompanied the regiment throughout
its varied experiences, until mustered out
in 1865. In that year he came to Kendall-
ville and engaged in the hardware business
with the brother above mentioned, and the
firm thus constituted continued until the
spring of 1872. Shortly after disposing of
his commercial interest Mr. Park became
connected with the manufacturing firm of
Flint & Walling, and upon the incorporation
of the company some time later he was chos-
en secretary and treasurer, the duties of
which dual position he has since discharged
in an eminently able and satisfactory man-
ner. To narrate in detail Mr. Park's long
and busy career in the high and responsible
1 ffice with which he has been honored, or to
put in cold dead type the many duties which
he lias so faithfully and worthily discharged,
would far transcend the limits of an article
of this kind, and at the same time it would
be to publish to the people of Kendallville
and Noble county a formidable array of
facts; suffice it to state, therefore, that he
enjoys to an unlimited degree the trust and
confidence of the management of the mam-
moth enterprise with which he is identified,
and as secretary and treasurer possesses a
thorough and accurate knowledge of even-
detail of the business coming within his
sphere. An accomplished accountant and
an able financier, his manifold duties are so
systematically arranged as to cause him little
or no inconvenience, while as custodian of
the funds of the firm his record has been
horn rable and upright, never having
swerved from the strict path of rectitude
but always proving able to discharge
worthily the responsibilities resting upon
him as the principal factor in a station de-
manding the highest order of business tal-
ent. He has labored faithfully and earnestly
to promote the interests of the great enter-
prise, subordinating every other considera-
tion to this one object, and it is conceded
that much of the phenomenal success with
which the firm has met is directly attributed'
to his energy and systematic methods.
Aside from his connection with the
Flint & Walling Company. Air. Park lias
been a prominent factor in the general busi-
ness and industrial interests of Kendallville,
every enterprise calculated to advance the-
254
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
city, materially or otherwise, receiving his
hearty support and co-operation. All edu-
cational interests or movements for the dis-
semination of knowledge find in him a
friend. ile is unwavering in support of
whatever he believes to be right and up-
holds his honest convictions at the sacrifice
of every other interest. As a citizen he is
deservedly popular, charity and benevolence
being among his chief characteristics, and
to the poor and needy he is ever ready to
extend a helping hand.
Fraternally Mr. Park is a Mason of high
standing, having attained the thirty-second
degree in the ancient and honorable order,
while the Presbyterian church, of which he
is a zealous member, represents his religious
creed. At the present time he is a trustee
of the congregation worshiping in Kendall-
ville, and for the support of the gospel,
both at home and abroad, he is a frequent
and liberal contributor. His political sup-
port is given to the Republican party, but
the wiles and chicanery of the modern par-
tisan have always received his strongest con-
demnation. While earnest in the support
of his principles and ever ready to assign an
intelligent reason for his opinions and con-
victions, he is. first of all, a man of business,
and has never entertained any aspirations
for political honor of any kind.
Mr. Park is a man of broad general in-
formation, a careful reader of the world's
best literature, and an intelligent student
of current events. Conscientious in the dis-
charge of the duties of citizenship, he is a
valuable factor of the body politic, and his
aim has always been to shape his life accord-
ing to the highest standing of excellence.
He entertains noble aims and high ideals,
and the consensus of opinion in the city of
his residence is that he stands before the
world a model of the successful business
man and a true type of the broad-minded,
courteous gentleman.
Hon. 'Wesley Park, father of Henry I.,
was a native of Virginia, and. as stated in a
■ preceding paragraph, an early settler and
founder of the town of Auburn, 'Intl., where
he located as long ago' as the year 1835.
He was the first treasurer of Dekalb county,
which office he filled a number of terms, and
in many other ways he became a prominent
and influential citizen. At the breaking out
of the Civil war he recruited Company K.
Forty-fourth Indiana Volunteers, and upon
the organization of the regiment received his
commission as captain. He accompanied his
command to the front and proved a brave
and gallant leader, participating in a num-
ber of battles, the most important of which
was Fort Donelson, Tenn. By reason of
physical ailments, incapacitating him from
further active service, be resigned a short
time following the action at Fort Donelson,
and shortly thereafter was appointed suttler
of the regiment to> which he had belonged.
I He continued in that capacity until after the
battle of Pittsburg Landing, when, finding
bis health daily failing, he resigned the po-
1 sition and returned to his home in Auburn.
Subsequentlv Mr. Park emigrated to north-
ern Missouri, where he spent the remaining
years of his life.
The maiden name of Mrs. Weslev Park,
the mother of the subject of this article, was
Sophia Ingman. She was a native of. Ohio
and bore her husband ten children, six of
whom grew to maturity, namely: Amos
B., Henrietta, Henry I., John AY, Emma
and Elizabeth. Of these John AY is con-
nected with the Flint & Walling Manufac-
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
turing Company as traveling salesman; he
is a capable and reliable business man and
has done much to advertise the firm through-
out the United States and bringing its vari-
ous products to the favorable notice i f the
people of the country. The mother departed
this life in Auburn, Ind., in 1852, she hav-
ing been the first white woman settler in
that village.
Henry I. Park was married in Ligonier,
Ind., to Lelle C. Chapman, daughter of 1 Ion.
G. W. Chapman, of Ligonier, and by this
union two children have been born, viz.:
Harriet C, who died when but in her sev-
enth year, and Henrietta I.
ARCHY CAMPBELL.
To present in detail the leading facts in
the life of one of Kendallville's busy men
of affairs and throw light upon some of his
more prominent characteristics, is the task
in hand in order to place before the reader
the following brief biography of Archy
Campbell. Though still in the prime of vig-
orous manhood, he has already won a dis-
tinguished place in the business world, be-
sides impressing his strong personality upon
the community where for a number of years
he has been a forceful factor in directing
thought and molding opinion. Mr. Camp-
bell is descended from sturdy Scotch-Irish
ancestry and combines in his make-up the
characteristics of these two strong and vir-
ile razees. His father. Donald Campbell, a
native of Scotland, was born in the year
1808, and his mother. Elizabeth Geegan,
was born in the state of New York in 1S17.
The former died December 22, 1892, in
LaChute, province of Quebec. Canada, al
the ripe old age of eighty-five years. The
family of Donald and Elizabeth Campbell
consisted of four children, namely: Ida,
who died at the age of sixteen; Geraldiue,
widow of the late Pliny C. Taber, of Ken-
dall ville; John A. and Archy.
Archy Campbell was born September
28, 1856, in Syracuse, N. Y, and spent the
first twelve years of his life in the city of his
1 : tivity. He was then taken by his parents
to the town of Morrisburg, Canada, where
he remained until his twentieth year, mean-
while attending the public schools and ob-
taining a good practical education. Leav-
ing Canada prior to attaining his majority,
he joined a brother in California, but did
not long remain in that state, returning east
after a few months and locating in the city
of Kendallville, Ind., where, in partnership
with his brother, John A. Campbell, he en-
gaged in the mercantile business. For a
period of four years the firm of Campbell
Brothers did a large and lucrative business
and became widely and favorably known in
commercial circles throughout northeastern
Indiana. At the expiration of four years
Archy Campbell purchased his brother's in-
terest in the store and conducted a success-
ful trade until 1887. when Jacob C. Fetter
was admitted to- partnership, under the firm
name of Campbell & Co. From 1887 to 1894
Messrs. Campbell & Fetter devoted their at-
tention exclusively to merchandising, dur-
ing which period they greatly increased
the volume of their business and became the
leaders in their line of trade in the city.
In the latter year they engaged in banking,
an enterprise which they still carry on and
which, like their mercantile interests, has
redounded to their success and financial
profit.
2 5 6
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
By nature, education and experience,
Mr. Campbell is endowed with business
qualifications far above the average, and by
strict attention to every detail of his enter-
prises has achieved signal success, where
many men would have failed. As a mer-
chant, he is extensively and favorably
known in the commercial world and through-
out his career in Kendallville has earned a
reputation for integrity and fair dealing-
such as few attain. In all the transac-
tions of life he is noted for the exact justice
he shows in his intercourse with his fellow
men. being prompt, energetic and watch-
ful, at the same time extending to those
with whom he has dealings the largest meas-
ure of courtesy. Prompt in meeting even-
obligation he has always enjoyed unlimited
credit, and by the exercise of sound judg-
ment and superior financial abilities he has
built up a private fortune which places him
among the most substantial men of Ken-
dallville and the county of Noble. As a
financier, he easily ranks with the success-
ful capitalists of northern Indiana, and from
his long experience in monetary and com-
mercial affairs his opinions have great
weight and his ideas always receive the ut-
most consideration.
While essentially a business man in the
full sense of the term. Mr. Campbell is also
public-spirited in all the word implies. Since
becoming a resident of Kendallville he has
manifested a lively interest in everything
pertaining to the city's growth and welfare,
and as president of the local educational
board he has done much to promote the ef-
ficiency of the schools and to awake an in-
terest in the intellectual improvement of the
community. By reason of the active part
taken in all enterprises promoting the public
gooc 1 or the general diffusion of knowledge
he has earned the gratitude and good will
of his fellow-citizens, and it is praise well
and honorably earned to class him with the
progressive men and leading benefactors in
a city noted far and wide for the high char-
acter of its citizenship.
Mr. Campbell was married in Kendall-
ville, March 12, 1880, to Miss Kate R.
Mitchell, daughter of Hon. John Mitchell,
one of the city's most progressive busi-
ness men ( see sketch of John Mitchell ) .
and his home has been brightened by the
presence of four interesting children, name-
ly; Donald .Mitchell. William Archy, Jo-
seph Weston and Gertrude Mitchell, all liv-
ing.
Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are popular with
all classes of people in Kendallville, and
their home is a favorite resort of the best_
social circles of the city. They are highly
esteemed for their man)- sterling qualities
of head and heart, and as earnest and de-
voted members of the Episcopal church are
first and foremost in every good work for
bettering the condition of the poor and un-
fortunate. They have always exerted a
wholesome moral infleuence in the commun-
ity, and with the spirit of true helpers of
humanity they have never made ostentatious
display of their benevolences or charities.
MILJ.ARD F. OWEN.
The gentleman whose name stands at
the head of this biographical sketch was
born in Townsend township, Norfolk coun-
ty, Ontario, Canada. July 4, 185 1, the an-
niversary of the Declaration of Independ-
ence from the ru'e of the government un-
da
JMrf/i^"
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
25;
der which he was born — old England — and
from the control of which government he
was taken by his parents to Silver Creek,
Allegan county, Mich., in 1857, and four
years later to Cooper, Kalamazoo county, in
the same state. Two years later the family
removed to Prairieyille, Barry county. Mich.,
where the}' resided seven years, and there
young Millard F. received the greater part
of his education in the common schools.
It may be inferred, and truthfully, that
the parents of Mr. Owen, of this sketch,
were of strong Yankee proclivities — using
the word "Yankee" as it is applied by Bri-
tons to all the inhabitants of the United
States — as the name of the subject of this
sketch is Millard F., and was no doubt
named in honor of Millard Fillmore, a form-
er resident of Buffalo, N. Y., and elected in
[848 vice-president of the United States on
the Whig ticket with Zachary Taylor, the
renowned hero of our war with Mexico,
and whom Fillmore succeeded to the presi-
dency about a year after attaining the office.
The fact is, that the father of the subject
was born in New York state
When Millard F. Owen was about nine-
teen years of age the family located in Ot-
sego, Allegan county. Mich., where the fa-
ther, of whom further mention will be made,
entered into the produce business, and
where, when Millard F. had attained his
majority, the father and son entered into
partnership, under the firm style of J. W.
Owen & Son. In the spring of 1873 trns
firm sold out their business, and Millard F,
the subject, engaged in telegraphy in the
office of the L. S. & M. S. Railway Com-
pany, at Otsego. Mich., in which employ he-
was retained until June, 1874, after which
time he acted in the same capacity in differ-
ent offices of the Grand Rapids & Indiana
Railroad Company until December 15 of
the same year, when he was appointed
agent for the same company at Runic City,
and superintendent of the "Resort" in sum-
mer, anil here he has resided ever since,
with the exception of six months passed in
Colorado.
In 1876 Mr. Owen became connected
with the boat "livery" service at Rome City,
Ind., and with the steamer line in [878, and
in the latter year he represented the Grand
Rapids & Indiana Railroad Companv in the
committee which organized the Chautauqua
Assembly. It may be here mentioned, by the
by. that Mr. Owen filled the offices of presi-
dent and auditor of this assembly at its
twenty-third annual meeting in 1901.
In 1895 Mr. Owen assumed the manage-
ment of the "Island Hotel and Restaurant,"
and in 1896, when the Spring Beach Hotel
Company was organized, was appointed its
secretary, in which capacity he is still act-
ing in the most satisfactory manner, and in
a manner, in which, perhaps, few other per-
sons could act. Mr. Owen is also manager
and secretary of the row-boat company at
J Rome City, and is president and manager of.
the Steam-Packet Company of the same
place, all these responsible positions giving
proof of his mure than ordinary ability as
an executive official, which quality is further
shown in the relations of his subsequent
business career. In 1898 the Rome City
Ice Company was organized, but was really
owned by Millard F. Owen and Henry G.
Cobb, and in September, 1900, Mr. Owen
purchased the Sylvan Lake Hotel, of which
he is still the sole proprietor.
June 20, 1870. Mr. Owen was united in
marriage with Mrs. Mary A. Haughton,
ALVORDS HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
will, u of Clark Haughton, the manager,
formerly, of the Lakeside House, which
sin. id mi the site of the present Sylvan Lake
111. use. Mr>. Owen, now deceased, was a
daughter of William R. Truesdall, and was
born in Norwalk, Ohio, January 9, 185 1.
She was reared in Ohio until about seven-
teen years old. when she came to Rome City
with her parents. To Air. and Airs. Owen
were born three children — Laura De, Jessie
M. and Vera T. Of these, the eldest, Laura
De. is the wife of Clement G. Routsong, who
is the night operator of the telegraph of the
Baltimore & Ohio Railway Company at Al-
bion, Ind. The mother of these children was
called away, however, at Rome City, July 4,
1898, and her loss most deeply mourned by
her sorrowing family and friends.
Joel W. Owen, father of Millard F., was
born in Genesee count}', N. Y., March 28,
1817, and the wife of Joel W., before mar-
riage, was Miss Mary Woodbeck, who was
also a native of New York and was born
November 19, 1828. These parents were
married in Rockfurd, Norfolk county, On-
tarii . August 14. 1850: from Canada they
returned to the United States in 1857 and
li cated in Allegan county, Mich., where the
father embarked in sawmilling. starting also
the first gristmill at Plainwell and also the
first at Allegan, the court town of the coun-
ty. Joel W. Owen, however, had first mar-
ried Miss Cynthia Kitchen, who died in On-
tario, leaving one sun. Egbert A. To the
second marriage have been born five chil-
dren, viz. : Millard F. ; Cynthia, who is the
wife of Eber Sherwood, of Otsego, Mich.;
Jessie: Charles: and Cora, wife of William
Junes, nf Detroit. The parents now have
their home at Otsego. Mich.
[esse Owen, the father of Joel W. Owen,
was born in Chemung, N. Y., September 29,
1787, was by profession a Methodist clergy-
man, and was also a gallant soldier in the
war of j8ij. His death occurred at Plain-
well, Mich.. December 12, J870. and the
dates here given show at what an advanced
age. His wife, the maternal grandmother of
Millard F. Owen, was before marriage Miss
Anna Winter, who was born in the state of
Xew York August 11, 1786, and died at
Silver Creek, Mich, (or Argenta. Mich.),
February 2H, i860. Epinetis Owen, father
of Jesse Owen, died from the effects of an
injury received in a mill at Vittoria, On-
tario.
Millard F. Owen is noted for the interest
lie takes in ancient relics and old books, and
of the latter he owns many of rare value.
He keeps a hotel that is famous throughout
northeastern Indiana and his cuisine is as
renowned for its excellence as are the home
comforts in general of the hostelry and the
genial affability of the landlord.
Mr. Owen is a member of blue lodge,
No, 451, F. & A. M. and of R. A. M. chap-
ter. No. 64. of Kendallville, and of Eastern
Star, No. 232 ; he is also a member of Rome
City Lodge, No. 460. K. of P. As a citizen
he is one of the most progressive in Noble
county, as well as one of the most public
spirited.
PETER A. SUNDAY.
Peter A. Sunday, leading business man
of Albion, Noble county. Ind.. a native of
Ashland county. Ohio, was born February
18, 1834, and is a sun of Henry and Eliza-
beth (Kunkle) Sunday, both natives of the
Buckeye state. Of these parents the father,
although he had passed his life as a farmer
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
259
in his native state, was suddenly called away
by death while he was visiting a son in La-
grange county, Ind. ; the mother passed
away at her home in Ohio. They were the
parents of seven sons and one daughter,
who were born in the following older: Wes-
ley, Andrew, Daniel, Jefferson, John, Peter
A., Amanda and Levi. Of these eight Peter
A. and Jefferson are the only survivors,
Daniel, John and Levi having died in child-
hood. Amanda was married to a Mr.
Knull, and her death occurred in April,
190 1 ; Jefferson is now a farmer in Fulton
count}-, Ind.
Peter A. Sunday was hut thirteen years
of age when he left the parental roof and be-
gan an apprenticeship at harness-making in
Lagrange, learned the business, and worked
as a journeyman until his coming to Albion,
November 8, 1864. Here he at once estab-
lished a manufacturing business in his own
line, in which he has met with signal suc-
cess. He now owns considerable property
in Albion, mostly consisting of residences
and vacant lots; he also owns valuable prop-
erty in the city of Lagrange. Ind. ; city
property in Mansfield, Ohio; a farm in No-
ble count v. Ind.. and city lots in Wichita,
Kans., all resulting from his own unaided
enterprise and good management.
Air. Sunday was united in marriage
March 13, 1862, at Lagrange, Ind., with
Miss Lucretia L. Garmire, a native of Fos-
toria, Ohio, who was but four years of age
when brought to Indiana by her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Sunday have had no children
born to their union, but in order to fill the
parental void in their heart have reared
H. G. Garmire. a brother of Mrs. Sunday,
since his thirteenth year until manhood, be-
ing in the home over twentv years.
The education of Mr. Sunday was but
limited, as far as schools are concerned, yet
by private study be has acquired a large
ami unt of useful information, including the
German language, which, although he can
read with ease, he cannot speak very fluently.
He early became imbued with business prin-
ciples, his adherence to which has resulted
in his present competence. Mrs. Sunday,
however, was educated in the city schools
of Lagrange and secured excellent educa-
tional training.
In politics Air. Sunday is of Democratic
proclivities, although he is not held down to
party lines on local issues, and has never
sought public office; nevertheless, he was the
first city marshal of Albion, which position
he filled two terms. In religion Air. and
Airs. Sunday are identified with the Evan-
gelical Lutheran church, the tenets of which
they adhere to with fervid tenacity.
The Sunday family, although small in
numbers, wield a large influence in the so-
cial circles of Albion, being greatly respected
by the entire community.
CORNELIUS B. PHILLIPS.
Cornelius B. Phillips is a native of New
York and lived on a farm until seven years
of age. He then went to New York City,
where he was employed, as a clerk in a whole-
sale house. In September. 1850. he came to
Albion, Ind., and clerked for William M.
Clapp in a dry-goods store for six years.
He then embarked in business in connection
with John E. Walters and continued therein
two years and six months. He then entered
into a partnership with Judge Clapp in the
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
dry-goods business, and continued therein
until 1876, when he engaged in business
alone, which venture proved extensive and
very .successful, and lasted until 1880, when
he was burned out, losing about fifteen thou-
sand dollars. He then engaged in the grain
and insurance business. He has long been
associated with the business interests of No-
ble county and of Albion, and has always
ranked as a citizen of sterling integrity and
of great moral worth. He is intelligent, of
good business qualifications, is industrious
and persevering, and has succeeded in secur-
ing a competency from a financial point of
view. He served two terms of four years
each as auditor of Noble county, has held
several other important positions, and in
every instance discharged the duties thereof
with marked ability and to the entire satis-
faction of the people, and has left no stain
of dishonor to sully his fair reputation.
In November, 1861, he was married to
Miss Catharine Pepple, an amiable and in-
telligent daughter of the late James Pepple,
of Albion. She died in 1877. To this union
were born three children : Thurlow, who
died unmarried; Grace, who became the wife
of George O. Russell, Jr., of Albion, and
who died a few years ago ; and Ettie, now
the widow of Arthur Talbert, deceased. In
1878 Mr. Phillips was married to Miss Mary
Kuhn, an intelligent and refined daughter
of Washington and Rebecca Kuhn, of York
township. She still survives, and is mistress
of a happy home. To this union were born
four children : Fred, Cornelius B. W .,
Mabel and Lula.
Mr. Phillips has for many years been an
honored member of the Masonic order and
also of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows. For seventeen years he served as sec-
retary of the former order, and held the
presidency of the latter for several years.
While not a member of any church, he is a
regular attendant at, and a liberal supporter
of, the Presbyterian church of Albion, of
which his wife is a zealous and consistent
member. Since he left the auditor's office
he has been in the grocer}- business, and is
having a large, flourishing trade. Mr.
Phillips from early youth, as above indi-
cated, has had the benefit of commercial
training, and being of an industrious and
stirring nature, his future success seems as-
sured. His residence is commodious, tastily
and richly furnished, and is presided over
by one who does not seem to rely chiefly
upon a splendid mansion with costly fur-
nishings for happiness, believing that —
"Home's not merely four square walls,
Though with pictures hung and gilded;
Home's where affection calls,
Filled with shrines the heart has builded."
GEORGE RUMBAUGH.
It is well known historically that when
the ordinance of secession was passed and
was adopted by most of the southern states,
many of the best and wisest men of old Vir-
ginia deplored the condition of affairs and
strove, though in vain, td save the state
from the clutches of the secessionists. A
large section in the northwest part of the
old state, however, remained loyal to the
Union, and representatives from forty coun-
ties met in convention at Wheeling, on the
Ohio river, June 11, 1861, rejected the or-
dinance of secession and organized a state
government, the constitution of which was
-U^£/ri&£ /So^ **C* /cu e^[
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
261
adopted May 3, (862, and the state ad-
mitted into the Union June 20, [863, and
among the counties that constituted the new-
state was Berkeley, in which the subject of
this sketch had his nativity.
G& rge Rumbaugh, be it then explained,
was bom in Berkeley count}-, \"a., August
14. 1829, and was about five years of age
when taken by his parents to Seneca county,
Ohio, where the family settled on a farm,
on which young George was reared to man-
hood. In the spring of 1850 George came
from Ohio to Noble county. Ind., with no
capital save his strong arms and his knowl-
edge of farming. He also possessed a
strong determination to succeed in life, if
determination and industry were to count
for anything.
By practicing frugality and by laboring
diligently and by keeping his eyes open to
the main chance. Mr. Rumbaugh worked his
way upward until he became the owner of
several farms in Jefferson township, and in
1883 came to Orange township and pur-
chased his present fine homestead of eighty
acres, all of which is handsomely improved.
Mr. Rumbaugh was united in marriage
at Albion, Ind., September T4, 1854, with
Miss Martha Pike, who was horn in Seneca
county, Ohio, November 4. 1838. and to this
union have been horn four children, who still
live to honor, love and cheer the declining
years of their parents, and whose births
took place in the following order: Daniel,
Willard. Laura and Nettie J., and of these
highly cultivated children further mention
will be made before this sketch shall have
been brought to a close. In the meantime
something may be and ought to be said rel-
ative to the military career of the brave and
patriotic father.
In September, [864, George Rumbaugh
enlisted in Company 1). Thirteenth Regi-
ment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with
which he took part in the engagement at
Fort Fisher, and also in several severe skir-
mishes, and served until honorably dis-
charged on account of disability at New
Berne, X. C, in June 1865. After his dis-
charge from the military service Mi'. Rum-
baugh returned to his wife and children,
whom he had left behind, while he risked his
life on the battle field. Mr. Rumbaugh's
regiment was assigned to the Army of the
Potomac and he was on the famous march
through the Carolinas. and he was in New
Berrie, N. C, when the glad intelligence
reached the poor hoys of the surrender of
General R. E. Lee, and just at this time these
glad tidings meant home and friends and
loved ones again. Five days subsequently
the sad news of the assassination of the
great and good Lincoln came, which was a
sore contrast to the former.
Daniel Rumbaugh. the eldest child of
Martha (Pike) Rumbaugh's
Jefferson township,
( rei rge ami
children, wa
Noble county. Ind., August jj. 1856, was
educatied in the common schools and was
reared to agricultural pursuits. lie was an
unusually bright young man and has always
been greatly interested in local politics.
Since 1887 he has been a member of the
Republican county central committee; Will-
ard Rumbaugh. the second born, is a mer-
chant and is postmaster at LaOtto. Ind.;
Laura and Xettie J. still have their home
under the parental roof. Of these. Willard
was a school teacher in Noble count}- for
four years when a young man, and Nettie
J. has taught in the public schools of Noble
county since 188s — a vocation she is still
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
following- with the earnest approval of the
people. The family are members of the
United Brethren church and enjoy the re-
spect of the entire community.
William Rumbaugh, the father of the
above named George, was born in Virginia
and there married Miss Mary Musetter, a
native of the same state, who became the
mother of the respected family already
named in detail. From Virginia Mr. and
and Mrs. William Rumbaugh removed to
Seneca county, Ohio, in the latter part of
the 'thirties, and in that count)* the mother
died when fourty-four years old and the
father when about seventy years of age.
They were greatly respected by their neigh-
bors and reared a family of nine children,
of whom George, the subject of this sketch,
was the fourth in order of birth.
Samuel Pike, the father of Mrs. Martha
Rumbaugh, was born in the state of New
York, and married Miss Mary Cutright, a
native of Seneca count}-, Ohio. Mr. and
Mrs. Samuel Pike came to Noble dainty.
lnd., in 1852, and located in Jefferson town-
ship, but later removed to Wayne township,
where the mother passed away, but the fa-
ther, returning- to Jefferson township, died
there when sixty-nine years old.
George Rumbaugh has been one of the
most energetic and progressive men that
ever lived in Orange township. He has
through his personal efforts raised himself
from the plane of comparative poverty to
the height of prosperity, has reared a fam-
ily of which the township and county may
well feel proud, and he enjoys the respect
and unaffected esteem of all his neighbors, ]
near and far. His son Daniel, especially, j
promises to be indeed a worthy successor, i
while the record of the career of the other I
children, so far as given, fully shows that
they are not a whit behind in the march of
civilization and progressive usefulness.
REV. OWEN W. BOWEN.
Rev. Owen W. Bowen. Evangelical Lu-
theran clergyman at Albion and a fervent
and earnest dispenser of the truths and bless-
ings of the gospel, was born in Noble coun-
ty, hid., March 6, 1841, and is a son of
William E. and Elizabeth (Weitzel) Bowen,
both of Pennsylvania nativity and of English
and German descent, respectively. William
E. and Elizabeth Bowen were married in the
Keystone state, and in 1837 came to Noble
county, lnd., where William E. entered
forty acres of farm land in Green township,
to which he subsequently added, by pur-
chase and otherwise, until at his death he
was possessed of three hundred and sixty
acres. Pie was born February 7, 18 10, and
died May 5, 1881 ; his wife was born Feb-
ruary 15, 1814, and died August 26, 1882.
These parents had a family of nine children,
of whom five are still living, namely: Mar-
garet, wife of E. D. Spencer, of Albion;
Rev. Owen W. ; Elizabeth, widow of Dr.
S. M. Spencer, also residing in Albion;
William W., a well-to-do farmer living one
mile north of the city; Franklin J. is a me-
chanic and resides at Fort Wayne. The
father of this family was quite prominent
in political life, served as sheriff four years,
as county treasurer four years, and for many
years was a constable and justice of the
peace.
Rev. Owen W. Bowen was educated in
Albion, and later on taught school eight
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY. INDIANA.
263
winter terms. He also pursued a two-years'
course of study at Wittenburg" College,
Ohio, where he was prepared fur the min-
istry. He began his labors as pastor in the
Lutheran church at Three Rivers, Mich.,
where he remained three years, to the great
edification of his congregation. He was
next' stationed at Ligonier, Ind., and sup-
plied the Salem charge, preaching for about
five years. In 1883 he came to Albion,
where he had three congregations under bis
charge for about four years, anil was presi-
dent of the school board for four years.
The next five years he bad charge of the
Massillon congregation at Monroeville, Ind.,
and then returned to Albion, where he has
no regular work, but supplies each of the
pulpits as circumstances require, his elo-
quence and lucid logic, as well as fervency,
making him a welcome speaker on all oc-
casions and to all hearers.
Rev. Mr. Bowen was joined in marriage
at Constantine, Mich., May 9. 1872. with
A 1 i -. ^ Sarah C. Ileckmau. who was born in
Pennsylvania, February 4, 1847, and was a
daughter of Aaron Heckman, a farmer.
Two children came to bless this union, to-
wit: Maggie Belle, born April 14, 1873, is
now the wife of Mert Webster, foreman in
one of the departments of the rubber fac-
tory at Mishawaka; and William Luther,
who was horn January 2, 1875. an( 3 ' s an
employe in the same department.
Mrs. Sarah C. Bowen departed this life
February 8, 1901. at the family home in
Albion. She was a worthy and exemplarv j
Christian and a true helpmeet. Since her
death Air. Bowen has kept house alone at
the old home, although he owns a farm in
Green township, which he frequently visits,
and this diverts his mind from his sorrows.
Mr. Bowen has affiliated with the Democrats
through his mature years, but has not been
held down strictly by party discipline, as he
is a Prohibitionist in sentiment and an ardent
advocate of sobriety. His exalted Christian
character commands the respect and admira-
tion of his fellow-citizens, and nowhere more
so than in the county of his birth.
HON. EDWIN W. KNEPPER, M. D.
This prominent physician of Noble
county, Ind.. and honored citizen of the city
of Ligonier, was born June 3, 1833, in the
town of Edinburg, Portage county. Ohio,
and is a son of Jacob ami Mary I Morgan)
Knepper.
Jacob Knepper was of German ancestry,
but was horn in Pennsylvania, and his wife
was a native of Ohio. They were married
in Columbiana county, and afterward re-
sided in Edinburg for a number of years.
They later removed to Williams county,
Ohio, where the father died at the age of
seventy-six vears and the mother at the age
of sixtv-six. They were the parents of
seven children: of these Rossanah is the
widow of Henry Thomas and now resides
with her daughter in Cleveland; Jeremiah
M.. died in Bryan. Ohio, in 1805. at the age
,4" sixty-three; Edwin W., of this sketch:
William M. is a successful farmer of Will-
iams county. Ohio: Selina was the wife of
Aaron Brannon ami died in 1879; Allen is
a farmer, now living in Williams county,
Ohio: and an unnamed child died in infancy.
Edwin W. Knepper received his early
education in his native state by attending
the public schools and the Carroll Academy.
264
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
He commenced his professional studies with
Dr. H. Cooney, of Bryan, Ohio, and began
the practice of his profession at Eden, Ohio,
in 1864, where lie remained two years, com-
ing to Ligonier in May, 1866, has here re-
mained and is now in the enjoyment of a
large and remunerative practice.
The Doctor was married in Ohio, Febru-
ary 7. [857, to .Miss .Margaret Jane McQuil-
kin. a native of Carroll county, Ohio, who
was born August 5, 1835. They have be-
come the parents of six children. Two died
early in infancy and two died unmarried.
The living are Edwin W., Jr., an expert ac-
countant in the employ of the American Steel
and Wire Company of Cleveland. He was
educated in the high school of Ligonier,
took a two-years' course at the State Uni-
versity of Indiana, and completed his stud-
ies by a two-years' course with the Com-
mercial College of the V. M. C. A. of Cleve-
land. He is still single. The other living
child is Mabel Jane, also a graduate of the
Ligonier high school. She has taught two
terms. Considerable attention was given to
her musical education, and she is now an
accomplished musician and line vocalist.
Dr. Knepper, in his political views, is
a life-long Republican, having voted for
every presidential nominee of the party from
the days of John C. Fremont to the present
time. In 1897 he was elected to the lower
house of the general assembly, represent-
ing the joint district of Noble and Dekalb
counties, and served two years. He also
held city and school offices in Ligonier. In
the legislature the Doctor was a member of
the committee 011 claims, mileage and ac-
counts, chairman of the committee on stat-
ues; also member of the committee on for-
estry, medicine, health and vital statistics.
and state library. He was especially inter-
ested in the passage of the medical bill, which
became a law.
In the professional societies the Doctor
has been a member of the American Medical
Association, and of the Indiana .Medical So-
ciety for thirty years. He is a member and
past president of the Northwestern Indiana
Medical Association, and has twice served
as president of the Noble Count}- Medical
Association. He \vas the legal surgeon of
tne Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail-
way for six years, or while its service was
maintained at this point. In the fraternal
organizations he holds membership in Ex-
celsior Lodge, No. 267, I. O. O. F., and has
passed the chairs ; also a member of Wash-
ington Encampment. No. 89, of which he is
past city patriarch. For about twenty years,
ne held the position of district deputy for
subordinate lodges and the encampment.
1 le is also a member of Ligonier Lodge, No.
123, K. of P. Religiously the Doctor and
his family are members of the Presbyterian
church. Their social relations are of the
highest and they enjoy the friendship and
esteem of a large circle of friends in the city
and countv.
JAMES TATE.
One of the most practical and prosperous
farmers of Noble count)'. Ind.. is James
Tate, who was born February 22, 1822, in
Flaxby, parish of Gouldsborough, county of
York, England, and is a son of John and
Christine (Cross) Tate. John Tate was
horn in Lincolnshire, England. September
30, 1786, followed the occupation of farm-
ing, meeting with reasonable success, and
/'
fiLslsiAA^? *J
y?i>i5> Jz^i^r^-<-^-^- Th cfa-*^-^
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
265
died April 12, [864, in Flaxby. The muther.
Christine (Cross) Tate, was born in West-
minster, London, in 1797. and died in Flax-
by, January 24, 1877, leaving eleven chil-
dren, namely: John Henry, Susanna,
Tin mas. James, Robert. Ann Elizabeth,
Phillip, Mary Sarah, Catherine, Martha
Jane and Emma.
James Tate was educated "on his native
heath" and there engaged in farming and
also to some extent in butchering until he
was about twenty-eight years old. Being
favorably impressed with the reports given
of the country across the sea and desirous of
trying for himself if the stories were true he
sailed for New York in the spring of 1850
and reached port in May of that year. He
went at once to Summit count}-, Ohio, where
he was married. April 4, [854, to .Miss Caro-
line Julia Schofield. Mrs. Tate was born in
Tompkins county. N. Y., October 10, 1827,
and grew to be an estimable young woman,
who took a deep interest in the cause of
religion and gave much of her time to its
advancement. She died April 20, 1887,
leaving five children: Robert Newton,
Christine E., Richard Baxter, Rosa Ann,
who married J. W. Hunter, of Abingdon,
111., and Dora Lila, while one child had en-
tered the gates of the Holy City. On April
28, 1890, Mr. Tate was again joined in
marriage, the lady of his choice being Mrs.
I.uthena M. (Gallup) Jones, widow of
Pomeroy Jones and daughter of Rufus B.
and Abigail (Reynolds) Gallup, of whom
further mention is made below. Pomeroy
Jones was a native of Mercer county. Penn.,
born December 7, 1832, but was taken to
Dekalb county. Ind., and there grew to man-
hood. About 185 t he moved to Wayne
township, Noble county, where he died April
12. 1880. Luthena M. Gallup was born in
Saratoga county, N. Y.. January 31. 1838,
and is a lady possessing man)- pleasing at-
tributes of character, which endear her to
those who have come within the charmed
radius of her acquaintance. Her first union
resulted in the birth of three children, name-
ly : Abbie A., who became the wife of S.
C. Franks, and died in Kendallville. March
2, 1884: Rufus C. and J. Austin.
Immediately following his first marriage
Mr. Tate left Summit county, Ohio, in
April. 1854, to locate in Noble county. Ind.
He settled in Wayne township, where he
was a renter for one year, and then pur-
chased a farm in that township and contin-
ued to make that locality his home until
1875. when he moved to his farm in Orange
township, where he has since lived. He
owns three hundred and twenty acres of as
fine land as can be found in the county, in
Orange township, and one hundred and sev-
enty acres in Wayne township and is one of
the most successful farmers who have been
a credit to Noble county. His land is kept
in good shape furnished with good, substan-
tial buildings, surrounded by well kept lawns
snd fields, while his orchard supplies him
with fruit that would tempt the appetite of
an epicure. It would be impossible to find
a man who stands better among his neigh-
bors or who takes greater pleasure in the
welfare and prosperity of the community
than Mr. Tate, whose residence here of al-
most half a century has shown him to be
an honorable, upright man in every walk
of life and one who well deserves the high
respect and implicit confidence reposed in
him. Both Mr. and Mrs. Tate are zealous
members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
in which thev are untiring workers.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
It was in 1888 that lie erected his beau-
tiful home, just in the limits of Rome City,
Ind., with spacious outbuildings, which are
a credit to the township. He is a member
of the F. & A. M., lodge No. 451, at Rome
City, and Miss Dora is a member of the
Eastern Star, No. 232.
HARVEY E. HOAK.
Ligonier, Noble county, Ind.. is favored
with many notable citizens, and among the
foremost stands Harvey E. Hoak, not only
as an enterprising farmer but as the inventor
and manufacturer of a superior incubator
which finds a ready sale in all parts of the
country. Mr. Hoak was born March 4,
1867, and is a native of Noble county. His
father, Daniel Hoak, was born in Cham-
paign county, Ohio. June 16, 1841, and in
1 85 J came to Indiana with his parents, who
located in Sparta township, one mile north-
vest of Cromwell. Here he resided until
bis marriage, in 1866, to- Miss Susan Hitler,
daughter of Joseph Hitler, when he took
possession of the Jane Greene farm, upon
which lie lived until the purchase of the
land now occupied by his son, Harvey E.
He died June 20, 1900, leaving two chil-
dren, Harvey E. and Mary L., the latter of
whom was horn February 4, 1872, and mar-
ried Harris 1'. Tucker, a prosperous young
farmer of Sparta township, by whom she
has two children, Joyce and Paul.
Harvey E. Hoak attended the schools of
Ligonier until he had completed the junior
year, when he entered the drug store of his
uncle in Ligonier, remaining there three
years. He then entered the employ of Dr.
E. L. Watson, of the same village, and was
with him two years. On April 25, 1894, he
led to the altar of Hymen Miss Blanche
Marker, who was born November 20, 1873,
and is a daughter of Albert and Sarah (Sur-
fus) Marker, both of whom are natives of
Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Marker were mar-
ried in j 870 and are the parents of three
children, viz: Blanche: Charley, born Oc-
tober 24, 1876: and Nettie M.,,born August
6, 1882, but who died March 22, 1887.
Two children have blessed the home of Mr,
Hoak, namely : Bernice, who was born No-
vember 9, 1895, and who, on October 4,
1897, came to a tragic death, her throat and
one side of her face being lacerated by angry
swine; and Russell L., who' was born No-
vember 2j, 1898, and is a bright, attractive
child.
After his marriage Mr. Hoak engaged
in argicultural pursuits and tended the
homestead, although his residence was on
the Henry [Miller farm until after the death
of his father, when he moved into the house
in Jul)', 1900. He owns one hundred and
twenty-six acres of land and is a careful
farmer, who looks closely after the details
of his work and who does not hesitate to
branch out in new lines when he finds the
occasion propitious. He makes a specialty
of fancy stock,-, believing, and rightly, that
it pays to handle only the best if a raiser
wishes for good results, and the animals
found on his premises are all thoroughbreds.
He raises Shropshire sheep, Poland-China
hogs, Barred Plymouth Rock chickens,
Pekin ducks and Mammoth Bronze turkeys,
and owned the largest turkey exhibited at
the Chicago Poultry Show. He cares for
bis stock in a manner that results in profit
as well as satisfaction from them, and
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
>6 7
ok
it is a genuine pleasure to
flocks.
Mr. llnak and his family are true Chris-
tians, and Mr. Hoak willingly aids finan-
cially any organization designed to benefit
mankind. Fraternally he is a member of
Lodge No. 123, Knights of Pythias, of Lig-
onier, and is a Democrat in politics, and cast
his first vote for Cleveland. Mr. Hoak,
although an American-born citizen and non-
partisan, will support the measures which
will best benefit the masses. Mr. Hoak has
musical talent and at one time was a mem-
ber of the Ligonier .Military Band, composed
of thirty pieces, and this band took the prize
instruments, valued at twenty-five hundred
dollars, at the international encampment at
Chicago, 111. He took lessons on the violin
from the eminent violinist. Otto Soldon, who
had performed before the crowned heads of
Europe. The Ligonier Band also took the
thirteen-hundred-dollar prize at Peru and
also a prize at Findlay.
Mrs. Hoak graduated in the common
schools in the class of 1886 and is also a
graduate from the Ligonier high school
with the class of 1892, and was valedictorian
of the class.
The beautiful Hoak farm shows culture
and refinement and the home is fraught with
the best authors and literature.
JOHN A. LOWER
Of the per
nan much m
aphv of his Eathe
diich will be foun
vork and to wl
eader is 1
nal history of this gentle-
be learned from the biog-
he late Daniel Lower.
ind on another page of this
which the attention of the
fully invited.
John A. Lower, an agriculturist of Elk-
hart township. Noble county, Ind.. and a
gentleman of repute both as a farmer and a
public-spirited citizen, was born on his fa-
ther's farm in this township, November 25,
1 85 J, and here he has always made his
home, assisting on the home place until his
marriage. April 8, 1877, to Mis.. Mary A.
1'ollock, who was born in Noble county* De-
cember 10, 1858, and is a daughter of Lance-
lot and Nancy (Masters) Pollock. To this
congenial union have been horn six children.
of whom five are still living, and of whom
one died in infancy. The names of the sur-
vivors are Pearl V., who is the wife of Earn-
est C. Nichols; Daniel A.; Frederick .'v.;
Ollie M.: and Russell.
In the fall of 1877 Mr. Lower and his
bride settled on the farm of one hundred
and seventy acres on which he still lives, and
which he has improved with a fine dwelling
and substantial farm buildings of every need-
ful kind for the care of implements, stock.
en ps. etc.. while the farm itself is cultivated
on scientific principles that net to the owner
the most profitable returns and is not ex-
celled in good management by any similar
tract of land in the township.
The late Daniel Lower, father of the
subject of this sketch, was born in Bavaria,
Germany, March 22, 1815. and first mar-
ried Abigal DeLong, who died in Elkhart
township. Noble count)-, the mother of six
children, of whom five reached the years of
maturity, and were named as follows:
Elizabeth, who is the wife of Joseph W.
Marshall: William D. : Jacob; Margaret,
who died when about twenty years old; and
Mary, who is the wife of Frederick Schwab.
The second marriage of Daniel Lower
was to Elizabeth Kreglow, who bore him a
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
large number of children, of whom five
reached mature years, viz: Abigal, who
is now deceased; John A., the subject of this
sketch: Daniel D. ; Barbara, the wife of
George Domer; and James, who is now also
deceased. The mother of this family has
also passed away.
John A. Lower, who is classed among
the foremost citizens of Elkhart township
and as one of its best farmers, counts his
friends by the score and is universally re-
spected. He is broad minded and public-
spirited and is ever ready with his means in
aiding any project designed for the public-
good. Although a popular member of the
Democratic part)-, he has never been an
office seeker, although be is ever ready to
render his services in forwarding the public-
welfare when needed. His wife, who is a
most amiable lady and a true helpmate, is a
consistent member of the Free Baptist
church.
ALPHEUS HARDENDORF.
An influential and prosperous citizen of Jef-
ferson township. Noble county, Ind., is the
third in a family of twelve children born to
John and Lydia (Seeley) Hardendorf. He-
is a native of Steuben count) - , N. Y., and
was born August 6, 1828. John Harden-
dorf was born in Montgomery county, N.
Y., and spent his entire life in that state, dy-
ing in Syracuse, August 12, 1848. when in
his fifty-ninth year. His wife was a native
of Saratoga and died in June, 1885. in Al-
legan)' count)-. Mich, having attained the
advanced age of eight)- years.
Alpheus Hardendorf was reared toman-
hood in Syracuse and engaged in various
pursuits until the year 1849. when he came
to Indiana, where he engaged in farming in
Steuben count)-, for three years. He then
moved to Walworth count)-. Wis., but re-
mained only a short time, returning to In-
diana in February, 1858, settling in Noble
count)-, near Kendallville. Wavne township.
After living there about six and one-half
years he moved to Jefferson township, wdiich
his since been his place of residence. Here
he owns eighty acres of fine farm land,
which he has placed in such an excellent
state of improvement that it vields an
abundant return for the labor expended
upon it.
August 30, 1857. in Whitley county, this
state, occurred the marriage of Mr. Harden-
dorf and Miss Celestine Tousley. a daughter
of David and Nancy ( Noyes) Tousle)-, the
former a native of Vermont and the latter
of Rome, N. Y. Mrs. Hardendorf was
horn in Jefferson county, N. Y., September
15, 1824, and has been an able and willing
assistant of her husband during the many
years in which they have traveled the check-
ered pathway of life together. Their union
resulted in the birth of four children : Al-
pheus J. ; Anna M.. who became the wife
of Frank A. Hitchcock, died in New Mex-
ico at the age of thirty-four years; two chil-
dren died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Harden-
dorf are untiring workers in the Methodist
Episcopal church, of which the)- are mem-
bers and enjoy the confidence and esteem
of all who know them. Mr. Hardendorf
was converted and joined the church when
but thirteen years of age. Three years after-
ward, at the age of sixteen, he was appointed
steward, and at the age of eighteen he was
I a class-leader. From that time until n< >w be
has been an official member of the church.
MR AND MRS. A. HARDENDORF.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
:6g
being steward and class-leader at the same
time, with the exception of a few years. 1 [e
has held all the other offices of the quarterly
conference, save two; to one he was elected
but did nut serve, the other being recording
steward, which is conferred by appointment.
Mrs. Hardendorf was converted at the age
of nineteen years, and has been a member
ever since.
WILLIAM H. FRANKS, M. D.
Each calling or business, if honorable,
has its place in the scheme of human exist-
ence, constituting a part of the plan whereby
life's methods are pursued and man reaches
his ultimate destiny. While all businesses
are needed, the actual importance of each
is largely determined by its usefulness. So
dependent is man upon his fellow-men that
the worth of the individual is largely reck-
oned by what he has done for humanity.
There is no class to whom greater gratitude
is due than to those self-sacrificing, noble-
minded men whose life work has been the
alienation of the burden of suffering that
rests upon the world, thus appreciably
lengthening the span of human existence.
This influence cannot be measured by any
..uman standard; their helpfulness is as
broad as the universe and their power goes
hand in hand with the beneficent laws of na-
ture that come from the source of life itself.
Some one has said, "He serves God best
who serves humanity most."
The skilled physician, then, by the exer-
cise of his native talents and acquired ability,
is not only performing a service for human-
ity but is following in the footsteps of the
great Teacher who said : "Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto the least of these, my
brethren, ye have dune it unto me."
.V name that stands conspicuously forth
m connection with the medical profession oi
northern Indiana is that of Dr. William H.
Franks, the subject of this review, a regular
practicing physician and surgeon at Ligo-
nier, hid. The Franks family was estab-
lished on American soil by .Michael Franks,
the grandfather of Dr. William II.. who
emigrated from Germany and located in
Fayette county, Penn., where he reared a
large family. The Trader family is of Irish
ancestry. The Doctor was born near
Uniontown, Fayette county, Penn., on the
26th of April, 1841. He is a son of Samuel
and Susan ( Trader) Franks, natives also of
the same county. Their lives were there
spent, the mother dying of cancer at the age
of fifty-nine. The father was not remarried,
and lived to the ripe old age of eighty-seven
years. He was a farmer during his active
life and was fairly successful in that calling.
Samuel and Susan Franks were the parents
of eight children, whose curcumstances are
as follows : Sarah, the eldest, is the wife
of John L. Whetstone, a farmer of Fayette
county, Penn.; Amy, the second born, be-
came the wife of Ross Anderson, and, both
are deceased; Elizabeth H. married John
Jaco, who enlisted for service during the
Civil war and was killed on the held of bat-
tle. She is still a widow and resides in her
native county. William H., the subject of
this sketch, is next in order of birth. Eliza
J. is the wife of Charles Griffin and is now-
living in Kansas. Her husband served in
the army throughout the entire peril id of
the Civil war. Amanda became the wife of
Harry Zimmerman and lives in West Vir-
ginia, where her husband is an operator and
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
station agent on the Baltimore & Ohio
Southern Railway. Mary C. is the wife of
Luther Wheeler, of Deer Park, Md. Susan
died of diphtheria at the age of seven years.
Dr. Franks was educated in the public
schools of his native state and at George's
Creek Academy, Fayette county, Penn.
After finishing his common-school studies
he began the study of medicine in the office
of Dr. F. C. Robinson, at Uniontown, Penn.,
and remained there three years. He then
entered Jefferson Medical College at Phila-
delphia, and after finishing a course of study
in that institution removed to Indiana in
[864, and for eleven years practiced the
healing art at Brimfield, Noble county. De-
siring to further perfect himself in the sci-
ence of medicine, he in 1873 entered Rush
Medical College, Chicago, completed the
course in medicine begun at Jefferson Medi-
cal College, and graduated in the spring of
[874. In 1878 Dr. Franks located in Ligo-
nier, and has since remained there, engaged
in the constant practice of his profession.
Since locating in his present field of en-
deavor the Doctor has been favored with a
liberal share of public favor, his success be-
ing but the just reward of his honest efforts
to fulfill the exacting demands made upon
his skill as a physician. Added to this is a
natural geniality and cheerfulness of dis-
position which not only helps him to make
friends but which is so vital an element of
success in the sick-room. The Doctor is .1
member of the Noble County Medical So-
ciety and the Indiana State Medical Society.
I hi September 23, [866, Dr. Franks was
united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Gib-
son, a native of Noble county, Ind.. and a
daughter of A. ( ',. and Eliza Gibson, natives
of Virginia. The parents were among the
early settlers of the county, coming here
when there were but few white people in this
part of the state. The marriage of Dr. and
Mrs. Franks has been blessed with the birth
of four children, two of whom have passed
away. Walter E. was afflicted with spinal
disease from childhood and died at the age
of nineteen. He was a bright and intelli-
gent boy. Earnest G is in the employ of a
railroad company in Colorado. The third
born of this family was Arthur, who died
of diphtheria at the age of seven years.
Haidee May, a young lady, is still under
! tne parental roof, and is a graduate of the
j high school in the class of 1899. She takes
much interest in her musical studies and Is
j a bright young lady of much promise, the
idol of loving parents and a favorite among
' her many friends. Dr. Franks and family
have lived upon the same lot in Ligonier for
twenty-three years.
Religiously the Doctor is a faithful mem-
ber of the Baptist church, while Mrs. Franks
and daughter Haidee are adherents of the
j Methodist Episcopal church. Politically
Dr. Franks has been a life-long Democrat,
though not immovably bound by party ties.
His sympathies are with the free-silver
movement as advocated by William Jennings
Bryan.
Dr. Franks owns a fine farm of one hun-
dred and sixty acres in Elkhart county, ad-
joining the county line. It is finely improved
and well stocked, in the latter line the Doc-
tor making a specialty of thoroughbred Pol-
and-China hogs and Shropshire sheep. He
rents the farm but reserves his stock.
The Doctor's friends are legion and the
future undoubtedly holds in store for him
greater successes than any that have hereto-
fore come to him. The family are occupy-
ALVORD'S HISTORY -OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
ing an enviable position in the community
and have won by merit the respect and es-
teem in which thev are held.
H. R. CORNELL.
For the past thirty-seven years this gen-
tleman has been a photographer at Ligonier,
and is now its leading artist. He is a native
of Wayne county. N. Y.. his birth occur-
ring March 6, 1836. He is a great-grandson
of Zebulon Cornell, a grandson of John and
Mahala (Allen) Cornell, and i-, one in a
family of four sons and two daughters born
to the marriage of William A. Cornell and
Mary E. Case. The family is of Irish-
Scotch-Welsh origin, their coming to this
country being prior to the establishment of
the American colonies as an independent
gi vernment. Notwithstanding the fact thai
the family belonged to the religious sect
known as Quakers, and consequently op-
posed to mortal strife, Zebulon Cornell was
;> soldier in the Revolutionary war, and the
flintlock gun carried by him is a valued pos-
session of the subject of this sketch. John
Cornell came from New York state to In-
diana about the year 1850, locating at La-
grange, where he passed the remainder of
his days. William A. Cornell was a tanner
and shoemaker, and died at Lagrange, Inch,
in 1865.
11. R. Cornell lived in his native state
until seventeen years of age. his time being
passed in going to school, assisting his fa-
ther and such other occupations incident to
the youth of the average American hoy. In
[853 he went to Michigan, and after work-
ing at such employment as offered for about
two years, served a three years' apprentice-
ship at the carpenter's trade, and the suc-
ceedi
tl,
•ee years was engaged m
q 'en-
tering and contracting, a part of the time
being located at Lagrange, Ind. In 1862,
in partnership with his brother, Charles G.,
..e engag'ed in the photographic business at
Toledo, Ohio, and thus continued until Oc-
tober, 1864, when he came to Ligonier,
where he has since resided, engaged in the
same occupation. Mr. Cornell has an es-
tablished reputation of being one of the best
photographers in the state. In 1858 he mar-
ried Natio Antoinette Bush, who died in
February, 1864. leaving two daughters —
Matie E. and Nettie B. These children
nave never known the want of a mother, as
tlie marriage of Mr. Cornell to Miss Ann
E. Gould happily supplied their loss. To
this marriage one daughter was born, Helen
Irene, who died in infancy. Mr. Cornell is
a Royal Arch Mason, an encampment de-
gree Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias.
He is a Republican, served on the old town
board and afterward in the city council of
Ligonier, and has in all ways lived the life
of a law-abiding- citizen.
LEN A. BANTA,
Inventor and manufacturer of the Ormas
Incubator, is a worth)- son of Indiana, hav-
ing been born in Kendall ville, October 27,
18(17. a son ot " John D. and Susan (Blue)
Banta, natives 1 f Elkhart township. Albert
Banta, grandfather, was < ne of the pioneers
of Noble county, and prominent in bringing
about that development of our resources
which has made northern Indiana famous
272
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
among the middle states. The family of
John and Susan Banta comprised seven chil-
, dren: Len, the subject, is the eldest; Wil-
mah; Grace; George F. ; Bruce; Jennie; and
William, who died in childhood. The
youngest three are married ; George has
heeu a merchant for some years in Kansas ;
Bruce is in the employ of his hrother Len ;
Jennie is the wife of Luther Starkey and re-
sides in Wolf Lake.
Len Banta had the usual educational ad-
vantages which fell to the lot of the Indiana
he iv of his day, taking the usual course in the
public schools of his district, supplemented
by a course in the normal institutes of No-
ble and Whitley counties for several years.
On laving aside his studies to take the re-
sponsibilities of life, he taught school in the
aforesaid counties for five and a half years,
and then went to Oregon and engaged in
mining for several years, the hazardous en-
terprise proving successful. In 1875 he re-
turned to Ligonier and established his pres-
ent business, which has proved quite re-
munerative. He is the patentee of the Or-
mas Incubator, the name indicating the lo-
cality where he was living when he worked
out the problem involved in its construction.
The product is a self-regulating machine for
the artificial hatching of eggs. His business
of manufacturing gives employment to a
number of men, and the annual output is
two thousand machines, which find a ready
sale among poultry men.
Mr. Banta was married in this county
in 1889 to Miss Bertie Mathews, a daugh-
ter of Captain E. W. Mathews, now of this
city. She received her preparatory educa-
tion in the public schools of Albion and is a
graduate from the high school. No chil-
dren have blessed this union, but some three
years ago Mr. and Mrs. Banta adopted a
little two-year-old girl named Jessie, who
receives all the care and laving kindness
that would be bestowed on a child of their
own.
The parents of Mr. Banta are residents
of Ligonier, the father a retired merchant
and mechanic in good circumstances. Len
Banta is a member of the Independent Or-
der of Odd Fellows. Religiously he and
wife are members of the Free-Will Baptist
church, and enjoy the society and friendship
of a large circle of friends.
WILLIAM H. HOSLER.
Resides in Orange township in one of the
most beautiful and palatial homes found in
the rural districts of Noble county, Ind.,
and is numbered among the prominent men
of the county and one of its most successful
farmers. Mr. Hosier was born in Morrow
county, Ohio, April 22, 1846, to Samuel
Rorhbaugh and Barbara (Keifer) Hosier,
both natives of Pennsylvania, he of York
county, where he was born November 10,
1820, and she of Lebanon county, born Au-
gust 15, 1823. They resided in what was
then Morrow county, Ohio, until the spring
of 1850, when they moved to Indiana, stop-
ping in Albion for a short time and then lo-
cating in Rome City. While living there the
father worked at his trade, which was that
of a carpenter, and two years later moved to
their farm in Orange township, where they
still reside. Five children were born to
them, namely: John H., who resides in
Reedsburg, Wis.; William W.. of this
sketch; Mary C, wife of Thomas L. Imes;
MAPLE VILLA.
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM HOSLER.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Minerva L., who died in infancy; and Ella
1!., wife of William A. Imes. The paternal
grandparents of William H. Hosier were
George and Catherine (Rorhbaugh ) Hosier,
the grandfather being a skilled carpenter.
The family is of German descent and the
name was originally Hasler.
William H. Hosier was a child of four
years when his parents came to Noble coun-
ty, hid., where he grew to manhood. He
was educated in the common schools and
then entered the Eastman Business College,
of Chicago, in 1866, where he took a com-
plete business course.; lie was pleased with
the free, untrammeled life of the farm and
chose that vocation as the occupation of his
life, meeting with well merited success a- a
result of his industry and application to the
various details which go to form the ele-
ments of farming. He remained with his
parents until his own marriage. December
to. 1N74. to .Miss Mary E., daughter of the
late William lines, of Orange township. Mr.
Imes was one of the most widely known resi-
dents of the township, having resided here
for almost fifty years, and entered heartily
into all the enterprises of public import.
Her mother was Jane ( 1 fafferty 1 Imes. who
survives her husband and lives on the home-
stead. Airs. Hosier was one of seven chil-
dren and was horn March 14. 1856, in
Orange township, where she was reared and
educated. She has presented her husband
with two. daughters: Nellie, who died at the
age of four days, ami Mary Mamie, who is
the wife of Edward H. Rhoades, of Toledo,
Ohio. Mrs. Rhoades was the recipient of
her dipli ma at the age of thirteen and then
attended the high school at Rrimfield one
year and at Rome City two years. She then
entered the college at Oberlin, Ohio, in [894,
17
and took- a musical and classical course at
this famous institution. Mr. Rhoades is an
attorney at law. He graduated from the
Oberlin University, is associated with his
father, ami the style of the firm is Rhoades
& Rhoades. Mr. and Mrs. Rhoades have
one little son, by name of William Hosier.
Mr. Hosier is both prominent and popu-
lar in his count}', is an adherent of the Re-
publican party and cast his first vote for
Grant, lie was trustee of Orange township
two terms — from [884 to 1888 — and was
one of the first members of the county coun-
cil appointed after that office was created.
Mrs. Hosier is a member of the Methodisl
Episcopal church at Brimfield. hid.
HENRY G. ZIMMERMAN.
The Noble county bar has many able
and well-known lawyers who enjoy a repu-
tation its citizens refer to with commendable
pride, and it with this class that Mr. Zim-
merman is known, and to which he has at-
tained by that strict attention to business and.
m m rable dealing which a community re-
quires from those it wishes to refer to as:
repri sentative men.
Mr. Zimmerman is a Pennsylvanian by
birth, and was born in Huntingdon county,
October 27, JN4J. His parents are descend-
ants of that -rand old stock of which Will-
iam Penn was the most prominent type;
whose characteristics can never he obliter-
ated and have had and will continue to have
a controlling influence over the life work of
her people for all time. His early educa-
tion was under her broad and liberal public
school system, supplemented by an academic
274
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
course at the Cassville Seminary and the
State Normal School. Graduating with hon-
ors at the age of seventeen, he immediately
•commenced teaching and followed the pro-
fession for several years. In 1864 he began
the study of law in Hollidaysburg, applying
himself with such earnestness that, on July
27, 1867, he was admitted to the bar in his
native state. So closely had Mr. Zimmer-
man applied himself to teaching and to the
study of law that his health was much im-
paired, and it was deemed advisable to seek
a different climate wherein to recuperate.
After visiting several localities he finally
visited Indiana, came to Noble county in
[809, and was so well pleased that he de-
termined to there locate. He secured the
position of principal of the schools of Ligo-
nier. Noble count)-, which he held for one
year. and. his health having much improved,
lie began the practice of his profession. He
served four years, 1874-78, as county super-
intendent of schools, and his wisdom and
practical methods are yet recognized
throughout the county. In the practice of
his profession he has met with nattering and
yet substantial success, and none enjoy .1
higher reputation as a skillful attorney and
wise counselor.
In 1877 Mr. Zimmerman was married
to Miss Ida E. Loomis. a native of Cleve-
land, Ohio. She is a lady of superior edu-
cation, and with cultivation which elevates
while it adorns. Two children were born
to them: Harry L. and Bayard G. The
former is now a prosperous fanner in South
Dakota, where Mr. Zimmerman also has
large interests, having a tine stock farm of
three hundred and twenty acres near Huron.
The entire family of Mr. Zimmerman are
strong members of the Presbyterian church.
are highly esteemed by the congregation
with whom they worship, besides numerous
friends who know and appreciate their many
virtues.
JESSE L. DUNNING.
This ex-soldier and well-known business
man of Ligonier, Noble county, Ind., was
born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1846,
where he lived with his parents on a farm
until 1859, when they moved to Ligonier,
Ind., where they have since resided. He
attended school until the age of sixteen
years, when he enlisted in Company A, First
Indiana Heavy Artillery, and served three
years. The command was assigned to the
Department of the Gulf, which embraced
Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas, with which
he participated in the engagement of Sabine
I 'ass, Tex., under General Franklin; toeik
part in the Red River expedition under Gen-.
eral Banks ; was in the White River cam-
paign in Arkansas, and engaged in the cam-
paign around Duvall's Bluff, Ark. On the
completion of his service in the army he re-
turned home and attended school for two
years in the old brick school-house on the
public square.
In 18(17 Mr. Dunning was married to
Miss Rosa 1!. Mayfield, a native of Ligonier
and a daughter of Samuel Mayfield. Three
children have been born to them, as follows:
Laura, who is at home with her parents;
Lewis J., Jr., who married Miss Nellie
Cooper, of Grand Rapids, Mich., and is now
engaged in business with his father, the firm
name being J. L. Dunning & Son ; and
Blanche became the wife of J. W. Draper,
manager of the Ligonier Electric Light
Company.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY. INDIANA.
275
The parents of Jesse L. Dunning were
Lewis J. and Anna (Huber) Dunning, resi-
dents of Lancaster, Ohio. The father was
born in Stillwater. N. Y., in 1815, and the
mother in 1824 in Fairfield count). Ohio.
Lewis J. Dunning was a school-teacher in
early life, and. believing that Indiana offered
better opportunities for advancement, moved
to Ligonier, Noble count}-, in 1859, taught
school in the < > 1 < I red school-house one win-
ter and then settled cm a farm one mile
south of Ligonier. In 1861 he again moved
to Ligonier and engaged in mercantile busi-
ness with Captain J. E. Braden. Lewis J.
Dunning, Sr., died April 23, 10.00, and his
widow is now a resident of Ligonier, at the
age of seventy-seven years. Their children
were: Luanda/wife of W. A. Jackson, of
Goshen ; Emma married Frank Jackson,
brother of W. -V., and they are living at
Benton, Ind.; Elizabeth is unmarried and
resides with her mother: one brother die!
in childhood; and Jesse L. is the subject of
this biography.
Prior to engaging in business with his
father Jesse L. Dunning entered the store
■of Braden &: Company, with whom he re-
mained for two years. In 1869 father and
son engaged in business, and the son has oc-
cupied the present stand uninterruptedly
from that date. They enjoyed the utmost
confidence of the public, and the present firm
is regarded as very reliable and successful.
Jesse L. Dunning has given thirty-five years
of his life to the business, and enjoys a high
reputation in business circles, as well as
with the public in general.
Jesse L. Dunning has held several re-
sponsible positions in city, count)- and state.
He served nine years on the city school
board, eight of which he was its treasurer
and handled many thousands of dollars.
He was appointed to the county board of
review by Judge Adair and served for three
years. He has recently been appointed post-
master at Ligonier, which appointment gives
universal satisfaction. Politically Air. Dun-
ning is a stanch Republican, and is active
and influential in the councils of the party.
In his religious views Mr. Dunning is broad
and liberal and is not identified with any de-
nomination.
In addition to his general business Mr.
Dunning is interested in the Hotel Gold-
smith, the principal hostelry in Ligonier.
Mr. Dunning is now engaged in erecting the
finest business room and flat in the city,
being 22x166 feet, two stories and basement
and heated throughout by hot water system.
His increasing business made it necessary
to have more room. His block is pro-
nounced a model of convenience and ele-
gance, being of pressed brick and cut stone,
and he will occupy it about December 1,
1 90 1 .
Among the fraternal organizations Mr.
Dunning holds membership with the Odd
Fellows, Knights of Pythias, the Macca-
bees, Order of Elks and the Grand Army of
the Republic, being the present commander
of the local post. Taking a lively interest
in all matters pertaining to the development
and progress of the city, every movement
in that direction meets with his hearty ap-
proval and earnest support.
JOHN WALKER.
The yeomanry and mechanics of a na-
tion constitute its true greatness: in fact,
make it what it is or may be. A body of
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
men cast upon a desert by shipwreck or other
disaster would indeed be helpless were their
only hope, in failure of rescue, to rest in the
gold or other wealth possessed by any one
of their number, as that under such circum-
stances would prove to be mere dross and
utterly worthless toward establishing a com-
monwealth. But let the unfortunate vic-
tims of such a calamity be gifted with a
reasonable share of health, strength, mechan-
ical and agricultural skill, and there will in
the course of time arise from the desert a
blooming and happy community, replete
with all the necessities and many of the lux-
uries of life. It may, then, be said that the
subject of this sketch is doubly fortunate,
insomuch that he is both a farmer and me-
chanic.
John Walker was born in Richland
county, or rather that part of Richland now
known as Morrow county, Ohio, December
21, 1 82 1, and was there reared to manhood,
both as a farmer and a blacksmith.
In May, 1849, he came to Noble county,
Ind., and located in York township, where
be cleared up a farm, on which he erected
a comfortable dwelling and made many
other improvements, thus developing from
a comparative wilderness a home that was
an ornament to the neighborhood and which
was a source of pecuniary profit to himself.
On this place he lived until early in the
'eighties, when he came to his present home
in Albion township, since which time he has
retired from all active labor and has been
passing his years in quiet serenity and com-
fort.
Mr. Walker was united in marriage, in
Morrow count), Ohio, March j;, 1845,
with Miss Miriam Cook, also a native of
Richland county, Ohio, and born November
to, 1824, but no children have come to sanc-
tify this union.
In politics Mr. Walker is a Democrat,
but while he is interested in the success of
his party at the polls, is not a seeker after
office, and office-holding is so distasteful to
him that, while a resident of York township,
he declined to serve after having been
elected township trustee.
Mr. Walker, however, has passed his
years in useful industry, is very public spir-
ited, and at all times is ready to lend a help-
ing hand in advancing the public welfare
and the moral progress of his community as
well as its physical condition, and no man in
the township is more highly respected by
his neighbors.
DANIEL L. SOWER.
There are men in this life who face death
with impunity and win for themselves as
grand a name on the field of war in a few
vears as they do in the peaceful fields of ag-
riculture in half a lifetime, but happy is
the man who secures a reputation in both
fields within the span of a quarter (if a cen-
tury, as has done the subject of this sketch.
Daniel L. Sower was born on a farm in
Morrow county, Ohio, October 27, [840,
and when ten years of age went with his
parents to live in Seneca county, Ohio; four
years later he went with his father to Gratiot
county. Mich., and located within six miles
of Ithaca, in Noth Star township, where he
lived about five years and then returned to
Morrow county, Ohio, remained there two
vears. and February 26, 1862, enlisted in
G inpanv ( i. Fi irty-mnth Ohio Volunteer
fe «
Br
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ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
'■77
Infantry, in which he served three years. 1 [e
endured the hardships of a soldier's life
must manfully, bravely conducted himself in
several sanguinary engagements, and under-
ment many months of cruel imprisonment
with fortitude, if not with patience.
At the commencement of his military ca-
reer Mr. Sower was overcome by fatigue on
a long march and fairly gave out near Per-
ryville. Ky. He was captured by the enemy,
but was paroled the next day. and the fol-
lowing spring was exchanged, when he re-
joined his regiment at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
At the battle of Chickamauga he was wound-
ed, was again taken prisoner, and was sent
to Richmond. Ya., where he was confined in
the Pemberton prison for about two months
and then sent to Danville, Va.. where he
was imprisoned five months or longer, and
then taken again to Richmond, where he
was paroled a few days later and sent to
Camp Parole, Md., having suffered about
nine months of rebel imprisonment. After
being detained at Camp Parole about six
weeks he was transferred to Camp Chase,
at Columbus. Ohio, where he was held about
five months, when he was exchanged and
rejoined his regiment at Huntsville, Ala.
He took part in the siege of Corinth, after
the battle of Shiloh, and was honorably dis-
charged and mustered out at Huntsville,
Ala., February 27, 1865.
Mr. Sower never had the advantages of
a good practical education. Whilst a resident
of Michigan he had the honor of attending
the pioneer school of the early days of Mich-
igan. The building was erected of hewn
logs and 22x28 feet in dimension. It was
covered with clapboards or "shakes" and
the seats were of split saplings or puncheons.
He has witnessed the transformation from
the log cabin school-house to the modern
school-houses of the twentieth century. He
has witnessed threshing done in the good old
way, without any separator to clean the
grain from the chaff as to-day. When he
and his estimable wife became citizens of
Noble county, it was almost a wilderness
where their home lies. They resided for
years in a humble log cabin and a greater
part of their beautiful estate of to-day was
covered with the unbroken forest. Bv per-
severance and economy, coupled with de-
termination, they haw toiled early and late
and practiced economy, and to-day, in 1902,
they have one of the most beautiful home-
steads in the township of Orange. Their
beautiful and costly residence was erected
in 1887, and besides their large and com-
modious residence their large barns and out-
buildings and well fenced fields, closely kept
up. indicate the thrifty farmers. All these
years Mr. Sower was ably assisted by his
wife, who has nobly and valiantly stood by
his side in the building up of their beautiful
estate.
As a soldier Mr. Sower has a record
which he may well feel proud of. He was a
prisoner of war at two different times dur-
ing his term of service, which was 1 f three
years duration. His first capture was in
the vicinity of Perryville, Ky. He with
others of the boys in blue, had been on a
long and wear}" march at the time when Gen-
eral Buell was in pursuit of the rebel Gen-
ral Bragg. His shoes were worn out and
when they came to Louisville, Ky., expecting
to rest for a time, orders came to proceed to
Frankfort, Ky.. and while there he. with
some others purchased each a pair of boots.
Mr. Sower's boots being rather tight for him
on the weary and long march, had to re-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
move them and carry them and march in his
bare feet. Exhaustion was finally the cause
of his falling by the wayside, and whilst
resting and there recuperating for the tedious
march, he was captured by the Rebel cavalry ;
but was soon paroled, and was forced, with
others of his companions, to make his way
to Cincinnati, a distance of one hundred
miles, and they were forced to beg food of
the people as they passed to their destination.
His regiment was at the extreme right at
Chickamauga when the actions opened on
the morning of the first days fight, but was
transferred and at noon was in the advance
front in the charge. They took two fields
of artillery. The second day's action was
on Sunday. General Wilich, the commander
of their division,- made a speech to the sol-
diers and said : — "Veil, boys, you may ex-
pect to have hard fighting to-day, but nut too
hard for us." It was about 10 A. M., of
this day whilst the regiment was in hot
action, each man endeavoring to shield him-
self, which was the order given. Mr. Sower
was standing behind a small sapling, when
just at his side his comrad, Walter T. Colo,
was struck down by a minnie ball — Mr.
Sower said, "Walter, are you hurt?" No
response came and he never saw his comrade
again. At this action Mr. Sower received
a graze on the right arm, whilst loading his
gun — nothing serious. During the after-
noon engagement, whilst his regiment was
resting on their guns, near one of their
silent batteries, Mr. Sower was struck on
the left hand and right forefinger with a
cannon hall, or a part of a shell, which dis-
abled his left hand and he carries this wound
to this day.
He was not lit to go onward in the action
and was ordered to fall back to an old va-
cated house, where a number of the wounded
and dying were gathered. Whilst there,,
amid the groans of the dying and wounded
Mr. Sower and his guard and a comrade
made their way to a neighboring ravine, with
as many canteens as they could carry, to ob-
tain water for the poor fellows. They filled
the canteens from pools and when they were
taken in charge by a rebel squad. He barely,
missed the chance by one day of being incar-
cerated in the terrible Andersonville Prison
Pen. His imprisonment in the rebel prison
pens was terrible, and no one knows the
horrors and ordeals the poor soldiers passed
through but those who were really there.
All honor is due the noble men who so
valiantly defended the flag, and endured the
hardships and vicissitudes of a soldiers life,
like the subject of this review.
It may he added that Mr. Sowers was a
teacher in Noble county at the early age of
sixteen and also taught the \ear previous to
his marriage.
At the conclusion of this long term of
valiant army service, Mr. Sower came to
Noble count}'. Ind., and engaged in car-
penter work for about two years; he then
rented land in Orange township for a year,
when he removed to Gratiot county, Mich.,
and located on land that he had previously
purchased, and on which he resided about
eighteen months, when he returned to
Orange township. Noble county, Ind., rented
land for another year, and then purchased
one hundred and five acres of his present
homestead, all of which he has cleared up,
and to which he has added ninety acres by
purchase.
Mr. Sower is classed among the fore-
most of the agriculturists of Orange town-
ship, and his farm is one of the finest in his
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
part of the county. It is improved with an
elegant dwelling that is an ornament to the
neighborhood, and his farm-buildings are
unsurpassed for convenience and substan-
tial construction, while his fields display a
scene that indicates to the most careless ob-
server the direction of a master mind fully
imbued with agricultural skill and a knowl-
edge of profitable husbandry.
July _', 1868, .Mr. Sower contracted a
marriage with one of the most amiable and
accomplished young ladies of Orange town-
ship — Miss Mary S. Keifer, who was born
in Morrow county, Ohio, July 2, 1847, and
this happy union has been crowned with two
children, Corinna and Harry.
Elias Sower, the father of Daniel L.
Sower, was horn in York county, Penn.,
April 5, 1810. was a physician and also a
clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal
church. He married Margaret Bitner, a
highly respected lady and a native of Penn-
sylvania. To this marriage were born ten
children, eight of whom grew to maturity.
George Keifer. the father of Mr. Mary S.
(Keifer) Sower, was horn in Long Chan-
nel, Germany, May 24, 18 15, and married
Mary M. Sower, who was horn in Center
county, Pennsylvania, January 19, 1819, and
is a descendant of one of the most prominenl
families of the Keystone state. Mrs. Elias
Sower was called away August 1, 1851, but
Elias himself survived until September 10,
1887. when he expired in Gratiot count}-,
Mich.
George Keifer and wife came from Mor-
row county, Ohio, to Noble county, Ind„ and
settled in Orange township, where he passed
the remainder of his days, and died Novem-
ber 18, 1898. Of their two children. Mrs.
Sower was the younger. George Keifer
came from Germany with his parents in
[819 and was reared in Lebanon and Lan-
caster counties, Penn., until about twenty
years old, and then located in Morrow coun-
ty, Ohio, where his marriage took place. He
was reared to shoemaking, but after coming
to Noble count\, \n<\., gave the greater part
of his attention to fanning after the first
ten years of his residence here, having real-
ized quite a competence at his trade in the
meanwhile.
Mr. Sower is a Republican in politics and
is always ready to perform his duties as a
citizen at the behest of his party, but is not
an habitual office-seeker. He has served for
live years as assessor of Orange township
and for one year a deputy assessor, in which
office he performed his duties so impartially
as to gain the approbation of the entire com-
munity. He has in fact taken an active part
in all local affairs, and, being a broad-mind-
ed and public-spirited citizen, has gained the
undying approbation of his fellow citizens.
Mr. and Mrs. Sower arc most liberal in their
contributions and to all benevolences worthy
their consideration.
JOHN T. POLLOCK.
This gentleman is widely known as one
of the honored citizens of Noble count)-.
where for many years he has been promi-
nently identified with the varied interests of
Ids community. His well-directed efforts in
the practical affairs of life, his capable man-
agement of his business interests and his
sound judgment have brought to him pros-
perity, and his life demonstrates what may
he accomplished by the man of energy and
ambition.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
John T. Pollock was born March 12,
1841, in Richland county, Ohio, and is a son
of William and Mary (Darker) Pollock,
the former a native of Pennsylvania, while
the latter came from Ohio. William Pol-
lock came to Indiana in 1848 and located in
the vicinity of Cromwell, where he engaged
in the pursuit of agriculture. He remained
at this place until 1867, in which year lie lo-
cated near Gcshen, Elkhart county, this
state, where he remained until his death, at
the ripe old age of eighty-seven years. To
William and Mary Pollock were born the
following named children: Thomas .'v.,
Elsie A., Elizabeth, Simon, John T., Eli J.,
Margaret M., Lousetta and Lovisa.
John T. Pollock received as good an edu-
cate 11 as the common schools of Sparta
township afforded, but any further advance
in this direction was interrupted by the ad-
vent 1 t war. The clamor of civil strife was
resounding through the land, and young Pol-
lock, then just assuming his majority, real-
ized that he owed a duty to his country. On
February 20, 1862, he donned the blue and
went to the front, where he served faith-
fully and well alrro st four years, being hon-
orably discharged November 2j, 1865, after
having endured all the hardships and priva-
tions which fell to the lot' of the soldiers
during that terrible struggle, and having
been wounded in the leg, September 2, 18:14.
at Lovejoy Station, Ga., when he came near
bleeding to death.
Up< a his return from the army he took
hold of the work upon the home farm, re-
maining there until his marriage, in 1868,
when he began renting land. He farmed in
that way for twenty years, when, in 1888,
rte was appointed postmaster of Cromwell
under President Harrison's administration,
and held that office four years, making an
enviable record for efficiency in that office.
Upon retiring from the postoffice Mr. Pol-
lock purchased a farm south of Cromwell,
but remained there only a little more than a
year, when he moved into the place where he
now lives, known as the William Hitler
farm. The tract now contains eighty acres.
On March 1, 1868, Mr. Pollock look
unto himself a helpmate in the person of
.Miss Mary A. Ohlwine, daughter of Samuel
Ohlwine. Their marriage has been blessed
by the birth of two children. The eldest,
Hattie A., was born December 7, 1868. and
became the wife of Thomas Adams, a farmer
of Whitley county. They have two children
living — Cedfic and Andrew T. Their sec-
ond child. Milton, was born February 5,
1870, and died February 28, 1888.
In politics Mr. Pollock is a stanch Re-
publican. Religiously he is a member of the
Cniversalist church in Cromwell, while the
other members of the family belong to the
New Light Christian church. In all the re-
mmanded the respect
1 with whom he has
brought in contact, and the history of
locality would be incomplete without a
rd of his career.
DAVID S. LONGFELLOW.
This valiant ex-soldier, who. it may be
said in passing, bears a striking resemblance
to his illustrious namesake, the poet, Henry
W. Longfellow, ranks as one of the old and
honored as well as honorable pioneers of
the part of the country in which he now
lives. The world judges the character of
lati
his ot lite he
confidence
&^ I &
(z^im—ef./Jf^
e~^e^ms
Qj/ajuKsK &• ^-^^fUZa^c^
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
a community largely by those of its repre-
sentative citizens and yields its tributes of
admiration and respect to those whose
works and actions constitute the record of
that community's prosperity and pride.
Among the prominent citizens of Washing-
ton township. Noble county, Ind., who are
so well known by reason of the prominent
part they have taken in public affairs is Da-
vid S. Longfellow.
Mr. Longfellow was born April to,
1832, in Champaign county. Ohio. His
parents were Joseph and Martha 1 Hull-
Crow ) Longfellow, the former a native of
Maryland, who died in [865, at the ripe
old age of ninety-nine years, and the latter
was a native of Virginia. The original pro-
genitor of this family was William Longfel-
low, who emigrated to America 111 [673.
Joseph Longfellow and Mrs. Martha Crow
were united in marriage in Champaign
county, Ohio, settled down to an agricul-
tural life and lived there until death— the
long period of sixty years — from 1805 to
[865, Joseph Longfellow becoming a vet-
eran of the war of 1812. To this union
with Martha Crow were born the following
children: Lemuel V., who is a resident of
Iowa; William, who died in infancy; Nathan
M., who was a Baptist minister and died
about 1896; David S., subject of tins
sketch: Silas N.. who is now living 011 the
old home place; and Amos M., who died in
Kosciusko county. Ind.. in 1N84.
David S. Longfellow attended the com-
mon schools of Champaign county. Ohio,
and afterward a select school in Greene
count v. that state. He attended these insti-
tutions until he was twenty years ,,1,1, after
which time he attended two terms in Dela-
ware College. He taught school seventeen
terms, but afterard went back for another
term at college. In 1853 he came to Indiana
and engaged in teaching school during the
winters, going back to ( )hio in the summer,
1', r two years. In 1855 he began a long ca-
reer as a school-teacher in Indiana, continu-
ing at this occupation during sixteen cm
secutive terms. In the meantime, during
the summer seasons, he industriously cleared
and farmed the property on which he now
lives. He bought this farm in 1856, and is
now the owner of one hundred and sixty
acres of fine land.
On February 17, 1805. Mr. Longfellow
enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and
Fifty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at
Kendallville. The regiment was assigned
to the Army of the Potomac in the Shen-
andoah valley, and Mr. Longfellow was
commissioned first lieutenant of his com-
pany and fought under General Hancock
in the Reserve Corps until his honorable
discharge, August 30, [865.
Mr. Longfellow has been twice married.
The first time, on August id, 1855, he was
wedded to Miss Barbara Greider, who was
born in 1834. a daughter of Henry Greider.
After bis marriage he spent one year in
Ohio, and after the death of this wife in
1858 he resided with his father-in-law. To
this union were born two children: Martha
I-;., who became the wife of Jacob Gilbert
and bore him six children — David E.,
Charles A., Aria G., Hazel. Mabel, and El-
lis, the last named a citizen of Kosciusko
county, Ind.; Barbara, married to William
C. Cook, and they have two children — Jen-
nie L., and Leroy L., the hitter deceased.
Mrs. Cook attended Valparaiso Normal
School one year and taught five terms in
Noble countv.
282
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
For his second wife Air. Longfellow
married, on October 8, 1868, Miss Sarah E.
Hindbaugh. She was born on May 6, 1844,
a daughter of John S. and Mary (Moore)
Hindbaugh. To this union have been born
ten children, of whom seven are living. A
brief enumeration of these children is as
follows: Ida M. resides at home and was
a student for one year at Delaware College,
Noble county. Ind. ; Howard C. received
his diploma from the common schools and
attended one term at Delaware College; he
married Cora Arnold, and they have two
children. Irene and John Bryon. He is a
farmer of Washington. Homer, after fin-
ishing his duties in the common schools,
spent six years in Delaware College, grad-
uating in the classical course. He took first
honors in the contest of the Central Ora-
torical League, including colleges in the
states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and New
York. He was superintendent of schools
at Forgy, Clark county Ohio, from Septem-
ber, 1898, to January, 1899, but his health
failing at this time, he was compelled to re-
linquish his educational work and has not
taken it up since. He anticipates enterng
Ann Arbor Law School. The fourth child
was Hadley K., who is now deceased. Mat-
thew L.. now a resident of Fort Wayne,
has taught two terms of school, and is now
a student in his sophomore year at Delaware
College. Sarah V. is unmarried; Grace O.,
deceased; Chlce M., and Iva Z. ; John J.,
deceased. Chloe is a teacher of Washing-
ton township and Iva Z. is taking the nor-
mal course at Ada. Ohio.
John S. Hindbaugh traced his lineage
tn the German and was born in Pennsyl-
vania, was a farmer, was a Republican in
politics, and a member of the Christian
church. His wife was of Scotch-Irish ex-
traction, and of her ancestry there is be-
ing compiled a genealogical tree running
back a century.
Mrs. Longfellow was reared in Noble ■
county, Ind.. and was but fourteen years of
age when brought here in a wagon from
Ohio by her parents. She was educated in
the common schools and was herself a teach-
er in Kosciusko, AMiitley and Noble coun-
ties.
Mr. Longfellow has been an active Re-
publican ever since casting his first ballot,
and has been honored at various times with
public office. He served five years as a jus-
tice of the peace, two years as assessor, and
four years as township trustee. He was
also four years postmaster at Wilmot, Ind.
He has at all times and in all positions
proven his efficiency and firmness for offices,
of public trust.
Religiously Air. and Airs. Longfellow
are members of the Alethodist Episcopal
church at North Webster, Ind., while so-
cially they are popular with a host of warm
personal friends. Their record in this com-
munity has been a worthy one and they
rightly merit the honor and respect which is
paid them.
SAAIUEL AI. SAIITH.
Agriculture has many old and experi-
enced followers in the township of Elkhart,
Noble county, Ind., but none more so than
Samuel M. Smith, the subject of this sketch.
Air. Smith was born in Bowling Green
township, Licking county, Ohio, April 22,
1822, and there lived until 1853, when he
came to Noble county, Intl., and here made-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
283
his home with his father until he thought
tit to take to himself a life partner, and t'>
the father and mother reference will he made
further on.
The first land' purchased by Mr. Smith
was a tract of eighty acres of woods, the
greater part of which he at once cleared up
and mi which he erected good, substantial
ami commodious buildings for dwelling and
farm purposes, hut this tract he has since in-
creased to three hundred and twenty acres,
and has now one of the best farms in Elk-
hart township.
Mr. Smith was joined in matrimony, in
Delaware county. Ohio, January _'. 1859,
with Miss Elizabeth Brown, who was horn
in Harlem township, Delaware county, Ohio,
January 20, 1833, and this marriage was
crowned by the birth of two children — Mary
E. and Joseph W. The younger of these,
Joseph W., was horn in Elkhart township,
August 14, 1869. and was here reared and
educated and was married, November 7.
1889, to Miss Myra E. Smalley, who was
horn in Mound Creek, Miami county, Kans.,
October 3, 1869. and is a daughter of Lewis
and Sarah (White) Smalley. This happy
marriage was blessed with one boy and
girl. Coy M. and Charles L, who are the
pets and admiration of all who are ac-
quainted with the amiable parents. Mrs.
Samuel M. Smith, the grandmother of these
two interesting young children, was called
away March 10, 1807, greatly deplored by
the family and the entire community, by
whom she had been held in the highest pos-
sible esteem.
John A. Smith, the father of Samuel M.,
was a native of Shenandoah count)-. Va.,
and was born in 1894. He married Miss
Mary Wilson, who was born probably O
Pennsylvania, the marriage taking place in
Muskingum county, Ohio, and the newly-
married couple coming to Noble county,
Ind., in [853. Here they settled in Elkhart
township, where they passed the remainder
of their lives, Mrs. Smith being upwards of
sixty years of age at the time of her death
and Mr. Smith nearly seventy. They were
among the most respected residents of the
township and their memory will long he
cherished by those who survive them. They
have had a family of ten children, and of
these Samuel M., the subject of this sketch,
was the fourth child in order of birth.
Joseph \\\ Smith and his accomplished
and amiable wife are worthy representatives
of their respective ancestors, and occupy .1
high position in the regard of their many
friends and in that of all their neighbors.
JOHN COOK.
The foreign-born citizens of the United
States constitute an important element of
population and are. as a rule, among the
most industrious and thrifty of our agri-
cultural classes, and one of these citizens is
John Cook, a farmer of Elkhart township.
Noble county, Ind., and the subject proper
of this notice.
The parents of John Cook, Henry and
Sophia Cook, were natives of Mecklenberg,
Germany, who came to America in 1866
and settled in Elkhart township, Noble
county, Ind.. where the father died in 1873,
when sixty-seven years old. and the mother
in March, 1897, at the age of eighty-four.
Of their ten children, John, the subject of
this sketch, was the second child in order
of birth.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Jchn Cook, also a native of Mecklen-
burg, Germany, was born August 12, 1833,
and was in his twenty-first year when be-
came to America. For three years be
worked out as a farm hand in various places,
and then located' in Henry county, Ohio,
where he married for his first wife Catherine
Rhodes, a native of Seneca county, in the
same state. For seven and a half years be
continued residence in Henry county, and
then came to Indiana and lived in Elkhart
county frorri the fall of [862 until his com-
ing to Elkhart township. Noble county, in
1882. and here he now owns two hundred
and twenty nine and one-half acres of choice
land, and lias one of the best improved and
cultivated farms in the township.
To the first marriage of Mr. Cook were
born five children, viz: Mary, Ella, Ida B ,
Ada B. and Amanda. Mrs. Catherine died
in Elkhart county, Ind.. in 1868, and Mr.
I ook next married, in 1871, Angeline Klink.
who In n-e him four children, who were
named Charles, Bert, Julia and Edward.
Mr>. Angeline Cook was called away in Elk-
hart count}-, when about thirty-two years
old, and Mr. Cook was again married,
choosing for his third bride Miss Sarah C.
Dull, who was born in Stark count} - , Ohio,
September 13, 1850, and this union has been
graced with one child, Cora S.
Mr. Cook has been a steady-going, in-
dustrious and careful farmer, and through
these habits has secured a competence that
makes him contented with his lot in life. He
has been a moral man and a model citizen,
and he and wife are members of the German
M. E. church, while in politics he is a Re-
publican. His walk through life has been
such as to win the respect of all who have
known him, wherever he has resided, and
no man is better thought of in Elkhart
township.
John Dull, the father of Mrs. Sarah C.
( Dull ) Cook, was born in Somerset county,
Perm., in 1805, and his wife, Catherine
(Hountein) Dull, was a native of West-
moreland count}-, in the same state, born
in 1823. They were married in Westmore-
land count}-, Penn., and thence moved to
Stark count}-, Ohio, from where they came
to Noble county, Ind., in 1859, and lived in
Washington township until 1865, when they
moved to York township, where the mother
passed away in 1883 and the father in De-
cember, 1885. They had a family of eleven
children, of whom Mrs. Cook was the sixth
in order of birth, and no more respected
family ever lived in York township.
PETER SCHLOTTERBACK.
The subject of this brief biographical
outline, who bears the distinction of having
been the first white child born within the
confines of Noble county, Ind.. is an ex-
soldier, and a prominent shoe man of the
town of Ligonier. Peter Scblotterback was
born February 26. 1833, on the southern
edge of Perry's Prairie, a son of Gideon
and Mary (Fugle) Scblotterback. Gideon
Schlotterback was a native of Pennsylvania
and at the age of nine years accompanied
his parents upon their removal to Ohio.
He remained in the Buckeye state a number
of years and then, in 1832, came to Indiana
and settled on Perry's Prairie, where he re-
mained until his death. His wife, Mary,
was the daughter of Adam Engle. The
union of Gideon ami Mary Schlotterback
was blessed with a large family, twelve
dfefat, JcA/oHgd^y/^ (jbrf& ^Jl^xl^^t
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XUI'.LE COUNTY. INDIANA.
285
children having been burn to them, seven of
whom are living. Their names are as fol-
lows: Peter, the subject; Henry; Susan,
deceased; Eli; Luanda, deceased; Malinda,
deceased; Millie; Adam; Mary, deceased;
Ira; Emma, and a daughter who died in
infancy.
Peter Schlotterback pursued his studies
in the public schools of Ligonier until about
the age of twenty-one years. At this time
he commenced working by the month, and
spent two years with Andrew Ingle. He
then settled at Rochester, Ind., where for
about eighteen months he engaged in farm-
ing. Then, for two years, he lived on the
farm' which is his present home, afterwards
moving two miles south of Rochester, re-
maining at the last location about fifteen
years. It was while living on this farm in
the fall of 1864, that he enlisted for service
in the Union army, and for almost a year
served his country faithfully, receiving his
final discharge on July 4. 1865. In 1870,
Mr. Schlotterback went to Texas and re-
mained there thirteen years, engaged in the
shoe business. However, finding that the
old Hoosier state still had for him superior
attractions, he returned to his old home in
Ligonier and has since remained here, con-
ducting a well-stocked shoe store and re-
taining a large share of the public patronage.
On August 1, 1857. Peter Schlotterback
was united in marriage with Miss Rosetta
Flowers, a daughter of Aaron and Phoebe
(Sills) Flowers. The latter couple were
both natives of Ohio, and about 1853 came
to Indiana and settled upon the farm where
Mr. Schlotterback now lives, the mother dy-
ing there at the advanced age of eighty-
nine years. To their union were born two
children, Rosetta and Michael, the latter de-
ceased. The marriage of Mr. Schlotterback
and wife was blessed with the advent of
twelve children, nine of whom are living,
as follows: Harriet A., born May 19,
1859, became the wife of Jefferson Johns,
and to them were born five children, W'in-
nifred, Carrie, Daisy, Thomas and an in-
fant daughter, deceased; Milton II. married
Ricki Zimmerman, and they have 1 me child,
Iva; Cassius M. married Sarah Miller;
Lincoln P. is now living in California;
Mary E. is the wife of Alonzo Irion;
Gideon E. married Lucretia Defenbaugh;
Phoebe I. became the wife of Jacob L. Al-
bright; Iva L. is the wife of Edward E.
Hutton; Aaron E. is deceased; Carlotta
I. married Jacob E. Huffman; Irma W.
died in infancy, and Lizzie Clara is also de-
ceased.
Politically Air. Schlotterback is not
bound by any party ties, but votes at all
times for principle rather than party, giving
his support to those men whom he consid-
ers m« st worthy of the public confidence.
In all matters affecting the public welfare
Mr. Schlotterback takes a keen and active
interest, and invariably throws his influence
in the direction of the higher moral, social
and commercial standing of his community.
His business efforts have been crowned with
a large degree of success, richly merited,
and now in his advanced years he is enjoy-
ing the reward of his former toil and hon-
est endeavor.
DAVID TOURDAN.
David Jourdan, a biographical review
whose life becomes a part of the memo
of .Noble county's prominent citizens, is
286
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
native of Columbiana county, Ohio, was
born December 17. 1.841, and is a son of
William and Catherine (Wolf) Jourdan,
both natives of Germany, the father coming
from Baden. They were married in Colum-
biana county, and in 1846. when David was
a lad of six years of age, moved with their
family to Noble county, Ind., settling on a
farm in Wayne township. Here the mother
died at the age of fifty-two years, her con-
sort following her to the grave a few years
later, at the age of sixty years. They were
the parents of seven children, David, the
subject, being the eldest.
David Jourdan passed his youthful days
upon his father's farm, located about three
miles from Kendallville, on what was known
as "Long Marsh." There he received his
education through the medium of the district
school, and assisted his father in reclaiming
a home farm from the wild lands out of
which some of the finest farms of the coun-
try have been made. At the early age of
fourteen he began working for farmers of
the neighborhood and in what was then
known as the "Sawyer Settlement."
When the Civil war broke out in 1861,
David Jourdan was early enthused with the
patriotic spirit which burst forth in all
parts of the country. The first call was soon
filled, and strong belief was held that the
trouble would soon be overcome. It was
not until October, 1862, therefore, that Mr.
Jourdan entered the service, enlisting in
Company M. First Indiana Sharpshooters,
serving one year. He was in the engage-
ment at Island Xo. 10, that at Pea Ridge,
and the battle at Helena, Ark. The enlist-
ment being for one year, he returned home
at the expiration of his term, going to No-
ble county, where he engaged in working on
a farm and in a saw : mill for about ten years.
He then bought twenty acres of land in
"Wayne township, which he improved, and
whereon he settled and lived for two years.
Selling this piece of property for a fair sum,
he purchased one hundred acres in Elkhart
township, located near the town of Cosper-
ville. He cleared and settled on this farm,
making valuable improvements and erecting
good and substantial buildings. This fine
piece of property became his home for twen-
ty years. Desiring to retire from the ardu-
ous duties incident to farm life, he rented
the place and engaged as a traveling sales-
man for the Fleming Manufacturing Com-
pany, of Fort Wayne, 'remaining with the
company for six years, making his home in
that city. After severing his connection with
the company he returned to Cosperville and
engaged in the hardware business, meeting
with the same general success which had re-
warded his efforts in all previous lines.
November 25, 1863, shortly after his re-
turn from the army, Mr. Jourdan married
Miss Sarah Iddings,- who was born in Ken-
dallville, Ind., July 26, 1846. They are. the
parents of two children, namely : Waldo
and Georgia, the latter of whom is married
to James Milner, of Ligonier.
The father of Mrs. Jourdan was Jack-
son Iddings, a native of Seneca county,
Ohio, and the mother was Barbara Ding-
man, who was born in Shelby county, Ohio.
After marriage they moved to Indiana and
settled in Wayne township, where they died,
she at the age of sixty years, and he at the
ripe old age of seventy-nine. They were the
parents of thirteen children, Mrs. Jourdan
being the sixth in order of birth. Among
the fraternal organizations Air. Jourdan
holds membership with the A. F. & A. M.,
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
of Ligonier. For religious purposes he and
his estimable wife attend the Freewill Bap-
tist church.
JOHN PANCAKE (Deceased).
The settlers of Noble count}-, Inch, of
over half a century ago might with strict
propriety have been designated as pioneers,
as the country was at that time quite a wil-
derness and in many parts awaiting the first
stroke of the sturdy woodman's ax in laying
low the giant monarchs of the forests for
the purpose of making way for the onward
march of a fast-approaching civilization, as
was the case with Elkhart township when
the late John Pancake came here from the
Buckeye state in 1846.
The pioneer's life, as even modern read-
ers km i\v through tradition and otherwise,
was one of self-sacrifice, hard toil and un-
wavering courage in facing the inevitable
dangers attendant upon life in the depths of
the mysterious forests infested with wild
beasts of prey and men of equally wild pro-
pensities, and with these it was the lot of the
subject of this sketch, of reverend memory,
largely to contend.
John Pancake, the founder of the greatly
respected family bearing that surname in
Noble county at this day, was born in Pick-
away county, Ohio, on the old Pancake
homestead, July 9, 181 8, and was reared to
farming. He was first married in his native
county, in 1846. to Miss Etfie A. Radcliff.
who was also a native of the Buckeye state
and a daughter of Job and Martha Radcliff,
who were born in Yirginia. John Pancake
and his bride came to Indiana the same year
of their marriage and settled in Noble coun-
ty on land which had been entered in 1838
in Elkhart township by his father, John Pan-
cake, and on which he later erected the fine
residence which is still the pride of the town-
ship. Here Mrs. Effie A. Pancake was called
from earth in 1847, leaving one child, Elias
Douglass Pancake, who died in Wichita,
Kans., December 10. [883, of pneumonia.
The second marriage of John Pancake
took place March 4, 1849, m Pickaway coun-
ty, Ohio, to Miss Susan Cornell, a native of
Virginia, born October 6. 1818 and a daugh-
ter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Parker) Cor-
nell, also> natives of the Old Dominion, but
who died in McLean county, 111. To this
second marriage were born two children,
viz. : Mary E., the wid< w 1 >f Elza J. Thomp-
son, who died in 1'errv township, Noble
county, Ind., Ma)- 3. 1899; and Margaret E.
It was on his wedding day, March 4,
1849, that John Pancake and his newly-wed-
ded wife started on horseback from Ohio
for their home in Noble county. Ind.. taking
eleven days to make the journey, and took
up their residence on a well-appointed farm.
Like his elegant brick dwelling, this farm
was a model in neatness and was cultivated
in the most scientific and effective manner.
His crops were always sure and reliable and
consequently profitable. His farm buildings
were commodious and substantial, and sup-
plied with every convenience, and his live
stock of the highest strains and best pedi-
grees. He thoroughly understood his voca-
tion, and had but few. if any, equals in its
practice.
Mr. Pancake was broad minded and lib-
eral in his political views, was active in local
affairs, and did much toward directing the
course of public events. His advice was
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
sought on all questions of public investment
in works of utility, and his foresightedness
a marvel to his fellow citizens, as he never
made a mistake in his forecast of results-
He was a God-fearing man, incorruptible in
love of truth and unswerving in his integrity.
This noble old pioneer died on his estate
of three hundred and eighty acres in Noble
county j January 6, 1892, and his loss was a
deq> sorrow to his friends and neighbor-
hood, who felt that one of the best and
wisest men of the township had been taken
from their midst and that his equal would
not soon be found.
EPHRAIM HARTING,
An influential agriculturist and prominent
citizen of Noble county. Ind., was born in
Summit county, Ohio, August 30, 1843, an(1
is a son of Richard and Anna M. (Click)
Harting. both of whom were natives of
Pennsylvania. The father was born March
18, 1&10; and was a child of two years when
his parents moved into Ohio, which was his
home until 1854, when he came to Noble
county. Ind., and later to Elkhart county,
where he died June 28. 1888, at the age of
S&venty-eight years. Twelve children com-
posed his family: Richard, Jr., Samuel,
Hezekiah, Simon. Manassa and Sarah died
in early life, while Maria, Valentine, Eliza,
Hannah, Ephraim and Franklin grew to
adult years. Maria was the wife of William
J. Miller and died in September, 1890. Val-
entine, now deceased, married Miss Rebecca
Streby. Eliza is the widow of Joel Raber.
Hannah is the wife of William Shroyer, and
Franklin was united with Miss Delia Hass-
inger.
Ephraim Harting received his education
in the public schools of Wolcottville and
adopted the pursuit of husbandry as the vo-
cation of his life. On March 17, 1887, he
took up his residence on the farm he now
occupies and has given his entire attention
to its cultivation. He owns one hundred
and sixty acres of land in Noble county and
eighty acres in Elkhart, which is kept in a
high state of cultivation and shows the care-
ful, painstaking farmer. Mr. Harting was
joined in marriage with Miss Rebecca R.
Newman, a daughter of Asbury and Mar-
garet (Cochran) Newnam. The father
died in January, 1867. Mrs. Harting was
one of the seven children, viz : Nancy, wife
of Levi Eshelman ; Rebecca, Mrs. Harting;
Melvina F.. Mrs. Morton Whitmer, a
, widow; William H., who died in childhood;
Francis : Margaret J., deceased; and Charles,
who died in infancy. Six children have
blessed the home of Ephraim Harting,
namely: John F., who was born May 22,
1867; Clara A., who was born in 1869 and
died in infancy; Ida M. and Homer, who
were twins and were born November 3.
[871. Ida lived but a short time, but Homer
has grown to manhood and is the father of
two bright children, Lela M. and Lulu O.
His wife was popular in the days of her
maidenhood as Miss Luella Case; Cora E.,
who was born July 13, 1876, married M. R.
Click, a farmer of St. Joseph county, this
state; and Nellie E., who was born August
15, 1886. Mr. Harting was a member of
the organization known as the Indiana Regu-
lators and entered the Civil war in 1862,
serving faithfully until he received his dis-
charge about one year later on account of
disability. He is an honored member of
the Grand Army Post, No. 320, at Millers-
EPHRAIM HARTING GROUP.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
burg, has served as commander and is now
senior vice, and is a man whose upright
character lias won him a warm place in the
esteem of those who know him.
ISAAC NEWTON PANCAKE.
One of the foremost agricultural families
of Elkhart township, Noble county, Inch, is
that of the late Isaac Pancake, who was
bnrn in Licking county, Ohio, in 1813, and
who married Miss Eve Smith, also a native
of Licking county, and born in 1827.
Mr. and Airs. Isaac Pancake were mar-
ried in the county of their nativity, whence
they came to Noble county, Ind., in the
spring of 1845 am ' settled in Elkhart town-
ship, where they passed the remainder of
their lives, honored and respected by all who
knew them, the father dying July 26, 1879,
in his sixty-sixth year, and the mother on
the 14th day of September, 1881, when fifty-
eight years old. They had born to them a
family of seven children, who were named
in order of birth as follows: John, Joseph
L., Isaac N. (the subject of this sketch).
Mary, William, Geneva V. and Cora.
Isaac Newton Pancake was born in Elk-
hart township. Noble count) - , Ind.. January
to, [847, and was reared to practical agri-
cultural work on his father's homestead, on
which he still has his residence and which
be has materially assisted in developing. On
September 23, 1874, he was most happily
joined in marriage with Miss Eva C. Maw-
horter, who was born in Elkhart township
December 21, 1858; and is the accomplished
daughter of Aaron and Rebecca A. Maw-
ihlorter, of whom a full biographical sketch is
given on another page of this volume. To
the marriage of Air. and Mrs. Pancake have
been born four children, who are still living
to brighten the home circle with their cheer-
ful countenances and winning ways, save the
eldest, Warren, who died in infancy. The
three survivors are named in order of birth
as follows: Marion I., Harvey A. and Ethel
M., the latter being the wife of Abraham
Gage.
Air. and Airs. Pancake are devoted mem-
bers of the Free Will Baptist church, to the
support of which they are most liberal con-
tributors and in the good work of which they
are active and willing helpers.
Tiic home farm of Air. Pancake com-
prises eighty acres, which he keeps under a
profitable state of cultivation, raising all
the crops usual to this latitude. His dwell-
ing is of modern construction and is a model
of neatness exteriorly and interiorly, the lat-
ter being the special care of bis amiable help-
mate. In politics Air. Pancake is a Demo-
crat.
JOHN E. PANCAKE.
A representative of one of the best
known families of Elkhart township, Noble
county, hid., is a native of Pickaway county,
Ohio, and was born July 22. [848. His fa-
ther, Joseph Pancake, was also a native of
Pickaway count}-, was born May 22, 1822,
was reared to farming mi the old Pancake
homestead, and was married in bis native
county to Ruann Halstead, who was born in
the same county, and there died at the early
age of twenty-three, or even before she had
completed her twenty-third year. Joseph
Pancake died in Ottawa, ECans., January 8.
2QO
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
1871, having- an only son. John E., subject
of this sketch and the sole offspring of this
marriage.
John E. Pancake was reared on the old
borne farm in Wayne township, Pickaway
county, and was there educated in the com-
mon schools primarily, and then attended
the Union Christian College at Merom, Sul-
livan county. Ind.. from which he was grad-
uated with honors. After leaving college
Mr. Pancake returned to Pickaway county,
Ohio, and for three terms taught school.
In the summer of 1870 he left the Buckeye
state and went to Franklin county, Kans.,
where he was employed in farming one year
hef ore he entered a homestead in Wilson
county, which farm he cleared up and later
sold. In the spring of 1872 he came to
Noble county. Ind., and for seven years was
employed by the month by his uncle, the
late John Pancake, and also taught school
for six winters.
After leaving the monthly employ of his
uncle Mr. Pancake took sole charge of the
farm, hieing thoroughly practical in every
agricultural detail and with all the minutiae
of this particular estate. He performed his
duties in so satisfactory a manner to all con-
cerned that he was appointed, at the death
of his uncle, sole administrator by the lat-
ter and is still acting in that capacity, the
functions of which he is carrying on with
laudable conscientiousness. Pie is the owner
of one hundred and forty acres of good
farming land in his own right, which he cul-
tivates assiduously and skillfull)-, and is at
all times one of the busiest of men.
Mr. Pancake is in politics a Democrat,
but although very popular has never con-
descended to accept of public office; yet he
always interests himself, and that effectu-
ally, in local affairs, giving" to them the at-
tention that he feels every good citizen
should bestow when called upon or when
they present themselves in such a manner
as to attract unavoidable notice uncalled for.
Mr. Pancake is still unmarried, but has
a home that any woman would he proud to
share. His dwelling is a model of comfort
and coziness and taste, his farm buildings
commodious and substantial, and his farm
itself under the highest possible state of cul-
tivation, his long experience in this vocation
making - him unexcelled in its practice. Al-
though not a member of any church, he is
liberal in his contributions to all in his town-
ship and to many elsewhere, being never
niggardly in this or any other respect.
Hospitable to a marked degree and ge-
nial in disposition and affable in demeanor,
he entertains his friends most lavishly as
well as courteously and pleasingly- His wit
and humor overflow spontaneously, while
his logical mind is quick in its apprehension
of the merits of such questions as he and
his friends may for the time being have
under discussion. He is a friend of truth,
and never wastes his time and breath in an
argument simply for the purpose of carry-
ing his point, right or wrong, but discusses
a subject with the pure and simple desire
to arrive at its true merits and intrinsic
value. He is not a man to raise false hopes
in the breasts of his friends and acquaint-
ances by promising favors which he never
intends to grant. He is honest and sound
to the core, and what he says he means.
It were well indeed if Elkhart township
had inside its limits a few more such citi-
zens as Mr. Pancake to take an intelligent
interest in shaping its public policy and guid-
ing its progress, for it is to such as he the
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
true advancement of any community is due,
and that community is a fortunate one in
which such men as he have residence.
JOHN J. WITTMER.
Among the skilled and prosperous agri-
culturists of York township. Noble county,
I ml.. John J. Wittmer holds a foremost po-
sition. He is a son of John C. and Mary
(Hare) Wittmer. the former of whom was
a native of Niagara county, N. Y.. and was
born March 7. 1801, was reared a farmer
and passed all his life in his native count} - .
Benjamin Wittmer, the father of John
C, was horn in Switzerland, and died in
Niagara county, N. Y., at a very advanced
age. and Alary ( Hare ) Wittmer was born
in Niagara county, N. Y., March 22, 1807,
■of German parentage.
To the marriage of John C. and Mary
(Hare) Wittmer were burn a family of six
sons and five daughters, and of these John
J. was the ninth in order of birth, and had
his nativity near Millersburg. Elkhart coun-
ty. End., November 11. 1843. ail d was reared
in Elkhart county until about fourteen years
of age. and then in Noble county. Ind.,
until August, 1862, when he enlisted in Com-
pany E, Seventeenth Indiana Volunteer In-
fantry, to serve this country in the suppres-
sion of the war of the Rebellion; and he
performed his duty courageously and faith-
fully until February 10. 1863. when he was
honorably discharged on account of sick-
ness, i >r, as the expression is used in the
service, "on account of physical disability."
He then returned to his father's farm in
Elkhart county and assisted in its cultivation
until his marriage, in 1865.
fohn J. Wittmer was joined in matri-
mony at Albion. Ind., April 9, in the year
mentioned above, with Miss Cornelia C.
Norris, a daughter of William and Cather-
ine (Deck) Norris, the former of whom was
born in Pennsylvania, September 15. iSi<>.
and died September 14. [868, and his wife,
also a native of Pennsylvania, born July 3,
1813, died in York township April 7, 1882.
William Norris was a minister of the Ger-
man Baptist church, of which his wife was
also a member. To Mr. and Mrs. Norris
were born eight sons and six daughters, and
of these Mrs. Wittmer was the ninth in or-
der of birth.
After marriage Mr. and Mrs. John J.
Wittmer located in Elkhart county, but since
April, 1875. nave been residents of York
township. Noble county, where Mr. Wittmer
owns a fertile farm of forty acres, on which
he has erected a comfortable dwelling and
commodious barns and all other necessary
outbuildings. This farm is well located, and
through Mr. Wittmer's excellent manage-
ment produces abundantly the various ce-
reals grown in this latitude. It impresses
the observer with an idea of skill and thrift
on the part of the owner, and this impres-
sion is fully justified by Mr. Wittmer's ex-
cellent management.
To Mr. and Airs. Wittmer have been
born a family of four children, but of these,
through the fiat of an all-wise and over-
ruling power, but one has been left to glad-
den the hearts of her parents and that of her
husband — Susanna, now the wife of Edward
DePew and the mother of four children —
Olive J.. Letha C, John C. and Greeley C.
AI. The three deceased children bom to Air.
and Mrs. Wittmer were named Frances I-;.,
Katie E. and Hattie N., who all died in in-
fancv.
292
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
John J. Wittmer and wife are devout
members of and hearty co-workers in the
German Baptist church, to which they con-
tribute in maintaining freely from their
means financially and by their moral influ-
ence and participation in its good work on,
even' available occasion. Of this church
John J. Wittmer and wife were also mem-
bers. Their home is the abode of true hospi-
tably, and their social standing is with the
best people of York township!
JOSEPH R. DRAIN.
Joseph R. Drain, ex-soldier of the war
of the Rebellion, was born in Belfast, Ire-
land, about fifty-four years ago, and five
years later was brought to America, his
home for the past forty years having been
in the state of Indiana, one of Noble coun-
ty's most honored residents. He is a son
of John and achel (Brown) Drain, both
natives of Belfast, where they were married
in 1837, and where John, Drain followed the
vocation of stock-dealing. Ten children
were born to them, six of whom were laid
to rest in the land of their birth. Those
who survived came to America in 1852,
married and have reared families. These
children are : Margaret, who married Jo-
seph Pasco, a cabinet-maker of Brooklyn,
t«i win nn she bore four children, one of
whom, Elizabeth, is the wife of Samuel Na-
than of Chicago; John and Jasper, who re-
side in Brooklyn; and Joseph R., whose
name opens this paragraph.
Reaching New York when he was five
years old, Mr. Drain remained in that state
until i860, when he was in his thirteenth
year, at which time he came to Indiana. A
few years later, when the Rebellion spread
its dark cloud over the land, he enlisted in
Company I, One Hundred and Twenty-
ninth Indiana Volunteers, February 10,
1804, and went to the front, taking his part
in many encounters of that bloody strug-
gle, and carrying away a memento in the
shape of a bayonet wound received at Char-
lotte, N. C. His regiment was first assigned
to General Henry's regiment. General Scho-
field's Army Corps, and in the Army of the
Cumberland, and We entered at the age of
sixteen. He participated in the battles of
Resaca, Ga., Lookout Mountain, Pumpkin
Vine Creek, Strawberry Plains. Kenesaw
Mountain, Decatur, Peach Tree Creek and
Lovejoy Station. He was in the one hun-
dred days' campaign around Atlanta. At
Lovejoy Station his regiment was changed
and put under command of General "Pap"
Thomas, and at Franklin, Tenn.. he received
a close call for his life. He was on the picket
line at this terrible battle where many of
his comrades fell. Mr. Drain was about the
only survivor who got back to his regiment.
He served faithfully his country, about
twenty months.
August 6, 1864, Scott Gard, one of Mr.
Drain's comrades, a resident of Elkhart,
was shot in the leg and dropped, when Mr.
Drain and a comrade caught him in their
arms, and at this time was shot again in one
of his arms. He is living to-dav. Mr.
Drain was honorably discharged September
13, 1865. Some of the principal battles he
participated in were: Nashville, Tenn.,
Wise's Forks, surrender of General J. E.
Johnston at Greensboro, N. C. and he was
close to the battle of Bentonville, N. C, the
last action. He was close to Goldsboro,
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
293
N. C, when the boys received the joyful in-
telligence of I ac> surrender, and five days
subsequent received the sad news of Lin-
coln's assassination.
Returning- to the quiet of private life he,
for the first time, entered the great army of
wage-earners — his first salary having been
received as a soldier in the Union army, lie
first engaged with a Mr. Reeves till about)
1882. as a butcher, then in 1885 he bought
his present farm, which consists of one hun-
dred and ten acres of fertile land in Terry
township. This has been cultivated and
improved by Mr. Drain and is one of the
valuable properties of Noble county.
August 20, 1868, Mr. Drain was joined
in matrimony to Miss Catherine Cochran,
who was a devoted wife and mother for
thirty years, when she was called to her
long rest, August 13, 1898. Four children,
with the husband, were left to mourn her.
viz: John, born June 19, 1869. resides in
Chicago, and is assistant buyer in the mam-
moth! establishment of Seigel. Cooper & Co. ;
Isabella, who was horn April 16, 1878, mar-
ried Ximon Smith, a farmer of Elkhart
township, this county; Charles, who was
born June 21, 1881 ; and Joseph H.. born
September 10, 1887. who resides with bis
parents.
Mr. Drain was married, January 31,
1900, to Miss Jennie S. Lee, his present
wife. Mrs. Drain is a member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church at Ligonier. In pol-
itics Mr. Drain is a Republican, but the
emoluments of office have never appealed to
him. lie is an honored member of Grand
Army Post, No. 125, at Ligonier. Ind., and
is a man who stands well with the entire
-community.
Mrs. Drain can trace her ancestrv to old
English stock running back to the year
1034. She has a genealogy of the Lee fam-
ily, a volume of ^jj pages, which is the
most complete volume of genealogy in the
county of Noble. They came originally
from England directly after the landing of
t' v Pilgrim Fathers and driving their flocks
:i\^A herds on farther west settled on what
i now the site of Farmington, Conn. This
family of Lees is one of the five distinct
families of the United States, and are a
family of warriors; they have figured in all
the large wars of the United States, from
the Revolution down to the recent Cuban
contest, and were mostly 1 f religious senti-
ment.
Mrs. Drain is a well educated lady and
was a student at the Fort Wayne College,
afterwards the Taylor University. She
was a teacher sixteen years, fourteen years
in Indiana and two years in Washington.
JOSEPH L. PANCAKE.
Joseph 1.. Pancake, of Elkhart township,
Noble count}', Ind., and a skillful and pros-
perous farmer, is a son of Isaac N. and Eve
( Smith ) Pancake, sketches of various mem-
bers of whose family appear on other pages
of this work and are worthy of a careful
perusal in conjunction with this biography,
but a portion of which is repeated here.
[oseph L. Pancake was born in Linn
county, Iowa. December 10, 1844. and in the
spring of 1845 xvas brought by his parents
to Elkhart township. Noble county. Ind.,
where his father died July 2(1. 1870, in his
sixty-sixth year, and his mother September
14. 1881. in her fifty-eighth year, and were
294
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
the parents of seven children, viz : John,
Joseph L. (the suhject of this sketch), Isaac
Newton, Mary, William. Geneva V. and
Cora.
Reared to farming on the paternal home-
stead. Joseph L. Pancake has fully main-
tained the enviable reputation of his fore-
fathers as an agriculturist. He was a will-
ing and able assistant to 1 his father, and re-
mained on the home farm until some years
after he had attained his own majority,
when, on December 22, 1870, he married,
in Clear Spring township, Lagrange coun-
ty, Ind., Miss Olive Peck, a native of the
township last named and born July 31, 1848.
On marrying he settled on the farm which
is still his homestead and which now com-
prises one hundred and sixty acres. This
land he has cleared up and improved with a
dwelling equal in beauty to any other in the
township, and his farm buildings are unsur-
passed for convenience and sheltering and
storage purposes.
Mr. and Mrs. Pancake and their two
children. Verne L. and Grace, attend the
English Lutheran church, and strictly ad-
here to its teachings, as well as take an act-
ive part in the prosecution of its work of
well doing.
In politics Mr. Pancake is a Democrat,
but has never condescended to seek public
office at his party's hands, being satisfied to
pursue the even tenor of his way as a farmer,
and is doing good in a quiet and unostenta-
tious manner, when opportunity offers itself.
He finds in his home and in the society of
his amiable wife and children a solace for all
the cares and ills of life, which, happily for
him, are few. and those few, under the cir-
cumstances, quite easily endured.
Silas Burton Peck, the father of Airs.
Olive Pancake, was born in Fairfield county,
Conn., April 30, 1813, and his wife bore the
maiden name of Sarah G Hastings — a sur-
name memorable in the history of England.
This lady was born in Junius, Seneca coun-
ty, N. Y., August 19, 1816, and came with
her husband from that country to Indiana
and settled in. Clear Spring township, La-
grange county, early in the 'forties. There
her father died June 18, 1889, in his seventy-
seventh year, and her mother July 25, 1890,
in her seventy-fourth year. This venerable
couple were among the best known and most
respected of the residents of Clear Spring
township, and their memory is still tenderly
and affectionately cherished by many of the
old-time residents. Their children were six
in number and were named in order of birth
as follows: Esther, Olive. John, Charles,
George and Emily.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Pancake is
one of the most pleasant in Elkhart town-
ship, and is widely known for its genial hos-
pitality, its portals being ever open to friends
and strangers alike. The needy are never
turned away unprovided for. and the name
of Joseph L. Pancake is as a household word
throughout Elkhart township, while that of
his wife is always uttered with profound
respect.
THOMAS A. HUSTON.
Thomas A. Huston, auditor of Noble
county, Ind., a native of Mount Vernon,
Ohio, was born December 2j, 1855. and is
a son of John and Rebecca (McCumsey)
Huston, also natives of Mount Vernon, who
both expired at their birthplace, the father
at sixty-one and the mother at seventv-two
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
years of age. Of the nine children born to
these parents seven are still living - and are
named as follows: Elizabeth, now Mrs,
Thomas Simpson, of Mount Vernon; Eliza,
wife of Farrington Maxfield, of Abbeyv.ille,
La.; .Mary married George W. Simpson, of
Delaware, Ohio; Sarah is now Airs. D. M.
Craig, of Mount Vernon, Ohio; William W.
is a farmer in Noble county, Ind. ; Thomas
A., the subject of this biography : and Emma,
wife of J. P. Molen. of Tiffin. Ohio.
Thomas A. Huston received his prelim-
inary education in the public schools of
Mount Vernon, and in 1874 entered the Col-
lege of Pharmacy in Philadelphia, from
which he graduated in 1876. lie was united
in matrimony at Philadelphia, April _»4,
[882, to Miss Lucy Allen, who was also
educated in the city of Brotherly Love. This
lady was horn in Xew Jersey, and is a
daughter of Franklin and Eliza Allen, the
former of whom is now a resident oi Phila-
delphia, and the latter deceased. Mr. and
Mrs. Huston, however, have no children.
After his graduation Air. Huston en-
gaged in the drug business in Philadelphia
for nine rears, and April 24. 1883, came
to Albion, Ind.. and purchased the pharma-
cy of James Hamlin, which he has since con-
ducted with flattering success, the business
being now carried on under the firm name
of Huston & Beck, the junior partner hav-
ing been identified with the business for the
past ten years as either clerk or partner.
Mr. Huston was a candidate before the
primary of the Republican party of his coun-
ty in 1894 as nominee for the office of coun-
ty auditor, but met defeat ; but four years
later he secured the nomination and was tri-
umphant at the ensuing election, having
given the people of Albion unequivocal sat-
isfaction as town treasurer in [888 and [889.
Fraternally Air. Huston is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of
the Knights of the Maccabees, and religious-
ly he and his wife are Presbyterians, a de-
nomination they most liberaly aid to sup-
port.
Airs'. Huston is descended from Quaker
-lock, of English and Irish extraction, while
Air. Huston's paternal great-grandfather
came from County Antrim, Ireland, in 1750.
Air. Huston's mother's family came from
Scotland in 1754, the founder in America
being Robert McCumsey. Both families
were identified with the patriots of the
American Revolution. Air. Huston is the
owner of a fine tract of eighty acres located
in Green township, which is all under a high
state of cultivation, and his residence prop-
erty in Albion is pleasantly situated on Piety
Hill.
WILLI A AI W. HUSTON.
From the paths of mercantile life there
sometimes wanders an individual into the
more ennobling field of agriculture, which
later, as a rule, affords a surer means of
fortune-making through the investment of
capital and the exercise of industry than that
secured by the former, to say nothing of the
invaluable consideration of good health and
physical development usually found through
exercise in the open air. as has been exempli-
fied in the life of the subject of this sketch
and that of thousands of others.
William W. Huston, a thriving farmer
of Elkhart township, Noble county, Ind.,
was born in Mount Vernon, Knox county,
Ohio, December 5, 1853, was there reared to
> 9 6
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
manhood, and for ten years followed clerk-
ing for a livelihood. In the spring of 1879
he came to Noble dainty, Ind., and pur-
chased the farm on which he still lives in
Elkhart township, and which now comprises
one hundred and sixty-five acres. This farm
he has improved with buildings of the most
modern construction, and he has also placed
the soil under the most approved methods
of cultivation, reaping from it crops of the
kind that rejoice the soul of the husband-
man, inasmuch that they repay his skill ami
labor with satisfactory financial returns and
present to the eye of the passerby a view
suggestive not only of moral beauty but of
solid thrift and palpable prosperity.
Mr. Huston was united in marriage, in
Elkhart township, January 24. 1876, with
Miss Alfarata Gibson, who was horn in this
township, November 28, 1853, and to this
felicitous union have been born several chil-
dren, three of whom still survive, viz: Jen-
nie R.. Thomas W. and Donald G. The
others died in infancy.
John Huston, father of William W., a
very prominent man in his day. was also a
native of Knox county, Ohio, and died at
Mount Vernon, in that county, in 1883,
when sixty-one years of age. His wife, who
had borne the maiden name of Rebecca Mc-
Cumpsey, was also a native of Knox count}',
Ohio, hut died in Tiffin. Seneca county, in
the same state, when seventy-one years old.
They had a family of nine children. William
W., the subject of this sketch, was the fifth
in the order of birth.
Adam (i. Gibson, the father Mrs. W.
W. Huston, was a native of West Virginia,
who married Miss Eliza Tibbet, who was
bora in Indiana and who died in Elkhart
township. Noble county, in August, 1895.
Of their six children, Mrs. Huston was the
fifth. Adam Gibson is greatly venerated
by his fellow-citizens as one of the oldest
settlers of Elkhart township.
It may here be mentioned that Thomas
A. Huston, a brother of W. W. Huston,
is county auditor of Noble count)', Ind.,
and is a gentleman distinguished, like all
the family, for his politeness and unswerv-
ing sense of honor and attention to his of-
ficial duties.
In politics W. W. Huston is independ-
ent, and has ever. taken a keen interest in
the success of his party and an equally ac-
tive interest in the welfare of his fellow-
citizens and all local affairs of a public na-
ture. Socially he and wife are very highly
respected and mingled with the best people
of Elkhart township.
EBENEZER C. PIERCE.
Although past the allotted three-score-
and-ten period, this prominent and influen-
tial representative of Noble county's pio-
neer citizens still retains much of the elastic
vigor of his youth, while his mental faculties
have developed into the richness which in-
creases with the lapse of years, the constant
stud)- of those questions which come to the
front from time to time and the lessons of
studious thought with their practical solu-
tion in the crucible of experience. Mr. Pierce
is a pioneer of Indiana in its broadest pos-
sible term, and much of the early history of
the state of his adoption is familiar to him
from actual experience.
Porn November 15, 183 1, on a farm in
Oswego county. N. Y., he was of that par-
ticular age when the earl}- impressions of
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ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
297
new scenes and newer conditions surround-
ed him, being but six years of age when his
father moved with his family to Noble coun-
ty, Ind., in 1837, and settled in Orange
township on a farm near Wolcottville. Here
he grew to- manhood, and lived with his par-
ents on the old homestead until the age of
twenty-four, when he married and settled on
a farm in BToornfield township. Lagrange
county. Nine years were spent on that
farm, about which time his father died, and
he then purchased the old homestead where
his boyhood days had heen passed and moved
his family thereto. Here he remained until
the fall of 1872, when he traded the home
place for a farm in Clay township. Lagrange
county, remaining there, however, hut three
years. Selling the farm in 1X75. he pur-
chased his present home of two hundred and
fifty acres located in Orange township.
While it has heen partially improved, its
present line condition is largely due to his
clear perception of its needs and that energy
which characterized him as hoy and man —
the fine buildings, well-tilled fields and en-
exceptional fences evidencing that thrift and
progressive spirit which comes fn m wide
experience and intelligent application.
Ebenezer C. Pierce was first married to
Miss Christina Raber, a daughter of Daniel
Raher, Sr., who came to' Noble count}- in
the spring of 1851, and settled in Orange
township. She was horn in Summit county,
Ohio. November 10. 1835, and passed away
.at their home in Orange township, May 13.
1870. They were the parents of five chil-
dren as follows: Frank H. ; Ida O., who
died in her fifth year; Tillie M.. who is the
wife of 'William Diggins, a resident of
AYayne township; Owen C. : and Elsie A.,
"who died when about three rears old. Mr.
Pierce was again married June 6, 1872. to
Mrs. .Margaret (Boyd) Lukins, a daughter
of William S. Boyd, 1 1' Lagrange county.
She died after a brief union of nearly two
years, March 10, 1874. On August 4. 1S74.
Mr. Pierce married Miss Sarah J. Snyder,
,i daughter of Thomas Snyder, an old set-
tler of Clay township, Lagrange county,
who was horn in Wayne county, Ohio, July
24, '845. She came with her parents to
Lagrange county when a young girl and
there grew to womanhood. By this mar-
riage have been horn seven children, namely :
Merritt (i.: Jay C. ; Lora D. and Mora 1'..,
twins; Charles L.. who died when two years
of age; Fred E.. who also died at the age
of two years: and Pansy V.
Mr. Pierce is. as above sta'ted, one of
the representative men of Noble county, and
takes an active part in all matters pertaining
to the public good and especially the ad-
vanced and improved methods of education.
While he is active in all matters of a political
character, he is ready and able to discuss
those questions which deal with the national
prosperity or measures touching the indus-
trial development and agricultural resources
of the country, and is firm in his opinion that
the best interest of the a untry can he served
through the policy of the Republican party.
In his religious views Mr. Pierce is a
Baptist, and a member of the Wolcottville
congregation of that faith, which has known
him as a consistent and devout worshiper
fi r nearly fifty years. Mrs. Pierce is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church
in Lagrange.
The father of Ebenezer C. Pierce was
Ehenezer Pierce, Sr.. who was born in
Onondaga county. N. A".. October 19, 1801.
His mother was a Miss Rachel McQueen,
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
who was born in Montgomery county, N. Y..
November, 1801 ; she passed to the great
beyond September 15, 1832. They were
the parents of four children, of whom Eben-
ezer C. was the youngest. The father after-
ward married Julia A. Collins, a native of
Vermont, who was born May 25, 1816. By
this second marriage six children were born.
The father, as formerly stated, passed away
in Noble county. January 20, 1865.
It is to this class of citizens that Noble
county owes so much for the development
which has been made within her borders.
and the historian who would truthfully give
to future generations the salient features of
a country's progress must not forget that
the pioneer of the then frontier possessed
qualities it would be well for all to emulate.
Merrit G. Pierce was a teacher in Noble
and Lagrange counties. At present he is
taking a course at Huntington, Ind. He
wedded Miss Emma Nichols, who has borne
him one daughter, Marjorie, a little rosebud.
Jay C. Pierce is an agriculturist. He re-
ceived his diploma in 1893 in the common
school and wedded Miss Elea Lamp, who has
borne him one son, Harold, and they are
residents of Orange township.
Lora D. and Flora B. Pierce are twins,
and graduated from the common schools in
1894, and also graduated in the class of
1897 at Rome City. They are members O'f
the Rathbone Sisters, No. 186. Miss Flora
wedded George F. Diggins, who is a con-
tractor and builder in Kendallville. Ind.
Both daughters are members of the Baptist
church at Wolcottville:
Pansy V. Pierce is in the second year of
high school, and loves mathematics. Mrs.
Pierce is the fourth in a family of six chil-
dren — one son and five daughters — born to
Thomas and Mary (Carothers) Snyder.
There are four living, all residents of Indi-
ana. She was educated in the early schools
of the pioneer days of Indiana, same as her
husband.
Mr. Pierce tells of a school-house of
16x16 logs built up in cob style, with a
"shake roof" and also heated by the old-
fashioned fireplace ; the seats were slabs on
blocks, and there was no desk in this school-
house, so primitive it was, and his text-book
was the old Elementary Spelling-book or
English Reader. The school was kept up
by private and public funds. The teacher
boarded around amongst the pupils and had
only a slight command of the three R's.
Mr. Pierce has witnessed the remarkable
growth of education from the little primitive
log cabin to the modern school-house of to-
day, as well as the high schools, colleges, and
universities for which old Indiana is so
famous. Mr. Pierce is a Republican, can
feel proud in the fact that he cast his first
vote for the first Free-soil candidate. Gen.
John C. Fremont, and he has always sup-
ported the true policy of the Republican
party, the legitimate offspring- of the par-
ent Free-soilers. For over a quarter of a
century has he and his wife traveled the
journey of life together. She has ably as-
sisted her husband in all the details of life,
and they have reared a family in which they
may well feel a pride, for they have edu-
cated the children and fitted them for high
walks in life.
HENRY SCHLOTTERBACK.
The gentleman of whom the biographer
now essays to write is an honored and prom-
inent citizen of Ligonier, Noble county, Ind.
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
His father was Gideon Schlotterback, a
native of Selinsgrove, Penn., born May 23,
1811. His father was Peter Schlotterback,
and his great-grandfather's name was
George Schlotterback. The latter, accom-
panied by four of his brothers, migrated to
America some time before the war of the
Revolution, and three of the brothers were
lost during that struggle. Gideon Schlotter-
back removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio,
and later, about 1832, the time of the Black
Hawk war, located in Indiana, settling on
Perry's Prairie. After a few years' resi-
dence here he moved onto the Adam Engle
farm, and remained there until his death,
August 22. 1892. His wife, whose maiden
name was Alary Engle, was horn November
20, 1 8 10. in Circleville, Pickaway count}'.
Ohio, and passed away January 23, 1856.
To her marriage with Gideon Schlotterback.
which took place April 12, 1833, there were
born twelve children, five of whom died in
infancy. The names of those who reached
years of maturity are as follows: Peter.
Henry (subject). Eli, Amelia, Adam, Ira
and Emma.
Henry Schlotterback, the immediate sub-
ject of this sketch, was born October 30,
1834. He received his early education in
the public schools of Ligonier. having
learned the multiplication table and finished
fractions at his eighteenth year. He con-
tinued his studies until he was twenty-three
years old. and then taught school one term.
He was engaged at the Woods school-house,
where he received one dollar a day and had
to cut his own wood. During all this time
he had been farming for his father and con-
tinued to work there until he was thirty
years old. In 1865 Mr. Schlotterback locat-
ed at Brush College, Perry township, and
remained there for ten years. At the end of
this time he removed onto his father-in-
law's old place, the farm on which be now
resides, and is the owner of two hundred
and twenty-four acres of fertile ami well-
tilled land.
The marriage of Henry Schlotterback
took place on the 7th of May. 1865, the lady
of his choice being Miss Sarah E. Davis.
She was born November 17, 1842. and was a
daughter of John and Elizabeth A. (At-
kins) Davis, and was educated in the old-
fashioned school-house of unhewn logs.
John Davis was born May 28, 1807. at
Washington Court House, Fayette county.
Ohio, and died May 7. 1870. Elizabeth At-
kins was born October 4. 1824. in Brown
county, Ohio, and passed away September
20, 1850. The father came to Indiana June
20. 1828. To their union were born four
children, as follows: Sarah E.. wife of
Henry Schotterback. subject; Erastus : Eliz-
abeth, wife of William Pearce : and Eliza,
deceased. Sarah E. Davis, at the age of nine
years, was by the death of her mother left to
care for the home. Bravely she took up the
burden thus laid upon her, and worked hard
to the end that the home might be one in fact
as well as name. At twelve years of age she
did all the cooking for the men who were
employed in the erection of her father's
house. At the age of sixteen years she com-
menced teaching school ami followed that
occupation for three years in Sparta town-
ship.
The marriage of Henry and Sarah
Schlotterback was blessed with the birth of
seven children, brief mention of whom is as
follows: Eden 11., born March 14. 1866, is
unmarried; Anna, born May 7. 1867, became
the wife of William S. LeCount. an agricul-
3°°
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
turist of Sparta township, and they have five
children. Effie, Harry (deceased). Vassy,
Millard, and Lena F. : Harry B.. horn March
_»'>. 1N70. married Lizzie Pollock, and they
became the parents of one child, Marion L. ;
Emma, born January 20. 1873. became the
wife of Albert L. Deardorff, a farmer of
Kosciusko county. Ind.. and they have one
child, Freda M. ; John M., born October 15.
]Sj4. married Lura Salts, and they have one
child: Walter E. : Jesse E.. born .April 30.
1876; and Lewis E.. born November 22,
1880. graduated from the Cromwell public
school in the class of April 22, 1898, and
was valedictorian of his class.
Politically Mr. Schlotterback has always
been a stanch and unswerving Republican,
though the honors or emoluments of office
have held no inducements for him. He has
done well his part in life and to-day is held
in the highest respect and esteem by the
community in which he lives. He has reared
a family of worthy sons and daughters and
now. in the evening of a long and eminently
useful life, is resting in the enjoyment of the
fruits of his earlv toil.
JOHN H. WILSON.
Idle honored subject of this sketch, a
successful agriculturist of Washington
township, Noble* county, Ind., has obtained
an enviable reputation throughout his com-
munity as a man of shrewdness and sagac-
ity, and also as a man who has obtained his
present eminence, not by any questionable
methods, but by persistent application, in-
domitable perseverance and unquestioned
integrity. A firm believer in the great truth
of the brotherhood of man, he has ever been
guided by the principle laid down in the
golden rule, and his life has been so ordered
that no shadow of wrong or suspicion of
evil has ever rested upon him.
John II. Wilson was horn on the 20th
of March, 1862, in Washington township,
N( ble county, Ind., a son of Thomas J. and
Nancy (Rider) Wilson, both also natives
of Noble county. The paternal grandfa-
ther's name was Thomas H. Wilson, though
he was familiarly known as "Judge" Wil-
son. Thomas J. Wilson was also a tiller of
the soil and died December 5, 1892, on the
farm now occupied by his widow. He was
the father of three children, as follows :
John H.. whose name opens this biography;
Jacob Willard, who died in infancy ; Mary
E., who is married to John Beezley, a farm-
er of Washington township, this county,
and they have two children — Opal L. and
James O-
John H. Wilson attended the public
schools of Washington township until he
was twenty-one years of age. For two
years longer he remained on the home farm,
working for his father. . At this time he
took control of tine place and operated it on
his own account. In 1885, about the time
of his marriage, he settled on the farm
where he now lives and has farmed this
tract continuously since. He is now the
owner of two hundred and fifty-nine acres
of as fine agricultural property as can be
found in this part of the count}'. He does
not confine himself exclusively to the tilling
of the soil, but also devotes considerable at-
tention to the breeding and raising of stock,
in wlh'ich industry he has been fairly suc-
cessful.
On the nth of October, 1885, Mr. Wil-
m&— >Jt«s3f#u&
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
30 r
son was united in marriage to Miss Barbara
Huber, a daughter of Tiry and Nancy
(Black) Huber, early settlers of Washing-
ton township. Tiry Huber was the father
of six children, as follows: Lewis, Nancy,
Barbara, Adeline and two who died in in-
fancy. John W. Wilson and wife became
the parents of one child, Mary Edith, who
was burn October 3, 1886, and died July 4,
inoo. She was a bright and interesting
child and ihier death was a severe loss to her
parents.
Tiry Huber, one of the old residents of
Washington township, and a well-known
citizen of the county, died on the 24th day
of January, 18S1. at the age of fifty-seven
years. A correspondent of the Banner, in
speaking of the death of this honored citi-
zen, says that his affliction was almost past
bearing during several weeks prior to his
death, which was caused by indigestion. In
his death Washington township loses one
of her most substantial citizens, a man of
sound judgment whose knowledge was ex-
tensive and composed of all general topics,
and whose counsel and decision were con-
sidered law. He had filled the office of jus-
tice for some twenty odd years, up to last
spring, when be was re-elected but refused
to qualify, thinking he had served the peo-
ple long- enough. He leaves a family of
five — wife and four children — to mourn
their loss, but well provided for. His re-
mains were interred at Salem by the Free
Masons, of which order be was a member.
Rev. Jabez Shaffer officiated. Peace to his
ashes.
Politically Mr. Wilson was reared a
Democrat, but has not been a strict parti-
san in the sense that be votes for part}- rath-
er than principle. To the contrary, be lias
ever felt that he owed his first dut\ to his
fellow- citizens and has made it a rule to
vote only for those men whom he consid-
ered best qualified to fill the offices, regard-
less of the party. Mr. Wilson has served
one term as a member of the township ad-
visory board. Religiously Mr. and Mrs.
Wilson are both active and consistent mem-
bers of the denomination known as the
Church of God, and as stated in bhe open-
ing paragraph of this sketch, their system.
of ethics is in accord with the teachings of
that great Master whom they serve.
Socially they have always had a large
circle of warm friends and their hospitable
home is the center of a coterie of genial
companions who find in Mr. and Mr^. Wil-
son two of then- most worthy members.
DANIEL LOWER (Deceased).
Agriculture, or the art of cultivating the
soil, is so necessary in order to aid it in
more prolificallv producing its fruits, indig-
enous and exotic, so necessary for the sus-
tenance of animal life, is probably co-exist-
ent with man himself, and its development
from the days of primeval man until the
present time has been continuous and unin-
terrupted until at last it may almost lie
claimed that the climax of perfection has
been reached with the aid of modern imple-
ments and machinery, and steam and elec-
tric motors, although this was not altogether
the condition of farming operations in the
days of the deceased gentleman whose name
stands at the opening of this biographical
notice.
Die late Daniel Lower, at one time an
3 02
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
extensive land owner and farmer of Elk-
hart township, Noble county, Ind., was born
in Bavaria, Germany, March 22, 1815,
where he resided until he was about twenty
years of age, hut had apparently been reared
to no special trade or profession, and the
supposition is that his earlier years had been
passed in rural pursuits or farm labor. About
the year 1835 he came to America and land-
ed in Xew York City, then as now the com-
mercial metropolis of the Union and chief
seaport at which immigrants were debarked
on reaching the new world, although it was
not the only port of entry, either north or
south.
The first employment the then young
Mr. Lower found was as a laborer in Wall
street, the great monetary center of the coun-
try; he had no money, however, with which
to buy stocks or to invest in speculation, but
he had plenty of muscle, determination and
ambition with which to make his way in the
new world, and these he employed in their
legitimate function of making money. At
the end of six months he had accjuired suffi-
cient cash and the necessary information
touching American ways or customs and
conditions to justify a conclusion he had
reached to try his luck as a rural laborer in
the^then far west — a calling for which) he
was well fitted. He accordingly chose Ohio
as his place of destination, and in due time
reached Seneca count)', that state, easily
found employment as a farm laborer, and
while thus engaged met and married Miss
Abigail DeLong, a native of the Buckeye
state. He continued his residence with his
bride in Ohio until about 1837 or 1838,
when he brought her to Noble county, Ind.,
in an ox-team.
On arriving in Noble county Mr. Lower
found employment as a laborer on the canal
then in course of construction at Rome City.
He worked industriously and he and his wife
( who was indeed a helpmate) lived frugally
for some time, until he had accpiired the
means with which to enter forty acres of
government land in Elkhart township. This
land he cleared up from its growth of tim-
ber and improved with the ordinary log
dwelling and other necessary structures com-
mon in that day, and began his life as a
farmer in the true sense of the word. He
labored hard, early and late, for many years,
with indomitable industry and perseverance,
and with one great object in view — that of
adding to his estate and providing a compe-
tency for his declining years and those of his
helmed wife, as well as the providing of the
means for rearing and educating his chil-
dren and of providing for the latter capital
sufficiently for a moderately fair start in
business. His industry and good manage-
ment were rewarded to the full, and at the
time of his lamented death, which occurred
in December, 1897, he was the owner of
seven hundred acres at least, most of which
was situated in Elkhart township.
Daniel Lower was thrice married. To his
first union — that with Abigail DeLong, as
, alluded to above — there were born six chil-
[ dren, viz: Elizabeth C, who is the wife of
Joseph W. Marshall, whose biography ap-
pears in full on another page; William D. ;
Jacob N. ; Margaret, who died when about
twenty years of age: Mary A., who is the
wife of Frederick Schwab, and one de-
ceased.
Mrs. Abigail (DeLong) Lower passed
away in the fall of 1846, and Mr. Lower
married in March, one and one-half years
later, Elizabeth Kreglow, who bore him sev-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
eral children, of whom four lived to mature
years anil one to reach girlhood, viz: Abi-
gail, who died when she was about fourteen
years old; John A.; Daniel D. ; Barbara,
who is the wife of George Dorner : and Jane,
win i died when nineteen years of age.
.Mrs. Elizabeth (Kreglow) Lower died
in April, 1871, and the third marriage of
Air. Lower was to Mrs. Emily L. Grogg,
who still survives.
The career through life of Daniel Lower
furnished another example of the grand op-
portunities offered in America to the indus-
trious and frugal youth of any nation who
comes here with a pure heart and healthy
constitution, and with a desire to better.
through an upright life, his worldly condi-
tion. This gentleman landed in the country
a poor boy. but through his personal exer-
tions rose to a position of influence and died
an honored citizen, after having filled all the
duties that devolved upon him, and he left
to his descendants not only great wealth,
but what is of greater intrinsic value by far
— an unsullied name.
JAMES N. HARVEY.
For honesty and thrift the Americans
turn to Scotland. A man with Scotch blood
in his veins is almost invariably trusted by
everybody. His work is sure to be honestly
and faithfully done; his word is as good as
his bond.
James N. Harvey was born on a farm in
Ashland county. Ohio, December 8, 1842.
His parents were both born in Scotland —
his father, George Harvey, June 21, 1807,
and his mother, Alary (Bremner) Harvey,
July 21, 1807 — and were married May 25,
1830. Six years later they emigrated to
America, sailing from Aberdeen June ir
and landing in New York August 8, 1836.
They settled on a farm in Ashland county,
( >hio, where they continued to live for nearly
seventeen years, when they moved to Noble
count)-, End., and settled on a farm in Jeffer-
son township. April 11, 1853. Here they
resided nearly twenty years, when they
moved to Albion, where they spent the re-
maining years of their lives. Mrs. Harvey
died March 6, 1886, in the seventy-ninth
year of her age, and Mr. Harvey died Sep-
tember 22. 1893. having attained the age
of eighty-six years.
They were the parents of eight children,
of whom six grew to manhood and woman-
hood, to-wit : Jane L. and Alexander D. C.,
born in Scotland, and John \Y, James N.,
Robert and Charles Levi W., born in Ohio.
Jane L. is the wife of Thomas Bevmer, of
Jefferson township.
George Harvey and his son, A. D. C.
Harvey, for many years were engaged in
contract work. Of the buildings in which
the people of Noble count)- were interested —
erected by them — were the old brick court-
house, built in 1800, the county infirmary
and county jail, all of them splendid evi-
dences of good, substantial, honest and faith-
ful work, fully sustaining the reputation of
their Scotch ancestry, education and train-
ing for honesty, faithfulness and good work
of the contractors.
James N. Harvey, the subject of this
sketch, moved with his parents to the new-
farm in Noble county in 1853, received the
education afforded by the common schools,
and at his majority spent several terms at
Adrian College, Mich., then graduated at a
commercial college in Oherlin, Ohio. He
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE. COUNTY, INDIANA.
was married February 2, 1870, to Miss Isa-
bella Johnston, daughter of John and Eliza-
beth (Tyler) Johnston. They were of
Scotch nativity, and bad born to them four
children : James T., William M., Mary M.
and Isabella, who, with their parents, came
to America in 1854. and settled in Rich-
land county, Ohio, where Mr. Johnston died
in May, 1 881. The youngest daughter, Isa-
bella, was born September 10, 1847, anc ^
became the wife of James N. Harvey. They
have one son. John W. Harvey.
In 1870 James N. settled on a farm in
Jefferson township, near the old homestead,
where he has continued to live for more than
thirty years, his farm consisting of one hun-
dred and twenty ocres, well stocked, well
improved and operated by all of the latest,
best and most improved farm machinery.
Becoming a resident of the county in
Ids boyhood, Mr. Harvey is thoroughly con-
versant with its affairs, in which he has
always taken an active interest, and in the
progressive advancement of his township
and neighborhood he has given his influence
and encouragement.
A Republican in politics from the first
organization of that part},, he has been a
constant and hard worker in support of its
principles. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey are both
members of the United Brethren in Christ's
church, where their sturdy Scotch qualities
shine forth to good advantage.
JOHN T. CRAVES.
The census taken in Canada in the
spring of [901 showed several things that
greatly surprised the Canadians themselves.
They had confidently expected that the cen-
sus would show a large growth in the popu-
lation of the new Dominion Instead, how-
ever, the population in the older parts
showed a decrease, or at best an increase
that was too small to measure. The reason
for this strange condition of affairs is to
be found not in the large death rate in Can-
ada, but in a large emigration rate from
j Canada, where winters are long and the soil
j less productive, to the United States, where
the winters are shorter and the soil more
productive. The number of Canadians who
have cast their lot in with Americans is very
large, and almost without exception they are
our best, most progressive and thoroughly
loyal citizens.
Among the many excellent Canadians
who have crossed the imaginary line into
the United States is John T. Graves. He
was born in Toronto, Canada. December 3,
1854. His father, who bore the same name
as his son, John T. Graves, died when the
j latter was two years old. His mother, Mar-
tha Belfer Graves, married as her second
husband Josiah Jenkins. In November,
1805, the whole family moved to Noble
count)', Ind., and settled in Rome City.
Mr. Jenkins was in the employ of the Grand
i Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company.
But John T. Graves, of this biography,
felt the need of getting to work. He was
unwilling to grow up in idleness or in a
state of dependence upon others. At the
early age of thirteen he left home and went
to work as a day laborer on a farm. So
thoroughly had he mastered the intricacies
of farming that by the time he was nineteen
years of age he rented a farm in Jefferson
township.
Five years later, in 1879, by careful
saving and attention to details he had ac-
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
305
cumulated enough to buy for himself a farm
of eighty acres on section 4 in Jefferson
township. This was not land that had been
worked over by others and had been bereft
of a part of its fertility. It was virgin soil
in the heart of a wilderness. Slowly Mr.
Graves cleared this land, and with his sav-
ings bought more till at the present time he
owns two hundred and eighty acres, all in
an excellent state of cultivation. The farm
is dotted by several neat, tasty and pretty
buildings.
But Mr. Graves has not confined his at-
tention entirely to farming. lie has dealt
largely in stock and in buying and shipping
hay. lie was married in Jefferson town-
ship. .March 16, 1880, to Miss Jeannette
Beymer, a daughter of Thomas Beymer, of
Jefferson township, and to the assistance
he has received from her is undoubtedl)
due much of his success in life. They have
had three children: George T., Clarence B.
and Thaddeus S. George T. is a young
man of excellent education. He graduated
from the Albion high school in the class of
1901, and at present time is a student in
old Purdue, taking a course in pharmacy.
Clarence B. is in the second year's work
in Albion high school. He is an all-round
student, especially in mathematics and his-
tory.
Mr. Graves is interested in the political
questions of the day and studies carefull)
the movements of the two principal uolitical
parties of the country. Though not a poli-
tician in any sense in which the word i-. gen-
erally used, he nevertheless is sufficiently in-
terested in local affairs to be willing to be
one of the ditch commissioners of Noble
county, a position of considerable responsi-
bility and of very little emoluments.
Mrs. Graves was born in Jefferson town-
ship, Noble county. October 29, 1 S 5 7 . and
a daughter of Thomas and Jane L. (Har-
vey) Beymer. There were four daughters,
all still living, born to this union. Mrs.
Graves was educated in the common schools,
crude at that time, and also for a term in
the high school at Rome City, Ind.
Thomas Beymer was born in Huron
county, Ohio, August 0. [823, and was
reared to farming. He came to Noble coun-
ty, October 11, 1851, and began life in a
log cabin home, hut had very little cash.
Mr. Beymers father came from Germany.
Mr. Beymer cast his first vote for the
first Republican candidate. Gen. John C.
Frem( nt. and was an admirer of Mckinley.
Mr. and Mrs. Beymer are members of the
Wesleyan Methodist church.
Mrs. Beymer was horn in Aberdeen-
shire, Scotland. March 10, 1813. She was
a little girl of five years when she came
with her family to America, and was edu-
cated in Ohio. Mr. Graves cast his first
presidential vote for R. 1'.. Hayes, and has
always upheld the Republican banner.
AARON E. MAWHORTER.
The brave ex-soldiers of the late Civil
war, like the hardy agriculturists of Noble
county, Ind., are deserving of special men-
tion in a volume of this nature, and to this
class of honorable citizens does the subject
of this sketch belong. He was horn in Flk-
hart township. Noble county, Ind.. and this
has been his home since his birth, which took
place February 11. 1838. his only absence
having been during his service in the armv
3°6
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
of his country while protecting the honor
and integrity of his nation's flag. His par-
ents were the late William and Prudence
(Pierson) Mawhorter, who had a family of
ten children and were among the most re-
spected of Noble county's residents. Of
their ten children seven attained the years of
maturity, and Aaron E. was the eldest of the
family.
Aaron E. [Mawhorter was reared on the
home farm, and agriculture has been his life
vocation. He aided in the cultivation of the
homestead until his marriage, March 22,
[856, to Miss Rebecca Ann Kesler, who was
horn in Morrow county, Ohio, April 4,
1841, and is a daughter of Andrew and
Maria (Bowyer) Kesler, natives respective-
ly of Pennsylvania and Ohio, who came
from Morrow county; Ohio, to Noble coun-
ty, Ind., in 1854, and settled in Orange town-
ship, where they passed the remainder of
their lives, the mother dying when about
sixty-one years old and the father when
about seventy-two. Mr. and Mrs. Kesler
were the parents of thirteen children — seven
sons and six daughters — of whom Mrs. Ma-
whorter was the third child in order of birth.
She came to Noble county, Ind., with her
parents, and more may be read of this large
and interesting family in the sketch of T. Y.
Kesler, of Orange township, to be found on
another page of this volume.
To Mr. and Mrs. Aaron E. Mawhorter
have been born three children, viz: Eva C,
who i-> the wife of Newton Pancake; Pru-
dence M., who died in childhood, and Will-
iam A.
Mr. Mawhorter' s military record is most
praiseworthy. lie enlisted February 14,
1865, in Company F, One Hundred and
Fifty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
and faithfully served until September, 1866,
when he was honorably discharged and then
returned to his farm in Elkhart township,
where agriculture has occupied his attention
ever since. This farm consists of about
ninety-three acres of excellent land, is im-
proved with modern structures of all de-
scriptions necessary for use, and is cultivat-
ed under the best methods known to practice
and to science, all under the supervising eye
of the owner.
Mr. and Mrs. Mawhorter are consistent
members of the Free Will Baptist church,
contributing freely to its support as well as
aiding in its work for good.
In politics Mr. Mawhorter is a Demo-
crat, and has served two terms as constable
in Elkhart township ; fraternally he is a
member of the Independent Order of Tem-
perance and the G. A. R. He was also a
member of the Noble County Regulators in
1857 and 185S. Socially he and his family
are classed with the best people of the town-
ship, as it is proper that a native-born farmer
and soldier and his family should be.
The reader's attention is also respect-
fully called to the sketch of Rev. T. J. Ma-
whorter, which will be found on another
page.
SHELDON W. GREEN.
Sheldon W. Green is one of the substan-
tial citizens of Sparta township. Noble coun-
ty, Ind., and a farmer of excellent reputa-
tion, whose success as a stock-raiser alone
lias made his name a familiar one through-
out the surrounding' country. He was born
May 18, i860, on the farm which is now his
home and which was entered by his parents,
Porter and Nancy (Kreagger) Green.
r
So
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Porter Green was bom in Licking coun-
ty, Ohio, October 22, 1822, and grew to
manhood in that state, marrying there Miss
Nancy Kreagger, who was born in Delaware
county, Ohio, May 18, [8"2i. In 1848 they
came to Noble county, Ind., and entered the
land now owned by their son, Sheldon \\ . —
then raw land, on which not a stick of timber
had been cut.' Here he lived and reared his
family while he cleared the land, converting
it fn >m an unbroken forest into a productive
and profitable farm. The ten children who
were born to Porter and Nancy Green are :
Newton, who was born August 8, 184(1. and
is a prosperous farmer residing two and one-
half miles west of Millersburg; Jasper, born
January 16, 1848, who is engaged in the
hardware business in Cromwell; Evaline;
Adaline, who died in childhood; Angeline;
Martha; Harriet; Sheldon; Laura: Alice,
and subject.
Sheldon W. Green was a student in the
public schools of Sparta until he was seven-
teen when he left the school-room for the
sterner duties of life. He helped his father
with the farm work until 1880. when he took
entire charge of the farm until 1885, tend-
ing it for himself with such good results that
in 1885 he was enabled to purchase an inter-
est in a hardware store in Cromwell. Two
years later he bought a half interest in an
undertaking business in the same village, but
a year later, in 1888, he traded his interest
in both these enterprises for a farm. In
1 89 1, having an opportunity to purchase the
old homestead, he sold his farm and invested
the proceeds in the home of his childhood,
where he has since resided. This property
contains one hundred and fifty acres, while
he owns an additional tract of forty-four
jcres, which lies in Washington township,
ail of which is under the highest cultivation.
Mr. Green is a great lover of fine stock and
has given his hobby, if it may be so called,
lull sway in breeding only the best of each
particular line of stock. And in this partic-
ular business he is a public benefactor in that
he is a potent factor in educating the people
up to being content only with the best that
is to be obtained.
Mr. Green was married, October 22,
1883. to Miss Rose B. Wiley, whose par-
ents, Austin and Ellen (Sett) Wiley, are
residents of Washington township, this
county. They are attendants of the Broad-
way Christian church, in which they take a
lively interest. Mr. Green is one of the in-
fluential Republicans of Noble county and a
prominent member of the Knights of Pyth-
ias Lodge, No. 408, of Cromwell.
JAMES C. GREEN.
The gentleman to whose life-record the
following paragraphs are devoted is yet
young in years, but has already attained an
enviable standing among those with whom
he is associated. James C. Green was horn
on the 25th; of October, 1876. He is a son
of Allen and Sarah (Bartley) Green, the
former a native of Ohio, who died January
4, 1881. At about the age of twenty years
Allen Green came to Sparta township. No-
ble county, Ind.. and at the time of his
death he was worth probably thirty thou-
sand dollars. His wife was a native of
Kosciusko county. Ind., and by her union
with Allen Green she became the mother of
■ three children, two of whom are yet living.
James C. Green is indebted to the public
3o8
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
schools of Cromwell for his early mental
training. He laid aside his books at the age
of seventeen years, and has ever since fol-
lowed successfully the honorable calling of
an agriculturist. He owns three hundred
and twenty acres of land, one hundred and
sixty of which are in Kosciusko county.
This is a hue tract, the rich and fertile land
yielding an abundant harvest in return for
the care and labor bestowed upon it. He
does not confine himself exclusively to the
tilling of the soil, however, but is also largely
interested in the breeding and raising of live
stock. He is now improving his property
by the erection of a fine, new residence at a
cost of about twenty-two hundred dollars.
This house is being built according to the
latest ideas in architecture, and will be pro-
vided with all the latest and most modern
improvements.
In 1897 Mr. Green took unto himself a
helpmeet in the person of Miss Leoua Rar-
ick, a daughter of Newton and Anna
(Baker) Rarick. This marriage has been
blessed with the birth of a son — Carlyle,
born January 2, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Green
are to-day occupying an enviable standing
in their community — a standing richly mer-
ited by their courteous manner, genial dis-
positions and genuine worth. Mr. Green's
time is given almost entirely to his farming
interests, and the excellent condition of his
field- and farm-buildings indicates his care
and supervision. He is both practical and
progressive in his methods, and to his en-
ergy and perseverance is attributed the grat-
ifying success which has attended his efforts.
Fidelity is one of his chief characteris-
tics — such fidelity as is manifest in his de-
votion to family and friends and in his faith-
ful discharge of all the varied duties of life.
and has won him high regard wherever he
is known.
He is a Democrat and voted for William
J. Bryan.
WILLIAM A. COCHRAN.
This gentleman is well known as the pro-
gressive agriculturist throughout Noble and
surrounding counties in Indiana, but it is as
a breeder of fine horses that he has gained
an extended and enviable reputation. Born
in this vicinity, August 9, 1857, the seventh
child of Alfred and Cynthia (Hays) Coch-
ran, his life has become so closely identified
with Perry township as to make him a lead-
ing factor in all questions of imp n'tance
that have to- do with township affairs.
Alfred Cochran was born in Perry coun-
ty, Ohio, in 1822, and there grew to man-
hood. May 25, 1843, he was joined in
marriage to Miss Cynthia Hays, who was
born in Perr)- count)-. Ohio, December 1,
1821. The marriage was celebrated in Jack-
son county Ohio, and they Continued to
make that state their home for six years,
the young Husband engaging in farming
and mechanical work. In 1849 they came
to Indiana and located in Perry township,
Noble county, where the}- purchased land
and carried on farming operations until the
death of the father in 1862. Eight children
were born to them, namely: Sarah, who
was born May 6. 1844, became the wife of
Jason Ramsby, a farmer of this vicinity, but
Sih'e died in February, 1867, leaving one
child, Elbe L. ; Mary Elizabeth, who was
born December 17, 1846, became the wife
of George W. Vedder, a farmer of La-
grange county, Ind., and became the mother
WILLIAM COCHRAN GROUP.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY INDIANA.
of seven children — Nettie. Ida. Eva, YYel-
den, Brenton, Lena and Malissa; Mahala,
who was burn November 27, [848, married
A. I. Ramsby, a farmer and stock-dealer of
Lagrange county, and is the mother of six
children — Myra, Schuyler D., Casper, Cus-
ter, Lulu M. and Hazel I).; Harvey H.,
who was born April 15. 1851, was taken
In, me April 24, [869; Andrew J., who was
born August 9, 1853, passed away Septem-
ber 8, 1869, about eight months after his
brother Harvey: Melissa, who was bom
February 22, 1856, is the wife of J. A.
Denny, of Lagrange county: William A.,
our subject; and John W., who was born
November 4. i860.
William A. Cochran attended the school
of his native township and also the Ligonier
high school, receiving a practical education
which has been supplemented by study and
observation in later life. He was reared to
the life of an agriculturist, finding con-
genial employment in the occupation and
conducting it in a business-like manner
which has compelled success. Having a
fondness for horses, he has made a specialty
of buying, feeding and selling the very best,
and is now erecting a barn which will be the
finest in Noble county, and will lie used ex-
clusively for bis horses, same being 50 by
100 feet, with basement 8 feet high and
capacity for 170 tons of hay. lie can feed
about thirty-five head of horses and has
adequate space for buggies and carriages
and a nice commodious office. The water
is forced into this large barn by gasoline
engine and windmill power, and tanked in
the barn. The first shipment of horses he
made was sixteen head, September 2j,
1901, and up to December 3 he has shipped
eighty-one Lead. Since September 27 till
December 3 the value of his business has
been at the rate of twelve thousand and six
hundred dollars annually. lie has been
thrifty and keenly alive to a good bargain
and has succeeded in accumulating live hun-
dred and fifty acres of land which is situ-,
ated in Noble, Lagrange and Kosciusko
counties, this state, and comprise some of
the best farming land in this section. He is
progressive in his methods, being quick to
ad. j.l new ideas that will facilitate his work,
and is one of the wide-awake farmers who
lead in work they have chosen.
On March 7, 1878. Mr. Cochran led to
the altar Miss Luella I lays, daughter of \\ .
I). Hays, a prominent and prosperous farm-
er of Perry township, whose biography ap-
pears elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Coch-
ran was bom August 17, 1X58. and is also
a native of this neighborh 1. Shle has
presented her husband with three children,
Edith (Mrs. Charles R. Stage) being the
eldest. Mrs. Stage was born August 25,
1878, was educated in Ligonier high school
and well instructed in piano music. Chester
Pianc. the second child, was born July 8,
1880, attended high school three years, and
has also taken a course in the commercial
college at Big Rapids, Mich.; he new re-
sides with his parents, as does bis sister,
Florence Jessie, who was born November
J 6. 1883. Jessie has likewise attended high
school two years, and has received lessons
in instrumental music and voice culture.
Mr. Cochran and his family are devoted
members of the United Brethren church at
Ligonier and take an active interest in the
work of the organization. They are among
the most respected and esteemed citizens of
the township, and are foremost in all good
works. Mr. Cochran has bean chorister tor
3io
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
twenty-five years, is president of the build-
ing committee and also president of the
board of trustees. In politics Mr. Cochran
is a stalwart Republican and cast his first
presidential vote for the lamented Garfield.
He has served as delegate to the U. B. con-
ference at various times, to represent his
church society.
REUBEN C. GERVER.
Time in its flight will soon leave the
earl\- history of Indiana's pioneer days to the
memory of the children of that grand type
of American citizens who rescued the forests
and glades from the domination of the In-
dian and transferred the inhospitable region
into thriving cities and fertile farms. While
much of that early period is now woven into
the pages of history made famous by the
deeds of the hardy frontiersmen, the pio-
neers of a substantial civilization who fol-
lowed in his footsteps are the ones on whom
has fallen the task of giving the world much
of the data of Indiana's history. And yet
the story is not complete, save 'in that tradi-
tional lore transmitted from generation to
generation which affords additional interest
as the years go by.
Reuben C. Gerver, the subject of this re-
view, is a native of Stark county, Ohio, born
July 5, 1883, a son of Jacob and Anna A.
(Harvey) Gerver, the father a native of
Little York, Penn., and the mother of Bed-
ford county, same state. Shortly after their
marriage they moved to Ohio, first located
in Stark county, then removed to Tuscara-
was count}-, where they remained about five
years, thence to Richland county. In Decem-
ber. 1842, the}- came to Noble county, Ind.,
and settled on a tract of land in Elkhart
township. Here Reuben C, then about nine
years of age, passed his youthful days, as-
sisting his father in clearing the farm and
preparing the soil for cultivation, until he
reached the years of manhood. Early im-
bued with the determination to become a
landed proprietor, he married, August 16,
1855, Miss Julia Ann Long, a native of Lo-
gan, Hocking county, Ohio, born July 6,
1838. When she was about ten years of age
her parents had migrated from Ohio, set-
tling in Elkhart township. The lives of Mr.
and Mrs. Gerver have been almost wholly
spent in Elkhart township, and the success
in life which is th'eirs to-day results from
that steady application of their combined en-
ergies and determination to make for them-
selves a home where the declining years of
life can be comfortably and happily spent.
: That they have been amply rewarded is in
evidence to the visitor at their delightful
home, which contains one hundred and six-
teen acres of splendid land, graced with fine
residence, excellent barns and out-buildings
with all modern appurtenances made neces-
sary for the successful operation of farming
along progressive and up-to-date lines. They
are the parents of eleven children, namely :
I Eugenia A., the wife of Emery McMillen;
Willis A.; Elemine A., married to Norman
Mawhorter; Mary Jane, wife of William
Jourdan: Delilah G.. wife of Charles Price;
Albert; Stella, who died in her thirteenth
year; Cora D., wife of Charles Reed ; Charles
C. ; Mable A., and Ethel May.
The parents of Reuben C. Gerver reared
a family of seven children. Reuben C. being
the fifth in order of birth. The father died
at the ae;e of seventv-six vears, and the
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
mother passed away at the age of fifty years.
The father of Mrs. Gerver was Alex Long,
a native of Pennsylvania, her mother being
Nancy Nelson, a native of Ohio. On mov-
ing to the great west they first located in
Hocking county, Ohio, but in 1848 moved,
to Indiana and located on a farm in Elkhart
township, Noble county, where they lived
for many years. Both parents died in Iro-
quois county. 111., the father at the age of
seventy-two and the mother at seventy-five
years. They, also, were the parents of seven
children — Mrs. Gerver being the eldest.
The religious sentiments of Reuben C.
Gerver and his estimable wife are exempli-
fied in the teachings of the Free Will Bap-
tist church. Mrs. < ierver is one of the most
active members of the congregation with
which she worships, and there is no worthy
object in which the church is interested that
fails to receive her hearty support. Her
worth}- husband is no luke-warm member,
and his earnest co-operation in advancing
the church influence on the line of Christian
duty and the spreading of the gospel is in
harmony with the injunction of the Master,
who saith— "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
In public affairs, touching the township and
county interests, he displays those qualities
of careful thought and just discrimination
which make his opinion valuable and endears
him to a large circle of friends.
JOSEPH C. KIMMELL.
It is with a large degree of satisfaction
that the biographer takes up the life history
of the gentleman whose name forms the cap-
tion of this article, a man widely known as
one of the honored citizens of Noble county,
and who, though a comparatively young
man, has already become prominently iden-
tified with the varied interests of his com-
munity. His well-directed efforts in the
practical affairs of life, his capable manage-
ment of his business interests and his sound
judgment have brought to him prosperity,
and his life demonstrates what may he ac-
complished by .the man of energy and am-
bition, who is not afraid to work. In all the
relations of life he has commanded the re-
spect and confidence of all with whom he
has been brought in contact, and the history
of Noble county would be incomplete with-
out a record of his career.
Joseph C. Kimmell was born April 2S.
1872, a son of Cyrus and Ellen (Lane)
Kimmell. Cyrus Kimmell was horn Au-
gust 13, 182O, a son of Joseph and Cath-
erine (Amich) Kimmell. the former a na-
tive of Pennsylvania; Nancy Griffith, his
first wife, was horn in Stark county. Ohio,
and was married to Cyrus Kimmell in No-
vember, 1840- The latter came to Indiana
in 1851 and located in York township. No-
ble county, on what is known as the old Ben-
der place. There he remained for sixteen
years, and then went into the hardware busi-
ness in Brimtield in partnership with Caleb
McMeans, remaining there one year. In
r86o. he purchased a farm in Orange town-
ship, this county, and after remaining there
for a period of four years he bought and
moved onto the place where he now resides.
Mr. Kimmell's first wife died in March,
[865, and on August 30. 1866, he was
united in marriage to Mrs. Ellen 1 Fane )
Farnhart. the fruit of this union heing one
child, Joseph C. the subject of this sketch.
Ellen Earnhart was the daughter of Vinson
ALYORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY. INDIANA.
and Sarah (Hitler) Lane, natives of Pick-
away count} - . Ohio, who came to York
township, Noble county, in 1837. Cyrus
Kiinmell's sole capital when he came to In-
diana was $230, but this was supplemented
by a liberal equipment of energy, ambition
and determination, and though he experi-
enced many hard knocks, and at times was
surrounded by circumstances that would
have diso uraged many other men, he pur-
chased and finally became the possessor of
a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres.
Joseph C. Kimmell received his instruc-
tions in the common English branches in
the public schools of Sparta township, which
he attended until he was seventeen years
old. He then went to Angola. Steuben
county, and took a course of study in a com-
mercial college. Upon graduating from
that institution he devoted a year to the
study -of literature. At the age of nineteen
he received a license to teach and for four
years followed that occupation in Noble
county. Since [893, Mr. Kimmell has been
engaged in cultivating his father's farm.
His interests on the farm are somewhat
varied, he not confining himself to one line
of work. Besides the tilling of the soil, he
is successfully engaged in stock raising and
also pays some attention to fruit culture.
On May [8, 1893, Mr. Kimmell was
united in marriage to Miss Lena A. Keehn,
a daughter of Jonathan and Harriet ( Shobe )
Keehn. Jonathan Keehn was a native of
Stark count)-, Ohio, while his wife was
born in Indiana. To the union of Joseph
C. Kimmell and wife have been born five
children, as follows: Lera E. born March
6, 1895; Verlie M.. born January 19, 1897;
Joseph K., born October 25, 1898; Harriet
E., born September 29, 1900: and Chester
Virgil, born September 26, 1901.
In politics Mr. Kimmell is a stanch
Democrat, believing fully in the policies and
principles advocated by that party as rep-
resented by that peerless leader, William
Jennings Bryan. He has been active in all
party work, though he never has been in-
clined to accept public office. Because of
bis interest in fruit culture, he identified
himself with the Noble County Horticul-
tural Society, and has been president of that
association ever since its organization in
1897, and a delegate to the Indiana State
Horticultural Society. He has also been
secretary to the Noble County Farmers' In-
stitute. Religiously Mr. Kimmell and fam-
ily arc faithful and consistent members of
the Disciple or Christian church at Ligonier.
They are popular members of a large so-
cial circle and because of their many quali-
ties of worth are held in high esteem by all
with whom they come in contact.
DANIEL H. MUSSER.
Daniel H. Musser was born in Ashland,
( )bio. May 19. 1847, a S(;n (; I Jacob and
Sarah A. (Hypsman) Musser. Jacob Mus-
ser was formery a resident of Ohio, but
later of Allen county, Intl., his wife a native
of Ohio. To their union were born three
children, as follows: Daniel, the subject;
George, who was a member of the Thir-
teenth Indiana Cavalry, died in Indianapolis
in 1864; and Mary died in fancy.
Daniel H. Musser is indebted to the coun-
nic n schools of Pleasant township, Allen
RESIDENCE OF D. H. MUSSER.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF XOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
county, for his education. He was not per-
mitted to finish his studies, however, as the
sounds of the terrible conflict in the south-
land were reverberating through the nation,
and Mr. Musser, though then but fifteen
years of age, felt that it was his duty to
respond to his country's call for defenders.
He enlisted May 30, 1862, in Company A.
Second Battalion, Seventeenth Regiment
United States Infantry. He proved a faith-
ful and efficient soldier, unmurmuringly
bearing his full share of the hardships and
privations, and unflinchingly followed the
old flag on many a bloody battle field. Af-
ter a highly meritorious career as a soldier,
lasting over three years, he received an hon-
orable discharge, June 23, 1865, and re-
turned again to peaceful purusuits, engag-
ing in farming with his father in Marion
township, .Mien county, Ind. He remained
on this place until [867. Me then removed
to Washington township, same county, stay-
ing there about two years. From there he
went to Madison township, that county,
where he remained until [890, and then for
a short time lived in Adams county, this
state. Again he moved, this time to Noble
count}-, where he continued the occupation
of farming.
Daniel H. Musser was first married in
1S0-. the lady of his choice being A i i s -
Sarah A. Mock, a daughter of Jacob Mock,
of Allen county, Ind. Four children blessed
this union, their names, with the years of
their birth, being as follows: Ida A.. Jan-
uary 11, 1869; Emma S.. August 3. 1870;
George F., February 2, 1872; and Lemuel
J., August 3, 1874. June 6, 1895, M r -
Musser wedded, for his second wife. Miss
Elizabeth E. R. Asman, a daughter of
Henry C. and Rebecca (Kettlebor rough")
Asman. The father was born in Lincoln,
Lincolnshire. England, on the 25th of \prii.
1820. He emigrated to America in 1846,
settled in Ridgeway, < Means county, X. Y.,
there engaging in farming for h\c year-,
lie then went to Illinois and engaged in
railroad work. After working there about
one year he located near Fort Wayne. Ind.,
where he continued at the same line of work.
In < >ctober, [854, he moved to Noble town-
ship. Noble count), ind., and engaged in
farming there, for eight years. Then he
came to Sparta township, this county, lo-
cating on the farm where Daniel H. Musser
now resides, and died there in June, [894.
Rebecca ( Kettleb rr< ugh) Asman was also
a native of Lincolnshire, England, was horn
in 1818, a daughter of John Kettleborrough.
To her union with Henry C. Asman were
born two children. Joseph II., born October
12. [848, died in childhood, and Elizabeth
F. R., bcrn February 2j. 1851. wife of Mr.
Mrs er. The marriage of Daniel and Eliza-
beth Musser was blessed with the birth of
one child, Mary Asman. who was born May
3 [896.
Politically Mr. Musser is nominally a
Republican, but has ever placed principle
above party. Fraternally he is affiliated
with Stansbury Post, No. 123. G. A. R., at
Ligonier, while the religious inclinations of
himself and his wife are toward the doc-
trines of the Methodist Episcopal church.
He is a public-spirited and progressive citi-
zen, deeplv interested in the welfare of the
community and al! that contributes to its
educational and moral advancement. His
business efforts have been crowned with a
degree of success richly merited. Socially
he and his wife are popular and by all are
highly esteemed for their genuine worth.
ALVORD'S HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, INDIANA.
GEORGE W. ROOF.
The gentleman to whom the following
lines are devoted has spent many years in
Noble county and earned much more than
local repute as a journalist and man of let-
ters. He was born of Scotch-Irish parent-
age, June i, 1838, in East Palestine, Ohio,
and at the age of sixteen entered upon an
apprenticeship to learn the trade of letter-
press printing' at Bryan, in his native state.
He became an expert workman with High
& Rumrill, publishers of the Fountain City
News, and subsequently was connected with
Mr. A. B. Crissey, a deaf mute, in the estab-
lishment of the True Free Soiler, at Mont-
pelier, Ohio. Severing his connection with
that paper Mr. Roof came to Indiana and for
some time published The Truth Seeker, at
Angola, Ind., which, under his editorial
management, became a very popular sheet
and obtained a liberal patronage. In the
year 1857 he changed his residence to Noble
county, from which date until 1859 he pub-
lished with marked success the Noble Coun-
ty Democrat, at Albion. This was. and is
still, the recognized official organ of the local
Democracy. Under his editorial control it
was given an impetus which made it one of
the leading party papers in the northern part
of the state and the measure of public favor
the sheet to-day enjoys is largely attribut-
able to the character and high standing given
it while Mr. Roof occupied the sanctum.
In the year 1859 Mr. Roof was joined in
marriage to Miss Elizabeth Skeels, of Noble
count}-, daughter of William Skeels, one of
the early pioneers of this part of the state.
In i860 Mr. Roof assisted in establishing at
Kendall ville The Noble County Journal,
and later became its editor and publisher.
Subsequently, about the year 1872, in part-
nership with a brother, A. J. Roof, he pub-
lished The Record of the Times, and at
the same time was mechanically connected
with the establishment of The New Era,
at Albii in. In the columns of the latter paper
he illustrated the principal works in the con-
struction of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
through Noble county, and with his pen did
much to awaken and keep alive an interest in
behalf of that enterprise. Additional to his
labors in the field of journalism Mr. Roof
has written and published a number of mer-
itorious works, nearly all of which have been
extensively read and widely quoted. He is
a clear, vigorous and incisive writer ; his dic-
tion as well as the subject matter of much he
has written eliciting favorable comments
from a number of the leading literary men of
Indiana and (jther states. The following
from his pen have won wide and favorable
recognition: "Historical Romance of Col-
umbiana County, Ohio," "Historical Ro-
mance of Noble County, Ind.," "The Relief
Engraver." ''Art of Wood Engraving,"
"Book of Processes," "How to Sketch
Buildings.'" a popular sketch under the cap-
tion of the "Early Press of Noble County,"
besides many early reminiscences, popular
tales, sketches and other contributions to the
local and state press, several of which have
appeared in book form. For several years
past he has devoted his time in the interest
of printing and engraving in Chicago, Ot-
tawa, Peoria. 111.. Cleveland, Youngs-
town. Lima, Bucyrus. East Palestine, and
Ohio cities; Fort Wayne, Albion, Milford,
Bremen, and various other towns and cities
in Indiana; St. Joseph, Three Rivers, and a
number of the principal places i
