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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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1137038
HISTORY OF
CASS COUNTY
INDIANA
From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time; with Bio-
graphical Sketches and Reference to Biographies
Previously Compiled
Edited by
DR. JEHU Z. POWELL
President of the Cass County, Indiana, Historical Society
advisoby editors :
Hon. William T. Wilson
Hon. Benjamin F. Louthain
Pkof. a. H. Douglass
k
VOLUME II
<777. a^ /
ILLUSTRATED
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1913
1137033
GEN. JOHN TIPTON
History of Cass County
Gen. John Tipton. It is an acknowledged fact that Gen. John Tip-
ton was the most influential and distinguished pioneer citizen of Cass
county, and had more to do with its early history and development than
any other one man, and no history of the county would be complete
without a brief sketch of him.
The Tipton family is of Irish lineage. Joshua Tipton, the father of
this sketch, was bom in Maryland but in early manhood moved to Sevier
county. East Tennessee, where he married Jeannette Shields. Joshua
Tipton was an Indian fighter and was killed by them April 16, 1793,
but it is unwritten history that his assassination was instigated by the
Seviers, who held an old-time grudge against the Tiptons.
It was under such, conditions and surroundings that our sub.ject was
born August 14, 1786, and was only seven years of age at his father's
death. In the fall of 1807, he, with his mother, two sisters and a half
brother, moved to Brinley 's Perry on the Ohio river, in Harrison county,
Indiana territory. He was the main support of the family and one of
his first acts was to purchase a home for his mother, consisting of fifty
acres, which he paid for by splitting rails at 50 cents a hundred. These
early experiences laid the foundation of his future success in life. His
mother died in 1827 at Seymour, Indiana.
In 1809 the sheriff of Harrison county formed a company of mounted
riflemen, known as "Yellow Jackets," from the color of their uniforms,
and John Tipton became an active member. This company, under the
command of Capt. Spier Spencer, saw active service in the Indian wars,
terminating at the battle of Tippecanoe, November 7, 1811. Spencer's
company was in the thickest of the fight and the commissioned officers
were all killed, but there stood the brave ensign, John Tiptop, at the
head of the remnant of the company when General Harrison came riding
up and asked:
"Where is the captain of this company?"
To which John Tipton answered:* "Dead, sir."
"Where are the lieutenants'?"
"Both have been killed, sir."
"Where is the ensign?"
"I am here," answered Tipton.
"Take command of your company," said Harrison, "and I will get
relief for you in a few minutes."
719
720 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
General Harrison always spoke of Ensigii Tipton as the coolest and
bravest officer in his command. Subsequently he was promoted to the
rank of brigadier-general. <
At the tirst election held under the state constitution he was elected
sheriff of Harrison county and was sent to the legislature from that
county in 1819-20, and was chosen as one of the committee to select a
site for the location of the state capital, and this committee, on June 7,
1820, selected the present site of Indianapolis, then in the woods, and
on January 6, 1821, the legislature approved the action of the com-
mittee. In August, 1821, he was re-elected to the legislature and the
following year the governpr appointed him a commissioner to locate
the boundary line between Illinois and Indiana. In 1823 he was
appointed by President Monroe general agent of the Pottawattamie and
Miami Indians on the upper Wabash and at once moved to Ft. Wayne,
the seat of the agency, and he performed his duties with credit to him-
self and the government. In the spring of 1828, at his suggestion, the
agency was moved to Logausport, where he continued to reside until
his death.
In 1826 President John Quincy Adams appointed him a commis-
sioner on the part of the United States to treat with the Indians for
cession of their lands and his familiarity with the Indians greatly facili-
tated the opening up of valuable lands in this section of the country.
In 1831 he was elected United States senator from Indiana to fill the
vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. James Noble and in 1832-33 was
re-elected for a full term of six years. While in the senate he was the
chairman of the committee on Indian affairs, in those days a very im-
portant committee, for which he was eminently qualified. He recog-
nized no party in determining his line of duty, always acting from
motives of right and public duty. As a civilian and citizen he was alike
successful in directing and executing, to the extent of his power, what-
ever purpose his conscience approved or his judgment dictated. Having
made Logansport his home in the spring of 1828, he acquired title to
the land upon which the town was built and, with Chauncey Carter,
made the original plat of the town and later made four of its princi-
pal additions. He was awake to the true interests of the town and gave
a lot for the erection of the first school and public building ever built
in Cass county, the ' ' Old Eel River Seminary, ' ' and was largely instru-
mental in its construction in 1828-29. He also donated the square where
the present Lincoln school building stands. Under his direction the
first saw and grist mills in the county were erected on Eel river, east
of Sixth street, in the summer of 1828. In short, he was the instigator
and moving spirit, that gave form, and imparted energy, to every enter-
prise calculated to improve society and stimulate progress, and the un-
foldment and utilization of all the natural advantages with which Cass
county has been so bountifully supplied.
In 1838 Governor Wallace directed him to raise a company of sol-
diers to superintend the removal of the last of the Pottawattomie Indians
to their western home beyond the Mississippi, which he promptly, yet
kindly, did, satisfactorily to all parties.
General Tipton was a member of the Masonic fraternity, having
received his first degree in Pisgah Lodge No. 5, at Corydon, Indiana,
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 721
in 1817, and later was grand master of the state. He was instrumental
in the organization of the first Masonic lodge in Logansport, Avhich was
named in his honor, ''Tipton Lodge No. 83," in 1828, and donated the
ground for a building, the present site of the Masonic temple.
General Tipton was of medium height, rather long face but round
head, low wrinkled forehead, sunken gray eyes, stern countenance, large
chest, stiff, sandy hair, standing erect from his forehead. He was twice
married. His first wife was his cousin, IMiss Jennie Shields, daughter
of John Shields, who became famous in the Lewis and Clark expedition.
She was the mother of two children. Spier S. Tipton, who became a
graduate of West Point, settled in Logansport, raised a- company and
as its captain fought and died in the ^Mexican war; and Matilda, who
died while at school in her eighteenth year. His second wife was Matilda
Spencer, daughter of his old commander who fell in the battle of Tip-
pecanoe. Three children were born to this last marriage: Harriet B.,
who married Thomas S. Dunn of Logansport and died in the West in
the later sixties, leaving descendants in California ; John Tipton, who
married Nenah Lamb, was a captain in the regular army, moved to
California, where he died many years ago ; George T. Tipton, who was
born in Corydon, Indiana, in 1825, married Sarah M. Purveyance in
Logansport, and followed farming near the city. He died in 1873, leav-
ing five children: John, Frank M., Matilda, and Bessie B., all living
in Logansport, and Fannie, who married W. S. Newhall and lives in
Cleveland, Ohio.
On February 14, 1839, Mrs. Tipton died and on April 4, following,
the general died after a brief illness caused by exposure to inclement
weather and was buried on Sunday, April 7, 1839, by the Masonic
lodge, which he had organized. He was buried on Spencer square,
where the Lutheran church now stands, later was removed to the old
cemetery and still later to ]\It. Hope cemetery, where a neat marble
shaft about six feet high marks the last resting place of Cass county's
most illustrious pioneer.
Hon. David D. Ficki.e. Probably the law has been the main high-
way by which more men of merit have advanced to prominence and posi-
tion in the United States than any other road, and it is not unusual
therefore to find among the leading citizens of a community members
of the legal fraternity. Among those citizens of Cass county whose
connection with law and jurisprudence have led them to eminence in
public life may be mentioned the Hon. David D. Fickle, mayor of
Logansport, whose high attainments as a legist are aiding him in giving
his city an excellent admmistration. Mr. Fickle was bom Augiist 17,
1853, in Jackson township, Cass county, Indiana, the seventh in order
of birth of the nine children of David T. and Rebeca (Engler) Fickle,
natives of Ohio, of German descent.
David T. Fickle, who was a farmer by occupation, came to Cass
county in 1844 and settled in Jackson township, at a time when that
section was still in a primitive condition. He lived on the old home-
stead place until about 1883, at that time moving to Galveston, and
there his death occurred December 22, 1894, being followed by that of
his widow several years later. Beyond being thoroughly honest and
722 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
upright, and believing in and acting upon the principles of the Golden
Rule, the life of Mr. Fickle was uneventful. He was an active factor
in the development of the county during its formative period, and will
be remembered as one of its honored pioneers.
Like so many of the fanners' sons of his day and locality, David
D. Fickle divided his boyhood between work on the home farm and
attendance in the jjublic schools, and when he was nineteen years of
age was sent to the high school at Edinburg, where he spent two years.
In the fall of 1875, he entered Mount Union College, in eastern Ohio,
from which he was graduated three years later with the degree of
Bachelor of Philosophy, and succeeding this taught school until 1882, in
the meantime sedulously prosecuting his legal studies. On March 17,
1882, he left the law offices of McConnell, IMagee & ^IcConnell and
embarked in the practice of law in Logansport, but in June, 1883, was
elected county superintendent of schools, to the duties of which position
he devoted the following six years. He resumed his law practice in
1889, but June 22, 1895, was appointed receiver for the Logansport
Railway Company, and for about seven years was devoted to the work
of that office, at the end of that time again taking up the practice of
law. In 1909, Mr. Fickle became the candidate of the Democratic party
for the office of mayor, to which he was subsequently elected, and to
the manifold duties of which he has since given his entire attention.
He has given the same conscientious service to this executive office that
has been characteristic of his activities in his private interests, and
the citizens of Logansport have had no cause to regret of their choice.
Mr. Fickle is a member of the B. P. O; E., and also holds membership
in the college fraternity of Delta Tau Delta.
On September 28, 1887, occurred the union of Mr. Fickle and Miss
Carrie Larway, and they have four children : Florence Frances,
Harold L., Helen J. and Robert D. The family attend the Episcopal
church, all except ^Ir. Fickle being members thereof.
Hon. Rufus ]\Iagee. Among Cass county's native sons, few have
attained to greater eminence than that secured by Hon. Rufus Magee,
whose versatile talents brought him prominently before the public in
various fields of endeavor, and whose long and active career was given
to the advancement of his state and his country no less than to his per-
sonal benefit. It is all the more remarkable, in that he was practically
self-educated, having entered upon his battle with life when a lad of only
nine years, and his subsequent struggles were marked with steady ad-
vancement and eventually crowned with well-deserved success. At this
time, living in quiet retirement, he is able to look back over a useful
and well-spent life, content in the knowledge that his eff^orts have not
been fruitless, and that no stain or blemish mars an honorable record
of accomplishment.
Rufus Magee was born October 17, 1845, in Logansport, Indiana.
His father. Empire A. Magee, was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and of
Covenanter religion. His father, Daniel Magee, was a soldier in the War
of Independence. Empire A. Magee was a millwright by trade, and
came to Logansport in that capacity in 1836, here erecting the forge
at what was known as Four-mile. Locks, in Miami township, a strue-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 723
ture built of what (or was) known as "kidney iron," Later he built
the Aubeenaubee forge in Fulton county, on the Tippecanoe river, and
then went to Lockport, in Carroll county, and operated a grist mill, on
selling which he moved to Montieello, where he built the mills of the
Monticello Hydraulic Sompany, and died at that place about 1873.
Rufus Magee resided with his parents until nine years of age, at
which time he accepted a position as printer's "devil" with the White
County Jeffersonian, and following his experience with that newspaper
engaged in printing and publishing. It was largely in this school that
Mr. Magee secured his education, although he has continued a student
all of his life, and has never lost his love of literary work. For a num-
ber of years he was connected with various publications, at Indian-
apolis, Logansport, and other cities, and eventually, in December, 1868,
purchased the Logansport Pharos. In August, 1874, he established a
daily in connection with the weekly publication, but later sold both
papers. For many years j\Ir. Magee was known as one of Cass county's
most prominent and influential Democrats. From 1872 to 1878 he was
a member of the Democratic State Central Committee, of which he was
secretary for two years, and in 1882 was elected state senator, receiving
the re-election in 1900, and serving in all eight years. In March, 1885,
he was honored by the appointment to the position of United States
minister to Sweden and Norway, by President Cleveland, and served as
such four years and three months. In 1896 he was a member of the State
Central Committee, but resigned therefrom because of the silver plank
in the Democratic platform. On his return from abroad, IMr. ]\Iagee
occupied himself in the practice of law, but in 1902 retired from activ-
ities, and since that time has devoted himself to the demands of his
business interests.
In 1868 ]\Ir. Magee was married to Miss Jennie Musselman, and they
became the parents of two daughters.
John C. Nelson. The legists of the first several decades of the life
of Logansport have passed away. Of those who came to the bar during
the 'sixties, most have long since laid down their briefs. Some survive
in retirement, enjoying the ease and dignity which lives of intellectual
activity have earned, while fewer still continue to participate in the
struggles which the competition of younger and more vigorous men make
more severe and exacting. Judge John C. Nelson is one of the oldest
in point of length of practice at the Logansport bar. Since the spring
of 1870, now more than forty-three years, he has been in active practice,
and still keeps an open office.
Judge Nelson was born February 27, 1841, in Adams county, Ohio,
his parents being natives of that state, while his grandparents, on his
father's side English, and on the maternal side Scotch, came from New
Jersey and Virginia, respectively. His home, from the time he was
six years of age until he was twenty, was in the small hamlet of Eckmans-
ville, where he attended the common schools and what was then known as
the high school imtil he was sixteen years of age. At that time he received
a certificate qualifying him to teach in the public schools of that county,
his first experience as an educator being in one of the most rural parts
of the county, in 1857, and his wages being $20.00 per month. He
724 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
followed the profession of teacher during the fall and winter months,
and attended a seminary during the summer seasons until the fall of
1861, on October 18 of which year he enlisted as a private in Company
A, Seventieth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Upon the organiza-
tion of the company, he was appointed second sergeant, and when the
regiment was completed he became sergeant major, in which capacity
he served until December, 1861, when he was commissioned second lieu-
tenant of Company G. The regiment, during the winter, rendezvoused
at Ripley, Ohio, and in February, 1862, was ordered to the front and as-
signed to the Second Brigade of Sherman's Division, then being organ-
ized at Paducah, Kentucky. Upon the organization of the brigade,
Colonel Buckland commanding, Mr. Nelson was detailed to act as aid
upon his staff.
The division was sent up the Teimessee river on transports to Pitts-
burgh Lauding, and was encamped about two and one-half miles from
the river, the right of the regiment being near Shiloh church. During
the battle of Shiloh, Judge Nelson served as aid on the colonel's staff,
and on the second day of the battle was placed in command of his com-
pany, and from that time lantil December, 1862, did duty with it, tak-
ing part in the advance on Corinth, Grant's advance towards Vicksburg
as far as Oxford, Mississippi, and the subsequent return to the line of the
Memphis & Charleston Railroad, the regiment then being stationed at
Grand Junction. During the month of March, 1863, he was detailed and
served as ordnance officer on the staff of General Denver, commanding
the division until the general was relieved from the command of the
division by Gen. William S. Smith, when he was relieved as ordnance
officer and detailed as aide on the staff of General Smith. He continued
to serve in that capacity until the summer of the same year, when he
was relieved from duty at division headquarters because he declined
to receive and receipt for old ordnance that was ordered to be turned
over to the ordnance officer, assigning for his reason the fact that he
was not the ordnance officer of the division. Upon reporting to Colonel
Cockerel, who commanded the brigade, he was immediately detailed as
aide on his staff', and served in that capacity until January, 186-1, when
he re-enlisted and was promoted to the rank of captain of Company C.
While on Colonel Cockerel's staff, he was a member of the Army of
Observation during the siege of Vicksburg, and after the surrender was
at the siege of Jackson, ]\Iississippi. Returning from Jackson, the
division to which the brigade belonged camped on the banks of the
Black river, in Mississippi, and remained there until October of that
year, when it was sent, under Sherman, with the other divisions of his
corps, and took part under Grant at the battle of ^Missionary Ridge, in
November, 1863. After the regiment had re-enlisted and Sherman's
army entered upon the Atlanta campaign. Judge Nelson commanded
Company C, of the Seventieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, taking part in
all the battles in which the division was engaged, among which were
Resaca, Dallas, New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, the battle of
Atlanta, July 22nd, aJid the battle of Ezra Church, July 27th, in the
last-named of which he was severely wounded while on the skirmish
line, being shot through the body. After a leave of absence of sixty days,
he returned to his regiment, in October, 1864, and was shortly afterward
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 725
detailed as commissary of musters of the Second Division, Fifteentli
Army Corps, Gen. W. B. Hazen, commanding. He was with Sherman
on his memorable "March to the Sea," and with the division at the
battle of Fort jMcAUister. On the march from Savannah to Goldsboro,
and at the battle of Bentonville, and then moved on to Raleigh, where
the division was stationed at the time of the surrender of Gen. Joseph E.
Johnston. Judge Nelson also participated in the grand review, at Wash-
ington, D. C, and afterward went West with the division, to Little
Rock, Arkansas, where, August 18, 1865, he was mustered out of the
service.
With the establishment of peace, Judge Nelson exchanged the pon-
derous enginery of war for the implements of civil life, and, recognizing
the need of further education attended a commercial school at Cincinnati,
Ohio, until the spring of 1866. He then spent a short time as a traveling
salesman for a boot and shoe house, and in July of the same year, with
a friend of his, came to Logansport, and in August opened a boot and
shoe store. This business was conducted successfully until 1868, when
he disposed of his interests to his partner, and entered upon the study of
law in the offices of ]\IcConnell & Winfield, and in the fall and winter
of 1869-70 attended the Law school, at Albany, New York. Receiving
his diploma in the spring of 1870, he returned to Logansport and formed
a professional partnership with Dudley H. Chase, who, in 1872, was
elected judge of the circuit court of Cass county. In that year iNIr. Nel-
son became the partner of Dyer B. McConnell, a connection which con-
tinued until 'Sir. Nelson was elected .judge of the superior court of Cass
county, which office he filled during the existence of the court. In 1881
he returned to the practice of law, and in the following year formed a
partnership with Quincy A. IMyers, now judge of the supreme court of
Indiana, the connection continuing for a period of twenty-five years, or
practically until Judge Myers was elected to his present office.
During the years 1881, 1882, 1883 and 1884, Judge Nelson served
as city attorney of Logansport, was mayor of the city in 1887 and 1888,
and in 1910 was again chosen to serve as city attorney, continuin? as
such in 1911, 1912 and 1913. Many men are honored for their ability
to confer benefits, — for the wealth, or influence, or power they control.
Judge Nelson is reverenced for what he is. A hero in war ; a man of
kindly spirit, and rectitude and fidelity that no temptation has been able
to swerve; who has taken office only that he might serve; he has drawn
about him a wide circle of admiring friends, and the veneration of all
who know him.
Judge Nelson was married in November, 1871, to Mary C, daughter
of James Cheney, whose sketch appears elsewhere. Their children are
Alice C, (Mrs. Carl Keller) Dr. James V. Nelson, Allen E. Nelson, of
Logansport, and Helen, (Mrs. R. C. Barnard) and Coleman C. Nel-
son, of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Orlando Powell was born in Wabash county, Indiana, on January
17, 1845, and is the third in a familv of four children, whose parents
were Jacob and ]\Iartha (Troutman) Powell. The father was a native
of Washington county. Pennsylvania, and of Welsh descent. Orlando
Powell was reared on the farm where he now resides, and he was edu-
cated in the district schools, such learning as he acquired there being
726 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
supplemented by several terms in the Logansport (Ind.) high school.
In the summer of 1862 he joined Company K, Ninety-ninth Indiana
Infantry, with Captain George AV. Julian in command of his company,
and he served faithfully until the close of the war. His regiment partic-
ipated in all the important engagements in the Atlanta campaign, includ-
ing Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta and Jonesboro, and
marched with Sherman to the sea and up through the Carolinas.
Upon his return from the war he was successfully engaged in school
teaching for several years, later turning his attention to farming. He
is a man of no little enterprise and energj% and he today owns a valua-
ble farm of two hundred acres. He has been prominent in the political
life of his community and has held the office of township trustee for
several terms. He is a Republican of solid conviction, and f recpently
comes to the aid of the party in his district by making speeches through-
out the county, having a reputation as an impromptu speaker. He is a
member of th.e G. A. R., and with his wife is a member of the Pres-
byterian church in their home community.
On October 2, 1871. ]\Ir. Powell was united in marriage with ]\Iiss
Sarah S. McElheny, daughter of Moses and Philene (Treen) JIcElheny.
Five children have been born, of their union, concerning whom the fol-
lowing brief mention is made : Ada F., born Avigust 14, 1872. died
November 17, 1889; Tacy C, born Julv 31, 1874; Dyer J., born Decem-
ber 8, 1878; Martha P., bom July 6. 1881; and Emma B., born ]\Iarch
6, 1883. The four last named are married, and Orlando Powell has iive
grandchildren at this writing.
Warren J. Butler. Prominent among those officials whose seiwices
have added to Cass county's reputation as one of the best-governed sec-
tions of the state, Warren J. Butler, sheriff, is entitled to more than
passing mention. Since the time he attained to man's estate, he has been
almost continuously the occupant of one public office or another, and
in each capacity has shown himself a conscientious, faithful official, effi-
ciently discharging the duties and holding tbem in the light of sacred
trusts. His career has been marked by constant industry and integrity
since earliest youth, and his present high position has come as a result
of earnest youth, and his present high position has come as a result of
earnest effort and determination, directed along Avell-defined channels.
Mr. Butler was born in Fulton county. Indiana. April 19, 1863, and
is a son of WilliaiW T. and Catherine (Phillips) Butler.
Mr. Butler was reared on his father's farm in Liberty township,
Fulton county, and divided his boyhood between work of an agricultural
nature and attendance at the common schools of his locality. It was
the intention of his parents that he adopt the vocation of farmer, but
when he was twenty-one years of age he became deputy to his father,
who at that time was sheriff of Fulton county. Thus, at the very oiit-
set of his career, he received an introduction to the duties of official
life, and to the responsibilities undertaken by those who enter the
public arena. Proving an able and trustworthy assistant, Mr. Butler
continued as deputy under succeeding sheriffs until 1894, at which time,
during the landslide of that year, he found himself, with others of the
Democratic faith, without office, and accordingly, during the next year,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 727
he acted in the capacity of attendant at the insane asylum, at Indian-
apolis, this being succeeded by two years in the same capacity in the
asylum at Toledo, Ohio.
On June 17, 1896, I\Ir. Butler was married to Miss Minnie E. I\Ie-
Dowell, whose people were among the earliest settlers of Cass county,
and soon after this event he became a conductor on the old Logansport
Railway Company. He continued in the service of this road, and those
that succeeded it, for the following fourteen years, and was known
as one of the company 's most capable and trusted employes, and a great
favorite with its patrons. Mr. Butler, however, could not resist the
struggles and activities of public life, and accordingly, in 1909, again
entered the field as candidate for the office of sheriff of Cass county,
being returned the winner in the election that followed, and taking
office in 1910. He was again elected in 1911, on the Democratic ticket,
and continues to hold office, being known as an efficient and courageous
officer, with an excellent record in office.
Mr. and Mrs. Butler now reside in a comfortable home in Logans-
port, in which city their two children. Ben and Irene, are attending
school. ]Mr. Butler has interested himself to some extent with fraternal
work, and is exceedingly popular with his fellow members in the Red
Men, the Eagles, the Knights of Pythias and the ]\Iasons, in the last-
named of which he has attained to the Knights Templar degree.
Ben.jamin Banta. The vocation of farming, as now practiced by
the intelligent and practical agriculturist, is as difiPerent from the farm-
ing of several decades ago as could be imagined. The day of the work-
hardened, horny-handed farmer has passed. In these days the agricul-
turist who uses scientific methods is able to retire in time to spend the
remaining yeare of his life in the enjo^nnent of a well-earned competence.
Among those who have profited by new methods and ideas, Benjamin
Banta, of Jefferson township, holds a prominent place. Although now
retired from active pursuits, Mr. Banta is widely known, not only as
one whose activities contributed materially to the agricultural impor-
tance of his section, but as a veteran of the great Civil war. Mr. Banta
was born in Jefferson township, Cass county, Indiana, June 16, 1839, and
is a son of Beaufort and Elizabeth (McNairy) Banta, natives of Bour-
bon county, Kentucky. As a youth, Beaufort Banta removed to Ohio,
where he was married, and in 1829 came to Indiana, settling in Jeffer-
son towTiship, Cass county, where he passed the remainder of 'his life in
tilling the soil. He and his ^xiie had four sons, of whom three served
as soldiers in the Union army during the Civil war.
Benjamin Banta was reared on the home farm, and the greater part
of his education was secured in the school of experience and hard work,
although he made the most of his opportunities and attended the district
school whenever he could be spared from home. On July 22, 1862, he
enlisted in Company 6. Seventy-third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, being first under General Buell, and later in the AiTay of the
Cumberland. He participated in a number of engagements, including
Richmond and Perry\'ille, but February 3, 1863, received his honorable
discharge on account of disability after a brave and faithful service.
On his return home from the war he was appointed enrolling officer in
728 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
the sub-distriet 131 of Jefferson township. As soon as he had sufficiently
recuperated, Mr. Banta resumed work on the home farm in Jeffereon
township, where, ]March 12, 1867, he was married to Elvira Wilson. She
was born in Jefferson township, and here died September 12, 1875, having
been the mother of three sons, two who died in infancy, and Everett,
who married Pauline Wimer, and died January 12, 1911. Mr. Banta
was married January 11, 1889, to Mrs. Margaret Herand, who was born
in Boone township, Cass county, Indiana, March 14, 1847, and was first
married to John L. Herand, by whom she had one son : John A., who is
single. i\Irs. Banta was educated in the public schools of Jefferson
township, and is a lady of much culture and many social graces. She is
a well-known member of the Presbyterian church at Pisgah, and a
member of the home and foreign missionary societies. She belongs to
the Women's Relief Corps No. 30, Logansport, Indiana, Grand Army
of the Republic, of which she has been president of the Women's Relief
Corps department, and has held numerous other offices, being national
recruiting aid, and a delegate to the national convention in 1912, as
well as holding office in the district department. She also holds mem-
bership in the Daughters of Liberty, Loraine Council No. 10, and in
the Lady j\Iaecabees of the World, being especially active in the work of
the latter and a charter member, and is a member of the Home IMaking
Agricultural Society.
]\Ir. Banta is a member of Logansport Post No. 14, Grand Army of
the Republic, and is the recipient of a pension of fifteen doUai-s per
month. In political matters a Republican, he has held numerous minor
offices, but has not l)een a politician in the generally accepted meaning of
the word. Although retired from active farming, he still owns 160 acres
of well-cultivated land. IMr. and ^Irs. Banta are highly esteemed in
their comnuinity as people whose activities are at all times promoting
good citizenship and the spread of morality and religion.
George Ulebich. Farming has drawn out the best efforts of some
of the leading men of Cass county and developed their abilities, and
through their efforts in an agriciiltural line they have become well-to-
do and prominent in their communities. One of the substantial farmer-
citizens of Cass county, whose intelligent knowledge of the soils and
the most profital)le uses to which particular lands may be devoted has
made him .justly regarded as one of those whose activities are advanc-
ing the agricultural importance of his community, is George Ulerich,
of Clay township, who has lived in Cass county for nearly a half a
century. Mr. LTlerich was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania,
November 18, 1853, and is a son of Henry and Caroline (Fry) LHerich.
Henry Ulerich, who was a farmer by vocation, ])rought his family
from Lancaster coimty, Pennsylvania, to Cass county, Indiana, in the
spring of 1866 and settled first on the old Andrew Dritt farm, where
he remained for aliout five years, then moving to a farm near Twelve
]\Iile, where he still resides, being eighty-seven years of age, while his
wife passed away some years ago.
George LTlerich commenced his education in the public schools of his
native county, and was thirteen years of age when he accompanied his
parents to Cass county. Here he completed his schooling, in the mean-
time assisting his father in the work of the home farm, remaining under
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 729
the parental roof until he had reached the age of nineteen years. At that
time he started to work for George M. Smith, as a farm hand, and on
leaving his employ was engaged by Sam Ilarman, with whom he also
remained a short period, succeeding which he started to work on the
farm of Joseph Davidson. In February, 1885, Mr. Ulerich was married,
and at that time began operations on his own account on a rented farm
of twenty acres, belonging to John I. ]\IcDowell, but after three years
removed to the farm of his former employer, Mr. Davidson, where he
continued two years. Following this he spent five years on the farm of
Barnett Brothers, and then spent one year on a farm near the school-
house, but eventually came to his present property, a tract of 153 acres
which his wife had inherited. Here he has continued to reside to the
present time, working his land with his son, who lives on an ad-
Joining property. The old log cabin built by Mrs. Ulerich 's father still
stands on the farm, located behind the modern frame farm house which
was built by Mr. Ulerich, in addition to which Mr. E. C. Metsker has
erected a new barn and made numerous other improvements on the
place. He has engaged in diversified farming, raising good crops, breed-
ing cattle and finding a reacly market for his dairy products. An able
business man, his success has been due to his strict attention to the de-
tails of his vocation and an inherent ability that has come down to him
through a long line of agricultural ancestors.
Mr. Ulerich was married February 13, 1885, to Miss Maggie P.
Metsker, daughter of E. C. and Louisa C. (McDowell) Metsker, who
lived in Cass county for many yeai*s, and to this union there have been
born two children : Hugh, who is twenty-six years of age ; and Harold,
aged seven years. Hugh, who assists his father in the work of the farm,
also received a commercial course in the commercial college. He mar-
ried Leta Ingmire, daughter of John Ingmire. Mr. Ulerich is a Demo-
crat in his political views, but has not cared to enter the political arena,
being content to devote his entire attention to the cultivation of his farm.
His business integrity and honorable dealing have gained him a high
reputation among the people of Clay township, among whom he num-
bers many sincere friends.
William A. Wells. It was but comparatively a few years ago that
most men ridiculed the idea of applying science to agriculture, but sci-
ence has never gone backwards ; it has always been progressive in nature.
There are still many farmers who plant, reap, feed their cattle, and let
their implements stand out in the sun and rain in the careless, thriftless
old way, but science is revolutionizing the farming business as it has
revolutionized almost every other modern business, and the agriculturist
who would attain the full measure of success must keep abreast of the
trend of the times, and bring to his labors every help which modern in-
vention and discovery will give him. Among the good, practical farm-
ers of Cass county who have realized the benefits to be derived from sci-
entific, treatment of the soil, William A. Wells, of Clay township, is
deserving of mention. A resident of Cass county for nearly a half a
century, he has attained a position of aftluence through intelligent opera-
tions and in the meantime has so directed his activities as to l:)eneflt his
community. He was born at Kewanna, Fulton county, Indiana, Febru-
ary 14, 1856, and is a son of Dudley and ^Nlary (Davis) Wells.
730 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
The father of Mr. Wells was a native of Connecticut and the mother
was born in New York; they were married in Ftilton county, Indiana,
and came to Cass county in 1865. Dudley Wells was a farmer by voca-
tion, an occupation which he followed throughout his active career, and
his death occurred in Logansport, November 24, 1906, his wife having
passed away September 2, 1903, in Kewanna, Indiana.
William A. Wells commenced his education in the public schools of
Kewanna, and was nine years of age when he accompanied his parents to
Cass county, here completing his studies in the district schools of Clay
township while assisting his father in the work of the home farm. He
was thoroughly trained in all the details pertaining to the operation of
a farm, and on attaining his majority started to work on his own ac-
count. He is now the possessor of an excellent tract of land, which he
devot«s to general farming and stock raising, and on which he has made
numerous improvements. His buildings are substantial and in a good
state of repair, his cattle are sleek and well fed, and the excellent crops
produced each season leave no doubt as to his ability as an agriculturist.
This farm is one of the old land-marks of the township, and on it stood
the first schoolhouse erected within the township limits.
On September 15, 1880, Mr. Wells was united in marriage with Miss
Anna Freshour, daughter of George Freshour, who came to Cass county
in 1835 among the earliest pioneers. To Mr. and Mrs. Wells was born
one son — Kirk, who resides with his parents. He finished the public
schools and the city high school at Logansport, and then took a full
business course. The son is a high Mason, having taken both the Scot-
tish and Yorke rite of masonry. He is a member of the blue lodge, coun-
cil and chapter, at Logansport, and the Shriners at Indianapolis. He is a
thirty-second degree INIason, and affiliates with Tipton lodge, No. 33,
Logan chapter No. 2, Logan council No. 11, St. John's commandery
No. 24, Murat Temple, Indianapolis, Indiana Consistory of Indianapolis.
Mr. Wells, Sr., has interested himself in fraternal work to some extent,
and is a popular member of the local lodge of the Odd Fellows and the
]\Iasons. Although not a politician in the generally accepted meaning
of the term, he has ever been faithful to the duties of citizenship, and
for the past four years has served as a member of the board of trus-
tees of Clay township. He is known as a man who lives up to his word
in his business transactions, who is true in his friendships, and who, hav-
ing succeeded himself, is willing to assist others to success.
GiLLis McBean, Sb., was born in Scotland in 1794 and died on his
farm in southeast quarter, section 20, Clay township, in 1839, and lies
at rest in the old cemetery. He came to America when a boy and engaged
in the milling business on the ]\Iississinewa river. In 1827 he moved
to Logansport before the town was laid out or even named and acted
as Indian agent and kept a hotel in a double hewed log cabin, situated
on the southwest comer of Third and Market streets. The legislature
appointed three commissioners to organize Cass county and locate its
county seat, who met at the house of Gillis McBean in the summer' of
1829, by direction of the legislature, and the first board of county com-
missioners met at Mr. McBean 's house on July 25, 1829, and appointed
him agent for the county.
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GILLIS JAMES McBANE
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 731
About 1832 he bought a farm and moved to Clay township, where
he died as noted above.
Mr. McBean represented Cass county in the state legislature in 1833.
He was married in Corydon, Indiana, to Elizabeth Kintner. From
this union six children were born, to wit: Margaret, Catherine, Gillis
James and Thomas, twins ; Peter Todd and Frank, all of whom are now
dead except Frank, now living at Canon City, Oregon, and Gillis J., who
resides at Moscow, Idaho.
Gillis James McBane (originally McBean), son of Gillis McBean,
Sr., was the first white child born within the original town plat of
Logansport, December 30, 1829, in a double log cabin, then situated on
the southwest comer of Third and Market streets, where the Kreutz-
berger building now stands. When a child he moved with his father
on what is known as the Skelton farm, on the north bank of Eel river
in the southeast quarter section 20, Clay township, opposite Spencer
Park. When grown he worked in Coulson's, Clem's and Vigus' bakeries
in Logansport. Later lived with Mrs. Sharts on a farm near Anoka.
At the breaking out of the war, 1861, he enlisted in Company G,
Seventy-third Indiana Regiment. Serving three years, he returned to
Anoka, where he resided on a farm until 1882, when he moved to Moscow,
Idaho, where he has lived ever since, engaged in carpentering and paint-
ing. He made a visit to Logansport in the fall of 1912, and is still hale
and hearty, as shown by his picture accompanying this sketch, which was
taken when he was eighty-three years old. Mr. BcBane was never mar-
ried and says he is short on the fair sex, although his mother was a
woman and the best in the world.
Mrs. Jane H. White. Among the residents of Clay township who
l)ave witnessed the wonderful changes that have taken place here during
the past half a century, and have done their share in promoting the
growth and development of the county, one of the best known is Mrs.
Jane H. White, who resides with her family in a comfortable residence
on Logansport Rural Route No. 4. Mrs. White was born in Adams town-
ship, Cass county, Indiana, daughter of 'Joel H. and Mary (Harvey)
Davis.
Joel Hubbard Davis was born near Albany, New York, of Scotch-Irish
descent, and some time after his marriage came to Indiana, settling in
Adams township, where he purchased a farm. Subsequently, when Mrs.
White was one year old, the family moved to Fulton county, Indiana,
purchasing a farm. The father died April 13, 1880, in Cass county,
and the mother died November 5, 1879. Mrs. White grew to womanhood
in Fulton county, and was there married January 6, 1861, to John
Henry White, who was born of English descent in Frederick county,
Virginia, son of Batley and Hannah (Haire) White. In 1843 the
White family located on a farm in Clay township, and John Henry
Wliite and his brother Joseph inherited their father's estate, the former
receiving the present home of Mrs. White, where he resided for upwards
of fifty-two years, dying at the age of seventy-eight years. He was one
of his township's well known and substantial citizens, and spent his life
in clearing, cultivating and improving his land. In 1886 he was elected
732 , HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
justice of the peace of Clay township, a position in which he served for
some years.
Mr. and Mrs. "White became the parents of one son: Horace Mason,
who was born October 20, 1861, on the present homestead. He married
Emma Puterbaugh, daughter of Jacob and Hannah Ida (Bauchman)
Puterbaugh. Mr. Puterbaugh came from Dayton, Ohio, and at one
time was the leading merchant of Logansport, where he still resides at
the age of eighty-four years, one of the oldest living early settlers. His
wife died in 1904. Horace and Emma White have had two children,
namely : Edith Abigail, who married Roscoe C. Smith, of Indianapolis,
and has one child, — Newell C. Smith, aged eight years; and Fred Har-
vey, who married Jessie C. Straw, daughter of Andrew Jackson and
Anna Elsa (Walker) Straw, the former of whom is superintendent of
the gardening of the Longcliff insane asylum, and they have one child
who is ten months old.
Mrs. White, her son Horace M. and wife, and their son Fred and wife,
and the latter 's baby, Esther, all live in the comfortable residence on
the old homestead. This tract, a property of 110 acres, has been greatly
improved by Mr. White, who has done much clearing, draining and
fencing, and it is now considered one of the valuable properties of the
township. Mr. White is a good, practical agriculturist, who takes ad-
vantage of all the modern improvements and appliances in his work, and
has risen to an enviable position among the agriculturists of Clay town-
ship. Progressive in all things, in 1912 he became the candidate of the
so-called Bull Moose party for the office of representative in the state
legislature. ^Irs. Jane H. White is one of the best known ladies of her
locality, her kindness of heart and many charities having gained her
many warm friendships. Although advanced in years, her faculties
are unimpaired, and she recalls with unclouded memory many of the
interesting incidents of early days in Cass county. The members of
the family are all highly esteemed in their locality, where the name
has always stood for strict integrity and probity of character.
Lafayette M. Ball. A residence in Cass county that has covered
nearly seventy years entitles Lafayette Ball, of Logansport Rural Route
No. 4, to more than passing mention as one of Clay township's old and
honored pioneer citizens. Coming to this township when still in in-
fancy, he was for a long period identified with the agricultural interests
of his section, and although he has now retired from the more strenuous
activities of life, having reached a position when he feels he can afford
to rest from his labors, he still takes a keen interest in all that affects
the community in which he labored for so long. Mr. Ball was born in
Washington county, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1843, his grandfather, Iden
Ball, being a prominent member of the Society of Friends in the Quaker
settlement in that county. His parents came to Indiana in 1844, and
first settled near Twelve Mile, one-half mile east of Bethlehem church,
in which vicinity Lafayette Ball was reared to manhood. During the
Civil war he enlisted in the Ninety-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, which was mustered into the LTnited States service where the
Spry building now stands, on Pearl street, Logansport, and with this
organization served two years and ten months, leaving the service with
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 733
the rank of corporal. He was a brave and faithful soldier, and when his
military career was ended resumed the duties of peace, which he has per-
formed in the same able and faithful manner.
On January 8, 1891, ^Ir. Ball was married to Eleanor Johnson,
daughter of Edward and ^latilda (Archer) Johnson. Edward Johnson
was a native of Vermont and his wife of Williamsburg, Ohio, and they
came to Cass county at a very early day, Mr. Johnson first engaging in
the blacksmith business, which he gave up to devote his entire time to
agricultural pui^suits. This latter occupation he followed throughout
the remainder of his life, and passed away September 2, 1891, in which
year his wife also died on August 28th. Mrs. Ball is a lady who is pos-
sessed of a genial, cordial and kind nature, and has ably assisted her
husband in the care of their happy and pleasant home. Three children
were born to Mr. Ball by his first marriage, namely: Harry, Linda
and Lillian, the latter of whom is now deceased.
At the time of the marriage of ]\Ir. Ball and his present wife they
settled on the old farm, formerly the property of ^Ir. Ball's father, and
originally a tract of 80 acres. For some years ]\Ir. Ball continued opera-
tions there. Eventually he retired from active pursuits, however, and
sold a part of the land, he now owing forty-seven acres, while his wife
owns twenty-two and 28-100 acres, and the greater part of this is now
being operated by renters, and it lies in section 8, Clay to^vnship. The
homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Ball is called "The Sunny Side Farm."
Mr. and Mrs. Ball are members of the ]\Iethodist Episcopal church,
in which ^Ir. Ball holds the position of steward, and both have been ac-
tive in religious and charitable work. He is a popular comrade of the
Grand Army of the Republic. During his long residence in this sec-
tion j\lr. Bail has seen many changes take place, and has done his share
in promoting the growth and development of his community. He is
honored and esteemed by those who have made his acquaintance, and
has a wide circle of sincere friends. The pleasant family home is situ-
ated on Logansport Rural Route No. 4.
Raymond C. Taylor was born in Cayuga county, New York, on Sep-
tember 6. 1834, and died in Logansport, Indiana, on the 11th day of July,
1909. He was a son of Smith Taylor, a mechanic and farmer, and a
grandson of Captain Noah Taylor, who won his title in fighting for
American independence with the colonies during the Revolutionary
war. The mother of Raymond Taylor was Sylvia Barnes, and he was
one of the eight children she bore her husband. She was the daughter
of Captain Thomas Barnes, also a soldier of the Revolutionary war
period. The advantages of Raymond Taylor in an educational way were
limited indeed, and wlien he was tAvelve years old he began to work as a
stock driver, an occupation which eventually led to his embarking in
the butcher business. He came to Logansport, Indiana, in January,
1864, and opened a meat market at Broadway and Sixth street, later
moving his establishment to No. 501 Broadway. His business career in
Logansport covered a period of thirty-four years, and as a result of
creditable business methods he succeeded in putting aside a competency.
He was well and favorably known in business circles in Logansport for
many years, known as a substantial man of affaii*s, scpiare and true in
Vol. li— 2
73-t HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
all bis business relations, and indeed, in all the relations of life, and
valued by many as a good friend and neighbor.
Mr. Taylor was a Democrat, generally speaking, but he did not hesi-
tate to place his support where he most approved of the candidate, re-
gardless of party affiliation. He was a Mason of the old school, which
may be interpreted as meaning that he was a Mason in heart as well
as in name. He had conferred upon him all the degrees and orders
of the York rite, and he, with his wife and daughter, were members of
the Order of the Eastern Star.
In 1853 Mr. Taylor married Florilla Miner, and three children were
born to them, of whom a daughter, Flora M., and a son, Jay D., are now
living. The mother of these children died, and in 1865 Mr. Taylor mar-
ried Florilla A. (Doty) Taylor, a daughter of William Doty and the
widow of his brother, T. Doty Taylor.
The life of Raymond C. Taylor was practically uneventful, as great
events are considered, but his career as a man in Logansport was with-
out blemish, and he died as he had lived, — secure in the high esteem of a
wide circle of acquaintances who knew him as a man and a citizen, and
valued him for his many splendid traits of heart and mind.
Jay D. Taylor, the son of the late Raymond C. Taylor, of Logans-
port, Indiana, was born at Cayuga county. New York, on July 27, 1860.
When Jay Taylor was eleven years old he decided to come west and
join his father, and he accordingly went quietly about converting his
worldly goods, which comprised a hog, some grain and other farm produce
he had earned, into coin of the realm, and this accomplished, he started
for Logansport, Indiana, without going through the formality of asking
advice or permission. By husbanding his slender resources, and not
being too fastidious as to his mode of travel, the boy was able to reach
Logansport without undue annoyance in a financial way, and when he
appeared before his father in Logansport, that gentleman forthwith took
charge of the young adventurer, placing him in school where he con-
tinued until he was graduated from the high school. He was then six-
teen years old, and he set about learning the jeweler's trade in Logans-
port. He was employed variously in the jewelry business -svith W. S.
Orwin, B. Z. Lewis, H. C. Eversole, and D. A. Hawk. In 1889 he bought
the store of Z. B. Lewis, located on Market street, but four months later
succeeded to the business of another of the men by whom he had for-
merly been employed, namely, — H. C. Eversole, at No. 309 Fourth street.
Since then he has continuously carried on his business at this place, en-
• joying something better than a fair degree of success. In addition to
the general jewelry business, he carries a complete line of optical goods,
and that he may intelligently and scientifically serve his patrons, he
has taken special instruction of Dr. King, at Cleveland, Ohio, the Chi-
cago Ophthalmic College of Chicago, and the South Bend College of
Ophthalmics.
Mr. Taylor is a Democrat, a Knight Templar of the Masonic fra-
ternity, a Knight of Pythias and a Knight of the Maccabees. He was
married on February 19, 1890, to Miss Loraine Ridinger, of Logansport,
and one son has been born to them,— Raymond Carl Taylor, named in
honor of his paternal grandfather, and who is employed by his father.
DUDLEY n. CHASE
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 735
Hon. Dudley H. Chase. The life of every public man possesses in-
terest to his fellow citizens, partcularly if his abilities have elevated him
to honorable office in which he has displayed honest effort and fidelity
in the performance of its responsibilities. Pre-eminently is this true
when judicial position is involved, and especially is interest excited when
the subject is so well known and honored a man as the late Hon. Dudley
H. Chase, whose character as a man, whose high attainments as a lawyer,
whose dignity as a jurist, and whose signal services in both military
and civil life, gained him a place among Cass county's citizens that will
long be difficult to fill. Judge Chase was born in the city in which he
afterwards gained such high distinction in professional circles, Logans-
port, August 29, 1837, and Was a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Donald-
son) Chase.
Henry Chase was born at Greenfield Center, Saratoga county, New
York, in 1800, a descendant of a family that came with a party of colon-
ists from Bristol, England, and settled in the region of Massachusetts
during the early history of the American Colonies. In 1827 he made a
visit to Delphi, Indiana, and was here admitted to the bar, but one
year later moved to Adams county, Mississippi, where he practiced law
for four years. He returned to Delphi in 1832 and from that place,
one year later, came to Logansport, where he continued to carry on an
extensive practice. He was judge of the then Eighth Judicial District
in 1839, having been appointed to that office to complete an unexpired
term, but in 1844 moved to New York City, which was the scene of his
legal activities for five years. From the latter city he made removal to
Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and there in 1854 passed away, a victim of the
great cholera plague which swept the Wisconsin city during that year.
At the time of the death of his mother. Judge Dudley H. Chase
made his home with an uncle, William Chase, in Logansport, and here
his primary education was secured. In 1856 he was appointed a cadet
at West Point Military Academy, by the Hon. Schuyler Colfax, but
before entering actively upon his studies he went west, and bore a
conspicuous part in the Kansas troubles of 1856, rendering valiant service
as a member of Sharp's Rifle Company. On his return to Logansport,
he again took up his law studies, entering the office of the Hon. D. D.
Pratt, and in 1858 was graduated from the Cincinnati Law School. He
at once began practicing in Logansport, in partnership with his former
preceptor, although later he was engaged in individual practice, and
thus the outbreak of the Civil war found him-. As early as 1854, IMr.
Chase had become captain of an independent local military company,
known as the "Logan Grays," and in April, 1861, this organization of-
fered itself for service in defense of the flag. Judge Chase fully equip-
ping the company entirely at his own expense. It was accepted by the
recruiting officers, and soon became Company K, Ninth Regiment, In-
diana Volunteer Infantry. For a time Judge Chase was engaged in
recruiting in Maine, taking with him fifty-two Indiana volunteers, and
this was then organized into Company A, Second Battalion, Seventeenth
United States Infantry, joining the Fifth Army Corps in front of
Fredericksburg, immediately after the engagement at that point. Sub-
sequently Judge Chase participated in the battles of Chancellorsville
and Gettysburg, and on July 2, 1863, was seriously wounded in the hip
736 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
by a shell. He was then employed in help quelling the draft riots in
New York City, but when he had entirely recuperated from his injury,
he returned to the field and took part in engagements at Rappahannock
and Bristow Station, as well as the ]\Iine Run campaign. Mr. Chase
was forced to resign his commission on account of his wounds, and Feb-
ruary 4, 1864 left the service with an enviable record for bravery and
gallantry. Returning to Logansport, he resumed the practice of his
chosen profession, and in that same year was elected prosecuting at-
torney, later being re-elected in 1866 and again in 1868. In 1872 he
was sent to the bench for sis years, and was re-elected in 1878, but in
1884 declined to be a candidate. However, in 1896, he was elected judge
of the Twenty-ninth Judicial Circuit, and as such was serving at the
time of his death, July 2, 1902. As a lawyer. Judge Chase ranked among
the ablest in Indiana; as a jurist his decisions were marked by such
fairness and so complete a knowledge of jurisprudence that compara-
tively few were appealed and none were ever reversed. He took a great
interest in the work of the Grand Army of the Republic, his local con-
nection being with Logansport Post No. 14, and was also a member of
the Indiana Commandery of the Loyal Legion. He belonged to the
Odd Fellows, and on a number of occasions served as eminent commander
of St. John's Commandery, Knights Templar, of the Masonic fraternity.
The loss of such a man, standing for honest government and for effi-
ciency in all measures pertaining to the city's welfare — of a man who
contributed to the city's upbuilding during his entire residence here,
and who entertained and illustrated the highest ideal of good citizen-
ship, is no ordinary loss. Such men are not so plentiful that their passing
away is a matter of only current interest.
On October 28, 1859, Judge Chase was married (first) to Maria
Durett, whose father was one of the founders of Logansport, and she
died April 12, 1877, after bearing five children, namely : William ; Rob-
ert, who is deceased; John: George and Mary. On December 7, 1880,
Judge Chase's second marriage occurred, when he was united with Grace
M. Corey, of Saratoga Springs, New York, she being a member of the
Schuyler family, of Colonial fame. To this marriage there were born
four "children : Charles D., Ruth, James and Louise.
Charles D. Chase is the only male representative of his father's
family in Logansport, and now makes his home with his mother and is
engaged in the undertaking business. He was born September 27, 1882,
was educated in the publie schools, and graduated from the ]\Iyers School
of Embalming, at Columbus, in May, 1903. He is a member of Oriental
lodge No. 272, F. & A. M. ; Bridge City lodge No. 305, Knights of
Pythias; Logan lodge No. 40, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
Logansport lodge No. 66, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
His political convictions are those of the Republican party, and his
religious connection with the ^Market Street Methodist Episcopal church.
Edgar F. Metzger was born in Miama county, Indiana, on December
23, 1872, a son of David L. ^kletzger, who came to Cass county in about
1885, and w^as a farmer in Clay township. He is now a resident of Indi-
anapolis. He is a veteran of the Civil war. Edgar F. Metzger was
reared in the counties of Cass and ]\Iiami and received his education in
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 737
the public and high schools. Until he was eighteen he lived on a farm,
after which he taught in the country schools of Cass county during two
terms, and then began his newspaper career as a reporter on the Logans-
port Reporter. He continued with the Reporter in various capacities
until 1902, when he acquired an interest in the Journal, with which he
continued to be associated until 1907, when he disposed of his interest
and with his brother, Harry C, founded the Logansport Tribune. In
1912 the Journal and the Tribune were consolidated and Mr. Metzger
is now the president of the Journal-Tribune Company.
Mr. Metzger has no fraternal affiliations beyond his membership in
the Elks. He is married.
John W. Barnes, one of the owners and editors of the Logansport
Phaios, was born in the city of Muncie, Indiana, July 7, 1855. His
father, William Barnes, was a contractor and builder and a native of
Pennsylvania. He married Evaline Wachtell, a native of IMaryland, at
Muncie.
It was in the schools of his native city that John W. Barnes was
primarily educated. When nineteen years of age he began learning the
"ai-t preservative" on the Muncie Democrat, but tw^o years later became
connected with the Liberal Bepublican, a paper established for the sup-
port of Horace Greeley for the presidency. During the campaign of
1876 and until 1878 he was employed on the Democrat, at Anderson,
but in the latter year came to Logansport and began work on the Pharos.
From that time until the present, a period of thirty-five years, Mr.
Barnes has been identified with this paper. In 1881 he purchased a
half-interest in the Pharos, and with Benjamin F. Louthain, the owner
of the other half, has since controlled the destiny of the oldest estab-
lished Democratic newspaper in Cass county.
On September 30, 1885, ]\Ir. Barnes was united in marriage with Miss
Emma Grable, daughter of Jonathan and Hester Grable, residents of
Cass county.
Henry James IMcSheehy. Among the men who have brought fame
to Logansport as a center of journalistic activity, the late Henry James
INIcSheehy, for thirty-seven years editor and_^ proprietor of the Logans-
port Weeldy Chronicle, held a position of prestige. A native of Ireland,
having been born in Anniscaul, County Kerry, January 28, 1852; he was
brought to the United States in boyhood by his parents, and here re-
ceived his education in the public schools of the city of New Yoi'k, and
at Lafayette, Indiana, graduating from the high school of the latter
place with the highest honors in a class of sixty-eight pupils. On leav-
ing school i\Ir. ]\IcSheehy became purser of the steamship "The City of
Richmond," running from New York to Liverpool, and in this connec-
tion became marine reporter for the New York Herald, which started
him upon his journalistic career. In those days pressboats were sent
out to meet all incoming ships and Mr. McSheehy's duty consisted in
going aboard these vessels and secure stories and anecdotes from the
passengers and crew.
In 1875 Mr. McSheehy was appointed by his paper to accompany
Col. Robert Ingersoll on his lecture tour and while acting in this serv-
738 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ice he came to Logansport, and, noting the possibilities for a good news-
paper here, immediately wired his resignation to New York and began
plans for the establishment of the Chronicle. This paper made its
initial appearance April 7, 1875, and has continued to enjoy a full meas-
ure of success to the present time. Since Mr. McSheehy's death, which
occurred Februaiy 21, 1911, in Logansport, the Chronicle has been pub-
lished under the same firm name by his son, Harry James McSheehy,
who purchased it in May, 1911. He had the distinction of being the
oldest editor and proprietor of a newspaper in Indiana in point of con-
tinuous service on one publication.
Aside from his vocation, Mr. McSheehy took his keenest pleasure in
fraternal work, and became very prominent therein. He was the author
of the Elks' ritual, serving as chairman of the ritual committee of the
Grand Lodge of Elks for two years, was for seven years exalted ruler
of the Logansport Lodge of Elks and through his earnest eiforts secured
for the lodge the magnificent home it now occupies; was president of
the building committee of the Elks and served on the building commit-
tees of both the local lodge and the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows. In
Odd Fellowship he was past grand of Logan Lodge of Odd Fellows, and
when entering Grand Lodge was raised to the high office of grand patri-
arch. He was widely known in and out of his profession, and in his
death Indiana newspaperdom lost one of its most conspicuous citizens.
Mr. McSheehy married Miss Minnie Maurer, and they became the
parents of three sons: Harry, Lloyd and Harold.
Charles N. Cook. When the first settlers of Cass county came to
this locality they found none of the present day developments which
seem so essential a part of the landscape. All the land was wild, some in
prairie, other parts covered with dense timber and a portion of it under
water. It was a mighty task to turn the virgin sod, to fell the sturdy
parent trees and to drain the pestilential swamps that were not only use-
less, but bred various diseases ; yet these sturdy, determined old pioneers
were equal to the task, and, while all did not live to see their young hopes
materialized, they laid a sound foundation upon which the present re-
markable structure of civilization has been built, and to them is due the
initial credit. One of the families to whom belongs the distinction of
having commenced this great work is that bearing the name of Cook,
a worthy representative of which is found in the person of Charles N.
Cook, veteran of the Civil war and a substantial farmer of Clay town-
ship. Mr. Cook belongs to an old and honored New England family,
whose Puritan ancestors emigrated to America on the Mayflower. He
was born September 15, 1830, in Berkshire county, Williamstown, Mas-
sachusetts, and is a son of Noah and Lydia B. (Bardwell) Cook.
Charles N. Cook received the advantages of a common school educa-
tion, and his spare time as a boy was spent in assisting his father, who
was a cobbler by trade and who made many fine pairs of shoes for the
college students of his town. On attaining his majority, young Cook
went to Marysville, California, where he entered the gardening business,
but remained there only about one and one-half years, returning to his
father 's home in Massachusetts. In 1856 Mr. Cook came to Logansport,
Indiana, and soon thereafter settled on a tract of land, about eleven
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 739
acres comprising the tract, situated west of the city limits. This land
he paid fifty dollars per acre for, and upon it he began the business of
gardening. He carried on that industry until August 13, 1862, when
he enlisted in Company K, Ninety-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, for service in the Union army during the Civil war, and with
this organization the young truck-gardener and soldier continued to
participate in all of its engagements until he was honorably discharged
as an invalid, on July 8, 1865, at Davis Island, N. Y. harbor. A brave,
faithful and cheerful soldier, he won alike the respect of his comrades
and the esteem of his officers, and when he had completed his career as
a soldier, he returned to Williamstown, Mass., and spent the summer
under the treatment of a physician at the home of his parents. In the
fall of the same year, having recuperated his strength, he returned to
Logansport, Ind., where he took a relapse of his trouble (the camp
diarrhoea) and becoming so depleted in strength as to give up all hopes
of recovery to health, sold his little home west of the city and at the
request of a friend, went to the home of the latter in Clay township
north of Logansport, where with careful nursing, on the following
February was so restored to health that he married Miss Margaret Ball
and commenced housekeeping on a farm in Bethlehem township and
followed the occupation of a farmer as his health would permit.
In the fall of 1872, Mr. Cook bought a small farm of twenty acres
on the north line of Clay township on which with the addition of an-
other twenty acres adjoining he has since made his home. He is now
in his eighty-third year and has a well-preserved vitality for a man of
his age. He bought an old log cabin, hauled it to his farm with the
assistance of his neighbors, fitted it up comfortably, and here he and
his young wife lived.
The woman who became Mr. Cook's wife and faithful helpmate
through life was prior to her marriage Miss Margaret Ball, who was
born in "Washington county, Pennsylvania, on INIay 5, 1841, whence she
came to Indiana with her parents when she was a child of three years.
She was the fifth born child of her parents, David and Maria (Baker)
Ball, to whom were born seven children, and of which number four
are living today, Mrs. Cook being the eldest. The others are Lafayette,
of Clay township; Joseph, of Leiter's Ford, Indiana; and William B.,
also of Clay township.
Wlien Mrs. Cook came to Indiana in 1844, the state was in her in-
fancy. Miami and Pottawattomie Indians were there in plenty and from
her childhood on Mrs. Cook experienced much in the new and untaught
country in which her family had settled. The pioneering days of In-
diana are thoroughly familiar to her, and she is well qualified to speak
on pioneer conditions of Indiana that prevailed here half a century ago.
She lived through the period when the forest was being converted into
a rough field for cultivation; saw the use of the sickle, the scythe and
the cradle in the field give way to more modern methods of hai*vesting;
saw the old-fashioned fireplace, still dear to the hearts of many of us,
the andirons, the spinning wheel, the reel, the looms for weaving the
jeans and linseys, all pass out of use and be supplanted by the inven-
tions and customs of a later day. None of the old time country sports
are unfamiliar to her, or unforgotten. The quilting bee at which the
740 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
women of the neighborhood congregated to make merry and incidentally
to perform an unbelievable quantity of real work knew her cheerful
presence on many happy occasions, and she was a witness at many a
barn raising or log-rolling contest. In her childhood days she attended
the little log cabin school in her community, and lived through the
period when the old goose-quill pen was dying hard in the last days of
its usefulness, when threatened by the advent of a more facile weapon.
All these, and many other changes did she and her family see in the
days of their early life in Indiana, and she recalls with mingled pain and
pleasure the experiences of the days gone by.
Mr. and Mrs. Cook are the parents of three children, — a son and two
daughters. David William is a resident of Clay township ; Anna Bella
is the wife of William C. Van Buren and makes her home in Fairfield
county, Ohio, where they are engaged in the business of agriculture ;
they have three sons and two daughters; and Lydia Ellen, the youngest
of the three, who makes her home with her parents and is devoting her-
self to them in their declining years. She is a young woman of admirable
character, educated in the public schools of the county, and well ad-
vanced in music, a subject in which she is qualified to teach. She is a
consistent member of the Bethel Methodist Episcopal church and an
honored member of the Ladies' Aid Society of that church.
]Mr. and ]\Irs. Cook are genuine pioneers of Cass county, and their
citizenship is one of which their community may in every way be
proud. They have a host of good friends in Clay township and com-
mand the esteem and regard of all who share in their acquaintance.
No shadow of dishonor has fallen upon the good name of the family in all
the years of their residence in the Hoosier state, and they are of the
people whose identity with the state has been one of its fortuitous
conditions.
Hon. Harry ]\I. Gardner. Probably in no profession or avenue of
business do men become so widely known as in journalism, not always
as personalities, but as influences, their printed thoughts reaching thou-
sands where their spoken ones could be heard perhaps by only a score.
Hence the responsibility of a journalist is of exceeding weight, and his
influence as a molder of public opinion bears directly upon the welfare
of the community in which his labors are centered. Harry M. Gardner,
city editor of the Daily Reporter, of Logansport, has spent his entire
career in newspaper work, and has been connected with some of the
leading public prints of the West and Middlewest. He was born at
Dunkirk, New York, September 15, 1880, and is a son of William and
Mary (Watson) Gardner, of Scotch and Irish ancestry, respectively.
The Gardner family's advent in America occurred in Colonial days.
William Gardner was a musician, a composer, and for a number of years
a soloist with several of the largest musical organizations of this country.
Both he and his wife are now deceased, as is also one of their two
children.
Hari'y ]\I. Gardner received his primary educational training in the
schools of Dunkirk, Avhere he was reared, and subsequently took a course
at the University of Buffalo. Shortly after this he began his newspaper
career as a circulator at Dunkirk, and as a "cub" reporter on the
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 741
Evening Observer. Succeeding this he was connected with newspapers
at Denver, Los Angeles, Butte, Ogden, Pocatello, Fort Worth, El Paso ;
and other points in the West, in a reportorial capacity, and in February,
1905, came to Logansport, Indiana, which he has since made his home,
although twice before, for short periods, he had worked here. He
became a reporter on the Daily Reporter, and successive promotions
have raised hira to the position of city editor of this publication.
Mr. C4ardner is a Democrat in his political views, and in 1913 repre-
sented Cass and Fulton counties in the state legisature. He belongs to
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Adelbert M. W'alker. Cass county, it has often been fittingly said,
owes her greatest and best wealth to her farming communities and to
the men who have given their lives to the cultivation of the waste places
of the country, building up thriving communities and establishing
happy homes in these districts that half a century ago were practically
untouched by man. The present generation of Cass county farmers are
carrying on to completion the worthy Avork begun by their fathers
before them, and prominent among these may be mentioned Adelbert
]\I. AValker, one of the well established and prosperous farmers of Miami
township. As such, it is wholly consistent with the spirit and purpose
of this work that some mention, though necessarily brief, be made of
him and his work. A native son of the township and county in which
he now resides, he was born here on August 19, 1872, and his parents are
Eugene A. and Minerva (Thomas) Walker. The father resides in Clay
township and enjoys the warm regard of a goodly circle of old time
friends and acquaintances. The father was a soldier in the Union army
during the Civil war, giving valiant service in the cause of the North,
and is a member of G. A. R.
Until 1898 Adelbert M. Walker made his home with his parents.
As a boy he attended the district schools, and ably assisted his father
with the care of the home place, learning under the able instruction of
his worthy parent much concerning farming activities that he has
applied in his own enterprise. He married in 1893, but continued to
remain at the home place with his young wife until 1898, when he ac-
quired his present farm of one hundred and ten acres, also in Miami
township, and here has continued to reside. He has a fine place, well
kept and carefully cultivated, and has proven himself a farmer of no
slight capacity. Since he came into the possession of his present place
he has built another dwelling house, more suited to the demands of his
family, and as a result, two commodious dwellings now grace his farm.
Mr. Walker married on September 2, 1893, Miss Mary Angle, the
daughter of Benjamin Angle, of Virginia, and three children have been
born to them, — Marie, Mildred and Alma. Marie received her diploma
from the public schools in the class of 1912, and is taking musical in-
struction ; Mildred is in the seventh grade ; Alma is in the fifth grade.
The family are members of the Baptist church and IMrs. Walker is
a member of the Ladies' Aid Society of the Baptist church. They have
a worthy share in the activities of that body. Mr. Walker is a Repub-
lican. They have lived quietly and conservatively, and are reckoned
among the responsible and reliable people of Miami township, where the
742 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
family have been known to the community for three successive genera-
tions.
Charles Oglethorpe Fenton. Among those who have made Cass
county's history, it is fitting to record the name of Charles Oglethorpe
Fenton. He was not a pioneer of the county ; he was not one of its old
citizens. His brief race was run in forty-nine years, twenty-seven of
which were spent in Logansport. Arriving here at the age of twenty-
two, a stranger and without means, the advancement he made is worthy
of note and emulation. How did he succeed to the title of brother, friend
and counsellor? Those who knew him best would tell you he was dili-
gent ; he never idled ; he was prompt ; he met his obligations the day they
were due, not the day after. He hated gossip, for, he would say: "What
an idle waste of time when there are so many good books to read ! " It
was his custom to carry a favorite book to his office, hoping to find some
golden minutes of leisure during the stress of the day in which to read.
Charles Oglethorpe Fenton was of Irish descent, the great-grandson
of Samuel and Ann (Shannon) Fenton, who sailed over the sea from
Old Erin early in the eighteenth century. They settled in Newville,
Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and to them were born thirteen chil-
dren, "all girls but eleven." One son, David, moved to Mantua, Port-
age county, Ohio. His wife was Emily Dunscomb and their sons were
Green and Grove. The fomier and Louisa Frost, the daughter of
Elvira Kellogg and Jolui Frost, were the parents of eight sons and one
daughter, the fourth son being C. 0. Fenton. He was bom January
31, 1863, on the "old John Frost homestead," in Mantua, where his
mother had been born thirty years before. When eleven years old he
left the parental roof to make his own way, working for neighboring
farmers evenings, Saturdays and vacations, and in the meantime attend-
ing school at Ravenna. When seventeen years old he taught the district
school at home, and for one summer he worked in a cheese factory, and
while yet in his teens he engaged with the Central Publishing house, of
Cincinnati, Ohio, to sell books, and spent eighteen monthes traveling in
West Virginia, Tennessee and Texas. Returning home, he again taught
school, himself attending school at such short periods as he could. So
it is that we find him June 14, 1883, at the age of twenty, graduating
from the Northwestern Ohio Normal school, at Ada, and it was to
further his education he came to Logansport in April, 1885, to enter the
American Normal College, then situated on College Hill, north of the
city. In the winter of 1885-6 he taught in Pulaski county and it was
there that he met Carrie Belle Tyler, whom he married May 25, 1887.
To this union one daughter was born, Sagie Velle Fenton, August 17,
1888. Mrs. Fenton was bom in VanBuren township. Clay county, In-
diana, February 10, 1866, the youngest of the four children of Roxie
VeUe Usher and Sage R. Tyler. Her father was born at Cape May,
New Jersey, August 18, 1836. His father, Nathaniel Tyler, was of
Scotch-Irish extraction and his mother, Abigail Scull, was born in Eng-
land. On the maternal side, Mrs. Fenton traces her lineage back to the
year 1730, when Hezekiah Usher, who kept the first book store in Bos-
ton, married Abigail Cleveland. The mother of Mrs. Fenton was born
August 21, 1839, in Madison county, New York, the daughter of Isis
1137038
CHARLES 0. FENTON
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 743
Burdick and IMoses Usher. Wlien five years old she came to Indiana
with her parents and grandparents, the latter being Dr. Nathaniel
Usher and Lucy Palmer, of West Haddon, Connecticut. Dr. and Mrs.
Usher were the parents of Judge John P. Usher, secretary of interior
in Abraham Lincoln's cabinet. This branch of the Usher family re-
moved to the state of Kansas.
Mr. Fenton also taught school at the Stone and Clymer schools in
Clinton township, Cass county. At the time of his marriage he had
charge of the commercial department of the American Normal College
and was writing editorials and reporting for the Logansport Times,
receiving for his newspaper work one dollar per week. On May 28,
1888, he bought the Logansport Times, then owned by twenty Prohibi-
tion stockliolders. His first vote had been cast for James G. Blaine,
although he was born of a line of Democrats. In November, 1888, he
voted for Clinton B. Fisk and a straight Prohibition ticket, which ticket
he continued to support throughout the remainder of his life. Through
the medium of the Times, local though it was, he came to be known by
the party leaders throughout the nation. The sagacity, tho loyalty, the
persistency of this fearless editor became an inspiration. He had a
distinct literary style, writing prose full of fun and pathos and some
verse, humorous for the most part. His prose writings have been said to
be something after the style of Mark Twain and some of his verses like
those of Riley. His pen was his power. He was a delegate to all Pro-
hibition state and national conventions and at the last national conven-
tion he attended, at Atlantic City, in July, 1912, was assistant secretary.
In 1900 Mr. Fenton added to his newspaper work the brokerage busi-
ness and as investment broker enjoyed the confidence of a large clientele
and was pre-eminently successful. At home his presence gave out an
atmosphere of cheerfulness. It was his custom evenings to spend much
of the time in reading, often aloud. He liked history, biography and
travel and above all he loved the poets, Burns being his favorite. He
knew most all of his poetry and said, from the moment that he turned
the knob on his office door on FourtJi street to the moment he turned
his door-knob at home, nine squares distant, if uninterrupted, he could
and often did repeat the whole of "Tam O'Shanter. " In June, 1911.
he and his wife attended their daughter's graduation at Vassar Col-
lege and sailed from New York to spend the summer in the British
Isles, in Holland, Belgium and France. It was in 'the land of Burns
he took the greatest delight and day after day followed lovingly in the
footsteps of the plowman poet. Probably his best literary productions
were his travel letters written for his newspaper.
Mr Fenton had often quoted: "Let me die in the harness," and so
it was in the prime of a busy life that he was compelled to retire to the
Battle Creek Sanitarium, Battle Creek, Michigan, for rest. Even here
he was reading the "Life of Washington," by his favorite American
author, Washington Irving, preparing to write an article on a visit to
Mount Vernon, one of a series of articles descriptive of summer vacation
trip to Atlantic City, Washington, Richmond and so forth. During
the six weeks spent at Battle Creek he grew steadily weaker and weaker,
and there, on the 31st of October, 1912, left this for a fuller life. It
was said of William Morris by one of his biographers that he died of
744 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
being William Morris. So it was with C. 0. Fenton, a man who was
engaged in so many and so varied activities.
John C. Rea. In the annals of early settlement in Cass county, one
of the names which is first to he mentioned is that of John R. Rea, whose
son is now one of the prosperous farmers of Clay township. For more
than eighty years this name has had a place in the history of Cass county,
and has alwaj^s been associated with solid worth and an industry which
brings credit to the possessor and helped to create the resources and
wealth of the community.
]\Ir. John C. Rea, the son of the old settler, was born in the village
of Clymers, in Cass county, on the nineteenth of May, 1864. His grand-
father's name was Daniel Rea. His parents were John R. and Elizabeth
Rea. His father, who was first a resident of Connersville, this state, in
1832 came to Cass county, where he joined with the earliest settlers of
this locality. A carpenter by trade, he was a very useful man in his
community at Clymers, and many of the old houses of that locality were
constructed by his hand and according to his plans.
His death occurred in 1884 at a venerable age, while his wife passed
away in 1886, and both are buried in the Clymers cemetery.
Mr. John C. Rea received most of his education in' Clinton township,
and also for two years enjoyed the advantage of college training at
Logansport. He has had a varied, but generally progressive career, and
since attaining manhood has been advancing every year to a better posi-
tion in life and increased esteem of his fellow citizens. For about three
years, he was engaged in teaching school in Cass county, but the greater
part of his active lifetime has been devoted to farming. His present
farm was formerly owned by his wife's father. The estate contains
one hundred and ten acres, and Mr. Rea since locating here has made
many improvements upon it, although most of the buildings were placed
there by old ]\Ir. Swigart.
On April 25, 1888, ]\Ir. Rea married Miss Anna F. Patterson, a
daughter of Simon E. and Cicely (Amos) Patterson. Mrs. John C. Rea
is a native of Cass county, Indiana, and was born April 29, 1866. She
was reared and educated in her native county and is a lady of pleasing
and social address, ever ready to fulfill her part as wife and mother.
Her cheerful and pleasant home is ever open to their many friends. She
traces her lineage t6 the "Emerald Isle," as her early progenitors came
from the "Land of the Shamrock." Mr. Rea is of Scotch ancestry.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rea, and all are living:
Harry Ralph, now a student in the Franklin College, fitting himself for
the ministry ; Royden K. received his diploma from the public school
in the class of 1908, and has finished the high school course in Logans-
port; Ruth E. received her diploma in the class of 1909, and has taken
one year's work in the high school at Logansport, and has also been a
student in instrumental music. All three of the children are members
of the Baptist church and Mrs. Rea is a member of the ]\Iethodist Epis-
copal church. Mr. Rea is affiliated with Burroughs Lodge, No. 495,
I. 0. 0. F. The homestead of the Rea family is known in Clay township
as "The Cedars."
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 745
Alexander Milton Buchanan, ]\I. D. Of the pioneer families of
Cass county probably none deserved mention and permanent records in
the annals of this vicinity more than the ikichanan family, which be-
came identified with Logansport in 1839, and continued prominent in
this part of the state through the career of the late Dr. Buchanan up
to the time of the latter 's death on November 29, 1905.
Alexander Milton Buchanan was bom at Chamhersburg, Pennsyl-
vania, on March 2-4, 1823, and belonged to a Scotch-Irish family, which,
had been settled in Pennsylvania for many years. The parents of the
late Dr. Buchanan were Rev. James and Harriet (Berryhill) Buchanan,
the foriuer a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter a native of the
capital city of that state. They moved west with their family to
Logansport, Indiana, in 1839, where Rev. James Buchanan was pastor
of the First Presbyterian church from 1840 to 1843. He had jireviously
been minister of the Presbj^terian church at Greencastle, Indiana. Ilis
death occurred in Logansport in 1843, and his name is permanently
identified with the early church annals of this city. There were eight
sons and two daughters in the family, and all of them are now deceased.
One of the sons. Dr. Andrew Buchanan, was educted at Princeton Col-
lege and Philadelphia Medical College, and for a time practiced in Cass
county.
The late Alexander JM. Buchanan was a boy when the family came
west to Cass county, and the years he spent here were during the pioneer
period. Among many families, education at that time was not con-
sidered a fundamental matter, bill the Reverend James Buchanan wfts
probably in advance of ordinary public opinion in that respect, and no
doubt encouraged his sons to prepare for their careers with the best
professional ecjuipment that could be obtained. Dr. Alexander ]M.
Buchanan therefore began his studies in medicine in La Porte, Indiana,
and then went east and entered the Philadelphia I\Iedical College, the
oldest and one of the best known institutions of medical learning of the
time. After graduating he began practice in Illinois, where he was
first married. Later he moved to Cass county, and spent many years
of practice in both town and country. He really represents the old-
time doctor in this locality, and many of the older residents now living
in Cass county will recall his kindly character and personality and his
helpful and sympathetic attitude to all who were in distress. He con-
tinued in active practice up to 1895, at which time he retired and moved
into Logansport, wiiere his death occurred in 1905. He lived at i\Ietea,
this covinty, before retiring. He w'as a member of the Presbyterian
church. His first marriage occurred at Kankakee, Illinois, in 1851, when
Miss Nichals became his wife. He married on October 24, 1867, in
Logansport, New York, INIiss IMinnie York, a daughter of Lewis and
Delia (Babcock) York, who lived near Canandaigua, New York. One
daughter, I\Irs. Bertha L. CoUett, wife of W. S. CoUett, an engineer of
Logansport, Indiana, was born of this union.
-JoPiN A. ViNEY, of tlie firm of Cummings & Viney, has been a res-
ident of Logansport for the past forty-six years, and for the four years
previous, from 1861 to 1865, he was a resident of Columbus, Indiana.
He was born on March 11, 1856, in Greenbrier county, West Vir-
746 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ginia, aud is one of the four children born to John M. and Rachel
(Lewis) Viney, two of the four yet living.
John M. Viney was a farmer by occupation and was originally
descended from French ancestry. In the subsequent history of the
family they immigrated to the British Isles, and there by intermarriage
became the possessors of English and Scotch-Irish blood. John M.
Viney moved to Carroll county, Indiana, in 1860, and resided there
^until spring in 1866, when he came to Logansport. Here ill health
caused him to relinquish all active pursuits for the remainder of his
days, and he died in 1871. His widow survived him six years, passing
away in 1887.
John A. Viney came to Logansport with his parents when a boy of
ten years. He received but a very limited education in the district
schools, and from the age of fifteen, when his father died, was compelled
to fight the battle of life entirely on his own responsibility. Until he
was nineteen years old he worked in the mills on the south side of the
Wabash river, and in 1875 he began learning the upholsterers trade.
He duly comialeted his apprenticeship and thereafter worked at the
trade for twenty-three years, being associated with various firms in
those years.
In 1899, he formed his present partnership with Harvey R. Cum-
mings, under the firm name of Cummings and Viney, and the new firm
embarked in the retail furnitiire and upholstering business in Logans-
port. This association has continued from then until the present time,
and as both partners are practical and experienced men in their busi-
ness, they have enjoyed their full share of the local trade, and are ac-
counted among the prosperous business men of the city.
Mr. Viney is the president of the Logansport Credit Exchange and
a director in the Logansport Commercial Club. In 1881, he became a
member of the Knights of Pythias, Apollo lodge No. 62, in which he
has served in all chairs, and is yet a member of that society. He is also
a member of the Knights of the Maccabees. He is a Democrat, with
regard to his political affiliations.
On December 24, 1877, I\Ir. Viney married lona E. Morgan of Logans-
port. Mv. and IMrs. Viney are members of the Broadway Methodist
Episcopal church, of which denomination Mr. Viney has been a member
for forty-four years.
Homer Closson. For seventeen years Homer Closson has been
identified with the drug business of Logansport, as an independent man
of business, previous to which he was employed in the city for nine
years in the same line. His venture, which he launched in 1895, has
proven to be a thorough-going success, and Mr. Closson is rightly
regarded as one of the ablest business men of the city of Logansport
today.
Born near Jackson, ]\Iichigan, on September 22, 1871, Homer Closson
is the son of Seymour M. and Kate (Smith) Closson. The father came
to Logansport some thirty-five years ago, just following the death of
his wife, and some years after he located in Logansport, Mr. Closson
married Ella IMcIntyre. Both are living in Logansport. Nine children
were born to them, seven of whom are yet living.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 747
Homer Closson was a small child when his mother died, and until
he was nine years of age he lived in his native county, making his home
with relatives of the family, and in 1880 he came to Logansport, where
he joined his father who had previously settled here and had married,
as is noted ahove. The boy attended the public schools of Logansport
until he reached the age of fifteen, when he secured employment in the
drug store of B. P. Keesling. From then until the present time he has
been identified with the retail drug business, either in the capacity of
employe or employer. For nine years he remained with Mr. Keesling,
and in 1895 he began in business for himself in the place which he now
occupies, his independent experience thus covering a period of seventeen
years, which have been marked by a generous measure of success and
general prosperity. The business has increased along conservative lines,
and Mr. Closson has one of the most complete and modern establish-
ments of its kind in the city.
On December 1, 1897, Mr. Closson was united in marriage with ]\Iiss
Alpha Hilton, of Logansport, daughter of William Hilton, an old
resident of this city. Five children have been born to them : Ralph
W., Gertrude L., George D., Frances Jean and John H. Mrs. Closson
is a member of the Baptist church of Logansport and of the Order of the
Eastern Star.
Marvin M. Minnick. Among the popular and capable officials of
Cass county, none stands higher in public esteem than Marvin M. Min-
nick, the present incumbent of the county treasurer's office, whose serv-
ices have contributed materially to the public welfare. A long and
careful training, followed by an extended period spent in the school-
room, as an educator, was succeeded by much experience in banking
matters, thus fitting him thoroughly to discharge the duties of his office,
the conscientious perforinance of which has thoroughly established him
in the confidence of his fellow-citizens. Mr. Minnick bears the added
distinction of being a native son of Cass county, having been born in
Tipton township, near Walton, December 21, 1867, one of the six chil-
dren, all living, born to Elias and Elizabeth A. (Lindesmith) Minnick.
Conrad Moenich (as the name was originally spelled), the grand-
father of Marvin M. Minnick, was a native of Hesse Cassel, Germany,
whence he emigrated to the LTnited States in young manhood, set-
tling in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, where Elias Minnick was born
in 1843. The latter was reared in his native county, educated in the
public schools, and taught the blacksmith trade, but when not yet nine-
teen years of age enlisted, in 1861, in Company K, Ninth Regiment,
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, as a private, for service during the Civil
war. Enlisting at Laporte, Indiana, he was transferred to the Army of
the East, with which he fought at Cheat Mountain. Grafton and Green-
brier. Subsequently his regiment joined the Army of the Cumberland,
under General Rosecrans, Mr. Minnick 's captain being Dyer B McCon-
nell, of Logansport. With this organization he fought at Corinth, luka,
iMurfreesboro and Pittsburg Landing, and September 20, 1863, at the
battle of Chickamauga, he v,'as captured by the enemy. For seven
months he was incarcerated in the awful stockade at Andersonville, and
later he was transferred to Belle Isle and Florence, spending, in all.
748 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
about fifteen mouths iu Coufederate prisous. He was fiually released
on account of the close of hostilities, received his honorable discharge,
and returned to the vocations of peace. Settling- on a farm in Tipton
township, Cass county, i\Ir. .Minnick engaged in farming, and his sub-
sequent life was devoted to the tilling of the soil. He was a Democrat
in politics, but, although often solicited to allow his name to be used
as a candidate for public office, steadfastly refused, preferring the peace
and quietude of private life to the turmoil of the public arena. He
was a popular comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his
religious belief was that of the Christian church, in the faith of which
he died April 14, 1892. His widow still survives and makes her home
at Walton, Indiana.
Marvin M. Minnick was reared to manhood on the home farm, and was
given good educational advantages, attending the public schools and
for three years being a student in the American Normal College. He
next entered Hall's Business College, at Logansport, and after his
graduation therefrom entered upon a career of teaching which covered
the next seventeen years. He became widely and popularly known as
an educator, but resigned from his position to enter commercial life,
attaching himself to a private bank at Bunker Hill, Indiana, and later
a like institution at Walton, Indiana, and for six years was cashier of
these institutions. He was a resident of the latter place, in 1910, when
he became the candidate of the Democratic party for the office of county
treasurer, and in the active campaign that followed Mr. ]\Iinnick was
returned the winner, greatly aided, no doubt, by his wide acquaintance
and high reputation gained during his days as a teacher. Mr. Minnick
gave the people of Cass county an excellent and economical administra-
tion, and in 1912 was again his party's choice for the office and elected
by an increased ma.jority. He is a Knight Templar Mason, and also
holds membership in the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows. With Mrs. ^linnick, he attends the Methodist Episcopal
church, at Walton, Indiana.
On September 15, 1896, ]\Ir. IMinnick was married to ^liss Lavina H.
Green, of AValton, Indiana, and they have had three children: Edgar
E., who is deceased; and Dallas D. and Dorothy L.
Arthur E. Dunn. The rapid growth of the automobile interests of
the country in recent years has created an industry which has given a
wide field of opportunity and enterprise to many of the young men of
the present generation, who have a predilection for mechanics, and
Arthur E. Dunn, of Logansport, Indiana, is one of those who have made
the most of his opportunities along these lines. Since 1908 he has been
in the garage business, for a part of the time in partnership with one
Harry Case, but since 1909 he has conducted the business entirely upon
his own responsibility, winning a reputation for efficiency and service
in the work that has brought him a considerable prominence in the city.
Arthur E. Dunn was born on April 14, 1882, at Cissna Park, Illinois,
and is one of the two sons of Edward A. and Lydia L. (Ashley) Dunn.
The father was a farmer all his life. He came to Royal Center, Cass
county, Indiana, in 1898, and continued farming there until 1903. when
he moved to Logansport, and there he died in October, 1908. His wife
y u
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 749
passed away in April of the same year, so their two sons, Arthur E. and
Herbert A., were bereft of both parents in the short space of six months.
The subject attended the public schools of Logansport after the
removal of the family to this place, and in 1903 was graduated from the
city high school. The succeeding three years were spent in Lake Forest
University, but he did not graduate owing to the fact that the failing
health of his parents made it seem best that he return home and assist
in the care of the home place. After the death of his parents, in 1908,
Mr. Dunn entered into a partnership with Harry Case, previously men-
tioned, and established a garage at 320-22 Fifth street, in Logansport.
They were successful, but the partnership was short lived, and soon Mr.
Dunn purchased the interest of his partner and contini;ed the business
at the original location until 1910, when he moved to No. 617-623 Broad-
way, his present location. Here he maintains one of the modem and
up-to-date garages of the city, the property being his own, and re-
modeled and arranged on its purchase to meet his own requirements and
ideas of general service. He carries on a general garage business, in-
cluding repairing and the sale of auto accessories, and is building up a
solid and substantial trade in the city.
Mr. Dunn is a member of the Country Club and of the ]\Iethodist
Episcopal church. He is married, Coad Herrington, of Pana, Illinois,
becoming his bride on June 11, 1908.
William W. Haney. Many lives have entered into the foundation
of the state of Indiana, and none of them more worthy to be considered
in a history of pioneer personalities than the late William W. Haney.
Those who have come and enjoyed the splendid prosperity of the later
era, however important their own contributions, have all owed a great
debt to the pioneers who first tested the capabilities of soil and climate,
who faced the hardship of existence when only the strong and the brave
could remain, and who laid the foundation of a greater civilization and
permanent prosperity.
The career of the late ]\Ir. Haney was not typical of the early settlers
in the Wabash valley, for he was one of those remarkable men with
great initiative and enterprise whose activities lie in a plane above that
of the average citizen. He was a leader where others followed, he
founded enterprises upon which they built and enjoyed the fruits thereof,
he planned and supervised the execution of undei'takings which required
the services of hundreds of subordinates. His career is prominently
associated with several of the epochal movements of early Indiana his-
tory. The late Mr. Haney belonged to the era of water transportation
in northern Indiana, and was one of the builders of the old Wabash
canal, which was the chief artery of commerce during the thirties and
forties and the indistinct remains of which may be seen in Cass and
adjoining counties to the present day. He was also associated with the
old Indiana State Bank, and his name and enterprise are linked with
many of the notable events and affairs of the last century.
As a succinct summary of this notable career which belongs in the
annals of Cass county, nothing better has been written than the follow-
ing quotation from an address by Judge D. P. Baldwin, delivered at
the time of the death of INIr. Haney— "The late Mr. Haney was a remark-
750 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
able man in many respects. This, is proved by the grand fortune he
accumulated in this little city where money is scarce and riches the ex-
ception. I do not hesitate to say that Mr. Haney had the best financial
brain of any man that, at least in my time, ever lived in Logansport. At
seventy -nine years, and until his last sickness his mind was as clear and
quick as that of any man in mid-life. Mr. Haney 's honesty was very
remarkable. No scandal was ever connected with his great fortune.
His word was sacred; he took no undue advantages; he was a remark-
ably friendly man; he was as kind and sociable with a tramp as with
a millioniare. He did not know what pride was any more than he knew
what deceit and double-dealing were. He was always clean-mouthed.
No one ever heard him retailing scandal or speaking unkindly. Mr.
Haney 's great wealth brought upon him, as wealth or exceptional suc-
cess always does, a great weight of envy or raillery, but he took it good
humoredly. No one ever knew him to get angry or excited, much less,
vindictive or sullen. No one knew better of good and ill of life and
humanity. Mr. Haney did not pretend to be anything else than a
business man, and never sought office or promotion of any kind. He
did not set up to be a charitable man any more than a talented man ; and
yet his kindly voice, friendly ways, and unquestionable honesty gave him
a happy and honored old age and made him a general favorite with all
classes. ' '
William W. Haney was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, Decem-
ber 25, 1809, and his death occurred in Logansport April 20, 1889. His
parents Joseph and Mary (AVeaver) Haney were people of small means
and for that reason, and also because of the times in which he lived,
were unable to provide their son with any education except that of the
primitive local schools. Though not a well educated man in the mod-
ern sense of the term, Mr. Haney had those powers of keen perception
and fine memory, and so excelled in his judgment of men and his prac-
tical ability in affairs that he was never at disadvantage in his competi-
tion with the world of men. His boyhood days were spent on the farm
where his most useful training was probably in the acquirement of a
sound physique and a practical industry. After leaving the farm he
worked in a hotel, then was clerk in a store, and at the age of seventeen,
without capital, began his independent career. He joined the engineer-
ing corps engaged in the construction of the Delaware division of the
Pennsylvania canal, between Easton and Bristol, being on that work
for a year. His next enterprise was boating coal along the river and
he was also employed in a hotel at Easton. With his growing ability
he was next made superintendent of a division of the Pennsylvania
canal, and continued in that capacity for a year, after which he returned
to his former enterprise of boating coal. For another two years he
had supervision on a branch of the Pennsylvania canal, and then took a
contract for the construction of the Delaware and Raritan canal feeder.
After completing this work he acted as superintendent of the feeder.
With this varied experience in constructive enterprise and general
business, Mr. Haney turned his attention to the west. By steamboat,
flatboat and pirogue he arrived in the state of Indiana, and on the fourth
of July, 1835, made his advent into the frontier village of Peru. The
Wabash valley throughout this region was then almost an unbroken
CoOUZ^U
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 751
wilderness, although there were stirrings of the great activity which the
plans for the building of the Wabash canal had set in motion. Soon
after reaching Peru, Mr. Haney took charge of a force of men and the
construction work of this canal. They opened a stone quarry below
Peru for the contractor of the Peru dam, and a little later he, himself
took a contract for the construction of a section of the canal at Lewis^
burg. Wlien this contract was finished the following year he formed
a partnership with Alexander Wilson and established a merchandising
business in Lewisburg, also conducting a large trade with the Indian
population which had not yet been removed from Indiana. Three years
later he bought his partner 's interest in the store, and up to the summer
of 1851 was engaged in business at Lewisburg in real estate, canal script
and other securities.
The late Mr. Haney dated his residence in Logansport from the
fifteenth of July, 1851. In this city he established a general store, but
soon retired from the mercantile field. His business from that time until
his death was in real estate and as a private banker. During several
years of this time he was president of the Logansport branch of the
old Bank of the State of Indiana. During the intervals of his business
career he had also managed to acquire a substantial knowledge of the
law, and soon after locating at Logansport was admitted to the bar, al-
though he never practiced in the courts, confining his business in this
profession to a limited office practice. The estimate delivered by one of
his friends and old time associates upon his business career needs no
further extension. Whether as a contractor, merchant, banker or real
estate man, his transactions were always marked by a high sense of
honor and strictest integrity, and notwithstanding his thoroughly busi-
ness character and high regard for the rigid principles of business pro-
cedure, he had the kindly nature and the genial personality which made
him popular among a great body of the citizenship. At the time of his
death, the late Wm. W. Haney was regarded as one of the richest men
in the state, as wealth was then estimated, his estate being valued at
more than half a million dollars.
Wm. W. Haney married, December 13, 1836, Miss Louisiana Fidler,
who survived him and also attained to a good old age. Of two chil-
dren, the daughter, Maria Emma, is now deceased and the only survivor
is Mr. William E. Haney of Logansport, a sketch of whose career fol-
lows. In the affection of his family and associates, the late Mr. Haney
made a secure place. It is said that he was known either personally or
through his kindly deeds to every man, woman and child in the city of
Logansport. He was a member and a liberal supporter of the Broad-
way Methodist church in this city. Among the names of the older citi-
zenship in Cass county none deserves higher rank or more permanent
place on the rolls of honor and sincere admiration than the late William
W. Haney.
William E. Haney. The son of the late William W. Haney is him-
self deservedly classed among the old settlers of Logansport, by reason
of a residence in that city for more than sixty years. William E.
Haney 's career has been one of exemplary citizenship. Like many other
successful men of hisi day, his early advantages were limited, but he
752 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
had all the qualities of native ability and character which make sure
success. At this time, although he has passed the age when most men
feel fit for the struggles of active business, he still ably conducts the
management of his extensive interests, and is a man of large and bene-
ficent influence throughout his home city and vicinity.
William E. Haney, a son of William W. and Louisiana (Fidler)
Haney was bom at Lewisburg, Indiana, December 28, 1837. His edu-
cation was confined to the advantages afforded by the common schools
of his day, very limited when it is remembered that free public educa-
tion had not yet been established throughout Indiana during the boy-
hood of Mr. Haney. After the removal of the family to Logansport in
1851, he had some further schooling and in better schools. In 1859
associated with his father, he started in the pi'oduce business, but after
about one year moved to a farm in Eel township, where he was engaged
in farming for about twelve years. Returning to Logansport at the
end of that time, he was for six months a boot and shoe merchant, but
after the death of his partner sold out, and then for some years con-
ducted a brokerage business on a small scale. He was also during this
time becoming more and more associated with his father, in the latter 's
extended business enterprise. Since the death of his father his entire
attention has been taken up in managing the affairs of the estate, and
in handling real estate and a general brokerage business.
William E. Haney has inherited the best of his father's sterling
qualities of character and business ability. He has an unassuming
nature which throughout the many years of his active business career
has kept him in the quieter channels of life, and he has never aspired to
a place of mark in public affairs.
On April 5, 1859, Mr. Haney married Miss Christina Conrad, daugh-
ter of William Conrad, one of the pioneer settlers of Cass county. Mrs.
Haney died in the spring of 1871. She was the mother of eight chil-
dren, six of whom died in infancy and early childhood, while the sur-
vivors are Carrie E. and Jessie M., the latter being the widow of INIiller
Uhl. Mr. Haney has voted the Republican ticket throughout nearly all
the years of the existence of that great party, although beyond his vote
and a practical interest in home affairs and good government has never
participated in politics. His fraternal association is Avith the Benevolent
& Protective Order of Elks.
Harry E. Burkit. Like many others of the county officials of Cass
county, Harry E. Burkit, county recorder, was bora in the locality
which he now represents and has passed his entire career within its
borders. A product of the farm, and a member of a family that has for
generations produced tillers of the soil, he has also held up the family
reputation for prominence in the educational field, and for years was
known as one of Washington township's most popular and efficient
educators. In his official capacity he is rendering his community signal
service, and his work has served to extend an already large acquaintance
and to gain him many sincere friends. Mr. Burkit was born on a farm
in Washington township, Cass county, Indiana, near Walton, October
26, 1879, and is a son of William H. and Sarah B. (Robinson) Burkit.
His grandfather, David P. Burkit, founded the family in Cass county,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 753
whence he came from Pennsylvania. He is of Irish-Scotch ancestry.
William H. Bnrkit was horn in Cass county, and here divided his at-
tention between agricultural pursuits and teaching school, having passed
nineteen years in the school room in Cass county. His wife, also a
native of the county, taught one term here, and four of their six chil-
dren were teaching in the county schools at the same time. Mr. Burkit
passed away January 26, 1902, and was buried in Mount Hope cemetery,
Logansport, while his widow survives, and with her children resides on
the old home place.
Harry E. Burkit attended the district schools of Cass county, and
subsequently spent two years in the Marion Normal College, and four
terms in the graded and high schools at "Walton. Thus ecjuipped, in
1900, he began his career as a teacher in the Long school in Washington
township, and during the three succeeding tenns was at the head of the
district school which he had attended as a boy. In all, he taught for
seven winter terms, in the meantime spending his summers in the work
of the farm, on which he had always resided until coming to Logansport.
Mr. Burkit entered Democratic politics when he was appointed deputy
county recorder, and after serving four years in that office was elected,
in 1911, to the office of county recorder, entering upon the duties thereof
January 1, 1912. His administration has been marked by efficiency and
faithful performance of duty, and the citizens of Cass county have had
no reason to regret of their choice. Mr. Burkit has a high regard for
the responsibilities of public office, and is doing his utmost to give his
community clean, able service. He is not a politician in the generally
accepted use of the term, but has at all times supported Democratic
policies and candidates, and is known as one of the wheel-horses of the
party in his section. Mr. Burkit has interested himself to some extent
in the fraternal work of the Knights of Pythias, in which he has attained
to the uniformed rank, and in which he has many friends. He is un-
married.
George W. Cann. Probably no better example of accomplishment
in spite of handicaps and misfortunes could be found than the career
of George W. Cann, of Logansport, contractor in electric supplies. Left
an orphan at the age of five years, his boyhood was one of hard and
unceasing struggles, made all the more so by a serious injury, the loss
of the left arm in a flouring mill, which left him to flght against still
greater odds. That he has risen to a high place in the business world,
and has been able to overcome the obstacles placed in his path, speaks
volumes for his determination, courage and ability, and his business
record is replete with earnest endeavor and well-won battles. Mr. Cann
was born July 7, 1870, at Idaville, White county, Indiana, a son of
George W. and Mary (Hastings) Cann.
George W. Cann was but a year old when his father died. He was
about five years of age at the time of his mother's death, and for one
year lived with an uncle, a miller at Hoovers, in Cass county, in whose
mill Mr. Cann met with an accident that cost his left arm. Shortly
thereafter he was placed in the Orphans Home, where he resided until
thirteen years of age, succeeding which he spent three years in the home
of Dr. W. H. Thompson, for whom he acted as office boy. In the mean-
754 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
time he had acquired a good common school education and managed
to secure a teacher's certificate. While teaching country school in the
winter months, he attended two summer terms at Ladoga Normal School,
and continued teaching four years. At that time he came to Logansport
and took a clerical position in the general offices of the Pennsylvania
Railroad, where he was so employed for eight years. After failing to
secure the nomination for the office of city clerk, he secured a position
as clerk of the city electric light department, and after two years in
this connection, resigned his position and established himself in business
at No. 324 Broadway, where he was engaged in contracting and handling
electrical supplies until April, 1911. At that time he came to his present
establishment, a modern, well-equipped building at Nos. 312-14 Broad-
way.
In 1906, Mr. Cann received his nomination on the Democratic ticket
for clerk of the courts of Cass county, and as such served four years.
He is a Cumberland Presbyterian in religion, and is a member of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles,
the Improved Order of Red Men, the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, the Knights of Pythias, and several fraternal insurance bodies.
On September 20, 1903, Mr. Cann was married to Miss Euphemia
Farnsley, of Medaryville, Indiana, and to this union there have been
born three children, namely : Marguerite Ellen, ]\Iildred C. and Mary
Josephine. The family is well known in Logansport, where its members
have numerous appreciative friends.
William H. Reighter. A life of quiet effectiveness, marked by a
record of many duties well done and many responsibilities faithfully
fulfilled, was that of the late William Harrison Reighter, of Cass county.
He was one of the men who developed and made Cass county what it is.
He was never in the conspicuous activities of abnormal events of the
world, but in the round of commonplace accomplishments and in the
faithful and intelligent performance of every task that was allotted to
him during his long life, he left a record which may well be envied and
admired by the generations that follow him.
William Harrison Reighter was born at Carlisle, Cumberland county,
Pennsylvania, and his death occurred at his farm in Carroll county,
April 8, 1893. His parents were George and Salome (McFeely)
Reighter. His father was a farmer and spent part of his life
at Carlisle. He owns large tracts of land in Cumberland county. There
were two other sons in the family, named John ]McF., and George Wash-
ington Reighter.
The late Mr. Reighter was one of the pioneer settlers of Cass county.
He attained a very meagre education by private schooling and by a
term or two in the common schools, and on ^May 14, 1839, he arrived
in Cass county. His 'first work in this county was the building of a mill
in Jefferson township, and he subsequently bought eighty acres of land
in Noble township. Throughout his career he Avas one of the substantial
developers of the agricultural resources of this county, and at the time
of his death was owner of an estate of three hundred and twenty acres
of land in Cass and Carroll counties. The late Mr. Reighter was in
politics a Democrat. He was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 755
church, though during his active lifetime was not a member of any
church organization. Neither did he have membership in any societies,
but as a citizen was always public spirited, had a broad-minded view of
government both national and local and was always ready to lend his
aid in the promotion of any enterprise which would more effectively
express the ideals of good government and a better community. He
was a great student both of men and books. History was an absorbing
study with him, and few among his contemporaries were better informed
on the larger questions and topics of the past as well as the present.
Personally he was of a jovial disposition and he was a delightful
companion. He bestowed all the riches of a noble character upon his
own family circle, and they appreciated his many kindnesses and noble
qualities.
Mr. Reighter first married Miss Agnes Houk, and the three children
of that union are all now deceased. On December 7, 1854, he married
Miss Cassie Graham, who was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and
subsequently moved to Ohio. Her father was Israel Graham, who was
a native of Delaware, and who came to Cass county at an early day.
There are two children by the second marriage of I\Ir. Reighter, namely :
Maggie, who is the wife of Samuel A. Michael ; and Harry T., a farmer
on the old Reighter homestead in Cass county. Three children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel A. Michael, namely : W. H. Lulah
M., who is now Mrs. H. D. Smith ; and Ethj^ W., who is now Mrs. Wil-
liam R. Reel. The house in which ]\Irs. Michael and family now reside
was built by her father about 1855, and it has been remodeled several
times, though in its associations it possesses the charms and memories
of one of the oldest homesteads in this county. Mrs. IMichael and her
brother Harry have erected a beautiful monument to their father, but
even in more enduring manner does his name and character exist in the
minds and affections of all people who came within the radius of his
acquaintance and friendship during his life.
John M. Etnire was born in Logansport, Indiana, on February 24,
1865, and is one of seven children born to Isaac and Cynthia (Baldwin)
Etnire, of which number six are now living. Isaac Etnire was a son
of Martin, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Cass county in pioneer
times, as did also two brothers, John and Abraham.
Martin Etnire settled in the heart of the woods in the cabin home
which he built with his own hands, and there gave himself up to the
rearing of his family and the cultivation of his wilderness farm. In
later life, when he was ready to retire from the activities of the farm,
he moved to Deer Creek township, and there he passed the closing years
of his life. His son, Isaac, the father of the subject, was reared to hard
work on the farm and v.as early inured to the hardships of pioneer life.
He only secured the most meagre educational advantages, the schools
of the day affording but slight reward for attendance thereupon, and
he lived all his days in Cass county. He served in the Civil war, or,
more correctly speaking, he enlisted, but after a stay of some time in
Indianapolis, he and others who accompanied him, were returned to
their homes, owing to some technicality which existed. He was a Repub-
lican, and his religious leanings were toward the Baptist denomination.
756 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
His wife is a devout member of that church. On INIay 5, 1912, this
worthy couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, and they
are now living retired in Logansport.
Cass county has been the home of John M. Etnire since his birth.
He attended the district schools in his boyhood, and when he was
twenty-one years old began farming on his own responsibility, that
being the work in which he was reared in his father's home. He con-
tinued for two years, but in October, 1887, gave up the life and came
to Logansport, where he launched a retail furniture enterprise. Success
attended his etforts from the beginning, which was of a most humble
order, and thus for twenty-five years he has continued in that field of
activity. He is the oldest fui-niture dealer, in point of continued service
in the business, to be found in Logansport, and enjoys an excellent
reputation for business veracity and integrity.
Mr. Etnire is a Republican in his political faith, though not an active
politician, and he is fraternally affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.
With his wife, he is a member of the Presbyterian church.
On Jiily 25, 1886, Mr. Etnire was united in marriage with Lottie
Hogentogler, and two children have been born to them : Ethel M., now
the wife of Arthur W. Routh, and Cecil L. Etnire.
Joseph Taylor. Among the men whose upright lives, sterling char-
acters and high business abilities have added to Logansport 's commercial
and social prestige, the late Joseph Taylor is worthy of more than
passing mention. Coming to this city in 1870, he here founded the
firm of Joseph Taylor & Sons, which still endures and is one of the
city's leading enterprises. ]\Jr. Taylor was born in Burlington county,
New Jersey, March 18, 1822, and was a son of John and Hester Taylor.
When he was yet a boy his parents removed to a farm near Dayton,
Ohio, and he there grew to manhood, attending the district schools,
assisting in the work of the home farm, and later attending the public
schools of Dayton. Prior to attaining his majority, he began clerking
in a dry goods store at Dayton, but about 1845 moved to Greenville,
Ohio, and embarked in business upon his own responsibility. He lived
at Greenville many years and became closely identified with the welfare
and progress of the community. On March 25, 1850, Mr. Taylor was
united in marriage with Miss Josephine C. Dawes, a daughter of Elisha
Dawes, a tanner, and a man well known throughout that section of the
country, and with him there, for a time, Mr. Taylor was associated in
business. During the fall of 1859, he moved to a farm near ]Monticello,
White county, Indiana, but in 1870 came to Logansport, which was his
home throughout the balance of his life.
On locating in this city, Mr. Taylor founded the Joseph Taylor &
Sons wholesale saddlery business, which yet endures, his sons, who con-
tinue the business, keeping the original name because of both senti-
mental and business reasons. INIr. Taylor was a plain, unassuming, hard-
M'orking biisiness man, whose word was at all times as good as his bond
and whose bond was always good for wiiatever he contracted. Upon
first coming to Logansport, he established a tannery in partnership
with his father-in-law, on the north side of the river, on Fifth street.
Later on, this partnership was dissolved, Mr. Dawes assuming owner-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 757
ship of the tannery and Mr. Taylor the store which they operated in
connection with the other business. Saddlery and hardware was a later
addition to the regular line.
Mr. Taylor was essentially a business man, and took little interest
in the struggles of the political arena outside as to how they affected
his adopted community. He was at all times ready to lend his hearty
support and co-operation to movements which his judgment assured him
would benefit Logansport or its people, and no enterprise of this nature
was considered completely organized until his name was secured. For
almost his entire life, Mr. Taylor was a member of the Presbyterian
church, and his membership meant something more than a mere name,
for he endeavored at all times to live and act the life of a Christian
gentleman. In his death, which occurred February 8, 1887, Logansport
lost one of its citizens to whom the city could point with pride as repre-
sentative of its best activities, and he was sincerely mourned, not only
by his immediate family and a wide circle of friends, but by all who had
his acquaintance and knew how hard his place would be to fill in the
life of the city. His widow survived him until ]\Iay 2, 1892. They were
the parents of nine children, and four of their sons, Zachary, Dawes,
Clark and Joseph, are now conducting the business founded by their
father.
John M. Johnston. Under our present system of government no
office carries with it greater responsibility than that of postmaster. The
handling of the mails of a large city entails the possession of abilities
of a high order, a reputation that bears not the slightest stain or
blemish, and the confidence that is only secured by the conscientious
performance of every public duty. John M. Johnston has been post-
master of Logansport since 1906, and during this period has displayed
strength, force, character and resolution, qualities necessary to the best
public service. He has worked with his hands and trodden the familiar
but difficult self-made way to success, and throughout his career has
identified himself vitally with the city's interests. Mr. Johnston was
born June 3, 1860, in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and is the second
son of Robert F. and Sarah A. (Donaldson) Johnston.
Robert F. Johnston was born in Stark county, Ohio, August 31, 1834,
and was a son of John and Elizabeth (McDowell) Johnston, also natives
of Stark county. The family moved to Wells county, Indiana, when
that section was still in its formative state, and there Robert F. Johns-
ton grew to manhood and acquired a good practical education, which
was subsequently supplemented by years of close observation and wide
and varied reading. He was a carpenter by trade, but after coming to
Logansport, in 1863, spent a number of years in the butter and egg
business, and then became a traveling salesman for wholesale boot and
shoe houses of Toledo and Chicago, with which he was connected for
twenty-two years. In this he was more successful than the average
traveling man, his geniality, unfailing courtesy and good business qual-
ifications being the principal contributing causes. On January 1, 1857,
he married Sarah A. Donaldson, a native of Mercer county, Pennsyl-
vania, and to this vinion there were born four children, namely : Isaac
S., John M., Eben E. and Robert M. Mr. Johnston was a member of the
758 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Presbyterian church, was widely known in Masonry, and was one of the
most stalwart of Republicans. He was elected trustee of Eel township
in ]895, and served as such until his death, which occurred September
26, 1898.
John M. Johnston was but three years of age when brought to
Logansport by his parents, and this city he has always since made his
home. He was educated in the public schools, and for nine years fol-
lowing clerked in the drug store of Rodney Strain. At that time, in
partnership with Dr. M. A. Jordan, he entered business on his own
account, purchasing the business of Mr. Strain, which the partners
conducted successfully for eight years and, in 1897, Mr. Johnston be-
came district agent for the Mutual Lfife Insurance Company, a position
he was holding at the time of his appointment, June 20, 1906, to the
office of postmaster, by President Roosevelt. On June 10, 1910, he re-
ceived his reappointment from President Taft, and still continues to
act efficiently in this office. His administration of the affairs of this
office has been marked by a distinct advance in the service. Needed re-
forms have been made, and innovations introduced, and the people of
Logansport may congratulate themselves upon his appointment. He
has always been a stalwart supporter of Republican principles and for
four years served as a member of the Republican county central com-
mittee.
j\Ir. Johnston was married September 8, 1897, to Miss Emma Rosen-
thal, and they have had four daughters, namely : Esther ; Gertrude ;
Margaret, who died at the age of seven years ; and Frances. Mr. Johns-
ton is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being past worthy master
of Tipton Lodge No. 33. He also holds membership in the Logansport
Commercial Club, and with other earnest and hard-working men has
given of his best energies in promoting progressive anl public-spirited
movements.
Samuel E. Hov^e. In the death of Samuel Edward Howe, which
occurred November 10, 1911, Logansport lost ^ business citizen whose
activities had for many years had a direct influence upon its industrial
importance. A poor young man when he came to this city, his prin-
cipal capital a generous amount of ambition and energy, he so directed
his abilities that he became one of the citj^'s leading manufacturers and
his industry became an integral part of the business life of Logans-
port. Mr. Howe was born October 8, 1842, in Dixmont, in the state of
Maine, and was a son of Otis Crosby Howe, who was of English descent.
After completing his education in the schools of his native state,
Samuel E. Howe secured a position as traveling salesman for an eastern
concern, and in this capacity made his advent in Logansport. A man
of keen perception and farsightedness, he recognized the opportunity
for establishing himself in business in this city, and accordingly started
in a modest way to manufacture plow-handles. In the meantime, how-
ever, he continued to discharge his duties as traveling salesman, and
did so until his own business had grown to such proportions that it
needed all of his time and attention. As this business continued to ex-
tend over a wider and wider territory, Mr. Howe embarked in other
fields of endeavor, eventually becoming interested in the lumber busi-
CV,!^^
o~-t^-ir^_^
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY ■ 759
ness, as a holder of timber lands in the South, having been induced to
enter this line on account of the growing scarcity of lumber. At the
time of his death his holdings were vast in a number of southern states,
and since his demise his sons have handled these interests. During
the war he served on the side of the Union, a member of the navy and
a steward therein.
On November 3, 1870, Mr. Howe was united in marriage with Miss
Catherine Herrick, at Delta, Ohio, she being a daughter of James S.
and Martha (Sharpstein) Herrick. Seven children were born to this
union, as follows : Wilson H., who married Eva Maurson ; May E., who
married Dr. Terflinger; Abbie C, who married Dr. C. W. Russell; Otis
C. and Laura A., who are unmarried ; John C, who married Jessie Grant ;
and Samuel E., who married Minnie Martin. Mrs. Howe, who was the
youngest of a very large family, lost her parents when she was still a
child. She survives her husband and resides in her modern residence in
Logansport, where she is surrounded by a wide circle of sincere friends.
She is a faithful member of the Presbyterian church, and her late hus-
band, while not a member, supported all religious movements gener-
ously and never refused any just request for financial assistance, for,
having succeeded himself, he was at all times ready to help those who
had been less fortunate than he. The factory that he first erected in
company with his partner, J. H. Tucker, and which was the scene of his
early success, is still standing. As a business man Mr. Howe was very
thorough in his undertakings, was frank and open, and kind to his em-
ployes. He was a man of strict integrity, and was broad-minded and
liberal in his views. He contributed in a philanthropic way to all
churches. His long and honorable career stands without stain or
blemish to mar it, and in his death Logansport lost one whose place will
be hard to fill.
Frank Amoss is the youngest and the only surviving member of the
family of his parents, and he was bona in Noble township, Cass county,
Indiana, on May 22, 1877. He is the son of Jasper W. and Sarah
Stokes (Cox) Amoss, both now deceased. The father was born in Point
Pleasant, "West Virginia, in 1840, and received as a boy in his native
state the advantages of the common school. He married in 1865, and
they became the parents of three children : Matilda, born in 1866, and
died in 1869 ; John, born in 1868, died in 1893 ; and Frank, the subject
of this brief review.
While he was yet an infant, Frank Amoss moved to Logansport with
his parents, and there he lived until he was about eight years of age;
his mother died then, and he went back to the country to make his home
with Joseph H. Cox, his maternal uncle. He continued to make his home
Avith his uncle until he had completed his high school studies at Logans-
port. Soon after this he made a trip to Porto Rico, and was absent in
that land for about a year, investigating the opportunities which the
country offered in various business lines. He then returned to Logans-
port, where he became deputy county treasurer under Owen A. Mc-
Greevey, in which post he continued until 1907, when he received the
appointment of assistant postmaster, and is still the incumbent of that
760 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
position. He is also connected with the undertaking firm of Chas. D.
Chase & Co.
]\Ir. Amoss is a Republican. He is a member of the Masonic frater-
nity, and affiliates with its various bodies as follows: The Blue Lodge,
Tipton No. 33; A. F. & A. M., Logan; the Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M. ;
Logansport Council No. 11, R. & S. M. ; and he is the present secretary
of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge No. 66.
Mr. xVmoss v>'as married on January 8, 1908, to Margaret Estelle
Martin, of Logansport, and both he and his wife are members of the
First Presbyterian church of Logansport.
MuRDOCK & Wise. The well-known firm of Murdoek & AVise opened
their men's furnishing store at No. 404 Broadway on October 20, 1902,
with William 0. Murdoek and Claude 0. Wise comprising the firm.
This firm has continued uninterruptedly to the present time in the same
spot in which it was established ten years ago. The partners, young
men of old and honored families of Logansport, began their business
venture with practically no capital, but with a generous fund of in-
herited and acquired common sense and business wisdom. They have
in the ensuing years met each and every obligation as it became due
and have kept their names commercially clean, their integrity being
unmarred by any business shortcomings. The business has been a suc-
cess from the start, and much credit is due these young men for the
progress which has been theirs.
James H. Wise was born in Canton, Stark county, Ohio, on March
18, 1846, and is a son of William and Isabel (Gregory) Wise, the former
a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of Stark
county, Ohio. The father was a farmer and served in the war with
Mexico. In 1846, the family moved to Allen county, Indiana, and ten
years later moved to I\Ionmouth, Illinois, where both parents died.
Their son, James H. Wise, was reared in IMonmouth, Illinois, and there
received a common school education. He started out for himself in the
buying and butchering of stock, and for two years he was occupied in
this manner on the plains of the central west, including the states of
Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, part of the
time being engaged as a cattle herder, making two trips as night herder
of freight trains across the plains. In 1868, he returned to ]\Ionmouth,
Illinois, and resumed butchering. In the following year he came to
Logansport, temporarily, and on January 21st married Margaret Rugh,
after which he returned to Monmouth and there continued his residence
until 1872, when he moved permanently to Logansport, which has since
been his home. For forty years he has carried on, with but slight devia-
tions, the trade of a carpenter. He is a Republican and an adherent
of Theodore Roosevelt. He is a member of Orient Lodge No. 272, A. F.
& A. M., and Logan Lodge No. 40 of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, in the latter having membership in the Canton, Encampment
and Rebekah degrees. He is a past brigadier general of the Patriarchs
Militant. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wise: Claude 0.,
of the firm of Murdoek & Wise ; Maude, the wife of Norman E. Myers,
and Ira A. Wise.
Claude 0. Wise was born in IMonmouth, Illinois, on June 6, 1872,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 761
the son of James and ^Margaret (Rugh) Wise, of whom detailed mention
is made above. He came to Logansport in his infancy in company with
his parents, and there was reared and educated, the public schools of
Logansport supplying his education. In 1888, the young man began
clerking in the store of Dewenter & Company, dealers in haberdashery,
and for fifteen years he continued to be in their employ, during which
time he became well versed in methods pertaining to the successful
manipulation of such an establishment. When he severed his connection
with this firm it was to form a partnership with William O. Murdock
for the purpose of engaging in a similar business venture, and the store
which they then established has continued up to the present time, and
he en.joyed a pleasing degree of success and popularity in the city where
both these young men have been known well and favorably all their
lives. Thus ^Ir. Wise has for twenty-five years been identified with the
retail men's furnishing liusiness in Logansport, and no business man
in the city today is better known or has a better standing than he.
The fraternal relations of J\Ir. Wise are maintained in the Blue
lodge, chapter and council of the Masonic order, the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, and socially he is a member of the Country
Club, of which he was one of the organizers. He is a member of the
Logansport Commercial Club, and is a Republican in politics.
On October 14, 1895, ]\Ir. Wise was united in marriage with ]\Iiss
Charlotte Shroyer, the daughter of Alexander Shroyer, one of the old
pioneer merchants of Logansport. They have one son, J. Eugene Wise.
Mrs. Wise is a member of the First Presbyterian church of Logansport.
George AV. Richardson. A residence of something like forty-five
years, during which time he has been identified with industries which
have materially contributed to the importance of his community as an
industrial and commercial center, entitle George W. Richardson, of
Logansport, to a position among the representative men of Cass county.
Although at the present time he has retired from the activities of life,
and is now living quietly in his comfortable city home, he still takes a
keen and intelligent interest in all that affects his locality in any way,
and is known as a citizen who may be depended upon when supporters
are sought in movements of a progressive nature. I\Ir. Richardson is a
native of the Old Dominion state, born in Bedford county, Virginia,
December 25, 1847, a son of Washington and Jane (Payne) Richardson.
Mr. Richardson was reared in his native county, and there attended
the district schools, although he secured only a limited education, as it
was necessary that he devote the greater part of his time in his boyhood
and youth to helping his father support the growing family. When he
was twenty years of age, in the spring of 1868, he came to Cass county,
Indiana, and with the exception of one and one-half years passed in
Daviess countj^ this state, Cass county has since been his home. On first
coming to this locality, Mr. Richardson was successful in securing work
as a farm laborer, an occupation at which he was engaged for some time,
and during this period he carefully saved his wages, being industrioua
and thrifty and having ever in mind the idea of one day owning a home
of his own. Eventually, in August, 1909, Mr. Richardson felt that he
had earned a rest from his ceaseless labor, and with his wife moved to
762 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Logansport, where they have since continued to reside in their com-
fortable, modern home. In political matters a Republican, he has taken
an interest in the success of his party, was at one time known as one of
the dependable men of its ranks in Miami township, and there served
as supervisor for some time.
On November 10, 1870, Mr. Richardson was united in marriage with
Miss Eunice Montgomery, of near New Waverly, Indiana, and they
became the parents of six children, as follows: Nellie J., who became
the wife of William jMearns, of Cass county ; William Alvah, a resident
of Portland, Indiana; Charles E., who makes his home in Logansport;
Gertrude, who died at the age of seventeen years; Grace, who became
the wife of Elijah Booth ; and Clyde, who is a resident of Keokuk, Iowa.
Mr. and Mrs. Richardson are consistent and liberal members of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Richardson has taken some interest
in fraternal work, and has many friends in the local lodge of the
Masonic fraternity.
Charles E. Richardson. Presenting as it does an excellent example
of youthful industry, integrity and perseverance conducting to well-
earned success, the career of Charles E. Richardson, a successful Logans-
port business man, is worthy of emulation by those who are seeking
business prestige and financial independence. When Mr. Richardson
established himself in business in Logansport, he had little capital other
than that which had been supplied him by nature, but this enabled him
to found the little business which became the nucleus for his present
prosperous enterprise. He has been the architect of his own fortunes
and a review of the steps by which he has attained his present position
may not be inappropriate in a work which shows so many examples of
self-made manhood. JMr. Richardson was born in Miami township, Cass
county, Indiana, January 2, 1875, and is a son of George W. and Eunice
(Montgomery) Richardson. A sketch of George W. Richardson precedes
this.
Charles E. Richardson attended the district schools and remained
at home until he was seventeen years of age, at which time he entered
the ]\Iarion Normal school, where he spent one year. He then began
teaching school in ]\Iiami and Clay townships in the winter months, and
during this time furthered his own studies in the Indiana State Normal
school at Terre Haute. Mr. Richardson was so engaged at the time of
the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, and April 26, 1898, he en-
listed in Company M, One Hundred and Sixtieth Regiment, Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, with which he went into camp. There he con-
tracted typhoid fever, and eventually received his honorable discharge,
on account of disability, then returning to his home. He left the service
as sergeant, February 24, 1899. For about two years thereafter, Mr.
Richardson was employed in the capacity of fireman on the Pan Handle
Railroad, succeeding which he was engaged in various occupations until
July 1, 1908, when he purchased a half interest in the Logansport Dye
Works, at No. 218 Sixth street. Four months later he bought the rest
of the business, and in 1909 he became the owner by purchase of the
building in which the enterprise is located. Since 1908 he has been en-
gaged in dyeing and cleaning after the French method, and of more
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 763
recent date he has added the manufacture of soft, stiff and Panama hats
to his original business. His operations have proven uniformly prosper-
ous, and he is justly rated to be one of the successful business men of
his adopted city.
On December 17, 1902, Mr. Eichardson was married to Miss Blanche
E. Campbell, daughter of the Hon. B. F. Campbell, appropriate mention
of whom will be found on another page of this work. One son, Robert
C, was born to this union, December 25, 1904. Mr. Richardson is a
Republican in his political views, and his fraternal affiliation is with the
Masons, among the members of which he numbers many friends. With
Mrs. Richardson, he belongs to the Baptist church, in the work of which
both are active, while he serves in the official capacity of member of the
board of trustees.
George "W. Hoffmann. Probably there is no more exacting voca-
tion than that of the modern pharmacist, for, next to the physician
(with whom he must co-operate), the druggist is the one upon whom
we rely in sickness and accident. A man of thorough training and ab-
solute reliability, he must be also a master of several occupations beside
his own, and, to make a success of his enterprise, must be capable in
business, courteous in manner, and ready to serve the long hours that
the vocation demands. The dean of the drug trade in Logansport,
George W. Hoffmann received not only a thorough training in his youth,
but has had the additional advantages of attendance in the school of
practical experience. He has been a resident of Logansport for almost
forty years, and is widely known, not only in his chosen field of en-
deavor, but as a man who has rendered signal services to his city in
positions of public trust. Mr. Hoffmann was born in Cincinnati, Ohio,
July 31, 1852, one of the three sons born to the marriage of George Louis
and Katherine (Kalb) Hoffmann, both natives of Germany, the former
of Bavaria and the latter of Hesse Darmstadt. In 1848, George Louis
Hoft'mann left the Fatherland to escape the compulsory military service
of his native land, and some time during the following year arrived in,
Cincinnati, Ohio, where he secured employment at his trade of mill-
wright. Both he and his wife are now deceased.
George W. Hoft'mann was reared in his native city, acquiring his
education in the public schools and night school. When he was sixteen
years of age he embarked upon a career of his own, his first employment
being at grinding paint. Succeeding this, for three years he was em-
ployed in a drug store, where he received his introduction to the busi-
ness, and in February, 1873, came to Logansport, Indiana, here be-
coming a clerk in the dnag store of G. W. Brown. He was thus engaged
but a short time when he left IMr. Brown's services to become a clerk
for the drug firm of Leonard, Dale & Company, which was succeeded
by E. H. Borgers & Company, a concern with which Mr. Hoffmann
continued until March, 1877. At that time he purchased a one-third
interest in the fiirni of Leonard & Company, which then took the firm
style of Leonard & Hoffmann, and this association continued until
November, 1877, when Mr. Hoffmann became sole proprietor. In 1887,
when he sold out, he became a traveling salesman for a druggists'
sundries company of Detroit, but six months later entered the railway
764 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
mail service, in which he also spent six months. He had for some time
been interested in Democratic politics, and at this time was assistant
county recorder. In 1884, he was elected to the city council of Logans-
port on the Democratic ticket, but after one and one-half years resigned
to devote all of his attention to his private affairs. He was then in charge
of the establishment of Llilton Cunningham, but ill health caused his
retirement after a few months. He has not been identified with political
matters, having devoted himself exclusively to his pharmacy. ]\Ir. Hoff-
mann has spent many years in the study of pharmacy, chemistry and
the most exacting science of filling prescriptions. He has conducted his
business under the policy that from self preservation he must attend to
his customers with quality, care and attention; he knows conditions
and is familiar with the necessities of his neighborhood, supplying them
intelligently, faithfully and with not only professional but personal at-
tention. Among his associates he is known as a man of the utmost
reliability and strictest integrity, and the manner in which he has ever
conducted his transactions has been such as to gain him the unqualified
confidence of his fellow-citizens. In his religious belief INIr. Hoffmann
is a Universalist. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen
of the World and the Knights of the Maccabees.
On October 26, 1876, Mr. Hoffmann was married to Miss Inez E.
Luther, of Logansport, and they have had four children, of whom two
are living : Wilhelmina, who maiTied L. H. Wheeler ; and George L.,
a research bacteriologist in the employ of the firm of Parke, Davis &
Company, of Detroit.
John E. Wallace. Although not l)orn in Cass countj^, John E.
Wallace, the popular and efficient county auditor, has resided within its
limits since his second year, and has been identified with the official
life of this section since 1908. In his present capacity he has proved
a painstaking, conscientious and courteous public servant, and the
signal services he has rendered his community stamp him as one of Cass
county's public-spirited citizens. Mr. Wallace was born in Chicago,
Illinois, August 7, 1877, and is a son of Mark and Mary (Farrell) Wal-
lace.
Mark Wallace was born in County Wexford, Ireland, December 5,
1848, a son of John and Ellen (IMahoney) Wallace, the former a butcher
by trade. Of the five children composing the Wallace family, Mark is
the only surviving son and the only one to come to the United States.
As a lad of fourteen years he started his battle with life as a farm hand,
and although he was able to secure ample emplojnnent at fair wages,
saw ahead of him only a future filled with hard labor with little hope of
accumulating a competency, and, like many other of his countrymen,
turned his face toward the New World, where, as he had l)een assured
by friends who had preceded him here, there was ample opportunity
for him to prove his abilities. Accordingly, he left Castle Garden in
1869 and made his way directly from New York to Logansport, Indiana,
where he arrived with less than a dollar in his pocket. He soon secured
employment as a section hand on a railroad, but six months later left
that position to become a wiper in the round-house of the Pan Handle
Railroad, and was soon promoted to the blacksmith shop, where he acted
tc.^^^ ^fi^^^d'^^.^-v'
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 765
in the capacity of helper. In 1872, he was placed on an engine as a
fireman, and his promotion to the position of engineer occurred in 1876,
when he was given a switch engine in the Chicago yard. He continued
so employed until 1879, when he went out on the road, remaining in the
freight service until 1893, when he was promoted to the passenger serv-
ice, with a run on the north end of the Chicago division. He still con-
tinues in the service of this road, being one of its oldest and most trusted
employes. He has been prominent in the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers, in which he has served as chief engineer and as first assistant
chief. The family has resided in Logansport continuously since 1879.
In November, 1874, Mr. Wallace was married, in Chicago, to Miss ]\Iary
Farrell, and they became the parents of six children, namely : Annie,
John E., William, Thomas, Mary and Charles.
John E. Wallace received his early scholastic training in the public
schools, afterwards entering Hall's Business College, where he com-
pleted the prescribed course in the special branches he had elected to
pursue. When sixteen years of age, he started out for himself as book-
keeper for the firm of McCaffrey & Company, of Logansport, with
which concern he was connected for three years, then entering the
master mechanic's office of the Pennsylvania Railroad as time-keeper
and clerk. In 1905, he left the employ of the railroad to become book-
keeper for Dr. J. B. Lynas & Son, and was thus employed, in 1908, at
the time of his appointment to the position of deputy in the office of
the county auditor of Cass county, George W. Cann. In 1910, he became
the Democratic party's candidate for the office of auditor, and was sub-
sequently elected for a term of four years, succeeding Mr. Cann, a posi-
tion which he has since filled with great ability. Under ]\Ir. Wallace's
administration, the affairs of the auditor's office have been in excellent
condition, and he is known as one of the county's most popular and
obliging officials. His long and varied experience has thoroughly fitted
him to discharge the duties of his position, and his work has been an
important factor in advancing the best interests of the county. He is
interested in fraternal work, belonging to the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks and the Knights of Columbus, and his religious connection
is with the Catholic church.
On jMay 20, 1903, Mr. Wallace was united in marriage with Miss
Nellie ]\I. Gallagher, and thej' have had three children : Helen M.,
Harry M. and John E., Jr.
John J. Hildebeandt, who died December 14, 1912, occupied a
prominent place in the moral and commercial history of Logansport, a
position attained through his own unaided efforts and by sheer force
of character. Born in Iowa, February 8, 1863, he was one in a family
of six children, but one now living, bom to August J. and Katherine
(Gable) Hildebrandt, the former a native of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany.
When five years old he was brought to Logansport by his parents and
he was here reared and educated in the parochial and public schools.
Being of an independent and thoughtful turn of mind, he forsook the
religion of his parents, joined the Presbyterian church. When eight-
een yeark of age began learning the plumber's trade at fifty cents per
day. This he continued for some time, his first employment being on the
Vol n— 4
766 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
buildings of the county poor farm. When twenty-seven years old he
embarked in the business for himself, his shop being on Pearl street.
He was industrious, was considered an excellent workman, and as time
(passed prospered. An ardent disciple of Izaak Walton, he often found
time to visit lake and stream and at odd moments in his shop invented
fishing tackle according to ideas of his own. These efforts at first be-
came objects of ridicule for the local wiseacres, but as Mr. Hildebrandt
invariably returned from his jaunts with a well-filled creel, his success
aroused interest. Traveling men induced him to make tackle for them
similar to his, and as they proved successful it was not long until the
manufacture of fishing tackle of all kinds became an important adjunct
to his regular business. With the passing of time this enterprise grew
until it became an important industi-y of Logansport and made the
founder comparatively wealthy. Such, in brief, is the history of one of
the large commercial houses of Logansport. Of late years Mr. Hilde-
brandt had retired from the active cares of life, owing to failing health,
and devoted much of his time to philanthropic work. He was a man
who loved home and humanity in general and was ever ready to extend
a helping hand to those less fortunate than himself. The world is better
because of his having lived in it.
On March 22, 1892, Mr. Hildebrandt was married to Miss Katherine
Markert, and they became the parents of three children: Hiram H.,
Ruth K. and Lois F. He was the first president of the Associated
Charities of Logansport, of which he was made an honorary president
for life, was a member of the Humane Society, and the T. P. A. and
on national matters was a Republican. His business is still carried on
by his son, Hiram H., at 408 Fourth street, shipping the goods all over
the world, including Spain, Scotland and England, and is successful.
Mr. Hildebrandt built the home at 817 High street eight years ago and
where his widow now resides. Mrs. Hildebrandt is a member of the First
Presbyterian church of Logansport.
Wn^iJAM H. Porter. Hand in hand, in public usefulness, is the
druggist associated with the physician and this mutual dependence is
universally acknowledged as a condition of public safety. Healing
remedies are older than doctors and as far back as one may delve in
ancient lore, he may find mention of medicaments for some of the ills
that have always afflicted the human race. At times the discovery of a
new drug of surprising properties, cinchona, for example, has wrought
wonderful changes and has been even a factor in advancing civilization.
Out of the hands of the ignorant and superstitious, the lawful adminis-
tration of drugs has long since passed, and the term druggist or phar-
macist now means one who, after a protracted period of study and
experiment, covering a number of the sciences, has passed a thorough
and satisfactory examination before a learned scientific body. Into his
hands there is practically placed life and death, for it is the knowledge
of drugs and their effects that must guide him in handling the most
careful of physicians' prescriptions. Thus it is no unimportant position
that a druggist holds in a community, and his standing is usually of the
highest. Among the leading pharmacists of Cass county may be men-
tioned AVilliam H. Porter, of Logansport, whose connection with this
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 767
business here covers a period of upwards of a quarter of a century.
During this time he has firmly established himself in the confidence and
esteem of his fellow-citizens, and has interested himself in everything
that has pertained to the welfare of his community. Mr. Porter was
born November 12, 1865, in Carroll county, Indiana, just across the
line from Cass county, and is a son of Oliver H. and Rosanna (Benner)
Porter, all of whose four children are still living.
William Porter, the grandfather of William H. Porter, was a native
of Fairfax county, Virginia, and came to Indiana during the earliest
history of the state, when it was still in its formation. He settled first
near Connellsville, in Fayette county, where he farmed after the prim-
itive manner of those days, but during the latter 'thirties or early
'forties moved with his family to Cass county and settled in Clinton
township. There he passed away when still in the prime of life. Oliver
H. Porter was born in December, 1835, in Fayette county, Indiana, but
practically passed all of his early life in Cass county. Shortly after
his marriage, he moved across the line into Carroll county, and there
resided for some fifteen or twenty years, in 1879 returning to Cass
county, where he continued farming until his death, September 5, 1898.
His wife, who passed away November 13, 1888, was a daughter of
Daniel Benner, who came to Logansport when this city was still a trad-
ing post and when the Indians were as numerous as were the whites.
William H. Porter was reared until fourteen years of age in Carroll
county, and since that time has been a resident of Cass county. He was
trained to agricultural pursuits, and his early education was secured
in the district schools, but later he supplemented this with attendance in
the Logansport public and high schools. He received his introduction
to the drug business in 1885, at which time he began clerking in the
drug store of B. F. Keesling, with whom he continued four years, and
then, in 1889, established himself in business as the proprietor of a
pharmacy of his o^\^Q. During the twenty-four years that Mr. Porter
has been engaged in business in Logansport, he has gained the respect
and esteem of all with whom he has had commercial transactions. His
establishment is well equipped, and a large stock of first-class goods is
arranged in an inviting manner. Mr. Porter possesses business abilities
of the highest character, while his long experience has made him thor-
oughly conversant with every detail of his vocation. Mr. Porter is a
thirty-second degree and Knight Templar Mason and a member of the
Mystic Shrine, and has appreciated to the full the benefits of Masonry.
On January 4, 1900, occurred the marriage of Mr. Porter to Miss
Alice Knowlton, daughter of Charles B. Knowlton, one of Cass county's
early settlers.
Churchili. p. Forgy. The Forgy family is one of the oldest known
to American life, and members of it have from the earliest days of the
British colonies been identified with life in this country, in various
walks of life. The first of the name to settle on American shores was
John Forgy, who held an office with the British government in Eng-
land. He deserted his office, as the only alternative to being pressed into
service in the army, and came to America, where he settled in New Jer-
sey. He was engaged in the hotel business in Trenton, when he was
768 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
apprehended by the British soldiery during the Revolutionary war, and
was shot by order of the government. So much for the establishment of
the house of Forgy in the United States.
Churchill P. Forgy was born in Clark county, Ohio, on January
27, 1835, and was the son of John D. and Catherine (Voorhees) Forgy.
John D. was the son of John, who in turn was the son of the first John
Forgy, who lost his life in the manner mentioned above. John D. Forgy,
fathei' of the subject, was reared in Virginia, the mother being a native
of New Jersey, where she was reared. As a boy, the subject passed some
time in a school at Princeton, N. J., then came to Indianapolis where he
worked as a printer, and afterwards came to Logansport. It was at
Logansport that his father had settled in 1836, where he opened up a
general merchandise store and continued thus in business until 1840,
afterward going to Dayton, Ohio, and entering the employ of Churchill
Phillips, as confidential clerk. He was with them for a year or more,
then moved to New Carlisle, Ohio, where he bought a farm on the out-
skirts of the town, and remained there until death claimed him in
1844.
After some years passed in the printing business in Indianapolis,
C. P. Forgy finally settled in New Waverly, in Cass county, engaged in
the general merchandise business, and took charge of the grain eleva-
tors. He continued to be thus occupied until 1902, when he retired
from active business pursuits. He has enjoyed a goodly share _ of
prosperity in all his business ventures, and is well equipped to enjoy
the remainder of his life free from business cares or worries.
C. P. Forgy, it may be said, was one of the four children of his
parents. He had one sister, Maria, who is now deceased; Stern W. went
to the war as a captain in Gen. John A. Logan's army and died from
the service in the army. The third son, Dickinson J., also joined the
Union army in southern Illinois, serving through the war, and he died
in New Waverly in 1909.
On December 14, 1859, Mr. Forgy married Louise M. Quick, the
daughter of C. R. Quick, of New Waverly, and his wife, Lucinda (Sloan)
Quick. ]\Ir. Forgy is a member of the Presbyterian church, and his
fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic order, in which he held the
office of treasurer for a number of years. He is also a member of the
Odd Fellows, and has held the same important office in that society.
Mr. Forgy 's life in New Waverly has been one of the most beneficent
order, and he and his estimable wife have a host of good friends in and
about the community, where they are well known for their many excel-
lent qualities, and for the high character of their citizenship. Mr.
Forgy 's identification with the community has only been for its best
good, and the place he has won and yet retains in public opinion is one
that might well be envied.
LouRY L. Quick, M. D. The state of Ohio was the home of the
Quick family from the time of its locating in this country from England
some generations past until it migrated to Indiana, in the spring of
1856, settling in Cass county. Since that time this county has been well
known to the family, and the people of this district have long been
ministered to by medical men of two generations of the family. A
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 769
soldier in his young manhood, then a doctor, and all his life a busy
and active man, Dr. Quick has gained a wide acquaintance in Cass
county, and his name is one that carries with it the esteem and high
regard of all who know the kindly and genial Doctor in his professional
capacity or in any of the relations of life.
Dr. Loury L. Quick was born on the 20th day of December, 1846, in
Clark county, Ohio, and is the son of C. R. and Lucinda (Sloan) Quick.
The paternal grandfather of the Doctor was William Quick, and his
maternal grandfather was Robert Sloan, of Dutch descent. In 1856
the Quick family came from Troy county, Ohio, making the journey dur-
ing the spring which witnessed the first entry of the Wabash Railroad
into Cass county. They settled at first just a mile south of New Wav-
erly, and remained there for one summer the father being occupied as
superintendent of the store of a Mr. Forgy of that place. He was a
physician and also a Methodist Episcopal preacher and engaged in prac-
tice in the vicinity of his home, where he continued until his death, and
it is worthy of note in this connection that his son, the immediate
subject of this review, resumed his practice where the elder gentleman
laid it down.
Dr. C. R. Quick and his good wife were the parents of five children, —
two sons and three daughters. Celia married J. Dalzelle ; Louise mar-
ried C. P. Forgy; Raper H. married Nora Lumas; and Colonel Ells-
worth, who was named thus because he was born on the day that Colonel
Ellsworth was shot, married Emma Grimes. Dr. L. L. Quick was the
third born in that family of five.
When he was but a mere youth, L. L. Quick enlisted for service in
the Civil war and served twenty-two months in the Sixteenth Indiana
Battery. When he finished his militaiy service he turned his attention
to the study of medicine, determined to follow his father in the prac-
tice of that honored profession. He received the first part of his medical
training at what is now known as the Chicago ]\Iedical College, at
Evanston, Illinois, and later spent some time at the Indiana Medical
College. He then returned to New Waverly, and here he has since been
engaged in the practice of medicine, and has proved himself the worthy
successor of a worthy and honored father.
Dr. Quick has done a considerable traveling in his lifetime and is
the possessor of one of the most complete collections to be found in this
section of the state, both he and his wife having an unusual interest in
things of the nature of historical relics.
In July, 1868, Dr. Quick was united in marriage with Miss Mary
C. Fox, the daughter of Josiah Fox, the family being one of Maryland
birth and ancestry. One child has been born to Dr. and Mrs. Quick, —
Otto L., who is now forty-three years of age, and who married Carrie
Black. The son Otto is a train despatcher, and has held his present
position for twenty-five years, being in the employ of the Santa Fe
Railroad.
Dr. and Mrs. Quick are members of the Methodist church, and he
has relations with a number of fraternal and other societies among
which are the Masons. He is a member of Lodge No. 484, A. F. & A. M.
and of the Scottish Rite body, and for thirty-four years held the office
of secretary of his lodge. He has also been United States Pension ex-
770 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
amining surgeon since 1882. The Doctor has always been a man who
had a high regard for his duties as a citizen and New Waverly has
profited much by her possession of him as a member of society, while
his family has added its full quota to the social uplift of the community.
Frank P. Yeider. Although the gentleman whose name heads this
review has lived on his present property for only a comparatively short
period, he has made his name well known among the citizens of his locality
through the exercise of enterprise, industry and straightforward deal-
ings, characteristics which have always been associated with the family
name. Mr. Yeider is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Lancaster county,
in the Keystone State, September 17, 1851, a son of Emanuel and Nancy
(Kirby) Yeider. His maternal grandfather, Nicholas Kirby, fought
bravely in the War of 1812, and was one of the party of noble patriots
who defended the breastworks when the British forces stormed a point
on the Potomac river. Emanuel Yeider was born in Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania, and was an infant of six months when his father met his
death. He grew up in his native state, and in 1869 migrated to Indiana,
settling firet in Miami township, and later removing to a farm in Clay
township, where his death occurred, January 2, 1892, after a long and
honorable career. The mother died April 26, 1884.
Frank P. Yeider received his education in the schools of his native
state, and was eighteen years of age when he accompanied his parents
to Indiana. He continued to remain under the parental roof until his
marriage, in 1876, to Miss Sabina Adams, who died November 14, 1880,
leaving one son, Charles LeRoy, who was born in 1877. Mr. Yeider 's
second marriage occurred September 11, 1884, when he was united with
Miss Mary J. Barr, and during that fall they settled on a farm near
that occupied by his father. During the next February they removed
to a farm in Adams township, and there continued to reside until 1890,
when they went to South Bend, Indiana, Mr. Yeider having accepted
a proposition offered by the Singer Sewing Machine Company. Sub-
sequently they located in Logansport, where they continued to reside
until the death of ]\Ir. Yeider 's mother-in-law, at which time they settled
in Clay township, but in 1896 he disposed of his interests here and moved
to the state of North Dakota, that being the place of their residence for
fourteen years. The Hoosier State finally claimed them as its own,
however, and in 1910 they returned to Clay township, where they have
since made their home. The present Yeider homestead, a tract of eighty
acres, is one of the most valuable of its size in the township. Intelligent
treatment of the soil, hard and industrious lalior and an inherent ability
which has come to Mr. Yeider through generations of farming ancestors,
have brought this land to a high state of cultivation, while he has also
shown his progressive spirit by adopting modern methods and appliances.
He has devoted the greater part of his time to agricultural pursuits,
and is not a politician in the accepted meaning of the term, but his
public spirit has led him to recognize the duties of citizenship, and he
has served very acceptably in the office of supervisor of Clay township.
With his family he attends the Methodist church.
Charles LeRoy Yeider, son of Frank P. Yeider, married ]\Iiss Ethel
Quick, and they have had three cliildren : LeRoy James Franklin
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 771
Yeider, born March 19, 1907 ; Mary Sabina Ethel Yeider, born June 18,
1906 ; Lois Mae Yeider, born July 8, 1909.
Mrs. Solomon Jones. No history of Cass county would be complete
that did not give an account of its women, for wliile our hearts are
stirred by the thrilling narratives of the enterprise and deeds of the
pioneers in trade, in manufactures, in the professions and in politics,
ever must be borne in mind the names and the abundant works of their
companions in courage and in toil. Tlie roll of these noble women of
the earlier days does not contain the names of those of a later period
who clamor for equal suffrage, and for equal opportunity in business
and the professions, however just may be the claims and aspirations of
the latter. The former came to found homes, to rear children who should
be fit to carry on the work which their fathers founded. They were
and are domestic women, not unmindful of the duties of hospitality, nor
careless of the claims of social life, and it has ever been their province
to bring the sweet and tender influence of their affections to soften the
lot of the unfortunate and lowly.
Residing on her farm in Cass township, a tract which was settled and
cleared by her late husband, is one of the best-known ladies of her com-
munity, Mrs. Solomon Jones, who has lived in this county all of her
life. She is a daughter of John E. and Mercy (Rice) Howes, who came
from New York state to Indiana during the early 'thirties, locating
in Logansport, where they were married on the present site of the City
High school. Mr. Howes became county treasurer of Cass county during
the 'forties, and later was a member of the firm of Merriam, Rice &
Howes. The subject of this review grew up in Logansport, receiving her
education in the public schools, and was here married to Solomon Jones,
whose death occurred in 1905. Mr. Jones was originally a farmer,
clearing the present farm of Mrs. Jones in Clay township, erecting all
the fencing, and putting up all the buildings with the exception of the
milk house. He subsequently became collector of revenues, in the em-
ploy of the government, and on completing his term of office, entered
the money loaning bi;siness. He was a citizen of integrity and industry,
a hard and faithful worker all of his life, and well merited the respect
and esteem in which he was universally held.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones had one child, John, who died in infancy. Later
they adopted a daughter, who bore their name until her marriage to
Dallas C. Burke. They have had two children : Helen E., who is two
years old; and Desa Elizabeth, who has passed her first year. Mr.
Burke is employed as an operator by the Wabash Railroad, in which
capacity he has worked for the past seven years, and also conducts a
dairy business from the present farm of Mrs. Jones, delivering milk to
the various families of Logansport. Mr. and Mrs. Burke and Mrs. Jones
all live in their comfortable residence, which is situated on Logansport
Rural Route No. 4, and where their numerous friends are always greeted
with old-fashioned hospitality.
James "Whitworth. The agricultural interests of Cass county are
well represented by a class of hard-working, efficiently trained and thor-
oughly experienced men, who have made the treatment of the soil a life
772 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
study and have thus been able to successfully cope with conditions and to
maintain the high standard of agricultural supremacy here. Prominent
in this class stands James Whitworth, who for two years has resided
on a well-cultivated tract of thirty acres, located in Clay township.
Mr. Whitworth was born in Alabama, January 5, 1865, and is a son of
William and Mildred (Bowes) Whitworth, farming people of this
county, the father being deceased.
Mr. Whitworth received his educational training in the district schools
of his native locality, and like the majority of farmers' lads of his day
divided his boyhood between the work of the homestead and attendance
at school in the winter terms. There are a multitude of matters upon
which a good farmer should be informed, and in these he was thoroughly
trained by his father, while his mother reared him to habits of honesty,
sobriety and integrity. He continued to remain under the parental roof
until his marriage, at which time he embarked upon a career of his own,
and, being industrious and thrifty, carefully conserved his means and
was soon able to invest in land. Since that time he has devoted his
whole time and attention to the cultivation of the soil, and as a result of
his activities has risen to a place of independence among the agricultur-
ists of his section. In 1906, Mr. AVhitworth purchased his present tract,
a farm of thirty acres located in Clay township. He has made numerous
improvements, having a comfortable residence, located on Logansport
Eural Free Delivery Route No. 5, and appropriate buildings of modern
architecture and substantial character. His property is well fenced,
his live stock in a healthy condition, his implements and appliances of
modern manufacture, and the entire appearance of the property bespeaks
the presence of thrift and good management. Essentially a farmer,
he has not cared for the struggles incident to the political arena, al-
though he takes an interest in mattere that affect his community, and has
always endeavored to give his support to good men and measures.
In 1885, Mr. Whitworth was united in marriage with Miss Maggie
Hoover, the estimable daughter of Leason and Rachael Hoover, the
former a native of Pennsylvania, while the latter was born in Ohio
Both of 'Mvs. Whitworth 's parents were married twice. They were long
residents of Indiana, and were the parents of the following children:
Amanda, James and Elmer, who died in infancy; Benjamin, who mar-
ried jMinnie Rhodes ; Egbert, who married INIabel Montgomery ; and
Maggie, who married Mr. Whitworth. Two children have been born
to Mr. and Mrs. Whitworth : Golda, born in 1886, who became the wife
of Frank Griffin, of Logansport; and Ruth, born in 1891, who married
Glen Rader, is also a resident of Logansport, and has two children, —
Harry, who is two years of age, and Frank, who is six months old. The
members of this family are connected with the Baptist church, and are
liberal supporters of religious and charitable movements.
Elihu S. Rice, whose death occurred April 26, 1912, was one of the
"Old Guard" of Cass county pioneers. His loss was not only keenly
felt among the members of his immediate family, but by his associates
in business, his many friends, and thousands of people all over the coun-
try who knew him only as the author of some of the most beautiful
sacred music written. Born at Pavilion, Genesee county, New York,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 773
February 2, 1827, Mr. Rice was a son of Erastus and Lueretia M. (Howe)
Rice. The father, who was a native of ^Massachusetts, died in 1833, and
six years later Elihu S., then a lad of twelve years, accompanied his
widowed mother and brothers and sisters to Logansport, which city
was destined to be his home during the remainder of his life. In 1843
he became a clerk for Henry Martin & Company, but in the following
year the firm discontinued business, and in 1845 j\Ir. Rice became con-
nected with the firm of Pollard & Wilson. In 1853 Col. Philip Pollard,
the senior member of the firm, retired therefrom, which was then reor-
ganized as Wilson, Merriam & Company, Mr. Rice being admitted to
partnership. Through various changes of this firm into Merriam, Rice
& Howes, Merriam & Rice and Merriam, Rice & Company, Mr. Rice
remained a partner of John C. jMerriam, being associated with him until
Mr. Merriam 's death. Afterwards the firm of E. S. Rice & Son was
formed, with his son, Frank M. Rice, as junior partner and this con-
tinued until 1906, when, in order to be relieved of his many business
burdens and responsibilities, Mr. Rice sold the business, although it is
still one of the leading establishments of Logansport, and is known as
the Rice Hardware Company.
In 1905 Mr. Rice was elected president of the First National Bank
of Logansport, a position he continuously filled up to the time of his
death. For many years he was manager and principal owner of the
Logansport Gas Light & Coke Company, taking charge of its affairs when
it was practically a failure and demonstrating a superior business abil-
ity by making it a financial success. His long and eventful business
career was characterized by fidelity and trustworthiness; he was a man
of charitable impulses and his many good deeds will make a long list
in the general accounting of man's work during his earthly pilgrimage.
A good name more to be desired than riches was his. He lived up-
rightly, and at the ripe old age of four score and five died at peace with
all the world. He was a life long member of the Baptist church at
Logansport, which he enriched by substantial benefactions. AVhile lay-
ing no claim to being a poet, he was, nevertheless, a poet in the truest
sense. The world of song was enricned Avhen he contributed to it
"Shall We Meet Beyond the River?" and "Come! Let Us Sing Unto
the Lord. " As a singer, his voice was frequently heard in the house of
worship, and was also in great demand during presidential campaigns.
During the campaign of 1856 he was a member of the famous Rocky
Mountain Quartette.
In 1854 Mr. Rice was united in marriage with Miss Jeannette Mabon,
and she passed away in 1895, having been the mother of two children:
Frank J\I., and Annie A., the latter the wife of George C. Taber, of
Logansport. In an editorial, under date of April 26, 1912, the Logans-
port Pharos said:
"The death of Elihu S. Rice removes from this community a man
who was worthy of the title of exalted citizen. His was a blameless and
a useful life. In every sphere of human activity, he acted a noble part.
As a citizen he responded to every demand made upon him for the bet-
terment of social conditions. As the head of a family he set an example
worthy to be followed. As a business man his career was characterized
by honorable dealing. As a philanthropist, his good deeds were many
774 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
and his favors were bestowed without ostentation. He came to Logans-
port seventy-three years ago when yet a boy and had moved among us
all these years. In his intercourse with the people he was kindly, shar-
ing their joys and with their sorrows bearing a part. He walked up-
rightly, lived cleanly and dies respected by those who appreciate true
worth in man. ' '
Frank M. Kice was born in Logansport, Indiana, February 29, 1856.
Educated in the public schools and Wabash College, on completing his
schooling he became a clerk in his father's employ, and continued with
him until the business was sold in 1905. In 1902 Mr. Rice organized
the Logansport Basket Works, of which he became the first president
and treasurer, and continued as such until he sold his interest in the
business, in January, 1912. He has large business and realty inter-
ests, and is a director of the First National Bank of Logansport. He
holds membei-ship in the Country Club, the Commercial Club and the
County Historical Society, and has manifested his interest in fraternal
affairs by his activities in the ]\Iasonic and Elks lodges. His political
proclivities are those of the Republican party, but he takes only a good
citizen's part in public affairs.
On November 19, 1884, ]\Ir. Rice was married to J\Iiss Lottie F. Lar-
son, of Omaha, Nebraska, and they have had one child: Ollie M., who
married Wendell C. Schmidt.
John M. Carson. Agricultural production is the basis of practically
all production and the ordinary laborer, the factory, the state and the
nation are absolutely dependent thereupon, the result being that agri-
culture is of elemental importance in the life of a person, a community
and a nation. Such being the case, the development of the agricultural
regions must keep pace with the advancement of the times, and the
farmer who would gain his full measure of success must needs take ad-
vantage of every aid that modem invention and discovery can give. One
of the prosperous agriculturists of Cass county who has realized and
benefitted by the results to be obtained from scientific treatment of the
soil, is John M. Carson, of Clay township, who for ten years has been
carrying on operations on his present place. He was born in Jennings
county, Indiana, December 5, 1855, and is a son of John H. and Julia
(IMcCammotf) Carson, and grandson of William Carson and Isaac
McCammott, the family being of Irish-Scotch extraction.
John H. Carson was born in Rutherford county, Pennsylvania, in
1818, and was one year old when brought to Indiana by his parents.
Here he continued to follow agricultural pursuits throughout his life,
and died in ]\Iarch, 1877, one of his community's highly esteemed citi-
zens. During that same year, John M. Carson, who had been reared
and educated in Jennings county, came to Cass county, Indiana, and
first located in Noble township, where he spent three years, subsequently
remaining in Adams for two years, in Eel township for six years, and in
Bethlehem township thirteen years, and then came to Clay township
and settled on the farm on which he now resides. Here Llr. Carson
bought eighty-two acres of land, on which he erected a new modem
residence which is one of the most attractive in this part of the county,
and also made numerous other improvements which have added to the
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 775
value of the farm. He is an able agriculturist, aud has brought to his
work that thorough knowledge of the details of his vocation which only
conies from years of experience. His operations have been uniformly
successful, and he is recognized as one of the leading agriculturists of
Clay township. He has never cared for public office, preferring to de-
vote his entire attention to his farming activities, but takes an interest
in all matters that affect his community, and may be relied upon to sup-
port movements for good government.
Mr. Carson was married to Miss Mary Criss, daughter of Lawrence
W. and Barbara (StoU) Criss, natives of Germany, who were married in
Logansport, Indiana, and the foriner of whom died in March, 1877.
Mr. and Mrs. Carson have had four children, namely: Chester Cecil,
bom January 15, 1886, who is now superintendent of schools at Cowan,
Indiana; Dottie, born August 30, 1894; Evaline, born January 29,
1896; and John W., born May 16, 1899. The family is identified with
the Bethlehem church. Mr. Carson has interested himself to some ex-
tent in fraternal work, belonging to Twelve ]\Iill lodge. No. 713, Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed through the chairs,
and to the grand lodge of the state. He has numerous friends in this
order, and is widely and favorably known in other circles of activity
in Clay township.
David W. Cook. The agriculturists of Cass county are as a class
prosperous and contented, living independently upon the fertile fields,
which their energy has fully developed to the present high state of cul-
tivation. Agriculture is well adapted to build up the American citizen-
ship. It not only awakens interest and gives purpose, but teaches indus-
try and self reliance. There is no other occupation that opens so wide a
field for the profitable and agreeable combination of labor with culti-
vated thought. Of the many well-to-do citizens of Cass county who are
devoting their energies to the cultivation of the soil, David W. Cook of
Clay township, is an excellent representative. He is a native of the
county of Cass, Indiana, having been born in Bethlehem township,
April 7, 1867, and a son of Charles and Margaret (Ball) Cook. (For the
full chronological data of the parents of Mr. Cook see the sketch of
Charles Cook elsewhere in this work.)
David W. Cook was reared as a farmer's lad and received a good
practical education in the public schools of his native county. He
remained with his parents till his marriage, and his first residence
was on the McKnight Williamson farm, in Bethlehem township, thence
to the Warren Gazette farm in 1896, and in 1902, he located on his
present estate of sixty acres, on which his residence is located, and he has
seventy-five acres adjoining the other tract. His land is well cultivated
and he has made substantial improvements of a modern character. Mr.
Cook is a progressive man in his business methods, and in his political
belief gives his allegiance to the Progressive party. He is known by his
neighbors as being a gentleman of honor and integrity, and he and his
family are members of the IMethodist church.
It was January 21, 1891, that Mr. Cook wedded Miss Bertha Delo-
plane, a daughter of William and Sarah (Zinn) Deloplane, and to this
union five children, three sons and two daughters, have been born, and
776 HISTOKY OF CASS COUNTY
all are living except the son, William D., who died at the age of three
years. Everett received his diploma from the public schools of Clay
township in the class of 1910, and then was a student in the Logansport
Business College. Frank received his diploma in the class of 1911,
and he also attended the business college. Both Marguerite and Sarah
are in the sixth grade. Mrs. Cook is a native of Butler county, Ohio,
and was born January 30, 1872. Her parents were prominent citizens
of Cass county, but both are now deceased. ^Irs. Cook, like a true wife
and mother, has ably filled her sphere in the rearing of her children and
the care of her home.
Mr. and ]Mrs. Cook and family are citizens of Cass county, who are
esteemed for their high moral, 1-eligious and social standing and it is
with pleasure that this brief review is presented for preservation in the
History of Cass County, Indiana.
Cassius jM. Clay Swigart. In 1842, when adventurous settlers from
the east, many from Ohio, were beginning to seek homes in Cass county,
Samuel Swigart and wife drove their two-horse wagon, with the family
provisions and possessions, all the way from the old Ohio home to what
was then practically a wilderness in this section of Indiana. They were
sturdy people, a commingling of German and Scotch-Irish blood pro-
ducing a type that can hardly be excelled, and all their courage and re-
sourcefulness, their strength of body and spirit, were demanded by
the hard pioneer experiences that they were called upon to bear in those
early days. The Swigart name has ever since been one that has been
known and highly respected in Cass county, and a worthy representative
of it may be found in C. ]M. C. Swigart, who is one of Clay township's
well-informed men and enterprising agriculturists. j\Ir. Swigart is a
son of Samuel and Jane (IMcPherson) Swigart, whose other children
were: Frank, who married Marguerite Kline; Jessie M., who married
Alice LaRose ; Theodore P., who married JMiss Phoebe McCoy ; Adam N.,
who married Tillie ]\Iason ; and Sarah, who became the wife of Samuel
Carr. Seventy years ago, when Samuel Swigart first came to Cass
county, Adamsboro was a larger town than Logansport, and in that
vicinity he built his first little log cabin home. He continued to be en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his life, developed
an excellent property on section 14, Clay township, and at the time of
his death, in the early eighties, was one of his township's most highly
esteemed citizens. He died in the faith of high morality and standard
integrity. His wife, who passed away in 1892, was a member of the
Presbyterian church.
Cassius ]\I. Clay Swigart was educated in the primitive schools of
Cass county, in the Westville Academy, under Professor Laird, and two
years in city schools. He was also a teacher for three years in Cass
county, and like the majority of farmers' lads of his day and locality,
spent the summer months in the hard work of the homestead. He was
born February 14, 1849, and was man-ied December 27, 1872, to Miss
Rosalie E. Thomas, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Wilson) Thomas,
and she had two sisters and one brother, namely: Sarah M., who mar-
ried Delbert Walker, and died in 1894 ; Eugene W., who married Minnie
Conrad; and Alice A., who never married.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 777
When Mr. and ]Mrs. Swigart married they moved to Portland, Oregon,
and there he engaged in horticulture, and remained there three years. In
1876 they returned to Clay township, Cass county, and here Mr. Swigart
was engaged in the lumber business and agriculture for twenty years.
Then they moved to Mount Vernon, Illinois, and he was a farmer there
for three years, and his farm comprised one hundred and fifty-four
acres, thence to Clay township where they now reside on a splendid
farm of one hundred and twenty acres equipped with good buildings,
and whilst in Cass county he has pursued horticulture and agriculture,
and has been reasonably successful.
Mrs. Swigart is a native of Miami county, Indiana, and was born
September 30, 1852. Her father, John Wesley Thomas, was a native of
Pennsylvania, born December 20, 1826, and died in 1908. He was a
manufacturer and agriculturist and politically formerly a Republican,
then a Prohibitionist. He and his wife were members of the Methodist
church and both are interred in the Bethel cemetery. Mrs. Thomas was
born in Indiana, March 5, 1831, and died February 11, 1897. Mrs.
Swigart was reared and educated in her native county.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Swigart were born six children,
three sons and three daughters, all living : Mabel Clare, wife of Edward
A. Flory, a horticulturist of Miami township, was born in Portland,
Oregon, and they have three sons. Ernest N., a resident of Clay town-
ship, and a farmer, married Miss Lucy Angle, a native of Virginia, and
they have two sons ; he is a Progressive politically and the family belong
to the Baptist church. Bemice M., wife of William E. Packard, a resi-
dent of Miami township and an agriculturist, also assessor of the town-
ship, has seven children, three sons and four daughters, and Ruth
Clare, the little granddaughter, lives with her grandparents. Everett P.,
a resident of Clay township and an agriculturist, was engaged in rail-
roading a number of years. He wedded Miss Minnie Jones, and they
have one little daughter. Leona Ruth is the wife of Aaron E. Packard,
a resident of Clay township and an agriculturist. James G. Blaine, a
resident of Nightingale, Alberta, Canada, wedded Miss Hattie Kline.
He was engaged in railroad work for years, and is the youngest of the
family.
The homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Swigart is known as "The Eel River
Valley Fruit and Stock Farm" and Mr. Swigart was the first man who
successfully introduced alfalfa in Cass county, Indiana. He has devoted
his time to general farming and stock raising, and his operations have
been uniformly successful because he has brought to his work that intel-
ligent and conscientious devotion that never fails to be rewarded with
satisfactory results. His buildings are of modern design and substan-
tial character, his land is well fenced, tiled and drained, his cattle sleek
and well fed, and the entire appearance of his property shows the
presence of able management. Modern machinery and appliances have
played no small part in assisting Mr. Swigart in his march to a position
of affluence, for he has ever been possessed of progressive ideas, and in
this connection it may be stated that he cast his fortunes in 1912 with
the new Progressive political party. With his family he attends the
Christian church.
778 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Eugene A. Walker. For the full period of a half century, Mr.
Walker has known old Cass county, having been a resident within the
boundaries of this political division of the state since 1853. He is a
man of honored and respected achievements, and owns one of the hand-
some rural homes in Clay township.
Eugene A. Walker is a native of Genesee county. New York, and was
born October 24, 1845. He was the oldest of four children, three sons
and one daughter, in the family of Lyman G. and Charlotte S. (Moon)
Walker. Only ]\Ir. Walker and his brother Charles survive, the latter
being a resident of Chicago, being married and having a family of one
son, and is a Republican in politics.
Lyman 6. Walker, the father, was also a native of Genesee county,
New York, where he was born March 20, 1822, and he died December 27,
1872. By trade he was a tanner and currier. In 1850 he went to Cali-
fornia, by way of the Isthmus of Panama as a seeker for gold and spent
two years on the gold coast, being reasonably successful, and then
returning to his old home in New York. Before making this adventure
he had married and had two children. Lyman G. Walker traced his
lineage back to Old England, and the family history in America goes
to a widow Walker who came to the colonies on board the historic May-
flower, settling in the New England states, and becoming the founder
of this branch of the Walkers. Grandfather Obediah Walker was a
soldier of the Revolutionary war and died January 30, 1832. On his
monument are inscribed these words, — "A Veteran of 1776."
It was in the fall of 1853 that Lyman G. Walker, with his wife and
family came to Cass county. The journey was made by rail as far as
Cleveland, whence they took a boat to Toledo and from there to Logans-
port came by the old Wabash canal. After remaining until the follow-
ing spring in Logansport, the father brought his family to the farm
where his grandson Adelbert resided in Miami township on the banks
of the Eel river. ]\Ir. Walker bought other land and added to his
estate until the time of his death he had a hundred and forty acres.
He made practically all the improvements, since when he moved to the
farm it was situated in the wilderness. He was an early enough settler
also to have seen many deer in this locality. Lyman G. Walker was
originally a Whig in politics, and on the birth of the Republican party
in 1856 he cast his first vote for Fremont. He was a friend of the public
schools and both he and his wife were members of the Baptist church,
and their remains now rest in the Miami Baptist cemetery in this county.
The father was also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
The mother was born in Genesee county, ]\Iarch 29, 1825, and her death
occurred April 27, 1872. She was reared in her native county, and as
a mother she was devoted to the interests of her family, and set her
children an example of Christian fortitude and the best virtues.
Eugene A. Walker was a boy of eight years when the family accom-
plished the migration to Cass county. He was reared on a farm and to
agricultural pursuits, and received his education in the public schools
of Cass county. The first school he attended in this county was in a
log building, and the children sat upon split-puncheon slabs, supported
by wooden pins driven into holes on the under side. Some of the text
books which he recalls as having used when a boy were the McGufi^ay
HISTOKY OF CASS COUNTY 779
readers and spellers. Mr. "Walker was nineteen years old when he
started out for himself, and his first enterprise was on a farm.
He has been twice married. In 1869 he married Miss Minerva C.
Thomas, and two children were born to this marriage, both of whom are
now living. Nettie, a graduate of the Cass county public schools, and a
member of the Methodist church, and is the wife of Harry Kistler of
Indianapolis, where he is connected with the Armour Packing Company
and is very prominent in the Masonic order, having been honored with
the thirty-second degree of Scottish Rites. Adelbert M., who is one of
the young and progressive farmers of Cass county, and his career is
sketched elsewhere in this volume. The mother of these children was
born in Miami county, and was a member of the Methodist church.
Her death occurred in 1893. On November 11, 1895, Mr. Walker mar-
ried Miss Harriet Callahan, who was born in Miami county and reared
and educated in Cass county. Her father is now deceased and her
mother is a resident of Carroll county, Indiana.
The first land which Mr. Walker bought was eighty-four acres in
Miami township. He went in debt to the extent of thirty-two hundred
dollars when he obtained this place in 1868, and by hard industry and
thrift finally paid off in full. All the improvements on the land were
put there by his own work or direction, and when he took possession
a log house with a board roof was about the only improvement that
could properly be named as such. In 1910 IMr. and Mrs. Walker moved
to Clay township, where they now reside on a beautiful little country
place of thirty-eight acres and have erected for their residence a hand-
some bungalow which is excellently finished and furnished, and is mod-
ern in every detail. Outside of the house are a number of convenient,
outbuildings for the stock, grain and machinery, and the home is situ-
ated about sixty rods from the Vandalia depot.
Mr. Walker is a Civil war veteran, and one of the youngest in Cass
county. He enlisted in February, 1865, when about nineteen years of age
in Company F of the One Himdred and Fifty-first Indiana Infantry,
under Captain Davidson, and his regiment was put in the Army of the
Tennessee. He served until receiving his honorable discharge in Sep-
tember, 1865. In politics he is independent, and easts his franchise
in the direction in which he thinks it will accomplish the most good.
Mr. and Mrs. Walker support all elevating movements and policies for
the moral and intellectual welfare of their county and township.
John C. Barb. The annals of Cass county show many records of the
lives of farmers who have rounded out the duties connected with agri-
cultural pursuits and have amassed considerable fortunes gathered from
the fertile soil. One who has met with well-deserved success along these
lines is John C. Barr, of Noble township, who has resided in Cass
county all of his life, and is well acquainted with soil and climatic con-
ditions here. IMr. Barr has made farming his life work, and through
intelligent management of his affairs has won his way to affluence. He
was born in Harrison township, Cass county, Indiana, November 2, 1870,
and is a son of Thomas and Jane (Goodwin) Barr.
The parents of Mr. Barr came to the United States from England
in 1848, locating in Cass county. In 1852, in company with his brother-
780 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
in-law, Thomas Goodwin, also a resident of Cass county, he left home
to seek his fortune in the gold fields of California, leaving behind him
a family eonsistiug of his wife and three children: Mary, Thomas and
Jeremiah. While enroute by water, Thomas Goodwin contracted yellow
fever, from which he died, and his body was wrapped in a sheet and
cast overboard. ^Ir. Barr continued his journey and on reaching his
destination began life by staking claims. At this he met with varying
success, and after enduring the hardships incident to the rough life of
the mining camp for about six years, returned to his family with suffi-
cient means with which to purchase outright six acres of land. Through
his thrift, energy and perseverance, assisted by his good* wife and his
industrious family, he was able to add to this land from time to time, and
at the time of his death, December 14, 1893, he left an estate of sixteen
hundred acres, the greater part of which was under cultivation, this
being located in Harrison, Boone and Noble townships. His wife's death
followed January 6, 1901.
John C. Barr received the greater part of his education in the district
schools, although he completed it at Royal Center. He was reared to
habits of industry and honesty, and was taught the value and dignity
of hard work, and thoroughly trained in the work of the farm. General
farming and stock raising have always received his attention, and his
success has come as a result of commendable industry and practical
management of his affairs with a fixed goal ever in view.
On Februarj^ 2'±, 1898, ]\Ir. Barr was united in marriage with Miss
Daisy Fisher, the oldest daughter of Jacob and Sarah Elizabeth (Suter)
Fisher, of Cass copnty, and six children have been born to this union, all
of whom are living. Harry R., graduated in the class of 1912, and has
taken violin instructions ; Ray W., is in the eighth grade, also has taken
guitar music ; Ruth, in the fourth grade, will take piano music ; Nelson
M., in the fifth grade, will take mandolin lessons ; Grace, in the fifth
grade, will take piano music, and Beatrice, in the third grade, is the
youngest child. ^Irs. Barr is a native of Cass county, born May 22,
1872, and she is the thii-d of five children, three sons and two daughters,
two dead and three are living. Her mother is a resident of Jefferson
township, and the father, a native of Virginia, is deceased. Mrs. Barr
was educated in the common schools. Their beautiful home is known
as "Glendale' Farm."
Like his father, I\Ir. Barr is a Republican in politics, and has always
been a stanch advocate of public improvements. With his family, he
is a regular attendant of the Baptist church, and has always been a
cheerful contributor to church and charitable needs when called upon.
During his long residence here, he has formed a wide acquaintance, in
which he numbers many warm friends. He is known as a good and
public-spirited citizen and as an excellent farmer, and has done his
full share in advancing the welfare of his community.
William L. McMillen. The farming interests of Noble township
are well represented by a group of practical, intelligent and able men,
among whom William L. IMcMillen takes prominent place. Born July
9, 1871, in Noble township, Cass county, he is a son of Lewis and Frances
Jane (McCauley) McMillen.
HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY 781
The Mc]\Iillen family is one of the old and honored ones of Cass
county, where its members have been identified with the development
of the section for eighty-five years. His grandparents, George and
Susan (McMillen) McMillen, became residents of Cass county in 1828,
entering upon life in the west in true pioneer style. The grandfather
was a native of Pennsylvania and the grandmother of Highland county,
Ohio. Locating on a farm in Noble township, Cass county, they there
reared their family of four children : Lewis, Milton, William and Elizai-
beth J. They experienced many of the hardships and difficulties of
pioneer life and to the development of a new home in the forest, but
as the years passed theirs became one of the comfortable homes of the
community and their labors contributed not a little to the substantial
development of their section. The grandfather took a prominent part in
public affairs and for four years filled the office of trustee of Noble
township, giving his support to the Republican party. He died in
1849, at the age of forty-four years, and in the faith of the Presbyterian
church.
Lewis McMillen was born March 2, 1832, on the old home place in
Noble township, and there he was reared to habits of sobriety, indus-
try and honesty, and taught the value and dignity of hard work. He
was married October 2, 1861, to Frances Jane McCauley, a native of
Noble township, and daughter of Elias McCauley, and they became the
parents of three children: James E., Minnie and William L. Mrs.
McMillen died October 2^, 1886, at the age of forty-four years, and
many friends mourned her loss, for her sterling traits of character had
endeared her to all with whom she came in contact. Like his father,
Mr. McjMillen was a Republican, and for one year served as supervisor
of Noble township. He belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church, and
lent his aid and influence to all movements for the public good. His
business methods were honorable and straightforward, and his close
application, continual perseverance and unabating energy enabled him
to work his way steadily upward to a position of affluence. He was a
loyal citizen, faithful in his friendships, devoted to his family, and
enjoyed the warm regard of all with whom he came into contact.
William L. i\Ic]\Iillen received his early education in the public
schools of Noble township, and his vocation has always been that of
farming, he having resided on his present property since 1896. On
June 2, 1895, he was married to Miss Eva May Carney, of Winamac,
Pulaski county, Indiana, and to this union there have been born three
children, namely: LeRoy, who died August 23, 1896, aged six months;
Naomi and Esther. During the school term of 1892, Mrs. McMillen was
engaged in teaching the district schools of Noble township.
Mr. ]\IcMillen has always given his support to Republican principles
and candidates, and has several times held office, being assessor in 1900
and trustee in 1908. He is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge in
Logansport, and with the members of his family, attends the Methodist
Episcopal church. He has the reputation in his community of being
a public-spirited citizen, always ready to support movements tending
to advance the growth and development of his community, and as one
who is a liberal contributor to church and charitable enterprises.
782 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Williamson Wright was born at Lancaster, Ohio, on the 18th day
of May, 1814, and was a noied fi^ire m Cass county m his day. His
father, Rev. Jolm Wright, was born in Westmoreland county, Penn-
sylvania, on P"'ebruary II, 1777. He was prepared for college at Jeffer-
son Academy, Commonsburg, Pennsylvania, and was graduated from
Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1788. He studied theology
under an uncle, Dr. James Power, a pioneer Presbyterian minister of
western Pennsylvania, and was licensed to preach in October, 1802. In
1805 he became pastor of the First Presbyterian church at Lancaster,
Ohio, and he held that pastorate for thirty-one consecutive years. In
1836 he came to Logansport, Indiana, with the expectation of passing
the remainder of his days here in retirement. In connection with his
ministry at Lancaster, Ohio, he had worked hard in organizing other
churches in a large circle, and this strenuous work had seriously im-
paired his health. His two sons, John and Williamson of this review,
had preceded him to Logansport, and here the aged father settled to
enjoy his remaining days. Rev. John Wright never accepted another
pastorate, although he organized the First Presbyterian church of Lo-
gansport, and was the first pastor of this church as well as others in
Cass county, having an especial genius for that phase of his work. For
fifteen years he was at the head of the Logansport Presbytery and once
was moderator of the Synod of Indiana. He died on August 31, 1854.
His wife was Jane Weakley, and they became the parents of three chil-
dren : John and Williamson, both lawyers of i^enown in Logansport, axid
Edward, who received the degree of D. D., and was, as his father be-
fore him, a minister of the Presbyterian church.
Williamson AVright was reared at Lancaster, Ohio, and was gradu-
ated at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, when he was eighteen years
old. He read law and when he was twenty-one was admitted to the
bar. In 1835 he came to Logansport, Indiana, and he almost at once took
rank with the foremost lawyers of this section. In 1840 he was elected
state senator, and in 1849 was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress.
It was largely through his efforts, and that of his brother, that Logans-
port gained its first railroad, and he was president of the company that
built the road between Logansport and New Castle. He acquired owner-
ship to considerable land in the county, but at the time of his death had
disposed of all but about seventeen hundred acres.
The latter years of ]\Ir. Wright 's life were devoted almost exclusively
to looking after his large landed interests, but prior to that he was in-
terested to a considerable extent in railroad matters.
Mr. Wright married Eliza Sering, of Madison, Indiana, who died in
1847, leaving two children, — John and Jennie, both now deceased. In
1852 he married Kate Swift, the daughter of Rev. E. P. Swift, D. D., of
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and they became the parents of seven chil-
dren, of whom brief mention is made as follows: Mary, the eldest, died
when four years old. Kate married E. P. Tucker; Williamson Swift;
Elizabeth G., who became the wife of W. H. Barnhart ; Anne Lucy, the
wife of C. W. Graves of Logansport, of whom extended mention is made
in other pages of this work ; Etta D. and Elisha P. S., who is dead.
Williamson Wright died on the 28tli day of March, 1896, and his
widow survived him less than a year, passing away on February 5, 1897.
C^isC yi^
y
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 783
Mr. Wright was actively identified with the Presbyterian church, and his
benefactions, while large, were of the most unostentatious order. He
was first a Whig, and then a Republican, in which political faith he
continued all his life.
Norman Elmer Myers. The whole life of Norman Elmer Myers
thus far has been passed upon the farm and in the pursuit of that indus-
try. He has met with a pleasing success in his work and is accounted
one of the best established men in Noble township, which has been his
home all his days. He was born in Noble township, Cass county, on
August 18, 1872, and is the son of Henry S. and Mary Ellen (Tilton)
Myers.
Concerning these worthy parents it may be said that the father came
to Indiana from New Jersey, where he was born, locating in Noble town-
ship in the year 1858. After a residence of something like a year in
this place he went west, and at the outbreak of the Civil war he returned
to the state and enlisted in the Fourteenth Indiana Battery. He
remained with his regiment through thick and thin, and was honorably
discharged at the close of the war. One year after the war he came to
Cass county once more and settled on a farm in section 3, and in
1866 he married Mary Ellen Tilton, the daughter of Simeon and Sarah
Tilton. Two sons were born to these parents : Frank Tilton ]\Iyers,
born on i\Iarch 9, 1866, in Cass county, and Norman Elmer, the sub-
ject of this review.
Norman Myers was educated to a certain degree in the common schools
of Noble township, and all his life with the exception of five years has
been passed on the farm which he now occupies. The place is located
in section 9 of Noble township, and consists of one hundred and thirty
acres. It is a well cared for place, evidencing in every way the thrift
and enterprise which mark its owner and have made him one of the
prosperous men of the town.
On December 5, 1900, Mr. Myers was united in marriage with Miss
Maud Wise, the only daughter of James and Margaret (Rue) Wise.
She was born in Cass county on April 18, 1874, and here has passed her
life. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Myers: Claud E.,
born September 7, 1901, and Mary Margaret, born on November 13,
1905.
Mr. Myers is a Republican in his political faith, but not more than
ordinarily active in affairs of that nature, and he and his wife are mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church.
Andrew Burnetts was a native of Highland county, Ohio, bom
there in 1828, and was a son of Edward Burnette, who was a farmer in
that county, and a descendant of French ancestry. The advent of the
Burnette family into America was at about the time when the American
colonies gained their independence from the mother country, and they
have ever since been worthy and substantial citizens of the new re-
public. Andrew Burnette passed his boyhood on his father's farm,
and such education as came his way was gained in the old-fash-
ioned log school Avith its primitive and inefficient methods of instruc-
tion. In 1847 he married Mary J. Horn in Ohio, and the year 1850
784 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
marked the advent of the family into Cass county, when he and his
wife settled on an eighty acre farm which they had purchased, for which
he paid the sum of $300. Here he built a log cabin. It was no palatial
affair; indeed, it was rude and unfinished, with its stick and mud
chimney, its one room, eighteen feet square, and a door and a window.
But here they settled down on their new farm and set in bravely to the
work of making a farm out of a piece of wild land. Andrew Burnette
and his family lived on this place until 1864, when he sold it and
moved to a farm in Noble township, Cass county, but some time later
moved to Clay township. Here Mrs. Burnette died on February 12,
1899. The death of the wife and mother broke up the home circle, as it
does too often, and Mr. Burnette thereafter made his home with his mar-
ried children until he died on October 26, 1902. Mrs. Burnette was a
member of the Christian church, and was one of the truly estimable
women of her community, where she was held in the secure regard of all
who knew her. Andrew Burnette was a Whig, later a Republican, in
which political faith he labored the remainder of his life. He was a
quiet, unassuming man, of kindly disposition and a most admirable
character, and known in his community as a good neighbor and a
genuine friend, the esteem and confidence of a wide circle of acquaint-
ances being his. Both these worthy people are at rest in Mount Hope
cemetery, iu Logansport. They were the parents of three children,
of whom brief mention is here made : John H., to whom a separate
sketch is devoted in other pages of this work ; George C. ; and Hannah,
who is now the wife of Irvin Funston, her husband being a first cousin
of General Frederick Funston, of Spanish-American war fame. George
C. is married, also, and makes his home in East St. Louis.
John H. Burnette was born in Highland county, Ohio, on February
8, 1849, and is the son of Andrew and Mary J. (Horn) Burnette, also
of Highland county, Ohio, of whom extended mention is made in a
separate sketch dedicated to Andrew Burnette. When John Burnette
was an infant in arms his parents came to Indiana, settling first in
Fulton county and later in Cass county, in both of which places they
were engaged in farming. Thus has the early life, as well as the sub-
sequent practical experience of John H. Burnette, been spent in the work
of the farm. He early became acquainted with the various processes
which go to make up the building up of a profitable farm from a barren
wilderness, and his young life saw many of the privations and hard-
ships incident to pioneer life. He secured such schooling as the schools
of his immediate vicinity afforded, and so well did he improve his op-
portunities in that way that in the winter of 1869-70 and 1870-71 he
taught school in his district. On April 3, 1873, Mr. Burnette married
Lizzie J. Thornton, and then began fanning, first in Noble township,
where he remained for two years, and then in Clay township, where he
was busily engaged in. the pursuit of farm life from 1875 to 1908. He
was always a successful farmer, and those years brought him a pleasing
prosperity. In 1908 he moved to Logansport, retiring from farm life,
and here he has since resided.
Mr. Burnette is a Republican and has served his city as a member
of the city council for eight years, as well as filling various other local
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 785
positions of trust in the city which he has made his home. He is a
member of the Masonic order and of the Knights of Pythias, and with
his wife is a member of the Christian church.
Mr. Burnette has been twice married. One daughter was born of
his first marriage, — Nellie, now living in Colorado, she married ]\Iathew
C. Warren, of Fort Collins, Colorado, of the firm of Moody & Warren.
The wife and mother died on February 12, 1904, and on November 6,
1906, Mr. Burnette contracted his second marriage, when Mrs. Ida
Wagner of Kewanna, Indiana, a daughter of James Murray, and the
widow of Frank Wagner, a prominent Kewanna lawyer, became his wife.
Mrs. Burnette had four children by her first marriage, but one of whom,
Don B. Wagner, is now living.
George McjMillen, well known and prosperous in farming circles in
this township, has demonstrated in a most telling manner his fitness for
the life of a farmer. He was reared on the farm, but in starting out in
independent life he decided to give up the humdrum existence he had
so long known. Accordingly he established himself in the implement
business in Logansport, but it is significant of the man that after fourteen
years of honest endeavor in that business, he gave over his connection
therewith and returned gladly to the farm, where he has since continued
in peace and prosperity. Born on November 10, 1855, in Cass county,
Indiana, George McMillen is the son of Robert and Rosanna (Harper)
McMillen. The father w^as a millwright and passed his life in that work,
death claiming him on July 7, 1890, less than a year after the passing of
his faithful wife, who preceded him on the 26th of October, 1889. Both
are interred in Harper cemetery in Noble township. The name McMillen
is of Scotch-Irish origin.
George McMillen, their son, attended the district schools of Noble
township and later finished his education in Smithson College. After his
college career he turned his attention to farm work for a brief time, but
in 1890 went into the implement business in Logansport, as has been
already mentioned. Eight years ago the call of the farm drew him back
to Noble township, and he has here continued since that time, enjoying
a pleasing prosperity in his chosen vocation.
On IMarch 4, 1886, ]Mr. IMcMillen was united in marriage with Miss
Rose Kreis, a native daughter of Cass county, and the child of Philip
and Caroline (Scheir) Kreis, who had lived for many years within the
confines of the county. Three children were born to ]\Ir. and Mrs.
McMillen : Chester R. attended the common schools, Logansport high
school and then the Logansport Business College, and is now employed
by the Vandalia Railroad Company. He M'edded Miss Blanche Hurd
and they are residents of Logansport. Mabel E. received a common
school education and then graduated from the Logansport high school, in
class of 1909, and was a successful teacher in her home township two
terms. She wedded Wm. J. Thornton, a resident of Logansport and
an agent for automobiles. Mrs. Thornton is a member of the First
Presbyterian church. Mr. Thornton is a member of "The Moose."
Margaret was a student in the Logansport high school. She is at
home with her father.
Mrs. MclMillen, the mother, was a native of Cass county, reared and
786 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
educated in her home county, and was during her life a devout member
of the Fi^'st Presbyterian church. She was a lady noted for her piety, her
love of home and her children. Her death occun-ed in February, 1909.
All her married life she had been an able factor to her husband in the
building up of their happy home. Her remains are interred in Blount
Hope cemeter}', where a beautiful monument stands sacred to her
memory.
Mr. McMillen's pretty little farm of twenty-one acres lies just at the
north city limits of Logansport, Indiana.
Mr. Mcj\Iillen is a Republican, but not especially active in political
matters. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Powell Castle Hall
No. 62, the Foresters, and the Woodmen of the World, all in Logansport,
Indiana. He was brought up by his parents in the Presbyterian faith,
always having attended the church of that denomination in Noble town-
ship, and he and his children are members and attendants of that church
today. Mr. ]Mc]\Iillen enjoys the esteem and confidence of all who share
in his acquaintance, and he is known for one of the estimable and stable
men of the community, his life in Noble township being one that indicates
in a telling manner the many splendid qualities of the man.
William R. Cogley. The appeal of the soil is very strong to some
men, who return to farming as a means of livelihood after years spent
in other pursuits, believing that in agricultural work may be attained
the greatest measure of success by those who know how to till the land.
William R. Cogley, a successful farmer and stock raiser of Clay township,
was for years engaged in railroad work, but eventually yielded to the
inclination that had guided a long line of agricultural forebears, re-
turned to the tilling of the soil, and has seen no reason thus far to regret
of his action, for today he is numliered among the more substantial men
of his locality and stands high in the esteem of his fellow-citizens. Mr.
Cogley was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, on January 4, 1867,
and is the son of Samuel and IMary (Endersl Cogley. The family came
to Cass county in 1869, and Samuel Cogley is still a resident of Noble
township, where he has been engaged in the business of agriculture for
the past forty-four years. '
William R. Cogley was given the educational advantages that might
be secured in the district schools of his day and locality, and he was
early trained to farm work, which he followed with more or less diligence
until he had reached the age of twenty-one years. At that time, he went
to Logansport, and in that city was graduated from Hall's Commercial
College. Following that addition to his education, the young man went
to Chicago, and for eighteen months was engaged in a large mercantile
establishment. He then returned to the home farm and for two years
worked for his father on the home place. He subsequently entered
the employ of the Pan Handle Railroad, beginning as a brakeman, and
by faithful attention to his duty becoming engineer with the same
road. He was for fourteen years employed in railroad work, and at
the end of that time retired and bought a farm of eighty acres, which
he is now occupying, located about two miles from the city limits, in
Clay township. Progressive and enterprising, he has continued to add
to his improvements on this handsome property, erecting a windmill
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 787
and a number of substantial and commodious buildings, and by good
management aiid intelligent working of the soil making his land pay
him yearly substantial returns for the labor he has expended upon it.
He has a comfortable residence, fitted with modern conveniences, and
situated on Logansport Rural Route No. 4.
On September 20, 1893, ]\Ir. Cogley was united in marriage to ^liss
:Miunie M. Linton, the daughter of George A. and Alary E. (Emery)
Linton, both of English lineage, as is also the Cogley family. Airs.
Cogley is a native daughter of Cass county, born within its confines
on September 15, 1872, and she is one of the eight children of her
parents, of which number five are yet living.
George Linton was born in Logansport, and is now a resident of
that city, where he has long been known as a plumber and stearafitter,
and where he is one of the popular and prominent men of the city.
He is a Alason and a member of the Knights of Pythias, and a veteran
of the Civil war, through which he served with valor and distinction
and received his honorable discharge when the Union no longer re-
quired his services.
Airs. Cogley was reared in Logansport, and there received her
education. To her and her husband four children have been born,
as follows: George E., the eldest, finished with the work of the public
schools of his community in 1910, receiving his diploma at the time,
and is now employed as a machinist in the Vandalia shops at Logans-
port ; Lawrence E., R. Weldon, and Ruth A. are attending the local
schools, and are members of the eight, seventh and fifth grades,
respectively, it being the aim of their parents to fit them for suitable
positions in life by means of careful educations.
Air. and Airs. Cogley are members of the Presbyterian church.
Air. Cogley is not affiliated with any political party, but he manifests
a wholesome interest in the political affairs of his municipality, and
considers it his privilege to vote for the man he regards as best fitted
for the office in ciuestion, irrespective of party lines or prejudices.
He takes a keen and intelligent interest in all mattei-s affecting the
welfare of his community and heartily supports all movements that
his better judgment tells him will make for good government and loyal
citizenship. Fraternally, he has membership in Tipton Lodge No. 33
of Logansport, in the Alasonic order.
Elliott E. AIcKaig. The younger generation, whose day has
come since the comforts brought by easy communication have been
available, marvel at the fact that all the wealth, prosperity and con-
veniences have been wrought and brought about within the lifetime
of men who stand among lis today. That men now living in Cass
county fought here the wild beasts of the forest and contended with
the hardships and privations of pioneer existence on these smiling
farms and on the sites of cities where the roar of traffic and the heavy
tramp of the iron wheels of factories have so lately drowned the voices
of primeval nature, seems incredible. Every year the hoary-headed
band that led the van of civilization grows smaller, yet there are still
many who heard the first scream of the brazen voice of the locomotive
which brought to Cass county wealth and prosperity, and in this class
788 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
is E. E. MeKaig, an honored resident of Noble township. ]\Ir. jMcKaig
was for many years engaged in agricultural pursuits, and when he
was ready to retire took the ideal method of doing so. He retired,
and yet he did not retire. He turned over the work to the broad shoul-
ders of his stalwart son, and at the same time was in close touch with
the life of the farm and ready to pass on to the younger man the
benefit of the experience he had accumulated.
Elliott E. ]\IcKaig was born in Noble township, Cass county,
Indiana, November 6, 1835, the fourth son in a family of nine children
bom to William and Elizabeth (Westfall) ]\IcKaig, the former a
native of Kentucky and the latter of Maryland. His father was born
of Irish descent in 1795, came to this county about 1833, and located
upon a farm in Noble township, where he died in 1868. i\Irs. McKaig
was born of German parentage in 1799, and emigrated with her parents
to Ohio, where her marriage occurred to ]\Ir. McKaig, whom she ac-
companied to Noble township, and here she died in 1874. The children
in this family were as follows : Levi Hart, deceased, and buried in
Shiloh cemetery; Sarah Elizabeth, also deceased, and buried in that
cemetery ; Martha C. ; John F., who died in Kansas in 1904 and is
buried there ; James F. ; Watson C, who died in California in 1912,
and was buried there ; Robert N. ; Uriah F., deceased, who was buried
in Shiloh cemetery; and Elliott E. James F. of this family died when
two years of age.
Elliott E. McKaig belonged to that class from which, in the struggle
in which man pitted himself against primeval forest and aboriginal in-
habitant, the strongest types of manhood and womanhood were
evolved. In early life he was accustomed to the hard work which
develops the mind and hardens the body. His education was secured
in the primitive schools, and he was trained to agricultural pursuits,
which continued to be his vocation until his retirement from active
life some years ago. He had ever shown a commendable public spirit,
and was known as a man Avho always contributed liberally to move-
ments calculated to benefit his community in any way, as well as to
enterprises of a religious or charitable nature.
]\Ir. McKaig was married July 13, 1870, to Hattie Richards, who
was born December 24, 1851, in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania. She
was of Dutch descent, and was the second daughter of William F.
and Rebecca (Park) Richards, natives of Pennsylvania. Ten children
were born to Mr. and ]\Irs. IMcKaig, as follows: Enuna B., bom Sep-
tember 15, 1871; Gertie, born September 21, 1872, died September
11, 1874; Willie, born April 1, 1875, who lived but eleven days; Pearl,
born February 21, 1877, died September 4, 1877; infant twins, born
January 1, 1878, one of whom died a few hours later, and the other
when eleven days old; Mindella, bom October 5, 1880; Beulah R.,
born November 3, 1882 ; Robert Neal, born September 10, 1888 ; and
Allen Roy, born March 28, 1892. On October 31, 1893, the mother of
these children was found dead in bed, having peacefully passed away
in her sleep.
Robert Neal and Allen Roy IMcKaig attended the common schools
of Noble township, and later supplemented this by attendance at the
high school and commercial college in Logansport. About 1908,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 789
Robert N. McKaig left the farm and since that time has been connected
with the Pennsylvania Railroad. Allen R. has continued to remain
on the home farm, and has succeeded his father in the work of the
homestead, where he is carrying on general farming and stock raising
operations. He is a Progressive, and inherited his sterling character-
istics of honesty, industry and integrity. The family has always been
connected with the Methodist Episcopal church.
Of the other children, Mindella was married January 3, 1901, to
John McCarnes, and four children have been born to this union: Ethel
H., Wilber E., Blanch O. and Robert R., of whom Wilber E., died in
1905 at the age of twenty-two months. On October 28, 1903, Beulah
R. McKaig was united in marriage with Orla B. Miller, who died in
1904, after a short illness, leaving one son, Orla E. On June 1, 1908,
Mrs. Miller was married to William Pennock, and they have had two
children : Helen S. and Paul Wesley.
Elliott E. McKaig had a long and useful career, his activities serving
not only to further his own interests, but to advance those of his com-
munity as well. He died February 26, 1913, and he is interred in Shiloh
cemetery. In the evening of life, surrounded by a wide circle of friends,
and possessing the unqualified esteem of all with whom he had come
in contact, he furnished an excellent example of the rewards that
industry brings and the contentment that comes only after a life
of integrity and probity.
Doctor John B. Shultz. A life of kindly capable service to the
community and to hundreds of individuals, came to a close on December
8, 1912, with the death of Doctor John B. Shultz at his home in Logans-
port. The best work of the physician does not flaunt itself before the
public gaze, but is wrought in the hearts of his fellow-men. The spirit
of tender and knowing love for his fellowmen has ever been the trait of
the true physician, and though the career of the late Dr. Shultz was not
conspicuous for those public honors and distinctions which mark the
accomplishments of men in political and other spheres of human activity,
yet he left his mark upon Cass county, and his long and faithful serv-
ice, and the influence which he exerted over men and families deserves
a more than casual tribute in this history, and surely all will agree that
none of the past generation was more worthy of a permanent memorial
than Dr. Shultz.
John B. Shultz was born in the adjoining county of Carroll, this
state September 22, 1839 and was past seventy-three years of age when
death came to him. His parents were John and Elizabeth (Dunbar)
Shultz, his father having been born in Pennsylvania in 1795 of German
parentage, and locating in Carroll county, Indiana, in 1837 where he
was one of the early settlers and where he died in 1855.
Dr. Shultz was educated in the public schools, and graduated from
the Cincinnati Medical Eclectic Institute in 1860. The same year he
located in Logansport, where he practiced in partnership with Dr. James
A. Taylor, at 420 Fourth street, continuing to occupy that office for the
long period of forty years ; afterwards he moved across the street to 417
Fourth street, and was there when he breathed his last.
Doctor Shultz, though his professional duties absorbed his energies,
790 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
was still active in citizenship, and an influential Republican. His
part}' honored him by election to the position of county treasurer in
1870, re-electing him in 1872, and in 1875 he became mayor of Logans-
port, serving one tenn with honor and credit to himself and with benefit
to his city. Dr. Shultz on July 29, 1883, married ]^Iiss Anna L. Cooper,
of Kokomo, a daughter of Dr. Wm. Cooper also of Kokomo. Her sister
is the wife of Senator John AY. Kern. By this marriage, Dr. Shultz
had four children, of whom only one, Edwin, survives and he is now a
student of AVashiugton and Lee University, Yirginia.
Dr. Shultz was tall of stature and of commanding appearance, al-
though he always wore a smile upon his countenance. He was sociable
m his nature, affable in manner, accomodating to all, pleasant and in-
spiring in the sick room, and probably was the most popular physician
that has ever lived and practiced in Cass county. Among his patients
he was courteous, considerate and agreeable, never engaging in argl^-
ment or discussion with them, yielding to their whims and eccentricities,
and endeavoring to please the more fastidious. He disliked to hurt the
feelings of any one and hated to say no or refuse a request from the most
humble, and would often yield to the oi^inions and exactions of others,
although his better judgment might not approve. This engaging and
agreeable personality, together with an indisputable ability in his pro-
fession was the cause of his great popularity in Cass county. During
his time he had the widest acquaintance, and the most extensive practice
of any physician within the bounds of this county. His i^resence in the
sick-room was so comforting that patients have gone so far as to state
that it would be a pleasure to die under his care, and with him at their
side.
The late Dr. Shultz was not an erudite man nor a profound student
of the libraries nor laboratories of his profession. However, he was a
student of nature, and the people, human nature, and human ills were
his study and the world his school throughout his life. He was no
theorist and never argued upon technical points. He was preeminently
practical, and when asked why he did thi§ or that his answer would
be, "I have tried it." A large practical experience in life was the
laboratory where he had made his conclusive tests, and from which he
drew the experience which enabled him so successfully to serve his
patients. Dr. Shultz had remarkable powers of observation and intuition
and his judgment based upon these faculties were usually correct. To-
gether with a natural ability, he possessed a large fund of energy, and
throughout his life was an untiring worker. In many ways his practice
represented the best of the old time country doctors. The night was
never too dark, the storm too violent, the roads too muddy for him to
visit a patient, whether rich or poor, and the ability of the patient to pay
was never a subject of his inquiry, although that is not altogether true
of some of the modern automobile doctors. His rule was to go wherever
called and ask no questions. He adopted a rule, which shows his charity
in speaking of his brother practitioners, when called to succeed some
other practitioner he would treat the case, but would never make com-
ment or i-eflections upon the previous attendant. This was his regular
rule of conduct in his fraternal relations, and he expected the same treat-
ment from his associates.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 791
As a practical mau Dr. Shultz occasionally took some very practical
means in performing the exacting duties of his practice. In very busy
times when the old ague was prevalent during the sixties, and when
nearly every case had a malarial element, it is said that he would do up
packages of medicine for his patients before leaving his office, and then
would make the rounds of his day's duties, examining each patient hur-
riedly, and throw down a package of medicine prepared in his office
before starting out. His lilierality was extended to a fault, and often
his sympathies overcame his better judgment. His sociabilities, his
desire to please, his difficulty in refusing a request, made him an easy
mark for financial sharks, and his investments in mining stocks, realty
and other speculative properties worsted him financially, and although
he realized quite a fortune from his large practice, yet he died a poor
man. However, he was idolized by his patients, and the foregoing state-
ments regarding his character and career are by no means overdrawn
but are in fact a subdued expression of the praise and tributes accorded
to his noble nature, both during and after his life. He died honored
by his patients, by his party and by the many members of the Broad-
way Methodist church, with which he had been associated for many
years, and the entire community in which he had lived and practiced
for nearly fifty three years, accorded him a place in its permanent es-
teem and memory.
Cyrus Taber. It is now ninety years since Cyrus Taber left his east-
ern home and fared forth into an unknown country in quest of fortune
and adventure, for it was practically as an unknown region that Indiana
existed in the year 1824. He it was who established the name of the
Taber family in the middle west, or in such portion of it as is represented
by the state of Indiana, and men of his name have from that day to this
been identified with the best interests of the state, wherever they have
been found within its borders. Agricultiire has claimed a goodly share
of the activities of these men, and the professions, too, have not been
neglected by them, while the business of merchandising has known
the touch of certain of the family.
Cyrus Taber was born at Tiverton, Rhode Island, on January 19,
1800. In 1803 the family moved to western New York, and later to
Pennsylvania. When he was twenty-four years old Cyrus Taber left
the parental roof and, filled with the zeal and ambition of the young
man who came of a goodly parentage, he started west to carve out
his fortune from the fastnesses of the Indiana wilderness. It is pos-
sible that he did not suspect the magnitude of his task, but it is char-
acteristic of the men of his family that he did not flinch for a moment
from the hardships he saw he must undergo in order to wrest any degree
of prosperity from the primitive country he had invaded so cheerfully.
First locating at Fort Wayne, he began his battle with the wilderness,
but the unhealthful conditions of the countiy at that time induced an
attack of fever and ague, from which he was a sufferer for fully a year,
and the savings of $400 that he had brought with him as a working
capital were utterly exhausted and he was in debt to the amount of
thirty dollars before he found himself able to apply himself to any
manual labor again. However, upon recuperating from his illness,
792 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
with courage undaunted by his experience, he began the work oi
building log cabins and fences for the Indians and was thus associated
with one Reuben Covert, it being the province of the latter to drive the
oxen and haul the rails, while Mr. Taber did the cutting and splitting.
At the end of a year he found that he had saved one hundred dollars,
and with that sum he purchased his first eighty acres of land. This he
cleared sufficiently to place under a degree of cultivation, and applied
himself to the raising of corn. He saved his earnings from season to
season, and as his means permitted, purchased additional land.
In the light of the present day get-rich-c[uick methods, of which so
much is seen and heard, the sweat of such labor and the privations
endured by Mr. Taber in getting his start in the world seem almost
incredible, and it requires a considerable flight of imagination on the
part of the man of the world of our times to realize anything of what
such toil meant. Indeed, the idea is practically beyond the compre-
hension of the average man, despite the application of his quality of
imagination.
However that may be, the facts remain as stated in the case of Cyrus
Taber. Because of the splendid industry and the keen business sense
of the man, Mr. Taber was in 1827 invited into a business partnership
with Allen Hamilton, and the firm of Hamilton & Taber became a popu-
lar one in mercantile circles of Indiana. Mr. Taber came to Logansport
in 1828 to take charge of the branch business of the firm established
here, and he continued in mercantile activities here, with some slight
changes, until 1840, following which Mr. Taber continued the business
alone for three years, and in 1843 William Chase was admitted to mem-
bership in the firm. In 1848 Mr. Taber retired permanently from mer-
cantile pursuits.
When Cass county was organized, Mr. Taber was appointed county
treasurer by the county board of commissioners, that office then being
an appointive one, and he served in that capacity until 1830. In 1845
he was elected to the state legislature, and in the year following was
elected to the senate, serving in that body during the years 1846, 7 and 8.
He was first a Whig, but in later years adopted the faith of the Demo-
cratic party.
Active in all matters pertaining to the welfare of his community,
Cyrus Taber was ever one of the foremost in promoting progressive
movements, and it was largely through his efforts that the first railroad
was induced to extend its lines into Cass county — a work whose good
to the county could not well be estimated.
In May, 1829, Mr. Taber was married to Miss Deborah Ann Coles,
of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and eight children were born to them : Stephen
C, Paul, Jesse C, Allen H., William S., Phoebe A., Humphrey and
George. Concerning Stephen C, the first born son, further mention
will be found elsewhere in this work. The wife and mother passed away
February 15, 1847, at Logansport, and Cyrus Taber died on April 13,
1855, in Logansport, still young in years, but one who had achieved more
for the good of his community and county in his lifetime than most men
are permitted to accomplish in much longer earthly careers.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 793
Stephen Coles Taber. Like his father before him, Stephen Coles
Taber lived a life of the utmost usefulness and activity in his community,
and occupied a leading place in Logansport for many years. He was
born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, on March 8, 1830, and was the eldest son
of Cyrus Taber, the pioneer to whom is dedicated a separate memoir in
other parts of this work, and his faithful wife, Deborah Ann Coles.
When a baby he was brought by his parents to Logansport, which in
those early days was not more than a cross roads place. There his
father was engaged in the merchandise business, and Stephen Taber
was reared in the young and growing town. In 1849 he was graduated
from Wabash College, and in 1852 he finished his studies in the law
department of the State University, following which he engaged in the
practice of law. For many years he practiced before the Cass county
bar, and for a time was associated in a professional way with Senator
D. D. Pratt. The latter part of Mr. Taber 's life, however, was devoted
largely to looking after his large property interests, the extent of which
precluded the possibility of continuing with his professional labors.
On September 7, 1853, Mr. Taber was married to Charlotte A.
Walker, who died on January 8, 1892, leaving three children: George
C, Charles E. and Lavina. Mr. Taber passed away on July 15, 1908,
in Logansport, after a long and busy life in this county, and his death
was felt in business and social circles throughout the community.
William B. Schwalm. One of the flourishing business enterprises
of Logansport is that conducted by William B. Schwalm, and which
includes the handling of seeds, hardware, buggies, harness, paints, oils
and general farming implements. His early years were devoted to
agricultural pursuits, but eventually he ceased his farming operations
and turned his attention to the mercantile field, with a large measure
of success. A man of progressive ideas, he has identified himself with
everything that pertains to the welfare of his community or its people,
striving earnestly to promote the cause of advancement and good citizen-
ship. Mr. Schwalm was born October 8, 1868, in Tipton township, Cass
county, Indiana, one of the eight children of Henry J. and Helena
(Haemel) Schwalm.
Henry J. Schwalm was born August 20, 1828, the only son of his
parents. He was reared in Hesse Cassel, Germany, and received a good
practical education. In 1852, with his widowed mother, he emigrated
to America, arriving on a sailing vessel in May of that year. After his
arrival, he worked for a time by the month for an uncle, who was a
farmer in Tipton township, and then began farming for himself. He
was frugal, honest and industrious, and at the time of his death had
accumulated a fair amount of this world's goods. In starting his opera-
tions, he located in Washington township on rented property, but seven
years later bought a farm on section 26, Tipton township, in 1860, and
there passed the rest of his life. He was married IMay 21, 1857, to Miss
Helena Haemel, who was also a native of Germany, born near Hesse
Cassel, March 28, 1829, the oldest daughter of Frederich and Elizabeth
(Ellerman) Haemel. Eight children were born to this union, namely:
George H., Sarah E., Caroline M., Eckhardt A., Augustina M., Louisa
L., William B. and Laura E., all of whom are still living. In religion.
794 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
]Mr. aud ]\Ii-s. Schwalni were Presbyterians, and their upright lives were
a credit to the land of their adoption aud to the community in which
they resided. Mr. Sehwalm was a Democrat, served three terms as
township assessor, and also served his county as a commissioner.
William B. Sehwalm was reared on the home farm and secured his
education in the district schools. After attaining his majority, he con-
tinued working- on the home farm for six years, and when twenty-seven
years old started farming on his own account, purchasing a tract of
sixty acres in Tipton township, to which he subsequently added eighty
acres more. This property he later sold to his brothers, and in 1900
came to Logansport, where he embarked in the implement and seed
business. His venture proved a decided success, and to the original
line he has since added hardware, buggies, harness and stoves.
j\Ir. Sehwalm was a Democrat up to 1912, but the policies of the old
old parties not suiting him and believing in the things advocated by
Colonel Roosevelt and the Progressive platform, he cast his fortunes with
the young organization and was its candidate for county commissioner
from the second district. Mr. Sehwalm is a strong advocate of tem-
perance measures, not alone on the licpior cjuestion, but on temperate
measures of all kinds. He belongs to the Presbyterian church, and is
a ^Master ]Mason and a Knight of Pythias.
On June 5. 1895, ]\Ir. Sehwalm was married to Louise E. Ramer, of
Washington township, Cass county, and they have two children : ^ler-
ritt R. and Ruth C.
Charles W. Graves has been a resident of Logansport for many
years and has been identified with the business activities of this city
along various lines through all the years of his residence. Since 1896
he has been the owner and proprietor of what was fonnerly known as
the Giffe Book aud Music Store, and in this enterprise he has experienced
a worthy success. Born in Wayne county, Indiana, October -1, 1861,
Mr. Graves is the son of George ]M. and Judith ]\[. (Harwood) Graves,
both of whom were natives of Massachusetts. His father first located in
Cincinnati, Ohio, and later in Richmond, Indiana, where he was in
business until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in 1861
in Company F, Thirty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, rising to the
rank of captain, and serving as aeting adjutant on the staff of Colonel
Gross. In the battle of Chiekamauga he received a gun-shot worind
through his right shoulder, which of itself was not necessarily fatal, but
owing to his enfeebled condition, due to a recent sickness, he was unable
to withstand the shock of the injury and died some days later. His
body was brought to the north and laid to rest in the cemetery in Rich-
mond. His widow was left with three small children, the only daughter,
Lillie, being now Mrs. John A. McCullough, of Logansport. Indiana.
At the time of the death of the father, the eldest of the three children
was about six years old, and the widow reared her little family through
many hardships. She died in Logansport in November. 190-4.
Charles W. Graves received his education in the common and high
schools of Richmond. When he was about sixteen years old he began
clerking in a grocery store in his home town, and later was employed
as a bookkeeper. He then became a clerk in the railroad office at Rich-
.^yr~f0U^^^^:y^^::^.a^y^
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 795
moiid, his older brother, George C, being' chief clerli at that time, in
the employ of the Columbus, Cincinnati and Indiana Central Railroad,
which later became the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis
Railway. When the chief of the office moved to Logansport, in 1881,
he ott'ered i\Ir. Graves the position of chief clerk, which he promptly
accepted and accordingly came to Logansport to fill the i:)Osition, as-
suming the duties of his new office in January, 1882. Since that time
Logansport has been his home. Two years later Mr. Graves was made
chief clerk and private secretary in the office of the division superin-
tendent, which he retained until 1894, when he resigned and bought an
interest in the Logansport Journal, of which he became business man-
ager. He was thus associated for aliout two years, when he bought the
Giffe Book & Music Store, and this establishment he has condue1;ed
ever since, moving to his present quarters. No. 417 Broadwaj^, in July,
1908.
In 1900 or thereabouts, Islr. Graves was the organizer of what was
known as the Logansport Co-operative Association, of which he was
elected president. This was brought into existence to correct the abuses
that had grown up in the commercial district with regard to premium
giving, trading stamps, prizes, discounts, etc. Thousands of dollars
were lost to the general business men of the city, and many of the
smaller houses were forced to the edge of bankruptcy by the unfair
methods then in vogue. The Logansport Co-operative Association had
a precarious existence at the start, and owing to the faot of the trouble
being so firmly entrenched in the general system, only the steadfast
courage of those at the helm enabled them to finally stamp out the seeds
of the scourge. ]Mr. Graves Avas also active in the organization of the
Citizens' Natural Gas Company, of which he was elected secretary.
This was in about 1891, and the company was organized to check abuses
then in vogue by the concerns that at that period had charge of the
distribution of the natural gas. He has also been identified with the
various commercial clubs and movements that have had as their object
the betterment of conditions existing in Logansport and the surround-
ing community, and has in all these A^arious associations done most ex-
cellent and praiseworthy work in behalf of the city.
Mr. Graves is a Republican, with progressive tendencies, and is also
an active worker in the temperance cause. He is a member of the First
Presbyterian church, of which he has been an official for years, and he
is now elder and clerk of the session. He is also identified with the
work of the Siinday school, and is a member of the board of directors
of the Indiana Sunday School Association.
On October 18, 1888, ]\Ir. Graves was united in marriage with Miss
Anna Lucy AVright, the daughter of "Williamson Wright, a pioneer of
Cass county.
Andrew J. Murdock. In ability as a financier and in general busi-
ness affairs, Cass county had no stronger character or one better known
among all classes than the late Andrew Jackson Murdock, for many years
president of the First National Bank of Logansport. In the broader
fields of citizenship, as well as in business, he performed a large scope
of useful service which has properly identified him for all time with.
796 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
the history of this locality. Mr. Murdock was a type and example of
one who succeeds in life, though his youth was passed in comparative
poverty, and with only such advantages as he could procure by his own
labors and ambitions.
The late Andrew J. Murdock was born in Livingston county, New
York, November 19, 1827. The first eight years of his life were spent
in his native state, and he then accompanied the family to Michigan.
Michigan, during the thirties, was almost on the frontier, and the best
settled regions were but a field for hardships and privations of pioneer
existence. It was amid such scenes and with such limitations in advan-
tages of education and otherwise that Andrew J. IMurdock was reared.
At the age of thirteen he was thrown upon his own resources, and from
that forward depended entirely upon his own exertions for his advance-
ment.
In 1853, Mr. Murdock became a resident of Logansport, so that he
had identified himself with this city at an early period in its growth,
and at a time when his vigorous enterprise and honorable character were
important elements in the development as a city along the lines which
have made it conspicuous among the larger' centers in northern Indiana.
A year after his arrival in this city, he engaged in business on his own
account, opening a store, with which his name was connected for twenty-
four years. He had a trade which few other merchants in the city and
county could equal, and throughout his lifetime, enjoyed the confidence
and good will of all with whom he came in contact. His business inter-
ests gradually extended, by investments and otherwise, and in 1865 he
was made a director of the Logansport National Bank, and in 1878 was
elected its president. Five years later this bank was consolidated with
the First National Bank, of which Mr. Murdock was chosen president,
and this position he filled with splendid executive ability up to the time
of his death. May 3, 1905. In the field of practical finance, as well as
in his judgment of men, which is an element just as essential to the suc-
cess of a financier as his more technical expertness in financial opera-
tions, Mr. Murdock was recognized as one of the strongest representa-
tives in Cass county. Among the varied interests owned by Mr. Mur-
dock was the fine tract of land, consisting of more than three hundred
acres lying between Logansport and the park on either side of the Elec-
tric railway.
Though a man whose influence in business and civic affairs of Logans-
port, was for many years conspicuous, ]\Ir. Murdock was a citizen who
was never in the public eye, as the general sense of that term is under-
stood, and modesty was his chief characteristic. He was always a Re-
publican in good standing, and supported the party candidates and prin-
ciples, though never seeking office for himself. His contributions and
support were accorded to nearly every important enterprise of public
nature in Logansport for thirty or forty years, yet his name appeared
less frequently than that of many whose active support was less. On
Augiast 4, 1862, Mr. Murdock was married, and his home and family
always represented the chief sphere of his leisure activities. He wedded
Maggie C. Chadwick, of Newark, New Jersey, daughter of Thomas and
Margaret (Pickles) Chadwick. Their three children are: May, wife of
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 797
Samuel Patterson ; Flora, wife of Samuel Emmet Mulholland ; Gertrude,
wife of Edward H. Donovan. Mr. Murdock attended the First Presby-
terian church, being a prominent contributor thereto, and he built the
Murdock Hotel. The Murdock home was one of the social centers of
Logansport, and the family have always been among the most representa-
tive of this city.
Moses B. Lairy. In the roster of those who have gained prominence
at the Cass county bench and bar, are to be found many eminent names,
none of which, however, have stood out in greater relief than that of
the Hon. Moses Barnett Lairy, Judge of the Appellate Court, who has
gained an enviable distinction through the medium of his great ex-
perience, his great good sense, his stainless integrity, his perfect im-
partiality, his wide discernment and his abundant learning. A worthy
representative of a family that for years has been identified with the
commercial, agricultural, professional and public interests of the county,
he early entered upon a legal career, and so ably has he directed his
activities that today he is recognized as one of his State's leading
jurists. Judge Lairy was born in Harrison township, Cass county,
Indiana, August 13, 1859.
Daniel Lairy, the paternal grandfather of Judge Lairy, was born
in Ohio, and as a young man became a pioneer to Tippecanoe county,
Indiana, settling within its borders when that section was almost an
unbroken wilderness and there spending the rest of his life. Thomas
Lairy, son of Daniel, and father of Judge Lairy, was born in Butler
county, Ohio, January 20, 1807. As early as 1837 he entered land
from the government in Harrison township, Cass county, but did not
move to this property until many years later. He had accompanied his
parents to Tippecanoe county in his boyhood, and was reared to man-
hood among pioneer scenes, receiving his early training in the hard
work of plowing, planting and cultivating the fields. Subsequently,
he moved to LaFayette, where for a number of years he was engaged
in carpentering. ^Mr. Lairy was married (first) to Belinda Miller, who
died without issue, and his second union was to Mrs. Eliza (Barnett)
Thornburgh, daughter of Moses Barnett, a pioneer of the county.
While a resident of LaFayette i\Ir. Lairy belonged to the militia, and
served in a company during the Black Hawk war. He was a member of
the Christian church, in the faith of which he died January 11, 1877,
his widow surviving him a long time and passing away May 14, 1892.
They had two children : Moses B. and John S.
Moses Barnett Lairy was reared on the Cass county farm which his
father had entered from the government, and attended the district
schools of Harrison township until he was seventeen years of age, at
that time being compelled to give up his studies to operate the home
farm, his father having died. Later he spent one term in the Northern
Indiana Normal School, and then began teaching school in the winter
terms, his summers being spent on the home farm. His first experience
as an educator was at Fletchers Lake sehoolhouse, just across the line
in Fulton county, and in all taught for about nine years, carefully
saving his earnings that he might further his own studies in the
798 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Northern Indiana Normal School. During the last years of his school
teaching experience, he took up the study of law under the direction of
Judge Dudley H. Case, and in 1888 entered the law department of
the University of Michigan, where he was graduated with the class
of 1889. Succeeding this, in September of the same year, he began
practice in Logansport, alone, but four years later became associated
with DeWitt C. Justice. For fourteen years he also maintained a
professional partnership with M. F. Mahoney. A Democrat in politics
and an active worker in his party's interests, as his abilities became
recognized his name began to be mentioned for judicial honors, and
in 1894 he was made his party's candidate for the judgeship of the Cass
county circuit court. Political conditions at that time, however, caused
his defeat with the others on the ticket. On April 1, 1905, he was
appointed by Gov. Matthews to fill the unexpired term of Judge D.
B. IMcConnell, resigned, and on completing his term of twenty months
was succeeded by Judge D. H. Case. His election to the Appellate
bench occurred in 1910, since which time he has continued to faithfully
and capably discharge the duties of his high office, maintaining the dig-
nity and best traditions thereof and being known as a fair and impartial
judge. Fraternally, he is connected with the Masons and the Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of Elks.
On April 14, 1892, Judge Lairy was married to Miss Mazetta Rogers,
daughter of Thomas B. Rogers, of Logansport, she having been for
some years a teacher in the public schools of the city. They attend the
First Presbyterian clnirch.
Hon. John S. Lairy. Occupying a position of high credit and dis-
tinction among the leaders of the legal profession in Cass county, Hon.
John S. Lairy, judge of the twenty-ninth judicial district, has, during
a long and useful career, exemplified the best type of American citizen-
ship. As a lawyer, he early took a foremost position among the practi-
tioners of the Logansport bar. his gifts as a speaker and his capacity
for close, logical reasoning making him a peculiarly forceful and ef-
fective advocate. As a judge he has made a record that holds out a
stimulus and example to all men who are called upon to bear the high
responsibilities of a place iipon the bench. The souncl judgment, the
well-balanced judicial mind ; the intellectual honesty and freedom from
bias which are required in a judge — these attributes have been all his
and have enabled him not only to give opinions which are widely quoted,
but to maintain the best traditions of the judicial oifice. Judge Lairy
was born in Llarrison township. Cass county, Indiana, September 7,
1864, and is a son of Thomas and Eliza (Barnett) (Thornburgh) Lairy.
Judge Lairy belongs to an old and honored family which originated
in Ireland, and the American progenitor of which came to this country
in 1727, soldiers of the name fighting in the Colonial army during the
War of the Revolution. Daniel Lairy, the paternal grandfather of
Judge Lairy, was born in Ohio, and some time after his marriage made
removal to what was then the wilderness of Tippecanoe county. Indiana,
the rest of his life being spent in clearing and cultivating a farm.
Thomas Lairy, son of Daniel, and father of Judge Lairy, was born
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 799
January 20, 1807, in Butler county, Ohio, and as a lad was taken to
Tippecanoe county, Indiana, where he was reared amid pioneer scenes.
Later, he moved to LaFayette, where he was engaged in carpentering,
and while residing in that locality, pre-empted land from the Govern-
ment in Harrison township, Cass county, for $1.25 an acre, although
he did not settle thereon until during the fifties. The rest of his life
was spent in farming, and his death occurred January 11, 1877, in the
faith of the Christian church, of which he was a life-long member.
While a resident of LaFayette, he was a member of the state militia,
and served with a company during the Blackhawk war. Mr. Lairy
married (first) Belinda IMiller, who died without issue, and his second
union was with JNIrs. Eliza (Barnett) Thornburg, daughter of Moses
Barnett, a pioneer of Cass county. Mrs. Lairy passed away IMay 14,
1892, having been the mother of two sons: Moses Barnett, judge of the
appellate court ; and John S.
John S. Lairy was reared on the home farm and secured his early
education in the common schools and the American Normal School, at
Logansport. He then spent several years in teaching school, in the
meantime devoting himself to the study of law, and in 1895 and 1896
attended the law school of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor,
where he was graduated in 1896 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
In August of that year he entered upon the practice of his profession
in Logansport, which city has been his home to the present time. Shortly
after beginning practice. Judge Lairy served two years as deputy state's
attorney, his services in the discharge of the duties of this office bring-
ing him favorably before the public. In 1900 he became the Democratic
candidate for the office of .judge of the twenty-ninth judicial district,
and was subsequently elected, taking office in 1902. He was reelected
in 1906, and in 1912 again became the candidate of his party for re-
election. Judge Lairy has shown himself a worthy member of the
.Indiana bench, the soundness and eciuity of his decisions having never
been questioned. A hard sti;dent and a man of high scholarship, with
a well-poised mind, and ever ready with his legal knowledge, his opin-
ions have been widely quoted, and he has not only attained a position
of prominence in the field of jurisprudence, b^^t his business and per-
sonal excellencies have made him a leader of worth and sagacity. He
has interested himself in fraternal work to some extent, being a memiier
of the Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Loyal Order of Moose, in
all of which he has numerous warm friends.
On July 17, 1912, Judge Lairy was united in marriage with Miss
lea Campbell, whose home was in Logansport.
Ben.jamin p. Keesling is of Indiana nativity, his birth occuiTing
at Mechanicsburg, in Henry county, on February 18, 1850. Mechanics-
burg might well have been named Keesling, for here, in 1828, came
Peter Keesling, with George, John, Jacob and Daniel, all brothers, and
each of these brothers married in the course of time, and each reared
a large family. So numerous did they become in that vicinity that
practically .every person one met either bore the name of Keesling, or
was related to the family by marriage. Originally the family came to
America from Germany and for generations lived in Virginia. With the
800 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
spirit of the pioneers, members of the family moved to Ohio, and from
there moved to Indiana and settled at what is now Mechanicsburg.
John Keesling, the grandfather of Benjamin P., built his log cabin
in the woods from growing timber and there passed some time in gi'ub-
bing, clearing, planting and harvesting, the regular routine of the
pioneer farmer. He subsequently built a farm house. One of his sons,
Peter Keesling, the father of Benjamin P., was married to Margaret
Loy, who become the mother of ten children. Peter Keesling, like most
of the others of his name, was thrifty and industrious and possessed
of the necessary courage to fight the battle of life to a successful issue,
even under the adverse conditions of those primitive days.
Benjamin P. Keesling was born in Henry county, Pebruary 18, 1850.
Growing up on the farm he learned all that could be taught him of farm
life, and hard, continuous work was the portion of his youthful days.
After attending the neighboring schools he went to the graded schools
at New Castle. When about twenty years of age he began clerking in
a general store at the latter named place, but in April, 1874, came to
Logansport and associated himself with Dr. John Needham in the drug
trade. A few years later he bought the interest of Dr. Needham in the
business and continued in it alone until 1900, when the property was
destroyed by fire. The ensuing four years he was in Boston and Pitts-
burg, then returned to Logansport and in December, 1907, bought the
Metzger Brothers' interest in the Logansport Daily Journal. With his
son, Arthur R., the Logansport Daily and Weekly Journal flourished
until October, 1912, when it was consolidated with the Tribune, and is
now the Journal-Tribune. Under the new arrangement, Mr. Keesling
became a stockholder and is the present secretary-treasurer of the cor-
poration.
]\Ir. Keesling is a Republican, and in 1892 was elected treasurer of
Cass county, being the only successful nominee on his ticket. On Pebru-
ary 18, 1875, ]\Ir. Keesling married Anna B. McCune, of Middletown,
Indiana, and one son, Arthur R., was born to them. Mrs. Keesling is
a member of the Llethodist church.
Jacob Sellers. Por sixty years a resident of Cass county, during
fifty-five of which he has made his home in Logansport, Jacob Sellers
is entitled to a position among the representative men of his city not
only for the length of time which he has spent within its borders, but
also as a citizen who has continuously had the best interests of his com-
munity at heart. Mr. Sellers has devoted the greater part of his time
to the cultivation of the soil and to attention to his duties in the railroad
shops, but he has never been so engrossed in his own affairs that he has
not found time to lend his interest and support to those movements
which he believes will benefit his adopted city or its people. Mr. Sel-
lers was born August 15, 1834, in Wittenburg, Germany, in what is
widely known as the Black Porest. His father, Michael Sellers, was a
baker by trade and died in the old country, his widow, who bore the
maiden name of Katherine Cook, married (second) Gottlieb Prick, and
the family emigrated to the United States in 1847, and located at Buffalo,
New York, where they lived five years. In the spring of 1853 the family
came to Cass county, Indiana, and located four miles east of Logansport,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 801
where Mr. Frick found employment working for Thomas Green, who
operated a large forge there, and succeeding this went to what is known
as the "Indian Reserve" in Washington township. They moved to
Logansport three years later, and here both Mr. and Mrs. Frick passed
away.
Jacob Sellers was thirteen years of age when he accompanied his
parents to the United States, and his education was confined to a few
terms in the common schools. The greater part of his life has been
passed in farming and working in the railroad shops, and his success
has been due to well-applied energy, ambition and perseverance, in
connection with integrity of the strictest order. While so doing he has
gained and maintained the entire confidence of his fellow-citizens, who
have recognized in him a man of general worth and probity of char-
acter. Mr. Sellers was married June 20, 1867, to Miss Fredericka Adler,
daughter of Christopher Adler, who was a native of Austria and came to
the United States in 1853. Mr. Adler died on his farm near Winamac,
Indiana. To Mr. and ]\Irs. Sellers six children have been born, as fol-
lows : Carrie C, who became the wife of Edward Hanke ; Edward D.,
a sketch of whose life will be found in another part of this work ; Charles
J. ; Mamie, who married Manuel Connor and is now deceased ; Frank
F. ; and Emma L., who became the wife of Clarence Ammons, and is a
resident of Logansport.
Early in 1865, ]\Ir. Sellers enlisted for service in the Union army
during the Civil war, becoming a member of Company C, One Hundred
Fifty-fifth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Owing to the war
being practically over, he was detailed to do guard duty until peace
was declared, when he received his honorable discharge and returned to
the duties of private citizenship.
Edward D. Sellers. Among the prosperous establishments of
Logansport, one which started in a modest manner and has enjoyed a
rapid and continuous growth is the clothing and furnishing business of
Helvie & Sellers, composed of Samuel S. Helvie and Edward D. Sellers.
The junior member of this partnership has been engaged in this line
of endeavor ever since boyhood, and has brought to his work a bound-
less enthusiasm, coupled with wide experience, natural business ability
and inherent integrity which has gained him the confidence of his
patrons and fellow-citizens. Edward D. Sellers is a native of Logans-
port, and was born July 4, 1871, a son of Jacob and Fredericka (Adler)
Sellers.
Jacob Sellers was born August 15, 1834, in the Black Forest, Witten-
berg, Germany, and is a son of Michael and Katherine (Cook) Sellers,
the former of whom, a baker by trade, died in Germany, while the latter
married (second) Gottlieb Frick, and emigrated to the United States
in 1847. First locating at Buffalo, New York, the family spent five years
in that city, and in the spring of 1853 came to Cass county, Indiana,
and settled four miles east of Logansport, where Mr. Frick found em-
ployment with Thomas Green, the proprietor of a forge. Later, they
went to what is known as the "Indian Reserve," in Washington town-
ship, but three years later moved to Logansport, and there both Mr. and
Mrs. Frick passed away. Jacob Sellers was thirteen years of age when
802 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
he accompanied his parents to this country, and his education was
secured in the common schools, in which he passed a few terms. He
has passed the greater part of his life in agricultural pursuits and in
working in the railroad shops, and has been unifonnly successful in
his ventures. On June 20, 1867, he was married to ]Miss Fredericka
Adler, daughter of Christopher Adler, who was a native of Austria and
came to the United States in 1853, dying on a farm near Winamac,
Indiana. Six children have been bom to Mr. and Mrs. Sellers : Carrie
C, who married Edward Hanke ; Edward D. ; Charles J.; Mamie, who
married IManuel Connor and is now deceased; Frank F. ; and Emma
L., who became the wife of Clarence Ammons, and lives in Logansport.
The father of these children fought valiantly in the Union army during
the Civil war.
Edward D. Sellers received his education in the public schools of
Logansport, and at the age of sixteen yeai's commenced upon his business
career as a clerk in the clothing store of Harry Frank, with whom he
remained for live years. Succeeding this, for two years he clerked for
Joseph Grace, and in 1896, in partnership Avith Samuel S. Helvie, he
embarked in the clothing and furnishings Ijusiness under the tirm style
of Helvie & Sellers, an association that has continued to the present
time. The firm has enjoyed a laealthy gi'owth, and now has a large
trade, embracing some of the best business in Logansport. Mr. Sellers
is a young man of the highest business integrity, with a reputation for
straightforward and honorable dealings. He has been industrious and
enterprising, and has never failed to take advantage of modern ideas
and methods. In politics he was formerly a Republican, but since 1912
has been allied with the new Progressive party. His fraternal connec-
tion is with the ]\Iasous.
On June 6, 1900, Mr. Sellers was married to IMiss ]\Iattie Gibbons,
formerly a resident of Sheldon, Illinois.
William B. Enyart. A citizen who has left his impress on the
business interests of Logansport, and whose activities entitle him to rank
with the solid, substantial men of the city, is William B. Enyart, for
thirty-five years the proprietor of a bottling establishment here. He
belongs to that class of business men who have found time from their
personal operations to give to the public needs, and at various times
has been elected to positions of trust and responsibility, in wliich he has
proven himself able and conscientious. Now, at an age when most men
are willing to turn over their interests to men of the younger generation,
he still conducts the management of his entei"prise with unabated activity
and energy, giving to its smallest details the close attention that has been
the secret of its success. ]\Ir. Enyart has spent his entire career within
the confines of Cass county, with the exception of the time when he was
serving as a soldier in the Union ranks, during the Civil war. He was
born in Clay township, September 19, 18-15, and is a son of Israel and
Temperance (Foy) Enyart.
Benjamin and Sarah (Miller) Enyart, the grandparents of William
B. Enyart. came to Cass county in 1834, settling in Clay township,
where for many years they kept a tavern known to all the old settlers
as "Four-Mile House." The grandfather, who died in December, 1845,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 803
was detailed as a teamster during the War of 1812. In religious belief
he was an old-fashioned Methodist. Israel Enyart was born in Janu-
ary, 1821, and was reared to hard work, clearing, grubbing and doing
general farm labor, and the limited education he acquired was secured
in the little log schoolhouse, having but few chances during his entire
life to receive schooling. He lived with his people until he reached man-
hood, and then went to farming on Mill Creek, near Kewanee. Two
years later he bought a tract of land on section 21, Clay township, where
the balance of his career was spent. During his later life he joined the
church, and died a Christian. His chief characteristics were honesty
and liberality, and whatever he possessed was always ready for his
neighbors' use. Mr. Enyart married Temperance Foy, whose people
came to Cass county from Virginia in 1835, and to this union there were
born six children : William B. ; Mary Elizabeth, who is deceased ; Hiram
Wilson, also deceased ; Sarah A., who is now INIrs. Alexander Davidson ;
and Laviua and Asbury Newton, who are both deceased. ]\Ir. Enyart
died January 12, . 1892, and his widow followed him to the grave in
Augtist, 1896.
William B. Enyart was reared on the old home farm, and secured
his education in the comnion schools. When just past eighteen years
of age, November 2, 1863, he enlisted in Company' H, Seventy-third
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, viith which organization he
participated in numerous engagements, including Athens, Decatur, Ala-
bama, although the latter part of his military career was spent in
doing garrison duty. He received his honorable discharge, after a brave
and faithful service, December 11, 1865, and returned to the pursuits
of peace, learning the plasterer 's trade, at which he worked for fourteen
years. In 1884 he turned his attention to the bottling business, and
this he has carried on to the present time, having built up an excellent
trade through the exercise of native integTity, high ability and honor-
able dealing. For some years he was in partnership with a Mr. Cham-
bers, under the firm style of Enyart & Chambers, but is now associated
with his son. Known as a thoroughly reliable Inisiness man, whose
operations have been of a strictly legitimate nature, he has gained the
confidence and respect of all who have done business with him. He has
invested in realty to some extent, and is at this time the owner of some
paying property in Cass county as well as city real estate in Logans-
port. iNIr. Enyart is a Republican in his political views, and in 1902
was a member of the common council from the Fourth ward. In 1904
he was again elected to that office, serving in all four years, and in
1906 was the successful nominee of his party for the office of county
sheriff. Two years later, however, he was defeated for re-election with
the other members of his ticket. He is a popular comrade of the Grand
Army of the Republic, and his fraternal connections are with the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles
and the Loyal Order of Moose.
On March 10, 1873, ]\Ir. Enyart was married to Miss Louisa Tip-
pett, a native of Cass county, Indiana, who died some years later, leav-
ing four children: Charles I\I., who is associated in business with his
father; Nora S., who married Frank Etnire; Carrie B., and Frank L.
804 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Mr. Enyart was married (second) February 11, 1886, to Kate May, a
native of Pulaski county, Indiana.
John S. Kline is a pioneer of pioneers in the state of Indiana, where
for sixty-nine years he has made his home, and this residence is the
more notable when it is known that he is living today in the identical
spot where his family settled when they migrated from Ohio in 1844,
bringing him as a boy of seven years. Few men in any part of the
country can boast a continued residence of almost seventy years in one
spot, or indeed in one single community. His life has been a busy and
active one, and he has taken an industrious part in the industry of the
township, which has long been and still is that of farming.
The natal day of John Samuel Kline was August 27, 1837, and his
birth occurred at Eaton, Ohio, where the family had long lived. He was
the son of William Kline, who served as a soldier throughout the "War of
1812, and who after settling in Miami township, devoted his remaining
days to the business of farming. He died at the age of sixty-two, and
his widow, who in her maiden days was Isabel Snodgrass, died at Logans-
port, Avhen she was ninety-three years old. They were the parents of
six children, concerning whom brief mention is made as follows : Jacob
]\I., who married ]Miss INIarietti Baldwin ; William T., married Miss
Letitia Sizor ; JMary became the wife of Peter Heffley ; ]\Iargaret mar-
ried Frank Swigart ; Henry married ]\Iiss Ella Leas ; and John S., who
is the immediate subject of this brief sketch.
In 1844 the Kline family migrated from their native state, making
the trip into Indiana overland, the wagon route being most popular in
those early days, and eleven days were consumed in the journey, which
would not be made in a few hours. The father secured land in ]\Iiami
township, and they settled down to country life, occupying a little log
house that already graced their home farm. Here John S. Kline was
reared and educated. With the passing years he took a wife, Mary
Etnire, the daughter of Abraham Etnire. She was a native of Canton,
Ohio, and she died on September 20, 1864. The present Kline residence
was begun by William Kline, the father, prior to his death, which oc-
curred in 1855, and was completed by John S. Mr. Kline, early in his
career, bought eighty acres of land, to which he has added from time
to time until today he has a farm comprising one hundred and thirty and
a half acres.
Two children were born to John S. and Mary Kline, Joseph Slaton
and Charles. The latter died in 1904, but the other son, who is known
as Slate Kline, still shares the home place with his father. He is now
fifty-one years of age, and is his father's business partner. Slate Kline
has been twice married. His first wife, who was Cora Scott, died in
1902, and he later married Anna AVilliams. They have one child,
Victor S. Kline, now three months old. To the marriage of Slate Kline
\Aith Cora Scott were born three children, named as follows : Hattie,
now the wife of Blaine Swigart, and living near Strathmore, Canada,
on a farm ; Mary, who is engaged in teaching school ; and Charles who
has finished high school and intends to take up farming. The other son
of John S. Kline, Charles Kline, who died in 1904, left one son, Kenneth,
who is now of age and resides with his mother at Los Angeles, California.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 805
The Kline family are members of the Baptist church and their
politics are those of the Republican party, whose stanch adherents they
are in all things. They are among the best known and most estimable
people in the township, and enjoy a high standing in the community.
Robert M. Elliott. While the soil of Cass county is very fertile,
water plentiful and easily obtained and weather conditions nearly ideal,
good crops cannot be raised unless the land is properly worked and sci-
entifically conditioned, and the high standard set by the agriculturists
of the county is therefore of great credit to them. Many of the leading
farmers of this county have lived here all of their lives, thus becoming
thoroughly familiar with the character of the soil and climate, and in
this way being able to direct their operations along lines that will insure
success, and in this class stands Robert M. Elliott, of Clay township, the
owner of 110 acres of well cultivated land. Mr. Elliott was born June
18, 1864, in Cass county, and is a son of Alfred and Emily (Williamson)
Elliott. His father, a native of Montgomery county, Indiana, came to
Cass county in 1849, and here erected a frame house, the first one of this
character to be built in the county. His subsequent life was devoted
to tilling the soil, and he was uniformly successful in his operations, at
the time of his death, in 1900, being considered one of the substantial
men of his community. His widow still survives him, at the age of sev-
enty-three years, and makes her home on the old farm. They were the
parents of six sons and two daughters.
Robert M. Elliott acquired his education in the district schools of
his native locality, and was reared to the work of the home farm, his
boyhood being divided between agricultural work in the summer months
and attending school in the winter terms. Thus he acquired a good edu-
cation and a sturdy body, well fitting him for the duties he was to be
called upon to discharge in later life. He continued to remain under
the parental roof until 1894, in which year he was married to Miss
Eleanor G. McDowell, a daughter of John McDowell, who brought his
family to Cass county from Ohio.
Mrs. Robert Elliott is a native of Cass county, Indiana, born Oc-
tober 7, 1869, and a daughter of John and Amanda (Dritt) McDowell.
There were three daughters in the family — Mrs. Elliott, eldest ; Adria,
wife of James Cassel, a resident of Logansport, and proprietor of The
Star Laundry, has three children; Elizabeth, wife of Wiley Sharp,
also of Logansport, has four children. John McDowell was of Scot-
tish lineage but was born in Stark county, Ohio. He served as a
soldier in the Rebellion and was a stanch Republican politically. Mrs.
McDowell was of German lineage and was born near Lancaster, Penn-
sylvania. She died September 14, 1912. Both he and wife were mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church. He died April 27, 1889.
At the time of his marriage, Mr. Elliott began farming on a tract
of sixty-five acres, located in Clay township which was the property of
Mrs. Elliott's parents and subsequently purchased this, and some
time later he added to this an additional tract of forty-five acres, and
on this latter property erected all the buildings. He also owns a fine
tract of land in Sanilac county, Michigan, has bank stock in Logans-
port, and other good securities. In addition to general farming,
806 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
he has been engaged in dairying to some extent, and his opera-
tions have succeeded because of his untiring industry, his tliorough
knowledge of his business, and the intelligent manner in which he has
directed all of his actions. He is a thorough believer in the efficacy of
scientific methods and uses modem machinery and appliances in his
work. Among his associates Sir. Elliott is known as a man of the highest
business integrity, whose success has been gained through no chicanery
or c(uestionable methods. He has for some years been a member of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which he has numerous
friends. In politics, he has always given his support to Democratic pol-
icies and candidates, and from 1901 to 1901 served very acceptably as
a member of the board of coiinty commissioners of Cass county.
Mr. and Mrs. Elliott have one daughter : Esther E., who is living
with her parents. She graduated from the public schools in the class
of 1910 and attended two and one-half years in the city schools of Logans-
port and has also taken musical instruction. The members of the family
are affiliated with the Presbyterian church.
Mrs. Elliott was educated in the public schools of Cass county. She
has nobly filled her sphere as wife and mother and her pretty home is
her haven. The beautiful estate of Sir. and Sirs. Elliott lies on the
highest point of ground in northern Cass county and is known as "The
Summit Lodge. ' '
John SIcDowtell, a highly respected citizen of Clay township, died
at his home on Saturday, April 27, 1889. He had suffered for years
with lung trouble, but only during the past two years was he compelled
to quit work. He contracted a deep cold while serving a second term
on the petit jury which hurried his end. The deceased was a man of
good character, upright in all his dealings, and well liked by all who
knew him. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. Dr. Putman
and the remains were interred at Mt. Hope cemetery.
Mr. McDowell was born in Stark county, January 21, 1810, and was
therefore forty-nine years of age. His father moved to this county
while John was yet a boy. He has three brothers living: Silas Mc-
Dowell, of Noble township ; Butch SIcDowell, of Silver Lake, and Isaac
SIcDowell, of Illinois. He has also three sisters, but one of whom is
living, Sirs. C. E. Sletzger, who resides in Clay township.
Sir. SlcDowell was married to Sliss Amanda Drift in Slarch, 1868.
To this union three daughters have been born, who with their mother
survive to mourn their loss.
Robert Guthrie was born on April 2, 1850, in Cass county, Indiana,
and received his education in the common schools of the county and in
the Logansport Seminary. He is the son of SVilliam and Margaret
(Japp) Guthrie.
William Guthrie was tlie son of John and Elizabeth Guthrie, and
was born in the city of Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, in the year 1795.
The son of wealthy parents, he was graduated from the University of
Edinliurgh, and soon after, on the demise of his father, finding that the
law of i3rimogeniture and entail was against him and stung by a sense
of outraged justice, he turned his back on the home of his youth and
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 807
emigrated to the United States. He settled in Switzerland county,
Indiana, in about the year 1825, and here he engaged in general farming.
He married Margaret Jajjp, the daughter of Thomas and Agnes
Japp, who was born in the year 1812 on the river Doon, in Scotland.
Orphaned in infancy, she emigrated to America with foster parents in
the year 1819, and with them settled in Switzerland count3\ Here she
became acquainted with William Guthrie. Their acquaintance ripened
into friendship and culminated in their marriage in 1828. To their
union thirteen children were born.
Mr. Guthrie continued his farming operations in Switzerland county
until 1848, when with his wife and nine children, he moved to Cass
county, settling in the wilderness along the shores of Rock creek seven
miles south of the then village of Logansport, and here began that
Herculean task that required stout hearts and willing hands, — the build-
ing of a new home in the wilderness. The children who then graced the
family home were John, William, Agnes, Thomas, Jane, Alexander, Ann,
Joseph and James, having previously lost their son Isaac by death, and
here, surrounded by primeval forests and confronted with all the hard-
ships and privations incident to pioneer life, the family was blessed
with three more children, — Elizabeth, another who died in infancy
unnamed, and Robert, the subject of this sketch.
Here in this new home William Guthrie spent the remainder of his
life, — a life largely given over to the clearing away and subduing of the
forests, and devoted to the best interests, the upbuilding and the onward
march of civilization. To him and such as him we owe our gratitude.
He died on September 9, 1855. In 1857 his widow married again,
Richard Downham becoming her husband, and they continued to reside
iipon the farm until 1864, when she accompanied her husband to the
west, but returned again in 1873, widowed for the second time in her
life. She spent her declining years in Cass county, dying on July 2,
1880.
Robert Guthrie upon leaving school accepted a position as salesman
in his brother's clothing house in Logansport, but in the following year
took up the study and practice of law, being admitted to the bar in
June, 1876. Soon, however, he gave way to the allurement of the
wilds and embarked in the lumber business in which he continued with
varying success until September 20, 1883, when he was married to Miss
Laura A. Funston. Five children were born to this union : i\Iay Anna,
John Roy, Alta Lola, Edna Elizabeth, and Jane Nora. I\Irs. Guthrie
was born on January 28, 1860, in Clark county. Ohio, and was the only
daughter of AVilliam and Rebecca (Black) Fimston. She moved to Cass
county with her parents on March 9, 1865, and the family settled on a
fami in Noble township. She was educated in the common schools of
Cass county.
Subsecpient to his marriage, Mr. Guthrie gave up the lumber busi-
ness and settled on a farm in Harrison township, which place he con-
tinued to operate until April, 1896, when he located in Logansport and
engaged in the real estate and insurance business, afterward accepting
a position with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in whicli capacity
he served until November 17. 1903, when he moved with his family to a
farm in Noble township. Here he is still employed in the peaceful occu-
pation of farming, trvick gardening and horticulture.
808 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
In 1908 the ex-students and teachers of East Sandridge organized a
pioneer school reunion association, the first of its kind in Cass county,
and Mr. Guthrie was elected president of that organization. His address
delivered at the reunion the following year is here presented in full :
Fellow students: When I look into your faces and survey these
surroundings, I am forcibly reminded of those beautiful lines which
read like this : ' ' How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood,
when fond recollections present them to view." We are brought back
here today, not only in remembrance, but we are brought face to face,
as it were, with the scenes of our childhood. Brought back once more
to Sandridge; back to this old familiar school-house playing ground. A
place made sacred by memories of the past. For here it was you spent
so many of your childhood days. 'Twas here you skipped and played
in childish glee, and here again you toiled o 'er lessons hard ; then played
your games of ball, of tag, and blindman's buff. 'Twas here you
planned the spelling bee, the bob sled ride, or the social party at a
patron 's house. And now to think you 're here again ! to look each other
in the face and grasp each other by the hand. No wonder recollections
of the past come crowding to our mind. And now what of Sandridge?
Sandridge holds a warm place in the hearts of many. Sandridge
throughout all the years that she has existed as a place of learning has
maintained a reputation for being one of the very best common schools
in all this broad land. And the reason for this may be found in the
fact that in the very beginning she was surrounded by a loyal, peace
loving, honest and honorable constituency. And the children of those
sturdy pioneers who came here to receive instructions in the funda-
mental principles of an education emulating the examples set by their
fathers, though none have risen to preeminence among men, yet, upon
the whole, they have made honored and respected citizens. Men and
women who have gone into the world and have fought and are still fight-
ing the great battles of life, and discharging the duties of citizenship in a
way that has been a credit to themselves, a credit to the school and a
credit to the great commonwealth of Indiana.
And now, fellow students at East Sandridge, I am glad to be with
you here today ; for I see among you those who have passed the zenith of
their lives, who years ago, as boys and girls while the flush of youth
was yet upon their cheeks and the fire of ambition shone in their eyes,
roamed these woods and fields ; who coasted down, and played upon this
ridge of sand. You are here today, fellow students, to engage in
reminiscence and recreation ; to once more conuningle your voices in
commemoration of those happy days gone by ; God bless you all.
An original poem by Mr. Guthrie, entitled "Early Recollections" is
here presented as written:
Somewhat back from Roekcreek's swampy, muddy banks,
Midst prickly ash and wild hawthorn.
With its clapboard roof and latch string door,
Stood the old log cabin where I was bom.
Its broad and ample fireplace
Was built from sticks and mud and clay
And round its cheerful glowing hearth
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 809
"We worked and played and sang each day.
How well do I remember
Those awful swamps and sloughs,
For when we'd walk around a while
Water came in our shoes.
And when we'd take a ramble
At the surrounding woods to peep
Some ancient frog behind a log
Would say "Knee deep, knee deep."
Then when the August sun shone forth
And the leaves began to dry
The way we 'd have the ague chills
Was enough to make one cry.
My father settled in those swamps.
From across the deep blue sea.
But how he lived and reared us kids
Seems passing strange to me.
^ But he was wise and very learned
From delving into lore.
I've often thought he had some coin
Brought from Scotland's shore.
However that may be he loved that land
Which then was but a jest,
But now it don't require a sage
To tell that it's the best.
But many changes have taken place
Since the day that I was born;
Where once was naught but woods and swamps
Grow fields of ripening corn.
William H. Stoughton. Probably there is no class of people who
so quickly grasp anything new and progressive like the modern farmer.
Although residing away from the hustle and the bustle of the city, a
considerable distance from the manufacturing centers, it is really sur-
prising to note how familiar the agriculturist is with improvements that
relate to his vocation. It is in this way, and in this way only, that the
farmer of today is able to attain to a full measure of success, for this
success comes only as a result of full and prosperous crops, which,
in turn, come only from treatment of the land by modem methods.
Among the progressive farmers of Cass county, who have recognized the
value of using up-to-date measures in their work, William H. Stoughton,
of Noble township, holds a prominent position. He is a native of Cass
county, and was born February 22, 1858, a son of Ira and Nancy
(Mathews) Stoughton.
Ira Stoughton was born in New York, and was married October 17,
1852, to Nancy Mathews, a native of Indiana. They settled down on a
farm in Cass county, and their children were all born here, as follows
Horace, September 24, 1853; Mary E., January 8, 1856; William H.
and Elsie J., June 18, 1873. Horace was married first to Martha E
Helvey, deceased, who was the mother of four children; Arthur G.
Lutie, who died at the age of six years; Leora, who married in Novem-
810 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ber, 1900, Edward Smith, a farmer of Roann, Indiana, who has one
child. — Arthur INI. ; and a child who died in infanc5^ Mr. Stoughton
married for his second wife OUie Miller, of Ohio, and they have had one
child, who died at an early age. Mary E. Stoughton was married April
7, 1880, to Allen G. Benton, of Cass county. Elsie J. Stoughton was
married May 15, 1902, to Harry A. Jamison, who is connected with the
Vandalia line of the Pennsylvania system.
William H. Stoughton was educated in the common schools of Xoble
township, and his entire career has been devoted to farming and stock
raising. On ^larch 9, 1880. he was married to Miss Hattie E. IMichael,
of Cass county, daughter of Charles and Lucy A. (Bowyer) ]Miehael,
who were long residents of Cass county. INIrs. Stoughton was educated
in the schools of this county. In the fall of 1880, ]\Ir. and ]\Irs. Stough-
ton went West, and for about five years were residents of Southern Illi-
nois. While there, October 30. 1884, a son, Ira Ray, was born to them.
They subsequently lived for about nine years in Southwestern Kansas,
and then moved on to Texas. They were living in the Lone Star State
in 1900, when the terrible flood caused such damage to the city of Galves-
ton, and it appears as though only a dispensation of Providence saved
their lives. At the time the storm began, ]\Irs. Stoughton was at home
with her son, and as the hurricane increased she became alarmed and
with great difficulty managed to make her way to the home of a neigh-
bor. They had not yet reached their refuge, when a terrific blast
struck the little home which they had just left, completely demolishing
it, with all the other buildings on the place, easting its timbers some
thirty rods distant, and driving great beams so deep in the ground that
later they could not lie extracted by the utmost exertions of a strong
man. There is no doubt but that ^Mrs. Stoughton and her son would
have been killed had they remained in their own home. In the mean-
time. ]\Ir. Stoughton, who had started home when the storm began to
threaten to become serious, was overtaken by the terrific hurricane some
seven miles from home, and there was compelled to remain, himself suf-
fering greatly, as well as being in an agony of anxiety as to the welfare
of his loved ones, whom he was powerless to help.
When the little family was again readjusted, ]Mr. Stoughton gath-
ered his scattered belongings together and returned to Cass county, and
here his son continued the studies started in Texas, completing them in
the commercial college at Logansport. He is now engaged in assisting
his father in the work of the home farm, which has lieen brought to a
high state of cultivation, and has been improved with good buildings and
modern appliances. In political matters. ]\Ir. Stoughton is a stalwart
Prohibitionist, although his only interest in public matters is that taken
by every good citizen and voter. With his family, he attends the Presby-
terian clnirch.
William Riley. Classed among the prominent and enterprising
farmers of Washington township is found AVilliam Riley, another of the
men whose success in life has been gained through the medium of their
own efforts. From boyhood. Avhen he was left an orphan, ]Mr. Riley's
life has been one of incessant industry, and in the face of discouragrement
and misfortune, he has slowly but surely worked his way up the ladder
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 811
of success, and his efforts have been rewarded by the accumulation of a
tine farm of eig"hty-tive acres, lying on the Riley road, about seven miles
from Logansport. Mr. Riley was born June 15, 1851, in the city of
Cleveland, Ohio, and is a son of Andrew and Catherine (Hoover) Riley.
His father, a marble cutter by trade, came to Indiana when a young man
and took up land in Cass county, but subsequently entered the rail-
road contracting business, and in that line was engaged at the time of
his death. .At that time AVilliam Riley was but seven years of age, and
during the next three years he lived with an elder brother. The latter,
however, enlisted in the Union army at the outbreak of the Civil war,
and the youth was left alone in the world. After drifting around for
some time, seeking a home, he was taken in charge by his uncle, on whose
farm he was reared, and who gave him the advantages of a country
school education. Mr. Riley continued to reside with his uncle until
he was twenty-seven years of age, in the meantime carefully saving
his earnings, with the end ever in view of one day being a property
owner himself. His ambition was realized, in 1878, when he became the
owner of his present property, a tract of eighty-five acres of fine land,
which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. From time to time,
as his finances permitted and circiimstances demanded, ]\Ir. Riley added
to the buildings and improvements on his land, thus adding to the value
of a property that in itself was of much worth. He has devoted himself
to general farming, and has also been successful in the raising of live-
stock. This land was all cleared by Mr. Riley from its virgin state, and
its present condition reflects great credit upon his industry, enterprise
and good management. The multitudinous duties of his work have pre-
cluded the idea of his entering the political field as a seeker for per-
sonal preferment, but he has observed the duties of good citizenship,
and has given of his time and means in supporting movements for the
public welfare.
On October 8, 1882, ]Mr. Riley was united in marriage with j\Iiss
Charlotte Gotsehall, and to this union there have been born three chil-
dren, as follows : ^laiide, who married Fred Stackhouse, a Cass county
farmer, and has one child, — Ray; Harvey, who is single and lives on
the home farm, which he is assisting his father to cultivate ; and Katie,
who also lives with her parents. The family belongs to the United
Brethren church, in which all of its members have numerous friends.
The life of j\Ir. Riley is worthy of emulation by aspiring youths and
teaches the lesson that integi-ity and industry are bound to bring success.
H. Harvey Gotshall. Among the agriculturists of the second
generation who are carrying on the work that their fathers commenced
in the development of Cass county, Harvey Gotshall is entitled to promi-
nent mention. He was born on the old Gotshall homestead in Washing-
ton township, December 16, 1866, and is a son of Henry and ]\Iaria J.
(Rodrick) Gotshall.
Peter Gotshall, the grandfather of Harvey Gotshall, was a native
of Pennsylvania, and in 1837, with a large party of emigrants seeking
homes in what was then the far West, with twenty-eight teams alto-
gether, came by way of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Richmond, Indi-
ana, with the intention of settling in Illinois. On the way, however, Mr.
812 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Gotshall stopped for a visit in Indiana, and was so attracted by the com-
munity that he rented a piece of land eight miles south of Terre Haute,
on which he remained until 1845, in that year coming to Cass county,
and settling in Noble township. Here he spent the remainder of his
life in agricultural pursuits, dying in 1857, when fifty-seven yedrs of
age. He married Ann Woodling, who survived him until seventy-nine
years of age, and they had a family of seven children : John, who resided
in Kansas City, Missouri ; Henry, the father of Harvey ; Elizabeth,
deceased; Frank, Jacob and Eliza, who were residents of Noble town-
ship ; and Alva, deceased.
Henry Gotshall was born April 25, 1827, in Pennsylvania, and was
ten years of age when his parents emigrated to Indiana. His early edu-
cation was secured in the primitive subscription schools, and it was not
until he was twenty-one years of age that he secured advantages in the
first free school taught in the state. The entire subsequent period of his
active life was devoted to farming, and his success was commensurate
with the hard, intelligent and persistent labor which he expended upon
his work. He was a Whig and later a Republican in politics, although
only a voter, and with his family attended the German Baptist church.
Mr. Gotshall was married to Mary J. Rodrick, a native of Maryland,
who came as a child to Washington township, and they became the par-
ents of the following children : Sarah, who died leaving five children ;
Alice, who died at the age of seven years; Charlotte, who married Wil-
William Riley, and has three children ; Hamlin Franklin, deceased, who
lived on a portion of his father's land; Amanda, who married Charles
Wilson, of Tipton township, and had two children; and Harvey.
Harvey Gotshall received his education in the country schools of
Washington township, which he attended during the winter terms, his
summers being devoted to the work of the home place. He has always
devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, and at this time is the owner
of 64 acres of good land in Washington township, where he raises large
crops and breeds valuable live stock. Like his father, he is known as a
good, practical agriculturist, and one Avho takes advantage of new meth-
ods and modern farming machinery, and his property shows the pres-
ence of good management.
In March, 1907, Mr. Gotshall was married to Miss Hattie Amen,
daughter of David and Mary (Hunter) Amen, and they have one
child in the family, Everett. Mr. Gotshall has never sought public
office, preferring to devote his entire time to the cultivation of his land.
He is a public-spirited citizen, however, and lends his support to all pro-
gressive movements in the way of education, religion and good citizen-
ship.
Willis R. Tousley. Fifty years in the service and still at the key,
such is the record of W. R. Tousley, of Anoka, one of the oldest opera-
tors of the Pittsburgh, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad. Railroading in
all of its various branches attracts young men ; there is something about
the glamour of the vocation that draws youths from every walk
of life. It is also true that commensurate rewards and steady employ-
ment are given those who are willing to work hard, to place their com-
pany's interests before their own, to at all times sacrifice self for the
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 813
service; for those who are not willing to do so, and who have not the
necessary ability, the great railroad systems have little use. The rail-
road man is a soldier no less than he who fights under his country's
flag; his first duty is to obey orders absolutely. It will thus be seen
that a man who has remained in the service for one of the large trans-
portation companies for a period covering a half a century of time, must
necessarily be possessed of the qualities of intelligence, integrity, faith-
fulness to duty and keen perception, and all of these Mr. Tousley pos-
sesses in no small degree. Althoiigh he has reached an age when most
men are willing to retire from active labor, and is the owner of a com-
fortable home which the years of constant industry have secured for
him, like others before him he feels himself boiind by the ties of loyalty
to his company, and is loath to leave its service.
Mr. Tousley was horn February 19, 1848, at Clinton, Michigan, and
is a son of Isaac and Julia (Murdock) Tousley. His father came from
the East, in young manhood, settling first in Michigan, and later in
1851 coming to Logansport, where he followed merchandising and paint-
ing as a contractor up to the time of his death. He and his wife were
the parents of five children, as follows : Edwin ; W. R. ; Henry ; Charles,
who is deceased ; and Fannie.
W. R. Tousley was little more than two years old when he was
brought to Logansport by his parents, and here he received his first
instruction in the old public school at Tenth and ]\Iarket streets. Sub-
sequently, he attended the old Stone Seminary and the high school,
but when his father died he was compelled to seek employment, and
accordingly became a messenger boy in the service of the Pittsburgh,
Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, with which he has been connected in
one capacity or another to the present time. He was advanced to the
position of agent after some time, his evident endeavor to properly
perform his duties attracting the attention of his employers, and while
thus engaged he learned telegraphy, eventually becoming an operator.
It was in that capacity that Mr. Tousley came to this junction, one of
the important points on the line, where he still continues to faithfully
perform his duties, one of his company's most trusted employes.
Mr. Tousley was married twice, first to IMiss Alice Jack ' and one
child was born, Charles E. Mrs. Tousley died and Mr. Tousley wedded
the sister to his first wife, Miss Sarah Jack, and four children graced
this union, namely: M. C, C. A., Lillian, and C. T. Mr. Tousley is a
member of the ]\Iasonic lodge of Walton, Indiana, and the I. O. 0. F. at
Anoka, Indiana, and in both orders he enjoys the true friendship and
brotherhood of the orders. His political inclinations are in sympathy
with the Democratic party, although he has never cared nor sought for
public office. He has been thrifty and industrious, and is now the owner
of a pleasant home in Anoka, as well as a farm of one hundred and
twenty acres in Washington township, the latter of which is being oper-
ated by renters. Mr. Tousley is respected and esteemed by all who have
his acquaintance, as a man who has lived an upright and honorable life,
and as a citizen who has ever held the best interests of his community
at heart.
814 HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY
James Hobney. No longer does the traveler through Cass county
view neglected farms and poor, unremunerative stock, the agriculturists
of this section today being men of experience and ability. However, it
is not every farm that shows the same sleek and shining cattle, well
nurtured and thoroughbred in appearance, that may be found on the
handsome, highly-cultivated farm belonging to James Horney, in Noble
township. Mr. Horney is a native of Cass county and has passed his
entire life here, being thoroughly familiar with soil and climatic condi-
tions, and thus able to manage his operations satisfactorily. He was
born February 10, 1849, and is a son of James and Matilda (Page)
Horney.
James Horney, Sr., was born in North Carolina, October 18, 1804,
and his wife, a native of Virginia, was born March 6, 1816. He came
to Cass county in 1829, and in 1836 James Horney, Sr., was sheriff
of the county, being later elected associate judge with Judges Biddle
and "Wright. For a number of years he held the office of township trus-
tee, and during the drafting period of the Civil war was chosen by a
number of drafted citizens to take a voluntary contribution of $2,700
to Indianapolis to buy up substitutes to take their places. This he
succeeded in doing and returning home within twenty-four hours. He
died February 6, 1882, on his farm, after a life given in large part to
the benefit of his fellowmen, and one which left a distinct impress upon
his community. His widow survived him some years, and passed away
April 9, 1898.
James Horney, Jr., was educated in the district schools of Noble
township, to which community he had been brought with two older chil-
dren when a mere child. He was reared to farming pursuits, which he
has followed all of his life, and in connection with which he was for
some years an extensive buyer of timber for James Van Buskirk, a
dealer of Logansport. Like his father, Mr. Horney bears an enviable
reputation in business circles, and is known as an able farmer and good
citizen. On November 4, 1875, Mr. Horney was married to Miss Nancy
J. Wilson, daughter of John and Keziah (Maple) "Wilson, and one of
eleven children. About 1836 the parents of Mrs. Horney came to Cass
county with their twx» oldest children, locating in Lewisburg. By trade
Mr. "Wilson was a blacksmith, and at Lewis he established himself in
business, a great deal of his trade, being with the Indians in sharpening
arrowpoints, etc., and he also did a large business shoeing horses for the
boatmen on the canal that ran through Logansport. An incident worthy
of note, in that it shows his ability and good workmanship, relates of his
shoeing a team of oxen for a company of young men en route to Cali-
fornia, these shoes not being removed until the party reached its des-
tination some six months later. During the Civil war, he purchased a
farm in Miami township, and there he resided for some forty years,
dying about the year 1901.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Horney, namely :
Harry D., born August 23, 1878; and George A., boni July 4, 1884.
Mrs. Horney was born in Lewisburg, Indiana, August 5, 1850, and
there reared and educated in the common schools. She is a devout
member of the Baptist church. Both of the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Horney
are living, the eldest is Hariy D., born August 23, 1878. He received
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 815
his diploma from the common schools and pursued a full commercial
course at Logansport. He has been an accountant, working for one
firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for fifteen years. He is now an
agriculturist and a resident of Braidentown, Florida. He wedded Miss
Harriett F. Jordan, and she is a member of the Baptist church. He is
a Republican. George A., born July 4, 1884, also received his diploma
one of the highest grades in the county at that time, then he was a
student in the Logansport high school and subsequently took a commer-
cial course, at the Logansport Commercial College. He married Miss
Hazel H. De Laroter (whose progenitors were French) and they have
one little son, Richard Albert, aged two years. George is a carpenter by
trade. He was a member of the Indiana National Guards, and his
wife has embroidered a handsome piece of embroidery — exhibiting all
the officers' and guards' names in beautiful needlework. Mrs. Horney
received her diploma from the public schools and was one of eighty-
one who passed the examinations, and one of the number was a great-
granddaughter of the old Indian Chief Godfrey. In politics Mr. Horney
was a Republican until recent years, but now believes in voting rather
for the man than the party. He has never been an office seeker himself,
having been content to confine his activities to the cultivation of his
land.
Mr. and Mrs. James Horney of this sketch have one hundred and
twelve acres of good land in Noble township. They passed the winter
of 1912 in Florida. Their comfortable home lies on the Pleasant Grove
Pike, two miles north of the city, and is known as "Forest Home," the
abode of hospitality.
Harry Fultz. One of the most successful farming men to be found
in this section of Cass county may be designated in the person of Harry
Fultz, who has a fine farm of eighty acres in Noble township, where he
is regarded among the most prosperous and influential of the citizens
of his community.
Harry Fultz was born in Logansport, on July 26, 1871, and is the son
of Andrew J. and Julia Ann (Boyer) Fultz. The father was an Ohioan,
born in Stark county, where his people had long lived, and the mother
came from Pennsylvania in 1868, settling in Edward township. Her
people were of German descent. Andrew J. and Julia Fultz became the
parents of three sons, two of whom died young, — Charles when six
years of age and Lawrence in infancy. Harry being the only surviving
child of his parents.
When he was a child, the parents of Harry Fultz moved to Peoria,
Illinois, and from there located in Iowa. They later moved back to
Indiana, settling in Noble township, and here Mr. Fultz lives today on
the farm they occupied there in his boyhood. Concerning the father of
Mr. Fultz, it may be said that he was born in Stark county, Ohio, on
August 31, 1844. His mother died in 1854, when he was but ten years
old, and when he was sixteen having been accustomed to making his
own way for some years, he engaged in railroad work, — -a business he
followed with great success until 1898. He was an engineer on the road
for twenty-eight years and he has the distinction of having run the
first coal burning engine from Logansport to Chicago over the Chicago
816 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
& Great Eastern Railroad. After leaving off railroad work, Mr. Fultz
settled on a farm in the vicinity of Logansport, and there lived until the
time of his death.
It was the occupation of the father in his capacity as a railroad
engineer that necessitated the several changes of residence that Harry
Fultz experienced as a boy. These changes, however, it is safe to say did
him no harm, and he has for some years been devoting himself to the
farm work with an intensity and fervor that have won him success and
well-being in a financial way, and the regard and esteem of all who
regard with favor the energetic application of a man's best qualities in
the work he sets himself to do.
On February 7, 1895, Mr. Fultz married Miss Lena Quade, the
daughter of Frank L. Quade and his wife, Louise (Schwab) Quade, and
they have three children : Burton, born June 15, 1896 ; LeRoy, born
July 11, 1904; and Alice, born February 27, 1905.
The family are members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Fultz
maintains an independent attitude in his political activities.
Charles B. E. Young. One of the business men of Logansport,
whose activities have covered a period of twenty-two years, and whose
energy, sagacity and industry have enabled him to build up a large
and important enterprise, is Charles B. E. Young, proprietor of a har-
ness store, where are also sold carriages, automobiles and their accesso-
ries. Mr. Young has been a resident of Cass county since his second
year, was reared and educated here, and here received his business
training. His actions at all times have entitled him to the respect and
esteem of his fellow-men and as a public-spirited citizen he has rendered
signal service to his community in assisting to a. successful conclusion
many movements for the public welfare. Mr. Young was born in
Franklin county, Indiana, February 14, 1863, and is a son of Alexander
and Susan (Teague) Young.
Alexander Young and wife, with their three children, Carrie, Alta
R. (since deceased), and Charles B. E., came to Cass county in 1865,
locating on a farm nine miles east of Logansport, on Pipe creek. After
their arrival here another son, Albert, was born. Alexander Young
was a farmer all of his life, and attained a reasonable amount of suc-
cess, but passed away when still in middle life, February 12, 1872. His
widow still survives him, as do also three of their children. During the
Civil war, Mr. Young was a member of the Indiana Home Guards that
repelled the attack of the raiding Confederate general, Morgan.
Charles B. E. Young grew up on the family farm on Pipe Creek,
his boyhood being passed in assisting his father, and during the winter
terms he acquired his education in the country district and public
schools of Logansport. Just prior to attaining his majority, he became
a drug clerk in Logansport, continuing in that business for seven years.
For one year suceeding this he traveled for a wholesale cigar and tea
house of Indianapolis, but in 1891 decided to enter business on his own
account, and accordingly, on August 1st of that year, purchased the
harness shop of Charles McNitt. He has continued to be the proprietor
of this establishment to the present time, and of recent years has added
carriages and automobiles and their accessories to his stock. His busi-
HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY 817
ness has enjoyed a steady and healthy growth, yielding commensurate
returns for the labors of Mr. Young who is an energetic, though well-
balanced, business man. In national affairs, Mr. Young gives his polit-
ical support to the Republican party, but in local matters reserves the
right to vote for the man he deems best fitted for the office, irrespective
of party lines. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, takes much interest in fraternal
work, and is popular with his fellow lodge members.
On June 8, 1893, Mr. Young was united in marriage with Miss
Sarah F. Place, and they have become the parents of three children:
Helen, Clark and Frances. Mrs. Ybung is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, where she has a wide circle of sincere friends.
John T. Flanegin. Thirty-three years ago, John T. Flanegin
came to Logansport and opened a modest stove and tinware store, tak-
ing a position among the early merchants of Market street, where he has
since continued his operations. During the period to the present time
he has enlarged his establishment and his stock, which now includes
general shelf hardware, and today he is known as one of the substantial
veteran business men of the city. Mr. Flanegin was born on Raccoon
creek, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, July 11, 1847. He is one
of two children, both living, born to John and Mary (Johnston) Flane-
gin, who were natives of Pennsylvania and descended from Irish parent-
age. In the old country, the name was Flanekin, but for some unknown
reason the name here has been spelled in its present style.
John T. Flanegin was reared in southeastern Ohio, whence his par-
ents removed when he was a boy, and there received his education in
the public schools. When fifteen years of age he became a clerk in a
general store at Zanesvile, Ohio, and subsequently held a like position
in a store at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For some years following, he
was engaged in working out at various occupations, such as herding
cattle, clerking, driving drays and various other vocations, but upon the
sickness and subsequent death of his father he returned to the Ohio
town, where he resided until 1880. That year saw his advent in Logans-
port, and marked the beginning of his successful career as a merchant.
Having had some experience in the tinware business, he opened a shop,
and also installed a line of stoves, and to this, with the passing of years,
he added general shelf hardware. Coming here in moderate circum-
stances, through industry, energy and an intelligent comprehension of
the needs of his locality, he has built up a business that has gained him
a position of prestige among his fellow merchants. He is known as
strictly reliable in all his dealings, having an enviable reputation for
integrity, and among his associates is recognized as a shrewd and cap-
able business man, possessed of foresight and acumen. An American
first, last and all the time, he endeavors to lend his influence to the
cause of good government and general progress, and those movements
which promise the advancement of his community's interests are sure
to find in him a loyal supporter. In his political proclivities he is a
Democrat, although he has never sought personal preferment in the
public arena. Mr. Flanegin has taken some interest in fraternal mat-
ters, being a member of the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the
818 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in all of which he is popular
with his fellow members.
On January 6, 1875, ]\Ir. Flanegin was married to Miss Alice A.
Moore, of Bloomington, Illinois, and to this union there have been
born three children: Blanch, who became the wife of C. L. Baker;
Thomas J., and Lorin A. Mrs. Flanegin died February 3, 1910, in the
faith of the Presbyterian church, of Avhich her husband is a member.
George A. Linton is one of the oldest native-born citizens of
Logansport, his birth having occurred in this city August 9, 1848, on
North street, in the second house east of the present site of the Masonic
Temple. Samuel B. Linton, his father, was born at Chillieothe,
Ohio, and was a carpenter and contractor, coming to Logansport
in that capacity in 1825, when there were but three houses in the
place. He did not remain long at that time, but moved on to LaFayette,
where he continued to reside for two years, but in 1827 settled perma-
nently in Logansport, where he made his home during the balance of
his life. He here worked at his trade, but with the passing of time the
structures erected by him have been rebuilt. In addition to a number
of residences and business establishments, he built two canal boats to
ply on the Erie canal and these he operated from shortly after the
completion of the canal until the year 1840. Joseph Dale was associated
with him in the building of one of these boats. Attracted by the glow-
ing reports from the gold fields of California, Mr. Linton started over-
land for that locality in the spring of 1852 and was there three years,
building flumes and flatboats on Feather river and at Sacramento. He
returned to the east in 1855, but again returned to California in 1859,
to recuperate his failing health, going by boat around Cape Horn, a
trip that lasted six mouths. Seeing the futility of his mission, he re-
mained there but a short time, returning to Logansport and dying in
July, 1860. He was married twice, first to a Lliss Blaine, a cousin of
the Hon. James G. Blaine, and she bore him seven children, none of
whom are now living. His second wife was Eliza Dale, daughter of
Christopher Dale, who bore him two children: Thomas, who died in
infancy ; and George A. Mr. Linton was a man rather small in stature,
weighing about 150 pounds. His frequent association with the Indians
enabled him to speak the Pottawatomie and Miami tongues. Resolute
and firm, he never embarked on any undertaking without carrying it
into execution. In his later life he joined the Methodist Episcopal
church and died in that faith. He was a AVhig in politics and later
became a Republican, and served Logansport as town marshal in 1857
and 1858.
George A. Linton has always claimed Logansport as his home, al-
though he has not lived here continuously. He received his education
in the public and paid schools of this city. On February 4, 1862, when
not yet fourteen years of age, he enlisted in the field service in the
L^nion army and was assigned to duty in Knetucky, under General
Nelson, for whom he w^as moimted orderly. In February, 1863, he was
sent back to procure horses and while there, his guardian, Capt.
Alexander Hardy, w^ho had been made such while young Linton was at
the front, secured him and permitted him to enlist in the Twenty-fourth
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 819
Indiana Light Artillery. He participated in the pursuit of General
Morgan, who had made raids into Indiana and Ohio, and from here
went into Eastern Tennessee, under General Bui'nside. They were
penned in at Knoxville until relieved after the battle of Missionary
Bidge, and from Knoxville (including all the attendant campaigns
preceding and following the battle) went to Charleston, Tennessee, in
the spring of 1864. There the command was merged with the Second
Brigade, Twenty-third Army Corps, under General Schofield, and entered
the Atlanta campaign, having seen the first engagement at Snake
Creek Gap, Dalton, and the continuous fighting until July 21. It was
at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain that Capt. Alexander Hardy, com-
manding the company of which Mr. Linton was a member, fired the
gun loaded with a spherical shell that killed General Pope. After the
fall of Atlanta, Mr. Linton was a member of the command that pursued
General Hood north and participated in the battles of Franklin and
Nashville. Here they went into camp at Fort Negley, and this, with
the exception of some guerilla fighting, completed iMr. Linton's military
career. He was wounded at Leonore's Station, through the left wrist
and arm, and was discharged August 3, 1865, at Indianapolis, by order
of the War Department.
Returning to Logansport, he was engaged in the occupations of
peace until February, 1867, when he enlisted in the general field serv-
ice of the Regular Army and was stationed at Vicksburg, Mississippi,
there passing safely through the cholera epidemic. He was then assigned
to the Eleventh United States Infantry of the Fifth Military District,
which comprised Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, and was under the
command of Gen. Joe Reynolds, at San Antonio, Texas, being detailed
to the Mounted Police whose duty it was to quell the disturbances of
the frontier desperadoes, the Indians and the offi-scourings of both
armies, and in general to see that law and order were maintained. He
was finally discharged March 4, 1870. He returned at that time to
Logansport and for a time was engaged in railroad work, but in 1879
embarked in the pump and well business, in which he continued until
1895. Since that time he has been associated with Adam Graf in the
plumbing and heating business. A thoroughly reliable and capable
business man, i\Ir. Linton has the confidence and esteem of his associates,-
and his judgment is always consulted on questions of importance. He
is a Republican in politics, but has not entered actively in the struggles
of the public arena, for his whole attention has been given to his busi-
ness enterprises. He takes a keen and intelligent interest in the welfare
of his city and its people, however, and always supports measures that
make for good government and good citizenship. He is a valued mem-
ber of the local lodge of IMasons and has risen to the Knight Templar
degree.
On June 11, 1870, Mr. Linton was married to Miss Mary E. Emery,
and they have had eight children, as follows : Horace B. ; Minnie, who
married William R. Cogley ; Gertrude, who married M. Mexicans ; Mary
E., who became the wife of L. E. Slick ; Elizabeth, Alice and Carrie,
who are deceased ; and Charles A. Mrs. Linton died July 14, 1912, in
the faith of the IMethodist Episcopal church, of which ]\Ir. Linton is a
consistent member and liberal supporter.
820 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
John Alber, for many years identified with the crockery business
in Logansport, and one of the widely known and prominent business men
of the city, was born in Logansport, Indiana, on September 11, 1852.
He is the son of Jacob Alber, who was a native of Lichtenstein, Austria,
and his wife, Sophia Dierkson, a native of Bremen, Germany.
Jacob Alber learned the trade of a housepainter and decorator in his
native land and in Italy, and in 1848, or thereabouts, he emigrated to
the United States. He first located at Wabash, Indiana, but in 1849
came down the canal to Logansport, where he began working at his
trade. He also became connected with the trade of a stone mason, and
worked for a time as a bricklayer, as well as at various other employ-
ments of a kindred nature. In 1850 he met and married Sophia Dierk-
son. She came to Baltimore with a family of the name of Albers, and
from there to Indiana with the family of James G. Cox, who settled in
Bethlehem township, in Cass county, Indiana. There they were mar-
ried, and during the remainder of his life Jacob Alber worked at his
trade in and about Logansport. He was ever a hard-working and indus-
trious man and in later life was reckoned fairly well-to-do. He was
twice married. By his first wife he became the father of two children, —
John and Philip, the latter of whom died at the age of two years.
The father, who was born January 7, 1821, died July 24, 1891, and
the mother, born on May 15, 1813, died April 4, 1883.
John Alber is the only surviving child of his father. He was edu-
cated in the public schools of Logansport, and at Notre Dame University,
from which he was graduated in 1868. His first employment upon leav-
ing college was a clerk in the store of Mitchell, Walker & Ranch, boot
and shoe dealers of Logansport, and he remained with them for a year.
He then accepted a position with Morris & Snider, as a clerk in their
crockery establishment, then as traveling salesman. In 1880 he severed
his connection with that firm and began traveling for Hollweg & Reese,
wholesale crockery dealers of Indianapolis, and for twenty-nine years
Mr. Alber remained with them with the exception of a two-year-
period when, in partnei^ship with W. H. Snider, he was engaged in the
wholesale and retail crockery business in Logansport. When that asso-
ciation was suspended Mr. Alber resumed his old place with the Indian-
.apolis house, continuing with them until 1909. In that year he again
embarked in the wholesale and retail crockery business in Logansport,
and again his business partner was W. H. Snider. On January 17, 1911,
Mr. Alber bought his partner's interest in the business and has since
conducted it alone, with a pleasing degree of success.
Mr. Alber is a Republican in his politics. He is a Mason of the
Scottish Rite branch, and a member of the Knights Templar -and ]\Iurat
Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
On April 14, 1879, Mr. Alber married aiiss Betty B. Dawes, daughter
of Elisha Dawes, and they have one daughter, — Aline Sophia, now the
wife of Joseph T. Graffis, whose home is at Indianapolis. Mrs. Alber
is a member of the Episcopal church.
Henry Tucker, for forty-seven years a resident of Logansport, is
of New England nativity, his birth occurring in the village of Norway,
Maine, on INIarch 27, 1843. His paternal grandfather located at that
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 821
place in the year 1802 and established himself in the harness and sad-
dlery business, and upon his death he was succeeded by his son, Ben-
jamin, and a son of the latter succeeded him, at the close of the Civil
war, in which he served in the Army of the Potomac. Upon his death
a nephew took over the business, and he continues in it to the present
time, thus making four generations of the Tucker family in a direct line
to have conducted the harness and saddlery business in Norway, Maine.
Benjamin Tucker was the father of Henry Tucker. He was born at
Norway, Maine, there married Sarah Millett, the mother of Henry,
and passed his life in the place of his birth, employed in the business
which descended to him on the death of his father.
Henry Tucker attended the district schools and the academy in his
boyhood, and learned the harness and saddle-making trade under his
father. While he was yet a boy, on November 9, 1861, he enlisted in
Company G, Fourteenth Maine Volunteer Infantry, receiving the ap-
pointment of corporal of his company. In 1862 he was promoted to
sergeant and with his regiment became a part of the command of Gen.
B. F. Butler, on the expedition to Ship Island, Mississippi, and thence
to New Orleans, arriving at the latter place the day Mumford was
hanged by order of General Butler for pulling down the American flag
from the city hall. By reason of ill health, ]\Ir. Tucker received an
honorable discharge from the service on July 5, 1862, and for some time
thereafter was unable to actively engage in any arduous undertaking.
On May 1, 1864, his strength renewed by his continued relaxation from
duty, he reenlisted and became first sergeant of Company H, Maine
State Guards, stationed at Fort McClary, Portsmouth Harbor. He re-
ceived his final discharge on July 4, 1864.
Mr. Tucker then determined that his education was not sufficiently
complete, and he accordingly took a course of study in the Business Col-
lege of Brj'^ant & Stratton, at Portland, Maine, after which he set out
for the west in search of a favorable locality in which to engage in busi-
ness. For a year he made his home at Elgin, Illinois, but in April,
1866, he came to Logansport, Indiana, and in the following August he
bought the J. W. Fuller harness shop. Here for a period of nearly forty
years Mr. Tucker was engaged in the business at that stand, and in the
course of his business transactions during that time gained an acquaint-
ance with almost every man in Cass county. For the past few years,
however, Mr. Tucker has been occupied with the undertaking business,
in which he has experienced a goodly measure of success.
In the quiet, unobtrusive way which characterizes Mr. Tucker, he
has lived so as to leave an indelible impress for good upon every enter-
prise with which he has been identified. He is a Mason, having joined
the order in Maine many years ago, hut is now a member of Orient
Lodge No. 272 A. F. & A. M. of Logansport, of which he has served as
worshipful master. He is also a member of Logan Chapter No. 2, of
Logansport, the Council No. 11 of Logansport and St. John Command-
ery. No. 24, serving as eminent commander in 1881-82, and the oldest
in point of membership of the Scottish Rite in the county. He is also
a member of Logansport Post No. 14 Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Tucker has been twice married. In 1871 he married Emma Stal-
naker, who died about one year later. In 1876 he married Julia Mer-
822 , HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
riam, daughter of J. A. Merriam, one of the leading business men of
Logansport, and they are the parents of two daughters, — Minnie and
Florence, both of whom are married. Minnie is the wife of N. W. Blem-
ming, now living in Fort Scott, Kansas, and Florence is married to
J. Burt Wintei-, of the firm of Elias Winter & Son, who was born and
has always lived in Logansport.
Isaac Himmelbergee was one of the noted men of Cass county and
was always a credit to the community wherein he made his home. He
was bom August 13, 1840, in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and was one
of seven children born to Charles Himmelberger and his wife, Lavinia
(Hain) Himmelberger.
Reared at Lancaster as a boy, Isaac Himmelberger received not more
than a common school education. When he was eighteen years old he
moved with his parents to Meyerstown, Pennsylvania, and there he was
later associated with his father in the milling business, and still later
with an uncle, Levi Hain, in the grain business. From Meyerstown he
came to Indiana in 1865, and with Levi Hain, Henry Sherk and John
Myers, engaged in the lumber business about two miles north of the
town of Walton, in Tipton county. Here they established a sawmill in
the swamp, acquired a tract of three hundred and eighty acres, and at
once began to convert the towering timber into lumber. When the work
here had been completed and the supply of raw material been exhausted,
Mr. Himmelberger and Perry Kessling leased a tract of land near On-
ward, there erected a mill, and began the work of sawing as they had
done near Walton. Llr. Himmelberger then came to Logansport and in
partnership with a Mr. Dewey, built a mill and established a general
lumber business, buying timber throughout the entire country surround-
ing them. It was during this time, in 1878, that he became the candi-
date of the Republican party for the office of sheriff of the county, and
notwithstanding the fact that the nominal Democratic majority in the
county was something like six hundred, Mr. Himmeberger was elected.
He served a two year term in the office of Sheriff, and it was during
this period that he bought out his partner's interests in the business.
Soon after his retirement from office he went to Buffington, Missouri, and
there started a sawmill, moving the equipment from Logansport to the
Missouri town, to augment the equipment of the mill already in opera-
tion there. A few years later he formed a partnership with John Burris
in the stave business at Dexter, Missouri, in connection with his other
business, and this partnership existed but a comparatively short time,
but Mr. Himmelberger still continued the lumber business at Buffington,
Missouri, and later at Morehouse, Missouri, a place of which he was
really the founder and builder. His son, John, was associated with him
at these two latter places. At IMorehouse he built one of the largest
hardwood lumber plants ever known in the southwest, if not, indeed,
in the entire country. They acquired approximately 100,000 acres of
land and at times employed more than two hundred mill hands. Mr.
Himmelberger, while yet in the prime of life and while the future yet
held glowing promise of attainment, was suddenly stricken with an
illness which culminated in his death on July 16, 1900.
His was a life that held many lessons. He began his independent
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 823
career without other means than his own courage and willing hands.
His courage never faltered in all the years of his activity, and repeatedly
he was called upon to overcome obstacles that would have overwhelmed
many with dismay, and would have been the sure defeat of many an-
other. Through all the years he steadily pressed forward, achieving a
success far beyond that which the average man meets. At no time was
the honesty and fairness of his dealings ever questioned. With him
"whatever was worth doing at all was worth doing well" and that old
axiom he held up for the constant admonition of all who were associated
with him in his work. He died as he had lived, — an honored and re-
spected citizen, and his untimely death was deeply mourned by all
who came within the circle of his acquaintance.
In 1860 Mr. Himmelberger was married to Catherine Haak, and
seven children were born to them, four of whom lived to reach years of
maturity, as follows : John, who is now engaged in conducting the
business in Missouri which was founded by his father; Jane, the wife
of Samuel Fisher; Lillia, the wife of H. J. Crismond; and Nettie, who
married W. 0. Murdock, and is now deceased. Mrs. Himmelberger,
who still lives and is the grandmother of twelve children, is the daugh-
ter of Henry and Sarah (Bassler) Haak, who were natives of the state
of Pennsylvania, and like the Himmelbergers, people of German ances-
try.
John W. Guard was born in Dixon, Illinois, on March 1, 1863, and
is one of the five children of John L. and Anna Mary (Gable) Guard,
all of the five being alive today.
John L. Guard, the father of the subject, was a minister of the Eng-
lish Lutheran church, an occupation which he followed all through his
busy and active life. He was a native of Virginia, descended from
German-Hessian ancestry, and his wife's people originally came from
Bavaria. Rev. John L. Guard died in Carroll county, Indiana, on Octo-
ber 18, 1895, and his wife died in Peoria county, Illinois, in ]March, 1868.
Carroll county, Indiana, was the home of John "W. Guard until he
was fifteen. Camden was the town where he was reared, and he lived on
a farm between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one. He received his pre-
liminary education in the common schools of his community, further
advantages not being afforded him. In 1885 he came to Logansport,
Indiana, and there engaged in the draying business, which appeared to
him to offer a chance of success. He handled the draying contracts for
EUiott, Stroyer & Company, wholesale grocers, they being among his
largest patrons, and after he gave up draying he was for three years
engaged in ranching in southwestern Kansas, after which he returned
to Logansport, in 1890, and for sixteen years thereafter was employed
as a clerk in the retail grocery store of Lewis Ray. He then bought an
interest in the Rice Hardware Company, and has since been engaged in
that business, at present being the treasurer of the corporation.
Mr. Guard is a Republican, and his fraternal relations are with the
Masons, in which he is a member of Tipton Lodge No. 33, A. F. & A. M.
He is a member of St. Luke's English Lutheran chui'ch, as is also his
wife, who was Miss Anna Hildebrandt, and to whom he was married on
November 23, 1903.
824 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Moses R. Frazee. With the exception of a four years' period which
he spent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Moses R. Frazee has been a resident
of Logansport for the past fifty-two years. He was born on August
26, 1834, in Miami county, Ohio, a son of David and Mary (Price)
Frazee. The father of David Frazee came to America from the Isle of
Jersey, and the mother was a native of Wales. David Frazee was a
farmer and JMoses R. made his home upon the farm home until he was
about fifteen years old. He helped with the work of the home place as
a boy and attended the old fashioned school common to his time, finish-
ing his schooling with two years in the schools of Piqua. After this
latter experience he clerked in a general store for something like two
years, in the employ of I. B. Whipple. He then went to Marion and
managed a store which Mr. Whipple owned there, and some fifteen
months later, in 1857, he came to Logansport. Here Mr. Frazee em-
barked in a general dry goods business on his own responsibility. His
stock in the early days consisted of boots, shoes, general dry goods, prod-
uce and clothing. He sold his store in 1866 and went to Minneapolis,
where with his brother-in-law, William Murphy, he built a flouring mill
and for four years was engaged in the milling business. This was one of
the old stone buhr mills and had a capacity of three hundred barrels
daily. During this time the firm of Frazee & Murphy had sold a two-
thirds interest in the business, and finally disposed of the remaining
one-third to Charles Pillsbury, and under his management and eventual
control the mill was changed over to the patent roller process, and made
millions for its owners. Mr. Frazee returned to Logansport in 1870 and
once more embarked in the dry goods business, in which he has been
continuously engaged since that time, and he is the oldest merchant
now doing business in this city.
On August 21, 1864, Mr. Frazee was united in marriage with ]\Iiss
Mary Higgins, a daughter of Capt. A. M. Higgins, who was one of the
early and well known men of the county. Three children were bom to
Mr. and Mrs. Frazee, as follows: Helen, who died in infancy; Jessie,
who lived to be five years old; and Stuart R., who died on November 20,
1912. The wife and mother died on November 5, 1902.
Mr. Frazee is a Republican and cast his first presidential vote for
John C. Fremont. He is one of the best known men in Logansport,
esteemed by a large circle of friends and acquaintances who have known
him for many years as one of the substantial citizens of Logansport.
WiLLARD Elliott. Among the old and honored families of Cass
county whose members have been identified with the growth and develop-
ment of their section's commercial, industrial and agricultural impor-
tance, that of Elliott is among the best known. Its members have for
years resided in Harrison township, where the history of the family has
been commensurate with that of the community, and have contributed
in no small degree to its public service. A worthy representative of the
name is found in Willard Elliott, of Logansport, assistant clerk at the
City Light Company, and a man who has represented his city and county
in various positions of trust and responsibility. Mr. Elliott was born
December 26, 1868, in Harrison township, and is a son of Alfred and
Emily (Williamson) Elliott.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 825
Joseph Elliott, the grandfather of Willard Elliott, was a farmer by
occupation, and owned a tract of land in Harrison township which had
been secured from the government by one Skinner, who erected log build-
ings thereon. When Mr. Elliott secured this tract of eighty acres, the
wolves were still plentiful in the community, and pioneer conditions of
all kinds had to be met and overcome, but he was of a sturdy and per-
severing character and managed to make a good home for his family,
replacing the log buildings with more modern structures of frame and
making various other improvements. Alfred Elliott followed in his
father's footsteps as a farmer, and was also engaged for some years as
a carpenter contractor. He died in 1902, at the age of sixty-five years.
Willard Elliott secured his education in the public schools of Har-
rison township, and grew up on his father's farm, it being his father's
intention that he adopt the vocation of agriculturist. As a young man,
however, Mr. Elliott entered the field of politics, becoming deputy
auditor of Cass county, a position which he held for several years. Sub-
sequently he became receiver for the Baldwin banks, and after three
years in that position became connected with the City Light Company,
where he now acts in the capacity of assistant chief clerk. Here he has
displayed his ability in numerous ways, his services having been of a
high order.
On April 29, 1894, Mr. Elliott was united in marriage with Miss
Mary Burton, who was born in Cass county, daughter of Levi Burton,
a complete review of whose career will be found in the sketch of J. J.
Burton in another part of this work. One child has been bom to this
union : May Burton, born March 18, 1896. Mr. Elliott has interested
himself to some extent in fraternal work, being a valued member of the
local lodges of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks. They attend the Christian church, where they have
numerous friends. Mr. Elliott is known as a man who has taken a lead-
ing part in every movement that has had for its object the betterment
of the community, and his long and honorable career has been marked
by constant fidelity to duty and the strictest integrity and probity of
character.
Jehu T. Elliott has long occupied a place of prominence in the com-
mercial and civic life of Logansport, where he has been engaged in
business since the year 1871. Many and varied are the changes which
have marked the growth and development of this city, but every suc-
ceeding change in the business of Mr. Elliott has served but to mark
its greater advance and its higher status in the business interests of the
city.
Bom in Cambridge City, Indiana, on March 24, 1844, Mr. Elliott is
the son of William and Eliza (Branson) Elliott. His early school priv-
ileges were but meager, owing to the facilities for education which that
period provided, and he was but twelve years old when he set about
making his own way in the world. From then until the present time he
has been self-supporting, and it is small wonder that success and pros-
perity should attend the efforts of a man who as a lad of twelve had the
courage and hardihood to shoulder the responsibility of his own future.
His first independent work was as a salesman for his brother, Dewitt C.
826 HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY
Elliott, with whom he remained until he reached his majority, and in
1865 he engaged in the dry goods business as a partner with Henry and
A. E. Shroyer, under the firm name of Shroyer, Elliott & Company,
but some little time later they disposed of their business, and Mr. Elliott
purchased the grocery store which his brother owned in Newcastle,
Indiana. There he continued to operate until 1870, when he went to
Chicago and secured a position as a bookkeeper in a packing house.
After a year he gave up his work and came to Logansport, where he
became identified with the wholesale grocery concern of Elliott, Pogue
& Shroyer, which firm was later changed to Elliott, Shroyer & Company.
In 1889 the brother of the subject died, he being a member of the firm,
and in the next year Mr. Shroyer withdrew, leaving the firm Elliott &
Company. In 1896 Mr. Elliott"sold his interest to William M. and S. J.
Elliott. His next business move was to engage in the wholesale grocery
business again, the firm name being J. T. Elliott & Son. Some little time
later Elliott & Company and J. T. Elliott & Son consolidated under the
firm name of J. T. Elliott Company, and in 1907 was reorganized under
the firm name of the Elliott Grocei-y Company (Incorporated), J. T. El-
liot being president of the company. That firm still exists and is one of the
most prosperous and well known institutions in the business directory of
the city, bearing a reputation that is unassailable, and occupying a lead-
ing place in the community. Since the reorganization in 1907 Mr. Elliott
has been president and manager. The firm conducts a wholesale grocery
business and furnishes employment to twenty-five people, including road
salesmen. Mr. Elliott has been in his present quarters since 1874, and
has been identified with the wholesale grocery business for forty-one
years, a record of which he may well be proud.
Mr. Elliott is a Eepublican, and has ever taken an active and inter-
ested part in the political and civic life of his city. He was for eighteen
years a member of the Logansport school board, and much credit is due
him for the work he did as a member of that board and a number of
beautiful schoolhouses were built during his term of office as evidence
of his achievement. He has long been a member of the Wholesale Gro-
cer 's Association of Indiana and of the Traveling Men 's Protective Asso-
ciation. He is a Mason of high degree, and has been since 1866. He was
a member of the board of directors for the Masonic Association for the
construction of the Masonic Temple of Logansport, which gave to the
city a magnificent building in the Temple. Mr. Elliott was president
of that board, and much of his enterprise, energy, loyalty to the ordei*,
and general public spirit is manifested in the splendid structure which
resulted from the efforts of the society, under his direction. He has been
for years also a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Modern
Woodmen, as well as of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in
later years. He was a director of the latter named order when their
magnificent Temple was built in Logansport. A number of the Method-
ist Episcopal church at Broadway, this city, Mr. Elliott has been its
treasurer for thirty-five years, a splendid record for service, surely.
On May 16, 1865, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Elliott and
Miss Caroline Shroyer, of Newcastle, Indiana. Three children were born
to them : Harry S. ; Esther E., the wife of Harry Uhl, and Arethusa,
the wife of Edward B. Bliss. Mr. and Mrs. Elliott have occupied the
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 827
same residence in Logansport for the past thirty-eight years, and have
a host of friends in the city.
John R. ^Iillman. Among the enterprising and progressive young
farmers and stock raisers of Cass county may be mentioned John R.
Millman, who is engaged in cultivating his father's farm of one hundred
and sixty acres, located on the Millman road, about four and one-half
miles southeast of Logansport. Mr. Millman comes of a long line of
agriculturists, and has spent his entire life in the work of cultivating
the soil. Although still a young man he has demonstrated his ability,
and his enthusiasm and progressive spirit has resulted in the cultivation
of an excellent property. John R. Millman was born November 7, 1880,
at Remington, Jasper county, Indiana, and is a son of Orville M. and
Lizzie (Benson) Millman.
Orville M. Millman was born in Putnam county, where he was reared
and educated, and when still in young manhood, in 1872, migrated to
Jasper county. There he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until
1895, in which year he brought his family to Cass county and settled
first north of and then in Tipton township. He is still engaged in active
pursuits and is the owner of a fine farm of fifty-eight acres. ^Ir. ]\Iill-
man married ]\Iiss Lizzie Benson, of Jasper county, Indiana, and they
became the parents of four children, namely : John R. ; Hattie, who lives
with her parents in Tipton township ; Lawson A., and William F., also
at home.
John R. ]\lillman secured his early education in the common schools
of Jasper county, and finished it in the country schools of Cass county,
whence he accompanied his parents when fifteen years of age. He has
always lived at home, and his training in agricultural matters has been
most thorough. At the age of eighteen years he began farming on his
own account, and being the oldest of his parents' children was put in
charge of the home farm upon attaining his majority. He has shown
skill, good judgment and thorough knowledge of all the details of modern
farming, believes in the use of modern machinery and methods, and is
considered an excellent judge of stock. Like his father, he has always
supported the principles and candidates of the Republican party, but
has not cared to identify himself with public life, having been too busy
in his farming operations. He has found time, however, to lend his
support to those movements which he has been led to believe will benefit
his commimity or its people, and has also been identified with fraternal
work to some extent as a member of the Masonic order, Tipton, Lodge
Logan, in which he has many warm friends, as he has, indeed, in the
various walks of life.
On December 18, 1907, IMr. Millman was united in marriage with
Miss Edna ^lartin, who was born in Cass county, a member of an old
and honored family of this section, and a daughter of William P. and
Eliza (Berry) Martin, farming people. ]\Ir. and ]\Irs. Millman have one
little daughter, Margaret R., born November 8, 1912. Mr. and ]\Irs. ^lill-
man are consistent members of the English Lutheran church. Their com-
fortable home, situated on the Millman road, is often the scene of pleas-
ant social gatherings, as both the young people are popular in social
circles of the community.
828 HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY
Jerome McClain. Among the citizens of Cass county who devoted
their lives to the development of the agricultural interests of this sec-
tion, one who will be remembered by the older generation was the late
Jerome McClain, who for many years cultivated a fine tract of land on
the jMcClain road, about six miles south of Logansport. Coming to this
vicinity in young manhood, when the country was still in its formative
shape, he materially aided in bringing about the present prosperous con-
ditions, and will be remembered as a man of the highest integrity and
probity of character. Mr. IMcClain was born January 5, 1824, in Day-
ton, Ohio, in a house on McClain street, named in honor of the family,
and as a youth learned the trade of carpenter, and also worked at har-
ness making and blacksmithing. He was still a young man when he
migrated to Cass county, and here, in the city of Logansport, was mar-
ried. After the birth of his oldest child, Frank McClain, he returned
to Ohio in November, 1848, and for ten years worked at his trade in
Dayton, but in November, 1858, again came to Cass county, this time
taking up land and clearing a space for a log cabin. During the remain-
der of his life, ]\Ir. jMcClaiu was engaged in tilling the soil, and became
one of the best known and most highly esteemed of his community 's citi-
zens. He cleared the greater part of a valuable eighty-acre farm, which
is still in the possession of the family, and on which he erected good
buildings, made other improvements and continued to carry on general
farming and stock raising. In his death, which occurred September 2,
1911, Cass county lost a good, practical agriculturist, and a citizen who
always had the best interests of his community at heart.
Jerome McClain was married in Logansport to ]\Iiss Cazaline Holly,
a member of an old Cass county family, and they became the parents
of eight children, as follows: Benjamin F., now a resident of Kokomo,
Indiana, who is married and has nine children ; Pulaski, who is still operat-
ing the old homestead; Sarah E. ; Granville M., who also resides at
Kokomo, and has four children ; Dowell, who is deceased ; Mary E. ;
Margaret C. ; also Doe and Noah, deceased.
Pulaski McClain, son of Jerome McClain, was born in Dayton, Aug-
ust 8, 1853 and his sister, Mary E., who lives with him and manages the
household affairs, was born on the old home place on .McClain road. His
early education was secured in the Galveston schools, and later he
attended the district schools, his summer months always being spent in
the work of the home place. His sister secured her education in the
West school in Washington township. On completing his education,
Mr. McClain commenced working at odd occupations, and being pos-
sessed of much more than the average mechanical ability, has had little
trouble in finding plenty of employment, in addition to managing the
home farm of eighty acres. He is known as one of the enterprising
men of his community, and both he and his sister have many warm
friends in the vicinity of their home. They are attendants of the Chris-
tian church in AVashington township. The McClains are of Scottish
lineage, and the original spelling of the name was McLean.
John ]\I. LaRose. In the earlier history of this country, there are
many accounts of the trials and brave sacrifices of those who are num-
bered among the pioneers of certain districts. The tide of civilization
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 829
was then ever moving westward, and as soon as a section was fairly well
developed, there would always be some venturesome souls eager to
press still further towards the frontier, making new boundary lines
for the outposts of civilization. Without these the United States would
not lie from ocean to ocean, but would still be clustered along the At-
lantic seaboard ; without these courageous pioneers, who braved the sav-
age Indian and wild beast, the great commonwealth of Indiana would
still be a waste of prairie and timber land, and where is now heard
the cheerful bustle of urban existence, the prairie chicken and wild
turkey would wing their low flight. Among the families that are
largely responsible for the Cass county of today, that bearing the name
of LaRose is well known, and a worthy representative of this name is
found in the person of John M. LaRose, of Clay township, the owner
of a part of the old LaRose homestead. He was born on the property
which he now occupies, April 25, 1854, and is a son of John S. and
Lucre tia (Chestnut) LaRose, natives of Ohio.
The ancestry of the LaRose family can be traced back to John Lewis
LaRose, the great-great-grandfather of John M. LaRose, who was a
native of Germany and came to America in 1740, locating in Lehigh
county, Pennsylvania, where the Rev. John Jacob LaRose, the great-
grandfather of John M., was born and reared. He was a tailor by trade,
but when the "War of the Revolution was inaugurated he put aside all
business and personal consideration to aid in the cause of independence.
The son of this Revolutionary soldier, Philip J. LaRose, was bom in
Guilford county, North Carolina, and was there married to Mary
Shearer, also a native of that county. In 1826 they left their southern
home and came to Wayne county, Indiana, and in 1834 made removal
to Cass county, locating on an eighty-acre tract of land in Clay town-
ship. To that property Mr. LaRose kept adding from time to time as
his financial resources increased until his landed possessions aggregated
over 700 acres. His was a busy and useful life, and his success was well
merited. He died March 28, 1871, at the advanced age of ninety-one
years, and the community thereby lost one of its honored pioneer set-
tlers. He and his wife had a family of eight children, among whom was
John S. LaRose. The latter, following in the footsteps of his father,
made agricultural pursuits his life work, and became one of the success-
ful and greatly esteemed citizens of Clay township. He married Miss
Lucretia Chestnut, and theyhad two living children: John Marion and
Annie V.
John Marion LaRose attended the district schools of the vicinity of
his home, and supplemented this by three years of attendance in the city
schools of Logansport. On completing his studies he at once settled
down to agricultural pursuits, which he has followed with uniform suc-
cess throughout his career. He now has 210 acres of land, all in a high
state of cultivation, on which he has made numerous modern improve-
ments which have greatly enhanced the value of the property. The
family residence, which succeeded the little log house in which Mr. La-
Rose was born, is located on an elevation on the farm, and can be seen
for miles in every direction. Mr. LaRose is known as a good, practical
agriculturist, and as one whose abilities are such as to allow him to
gain a full measure of success from his labors. His standing as a citi-
Vol. II— 8
830 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
zen is equally high, and among his business associates he is known as
a man who lives up to all of his obligations. The homestead house is
known as "The High View Stock Farm," and he raises the "Mule
Foot" swine which is registered.
On March 5, 1876, Mr. LaRose was united in marriage with Miss
Nancy Miranda Brown, who was bom in Cass county, daughter of Isaac
and Elizabeth J. (Custer) Brown, for years a prosperous farmer of
this locality. To this union there has come one child : John Brown, born
in 1895. Mr. and Mrs. LaRose are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, while his political affiliation is with the Democratic party.
George W. Bubkhart. A resident of Cass county since 1866, George
"W. Burkhart, veteran of the Civil war, former manufacturer of lumber,
retired farmer and public-spirited citizen, has had a long and honorable
career, and has been closely identified with the growth and development of
this section. His life furnishes an example of the success that is to be
gained through upright living, strict integrity and constant devotion to
the principles of honorable dealing and public-spirited citzenship, and
among the people of his community he is held in the highest esteem,
Mr. Burkhart was born September 17, 1846, in Center county, Penn-
sylvania, and is a son of John G. and Susan (Felmey) Burkhart. His
father, a native of the Fatherland, came to the United States when about
sixteen years of age, and sv;bsequently followed the trades of miller and
baker, in addition to carrying on agricultural pursuits. He successively
lived in Pennsylvania, Ohio (where he worked at his trades in Bucyrus
and Sandusky), Fulton county, Indiana, and finally Cass county, where
his death occurred in his sixty-sixth year, some time during the Civil
war. A thrifty and industrious German, he accumulated a competency
and some years before his death was able to retire. Mr. Burkliart mar-
ried Susan C. Felmey, a native of Pennsylvania, who passed away at
the age of fifty-five years, and they became the parents of three children :
John W., who now lives in Kent, Wisconsin ; George W. ; and Cecelia,
who married Thomas Detmore, and had three children, — Oliver, Lucinda
and Nora.
George W. Burkhart was five years of age when taken to Ohio by
his parents, and there he was reared to hard work, being given only
three months schooling in all his life. If his education was slight, his
opportunities for culture of a genuine sort were more so, but one cannot
be in Mr. Burkhart 's presence long before pealizing that he is a man of
wide knowledge and general information, close observation and much
reading having given him an education that has made up for what the
earlier years lacked. He was thrown upon his own resources at the age
of thirteen years, at which time he began to work at odd jobs, chopping
wood and working as a farm hand, in fact accepting whatever honorable
employment presented itself. In 1861 the family came to Fulton county,
Indiana, where young Burkhart worked on a farm for about one year,
and in 1862 he began his military career as a private in Company A,
Twenty-sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Col. John 6. Clark
commanding, with which organization he served faithfully for three
years. He was in the Thirteenth and Sixteenth Army Corps, and later
connected with the Department of the Gulf, and throughout a long and
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 831
arduous service maiutained the reputation of a cheerful, brave and
faithful soldier, winning alike the respect of his comrades and superior
officers. Among his battles were Vicksburg, Nashville, Yazoo Pass, Prai-
rie Grove, Sterling Plantation, Mobile Bay and Spanish Fort, and
numerous minor engagements and skirmishes. For about a year he
also participated in the Missouri troubles, during the time when the
notorious Quantrell and his gang of desperadoes were terrorizing that
state.
On the completion of his military service, Mr. Burkhart returned to
the vocations of peace, and for a number of years he followed lumber-
ing and engaged in the manufacturing and sale of building material,
but eventually turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, and still
owns forty acres of land south of Logansport and a well-cultivated prop-
erty of one hundred and seventy and three-fourths acres on the Kokomo
Road. His ventures have been characterized by honest dealing, and
although he is now retired from active pursuits he still holds the con-
tidenee of a wide business acquaintance. For a number of years Mr.
Burkhart was actively engaged in Democratic politics, especially as a
"stump" speaker, but in 1912 cast his fortunes with the young Pro-
gressive party, whose candidate he became for joint representative. In
the years of 1898 and 1899 he was representative of Cass county, Indi-
ana, in the state legislature. In a number of township offices he demon-
strated his ability as a public executive, and his services are still in
demand as an orator at various gatherings, celebrations and social
events. Probably no other man in his part of the county is better posted
upon the history of the country, especially as to its presidents and
eminent statesmen.
On April 11, 1872, IMr. Burkhart was united in marriage with Miss
Rosetta H. Seybold, daughter of John G. and Ursula (Munger) Seybold,
and six children have been born to this union : John Irvin, who married
Pearl Kay; Harry F., of Fulton county, who married Susan Weisner,
and has two children, — Zoe and Luretta ; Joseph A., who married Anna
Leffert, and has two children, — George and Harry ; Frank, who married
Ethel Kochel, and has two children, — Rosetta and Bernice; Clarence,
residing in Logansport ; and Geneva, who is single and resides with her
parents.
Harry C. Jones. On the Kokomo road, about four miles from
Logansport, is situated the finely cultivated eighty-acre farm of Harry
C. Jones, a tract which has been in the family since 1857, and on which
Mr. Jones was born. He is one of his section's enterprising and ener-
getic agriculturists, belonging to that class of farmers who are quick to
adopt advanced methods and progressive ideas, and among his neigh-
bors and associates is recognized as a man who at all times is ready to
aid movements tending to better his community. Mr. Jones was born
on his present property, Ausust 10, 1855, and is a son of Josiah and
Emily (Updegraff) Jones. His father, a native of New York, spent his
early years in the Empire State, where he was engaged in farming, and
was about forty years old when he migrated to Indiana. Here he set-
tled in Cass county on the present farm of Harry C. Jones, then a wild
tract on which there had been no improvements made. He spent his sub-
832 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
sequent years in clearing and cultivating this land, and died with a
comfortable competency and the esteem and respect of those with whom
he had come into contact. Josiah and Emily Jones had two children :
Harry C. ; and Jennie, now Mrs. John M. Burkit.
Like all country boys of his day and locality, Harry C. Jones divided
his early years between attendance at school in the winter terms and
working on the farm in the summer months. He was reared to habits
of industry and sobriety, taught to realize the value of hard work, and
thoroughly trained in all the details of farm labor. In the meantime his
mind was being trained in the district schools and the old stone seminary
in Logansport, after leaving which he continued to work on the home
place. At the time of his father's death, Mr. Jones inherited one-half
of the homestead, and after a few years, when he decided to make a
home of his own he puchased his sister's interest in the property, and
since that time has been its proprietor. At that time Mr. Jones was mar-
ried to ]\Iiss Sarah J. Vernon, March 25, 1875, and they have had a
family of nine children, as follows: William H., who married Anna
Ramer, and has one child, — Blanch J. ; Arthur C, who married Pearl
Nichols, and has one chi^d, — Howard N. ; Josiah P., who married Flora
Barnes, and has one child, — Harry E. ; Frank V., who married Elsie
Bopp and they have one daughter, Dorothy ; Charles E., who married Ida
Mosby, and has one child, — Ralph V. ; Thomas E., who married Mae
Condon ; and Quincy A., who wedded Miss Mildred Dussard ; Paul
Revere and Carl B., all of whom reside at home and assist their father
in the work of the farm. This eighty-acre tract is one of the finest of
its size in Washington township. Years of intelligent, practical and
painstaking cultivation have resulted in the development of an excellent
property, which produces large crops annually. Mr. Jones is a Repub-
lican in his political views, but is not a politician in the generally ac-
cepted use of the term, although in 1912 he allowed his name to be used
as a nominee for the office of commissioner. His fraternal connection
is with Lodge No. 417, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which the
family is well represented, six of Mr. Jones' sons also belonging to this
order. He also holds membership in St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran
church, which he attends constantly and supports liberally. The home-
stead of Mr. and Mrs. Jones is called "The Cedars" and is the abode of
hospitality.
Charles Quinct Palmer. Industry, perseverance, intelligence and
good judgment are the price of success in agricultural work in these
modern days of farming, when the hard, unremitting toil of former
days has given way to scientific use of modern machinery and a knowl-
edge of the proper treatment of the soil. Cass county boasts of many
skilled farmei-s who treat their vocation more as a profession than as
a mere occupation and take a justifiable pride in their accomplishments.
In this class may be mentioned Charles Quincy Palmer, of Washington
township, the well-tilled tract of two hundred acres owned by his father
and himself being located not far from Logansport and who is also
carrying on operations on his father's tract, the latter being retired from
active life. Mr. Palmer was born in Washington township, Cass county,
Indiana, May 28, 1874, and is a son of John and Mary (IBest) Palmer.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 833
His father was born in Irwin, Ohio, from whence he came to Indiana
during young manhood, and here carried on agricultural pursuits with
well deserved success until his retirement several years ago. There were
three children in the elder Palmer 's family, namely : Charles Quincy ;
George H., who makes his home in Logansport ; and Dr. A. L., a well
known physician of Logansport, who is acting in the official capacity of
coroner of that city,
Charles Quincy Palmer was given the advantages of a good educa-
tion, attending both the district schools of Washington township and
the graded schools of Logansport, and after leaving the latter resumed
work on the home farm. Subsequently, he learned the trade of horse-
shoer, which he followed for six years in connection with his agricul-
tural operations, but eventually gave up this vocation and now devotes
his entire attention to tilling the soil. The two hundred-acre tract has
been put in a high state of cultivation, the buildings thereon are modern
and in a good state of repair, and altogether the property gives eloquent
testimony to Mr. Palmer's skill as a farmer. He has realized and taken
advantage of the use of modern methods in his operations, and may
take pride in the fact that he has one of the valuable properties of his
community. Among his neighbors he is known as a man of the strictest
integrity in all matters of a business nature, and one who, having suc-
ceeded himself, is at all times ready to assist others to a like success.
Essentially a farmer, he has taken little interest in politics, but move-
ments which have for their object the betterment of his community may
always depend upon his support and co-operation. In fraternal matters,
Mr. Palmer is popular with the members of the local lodge of the Frater-
nal Order of Eagles, in which he has passed through all the chairs.
On March 21, 1900, Mr. Palmer was united in marriage with Miss
Martina Miller, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Sinunons) Miller.
They have no children. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer attend the English Luth-
eran church, in the work of which Mrs. Palmer has been very active, and
both are popular in the social circles of Logansport, their home being but
three miles south of that city.
Newman H. Settles. Since earliest history the vocation of tilling
the soil has been numbered among the most honored vocations. A lib-
eral profession, embracing a knowledge of the physiology of the earth
and the products that grow out of it, it requires also a philosophy of
economics that understands the necessities of demand and supply by
which these products are kept moving over the face of the earth. Among
the good, practical agriculturists of Cass county, who thoroughly under-
stand their vocation, and are securing a full measure of success through
the application of intelligent treatment of the soil, none stand higher
than Newman H. Settles, who for thirty-five years or more has be'en
cultivating land in Noble township. Mr. Settles is a native of Ohio,
born March 10, 1846, a son of John and Julia Settles, natives of Vir-
ginia and New York, respectively. Mr. Settles' parents were married
in Ohio, and from that state came to Adams county, Indiana, in 1859,
and thence to Cass county, first locating in Harrison township, on a
farm of eight acres. There the father erected a shop and followed the
834 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
cooper trade until 1872 when he moved with his wife to Kansas and in
that state died in 1904, Mrs. Settles having passed away in 1882.
Newman H. Settles was a lad of thirteen years when the family
came to Cass county, Indiana, and here his education was completed in
the common schools. On the completion of his studies he entered busi-
ness with his father, from whom he had learned the trade of cooper,
and after his father had moved to the West he continued to operate the
business until 1877. At that time he took up his residence in Noble
township where he rented a larger farm, and here, through tireless in-
dustry, constant thrift and persevering determination, aided by a keen
intellect and a comprehensive knowledge of land values, he has been
able to accumulate a handsome property of eighty acres in section 12.
In 1903, in which year Mr. Settles bought this farm, it was in poor con-
dition, due to mismanagement on the part of the former owner, but
during the ten years that it has been in Mr. Settles' possession, he has
developed it into one of the valuable tracts of his township. Modern
buildings have been erected, innovations have been introduced, and
scientific treatment of the soil has tended to increase the productive
ability of the property.
On October 28, 1864, Mr. Settles was married to Miss Anna Craw-
ford, who was born in Ohio, September 15, 1852, daughter of Robert
and Margaret Crawford, who came to Cass county in 1854 and settled
on a farm in Boone township. Six children were born to this union :
Julia, Willard, Margaret, Jennie, John and Franklin. Julia died in
1872, at the age of eleven months; Willard was married (first) in 1896
to ^liss Ida Smith, of Cass county, and had two children : Eva and
Paul. His first wife died in 1902, and in 1906 he was a second time
married, the ceremony taking place in Detroit, Michigan. In 1904
Jennie Settles was married to William Wright, of Logansport, and they
have two children : Dorothy, born in 1905 ; and Margaret, born in 1908.
Margaret Settles was married in 1910 to Charles Lew, an engineer on
the Pennsylvania Railroad. On December 25, 1909, John Settles mar-
ried Miss Florence Grable, of Cass county, and on September 17, 1912,
Franklin Settles married Miss Anna Holland, also of Cass county.
Newman II. Settles has never cared for public office, although a
supporter of good government, and an active participant in progressive
movements. With his wife and children, he attends the Methodist
Episcopal church. -
Henry Rhoades. It has been given to some to help develop the
country, to shape their surroundings according to their needs, and to
bring forth tlie present high degree of civilization. Cass county,
Indiana, became the home of many a sturdy pioneer, who did not ask
for anything more than raw land to work upon. Bravely, uncomplain-
ingly, these forerunners of civilization went to work, and many of them
still survive to see the fruits of their years of labor. Among these is
Henry Rhoades, himself a pioneer and a member of an old and influen-
tial family of tne Hoosier state, who is now the owner of eighty acres
of fine farming land about five miles from Logansport. Mr. Rhoades,
who has the added distinction of being a veteran of the Civil war aod
an honor to those who wore the blue, was born October 17, 1846, in
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 835
Pulaski county, Indiana, and is a son of Mike and Mary (Niss) Rhoades.
His father, who was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, came from that
city to Pulaski county, Indiana, in 1848, and there spent the rest of
his life in cultivating a farm. He was the father of eight children,
namely : William, deceased ; Daniel, Henry, Sarah, deceased ; Hattie,
Kate and Angelina; and Silas, deceased.
Henry Rhoades was reared to agricultural pursuits, and received
his education in tlie district schools, starting to work out on neighbor-
ing farms when he was only twelve years of age. He was so engaged
when the Civil war broke out, and with other youths of his locality,
went to Winamac, Pulaski county, and there enlisted in the Union
army, becoming a member of the Eighty -seventh Indiana Volunteer
Infantry. His regiment was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland,
and he subsequently participated in a number of hard-fought engage-
ments and took part in the famous "March to the Sea," under Gen. W.
T. Sherman. After completing a brave and honorable service, Mr.
Rhoades returned to Pulaski county and to agricultural pursuits, re-
maining in that section until he was about twenty-five years of age,
when he came to Cass county. Being possessed of but little capital,
commencing at the lowest round of the ladder of life he worked on
shares until he was able to purchase his present land, which he has
developed into one of the best tracts of its size in Washington township.
General farming and stock-raising have held his attention, and he is
known as an able agriculturist, who is thoroughly conversant with mod-
ern ideas and methods, and whose activities have served to contribute
to the farming importance of his township.
On December 23, 1869, Mr. Rhoades wedded Miss Florence C. Fink,
daughter of Jacob and Mary (Skillen) Fink. Her parents came to Cass
county from Pennsylvania in an early day. In the Fink family there
were three children: Florence, Sarah and Eli, and all of the children
are living.
Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rhoades : Daniel
W., who married Miss Myrtle Lucy and they have four children:
Orvilla, Henry, Lester L. and Wayne; Mary, wife of Burton Nether-
cutt, the parents of six children: Orville, May, Henry, Russell Mosie,
Bessie and Paul; Elizabeth, wife of Herman Leffert and they have five
children: Herbert, Irene, Arthur, Mary and Wayne; Lottie, wife of
Oliver Marshall, who have four children: Florence, Hazel, Harold
and Opal ; Walter, who married Flossie Reese and has no children ; and
Harvey, who wedded Edna Rush and has one child, Helena.
In his political views, Mr. Rhoades is a Democrat, but he has never
sought public office, preferring to give his entire attention to his farming
operations. With his wife and family, they attend the Lutheran church,
of which he has always been a liberal supporter. Mr. Rhoades belongs to
that class of men who appreciate their success the more because it has
been self -gained, and because it has come through honest effort and by
no questionable means, aided by his estimable wife. His standing as
a citizen is high, and during his long residence in Cass county he has
gained and maintained many sincere friendships. His good wife shares
equally well the friendship and good wishes of their many friends.
836 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Mrs. Rhoades lias a sunshiny smile and a royal welcome for all who may
enter the portals of their pretty home.
Nelson Warner Cady, j\I. D. In a career of thirty-five years as
physician and surgeon of Cass county, Dr. Cady has come to rank
among the foremost men of his profession in this county, has done much
good service both as a doctor and as a citizen for the welfare of his
home city, and is well known for his ability and high character in his
profession over the state.
Nelson Warner Cady was born October 3, 1850, at Indianapolis, and
belongs to an old family of Indiana, and its members have been distin-
guished for worthy and honorable position in practical affairs and social
life. The parents of Dr. Cady were Charles Warner Cady and Abigail
Aikman Kiersted. The father was born at Keene, New Hampshire, in
1810, located in Indianapolis about IS-IO as the first general fire insur-
ance agent in the state, and died in that city in 1855. The mother was
born at Fort Washington, (now Cincinnati, Ohio), in 1824, and died
at her home in Indianapolis in 1900. She was a type of Indiana's noble
women during the last century. She was deeply interested in the
work for the soldiers during the Civil war and made and presented a
regimental banner to Lew Wallace's regiment of zouaves. The father,
during his early manhood, learned and followed the trade of saddler,
but subsequently took up fire insurance and after some years in the
business had the distinction of establishing the first fire insurance office
in the state of Indianapolis. Besides Dr. Cady, the other children of
the family are mentioned as follows: Eudora Dunn Cady, who married
Woodford Tousey, and who died at Indianapolis in 1913 in her
seventieth year; Albermarle Cady, who died in infancy; Anna Kiersted
Cady, born in 1845, and died in 1901, first married W. 0. Stone and
second Dr. Hammond of Indianapolis; Ella Wilder Cady, Avho married
John Lawrie, a merchant ; Jeremiah Kiersted Cady, born in 1855, and
married Paget Daniels, is now an architect in Chicago.
Dr. Cady after leaving the Indianapolis high school, entered Cornell
university at Ithaca, New York, where he was graduated Ph. B. in
1874. His medical education was acquired in the Bellevue Hospital
Medical College of New York, and he was graduated jM. D. in 1877.
Many years ago Dr. Cady acquired the art of stenography, and was
among the first young men in Indianapolis to use this art as a reporter
on the Indianapolis Journal, and he has practiced more or less through
all his career, being now a contributor to newspapers and medical
journals.
Dr. Cady located in Logansport, Indiana, in June, 1877, and has
practiced medicine in this city for more than thirty-five years. With
a genius for mechanics, as well as for the subtler arts of his profession,
Dr. Cady has used his skill in inventing a number of fracture splints of
a new design, and now used extensively by the profession. For several
years he held a position on the Logansport board of health, and has been
as public-spirited in his citizenship as in his profession.
Dr. Cady for many years supported the Republican party, but his
politics now is of the Progressive brand. He is a member of the Cass
County and Indiana State Medical Society, and of the American Medi-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 837
cal Association. His fraternal affiliations are with O'rient Lodge No.
272 A. P. and A. M., Logan Chapter No. 2 R. A. M. and Logansport
Council No. 11 R. and S. M.
Dr. Cady was married August 22, 1883, to Miss Jennie M. Miller, of
Waverly, New York, a daughter of Samuel W. and Adaline Parmenter
Miller, her father being a butcher by trade. Dr. Cady and wife have
the following children: Margaret Abigail Cady, born August 20, 1864,
died February 5, 1886; Eudora Helena Cady, born March 2, 1888, liv-
ing at home with her father; and Wallis Albermarle Cady, born Feb-
ruary 14, 1888, and now a newspaper reporter at Toledo, Ohio. The
family worship with the Episcopal church.
Horace Milton Funk. Among the progressive and enterprising
agriculturists of Cass county, one who has gained success through the
medium of his own efforts, and now holds an enviable position among
his fellow-citizens, is Horace M. Funk, the owner of one hundred and
twenty acres of well-cultivated land in Clay township. Mr. Funk has
been an agriculturist all of his life, and has lived at various places in
Indiana, and wherever his activities have been located he has gained
the friendship and good will of all with whom he has come in contact.
He is a native of Pennsylvania, and was bom September 19, 1859, a
son of Joseph G. and Mary (Ward) Funk, and a grandson of George
Funk.
The parents of Mr. Funk came to Cass county in 1867, Mrs. Funk,
his grandmother, being the owner of the first farm on which they settled
and this property Mr. Funk and his father worked on shares. For
some time the family lived in a frame residence in Clay township. The
farm of Mr. Funk's parents is now one of the valuable properties of the
township. Joseph G. Funk is still operating this land, but the mother
passed to her final rest on April 4, 1894.
Horace N. Funk received his education in the district schools of
Clay township, and his boyhood and youth were spent in assisting his
father, and in learning the multitude of details with which a good
farmer must be conversant. On attaining his ma,jority he began opera-
tions on his own account, but he continued under the parental roof
until 1889, when he went to Miami township, and there carried on
operations for one year. Returning to Clay township in 1890, he con-
tinued farming there until the following year, when he went to Peru,
Indiana, and continued to live there until removing to Adams town-
ship in the fall of 1892. He spent about four and one-half years in
that vicinity, and then purchased another property, but before he had
settled thereon grasped an opportunity to sell it at a satisfactory
advance, and then came to his present farm, a tract of one hundred and
twenty acres in Clay township. Here he has made a number of valuable
improvements, having a handsome residence situated on Logansport
Rural Free Delivery Route No. 5, with appropriate barns and out-
buildings. His land is in a high state of cultivation, and yields bumper
crops in return for the intelligent labors which Mr. Funk expends
upon it. Through honorable dealing and strict integrity in all his trans-
actions, he has gained a reputation for honesty and straightforwardness,
and no citizen of his locality stands higher in public esteem. He is a
838 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Republican in his political views, and, although not a politician in the
generally accepted meaning of the term, has recognized the duties of
citizenship, and has served his township both as trustee and supervisor.
With his family, he attends the Christian church, and has ever been a
liberal supporter of those movements which go to make for morality,
education and good citizenship.
Mr. Funk was married to JVIiss Mattie G. Scott, February 6, 1889,
daughter of Benjamin D. and Belinda (Carr) Scott, and they have had
three children, namely : Ruth A., who became the wife of William
English, and lives in Clay township ; Ward S., eighteen years old, and
Eveleen E., ten years of age. Ruth and Ward both received their
diplomas from the public schools, and the daughter Ruth was a student
one year in the high school and Ward has finished the full curriculum
of the high school. Eveleen is in the sixth grade. Mrs. Funk was a
daughter of Benjamin D. and Belinda (Carr) Scott. Benjamin Scott
was a native of Cass county, born in 1831, and he died in 1895, aged
about 64 years. He was a carpenter and joiner, also an agriculturist
and a Republican in his political sentiment. His wife was a member
of the Christian church. Mrs. Funk was educated in the common schools
and the American Normal, formerly of Logansport, and she was a suc-
cessful teacher in Clay and IMiami townships.
jMr. Funk is an honored member of the Knights of Pythias, also of
the IMaccabees. The comfortable home of Mr. and Mrs. Funk is known
as "The Sunny Lawn Homestead," and their home is ever open to
their many friends.
James Alvin Higgins is well known among the farming men of
Cass county as one of the most successful breeders of hogs in the vicin-
ity of Logansport. He has devoted his entire life to the farm and its
diversified interests, winning prosperity and success in all his under-
takings, and his position is one of no little prominence in the city and
county which has represented his home and the center of his activitiea
all his life. Born on the 6th day of December, 1848, in Logansport,
James Alvin Higgins is the son of Alvin McCaslin and Eliza Jane
(Reyburn) Higgins.
Alvin M. Higgins was a man of eastern birth and ancestry, and
he came to Indiana in 1834 from Portland, INIaine. En route to
Fort Dearborn (Chicago) in company with his brother, both were
stricken with a dangerous illness at Peru. The brothers were taken
into the home of Col. William M. Reyburn and there were cared for
by those kindly and gentle people. The brother died, but Alvin Higgins
was nursed into convalescence by the daughter of his good Samaritan
host, and upon his ultimate recovery he married the lady who had
saved his life. Alvin and Eliza Higgins, upon the happy culmination
of their romantic acquaintance and courtship, established a home in
Logansport, and here JMr. Higgins took up the trade in which he had
been trained in his boyhood — that of a tin and copper smith. He
opened a small shop, which was later supplemented by a line of stoves
and hardware, and to him was accorded the distinction of having been
the first man to introduce the heating stove into Cass county. Mr.
Higgins, it may also be said, was the first man in Cass county to own
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 839
a thoroughbred Durham bull, and it was about the year 1855 that he
made the purchase. He was one of the first to recognize the importance
of introducing blooded stock into the country, and with a Mr. Buchanan,
made the purchase. The transaction was one fraught with considerable
difficulty, as they were obliged to go to Kentucky to make the purchase
— a big undertaking in those early days.
Mr. and Mrs. Higgins were the parents of eight children, of whom
the following brief facts are here incorporated: William R., who was
educated for the ministry. He began preaching in 1865 and was
called out of Cass county. He died in Terre Haute, Indiana, on July
4, 1895. Emma B. died on the 8th of January, 1846 ; Sarah C. died
February 12, 1890; Mary C. died on the 4th of November, 1902; Eliza
Jane died on May 4, 1894; James A., of this review; Ella F. died on
June 19, 1907 ; Elizabeth A. died on January 8, 1902. With but a
single exception, the deceased membei's of this family lived past middle
age, Emma B. having died when she was about five years old. The wife
and mother died on August 8, 1859, and Mr. Higgins died on March
5, 1885. Mr. Higgins was a captain of a military company, organized
in Logansport and he saw active service on various occasions when
Indiana troops were called into action, in the troubles incident to those
early days. He was a man of much public spirit and a citizen who
never shirked his duties and responsibilities in the way of public serv-
ice. He served two terms as city councilman and one term as probate
judge. He was county treasurer during two terms of office and was a
member of the school board during practically all of his life in Cass
county. In all of these offices he served faithfully and well, winning
the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens and establishing a reputa-
tion for solid worth and integrity that will live while the same endures.
He was a member of Logansport Lodge, A. F. and A. M., and was a
charter member of the first Odd Fellows lodge in Logansport, and had
a similar experience with regard to a lodge known as the Sons of Tem-
perance. In about the year 1858, Mr. Higgins disposed of his tinsmith
and hardware business and engaged in the lumber industry, making
black walnut the principal item to which he devoted his operations.
He died on March 5, 1885, after an illness of a year or more, and his
death deprived Logansport and Cass county of one of the most worthy
men they had ever known.
James Alvin Higgins was educated in the schools of Logansport,
finishing his education with the high school. He saw himself as one of
the successful farmei-s of the future in Cass county, and early in life
set about the realization of his young ambition. Thus all of his busi-
ness life has been devoted to farms and farming, and success has most
generously rewarded his efforts. In later years Mr. Higgins turned
his attention to hog raising, and that enterprise has taken the best part
of his time since then.
On the 22nd of January, 1873, Mr. Higgins was united in marriage
with Miss Emma Thornton, the eldest daughter of Harvey and Catherine
(Murray) Thornton. Mrs. Higgins was born in Cass county and was
given her early education in the schools of Noble township, later at-
tending school in Cincinnati, for a year, and completing her studies
8iO HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
at the Presbyterian Academy in Logansport — tiiat institution stand-
ing in the relation to Logansport as the high school of today.
Three children came to Mr. and Mrs. Higgins, as follows: Warren
T., born on August 5, 1874; Reybum A., born on February 27, 1877;
and Mary E., whose natal day is September 23, 1881. All three are
living. The second son, Reyburn, married Lillian Stewart Jones on
July 8, 1909, and he is engaged in educational work as a teacher in the
schools of Louisville, Kentucky. Mary is also a teacher, and is carry-
ing on her work in the schools of North Vernon, Indiana.
The family are members of the Presbyterian church, in which Mr.
Higgins was carefully reared by his staunch Presbyterian parents, and
all are worthy members of society, filling admirably the places they
have made for themselves in their various communities.
William H. Dbitt. Cass county, it will not be denied, owes much
of its present day prosperity and growth to the pioneer farmer who
came in and opened up the waste places of the county more than a
half century ago and set on foot a cycle of solid improvement that has
gone on from then until now and is still in progress. In 1848 the
father of William Dritt settled on the identical spot now occupied by
the latter, and devoted the remainder of his life to the business of con-
verting the rugged wilderness into a series of blossoming meadows.
How well he succeeded in his work, self-imposed, though it was, is no
secret to any who are familiar with the history of Noble township, and
the worthy work of that sturdy pioneer has been worthily carried on by
his son, who is the subject of this review.
Born February 24, 1865, William Dritt is the son of Daniel and
Sarah (Schilling) Dritt. They had seven children, but only two are
living. Daniel Dritt was born in Pennsylvania, of German parentage
and ancestry, on January 29, 1826, and was the son of Andrew and
Elizabeth (Fishel) Dritt. He died on July 9, 1881, and the wife and
mother died June 18, 1898.
William Dritt was reared on the home farm, and upon his father's
death fell heir to the old home place, where he has since carried on the
work of the farm. He was married on February 16, 1888, to Miss Ella
Cornell.
Mrs. Dritt is a native of INIiami county, Indiana, born February 28,
1869, and the eldest of two daughters born to Jeremiah and IMaria
(Moose) Cornell: Mrs. Dritt and her sister Clara, wife of Albert
Chandler, a decorator, of Peru, Indiana. Mr. Cornell was a native of
Indiana, and was an agriculturist. He was educated only in the
common schools, was a soldier in the Civil war and received his
honorable discharge. Both he and his wife were members of the
Presbyterian church. ]\Irs. Cornell was also a native of Indiana, and her
parents were natives of New York. Mrs. Dritt was educated in the com-
mon schools. She is a lady of excellent judgment and has well performed
her part in the building up the home and in the rearing of her children.
She is a member of the Presbyterian church, also an honored member
of the Progressive Club in Logansport, a club devoted to literature,
art and music.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Dritt: Ethel
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 841
S. received her diploma from the public schools in 1904 and graduated
from the Logansport high school in 1909, and she has taken musical
instructions. She wedded Elmer Young, resident of Logansport, and
a salesman. Florence P. received her diploma from the public schools
in 1906, and then attended the Lincoln Seminary of Logansport, and
has also taken music. She married J. Jay McCormick, a resident of
Logansport, and he is engaged in the elevator business. Harry
J. received his diploma from the public schools in 1908, and was a
member of the graduating class in Logansport high school in
1913. He is associated with his father on the farm. Madge grad-
uated from the public schools in 1908, and the Logansport high
school at the early age of seventeen in the class of 1912. She is
a vocalist of more than ordinary merit. It is noticed in this sketch
that Mr. and Mrs. Dritt have given their children the best of advan-
tages in acquiring good educations, fitting them for the higher walks
of life. The homestead of the Dritts is known as "Glen Dale Farm,"
and their many friends will always find a cordial welcome there.
The farm comprises one hundred and sixty acres, and many of its
present day improvements in the way of buildings, etc., may be credited
to the present occupant of the place.
Mr. Dritt is one of the leaders of thought and opinion in his com-
munity, and attends the Presbyterian church, his life has been one
entirely consistent with his profession of faith. He is a Republican,
and has pronounced political views, though he is not more active in
the field of politics than good citizenship demands of him. He and
his family maintain a high place in the esteem and regard of their
many friends in and about Noble township, where they are known for
their many excellent traits of heart and mind, and where they are
regarded as the best of neighbors.
William Pubcell Pow^ell, deceased, was born on February 25,
1828, in Ohio, the son of Benjamin and Sarah (Carroll) Powell. He
came with his parents from Jefferson county, Ohio, the place of his
birth, to Indiana, in 1835, and they located in Cass county, settling on
a wild tract of land in Harrison township, of which they hoped to make
a farm for themselves. Here they builded a cabin home and set about
clearing up the wilderness and improving the place as best they might.
They were pioneers in the truest sense, and the first election ever held
in his community was held in the old Powell home.
Here was William Purcell Powell reared, and here in early life he
married Harriet Smith, who died without issue. His second wife was
Mrs. Delilah Isabell Gressinger, a daughter of James and ]\Iary Ann
(Carrier) Spaeey, and the widow of Adam Gressinger. Mr. Powell was
one of the old fashioned men who held as one of the tenets of his faith
that honesty was one of the cardinal virtues — a belief still in good
repute to some extent, but not held so commonly perhaps as in those
early times. He was extremely temperate in his habits, and this, no
doubt, led to his retaining his mental faculties unimpaired to the end
of his days. He was a Democrat in politics, always keenly alive to the
progress of the times, but never sought public office. He was a
Universalist in his religious belief and during his later years derived
842 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
much simple and wholesome pleasure from the study of the Scriptures.
He was a man of much courage and unlimited faith in the future, an
example of which is given in the fact that he began his married life
with a cash capital of tifty cents. His first home was no sooner com-
pleted than it was destroyed by fire, but it Avas characteristic of the
man that adversity of that order was insufficient to keep him down. He
at once rebuilt his home, and with the passing of time, he prospered,
not by waiting on fortune, but by the hardest kind of work, economy and
the application of excellent business judgment in his every-day affairs.
A noteworthy trait in him was his sturdy honesty and his high general
character. He was a kindly man in his disposition, temperate in all
things, charitable and generous in his benefactions for the public good.
He died as he lived, an honored and respected citizen, death coming to
him on October 5, 1876.
J. E. Hertsell still retains and operates the fine old place that
his grandfather came into possession of when he first came to Cass
county, Indiana, more than half a century ago, although he no longer
makes his home on the place, having a fine home of his own acquired
in Clay township, where he carries on the business of farming on an
extensive scale, and along the most approved modern methods.
Born in Miami township, Cass county, on October 21, 1885, J. E.
Hertsell is the son of Jesse and Jennie (Bird) Hertsell. The father was
the son of another, Jesse Hertsell, and the mother was the daughter of
one Eli Bird, people of English descent. The family located in IMiami
township when Jesse Hertsell was a youth, and he passed his life on
the farm his father purchased, and upon his death, which occurred in
February, 1912, the old home came into the possession of the son.
J. E. Hertsell received such education as the schools of Miami town-
ship afforded, and early in life began to devote himself to the work of
the farm. He has been successful in his operations along these lines
and has acquired a fine place of his own in recent years, located in Clay
township, and there he makes his home. In 1909 I\Ir. Hertsell married
Ruth Mannen, the daughter of Henry IMannen, and two children have
been born to them: Reta, who died when six months old in 1910, and
Helen Esther, who is now fifteen months old.
M. Hertsell and his wife are members of the Baptist church, and
take an active share in the works of that body, while Mr. Hertsell has
membership in the Knights of Pythias. They occupy a secure place in
the esteem of their many acquaintances in Clay township, as well as in
Miami township, and enjoy the friendship of many who know them for
their many excellent qualities of character.
Jesse Martin. For many years the citizen whose name heads this
short review was one of the leading agriculturists of Washington town-
ship, and his entire career was one of industry, integrity and honorable
dealing. Although not a native of Cass county, he came to this section
at an early date, and his activities were such as to gain him the respect
and esteem of his fellow-citizens, not alone in business matters, but in
the political arena and in the work of the church. Mr. Martin was
born May 4, 1834, in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, a son of Peter and
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 843
Rebecca (Long) Martin. He died February 11, 1909, and his wife died
September 8, 1908.
Peter Martin, on first coming to Cass county, purchased land on
section 27, Washington township, but in 1848 removed to section 22,
where the rest of his life was spent. He and his wife were the parents
of eight children, all born in Pennsylvania and reared in Cass county, as
follows: Francis, Simon, Jesse, Herman, Caroline, Catherine, Manassas
and Matilda. All are now deceased.
Jesse Martin commenced his education in the public schools of his
native state, where he resided until he was fourteen years of age, and
after coming to Indiana, completed his schooling in a private institu-
tion of Logansport. For several years thereafter, he devoted his at-
tention to teaching school during the winter months, while he farmed
in summers, but eventually gave up the educator's profession in order
to give his entire time to farming and stock raising, in which he be-
came very successful. He took a keen interest in the affairs of his
community, was well and favorably known among the leading business
men of his township, and for upwards of half a century was identified
with the work of the Presbyterian church, in which he acted as elder.
He had a family of eight children, of whom seven are living : Emeline,
deceased, who was the wife of John Wendling; Edwin F., who married
Edna Crane, and had five children ; Stanley, deceased ; Esther, Joseph,
Rachel and Jesse ; Roland, who married Lina Schwalm, and had six chil-
dren— Earl, Ethel, Eunice, Helen, Ruby and Lois; Albert, who married
Julietta McCreary; Irvin, who married Emma Foreman; John P.;
Manassas, who married Laura Schwalm, and has one son — Roy; and
Frank, single, who lives on the old homestead of 120 acres.
John P. jMartin, son of Jesse Martin, was born on the old home-
stead farm, October 18, 1868, and received his education in the public
schools of Cass county, in the meantime assisting his father in the work
of the home farm from the time that he was old enough to grasp the
plow handles. At the age of twenty years, he began farming on his
own account, purchasing eighty acres of land from his father, on which
he has made numerous improvements, including modern, substantial
buildings. He has always been a leader in Republican politics, and for
a time lived in Indianapolis while serving as a member of the clerical
force of the state senate. Like his father, he has been a member of the
' Presbyterian church. During his long career in Cass county he has
ever possessed the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens, and in a
work of this kind deserves honorable mention.
William H. Sharp. The career of William H. Sharp, one of the
foremost of Washington township's representative agriculturists, il-
lustrates strikingly the opportunities that are open to young men of
foresight, good judgment and business ability, for solely through the
medium of his own efforts and good business talents he has steadily
advanced until he is now one of the most substantial of his community 's
citizens. Since early manhood he has engaged in buying, cultivating
and selling farming land, and his operations have carried him all over
Cass county, where he is known as a man of the highest integrity. At
this time he is operating a tract of sixty acres, located on the Kokomo
844 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
road, about five miles from Logansport. Mr. Sharp was born August
3, 1860, in Pickaway county, Ohio, and is a son of Samuel M. and
Isabel (Bailey) Sharp.
Samuel M. Sharp was born in Columbus, Ohio, November 11, 1837.
The family is of Scotch-Irish extraction, and was founded in the United
States by Abraham Sharp, the great-grandfather of William H. Sharp,
a native of Erin and a carpenter and millwright by trade. On first
coming to America, Abraham Sharp settled in Maryland, and while
working at his trade there made a tool chest, which many years later
was in the possession of J. S. P. Marshall, a resident of Missouri, who
was also in possession of many interesting facts regarding this old and
honored family. Mr. Sharp became one of the pioneers of Franklin
county, Ohio, and at a point three and one-half miles southeast of
Columbus cleared a tract of land and made a comfortable frontier home.
In that county he married a IMiss Howard, who lived to the remark-
able old age of one hundred and two years, eleven months and seven
days, passing away in Illinois where Mr. Sharp had entered a quarter
section of land, on the present site of the city of Peoria. The chil-
dren of this union were : William, the grandfather of William H. ;
Elizabeth, who was married in Ohio to John Reader; George, who
married Susan Cramer ; Nancy ; Rachel, who married Andrew Shanklin ;
and Nathaniel, who married ]\Iary Gregg.
William Sharp was born May 12, 1806, and was married to Miss
Mary Teegardin, who was born July 17, 1812, in Pickaway county,
Ohio, a daughter of John and Mary (Brobst) Teegardin, and she died
March 21, 1880. The first two persons of the name of Teegardin to
come to this country were George Teegardin, the father of John, Bar-
bara, Anna (Graul), Aaron and Mary, the grandmother of William H.
Sharp ; and William, the father of Peter, Abraham and others. George
and William Teegardin came to Ohio in 1811, settling on land near
Ashville which their father, Aaron, from Westmoreland county, Penn-
sylvania, had entered; the latter, two years later, located there with
his sons. His children were George, William, Jacob, Daniel, a daugh-
ter who married Mr. Lauffer, Solomon, and Ann, who first married a
man named Kanouse and afterwards a man named Fippen. George
married a Miss Brobst, daughter of Jacob Brobst. The Teegardins have
been generally members of the Lutheran church. John Teegardin be-
came a pioneer farmer in Pickaway county, Ohio, and during the War
of 1812 fought valiantly in the ranks of the American army.
William Sharp, after his marriage, settled on a farm in his native
county, and was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits there
until his death, which occurred in the prime of his life, at the age of
thirty-seven years, June 30, 1845. He was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and was a man whose many excellent traits of char-
acter won the confidence and respect of all' with whom he was in any
way associated. His children were Nancy, Peter, Samuel, Samuel M.,
Aaron T. and Margaret.
Samuel I\I. Sharp, father of William H. Sharp, was given but meagre
educational advantages in his youth, as his father died when he was
eight years of age, and he was compelled to early begin his battle with
life. He was reared by his mother and guardian, the latter his uncle,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 845
Aaron Teegardiii, a farmer of Pickaway county, in whose household
he remained until he was twenty years of age. He was married in
Pickaway county to JMiss Isabel Bailey, who was born in IMadison town-
ship, that county, daughter of Reason W. and Annie (Hoymen) Bailey,
and granddaughter of William and Phoebe (Wells) Bailey. Her father,
a native of Maryland, and a carpenter by trade (although he spent the
greater part of lus life in agricultural pursuits) moved from Maryland
to Ohio and subsequently to Indiana, locating in Clay township, jMiami
county, where he died in 1873, at the age of seventy-two years. He was
an industrious man, honest and upriglit in every way, and was a worthy
member of the Lutheran church. His children were as follows : Eliza
A., Mary, Mahala, Isabel, Jama, Solomon L., Joseph L., Louis B., Phoebe
and Ellis.
After his marriage Samuel ^1. Siiarp settled on a farm in Pickaway
county, and made that place his home until 1873, when he moved to
Miami county, Indiana, arriving there on the 4th of March. He
began life without any capital whatever, but by industry and good
judgment, and with the assistance of his loyal and loving wife, he .
accumulated a competency. On locating in Miami county, he pur-
chased 100 acres of land, to the value of which he added greatly by
honest, well-directed toil. Both Mr. Sharp and his wife were actively
identitied with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, aided ma-
terially in the erection of the first house of worship in their neighbor-
hood and were always prominent in church work, Mr. Sharp being class
leader in the local church of his vicinity. His political inclinations
made him a Democrat, and fraternally he was connected with the
Masons. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Sharp :
Mary M., William H., Eliza ^I., Jennie D., Annie M., Maggie ]\I., George
L., Myrtle A., Leon C, Edmund G., Ruby N., and two who died in
infancy.
William H. Sharp was about twelve years of age when he accompa-
nied the family from Ohio to ]\Iiami county, Indiana, and during his
entire school period he assisted his father in the work of the farm. In
young manhood, his first real business venture was the clearing of a
heavily timbered tract of 100 acres of land, the timber from which he
sold, thus making for himself a considerable capital with which to start
operations. At the age of twenty-one years he went to Wabash county
and worked on a farm for three years, at the end of which time he first
came to Cass county, here spending the next five .years. He next pur-
chased a team and began farming on shares on a tract of sixty acres,
but after a short time returned to ]\Iiami county. There he was engaged
in cultivating a rented farm for a short period, but eventually came
back to Cass county and bought ninety acres of land, which he farmed
for eight yeai-s, finally selling that to purchase his present property, ilr.
Sharp has been uniformly successful in all of his business ventures,
because of the exercise of shrewdness and excellent business acumen. He
is an able .judge of land values, is known as an efBcient farmer, and
among all who have had business dealings with him is held in the highest
respect.
On March 3, 1892, Mr. Sharp was married to Miss Carrie W. Bu-
chanan, daughter of James and Mary (Buchanan) Buchanan. They
846 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
have no children. Fraternally, Mr. Sharp is connected with the Masons,
Tipton Lodge No. 33, and he and Mrs. Sharp are attendants of the
Lutheran church. He has Democratic proclivities, and, while not a
politician in the generally accepted meaning of the term, has served
efficiently as a member of the election board. The pretty homestead of
Mr. and Mrs. Sharp is known as ' ' The Cedars. ' '
John L. Warner. Cass county is largely agricultural but its thriv-
ing towns, its numerous industrial enterprises, its schools and its
churches prove that a vigorous life underlies every activity, although
here, as in every section of the world, dependence is necessarily placed
on the products of the land and the labor of those who develop it. No
matter how men may toil or how much they may achieve in any direc-
tion, they must be fed, and it is the farmer, in the background, who
turns the wheels, who fights the battles, and who provides for the sur-
vival typified in "the passing of the torch." Happily there are in
Cass county contented owners of land who intelligently and willingly
carry on the peaceful pursuits of agriculture and, although they do not
seek svich a term of approbation, are, nevertheless, benefactors of man-
kind. They are often men of wide information on many subjects, usually
are men qualified for offices of public service, for the proper cultiva-
tion of the soil and a realization of its utmost yield require knowledge
on many subjects. Among the representative citizens of Cass county who
have devoted their energies to the tilling of the soil, none are held in
higher esteem than John L. Warner, of Clay township, a man who
has impressed himself upon the community not only as an agriculturist
but as a public-spirited citizen whose services in official office have aided
materially in his locality's effort towards good government.
Mr. Warner was born January 22, 1867, in Clay township, Cass
eoiuity, Indiana, and is a son of Fielding G. and Florence (Maurice)
Warner, and a grandson of David Warner. His father was of French
and Welsh descent and was born at Dayton, Ohio, November 4, 1837,
and died December 27, 1907, in Clay township, while his mother, who
was born in France and came to this country when she was nine years
of age, still survives and makes her home with Mr. Warner's brother,
Samuel, who lives on the farm adjoining that of John L. Warner. Mr.
Warner 's parents had six children, as follows : David, who died when
aged one year; Alice, who married Will Smith and died when thirty-
four years of age; Emma, who was eight years old at the time of her
death ; Florence, who died at the age of six years ; John L. ; and Samuel,
who married Blanche Powell, and has one child : Florence, who was born
December 3, 1907.
John L. Warner attended the district schools of Clay township and
is a graduate of Hall's Business College in Logansport, Indiana. He
was reared to agricultural pursuits, in which he has been engaged all
of his life. His present farm, a tract of one hundred and seventy-two
acres, is one of the finest in this part of the county, and during the twenty
years he has resided here he has brought his land to a high state of culti-
vation. New and modern structures have been erected by Mr. Warner,
and his entire property testifies eloquently to his able management and
-y-^
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 847
good judgment. Progressive in all matters, in 1912 he allied himself
with the so-called Bull Moose party, and at the present time is efficiently
serving as a member of the county council. He has also served as trus-
tee of Clay township and has always brought to his official services the
same conscientious devotion to duty that has made him so successful
in his business affairs. His brother, Samuel Warner, is the present as-
sessor of Bethlehem township. With his family, Mr. Warner attends
the Christian church.
On December 20, 1888, Mr. Warner was married to Miss Minnie
Alma Shilling. One child was born to this union : Florence Ruth, who
died at the age of five months.
Mrs. AVarner is a native of Clay township, Cass county, and was born
May 12, 1865, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Maurer) Shilling,
and her parents were natives of Ohio, of German lineage, and both are
deceased.
Mrs. Warner was educated in the common schools and the city
schools of Logansport. She is a member of the Bethel Methodist Epis-
copal church and a member of the Ladies' Aid Society in the Spring
Creek Christian church.
Mr. Warner is a member and deacon in the Spring Creek Christian
church. They are people who enjoy life in their beautiful country seat,
known as "Summit Lodge," and they have a five-passenger Hupmobile
touring car. They are citizens who stand high in the social world of
Cass county.
Adelbert L. Hoover. The name of Hoover has long been promi-
nently associated with the agricultural history of Cass county, where
for years members of the family have contributed materially to the
growth and development of what is now one of the most prosperous
sections of Indiana. They have also enrolled among those who have
promoted movements for the advancement of education, morality and
good citizenship, fairly earning the right to be classed with their com-
munity's representative men. Adelbert L. Hoover, a well-known mem-
ber of this old and honored family, is maintaining the high standard set
by his forebears, and is one of the agriculturists of AVashington town-
ship who take a pride in developing their land through the use of
modern methods and appliances. He was born August 22, 1871, in
Richland county, Wisconsin, and is a son of Thomas and Laura (Yates)
Hoover, the former of whom brought the family to Cass county more
than a quarter of a century ago and is still living on his farm. There
were four children in the family : Mrs. ^lary Berryman, William,
Jacob and Adelbert L.
The early education of Adelbert L. Hoover was secured in the public
schools of AVisconsin, and his tuition was completed in the institutions
of Cass county, whence he had come when he was about fifteen years
of age. During his early youth, in his struggles to secure a property of
his own, he met with the usual difficulties that bar the path of a youth
who without capital or influential friends is seeking a competence and
independent position, but each experience added to his fund of knowl-
edge and prepared him to better face the next obstacle. Industry and
perseverance finally triumphed, and at this time he is the owner of a
848 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
handsome property of 100 acres, which produces large crops, and on
which he has made manj- valuable improvements. He devotes his whole
time to general farming and stock raising, in both of which lines he
has met with uniform success, and among his neighbors and associates
he is known as a good, practical farmer and an excellent judge of live
stock.
On JMay 2, 1901, INIr. Hoover was united in marriage in Cass county
with ]\Iiss Margaret Alma ilartin, daughter of Herman and Margaret
(Blozier) JMartin of this county. They have had no children. ]Mi*s.
Hoover is a member of the Union Presbyterian church of Washington
township and has taken an active part in work of a religious and
charitable nature. Fraternally, Mr. Hoover is popular with the members
of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 314 of
Wallen, while his political connection is with the Democratic party, in the
activities of which he has taken a leading part in his section, although
he has n^ver cared for nor sought piiblic office. Air. Hoover's life has
been a busy and a useful one, his business methods have ever been
unmarred by stain or blemish, and at all times he has been true to the
obligations and duties that have rested vipon him. As a man who has
the best interests of his community at heart he enjoys widespread
esteem, and his acquaintance is large and his friendships numerous.
I\Ir. and Mrs. Hoover's homestead is known as "Cottage House" and is
one of the pretty properties of the county.
James Vernon. Cass county is the home of some excellent citizens
who have employed themselves in tilling the soil. j\Iany of these have
spent their entire lives on the property which they are now cultivating,
and in this class stands James Vernon, of Washington township, who
owns forty acres and farms about eighty acres on the township road. A
member of a family which has been connected with agricultural affairs
for a number of generations, his whole training has been along this
line, and as a result he has made a success of his operations, and is justly
considered one of his community's most skilled agriculturists. ]\Ir.
Vernon was born in the old home, which still stands on his present farm,
August 12, 1850, and is a son of Pickering and Elizabeth (Burkit)
Vernon. His father, a native of Greenville, Darke county, Ohio, came
to Indiana in young manhood, and purchased land from the government
in Cass county for $1.50 per acre, here spending the remainder of his
life as a farmer, and dying advanced in years with the respect and
esteem of the people of his community. He married Elizabeth Burkit, a
member of an old and honored Cass county family, and they became the
parents of nine children, as follows: William, who is deceased; Ensley,
John, James, Jane, Thomas and IMargaret, who are deceased ; Mary,
and Daniel, who is deceased. Both Mr. and ]\Irs. Vernon were deeply
religious people and reared their children to honest. God-fearing lives.
James Vernon was given only ordinary educational advantages
during his youth, hut close observation and much reading and discus-
sion of timely subjects have made him an exceedingly well-informed
man. With his father and brothers, he spent his youtliful days in clear-
ing, grubbing and general farm labor, and when he reached the age
of twenty-four years embarked upon a career of his own. For some
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 849
years he rented land from his father, working faithfully and indns-
trionsly and earefully saving his earnings until sueh time as he was
able to invest in property, his first small purchase forming the nucleus
for his present farm. ]\Ir. Vernon is one of the most progressive of
farmers, and is always ready to adopt new methods and to experiment
with new inventions. As a re.sult. his land is in a high state of cultiva-
tion, and is considered one of the most valuable farms of its size in this
part of the township. Although general farming has occupied the
greater part of his attention, he has also devoted himself to some extent in
raising stock, his .success in this line having been commensurate with
the labor he has expended upon it. Mr. Vernon has never cared to enter
public life, his ambitions being satisfied in his farm and his home, but
he is known as a public-spirited citizen, and any measure which com-
mends itself to his judgment as one which promises to be of benefit to the
community can depend upon his hearty support. He holds member-
ship in the Christian church, which he attends consistently and sup-
ports liberally.
Mr. Vernon was married September 25, 1873, to Miss Mahala
F. West, daughter of Paynter and Catherine (Myers) West, and to
this union there were born two children, namely : Rose, deceased, who
was the wife of Alva Knapp, a Cass county farmer, and had one
child, Ellis, who is also deceased ; and Blanch, who married Emmett
Small, and had two children — John and Zelma Olive; On September
7, 1909, Mr. Vernon was married to IMrs. Katie (Eberley) Honicker,
and three children have been born to them — Frank, Walter and Car-
rie. The pretty homestead of Mr. and Mrs. James Vernon is known as
"Park Lawn."
RoLLTN T. Martin. It is a noticeable fact that the agriculturists of
any section who have the best farms are those who take the most pride
in the prosperity of their community and the most active part in the
upbuilding and development of the section in which they reside. This
holds true in Cass county as elsewhere, and one of these representative
farmer-citizens is Rollin T. Martin, who has always been in the lead-
ing ranks of any movement likely to prove of benefit to his locality.
INIr. Martin has spent his entire career in this part of the state, and is
thoroughly acciuainted with soil and climatic conditions, as well as
with the most minute detail of the vocation of farming. He was born
IMay 9, 1862, on the old JMartin homestead in Washington township,
Cass county, Indiana, and is a son of Jesse and Christina (Miimmey)
Martin. Jesse Martin was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Cass
county, and a full sketch of his career will be found in another part of
this work.
Rollin T. Martin was reared in his native township, securing his
education in the district schools, which he attended only when the
weather was such that farm work conld not be done. He continued to
assist his father until he reached the age of twenty-two years, at which
time he began fanning on his own account. Later he bought his
present property from his father, and this tract of eighty acres, situated
on the Walton road has continued to be his home until the present time.
Mr. Martin is an able agriculturist and an excellent judge of live stock.
850 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
He has made numerous valuable improvements on his land, which is
equipped with a comfortable home, a commodious barn, and outbuild-
ings for the shelter of his stock, grain and implements, all substantial
in character and of an attractive architectural design. Modern meth-
ods and improved machinery are used exclusively, and the excellent
crops that are raised justify the procedure.
On May 14, 1885, Mr. jMartin was united in marriage with Miss
Caroline M. Schwalm, of Cass county, a member of an old and honored
family of this section, and to this union there have been born six chil-
dren, namely: Earl G., who was educated in the schools of Logans-
port, and now resides at home assisting his father in the management
of the farm; Ethel L., who also resides with her parents; Eunice P. and
Helen M., who are teachers in the public schools of Cass county ; Ruby
G., who is attending the Walton high school; and Lois E., a graded
school pupil. The family is connected with the Presbyterian church,
of which Jesse IMartin was a charter member, while Rollin T. is now
acting in the capacity of deacon. Mr. Martin bears the reputation of
being a man who has always attended strictly to his own business, and
has not been desirous of entering public atfairs. However, he takes an
interest in all that affects his community, and his hearty co-operation
and support are given to those measures which he feels will be of benefit
to his community. The Martin farm is noted for its Short-horn cattle,
which bring top-notch prices in the markets. The homestead of ]\Ir. and
Mrs. Martin is known as "Maple Lawn Farm," and is the abode of
hospitality.
Manasseh M. ]\L\rtin. One of the old and honored families of Cass
county is that of Martin, whose members have been identified with Ihe
agricultural interests of this section for many years, and whose activi-
ties have served in material manner to promote the growth and develop-
ment of the community and its interests. Styles and methods of farm-
irfg have changed during the past half a century, but the family con-
tributes to the new school of practical, scientific farming just as it did
to the old style. A worthy representative of the name is found in
Manasseh M. Martin, of Washington township, who is cultivating an
excellent tract of sixty acres, located on the Walton road, about nine
miles southeast of Logansport. Mr. Martin has been a life-long resi-
dent of this section, and years of experience have given him a practical
knowledge of conditions in this vicinity, where he is known as an in-
dustrious agriculturist and exemplary citizen. He was born on the old
Martin homestead, located in Washington township, Cass county,
Indiana, January 11, 1871, and is a son of Jesse and Christina
(Mummey) Martin. Jesse Martin was for many years one of the leading
farmers of his part of the county. A complete review of his life and
labors will be found on another page of this work.
Manasseh M. Martin secured his education in the same manner as
most farmers' sons of his day, being a student in the district schools
when he could be spared from the work of the home farm, principally
during the winter months. He was thus fitted mentally while secur-
ing a strong constitution and a knowledge of the principles of his
chosen vocation, for even in his youth he had decided to follow in the
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 851
footsteps of his forefathers and to continue a tiller of the soil. He re-
mained on the old homestead, assisting his father until he reached his
majority, at which time he left the parental roof and started to make
his own way in the world. Not long thereafter he located on his pres-
ent property, which then had but few improvements and was far from
being fully productive. With youthful energy he settled down to
develop his land, determined that he would one day be the owner of
one of the best farms of its size in the township. That he has suc-
ceeded in his efforts, is shown by the general appearance of the prop-
erty, every detail of which gives evidence of a wise and capable manage-
ment. General farming has been given the greater part of his atten-
tion, although he has also devoted some time to the raising of stock,
and is known as a. good .judge of cattle and horses. Like other success-
ful men of his locality, he has realized that one of the surest ways to
advance one's private interests is to advance the interest of the com-
munity, and has acted acordingly, lending his hearty support to every
movement that is calculated to advance public progress. He has been
identified with Republican politics for some time, and was chairman of
the precinct committee although his identification with public life has
been rather as a director than as an active participant in search of
honors. With his family, he attends the Presbyterian church.
Mr. ]\Iartin was married May 14, 1895, to Laura B. Schwalm, the
estimable daughter of Henry and Helena (Haemal) Schwalm, a sketch
of whose careers will be found in anotlier part of this work under the
caption of George Schwalm. Mr. and I\Irs. ^lartin have had one son :
Roy E., who graduated from the public schools in the class of 1911, and
who is a practical agriculturist, being associated with his parents. Mrs.
Martin is a native of Cass county, born September 16, 1871, and edu-
cated in the common schools. She has been treasurer of the Missionary
Society for ten years and is in the office yet. She has been one of the
efficient Sunday school teachers for twenty-two years — of girls — and
some of these girls are now married. Mrs. Martin and her class put in
two stained or art glass windows in the Presbyterian church in Wash-
ington township. She has been one of the most active ladies in the
county in all work pertaining to the advancement of her home com-
munity. She has been an able factor in the establishment of her beau-
tiful home known as "Shady Nook." She is a member of the Home
Makers' Club of Cass county, which was organized February, 1913.
WiLLARD E. Shanteau, proprietor of the Twin Beeches Farm, a
tract in AVashington township that has been developed from its virgin
state to its present excellence by its owner, was born ]\Iarch 28, 1870,
in a house at the corner of Twelfth and Broadway, Logansport,
Indiana, and is a son of Sylvester and Lydia (Rogers) Shanteau.
Sylvester Shanteau was born near the city of Toledo, in Lucas
county, Ohio, where as a lad he drove horses on the canal. Subse-
quently, he worked his way to Logansport, Indiana, where he learned
the trade of blacksmith, an occupation which he followed during the
remainder of his life in Cass county in connection with farming. He
became one of his community's best known citizens, and at the time of
his death was in comfortable circumstances, and had a wide circle of
852 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
warm friends. ^Ir. Shanteau married ]\Iiss Lydia Rogers, and they
became the parents of seven children, namely : Willard E. ; ]\Iarcus :
Frank, who resides in Logansport ; Charles, of Cincinnati, Ohio ; and
three who died young.
Willard E. Shanteau was still a lad when brought to Washington
township by his father, and here he secured his education in the public
schools during such time as he could be spared from the work of the
farm. He was an ambitious, industrious lad, making the most of his
opportunities and thoroughly training himself in every detail of farm
work, and by the time he was twenty years of age was able to make
his first payment on his present farm, a tract of forty acres of land.
This property was in rather poor condition, but ]\Ir. Shanteau 's intelli-
gent treatment of the soil, his untiring perseverance and his patient in-
dustry ha^'e worked wonders, and the land is now considered one of
the valuable tracts of the township. General farming and stock rais-
ing have received his attention, and his ventures have proved success-
fill liecause of his close application to his work. He has not entered
public life, and cares but little for politics except as a voter, but has
interested himself to some extent in fraternal work, and is a popular
member of the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America at
Walton.
M. Shanteau was married November 25, 1890, to Miss Fannie L.
Jenness, daughter of Perry and ^Margaret (Walters) Jenness, residents
of Logansport, and to this union there have been born three children,
two sons and one daughter: Owen, now eighteen years of age and
who resides with his parents, assists in the cultivation of the home
farm, and spends the winter terms in teaching school in Washington
township. The members of the family are affiliated with the Christian
church, in which all have many warm friends.
John J. Hummel. Some of Cass county's best agriculturists are
men who originally engaged in other pursuits, but who, coming of
families whose members had for generations been tillers of the soil,
eventually found the call of the land too strong, and returned to the
occupation of their forefathers, finding therein the medium in which
they have worked their way to success and independence. In this
category is found John J. Hummel, who is carrying on operations on
a well-cultivated tract of 188 acres, situated on the Hummel road,
about six and one-half miles from Logansport. ]\Ir. Hummel is one of
his section's good, practical farmers, and his large crops testify to his
ability to cultivate his property under the most modern methods. He
was born on the old Hummel place, in Washington township, Cass
county, Indiana, September 3, 1871, and is a son of George A. and
Elizabeth (Deitz) Hummel. His father, a native of Hummelstown,
Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, came to ]Madison county, Indiana, in
1862, as a young man, but after a short stay there made removal to
Cass county, and here he was engaged in farming up to the time of
his death, in August, 1908. He and his wife were the parents of five
children, namely : Anna, who is deceased : John J., of this review ;
William G., living on the old home place; ]\Irs. Minnie E. Cripe; and
Mayme M., who also lives on the Hummel homestead.
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 853
John J. Hummel secured his education in the district schools in
the vicinity of his father's farm, in the meantime l)eing trained to the
occupation of agriculturist. He also devoted himself to learning the
carpenter's trade, became a skilled mechanic, and for some years was
SQ engaged, erecting many houses, barns and other structures in this
section. In 1892, ^Ir. Hummel returned to farming, purchasing his
present property, then a poorly cultivated tract which boasted of but
minor improvements and was considered of only nominal value.
Twenty years of intelligent treatment has worked wonders with this
soil, and JMr. Hummel may now lay claim to being the owner of one of
the handsome properties of his county. He is always quick to take
advantage of new innovations, realizing that modern methods bring
better results than the hit-or-miss operations of former years, and the
appearance of his fai-m testifies mutely, but elociuently, to the pres-
ence of good management. His stock are sleek and well fed, and Mr.
Hummel bears the re])utation among his neighbors as being an excellent
judge of cattle.
In ]\Iarch, 1897, ]\Ir. Hummel was united in marriage with ]\Iiss
Nora B. Shanks, daughter of Henry and ]Mary (Blue) Shanks, and to
this union there have been born two children: Forest J., who is now
in his third year of high school, a member of class 1914 ; and Ide Lorea.
who is attending the Young America school in the seventh grade.
Mr. Hummel has interested himself to some extent in fraternal work,
and is a popular member of the Odd Fellows Lodge No. 477, and
Moose loclge. His religious belief is that of the Lutheran church and
Mrs. Hummel's of the Baptist.
Reuben George Ball. Among the pioneer families of Cass county
whose long connection with the agricultural interests have made their
names well known in this section of the state, none have attained greater
prestige, perhaps, than that of Ball. Coming to the then wilderness
of Indiana at an early day, representatives of this name bore their full
share in the early development of the locality, and their descendants
have ably carriecl on the work which they started. Located in Clay
township, on Rural Free Delivery Route No. 5, is the handsome property
belonging to William B. Ball, a tract that is now being intelligently
operated by i\Ir. Ball's son. Reuben G. Ball, a yoimg man of industry
and enterprise who has inherited the sterling traits of character which
have gained the bearers of the name the esteem and respect of their fel-
low-citizens in years past. Reuben G. Ball was born August 28. 1886,
on the old Ball homestead, which he now operates, and is a son of Wil-
liam B. and Jennie (Coons) Ball. The family was founded in Cass
county by his grandfather, David Ball, who was born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, October 2, 1811, and came to Indiana in young manhood.
Here William B. Ball was born in a little log house, the original pioneer
home of the family, and grew^ to manhood in the woods, being trained to
agricultural pursuits. He still survives and is one of his township's
leading citizens. William B. Ball was married (tirst) to Jennie Coons,
the daughter of George Coons, also an early settler, and she died on
November 11, 1892. In 1905, IMr. Ball married (second) Mrs. Etta
(Graiiel) Metzger, the widow of Dave IMetzger.
854 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Reuben G. Ball received his education in the district schools of Clay
township, and was reared to the woi'k of the farm. As a young man
he also learned the trade of carpenter, which he followed for five years,
and spent another year in the west, working in INIontana. On his re-
turn, he resumed farming, and on the day following his marriage located
on the present property, which he has since been conducting for his
father. This tract consists of 100 acres, and is in a high state of cultiva-
tioji, the land being fertile, with an abundant water supply, and sup-
plied with all modern appliances and improvements. A fine set of
buildings enhance the value of this farm, the residence, built in 1898,
and the barn, erected in 1900. having been put up by ^Ir. Ball and his
father. j\Ir. Ball is a man of progressive ideas, and has demonstrated
that he is fully capable of obtaining a full measure of success from his
operations.
On ilarch 6, 1912. Mr. Ball was married to INIiss Agnes B. Wilson,
who was born in Benton county, Indiana, daughter of Robert and Jane
(Henderson) Wilson, natives of Scotland. Mr. and JMrs. Ball are the
parents of one little daughter, Catharine Irene, born January 16, 1913.
Mr. and I\Irs. Ball are members of the Baptist church, and have been
active in its work. In his political views Mr. Ball is a Republican, but
so far he- has found no time to devote other than a good citizen 's interest
in matters of a public nature. However, his support and cooperation
are given to movements calculated to be of a beneficial nature to his
community or its people. He is a member of the Eel River Lodge, I. 0.
O. F., corner of Fifth and North streets, Logansport. A young man of
pleasing personality, he has a wide acquaintance in Clay township, and
is bighly regarded by a wide circle of personal friends. The homestead
of Mr. and ^Irs. Reuben Ball is known in Clay township as "The
Pleasant View Stock Farm."
Hakry N. Little. Some of the most enterprising agriculturists of
Cass county belong to the younger generation who bring to their work
the enthusiasm and ambition of youth, while they profit by the expe-
riences of those who have preceded them. A large proportion of the
farmers of this class come of old agricultural families, whose members
have for generations been tillers of the soil, and thus they contribute
to their labors a natural inclination that is helpful in solving the many
problems that arise to try the abilities of the agriculturist. Harry Lit-
tle, an energetic and successful young farmer and stock raiser, may be
said to belong to this class. For about five years he has been operating
his father's property, a tract of 172 acres of well-cultivated land, lo-
cated about two miles northwest of Onward, and the satisfactory results
he is securing from his labor stamps him as one of his section's able
young farmers. ]\Ir. Little was born on the old Little homestead, in
Miami county, Indiana, March 17, 1886, and is a son of Lewis and, Alice
(Sullivan) Little. His father, one of the leading farmers of Miami
county, has been engaged in tilling the soil, all his life, and is still en-
gaged in extensive farming and stock raising operations there. He and
his wife have had five children, namely: Susan, who became the wife of
John Williams ; ]\Iinnie, who married Arthur ]\Iays ; Laura, who is the
wife of Homer Reed; Charles and Harry.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 855
Harry Little was reared on his father's homestead place in Miami
county, and there commenced his schooling which was finished after he
came to Cass county. He was thoroughly trained in the multitude of
duties with which the modern agriculturist must be familiar to obtain a
full measure of success, and continued to work in association with his
father until he reached the age of twenty-two years. At that time, having
demonstrated his ability, he was placed by bis father in the management
of the farm on which he is now carrying on operations, and which, in
the short space of five years, he has made one of the finest in his part of
Tipton township. The greater part of his attention has been given to
general farming, although stock raising has also come in for a share of
his activities, and in all departments of farm work he has shown him-
self possessed of ability, good judgment and farsightedness. Numerous
improvements on this land have been made under his supervision, and
substantial buildings have been erected, the latest being a modern home,
equipped with all comforts and conveniences, substantial in character,
and of architectural beauty.
On August 26, 1908, INIr. Little was united in marriage with Miss
Olive E. Mays, the daughter of Edward and Florence (Mackey) Mays,
of Cass county, and to this union there has been born two sons, Gordon
M. and Nelson L. With his wife, Mr. Little attends the Christian
church, in the work of which they have been active, and in which they
have numerous friends. He has not taken other than a good citizen's
interest in matters of a political nature.
Charles B. Wilson. Belonging to a family which has resided in
Cass county for more than eighty years and has taken an impoi'tant
part in the advancement and development of the agricultural interests
of the county, Charles B. Wilson, of Tipton township, holds prestige
as a worthy representative of his section's best farming citizenship. He
is now the owner of 176 acres of excellent land, in addition to cultivat-
ing which he is serving capably as a member of the township board of
trustees. Mr. Wilson was born in a log cabin located just across the
road from his present farm, on the IMarion road, about seven miles from
Logansport, and is a son of Andrew and Eleanor D. (Tucker) Wilson.
Andrew Wilson was born in Virginia, April 7. 1812, and when six
months old was taken by his parents to Greenbrier county, in that state,
where he was reared to manhood. About the year 1829 he left the Old
Dominion, journeyed overland by team, and settled near New AVaverly,
and in 1839 came to Tipton township and took up a government claim.
Here he purchased two hundred and ten acres of land at a dollar and a
quarter per acre, built a little log cabin, and at once began the difficult
task of developing a farm from the heavily timbered land. As the years
passed he continued to add to the improvements of his property, and
when he died, December 22, 1892, he was one of the substantial men
of his community. He was a member of the United Brethren church,
and in his political affiliations was a Republican. On November 10,
1842, he was married to ]\liss Eleanor D. Tucker, who was born in Clark
county, Ohio, daughter of James and Charlotte (Dunn) Tucker. To
this union there were born the following children : William H., bom
December 4, 1843, and now deceased; Harry G., born in 1845, a resident
856 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
of Chicago ; Mareellus T., born in 1847, a resident of Tipton township ;
Alice, born December 26, 1848, who married A. J. Sharts; Carrie, bom
May 4, 1851, a resident of Los Angeles, California; Linnie J., born Au-
gust 8, 1853, who married Andrew Shirley ; JMary Louise, born June 22,
1855, deceased; James A., born October 5, 1857, who died in infancy;
Jennie, born February 24, 1859, who married J. M. Stucky, and is now
deceased; Charles B. ; Martha E., born November 1, 1863, who married
Thos. East ; and Laura, born October 12, 1868, who married Grant Hug-
hell, resident of Madison county.
Charles B. Wilson divided his boyhood days between work on the
home farm and attendance at the old AVilson school, and he subsequently
was a student in Logansport for one year. On reaching his majority he
engaged in farming on his own account, and as the years passed gradu-
ally bought more and more of the old homestead, finally purchasing the
interests of the other heirs to his father's estate. He now has a well-
cultivated property of 176 acres, and is justly regarded as one of his'
township's most substantial citizens. He uses the most approved mod-
ern methods in his work, takes a pride in being able to advance his in-
terests by the use of the latest invented machinery, and a consequence
has attained a full measure of success. He is known as a man of public
spii'it, who has the welfare of his community at heart, and his neighbors
and associates cheerfully testify to his integrity in matters of a business
nature.
Mr. Wilson was married to IMiss Amanda Catherine Gottschall Janu-
ary 1. 1884. Mrs. Wilson was liorn in Cass county, Indiana, August 25,
1863, the fifth in a family of six children, two sons and four daughters,
born to Henry and ]\Iaria Jane (Roderick) Gottschall. Both of her par-
ents are deceased. ]\Irs. Wilson was reared and educated in her native
county and is a lady of pleasing address, sociable, and has a kind word
for all. The eldest of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson's children is Chester H., who
received his diploma from the public schools, class of 1912, and put in
one year at high school work at Onward, Ind. Byron A. received his
diploma from the public schools at the age of thirteen and spent one
year in high school. Clara Louise is in the seventh grade and has also
taken music. IMr. and Mrs. Wilson are giving their children good prac-
tical educations. ]\Ir. AVilson is a trustee of Tipton township and was
elected to that office in 1908 for four years, but his term is extended and
will end in 1914. ]\lr. and ]\Irs. Wilson are consistent members of the
ITnited Brethren church, and he is affiliated fraternally with the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of Anoka, Indiana. Their homestead
is known as Maple Grove Stock Farm.
Adelbert C. Powyer. One of the best known families of Cass county
and of the most hiahlv esteemed ones, is represented worthilv by Adel-
bert C. Bowyer, a well k"0wn farmer in the vicinity of New AA'averly. in
this county. A sketch of the family is presented elsewhere in this work
in the bioeraphy of John Bowyer. the paternal grandfather of the sub-
ject, and for details of the father of Adelbert Bowyer, the reader is re-
ferred to the life of John M. Bowyer mentioned above. It suffices to say
at this iunctiire that Adelbert C. Bowyer is the son of Allen W. and
Elizabeth (William) Bowyer, and the grandson of Lewis ]\I. Bowyer,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 857
pioneers of this section of the state and esteemed throughout their long
and useful lives as only honest and worthy men are honored.
Adelbert C. Bowyer was born in ]\liami township in this county, on
February 7, 1866. As a boy he attended the school at Walton and the
Cross Roads, after which he turned his attention to the farm and its
care, early learning much of the practical side of farming as a result of
his association with his father in the home work. At the age of twenty
tlie young man had rented a tract of farm land from his paternal grand-
father, who assisted him greatly liy the advice and instructions he was
so well qualified to offer. The lessons he had early learned in industry
and general good management soon enal)led him to purchase land in the
vicinity of AValton, where he lived for some years, eventually buying his
present farm near Lewisburg. The place is a well managed one of one
hundred and fifty acres lying on Pipe creek, and is well known for one
of the most thrifty and productive places in the community. Prosperity
and contentment are attributes of the Bowyer home that are readily
discernible to the most casual observer and the family is one that enjoys
the friendship and high regard of all who share in their acquaintance.
Mr. Bowyer in young manhood married Miss IMary C. Fidler, Feb-
ruary 27, 1887, and to them have been born two children, Clifford A.,
their first born, married Luella Flannigan, and AVayne W., is the
younger child.
Fraternally IMr. Bowyer is affiliated with the Improved Order of
Red Men, Kokomo, Howard county, and he and his family are mem-
bers of the New Light Christian church. He gives all due attention to
the duties of citizenship, and has a share in all the works of civic im-
provement carried on in his town and county. The homestead of j\Ir.
and ^Irs. Bowyer is known as ' ' Pine Lodge. ' '
Oscar Wilson. Among the members of that class of self-made men
of whom Cass county has reason to be proud, men who, unaided, have
fought the battles of life without capital or influential friends, and have
worked their way to the top through the sheer force of their own abil-
it}^ and industry, Oscar AVilson, now a farmer of Tipton townshii?, takes
prominent place. He has been a resident of this part of Indiana all of
his life, and has accumulated a haiidsome property of 200 acres, located
on the banks of the AVabash river, near Lewisburg. Mr. Wilson was
born April 7, 1856, near Peru, in Peru township, Miami county, In-
diana, and is a son of Absalom and Magdalena (Fisher) AVilson. The
parents of Mr. AA^'ilson both came from Clarksburg, West Virginia, not
long after their marriage, settling in Miami county, where they passed
the remainder of their lives in the cultivation of the soil. They were
the parents of nine children, namely: Oscar, Thomas J., George F.,
Omer, Absalom, Olive, IMargaret A., Ella and Noah.
Oscar Wilson received his educational training in an old log school
house in the vicinity of his native home, which he attended during the
short winter terms, the whole period of his lioyhood lieing devoted dur-
ing the spring, summer and fall months to work on his father's farm.
For some years after attaining his majority he rented land from his
father, liut subsequently acquired enough means to purchase a property
858 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
on Big Indian creek, in Pnlaski connty, where he managed to bring 160
acres of land under a high state of cultivation, although when he first
located thereon it had been in its virgin condition, without improvement
of any kind. There he continued to reside until 1895, in which year he
came to his present location, here purchasing 100 acres, to which he has
added from time to time, now having 200 acres of some of the best land
to be found in this part of Cass county. He has carried on general
farming and stock raising, and has made improvements of a substantial
and valuable nature, the general appearance of his land testifying to his
ability as an agriculturist and business man. Among his neighbors and
associates, ]\Ir. Wilson bears a high reputation for integi'ity and probity
. of character, and he is generally esteemed by all who know him. Mr.
and Mrs. Wilson reside in their modern, eight-room residence, recently
erected by Mr. Wilson, and equipped with all modern conveniences and
comforts. Here they entertain their numerous friends with old-
fashioned hospitality.
On February 22, 1881, ]\Ir. Wilson was married to Miss Julia C. Sco-
vel, daughter of Harmon and Cornelia (Huested) Scovel. Her father,
a native of Germany, emigrated to the United States when nineteen
years of age, locating first in New York, and later at Fort Wayne, In-
diana, and finally settled on a farm in Allen county. Mr. and Mrs. Wil-
son have had five children : Elma M. and Zelma C, twins, the former of
whom is deceased, while the latter resides with her parents ; Carrie, who
is deceased ; Nola L., residing at home, and Harmon, who is a student at
Defiance, Ohio. Mr. Wilson is a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, No. 52, of Peru, Indiana, among the members of which
he numbers many sincere friends. His religious affiliation is with the
Christian church, of which for years he has been a consistent member
and liberal supporter. He has been a lifelong adherent of Democratic
policies and candidates. His career has been a long and honorable one,
and now he may look back over a life that has been not alone of benefit
to himself but to his fellowmen, content in the knowledge that no stain
or blemish mars an honorable record.
George P. Sharts. Among the Qld and honored residents of Cass
county who are devoting their activities to the cultivation of the soil,
George P. Sharts, of Tipton township, holds prominent place. Mr.
Sharts has been a resident of Tipton township since 1849, and has borne
no small part in the development of this section from a practical wilder-
ness, into one of the most productive sections of Indiana, and bears a
high reputation among the people of his vicinity, who know him as an
industrious agricultiirist and a citizen who has always had the best in-
terests of his community at heart. His present sixty-acre farm is lo-
cated on the Galveston road, about ten miles from Logansport. Mr.
Sharts was born November 9, 1839, near Germantown, in ]\Iontgomery
county, Ohio, and is a son of George and Frances (Bear) Sharts. His
parents were born in the vicinity of Hagerstown, Maryland, from
whence they moved to Frederick county, that state, and later removed
to Montgomery county, Ohio, where they resided for some years. In
1849 they came to Cass county, Indiana, settling first on the farm now
occupied by N. B. Richinson, and lived in a little log house for some
HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY 859
years, until this shelter was replaced by a dwelling of more modern
character and architecture. A large portion of this land was covered
with a heavy growth of timber, which was cleared by Mr. Sharts and
his sons, and there he spent the remainder of his life, his death occur-
ring in 1853, when he was fifty-three years of age, and that of his wife
in 1875, when she was seventy-two years old. They became wealthy and
substantial people of their section, although the elder Sharts did not
live to see his labors bear their full share of fruit. George P. and
Frances (Bear) Sharts became the parents of the following children:
Mary M., Rose Ann and Elizabeth, who are all deceased ; Mrs. Cather-
ine Hahn ; Mrs. Jane P. Phillips ; Abraham and John, who are both de-
ceased; George P.; William O., who is deceased; Abijah J., who is en-
gaged in farming in Tipton township, and Caroline Lucas, who is de-
ceased.
George P. Sharts was only sixteen years of age when his father died,
and, being the eldest of the sons he was 'Called upon to bear the brunt of
the farm work as soon as he was old enough to do so. His educational
advantages were somewhat limited, but he made the most of his oppor-
tunities, and being an intelligent and observing youth soon acquired a
good schooling. On leaving the parental roof, he started working out
among the agriculturists of his locality, thriftily saving- his earnings
with the end in view of becoming the owner of land of his own, and this
ambition has been accomplished, for his present land is now one of the
best properties of its size in this part of the township. He is engaged
in general farming and stock raising, and the success that has rewarded
his efforts may be taken as an indication of his ability in his chosen
line of endeavor. ]\Ir. Sharts is a member of the local lodge of the ]\Ia-
sonie fraternity at New Waverly. No. 484, and his religious connection
is with the Christian church, which he attends consistently and sup-
ports liberally.
On February 13, 1861, Mr. Sharts was united in marriage with Miss
Maria Surface, who was born July 21, 1843, daughter of the Rev. Adam
Surface. She was born in Preble county, Ohio, and .joined the United
Brethren church when she was fifteen years of age, continuing to be a
faithful member thereof until her death, December 19, 1885. Mr. and
INIrs. Sharts had two children : George A., born August 20, 1876, who
lived only six months; and Elnora M., who married Fremont Haynes,
is a resident of Tipton township. The home of ]\Ir. Sharts is known as
"The Sunset View Farm."
John A. Rush. To the uninitiated in farm lore, no especial credit
attaches to the accomplishment of the man who begins his farming ac-
tivities as a renter, dependent upon the extent of his crop for the means
to reserve to himself the privilege of harvesting another crop in the fol-
lowing year; but to one who has seen something of the trials of the rent-
ing farmer, or better yet, has experienced in some measure the hard-
ships that follow thick and fast through some seasons, the success that a
renter finally evolves stands out, brave and staunch. John A. Rush is
one of these men who command the admiration and esteem of every
honest man who has witnessed something of his rise in agriculture in
the past forty years. He is known today for one of the ablest and most
860 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
successful farmers and stock raisers in the county, and his place is sit-
uated in the fine farming neighborhood south of the Wabash river, near
the mouth of Hart creek in Tipton township. A native of the county,
here reared, he has been identified practically all his life with the indus-
try of agi'iculture and its associated business of stock raising, and from
his slender start as a renter, he has accumulated a very substantial and
productive property, while in his capacity as a citizen and a member of
the social community, is one of the most highly esteemed men in Tipton
township.
Mr. Rush was born on the old Lendall Smith farm, near Onward, in
Tipton township, on IMarch 11, 1857. His parents were John and Eliza-
beth (Colvin) Rush, and the father was a native of the state of Penn-
sylvania, whence he came to Indiana as a boy with his parents, and it
may be mentioned here, that they were the first of the name of Rush to
locate in Cass county, which has ever since known the business and so-
cial influence of the family. The ten children of John and Elizabeth
Rush were named as follows, and nearly all of them are living today in
places of usefulness in various parts of this county : Silas, the eldest, is
now deceased; Mary; William; John A., of this review; Frank; ^lilton ;
Ira ; Willard ; Charles and ]\Iay.
As a boy John A. Rush attended the common schools of Miami
county, and there he received a practical schooling that well equipped
him for the career he has since followed. While a school boy he was
being trained thorougbly in the duties of the farm, building up a sound
physical constitution that has stood him in excellent stead all through
his rugged life in the farming industry. At the age of twenty-three
he began independent farming as a renter, and from his good manage-
ment and the profits of his lalior, was in later years able to purchase his
present estate. In early life he wedded Emma J. Grimes, the davighter
of John and Nancy (Gard) Grimes, and to them have been born three
children, as follows: ^linnie B., the eldest, is the wife of Harry Griffith;
they have thr'ee children — Dorsey, Esther and Thelma ; Edna May, the
second child of the Rush home, is the wife of Harry Rhodes, and their
one child is named Helen; Walter E., the third and youngest child, is
yet a school boy, and gives promise of a life of usefulness in maturity.
Mr. Rush and his family are active members of the Christian church,
and are prominent in the social affairs of the community. During his
residence in Tipton township, ]\Ir. Rush has taken an active and whole-
some interest in civic affairs, and any improvements calculated to bet-
ter conditions in his community never fail of his generous support.
John T. Decker. Too nuich cannot be said in praise of the worthy
influence emanating from the life of a man who devotes his entire life
to the development of a given section of the country, and who continues
in that M'ork despite the discouragements and misfortunes that may
attend his efforts. It may be said that the man who devotes his life to
the wresting of prosperity from the soil is lienefited as much ihere])y
as is his community, and some trutli is found in that counter-claim, l)ut
the fact remains that it is thuswise that prosperity comes to any com-
munity, and so it must continue to be attained. Among the well estab-
lished farming men of Cass county who have given years of toil to the
^-^"^^ ,'^>^:
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 861
uplniilding of his particular pai't of the town may he mentioned John
T. Decker, who is a native son of the county, born within its confines
on April 10, 1862, and thus has better than half a century of identifica-
tion with the county to his credit. His parents, Moses and Sarah
(McHenry) Decker, came from Ohio in their younger days, here settling
and passing their remaining days. The Decker family is one of New
Jersey ancestry and associations, and is of German and Irish blood.
IMoses and Sarah (McHenry) Decker were the son and daughter or
John Decker and John ]\IcHenry, and they were married in Cass county,
where they settled down on a farm and here reared their family. The
father built with his own hands the log cabin in which his children
were born, and there he lived in quiet and contentment until death
claimed him in 1897.
John T. Decker, the jMiami township farmer whose name heads this
review, lived on the old home place until December, 1911, when he
moved to his present tine place of two hundred acres. He was married
November 15, 1881, to Miss Esther A. Scott. ]\Irs. Decker is a native
of Fulton county and was born December 10, 1861, and educated in the
common schools. Both her parents are deceased. She is a lady who has
the universal respect of all w-ho know her, as she is a woman of pleasing
and agreeable pei^sonality, and has always aided her husband in counsel
and advice. Her pretty and comfortable home is her paradise. To
Mr. and Mrs. Decker one son was born, Claude, who was taken by death
when he was a promising young man of twenty-four years. He was
provided with many noble attributes of character and loved by all.
Since deprived of the aid and companionship of his one son, Mr. Decker
has continued to care for his farm without the help of any, and he has
one of the most attractive and productive places in the township. He
is regarded as one of the prosperous and competent farming men of the
vicinity, and his standing among his fellow-men is one of the highest
order, and of which he is in every way worthy. With his good wife,
he attends the Christian church, and he is a Republican in his political
faith. He has served his township on occasions as supervisor, giving
praiseworthy service on those occasions, and he is known for one of the
capable and consistent citizens of the township.
John M. Bowyer. A resident of Cass county for more than seventy
years, and of Tipton township for a period exceeding forty-five years,
John M. Bowyer is entitled to mention as one of the old and honored
citizens of his section, and as such is deserving of mention in a work of
this nature. IMr. Bowyer has devoted his whole life to the cultivation
of the soil in Cass county, and has witnessed and participated in the
wonderful changes that have transformed what was once a wilderness of
timber and brush into one of the most productive agricultural sections
of Indiana. He is now the owner of ninety acres of fine farming land
on the Anoka river, about ten miles southeast of Logansport. Mr. Bow-
yer was born April 24, 1841, in Miami township, Cass county, and is a
son of Lewis and Malinda (Wilson) Bowyer. His father, a native of
Germany, came to the Ignited States in young manhood, and first set-
tled in Pennsylvania, from which state he came to Indiana at an early
862 , HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
day, locating in Cass county, where the remainder of his life was passed
in farming and stock raising. He and his wife became the parents of
fourteen children, of whom only two survive at this time : John M. and
Sylvester.
John M. Bowyer began to receive instruction in agricultural work
when he was still a small boy, and long before he had passed his early
'teens was able to do his full share in the work of the home place. In the
meantime he was securing his literary training in the district school of
his neighborhood, which he attended during the short winter terms. He
grew to manhood in Miami township, and with his father laid out a part
of Lewisburg from the home property, there continuing to reside until
reaching majority. At that time he begau to carry on operations on
his own account, and was so engaged at the time of his marriage, No-
vember 30, 1865, to Miss Mary S. DeLawter. She was a daughter of
Ezra and Sophia (Heck) DeLawter, wlio were born in Frederick county,
Maryland, the former in 1818 and the latter in 1817, and who went to
Ohio as young people with their parents, being married in the Buckeye
state. Mr. and Mrs. DeLawter had four children, namely: Mary S.,
who married Mr. Bowyer; Sarah E., who married a Mr. Esquire Fenton;
Jacob W., who makes his home near the Bowyer place; and Rebecca,
who married Mr. M. T. Wilson. Dr. DeLawter became an early settler of
Cass county, and here spent the remainder of his life in agricultural
pursuits. Mr. and Mrs. Bowyer have had eleven children, as follows:
Charles Lewis, who married Maggie Layton, and has eleven children;
Ella E., who is deceased; Horace, who married Minnie Helver, who died
leaving three children: Milfred, Maria and Ocal; Edward; Effie Mae,
who is deceased ; Alvin, who married Rosa Timmons, and has six chil-
dren; Elmer E., who is deceased; Carrie, who married Clyde Smith, and
has one child: Josephine; Marshall, deceased, who married Mattie Rob-
inson and has one child : Susan ; lona, who married Seward Sullivan and
has three children : Helen, Cleo and Carl ; and Owen, who married Ruth
Wilson. Mrs. Bowyer is a member of the Methodist church.
Shortly after his marriage, in 1866, Mr. Bowyer came with his vdfe
to Tipton township, which has since been his home. His ninety-acre
farm is in a high state of cultivation, gives eloquent evidence of the
presence of good management and untiring industry, and is considered
one of the valuable tracts of the township. j\Ir. Bowyer has been a life-
long Republican, but has not entered public life, having been content to
devote his activities to his farm. He is one of his township's highly es-
teemed citizens and has gathered about him a Avide circle of sincere
friends.
Aaron Floby. The farming industry has received long and careful
attention from men of the name of Flory in Cass county, and horticul-
ture has come in for its full share of the attention of Aaron Flory, the
immediate subject of this review, and his father, David Flory. The
winter banana-apple was produced by these gentleman after years of
experimenting and discouragements and the science of horticulture is
directly indebted to them for this addition to the fruit bearing trees of
the country.
Aaron Flory was born on the 5th of September, 1866, on the old
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 863
homestead farm in Miami township that his father has settled some years
prior to his birth. In the log' cabin bnilt by the fatlier on the place all
but three of the children of David and Sarah (Heffley) Flory were born.
David Flory was the son of Henry Flory, a native of Dart county, Ohio,
and it was in about 1843 that the father of the subject came from that
place to Cass county. He was twice married. His first wife, whose
maiden name was Richardson, died in about 1844, leaving him two chil-
dren, William and Henry. He later married Sarah Heffley, and she bore
him ten children. They may be mentioned as follows: Frank, who
married Grace Adams ; James, who married Lizzie Adams, a sister of
Grace ; Samuel, who died in infancy ; ]\Iary, who became the wife of Dr.
J. C. White ; Isabelle, died at the age of twenty -one ; Florence, died
Avhen she was twenty-two years old ; David, who married Marguerite
Kelley ; Charles, who married Ottie McCauley ; Edward, who married
Mabel Swigart ; and Aaron, the subject of this brief record.
David Flory was a cooper by trade, and he devoted his winters to
that work, while he gave himself to his farming and horticultural
research work in the summer seasons. He was a devoted student of
horticulture, and with his son succeeded in producing the famous win-
ter banana-apple, as mentioned in a previous paragraph. During his
later years he discontinued his work as a cooper, and confined his at-
tention to the farm thereafter.
Aaron Flory has by skilfull work and careful attention to business
come to be the owner of a nice place in Miami township of eighty acres
and ninety acres in Clay township, both places being in a fine state of
improvement, and in appearance indicating something of the care and
labor that their owner has expended upon them. Mr. Flory is recog-
nized among the substantial farming men of the community, where he
enjoys the friendship and esteem of the best people. He is a member of
the Christian church, with his family, and is a Democrat. His fraternal
relations are with the Knights of Pythias.
On August 19, 1892, Mr. Flory was married and he and his wife
became the parents of three children: Evan L., bom May 28, 1892;
Wilmer B., bom December 23, 1895 ; and Marselles N., born May 18,
1902.
Schuyler Flory. Another of the younger generation of Cass
county farming men who have ably demonstrated their fitness to carry
on the worthy work inaugurated by their fathers in the taming of the
wilderness sections and the settling of the waste places is Schuyler Flory,
who has passed all the years of his life on the farm he now occupies.
He was born there on April 20, 1886, and his parents, who reside in
Logansport, Indiana, and operate the farm in partnership with their
son, Schuyler Flory of this review, are David M. and Marguerite (Kelly)
Flory. The father is a son of another David M. Flory, and the mother
is a daughter of Nelson Kelly.
Schuyler Flory was educated in the district schools of his native com-
munity, and received an excellent training in farm lore at the hands
of his father, who has long been known for one of the most practical
and successful farmers and horticulturists in the township of Miami. The
farm, w^hich comprises seventy-four acres, is operated on shares by father
864 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
and son, and the arrangement has continued to prove itself a most satis-
factory one. The principal business of the place is the cultivation of
small fruits, in which they have experienced a pleasing success and gained
considerable prominence as producers of that variety of fruit.
The Flory farm, as it stands today, represents many hours and
weeks of unremitting toil on the part of the father and sou and to the
former must be given the credit for having erected every building that
stands on the farm today. The place is well kept, wisely cultivated and
is a source of pleasure and profit to its owners, to whom it is endeared
through long years of constant association. The family are members of
the United Brethren church, and ]Mr. Flory and his son are adherents
to the faith of the Democratic party, though not active beyond the de-
mands of good citizenship.
John S. Crockett. It is difficult for those of the present generation
to realize the numerous difficulties and hardships with which the pioneers
of Cass county were forced to contend. First were those of getting here
from homes far distant. ]Many of these earl.y residents endured weeks
of wearisome travel, literally passing through fire and flood to reach their
destination. Then, after a habitation was secured, it often was a very
meager protection against the elements and wild beasts. Subsequently
came the clearing and subduing of the virgin soil, and the cost of the first
plowing was often three times the cost of the land if purchased from the
government. Other difficulties were appearing, but through them all
these stvirdy, courageous, self-reliant men battled bravely and steadfastly,
valiant soldiers in the strife of peace. Without them, this section would
still be the haunt of the wild beast; the prosperous, luxuriant farming
land would not know the plow. Among the citizens who have assisted
materially in the growth and development of Cass county, none stands in
higher regard than John S. Crockett, of "Washington township. This
veneral)le citizen is the owner of a fine tract of land one mile east of the
Kokomo road, about seven miles south of Logansport, of which he has
himself cleared every acre of the eighty. Mr. Crockett was born April
19, 1837, in Carroll county, Indiana, six miles from his present home,
and is a son of William and ^Mary Ann (Stanley) Crockett, natives of
Ohio and Kentucky respectively. William Crockett moved to Carroll
count.y in young manhood, and he and his wife were the first couple to
be married in Washington township, that county, the ceremony being
performed in 1835. John S. was the oldest of their ten children, also
the oldest living descendant of either the Crockett or Stanley families.
John S. Crockett is a self-made man in all that the term implies.
His education was secured in the little time that could be spared from his
duties on the home farm, for like other farmers' sons of his day and
locality, and especially the older sons, he was expected to be his father's
assistant, and to share with him the hard work pertaining to the subduing
of a practical wilderness, ilr. Crockett came to his present farm in
18-48, embarking upon his career with but little capital, his early home
being a little log cabin. By degrees he managed to clear and cultivate his
land, gradually adding improvements as his means would permit. He
has continued to reside on this property, and although he has reached
an age when most men are content to transfer their duties to younger
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 865
shoulders he is still actively engaged in the management of his affairs,
unimpaired in faculties or energies. Mr. Crockett is not a politician,
Init the confidence in which he is held by his fellow-citizens has resulted
in his election to a number of township offices, in which he has shown
himself capable and conscientious. He is regarded as one of the pillars
of the Universalist church.
Mr. Crockett was married in 1859 to Miss Mary J. Circle, of Ohio,
who is now deceased, and they had a family of eight children, namely:
Frank H., Clara C, Leroy i\I., Ella J., Mattie, Rebecca, Charles and
Mary Elizabeth, the last-named deceased. The family further consists
of twenty-six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Thomas L. East. About seven miles from Logansport, on the Anoka
road, is situated the farm of Thomas L. Bast, a tract of seventy-seven
and one-half acres of well-cultivated land that represents the result of
a life of industry and well-applied energy. IMr. East embarked upon his
career with but a meager capital of cash, nor was he possessed of influen-
tial friends who could start him on the road to independence and posi-
tion, but his possessions as expressed in ambition, determination and
perseverance were large, and today he finds himself one of the success-
ful farmers and stock raisers of his township, with a full appreciation of
his success because it has been self gained. He is a native of Kentucky,
born September 15, 1857, in Garrard county, a son of James and Eliza-
beth (Land) East. His father was born in the same county, where the
grandfather, also named James East, founded the family at an early
day. The father grew to manhood in the Blue Grass state, and there
engaged in agricultural piirsuits, in which he continued to be engaged
throughout his life, meeting with a fair measure of success. He and his
wife were the parents of ten children, of whom five grew to maturity :
Thomas L., Calvin, Owen, Daniel and Sallie, all born and reared in
Garrard county.
On completing his education in the district schools, which he at-
tended during the winter terms while working on the home farm in the
summer months, Thomas L. East came to Indiana to live with an uncle,
Owen Land, who was the owner of an extensive farm in Brown county.
There he grew to manhood, and on leaving his uncle's home came to
Cass county and began working as a farm hand. He was industrious and
ambitious, and carefully saved his earnings, having determined to become
the owner of a farm of his own, and eventvially he was able to make his
first payment on his present farm in Tipton township, this section having
been his home ever since. He is now the owner of seventy-seven and
one-half acres, all in a high state of cultivation, on which many fine
improvements are to be found. The buildings are of substantial char-
acter, including a modern residence, good barns and appropriate out-
buildings, and the entire appearance of the property bespeaks the thrift
and good management of its owner. Essentially an agriculturist. Mr.
East has not entered the political arena, nor has he identified himself
with organizations of a social or fraternal nature, but has applied himself
assiduously to the work which he chose in his youth as the medium
through which to attain success. LTe has succeeded in a monetary way,
866 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
and has also gained the esteem of his fellow-citizens and the warm re-
gard of a wide circle of friends.
On April 6, 1880, ]\Ir. East was married to Miss Martha Wilson, who
was born in Cass county, a daughter of Andrew and Eleanor D. (Tucker)
Wilson. Her father, a native of Virginia, came to Tipton township in
1839 and took up government land, on which he spent the remainder of
his life, passing away December 22, 1892, one of the substantial men
of his community. His wife was a native of Clark county, Ohio, and
they had children as follows: William H., Harry G., Marcellus T.,
Alice, Carrie, Linnie J., Maiy L., James A., Jennie, Charles B., Martha
and Laura. IMr. and Mrs. East have had two children: Calvin and
Edith, both residing at home with their parents. Edith graduated in the
public schools and then from the commercial course in Marion, Indiana.
She is a member of the North Baptist church. Calvin was educated
in the common schools and at home. The homestead of Mr. and ]\Irs.
East is called "Cedar Lawn."
Clarence A. Archey. At an early period of our American history,
representatives of the Archey family located in the Old Dominion.
Energy, honesty and industry have been some of the marked character-
istics of the family, and the elemental strength of character in Clarence
Archey, of Tipton township, shows that these qualities are predominant
in his nature. Mr. Archey is one of Cass county 's examples of self-made
manhood, for he has been self-supporting since his twelfth year, and at
this time is known as one of his township's enterprising and progres-
sive young farmers, and one who is rapidly forging his way to the front.
Mr. Archey was born in Shelby county, Indiana, August 12, 1874, and
is a son of Thomas and Belle (Lacy) Archey. His grandparents, Peter
and Abbey Archey, were F. F. V.'s in the Old Dominion, from which
state they migrated to Shelby county at an early day, and there spent
the remainder of their lives in the peaceful occupation of farming.
Thomas Archey was born in Breckenridge county, Virginia, and was a
small lad when he accompanied his parents in their migration to the
Hoosier state. He was reared in Shelby county, became a farmer on
reaching his majority, and passed the entire period of his active career
in tilling the soil. For some years he has been living a retired life, and
now makes his home in Lafayette, Indiana, his wife having passed away
many years ago.
Clarence Archey was the only child born to his parents and lost
his mother when he was but ten months old. When about two years of
age he was taken to Tippecanoe county, and there spent his boyhood in
farm work, attending school during the short periods when he could be
spared from the work of the farm. His opportunities for an education
were not great, but he was an ambitious and intelligent youth and made
the most of his chances, thus securing a somewhat better schooling than
many who were given greater benefits. He was only twelve years of
age when he embarked upon a career of his own, but had been thor-
oughly trained in all the subjects with which a good farmer and stock
raiser must be conversant, and his subsequent rise has been steady and
continuous. At the present time he is renting the old Louthian farm,
where he carries on general farming and stock raising, in addition to
c^
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 867
which he devotes some time to working on shares. His private interests
have al>vays demanded his entire time and attention, and through
careful management, sound judgment and unflagging industry he has
been able to overcome many obstacles and discouragements and to gain
a place for himself in the esteem and respect of his fellow-citizens.
On August 27, 1902, Mr. Archey was united in marriage with Miss
Edna Layman, the estimable daughter of Benjamin Layman, and to
this iinion there have been born four children : Robert L., who is at-
tending school ; Madeline M., residing at home ; and Mildred and Thomas,
who are deceased. Mr. Archey holds membership in the local lodge of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Anoka, Indiana, in which he
has many warm friends. With his wife, he attends the Seven Mile
United Brethren church, where he acts in the capacity of superintendent
of the Sunday school.
Rev. Charles E. McCoy. The ministry of the Christian church has
held the chief interest and activity of Charles E. McCoy for the past
fifteen years, but he has of late found time to give some little attention
to the business of farming, and at the present time he is busily occupied
in the work of building on his farm. He has been pastor of a number
of churches, among them pulpits at Independence, Kokomo and Win-
amac, and lastly he was located at New "VVaverly, where in addition to
his duties as pastor he had charge of the postoffice. His life has been
a busy one from his. earliest time, and he has proven his worth as a
live citizen in whatever community he has lived since he reached man's
estate.
Born on April 7, 1874, in Monroe township, Howard county, this
state, Charles E. McCoy is the son of Sampson and Jane (Vernon)
McCoy. Sampson McCoy was born in the state of Ohio, and his father
was a native of the state of Maine, coming from that state to Ohio, and
his son drifting into Indiana in young manhood. The McCoy family
is one of pure Irish ancestry, the first American ancestors having come
to these shores from Ireland at an early date. Sampson and Jane
(Vernon) McCoy became the parents of thirteen sons and daughters,
the most of whom lived to assume places of responsibility in their various
communities.
Up to the age of twenty-one years, Charles McCoy lived on the
home farm, and from then until he had reached the quarter century mark
he was employed variously in the community. At that age he married,
and he established his first independent home in Winamac, Indiana,
where he took charge of the church of the Christian denomination, and
discharged the duties of a pastor with all satisfaction. He then moved
to Howard county, where he was occupied in the ministry for a few
years, when he moved to Kokomo, Indiana, and once more resuming the
pastorate of the Winamac church. From there he moved to Miami
township, in Cass county, and took charge of the Christian church at
New Waverly, at which point he has also been occupied as postmaster.
In later years he has done some farming, as well as his ministry.
Rev. McCoy's primary educational training was begun in the public
schools. Then he entered the New London, Indiana, high school and
spent two and a half years there, after which he entered the Frankfort,
868 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Indiana, high school, and thei'e finished the third year of the high school
work. Next he took the full normal course of instructions, and then
entered the theological department of the DePauw University in 1894,
and completed part of the course there. Then he entered and com-
pleted the full four-year course in the Northwestern Indiana Chris-
tian Conference, and has been chairman of the educational executive
board and is the present incumbent. Rev. INIeCoy is a man who is well
qualified for the profession or calling of the ministry, since he is a
logical and cultured gentleman of pleasing j^ersonality, and has been
an able factor in tlie aJfairs of his home township. He is ever ready to
lend his aid to all measures for the advancement and elevation of the
moral, spiritual and intellectual development of his county and state.
Rev. Mr. McCoy is a member of the ^Masonic order at New Waverly,
Indiana, and has been a trustee of ]\Iiami township for the past four
years.
On July 23, 1899, Rev. Mr. McCoy was iinited in marriage with Miss
Blanche Griffith, the daughter of Tatman and Irene (Adams) Griffith,
the father of Dutch ancestiy, born in Jennings county, and the liiother
was born in Cass county, Indiana. Four children have been born to ilr.
and ^Irs. ^IcCov : Ursela Irene, born April 22, 1901 ; Leland D., born
February 13, 1902; Paul G., Iiorn February 27, 1904; and Chelsa E.,
born February 5, 1907. Politically Rev. ■NlcCoy was a Republican, but
now gives his allegiance to the Progressive party.
Franz S. IMartin. The pioneers of this great middle west were
those who blazed the way to civilization, and made the wilderness to
bloom and blossom like the rose. Mr. Martin, the subject of
this sketch, w'as the founder of a family of most worthy descendants
who have aided very materially in building up the great common-
wealth of Cass county, Indiana. He was a direct descendant of the Ger-
man, as his grandfather, Peter jMartin, emigrated to America in 1780,
and settled in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia.
Mr. Franz S. Martin was born October 22, 1830, and died April 30.
1907, in Somerset county, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the primi-
tive schools of that state and was more than an ordinary mathematician.
He was mostly self educated and was a teacher. He with his parents in
1S49 came to Cass county and the trip from the Keystone state over-
land was made in one of the old fashioned wagons, crossing swollen
streams and over mountains, and finally reached Cass county. The fam-
ily settled on section 27, in AA'ashington township, and the first habi-
tation they lived in was a log cabin with a puncheon floor and after-
wards the largest frame house in the township.
]Mr. JMartin wedded ]Miss Caroline Sine November 29, 1853, and
eleven children, three sons and eight daughters, were born, and all are
living but one. Charles H. married and is a resident of Logansport ; he
was an agriculturist, and is a Democrat politically. IMary H., widow of
Rev. Amos Jones, is a resident of Zion City, Illinois; Rev. Jones was a
Presbyterian. Herman E. is represented elsewhere in this work. Re-
becca is the wife of Dr. ]\I. J. LaRose, a resident of Zion City, Illinois,
and a health officer. Harriet is a resident of Zion City, Illinois. George
"W. is a resident of IMemphis, Tennessee, employed in the lumber interests ;
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 869
he married Miss Anna Gregg. Ellen V. is a resident of Zion City, Illi-
nois; she was educated in Logansport, Indiana, and at Hanover Col-
lege in Indiana, and was a successful teacher for fifteen or eighteen
years in Cass county, Indiana. Lucy D. is the wife of Rev. IMahlon
Krauss, a resident of Richmond, Indiana, and he is a member of the
Methodist church. Carrie V. is the wife of Cyrus B. Carleton, a resi-
dent of Rochester, Indiana, and a dealer in grain. Elsie J. is the wife of
Dr. F. jM. Kistler, a resident of Royal Center, Indiana, and a practicing
ohysician.
Mrs. Martin was born in ^Maryland January 8, 183-1, and died May
8, 1910. She was but a child when her parents left ^Maryland for Penn-
sylvania, and there they resided for years and from Pennsylvania the
Sine family came to Cass county overland liy wagon. She was educated
]n the common schools and was a devout Christian of the Presbyterian
faith. She was a mother and friend to the poor and needy and the
hungry never went from her door in need.
When ]Mr. Martin was about twenty-two years of age he went to Iowa
and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land but sold it and
came to Cass county and here he remained during his life and was a suc-
cessful man and accumulated five hundred and twenty-five acres, all in
AVashington township, so it is readily seen that he had been a man who
had been careful and had taught his children the lessons of economy
and integrity. Politically he was a Jaeksonian Democrat and he ad-
hered to those principles till late in life and then advocated the Prohi-
bition principles. Officially he was assessor of Washington township
eight years. He was a man who was appealed to by the citizens to take
an active part in the affairs of the community and in the adjusting of
estates. He was ofttimes selected as delegate to the county and state
conventions at various times. In 1876 he attended the Centennial at
Philadelphia and the scenes of his childhood. Religiously he was an ar-
dent si;pporter of the Presbyterian doctrines, and was one of the char-
ter members of the Union Presbyterian church of Washington township,
which is now, in 1913, one of the most prosperous religious societies in
Cass county. He was one of the trustees of the official board and was
elder of the church a number of years, and was one of the leading fac-
tors in the Sunday school, being superintendent.
It was in March, 1887. when ]\Ir. and Mrs. ^Martin vacated the old
homestead on the farm and located at 1408 North street, Logansport, but
he had several properties in the city. Both i\Ir. and ]Mrs. Franz S. ]Mar-
tin were citizens of Cass county who as shining lights to the younger
generation show that honesty of character as well as true integrity
present to a finished earthly existence. They were well known for their
deeds of benevolence and good will, and no needy one would have left
their hospitable door empty handed. Both are interred in ]\It. Hope
cemetery, where beautiful stones stand sacred to their memory.
William Keiser. Practical scientific farming has taken the place
of the old hit-or-miss style, and as a result land that at one time could
be purchased for almost nothing, is today worth hundreds of dollars
an acre. Much of this has been brought about by the use of improved
machinery and the application of scientific methods, as well as by gen-
870 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
eral progress and the increase in population. One of the practical farm-
ers of Tipton township, whose activities have been of such a nature as
to firmly establish him in a position among the representative men of his
community, is William Keiser, the owner of ninety-two acres of land
located on the Keiser road. Mr. Keiser has been an eye-witness to and
an active participant in the wonderful change that has transformed this
part of Cass county from a practical wilderness into a veritable flower
garden. Mr. Keiser was born on the old Hilderbrandt farm in Tipton
toAvnship, Cass county, August 15, 1856, and is a son of Eekhart and
Anna Catharina (Dorn) Keiser, natives of Germany. Eekhart Keiser
was an industrious, hard-working citizen, but in his native land lacked
the opportunities to achieve success. Accordingly, when about forty
years of age, he gathered his little family together and brought them to
the United States, settling in Cass county, Indiana. He had only a small
capital, and was entirely lacking in influential friends, and consequently
his progress was slow. Faithful labor and commendable perseverance,
however, paved the way to success, and at the time of his death he
was the owner of a snug little farm, on which he raised good crops. He
and his wife were the parents of four children, namely : Martha, who
is deceased ; Henrietta ; Minnie, the widow of Harvey Sehuman, now liv-
ing in Walton ; and William.
William Keiser 's boyhood was spent in his little log cabin home, on
his father's farm, and in the district schools. The greater part of his
education was secured in the school of hard work, as he was his father's
only son and it was necessary that he give all of his time possible to
the work of the fields. Thus he was reared to habits of industry, fru-
gality and thrift, and given a thorough training in all the details of farm
work. At the age of twenty-one years Mr. Keiser commenced farming
on shares, and a short time thereafter he had accumulated enough capi-
tal to warrant his embarking in business on his own account. He there-
fore purchased a small tract of land, to which he has since added from
time to time, and now has ninety-two acres, all in a state of cultivation.
He is known among his neighbors as a man of integrity, who can be
depended upon to support movements that make for progress and de-
velopment. An excellent farmer, he is also a good judge of livestock,
as his herd of sleek, well-fed animals proves. He has made a number
of modern improvements to his place, and the most approved methods
find in him a willing disciple.
On November 11, 1885, Mr. Keiser was united in marriage with Miss
Lucinda Smith, daughter of Alexander and Mary (Burkit) Smith, of
an old family of Cass county, and three children have been born to this
union, namely : Roswell IMelroy, Charles G., and William L. Roswell
M. received his diploma in 1905 at the public schools and from the Wal-
ton high school in 1909, and he spent four summers in the Valparaiso
University, and he also taught two years in the common schools and two
years in the former high school. He is a Democrat and is a member
of the Presbyterian church. Charles C. received his diploma from the
common schools in 1907, and graduated i-n Walton high school in 1911.
He is a student at Winona, Indiana, and a member of the Presbyterian
church. William Leslie received his diploma from the common schools
in 1908, and graduated in Walton high school in 1912. He is a member
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 871
of the Presbyterian church. With their family, Mr. and Mrs. Kaiser
consistently attend the Presbyterian church. Mr. Keiser is a Democrat
and is a member of the I. 0. 0. F., No. 314, and the M. W. of A., No.
7244, in Walton, Indiana.
Harvey O. Bird. The younger farming men of Cass county have
wrought worthily and well in carrying forward the splendid work of de-
velopment that was put in motion by their fathers and grandsires in
years gone by, and it will hardly be denied that the greater part of the
real prosperity of the county and the wealth of the communities have
resulted from the application and energy of these sturdy farmers and
honest and admirable citizens. Among the more prosperous and com-
fortably situated agriculturists of Cass county, of whom there are indeed
many, H. 0. Bird of Walton is one who is deserving of especial men-
tion in this historical and biographical work dealing with the county of
Cass in Indiana. He was born in Deer Creek township, this county, on
February 27, 1887, and is the son of J. W. and Essie (Rhinehart) Bird,
of whom the former is now deceased. J. W. Bird was bom in Ohio,
where he devoted himself to farming and was very prominent in the
community that represented his home for years before he identified
himself with the fortunes of Cass county. He was the father of seven
living children, named as follows : Francis A. ; Harriet, who married
a Mr. Walter Barnes; Benjamin F. ; Harvey 0., of this review; Charles
R. ; Eva J., and Ruby.
Harvey 0. Bird in boyhood attended the Crockett school in his com-
munity, and during his vacation seasons applied himself diligently to
the work of the home farm, as was required of him. He was nineteen
years of age when on February 22, 1906, he married Ercie Banks, the
daughter of Harry and Lorinda (Riish) Banks, and one son, Clark Bird,
has been born to them.
Mr. and Mrs. Bird are members of the Christian church and have an
active part in the work of the church in its various departments. Po-
litically Mr. Bird is identified vdth the Republican party, and takes
the interest of a good citizen in all affairs of a political and civic nature
in his community, where he has a prominent place of which he is well
deserving.
Louis Kaufman. Located on the township line between Washington
and Tipton townships is situated the ninety-acre farm belonging to
Louis Kaufman, a veteran agriculturist of Cass county, whose residence
here covers a period of almost a half a century. His energies have always
been devoted to his farming interests, and he is known as an honorable,
upright business man, whose sterling worth has gained him high regard.
Mr. Kaufman was born at Dayton, Montgomery county, Ohio, April 27,
1858, and is a son of Henry and Anna (Wiegand) Kaufman. His father,
a native of Germany, left the Fatherland in young manhood, and settled
in Montgomery county, Ohio, where he carried on agricultural pursuits,
as he did also in Darke county, where he subsequently moved. About the
year 1865 he came to Washington township, Cass county, Indiana, here
continuing to follow farming until his death. He was a successful busi-
ness man of his day and locality ,_ took a keen and intelligent interest
872 HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY
ill the needs of his to^vuship. and succeeded in winning the respect and
esteem of those about him. He and his wife were the parents of five
children : George, Elizabeth. Martha, Louis and Catharine.
Louis Kaufman secured his education in the public schools of ]Mont-
gomery and Darke counties. Ohio, mostly in Cass county, Indiana, and
during the summer months worked on his father's farm, assisting him
materially in his work and gaining a thorough knowledge of the multi-
tudinous subjects on which a good fanner should be informed. He was
about six years of age when he accompanied his parents to Washington
township, and continued to remain under the parental roof until his
marriage, when he embarked upon a career of his own. He had been a
thrifty and industrious youth, and had carefully saved his earnings, so
that he was able to make a payment on a farm in Washington township
of seventy-five acres. This he sold and purchased his present farm,
which is situated aliout nine miles southeast of Logansport, on the Wash-
ington-Tipton township line. Here he settled down to clear and cultivate
the soil, each year seeing further advancement made, until he now has
the full ninety acres, except eight acres of timber, under the plow. He
carries on general farming and also devotes some attention to stock rais-
ing, and his success has been such as to make him one of the sulistantial
men of his community. He has erected commodious buildings, with mod-
ern conveniences, for in this matter, as well as in others, he believes in
the use of up-to-date methods and ideas. His machinery is of the latest
and most highly improved manufacture and his entire property is a
model of neatness and order.
October 10, 1896, Mr. Kaufman was united in marriage to Miss
Anna Lebert, who is deceased. He was married to Miss Augustina
Schwalm, September 7, 1898, and to this union there have been
born two children : Wilbur and Helena, and both are in the eighth,
grade in the public school, and both are taking music. With his
family, he is connected with the Presbyterian church, where he has
been liberal in his support of religious and charitable movements. He is
independent in politics, casting his vote for the man best fitted for the
party. He has also stanchly supported measures which he has felt will
advance his community, taking a keen interest in those things which vi-
tally affect it. Thus he has become a potential force in his locality, where
he is looked to for counsel, advice and leadership. The pretty home-
stead of Mr. and Mrs. Kaufman is known as "Hill A^iew Farm."
Oscar B. Ferguson. Upwards of half a century ago the father of
Oscar B. Ferguson settled in Cass county, and at a time when the most
primitive conditions existed throughout this region, set himself to the
herculean task of hewing a farm and a home out of the pristine wilder-
ness that prevailed. Only those who have seen something of the hard-
ships of such an undertaking are capable of making any adequate
estimate of the courage, energy and perseverance that these sturdy peo-
ple brought to bear in the taming of the wilderness and in tlie eventual
evolving of a home from the conditions then existing. When Oscar
Ferguson came into possession of the place it had passed beyond the
stage of storm and stress peculiar to the early years, but he has done his
full duty in carrying it forward to its present state of cultivation and
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 873
giving it the appearance of fruitfulness and prosperity that it now
wears. The place comprises one hundred and thirty acres on the bound-
ary line pike and its owner is properly regarded as one of the pros-
perous and successful men of the community.
Born in Adams township, in Cass county, Indiana, December 13,
1865, Mr. Ferguson is the son of James P. and jMariah V. (Dillman)
Ferg-uson. They were farming people of Adams township, where they
passed their lives for the most part, and became the parents of six chil-
dren, as follows: Oscar B., of this review; Luman N., now deceased;
Henry D.; Sylvia M. ; Cora D. and Maud E. The father, James P. Fer-
guson, was the son of Richard and Phoebe Ferguson. The thickly tim-
bered district in which he settled in his yomig manhood has, as intimated
above, since that time given place to fertile hills and valleys, and during
the years when the transformation was being slowly wrought, he reared
the goodly family just mentioned.
Oscar B. Ferguson as a boy attended the Thomas school near his
home, and later, through the wisdom of his father, Avho recognized the
studious qualities which his son evidenced, he was permitted to attend
Logansport Seminary and the Central Normal at Danville, Indiana, so
that he secured educational advantages in advance of what the average
youth of his day received. He married Miss Arria R. Bowyer, the
daughter of Charles 6. and Isabelle (Craighead) Bowyer, but no chil-
dren have been born to them. In the goodness of their hearts, however,
they took a little girl, Mary M. Enyart, to rear and educate, and it can
be truthfully asserted that little Mary will have a home of sweet influ-
ence and religious training, as well as high moral teaching. Mrs. Fer-
guson's father, Charles Graules Granville Bowyer, was a descendant
of the well known Bowyer family of Virginia, and he was born in 1837
and died on the 18th day of February, 1912. She was one of the seven
children of her parents, the others being: Mary D., Mavilla B., and
Vesta J., all deceased; May B., AVillard N., and Ellis. The surviving
children are all filling places of usefulness in the various spheres to
which they have been called.
Mr. Ferguson is prominent in his membership in the ]\Iasonic fra-
ternity at Walton Lodge No. 423, and in the Knights of Pythias, Powell
Lodge No. 62, Logansport, Indiana. He is also a member of the Order
of the Eastern Star as is his wife, and both are popular and prominent
in social circles of their community, where they are held in the highest
esteem and regard by all who share in their acquaintance. Mr. Fer-
guson has always taken a wholesale interest in civic activities in the
community, and in politics has voted with the Republican party, but
has never been an office seeker at any time in his life, content with the
duties of citizenship, but averse to the responsibilities of official life.
The beautiful estate of Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson is known as "Locust
Lawn," and it is the abode of hospitality and good cheer. They are
citizens who take great interest in church work and are members of the
Disciples of Christ church at Walton, Indiana. They take great interest
in the Sunday school also.
Oliver J. Pierson. Cass county's history has been developed by the
men who first settled here, and more pages are constantly being added
874 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
by, those whose lives are now being enacted. The agricultural sec-
tions of this county are extensive, in fact it may be called a farming
county, so that a large number of its residents are engaged in tilling
the soil and raising stock, with benefit to themselves and profit to their
communities. An excellent example of the progressive, up-to-date Cass
county farmer is found in the person of Oliver J. Pierson, of Wash-
ington township, the owner of forty-two and one-half acres of land,
which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. Although not a
native of Cass county, Mr. Pierson can lay claim to being an "old set-
tler," as he was but one year old when brought to this section. Here
he has continued to be identified with agricultural matters to the pres-
ent time, in the meanwhile establishing himself fii'mly in the confidence
and esteem of his fellow-citizens by upright living and honorable deal-
ing. Mr. Pierson was born September 25, 1867, in White county, In-
diana, and is a son of Matthew H. and Mary A. ( Jenness) Pierson.
Matthew H. Pierson was born in Preble county, Ohio, from whence
he migrated in young manhood to White county, Indiana, in which local-
ity he was married and had one child. He subsequently came to Cass
county, in 1868, and here was engaged in agricultural pursuits during
the remainder of his active career, fairly winning the regard of his
neighbors and accumulating a competency. He and his wife became the
parents of six children : Oliver J. ; Mrs. Carrie Small ; Mrs. Gertrude
Ramer; Emma, the wife of Adelbert Planigan, who had one child, —
Estella D., who is living with Mr. Pierson; Mae, who married Benjamin
F. Crockett, and has two children, — Gilbert P. and Herbert P. ; and Mrs.
Maud Toney.
Oliver J. Pierson was reared to agricultural pursuits, and secured
his education in the common schools. His entire life has been spent in
farming, and at the age of twenty-four years he became the possessor,
through purchase, of his present land. He has brought his property to
a high state of cultivation through the use of modern methods, and in
addition to producing large crops devotes some attention to the raising
of valuable livestock. He has made a study of soil conditions, rotation
of crops, and kindred subjects necessary to scientific treatment of his
land, and as a result is known as one of his township's foremost agri-
culturists. In addition to his Cass county property he is the owner of
valuable holdings in the state of Texas.
On August 30, 1892, Mr. Pierson was married to Miss Effle E. Mar-
tin, daughter of John T. and Caroline (Martin) Martin, and to this
union there has been born one son: Donald M. Mr. Pierson 's fraternal
connection is with the local lodge of the INIodern Woodmen of America,
Camp 7244, at Walton, Indiana, in which he was venerable counsel and
in which he numbers many friends. With his family, he attends the
Presbyterian church.
Samuel W. Ullery, who was long connected with the business in-
terests of Logansport, where he was known for one of the most reliable
and enterprising merchants of the city, was born at Covington, Ohio,
on Januai-y 17, 1813, and was a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Fager)
Ullery, both of German descent.
Jacob Ullery was bom in Maryland and there reared, moving to
^L/un^
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 875
Ohio in young manhood and there passing the remainder of his days.
He was a farmer ctnd it was in the many details of farm life that
Samuel W. UUery passed his younger days. He attended the district
schools, securing in his somewhat intermittent period of study, a limited
education, but that handicap was insufficient to deter him from his
purpose, which was to succeed in some established business. His busi-
ness career he began as a hardware merchant in his native town, but in
1848 moved to Greenville, Ohio, where he conducted a similar business
until 1866. Three years later he came to Logansport, Indiana, and
under the iirm name of S. W. UUery & Company, with William M.
Wilson as his partner, he embarked in the hardware business again.
In 1886, I\Ir. Wilson withdrew from the firm, upon which G. L. Ullery,
a son of the head of the firm, became a partner under the firm title of
S. W. Ullery & Son, a name that endures to the present time, although
both father and son are now deceased.
Samuel Ullery w^as a prosperous man, although his prosperity was
never of a spasmodic order. He made constant, steady progress in the
business world, his achievements being ever wrought through the appli-
cation of his powers of keen discernment and practical business sense,
together wdth the abundant energy which characterized his life. In the
early years of its life, the business was conducted in a retail way, but
gradually developed into a wholesale establishment, though still con-
tinuing its retail trade.
]\Ir. Ullery was one of the organizers and a director of the State
National Bank of Logansport, and also for a time was vice-president of
the bank. Upon the reorganization of the National Bank of Logansport,
lie became one of its stockholders.
In all his many business relations and dealings, jNIr. Ullery 's reputa-
tion as an honorable, straightforward business man was never ques-
tioned. As a private citizen he commanded the respect and confidence
of his fellow men. He was a Republican in politics, although never an
aspirant for public office.
In 1849, he married Sarah Kessler, and for thirty-six years there
continued a most ideal marriage relation, broken by the death of Mrs.
UUeiy. They were the parents of two children : G. Lincoln, who died
June 20, 1901, and Juniata, the only survivor of the family, and the
wife of George P. Bliss, the present manager of the firm of S. W. Ullery
& Son, of whom extended mention is made in other pages of this work.
Mr. Ullery died on June 1, 1899.
George P. Bliss. Since 1897, George P. Bliss has been connected
in an important capacity with the hardware business of S. W. Ullery
& Son, and in recent years became manager of the company, ^vhieh
position he now holds. Born at Bluffton, Wells county, Indiana, on
May 5, 1852, he is the son of Jeoffry Bliss, Avho was engaged in the busi-
ness of making fanning mills during the early part of his business life,
and later was identified with mercantile pursuits, at Bluffton, where
he passed away.
George P. Bliss remained at home until he was about fifteen years
old, and attended the public schools of his native community. He also
assisted his father in the making and painting of the fanning mills, and
876 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
later secured work as a clerk in a local store. For some time he worked
iij the private bank of John Studebaker & Company, and still later, he
was for a number of years employed as a bookkeeper. In the following
years he was variously engaged in a number of places, fourteen years
being passed in a flouring mill at Toledo, and something like five years
in Cleveland. When the Clover Leaf Railroad was yet a narrow gauged
track to St. Louis, j\Ir. Bliss was engaged as paymaster of the road for
about four years, after which he served for a matter of two years as
cashier of a bank at INIarkle, Indiana.
In 1897, Mr. Bliss came to Logansport in the capacity of clerk and
bookkeeper in the wholesale and retail hardware concern of S. W. Ullery
& Son, and ever since has been identified with the firm. Upon the
death of the junior Mr. Ullery, Mr. Bliss became manager of the estab-
lishment, and he is yet serving in that important position.
On November 18, 1896, j\Ir. Bliss was united in marriage with
Juanita Ullery, and they have one son, Harold P. Bliss. Mr. Bliss is a
member of the Country Club and the Logansport Commercial Club, and
is a director of the latter organization. He is a Republican, and with
his wife attends the First Presbyterian church of Logansport, of which
she is a member.
Herman E. Martin. Among the enterprising agriculturists of Cass
county who have been progressive in inaugurating improvements on their
properties, and have shown their ability and progressiveness by taking
advantage of modern inventions to increase their capability and decrease
the cost of production, Herman E. Martin, of Washington township,
holds a place in the foremost ranks. Coming of an agricultural family,
which for years have contriljuted its members to the tilling of the soil,
he has made a place for himself among the substantial men of his
community, and his finely cultivated tract of one hundred and fifty-
eight acres, located on the Ramer and IMartin road, about nine miles
from Logansport, elociuently testifies to his ability as a farmer.
Mr. Martin was born on the farm which he now occupies, March 14,
1859, and is a son of Franz and Caroline (Sine) Martin. Like most of
the farmers' sons of his community, Mr. Martin secured his educa-
tion in the district schools during the winter months, his summers being
devoted to helping his father in the cultivation of the homestead, a
part of which he assisted in clearing. On attaining his majoritj^, he
worked on the farm at home, and also woi-ked at the carpenter's trade,
which he had picked up in his youth, and thus earned the means to
invest in a tract of eighty acres in Tipton township. On this land he
labored industrioiisly and A^dth a fair amount of success for a period of
eleven years, carefuly saving his earnings. At the end of that time he
disposed of his Tipton township laud, and bought his father's old home-
stead, which he has continued to operate to the present time. Mr. Martin
is a self-made man in the truest and best sense of the word. Giving his
closest attention to the smallest details of his work, at all times being
willing to experiment with new innovations, and constantly seeking
methods which would advance his interests, he has been able to add
materially to his property, and to make it one of the most valuable of
its size in this part of the county. General farming has received the
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 877
greater part of his attention, and he has also spent some time in raising
stock, and. his crops have been large and prosperous, while his cattle
bring top-notch prices in the markets. While he has at all times seized
every opportunity to advance his interests, he has always done so in an
honorable manner, never taking an unfair advantage of others, and
for this reason has won the respect and confidence of his fellow-
citizens.
Mr. Martin was elected trustee of Washington township in 1900, and
served four years in that important office. At the present time he is
chairman of the county council. The members of the Cass county coun-
cil at the present time are Messrs. Herman E. Martin, John Warner,
Alva Crook, Dr. Z. U. Loop, Daniel Woodhouse, William Farrell and
Allen Snyder. Mr. Martin is also a member of the board of trustees of
the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Martin was married December 25, 1882, to Miss Melissa Stough,
a daughter of Samuel and Maria (Carman) Stough of Cass county.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Martin, the following children were
bom: Edith Myrle, who married Rev. Alexander E. Cameron, and re-
sides in Morning Sun, Iowa, where he is pastor of the Presbyterian
church. Mr. Cameron was educated in the University of Chicago, while
his wife was graduated from the public schools at the age of fourteen,
and spent one year in the Logansport high school and later was a student
at the Marion Normal College. For two terms she was a successful
teacher in her own county before her marriage. She and her husband
are the parents of three children: Colin E., Frances M., and Paul P.
Ralph Emerson, second of the family, received his diploma from the
public schools and was a student in the Marion Normal. He died Febru-
ary 19, 1907. A member of the Presbyterian church, he was a young
man of model habits and character, and was greatly beloved by all.
Chester Monfort, third, finished the public schools, and is now a pi-actieal
farmer associated with his father. He is a member of the Presbyterian
t^iurch, and cast his first ballot for William J. Bryan. Hazel Eunice,
the fourth, married Evan G. Marquardt, of Toledo, Ohio, where he is
a hardware merchant. They have a little daughter named Carolyn.
Mrs. Marquardt after attending the public schools spent two years in
the Oberlin IMusical Conservatory as a student of both instrumental and
vocal, and is an accomplished young woman, highly capable of presid-
ing over her home and has active membership in the Presbyterian church.
Inez Helen, who attended the public schools and graduated from the
Logansport high school, was a student in the Eastern College of Music
at Manassas, Virginia, and is now engaged in teaching music, and is
likewise a member of the Presbyterain faith. Armeda Marie is a gradu-
ate of the public schools, and is proficient in music, being also a member
of the same church as her parents. Homer Carlton, after leaving the
public schools spent two years in the Logansport high school and is now
taking a course from the Scranton School of Correspondence ; Raymond
Stough is a student of the eighth grade, and Doris Esther, the youngest
of the family, is in the sixth grade of the public schools. Mr. and Mrs.
Martin have made it their ambition to give their children the best of
educational advantages, and have thus fitted them for the higher places
of usefulness in the world.
878 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Mrs. Martin was born in Cass county, September 21, 1859, the third
in a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, and five of
the Stough family are living in 1913. The father, born in Pennsylvania,
sprang from good old German stock, and when a young man came west
to the state of Indiana, where he was married. By vocation he was a
brick and stone mason, and had the distinction of erecting the first
Lutheran church in Walton, Indiana. In this connection it should be
stated that Mr. Martin's father erected the first Presbyterian church in
Washington township. Mr. Stough was a Democrat in politics and was
the first superintendent of the Lutheran Sunday school in Walton, and
was known throughout that community as one of the best vocalists and a
great lover of music. Mrs. Stough, the mother of Mrs. Martin, was bom
in Pennsylvania, and died at the age of seventy-four, while her husband
passed away when seventy-seven years old. Mrs. Martin was educated
in the common schools and with a fine endowment of character, a pleas-
ing personality, she has ably filled her part of wife and mother to this
happy Cass county home. She is a devout member of the Presbyterian
church. Mr. and Mrs. Martin's hospitable home, which is always open
to welcome many friends, is known as "Pine Lawn."
John H. Persinger. The real history of the Civil war is written
deepest on the hearts of those who participated in that mighty conflict.
The sacrifices of the volunteers did not cease when peace was declared,
for none of them came out of the war as they had entered it. Those who
were fortunate enough to escape bullet, shell and imprisonment, were
for years troubled by the seeds of disease, while shattered nerves will
be the mementos of others as long as life lasts. The brave, gallant, dash-
ing and laughing youths who left their homes to fight for the flag of their
country, returned to those homes, when they did return, saddened, sor-
rowed men, old in experience if not in years. The country owes a debt
of gratitude to the ' ' boys in blue ' ' which it can never repay, and for this
reason the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic still inspire
respect and veneration even after the passage of more than a half cen-
tury of years. Cass county sent its' full quota of brave, hard-fighting
men to the front when secession reared its gory head, and among these
none had a more honorable record than John H. Persinger, whose ser-
vice covered more than four years. Mr. Persinger is now a resident of
Tipton township, where he is engaged in agricultural pursuits, and
throughout his life has performed the duties of peace in the same able,
cheerful and faithful manner that characterized his actions when serv-
ing in the ranks under the "Stars and Stripes."
John H. Persinger was born October 2, 1835, in Warren county,
Ohio, and is a son of Eli and Sophia (Blinn) Persinger. His father, a
native of Virginia, removed to Ohio in young manhood, and about the
year 1850 brought his family to Indiana, the remainder of his life
being passed in agricultural pursuits in Cass county, where both he and
his wife passed away. They were the parents of the following children :
Christopher, who is deceased ; John H. ; Mary Ann and Julia Ann, who
are now deceased ; Harrison and Amanda. John H. Persinger received
his education in the district schools of his native state, where he was
reared to agricultural pursuits, and taught the dignity and value of hard
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 879
labor. He was still engaged in assisting his father when the War of
the Rebellion broke out in all of its fury, and with youthful patriotism
he at once offered his services to the Union army. They were accepted
and he was enrolled vipon the list of privates of the Forty-sixth Regiment,
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Captain Thomas. This hard-fighting regi-
ment was detailed to the Army of the West, and participated in some of
the bloodiest engagements of the war, at all times acquitting itself with
the utmost gallantry. Mr. Persinger continued to take part in all the
movements of this regiment for four years, and after a service marked
by bravery in action and duty well performed, he received his honorable
discharge and returned to his home from Louisville, Kentucky. He at
once resumed farming, and at the time of his marriage came to Tipton
township, where he has since made his home, now being the owner of
some valuable property. He carries on general farming and stock rais-
ing, has wisely invested his means, and is considered one of his locality 's
substantial men. He receives a pension from a grateful government.
Mr. Persinger is popular with the comrades of the local Gr-and Army
post, and has numerous friends in business and social life.
In 1868, ]\Ir. Persinger was united in marriage with Miss Mary Mil-
ler, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and they have had three chil-
dren: Mitchell, Ira and Mrs. Bessie Berk. Mr. Persinger is a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
William Smith. Located in "Hilltop," Washington township,
about six miles south of Logansport, is the eighty-acre farm of William
Smith, a tract that compares favorably with any of its size in this part
of Cass county. From his boyhood Mr. Smith has been engaged in
agricultural pursuits, and the position he has gained among the success-
ful farmers and stock breeders of his locality has come through consci-
entious labor and intelligent management of his affairs. Born January
31, 1844, near Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio, Mr. Smith is the son of
Samuel and Elizabeth (Schafer) Smith.
Samuel Smith was born in Pennsylvania, and was a young man when
he left his native state and journeyed to Ohio. He did not remain in
the Buckeye state for long, however, but pushed on to Indiana, and
here settled at once in Tipton township, Cass county, having made the
journey by way of wagon. He became successful in his operations, was
a large land owner, and in his death Tipton township lost one of its
best citizens. He married Elizabeth Schafer, and they became the par-
ents of eleven children, as follows: William, David, John, Elizabeth,
Sarah, Samuel, George, Mary, Daniel, Alta and Caroline.
William Smith was a lad of nine years when he accompanied his par-
ents to Tipton township, and completed his education in the log school-
house of his locality, in the meantime assisting his father in the work
of the home farm. He was married first to Miss Sarah Long, a sister
of Simon Long, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work, and
she died after becoming the mother of four children : Marvin, who mar-
ried first Anna Showtax, and they had three children, — Marie, Gladys
and Irene; he married a second time and had four children, — Adah,
Leffie. Evelyn and Charles. William B. married Ruby Easton, and had
two children, — Fern and Hazel. Walter married Ellen McMillen, and
880 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
had two children, — Sarah and Josephine. William Smith was married
October 8, 1902, to llrs. Mary H. (Beeler) Atherton, the widow of
August Atherton, by whom she had eight children: Ida, Albert,
Gertrude, Daniel, Walter, Cora, Willie, deceased, and Elmer. Mrs.
Smith is the daughter of Daniel B. and Margaret (Schafer) Beeler. Mr.
Beeler was born in Pennsylvania, and removed to Darke county, Ohio,
in young manhood, becoming one of the successful farmers and stockmen
of that locality, where the rest of his life was spent. He was the father
of six children : William, Joseph, Lizzie, Mary, George, and Samuel.
After his marriage, JMr. Smith settled on his present farm in Wash-
ington township, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. He
is thoroughly conversant with crop and climatic conditions, understands
crop rotation and other scientific methods of gaining the best results from
his land, and is a believer in the use of modern farming machinery. He
supports movements tending towards progress and is always found
among those who are advancing their community by promoting its
interests. He has always been a man of temperate habits, and indicates
his inclinations by supporting the candidates and principles of the Prohi-
bition party. His religious faith is that of the Christian Science church,
and he is a man who has good reason to be a devotee to the Christian
Science and its great miraculous healing of body and mind. The Sci-
entists are to erect one of the most beautiful and costly church edifices in
the city on the corner of Ninth and North streets, Logansport.
Charles O. Roush. In eveiy community there may be found among
its citizenship men who direct their lives in harmony with the old rule
known as that of the "Three P's — Push, Pluck and Perseverance."
Given to any town one or more men of that stamp, a fair degree of pros-
perity must inevitably characterize that place, for they invariably stand
for prosperity and advancement, whatever may be the nature of the
community wherein they are found. C. 0. Roush is undeniably one of
these plucky and persevering men. His farm, one of the fine places
of the township of Tipton, is in section seventeen, and its eighty acres
is intersected at one corner by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Its owner,
one of the j'oung and successful agricultural men of Cass county, began
his career in that uncertain and ofttimes unsatisfactory status of the
renter, has risen above many unpropitious conditions, and is today one
of the most capable and prosperous farming men in the county, as has
already been said.
C. 0. Roush was born on June 23, 1882, and is a son of Christopher
and Martha (Long) Roush. The father, who was born in Wabash
county, was for many years a farmer in Benton, and after a successful
career, is now living retired from active business. His four children
were: Charles, Mary, Tammie and Burdette.
Charles O. Roush attended the Green school in Jasper county, this
being one of the largest schools in the county. His schooling was inter-
spersed with vacation periods of active work on the home farm, and
throughout his boyhood days he was carefully instructed in the duties
and responsibilities of farm life, so that when he had finished his school
work, he was well equipped to take his place as an intelligent and prac-
tical farmer. The lessons learned under the able tutelage of his father
HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY 881
have stood him in excellent stead in the years of his independent farm-
ing career, and have gone far toward establishing his present success.
• For seven years after he began his work on his own responsibility Mr.
Roush was a renter, and from his savings in that length of time he was
able to purchase the George Enyart farm, which is his present home.
The improvements in evidence on this farm today are all of first-class
order, the dwellings and outbuildings, fences and well-kept fields, all
offering indisputable testimony to the thrift, energy and good man-
agement of this young husbandman.
Mr. Roush was married on November 26, 1902, to Miss Cynthia
Julian, a daughter of Elias and Harriet (Dresbach) Julian. The father
of Mrs. Roush was a farmer, originally from Sheldon, Illinois, and he
was the father of eight children, as follows : Milton, Milo, Guy, Lucien,
Cynthia, Amanda, Nancy and Ruth. To Mr. and Mrs. Roush have been
born two daughters, Lillian and Harriet, both of whom are attending
school in the home community. The family are members of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church.
Charles E. James. Agricultural methods have changed very
materially during the past' decade or two, and now that even the chief
executive of the nation is taking a deep interest in progression among
the farmers, there is every reason to suppose that still further advance
"will be made along all lines. Interurban service, telephones, automo-
biles, and the consequent bettering of the roads on account of the
latter, have brought the farmers much closer together, and as vs^ell have
placed them in close touch with the centers of activity, and the man
who today devotes himself to the cultivation of the soil is more inde-
pendent than any other worker in the world. Among the progressive
and enterprising farmers and stock raisers of Cass county, one who
has recognized the value of modern methods and innovations and has
profited accordingly is Charles E. James, whose well-cultivated tract
of land is located in Noble township. Mr. James is a native of this
township and was born October 13, 1881, a son of John and Nancy
J. (James) James, who came to Cass county, locating on the farm on
section 2, where Mrs. James is still making her home. John James
was an agriculturist throughout his life, was a loyal and public-spir-
ited citizen, and in his death, which occurred in 1906, his community
lost one of its best and most highly esteemed men.
The early education of Charles E. James was secured in the district
schools of Noble township, and in boyhood he was accustomed to the
hard work which develops the mind and hardens the body. Spending
his time in assisting his father on the home farm, he was thoroughly
trained in all the details of agricultural work, and this he chose as his
life vocation, nor has he had any desire to follow any other line of
endeavor. He has been unifornaly successful in his operations because
of hard, industrious labor, intelligently directed along well-defined
lines, and the soil of his land has responded gratefully for the work
expended upon it, yielding him large and profitable crops. Mr. James
has realized the value of modem machinery and scientific methods,
and is an advocate of progress along all lines, not only in his owti work,
but in movements making for the public welfare. Such movements
882 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
have always had his hearty support and co-operation. He has never
had any desire for public office, being essentially a farmer, and has
never, therefore, entered the public arena, although a stanch advocate
of good government.
On August 7, 1901, Mr. James was united in marriage with Miss
Nora Lontz, who was born March 1, 1882, in Carroll county, Indiana,
daughter of William A. and Sarah Lontz. The latter died in Decem-
ber, 1885. Mr. Lontz served one term as county assessor of Cass
county, his term ending in 1902, and shortly thereafter he left for the
West, where he has since made his home. Mr. and Mrs. James have
had one child: Clarence E., who was born April 14, 1903. Both Mr.
and Mrs. James are widely and favorably known in Noble township
and are recognized as representatives of Cass county's best people.
James M. Deniston. Among the citizens of Cass county who are
adding to the commercial importance of their section by their activi-
ties in the business field, James M. Deniston, of Onward, holds a fore-
most place. A product of the farm, reared to agricultural pursuits,
he belongs to that class of men whose versatile talents allow them to
meet with success in more than one line of endeavor, and has proven
himself as able a business man as he was a fanner. He is now the
proprietor of a general store at Onward, where he handles a large
trade in merchandise and farming implements, his customers being
drawn from a "v\ade contiguous territory. Mr. Deniston was born De-
cember 25, 1862, in ]\Iiami county, Indiana, and is a son of Thomas
B. and Elizabeth (Wilkinson) Deniston. His father, a miller by trade,
came to Miami county, Indiana, from Ohio, and here spent the rest
of his life in agricultural pursuits. He and his wife had six cluldren :
Eva, Clara, who is deceased; James M., Belle, deceased; Charles and
William. The mother of these children died in 1873.
James M. Deniston attended the district schools of Miami, but the
greater part of his education was secured in the schools of hard work
and experience. An energetic, industrious youth, he spent his early
years in faithful labor, carefully saving his earnings with the idea ever
in view of becoming the owner of a property of his own. His per-
severance and industry were rewarded by the accumulation of a farm
of one hundred and twenty acres, located in Pulaski county, Indiana,
on which he carried on operations for a number of years, but in 1892
he decided to enter upon a commercial career, and accordingly traded
ninety acres of land for his present store. Here, by good judgment,
honorable dealing, and attention to minor details as well as large ones,
he has succeeded in building up a large trade, carrying a full line of
articles demanded by the people of his community and an up-to-date
stock of farming implements. He is known as a man of the strictest
integrity, and possesses the full confidence of all who have had deal-
ings with him. In addition to attending to the affairs of his store, he
also carries on agricultural operations in Cass county.
Mr. Deniston was married in 1882 to Miss Rebecca Leffel, and to
this union there were born four children, namely: William, a resi-
dent of Logansport and bookkeeper in the First National Bank. He
graduated from the public schools, and then took the teacher's course
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 883
of the Marion Normal, of Marion, Indiana, and taught two terms. He
also graduated from the Logansport business college. He wedded
Miss Anna Leffel, and they are members of the Christian church, and
he is a Mason. Herman C., graduated from the public schools and is
an agriculturist in Pulaski county, Indiana. He wedded Miss Alice
Kelsey, and they have two children, Herbert and Mildred. He is a
member of the United Brethren church and a Mason, and his wife is
a member of the Progressive Brethren. Minnie is the wife of T. J.
Sullivan, a resident of Adams township, and they have one son, Lloyd.
He is an agriculturist and a Mason. ]Mabel, the youngest, is at home
and in the sixth grade of the public schools. Mrs. Deniston is a
native of Cass eountj^, Indiana, and was reared and educated in her
home county. She and her husband are consistent members of the
United Brethren church, located at Twelve Mile, Adams township,
Cass county. Mr. Deniston has interested himself to some extent in
fraternal work, and is affiliated with the local lodge of the ^Masonic order
at Twelve JVIile. All matters pei-taining to the betterment of his com-
munity or its people find in him a hearty supporter, while among his
associates he is known as a man who, having succeeded himself, is always
ready to help others to succeed.
Albert O. Brandt. Noble township is the home of some excellent
citizens who have employed themselves in tilling the soil. Many of them
have spent their entire lives on the farm and have known no other oc-
cupation, and in this class stands Albert O. Brandt, who for the past
thirty years has been engaged in cultivating his present tract of land.
Mr. Brandt was born in Noble township, June 21, 18.59, and is a son
of Charles A. and Rosanna (Adair) Brandt. He has a full genealogical
tree, and traces his lineage back to 1760, as his progenitors came from
Germany.
Charles A. Brandt Avas born in Fairfield county, Ohio, December 14,
1828, and is a pioneer of Noble township. He is the oldest son born to
John and Hannah (Coulson) Brandt. His father immigrated to Indiana
in 18.37, from Fairfield county, Ohio, with his wife and three children,
having been persuaded to come l^y David B. Coulson and Jacob Bimes-
dorfer, brothers-in-law, who were at that time residing here. Charles
A. Brandt was but nine years of age at the time of the immigration,
and when he was seventeen years old he was apprenticed to E. B.
"Williams, of Logansport, with whom he remained one year, learning
the trade of wagon maker. He continued working at his trade in
Logansport and LaFayette until 1850, when he started for Oregon,
but on account of illness he did not proceed farther than St. Louis, Mis-
souri, being compelled to return home from that point. Again, in the
following spring, he started on another trip, with Oregon again as his
destination. Leaving Logansport, ]\Iareh 18, 1851, by ox-team, in com-
panj' with two other young men, he journeyed to St. Joseph, ^Missouri,
where he joined a company then en route for his point of destination.
On September 27th of the same year the party reached Oregon City,
and shortly thereafter ]\Ir. Brandt journeyed to California and there
engaged in mining. Some months later he returned to Oregon and en-
gaged in the packing business, in conveying provisions from there to the
884 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
mines in California by pack mules. In this line he was quite successful,
and continued in the business until June, 1854, when he decided to
return to Indiana, although the return journey was filled with diffi-
culties as regarded methods of travel. Leaving San Francisco, June 1,
1854, on the steamship Yankee Blade, he traveled to Panama, went
thence by foot to Cruces, on the Chagres river, and then by railroad to
Aspinwall, a distance of twenty miles, for which he had to pay $12.50
in gold. He then again boarded a steamship, and landed at New York
City, June 22d. He left New York on the following day, going by rail
to Buffalo, where he laid over one day, and then continued by rail as
far as South Bend, Indiana, arriving in Logansport June 27th on a
stage-coach. He has resided in Cass county since that date. In 1855,
he located on a farm in section 20, Noble township, and in 1864 he
purchased and removed to a farm on section 21, in the same township,
where he resided until 1889. At that time he made removal to his
present farm in the same township. In 1857, with his father and
brother, he built a grist-mill on what is known as Cottonwood creek, and
was here engaged in milling until 1860. In the spring of 1860, Mr.
Brandt made a trip to Pike's Peak, Colorado, but returned in the fall
of the same year, and in the fall of 1866 went to Kansas, and returned
one year later, these trips being more of a prospective nature than with
any idea of permanently locating there.
On March 30, 1855, Mr. Brandt was united in marriage with Miss
Eosanna Adair, who was born August 5, 1834, in Noble township, the
daughter of Benjamin and Anna (McMillen) Adair, of Ohio and Penn-
sylvania, respectively. Two children were born to this union : James
M., born October 28, 1857, and died the following day; and Albert 0.
On March 30, 1905, the golden wedding anniversary of this honored
couple was celebrated, an added interest at the time being the wedding
of their granddaughter, Nellie R., the daughter of Albert 0. Brandt.
After a long and useful life, Mrs. Brandt passed away June 5, 1909.
Mr. Brandt's political faith is that of the Republican party, with which
he has been connected since its formation, prior to that time having
been a AVhig. With his family, he attends the Shiloh Christian church.
Mr. Brandt takes a deep interest in biographical and genealogical mat-
ters, having in his possession much information in regard to Cass
county and its early history and being a pleasing and entertaining con-
versationalist. He has ever been honest and straightforward in his
dealings, and his reputation is that of an excellent neighbor, a true
friend, a capable business man, and a loyal citizen.
Albert 0. Braaidt received his education in the district schools and
the county normal school, and has always been engaged in farming.
He has lived on his present property since November 8, 1883, and is
now engaged in farming his own land and working with his father, and
like him is known as a man of good habits, loyal to his township's in-
terests, and a capable man of business. On September 12, 1880, he was
joined in marriage with Miss Annie B. Grable, daughter of Joram and
Lucy Anna (Carson) Grable, of Adams township, Cass county. Mrs.
Brandt is a native of Cass county, Indiana, born August 31, 1858, and
is the fifth in a family of six children, one son and five daughters, but
there are only two children of the Grable family living, Mrs. Brandt
HISTOKY OF CASS COUNTY 885
and her sister, Samantlia, wife of Isaac "Watts, residents of Pulaski
county, Indiana.
Mrs. Brandt was educated in the common schools and also received
a normal ti^aiuing for the profession of teacher. She taught five years
in Cass county. She is a member of the Shiloh Christian church and of
the L. A. S. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania, and was a well
educated gentleman, and followed the profession of teacher both in
Pennsylvania and Indiana, but most of his life was spent as an agri-
culturist. He was a Republican, and both he and his wife were mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church.
To the union of ilr. and I\Irs. Brandt there have been born two
children : Olive A., born July 10, 1881, who died September 1, 1881 ;
and Nellie R., bom September 21, 1886, who was married March 30,
1905, to Oliver 0. Leach, an agriculturist, who resides near her parents.
On this last-named occasion, the house was decorated in white and gold,
and three guests were present who had attended the wedding of Mrs.
Leach's grandparents, fifty years before. ]\Irs. Leach received a good
education, receiving her diploma from the public schools in 1899,
and in 1900 entered the Logansport high school, and spent two years
there as a student. She is a musician of merit, and taught music in her
• home township. Both she and her husband are members of the Shiloh
Christian church.
Mr. Brandt has always been a faithful member of the Shiloh Chris-
tian church, which he attends regularly, and is an official worker in the
township and county Sunday school association, in connection with
his church. In politics he has always been a stanch Republican, but has
never cared for public office, preferring to devote all of his time and
attention to his farming operations. His fraternal connection is with
Royal Center Lodge No. 585, Free and Accepted Masons, in which he
has many warm friends, as he has, indeed, in all circles of his com-
munity. The homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Brandt is known as "Blake-
Majrion E. Reed. Among the public-spirited men of Cass county
who are filling official positions with marked ability and conscientious
devotion to duty, none stands higher in general esteem -than ]\Iarion E.
Reed, postmaster at Onward, a capacity in which he has acted for more
than six years. In choosing the men who handle the United States
mail, the government is careful in securing only those individuals who
have proven their worth in business, their loyalty as citizens and their
general fitness for public office as displayed in their past careers. I\Ir.
Reed has not only met all of these qualifications, but by his courteous
and obliging manner has won the friendship of all who have had occa-
sion to come in contact with him in his official capacity. He is a native
of Cass county, and was born on the Reed homestead, about one and
one-half miles east of Onward, November 4, 1869, a son of George M.
and Martha J. (Smith) Reed. Mr. Reed's mother's people were natives
of Pennsylvania, from whence they migrated to Ohio and later to Cass
county, Indiana, where they were engaged in tilling the soil. George
M. Reed was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, a son of John
886 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
and Jane (Brandt) Reed, and was brought by his parents to Cass
county as a lad, the family settling on government land, which Greorge
M. assisted in clearing from its native state. He is remembered as one
of the very early settlers of Cass county and as an able agriculturist and
sterling citizen. He and his wife were the parents of seven children,
namely: Marvin, who is deceased; and Marion E., Yirgie, Estella, Ed-
ward, Homer and Otho.
Marion E. Reed first attended what was known as the Cross Roads
school and later the Kinsey school, and finished his education in Onward.
He was reared to the occupation of farming and remained under the
parental roof until he was twenty-five years of age, at which time he
embarked in agricultural pursuits on his own account, being engaged
therein for about ten years. He then turned his attention to mercantile
pursuits, in which he was engaged until recently, and in which he
met with the same success that had rewarded his agricultural efforts.
He has recently sold his business, and now resides quietly on his valu-
able town property, devoting his attention to looking after his realty
interests. Mr. Reed has been a lifelong supporter of Republican poli-
cies and candidates, and on January 8, 1907, received the appointment
of postmaster of Onward from President Roosevelt, a position which
he has held to the present time.
On Marcli 27, 1895, ]\Ir. Reed was married to Miss Lovina Wessinger,
who was born in Miami county, Indiana, a daughter of Isaac and Mar-
garet (Blubaker) Wessinger, and they have had two children: Roscoe E.,
who is dead, and Janice, who is attending school in Onv/ard in the third
grade. Mr. Reed holds membership in the Ancient Order of Gleaners
lodge, located in Walton. With his family, he attends the Christian
church, in the work of which he has always lieen active. The family
name has always stood for reliability and good citizenship, and Mr.
Reed is ably maintaining the high standard set by his forebears.
Levpis B. W.UjTErs. The town of Onward, Indiana, is situated in
the center of a great grain belt, and one of the chief industries of the
locality is the handling of the products of the agriculturists of the
section. A prosperous and gi'owing enterprise of Onward is the gi'ain
elevator of N. E. AYalkei* & Company, the superintendent of which,
Lewis B. Walters, has risen to his present business through well-applied
energy and inherent business ability. Mr. Walters has been identified
with the grain business for nine years, and for four years of this
time has been a resident of Onward, where he is known as a citizen
who takes an interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of his
community. He is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born in
Clinton county, near Frankfort, March 24, 1876, a son of Samuel
and Amanda (Finney) Walters.
Samuel Waltere was born in Pennsylvania and came to Indiana ^rith
his parents when still a babe, the family settling in Clinton county,
where Mr. Walters was reared and educated. He became engaged in
agricultural pursuits, and was working on a farm when the Civil war
broke out, when he enlisted in the Eighty-ninth Regiment, Indiana Yol-
unteer Infantry, for three years. In his first large battle, at Mumfords-
ville, Kentucky, he was captured by the Confederates, but was ex-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 887
changed and sent home on a three months' furlough to recuperate from
a serious illness contracted in a southern prison. On rejoining his
regiment, he served under General Smith, in the Army of the Potomac,
so continuing until receiving his honorable discharge at the close of
his service. He was a faithful and gallant soldier, and when his
military term had expired returned to the occupations of peace, and
throughout the remainder of his active career devoted himself to the
tilling of the soil.
Lewis Walters received his education in the district schools of his
neighborhood and the public schools of Clinton, after which he became
engaged in farming. In 1904 he entered the grain business and was
on the road for one year. In 1909 he came to Onward and became
associated with the firm of N. E. Walker & Company, where he has
since remained. Faithful devotion to his duties and earnest appli-
cation in behalf of his company's interests gained him rapid promotion,
and at this time he holds the position of general superintendent of the
Onward elevator. He is widely known in the grain trade, and has
won an enviable reputation as a shrewd, capable man of business.
On September 6, 1899, j\Ir. Walters was married to Miss Effie Newlin,
daughter of Alfred G. and Ella (Mote) Newlin, and they have the
following children : Lawrence A., in the seventh grade of the public
schools ; Samuel A., in the fifth grade ; and Bernice and Gertrude. Mrs.
Walters was born in Iroquois county, Illinois, March 7, 1880, the fourth
in a family of ten children — six sons and four daughters — and three
are living at present. Her mother is living in Clinton county, Indiana.
Mr. Walters is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No.
455, at Onward, in which he has numerous friends. He has been a life-
long adherent of Republican principles and has served his township as
a member of the election board. With his wife and children, he attends
the Christian church at Onward.
John H. Minnick. Among the successful agriculturists of Cass
county who have devoted their lives to the tilling of the soil, and who
now have large, well-cultivated properties to show for their years of
labor, John H. Minnick holds a prominent place. He has spent his
entire career within the borders pf the county, and his life, from earli-
est boyhood, has been one of industry and energy. Today he is the
owner of a handsome tract of ninety -one acres, located on the Thomas
road, which, through intelligent handling, he has made one of the
valuable tracts of his locality. Mr. Minnick was born in Tipton town-
ship, Cass county, Indiana, July 5, 1855, and is a son of Henry and
Mary (Bechdol) Minnick. His father, a native of Somerset county,
Pennsylvania, was brought by his parents to Cass county in boyhood,
and here he took up agricultural pui'suits, in which he was successfully
engaged during the remainder of his life. Heniy and ]\Iary Minnick
became the parents of eight children, of whom six survive at this
time: Daniel, William, Charles, Joshua, Charlotte, who became the
wife of Mr. Fred Gibson, of Tipton township ; and John H.
The early education of John H. Minnick was secured in the old
Flynn school in Tipton township, which he attended during the short
winter terms, his summers being devoted to the hard and unremitting
888 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
work of the home farm. An industrious and energetic youth, he was
ambitious to thoroughly learn every detail of farm work, in which he
was trained by his father, while by his mother he was taught to be
honest and upright in his dealings. Thus growing to manhood, he
continued to work with his parents, and to remain on the homestead
until his marriage, when he established a home of his own and embarked
upon a. career, following the training of his youth and engaging in
agricultural pursuits. Selecting his present property on the Thomas
road, he settled down to improve and cultivate it, and to make it one
of the valuable tracts of the township, and in this he has been suc-
cessful, as a visit to his well-tilled fields will demonstrate. His build-
ings are substantial and of a modern style of architecture, and the
general air of prosperity that pervades the whole place shows that
Mr. Minniek made no mistake in his choice of a vocation.
October 3, 1873, Mr. Minniek was united in marriage with MisS
Lillis Doud, and to this union there were born four children, namely:
Merlon, who is deceased ; Jennie, who married Wm. Ramer ; Clarence,
who is deceased; and Alvin, who resides at home and assists his father.
The last named, Alvin, finished the public schools and then took a
business course at the Miami Business College. The following para-
graph is taken from one of the Walton papers :
"Lillis Minniek was born near Chili, Miami county, Indiana, April
10, 1853, and died at her home near Walton, Cass county, Indiana, June
10, 1907, aged fifty-four years and two months. She was the daughter
of Lorenzo and Lydia Dond. On October 30, 1873, she was united in
marriage to John H. Minniek. To this union were born four children,
three sons and one daughter. A husband, one son, one daughter, three
sisters, two brothers, two grandchildren and a host of friends are left
to mourn her departure, two sons, three brothers, two sisters, father
and mother having gone on before. She was converted and united
with the M. E. church at Chili at the age of fifteen, but later united
with the Christian church near her home, of which church she remained
a faithful member until called to go to her Heavenly Father. She ex-
pressed a desire to live, yet she was willing to go. There has departed
from our midst a devoted wife, a faithful, sacrificing mother, a sincere
friend, beloved by all. The funeral services were held in the Christian
church northwest of Walton, Jvine 13, 1907, at 10 a. m., conducted
by Rev. W. M. Amos in the presence of many sympathizing friends,
and interment was made in the Walton cemetery. 'We cannot say and
we will not say that she is dead, she is just away. With a loving smile
and a wave of the hand she has wandered into an unknown land, and
left us dreaming; how very fair it needs must be, since she lingers
there. And you, 0 you, who will often yearn for the old-time step
and the glad return, think of her just the same, we say, she is not dead,
but just away.' " Friends.
On April 27, 1909, Mr. Minniek was married to Mrs. Edna (Pat-
ton) Swafford, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Berry) Patton.
Mrs. Minniek is a native of Cass county, born January 4, 1874, and she is
the younger of two children, both living. She was educated in the com-
mon schools and at the Walton high school. She wedded Archibald
Swafford and six children were bom and only two are living: Gettis 0.,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 889
who graduated iu the common schools and is a resident of Tipton,
engaged with the Pennsylvania system; and Harry B., in the fourth
grade. Mr. and Mrs. Minniek are members of the Presbyterian church,
in the congregation of which they have many friends. He has taken a
prominent part in township affairs, not particularly as an incumbent
of public office, but as a man who is ever ready to give his time and
means to promoting movements for the public welfare. He is held in
high esteem by his fellow-townsmen, and may be justly named one of
the representative men of his township. Mr. and Mrs. Minniek 's beau-
tifiil estate is known as "Pleasant View Lawn."
William P. Burkit. One of the representative farmers of Wash-
ington township, who has been an eye-witness of the marvelous growth
and development of Cass county during the past four decades, and who
has contributed materially to that development, is William P. Burkit,
township trustee and a man who has always been devoted to the best
interests of his community. During a long and honorable career, he has
given his attention to the cultivation of the soil, and at tliis time is
the owner of a well-cultivated tract of 380 acres of some of the best
land in Washington township, situated about nine miles southeast of
Logansport. Mr. Burkit was born February 21, 1866, in an old log
cabin in Washington townsliip, Cass county, which had been built by
his father, Alvin Burkit. The latter was a native of Jefferson township,
Cass county, where he received his education and was reared to man-
hood, beginning his operations as a farmer when still a youth. A self-
made man in the truest sense of the word, he was honored and respected
by his neighbors as an energetic, industrious farmer, and reared a family
that was a credit to the community. At about the age of eight years
Alvin Burkit came to Washington township, and during the remainder
of his lifetime cleared the greater part of the farm that is now the
home of William P. Burkit. He married Miss Sarah Small, also of
Washington towmship, and they had a family of six children, of whom
but two now survive: William P. and Charles A., the latter now resid-
ing in the city of Logansport. The mother, now aged seventy-two years,
is a resident of the city of Logansport, Indiana.
William P. Burkit passed his boyhood much as other farmers' sons
of his day and locality. His early education was secured in the district
schools, which he attended during the short winter terms, the summers
being spent in assisting his father in clearing the home farm. He had
reached his twenty-sixth year before he embarked in farming on his
own account, at that time renting a small property from his father.
An industrious, sober and thrifty youth, he was soon able to purchase
a small tract of land, and to this he has added from time to time, until
he now has one of the finest farms in his part of the county, 380 acres
in area, all in a high state of cultivation. In addition to his home
property, he owns two other valuable farms, and is justly considered one
of his township's most substantial citizens. The homestead farm pre-
sents a strikingly different appearance than it did during Mr. Burkit 's
boyhood. The little log cabin that was his birthplace has been replaced
by a modern residence, erected by Mr. Bui'kit, and numerous other
changes and improvements have been made, the entire property giving
890 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
evidence of the presence of able management. A Democrat in politics,
in 1908 Mr. Burkit became his party's candidate for township trustee
of Washington township, and in the election that followed he was
returned to the office by a handsome majority. He has since continued
to discharge its duties, laboring faithfully in behalf of the best interests
of his community and its people.
On 'June 17, 1891, Mr. Burkit was united in marriage with Miss
Matilda Zollman, who died August 29, 1895, daughter of Charles and
Martha (Bell) Zollman. One child was born to this union — Virginia A.
— who is now the wife of Chester Buschbaum. Mrs. Burkit was a de-
voted member of the Presbyterian church, was actively interested in
church and charitable affairs, and was widely known and greatly be-
loved.
George H. Schwalm. To its enterprising and progressive agricul-
tural class, Cass county owes its marvelous development during the
past several decades, a development that has transformed what was
once almost a valueless waste to a center of agricultural, commercial
and educational activity. A great many of the pioneers of this section
have passed to their final reward, but their sons and grandsons are
continuing their work, and just as sturdy, self-reliant and industrious
a class of men may be found here today as those who braved the dangers
of an unknown region during the county's formative period. A family
that has contributed of its members to work of this development is that
bearing the name of Schwalm, a worthy representative of which is
found in George Schwalm, whose postoffice address is Logansport Rural
Route No. 3, and who is cultivating his own property of 100 acres and
the homestead, which consists of eighty acres, in section 26. Mr.
Schwalm was born March 2, 1858, in Washington township, Cass county,
Indiana, and is a son of Henry and Helena (Haemel) Schwalm.
Henry Schwalm was born in Germany, August 20, 1828, and was
educated in the Fatherland, from whence he came to the United States
in 1852 and began working for his iincle, Henry Schwalm. Subse-
quently, he took a lease to clear forty-five acres of land in Washington
township, and from that time continued to carry on agricultural opera-
tions on his own account, becoming the owner of the old SehwaJm home-
stead. On May 21, 1857, he was married to Miss Helena Haemel, daugh-
ter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Ellerman) Haemel, and they became the
parents of eight children, as follows : George ; Sarah E., who married
Mr. D. P. Hurd ; IMrs. Caroline M. ]\Iartin ; Eckert A. ; Mrs. Augustina
M. Kaufman; Louisa L., who is single and resides with Mr. and INIrs.
Kaufman; William B., a resident of Logansport; and Mrs. Laura E.
Martin. All the members of this family, except Mrs. Hurd, are mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church and take an active part in church work.
George Schwalm received his education in the Flynn public school
in Tipton township, and as the eldest son of his parents spent his boy-
hood and early youth in assisting his father in the work of the home
place. When he was twenty years of age, he began teaching school,
carefully saving his earnings and investing them in farming land, and
when he had accumulated a small capital he gave up the vocation of
educator and returned to farm work. He has since been engaged in
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 891
tilling the soil and in raising stock and has met with uniform success
in all of his ventures.
On September 21, 1882, Mr. Sehwalm was united in marriage with
Miss Laura E. Martin, daughter of Simon and Eliza (Shuman) Martin,
and she died, leaving four children: Grace, Edna M., Florence I. and
Edith R., all living at home. Mr. Sehwalm was married to
Miss Orpha C. Bechdol, and they have two children : Mary H. and
Elma C. ]\Irs. Sehwalm is the ninth in a family of twelve children,
three sons and nine daughters, born to Elias and Mary J. (Stough)
Bechdol, and there are seven living. Both parents are deceased and
both were members of the Lutheran clnirch. The Sehwalm family is
connected with the Presbyterian church. Mr. Sehwalm has not cared
for the activities attendant upon public life, but willingly lends his sup-
port to progressive movements, and on a number of occasions has shown
that he has the welfare of his section thoroughly at heart. The pretty
estate of Mr. and Mrs. Sehwalm is known as ' ' Eutopia. ' '
William H. Snyder. Many of Cass county's leading agriculturists
are carrying on operations on the fai-ms on which they were born, and
which were taken up by their fathers from the government and devel-
oped from their virgin state. Having spent their entire lives on these
properties, their owners are thoroughly conversant with climatic con-
ditions and the needs of the soil, and are thus able to secure a full meas-
ure of success from their labors. In this class stands William H.
Snyder, of Tipton township, an agriculturist of long standing, and a
citizen who has at all times held the respect and esteem of his fellow-
townsmen. In his early years ]Mr. Snyder was engaged in other lines
of endeavor, but eventually returned to the old homestead, content that
his abilities fitted him best for the occupation of his forefathers. Mr.
Snyder was born on the old Snyder homestead in Tipton township,
located about one mile west of Onward, at the junction of the Thomas
and Snyder road, July 1, 1857, a son of Levi and Madeline (Rothen-
berger) Snyder. His father, a native of Pennsylvania, left that state
as a young man and came to Clinton county, Indiana, from whence he
enlisted in the United States army for service during the Mexican war.
After the close of that stiniggle, he came to Cass county, and here took
up land, cleared a farm and spent the remainder of his life in farming,
his death occurring in 1900, at an advanced age. He and his wife were
the parents of three children : William H., ]\Iaiy E. and Mrs. Martha
J. Shank.
William H. Snyder was given excellent educational advantages,
attending the district schools near his home in Tipton township, and
completing his studies imder Professor Neff, at the normal school. Dur-
ing this entire period, he had spent his spare time in assisting his father
on the home farm, being thoroughly trained in the vocation of farming.
When he was twenty-one years of age he left the parental roof and
engaged in school teaching for a period, but subsequently served an
apprenticeship to' the carpenter trade, which he also followed for some
time. Eventually, however, he again tiirned his attention to the tilling
of the soil, and in 1900 bought the interests of the other heirs to his
father's land, of which he is now the sole owner. He has eighty acres
892 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
of land, all in a high state of cultivation, and his able management of
the property is evidenced by its general air of prosperity and the large
crops raised thereon. He believes in the use of modern machinery and
methods, has made a thorough study of crop rotation and other meas-
ures which have so advanced agriculture during the past several
decades, and his property compares favorably with any of its size in
the township. Mr. Snyder is essentially a farmer and has not cared
for public life, taking only a good citizen's interest in mattera of a
political nature. His fraternal connection is with the Knights of the
Maccabees, and in religious matters he affiliates with the German
Reformed church, while his wife belongs to the United Brethren faith
and daughter to the Methodist.
Mr. Snyder was married to Miss Rachael M. Surface May 1, 1884,
and they have had three children: Leotine B., deceased, who married
W. H. Haas and died without issue; Edgar F., who resides at home;
and William R. Mrs. Snyder was born June 17, 1865, and was edu-
cated in common schools. Both of her parents are deceased. Edgar
received his diploma from the common schools and was a student in the
Marion Normal College. He was superintendent of the high school
one year, and is again superintendent for 1913-14. He is a member
of the B. P. 0. E. and deputy county treasurer of Cass county. Wil-
liam R. received a public school diploma and graduated from the county
high school in Onward and was a teacher in Cass county but is now
messenger at Logansport State Bank. He is a member of the Red Men.
John W. Kendall is another of the progressive farming men who
have added not a little to the development and prosperity of Cass county
and Noble township as a result of his up-to-date and modern methods of
operation. He was born on August 26, 1855, in Carroll county, Indiana,
and came to Cass county in 1883. He is the son of Thomas and Maria
(Graves) Kendall, the father having been a Civil war veteran. He en-
listed in an Iowa regiment and saw much of the hardships of actual war.
It was during his service that he contracted an affection of the lungs
that resulted in his death in 1908. The mother is still living in Cass
county.
When John W. Kendall came to Cass county, a young man of twenty-
three or thereabout, he settled on Avhat was then known, and is yet called
the Tabor farm, in Washington township. There he began the business
of general farming, an occupation in which he has ever been successful
and prosperous. In 1894 he branched out in the diary business, and in
1905 he came to Noble township, here settling on the farm he now oc-
cupies on what is called College Hill. Here he has enjoyed a pleasing
degree of success in his general farming and dairying. The farm, which
comprises eighty acres, has under Mr. Kendall's care reached a splendid
state of improvement and cultivation, and is known to be one of the best
kept places in the township, while the place boasts one of the most com-
plete and perfect silos in the state of Indiana, the same being built on a
twenty-four inch foundation, four bricks deep, and is thirty feet high, —
one of the most valuable adjuncts in connection with the operation of his
dairy farm.
On January 2, 1881, Mr. Kendall married Miss Henrietta Wright,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 893
and to them were born seven children, named as follows : Pearl, Gertrude,
John Ellis, Harry N., Jesse, Hattie and Ethel. Harry N. died in 1897
at the age of four years, and Ethel was taken by death in the same year,
at the tender age of two years. In August, 1912, the eldest daughter,
Pearl, married Charles Emmery, a manufacturer of mineral waters and
pop in Logansport. Gertrude married George Case, in 1906, and they
conduct "The Island View Hotel" in Logansport, Indiana.
i\Ir. Kendall has always been an adherent of the Republican party,
though not particularly active in the ranks, and his fraternal relations
are represented by his membership in the Redraen and the Tribe of Ben
Hur. The family attends the Universalist church. A man of much
public spirit and enterprise, Mr. Kendall has always been a strong
cooperator in every movement of a public nature that has for its ulti-
mate object the betterment of the community and may always be de-
pended upon to give generously of his means and his support in any
worthy cause promulgated for the good of his fellows.
JION. Dyer B. McConnell, for many years one of the prominent
legists of Cass county, was born in Highland county, Illinois, on Feb-
ruary 15, 1835. He is one of the ten children born to Dr. James B.
and Sarah Dean (Stewart) McConnell, five of that number now living.
James B. McConnell was a physician and came to Cass county in
1848, locating in Royal Centre, where he practically passed the re-
mainder of his professional life. He died at the home of his father,
Samuel C. McConnell, a farmer of Harrison township. Samuel C.
McConnell came from Ohio to Cass county in 1839 and followed farm-
ing in Harrison township. He was a native of South Carolina and of
Scotch-Irish ancestry, but his southern nativity did not prevent him
from being a strong abolitionist and a member of the first anti-slavery
organization in the county. The McConnell family came to America
in Colonial days, religious prosecution in their own country causing
their emigration.
Dyer B. McConnell received his scholastic training of earlier xesrs
at Russelville, Brown county, Ohio. He came to Cass county in 1852
and finished his education with a four months ' term in a private school,
conducted by JMessrs. Glenn and Rogers, graduates of Miami Univer-
sity in Logansport. He was reared in the expectation that he would
embrace the medical profession, but for seven years he taught school
in Indiana and Illinois and subsequently engaged in the manufacture
of lumber in Harrison township. On August 27, 1861, ]\Ir. McConnell
enlisted in Company K, Ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry as a private.
He went first to West Virginia and served three months on scouting
duty on Cheat ^Mountain. In January, 1862, he camped with his com-
mand at Felterman and at this . time, January 29, 1862, was elected
second lieutenant of his company. On April 12th following he was
made first lieutenant, upon the death of Lieutenant Joseph S. Turner.
Close upon this promotion followed his election to the post of captain
on August 21, 1862. He continued in the service until October 29, 1864,
when he resigned owing to ill health, but he was not mustered out until
November 9, 1864. His military service from April, 1862, was join-
ing the command of Don Carlos Buel at Nashville, Tennessee. They
894 HISTOET OF CASS COUNTY
moved in the direction of Pittsburg Landing in March and reached
there on the evening of the first day of the light. At that time he was
acting quartermaster of his regiment. By special request he was re-
lieved of his duties as quartermaster that he might participate in the
second day's tight, and he was in command of Company K after the
wounding of Fii-st Lieutenant Turner, who commanded the company,
the captain acting as major of the regiment. During this engagement
the Ninth Regiment lost more men in killed and wounded than any
other regiment in that action. The Century Company, in their pictorial
histoi-y of the war, paid a high tribute to the efficiency and bravery of
the Ninth on tlie second day of that fight. Succeeding this engage-
ment, he was in the Corinth campaign, then was on the campaign
through Mississippi to Florence, Alabama, thence north into Tennessee.
Mr. McConnell's history from this on was the history of the Ninth
Regiment. He participated in the battles of Greenbriar and Buffalo
Mountain, the second day of the battle of Shiloh, all the engagements
of Corinth, Perryville, Kentucky, Stone river (two days' fight) Chick-
amauga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Resaea, Peach Tree Creek,
Kenesaw Mountain, Buzzard's Roost, Dallas, New Hope Church, Jones-
boro, Lovejoy Station, and the reduction of Atlanta. Mr. McConnell
was then sent in pursuit of Hood to Dalton, Summerville and
Galeville, and at this latter point separated from General Sherman's
command. After various other engagements and campaigns, he went
to Pulaski, Tennessee, where he resigned from the service.
Returning to Logansport, Mr. McConnell took up the study of law
and was admitted to the bar in 1865. Soon thereafter he was appointed
by Governor Morton prosecuting attorney for the common pleas court.
He continued in active practice until elected judge of the Twenty-ninth
Judicial Circuit in November, 1888. He served the unexpired term
caused by the resignation of Judge Maurice Winfield, and in 1890 com-
menced serving his own term of six years. He resigned in 1895, then
continued in practice until 1904, when he became referee in bankruptcy,
his private practice being reduced considerably by his service in that
office.
On February 4, 1864, Judge McConnell was married to Hattie Gib-
son, who died on December 19, 1910. They were the parents of eight
children, the following being those who yet live : Edgar Boyd ; May ;
Elizabeth; Helen, the wife of George Ross; and Grace. Judge Mc-
Connell is a progressive Republican in his politics and is a member of
the Grand Army of the Republic.
Since 1910 Judge McConnell has been practically retired from active
business pursuits.
Stewart T. JMcConnell, for over half a century a lawyer in the
active practice of his profession at Logansport. and the present senior
member of the firm of McConnell, Jenkines, Jenkines & Stewart, is
a son of Dr. James B. ]\IcConnell, who came to Cass county, Indiana,
in 1848, and lived for many years at Royal Centre. Appropriate
record is made of the life of Dr. McConnell in connection with the
biography of Judge Dyer B. ]\IcConnell, immediately preceding this.
Stewart T. McConnell was born in Highland county, Ohio, in the
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 895
village of Greenfield. October 16, 1836, and his boyhood days were
passed in attending the neighboring school and assisting an uncle, with
whom he lived, in farming. Before attaining his majority he attended
a scientific and classical school for four years, paying his way with
the proceeds derived from his own labor. He came to Cass county
in 1859, and taught school for a number of terms. Influenced by the
advice of Judge Horace P. Biddle, he decided to become a lawyer and
while teaching school he became a student of Hon. D. D. Pratt and
Judge D. P. Baldwin. In December, 1861, he was admitted to the
bar and very shortly thereafter engaged in the practice of his profession.
For a period of more than fifty years Mr. ]\IcConnell has occupied a
conspicuous place in the legal history of Cass county, and in most of
the important litigation covering this period, his name is to be found
as counsel. As counsellor or trial lawyer he has few equals in the
state, which is famous for great lawyers. AVhile aggressive, he is in-
variably courteous and thus commands the respect of his fellow mem-
bers of the bar. His knowledge of the law is profound and a legal
position once assumed immediately commands the instant attention of
court and jury.
Contrary to the usual custom of lawyers, Mr. McConnell has never
sought political honors, although at one time he was the nominee of
both political parties for the office of common pleas prosecutor and
served as such one term. He has always manifested a deep and prac-
tical interest in education, temperance and religion, and to all matters
pertaining to the public weal his support is enthusiastically given.
On April 3, 1860, he married I\Iiss Louisa Gibson, and to them
were born four children. ]\Irs. McConnell died in the spring of 1884,
and in November of the follawing year he married Eloise Landis Stuart.
Few men in Cass county stand higher in public confidence and esteem
than does Stewart T. McConnell.
Dr. Arthur N. Baker. Among the professional men of Logansport
who have gained success in their chosen fields of endeavor. Dr. Arthur
N. Baker has firmly established himself in a position of prestige in the
practice of optometry. He has been a resident of, the city practically
all of his life, and is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born at
Culver, Marshall county, February 19, 1869, a son of Dr. Ira J. and
Eliza A. (Duddleston) Baker, of Wyandotte county, Ohio. Dr. Ira J.
Baker was a physician and came to Logansport about 1877, this city still
being his home and that of his wife. During the Civil war he served
in the Union army as a member of the signal corps.
Arthur N. Baker attended the public and high schools of Logans-
port, succeeding which for several years he was a teacher in the Cass
and Fulton county schools. He then became a student in the Chicago
Opthalmic College and Hospital, where he was graduated June 1, 1895,
and subsequently took a post-graduate course at the Northern Illinois
College of Opthalmology and Otolog>% where he was granted a diploma
in May, 1899. In June, 1895, Dr. Baker established himself in the
optical business in Logansport, and here he has continued to the pres-
ent time, from a small and modest beginning having built a substantial
business along optical lines exclusively. Here he has his own instru-
896 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ments for grinding lenses and for the prosecution of the various other
operations of his chosen vocation, and by his skill has gained a position
in the confidence of the people and a reputation in optical circles. Upon
the passage of the law in 1907 creating a state board of five members,
appointed by the governor, of Registration and Examination in
Optometry, Dr. Baker was chosen one of its members, and he has since
continued to be a member of that board. He is a Democrat in polities,
and his fraternal connections are with the Masons, the Knights of
Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
In April, 1894, Dr. Baker was married to IMiss Lillie Condon, and
they have been the parents of one daughter, namely: Helen IMaurine.
Harry Fidlee. In the annals of Cass county are found numerous
instances of youths who have risen to affluence and prestige in social
and business life, but it is doubtful if any cases can be discovered that
parallel the career of Harry Fidler, of Logansport, whose phenomenal
advancement has brought him, within the comparatively short period
of two decades, from selling newspapers and blacking shoes to the man-
agement of one of the city's leading business establishments. Mr.
Fidler is still a young man, but his accomplishments have been great,
and a sketch of his remarkable career should prove of a beneficial and
encouraging nature to those who have become discouraged because of
the apparently insurmountable obstacles placed in their path.
Harry Fidler was born in Logansport, Indiana, September 25, 1881,
and is one of the two surviving children of a family of six born to
August W. and Lydia J. (Powell) Fidler. His opportunities for secur-
ing an education in his youth were extremely limited, and when he was
only ten years of age he went out upon the streets of Logansport, selling
daily papers, and carrying his little boot-blacking kit. The bright, cheery
and ambitious youth soon applied for and secured the position of errand
boy for the jewelry establishment of Charles Church, and on leaving
that occupation was employed as an assistant in the office of Dr. J. H.
Shultz. This proved the turning point of Mr. Fidler 's career, for Dr.
Shultz so impressed upon him the importance of securing an education
that he began to attend the public schools whenever he could be spared
from his duties and also undertook a course of private instruction.
Later, having tasted of knowledge, he thirsted for more, and attended
the Logansport Business College, where he made an excellent record in
his studies. For a short time succeeding this he was employed in the
drug store of W. H. Porter, and in May, 1900, he became office assistant
for Seth M. Velsey, where his services were so satisfactory that within
the short space of three months he was given entire charge of one branch
of the business, and in 1903 was given full management of the office.
At the time of the deaths of his father and IMr. Velsey, which took
place about the same time, the settlement of both estates fell upon the
shoulders of the youth and both were settled to the entire satisfaction
of all concerned. By express stipulation in the will of Mr. Velsey, Mr.
Fidler was given absolute charge of the settlement of the Velsey estate,
one of the largest in Cass county, and within twenty-two months this
had been accomplished. Since that time IMr. Fidler has succeeded to
the business founded by IMr. Velsey, and has given his attention to its
management to the present time.
HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY 897
Mr. Fidler was instrumental in raising funds for the erection of
the Protestant and Catholic mausoleums at Mount Hope cemetery. He
is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite and Knight Templar York Rite
Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine, a Knight of Pythias and a
member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. For ten years
he has been an officer of rank in Logan Company No. 26, Uniformed
Rank, Knights of Pythias, of which, for the past eight years, he has
been captain. He has been an unswerving Republican all of his life.
Although his duties in a business waj' have been such as to preclude the
idea of his entering actively in the struggles of the political arena, he
takes a keen and intelligent interest in all matters that affect his com-
munity or its citizens, and has stanchly supported measures making for
education, morality and good government. He has the utmost con-
fidence of all with whom he has come into contact in a business or social
way, and his friends in Logansport are legion.
On November 8, 1911, Mr. Fidler was united in marriage with Miss
Fay Lucy, of Logansport.
John G. Keip. Since his seventeenth year, John G. Keip, of Logans-
port, one of this city 's leading business citizens, has been the architect of
his own fortunes, and his long and interesting career is a striking example
of the fact that true success is the result obtained by steadfast integrity,
constant industry and unremitting perseverance. Mr. Keip came to
Logansport, September 1, 1894, and within his recollection the city has
grown and developed from a rude, undeveloped community into a muni-
cipality noted as a center of education, culture and commercial activity,
its public improvements have been fostered and forwarded, and many
of its handsomest business structures have been erected. As resident
manager of one of Logansport 's principal enterprises, the Columbia
Brewing Company, Mr. Keip holds a position of unquestioned prestige
in business life and his public spirit has led him to identify himself
with all movements calculated to benefit the city and its people.
John G. Keip was born in the city of Toledo, Ohio, November 8, 1857,
a son of Joseph and Katherine (Rees) Keip, natives of Germany, both
of whom are now deceased. His father was a painter and decorator
at Toledo, where his death occurred in 1871. Receiving his early educa-
tion in the public schools of Toledo, Mr. Keip supplemented this by
attendance at Canisius College, Buffalo, New York, where he was grad-
uated in 1875, and for a number of years succeeding worked in various
clerical capacities. In 1880 he made removal to Chicago, where he
became a clerk in a wholesale clothing establishment, then becoming
the traveling representative of a Chicago wholesale house in Kansas, a
position which he held for four years. At this time he became interested
in politics, and for a time was employed in the water and police depart-
ments in Chicago, following which he accepted a position in the
Department of Internal Revenue. It was while acting in the capacity
of revenue officer that he received his initiation into the distilling and
br-ewing business, the details of which he thoroughly mastered. In
1900 the Columbia Brewing Company went into the hands of a receiver,
and ]\Ir. Keip was appointed to close up its affairs. When the estate
had been settled, he accepted the position of manager of the new con-
898 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
cern, and since that time he has acquired a proprietary interest in ilie
business, has continued steadily with it, and is its present resident
manager. As the directing head of this large enterprise, Mr. Keip has
displayed marked ability, and his reputation among his associates is
that of a well-balanced man of business, capable of handling large issues
and thoroughly the master of every detail of the company's operations.
His business interests have been so large and important that in late
years he has given but little attention to political matters, but at all times
has displayed a keen and intelligent interest in movements concerning
his city's welfare. He has been identified with fraternal work to some
extent and at this time is a member of the Elks, the Moose, the Eagles
and the Travelers Protective Association.
While still a resident of Chicago, November 19, 188-1, Mr. Keip was
united in marriage with ^liss Etta Provost, and they became the par-
ents of three children, all of whom are deceased. ]Mr. and Mrs. Keip
also adopted three children, one of whom died, one returned to its par-
ents, and one. Bertha Henrietta, is now living with Mr. Keip. ]\lrs.
Keip passed away ^larch 15, 1912, as the result of injuries sustained in
an automobile accident some two years previously, ilr. Keip was mar-
ried to Annie M. Clark, of Michigan City, Indiana, on November 5, 1912.
William T. Wilson. Among those who are members of the Cass
county bar may be found many native sons of this section ; men belong-
ing to old and honored families, members of which have been promi-
nently connected with commercial, professional and public life for
many years. It is in this class that William T. Wilson holds prestige,
for he has not only gained a high reputation in his chosen profession,
as well as along business lines, but is a son of one of Logansport 's early
merchants, the late Thomas H. Wilson.
Thomas H. Wilson was born ]\lay 31, 1818, near the village of Denton,
Caroline county, Maryland, a son of John and Sarah (Hopkins) Wilson,
both of English descent. The sixth of a family of ten children, he passed
his early years on a farm, and at the age of eleven years, at the time of
the death of his father, he went to live with an uncle, Thomas Hopkins,
who was his guardian, and in whose store and mill he worked for some
time. In 1834 he became a clerk in a store at Camden, Delaware, and
in 1837, when this firm was dissolved, came with, one of his employers,
Daniel Atwell, to Logansport, Indiana. Here, in 1840, he became one
of the principals in the mercantile establishment of Pollard & Wilson,
which concern, in 1843, built a grain warehouse on the Wabash & Erie
Canal. Mr. Wilson, through his extensive mercantile, commission and
forwarding interests, became widely and favorably known throughout
this part of the state. About 1853, owing to changes, the firm became
Wilson, ]\Ien-iam & Company, although the firm of Pollard & Wilson
continued to do business until the death of the senior partner in 1856.
Failing health, caused by close attention to his duties as executor of
the estate of ilr. Pollard, led to Mr. Wilson's resignation from the firm,
but he continued in the produce trade until 1875. In May, 1865, he
became president of the Logansport National Bank, and served as such
until his death, December 27, 1877. He was originally a Whig in his
political views, but when the organization of the Republican party was
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 899
brought about, he cast his fortunes with the new movement. He was
reared, religiously, in the faith of the Friends, or Quakers, but all
religious denominations benefitted by his liberality, and no charitable
movement with a worthy cause ever appealed to him in vain. In his
death the poor, needy and afflicted lost a true friend, who had never
forgotten them. Mr. Wilson was thrice married, his first union occurring
in 1842, when he married America Weirick. She died three years later,
and in 1849, Mr. Wilson married Mary A. I. Dexter, who passed away
in 1854. His third marriage took place in 1856, when he was united
with Elizabeth E. Hopkins, who survived him irutil 1898. Mr. Wilson
had four sons: William T., Ellwood G., Thomas H. and John Charles.
William T. Wilson was born in Logansport, Indiana, in 1854, and his
early education was secured in the public schools. Subsequently, he
entered Princeton University, New Jersey, from which institution he
was graduated in 1874, and in the following year commenced reading
law in the office of the Hon. D. D. Pratt, of Logansport, being admitted
to the bar during the same year. He immediately entered upon the
practice of his profession, and has gained an enviable reputation among
his associates and in the confidence of the people of his community.
His practice has been of a general character, and he is known as a
thoroughly learned and sound lawyer, a logical and convincing reasoner
and a persuasive and successful advocate. He is a Republican in poli-
tics, although of the kind that seeks the establishment of the right prin-
ciples of government rather than the acquisition of the honors of office
or the spoils of partisanship. Since 1877, the year in which his father
died, he has been officially connected with the First National Bank of
Logansport, of which he has been a director for a quarter of a century,
and various other positions of prominence have been capably filled by
him. With Mrs. Wilson, he attends the Presbyterian church.
In 1880 Mr. Wilson was united in marriage with Miss Martha L.
McCarty, daughter of Joseph P. McCarty, of Logansport. Their four
children are : Thomas H., associated with his father in the practice
of law; Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Frank H. Worthington, of the Vandalia
Railroad, residing at Terre Haute; Joseph and Dorothy Dexter, living
at home.
Simon Long. It has been stated, and truthfully, that agriculture
offers blessings in the greatest plenty, but does not allow us to take them
in idleness. True there are those who are content to travel along the
rut of mediocrity, taking from their land a bare living, but the full
measure of success in farming only comes to those who are willing to
work hard and faithfully, to observe changed conditions and practices,
and to constantly remember that the only true success in life is that
gained through the practice of honorable dealing. In this connection it
is not inappropriate to briefly sketch the career of Simon Long, a self-
made man of Cass county, whose long and honorable career has been
crowned with well-deserved success secured through the medium of his
own efforts. Mr. Long was born September 10, 1845, in Cass county,
Indiana, and is a son of William and Elizabeth Long. His father, a
native of Pennsylvania, came to Indiana in young manhood, and here
spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits. He and his
900 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
wife were the parents of nine children, namely: Eliza, who is deceased;
Mrs. Catherine Beal; Sarah, Angelina, William, Aaron and Samuel, all
of whom are deceased; Simon; and Joseph, also deceased.
Simon Long received rather limited educational advantages in his
youth, the death of his father making it necessary that he early start
out in life for himself, but in his later years he has accumulated a wide
fund of information, and is known as a man of good educational attain-
ments. When he was still a small lad he went to live at the home of an
elder brother, and at fifteen years of age began to gain experience in
the world by working out on neighboring farms. His salary was small
and his hours long, but the youth was industrious and persevering, and
carefully saved his earnings, and thus, by the time he had reached the
age of thirty years, he was able to purchase the farm on which he now
resides. This land was almost entirely uncultivated and what improve-
ments had been made upon it w^ere of a primitive nature, but the industry
and integrity with which Mr. Long took up his work soon changed con-
ditions, and as the years have passed the land has become productive
and the buildings modern and substantial. He now has eighty acres in
a high state of cultivation, it being located near the Marion road, five
miles from Logausport. Mr. Long is justly considered one of the able
agriculturists of this part of the county, and as a citizen he is known to
be progressive and public-spirited. During his long residence here he
has formed a wide acquaintance, in which he numbers many sincere
friends.
On March 28, 1871, Mr. Long was united in marriage with Miss ]\Iary
Anna Leedy, daughter of Daniel and Jane (Nelson) Leedy, one of the
old and prominent families of Cass county, and she died in 1909, and was
laid to rest in Mount Hope cemetery. Eight children were born to this
union, namely: Charles, who married ^lyrtle Shuey, and has two chil-
dren, Benton and Norma ; Jasper, who married Dot Stover, and has
four children, Mae, Glenn, Homer and Donald; Wilda, who married
August Snyder, and has three children, Dorothy, Wayne and Verda;
Angeline, who married Homer Cragen; Joseph, who married (first)
Freda Snyder, and (second) Mrs. Emma Cohan Henshaw; Ruby, who
man-ied Carl Wilson; and Jennie and Albina, who are deceased. With
his family, i\Ir. Long is a member of the English Lutheran church, which
he attends consistently and supports liberally.
Michael L. Fansler. Probably no family has contributed more
materially to the professional prestige of Loganspoi"t than that of
Fansler, members of which have attained eminence in law and medicine
and have rendered signal services in public office. Among the worthy
representatives of the name may be mentioned the late ]\I. D. Fansler,
and Michael L. Fansler, father and son, whose records have been asso-
ciated intimately with the history of Cass county.
M. D. Fansler was born June 25, 1857, in Wyandotte county, Ohio,
his parents being Dr. David N. and Mary D. (Caldwell) Fansler. The
family is of a mixed ancestry, being Irish-Scotch on the mother's side
and German-French paternally. Dr. David Fansler was an early physi-
cian of Logansport, but in his later years removed to Marion, Indiana,
where his death occurred. M. D. Fansler received his early education in
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 901
a minor capacity iu a printing office, and was practically self-educated,
yet he became one of the leading flgiu-es at the Cass county bar. Coming
to Logansport. in 1879, he became prosecuting attorney in 1884 and
held that office until 1888, following which he returned to private prac-
tice, in which he was engaged up to the time of his death. May 2, 1896.
Mr. Fansler was admittedly one of the finest orators that ever practiced
before the Cass county bar. Of fine taste and great erudition, his read-
ing covered a wide range, both in the line of his profession and in the
broader field of polite literature. He loved books and was a dis-
criminating critic, and possessed the happy faculty of being able to store
up the useful and essential things in his mind, which was a perfect
treasure house of knowledge. In his death Cass county lost not only
one of its most able legists, but a citizen who in every walk of life was
honored — esteemed not for what he had but for what he was. On May
4, 1881, Mr. Fansler was united in marriage with jMiss Johanna (Nannie)
Mulcahy, whose father, a native of Ireland, came to Indiana in 1870 and
until his death was an employe of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Four
children were born to Mr. and ]\Irs. Fansler, of whom three are stiU
living.
Michael E. Fansler was born iu Logansport, Indiana, July 4, 1883,
and has never known any other home than this city. He received his
preliminary educational training in the public schools, and in 1901
entered Notre Dame Univei'sity, from which noted institution he was
graduated in 1905, receiving the degree of LL. B. He at once entered
upon the practice of his profession at Logansi^ort, where he now has
a large and representative clientele. In 1906, Mr. Fansler formed a
professional partnership with George C. Custer, with whom he con-
tinued four years, Mr. Custer being prosecuting attorney during this
time and Mr. Fansler assisting him in the proseeiition of criminal cases.
In 1910 ^Ir. Fansler succeeded ^Ir. Custer in that office, and this was
followed by his re-election in 1912. During these two terms, ]\Ir.
Fansler has demonstrated his ability as a lawyer and his entire fitness
for public office. He holds the duties of his office in high regard, and
has brought to his work the enthusiasm and conscientious attention to
detail that made him so successful in his private practice. He has inher-
ited much of his father's oratorical ability, has a wide and comprehensive
knowledge of law and .iurispr^^dence, and during his career has been
connected with many notable criminal trials. In his political views he
is a Democrat and he has at all times been a stanch adherent of the
principles and candidates of his party. ]\Ir. Fansler 's religious viewg
are those of the Catholic church.
On June 30, 1909, jMr. Fansler was married to Katherine Hall,
formerly of Peni, Indiana.
Abraham L. Jones. To the realty dealers of this section, Cass
county owes much for its growth and development during the past sev-
eral decades. Those who are expert in land values, who have the peculiar
ability necessary to encourage settlement from outside communities,
and whose activities serve to promote the erection of structures which
add to tlie commercial and industrial prestige of their community, form
the medium through which Cass county, and notably the city of Logans-
902 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
port, have gained their present high place as centers of all lines of
business activity. Among this class of citizens stands Abraham L.
Jones, of Logansport, who in comparatively a short space of time has
risen from a humble farmer's youth, working for a meagre stipend, to
the position where his operations involve several hundreds of thousands
of dollars annually. Mr. Jones is a native son of Indiana, born in
Madison county, August 24, 1864. When six years of age he came to
Cass county with his parents, Richard T. and Drusilla (Nighbarger)
Jones, who located on a farm in Clay township. During the next four
years Richard T. Jones was engaged in operating a rented farm, but
then moved across the line into Fulton county, there purchased land and
continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits during the remainder
of his life. He died in 1900, and on the same day that he was laid to
rest his widow passed away. They were the parents of eleven children,
of whom four sons and five daughters survive, and of these three reside
in Cass county.
Abraham L. Jones resided with his parents until his eighteenth year,
in the meantime attending the district schools and assisting his father
in the work of the home farm. The spring before his eighteenth birth-
day, he secured employment on a neighboring farm, and until twenty-
five years of age was thus engaged, then turning his attention to rail-
roading, as a fireman in the employ of the Peiuisylvania Railroad.
Fourteen months later he began braking on a freight train on the
Vandalia road, in the service of which he continued for nearly one year,
and then started to work at the carpenter's trade, which he had picked
up in his youth. During this time, Mr. Jones had saved his earnings
industriously and thriftily, and when an opportunity presented itself
he invested in several Logansport building lots, on which he erected
houses. This was his introduction into the real estate business, and
as time passed he continued to follow the same system, building up an
excellent business from, a humble nucleus. Financial depression came
on, however, property values declined, and I\Ir. Jones retired from the
real estate field for a time to engage in the grocerv and meat market
business, a venture which occupied his attention for a year or more. He
then again returned to the real estate field, conditions having become
more settled, and he now does a business that averages approximately
$200,000 annually. ^len there may be who have risen as rapidly in
the business world as Mr. Jones, but none has done so more steadily
or surely through legitimate means and the medium of their o"qti
efforts. While he has always been ready to grasp any opportunity that
presents itself, he has also respected the rights of others, and has not
taken a questionable advantage of his associates or business competitors.
In political matters he is a Republican, but his inclinations have led
him to support the more progressive branch of the party. His religious
faith is that of the Christian Science church.
On June 29, 1890, j\Ir. Jones was marri^ed to Miss Ida J. Kinnaman,
daughter of Nathan K. Kinnaman, and they have two daughters. Fay
and Margery.
George B. Fobgy, investment banker and broker of Logansport,
Indiana, was bom at New Carlisle, Ohio, on September 13, 1851, and
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 903
is the son of John A. and Polly (Brown) Forgy. He has been a resi-
dent of Cass county since he was a child of three years, and his identi-
fication with Logansport dates back to the year 1879, in which year he
established himself in his present business. His success has been one
worthy of the name, consistent with the energy and enterprise which he
has invested in his operations, and he is well known and esteemed most
highly in all circles in Logansport, whether of a business or a social
nature.
The father of Mr. Forgy, John A. Forgy, was also born near New
Carlisle, Ohio, and there he was reared and in young manhood married
Mary Brown, who died leaving three children. He then married liis
second wife, who was a sister of his deceased wife, and she bore him one
son, George B., of this brief review. She, too, was called by death, and
in later years he married Catherine Forgj', the widow of a cousin,
and she accompanied him to Cass county, Indiana, in 1853, and settled
on a farm in JMiami township. Mr. Forgy subsequently laid out the
town of New Waverly, and he was identified wath various activities dur-
ing his life. He farmed, but did not confine his attention to that work.
He was for a time engaged in the merchandise business at Waverly,
operated a saw mill for a season and sold lumber, being generally
known for one of the most invetei^ate traders, withal one of the most suc-
cessful, that lived in Cass county in his time. He was a prominent mem-
ber of the Presbyterian church, and a fine, manly character, regarded as
one of the most congenial and approachable men in the county. He
manifested the most unbounded faith in his fellow man, and was always
found ready and willing to aid with counsel and more substantial aid in
the form of finances, any worthy cause that was brought to his attention.
This trait redounded to his great financial disadvantage in his later
years, and he died a comparatively poor man, as far as this world's
goods is regarded, but rich in the love and gratitude of the many who
had occasion to know his generous kindly heart and his open-handed
benefactions.
George B. Forgy, the only child of his second marriage, came with
his parents to Cass county when he was a small child. He was reared
at New Waverly, the town which his father virtually made, and received
in that place a common school education. When he was about eighteen
years old he started out for himself, and his first work was that of a
fruit tree salesman for John Wampler, an old Dunkard nurseryman
of the vicinity of Dayton, Ohio. His next venture was as a clerk in a
dry goods store at Peru, Indiana, and soon after was placed in charge
of the collections in four states for the Howe Sewing Machine Company,
the headciuarters of which large concern was then located in Peru. He
was associated thus for something like five years, when, in company
with E. W. Shirk, he organized the Tipton County Bank, the two
being equal owners in the firm. They continued at Tipton for three
years, and in 1879 Mr. Forgy came to Logansport and established him-
self in his present business, that of an investment banker and broker.
He has continued successfully up to the present time, and is rightly
regarded as one of the solid and substantial financial men of the city
and county. ^Ir. Forgy is a Mason and his political affiliations are with
904 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
the Republican party, but he is not especially active in the interests
of the party, being more attentive to his own affairs than any others.
In 1876 Mr. Forgy was united in marriage with INIiss Alice
0. Crowell, of Peru, and one son has been born to them — Ben C, who
is now engaged in operating a farm in Boone township, Cass county.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Forgy attend the Presbyterian church, but neither
of them are members of that or any religious organization.
Silas McDowell was one of the well known farmers of Cass county,
ajid as such is deserving of more than passing mention. He was born
in the state of Ohio, Starke county, on September 8, 1840, a son of John
A. McDowell who came to America in the later '50 's and farmed on
the Michigan road in Clay township until his death. Silas McDowell
was favored with but little education in his youth, and his whole life
was one of hard and unremitting toil. He was yet in his teens when
he came to Cass county with his parents, and being the eldest of seven
children, all of whom grew to maturity, much of the burden of the
work of the old farm fell upon his young shoulders. He made his home
with his parents until he married, after which for about two years
he rented and operated land belonging to his father. AVhen he was
sufficiently prosperous to warrant the venture, he purchased eighty
acres of unimproved land in Noble township, on which he caused to
be erected a small fiA'e-room house. In this he settled with his little
family and began the strenuous work of cleaning up his potential farm.
As his means increased from year to year, he finally added an additional
eighty acres in Noble township and then seventy-tive acres in Clay town-
ship, which gradually brought him generous returns. Beyond the fact
of his hard work and clean, wholesome life, his life was as that of the
average man, and his career uneventful. His industry and his splendid
practical business sense made it possible for him to accumulate a con-
siderable property, a fact which enabled him to extend material aid
to each of his children when they started out in life for themselves.
A Republican in politics, he was in no sense a politician or a seeker
for official preferment at any time, his life being all too busy in the care
and maintenance of his family and his property. ■ It is doubtful if he
possessed a stronger characteristic than that of his rugged honesty and
his intense distaste of anything that savored of trickery. He was a
generous man and contributed liberally of his means to the support of
all worthy objects that came to his notice, and was a valued member
of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, to which he gave generously
all his life.
Mr. IMcDowell married Catherine Drift and eight children were
born to them, as follows: Andrew, who was accidentally killed at the
age of twenty-three ; Horace B., who married Martha Wadkins and
lives at Akron, Indiana; Willard N., married Lucy Sweeney and now
lives in Logansport; Jennie E., the wife of Theodore Sharp, of near
Saginaw, Michigan; Minnie E., who married "Warren J. Butler, present
sheriff of Cass county; Harry D., appropriate mention of whom follows
this sketch; Charles E., who married Cecil Powers and resides in
Logansport ; and Sarah, who died in infancy. Mr. McDowell died on
March 26, 1896, and his widow survived him until September 4, 1906.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 905
Harrt D. McDowell was born on his father's farm in Noble town-
ship, on the 14th of December, 1870, and there was reared. He is the son
of Silas McDowell and Catherine Dritt, his wife, and is one of the eight
children of these parents. Further mention is unnecessary with regard
to the family, as a full sketch is dedicated to the father just preceding
this.
The district schools of his native township supplied the early educa-
tion of Harry D. McDowell, after which he took a thorough course at
Hall's Business College. Between the years of 1895 and 1908 the
young man farmed on his own responsibility, occupying a part of his
father's generous estate, but in 1908, having purchased the James Reed
hardware and implement store in Logansport, in association with his
brother, Charles E., he gave up his farming, and moved to the city,
where he has since made his home. Charles E. McDowell had moved
to Logansport some time prior to this and established himself in the
meat market business, Harry D. being his partner in the venture, which
proved a successful one. The two brothers have continued in partner-
ship up to the present time, and are now the owners of a considerable
valuable land, a meat market and a hardware and implement business,
and are reckoned among the capable and prosperous business men of
Logansport.
Harry D. McDowell was married on April 29, 1896, to Miss Sarah
J. Dalzell and to their union seven children have been born, named as
follows: Frederick, Blanche, Doris, Gladys, Harry, George and John.
Mr. McDowell is a Republican in his political adherence, and his wife
is a member of the Presbyterian church.
Carlton A. Price, well known in Logansport and surrounding dis-
trict in the monument business, was born in White county, Indiana, on
January 26, 1873, and is the son of William H. and Mahala (Shull)
Price, and a grandson of Aaron and Mary (Hancock) Price. The fam-
ily is one of Scotch-Irish ancestry, which made its early advent into
this country in Colonial days.
Aaron Price and his wife came to what is now Logansport in 1827.
At that time but one log cabin marked the site of the future city, and
the surrounding country was in a state of wildness such as to make
true courage one's most valuable asset in attempting to establish a home
in the region. Mr. Price located on a tract of land near Lockport in
Carroll county, later moving to the vicinity of Idaville, where he lived
retired until his death in 1882. He was a great hunter, and enjoyed
to the utmost the pursuit of the wild game that inhabited the country
in his early days in Indiana. He worked on the old canal at times, but
the best years of his life were spent in farming, in which he experienced
much of success and prosperity. Seven children came to their home,
and of that number William H. Price was the fourth born.
William H. Price was reared on his father's farm and has always
followed the business in which he was there trained. In 1891: he moved
to near Camden, in Carroll county, and three years later moved to
North Dakota, where he now resides. He and his wife became the par-
ents of ten children, seven of whom are yet living.
Carlton A. Price is the third born child and the second oldest liv-
906 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ing child of his parents. He passed his youthful days on the old home
place and as a boy attended the neighboring district school, in conuuon
with the other youths of his community. He was just past his majority
when he set out for himself and began an independent farming career,
but in 1902 he gave up that plan and came to Logansport, where he set
about learning the trade of a granite cutter. He liked the work, became
a skillful workman, and in five yeare from the time he identified him-
self with the business as an apprentice, he bought the marble shop of
Henry L. Foust, and has since been successfully engaged in the monu-
ment business in Logansport. His business relations and activities are
not confined alone to this city, but reach out to other cities and towns
in the coimty and adjoining states, in which he is coming to be well
known in his line of enterprise.
]\Ir. Price is a Democrat, independent in his views, and holds mem-
bership in the Woodmen of the World. On Noveriiber 12, 1902, he was
united in marriage with Eva IMcManus of Washington township, and
they are the parents of two children, — Forrest and Kathleen.
William S. Richardson was born in Logansport, Cass county, Indiana,
on April 25, 1838. When he was one year old his parents moved to
what is now a part of the city of Logansport, and here he lived con-
tinuously from that time, covering a period of seventy-five years. In
those years he lived an active and helpful life in the community, and
conducted a business in carpentering from early manhood until recent
years, when he retired from the cares of active industrial life.
The early opportunities of Mr. Richardson for the securing of an
adequate education were extremely limited, and such learning as he
possesses was acquired in the practical school of experience. He learned
the carpenter trade under the instruction of his father, who was also
engaged in that trade during his life-time, and on December 1, 1861, was
sworn into the United States service as a member of Company B, of the
Forty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was made quartermaster
sergeant early in his military service and upon the resignation of the
quartermaster was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. With his
regiment he participated in all the Engagements and movements of his
command, the detailed history of which is to be found in the article
devoted to the Forty-sixth Regiment in other pages of this work, and he
was discharged from the service on September 11, 1865.
After the close of the war, Mr. Richardson returned to Logansport
and there resumed the work of his trade, and in that work he con-
tinued steadily until in more recent years, when he gradually withdrew
from business life and was afterwards practically retired from the
building industry and the cares of business life.
On August 17, 1865, when he was home from the war on a furlough,
the young lieutenant was united in marriage with Susan Flory, the
daughter of Emmanuel Flory, an old settler of the county. She was
born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, in March, 1840. They be-
came the parents of one child, .who died in infancy.
Mr. Richardson was made a Master Mason on December 11, 1865,
and was also a member of the 6. A. R. He was a member of the Broad-
way ^Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his wife, and for thirty-
five years he sung in the Methodist choir, as well as being a member of
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 907
the G. A. R. quartet for some years. The death of this honored old
citizen occurred on the 12th of February, 1913.
Franklin Henry Wipperman was born on December 15, 1861, at
Angels Camp, Calaveras county, California, and is the son of Henry
and Matilda (Ossenbeck) Wipperman, both German people. Henry
Wipperman was born in Germany on February 23, 1832, and came to
America when but a few months old in company with his parents. They
settled in Indiana in September, 1837, making Clinton township their
home, and there Henry Wipperman received the meager training
afforded by the log-cabin schools of that primitive period. In 1852
he went to California, prior to which time he had learned the car-
penter's trade, and he remained in California until 1866, when he
returned to Cass county and there remained until his death, which
took place on February 7, 1904. He was a man who enjoyed the confi-
dence and esteem of his fellow citizens at all times, and at one time in
the eighties he held the office of county commissioner. He married
Matilda Ossenbeck on February 14, 1861. She was born in Cass county,
the daughter of German born parents, her birth occurring on Septem-
ber 21, 1837, on the farm which remained her home during her young
life. While yet in her teens she went to California in the expectation
of bettering her health, and there she completed her education in
Stockton, where she met and married her husband. She returned to
Indiana with her husband in 1866, and in July of the following year
death claimed her.
Franklin Henry Wipperman was the eldest of the two children
born to these parents, his brother dying at the age of two months,
shortly following the death of their young mother. The common schools
of his native community afforded Franklin Wipperman his early edu-
cation, and in 1885 he was graduated from the Logansport high school.
He passed his early days on the home farm in Washington township,
in Cass county, and continued there until he was about twenty-nine
years of age, or until December 1, 1890, when he removed to the city
of Logansport and engaged in the abstract business, buying a part
interest in the old John F. Dodd's office and later becoming full owner.
In 1902 ]Mr. AA^ipperman was induced to become secretary and treas-
urer, in the new Logansport Loan & Trust Company, just organized
at that time, and he has remained in that office up to the present
writing.
. Mr. Wipperman has devoted himself assiduously to business and has
given no attention to public affairs of an official nature and has never
been an office holder. He was reared a Democrat, but broke away from
the party in the famous money campaign of 1896, since which time he
has voted for Republican candidates for president until 1912, when
he was drawn into the Progressive party. In local affairs, his sup-
port is given to the individual whom he regards as being best fitted to
the office, it being his firm opinion that party prejudices have no place
in local governments.
On June 18, 1890, Mr. Wipperman was united in marriage with
Clara M. Bazin, daughter of Josiah and Matilda Bazin, of Logansport,
Indiana. Mr. Bazin was an old time and faithful employe of the Penn-
908 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
sylvania Railroad until he was pensioned by that road, and eaine to
Logansport from Grig-gsville, Illinois, in 1872. Two children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wipperinan : Frederic Bazin, born January
6, 1892, and Walter Kendall, born January 21, 1898. The elder son
is a graduate of Cornell University and Walter Kendall has recently
completed the local high school course, both being yet pursuing their
education in the higher bi-anches.
Air. Wipperman is a member of the Apollo Lodge, Knights* of
Pythias, since 1886, and of the Uniform Rank of the same order since
1888. He was a member of Ebenezer Lutheran church in Clinton town-
ship since he was fifteen years old until the year 1888, when he trans-
ferred his membership to St. Luke's Lutheran church in Logansport,
and he has held various official positions in the church and synod of this
denomination in the years that he has been associated with it as a
member.
Joseph Ensminger Cbain was born in Montgomery county, Indiana,
January 2, 1844, and is one of the five sons and three daughters born
to James Harvey and Elizabeth (Ensminger) Crain, of which family
three sons and two daughters are living today.
James H. Grain was born at Lebanon, Ohio, on August 27, 1809,
and when ten years of age moved with the family to Montgomery county,
Indiana, and was there reared on the home farm. He received a com-
mon school education, after which he learned the carpenter's trade,
thereafter following that business for something like fifteen years after
he became of age. His father, Elihu Grain, was a brick mason by trade,
and he it was who built the first brick building in the city of Cincin-
nati. James H. Crain with his wife and two children came to Cass
county, Indiana, in 1845, and located on a farm in Washington town-
ship, three miles south of Logansport. He followed farming during the
remainder of his life and died on February 22, 1897. Although a man
of but limited schooling, he was exceptionally well informed. He
realized the importance of an education and lost no opportunity to sup-
ply his early lack in that respect. By a course of self-imposed study
and systematic reading, he acquired an excellent practical education
and was known as one of the best informed men of his day in Cass
county. In his religious views Mr. Crain was a Baptist, and was one
of the charter members of the Second Baptist church in Logansport.
His wife was bom at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, February 28, 1822,
and died on September 9, 1902. She was reared a Presbyterian and
later in life embraced the Baptist faith.
Joseph E. Grain has never considered any place but Cass county as
his home. He was brought up on the old home farm in Washington
township, educated in the district schools and under the tutelage of
his father, who looked to the education of his children in the common
school branches and industrial pursuits. His real start in life was
probably at the time when he enlisted in the Civil war. Three times
did he endeavor to enter the service before he was finally accepted, being
once rejected for being under age, and once owing to rheumatic trou-
bles from which he suffered. On January 28, 1865, he was enrolled as
a member of Company F, One Hundred and Fifty-first Indiana Volun-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 909
teer Infantry, and was discharged on September 19, 1865. His military-
activity consisted largely of doing guard and picket duty at Nashville
and TuUahoma, Tennessee. He had the rank of corporal at the
time of being mustered out of the service. For two years after the
close of the war Mr. Grain was occupied in farming, and in the fall of
1867 he moved to Logansport, where for seventeen years he was employed
in carpentering. Since then he has devoted himself -exclusively to archi-
tecture, the last ten years of his life as a carpenter being devoted
to the especial study of that subject. He is regarded as one of the
most capable architects in Logansport today, and among the build-
ings which he has erected and designed are the ]\Iasonic Temple, the
Market Street Methodist Episcopal church, the Elliott building, the
Crawford building, the IMcCaffrey building, the Windfall M. E. church,
the Frankfort Protestant Methodist church, the Kimmel M. E. church,
and scores of other churches, private residences and commercial build-
ings in and about Logansport. Two residence buildings designed by
Mr. Crain are especially deserving of mention: these are the Himmel-
burger residence and the residence of J. W. Rogers.
Mr. Crain is a Progressive Republican in his politics, and he has
taken an active part in the political life of the country and his city.
In 1894 he was elected county commissioner, serving one term of three
years, and in 1904 he was elected a member of the county council,
serving three years in that body. He is a man who has ever performed
his full share in the good works that have been carried on in his com-
munity, both in a civic way and in his private capacity. He has long
been a member of the JMarket Street Slethodist Episcopal church, —
forty-three years having passed since he first became thus identified,
and for thirty-five years he has been a member of the board of trustees
of that church. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is Past
Worshipful Master of Tipton Lodge, No. 33, Ancient Free & Accepted
Masons. He is also a member of, and past commander of Logansport
Post, No. 14, G. A. R., and he is a member of the famous Logansport
Grand Army Quartet, organized in 1878. In further reference to his
musical prowess, it may be mentioned here that for thirty-two con-
secutive years Mr. Crain was the leader of his church choir.
On October 19, 1865, Mr. Crain was united in marriage with Miss
Sarah Elnor Updegraff, of Washington township, Cass county, and seven
children were born to them, of whom brief mention is here made as
follows: Edna M., who married Edwin F. Martin, is a resident of this
county ; Schuyler Colfax married Hattie Weymer, who is now deceased,
and he is engaged in contracting in Portland, Oregon ; Barton Keep
married Elizabeth Pherson, and is now engaged in the Round Oak
stove business, and lives at Dowagiac, Michigan; Rodney James, who
married Eva Cline, is a railroad engineer, and makes his home in
Logansport; Harriet Ann is the wife of George Shank of Grand
Rapids, Michigan; Charlotte Belle is in Portland, Oregon, and is
engaged in keeping house for her brother, Schuyler Colfax; Horace
Ensminger, who married Elsie Landerholm, is engaged in commercial
pursuits in Portland, Oregon.
Vol n— 13
910 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
George A. Custer. Among- the men whose high attainments have
brought prestige to the Cass county bar, none are more deserving of
mention in a work of this kind than George A. Custer, of Logansport,
whose well-disciplined intellect, admirable self-control, great ability and
many years of industrious application to all branches of professional
practice have rendered him a bright ornament to a bar which boasts
of many men of great intellect and wide range of knowledge in the
field of jurisprudence. Having taken a prominent part in a number
of noted trials during the past fifteen years, both in private practice
and as a city official, he has been always cautious, always honorable,
always fair, and the infiuence of his example has had much to do with
giving the Cass county bar its enviable reputation of being one of the
most honorable in the state. Mr. Custer has the added distinction of
being a native of Cass county, as liis birth occurred in Clay township,
AugvTst 11, 1873, one of the two living children of a family of three born
to George D. and Katlierine (]\lorehart) Custer. His father, a native of
Fairfield, Ohio, came to Cass county, Indiana, about 1870, and began
farming in Clay township. Here he was married and continued to
reside until the opening of the Rosebud Reservation, in Gregory county,
South Dakota, when he journeyed to that section and purchased a relin-
quishment of a claim. Subsequently, he was followed by his daughter,
who also bought a relinquishment, and they are now residing in Tripp
county. Mr. Custer has always been prominent in Democratic politics
wherever he has resided, but has not aspired to public office. His wife
passed away in 1879. Her father, Adam ^lorehart, with his wife and
family,, came to Cass county from Pennsylvania by ox-team at a very
early period in the history of the county, and here spent the rest of his
life in agricultural pursuits in Clay township.
George A. Custer lived on the home farm until eight years of age,
at which time he removed with his father to Marion, Indiana. There
he continued a public school education that was begun in Clay town-
ship, and this was concluded in Logansport. Subsequently, after read-
ing law for one year in the office of Judge John C. Nelson, of this city,
he became a student in the State University at Bloomiugton, and was
graduated therefrom June 16, 1897. He at once came to Logansport and
began practice with Charles E. Yarlott, under the firm style of Custer
& Yarlott, and was later associated with W. C. Dunn, of Chicago,
Illinois, under the firm style of Custer & Dunn, succeeding which he was
in individual practice for a short time. In 1906 he was the Democratic
nominee for the office of prosecuting attorney and in the election that
followed was easily elected, leading his ticket with a majority of 536
votes. In 1908 he again became his party's candidate, and this time
was elected by the still further increased majority of 970 votes, the
largest majority ever given a candidate in Cass county. During this
latter term, Mr. Custer was appointed by Governor Marshall to prose-
cute in the case of "State of Indiana ex. rel George A. Custer, prosecut-
ing attorney, within and for the Twenty-ninth Judicial Circuit of the
State of Indiana, vs. the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company of
Indiana, et al. " This was a case where it was charged the defendants
were making an attempt to unload about $40,000,000 watered stock
upon the public, attracted widespread attention, was considered to be
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 911
of great importance as setting precedents, and ended in a victory for
the state as represented by Mr. Custer. At the time of his first election,
Mr. Custer had formed a partnership with Michael L. Fansler, who
became his deputy, and this continued four years, but since the expira-
tion of JMr. Custer 's second term of office, he has been engaged in individ-
ual practice. As a lawyer, conducting cases from the original con-
sultation, through their preparations in his office and contlicts at the
bar, to the final engrossment after the last decree of the last tribunal,
Mr. Custer is systematic, patient, vigorous and powerful. He is an
associate most valuable, an antagonist most worthy. On February 10,
1911, while in Washington, D. C, on business, he took the examina-
tion and was admitted to practice before the Department of the Inte-
rior, of which the patent office is a branch. His registered number is
9934, and he is the only lawyer in Cass county to be so registered. ]\Ir.
Custer has also contributed special articles on legal subjects, which
have been widely quoted, to legal journals all over the country, includ-
ing such a well-known authority as Hawkins' Legal Counsellor and
Form Book. Fraternally, he is connected with the IMasons and the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
On November 12, 1903, Mr. Custer was married to Miss Julia Mc-
Reynolds, of Kokomo, Indiana.
Benjamin F. Long. To properly interpret the law in all its com-
plexities and unerringly apply its provisions to establish human rights
and defeat injustice, demands such a comprehensive knowledge not only
of books but of life itself that he who reaches a high plane in this pro-
fession must command more than negative consideration in the minds
of his fellow men. It is told in both history and romance that a kind
of law is upheld among savages, but when explained it resolves itself
into the old axiom that "might makes right," and in modern, civilized
life it becomes the task of the exponent of the law to overcome this only
too prevalent idea. Hence, on a solid educational foundation, must be
built up a thorough knowledge of what law means to the present day
man and how it can be applied to circumvent evil, protect the helpless
and bring happiness and safety to the deserving. Among the legal
practitioners of the Cass county bar whose activities have brought them
prominently before the public, none stands in higher esteem than
Benjamin F. Long, of the firm of Long, Yarlott & Souder, of Logans-
port. A native of Cass county, he has spent his entire life within its
limits, and belongs to a family that has been well known here for more
than three-quarters of a century. Mr. Long was born in Washington
township, Cass county, Indiana, January 31, 1872, a son of AVilliam and
Joanna (Penny) Long. His grandfather, William Long, Sr., was a
native of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, from whence he moved to
Indiana with his family in 1843 and located on the old home place in
Washington township, where he spent the rest of his life in agricultural
pursuits. He was widely known as IMajor Long, that title having been
acquired while he was a member of the Pennsylvania State ]\Iilitia.
William Long was the eldest child of IMajor Long, and, like his father,
spent his life in farming. He died October 5, 1893, in the faith of the
912 HISTOKY OF CASS COUNTY
English Lutheran church, while his widow followed him to the grave
Deeemher 12, 1902.
Benjamin P. Long was reared on the home farm, and during his
boyhood attended the district schools. In 1891 he graduated from the
Logansport high school, and during the succeeding two winters taught
the district school which he had attended as a lad, in the meantime
assisting his father in the work of the farm during the summer months.
In 1893 he entered the state university at Bloomington, but after two
years was compelled to leave the university on account of lack of
funds, as he had been paying his own way through college. With a
commendable spirit of determination, he returned to Logansport and
secured a position as teacher of history in the high school, there continu-
ing from 1895 to 1899, and in the latter year reentered the state uni-
versity, where he completed the prescribed course in literature and
received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. Return-
ing again to Logansport, he entered upon the practice of his profession,
and shortly thereafter was selected associate professor in the law depart-
ment of the state university, a position which he continued to hold for
one year. He then resigned his chair and came again to Logansport,
where he has since continued in a lucrative practice. From 1903 to
1906, I\Ir. Long served as deputy prosecutor, being a partner of the
prosecuting attorney, George AV. Walters, under the fimi style of
Walters & Long, from Jamiary 1, 1903, to January 1, 1908. Since
the latter date" he has been a member of the firm of Long, Yarlott &
Souder, and has been very successful in obtaining a representative
clientele. He is recognized as one of the learned, thorough and reliable
attorneys, and among his confreres is respected as a legist who respects
and recognizes the unwritten ethics of the profession. In politics he
is a Republican, but has taken no very active part in public matters.
With his wife, he attends the English Lutheran church.
Mr. Long was married September 10, 1902, to Miss Lucy Nichols,
of Marshalltown, Iowa, and they have one son : Benjamin.
Charles H. Stuart. Among the families of Cass county which can
claim residence here of three-quarters of a century or more, that bear-
ing the name of Stuart holds prominent place. In its ranks have been
found eminent professional men, soldiers, merchants and financiers, lead-
ers in public and civic life and prominent figures in social activities.
One of the representatives of this name, who is well known to the legal
profession of Cass county, is Charles H. Stuart, United States com-
missioner at Logansport, and an attorney of deserved reputation.
Hon. William Z. Stuart, the Cass county progenitor of the branch
of the family to which Charles H. Stuart belongs, was an early attorney
of Cass county, whither he came early in 1836. He was admitted to
practice at Logansport, February 20, 1837, and soon attained rank
among the legists of the state, many of whose names subsequently
became widely renowned. Of necessity, his practice covered all branches
in the early days, but during his later years he gained reputation
as a railroad lawyer and for a long period was chief attorney for the
Wabash Railway Company. Beginning in 1843, he served one year as
state's attorney, and from 1853 to 1857 he was judge of the state supreme
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 913
court. He married (first) Minerva Potter, who died, leaving three
children: Venitia, Selden P. and Francis H. Later, Judge Stuart
contracted a second marriage.
Selden P. Stuart, son of Hon. William Z. Stuart, and father of
Charles H. Stuart, was born September 16, 1842, at Logansport, Indiana,
and at the outbreak of the great Civil war was a student in the prepara-
tory school. On December 26, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, Ninety-
ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, subsequently being promoted to first
sergeant, and to second lieutenant of his company. May 1, 1865, and
received his honorable discharge June 5, 1865. For the most part he
was actively connected with all the movements of his company until
the close of the war, the one exception being when he was detailed as
acting aide-de-camp to General Oliver, brigade commander. He married
Eloise Landes, and they became the parents of two children, one who
died in infancy and Charles H. Mr. Stuart died in November, 1881,
while his widow still survives him and is now the wife of Stewart T.
McConnell, an attorney of Logansport.
Charles H. Stuart was born in Logansport, Indiana, May 7, 1878,
and here prosecuted his preliminary studies in public and private
schools. Subsequently he became a student in the Culver Military Acad-
emy, Culver, Indiana, and then entered Lawrenceville Academy, New
Jersey, after graduation from which, in September, 1896, he started
upon his collegiate course in Princeton University. He was graduated
therefrom in 1900, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and returned to
Logansport, where he was admitted to the bar in September of the same
year. Shortly thereafter, however, he went to Chicago, Illinois, where
he acted in the capacity of clerk in the First National Bank for two
years, being connected with the legal department. During this time he
also attended the legal department of Lake F<3rest University, and in
1902 he returned to Logansport and entered upon the active practice
of his profession. Mr. Stuart has succeeded in building up an excellent
professional business of a representative character, and is recognized
by his confreres as a legist who respects the unwritten ethics of the
profession. Well versed in the principles of law and jurisprudence,
he has been a constant and assiduous student, and the success that has
come to him in his chosen field of endeavor has been an appreciation of
his high abilities. During the past eight years, Mr. Stuart has served
as United States commissioner at Logansport. In 1912 he cast his
fortunes with the new Progressive party, and at that time became its
candidate for the office of judge of the circuit court of Cass county. As
a citizen he stands high in the esteem of his fellows, being known as a
man of progressive spirit and one who is at all times ready to contribute
of his time or means to any worthy cause promising the welfare of
Logansport or its people. He has been interested in historical work,
and at this time is secretary of the Cass County Historical Society.
On June 17, 1903, Mr. Stuart was married to Miss Marie Watson
Rogers, of Cass county.
David C. Arthur was admitted to the bar in 1899 and he has been
engaged in practice continuously since that time, his activities being
conducted in Logansport, both as an independent practitioner and as a
914 HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY
partner in the firm of Fickle & Arthur. Mr. Arthur was bom in Darke
county, Ohio, on February 25, 1862, and is one of the family of ten
children born to his parents, Abner and Mary (Bowman) Arthur, of
which number eight are yet living.
Abner Arthur was a farmer by occupation, and in 1867 he removed
to Randolph county, Indiana, where he and his good wife yet live.
David C. Arthur was reared in Randolph county, and received his
elementary education in the district schools of the home community.
For a time he attended the National Normal University at Lebanon,
Ohio, also attending the state university at Bloomington, Indiana, for
two terms. This schooling was secured through the strictest economy
and the most strenuous effort, for the young man found it necessary
to earn his own wa}^ He worked on the farm, taught school, made
brick and tile, did janitor work, in fact, did anything he might find at
which he found it possible to turn an honest penny in his efforts to
secure an education. After he left Bloomington, he engaged in teach-
ing, and it was while thus engaged that he came to Logansport in 1894
as principal of the high school. He was thus employed for five years
in this city, and while here he took up the study of the law in the offices
of Kistler & Kistler. In 1899 he was admitted to the bar and at OTice
began the practice of his profession in Logansport. He continued in
independent practice for a time, then entered into a partnership with
John M. Asliby, which association endured for two years. Since 1909
he has been the partner of Hon. D. D. Fickle, doing business under the
firm name of Fickle & Arthur.
Mr. Arthur is a Democrat in his politics. In 1910 he was elected
a member of the city school board, of which he is secretary, and his early
educational work has especially qualified him for the duties of that
position. Mr. Arthur has been identified with many of the secret,
benevolent and fraternal organizations of the city, and is popular and
prominent in whatever circles he is found. He is a member of the
Presbyterian church, in which he has for many years been an elder,
and his wife also holds membership in that cluirch.
On Christmas day, in 1894, Mr. Arthur was united in marriage with
Miss Ellen Jameson, of Lebanon, Ohio, and they are the parents of two
children, Mary and Robert.
Sylvester S. Cragun. Of the many valuable farms found in Cass
county, one of the most valuable is that known as Hill Top farm, which
is devoted to stock raising and is located on the Hill Top road. Here its
owner, Sylvester S. Cragun, is breeding a superior line of Percheron
horses and other valuable stock, and his activities have made him well
known among the successful men of his community. ]\Ir. Cragun belongs
to an old and honorable family, and was born in Clinton township, Cass
county, May 20, 1852, a son of Zachariah and Elizabeth N. (Shideler)
Cragun. The family was founded in America by Patrick Cragun, who
came from Dublin, Ireland, prior to the Revolutionary war, and took
part in the struggles of tlie American colonists that resulted in the
winning of independence. Patrick Cragun was the father of several
children, among them Joshua Cragun, the grandfather of Sylvester S.
Zachariah Cragun was born in 1824, in Clinton county, Indiana, on
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 915
his father's farm, and was nineteen years of age when he came to Cass
county. He had been reared to agricultural pursuits, working on the
farm during all of his school period, and until he was married, was
employed as a farm hand. Sulisequently he became the owner of a
tract of his own, and the remainder of his life was passed in tilling the
soil. His wife was born near Eaton, Preble county, Ohio, and was a
small girl when she came to Cass county with her parents, who became
prominent farming people of Clinton township.
Sylvester S. Cragun was born in a little log cabin on the old
Cragun homestead, as were his two sisters, Dora, who became the wife
of Andrew Y. Shanklin, and Ellen, who is now deceased. He was
educated in the common schools of his day, and was an able assistant
to his father in the clearing of the home place, on which he remained
until reaching his twenty-fourth year. At that time he left the parental
roof and embarked upon enterprises of his own, eventually accumulating
enough capital to purchase his present tract, Hill Top farm, a property
of eighty acres, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation.
He feeds his farm products to his stock, and has been unquestionably
successful in his breeding operations. He is recognized as an excellent
judge of livestock, and his advice is often sought by the stockmen of
his community. In business affairs he has ever proved reliable and
trustworthy, and his reputation is that of a man of integrity in busi-
ness matters and public-spirit in affairs affecting his township. With
the birth of the so-called Bull ]\Ioose party, in 1912, he was one of the
first men in the United States to be nominated as a candidate on that
ticket, making a veiy creditalile campaign for the office of commissioner
of Cass county. He is a member of the Anoka Lodge, Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, No. 630, and Logansport Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons Tipton Lodge at. Logansport.
On ]\Iarch 29, 1877, JMr. Cragun was married to ]\Iiss Candace S.
Marshall, daughter of John and ^Margaret (Kendall) Marshall, the
former of whom was born in Kentucky in 1804 and came to Carroll
county, Indiana, in 1834. ^Ir. and Mrs. Marshall had eleven children,
of whom five are still living: George K., Susana, Sarah, Candace S.,
and James J. Mr. and ]Mrs. Cragun have had foiir children : Harry 31.
and Ruth, who are both deceased ; Homer J., who finished the public
schools and spent two years in high school, married Angeline Long, and
is engaged in farming; and 31iss iMargaret, a graduate of the Cass
county schools, class of 1909, also spent two years in the Logansport
high school and then attended commercial college.
IMrs. Cragun was born in Carroll county, Indiana, October 23, 1856,
the youngest in her father's family. She received a good common
school education and in her life's work she has ably performed her part
as wife and mother in the building up of their beautiful home and
rearing her children. She is an honored member of the Jewel Rebecca
Lodge of the city of Logansport. 3Ir. and ]Mrs. Cragun and children
are eligible to become members of the Sons and Daughters of the
Revolution. Their homestead, ' ' Ingleside, " is a beautiful estate, located
live miles from the city of Logansport, Indiana.
916 HISTORY OF CASS COUJ^TY
James D. McNitt. A name that has become widely known in
business and financial circles of Logansport during the past decade is
that of James D. McNitt, president of the Logansport Loan and Trust
Company, and a citizen who has shown himself possessed of all the
essential qualities of a useful and successful business man. Quick to
perceive, ready to act, he meets minor business questions with great
ease, while, careful to act rightly, larger matters are the subject of full
consideration. His operations in the feeding, buying and shipping of
stock have been extensive, and in every line of business activity he is
known as one whose commercial ideals are of the strictest nature. Mr.
McNitt has been a resident of Indiana since he was six months of age,
coming here from Juniata county, Pennsylvania, where he was bom
July 3, 1845. His parents, James G. and Jane (Naginey) McNitt, were
also bom in this country, but were of Scotch ancestry. James Gr.
McNitt, his father, came to Cass county, Indiana, by wagon in 1845,
the trip consuming six weeks, and located on Crooked creek, in Jeffer-
son township, where he was engaged in farming until his death in 1847.
His widow survived him nine years, her death being brought about by
fighting a prairie fire. Thus the six children were left to shift for
themselves, and all are now deceased with the exception of James D.
James D. McNitt was the youngest of his parents' children,' and
his boyhood was divided between attendance at the district school and
work on the farm. Later he took a course of one term in the Old
Seminary, at Logansport, and thus equipped, taught district school.
After three terms, however, he decided his abilities could be directed
to better advantage in a different field of endeavor, and accordingly he
turned his attention to farming and stock raising. About the year
1873, Mr. McNitt ceased active agricultural pursuits and came to
Logansport, where he embarked in the wholesale and retail grocery
business with a partner, under the firm style of Uhl & McNitt, a connec-
tion that continued profitably for eleven years, the buying of wool
being an important factor in the conduct of the business. However,
the constant confinement and excessive labor connected with his duties,
told heavily upon Mr. IMcNitt's strength, his health began to fail, and
he was finally compelled to sell his mercantile interests. He again took
up stock buying, feeding and shipping, and to this he has given the
greater part of his attention ever since, with marked success. In
1902, Mr. McNitt assisted in the founding of the Logansport Loan and
Trust Company, and on the completion of the organization, he was
elected its president, a position in which he has served to the present
time. Honorable and honest in his affairs, courteous and easily
approached, considerate and broad in his judgment of general busi-
ness conditions and tendencies, and a most certain and intuitive judge
of the character of men, Mr. McNitt deserves and receives the full
esteem and regard of his associates, and is justly judged one of the
community's foremost men of business.
In December, 1872, ]\Ir. McNitt was married to Miss IMary Ellen
Tlhl, daughter of Joseph lUil, and seven children were born to this
union: Caroline N., Mary Ethel, deceased, S. Miriam, Robert J.,
Willard C, Helen U. and Esther U. Mr. and Mrs. McNitt have given
their children excellent educational advantages, sending them to the
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 917
best colleges and universities in the country and fitting them for what-
ever positions in life they may he called upon to fill. He was president
of the city schools of Logansport nine years. The family are consistent
members of the Broadway Presbyterian church, Logansport. ]\Ir. Mc-
Nitt is a Democrat in politics, but has never aspired to public office,
preferring to give his entire time and attention to his business affairs.
He is always ready, however, to support movements for the welfare of
Logansport or its people, and to co-operate in advancing education,
morality and good citizenship.
George Washington Bishop. A career of more than half a century
of time, during which he has risen from obscurity and a humble position
in life, to an acknowledged position among the foremost business citi-
zens of his community, proves the right of George Washington Bishop
to the title of representative man of Walton. In this long period he
has been identified with various interests, commercial, industrial, agri-
cultural and financial, in all of which he has left the impress of his
remarkable business capacity, his great quickness of perception and
his wonderfully systematic mind. Although now retired from business
activities, having reached an age when he feels himself entitled to a
rest from the worries and struggles of former years, he still exerts a
distinct influence in the life of the city, with whose history his own has
been almost commensurate. Mr. Bishop was born September 18, 1836,
at Tiffin, Ohio, and is a son of David and Eliza (Douden) Bishop.
His father, a native of Pennsylvania, went to Kentucky in young man-
hood, and later made his home for some time at Cincinnati, with Gov.
R. M. Bishop's father who is a second cousin of George W. Bishop,
succeeding which he moved to Tiffin, Ohio, and there passed away at
a ripe old age. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children,
all of whom reached years of maturity : Mrs. Ellen Huffman, John T.,
Mrs. Mary Lightner-Darling, Mrs. Julia Betts, Eliza, W. H., Alvira
Booker, Mrs. Lovina Flynn, Catherine Shafer and Ida Baumgardner,
all of whom are deceased; George Washington and Laura Penrose.
George W. Bishop remained under the parental roof until he was
fourteen years of age, working with his father, who was a carpenter,
and learning the trades of carpenter and bricklayer. In 1852 he first
came to Walton, Indiana, walking about two hundred miles to Lewis-
burg, as the railroads had not reached this point and the canal was
frozen over. He then returned to Tiffin, but in October, 1854, again
came to Walton and for a time worked at his trades. Soon, however,
he recognized the opportunity for entering the mercantile field, and,
returning to Tiffin, Ohio, invested his modest capital in a little stock of
general merchandise, which he brought back to AValton. The business
thus started became one of the large enterprises of the town, Mr. Bishop 's
intelligent management, tireless industry and sound business sense serv-
ing to constantly widen its scope and extend the range of its operations.
For twenty years he was also engaged in the manufacture of excelsior,
and then turned the store over to his sons. His next venture was the
buying of the Bank of Walton, which he sold four years later and retired
from active life. Mr. Bishop is the owner of three handsome farms,
one being the Bishop home place, on the Walton and Bunker Hill road,
918 HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY
a tr^et of sixty-five acres north of Walton, a part of which is in the
city limits; another is the old Harrison McVeecly farm on the township
line road, a tract of 160 acres about two and one-half miles northwest
of Walton; and the third tract, of 117 acres is located in Jackson town-
ship, about two miles southeast of AValton.
Mr. Bishop was married April 25, 1860, to Miss Sarah Corbley,
and they became the parents of five children: Ida and Alonzo,
who are deceased ; Myrtle, the wife of Aaron ]\IcKee, who has two chil-
dren,— Harold and Keith ; Claude, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere
in this volume; and George Walter. Mr. Bishop was married again,
April 2, 1891, to Mrs. Vora (Watson) Sumption, widow of David Ward
Sumption, a full review of whose career will be found on another page
of this work, and to this union there has been born one son: Richard
Edgar, a graduate of Walton High school, who spent two years in Wabash
University and is now at Purdue University. Mr. and I\Irs. Bishop
attend the Lutheran church, and have interested themselves in its work.
He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and she was
a Rebekah. The high rewards that are attainable in fortune, character
and infiuence through a life of industry and probity, guided and regu-
lated by a sense of Christian obligation, are illustrated in ^h\ Bishop's
career. With no extraordinary endowment of faculty, unaided by
inheritance or friendly support, he was content to enter into the life
which a rising community offered in a humble station, and to follow
up the opportunities that opened before him with steadiness and indus-
try, gaining, step by step, the rare fruits of well directed enterprise.
Today he finds himself in the possession of a handsome competency and
the friendship of his fellow men. and the head of a family which refieets
credit upon the wise and guiding hand that has trained its harmonious
members to lives of usefulness and honor.
David Ward Sumption. Although a resident of Walton for only
a comparatively short period, the late David Ward Sumption will
be remembered by many of the older citizens here because of his con-
nection with the manufacturing interests of the city, as well as
one of the pioneer "Knights of the Key" whose occupation called them
to various parts of the state. Mr. Sumption was born in 1857, at St.
Joe, Indiana, and was a son of Robert and Barilla (Ward) Sumption,
the former of whom was for a number of years an inn-keeper and hard-
ware merchant at Ridgeville, Randolph county, Indiana. There were
four children in the family : ]\Irs. Josephine Tyrrel, who now resides
at Santiago, California ; Albert, who is traveling auditor for the Union
Pacific railroad, with headquarters at Carney, Nebraska ; David Ward ;
and William, who is deceased.
David Ward Sumption was educated in the common schools of Jay
county, Indiana, and learned the trade of telegrapher at Union C'ity,
subsequently becoming railroad agent at Ridgeville. Later he spent
a short time at Elwood, after which he returned to Ridgeville, where
for a few years he was engaged in the hardware business, but again took
up his vocation as a telegraph operator, and as such came to Walton
in 1873, here continuing as agent for five years. He then turned his
attention to the manufacturing business, which he followed until his
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 919
removal to ^ladison, Nebraska, and his death occurred in ]\Iadison
county, Nebraska, April 15, 1881. After his death, his widow took up
his work, tmt gave up that occupation to engage in school teaching, an
occupation which she followed until her second marriage, to George
W. Bishop, of Walton.
Mr. Sumption was married to Miss Vora Watson, October 27, 1870,
and they became the parents of three children, as follows: G-ertrude,
a graduate of the State Normal school, at Terre Haute, and for some
time a school teacher, married Sanford Bell, and had three children, —
Portia, Geneva and Josephine, and the family home is now located at
Denver, Colorado; Homer, now residing in San Diego, California, who
married Amelia Walters, of Sheridan, Wyoming, and has one child, —
Vora; and Josephine, director of music in the Denver (Colo.) College,
and organist in Trinity Llethodist Episcopal church, who married F.
M. White, of Noblesville, Indiana. J^I^. Sumption was a member of the
Universalist church, and was a man of integrity and probity of char-
acter. He was always interested in fraternal work, and was popular
with the members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Knights of Honor. Those who knew him will remember him as a man
who was always ready to assist others, who never knowingly made an
enemy, and who never lost a friend except through death.
Joseph T. McNary has been actively identitied with the growth and
development of Cass county for more than a quarter of a century.
Born in Harrison county, Ohio, Seistember 26, 1850, he is a son of
James and Harriett (Thompson) ]\IcNary, both of whom were natives
of Washington county, Pennsylvania. His scholastic training was ob-
tained in the schools of Bloomfield, Ohio, and Union College, from
which latter institution he received his diploma in 1864. He tirst came
to Cass county, Indiana, in 1865, but the ensuing two years he passed
in Tipton county, teaching school and studying law, upon which he had
settled for his professional career.
In 1868 Mv. McNary continued his legal studies under 0. P. Blake
of Peru, Indiana, and in coiniection with legal pursuits, was engaged
in handling real estate at Peru until 1870. Since the latter date he has
resided in Logansport. It would seem that real estate dealings are
especially to his liking, for he has never ceased to be more or less
engaged in transactions along that line, and for the past ten years prac-
tically his entire attention has been devoted to the real estate and loan
business. For a number of years John R. IMcNary, his brother, was
associated with him.
Actively identified with the Republican party since early manhood,
Mr. McNary was firet elected to the city council of Logansport in 1881,
and by continued reelection, served some sixteen years in that office,
during which time some of the most important laws on the city govern-
ment were enacted. It was also during this time, and largely through
the instrumentality of j\Ir. IMcNary that the first traction line of the
city was built and since that time, he has been closely identified with
the construction of all the other lines. The purchase of Spencer Park
by the Street Railway was another important measure in which Mr.
McNary bore a conspicuous and worthy part. The deal was engin-
920 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
eered entirely by Mr. McNary, and the gift to the city by the Street
Eailway Company of eighteen acres was through his influence. It
was dedicated and named McNary Park and afterwards called Spencer
Park. He was closely identified also with the locating of Riverside
Park. He assisted in the reorganization of the State National Bank
after its failui'e and for many years has been a part of almost all impor-
tant public events in Logansport. The Northern Indiana Hospital for
the Insane became a Logansport institution largely by reason of his
personal efforts, and many another movement has felt his influence in
a direction that would be of the greatest possible benefit to his home
city.
Mr. McNary has achieved success in life wholly through his own
efforts. He came to Logansport with scarcely a dollar to his name, but
success in his case came only after years of tireless energy and industry.
Of late years he has devoted a considerable time to travel, and there
is not a state, territory or important or interesting city in the Union
that he has not visited. He has made one trip abroad, and is planning
to continue his travels as opportunity affords.
Mr. McNary was united in marriage on October 7, 1875, to Miss
Belle Thompson, of Wabash county, Indiana, and their beautiful home
in Logansport is a most ideally happy one.
Otto Fike. The citizens of Walton, Indiana, need no introduction
to Otto Fike, the popular general blacksmith, who has built up a thriv-
ing business through excellent workmanship, general reliability and
courteous treatment of customers. His career from boyhood has been
one of steady industry and persistent endeavor, and is worthy of emula-
tion by the aspiring youths of today, teaching an example of upright
living and well-directed effort. ]\Ir. Fike is worthy in every waj^ of the
respect in which he is held, and among his many acquaintances he can
count many friends.
Otto Fike is a native son of Indiana, having been born in IMiami
county, August 26, 1883, and is a son of David and Lavina (Dickson)
Fike. His father was born near Mexico, Indiana, from whence he went
to Bunker Hill, Indiana, and there carried on his business of black-
smith and general mechanic. He and his wife were the parents of two
children : Edward, who is an automobile trimmer ; and Otto. The early
education of Otto Fike was secured in the district schools of Miami
county, but later, when his parents moved to Logansport, he went to
the public schools, there finishing his training. He was a resident of
Logansport for eighteen years, and there, in Joseph Emy's shop he
began to learn the trade of blacksmith. When he had thoroughly mas-
tered all the details of this vocation, he came to Walton, where he has
since continued to carry on a profitable business. Mr. Fike is alert and
shrewd in business dealings, but his career has been free from trans-
actions otherwise than those of a legitimate character. He is an excel-
lent mechanic, and his trade is attracted from a wide contiguous terri-
tory. Public life has held out no inducements to him. He has been
too busy making a place for himself among the business men of Walton
to think of political preferment. His home and his business have always
been of the greatest value to him. However, he has not been unmindful
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 921
of the duties of citizenship, as is demonstrated on every occasion when
movements for the welfare of the community are promoted, for in him
they tind an intelligent, energetic and reliable supporter.
In March 7, 1906, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Fike with
Mrs. Sarah (Brooher) Laird, who had two children by a former mar-
riage: Juanita and Violet. Mr. and Mrs. Fike have had one son:
David Edward. The family belongs to the Lutheran church, and is
liberal in its support of religion and charity. Both J\Ir. and Mrs. Fike
have a wide acquaintance and their friends are legion.
Edw^ard F. Small. A complete account of the little business and
agricultural community at Walton and vicinity could not be comprised,
with reference to the affairs and activities of the last half century,
without mention of the firm known as Small Brothers, comprising W.
L., Ed. F., and Otho A. Small, three brothers who for many years have
been influential factors in the business enterprise of this part of Cass
county.
Mr. Edward F. Small, the second of these enterprising brothers, was
born on the old Small homestead in Washington township, Cass county,
on the twenty-third of March, 1867, his parents, Andrew Jackson and
Mary (Ijams) Small. One in a family of seven children Edward F.
Small obtained his education in the common schools, and a principal
part of his early training consisted in the work and experiences of the
home farm. It was after attaining to manhood and some independent
venturing of his own that he founded the association with his two broth-
ers for engaging in the grain business. The firm of Small Brothers,
starting from this point in business affairs, enlarged the scope of their
operations, and through their individual application to business, they
extended and built up a business which is one of the largest and most
successful of the kind in Cass county. It has had a substantial and
steady growth, always being expanded on the solid basis of capital and
prospect of assured returns.
Mr. Edward F. Small was married November 18, 1903 to Miss
Flora E. Flanagan, a daughter of Charles and Jennie (Waite) Flana-
gan. Mr. and INIrs. Small are the parents of two children, named Inez
and Herbert. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, No. 314 at Walton, and also the Masons Lodge, No.
423 and he and his family are members of the Christian church.
Washington L. Small. Among the really useful men of a commun-
ity are found those in whom their fellow citizens can rely in affairs of
public importance ; to whom they can come for assistance in seasons of
financial distress; men who have won this confidence by the wisdom of
their own investments and by the honorable lives they have led on every
field of effort and as neighbors and friends. Very often, in prosperous
towns, these men are retired farmers, frequently they are bankers. Such
a man is W. L. Small, president of the Cass County State Bank, of Wal-
ton, an energetic business man, well qualified to conduct the affairs of
of a financial institution, whose material success has been alike benefi-
cial to himself and to the place in which he has labored. Mr. Small
was bom on a farm in Washington township, about nine miles from
922 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Logansport, Indiana, September 20, 1847, and is a son of Andrew Jack-
son and Mary (Ijams) Small. The eldest of his parents' seven children,
his education was secured in common schools, which he attended when
he could spare the time from the duties of the home farm. He was
thrifty anil industrious as a youth, carefully saving his earnings with
the idea ever in view of embarking upon a career of his own, and
eventually, with his two bi-others, Ed. F. and Otho A. Small, entered
the grain business. Instead of hiring their work done by others, the
three brothers performed their own labor, each striving earnestly for
the success of their enterprise. This method soon began to show results,
and as time went on and their capital permitted they added to their
holdings and equipment, and were successful in building up one of the
important industries of this section. During this time W. L. Small
had continued to be engaged in farming, and at this writing is the
owner of an excellent tract of 170 acres, with modern buildings and
valuable improvements. In 1911, Air. Small became a stockholder in
the Cass County State Bank, and soon thereafter he was elected to the
presidency of this institution. That his choice displayed good judg-
ment on the part of the directors is shown by the fact that since he has
been shaping the policies of the institution the business has developed
an increase of tifty per cent. His personality had much to do with
instilling confidence in the depositors, while among his associates he
is recognized as a shrewd, careful and farsighted citizen, and a man
of the strictest integrity and probity of character.
]Mr. Small w'as married to Mary E. Spohn, January 6, 1881, and to this
union there has been born four children, namely : Frank, who is single
and engaged in managing his father's farm; Emmet, who married
Blanch Vernon, daughter of James Vernon, and has two children, — Zelma
and John ; Claude ; and Nora, who married Peter Erny. The family is
connected with the Christian church. Mr. Small is not a politician, nor
has he sought political preferment, but he is at all times ready and
anxious to do his full duty as a citizen, and no movement of importance
is considered complete until his name is enlisted in the ranks. Like
other successful business men here, he takes a pride in the aecomplisli-
ments of his city, in that he has assisted in making these accomialishments
possible.
Otho A. Small. The average Cass county farmer, of an industrious
and energetic nature, is generally loath to retire from the work in which
he has spent the best years of his life and acquired a competence, but
when he does turn over his interests to other hands and moves to the
near-by town or village, he becomes one of his new community's good
citizens, investing his capital in its industries and adding his support
to its progressive movements, thus being a welcome addition to the
section's population. Among the retired farmers now living in Walton,
is Otho A. Small, who is probably better known as "Bert" Small, and
who for years was engaged in carrying on agricultural operations in
this vicinity. Mr. Small has resided in Cass county all of his life, having
been born on the old Small homestead place in Washington township,
June 5, 1869, and is a son of Andrew Jackson and Mary (I.jams) Small.
Mr. Small comes of an agricultural family, and in his youth he was
MR. AND :\IRS. J. CHARLES THOMAS AND FAMILY
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 923
trained to agricultural work and to habits of industry, sobriety and
honorable living. As a youth he secured such advantages as were to
be obtained in the district schools of his community, and he continued
to assist his father in conducting the home place until he was nineteen
years of age. At the age oi nineteen years he and his brother, Edward
F. Small, rented small pieces of lancl, on which they managed to get
a start in life, after they had refused to be disheartened by a number
of hard knocks. Working industriously on their own property and in
the meantime assisting their father in cultivating his land, the boys
secured a little capital, and eventxially realized their ambition of enter-
ing the grain business, in coiniection with which they bought and sold
stock. Later, the three brothers, Edward F., Otho A. and W. L., built
an elevator at Walton, and this was developed into one of the leading
business enterprises of the place. ' ' Bert ' ' Small is known as a business
man who has ever borne a high reputation beca^^se of honorable trans-
actions. He alwaj's devoted himself strictly to legitimate lines, and
the business which he assisted in developing will stand as a monument
to his ability. He is now living in quiet retirement, in the enjoyment
of the fruits of his early labors. It is not to be supposed, however, that
he has dropped entirely out of the life of the community, for he still
interests himself in its movements, and, as spectator, takes a keen and
intelligent interest in the battles of the political arena. He belongs to
the Odd Fellows, in which he has a number of warm friends, and is a
deacon and trustee of the Christian church.
On February 3, 1897, Mr. Small was united in marriage to J\Iiss
Carrie Jane Pierson, daughter of JIatthew and Mary Jeanette Pierson,
and they have had one son : Orel R., fourteen years of age, a bright,
intelligent lad, who is attending the Walton public schools and will
enter the Walton high school. In 1908 Mr. and Mrs. Small erected
their pretty modern residence in Walton, Indiana.
J. Charles Thomas. "When agriculture flourishes," observes
Xenophon, the Greek historian and philosopher, "all other pursuits are
in full vigor; but when the ground is forced to lie ])arren, other occupa-
tions are almost stopped." This statement is as true in these modern
times as when it was written many centuries ago. To the farm each
country must look for its sustenance, and it is therefore of such vital
importance that those in whose charge have been placed the agricultural
interests of any community must be men of ability in their vocation, able
to produce their full share of the necessities without which other in-
dustries are sorely handicapped. Among the agriculturists who have
raised the agricultural imi^ortance of Cass county to such a high stand-
ard as that it now enjoys, is found J. Charles Thomas, of Clay town-
ship, who was born May 23, 1857, a son of William and Porter and
Margaret (Stafford) Thomas.
William Porter Thomas was the son of Giles Wheeler Thomas, who
was born near Baltimore, Maryland, on October 31, 1794, five years
prior to the death of General Washington. He learned the trade of a
tanner in Blacksburg, Virginia, under the instruction of Harmon
Sifford, and migrated to what was then known as Champaign county,
Ohio, now called Clark county, and there he wedded Agnes Black, a
924 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
daughter of William Black. She was bom on April 28, 1798, and died
on October 4, 1851. In later years Giles Thomas married a second time,
Mrs. Julia (Stafford) Funston, connected by marriage with the famous
Funston family of which Gen. Frederick Funston, of the United States
Regular Army and of Philippine war fame, is a member, becoming his
wife. She was born on September 10, 1804, and died in September,
1881. Giles Thomas died on Januaiy 6, 1870. His son, "William Porter
Thomas, the fatlier of J. Charles Thomas of this brief review, married
Miss ^Margaret Stafford, a daughter of Ralph (native of Ireland) and
Catherine (Saylor) Stafford, and to them were born a goodly family of
ten children, seven growing to manhood and womanhood, and six are
living at this time. They are named as follows : Giles Stafford and
George Wheeler, twins, of whom Giles S., who is a resident of Geneva,
Nebraska, was married to Sadie Wheeler and is a retired agriculturist and
was a soldier in the Civil war.
George W., who lives in Peru, Indiana, married Grizzle Black, and.
is a retired farmer. He was also a soldier in the Civil war. The
brothers were members of Company K, Ninety-ninth Regiment,
Indiana Volunteers. Martha Virginia married Uriah W. Oblinger and
both died in Nebraska. Uriah W. Oblinger was a soldier in the Civil
war, a member of Fifty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteers. Ellen
Annette is the wife of D. S. Bailey of Minneapolis, Minn., a contractor
and builder. Samuel Greene, a farmer of Middletown, Indiana, mar-
ried Sarah Pawabaker. William Rowen, a farmer of Tipton township,
married Lorretta Miller and J. Charles Thomas of this review.
J. Charles Thomas received his education in the district schools of
Tipton township, and there was reared to agricultural pursuits, remain-
ing on the home farm and assisting his father with the home duties until
his marriage, when he left the parental roof and engaged in farming on
his own responsibility. He is now the owner of a fine tract of sixty-eight
acres of well cultivated land, on which he has brought about numerous
improvements, including the erection of a number of substantial build-
ings. He has devoted his life to the business of general farming and
the success he has attained has been the result of his own industry,
perseverance and faithful labor. Mr. Thomas was for many years a
supporter of the principles and doctrines of Republicanism, but of re-
cent years has transferred his allegiance to the Prohibition party. He
has interested himself in fraternal work, and is a member of the Wood-
men of the World, and of Tipton lodge. Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons. Mr. Thomas and his family are members of the Methodist
church.
On January 17, 1886, Mr. Thomas married Miss Jeannette Beal,
daughter of John D. and Catherine (Long) Beal, the latter a daughter
of William Long. Mr. Beal came to the United States from France
about the year 1830, at that time the family name being rendered
D'Beel, since then the present form coming into popular usage.
His wife came from Pennsylvania in 1840 and their marriage occurred
in Cass county, Indiana, in 1859. They settled in Washington town-
ship, where Mr. Beal was engaged in the business of farming until his
retirement from active farm life, since when they have been living at
No. 25 Market street, in Logansport, Indiana, where their golden wed-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 925
ding anniversary was celebrated in 1909. Mr. and Mrs. John D. Beal
had eight children, as follows : Joseph A., who married IMollie Thorn-
ton ; John Henry, who married Libbie Herr ; Jeannette, Mrs. Thomas ;
William V., who married Effie Carney ; James Adrian, who married
Julia Grover; and three others, who are deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Charles Thomas are the parents of four daughters,
namely: IMabel Annette, the wife of Everett Hubler, to whom one
daughter has been born — Vere Catherine by name. Mrs. Hubler was
graduated from the public schools of her native community and was a
student in the IMarion normal, after which she was engaged as a teacher
in Cass county. Her husband is one of the more successful farming
men of Allen county, Indiana. Ethel Ursula was educated in the public
schools and she has since specialized in instrumental music, in which she
is quite successful. Eulalia Marie is also proficient in musical ability ;
and Margaret Catherine, the youngest of the four, is yet a student in
the public schools, and will graduate with the class of 1914.
i\Ir. and Mrs. Thomas have given to their daughters the advantage
of the best education available, and their school instruction has been
amply supplemented by the most admirable home and church training
— a phase of education which is all too often neglected in American
homes, but which is the basis of all genuine training and the founda-
tion of the happiest homes. With the exception of the eldest, the
daughters are at home with their parents.
j\Ir. Thomas and his estimable wife, who has long been his able
counselor in all the affairs of life, are citizens who are held in high re-
gard by all who know them. Tlieir cozy homestead known as "Rose
Lawn," is one where genuine hospitality abounds.
Both parents come of families that gave worthy service to the flags
of their respective countries, and it is of such blood that the best
citizenship must inevitably spring. The paternal grandfather of ]\Irs.
Thomas, John D. D'Beal, was a native of Prance and a soldier under
Napoleon Bonaparte, with whom he was serving at the time of the
famous retreat from Moscow, while the maternal grandfather of Mr.
Thomas was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, through which connec-
tion members of the family today are eligible to membership in the
society of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, a dis-
tinction dear to the hearts of all patriotic Americans today, and one
which is a true patent of American nobility.
Henry Franklin Small. There has been no period in recorded
history when the earing for the dead has not been a feature of even
savage life, and the ceremonies have been of a character that has been
marked by the measure of civilization. Study habits and customs of
every nation and it will be found that a reverence has been paid to the
dead, oftentimes such as was not given to the living, and even the most
brutal savage tribes in the deepest wilderness, even those who still
make human sacrifices as a part of religious rites, can point to their
stone crypts, their burning temples, their funeral barks or their tree-
top burials. There never has been, however, a time when the proper,
dignified, sanitary conduct of funeral obsequies and disposal of the
remains of those whose life work has ended has been so complete as
926 HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY
•
at present. Funeral directors and undertakers of tlie present day in
America are no longer mere mechanics but, on the other hand, are care-
fully trained in this profession and often are graduates of more than
one college. ^Methods of body preservation which formerly were consid-
ered lost arts are well known now and have been vastly improved upon.
Henry Franklin Small, whose tact, dignity and kindly sympathy have
made him a comforting figure in tbe homes where death has visited,
is the proprietor of a modern undertaking and embalming establish-
ment at AValton, Indiana. He was born July 16,_ 1848, in Washington
township, Cass county, Indiana, near the present home of W. L. Small,
and is a son of Daniel and Nancy (Overleese) Small.
The grandfather of ^Ir. Small was a native of Germany, and in
young mauhood emigrated to the United States, settling in ]\Iaryland,
where he spent the remainder of his life. Daniel Small was born in
Maryland, and there passed his boyhood and youth, but when still a
young man migrated to Indiana, and for a short time resided near
Crooked Creek. Subseciuently, he came to Cass county and took up
government land, making the first settlement in Washington township.
There he and his wife spent the remaining years of their lives, devot-
ing themselves to the tilling of the soil. They were the parents of nine
children, as follows: Harriet, Susanna, Andrew Jackson and jMargaret,
who are all deceased : John ; Elizabeth and Alexander, who are both
deceased; Mrs. Sarah Burget, a widow living in Logansport ; and Henry
Franklin.
Henry Franklin Small was reared on the old homestead, where he
worked during the greater part of his school period. At the age of
twenty-five years he left the parental roof and came to Walton, where
he took up the trade of carpenter, and gradually drifted into contract-
ing. During the next twenty years he followed this line of endeavor,
and many of the structures erected 1\v him still stand, their excellent
state of preservation testifying to good workmanship and honest mate-
rial. At the end of that period, ]Mr. Small took up the undertaking
trade, and first attended the Indianapolis School of Undertaking, from
which, he received his diploma, succeeding which he took the Barnes
course in Chicago and received his certificate. He immediately returned
to Walton, and here he has continued in this liusiness to the present
time, now being the proprietor of a well equipped establishment, fur-
nished with every device for the proper handling of the dead and with
every comfort for the bereaved. His reputation is that of a man of
unquestioned integrity and probity of character, and well merits the
high respect and esteem in which he is universally held.
Mr. Small was married (first) to Miss Elizabeth Younglove, and
after her death married her sister, Hattie Younglove, they being daugh-
ters of Charles and Elizabeth (Hoyt) Younglove. ^Ir. Small has inter-
ested himself in fraternal work, and is a member of the ^Masons, the
Odd Fellows, the Order of the Eastern Star and the Tribe of Ben Hur.
Henry A. Crockett. Although he has reached an age when most
men begin to think of laying aside the cares and duties of active busi-
ness strife, Henry A. Crockett, of Washington township, still continues
in the management of his affairs, and each day attends to his various
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 927
duties, thus satisfying an energetic nature that from his boyhood has
caused his life to be one of constant industry. A member of an agricul-
tural family, which has for generations contributed its full quota of
men to the farming vocation, he has followed in the footsteps of his
forefathers and has devoted his entire career to the tilling of the soil.
JMr. Henry Crockett has passed almost his whole life within the borders
of Cass county, has here achieved a success, and today ranks with the
foremost of his community's valued citizens. He was born September
13, 1849, in Deer Creek township, Cass county, Indiana, and is a son
of Asher and Susannah (Plank) Crockett. His father, a farmer, was
born near Greenville, Ohio, from whence he came to Cass county,
Indiana, in young manhood, and here spent the remainder of his life.
There were six children in the elder Crockett 's family, namely : Henry,
Jane, Elizabeth, Sarah, James and Alice, the latter deceased.
Henry A. Crockett was reared in Cass county, where he secured his
early education in the district schools, but when still a lad the family
moved to Miami county, and there he completed his studies. He event-
ually returned to Cass county, and settled on his present farm, an
excellent tract of eighty acres which is located on the Crockett and
Richeson road. ]Mr. Crockett has continued to devote his attention to
the tilling of the soil, and his property is one of the valuable ones of
the township. As the years have passed and his leisure and capital
would permit, i\Ir. Crockett has made numerous improvements in the
shape of substantial buildings and draining and tiling. His ventures
have proved uniformly successful, and through the use of good judg-
ment, natural ability and constant industry, he has accumulated a com-
petence, gained a position of importance among his fellows, and reared
his family in comfort. Mr. Crockett is essentially a farmer, but has
not ignored the duties of citizenship, and at this time is acting capably
in the capacity of .iustice of the peace.
On January 15, 1876, in Cass county, Mr. Crockett was united in
marriage with ]\Iiss Catherine Knight, of Cass county, Indiana, and to
this union there have been born eight children : Carrie, who lives with
her parents; Benjamin Franklin (Frank), who is engaged in farming
in Tipton township, married Mae Pierson, and has two children, — Gil-
bert and Herbert ; Harvey, who married Ethel Hymon, and is the father
of one child, — Opal; Laura and David, who are residing at home;
Mae, who married Daniel Brunner, and has three children, — Wilmer,
Florence and Velma ; Chester, who married Hannah Pippinger, has one
little son, Clifford Keith ; and June, who lives with her parents. The
members of this family attend the Christian church, where they all
have numerous friends. Judge Crockett belongs to the class through
whom communities prosper, for with others he has been an agitator
for the advancement of progress. During his long and honorable career,
he has formed a wide acquaintance, and no citizen stands in higher
esteem in his community. The beautiful estate of Mr. and Mrs. Crockett
is known as "Highland Crest."
Christian F. Wendling. That the farmer is the backbone of the
nation is a trite saying, but nevertheless a true one, and no circum-
stances or conditions might arise that would ever lessen the importance
928 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
of the agricultural industry to the country at large or decrease the
prominence of the active and successful farmer in the scale of values
prevailing today throughout the broad land. Many successful and
ambitious farmers are to be found in Cass county, and the late Chris-
tian F. Wendling occupied a high place in the agricultural class in the
county. Following in the steps of his worthy father, Mr. Wendling
came to be one of the most prosperous farmers in Walton or, indeed,
in the county, and as such is properly accorded a place in an historical
and biographical work of this nature.
Born in Butler county, Ohio, October 8, 1858, Christian F. Wendling
was the son of Michael and Mary (Schmitt) Wendling, Mr. Wendling
was a native born German and Mrs. Mary Smith Wendling was a native
of France. Michael Wendling was credited with being one of the most
skillful farmers in Cass county, and it is therefore but fitting that more
than a merely cursory mention be made of him in this sketch dedicated
to his son. He was born in Alsace, then a part of France, but now within
the border of Germany, and was the son of John and Margaret (Schini)
Wendling. He was fifteen years of age when he came to America, in
company with his parents, who immigrated hither in 1845. Up to that
time he had received excellent educational advantages, being versed
both in French and German in his native schools. The family first
located on a farm in Butler county, Ohio, and there the parents of
Michael Wendling passed their remaining days, the father being seventy-
two years of age when he died. He was twice married, his first wife
having died in Germany, and his second wife having been the mother
of Michael, who was one of the three children of the second marriage,
the others being Christian and Catherine.
In 1863 Michael Wendling came to Indiana, and in this state located
in section 34, Washington township, Cass county, which place there-
after represented his home and the scene of his farming activities until
the day of his death. He was a successful farmer, carrying on his
affairs priadently and scientifically, and while the tract of land he first
selected in Cass county was not the most promising then to be found
within its borders, he proved that all land is good land if properly
treated, and his place came to be one of the richest and most productive
in the county.
On Januaiy 10, 1854, Michael Wendling married Miss Mary M.
Schmitt, a daughter of George and Barbara (Mochel) Schmitt, both
natives of France, where Mrs. Wendling was born on the 3d of July,
1830. She same to America in 1848, alone, and settled in Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wendling,
as follows: John H., born in 1855 and married to Emmeline Martin,
they living in Cass county and are well and favorably known here;
George W. is a civil engineer; Christian F. is the subject of this sketch;
William D., a Cass county farmer, is now deceased; Charles C. ; Jacob
S., deceased and Eli E. Mr. Wendling was a stanch Democrat, and
was all his life a member of the Lutheran church. He died on the 14th
of November, 1904.
Christian P. Wendling was bom on the 8th day of October, 1858.
He received his education in the common schools of Cass county, where
he was reared from the age of five years, the family removal from But-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 929
ler county to Cass county taking place at that time. He was well
disciplined in farm work in his youth, and was identified with the
home place until the age of thirty-two, when, in 1887, he married and
established a home of his own. His wife was Miss Laura B. Walker,
the daughter of T. H. and Maggie (Bennett) Walker, and their mar-
riage took place on the lith of April, 1887. Four children were born
to them: George C, Jesse E., Grace B. and Alonzo E. George C.
received his diploma from the Walton high school, class of 1910, graduat-
ing with honors, and is now in his third year at Purdue University,
studying civil engineering. Jesse E. completed the eighth grade. He
married Miss Laura Preiser, and they have one daughter, IMargaret
Wilodene, born March 4, 1913. Grace B. received her diploma in
1906. Alonzo E. received his diploma with the class of 1911, and
entered the Walton high school.
Mrs. Wendling is a native of Cass county, born May 31, 1872, and
was educated in the Walton public school. Her parents are both living
in Kokomo, Indiana, and her father was formerly engaged in mer-
chandising. In earlier years he was a teacher, and he was educated in
Ohio.
Mr. Wendling became the owner of a fertile and productive farm
of eighty acres, situated about a half mile from the town of Walton,
where his family united with him in making a comfortable and happy
home. He demonstrated beyond all question his skill as a farmer, and
the early training he received at the hands of his father was to him a
boon in his independent career, although he was never content to con-
tinue in the industry without progressing in the scientific knowledge
pertaining thereto. He took a hearty interest in the civic and political
affairs of the community and was one of the best known men in his dis-
trict, wherein he was long and favorably before the people. Pratenially
he was a member of the Masonic order, lodge No. 423 at Walton; of
the Maccabees, Tent No. 103; and of Ben Hur Lodge, Tribe No. 233,
and was a charter member and a deacon of the Lutheran church of Wal-
ton, his family also sharing in his religious faith. Mr. Wendling occu-
pied a place of respect and esteem in the town and county, and his death,
on the 9th of February, 1913, was mourned by a large circle of friends.
He was laid to rest in the Odd Fellows cemetery.
Cassius M. Ide, successful and prosperous in the business of diver-
sified farming, in which he has been occupied in Cass county for a num-
ber of years, was born on April 13, 1856, in Howard county, Indiana,
and came to Cass county in 1872. He is the son of Reuben P. and
Sarah (Gifford) Ide, and he was a small child when his father died in
Howard county, Indiana. The mother married a second time, and he
was one of the three children of her first marriage. When they came
to Cass county in 1872 the family comprised the mother and her three
children. Bedford B. Ide, the brother of the subject, still lives in Cass
county, and for a long period has held a responsible position with the
Pan Handle Railroad. The sister married Alexander Copland and is a
resident of Logansport.
Cassius M. Ide received the rudiments of an education in the pub-
lic schools of Howard county, his schooling continuing up to the age
980 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
of twelve years, after which he took upon himself the business of find-
ing a living. His first independent venture was in the draying line in
Logansport, and he continued to be connected with the work there for
five years. For three years thereafter he was interested in an active way
in the livery business in the same city, and by that time he felt he was
ready to settle down to farm life. With his wife he came to the farm
inherited by Mrs. Ide, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres in
section 16, Noble township, where he has since continued to be occupied
with a general or diversified farming business. He has experienced an
agreeable amount of success in his work, and is accounted one of the
prosperous and progressive farmers of the township.
On October 31, 1883, j\Ir. Ide was married to IMiss Jane Braith-
waite, who was born in Cass county, June 2, 1860, the daughter of
James and Peggy (Eglin) Braithwaite, who came to these parts from
Yorkshire, England, their native land, in 1844 and 1848, respectively.
They were married in Cass county, June 28, 1851, and in the following
year, 1852, moved to Kosciusko county, Indiana, where they continued
to reside for four years. Then they returned to Noble township, Cass
county, and purchased a farm of eighty acres, which location was their
home until the death of ]Mr. Braithwaite, July 10, 1882, when he had
reached the age of seventy-one years. A few years after locating in
Noble township he purchased two other farms in the same township ;
one of 160 acres and one of 80 acres. ]\Irs. Braithwaite is living and
is a resident of the city of Logansport. She was eighty-two years of age
January 12, 1913. Mr. and Airs. Ide became the parents of four chil-
dren : Nolo Fay, born October 10, 1884, graduated from the public
schools and spent three and a half years in the Logansport high school.
She wedded Carl Hardy, an agriculturist, and they have a tittle daughter,
Peggy Feni, born July 4, 1903. James Reuben, born August 27, 1886,
received his diploma from the public schools and spent two years in
high school, after which he pursued a commercial course in Logansport.
He was census enumerator of Noble township in 1910, and is at present
serving his fifth term as financial secretary of the Cass County Detec-
tive Association. He is now with his parents on the farm. His frater-
nal relations include membership in the Odd Fellows order at Logans-
port, of which he was financial secretary two years and is now its per-
manent secretary. He affiliates with the Republican party and is a
meml)er of the Christian church. ]\lary Juanita, born November 7, 1888,
graduated from the common schools and in the Logansport high school,
class of 1908, and wedded John Webber, February 10, 1909. He is an
agriculturist. Both Mr. and Mrs. Webber are members of the Cumber-
land Presbyterian church, and they are residents of Harrison town-
ship. Jane Braithwaite, their daughter, was born March 31, 1913.
Clay Braithwaite, born September 27, 1897, the .youngest of the children
of Mr. and j\Irs. Ide, graduated from the common schools and is now
a student in the Logansport high school. He is a member of the Chris-
tian church.
]\Ir. Ide is a Republican and has always lent his support to the fur-
therance of that party, and his fraternal relations are represented by
his membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Eel River
Lodge, No. 417, and the Knights of Pythias, both of Logansport. He
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 931
was one of the promotors in the erection of the Odd Fellows Temple iu
Logansport, a building which is a credit to the city. He is a stock-
holder therein, and for twelve years has been one of the building's
trustees. It is also a fact worthy of mention that in the engraving of
the old seminary on Thirteenth street, which was replaced in 1874, to
be seen in the prospectus which preceded this publication, Cassius ^l.
Ide may be seen at the base of the belfry of the seminary, with arm
outstretched and viewing the scene below. He and his family have
always attended the Christian chui'ch. Their homestead in Noble town-
ship is named after the old Braithwaite homestead in Yorkshire, Eng-
land, "Greenat. "
Frederick M. Markert, remembered by many of the oldest
settlers as one of the early coopers in Logansport, was a
native of Wurtemburg, Germany, his birth occurring on March 31,
1822. He was reared in his native country, received but a limited edu-
cation, and after serving seven years in the German army he enlisted
again and served an additional period. He learned fruit gardening
after his military service was concluded, his principal attention being
given to the culture of the grape. It was about 1846 when he emigrated
to the United States, and after landing at Castle Garden, New York,
he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and there worked at the cooper's trade for
two years. In 1848 he came to Logansport, Indiana, via Lake Erie, to
Toledo, and from there by the Erie canal. Until 1850 he worked in the
old Cecil tlouring mill cooperage shop, located on the south bank of
Eel river at the intersection of Sixth street. In 1851, in association with
Gotlieb Schaefer and Charles Luy, he embarked in the brewing business
on the north side of Columbia street, between Sixth and Mary streets,
but three years later disposed of his interests in that enterprise and
once more engaged in the cooperage business, his location being on Pleas-
ant Hill. For manv years he continued in this business, retiring in
1886. He died on April 3, 1901.
In 1854 Mr. Markert married Fredericka Rombold, who was also
a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, and eight children were in time
born to them, concerning whom brief mention is made as follows : Fred
C, died on Ma}' 17, 1911 ; Charles F., is a resident of Logansport ;
George H., who married Dora Schaefer, lives in East St. Louis, Illinois;
William, died when twelve years of age ; Katherine, is the wife of John
J. Hildebrandt, of Logansport ; Christine, married Dr. J. Z. Powell, of
Logansport; Andrew, died in infancy, and John D., who married Agnes
Morgan, now lives at East St. Louis, Illinois.
Mr. Markert was a member of no religious organization, but to a
certain extent held to the belief of the Swedenborgians ; in his political
faith he was a Democrat. Mi*s. IMarkert died on October 5, 1897, a
member of the Evangelical church.
Charles F. Markert is a son of Frederick M. and Fredericka
(Rombold) Markert, natives of Wurtemburg, Germany, of whom de-
tailed mention is made in an article dedicated to the father in other
pages of this work. Charles F. was born on the place where he now
resides, Pleasant Hill, in Logansport, Indiana, his birth occurring on
932 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
October 11, 1858, and this city has always been his home. A common
school education was granted to him, after which he started out for
himself, being eighteen years old at that time. He learned the cooper's
trade with his father, and later learned the trade of a marble polisher
with C. B. Sanderson, but he did not adhere to either of those occupa-
tions for any length of time. In 1881 he turned his attention to garden-
ing, and he has since continued in that work without interruption, and
his efforts have resulted in a most favorable manner. He was the first
gardener in Cass county to undertake hot house gardening, and in that
work he enjoyed a pleasing success and prosperity.
His marriage with Miss Catherine Newman, a daughter of John
Newman, a well known farmer of Harrison township, was solemnized
on November 12, 1891, and four children have been born to them —
George L., Esther F. H., Ellen L. and Mary A. Mr. Markert is a Dem-
ocrat and he and his wife are members of the Evangelical Association.
Nathaniel Tilton, a well known general agriculturist of Noble
township, has been an important factor in farming circles of Cass
county, and his popularity is well deserved, as in him are embraced
the characteristics of an unbending integrity, unabated energy and an
industry that never flags. He has been interested in all that affects his
community, and has especially identified himself with movements mak-
ing for the advancement of religion, education and morality. Mr.
Tilton was bom October 25, 1854, on a farm in section 1, Noble town-
ship, Cass county, Indiana, and is a son of John Tilton.
John Tilton came to Indiana from Ohio with his wife and eight
children, locating on the farm now occupied by Nathaniel Tilton, where
he spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits, and was also
associated with other earnest and hard-working citizens in advancing
his community's interests. After coming to Cass county he and his
wife had two other children: Maria Ann, who was married in 1877 to
George Fergus, and still resides in Cass county; and Nathaniel.
Nathaniel Tilton received his education in the district schools of
Clay township, and was reared to the vocation of farmer, which he has
followed all of his life. He is progressive in his methods and ideas, and
each year finds his property fui'ther improved with good buildings and
other features. His land is in a high state of cultivation, his crops are
always large and bring top notch prices in the markets, and the appear-
ance of his farm testifies eloquently to the presence of able manage-
ment. He has always been a strong advocate of public improvements,
ever being among the first to declare himself in favor of what he thinks
will benefit his community or its people. Although not a politician in
the generally accepted meaning of the word, he served for two terms
as supervisor of district No. 1, Noble township.
On April 12, 1877, IMr. Tilton was married (first) to Miss Henrietta
Roberts, a native of Fulton county, Indiana, and to this union there
was born one son, William I., November 30, 1881. While this child was
still in its infancy, its mother died very suddenly, in February, 1882.
During the following year, Mr. Tilton married (second) Miss Eva A.
Ulerick, who was born in Pennsylvania, October 30, 1857, and whose
parents, Henry and Caroline (Fry) Ulerick, came to Cass county,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 933
Indiana, from the Keystone state in 1864. Mrs. Tilton came with her
parents to Cass county, where she was a little maiden of eight years and
here she was reared and educated. Her father was a native of
Pennsylvania, but of German lineage, as his mother came from
Germany. He was a butcher by occupation and was a self-made man,
and is now a resident of Cass county. He is a Democrat politically and
is a member of the United Brethern church and his wife was a member
of the German Baptist. Mrs. Ulerick died November 20, 1889.
Mr. and ]\Irs. Tilton have had two children, namely : Henry A., born
March 14, 1884; and Chauncey E., born January 2, 1889. Henry A.
graduated from the common schools, and then took a full commercial
course at the Logansport Business College, and he paid his way par--
tially by raising melons. The first year he cleared $150 by this industry.
At the present time he is connected with the R. T. Crane Iron and
Steel Company of Chicago, and is located at Lima, Ohio, where he has
charge of the business in that locality. He is one of the stable young
men that Cass county, Indiana, claims, and is strictly a self-made
man. He married Miss Bessie Vernon and they have one little son,
Vernon, aged five years. Henry Tilton and wife are members of the
Christian church and were converted under the preaching of Rev.
"Billy" Sunday. He is a Republican and a member of the K. of P.
Chauncey E. is one of the successful young farmers of Noble town-
ship and he and wife have a model little home near his parents' home. He
is a young man of good practical education, and is associated with his
father on the estate. He wedded i\Iiss IMyra Yund, and one little son,
Leslie Kenneth, graces this marriage. Chauncey is a Republican and
he and wife are members of the Presbyterian church.
]\Ir. and Mrs. Tilton may be proud of the honorable lives of their
children, who are a credit to their aged parents.
Mrs. Tilton is a lady of most genial manners, sociable and cordial,
and a model housekeeper, and she and her worthy husband are citizens
who are held high in the respect and esteem of the people of Noble county.
Their pretty homestead is known as "The Upper Valley Farm."
Both the Tilton and Ulerick families have been close attendants of
the Presbyterian church, and their members are widely known in
religious circles. Mr. Tilton succeeded his father as elder in the church,
a position he has held since the elder man's death. During his long
residence in Noble township, Mr. Tilton has formed a wide
acquaintance, in which he numbers many warm friends, while every-
where he is known as a man of the highest business integrity and moral
probity.
Elmer Dallas Snyder, M. D. Having risen to influence and obtained
recognition through solid merit, founded upon good natured abilities,
ripened by liberal scholastic training and matured by thorough scien-
tific study and long, continuous and assiduous practice, Dr. Elmer
Dallas Snyder, of Onward, Indiana, is known as one of the leading
medical practitioners of Cass county. He belongs to that class of pro-
fessional men who value their success the more because it has been
gained through their own individual effort, rather than through outside
influence and assistance, and during the fifteen years that Onward has
934 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
been his field of endeavor has impressed himself favorably upon his
fellow-townsmen by the interest he has manifested in the welfare of his
community. Dr. Snyder was born on his father's farm, located one
mile west of Onward, in Cass county, December 1, 1865, and is a son
of David and Maria (Waite) Snyder.
The Snyder family originated in Germany, from whence the great-
grandfather of Dr. Snyder emigrated to the United States, settling in
Berks county, Pennsylvania. From that section the grandparents of
Dr. Snyder, Henry and jMary (Martz) Snyder, came to Cass county,
Indiana, with their eleven children, who were named as follows : Simon,
Levi, Elizabeth, Henry, William, Sarah, John, David, Kate, Mary and
Leah ; of whom David and J\Iary are still living. Henry and
Mary (^lartz) Snyder both passed away in Cass county, where they had
been engaged in agricultural pvirsuits. David Snyder was born in
Carroll county, Indiana, and accompanied the family to Cass county
more than a half a century ago. Like his father, he was a farmer, and
was so engaged iintil his retirement, when he and his wife moved to
the state of Washington, their present home. They had five children:
Dr. Elmer D., Mrs. Dora Smith, Alonzo D., ]\Irs. Cora IMavs and ]\Irs.
Nora Bell.
Dr. Elmer Dallas Snyder was reared to agricultural pursuits and
spent his boyhood in assisting his father in the work of the home farm,
but it became his early intention to enter upon a professional career.
The necessary funds for an education along medical lines were lacking,
but he did not allow this to stand in his way, for he had inherited
much of his father's ability to make his own way in the world. His
early schooling was secured in his native locality, and subsequently
he attended the schools of Logansport, following which he took up the
vocation of educator, thus earning the means with which to gain his
cherished medical training, which was secured in the Louisville Medical
College. Following his graduation from that institution, in 1893, he
began practice at Kewanna, Fulton county, later moved to Burr Oak,
Marshall county, and finally settled in Onward, his home locality, where
he is now firmly established in a representative practice.
Dr. Snyder was married first to Miss Ettie M. Apt (no issue),
and on IMarch 15, 1907, he married Mary Catherine Eckert, daughter
cf John and Leah (Eckhart) Eckert, members of a prominent
family of Carroll county. Dr. and INIrs. Snyder are members of the
]\Iethodist Episcopal church, and in addition to the various medical
organizations he belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees. Although
not a politician, having preferred to give his entire attention to his
professional work, Dr. Snyder has not been insensible to the duties of
citizenship, and for a period served capably and faithfully in the capac-
ity of county coroner.
Samuel S. Helvie. Among the better known and more prosperous
business men of Logansport, Samuel S. Helvie holds a leading place,
and in his capacity as such is eminently deserving of some mention,
however brief it may be, in a historical and biographical work of the
nature of which this publication partakes. Mr. Helvie has experienced
a gradual rise in life in a financial and business way, and from a farm
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 935
home in Tipton township, has come into his present important place in
the business life of Logansport.
Born in Tipton township, Cass county, Indiana, on November 30,
1852, Samuel S. Helvie is one of a family of thirteen children born to
Samuel M. and Anna (Ulery) Helvie, eight of that goodly number
being alive today. The father was a Virginian by birth and when a
boy moved with his parents to Miami county, Ohio, where he later mar-
ried Anna Ulery, the daughter of a well known Kentucky family. He
received in his boyhood but little education out of books, and was early
inured to the hard work of the farm, on which he lived until his mar-
riage. In April, 1849, wdth his wife and ten children, he came to Cass
county, Indiana, the journey being made from Virginia to this county
in a wagon, drawn by horses, the popular method of travel in those
early days. They settled in Tipton township ou a slightly improved
farm, owned by W. W. Haney, and here Mr. Helvie continued to be
engaged in farming activities until his death, April 14, 1878. The
■ftddow survived him until September 26, 1896. Both these worthy people
were members of the United Brethren church. Mr. Helvie was a life-
long Republican, but was never an aspirant for political office or favor.
His life was a (j[uiet and uneventful one, and he lived among his acquaint-
ances in Tipton township, esteemed and respected in the highest man-
ner. He was honest as the day, to employ a term often used in speak-
ing of him by those who knew him best, and was a good friend and
neighbor, ever ready to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate than
himself. He was a man particularly fond of hunting, and was known
to be one of the best marksmen in Cass count3^
Samuel S. Helvie was the youngest of the children of his parents,
and he was born after the family removal to Tipton township. There
he was reared and educated, and being the family Benjamin, remained
at home until he was seventeen, contrary to the custom of other mem-
bers of the family. When he was seventeen he set about learning teleg-
raphy at Anoka, and after he had mastered the key, he was stationed
at Anoka Junction as night operator, a place he continued to hold for
almost seventeen years. In 1886 he began operating the flouring mill
at the falls of Pipe creek, his father-in-law, John Costenborder, having
been the original builder of the mill. He continued to be the active
operator of the plant until the fall of 1890, when he gave up his per-
sonal connection with it and employed a miller to handle the place for
him, upon which basis it was then operated for the ensuing three years.
From early manhood Mr. Helvie had taken active interest in politics
as a Democrat, and in 1890 he was the nominee of his party for the office
of county auditor, to which office he was elected by a majority of two
hundred and seventj'-two. He served a term of four years, when, in
accordance with the prevailing I'ule, he retired from office, after a period
of service marked by the greatest efficiency and general satisfaction to
all concerned. Upon the expiration of his term of office, Mr. Helvie
accepted a position as clerk in a clothing store in Logansport, in the
employ of Joseph G. Grace. Two years later, on November 26, 1896,
Mr. Helvie, in association with Edward D. Sellers, succeeded to the
business under the firm name of Helvie & Sellers, and they have since
that time become firmly established in the commercial world of Logans-
936 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
port. Their business is a prosperous one, and both partners hold envi-
able positions in the community.
On October 30, 1874, Mr. Helvie was united in marriage with Elvira
Costenborder, and to them nine children have been born: Lewis E.,
Walter M., Gertrude M., Ora E., Harry A., Etta, Bertha, Marie and
Ocle. Mr. Helvie is a Mason of the Kjiights Templar degree, and Mrs.
Helvie is a member of the Christian church of Logansport, where the
family attend.
Daniel W. Clary. The Clary family in Cass county dates back to
the period before the removal of the Indians from this part of the state,
and the different members have witnessed all the transformations in
conditions from the time of the first settlement down to the twentieth
century era. Daniel W. Clary has long been a prominent farmer and
citizen of Harrison township, which is his native home, and has acquired
a position of influence in this township.
Daniel W. Clary was born in Harrison township, August 14, 1864.
His parents were Isaac N. and Rebecca (Remley) Clary. The paternal
grandfather was John Clary, and the maternal grandfather was Daniel
Remley. The father of Daniel W. Clary came to Cass county at a very
early date. When his father first started out for himself he bought
a place of about 310 acres, on which he put up a rail pen and slept
on a rail bed for some time. In this rough abode he lived, though with
some improvements in conditions, until his marriage, at which time he
erected a log cabin home, and thereafter lived in increasing comforts
until his death. His marriage occurred in 1843. He was a resident of
the county at the time the Indians were removed to their western homes,
and he took some part in assisting in this removal. He spent many years
of an active and prosperous life in the county, and in 1893 moved from
the farm which he had first settled to the place now occupied by his
son. In 1863 he had bought the present homestead there, and occupied
it for the following year. All the substantial buildings were erected by
the father, though Mr. Daniel W. Clary has himself, during his pro-
prietorship, instituted a great many improvements and has continued
to keep the farm apace with modern progress in agricultural conditions.
Daniel W. Clary was married on the twenty-third of November,
1887, to Miss Martha E. Conn, a daughter of David and Sarah (Herbert)
Conn. David Conn was a soldier in the Seventy-ninth Indiana during
the last two years of the Civil war, and his death occurred on April
17, 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Clary are the parents of three children, their
names being: Berlin A., born October 17, 1888, received a common
school education ; David Earl, born January 3, 1902, in the sixth grade,
and Lillie Ellen, born August 28, 1907. All the children live at home.
The family are members of the Zion M. E. church, and Mrs. Clary is a
member of the Ladies' Aid Society in the church. Mr. Clary is a Dem-
ocrat in politics and one of the influential citizens of this community.
George H. Lynas. The life work of the late Dr. J. B. Lynas, of
Logansport, Indiana, whose death occurred January 28, 1901, was the
founding and developing of a business that has become one of the prin-
cipal industries of the city and is of national reputation. Entering
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 937
upon the manufacture of proprietary medicines in a small way, only
as an accommodation for his numerous patients, in the alleviation of
whose ills he had spent many years, he found that instead of retiring
from active life, as he had planned, he was but entering upon a still
more strenuous career, and one which was to make his name known all
over the country. The business, thus started in a humble way, has
grown and developed, until its agencies are found from coast to coast,
and its products, which first included only certain medicines of the
doctor's own compiling, now cover a wide range of household neces-
sities.
Dr. J. B. Lynas was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, February 14,
1835. In 1862 Dr. Lynas was married to Miss Sarah E. Reed, who was
born in Wisconsin and who died in Logansport, January 18, 1911.
George H. Lynas, son of Dr. Lynas, and the present directing head of
the great enterprise that bears his name, was born in Logansport, Janu-
ary 10, 1874, educated in the public schools, and at the age of eighteen
years entered his father's business, with which he has been connected
to the present time. His administration of its policies has served to
advance the business in no small way, at the same time following his
father's strict rule of honorable and upright dealings with the thou-
sands of agents working for him. He was married October 31, 1905,
to Miss Ethel Hanawalt, of Logansport. Dr. J. B. Lynas received his
preliminary education in the public schools of Henry county, whence
he had been taken by his father when five years of age, and after spend-
ing some time in the study of medicine received his diploma from the
Eclectic Medical School, Indianapolis, in 1874. At that time he entered
upon the practice of his profession in Logansport, and during the years
that followed built up a wide and representative clientele throughout
Cass county. It was the desire of Dr. Lynas, however, to retire from
active practice, but at the same time to meet the wishes of his patients,
and accordingly he started to manufacture remedies at his home, these
being compiled from old and well-proven remedies which he had used
in his practice and which he had found successful in the relief and cure
of many diseases. At the start he little foresaw the extent that this
business was destined to grow to, but it was not long before the merit
of his goods caused the demand to exceed the supply that could be
manufactured in the limits of the doctor's home, and, accordingly, in
1884, he established a laboratory at No. 409 Fourth street. During this
time the business began to extend outside of the limits of Cass county,
and when it began to reach out into other states the firm purchased
and moved to No. 210 Sixth street. Dr. Lynas was the dominating
factor of this great organization until his death, and his wise adminis-
tration of its affairs made him one of Logansport 's best known business
citizens, but even after his demise the business continued to grow, and
in 1904 was incorporated under the name of Dr. J. B. Lynas & Son,
with a capital stock of $100,000. In 1906 it was found necessary to
again seek larger quarters, and accordingly they purchased and located
in the present factory and laboratory, at Nos. 517 and 519 Market
street. Here Dr. J. B. Lynas & Son have a well equipped building,
fitted with the latest improvements and appurtenances, the utmost care
being taken to preserve sanitary conditions. The products now include.
938 HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY
in addition to the well known J. B. L. medicines, all kinds of spices,
teas, sachet powders, fruit colors, toilet articles, toilet soap, extracts,
perfumes, stock preparations and miscellaneous articles. The J. B. L.
trademark is a guarantee of absolute purity and excellence, and the
agents of the company located in all parts of the United States are
instructed at all times to replace any article that is not satisfactorj^,
thus, without tiaring newspaper advertisements the confidence of all
users of these J. B. L. products are gained. It is this policy of giving
customers the benefit of honorable and upright dealing that has had
all to do with the phenomenal success of the enterprise. The first offi-
cers of the incorporated company were George H. Lynas, president,
and Sarah E. Lynas, vice-president and treasurer. At this time George
H. Lynas retains the presidency, while Dr. J. F. Noland is treasurer,
and R. C. Overmeyer is secretary. April 1, 1913, there was between
fourteen and fifteen hundred people working for J. B. Lynas & Son.
They are located in nearly every state in the union. At the above date
they were employing additional workers at the rate of about sixty per
month. To take care of this fast increasing business, many traveling
representatives, as well as a large office force, are required.
Robert F. Frushour. One of the citizens of Cass county who
began their career in primitive and often times log cabin homes, to
labor with courage and industry to develop a wilderness of forest into
a broad landscape of farms, and have subsequently reaped the rewards
of such diligence in ample material prosperity, is ]\Ir. Robert Frushour
of Harrison township, whose postoffice address is Logansport. This
family is one of the oldest in Cass county, and two generations have
assisted in the progress of this county.
Robert F. Frushour was born in Bethlehem township, Cass county,
October 16, 1856. His parents were George V. and Charlotte (Rowan)
Frushour. Both grandfather and father came to that county at a
very early date from Virginia, where they bought a great deal of land,
most of it from the government, and set to work with characteristic
industry to develop homes out of the forest. The only roads in the
country at that time were the rough trails blazed through the woods,
and the pioneer scenes and difficulties, which are described on other
pages of this history, were, almost without exception, experienced by
the Frushour family during its career here. The brothers and sisters
of Mr. Robert F. Frushour were as follows: Harmon T., whose first
wife was Harriet Orwin and his second wife was Anna Turner, both
himself, as also his wives, now being deceased ; George, Jr., who married
Lucy Thompson; William V.. who married Etta Gundrum; Anna, who
became the wife of Arthur Wells, and Ida, Avho was the wife of Ira
Maudlin.
On February 18, 1880, Mr. Frushour married Miss Mary E. Brown.
Her parents were Isaac and Elizabeth (Custer) Brown. One of her
grandfathers was also named Simpson. Various members of her family
became early residents of Cass county, having located here during the
decade of the early forties. Tlie brothers and sisters of Mrs. Frushour
were as follows: George, who married Effie Schilling; Albert, who died
at the age of forty-two; Samuel, who married Anna Newberry; Jay,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 939
who died at the age of thirty-one years, laumarried ; Nancy, who married
John M. LaRose. The father of Mrs. Frushour died in 1872, and her
mother passed away in 1884.
j\Ir. Frushour and wife were the parents of the following children :
Delia, born August 18, 1881, is now the wife of John Spencer; Olive,
born May 27, 1883, married Lora Early, and Lottie, born July 24, 1888,
married Harley ^loore. Industry and thrifty management have been
characteristic of I\Ir. Frushour 's career throughout his many years of
activity as a farmer. He has been the owner of three different farms
in this immediate section of the county, and has improved them all
with excellent buildings, and other facilities for high-class agriculture.
At the present time, he is just completing the building and general im-
provement of his third farm. Much of the land has been cleared by
his own labor, or under his immediate supervision, and he is a farmer
who has never relaxed his attention to business, and keeps all his inter-
ests to the highest point of efficiency. He still works untiringly, and
his prosperity is well deserved and earned. He and his family are mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church. His pretty home is known as "Forest
Glenn," located about five miles from the city of Logansport. ^
Ben.jamin F. Yantis. Seventy-seven years ago the family of Ben-
jamin F. Yantis made their way by ox team and by boat from their home
in Spencer county, Kentucky, to Cass county, Indiana, and from then
until the present writing, Cass county has been the home of this represen-
tative family, and has known the activities and influence of its members.
The subject, Benjamin F. Yantis, was born in Spencer county, Ken-
tucky, on February 2, 1831, and was thus a young lad when the migra-
tion of the family changed his home to Cass county. He is the son of
Aaron and Martha (Cockran) Yantis. The father, Aaron Yantis, came
from Germany with his brother George in the year 1760 and settled in
Kentucky. The mother of the subject was of Scotch parentage. With
the arrival of the family in Logansport from their Kentucky home, they
settled there, remaining for two years, and then taking up their residence
on a farm at the place where the street car line now ends, within fifty
yards of the city limits. It was in the spring of 1841 that they removed
to the George H. Harland farm in Bethlehem township for six years
and then to the present farm, or the one that is now owned and occupied
by Benjamin F. Yantis.
Benjamin F. Yantis was one of the eight children of his parents. One
brother, John, secured some prominence in engineering as the result
of much work on the Wabash & Erie canal in Indiana. The Yantis resi-
dence was destroyed by fire in 1906 and since that time Mr. Yantis has
replaced the old brick residence with a new and handsome brick house,
one of the finest to be found in the township. The place boasts many
improvements, all of which have been installed by the owner and
proprietor.
Mr. Yantis has taken his place in the activities of the township in a
public way, and one time served as township treasurer. He was drainage
commissioner of the county for six years and served as trustee of the
township for nine years, giving the most efficient service on all those
positions, and proving his merit and calibre as a citizen.
940 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
On September 13, 1855, Benjamin F. Yantis married Mary J. Hill,
the daughter of Joseph and Esther (Jenkins) Hill. Eight children
were born to Joseph and Esther (Jenkins) Hill, concerning whom brief
mention is made as follows: William married Sarah Horn; Stephen J.
married Hannah Conrad; Elizabeth A. married Isaac W. Wilson; Mary
J. married B. F. Yantis ; Martha A. married Jackson L. Thompson ;
Orlando married Savina Garber; Hannah died at the age of seven years;
and Israel J. married Martha Gordon.
Mrs. Yantis is a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, born
May 21, 1831, and she was reared in her native state. Her father was a
farmer and lawyer in Pennsylvania and Indiana. He was a Republican,
and he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, al-
though she was reared as a Quaker. Both of Mrs. Yantis' parents are
dead. The mother died in Fulton county, Indiana, June 21, 1873, and
the father died in Bethlehem township, May 12, 1876. Father Hill was
a splendid scholar, a fine penman and could write the German text. To
the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Yantis were born eight children, four sons
and four daughters; five are living, as follows: Mary E., wife of Charles
J. Moss, resident of Chicago and engaged in mercantile business; they
have three children, two sons and one daughter. They are members of
the Episcopal church. Elvira A. is the wife of Sumner .E. Buck, a farmer
in Bethlehem township. They have four children, one son and three
daughters, and are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Ruth
A. resides at home with her parents. She was educated in the common
schools and then took the Logansport teachers' course and musical in-
struction in Chicago, both vocal and instrumental. She is a member of
the Presbyterian church. Joseph A. is a farmer in Bethlehem township.
He married Miss Frances Calvert. They are members of the Baptist
church and he is a deacon therein and a Republican in politics. Lyman
A. is a farmer in Bethlehem township. He wedded Miss Maude Evans,
and they have two sons and two daughters. The name Yantis is of
German extraction and was formerly "Yandes. " Two brothers came
from Germany during the time of the Revolutionary war and were
soldiers in the war.
Mr. Yantis, though now in the eighty-third year of his life, is active
and strong, and is enjoying these later years of quietude and plenty in
the home he has so long cherished and cared for. He is a prominent
man in his community, and has all his life enjoyed the esteem of all who
have shared in his acquaintance. The estate of Mr. and Mrs. Yantis is
known as "Highland Place."
Noah L. Bess has had a successful agricultural career, covering a
number of years, and as one of the skilled farmers and stockmen of
Washington township is deserving of personal mention in connection
with biographical sketches of other representative men of this locality.
Mr. Bess is a native of jMissouri, having been born in Bollinger county,
April 2-1, 1868, and is a son of John and Malinda (Shell) Bess, the latter
of whom lives with her children. John Bess made removal to Illinois
about 1875, settling in McLean county, where he became a leading
farmer and land owner, and where the rest of his life was spent. He
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 941
and his wife were the parents of seven children, of whom three are now
living : Noah L. ; Jefferson Monroe and Siebert I.
Noah L. Bess was about seven years of age when he was taken by
his father to IMeLean county, Illinois, and in that locality he secured
his education in the public schools. Reared to agricultural pursuits,
he has followed the vocation of farming throughout his active years,
and about 1900 came to Cass county and settled on his present farm
in Washington township, a tract consisting of 124 acres of well-
cultivated land. Here he has made numerous improvements, erecting
handsome buildings, thoroughly ditching, draining and tiling the land,
and keeping his implements in the finest condition. That he is an able
manager is testified by the general prosperous appearance of the farm,
and he has demonstrated his ability as a stock grower by breeding some
of the best stock to be found in his section. He is essentially a farmer,
and has not cared for public life, his private affairs having left him no
time to take an active part in politics aside from casting an intelligent
ballot in the support of the principles which he believes will best se-
cure the welfare of the nation. He is regarded as one of the busiest,
most energetic and enterprising men of Washington township, and his*
methods in his business dealings have firmly established him in the
respect and confidence with all who have come into contact with him.
His fraternal connection is with the Modern Woodmen of America of
Forest, Illinois, and he is popular among the members of the local lodge
of that order.
Mr. Bess was married in Bollinger county, Missouri, to Miss Ellen
Perkins, October 9, 1888, a member of an old and honored family of
that county, and to this union there has been born one son, Grover I.,
who was born in ]\IcLean county twenty-three years ago. He was
educated in that locality and has been reared to an agricultural career,
now being his father's aid in the management of the home farm. In
November, 1910, Grover I. Bess was united in marriage with Miss
Lena J. Furst, who also belongs to an old Illinois family, and they have
one daughter, Jessie j\Iay. All of the members of this family belong to
the Union Presbyterian church. Mr. Bess has a No. 17 Buiek, five-
passenger touring car and he and family can take many hours of
pleasure and recreation. Their beautiful homestead is known as
' ' Englewood. ' '
John A. Frushour. The leading hardware establishment in the vil-
lage of Lucerne, in Harrison township, is that conducted by John A.
Frushour. Mr. Frushour took charge of this business some years ago,
and by his ability as a merchant has succeeded in more than doubling
his trade, and now has an enterprise which is probably second to none
of its class in northern Cass county.
John A. Frushour was born in Harrison township on the tenth of
January, 1861. The family have been residents in this county for more
than seventy years, and have always been industrious citizens, and
highly respected for their personal character. The name Frushour, how-
ever, is of Belgian lineage. Mr. Frushour 's gi'andfather was named
Mathias, while his father was the late John W. Frushour. The maiden
name of the mother was Cecelia Bierd. The late John W. Frushour, the
942 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
father, was twice married. The nine children by his first wife were as
follows : Michael W., Samuel J., James E., John A., Francis X., Eleanor
E., George M., Edward W., and Sarah J. His second wife bore the
maiden name of Amanda M. Boyle, and she was the mother of four chil-
dren, namely: Mary R., Joseph E., Rose and Margaret. The father of
the Lucerne merchant, came to Cass county about 1840, his original home
having been in Morgan county, Virginia. He was accompanied by his
father, and their first settlement was in Noble township, on what is known
as the old Tipit farm. He resided at different places in Noble township,
and finally moved into Harrison township, which was his home until his
death, at an advanced age in 1911. His first wife passed away in 1871.
John A. Frushour married October 22, 1892, Miss Mary A. Hoynes,
a daughter of James and Margaret (Glenn) Hoynes. Seven children
were born of their marriage, six of whom are living and one deceased,
namely : John Leo, born January 15, 1894, and died February 14, 1911 ;
James A., Ruth, Austin G., Margaret E., Edward H., Mary C.
Mr. Frushour was reared in his native vicinity where he attained
such schooling as afforded him a practical preparation for life, and
remained at home working on the farm and other occupations, until the
time he was thirty-one years of age. During his youth he had acquired
the trade of a carpenter, and when he began life on his own account, it
was as a carpenter contractor, a business which he followed for about
twenty yeare, with considerable success. It was on retiring from that
occupation that he entered the hardware business at Lucerne, where he
has since been a prosperous merchant. He bought out the present estab-
lishment, and as already noted, has more than doubled the business in
the years in which he has been engaged in same. His family attend
the Catholic church, St. Elizabeth's, in Harrison township.
LuYE J. Claby. Both industry and enterprise are required in the
development of a first class farm from land which is in practically its
native state. Mr. Clary, of Harrison township, has been characterized
by these two qualities, and though still a young man he has succeeded
beyond the ordinary, and is considered one of the most substantial men
of his vicinity.
Mr. Clary was born in Harrison township, September 22, 1877. His
grandfather and his father were both named Isaac. His mother's maiden
name was Susan Julian, a daughter of Samuel Julian. Mr. Clary had
three brothers and three sisters, whose names are as follows: William;
Arthur, who married Blanche Morrison ; Harvey, who married Mollie
Tucker; Ida, who married Ervin Hull; Nellie, who married Roy Wol-
ford; and Fern, who married George Bell.
On the eighteenth of February, 1906, Mr. Clary was united in mar-
riage with Miss Daisy Wolford, a granddaughter of Abraham and
daughter of Phillip Wolford. Her father was one of the old settlers
of Cass county and the name Wolford is well known in this vicinity.
The brothers and the one sister of Mrs. Clary are as follows : IMary,
who was the wife of Bert Herd ; George, who married Cora Clary ; Owen,
married Hazel Deck; and Rowell, at home in Harrison township. Mr.
and Mrs. Clary are the parents of one daughter, Esther, who was born
November 17, 1906. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Clary lived
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 943
for some time in Fulton county, where they were farmers for four years
and in that time did a great deal to establish a firm foundation for their
subsequent prosperity. Mr. Clary had forty acres in that vicinity and
during his residence there rebuilt the house, put in a cellar and also
constructed a silo and many other minor improvements about the estate.
From there he and his wife moved to the present farm in Harrison town-
ship, Cass county, where he owns eighty acres in the homestead, besides
^ty-one and one-half acres situated about half a mile from here. The land,
when he took hold of it, had no improvements, and he has built a good
house and put the entire place in condition for profitable agriculture.
Mr. and Mrs. Clary are members of the Christian church, and in polities
he is independent. The pretty homestead of Mr. and I\Irs. Clary is known
as "The Sunny Side Farm."
Richard Winn. Among the foreign born citizens of Cass county
who have contributed their full quota to the best development and
advancement of this district, the name of Richard Winn stands well to
the forefront, and it is wholly consistent with the spirit and letter of a
work of this order that more or less extended mention be made of his
life and deeds on the pages of this historical and biogi-aphical record.
Richard Winn has for many years figured prominently in the agi'icultural
activities of Harrison township, this county, and of late years has con-
cerned himself to a large extent with mercantile lines, although his inter-
est has not been of an active nature. He has served in numerous public
offices of prominence and has been prominent in church work for many
years. He is now practically retired from all business activities, and
his winters are spent in the warmth and sunshine of Florida.
Born in Yorkshire, England, on August 3, 1836, Richard Winn is
the son of Richard and Alice (Batty) AVinn, and the grandson of William
Winn, a farmer in England. Richard and Alice Winn were the parents
of a goodly family of eight children, named in the order of their birth
as follows: William, Richard, Edmund, Thomas, Agnes, Isabelle M.,
Thomas B. and Leonard W.
In Harrison township Richard AVinn, Sr., with his family, settled
down in the resumption of farm life, further devoting himself to the
business of cattle raising, in which he achieved a worthy success, his
operations being more than usually extensive. He found that his entire
time was absorbed by his own affairs, and thus never saw the day when
he felt free to dip into political or municipal affairs. He was sixty-nine
years old when he diecl in August, 1875, honored and esteemed by all
who knew him.
Richard Winn, Jr., was twenty-four years old when he married and
settled down on the home farm, on which he lived and prospered for
many successful years. His farm, comprising five hundred acres, was
one of the finest in the county, and yielded abundantly to his skilful
manipulation. He later interested himself in the grain business at
Lucerne, securing a half interest in a grain elevator at that place, and
continued to be thus -identified for many years, also becoming connected
with certain other mercantile enterprises, all of which brought him
bountiful returns, although his interest was always that of the silent
partner, he never having connected himself actively with their operation.
944 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Success always attended his efforts, and his identification with a business
venture ever seemed sufficient to insure its practical success.
On August 23, 1860, Mr. Winn married Miss Isabelle Herd, the daugh-
ter of John and Agnes (Stainton) Herd, who, like the Winns, were also
natives of England, Yorkshire being their ancestral home. Mrs. Winn
was a daughter of John and Agnes (Stainton) Herd, and there were
nine children in their family, five sons and four daughters, and there are
five living : Mrs. Richard Winn ; Thomas, a retired resident of Gas City,
Indiana, and married ; William, a retired resident of city of Logansport ;
George, an agriculturist of Harrison township ; and Elizabeth, widow of
Peter Castle, a resident of Logansport, Indiana.
The children of Richard and Isabelle (Herd) Winn are named
as follows : Agnes, the eldest, married Edward Morrison, and they have
two children, Blanch and Mary. John was accidentally killed some
three years ago ; he had married Mavy J. Hall, who with their four chil-
dren yet survive him, they being named, Maurice, Paul, Chester and
Harold, last deceased; Mary Ellen, the third born child of her parents,
married James Stevens and they have four children, JMyrle, Ethel,
James IMonroe, and Florence ; Alice died at the age of five years ;
Thomas died when three years old ; Charles Emmett married Edith
Myers, and they have five children. Earl, Dott, Mildred, Victor, and
Irene; Harry married Violet McCoy, and they had two children, Wiley
and Ruth, deceased ; James married Catherine Wyand, and tfieir only
child died in infancy. Florence, wife of W. A. Brown, has eight chil-
dren, Ralph, George, Carl, Mabel, Elmer, Russell, Harold and Horace.
Edna, the youngest born of the family, is married to Ervan S. Grove.
Mr. AVinn has been more or less prominent in municipal affairs dur-
ing his career, and has held a number of important offices in the service
of his town and county. He served two terms as county commissioner,
was trustee of his township for a number of terms and has held other
similiar offices. He has long been active in the Zion church and is at
present, and has been for some years, one of its trustees. It is some
years since Mr. Winn has been active in business, having retired to enjoy
the fruits of his labors extending through several decades of useful and
valuable citizenship. He has long enjoyed the high esteem and regard
of his fellow townspeople, and is known for one of the most valuable
men of the community, and an example of a high order of citizenship
which the present and coming generations can not do better than to
emulate.
WiLLARD Winn. The president of the Bank at Lucerne, also the
owner of a Harrison township farm of two hundred and twenty acres,
is one of the native sons of this township, and represents a family, which
has been identified with the development of this part of Cass county for
more than sixty-five years. The Winn family came here when most of
the country was in the wilderness, before any railroads were built, and by
their own labors they contributed in no small degree to the substantial
development and improvement of this part of Indiana.
Willard Winn was born in Harrison township on March 2, 1866. His
father, William Winu, was for many years a well known citizen of the
township, and passed away in 1908. The mother, whose maiden name
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 945
was Susan Michael, was a daughter of Peter Michael, whose original
home was in Virginia, from which state the Michael family came to
Indiana. Richard Winn, the grandfather of Willard was a native of
England, and in 1847 came to America and settled his family on a farm
in Harrison township, Cass county. The place had already undergone
considerable improvement, since it had a three room brick house, which
at the time was considered one of the most substantial residences in this
section, but nearly all of the land was covered with dense timber, and it
was many years before the arduous labor of the members of the family
succeeded in getting all of the land ready for cultivation. It was in
that old brick homestead and on that farm that William Winn, the
father, was reared, and after attaining his majority he started out for
himself, and during his long lifetime won a commendable degree of
prosperity.
Willard Winn had three brothers, whose names were Albert, Edmond
and Gilbert. In November, 1886, Mr. Willard Winn married Miss Peggy
Burton, a daughter of Levi and Ann (Eglin) Burton. Mr. and Mrs.
Winn are well known in social circles of Harrison township, and possess
a very attractive and beautiful homestead. The two hundred and twenty
acres of land, comprising the farm are among the best in the township.
Mr. Winn began his career by attending the district schools, and with
the advantages of only such an education and largely upon his own
resources, he has acquired a position where his influence counts for much
in this part of Cass county. He is a breeder of fine registered stock,
such as The Short Horn Cattle, Shropshire Sheep and blooded Barred
Plymouth Rock chickens, and he is also a producer of "The Winn's
Improved Reid's Yellow Dent Seed Corn." The estate of Mr. and Mrs.
Winn is known as "The Indian Creek Stock Farm," located about ten
miles from city.
Jacob W. Clary. Beginning life in a log cabin in Harrison town-
ship and reared amid conditions which might truly be called of pioneer
character, Mr. Jacob Clary has now for more than forty years been one
of the prospering farmers of this county, and has acquired many evi-
dences of his thrift and business ability, as also the thorough esteem and
respect of his fellow citizens.
Jacob W. Clary, who was a son of Isaac N. and Rebecca (Remley)
Clary, concerning whom further details appear in other biographies in
this work, was born in Harrison township, Cass county, December 14,
1848. At the time of his birth, the family habitation was a log house
and he was old enough to witness some of the first trains which ran over
the first railroad in this county, and has been a witness of nearly every
other subsequent development of importance in this part of the state.
Mr. Clary was married on the fourteenth of November, 1869. to Miss
Eliza Rush, a daughter of David and Lavina (Julian) Rush. Mrs.
Clary, after more than thirty years of happy married life, passed away
on March 29, 1901. She was born December 14, 1853, and was forty-
seven years of age at the time of her death. Her remains now rest in
Harrison township. The ten children of Mr. and ]\Irs. Clary were named
as follows : Lonzo, who married Nellie Wilson ; William, who died at the
age of two years ; John, who married Anna Conn ; Minnie, who married
946 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Bert Helkert ; Rene, who married James Lamostros ; Charles, who mar-
ried Cora Thomas; Bertha, who married John Cummins; Cora, who
married George Wolford ; Hanford, who married Jessie Day ; and LeRoy
who is unmarried and resides at home. Mr. Clary moved to his farm in
Harrison township, near Lucerne, in 1872. It was then unimproved
with buildings, and everything in this nature has been the result of his
own labors and management. He is now the owner of two hundred acres,
some of the best land in the northern part of Cass county, and his busi-
ness-like methods of cultivation have resulted in a substantial prosperity
for himself and family. The first house on his farm was a small two-
room structure, situated in the woods, and it was in that little cabin that
he and his wife resided for six years, and some of the children already
mentioned were born in this place. His father had given him eighty acres
at the beginning of his career and it was from this nucleus^ that he built
up his present estate, consisting of almost three times as much in quantity
and many times more in value than what he started with. Mr. Clary
also owns several houses in the town of Lucerne. He is a member of
the Presbyatrian church, and fraternally is affiliated with the Indepen-
dent Order of Odd Fellows in Lucerne. In politics he is now a Democrat.
I\Ir. Clary married February 20, 1913, Mrs. Mabel Mummert, and they
reside in the village of Lucerne, Indiana.
Joshua Tucker. For a period of about forty years, Mr. Joshua
Tucker has been one of the progressive farmers of Harrison township.
He has spent practically all of his life in this vicinity, which is the loca-
tion of the original settlement of this family in this county more than
eighty years ago. No name is better known in that part of Cass county
than Tucker, and few have with such credit to themselves and value
to the community carried on their burden and life work during all
these years of residence.
Joshua Tucker was born on a farm just a mile north of his present
homestead in Harrison township, on the thirty -first of ]\Iarch, 1850. His
father's name was Abraham and that of his grandfather Michner. The
maiden name of his mother was Margaret Witters, who was a daughter
of David Witters. The grandfather came from Lafayette to Cass county
about 1832, and was one of the first settlers who secured his land from
the government. He cleared up a large tract, and his descendants still
possess a considerable part of the land which he obtained direct from
the government. The grandfather is buried in Noble township, and the
father rests in Zion cemetery at Harrison township.
On September 28, 1873, Joshua Tucker married Miss Barbara Bailey,
a daughter of Henry and Catherine (Mogle) Bailey. The children in the
family of Mr. and Mrs. Tucker are as follows: Harry A. born July 7,
1874 ; William W. born September 24, 1876 ; Charles M. born December
28. 1879 ; Walter J. born July 12, 1883 ; Arthur T. born November 20,
1888 ; Elmer R. born May 17, 1893, and Russell L. born April 25, 1896.
Soon after their marriage, in 1873, Mr. Tucker and his wife moved to
their present farm, where he is the owner of ninety-two and a half acres.
This place, when he first took possession nearly forty years ago, was very
little improved, and had poor buildings, and was not yet developed to a
point of highly profitable cultivation. Since then Mr. Tucker has not
-^
'-^
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7^^c^
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 947
only developed the land and the possibilities of the soil as a means of
producing wealth, but has also made many improvements which increase
the comforts of the place as a home, and now enjoys one of the best rural
homes in the northern part of Cass county. During his youth in this
county, Mr. Tucker had to walk a mile to school, and the term lasted for
only about four and a half months out of the year. He thus came to
know many of the deficiencies and difficulties of life in the early years
of this county, and is in a position to realize and to appreciate the modern
advantages. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church, and
in politics he is a Progressive. He is also affiliated with the Knights of
the Maccabees.
Captain Daniel H. Mull, one of the most highly respected citizens
of Logansport, died at his home in this city on January 12, 1903. After
earning his rank and title by gallant service in the Civil war, he was for
nearly forty years identified with the commercial life of Logansport, and
his loss was not only a personal one, but also left a gap to be filled in
the business world. Of a genial and generous disposition, he made
friends wherever he was, and his undoubted ability and capacity for
hard work made him a valuable man in the world of business and in
the civic community. His father, Daniel Mull, was a German and his
mother. Miss Anna Sites, of Irish descent, both of North Carolina; soon
after their marriage they settled in Indiana. The late Captain Mull
was born December 27, 1821, at Spencer, Owen county, Indiana, being
in his eighty-third year when death came to him. His trade was cabinet-
maker, and carpenter, and it is interesting to note that he helped to
build the original Methodist church on Eighth and Broadway in Logans-
port. In the family were two other sons and three sisters, and John
Mull of Spencer, Indiana, was the last to pass away of that generation
of the family.
Daniel Hart Mull obtained a common school education in Owen
county, and was a young man when he came to Cass county, being un-
accompanied by any other members of the family but had a sister (i\Irs.
Richard Hensley) living here, with whom he made his home until his
marriage. He enlisted at the outbreak of the Civil war, and rose to the
rank of captain of Company H in the Seventy-Third Indiana Infantry.
He was taken prisoner May 3, 1863, and twenty-three months of his
military experience were passed in Libby Prison. On the close of the
war he engaged in the retail shoe business, and for many years was a
leading member of the firm of D. H. Mull & Company, and also of the
firm of J. B. Winters & Company. The late Captain Mull was a stanch
Republican in polities, but never occupied official position. His fraternal
affiliations were with Tipton Lodge of the Masonic order, and with the
Grand Army of the Republic.
On ]\Iay 28, 1846, Captain Mull married Sarah Simpson Jones, daugh-
ter of Thomas Jones, who at one time served as sheriff of Cass county.
Mrs. Mull died on July 30, 1904. Of their five daughters, two survive,
namely: Mrs. Anna R. Clark of Indianapolis and Miss Fannie Mull of
this city. The attractive homestead at 801 North street in Logansport
was built by Captain Mull more than sixty years ago and is a landmark
in the residence district and the center of many kindly memories and
948 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
associations for the family. Captain Mull and family in early years
worshiped at the Methodist church, and his body now rests in ]\It. Hope
Cemetery.
Dr. John J. Burton. A career of honorable and useful activity,
largely devoted to the service of his fellow-men, has been that of Dr.
John J. Burton, in Harrison township. Dr. Burton is now one of the
oldest physicians in point of years of practice in his section of Cass
county, and he is one of the best examples of that ideal type of the
countrj^ doctor.
Dr. John J. Burton was born in Harrison township on the twenty-
third of March, 1850. The family have been residents in this section since
pioneer days, and as farmers and public spirited citizens, have always
done their part in the community. The doctor's parents were John and
Susan (Sagaser) Burton, the latter a daughter of Henry Sagaser. Dr.
Burton's father was born in 1816, and died in 1868, while his mother
was born in 1815, and died in 1876. The father was a native of York-
shire, England, and was about two years of age when his family crossed
the ocean, and settled in northern Indiana. The doctor's mother was a
native of Kentucky, and the five daughters and three sons who com-
prised the family of which the doctor is a member were named as follows :
Sarah Jane, who married John ]\Iorphet ; Amanda, who married Peter
Montgomery; Elizabeth and Emma, who died in infancy; Elizabeth, who
married Richard Brown ; Leonard R., whose first wife was Emma Baker,
and whose second wife was Lena Batty ; John J., the doctor, whose mar-
riage is mentioned in the following paragraph; and William L., whose
first wife was Priscilla Murry, and who married second, Jane Conn.
Dr. John J. Burton, when a boy, attended the district schools near the
farm on which he was raised. Subsequently he studied in the high
school at Logansport, and when his ambition has been set upon the study
of medicine, and the privileges afforded him for preparation, he entered
a medical college at Cincinnati, where he continued his studies until
graduation, with his medical degree May 9, 1876. On returning from
college, he began his practice in the vicinity of his old home, and has
built up his patronage in the vicinity of people who have known him all
his life, and who thoroughly esteem him for his ability and integrity of
character. There is now only one physician practicing in this county,
who was here at the time he began his practice. Dr. Burton has never
held any office, though he is a Democrat in politics, and his family are
membei-s of the Christian church. He was married June 21, 1877, to
Miss Mary B. Lumbirt, a daughter of Hiram and Maria (Anderson)
Lumbirt. The doctor and wife have no children.
Rev. Joseph Todd. For many years a minister in the service of the
Presbyterian church, but since 1904 engaged in the merchandise business
in a general way, Rev. Joseph Todd has seen life from the viewpoint of
the clergyman and the business man, and in these widely separated fields
of activity has met with experiences that have rounded out his mentality
and his entire nature in a most inclusive manner. As postmaster for
nine years in Lucerne, appointed by President Roosevelt, he has seen
something of service in the civil service department, and his fraternal
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 949
relations in the popular organizations of the country have given him an
acquaintance with men that he would never acquire, either in his churchly
or business relations with fellows.
Joseph Todd was born in Home county, Ohio, on June 23, 1861, and
is the son of William and Mary (Moorehead) Todd. The father was the
son of another William Todd, and the mother was the daughter of James
Moorehead. The father of the subject was a farmer in Home county,
who died in 1889, but the mother yet lives. As a boy, Joseph Todd had
the advantages of the schools of the community wherein he made his
home, which schooling was later supplemented by four years' study
in college in Wooster University in Ohio. He succeeded in preparing
himself for the ministry, and served in his ministerial capacity in his
native state, also in White county, Indiana. He preached three years in
the Presbyterian church in Lucerne, that service completing fourteen
years of work in his ministerial capacity. In 1904 he returned to Lucerne,
and since has here been engaged in the general merchandise business,
in which he has realized a substantial success. He has served as post-
master of the place for nine years, but beyond that has held no other
office of a public nature.
Fraternally ]\Ir. Todd is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellow
societies, and has considerable prominence in both orders.
On September 29, 1893, Mr. Todd married Miss Cora Baker, the
daughter of William P. Baker and his wife, who was Lydia Needham in
her maiden days. Six children were born to them: Orville W. was
born on December 31, 1896 ; Mildred A., born June 13, 1898 ; Louis I.,
born July 22, 1900 ; Forrest E. and Edna Fay, twins, were born on Octo-
ber 27, 1907 ; and Thelma M. The family has made its home
in Cass county since April 1, 1892, moving hence from White county,
this state, and prior to that time had resided in the state of Ohio, where
Mr. Todd and his wife were born. Both Mr. and ]\Irs. Todd were the
children of fathers who fought for the preservation of the Union, the
senior Todd having served throughout the war in the One Hundred and
Sixty-sixth Ohio Infantry, while Mr. Baker served in the Eighty-seventh
Indiana.
No family in Lticerne enjoys a wider circle of friends than does the
Todd house, and they are accounted among the more substantial people
of the community.
Clayton C. Campbell, ^L D. Perhaps it is true that each individual
is born with oiae natural gift, but not every one seeks to discover it, or,
finding it, has the opportunity to nurture or develop it. History and
biography prove, however, that many of the most brilliant professional
men of our land have felt this natural bent from youth — in the direction
of law, medicine, the church or literature, and, with enthusiasm, con-
trolled by circumstances, have sought advancement along this line. Not
so many, perhaps, have reached the cherished goal in their most recep-
tive years, some, indeed not until middle life, but here and there are
found those who, at the open door of manhood, find also the door open
to their chosen field of effort. Respectful attention, in this connection,
is called to Dr. Clayton C. Campbell, of Walton, Indiana, whose persist-
ent devotion to the self-imposed duties of his profession have gained him
950 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
a position among the medical practitioners of his section that might be
envied by many men a number of years his senior. Dr. Campbell was
born August 14, 1879, in Preble county, Ohio, and is a son of Rome and
Jennie (Disher) Campbell. There were four children in the family:
Clayton C. ; Mrs. Isa Lairy ; Mrs. Ethel McNeely ; and Leonard, who is
a civil engineer of Cambridge, Ohio.
Clayton C. Campbell received his early education in the common
schools of Eldorado, Ohio, and was still a lad when his father died, at
which time the little family moved to Indianapolis, the courageous mother
making it possible to keep her children about her by establishing herself
in business as a milliner. In that city young Campbell accepted odd jobs
at whatever honorable employment presented itself, carefully saving his
money in the meanwhile, as he already had intentions of entering, if
possible, upon a professional career. Finally he was able to enter the
drug business, and after seven years spent therein had enough capital
to pay for his first year's tuition in the College of Physicians and Sur-
geons, Indianapolis, following which he took special courses on diseases
of the eye with Dr. G. S. Row, of Indianapolis. He entered medical
college in 1900 and graduated therefrom in 1904. He was president of
the college Young Men's Christian Association, and was interested in
all branches of its work, and when he entered the Deaconess Hospital
was the first man of his college to become connected with that hospital.
Thus thoroughly prepared, Dr. Campbell entered upon the practice of
his profession in Indianapolis, but one year later went to Harrodsburg,
Monroe county, and after two years in that town came to Walton, which
has since been his field of endeavor. He is now in the enjoyment of a
large and representative practice, and his success in a number of com-
plicated cases has served to establish him firmly in the confidence- of the
people of his community.
In 1904 Dr. Campbell was married to Miss Mary I. Garvin, of Cam-
bridge, Ohio, and to this union there were born three children : Clayton
C, Jr. ; Elizabeth, who died when three years of age ; and Flora A. Dr.
Campbell is prominent fraternally. He is a past master of the Masonic
Lodge No. 723, Walton, and a member of the Knights of Pythias, the
I. 0. 0. F., the Modern Woodmen of America and the Red Men. He
is also a member of the County District and State Medical Societies.
The family has always been prominent in the work of the Lutheran
church, in which Dr. Campbell is serving as deacon. He has been act-
ively interested in everything pertaining to the upbuilding of Walton.
Ambrose Elliott. A family which has been represented in Harri-
son township and Cass county for the greater period of its history is
that of Elliott, represented by Mr. Ambrose Elliott of Harrison town-
ship, where he is one of the most prosperous and progressive farmers.
Ambrose Elliott was born in Montgomery county, Indiana, February
9, 1840. His parents were Joseph and Martha (Lincoln) Elliott. Both
of them came to Cass county at an early date. The father, who was of
English descent, was for many years a substantial citizen and gave his
family the best advantages procurable at the time, and under the con-
ditions of life as it was then lived in this section of Indiana. Mr.
Ambrose Elliott was married, after growing into manhood in this county,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 951
to Miss Agnes Winn, a daughter of Richard and Alice (Battie) Winn,
After their marriage IMr. and Mrs. Elliott located upon a farm in Har-
rison townsliip which contained one hundred and eighty-five acres, and
which had been bought by his father. About forty acres of this land
was cleared and a large part of the labor, during his early years as a
farmer, was spent in clearing off the land and increasing the quality of
cultivable soil. Mr. and Mrs. Elliott became the parents of five children
whose names are as follows: Harvey, born December 6, 1867, married
Susie Lovett, and they were the parents of two children, Floyd and
Earl; Ida, the second child, born March 16, 1871, became the wife of
Isaac Wilson and was the mother of four children, Ethel, Edna, and
Roy still living, while Harvey died at the age of two years; Wilbert,
born December 4, 1874, married Myrtle McCaughy, and they were the
parents of two children, Lottie and Margaret ; Elmer, born September
10, 1877, married, for his first wife. Viva Mahaffy, and for his second
wife, Grace Burkell ; Albert, the youngest of the family, was born March
30, 1880, and married Effie Brown, by whom he has two children, Forrest
and Maud. For several years now, Mr. Elliott has lived retired, his
earlier career having been prosperous to a high degree and giving him
a competence with which he can enjoy his remaining years in leisure.
In politics he is a Democrat, and has membership in the Methodist church,
Benjamin Franklin Stuart. Though now a resident of Carroll
county, Mr. Stuart had all his early associations with Cass county, and
his family were identified with this county from 1856. He has had an
active career, and is held in the highest esteem in old Cass.
Benjamin Franklin Stuart was born in Floyd county, Indiana, July
26, 1852, and is of Scotch descent on his father's side, and English on his
mother's. Robert F. Stuart, his father, was born near Natchez, Missis-
sippi, in 1818. When thirteen years old he came to Floyd county, Indiana.
He married Susan Atkins, who was born in Floyd county in 1830,
Neither of the parents had many advantages in the way of schooling, but
were practical and substantial people, and did well for their family.
They came to Cass county in 1856, locating two and a half miles west
of Royal Center, in Boone township. While the father lived on a farm, he
spent most of the time working at the cooper's trade. He was the
first man to operate a cooper shop in Royal Center and shipped the first
load of barrels from that place to Chicago. In politics he was a Whig,
an Abolitionist and Republican. He voted and supported the Repub-
lican ticket from 1856 till the time of his death. He never held any
office and exercised his influence on civic affairs as a private citizen.
He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and his death occurred
on his farm in 1875. Benjamin F. Stuart had five brothers and two
half-sisters and one half-brother, namely : Carolina, born in 1845 ; Maria,
born in 1847; Stephen G., in 1849; Thomas J., in 1854; Robert A., in
1858 ; John M., born in 1860 and died in 1875 ; Warren E., bom in 1863 ;
Charles H., born in 1867, and died in the same year.
Benjamin Franklin Stuart, as a boy, attended school at the Burr Oak
schoolhouse in Boone township, and the Herman school in Jefferson
township. Later he was in the graded school at Burnettsville, and the
State Normal school. For forty years Mr. Stuart has been interested
952 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
in and connected with tlie pnblic school system, as student, teacher, and
as patron. He was four years old when the family came to Cass county,
and many years of his life were spent in Boone and Jetferson townships,
but at the present time he has his home on a fann in Carroll county.
For eight terms he taught country school, and is still remembered by
many of his old pupils. Later he took up farming as a regular occupa-
tion, and has done quite a business as a dealer in live stock and as an
auctioneer. His only noteworthy connection with public affairs to be
mentioned was as trustee for the Seceder Cemetery Association, and
outside of this has been content to exert his influence outside the medium
of any public office. He is a Republican, and has been an admirer of
the careers and personalities of Blaine, Harrison and Taft.
On June 2, 1880, Mr. Stuart married Miss Mary I. Love at Idaville,
the minister performing the ceremony having been Rev. Gilbert Small.
Mrs. Stuart's parents were William and Deborah Love, who were sub-
stantial farming people, and for fifty-eight years lived on one farm,
located two and a half miles south of Burnettsville. The children of
Mr. and Mrs. Stuart are mentioned as follows : Lucretia, born in August,
1881, and died February, 1893; William, born May, 1883, died July,
1883 ; Robert F., born June, 1884, now a student at Purdue University ;
Pearl A., born June 18, 1887, a graduate in music, and formerly a teacher
of that art, and now the wife of Larry Guthrie, a farmer in Carroll
county; Mary Love, born October, 1891, a former student of the State
Normal school, and now engaged in teaching; John M., born August 18,
1894, now in the fourth year in the Burnettsville high school; Mason
W., bom September, 1896, and in the third year in the Burnettsville
high school.
Mr. Stuart and family are members of the Presbyterian faith. Wliat
Mr. Stuart regards as the best remembered and most eventful day in
his life, contains incidents which are of interest beyond their individual
associations with his own career. He looks back to a day in the early
history of Logansport, in the month of October, 1860, a day of great
festivity, when Cassius M. Clay was the principal orator of the occasion.
Young Stuart was then eight years old, just at the time when impres-
sions are deepest, and the memory will persist throughout life. He then
saw for the first time the flag of the country, and heard the fife and
drum and the "wide-awakes" marching to the music. He also heard
the roar of cannons for the first time. Then it was that he looked upon
the dashing waters of the Wabash and the Eel rivers, and viewed the
long covered bridges which existed at that time. He saw a grist mill —
the forest mill, and marveled at the canal and its boats, and the old
aqueduct and escaping waters. All those things were Hvonderful to the
boy of eight years, and all of them are pictures of a past-time in Logans-
port and recall some of the institutions which were once an intimate part
of life and activity in this county.
Claude C. Bishop. A representative of one of the old families of
Cass county which since early days has been prominently connected
with the commercial development and substantial progress of this sec-
tion of the state, Claude C. Bishop is now worthily sustaining the high
reputation of the family by his honorable connection with the mer-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 953
can tile interests of Logansport. He was born at Walton, Cass county,
June 13, 1869, a son of George W. and Sarah (Corbly) Bishop. His
father, a native of Tiffin, Ohio, is a carpenter by trade, but for the
greater part of his active career has been engaged in mercantile pur-
suits, and at this time is residing at Walton, Indiana, where he is widely
and favorably known among business men.
Claude C. Bishop was reared at Walton, and primarily educated in
the public schools of that place. Subsequently this was supplemented
by attendance at the National Normal School, at Lebanon, Ohio, at the
age of nineteen years, and in 1890 he was graduated from the scientific
course of that institution. From this date for three years he and his
brother, George W. Bishop, Jr., conducted a store at Walton, which had
been founded by their father, but in 1893 he decided to take up the
study of law, and accordingly entered the legal department of the Uni-
versity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. He was graduated therefrom in
1895, and immediately thereafter came to Logansport and established
himself in practice, but in 1897 returned to Walton and again took up
merchandising. In 1906 he again came to Logansport, and with his
brother bought the elevator formerly belonging to the Johnson Elevator
Company. This the brothers conducted until May, 1911, when George
W. Bishop, Jr., retired from the firm, and Mr. C. C. Bishop has since
been the sole proprietor. In addition to running this elevator in a
successful manner, Mr. Bishop has dealt in coal, flour, feed and tiling.
By his honorable and upright business methods, he has gained and main-
tained an enviable reputation, and among his business associates he is
regarded as a shrewd, far-sighted man, whose judgment may be relied
upon in matters of importance. In politics a Republican, he has been
active in the support of his party's principles and candidates, and in
1912 was the candidate for the office of representative to the State Legis-
lature. Fraternally, Mr. Bishop is connected with the Masonic order
and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His career has proven
that true success in life may be attained through the medium of personal
effort and consecutive industry, and that the road to success is open to
all young men who have the courage to tread its pathway, keeping ever
in mind the rights of others.
On April 7, 1892, Mr. Bishop was married in Walton, Indiana, to
Miss Lulu Minnick, of that city, daughter of Justus Minnick. Three
children have been born to this union, namely : Ralph H., John H. and
Helen M. Both Mr. and ]\Irs. Bishop have many friends in Logansport,
and are well known in social circles.
]\IosES L. Plitmmer. Practically all his life a resident of Cass
county, Moses L. Plummer gave the active yeare of his career to the
farming industry in this section of the state, and it may be said in all
sincerity and truth that few men in Cass county held a higher place in
public confidence and esteem than did I\Ir. Plummer when he died. His
life was characterized by the highest integrity and usefulness, and it is
to such men as he that the splendid reputation which the county bears
for stability, progressiveness and prosperity, is in a great measure due.
When the late Moses L. Plummer was a lad of eight years his parents
came to Cass county and settled in its fertile farming district. Here
954 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
he was reared, and here he lived continuously until death called him
January 1, 1871.
Born on August 2, 1825, in Fayette county, Indiana, he was the son
of John and Nancy (Ladd) Plummer. The father was born on the 6th
day of September, 1772, in North Carolina. In 1800 he located in Vir-
ginia, moving thence to Georgia, where he was married in June, 1810.
In the following year he came to Ohio, and in 1814 moved into Fayette
county, Indiana, remaining there busy in the farming industry until
the year 1833, when he came to Cass county. Here he purchased a
goodly farm, secured his patent rights from the government, the place
being situated in section 16, in Clay township, and kno\vn down to the
present day as the old Plummer homestead in Cass county. He died at
his home there on July 4, 1855, when he had reached the fine old age
of eighty-three years, and his widow followed him on July 7, 1859. They
were the parents of eight children, as follows: Noble, Mary A., Thomas,
Elihu, Elizabeth, John, Nancy and IMoses, the latter named being the
subject of this review.
As has already been mentioned, Moses Plummer was a boy of eight
when he first saw Cass county. He was educated in the common schools
and gave the usual amount of his time to the work of the farm home
that the average country youth contributed to such employment. When
he discontinued school the young man remained at home and gave dili-
gent and faithfv;l service at the family homestead, and when he mar-
ried on December 22, 1884, he left home and rented a place, it being
his intention to establish an independent home. He was very successful
in his farming enteiprise, and though he rented for the first few years,
he eventually secured a place of his own and gained a position of prom-
inence and undeniable influence in the county as a farmer of means
and intelligence.
Mr. Plummer married Miss Catherine Yohea, December 22, 1854,
the daughter of Henry and Lydia (Ault) Yohea, who came from Wash-
ington county, Pennsylvania, many years ago and located in Ohio. They
later moved to Fulton coiuity, where ]\Irs. Plummer was reared. Six
children were born to Mr. and i\Irs. Plummer. The eldest, Elihu, mar-
ried Caroline Sullivan, and they have two children — Charles W. and
George A. Plummer ; Emma is married to William O. Thomas, and
they have three children living and one dead — Alvan M., Bessie and
Owen, and Otho ]\I., deceased; ]\Iary married George J. Nichols, who is
now deceased, and they have one living son — Kedar J. ; John L. lives
at home on the old homestead; and Etta, the next to youngest of the
family, shares the old home with him, John having been born on the old
Plummer place. The family received their schooling in the schools at
Onward, and are living lives of usefulness in the communities where
they are established in homes of their own, all bearing the same high
reputation that characterized the life of their deceased father in the
many years that he passed in Cass county as an active participant in the
industrial affairs of the district.
Mrs. Plummer and her children have two old parcliment deeds, one
executed Jime 25, 1841, and signed by President John Tyler, the other
dated April 1, 1848, and signed by President James K. Polk. This
makes the third deed of the kind found in Cass county, and are valu-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 955
able heirlooms in the Plummer family. The son John has his great-
grandfather's will, dated October 26, 1805, and in the deed he willed
three negroes, valued as follows: one at $2,500, one $2,000 and one at
$1,800. This deed was executed in Florida.
The Plummer family each year has a family reunion and herewith
is presented a protrait of the reunion of the family at Spencer Park, Lo-
gansport, Cass county, Indiana, in 1912. The pretty homestead is
known as "Wood Lawn" in Tipton township.
Philip Voorhees first came to Logansport, Indiana, in 1889, here
identifying himself with the lumber industry of the place. Since that
time he has made continued progress in his business, and has
added a planing mill, in addition to which he has engaged in the handling
of hardware, cement and lime. His success has been of a solid growth,
each year marked by a significant advance in his fortunes, and he is
today one of the leading business men of the city. Born in Coshocton
county, Ohio, on April 16, 1857, Philip Voorhees is the son of Stephen
and Eliza Ann (Heishman) Voorhees.
Stephen Voorhees moved from Coshocton, Ohio, with his family to
Carroll county, Indiana, locating southwest of Delphi, and there en-
gaged in farming. He was a cooper by trade, and in the winter he occu-
pied himself in that manner, giving up his summers to active farming.
The first winter that Mr. Voorhees was in that community he worked
in the woods, hauling his cordwood to Delphi, where he disposed of it.
The following summer he rented a field and planted ten acres of it to
corn. In the autumn, while he was engaged in making barrels, before he
thought the corn ready for the harvest, the owner- of the field appeared
on the scene, harvested the ten acres of corn, husked it and made off,
thus beating Mr. Voorhees out of his season's work. This experience,
however, was not sufficient to daunt the courage of the man, and he
located a farm, which he operated in summers and applied himself
to coopering in the winter seasons. He passed the remainder of his
life in Carroll county, and carried on his daily work until the infirmities
attendant upon advancing age made it impossible to longer keep up his
activities. Although he was a renter for a number of years, good man-
agement and economy made it possible in time for him to secure a farm
of his own, and when he died he left a competency to his widow. He
died in 1903, aged seventy-three, and she survived him until 1909, and
was eighty-two years of age at the time of her passing. She was a
member of the IMethodist Episcopal church and was a devout and much
loved woman. These parents had a family of fifteen children. The first
born and the last two died in infancy, six sons and six daughters yet
surviving.
When Philip Voorhees was two years old he came with his parents
« from Ohio to Carroll county, Indiana. He was the youngest of the
family at that time. As a boy at home he shared in the work of the farm,
early learned something of the cooper's trade, and when he was nine
years old made a creditable barrel, much to the pride of his father. He
attended the district schools and remained in the home until he reached
man 's estate. When he was seventeen years old he began working at the
carpenter's trade and he continued in that work until 1889, when he en-
956 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
gaged in the saw mill and lumber business at Flora, Carroll county,
Indiana. In 1897 he came to Logansport and straightway identified him-
self with the lumber business. He operated saw and planing mills for
some time, and was afterwards at Flora, and eventually worked into the
handling of hardware, cement, lime and builders' supplies. He is also
interested in a cream separator factory at Lebanon, Indiana, known as
the "Dairy Queen Separator Company," and he is the president of the
company, which was organized in 1911. He is the owner of several hun-
dred acres in Dakota, in Jefferson county, Indiana, and in Lafayette
county, Arkansas. He is now engaged in those various lines of enter-
prise, and is enjoying a pleasing success in the business world of Logans-
port. One son, Arthur V., has a one-fourth interest in the business with
Mr. Voorhees.
On March 27, 1885, Mr. Voorhees was united in marriage with Miss
Flora Baer, of Carroll county, Indiana, and Arthur W., previously men-
tioned, is their only living child, one other having died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Voorhees are members of the Christian church, and Mr.
Voorhees supports the platform of the Prohibitionist party. He is a mem-
ber of the Order of Ben Hur.
Benjamin F. Louthain. More than thirty-tive years ago Benjamin
F. Louthain first attached himself to the Logansport Pharos, and since
1877 he has been the chief editorial writer on its staff. That he has
borne an emphatic part in the moulding of sentiment in Cass county
along lines of public interest and civic development is undeniably true,
and it is a truth patent to all that the influence of such a man as he has
ever proven himself to be could only be for the best good of the com-
munity in which his opinions and utterances hold sway.
A native son of Cass county, Benjamin F. Louthain was born on the
farm of his father, a short distance from the then village of Logansport,
in the year 1847. His parents, William Preston and Elizabeth (McGrew)
Louthain, were pioneers of the AVabash valley, and their son was reared
in pronounced primitive fashion, as might be expected in consideration
of the period and station of the family. It is significant of the boy that
he was always a student, and his tastes in that line were early demon-
strated by his buying a Uliited States history with the first money he
ever earned. Diligent effort made it possible for him to enter the high
school at Logansport when he was seventeen, and it was but a short time
from then that he began work as a teacher. He was soon made principal
of the school in Walton, Indiana, in which position he was especially
successful. It was in about 1875 that he began to take a lively interest
in the activities of the Democratic party, and in that year he was ap-
• pointed deputy sheriff of Cass county, in which position he acquitted
himself in a most creditable manner. He was particularly active in the
campaigns of his party in the year of 1882, 1884, 1892, 1894 and 1896, in
those years serving as chairman of the Democratic county central com-
mittee, and has since held the same position in the party. In 1890 he
served as a member of the Democratic state central committee, and his
public services also include membership on the board of trustees of the
State normal school at Terre Haute.
The Logansport Pharos has long been recognized as the able exponent
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 957
of the principles of the Democratic party, and it has in Mr. Louthain one
of its stanehest advocates.
Mr. Louthain has always given a deal of thought to the public school
system of education, and has been the friend of advanced methods and
more efficient service throughout. He has given valuable service to the
city as a member of the school board, and for four years was postmaster
of the city.
On May 4, 1881, Mr. Louthain was united in marriage with Mrs.
Matilda M. Emslie, of Logansport.
George W. Walters. Displaying energy and resource, and measur-
ing up to the standards and requirements of his profession, George W.
Walters, of Logansport, has attained to an enviable place at the Cass
county bar, and is well deserving of mention among those who have
added to his adopted city's professional prestige. Losing his mother
when he was an infant, his life from earliest boyhood has been passed
practically among strangers, but his commendable perseverance has won
him recognition as an attorney, and his admirable personal qualities of
character have drawn about him a wide circle of appreciative friends.
Mr. Walters was born in Boone township, Cass county, Indiana, July 19,
1862, and is the one survivor of the two children born to Jacob and
Emily (Washburn) AValters. His father, in early life a farmer, and later
justice of the peace in Boone township, is now deceased, while his mother,
as before stated, died when he was an infant.
George W. Walters was reared in the village of Royal Centre, where
he secured his education during the winter terms, while his summers
were spent in working at whatever honorable employment presented
itself. Ambitious and industrious, he seized every opportunity that came
within his reach to gain an education, and when only sixteen years of age
had qualified to teach school, in which vocation he continued for eight
years, at intervals. For four years he was superintendent of the Royal
Centre schools, but in 1883 gave up teaching to enter the National Normal
University, of Lebanon, Ohio, being graduated from the scientific course
thereof in 1884. Four years later, Mr. Walters came to Logansport and
took up the study of law in the offices of McConnell & LlcConnell, and in
the following year became an employe of the United States government
at Washington, D. C, as a special agent of the labor department. In
1893 he returned to Logansport and entered upon the active practice of
his profession, which he has continued to follow to the present time.
In 1903 and again in 1905 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the
twenty-ninth judicial district, serving, in all, four years, and during this
time displayed high abilities as a public executive. Mr. Walters has
accomplished the task of the translation of the aspiring boy to the full-
fledged lawyer with an acknowledged position at the bar. His early
years were a period of struggle, of privation, of incessant labor with
head and hands, but never with lessening of purpose, rather with eye
firmly fixed on the goal, each obstruction in the way an incentive to in-
creased endeavor and greater energy. Such a career should carry its
own lesson, and prove inspiring to the youth of today who consider
themselves handicapped by lack of funds and influential friends. For-
merly a Republican, Mr. Walters in 1912 transferred his allegiance to
958 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
the new progressive movement that resulted in the birth of the so-called
"Bull Moose" party. His fraternal connections are with the Masons,
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of
Pythias.
In 1886 Mr. Walters was united in marriage with Miss Lillian Barron,
and they have two daughters: Edna and ]\Iildred. They attend the
Broadway Methodist Episcopal church, in which they have many sincere
friends.
Dr. Adelbert Lee Palmer in the nine years of his identification
with the medical profession in Logansport has come to be one of the
best knowTi and most successful practitioners in the city or county.
His advance has been constant and his rise in the public favor has seen
a healthy growth since he established himself in practice in Logansport
after he received his M. D. degree from Rush Medical College at Chi-
cago, and once more has it been demonstrated that a man need not cut
himself off from his native community in order to experience success in
his chosen field of activity, the old aphorism to the contrary notwith-
standing.
Born in Washington township, Cass county, Indiana, on September
27, 1878, Dr. Palmer is a son of John and Mary (Best) Palmer. John
Palmer is a native Ohioan, born near Ironton, that state, of Scotch-Irish
ancestry. He was a farmer, and first came to Cass county in 1852 in com-
pany with his parents, settling on a farm in Clinton township, but after
a short time the family moved to Logansport, thence to Washington
township, where he has since resided, thirty-five years representing the
time he has spent on the place he made his own in that locality. In 1870
he married Mary Best, whose people were Pennsylvanians, and they be-
came the parents of three sons, Charles Quincy, George Harrison and
Adelbert Lee. The mother died on July 20, 1910. Mr. Palmer has
served in varied local positions of trust in this community, and is known
as a strong Democrat in his political faith, while he is a member of the
Masonic fraternity.
Dr. A. L. Palmer was reared on the home farm located three miles
south of Logansport, on the Kokomo pike, and thus his acquaintance with
the city has dated from his earliest boyhood. He attended the district
schools in boyhood, later the schools in Logansport, and in September,
1897, he entered the State University of JMichigan for the purpose of
taking preliminary instructions in the study of medicine. He remained
there until June, 1898, then matriculated at Rush Medical College in
Chicago, and in 1903 was duly graduated from that institution with the
degree of M. D. The newly fledged doctor straightway turned to his
home community and there established himself in medical practice, and
so well has he succeeded that he has never considered a removal to other
fields, being well content to exercise his skill in the city which has known
him all his life, and which has not been slow in recognizing his talent.
In 1905-6 Dr. Palmer was secretary of the city board of health, and
in the latter part of 1909 and in 1910 was county coroner of Cass county,
being appointed to fill an unexpired term. In both these offices he dis-
charged the duties intrusted to him admirably and to the entire satis-
faction of all concerned. In 1910 he was elected to succeed himself in
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 959
the office of coroner, his re-election following in 1912. Dr. Palmer is
a Democrat in polities, and his fraternal relations are centered in the
Masonic order, in which he has membership in the Knights Templar and
the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also
a member of the Cass county and Indiana state medical societies and
the American Medical Association.
On June 28, 1906, Dr. Palmer married Miss Daisy Grace, daughter
of "William Grace, of Logansport.
John P. Hetherington, M. D., has been established in practice in
Logansport since 1890, and has found a sure place in the esteem of the
community at large in the passing years, as well as winning a high posi-
tion in the ranks of the medical profession in this section of the state.
Born in Cicero, Indiana, on February 15, 1869, Dr. Hetherington is the
son of Dr. Augustus and Catherine (Teter) Hetherington.
The Hetheringtons spring from one of the old Scottish clans known
to history in Scotland from the Middle Ages. The American ancestors of
the doctor came to America in the late half of the seventeenth century,
settling in New York. The father, Augustus S. Hetherington, was a
native of the state of Ohio, and he died in Hamilton county, this state,
when his son, John P., was scarcely more than an infant. The widowed
mother later wedded Dr. D. L. Overholder, of Logansport. Dr. Hether-
ington died in 1872, when he was but forty-two years of age.
Until he was five years old, Cicero represented the home of John P.
Hetherington, after which he went to Logansport, where he remained
until he was about fifteen. He was a student in the schools of the city
during those years. In 1887 he began reading medicine under the ad-
vice and instruction of Dr. Melntyre at Unadilla, Nebraska, and in the
following year matriculated in the Eclectic Medical Institute in Cin-
cinnati, from which he was graduated in 1890, with the highest honors
in his class. Almost immediately the young doctor established himself in
practice in Logansport, in association with Dr. J. B. Shultz, with whom
he continued for the long period of twenty-one yeara. Since then he has
conducted an independent private practice.
Dr. Hetherington is local surgeon for the railroads and the inter-
urban roads at Logansport, and he has the distinction of being one of the
first doctors in this community to introduce the X-ray into his profes-
sional work, and probably the first to own a heavy X-ray machine.
• "While engaged in general practice, he has given especial attention to
surgery and has won a considerable local prominence in that branch of
his work. He is a member of the American Medical Association, the
county and state medical societies, and also a member of the "Wabash &
Pennsylvania Railroad Surgical Association. In a fraternal way he is
affiliated with the Masonic order, being a Knight Templar of St. John's
Commandery, and a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is a
member of the Broadway Methodist Episcopal church. In the line of
public service Dr. Hetherington has done good work as county coroner
of Cass county, as well as serving on the city council at one time.
Dr. Hetherington has been twice married. His first wife was Mary
Lux, who was a past grand matron of the Eastern Star of Indiana. She
died in April, 1910. The doctor later married Mrs. Bertha Miller, of
Muncie, Indiana.
960 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Michael F. Mahoney. Undoubtedly while some men achieve success
along certain lines and in certain professions, there are those who are
born to them, their natural leanings and marked talents pointing unmis-
takably to the career in which they subsequently achieve distinction.
With some the call of the church cannot be disobeyed; to others the
science of healing appeals; the business mart or the political arena en-
gages many, while there are still others who early see in their visions of
the future their achieving in the law and the summit of their ambition.
To respond to this call, to bend every energy in this direction, to broaden
and deepen every possible highway of knowledge and to finally enter
upon this chosen career and find its rewards woi'th while — that has been
the happy experience of Michael F. Mahoney, one of the leading attorneys
of the Logansport bar. Mr. Mahoney was born at Delphi, Indiana, De-
cember 18, 1863, one of the eight children, six now living, of ]\Iichael and
Katherine (Ryan) Mahoney. His parents were natives of County Lim-
erick and County Cork, Ireland, respectively, and each came with their
parents to the United States, locating at Delphi, Indiana, where they
were married. For twenty-seven years Mr. Mahoney, Sr., was in the
employ of A. T. Bowen, the old-time banker of that place. In 1867 the
family moved to Washington township, Carroll county, and there Michael
Mahoney was reared.
Until he was eighteen yeai-s of age, ]\Ir. Mahoney divided his time be-
tween work on the home farm and attendance in the country schools. In
1884 and 1885 he attended the State University at Bloomington, and in
1886 and 1887 Georgetown College, Washington, D. C. He then came to
Logansport, and in April, 1887, entered the law office of Michael D.
Fansler, then prosecuting attorney. He practiced in the justice and city
courts until he was admitted to the bar by examination, and immediately
thereafter became Mr. Fansler 's assistant. In 1888 he became assistant
to John W. McGreevy, prosecuting attorney, and served as such four
years. In 1892 he became his preceptor's partner, the firm being known
as Fansler & Mahoney, which continued uninterruptedly until Mr.
Fansler 's death in May, 1895. In November of that year Moses B.
Lairy, present appellate judge, retired from the circuit bench, and with
him, under the firm style of Lairy & IMahoney, Mr. Mahoney continued
in practice until January 1, 1911. By a singular coincidence Judge M.
B. Lairy was elected appellate judge, defeating Judge J. M. Rabb, who
had served on the appellate bench for four yeai's, and Judge Rabb, on
June 1, 1911, became Mr. IMahoney 's partner, under the firm name of
Rabb & Mahoney, which has since continued. During the session of the
legislature of 1889, Mr. IMahoney was committee clerk in the house of
representatives ; in 1894 he was countv attorney, and also held that office
in 1896, 1897, 1898 and 1899 ; in 1908 and 1909 he was a member of the
Logansport school board. In political matters he is a Democrat, and in
1888 was secretary of the Democratic county central committee. Ever
since being admitted to the bar, by reason of his legal associations, Mr.
Mahoney has been connected with nearly all of the noted criminal cases
in the judicial circuit. He is a Roman Catholic in religion, and belongs
to the Sigma Chi college fraternity.
On June 20, 1894, ]\Ir. Mahoney was married to Katherine Farrell,
and they have two children, Madeline and Raymond.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 961
David Payson Hurd. Although he has been the owner of his pres-
ent farm on the Walton and Bunker Hill road for only seven years, D.
P. Hurd is one of the old residents of this part of Cass county, whence
he came as a lad of seven years. His subsequent career covers a period
spent in the grain business and in extensive agricultural operations, and
at this time he is the owner of an eighty-acre tract two miles west of
"Walton. In all of his operations, ]\Ir. Hurd has been uniformly success-
ful, and he has not only been fortunate in a material way, but has suc-
ceeded also in firmly establishing himself in the good graces of all with
whom he has had transactions. Mr. Hurd is a native of the Prairie
state, born April 12, 1861, at Lawn Ridge, Marshall county, Illinois.
His father, a native of Nashua, New Hampshire, migrated to Illinois in
young manhood, and was there married and settled down to agricultural
pursuits. In 1868 he came to Walton, Indiana, and embarked in the
sawmill business, in whieli he continued throughout the remainder of
his life. He also did an excellent business in handling grain, and was
known as one of Walton's substantial business citizens. He and his
wife were the parents of six children: Walter, deceased, D. P., Ma-
tilda, Willard, Lyra and Frank.
D. P. Hurd was a boy of seven years when he accompanied his par-
ents to Walton, and there he received his education in the public schools.
In the meantime, he had assisted in the work of his father's mill, gaining
experience that had proved very valuable to him in subsequent years.
He was ambitious and industrious, and when he had thoroughly mastered
all the details of the grain business, he embarked therein on his own
account and soon built up a thriving trade. Eventually, however, Mr.
Hurd decided to enter agricultural pursuits, and accordingly, in 1906,
he purchased his present handsome property, a tract of eighty acres
which he has brought into a high state of cultivation. He is progress-
ive himself, and believes in progressive measures, which he has applied
to his work with a large measure of success. Experience has shown him
that modern ideas and methods obtain far better results than the old hit
and miss style, and he uses the latest improved machinery in his work.
His buildings are large and substantial and the entire place speaks of
the presence of able and thrifty management. ,
On April 13, 1882, Mr. Hurd was married to ]\Iiss Mary C. Bowyer,
who died not long thereafter. On November 26, 1885, Mr. Hurd was
married (second) to Miss Sarah E. Schwalm, and they became the par-
ents of the following children : Lyra IM., Jessie H., Henry N., George
^I., David O. and ]\Iabel. Lyra M. received her diploma in public
schools and spent two years in the high school at Logansport. She died
at the age of twenty-three. She was a member of the Lutheran church
and was a teacher in the Sunday school, a member of the Ladies' Aid
and Literary club. She is interred in the Walton cemetery, where a
beautiful stone marks her grave. Jessie H. received her diploma in the
public schools and she graduated from the Walton high school in 1908.
She spent one term in Valparaiso LTniversity and one term in Earlham
College. She is a member of the Lutheran church. Henry N. received
his diploma from the public schools and graduated from the Walton
high school in the class of 1912. He is at home and an agriculturist.
George M. received his- diploma from the public schools and also gi'adu-
962 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ated from the Walton high school, class of 1913. He is at present at
Winona College. David 0. finished the public schools and received his
diploma. Mabel died August 14, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Hurd's children
have all received the benefits of good education, fitting them for the
higher walks of life. INIrs. Hurd is a native of Cass county, born April 9,
1859, and was educated in the common schools. She is a model house-
keeper and her home is her paradise. She is secretary of the Ladies'
Aid Society. With his family, Mr. Hurd attends the Evangelical Lu-
theran church. He has found no time to enter polities as a seeker after
personal preferment, but in him good government and good citizenship
have always found a stanch friend and supporter, as do movements
tending to advance the cause of education, morality and general progress.
I. N. Crawford. A Resident of Logansport since 1869, I. N. Crawford
has had a career crowded with varied experiences, marked by ventures
of extent and importance, characterized at all times by the strictest in-
tegrity and adherence to honorable business methods, and stamped with
the approval of all with whom he has come into contact. A pioneer of
Indiana in various lines of business activity, he has identified himself
with diversified enterprise, in all of which he has met with uniform
success, and today he is justly regarded as one of the foremost of his
city's commercial geniuses. Mr. Crawford was born February 17, 1843,
at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a member of the family of five sons and one
daughter, all living, born to James and Ann Jane (Creighton) Crawford,
farming people of the vicinity of Pittsburgh.
I. N. Crawford was reared to agricultural pursuits and educated in
the public schools of his native locality in a log schoolhouse with punch-
eons floor and with the cracks filled with mud. These same cracks
afi'orded the scholars much pleasure in kicking out the mud to get
fresh air. Mr. Crawford believed that further west better opportunities
were furnished for ambitious and energetic young men, and accordingly
when twenty-five years of age he left home. For some time he traveled
through the middle West, visiting St. Paul, Chicago and other points,
but eventually decided to cast his fortunes with the growing town of
Logansport, and in 1869 embarked in a lumber business at Fifth and
North streets. Three years later he disposed of his interests to his
brother, and started buying and shipping lumber, being the first here
to ship poplar to Boston. In 1873 he bought an interest in a hardware
store, and was associated with T. J. Immel for two years, but in 1875
bought I\Ir. Inimel's interest and ever since that date has been the sole
owner of this establishment, one of the oldest in the state. Not long
thereafter ]\Ir. Crawford secured a half interest in a stone quarry at
Alton, Illinois, and for three years divided- his time between Alton and
Logansport, but eventually traded his interest in the quarry for a steam-
boat, with which he carried salt, cotton and provisions to the Cherokee,
Choctaw and Creek Indians, having previously effected a contract with
these tribes for that purpose. About the year 1886 he embarked in saw-
milling on the St. John's river, in Florida, becoming the pioneer in ship-
ping cypress shingles to the East, fiirnished lumber for the Ponce de
Leon, Csnomica and Alcazar hotels, and for five years shipped on the
high seas, his product going to the Bermudas and eastern port cities of
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 963
the United States. The mill burned about 1891, and after a few years
spent in retirement, recuperating from his strenuous labors, Mr. Craw-
ford started a sawmilling business at Dixon, Kentucky. There he con-
tinued for some five or six years, and while located at that point secured
the contract for the building of the Bourbon county (Ky.) court-
house, a deal that concerned some $250,000, and which he successfully
completed. After a few years Mr. Crawford turned his attention to
farming at West Baden, in Orange county, Indiana, but in September,
1912, disposed of this land. During all of this time Mr. Crawford had
continued to conduct the hardware store in Logansport. For about
fifteen years he has been a stockholder and director in the City National
Bank, of which he is vice president, and at this time acting president.
Mr. Crawford is a man of sound judgment, and not only can plan
brilliant business enterprises, but has the business ability to carry them
into successful operation. His career has been governed by the strictest
regard to the ethics of commercial life and his reputation is unassailable.
In addition to the activities' before mentioned Mr. Crawford is the pos-
sessor of an excellent military record, being a veteran of the war between
the states. He enlisted in 1862 for nine months' service in Company H,
One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer In-
fantry, with which organization he participated in numerous engage-
ments, including Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Freder-
icksburg and Chaneellorsville. He was never absent or sick a day, and
received his honorable discharge at Harrisburg in 1863 by reason of the
expiration of his term of service. He is a valued comrade of the Grand
Array of the Republic. In political matters he is a Republican, but has
not cared for public life.
In 1869 Mr. Crawford was married to Miss Isabel J. Ross, of Alle-
gheny, Pennsylvania. They are members of Broadway Presbyterian
church.
Although past seventy years of age Mr. Crawford claims that he can
throw more dirt off of his feet on the store floor than many of the young
American boys of the present generation.
Joseph S. Craig, who died in Logansport on March 28, 1910, was
a man of more than usual force of character. He was bom in Green-
ville, Darke county, Ohio, on January 19, 1830, and was a son of
James and Matilda (Quinn) Craig. By the time he was eight years of
age both his parents had been claimed by death and he was reared to early
manhood by an uncle, J. C. Quinn. When he was sixteen years old he
began life 's battle upon his own responsibility, and in June, 1849, went
to Huntington, Indiana, where he married Emily Johnson. He moved
to LaGro, Wabash county, where his three children were born, and where
Mrs. Craig died in 1862. In the following year, 1863, he moved to
Wabash, where he served as deputy sheriff for the county until his en-
listment in Company G, Seventeenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He
subsequently helped to recruit the One Hundred and Thirtieth Indiana
Volunteer Infantry and mounted to the rank of captain. After being
honorably discharged at the close of the war he was engaged in merchant
tailoring at Wabash until 1872, when he came to Logansport, and this
city ever afterwards was his home. Here he conducted a merchant tailor-
964 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ing establishment successfully and profitably. He was a man whose
sterling character commended him to his fellow men at all times, and held
the esteem and confidence of all who knew him. He joined the Odd Fel-
lows in 1856 and was a charter member of the Knights of Pythias lodge
of Logansport, and a Methodist in religion. In 1866 he remarried, his
second wife being Minerva Pickering.
William D. Craig is the only living child of his parents, Joseph S.
and Emily (Johnson) Craig. He was born at LaGro, Indiana, Septem-
ber 4, 1856, and was reared at Wabash, where he acquired his early
education in the public schools. He came to Logansport in 1872, and
having worked for his father in the merchant tailoring business, he
became a partner in the business, under the firm name of J. S.
Craig & Son.
In 1889 Mr. Craig disposed of his interest in the business and em-
barked in the manufacture of overalls under the name of the Thomas
Manufacturing Company, and in a short time he became the sole owner
of the business. He continued in the manufacturing of overalls until
1907, since which time he has devoted his entire time to the manufacture
and jobbing of juvenile suits. It is probable that not more than a few
people in Logansport realize that the business conducted by Mr. Craig
in this line is one of the largest manufacturing establishments of the
city. He is also running d branch factory in Tipton, Indiana, started in
May, 1913. He employs as many as one hundred people, mostly girls,
and does an annual business of one hundred thousand dollars, his
product being marketed in almost every state in the Union.
Mr. Craig is a Republican, and is a member of the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, the T. P. A., and the Country Club. He is also
a member of the Deutsch Verein.
In April, 1888, Mr. Craig married Miss Frances M. Place, and they
have one child, Virginia D. Craig.
John E. B^vbnes. During a period covering more than a half cen-
tury, John E. Barnes, of Logansport, has been engaged in contracting
and building in Cass county, where his activities have left a distinct
impress upon the community and contributed materially to its progress
and development. A self-made man in the broadest meaning of the title,
his advancement has been steady and continuous, and today he holds an
enviable position among the business men of this flourishing Indiana city.
Mr. Barnes came to Cass county in November, 1854, with his parents,
the family locating in' Logansport. His father, Thomas Barnes, was a
native of England, where he married Ann Beame, and they became the
parents of twelve children, all with the exception of one being born in
Great Britain, and six of whom still survive. Thomas Barnes was a stone-
mason by trade, and followed that vocation and contracting throughout
his career. For one year after coming to this country he resided in
Brooklyn, New York, and his death occurred in Logansport about the
year 1864.
John E. Barnes was born in England, September 8, 1841, and was
thirteen years of age when his people came to Logansport. He received
only a limited schooling in his youth, and the ample education which he
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 965
now possesses was obtained in the school of experience. Even before
he had attained his majority, he began his career as a contractor, and
this occupation, in a large extent, he has followed throughout life. He
was for eleven years in partnership with John Medland, under the firm
style of Medland & Barnes, which firm, among other structures, erected
the Cass county courthouse, the First Presbyterian church, and a number
of business blocks and school buildings. Since closing his partnership
with Mr. Medland, Mr. Barnes has had his sons associated with him, and
they have erected the Logansport public library, the Logansport high
scliool and a number of the buildings of the Culver Military Academy,
and also rebuilt the Presbyterian church. Mr. Barnes' buildings are
monuments to his skill and reliable workmanship, and he has always
been known as a man of the highest integrity, who has at all times lived
strictly up to the letter of his contracts. A Republican in his political
proclivities, he has served efficiently as a member of the city council, and
as a member of the board of trustees of the waterworks.
In 1864 Mr. Barnes was married to Miss Elizabeth J. Bates, and they
have been the parents of eight children, of whom the following six still
survive: Clara A., who married George W. Funk; Charles H., W. W.
Curry, James I., and Benjamin F. and George W., twins. The family
is connected with the Universalist church. Fraternally, Mr. Barnes is
connected with the Masons and Odd Fellows, is president of the Odd
Fellows' Hall Association, and holds the position of secretary of the
Odd Fellows' Hall trustees. He is also president of the Home for the
Friendless, a position to which he was elected to fill the vacancy occa-
sioned by the death of former President Rice. Since the winter of 1854
Mr. Barnes has not only been an eye-witness to the development of Cass
county, but has done his part in bringing about the changes which have
contributed to its present prosperous condition. As one of its leading
and public-spirited citizens he is held in the highest esteem, and his many
friends testify readily to his personal character and great popularity.
James I. Barnes. No record of the successful business men of Cass
county would be complete did it not contain a sketch of the career of
James I. Barnes, whose work in the construction of many of Logans-
port's most substantial buildings has been of a character to leave its
impress on the city for many years to come. A native of this city,
educated in its public schools and reared in the business in which he
has gained such high reputation, he early displayed a certain progress-
iveness, a marked intuitiveness and a prophetic shrewdness that prom-
ised a subsequent distinction in his chosen field of endeavor, a promise
that has been amply fulfilled. James I. Barnes was born January 5.
1872 in Logansport, Indiana, and is a son of John E. Barnes. On com-
pleting his public school education, he at once associated himself in
business with his father, whose partner he was until the elder man's
retirement. That his work has been of an extensive and substantia]
character is evidenced by the list of large enterprises with which he has
been connected, among his contracts being the following: The Haney
residence, the AVestern Motor AVorks building, Rauth packing house,
English Lutheran church, Strecker bakery building, IMaiben laundry
building. Elks temple. Odd Fellows building, Aldine fiats, all in Logans-
966 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
port ; Royal Center high school building, James Taylor building and
electric light plant, at Royal Center, Ind. ; the Goodman and Harleeker
buildings at Monticello, Ind. ; high school and bank building at Attica ;
mess hall for the military academy at Culver ; a church building at Cen-
tralia, Illinois ; township high school building at Kinmundy, Illinois ;
high school buildings at Pennville. Shelbyville and New Salem, Indiana;
ward school building at Alliance, Ohio ; high school buildings at ^lilt'ord
and Sidney, Ohio ; Carnegie Library at Gary, Indiana, and high school
at Pawnee, Illinois. All of this work has been accomplished during the
past five years, in addition to which ]\Ir. Barnes has laid stone and
gravel roads in Cass county, Indiana, to the extent of twenty-five miles.
In August, 1899, ]\Ir. Barnes was married to Miss Emily C. Engle-
brecht, of Logansport, Indiana, and they have had six daughters: Dor-
othy Lucile, Emily Aldine, Doris Eleanor, Marjorie May, Clara Louise
and Elizabeth Jane. The last-named, who was the second in order of
birth, is deceased. ]\Irs. Barnes is a member of the German Lutheran
church, and is well known in religious work and social circles. Mr.
Barnes belongs to the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Elks. He
is a Republican in his political views, but has taken only a good citizen's
interest in public mattei-s, and, to use his own language, has never
aspired, and never will, to public preferment. Essentially a business
man, he has devoted his entire attention to his large interests, his ambi-
tions being satisfied by the prestige he has gained among the men to
whom Logansport is indebted for its commercial importance.
John Hermann, M. D., who died August 8, 1889, was one of the
strongest characters in the medical history of Cass county; a man
of unusual force of character, one whose career and achievement in
his field of endeavor if fully chronicled would alone fill the pages of a
reasonably large volume of intensely interesting material. He was
born in the Kingdom of Wurtemburg, Germany, August 27, 1834.
His father occupied a prominent place in the political history of
the Fatherland, having served as commissioner of public domain, an office
that entailed the keeping of the king's forest. As a boy, Dr. Hermann
attended the primary educational institutions, subsequently being gradu-
ated from the Polytechnic school at Stuttgart. He then entered the Uni-
versity of Tubingen, from which he received his medical diploma, suc-
ceeding which he received the appointment of physician in the Orthopedic
hospital at Coustatt, where he remained two years. With many of his
countrymen he became embroiled in the revolutionary movement for
free suffrage and home rule, which, proving a failure, he was obliged to
flee his native land, and in 1864 came to America and for a time prac-
ticed his profession at Buffalo, New York. While there, he met and
married Miss Angeline deVillers, the daughter of a French army sur-
geon. Unfortunately, he here lost the greater part of his means through
unsuccessful investments, and largely because of this he determined to
start anew in another locality.
Locating in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Hermann succeeded in getting fairly
started and had a home prepared, but while he was going to meet his
family, who had remaiuecl behind in Buffalo while he was establishing a
residence for them, his property was destroyed by fire, and he was once
more practically without means. Nothing daunted, with his family he
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 967
started for the East in 1867, but owing to the illness of his daughter he
stopped off at Logansport, Indiana. While at the hotel, where he was
compelled to remain a few days, it was learned that he was a physician,
and he was importuned by the German residents to remain. His success
in several complicated cases won him early recognition, and he soon had
more calls than he could attend to alone. Thus encouraged to remain, for
nineteen years he was associated in successful practice here with Dr.
William H. Bell. Dr. Hermann was a superior diagnostician and a phy-
sician of unusual ability. Large in stature, jovial in nature, he radiated
cheer in the sick room or wherever he went. His wide experience in this
country and abroad, his extensive acquaintance with notable men, his
education and profound knowledge along special lines, all made him an
ideal companion and one whom it was a pleasure to know. Dr. Hermann
was a notable example of the professional success and social prestige to
be gained by foreign-born citizens, and his career may prove encouraging
to those who are struggling to overcome obstacles in their endeavor to
reach a position of independence. Dr. Hermann and his wife had four
children, Arthur J. ; Jennie, the wife of Dr. Francis M. Bozer ; Francis
J., and William.
Dr. Francis Joseph Hermann, the second son of Dr. John Hermann,
was born in Logansport, Indiana, July 4, 1875, completed his literary
education at Canisius College, from which he was graduated in 1893, and
received his early medical training under the preceptorship of his father.
In 1894 and 1895 he attended Rush Medical College, Chicago, and the
succeeding two years was a student at Bellevue Hospital Medical College,
New York, which granted him a diploma in 1897. In this same year he
began practicing in the office he now occupies, and here he has since con-
tinued. As a physician and a citizen. Dr. Hermann is an able successor
to his distinguished father, and well merits the universal esteem in which
he is held. On June 26, 1907, he was united in marriage with Miss
Honora I. McHale, of Logansport.
William H. Ramer. Among the citizens of Cass county who are
rendering their community signal services in public office may be men-
tioned William H. Ramer, of Washington township, who in the capacity
of assessor has given the voters of his community no reason to regret
their choice. Essentially an agriculturist, reared in the atmosphere and
to the work of the farm, he has proven himself an efficient, painstaking
and courteous public official, and has added to the friendships that long
years of honorable dealing had previously gained for him. I\Ir. Ramer
has spent his entire life on the farm on which he now lives, a well-culti-
vated tract of 120 acres, located on the Ramer road, about nine miles
southeast from Logansport. Here he was born February 4, 1870, in the
old home, a son of Justus and Georgina (Ritter) Ramer.
Henry Ramer, the paternal grandfather of William H., was a native
of Germany, and in his youth came to the United States, locating first
in Pennsylvania, where he carried on farming until 1841. In that year
he made removal with his family to Cass county, Indiana, where his
subsequent years were spent, and where he died honored and respected
b}" all. Justus Ramer, his son, was born in Pennsylvania, and was a lad
when he accompanied his father to Cass county. Like him, he devoted
his attention to the tilling of the soil, meeting with success in his ven-
968 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
tures aud gaining the respect of his fellow-citizens. He married Geor-
gina Ritter, and they became the parents of six children, namely: Wil-
liam H., Mrs. Louisa Schwalm; George, a resident of Chicago, Illinois;
i\Irs. Emma Jenness ; and John and Myrle, of Washington township.
The education of William H. Ramer was secured in the district
schools of Washington township, which he attended during the winter
months, and, being the eldest of his parents' children, when his father
died the management of the home place and the care of the family de-
volved upon him, although at that time he was but eighteen years of
age. Thoi'oughly trained in farm work, industrious, persevering and
ambitious, he was able to take up the work of the home place where his
father had left it and his subsequent success has resulted from constant
and industrious labor, well directed. He has a tract of 120 acres, on
which he raises excellent crops, and here he has made numerous im-
provements of a modern character. His buildings are substantial, his
stock sleek and well-fed, and his farming implements of the most mod-
ern manufacture, and the entire appearance of the property gives elo-
quent evidence that he is a practical and scientific agriculturist.
On June 3, 1896, i\Ir. Ramer was married to Miss Jennie ^Nlinnick, a
daughter of John H. and Lillis (Doud) Minnick, of Washington town-
ship; and two children have been born to this union: Blanche M., who
is a high school student ; and Edgar M., who is in the seventh grade
school. Mr. Ramer has taken a keen and intelligent interest in political
affairs, and in 1908 was elected assessor of AVashington township, a
position which he continues to fill to the entire satisfaction of all con-
cerned. He is a member of the I. O. 0. F., Walton lodge. No. 31-i, and
he is a past grand. With ]\Irs. Ramer, he attends the Presbyterian
church, in the work of which all the members of the family are very
active. The beautiful estate of Mr. and Mrs. Ramer is known as "Wal-
nut Dell Stock Farm."
Jasper Newton Nefp, M. D. Belonging to a family that has made
Cass county its home for upwards of three-quarters of a century, and
members of wiiich have, during this time, been identified with the various
occupations, professions and industries to which this section of Indiana
owes its importance. Dr. Jasper Newton Neff, of Logansport, prominent
physician and extensive land owner, holds a position of prestige in the
business and professional life of his locality. He has been a resident
of Logansport since the fall of 1895, and while his large landed in-
terests and the duties of his vocation have demanded the greater share
of his attention, he has not been unmindful of the duties of citizenship,
his public-spirit having been manifested on various occasions when the
welfare of the city or its people has been at stake. Dr. Neff was born
on his father's farm in Deer Creek township, Cass county, Indiana, Jan-
uary 2, 1852, and is a son of Jacob and Henrietta (Berry) Neff, natives
of Ohio. His father was a son of Joseph and Polly (Sink) Neff, who
came to Cass county from the Buckeye State in 1838, and during the
rest of their lives lived in Deer Creek township. They became the parents
of six children, namely: Jacob, Allen, Josiah, Frank, Alexander and
Mary, all of whom are deceased. Jacob Neff was still a lad when he
accompanied his parents to Deer Creek township, and there he grew up
and was married to Henrietta Henderson Berry, daughter of Henderson
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 969
Berry. Following their marriage they located on a farm in Deer Creek
township, there spending the rest of their useful lives in the tilling of the
soil. They became the parents of four sons, all of whom were well edu-
cated and fitted for whatever positions they were called upon to fill, and
all have reached honorable places in life, Joseph H. being a leading mem-
ber of the bar of Logansport, Indiana; Dr. Jasper N., the well-known
Logansport physician; Francis M., being a musician of distinguished
ability, residing here in Logansport, and Dr. Jacob L., having reached
a recognized position aixfong the medical practitioners of Logansport,
Indiana.
Until he was seventeen years of age Jasper N. Neff worked as a farm
hand in Cass county, during which time he attended the neighborhood
school. Subsequently he spent one year in the Lebanon (Ohio) Normal
school, and was eighteen years of age when he passed the required exami-
nation necessary to secure a teacher's certificate. At that time he was
placed in charge of a school in Deer Creek township, and during the next
three years he divided his time between teaching this school and attend-
ing the normal. While here he decided to enter the profession of medi-
cine, and accordingly gave special attention to the study of anatomy,
physiology and chemistry, and in 1876 graduated with honors at the
College of Physicians and Surgeons, Indianapolis, where he received his
degree of Doctor of Medicine. At this institution the late Dr. Robert N.
Todd, president of the college, acted as his preceptor, and in addition
to his kind encouragement and assistance, gave him his personal attention
during a severe spell of sickness, for which Dr. Neff will ever hold his
memory in grateful remembrance. After his graduation Dr. Neff estab-
lished himself in practice in Walton, Indiana, where he continued in the
enjoyment of a large and representative clientele during the next twenty
years. During this time he had been a heavy investor in farming prop-
erty, and through intelligent transactions and shrewd foresight his
holdings had become so large and required so much attention, that it was
his intention to retire from active practice, and with this end in view
came to Logansport. He has not been permitted, however, to leave the
ranks of active practitioners, although he now confines himself to office
practice and consultation. He is widely known in professional and busi-
ness activities of Logansport, and with his family enjoys the friendship of
a wide circle of congenial friends, his home being a center of social re-
finement.
In 1891, Dr. Neff was married to Miss Lavina Flynn, who died in
1894, and in the following year he was married to Mrs. Flora Bennett,
daughter of Thomas Elwood Trueblood, for many years one of Howard
county's most prominent and highly respected citizens.
Dr. John H. Barnfield was born in Jersey Shore, Lycoming county,
Pennsylvania, July 2, 1864, and is the son of William Nelson Barnfield,
a Pennsylvania lumberman. Dr. Barnfield was reared in his native
town, and after completing the course prescribed by the village schools
became a student at Millersville state normal school. He then took up
the study of medicine under Dr. J. F. LIcClure, of Watertown, Penn-
sylvania, and in 1883 entered Jefferson Medical College, from which
he was duly graduated in 1886.
970 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Dr. Barnfield began the practice of his profession in Irvona, Penn-
sylvania, and while there was surgeon for the Witmer Land and Coal
Company. He remained in that place for three years, then became medi-
cal examiner in the relief department of the Pennsylvania Railway
Company, serving in that capacity for four and a half years. In June,
1894, he came to Logansport, and established himself in the general prac-
tice of medicine, and this city has represented the scene of his professional
activities since that time. In 1905 Dr. Barnfield took a post-graduate
course in the Chicago Polyclinic, thus further fortifying himself in the
knowledge of his profession.
Dr. Barnfield is a Democrat in his politics. He is a member of the
Logansport Commercial Club, in which he is chairman of the executive
committee. He is a member of the Cass county and state medical socie-
ties, and of the American Medical Association.
Dr. Barnfield was married in 1894 to Miss Mae S. Schlater, of Rich-
mond, Indiana.
Ira Blackburn. A native citizen of Cass county, whose worth and
character are material factors in the recent progress of this community,
is Ira Blackburn, whose rural home is situated in Harrison township, an
old place which has been in the family for many years. Three genera-
tions of the Blackburn family have been identified with Cass county, and
they have always been known as thrifty citizens, and worthy members of
the community. In ancestry they are of English and French descent.
Ira Blackburn was born in Harrison township, Cass county, January
26, 1874. His grandfather was James Blackburn, and his father was
David Blackburn. The latter, who is now a retired resident of Harrison
township, married Susan Batty, a daughter of Thomas Batty. David
Blackburn, the father, was also born in Cass county, and his father, the
grandfather of Ira, put up the first building that stood on the farm now
occupied by the grandson. This was in the pioneer days, when practically
all the country was new, and the Blackburn family found their land in
its virgin state, and have made practically all the improvements that have
appeared thereon during the succeeding years.
Ira Blackburn was reared in his native locality, attending the country
schools, and on attaining manhood became a partner with his father in
the management of the home farm. He and his father now conduct the
homestead together, and make a very profitable business out of its culti-
vation. Mr. Ira Blackburn is owner of forty acres of "his own, situated
opposite the old homestead. On June 1, 1898, he married Miss Mattie A.
Herd, a daughter of John and Emma (Burton) Herd. The three chil-
dren born to their union are : Blanche, born May 22, 1901 ; June, born
June 24, 1904, and Mae, born June 2, 1911.
Jesse W. Neff. One of the representative farming men of Bethle-
hem township who is worthy of mention in this biographical and historical
work by reason of his accomplishments as a tiller of the soil and one of
the world's workers, is Jesse W. Neff, a resident of this township since
July, 1889. He was born on May 15, 1852, in Darke county, Ohio, and
is the son of Alfred J. and Nancy (Wilson) Neff. His paternal and
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 971
maternal grandparents were Wilson Neff and James Wilson, and his
father's people were of German ancestry.
Alfred J. and Nancy (Wilson) Neff became the parents of seven
children, four of whom are now deceased. John V. died in infancy;
Frank P. died in 1871 ; Laura died in 1879 ; Ira W. died in 1879 also.
James L., Emma and Jesse W. yet survive.
Jesse W. Neff came to Cass county on July 15, 1889, from Miami
coujaty, where he had previously been located. He settled on a small
farm and devoted his time to the improvement of that place and to the
acquiring of more land. Today he and his wife have a fine place of one
hundred and forty acres in an excellent state of cultivation, with com-
fortable buildings of every description, all new and modern, and the work
of their own hands.
On June 27, 1888, Mr. Neff was united in marriage with Miss Keren
Harter, the daughter of John and Mary E. (Kreider) Harter. She was
born in Miami county, Indiana, December 16, 1860, and there reared.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Neff, as follows: Ruth,
who died at the age of three years; Leon H., born June 27, 1892; Paul
v., born October 22, 1894 ; Jessie, born November 23, 1896, and Wayne B.,
born November 17, 1902.
The family are members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Neff is
prominent in the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
which he joined at the age of twenty-one years, and has been faithful
and true, and in which he has held many offices. He is a Democrat
and a leading citizen of his community. In 1910 Mr. Neff 's father died,
but his widowed mother still lives on the old home place in Miami county,
where they located a number of years ago.
Lemuel Povpell, a pioneer farmer of Bethlehem township, was born
in Jefferson county, Ohio, on October 24, 1834. He came to Cass county
with his parents, Jo»siah and Margaret (Mugg) Powell, when he was two
years old, and has resided continuously in the county since that early
date. At that time Bethlehem township was a wilderness, with a cabin
in a small clearing here and there, and with no schools or churches in the
community. Mr. Powell has borne a worthy part in the development of
the township and making of it what it is today, and is by reason of that
fact deserving of an honorable mention in the pages of this history.
Mr. Powell was educated in the old log school house of his boyhood
days, and acquired a fair education for his time. He is a quiet, unas-
suming man of the strictest honesty and probity, and no man in the
county bears a better reputation for uprightness of character and genuine
moral worth than does Mr. Powell. Although he is small in stature, he
makes up for this in the excess of mental and physical energy he has
ever displayed, and which have redounded to the good of the community
which has represented his home so many years. With his wife he owns
two hundred and fifty acres of fine land, all lying in Bethlehem town-
Mr. Powell was married on February 7, 1864, to Sarah A. Roberts,
who died on November 15, 1866, leaving one son, Choral G., born May
13, 1865. This son is now married, his marriage to Laura W. Douglass
occurring on December 7, 1892, and they have a family of seven children.
972 , HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
On December 5, 1872, Lemuel Powell married a second time, when Mary-
Martha Gray became his wife. Three children were born to this latter
union, as follows: John V., lx)rn on September 5, 1874; Warren, born
April 17, 1876, died July 10, 1892, being drowned accidentally; and
Edna, born October 12, 1880. John V. and Edna are still under the
parental roof, and there care for their aged parents and the entire family
are highly esteemed in Bethlehem township — the elder ones as worthy
citizens who have helped to reclaim the district fi'om a state of wilderness
which existed when the white man made his first appearance in these
parts in the early thirties, and the younger ones as worthy successors of
their parents, who may be expected to do well their part in the further
development of their native country. Mrs. Powell is a native of Jefferson
township, Cass county, where she was bom July 9, 1839. She is the
youngest of six children and the only daughter born to James and
Catharine (Duncan) Gray, and is the only sui'vivor of the family. She
was educated in the common schools of the neighborhood, and several
terms walked two miles to attend the log cabin school, so well known
at that time in that section of the county. Mrs. Powell was a member
of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Powell is a Republican politically and cast his first presidential
vote for John Fremont, the first Republican candidate, and has voted
for each Republican candidate since. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Powell have two of
the old parchment deeds executed March 30, 1837, that bear the signa-
ture of President Van Buren.
Levi B. Horn. The business of farming has occupied the best years
of the life of Levi B. Horn thus far, and he is known for one of the suc-
cessful and well-to-do agricultural men of the township of Bethlehem,
where many of the leading citizens of Cass county may be found devoting
their energies to the tilling of the soil and enjoying to the fullest their
free communion with Dame Nature in the pursuit of their calling. Levi
B. Horn, unlike many of his neighbors, is not a native resident of the
county, nor of the state. He was born in Washington county, Pennsyl-
vania, on September 12, 1851, and is the son of Thaddeus and Lina
(Burson) Horn, his paternal grandfather being George Horn. The
Horns are of German ancestry, while the Bursons are of Scotch descent.
Mr. Thaddeus Horn did not receive any but the most meager common
or district school education, but the business of life has kept his wits
shai*i3 and his mind has been one ever open to impressions and to expan-
sion, so that his lack of schooling has been in a large measure overcome.
In 1852 Mr. Thaddeus Horn came to Bethlehem township and purchased
the old John White farm from Joseph Sellers, and for a few years he
lived on the place and gave diligent attention to its cultivation. He later
sold the farm to a Methodist minister of the name of Terrill, and he him-
self became identified, in a way, with sawmill work, where he continued
for a year. He then turned back to farming, and bought the Noah Martin
farm, another well-known place in Bethlehem township, and the Henry
Barnett place. He later added to this by repeated purchases until today
Levi Horn, his son, has a fine place of one hundred and sixty acres.
When Thaddeus Horn came into possession of the farm it was covered
with a heavy growth of timber, the most of which has given place to clean
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 973
and smooth fields that are under the careful cultivation of their owner.
Levi Horn saw to most of the building work that has been carried on at
the place, and has a number of commodious buildings of all descriptions.
On the whole, -his enterprise has yielded a satisfactory income, and he
has a home of which any man in the community might well be proud. In
addition to his farming interests he is also a stockholder in the First Na-
tional Bank.
On April 2, 1874, Mr. Horn married Fannie, the daughter of Aaron
and Jane (Cuthberson) Tilton. Nine children have been born to them,
of which number three are now deceased. Those who live are named as
follows: Mary A., the wife of William Lemmon; Bertha E., the wife
of R. J. Johnson; Franklin Y., married to Amy Dreutzer; Ada wedded
Kirk AVells; Flora and Burson. The deceased children were named
Amy, Carrie and Fannie.
The family are members of the Presbyterian church, in which Mr.
Horn has been an elder for forty years. His position in the community
is wholly consistent with his place in the church, and he is known as one
of the most estimable and honorable men in the township. Fraternally
he is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to Orient Lodge No.
272. The daughters. Bertha, Ada and Flora, are members of the Eastern
Star. The present beautiful homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Horn is known
as "The Aberdeen Stock Farm," as Mr. Horn is a breeder of the reg-
istered Aberdeen cattle, which are known by cattle breeders throughout
the United States.
Abiah J. Sharts. In naming the representative farmers of Cass
county, any work would be incomplete that did not give a sketch of
the career of Abiah J. Sharts, of Tipton towTiship, located on a farm
of one hundred and sixty acres on the Anoka road, about one-half mile
east of Anoka. Mr. Sharts was born October 24, 1845, in Montgomery
county, Ohio, and is a son of George P. and Frances (Bear) Sharts.
His parents were natives of Maryland, born in the vicinity of Hagers-
town, from whence they moved to Frederick county, ^laiyland, and
later to Montgomery county, Ohio. In 1849 they came to Tipton town-
ship, Cass county, Indiana, settling first on the farm now occupied by
N. B. Richinson, and lived in a little log house until this primitive dwell-
ing was replaced by one more modern in character. A great deal of
the land was covered with a heavy growth of timber, which was cleared
by Mr. Sharts and his sons, and here he continued to reside during the
remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1853, when he was fifty-
two years of age, while his wife passed away in 1875, being seventy-two
years old. From a small beginning they became wealthy citizens of
their community, while their standing among their neighbors was that
of honest, God-fearing people who always endeavored to live up to the
dictates of their conscience. They were the parents of the following
children : Mary M. and Rose Arm, who are deceased ; Elizabeth, also
deceased ; Mrs. Cathei'ine Hahn ; Mrs. Jane P. Phillips, who died Jan-
uary 7, 1913 ; Abraham and John, who are both deceased ; George P.,
an agriculturist of Tipton township ; William 0., who is deceased ; A.
J. and Carolina Lucas, deceased.
Abiah J. Sharts received his education in the old Wilson district
974 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
school, a log building which was standing until within recent years,
although it had not been used for a long period. He was only eight
years of age when his father died, and this necessarily cut his schooling
off before it was completed, as his services were needed to help in the
work of the homestead. He was so engaged when the Civil war broke
over the country, and when not yet eighteen years old, in June, 1863,
enlisted for service in the Union army, as a private of Company F,
One Hundred and Sixteenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
Capt. Sangford C. Thomas, Army of the Cumberland. He was mus-
tered in at Indianapolis, and from there went with his command to
Lafayette, Indiana, and later to Detroit, Michigan, where he was in
camp until sent to Cleveland, Ohio. Later he was transferred to Camp
Nelson, Kentucky, subsequently participating in the battle of Knox-
ville. During the greater part of his services he was under General
Bumside, doing guard duty at Cumberland Gap, Greenville, and Taze-
well, Tennessee. He served until March, 1864:, when he was mustered
out of the service at Lafayette, Indiana, and returned to the pursuits
of peace. On returning home, he once more took charge of the farm,
which he operated until 1879, and then removed to his present prop-
erty, a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, which he has brought to
a high state of cultivation and improved with substantial buildings
and other modem improvements. He is known as an excellent agricul-
turist, with a thorough knowledge of all the details of his vocation,
and as a business man whose word is as good as his bond. He belongs
to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Anoka, Indiana, was a mem-
ber of the Grand Army of the Republic, and has many friends in l)oth.
With his family, he attends the United Brethren church, where for
years he has been a lilieral suppoi-ter of its movements.
On October 10, 1867, Mr. Sharts was married to JMiss Ellen Alice
Wilson, and to this union there have been born six children: Harry
who is deceased; Benjamin F., graduated from the common schools
and is at present cashier of the City State Bank of Logansport, In-
diana. He taught two terms of school in Tipton and one in Washington
township. He belongs to the Masons, and both he and his wife are
members of the Presbyterian church. He married Pearl jMcManus and
has two children, Victor and Robert. Elmer E., graduated from the
common schools and spent one term in Logansport Business College.
He married for his first wife IMamie Richinson, and had one child,
Truman; he married a second time and by this marriage has two chil-
dren : Thomas and Alice. Blanche M., graduated from the public
schools and from the business college and is a finished stenographer.
She is the wife of George D. DeYoe, and they are residents of Chicago.
Walter, deceased. Charles, a resident of Tipton township and one
of the young progressive farmers, was born on the farm on which his
father originally came on many years ago, and has here resided all
of his life. He is now the manager of his father's property, and is
known as one of Tipton township's good, practical young agriculturists.
He resides in a modern residence erected by his father. He gi-aduated
from the public schools and spent one year in high school. He wedded
Miss Edith Mason, and they have two little children, Paul and Margaret.
Mr. and Mrs. Sharts may well be proud of their children, as they all hold
high places in the esteem of the people who know them.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 975
Mrs. Sharts is a native of Cass county, Indiana, born December 26,
1848, and she is the fourth in a family of twelve children, five sons
and seven daughters, born to Andrew and Eleanor (Tucker) Wilson,
and there are five of the children of the Wilson family still living,
and all are residents of Indiana, except Mrs. Carrie Stukey, of Los
Angeles, California, and Harry CI. Wilson, a resident of Chicago.
Mrs. Sharts was reared and educated in her native county. She has
worthily filled her place as wife and mother in the building up of their
beautiful home in Tipton township which is known as "Forest Glen
Home," and it is the abode of hospitality. Mr. and Mrs. Sharts have
a fine Great Western five-passenger touring car, and they enjoy life.
John W. Redd. Continued hard work and persistent effort have won
for John W. Redd a degree of prosperity he might never otherwise have
attained, and he has to thank his own sturdy energy for his present suc-
cess, rather than any outside agency. He was born on April 7, 1835, at
Battle Ground, Indiana, and is the son of William and Martha (Shigley)
Redd, the people of the latter being of German descent. The father was
a son of Joseph Redd, a native Pennsylvanian, and was born in Wash-
ington county, that state. He was yet very young when he left his native
state and moved to the Pan Handle in Virginia, where he engaged in the
operating of a distillery, going thence to Wayne county, Ohio, and from
there to Tippecanoe, Indiana. Bethlehem township, in Cass county, saw
him next, and it was in the year 1838 that he arrived here and settled
down on a farm.
Thus it was that William Redd came to be reared in Bethlehem town-
ship, and here he has passed practically all his life. He was reared amid
the quiet country scenes peculiar to the time, attended the country
schools at intervals, and was well taught in the business of farming. In
due time he chose a wife, who in her maiden days was Mary Ann
McCarthy, the daughter of Berryman McCarthy, who in his young man-
hood was shot and killed while on his way to the house of a friend, being
mistaken for a deer by a careless hunter, John Rush by name. The
mother of Mrs. Redd in her maiden days was Phqebe Marsh, and she and
her family were residents of Fulton county. Four children have been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Redd, as follows : William B., the eldest, married
Lou Burrows; Phoebe E., married Charles White; Ida F., married R. E.
Merritt, and Joseph A., married Dollie Livingston.
Mr. Redd has lived on his present farm since 1862, and with the pass-
ing years many goodly improvements have found place upon the prem-
ises, so that he farm is one of the finest in Bethlehem township today.
He has not always been a landed proprietor, as one might say, and the
first forty-five acres of land he acquired caused him much hardship and
many hours of honest toil. But to toil he has never been a stranger, and
work is no hardship to one of his energetic and wholesome nature, so that
with the years that have gone, he has been able to add bit by bit to his
place until it is now represented by two hundred and eighteen acres of
well cultivated lands. The first thirteen years of his residence here was
976 HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY
marked by his occupancy of the log cabin home that stood upon the place
when it came into his possession, and which has later given place to the
present commodious dwelling.
Mr. Redd is a Methodist and politically he is of the Progressive party.
He has taken a lively interest in the political activities of his community,
and is known for a man of excellent qualities of citizenship.
Anderson B. Stanton came to Cass county, Indiana, from
Indianapolis, in 187-1, thus having lived here for thirty-nine years. He
was bom in Shelby county, Indiana, on December 13, 18-43, and was
the son of Eli and Eunice (Barnard) Stanton. Eli Stanton followed
farming through the greater part of his life. He was a pioneer of
Shelby county, having located there when the district was practically
all dense woods. He was a Quaker, reared in that rugged and simple
faith by his parents, and his life exemplified in every way the train-
ing he had received in the faith. His faithful wife died in ^larch,
1850, and he later married Elizabeth Gardner, a cousin of his first wife.
She, like his earlier helpmate, was a Quaker. Three children were born
of this second marriage. In 1864 he sold his place and returned to
Union county, Indiana, where he had lived previous to his Shelby county
experience, and there he passed the remainder of his life, death claim-
ing him in 1895.
Anderson B. Stanton, the immediate sul)ject of this somewhat brief
review, was reared in a Quaker home and under the strict influences
which characterize a home in which that sturdy old religion predomi-
nates. Plenty of hard work was jTi-ovided for him in the work of the
farm, and three months schooling in each year constituted his educational
privileges. When he had attained his majority, he still continued on
the home place with his father. When he was twenty-three years old he
found himself in debt to the amount of forty dollars, and he left home
and hired out as a farm hand, in order to secure the money to pay
his obligations. He soon found work more remunerative and also
more suited to him, and for a number of years was employed by the
Singer Manufacturing Company as general agent in Indiana and
Illinois. In the latter part of 187-4 he opened a music store in Logans-
port, and since that time he has continued to make his home in this city.
He continued in the music store until the year 1877, when he sold the
place, and has since been engaged in farming and in handling stock.
He owns a fine farm of four hundred and three acres in Washington
township, which he oversees, and is known as one of the most successful
men in an agricultural way in the county — a fact no doubt due in large
measure to his thorough early training in farming in his boyhood home.
Mr. Stanton is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Chris-
tian church since he was twenty-eight years old. He was married on
November 25, 1875, to Priseilla A. Justice, and they are the parents
of three children, as follows : Nellie, the wife of George Kistler : James
J., a practicing physician of Logansport, of whom more extended men-
tion is made elsewhere in this work; and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 977
Dr. James J. Stanton was born in Logansport, Indiana, on July
9, 1880, a sou of Anderson B. and Priscilla A. (Justice) Stanton, and
the grandson of Eli and Eunice (Barnard) Stanton, concerning these
ancestors appropriate mention being made in the sketch devoted to
Anderson B. Stanton, in other pages of this work, so that further details
with regard to the parentage of Dr. Stanton are superfluous at this
juncture.
Dr. Stanton was reared on his father's farm, to a large extent, and
he was an attendant of the schools of Logansport during the winter
seasons. In 1899 and 1900 he was a student at Hiram College, in Hiram,
Ohio, and in September, 1901, entered Jefferson ]\Iedical College, at
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from which he was duly graduated on
June 2, 1905. For one year following his graduation he was occupied
as house physician at McKeesport (Pa.) hospital, and on September 1,
1906 the young doctor opened an office in Logansport. He has since
continued here in active practice. He conducts a general practice, with
special attention to surgery, and in the years that he has been identified
with the professional life of Logansport, he has acquired a pleasing
reputation for efficiency and progressiveness which makes his future
success a well assured fact.
Dr. Stanton is a member of the county and state medical societies,
and fraternally is affiliated with the Masonic order and the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks. He also retains membership in the Nu
Sigma Nu, his college fraternity.
The doctor was united in marriage with Miss Jean ^Murray, of Logans-
port, on June 22, 1910.
Job Smith. It requires very few words to tell of hopeful pioneers
settling in a forest and with energy attacking the subjugation of the
land and developing cultivated and productive farms thereby, but this
outline is but a superficial covering for some of the most trying expe-
riences through which men and women have bi'avely and triumphantly
passed and which deserve to be remembered. The first log cabin of the
Smith family in Indiana, was biiilt in 1836, in Bethlehem township,
Cass county, after a space had been cleared, by William R. Smith, on
his timbered tract of 240 acres, to which he and his wife had come after
weeks of tedious travel from an eastern state. In all probability it was
but poor protection at first against the elements and possibly the Indians
and wild creatures of the forest, but its comforts were increased as
time went on, family life developed and expanded, and within its walls
were born and reared the three children of the family. The Smiths
were pioneers in every sense of the word, the ancestiy belonging to
Scotland, and as typical of that land their sturdy independence and
moral qualities made them leaders and organizers of the stable institu-
tions and promoters of good government in the section which they
had selected as their home. Among the worthy representatives of this
family is found Job Smith, of Bethlehem to\vnship, who for many years
was engaged in farming here, and who still resides in this township.
Mr. Smith was born October 28, 1841, in a log cabin on the farm which
he now owns, and is a son of "William R. and Amanda F. (Simpson)
Smith, and a grandson of Job Smith and James Simpson. His parents
978 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
were natives of New Jersey, and were married in Ohio, in which state
the.y lived for about twelve years, and then, in 1836, made their entrance
into Indiana. They continued to be residents of Cass county until their
deaths, and were numbered among their township's substantial and
highly respected people. They had four children, namely : Job ; James,
who married Amanda Campbell ; Raehael, who married Joseph Champ ;
and Hannah, who died at the age of five years.
Job Smith received only meager educational advantages in his youth,
the district school being two miles from his home and the school term
lasting only three months in the winter, but he was an intelligent and
ambitious youth, made the most of his opportunities, and managed to
gain a good education. On completing his studies, he was engaged in
teaching for two years, and then turned his attention to farming, which
occupied his attention throughout the balance of his active career. He
is now the owner of 133 acres of well-cultivated land, on which he
erected all of the present substantial buildings, and this is known as
one of the valuable properties of his township. For the past eight
years he has lived a retired life, having been afflicted with blindness. He
"has been a life-long member of Spring Creek Christian church, of which
he was deacon for many years. ]Mr. Smith is highly regarded in his
locality, being known as a kind neighlior, an honorable business man,
and one who has always been true to his friendships.
On January 16, 1868, Mr. Smith was married in ]\Iiami county,
Indiana, to i\Iiss Emmeline Code, daughter of Powell and Lydia
(Carlisle) Code, the former of whom died in 1878 and the latter in
Februarj", 190-1. j\Irs. Smith's parents came to Indiana from New
York state, and settled in iliami county at a very early date, first
erecting a log cabin, and later replacing it with a more modern struc-
ture. They were the parents of six children, -as follows : Christopher,
who married Sallie IMurden ; John, who married Caroline Charles ; Ira,
who remained single and died at the age of thirty-nine years; Angeline,
who married James Hallock ; Josephine, who married Henry Lewis ; and
Emmeline. Mr. and Mra. Smith have had the following children : Omar
T., born February 8, 1869, who married Daisy Lawrence: Nora E.. born
February 8, 1872 ; Ego, born January 14, 1875 ; I\Iilo J., born February
19, 1877; Laurie, born ]March 17, 1880, who married Edith White; and
Elmer, born August 31, 1884, who died in Julv, 1908; and Berniee B.,
November 7, 1886.
George' W. Conrad. ]\Iany of the leading agriculturists of Ca.ss
county are residing on the farms on which they were born, and which,
in their youth, they helped to clear from the Aargin growth of timber.
Life-long experience has given them a thorough knowledge of soil and
climatic conditions, and this has aided, them materially in gaining the
position of prestige that they now hold. In this c^ass stands George "W.
Conrad, of Bethlehem township, experienced farmer and well-informed
citizen, whose entire career has been spent ^^^thin the limits of Cass
county, where he has gained and maintained the esteem of his fellow-
citizens through strict integrity and honorable dealings. Mr. Conrad
was bom on his present property, a part of the old Conrad homestead,
February 8, 1867, and is a son of Stephen G. and Margaret (Cowel)
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY • 979
Conrad. His grandfather, David H. Conrad, was born in Pennsylvania,
of German descent, and came to Indiana in 1840, locating in Cass
county, where he continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits up the
time of his death. Stephen G. Conrad was born in Washington county,
Pennsj'lvania, and was a young man when he accompanied his parents
to Indiana, here assisting his father in the work of the home farm until
the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted for service in the Union
army as a member of Company F, Indiana Volunteer Cavalry. On his
return from the war, he resumed his agricultural operations, in which he
was employed during the remainder of his active career.
George W. Conrad received a district school education, and was
reared to the occupation of agriculturist, which has been his vocation
throughout life. In his boyhood and youth he worked so faithfully for
his father, that on attaining his majority he was given eighty-five acres
of land, and to this he has continued to add from time to time, as his
finances have permitted, until now he is the owner of 210 acres. The
present buildings were all erected by Mr. Conrad and his father, but
have been greatly improved during the son's residence here, and the
land, heavily wooded at one time, is now all under the plow and yields
abundant crops. Mr. Conrad has kept abreast of the times, and takes
advantage of all the improvements and inventions which have been
brought about by invention and discovery. He has not entered politics
except as a voter for Democratic principles and policies, 1nit has never
failed to support movements for good government, and those measures
which affect his to\\aiship or its people have always had his intelligent
attention. With his family, he attends the jMethodist church, where for
some years he has held an official position.
On September 6, 1890, Mr. Conrad was married to Miss Dora ]\I.
Bray, of Fulton countv, Indiana, and thev have had six children, as
follows: Russell L., Harry N., Thelma B.,' Ethel G., Edith M. and Ida
Pearl. The members of the family are highly esteemed in the community
where the name has stood for integrity and probity for nearly three-
quarters of a century. The pretty homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Conrad
is known as "Walnut Glenn Homestead."
Ira B. Maudlin is one of the well established and prosperous farming
men of Bethlehem township, where he has made his home for many
years — practically since his infancy, for the old home of his parents is
located in this township, where they located in 1864. Farming life has
always been his portion, and in it he has demonstrated a measure of
ability and capability sufficient to win him a place among the more
prominent men of his community.
Born in Kewanee, Fulton county, this state, Ira B. IMaudlin is the
son of Benjamin and Abigail (Woolf) Maudlin, who were the son and
daughter of Edwin Maudlin and Jonas Woolf. They came to Bethlehem
township in 1864 and here the father ended his days, death claiming
him in 1898. The mother yet lives, and is a member of the household
of her son, Ira B. of this review, and has reached the age of eighty-two
years. The old homestead of the Maudlin family is located one mile
south of Fletcher's lake in this- township, where the father first acquired
the o'RTiership of one hundred and twenty acres of land and built a
980 ' HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
log house for the shelter of his young family. The land was covered
with a dense growth of timber, which the passing years saw give place
to rolling fields that enriched their owner in a comfortable degree. The
old log house still stands there, as a monument to the industry of its
builder. Four children were born to these parents — two sons and two
daughters. Amos, the eldest son, was twice married, first to Irene
Beattie, and later to a ]Mrs. Rosa Landis. Marguerite married George
HoUenback ; and Hannah died about 1880.
Up to the age of twenty-seven years Ira B. Maudlin remained at
home, and performed his share of the work of the home place. As a
boy he received certain advantages of schooling, somewhat limited it is
true, but as good as the average country youth of his day received, and
he has made good use of such learning as he did accjuire in those early
days. He was born on January 29, 1863, just prior to the time when
his parents moved to their Bethlehem township farm, so that his earliest
recollections begin with that old place. INIay 29, 1889, 'Sir. Maudlin was
married, and he settled then on his first independently operated farm.
This was a place of seventy-five acres, and adjoined his father's place.
It boasted a small frame house, which he improved from time to time
and built on as occasion made necessary, and is today a fine old farm
house. He added to his land holdings until he had a total acreage of
one hundred and fifteen acres, and there he remained until 1911, when
he removed to his present fine place of one hundred and five acres. The
farm is under an excellent state of cultivation, has fine new buildings,
and is in every way suited to the convenience and wishes of the family.
May 29, 1889, Mr. ^Maudlin married ]\Iiss Ida Frushour, the daughter of
George and Charlotte (Rowan) Frushour, and they have one son, George
B., who was born on November 19, 1890. He received his diploma from
the public schools in 1906 and then entered the Media High School of
Bethlehem township for two years. In 1908 he entered the literary and
commercial department of the Marion Normal at Marion, Indiana, for
one term and then was a student in the Logansport High School. He
is a practical agriculturist and assists his father on the estate. Mrs.
Maudlin is a native of Cass county, born IMay 23, 1862, and reared and
educated in her native county. Mr. JMaudlin erected a lovely home in
1911, which is heated by furnace, has acetylene light and is finished in
hardwood. The homestead is known as "Oak Lawn."
Mr. Maudlin has long been a prominent man in his township, and
has been identified with much of its public life. He was a trustee of
his township from 1904 to 1908, and gave excellent service in that office.
He ajid wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at
Fletcher's Lake, and he has long been a trustee and a steward of the
church.
David N. Jameson has been a resident of Cass county since 1853, in
which year he migrated from his native state, Ohio, and settled in Clay
township. He was a boy of twelve at that time, and since then he has
been identified with the history of this part of the county, in a more
or less prominent and significant manner. Though he began his
independent career without other assets than his native ability and
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 981
determination, he is today well established in a worldly way, and is one
of the comfortably situated farming men of Bethlehem township.
Born in Ashland county, Ohio, on March 27, 1841, David N. Jameson
is the son of John and ^linerva (Niekols) Jameson. The father, John
Jameson, was the son of Albertus Jameson, and the family was long
identified with the history of Ohio in the years of her earliest gi'o\\1;h
and development. The mother of the subject was bom in Ashland
county, Ohio, and she died when her son, David, was a small boy. The
father died in IMareh, 1857. He came to Cass county in 1853, bringing
his family with him, and settling in Clay township, and there he spent
the remainder of his life.
John Jameson was married three times and by his marriage to ]Miss
Minerva Niekols there were three children born, but David N., the siib-
ject, is the only child living of the three different marriages, and he
was the oldest of the three born.
When David N. Jameson was fifteen years old he went to live with
an older brother, and he remained there for five years, or until the out-
break of the Rebellion. With the first intimation of war, he enlisted in
the army and served until 1863, Avhen he was honorably discharged.
Three months of his time he was with the Ninth Indiana, the remainder
of his period of service being spent in the Twenty-ninth Indiana Regi-
ment. Following his return from the war April 16, 1863, Mr. Jameson
married Mary E. Metsker, the daughter of David and Margaret (Edgar)
Metsker, who with his wife died in the year 1849. After the marriage
of Mr. Jameson, he settled in Cass county on his present farm, and
here he has since resided, carrying on an active agricultural business
in the community, and his seventy-five acres of fine land is regarded
as among the best in the county. The place, as it stands today, repre-
sents years of the most arduous toil, with much of disappointment, as
well as much of prosperity and happiness as the reward of his efforts.
He built primitive log cabin buildings on the place where he first took
possession, and with the passing of time the farm took on a pros-
perous and well-kept appearance that spoke well for the industry and
effort of its owner.
Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jameson. The eldest,
Samuel Edgar, died in 1892, when he was thirty years of age. The
other, John W., married Gertrude Fergus, and they have seven chil-
dren, named as follows: Edith, Charles, Glenn, George, John L., Frank
and Louise. All this fine little family are living, and their gi'and-
parents find much pleasure in the contemplation of their growth and
development. Mrs. Jameson is a native of Cass county, born September
21, 1842, and she was the eldest of four children, one son and three daugh-
ters born to David and Margaret (Edgar) Metsker, but is the only sur-
vivor of that family. She was educated in the common schools. Mr.
Jameson has been a teacher in the Sunday school for twenty years, also
superintendent.
The family are members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr.
Jameson is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. The pretty
homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Jameson is known as "The Sunny Crest
Grange. ' '
982 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
James Cheney. Among the notable men whose careers were in large
part spent in Cass county, and the county claims for the honor and dis-
tinction of its citizenship, the late James Cheney' was one of the most
successful as a banker and business man. He came to Cass county before
the war and was for many' years identitied with financial affairs of such
importance that he had more than local prominence, and was a well
known figure in the banking circles of New York city. His death
occurred at Fort AVayne, Indiana, December 13, 1903, and his remains
now rest in the Logansport cemetery.
James Cheney was born in Sutton, Vermont, December 15. 1817,
and was of English and New England stock. His parents were Roswell
and Abigail (Willard) Cheney. His mother was a relative of Frances
E. AVillard. The father was a contractor in Vermont and after finish-
ing his common school education, James Cheney went into the same busi-
ness and assisted his father for a numlier of years. He left New Eng-
land when a young man and in 1840 located in Toledo, Ohio, and in
1856 came to Cass county.
The late James Cheney organized at Logansport one of the branches
of the old Indiana State Bank, and served as cashier of the local institu-
tion. From that time until his death he was closely identified witli
the larger interests of financial and business affairs. In 1859 he engaged
with ]\Ir. Uhl in the milling business and subsequently was in the real
estate business. He removed from Cass county in 1871 to New York
city, where he was known as a banker and in the stock and bond business.
He held a seat for a number of years on the New York Stock Exchange
and was connected with the National City Bank and with the Farmer's
Loan and Trust Company. A fact of his business career which is
specially noteworthy is that he was one of the organizers and builders
of the first Atlantic cables during the decade of the fifties.
The late jNIr. Cheney was affiliated with the ilasonie order, and his
church was the Presbyterian. On :\Iay 1, 18-1:2, he married IMiss Nancy
B. Evans, of Defiance county, Ohio, where she was the first white child
born. Her father was Pierce Evans. The children of the late James
Cheney and wife, three daughters and one son, are mentioned as follows :
]\Irs. Alice Knight of Fort Wayne ; ^Mrs. Helen Kimberly, of Wisconsin ;
Mrs. Mary C. Nelson in Logansport ; and Willard Roswell Cheney of
California.
Henry S. jMurdock, of Cass county, has had a more varied career
than usually falls to the lot of the average man. If the story of his life
was properly written, it alone would make an interesting volume of
reading. Mr. Murdock was born December 10, 1835, at Clinton. Michi-
gan, and is the only survivor of a family of six children born to
Tilson and Fannie (Blossom) Murdock, who were natives of Vermont,
and of Scotch ancestry. The father was a farmer, but for the most part,
worked at carpentering. He moved to Clinton, Michigan, at a time when
the country was in a most primitive condition, and there passed the
remainder of his days.
The boyhood of Henry S. Murdock was passed in a manner not
unusual in' those days, and in the course of his early years acquired the
rudiments of an education in the district schools of his native com-
munity. When old enough to begin to work, he secured a place clerk-
fc -"
^^^<2:<^c<_^
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 983
ing in a general store at Clinton, and was there employed for several
years. His mother and married sisters having removed to Logansport
in the intervening years, Mr. Murdock in 1853 came to this city, the
canal furnishing his mode of travel from Toledo. Here he began
clerking in the store of Thomas Stevenson, his brother-in-law, a general
stock of goods being on hand at this jjlace, including linsey-woolsey,
delaine, calico, ginghams and all the required dry goods staples com-
mon to the times, as well as complete lines in other branches. About the
year 1856 he began clerking for his brother. Andrew J. Murdock. who
had embarked in a merchandise business at the corner of Fourth street
and Broadway, but in 1860, in partnership with Joseph ]\IcGaughey,
he began in the general dry goods business for himself. When he left
for the war a brother-in-law, Jacob H. Hicks, took his place in the
firm, with the understanding that on Murdock 's return he was to pay
simple interest on invoice. This arrangement was scrupulously carried
out. In August, 1862, he enlisted in the Seventy-third Regiment Indiana
Infantrj' and the rendezvous was at South Bend. He was made
orderly sergeant. They left there August, 1862, and went to Kentucky.
For a time his command was stationed in Kentucky and Tennessee, but
the first real engagement in which he participated was the battle of
Stone river. Following this he became a part of Colonel Straight's com-
mand, which steamed down the Cumberland river to the Ohio river,
thence to Padueah, where the brigade was provisioned, and from there
to Eastport, ]\Iississippi, via the Tennessee river. Here the command
disembarked and were deployed as cavalry to resist the rebel general,
Forrest, who was threatening to break through. The history of the
capture, imprisonment and escape of Colonel Straight has been told in
history and story. !Mr. ^Murdock was captured May 3, 1863 ; he was
incarcerated first in Libby prison, where he was relieved of all his valu-
ables and where he remained for one year. He was then confined in
another prison across the river for a short time, after which he was
taken to Macon, Georgia, and from there to Charleston, South Caro-
lina. At this place he was in three different prisons, and at one time
was exposed to the fire of Federal gunboats at ]\Iorris Island three miles
distant. From Charleston he was taken to an open camp at Columbia,
and while here succeeded in making good his escape in December, 1864.
By traveling at night and "laying up" in the daytime, getting food
from negroes and directions from the few loyal men he encoiintered,
he succeeded in getting two hundred miles near the Union lines, but
was finally recaptured near Pickens, Xorth Carolina courthouse, taken
back to Columbia Camp — then taken to Wilmington, North Carolina,
where he was exchanged in March, 1865. After a brief visit home, he
rejoined his command in Northern Alabama, but the war by this time
was virtually at end, and until his final discharge in July, 1865, with
the rank of First Lieutenant, he was employed at guard duty.
Following the close of the war Mr. Murdock resumed merchandising
in Logansport, with his brother, Andrew J., as a partner, thus continuing
for nineteen years. Andrew J. Murdock then became president of the
First National Bank, and Henry S. Murdock continued in the merchan-
dise business until 1900, since when his time and attention have been
occupied in looking after his private property interests.
984 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Such, in brief, is the career of Henry S. Murdock. Much could be
said of intense interest to embellish these plain statements, but lack of
space prevents.
In 1868 Mr. ]\Iurdock was married to Miss Emma Woods, who died
in 1870, leaving one son, Harry W. IMurdock, of Lockport, New York. In
1874 at Des Moines, Iowa, Mr. Murdock married Theodosia Owens, who
died in 1900, leaving four sons: William 0., Karl F., Charles E. and
J. Fred.
Mr. IMurdock is a Republican and although one of the party's
staunch followers he has never sought office. He is also a member of the
Grand Army of the Republic.
James McTaggert was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, August 15,
1824, and was one in a family of five sons and three daughters born to
John and Rose (McGovern) McTaggert. The father, John McTaggert,
was a teacher, land agent and collector, and his children received rather
better than average educational advantages. James McTaggert passed
his youthful days at home and while a young man he spent a year in
Scotland, working at whatever honest employment he might turn his hand
to, and returning to his home in Ireland in 1847. The unhappy con-
ditions existing then in Ireland caused him to turn to America as a place
where he might prosper better than in his native land, and the winter
of 1847 found him aboard a sailing vessel bound for New York, and after
a journey of seven weeks he landed in America. It chanced that aboard
the vessel were some of his Irish acquaintances who were bound for
Logansport, Indiana, and they induced him to accompany them to that
point, a decision he was not slow in arriving at, as he had set sail with
no objective point in mind, other than that he intended to come to
America. They made the trip from New York by Hudson river to
Albany, thence by canal to Buffalo, by lake to Toledo, and from that
place down the Erie canal to Logansport. The spring of 1848 found
the little party from Ireland arriving at Logansport, and during a part
of the summer ensuing j\Ir. JMcTaggert was occupied at farm work, receiv-
ing a stipend of fifty cents per day. He found employment for a time
in helping to build the old seminary, after which he became a canal boat
captain. He was industrious and ambitious, and he frugally saved every
possible penny from his earnings until he was able to buy a horse and
cart. With this capital he began doing contract work, the excavating of
cellars and basements being his line of work. From that he branched
out into street contracting, and from time to time added new ventures
to his enterprise. Mr. McTaggert built the macadam work on Fourth
street between Market and Broadway, and this was the first macadamized
street in Logansport. Among other contract jobs which he handled, was
the building of a section of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1856 Mr.
McTaggert gave up contracting and turned his attention to the grocery
business, locating at the corner of Fourth street and Broadway. He
owned the property where his store was located and here he continued in
a thriving grocery business until 1871, when he sold the store, and in
1872 engaged in the retail clothing business on Market street. In 1882
he retired from active business pursuits, and he died on April 28, 1886.
It is a significant fact that, despite his early hardships and the
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 985
slenderness of his resources when he set sail for America, Mr. McTaggert
was able to build up a business, in various lines, that permitted him to be
accounted a fairly wealthy man when he died. Every success he met with
in his business career came as the direct result of his well placed ett'orts
and the sturdy determination with which he went about every business
project he took in hand. He was always a hard working man, and he had
the advantage of knowing the* value of a dollar to the last penny. His
means, as they were accumulated with the passing years, were carefully
and wisely invested, and he died in comfortable, if not indeed, affluent cir-
cumstances. After he had become established in business here, Mr.
McTaggert saved money with which to bring his parents and others of
the family from Ireland, and in Fe))ruary, 1851, he married Sarah Dona-
hoe, a daughter of James and Rose Donahoe, of County Tyrone, Ireland.
They became the parents of eight children, three of which number died
in infancy. The remaining five were : Catharine A., the wife of James
McGourty ; Sarah C, now Mrs. John McGreery ; Rose ; John Joseph, who
died when twenty-eight years of age; Mary J., the wife of Richard
IMcGreevy. The mother died on June 20, 1908. She, like her husband,
was a devout member of the Roman Catholic church all her life.
Mr. McTaggert was a Democrat in his political convictions, and served
in the city council with credit to himself and to the good of the city.
in 1868 he was the nominee of his party for the office of county treasurer,
but was defeated by Dr. Schultz by the narrow margin of 86 votes.
Though not an office holder to any extent, he was a citizen of sterling
worth, always interested in the good of the community, and liearing his
full share of the civic burdens.
Finis E. Fouts. For the past eighteen years, Finis E. Fonts has been
engaged in farming and stock raising operations on his present farm, a
well cultivated tract located on the Kokomo road, in Deer Creek town-
ship. During this period he has established a reputation for integrity and
honorable dealing, and is now accounted a worthy representative of one
of the honored pioneer families of Cass county that have been identified
with the progress and development of this section of the State since an
early epoch in Indiana's history. ]\Ir. Fouts was born on his father's
farm in Cass county, November 21, 1866, and is a son of Solomon and
Margaret (Bridge) Fonts. His father, who, with Mr. Neflf, shared the
distinction of being the first two white children born in Montgomery
county, Indiana, came to Cass county in 1834, and here spent the remain-
der of his life, accumulating a handsome competency and attaining a high
position in the esteem and regard of his fellow-citizens.
Finis E. Fouts was given the advantages of a good education, first
attending the old Runaway school in Deer Creek township, later going to
the district schools in Carroll county, and finally, in 1894, entering Pur-
due University, where he took a course in agriculture and mechanical
engineering. In the meantime, he had spent his vacations in working
upon the home farm, thus getting practical experience in the vocation
which he intended to make his life work, and eventually, well equipped,
embarked upon a career of his own. Mr. Fouts came to his present
property in 1895, and here he has met with unqualified success. His land,
brought to a high state of cultivation, yields him a golden tribute in
986' HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
return for the labor and care he bestows upon it. All of the machinery
and buildings on the place are of the most modern construction, and
indicate the owner to be a most progressive and enterprising farmer;
and such is the reputation he bears throughout the community. In addi-
tion to general farming, he also carries on stock raising, and his business
is so carefully and systematically managed that he has won a high degree
of prosperity, and at the same time has gained and retained the respect
and confldeuce of those with whom he has had business transactions. He
takes a pardonable degree of pride in what he has accomplished, in that it
has been won through his own unaided efforts.
On October 29, 1891, ]Mr. Fouts was married first to Miss Nellie
M. Pottenger, daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Safer) Pottenger, and
to this union there were born five children, namely: Glenn P., Elda,
Marvin, Rufus and Laura. His second marriage took place July 6, 1911,
when he was married to Mrs. Louanna (Kitchell) Shanks, daughter of
Daniel Kitchell and widow of the late Frank H. Shanks, and this union
has been blessed by the birth of one daughter: Margaret. By her first
marriage, Mrs. Fouts had three children: Carol E., Ellen C. and Frank
J. IMr. and Mrs. Fouts are members of the Presbyterian church, and have
been liberal in their support of religious and charitable movements.
George Davis was among the earliest pioneers of Cass county. His
parents were Virginians and were of Welsh ancestry. He married Kath-
erine Miller and settled at Richmond, Indiana, at a time when the Indians
were more numerous than the whites. He was a carpenter by trade,
although he followed farming for the most part throughout his life. In
the late fall of 1831, together with his family, he came to Cass county, a
pair of cows hitched to his wagon being the means of transportation, the
cows doing double duty in that they provided food for the children, as
well as taking the place of horses or oxen. Upon their arrival at Eel
river, they were compelled to have the cows shod in order that they might
cross upon the ice. They located on one hundred and sixty acres of
land on section 19, in Jefferson township, half of w'hich was pre-empted
from the government, and here they began clearing, grubbing and farm-
ing. Mr. Davis also worked at his trade, and many of the log cabins
and old fashioned log barns were designed and built by him.
]\Ir. Davis was a soldier of the war of 1812, and served in all of Gen-
eral Harrison's campaigns. His father, Joseph Davis, assisted the
Colonies in their struggle for independence and he was a participant in
some of the great battles of the Revolutionary war. To George Davis
and his wife six sons and three daughters were born, three of the sons
serving in the war with Mexico. George Davis was in many ways a
unique character. He abhorred the liciuor traffic and many times had
difficulty in getting his crops harvested because of his unwilling-ness to
provide whiskey for the farm "hands." He was a member of the ilefho-
dist Episcopal church at Burnettsville, which he helped to organize, and
of which he was an official for years. He died in 1840.
Richard Pedrick Davis was the youngest of the sons of George Davis.
He was born at Richmond, Indiana, in 1828, came with his parents to
Cass county when he was six years old and as a boy assisted with the
work of tile home farm. His chief characteristic was his untiring
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 987
energy. He once worked for two weeks to get enough money to buy an
axe. His opportunities for education was extremely limited, but being
a keen observer and possessed of an unusual fund of good, practical sense,
he was able in later years to supply in a measure the training which
his early years lacked. Along in the early history of the Burnettsville
Normal School he attended that institution for three years, after which
he taught school for several terms. His remuneration at one school was
$25 for a three months ' term, and he was compelled to chop his own wood,
act as janitor, and "board around" as well. He was one of the best men
that ever lived in Cass county, and for forty years was an elder in the
Christian church. He served four years as justice of the peace, was
deeply religious, and an outspoken advocate of the cause of temperance,
and was an ardent Democrat.
In partnership with his brother, David, Eichard P. Davis operated
the first threshing machine ever brought to Cass county.
To his marriage with Jane Hildebrand, which occurred in, 1850, nine
children were born, six of that number growing to maturity and being
named as follows : Sarah Ellen, Lucy Ann, George B., Mary Jane, and
Fred and Frank, twins. Mr. Davis died in April, 1906, and his widow
survived him until May, 1911.
The eldest son of Richard P. Davis is George B., born July 14, 1857.
He completed his schooling in Burnettsville Academy, and since 1875
he has been a teacher in the public schools. For the past ten years he
has been principal of the Franklin school, in Logansport. He married
Minnie Cullen in 1881, and Fannie, John C, Mary E. and Dr. Charles
S. are their children. i\Ir. Davis is present chainnan of the Democratic
County Central Committee.
Frank Davis, present commissioner of Cass county, was born on
March 6, 1864, and is the twin brother of Fred Davis, the youngest chil-
dren of Richard P. Davis. At the age of nineteen years he and Fred
started farming on shares, continuing to be thus occupied for six years,
after which Frank Davis bought out his brother's interest and continued
alone.' In 1892 he bought sixty acres of land, later adding forty-eight
acres thereto, and in addition, he and Fred, by purchase, now hold the
old homestead place in partnership. In 1908 he was elected county
commissioner on the Democratic ticket, re-elected in 1910, and in Feb-
ruary, 1911, moved to Logansport, where he now resides. On January
9, 1889, he married Emma Byers, and they have two children : Jessie M.
and Jefferson Grover Cleveland. The latter married Mamie Strosser,
and they have one daughter, Maxine. They live on the old place, thus
making the fifth generation to have resided on this homestead.
Mr. Davis is a Democrat, and Odd Fellow, and an exceptionally able
county official.
George I. Wolf. This prominent farmer and highly respected
citizen of Deer Creek township may be counted among the pioneers
of Cass county, since he has faithfully done his share in the development
of his section of the state, both materially and intellectually. Such men
constitute the mainstay of a commonwealth, and it becomes the duty of
the biographer to encourage the formation of a character that builds up
the best interests of the state. Mr. Wolf is a self-made man, having
988 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
gained his present position through individual industry, and the salient
features of his career go to show that he has ever displayed an enterpris-
ing, energetic nature, even from boyhood. Born in Preble county,
Ohio, in 1834, he is a son of Jacob and Barbara (Hiser) Wolf. His
father, a native of Frederick county, Maryland, migrated to Preble
county, Ohio, in young manhood, and after some years there, came to
Carroll county, Indiana, in 1836. There he spent the remainder of his
life in agricultural pursuits, dying advanced in years, with the full
respect and esteem of his fellowmen and having accumulated a com-
fortable competency.
George I. Wolf spent his boyhood days in Carroll county, where he
secured his education in the district schools, in the meantime gaining
a thorough knowledge of farming by assisting his father in the work of
the homestead place. He early learned the dignity and value of labor,
being taught to be industrious and honest, and his success in after life
was due in large part to the benefits accruing from this early training.
He continued to remain under the parental roof until he had reached
his majority, at which time he started upon a career of his own, first
on rented property and later on a farm for which he went into debt. He
subsequently cleared off his indebtedness, sold his land and came to
Cass county, where he purchased the farm on which he is now carrying
on operations, a tract of eighty-three acres, located in Deer Creek town-
ship, not far from Young America. His modern home is located on
Galveston Rural Free Delivery Route No. 13, and he also has commodi-
ous barns and appropriate outbuildings, of handsome architecture and
siibstantial character. His land has all been brought to a high state
of cultivation, and yields abundant harvests, while his ventures in stock
raising have met with an equal measure of success.
In 1859 Mr. Wolf was married to Miss Margaret Tolen, who also
survives, and they celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary in 1909,
at which were present their children and grandchildren, as well as
many of their friends, who recalled pioneer days in Cass county and
wished the aged couple many more years of happy life. Mr. and Mrs.
Wolf have been the parents of seven children : Mary, who became the
wife of W. L. Burrows; Sarah, who married Wm. Henry; Eva, who
became the wife of Abraham Smith ; Ladosky, wife of Mr. Michael ;
Anna, wife of David McClusky ; Carrie, at home, and Charles. Charles,
who is married, resides on the old homestead, and is his father's manager,
having gradually taken over the elder man's duties. He is maintaining
the family reputation for integrity and industry, and is known as one
of his section's good practical farmers. The family is connected with
the German Baptist church.
Dr. C. L. Thomas. Thirty years of devotion to his profession is
the record of C. L. Thomas, M. D., a veteran physician of Washington
township — thirty years of his life given to the calling which he chose
as his life work in young manhood ; a third of a century of time spent
in the alleviation of the ills of mankind. Such is indeed a faithful
service, a record of which no man might be ashamed. Always giving
of his best energies, always faithful to his trust, never sparing himself
in the accomplishment of his tasks, his life has surely been a useful one.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 989
and he may now look back over the years that have passed with a sense
of duty well done and take a pardonable pride in a work that has served
to assist humanity, as well as to add to the professional prestige of his
adopted community. Dr. Thomas was born October 25, 1846, in Car-
roll county, Indiana, and is a son of Samuel and Catherine (Johnson)
Thomas. His father, a native of Virginia, accompanied his parents to
Indiana in boyhood, and the remainder of his life was given to farming
and the millwright business, dying in advanced age, with the entire
respect and esteem of the people of his community. He and his wife
were the parents of eight children.
Dr. C. L. Thomas prosecuted his preliminary studies in the country
schools near Asbury church, and was reared to the occupation of farm-
ing. The young man, however, had decided upon a professional career,
and accordingly took the examination and certified as a teacher in the
public schools. At this time, however, the Civil war came on, and
young Thomas, fired with patriotism, joined a regiment of Indiana
volunteers, and fought bravely in defense of the country's flag. On
the completion of his military career, he resumed teaching in the dis-
trict schools and was so engaged until he entered upon his medical
studies. He spent some time in preparation at Battle Ground, Tippe-
canoe county, Indiana, and in 1879 received his degree of Doctor of
Medicine at Indianapolis, subsequently spending some time in practice
at Burlington, Carroll county, and eventually coming to Logansport.
Here he has continued to the present time, in the enjoyment of a large
and representative practice, which is not confined to his immediate
community, but is drawn from all over this part of the county. A
deep thinker and consistent student, he has ever devoted himself to
research and study, and has taken a special course in Bellevue Hos-
pital, New York City. His sympathetic nature and kind and gentle
personality have assisted him greatly in his work, and have made the
aged physician one of the most beloved of his profession in Cass county.
He has taken a keen interest in the work of the various medical organiza-
tions, and at this time is president of the Cass County Medical Society,
in addition to acting as a member of the pension board. The Doctor
specializes on medical and surgical diseases and treatment of the eye
and his practice is not confined to Cass county but to all the adjoining
country.
Dr. Thomas was married in 1876, to Miss Mary E. Cheney, of Clin-
ton county, Indiana, and they have had one son: Willard, who mar-
ried Miss Jessie Wilson, and has two children: Marie and Charles.
The family is highly esteemed in this vicinity and its members number
many warm friends in Logansport, near which city their home is
situated.
Fred G. Drompp is a native son of Logansport, Indiana, born in
the city on December 28, 1869, and is the son of Gottleib F. and Sophia
(Arnold) Drompp, both natives of Wittenberg, Germany.
Gottlieb Drompp was reared and educated in his native land, and
there he married. He came to America in young manhood, and
after a year spent in Chicago, came to Logansport, the time of
his ari'ival hei-e being in the '50 's. Here he learned the cooper's trade,
Vol. II— IS
990 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
a business which claimed his attention through the remainder of his
life. He was a member of the German Lutheran church and reared
his family in that faith. He died on December 29, 1891, his widow
surviving him until February 22, 1894. They were the parents of
twelve children, six of whom are yet living.
Fred G. Drompp has always made his home in Logansport. He
was educated in the German Lutheran parochial school, and when he
was fourteen he became a bundle boy in the old Keller-Troutman &
Company dry goods store. He remained with this firm until it ceased to
exist, working his way up from bundle boy to a clerkship. He was
later employed in the store of George W. Seybold & Brother until
July 12, 1900, when he, associated with Henry Kammerer and
Ferdinand Graas, under the firm name of the Stewart Dry Goods Com-
pany, embarked in the dry goods business in Logansport. Their begin-
ning was a humble one, and they occupied a room at No. 31.5 Fourth
street. The firm was duly incorporated, with a capital stock of $1.5,000,
"Sir. Drompp being president, Mr. Graas, secretary, and i\Ir. Kammerer,
treasurer. This firm has ever since continued without change in its per-
sonnel, and the business has prospered with the passing years. In 1903
an additional room \\a.s requisitioned for the growing demands of their
patronage, and the firm employs about twenty-four people, aside from
the mend^ers of the firm. They carry a complete stock of dry goods,
ladies' ready-to-wear goods, carpets, rugs, curtains and linoleums — and
is one of the leading houses in its line in the city. Mr. Drompp is also
a director of the City National Bank.
Mr. Drompp is a Democrat, but not an active politican. He is a
member of the German Lutheran church and is treasurer and trustee
of that body.
On June 18, 1895, IMr. Drompp was married to Miss Lena E. Grabs
of Union City, Indiana, and they have two children: Esther A., attend-
ing high school, and Frederick G., who attends the German Lutheran
parochial school.
LeRoy F. Bird. Many of the leading agriculturists of Cass county
are carrying on operations on farms upon which they were born and
where they have spent their entire lives, and this may be given as one
of the reasons for their success. Having passed their entire careers
here, they are thoroughly conversant with climatic conditions and the
needs of the soil, and as a result they can bring to their work an
intelligent knowledge of what methods wnll bring the best results. In
this class stands LeRoy F. Bird, the owner of 170 acres of fine land sit-
uated in Deer Creek township, section 5, an enterprising agriculturist
and public-spirited citizen. ]\Ir. Bird belongs to that class of men who
have not been content with what has been accomplished by their fathers,
but have continued to improve their properties and to contribute to the
general prosperity of the community. He w^as bom on his present
farm, December 13, 1857, and is a son of Benjamin F. and Harriet
(Small) Bird. His father, a native of Decatur county, Indiana, en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits early in life, and continued to be so
engaged throughout a long and useful career. He w^as known as a
practical farmer and shrewd business man, and won the respect and
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 991
esteem of his fellow-townsmen by his inte^ity and honorable dealing.
Benjamin F. and Harriet Bird were the parents of three children,
namely : William, deceased, formerly a farmer of Cass county, who
married Estella Rhinehart, and had seven children, Adelbert, Hattie,
Benjamin, Otis, Eva, Charles and Ruby; A. F., who makes his home in
Walton ; and LeRoy F. ^
LeRoy F. Bird secured his early educational training in the old
Deacon district school in this township, after leaving which he attended
the Walton public schools for some time. In the meanwhile he spent
the summer seasons on the homestead, assisting his father in his work,
and learning to cultivate the soil and raise stock. Ambitious and enter-
prising, he applied himself assiduously to his tasks, gaining a thorough
knowledge of his chosen vocation and carefully saving his earnings.
He has never left the old homestead, and still carries on operations there, '
having- met with a full measure of success. His crops are large and
find a ready market, and he is known as a good judge of cattle, his herds
being sleek and well fed.
Mr. Bird has never married. He is a popular member of the local
lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of
Pythias, and was reared in the faith of the Universalist church, of
which his parents were life-long members. Public life has never at-
tracted him, and the only interest he has taken in political matters is
that of any good citizen who has the welfare of his community at heart.
His many friends testify to his general worth as a neighbor and a man.
William R. Deacon. Although now living retired from active
pursuits, the greater part of his time being devoted to looking after his
farm, William R. Deacon still takes a keen and intelligent interest in
matters pertaining to the welfare of Cass county, where he has resided
for nearly half a century. A veteran of the Civil war, when he had
completed his service to his country, he returned to his Indiana home,
and here for a long period was connected with the painting and decorat-
ing business. A brief sketch of his career will show that he has ever
lived an industrious and energetic life. Mr. Deacon was born April
4, 1841, in Liberty, Union county, Indiana, and is a son of W. C. and
Sarah (Dawson) Deacon. His father, a native of Lexington, Virginia,
was about thirty years of age when he walked to Liberty, Indiana,
and there he followed the trade of painter, which he had learned in
his native state, continuing in Liberty from 1832 to 1864, in which
year he came to Deer Creek township, Cass county. He continued to
spend the remainder of his life in this section and died with a comfort-
able competence and with the esteem and respect of those who knew
him. He and his wife became the parents of six cliildren,- namely:
William B. ; George; Mary E.; Martin, and Lucy A., who are deceased;
Alice J. and Annie.
' William R. Deacon was educated in the schools of Liberty, Indiana,
and as a youth was engaged in assisting his father, thus learning the
trade of painter and decorator. He was so engaged at the outbreak of
the Civil war, when he went to Richmond, Indiana, and enlisted in
the First Battalion, Fifteenth United States Infantry, under General
Buell. On the completion of a brave and gallant service, he came to Cass
992 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY .
county and joined his parents, and here for a time was employed in a
sawmill in Deer Creek township. Succeeding this he began to work at
the trade of decorator, and was so engaged during the remainder of his
period of activity. An excellent workman, thoroughly reliable in his
transactions, he soon secured a large business, and built up a reputation
for responsibility and honesty^
On May 11, 1865, Mr. Deacon was united in marriage with Miss
Sarah J. Zeek, the estimable daughter of Isaac and Catherine (Robin-
son) Zeek, and to this union there have been born five children: Albertus
and Lucy, who are both deceased ; Minnie, at home ; Edna, who is the
wife of John Jackson; and George Franklin, who married Minnie
Sprinkle, and has one child, Geraldine. With his family, Mr. Deacon
attends the Methodist church. His daughter, Miss Minnie Deacon,
belongs to the Rebekahs. Mr. Deacon has formed a wide acquaintance
during his long residence in Cass county, and in it he numbers many
warm friends, drawn about him by his many excellencies of mind and
heart.
LoRA Wilson. An example of well directed industry conducing to
success is found in the cai'eer of Lora Wilson, of Deer Creek township,
an enterprising and progressive agriculturist who has won financial
independence and a position of prestige through the medium of his own
efforts. Some twenty years ago he began his farming operations as a
renter of land, and his progress has been steady and continuous, until
today he is the owner of a well-cultivated tract of eighty acres, and is
classed among his township's successful farmers and stock raisers. Mr.
Wilson was born on the old Wilson farm in Deer Creek township, Cass
county, Indiana, March 28, 1874, and is a son of George Washington
and Catherine (Beamer) Wilson.
George Washington Wilson was born on a farm in Union county,
Indiana, near the village of Liberty, on May 11, 1843, and when he
was twelve years of age accompanied his father to Cass county, In-
diana. His educational advantages were meager, as his services were
needed in cultivating and improving the home farm of one hundred
and sixty acres of wild land, on which, when the family first settled
thereon, not one furrow had ever been turned.
Upon the death of his father in 1871, Mr. Wilson took charge of
the homestead, which he continued to operate during the period of
his activity, and in addition, accumulated a tract of seventy-eight
acres on section 20, in Deer Creek township. He placed both tracts
under a high state of cultivation, made most of the improvements on
them, and continued to carry on general farming and stock raising
for many years, attaining financial success and the confidence of all
with whom he had transactions. He was a Republican in politics, and
his religious affiliations were with the Christian church. On January
29, 1873, George W. Wilson was married to Miss Catherine Beamer,
and to them were born six children, as follows: Hairy, now a farmer
of Deer Creek township; Lora, of this review; Stella; Carl; William
A. and Almi I., the last two named now being deceased. George Wash-
ington Wilson was a Republican and a lifelong member of the Chris-
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 993
tian church. He was born on May 11, 1843, and died on March 30, 1911,
and his wife was born September 1, 1845, in Virginia and is living.
Lora Wilson was early trained to the duties of farming, spending
the summer months in assisting his father on the home place, while
the winter seasons were passed in attendance at the district schools of
his native township. He received the equal of a grade school education
of the present day, after which he had some training in the Normal
schools of various nearby cities, and his education was terminated by
a year in the agricultural department of Purdue University. When he
was eighteen years old he began teaching school, and for the ensuing
tive years he gave himself to that work, spending the summers either
in school, in the pursuit of further knowledge, or helping with the
work of the home farm, which he so well knew how to carry on. Mr.
Wilson was twenty-one years old when he began to farm independently,
renting the farm of his father as a beginning and operating the place
on shares for something like ten years. At the end of that time he had
so prospered that he was able to purchase an eighty acre tract for him-
self, and his attention since then has been devoted to the cultivating
and improving of this place. It may well be assumed that Mr. Wilson
has made many improvements along modern lines in the conduct of his
farm, and the erection of commodious and substantial buildings is not
the least feature along the line of such improvement. His stock in its
appearance indicates his thorough knowledge as a breeder, and modern
machinery of all kinds betrays the progressive spirit of the man in his
farming capacity.
Mr. Wilson has maintained the family reputation for honesty and
integrity in business affairs, and his pleasant personality has gained
him a wide circle of sincere friends. He is a Republican, and is a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity, but has no other associations that would
detract from his attention to his fami and his home.
On March 22, 1905, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage with Miss
Grace Idel Billiard, of Carroll county, Indiana. She is the daughter
of Lewis and Susan Amanda (Debolt) Billiard. Lewis Billiard was
a farmer of Carroll county, and served as a soldier during the Civil
war. Mrs. Wilson received her education in the grade and high schools
of her native community, and takes her place among the most estimable
and highly regarded women of the township, where she has a host of
good friends. Three interesting children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Wilson, Florence, George and Lucille, all of whom were born
on the farm near Young America, where the family home is maintained.
The eldest was born on September 9, 1906 ; the second on November
19, 1909, and the third born claims July 7, 1912, as her natal day.
John W. Cost was born at Fairfield, Green county, Ohio, July
24, 1844, his parents being Henry Joseph and Anna (Steele) Cost.
He was of a family of four children, three sons and one daughter, all of
whom are deceased except John W. Mr. Cost was six years of age when
the family made removal to Dayton, Ohio, and there the mother passed
away February 8, 1858, following which they removed to Logansport,
Indiana. In his early boyhood, Mr. Cost attended school at the old
seminary, and when he was sixteen years of age began an apprentice-
994 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ship with George W. Brown, in the drug trade. He was so engaged in
1863, when he enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixteenth Regiment,
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in the six months' service, and March 1,
1864, his time expired and he was mustered out of the service. During
the following week he re-enlisted in the Seventy-third Regiment, In-
diana Volunteer Infantry, remaining therewith until February 1,
1866, and during these enlistments participated in a number of import-
ant engagements, among them being: Stone River, Murfreesboro, Ten-
nessee ; Decatur and Athens, Alabama ; and Franklin and Nashville,
Tennessee. In addition there were a number of minor engagements and
skinuishes, in all of which he took an active part. At the close of his
services, he returned to school in the old seminary for one year, and
then resumed his training in the drug business, this time with Henry
Bringhurst. During the following five years he engaged in the drug
business with Rodney Strain, and at the end of this time embarked in
business on his own account, in the old J\lagee Block, in what is now
known as the George Hoffman store location, on Fourth street. Suc-
ceeding this, Mr. Cost moved to the Thomas Bringhurst room on Broad-
way, now occupied by Hall Smith's jewelry establishment, and in
1883 he came to Young America, where for thirty years he has been
considered one of the town's leading business men.
On October 11, 1876, Mr. Cost was united in marriage with Miss
Amanda Stapleton, the eldest daughter of J. J. Stapleton, and to this
union there have been lx)rn two children: Joseph Albert and Clara
Alice. Joseph Albert Cost is now timekeeper for the Kokomo factory
of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company ; Alice Cost became the wife of
W. E. Kirkpatriek, of Young America. Mrs. Amanda Jane (Staple-
ton) Cost was born in Bethlehem township, Cass county, Indiana, March
4, 1855, and has been a resident of this county all of her life.
The foregoing is a brief review of the salient points in the career
of one of Young America's ablest and most highly esteemed business
men, a veteran in the drug trade, and a citizen who has ever been
devoted to the best interests of his adopted community. During the
thirty years that he has been the proprietor of an establishment here,
he has' ever held a reputation for the strictest integrity and business
honor, and each year has seen the extension of his wide circle of friends.
He is a popular member of the Masonic fraternity, and with his family,
attends the Christian church.
John W. Sprinkle. Among the progressive and enterprising agri-
culturists of Cass county, one who has gained financial independence
and business prestige through the medium of his own efforts is John
W. Sprinkle, of Deer Creek township. Embarking' upon a career of
his own when he was a young man, without financial assistance or
influential friends, he so well directed his efforts that today he is the
owner of a handsome property of 160 acres of land, on the Walton
road, in addition to having other valuable interests. Mr. Sprinkle was
born on what is known as the old Sprinkle home place, near Sprinkle
Chapel, in Cass county, Indiana, February 13, 1862, and is a son of
John and Margaret (Roach) Sprinkle. His father, a native of Rock-
bridge county, Virginia, was a machinist by trade, but after coming to
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 995
Cass county, in young manhood, followed farming and stock raising, and
also operated a sawmill and threshing machine. He and his wife were
the parents of eight children, as follows: Ellen, who became the wife
of a Mr. Orr; Wilson; William, who is deceased; Elizabeth, deceased,
who was the wife of a Mr. McDonald ; Hannah, who married a Mr. Brit-
ton ; John W. ; George ; and LeRoy.
John W. Sprinkle began his education in the old Logan school and
subsequently became a student in the Babb school, where he completed
his training. On finishing his studies, he took up the trade of machinist,
under the preeeptorship of his father, and subsequently worked in the
sawmill and with the threshing machine, traveling all over this and
surrounding counties, but when the land became partly cleared, he
turned his attention to farming. On reaching his majority, he embarked
upon a career of his own, and through industry, energy and perseverance
has gained an enviable position among the agi'iculturists of his section
of the county. Starting in a modest manner, as the years passed and
his finances would permit, he added to his land, to his stock and to his
improvements, and now has a tract of 160 acres that is well cultivated
and fitted with modern buildings. He believes in the use of modern
machinery and scientific methods, and the success which has rewarded
his efforts marks him as one of the substantial men of his community.
He is also the owner of 320 acres of government land in South Dakota,
located near Redfield. A man of the highest integrity, his business
dealings have always been of a strictly legitimate nature, and his methods
have gained him an enviable reputation and a wide circle of friends.
Mr. Sprinkle has been twice married, his first wife, Eva Crawford,
dying without issue. His second marriage was to Miss Lillie Ruth, of
Cass county, a member of a prominent farming family, and to this union
there have been born five children, as follows : Clifford, who married
Pearl Plank, and has three children, Pauline, Luella and Ellsworth ;
Addie, the wife of James Kay, who has one daughter. Prances; and
Gracie, Edith and Gladys, all of. whom reside with their parents. The
family is connected with the ]\Iethodist Episcopal church, in the sup-
port of which they have always been liberal. Mr. Sprinkle holds mem-
bership in the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Samuel Hursh. A substantial representative of the agricultural
interests of Deer Creek township is found in the person of Samuel
Hursh, the owner of 160 acres of excellent farming land, located about
one and one-half miles east of the village of Young America. Although
a resident of Cass county only since 1903, he has become widely aud
favorably known among the citizens of his locality, and his ability
and integrity have been recognized by his election to official position,
in which he has served efficiently and conscientiously. Mr. Hursh is a
native of the Hoosier State, and was born March 26, 1863, in Carroll
county, a son of Martin V. and Sarah E. (Quinn) Hursh. His father,
a native of Butler county, Ohio, came with his parents to Indiana in
boyhood, settling in Carroll county in 1842. There he continued to be
engaged in agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his life,
accumulating a comfortable competency and being highly esteemed as
a neighbor and citizen. He and his wife are both deceased, and are
996 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
buried in the cemetery at Flora, Indiana. They were the parents of
six children, namely : Samuel, Ada, Minnie, Mollie, Fannie and Ambrose.
Martin V. Hursh was a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows.
Samuel Hursh attended the Carroll county schools, and was reared
to the vocation of farming, an occupation in which his ancestors had
been engaged for generations. At the age of twenty-one years, he left
the parental roof and embarked upon a career of his own in Howard
county, Indiana, where he continued operations until 1903, which year
saw his advent in Cass county. Settling in Deer Creek township,
Mr. Hursh began to cultivate and improve his 160-acre farm, and
his substantial buildings in good repair and his well-tilled fields give
eloquent evidence of his thrift and enterprise. This property, known
as the old Harness farm, is being devoted to general farming and stock
raising, in both of which lines Mr. Hursh has attained a full measure of
success. Through the careful direction of his business interests and by
indefatigable industry, he has acquired a handsome property and at the
same time has so conformed to the ethics of business life that he has
the unqualified confidence of all with whom he has had trade transactions.
In August, 1894, Mr. Hursh was united in marriage with Miss Alice
Harness, the estimable daughter of Jackson and Louise (Fisher)
Harness, and to this union there have been born three children: Obie,
who is engaged in farming in Deer Creek township, married Miss Laura
Snider, and has two children, Robert and John; lea, residing with her
parents, a graduate of the local schools ; and Oca, also living at home,
who is still a pupil in the schools of the township. Mr. Hursh is a
popular member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as was
his father, and takes a great cleal of interest in its work. His political
belief is that of the Democratic party, and at the present time he is
serving as a member of the board of trustees of Deer Creek township,
where he is laboring faithfully in behalf of the best interests of his
community and its people. With his family, he attends the Christian
chiirch.
John L. ^Maurice came to Logansport, Indiana, in 1862, and with
the exception of about four years has ever since made this city his
home. He is a native of Departemant des Voge, Canton de St. Die,
France, his birth occurred on June 13, 1841, and in 1852, when he was
eleven years old, he came with his parents, Nicholas and Margarte
(Markuere) Maurice, to America.
Nicholas Maurice located on a small tract of laud near Dayton,
Ohio, after coming to this country and engaged in the business of
agriculture, in which he continued until his death.
All the education John L. ]\Iaurice ever received was in the schools
of his native county and a winter in the schools of Dayton. When
he was twelve years of age he started out on his own responsibility
and his first employment was as a farm laborer, and for his services
he received four dollars a month and his keep. He continued work-
ing as a farm laborer, with gradually increasing wages, until he grew
older, and in 1861 he went to Indianapolis, Indiana, where for a year
he was employed as a clerk in an ice cream parlor. The next year he
Qf:^.c^,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 997
came to Logansport and for a year thereafter he worked in the black-
smith shop of John Jackson. On July 9, 1863, he enlisted in the
IMississippi I\Iarine Brigade and at first was a member of Company D
Cavalry, which later becam.e Company K Infantry. The duty of the
command to which Mr. Maurice belonged was to patrol the IMississippi
river and disperse bands of guerrillas. His militarj^ career was one of
continual activity, and while he participated in no general engagement,
he was continually exposed to attacks from the rebels. His command
took part in the Red River expedition under General Banks, and he
was finally honorably discharged from the service with the rank of
corporal, his discharge taking efi'ect on January 21, 1865. His original
company comprised one hundred and four men, and of this number only
sixteen were left at the close of the war. Succeeding the return of peace
to the land, ]\Ir. Maurice returned to Logansport, soon thereafter going
to Dayton, Ohio, gardening about two years, and at the butcher busi-
ness one year. He then returned to Logansport again and established
a meat market at the coi^ner of North and Sixth streets. For a period of
thirty-eight years he conducted a market at this corner, and he still owns
the corner where the shop stood, althoiigh he retired from active busi-
ness in 1910. He was at that time the oldest living butcher in Logans-
port. It is a fact that when he first began his meat market he had
to borrow the money to buy a horse, and when he first opened his doors
his capital was so limited that he could only buy one beef at a time.
He has prospered in the most unmistakable manner, and bore the
reputation of being an excellent butcher, a careful buyer, a good sales-
man, always courteous and square in all his dealings with his patrons,
and enjoyed during his entire career the patronage of many who first
frequented his little shop with its modest siipplies. Mr. Maurice is
a man of excellent habits of life, temperate and saving, and these quali-
ties have made possible the accumulation of his present property.
Mr. JMaurice has been twice married. He has two sons by his first
marriage — David W. and Charles L. In 1893 he "was married to Mrs.
Indiana Connolly, the daughter of James S. Wilson, an old pioneer of
Logansport, and the widow of Robert J. Connolly. IMrs. IMaurice has
one son by her first marriage — Wilson J. Connolly. She is a member of
the Second Presbyterian church.
Mr. Maurice is a Republican and is a member of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks.
James S. Wilson. An old and distinguished citizen of Logansport
in Cass county was James S. Wilson, who came to Logansport on a canal
boat, became identified with the local milling industry, and for many
years was one of the leading manufacturers of the city. James S. Wilson
was bom at Elizabethtown, in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, October
9, 1823, was of staunch American stock, and a son of Andrew and Eliz-
ai)eth (Shooley) Wilson, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Eng-
land. Until he was twelve years old he received an education in the
common schools of his native town, and his first practical experience was
as a clerk in a drug store. This he followed for three years, and it led
him to take up the study of medicine, but he soon abandoned his inten-
tion of becoming a physician and instead went West and found a position
998 HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY
as steward on a packet boat plying along the Wabash and Erie Canal in
the freight trade between Logansport and Toledo. In this way he visited
Logansport, and practically became a permanent resident in 1845. For
several years he was connected with the 'canal transportation, and in
1850 left that and accepted a clerkship with William Beach & Co. in the
Forest Mills, an illnstration of which old mills will be found on other
pages of this history. Seven years later, having a thorough experience
in all departments of the mill, he formed a partnership with Cecil &
Co., and subsequently became proprietor of the Logansport mills. He
was a prosperous miller and local manufacturer until 1890, at which
time he sold out the water power and mills to the city of Logansport,
which converted it to the use of municipal power and lighting purposes.
On May 21, 1844, Mr. Wilson married Delilah Creding, of Akron,
Ohio. To their marriage were born two children: Indiana, first
married Robert Connolly, and after his death became the wife of John
L. Maurice, and now lives in Logansport ; Virginia became the wife of
G. W. Stevens, who is president of the C. & 0. Railway, with residence
at Richmond, A^irginia. James S. Wilson was a Republican in politics,
and was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
the Elks of Richmond, Virginia.
James G. Johnson. After spending many years in mercantile lines
in Young America, J. G. Johnson is now living retired from active
pursuits, the greater part of his time and attention being given to
looking after his realty interests. A worthy representative of an old
and honored family, he has been a resident of Indiana since infancy,
and his entire career has been one of industry and energy conducing
to well-merited success. J. G. Johnson was born September 27, 1838,
near Cincinnati, in Hamilton county, Ohio, and is a son of William
and Sarah (Godfrey) Johnson. His father, born and reared in Ham-
ilton county, received excellent educational advantages, became a
physician, and after some years of practice came to Spencer county,
Indiana, in 1838, and here lived for several years; then came to Young
America, Cass county, where he practiced medicine. Thence he moved
to Durham, Missouri, where he died. He became a well-known mem-
ber of the Indiana medical profession, accumulated a comfortable com-
petency, and when he died left a wide circle of friends to mourn him.
He and his wife were the parents of tive children, namely: William,
Martha, Robert, Eliza Ann and J. G., all dead but the last named.
J. G. Johnson was educated in the common schools of Spencer county,
and his boyhood was spent much the same as that of any other country
•physician's son. He was eighteen years of age at the time he first
came to Cass county, at that time locating in Deer Creek township,
where for some time he worked as a farm hand. Subsequently he
became apprenticed to the trade of mason, and after thoroughly master-
ing its details followed that occupation for some time, eventually, how-
ever, turning his attention to mercantile pursuits. Mr. Johnson became
one of the pioneers in his chosen line in Young America, and for years
was a leading business man of this town. Always trustworthy and
reliable, he built up a business that covered the entire contiguoiis
territory, and, while he was shrewd and farsighted in his business
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 999
operations, his transactions were ever of a legitimate nature, and not
only did he establish himself in the confidence of his business associates
through the force of his integrity, but also gained the friendship and
esteem of his customers by a pleasant, genial and obliging personality.
He continued to enjoy a steady and well-balanced trade until several
years ago, when, feeling that he had earned a rest from his years of labor,
he retired. He still retains an active and intelligent interest, however,
in all that affects his community, giving the support of his influence,
his time and his means to promoting its welfare. Although nearing
his seventy-fifth year, his faculties are unimpaired, his memory is excel-
lent, and he recalls in a pleasing conversational manner many incidents
and experiences of early days in Young America. Everywhere he has
the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. ]\Ir. Johnson holds prestige
in the Masonic fraternity as the first man in Young America to receive
his IMasonic emblem. With his family, he attends the Christian church.
On July 19, 1862_, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Margaret P.
Burrows, and they had three children: William H., Sarah J. and John.
All these children died before the mother. Mr. Johnson is a Prohibi-
tionist, but is not an office seeker.
A. A. Segraves. One of the native sons of Indiana who has conferred
honor and dig-nity upon the state of his birth is A. A. Segraves, general
farmer and stock raiser of Deer Creek township, who owns and operates
a handsome tract of 180 acres on the Kokomo road. Reared to agricul-
tural pursuits, he has made this his life vocation, and his success has
come as a result of persistent industry, unfailing energy and integrity
in business matters that have won him the confidence of his associates.
Mr. Segraves was born January 2, 1859, in Carroll county, Indiana,
and is a son of William and Mary (Plank) Segraves.
Elam and Martha (]\Ioore) Segraves, the paternal grandparents of
A. A. Segraves, were natives of the Old Dominion, from which state they
migrated to Ohio as pioneers, settling near Eaton. There their son,
William, was born and reared, taking up the occupations of farmer
and carpenter and subsequently coming to Carroll county. During the
Civil war, William Segi'aves enlisted in the Seventy-second Regiment,
Mounted Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and he starved to death with
others at Andersonville prison. He and his wife were the parents of
three children, namely: A. A.; James H., who died unmarried, March
2, 1885 ; and Martha, who became the wife of William Johnson and
has three children.
A. A. Segraves was a boy when brought to Deer Creek township,
and here he secured his educational training in the district schools,
finishing his course in the Swamp school. In the meantime he had
spent the summer months in working upon the home farm, thoroughly
assimilating all the details of agricultural work, and continued to remain
under the parental roof until he was twenty-four years of age, at
which time he embarked upon a career of his own. He began his
operations by renting land from John Hendrickson, but subsequently
became his stepfather's partner, and since then his rise has lieen steady
and continuous. His present farm of 180 acres, on the Kokomo road,
has been brought to a high state of cultivation and improved with good
1000 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
buildings, and is known as one of the valuable tracts of the township.
Mr. Segraves has other business interests and in numerous ways con-
tributes materially to the importance of his community as a center of
business activity.
On May 8, 1884, Mr. Segraves was married to Miss Clara Crockett,
a daughter of John Crockett, a sketch of whose life appears in another
part of this work. Five children have been born to them : William
E., an enterprising young agriculturist who is managing his father's
interests, married Lola Bowman, and has two children, Irena and
Geneva, also Mary, deceased ; Earl, of Saskatchewan, Canada, manager
of his father's half-section of rich farming land, who married Mabel
Noakes and has three children, Anal, Harold and a baby daughter,
and ]Mary Mabel, Ruth and Lenna, all at home with their parents. Mr.
Segraves is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and with his sons holds
membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Mrs. Segraves
being a member of the Rebekahs. The family's religious affiliation is
with the Uuiversalist church. Mr. Segraves has proved himself in all
the relations of life an earnest, honest, upright man, and a citizen of
whom any community might be justly proud.
Allen Snyder. Cass is essentially an agrieiiltural county. It has
its factories, its mills and its business houses, and the professions are,
of course, well represented, but the chief industries here have been
those of farming and stock raising, and along these lines the leading
citizens have attained their positions of prestige. Among the men
who have devoted their lives to the tilling of the soil, and through their
operations have added to the general prosperity and welfare of the
community, Allen Snyder takes prominent place. He is the owner of
two farms, of one hundred and sixty and forty acres, respectively, and
has also been active in public affairs, being at present a member of the
common council of Logansport. He has been a resident of this section
all of his life, ha\dng been born in the old house now standing on his
present farm in September, 1863, a son of "William and Catherine
(Senseman) Snyder. William Snyder was born in Lancaster, Penn-
sylvania, and came to Cass county, Indiana, as a young man, taking
up land in the vicinity of Galveston, where he spent the remainder of
his life in agricultural pursuits. He and his wife were the parents of
fourteen children, as follows : Samuel ; John, who is deceased ; Wil-
liam; Charles; Allen, of this review; Justina, who is deceased; Eliza-
beth ; Mary ; Jennie ; Martha ; ]\Iinnie ; Frank ; Sarah and Henrietta.
Allen Snyder firet attended the Runaway school and later the Pep-
permint and Washington schools, in Washington township, and during
his entire school period worked on the home farm, assisting his father
and brothers in clearing, cultivating, plowing and harvesting, and in
the thousand and one tasks that occupy the busy farmer's attention.
William Snyder had a large farm and there was plenty for each of the
sons to do, but their educations were not neglected, nor was their
moral training forgotten, the good mother rearing them to habits of
industry, honesty and thrift. On attaining his majority, Allen Snyder
embarked upon a career of his own on a part of his father's farm, and
as the years passed he added to his holdings and continued to put up
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 1001
new buildings and make other improvements until his farms are con-
sidered some of the most valuable in the township. Although he does
not engage as actively in the farm labor as in former years, Mr. Snyder
still superintends the operations, and is known as a practical farmer
and excellent judge of cattle, of which he has large herds.
On March 5, 1887, Mr. Snyder was united in marriage with Miss
Anna Eckerle, daughter of Leopold and Nancy (Mallory) Eckerle, who
came to Cass county from Ohio, and here took up land at an early date.
There were eight children in the Eckerle family : Frank ; Charles ; Anna,
who married Mr. Snyder ; Alice and ^Martha, who are deceased ; Wil-
liam; Rose and I\Iary. Mr. Eckerle, a retired mechanic, still survives
and makes his home at Flora, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder have
had five children : Eddie L., w^ho has charge of the home place, where
he resides, married Myrtle Bone; Howard, who married Mary Lam-
bert ; RoUie ; Marvin and Vera. Mr. Snyder has taken a keen interest
in public matters, and was recently elected a member of the common
council of Galveston, where he has rendered efficient and conscientious
service. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias of Young America
and of the Democratic party. He has a widespread reputation for
integrity and honorable dealing, and his friends are only limited to
the number of his acquaintances.
Andrew J. Gray, M. D., physician and surgeon at Young America,
Indiana, is one of the eminent professional men of this part of Cass
county, and his activities as doctor, civic official and public-spirited
citizen have marked him as a representative of the best type of progres-
sive American citizenship, and gained him the esteem and confidence
of his fellow townsmen and the sincere regard of a \ride circle of per-
sonal friends. Since locating in Young America, in 1890, Dr. Gray
has identified himself with various movements for the public welfare,
his connection with which has caused his election to positions of honor
and trust, and in his discharge of the duties of which he has displayed
the same faithfulness and conscientiousness that have marked his pro-
fessional career. Dr. Gray was born October 1, 1854, in Jackson town-
ship, Cass county, Indiana, and is a son of John and Harriet (Culver)
Gray.
John Gray was born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, and was
reared to agricultural pursuits. On leaving the Keystone state, he went
to Butler county, Ohio, but remained there only a short time, subse-
quently coming to Carroll county, Indiana, where his father had taken
up land. Mr. Gray spent the remainder of his life here in agricultural
pursuits, and died with a comfortable competence and with the full
esteem and respect of his numerous friends. He and his wife were the
parents of four children, namely : Jacob, James, Joseph and Andrew
J., of whom James is deceased.
Andrew J. Gray received his early education in the common schools
of Jackson township, and during the summer months assisted his father
in the work of the farm. Follo^^•ing this he took a finishing course at
Walton, and then prepared for a collegiate course by attendance in the
preparatory school at Valparaiso. Succeeding this, he entered the
Indiana Medical University, at Indianapolis, where he was graduated
1002 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1897, and immediately entered
upon the practice of his profession at North Grove, Miami county,
Indiana, where he continued for ten years. In 1890, Dr. Gray came
to Young America, where lie has since become the possessor of a large
and representative professional business. He has been a close student
and is the possessor of a valuable medical library, the perusal of which
occupies whatever time he can spare from his professional duties. He
has a well-appointed office, equipped with the most highly improved
ec]uipment of the profession and everything that will in any way add
to the comfort and convenience of his patients. He belongs to the Cass
County and Indiana State IMedical Societies and the American Medical
Association, in the work of which he takes great interest, and his fra-
ternal connections include membership in the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
On November 10, 1891, Dr. Gray was married to IMrs. Kate P. Ham-
ilton, the widow of Joseph Hamilton, of Kokomo, Indiana, and they
have one child, Joseph P., who is engaged in teaching school in Cass
county. For four years Dr. Gray served efficiently in the office of
trustee of schools, and during his administration the present Young
America high school was erected. At the present time he is a member
of the board of Cass county commissioners, and is giving his best
services in behalf of the community in which he has resided for so
many years.
Claude Beck. It is almost entirely upon the standing of its busi-
ness men and leading citizens, upon their reliability, integrity, enter-
prise and public spirit, that the standing of any community rests That
locality is indeed fortunate when it can boast of a number of self-made
men, for, while they have been advancing their own interests, they have
at the same time been forwarding the growth and prosperity of their
community, and, having succeeded themselves, are almost invariably
ready to assist others to success, thus materially contributing to the
public welfare. Among the citizens who have been the architects of
their own fortunes, and who have builded wisely and well, none stands
higher in general esteem than Claude Beck, of Deer Creek township.
Losing his father before his birth, his life from earliest boyhood has been
one of incessant activity, and today he is the owner of a finely cultivated
tract of more than two hundred acres of land. Mr. Beck was born
August 18, 1872, near the ^^llage of Liberty, Union county, Indiana, and
is a son of Alvin and Cynthia T. (Showalter) Beck. His father, also a
native of Union county, was a farmer by occupation, and died when still
in the prime of life, leaving Jiis wife with five small children, George E.,
Edwin A.. Bruce and Garry, who are now deceased, and Claude.
The educational advantages of Claude Beck were somewhat limited,
owing to the fact that it was early necessary for him to become self-
supporting, but he attended the schools of Young America, made the
most of his opportunities, and, being ambitious and industrious, man-
aged to acquire a much better education than many who had much better
chances. When still an infant he was brought by his mother to Cass
county, and here when still a lad he began his career as an agriculturist.
When yet in his teens he started operations on a tract of rented land
FRANK V. GUTHRIE
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1003
in Deer Creek township, and as tlie years passed invested his earnings
in property nntil at the present time he has, as before stated, two hun-
dred acres. Here he has made numerous improvements, his buildings
being' large and substantial and of modern architecture, and liis ma-
chinery being of the latest manufacture and in the best of repair. The
greater part of his attention has been given to general farming, but he
has also experimented in stock raising with a full measure of success. In
business affairs Mr. Beck is a man of keen discrimination and sound .judg-
ment, of energy and perseverance, and the prosperity which has at-
tended his efforts is the merited reward of his own faithful labor.
In May, 1892, Mr. Beck was married to Miss Mary A. Roach, and
they have had a family of eight children : Maude, who is deceased ;
Ethel E., who became the wife of Carl S. Zook and resides on her father's
farm ; Ruby S., Tonawanda, Virgil, Alvin, Bruce and Victor. The chil-
dren have all been given good chances for an education, and fitted for the
positions in life which they may be called upon to till. Mr. Beck is a
popular member of the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
Frank V. Guthrie. It not infrequently occurs that the men in a
family will display an inclination to follow the same business or voca-
tion, and this is especially true in the professional occupations. Where
the son has inherited the father's predilection and ability, it is but
natural that his bent should be along the same line, and Cass county
furnishes a number of instances of one profession being passed down
from one to the succeeding generation. An example of this kind is found
in Frank V. Guthrie, the capable county attorney of Cass county,
whose career before the bar is but a continuation of the success gained
by his father in the practice of law. It is probable, however, that Mr.
Guthrie's high position can be accredited as much to his hard, faith-
ful work, as to any qualities of a hereditary character, for his has been
an active and industrious career, filled with earnest, painstaking
endeavor directed along well-defined lines. He is a native of Cass
county, having been born in AVashington township, August 19, 1865,
and is one of six children, five sons of whom are now living, born to
Alexander and ]\lary (Brosier) Guthrie.
Alexander Guthrie was born in Switzerland county. Indiana, and
was ten years of age Avhen he accompanied his father, "William Guthrie,
to Cass county. Here he was reared on his fathei-'s farm, early in life
became a school teacher, and eventually took up the study of law, a
profession which he followed for about thirteen years from 1870. His
death occurred in 1906, and he is survived by his widow.
Frank V. Guthrie attended the public and high schools of Logans-
port, graduating from the latter in 1886, and follo^ving this began the
study of his chosen profession under the preceptorship of his father.
Subsequently he entered the offi.ee of DeWitt C. Justice, although
prior to this time he had been elected justice of the peace, an office
in which he served four years. In 1892, IMr. Guthrie took the examina-
tion and was admitted to the bar, and since that year has continued
in constant practice in Logansport. He was associated with his former
1004 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
preceptor in a professional partnership until Mr. Justice's death, and
since that time has practiced alone. He was not long in securing recogni-
tion as a lawyer of high attainments, and soon acquired a large and
representative i^ractice. His activities in Democratic politics won him
the chairmanship of the Democratic Central Committee of Cass county
in 1906, and as such he served until January, 1912. In the meantime,
on January 1, 1909, he w^as the successful nominee of his party for the
ofifice of county attorney, a position in which he has served with the
greatest ability to the present time. Mr. Guthrie has been connected
with much of the important litigation of recent years in Cass county,
and has acquitted himself in an able manner in all the cases with
which he has been connected. Among his associates at the bar he is
recognized as a valuable associate and as an antagonist to be feared.
His religious connection is with Eel River English Lutheran cliurch,
while fraternally he belongs to the Odd Fellows Lodge No. 417, and
Lodge No. 66 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
On June 25, 1890, Mr. Guthrie was married to ]\Iiss Catherine Miller,
of Logansport, who was bom and reared here, and to this union there
have been born two sons, namely: Earl F. and Asa B.
BiVBT SwAPFORD. The life history of the gentleman whose name
heads this brief review has been commensurate with that of Cass county,
where he has made his home since 1866. It is difficult for the enter-
prising and energetic farmer, after spending long years of earnest toil
in cultivating a property, to retire from active pureuits and turn his
property over to younger hands, but when he eventually arrives at the
conclusion that he has reached an age when he is entitled to rest from
his labors, he generally removes to a nearby city or village, and there
becomes a welcome addition to its population as a man whose long ex-
perience makes him valuable in forwarding his community's interests.
This remark is in no sense inappropriate to Mr. SwafEord, who is now
living a life of retirement in Lincoln, whence he removed when he turned
over the management of his 160-acre farm to his sons.
Bart Swafford was born in Preble county, Ohio, on the 22d day
of May, 1845, a son of Archibald Swafford. His parents were farming
people of Preble county, where they spent their lives, both now being
deceased. They were the parents of eight children, namely: William,
Bart, John, Emmett, Reese, James, Mary and Ella. Bart Swafford
received his education in the district schools of his day and locality, and
was reared to agricultural pursuits on his father's farm. He was
thrifty and industrious in his youth, carefully saving his earnings with
the view of becoming a property owner himself, and in 1866 was able
to realize his ambition when he came to Deer Creek township and pur-
chased his present land. Each year he added to his property and made
improvements thereon, until it became one of the valuable tracts of the
township. He erected a modern home, substantial barns and good out-
buildings, and was successful in the raising of good stock and abundant
crops. At the time of his retirement he moved to Lincoln, where he has
since resided, and has taken a keen interest in the growth and develop-
ment of his adopted place. He has not entered public life, having no
desire for public office, but has done a good citizen's part in promoting
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1005
the welfare of his community and its people, and has never been back-
ward in supporting those movements which he has believed would work
out for the ultimate good of all concerned.
Mr. Swafford was married to Miss Melinda Toney, and they reared a
family of seven children, namely : Reese, John, Archibald, Beverly, Em-
mett, Dennis, who is now deceased, and Mrs. Roxie Maryland.
Beverly and Emmett Swafiford, sons of Bart Swafford, are the owners
of a sixty-acre farm just across the road from the homestead, and also
rent the latter place from their father. Both were educated under the
veteran Cass county teacher, John Babb, working On the farm during
their school period and continuing to be tillers of the soil after attain-
ing their majorit}'. They have been successful in farming and stock
raising operations, and have maintained the family reputation for in-
dustry and integrity.
AViLLi.vM O. Burrows. One who has considered the pursuits of pri-
vate life as abundantl}^ worthy of his best efforts, and who has concen-
trated his interests, energies and attention upon his home county, la-
bored persistently for its advancement and growth, and at the same
time has promoted his private interests so that he holds a place of
prestige among his fellow citizens, is Wiliam 0. Burrows, of Deer Creek
township, the owner of 145 acres of excellent farming land.
The subject always closest to Mr. Burrows' heart has been agricul-
ture, and he has not only gained an enviable position in his chosen call-
ing, but has marked his career by a memorable showing forth of the
utmost fidelity to principle and to the highest standard of human con-
duct. He was born on the old Burrows homestead, owned by his brother,
John E. Burrows, in Deer Creek township, Cass county, December 21,
1855, and is a son of Joseph and Mary (Custenborder) Burrows. His
father, a native of Greene county, Ohio, came to this township as a j'oung
man, and during the remainder of his life was engaged in the cultivation
of the soil, becoming one of his community's substantial and influential
citizens. He and his wife became the parents of six children, namely :
Sarah, who became the wife of Peter Pierson; Priseilla, who married
David Studebaker; Mary C, Amanda, widow of Chauncey C. Mummert;
William O. and John E.
AVilliam O. Burrows commenced his education in the old Thomas
school and passed all of his school days in the country. His boyhood
was spent much the same as other farmers' youths of his day and locality,
there always being plenty of work on the homestead to keep his hands
busy and his mind occupied. In the meantime he was securing experi-
ence of a practical nature that was of gi'eat value to him during the
years that followed. He was always industrious and ambitious, and on
attaining his majority embarked upon a career of his own, first renting
land and later going into debt for his present property. He was able
after some years of labor to clear his land from its incumbrance, and
from that time his rise has been steady and continued. He is engaged
in general farming and stock raising, in both of which lines he has met
with a full measure of success, and his land is constantly increasing in
value. As a farmer Mr. Burrows is inclined toward modern methods
and ideas. In his everj^-day citizenship he displays the same enterprise
1006 HISTOKY OF CASS COUNTY
and practices the same creed. He has enriched his community and added
to its importance by developing a choice property, and for this reason,
if for no other, deserves a place among Deer Creek township's represen-
tative men.
On December 31, 1879, Mr. Burrows was married to Miss Eliza J.
Blue, daughter of Uriah and Mary (Cohen) Blue, and they have had the
following children : Grace ; Delbert, who married Grace Seward and has
four sons — Harold, Robert, Arthur and Richard; Elmer, who died at
the age of iifteen years; and Margaret, who is attending school. Uriah
Blue was born in Carroll county, Indiana, and there spent many years
on a farm, but eventually came to Cass county. He and his wife were
the parents of four children: Eliza J., who married Mr. Burrows; Ella
M., JMary Ann and Oretta. Mr. and Mrs. Burrows are prominent mem-
bers of the German Baptist church.
John R. Babb. There is no vocation in which man can engage that
is more highly honored than that of the teacher. Placed under his care
are the plastic minds of youth, eager for knowledge, easily impressed,
and the responsibility resting on the shoulders of the educator is a
heavy one. Each year the standard of education has been placed higher,
and he who would keep abreast of his calling must constantly study,
even as those under him study. For forty years John Babb has been
engaged in teaching in the public schools of Cass county, and during
this time he has made a name for himself in his profession, has been
also a successful agriculturist, and as a citizen has gained the respect
and good will of all with whom he has come in contact. He is now the
owner of a farm of forty acres, on which he still resides, located on Lin-
coln rural free delivery route No. 15, in Deer Creek township, although
he has retired from active agricultural pursuits. jNIr. Babb is a native
of Ohio, born near Greenville, in Darke county, August 31, 1850, a son
of William H. and Maiy C. (Anderson) Babb. His father brought the
family to Cass county when John Babb was still a lad, settling on a
farm in Deer Creek township, where he continued to be engaged in till-
ing the soil during the remainder of his life. He met with a reasonable
amount of success, and was known as one of his section's industrious
men and practical farmers, and as a citizen who ever had the welfare of
his community at heart. He and his wife were the parents of ten chil-
dren, of whom five grew to maturity, namely : John, James N., David B.,
Reese M. and Ulysses S., who is deceased.
John Babb commenced his educational training in the old Salem
school, originally a log church, following which he attended the public
schools of Valparaiso and a preparatory school at Lebanon, Ohio. Thus
equipped he secured his teacher's license and at once entered upon his
pedagogic work, in which he has since become known all over Cass
county. In the meantime he has followed farming to some extent, de-
voting himself to his calling in the winter months, and spending his
summers in cultivating his fields, although he retired from the latter
occupation some years since. Mr. Babb is known as an ideal educator,
who has the much-desired quality of being able to impart to his students
his own extensive knowledge. Many of his pupils have gone out into
the world and made names for themselves in various lines of endeavor,
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY . 1007
and have frequently given credit to their preceptor for his wise and valu-
able teachings that stai-ted them off well prepared for the serious business
of life.
Mr. Babb was married in 1877 to Miss Indiana Toney, who died,
leaving two children: Claude D., who married Florence Kelly, and has
three children — Omer, Elwin and Wilma ; and Clyde, who married
Laura Daggert, and has two children — Hilda and Robert.
Mr. Babb belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and has been
liberal in his support of religious and charitable movements. He has
not entered public life, having had no desire for personal preferment,
but has not been unmindful of the duties of citizenship, and has done
all in his power to further the interests of his community and to aid
in securing good government. His long connection with educational
matters has made him widely known, and everywhere he is esteemed as
a man whose long life has done much to better his locality and those
about him.
James Alexander Nelson. An excellent illustration of the rewards
to be gained through a life of industry, energy and probity, is to be
found in the career of James Alexander Nelson, of Deer Creek township,
now the owner of 403 acres of valuable land, whose success has been
attributable to individual worth. A resident of Cass county since boy-
hood, he has been closely identified with the growth and development of
this section, and has done his full share in bringing about the wonderful
changes that have marked Cass county's history during the past several
decades. James Alexander Nelson was born September 25, 1851, in
Union county, Indiana, and is a son of John and Nancy (Allen) Nelson.
His father, also a native of that county, spent his life in tilling the soil,
and became one of his commtinity's prominent and substantial citizens.
There were four sons in the family : John, William, Jacob, who is now
deceased, and James A.
The early education of James A. Nelson was secured in the schools
of Lybrook, Union county, and he was still a lad when he was brought
to Cass county, here completing his studies in the common schools. He
was reared to agricultural pursuits, and remained with his mother until
he was twenty-one years of age, at which time he embarked on a career
of his own, taking up a tract of land in Deer Creek township. As the
years have passed and his finances have permitted, he has added to his
land from time to time, and now has about 403 acres, over 200 acres of
which have been cleared by himself.
He carries on general farming and stock raising, using the most ap-
proved methods, and has taken advantage of modern machinery in cul-
tivating his land. Progressive along all lines, he has recognized that the
successful farmer best helps himself who helps the community, and
accordingly has done all in his power to advance the interests of Deer
Creek township. His reputation in business circles has ever been that
of a man of integrity and honorable principles and he justly merits the
high esteem in which he is universally held.
Mr. Nelson was married to Miss Ella Barnhart, and they have been
the parents of six children, namely: Roy, who married Esther Peters,
and has one daughter — Geneva I. ; Bertha, who married a Mr. Babb,
1008 . HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
and has two children — James and Esther; Edna, single and residing at
home with her parents, and Everett and Emmett, who are attending
school. The oldest child. May, died at the age of sixteen years. With his
wife and children Mr. Nelson attends the New Light church. He is a
Democrat politically.
Martin Van Buren Burrows. Among the residents of Deer Creek
township who are successfully carrying on the work of breeding and
dealing in live stock and developing the fields according to modern
methods of farming, is numbered Martin Van Buren Burrows, whose
home is on Galveston rural free delivery route No. 13. Here he has a
farm of seventy-one acres, on which he has carried on operations for
many years, during which he has gained a widespread reputation for
integrity, probity and good citizenship. He was born November 15,
1837, in Greene county, Ohio, and is a son of Benjamin and Mary
(Stottler) Burrows. His father, a native of Maryland, migrated west
to Ohio in young manhood, settling in Greene county, where he was
engaged in farming until he brought the family to Cass county in 1865.
In addition to carrying on farming he followed the trade of blacksmith
for a long period, and accumulated a large tract of land. He became
widely known in his part of the county and was accounted one of Deer
Creek township's best citizens. He and his wife were the parents of
three children, namely: Martin Van Buren, William Jackson and Mrs.
Mary Founda, both of whom are now deceased.
After completing his education in the common schools of Greene
county, Ohio, Martin V. Burrows started upon his career as an agricul-
turist. His early training was secured in his native county, for, being
his father 's youngest son, he was put to work in the fields almost as soon
as he was large enough to grasp the plow-handles. Reared carefully, by
Christian parents, he was taught the value of industry and honesty,
being trained under the teachings that success in life was only to be
obtained through the medium of constant application and tireless per-
severance.
Mr. Burrows was about twenty-eight years of age when he accom-
panied his parents to Cass county, Indiana, and here his first farm con-
sisted of rented land. It was not long, however, until he purchased a
property of his own, although it was some time before he had it entirely
clear of indebtedness. Laboring faithfully and intelligently along well-
defined lines, as the years passed he was able to make improvements on
his land, to add thereto from time to time, and as his means would
permit to erect substantial buildings to take the place of those originally
built. His labors have borne fruit, and today he finds himself in pos-
session of a handsome property which compares favorably with any of
its size in the towTiship. He always has been known for his integi'ity in
matters of business, is accounted a good neighbor, and his numerous
friends testify to his general popularity.
On June 16, 1859, Mr. Burrows was united in marriage with Miss
Mary Campbell, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Braun) Campbell.
The Campbells were from Indiana, while the Braun family migrated to
this state from Pennsylvania. Six children were born to Mr. and Mi-s.
Burrows, as follows : Anna, who passed away at the age of fifteen years ;
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1009
Warren L., who married a Miss Wolf, and has two children — Otis W. and
Etta M. ; Frank, the wife of Jacob Cripe, who has four children — Lee
and Mae, twins, Fern and Geneva; Albert, who married (first) Ella
Yernon, by whom he had one child — Blanch, and married (second)
Elsie Hart, and has two children — Grace and Ross; Mary, the wife of
Ira Smith, who has two children — Edna and Earl, and Walter, who
married Mattie Bruner. Mr. and i\Irs. Burrows belong to the Dunkard
church.
Otha a. Davis. Residing in a pleasant home on his 120-acre farm,
located on Walton route 16, about ten miles south of Logansport, Otha
A. Davis is numbered among his community's successful agriculturists.
A tSvau of strong individuality and indubitable probity, he has gained
position through the exercise of industry and perseverance, and has at
the same time promoted the general welfare while enhancing individual
prosperity. Today he ranks among the most progressive and enter-
prising agriculturists of Deer Creek township and has gained a position
of distinctive prominence bj^ reason of his superior ability, close appli-
cation and sound judgment. He has also maintained a lively interest
in the industrial and popular activities of the community and has con-
tributed materially to the general progress and upbuilding.
Otha A. Davis was born August 3, 1869, in Washington township,
Cass county, Indiana, on the old Anthauer farm, and is a son of N. M.
and Mary (Deacon) Davis. His father came from near Eaton, Preble
county, Ohio, to Cass county, and here continued to be engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits during the remainder of his life, accumulating a com-
rortable competency in worldly goods and gaining and retaining the re-
spect and esteem of his business associates and neighbors.
He and his wife had a family of four children, as follows : Elmer
E., a farmer of Deer Creek township; Otha A., of this review; Eliza-
beth, who is deceased ; and John W., who is engaged in business in
Chicago, Illinois.
The educational training of Otha A. Davis was secured in Deer
Creek township, where he attended Deacon School District No. 2
during the winter months, while in the sununers he assisted his father
in plowing, cultivating, planting and harvesting, and in the multi-
tudinous duties that form a part of the life of the busy Indiana farmer.
When he was nineteen years of age, he began farming on his own
account, first renting small tracts of land, later increasing his tracts,
and eventually buying from his earnings a property of his own. This
he brought to a high state of cultivation and disposed of at a profit, and
at that time bought his present farm, a tract of 120 acres, which he is
devoting to general farming and stock raising, in both of which lines
he has met with success. The general appearance of his farm at once
stamps the owner as a man of intelligence and good management as
well as one of untiring energy, the buildings being substantially built
and of modern architecture, the fields being well laid out and neatly
fenced, and the cattle healthy, sleek and w^ell fed. He takes an inter-
est in political matters, especially those of a local nature, but merely
as an onlooker, having never had any aspirations for public office. He
has been interested to some extent in fraternal work, being a valued
1010 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pytliias, being senior warden in the
last named and popular in all, while Mrs. Davis belongs to the Daugh-
ters of Eebekah.
On December 26, 1888, Mr. Davis was united in marriage with Miss
Luella Jane Crockett, daughter of John Crockett, a review of whose
career will be found on another page of this work. Seven children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis, namely: One who died in infancy;
Enunett, a Logansport business man, who married Esther Hyman ;
Homer E., who assists his father in the work of the home farm ; and
Janet, Lowell, Wilmer and Joseph, all residing with their parents.
The family attends the Universalist church, and its members have ever
been liberal in their support of religious and charitable movements.
Thomas McElheny. A native son of Logansport, widely known and
highly regarded by all classes, Thomas LIcElheny, clerk of the court of
Cass county, has spent his entire career in this city, and has won recog-
nition in business and public life through the medium of his own efforts
and abilities. Since the time when he completed his schooling, as a small
lad, he has made his own way in the world, directing his ambitious activ-
ities along well-defined paths and characterizing his operations with a
high regard for the rights of others and an earnest desire to assist his
city and its people that has won him friends everywhere. Thomas
McElheny, or "Tom," as he is more familiarly known, was born in
Logansport, Indiana, October 20, 1878, a son of Robert and Ida
(Mason) McElheny.
The IMcElheny family was founded in the United States by the
great-grandfather of our suliject. who came to this country from Ire-
land. The grandfather, Thomas R. IMcElheny, was born in Dayton,
Ohio, from whence he came to Cass coianty, Indiana, in pioneer days,
locating in Logansport, Indiana, where, with his son, Robert, he was
engaged in the grocery business for many years. Contrary to what
might be expected from their nationality the members of this family
were Protestants. Robert IMcElheny was a member of Company B,
Forty-sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving one year
during the Civil war, after the close of which he returned to the pur-
suits of peace, spending the rest of his life in merchandising, and pass-
ing away February 29, 1898. His widow survives, living in Logansport,
and has been the mother of nine children, Thomas, the fourth in order
of birth, being one of three siirvivors.
Tom McElheny was reared to manhood and has always resided in
Logansport. His education was secured in the common schools, and
w^hen still a small lad he began to make his own way in the world,
accepting whatever honorable occupations presented themselves. Being
of a thrifty and industrious nature, he carefully saved his earnings,
and Avhen twenty-four years of age established himself in a general
insurance bi;siness. Four years later he added a real estate depart-
ment to his enterprise, and in both lines he has met with well-desei*ved
success. The companies represented by Mr. McElheny & Company
organized in 1902, are as follows: Home Insurance Company, In-
surance Company of North America, North British and Mercantile,
HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY 1011
Fireman's Fund, Fire Association, Franklin, Royal, Standard Fire,
Globe Indemnity, Ocean Accident Guaranty Corporation, New York
Plate Glass, Hartford Steam Boiler, "international Live Stock,
Standard Accident, National Surety Company, National Life of Vermont.
While he has supported the Republican party as a rule in national af-
fairs, he has been broad-minded enough to criticise what he deems
wrong in his party's policies, and probably could be better termed an
independent Republican. In 1910 he entered the public arena as a
candidate for the office of clerk of the Cass county court, was elected
by a handsome majority, and has continued to capably fill tbat office
to the present time. Mr. ]\IcElheny has been prominent fraternally as
a member of the Masons, in which he holds membership in the Blue
Lodge, Chapter and Council. He is also a Scottish Rite ^lason and a
Shriner, a member of IMurat Temple, Indianapolis. He holds member-
ship also with the Knights of Pythias and Benevolent Protective Order
of Elks. With his family he attends the Methodist Episcopal church.
On June 7, 1904, Mr. McElheny was married to JMiss ^label Pitman,
of LaFayette, Indiana, and they have three sons: Tom, Jr., Joseph and
Richard.
Edgar D. Robinson. From the Old Dominion state have come many
of Cass county's best agriculturists, men reared to the soil wlio have
brought with them many of the sterling, sturdy traits of their fore-
fathers. In this class stands Edgar D. Robinson, of Deer Creek town-
ship, who migrated to Indiana in young manhood with no capital save
a laudable ambition, an energetic spirit and a persistent nature, which,
however, constituted a sufBcient foundation upon which to erect a
structure of siiccess. Today, Mr. Robinson is the owner of eighty acres
of excellent land, and has a recognized place among the substantial
men of his community. He was bom in Virginia on the 3d of May,
1865, and is a son of Alexander and Caroline ( Gather) Robinson,
natives of that state, where they spent their entire lives in farming,
and both have now passed away and are buried in their beloved Virginia.
Edgar D. Robinson received his educational training in the schools
of his native vicinity, and from earliest boyhood was trained by his
father in the duties of the farm. He continued to assist his father
until he was twepty-two years old, at which time he left the parental
roof and came to Cass county, which has since been the scene of his
labors. On his advent here, he first located at Walton, where he secured
employment Avorking on the farm of the Wendlings, situated near that
place. He was thrifty, industrious and enterprising, carefully saving
his earnings, and was eventually able to secure his present property,
a farm of eighty acres. This land had but few improvements when Mr.
Robinson became its owner, but since that time it has been converted
into one of the most valuable tracts of its size in the township. As
time has passed and his resources have permitted, he has added to his
buildings and equipment, making necessarv improvements in a modern
way and keeping his implements and buildings in the best of repair.
Although the greater part of his attention has been given to general
farming, he has also met with some success as a. stock raiser, his sleek,
well-fed herds of cattle giving evidence of his ability in this line. In
1012 HISTORY PF CASS COUNTY
business matters he has always displayed the strictest integrity, thus
winning and retaining the eontidence and respect of those with whom
he has had transactions.
Mr. Robinson was united in marriage with Miss Ursula DeHaven,
and to this union there has been born one child: Clarence, ilrs.
Robinson is a consistent member of Salem Methodist Episcopal church,
and they are liberal in their support of church and charity. He has
shoAvn some interest in fraternal matters, being a member of the
Masonic order, but aside from this has given his entire attention to
his farm and his honie, which have satisfied his ambitions. He has not
eared for public life, and is no politician, taking merely a good citizen's
interest in matters that affect his community. It is such men that form
the bone and sinew of any section, and to them must be given the credit
for the great advance enjoyed by Cass county along agricultural lines.
John Hynes. The pioneers of Cass county have done their work,
and the result of their efforts is shown today in the magnificently de-
veloped farms, the flourishing towns and cities, the splendidly kept roads
and the perfectly equipped schools. All this was not brought about in
a day, but is the resiilt of years of unceasing endeavor, coupled with
constant faith in the locality and appreciation of its possibilities. One
of the representative farmers of this locality, who belongs to an old and
honored family, and who has himself been identified with the agricul-
tural history of his part of the county, is John Hynes, the owner of 318
acres of well cultivated land in section 11, Clinton township. Mr. Hynes
was born on the farm which he now occupies, August 18, 1849, and is a
son of John and Nancy ( Coble ) Hynes.
John Hynes, the elder, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsyl-
vania, in December, 1811, and in 1828 came to Cass county and entered
land. Returning to IMontgomery county, Ohio, he was married to Nancy
Coble, who was born near Dayton, Ohio, in December, 1811, and in 1832
they returned to Cass county, where they spent the remainder of their
lives in agricultural pursuits, Mr. Hynes dying in 1890 and his wife in
1881. They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom four are
living at this date: Nancy J., who is the widow of Hugh Fitzer; i\Iar-
garet, who is the widow of W. K. Canada ; Ella, the wife of William H.
Tyner, and John, of this review.
John Hynes was reared on the homestead place, and attended the
district schools during the winter terms vmtil he was twenty-one years
of age, in the meantime spending his summer months on the farm. He
was first married to Miss Ella Parks, who died without issue, as did also
his second wife, who bore the maiden name of Alice Hilderbrand. His
third wife was Ella Loesh. On November 19, 1885, Mr. Hynes was mar-
ried (fourth) to Jennie Gasaway, who was born in Clinton township
and educated in the district schools here, and they became the parents
of two children : Alda, who resides at home, was given an excellent edu-
cation in music and is now a teacher ; and Rachel, also single and at home,
a graduate of the district and high schools and Purdue University, in
which institution she took the short course.
Mr. and Mrs. Hynes and their children are members of the Christian
church at Pleasant Hill, where Mr. Hynes is acting as an elder. He is
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1013
a member of Burrows Lodge No. 495, I. 0. 0. F., and of the Grand
Lodge, and is past grand therein ; and of Logansport Lodge of the Tribe
of Ben Hur. He is a Democrat in his political views, served as assessor
of Cass county for four years, and at this time is superintendent of the
Hynes & Porter gravel road.
Mr. Hynes has devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits, and
at this time is the owner of 318 acres of good land. Farming, as con-
ducted today, is an enterprise requiring close calculation and scientific
management, a technical trade full of demands for exact information
and the deft touch, and to win the full measure of success the modern
farmer must be a man of sobriety, industry and energetic nature. A
glance at Mr. Hynes' well-regulated property will assure the visitor that
he is possessed of all of these faculties, while his sleek cattle, well-fed
hogs and standard bred horses testify to his ability as a stockman. Per-
sonally he is a man of pleasing address, and his many admirable quali-
ties of mind and heart have won him hosts of friends and admirers. He
has invested his means judiciously and intelligently, and is a stockholder
in the Farmers and iMerehants Bank at Logansport.
Hon. Willard C. Fitzer. The unusual and versatile talents that
go to make for success in diversified fields of endeavor are seldom pos-
sessed in full degree by any one individual, but in the case of the Hon.
Willard C. Fitzer, of Clinton township, it would seem that nature had
been prodigal in her gifts. The brilliant professional man seldom proves
the successful agriculturist, or vice versa, and while it is not unusual for
either to become the influential legislator, it is not so frequent that one
man combines all the qualities of the three. ]\Ir. Fitzer is an excellent
example of an exception to this rule, as he has proven his ability and
has made a distinct success of his farming operations, and in the legis-
lative halls is a recognized power. He is a native son of Cass county,
having been born in Clinton township, a son of Hugh and Nancy J.
(Haynes) Fitzer.
Hugh Fitzer was born in the state of Ohio, and as a young man, in
1831, migrated to Indiana, settling on the farm in Clinton township on
which his son Willard C. now resides. He became a large owner of
land, one of his community's public-spirited citizens, and his death,
which occurred in 1906, was sincerely mourned by a wide circle of
friends. Although a modest and unassuming man, who never allowed
his name to be used in connection with public office, he took a keen and
intelligent interest in politics, and always worked energetically in the
interests of the Democratic party. With his wife, he attended the
Methodist Episcopal church, and everywhere was known as an honest,
industrious and law-abiding citizen. Mr. Fitzer was married in Clinton
township to Nancy J. Haynes, a native of Indiana, and they became the
parents of two children: Hon. Willard C. and Harry J.
Willard C. Fitzer was reared on his father's farm, and in boyhood
entered the district schools of Clinton township, which he continued to
attend until he was seventeen years of age. At that time he took up his
studies in the preparatory department of Purdue University, and one
year later entered upon a regular course of four years in that institu-
tion, being graduated therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Sciences,
1014 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
in 1890. At that time he hecame a student in the law department of the
University of ]\Iichigan, where he received the degTee of LL.B. in 1893,
and ahnost immediately thereafter opened a law office in Logansport,
which was the scene of his professional endeavors during the next ten
years. During this time he acted in the capacity of prosecuting attorney
.of the twenty-ninth judicial circuit of Cass county, to which office he
was elected on the Democratic ticket, having inherited his father's po-
litical proclivities. Subsequently he was sent as a representative to the
sixty-seventh general assembly from Cass county, his services in which
were given their appreciation when he received the re-election in the
sixty-eighth general assembly, of which he is now a member.
Mr. Fitzer returned to the Clinton township farm in 1904, and since
that time has given the greater part of his attention to the raising of
pure-bred Angus cattle and high grade sheep and hogs. A capal)le,
practical farmer and stockman, taking advantage of modern ideas and
methods, his success has been due to intelligent effort, directed along
well-defined lines and at all times characterized by the highest degree of
integrity. The home farm, a tract of 620 acres, has been brought to a
high state of cultivation, and its entire appearance denotes the presence
of able management, thrift and industry. Although his farming opera-
tions and the duties of his public office leave Mr. Fitzer little time for
outside affairs, he has not been insensible to the social amenities, and
is popular with the members of Tipton Lodge No. 33, A. F. & A M. ;
Bridge City Lodge No. 305, Knights of Pythias, and B. P. 0. E. Lodge
No. 66.
Jerome Justice. Many of the leading agriculturists of Cass county
have spent their entire lives within its limits, a number having been
born on the land which they are now cultivating. In this class is Jerome
Justice, a farmer of section 11, Clinton township, who was born on the
farm he is now cultivating, January 4, 1856, a son of James M. and
Mary (Shortridge) Justice.
The Justice family is one of the old and honored ones of the county,
and can be traced back to the year 1610, when Mr. Justice's forefathers
were driven out of Ireland, taking refuge in Holland, from which country
the progenitor of the family in this country came in 1743. Six brothers
of the name were living in the Ameincan colonies at the outbreak of the
Revolutionary war, all enlisted in the colonial army, and three died
while Avearing the uniform, one of the others, the great-grandfather of
Jerome Justice, being with General Washington during the memorable
winter at Valley Forge, and afterward living to the remarkable age of
one hundred and four years. The grandfather of Jerome Justice, John
Justice, was a Pennsylvania school teacher, and married Rosa Hood, a
native of Ireland, their children being : Joseph, who was a paymaster in
the Army of the Cumberland during the War of the Rebellion; John,
who was an auctioneer and peddler in Cass county prior to the advent of
railroads here ; Frank, a clerk and trader ; William, who passed his life
in Winchester, Kentucky; Clarissa, who became the wife of Benjamin
Porter; Rosie, who married William Porter, a pioneer of Cass county of
1832; and James M.
James M. Justice, the father of Jerome Justice, was born in Lan-
HISTORY .OP CASS COUNTY 1015
caster county, Pennsylvania, in 1809, and upon coming west in early
manhood located in Fayette county, where he was married (first) to
Malinda Porter, daughter of William Porter. Soon thereafter they
made removal to Cass county, and October 8, 1837, became residents of
Clinton township, their home being- located three miles west of what is
Clymer station. Mr. Justice entered a quarter section of land from the
government, developed a fine farm, and made his home thereon for
fifty-six years. He was a very successful farmer, managing his interests
with that ability, foresight and energy that seldom fail to bring the de-
sired financial returns. In addition to his agricultural pursuits he also
practiced veterinary surgery. In his political views he was a stalwart
Republican and on that ticket was several times elected to the office of
township trustee. He belonged to the Christian church, was a man of
exemplary habits, and his many excellencies of character won him the
regard of all with whom he came in contact. In his death, which oc-
curred July 17, 1894, his community lost one of its best citizens. Mr.
Justice's first wife died, leaving seven children, as follows: Elizabeth,
the waf e of Warren Millard, of Carroll county, Indiana ; Rosanna, de-
ceased, who was the wife of Isaac N. Myers; William; Joseph, who is
deceased ; James, who belonged to the One Hundred and Eighteenth
Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, rising to
the rank of brigade quartermaster ; Clara, the wife of A. C. Chapman,
of Sacramento, California ; and Caroline, who became the wife of Robert
Houston. Mr. Justice was married (second) to Mary Shortridge, who
was born in Fayette county, Indiana, and they became the parents of
seven eliildren, of whom five are living: Jerome; Lorinda, the wife of
William Shaffer, of Carroll county, Indiana; Frank, a contractor living
in Logansport; Parker, a veterinary surgeon of Winnipeg, Canada; and
Millory, a retired farmer of Burroughs, Carroll county, Indiana.
Jerome Justice w^as reared to agricultural pursuits on the home farm,
and as a youth was given excellent educational advantages, attending
the district schools, the seminary at Logansport, the Ladoga Normal
School and the Danville Normal School, and eventually was given a
teacher's certificate, of which, however, he never made use. On com-
pleting his education he made a trip to California, where he remained
for two years, at the end of that time returning to Cass county, where
he took up farming on the homestead. He now owns 118 acres, of
which eighty were originally included in the property settled and cleared
by his father, and the entire tract is now in an excellent state of culti-
vation, producing large crops and giving ample evidence of Mr. Justice's
ability as an agriculturist. In addition to farming he carries on stock
raising and his ventures have proved successful, because he has applied
himself to his work, has given his personal attention to each detail
thereof, and has used intelligent, practical and modern methods, equip-
ment and machinery.
In 1889 Mr. Justice was married to Miss Belle Martin, who waa
born and reared in Carroll county, Indiana, and there educated in
the district schools, and she died March 29, 1890, having been the mother
of one child, Martin E., a graduate of the Winona schools, of Indiana
College and the University of Illinois, who is now engaged in farming
in Carroll county. Mr. Justice was married November 16, 1892,
1016 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
to Miss Jennie Myers, who was born in Miami county, Indiana,
and tliere reared and educated. One daughter, Ethel B., was bom to this
union, December 31, 1895. She was educated in the common schools of
Clinton township, and has also been given a musical education in Lo-
gansport, being a young lady of no small talent.
In political matters Mr. Justice is a Republican, although in the cam-
paign of 1912 he was disposed to incline towards the young Progressive
party. During his long residence here he has gained a wide acquaint-
ance, among which he numbers many friends. He has been reliable and
straightforward in all his dealings, and his neighbors and numerous
acquaintances are invariably unstinted in their commendation of his
methods.
Charles B. Chambers. Undoubtedly travel and experience are
helpful in the successful pursuit of any calling, for in this way the mind
is broadened, new ideas are introduced and strange methods are given a
trial, thus adding to the traveler's stock of information and widening
his scope. Few of the citizens of Clinton township have enjoyed better
advantages along this line than has Charles B. Chambers, who is engaged
in farming and stock raising on section 10, and whose career is of in-
terest because it has been marked by constant endeavor along well-defined
lines, showing the success that may be gained by a poor boy whose only
capital in early life is pluck and energy. IMr. Chambers was born on a
farm in Clinton township, Cass county, Indiana, March 1, 1859, and is
a son of Thomas and Christiana Chambers, the former a native of Ken-
tucky and the latter of Germany. His parents came to Cass county as
young people, were here married, and spent the rest of their lives in
farming. They were the parents of four children, namely : Richard,
Charles B., Samuel L. and V. P.
Charles B. Chambers was reared on his father's farm in Clinton
township, and was attending the district schools at the time of his
father's death. Although he was but fourteen years of age he was com-
pelled to give up his studies and start to work to assist in the support
of the family, his first employment being at wood chopping. Later he
started to work on neighboring farms, and continued to be so engaged
until his marriage, in 1879, when he became engaged in operations on his
own account. Thrifty, industrious and energetic, as the years passed he
added to his land from time to time, in the meantime carrying on general
farming and stock raising. In this connection he has traveled through-
out the southwest, observing the methods of breeding stock in various
sections of the country and taking advantage of any innovations with
which he was formerly not familiar. He has a fine home on his farm of
171 acres.
In 1879 Mr. Chambers was married to Miss Emma Neff, also a native
of Clinton township, a daughter of Washington Nef¥, an agriculturist of
this part of the county, and they had three children : Charles B., Jr.,
who was educated in the common, high and commercial schools; Bessie,
the wife of Ira Cree, of Logansport, and a graduate of the common and
high schools and a private school of Tjogansport ; and Russell, who is
taking a post-graduate course in the Logansport high school. The wife
and mother died May 16, 1913.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1017
Mr. Chambers has interested himself in fraternal work to some extent,
being a member of Eel River Lodge No. 417, I. 0. 0. F., at Logansport.
In his political affiliations he was a Republican until 1912, in which year
he east his vote with the new Progressive party. He has shown a deep
interest in the cause of education, and all that tends towards the advance-
ment of the moral, physical or material welfare of his community. He
has done much to bring about desirable results and, as such men are all
too few in any communitj^, is esteemed and respected accordingly by all
who know him.
Asa J. Shideler. Among the enterprising and progressive agricul-
turists of Cass county who have spent their entire lives on the farms
which they now occupy, Asa J. Shideler, of Clinton township, holds
a prominent place. Born and reared in Clinton township, from earliest
youth he has been trained to a knowledge of soil and climatic condi-
tions here, and the result has been the development of a property which
produces abundant crops and gratefully repays its owner for the toil
he has expended upon it. Mr. Shideler was born on his present farm,
the old Shideler homestead, March 10, 1867, and is a son of Abraham and
Elizabeth (Mummey) Shideler.
George Shideler, the grandfather of Asa J. Shideler, was born in
Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1793, went to Laneester county
in young manhood, and later to Preble coiinty, Ohio, and as early as
1832 came to Cass county, settling among the pioneers of Clinton town-
ship on a farm which he had purchased while on a visit some four
years before. His subsequent years were spent in clearing, cultivating
and developing this land, and throughout the remainder of his life gave
his entire attention to agricultural pursuits, his only outside connection
being that which he maintained with the Dunkard church, of which he
was a faithful member. His death occurred at the home of his son,
Abraham, in 1875, and his wife followed him to the grave in 1881. Mrs.
Shideler had been Miss Elizabeth Neff, a native of "Washington county,
Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Jacob Neff, a farmer of the Key-
stone state. She and her husband had the following children : Lavina,
who was the wife of Martin IMiller : Mary, who was the wife of Thomas
Dillard ; Catherine, who married Jacob Neff ; Naomi, who married Adam
Yost ; Jonathan ; Jacob ; Elizabeth, the widow of Zachariah Cragun, of
Clinton township ; and Abraham and Isaac, twins, the latter a retired
clothing merchant of Logansport. Of these children, Elizabeth and
Isaac are the only survivors.
Abraham Shideler, son of George and father of Asa J. Shideler, was
born on the Shideler homestead in Clinton towoiship, Jidy 22, 1835, and
there spent his entire life, his death occurring in May, 1910. His
parents trained him to habits of honesty, industry and thrift, and he
was early taught to respect the dignity and value of hard work. While
assisting his father in the work of the homestead, he attended the dis-
trict log sehoolhouse of his vicinity during the winter terms, this train-
ing being supplemented in his after life by close obser\'ation, much read-
ing and years of practical experience. He made farming his life work,
and his unquestioned success was 'ample evidence of his intelligent and
well directed efforts. Politically a Republican, he was widely known
1018 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
in public life from a period shortly after he attained his majority, when
he was elected township assessor, a position to which he was re-elected in
later years. In November, 1894, he was called to the office of county
commissioner, in which, he served until December, 1897, and during the
last year was chairman of the hoard, the ilarket street bridge in Logans-
port being but one of the many improvements brought about through
the energy and influence of Mr. Shideler and his fellow-commissioners.
He was fraternally connected with the Masons, in which he had reached
the degree of master, and his religious faith was that of the Christian
church.
On April 14, 1859, Mr. Shideler w^as married to Miss Elizabeth
Mummey, daughter of John and Barbara (Libenguth) ^Nlummey, the
former a representative of a Pennsylvania family of German origin,
and to this union there were born three children : Amelia, the wife of
Herman Homburg, living at No. 209 Burlington avenue, Logansport ;
Elmer G., who died at the age of twenty-four years, five months; and
Asa J.
Asa J. Shideler was reared on the home farm, and secured his educa-
tion in the district schools, which he attended until he was about eighteen
years of age. At tliat time he began to give his entire attention to
farming, which has been his occupation to the present, and now resides
on the old Shideler homestead of 160 acres, in addition to whfeh he
has a property of 132 acres in Clinton township. A man of congenial
and affable manners, he has gained the esteem of his neighbors and
business associates, and in his wide acquaintance numbers numerous
warm friends. As an agriculturist he is recognized as a man who is
thoroughly conversant with all the details of his business, and as a
citizen he has demonstrated his public spirit whenever movements for
the betterment of his connuunity have been in need of his support. He
is a popular member of Tipton Lodge No. 33, A. F. & A. ]M., and his
family is prominently connected socially. Mr. Shideler has taken an
active interest in politics, and at one time served on the Clinton town-
ship Republican Central Committee', but in 1912 cast his fortunes with
the new Progressive party, the principles of which he ardently sup-
ports.
On November 25, 1896, Mr. Shideler was united in marriage with
I\Iiss Florence Tyner, who was born, reared and educated in Clinton
township, daughter of William and Ella (Hynes) Tyner. Two sons have
been born to this union: William Abraham, bom December 1, 1897, a
student in the district schools ; and Elmer G., born April 25, 1899, also
a district school pupil.
]\Iatthew Moroney. Celtic blood flows in the veins of Matthew
Moroney in generous measure. Indeed, his paternal and maternal ances-
try were of Irish birth and breeding, and his parents were born and,
reared in County Clare, in Ireland, whence they came to America 's shores
in 1850. It may be said concerning these worthy people that they came
to America in their early wedded life, the year being 1850, and from
New Orleans, where they landed, their journey to Indiana, where they
eventually settled, covered a period of about five years. They first
stopped at Memphis, Tennessee, going from there to Cincinnati, where
^caz/i:i:^=l4lc
a
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1019
the father was employed variously. At Hagerstown, Indiana, he stopped
with his little family for some time, then came on to Cass county, Indiana,
where, in 1855, he settled on a farm some thi'ee and a half miles from
Lucerne, the place being now owned and occupied by John Hall. Four
years he spent there, then moved to the farm that is owned today by his
son, the subject of this review.
The father was Matthew, son of Matthew Moroney, and the mother
was Marguerite Manix, both of fine old County Clare families, where
they were born and bred. When they settled on the farm which is now
the home of the subject, he was yet unborn. The place was more a
wilderness than a farm, and the building that might be termed a dwelling
was a one room log cabin. The head of the little family straightway
secured the aid of a carpenter to make a suitable addition to the home,
and while the work of building was being carried on Matthew Moroney
was born, on November 8, 1860. The carpenter who was employed upon
the new home, built a cradle for the new comer, which, though crude
a,nd rough as it doubtless was, held him as close and warm as any much
more elegant shelter could possibly have done. The father later built the
barn, which still stands on the old place, although it has in recent years
been moved from its original location. At that early time, little if any
clearing had been done on the place, hardly worthy as yet to be called a
farm, but ^Mr. Moroney gave himself unreservedly to the task of cleaning
up the land and making a pi'oductive farm from it. He succeeded most
admirably, and when he died in 1876 left a fine place to liis son,
Matthew of this review. He was fifty-six years of age at that time, and
his widow survived him for twenty years, passing away in 1896 when
she was seventy-seven years old. She, it may be said, had been twice
married. Her first marriage, also contracted in Ireland, culminated in
widowhood, when she was left with tliree children, named as follows:
Nancy Burke, who later married Patrick Kearney ; Mary, the wife of
David Campbell ; and John Burke, who is unmarried. By her second
marriage she had three children, — Matthew, ^Marguerite and Katherine.
Marguerite married William ]\Iurphy, and is now deceased ; Katherine
married John Carroll, and is also dead.
Upon the death of the father, Matthew Moroney continued on with
the home farm, and finally came into its ownership. He has made
worthy progress in the farming industry and has carried to completion
the work that his father began many years ago, winning the right to be
regarded as one of the substantial and progressive farming men of the
community.
On November 9, 1881, Mr. Moroney married Mary Backus, the
daughter of Richard and Rose (Fitzsimmons) Backus. For one quar-
ter of a century Mr. and Mrs. Moroney traveled life's journey —
but in the year 1906, she passed away. Mrs. Moroney was an
affectionate and loving wife and mother, and a friend to all. She
was a lady who commanded the univei-sal respect and friendship of
all with whom she came in contact. She had faithfully reared her
children in religious teachings, and her daily life was a lesson to her
children. She was ever ready to counsel and advise her husband in
life's battle, and when she passed "to that bourne from whence no
1020 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
traveler returns," the golden circlet in the home was severed. She
was a devotee to the Catholic faith and was ever loyal to her church,
which was the Saint Eliza1)eth Roman Catholic church in Harrison
township, where her husband and children are also members. She
passed away loved and respected by all who knew her, leaving her hus-
band and nine children, named as follows : Alice, born August 25,
1882; Katharine, born January 21, 1884; William, born October 3,
1886 ; Matthew M., Ijorn March 29, 1889 ; Rose, born on September 19,
1890; Charles, born December 28, 1892; Nellie, born August 21, 1898;
]\Iary, born February 25, 1901 ; and Richard, born September 18, 1902.
Mr. Rloroney has taken his place among his townsmen as one of the
wide-awake men of the community, and has been called to serve as
trustee of Harrison township for one term, as well as in the higher
office of county treasurer of Cass county, in which official position he
acted with all etHciency for two terms, the quality of his service being
one that fully justified the people in returning him to the office, and
which marked him as a capable and praiseworthy citizen "and public
official. He is a Democrat, stanch and firm in his political convictions,
and his religioiis affiliations are with Saint Elizabeth's Roman Catholic
church, of Harrison township.
Mr. Moroney is also a member of the B. P. 0. E. lodge, No. 66, and
the Knights of Columbus, No. 561, located at Logansport, Indiana.
The pretty homestead of Mr. Moroney is known as ''Forest Lodge."
Frederick AA^. Seybold. It is due to the efPoi'ts of the energetic,
progressive and intelligent farmers that agricultural conditions in Cass
county are now in such a healthy condition. Intelligent working of the
soil, recognition of the value of crop rotation, and the use of modern
machinery have improved conditions wonderfully during the past sev-
eral decades, and one of those who have assisted in the advancement of
the county, and especiallj^ in Clinton township, while at the same time
he has furthered his own interests, is Frederick AY. Seybold, the owner
of a valuable tract of 210 acres, located in Clinton township. Mr.
Seybold has carried on general farming and stock raising, and his
ventures have proved uniformly successful, because of the intelligence
and energy he has In-ought to his work. He was born in Cass county,
Indiana, near Logansport. June 15, 1876, and is a son of Frederick and
Mary A. (Wolfe) Seybold, the former now a resident of Logansport,
while the latter is deceased.
Frederick Seybold was born near Dayton, Ohio, January 26, 1832,
and is a son of John G. and Jacobenia (Fulmer) Seybold, both natives
of Germany. They were the parents of twelve children, as follows:
John G., Frederick, Henry, Jacob, William P., Mary A., Elizabeth,
Catherine, Jacobenia, Margaret, Christ and David. The grandfather
of Frederick W. Seybold remained in the Fatherland until his fourteenth
year, at which time, in order to escape being forced into the army of
Napoleon, he ran away from home and made his way to England. He
had not yet reached his majority, in 1814, when he managed to secure
passage to Montreal, Canada, which city was the home of a Avealthy
uncle, engaged in the wholesale clothing business, for whom he was
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1021
an errand boy for two years, receiving for his services his board and
clothing. The year 1816 saw his advent in the United States, where,
at New York City, he learned the baker's trade, an occupation which
he followed in the metropolis and other cities for several years, his
next migration being to North Carolina, where he spent the year 1820.
In 1821 he returned to New York and married Jaeobenia Fulmer, and
in the following year came west in a one-horse wagon and settled on a
farm near Springsboro. AVarren county, Ohio. In addition to farming,
Mr. Seybold also worked on the Ohio canal and accepted wliatever
honorable employment presented itself, and by the year 1832 was able
to purchase sixty acres of land in ^Montgomery county, near Dayton,
Ohio, to which he later added forty acres more, and there passed the
remaining years of his life, passing away in 1865. His widow sur-
vived him some years and was ninety-two at the time of her death,
which occurred in Ohio.
Frederick Seybold, the son of the progenitor, and father of Frederick
W. Seybold, was born and reared on his father's farm in ^Montgomery
county, Ohio, and in his youth attended school in a log schoolhouse near
his home. When twenty-eight years of age, in 1859, he made his way
to Indiana and purchased 108 acres of land, near the corporate limits
of Logansport, in Cass county, and to this he added from time to time
until he was the o\\Tier of more than five hundred acres of some of
the best land in the county. His success in life has been due to his
own efforts, as he started out in life with little capital save his own
energy, ambition and ability, and won his way to the front solely through
his own industry and intelligent management. On January 13, 1859,
he was married to Miss Mary A. Wolfe, who was born in Montgomery
county, Ohio, daughter of Jacob Wolfe, and to this union there were
born seven children, of whom three survive : Lydia, the wife of Alva
JMyers, of Logansport. Indiana ; Alfred, who married Eva Guthrie
and lives in Logansport ; and Frederick W. Frederick Seybold is now
retired and lives in his comfortable home in Logansport. He has
always been a stalwart Democrat, and takes an intelligent interest in
public matters, having been elected to a number of township offices dui-
ing his active years.
Frederick W. Seybold was reared on his father's farm, which was
situated near the corporate limits of Logansport, and attended the
public schools of that city, also spending two years in the high school.
On completing his education, he at once entered upon his career as a
general farmer and stockman, and has given the greater part of his
attention to the latter branch, buying, shipping and feeding cattle, hogs
and colts, and finding a ready market for his stock in the various large
points. From time to time he has added to his land, now having 240
acres of excellent property, and as the years have passed has added
to his buildings and equipment. His present residence, erected at a
cost of $9,000, contains fourteen rooms, with seven rooms in the base-
ment, and is fitted with every modern comfort and convenience. Like
his father, he is an adherent of Democratic principles, and takes a keen
interest in public matters, albeit more as a spectator than as an office
seeker. His fraternal connection is with Lodge No. 323, of the Fra-
ternal Order of Eagles, of which he is a member of the board of trustees.
Vol. n— 20
1022 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
On December 14, 1898, Mr. Seybold was married to Miss Maude
Gotchall, who was born in Noble township, Cass county, Indiana, July
13, 1876, and to this union there have been born two children : Haxel,
born September 4, 1899; and Madge, bom February 20, 1900, both
students in the district schools.
Clarence Bruce Reed. Agricultural conditions in Cass county
have changed to such an extent during the past several decades that the
enterprising farmer has been compelled to a large degree to alter his
methods of treating the soil, if he is ambitious to keep up with the march
of progress and attain a full measure of success ; otherwise he falls into
the rut of mediocrity' and must be content to follow, not to lead, in the
]-anks of his vocation. New scientific discoveries have been made, power-
ful machinery has been invented, new innovations have been introduced,
all calling for close and constant attention on the part of the man of prog-
ress, and Cass county can boast of its full quota of men who have been
ftuick to recognize the advantages of the new school of farming. Among
them may be mentioned Clarence B. Reed, of section 5, Clinton township,
whose 120-acre tract bears mute but eloquent evidence of the pres-
ence of able and intelligent management. Mr. Reed has spent his entire
life in his present locality, having been born in Clinton township, June
8, 1858, a son of William and Catherine (Sehuey) Reed.
William Reed was a native of Erin, and was brought to this country
by his parents when a lad of ten years, the family settling in Indiana in
the southern part of the state. There he was reared, and in young
manhood came to Cass county, where he was married to Catherine
Sehuey, who was born in Pennsylvania and was brought to Indiana
in girlhood. After their union, Mr. and Mrs. Reed settled on the farm
now occupied by Clarence Bruce Reed, here spending the remainder
of their lives. The father passed away in 1884 and the mother in 1887,
and they were the parents of a family of eight children, four being
alive today, as follows: Clarence Bruce, Robert R., Thomas L., and
Emma G., the last named being the widow of Fred J. Neville.
Clarence B. Reed was reared on the farm that he now owns and
received his education in the district schools, which he attended until he
was twenty-one years of age. He received a careful training in every
detail of farm work, and on attaining his majority began farming and
stock raising on his own account, in which he has since engaged, gaining
unqualified success. Mr. Reed is now the owner of 120 acres of the old
homestead, on which he has made numerous improvements, including
modern buildings, tiling, draining, ditching, etc. He takes a pride in
being able to increase the productive power of his property and to
decrease the cost of production, thus placing himself among the men
to whose efforts the cause of progress owes so much. In political mat-
ters he is a Republican, but he has only interested himself in politics
as a voter, never having had a desire for the struggles of the public
arena. In fraternal circles he is a member of the Elks, of Logansport,
and a popular member of Lodge No. 323, Fraternal Order of Eagles, of
which he has served as a member of the board of trustees, and his
wife is well knowTi among the Ladies of the Maccabees, Lodge No. 86,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1023
of Logansport. She is also a property owner, having 110 acres of well-
developed land in section 15, Clinton township.
On January 1, 1890, IMr. Reed was married in Clinton township
to Miss Rosabelle Rhorer, also a native of this township, born December
11, 1862. daughter of Jacob and Jane (Justice) Rhorer, farming people
of Cass county. Mr. and Mrs. Reed have been the parents of one child,
Gail, who died in infancy.
William J. Grant. A striking example of the success to be attained
through the medium of well-applied industry, intelligent effort and
a life of integrity and probity, is found in the career of William J.
Grant-, of Clinton township, who has retired from active pursuits after
many years spent in tilling the soil. Ijeft an orphan at a tender age,
his boyhood was filled with hard work, of the most unceasing char-
acter, and the succeeding years were ones in which many obstacles
were met and overcome, but he ever kept his face toward his cherished
goal, with the result that today he is in possession of a handsome com-
petency and holds an undisputed position among the citizens of his
locality. Mr. Grant was bom in Canada, April 6, 1851, and is a son
of George and Hannah Grant.
Mr. Grant was ten j-ears of age when he came to the United States
with a party of immigrants who located in White county, Indiana, and
there he was reared to manhood. His educational advantages were
decidedly limited, but he was a keen and intelligent youth and made
the most of his opportunities, which supplemented by years of observa-
tion and study have given a wide fund of general information. He
began working on a farm in White county at the age of fourteen years,
and on November 11, 1874, was married to Miss Sarah Davis, who
was born in White county, March 18, 1859, a daughter of Noah and
Mary (Steele) Davis, the former a native of Connersville, Fayette
county, Indiana, and the latter of White county. Mr. Davis located
in Wliite county when a lad, when that section was covered with a
dense woods, and there spent the rest of his life in farming. On
August 1, 1879, Mr. and Mrs. Grant came to Cass county, locating
first for about one year in Logansport, where he was engaged in work-
ing by the day. Succeeding this he also worked at day laboring in
Clinton township for some time, but subsequently started operations
on his own account on a rented farm, on which he continued to reside
until 1897, and at that time purchased what is now known at Maple
Ridge Farm, his present property, a tract of seventy-six acres. Here
he made numeroiis improvements, his buildings including a beautiful
country home, in which he and his wife are now living retired, enjoying
the fruits of their early labors. Mr. and Mrs. Grant have had three
children, namely: Ira J., who married Jennie Beal, of Remington,
Indiana, where they now reside ; Asa E., a farmer of Tipton township,
who married Bessie Thomas; and Alice M., deceased, who was the wife
of Ira Bonta.
The members of the Grant family are affiliated with the Church of
God, and Mr. Grant's fraternal connection is with Eel River Lodge No.
417, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has Democratic inclina-
tions in political matters, and while he has never been an office seeker,
1024 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
has served in the capacity of townsliip supervisor. Mr. Grant deservedly
bears the honored title of self-made man. Everywhere and at all times
he remembers that he has worked hard and faithfully, but the struggles
of earlier years are forgotten in the peace and contentment that a life of
industry brings, and now, in his latter years he may look back over an
honorable career, unblemished by the stain of questionable dealing.
Harry E. Amoss. The owner of a well-cultivated farm of fifty-six
acres, Harry E. Amoss is now sei'ving as trustee of Clinton township,
and is one of the leading and influential citizens of Cass county. Mr.
Amoss has always been a farmer, having been reared to those pursuits
and adopted them as a vocation when he embarked upon a business
career of his own, and the success which has rewarded his efforts is
but the result of the understanding of his o\^ti capabilities and the selec-
tion of a business to which he was especially suited. Mr. Amoss was
born on a farm in Clinton township, Cass county, Indiana, November
8, 1862, and is a son of William and Mary A. (Rea) Amoss.
The grandparents of jMr. Amoss, Jolm and Matilda (Cohen) Amoss,
were early settlers of Clinton township, and the Cohens were large
landholdei's in this vicinity. AVilliam Amoss was born in Virginia
(now West Virginia), and came to Cass county, Indiana, as a single man.
Here he was married to Mai-y A. Rea, whose people were from Virginia,
and whose members had contributed to the soldiers from their state
that fought in the War of the Rebellion. Mr. Amoss was a farmer by
occupation, and continued to be so engaged until his death, which
occurred August 16, 1912. He and his wife were the parents of
six children, of whom four still survive, namely : Addie, single, who
lives on a part of the old homestead place ; Walter, who is a miner and
resides in AVyoming ; Arthur, who lives on the old home farm ; and
Harry E.
Harry E. Amoss was educated in the pu])lic schools of Clinton
township, and at the age of seventeen years began to give his whole atten-
tion to farming. He continued under the parental roof, assisting his
father and brothers, until his marriage. November 12, 1890, to Miss
Lizzie Sherman, who was born in Clinton township, Cass county, Feb-
ruary 29, 1864, and educated in the public schools here. One child has
come to this union : Rea, born October 20, 1891, who is a graduate of
the township schools and of the Logansport high school, and is now
assisting his father to cultivate the home farm. I\Ir. Amoss is
accounted one of the practical and progressive agriculturists of the
community. He uses the latest improved machinery in the development
of his farm, studies the best methods for producing the various cereals
adapted to this climate, practices rotation of crops, and above all brings
to his work that unflagging industiy which spells for the greatest degree
of success. His life has been one of well-directed effort, and with his
success has come that content that is known only by those whose con-
sciences are clear of any questionable methods, and who have been the
architects of their owa fortunes.
Fraternally, Mr. Amoss is connected with the Independent Order
of Red Men, and I. 0. 0. F. in w'hich he has held high office. His
political belief is that of the Republican party, and on that ticket was
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1025
elected to the office of trustee of Clinton township, a position which he
still fills with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his
fellow-citizens. He has given to his official duties the same faithful
services that have characterized his private affairs, and has aided all
movements for the public good, being a member of the building com-
mittee of the high school at Clymers. Faithful in his friendships, he
enjoys the warm regard of all with whom he has been brought into
contact.
WiLLARD Briggs. Two miles west of Clymer, in Clinton township,
Cass county, is situated the well-cultivated eighty-acre farm belonging
to Willard Briggs, former trustee of Clinton township, and a citizen
who has spent his entire career within the limits of the county. I\Ir.
Briggs has devoted all of his active years to the cultivation of the soil,
and it would be difficult to find one who is better versed in agricultural
conditions in this part of the county, while his standing as a public-
spirited citizen is equally high. Mr. Briggs was born in Clinton town-
ship, Cass county, Indiana, March 19, 1867, and is a son of Duncan L.
and Sarah J. (Gerton) Briggs.
Duncan L. Briggs was born in the State of New York, and was an
infant of two years when taken by his parents to Ohio. There he em-
barked upon his own career at the age of sixteen years as a boatman on
the Erie Canal and Lake Erie, following this kind of employment until
he had reached his thirty-third year. When he was thirty-four years of
age, j\Ir. Briggs was married, and at that time turned his attention
to agricultural pursuits, in which he was engaged in Cass county during
the remainder of his life, his death occurring January 20, 1912, and
that of his wdfe December 25, 1910. They were the parents of two
children : Willard ; and Elizabeth, the latter of whom, now deceased,
was the wife of John Patterson.
Like other farmers' sons of his day and locality, Willard Briggs
gave part of his boyhood to the work of the home farm. During the
wdnter terms he adcled to his fund of literary knowledge, but the sum-
mers were all devoted to following the plow or other farm labor, and
he thus built up his constitution and became thoroughly familiar with
every detail of farm work. Mr. Briggs was given better advantages
than many of his youthful companions, however, for a time being a
student at the old college at Logansport, as well as at the Danville
normal school, and when he had completed his education was well
fitted to fill whatever position he might be called upon to occupy. He
chose farming as his life w^ork, and has had no reason to regret his
selection, for through industry, perseverance and intelligent effort,
he has gained a competence and made a place for himself among the
substantial men of his community. At this time he is farming eighty
acres of highly cultivated land, located two miles west of Clymers, on
which may be found all the improvements and conveniences which mark
the home of the progressive and enterprising farmer of today.
On September 2, 1891, Mr. Briggs was united in marriage with Miss
Laura Patterson, and of their children, three survive, namely: IMabel,
a graduate of the Logansport high school, who is now engaged in teach-
ing school ; Clarence, who is in his second year in the Logansport high
1026 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
school; and Harold, a student in the district schools. Mr. Briggs is a
popular member of the Knights of Pythias, Apollo Lodge No. 62, of
Logansport, and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political belief
is that of the new Progressive party.
Oliver Reed. Clinton township shows some of the best regulated
farms in Cass county, made so by the thrift, industry and energetic
labor of their owners, who have realized the advantages of using modern
machinery and methods in their farm work. One of the valuable prop-
erties of this township is the farm of Oliver Reed, a tract of 160 acres
lying in sections 32 and 33, which has been cultivated into a state of high
fertility through Mr. Reed's knowledge of agricultural work and his
willingness to adopt modern methods and appliances to take the place
of the cruder implements and hit-or-miss manner of farming of former
years. Mr. Reed is a native of Clinton township, and was bom August
12, 1849, a son of Michael and Sarah (Tittle) Reed. His father was
born at Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1820, and his mother near Dayton,
Ohio, and they were the parents of eight children, of whom six are
living at this time : William D., a farmer of Cass county ; Oliver, of
this review ; Sarah, the wife of John D. Tyner, of Logansport ; Clara M.,
who is single and lives in Logansport ; Dr. John H., a well-known
physician of that city, and Jacob A., who also resides in Logansport.
Oliver Reed was reared in Clinton township, and as a youth entered
the district schools, which he attended until he was eighteen years of
age. At that time he entered the Logansport high school, and for
three years continued his studies therein during the winter months,
while his summers were devoted to farm work. On completing his
education, Mr. Reed chose farming as his life occupation, and after his
marriage, in 1875, rented his father's farm, which he continued to
operate for twelve years, then purchasing his present property. He
has added to his Original purchase from time to time, making improve-
ments as his finances and inclinations allowed, and his 160-acre tract
is now one of the best in the township, highly cultivated, well drained
and tiled and improved with excellent buildings, substantial in character
and of a handsome architectural style. Politically, Mr. Reed is a
Democrat, but he has never taken a great deal of interest in public
matters, beyond the manner in which they affect his township. He
is superintendent of the Logansport and Western Turnpike, a position
which he has held for some years, and in w^hich he has served wth
fidelity. He and his wife are members of the English Lutheran church,
and both are public-spirited and deeply interested in all that promises
to be of benefit to the community in which they are such important
factors. In addition to his farming operations, which are extensive,
Mr. Reed devotes a great deal of attention to raising graded stock, and
his cattle find a ready market at the large shipping points.
On April 22, 1875, Mr. Reed was married to I\Iiss IMary Whalon, of
Germantown, Ohio, who was born and reared there, and educated in
the common and normal schools, and for some years was engaged in
teaching in Ohio. Five children have been born to this union : Ethel
M., educated in the district and high schools, single, and living with her
parents; Charles E., a graduate of the State University at Bloomington,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1027
Indiana, class of 1912, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts,
and now a student in the Chicago Scientific School, under the super-
vision of Dr. Taylor; and Homer L., a graduate of the Logansport
high school, and now a student in Purdue University. Two children
are dead, Omer Leroy, who died aged. 12 years, and Oliver 0., who died
in infancy.
John W. Clary. In the vicinity of Lucerne, in Harrison township,
there is probably no more productive an estate nor more attractive rural
home than that occupied by John W. Clary and family. Mr. Clary rep-
resents one of the old families of Cass county, and was himself born in
a log cabin, and was a product of the early conditions in this county.
He lived here when much of the land was covered by forest, and before
any of the modern facilities had been instituted. A railroad came when
he was grown and married, and since that time every decade has wit-
nessed a remarkable improvement in all conditions and facilities of
industry and living.
John W. Clary was born in district number one, Harrison town-
ship, in a log house on the seventh of September, 1844. His father
was Isaac Clary, and the early honors of the family in this county are
given more detail on other pages of this history. On February 1,
1871, John W. Clary was united in marriage, in Fulton county, with
Miss Lavina Marsh, a daughter of David and Anna (Hall) Marsh.
Mrs. Clary's father was born in Ohio, and then he came to Fulton
county, Indiana. The family was founded here by her grandfather,
who was a soldier in the "War of 1812, and later had come to Indiana
from Ohio. He bought land at $1.25 an acre and did much for the
early development of the country. Mrs. Clary's father died about
1889. Mrs. Clary has two parchment deeds in her possession dated June
30, 1837, and executed during the administration of President Van
Buren.
Mr. and Mrs. Clary are the parents of seven children, whose names
follow : Cora Elsie, the wife of Isaac Emery ; Jane Frances, who mar-
ried Walter Ingram ; David Newton, >vho died at the age of twelve
years ; William H., born April 14, 1880 ; Edith, born September 6,
1890; Delia May, who died at the agie of two years and five months,
and Verdie, who died at the age of fourteen months.
In 1886, Mr. Clary moved to his present farm in Harrison town-
ship. A small frame house was the habitation which he and his family
occupied, and several years later he was enabled with the fruits of
his labor and management to erect a comfortable home and other l)uild-
ings, which give this estate the appearance of being one of the best
homes in Cass county. When he first took possession, all the land was
cleared but forty acres, and since then he has succeeded in clearing up
nearly all of the estate, so that his farm of two hundred and twenty
acres is all suitable for cultivation and for the profits of agriculture.
From 1872 to 1876, Mr. Clary was a resident of Fulton county, this
state, and during that time served as supervisor of his township for
about six years. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian
church.
"Erceldene Lodge," the beautiful country seat of Mr. and Mrs.
1028 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
John W. Clary, was erected in 1911. It is one of the most modern
country residences in Cass county, built of brick, with wide concrete
verandas, and finished in hard woods in the most artistic manner, beau-
tifully and comfortably furnished, and lighted from cellar to garret with
a modern acetylene plant. It is so large and well arranged that the
host and hostess can entertain a large coterie of friends and it is well
known as the abode of cordiality and friendly greeting.
Mrs. Clary is a gracious hostess and it is a pleasure to know her, she
being of a most pleasing personality and entertaining- her friends with a
royal welcome.
Samuel H. Smith. From poor and obscure boyhood to a position
of prominence among the agriculturists of his section and the owner-
ship of two fine farms, the career of Samuel H. Smith, of Clinton town-
ship, has been replete with triumph over obstacles, pluck, determina-
tion and industrious effort, all conducing to well-earned success. Mr.
Smith was born in Newton county, Indiana, February 24, 1870, and is
a son of James H. and Rebecca E. (McClain) Smith.
James H. Smith was born and reared in Clinton township, Cass
county, Indiana, but as a young man went to Iroquois, Iroquois county,
Illinois, and subsequently to Gardner, Grundy county, Illinois, being
engaged in merchandising' and spending in all about ten years in the
Prairie State. At the end of that period he returned to Indiana, and
his .last years were spent on the homestead, where his death occurred.
During the Civil war he fought for three years and four months in the
ranks of the Union army, as a member of Company D, Forty-sixth Regi-
ment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was wounded in the battle of
Champion Hill. In his later years he was a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic. INIr. Smith married Rebecca E. McClain, who
was born in Indiana, a daughter of Dr. Joseph ]\IcClain, a physician,
who came from Virginia. Three sons and three daughters were born
to this union, Samuel H. being the only child now living in Cass county.
The boyhood of Samuel H. Smith was passed on his father's farm,
and his education was limited to a short attendance at the district
school of his locality, and whatever he could pick up himself. Being
a keen observer, however, and a man of miich native intelligence, he
has gained a wide and comprehensive knowledge of general subjects
and is known as an exceedingly well informed man. At the age of
fourteen years he began to take an active part in farming, and through
industry, energy and thrift has accumulated 101^4 acres in Clinton
township, as well as a tract of 192 acres lying north of Logansport.
He has always engaged in general farming, in addition to which he
has carried on extensive dairying and for some years has been known
as a breeder of registered cattle. The same industry and energetic
spirit that characterized his young manhood have marked his sub-
sequent career, and he is known as one of his community's most pro-
gressive agriculturists, one who is ready at all times to adopt modern
methods, and with the ability to make the most of them. The old
Smith homestead, on which he resides with his family, has been con-
verted into one of the most valuable farms in Clinton towaiship, through
intelligent treatment of the soil and the installing of numerous improve-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1029
ments, and the buildings thereon are of substantial character and
architectural beauty. Mr. Smith's political belief is that of the Repub-
lican party, although he has not interested himself to any great extent
in public matters, while his fraternal connection is with the Independent
Order of Foresters. With his wife and children, he attends the Metho-
dist Episcopal church.
On September 5, 1894, Mr. Smith was married at Anderson, Indiana,
to ]Miss Rose Snell, who was born September 16, 1867, at Anderson.
Mrs. Smith was educated in the public schools, and the death of her
parents made it necessary that she become self-supporting, she being
a clerk in a general store at Anderson for several years. She and her
husband have two children : Reba, seventeen years of age, who has been
educated in the common and high schools ; and Jesse, who is now attend-
ing the country schools and assisting his father in the work of the home
farm.
James W. Little. One of the old and honored residents of Clinton
township, Cass county, who has spent more than seventy-three years ip
this section and is still connected actively with agricultural pursuits,
although he has reached an age when most men would consider that they
had earned a rest, is James W. Little, the owner of 300 acres of land,
a model, progressive citizen, able agriculturist and revered veteran of
the Civil war. j\Ir. Little was born on the farm on which he now resides,
July 7, 1840, and is a son of Alexander and Ann (Bowen) Little.
Alexander Little was born in August, 1802, in County Armagh, Ire-
land, from whence he came to the United States as a young man, and
first settled in Franklin county, Pennsylvania. In 183-4 he came over-
land to Cass county, Indiana, and entered land on which he erected a
small log cabin, but after several years returned to Pennsylvania and
married Ann Bowen, of Franklin county. After their marriage, in May,
1838, they started for the new land in the wilds of Indiana, making the
entire journey of 640 miles in a wagon, the trip consuming some six
weeks, and finally reached their destination and began their life in the
little log cabin home in the woods along the Wabash river. There Alex-
ander Little passed away in November, 1864, an honest, reliable, straight-
forward man, whose life was one of unceasing industry and persistent
effort. While a resident of Pennsylvania he served as captain in a mili-
tary organization known as the Dragoons. He was a member of the
Presbyterian church, and his father was an elder in that faith in
Franklin county for upwards of twenty years. Alexander and Ann
(Bowen) Little became the parents of twelve children, of whom sis grew
to maturity, and four are still living today, namely : James W. ; Amanda,
the wife of Dr. Sterrett, of California ; Sarah, the wife of Samuel Milli-
gan, of Waveland, Indiana, and Mrs. Anna Stoutmeyer, of Onargo,
Illinois.
James AV. Little was reared on the farm on which he now lives, and
received his education in the common schools, eventually securing a
teacher's license and becoming an educator in the district schools. He
was thus engaged at the outbreak of the Civil war, and in May, 1862,
enlisted in Company B, Fifty-fifth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer In-
fantry. After some six months of service Mr. Little received his hon-
1030 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
orable discharge, on account of wounds sustained during the battle of
Richmond, and at' this time he is receiving a pension from a grateful
government. Mr. Little was kuown as a brave, cheerful and faithful
soldier, one who gave the best of himself to the discharge of his duty,
and to whom orders were as a sacred trust. He left the service with an
excellent record and returned to the duties of peace, again becoming a
district school teacher.
In 1866 Mr. Little was married to Miss Mary Barnes, who was born in
Carroll county, Indiana, December 17, 1844, and educated in the district
schools. Five children have been born to this union, of whom one died
in infancy, the others being: Flora, single and residing at home with
her parents; Dr. John A., who is enjoying an excellent medical practice
in Logansport ; Emma J., the wife of J. R. Colter, of Washington, Iowa,
and Samuel H., who is single, resides at home and assists his father in
the work of the homestead place.
The members of the Little family are identified with the Associate
Presbyterian church, in which Mr. Little is one of the elders. He is a
strictly temperate man, having never used tobacco or spirituous liquors,
and has been enthusiastic in his support of all movements tending to ad-
vance religion, education, morality and good citizenship. His farm of
296 acres has been brought to a high state of cultivation through in-
telligent treatment of the soil, and is considered one of the valuable
tracts of this section. For many years Mr. Little was an adherent of
Republican policies and principles, but in the campaign of 1912 his pro-
gressive ideas caused him to cast his fortunes with the young so-called
Bull Moose party.
John A. Little, M. D. This most accomplished gentleman, learned
in his profession, a versatile devotee of science, a public-spirited citizen,
as well as active and energetic in the business life of Logansport, has
been in practice in this city for fifteen years, and has attained to an
eminent place among medical practitioners. Like many of the success-
ful professional men of the city. Dr. Little is a product of the farm, hav-
ing been born on his father's estate in Clinton township, Cass country,
Indiana, November 5, 1868, a son of James W. and Mary (Barnes)
Little, and grandson of Alexander and Anna (Bowen) Little.
Alexander Little was born in County Armagh, Ireland. He remained
in Baltimore and Philadelphia until 1834, in which year he immi-
grated to the newly-developed region of Indiana, where he pre-empted
160 acres of government land in Clinton township, Cass county. This
land has continued in the family possession to the present time, and is
now part of the home of James W. Little, who has spent his life in
agricultural pursuits.
John A. Little was reared on the old home place, and his early
educational training was secured in the district schools. Subsequently,
he took a high school course in Logansport, from which he was grad-
uated in May, 1889, Avith all the honors of his class, and during the
winters of 1889 and 1890 followed the vocation of educator, teaching
the Fox Den school in Jefferson township. In the fall of 1890 Dr.
Little entered Wabash College, to further his education, and was grad-
uated therefrom in 1894, with, the degree of Bachelor of Sciences.
Later, in 1902, this same institution, for his subsequent efficient work,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1031
conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. Dr. Little
took up the study of medicine in 1895, when he became a student in
Eush Medical College, where he graduated in ^lay, 1898, as president
of his class in that noted institution. He immediately entered upon
the practice of his profession in Logansport, and now has a large and
representative clientele, which has gradually been obtained through
the recognition of his high abilities. Regarded as a master of his pro-
fession, he has not been content with the knowledge which his early study
gave him, but has kept his eyes open to the progress of the science
and has adopted every improvement that the years have brought. He
has specialized in preventive measures, antiseptics, and similar branches,
in which he is known as an authority. He confines himself exclusively
to his practice, and has taken none other than a good citizen's interest
in public matters, belongs only to the medical organizations, and has
not mixed in politics. ,
On June 4, 1902, Dr. Little was married to Miss Blanche Mitchell,
of Pasadena, California, and they have had four children, namely : Hen-
rietta, Robert, Mary and Ruth. Dr. and Mrs. Little are members of
the First Presbyterian church of Logansport, and are well known in
social circles of the city.
William A. Klepinger. Among the pioneer families of Cass county
whose members have contributed materially to the growth and develop-
ment of the agricultural importance of this section, none is better known
that that of Klepinger, the history of which has been commensurate with
that of Clinton township during the past eighty years. A representative
of this old and honored family is found in William A. Klepinger, farmer
and stock raiser, whose entire life has been spent here, and who now
occupies a foremost position among the successful agriculturists of his
part of the county. Mr. Klepinger was born on a farm in the southwest
part of Clinton township, January 4, 1858, and is a son of Michael P.
and Eleanor (Lesh) Klepinger.
Henry and Mary (Miller) Klepinger, the grandparents of William
A. Klepinger, were born in Pennsylvania, and came to Cass county in
1833, entering land from the government in Clinton township, where
they located in the woods, built a little log cabin, and there spent the
rest of their lives in developing a home for their family. They were
the parents of ten children, of whom six are still living: Michael P.,
James, William, Eliza, Susan and Elizabeth. Michael P. Klepinger was
one year old when he accompanied his parents to Cass county, .having
been born near Dayton, Ohio, May 27, 1832. His youth was spent in
assisting his father to clear the farm from the wilderness, and in Sep-
tember, 1852, he was married to Miss Eleanor Lesh, they settling down
to work on the old homestead, where they continued operations until
their retirement from active life in 1909. Since that year they have
lived at Burrows, Carroll county, Indiana, where they have a comfort-
able home and numerous warm friends. Six children were born to
them, of whom five are still living: Eliza J., who married John P.
Friend ; William A. ; Caroline, who married W. F. West ; George, who
married Bessie Crockett, and Dennis, who married Sadie Bbbets. The
members of the family are connected with the Christian church, in the
work of which Mr. Klepinger was active for a number of years.
1032 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
William A. Klepinger was reared on the old homestead place in
Clinton township, and received his education in the district schools, this
being supplemented by attendance in the public schools of Burrows. At
the age of twenty-two years he began to give his entire time to farming
and stock raising, continuing on rented property until he w^as thirty-
four years of age and industriously saving his earnings with the end ever
in view of becoming the owner of a property of his own. On May 20,
1893, Mr. Klepinger was married to Miss Minnie Shafer, who was born
in Clinton township, and educated in the district schools. Mrs. Klepinger
lost her parents in young womanhood, and from their estate received
thirty acres of Clinton towTiship land, which formed the nucleus for the
present handsome Klepinger farm of 202 acres adjoining Clymers.
This property is in a high state of cultivation, Mr. Klepinger being
an efficient farmer, with a thorough knowledge of soil and climatic
conditions, and various modern improvements have been made, including
a substantial residence and other buildings. In addition to his farming
operations, Mr. Klepinger has always operated a threshing machine out-
fit, and has invested in 160 acres of land in the Saskatchewan country,
Canada.
Mr. Klepinger is a cjuiet, unassuming man, and has not interested
himself actively in public matters, although he votes the Democratic
ticket, and supports all movements which he believes will make for good
government. Through straightforward dealing and an earnest desire
to assist his fellow-men in their struggle toward success, he has gained
many warm friends and no man stands higher in the respect and esteem
of his fellow-men. Mr. and IMrs. Klepinger have two children : Ruth,
eighteen years of age, and Josephine, sixteen years old, both at home,
who have been given excellent educational advantages and fitted for
whatever positions they may be called upon to till in life.
George W. Seawright, who is one of the more prominent agricul-
tural men of Jefferson township, w^as born in the same community where
he now lives, on September 19, 1855, and here has passed his life up to
the present time. He is the son of William and Emaline (Van Atta)
Seawright.
William Seawright came from Pennsylvania in the thirties, in com-
pany with his parents, and they settled in Jefferson township in the early
pioneer days and identified themselves with the primitive life that ob-
tained in that early day. They built a grist mill at Crooked Creek and
this mill was operated by the grandfather of the subject for a goodly
term of years, with profit to himself and great convenience to his neigh-
bors. Emaline Van Atta, the wife of William Seawright, came to In-
diana from New Jersey, her native state, settling with her parents in
Jefferson township, when she was yet a young girl. She was here
reared, and here she married her husband, who died in 1877, leaving her
with three children to mourn his departure. Of the three, George Wil-
liam, the subject, was the eldest ; Louis is a resident of Jefferson town-
ship, and Harry is prominent in the railroad mail service.
George William Seawright was educated in the common schools and
alternated his studies with work on the home farm. He remained on the
home place until he attained his majority, when he launched out inde-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1033
pendently, giving liis energies to farming, in which pursuit he had been
well trained, and in which he has since realized a wholesome and agree-
able success. He is now the owner of two hundred and eighty-six acres
of splendid farm land in Jefferson township, which he operates according
to the most approved modern methods, and which yields him a comfort-
able income from season to season. Two hundred acres of this tract is
bottom land.
On November 23, 1892, Mr. Seawright was united in marriage with
Miss Carrie C. Fitzer, the daughter of John Fitzer, of Clinton township.
Three children have been born to Mr. and I\Irs. Seawright : Ada, a grad-
uate of Logansport high school and Winona Normal, and now teaching
in Jefferson township ; Fred, still in the high school, and Charles, who
is attending the district schools as yet.
Mr. Seawright is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, Lodge No. 417, Logansport, Indiana, and he is politically aligned
with the Republican party, in whose activities he takes an intelligent in-
terest as a citizen. Mr. Seawright is a member of an old and highly
esteemed family in this community, and he has merited and continued
to share in the regard which his name has ever claimed in Cass county.
Theodore F. Pierce, who is engaged in agricultural operations in
section 20, Jefferson township, is not a native of Indiana, but has lived
here since his fourth year, and the entire period of his activity has been
passed here. He belongs to that class of men who have been the archi-
tects of their own fortunes, his success being a direct result of a life of
industry, energy and honorable dealing. Mr. Pierce was born in Rich-
land county, Ohio, February 27, 1856, and is a son of Aaron K. and
Margaret (Harsh) Pierce. His father, a native of Richland county,
Ohio, married there IMargaret Harsh, who was born in Pennsylvania,
and they came to Indiana in 1860. Locating in Fulton county, near
the town of Fulton, Mrs. Pierce spent the remainder of her life on
a farm, while her husband died in Richland county.
Theodore F. Pierce commenced his education in the district schools
of Fulton county, and at the age of thirteen years went to live with
an uncle in Boone county, ^lissouri, whence he traveled by wagon.
There he completed his studies during the winter months, and in the
summers worked on his uncle's farm, thus continuing for six year's.
By 1874, through hard and industrious labor, he had accumulated
enough to start on his own account, and, accordingly, returned to
Indiana by wagon, accompanied by his mother and brother, and located
in Jefferson towaiship, Cass county, on a tract of land on section 19.
There he resided for nine years, following which he purchased a farm
north of Lake Cic-'ott consisting of 110 acres. Seven years later he
disposed of this property and bought the land which he now owns, 174
acres located in sections 19 and 20. For some years. ]Mr. Pierce carried
on diversified farming, but at this time he is devoting the greater part
of his attention to buying, feeding and shipping livestock of all kinds.
Mr. Pierce is known as an excellent biisiness man, and has identified
himself with various enterjjrises. He is now a stockholder and director
of the Burnettsville State Bank, which was organized in 1907, with a
capital of $30,000, and the following officers: William Thomas, presi-
1034 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
dent; Ernest Thomas, vice-president; J. C. Duffy, cashier; and Fred
Duffy, assistant cashier. In his political views, he is a Democrat, and
for eight years has been a member of the township advisory board.
With his family, Mr. Pierce attends the Biirnettsville Baptist' church,
where he is a deacon, trustee, and for eighteen years superintendent of
the Sunday school. Upright and reliable in all his dealings, he has
gained and maintained numerous friendships, and is recognized as a
moral influence in his home neighborhood.
Mr. Pierce was married in 1879 to Miss Junatta Martin, daughter
of William ]\Iartin, and to this union there have been born two children:
Russell D., a graduate of the Burnettsville high school; and JMatina,
who is attending that institution. A man of wide and varied interests,
Mr. Pierce's time has been pretty fully occupied, but not so much so
that he has not found time to assist in every movement calling for the
betterment of his community and its people.
Robert A. Stuart. Stability of character and purpose and a high
order of citizenship are traits which are found with a pleasing degree of
freriuency in the men who give their lives to the pursuit of the treasures
of the soil — a fact which may be accounted for by reason of their close
and continued touch with Mother Nature in their every-day life.
Whatever may be the possible solution, the fact yet remains, and in
Robert A. Stuart, all his life a resident of Cass county and a farmer,
a splendid example is found of the open-minded and open-handed man
who has lived his life in the quiet places and toiled out in the open during
the greater part of his days.
Born in Boone township. Cass county, on March 3, 1858, IMr. Stuart
is the son of R. F. and Susan (Atkins) Stuart. The father was a native
of Mississippi who came to New Albany. Indiana, in about the year
1831. He was a cooper by trade. There he married and settled down
to farm life, some five years later coming to Cass county. He located in
Boone township, there remaining until 1864, when he migrated to Jef-
ferson township, and there he passed the remainder of his life. He was
the father of nine children, seven of that number being alive at this writ-
ing. Both parents died in Jefferson township.
Robert A. Stuart Avas reared in Jeffereon township and here received
his schooling. In due course of time, he married and settled on a farm
in this township, and success has attended his efforts all along the line.
In section 28 of this to^^^lship he owns a fertile farm of one hundred and
sixty acres, which has yielded most abimdantly under his encouraging
hand. He has maintained the most friendly relations with Prosperity
and is regarded today as one of the independent farming men of the
township.
In 1896 :\rr. Stuart married jMiss Bertha D. Eltzroth. the daughter of
Obidiah Flt-'voth. and to subiect and wife four children have been born.
The eldest. Cloyd. is sixteen years old ; Ralph and Rov. twins, are nine
years of age, and the youngest born of the four is Maude, now four
yeai-s old.
The family are members of the Presbyterian church, and they
take an active part in its various departments of service, and Mr. Stuart
is a Republican. He is a man wdio has acquired much, of learning that
PlISTORY OF CASS COUxNTY 1035
never came through schools or books. A student of human nature, he
finds something interesting in every chance acquaintance, and it is safe to
say that this habit of observation has been of no small benefit to him in his
regular business life. He is an interesting conversationalist, and has
read much and observed more.- He is known for a man of honor and
integrity, whose word is as sacred as his bond, and his position in his
community is one which eloquently bespeaks his many worthy qualities.
A man of kindly disposition and modest and unassuming demeanor, he
has the most amazing capacity for attending to his own affairs, but is
always ready to lend a willing ear to the man who is beset with difficul-
ties, and a helping hand to tide him over the rough places. His friends
in Jefferson towaiship are only limited by his acquaintance, and he is
one of the most valued citizens of his community.
"Wendell Miller, deceased, was one of the old settlers of Logans-
port, having come to this city from Pennsylvania in 1862. He was born
in Altoona, that state, on November 21, 1840, and was there reared and
instructed in the trade of blacksmithing, which he followed for some
years in Pittsburg. After coming to Logansport he followed his trade
for a time, and held important positions at the old Knowlton & Dolan
foundry and in other industrial concerns of the city. Illness compelled
him to relinquish his work in the seventies, and he then moved to a farm
in Washington township, where he passed his remaining days, death
claiming him on April 22, 1908.
Always an industrious and thrifty soul, Wendell Miller was able to
accumulate a goodly share of this world 's goods. He was able to provide
liberally for his family, which was a large one, and he was known to be
one of the honorable and upright men of his community. Neighborly
and kindly disposed toward all, he enjoyed to the utmost the respect and
esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. He was particularly
abstemious, never being addicted to the use of liquor or tobacco in any
form, and his conversation was of the cleanest and most wholesome order
at all times, profanity of any kind being entirely foreign to his nature
or habits.
On October 15, 1868, Mr. Miller was united in marriage with Miss
Caroline Grunsmeyer, and to them twelve children were born, of which
goodly number ten were reared to years of maturity. Those yet living
are : Dr. G. D., to whom a sketch is devoted in other pages of this work;
Edward H., Frank C, William A., Nora N. and Cora B., twins ; Mrs.
Mary ]\Iinneman, of Jefferson township, and Mrs. Joseph Lehman, of
Dayton, Ohio. IMrs. Miller, who yet survives her husband, is living on the
old home place in Washington township.
Dr. George D. Miller. Of the parentage of George'D. Miller, M. D.,
further details need not be given here than to say that he is the son of
Wendell and Caroline (Grunsmeyer) Miller, one time residents of Penn-
sylvania, later of Indiana, the father being now deceased. Concerning
that worthy gentleman a sketch is dedicated on other pages of this work,
which render further statements unnecessary at this point.
Dr. George D. Miller was born in Logansport, Indiana, on August 7,
1873, and was reared on the old home farm. He attended the district
1036 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
schools as a boy, and in 1893-4-5 he was busily engaged in taking prep-
aratory course in the Manual Training High School of St. Louis, Mis-
souri. In the fall of 1896 he matriculated at the College of Physicians
and Surgeons, in Indianapolis, from which he was duly graduated on
April -1, 1901, receiving his medical degree at that time. Dr. Miller
began the active practice of his profession in Logansport, on April 24,
1901, and he has ever since continued to exercise his professional skill
and ability in the town of his nativity, where he has gained and retained
the respect of the medical fraternity and of the people alike. Dr. Miller
has been secretary of the Cass County Medical Society since 1902, and is
also a member of the Indiana State Medical Society and the American
Medical Association.
Dr. Miller is a Democrat and has served four years as coroner of Cass
county, from 1906 to 1910 inclusive, an office in which he acquitted him-
self with credit. He is identified with numerous fraternal organizations,
prominent among which is the Masonic order. He has attained member-
ship in various bodies of that order, including the Knights Templar, the
Scottish Rite, and the Mystic Shrine.
On September 5, 1897, Dr. Miller was united in marriage with Maggie
M. Robinson. They have adopted a daughter, Dorothy J., but have no
other children.
AViLLiAM J. Gibson. Among the old and honored residents of Jeffer-
son township none is held in higher esteem than William J. Gibson,
former township trustee, veteran of the Civil war, and able farmer and
stockman. A brave defender of his flag, performing the duties of life
whether in war or peace, he has been a factor in the growth and develop-
ment of Cass county as a center of education, morality and good citizen-
ship. Mr. Gibson was born July 22, 1841, in White county, Indiana,
and is a son of R. P. and Sarah (Tarn) Gibson. The former was born in
Tennessee and the latter in Pennsylvania, and both came in youth to
White county, Indiana, where they spent the remainder of their lives
on a farm in Jackson township.
William J. Gibson was reared on the home farm in Jackson town-
ship, and as a youth entered the district schools, which he was attending
at the outbreak of the Civil war. He enlisted from Deer Creek township,
Cass county, in 1864, in Company B, One Hundred and Forty-second
Regiment, Indiana A^olunteer Infantry, and served for nearly a year, or
until the closing of the war, when he returned to Cass county, was mus-
tered out of the service, and given his honorable discharge. On the
close of his military career, Mr. Gibson resumed farming on the home
place, and was so engaged up to the time of his marriage, March 29,
1866, to Miss Mary E. Fry, who was born near Dayton, Ohio, September
5, 1842, daughter of Ephraim Fry. Mr. Fry was born in Maryland and
his wife in Virginia, and were married in Ohio, from which state they
came to Indiana in 1842, locating in Carroll county. Subsequently they
moved to Cass county, and, there both died.
To Mr. and Mrs. Gibson there were born eleven children, nine of
whom are living, and except the oldest child all are married, and all
living in Cass county. IMrs. Gilison is a member of the new Dunkard
church at Loekport, Indiana. Mr. Gibson is a Democrat in his political
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1037
views, and from 1869 to 1873 was trustee of Jefferson township, his
service lasting four years and two months. He is regarded as one of
the wheel-horses of his party in this section, and has numerous influen-
tial friends in political life. Mr. Gibson, by reason of his services during
the Civil war, receives a pension from the government. Ever since his
marriage he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits on his present
property, where he has accumulated 280 acres, a part of which is in
Jefferson township, Cass county, and a part in Jackson township,
"White county. His land is well cultivated, his improvements of a
modern character and his residence, barn and outbuildings are substan-
tially built and in good repair, and the whole appearance of the property
gives evidence of the presence of thrift, industry and able management.
In addition to general farming, he has carried on stock raising, and his
ventures have been uniformly successful because they have been directed
along well-defined lines and pushed with energy and perseverance. Mr.
Gibson takes a keen interest in all matters that affect his community, and
as a consequence is known as a good and public-spirited citizen.
William Banta. In writing of the agricultural men of Cass county
who have made distinctive progress in their particular line of industry,
it is peculiarly fitting that mention be made of William Banta, one
of the well-to-do farmers of Jefferson township, now retired from the
activities of farm life. A veteran of the Civil war, in which he fought
with characteristic fervor and gallantry, Mr. Banta may well be said
to have done well his part on the stage of life thus far. He has con-
tributed in no small measure to the growth and development of his na-
tive township along industrial lines, and has assumed his full share of
the civic burdens in the community. He is undeniably entitled to his
well-earned rest and recreation in his present capacity of retired farmer.
Born in Jefferson township, Mr. Banta has been one who realized that
far off hills were not always greenest, and he has remained in his native
town and township, content to realize upon the opportunities that dis-
trict offered him. He was born on the farm which he owns today on
New Year's Day, 1846, and is the son of Beauford and Elizabeth (McNay)
Banta. He was the youngest of the children of his parents, and he re-
mained on the old home place long after the other members had gone out
into the world to make homes of their own and take up the burdens of
independent life. The common schools of his native community afforded
him such book learning as he received, and his schooling was terminated
at the age of eighteen by his enlistment in Company K, of the Ninth
Indiana Volunteers. He was in General Howard's army and was with
Sherman at Atlanta. At Lovejoy station he was wounded for the second
time, but recovered and rejoined his regiment both times. He was dis-
charged in Texas on September 28, 1865, at the close of the war, where-
upon he returned to his Indiana home again and took up the more quiet
activities of farm life.
^ In the course of time he began farming on his own responsibility,
and his labors were from the beginning rewarded with a reasonable de-
gree of success. Years of sturdy effort in his own fields have brought
him a place of independence and importance in his community and he
is known today for one of the financially independent men of his section.
1038 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
He is the owner of fanii land in Cass county aggregating three hundred
and fifty-three acres, in two farms, with other holdings in and about
the county, so that his retirement from active business came as the nat-
ural result of his well-spent labors.
On March 28, 1872, Mr. Banta married Maggie D. Zinn, the daughter
of John Zinn, a native Pennsylvanian who came to Indiana in 1854. He
settled in Carroll county and there passed the remainder of his life.
Mrs. Banta was born in Butler county, Ohio, on September 8, 1847, and
was reared in Carroll county. Mr. and Mrs. Banta have two sons:
Charles and Ira E. The first named was born on May 13, 1873. He
has been married and widowed, and is now engaged in running the old
farm which was his birthplace and the birthplace of his father as well.
Ira E., the second son, was born on May 20, 1881. He has been married,
but like his brother, he is also a widower. He lives on a farm in Clay
township, and is successfully engaged in carrying on the work for which
he is so well fitted by nature and training.
Mr. Banta, as might be expected, is a member of the Grand Army of
the Republic and affiliates with Logansport Post No. 14. He has always
been a Republican, but in 1912 he cut loose from the old party and
voted the Progressive ticket. He has taken a leading place among the
citizenship of Jefferson township and has lived a life of the utmost
beneficence from every standpoint. He and his wife are known and
appreciated throughout the community for good friends, pleasant neigh-
bors and thoroughly reliable and honorable citizens.
Jettha M. Martin. The life history of Jettha M. Martin is closely
identified with that of Jeft'erson township, where he has been engaged in
agricultural pursuits for many years. His life has been one of untiring
activity, and has been crowned by a degree of success reserved for com-
paratively a few. He is of the highest type of agriculturists, and none
more than he deserves a fitting recognition among the men whose labors
and abilities have achieved results that are most enviable and com-
mendable. Mr. Martin was born November 1, 1861, in White county,
Indiana, and is a son of William and Malinda Jane (York) Martin.
William jMartin was born August 22, 1831, in the city of Belfast,
County Down, Ireland, and came to the United States with an aunt and
uncle, landing in New York City December 5, 1839, and going thence to
Philadelphia. He remained in that city until 1843, at which time he
went with Jesse MeClure to East Waterford, Juniata county, Pennsyl-
vania, there w:orking at the blacksmith trade for some time. Commenc-
ing work February 18, 1844, he remained until the fall of 1848, when he
returned to Pennsylvania and remained for one year at Pine, then
going to Juniata county, where he stayed until 1850. In that year Mr.
Martin came to Indiana, settling first in the city of Madison, later going
to Tippecanoe county, thence to Delhi and on to Logansport, and then
settling at Camden, Carroll county, where he remained until the spring
of 1853. At that time Mr. Martin located in White county, working
there until the spring of 1854, when he went to Iowa, and following this
was at various places in the West, but finally returned to Burnettsville,
White county, Indiana. On November 11, 1858, he was married to
Malinda Jane York, and they resided in Burnettsville until 1867, on
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 1039
April 15th of which year Mr. Martin purchased a farm on Lake Cicott,
in Jefferson township, Cass county, Indiana, where they spent the re-
mainder of their lives. Mr. Martin was a liberal supporter of religious
bodies, and was known as a kind friend and exemplary citizen. His
political faith was that of the Democratic party, although he was never
an office-seeker. He was the father of seven children, of whom five are
alive at this time : Jennie, who is the wife of Frank Pierce ; Jettha M. ;
Henry, who makes his home in Montana; Flora, the widow of Harry
Spence; and Earl, living in Kansas.
Jettha M. Martin was about five years of age when he accompanied
his parents to Jefferson township, and here he attended the district
schools until he was nineteen years of age. He then began farming
on the old homestead, and at the death of his parents he purchased
this tract, where he now has one hundred acres in a high state of
cultivation. This land, located on section 27, is devoted to general
farming and stockraising, and the fine crops raised as well as the
appearance of the stock proves Mr. Martin's unquestioned title of able
agriculturist. Politically he is a Democrat, and at this time is efficiently
serving in the capacity of Jefferson township trustee. His religious
belief is that of the Baptist church, while fraternally he is connected
with Logansport Lodge, Tribe of Ben Hur.
On June 15, 1882, i\Ir. Martin was married to Martha J. Byers, who
was born in Carroll county, Indiana, July 2, 1862, and there educated
in the public schools. Two children have been born to this union : Fred
B., educated in the common schools of Logansport, married Lizzie
Burkett, of Burnettsville, and has one son — Clyde, aged four years ; and
Elsie C, born September 27, 1894, a graduate of the public schools, who
is now attending Burnettsville high school. Mr. and Mrs. Martin also
reared an orphan, Pearl Young, from the time she was five years of
age until her marriage to Ross Prescott, since which time she has
resided in Logansport.
William R. Gray. All his life William R. Gray has passed thus far
in the vicinity of his present residence in Jefferson to\vnship, and his
record has been one sufficient to win for him the high regard and straight-
forward friendship of all who have shared in his acquaintance during
those years. Born in Jefferson township, Cass county, on a farm about a
mile distant from his present home, Mr. Gray claims November 14, 1873,
as the date of his nativity, and he is the son of James A. and Rebecca
W. (Rogers) Gray.
James A. Gray, also a native of Jefferson township, was born here
on September 28, 1836, and was the son of Alex and Elizabeth (Blight)
Gray, both of whom were Pennsylvanians by birth, and pioneer settlers
of Jefferson township, arriving here in about the year 1836. Both
finished their lives in this township and here were well known and highly
respected by all who knew them. They were true pioneers, and lived
in primitive fashion, rearing their children in simplicity and honesty,
and training them well in the simple but vital things of life. Their son,
the father of the subject, settled in Jefferson township and there died. ,
He married Rebecca W. Rogers and they became the parents of two
children — Harrison L., a farmer who lives in this township about a
1040 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
mile from the home of his brother; Milton R., who is the immediate
subject of this review.
Milton R. Gray was reared on the old farm in Jefferson towaiship
and in connection with the work of the home place, he received such
rudimentary education as the schools of his native community afforded,
He continued in attendance at the district schools until he was twenty
years old, after which he gave his exclusive attention to farming, a busi-
ness in which he has since continued with a pleasing degi'ee of success
and prosperity. Today Mr. Gray owns a farm of some one hundred
and twenty acres in section 14, this township, and general farming and
stock raising occupy his attention. He gives close and careful study to
the subjects which occupy him, and his diligence has been rewarded
accordingly.
On September 5, 1904, Mr. Gray took upon himself the responsibility
of a wife and was then united in marriage with Miss Goldie M. Mickel.
the daughter of Jonas and Sarah Mickel. She was born in Pulaski
county, Indiana, on the 4th of September, 1883, and was educated in the
schools of her native community. Two sons have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Gray: Ormus, born September 29, 1905, and Leo E., born ]\Iarch
27, 1911.
Mr. Gray and his good wife are members of the Pisgah Presbyterian
church of Jefferson township, and Mr. Gray is fraternally affiliated with
the Eel River Lodge, No. 417, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Politically, he gives his allegiance to the Democratic party, but has not
been active beyond the demands of good citizenship.
Andrew^ Thompson. Among the many well kno^vn and estimable
men of Boone township it is safe to say that none have a wider
acquaintance or a better standing in the township than has Andrew
Thompson, a native of this community, where he was born on January
15, 1861. He is now the owner and operator of a fine farm in section 21,
Boone township, and is enjoying a pleasing degree of prosperity in his
chosen vocation. He is the son of Kendall E. and Naomi (Thompson)
Thompson, concerning whom the following brief facts are here set forth :
Kendall Thompson was born in Sussex county, Delaware, as was also
his good wife. When they were children their parents, with a party of
other homeseekers, left their Delaware associations and connections and
sought the wilds of Indiana where they established homes and took
prominent parts in the development of Cass county. Jefferson and Boone
townships received the majority of them, and here, taking up government
land according to the Homestead act, they became land owmers and home
builders. The parents of Kendall Thompson secured land with the others,
settling in Boone towmship. At that time Kendall Thompson was a child
of seven years. He was reared in the primitive home of his parents,
became inured to the hardships of pioneer life and the rugged work of
the farm, and in his j'oung manhood married Naomi Thompson, who had
migrated from Delaware witli her parents in like manner as he had done.
To them were born seven children, of which number five are still living.
They are named as follows : Emma, the wife of Phelix Kistler, of Cass
county ; Joseph, a resident of Logansport ; Andrew, the subject of this
review; Martha, the vsafe of Rich B. King, of White county, Indiana;
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1041
Carrie E., who married Charles Kistler, and lives in this county; Jane
and Nettie are deceased.
Andrew Thompson was reared in his father 's household and aided him
in the work of the farm. He owned a place of two hundred and forty-
two acres in Cass county, and one hundred and sixty acres in White
county, and his total holdings required a deal of attention and care, so
that the assistance of his son Andrew was of great value to him. Such
advantages as the common schools of the comnninity offered, Andrew
Thompson embraced, and he finished with the elementary and graded
schools of Burr Oak, after which he turned to the farm again.
When Mr. Thompson married in 1886, he became the owner of a fine
farm of one hundred and twenty acres in sections 20 and 21, and he has
carried on a general or diversified farming business independently since
that time, experiencing a pleasing measure of success in his operations,
as becoming to one who was so well versed in matters of agriculture in
the service of his father.
On March 4, 1886, was solemnized the marriage of Andrew Thompson
with Emma Reed, of White county. She is the daughter of Charles Reed,
who was a native of Scotland, and who came to Canada in his young
manhood, thence to Ohio and later to Wliite county, Indiana. He was a
cooper by trade and has long been occupied in that work. He married
Susanna Glazek, whose parents died while she was yet very young. Mrs.
Thompson was born in White county, and there reared. Six children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, one son and five daughters,
brief mention of them being made as follows : Nora Pearl is the wife
of Fred Tickfer, of Logansport; she was bom in November, 1886, and
attended school at Royal Center and ]\Iarion. Fred E., bom August
4, 1888, married Opha Bird. Iva, born September 15, 1893, is at home
with her parents. Bertha, born November 17, 1895, also at home, is
attending the high school of Royal Center. May Thompson, bom -July 6,
1898, is also in school. Fern, born July 29, 1900, and the youngest of the
six, is attending school in Burr Oak.
Mr. Thompson is a Republican in his political proclivities, but not
more than ordinarily active. He is recognized as one of the substantial
citizens of the community, and enjoys a wide circle of friends in the
county.
William Hollis, long and prominently kno^vn in Boone township,
Cass county, Indiana, as one of the well-to-do farming men of the com-
munity, is a native son of the township and county he now calls his
home, and has passed his life within the confines of the county. He
was born on May 10, 1869, and is the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Gid-
dings) Hollis.
Joseph Hollis was bom in Wesbadge, Lincolnshire, England, and
came to America when he was in his early manhood. He came almost
directly to Cass county, and secured work at whatever he could lay his
hands to that offered honest employment until he became sufficiently
forehanded to buy a farm. He then married and settled do^^Ti to farm
life, in which he continued as long as he lived. His wife, Elizabeth Gid-
dings, came to Cass county -ndth a party of friends when she was in her
young womanhood, soon after which she met Joseph Hollis. Their
1042 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
acquaintance terminated in their marriage and to them thirteen children
were born, of which goodly number ten are yet living. They are here
named as follows: Robert G., living in this township; Mary, married
Saul JMathewson, and lives in Jefferson township ; Joseph, also a resident
here; John, living in Royal Center; Lizzie, the wife of George Wesley,
of New Plymouth; Jane, married Thomas Wesley, of this community;
William, of this review ; James, living in Mississippi ; Thomas, living in
this vicinity ; and Frank, a resident of Rlinneapolis, ^Minnesota.
William Hollis remained in the parental home until he married in
1896, after which he established an independent rooftree and became a
farmer on his own initiative. After his marriage he settled in Monon,
in White county, where he continued for four years, later moving
about from time to time until he located in his present place in Boone
townsliip, which he had occupied in previous years. He has a farm of
forty acres, which under his careful supervision yields abundantly, and
he is recognized as one of the successful farmers in the township.
On October 26, 1896, Mr. Hollis married Dora Kerns, the daughter of
Edward and Annie (Kerns) Kerns, both of Virginia parentage and
birtli. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kerns, of which three
are now living: Ada, the wife of Thomas Baity, of Royal Center; Otha
Allen Kerns, of Harrison township, and Dora, the wife of the subject.
One child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Hollis, Lucy Esther, at home with her
parents.
James W. Stewart, M. D., of Logansport, Indiana, is a native of Car-
roll county, Indiana, born on the Cass county line on May 27, 1857, and
has made his home in Cass county practically all his life. He is a son of
James Stewart and his wife, Elizabeth Cook, Pennsylvanians by birth,
who were the parents of five children, and who moved from their native
state to Indiana in 1850 and located on a farm. The father was a farmer
all his life, and died in Carroll county in 1867. Two children were born
to these parents after their location in Carroll county, the subject and
one other, who ^vas the youngest of the five. .
Dr. Stewart was reared after the manner of the average country
youth of his day and age, and he was early initiated into an intimate
knowledge of the many tasks incident to £arm life, while he attended
the district schools with tolerable regularity, eventually completing the
course of study in the Delphi schools at the age of seventeen. In June,
1875, he entered the Louisville Medical College, at Louisville, Kentucky,
and in 1876 he was graduated from that institution, after which he
entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Indianapolis, which
granted him his addendum degree in 1877. Following this he served a
year as interne at the city hospital in Indianapolis, completing his term
in 1878, when he was twenty-one years of age, a splendid record for the
country youth.
Dr. Stewart located at Burrows, Indiana, and was for six years
engaged in practice at that point, whereupon he moved to Rockfield and
there practiced for ten years. In 1894-5 he took a post graduate course
at the New York Polyclinic, and in 1895 he came to Logansport, which
he has since made his home and the center of his professional activities.
Until of late Dr. Stewart has been engaged in general pi'actice, but giving
JAMES W. STEWART
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1043
especial attention to surgerJ^ His specialty now is internal medicine and
surgery, and his ever growing office practice practically precludes any
outside practice. He has taken a number of special courses on internal
medicine and surgery at London, Edinburgh, Vienna, Berlin and Berne,
and is considered an authority on that subject.
Dr. Stewart is a ]\Iason and a member of the Country Club. His chief
recreation is golf and chess, at both of which he is something of an expert.
Samuel P. Hoffman. In looking for a prosperous and progressive
farmer who adheres largely to scientific methods in his operations, one
might "go farther and fare worse," as the old saying has it, than the
place of Samuel P. Hoffman. Farm life has ever been an attractive one
to him, and he has made distinctive and praiseworthy progress in his
agricultural activities with the passing years. His son, Ferdinand L.,
who assists him in the operation of the home farm, took a course in
scientific farming at Purclue University, and is the alile assistant of the
subject. Mr. Hoffman was born in Pulaski county, Indiana, on ]\Iarch
26, 1863, and is the son of Charles and Susan (Hoffman) Hoffman. The
father was a native German, born in that country in 1812, who came
with his parents to America in 1824 and located in Seneca county, Ohio,
where he was reared to young manhood. He came to Indiana while yet
young in years, in about 1840, and in Fulton county he married a ]\Iiss
Cox, and by that union had two children : Wm. H. Hoffman and ^lary,
the wife of Lewis Strahlem, of Logansport, Indiana. The wife and
mother died amd in later years Mr. Hoffman married for his second \viie
Susan Smith. Five children were born of this latter marriage : Isabella,
now deceased ; Sarah, the \yite of Eli Fink of Logansport, Indiana, where
he is employed as a passenger conductor on the Pan Handle Railroad.
Samuel P. Hoffman was six years old when he came to Cass county to
live. He was educated in the public schools up to the age of twenty
years, after which he took up farming as his life work, to which he has
ever since adhered, and in which he has attained a pleasing prosperity.
He has a farm of eighty acres three miles southwest of Royal Center, his
place being one of the best drained and improved farms in the to\\Tiship.
He has for some years specialized in thoroughbred Norman horses, and
is generally admitted to be one of the wide-awake farmers in the township.
Mr. Hoffman married Alice Berkshire, the daughter of William Berk-
shire of Boone township, on December 12, 1882. She was reared in Boone
township and received her education in the common schools. Two
children were born to them : Ferdinand L. and Manford B. Hoffman. The
eldest son, who is unmarried, is engaged in farming with his father, and
as was previously mentioned, has made a scientific study of agriculture.
He is one of the most capable young farming men of his day in this
township, and it is expected that he Avill make a signal success of the
business of farming should he continue in it. IManford B. Hoffman,
deceased January 30, 1913, was educated in the common and high schools
of his native community, and was married to Pearl S. Schlegelnilch.
Mr. Hoffman is a member of the Christian church, as are also the
members of his family, and he has served in that body as elder and trus-
tee, and has been for some time chorister in the church, as well as taking
an active part in the Sunday school. His politics are those of an uncom-
1044 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
promising Prohibitionist. He has never been active in the political affairs
of the town, but has ever performed well his part as a citizen of genuine
worth in the community which has so long been his home and the center
of his activities.
Ira a. Kistler. As cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Royal
Center, Ira A. Kistler occupies a position of prominence in Royal Center,
one to which he is well entitled by reason of his native ability and
accomplishments. A native son of Cass county, he has not felt it neces-
sary to fare forth into the unknown world to achieve a measure of suc-
cess, but has realized his business success in the identical township in
which he was born.
Ira A. Kistler was born in Boone township, Cass county, Indiana, on
Christmas Day, in 1876, and is the son of Martin L. and Sarah (Fultz)
Kistler. The father, who still lives, was born in Boone township and at
present lives at Bass, Indiana. The mother was a native of Findlay
county, Ohio. They became the parents of nine children, seven of that
number being yet alive in the year 1912.
Of the seven living children of his parents, Ira A. Kistler is the
second oldest. He was bom and reared on the farm which represented
the family home in Boone township, and received his education in the dis-
trict schools, after which he taught in the rural districts of Pulaski
county, Indiana, for five years. In November, 1901, he married Adria J.
Fultz, a daughter of Boone township who was educated in the public
schools of Royal Center. Two children were bom to them : Dowania,
bom in 1903, and Dox'tha, who was born in 1908.
In November, 1911, Mr. Kistler was appointed cashier of the Citizens
State Bank, a position which he has since continued to occupy, with all
of satisfaction to the bank and its patrons. The bank was incorporated
under the laws of the state of Indiana on the date above mentioned,
with a capital stock of $25,000, and its official personnel is as follows:
A. Ross Beckley, president ; J. J. Schmidt, vice president ; J. A. Kistler,
cashier. The directors of the bank are George S. Kistler, A. M. Dell,
A. Ross Beckley, Beecher House, Ira A. Kistler, E. D. Baughman, J. J.
Schmidt.
Mr. Kistler is an adherent of the Progressive party, and is at present
trustee of Boone towoiship. He holds a high place in the regard of his
fellow citizens, and is a man of many fine traits of character which
have contributed in a great measure to his establishment in popular
confidence and esteem. He is the owner of a fine little farm of eighty-
two acres in section 25 in Boone township, which he farms indirectly,
and has other property interests in the community. He is a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is the present chancellor
of the Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 462, of which he is also a member.
Mrs. Kistler is a member of Grace Evangelical church, as are also her
children.
Thomas J. Kistler. The name of Kistler is one that has been
accorded an honored place upon the rolls of the pioneer history of
Cass county since 1835, and many of that name have given praiseworthy
service in the development and upbuilding of the county in the years
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1045
that have passed. It is safe to say, however, that none has occupied a
higher place in the county or has been more gi'eatly esteemed than is
Thomas J. Kistler, the subject of this brief review. Born in Boone town-
ship, Cass county, Indiana, on the thirtieth day of June, in 1863, he is
the son of Jonas and Amelia (Simmons) Kistler, both now deceased.
Concemino: the parentage and family of Mr. Kistler it may be said
that the father came into the state when he was a lad of ten years, and
there passed the remainder of his long and useful life. He was born in
Fairfield county, Ohio, on the 9th day of September, 1825, and was the
son of Jacob and Catherine (Mishamoor) Kistler, natives of Pennsyl-
vania. Jacob Kistler, like his worthy father before him, was a miller by
trade, and he migrated from Ohio to Indiana in 1835, locating on a farm
in Cass county, Indiana. There Jonas Kistler spent the years of his
youth from the age of ten to twenty-one, and when he set out in inde-
pendent life for himself he still continued in that business, one which
occupied him all his days and in which, he achieved signal success and
prosperity. He was ever the advocate of progress and advancement in
the county and actively participated in the development and promotion
of the district which has evejitually made Cass county on a par with
the older coimties of the state. Four times did Jonas Kistler venture
onto the sea of matrimony. He married Lydia Kistler, a native of Boone
towTiship, on the 16th of January, 1847, and she died on April 1, 1857,
leaving four children: George N., Lewis, Sarah M., another who died in
infancy. On August 10, 1857, Mr. Kistler married Amy Simmons, and
to them seven children were born: Andrew J., Jacob, Thomas J., Eliza-
beth, "William H., Cordelia A. and James. The wife and mother died on
April 27, 1873. On October 1, 1873, Mr. Kistler married Ann E. Sim-
mons, who died on March 9, 1877. On September 20th of that year. Mr.
Kistler married Mary Kistler, whose death occurred on January 9. 1898.
Mr. Kistler died in 1902, at the age of eighty-seven years. Of the mar-
riage of Amy, or Amelia, Simmons and Mr. Kistler, four children are yet
living: Thomas J., Jacob, William H. and Cordelia, the wife of William
H. Walters.
Thomas J. Kistler was reared on the home farm to the age of thirteen
years, and divided his time between the duties incident to farm life and
the country school which his io\Ta afforded. When he was thirteen he left
home and went to work on a nearby farm, where he earned his board and
clothes and attended school in the winter seasons in exchange for what
he could do about the place. He remained thus until he was seventeen,
when he launched out in farming for himself. He continued the life of
a farmer until he married on May 7, 1900. Carrie D. Kistler (not related)
becoming his bride. She was born and reared in Boone township, and
is one of the most esteemed women of the community.
After his marriage Mr. Kistler engaged in the hardware business, and
he is the owner of the hardware stock on Chicago street, in Royal Center,
there carrying on a general hardw^are business. He has experienced a
pleasing measure of success in the business and enjoys a comprehensive
trade throughout the township.
Mr. and Mrs. Kistler are earnest members of the Baptist church in
Royal Center, and he is a trustee of the church. His political affiliations
are with the Prohibition party, whose firm adherent he has long been.
1046 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
He is one of the stable and dependable citizens of the town and township,
and enjoys the respect and esteem of a wide circle of friends in the
communitj' where he has spent all his life thus far. Affable and friendly,
he is more than ordinarily popular, and his upright and .honorable
character has secured him a place in the public mind which is in every
way worthy of him and his always estimable family.
William D. Lutes. Farm life and merchandising constituted the
business of William D. Lutes for a good many years, until in 1903, when
he was appointed postmaster at Royal Center, an office which he has con-
tinued to fill in a manner most satisfactory to all concerned. His whole
life has been spent in Cass county, and no more loyal citizen will be
found within its borders than he.
Born in Fulton county, Ohio, on October 7, 1837, Mr. Lutes is the
son of Henry and ]\Iary (Donut) Lutes. The father and mother were
both natives of Pennsylvania, and they came as children to Wayne county,
Ohio, where they grew to years of maturity, and it was there they were
married. Soon after their marriage they settled in Williams county,
Ohio, later moving to Fulton county, where they established their home
in German township and lived there for twenty-three years. Late in life
they moved to Kosciu.sko county, Indiana, where they passed their remain-
ing days. Henry and ^lary Lutes reared a family of four children, three
of whom were living in 1912. William D., the eldest, is the sub.jeet of this
review ; Eliza J. is deceased ; M. W. is engaged in farming in Kosciusko
county, Indiana, and Ellen is the wife of Simon Wheltstone, of Kosciusko
county, Indiana.
William D. Lutes was reared on a farm in Fulton county, Ohio, the
home of his parents at that time, and there he attended the district
schools. He later became a student in the high school of West Unity,
after which he engaged in teaching and continued to be occupied with
that most laudable branch of public service for four years thereafter.
On April 14, 1859, the young man was united in marriage with Miss
Mary Peddcoard, of Fulton county, Ohio, where she had been bom and
reared, her natal day being December 22, 1841. They came to Indiana
in April, the same week in which their marriage was celebrated, and
established their new home in the state which has since been the scene
of their activities. They first located in Harrison township, some six
miles west of Warsaw, and there they bought land and began to farm.
For six years they remained on that place, after which they sold out and
moved to Atwood, Indiana. Avhere for ten years Mr. Lutes was engaged in
the merchandise business with more or less success. He then sold his
stock of goods and returned to the farm, locating in Boone township
and continuing for four yeare. In 1879 he moved to Royal Center,
and in 1896 he gave up his farming activities for a second time and
turned his attention to the boot and shoe business. He was successful
and prosperous in that business and continued in it until 1903, which
year marked his appointment to the position of postmaster at Royal
Centre. His work in this respect has been all that could be desired,
and the department has been well kept up under his regime. He is
assisted in the work of the office by his daughter. Lida.
Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lutes, concerning whom
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1047
mention is made as follows: JoJin W. is engaged in the merchandise
business at Logansport, Indiana. J. 0. is a farmer, and is located in
Wisconsin. Lillian is married to Charles Fry, of Star City, Indiana.
N. F. is also engaged in farming in Wisconsin ; Lida, as mentioned above,
is assistant postmaster at Royal Center. She is a graduate of the com-
mercial department at Valparaiso, Indiana. William H. is assistant
cashier of the Thomas State Bank of Royal Center.
The Lutes family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and Mr. Lutes is a trustee of that body. His fraternal affiliations are
with the Masons, and he is a member of Royal Center Lodge No. 585,
A. F. & A. M., in which he is past master. He is also a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 694, at North Jud-
son, Indiana. Politically, he gives his support to the cause of Republi-
canism, and he has always been active in the ranks of the party in his
district.
Mr. Lutes has acquired a considerable property in and about Royal
Center and Hammond, Indiana, and is regarded as one of the well-to-
do men of this community. He en.joys the confidence and esteem of
a large circle of friends and acquaintances in his home town, and his
acquaintance extends well through the county as well, whei'e his many
excellent traits of mind and character are appreciated and acknowledged.
W. J. Goodrich conducts a lumber, tile and cement business in Royal
Center, in which place he was born on April 3, 1876. He is the son of
Hiland E. and Mary Jane (Vickers) Goodrich. The father was born
near Washington, Ohio, in the vicinity of Columbus, on a farm, and
was there reared. The mother was born in Maryland, near Harper's
Ferry, and is the daughter of English parents, -who came from Mary-
land to Indiana, bringing their daughter with them. They made the
trip by canal, and settled on a farm near Star City. In this community
Hiland and Mary Jane (Vickers) Goodrich were married, and they
spent their lives within the county. They became the parents of six
children, three of whom are now living. The names of the six, in the
order of their birth, with brief comments concerning them, are as fol-
lows: Alice 0., the wife of J. J. Schmidt, living in Royal Center;
Hiram E., in Boone township ; W. J., the sub.iect of this brief review;
Alba, who died at the age of four years ; Dudley, who died at the age
of twenty-one ; and George, who died when twenty-seven years old.
W. J. Goodrich received a common school education, finishing with
the Park high school, after which he took a course in a business college
in Logansport, Indiana. After finishing his business training he went
to Florida, remaining there for six months, after which he returned
home and remained on the faimi until the death of his father two years
later, in 1899. He still continued to make his home at the old place,
remaining with his mother until she died in 1909, aged seventy-seven
years, secure in the regard and esteem of all who knew her.
On Febriiary 14, 1910, W. J.. Goodrich was married to IMiss Anna H.
Frimel, the daughter of Frank Frimel, of Jefferson township, in Cass
county, and to them one child has been bom : Wilma Jane Goodrich.
Mr. Goodrich is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Lodge No. 62,
and he is a Democrat in his political faith. He is president of the town
1048 HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY
council, aud takes an important part in all the activities of the com-
munity which tend to its growth and advancement.
He owns sixty-two and a half acres of land in Boone township and
has twenty acres in Royal Center, in what is known as the Goodrich
addition. His activities in the lumber, tile and cement business are
carried on quietly and steadily, and constitute one of the leading in-
dustries in Royal Center.
Andrew J. Conn, well known in Royal Center, Indiana, as a farmer
and in the operation of a buggy and harness business, was born in
Boone township, Cass county, Indiana, on June 19, 1862, and in the
vicinity of his present home has passed his life thus far. He is the son
of George and Helen (Hendee) Conn, the father a native of Pennsyl-
vania, from which state he migrated to Indiana in its early manhood.
The mother was a native Canadian and came from that country with
her pai'ents. George Conn was in some respects a pioneer of Cass
county, and he it was who ran the first sawmill in Boone township,
which he operated with oxen. He died when the subject was a lad
of three years. He had been three times married, and was the father
of thirteen children, ten of them being the children of Helen Hendee,
the mother of the subject. Seven of the number are living today, and
they are here named as follows : Jess, living in Rushville, Indiana ; Law-
rence, of Boone township; Reuben, in Long Beach, California; Eunice,
the wife of William Batty, living in Pulaski county ; George, a retired
farmer of Royal Center; Andrew J., of this review; and Hannah, the
widow of William Kramer, of Royal Center.
Andrew J. Conn was educated in the district schools and remained at
home until he married. He was twenty years old when he took upon
himself the responsibility of a home and family and on January 4,
1882, he married Anna C. Humes, the daughter of William and
Humes. For three years he remained on a farm and then gave up agri-
cultural life to engage in the mercantile business in Royal Center,
where he continued for twenty-five years. At the end of that time, he
retired from active business, sold out and invested in farming property
in and about Royal Center. He is the owner of a goodly portion of
town property, and has five hundred and twenty acres of land, with one
hundred and sixty acres lying about a half mile south of Lucerne.
He also has one hundred and twenty acres in Van Buren township, in
Pulaski county, and two hundred and forty acres near Winnemac, also
in Pulaski county. These properties are the fruits of his quarter century
of unceasing toil and they have been acquired, not in a day nor a year,
but little by little, each passing year adding something to his accumu-
lations. What he has done has been accomplished without aid from
any source whatsoever, only his native industry and business wisdom
contributing to his ultimate success.
Mr. Conn is the father of eight children, of whom mention is made
briefly as follows : Mabel, the wife of Verne Seward, of Royal
Center; Alice, living in Logansport, Indiana; Maggie, the wife of
Clarence Fultz, of Boone township ; Jesse, a railroad man. living in
Loganspoi't; Andrew J., Jr., at home; Forest, a baker in Royal Center;
and Marr, living at home.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1049
Mr. Conn is a memlier of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
Lodge Xo. 66, "and of the Knights of Pythias, No. 462, Royal Center.
He is a Democrat in his political faith, but is not more active than the
demands of good citizenship require. He occupies a position of promi-
nence and popularity in his native community, where he has long been
known for his sterling character and many splendid traits that have
contributed so much to the prosperity of the town and township of which
he has long been a resident.
Melvin Tucker. Since the year 1845 the Tucker family has been
residents of Cass county. During this period of nearly eighty years,
the members of three generations have contributed their industry and
their character to the material development and the civic welfare of this
section of Indiana. The family have been chiefly identified with agi'icul-
ture, and it was on the land that they have depended for their material
prosperity.
Mr. Melvin Tucker, who represents the third generation in the county,
is present trustee of Harrison township, and has spent practically all of
his life in his present home vicinity. He began his career without any
capital to speak of, and through his own good management has acquired
a prominent position in Harrison township.
^Melvin Tucker was boni in Harrison township, Cass county, June
10, 1862. His father was named Abraham, and his grandfather was
Michner Tucker. The maiden name of his mother was Margaret Witters,
a daughter of David AVitters. The grandfather, with his son Abraham,
and other members of the family, came to Cass county in 1855. His first
settlement was on what is known as the Jacob Yantice farai. Land was
to be had then from the public domain, by paying the government price
of about $1.00 per acre, and the grandfather acquired a lafge amount of
land either from the government or private purchase. Through his own
industiy and that which he hired, he was instrumental in clearing up a
large tract and putting it in condition for agriculture. Abraham Tucker,
the father, spent all of his life as a farmer, in this county, and died in
September 4, 1903, after nearly seventy years of residence in Cass county.
The mother passed away in October, 1895, and both parents now rest in
Zion cemetery of Harrison township.
Melvin Tucker was reared in Harrison township, where he attended
the public schools, and there by practical experience he prepared him-
self for an active career as a farmer. On the twenty-second of March,
1887, he married Miss Anna Backus, a daughter of Richard and Rose
(Fitzsimmons) Backus. Her father died about 1874 and her mother in
1892. Mr. and Mrs. Tucker are the parents of one child, MoUie, who was
born November 26, 1888, and who is the wife of Harvey Clary. In 1889,
soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Tucker moved to the farm which
they still occupy. They found the land with practically no improve-
ments, and a number of years in their early married life were devoted
to the hard industry which makes successful farming. There were no
buildings on the plaec when they came to it, and the present equipment
of home, barns, fences and drain field, and all other facilities are the
result of the good management and effective work of Mr. Tucker, who
1050 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
has always been loyally aided by his wife. Their homestead consists of
one hundred and forty-one acres.
Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, coming from one of the pioneer families, have
in their possession three of the old parchment deeds which were executed
under the hands of President ^lartin Van Buren and they bear the fol-
lowing dates : March 30, 1837 ; April 10, 1837 ; April 10, 1837, and these
old souvenirs are valuable heirlooms in their home.
Fraternally Mr. Tucker is affiliated with Royal Center Lodge, No.
585, A. F. & A. M., and has passed through all the chairs of Lucerne
Lodge, No. 680, I. 0. 0. F. His fellow citizens have honored him with
the office of council trustee, a place of responsibility, which he is filling
with characteristic ability and efficiency.
Mr. and Mrs. Tucker's beautiful estate is called "Broad Lands
Grange" and lies fronting the south, and this home is ever open to their
many friends.
William H. Feltis. Among the well known, prosperous and highly
esteemed citizens and farming men of Boone township, none enjoys
a more pleasing status in the eyes of the community than does William
H. Feltis, a native Ohioan, but a resident of Cass county, Indiana, since
1884. Mr. Feltis was born in Crawford county, Ohio, on January 13,
1860, and is the son of Edward and Eliza (Cassady) Feltis.
Edward Feltis was born in AVexford county, Ireland, and was the
son of William Feltis, a native Scot, who settled in Ireland. Edward
Feltis came to the United States and located in Crawford county, Ohio,
and from there he moved to Wyandot county, where he passed his re-
maining days, death claiming him in 1872. He married Eliza Cassady
in Crawford county, Ohio, and she died at the home place in Wyandot
county on December 8, 1903. Six children were born to the worthy
people mentioned above, five of that number yet living. They are:
William H., of this review; John J., of Wyandot county, Ohio; Nettie,
the wife of Lewis Aluncie; Jennie, who married John Williams; and
Cora, the wife of Joseph Eckelbery.
William H. Feltis was reared on the Crawford county farm and edu-
cated in the district schools, in which he continued until he was eigh-
teen years of age, or thereabouts. He then worked on the farm by the
month, and in 1884 he came to Cass county, Indiana, where he again
secured work as a farm hand. In 1885 he went to Benton county,
Indiana, there working at farm work for the space of four years, his
identification with that county covering a period of something like
fifteen years. On June 1, 1901, Mr. Feltis moved to the farm which he
now occupies, and he has a farm of one himdred and forty acres, devot-
ing himself to general farming and stock raising.
On March 25, 1891, Mr. Feltis was united in marriage with Miss
Sarah A. Goble, who was born in Hancock county, Indiana, on April
21, 1869. She was educated in the district schools of her native
county and came to Jasper county, Indiana, in company with her
parents in 1884. She is the daughter of F. M. and Emily (Winslow)
Goble, the former of whom was born in Henry county, Indiana., on
December 6, 1833, and died in August, 1910. The mother died on
September 7, 1905. She was born in North Carolina in 1842 and
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1051
came to Indiana when she was a girl, locating in Henry county. She
was married in RaysvilJe county, Indiana, soon after which her hus-
band enlisted in the Twenty-second Indiana Light Artillery and served
to the close of the war. Pie was a member of the G. A. R. Mrs. Feltis
was one of the eight children of her parents, the others being : Martha ;
Flora, the wife of AVilliam Hammond, of North Dakota ; Mary, who mar-
ried John Thornton; Tina, the wife of John Blaze; Edward; Albert;
Louie, the wife of Oscar Hurley, of North Dakota.
Mr. and Mrs. Feltis became the parents of seven children, as fol-
lows: Murle M., born July 10, 1893, a graduate of the common schools;
Gladys M., born July 13, 1895 ; Leona M., born on March 7, 1897 ; George
D., born on January 1, 1899 ; William H., born April 11, 1900 ; Jerry 0.,
born October 3, 1903, and Junie A., born on June 16, 1905.
Mr. Feltis is progressive in his political tendencies and is one of
the leading citizens of his town and township. His family is one that
is highly esteemed in the community it claims as its home, and^all are
giving promise of filling useful places in society as they come into the
duties of life.
Samuel A. Williamson. Royal Center has numbered among her
citizenship more than a few wealthy retired farmers who have settled
down to enjoy the remainder of their lives, content with what they
have been able to accumulate in the earlier part of their careers.
Among such wise and happy men may be mentioned Samuel A. William-
son, one of the well-to-do men of Boone township, in which he made
his home for a number of years. He was born in Boone township on
September 28, 1858, and is the son of Moses T. and Mary J. (Callahan)
Williamson.
Concerning the father of the sub.3ect, it may be said at this point
that Moses T. Williamson was born in the vicinity of Dayton, Ohio, in
the year 1816, and came with his father, Samuel Williamson, into
Carroll county, Indiana, in 1829, and there his parents passed their
remaining days. Moses T. lived with them until he had reached man's
estate, and in 1840 he determined to start out upon an independent
career. He accordingly entered a piece of land from the government,
with his brother taking up one hundred and sixty acres. This bit of
government land formed the nucleus of a much larger holding in later
years, and at one time he owned more than a section of land in Cass
and White counties, all but eighty acres lying in Boone township. He
passed his life on his farm, and was one of the well known men of the
county. He was a stanch Republican, always up and doing in the
interests of the party, and took a prominent part in its activities all his
life. Five children were born to these parents, all of whom still survive,
and concerning whom the following brief mention is made: Joseph E.
is engaged in farming in Idaho ; Elizabeth A. is the wife of John P.
Troutman, of Logansport, Indiana; James E. is engaged in teaching
in California; and William Andrew, a Kansas farmer. Samuel A., the
subject of this review^ is the youngest of the five.
The common schools of Boone township gave to Samuel A. William-
son such education as he received, and he remained at home with his
father until he had reached man's estate. He tried his skill at school
1052 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
teaching and was thus engaged during one term in Miami township
and one in Boone, but he found farm life more pleasing to him and
gave up teaching, returning to the farm with his father. On April
5, 1888, he was married to Miss Rosella J. Hughes, the daughter of
William and Mary E. Hughes. The young man erected a dwelling house
on the farm of his father, and there he and his family lived until five
years ago, when he moved into town, since when they have made their
home in Royal Center. Mrs. Williamson was born in Jefferson town-
ship, near Lake Cicott, and her parents were natives of Ohio and Penn-
sylvania. They were farming people and gave their lives to that
industry. The father died some years ago. They were the parents of
six children, of which number five are now living, as follows : Josephine,
Ella, Mrs. Williamson, John Schuyler, who lives with his widowed
mother; Etta, who died single, and William.
To Mr. and Mrs. Williamson were born six children, four of whom
are yet living: Arthur C. is at home on the farm; Grace E. is dead, as
is also Edna M. ; Iva L. is the wife of J. Marcus Bliss, of Logansport,
Indiana; William M. is in the high school; and Ruth 0., a student in
the common schools of the home community. Edna M. married Lloyd
P. Plotner, of Royal Center, and they had one child, Grace C, who makes
her home with the subject, Mrs. Williamson. Mrs. Plotner died Novem-
ber 30, 1907.
Mr. Williamson is the owner of some especially valuable farming
property in the township, aggregating about three hundred acres, as
well as considerable other property in Royal Center. He took the
census report of 1910 for Royal Center and for the twelve northeast
sections of Boone township. j\Ir. Williamson is a Republican in his
political faith, and his churchly affiliations are with the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which he is a trustee, and of which his wife is also
a member, as well as others of his family.
John W. Cline, well known among the residents of Boone township,
in Cass county, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, on September 30,
1860, and is the son of Joshua and Matilda (Glick) Cline. When John
W. Cline was six yeai-s old his father died, and his mother married a
second time, in September, 1875. Conditions in the home were not the
most favorable to the young lad after the advent of a second father,
and he was but little more than seven when he began to make his own
way, working for his board and clothes. He went to school some, but
his education was of a most meager character, and when he was seven-
teen years old he began to draw wages, after which he continued to work
on a farm until he was twenty-five years old. When he was twenty-
seven, in 1887, Mr. Cline married Laura A. Boyer, of Fairfield county,
Ohio. They lived in Ohio for a year after their marriage, then came to
Cass county, Indiana, and some little time later Mr. Cline made the
purchase of an eighty-acre farm. He went in debt for the place, but
with the help of his faithful wife they were soon able to clear away
the indebtedness, and they eventually made a fine place of the farm.
Mr. and Mrs. Cline have one son, George W., born on November 12,
1892. He is a graduate of the Royal Center high school. They are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church of Royal Center, and Mr. Cline
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1053
is a member of Royal Center Lodge No. 585, A. F. & A. M., in which he
is past master. He is also a member of j\Iyrtle Lodge No. 567, Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is master, past grand, and
a member of the grand lodge. He is a Prohibitionist in his political
faith, but has never been an ofifice holder. General farming and stock
raising occupy his attention for the most part, and he is regarded as
one of the most wholesome and substantial citizens in his community.
William H. Bingaman. The business interests of Royal Center have
in a number of ways felt the influence and activity of William H.
Bingaman in recent years, and he is today regarded as one of the
successful men of the towoi, wherein he has conducted a hardware busi-
ness since 1890. It is true, he established himself in his present connec-
tion in a time when he possessed neither money nor a great deal of credit,
but his careful methods, progressive ideas and general steadfastness of
chai'acter have placed him in a position where he today can command
an ample supply of both those commodities.
A native son of Boone towTiship, Cass county, William H. Binga-
man was born in December, 1860, and his parents were Jacob and Emily
(Kistler) Bingaman. The father was a native of Carroll county, In-
diana, and the mother was born and reared and passed her life in Boone
township. When Jacob Bingaman was a boy he came to Cass county,
and here he grew to young manhood and married. He was ever a
quiet and home loving man, but one who never shirked his civic duty,
and he served Boone township as trustee for three terms, giving praise-
worthy service in that ofifice as long as he was associated with it. He was
a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and derived a deal
of quiet pleasure from his identification with the lodge and his associa-
tion with his fellows as a result of his membership. He died on July
4, 1910, his good wife having preceded him some time before. They were
the parents of two children, John ]M. and William H., the subject of this
brief review. The former died on April 30, 1912, in the state of Penn-
sylvania, where he had made his home for the past twenty years. He
married and had a family.
William H. Bingaman was reared to farm life on the home place in
Boone township, and when arriving at school age, he was sent to the
district school, and later to the schools of Royal Center. He continued
in attendance there until he was about seventeen years of age, after
which he gave his attention to the work of his father's farm. He was
twenty-one when he decided to leave home, and he accordingly became
a clerk in a general store in Royal Center, where he was employed for
two years. He then returned to the farm and was thus occupied until
he engaged in business here in 1890. He was entirely without capital,
but he managed to place a small stock of goods and by the most careful
and shrewd manipulation of his stock and the proceeds from the busi-
ness for a few seasons, he was soon able to branch out considerably.
Today he carries a complete stock of hardware, stoves and implements
and enjoys a most gratifying patronage from all parts of the township.
He erected his present place of business in 1911, at a cost of about
$10,000. He is a member of the directorate of the Royal Center State
1054 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Bank as well as of the local electric light plant, of the latter of which
he is secretary, and is likewise interested in a telling manner in other
industrial and financial concerns in and about the town.
Mr. Bingaman is inclined to the progressive view in politics, and took
the side of the new party in the campaign of 1912. He is a member of
the Baptist church of Royal Center, with his \rife, and he also has mem-
bership in the Masonic Lodge No. 585, the Knights of Pythias Lodge No.
462, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the latter of which
he holds the office of past grand.
In 1889 Mr. Bingaman was united in marriage with Miss Ida Wash-
burn, who died without issue in 1906. He married Nora Lawhead in
May, 1908.
William O. Bliss holds a prominent place among the prosperous
farmers and stockmen of Boone township, and enjoys in generous meas-
ure the esteem and confidence of a wide circle of friends and acquaint-
ances. He occupies today the farm on which he was born on the 26th
day of August, 1853, and which was then the property of his parents,
Horace N. and Sarah (Drift) Bliss.
Concerning the parentage of the. subject, it may be said that Horace
N. Bliss was a Pennsylvanian by birth and ancestry, as was also his
wife. They w^ere married in their native state and came to Indiana in
their young days, being rightfully regarded as among the pioneer citi-
zens of the state and of Cass county. Mr. Bliss was a man who long
occupied a foremost place in his community. He was a capable and
energetic farmer and succeeded beyond the status of the average farmer
of his day, and his activities extended to civic and public life as well.
He served Cass county as its county clerk for eight consecutive years,
and was for four years the incumbent of the office of county recorder.
Both those offices he filled with credit to himself and the county, and
his services were of an order eminently satisfactory to his constituency.
He continued to conduct his farm in conjunction with his official duties,
and was all his life one of the busiest men in his township. He was a
Democrat and was ever active in the ranks of that party. He died in
about 1887, the father of five children, two of w^hom are yet living,
Andrew D., concerning whom specific mention is made in other pages
of this work, and William O. Bliss, the subject of this necessarily brief
review.
William 0. Bliss was reared on the home farm and educated in the
public schools. He was w'ell trained in the work of the farm and early
learned the benefits to be derived from a careful management of a
choice farm. In consequence of this knowledge he elected to follow in
the footsteps of his father when choosing a vocation and he may be
found today busily engaged in carrying on the work of the fine old farm
upon which he was born sixty years ago. His holdings in Boone town-
ship aggregate six hundred and fifty-three acres, and general farming
and stock raising constitute his industry.
Mr. Bliss, like his father, is a Democrat, active, in a measure, in the
work of the party in his district, but not an office holder. He has never
married.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1055
Orville ]\I. McCombs, prominent in Royal Center as a merchant,
contractor and lumber dealer, has been a resident of this place all his
life, and was here born, reared and educated. He has been a school
teacher, drug clerk, merchandise clerk, and was for four years with
the Sweet Brothers in their elevator business. Altogether his business
career has been a varied one. The past eighteen years of his life have
been devoted to the lumber business with contracting and merchandis-
ing, and he has acquired a leading place in the ranks of the business
men of this city. He has acquired an interest in many of the leading
industries and financial concerns in and about Royal Center, and is
properly regarded as one of the leading business men of the community.
Born near Royal Center on a farm on JMarch 25, 1873, Orville M.
McCombs is the son of Albert and Mary (Mason) McCombs. The father
was born in Royal Center on August 6, 1844, and was a son of John
McCombs, who came here from Pennsylvania, his native state, soon after
his marriage, and here entered land from the government, the town of
Royal Center standing on the land he so acquired. The patent to his
land bore the signature of John Tyler, then president of the United
States, and he engaged in farming here when Cass county was in a most
primitive state, indeed. A pioneer, every inch of him, Jolm McCombs
lived and died on the land he seciired as the right of a United States
citizen, and he saw the outlining and early development of what was
destined to become one of the wealthiest and most prominent counties
in the great state of Indiana. He passed the best years of his life here
and death claimed him when he had reached an advanced age, after
a life of the utmost usefulness in his necessarily circumscribed sphere
of activity.
Albert McCombs, his son, and the father of the subject, was reared
on this old farm, and here he attended the schools of the day. When
he reached manhood, he married Mary ]\Iason and settled in Boone town-
ship, where he passed the remainder of his life. Two children were
born to Albert and Mary McCombs: Emma, the widow of "W. R. Thomp-
son, of Royal Center, and Orville M., the subject of this review.
As a boy in Royal Center, Orville M. McCombs attended the schools
of his native town, and later was privileged to attend the Danville (Ind.)
Normal School. He taught one term of school in Boone township, after
which he secured employment in a drug store, and later took a clerk-
ship in a general store. He remained something like a year in the
latter position, after Avhich he took service with Sweet Brothers in the
elevator business. This work won him a most extended acquaintance
in the four years of his connection ^^'ith Sweet Brothers, and he then
started up in the lumber business. It is eighteen years since Mr.
McCombs set out to run a business of his o^vn, but the passing years have
proved the wisdom of his venture. He has increased his interests from
time to time, adding other branches, and he now has a general store in
Royal Center, and conducts a contracting business in connection with his
lumber operations. He is a stockholder and a member of the directorate
of the Royal Center State Bank and is a director of the Royal Center
Electric Light Company, Inc.
Mr. McCombs has not withdrawn himself from public service, but
has ever shovni himself willing to bear his full share in the village
1056 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
. government. He has served as a member of the village school board
and of the village council, and has been president of both bodies, at all
times proving himself a capable and wise official and executive. He is
president of the village school board at this time. Fraternally Mr.
McCombs is a member of the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias,
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of the Maccabees,
and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, with membership at
Logansport. He is a Progressive in his political faith and activities.
In 1891, Mr. McCombs was united in marriage with ]\Iiss Ella Pher-
son, a native daughter of Cass county, where she was reared and
educated. Four children have been bom to them : Howard, now nine-
teen years old, and a graduate of the high school; Vivian, aged six-
teen, a student in the high school; Thelma, twelve years old, attending
the public schools, and John A., two months old at this time (Decem-
ber. 1912).
The family are members of the Baptist church of Royal Center and
Mrs. McCombs is actively identified wdth the work of its various
departments.
Mr. McCombs enjoys the respect and confidence of a wade circle of
friends and acquaintances in and about Cass county, where he is promi-
nently knowTi in a business and social way. His genial and kindly
nature has brought him innumerable friends, as have the other sterling
qualities of his nature, and he is regarded as one of the valuable citizens
of the community.
Haery Charles Johnson, M. D. Among the medical practitioners
of Cass county who have won financial success and professional prestige
are found many who are practicing in the place of their birth, and in
this class stands Dr. Harry Charles Johnson, whose home has always been
in his present field of endeavor, the city of Logansport. Dr. Johnson was
born August 18, 1880, in this city, and is a son of Samuel F. Johnson
who, in point of continuous service, is probably the oldest railroad
employe in Logansport, and the present trainmaster of the Pennsylvania
lines at this place.
Samuel F. Johnson was born at Richmond, Indiana, August 20, 1857,
a son of Hon. Calvin R. Johnson, a prominent journalist of Indiana
who was identified with the press of Richmond for nearly a half a
century. The latter was born near North Vernon, Indiana, in Decem-
ber, 1823, and it was largely in the printing office that he received Ms
training and equipped himself for life's duties. His early work as a
printer was in Indianapolis, from whence he went to Richmond, and in
the latter city published its first newspaper, known as the Broad-ax of
Freedom. In addition to being connected with nearly every newspaper
of importance published in Richmond, he served through the Civil war
as lieutenant in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, and for many years was prominent in Republican politics.
He married Miss Sarah Lewis, a daughter of one of the prominent mer-
chants of Richmond, whose ancestors were Virginians, and who was a
devoted and well known member of the Society of Friends, of Wayne
county. Seven children were born to Dr. Johnson's grandparents, Sam-
uel F. being the fourth in order of birth.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1057
Samuel F. Johnson was reared to manhood in his native place, and
there received his education in the public schools and taught the dignity
and value of hard labor. When he was but a lad of ten years he showed
his self-reliance and industry by earning money as an office boy for
Dr. Mclntyre of Eichmond, and when he was fourteen entered upon his
railroad career. He continued as a brakeman on a freight train from
his fourteenth to his eighteenth year, was then made freight conductor,
a position which he held until he was twenty-four, and was then made
conductor of a passenger train. In 1872 he located in Logansport as his
home, and in November, 1892, he was made assistant trainmaster at
Logansport, from which position he was called to that of trainmaster in
1903. On April 2, 1877, he was united in marriage with Miss Mattie
Kendall, and they have two children : Harry and Eva.
Harry Charles Johnson was educated in the public schools of Logans-
port, and graduated from the high school in 1900. When still a student
in the latter institution, he commenced his medical studies under the
preceptorship of Dr. E. M. Hatch. In 1900 he matriculated at Hahne-
mann Medical College, Chicago, from which, after a course of four years,
he was graduated in 1904. Succeeding this, he at once engaged in the
practice of his profession in his native city, and here he has since con-
tinued, having gained a large and representative clientele. He is known
as an able physician, and his success in a number of complicated cases
has served to establish him firmly in the confidence of his patients and
the respect of his confreres.
On June 6, 1905, Dr. Johnson was married to Miss Grace A. Green,
and they have one child : Grace Alice.
Andrew D. Bliss has achieved considerable distinction as a progres-
sive and successful farmer in Boone township, which has represented his
home since his young boyhood, sixty-three years representing his actual
residence in this place. He was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania,
on April 21, 1847, and is the son of Horace M. and Sarah (Dritt) Bliss.
Horace M. Bliss was born in Ma.ssachusetts, in jMareh, 1808, and went
to Penn.sylvania when he was a youth of eighteen years. He received
his education in the schools of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and was
admitted to the bar at Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, where he prac-
ticed law at the county seat for several years. He married Sarah Barn-
field, and two sons were born to them, Edward and Simon, deceased.
Subsequently he married Sarah Dritt, a native of Lancaster county, that
state, and they came to Indiana in 1849-, locating in Boone township
in September of that year. Here Horace Bliss became an extensive land
owner and farmer and was well known as one of the most successful
men of his day in Cass county. He was a Democrat of strong convic-
tions and he served his party in varied ways in the county. He was
county clerk of Cass county for eight years and recorder of the county
for half that length of time, and he carried on his farm work in conjunc-
tion with his official duties. When he finally retired from public life,
he devoted himself entirely to farming activities.
Mr. Bliss died in 188.3 and his wife preceded him in 1880. They
were the parents of three children — Andrew D., John M. and William
O. Bliss. John M. Bliss was reared on the farm, in common with his
1058 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
brothers, and educated in the public schools. He married Minnie Potter
in Logansport. He served Cass county for four years as clerk, and died
in 1903. Concerning William 0., detailed mention is made in another
article devoted to him in this work.
Andrew D. Bliss was reared on the old home farm, and educated in
the public schools of the community, as well as receiving some training
in a private school. He turned his attention to farming when he settled
do^\^l to establish a home of his own and has gained a pleasing promi-
nence in that field of activity, as have other members of his family in
Boone township.
In 1874 Mr. Bliss married Lucinda Berkshire, the daughter of
Solomon Berkshire. She was reared in Boone township, in which she
was born in June, 1853, and was educated in the public schools. They
have eight children, concerning whom brief mention is here made:
Horace M. is living in the West ; Sarah is the wife of Clarence Julian ;
Jennie married Bert Anderson ; William is unmarried ; Rebecca married
Jesse C. Julian ; Lucinda is the wife of Howard Clapp ; Alice is a
teacher in the public schools; and John M. is a fireman on the Pan-
handle railroad.
]Mr. Bliss is a member of Royal Center Lodge No. 585 A. F. & xV. M.,
and is a Democrat in his politics, like all his family. He has been
active in the work of the party in Cass county, and in years gone by
when his father was active as a county official, he served as his father's
deputy in the office of county clerk.
Mr. Bliss and his family enjoy the hearty friendship of a large
circle of people in Boone township who have known them all their days,
and they are everywhere regarded as among the leading citizens of
the community.
AViLLMONT L. Fernald. While Mr. Fernald has been a resident of
Logansport for the last thirty-eight years, and among this city's most
enterprising and substantial citizens, his business interests have been so
extensive and widespread as to entitle him to claim identity with the
great Middle West. During this time he has been connected with the
lumber interests of several states, and for thirty years one of the most
extensive manufacturers and largest dealers in hardwood lumber among
the many enterprising men whose vigor and energy have made that one
of the leading industries of this section. His career adds another to
the many illustrations which Logansport has furnished, of the grand
results which are attained by intelligence, tact and perseverance, when
applied to the building up of a great business under the favoring condi-
tions which have, for nearly half a century, attended all the city 's enter-
prises. It is true that during this period unusual business opportunities
have opened to business men, but they have only yielded the meed of
great success to those who have had the sagacity to perceive them and
the boldness to pu.sh them to their best results.
Willmont L. Fernald comes of good old New England ancestry, and
was born in Penobscot county, Maine, October 21, 1855, there being
reared to manhood and receiving, in most part, his education. At the
age of nineteen years, he began life on his owti account as a farm hand,
receiving for his services a salary of sixteen dollars per month. In
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1059
1875 he came to Logansport, Indiana, and secured employment with the
old lumber firm of Tucker & Howe, the junior member of which was his
uncle, Samuel B. Howe, and here, also, he completed his schooling. For
a period of about eight years he worked for Tucker & Howe, and since
that time has been engaged in business on his own account. Both of
the original members of this old and honored concern have passed to
their reward, but the business continues to be carried on by Mr. Fernald
and the Messrs. W. H. and 0. D. Howe, under the corporate name of
the Howe Lumber Company. The firm's establishment at Wabash,
Phillips county, Arkansas, is in charge of W. II. and 0. D. Howe, while
Mr. Fernald takes care of the Logansport end of the business, which is
the buying of hardwood timber lands and the manufacture of band-
sawed hardwood lumber, plow and wagon stock and railroad material.
Although one of the quiet and unassuming business men of Logansport,
Mr. Fernald is also one of its most influential citizens. Amidst his active
business life he has found time and manifested an inclination to perform
all the duties of good citizenship, is alive to all the demands which the
exigencies of a great and growing city cast upon its leading men, is
broad-minded and intelligent on the questions that interest the public,
and appreciative of all the interests that affect the community, yet he
has not sought personal preferment nor entered actively into the con-
tests of the political arena. However, he is not indifferent to the amen-
ities of social life, and also takes a keen and intelligent interest in the work
of the Cass County Historical Society, of which he is a valued member.
In 1882, Mr. Fernald was married to Miss Emma F. Hoover, whose
people were among the first of the pioneers of Cass county, and appro-
priate mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work.
DuGAL Campbell was the second of the family to settle in Logans-
port, Indiana, and his association with this city began as long ago as
the year 1848, when in May he came here from Stark county, Ohio, via
wagon train and canal. He bought land and made a home for his family,
but his life in this community was all too short, death claiming him
within three years after he settled in Logansport. Mr. Campbell was
born on June 10, 1803, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and there
is something of Scotch blood in the ancestry of the man, as the name
plainly evidences. He was a young man when he migrated with his
parents and others of the family to Stark county, Ohio, at a time when
it was virtually an unbroken wilderness. Here the pioneer spirit was
strongly manifested in this man and in others of his immediate family,
and like many another of his day, he experienced all the hardships of
the pathfinder, or the homemaker in a wilderness. He married Mariah
Carr, a girl of German-Irish parentage, and wdth this companion settled
on a woodland tract, their home a tiny log cabin, furnished in the
most meager style, with the barest necessities. A puncheon floor was
a feature of the little home, but as Mr. Campbell had learned the trade
of a carpenter and cabinet maker, he was able with the passing of time
to greatly enhance their condition by the work of his hands. He gave
much of his time, however, to the cleaning up of their potential farm,
and as time passed his unremitting toil began to give shape and semblance
to their home, and a fine farm was eventually evolved out of the forest.
1060 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
His family grew with the passing years, and the parents, ever remem-
bering the benefits that schools could give, concluded that it might be
better to move to a district where there would be greater advantages for
the children. Thus it was that in 1848 Dugal Campbell sold the place
where he had passed so many years, and where he had experienced so
much of the joys and vicissitudes of life. He secured the then phenom-
enal price of $40 an acre for his land, and moved to Cass county,
Indiana, where he had a brother-in-law living and on May 20, 1848,
he found himself in Logansport, Indiana. He found suitable land in
Clay township and there bought one hundred and ninety acres, paying
twenty to twenty-five dollars the acre for the land, and settled down to
enjoy the benefits that might be derived from life in the newer commu-
nity. Three years later, however, he died at his home, his widow sur-
viving him for eleven years, her death occiirring in 1863. Nine chil-
dren were born to these parents, of which goodly number only two
are living today. One, a daughter, makes her home in Franklin, Indiana,
and the son, Hon. Benjamin Franklin Campbell, who has gained some-
thing of distinction in Cass county, and of whom extended mention is
made in another sketch appearing in this biographical and historical
work.
Mr. Campbell was a consistent member of the Friends church, and
his entire life and experience was in accord Avith the kindly Christian
spirit of that sect. His wife was a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and was ecjually faithful and consistent, in her everyday life.
They were worthy and honorable citizens, esteemed of all who knew
them, and beloved of many for their splendid character and the mani-
fold qualities of generosity and kindliness which illumined their plain
and homely lives. Their children were named: William C; John T. ;
Eva ; Margaret A. ; Benjamin F. ; Harriet ; Amanda J. ; Rachel ; ]\Iary and
Robert C. As mentioned previously, all but two of these are deceased.
Hon. Benjamin Franklin Campbell, a man who has gained much
of prominence and position in Cass county in the field of polities, as
well as in the more prosaic industry of farming, was born in Stark
county, Ohio, on ^March 4, 1835. He is the son of Dugal and Mariah.
(Carr) Campbell, of whom detailed mention is made in another article
devoted to them, to be found elsewhere in this work, thus obviating the
necessity for further details 'in regard to the immediate family of the
subject.
When B. F. Campbell was a boy of thirteen years the family moved
from Stark county, Ohio, to Cass county, Indiana, and here Mr. Camp-
bell has made his home continuously since that time. He was reared
amid scenes of rural life, both in his earlier home in Ohio and in Clay
township, Cass county, and received the somewhat limited educational
advantages of the district schools of his day and age. Though his train-
ing was thus not of great scope, it is a significant fact that Mr. Campbell
was able to supplement such schooling as he did receive in a large
measure by careful reading of his o\\ai choosing, so that he has ever been
regarded as a man of no little learning, and one whose information
covers a wide field, a broad general knowledge being his. He devoted
himself to farm work and remained at home, and when his father and
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1061
mother passed away, he continued on the old home place, there bring-
ing his bride when he married in 1861. For forty-eight years Mr.
Campbell made the old farm his home, his removal to Logansport coming
in 1896, at a time when his political prominence made it imi^erative that
he give up his rural life and make a home in the city.
Although today Mr. Campbell is prosperous, and has been for many
years, it must be remembered that he bore his share of early privations
and the burdens that the death of his father and elder brother placed
upon him when he was yet a lad. The family was not a small one, num-
bering nine children, and when Dugal Campl)ell died, Benjamin F.
was but seventeen years of age. Thus as the eldest son of the household,
responsibility of no small prder fell upon his young shoulders.
In 1878 the influence and strength of Mr. Campbell as a man among
his fellow men began to be recognized, and he was elected representative
from his district to the state legislature, and while there was a mem-
ber of the committee on elections and canals. He introduced three bills
into the assembly; one for the relief of one Mrs. Lyon, from the bond
of a defaulting trustee ; one for the relief of the town council of Walton,
to legalize its acts ; and one for the abolishment of the superior court
of Cass county. The two first mentioned passed through. In 1896
Mr. Campbell moved to Logansport, and in the following year he was
appointed by the governor of Indiana to represent the eleventh con-
gressional district in the National Road Parliament held at Nashville,
Tennessee. In 1898 he was president of the Farmers' Institute, held
at Nashville, Tennessee, and he has ever been a leader in all movements
tending toward the advance of agriculture and its methods. All public
enterprises of a worthy nature have foimd in him a generous support,
and he has left his mark upon many a movement and industry that has
had its inception in Cass county in the past quarter century. Mr. Camp-
bell was president of the County Agricultural Society, and he assisted
in the organization of the Citizens Coal Company of Logansport, of
which concern he was the first president. He was a director of the
Board of Charities for two years, and did excellent work in that connec-
tion. He is a man of strong religious tendencies, reared in the atmos-
phere of a Quaker home, but in recent years a member of the Baptist
church. He has served as president of the County Sunday School Union,
and has been actively identified with the work of the church in other ways.
On January 7, 1861, "Sir. Campbell was united in marriage with
Margaret, the daughter of ^\^illiam South. Mrs. Campbell passed away
in 1895, leaving two children — Robert Atwood and Blanche Edith, now
Mrs. Charles Richardson. Three years after the death of his wife, Mr.
Campbell married ]\Iary E. Kimbrough. the daughter of Joseph Brower
and the widow of James M. Kimbrough. Mr. Campbell is fraternally
associated wdth the Masonic order, in which he takes a hearty concern,
and is also a member of the Cass County Historical Society.
John A. Newby has been a resident of Logansport for the past forty-
three years, thirty-five years of which have been passed in the florist
business. He is a native of Yorkshire, England, and when eighteen
years old came to the United States, bringing with him his mother and
grandfather. He began working for Judge Whiteside in his greenhouse.
1062 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
having learned horticulture with some degree of thoroughness as a boy in
his native laud, but "did not continue in the business more than a short
time with Judge Whiteside, chiefly because the demands of the trade in
Logansport did not warrant such continuance. He engaged in railroad
work, in which he continued for some time, but in 1877 he saw an
opening for a florist in Logansport, and began an independent business,
though necessarily in a small waJ^ His first greenhouse was 10x50
feet in size, but as time passed and liis trade steadily increased, his
capacity gradually assumed more generous proportions so that today he
has about 30,000 square feet of glass covering. The old brick heaters
have been replaced by modern methods of heating, and new systems
have been introduced throughout, while new; varieties of flowers and
foliage have been constantly added, until today Mr. Newby has one of
the most modern and up-to-date establishments of its kind in Cass
county. His business has now outgrown the bounds of Logansport, and
he supplies neighboring cities and towns as well. His business methods
have ever been of that high order which has won him the confidence and
good will of his wide and rapidly growing patronage, and he is accounted
one of the substantial and dependable business men of the city and
county.
Charles H. Maiben. Twenty-one years ago Charles H. Maiben
invested all Ms available capital, consisting of one hundred dollars, in
a hand laundry business in Logansport. Today he leads in the laundry
industiy of the city. The modest equipment and quarters which were
his when he launched out in the business world upon his own resources
have with the passing years doubled, trebled and quadrupled them-
selves many times, and as one of the leading business men of Logans-
port and a man who has built up an immense industrial enterprise with
the slender means at his command, he is manifestly entitled to a place in
this historical and biographical work; for it is the biogi-aphies of such
men as he which ever has and ever will go to make up the history of a
given city, or county, or commonwealth. Born in Logansport, Indiana,
on January 14, 1864, Charles H. Maiben is the son of John T. and
Margaret (Johnson) Maiben, and of the father it is fitting that more
than a cursory mention be made in this biography of his son, who has
attained so prominent a position in the city of his birth.
John T. Maiben was of Irish birth and parentage, born in County
Sligo, Ireland, in 1822. He was there reared and educated, and in his
boyhood learned the trade of a cabinet maker. He was twenty-two
years of age when he came to America, and after arriving in New York
he remained in that city for some years, finding ample employment at
his trade, and becoming a full-fledged citizen of the United States. In
New York he met and married IMargaret Johnson, and it was not until
the early fifties that he came to Indiana. He located in Logansport
straightway, the city then being in its infancy, and here he began
working at his trade for one of the early undertakers of the county,
Mr. Manley by name. In those days caskets were made entirely by hand,
and while Mr. Maiben was in the service of Mr. Manley his entire time
was spent in casket making. He was subsequently employed in a similar
capacity by other representative dealers in furniture and undertaking
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1063
supplies, and continued in varied branches of the cabinet maker's trade
until his death, which occurred in 1902. Mr. iMaiben was one of the
quiet, industrious men, who seldom make a great show of accomplish-
ment, but are continually achieving-. He devoted his time chieMy to
his own affairs, and as a result retained to the last the unfailing con-
fidence and esteem of all who shared in his acqiiaintance. He, was an
Episcopalian, reared in that faith in his native land, and politically
he was a radical Democrat. It is significant, however, that with the
passing j^ears as he became broadened and softened by years of contact
with the world, he became much more liberal in his views. He was for
years a member of the old west side lire department, which is yet green
in the memory of old Logansport settlers. I\Ir. Maiben was an enthu-
siastic Odd Fellow and was ever an enthusiastic worker in the order.
He was generous and charitable, and his benevolences Avere many,
although performed in the quiet manner which characterized the every-
day life of the man. ]Mr. and Mrs. IMaiben were the parents of eleven
children. Of this number three died in infancy, while the family were
yet residents of New York City. Six died in Logansport and four grew
to maturity. Two sons, Charles H. of this review, and AYalter, both
make their homes in Logansport. The wife and mother died in 1898,
mourned by all who knew her.
Charles H. Maiben has always regarded Logansport as his home,
and indeed, practically all his life has been spent in the city of his
birth. He was educated in the public schools of the city and for a short
time clerked in the store of AViler & ^Yise in the days when that well-
established firm was conducted by the original founders of the house,
of whom extended mention is made in other pages of this work. He
was also employed as a clerk with Marshall Field & Company of Chicago,
but did not long continue in that connection. In 1889, or thereabouts, Mr.
Maiben embarked in the fish and oyster business on Market street, but
only remained in that business about a year. He entered the laundry
business on Third street in the year 1892, and this venture represented
the investment which has resulted in his present successful position in
the business world of Logansport.
The initial investment on the part of Mr. IMaiben represented an
outlay of one hundred dollars, or all his worldly goods, and he began by
operating a small hand laundry. For six months he continued with his
hand laundry, when he had prospered sufficiently to make po.ssible a
little expansion. He accordingly built a wooden structure at the back of
where his present establishment is located, and here he changed from
the hand system to the steam process. He secured an old steam boiler
and advertised his place as a steam laundry, and the work went merrily
on. The growth of this now mammoth plant has not been of a spasmodic
order, but has continued sanely and surely, every year marking a
growth that warranted new expenditures, more modern equipment and
expansion in all departments, and practically every two years since he
began in biisiness has Mr. IMaiben felt it necessary to bring about radi-
cal improvements in his equipment and enlarge his capacity in accord-
ance. In the summer of 1911 he began the erection of an entirely new
plant at his present place, 116-118 Cicott street, and on January 1,
1912, moved into the finest electric process laundry to be found in the
1064 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
country, in point of completeness, modern appliances and facilities for
the performing of all classes of work of this nature. The building is
a single story and basement brick structure, 70x165 feet, and is equipped
with a complete line of modern laundry machinery, operated by electric
power with nineteen motors, of capacities ranging from one and a half
to ten horse power. He has added a modern and complete dry clean-
ing, pressing department, also a shoe repair department, and the plant,
in all its departments, gives employment to about fifty persons. All
this, from an investment of one hundred dollars, twenty-one years ago.
The same alertness and progressiveness which have marked the business
activities of Mr. Maiben in this project have characterized his life as a
citizen, and he has earned a reputation for civic pride and public-
spiritedness that is well merited and highly indicative of the many
splendid traits which are inherent within him.
]Mr. Maiben is an Independent Democrat in his political faith, and
fraternally is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, in all of
which he is active and prominent. He was married in 1904 to Miss Mary
Shuman, and they have two children — Bessie and Thomas Maiben.
Marion E. Callendeb. It is not always the men of a community
who make the greatest noise and who take the most prominent places
who contribute the most to the solid growth and advancement of that
community. Rather it is an indisputalile fact that some of the quiet,
steady-going and persistent men have left more indelible marks upon
their home towns than the most showy and prominent individuals, and
Marion E. Callender, farmer and citizen, is entitled to consideration in
this work because of his membership in this class of reliables.
Marion E. Callender was born in Clay township, Cass county, on
July 26, 1853, and is a son of Collins and Elvira (Sisco) Callender, both
of whom were natives of Ohio, and of German and English ancestry,
respectively. The death of ]\Iarion Callender 's father when he was yet
a mere boy, caused the subject to early begin to make his own way
in the world, and from the age of nine years he was without the guid-
ing hand of a father, beginning as it were, at the bottom of the ladder of
life, Collins Callender having passed away in 1862. It may thus be
assumed that the boy secured the most limited sort of an education.
His early life was spent in farm work, and when he married in 1878,
he and his estimable wife settled down to farming on their own respon-
sibility, continuing ever since in that worthy industry', and experiencing
a pleasurable degree of success. His first place was a fifty-acre farm,
which possessed a small three-room dwelling house. This little place
sheltered the family for six years, when the home was destroyed by fire.
Mr. Callender then moved with his family to a rented place some two
miles distant, and for nineteen years they lived there, the farm being
one known as the Joseph Chestnut place. From there they moved to
their present place in Bethlehem township — a fine improved farm of
eighty acres, which ]\Ir. and Mrs. Callender have acquired the owner-
ship of. In addition to this well developed place, they also have another
farm of forty acres located two and one-half miles distant from the
home place. Since the Callender family took possession of their present
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1065
home, the place has taken on a decidedly home-like appearance, and
shows the results of much well-placed labor. The house has been prac-
tically re-built, and in many ways shows the enterprising nature of the
family. General fanning occupies the attention of ^Ir. Callender and
he is regarded as one of the most capable and successful farmers in Cass
county, where he has been well and favorably known all his life.
The principles of ]\Ir. Callender have always been of the most stable
order, and they find expression in his every-day life, not being reserved
for special occasions. He has always been a Republican and voted the
ticket consistently, until recent years, when he began to show a growing
tendency to favor the platform of the Prohibition party — the subject of
prohibition being one in which he has long held a hearty interest.
It was on September 22, 1878, that ]\Ir. Callender was united in
marriage with Miss Mary J. Conrad, the daughter of John S. and
Artelia R. (Conrad) Conrad. Mrs. Conrad was a pioneer of pioneers
in this part of Indiana, having settled here in about 1837, her family
being an old North Carolina one and having come direct from that state
to Indiana. She was a daughter of John and Susan (Atwood) Conrad.
Mrs. Callender was born in Cass county on July 16, 1858. She received
a good education considering her time and place, and in the schools of
Logansport finished her educational training. The following children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Callender : Myrtle A., the wife of George
F. Hopkins, resident of Adams township, an agriculturist and they
have six children: Russell G., Gertrude L., Marion D., Josephine F.,
Mary Jane and Edith E. Mrs. Hopkins was educated in the town-
ship schools and she is a member of the Christian church. Frederick S.,
a resident of Chicago, and is a civil engineer for the Chicago, Milwaukee
& St. Paul Railroad, and at present is engaged in Montana. He wedded
Miss Edith Long. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
He received a good common school education and spent two years in the
Logansport high school and was a student at the ^Marion Normal and
taught one year in Bethlehem township and the ^Metropolitan Business
College, and then took a full course in civil engineering. Han'iett A.,
the wife of George C. Kingery, a resident of Logansport, and connected
with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Mrs. Kingery was educated
in the schools of her home county. They have one little daughter,
Crystal M. Mrs. Kingery is a member of the Christian church.
Bertha E. is the wife of Earl E. Ingonire, a resident of Clay township
and an agriculturist. Mrs. Ingonire spent one year in high school
besides attending the public schools and both she and husband are mem-
bers of the Christian church. Frank jM. is a pharmacist in Kokomo,
Indiana. He took a preparatory course at the Tri-State Normal
at Angola, Indiana, and is succeeding in his chosen vocation.
Catharine F. completed the eighth grade of the public schools and has
also taken instrumental music and is a member of the Christian church.
John M. .received his diploma from the public schools in the class of
1909 and then graduated from the Meta high school in 1913, and he is
also a member of the Christian church. Donald G. received his diploma
from the common schools in 1911 and has been a student in the Meta
high school two years. He is the youngest child.
As it is noticed Mr. and Mrs. Callender have given their children the
1066 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
benefits of good educations as well as God-like teachings in the home.
Mrs. Callender, the wife and mother, was reared in Cass county and is
a lady of more than ordinary merit and one possessed of social facul-
ties that give her a cordial welcome to all. She is one of the active
members of the Christian church and is now vice-president of the Ladies'
Aid Society and was its president four years. She is also president of
"The Spring Creek Cemetery Association," one of the most beautiful
cemeteries in the county and this was perfected by the tireless work and
care exerted by Mrs. Callender. She has a Masonic apron that is now
over a century old and it was worn by her maternal grandfather, John
Conrad, and the Callenders have one of the old parchment deeds executed
under the hand of President John Tyler, and is one of the valuable
heirlooms in the family. The beautiful farmstead of Mr. and Mrs.
Callender is known as "Aldine Lodge," and it is one of the pleasant
and happy homes of the county.
The Callenders enjoy the hearty goodwill of all who have known
them, and a large circle of friends in and about the township and county
hold them in the highest esteem.
Julius F. Lienemann. The title of Julius F. Lienemann to promi-
nent position on the roster of Cass county's progressive and successful
men rests with his long residence, his connection with large business
affairs and his identification with public life. As a citizen he has done
his full share in promoting his community's welfare; his business has
added to Logansport 's commercial prestige ; while his signal public
services have won him the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens in no
small degree. Mr. Lienemann has been a resident of Logansport since
1865. His parents, Edmund and Katerina (Wurstner) Lienemann,
were natives of Baden and Wurttemburg, Germany, respectively, and
his father was a tailor by trade. Edmund Lienemann came to the
United States in 1852 and first settled at Dayton, Ohio, then removing
to Delphos, Ohio, where he was married. After coming to Logansport,
in 1865, he took up his trade, and here continued to spend the remainder
of his life, passing away November 3, 1906, while his wife died Sep-
tember 4, 1895. Mr. Lienemann was originally a Republican, and cast
his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, continuing to support that party's
principles and candidates until the administration of Grover Cleveland,
when he voted the Democratic ticket. He was a Roman Catholic in his
i^eligious belief. He was unusually well read in literature, especially
in American and European history, and was an ardent admirer of
the writings of Schiller. A representative of the best class of German-
Americans, honest, indiistrious and frugal, his word was known to be
as good as his bond, and his death lost to his conmiunity one of its
leading citizens.
Julius F. Lienemann was born at Delphos, Ohio, April 29, 1856, and
came with his parents to Logansport, when he was nine years old. He
secured his education in the public and parochial schools and at Hall's
Business College, and learned the trade of tailor with his father. In
1879 he established himself in business as the proprietor of a tailoring
enterprise, and with the exception of four years has since continued in
that vocation. A Democrat in his political views, in 1898 he was elected
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1067
clerk of the courts of Cass county, taking office two years later and
serving in the position for four years. In 1910 he was elected to the
board of county commissioners, a position which he still occupies. Mr.
Lienemann has proven himself a faithful, conscientious and abl& county
official, his long business experience being brought into play in dis-
charging his duties. He is known as absolutely trustworthy, and is
esteemed by his associates and has the full confidence of the people at
large. He has been the architect of his own fortunes in the business
field, and the establishment that now bears his name is well worthy a
place among the business houses of a growing and flourishing city like
Logansport.
On October 7, 1879, Mr. Lienemann was married to Magdalene
Hoover, and they have had five children, namely: Gertrude, who
married Ben Porter, of Logansport; Oscar, who died in 1906, at the
age of twenty-three years; Eva, who married Andrew Angemeier; and
Hugo J. and Marie, who live with their parents.
Dr. John William B.vllard was for many years one of the best
known physicians who ever practiced medicine in Cass county. He was
a native Indianian, his birth occurring in Carroll county on February
28, 1855, and he was the son of Anson and Mary J. (Hombeck) Ballard.
The father was a native of Hamilton county, Ohio, and was of French
descent, while the mother, whom he married in Fountain county, Ohio,
was also a native of that state and was of Scotch-Irish descent. Anson
Ballard was a leading citizen of his community in his day, and held
many positions of public trust in his county.
After attending the common schools of his native community, John
W. Ballard, at the age of seventeen years, entered Purdue LTniversity,
from which he was graduated in 1876. In order to secure tlie neces-
sary means to prosecute his studies in medicine, having already decided
upon his life work, the young man taught school for several terms, at
the same time reading medicine under the direction of Drs. Smith and
Beck, at Delphi. In 1877 he matriculated in the Medical College of
Ohio, from which institution he received his degree two years later.
For a short time thereafter the young doctor practiced in Lockport,
Carroll county, and in 1881 he located in Logansport. In the course of-
time his practice began to assume pleasing proportions, and there were
comparatively few localities in Cass county that were not frequently
visited by him in his professional capacity. At all hours of the day and
night, in sunshine and shower, midst the biting blasts of -wintry wind,
contending wdth bad roads and worse weather. Dr. Ballard's was a
familiar face to be encountered. His memory is revered by many because
of his work among them, and he will long be recalled among the men who
lived 'lives of unselfish devotion to their work and to their people.
Dr. Ballard served as county coroner for three terms. He was a
member of the Masonic order, Tipton Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and also
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Tribe of Ben Hur.
On November 4, 1876, Dr. Ballard was married to Ellen Milroy, of
Delphi, Indiana, and four children were born to them: Samuel Milroy,
a mining engineer ; Bruce Milroy, who died in infancy ; Charles A.,
mentioned below; and John "W., attending the University of Southern
1068 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
California. Dr. Ballard died on September 9, 1911, and his work is
being ably carried on by his sou, Dr. Charles A. Ballard.
Dr. Charles A. Ballard was born in Logansport, Indiana, on Sep-
tember 12, 1882, and was here reared and received his early education.
He graduated from the high school in 1903, after which he entered
the State University at Bloomington, Indiana, attending there for two
years and giving special attention to the studies pei'taining to physiology,
anatomy and chemistry. In 1905 he entered the College of Physicians
and Surgeons at Chicago, and was graduated therefrom with the degree
of M. D. in 1907. Following his graduation he served some six montljs
as interne in the Illinois State Insane Asylum at Elgin, after which he
came to Logansport, and here he has since been engaged in the active
practice of his profession. He was associated with his father until
the death of the latter, and since then has conducted practice alone.
He is a general jiractitioner and a prominent physician. In politics
he is a Democrat, and in the line of his profession he is affiliated with
the American Medical Association and with the County and State
Medical Societies.
Dr. Ballard was married on June 15, 1909, to Miss Nina Douglas, a
teacher in the high school of Logansport. One son has been born to
them, Charles Douglas Ballard.
John H. Rohrer. One of the particularly substantial and pros-
perous farmers of Bethlehem and Clay townships is John Rohrer, who
owns valuable farming property in both these townships, and is known
in both as a man of splendid capabilities in an agricultural way, with,
excellent business faculties as well. The Rohrer family is one of Swiss
and German ancestry, and is one that has long been identified with the
agricultui"al activities of the state in various sections.
John Rohrer was born in Wayne county, Ohio, on December 26, 1844,
and is the son of Joseph and Maria (Kampf) Rohrer; the father was a
son of John Rohrer and the mother daughter of Anthony Kampf, both na-
tives of Pennsylvania. The subject came to Cass county in 1851 in com-
pany with his parents, and they settled first in Clay township, where they
spent the remainder of their lives. The mother died in 1853 and the
father survived until 1906. They were the parents of two children,
namely : John, whose name initiates this review, and Simon, who married
Edith Conger, and lives in BufPalo, New York. In 1854 Joseph Rohrer
married Susan M. Tweed, born in 1834, and died in 1912. Of this union
were born two children — Lee, who died in infancy, and Ella, who died at
the age of fourteen years. It was in 1902 that Mr. Rohrer moved to
his present farm in Bethlehem township, from the old farmstead in
Clay to^\^lship on which he had been reared. The log house that his
father first occupied when he moved there years before had been replaced
five years later with a concrete dwelling and other suitable buildings.
John H. Rohrer remodelled his present residence in the most approved
fashion when he came into possession, and the farm has taken on an
appearance of fruitfulness and cultivation that is well in accordance
with the activities and policy of the owner. In addition to this fine
place of two hundred acres, he has a farm adjoining of one hundred
and sixty acres in Clay township that is equally prepossessing in appear-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1069
anee, and his farm holdings in the aggregate mark him as one of
the successful and substantial agricultural men of the county.
It is a fact that aside from his meritorious career as a farmer, Mr.
Rohrer has also had a brief career as a preacher, having served for
seven years in the ministry of the Christian church. He also
gave three years to the teaching profession and in 1863, when in the
first years of his young manhood, he served eight months in the Civil
war with the One Hundred and Eighteenth Indiana Regiment. He is
a college man, his higher education having been gained at Alliance,
Ohio, and at Indianapolis, where he attended some of the best colleges,
and he was prior to that a graduate of the Westville high school, in
Westville, Laporte county, Indiana.
On October 12, 1880, Mr. Rohrer married Cecelia M. Williamson,
bom October 1, 1850, the daughter of Samuel A. and Temperance
(Conrad) Williamson, people of Scotch-Irish and German ancestry,
respectively. They were married in Bethlehem township, and much
of their wedded life has been spent here and in Clay township. They
have one child, Clark Rohrer, born on August 3, 1881. The son was
married on May 1, 1912, to Miss Grace Horney, born December 7, 1889,
the daughter of George and Lucy Horney of Bethlehem township, and
they make their home in Bethlehem township, where Mr. Rohrer is
engaged in the agricultural industry, in which he received an excellent
training at the hands of his father, and in which he is making splendid
progress, having the reputation of being one of the most progressive
and successful young farming men of the community.
The Rohrers are among the most successful and prominent people
in the township where they have long. resided, and they enjoy to the
fullest extent the hearty regard that is accorded to them by a large
circle of friends and acquaintances, w^ho hold them in high esteem
because of their many pleasing qualities of heart and mind. They
are citizens of the highest order, and have a g'enuine and wholesome
interest in all that leads up to a betterment of social and business
conditions of their district.
William Searight was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, on
June 17, 1819, and was a son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Lobaugh)
Searight. The Searight family is one descended from William Searight,
who came from Londonderry, in the north of Ireland, in the year 1740,
or thereabouts, and settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Alex-
ander Searight was born on December 29, 1776, and he married Eliza-
beth Lobaugh November 15, 1804. In 1838, in "Conestoga" wagons, he
drove across the country to Indiana and settled in the dense woods of
Jefferson township, in Cass county. There he built a two room log cabin,
into which the little family moved, and there began the work of cleaning
up their farm. In later years Mr. Searight erected a sawmill on Crooked
Creek, their mill being one of the first in that locality. It provided lum-
ber for the building of the frame houses built in their community for
years, and was a source of considerable profit to its owTier. On February
12, 1848, Alexander Searight died. Prior to his death the family built
a flouring mill on Crooked Creek, which became famous for the grinding
of grain throughout a wide area of the new country. The mill was
Vol. 1—23
1070 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
burned in later years, its destruction supposedly being of incendiary
origin, and this misfortune crippled the financial resources of the Sea-
right family. Alexander Searight and his wife were the^parents of nine
children, William of this review, being the seventh born of that num-
ber. After the burning of the mill, William Searight and a brother,
Alexander, went via the Isthmus of Panama lo California in 1849. There
he was engaged in teaming and freighting goods to the mines, this busi-
ness resulting in a profit of a nice order, until in 1852 when he returned
to the states, making the return trip via the Overland-Southern-New
Orleans route. He was engaged in farming and lumbering until 1864,
then removed to a farm, where he died on September 25, 1877. Mr.
Searight was married on April 6, 1854, to Emily Vanatta, a native of
Warren county, New Jersey, and they became the parents of three chil-
dren, as follows : George W. ; William L. ; and Harry A.
Harry A. Searight was born in Cass county, on September 21, 1860,
and is the son of William and Emeline (Vanatta) Searight. Concern-
ing the former, appropriate mention is made in the preceding article
dedicated to William Searight, so that further details as to the family
and ancestry of the subject are not required here.
Harry A. Searight received his education in the district schools and
Logansport high school, and began teaching in the rural districts when
he was nineteen. He continued his work in this line for eleven years.
In 1889 he became superintendent of the schools of Cass county, serving
one term of two years in that office. He entered the government rail-
way mail service in 1891, in which line of work he has ever since
continued.
On December 24, 1889, Mr. Searight was united in marriage with
Miss Disa Gorden, daughter of William M. Gorden, one of the early set-
tlers and well known men of Cass countj', and to their marriage four
children were born, as follows : William H. ; Grace G. ; Anna M. ; and
Margaret E.
Mr. Searight and his family are members of the First Presbyterian
church of Logansport.
John Dodt. One of the prosperous and progressive business men
of his community is John Dodt, who was for years engaged in business
in Lucerne. On March 1, 1913, he changed location to Hamlet, Indiana,
to engage in the implement and garage business. He has made good
in the business and is the owner of a nice farm in Jefferson township,
in addition to his valuable property in Lucerne. He is a man who has
proven his worth to the community as a citizen in no uncertain terms,
and it is the men of his stamp and order who have done much to
further the best interests of their communities, wherever they have
been found.
John Dodt was born in Cass county, in 1861, the 26th of April
being his natal day, and is the son of Henry and Katherine Dodt. He
was one of the eight children of his parents, the others being as follows:
Henry, William, Charles, Frederick, Daniel and Andrew. He was
reared on the home farm and when he reached years of young man-
hood engaged in business in the grocery line in Lucerne, in which he
:^ -^'»^^^r»
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1071
continued with a due measure of prosperity until ten years ago. That
period marked the change in his business from a grocer to a dealer in
farming machinery and implements. With the passing years Mr. Dodt
acquired some property in Lucerne, as well as a tine farm of seventy-
five acres in Jefferson township, which yields him a nice income
annually. Mr. Dodt has given valuable service in public offices in his
towTi, and has been a member of the advisory board of the Harrison
township, and is now serving his second term in that office. He served
as supervisor of -roads for something like eight years, or two terms,
and has also been justice of the peace. A Democrat, he tates an intelli-
gent and interested part in the activities of the party in his district, and
is a member of the Presbyterian church, of which his parents also were
members.
On February 18, 1886, Mr. Dodt was united in marriage with Miss
Carrie Johnson, and they have a family of seven children : Charles,
the eldest, was born on December 6, 1886 ; he is married to Miss Lillie
Ream, the daughter of William Ream. Their marriage was celebrated
on April 15, 1908. Bertha is married to Fred Erwin. Harry married
Miss Bertha ^Meyers. Florence married Clark Stevens. The "three young-
est children, ]Mary, Elsie and Alice are unmarried, and share the pa-
rental home.
The Dodt family is one that has long enjoyed the friendship and
high regard of the best people of the community which has represented
their home for so many years, and they are in every detail worthy of
the high place they occupy in popular confidence and esteem.
Mks. Etta Frushour was the wife of the late William Frushour,
a man who was all his life a resident of this township, and who
passed his life on the farm on which he was born, and where his
death occurred, and one of the substantial citizens of Bethlehem town-
ship. His widow occupied that place, and like him, was regarded as one
of the most estimable and honorable of people. She maintained her high
place in popular confidence and esteem, and was prominent in every good
W'Ork that found expression in her community.
Born in ^Missouri, April 25, 1859, Mrs. Frushour was the daughter of
Paul and Ellen (Long) Gundrum. Paul Gundrum was a native
Indianian, who came from Winnimac, Indiana, in 1869, and settled in
Cass county, where Mrs. Frushour, his daughter, was reared. He died
on March 2, 1912, after having passed a life devoted to farming and
kindred activities. They were .people of German ancestry and descent.
The mother died on the 8th day of April, 1912, surviving her honored
husband by but a very brief period, as will be seen. Etta Frushour
was their only child.
In her young maidenhood Mrs. Frushour married William Frushour,
the date of their marriage being October 21, 1880. He was a son of old
pioneers of Cass county, and he was bora on the farm where he passed
his life and died, and where his widow also died. His father came
here in a most primitive period and located a farm, putting up a rude
log house and settling down to farm life in a new and untaught country.
Heavy timber growths covered the land at that time, and this was gradu-
1072 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ally cleared away and the farm came to take on an aspect of homelike-
ness that has been only intensified with the passing years. Indians
were not strangers to the settlers of that time, and trying times were
experienced by the sturdy family who settled in the wilderness. The
farm as it originally stood comprised one hundred and twenty acres of
land, but the pioneer father and his sturdy sons continued to add to their
holdings by purchase, until at the time of the death of William Frushour,
the home place aggregated some eight hundred acres of the most arable
land in Cass county. Building work has been kept up on the place from
year to year, and the dwelling and other buildings are of the most
modern and approved type in all that makes for comfort and convenience.
William and Etta Frushour had three children. The eldest of these,
Essie, married Edward Johnson, and they had two children, — Russell,
born April 22, 1902, and Mary Hazel, born August 6, 1906. For her
second husband Essie wedded Francis M. Bolton, September 25, 1912.
Mr. Bolton is a native of Cass county, Indiana, bona July 6, 1873,
and educated in the common schools. He is an agriculturist and belongs
to the Gleaners. Mr. and Mrs. Bolton reside in Bethlehem township.
Frank was the second child of his parents. He was born in 1884, and
died on January 17, 1912. Cecil, born in 1895, died on November
12, 1912.
Mrs. Frushour and her family were members of the Presbyterian
church of Bethlehem township for many years and she maintained an
active position in the various departments of the activities of that body.
She was a woman of the most excellent traits of mind and heart, and was
a leader in thought and action in her community, where her accomplish-
ments gained her an enviable position in the esteem of her many
friends and acquaintances.
Mr. Frushour passed away at his home on December 7, 1909, at the
age of fifty-fiv^e years, and his death is still felt in a community that
had known him intimately all his life and which recognized his many
splendid qualities and his worthy and consistent life. ^Irs. Frushour
departed this life January 19, 1913, and she was interred in jMount Hope
cemetery, Logansport, Indiana.
John J. Helms. One of the well improved and prosperous farms in
this state in northeastern Cass county near Hoover is that o\^Tied by
John J. Helms, who has been identified with this part of Cass county for
the past quarter of a century, and who has acquired a liberal share of
material goods, and at the same time has won a place of high esteem in
the community. Both he and his wife represent old Indiana families,
and Mrs. Helms' people were pioneers of Cass county.
John J. Helms was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, December
30, 1857. His parents were Calvin Fletcher and Priseilla (Woods)
Helms. There are two brothers of John J. Helms, namely: William J.
who married Lydia Wiseman ; and Elworth, who married Claire Lanb.
All the family were born and reared in Indiana and its members have
lived in the state practically from the pioneer time.
On the ninth of January, 1888, Mr. Helms was united in marriage
with Miss Sarah Crook. Mrs. Helms is a native of Cass county, and
her parents were Patrick and Nancy (Stevens) Crook. Her father died
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1073
in March, 1885, while her mother is still living and resides at her home.
Her father had come to Cass county from Wayne county, settling in
Clay township, and later moving to his permanent home farm, where he
bought one hundred sixty acres. At the time of his settlement, the land
was covered with woods and it required all of the labor of a pioneer to
clear it off for cultivation. There were no railroads, and the only means
of travel was by wagon or horseback, and in making the trip from Wayne
county they were on the road for one week. The Crook family has been
well known for many years in Cass county, and Mrs. Helms has six
brothers and one sister, whose names are as follows : Charles, who died
in 1896; William, who married a Miss Eliza Young; Margaret, who
died in 1862 ; Jacob wedded Elizabeth Young ; Ashford ; James, who died
in 1888, and Williard, who married Mary Rush.
Mr. John J. Helms came to Cass county in 1888, settling upon the
farm which he still occupies. The place at that time was improved
with a small frame house, and barn, and with his subsequent thrift and
prosperity he has remodeled both of them and not only made them
modern, but representative of the thorough business-like conditions which
are maintained all over the estate. He is the owaier of one hundred
and fifty-five acres and cultivates it practically all himself. He and
his wife have labored together to effect a comfortable prosperity and
to create a good home for their children, and their work has been
entirely successful. ]\Ir. Helms is a member of the Christian church, and
in politics is a Republican. He and his wife are the parents of five
children : Herman Clifford, born November 4, 1889 ; David Ross, born
July 18, 1891; Ruth, born September 6, 1892; Laura, born June 15,
1895 ; Anna, born September 29, 1899. The son Herman married Lola
Leffel, and the daughter Ruth married Hubert Moss.
George L. Beecher. Of Cass county farmer citizens, who began
their careers with practically nothing, and have used a splendid industry
to make a modern hom.estead out of the wilderness of brush, and against
all the obstacles of nature, one of the best examples lives in Adams
township, Mr. George L. Beecher. Mr. Beecher 's address is R. F. D.
12 miles No. 21. It is at that point on the rural free delivery route that
his present homestead, with all its excellent improvements, is located.
Some twenty-three years ago Mr. Beecher took this place when it was
covered with woods and brush, and much of the land was under water
during the seasonal part of the year, and his first home was a log cabin,
which existed there at the time of his removal. All these things have
given way to a modern system of cultivation, and he is now one of the
most progressive and prosperous farmers of Adams township.
George L. Beecher was born in Pen; township, Miami county, In-
diana, September 22, 1862. His parents were AVilliam V. and Jiilia A.
(Beecher) Beecher. The family were originally from Pennsylvania, and
the name of the paternal grandfather was Benjamin Beecher, and of
the maternal grandfather AVilliam Beecher. The father, during his
early life, moved from his native state to Ohio, locating first near
Columbus, where he was married, and where he lived for about four
years and was engaged in his trade as carpenter. Later he moved to
1074 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Indianapolis, where he followed the same occupation, and then came to
Pern township in Miami county, Indiana. This last removal occurred
in 1860, and in Miami county he became a settler upon a farm, which
was his home until 1871. At that date he bought a home in Jefferson
township, of the same county, and there continued his quiet occupations
of a farmer and substantial citizen, up to the time of his death, which
occurred on the twentj'-third of September, 1900.
George L. Beecher remained at home ^^ntil he was twenty-one years
of age, and in the meantime had acquired a fair education in the district
schools, and by the Avork and responsibilities of the home farm had
developed good physical powers and a knowledge of the business of
farming. Beginning for himself, without any capital, he first rented a
farm in Adams towTiship of Cass county, but a year later returned to
Miami county where he lived as a renter for five years. After this he
came to the homestead which he still occupies. It was eighty acres of
land, but of this quantity only twenty-five aeres could be worked, since
all the rest was covered with brush and timber and water, and it was
by dint of hard labor and close and thrifty management that he cleared
up the land and tiled it until now the entire farm is productive and
cultivatable. Besides the lack of other improvements, the farm had
only a log house, and a rough barn, and these two have long since yielded
to a comfortable and attractive residence, and first class improvements
in barns and outbuildings.
Mr. Beecher was married March 2, 1884, to Miss Sarah E. Fisher.
Their five children, Avith dates of birth as follow: Clinton E. bom Feb-
ruary 9, 1885; Lyman E., bom December 13, 1886; Wreathe Fern,
born December 29, 1886; Walter V., born November 19, 1895; and
Truman, who died in infancy.
Clinton E. received a common school education and one term in
the Twelve-Mile high school and two terms in Marine Normal. He
wedded Miss Gi'ace H. Condon, second child of Merrill Condon and
Mary Elrine. Mr. and Mrs. Beecher are members of the Brethren church.
He is a Republican, a resident of Fulton, Indiana, and a carpenter.
Lyman E. also received a common school education and is a resident of
Minneapolis, Minnesota, employed in a department store. He married
Lorina Jamica. Wreathe Fern is the wife of Rev. Charles W. Ronk,
of Bridgewater, Virginia, a finely educated man. They have one little
daiaghter, Mildred Christine. Truman died aged 15 months. Walter
v., the youngest, graduated from the public schools in the class of 1910
and did two years high school work in Twelve-Mile school and is a great
lover of mathematics.
Mrs. George L. Beecher is a native of Miami county, Indiana, born
July 9, 1858, and she is the fifth born in a family of nine children, five
sons and four daughters bom to Benjamin and Elizabeth (Rush) Fisher.
Six of the children are residents of Indiana and two brothere, Abram
and Isiah are residents of INlichigan. Mrs. Beecher 's father was of Ger-
man lineage and the name "Fisher" was originally spelled "Fischer" in
the German.
The Beechers have a five-passenger touring car of the Ford make and
their estate is called ' ' The Crescent Stock Farm. ' '
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1075
C. T. KiNZiE. The last sixty years have brought many and marked
changes to what is now Cass count3^ Half a century or more ago there
were large areas of land, extending for miles in unbroken forest, a
few settlements having been made along the streams, but practically
all that part now included in Adams township could he secured for
homesteads from the government by those in search of permanent homes,
by the payment of a very small amount of money. It was at a time
when people spoke of a dollar as made up of one hundred cents, and
dollars were scarce with the pioneering class, and when Abraham Kinzie
paid for a claim of 160 acres of virgin land, his capital was about
exhausted, although this land, now worth hundreds of dollars, was
secured for thirteen dollars an acre. The Kinzies came to Indiana from
Virginia, a vigorous, enterprising family, members of which have ever
since been identified with the development of Cass county. C. T. Kinzie,
who may almost call himself a native of Cass county, having been
brought to this section in his infancy and spent sixty-one years here,
is one of the respected citizens and prosperous agriculturists of Adams
township, his 276 acres of fine land representing two separate farms.
He was born January 1, 1852, in Franklin county, Virginia, and is a
son of Abraham and Charlotte (Shawalton) Kinzie, and a grandson
of Abram Kinzie and George Shawatter.
C. T. Kinzie was brought as an infant to Indiana, the trip from
Virginia, made by wagon, taking six weeks. The family first settled
on the old Tabor farm, a tract of 160 acres, where a two-room log house
and small log barn were built, and this land was subsequently cleared
by the father and his sons, and is now the property of Mr. Kinzie 's
brother. Here Mr. Kinzie Avas reared to manhood, his education being
secured in the primitive schools of his day and locality, and he was
thoroughly trained in the rudiments of farming and taught to respect
the honor and dignity of hard labor, thrift and industry. After his
marriage, he settled on the John LefPel farm, where he resided for fifteen
years, working this land in conjunction with his brother and building
good structures on his half of the property. Later he traded his land
for 144 acres in Adams township, on which there was a log house and
barn, and there spent six years, greatly improving this farm. In the
meantime he secured two hundred acres in Miami township, south of
the river, and also his present farm in Adams township, a tract of
thirty-three acres, which he has continued to cultivate to the present
time, and on which he now resides. He is an able agriculturist, taking
advantage of all the aids that invention, discovery and science have made,
and his success has been commensurate Avith his hard and faithful labor.
In 1872 Mr. Kinzie Avas married first at New "Waverly. Indiana, by
Dr. Quick, to Miss Mary Moore, and they became the parents of nine
children, as folloAvs: Ida. AA'ho married Amos Eller; Lottie, Avho became
the wife of William Kinger ; Noah, Avho married Clara Moss ; Elsie, who
married Charles Angle ; Laura. Avho married Ray Movtz ; Maggie, Avho
married Harry Miller ; Marian, who married Elva Wagner ; Martha,
who married Irvin Angle ; and Teresa. AA'ho became the wife of Emmett
Buskirk. His first AA-ife died in 1897, and he was married second to
Miss Lillie Harris. His third union occurred in 1902, when he was
married to Mrs. Fannie (Altiee) Dillon, and she died in March. 1909,
1076 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
having been the mother of three children ; Claudine, who was born in
March, 1903 ; Cecil Abraham, born in October, 1904 ; and Sarah, born
in October, 1907. Mr. Kinzie is a consistent member of the old Dunkard
church, and he is a Republican in politics.
WiLLARD AuLT. The title of Willard Ault to a position among the
representative men of Cass county lies not only in the fact that he has
resided here for more than a quarter of a century, but also as one who
has contributed in no small degree to the growth and development of
his section. Mr. Ault's present handsome farm in Adams township
was but a worthless stretch of timbered ground, devoid of any improve-
ments save several primitive log buildings, and the property bore little
resemblance to the present Maplehurst Farm, which, with its stately
structures, its well-kept fields and its herds of sleek cattle, presents an
air of prosperity that at once assures the visitor of Mr. Ault's ability
as an agricialturist. He was born March 11, 1866, in Miami county,
Indiana, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Price) Ault, and a grand-
son of Frederick Ault and Charles Price. Mr. Ault's father died in
1883, while his mother still survives and lives in Adams township.
Willard Ault received his education in the district schools of his
native locality, and in 1885 located on his mother's farm in Adams
township, on the Cass county-Miami county line. There he continued to
be engaged in agricultural pursuits for five years, and in 1890 came
to his present farm, a tract of one hundred acres, on which stood a
little log stable and a shack which passed for a house. Here Mr. Aiilt
settled down to clear his land, and soon replaced the primitive buildings
with others of a more substantial character. As the years passed, he
put more and more of his land under cultivation, and his equipment
and improvements increased as his finances would permit. Maplehurst
Farm is now one of the valuable properties of Adams township, made
such through hard and intelligent work, and in addition Mr. Ault owns
thirty-five acres located one mile east of his home, which is a beautiful
location. Although he has been busily engaged in agricultural pursuits,
Mr. Ault has found time for other activities, following contracting with
a large measure of success, and being the builder of all of his own
buildings as well as those of a number of his neighbors. He is recognized
as a business man in whose word the highest confidence may be placed,
and his integrity and honorable dealing have attracted to him a wide
circle of friends. While a resident of ]\Iiami county, prior to coming
to Cass county, he taught school for fourteen years, and became a well
known and popular edvicator. Although not an aspirant for public
preferment, Mr. Ault takes a keen and intelligent interest in political
matters, and has always given his hearty support to the policies and
candidates of the Democratic party. His religious affiliation is with
the Christian church.
On March 28, 1890, Mr. Ault was married in Howard county, Indiana,
to Miss Kathryn Morrison, daughter of Enoch and Sydney (Snyder)
Morrison, farming people of Howard county, and to this union there
have been born two children: Ina M., born November 16, 1891, who
resides on the home farm; and Elizabeth, born ]\Iarch 23, 1893, who
married Dwight M. Kime. Probably no family in Adams township is
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1077
better known or more highly esteemed, and the name has always stood
for business integrity, public spirit and good citizenship.
William Carson. The general citizenship of Adams township is
made up of people of sterling character, good morals and a pleasant
friendliness which fine schools and many church privileges encourage.
Many of the substantial families have been known here for years and
the present heads of some of them are not only residents but also natives
of Indiana. They are largely agriculturists and their well-cultivated
fields and herds of sleek cattle and healthy looking stock proclaim that
many of them lead particularly pleasant and profitable lives amid pros-
perous surroundings. William Carson, whose valuable farm of eighty
acres lies in a very desirable section of Adams township, has not, how-
ever, always been a farmer, for three long years and three months of
his early manhood were given to the service of his country when se-
cession raised its gory head during the dark days of the Civil war. Mr.
Carson is a native of the Hoosier state, having been bom in Jennings
county, September 10, 1841, and a son of John and Julia (IMcCammott)
Carson. His paternal grandfather, William Carson, died January 12,
1841. Mr. Carson's father was born Janv^ary 12, 1818, and his mother
July 17, 1818, and they came from Rutherford county. North Carolina,
at a very early day, locating in Jennings county, where they spent the
remainder of their lives in agricultural pursuits.
William Carson was reared in Jennings county, and there received
his education in the public schools. He was engaged in work on his
father's farm, when the Civil war broke across the country, calling all
classes and conditions of men to the defense of the flag. ]\Ir. Carson, with
youthful patriotism, offered his services and was accepted as a member
of the Sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Perhaps it was
the military blood of his ancestors stirring within him, for his grand-
father and great-grandfather had both been valiant soldiers in the
American army during the Revolutionary war and the War of 1812-14.
At any rate he made a brave and faithful soldier, and during the three
years and three months in which he fought under the Stars and Stripes,
he gained commendation for his bravery and respect for the cheerful
manner in which he performed every duty assigned to him. When he
had completed his long and arduous service and had received his
honorable discharge, he returned to the quiet occupations of peace,
which he resumed with, added zest and self-reliance. Not long there-
after he made his advent in Cass county, settling first in Noble to^\^l-
ship, where he spent three yeare, and then coming to Adams township,
where he rented land from Paul Taber for some years. Finally he
purchased his present tract of eighty acres, on which he has since made
his home. At the time he purchased it there was considerable timber
still on the property, the building's were of a mediocre order and the
land was without fencing. The timber has been cleared away, the farm
thoroughly and neatly fenced, and the old buildings replaced with new
ones of architectural beauty and substantial character. This woi'k has
consumed years, but the present value of the farm repays in full the
labor expended upon it. Mr. Carson is known as an excellent farmer,
thoroughly conversant with every detail of his vocation. He has not
1078 HISTOKY OF CASS COUNTY
devoted his entire attention, however, to agricultural matters, as he has
been identified with the Twelve-Mile State Bank since its organization
in 1911 as a director, and holds a like position with the Twelve-Mile
Telephone Company, an enterprise which has been successful since its
organization in 1903. Among his associates, Mr. Carson is known as
a shrewd, far-sighted man of business, whose word is as good as his
deed. His religious connection is with the United Brethren church,
to the movements of which he has been a liberal contributor. In politics
a Kepubliean, he has served as a member of the board of trustees of
his township for six years. Mr. Carson has been interested to some extent
in fraternal work, and since 1867 has been a member of the Masons.
On January 12, 1870, ]\Ir. Carson was married to Miss Elizabeth
Hicks, daughter of James Hicks, and to this union there were born
five children, as follows : Joseph A., born July 4, 1871 ; Frederick, born
July 26, 1875; Jessie, born October 17, 1879; and two who died in
infancy. Mr. Ca^rson was married (second) February 23, 1888, to Miss
Lorinda Leffel, daughter of William and Catherine (Haney) Leffel, of
Cass county, and they have one daughter — Inez, born March 1, 1889,
who married Hugh Skinner and lives in Adams township.
Mr. Carson has one of the old parchment deeds, which is a valuable
heirloom in the home. This is the eighth deed found in the county and
bears the signature of President Van Buren. His great-grandfather
was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and this gives Mr. and Mrs. Carson
and children place in the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution.
Mrs. Carson was born in Cass county, November 17, 1857. Both
her parents are deceased. She was reared and educated in Cass county
and she is a member of the United Brethren church. Mrs. Carson is of
German and Mr. Carson of Irish descent.
Daniel R. Carson, general farmer, who owns seventy-two acres of
some of the best land lying in Adams township, has been a resident of
Cass county for a number of years and is identified with all that goes
to make up its best citizenship. He was born on a farm in Jennings
county, Indiana, May 4, 1857, coming from ancestry largely agricul-
tural in its vocation but not lacking in patriotism when called on, for
both his grandfather and great-grandfather took part in the War of
1812 and Revolutionary war, while his brother, William Carson, served
gallantly in the Union ranks during the War of the Rebellion. His
paternal grandfather, William Carson, of Rutherford county. North
Carolina, died January 12, 1841. His parents were John and Julia
(McCammott) Carson, the former of whom was born January 12, 1818,
and the latter July 17, 1818. From Rutherford county, the family came
to Jennings county, Indiana, and here the parents of Mr. Carson spent
the remainder of their lives in agricultural pursuits.
D. R. Carson received his education in the district schools of Jennings
county, but as a young man came to Cass county and first located on
the Taber section in Adams township. His first dwelling was a house
made of rough boards, in which four of his children were born. Mr.
Carson continued to rent on the Taber section for a period of fifteen
years, and then purchased his present tract of seventy-two acres, in
1903. Here he erected almost all of the buildings, put up new fencing,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1079
graded and drained the land, and made numerous other improve-
ments, all of which have served to enhance its value. He is an able
agriculturist, bringing to his work the knowledge gained during many
years of experience in his vocation. His standing among the citizens of
his community is high, and his transactions have always been marked
by strict integrity. Mr. Carson is a member of the Odd Fellows, in
which lie has many friends, and his political faith is that of the Prohibi-
tion party. With his family, he attends the United Brethren church, of
which he is a member of the board of trustees.
On January 13, 1881, Mr. Carson Avas married to Miss Lucy
McCassline, daughter of George McCassline, and to this union there have
been bom six children, as follows : John McCassline ; Fred D. ; Doris,
who married Walter McCjiiire ; Everett ; Ovie ; and Ernest, the eldest,
who died at the age of five years.
George H. Shirey. The quality of a man's usefulness in his com-
mimity is in no wise impaired by the fact that he leads a quiet and unpre-
tentious life, is seldom seen in public places and takes little part in the
political activities of his district. If he goes on in a straightforward
manly and enterprising way, giving his best energies to the work before
him and performing his share in matters of civic responsibility, he proves
the quality of his citizenship as forcibly as does the most prominent indi-
vidual. George Shirey is one of those plain and unpretentious char-
acters who find their chief interest in their own private affairs, and he
has made his home in this to\ATiship and community for the past eight
years, in which time he has added his full quota to the products of the
township as the seasons come and go.
Bom in Roanoke county, Virginia, on June 3, 1851, George Shirey
is the son of John and Leannah (Miller) Shirey, who died in 1885 and
1882, respectively. They were the parents of four children, — those
besides the subject being William R., Walter G. and Emma (deceased).
Mr. Shirey came to Bethlehem township in 1895, and eight years ago
acquired his present farm, which is a representative place of one hun-
dred acres, handled by himself, without any other help. He is pros-
perous and comfortable, and plays the part of a good citizen in the
varied activities of communal life in his own unassuming and quiet
manner. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, as is also his wife,
and his politics are those of a Republican.
Mr. Shirey wedded Miss Addie L. Montgomery, September 12, 1883.
She was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, July 26, 1854, the second
child in a family of eight children, one son and seven daughters, born to
James H. and Mary E. (Brindle) Montgomery, and five of the children
are living. Father Montgomery was a well educated gentleman and was
a school teacher by profession. He was one of the valiant men who
went from the old Keystone State of Pennsylvania in defense of the
Union, and served his country nobly and received his honorable dis-
charge. Politically he was a Democrat. Both he and his wife were
members of tlie Methodist Protestant church. Mr. Montgomery died
September 3, 1912, and his wife died August 31, 1889.
Mrs. Shirey was educated in the common schools and she has nobly
performed her part in counsel and advice with her husband. Mr. and
1080 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
I\Irs. Shirey have a beautiful home situated near the Michigan pike and
it is known as "Council Crest." Mrs. Shirey 's brother, Strock ^lont-
gomery, makes his home with them. Mr. Shirey is a gentleman who
dearly loves good driving horses, and has been the owner of many. They
have a fine five passenger touring car and take great comfort in life.
They made a pleasure visit to the Pacific coast recently. Besides their
fine property in Bethlehem township they have 240 acres in Gray county,
Kansas.
L. C. Miller, M. D. There is no profession to which men devqte
themselves more dignified in its ethics or more reasonably helpful to the
world than that of medicine. Similar claims are made by the church and
by the law, but they, while essentially true enough, are based on other
foundations. The healing art demancls of its real followers that natural
reverence for the dignity of the human body that commands the exer-
cise of all the skill that years of study and training have brought to
them; to cure its ills, even when they well know their services will
receive no monetary reward. Where or when does a real physician
refuse to give help, and. to what other body of men does the world owe
so much ? Its scientific discoveries have not only eased the bed of former
torture, but have found the cure for almost every bodily affliction. Justly
is this noble profession in the fore-front. Methods may differ, systenis
may not be quite alike, and personality counts for much, but the aim and
principle remain the same. Among the members of the medical pro-
fession well kno^\^l in Cass county is Dr. L. C. Miller, whose skill and
faithfulness, together with his determined hopefulness and cheerfulness,
have made his presence valued in many households during the last
eighteen years, which period has covered his residence at Twelve-Mile.
Dr. Miller was born at Alliance, Ohio, March 24, 1869, and is a son of
Levi and Alma (Lazarus) ^Miller, grandson of Samuel Miller and George
Lazarus, and great-grandson of John Craig.
Dr. Miller was reared at North Benton, Ohio, at the home of an
aunt on h\s mother's side, Anna Lazarus, who gave him excellent edu-
cational advantages. On determining upon a medical career, the young
man went to Ann Arbor, ^Michigan, and entered the University of ]\Iich-
igan, where he was graduated from the medical department and
received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 1895 Dr. Miller came to
Twelve-Mile, and purchased the practice of Dr. Harding, who is now
located at North Manchester, Indiana. Here he has remained ever
since, his practice being a large and lucrative one and extending out
into Adams township for a number of miles. He keeps fully abreast
of the new discoveries and inventions by subscription to a number of
the leading medical periodicals, and takes a deep interest in the work
of the various medical organizations of which he is a member. It is not
alone as a physician, however, that Dr. Miller is well known, for he
has identified himself with every movement that has affected his com-
munity, and is at this time connected with several of the leading lousi-
ness enterprises of this place. In 1911, when the Twelve-Mile State
Bank was organized, he was chosen president, a position he has held to
the present time, wisely directing the institution's policies and popu-
larizing its coffers. A new, one-story bank building has been completed,
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1081
furnishing a handsome home for this enterprise. In 1903 the Tvvelve-
*Mile Telephone Company was organized, and sinlce that time !Dr.
Miller has acted in the capacity of secretary. He is recognized by his
associates as a shrewd, forceful man of business, with high ideals and
possessed of the strictest integrity. His connection with any enterprise
is a warranty of its legitimacy, and he firmly holds the confidence of the
people among whom he has lived for so long. He has taken an inter-
est in fraternal work, belonging to the IModern Woodmen of America, the
Masons and the Odd Fellows, and for a number of years was treasurer
of his lodge in the latter order. With his family, he attends the Twelve-
Mile United Brethren church.
Dr. Miller was married in 1897 at Deedsville, Indiana, to ]\Iiss Mary
J. Snider, daughter of Solomon Snider, and they have three children,
as follows : Galen, born April 28, 1898 ; Alma, born June 23, 1905 ; and
Donald, born August 29, 1907.
William H. Dillman. One of the oldest families of Cass county
is represented by A¥illiam H. Dillman of Adams township, whose post-
office address is Hoover No. 20. The Dillman family have been residents
in this vicinity on the present farm just mentioned since 1840, a year
which was not removed from the period of first settlement, and at which
time the present Dillman farm, as well as nearly all the rest of the coun-
try was almost in a condition of primitive wilderness. The present
proprietor of the well improved and profitably managed place, was a
mere child when the family came to this location. The various mem-
bers of the family have been well known, have been industrious workers,
and substantial citizens, and have borne the responsibilities of their
relations with man and God in a way that is deserving of a permanent
place in the record of Cass county.
W. H. Dillman was born in Preble county, Ohio, on the ninth of
October, 1839, a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Aukerman) Dillman.
The maternal grandfather was John Aukerman. Daniel Dillman, the
father, was born in 1804, and was a Virginian, from which state, when
quite young he came to Ohio and was married there, and several years
later in 1840 moved to the present homestead in Cass county. His
death occurred here in 1875, and his remains now rest on the home farm
in Adams township. At one time he served as trustee of the to\vnship,
and was also a justice of the peace. The wife of this venerable pioneer
was born in 1808 and died March 21, 1859.
W. H. Dillman was the fifth in a family of eleven children. The
others being as follows: Mary; John H., born February 19, 1832;
Aaron A., born October 5, 1834, and died April 16, 1837; Elizabeth
C, born July 16, 1837; Maria V., born June 15, 1841 ; Solomon F., born
February 20, 1843 ; Eliza L., born April 26, 1845 ; Lovina E., born May
20. 1847 ; Isabelle H., born August 7, 1849 ; Margaret A., born June 6,
1852.
Beared in Cass county, where he received his education from such
schools as existed during his youth, and growing to manhood Mr. Dillman
assumed the responsibilities of farm life. He and his brother conducted
the farm for some years, until they finally divided the farm, and he has
1082 HISTORY OF CASS COUxNTY
ever since beeu proprietor and manager of this estate, which has been in
the famil}' possession almost since the earliest period of settlement. At
the time his father came here, the entire tract of land was covered by
woods and a small log house was the first habitation for the family.
Father and sons worked together to clear up the land, and in time it
became a very productive homestead, which it still remains. The father,
during his life time, built a very fine barn, and it is still standing, but
Mr. Dillman has erected the present home.
Mr. W. H. Dillman was married April 21, 1895, to Miss Elizabeth
Teel, a daughter of Joel H. and Elizabeth (Kenzie) Teel. Her people
came to Indiana from Virginia. Her father died when she was quite
young, and her mother brought the family to Cass county. Mr. and
Mrs. Dillman became the parents of three children, namely: Gale
JMarie, born October 14, 1896 ; Carl Teel, born January 16, 1899 ; Daniel
R., born June 6, 1901.
The pretty home of Mr. and Mrs. Dillman is known as "Pine Lodge."
George W. McCoy. As a merchant, George W. McCoy is one of the
enterprising men in the little town of Galveston, the metropolis of
Jackson township. Mr. McCoy is a native of Indiana, has spent all
his life in this state, received only a district school education, as prepara-
tion for a practical career, but has used such energy and thorough busi-
ness ability in his endeavors, that he has for a number of years been
marked asone of the successful and prosperous men of his community.
George W. McCoy was born in Ripley county, Indiana, October 21,
1870. He is a son of Robert W. and Lutetia (Scothorn) McCoy. The
father passed away in 1906, and the mother in 1884. jMr. McCoy
received his early schooling in Ripley county, though only in the dis-
trict schools. He was reared in the intiuences of a good home, and his
parents were both people who gave him all the advantages they could
aiiford. His father, during the war, had served as a homeguard, though
never going to the front for service.
In February, 1896, Mr. McCoy married Miss Laura B. Harness, a
daughter of A. J. and Jane (Rosberry) Harness. Mrs. McCoy is a
native of Cass county, and her father's people were among the oldest
settlers. Her great-grandfather, George W. Harness had come here
during the pioneer period, and he lived to the very unusual age of 108
years. The four children of Mr. and Mrs. ]McCoy are as follows : Ivan
R., born October 23, 1897; Russell Morton, born October 15, 1899;
Robert Loran, born November 6, 1901, and Frederick Damon, born
October 5, 1905 ; all the children reside at home.
Mr. McCoy has been a member of the board of trustees of the I\Ieth-
odist church in his locality, and his fellow citizens have also shown
their confidence in his judgment and capacity by choosing him to the
school board. He has been a resident of Galveston, since 1900. Previous
to that time he had followed farming to some extent, and in 1900 entered
upon his mercantile career. He established a business here in partner-
ship, but after its existence for about a year, his partner died, and he
then bought out the other interest, and has since conducted a very
flourishing grocery business. In politics, Mr. McCoy is a Republican.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1083
WiLLARD Burrows. Three generations of the house of Burrows have
lived on the old farm that came to be the property of the grand-
father of Willard Burrows of this review many years ago in Deer Creek
township, and which was then a virgin wilderness. The axe of the
pioneer had not as yet penetrated the dense forest region, and the
man who first settled on the farm that is today one of the fine productive
tracts of the fertile Cass county, proved his hardihood and courage in
no uncertain terms when he fared forth on his home seeking expedition
and located in a wilderness. But those were the dominant character-
istics of our ancestors, and it was qualities of that order that made
possible the race that has brought forth so much in the w^ay of achieve-
ment in the present generation.
Willard Burrows was born in Deer Creek township on March 4,
1883, and is the son of John T. and Susan A. (Lenon) Burrows, the
father being the son of Joseph Burrows, who established the family in
Indiana. He was a native of the state of Ohio, and soon after his
maiTiage came to Cass comity, where he settled on the farm, men-
tioned above, and which is now owned by the father of the subject.
There the old pioneer passed his life, leaving the place to his son when
he passed on. He brought about many improvements of no mean order,
and the buildings which stand there today are those that he erected
in the years of his activity upon the place.
Logansport, in those early days, was a mere trading post, and the
wildest and most primitive conditions prevailed on every hand. The
old pioneer came to be the owner of some five hundred acres of land,
and was regarded as one of the prosperous men of his day. John E.
Burrows was reared there and since the passing of his father, retains
the old homestead, and carried on the work of the place in a worthy
manner, up to 1905, since when he conducts a drayage business with
good success.
Willard Burrows is one of the two children of his parents, the other
being Mabel, who married Herbert A. Keller. In recent years Mr.
Burrows engaged in the grocery business at Galveston and has enjoyed
a pleasing measure of success in that industry. He is one of the
prominent and popular men of Galveston, and takes an active part in
the best social and civic activities of the place. He has long been a
member of the United Brethren church, in which he is a trustee, and
treasurer of the church as well. He is a Mason, affiliating with the East-
ern Star and Galveston Lodge A. F. & A. M., No. 244, as well as the
Knights of Pythias, Amity Lodge No. 262. Politically, he is a Prohi-
bitionist and is enthusiastic on the subject of prohibition.
In 1905 Mr. Burrows married Miss Katherine E. Novinger, the
daughter of John H. and Adeline (Storer) Novinger. Mrs. Burrows
was one of the three daughters of her parents, the others being Lura
and Delia, the latter of whom married Joseph Kroeger. One child has
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Burrows, Thelma May, who died in infancy.
Charles F. Thomas. Galveston, in Cass county, Indiana, has
known the business activities of Charles F. Thomas and others of his
family since 1865, and the years that have passed have witnessed his
progress in merchandise and other lines in a most pleasing degree. He
1084 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
was born in Afton, Minnesota, on February 2, 1856, and is the sou of
Meredith H. and Harriet A. (Knowlton) Thomas. The mother was the
daughter of Artemas B. Knowlton, and the father a son of H. L. Thomas.
Meredith Thomas came to Indiana with his father's family in 1850. He
was a leader in church circles and was treasurer of the local Baptist
church for ten years and clerk of the church for a similar period. He
served two years in the city council and was in many other ways active in
the best interests of the place. He was engaged in the mercantile busi-
ness in Logansport, Indiana, from 1850 to 1854, after which he returned
to Minnesota, and came to Cass county again in 1865 when he engaged
in the general merchandise business with his brother-in-law, M. B.
Knowlton. This partnership endured for a few years, after which the
father of the subject continued alone until 1875. The senior Thomas
also established the grain elevator in Galveston, and continued in its
operation until 1895, when he established the bank at this place, con-
tinuing to be identified with it up to the time of his death, which took
place in 1899.
Charles F. Thomas received his early education in the schools of
Galveston, and during the years when his father was occupied in the
merchandise business in this place, he assisted him in the work of the
establishment, there learning much in the way of operating and man-
aging such a business which he put to good use in later years on his
own responsibility. He at one time, with his brother, operated a gen-
eral merchandise store in Galveston, but by mutual consent they dis-
solved partnership, and he started a store across the street from his
brother. This he conducted until the place was destroyed by fire, since
which time he has been engaged in the real estate business, in which
he is conducting a nice business at the present writing.
In 1880 Mr. Thomas was married to Miss Laura L. Armstrong, the
daughter of Charles Laban and Elizabeth (Lease) Armstrong, and
they have six children, namely: Harry B., wlio is married to Maude
Sharp; Nellie B., the wife of Charles Stewart; Sarah, married to Elbert
E. Day; Bernard C, who married Mamie Cooper; Meredith H., single;
Daniel H., also single.
Mr. Thomas is a member of the Baptist church, in which he is active
and prominent, as well as others of his family, and a progressive Repub-
lican in his politics. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the
]\Iodern Woodmen, and is active and interested in the work of the
societies, as well as in all work pertaining to the general welfare.
William B. Lake. It has been well said that history treats of those
men who have been foremost in the political and military activities of a
nation, while biogi-aphy goes further, and deals with the individuals
who have devoted their lives to the tilling of the soil and the quiet growth
and development of the nation along those lines. This being the fact, it
is most fitting and proper that a man like William B. Lake, who is the
subject of this necessarily brief review, and one of the well known
farmers of the county, should find place within the pages of this work.
William B. Lake was born on the 13th of November, 1842, and is the
son of Isaac and Laura (Viny) Lake. The father came from New
Jersey in young manhood, settling in Marion county, this state, later
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1085
settling in Carroll county, where he passed away in 1871. He was the
father of nine children, of which number William B. was the sixth born.
William B. Lake was bom in Carroll county, on the old homestead of
his father, and in the common schools of that community he received his
early education. In 1879 he came to Cass county, here acquiring his
present farm, and he has continued to live in the vicinity of Galveston
through the ensuing years. In 1867, on the 3d day of October, he
married Lydia Jane Wright, the daughter of Isaac and Susanna (Cline)
Wright, and six children have been born to them, three of whom are
deceased. The others are Laura B., who married Val Cunningham, and
has three children — Ellis, Everett and Otis; Lenora, married to Walter
Robinson, has two children — Truman and Raymond ; and Clarence, who
married Dora Tilley, has three children — Russell, deceased, Glenn and
Elsie Imogene. The first, third and fourth born of the children of
Mr. and Mrs. Lake are dead, they being Estella, Luella and Clara.
Mr. Lake has lived a life of usefulness in the state and nation, and as
a soldier in the Forty-sixth Indiana Infantry did his full share to
preserve the integrity of the Union in the years of 1861-65. He gave
gallant service in the Army of the Potomac and in General Sherman's
army, and saw much of the most strenuous fighting of the whole con-
flict. When the war was ended, he turned his attention to the farm
once more, and has continued in that industry without interruption since
that memorable time. He is known for one of the sturdy and stable
citizens of his community, bearing a most excellent reputation wherever
he is known, and with his wife is a member of the Baptist church of
Galveston. They have been residents of Cass county for thirty-three
years.
Noah Sullivan, the present trustee of Adams township is one of
the respected and substantial men of Cass county, who have spent their
lives in farming, and who, in addition to acquiring a good stock of the
substantial things of life, and in providing well for their families, have
also given public service to the community in which they reside, and
have borne well the responsibility of citizenship.
Noah Sullivan was born on the twenty-fifth of February, 1854, in
Miami county, this state. His parents were Phillip and Rosanna
(Long) Sullivan. He was reared in Miami county, where he attended
the schools, and at an early age took up the practical work of farming,
which he has followed practically all of his life. On the sixteenth of
August, 1878, he married Miss Melissa Parks. Her father was Joseph
Parks, a resident of Miami county. The six children of ]Mr. and Mrs.
Sullivan are as follows: Milo, Grover, Mary, Ruth, Nellie, and Enid.
Mr. Sullivan and his family came to Cass county in 1900 from Miami
county, and bought eighty acres of his present homestead in Adams
township, and near the Twelve-Mile postoffice. Since the first purchase
he has added twenty acres to his estate, and it is on this little home-
stead of twenty acres that he makes his present home. His son, Milo,
lives on and is active manager of the eighty-acre faimi. Michael married
Miss Cora Black, and they are the parents of one child, Mabel, age five
years. The family are members of the United Brethren church, and in
polities Mr. Sullivan is a Democrat. As a man who had given many
1086 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
years of his life to farming, and who had always borne a high reputa-
tion for integrity in the community, he was honored by his fellow
citizens in Adams township with the office of trustee, the duties of which
he has been efficiently performing since his election.
Emerson Kitchel. Cass county is rich in her farming industry and
in her innumerable sturdy and stanch young men who are devoting
their energies to the tilling of the soil and to the development and
continued cultivation of one of the most fertile spots upon the globe.
Not the least of these men is Emerson Kitchel, the owner of a fine little
farm of recent acquiring, and the manager of another which is the
property of his father. Emerson Kitchel was born in 1871 in Deer Creek
township, on the old Kitchel homestead, and is the son of Daniel and
Ellen (Babb) Kitchel. The father came from Union county, Indiana,
in his young manhood, and practically all his life has been devoted to
farming activities; He is a veteran of the Civil war, having fought in
the Eighth Indiana Infantry. He reared a family of ten children, as
follows: Emerson, Lauana, Jacob, Harriet, Alvin, Nellie, Everett,
Edgar, Charles and Nettie. This family were schooled in Young
America, Cass county, and all attended the schools of Terre Haute.
Everett is a student of Purdue University, and Charles and Nettie
attended college in Marion. Five of the children taught school in Cass
county, and gave excellent service in an educational way while they
were thus employed.
Emerson Kitchel worked on the home farm between school periods
and finished in the Young America high school. He later taught school
and saved enough money from his earnings to buy his present farm,
which he has been most successful in operating. General farming and
stock raising claim his attention, and in addition to his own place he
rents the farm of his father near Walton, which he operates in con-
junction with his o\\Ti place.
Mr. Kitchel bears a most excellent reputation in the community and
enjoys the high regard of all who know him. He is a member of the
Sons of Veterans, and he and his family are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church.
On March 15, 1900, Mr. Kitchel man-ied Miss Nellie Bell, the daugh-
ter of James and Susan (Knock) Bell, and she was a teacher in Galves-
ton for twelve years. Mr. Bell came to Cass county with his parents,
and there has continued to make his home to the present time, although
he is now retired from active business and is leading a quiet life of
rural content at his home in Galveston. Mr. and Mrs. Bell had three
children, those in addition to Mrs. Kitchel being Elizabeth, now Mrs.
Davis, and Harvey, who lives in Galveston. Mr. and Mrs. Kitchel have
four children — Mary, Pauline, Frances and Edwin. The three first
named are attending school in Galveston.
D. C. Barnett, M. D. One of the oldest and best known physicians
of southern Cass county, Dr. Barnett has practiced his profession for
upwards of half a century, and has rendered an aggregate of service to
humanity which could not be described in any fitting maimer repre-
sented as it deserves. Dr. Barnett represents one of the old families of
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1087
Cass county, aud is himself one of the oldest living native born resi-
dents.
D. C. Barnett was born in Georgetown, Cass county, February 14,
1839, a son of Joshua aud Jane (Voorhees) Barnett. Joshua Barnett
came to Indiana from Ohio, and was one of the pioneer settlers in Cass
county, having located here before the wilderness was cleared up, and he
himself contributed no unimportant share to the labors of the pioneers.
Dr. Barnett received his early education in Howard county, and
in the city of Kokomo. He read medicine at New London in Howard
county, and first began practice at Young America, in Cass county.
When he was twenty-three years of age he went into the army as a
member of Company D of the Eighty-ninth Indiana Infantry, under
Captain John E. Williams of Kokomo. He was at. the front for two
years, and was wounded in the battle at Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, and
at the engagement of Sabine Crossroads he was captured and kept a
prisoner of war for sixty-five days. Then being paroled he came home
in July, 1864, and was mustered out of service in December following.
Dr. Barnett was married in 1861 to Miss Virginia Stewart, a daugh-
ter of Edward and Elizabeth (Williamson) Stewart. The six children
born of their marriage are as follows : Mrs. Carrie Duncan, who is the
mother of six children; Frank, who married Margaret Vance, and who
has seven children; Lola, who is married and has one child named
Olive; Harry, who married Nora Garr, and has two children named
Pauline and Rosaline; Fred, who married Elizabeth Williams, and has
four children named Thelma, Earl, Vera and Areline; Edward, who
married Dora Alexander and has two children. The doctor is affiliated
with the Grand Army post, and his wife is a member of the Methodist
church.
Charles S. Sakig is one of the prominent and prosperous young
farmers of Cass county, of which he has been a resident for a number
of years. He was born in 1856 in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and is
the son of Daniel and Katherin (Sassaman) Sarig, of German ancestry.
The parents were born in Berks county, and was there reared, being
one of the prominent citizens of the district, in which he was widely
known as a prosperous fai-mer. He reared a family of eight children,
named as follows : Charles, of this review ; Ellen ; Sarah ; Emma ;
Salena; Ellis; Wilson; and Albert. The father died in 1909, aud the
mother is still a resident of the old Pennsylvania home in Berks county.
As a boy, Charles Sarig attended the public schools and did his full
share of the work of the farm, in connection with his school work. He
learned the carpenter's trade in his native community, and when he
was in early manhood left his country home and came to Indiana. He
had an uncle living in Kokomo, and he settled there, for two years giv-
ing his time to carpentering. He later turned his attention to farming,
and acquired a fruitful farm of «ighty-six acres in Jackson towTiship,
about three and a half miles from Galveston. Here he has continued
to farm in the most approved fashion, and is rapidly coming to be known
as one of the successful farming men of the county.
On February 24, 1887, Mr. Sarig married Miss Adie Bell Winters,
1088 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
and they have three children: J. D., Harry E. and Minnie B. The
eldest son is married to Lela Timnions, and they live in Walton, Indiana.
Mr. Sarig afifiliates with the Democratic party and is a member of
the advisory board of the township.
James A. Henry. Long years of active and successful farming in
Cass county have won for James A. Henry a reputation for efficiency,
skill and far-sightedness in his work that extends throughout the length
and breadth of the county and established him in all fixity in the ranks
of the leading agricultural men of the district. He has demonstrated
most unequivocally his prowess as a tiller of the soil, and his achieve-
ments in the stock-raising industry have been no less praiseworthy.
Diversified farming finds its ultimate success in Cass county, and none
has done more to establish the fame of the county along those lines
than has Mr. Henry. As the owner and manager of a fine farm of
some two hundred acres near Galveston, his name stands for much that
is praiseworthy in agricultural circles, and it is eminently fitting that
some mention, however brief it must be, shall be made of him and his
accomplishments in a work of the nature of which this publication
partakes.
James A. Henry was born on the 11th of December, 1842, in Carroll
county, in Burlington, Indiana, and is the son of William and Jane
(Guinn) Henry. The father came from Pennsylvania, of the vicinity of
Harrisburg, in his early manhood and settled in Indiana. He was
reared to the trade of a cabinet maker, although boi-n on a Pennsylvania
farm, and when he came to Indiana he forsook the cabinet maker's art
and turned his attention to farm life, for which he possessed a natural
fondness, and in which he had received a judicious training in his
boyhood at home. He amply demonstrated the wisdom of his choice,
gaining a prominent place in farming circles, and ending his days in
the occupation of a farmer. He and his wife reared three children:
Samuel A., Malinda Jane, and James A. Henry, whose name initiates
this brief review.
James A. Henry settled in Cass county in his young manhood, and
here he acquired a tract of farming land, settling down in a home of his
own after his marriage with Miss Jane H. Millman. Eleven children
were born to them, ten living, named as follows : Elisha, Alma, Lily,
Maud, Ruth, Myra, Bernice, William R., Paul J., and Clinton B., all
of whom are today living lives of usefulness in the various communities
in which they have settled with the coming of years of maturity and
responsibility.
Mr. Henry, natiirally enough, has in his time experienced certain
of the hardships of the agricultural man, but he has, in the main,
prospered agreeably, and is today regarded as one of the well estab-
lished and wholly successful men of his community. He is still active
and prominent in the farming industry, diversified agriculture and stock
raising claiming his interests.
Fraternally Mr. Henrj^ has membership in the Masonic order and
in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the churchly relations
of him and his family are with the Baptist church of Galveston.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1089
John F. Stanley. Another of the sons of pioneers who have given
their lives to the upbuilding and development of Cass county, is John
F. Stanley, a resident of this community from his birth, and the son
of a man who was born in Galveston, his father having pioneered to
these parts in the days before county lines existed, and when farming
was at its earliest state of development. The old Stanley farm is one that
stands for much in the way of growth and development in this commu-
nity today, three generations of its men having derived their sustenance
from its broad acres and built it up to its present state of agricultural
perfection. John F. Stanley, whose name introduces this sketch, all
too brief to do justice to the family, was born on the old Stanley farm,
on November 16, 1879, and he is a son of William F. and Sarah (Emery)
Stanley, the former of whom was also born in Galveston, Indiana.
John F. Stanley received his education in the schools of Galveston,
and early turned his attention to practical farming, with the intention
and expectation of giving his life to that work, in which he had been
thoroughly grounded by his father, a successful and well known farmer
of the community. ]\Ir. Stanley is now the owTier of a fine farm of
about two hundred acres, his place being one of the most productive
among the better farms of Jackson township.
Mr. Stanley has shown himself to have profited well by the training
he received in his youth, and he has supplemented that training by
actual experience gained from his own activities, so that he is today
reckoned among the most capable farming men of the township.
Mr. Stanley, it may be said here, is the sixth child of his parents,
and the youngest as well, the others being : Jesse ; Emma ; George,
a resident of Galveston ; Pearl, a well known and successful school
school teacher, and Dolly.
On Christmas day, in 1903, Mr. Stanley was united in marriage with
Eva Stafford, and they have had three children. "William H., the first
born, is dead, as is also Burl F., who died at the tender age of two years ;
Wilber Floyd, the youngest of the trio, remains to brighten the home
of his parents. Mrs. Stanley is a daughter of Henry Stafford, a native
and resident of Lincoln, in Cass county. The Stanley family are mem-
bers of the Baptist church of Galveston, and participate actively in the
good works of that body. They are people who enjoy the genuine friend-
ship of a host of good people in their community, and none are better
deserving of that regard than are they.
James S. Mc Williams. In a community where farming has reached
a point where it is conducted along scientific lines and is the principal
business of the residents, interest must inevitably attach itself to the
activities and accomplishments of any one of the devotees of that
enterprise. James S. McWilliams, who is especially prominent among
the farming men of Jackson township, is one who is especially worthy
of mention in this historical and biographical work. His fine farm of
two hundred and forty acres is one of the show places of the eommi;nity
and manifests in the most telling manner the character and calibre of
the man. Mr. McWilliams was bom in 1844 in Decatur county, Indiana,
and is the son of Robert and Sarah (Graves) McWilliams. They were
natives of Bartholemew county, Kentucky, and came to Galveston,
1090 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Indiana, in the early fifties, where they made their home during the
remainder of their lives. They were the parents of two children —
James, of this review, and iMary, who is now deceased.
When he was a young lad James S. McWilliams came from his native
community with his parents and settled on the farm that is today the
property of the subject. Mr. McWilliams attended the common schools
of the community, there gathering the rudiments of an education, to
which he has supplemented in an admirable manner with the passing
years through reading and observation, so that his education compares
favorably with that of men vrho had greater advantages in youth. He
remained at home until he was twenty-two, then started out for him-
self, and he has been successful and prosperous in all his undertakings.
Mr. McWilliams was not lacking in a thorough training in the agricul-
tural business, for his father was a man who farmed intensively and did
not slight the education of his son in the lessons that he had learned
through years of experience. In 1869 Mr. ftlcWilliams married Martha
Logan and they have reared three children, named as follows : Minnie,
the wife of Robert Hyatt, who is the mother of one child — Russell Hyatt ;
Mary E., who is the wife of William R. Hyatt, and they have one son,
Clarence C. ; and George E., who married Grace Hoover, and is the father
of two children — Everett H. and Marie Helen.
In due time Mr. McWilliams succeeded to the old home place, and
here he has since enjoyed a high degree of prosperity and a generous
measure of content and happiness. He is undeniably one of the well
established men of the township, in a material way as well as in the
sincere esteem of his fellow men. They are members of the Baptist
church, and his fraternal relations are with the Masonic order, of which
he has long been a member. The entire family is one that has earned
and retained the high regard and confidence of all with whom its individ-
ual members have come into contact, and in their respective homes and
communities are securely established in the hearts and minds of their
fellows.
Edman a. Leppel. Instances are not lacking in Cass county of
men who, born to the soil, have spent some years in other pursuits only
to find the call of the land too strong to resist and have therefore
returned to the occupation of their forefathers. In this category stands
Edman A. Leffel, of Bethlehem township, who for the past seventeen
years has lived on his present property, a well-cultivated tract of 190
acres, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation, and which
has been in the possession of the Leffel family for many years. He was
bom in the town of Bethlehem, Cass county, Indiana, April 27, 1863,
and is a son of Arthur and Nancy (Tilton) Leffel.
The educational training of Mr. Leffel was secured in the public
schools of Bethlehem, following which he went to Logansport, and for
some years was engaged in various occupations, but eventually in 1896
returned to the homestead in Bethlehem township, where he has since
carried on general farming. He has made numerous improvements on
this property, has a handsome, modern residence situated on Twelve-
Mile Rural Free Delivery Route No. 21, and is considered one of his
community's enterprising and progressive citizens, and one who is at
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1091
, all times ready to adopt new ideas and methods. He believes in the
use of modern machinery in his work, has a thorough knowledge of the
rudiments of his vocation, and is an acknowledged judge of livestock.
Essentially a farmer, he has never cared to enter public life, but has
been content to follow the peaceful occupation of tilling the soil, but
can be depended upon to support all measures that promote good
government or make for the betterment of his community.
On October 13, 1886, Mr. Leffel was united in marriage with Miss
Mollie Krider, and they had four children, namely : Teresa and Roy,
mentioned below; Zola, who died at. the age of fourteen months; and
Floyd, who died when thirteen months of age. The daughter, Teresa,
is the wife of Russell Conrad and resides in Bethlehem township, where
he is an agriculturist. Mrs. Conrad received her diploma from the
public schools in the class of 1898 and spent one year in the Twelve-
Mile high school. She attended musical institutions in Logansport and
has taught instrumental music for two years. She is a member of
the Bethlehem M. E. church and a member of the Ladies' Aid Society.
The son, Roy, has completed the public school course in the class of
1913, and is at home with his father.
Mrs. Leffel, daughter of Isaiah W. and Martha T. Krider, was
born in Fulton county, Indiana, September 26, 1864. She removed
with her father's family to Cass county when four year sold, where
she lived continuously until her death, excepting three years spent
in Logansport. She was educated in the country schools and at the
old Fort Wayne College and De Pauw University. She was married to
Edman A. Leffel October 13, 1886. For three years she fought a
courageous battle with disease but the grim monster at last was con-
queror and at 8:15 o'clock on the morning of October 28, 1907, her
redeemed spirit left the emaciated body and went home to heaven.
Mr. Leffel and his son reside in their beautiful home, which is
known as ' ' The Pines. ' ' Mr. Leffel is a member of the Masonic order at
Twelve Mile, Lodge No. 673. He attends the Methodist church, as did
also his wife, and he is ^ liberal contributor to religious and charitable
movements.
Robert C. Hyatt is one of the well known farmers of Galveston,
Indiana, where he has lived practically all his life. He is the son of
William Henry and Mary J. (Jackson) Hyatt, concerning whom fiir-
ther mention is made in the sketch of William R. Hyatt, the brother
of the subject of this review.
The district schools of Galveston and vicinity furnished practically
all the schooling that Robert Hyatt received. He alternated his school
attendance with the regular work of the farm as a boy, and so well did
he utilize his opportunities for study that he was able to teach in the
country schools of Howard and Cass counties. He gave up the work
to devote his entire time to farming and has since then been making
splendid progress in that line of industry. His farm is a fertile and well
developed place of some eighty acres, and yields him, under his careful
management, a bountiful income. It is located on the Graves road,
about a mile north of Galveston, and is one of the well-kept places of the
township.
1092 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Mr. Hyatt is still a yomig man, his birth having occurred in Ripley
county, Indiana, on January 23, 1870, and his accomplishments thus far
are well worthy of him. He was postmaster in Galveston for six years,
in which office he gave the most efficient service to the patrons of the
department. In his farming he gives the preference to stock raising,
in which he has been very successful.
Mr. Hyatt ,was married on Christmas day, 1895, to Minnie Mc-
Williams, and they have one child — William Russell. The political
affiliations of Mr. Hyatt are with the Republican party, and fraternally
he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and also a member of Galves-
ton Lodge No. 244, F. & A. M. He and his wife are members of the
United Brethren church.
Pliny A. Graves occupies one of the fine farms of Cass county,
situated some two and a half miles north of Galveston on what is known
as the Graves road, and comprising one hundred and thirteen and a half
acres of the most fertile and productive soil in the county. He has lived
all his life in this community, his birth having taken place on his
father's farm about a half mile distant from his present property. He
was born on the 12tli day of November, 1870, and is the son of James F.
and Rebecca (Stanley) Graves. The father was born in Decatur county,
on the 3d of July, 1837, and came to Cass county with his parents in
1849, and in 1856 located on the land where his son, Pliny A., now
lives. He later bought a farm of his own and married, establishing a
home there, and he and his wife became the parents of four children,
of which number the two eldest — Charles and Lenora — are deceased.
Pliny A. Graves, the youngest child of his parents, attended the
Graves school, so called, and later finished his schooling at Galveston. He
worked on the farm with his father between schools seasons, continuing
at home until he married in 1896, on the 26th of February. He married
Eva, the daughter of Joseph and Almena (Misener) Lutz, who came from
Pennsylvania, and were of Dutchi ancestry. The father was a mere boy
when he came from his native state to Indiana, and here passed the
greater part of his life, devoted to farming. He was born on January
7, 1827, and died in 1903. Mr. Lvitz came to Cass county in 1856, took
up forty acres of government land and set about clearing it. In 1859
he moved on his own farm. To this worthy pioneer is accorded the
credit for making one of the first roads ever built in this township.
He built a cabin in the forest for his family, performing all the work
himself, and lived a life of usefulness in Cass county until the day of his
death. He was the father of eight children, as follows : Lucinda ; Mary
E.; Elizabeth; Frank J.; Stephen A.; Valla, deceased; William C; Eva
M. ; and Minnie.
Mr. and Mrs. Graves have three children, of whom brief mention is
here made. Nina, the eldest, died at the age of fourteen years, and is
buried at Galveston ; she was born on Februarv 17, 1897 ; Carmen, born
August 9, 1905 ; and Josie R., born March 14, 1907.
Mrs. Graves is a member of the IMethodist Episcopal church, in
which she is especially prominent and active in all departments of its
work.
Mr. Graves is knowTi for one of the substantial men of the community.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1093
and is most successful as a farmer and stock raiser, enjoying the friend-
ship of a wide circle of acquaintances in and about Galveston, and
occupying a secure place in the confidence and esteem of the community
at large, in which he was born and reared.
William E. Countryman for a number of years past has successfully
engaged in raising the general crops of the locality and in producing a
number of cattle and other live stock. His record in business and in
citizenship has been marked with a most solid integrity, and honorable
in his dealings and esteemed among his fellow citizens, he is one of the
foremost men of Jackson township.
William E. Countryman was born on the homestead farm in Jackson
township, section 13, on November 9, 1860, the son of Isaiah and Sarah
(CruU) Countryman. His father came from Highland county, Ohio,
being eighteen years of age when he located in Jackson township. The
four children in the parents ' family were named Lucetta, now deceased ;
John A., William E. and Jennie Gore.
The schooling with which Mr. Countryman was prepared from first
to last was received in the Cass county schools, after which he took up
the work of the farm and was his father's assistant for some years. Since
then he has acquired proprietorship of the old J. T. Howard farm, sec-
tion 9, Jackson township, and is now conducting it successfully for the
raising of stock.
Mr. Countryman was married June 26, 1861, to Miss Sarah Haward,
a daughter of J. T. and Elizabeth (Bickell) Haward. Her father came
to Indiana from Clarke county, Ohio, where he was born and reared.
Mr. and Mrs. Countryman are the parents of two children: Maud is
a graduate of the grade and high schools and has been a successful
teacher; she now resides at home; Claude H. is also through school
and is still with the home people. Mr. Countryman is affiliated with
the Knights of Pythias and is a member of the Universalist church.
David A. Aman, one of the best kno^vn farming men in Cass county,
in which he has lived for the past sixty years, was bom in Ohio, in
December, 1847, and is the son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Myers)
Aman. The father, Andrew Aman, came from Germany with his wife,
where both were born and reared, and settling in Ohio, they reared a
family of eight children, all of whom are now deceased with the excep-
tion of the two youngest born, John and David of this review. The
others were named: Jacob, IMiehael, William, George, Andrew and
Mary E.
When David Aman was ahout four years old the family migrated to
Logansport, Indiana, and there they made their home. The father
rented land in Washington township and occupied himself with farming
for the remainder of his life. David Aman attended school when he
might, but the greater part of his time and energies were devoted to
the farm during his boyhood days, and when he reached man's estate
he took up farming upon his own responsibility. When he married he
acquired a farm of some ninety acres, upon which he lived during the
years in which he was rearing his family, and when his five children
1094 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
had reached years of maturity he sold that place aud divided the pro-
ceeds among them. Later he bought his present ninety acres upon which
he is spending the closing years of his life. He has all liis life been
accustomed to toil and haS' lived a quiet, wholesome life, but one that
has been characterized by an influence for good that is always to be
found in the unpretentious activities of a man of his stamp.
In 1871, April 11th, Mr. Aman uiflrried ]\Iary E. Hunter, and to
them five children have been born. Rose, the eldest, died as the wife
of Frajik Kerry, leaving one child, Olliver Kerry. Hattie married
Walter McKibben, and they became the parents of two children, Ethel
and Everett ; she at present time is the wife of Harvey Gotschall. Ella,
the third born child of David Aman and his wife, married Edgar Phil-
lip, and they had two children, Edith and Russell. Alvin W. married
Grace Sperry, and they have four children. Bessie is the fifth born
child of the Aman family, and is the wife of Harvey Snyder.
John Galbreath is one of the old established farming men of Gal-
veston, where he has lived for twenty-eight years. He is the owner of a
well cared for and productive farm of eighty acres which has repre-
sented his home here for many years, and he is regarded as one of the
substantial farmers of the township.
Bom on December 11. 1834, in Darke county, Ohio, Mr. Galbreath
is the son of Joseph and Eliza (Bricker) Galbreath. The father came to
Indiana from Ohio, his native state, in 1839 and settled in the vicinity
of Wai-saw, bringing with him his family. He reared ten children in
his home, the first in order of birth being John, the sub.ject of this
review : the others are : Martin, Charlotte, Nancy, Jane, William, Frank,
Samuel, Lafayette and Byron.
John Galbreath was reared on a farm and attended the country
schools in his boyhood. While yet in his teens he was occupied for some
time in teaching, in the district schools of his county, but when he was
thirty-four he married and returned to farm life. He married Annie
Wagner, who was born on March 15, 1840, near Bellefontaine, Ohio,
where she lived until her marriage. She was the daughter of Isaac and
Nancy (Firestone) Wagner, the father a native of Xenia, Ohio, and the
mother of an old Virginia family. Isaac Wagner passed his life in
Bellefontaine as a farmer.
Four children were born to John Galbreath and his wife, of whom
the following mention is made: Fay, the first born, married Philip
Noel, and they have two children, Claude and Vivian. Ida is unmar-
ried, and is engaged as a teacher in the public schools of Columbia
City. Ada is the wife of Louis Graham, and to them four children have
been born: Victor L., Wahnita. Helena and Ruth. Minnie, the fourth
born and youngest of the family, is the wife of John Burrows, now
deceased.
Mr. Galbreath has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for many
years, and affiliates with the TTnivei*salist church. He is a man of the
most estimable character and one who has won and held the confidence
and high regard of all who have come to know him in the years which
he has passed in Jackson township as a citizen and farmer.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1,095
William A. Patterson, who has gained some prominence as se farmer
and stock-raiser in Jackson township, was born on the old Patterson
homestead in Jackson township, Cass county, on the 23d of February,
1849, and is the son of James and Catherine (Sprinkle) Patterson.
The father, James Pattei'son, came from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, in
1841, and later made his way to Cass county, where he passed his remain-
ing days. He was a farmer, and reared a family of six children, as fol-
lows : Mrs. Amanda Weaver ; William A. of this review ; Elmyra, now
deceased ; Benjamin, also dead ; Mrs. Louisa Steward, who has three
children, Sadie, Oney and ]\Iary; and (jeorge W., who married ]\Iary
CruU lives in Galveston, and they have six children, as follows : Frank ;
Reed; John; Pearl; Myrl and Burr.
William Patterson worked on the home farm during these years in
which he attended the country schools, and when he was eighteen years
of age he conmienced to "shift for himself," as the old familiar saying
has it. He was without capital at that time, and as he resolved to
farm, he rented a place, which served him well until he was able to
purchase a place of his own. He now has a fine place of one hundred
and twenty acres of the most fertile land in Cass county, as well as
another place of some one hundred and fifty acres of equally desirable
land. He has pi'ospered with the passing years, and is regarded as being
a wise and skillful farmer.
In 1875 he married Miss Juniatta Van Buskirk, the daughter of
Elisha and Martha (James) Van Buskirk. Six children have been born
to Mr. and Mrs. Patterson : Harry, the eldest, is deceased ; Benjamin :
Sarah, the wife of B. F. Conwell ; Anna, married William Stine ; Grace,
living at home; and Charles O., who married Miss Edith Shope, and has
three children, Edgar, Felraa and Elma. The Pattersons have no
church affiliations, being rather inclined to the attitude of free thought,
and subscribing to no set religious belief. They are highly esteemed
among the best citizens of the community, and are in every way worthy
of the position they hold.
George W. Seybold, directing head of the great mercantile estab-
lishment of Seybold Dry Goods Company, has been connected with
the dry goods business in Logansport for more than forty years. Com-
mencing in the humblest position, he mastered its many details, and
continued in the business until he attained at length a commanding
position among the enterprising dealers in Logansport, and has been able
to hold it amid the strong competition which increasing capital and
trade has brought to the city. His success has been due alone to his
energetic character and business capacity, for he began life without
pecuniary assistance or the aid of family or other favoring influences.
Mr. Seybold was born at Dayton, Ohio, April 30, 1850, and is a son
of John G. and Ursula (Munger) Seybold, and a grandson of John G.
and Jacobenia (Fulmer) Seybold.
John G. Seybold, the father, was bom September 11, 1824, in Mont-
gomery county, Ohio, near the city of Dayton, and was there reared to
manhood. Early in life he turned his attention to agricultural pur-
suits, and this has been his vocation throughout life, with the excep-
tion of four years when he was engaged in the brewing business in
1096 HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY
Dayton. lie was married July 19, 1849, to Ursula Unger, and in 1864,
with his family, came to Cass county, Indiana, locating on what is
known as the Seybold farm, south of Logansport. There he owns 300
acres of iinely improved land, and no citizen in his section
stands higher in general esteem. Mr. Seybold has always ardently sup-
ported Republican principles. His wife was born in Germany, and as
a young woman accompanied her parents to the United States, the
family settling in Ohio, where she met and married Mr. Seybold.
Eleven children were born to this union, namely: George W., Sarah
J., Rosetta, J. Byron, Mary A., Joseph A., Henry Sylvester, Charles.
Oscar M., Ira and Clara.
George W. Seybold was one year old when his parents removed to
Darke county, Ohio, and when fourteen years of age was brought to
Cass county, Indiana. Here he spent several months in the district
schools to complete his education, and also attended Hall's Business
College, after graduating from which he returned to the home farm in
Washington township, there assisting his father until he was twenty-
two years of age. At that time he became a clerk in the store of Jacob
Wiler, at a salary of $3.50 per week, and, as his boai-d was $4.50 per
week, he was compelled to use a part of his scanty savings while learn-
ing the business. Coming to the store a country boy, unsophisticated
and unleai'ned, with a knowledge of naught but hard work and close
attention to business, he was derided by his fellow-workers for his
countrified ways, and laughed at for the hard work he made of every-
thing. The youth was possessed of good common sense, however, passed
these criticisms by for what they were worth, and at the end of the
first year had the satisfaction of seeing the vindication of his labor, for
his wages by that time had grown to $50.00 per month. He continvied
four and one-half years with Mr. Wiler, and then went to LaFayette
as manager of the branch store of Wise & Wiler, where he remained
seven months, then returning to Logansport to enter business on his
own account. With a carefully saved capital of $900, the country youth
of but five years before managed to secure $4,000 w^orth of goods on
credit, and with this established himself in business as the proprietor
of a dry goods store in November, 1877, at No. 313 Market street. Dur-
ing the seven years that he remained there he entered so deeply into
the confidence and esteem of the people that his little place of busi-
ness became one of the most popular in the city. In 1884 he admitted
one of his brothers, J. Abner Seybold, to a working partnership, and
in that year the business was removed to 317-319-321 Market street,
where it has continued ever since. This has become the most impor-
tant store of its kind in Logansport, and one of the leading ones in
northern Indiana. It is operated as a department store, occupying three
stories and a basement, the latter as a storeroom, this department
feature having been inaugurated in 1897. About the year 1888 Oscar
M. Seybold, another brother, was admitted to partnership, and he con-
tinued to be connected with the firm until his death, June 6, 1911. A
stock valued anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000, in dry goods, carpets,
house furnishings, etc., is carried, and a business of approximately
$225,000 is done annually. In January, 1904, the business was incor-
porated under the style of Seybold Dry Goods Company with a capital
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1097
stock of $60,000. Mr. Seybold has never known the time, from when
he first entered business, that he has not been able to meet his obliga-
tions as they have matured, and never has his credit been questioned.
The rules that have spelled for success in his ease have been hard work,
intelligently directed, good native business qualifications and the
mastering and constant attention to the many details of his business. It
is but natural that this business, being of his own creation, should
enlist the greater part of his attention, but a man of such abilities can-
not escape being drawn into other large enterprises, and it has been
so in Mr. Seybold 's ease. He was one of the organizers of the Logans-
port State Bank, and on its establishment, in iMay, 1893, was chosen its
president, a capacity in which he acted for four years, when he retired
to accept the vice presidency, as other business interests would not
permit him to give his attention to the office. He directed its
policies in such an able manner that he popularized its coffers, won
the confidence of the banking public, and made the institution one of
the foremost in northern Indiana. He also belongs to the Knights of
Pythias fraternity and in politics may be said to be a Republican with
progressive tendencies.
Mr. Seybold was married August 30, 1882, to Miss Alice R. Whit-
more, of Logansport.
Henry Sylvester Seybold was born in Darke county, Ohio, son of
John G. and Ursula (Unger) Seybold, August 23, 1862. He accom-
panied his parents to Cass county in 1864, and was reared on the home
farm, securing his education in the district schools and Hall's Business
College. When twenty-one years of age he started helping his father
on the farm for wages, but after six years, in 1891, became a clerk
in his brother's store in Logansport, and in 1904 was admitted to
partnership in the business, "vvith which he has since been connected.
He was married June 26, 1895, to Miss Nellie Bevan, and they had two
children : Theresa, who died aged two and one-half years, and Howard.
Frank R. Morrison. One of the best known and most popular men
in Galveston is Frank R. IMorrison, postmaster here for the past eight
years, and actively engaged in the painting business. His genial and
wholesouled nature has won him innumerable friends in the years of
his residence here, and his position in the community is one of the most
pleasing order. He is a native son of the state of Wisconsin, bom in
Richland Center, Richland county, that state, on the 28th of July, 1872,
and is a son of F. M. and Maria (Hoskins) Morrison, the former of
whom was born in Darke county, Ohio. They have reared a fine family
of four children, namely : Mrs. Aura Shelley ; Frank R. of this review ;
Mrs. Anna McKibbin ; and Mrs. Mabel Armstrong.
Frank R. Morrison in his boyhood and youth attended the common,
schools of his native community, after which he was employed as a clerk
in a store for some years. When he was about twenty-two years old
the calm and quiet of his country existence began to pall upon the man,
young and vigorous and full of fire and life, and he went to the western
states, spending something like two years in the strenuous life of the
ranchman, after which he returned to Galveston, where he had become
established prior to his departure for western adventures, and here he
1098 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
became engaged in the painting business. Trying it out as a venture,
Mr. ]\Iorrison found the enterprise a lucrative one, and he continued
to conduct a thriving trade in the work. Mr. Morrison was appointed
postmaster at Galveston, receiving his appointment under President
Roosevelt, and he is still in charge of that office, the duties of which
he has discharged in the most painstaking and efficient manner, and
winning the confidence of all who know him in his official capacity.
On May 30, 1900, Mr. Morrison married Miss Gertrude Doran and
they have one son, Harry. ]\Ir. Morrison is a member of the Masonic
fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of
Pythias, while he and his wife are members of the ^Methodist church.
The family is one that is both popular and prominent in local social
circles, and their home is a center of hospitality in Galveston.
John Martin. Any history of Cass county w^ould indeed be incom-
plete that did not make mention of John Martin, who has passed the
eighty-fourth milestone on life's .journey, and who for many years was
identified with the agricultural interests of Deer Creek township. Mr.
Martin's career has ever been one in which business activity has been
blended with unbending honor and unflinching integrity, and success
has come to him as the result not only of indefatigable industry, but
also of honorable and straightforward dealing. His career is one worthy
of emulation by aspiring youths who would reach positions of independ-
ence in a material way and .justly command the respect of their fellow
men. Although now living retired from active pursuits, enjoying the
fruits of his years of labor, ~Sh\ Martin still displays a lively interest in
the welfare of his community and contributes in no small manner to the
advancement of Deer Creek township.
John Martin was born June 13, 1828. in Butler county, Ohio,
near Hamilton, and is a son of John and ]\Iargaret (Ward) Martin.
His father, a farmer by vocation, brought the family to Carroll county,
Indiana, there being ten children, of whom John is the only survivor.
John Martin secured his education in the common schools of Carroll
county, and assisted his father until the latter 's death, at which time
he embarked upon a career of his own. He came to Cass county in
1844, settling in Deer Creek township, where he bought a small tract
of land, and to this he added from time to time until he was the o^\•ner
of 150 acres. This he continued to operate until his retirement, in 1906,
since which time he has lived in his comfortable residence at Galveston.
Mr. Martin was successful in his general farming and stock raising
operations, and his success was gained through no questionable methods.
On the contrary, he was known as a man who would never take advantage
of another's needs, but, having succeeded himself, was ever ready to
lend to others an assisting hand. Highly esteemed by all who know him,
the uniform regard in which he is held is a tribute to an upright life.
For years he has been a valued member of the Masonic fraternity, and
is connected religiously ^\ith the Methodist Episcopal church, the move-
ments of which he has always liberally supported.
On September 30, 1850, ilr. IMartin w^as united in marriage with
Miss Mary Campbell, daughter of James and Martha (Bryant) Camp-
bell. One child has been bom to this union : Lamartine, residing on
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1099
the old homestead, which he manages; he married Mary Smith, and
has one son : Bruce. The latter married Elizabeth Emrick, and has
two children, Emerson and Esther.
H. B. Seaward. One of the leading industries of Cass county is that
pertaining to the handling of grain, and the town of Galveston, situated
in the midst of a great agricultural community, and possessed of admir-
able transportation facilities, is an important point in the activities
being carried on in this line. Here is situated the Galveston Grain Com-
pany, an enterprise which has shown a steady and continuous growth
during the past several years, the general manager of which, H. B.
Seaward, is numbered among the energetic and progressive young busi-
ness men of his part of the county. Mr. Seaward has risen to his present
position of prestige through the medium of his own ability and per-
severing effort, as he started his career at the bottom of the ladder
without influential friends or capital, and has gained success by steady
application along well-directed lines.
H. B. Seaward was born March 6, 1882, in Howard county, Indiana,
and is a son of C. F. and Dora A. (Hansell) Seaward. His father, an
agriculturist by vocation, carried on operations for many years in
Howard county, where he attained a fair measure of success. He had
five children: H. B., E. B., R. P., Madella and Mildred. H. B. Sea-
ward was educated in the district schools of his native vicinity, and dur-
ing the summer months in his boyhood assisted his father in the various
duties of the homestead, it being his parents' intention that he should
follow in the footsteps of his father and take up agricultural work.
The young man had different ideas, however, believing that he could
better make use of his abilities in other lines than tilling the soil, and
when he was nineteen years of age he left the parental roof and secured
a position with the Kokomo, ]\Iarion & AA^estern Street Car and Electric
Light Company. In this capacity, however, he remained only a short
time, subsequently turning his attention to the grain business. He has
had no reason to regret his choice, for within a few short years he has
risen to the management of a flourishing enterprise, which carries on a
trade that covers a wide contiguous territory in Cass county, and the
business of which is steadily increasing under his efficient direction.
He is able, alert, shrewd and possessed of much acumen, but his transac-
tions have been carried on in such a manner that his integi'ity has been
unquestioned, and among his associates he has gained wide confidence
and respect. He has been too busy with the management of his personal
affairs to think of entering the political arena as a seeker after public
preferment, but has not been indifferent to the duties of citizenship, and
has at all times shoAvn an active interest in all matters that pertain to
the welfare of his adopted community, and has endeavored to assist in
forwarding good government and good citizenship. His fraternal con-
nection is with the local lodge of Masons, in which he numbers numerous
friends. AVith his wife. Mr. Seaward attends the Methodist Episcopal
church.
On March 21, 1901, Mr. Seaward was united in marriage with Miss
,Minnie R. Morris, daiighter of Thomas and Sarah Morris, and to this
union there has been born one child : Esther.
1100 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Frank H. Thomas. As proprietor of the largest general merchandise
store in Galveston, Mr. Thomas has a place of recognized leadership in
this section of Cass county, and by his own career has maintained and
increased the high prestige belonging to the Thomas family in Cass
county since the earliest time. He is representative of the third genera-
tion of the Thomases in that part of the state.
Mr. Frank H. Thomas was born in the city of Logansport, April 15,
1853. He is a son of Meredith H. and Harriet A. (Knowlton) Thomas.
The history of the Thomas family in Indiana begins with Minor Thomas,
who was a native of Connecticut, and of Welsh origin. In 1819, with his
wife, he migrated to Indiana and settled in Fayette county, where he
was especially well known as a Baptist minister, though he also owned
a farm. It was on this pioneer homestead in Fayette county, that his
son Plewitt L. Thomas, grandfather of the Galveston merchant, was
reared. Hewitt L. Thomas was born in New York state April 27, 1805.
During his youth he managed to get some college training and followed
teaching and farming for a number of years. In 1836 he came from
Fayette county to Clinton township in Cass county, where he made his
home until 1853, at which time he moved to Noble township in this
county. From 1855 to 1865 he was engaged in the lumber business and
as a merchant in the state of Minnesota, and then returned to Cass
county and was a resident of Galveston for many years. He was iii
the insurance business during most of the time and was prominent in
local affairs. He married in 1826 Charlotte Helm, who was born in
Kentucky August 26, 1808, and was of Scotch and English descent. Her
father had been a soldier under General Harrison during the war of
1812, and had been one of the early settlers of Kentiacky who had to
contend against the difficulties of nature and against the hostilities of
the Indian tribes. Hewitt L. Thomas, who with his wife, was a devoted
member of the Baptist church, was one of the organizers of that church
at Galveston and served as its sexton for twenty -two years. A Repub-
lican in politics, he served as justice of the peace, and for ten years was
associate judge, was a township trustee, and during his residence in
Minnesota was state senator. He was president of the first agricultural
society organized in Cass county, and had numerous places of trust and
responsibility thrust upon him during his long and influential career.
His death occurred October 23, 1895. His wife survived until July 3,.
1898, passing away at the age of ninety years. They were the parents
of three sons, Meredith H., Minor T., and William H. The second son
became a distinguished officer of the Civil war, joining the Union army
in Minnesota, being chosen second lieutenant, and then advanced to
first lieutenant, serving on the frontier during the Indian troubles in
the Northwest ; and after his troops were transferred to the main scene
of conflict, he was promoted to colonel of the Eighth Minnesota. In
the latter part of the war he commanded an expedition into the far
Northwest among the Indians of the upper Missouri, but returned south
in time to accompany General Sherman on his march through the Caro-
linas. At the close of the war he was commissioned a brigadier-general.
The other son, William H. Thomas, was also a captain in the Union army,
and subsequently for many years a prominent physician in Indianapolis.
Meredith H. Thomas, father of the Galveston business man, was born
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1101
in Fayette county, Indiana, November 20. 1826, and was reared in Cass
county. He began his career in 1845 in a general store at Logansport,
])ut in 1855 accomiaanied the family to jMinnesota, where he became
identified with lumbering and merchandising. In 1865, on his return
to Cass county, he located at Galveston, where he had a general mer-
chandise store up to the time of his death. On January 14, 1896, he
also established the Galveston Bank, an institution which has an impor-
tant part in the commercial history of this town. A large grain elevator
was erected by him in 1879. His career was of the kind which is not
only successful from a private point of view, but adds to the general
prosperity of the community. During the Civil war he had offered his
services, but on account of physical disability they were re.jected. In_
politics he was a Whig, then a Republican, and for some years prior
to his death was a Prohibitionist. He was also one of the organizers
of the Baptist church of Galveston, and from the beginning had served
as deacon. His death occurred at his home in Galveston, July 24, 1898.
He was married October 16, 1851, to Harriet A. Knowlton. Their five
children were as follows: Frank H. ; Charles F. and Daniel W., twins,
born February 28, 1856; Claudia B., born May 13, 1866; and Mary B.,
born September 10, 1869.
Mr. Frank PI. Thomas was about two years old when the family
moved to Minnesota, and he was brought up on the Northwest frontier,
where he attained his early education in the public schools. After the
return of the family to Cass county he continued his education in the
Logansport high school, and in 1874 was taken into partnership by his
father. The other sons were subsequently admitted to the firm and the
firm of M. H. Thomas & Son continued until July, 1882, at which time
the partnership was dissolved and Frank H. and Charles F. remained
as proprietors of the general store. In 1898 Mr. Frank H. Thomas
bought out his brother's interest, and has since been sole proprietor.
He has three floors devoted to a general merchandise stock, which com-
prises every commodity used by the people of this vicinity. He has
employed first-class methods of merchandising, and has always been
known, as have other members of this family, for a sterling integrity
and relialiility which has enabled them to command a large business year
after year. After his father's death, Mr. Thomas served as president
of the Galveston Bank, up to the time it was sold to the First State
Bank, an institution of which Dr. Z. U. Loop is president, and H. Z.
Carey, cashier.
Mr. Thomas was married September 8, 1875, to j\Iiss Virginia
Forrest, Avho was born in Logansport, December 11, 1855, a daughter
of John M. and Rebecca (Longstreth) Forrest. Her father came to
Cass county in 1849 by way of canal, and was for many years head ixdller
in the old Wilson mill at Logansport. ^Ir. Thomas and wife are the
parents of one child, Elsie INI., who was born September 3, 1878, and who
is the wife of H. H. Miller, M. D. Dr. Miller and wife have one son,
Forrest Thomas Miller. jMr. Thomas is one of the charter members of
the Knights of Pythias lodge in Galveston, and he and his wife are
active members of the Baptist church. He has served as township trus-
tee, has been president of school board of Galveston since the incorpora-
Vol. n— 25
1102 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
tion of the town, and is one of the most public-spirited and influential
citizens of this county.
Henderson Fickle. One of the oldest families in southeastern Cass
county is represented by Mr. Henderson Fickle, who is himself a native
son of the county and has for many years been well known as a sub-
stantial farmer and as a public-spirited citizen, who has given his service
in the office of county commissioner and has assisted in every movement
for the general improvement and upbuilding of this community.
J\Ir. Fickle is now retired from the active life of agriculture, but
owns a farm of eighty acres in Jackson township. He was born in Jack-
son township, Cass county June 3, 1849, and was a son of David T. and
Rebecca (Engler) Fickle. David Fickle came from Marion county,
Ohio, when a young man, and in company with his father, Daniel Fickle.
Daniel Fickle, the grandfather, was the founder of the Fickle settlement
in Jackson township of Cass county. David Fickle was the father of
nine children, whose names are as follows: Amanda, Mannington, Jane,
Emeline, Wilson, Henderson, David, Arminta, and Nora.
Mr. Henderson Fickle was a scholar in the first public school at
Galveston and he finished his education in the new academy of that
town. During his early youth he worked on the farm and farming has
been his occupation throughout his career. At the age of twenty-
seven he began his independent career as a renter and finally accumu-
lated enough, as a result of his industry and good management, to buy
a small tract of land in this township. From that time he has progressed
in prosperity and has always enjoyed a secure position in this com-
munity. The confidence of his fellow citizens was well shown when
they elected him to the office of County Commissioner, and he has held
several other minor positions indicative of their trust in his ability.
In 1876 Mr. Fickle married Mary A. Kelly. The six children born
to their marriage are as follows : Jesse, now deceased ; Fannie, who
married Charles Haynes, now deceased, and has one child Margaret ;
Charles, who resides on his father's farm; Elizabeth, who married David
Davis, and has one child Helen ; Lola, the wife of Walter King, and the
mother of two children Harry and Bernard ; and Marie, who is single.
Mr. Fickle and family are members of the Catholic church, and he is
affiliated with the Knights of Columbus.
Harry Gray. Another of the young men of Galveston, Indiana, who
have made good in the farming industry in this section is Harry Gray,
whose fine place of something like two hundred acres is known as the
Joseph Gray home farm. It is situated in the northeast quarter of sec-
tion twenty-five, in range two east, and is known for one of the finest
places of the township. Mr. Gray was born on May 2, 1878, on his
present farm, and is the son of Joseph and Mary A. (Neely) Gray, the
father a native of Butler county, Ohio, and the mother a native of
Juniata county, Pennsylvania.
Joseph Gray was born in Butler county, Ohio, on December 20,
1830, and came with his parents to Carroll county, Indiana, in 1831.
His parents were James and Ruth (Merritt) Gray, and James Gray's
QmiS^I^
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 1103
father, James, was the tirst of the name to leave Ireland and come to
America.
Harry Gray attended the common schools of his native community,
later entering- Indiana university, and he was graduated from that insti-
tution in 1902, in the literary department. Thereafter he taught school
and for one year was principal at Lucerne, Indiana.
He was married on December 30, 1903, to Miss Cora Herd, the
daughter of William and ^Martha (Callahan) Herd. William Herd
was an Englishman, and was occupied in farming in Harrison township.
Mi^. Gray was educated in Logansport, Indiana, high school and Marion
(Ind.) Normal, finishing in Indiana University. After the death of his
father, Mr. Gray made his home on the old home farm for a time, but
has since given up the place, renting it, since the death of his wife,
which occurred August 12, 1912, she being struck by lightning. Mr. and
Mrs. Gray have two children : Jeanette and Virginia.
Mr. Gray is recognized as one of the most valuable citizens of Gal-
veston, and a man who has considerable pride in his community, being
public spirited in a high degree, and always willing to aid in any cause
promoted in the public welfare.
W. E. Lybrook, M. D. Few citizens of Young America, Indiana,
can lay claim to greater prestige either in length of residence, or posi-
tion attained in professional, business or social lines, than Dr. W. E.
Lybrook, who for thirty-five years has been numbered among the lead-
ing medical practitioners of Cass county. His high attainments and
acknowledged ability have brought him before the public in various
positions of responsibility and trust, in all of which he has given evi-
dence of a profound respect for the duties of citizenship, while his per-
sonal character is such that he has gained a. wide popularity. Dr.
Lybrook is a native of the Hoosier state, born in Union county, Feb-
ruary 16, 1850, a son of Daniel and Magdalene Lybrook, natives of Ohio,
of German lineage. In 1854 they removed to Cass county, locating on
a farm, where Dr. Lybrook spent his boyhood days, frequently assist-
ing in the cultivation of the fields and in other labor connected with
the planting and harvesting of crops. His early education, acquired
in the common schools, was siipplemented by a course in the National
Normal School, at Lebanon, Ohio, which he attended two years, succeed-
ing which he began teaching school in Cass and adjoining counties in
Indiana. After following that profession with a large measure of
success for some time, Dr. Lybrook entered upon the study of his
chosen profession, that of medicine, which from early manhood he had
decided upon as his life work. Accordingly, in 1874, he entered the
office of Dr. J. W. Powell, of Rockfield, who became his preceptor, and
under whose direction he studied for two years. On the expiration of
that period he matriculated in the Kentucky School of Medicine, at
Louisville, where he was gradiiated in 1879, with the salutatory honors of
the class, and his oration was such a masterly effort that the class ren-
dered him a vote of thanks therefor.
On his return to Young America, Dr. Lybrook began the practice
of his profession in the vicinity of his old home, and his success in a
number of complicated ea.ses soon won the young physician recognition
1104 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
and professional business, and as the years have passed his practice has
enjoyed a steady increase, until he is now rated among the leading
physicians of his part of the county. He subscribes to the leading medi-
cal journals of the day, keeping fully abreast of the various advance-
ments and discoveries of his profession, and also takes a keen and intelli-
gent interest in the work of the various medical organizations. A Dem-
ocrat in his political views, he has taken a prominent part in public
life. In August, 1883, he was appointed township trustee by the
county commissioners to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of
Thomas Henry, and at the close of that term was elected to the office,
the duties of which he discharged with signal ability and promptness.
He took particular interest in the improvement of the public highways
in his township, and was instrumental in extending the length of the
school term from four and one-half to eight months. He was elected
to the trustee's office again in 1886, and served for four years. Dr.
Lybrook has been interested in fraternal work to some extent, and is a
member of Young America Lodge No. 534, A. F. & A. M., and Logans-
port Chapter, R. A. M.
On March 19, 1878, Dr. Lybrook was united in marriage with Addie
F. Hewitt, who was born in Carroll county, Indiana, September 15,
1861, daughter of Elias and Elizabeth A. Hewitt, and to this union
there w'ere born seven children: Ross E., Mary E., Bessie M., Rolland
v., Daniel E., Bird and John C.
It is not every son of an industrious father who may gain success
in the same field of endeavor which the elder man graces, but it would
appear that such has been the case with Dr. Daniel E. Lybrook, son of
Dr. W. E. Lybrook. Born December 25, 1884, in Young America,
Indiana, he here received his early instruction in the common schools,
subsequently attending the high school, where he was graduated. In
1908, he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the Indiana
University, following which he entered upon a medical course in the
Indiana School of Medicine, at Indianapolis, where he received his
degree in 1910. Since that time he has been engaged in a successful prac-
tice at Young America with his father, and is making rapid strides in
his chosen profession.
Dr. Lybrook was married September 27, 1910, to Miss Matilda Brown,
of Marion, Indiana, daughter of William and Matilda (Peterson) Brown,
and to this union there has been born one child : Elizabeth. Like his
father, Dr. Lybrook is a member of the Masonic fratei'nity, where he
has numerous friends. He is respected by his professional brethren, is
popular in social circles and highly regarded as a public-spirited citizen
who takes a great interest in the welfare of his community and its people.
Robert H. Ross, M. D., of Galveston, Indiana, was born in Rocking-
ham county, Virginia, and is the son of David and Eliza (Whitsell)
Ross, the former of whom was born in Virginia and was of Scotch-Irish
ancestry. He was a United Brethren minister and moved to Indiana
in 1861, continuing in the ministry iip to the time of his death. He
was a presiding elder in the church and was a trustee of Westfield
College in Illinois, his declining years being passed in Westfield, where
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1105
he died on July 8, 1879. His faithful wife died in Edgar county, Illi-
nois, some time previous. These worthy people were the parents of
eleven children, of whom the following brief mention is made : Rev.
Samuel H., a minister of the United Brethren church, now deceased;
Dr. John H., a prominent physician of Kokomo, Indiana; William H.,
who also became a physician and is now deceased ; Elizabeth, the wife of
William Devore; David H., graduate of Westtield College, one time
teacher and now in the commercial business at Terre Haute, Indiana ;
George H. ; Sally, who married John Woods of Westfield, now deceased;
Dr. Robert H., of this review, and Peter. After the death of the mother
of these children, Mr. Ross married again, and two daughters were born
to him, Ella and Ida, both married.
Robert H. Ross passed his boyhood days upon the home farm and in
attendance at the schools of his native community. When he was
seventeen years old he attended Westfield College in Illinois, whither
the family had removed in recent years. He then commenced the stud,y
of medicine, in which his brother John had already engaged in the
practice of, and under the tutelage of Dr. John Ross the subject received
excellent training in his chosen work. In 1877 he matriculated in the
Indiana IMedical College at Indianapolis, which in the following year
became the medical department of Butler University, and two years
after, in 1879, he was graduated and settled at Bennett's Switch, where
he engaged in practice. He was located at that point for six years,
during which time he played an important part in the varied life of
the community. He was identified with the only drug business in the
community and filled the office of notary public at the same time, so that
his services were in demand from many angles of life's activities. In
1887 he went to Clinton county, remaining two years and then locating
in Cassville, where he continued until 1908, with the exception of a
three-year period when he was engaged at Kokomo as surgeon with the
Plate Glass Company at that place. Since 1908 Galveston has been the
headquarters of Dr. Ross, and he is accorded the highest regard in
his professional capacity and as a citizen in this community.
Dr. Ross is a member of the County, State and American Medical
societies, and maintains a number of memberships in fraternal societies
as well. In addition to his professional interests. Dr. Ross is the owner
of a fine farm in the county, which has claimed a goodly share of his
attention in recent years, and marke/1 him as a man of some versatility.
In 1879 Dr. Ross married Miss Josie I. Shafer, the daughter of an
old and honored family of Indiana. Her father, who was John A.
Shafer, a native of Indiana, was for many years a prominent merchant
of Cassville, filling the office of postmaster for years, as well
as other positions of public trust. Mrs. Ross was one of the five chil-
dren of her parents.
Three children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Ross, one of whom died
in infancy. The others are Dottie and Lulu.
In 1908 Dr. Ross was married a second time, when Mary Campbell,
the daughter of John and Rebecca (Spencer) Campbell became his wife.
No children were born of this latter union. Dr. and Mrs. Ross are mem-
bers of the United Brethren church.
1106 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Edwin A. Rutenbeb has achieved distinction in the designing and
manufacturing of the first four-cylinder gasoline engine produced in
America, and the "Rutenber" motor has a world-wide reputation. Born
at Sadorus, Illinois, on August 10, 1876, Mr. Rutenber is remotely
descended from German ancestry. He is the youngest of five children
born to Darwin and Zelia A. Rutenber, all of whom are living. The
father was a carriage maker by trade.
In boyhood Edwin A. Rutenber of this review attended the public
schools and college.
He learned carpentering from his grandfather and carriage making
from his father, and it is beyond question that he inherited a taste for
mechanics from both. He made a study of mechanics, learning the
machinist trade thoroughly, and in 1892 or thereabouts, invented a
single cylinder motor. This but fathered an ambition within him to
devise a four cylinder motor of commercial value, and for a number of
years he worked with that object in view. In 1898 he produced his
first four cylinder gasoline motor, also the first to be manufactured in
the United States, and the fame of the design spread to foreign parts
as well as throughout his native land.
In June, 1902, the Rutenber IManufacturing Company was moved
from Chicago to Logansport, and from that time Mr. Rutenber has been
a resident of the latter city. The name of his company was later
changed to the Western Motor Company, but since July, 1912, it has
been the Rutenber Motor Company. At the last mentioned date, Mr.
Rutenber disposed of his holdings in the corporation, since which time
he has devoted his energies to the manufacture of electric appliances
in connection with his other activities.
Since becoming a resident of Logansport, Mr. Rutenber has become
identified with its commercial success, and has taken a leading part
in the industrial activities of the city.
On October 3, 1900, Mr. Rutenber was married to ]\Iiss Edna L.
Rolley, of IMorris, Illinois, and they are the parents of three children:
Garnet M., Ellwood R. and Bradley A. Rutenber. Mr. and Mrs. Ruten-
ber are members of the Broadway Methodist Episcopal church.
Frank Day. It is sometimes interesting to note the aptitude with
which men untrained in a specific line of enterprise will turn their
attentions thereto and evolve a brilliant success from conditions that
the more experienced man would regard as offering only defeat to the
novice. Frank Day, a telling example of this fact, operates one of the
finest farms on the Marion and Delph pike, which is owned by his
mother, and in its management has proven himself to be a farmer of no
mean ability. He was not reared to farm life, but turned his attention
to that work after the death of his father, and his success has been of a
particularly high order, such as to place him in the front rank with the
able agricultural men of the district.
Born on September 10, 1884, in Logansport, Indiana, Mr. Day is the
son of Nicholas and Catherine (Keel) Day. The father came from
Germany, his native land, when a young man, and his parents never left
that country, but ended their days in the region where they were born
and bred. Settling in Logansport, Mr. Day engaged in the saloon and
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1107
barber sliop business, and in the latter enterprise he was sufficiently-
prosperous to make possible his investment in farming property in
Jackson township, the property which his son now operates so success-
fully. While the senior Day beg-aii in Logansport a poor man, dependent
upon his daily earnings, he had reached a comfortable state of independ-
ence before he passed to his reward, and with a goodly accumulation of
this world's goods, was known for one of the successful men of^the city.
He died in July, 1909, and is buried in Logansport.
The schools of Logansport contributed to Frank Day such education
as he received, and when his father died, soon after engaging in farming
activities, Mr. Day took up the management of the farm which had
become the family home, and has since continued in that work, with a
degree of success that has already been intimated in an opening para-
graph. Mr. Day has gone into the work in a whole-souled and energetic
manner, and has been quick to see and appropriate new ideas in the
matter of up-to-date and scientitic farming.
In 1906 I\Ir. Day was united in marriage with Miss Frances Emery,
the daughter of George and IMary (Davidson) Emery. Three children
have been born to them, as follows: Walter, Josephine and Mary Cath-
erine. Mr. and Mrs. Day are members of St. Joseph's Catholic church
in Logansport, and Mr. Day is a stanch supporter of the principles of the
Democratic party. The family is one that has the most excellent stand-
ing in social and other circles of the community, and their roster of
friends is coincident with that of their acquaintances.
Dr. J. Frank Cornell. The duties of a physician in the small town
and its outlying districts are seldom anything short of the most ardu-
ous, and entail upon the part of the practitioner a generous fund of
sympathy, courage and energv, as well as their indispensable fellow,
skill.
Dr. Cornell is a native son of Cass county, born in Deer Creek town-
ship on February 9, 1870, and is a son of Benjamin D. and Sarah (Bun-
nell) Cornell. Benjamin Cornell was born in Butler county, Ohio,
and he came to Cass county in 1847. He was one of the old time school
teachers, and it is possible that Dr. Cornell drew something of his
aptitude for his present educational work from the fact of his father
having been interested in the same work years gone by. The senior
Cornell was one of the old time school masters, and like others of his
day and age, he interspersed his teaching seasons with other seasons
devoted to the tilling of the soil, in both of which branches of activity
he enjoyed a success commensurate with the most prosperous of his
day. He died in 1907 and the wife and mother passed away in 1901.
J. Frank Cornell attended the district schools of District No. 1, so
called, and then attended the Normal school at Logansport for a time,
after which he spent a. terra and a half at Valparaiso. Indiana. He
later attended and graduated in scientific course in the IMarion Normal
at Marion, Indiana, and was graduated from the medical department of
the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1902. Dr. Cornell established
himself for practice in Galveston, where he has been actively engasred
since 1902, and where he has experienced a pleasing degree of success
in his chosen field of activity. His work in the educational field has been
1108 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
all that could be desired, and has borue fruit in the school system of
the county that amply justified the choice of the people, as he was twice
elected county superintendent of schools and serving as a member of
school board of Galveston, of which he is acting secretary.
Dr. Cornell was united in marriage in 1900 to ]\Iiss Lena ^Yilliams,
the daughter of George and Hannah J. Williams. They have three
children^: Sarah E., George B. and Wendell. The two tirst named are
attending school in Galveston.
Beyond his membership in the Knights of Pythias, Dr. Cornell has
no fraternal affiliations. He has never outgrown his fondness for farm
life, and now, in the days of his professional activity, he still finds time
to look after a fine farm of one hundred acres of which he is the owner
in Deer Creek township, and which thrives most abundantly under his
direction. The Doctor and his wife are prominent socially, and num-
ber as their stanch friends all with whom they have acquaintance in
and about the township.
William R. Darland, a native son of Cass county, Indiana, wherein
he has always lived and carried on his various business affairs, was born
on the 15th day of June, 1863. and is the son of Samuel and Elizabeth
(Clark) Darland. Of these worthy parents, for many years prominent
among the best citizenship of Cass county, it is eminentlj^ fitting thar,
more than mere cursory mention be made, but a dearth of information
regarding them and their lives makes expansion impossible at this
juncture. It may be said, however, that Samuel Darland was born
in Ohio, in the year 1825. In his young manhood he moved to Indiana
from his home state, and settled in Clinton county, his removal to Cass
county taking place in 1854. Here he had purchased land from the
government as early as 1849 anticipating his later residence in the
county, and in 1854 the family moved to this new and untried district,
cleared a bit of space in the heart of the woods and built a log cabin
home. The land he settled on then came to be with the passing years,
and because of his untiring labors upon it, a valuable and fruitful spot,
which maintained him and his family comfortably all his life. He had
the true pioneer instinct, and was a leader in every project calculated
to redound to the good of his community. Ever a public-spirited and
aggressive character, he helped to lay out the township roacls, organize
the school districts and to build proper schoolhouses in his township, so
that his whole life was fraught with good and permanent works in the
best interests of his adopted county. He died in the year 1880, December
22d, having given a quarter of a century of his life to Cass county in his
capacity of citizen, in which capacity the highest (jualities of his
nature were brought to bear upon the growth and development of his
community and the county. He was the father of five children : Martha
A., David, John A., William R.. of this review, and Albert.
William R. Darland attended the district schools of his community
as a boy and spent his summers in the work of the farm, in which he
gained much proficiency under the able instruction of his energetic
father. He remained at home until he reached the age of twenty-one,
when he married and established a home of his own. He gave his time
and attention at first to farming and enjoyed a pleasing success, but
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1109
he did not continue to confine himself to that industry. In later years
he took up the tile industry, and today he is the sole proprietor of the
Darland Tile Factory, the only plant of its kind in the county. The
plant is complete in all its details and has a capacity sufficient to meet
the demands of the farming interests of the community. Mr. Darland
owns and continues to operate his very attractive and fertile little farm
of sixty acres, where his home is maintained, and which is located a
mile from the home of his hoyhood.
]\Ir. Darland has been t\\ice married. His first wife was Clare Wine-
garden, who died, leaving two children. Frank and Elizabeth. The
former married an Ohio girl and lives at Struthers, Ohio. They became
the parents of three children : Frances, Leo and Clara. Elizahe'h became
the wife of George Shedron and they have three children also : Robert,
Bond and IMilford. The second wife of Mr. Darland was Jennie Kant-
ner, and five children have been born to them: Willard A., Edward B.,
Albert A., Alta L., and Orene, deceased.
The family attend the ]\Iethodist Episcopal church, and are among
the most highly esteemed people of Lincoln, where they have made their
home for so many years.
William R.' Hyatt. To have been prominently identified with the
carrying on of the development of any given section of the countrv is
an honor to which any might aspire with credit, and to have a hand in
the bringing about of a high standard of prosperity in one's own com-
munity is an achievement indeed, and one that marks a man among his
fellows, wherever found. William R. Hyatt has been an indefatigable
worker in Jackson township, where he has carried on farming operations
for a number of years, and a fair and honest share of the credit for the
growth and development of the town is his meed.
William R. Hyatt was born in Decatur county, Indiana, on November
2, 1872, and he is the son of William Henry and Mary J. (Jackson)
Hyatt. The father came from Ripley county, Indiana, and located i:i
Irvin township, Howard county, just across the line, there establishing
a home. He married in early life, and a goodly family of nine children
were reared under the care of himself and his •«afe. Eight of that
number are yet living, and .the names of the children are as follows :
Flora, who married a Mr. Caldwell; Ora, deceased; Robert, a resident
of Jackson; Newton, living in Galveston; William R., of this review;
]\Irs. Maud Hauser ; Lola Leona, the wife of a Mr. Nutter ; Gertrude,
who married Walter Stout, a farmer near Connersville, Indiana ; and
Mrs. Pearl Harrison.
William R. Hyatt was reared on the home farm, and his training
was much on the order of the youth of his community, eonsistino- of
the usual district school advantages, and an excellent home training.
His schooling came to him in the seasons when farm work was not
flourishing, and did not permit of any great regularity. He was
twenty-two years old when he left home and established an independent
domicile, following his marriage on August 5. 1904, to Miss Mary Mc-
Williams, the daughter of James and ]Mai*tha (Logan) McWilliams.
One child has been born to them, Clarence Clermont Hyatt.
Mr. Hyatt has acquired a fine farm of his own of one hundred and
1110 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
sixty acres near the town of Lincoln, and is accounted one of the finan-
cially indepeiulent men of the community wherein he resides. He has
carried on his own farming operations with the same vigor and vim that
characterized his long connection with his father's home place, and his
farm shows all the evidences of thrift and capitalized energy.
Socially, Mr. Hyatt and his family are prominent and popular, and
they are members of the United Brethren church of Galveston, Indiana.
Mr. Hyatt is fraternally identified by his relations with the Masonic
order, Lodge No. 244 of Galveston, and of Amity Lodge No. 362, Knighls
of Pythias of Galveston.
George W. Burket. Some fifty years or more ago, thousands of men
and boys marched away from comfortable homes and loved ones to ofi:'er
up their lives on the altar of patriotism. Some dyed that altar with
their life blood and never returned ; others came back, but have borne
through the succeeding years the indelible imprint made by a soldier's
hardships. Those who did return found hard conditions awaiting them.
After years of strenuous endeavor, when each minute might be their last,
when a nation's life hung upon their bravery and endurance, it was
extremely difficult for them to resume the ordinary occupations of life,
to take up the prosaic duties of peace, and again to seftle down in the
rut of every-day existence. Yet thousands did this very thing, and
developed into magnificent men, sound of principle, possessed of high
moral courage as well as physical, and with the valuable discipline that
army training gives have rounded out useful lives and have fought the
battles of peace in the same courageous manner that marked their strug-
gles during the dark days of the War of the Rebellion. Cass county
sent its full quota of volunteers to the front in 1861, and among these
was George W. Burket, who served for more than four years in the
•Union ranks and who has spent many years in farming on the Walton
road, where he is the owner of 120 acres of land. Mr. Burket is a nativ<»
of Cass county, having been born on a farm in Jefferson township,
November 28, 1841, a son of James and Barbara (Small) Burket. His
grandfather, Solomon Burket, was one of the pioneer settlers of Cass
county, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for a long period,
as was also James Burket, who had come to Jeft'erson township as a lad.
George W. Burket was educated in the district schools, and divided
his boyhood days between secAiring his education and assisting his father
in the duties of the home farm. At the outbreak of the Civil war, with
other patriotic and adventurous youths of his neighborhood, he enlisted
in the Fifteenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Company G,
under Cil. D. D. Wagner. AVith this organization he served three years
and twenty-five days, then re-enlisting in the Sixteenth Regiment,
Indiana Mounted Volunteer Infantry, but after seven months was trans-
ferred to the Thirteenth Indiana Volunteer Cavalry, with which he
completed his military career, being honorably discharged after a service
covering four years and twenty-eight days. He was a brave and gallant
soldier, earning the admiration of his comrades and the respect of his
officers, and participated in numerous hard-fought engagements. On
his return to civil life, he engaged in agricultural pursuits and one year
later moved to Deer Creek township, where he has since accumulated a
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY im
farm of 120 acres, located ou the Walton road. Here he is still engaged
in general farming and stock raising, having met Avith a full measure of
success in all his operations. His land is well improved and furnished
with good buildings, and he is known as a good practical farmer and an
excellent judge of cattle and horses. Essentially a farmer, he has not
cared for public life, but has not been indifferent to the duties of citizen-
ship, and every call made upon him in behalf of public-spirited move-
ments, has met with a prompt and hearty response. He is a valued
comrade of Dan Pratt Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in which he
has many friends.
Mr. Burket was married first to Elizabeth Boucher, who died with-
out issue. His second marriage was to Margaret M. Bowlan. They
have no children.
Charles Daggett. Forty years have elapsed since Charles Daggett
came with his parents from their old home in Ohio, where the Dag-
getts had long been established, and settled in Cass county with them,
and his home has been here located ever since. They were worthy and
ambitious people, and the labor they expended in the cultivation of a
farm in their community brought forth abundant fruit and prospered
them beyond the lot of the average farming family. To their son they
unconsciously bequeathed the same spirit of progress and the will to
accomplish that was theirs, and he has experienced in his own life a
degree of success most pleasing to behold.
Charles Daggett was born on September 27, 1857, and is the son
of Freeman and Carolina (Fickel) Daggett, who migrated to Indiana
from Ohio in 1872. Charles Daggett was then fifteen years of age, and
he was the third child in a family of seven born to his parents, the others
being Daniel, Ladoska, Clinton, Anna, Hattie and George, the two last
named being now deceased.
As a youth in his new home Charles Daggett attended the Rode-
baugh school, in which he finished what must be called his education.
Up to the time when he reached the age of twenty-one years, he gave
the greater part of his time to the performance of the regular duties
of the farm. He then rented the old home place and continued to
operate it on his own initiative and responsibility, giving something
like thr^e years to the work, after which he came to his present place,
known throughout these parts as the old Samuel Parks farm. Here he
has carried on a thriving business in farming and stock raising, and is,
ranked among the leading operatoi-s of the district. His success has
been one well worthy of the name, and entirely justified by his activities
and energies as applied to the care and conduct of his place. It is a
well improved and well kept place, reflecting on every side the character
and calilire of the owner and operator, and Mv. Daggett may be justly
proud of his success in his chosen field of activity.
Mr. Daggett has been twice married. His first wife was Callie
Fickel, and in 1884 he married Lillie Chadwell, the daughter of Wil-
liam and Fannie (Layhue) Chadwell. The ceremony took place on the
29th day of December in that year, and to them have been born four
children : Gertrude, first born, is the wife of Irvin Kern ; Freeman, the
second born of the five is deceased ; Laura married Clyde Babb and they
1112 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
have two children, Hilda and Robert; Clarence, the youngest of the
family, was born on the farm on February 5, 1892.
]\Ir. Daggett is a Democrat in his politics, and though an admirable
citizen, is not especially active in the work of his party. He has always
upheld his share in the burden of civic responsibility in the community,
and realizes full well the duties of citizenship.
Lawrence L. ]\IcDonald. As manager of the Indiana Lumber
Company at Galveston, Indiana, Lawrence L. McDonald occupies a
position of prominence in his community, of which he has been a resident
for twenty-four years. He began with the Indiana Lumber Company
in his early manhood, and has worked his way from a humble position
with the company to his present advanced place. Mr. IMcDonald was
born on the 6th day of April, 1876, in Darke county, Ohio, near Green-
ville, and is the son of Aaron and Sevilla (Geeting) McDonald.
Aaron McDonald was born in Darke county, in the vicinity of Green-
ville, and there he was reared and passed his life until he came to In-
diana in 1879, bringing his family with him. He took up his residence
in Howard county on a farm, and he and his wife still make their home
on that place, which is one of the finest in the county. Ten children
were born to IMr. and Mrs. McDonald, named as follows: Joseph, Law-
rence, the sub.ieet of this review ; Charles, now deceased ; Essie, Lahmaii,
Anna, Ira, Edith, Earl, and Mark.
The common schools of Cla.A* township afforded such ediication as
Lawrence L. McDonald received, his attendance being at the IMacedonia
school, and during his vacations he worked on the farm at home. He
continued with his parents until he was twenty-one years old, and then
started out for himself, determined upon an independent career. He at
first worked on a farm by the month, receiving a monthly wage of
eighteen dollars, and for a time he was engaged in carpenter work,
which he thought of learning. He gave up the work, however, to take
a position with the Indiana Lumber Company. He began in a humble
way. but he advanced rapidly, and soon had worked l\imself up to the
position of manager, which he still retains. He is a stockholder in the
company as well as its manager.
On June 18, 1907, ]\Ir. ]\IcDonald married Miss Minnie Persinger, and
they have one child, Frank McDonald.
]Mr. ^McDonald is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the
Knights of Pythias, and he and his wife are members of the United
Brethren church.
Everett R. Gore. A genuine talent for the agricultural industry
is one that may not l)e despised in summing up the various qiialities
that go to make for valuable and useful citizenship, and especially is
this true in Cass countv where the fairest wealth of the district lies in
her bountiful farming lands. Those men who have applied themselves
to the work of developing the splendid natural resources of the county
and converting it into the wonderfully productive region it is today
have done as much for their country as have those in higher places and
wielding a wider influence. They have done what they could, and of
none is more required. Everett R. Gore is one who has amply earned
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1113
the distinction of coming into this class of men by his achievement in
the farming line, and he is today the owner of one of the fine show
places of his community, though it may be said that when he married
and began life independently he established himself on a rented farm.
He has been devoted to the work of the farm all his life, and is a practi-
cal, far-sighted and successful farmer.
Everett R. Gore was born in Shelby county January 15, 1860, and
he is the son of James Wesley and Martha (Bradley) Gore. The father
came from Virginia, his native state, to Wayne county, Indiana, and
later removed to Cass county, where he passed the remainder of his
life. He devoted his yeai's to farming and was fairly successful in the
work, and was one who was prominent in his community all his days.
To him and his wife three children were born, namely: Mary J., who
married a Mr. Grusmeyer ; Willard, living in Lincoln ; and Everett R.,
whose name heads this necessarily brief review.
Everett R. Gore came up through boyhood years as an attendant
upon the schools of Shelby and during his vacation seasons worked on
the home farm. He later applied himself to the trade of a carpenter
for some time, but the work was not entirely congenial to him, and when
he married in 1891 he reverted to farming and farm life once more,
for which he had a natural talent and a genuine liking, the qualities,
undeniably, that have made him successful in his enterprise. Being
without capital, ]\Ir. Gore rented a place from his father-in-law, which
he operated until he had prospered sufficiently to purchase one of his
own. Mr. Gore married Jennie Countryman, the daughter of Isaiah
and Sarah (Crull) Countryman, and three children have been born
to them : Ina, the eldest, being a student in the local high school, and
Elma and Pansy attending grade school.
The family are members of the Baptist church, and assume their
just share of the duties and responsibilities attendant upon the work
of that body. They are popular in their home community and number
their friends in generous measure. Mr. Gore is a man who lives quietly,
taking no undue interest in affairs of a political nature, but giving his
support to the Democratic party. Though he has considerable influence
among his fellows, he is not one who has ever been an office seeker.
Dick Alpord Zehring is the son of an old and honored Indiana fam-
ily, and a most interesting history attaches to the name. In this connec-
tion it is impossible to more than briefly cite a few facts relating to the
ancestry of the subject, lack of space making a detailed statement impos-
sible. Mr. Zehri^ng was born on the 12th day of November, 1873, and
is the son of William I. and Lydia (Mcllwain) Zehring. Beginning
with the first of the name of whom a record has been established.
Christian Zehring, the great-great-grandfather of the subject, was born
in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, of Dutch origin as the name and
the location would indicate. He was the son of a pioneer farmer and
blacksmith of that county. He married Mary Ranch, who was like
himself a native of Lebanon county, and there he continued to live, fol-
lowing the calling of a blacksmith, in which trade he had been trained
by his worthy parent. Christian and Mary Zehring reared a goodly
family of twelve children, named as follows : Henry, John, Catherine,
1114 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Christian, Philip, AVilliam, Beruard, David, Peter, Susan, Mary and
Martha. Three others died in infancy. He moved to Oliio in the year
1818. and settled in Warren county where he became the owner of a
tine farm and there passed his remaining days, living- to reach the age
of seventy. He was a man of splendid character, and was a power for
good in his community to the day of his death. Of his family, William,
born in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, engaged in agriculture in Dau-
phin county, that state, and was thus occupied for some little time.
He married Elizabeth Garst, and soon after that event, in 1818, moved
to Ohio and settled on fifty acres of land in Butler county, near the town
of ]Middletown. He passed his remaining daj's in Ohio, and was one
of the well known men of his time. His children were John, William,
Christian, Lydia and Barbara. He died in September, 1872, and his
widow survived him until 1885.
William Zehring, his second born son, the father of William I. Zehr-
ing and the grandfather of Dick Alford Zehring of this review, was born
in Butler county, Ohio, on May 3, ]821. He received a common school
education and was early instructed in the art of farming, a business which
occupied his attention to the time of his death. He married Susan
Feagler, a daughter of John and Susanna (Cullers) Feagler, and she
was one of their seven children. After his marriage Mr. Zehring set-
tled on his father's farm in Montgomery county, and in later years
moved to Preble county, Ohio, where he continued until 1857 when
he made his way to Indiana, locating in Deer Creek township, Miami
county, and this state has since then been the home of him and his
family. He purchased a quarter section of land, fifty acres of which
were under cultivation, the remainder being covered with a thick timber
growth. He improved this place and added to it until he finally owned
two hundred and eighty acres in the township,' besides an additional
hundred acres in Cass county. ]\Ir. Zehring was a man who always
occupied a high place in public esteem, wherever he found himself.
He was a Democrat and stood high in the party. Eight times he was
elected township trustee, and he was county commissioner for six
years. In 1856-7 he was a member of the state legislature ; for two terms
he was road conunissioner of his township and was on one occasion asses-
sor of his town. He was chosen as administrator for various estates,
tifteen in all, and was appointed guardian for the children of two differ-
ent families. JMr. Zehring was twice married. His first wife died in
February, 1865, leaving six children: Josiah, William I., the father of
the subject ; Benjamin F., John, Edgar A. and Elizabeth. She was a
devoted member of the Lutheran church from her earliest girlhood
and a woman of the most exemplary character. On March 16, 1869,
Mr. Zehring married ]\Irs. Lucinda (Burtner) Wilson, a widow, and
their remaining years were passed in delightful companionship.
William I. Zehring was reared in Miami county, in Deer Creek town-
ship, and there attended school in his boyhood days. He was trained
to farm life and in his young manhood became the owner of a fine farm
in his native town. He early married, Lydia Mcllwain becoming his
bride, and they passed their lives in the quiet of their country home,
where they reared their family and gave them such education as their
means and the schools of the county afforded.
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 1115
Dick Alford Zehring, the second child of his parents and a repre-
sentative of the fifth generation of Zehrings since the time of Christian
of that name, of Pennsylvania birth, was reared on the farm in Deer
Creek township. He attended the schools of Galveston, and when his
education was finished he gave his attention to teaching, and was occu-
pied in that worthy work in both Cass and Howard counties for a number
of years. Ten years ago Mr. Zehring decided to take up farm life,
in which his family had been successful and prosperous for a number
of generations, and for which he was fitted by ability and inclination,
and he now has a fine farm of one hundred acres about eight miles north
of Kokomo, Indiana. •
Mr. Zehring was married on August 2, 1902. to Mabel Gray Camp-
bell, the daughter of George Wilson and Agnes (Tyner) Campbell. Two
children have been born to Mr. and ]\Irs. Zehring: Margaret Janice,
born December 7, 1909 ; Ruby Marcella, born February 25, 1913. Mr.
Zehring is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and has been through
all chairs in the order. The family are members of the ^Methodist
church, and are active in the benevolent and other work of that body.
Benjamin B. Richards. For more than thirty years a member of
the bar, JMr. Richards has had a busy and influential career in Howard
and Cass counties, and for the last twenty-five years has been located
in practice at Galveston. Mr. Richards stands high in local citizenship,
and is one of the men whose influence is counted as important in the
promotion of any local public enterprise. '
Benjamin B. Richards was born in Ripley county, Indiana, September
13, 1817, a son of Benjamin and Eliza (Marquis) Richards. Benjamin
Richards' father had a somewhat remarkable career. He was born
January 1, 1798, in Bourbon county, Kentucky, and when fourteen years
of age enlisted with the Kentucky Volunteers in the regiment under
Captain Crogan for service in the War of 1812. His company marched
the entire distance from the Ohio river to Detroit, where he and his
comrades with other parts of the army fought for the American cause
until the war closed. After the war he returned to Kentucky and at
the age of twenty-five moved to Madison, Indiana, on the Ohio river.
During his residence there he was a brick manufacturer, and he had
the distinction of building the first railway station in Indiana, at Madi-
son, for the old railroad which began at Madison and which was the first
piece of railway construction in this state. He and his wife were the
parents of seven children, named as follows: Angeline, deceased;
David, Anna, Olive, deceased; Samuel, deceased; Benjamin B. and
Morris, deceased.
Benjamin B. Richards at the age of five years accompanied his
parents to Decatur county, where he was reared to manhood on a farm.
In 1865 he entered Hartsville University in Bartholomew county, where
he took a three years collegiate course. In the autumn of 1867 he began
teaching school in Howard county, and was connected with school work
there for five years. Then for two years he was engaged in the harness
business at New London, and for eight years manufactured harness at
Russiaville. In 1881 he was admitted to the bar after having carried on
his studies in leisure intervals for several years, and after beginning
1116 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
practice, for several years he also edited the RussiaviUe Observer. In
1887 he removed to Kokomo, and then in the fall of 1888 came to Gal-
veston, where he has since had his office for general law practice, and
has also done considerable business in the settlement of estates. Mr.
Richards is a Republican in politics and has served as a justice of the
peace. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his church is the Methodist.
He was married on May 10, 1870, to ]\Iiss Rebecca Gossett, who belonged
to a Howard county family. They are the parents of two children, Ollie
and John 0. Ollie is the wife of W. A. King, and has two children
Walter, and Lena, the latter being the wife of Chester Purdy, and the
mother of one child, Benjamin R. Purdy. Walter King married Lulu,
daughter of Henderson Fiekes and is assistant trainmaster in the
Penusjdvania office at Richmond, Indiana. John 0. married Emma
Goldsberry, and they have one child Rebecca.
James jMooke Buchanan. When James IMoore Buchanan tii-st located
in Bethlehem township there were not more than ten acres of cleared
land on the farm. He came to Cass county with his family from Blair
county, Pennsylvania, to Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1838, and after
spending one season there with his family moved on to Cass county,
where the Buchanan famih^ has ever since been represented. They
arrived in Cass county on April 5, 1839, stopping on their first night in
the county at a tavern located on the present site of Heppe's soap
factory, then moving to Bethlehem township. The house the family
occupied here was a mere cabin, built of round logs covered with a four-
foot clapboard roof held down by two poles laid longitudinally across it.
A cabin adjoining it was connected by a covered hallway, and in later
years another cabin was built fronting the hallway. The fireplace in
each cabin was of mud and stick construction. In one of these cabins
James Buchanan and his family lived, and in the other was found
shelter for his hired help. The family consisted of the father and
mother, and one son, James, also the grandfather, James Buchanan by
name, and two unmarried sons of the elder Buchanan, Blair and AVil-
liam by name. Blair Buchanan married Sarah Houck and they lived
on his farm in Jefferson township until his death on October 7, 1878.
He was a man of note in his day and served as county commissioner
of Cass county for several terms. William never married. He enlisted
in the Mexican war and died in the service of his country near the
mouth of the Rio Grande river on September 20, 1846.
James Buchanan was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on May 4,
1784. He married Pleasant IMoore, who died on May 16, 1833, and they
were the parents of four sons and two daughters. He later married
Mary Wilson, who died at Terre Haute, Indiana, on September 13,
1838, without issue. He was a farmer and in Pennsylvania operated
a line of stage coaches and a store and hotel, and during the War of
1812 he and a brother made guns for the American government,
carrying on the work in Maryland. He died on June 14, 1860. His
son, James Moore Buchanan, who pioneered into Cass county in 1838,
was born on Novemljer 14, 1810. He early gained prominence in. his
community, and for seventeen years he was the postmaster at Metea.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1117
On May 2, 1837, he married Mary A. D. Gourley, who was born on Feo-
ruary 28. 1814, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. They became the parents
of five children, who grew to maturity : James, Samuel M., Martha
Jane, who died young; Geoi'ge W., John G. and Edwin Boyd. The
father, James Moore Buchanan, died on March 23, 1897, and his widow
survived his passing just a month, her death occurring on April 27,
of the same year. They were Presbyterians, and of Scotch ancestry,
as the name plainly indicates.
James Buchanan, the son of James Moore and Mary A. D. (Gour-
ley) Buchanan, was born in what is now Terre Haute, Indiana, on
October 3, 1838, and in the year following he was brought to Cass
county where he was reared and has spent his life thus far. The pre-
ceding article gives complete details concerning the early family history
of the Buchanan family, and the life of the parents of the subject, so
that further mention of those worthy people is unnecessary at this
juncture.
Such education as James Buchanan received up to the age of ten
years was given him b.y his mother, and it was about that time that his
father and certain of the neighbors united in building the log school-
house known as the Harmony school. Here the subject attended for some
three or four terms, later having one term at the Logansport high
school.
On December 11, 1862, he married Mary C. Buchanan, a second
cousin, and following this event they took up farm life in Bethlehem
township, on the farm which is to this day called the Simon Farm.
Here the property was one hundred and forty feet above the level of
Logansport, but it was flat and unprovided with a drainage outlet, but
by persistent effort on the part of ]\Ir. Buchanan the land was eventually
drained, but not until numerous law suits had been brought. Today
this land is recognized as among the most valuable in Cass county. To
his original tract Mr. Buchanan added from time to time ; once he owned
three hundred and thirty-three acres there, but today has only two
hundred and thirteen acres. In October, 1903, he moved to Logansport
and has since lived a retired life.
As previously mentioned, Mr. Buchanan, in 1862, married Mary C.
Buchanan, the daughter of Thomas Blair and Mary McKillip Buchanan,
and they became the parents of seven children, named as follows:
Martha Pleasant, is now the wife of William Randall, of Ambia. Indiana ;
Thomas Blair, died when one year old ; Clarissa Williams, married Wil-
liam Sharpe, of Wellington township, Cass county; Edward Bowman,
married Hattie Brown, and is a farmer of Fulton county, Indiana ;
George Chester, married Edna Peter, and they live at Burnett's Creek,
Indiana; James Judson, married Frances Davis, and lives at Burnett's
Creek, Indiana ; and Rea, married Lura Aline Reed, and is a practicing
physician at Lincoln, Nebraska.
Mr. Buchanan is a Democrat in his political faith, and in 1882 he
was elected a member of the board of county commissioners. He was
reelected to the office, and has served seven years in all in that capacity.
He also served one full term as a member of the county council, and
served by appointment one unexpired term in the same office.
1118 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan were members of the Bethlehem Presbyterian
church for forty years, but are now members of the First Presbyterian
church of Logansport, and are active and prominent in the work of
that body.
Allen Price. Too many men who give their earlier years to the
toil and struggle incident to the acquiring of a competency find it
impossible, after they have reached the goal of their ambition, to settle
down and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Allen Price is not one of
these. Hard work and close application to the business in hand have
marked his career from its inception, but he has reached the place in
life where he finds it possible to leave off the cares of business, and, with
his family, he is now enjoying to the uttermost the results of his leaner
years of toil. As a successful farmer and drover, he has long been
prominent in Jefit'erson township, but the greatest and the best part of
his popularity is the result of his sterling character and his kindly and
genial disposition, which will always win friends for him, in whatever
•station in life he may find himself.
A native of the Keystone state, Allen Price was born in Bucks
county, on September 2, 18-17, and is the son of Smith and Harreetta
(Opp) Price. These worthy people were born, reared and educated in
their native state, Pennsylvania, and there they met and married and
settled down to quiet rural life, ending their days in the county in which
they were born. They were the parents of three children, Allen Price
being the only survivor. A brother of the subject, v was a veteran
of the Civil war, Valentine by name, died in the '.tlountain Branch
(Tenn.) Home for Soldiers, in 1912, and a sister died at the age of
three years. ^
Allen Price was reared to manhood in his native state. He came to
Cass county in 1872. He was twenty-five years old then, hut unmar-
ried, and had devoted himself to the care of his parents in the old home
until that time. His only possession was cash to the amount of .$150.
He set himself to learn the miller's trade when a boy and was employed
for about nine years at the Banta Mills. One year after his advent into
Cass county he married Sarah E. Barr. and she was reared in Cass
county and educated in the district schools of her native township.
They have one child, Etta, who became the wife of S. C. Waters of Jeffer-
son township.
ilrs. Price was born in Jefferson township July 13, 1851, a daughter of
William and Sarah (Gray) Barr. The mother was from Pittsburgh
and the father was born in Scotland in 1800. He came to Cass county
in 1840. He was a devout Christian and a very prominent old settler of
the county. He died March 3, 1867.
Mr. Price, with the passing years, turned his attention to farming
and gave up the milling business. He acquired some fine farming
property, and is now the owner of two hundred and twenty-three acres
of the most prodi;ctive farm land in Jeft'erson township, where he makes
his home. He did not confine himself to farming alone, but added sheep
and cattle raising to his operations, but specialized particularly in sheep,
and that branch of his activities yielded him a bigger cash return than
all his other departments. He has always kept a quantity of high bred
>
O
d
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1119
sheep on his place, and, in addition, made a practice of going up into
the lower peninsula of Michigan during the winter months and buying
up droves of sheep, which he would send to his farm, feed for a time and
dispose of them at a nice pi'ofit. His operations have made it possible
for him to accumulate a competency sufficient to permit him to retire
from active business and enjoy his home and the remaining years of his
life, without thought for the morrow, and his home, which is one of the
finest in the township, is the center of many pleasant social events.
Mr. Price and his family are members of the Center Presbyterian
church, which was erected on a portion of his farm, and he is most
liberal in its continued support. Not only is he generous in the way of
church matters, but he may be depended upon to give liberally to any
cause or movement that has for its purpose the ultimate good of his
community. His politics are those of the Progressive party, and he has
served his township diiring two terms as trustee. It is safe to say that
there are few people, if any, who enjoy to a greater extent the respect
and confidence of their fellow citizens than do Mr. Price and his good
wife in the community which has so long represented their home, and
where they have been known all their lives.
Harvey A. Spencer, well known in Logansport as the proprietor of
the Spencer Transfer & Storage Company was born in Harrison town-
ship, on March 4, 1882. He was reared on a farm, but his boyhood
was for the most part spent with his grandfather, S. M. Cogley, his
mother having died when he was a boy of about eight years. He attended
the district schools of Noble township, in which his grandfather had his
home, and received a diploma from the school in the common branches.
He thereafter attended the Logansport high school for one year, which
was followed by a course in the Logansport Business College. For a
number of months after he finished his schooling and started out for
himself he was variously employed in Logansport, and managed to
save from his earnings one hundred and fifty dollars, which he invested
in a span of bronchos. He bought a wagon on his good name, and there-
upon started out in the draying business, doing teaming and general
hauling. His first year did not show a profit, but as he had not lost
money he was emboldened to continue, and decided that by increasing
his capacity by another teaming outfit he would do better. He accord-
ingly did so, and the wisdom of his plan was soon apparent. Since that
time the young man has added a teaming outfit to his equipmment each
year. As a natural outgrowth of the draying business-, he gradually
drifted into the storage business and since 1907 this has been one of
the principal features of the business. Mr. Spencer now has 18,600
feet of floor space, covering three floors, and the business furnishes
steady employment to twelve men.
Mr. Spencer began his business career in Logansport without a
dollar, and the present establishment and business of which he is now the
head is the direct result of his applied business sense and all around
efficient business methods. The Spencer Transfer & Storage Company
does an annual business of about $30,000, and is constantl.y increasing
and making necessary further expansion on the part of its management.
Mr. Spencer is a Republican of progressive tendencies and is a
1120 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
member of the Commercial Club of Logansport. He is a Pythian
Knight, but beyond that has no fraternal affiliations.
On March 23, 1910, Mr. Spencer married Miss Martha L. Camp-
bell and they have one daughter, Amy Louise Spencer.
William A. Holloway, M. D. A resident of Logansport since 1893,
during which time he has achieved marked success in the practice of his
profession. Dr. William A. Holloway holds prestige among the medical
men of his adopted city, and is fully entitled to the eontidence and
respect that are his. He was born in Boone county, Indiana, Septem-
ber 23, 1870, and is a son of Park and Mary (Dukes) Holloway.
Dr. Holloway was a small lad \^'hen he was taken by his parents to
Clinton county, Indiana, and there he grew to manhood on his father's
farm. After going to the usual district schools in boyhood, he com-
menced attendance at the state university, at Bloomington, for two
years, succeeding which he taught school for one year. Dr. Holloway
read medicine under the preeeptorship of Dr. Joseph D. Parker, of
Colfax, and in 1889 entered Miami ]\Iedieal College, Cincinnati, Ohio,
where he continued his studies two years, then becoming a student in
Bellevue Hospital IMedieal College, New York, from which noted
institution he was graduated in the spring of 1893, receiving there-
from his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Since that time he has been
continuously engaged in the practice of his profession in Logansport.
In 1889, he took a post-graduate course at the New York Post-Graduate
Medical School and Hospital, and in 1912, attended a similar course
at the New York Polyclinic Medical School and Hospital.
Dr. Holloway is a member of the Cass County ]\Iedical Society, the
Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
A student, he has advanced in his profession along with the progress
made in the science of medicine and surgery, subscribing to the lead-
ing journals of his profession, and being greatly interested in various
lecture courses. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite and Knight
Templar York Rite j\Iason, a Phythian Knight, a member of Mystic
Shrine, and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Like other prominent and public-spirted citizens, he has given his
interested attention, and when opportunity has offered his support
and co-operation, to those movements which have to do with the welfare
of his community, and in all walks of life is held in the highest esteem.
On Decemlier 27, 1893. Dr. Holloway was married to Miss IMyrtle
Ticen. of Clinton county, Indiana. Mrs. Holloway is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church.
S. G. Thomas. One of Cass county's native sons who has attained
well-merited success in the vocations of farming and stock raising, and
who is now a highly esteemed resident of Tipton township, is S. G.
Thomas, the owner of 160 acres of good land located on the Lewisburg
road, about twelve miles from Logansport. The family has been iden-
tified with agriculture in Cass county for more than three-quarters of
a century, and has furnished Tipton township with some of its best
citizenship, men who have taken an active interest in the material growth
and development of their community, and as a worthy representative of
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1121
the name Mr. Thomas is held in high esteem by his fellow-townsmen.
He was born January 16, 1850, on the Lewis Little farm in Tipton town-
ship, and is a son of W. P. and ^largaret (Stafford) Thomas.
W. P. Thomas was the first white child born at New Carlisle, Clark
county, Ohio, and was there educated and reared to the occupation of
a farmer. In young manhood he migrated to Cass county, in 1838. But
after remaining here about a year he returned to his native state and
was there married. Shortly thereafter he returned to Cass county with
his bride, and they continued to spend the remainder of their lives in
clearing the land, cultivating the soil and making a home for their chil-
dren, of whom there were seven in the family : Giles S., who now resides
in Nebraska and is engaged in farming; George W., a resident of Miami
county, Indiana ; Martha, who is deceased ; S. G ; W. R., who lives on
his well-kept farm in Tipton township ; J. C, who is the owner of a farm
in Ciay township, Cass county, and Nettie, who married D. S. Bailey
and resides in ]\Iinneapolis, Minnesota.
S. G. Thomas received his early education in the old Crossroads school
in Tipton township, and like other farmers' sons of his day divided his
boyhood between the farm and the schoolhouse, attending the latter
during the short winter terms. He continued to work with his father
until he reached his majority, at which time he determined to test the
accuracy of the reports concerning the great opportunities offered in
the state of Nebraska for ambitious young men. Accordingly he jour-
neyed to that state, but after a short period returned to Indiana and
took up land in the vicinity of his birth-place, where he has continued
to reside to the present time, with the exception of the seven years in
which he lived in Logansport. Since his return he has devoted himself
to general farming and stock raising, with what degree of success may
be gathered from a visit to his well-cultivated farm, with its substantial
buildings, neat fences, well-fed cattle and general air of prosperity. A
firm believer in scientific methods and modern ideas, he uses the latest
machinery and tills his soil in the most approved manner, constantly
keeping abreast of the times in his vocation and being at all times ready
to experiment with new ideas. He has not cared for public life, nor
has he been affiliated with fraternal societies, his farm and his home
satisfying all of his ambitions.
In 1878 ]\Ir. Thomas was married to ]\Iiss Sarah Panabaker, and to
this union there have been born two children, namely : Owen, who mar-
ried Frances ]\Iiller, of Pittsburg, who have one son, Samuel G. ; and
Jennie, who is the wife of Charles A. Wright. With his family Mr.
Thomas is a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
John Myers was among the earliest pioneers of Cass county, Indiana,
the date of his location in Clinton township being in 1833. He was born
in Franklin county, Virginia, on September 3, 1808, and was descended
from Dutch Huguenot ancestry. His father was a soldier in the War
of 1812 and his grandfather served in the American Revolution and was
under General Washington at the defeat of Braddoek. In 1814 his
parents moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, and until he was nineteen
years old he worked on the home farm. He learned the blacksimth's
trade, at which he worked five years. In 1830, in Preble county, Ohio,
1122 HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY
he married Ann Swisher, and upon his arrival here in 1833 he bought
two hundred and forty acres of heavily timbered land which he at once
began to clear and improve. He participated in all the hardships and
privations incident to pioneer life, and died in Loganspert on Sep-
tember 7, 1890. He and his wife became the parents of four children:
Isaac N., Henry C, Mary A. and Alfred B. The wife and mother died
on February 26, 1877.
Isaac Neff Myers, the oldest son of John and Ann Myers, was born
in Preble county, Ohio, his birth occurring on September 10, 1831. He
was but two years old when he was brought to Cass county by his parents,
and his early life was passed after the manner of the farmers' boj's of
those days, in clearing, grubbing, planting and harvesting, and, to a
limited extent, attending school in the old log school house which was
an adjunct to practically every country neighborhood in his day. His
life was an uneventful one. He followed farming and stock raising as
his chief employment and for about fifteen years operated a sawmill
somewhat extensively, furnishing the Wabash and the present Penn-
sylvania railroads with the heavy timbers entering into the construction
of these lines in this vicinity. Upon the breaking out of the Civil war
he recruited a company for the Forty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
of which he was elected captain. Eleven employes of his farm having
enlisted, Mr. IMyers did not himself go to the front, but took upon him-
self, at their request and his promise, the maintenance of the families of
those of his employes, five in number, who did, which promise he faith-
fully kept. He was first a Whig in politics and later a Republican, and
he was twice the nominee of his party for the office of county sheriff,
but was defeated because of the strongly Democratic tendency of the
county at the times. On December ■!, 1851, he married Rosanna Justice,
second daughter of James Justice, a pioneer' of Clinton township. They
became the parents of five children, three of whom survive. I\Ir. JNIyers
died on June 2, 1905, preceded b}' his wife on I\Iay 5, 1898.
Quincy Alden Myers, justice of the supreme court of the state of
Indiana, is the eldest son of Isaac N. and Rosanna (Justice) Myers.
He was born on September 1, 1853, on what is now known as the Hugh
Fitzer farm, in Clinton township, Cass county, Indiana, and was reared
to manhood in that township. His early education was in the neighbor-
ing district schools. He prepared for college at the old Presbyterian
Academy, in Logansport, from which he was graduated in 1870, after
which he entered Northwestern Christian University, now Butler Col-
lege, at Indianapolis. Owing to failing health he was compelled to
relinquish active school work after a year of attendance there, but con-
tinued his studies under a tutor and was enrolled as a pupil at Smith-
son's College, in Logansport. In 1873 he matriculated at Dartmouth
College, New Hampshire, from which he was graduated with the degi-ee
of Bachelor of Arts in June, 1875. Following this he read law at
Logansport, under the direction of DeWitt C. Justice and Judge IMau-
rice Winfield, and in September, 1876, entered Albany Law School,
Union University, at Albany, New York. In June, 1877, he received his
diploma, graduating as valedictorian of his class. After his graduation
he returned to Logansport, and was associated with Judge Winfield, his
former preceptor, in the practice of his profession, until the election of
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1123
his partner to the circuit court bench in 1882. He then formed a part-
nership with Judge John C. Nelson, which continued until 1903, when
Charles E. Yarlott became a member of the firm. The retirement of
Judge Nelson in 1906 brought about the firm of flyers & Yarlott, which
continued without interruption until January 1, 1909. In 1908 I\Ir.
Myers was elected to the Indiana state supreme bench, and he has since
filled the duties of that high office.
Judge Myers is a Republican in politics, a Knight Templar Mason,
a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and a Methodist
in his religion. He is a trustee of De Pauw University, has been city
attorney of Logansport. county attorney of Cass county and was for
thirteen years a trustee of the city schools of Logansport.
On March 3, 1886, ]\Iiss Jessie D. Cornelius, eldest daughter of the
late Edward G. Cornelius, a leading merchant of Indianapolis, liecame
the wife of Judge Myers, and to them have lieen born two daughters:
I\Ielissa, now the wife of Joel Whitaker, a leading physician of Raleigh,
North Carolina, and ]\Iarie Rosanna, who died on November 6, 1910, when
in the twenty-first 3'ear of her life. Mrs. ]Myers is a member of the
Presbyterian church and an active and efficient member of the board of
managers of the orphans' homes of Logansport and Indianapolis, and
of the Home for Aged AVomen in the latter city.
H. H. IMiLLEK, M. D. A graduate from medical college in 1897, Dr.
Miller has since been engaged in the practice of his profession at Gal-
veston, in Jackson township. He is one of the young and vigorous
doctors of the county and. being a product of the modern school, his
methods have made a very successful record and he is prominent socially
in his home community. Dr. ]\Iiller was born in Brooksburg, Indiana,
November -l, 1871, and is a son of William and Augusta (Johnston)
Miller. The father was a native of Pennsylvania, whence he came to
Indiana as a young man and has for many years engaged in farming in
this state. His early education was received hi Pennsylvania. The old
farm where the father lived and died is now the home of the mother and
some of her children. There were eight children altogether in the
father's family, and the six who are living now are named as follows :
Evan C, Charles A., Sarah E., Ella, Harry E. and Dr. Harley H.
Dr. ^liller was an attendant at the common schools near his liome
vicinity, and was engaged in farm work at the intervals of his schooling.
Before beginning his studies for his profession he taught school, and
from this and other sources he earned practically all the money with
which he prepared himself for his profession. He was a student of the
State Normal College at Terre Haute and afterwards entered the Louis-
ville Medical College, where he earned his way and was graduated with
the degree of M. 1). in 1897. His practice is principally in general med-
icine, but he has a recognized skill in surgery. Dr. Miller is a member
of the Cass county and the Indiana State ^Medical societies, and in social
circles in Galveston he and his wife play a very prominent part. He
was married July 3, 1892, to ^liss Elsie M. Thomas, and they are the
parents of one child, Forrest Thomas. The doctor and his wife are
members of the Baptist cliurch and he is affiliated with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows.
1124 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
"William Errol Packard. One of the younger generation of enter-
prising Cass county farmers, Mr. Packard was bom and reared in this
county, and with a sulistantial training in l)otb the practical details of
his vocation and with school advantages appropriate for his career, he
has already gained recognition as one of the prosperous and prominent
young men in the rural activities of this county.
William Errol Packard was born on the old D. K. Smith farm in
Cass county on the seventeenth of February 1878. He is a son of Frank
P. and Marietta (Snyder) Packard. His father, whose life is sketched
on other pages of this work, is one»of the best known citizens of Tipton
township. The Packard family was established in this part of Indiana
by the grandfather, and Frank P. Packard was boni and reared in
J\liami county, where he was trained to the occupation of farmer, and
since attaining manhood has passed practically all his career on farms
in Cass county. He is now a retired resident of Onward. He has also
taken an active part in public affairs of his township and county, and is
one of the thoroughly esteemed men of this vicinity.
]\Ir. W. E. Packard now farms and owns eighty acres of fine land in
Tipton to^^'nship, and has improved his place and brought it up to the
highest standard of agricultural efficiency. He was reared in Cass
county, received his education in the common schools, and throughout
the time that he was a student, he was also acquiring practical experience
on the home farm. He is a young man who has given his full attention to
his business and has formed no marriage relations.
He began farming for himself in 1896, and in 1905 he bought the
farm he now owns and lives on.
George W. AVeyand. Success, in no uncertain degree, has attended
the efforts of George W. Weyand, the untoward circumstances of his
early manhood and his lack of worldly advantages notwithstanding.
He established himself in the farming business in the vicinity of Royal
Center after the close of the War of the Rebellion, through which he
had served valiantly from first to last, and there he continued until
1900, since which time he has been retired from active business life.
Born in Boone township, Cass county. Indiana, January 31, 1844, Mr.
Weyand, who has ever been a resident of his native town, is the son of
Daniel and Eliza (Beckley) Weyand, concerning whom the following
brief data are here incorporated :
Daniel Weyand was a native of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, as was
also his wife. They came to Indiana in 1836 and settled quietly in
Boone township, where the father of the family secured a farm and set
about the business of farming. In that early day Indians infested the
country, and he carried on his work at the risk of his life, subjected to
the many annoyances of the tribes that were more or less hostile to
the white invaders of their territory. Daniel Weyand served as the
first postmaster of Royal Center. He was a stanch and true Democrat
and was ever active in the ranks of the party. He served his township
as trustee for years, and was long a prominent man in the town and
county. He and his faithful wife became the parents of a family of
seven sons, of which number two sui-vive at this time : Enoch, now a
'SLc.^fe,^^
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1125
resident of the state of Missouri, aiid the subject. The father died in
March, 1896.
George W. Weyand was reared on the home farm and attended the
public schools. He was yet a boy in his teens, busy with his books,
when the call to arms in '61 put an end to liis quiet humdrum life on
the farm and in school, and he enlisted on November 23, 1863, in
Company F, Twentieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He, with his
regiment, became a part of the Army of the Potomac, with Generals
Grant, Hancock and Meade in command, and he served until the close
of the war. He saw much of active service, and participated in the
Battle of the "Wilderness, the battle of Cold Harbor, Appomattox and
others of eriual importance. The war at an end, George Weyand re-
turned to Royal Center and there took up the business of farming.
He came to be one of the prosperous farmers of the township and when
he retired from active farm life in 1900 was known for one of the well-
to-do men of the community. He owns today one of the finest homes in
Royal Center, with other property in the township, and is a stockholder
in the local electric light plant.
Fraternally Mr. AVeyand is a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, in which he is treasurer of the order and past grand
master. He is a Democrat and has always been active in the ranks of
the party. As trustee of Boone township for sis years, he gave most
praiseworthy and valuable service to the township, and he has been a
member of the local school board since 1905, and is secretary of the
board at present. He and his good wife are earnest members of the
Christian church in Royal Center.
In December, 1866, ]\Ir. Weyand was united in marriage with Miss
Mina Kramer, who was born and reared in the state of Ohio. She
came to Indiana in 1864, when she was about nineteen years of age, and
there met and married her husband. Of the five children born to them,
two are now living: — Morris A., a member of the firm of Weyand &
House, and Addie, the wife of James M. Winn of Harrison township,
Cass county, Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs. Weyand occupy a secure place in the regard of the
best people of Royal Center and vicinity, and as honorable, upright and
earnest people are peculiarly deserving of the position they hold.
John E. Sheetz, a prominent farmer in Jefferson township, and long
a resident of Cass county, was born in Dolphin county, Pennsylvania, on
March 6, 1864, and is the son of Josiah and Salome (Lankert) Sheetz.
Josiah Sheetz was the son of William and Barbara (Zimmering)
Sheetz, both born and reared in Pennsylvania. The father, William,
w^as orphaned when yet a small boy, and he stayed at home with his
widowed mother and helped her in paying for a farm. When he was of
age he married and later bought the farm from the heirs of his mother.
On that farm William and Barbara Sheetz spent the rest of their lives,
and there reared their family. He died in June, 1906. Josiah and Salome
Sheetz lived on a farm which their parents gave them when they married.
He was one of the eleven children of AVilliam and Barbara, and to each of
their sons they gave a farm. All their lives were spent in Dolphin
county, Pennsylvania, the mother dying there in May, 1885.
1126 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
John E. Sheetz came to Indiana in December, 1884, when he was
twenty years of age. He came directly to Cass county, and began work
at the trade of a carpenter in Cass county, in which he expected to con-
tinue, but when he arrived at Logansport he change his mind and turned
his attention to farming. For four years he worked on the farm for
wages, but he married about then, and his new responsibilities gave him
an incentive to greater accomplishments, so that he found himself soon
the owner of a forty acre farm. In later years, when his prosperity on
the farm made possible another venture, he ))ought some property at
Ford 's Crossing and established a store there. He remained in business
at that stand for seven years, and during that time was post master and
station agent at the place. He sold out after seven years and l)ought a
farm in Jefferson township. He started to Inxild a house on the place,
but before it was completed sold the place and bought his present home.
He has a tract of forty acres at his present location, with other holdings
sufficient to make fifty-eight acres in all.
On March 6, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sheetz to
Jennie Cotner, the daughter of Fasten and IMary Jane (Rector) Cotner.
Fasten Cotner was the son of Elia Cotner, who came to Indiana from
North Carolina, and his wife was a daughter of the Logansport family of
that name. Mr. and Mrs. Sheetz are members of the Christian church
at Crooked Creek, and he is fraternally associated with tlie Independent
Order of Odd Fellows at Royal Center, in which he is Past Grand Master,
and has passed through all chairs in the order. Both are members of
Purity Lodge No. 127 at Logansport. Mr. Sheetz is a Democrat, and has
been a member oi the advisory board of the party for four years
Charles E. Toney. Here is another of the enterprising and pro-
gressive young farmers of Cass county, Indiana, whose rise in the
world has been brought about through personal effort and whose career
is illustrative of the success to be gained through the application of well-
directed industry combined with strict integrity in all business matters.
From early boyhood JMr. Toney 's life has been tilled with persevering
effort and laudable ambition, and that his labors have borne fruit is
testified by his present farm, a well-cultivated tract in Deer Creek town-
ship, which, under his skillful management is yearly growing more
valuable. ]Mr. Toney has the added prestige of being a native son of
Cass county, having been born on his present farm October 28, 1879, a
son of William S. and Mary (INIoss) Toney. His father, a native of
Union county, Ohio, came with his parents to Cass county when a young
man of twenty-two years, and subsequently went into debt for his farm,
which was then covered with a heavy growth of timber and was entirely
devoid of improvements. Settling down in a little log cabin, he started
the clearing of the land from the wilderness, and as the years passed
added improvements as his finances would permit until he owned one
of the best farms of his locality. He continued to engage in agricultural
pursuits throughout the remainder of his life, along with work in the
ministry and heading a Mutual Insurance Company. He was a well
known and highly esteemed citizen of his community. He and his wife
became the parents of six children, namely : Frank H. and Elma 0. ;
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 1127
May, who married a Mr. Dutchess ; Charles E. ; Sylvia, who became the
wife of a Mr. Bowman, and Wilbur E.
Charles E. Toney received his education under the preceptorshiij of
John R. Babb, at the Babb school, sul)sequently attending the Young
America High school and an institution at North Manchester, Indiana,
where he completed his studies. During this time he had been assisting
his father in the work of the home farm and receiving training and
practical experience that has aided him greatly in his later life. On at-
taining his majority, he began working for wages, which were carefully
saved, and eventually, when he was twenty-seven years old, he purchased
his present farm of eighty-four acres, in addition to which he rents other
land, and now operates in all 314 acres. He has devoted his attention to
the cultivation of the soil, raising diversified crops, and has also had a
full measure of success in his stock raising activities. He has added
materially to the improvements on his land and the general appearance
of his property denotes the presence of able management and thrift.
Among his neighbors he bears the reputation of being an industrious,
hard-working farmer, who is rapidly gaining a place of independence in
his chosen calling.
On January 18, 1904, Mr. Toney was married to IMiss Maud Pierson,
daughter of M. H. and Mary ( Jeaness) Pierson, and to this union there
have been born children as follows: Clarence 0., Geraldine V. and Ernest
W. Mr. Toney is a member of the German Baptist church.
Benjamin F. Crocicett. The visitor to Cass county, viewing for the
first time its well regulated farms, fertile fields of fiowing grain, herds of
sleek, well fed cattle, modem residences and other buildings, finds it hard
to realize that only a comparatively few years ago this section was practi-
cally a wilderness, its land largely covered by timber for a large part, and
its excellent resources entirely wasted. Yet such is the case, and the
present prosperous condition of the county has only been attained
through the untiring labor and persistent endeavor of men of energy
and perseverance, whose lives have been devoted to the development of the
interests of this part of the state. Probably no other family within its
limits has contributed in greater degree to the material welfare of Cass
county than that of Crockett, members of which have here tilled the
soil for years. Among those l)earing that name, a worthy representative
of the younger generation is found in Benjamin F. Crockett, of Tipton
township, who is conducting the eighty acre farm belonging to his father-
in-law, Matthew H. Pierson. Mr. Crockett was born August 2, 1878,
in Miami county, Indiana, and is a son of Henry and Catherine (Knight)
Crockett.
Henry Crockett was born September 13, 1849, in Deer Creek town-
ship, Cass county, Indiana, a son of Asher and Susannah (Plank)
Crockett. Asher Crockett was a farmer and was born near Greenville,
Ohio, whence he migrated to Miami coimty in 1831, and to Cass county,
Indiana, in 1840, and in the latter spent the remainder of his life. Asher
Crockett was the father of five children : Henry, Jane, Eliza, Sarah and
James.
Heniy Crockett received his education in the common schools of Cass
county and Miami county, and has spent his entire life in agricultural
1128 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
pursuits, now being the owner of eighty acres of land on the Crockett and
Richeson road. He is known prominently among his fellow citizens, and
is serving in the office of justice of the peace. With his family, he be-
longs to the Christian church. He was married January 15, 1876, to
]Miss Catherine Knight, and to this union there have been born eight
children, namely : Carrie, who lives with her parents ; Ben.jamin F., of
this review ; Harvey, who married Ethel Hymon, and has one child.
Opal ; David and Laura, residing at home ; ]\Iae, who married Daniel
Brunner aad has three children: Wilmer, Flovence and Velma ; Chester,
who married Hannah Pippinger, and June, who lives with her parents.
Boijamin F. Crockett was reared in Cass county, dividing his time
between attendance at the district schools and work on his father's farm
until fifteen years old and then worked on other farms until his marriage,
and since that time has been carrying on operations on the farm of his
father-in-law. He has won success, not only in material manner, but in
gaining the coulidence and friendship of the people of his community.
Mr. Crockett was married in 1904 to ^iliss Mae Fierson, a daughter of
INIatthew H. and ]\lary Jenness Pierson, whose sketch will be found in
another part of this work. Two children have been born to this union,
namely : Gilbert Pierson and Herbert Landon.
Fraternally Mr. Crockett is connected with the ^lodern "Woodmen of
America. With his family he attends the Rock Creek Valley Christian
church.
Carl S. Wise. The firm of Wiler & Wise was established in Logan-
sport in 1878, by Joseph AViler and Sol. Wise, the fathers of the present
members of the firm. The business was organized in 1867 by Jacob
Wiler & Joseph Wiler. The style of the firm was changed in 1878 to
Wiler & AVise and in 1906 to Wiler & AVise, Inc. The business has been
continued uninterriipted by the family to the present time. Of these
gentlemen, both now deceased, it may be said that Joseph AViler came
from Germany, his native land, in 1867, and was for a time associated
with his brother, Jacob in the dry goods business on Alarket st. Follow-
ing the accidental death of the brother, Joseph AViler in 1878 associated
himself in business with Sol AA^ise. Sol AVise was not only of German
parentage, but was born in Laudau, Germany and came to America in
1860. He returned to Germany in 1862, where he was married on Sep-
tember 10, 1862, to Aliss Caroline Wiler. He came to Logansport from
Toledo, Ohio. The firm was known as Wiler & AA^ise, and it is of interest
to know that these names were originally spelled ' ' AVeiler ' ' and ' ' Weise, ' '
but that the almost invariable failure of Americans to give the words
the proper pronunciation resulted in each of them dropping the super-
fluous letter "e" from the names, the present form being the result.
Wiler & AVise began business at 233 Fourth Street, and after nearly
a quarter of a century of established trade at that point, they moved to
No. 409-11 Broadway, and finally to their present location at 412-414
Broadway.
Joseph AA^iler was undeniably the foremost merchant of his time in
Logansport. He was a man of superior business ability and he radiated
hearty good fellowship wherever he was seen, so that to be numbered
among his friends was an unqualified pleasure. The present business
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1129
men of Logansport reraeml)er him with feelings of the kindliest affection
and respect. He died on November 24, 1906. His long time partner
Sol Wise, was no less a credit to the community where he so long resided.
He was a man more retiring in his relations with the public than was
Mr. Wiler, but his indomital)le energy, sterling integrity and keen busi-
ness sagacity had much to do with making the tirm name synonymous
with probity and success. He died September 28. 1897.
Following the death of these gentlemen, the firm was incorporated as
Wiler & Wise, Inc., the principal stockholdei's being the sons of the
founders. Carl S. Wise is the president, Victor S. Wise is vice president
and treasurer, and Carl J. Wiler is secretary. These men are carrying
on the business established many years ago by their worthy fathers in a
manner that is wholly creditable to them as the sons of such fathers.
Carl Solomon Wise was Ijorn in Lafayette, Indiana, Noveml)er 1,
1869, a son of Solomon and Caroline (Wiler) Wise. Besides Carl 53. there
were two brothers, Victor and Louis, who died in Cincinnati, Ohio,
August 14, 1885; also two sisters. Bertha and Amelia. Carl S. Wise has
been a resident of Cass county and Logansport since September, 1878.
His education was aec|uired in the local schools of Logansport, and also
at Toledo, Ohio. At an early date he became familiar with the business
conducted by his father, and is one of the leading merchants of the
present city of Logansport. ]\Ir. Wise is president of the Logansport
Commercial Club, is a trustee of the Home for the Friendless, lielongs to
the state executive committee for the Business Form of Government, is
on the executive committee of the State Board of Charity, and among
other business interests is treasurer of the Logansport Heating Company.
In politics he is a progressive.
Mr. Wise married Corunna M. Stettiner at Toledo, Ohio, March 6,
1901. Her father w'as Samuel Stettiner, a wholesaler in Toledo. To
their marriage has been born one son. Jack S. Wise, on February 12,
1907. Fraternally Mr. Wise is affiliated with the ]\Iasonic Order and
with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Dennis Uhl. One of the old and honored residents of Logansport,
whose identification with the business interests of Cass county extends
over a period of more than half a century, is Dennis \]\i\, proprietor of
one of this section's best known milling enterprises. Born in Allegheny
county, i\Iaryland, i\Iarch 26, 1840, he is a son of Joseph and Naomi
(Iienhai"t) Uhl, the latter of whom died when he was a small child, and
his father subsequently remarried and in 18-51 brought his family West,
locating on what is now known as the Jesse ]\Iartin farm in Washington
township, Cass township, Indiana.
The Uhl family originally emigrated to America from Holland, set-
tling on ^Manhattan Island, then known as New Amsterdam. When the
Duke of York changed the name of the Island to New York and drove
many of the early settlers away by his heartless persecution, the Uhl
family located along the Hudson river, and members thereof subse-
quently went to Pennsylvania and ]\Iaryland. It was in Somerset
county, Pennsylvania, near the ^Maryland line and adjoining the city of
Wellersburg, that Joseph Uhl, the father of Dennis, was born and where
1130 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
he married his first wife. Noami Lenhart was a daughter of a seaman,
and of Seotch ancestry', who was supposed to have been lost at sea, while
her mother died in giving her hirth, the latter being of German ancestry.
Naomi was reared in the family of early settlers of Pennsylvania, where
she met and married I\Ir. TThl, they having four children. After her
death, Mr. TThl married Caroline IMiller, in Clarion county, Pennsylvania,
and they became the parents of eight children. Joseph Uhl was a mill-
wright by trade, and sawed the timber in the place known as the "Shades
of Death," where Gen. Washington had assumed charge of the Colonial
army, this timber being used in the construction of the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad. After coming to Cass coi;nty. he worked at farming for a
season in Washington township, and then, in 1852, biiilt an overshot water
wheel Hour mill on ^linnow Creek, about four miles southeast of Logans-
port. This mill has long since been razed. Mr. Uhl continued to follow
his trade, operating a mill, trading in land and building business blocks
and other structures in Logansport and elsewhere until his death in
1892. He was a Democrat in politics all of his life and for a term of
years acted in the capacity of county commissioner.
Dennis Uhl was eleven years of age when brought to Cass county, and
his education was secured in a log school house during winters until he
was thirteen years of age, this comprising his entire schooling. His
j'outh and early manhood were passed in assisting to operate his father's
mill on ]\Iinuow Creek, and wlien twenty-one years of age he rented the
mill there and began operating it on his own responsibility, his father
having built the mill in Logansport during the previous year. He was
there eighteen months, following which he became a partner in the
Logansport mill, under the firm name of IThl, Cheney & Company, and
his connection with this mill has continued to the present time. In 1866
he became a third-owner in the enterprise, and after his father's death
he became the sole owner. His partnership with his father covered a
period of thirty-eight years, and about 1900 the mill was incorporated,
the stock being all owned by "Sir. Uhl and his immediate family. Mr.
L^hl is a Democrat in polities, and for seven years served as county com-
missioner of Cass county. He also, for fifteen years, was a member of the
county board of ecjualization : was for ten years a trustee of the State
Insane Asylum at Logansport, and for a term of years was one of the
three members of the water works committee of the city of Logansport,
and during this time erected the present water works and installed the
system.
In 1864 Mr. Uhl was married to ]\Iiss Sophia Jane Croll, of Cass
county, and to this union there have been born ten children: William
C. ; Walter J.; Naomi, who died when two years of age; Catherine, who
died in 1872; Clara, who married Joseph Herman; Chas. Harry Uhl
associated with him in the mill; Florence; Geneva; Leonora, who married
Delbert Plynn ; and one child who died in infancy. The family attend
divine worship at the Presbyterian church. Mr. Uhl is a valued member
of the Masons and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He has
lived a long and useful life, and can look back over an honorable career,
secure and content in the knowledge that no stain or blemish mars his
record.
61M^^
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1131
Frank B. Wilkinson is a comparatively recent resident of Logans-
port, but notwithstanding this he has figured prominently during the past
decade in the commercial development of the city. He was born in Bel-
mont county, Ohio, on the 28th day of May, 1856, and Avas one of the
family of ten children born to William AVilkinson and ^lary Ann Leck-
liter. Until he was twenty-six years of age Frank B. "Wilkinson lived on
the home farm. He received his preliminary education in the district
schools, his later training being represented by one term at the famous
normal school at Lebanon. Ohio. For a time thereafter he taught school,
and three years later completed a course in the Chicago School of
Pharmacy, after which he engaged in mercantile activities and for a
number of years was thus occupied at Belmont, Ohio, of which town he
was postmaster as well as the leading druggist. He became secretary
and treasurer in 1891 of the Indiana "Window Glass Company at Pendle-
ton, Indiana, and of the Bell Window Glass Company at Fairmount,
Indiana, both corporations being controlled by one concern. Upon the
absorption of both firms by the window glass trust in 1889 ]\Ir. Wilkin-
son, in the following year, came to Logansport, Indiana, and purchased
a one-half interest in and served as secretaiy and treasurer of the Logans-
port Foundry Company, and this city has since represented his home.
In 1904 the consolidation of the Logansport Foundry Company and the
Rutenber ^Manufacturing Company created the Western Motor Company.
]\Ir. Wilkinson became president of this corporation in 1906, and served
in that office until 1912, since which time he has not been actively engaged
in any particular line of enterprise. He is a stockholder and a director
in the Logansport Loan and Trust Company and of the City National
Bank, and is the second vice president of the first named institution,
also a stockholder and director in the American ^Mortgage and Guarantee
Company of Indianapolis.
For many years Mr. Wilkinson has been actively identified with the
"Methodist Episcopal church as a member, and has been superintendent
of the Sunday school in Logansport with excellent results. In many
ways he has been closely identified with the growth of the moral, social
and commercial welfare of the city, and is justly accounted one of its
most valued citizens.
Mr. Wilkinson married Miss Julia E. Lewis, of La INIira, Ohio, and
two children have been born to them: Charles H. and Grace Anna, the
latter of whom is now the wife of Allen E. Nelson, of Logansport.
James L. Allison, M. D., a well known physician and surgeon of
Cass county, with residence in Royal Center, Indiana, has been engaged
in the practice of his profession since 1891. He came to Royal Center
in June, 1910, and in the two and a half years that have elapsed since then
has built up a pleasing practice in and about the village. He is the
descendant of an old and highly esteemed family, and was born in ]\Iadi-
son, Wisconsin, on September 17, 1862, the son of Rev. Daniel P. and
Mary L. (Pitzer) Allison.
Reverend Allison was prominent in the ministry of the Christian
church in his day, and was a man of excellent educational attainments.
He also was prominent in polities, and was active in the political circles
of the state of Wisconsin, where he held a number of important offices
1132 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
in Dayne county. He was born in the Old Dominion state and educated
in her schools, and his wife was an easterner, born in the Empire state.
After their marriage they went to Wisconsin, where Reverend Allison's
work called him, and he occupied a pulpit in the Christian church of
Madison, Wisconsin, for several years. It was in Madison that the
subject was born.
James L. Allison was brought to the Hoosier state at an early age,
and he received the advantages of the public schools until he finished the
high school, then entered Wabash College in Indiana, where he took a
literary course, preparatory to a course in medicine, upon which he was
already resolved. He later entered the School of Homeopathy, from
which he was duly graduated, his course including a year and a half as
house physician in St. Luke's Hospital at Chicago. Dr. Allison was a
close student in his college days, and he has never rid himself of the
habit of study, but has kept closely in touch with the advance of science
as it affected his profession. He has been engaged in practice in Indiana
for twenty-one years, having commenced in 1891. He was physician
and surgeon at the Harrell Hospital, Noblesville, Indiana.
Dr. Allison is a prominent member of the Masonic order, of the
Knights of Pythias and of the Red IMen.
In 1881 Dr. Allison was united in marriage with Miss Viola Jarrett
of Tippecanoe, Indiana, a lady of refinement and splendid characteris-
tics. She was educated in the public schools of Indiana, where she was
reared. Dr. and IMrs. Allison have two interesting daughters, Pearl, a
graduate of the Monticello high school, and now the wife of Merton
Hinsley, of Fulton county, Indiana, and Ruby, who is unmarried. Mrs.
Allison is a devoted memlier of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is
an earnest worker in its various departments of activity.
Anthony Grusenmeyer is a native of Alsace, France, now Alsace,
G-ermany, since the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. He was born on
May 27, 1832, and is the son of Valentine and Katherine (Schwartz-
man) Grusenmeyer. The father, who was a shoemaker by trade, died
on February 3, 1850. Ten children were born to these parents, only
two of which number are now living, Anthony of Logansport and
Mrs. Magdalena Leppert of Dayton, Ohio. One son, Joseph, came
to the United States in 1835 and was occupied in blacksmith-
ing in Buffalo, New York. He came to Indiana in 1852 and located
in Logansport. where he passed the remainder of his days. Two others
of the children, Michael and Katherine, came to America in 1846, locating
at Dayton, Ohio. In August, 1850, following the death of the father
Michael returned to Alsace and brought the remainder of the family to
America. They left their home in Alsace on the 26th day of August, 1850,
by wagon for Havre, from where they embarked on the Arcadia, a sailing
vessel, bound for the United States, their port lieing New Orleans. After
a voyage of four weeks, a storm arose and damaged the vessel to such an
extent that they were compelled to put into St. Thomas, West Indies, for
repairs. They landed at St. Thomas on the 26th day of October, 1850,
and was ready again for sailing on the 6th of December, 1850, and
resumed their journey to New Orleans where they arrived on the 23rd
of December, and left New Orleans December 25, by steamer for Cinein-
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 1133
nati, Ohio, where they landed on January 6, 1851, their departure from
Havre having taken place on September 13th previous. From Cincinnati
the mother at once moved to the vicinity of t)ayton, where they arrived
on the 9th of January, 1851, and buying fourteen acres of land, expected
to go into the gardening business. She died on September 9, 1851, less
than a year after her arrival in this country.
Anthony Grusenmeyer received a good common school education in
his native land, and after coming to America he lived at Dayton until
]\Iarch, 1853, when he made his waj' to Logansport, Cass county, Indiana,
by stage, the prevailing mode of travel in that time. He set about learn-
ing the blacksmith trade at once with his brother in Logansport, and he
served an apprenticeship of two years with him, then worked for him
six years as a wage earner. In that time he accumulated sufficient means
to enable him to go into the business for himself, and he continued in
the blacksmith business here for thirty-two years, that period including
the time he spent while learning the trade, ancl in the service of his
brother. During the passing years he perfected his knowledge of the
English language, and acquired a wide acciuaintance in the county. He
became a Democrat, and in 1884 he was nominated for the office of county
treasurer, and elected. He served one term of two years, and suc-
ceeded himself in the office, his total service covering a period of four
years. He also served one term in the City council of Logansport, from
1872 to 1874. Some two or three years after the expiration of his second
term as county treasurer Mr. Grusenmeyer embarked in the grocery bus-
iness, in company with his son, Charles X., who is now deceased. Upon
the death of Charles, another son, Frederick M., by name, became inter-
ested in the business, and Frederick M. and his son, Anthony, are still
engaged in the business here. Mr. Grusenmeyer retired from the bus-
iness in 1900, since which time he has given his attention to his private
interests.
On February 24, 1857, Mr. Grusenmeyer was united in marriage with
Miss Elizabeth Schakome, of Logansport, Rev. Father Wm. Doyle offi-
ciating, and nine children were bom to them : Mary C, the wife of
William Bronson of Detroit ; George F., now deceased ; Frederick M., in
business in Logansport; Chai'les X., deceased; Leonore C, also deceased;
Elizabeth J., the wife of Jacob Graf, of Logansport; Joseph V., Emanuel
A., and William H., all deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Grusenmeyer are members of the St. Joseph's Roman
Catholic church, and are enjoying the very best of health.
Frederick Guy Neel. Among the younger men who have chosen
educational work as their vocation in Cass county, Indiana, Frederick
Guy Neel is making rapid progress and it is expected that he will be
heard from at no far distant date in his particular field of endeavor.
In these days of materialism it is particularly pleasing to find a yoiuig
man with an inclination for the duties of the educator, and who realizes
the importance of his vocation and the possibilities for wholesome good
that it holds out.
Born in White county, Indiana, on August 14, 1886, Prof. Frederick
Guy Neel is the son of James H. and Susan (Cromer) Neel. The
father was born in the vicinity of IdaviUe, in White county, on Oc-
1134 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
tober 12, 1855, and the mother, also a native of that county, was born
on November 27, 1864. Both received somewhat limited educations
in the district schools of their immediate vicinities and the father
early learned the carpenter's trade, and when he reached man's estate,
gave himself to the contracting and building business. He came to
be a resident of Royal Center, in Cass county, in 1911, there engaging
in that business, and he is still so occupied. Both of these worthy
people are devout members of the United Presbyterian church, and
they are highly esteemed and respected in the town which represents
their home. Six children were born to them, Frederick G. being the
eldest of that number, and the others being Elizabeth G., Mamie B.,
Vance, Reed and Lucile.
Frederick G. Neel received his preliminary educational training in
the public schools of Idaville, Indiana, and he was later graduated from
the high school of IMonticello, Indiana, that event taking place in
1905. He then gave his attention to teaching and for two and a half
years he taught school in White county. It was thus that he earned
the money which secured to him the best part of his college education.
He was graduated from the scientific department of the university at
Valparaiso, Indiana, and was a student for some time at the University
of Indiana at Bloomington. In January, 1908, he accepted a position
as teacher in the sch9ols of Royal Center, and so well did he succeed
in his work that in 1911 he was elected to the superintendeney of the
schools, which position he now holds. He is making rapid advancement
in his work, and has placed the work of the schools of Royal Center on
a par with that of the schools of much larger places.
On June 19, 1909, Mr. Neel was united in marriage with Miss
Lottie G. Vernon a native of White county, where she was reared and
.educated. Two children have been born to them : James Robert, aged
three years, and Wilma Vivian, now one year old.
Mr. Neel is a member of the A. F. & A. ]\I. and affiliates with Royal
Center Lodge No. 585. Both he and his wife are earnest members of
the Methodist Episcopal church of Royal Center, and he is one of the
trustees of that body, as well as having served as superintendent of its
Sunday school.
Oliver H. Binns. The Casparis Stone Company has found in Oliver
H. Binns from its earliest inception an able and efficient manager and
general superintendent, and in giving a summary of the life of Mr.
Binns, it is entirely in keeping with the genei-al fitness of things that
the history of the Casparis Stone Company be outlined more or less
briefly. This flourishing concern was organized in 1892 with a capital-
ization of $100,000, imder the laws of the state of Ohio, and the stock
was subscribed for by Ohio people, in the main. The primary object
of the company was to quarry limestone, the demand being from man-
ufactviring centers for blast furnace purposes. The company originally
purchased three hundred and sixty-eight acres of land in Noble township,
Cass county, since which time it has added five hundred acres to its
holdings. The work was begun soon after incorporation, and a plant
was erected at a cost of $50,000, Oliver H. Binns, the subject of
this review, being appointed superintendent in charge of the erection
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1135
of the plant, and upon its completion he became general superintendent.
The firm found no difficulty in securing.a market for its product, and
they experienced a steady increase in sales from the outset. In 1897
the capital stock was increased to $500,000, and has so continued up to
the present time. The present output aggregates one million tons per
annum and the principal markets are South Chicago, Indiana Harbor
and Gary. Aside from these points, their product goes largely into road
construction throughout northern Indiana. The plant employs an aver-
age of two hundred and fifty men, and is run at capacity the year
around. Since the erection of the original plant, a practically new one
was built in 1902 to take the place of the old one, which was no longer
adequate to the demands of the constantly growing business.
Oliver H. Binns, the capable superintendent in charge of this splen-
did enterprise, was born in Harrison county, Ohio, in 1860. When he
was twelve years old he moved to Columbus with his family and was
there reared and educated in the public schools. His graduation from
the high school of that city took place when he was seventeen years old,
soon after which he entered the employ of a railroad contractor, and for
two years he continued to be thus occupied, learning much of mechan-
ical and constructive work that destined to be of great value to him in
later years. His employers gradually drifted into the stone business,
and Mr. Binns continued with them, coming to Logansport in 1892,
which city has ever since represented his home and the scene of his busi-
ness activities.
In 1894 IMr. Binns married, and he maintains a home in Logansport,
although his work at the quarries keeps him there a goodly part of
the time. Mr. Binns is a director of the First National Bank of Logans-
port, and is recognized as one of the substantial business men of the
city. He is a Republican, but not active as an office holder or seeker,
and he is a member of the B. P. 0. E.
Major "W. H. Snider. Now living retired in Logansport, after a long
and successful career as a merchant of this city. Major Snider is a native
of Indiana. He was living in Ohio when the War of the Rebellion broke
out, and was one of the honored and valiant soldiers from that state
during the struggle, but for more than forty-five years has been iden-
tified with Cass county, Indiana.
AVilliam H. Snider was born at Centreville, in Wayne county, In-
diana, and is of good old American stock. His parents were Frederick
V. and Mary (Smith) Snider, his father a native of Virginia and the
mother of Ohio. The father was a cabinet maker by trade and died in
Centreville. Besides Major Snider there was one son and two daugh-
ters in the family.
In Wayne county. Major Snider spent his boyhood and completed
his education in the Whitewater seminary at Centreville. He was a boy
when the war came on, and in July, 1862, enlisted in the Ninety-fourth
Regiment of Ohio Volunteers. He was promoted to lieutenant of Com-
pany F, and in February, 1863, became captain. In January, 1865,
he was made major of his regiment. His military record includes active
participation in campaigns and battles from the early months of the
war until its close, and the more important are mentioned as follows:
1136 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Battle of Perryville, Kentucky ; Stone River and Murf reesboro, Tennes-
see ; the campaign after Chickamauga, leading up to the siege of Atlanta,
in which he fought at Resaca and Peaehtree, in Georgia; at Jonesboro,
Georgia, and the various engagements about Atlanta; he was with Gen-
eral Sherman on his march from Atlanta to the sea, participating in all
the engagements of that campaign ; then was in the Sherman campaign
from Savannah north to the Carolinas, to Richmond, Virginia. He was
mustered out with his regiment at Washington, D. C, after the war had
closed.
With this rank and experience as a soldier Major Snider returned
home, and in May, 1867, arrived in Cass county, having been a resident
of Logansport ever since. From 1867 until 1910 he was engaged in the
crockery business at Loganspoi-t. Major Snider in November, 1871,
married Miss Mary Jerolaman, a daughter of George M. and Mary
Jerolaman. j\Iajor Snider is a member of the Presbyterian church, and
has taken an active part in social and civic affairs. He is a Knight Tem-
plar Mason, is a member of the Loyal Legion military organization, com-
prising the officers of the late war; the Tuesday Night Club and the
Deutscher Verein.
William Hepfley. Although making his home in the city of Logans-
port, William Heffley is reckoned among the successful farming men
of this region. He owns a fine farm of about eighty acres in Miami
township, where he was reared and educated, and this place is now
operated by a man who is hired by Mr. Heffley for that express purpose.
Born in Cass county on January 1, 1864, William Heffley is the son
of Simon P. and Mary E. (Kline) Heffley, who came to Indiana in their
young lives, settling in Montgomery county first, and later coming to
Cass county. The father settled on a farm in Miami township, and there
reared his family and ended his days. It was a wild and untouched bit
of land, heavily wooded and utterly unfit for the production of a crop
until a vast amount of toil had been expended upon it, but the sturdy
countryman brought out of it a productive little farm — one that sus-
tained him in his later years and now adds considerably to the income
of his son. Since William Heffley came into ownership of the place,
he has added something to it in improvement as well as in acreage, and
the place of seventy acres is more expansive now by some twenty acres.
He has improved the building in many ways, and made of it a prosper-
ous and well kept place.
Mr. Heffley owns a fine residence in Logansi^ort, which he built him-
self, as well as having erected the buildings on his farm. He attends
the Methodist Episcopal church and politically he gives his aid to the
Republican party.
On November 25, 1908, Mr. Heffley was married to Mrs. Elizabeth
Potthoff Miller, the daughter of John and Fredericka (Eberlein) Pott-
hoff, who were early settlers in Cass county.
Charles A. Enyart. Charles A. Enyart has for the past twenty-five
years been continuously engaged in carrying mail in Logansport, in
which city he was born, reared and passed his days thus far. He is the
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1137
son of Pearson and Martha J. (Gearhart) Enyart, and the grandson of
Benjamin and Sarah Enyart.
Pearson Enyart was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, on December
28, 1828, and when he was six years old accompanied his parents to
Cass county. In those early days the region was infested with Indians
and wild animals, and the lives of the sturdy pioneer settlers were much
harassed by the unwelcome attentions of these older inhalntants of the
country. Pearson Enyart was reared in a log cabin on the old place in
Clay township, and his boyhood days were passed for the most part in
the strenuous toil of grubbing and clearing up the wilderness farm and
^assisting in the cultivation of such crops as were practicable under the
conditions. In j^oung manhood he married Martha Gearhart and soon
thereafter moved to Logansport, where he began working at the trade
of a plasterer and mason. Thus he continued until 1893, when he moved
to Medford, state of Oregon, and there he now resides. With the excep-
tion of a four-year period, from 1872 to 1876, when he lived in Indian-
apolis, he has made his home in Logansport after he married and settled
there, and much of the work in his line which has been done in the city
is the work of his hands. jMr. Enyart is a Republican, stanch and
true, and his religious belief is that of a Methodist, as is that of his
wife. They became the parents of two children — Charles A. and Jesse
E. Enyart.
Of the immediate family Charles A. Enyart is the only one now
making Logansport his home, and he was born and reared here, and
regards the city as his real home. In his boyhood Mr. Enyart worked
with his father a considerable time, and for some years worked with his
cousin in the bottling business. It was in 1888 that he first entered the
employ of the government as a substitute letter carrier, and he was thus
employed for three years. He was then regularly appointed and for the
past twenty-one years has been engaged in the government service as
a mail carrier.
Mr. Enyart has lived quietly and has been able to save considerable
from his salary, which has been carefully invested, so that he is now
the owner of a nice home, new and of his own designing. ]Mr. Enyart
is a Mason of the Knight Templar degree and also a Knight of Pythias.
He is a Republican in his politics.
On May 10, 1882, Mr. Enyart was married to Miss Carrie C. Fiddler,
the daughter of Frederick and Margaret (Hager) Fiddler. The Fiddler
family is of German ancestry, the name at one time being rendered
"Fieddler. " One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Enyart —
Ethel B. The family are of the Methodist Episcopal church in their
religious faith, and ]\Irs. Enyart and daughter are active and enthusias-
tic members of the Eastern Star.
Waterman G. Sweet. The great state of Ohio has contributed many
of her sons to the growth and development of her sister state, Indiana,
and Cass county owes much to the new life and blood that has become a
part of her through migration from Ohio. Many of the leading men,
farmers, merchants, mechanics, followers of the professions, etc., who
have made names for themselves in all these varied fields of activity in
Cass county, have had their origin in Ohio and there received their
1138 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
early training. One of these is Waterman G. Sweet, born and reared
in Lorain county, Ohio.
The natal day of Waterman G. Sweet was May 12, 1858, and he is
the son of Colvin and Brieena (Chadwick) Sweet. The father was a
New Yorker by birth, born there in about 1812, and came to Ohio when
a boy. He received the best part of his education in the schools of his
native state, and after reaching man's estate he married in Ohio, and
there passed the remainder of his life. He was a farmer and gave his
life to that business. Eight children were born into this home, and of
that number four are living at this writing (1912). Brieena Sweet is
unmarried ; Mary M. is the wife of Clement B. Snow ; Waterman G. of
this review; and Charles D., who lives on the old home place in Ohio.
The four who are now deceased are : Theodore P., Luther A., William
E. and Calvin M.
Waterman G. Sweet was reared in Lorain county, Ohio, and as a
boy of eighteen years he migrated in 1876 to Indiana, and located in
Cass county. He was engaged as a clerk in Royal Center, and continued
to be connected with mercantile work for something like twenty years.
He saved some of his earnings regularly, and in 1896 he embarked in
business upon his own responsibility, entering into a general merchan-
dise business, with grain and live stock dealings as a side line. He has
experienced a pleasing degree of success in all departments of his
business, his long mercantile experience as an employee giving him a
thorough education in mercantile principles, and his own natural ability
making it possible for him to succeed as a dealer in grain and live stock.
He has gradually assumed other business relations, and is a director and
stockholder in the State Bank of Royal Center, and the president of
the Royal Center Light Company.
In June, 1888, Mr. Sweet was married to Miss Laura E. Thomas, the
daughter of Dr. James Thomas. Two sons have been born to them : —
Theodore T., who is now a student in the Wabash College, and Garold
G., a graduate of the Royal Center high school and also a student at
Wabash College. The family are members of the Baptist church. Mr.
Sweet is a Republican, and takes an active part in the workings of that
party in his district.
A man of few words, but ever up and doing, Mr. Sweet, in the twenty
years of his clerkship in Royal Center, established a reputation for
veracity, faithfulness and general business integrity that made it possible
for him to step into a new business of his own establishing without
passing through a preliminary try-out period in the community. So
well had he become known as a business man who was in every way
reliable, that his success was made when he embarked in business on his
own initiative. He stands high in the regard of all who know him, and
he has proven himself to be worthy in all the relations of life.
John L. Leonard was born at New Castle, Henry county, Indiana,
on October 14, 1857, and was one of the six children of Zephaniah
and Elizabeth (Rogers) Leonard, two of that number now being de-
ceased. Both families are of American birth and ancestry, dating
back for several generations in the history of America. The father of
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY . 1139
Zephaniah Leonard moved to Henry county when that locality was yet
in a most primitive condition, and there he battled with the unpierced
forests, brought his family up after the manner of those pioneer times,
and reared them in the knowledge of good, hard work and its many
benefits, and in the doctrine of the Methodist church. He settled on the
Blue River valley bottom and there, through his hard work and incessant
economy, prospered beyond the average man of his time. As his chil-
dren grew up and married, he gave to each an eighty-acre farm. Zepha-
niah Leonard, his son, lived in Henry county, Indiana, practically all his
life. In 1877 he and his family moved to Logansport and there he eon-
ducted a garden on Orphan's Hill for some years. Both he and his
wife are now dead.
John L. Leonard was twenty years old when he came to Cass county.
He had been reared on the home farm, and in the district school acquired
what education he possessed. After coming to Logansport he spent two
years in the employ of Sanderson & May in the marble business, then
clerked for a year for Michael McCaffrey in his grocery store. His next
position was with the Adams Express Company, and for almost eleven
years he was employed as a messenger on the Panhandle Railroad. It
was in 1890 that he established the grocery store in Logansport which
has proved so successful to him. He began in a small way in one room
at his present location, and by close and careful attention to the wants
and requirements of the public, as well as the application of safe and
sane business methods, he has prospered through the passing years, and
his is now one of the largest retail groceries in Logansport.
Mr. Leonard is a Republican in his political views, but he has never
aspired for office, preferring to devote his entire attention to his personal
business. He was once nominated, without his consent, for the office of
councilman, but much to his satisfaction was defeated, although without
any effort on his part he reduced the usual Democratic majority from a
nominal one hundred and fifty to about forty. Mr. Leonard has no fra-
ternal affiliations beyond his membership in the Knights of Pythias.
On ]\Iay 25, 1885, ]\Ir. Leonard was married to Miss Dora Busjahn,
and they have one son, Russell Leonard. The family are members of the
German Lutheran church.
Christ Baber. A native of Ohio and a member of a family well
known in the Buckeye state, Christ Baber came to Cass county some
twenty years ago, and since has been engaged in agricultural pursuits.
He belongs to that class of successful men who prize their success the
more because it has been self-gained, for since attaining his ma.jority
he has been the architect of his own fortunes, and the position he now
holds warrants him in taking a pardonable degree of pride in the title
of self-made man. At this time he is the owner of an excellent farm of
285 acres, in the accumulation of which his dealings with his fellow
men have always been of an honorable nature, thus winning him the
respect and esteem of all with whom he is acquainted. Christ Baber
was born February 20, 1864, in Fayette county, Ohio, and is a son of
James and Elizabeth (Hanawalt) Baber. The family first came to
Indiana during the early 'fifties, Mr. Baber 's father following farming
1140 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
here, but later went to Illinois, from whence they returned to London,
Ohio, and there a number of people of the same name are to be found
today. There were ten children in the Baber family : John, William,
Christ, George, Alfred, Andrew, Eliza, Melissa, Ella and Alice.
During his school days in Ohio Christ Baber assisted his father in
the work of the home farm, and on attaining his majority embarked
upon a career of his own. Sober, thrifty and industrious, he carefully
saved his earnings, purchased a team, and eventually became the owner
of land in Ohio, which he disposed of at a profit when he left, in 1894,
to come to Cass county. Here he purchased a tract of land, to which
he has added from time to time, and he now has 285 acres of fertile
soil, which he devotes .to general farming and stock raising. His opera-
tions have proved uniformly successful, and each year finds new improve-
ments on the place, his buildings being of modern architecture and sub-
stantial character, and modem conveniences and comforts have been
installed. He uses the latest machinery and methods, practicing seientifie
farming, and is recognized as an excellent .judge of live stock.
In 1887, near Danville, Illinois, Mr. Baber was married to Miss Sarah
Pyllington, and to this union there have been born eight children, as
follows : AVilliam, who married Woodniff, has two children,
Orville and James E., and is engaged in farming: Bert, who is single
and resides with his parents ; Carrie, who married Wilsie Earner and
has three children — ]\Iarie, IMayne and Janice ; Edward, who married
Nellie Brown ; Bud, who married Emma Sheets and has two children —
Leonard and Milburn ; Frank, who married Elsie Crane ; Stella, who
became the wife of John ]\Iaynes ; and Effie, who married Len Shaft
and has one daughter, Josephine. ]\Ir. Baber has not mixed in politics,
his time having been entirely engaged with his farm work. Neverthe-
less, he has not been indifferent to the duties of citizenship, and has
staunchly supported these men and movements which he has believed
desirable for the community. During his long residence here he has
formed a wide acquaintance, in which he numbers numerous friends.
Jacob W. DeLawter. Farming is a business that has always paid
well in Cass county, and people have been attracted to this locality
from other parts of the country because of the fertile soil and excellent
climatic conditions. One of the older agriculturists of the country, who
was brought here in babyhood by his parents, is Jacob W. DeLawter,
a prosperous citizen and owner of eighty acres of land located on the
Seven-]\Iile road, about nine miles from Logansport, in Tipton township.
Mr. DeLawter was born December 14, 1850, near Eaton, in Preble
county, Ohio, and is a son of Ezra and Sophia (Heck) DeLawter. His
father, also a native of Ohio, came to Cass county in 1853, and here spent
the balance of his career in agricultural pursuits, becoming one of his
community's substantial and highly esteemed citizens.
Jacob W. DeLawter was only three years of age when he was
brought to Cass county by his parents, and here he received his educa-
tion in the country schools, in the meantime being reared to agricultural
work and trained to habits of honesty, integrity and industry. When
he was twenty-one years of age he decided to engage in farming on his
HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY 1141
own account, and accordingly settled on a tract of forty acres, for which
he went into debt. During the first few years he encountered many
obstacles and discouragements, but continued ambitious and persevering,
and his unflagging industry and determination soon brought him to a
position where he was able to make a number of improvements and to
add to his original purchase. He now has eighty acres of well cultivated
land, which he devotes to general farming and stock raising, and has
earned the right to be numbered among his town 's substantial men.
On April 9, 1872, Mr. DeLawter was united in marriage with Miss
Indiana McDonough, daughter of Enoch and Sarah (Cathire) McDon-
ough. Her father, a farmer, died when still a young man, and she
was brought to Cass county when seven years old by her mother, being
accompanied also by her brother, Hugh, who is now a resident of ^Marion,
Indiana. Mrs. DeLawter was reared in Cass county, and here attended
the country schools. She and her husband have been the parents of
five children, as follows: Jesse B., an agriculturist of Cass county, who
married Jeanette Cherry and has two children — Jesse, Jr., and Nellie;
Perry Franklin, also of Cass county, who married Catherine Casky and
has two children — Florence and Esther; Sadie S., who is the wife of
Charles Black and has one child — Pauline ; Agnes, who married J. C.
Hahn, and has three children — Dorothy, Alice and William; and Nellie,
who is the wife of Charles Little.
Mr. and Mrs. DeLa\^i:er and their children are members of the Chris-
tian church, in the work of Avhich they have always taken an active
interest. Mr. DeLawter has not cared for public preferment, but is
ready at all times to support good government, and shows himself
especially active when the welfare of his community is at stake.
John James Gugle. A thorough and comprehensive knowledge of
the multitude of sub.iects upon which a good farmer must be informed
in order to meet with a full measure of success in his vocation, an ener-
getic and enterprising nature, and an inherent business ability that is
his heritage from a line of thrifty, industrious German ancestors, have
made John James Gugle one of the leading farmers of Tipton township,
where he is now the owner of 160 acres of well cultivated land on the
Peru road, about one mile west of Lewisburg. Although not a native
of Cass county, Mr. Gugle has lived here since boyhood, was reared on
a Cass county farm and educated in the district schools, and his entire
business activities have been carried on within its borders. He was born
September 17, 1851, in Ohio, and is a son of Jacob and Mary Ann
(Essick) Gugle.
Jacob Gugle was born in Germany, and as a young man left the
Fatherland for the United States, settling first on the lower Sandusky,
in Ohio. From that section he enlisted for service in the IMexican
war, some time after the close of which he came to Cass county, Indiana,
where the remainder of his life was spent in agricultural pursuits. He
and his wife were the parents of nine children, of whom five are still
living : Christina, who married a Mr. Rush ; Katie, who became the wife
of a ]\Ir. Lutmon ; Louisa. Sarah and John James.
Like most of the farmers ' sons of his day and locality, John J. Gugle
divided his boyhood between work on the homestead in the summer
1142 . HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
months and attendance at the district schools during the short winter
terms. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, in which his entire life
has been passed, and his home training was such as to make him thrifty,
industrious and honest. At this time his handsome farm, a tract of
160 acres, shows the presence of good management, being well cultivated,
neatly fenced, drained and graded, and improved with buildings of
modern architecture and substantial character. Mr. Gugle devotes the
greater part of his time to general farming, although he has also success-
fully experimented in cattle raising. Among his neighbors and business
associates he bears a high reputation for integrity and honorable dealing,
and as a citizen he has at all times been ready to contribute of his means
and time to the advancements made in his comnmnity.
On March 25, 1877, Mr. Gugle was united in marriage with Miss Mary
Smith, the estimable daughter of Michael and Rachael (Collier) Smith.
Michael Smith was about forty years of age when he migrated from his
home in Dalton county, Pennsylvania, to Cass county, Indiana, and here
settled on a farm in Clinton township, on which he spent the remainder
of his life. Mr. and IMrs. Smith had three children : Catherine and John,
who are both deceased ; and IMary, who married Mr. Gugle. Mr. and
Mrs. Gugle have been the parents of three children — Fannie, who became
the wife of John Baines Harley, and Gertrude. With his family, Mr.
Gugle attends the Methodist Episcopal church.
Frederick H. Klinsick, well known and successful as a boot and
shoe merchant in Logansport, is a native born citizen of this place, born
here on March 1, 1866, and the son of Henry and Minnie (Alfield)
Klinsick. The father was a native born German, and he emigrated
from his native land to America in the year 1844, four years later
establishing himself in the blacksmith business in Logansport — a trade
which he had learned in his youth at home. He followed that business
practically all his life and ended his days in Logansport, death claim-
ing him in 1873.
As a boy Frederick H. Klinsick attended the German Lutheran
parochial schools and the public schools of Logansport, after which he
took a commercial course in Hall's Business College. He was a mere
youth when he set out to make his own way in the world, being but four-
teen years of age, and he began as a clerk in the store of Murdock,
Vigus & Co., beginning with that well-known firm on June 1, 1881, and
continuing with them without a break until February 2, 1892. It
was then that he branched out in an independent business, and entered
a partnership with one Charles Stevenson, under the business appellation
of Stevenson & Klinsick. They opened a boot and shoe store at No. 403
Broadway, and their venture proved a prosperous and successful one,
so that they made very material progress in the business life of the com-
munity. On July 1, 1901, Mr. Klinsick saw fit to take over the interest
of his partner in the business, and since that time he has been the sole
proprietor of the establishment, which is today one of the leading places
of its kind in the city. With the passing years Mr. Klinsick has won
an excellent reputation for business integrity and clean and wholesome
methods, and is rightly regarded as one of the staple and dependable
business men of the city. His enterprise represents a steady and con-
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1143
servative growth, the business being founded upon the most praiseworthy
principles, and its able proprietor has in every way proved up his claim
to the title of business man.
Mr. Klinsick is a member of a number of fraternal organizations,
among which are the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the
Knights of Pythias. He is a Democrat ordinarily, but is one who is
inclined to assume an independent attitude when matters of a political
nature are under consideration.
On September 22, 1903, Mr. Klinsick married Miss Emma H. Elliott,
daughter of "William H. Elliott, of Logansport.
James Delaplane. One of the handsome farming properties of
Cass county is that known as Sunny Dale Farm, a tract of 112 acres,
located on the Cass-Carroll county line, about ten miles south of Logans-
port, the owner of which, James Delaplane, is one of his locality 's prac-
tical agriculturists and sterling citizens. He has been a resident of Cass
county for upwards of thirty-eight years, and although he" is now retired
from active pursuits, his sons looking after the farm, he still takes a keen
interest iu the welfare of his community, demonstrating his public
spirit on every possible occasion. Mr. Delaplane was born July 17, 1856,
in Butler county, Ohio, and is a son of William and Sarah E. (Zinn)
Delaplane, and a grandson of James Delaplane, who was born in Mary-
land and emigrated therefrom to Ohio, where "William Delaplane was
born. The latter was a farmer and stock raiser for many years, and
during the Civil war did a large business in the latter capacity with the
government in supplying meat for the Union troops. In 1875 he brought
his family to Cass county, where he took up a farm, and here spent the
remainder of his life. He and his wife were the parents of seven chil-
dren, of whom five survive : Mary, who married a JMr. Yeider ; Margaret,
who became the wife of a Mr. Coons ; Bertha L., who married Mr. Cook;
John, who resides in Carroll county, and James.
James Delaplane commenced his education in the common schools of
Butler county, Ohio, which he attended until he was eighteen years of
age, and at that time entered the normal school at Valparaiso and took
a short course there. On the completion of his studies he turned his
attention to the cultivation of the soil, in which vocation he had been
reared, and in which he continued to the time of his retirement, since
which he has lived quietly, merely superintending operations on the
home property. This tract, a part of which lies beyond the line in Car-
roll county, has been brought to a high state of cultivation. Its build-
ings are large and substantial and its improvements modern and valuable,
and to the visitor there is at once given the impression of the presence of
thrift, ability and industry. Mr. Delaplane had led an active and useful
life, and the success which has rewarded his efforts is but the result of
well-applied energy. His business dealings have given him a widespread
reputation for integrity and honorable methods and his public spirit
has given him high place as a representative citizen.
On March 24, 1886, Mr. Delaplane was married to Miss Belle Borges.
daughter of Ferdinand and Mary (Kerlin) Borges. Her father, a native
of Germany, was educated in that country, and emigrated in young man-
hood to the United States, subsequently serving in an Indiana cavalry
1144 HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY
regiment during the Civil war. After the close of that struggle he
located in Logansport, and there for many years was engaged in the
drug business. J\lr. and Mrs. Delaplane have had a family of three
children : William, a graduate of the agricultural department of Purdue
University, Lafayette, who resides at home and assists his brother in
conducting the home farm; Worth L., who is a graduate of the public
schools of Young America, assisting his brother; and Robert, also at
home, a student in the gi'aded schools.
Homer Lytle, who has all his life been a resident of Boone township,
and an occupant of the farm where he now resides, is one of the many
prosperous and highly esteemed farming men in this community. He
has lived a worthy representative of that fine old family which has been
identified with this township since the year 1845, when his father,
William Lytle, was born here, and which made for itself a good name
and an enduring reputation in Cass county.
William Lytle, the father of Homer Lytle of this review, was born
in Boone township, on May 4, 1845, and was the son of David and Mary
(Burton) Lytle, the former of whom was born in Ohio, and became an
early settler of Boone township in Cass county, where he lived until his
death. He married into one of the oldest and most highly esteemed
families of Boone township, from which Mary Burton, his wife, came,
and they became the parents of four sons : George, John, Joseph, Wil-
liam. John Lytle is still living at this writing.
William Lytle married Amelia Dye on April 5, 1863. She was a
daughter of Cornelius and Catherine (Copic) Dye, who came to Indiana
from Ohio. Amelia (Dye) Lytle was born on March 17, 1850, and
when she was seven years old her mother died, so that she was from
that time on reared in the home of John F. and Rebecca Fultz. William
and Amelia Lytle became the parents of ten children, of which number
nine are yet living. Concerning them the following brief men-
tion is made at this juncture : Edward is a resident of Royal Center ;
Florence is the wife of James Fuller; Anna married George Schlegen-
mitch; Stephen is a farmer in Tippecanoe county, Indiana; Effie mar-
ried AVarren Harvey, of Logansport, Indiana; Gertrude is the wife of
W. P. Wray, of Logansport ; Homer, the subject of this review ; Fred is
a resident of Anderson, Indiana; Gilbert, of Boone township, with his
mother.
]\Irs. Lytle is a member of the Evangelical church of Royal Center,
and is active and prominent in the work of the various departments of
that body, with which she has long been identified in a praiseworthy
manner. She is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and forty-
three acres of land in Boone township, upon which she is living at the
present time, the same being operated by her sons, Homer and Gilbert.
Homer Lytle is a member of Royal Center Lodge No. 462, Knights
of Pythias, and he is a stanch Democrat in his political adherence. Gil-
bert Lytle is a member of Royal Center Lodge No. 585, A. F. & A. M.,
and has served one year as senior deacon of the lodge. Both brothers
are prominent and popular in the community which has long represented
their home, and have the esteem and confidence of all who know them.
WILLIAM LYTLE
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1145
Bruce B. Butz. Without any but the meagrest education, without
business training, business influence or financial backing, Bruce E. Butz
has arisen above the material difficulties that l)eset the path of the young
ventured into commercial and manufacturing waters and established
himself safely and soundly upon the rock of success. Today the lumber
business he managed and helped establish in AValton, known as the Wal-
ton Lumber Company, is one of the prosperovis and rapidlj" advancing
young business concerns of the county, and its proprietor is part owner
and manager of the establishment. His career has not been without its
ups and downs, but such has been the courage and integrity of the man
that he has been able to reach his present place of security despite the
difficulties he has encountered.
Bruce E. Butz was born on December 15, 1884, in Deer Creek town-
ship, Cass county, on the old Snider farm, near Young America. He
is the son of Charles H. L. and Jennie (Snider) Butz, the father a
native of AUentowTi, Pennsylvania, and the mother of Deer Creek
township, where she was born and reared, the daughter of pioneer
parents of this section. Charles H. Butz came from his native state to
Indiana in 1876 and here, after his marriage, engaged in agriculture and
like pursuits. They reared a family of five children, named as follows :
Harry W. ; Ora E., who is the manager of the Indiana Business College
in Logansport, Kokomo and IMarion, Indiana ; Bruce E., of this brief
review ; Anne, the wife of Howard Bone, and Frank, who married
Ressie Rife.
Bruce Butz as a boy in his native community attended school in
District No. 4 of Deer Creek township. He finished his education in Dis-
trict No. 5, and then gave his entire attention to the work of the home
farm until he reached the age of twenty years. At that age he started
working for the Galveston Lumber Company and as an employe of that
concern he learned the lumber business in all its varied details. In 1906
he came to AValton and took management of the Walton Lumber Com-
pany, of which he is the head, and he has since conducted a successful
lumber business in this place. He is the only man in Walton who has a
financial interest in the firm, the capital stock of the corporation being
subscribed by outsiders.
On Christmas day, 1907, Mr. Butz married Audrey Murphy, a
daughter of Charles and Maggie (Ault) jNIurphy, and they have two
children: Charles D. and Creston B. Butz.
]\Ir. Butz is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Alasonic
fraternity, and his churchly relations are with the United Brethren at
Galveston. He is active in the work of the church and prominent in all
its concerns, as is also his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Butz are highly esteemed
in Galveston and enjoy the friendship of the best people of the com-
munity.
Jared B. Rice. Cass county is admirably located for the successful
prosecution of farming, for the soil is exceedingly fertile, the climatic
conditions almost ideal, and transportation facilities unsurpassed. How-
ever, although the agriculturist here has these advantages, he cannot
compete successfully with others unless he carries on his operations
according to modern ideas, and uses improved machinery in his work.
1146 HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY
That the majority of the farmers are progressive is proven by the number
of finely developed farms to be found all over the county, a fact that
has very materially raised the standard of excellence here and placed
Cass among the leaders in agriculture in Indiana. One of the men who
has assisted in bringing about this desirable condition is Jared B. Rice,
of section 17, Clinton township, who, alone and unaided, has brought his
present farm of eighty acres to a state of high cultivation, although when
he first settled here, a quarter of a century ago, this land was entirely
covered with heavy timber.
Jared B. Rice was born in Washington township, Carroll county,
Indiana, July 30, 1862, and is a son of Solomon and Hannah A. (Pitt-
man) Rice, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of In-
diana. Solomon Rice came to Indiana in young manhood, and settled •
in Carroll county, from whence he enlisted, in February, 1863, in Com-
pany K, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, for service in the Civil war. He had a long and honorable
service, receiving his discharge in September, 1865, when he returned to
agricultural pursuits, in which he was engaged until his retirement, and
is now a resident of Logansport. He and his wife had nine children,
of whom eight are now living; William II., who is married and a resident
of Logansport; Jared B. ; Martha A. who is deceased; John C, mar-
ried, rural carrier R. F. D. No. 33, Clymers; Emma, who is the wife
of Harry Yost, of Logansport ; George E., married, a farmer of Clinton
ton townshij) ; Solomon, Jr., a resident of Clymers, Indiana; Anna, the
wife of Hiram Isaacs, of Clymers; and LeRoy E., who is carrying on
operations on the old homestead place.
Jared B. Rice was reared on the homestead farm in Clinton township
and attended the district schools until he was about seventeen years of
age, at which time he began farming on his own account, although he
continued to live under the parental roof. In December, 1887, he was
married to Miss Mary E. Yeakley, who was born in Cass county,
Indiana, and to this union there have been born two children : Julia,
born in March, 1889, a graduate of the Logansport Commercial College
and now bookkeeper for H. G. Reed, at Clymers, Indiana; and Agnes,
born September 18, 1893, a graduate of the Logansport high schools, who
makes her home with her parents. A pleasant, outspoken man, true to
his word, and with the courage of his convictions, he has thoroughly
established himself in the confidence of his neighbors and associates, and
his title of "self-made man" has been won by perfectly legitimate meth-
ods. His farm of eighty acres is well cultivated, bears heavy crops and
shows, in its prosperous appearance, the presence of able and thrifty
management. While the greater part of his time is given to general
farming, he has also devoted considerable attention to the breeding of
stock, and his pure Duroc hogs have attracted attention at a number of
live stock fairs.
Walter A. House. Much of the wealth of Cass county lies in her
splendid farming districts, represented by innumerable well-kept and
bountifully productive estates that had their inception, insofar as
present-day conditions extend, in the labor and initiative of those hardy
pioneers who sought out this region many decades ago. How well they
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1147
wrought and how successful thej' were is a story that may only be
touched upon in passing here, but that they built up sturdy foundations
on which their numerous progeny might rear the fair structure of pros-
perity is a fact that is obvious to all. Today the prosperous and thriving
farms, conducted along both general and specific lines of agriculture,
constitute a happy feature of Cass county, and the men who are carry-
ing forward the work then begun are worthy successors of their worthy
ancestors. Walter A. House, owner and manager of the Plain View
Stock Farm, is a striking example of men of this type.
Born in Cass county, Indiana, on the 24th day of January, 1872,
Walter A. House is the son of Simeon A. and Elizabeth (Adams) House.
The father was a native of Preble county, Ohio, whence he came to
Indiana when he was a young man of twenty-five and settled in Jackson
township. Here he married a native daughter of Cass county, Elizabeth
Adams, as has been mentioned, and to them were bom seven children,
named as follows : Jessie B., Walter A., Nola, Luther, Orba, Pear and
Ernest.
Walter A. House attended the common schools of his native com-
munity as a boy and finished his education at Schyenne school, there
receiving educational advantages somewhat better than those accorded
to the average country youth of his district. He was well trained in
the work of the farm as a boy at home, it is ijeedless to say, and up to
the time when he was twenty-two years of age he remained on the home
place as the principal assistant of his father. In 1894 he married Nellie
Eckley and established a home of his own. She was a daughter of
John and Amanda Eckley, and to them four children have been born :
Earl, Edna, Cressa and Alta.
Plain View Stock Farm, comprising one hundred acres of the finest
land in the county ; came to Mr. House through his own well applied
energies, and his success today represents the sturdy labors of his
earlier years. The place is located four miles due north of Galveston,
and is one of the fine and showy places of the township.
The House family are members of the United Brethren church, and
Mr. House further manifests interest in affairs of this nature by acting
as superintendent of the Sunday school, in which he has done excellent
work among the young of his community. He has prospered specifically
in his stock-farming; always keeping in view that the best is none too
good, buying and raising pure bred stock whenever circumstances will
permit, and he is freely regarded in the township as one of the most
intelligent and successful stockmen in the community. Not only as a
source of profit but to maintain the fertility of the farm.
Henry N. Miller was born in Greene county, Ohio, ]\Iarch 30, 1842,
and is a son of John E. and Catherine (Minnick) Miller. His father,
a native of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, migrated to Ohio in young
manhood, and later, in 1844, came to Cass county, Indiana, where he
spent the remainder of his life in the cultivation of the soil. He became
one of the prominent agriculturists of his day and locality, was success-
ful in his operations, wielded a wide influence among his fellow-townsmen
in matters of general importance, and at his death left a wide circle of
friends to mourn his loss. He and his wife became the parents of ten
1148 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
children, of whom six still survive, as follows : Elizabeth, who married
a j\Ir. Neff ; Henry N. ; Eliza, who married a Mr. Britton ; Caroline,
who married a Mr. Toney ; Jane, who became the wife of a Mr. Wilson ;
and Harriet, who married Dr. Delzell.
Henry N. ]\Iiller grew to manhood in Deer Creek township, his educa-
tion being secured by attendance during the winter terms in the old
]\Iiller school. During the summer months he assisted his father in
plowing, in clearing and in grubbing, and in the various other employ-
ments incidental to the planting and gathering of crops. He was about
twenty-one years of age at the time of his father's death, and at that
time he took over the home farm and assumed the responsibility of caring
for the family.
In 1866 Mr. Miller was married to Miss Alice Higgle, who died
leaving live children ; John, William, Oscar, Belle, who married a Mr. De
Haven, and Harry. In 1886 Mr. Miller was married again, when
occurred his union with Josie E. Baughman, daughter of Oliver E. and
Matilda (Nabors) Baughman, of Fairfield county, Ohio, who migrated
to Carroll county, Indiana, and became prominent farming people. Four
children were born to this union ; Leah, who married a Lybrook ; Carl,
who resides at home, and Ruth and Arthur, deceased.
Edgar C. Cripe. Among the younger generation of agriculturists of
Cass county, one who has spent his entire life within its limits is Edgar
C. Cripe, of Deer Creek township, who is ably managing operations on
his father's farm of eighty acres. Mr. Cripe was born on this farm No-
vember 11, 1889, and is a son of Jacob and Sarah (Smith) Cripe. His
father, a native of Clinton county, Indiana, was only eighteen years of
age when he came to Cass county, and here he has since resided, now
being retired from active pursuits. He has been closely identified with
the agricultural interests of the county and has, as well, gained a posi-
tion of confidence in the regard of his fellow citizens. He and his wife
have had five children : Lyna, who married a Mr. Burroughs ; Effie, who
became the wife of a Mr. Wolf; Eunice, who married a Mr. Hoover;
Frank and Edgar C.
Edgar C. Cripe was given good educational advantages, attending
first the common schools of Deer Creek township, later the Young America
high school, and finally the institution at Manchester, Indiana, where he
passed one year. During all of this period he was engaged in assisting
his father in the work connected with the home farm, was reared to
habits of industry and integrity, and thoroughly trained in the duties
with which every good farmer should be conversant. At the time of his
marriage he took over the management of the home place, which he has
since conducted for his father. The excellence of his early training has
been shown by the able manner in which he has carried on the business
of the farm, his land yielding large and abundant crops and his cattle
being sleek and healthy and bringing top-notch prices in the markets.
His entire attention has been devoted to his farm and his home, and he
has found time for neither politics nor fraternal work. Among his
associates he is known as an industrious, enterprising young farmer,
possessed of progressive ideas and the ability to carry them out. He
has many friends who have followed with gratified approval his rise in the
agricultural world.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1149
In 1908 Mr. Cripe was united in marriage with. Miss Nellie Turn-
paugh, and they have had two children: Robert and Keith.
John Wissinger, whose connection with a combination of business
enterprises has made him one of the leading and substantial men of
Onward, Indiana, owes his success in life to hard work intelligently di-
rected, to inherent ability of a versatile nature, and to a perseverance
that has kept him steadily at whatever task he has found himself until
it has been ended in successful accomplishment. He has been farmer,
sawmill operator, lumberman, eider manufacturer and threshing ma-
chine owner in turn, bringing to each venture an enthuisasm and pro-
gressive spirit that would admit of no defeat, and in the midst of these
multitudinous activities has always found time to give to the promotion
of his community's welfare. Mr. "Wissinger is a Hoosier by birth, hav-
ing been born May 7, 1858, in Washington township, Miami county,
and is a son of Isaac and Mary (Straup) Wissinger. His father, a
native of Ohio, grew up near the city of Dayton, from whence he came
to Indiana in young manhood, settling in Miami county, where he con-
tinued to spend the remainder of his life on a farm which he had pur-
chased in Washington township. He and his wife became the parents
of four children, as follows : William ; John ; Elizabeth, who married
Mr. Cripe ; and Sarah, who married Mr. Metzgar.
John Wissinger grew to manhood on the old home place in Miami
county, and there attended the country schools of Washington town-
ship, in the meantime being reared to agi-iculturai pursuits and to
habits of industry, sobriety and honesty. He continued to assist his
father until he reached man's estate, at which time he began renting
land, thus being able to accumulate enough means to purchase his first
property, which he still owns. On this land he earned the capital with,
which he bought his present valuable town property, and after some
years spent in farming he. entered the sawmill business, which he has
built up to large proportions, his trade extending throughout the sur-
rounding country. Later, Mr. Wissinger became the proprietor of a
cider business, and at this time he is distributing the famous Wissinger
cider to the wholesale trade throughout Indiana. In addition to these
enterprises, he has operated a threshing outfit for the past twenty-two
yeare, traveling all over Cass county. From the foregoing it may be
seen that Mr. Wissinger is a man of progressive spirit, commendable
industry and unflagging energy. In his various and varied enterprises
he has ever been known as a man of the highest integrity, and his trans-
actions have always been of a strictly legitimate nature. He has cared
little for politics, and has never sought public preferment on his own
account, although he has been a staunch supporter of good government
and takes a pride in furthering the interests of his adopted locality.
Mr. Wissinger was united in marriage with Miss Sophia Tillett,
daughter of Michael and Susanna (Smith) Tillett, and to this union
there have been born seven children, as follows: Susanna, who is
married and has three children — Paul, Bernie and Margaret; Charles,
who married Laura Rose, and has five children — Donald, Bady, Nancy,
Lawrence and Lester; Millie, deceased, who was the wife of Harley
Linderman; Pliny, the wife of L. Kesling, who has one child — Walter;
1150 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Bessie, who married a Mr. Bird, and has one child — Marie ; and Lloyd
and Sylvia, who are attending school. Mr. and Mrs. Wissinger are
members of the Baptist church, in the work of which they have been
commendably active.
Charles D. Carpenter, M. D. Probably there is no learned pro-
fession that demands so much of its members as that of medicine. The
conscientious physician of today has little rest, as when he is not min-
istering to the sick he must spend a great deal of time in study along
the lines of his profession in order to keep in touch with the discoveries
that are constantly being made. The physician in general practice has
to give more of himself in his work than those who confine themselves
to specialties or to office consultation, as regardless of personal inclina-
tion he must fare forth at all times and in all degrees of weather to
answer the calls of those dependent upon him. Cass county knows of
many of these self-sacrificing men, who regard their work as a sacred
duty, and none enjoys a larger amount of good will in his community
than Dr. Charles D. Carpenter, of Walton.
Doctor Carpenter comes of a line of physicians. His grandfather,
Eber Carpenter, JM. D., was an old New England physician, and his
father, Dr. George H. Carpenter, was also engaged in practice for many
years. The latter was born in 1820, at Alstead, Cheshire county, New
Hampshire, and there received his common school education, reading
medicine in the office of his father. In 1842 he came to Athens, Ohio,
the journey from Buffalo, New York, being made by stage coach, as the
railroads had not yet extended their lines that far west. During the
Civil war he enlisted in the Ninety-first Regiment, Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, of which he was for a time surgeon, but failing health caused
his retirement from the service. For some years he practiced in Boston
and other large cities, but eventually was forced into permanent retire-
ment. Doctor Carpenter married Miss Mary Welch, daughter of Judge
John Welch of Athens, Ohio. Judge Welch at one time was chief justice
of Ohio and was thirteen years on the Supreme bench and a member of
Congress from the fifteenth district. Two children were born to Dr. and
Mrs. Carpenter: Charles D., and Helen B., a graduate of the New York
College, who is now living in Seattle, Washington.
Charles D. Carpenter attended the common schools of Athens, Ohio,
following which he spent some time in Keene, New Hampshire, and on
his return took his first course in medicine in Cleveland. His medical
studies were completed in the Ohio Medical College, from which he was
graduated on March 1, 1872, and at that time he became his father's
associate in practice. In 1877 he became a member of the first board
of the Columbus Hospital for the Insane, but resigned from that posi-
tion to return to private practice. Doctor Carpenter has been an ex-
tensive traveler. His first location was Marysville, Ohio, but several
years later he went to Chicago and engaged in practice there. Subse-
quently he moved to Belvidere, Boone county, Illinois, and later to
Carthage, Missouri. Since 1899 Doctor Carpenter has been in continuous
practice at Walton, where he has secured a large and lucrative pro-
fessional business. Wherever he has been located he has gained uni-
versal esteem and has steadily won friends by his reliability and warm
HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY 1151
sympathy. Unsolicited, he has received many testimonials to his skill
and kindly interest in his patients. He is a close student, an able
physician, and a steady-handed surgeon. The services of such a man
are a valuable boon to any community and the people of Walton man-
ifest their appreciation of the service rendered by Doctor Carpenter in
choosing their community as the field of his labor.
In 1882 Doctor Carpenter was married to Miss Rena Vlereborne, of
Pickaway county, Ohio, a member of an old and prominent family.
Two children were born to this union: Rosalie, who married C. C.
Bumgarner, and Dorriss, a graduate of the Walton high school, who is
now in her freshman year at the University of Indiana.
Doctor Carpenter is fraternally connected with Lodge No. 423, of the
Masonic order, of which he has served as master, and Walton Lodge
I. 0. 0. F., and Logansport Lodge No. 66, B. P. 0. E. For four years
he was chairman of the pension board at Belvidere, Illinois. He has
identified himself with all movements that have made for progress, and
has done his share as a citizen in promoting good government.
Leandeb McFadden. With supreme faith in the future of Walton,
with the ability to profit by present conditions and with the desire to
aid others to do so, Leander McFadden, proprietor of the Walton ele-
vator, is one of his city's representative business men, and through pre-
cept and example has encouraged the advancement of good citizenship.
A self-made man, who appreciates the value and dignity of hard labor,
in that it was the medium through which he attained independence and
position, Mr. McFadden has steadily forged upward, his activities being
of benefit not only to himself but to his community as well. Mr. McFad-
den was born in Ashland county, Ohio, and is a son of Alfred and Eliza-
beth (Richards) McFadden. His father, a farmer by occupation, spent
his early life in Wayne county, Ohio, but later made removal to Ashland
county, where he established the McFadden home, and there spent the
rest of his life in tilling the soil. He was the father of five children, as
follows: Diana, who married a Mr. Simmons; Franklin P. and Oliver,
living in Cass county; Leander; and Essie, who married a Mr. Rickett.
Leander McFadden spent his boyhood much the same as other far-
mers' lads of his day and locality, pursuing his studies during the win-
ter months and devoting his summers to assisting his father in the work
of the home farm. On reaching manhood, he began farming with his
father on shares, and then for five years rented his father's farm of 115
acres. At the end of this time he became interested in the lumber busi-
ness at Twelve Mile, Cass county, in company with his brother, Frank-
lin P. McFadden, an association that proved eminently satisfactory.
For a number of years he was in business in Allen county, Indiana, and
still retains a half interest therein. For the past eight years Mr. ^Ic-
Fadden has devoted his attention to the grain business, and in 1910
came to Walton and purchased his present elevator. Through the
exercise of good judgment, natural ability and constant industry, he
has made a success of his numerous ventures, and is today .justly con-
sidered one of his adopted city's reliable business citizens. He has
never taken more than a passing interest in matters of a political nature,
preferring to confine his energies to the field of business rather than to
the public arena. Movements tending to advance the community or its
1152 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
people have always found him heartily in sympathy, however, and he is
never too busy to lend his aid to enterprises of this nature.
Mr. McFadden was married in 1893, to Miss Estella Markel, daugh-
ter of Jacob Markel, and they have had five children, namely : Walter,
Osa, Fleece, Lucille and Pearl, all of whom are attending school in
Walton. Fraternally Mr. McFadden has identified himself with the
work of the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which
he numbers many warm friends. With the members of his family, he is
an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Charles Stewart Albertson, M. D. It was Robert Louis Steven-
son who made the assertion that when posterity came to study the pres-
ent age it would find that its noblest figure was the doctor. The physi-
cian's role, whether in city or country, in the sickroom, on the lonely
road or the deserted street, calls for a high order of courage as well as
high ideals of service to mankind. Here is found the spirit which has
made the advance of modern science resemble the advance of a new
religion. There has been the same devotion to an ideal, the same aban-
don of self, and the only reward held out has been the welfare of gen-
erations yet unborn. It is for these reasons that the profession is held
in such high esteem ; that its devotees are ranked among the leading men
of every community. Among the medical men of Cass county who have
reached high positions as practitioners, Charles Stewart Albertson,
M. D., of Walton, is known as a man who has responded to every duty
imposed upon him by the ethics of his calling. Although still a young
man, his abilities have gained him a place in the confidence of the men
of his vocation in his adopted locality, as well as of a wide and repre-
sentative clientele. Doctor Albertson was born in 1881, in Walton,
Indiana, and is a son of E. F. Albertson, a minister of the Methodist
Episcopal faith, belonging to the Eastern Conference. He was sent to
this section by his church, and for many years labored faithfully in the
service of his Master.
The oldest of a family of five children. Doctor Albertson early at-
tended the public schools of Walton, but as his father's vocation called
him to various points, the family stakes were not driven in one place
for very long. Following his removal from Walton, the doctor lived
for different periods at Bunker Hill, Goshen, Ligonier and Columbia
City, Indiana, Buffalo, New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, and in
the latter place graduated from the high school. At that time he took
up his medical studies, entering Jefferson Medical College, Philadel-
phia, and later entered Indiana Medical College, at Indianapolis, from
which institution he received his degree. Succeeding this, he entered
upon the practice of surgery in Fort Wayne, as assistant to Dr. McBeth,
and after a short period he went to South Wliitley, Indiana, where he
continued in practice for five years. In Walton his years of diligent
study and critical and careful observation have borne fruit in the shape
of recognition. His knowledge of his profession is broad and compre-
hensive, and he is quick to grasp the principles of every advancement or
innovation which comes to his notice. For two years he has acted in the
capacity of secretary of the Cass county board of health, where his abili-
ties were made manifest in numerous ways. Keeping full abreast of
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1153
the times by his subscription to the leading medical journals, he also
takes an interest in the work of the leading organizations of the pro-
fession, and is a valued member of the Cass County Medical Society, the
Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
He also holds membership in the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and
the Modern "Woodmen of America, in all of which he numbers many
friends. ,
In November, 1907, Dr. Albertson was united in marriage with Miss
Maud Robbins, of South Whitley, Indiana. They have had no children.
J. E. Heinmiller. For a number of years Mr. Heinmiller has been
identified with the little town of Young America. He has the only
undertaking establishment in this vicinity, and as a business man of
fine principles and thorough ability, he enjoys a large patronage and
the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Heinmiller was born in Ervin township, Howard county, Indi-
ana, November 11, 1862. His parents were John and Susannah (Cupp)
Heinmiller. The father was born in Germany and came to America
with his parents, his father being also named John, and from New York
City moved to Pennsylvania where the grandfather was for many years
a farmer. John Heinmiller, the father, was a young man when he came
west to Carroll county, Indiana, and a few years later bought land and
was actively engaged as a farmer there for many years. There were
seven children in the family of the parents, namely : William, John D.,
George W., Moses, J. E., Anna, deceased; Luther, deceased, and Rettie.
J. E. Heinmiller during his boyhood lived on a farm in Howard
county, and attended the common schools in that vicinity. At the age
of twenty-one he began his independent career, and with some help
from his father was able to fit himself for the undertaking business.
He studied in the Barnes College of Embalming at Chicago, and on
graduating from that institution came to Cass county and established
himself in business in the little town of Young America.
Mr. Heinmiller was married in 1889 to Miss Lilly Williams, a daugh-
ter of John Williams. One child was born to their marriage, but is now
deceased. Fraternally Mr. Heinmiller is affiliated with the Knights of
Pythias and the Masonic order, and belongs to the United Brethren
church.
Frank Harness. Many of the leading agriculturists of Cass county
are specializing in the raising of cattle, finding that in this branch of
agricultural work they were able to achieve a greater measure of success
than if their energies were devoted to diversified farming. Frank Har-
ness, one of the enterprising young farmers of Deer Creek township,
who owns fifty-five acres of good land and oversees 400 acres belonging
to the Harness estate, is engaged in raising Hereford cattle, and since
his eighteenth year has been an acknowledged judge of livestock. Mr.
Harness was born in Howard county, Indiana, just across the road from
his present property, in 1881, and is a son of G. W. and Lucinda
(Lowry) Harness.
The education of Mr. Harness was secured in the public schools
of Cass county, whence he was brought as a lad, and during his entire
1154 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
school period was engaged in assisting his father on the homestead
place. An energetic, ambitious youth, at the age of eighteen years he
entered the cattle business, and the success which has rewarded his
efforts is ample proof of his ability in his chosen line. His standard
bred Hereford cattle have always brought top-notch prices in the mar-
kets and have made a creditable showing wherever exhibited. His
entire time is devoted to his farm and his home, and he has found no
leisure to engage in politics, his only interest in public matters being
that taken by every good citizen. In business circles he is known as a
shrewd competitor, but one who has never stooped to use other than
legitimate methods, and as a result he has the confidence and esteem of
his associates. He has shown some interest in Masonic work, and has
numerous friends in the local lodge of this fraternal order, as he has in
business and social circles.
In 1902 Mr. Harness was united in marriage with Dora Swafford,
daughter of William and Jane (Hinkle) Swafford, and to this union
there have been born two children: Herbert and George W.
Benjamin F. Sharts. Cass county has no more honored family than
that bearing the name of Sharts, members of which have been identified
with the agricultural, commercial, financial and military history of
this section for approximately sixty-five years. Among those who are
entitled to consideration as worthy representatives of the name are
Abiah J. and Benjamin F. Sharts, father and son, the former a Civil
war veteran and highly respected farmer of Tipton township, and the
latter president of the Fenton Investment Company. Both have identi-
fied themselves vitally with the best interests of Cass county, where they
have been known as useful and public-spirited citizens.
The Sharts family originated in Hagerstown, Maryland, from whence
George P. and Frances (Bear) Sharts removed to Preble county, Ohio,
at an early day. Settling near Germantown, George P. Sharts erected a
grist mill and carried on operations for several years, but in 1848 came
to Cass county and settled on what is known as the N. B. Richeson farm,
the family home during the first few years (or until it was replaced by
a frame house) being a log cabin. There George P. Sharts died in 1853,
at the age of fifty-two years, while his wife survived him until 1875, and
was seventy -two years old at the time of her demise. They had a family
of eleven children, namely: Mary M., Rose Ann, Elizabeth, Catherine,
Abraham, John, Eliza J., George P., William O., Abiah J. and Caroline.
Abiah J. Sharts was born October 24, 1845, in Preble county, Ohio,
and passed his boyhood days on the home farm in Cass county, whence
the family had come when he was four years of age, and where he secured
his education in a log cabin school. When he was but fifteen years of
age he started out to make his own way in the world, and early took
charge of the home farm, which he operated until 1879, at that time
moving to his own farm, which joins the other on the south. In June,
1863, he became a member of Company P, 116th Regiment, Indiana Vol-
unteer Infantry, and w^as mustered into the service at Indianapolis,
subseqi:tently participating in a number of engagements during the Civil
war, including Knoxville, although the greater part of his military
service was passed in doing guard duty at Cumberland Gap, Greenville
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 1155
and Tazewell, Tennessee. He received his honorable discharge at Lafay-
ette, Indiana, in March, 1864, after a brave and faithful service, and
once more returned to the duties of peace. In 1867 he was married to
Ellen Alice Wilson, daughter of Andrew Wilson, one of Cass county's
old pioneers, and they have had six children, namely: Harry, who is
deceased ; Benjamin F. ; Elmer ; Walter, who is deceased ; Blanche and
Charles. Mr. Sharts still lives on the old home farm on section 11,
Tipton township, a tract of 15-4 acres of well-cultivated land. Although
advanced in years, he still is engaged actively in the work of tilling the
soil, and also takes a keen interest in Republican politics. He is a
member of the Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic, and
attends the Seven-Mile United Brethren church, of which Mrs. Sharts
is a member.
Benjamin F. Sharts was born on the old home place, December 12,
1871, and was reared after the manner of the farmers' sons of his day,
attending the district schools during the winter mouths and spending his
summers on the home place. During the fall of 1888 he went t^ Topeka,
Kansas, where a relative was living, and while there attended the high
school for three years, each year carrying off the honors of his class.
When he was twenty years old he returned to Indiana and began teach-
ing at his old home school in Tipton township, where he remained one
year, subsequently spending one year at the Boyer school, one mile east
of Walton, and two years in the Woodling school in Washington town-
ship. During the summer of 1895 he gave up the educator's profession
to accept a position in the county treasurer's office. One year later, in
May, 1896, he entered the Logansport State Bank in the capacity of
messenger and bookkeeper, and there his faithful discharge of his duties,
his constant attention to business and his general native ability won
him advancement to the position of teller. In May, 1906, he became
cashier of this institution, one of the most solid and substantial in north-
em Indiana, and he continued to hold the same office until recently.
During the early months of 1913 Mr. Sharts received a proposition to
take over the management of their extensive mortgage, loan and invest-
ment business, fostered and created by the late C. 0. Fenton (whose
sketch appears elsewhere in this volume). After due consideration he
accepted same and resigned his position as cashier of the Logansport
State Bank, to take effect June 1, 1913. He is at present president and
manager of Fenton Investment Company, 218 Fourth street. Mr.
Sharts' rise has been rapid and continuous, but it has been deserved, and
no element of chance has had anything to do with his promotion. Rather
it has come through a steadfast determination to succeed, an ambition
before which all obstacles have been swept aside.
On October 3, 1900, Mr. Sharts was married to Miss Pearl McManus,
and they have had two children: Victor Benjamin and Robert Wilson.
In politics Mr. Sharts is a Republican. He has been prominently con-
nected with fraternal matters, being a member of Tipton Lodge No. 33,
F. & A. M. ; Logan Chapter, R. A. M. ; Logan Council No. 11, R. & S. M.,
and St. John Commandery No. 24, K. T., all of Logansport, and in 1907
served as eminent commander of the latter. He also holds membership
in the Cass County Historical Society, and is its present treasurer.
1156 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Edward E. Miller. The success which Edward E. Miller has at-
tained is due to his enterprise, strong determination and business ability,
and he is now classed with the representative farmers of Deer Creek
township, where he owns and operates a farm of sixty-two acres. Be-
longing to the modern school of agriculture, Mr. Miller carries on his
operations according to the most approved methods, thereby achieving
enviable results; personally, that his life has been honorable and
straightforward is shown by the fact that among his stanchest friends
are many who have known him from boyhood. Mr. Miller is a native of
the Hoosier State, a son of Isaac and Sarah J. (Ewing) Miller. His
father, who was formerly a farmer of Fayette county, Indiana, migrated
to Cass county in 1868, and here continued to carry on agricultural
pursuits during the remainder of his life, becoming a substantial farmer
and well known citizen. The mother of Edward E. Miller was born
and reared on the farm on which he is now operating, but as a young
woman moved to Fayette county with her parents, and there met and
married Isaac Miller, with whom she returned to Cass county. She also
is deceased. She and her husband became the parents of two sons:
Alvin, who died when he was ten years of age; and Edward E.
The boyhood of Edward E. Miller was filled with hard work, as
being the only son left to his parents, he was relied upon as his father's
assistant in the work of the farm. Clearing, grubbing, plowing, plant-
ing, harvesting, and the thousand and one other duties that fall to the
farmer's lot, all had a place in the youth of our subject. It is not to
be supposed that he had much time for his studies, but they were not
neglected, and being an ambitious and enterprising youth, and quick to
learn, he made the most of his opportunities and gained as good an edu-
cation as many who had far better chances. His first schoolroom was in
the old Hubler school in Deer Creek township, but he completed his
studies in Young America, following which he turned his whole atten-
tion to his farm work. On attaining his majority, he embarked upon a
career of his own, and so faithfully has he labored that his sixty-two-
acre tract is now one of the most valuable of its size in the township. A
friend of progress along all lines, Mr. Miller has introduced modern
methods, ideas and machinery into his work and his well-tilled fields
yield him a golden harvest for the work expended upon them, while the
fine condition of his stock shows what may be accomplished along that
line by the man of ability, industry and perseverance. He has had no
reason to regi-et, his choice of callings, for in addition to having won
material success, he has also gained and retained the esteem and respect
of his fellow citizens and the warm regard of a wide circle of personal
friends.
In 1896 Mr. Miller was unite din marriage with Miss Nellie Beamer,
daughter of John and JMargaret (Bell) Beamer, the former a retired
merchant of Walton. They have no children. Mr. Miller has been
prominent in fraternal matters as a member of Young America Lodge
No. 346, in which he has passed all the chairs. He holds the office of
past chancellor of Knights of Pythias, and has represented his lodge in
the Grand Lodge of the state, at Indianapolis.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1157
Obmus L. Harrington. As a professioanl photographer Mr. Har-
rington has a reputation not only through Cass county, but is one of the
ablest men in his work in the state of Indiana. In the photographic
competition he won the state honors in 1906, 1907 and 1908, and won
the state honors in Illinois in 1912.
Ormus L. Harrington was born July 2, 1868, in East Alburgh, Ver-
mont, and is of an old American family. His parents were Hardy War-
ner and Anne Stuart (Thompson) Harrington. His father was a
native of Alburgh Springs, Vermont, and the mother of South Hero,
Vermont. The father is now living retired in Wilmette, Illinois.
Mr. Harrington received his early education at Burlington, Vermont,
and has lived in Cass county, since 1889, his home since that date hav-
ing been in Logansport. He learned his business as a photographer at
Albany, New York, and his studio in Logansport has for many years
been recognized as the place where could be obtained the most artistic
and satisfying work in Logansport and Cass county.
At Butler, Indiana, August 11, 1892, Mr. Harrington married Mae
Eobinson, a daughter of John James and Louie Elizabeth (Callaway)
Robinson, well known farming people of Cass county. Mrs. Harring-
ton is a member of the Christian church of Logansport. Fraternally
Mr. Harrington affiliates with the J\Iasonie order, being a Knight Temp-
lar, and also with the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks, and the Independent Order of Foresters.
T. Edward Minnick. A brother of the present county treasurer
of Cass county and one of the leading farmers of Tipton township, Ed-
ward Minnick is a life long resident of Cass county, and belongs to
that substantial and honored family which has been resident here since
the close of the Civil war.
Mr. Minnick 's grandfather was Conrad Moenich, according to the
German spelling of the name, and was born in Hesse-Cassel, Germany,
whence he came to the United States during young manhood and settled
in Pennsylvania. It was in Pennsylvania that Elias Minnick, the
father of Edward, was born in 1843. Educated in Pennsylvania and
acquiring the trade of a blacksmith he was nineteen years of age when
the Civil war came on, and he enlisted in Company K of the Ninth In-
diana Infantry, his enlistment having been made at La Porte, Indiana.
He went through the war as a member of the eastern army, and subse-
quently of the Army of the Cumberland, and fought at Corinth, luka,
Murfreesboro and Pittsburg Landing, at the battle of Chiekamagua
where he was captured and for several months incarcerated at Ander-
sonville, and finally released from this Confederate prison to receive
his honorable discharge from the army. After the war Elias Minnick
settled in Tipton township of Cass county, and the remainder of his
life was devoted to the quiet pursuits of agriculture. He was a Demo-
crat in politics, but never entered public life, and he held no desire for
an official position. For many years he was one of the popular mem-
bers of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his church was the Chris-
tian, in which faith he died on April 14, 1892. His widow still survives
and makes her home at "Walton. Before her marriage she was Miss
Elizabeth A. Lindesmith.
1158 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
A son of Elias and Elizabeth Minnick, Edward Minnick was born
on the farm where he now resides, and which had been the homestead of
his father, on the eighteenth day of July, 1869. He attended the local
schools and was reared in this neighborhood, where after the period of
boyhood he took up the sterner responsibilities of life as a farmer. His
present estate consists of about eight acres of land, and is located some
ten miles southeast of Logansport. His friends and associates have
known him from boyhood, and in this one community he has led a life
of quiet prosperity and substantial wealth, entitled to the high esteem of
all who know him.
]\Ir. Minnick married Miss Effie Wingrave on February 28, 1894, a
daughter of Frederick and Mary (Staggs) Wingrave. They are the
parents of two children : Lyle Edward and Maude Merrill. The former
is a member of the high school class of 1914 and the latter, who was
graduated with the class of 1913, has taken up the advanced study of
music. Mrs. Minnick was born in Cass county on October 30, 1873, and
there was educated, fitting herself for the vocation of a school teacher
and winning her teacher's certificate, although she never applied her-
self to the work. The family attend the Methodist church.
Marcus M. Morrow. Among the farmers of Cass county whose
intelligent treatment of the soil has added materially to the agricultural
prestige of this section stands M. M. Morrow, the owner of an eighty-
acre farm in Adams township. Belonging to the new school of farming
men, who have proven that modern methods and machinery and scien-
tific measures obtain far better results than the old hit-or-miss style,
he is gaining a full measure of success from his labors, and as a citizen
he is known as one who has the welfare of his community closely at
heart. Mr. Morrow is a native son of Cass county, and was born on a
farm in Bethlehem township, on January 18, 1874, a son of Abner and
Marguerite (Teel) Morrow.
Abner Morrow was likewise born in Indiana, and during the Civil
war he enlisted in an Indiana regiment of volunteers, fighting bravely
through the war in the defense of the Union. At the close of the war he
again took up his vocation of agriculturist, and he was so engaged dur-
ing the remainder of his active career. He was one of the highly re-
spected citizens of his community, and one who took an abiding inter-
est in the success and activities of the Republican party all his days.
He was a faithful member and a liberal supporter of the Baptist church.
His wife passed away in 1904.
M. M. Morrow received his education in the public schools of Beth-
lehem township, and was reared to agricultural pursuits and taught in
his home the benefits to be derived from a life of industry and integ-
rity. On attaining his majority, he secured eighty acres of land from
his father in Adams township, purchasing a part of the tract, and this
he has continued to cultivate up to the present time, his success being in
every way commensurate with the extent of his labors. He has placed
thereon all of its many improvements with the exception of the resi-
dence, and he has a comfortable home, fitted with modern conveniences,
and located on Hoover rural free delivery route No. 20. Mr. Morrow
has never entered the political arena as an aspirant for public office, but
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1159
displayed his public spirit on various oecasious when he has stanchly
supported movements for the advancement of good government in his
community. He was affiliated with the Republican party until the cam-
paign of 1912, when he cast his lot in with the newly organized Pro-
gressive party. H« is a consistent member of the Baptist church, where
both he and his wife have numerous friends.
On November 4, 1894, Mr. Morrow was married to Miss Jennie
Fisher, and they have since made their home on the pretty homestead
place which is theirs, and which as familiarly known as "Old Reliable
Stock Farm."
William Henry Harbison Tucker. This venerable man, now in
the seventy-eighth year of his age, who with firm step and unclouded
mind still walks the streets and attends to his daily routine of affairs,
has, during his long and useful life in Cass county, witnessed almost
its entire development and borne a share in the starting course of its
progress. Although he is now retired from active business, and lives
quietly on his neatly-cultivated tract of twenty-one acres, located just
off the Logansport aud Marion pike, about four miles southeast of
Logansport, he still manifests a keen and intelligent interest in all that
affects the welfare of his native county, and is widely and favorably
known as a man of progress and public spirit. William Henry Harrison
Tucker was bom November 9, 1835, in Clay township Cass county, In-
diana, and is a son of James and Charlotte (Pursell) Tucker. His
father, a native of Virginia, moved to Ohio in young manhood, and
from that state came to Cass county in 1829, here spending the re-
mainder of his life in agricultural pursuits. He and his wife had
seven children, namely: John P., Harvey, Eleanor, Mary, Benjamin,
Moses and William Henry Harrison. The last named is the only mem-
ber of this family now living.
William H. H. Tucker passed his boyhood and youth as was cus-
tomary with farmers' sons of his day and locality, dividing- his time
between attendance at the district schools in the short winter terms,
while assisting his father in clearing, grubbing and general farm work
in the summer months. When he was but twenty-one years of age the
management of the estate of his father devolved upon him, but so thor-
ough had been his training and of such a high character was his ambi-
tion and ability that he was able to uninterruptedly continue the work
that had been started by his father. As the years passed, he added to
his acreage and made numerous improvements on the property, develop-
ing one of the handsome farms of his section, but when advancing years
came on he was ready to turn over the heavy duties of management to
younger hands and to retire to the peaceful quietude of his comfort-
able home. Mr. Tucker was known as an excellent farmer and good
judge of stock, and was uniformly successful in all of his ventures.
On October 6, 1859, Mr. Tucker was married to Mary E. Grimes,
who was born September 21, 1843, near Liberty, Union county, Indiana,
daughter of George W. and Mary (Snyder) Grimes. George W. Grimes
was born and educated in Tennessee, near Greenville, and shortly
after his marriage came to Union county, Indiana. In 1856 he came to
Cass county, and here spent the rest of his life in agricultural pursuits.
1160 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Mr. and Mrs. Grimes were the parents of ten children: William and
Sarah J., who are deceased; Nancy A., widow of Peter Bird, who has
three children — Monroe, George A. and ]\Iary Ellmore ; John W. and
Mrs. Elizabeth Martin, both deceased; Mary E., who married Mr.
Tucker; George R., deceased; James P., a resident of Crawfordsville,
Indiana ; Mrs. Eliza J. Evans, of Linden, Indiana ; and Thomas B., of
LaFayette, Indiana. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Tucker, as follows: Mary C, who married David Lichty, both being
deceased; Nettie S., deceased, who was the wife of Joseph Whinuery,
and had one child — Naomi S., now the wife of George Vanstenburg;
Sherman L., who married Anna Fidler and has two children — LeRoy
and Mabel; the Rev. James G., a Methodist Episcopal minister, who
married Ota Corlis, and has one child — John C. ; William Albert, who
married Estella Bellman, and has two children — Verna Mae and Albert
B. ; and Ernest, who married Amy Snell, who died without issue.
Mr. Tucker was for many years active in Republican politics and
was frequently elected to public offices of trust and responsibility, large
majorities giving evidence of his widespread popularity. In 1912 he
east his fortunes with the young Progressive party, the policies and can-
didates of which have since received his support. With his family, he
attends the United Brethren church.
M. H. Huffman. As the efficient and successful manager of the
Stutesman farm, one of the fine places of the county, lying in section 27
and section 28 of Tipton township, M. H. Huffman carries on the re-
sponsible duties of a farmer, and is one of the best known men thus
occupied in Cass county. Like many another successful and prosperous
man, he began his business career with a period of school teaching, but
for the past fifteen years he has been identified with the rural industry
and interests of Cass county, and while the county lost a capable and
conscientious educator, it gained one of its most able agricultural men
instead. A man of the highest integi'ity, his record in all departments
of life has been an honorable one and in every way well up to standard.
Men of his stamp have ever constituted much of the bone and sinew of
the country, and wherever found will be accorded the esteem which they
so well deserve.
M. H. Huffman was born on July 26, 1874, in Hamilton county,
Indiana, and is the son of A. J. and Martha (Boyer) Huffman. The
father was formerly a resident of Madison county, Indiana, and his
occupation during his active career was that of farming. He never
resided in Cass county, but ended his days in Hamilton county. He was
a Union soldier in the Civil war, seeing much service throughout, and
making a valiant record first in the Indiana Infantry, the Thirty-ninth,
and later in the Eight Indiana Cavalry. His service continued through-
out the war, and he arose to the rank of lieutenant in his cavalry
troop, winning distinction for valor in the field on a number of occa-
sions. The five children of the family who are now living are as fol-
lows: Linnie, Albert, John, M. H., and Dollie.
Mr. Huffman attended the common schools of his native community,
after which he took a preparatoiy course at Mount Morris, Illinois, he-
coming well equipped for the duties of a teacher in that place. His
£ .C^ ? j^v ^
ti£>^^e.A^^ ^^f^'i^
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1161
career in the educational field continued for three years, one year of
that time finding him employed in Cass county, but he abandoned the
vocation wherein he had already made a successful record and turned
his attention to farming.
In 1897 he was united in marriage with Miss Carrie Stutesman, a
daughter of Albertus and Mary Jane (Peterbaugh) Stutesman, and
six children have been born of their union : Leland B. ; Esther J. ;
Lawrence; Ralph; Russell and John Paul. Mr. Hufifman and his fam-
ily are communicants and supporters of the Church of the Brethren
at Pipe Creek, and are prominent in other circles in their community.
George Strecker, who died in Logansport, Indiana, on September
16, 1902, was a native of Wittenburg, Germany, bom there
on March 22, 1840. As a boy in Germany he attended the
German Lutheran Parochial schools, and there also learned the trade
of a baker. He was sixteen years old when he emigrated to America,
even at that early age being impressed with the ideas that he would
here find better opportunities for material advancement than would be
his in the Fatherland. He had an uncle living in Crawfordsville, In-
diana, and that circumstance caused him to make Indiana his objective
point when he arrived in New York. For six years he made Crawfords-
ville his home, there working at his trade and becoming acquainted with
business methods in America, and in 1862 he returned to Germany,
returning to the United States at the end of a year. This time he located
in Jackson, Michigan, and for two years he worked at his trade in that
city. In 1865 he came to Logansport, Indiana, working here for Mr.
Coulson for one year.
During all these years of work he had saved carefully from his
weekly stipend, and when he was about twenty-six or twenty-seven he
concluded that he had saved sufficient to warrant him in establishing a
home of his own. In his boyhood home he had been reared in the
neighborhood which also held the family of Wilhelm Schue, and in this
family was a comely daughter, Rosina, who had been the sweetheart of
the boy before he left home. In 1866 she came to America and on
October 16th of that year she met and married George Strecker at
Buffalo, New York. They came at once to Logansport, and in Novem-
ber, 1866, they boug'ht a bakery shop at No. 324 Fourth street. The
building at that time was not more than a dilapidated old store build-
ing, and Mr. Strecker tore down the old structure, rearing a new one
in its place, for doing which he received eight years' rent free from
the owner of the property. Above the shop Mr. and Mrs. Strecker made
their home. In December, 1868, he sold out his interest and in the
spring of 1869 bought a bakery at Fourth street and Broadway, and
there they conducted a thriving business for two years. He then sold
again and bought the property at Fourth and Market streets, on which
he erected a fine new building, which stands today as originally reared
by him. Here for a period of eight years Mr. Strecker conducted a
bakery, after which he sold the shop, but retained the ownership of
the building, and with his wife and children returned to Germany, with
the possible thought of making that their future home. The call of
America proved too strong for them however, and at the end of a year
1162 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
and a half the family returned to Logansport, and once more resumed
the bakery bvisiness at the old place at Fourth and Market streets.
Later Mr. Strecker built another store at Twelfth and Spear streets,
.where they conducted a splendid business for seventeen years, the family
occupying an apartment over the shop.
In 1895 Mr. Strecker established his sons in business and retired from
active participation in the work himself, but he continued, however, to
take a keen interest in business, and when he felt so inclined would enter
into the work with all the vim and energy of his early days. His resi-
dence in Logansport was continuous with the single exception of a three
year period which the family spent in Andrews, Indiana, where they
were engaged in the hotel business, this break occurring in the early part
of their residence at Twelfth and Spear streets.
The splendid success which Mr. Strecker achieved in his business is
especially worthy of commendation, and is a fit example for the youth
of America, many of whom accomplish less with greater advantages and
facilities at hand in early yguth than Mr. Strecker possessed. A boy
of sixteen in a strange land, unable to speak the language, and without
a penny at his command, he made rapid strides in the business field, and
when he died at the age of sixty-two he was possessed of considerable
wealth and a thriving business, which his sons are carrying on at the
present time. Energy, determination and a characteristic German
thriftiness all entered into the making of his splendid prosperity, and he
was known to be one of the shrewdest investors to be found in the com-
munity. While he had the reputation of being what is called a "close
figurer" in business dealings, .yet he was known to be kind and charitable
at heart, and no worthy cause ever lacked his support. His chiefest
characteristics were honesty, industry and unostentatious charity. He
was a German Lutheran in his religion and a Republican with regard
to his political faith. He died on September 16, 1902.
Mr. and Mrs. Strecker had seven children, as follows : Henry,
who died in infancy ; George, now in business in Logansport ; Rose,
now ]\Irs. Edward Battenberg, of Bloomington, Illinois ; Charles, whose
home is in Logansport ; Amelia, married to William Schroeder, and
who died January 6, 1909 ; Kathrin and Daisy. Mrs. Strecker, the
widowed mother, still lives in Logansport, and enjoys the friendship of
a large circle of the best people of the city. She is a German Lutheran
and a member of that church.
George Strecker, Jr., was born in Logansport, Indiana, on
November 12, 1868, and was here reared and educated in the public
schools. He is the son of George and Rosina (Schue) Strecker, both
native born Germans, of whom more extended mention is made in
another sketch dedicated to the late George Strecker, to be found in
other pages of this historical and biographical work. Further detail
with regard to the parentage and ancestry of the subject are there-
fore not deemed requisite in this connection, and the account is carried
forward with a direct relation of his life thus far in a brief and concise
manner.
When he had completed the curriculum of the public schools of
Logansport, George Strecker, Jr., attended Hall's Business College for
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1163
a term. He subsequently learned the baker's trade with his father, and
when that worthy gentleman retired, the son succeeded him in the
old established business. In the course of time Mr. Strecker sold out
and re-established himself in business on various occasions, until in
the year 1894, when he permanently located in business at No. 8 Front
street. Here he opened a bake shop with one oven, and while the capac-
ity of the shop was small, by judicious management of the shop, and
carrying on both a wholesale and retail business, his trade reached a
point in 1895 that made necessary the securing of more spacious quar-
ters. Then he located at No. 508 Broadway, operating one oven to
September, 1902, when he moved to No. 520-22 Broadway, built by his
father and there his retail establishment has since been located. In
order to successfully meet the constant increase in his trade, a large
brick bakery was built at the corner of Canal and McKeen streets, 90x
165 feet. This plant operates three ovens and has seven wagons in con-
stant use, supplying not only Logansport, but the surrounding towns
for miles around. Twenty-five hands are required in the operation of
the bakery in all its departments, and it is recognized as one of the
stable industries of the city.
Mr. Strecker is a prominent member of various fraternal orders in
Logansport, among them the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks. He is an adherent of the new Progressive,
or Bull Moose faction, in politics, and takes an active part in the polit-
ical activities of the city.
On November 26, 1896, Mr. Strecker was united in marriage with
Leona Hoffman, the daughter of George Hoffman, of Logansport, and
three children have been born to them ; Harry Strecker, deceased ; Paul
Strecker and George Strecker III.
Merritt W. Burley. Probably there is no better known family
within the limits of Cass county than that of Burley, whose members
have been identified with the agricultural interests of this section for
' more than eighty-five years, as well as with other matters which have
added to the importance of the community. A worthy representative
of this name is found in ]\Ierritt W. Burley, of section 27, Jefferson
township, who has contributed his share to the material welfare of the
county and is widely known as an able farmer and stock raiser. Mr.
Burley was born December 8, 1860, in Burley 's Hollow, Cass county,
Indiana, and is a son of Joseph A. and Hattie (Burkett) Burley.
John Burley, the great-grandfather of Merritt W. Burley, was a
resident of Virginia, where he followed the occupation of a boatman
on the Ohio and Shenandoah rivers, near to Harpers Ferry, and
while in pursuit of his vocation he met his death by accidental drown-
ing near the Ferry. He married Margaret Harper, who was sole heir
to Harper's Ferry, and they became the parents of three sons, one
of them being Thornton Burley, the grandfather of Merritt W. Bur-
ley. Margaret (Harper) Burley was thrice married. Her second
husband was named Simes and her third husband was of the name of
Downs.
Thornton Burley was very young when he was apprenticed or
bound out to a harness maker in Ohio, and there he learned the har-
1164 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ness making trade. He was young when he married Polly Connors
in that state, and in 1827 they came to Indiana, locating in what is
known to this day as Burley's Hollow, where Mr. Burley continued to
reside until his death, which took place at the remark&blel age of
ninety-eight. He was the father of seven children by his first mar-
riage: Edgar, Thornton, Joseph A., William, Marsliall, Mary and
Jane A. Burley. His second wife was Nancy Rohen, and she bore him
one child, Ella Burley.
Joesph A. Burley was born in Ohio, and he was two years old
when he was brought to Cass county by his family. Here he grew to
manhood, was twice married, and made his home for twenty-five or
thirty years, when he moved to White county and lived there until the
death of his second wife, at which time he returned to Cass county
and here spent the remainder of his life. He was the father of one
child by his first wife, who was Hattie Burkett, and that child was
Merritt W. Burley of this review. His second wife was Emma Swine-
hart and to them six children were boi'n, as follows : Charles E., Harry,
Joseph S., Harvey C, Jennie and Eben W. Burley.
Merritt W. Burley was a small child when taken to Logansport
and there he secured the advantages offered by the public and high
schools. Succeeding this, he took a course in Hull's Business College,
from which he was graduated in bookkeeping and for some years
thereafter was connected with various establishments in that capacity.
About twenty years ago, however, Mr. Bxirley returned to the soil and
has since met with marked success in his farming and stock raising
operations.
His well developed land, situated on section 27, has been made valu-
able by the introduction of numerous improvements, including a mod-
ern home, a substantial barn, and other attractive outbuildings.
Modern methods have always found favor in his eyes. He employs
the latest machinery and finds that his high-powered automobile is
adapted not only to pleasure trips, but is also a great help in his- busi-
ness. His fair and honorable dealings have won him many friend-
ships, and the esteem and confidence in which he is held everywhere is
ample evidence of his integi-ity.
On March 21, 1892, Mr. Burley was united in marriage with Miss
Iva Binney, a daughter of Levi Binney, a well known citizen of Cass
county. They have no children. Until the campaign of 1912 Mr.
Burley supported Republican candidates and principles, but at that
time transferred his allegiance to the new Progressive party.
George 0. Hubler. One of the old and honored families of Cass
county is that of Hubler, which f<ir many years has been identified with
the agricultural interests of Deer Creek township. Among the repre-
sentatives of the younger generation of this name, one who is worthily
maintaining the family reputation for industry and progress is George
G. Hubler, who is managing his father's farm of 120 acres, located on
the Pound stone road, not far from Young America. Mr. Hubler 's
success as an agriculturist may be accredited to his energy and in-
dustrious habits, and to the fact that he is thoroughly conversant with
conditions in this locality, having been a resident of the township all of
HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY 1165
his life. He was born on this farm, June 19, 1880, and is a son of
William and Nellie (Risher) Hubler. His father, a native of Pennsyl-
vania, left the Keystone State as a young man and migrated to Cass
county, where he is now living a somewhat retired life. He has been
successful in his business operations and is accounted one of the sub-
stantial men of his community. Mr. Hubler was married in Cass
county to Nellie Risher, a native of Ohio, and they have been the par-
ents of eight children, of whom four survive, namely : Charles 0.,
Mrs. Cora Frier, George C. and Mrs. Ethel McClosky.
George C. Hubler began his training as an agriculturist as soon as
he was able to do his share of the homestead chores, and was thoroughly
acquainted with all the duties of the farmer by his father. He con-
tinued to work during his school period, his education being secured
in Young America, and when he had completed his studies gave all of
his attention to the home place. On attaining his majority, the man-
agement of the farm was turned over to him, and he has justified the
confidence reposed in his ability by bringing the land to a high state
of cultivation, making numerous improvements, and achieving a full
measure of success along all lines of agricultural work. He carries
on general farming and stock raising, doing some dairying and raising
diversified crops. He brings to his work a thorough and practical knowl-
edge of the needs of the soil, and relies upon modern scientific methods
rather than upon the hit-or-miss style of former days. Sober and
industrious, he has gained a wide friendship among his fellow-citizens,
and everywhere is known as one in whom the agricultural interests
of the community have an excellent representative.
On March 12, 1907, Mr. Hubler was united in marriage with Miss
Grace Ulerich, daughter of John B. and Sarah (Keever) Ulerich,
who came from Lancaster county, Ohio, to Cass county at an early
day. Mr. and Mrs. Ulerich had seven children, namely : Joseph,
George, Edward, Grace, Andrew, Mary and Amanda. The union of
Mr. and Mrs. Hubler has been blessed lay the birth of three interesting
children : William, Ruth and Edward. Mr. Hubler is a popular mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Pythias
and of the local lodge of the Masonic fraternity. With his wife he at-
tends the United Brethren church. They have many friends in social
circles of Young America, and their comfortable home is a center of
refinement and hospitality.
Arthur S. Boyer. The contracting and building business in Cass
county has found in Arthur S. Boyer one of its most successful adherents
and operators, and for the past ten years he has been identified with that
field of activity in a most striking manner. His operations have long
since extended beyond the confines of Cass county, and he employs
an average force of twenty men in carrying forward the work of his
contracts. He is one of the substantial business men of Logansport
and the county, and it is such as he who have been most effective in
the development of this section of the state to its present splendid con-
dition. Born in the town of Walton, Cass county, Indiana, on March
19, 1875, Arthur S. Boyer is one of the three children born to George
W. and Mary E. (Masters) Boyer.
1166 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Concerning the parentage of the subject, it may be said here that
George W. Boyer is one of the oldest native born citizens of Cass
county, Indiana, his birth having occurred at Walton on January 12,
1848. He is the son of Peter Boyer, a native of the state of Virginia,
who came to Cass county in 1840, and here followed farming for the
remainder of his life. In 1847 that worthy gentleman married INIary
Small, who was a native product of Ohio and came with her parents
to this county in 1842. Four sons and three daughters were born to
Peter and Mary Boyer, and of that number but three are living today.
George W. Boyer was one of these, and he passed his youth and early
manhood with his parents. During those years he received the educa-
tional benefits conferred by the early schools of that time. He learned
the carpenter's trade, and has, for the most* part, followed that work
ever since. To his marriage with ]\Iary E. Masters, daughter of James
W. and Martha J. Masters, solemnized on March 20, 1873, three chil-
dren have been born: Arthur S., the subject of this brief review, born
March 19, 1875 ; Annie R., now Mrs. Shaver, of Walton, Indiana, born
on December 6, 1879; and Lanford P., born July 12, 1882, a carpenter
at Logansport.
Mr. Boyer is a Methodist in his religious belief, a Prohibitionist in
politics, and socially is a member of the A. F. & A. M.
Arthur S. Boyer was reared in Tipton township, and there received
his early education in the district schools. He began to learn the
carpenter's trade when he was sixteen years old under the able in-
struction of his father, and continued with him for two years, when
the family moved to Logansport. There IMr. Boyer finished learning
his trade with the Thompson Lumber Company and in 1902 established
himself in business as a carpenter contractor. Mr. Boyer has since
continued successfully in the business, which he has conducted on an
increasing scale, and today his operations extend far beyond the limita-
tions of Cass county. He employs a force of some twenty men and his
annual business aggregates some $40,000.
On March 20, 1895, ]Mr. Boyer was united in marriage with Sarah E.
Congdon, of Logansport, and they have one son, Clarence A. Boyer.
Mr. and ]\Irs. Boyer are members of the Wheatland Avenue Methodist
Episcopal church, and he is fraternally affiliated with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Masons. He was twice senior warden,
three times worthy master and seven years secretary of Tipton Lodge
No. 33, A. F. & A. M., and has long enjoyed the confidence and es-
teem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances in and about Logans-
port, where he is known for one of the sound and reliable business
men of the city and a citizen of distinctive order and merit.
Hon. Marcus W. Collett who served four years as a distinguished
member of the Indiana state senate, and is president of the Farmers
and Llerchants State Bank of Logansport, may justly be num-
bered with the representative men of Cass county. For a number
of years agricultural industries claimed a large part of his atten-
tion and business enterprises were financed and carried on through
his well-applied energy, his whole life having been one of activity and
of both public and private usefulness and accomplishment. Largely
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1167
it has been a peaceful one but his courage and patriotism were tested
before his boyhood was over, and warfare and danger surrounded him
during the closing years of the Civil war, in which he proudly wore a
uniform of Union blue and did it credit. Mr. CoUett was born in
Miami county, Indiana, February 6, 1847, one of the four children
(of whom three are still living) of William and Susanna (Color) Col-
lett. The mother died in 1855, and the father afterwards married
Mary Brower, by whom he became the parent of four children, all of
whom are living. William Collett passed away in 1881, and was fol-
lowed to the grave by his widow in 1912. He was a farmer by vocation,
an occupation which he followed throughout life, was a Republican in
his political views, and a German Baptist, or "Dunkard," by religion.
He started life with no means, but by hard and industrious labor, con-
stant thrift and well directed energy, accumulated a fair competency.
Marcus W. Collett passed his youthful days on the home farm in
Miami county, attending the district schools of that locality. He was
but seventeen years of age when he enlisted, November 1, 1864, in the
First Indiana Light Artillery, Capt. Lawrence Jacoby commanding, his
command being in the Sixteenth Army Corps. This organization par-
ticipated in the bombardment of old Spanish Fort, in Mobile Bay, and
was with General Banks on the Red river expedition. Mr. Collett served
bravely and faithfully, and after receiving his honorable discharge,
at Indianapolis, August 22, 1865, returned to Miami county and at
once began farming on his own account on his father's farm, receiving
as his share one-third of all the produce he raised. He was thus en-
gaged for three years, but on February 25, 1869, was married to Sarah
A. Stroud, and following this he began farming on eighty acres of land
in Miami county. Two years later he moved to the town of Mexico, in
Miami county, and embarked in the hardware business, at which he
continued about eight years, and in 1881 removed to Cass county, lo-
cating on 320 acres of land in Bethlehem township, which he had pur-
chased sortie time previously. Here, with the exception of the years
1895 and 1896, when he was living in Logansport, he farmed and raised
stock until 1902, at which time he sold out and moved to Logansport,
which city has since been his home. Mr. Collett is a Republican in
politics, and has always taken an active interest in the coi;ncils of his
party. While living in Bethlehem township, he served four years as
township trustee. In 1894 he was the nominee of his party for state
senator, and was elected in the following fall. He served one full
term of four years and introduced two bills which became laws. For
many years he was identified as a stockholder in the Farmers and Mar-
chants State Bank of Logansport. He early became a director in the
same and in 1910 was elected its president, a position he has since oc-
cupied. He is also a stockholder in the banks at Twelve Mile, Walton,
Royal Centre and Galveston, and in all of these institutions figured
actively in their organization. Mr. Collett is a director at the present
time in the Twelve Mile bank. He has been a member of the state
board of trustees of the Indiana State Soldiers Home at LaFayette for
the past four years and was reappointed February 25th, 1913, by Gov-
ernor Balston for four years more. His fraternal connections are with
1168 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
the Masons and the Elks, and he is also' a valued comrade of the Grand
Army of the Republic.
David Flory, a native of Dayton, Ohio, came to Cass county,
Indiana, in 1841, and for a time thereafter made his home witli
his brother, Emanuel Flory, who had preceded him hither and was
then living in Clay township. He was born on November 23, 1820, and
was thus twenty-one years old when he came to Cass county. It is as-
sumed that the Flory family is one of French ancestry, their advent
into this country having been in colonial days, and members of the
family participated in the War of Independence. He received but a
meager education in his youth, and the death of his parents when he
was still young, caused him to be reared by relatives. In the year fol-
lowing his arrival in Cass county, on July 17, 1842, he married Hester
Richason, and started work at the trade of a cooper soon after, at a
place now known as Adamsboro. Hester Richason Flory bore him two
children, William, who became a physician, and is now deceased ; and
Henry, a blacksmith, now living retired at IMinneapolis, ^Minnesota. The
wife and mother died when her youngest born was five days old and on
February 11, 1849, ]\Ir. Flory married Sarah Heffley. Soon after his
second man-iage he moved to a farm in Miami township, a place com-
prising one hundred and sixty-five acres of practically unimproved land.
He built a double log cabin, which he later replaced with a more modern
and commodious building, and there he made his home during the
remainder of his life. He worked at his trade at intervals, and gave a
portion of his time to the clearing and improving of his place, and
eventually a fine farm resulted from his efforts.
Mr. Flory was a member of the Dunkard church, now known as the
Brethren, his membership covering a period of seventy years. Although
he had but slight educational advantages in his youth, he was a great
reader and in this way became unusually well informed for one of his
time. During his later years he gave considerable attention to fruit
growing, and he was the originator of the famous winter banana-apple.
He and his second wife reared a family of six sons and three daughters,
as follows : Francis, now living at Geneva, Nebraska ; James, a resident
of McPherson, Kansas; David M., of whom extended mention is made
in an article following this; Charles A., Aaron Edward, both of Cass
county ; Mary, the wife of Dr. J. C. Waite, is now deceased ; Margaret ;
Isabelle; and Florence, the two latter being now deceased. Mr. Flory
died on December 14, 1910, and was preceded by his wife on October
5, 1909.
David M. Flory is a native son of Cass county, born on the home
farm on November 10, 1861, and is the son of David and Sarah (Heffley)
Flory. Of David Flory a detailed account will be found preceding this
article, so that further mention of the family and ancestry of the subject
is not called for at this point.
A common school education was all that David M. Flory received,
and he remained on the home farm until he was eighteen years old,
when he started out on his own responsibility. He engaged in farming
at first, but for the past twenty years the best part of his; time has been
tj^'
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1169
devoted to horticulture. For nearly fifteen years of that time he has
also been engaged in handling fencing, red cedar posts, windmills and
a patent heater of his own invention. He is the owner of a farm of
eighty-seven and a half acres in Cass county, but for the past two
years he has made his home in Logansport.
Mr. Flory is a Democrat and a member of the Brethren church,
formerly known as the Dunkards, in which faith he was reared by his
parents.
On February 28, 1885, he married Margaret Kelly, daughter of
Nelson Kelly, of Cass county, and to them have been born five chil-
dren, as follows : Schuyler M. ; Harry Byron, who died at the age
of fifteen months ; Jasper R. ; Orville M. ; and Ursula M.
William Murden. The man who buys land today in Cass county
has no conception of the obstacles which confronted the pioneers who
began developing this property. Now fertile fields yield banner crops ;
the ground once covered with mighty forest trees smiles beneath modern
cultivation, and where worthless swamps gathered green slime and
sent forth pestilential fevers the rich soil eagerly responds to the hand
of the farmer. All this was not attained without endless hard work
through all seasons. When summer's crops did not require attention,
fences were in need of building or repairing, new buildings were to
be erected and numerous other improvements were constantly requir-
ing the farmer's labors. No man who has brought success out of his
years of endeavor ever attained it unless he was ready and willing to
make any kind of a sacrifice of inclination and strength to bring it about.
One of the men who has been the architect of his own fortunes and has
brought his present handsome farm from a state of wilderness to one
of high cultivation is William Murden, of Adams township, farmer,
public-spirited citizen and veteran of the Civil war. Mr. Murden was
born in Miami county, Indiana, May 25, 1841, and is a son of Imri
and Rebecca (Woolpert) Murden, the former of whom died in 1900 and
the latter in 1904.
Mr. Murden attended the schools of Miami county, and was reared
on the farm of his father, whom he remembers telling of the Indians
with whom he played in boyhood when the family first moved to that
county. Reared to agricultural pursuits, Mr. Murden was so engaged
at the outbreak of the Civil war, and, with other youths of his vicinity,
he hastened to offer his services to his country, enlisting in th'e One
Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
With this organization he served his full term of four months, and
would have re-enlisted but was compelled to remain at home on account
of the ill health of his father at that time. In 1871 Mr. Murden first
came to Cass county, settling in a log house near Hoover, in Adams
township, bvit subsequently removed to Miami for a short period, and
then again came to Adams township and located on his present tract.
This farm was covered with heavy timber, and the only improvements
which had been made were several small log buildings which were nearly
worthless. With determination and industry, Mr. Murden at once set
to work to clear his land, a task that took many years in the completing,
but which he finally accomplished. As the years passed, and his finances
1170 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
permitted, he erected modern buildings for the shelter of his stock and
the housing of his grain and implements, and a comfortable residence
was also built. The land is highly cultivated, and the farm now embraces
137 acres of some of the most valuable soil in Adams township. Mr.
Murden is an able agriculturist, farming his land along scientilic lines
and taking advantage of all the aids which have been brought about by
invention and discovery. He is a Republican in his political views, but
has not aspired to public office, being content to devote himself to the
cultivation of his land. With his family, he attends the Methodist
church, and is known as a man of high business ideals and probity of
character.
While still a resident of Miami county, Mr. Murden was married
December 27, 1864, to Miss Sarah Jane Willson, daughter of Joseph
R. Willson. Three sons have been born to this union : Mahlon, born
June 13, 1866; Joseph R., born July 13, 1873; and Truman G., born
November 10, 1879. ^Mahlon married Florence Sylvana Funk, daughter
of Joseph 6. Funk, and they have had four children: Harry F., born
June 10, 1890; Iva Louise and Ida Grace, twins, born October 31, 1891,
the latter of whom died in 1892; and Jennie E., born July 10, 1897.
Joseph R. is a resident of Cass county. He wedded Myrtie Irene Wood-
house, and has four children — Marion M., Lyman R., Mabel Fern and
Ralph Orion. Truman G. Murden married Edith Irene Barnhart,
daughter of George Barnhart, and they have one son, Homer Clare,
born October 19, 1903. J\Irs. Murden is a native of Miami oountj^,
Indiana, bom Angiist 17, 1846, and reared and educated in her home
county. Both her parents are deceased. The present estate of Mr.
and Mrs. Murden is called ' ' The ]\Iaples. ' '
Albert H. Douglass. It is in connection with the cause of education
that Albert H. Douglass is entitled to a leading place among the men
whose services have made them benefactors of Cass county. Entering
upon his career as an educator when still a lad, in 1891 he was appointed
superintendent of public schools of Logansport, and has continued to
faithfully give his time, his thought and his work to the cause
which enlisted the earliest sympathies of his boyhood and the ma-
tured interest of his later life. Few men have given better service to
their city; none ai'e more widely or favorably known. Mr. Douglass was
born on the family farm in Clay township, Cass county, Indiana, April
23, 1858, the only child of Joseph and Harriet (Pugh) Douglass. His
father, who was an agriculturist all of his life, died in 1891, having
been twice married, his tirst wife being a Miss Keith, by whom he had
live children, of whom three are living. The second Mrs. Douglass sur-
vived her husband ten years.
Like many youths of his day and locality, Albert H. Douglass di-
vided his boyhood between the farm and the school room, attending
the district institutions during the winter terms and assisting his father
to till the soil during the summer months. Of an ambitious and in-
dustrious nature, he applied himself closely to his studies, and at the
age of seventeen years, in 1875, graduated from the Logansport high
school. At this time he entered upon the career in which he has won
such high honors. His first term as a school teacher was taught in
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1171
Eock county, Wisconsin, in a country school, and for the seven terms
that followed he had charge of country schools in Cass county, In-
diana. Succeeding this, he was advanced to the principalship of the
"Walton (Indiana) schools, and then spent two years as principal of
the McKinley school in Logansport and one year as principal of the
Franklin school. During the next three years he was principal of the
Logansport high school, and in 1891 became superintendent of the
schools of Logansport, a position he has dignified to the present lime.
'My. Douglass possesses in high degree that very desirable ability of be-
ing able to impart his own deep knowledge to others, without which no
educator is ever really successful. During his administration numerous
innovations have been made that have considerably raised the standard
of excellence in the Logansport institutions, and modern methods and
ideas have served to place the system here on a high plane. He has made
himself a general favorite with pupils and teachers alike, who not only
respect and esteem him for his many scholarly attainments, but have
been drawn to him because of the manner in which he has been able
to advise and assist them in various ways. His career has been one
worthy of emulation by those entering' upon an educational life and
illustrates forcibly the high honors to be gained through constant prac-
tice of industry and probity.
Mr. Douglass was married May 10, 1881, to Miss Elizabeth Barnett,
and they have had three children, namely: Bessie S., who is now de-
ceased ; Nina M., now Mrs. C. A. Ballard, of Logansport ; and Albert E.
James G. Gish. An excellent farm of 120 acres, in Deer Creek town-
ship, pays tribute to the care and labor of James G. Gish, who has
been one of his locality's leading representatives of agricultural in-
terests for some years. Numbered among those who have aided their
community while aiding themselves, whatever success he has achieved
is attributable entirely to his own efiforts and his life of industry has
been followed by a goodly share of prosperity. Essentially a farmer,
he has not cared for other interests than those which center around his
property and his home, content to gain a reputation in the peaceful
pursuits of the soil, free from the strife of politics and the busy mart
of trade and commerce. Mr. Gish is a native of the Hoosier State, and
was born July 7, 1860, in Carroll county, a son of Henry and Elizabeth
(Garst) Gish. The family was founded in Cass county by Mr. Gish's
father, who had come from Virginia to Carroll county, with the grand-
father of James G. Gish, Abraham Gish and his wife. Abraham Gish
entered land from the United States government at an early day, and
the remainder of his life was spent in Carroll county, where both he
and his wife died. Following in the footsteps of his parent, Henry Gish
early became a tiller of the soil, and for years was prominent in agri-
cultural circles of Carroll county, and there both parents died. They
had a family of five children, as follows : Hester, who is now deceased ;
Catherine; Jeremiah, who is deceased; Mary; and James G.
James G. Gish received his early education in the old Blue school-
house in Carroll county, and after coming to Cass county continued
to attend the district schools during the winter months, while helping
his father in the summers. He was reared to habits of industry and in-
1172 HISTORY OP CASS COUNTY
tegrity and taught to work hard and realize the value of money, and by
the time he had reached his majority he was thoroughly trained in all
branches of farm work. He early learned to make a study of soil
and clim.atie conditions, and a knowledge of crop rotation was also
included in his curriculum. On coming to manhood, he began operations
on his own account on 80 acres of land which he purchased, from which
he cleared the incmubrance by faithful and persistent labor, well ap-
plied along well-detined lines. He has continued to add to the improve-
ments and buildings on his property, and has met with a full measure
of success both in general farming and stock raising, being now ac-
counted one of Deer Creek's substantial men. He has every modem
improvement for the cultivation of the soil, his buildings are large and
substantial, and everything about the property gives evidence of his
skill and good management. Mr. Gish has always labored faithfully in
behalf of his community and its people, and holds a high place in the
esteem of those with whom he has been brought into contact.
]\Ir. Gish was married to ]\Iiss Emma Wills, and to them there have
been born two children: Bruce, who married IMaud Kay, and has four
children — Ruth, Owen, Gertrude and Grace ; and Grace, who became
the wife of Harry Miller, and has one child, Wilbur. With his wife and
children, Mr. Gish attends the United Brethren church, of which he
is a liberal supporter.
Stephen B. Boyer. A more notable illustration of the exercise of
American energy, ability, integrity and superior skill would be hard
to find than that exhibited by the firm of Obenchain & Boyer, which
controls one of the leading enterprises of Logansport, and which has
achieved a wide-spread reputation, and by its able management, and
steady development, has secured at Logansport the undoubted suprem-
acy as regards the manufacture of a superior grade of chemical fire en-
gines and automatic boiler cleaners. One of the proprietors of this
concern, Stephen B. Boyer, belongs to that class of men who have risen
to prominence through the exercise of native ability, and not through
outside assistance or influence. A veteran of the Civil war, he came
to Logansport, at the close of that struggle, poor in purse, but rich in
ambition and ideas, and in the years that have followed has not only
gained a position of signal prominence in the commercial world, but
has contributed materially to the welfare of his adopted city, both as
a manufacturer and as the incumbent of important office. Mr. Boyer
w^as born at New Bloomfield, Perry county, Pennsylvania, December
7, 1842, and is a son of William D. and Mariah (Fritz) Boyer. His
parents, natives of Germany, and on the paternal side with an ad-
mixture of French, had nine children, of whom one son and one daughter
still survive. Stephen Boyer, the paternal grandfather, was a minister
of the Presbyterian church at Little York, Pennsylvania. William D.
Boyer was a soldier, and fought through the Indian wars, in Florida.
Before he had reached the age of twelve yeai-s, Stephen B. Boyer
had learned to set type in the office with his father, foreman of the
Perry County Freeman, a Whig newspaper, and thus added to the few
years of education he had secured in the New Bloomfield schools. In
1854 the death of his father broke up the family and Stephen B. Boyer
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1173
went to his uucle's farm in the same county, and with the exception of
one or two terms while here, this completed his scholastic training.
When about fifteen years of age he began driving a mule team on the
Pennsylvania Canal, after which he accepted a position as a clerk in a
grocery store at Duncannon, on the Pennsylvania Railway, fifteen miles
from Harrisburg. He was thus employed at the outbreak of the Civil
war, and, fired with the patriotism of youth and with the ideas that
had been instilled in him while he was working in the office with his
fatheP, he enlisted, November 10, 1861, in the Ninth Pennsylvania
Cavalry, Company A, which rendezvoused at Harrisburg. This regi-
ment was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland, and went into camp
on the farm of Jesse D. Bright, in Indiana, this gentleman having
been previously expelled from the United States senate for treasonable
utterances. The command was ordered to Munfordville, .Kentucky, on
the Green river, and subsequently marched to Nashville, Tennessee, in
the meantime being employed to a considerable extent in scouting. After
spending a short time in camp at Springfield, the regiment fell back at
the invasion of Bragg, and was in camp at Crab Orchard when the
battle of Richmond, Kentucky, was fought. On that same day they
were ordered to Richmond, but arrived after the retreat of the Federal
forces, and became their rear guard as far as Louisville. Upon the
reorganization, in 1862, with Gen. Buell in command, the army moved
against Bragg and contested the battle of Perryville, the cavalry then
following Bragg 's retreat entirely out of Kentucky. By a special re-
quest of the Kentucky Legislature, the Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry was
asked to remain in Kentucky and there they continued throughout the
balance of the year, 1862, doing cavalry and scout work. The battle
of Stone river approaching, the Ninth Cavalry was consolidated with
other commands and sent to destroy bridges on the railroad near Knox-
ville, to prevent reinforcements being thrown to Bragg 's relief, and
this mission was successfully completed, being known officially as Car-
ter's Raid. Returning, after twenty-seven days, to camp at Nicholas-
ville, Kentucky, the regiment then went to Nashville, and on to Prank-
lin, where they occupied the extreme right of Rosecrans' army, taking
part in the campaig-ns of middle Tennessee, Chattanooga, the Grant
campaigns around Chattanooga to Knoxville and with Sherman to At-
lanta and to the sea and through the Carolinas to the end of the war.
Returning to the occupations of peace, ]\lr. Boyer taiight school in
Pennsylvania for a short time, and in the spring of 1865 entered a com-
mercial school in Philadelphia, where he found himself at the close of
the Civil war. Believing that the west was the place for young men
having nothing but the desire to do, Mr. Boyer came in June, 1865, to
Logansport, Indiana, and this city has been his home ever since. He
first took a position as bookkeeper with C. B. Knowlton and con-
tinued as bookkeeper and superintendent for Knowlton & Dykeman
and Knowlton & Dolan up to 1882. In 1881, in connection with John
S. Obenchain, he erected the Logan Flouring Mills, which they operated
some twenty years. This mill was destroyed by fire in 1901 and the
business was closed out. About 1888 the firm of Obenchain & Boyer
was organized, for the manufacture of an automatic boiler cleaner and
in 1898 they commenced the manufacture of chemical fire engines, this
1174 HISTOKY OF CASS COUNTY
business and the mill being operated at the same time. In January,
1902, a new building was erected on the site of the burned mill, and the
business was continued with the exception of the flouring mill. Since
the death of Mr. Obenchain, in 1909, Mr. Boyer has continued the busi-
ness as surviving partner. This enterprise has a large trade all over
Indiana and the surrounding states, and under Mr. Boyer 's manage-
ment is constantly adding to its prestige. Not only in business life has
Mr. Boyer left the impress of his influence upon that city, but also in
public life, and during the sixteen years he served as a member of the
city council and three years which he was police commissioner, he dis-
played the highest executive ability. During his service in the com-
mon council many measures of a public interest were secured. Among
these was the building of the Electric Light Plant. This plant was
erected by a special committee of which IMr. Boyer was chairman and
the plant was enlarged and extended under his management as chair-
man of the electric light committee. This plant is a financial success.
The Wabash and Erie Canal running through the city was purchased
and Erie avenue built which is now one of the great thoroughfares of the
city. The natural gas situation was fought out and settled in favor
of the city and the Interurban policy of the city was settled after
passing through a situation bordering on civil war. Mr. Boyer has
been a Republican in his political views but joined the progressive
movement of 1912. He is a valued member of the Grand Army of the
Republic, and with his wife attends the Fii-st Presbyterian church of
which he has been elder for years.
On September 12, 1872, Mr. Boyer was married to Miss Josephine
Goodwin, and they have three children : Alexander B., Mary J., and
Helen T.
Howard H. York, chief engineer of the Northern Indiana Hospital
for the Insane, at Logansport, has been connected with this institution
for many years, and during his long and honorable residence in the
city has firmly established himself as one of its representative citizens.
Mr. York is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born in Hendricks
county, June 11, 1849, a son of Aquilla and Rebecca M. (Barker) York.
His father, a native of Alamance county, North Carolina, was born March
4, 1818, and came to Indiana in 1834, locating in Hendricks county,
where he spent the remainder of his life in farming, and passed away in
September, 1876. He was married in Hendricks county to Miss Rebecca
M. Barker, also a native of North Carolina, who died in 1866, and they
became the parents of nine children, of whom six are now living : John
M., of Indianapolis, Indiana; Charles, a resident of California; Austin,
living in Washington ; Ellen, a resident of Indianapolis ; Nettie, of
Pekin, Illinois; and Howard H.
Howard H. York was educated in the public schools of Hendricks
county, following which he entered Asbury University (now DePauw),
receiving excellent advantages for his day and locality. He secured a
teacher's license, which, however, he never made use of, as his tiine
was devoted to the work of the home farm until he reached the age of
twenty-three years. At that time he left the parental roof and came
to Indianapolis, and during the next ten years acted in the capacity of
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1175
fireman and assistant engineer in the Central Indiana Hospital for
the Insane, then becoming chief engineer of the Northern Indiana Hos-
pital for Insane. He has continued to be connected with this institu-
tion to the present time, during which he has been in the active dis-
charge of his duties with the exception of ten months, when he was
superintendent of the construction of the Hospital for the Insane at
Evansville, Indiana. He has made his home in Logan-sport since 1888,
has made many friends, and is known as a man who regards the dis-
charge of his duties as a sacred trust. He and his wife are popular
members of the Order of the Eastern Star, and Mr. York is also well
known in Masonry, having attained to the R. and S. M. degree. In
political matters, his inclinations have led him to support the principles
and candidates of the Democratic party, to which the members of both
his and his wife's families have always given their aid. These families
have been well represented in military life, Mr. York having seven
uncles who served as soldiers during the Civil war, while Mrs. York's
stepfather and one brother also participated in that struggle.
On November 8, 1882, Mr. York was ma;rried to Miss IMary J. Dent,
who was born in Knightstown, Indiana, April 8, 1847, and educated in
the common schools there. To this union there has been born one son :
George D., born Aug-ust 27, 1886, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was
educated in the public schools of Logansport, and after his graduation
from the high school became connected with the Northern Indiana Hos-
pital for the Insane, where he is now acting in the capacity of assistant
engineer.
DeWitt Doran. In the life of DeWitt Doran, of Adams town-
ship, there is presented a lesson for the youth of any land; something
to be found in it of a nature encouraging to the young aspirant who,
without friends or fortunes, is struggling to overcome obstacles in his
efforts to acquire a comfortable competence, if not absolute wealth.
Some twenty-seven years ago, Mr. Doran came to Adams township with
a capital of fifty dollars in money, poor but ambitious, unknown but
determined. Today he is the proprietor of the noted Old Virginia
Stock Farm, a tract of 300 acres, and is known throughout his part of
Cass county. Probably no better example of what may be accomplished
through a life of industry, perseverance and strict integrity could be
found, and a brief review of the height by which he has risen to his
present position will no doubt prove interesting to those who are ad-
mirers of self-made manhood.
Mr. Doran is a native of the Old Dominion state, and was born
January 22, 1864, a son of Liza Aim Doran. His parents were in
humble circumstances and he was only able to attend school several
months out of each year, as his services were needed in assisting in
the support of the family, but he was an alert, intelligent and am-
bitious lad, and made good i;se of his opportunities, gaining thereby
a good rudimentary education. Moreover, he was reared to habits of
industry, economy and thrift, and thoroughly trained in all the details
of farm work. When he first came to Cass county, in November, 1886,
his cash capital was represented by the sum of fifty dollars but his stock
of ambition, energy and determination was beyond estimation. His
1176 HISTOKY OF CASS COUNTY
limited pecuniary circumstances forced him to rent the poorest farm
on the Taber Seven Sections, but his success on this property soon at-
tracted the attention of Mr. Taber, the owner, who subsequently rented
him the best property he had, and there he continued to carry on oper-
ations for sixteen years. His success was commensurate with his faith-
ful labor, and in 1902 he was able to purchase his present property, a
finely-cultivated tract of 300 acres, which he named the Old Virginia
Stock Farm, in honor of his birth state. He has cleared this land, has
erected substantial buildings, and now devotes the greater part of his
attention to the raising of thoroughbred stock, for which he finds a
ready and lucrative market. From earliest boyhood, his life has been
one of continuous and well-directed industry, and his success is all
the more satisfactory in that it has been self-gained, without outside
assistance. Mr. Doran has been too busily occupied with his private
affairs to engage in political matters and when he votes he recognizes
no party lines, believing in voting for the man whom he deems best
fitted for the office rather than the organization which he represents.
With his family, he is a consistent member of Hoover Methodist Epis-
copal church.
In 1884, Mr. Doran was united in marriage with Miss Frances Pur-
due, the estimable daughter of Daniel Purdue, and they have had ten
children, namely: Mark, Ora, James, j\Iyrtle, Bertha, Minnie Belle,
Arlo, Hugh, Katie and "Wayne. The children have all been given good
educational advantages, and have been reared to fit any position in
life which they may be called upon to occupy.
William M. Smith has been a resident of Logansport for the past
thirty years, and in that time has seen many changes in and about the
city. He was born on August 23, 1849, in a log cabin near Kewanee,
in Pulaski county, Indiana, and is the son of David and Elizabeth (Mitch-
ell) Smith.
David Smith was a native of Southern Indiana, and a farmer and
blacksmith by trade. When a young man, in the early forties, he came
to what is now Pulaski county, and there built a log cabin, after
which he returned to his old home, married his youthful sweetheart,
Elizabeth Mitchell, native of Kentucky, and brought her with him to
the cabin in Pulaski county. Here he worked with a will at his trade
when he could spare the time from his regualr farm work, and under the
most adverse conditions, succeeded in clearing up his farm. He and his
wdfe passed through all the hardships and privations incident to pioneer
life in those early days, — conditions which the present generation can
have but the faintest conception of. They became the parents of seven
children, — two only of the number now' are living. The life of Mr.
Smith was a quiet and uneventful one, barring the happenings incident
to the formative period of the covmty, and he died on April 18. 1880, his
wddow surviving him until 1896.
William M. Smith was the oldest of his parents' children and much
of the hard work in the carrying on of the regular farm work early fell
upon his shoulders. He attended the country school in the winter
seasons, and remained in the home until he had passed his twenty-first
birthday. He rented land in Pulaski county which he farmed inde-
JU.T^
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1177
peudently until the fall of 1880, when he came to Logansport. He
secured work in a stave factory at which he continued for a time, but
later went into the teaming ])usiness, still later engaging in the feed
business. Subsequent to his experience in that respect he once more took
up teaming, and for a considerable time after that was in the employ of
various grocery concerns in the city. In August, 1902, he bought a
lease and the building which stands on his present property, and at
once opened up a general coal and fuel business. In 1911 he built his
present building, and it is needless to add, he has prospered most agree-
ably in the business. He has added cement to his stock, and cement
blocks, in which he is now extensively and profitably engaged in manu-
facturing. He handles more than one hundred and fifty car loads of
coal annually and al)out four thousand barrels of cement, and the busi-
ness is on the steady advance.
]\Ir. Smith is a Republican, a member of the Order of Ben Hur, and
of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was married on March 16, 1871,
to ^liss ^Margaret E. Woods, of Cass county, and they are the parents
of three children: Hugh, a druggist of Logansport; Jesse, who died
in infancy, and Asa E., in the drug and jewelry business with his
brother in Logansport.
ZuiNGLESS U. Loop, M. D. Industry and intellect have never been
incompatible. There is more wisdom, and will be more benefit, in com-
bining them than scholars like to believe or than the ordinary people
of the world imagine. Life has time enough for both, and its happi-
ness will be increased by the union. To this combination add these
other important qvialities — enterprise and energy, business tact and
public-spirit — and the sum total is the make-up of that class of men in
which Dr. Zuingless Loop, of Galveston, stands in prominent relief.
Dr. Loop has long been a leading factor in the life of Galveston. He is
known as one of the prominent physicians of his part of the county,
has wide and varied interests in the business world, is the owner of
a valuable farming property, and in public and social affairs holds
recognized prestige. He was born July 9, 1851, in the village of Deer
Creek, Carroll county, Indiana, about twelve miles from Galveston,
and is a son of James C. and Sarah (Wertz) Loop. His father, a native
of Clearmont county, Ohio, Avas educated in the common schools, read
medicine, and subsequently became a country physician, following his
profession in conjunction with farming operations on his property in
Deer Creek township, near the Abraham Smith farm. He and his wife
had five children, namely: William M., deceased, who married Laura
Hyman, and had two children, Luna and AYade, and Luna married
Frank Brown, auditor of Carroll county ; Zuingless : Kate ; Charles C. ;
and Pearl. The mother of these children still survives, and although
now in her eighty-fourth year, is hale and hearty and in full possession
of her faculties.
Zuingless Loop received his early education in the public schools
of Jackson township, and was reared in Galveston, where he worked
until he was nineteen years of age. He read medicine with his brother,
Dr. W. M. Loop, who was at that time practicing in Deer Creek, Carroll
county, Indiana. He entered a drug store in Galveston and by
1178 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
economy managed to save enough money to enter college. He entered
Louisville (Ky.) M&dical College, where he received his degree
of Doctor of Medicine in 1882. He at once located at Galveston, where
he has since been engaged in practice with the exception of the time
he spent in taking post-graduate courses at Chicago and New York.
In 1875 Dr. Loop entered the drug business and has been con-
tinuously engaged in the business up to April, 1912, and at the
same time he was practicing medicine. He has built up a large and
representative practice, which covers Galveston and the contiguous terri-
tory, is widely known in his profession as a man of the highest ability,
and has the full confidence of his patients. He belongs to the Cass
County and Indiana State ^ledical Societies and the American ]\Iedical
Association, in the work of which he takes great interest, and keeps him-
self thoroughly abreast of the advances and discoveries of his profession
by subscription to the leading medical periodicals of the day. His
fraternal connections are with the Knights of P\i:hias, in which he has
passed all the chairs, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. With
his family, he attends the IMethodist Episcopal church. Dr. Loop has
various financial, business and realty interests, and is the owner of a
valuable eighty-acre farm, located on the county line in Jackson town-
ship, to which he devotes a good deal of his attention. He is president
of the First State Bank of Galveston, organized June 7, 1913, and was a
member of the county council of Cass county for three years.
In September, 1875, Dr. Loop was married first to Mary E.
Atchley, who died a short time thereafter without issue. In 1882 he
formed his second union with ]\Iiss Laura Darragh Wilson. She died
in 1900, leaving three children : Clarence, who married Pearl Cook ;
Glen R., who is employed at Kokomo, Indiana, l)ut makes his home
with his parents; and Florence died in infancy. Dr. Loop married for
his third wife Miss Ella Metealf. He has been loyal and active in his
support of all measures that have promised to benefit his community,
and for a period served as town treasurer.
Dr. jMilton B. Stew'art has been a practicing physician at Logans-
port for the past sixteen years, and has taken front rank among the
members of his profession in Cass county. He was born March 14,
1873, at Vij'gil, Kansas, and his youth was passed in attending
the schools where his father, a pastor of the IMethodist Episcopal
church, happened to be stationed. When six years old the father
was transferred to the North Indiana conference, and while living
at Columbia City, he was graduated from the high school. In
1890, when but sixteen years old, he began teaching in the public
schools with the ultimate object of making that his permanent work in
life. Through the influence of Dr. Barnhill, of South Whitely, he was
induced to alter his plans and take up the study of medicine. He
matriculated at the Cleveland iledical College, Cleveland, Ohio, from
which he was graduated with the spring class of 1897. He at once
located in Logansport, which has ever since been his home, and where
his skill as a practitioner is evidenced by a large and increasing pat-
ronage.
Dr. Stewart was married on April 24, 1901, to Miss Alice H. Lari-
mer. He is a member of the ]\Iethodist church, and one of the greatest
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1179
pleasures he has is his association with this body, with which he became
connected at the age of nine years, since when he has endeavored at all
times to live the life of a Christian gentleman. His citizenship is of a
high order, his unostentatious benefactions being freely bestowed where,
in his judgment, the most good will follow. Dr. Stewart is a member
of the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, the Loyal Order of Moose, the I. 0. R. M., and other
fraternal and benevolent organizations of a similar nature.
John E. Sutton. In preparing such a historical and biographical
work as this publication is intended to be, it is as essential that specific
mention be made of those who have been identified with the best in-
terests of a given eommunitj' and have finished their earthly labors as
of those who are yet active in their chosen spheres of labor. It is
therefore consistent with the spirit of this work that somewhat extended
place be given to the life of the late John E. Sutton, who for eleven
years gave the best that was in him to the publication of a wholesome,
honest and capable newspaper in the city of Logansport. In his ca-
pacity as proprietor and business manager of the Daily and Weekly
Reporter, one of the most efficient journals that Cass county has ever
known, he made a lasting imprint upon the minds of his readers and
upon the entire county in effect, and his influence is yet alive in the
community which knows him no more. He was born on October 21, 1863,
and died on the 6th of January, 1900.
John E. Sutton, who claimed Fulton county, Indiana, as his native
place, was the son of Andrew J. and Barbara (Horn) Sutton. The
father was born in Fayette county, Ohio, and the mother in Washing-
ton county, Pennsylvania. ' For some years they were residents of
Logansport, but their residence in Cass county covered a much longer
period. Andrew Sutton was a son of Ferdinand and Mary (Shellen-
berger) Sutton, natives of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and were
of Scotch and German ancestry. Andrew Sutton was young in years
when he accompanied his parents to Clark county, Ohio, and there he
received his education, which was complete enough to permit him to
engage in teaching at the age of nineteen. His pedagogic work found
him employed in the counties of Miami, Cass and Fulton, in Indiana,
having taken up a residence in this state in 1844. For twenty winters
he gave himself to educational work, and he was known to be one of the
most successful teachers of his day, his services always being in de-
mand from season to season.
In 1870 Mr. Sutton gave up his teaching activities and turned his
attention to the business of merchandise in Logansport, to which he added
operations in real estate. He was a man who gave considerable at-
tention to the duties of public life, and served in varied capacities in
the years of his residence here. In 1882 he was elected a member of
the Board of Commissioners of Cass county, serving a three year term in
a most capable and efficient manner. In the latter nineties Mr. Sutton,
then well advanced in years, retired from active business in a large
measure. He was for many years an active member of the Methodist
church, and he was a life-long Democrat. He married Barbara Horn
1180 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
in May, 1850, and five children came to them. It is to their son, John
E., that this sketch is dedicated.
In Fulton county, Indiana, John E. Sutton was reared in the wise
and loving care of his devoted parents. His father gave to the boy
especial attention in an educational way, and he grew to manhood well
fortified in his studies, which had, since he was six years old, been pnr-
sued in the city of Logansport. He was graduated from the high school
of this city in 1882, and then gave some little attention to school-
teaching in which work his father had for many years previous been
occupied, but he soon changed his activities to other fields. Journalism
attracted him strangely, and he entered the office of the Logansport
Pharos, where he served for three years as city editor of that paper.
He was ambitious, and, discontented with such experience as he might
gain in that position, he gave up his work in Logansport and went west,
finding employment readily with any of the metropolitan dailies he
chanced upon from Indianapolis to San Francisco. In Los Angeles he
became the jjublisher of the Real Estate Reporter, a paper, which though
short lived, had a most prosperous career and a phenomenal circulation.
The southern California Bubble of 1886 went the way of all such,
and the Reporter shared in the general collapse of inflated values that
had prevailed in that region. Two years of experience in independent
journalism served to convince Mr. Sutton of his ability, and returning
to Logansport, he founded the Reporter, although contrary to the ad-
vice of the wiseacres who predicted failure for any such project.
Nothing daunted, however, ]\Ir. Sutton went ahead with his plans and
it is significant of his perspicacity and general good judgment that the
paper proved a distinct success, from every possible vieAv point. The
first issue of the paper bore the date of October 1, 1889, and from then
until the time of his passing, it maintained a high standard of excellence
in the county, owning a popularity second to none in the field. It is
a fact worthy of record here that Mr. Sutton also founded and pub-
lished papers in other parts of the state, among them the Galveston Sun,
and another of his Logansport enterprises was the Advance, which also
proved a successful venture. Mr. Sutton assumed an Independent at-
titude in politics, and his papers ever refiected that attitude, being con-
ducted entirely upon neutral lines.
While Mr. Sutton was a resident of Los Angeles, he met and married
Miss May Stanley, the ceremony being solemnized in that city in Jan-
uary, 1887. Two children. Psyche and Lindley, were born to them.
Mr. Sutton was a member of the Presbyterian church, as is also his
widow and children who survive him. They maintain a high place in
the best circles in Logansport and enjoy the esteem and friendship of
a select circle which %ndens with the passing years.
John D. Beal, now living retired in Logansport at the advanced
age of eighty-six yeai-s, was born on February 20, 1828, in Alsace-
Loraine, then a part of France, but now a province of Germany.
In the old country the family name was De Biehl, but after the removal
to America the name was simplified and Anglicized into its pres-
ent form. John De Biehl was the name of the father of the subject
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1181
of this review, and his career was a notable one. He was one of the
famous soldiers who fought under Napoleon at the battle of Austerlitz,
participated in the Russian campaign against Moscow and in its disas-
trous retreat, and was with Grouchy at the battle of Waterloo. He was
born in 1787, married Elizabeth Coler who was born in 1801, and in the
year 1830 emigrated to the United States. For the ensuing ten years he
was employed in a distillery at New^ Lancaster, Ohio, and in the fall of
1840 he and his family came to Cass county, Indiana, making the
journey in a wagon, drawn by a yoke of oxen. The first winter the fam-
ily lived in a cabin on the present site of the Heppe Soap Factory,
and the following spring he moved into a log house on a farm in Wash-
ington township, where he passed the remainder of his days. He died
in 1879, and his wife having preceded him four years.
After coming to Cass county, Mr. Beal, as he came to be known in
this country, made two trips back to his old home in Ohio to collect sale
notes, both trips to and from being made on foot. He and his wife
became the parents of five children, of which number John D. Beal,
whose name heads this review, was the only son, and is the sole survivor
of the five. He was two years old when the family migrated to America,
and twelve when they came to Cass county to live. His early years were
passed in attending the neighboring schools in the intervals when his
services were not in requisition in the work of the home farm, in which
he early became proficient, his knowledge embracing all the various
branches of agricultural life incidental to making a farm in a new
country. He followed farming and farm life until 1896, when he moved
to Logansport, where the evening of his life is now being passed in quiet
and peace.
On October 29, 1859, John D. Beal married Katherene Long, whose
people were also early settlers of Cass county, and to them were
born eight children. Three of that number died in infancy, the others
being : Joseph A. ; John H. ; Jeannette ; William ; and J. Adrian. The
mother yet lives, at a ripe old age, and is a devout member of the
English Lutheran church.
J. Adrian Beal, the youngest of the children of John D. and Kath-
erene (Long) Beal, was born on the home farm in Washington town-
ship, this county, on December 12, 1869, and was there reared to man-
hood. He was educated in the district schools and on attaining his
majority worked two .years at railroading, and the next two years at
farming. He came to Logansport in 1896, and from then until 1900 was
deputy county surveyor. He was then elected to the office of county
surveyor, and was re-elected to this office two years later. The succeed-
ing two years he was employed by the county at bridge building and
road work, but the fall of 1906 he was again elected county surveyor.
On January 1, 1909, Mr. Beal formed a partnership with Harry
M. Bell, under the firm name of Beal and Bell, and they have since
been engaged in the work of engineering and contracting. Between
the years of 1906 and 1912 he was also in partnership with his brother,
William V., under the name of Beal Brothers Coal Company.
Mr. Beal is a Democrat. He is high in Masonic circles, being a mem-
ber of its various bodies, including the Knights Templar, the Scottish
Vol. n— 3 0
1182 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Rite and the Shrine ; he is also a member of the Benevolent and Protec-
tive Order of Elks and the T. P. A.
On September 28, 1905, Mr. Beal was united in marriage with Miss
Julia B. Grover, daughter of General John B. Grover, a veteran of both
the Mexican and Civil wars. Mrs. Beal is also a granddaughter of the
fii-st mayor of Logansport.
August Grube. The A. Grube Company, of which August Grube
is the leading spirit, was established in Logansport in 1910, its business
being the handling of ladies' and childrens' ready-to-wear goods, ex-
clusively. The firm is located at No. 427-29 Broadway. Its manager,
Mr. Grube came to Logansport from Terre Haute, where he had been
employed as the buyer and manager of the ready-to-wear department
of a large establishment in that city, and he readily saw the splendid
possibilities for such a concern in Logansport. An exclusive garment
shop, catering solely to the Avants of women and children, was a new
departure for Logansport, and the success of Mr. Grube 's venture here
has been most gratifying. The corporation was here organized with a
capital of $5,000, fully paid, in which Mr. Grube is the half owner.
The first year the young concern did more than $60,000 in business,
largely the result of a carefully planned advertising campaign. Since
that time the business has had a healthy increase annually, and the
establishment is now regarded as one of the standard business houses
of the city.
August Grube was born in Danville, Illinois, on September 6, 1876,
and is of German parentage. He was taken out of school when he was
eleven years old and since that time has made his own way in the world,
with a success which is well worthy of the name. His entire life has
been passed in mercantile lines, and he has learned the business from
the ground up. He had charge of the silk department in which he was
employed when he was twenty years of age, and is conceded to be one
of the best versed men in his line of business to be found anywhere in
the country. Mr. Grube maintains his home in Logansport, and his
present expectation is that Logansport will be his home for many years
to come.
In 1896 he married Miss Alice Johnson, of Danville, Illinois, his
native town as well, and nine children have been born to them, of which
number eight are now living.
Bernard A. Kroeger, senior member of the undertaking firm of
Kroeger & Winquist, in which business he has been long and success-
fully engaged in Logansport, was born at Cloppenburg, Germany, on
May 30, 1856, and is a son of Anthony and Elizabeth (Hochhertz)
Kroeger. He was reared to man's estate in his native country, and
until he was seventeen years old attended the parochial schools. In
1873 he entered the employ of the German government in the post office
and telegraph department, and was thus engaged until he was twenty-
two years of age. In August, 1878, Mr. Kroeger immigrated to the
United States, and for one year succeeding his arrival he was a student
at St. Francis' Seminary, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he bettered
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1183
his already fair education and made rapid strides toward the mastery
of the English language.
When he had finished his schooling in ]\Iilwaukee, Mr. Kroeger
located in Logansport, Indiana, where he secured employment as book-
keeper for the firms of W. T. S. Manley & Sons, undertakers, and
Manly & Smith, furniture manufacturers. He continued thus until
1882 when he associated himself with R. AV. Weaver, who had succeeded
]\Ianly & Son, and the firni of AVeaver & Kroeger was then established.
In 1884, Rodney Strain bought out the interest of Mr. Weaver and the
firm thereupon became Kroeger & Strain, until the death of j\Ir. Strain
in 1910. Subsecfuent to that event, the firm of Kroeger & Winquist
came into existence, and the concern today occupies a leading place
among the stable business institiitions of Logansport. The continued
connection of I\Ir. Kroeger with the firm during the past three decades,
despite many changes, has won for it a reputation for integrity and fair
dealing that has made it one of the respected business houses of the city.
Although of foreign birth, Mr. Kroeger is an American citizen in all
that the term implies. He is one of the progressive and enterprising
men of this city, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of all who come
in contact with him in his business life.
Mr. Kroeger is a Roman Catholic in religion, as have been his an-
cestors for many generations. He is a member of the Knights of Co-
lumbus, the Catholic Benevolent Legion, the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, and his politics are those of a Democrat. To his mar-
riage with Miss Veronica Hoffman, of Logansport, on October 2-5, 1887,
six children have been born, as follows: Bernard A., Jr.; Florence J.,
married Jos. C. Kienly of Logansport ; Marie, Edith, George and Francis.
Joseph Martin Elliott, generally known in Logansport as Mark
Elliott, was born on the old Elliott farm in Harrison township,
on January 13, 1853, and is the son of Joseph and Martha (Lin-
coln) Elliott, who came to Cass county from Tippecanoe county,
Indiana, at about 1850. The Elliott family is of Irish extraction, the
father of the subject having been born in North Carolina in 1801, the
son of an Irishman. In an early day Joseph Elliott came to the
north and settled in Drake county, Ohio, where occurred his marriage
to Martha Lincoln, the mother of the subject. The father died in Har-
rison township, Cass county, in 1855, his widow surviving him for
some years. A goodly family of twelve children were reared by them,
and of this number Joseph Martin Elliott was the youngest. Five of
that number are living today. After the death of her husband, Mrs.
Elliott married one Alexander Elliott, a cousin of her first husband,
and one child was born to them, who is now dead.
"Mark" Elliott was reared on the old home place in Harrison
township, and such education as he acquired was gained through the
medium of the district school of the neighborhood. He began to shift
for himself, as the old familiar saying goes, when he was sixteen years
old, working out as a farm hand, and when he was seventeen he set
about learning the trade of a horseshoer. For thirty-three years there-
after he followed that work in Logansport, and in 1904 he embarked in
the livery business, in which he has since continued with pleasing sue-
1184 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
cess. He was known for years as the leading blacksmith of the city, and
had a reputation for honest work and dependability that has followed
him in his newer venture.
Mr. Elliott is a Republican in politics, and in 1896 was the nominee
of his party for the office of county sheriff. At the previous election
the Democratic state ticket had a majority of four hundred and fifty-
nine votes, but in this election Mr. Elliott met defeat by but seventy-
eight votes. He is a member of the Masonic order, the Knights of
Pythias, in the Uniform Rank, and of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Foresters.
On March 14, 1877, Mr. Elliott married Miss Priscilla Castel, and
to them four children have been born, named as follows : Blanche, now
the wife of Dr. John Bradfield; Harry B., George M. and Earl, who
died in infancy.
John S. Smith, M. D. For thirty years Dr. Smith has quietly per-
formed his round of professional services and duties at Galveston and
vicinity, and is not only one of the oldest, but one of the most highly
esteemed practitioners in Cass county. A physician cannot live and
practice his calling for thirty years in one locality without possessing
a faithful character and a certain high ability and skill in his profession
which have contributed to make the splendid type of family physicians
which is known both in literature and in actual life.
Dr. John S. Smith was born on a farm in Jefferson county, Indiana,
March 24, 1855. His parents were James and Catherine (Overturf)
Smith. The mother was a daughter of Jacob Overturf, who was a farmer
and a substantial citizen of his locality. James Smith, the father, came
from Woodford county, Kentucky, to Indiana. He was a man of
versatile accomplishments and for twenty-five years during his residence
in Jefferson county, Indiana, he was a farmer, school teacher and sur-
veyor. He was captain of Company A, Ninth Indiana Cavalry, and
was the first man to chase John Morgan when he was on his raid through
Indiana. He and his wife were the parents of six children, named as
follows: Elizabeth (I\rerrill) ; William, who married Olive O'Neil, and
is now deceased, his four children being: Nora, Luther, Homer and
James; Sylvanis G. ; Mary E. Hillis; Dr. John; James H.
Dr. John S. Smith attended the common schools of Jefferson county,
Indiana, and during his early youth worked on the farm, and became
thoroughly acquainted with the industrioiis life of the Indiana agricul-
turist. He took up the reading of medicine under Dr. S. B. Lewis, who
had been an army surgeon and continued his education in the Ohio
Medical College, where he was graduated in March, 1882. Since that
time he has been engaged in practice at Galveston, and has built up a
large patronage, a great many people refusing to depend upon any
other professional service in time of sickness than that of Dr. Smith.
On December 27, 1885, he married Miss Anna E. Jump. They are
the parents of three children, now deceased, their names having been
Chauncey, Lillian and Ernest. Fraternally the doctor is a member of
Masonic Order, both York and Scottish Rite degrees ; of the Improved
Order of Red Men ; of the Eagles, and Sons of Veterans. He has served
on the pension board and as township supervisor, and in various ways
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1185
has given his services in public affairs as well as in the circle of people
who are among his patients, and who esteem him for his professional
ability and as a citizen and man.
John W. Kistler has occupied a leading place in the business activi-
ties of Royal Center, Cass county, Indiana, for many years. He is a
native son of the county, born in Boone township, on October 8, 1862,
and is a son of Amos and Anna E. (Schlegelmilch) Kistler.
Amos Kistler was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, and came to In-
diana as a boy, while his wife was a native of Pennsylvania, and was of
German ancestry, her father having been born in Germany, coming
to the United States in his youth. When Amos Kistler settled in In-
diana his first position was with a corps of engineers who were engaged
in the survey of the Pennsylvania Railroad through Royal Center. In
later years the young man located permanently in the village, which
he continued to make his residence until death claimed him in 1909.
He was a man of many excellent qualities, and an upright and hon-
orable citizen of Cass county. Ten children were born to Amos and
Anna Kistler, of which number eight are now living. They are : Martha,
who married D. B. Artrum ; George L., a resident of English Lake, In-
diana; John W., the sub.ject of this review; Lena C, the wife of J. M.
Verman; Cara D., who married Thomas J. Kistler; Laura, the wife of
JVI. E. Fisher, of Florida ; August C, unmarried and a resident of War-
saw, Indiana; Mabel, the wife of John A Hardesty; Effie and Jennie
are deceased.
John W. Kistler was reared on the home farm west of Royal Center,
and in the schools of the village received his early education. He began
farming early in life, at first on the home place and later on his own
responsibility, his marriage in 1884 being the occasion for his launching
out in independent agricultural activities. His wife, who was Miss
Sarah E. Holmes, was born in Boone township on ]\Iay 30, 1862, and
there reared and educated. She was the daughter of Jackson and Mary
(Corbet) Holmes, old residents of Boone township. The marriage of
Mr. and Mrs. Kistler was celebrated on November 16, 1884, and one
son has been born to them — Elden J., who was reared in his native
community and finished his education in the Marion Normal School,
and is now a member of the firm of John W. Kistler & Son. He mar-
ried Catheryn Anderson and they are the parents of two children, — Eliza
A., born in 1909 and May R., born in 1912.
Mrs. Kistler is a devout member of the Baptist church and a faithful
worker in the various departments of its activities. Mr. Kistler is a
member of the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows and the Knights of the Maccabees, also F. & A. M. He is a Re-
publican and has held several township offices of more or less respon-
sibility and is now a member of the village council. He is a man of the
highest integrity and honor and occupies a worthy place in the esteem
and confidence of his fellow citizens in and about Royal Center.
Braden F. Harper. On the line of Cass and Carroll counties, in
Clinton township, is located the beautiful country home of Braden F.
1186 HISTOEY OF CASS COUNTY
Harper, a citizen whose activities have had a distinct bearing upon the
development of his section. The work he has done and the success he
has gained may be taken as examples of what has been accomplished by
men of his character, the sturdy agricultural citizenship that Cass county
owes its prestige to. Mr. Harper is a native of the Old Dominion State,
born in Loudoun county, Virginia, October 31, 1857, a son of Jonathan
and Mary J. (Woodard) Harper. On his paternal side he is descended
from a native of Scotland, and on his maternal side from residents of
England, although his parents were born, reared and married in Vir-
ginia. Jonathan and Mary J. Harper came to Cass county, Indiana, in
1871, after a short stay in Fulton county, and here spent the remainder
of their lives, honest. God-fearing people who well merited the high
esteem in which they were universally held. They were the parents of
eleven children, of whom four are now living: James W., a farmer of
Carroll county, Indiana ; Nancy J., the widow of Benjamin Bear, now
living in Logansport ; Robert R., who resides in Carroll county ; and
Braden F.
Braden F. Harper was fourteen years of age when he came to Cass
county, and here completed the education he had commenced in the
schools of his native state. Like other farmers' sous of his day and
locality, he divided his boyhood and youth between the district schools
and the work of the home farm, and at the age of eighteen years had
completed his education, and then turned his attention to agricultural
pursuits. He continued to work for his father until he attained his
majority, when he began working by the day, and when twenty-four
years of age was married. He carried on farming operations for J. M.
Justice for six years and for William Walker five years, and during this
time, by careful management saved enough to invest in his present
farm, a tract of eighty acres which was then covered with heavy timber.
On this he built a hewed log house, 16x24 feet, in which the young
couple settled down to housekeeping, while j\Ir. Harper started to clear
the land, a task that took years of steady, persistent labor. During the
years that followed, ]\Ir. Harper encountered all the obstacles that are
incident to the development of virgin soil, but his labors have borne
fruit, and he may now point with a pardonable degree of pride to one
of the finest farms of its size in Clinton township. The little log cabin
home has been replaced by a modern residence, barns and outbuildings
of appropriate size and substantial character have been erected, and the
land is now worth $200 an acre. He is known as one of his township's
substantial citizens, an excellent farmer, and an acknowledged judge
of standard-bred stock and high-grade horses, his specialty being the
draft.
On February 17, 1881, IVIr. Harper was united in marriage with
Miss Melissa Dale, of Carroll county, Indiana, and they have had four
children: June M. ; Estella: Clara B., who is now the wife of Ross
Cree; and Julia F. The familj^ is identified with the Methodist Episco-
pal church at Clymers, and Mr. Harper's fraternal connection is with
Burrows Lodge No. 485, I. 0. 0. F. With other men of advanced
ideas, in 1912 he allied himself with the Progressive party, and its
principles have since received his hearty support.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY . 1187
Albert R. Beckley, president of the Citizens' State Savings Bank,
farmer and stock buyer of Royal Center, is one of tlie more prosperous
and widely known farming men of the township. He is a native of
Cass county, born in Boone township, on October 25, 1862, and is the
son of George Ward and Margaret (Walters) Beckley.
George Beckley was also a native of Boone township, this county,
and was one of the first children born in this section of the country. He
was the son of David and Lucinda (Wooley) Beckley, natives of Penn-
sylvania, who came from the old Keystone state to Ohio and settled at
Caldonia. There David Beckley was engaged in wagon making, which
was the trade he had learned in his youth, but they only remained in
Ohio a comparatively short time, coming on to Indiana, where the head
of the family took up a claim, his land being that which is occupied by
Royal Center today. At one time this pioneer settler owned about half
a section of rich Indiana land. Here George W. Beckley was born and
reared, and when he had reached young manliood he taught school for
some time during the winter seasons, and farmed in summer. It was
while he was teaching school that he married Margaret Walters. She
was born in Virginia and came to Indiana with her parents, who were of
German and Irish descent. Eventually George Beckley bought a farm
and settled upon it, there making his home until the end of his days, his
death occurring in 1912. The wife and mother yet lives, and makes her
home with her son, Albert R., in Royal Center. To these parents were
born five children, all of whom are yet living. They are : Albert R.,
the subject of this review; Ira B., also of Royal Center; Edward L., liv-
ing in Boone township; Anna E., the wife of R. C. Roach, of Waterville,
Ohio ; George W., Jr., living in San Diego, California, where he has
property interests. ,
Up to the time of his marriage Albert R. Beckley lived in his par-
ents' home and shared in the work of the farm. He received a common
school education in the schools of his native community, but beyond that
his educational privileges did not extend. On November 23, 1888, he
was united in marriage to Dollie Woods, the daughter of Thomas and
Martha J. Woods, people of Indiana birth, and to them one child has
been born : Dottie L., now the wife of C. G. Beach, of Fargo, North
Dakota.
Mr. Beckley is busily occupied with the care of his fine farm of two
hundred and forty acres and with his other interests in Royal Center.
His politics are those of the Prohibition party, and he is a member of
various fraternal orders, among which are the A. F. & A. M., Lodge
No. 585 at Royal Center; the Knights of Pythias; the order of the
Eastern Star, and the Knights of the Maccabees. He and his wife enjoy
the good will and confidence of a large number of friends and acquaint-
ances who have known them with more or less of intimacy for many
years.
William C. Thomas. Practically the whole of the active business
career of William C. Thomas has been devoted to financial affairs, and
no man in Cass county has been more prominently identified with the
leading banking concerns of the county than has he. Mr. Thomas is a
native of the state of Indiana, born at Royal Center, on the 20th day of
1188 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
February, 1863, and is one of the four children of his parents, James
and Elizabeth (Little) Thomas.
Dr. James Thomas was one of the pioneer physicians and surgeons
of Cass county, and to this honored gentleman a sketch is dedicated on
other pages of this work, so that further detail concerning him and
his family history is not necessary at this juncture.
William C. Thomas was reared to manhood in Royal Centre, and his
preliminary educational training was secured in the public schools of
that place. In 1883 he entered Wabash College from which he was grad-
uated in 1887 with the degree of B. S., and following his graduation he
was occupied for a year in the settling of his father's estate. In 1889,
private matters having been disposed of, he found himself free to engage
in business enterprise, and he helped to organize the Royal Center
bank, of which the late D. P. Baldwin was president, and Mr. Thomas
was cashier. In 1891 Ernest B. Thomas, a brother of William C, bought
out the interest of Mr. Baldwin, upon which he became cashier and
Mr. William Thomas was elevated to the position of president. The
bank continued as a private institution until 1902, when it was incor-
porated as the Royal Center State Bank, and Mr. Thomas has con-
tinued in the presidency, with his brother Ernest as cashier up to the
present time. The Royal Center State Bank is today the second oldest
bank in Cass county, and has a splendid reputation for stability and
clean, wholesome methods of operation. In August, 1907, Mr. Thomas
organized the vState Bank of Burnettsville, and he is and has been its
only president thus far. This bank also is one of the growing and
solid fiscal institutions of the county, its management being on a par
with that of the Royal Center State Bank.
In 1893 Mr. Thomas moved to Logansporf and assisted in the organ-
ization of the Logansport State Bank, of which he became the cashier,
and in which capacity he served continuously for some fifteen years.
He resigned the position owing to a state of ill health, and for two years
did practically no business, except that which absolute necessity forced
him to attend to. On February 23, 1911, Mr. Thomas was appointed
state bank examiner, his territory comprising fifteen counties in North-
east Indiana, and covering one hundred and thirty-nine banks and
trust companies.
Mr. Thomas is a Democrat in his political faith, but has never been
an aspirant for official preferment or favor. He is a member of the
Sigma Chi college fraternityl and the Indiana Democratic Club at
Indianapolis.
In 1889 Mr. Thomas was united in marriage with Miss Nettie Min-
Ihorn of Royal Center, who died in 1901, leaving three children : Wal-
ter, Paul and William. In 1903 Mr. Thomas married IMiss Estelle
Keiser, of Indianapolis. She is a member of the Presbyterian church,
and enjoys the friendship of a wide circle of the best people of Logans-
port, as does also her husband.
Beaufort Banta is undeniably one of the most successful farming
men in Jeiferson township, where he has been engaged in agriculture and
horticulture since 1892, but not continuously on present farm. He has
a fine place of one hundred acres, and there engages in general farming
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1189
and stock raising, giving a generous bit of time to fruit culture, liis
orchard of more than three hundred trees being one of tlie features of
his well kept and productive farm.
Mr. Banta was born in Cass county in 1866, and is the son of John
and Sarah Banta. In his childhood he suffered the loss of his hearing as
the result of brain fever when he was but five years of age, and his wife,
whom he married in 1891, suffered a like misfortune when eight years
old, through an attack of measles to which she was subject at that
age. She was Addie M. Hayden, a native of Elkhart county, Indiana,
and her marriage with Mr. Banta has been blessed with four children,
all of whom have perfect hearing. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Banta experi-
enced any detriment to their vocal organs in the illnesses which robbed
them of their sense of hearing.
Since his marriage Mr. Banta has been devoted to farm life, and his
success has been one that is well worthy of the name, and places him
well up in the ranks of the prominent farming men of his township.
Mr. Banta is a Republican, or has been all his life, until in the election
of 1912 when he voted the Progressive ticket.
Mr. Banta and his wife were educated in the schools of Indianapolis,
Mrs. Banta being a graduate. Mrs. Banta is a member of the Episcopal
church and holds her membership in Indianapolis. As previously men-
tioned, they have four children, their names and the dates of their birth
being as follows: Robert, born September 25, 1894; Lorena, born
October 28, 1896; Bertha, born on July 27, 1903; and Thelma, whose
natal day was September 16, 1906.
The farm home of the family is in Section 16, some ten miles distant
from Logansport, and is one of the finest places in the township. Mr.
Banta has some fine stock on his place, and gives careful attention to
matters of breeding and selection, his success being of a most pleasing
nature. His fruitful fields, his productive flocks and his fine orchard of
more than three hundred bearing trees, all unite to further his pros-
perity and give him place among the leading agriculturists in the town-
ship, and the family is one which holds secure position in popular esteem.
Walter Ervin Ballard. The advent of the automobile has created
a profession altogether imknown only several decades ago. Its members
have not learned their art in school or from books, but in the workshop,
in daily contact with the work they have had to do. They have had
no precedents to guide them, but have worked out the problem which
their employment brought in the school of experience. In this school
was educated Walter Ervin Ballard, of Walton, proprietor of the
only automobile garage in Cass county outside of the city of Logans-
port. A machinist by trade, he early recognized the growing- importance
of the automobile, and had the courage to attach himself to this new vo-
cation, and the ability to make a success of his operations. Although
still a young man, he has attained a degree of success that places him
with the substantial business men of his locality, where he has forced
his abilities to be recognized. Mr. Ballard was born April 23, 1883, in
Walton, Indiana, and is a son of N. A. and Luella (Noel) Ballard. His
father, a farmer by occupation, was born in South Carolina, and came
to Cass county when still a lad, his education being completed in the
1190 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
public schools of Walton. He and liis wife were the parents of three
children, namely : Walter Ervin ; Leorus ; and Hazel, who became
the wife of Ernest Neblung, and has had one child — Noel.
Walter Ervin Ballard received his education in the common schools,
and was brought up on the home farm, but early gave evidence of me-
chanical ability that presaged success in other fields than that of agri-
culture. With commendable foresight he developed this inclination,
accepting whatever honorable employment he could find in the machine
shops of Kokomo until he was able to enter business on his own account,
when he started to work as a machinist. After about two years, how-
ever, he opened a garage, which, as before stated, is the only one in
Cass county, outside of Logansport. He has attended strictly to busi-
ness, and the result has been the development of an excellent business
and the gaining of a position of independence. He is known to be
thoroughly reliable, a master of his trade and conversant with all its
details, and as a man who has won confidence and public esteem by the
honorable manner in which he has conducted his operations. He has
been too busily engaged in his business to give much thought to public
matters, but can be relied upon to assist in any way when progressive
movements are inaugurated.
On January 28, 1911, Mf. Ballard was united in -marriage with Miss
Josephine Sullivan, of Keene, New Hampshire, and to this union there
has been born one son and daughter, Nerious Daniel and Mary Alice.
Mr. Ballard is a consistent member of the Universalist church. INlrs.
Ballard is a Roman Catholic.
William C. Routh was born in Logansport, Indiana, on March 31,
1854, and is one of a family of four children born to William Isaac and
Emily (Cook) Routh. Of these children two are living today. The
parents were natives of England, where the father was reared, and
there he learned the trade of a tanner. He came to America when a
young man and in the thirties established a bakery on Fourth street
in Logansport, Indiana, in conjunction with John Cook, also a native
of England, and who afterwards became his father-in-law. The bakery
thus established was one of the first, if not the first, to be opened in
Logansport, which was at that early date scarcely more than a trading
post. In time Mr. Routh sold his interest in the shop and started up in
tavern keeping about two squares east of the Sackett's bridge. At that
time the only possible means by which the point might be reached was
by ferrying across the Wabash river. ]\Ir. Routh finally gave up his
inn-keeping venture and engaged in the buying- and butchering of beef
and in the sale of the product. In 1853, or thereabouts, he moved to a
farm which he had purchased, located some two miles east of the city, in
Washington township, and there he made his home for about sixteen
years. His next move took him back to Logansport, and in the fall of
1871 he started a meat market on Twelfth street, near Spear street. He
continued to do business at that stand until his death, which occurred
in 1877.
Mr. Routh was a man of conservative habits, inclined to be averse
to branching out aggressively in business, but it was characteristic of the
man that when he once embarked on a mission or venture, he clung
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1191
tenaciously to the plans on which he had originally settled, admitting of
no difficixlties in the carrying out of his design. The establishing of the
meat market business on Twelfth street was the real beginning of what
has become the pork packing industry of William C. Routh & Company.
William C. Routh has always made his home in Logansport. He was
educated in the public schools, and when old enough, began to assist
his father in his various business undertakings, after the death of whom
the son continued the retail meat market business. In about 1879 jMr.
Routh arranged for more suitable accommodations for the business at
No. 503-5 Twelfth street, and here, in connection with his retail business,
he began the business of packing in a small way. This little venture was
the entering wedge of the real packing industry which has since been
evolved from that modest beginning. From the start, the industry grew
apace, and while it was originally confined to winter packing, after tive
years, Mr. Routh built a refrigerating plant, which enabled him to con-
tinue the year around. In 1889 his refrigerator plant and another of
the principal buildings were destroyed by fire. He immediately rebuilt
on the south side of the city and continued there until 1898, when he
erected the buildings at his present location, his actual outlay at that
time amounting to approximately $30,000. Since that time ]\Ir. Routh
has added other buildings and machinery to the extent of about $70,000.
The present capacity of the plant is about two hundred and fifty to three
hundred hogs per day, and the plant is run at its capacity. The main
building has a floor space of 13,225 square feet, and the entire basement
and about one-half of the first floor space is used for refrigeration pur-
poses. The second floor is used for refrigeration and sausage room, and
the firm gives employment to about eighty people. The firm of William
C. Routh & Company was incorporated in January, 1905, with a capi-
talization of $110,000, and in December, 1908, the capital was increased
to $200,000. The first officers of the firm were : William C. Routh, presi-
dent ; Lilliam W. Chase, secretary ; and W. A. Routh, treasurer. The
present officers are : William C. Routh, president ; A. C. Routh, vice-
president; Albert Cassube, secretary, and W. A. Routh, treasurer. The
aggregate business done by the firm in the year 1912 was about
$1,000,000.
Mr. Routh is a Republican, and a member of the Presbyterian church.
Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
On October 24, 1877, Mr. Routh was united in marriage to Miss
Sarah Taylor, and to this union seven children have been born, as fol-
lows : Edwin Wallace ; Etta, now Mrs. Charles S. Tucker ; Almon C. ;
William Arthur ; Emily Cordelia, the wife of Guy Manaugh ; John H.
and Harry B. Of the sons, Almon C, William Arthur and John H.
are associated with their father in the business, and are accounted
among the most progressive among the younger business men of the
city.
William H. Walter. William H. Walter is one of the well known
builders and contractors of Cass county, and is located in Royal Cen-
ter, where he has carried on his work since 1880. IMuch of the principal
building work of this place has passed through his hands, as well as that
of other towns in the vicinity. He is a native of the county, born in
1192 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Harrison township, on the 17th of January, 1861, and is the son of
Jesse and Margaret (Caloway) Walter. The father was born in Ohio,
while the mother was a native of the state of Delaware. They met and
married in Indiana, both having located in Cass county, and there they
passed the remainder of their days, the father having passed away in
1905 and the mother in 1877.
William H. Walter was the tifth born of the twelve children who
came to his parents. He was reared on the farm of his father and was
educated primarily in the district schools, later attending the high
school of Logansport, Indiana, and finishing the curriculum of that
school. Locating in Royal Center in 1888, since which time he has
devoted himself to the contracting and building business.
Since Mr. Walter has been identified with the building activities of
this community, he has reared many of the principal buildings that grace
the town today, and he may be said to have experienced a most gratify-
ing success in his work.
On November 22, 1888, Mr. Walter was united in marriage mth
Miss Cordelia A. Kistler, a daughter of Jonas and Amy Kistler, and a
sister of Thomas J. Kistler, Sr., the daughter of one of the finest and
most highly esteemed old families in Cass county. She was born and
reared in Boone township and received her education in the public
schools. Five children have been born to them : Durword G., who is
married to Etha Chapman; Edna F., the wife of Bruce Chapman;
J. William, seven years of age; Oliver E., four years old, and Ned R.,
now at the age of one year. The family are members of the First
Christian church at Royal Center, and Mr. Walter is a member of Royal
Center Lodge No. 585, A. F. & A. M. and the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. He is also a valued member of the Royal Center Commer-
cial Club, in which he takes an active part. He is Progressive in his
politics, and bears his full share of the burden of civic responsibility
as do all open-minded and generously disposed citizens.
Peter Michael. One of the pioneers of Cass county, who did a
Avorthy part in the development of the material resources of the county,
and who established his family now well known in this and other sec-
tions of the middle west, was Peter Michael, who for nearly sixty years
was a resident of Harrison township, and who during his life there wit-
nessed practically every phase of development from the clearing of the
original wilderness down to the time of railroads and electric facilities.
Peter ]Michael who was of mingled German and Scotch ancestors, was
born in Virginia, but now West Virginia, January 15, 1811. His death
occurred March 5, 1893. His father was a farmer in Morgan county,
West Virginia, and the family belonged to that sterling class of Scotch-
Irish people who gave character to the entire life of mountain district of
Virginia, and other middle eastern states. The other children in the
family, brothers and sisters of Peter were : Samuel, Andrew, and Wil-
liam, and Mrs. Harriet Burk, Mrs. Martha Caw, and Mrs. Nellie Bruner.
Peter Michael was reared in West Virginia, had the education of the old
field schools, was trained to habits of industry and to the strict religious
life that prevailed in that section of the country during the early part of
the nineteenth century. In the fall of 1835 he accomplished the journey
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1193
westward by river and canal and wagon road to Cass county, Indiana,
settling in Harrison township on the farm, which continued to be his
home until his death, nearly sixty years later. He was a farmer, was a
man of thrift and good management, and provided well for his large
family, and his later years were spent in comfortable circumstances. He
was a Democrat in politics until the Civil war, and after that a Republi-
can. He served as a trustee of his township, and was always held in the
highest esteem in his community. In religion he was non-sectarian
with a preference for the Episcopal church.
Peter Michael married Christina Frushour, daughter of Solomon
Frushour, a farmer of West Virginia. She was born in West Virginia,
and their marriage occurred April 17, 1834. They were married tifty-
nine years. Mrs. Peter Michael died December 22, 1907. The children
of Peter Michael and wife with dates of birth, and present residence are
as follows : William Uriah, born in Ohio, January 31, 1835, and now a
resident of Harrison township ; Susan Winn, born April 5, 1837, and died
April 12, 1893 ; Albert P., born July 27, 1838, and a resident of Logans-
port ; Harriet Beard, born December 25, 1839, living in Chillicothe, Mis-
souri; Ellen McKee, born July 25, 1841, and living at Kahoka, Missouri;
Mary Thomas, born March 18, 1843, living at LaFountaine, Indiana;
George W., born March 14, 1845, living in Campbell, Missouri ; Lydia J.,
born November 4, 1846, died June 11, 1855; Celia E., born October 1,
1848, died October 8, 1848 ; Samuel A., born December 25, 1849, a resi-
dent of Logansport ; Martha Curl, born October 3, 1851, living at Bloom-
field, Iowa; Margaret A., born June 1, 1853, died September 1, 1853;
Emily Puterbaugh, born October 5, 1855. All the children were born in
Harrison township of Cass county, except the first.
Dr. Geokge M. Jerolaman. Among the doctors of the old time
there were men of rare human greatness — strong but tender, brusque
but true, with a devotion to duty that bestead them through all storms
and stress. The past generation knew such men in Cass county, and
among them esteemed none more highly both for his professional and
for his vigorous citizenship and personal character than Dr. George M.
Jerolaman, who was not only one of the very first physicians in Northern
Indiana, but also one of the pioneers of Logansport.
George M. Jerolaman was born in Bedminster township of New
Jersey, May 10, 1811, and was a son of Nicholas and Elizabeth (Jessup)
Jerolaman, the mother being a French girl. The father spent practically
all his career in New York City, and finally retired and died at Neshanic,
New Jersey. Besides Doctor Jerolaman there were five sons and three
daughters, none of whom ever came west to live.
Dr. George M. Jerolaman was reared in the east, and is a student of
Union College of Schenectady, New York. While he was gi-owing to
manhood there were few regular medical schools in the county, and the
majority of medical students pursued their studies under the direction
of a preceptor. Doctor Jerolaman studied medicine under a particularly
fine authority. Doctor Schermerhorn of New York City. In 1832 at the
age of twenty-one Doctor Jerolaman went west, traversing the new and
sparsely settled states of Ohio and Indiana, and from Fort Wayne
came down the Wabash river in a row boat to Logansport. In the
1194 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
boat he had a small stock of drugs, it being his intention to practice in
Logansport. The boat capsized, and all his medicines were left in the
bottom of the river. As there were no drug stores, in the modern sense
of the term, it was a necessity that the doctor should combine the skill
and ability of the pharmacist, and practically every pioneer physician
compounded his own medicines, and in the saddle bags which he carried
in his weary rounds of the country always had a liberal stock of medi-
cines of all kinds and for all cases. Doctor Jerolaman, after coming to
Cass county, practiced as a physician until his health failed, and he
sought recuperation in New Orleans. When his health was restored he
returned to Logansport, and formed a partnership with Doctor Lytle in
the drug business. In 1838 Doctor Jerolaman was appointed attending
physician to the Pottawatomie Indians, who were still dwelling on their
reservations in Indiana, but who soon afterwards were compelled to
leave their villages on Yellow river, Tippecanoe, and Eel rivers, and
take their long journey to the west. For a number of years Doctor
Jerolaman made his home on a farm three and a half miles west of
Logansport on the Wabash river. In 1853 he moved back from the
farm, building the brick house on the northeast corner of IMarket and
Tenth streets, which has long stood as a land mark of the city. During
the latter years of hisi life he gave practically all his attention to farm-
ing and to dealing in farms and livestock.
Doctor Jerolaman in politics supported the Democratic party. He
was a member of the Presbyterian faith, and was affiliated with the
Tipton lodge of Masons. In 1840 he married Margaret Weakley of Syra-
cuse, New York. She died in 1845. In 1847 occurred his marriage
with Mary Rush, a daughter of Judge James Rush of Ohio, who came
to Cass county and settled on a farm two miles east of Adamsborough
on the bank of Eel river. The five daughters of Doctor Jerolaman are
mentioned as follows : Isabella married Egbert Phelps and lives in
Joliet ; Elizabeth became the wife of John W. Layne of Joplin, Missouri ;
Mary is the wife of Maj. W. H. Snider of Logansport; Martha married
Thomas Forman, deceased; and Harriet died in childhood.
Dr. Greorge M. Jerolaman died March 4, 1883, after a short illness
and is buried in IMount Hope cemetery. During his long career in Cass
county, his fellow citizens esteemed him as a man of energy and varied
activity, his fine sense of humor and for his unselfish devotion to his
community. He was a good friend and a frank enemy.
Ira a. Smith. A representative of the progressive element among
farmers in southern Cass county, Ira A. Smith is one of Deer Creek town-
shiij's prospering farmers. He is the owner of sixty acres of land, and
since making his home there has brought his estate into a high condition
of productivity, and has made a comfortable home and one which reflects
credit upon his own enterprise and upon the neighborhood of which he
is a member.
Ira A. Smith was born on the Smith farm, just west of his present
residence, on October 9, 1873. His parents were Artemus and Mary
(Logan) Smith. He was reared on the old homestead and while attend-
ing the district schools of this neighborhood was also becoming versed in
the varied duties and responsibilities of farm life. He belongs to the
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1195
j'ounger generation among Cass county farmers, and has succeeded to a
gratifying degree. Mr. Smith established his own home on the fifteenth
of September, 1897, when he was married to Miss Mary Burrous. They
are the parents of two children, Edna Alice and Earl Van Buren. i\Ir.
Smith has no fraternal affiliations but is an active member of the Church
of the Brethren. In politics he is conservative.
Frederick N. Boerger is undeniably one of the most prominent men
in Indianapolis, where he has for years occupied positions of trust in the
administration of the affairs of the city, and where he is esteemed of all
who know him for his many admirable traits of heart and mind.
Born in Logansport, Indiana, on August 4, 1856, Frederick N. Boerger
is the son of Frederick August and Margaret (Eberts), both native Ger-
mans. The father was born in Hanover, his birth occurring on November
4, 1854, and he came to America with his parents in 1852, making his
way directly to Logansport, where his half-brother, Henry Miller, a
tailor, had previously located. For a time after he came to Logansport,
Frederick August Boerger worked on a farm, but later set about learning
the trade of a wagon maker. He also found employment at the stone
quarry at Kenneth, — the first quarry that produced stone that entered
into the construction of the stone building which stands today directly
north of the alley in the same block with the Masonic Temple. This
building was occupied as a residence by Henry Miller, the half-brother
of Mr. Boerger, and the stone was conveyed to Indianapolis by canal boat.
After completing the learning of his trade, Mr. Boerger continued in
wagon making until his death. He married Margaret Eberts in Logans-
port in 1855. Her parents had died in Germany, and she came to America
in company with an uncle and aunt, and when she first arrived made
her home at Roanoke, near Fort Wayne, on the old canal. She was
born on January 13, 1834, at Worms, province of Hesse, Germany.
She remained but a short time at Roanoke before coming to Logans-
port and for sixty years this city has represented her home. Twelve
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Boerger, six of whom are yet living.
Of this number Frederick N., Charles H., Minnie, William H., John and
George W., all reside in Logansport. The father was a Democrat and
served about five years in the City Council. He was a member of St.
James Lutheran church. He was a man of excellent character and habits,
highly industrious and a man who lived a clean, wholesome and straight-
forward life. He had a healthy dread of debt, and avoided undue liabil-
ities at all costs. He died on January 16, 1896.
Frederick N. Boerger is the oldest of the twelve children of his
parents. He was educated in the parochial and public schools of Logans-
port and at Hall's Business College, and when he finished school
learned the wagon maker's trade wdth his father, and continued with
him in the work until 1884. From then until 1892 he was in charge of
the wood shops for Holbruner and Uhl, carriage makers, but in 1892,
the failing health of his father induced him to give up his work in that
connection and take charge of his father's shops, in which he continued
until 1902. In that year he was elected city treasurer, and two years
later was his own successor in the office. In the autumn of 1906 he
became an assistant in the office of the county treasurer, and continued
1196 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
thus until January 1, 1910, when he was appointed by the mayor as a
member of the Board of Public Works, and as such is present street
commissioner of the city. He has served faithfully and honorably in
every office he has filled thus far, and is regarded as one of the ablest
officials the city has known. Mr. Boerger is a Democrat, and he is a
member of the German Lutheran church, in which he was a deacon
and trustee for twenty-one years.
On October 22, 1885, Mr. Boerger was united in marriage with Miss
Minnie Hauenstien, and three children have been born to them : William,
who died in 1902, aged twelve years; Emma, who died in infancy, and
Edward, who was born in 1900.
Andrew J. Zanger has been engaged in business in Logansport
since 1897, and has enjoyed a pleasing prosperity in the passing year.
He came from Kewanee to this city, although he was born in Fulton
county, Indiana, on September 30, 1873. He is the son of Matthew
Zanger, who was a native of Germany, and there reared to maturity.
Matthew Zanger married Lena Moser in his native land and came
to America soon after. He came to Indiana soon after his arrival upon
American shores, and located in Fulton county, where he followed farm-
ing until death claimed him, in September, 1887, his faithful wife hav-
ing preceded him in 1883. They were the parents of thirteen children,
Andrew J. of this review being the twelfth in order of birth.
Andrew J. Zanger was reared on the home farm in Fulton county and
educated in the district schools of his home community. He was nine-
teen years old when he came to Logansport and began learning the
trade of a baker. He worked at that business here and in Winamac,
Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Louisville, Kentucky, and numerous other
places, but in March, 1897, he established himself in business at No.
8 Front street, in Logansport, opening a modern bakery. It was there
that Mr. Zanger got his start in business. He remained there until
in May, 1905, Avhen he moved to his present quarters and built his
present establishment. He has i^rospered, but his success has not been
the result of chance, but rather through his hard work, economy, in-
dustry and excellent business judgment. He employs from twelve to
fourteen people constantly, and is constantly adding to and improv-
ing his place of business. In the spring of 1912 he doubled his capacity.
The trade which Mr. Zanger has established is not confined exclusively to
Logansport, but he supplies many of the surrounding towns as well,
his products having a reputation for wholesomeness and general ex-
cellence that makes them particularly desirable.
Mr. Zanger is a Democrat, and in 1908 was elected a member' of
the City Council at large for a term of four years. He is a citizen of
a high order, and one who has always consistently borne his full share of
the civic burden in Logansport, where he enjoys the esteem and confi-
dence of all who know him.
On November 19, 1901, Mr. Zanger was united in marriage with
Miss Lizzie Rech, of Washington township, Cass county, and they are
the parents of four daughters: Agnes E., Mary M., Gertrude M. and
Dorothy C. Mr. and Mrs. Zanger are members of the Roman Catholic
church.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1197
Sidney A. VzVughn whose name is so closely interwoven with the
lumber industry of Cass county, was born in Niagara county, New York,
on June 29, 1842, a son of Artemas and Eleanor (Hines) Vaughn. His
early life was passed on his father's farm in Niagara county and in at-
tending the district schools, and in 1861 he enlisted as a private in the
Seventh New York Cavalry for three years. By an order of the War
Department, in 1862, the cavalry arm of the service was reduced and
the Seventh Cavalry, with others, was disbanded. Mr. Vaughn re-en-
listed in the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth New York Volunteer In-
fantry, which in 1863, became the Eighth New York Heavy Artillery,
which M'as recruited to its maximum of eighteen hundred men. While
on the Peninsular Campaign, ]\Ir. Vaughn applied to the War Depart-
ment for permission to appear before the Carey Board and take the
examination for a commission. This was granted, a creditable exam-
ination was passed, and he was commissioned a First Lieutenant by
President Lincoln. He was then ordered to Kentucky to help recruit
a command which became the Twelfth United States Heavy Artillery.
With this he continued during the remainder of the war, and was honor-
ably discharged at its close after having served a total of four years and
four months. Succeeding this service, for a year he was in charge of
the retail department of the packing house of A. E. Kent & Company,
Chicago, and then came to Indiana, in search of a permanent location
in a business way. With A. E. Richardson he bought a sawmill and a
quantity of poplar logs located a short distance northeast of Lincoln,
in Jackson township, Cass county, and after converting these logs into
lumber, moved to Lincoln. In partnership with J. E. Parker, he then
bought thirteen hundred acres of the best timber land in Jackson town-
ship, one and a half miles north and west of Lincoln, and here they
installed a saw mill and converted the timber into merchantable lumber.
Mr. Vaughn was for many years one of the largest shippers of black
walnut in this locality. The firm of Vaughn & Parker bought the old
Johnson residence property on Fourth street, opposite the Fourth Na-
tional Bank, in Logansport, which old building they razed and on the
site they erected what is known as the Vaughn & Parker block, in this
building was entered the first plate glass in Logansport. Mr. Vaughn
has been an active figure in the commercial and political history of Cass
county for nearly half a century, and has borne his full share of the civic
burden and in the development and upbuilding of the city along the lines
of its best good. He was a Republican in politics until 1896, when, owing
to the financial plank in the platform of the party in that year, he went
over to the Democratic faction, and has since affiliated with that party.
He has served three terms in the city council of Logansport, one term
as police commissioner, by appointment of Governor ]\Iatthews, and one
term as mayor of the city, in all of which offices he acquitted himself
with the utmost credit, his services resulting in much good to the
common good of the city. He is a Mason of the Knight Templar de-
gree, and is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks.
In 1880 Mr. Vaughn was married to Miss Lilla W. Rice, the daughter
of W. H. Rice, of Indianapolis, the editor and proprietor of the Ma-
sohie Advocate. To their marriage three children have been born :
1198 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Lillian Ethel, now Mrs. W. H. IMoi'dhurst, of Fort Wayne, Indiana;
Sidney R. and Regina. I\Irs. Vaughn died July 14, 1911. Excellent
educational advantages have been afforded the children of Mr. Vaughn,
for while he lacked similar privileges in his own youth, he has never
been one to gainsay the benefits that accrue from such advantages, and
he determined that his children should not be handicapped as he was
in that respect. All three of his children have completed the curriculum
of the Logansport schools, and Lillian is a graduate of the Chicago Uni-
versity, while Sidney has his degree from Purdue University.
Mrs. Sarah Ellen Tyson. It has already been said that many a
man who entered upon an unsettled, undeveloped section lived to be
that section's most prominent man and largest capitalist, and this as-
sertion found confirmation in the life of John Hoover, who was the
father of Mrs. Sarah Ellen Tyson, who is one of Cass county's best
known and most esteemed residents. Ohio was the original home of
the Hoovers and eighty-five years ago John Hoover and his father,
Jacob Hoover, left Wayne county for what was then the border of civil-
ization, the wilds of Indiana. Owing to their method of transportation
their progress was slow, but after a journey of twenty-one days they
reached their destination, Adams township, Cass county. They had
money with which to invest in land and the grandfather of Mrs. Tyson,
Jacob Hoover, secured six hundred acres, the purchase price being but
a fraction of a dollar per acre. Concerning him, it should be said that
he was born in Germany, and that early in life he settled in Preble
county, Ohio. His son, John Hoover, was born in Preble countj% Ohio,
on November 8, 1808, and in his twentieth year he married Rachel
Maudlin, who was born December 16, 1811, and was a native of North
Carolina, but who was residing with her parents in Wayne county at
the time of her marriage March, 1829. ]\Ir. Hoover moved to Adams
township, Cass county with his young wife, and there he purchased
300 acres of land, upon which he settled and lived for thirty-eight
years. His father, Jacob Hoover, had already become the owner of a
large estate in the county, and these men were pioneers in the truest
sense of the word. Where they led, others soon followed, and as the
value of this land became noised about, travel in the county so increased
that a railroad was projected. John Hoover o^vned so large a body of
land that negotiations had to be opened up with him and a part of
his property became railroad land about 1870, the new station that
quickly developed being named Hoover in his honor. It may well be
believed that Mr. Hoover took a deep interest in the new town, and,
eagerly watched the laying of the rails and the other construction work
preparatory to the passing over of the first train of cars, which seemed
to him the last advance of civilization. No doubt his life was somewhat
prolonged by the hope of witnessing the arrival of the train that would
assure the prosperous future of his namesake town, but his ardent wish
was not gratified, his death occurring November 28, 1872, only a few
days before the road was in running order.
' John Hoover, became an extensive farmer, cleared his land and made
it productive, and lived to see many changes take place. He related
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1199
frequently to his ehildr'eu how small a village Logansport was when
he first came to this section and the fact that he dug the first cellar
in that place. He was the father of the following children: Martha
Ann, who married Sebastian ]Moore> and both are deceased, 1866 ; Mary
Jane, who married Augustus Moore, a brother of Sebastian; Noah B.,
who married Frances Obenchain, both deceased ; Sarah Ellen ; who mar-
ried Thornton Tyson; John M., who married Parthena Wilson and
after her death married Nancy Boyar, nee Williams; Leah B., who
became the wife of E. B. Forgy; Hannah Maria, who married William
Dennison; Riley C, who married Irene Wilson, both deceased; George
■who died in infancy ; and Emma Frances, who married William Fernald.
Thornton Tyson was a son of Thorton F. and Mary Ann (Teeter)
Tyson, both of Virginia. He served as a soldier in the Union army
during the Civil war, after which he lived on the farm that Mrs. Tyson
now lives on, known as the Tyson homestead and devoted himself to
agi'icultural pursuits until the time of his death, December 22, 1905.
]\Irs. Tyson, as stated, is still living on the well cultivated tract of two
hundred acres of land, not far distant from Hoover, in Adams town-
shii:), the town named for her honored father. Mrs. Tyson is a consistent
member of the Christian church, which she has liberally supported for
many years, and she is widely known for her religious and charitable
M^ork. She and her husband became the parents of the following chil-
dren : Morton V., born in 1865, who married Rebecca Moss, and has one
son, Orvil and lives in North Dakota; Cora Jane, born in 1869, who
became the wife of Simon Fisher and has four children, Florence,
Fernald, Simon, and Earl, and lives in Rock Rapids, Iowa; Ora E.,
born 1867, married James H. Fisher, and has one daughter, Ina C.
and lives in Peru, Indiana ; John R., born 1872, is deceased ; N. Franklin,
born 1874, now living at home, and married to Clara Hammon of Adams
township, and the father of Martha Ellen, deceased, Cecil, Byron,
Harold, Clifford, Rachel and James.
GeorgS and William Clymer, pioneers of Clinton township, w^ere
natives of Ohio, but came to this township when the Indian and wild
beast held possession of the forests which then covered its present fer-
tile fields. This was in the years 1834-5. They were both active in
the development of the township, and took a leading part in all its enter-
prises. George Clymer built one of the first water power mills on
Keeps creek, and later a steam sawmill at Clymers, and that town
receives its name from him. This mill was later operated by his brother,
William, and his son, David H. Clymer. The latter also became one of
the leading spirits in Clinton township and was township trustee.
George Clymer bought the Biddle Island in Logansport and lived there
for a time and in the latter 'sixties moved to Minnesota, where he died
some years thereafter. William Clymer was married to Martha McKaig.
She died at Clymers in 1873, and he died at the same place in 1881.
One daughter, Ruth, became the wife of Robert R. Reed, Sr., but is
now dead. Another daughter, Mary, married George Shideler, the first
white child born in Clinton township. Her husband is dead but she is
now living in Logansport, over eighty years of age. The son, David H.
Clymer, born in Ohio, 1828, married Margaret Conner, of Clinton town-
1200 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ship, 1850, and raised quite a family of children. He died in Logans-
port in 1901, and is buried in St. John's churchyard near the place of
his activities and the home he loved so well.
John R. Chilcott, a pioneer of Jefferson township, was born in Penn-
sylvania, 1788, came to Cass county in 1840, and settled on the northwest
quarter of section 13, Jefferson township, where he continued to reside
until his death in 1875, and sleeps his last sleep in the Fry cemetery.
He was a soldier in a Pennsylvania regiment in the War of 1812 and for
many years a justice of the peace and a prominent farmer of Jefferson
towTiship. He was imited in marriage to Margaret Miller in Erie county,
New York. She bore him six children : Mrs. Caroline Watts, now living
on the home farm; John, who died in 1900; Benjamin died in 1908;
Henry, now living in Harrison township ; Columbus, dying in 1844, and
Amos Chilcott. The four sons served their country honorably as Union
soldiers during the Civil war.
Amos Chilcott, now eighty-two years old, has a wonderful vivid
memory and the writer is indebted to him for many historical facts con-
tained herein. Mary Jane Banta, daughter of Beaufort Banta, became
his wife in 1854, and they have seven children, 33 grandchildren living,
12 dead and 20 great grandchildren.
Richard Pryor was born in Philadelphia in 1810 ; came to Logansport
in 1835 and engaged in the manufacture of hats; appointed collector of
revenue by the county commissioner in 1838 ; in 1840 was the nominee
of the Whig party for county treasurer and soon after erected the first
two-story stone building in Logansport. This was a landmark for many
years and stood on the south side of the street at what is now known as
No. 417 Market street. Here he engaged in the hardware business. He
resided in Jefferson township, however, in section 14, on a farm now
owned by his son Horace. Mr. Pryor was an earnest Presbyterian and
was largely instrumental in organizing the congregation and erecting
Pisgah church, in which he was an elder. He was thrice married and had
several children. One son, Horace Pryor, now a respected citizen of
Jefferson township, and D. E. Pryor, a brave soldier of the Seventy-third
Indiana Regiment and for many years a prominent druggist at 516
Broadway, who died in 1900. Mrs. James W. Shim and Mrs. S. B. Pratt
were daughters. Mr. Pryor died in Logansport in 1889, having been an
active and influential member of society for over half a century.
John Cotner, second son of Eli and Nackey (Mullennix) Cotner, was
born in Ohio in 1818. He was one of a family of thirteen children. His
grandparents, Daniel and ]\Iary (Coble) Cotner, of German descent and
natives of North Carolina, came to Ohio in 1815. Eli Cotner, the father
of our subject, came with his family to Cass county in 1831, where
John aided his father to clear his farm in Noble township.
John Cotner was united in marriage to Eliza Walters, November 3,
1841, who was born in Michigan in 1822. To this union was born ten
children, to-wit: Elmira, AVilliam, Eli, Easton, Sarah, Anna, Levi,
Albert, James and an infant. The nine former grew to adult life.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1201
Mv: Cotner settled in the northeast quarter of section 18, moving
into a hewed.log house on Christmas Day, 1841. The house was after-
wards covered with siding and otherwise modernized. This house they
occupied until their death, he dying in 1868 and the widow in 1908,
sixty-seven years after she moved into it as a bride.
Mr. Cotner was an industrious, hardworking farmer, and an admirer
of fine horses, which he always drove. When this couple first moved
into this cabin it was surrounded by dense forests. Wild turkeys roosted
in the boughs of the nearby trees and in the early mornings herds of
deer could be seen browsing near their cabin door, and many a deer Mr.
Cotner has shot from a crack between the logs of his forest home.
Richard Ferguson. A pioneer of Adams township was born in West
Virginia, of Scotch-Irish parentage. His education was limited to a few
terms in the log schoolhouse of his native state where he was united in
marriage to Phebe Payne and soon after embarked on a small flat boat,
came down the Ohio river and up the Wabash to Logansport where, after
many trials and hardships he landed in the summer of 1833 and erected
a cabin near where St. Joseph's hospital now stands. About 1836 or
1837 he moved to Adams township, locating on the northwest quarter of
section 32, where he purchased and improved one of the best farms in the
township and for fifty years was regarded as the most respected and
influential farmer of the township. A short time before his death he
moved to Miami township, south of New Waverly, where he died in 1884,
after a long and useful life.
The following children were born to Richard Ferguson and wife:
Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth Ann, Richard W., James P. and Sebastian C.
Ferguson and four children who died in infancy. Of this number all
are now dead except Sebastian C, who was born July 22, 1841, in Adams
township, attended the log schoolhouse without windows and was raised a
farmer's boy. At the breaking out of the war in 1861 he enlisted in Com-
pany G, Fifty-first Indiana, and served nearly four years. After the
war he engaged in farming in Miami township until 1868 when he moved
to Logansport and engaged in contract carpenter work and in 1906
retired and moved to Chicago. He was married in 1865 to Eliza Dillman
of Adams township, a daughter of Daniel Dillman, and they have two
sons and one daughter, all living.
Richard Ferguson had a brother, John Ferguson, who was a pioneer
settler in the northern part of Bethlehem township, where he resided, an
honored citizen for many years, but about 1874 moved to Wisconsin, where
he died.
John D. Ferguson is a son of John Ferguson and was born in Bethle-
hem township about 1846 ; reared on the farm, educated in the district
school and in the sixties moved to Logansport, engaged in the bakery
business, later in the clothing business, then real estate, and thus arose
from an obscure country boy to be one of the leading business men and
capitalists of our city.
Thomas Skinner, Sr., a pioneer of Adffms township and a most
exemplary citizen, was born in North Carolina in 1795. Parmelia Cox,
his wife, was born in Tennessee, in 1800. They came to Cass county
1202 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
in 1837, locating in Adams township, where he became one of the most
influential citizens of the county and was a leader in all things that had
a tendency to a better and a higher life. He was not an office seeker and
only filled minor township offices, but he held the highest official position
in his church, the Twelve Mile Christian, which he was instrumental in
establishing. He died in 1883, respected and mourned by all and lies at
rest near the church he loved so well, his wife having preceded him seven-
teen years. They were blessed with five sons: John C, Daniel, Ira, Rich-
ard and Thomas H. Skinner. Ira served his country in the Twentieth
Indiana Infantry, during the Civil war; John C, Richard and Daniel
died in Cass county years ago leaving families and Thomas H. is at this
writing, one of the oldest and most influential men in Adams township,
and his large and respected family as well as all his neighbors can only
speak words of praise for his beneficent acts.
Henry Logan Thomas was one of the earliest settlers of Adams town-
ship, locating on section 29 in the year 1831 or 1832. He was a sturdy
character and one of the most influential and best known citizens of the
township. He was a quiet, unostentatious man, a worker rather than an
expounder of good deeds. He was a devout Christian and the first relig-
ious meeting in Adams township was held at his cabin, soon after it was
erected in the midst of the forest. He was reliable, faithful and upright
in all his dealings and his influence for all that is true and noble has left
a lasting impression on the community where he spent the active years of
his life. Mr. Thomas, son of George and Nancy (Logan) Thomas, who
were natives of Ireland, was born in Virginia, 1805, moved with his
parents to Ohio, where he married Nancy Williams and soon after moved
to Cass county, where he raised an old time family of eleven children of
whom Elizabeth, Esther, William, Nathaniel and Bruce are now living in
Kansas and Edgar resides near the old home in Adams township. Henry
Logan Thomas died on his original homestead in Adams township, Feb-
ruary 14, 1873, beloved and respected by all.
Berry Family. While the early history of the Berry family is in-
volved in some obscurity yet it is known to be of German origin and that
its progenitor came from Heidelberg, Bavaria, about 1765 and settled in
eastern Pennsylvania. This was Peter Berry, a man of influence in the
community. He served as lieutenant in the Revolutionary war under
Washington's immediate command and was promoted to the rank of cap-
tain. He died in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, prior to 1796, leaving a
wife, Margaret, six sons and four daughters, one son dying in youth.
These children were all married and left progeny, some in Pennsylvania,
others in the west. Among the latter was Peter Berry, the second sou, who
was born in 1787, married Elizabeth Lutz, daughter of a German physi-
cian, who was also a Revolutionary soldier. Peter Berry moved to Cincin-
nati about 1815 and opened a shop for the manufacture of edged tools. He
made the boiler for the first steamboat that plied the waters of the Ohio
river. He moved to Butler county, Ohio, for a time and came to Logans-
port in 1829, where he resi'ded one year, then located on a farm in Miami
township between Waverly and Hooverville, where he spent the remain-
der of his life, departing this life in 1872 or 1873.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1203
The following are the names of the children of Peter and Elizabeth
Berry : Henry, Catharine, who married David Miller, an early settler of
Miami township ; Peter C, Samuel, Elizabeth and John H.
John H. Berry, the second sou of Peter and Elizabeth (Lutz) Berry,
was born in Pennsylvania in 1812 and moved with his parents to Cass
county in 1829 and spent the rest of his life on a farm in Miami town-
ship, where he died in 1872. In 1838 he was united in marriage to Har-
riet Reed, daughter of Abraham and Nancy (Cox) Reed, who were
pioneers in Miami township. Mrs. Berry died in 1872 and some years
thereafter Mr. Berry contracted a marriage with Mrs. Ellen Conner (nee
Sackett) who survived him and is now (1913) living in Richmond, In-'
diana. He died in Miami township in 1879. John H. and Harriet Berry
were the parents of thirteen children, namely : Israel J., Peter A., Edwin
R., James K. P., Maria, Graham N., Wilson R., Eliza D., Elizabeth, John
M., Harvey H., Harriet and Martha, six of whom are now living (1913).
Israel J., teacher, farmer and horticulturist, was bom in Miami town-
ship in 1839. He taught school for a third of a century and is now retired
and lives at Adamsboro, this county. He married Miss Emmeline Spen-
cer, 1866, daughter of John and Mary (Keeran) Spencer, a native of
Ohio, born there in 1841. To this union were born four children, viz :
John, now residing near Marion, Indiana ; Clementine, now Mrs. Howard
Helm ; Katharine, now ]\Irs. Charles E. Douglas, both living in Clay
township, and Bertha, died in infancy. Mr. Berry is a devout Baptist
and a Democrat in politics, although liberal in his views.
Peter A. Berry, teacher, lawyer and fruit grower, was born in 1842
and died in 1895. He was educated in Logansport's high school and
Wabash College, studied law with the late Judge D. H. Chase, and at-
tended the law department of Michigan University. He practiced for a
time, but the profession not being to his taste, he relinquished it and
returned to teaching and educational work. He served three terms as
superintendent of the county schools.
For some years prior to his demise he retired to his farm in Miami
township and engaged chiefly in horticulture. Mr. Berry was manned
in 1868 to Miss Nancy Jane Crockett ; she, dying in 1889, left four chil-
dren, all of whom are dead except Emma, who is the wife of Lewis C.
Brown.
Edwin R. Berry, born 1844 ; died 1865.
James K. P. Berry, farmer and teacher, born 1846 ; married Miss
Sarah Spencer, by whom he had four children. He died in 1882 and his
widow is now Mrs. Nelson Scott, of Clay township.
Graham Newell Berry, teacher and writer of local history and biog-
raphy, was bom in 1848 ; taught twenty-four years in the puljlic schools,
sixteen years of which was principal of the different schools of Logans-
port. He has assisted in writing the history of scores of county and state
histories and is a contributor to a number of magazines. He was mar-
ried June 20, 1876, to Miss Elvira, daughter of John S. and Prudence
(Harris) Winters, who was born at Wabash, Indiana, January 7, 1854.
They have had six children, none of whom is living.
Wilson Reed Berry, artist and draftsman, born 1851. Has illus-
trated numerous books, magazines, etc., besides achieving more than a
local reputation as a painter in oil and water colors. He was married
1204 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
January 31, 1878, to Miss Emma Conner, daughter of Calvin and Ellen
(Sackett) Conner, the union resulting in the following children : Murillo,
Percival (deceased), Virgil, Robin A. and Inez Lillian.
Mr. BeiTy is now the owner and occupant of the old Biddle home on
the island in Logansport and since the recent flood thinks we have a wet
town.
Eliza D. Berry, born 1853 ; died 1895 ; unmarried.
Elizabeth Berry, born 1856 ; married Wm. Obenchain and has had
seven children, only four of whom are living. They reside in Logansport.
John Meek Berry, herdsman, was born 1858, is married and lives on.
a sheep ranch in Kansas.
Harvey Heath Berry, born 1861 ; died in 1873.
Harriet Berry, bom 1863 ; died in 1880.
Martha J. Berry, born 1868 ; married Joseph Stewart and is the
mother of five children. They now reside in Marion, Indiana.
Col. Wm. L. Brown, a veteran of two wars, was bom in Ohio,
November 19, 1817, and was killed at the battle of Bull Run, Virginia,
in 1862. He came to Logansport in the early forties ; was a brave soldier
in the Mexican war; united in marriage to Elizabeth Purveyance in
Logansport, June 27, 1849, from which union six children were born:
Eleanor H., Frederick L., Daisy, James A., Charles H. and William I.,
the latter still an honored resident of our city. On the breaking out
of the Civil war he raised a regiment, the Twentieth Indiana, and
became its colonel, which he gallantly commanded and fell while bravely
battling for his country. Colonel Brown was an energetic man and a
leader in civil and business affairs of Logansport and was interested in
banking and other business interests. He bought and improved the old
Fitch farm at Kenneth, west of town, where he lived for some time.
He had three brothers, all Presbyterian ministers who occupied the
pulpit of the First Presbyterian church of Logansport at different times
during their ministerial labors. They were the Revs. James C. Brown,
Frederick T. and Hugh A. Brown.
Colonel Brown's widow was postmaster at Logansport from 1866 to
1870.
Noah S. La Rose, son of Philip J. and Anna Maria (Sherer) La Rose,
who were natives of North Carolina, was bom in Ohio in 1817 ; came
with his parents to Cass county in 1834, where his father lived until
his death in 1871. Our subject had two brothers, John S. and Joshua
S., and one sister, all of whom were honored residents of Cass county
but are now dead. Mr. La Rose was educated in the public schools of
the county and at Hanover College, from which he graduated in 1862.
From 1834 to 1850 Mr. La Rose made his home with his father on the
farm. In the latter year he came to Logansport, where he resided until
his death in 1886. He is interred in the Bethel cemetery in Clay town-
ship. He served as county clerk from 1856 to 1864, and again from
1872 to 1876. In 1868 he was the candidate of his party (Democratic)
for clerk of the supreme covirt but was defeated with the entire ticket.
Noah La Rose was a tall, slender man with a kind and gentle face,
sociable in his manners, and made friends of everyone with whom he
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1205
came in contact. He was never married and was not a member of any
order, hence his energies were largely expended in the aid of others. He
affiliated with the Evangelical Reformed church, was charitably inclined,
and materially assisted all enterprises for the betterment of the race.
He was a public-spirited man and laid out several additions to the city
of Logansport, and he was a familiar and well-known figure on the
streets of Logansport for over a third of a century.
Robert R. Reed, Sr., son of Robert and Mary (Megwood) Reed, was
born in Fayette county, Indiana, November 7, 1824. His parents were born
and married in Ireland and came to America with their four children,
namely: James, William, Jane and Mary Ann, in 1817 and settled in
Fayette county, Indiana. His father was a weaever by trade and died
in Fayette county August 7, 1824, and his son James died there in 1825.
The widowed mother moved to Clinton township, Cass county, with her
children, William, Thomas, Mary Ann and the subject of this sketch,
October 13, 1834, and occupied a log cabin in the midst of the primeval
forest which they helped to clear and develop the country where they
all lived and died except Robert R. He was educated in the old log
schoolhouse on the Hewitt L. Thomas farm ; later lie taught school and
in 1850 moved to Logansport and engaged in the grain business with
Pollard & Wilson. Was appointed county treasurer November 30, 1879,
in place of W. T. S. Manly, deceased; ran for treasurer on Republican
ticket but was beaten by Thos. Pierce. Was united in marriage to IMiss
Ruth Clymer, daughter of David Clymer, of Clinton township on June
19, 1853. Mrs. Reed died in 1893, leaving our aged yet honored subject
alone in the world. Mr. Reed served several terms in the city council
in the seventies and for a man of his age, being now past eighty-eight,
has a remarkably vivid memory and the writer is indebted to him for
much historical data found herein.
Hon. John W. Wright, son of Rev. John Wright, is a native of Lan-
caster, Ohio, where he was born October, 1811. He graduated from the
Ohio University in 1832 ; read law for one year and in 1833 located in
Logansport and began the practice of law. In 1835 his brother, William-
son Wright, came west and entered into a partnership with him. He was
prosecuting attorney and in 1840 was elected president judge of the
eighth judicial circuit and served for six years, when he retired to his
farm, four miles north of Logansport on the Michigan road and was the
chief actor in building the old plank road from Logansport to Fulton
about 1853. He was instrumental in building the Wabash Railroad
through Logansport and presided over the first meeting held in the court-
house, composed of men from Ft. Wayne, Lafayette and New York, for
the purpose of organization of the company. About the same time his
brother, Williamson Wright, was active in promoting the construction of
the Pan Handle Railroad into Logansport and John W. Wright took
the contract for the building of that road between Newcastle and Logans-
port and the first locomotive engine ever seen in Logansport was brought
by him on the old canal, and hauled across the Wabash bridge onto the
railroad. During the run of the free banking system in the fifties he
operated a bank in Logansport and one at Rochester, but the death of
1206 HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
that system shut them up. In 1852 he was elected mayor of the city.
In 1858 he was elected to Congress but refused to take his seat, because
of his interest in making Kansas a free state, whither he moved and
was a member of the constitutional convention of that state and later
a member of the legislature and became the speaker of the house. About
1861-62 he returned to Logansport and built a residence on the east side
of the First Presbyterian church, now occupied as a parsonage. In the
sixties he was appointed to an Indian agency in the West and later took
up his residence in Washington, where he died, 1889, and on October 12
of that year, the bar of Logansport, at a meeting presided over by Judge
D. B. McConnell, passed most complimentarj^ resolutions on the distin-
guished services of Judge Wright and especially his work in the cause of
freedom and opposition to slavery and the organization of the Free Soil
party in Cass county.
Col. JoRDxUsr Vigus was a native of Virginia, where he was born
September 17, 1792. In 1810 he went to Lexington, Kentucky, and
clerked in his brother's store. He sei*ved with distinction in the First
Kentucky Regiment during the War of 1812. In 1828 he located in
Logansport and aided in the laying out and naming the town with Gen-
eral Tipton, Chauncey Carter, John B. Durett and Gillis McBean. Was
appointed by Governor Ray a commissioner of the Wabash and Erie canal
in 1832-33 and went to Ft. Wayne on February 22, 1832, to commemorate
the commencement of construction of the canal and after delivering a
brief address commenced the work by digging the first spadefull of
earth amid great rejoicing. Logansport was incorporated as a city by
act of legislature, February 17, 1838, and the following May Colonel
Vigus was elected its first mayor. He afterwards served two terms as
postmaster, 1840, and, again, 1848. He was of medium height, stout
build, with dark hair and dark eyes. He died September 20, 1860,
leaving a wife and several children. His remains are interred in the old
cemetery on Ninth street.
Dr. Jehu Z. Powell, son of Jacob and Martha A. (Troutman) Pow-
ell, was born in Bethlehem township, Cass county, Indiana, August 13,
1848. He was educated in the Logansport high school and Presbyterian
Academy and graduated from the literary department of the University
of Michigan in 1871 and from the medical department in 1874. In the
same spring he took a post-graduate course at the Long Island Hospital
Medical College, New York, and at once opened an office in Logansport,
where he has been in active practice ever since. In 1892 and again in
1902 he took a practitioner's course in the Post-Graduate Medical School
of Chicago.
The doctor has never sought office, being content to follow his chosen
profession, but believes every citizen owes a duty to the public and
was induced to serve as member of the city council for four years and
was a presidential elector in 1896 and postmaster at Logansport from
1898 to 1902.
In politics the doctor has always espoused the cause of the Republi-
can party and has acted as the chairman of the Cass County Republican
committee, 1892 to 1896.
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY 1207
He has always been an earnest temperance advocate and has filled
various offices in the local and grand lodge of tlie Independent Order,
of Good Templars, the only order to which he ever belonged, but is
active in promoting temperance and moral reform.
The doctor is a close student and spends his leisure time in reading
solid literature and writing along various temperance, moral and his-
torical lines. He has been thrice married : First marriage to Mary J.
Leffel, September 22, 1874, daughter of Arthur Leffel of Bethlehem
township, by whom he had one son, Dwight C. Powell, born in Logans-
port, March 28, 1876 ; was educated in the city high school and the
University of Michigan and graduated from Bellevue Medical College
in 1899; appointed surgeon in the United States army and served two
years in the Philippine Islands; resigned from the service and not lik-
ing private practice, relinquished his profession and engaged in mer-
cantile pursuits and is now located in Los Angeles, California. He was
married June 25, 1908, to Miss Mildred Addlesberger, of Springfield,
Illinois, and thev have one daughter, Marv Louise, born September 9,
1909.
Mrs. Powell died May 17, 1877, and on May 1, 1881, he was again
united in marriage to Mrs. Louisa F. Ewing nee Harris, whose first
husband died while serving as postmaster of this city and she succeeded
him as postmistress in 1874. She died in 1899, death resulting from a
fall through a cellar door. He was again married to Miss Christine A.
Markert of Logansport, May 1, 1901, and they are blessed with one
son, Weldon, bom January 4, 1903.
He is liberal in his religious views but was raised a Quaker and
believes in plain, practical religion. He is a member of the Cass County
Medical Society and was its secretary for nearly twenty-five years, also
member of the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Med-
ical Association.
In 1903 he was a delegate to the International Medical Congress at
Madrid, Spain, and visited the hospitals in all the European capitals
in preparation for his duties as chief surgeon in charge of the hospital
at the National Military Home at Johnson City, Tennessee, which posi-
tion he fiUed. But tiring of the confinement and military discipline, he
resigned after four months service in that capacity. He then returned
to Logansport to his old home, which he had never relinquished, nor
lost his citizenship in the county that gave him birth, where he is still
actively engaged in the practice of his chosen profession. ^
HECKMAN
BINDERY INC.
.^^^ FEB 89
N. MANCHESTER,
INDIANA 46962