G^^ miiimiM
^ 3 1833 00096 8450
Gc 977.201 T4SDE v. 2 DeHart, Richard P. 1832-
1918, Past amd freseht of-
Tippecanoe County, Indiana
PAST AND PRRSF.NT
OF
TIPPECANOE COUNTY
INDIANA
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS '^'•^ INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
1 909
:21599
INDEX
Abdon, Joseph 751
Abdon, Mary Jane "51
Alexander, Robert 903
Amstutz, William A 113:!
Anderson, William H 1076
Andre, Adam W lOGS
Ankeny, Charles Howard 543
Arnett, Arett C 765
Arnold. Alba G 637
Arthur. Joseph Charles 757
B
Baer, Lena M 1152
Baird, Samuel Probasco 56S
Baird, Zebulon 560
Baker. Alvin Cornelius 1046
Baker, Edward Elmore 10S2
Baker, Moses 735
Balentine, Abram 724
Ball, James D 1070
Ball, Cyrus 626
Bals, Asa C 1208
Balser, John 829
Baines, Thomas Jefferson 572
Bartholomew, John C 1156
Bartholomew, William 1150
Bart let t, Joseph Delmar 646
Bauer, Thomas 631
Baugher, Franklin George 7G2
Bausman, Andrew 1048
Beaucond, Joseph Benjamin 764
Bennett. William 823
Bergquist, Charles 781
Blistain, Joseph 549
Bohan, George W 822
Born, Samuel 736
Boswell. Edwin 821
Bradshaw, Charles H 591
Briney, Alexander 879
Brockenbrough, Brown 926
Brommer, John C 1043
Brown. Louis 1094
Bruce, George Lawson 662
Buck, Milton 1161
Buck, Samuel 1134
Burditt, Daniel 843
Burditt, Nancy 843
Burkhalter, William Henry 1021
Hurley, John F 759
Burley , Mary A 759
Burt, Thomas William 608
Bush, John Stevens 784
Bush, Ezra 7S5
Bush, William 784
Butler, William F 912
Byers. Parker A 681
Byers, William D 1216
Byrne, Michael J 75G
C
Caldwell. Albert 731
Caldwell. James H 730
Caldwell, James Lindsey 730
Campbell, John 1093
Campbell, William S 1060
Cann, John William 782
Carter, James 1116
Carter, Robert 1116
Cartmill, David 997
Chamberlin, David J 605
Chamberlin, John E 605
Chew, Joshua 901
Christie. George Irving 953
Clawson, Louis 1040
Clayton. Mrs. Emeline 695
Clayton. Thomas J 695
Cleaver. Charles H 1136
Cochel, Wilber A 1054
Combs, James P 835
Combs, Sarah P 83G
•Conarroe, Thomas Xewell 978
Cones, Francis Marion 1121
Conn, Asahel B 98G
Conrad, E. Parker 1074
Coulter. Stanley 917
Coyner, Martin P 971
Crist, Charles Marsteller 999
Crouch, Jeptha 1015
Crouse. Alexander Hamilton CSo
Crouse, .lohn W nSS
Crouse, Simeon 587
Crouse, William 0 585
Cunningham. .lohn R lt)42
D
Davidson, Edward C 723
Davidson, Judah 619
Davidson. Robert P G18
Davisson, William C 97(i
Deibert, Jeremiah M 946
DeLong, Mannow Albert 1096
Dienhart. Jacob 919
Doolittle, W. E 887
Dorner, Frederick 565
Downs, Andrew J 112S
Dryer, Lyman Lewis 803
Dryfus. Ferdinand 937
Dry f us. Leopold S8S
Duncan Electric Mant'g. Co 1214
B
Eckhart, Balsar 1065
Etkhart. John C 1063
Edwards, Jeremiah 832
Ehresman, John H 1142
Elliott, David 1053
Elliott. Samuel Wilson 892
Ellis, Joseph 979
Ellis, Thomas 1084
Ellis, Thomas P 980
Erb, Frederick Henry. Jr 67G
Evans. Herman H 771
Everett, Frank B 981
F
Feldt. August G 1 ISG
Field, Thomas W 691
Fisher, Martin L 948
Fisher. William J 808
Flark. Hugh 580
Flack. John 1120
Flanagan, Daniel P 710
Flupgel, Ernst J 1114
Fokkemer. Charles V 649
Foreman. Charles Preston 942
Foresman. Bennett 1211
Foresman. John P C93
Foresman. William B 914
Fottprall, B. F 1087
Fowler Family 116u
Fowler, James M 1171
Frazer. Darius H 718
Fretz, Daniel B 787
G
Gagen, John P 815
Gay, James Madison 945
Gay. John W 776
Gay, Samuel 776
Gaylord, Harrison 904
Gladden Family 1193
Gladden. Richard 1194
Gladden. William 1194
Gladden, William. Jr 1195
Glaze, William 939
Gobat, Frederick August 860
Golden, Michael Joseph 1059
Goldsberry, Peter Putnam 1090
Goldsmith. Oliver C 844
Goodrich. Silas 0 1197
Gray, M. M 1069
Gi eenburg, William F 1189
Grubb, Lewis S 1187
Gude. William G 906
H
Hammond. Edwin P 632
Hanna.gan. Stephen J 861
Harding. Charles Francis 1154
Harshman. Isaiah 944
Hassel. Conrad 830
Hawk. Daniel 839
Haywood, Enoch Francis 1209
Haywood. George Price 533
Henderson. Charles Haskell 696
Henderson. Jones 696
Herriman. William. Jr 930
Hight, Robert Foster 584
Hill, Aaron S 749
Hill. John Allen 749
Hinea, Charles Benjamin 648
Hogan, Thomas W C9S
Hooker, Brainard G(j4
Hooker, Henry Cl4
Howell, Robert Henry 988
Hubertz, Edward 1127
Hudlow, William B 92U
Hunziker, Otto P 1222
Hurst, James 1131
J
Jackson, Daniel 9liii
Jackson, Ferdinand Cortez 11(18
Jackson, Sylvester H 773
Jackson, William Monholan 563
Jacobs, Duane D 84ti
Jamison, Albert R 708
Jamison, Hugh Seabaugh 570
Jester, Lewis X 880
Jones, William J., Jr 957
Jones, William Lyman 983
Justice, Xoah 1130
K
Kern, Frank D 91G
Kienly, Andrew 898
Kile, John P 1078
Kinimel, Frank 70G
Kinimel, John 70G
Kimmel. Louis 70G
King, Warren R 628
Koonse, Jeremiah Philip 741
Koonse, Virginia P 742
Kurtz, Charles 933
L
Lafayette Conservatory ot Music... 1152
Lairy, M. M 720
Latta, William C 951
Lee, George W 1089
LeGalley . Myron E 722
Lehnert, Michael 1066
Lentz. Moses A 1032
Lesley, Calvin 1118
Lesley, Daniel 1118
Lewis, James D 114G
Lewis, Robert 1147
Lofland, William Alfred 598
Lucas, William Kent C04
Ludy, Llewellyn V 1058
Lugar, Thomas Wilson 054
Lugar, William G54
Lyle, Thomas C80
Lyle, Urban A 680
Lyman, Edwin B 1205
Lyman, Harry B 1203
Mc
MeCabe, James Earl 10C2
MeCabe, Theodore 1202
McClure, Lawrence James 1002
McCorkle, Charles A 816
McCorkle, John W 989
McCormick, Owen 1141
McCormick, Thomas Jefferson 11U9
McCormick, William 1139
McCoy, John 1192
McCoy, Moraine 1191
McDill, Charles 9G2
McGrath. Robert Henry 766
McKee, Thomas G 760
McMahan. Adah 767
McMillin. John K 1182
M
Macak, Henry 1045
MacMullan, John W. T 1206
Madden, Joseph 1088
Marks, Thomas M 1019
Masters. James 1145
Masters, William G 1145
May, Jacob 837
Mayfield, A. M 1196
Meharry, Greenleaf Xorton 969
Mertz, Christian GOl
Meyer, Frederick 993
Mills, Daniel 806
Mitchell, John W 610
Mitchell, Josephine M 786
Mitchell, Samuel L 928
Mitchell, William C 777
Moflitt, William Robinson 659
Moore, Sarah A 834
Moore, Thomas Maxwell 876
Moore, William H 834
Moore, William H. H 761
Morehouse. Joseph Jennings 1105
Morehouse, Levi J 1106
Morgan. Lee Harry 5G2
Motter, Thomas Seymour 1010
Murdock, Charles 737
Murdofk, Frederick 881
Murdock, James 529
Murdock, John 882
Murdock, Samuel 531
Murdock, William F 88G
Murdock. William T 882
Myers, Amos 994
X
Naylor, Isaac 90
Neumann, Julius SC7
.Newhard, Simon Peter 1028
Newman, Christopher Columbus.... 824
Newman, John H 824
Newton, Doc 1 728
Nisley, Oliver Morton Co2
O
Oglesbay . George H 9(i5
Oglesbay, John P 965
Ohl. Charles W '. 109S
P
Parker, Henry Arnold SIO
Parks, George Daniel 827
Parlon, Thomas 9(;7
Paul, Alfred 804
Paul, Monford .• . 799
Paul. Reuben 799, 805
Peirce, Charles H 54S
Peirce, Martin Luther 540
Peirce, Oliver Webster OSi;
Peterson, Jonas A 930
Pfrommer, George J 595
Phillips, Morris Winfield 590
Potter. William S 725
Q
Quaintance, Ellis 9S4
R
Hausch, Casper 992
Rt'dinbo. John C F li:;s
Reeves. James L 893
Reeves, William 893
Rentschler, Michael 1037
Reser, Alva O G72
Reser, Harvey 960
Reule, Fred 754
Roberts. William A 574
Rochester. William King 712
Rosebery, William J 714
Rosser. John 1151
Rosser. Walter C 1151
S
Sample, Henry Taylor CS8
Sample. Robert W 592
Sattler, John 871
Sattler, George Henry 8C9
Schnaible, John 5(i7
Schnaible, Matt 582
Schnaible, Michael 589
Schultz, Anton 820
Schultz, Charles Henry 9G1
Schultz-Boswell Drug Company 820
Schumm. George Michael 742
Sense. Harry C 704
Sharpe, Burton Crouse 1030
Shaw, James B C78
Shearman, Albert Eugene 745
Shearman. Willett H 74G
Shelby, George B 803
Sheltmire, William 818
Shoup, A. W 1 104
Simison, Barney 1 184
Simison, David Parker 1024
Simison. Denny Boyd 1008
Simison, John Franklin 973
Simms, Daniel W 040
Skinner, John Harrison 1079
Skinner, John W 752
Slipher, David 1218
Smith, Arthur Bessey 1004
Smith, Benjamin Wilson S4S
Smith. W'illiam Werden 789
Smock. Richard M 1174
Snideman. Harry Madison OC<S
Snoddy, Alfred Nevin 1050
Stallard, Charles T 702
Stallard, Jacob M 700
Stallard, Samuel Thomas C99
Stiuitiehl. Allen 1073
Stanfield Family 1072
Stanfield. Samuel B 107:^
Steele, William Wellington 90S
Stein. John A 403
Stein, Mrs. Virginia 403
Sterrett, Joseph C 1163
Stewart, Joseph Xorris f>9o
Stillwell, William F 600
Stingle, James M ()22
Stone, Winthrop Ellsworth 531)
Stuart, Charles B 1199
Stuart, William Vaughn 612
Sullivan, Dennis T 934
Swisher, John B 1132
Swltzer, George W SOO
T
Taylor, Bennett 635
Taylor, Henry 616
Taylor, Jacob M 1007
Terry, Oliver P 1017
Test, Erastus 103S
Throckmorton, George K 770
Throckmorton. Ora E 1160
Titus, Harry Edward 670
Tower, E. A 115S
Towsley, Schuyler A 593
Troop, James 949
Tull. Luther 1123
Turner, Charles 940
V
Van Xatta, Aaron S74
Van Xatta, Job 644
Van Natta. Job Haigh 555
Van Xatta. J. Lynn 644
Vater. Septimius 864
Va wter. Everett B 921
Vawter. Philemon C 923
Vayou, E. E 1064
Vess. Filander Taylor 768
Vinton. Henry Heath 1173
Vyverberg. K. T 703
W
Wabash Valley Sanitarium and
Training School 1177
Wagoner, Robert Henry 1075
Walker, William Simpson 686
Wallace, Aaron 872
Wallace, James Bee 877
Wallace Machine and Foundry Co..' 578
Wallace, William 576
Walter, William J 1099
Ware, William H 975
Warner, John W 775
Washburn, Samuel S 624
Washburn, William Sanford 1056
Waters, Elmer Ritchey 1100
Weaver, Peter 1026
Weaver, William Otis 739
Webster, John Colbert 673
Welch, Amos 744
Westfall, Arthur Beaver 690
Wetherill, Richard B 1002
Whalen, John W 932
Whalen, Thomas H 780
Wiancko, Alfred T 955
Wiggins, Randolph 1035
Williams, Charles F 639
Williams, Robert 1212
Wilson, James 841
Wilson. Moses F 840
Wilson, William C 544
Winter, George 615
Wise, Joseph 1126
Wolf, Joseph 1111
Wood, William R 552
Wooden Railroad 1222
Y
Yeagy, William W 910
Yost. Allen A 1143
Yost, William H 1144
Young, William W 896
Z
Zimmerman, John 1148
J^/^i^<2'-Z^'Z>Z^^ ^^^Hy^-'C^^t^C^t^-ti^^
PAST AND PRESENT
OK
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND.
TAMES MURDOCH.
One of the most conspicuous figures ever connected with the b\! interests of Tippecanoe and other counties of northern Indiana wa- James Murdock, of Lafayette, who fnr n numbf^r <■• yp-r- \v«- enterprises •which tended grci' and ^tatr H<* was 'one -m
eleiicd to be his heme, and an ardent admirer and earnest suppurii institutions under which he reaped success such as few attain, and ui positions of honor and trust which none but men of a high order oi u::t'llc.~l are capable of filHng. Born in the county of Sligo, Ireland, in the year 1837, he inherited from his sturdy ancestors the sterling qualities of head and heart for which his nationality has ever been distinguished, and while still young gave evidence of those powers of mind which result 'm well-rounded character and a natural aptitude for something above the ordinary in the choice of a profession or calling. His father, John Murdock, was a Scotch- man by birth, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Sabina Kelly, was born and reared on the Emerald Isle. These parents lived on a farm in Ireland until 1848, when they emigrated to Canada, thence in 1850 removed to New York, and still later changed their abode to Ohio, where they resided f I- a limited period, or until moving to Wavne countv, Indiana, where John (34)
I I • I
1 I • '
I I I > ■ • • •
PAST AND PRESENT
OF
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND.
JAMES MURDOCK.
One of the most conspicuous figures ever connected with the business interests of Tippecanoe and other counties of northern Indiana was the late James Murdock, of Lafayette, who for a number of years was a leader in enterprises which tended greatly to the material progress of his city, county and state. He was long an influential factor in promoting large and important undertakings and such was the success with which his various efforts were crowned that his name is still suggestive of enterprises which bespeak the clear brain, mature judgment and master mind of the natural leader who moved among his fellows as one born to command. James Murdock was an Ameri- can by adoption, but none the less a loyal citizen of the country which he elected to be his home, and an ardent admirer and earnest supporter of free institutions under which he reaped success such as few attain, and attained to positions of honor and trust which none but men of a high order of intellect are capable of filling. Born in the county of Sligo, Ireland, in the year 1837, he inherited from his sturdy ancestors the sterling qualities of head and heart for which his nationality has ever been distinguished, and while still young gave evidence of those powers of mind which result in well-rounded character and a natural aptitude for something above the ordinary in the choice of a profession or calling. His father, John Murdock, was a Scotch- man by birth, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Sabina Kelly, was born and reared on the Emerald Isle. These parents lived on a farm in Ireland until 1848, when they emigrated to Canada, thence in 1830 removed to New York, and still later changed their abode to Ohio, where they resided for a limited period, or until moving to Wayne countv, Indiana, where John (34)
530 PAST AND PRESENT
Murdock's death occurred in 1853; ^'s widow survived him about a quarter of a century and departed this hfe at Lafayette in 1878, after reaching a ripe old age.
James Murdock spent the years of his childhood on the homestead in his native county and was indebted to such limited training as the schools of the neighborhood afforded for his preliminary education. Coming to America in his eleventh year, he attended for some time night schools in Canada and the United States, and in 1853, after the death of his father, he started out to make his own way by working at any kind of employment he could find. Coming to Lafayette that year, he worked for a while in a brickyard, drove a team for some months, and later in partnership with his brother engaged in farming on a small scale, renting for the purpose the river bottoms near the city, but meeting with only fair success in the venture. Not satisfied with his earnings as a tiller of the soil, he discontinued farming and in 1859 embarked in the grocery and produce business at Lafayette, which he con- tinued for twenty years with encouraging financial success. In the mean- time Mr. Murdock turned his attention to various other lines of enterprise, such as the building of bridges, taking contracts for the construction of gravel roads, railroads and other public work, which he carried on in connection with his mercantile interests and which from the beginning proved success- ful beyond his expectations. He also manifested an active interest in public afifairs, and after serving a term as township trustee was elected sheriflf of Tippecanoe county, the duties of which office he discharged with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the people, proving in this as in other posi- tions which he held from time to time, a capable and thoroughly trustworthy public servant.
In 1879, JNIr. Murdock was appointed warden of the State Prison at Michigan City, and held the position for a period of twelve years, during which time he left nothing undone for the good of the institution and the welfare of the inmates, and ere resigning the office the Northern Indiana Penitentiary not only ranked among the best regulated prisons in the United States, but was pronounced by competent judges a model of its kind. Shortly after the discovery of natural gas in Indiana, he was among the first to develop and exploit the industry. Associated with a number of business men of Lafay- ette and Chicago, he took a leading part in organizing the Citizens' Natural Gas Company, of which he was elected president, and later he assisted in organizing several other natural and artificial gas companies in Indiana and Ohio, the success of which was largely due to his interest and capable manage-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 53 1
ment. He served some years as president of the Indiana School Book Com- pany, which was organized in 1888, and in 1890 he was one of the organizers of the Merchants' National Bank of Lafayette, of which he was made the chief executive official. In addition to the above enterprises he was identified with various other local industries, besides having large and valuable farm- ing and livestock interests in dififerent parts of Tippecanoe county, from which he derived no small share of the liberal income of which he was the recipient. Of broad mind and liberal tendencies, he took large views of men and things, was calculated by nature and training for important undertakings and as a leader in the various enterprises with which identified, he proved worthy of every trust reposed in him, and discharged his duties with such conscientious fidelity that no suspicion of dishonor was ever attached to his name. His was indeed an active and useful life ; his influence in promoting the business inter- ests and material advancement of his own and other cities of northern Indiana was greater perhaps than that of any of his contemporaries. One of the notable men of his day and generation, he laid broad and deep the foundation upon which the future prosperity of his city and county very largely depends, and that his labors are destined to constitute a monument to his memory, more enduring than marble or granite or bronze, is the belief of all who knew and were familiar with his enterprises and achievements.
Mr. Murdock was married July 4, i860, to Miss Joanna Bourk, who bore him ten children, only three of whom survive, viz. : Charles and Sam- uel, sketches of whom appear elsewhere in these pages, and a daughter Mary, who is single and lives at the family home in Lafayette. Mrs. Murdock died October 29, 1891, and on November 27, 1908, James Murdock finished his life work and went to his reward, his death being' deeply regretted by the people among whom he had so long lived and wrought.
Samuel Murdock, son of James and Joanna (Bourk) Murdock, was born in Lafayette, Indiana, June 11, 1868, and attended during the years of his childhood and youth St. Mary's parochial school, where he received quite a thorough educational discipline. In 1879, when his father became a warden of the Northern Prison, he entered Notre Dame University, where in due time he completed a full course in civil engineering, and some years later he was made superintendent of the street car system of Michigan City, which position he held from 1887 to 1888 inclusive, resigning in the latter year to become secretary of the Citizens' Natural Gas Company of Lafayette. Mr. Murdock entered upon the duties of the latter office in Februar)^ 1889, and it was dur- ing his incumbency that gas was piped from the central Indiana fields to La-
532 PAST AND PRESENT
fayette. up lo that time the largest and most important enterprise of the kind in the state. Subsequently the above company was merged into the Lafayette Gas Company, which took over both the Citizens' Natural Gas Company and the Lafayette Artificial Gas Company, also the Electric Light Company. Since the reorganization referred to in the preceding sentence, the Lafayette Gas Company has been merged into the Indiana Lighting Company, which operates in the following cities of this state: Peru, Wabash, Ft. Wayne, Frankfort and Lebanon, also a number of places in Ohio, including Lima, St. Mary's, Wapakoneta, Ft. Recovery, Greenville and Celina, of which large and important enterprises Samuel Murdock is secretary and general manager.
About the year 1898, Mr. Murdock and his brother Charles became inter- ested in traction lines and now have extensive holdings in a number of such properties, the subject being a director in the Ft. Wayne & Wabash Valley, Evansville & Southern Indiana, and the Chicago, South Bend & Northern Indiana traction companies, being secretary of the company last named, also a director of the Monon railway.
From the foregoing it will be perceived that Mr. Murdock is a man of action as well as ability, and that he has discharged worthily the various important trusts with which he has been honored is demonstrated by the con- tinued success of the enterprises with which he is identified. He is essentially a busy man, and though afifable in his relations with others, companionable to a marked degree and fond of congenial company, he long since decided to act upon the motto, "Time is money. I have neither to spend save in the prosecution of my business interests." In person he is tall and commanding, fully six feet in height, with broad shoulders, well knit frame — in fine, just such a man to engage in large undertakings and carry to successful conclusion anything to which he may address his talents. Possessing executive ability of a high order, he manages with apparent ease what the majority of men would find burdensome, and being systematic in all he does, his labors and responsibilities, although great, cause him little concern.
Mr. Murdock's domestic life dates from November 6, 1890, when he was united in marriage with Addie Gordon, of Elkhart, Indiana, daughter of Alexander Gordon, of that city, the union being blessed with three children, James Gordon, Alexander Gordon and Alice Gordon Murdock. In his religious faith Mr. Alurdock is a Catholic, belonging to St. Mary's church, Lafayette, and in politics he is a Democrat, but not a partisan nor an aspirant for public honors. He and his wife move in the best society circles of their city, and those who know them best speak in the highest praise of their many sterling qualities.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 533
GEORGE PRICE HAYWOOD.
The Haywood family has long been prominent in the affairs of Tippe- canoe county, materially, politically and socially, having come here in the pioneer days, from which time to the present no member has by word or deed dimmed the luster of an honored escutcheon. A worthy and well-known representative of this fine old family is George Price Haywood, an attorney of Lafayette, whose name needs no introduction to the people of this locality. He was born on a farm in the southern part of Tippecanoe county, December 15, 1852, the son of Henry and Martha (Sherwood) Haywood, the former a native of Trenton, New Jersey, and the latter of North Carolina. Henry Haywood was reared in Greene county, Ohio, and early turned his attention to farming, which he followed all his life. He came to Tippecanoe county when a young man, having married in Montgomery county, Indiana, where he lived a short time. It was in 1833, soon after his marriage, that he came to Tippecanoe county, being among the early settlers. He be- came a prosperous . farmer. He established a good home, and lived here the remainder of his life, dying at the age of seventy-nine years in 1891, his wife having preceded him to the silent land in 1877, when fiftj'-five years of age. Mr. Haywood was a man of many fine traits of character. The Hay- woods came to America from England in the colonial days. The Sherwoods were also of English descent, grandfather Sherwood having been a pioneer in Tippecanoe county. He later moved to Marion county, Iowa, in which state he died, having reached a very old age.
George P. Haywood was the seventh child in order of birth in a family of eleven children, eight of whom grew to maturity. Two brothers, Thomas and Curtis D., served in the Union army, in Indiana regiments. The former is still living in Lafayette, while the latter is deceased.
Two other brothers are now living, Enoch F., a landowner in Tippecanoe county, who lives in Lafayette, Indiana, and Benjamin S., a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church who, at the present time, is the superintendent of the church and its affairs in Porto Rico.
George P. Haywood was reared on a farm, where he laid the foundation for a robust manhood and learned many lessons which have helped to mould his subsequent career. He attended the district schools until he was sixteen years old, then entered the academy at Green Hill, where he remained two years, and later took a scientific course at Valparaiso University, then known
534
PAST .\ND PRESENT
as the Northern Indiana Normal. He was graduated from the last named institution in 1876.
Mr. Haywood started in life as a teacher, which profession iie followed most of the time for eight years, having begun when nineteen years old, but the law had its attractions for him, and in 1877 he began studying for a career as an attorney with Bartholomew & Smith at Valparaiso He taught school in the meantime until 1880, in which year he was admitted to the bar in Lafayette. After this he continued the study of law for two years in the ofifice of G. O. & A. O. Behm. In the spring of 1882 he formed a partner- ship with W. F. Bechtel, the firm being known as Bechtel & Haywood, which continued until the fall of 1884, after which he continued alone in the practice of the law until ]\Iarch i, 1896, when he formed a partnership with Charles A. Burnett, under the firm name of Haywood & Burnett, which partnership has continued until the present time. His practice has steadily grown from the first, and he is now rated as one of the leading attorneys in a community long noted for the high order of its legal talent, the present firm of which Mr. Haywood is a member being an especially strong one. and having a clientele second to none in the county.
In his political relations Mr. Haywood is a Republican, having long taken a very active interest in the party's affairs until he has become a leader, his advice and counsel often being sought by local politicians and office seekers. In 1882. Mr. Haywood was a candidate for the nomination for prosecuting attorney, but was defeated. In 1884, he was again defeated for the nomina- tion for the same office; but in 1886 he was successful in securing the nomina- tion, and was elected, taking charge of the office November i. 1887. In the fall of the following year he was re-nominated and re-elected, ably serving two terms of two years each, his tenure of office ending on November 7, 1891. According to his constituents, the office never had a more painstaking and loyal exponent. During those four years there were seven murder cases, and six convictions were secured. The one failure was a second trial, having received a life sentence previously. The most noted case was the one known as the Pettit case, in which a IMethodist minister was charged and convicted of poisoning his wife by strychnine. He was tried on a change of venue from Tippecanoe to Montgomery county in 1890. The trial lasted six weeks. Hon. A. B. Anderson, the present United States district judge, of Indian- apolis, was the prosecuting attorney of Montgomery county at that time and assisted in the prosecution.
In the spring of 1892 Mr. Haywood was nominated by the Republican state convention as reporter of the supreme court, but he met defeat with the
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 535
balance of the state ticket in the election of that year. In the spring of 1894 he was appointed city attorney by the city council of Lafayette, and was re- appointed from time to time, holding this office for a period of twelve years, handling its affairs in such a manner as to reflect credit upon his natural ability as an able and far-seeing attorney, and at the same time being of incalculable good to the city, his record being one of which anyone might be justly proud. He was called upon to serve as chairman of the Republican county central committee, which he did for a period of two years, 1894 and 1895, when he won the hearty approval of all concerned for his conscientious work in behalf of the Republican ticket.
Mr. Haywood is a stockholder and vice-president of the Burt-Haywood Printing Company, publishers of the Lafayette Daily and Weekly Journal, the plant being a very extensive and complete one, equipped with modern ap- pliances for doing- all kinds of up-to-date publishing. The Journal wields a strong influence in the moulding of public opinion in this part of the state.
On October i, 1879, occurred the wedding of Mr. Haywood to Mary Marshall, at Montmorenci, this county. Mrs. Haywood is a native of Spring- field. Ohio, a talented and cultured lady, who has been a favorite in Lafayette social circles since coming here. She is the daughter of Solomon and Mary J. ( Wright) Marshall, the former an honored and influential resident of Tippecanoe county, the latter deceased. The beautiful home of Mr. and Mrs. Haywood has been blessed by the birth of three children, namely : Leona, the wife of Roy E. Adams, of Indianapolis, was a student at Smith University, one of the most noted institutions for voung ladies in the east; Marshall E., who is the secretary and treasurer of the Burt-Haywood Printing Company, graduated from Princeton L'niversity in the class of 1907: George P.. Jr., is a student at Princeton.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Haywood is a member of Tippecanoe Lodge, No. 492, Free and Accepted Masons ; Knights Templar Commandery, No. 3, Lafayette: Scottish Rite, and the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Indianapolis; he also belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Lafayette. ]\Irs. Haywood is a member of the Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, and is very active and influential in church and charitable work in tlie city.
In all the relations of life JMr. Haywood has been true to every trust reposed in him and he takes first rank among the representative, loyal, public- spirited and broad-minded citizens of Tippecanoe county, where lie is known and respected by all classes, rightly deserving- the high esteem in which lie is
536 PAST ,\ND PRESENT
held, although he is himself of a very unostentatious nature, straightforward and genial. One of the best things that can be said of any man can be said of Mr. Haywood, that is. that he is always loyal and true to his friends.
WINTHROP ELLSWORTH STOXE. Ph. D.. LL. D.
Winthrop Ellsworth Stone, Ph. D., LL. D., president of Purdue University and distinctively one of the eminent educators of his day, is a native of New England and an honorable representative of one of the oldest families in that section of the Union, being of the tenth generation in descent from Simon Stone, who immigrated to the New World in 1630 and located at Cambridge. Massachusetts. This ancestor, who was one of the first promi- nent settlers of Massachusetts Bay Colony, early became interested in the development and growth of the country and being a man of sound practical intelligence and -much more than ordinary force, it was not long until he rose to a position of prominence and influence among the people, and in various ways rendered efficient service in directing their affairs. Lauson Stone, the Doctor's grandfather, was a native of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, and by occupation a farmer. He spent the greater part of his life at or near the place of his birth, but for many years has been sleeping the sleep of the just in the old cemetery at Chesterfield, where also reposes the dust of a number of his ancestors, as the family lived for several generations in that old historic town.
Among the children of Lauson Stone was a son by the name of Frederick L.. whose birth occurred at the ancestral home in Chesterfield, New Hamp- shire, and who, in his young manhood, contracted a marriage with Anna But- ler, of the same place. Like many of his antecedents, Frederick Stone became a tiller of the soil, which vocation he f^jllowed in his native commonwealth for a number of years, and then removed to Amherst. ^lassachusetts. where he and his good wife are now living in honorable retirement. Literesting to a marked degree were many of the sterling characteristics of the family, and he, too, achieved considerable local distinction, and during the years of his prime was one of the leading Republicans of the community. Fred- erick L. and Anna Stone have always been held in high esteem in their differ- ent places of residence. Imbued with the New England idea of education, they spared no pains nor expense in providing the most thorough intellectual dis- cipline obtainable for their children, all four of whom, three sons and one
WINTHROP ELLSWORTH STONE, PH.D., LL. D.
TRESIIIKXT ITRDIK I'MVERSITV.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 537
daughter, are college graduates and filling honorable stations in life, Winthrop Ellsworth, the oldest, achieving distinction as an educator and Harlan, a younger brother, being a member of one of the leading law firms of New York city.
Dr. Winthrop Ellsworth Stone was born in the old town of Chester- field, New Hampshire, June 12, 1862, and spent his early life pretty much after the manner of the majority of New England lads. During the summer months his employments were such as are common to farmer boys, and when not at work in the fields he attended the public schools, where he made rapid advancement in his studies, and in due time gave promise of the intellectual development for which he afterwards became noted. To these early years under the tutelage of parents whose highest ambition was to engraft upon the minds and hearts of their children such principles as would insure careers of usefulness. Dr. Stone is largely indebted for the integrity of character and honorable ambition that pre-eminently distinguish him not only in his pro- fession, but as a citizen in every walk of life. The frugalities of the farm- er's home, the chaste purity of its influence, the fields, the forest, the orchard and meadow, hill and dell — all the wealth and beauty that nature spreads out with lavish hands — were teachers whose lessons he never forgot. It was amidst such scenes and surroundings that the early years of the future edu- cator were spent and their influence was such that he is still a lover of nature and a student of its mysteries.
Applying himself closely to his studies, young Stone, at the age of six- teen, was sufficiently advanced to take a higher grade of work, accordingly in 1878 he entered Massachusetts Agricultural College at Amherst, which he attended during the four years ensuing, when he was graduated with an honorable record as a student. Receiving his degree of Bachelor of Science in 1882, he spent the following two years as scientific assistant and observer on a private experimental farm, which had been established some time before at Mountainville, New York, by a wealthy man desirous of arousing an inter- est in advanced methods of agriculture. At the expiration of the period indi- cated, he returned to Massachusetts and after devoting the succeeding two years to scientific study in the chemical laboratory of Massachusetts Agricul- tural College, went abroad in 1886, from which time until 1888, inclusive, he studied chemistry in the University of Goettingen. Germany, receiving from that institution the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the latter year.
Returning to the United States upon the completion of his course, Doctor Stone, in August of the same year, entered upon his duties as chemist to the experimental station of the University of Tennessee, to which position he had been appointed a few months previously and which he continued to fill with
538 PAST AND PRESENT
ability and credit until his resignation one year later to become professor of chemistry in Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. Doctor Stone's repu- tation as a chemist had preceded him to the latter institution and upon the beginning of his work, in October, 1889, he was receixed by officials and pro- fessors as well as students with every mark of approbation and confidence. Fortified with superior professional training under some of the most dis- tinguished scientists of Europe, he infused new life into his department, popu- larized the study of chemistry and was soon surrounded by a large number of enthusiastic students, who, profiting by his instructions, in due time carried their knowledge to other fields, where many of them are now filling places of honor and usefulness in various lines of industry'. Doctor Stone filled the chair of chemistry with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the officials of the university and all others concerned until June, 1900. in the meantime, 1892, being appointed vice-president of the institution, which position he held in connection with his other work for several j-ears, discharging his official duties with the same interest he manifested in the class-room, and proving an influential factor in attracting students and putting Purdue on the way to become what it has since become, one of the most thorough and popular tech- nical schools in the West. During the absence of President Smart, in 1899, he was acting president, and when it became necessary to appoint a successor to the former gentleman. Doctor Stone, appearing to meet every requirement of the position and being the unanimous choice of the board, was duly chosen president in July, 1900. and has since held the place, discharging his official functions with the best interests of the university in view and forging rapidly to the front among the distinguished educators not only of Indiana but of the country at large.
Dr. Stone has been identified with Purdue for a period of twenty years, ten as a member of the faculty, and ten as chief executive of the institution. While professor of chemistry, he did much scientific work, made many impor- tant researches and discoveries, and gave the results of his investigations to the world in a number of scholarly papers and treatises, published in this country and in various periodicals abroad. As an instructor he easily ranked among the most thorough and efficient in the land and, as already indicated, students from his department have achieved distinction as teachers, and in various other lines of usefulness, the demand for their services attesting the thoroughness of their training and their ability to fill worthily the positions to which they have been called. As a faculty member, he was active in the work of committees, being for several years chairman of the committee on athletics, and in this connection had much to do with the organization of the Inter- collegiate -Athletic Conference, which has had an important bearing and
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 539
influence on athletics not only in western colleges and universities but wherever such organizations were in existence.
The growth of Purdue since Doctor Stone became president is the high- est testimonial that could possibly be paid to his ability and foresight as an executive and to his eminent standing as a broad-minded, scholarly and enter- prising educator. Since taking charge of the responsible position which he now so worthily holds and so signally honors, the advancement of the uni- versity has kept pace with the leading institutions of the kind in the United States, the attendance increasing from eight hundred and forty-nine in 1900 to one thousand, nine hundred and thirty-six in 1909, the number and capacity of the buildings having more than doubled during the interim, while the value of the university property has advanced from seven hundred two thousand dollars to one million, two hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars, and the annual income, which was about one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars the former year, now amounts to considerably in excess of four hun- dred thirty thousand dollars. The faculty, which formerly numbered sixty- five professors and instructors, now contains the names of one hundred and fifty, among whom are some of the leading educators of the country, in their special lines of work, no pains nor expense being spared in securing the best ability obtainable in order to keep the institution at the high standard to which it has been raised since the present administration has directed and controlled its policies and affairs. As a technical school, admittedly the equal of the best in the land, its work is so thorough and its reputation so high that hun- dreds of students are attracted to its walls every year from other and distant states, satisfied that a degree from the institution affords the best and surest passport to a successful and honorable career in this world of industry or scholarship.
Doctor Stone has always stood for the highest grade of work in the class- room. Economy in the use of the public funds and thoroughness in all mat- ters coming within the sphere of his authority. He exercises the greatest care over the buildings and grounds, looks after the comfort and welfare of students, and, being proud of the university and jealous of its good name and honorable reputation, it is easily understood why he enjoys such great pop- ularity with all connected with the institution, and is so well and favorably known in educational circles throughout the country. Though still a young man, he has achieved success such as few attain, but not satisfied with past results, he is pressing forward to still wider fields and higher honors, altliough his place among the eminent men of his day and generation is secure for all time to come. Doctor Stone has ever pursued a straightforward course and his manly, independent spirit commands fnr him universal approbatinn. He
540 PAST AND PRESEXT
has proven himself equal to every emergency in which he has been placed and to every position with which honored, and as a ripe scholar and gentleman of cultivated tastes and high ideals he fills a large place in the public view and enjoys to a marked degree the esteem and confidence of all with whom he comes into contact. In addition to his professional duties, he served one term as chairman of the school board of West Lafayette and for a number of years has been identified with the American Association of Agricultural Col- leges, being at this time a member of the executive committee of this organiza- tion. Since becoming a citizen of Indiana he has been active and influential in the work of the State Teachers' Association, also with the affairs of the state board of education, of which he is an ex-officio member. Though first of all an educator and making his work as such paramount to every other consideration. Doctor Stone has not been remiss in his duty to the community in which he resides, nor unmindful of his obligations as a citizen. A Repub- lican in politics and thoroughly abreast of the times on the leading questions and issues concerning which men and parties divide, he is not a partisan and in local affairs gives his support to the best qualified candidates, irrespective of party ties. He also manifests an abiding interest in the growth and wel- fare of his adopted city, is a stockholder in the Merchants' National Bank of Lafayette and aims to keep in close touch with every enterprise and movement which has for its object the social advancement and moral welfare of his fel- low men.
Doctor Stone, on June 24, 1889, contracted a matrimonial alliance with Victoria Heitmueller, a native of Prussia and the daughter of Ferdinand and Bertha Heitmueller, who also were born in that country. Airs. Stone was reared and educated in her native land and has presented her husband with two sons, David Frederick, born April 2. 1890. and Richard Henry, whose birth occurred on September 25. 1892. Doctor Stone and wife are members of the Second Presbyterian church of Lafayette, he being one of the elders of the society. They are actively interested in all work under the auspices of the church, besides contributing of their means and influence to the furtherance of various charities and humanitarian enterprises in their own and other cities.
MARTIN LUTHER PEIRCE.
Words of praise or periods of encomium could not clearly convey the personal characteristics of the noble gentleman of whom the biographer now essays to write in this connection, for only those who had the good fortune
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 54I
to know him personally could see the true beauty of his character and indi- vidual traits, which were the resultant, very largely, of a long life of devotion to duty, a life filled with good deeds to others and led along worthy planes, for during his long business career, he having been for some time the oldest business man in Tippecanoe county, the late Martin L. Peirce endeavored to be an advocate of the Golden Rule. He was born in Portsmouth, New Hamp- shire, June 26, 1806, in which city he received his education in the common schools. He was descended from the family of Peirces that located at Kit- tery, Maine, nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, where his father, Dr. Nathaniel S. Peirce, was born during the last days of the American Revolu- tion. When the latter was twenty-three years old he edited and published the New Hampshire Gazette at Portsmouth for several years. The paper was then fifty years old and in 1889 it was the oldest newspaper in the United States.
In March, 1821, Martin L. Peirce, as a clerk, entered the counting room of C. & C. W. Peirce, commission merchants of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1828. Then he came to the middle West to grow up with the new country where he deemed greater opportunities existed for one of his temperament, and, having a rare executive ability and keen foresight, he soon got a foothold and became prosperous. From 1836 he was an active business man in the city of Lafayette. Taking an interest in public afifairs, he was elected sherifif of Tippecanoe county in 1840 and again in 1842 on the Whig ticket. He afterwards refused two nominations, one for county treasurer and one for county clerk. For the seven years following he was the directing member of Hanna, Barbee & Company, grain and commission dealers.
January 7, 1850, Mr. Peirce was married to Emma L. Comstock, of Hart- ford, Connecticut, the daughter of Deacon Comstock of that city, and to this union four children were bom, two of whom died in youth. Charles H., and Lizzie P., who married Fred W. Ward, survived. Mr. and Mrs. Peirce also reared two other children, Oliver W. and Richard G. Peirce.
In 1854 Martin L. Peirce went into the banking business as a member of the firm of Spears, Peirce & Company, under the name of the Commercial Bank of Lafayette, and in 1863 the name of this thriving institution was changed to the First National Bank of Lafayette, of which Mr. Peirce was elected president, which position he held until his death, managing the afifairs of the bank in such an able manner as to give it wide prestige and establishing it on as solid a basis as any bank in the state. This bank was reorganized June I, 1882. This was among the first banks of its nature organized under
54- PAST AND PRESENT
the national banking law in the United States, its original number being twenty- six, all of which charters were issued the same day. Mr. Peirce was also vice-president of the Lafayette Savings Bank, which he was instrumental in organizing. He was treasurer of Purdue University from the date of its organization until his death. He was also a trustee of Franklin College and of the Chicago University, having always taken a very active interest in edu- cational affairs, and no small part of the success of the above named in- stitutions was due to his wise counsel in the management of their affairs. He was especially interested in the success of Purdue University from the first — in fact, he was its first treasurer. He is said to have been the first to suggest to John Purdue the founding of this university. The two men were closely associated and one day when they were riding together they passed a cemetery where a thirty-six-thousand-dollar monument stood. They commented on the useless waste of so large an amount of money, and Mr. Peirce suggested to Mr. Purdue that he leave a more useful monument to his memory by leaving a large sum to a college to bear his name. In this suggestion others urged Mr. Purdue in this matter, and the great Purdue University of today is the result.
Mr. Peirce, in his fraternal relations, was a Mason, having identified him- self with this ancient and honored order in 1840. In 1867 he visited the Paris Exposition as representative of the Scottish-rite Masons of the United State?, and he attended the grand banquet of the Grand Orient of Paris, where eleven hundred delegates, representing every civilized country in the world, assembled. This was a distinction of which any one might well l3e proud. While abroad he visited the principal countries of Europe and the British Isles. He had the distinction of being the first member initiated into Tippe- canoe Lodge, No. 55, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in Lafayette. Since 1843 to the time of his death, December 28, 1889, he was an active and promi- nent member of the First Baptist church. At various times he made liberal donations to the church and to Purdue University, the fine greenhouse on the grounds of the latter being the result of his generosity. He was originally a Free Soiler, but ever since the organization of the Republican party he was a loyal supporter of the same.
At the national convention of bankers at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1887, he was a delegate, being the oldest of between three and four hundred bankers in attendance. He was held in highest esteem by the members of that association, by members of the lodges with which he was identified, in fact by all classes, for he had sterling traits of character which commended liini t" all, enjoying tb.e unqualified confidence of his fellow citizens. His long
TIPl'liCANOE COUNTY, INl). 543
and eminently useful life was replete with success because he worked for it in an honorable manner, his life work having been nobly planned and singular- ly free from blot or stain, or even the suspicion of evil, his entire career being marked by generous acts. The suffering, the worthy poor, the deserv- ing young man, the church, the cause of education, never appealed to liim in vain. He gave liberally, ungrudgingly and unostentatiously, being- prompted by the broad charity which he felt rather than by any desire to make a display, his only hope of reward being the consciousness of doing good. As a financier and banker-captain of industry, his sound judgment, unusual executive ability and fidelity to duty placed the institutions with which he was connected in the front rank of their kind. He was truly a consecrated Christian man. anil it was in his home life that his character shone w'nh peculiar luster — the tenderness in his nature created idols out of its loves and his wife, children and grandchildren were its loves. Truly he was a good man like that mentioned in Holy Writ "whose life w-as as a shining light."
CHARLES HOWARD ANKENY.
Though the dead are soon forgotten, few will linger longer in the memory of citizens of Lafayette than the late Charles Howard Ankeny. This is due to the fact that he had the qualities which impress men. Prominent and prosperous in business, he established a character for integrity, public spirit and the social amenities of life. Modest and unassuming, he was really a man of great force of character and usually found in the lead when any movement was on foot for the betterment of the city. Tenacious of his own rights, he respected the rights of others, and in the best sense of the term he was always a gentleman in social intercourse, as well as a model citizen in affairs affecting the public. There was no more active member of the Mer- chants and Manufacturers' Exchange and the Lafayette Commercial Club. He was a lover of his home and family, noted for gentleness and kindness and the "soft answer that turneth away wrath." The record he left will long be an inspiration to those who knew and loved him best and Lafayette has never had a worthier name on her roll of honorable citizenship. This well- known business man was a son of Peter and Sabra Ankeny, born in Wash- ington, Guernsey county, Ohio, October 2, 1844. At the breaking out of the Civil war, though only sixteen years old, he was anxious to become a soldier for the Union, but owing to his slight physique was not allowed to enlist. He
544 P-^ST AND PRESENT
overcame the difficulty, however, by becoming a drummer boy in Company C, Sixtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. With his command he went to the front and when he was discharged, November 22, 1862, 'he had attained the rank of sergeant. After leaving the army he obtained employment with Duhme& Company, the famous jewelry firm of Cincinnati, but only remained with them a short time, as he went into business for himself in 1864, as proprietor of a jewelry store at Richmond, Indiana. He remained in that city for ten years and, in 1874, located at Lafayette, which was destined to be the scene of his life work. He established a jewelry store at No. 131 North Fourth street, east of the court house, which in time became one of the land- marks of the city. In a short time he was recognized as a leader in his line and by remaining in the same place for thirty-four years built up a good will that made this property very valuable in a commercial sense. At the time of his death, which occurred October 4, 1908, the Ankeny store was probably the oldest in continuity of existence of any similar establishment in the city.
In 1870 Mr. Ankeny married Caroline Strickland, a lady of great worth and much natural charm, and a member of one of the most distinguished families in America. She is a native of Maine and on her mother's side de- scended from the celebrated James Otis, one of the most famous of the Revolutionary leaders and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The result of this union, which continued in complete harmony and happiness for thirty-eight years, was an only daughter, now well known in Lafayette society as Miss Alice H. Ankeny. Mr. Ankeny was a charter member of John A. Logan Post No. 3, Grand Army of the Republic. He was also prominent in Masonry as a member of Tippecanoe Lodge. No. 492, Free and Accepted Masons, and Lafayette Commandery, No. 3, Knights Templar. He belonged to the Loyal Legion, a military and patriotic organization growing out of the Civil war, and including in its membership many names made illustrious by that immortal struggle.
COL. WILLIAM C. WILSON.
One of the prominent and influential citizens of Lafayette, Indiana, was Col. William C. Wilson, whose honorable career is deserving of recognition in a history of the province of the one at hand, if for no other reason because of his distinguished services in defense of the flag on many a sanguinary battlefield. He was born in Montgomery county, this state, November 22,
X^ 1^, ^^^^^:^-^^^
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 545
1827, the son of John and Margaret (Cochran) Wilson. His grandparents were natives of Virginia, the Wilson family having settled in that state in a very early day. One member of the family v^'as a member of congress from that state in 1824. The family finally left the Old Dominion state and located in that portion of Lincoln county, now called Gerrard county, Kentucky. Here the father of John Wilson, the Rev. James Wilson, who for many years was a noted Presbyterian minister at Staunton, Augusta county, Vir- ginia, was killed, having been thrown from a horse, leaving a widow with a large family to support. She was then compelled to give up the farm, and her son John, father of Colonel Wilson, soon thereafter began working at blacksmithing, working side by side with slave laborers. He learned to detest the institution of slavery and became an abolitionist. He left Kentucky for the West and at Edwardsville, Illinois, he met and formed the acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln. In 1822 he located in Montgomery county, Indiana, and soon afterward became employed in the United States land office at Craw- fordsville. During those pioneer days everything was freighted by trains and money from the land office was shipped by such methods to the East. It would be loaded into the wagons at night and left there until morning in order to get an early start. In 1823 Mr. Wilson was elected the first clerk of that county, which office he filled continuously and acceptably for a period of fourteen years. He then engaged in mercantile pursuits and afterwards retired to a farm where he spent the remainder of his life, enjoying the fruits of his years of industry. He was a successful business man and everybody admired him for his many praiseworthy qualities. He died in Crawfordsville, Indiana, in 1864, his widow surviving until 1884, her death having occurred in La- fayette.
It will be remembered that John Wilson was one of the commissioners appointed by the legislature to locate the county seat of Tippecanoe county, and he also helped lay out the city of Lafayette. He served one term in the legislature, to which he was elected in 1840, being in politics a Whig. He was truly a self-made man, having educated himself, and he was one of the honored pioneers of Indiana.
Colonel Wilson's brother, James Wilson, was United States minister to Venezuela, who died in South America while in his country's service. Of this family in Tippecanoe county, there are now one sister. Miss Margaret C. Wilson, and two brothers, one a former well-known dry goods merchant, Austin P. Wilson, and George W. Wilson. The last named recently proposed a new grouping of the stars of the American flag, grouping the forty-eight stars into one huge star, arranged so as to give them historic significance. .-\ (35)
546 PAST AND PRESENT
design of the new emblem was published in the papers throughout the United States, having been very favorably commented on, since it tells the history of the American flag and makes the emblem more beautiful.
One branch of this family descended from Col. William ]McKee. a soldier in Braddock's army, who fought at the famous battle known as Braddock's Defeat in 1775. He was captain of a company in the battle of Point Pleas- ant, Virginia, in 1778, during the Revolutionary war, which was one of the bloodiest battles with Indians ever fought on this continent. Colonel McKee had been commissioned by Lord Dunmore and was in command of the fort at Point Pleasant in 1778.
In the family homestead in Lafayette is a very large and valuable library, collected chiefly by Colonel Wilson : here also may be seen numerous interest- ing old heirlooms.
Col. William C. Wilson was reared in Crawfordsville. this state, and educated in private schools. He also attended ^^'abash College, graduating from that institution in 1847, '^nd in 1849 he graduated from the law depart- ment of the University of Indiana. Soon afterwards he was admitted to the bar at Crawfordsville, both for the circuit and supreme courts. In 1849 li^ was appointed prosecuting attorney for his circuit, and in 1850 he came to Lafayette and began practicing law with Major Daniel IMace, which partner- ship continued until the latter was elected to congress in 1852. Mr. Wilson then practiced alone until 1854, when he formed a partnership with George Gardner (late judge of the municipal court of Chicago), which alliance con- tinued until 1859, when Mr. Gardner went to Chicago and Colonel Wilson was again alone in his practice.
On April 17, 1861. two days after Lincoln's first call for troops to put down the rebellion. Air. Wilson hastened to volunteer as a private soldier in the Union army and four days afterward he was mustered into service as captain of Company D, Tenth Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, he having raised the company. While at Indianapolis he was appointed major of the regiment, which served in West Virginia in the Indiana and Ohio Brigade, commanded by General Rosecrans. Major Wilson was wounded at the battle of Rich Mountain. He was mustered out with his regiment in August, 1861, During the following autumn he recruited the Fortieth Regi- ment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and on September 23d of that year he became its colonel. This regiment was assigned to the Army of the Cumber- land under General Thomas. On March 27, 1862, Colonel ^^'ilson resigned on account of ill health, after a career which was very meritorious in everv respect. At the time of Morgan's northern raid, it is said that Colonel Wil-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND.
547
son recruited the One Hundred and Eighth Indiana Regiment in seven hours and he was its colonel from July 12, 1863, during the term of enlistment for the purpose of capturing that intrepid southern leader. On May 24, 1864, he was appointed colonel of the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was assigned to the Twenty-third Corps of Sherman's army in the Atlanta campaign, and he was among the detachment sent back to Nashville in pursuit of Hood. He was honorably mustered out of service in September, 1864, and he soon afterwards returned to his law prac- tice in Lafayette. He had three brothers in the Civil war. all officers and brave soldiers, one of whom had also been in the Mexican war.
In 1853 occurred the marriage of William C. Wilson to Sarah F. Bon- nell, of Independence, Warren county, Indiana.
In 1866 to 1867 Colonel Wilson was assessor of internal revenue, and from 1868 to 1869 he was postmaster of Lafayette, filling both oftices in a manner that reflected credit upon his ability as a public servant. He was also a very active and valuable member of the city council. He was first a Whig, but he became a Republican when that party came into power. In 1876 he delivered an address before the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, of which he was a member, at Philadelphia. The address was received with high encomiums by the press all over the country. On November 13, 1879, at the thirteenth annual banquet of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, held in Chicago, Colonel Wilson was one of the orators among such dis- tinguished men as Grant, Logan, Sheridan, Hurlburt and Ingersoll. He was called on to take the place of General Garfield, responding to the toast, "The Army of the Cumberland and its Leader, the Rock of Chickamauga." His speech was such a masterpiece that it was printed in full in the papers through- out the countr)'. He also made a memorable address at the laying of the corner-stone of the present court house of Tippecanoe county.
The death of this distinguished man, this able public servant, noted attorney and popular citizen occurred on September 25, 1891, in Lafayette. Those who knew him best pronounced him a man of steadfastness in pursuit of an honorable purpose, possessing untiring industry, with the highest order of moral and physical courage, a man of intense energy and zeal, all these praiseworthy characteristics supplemented by a wealth of thrilling eloquence which often enabled him to win the most difficult cases and hold his hearers spellbound on any subject. He was patient, forbearing, gentle and loving; as a commander he was alert, cautious, fearless and his soldiers all put the utmost confidence in his ability and admired him as a man ; he was generous and kind, and he discharged his official trusts with fidelity and universal satisfaction.
548 PAST AND PRESENT
In matters pertaining to the welfare of his county, state and nation, Colonel Wilson was deeply interested, and his efforts in behalf of the general progress were far-reaching and beneficial. His name is indelibly associated with prog- ress in this county and among those in whose midst he lived and labored he was held in the highest esteem by reason of an upright life and of fidelity to principles which in every land and clime command respect. Now that his eminently useful career has closed, his influence for good is still alive, and many young men have been strengthened by contemplating his life and emulat- ing his worthy example. Truly he was a man of high attainments whose light has not been extinguished by the transition we call death, but it shines on with a luster which the future years shall not dim.
CHARLES H. PEIRCE.
It is impossible within the circumscribed limits of this review to give more than a mere glance at leading facts in the life of one of Tippecanoe county's most influential and best known men. In the broadest and best meaning of the term, he is a benefactor in that he has labored for the material prosperity of this county while advancing his own interests. The noble pur- poses and high ideals by which his life is directed and controlled renders Charles H. Peirce deservedly popular with all classes. A native of Lafayette, Indiana, where his birth occurred April 22, 1857, he has elected to remain here, believing that this vicinity held greater opportunities for him than re- mote localities. He is the son of the well-known late Martin L. Peirce, whose biography appears in full on another page of this work. His mother was known in her maidenhood as Emma Comstock, a native of Hartford, Con- necticut, a kindly woman of beautiful Christian character who has lived in Lafayette for about sixty-five years and is, at this writing, making her home with her son. Charles H. Peirce.
Mr. Peirce grew to manhood in Lafayette, spending his youth in much the same manner as other young men contemporaneous with him — attending the common schools until the opening of Purdue University when he began a course there, having the distinction of being the first pupil enrolled in the first class organized in that institution. After leaving the university, where he made a very commendable record, he became connected with the First National Bank, with which he remained for a period of about twenty years, during which time he became familiar with the details of banking and general
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 549
business methods, partly under the training of his father, a financier of more than ordinary ability. Thus he came to his next position, that with the Kern Packing Company (now the Lafayette Packing Company), well qualified for its exacting duties. Remaining with this firm for one year, he went to Indian- apolis where he engaged in the ice business for a period of three and one-half years, returning to Lafayette in January, 1909, when he became connected with the Lafayette Fuel and Builders' Supply Company, of which he is, at this writing, secretary and treasurer; under his judicious management this firm is doing an extensive business.
On December 9, 1879, was solemnized the marriage of Charles H. Peirce with Hattie M. Brown, a native of Lafayette and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Brown, an old and well-established family here. Mr. and Mrs. Brown, however, are now residing in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Peirce is a woman of culture, refinement and affability and she presides over the beautiful Peirce home with a grace that causes the large coterie of friends of the family to delight to gather there, always finding a hospitable and cheer- ful welcome. This union has been blessed by the birth of one son, Martin L. Peirce, whose talents seem to run along journalistic lines, he, at present. being the telegraph editor of the Lafayette Courier.
Something of Mr. Peirce's innate business qualities is shown by the fol- lowing incident. When about twelve years of age he won a prize of one hundred dollars, offered by his father, for a certain accomplishment. When asked what he intended doing with it he replied : "Put it in the savings bank to the credit of Mrs. Charles H. Peirce." And he did so, leaving it until he was married, when his bride received it as a wedding present. It had then fully doubled by compounding the interest. She still leaves it in the bank, untouched.
Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Peirce belong to the First Baptist church, of Lafayette, being interested in the various lines of charitable and missionary work under its auspices. They are pleasant people to know, avoid publicity and sham in all its forms, plain, straightforward and kindly, thus easily making and retaining friends.
JOSEPH BLISTAIN.
Among the men of influence in Tippecanoe county, who have the inter- est of their locality at heart and who have led consistent lives, thereby gaining definite success along their chosen lines, is Joseph Blistain, one of the pro-
550 PAST AND PRESENT
gressive business men of the city of Lafayette where he figures prominently not only in commercial circles but also in the civic and social life. He was born August 13, 1854. at Wheeling, West Virginia, the son of Anthony and Catherine (Hauck) Blistain. He lived in Wheeling about one year, when his parents moved to Cincinnati where they lived about seven years, then moved to Chillicothe, Ohio, where Joseph remained until 1875, attending the public schools and preparing himself for his subsequent business career. In 1872 he took a position in the wholesale and retail dry goods and notion store of Joseph Stewart, of Chillicothe, Ross county, Ohio, where he made rapid ad- vancement, so that after his second year there he was sent out as a traveling salesman, selling goods by sample, alternating his trips with clerking in the store, continuing thus until about 1875, when he severed his connection with this firm and became traveling salesman for William H. Scheer & Company, wholesale dealers in hats, caps, furs and gloves at Cincinnati, which position he held with credit and entire satisfaction, giving to it his best talents until 1878. Then he took a position with Jorling & Kolling, who had been mem- bers of the firm of \Y. H. Scheer & Company, but withdrew in 1878 and embarked in the same business for themselves, Mr. Blistain acting as their bookkeeper and traveling salesman. In 1880 the firm, then known as H. Jorling & Company, admitted Mr. Blistain as a partner, and after six years of very successful business the latter disposed of his interest and came to Lafayette, Indiana, and became connected with the Newman & Bohrer Brew- ery. After the death of Mr. Newman in 1889. the firm became the George A. Bohrer Brewing Company and was incorporated with an authorized capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars and Mr. Blistain became treasurer of the company, which responsible position he still holds, discharging the duties of the same in a manner that stamps him as a man of unusual business acumen, foresight and soundness of judgment. This firm enjoys a very liberal patron- age, shipping large consignments of goods to Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, covering these states thoroughly, to say nothing of the phenomenal trade over Indiana. When Mr. Blistain became a member of this firm its prestige was not so very extensive, but by frugal industry it has increased to an annual capacity of twenty thousand barrels. The building frontage is about two hundred and fifty feet, running back to the alley one hundred and twenty feet, and the buildings are all of brick, three and five stories high, fully equipped with the latest improved machinery and most modern appliances of every type to insure the best possible results. Everything is under an excellent system and the plant is a model of its kind in every respect.
Anthony and Catherine (Hauck) Blistain. parents of Joseph, were both
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 55 1
born in Germany, the father near Duesseldorf. He emigrated to America in the forties, first located in Philadelphia, but later he went to Cincinnati where he worked as brewmaster for a period of seven years. He then bought an interest in a brewery at Wheeling, West Virginia, afterwards returning to Cincinnati where he acted as brewmaster again. In 1859 he purchased a brewery in Chillicothe, Ohio, which he conducted in such a manner as to gain an ample competency, being able to retire from active life in 1871. His death occurred on July 4, 1880. Catherine Hauck was born in Bavaria and came to America some two years after Anthony Blistain arrived ; her death occurred in 1875.
June 30, 1880. Joseph Blistain was united in marriage with Amelia M. Bohrer, daughter of George A. Bohrer, president of the brewing company described in a preceding paragraph. He was born in Bavaria, December i, 1819, and married Caroline Newman, a native of north Germany, born March 15, 1827. Their wedding, however, took place in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1849, in which city they lived for twenty-two years. The parents of each of these parties came to America in an early day. George A. Bohrer landed in New Orleans and came by boat up the Mississippi river to Cincinnati; he was eleven years of age and was accompanied by his older brother. Being of an industrious turn of mind, he first learned the trade of shoemaker, and later worked in the grocery business, also at undertaking and the livery business in Cincinnati. He came to Lafayette, Indiana, in 1872, and began in the brewery business, finally buying out the interest of a Mr. Herbert of the firm of Newman & Herbert Brewing Company.
To Mr. and Mrs. George A. Bohrer eight children were born, five sons. and three daughters — all born in Cincinnati. Four of the number are now living. The children in order of birth are : George H., Mrs. John W. Flete- meyer, Charles J.. Edward F., Albert F., deceased; Mrs. Joseph Blistain, deceased; Mrs. Louisa Spring, deceased; William, deceased. The death of Mrs. Joseph Blistain occurred on Christmas day. 1889. She was a fond mother and an excellent woman, whom everybody admired for her congenial- ity and kindness. To Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Blistain four children were born,, of whom one died in childhood ; the three living are : Erna, wife of Alvin Bodemer. of Cincinnati, where Mr. Bodemer is engaged in the manufacture of paper bags, and the wholesale paper business, a member of the firm of Diem & Wing Paper Company. William Blistain is bookkeeper in the brewery of which his father is treasurer. George A. Blistain, the youngest son, graduated from Purdue University in 1909, having completed the course in mechanical, engineering.
552 PAST AND PRESENT
Mr. Blistain is a member of the United Ancient Order of Druids, Wal- halla Grove, No. 12, and Lafayette Lodge, No. 143, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. He is a Republican and served one term as a member of the city council, elected 1902.
Personally, Mr. Blistain is a man of pleasing address, always kind, cour- teous, obliging, yet straightforward, tactful, business-like, and a man in whom the utmost confidence may be reposed, according to those who know him best, for his character is exemplary and he holds high rank in both business and social circles of Lafayette.
SENATOR WILLLAM R. WOOD.
In touching upon the life history of Senator William R. Wood, there is no desire to employ fulsome encomium and extravagant praise; yet the biographer will endeavor to hold up for consideration those facts which show the distinction of a useful and honorable life. To do this will be but to reiter- ate the dictum pronounced upon the man by those who have known him long and well. To have served his fellow-citizens in one office for a longer period than any other man has done in the history of the state, and to have been retained in that office by the votes of the people who best know him, is indeed a distinction of which any man would have just reason to be proud. To have practiced his profession in one community for more than a quarter of a cen- tury and during these years to have grown constantly in the esteem of his professional brethren and in the respect of the people generally, is irrefutable evidence of the ability and sterling worth of the man. In these respects, as well as in all other lines of activity in which Senator Wood has been inter- ested, he has exhibited qualities which have given him an enviable standing in the community.
Senator William R. Wood is a Hoosier by nativity, having been born in Oxford, Benton county, Indiana, January 5, 1861. He is a son of Robert and Matilda (Hickman) Wood, the former for many years a well-known and honored citizen of Oxford where he successfully conducted a harness business. Their son, William R.. spent his boyhood days much like other boys of his time, working on the farm during the summer months and attend- ing the common schools in the winter time. When fourteen years of age he decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and began learning the harness- maker's trade in the latter's shop. This, however, soon proved to be not in line with the yearnings of his heart, and all his spare time was devoted to
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TU'PECANOE COUNTY, IND. 553
Study and preparation for a professional career. He was an indefatigable reader and thoughtful student, and before he had attained his majority he was enrolled in the law department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in 1882, having made a splendid record for scholar- ship in that institution.
Immediately upon his graduation, William R. Wood came to Lafayette, Indiana, and entered upon the practice of his profession. He was first asso- ciated with Capt. De\\'itt C. Wallace, but this partnership was dissolved within two years, and Mr. Wood then entered into a professional alliance with Capt. William H. Bryan, and this relation was maintained until 1890, when the former was elected prosecuting attorney of the twenty-third judicial circuit as the candidate of the Republican party. His performance of the duties of the office was marked by efificiency of a high order, and at the close of his first term he was again elected, serving two full terms. In 1894 the subject was a candidate for the nomination for congressman in the Republican nomi- nating convention and several times during the progress of the ballots he came within five votes of the nomination. Eighty-seven ballots were taken, the nomination finally going to J. Frank Hanly. It was largely through the action of Senator Wood in throwing the votes of some of his supporters to Mr. Hanly that the latter was nominated.
After Mr. Hanly's return from congress, he and Senator Wood formed a law partnership, the combination proving to be one of unusual strength, the firm soon taking place in the front rank of the Tippecanoe county bar. This professional association was maintained seven years, or until 1904, when Mr. Hanly was elected governor of Indiana and removed to Indianapolis, since which time Senator \\'ood has been alone in the practice.
It was in 1896 that the Republican party selected William R. Wood for state senator, and at the ensuing election he received a handsome majority of votes, and he entered at once into his legislative duties with an earnest- ness and zeal that commended him to the voters of his district. He was not in any sense a "grand-stand player," but he accomplished things, and this habit of doing things has stuck to him all through his public and professional life. So strongly did he impress his constituents that they have returned him to the state senate at each subsequent election, so that at the expiration of his present term he will have served fourteen consecutive years as senator. This is a record that has never been equaled in that body in the history of the state and is certainly a marked testimonial to the character of the man. Dur- ing this period Senator Wood has twice served as president pro tem. of the senate. Among the many successful measures introduced and championed by
554 PAST AND PRESENT
him in the state senate was the bill for the appropriation and erection of the handsome monument on the Tippecanoe battlefield.
Senator \\'ood enjoys a large and lucrative law practice, being one of the leading members of the Tippecanoe county bar, and he has been engaged in many of the most important cases which have been tried here. In dis- cussions of the principles of law, he is noted for clearness of statement and candor and his zeal for a client never leads him to urge an argument which, in his judgment, is not in harmony with the law, and in all the important liti- gation with which he has been connected no one has ever charged him with anything calculated to bring discredit upon himself or cast a reflection upon his profession. As an effective and forceful speaker. Senator Wood's remarks always demand attention, whether he is in the legislative hall or the court room. He has prospered by reason of his close application to business, and aside from his professional duties he has a number of interests that claim his attention, being a director in the City National Bank, also a director of the Tippecanoe Land and Trust Company, being the attorney for each, and he is one of the principal stockholders in the American National Bank ; he is also interested in the Tippecanoe Securities Company, being the general attorney for the same; this is one of the largest insurance agency companies in the state. He is a director and stockholder in the Lafayette Telephone Company; also the Kern Packing Company and is its attorney.
In 1883 Senator Wood was united in marriage with Mary Elizabeth Geiger, of Lafayette, the daughter of Frederick and Rachael (McCombs) Geiger. Frederick Geiger was the pioneer miller of Lafayette, having oper- ated the old Star City Flouring Mill, the products of which were shipped principally to Toledo, Ohio, and other eastern points by canal. Mrs. Geiger was one of the first white children born in Tippecanoe county, and during her life she witnessed the erection of three court houses in Lafayette, the first one having been built of logs.
Senator Wood takes an abiding interest in fraternal affairs. He is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has taken the degrees up to and including those of Knight Templar, holding the latter relation in Lafayette Commandery, and he is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. The Senator possesses a genial disposition and makes friends easily. He enjoys probably the widest acquaintance among the voters of the county of any of our public men, and he is highly esteemed by all who know him, regardless of political or other distinctions. Senator Wood's family on both sides are Methodi.sts in their church relations.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 555
JOB HAIGH VAN NATTA.
It is a pleasing as well as an interesting task to place on record the career of a man who has been so long and so actively identified with the development and progress of Tippecanoe county as the distinguished citizen whose name introduces this article, and who holds worthy prestige among ■those to whom this highly famed section of Indiana is so greatly indebted for its advancement and prosperity.
Job Haigh Van Natta is not only widely known and universally esteemed, but ever since becoming an inHuential factor in civic matters his name has passed current for all that is upright and honorable and he stands today a conspicuous figure in a community long distinguished for the ability, moral worth and successful achievements of its representative men of affairs. A native of Indiana, he was born January 27, 1833, in Tippecanoe county, being a son of John S. and Sarah A. (Haigh) Van Natta, who were among the early settlers near the village of Otterbein and who also ranked high as intel- ligent, enterprising and influential members of the community which they helped establish.
The Van Nattas moved to Indiana from Ohio, but originally lived in New Jersey where, in 1801, John S. Van Natta was born. His father was Gilbert Van Natta, who was born in 1772 and who married in his young manhood a Miss Senteny and who, for a number of years thereafter, resided near the city of Trenton, New Jersey, where he followed the vocation of farming. When their son was quite small, his parents moved to Mays- ville, Kentucky, where the lad spent his boyhood, and later they changed their residence to Ohio where, in due time, John Senteny Van Natta united in marriage with Mrs. Sarah A. Wilson, whose first husband had died a few years previously, leaving her with three children to support. It is worthy of note that all these children grew up to be honorable men and women and dignified their respective stations in life. One of them, Hon. John T. Wilson, a man of high standing and widely known in political circles, represented one of the Ohio districts in congress, and also endowed in Adams county, where he lived, a home for those whom age and infirmity rendered incapable of caring for themselves ; Spencer Wilson, another son, became an extensive landowner in Iowa, and a very wealthy man, while a third, a daughter, mar- ried Walter Moore and lived for a number of years in Shelby township. Tip- pecanoe county, where she reared a large family.
The maiden name of Mrs. Wilson was Sarah A. Haigh ; she was born
556 PAST AND PRESENT
in England and when six years old came to America with her parents, her father being Job Haigh, an expert cabinetmaker, who was employed for some time on the construction of the capitol building in the city of Washing- ton. The marriage of John Senteny Van Natta and Sarah A. Wilson, which took place about the year 1820, resulted in three children, Aaron, Rachel and Maria, all torn while the parents lived in Ohio. In 1829, the family moved overland in a four-horse wagon to Indiana, and settled in Shelby township, Tippecanoe county, where Mr. Van Natta entered two hundred acres of public land, to which he added from time to time until he finally became the possessor of about four hundred acres, the greater part of which he cleared, reduced to cultivation and converted into a fine farm. Three sons, William S., Job H. and James G., were born after the family settled in Tippecanoe county and their early lives were closely interwoven with the community in which they first saw the light of day.
Maria J., the third daughter, first became the wife of John Bigger and later married John W. Fisher, a prosperous farmer near Battle Ground, where she still resides, having reached the advanced age of eighty-two years, and retaining to a marked degree the possession of her bodily and mental powers. Another daughter, Rachel, died at the age of twenty years. William S. Van Natta. who lives at Fowler, is an extensive landowner, an enterprising and wealthy farmer and the head of a large family, all of his children being well-to-do and highly esteemed in their respective places of residence.
Job H. Van Natta. who has spent his entire life of seventy-six years near the place of his birth, is perhaps the oldest native citizen of Tippecanoe county at the present time. He was reared to agricultural pursuits on the family homestead near Otterbein, grew to the full stature of rugged, well- rounded manhood with a proper conception of life and its responsibilities and on attaining his majority purchased a quarter section of land northeast of Otterbein, which he fenced and broke and in due time had the greater part in a successful state of cultivation. There being no sawmills in the locality at that time he was obliged to go to Crawfordsville for the lumber with which to enclose the part of his land intended for tillage. The dealer giving him choice between walnut and poplar at the same price he chose the latter because of its being lighter and more easily hauled, thus saving at least one trip over the long and illy constructed roads, but little realizing the loss he .sustained in the transaction.
By dint of hard lalx)r and continuous toil Mr. Van Natta finally suc- ceeded in reclaiming the greater part of his land and making one of the l->est farms and one of the most l>eautiful and desirable rural homes in the
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 557
county. No sooner had he gotten his affairs in a condition to live easily and enjoy the fruits of his struggles and toil than the national horizon became overcast by the ominous clouds of impending civil war. A lover of country and loyal in all the term implies, he made ready to take part in the conflict as soon as it should be precipitated. When the clouds finally burst and the stern call came he was among the first men in Tippecanoe county to tender his services to the government, enlisting in September, 1861, in the Tenth Regiment Indiana A^olunteer Infantry, and being elected first lieutenant upon the organization of Company D, to which he belonged. Mr. Van Natta was not long in proceeding to the front and during the years which followed he rendered faithful and efficient service in some of the most noted campaigns and many of the bloodiest battles of the war, sharing with his comrades all the vicissitudes in which his command took part, and proving under all cir- cumstances a brave and gallant soldier who shrank from no danger nor hesi- tated to go wherever duty called. Among the first battles in which he was engaged was Mill Springs, Kentucky, where a musket ball passed through his cap ; from there he returned with the army to Louisville preparatory to moving against the enemy farther south. Taking boats at that city, the force pro- ceeded to Nashville, Tennessee, thence marched to Pittsburg Landing in time to participate in the second day's battle, with Buell's command. For brave and meritorious conduct on that bloody field, Mr. Van Natta was promoted captain March 20, 1862, in which capacity he led his men against the enemy at Corinth, where he distinguished himself at the head of six com- panies, four infantry and two of cavalry, and added to his already well-estab- lished reputation as an intrepid though careful and judicious officer. For his conduct in the latter action he was highly praised by his brigade commander, General Steadman, and, for duty ably and gallantly performed, he was made major of the regiment November 18, 1862, which position he held until commissioned lieutenant-colonel September 21, 1863, by Governor Morton, for especially brilliant service at the battle of Chickamauga.
From Corinth the Federal forces marched to Tuscumbia, Alal)ama. but being threatened in the rear by General Bragg they returned to Louisville, thence proceeded to Perryville in time to take part in the sanguinary engage- ment near that place. From Perryville. the march was continued to Lafayette, Georgia, with a number of skirmishes and se\-eral battles on the way, but the movement of Longstreet, whose aim was to move his corps from the Potomac so as to form a junction with the western army under the command of Bragg, caused the Federals tn he hurried by a fnrced march ti> Chicka- mauga. .\rriving at the latter place Colonel Croxton. who commanded the
558 PAST AND PRESENT
brigade, ordered Major Van Natta to take command of the skirmish line and bring on an engagement, which was done in due order. At first it was thought the enemy had but a small force on the opposite side of the river, with a bridge burned liehind them, but as Major Van Natta developed their true position it was learned, much to the chagrin of the Union troops, that what was supposed to be a small force was the entire Confederate army in readiness for battle.
The battle of Chickamauga, one of the hardest and bloodiest of the war, need not here be described. Suffice it to state, however, that the regiment to which Major Van Natta belonged displayed the most gallant and determined courage on that awful day, and of his former company fully one-half were killed and wounded, other commands suffering in like manner. The Major and his gallant men performed prodigies of valor against overwhelming odds, and in the leading of a forlorn hope he displayed a brilliancy of leadership and at the same time a wise discretion that, as already indicated, led to his being commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the regiment by the war governor of Indiana, a short time after the battle was fought. The retreat from the field of Chickamauga to Chattanooga, where the Federals took a position with the river behind them on the west, with Lookout mountain rising from the river on the south, a gap of one mile from the mountain to Missionary Ridge, which stretched around the troops north, then northwest to the river ; on the mountain and the ridge the Confederate forces in battle array awaited the onset, but the capture of the mountains by strategy and the resistless charge to and up over the ridge, during which thousands of brave men fell a sacri- fice to the awful moloch of war, the precipitate retreat of the Confederates, the shouts of victory by the elated hosts of the North — all have been told and retold until the history of that terrible struggle has become as familiar as a household tale.
In (leneral Thomas' command, fighting with his wounded arm in a sling. Major Van Natta stood for some time facing Missionarv Ridge and when the center charged without orders he was among the first to ascend the declivity, in the face of a murderous fire, and to him belongs no little of the credit of inspiring his men in a situation which has no parallel in the annals of warfare. After the capture of Missionary Ridge." the Major marched with Sherman through Georgia to Atlanta and participated in several sanguinary battles which led to the reduction of that noted stronghold, including among others those of Peachtree Creek, Buzzard Roost, and Resaca ; in fact, he was under almost continuous fire until the city fell and Georgia ixissed from Con- federate to Federal control. At the expiration of his term of service he was
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 559
discharged September 19, 1864. witli an honorable record, one of which any bra\e defender of his country might well feel proud, and returning home he resumed the peaceful pursuits of civil life at Lafayette, with the material interests of which prosperous city he has since been largely identified.
For about twenty years Mr. Van Natta was associated with his brother in the cattle business at Lafayette, buying and shipping to the leading eastern markets, and consigning every week from twenty to thirty car loads and frequently handling considerably in excess of those figures. The enterprise proved successful beyond their most ardent expectations and on retiring from business they each possessed a fortune of sufficient magnitude to make them independent and earn for them prominent positions among the financially strong and reliable men of Lafayette and the county of Tippecanoe.
Mr. Van Natta has large and valuable tracts of land in the county besides real estate in the city of his residence and elsewhere, owning eight hundred acres of fine land north of Battle Ground, the greater part under cultivation and otherwise highly improved. He also has six hundred acres near Otterbein and seven hundred acres in LaGrange county, all very valu- able, and in addition to these interests he is a stockholder and director of the Merchants" National Bank of Lafayette, owns stock in the Lafayette Loan and Trust Company, of which he is also a director, besides holding large interests in the Lafayette Savings Bank, of which he is a trustee, and the First National Bank of Boswell and the State Bank of Otterbein, being presi- dent of the last two institutions.
Mr. Van Natta has always kept pace with the times not only in business matters but in public affairs, and a number of enterprises which have made for the material progress and general welfare of Lafa\-ette and Tippecanoe county have profited by his counsel and advice. For many years he has been a trustee of Purdue University and, like all public-spirited men of the city, he has never permitted his interest in this splendid institution to wane nor been lacking in his duty to other means for the intellectual advancement of the community honored by his citizenship. His heart and hand have been seen and felt in nearly every institution and movement that has for its purpose the benefit and uplift of his fellowmen, and his friendships, always constant, zealous and reliable, have given him an influence such as few exercise.
^Ir. Van Natta, on October 10, 1866, contracted a marriage with Harriet Barnes, daughter of Samuel Barnes (see sketch of Thomas J. Barnes), which union has been blessed with six children, viz. : Blanche, wife of Augustus Ruffner, of Chicago, and the mother of a son named Henr)- Van Natta Ruffner; J. Lynn Van Natta, present treasurer of Tippecanoe county: Samuel
560 PAST AND PRESENT
Gilbert, a wealthy cattleman of Texas ; Louise, now Mrs. George E. Baldwin, of Seattle, Washington; John W., who is interested with his brother in Texas, and Nancy, who is a member of the home circle. Mr. Van Natta is above the average height, tall and of gentlemanly bearing, courteous in his relations with his fellowmen and generous and kind to all. His tastes are largely domestic and he finds his keenest enjoyment in his home and with his family in whom he manifests a pardonable and well-deserved pride.
ZEBULOX BAIRD.
Zebulon Baird was of Scotch descent, born in New Jersey and reared and educated in Ohio; but forty years of his manhood, with their record of honorable achievement, belong to Indiana. His great-grandfather, John Baird, was the Scottish ancestor who came to America in 1683 and, although a lad under the age of twenty, purchased a goodly tract of land at Marlboro, Monmouth county. New Jersey, and proceeded to erect a homestead. This quaint old house is still standing — an interesting structure of the early colonial type. John Baird married, and his descendants were men of large landed inter- ests and social consequence.
The second generation of American Bairds became connected with another of New Jersey's substantial families — one of political prominence in colonial times — by the marriage of James Baird and Deliverance Bowne. These were the parents of the subject, who thus drew directly from two family founts of ability and virtue. Zebulon Baird, one of six children, was born December 21, 181 7. Soon after his birth, his parents left their New Jersey home and settled upon a farm in Warren county, Ohio. Here Zebulon grew and studied. His schoolhouse was a log cabin, but his instructor was a man of practical attainments and classical culture, and, like the Bairds, a stanch Scotch Presbyterian. Zebulon was early ready for collegiate work, ami duly entered Miami University, of which Robert H. Bishop was then president. His college course completed, he liegan the study of law under Governor Thomas Corwin at Lebanon, and in the spring of 1838 he was admitted to the bar of Ohio; a few months later he began practice at Lafay- ette. Indiana, in partnership with Judge Ingram, a veteran in the legal field. Mr. Baird was markedly of the student type. To absorb and systematize truth for practical use was with him a natural mental function. His classical knowledge was the wonder, admiration and reference fund of his associates.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 56I
He loved his profession for itself, without regard to the financial rewards of success or political prestige. Yet, still more did he love his country and the cause of liberty, and when the Civil war came on he entered service as captain under General Milroy. During his army experience he met with an adventure which promised to be more serious than it proved. It was at the second battle of Bull Run. Unknown to him, the Union forces had beaten a retreat, he being engaged at the time in carrying orders. Unconscious of his peril, he rode into the picket lines of the enemy where he was quickly captured, and he subsequently was made an inmate of that historic horror, Libby Prison. Unlike the fate of so many of his fellow-victims, he was soon released, on exchange, and the sequel to this prison episode wears a tinge of less gloomy romance. He had at that time a case pending in the United States supreme court, and as the city of Washington lay in the line of his journey from Libby Prison to his new post of duty to which he was assigned, he took advantage of this opportunity to plead his cause. He addressed the court in his officer's uniform, and the interest awakened by the novel appear- ance of the military advocate was deepened into profound attention by the force of his oratory. At the conclusion of his plea, he was the recipient of much gratulation, and one of the justices was led facetiously to wonder what might not be expected of generals when captains could argue so well. The rigors of military life told severely upon the slender constitution of Captain Baird, and a short time before the declaration of peace he was obliged to resign his commission. Returning home, he devoted himself to professional work and in the few remaining years of his life he earned a reputation in Indiana as one of the ablest and most thoroughly equipped lawyers of its bar. His intellectual talents were of the highest order, yet he did not rely upon those talents for his success, as so many similarly gifted would have done. His early mental discipline had been most excellent, and throughout his professional career he was a close and conscientious student of his cases. The philosophy of law was his delight, and in the consideration of legal proposi- tions he dwelt upon principles rather than precedents, but he never neglected to inform himself on the law of his cases, and if precedent became imperative,, he was always prepared to apply it with his characteristic skill. His thorough acquaintance with fundamental principles and his acute analytical power made him quick to detect a weakness or fallacy in an argument, and he was a formidable antagonist; yet his self-control was superb and his courtesy to adversaries, as well as to court and jury, unvarying. He was a man of pure and lofty ideals, to which he was never for a moment oblivious. Joseph E. McDonald, formerly United States senator from Indiana, read law in the (36)
562 PAST AND PRESENT
office of Mr. Baird, and the success which he later won, both as an attorney and pohtician, he attributed to the splendid training he had received from his legal patron, whom he declared to be one of the ablest lawyers ever produced by the state of Indiana. Nor was he unsupported by the profession in his high estimate of Mr. Baird. In "Sketches of the Old Indiana Supreme Court Bar," by Gen. John Coburn, Zebulon Baird is accredited with his many super- ior abilities, which are finally epitomized in these words: "He was well matched with the best lawyers on the Wabash, and in any English-speaking court would have ranked among the highest." In person, Mr. Baird was a type almost feminine in its delicacy. His features were fine and clearly cut ; his blue eyes mild ; his pale face vitalized with thought. He was one of those rare personalities from which all grosser elements seem refined away, until the intellectual and spiritual being stands out in bold relief. The contempla- tion of such men, frail in physique, yet pronounced in character and sensibility, is reassuring to religious faith, making easier the conception of a future state in which the individuality shall appear unchanged, only more clearly and purely defined in its freedom from the mortal clod.
Mr. Baird was married on January 22, 1839, to Martha M. Probasco, whose father was the late Rev. John Probasco, of Lebanon, Ohio. Five chil- dren were born of this union. Mr. Baird died January 29, 1877. and his widow on the 22d of June. 1898.
LEE HARRY MORGAN.
Among the younger coterie of business men of Lafayette and one who is rapidly pushing his way to the front by means of fidelity to his chosen work and by a determined energy that knows no flagging until whatever task he has in hand is finished, is Lee H. Morgan, the scion of as worthy ancestors as any- one can claim. He was bom in Farmington, Fulton county, Illinois, May 25, 1870, the son of George W. and Martha E. (Warner) Morgan. When Lee was five years old the family moved to Sidney, Champaign county, Illinois, where they remained for eight years, then moved to Salem, Illinois, the former home of William Jennings Br\-an, Mr. Bryan having been a schoolmate of Mrs. George W. Morgan. After three years spent at Salem, the Morgan family moved to Champaign. Illinois. At this place Lee H. left school, having secured a fairly good text-book training, for the purpose of entering the grocery business, in which he remained for two years. Then he, together
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 563
with his father and brother, started a mattress factory at Champaign, which they successfully conducted for three years, when the family moved to Lafay- ette, Indiana. This was in 1900. Lee H. and his brother William F. started a mattress factory and carpet cleaning business soon after they came to Lafay- ette on South Sixteenth street, for which they were well equipped, consequently were able to do first-class work. Their carpet cleaning is done in a large cylinder, fifteen feet in diameter, which revolves slowly; it is made of slats, and is so constructed that the carpet will roll and fall from top to bottom, thus beating it mechanically, airing it and removing the dirt. All the machinery is iip-to-date and the very best work is turned out here quickly and at reason- able prices. The name of the firm was Morgan & Morgan after they came here. After operating their original business for about a year they added furniture upholstering and repairing. In 1905 William F. withdrew from the business and Lee H. Morgan still continues the business under his own name. He not only makes new upholstered furniture, but refinishes antique furniture of the highest quality. When this business was first started by the Morgan brothers in Lafayette they occupied a room only twenty -two by fifty feet. About three years later they erected a large addition, which they again en- larged in 1906, the business having grown until this became a necessity. Two floors are now required, thirty-three by ninety-six feet throughout. A number of employes are kept busy turning out the work, the business now covering a wide territory and constantly growing.
Lee H. Morgan was married, June 30, 1903, to Rosa Fluck, of Cham- paign, Illinois, a very affable woman, the representative of an excellent family.
In his fraternal relations, Mr. Morgan is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge; he also belongs to Trinity Methodist Episcopal church. In 1905 he erected a new dwelling just south of the factory, which is modern, con- venient and attractive. He is a hard worker, plans well and has succeeded. He always takes a summer vacation on the northern lakes where he regales himself hunting and fishing, being something of a sportsman. He likes good horses and does considerable driving. He is obliging and friendly and a man who makes and retains friends easily.
WILLIAM MONHOLAN JACKSON.
He whose career is now taken under consideration and to whom the reader's attention is respectfully directed, is numbered among the progressive citizens of Lafayette and one of the representative men of Tippecanoe county,
564 P-'^ST AND PRESENT
of which he has been a resident all his life, having been born here, and he has gained prosperity through his own honest efforts in connection with the de- velopment of the natural resources and the subsequent business prosperity. William M. Jackson first saw the light of day near Quaker Grove, this county, not far from the Montgomery county line, January 23,. 1869, the son of James M. and Elizabeth R. (Campbell) Jackson, the parents having come to Tippe- canoe county in 1865 from Gallia county, Ohio. Their son, William M., grew up on the home farm, which he worked and attended the district schools in the meantime. He remained on the farm until he was twenty-three years old, although his parents moved to Lafayette when he was eighteen, William M. desiring to farm with his brother-in-law. Farming, however, soon lost its charm for him and in 1892 and 1893 he went into the grocery business in Lafayette. Later he conducted a retail feed store for two years. Then he worked one year for the Western Construction Company on street con- tracts. In 1900 he began cement contracting for himself, starting in a small way with very limited capital, but a good credit. He made bids for city work and got contracts thereby. He began building sidewalks, then street construction and sewers and bridges, making a success in all and gradually extending his business until he had a large force of men employed and was constantly engaged on some large and important work. In 1907 he built South Eighteenth street from Kossuth street to the city limits. In 1906 the Lafayette Fuel and Builders' Supply Company was organized with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars, and Mr. Jackson was elected president of the same, which position he still holds, managing the affairs of the company in a manner as to insure abundant success and to stamp him as a business man of no mean ability and sagacity. In 1903 Mr. Jackson put down cement side- walks and curb and gutters from Main street bridge to Purdue University. In that year he erected his commodious, modern and beautiful home on East Kossuth street where he now resides. He works now principally on private construction work, having become one of the most popular contractors in the county, owing to the fact that he guarantees all his work and is quick to make good any defect. He does not go into debt except as an investment, and he always meets his obligations promptly. He believes that hard work and good management will always win, and this has been the secret of his large success. He deserves a great deal of credit for what he has done, but he is unpretentious, plain, kind and generous.
Mr. Jackson was married July 19. 1899. to Nellie G. Baker, of Lafayette. and to this union two sons have been born, namelv : Earl Linden and Law-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 565
rence M. The Jackson household is a mutually happy and hospitable one, popular among a wide circle of friends.
In politics, Mr. Jackson is a Republican and is a member of the town- ship advisory board. In 1906 he was nominated by his party for township trustee, but by reason of unusual circumstances, he was defeated after a very spirited contest. In his fraternal relations he is a member of Lafayette Lodge, No. 123, Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Woodmen of the World.
FREDERICK DORNER.
The German element in America's national life has contributed much to the country's material prosperity, being felt as a potential force along in- dustrial, commercial and agricultural lines, to say nothing of the important place it occupies in the arts and sciences and its influence in the military, edu- cational and religious circles, as well as in the domain of politics. A fine representative of this nationality is found in Frederick Dorner, whose name is known nationally, having built up a lucrative and extensive business in the pleasant science of floriculture in which he seems to have much more than ordinary ability, both natural and cultivated, as we shall see by a perusal of the following paragraphs. r"21'^^-^
Mr. Dorner's birth occurred in Baden, Germany, November 29, 1837, the son of Frederick and Christine Dorner, who are remembered as honest and industrious people, of the better class of Germans. When eighteen years of age, Frederick decided that the great republic across the sea held greater possibilities for a lad of his temperament than his home land, consequently he set sail for the United States, coming directly to Lafayette, Indiana, where a brother, Philip, had previously settled. Since his arrival here in 1855 Fred- erick Dorner has noted many extensive changes and played well his part in the subsequent business expansion. Very early in life he was a lover of nature, having something of the poetic temperament in that he loved flowers, herbs, shrubs, etc., liked to see them grow and to cultivate them, but, unlike the poet, he also saw the great commercial side of this prodigal beauty of plant life and sought to turn it into account, with the result that he began working for the florist Lloyd, with whom he remained for a time, then worked at other things until he had a start.
On March 2, 1861, Mr. Dorner chose a life partner in the person of Marguerita Eihl, daughter of Lawrence Eihl, of Lafayette. Her father after-
566 PAST AND PRESENT
wards bought and operated the Peters mill on ^^'ild Cat creek. The Eihl family is an old and highly respected one.
After following farming for a time, Mr. Dorner, in 1865, went to Wis- consin where he followed farming until 1870, in which year he returned to Lafayette and started a florist business at Gaasch's Garden on Underwood street, where there were already greenhouses, which he rented. About 1875 he moved to the south side of Indiana avenue, renting ground at Nineteenth street of Moses Fowler in what is now known at the Echo addition. Here he built a greenhouse and carried on his business in a very successful manner, but upon the death of Mr. Fowler he moved, buying land of Martin L. Peirce, consisting of nine acres on Indiana avenue. This was in 1900, and since that time he has added to his original purchase from year to year until his holdings at present are not only extensive but very valuable. In 1905, Mr. Dorner purchased twenty-four acres at Twenty-fourth street and Indiana avenue and built greenhouses there. Mrs. John Heath was the former owner of this property. When Mr. Dorner started in business at Nineteenth street and the north side of Indiana avenue he had three houses and about seven thousand square feet of glass. This was in 1890. The growth of his busi- ness since that date has been phenomenal and is gradually increasing. He now has one hundred thousand square feet of glass, and his residence at Nineteenth street and Indiana avenue is one of the attractive homes of Lafay- ette, being modern, commodious and in the midst of the most attractive grounds in this locality, surrounded by broad lawns, with winding walks, many kinds of rare and beautiful shade trees surrounding the home, which in every way is an ideal one. Mr. Dorner has a down-town office and retail establish- ment at No. 640 Main street, which is usually a busy place. Since 1890 he has made a specialty of growing carnations, and no finer specimens than those produced in his greenhouses are to be found anywhere ; their beauty and quality have become so widely known that his shipments extend from the Great Lakes to the Gulf and from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. He has been quite successful in the culture of new varieties of this favorite flower.
Thirteen children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Dorner, four sons and three daughters of which number are now living, six having died in early life, three in infancy. Frederick died when two years old; Margaret died when seven years of age : Christine reached the age of twenty-one before summoned to the silent land; those living are: Fred E.. Jr., married Ida Prass and they are the parents of two children. Dorothy and Fred. Theodore A. married Lillian Harrington, of Lafayette, and they are the parents of two children, Catherine and Lucile. Herman B. : William Philip; Emily is at
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 567
home ; Anna married Fred E. Hudson, who assists Mr. Dorner in the green- house, and he and his wife are the parents of one child, James Frederick; Emma married Claude Riddle and lives in Los Angeles, California ; they are the parents of three children, George, Margaret and Claude. Fred, Theodore, Emily, Anna and Emma, also Fred Hudson are stockholders in the business conducted by Mr. Dorner. Herman Dorner is professor of floriculture at Urbana, Illinois, in the horticultural department of the college there. William Dorner is living at home and is attending Purdue University.
Mr. Dorner's business was incorporated in 1896 under the laws of the state, the officers being as follows: Frederick Dorner. Sr., president; Theo- dore Dorner, vice-president; Fred E. Dorner. Jr.. secretary and treasurer.
No family in Lafayette is better known or bears a better reputation than that of the Dorners, each member of which holds high rank, both in business and social circles.
JOHN SCHXAIBLE.
A well-known and influential business man in Lafayette. Indiana, is John Schnaible, a man who is deserving of great credit for what he has accomplished owing to the fact that he has been compelled to overcome in- numerable obstacles that have thwarted his pathway from early childhood, but being possessed of those innate characteristics that always make for success despite adversity, he has pushed aside all hindering causes that would have a tendency to deflect his course from the true goal he has sought, and he is today president of a large and constantly growing manufacturing concern, built up very largely through his untiring efforts — the M. & J. Schnaible Company, soap manufacturers.
John Schnaible was born July 30, 1837, in Wurttemberg, Germany, the son of Michael and Dorothea Schnaible. who. in 1853, started from their old home in the Fatherland to the newer republic of the west, and after a disastrous voyage of forty-seven days. Mrs. Schnaible and her five children landed in the harbor of New York, the father and one child. Jacob, having died on the way over of cholera which invaded the ship, taking forty-seven of its passengers. Also a brother of IMichael, Sr., fell a victim to the dread scourge. The children who sur\-ived were Margaret. John, George, Michael and Matt. John had the cholera but recovered. Three other members of this family of Schnaible children had died before the family left Germany.
In February. 1854. i\Irs. Dorothea Schnaible and her voung children
568 PAST AND PRESENT
penetrated into the interior, coming to Lafayette, Indiana. Their means hav- ing been nearly exhausted, the children that were old enough to work sought employment at whatever they could get to do. Michael found em- ployment in a little soap factory and this was the beginning of the interesting and successful career of the Schnaible brothers in this line of business. His brother, John, found employment in the same factory in 1858. These brothers worked hard and saved their money until ten years later. In 1868 they were enabled to purchase the plant and went into business for themselves under the name of M. & J. Schnaible, and by judicious management the plant has grad- ually grown until today its products are well known and eagerly sought after in a wide territory, their plant being equipped with all modern appliances and managed with a superb system. It became necessary for them to build a brick building in which to house their factory. Later they found it necessary to add on a large addition. In the spring of 1899 the business had been incor- porated under the name of M. & J. Schnaible Company and other members of the family were taken in. The firm manufactures laundry soaps exclusively, among their best known brands being "Star City," "Daylight" and "Does-it- Easy Naptha." Their trade extends over all Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, Alabama ; also a part of West Virginia and other states.
When the Schnaible family landed in America John Schnaible, of this re\iew, was sixteen years old. He had attended school in Germany and spent his early boyhood on the farm. On August 18, 1869, he was united in marriage with Mary ]\Iertz. of Baden, and this union has resulted in the birth of three children, two of whom died in infancy, and the other, a boy named Willie, died in childhood.
Mr. and INIrs. Schnaible are members of the German Lutheran church, in which the former has been an elder for many years. In politics he is a Demo- crat. Mr. and Mrs. Schnaible have a neat and comfortable home. They are kind, hospitable, hard workers. In the summer of 1909 they took an enjoy- able trip to the Pacific coast, visiting California and Washington.
SAMUEL PROBASCO BAIRD.
Samuel Prol)a.sco Baird is a son of Zebulon and Martha M. (Probasco) Baird. He was born in Lafayette and has lived there continuously except during the period of his engagement abroad in the service of his country. He was educated in the common and private schools of Lafayette until 1861, when he entered the L'nited States Xaval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland,
, I 1/
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porated under the name oi Ivl. & j. Schnaibie ( 'mpaiiy and other members of the family were taken in. The firm manufactures laundry soaps exclusively, among their best known brands being "Star C :t> '" "Daylight" and "Does-it- Easy Naptha." Their trade extends over all Indiana. Ohio. Missouri, Iowa. Kt-ntucky, Alalama; also a part of West Virgin' When the SchnaiWe family landed in An.'
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i ,. SJuiaible are members ot the Gennan Lnllieran church, in iicr has been an elder for many years. In |>>litics lie is a Demo- Mrs. Schnaible have a neat and comfortable home. They arc hard workers. In the summer of 1909 they took an enj^'
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The Century Hih.2i
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 569
remaining there four years. In 1865 he was graduated with honor and became a fuU-fledged midshipman in the navy of the United States. The following year he was ordered for duty as a midshipman on board the United States ship "Pensacola," commanded by Capt. John L. Worden, of "Monitor" fame. The "Pensacola" sailed from New York for the North Pacific station, and, after visiting the most important seaports on both coasts of South America, arrived at San Francisco in 1867. Here Mr. Baird received his commission as ensign and was detached from the "Pensacola" and ordered for duty as an officer of the deck, on board the United States ship "Resaca." Within a few months he became navigating officer of this ship and in less than a year its executive officer, and while on duty aboard the "Resaca" he was promoted from ensign to master and from master to lieutenant. During this period the "Resaca" was employed in cruising along' the west coast of Mexico, and, hav- ing seen much hard service, she was ordered to Mare Island navy yard, San Francisco, for repairs. The executive officer of a man-of-war is always held responsible for the general condition of his ship and the discipline and efficiency of its officers and crew. Although Lieutenant Baird was the youngest among all the executive officers of the fleet, both in years and length of service, yet his ship and crew were always considered in every respect equal to the best. In July, 1869, Lieutenant Baird was ordered East, and, after a short leave of absence, was assigned to duty at the Boston navy yard. Subsequently he served at Mound City, New Orleans and Key West. on iron-clad duty. In 1 87 1 he was ordered to the United States Naval Academy as instructor in seamanship and naval tactics at the request of Admiral Worden, who was then superintendent of the academy and had been captain of the "Pensacola" when Mr. Baird served on her as midshipman. After filling the position one year, he obtained a leave of absence and soon afterward resigned his com- mission as lieutenant in the navy in order to take up the practice of law in Lafayette. Mr. Baird had long contemplated this step, and for several years before resigning devoted to the study of law all of his time not required for the performance of his official duties, and in this way qualified himself for admission to the bar. He had become convinced that the active pur- suits of civil life, in a congenial profession, would be preferable to the duties of an officer of the navy in time of peace. He entered upon the practice of the law as a partner and under the guidance of his father and to the instruc- tion thus received at the threshold of his career as a practitioner. Mr. Baird ascribes a large measure of his success at the bar. After the death of his father, in 1877, he practiced alone for ten years and then formed a partner- ship with \y. DeWitt Wallace, which continued until the latter was elected
5/0 PAST AND PRESENT
judge of the superior court in 1894. Since that time he has carried on his practice alone. Mr. Baird has devoted himself to the law without reserve and has neither held nor sought political office. His practice has been principally in the courts of Tippecanoe and adjoining counties and in the supreme court. In the management and trial of cases he has been associated with or pitted against the leading lawyers of Indiana and adjacent states, and he has been engaged as counsel in most of the important litigation in his section of the state during the last twenty years. His personal character is irreproachable.
In 1881, Mr. Baird married Elizabeth D. Rochester, daughter of the late William K. Rochester, Esq., of Lafayette. They had one child, a son, Rochester Baird. Mrs. Baird died on May 27. 1903.
In 1906, Rochester Baird graduated from the Indiana University, receiv- ing the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and was admitted to the bar by the supreme court and the United States district court for the state of Indinna. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, he commenced and is now engaged in the practice of his chosen profession at Lafavette.
HUGH SEABAUGH JAMISON.
One of Lafayette's honored and well-known business men is Hugh S. Jamison, a descendant of sterling pioneer ancestry, he himself having come down to the present generation from pioneer days and has played well his part in the subsequent development of this favored section of the great Hoosier state from its wildernesses to present-day opulent prosperity. He was born November 21, 1837, at Greensburg, Indiana, the son of Martin and Margaret (Freeman) Jamison. The former's father was also named Martin, his wife having borne the name of Barbara. They came from Greens- burg, Pennsylvania, about 1820, and settled near the present city of Greens- burg, Indiana. Martin Jamison, Jr., was born in Washington county, Penn- sylvania, in 1806, in which county his wife, Margaret Freeman, was also born, in 1812. They made a toilsome journey across the mountains to Indiana and settled on the present i^ublic square of Greensl)nrg, the surround- ings then being decidedly wild and primitive, but they lived to see its wondrous improvements, doing their just share of the work of development. Martin Jamison, Jr., is remembered as a man of unusual natural ability. He had a good education and was an able lawyer for those days, becoming prominent in pfiliticnl affairs, having ably represented Decatur countv in tlie sessions
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 571
of the legislature from 1839 to 1842, inclusive, during which time he wrought a great influence for the good of his constituents. He was a staunch Whig and an admirer and supporter of Henry Clay. Before he began practicing law he followed merchandising for a time, bringing his goods from New York or Philadelphia by stage, and he sent back produce to pay for the same. After he began the practice of law he filled his appointments at various courts, however remote, riding thereto on horseback. He was a forceful speaker, well versed in the tenets of the law, and was very popular over his district.
To Mr. and Mrs. Martin Jamison, Jr., the following children were born: John, Cynthia A. (who married John P. Hittle), Sarah, Hugh S. and Wil- liam. Of these only Hugh S., of this review, survives. Up to 1884 the latter lived in Greensburg most of the time and engaged in the clothing and dry goods business in that city from 1865 for several years. In 1877 he entered the music business in that place and continued in the same until 1880, when for two years he was manager of a large clothing store. He made a success of all these lines, owing to his innate business qualifications, but the confinement in the clothing store was bad for his health and he returned to the music business, which he continued until 1884, in which year he disposed of his interests at Greensburg and came to Lafayette. He was salesman for two years for one music store in this city and eleven years for another, then, after spending two years as salesman for a third music store, he went into business for himself, in 1897. He has been successfully engaged in the music business on North Ninth street for more than ten years, during which time he has enjoyed a large and extensive patronage. He has a neat, well-kept and at- tractive store, stocked with various grades and types of musical instruments, his stock always being carefully selected.
Mr. Jamison was united in marriage, December 13, 1866, with Ella Nora Barnes, of Greensburg, Indiana, the daughter of Turner and Miriam Barnes. Mr. Barnes, who was a soldier in the Civil war, is still living at the advanced age of eighty-five years. He was a member of the famous Wilder's Brigade. He is a man of exceptionally clean character, and he is in possession of all his faculties, possesses a steadv hand, a clear brain and an excellent memory. To Mr. and Mrs. Jamison four children ha\-e been born, three of whom are living, namely : Lafayette Freeman, of New York, engaged in the broker- age business ; James Blaine, who graduated in pharmacy at Purdue Univer- sity in 1903, is now in Boston, Massachusetts, also engaged in the brokerage business; Genevieve is now the wife of William E. Kurtz, a well-known business man in Indianapolis; Cynthia Elbert, who died February 12. 1889, was the wife of Harry P. Dodd, a traveling auditor on the Lake Erie railroad.
572 PAST AND PRESENT
In 1908 Mr. Jamison built a new home on North Ninth street which is worthy of brief mention. There are larger and costher dweUings in Lafayette, but few calculated to be the source of more genuine home comforts in the fullest sense. It stands on high ground in an excellent neighborhood; the rooms are all well lighted and exceptionally well ventilated; the upstairs is finished in light wood of high grade, many parts showing a beautiful velvety grain. It is equipped with the latest and best system of plumbing, the linen closets and kitchen being especially convenient. Steam heat is generated in the large cemented basement which underlies the whole house. The large front room, reception hall and another room are all connected by broad open doorways, on either side of which are columns of golden oak. A large open fireplace, with attractive finishings, greets the visitor, who is delighted with both the symmetry and convenience of the interior. The house is lighted by both gas and electricity. Here genuine hospitality and good cheer ever prevail, for Mr. and Mrs. Jamison are generous, frank, kind and courteous, making all feel at home who cross their threshold. By good management and economy they have accumulated a comfortable fortune, and they are in every way deserving of the high esteem in which they are held by all who know them.
THOMAS JEFFERSON BARNES.
A worthy scion of distinguished and sterling ancestors is Thomas Jef- ferson Barnes, son of Samuel Barnes and grandson of John Barnes. Samuel lived on a farm in Tippecanoe township, this county, all his life from the time he came here in November, 1848, until his death, March 14, 1S63, having developed an excellent farm. He married Nancy Rice, who survived him until May 31, 1885. Samuel Barnes was the son of John and Elizabeth (Boydston) Barnes, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of one of the Carolinas. When John Barnes was eight years old he rode on a steam- boat invented by his uncle twenty years before Robert Fulton, the supposed first inventor of the steamboat, got his patent. This uncle. Joseph Barnes, died in London, where he was detained for life by the British government because he was apprehended trying to deport mechanics to work on his boat, then building in America.
John Barnes, mentioned above, the grandfather of Thomas J. Barnes, was a son of John Barnes, who came from England when a young man and settled in \'irginia near Harper's Ferry. He enlisted at the beginning of the
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 573
Revolutionary war, was promoted to captain, and served as such until the close of the war. The Boydstons were also of Revolutionary stock.
Thomas J. Barnes was born in Pike county, Ohio, August 21, 1847. I" November of the following year the Barnes family moved to Tippecanoe county locating on a farm in Tippecanoe township, two and three-fourths miles north- east of Battle Ground in the north end of Burnett's Reserve. The farm con- sisted of four hundred and sixty-five acres. It was on this place that Thomas J. grew to maturity, on which he worked during the summer months, attend- ing the subscription schools in the winter, also went to the collegiate insti- tute at Battle Ground, receiving a good education and remaining upon the home farm until 1882. In November of that year he was elected county auditor, serving very creditably for four years, in fact, so faithfully did he discharge the duties of this office that he was re-elected for a term of four more years in 1886. In 1891 he started in the hardware business, having entered into partnership with Cyrenius Johnson, who had been in busines,s a number of years previously, the firm name being then changed to The John- son-Barnes Hardware Company. Mr. Barnes continued in that line until March, 1898, when he formed a partnership with Charles W. Bone in the real estate business, in which Mr. Barnes has been engaged ever since, having built up an extensive business by reason of close application to individual affairs. For several years he has devoted considerable attention to emigration to the irrigated lands of the Denver-Greeley district in Colorado. In March, 1909, Mr. Barnes was appointed president of the board of police commis- sioners in Lafayette for a term of three years, which position he is holding in a manner that is winning the hearty approval of all concerned.
November 21, 1872. Mr. Barnes was united in marriage with Mary H. Mason, the daughter of E. P. Mason, of Brookston, White county, Indiana. Mr. Mason was one of the old and highly respected pioneers of Tippecanoe county, having come here fom Vermont, in which state he was born. He lived for a short time near Romney, this county, then moved to Lafayette where he conducted the Mason House. To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Barnes five children have been born, namely : Gertrude Mason, Mary Grace, Thomas J., Jr., Lois Christine and Helen Virginia. These children are receiving all the advantages possible in the way of education, etc. The Barnes residence is a comfortable and pleasantly located one.
Mr. Barnes, in his fraternal relations, belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons, having taken the Knight Templar degrees. A criterion of his high standing in Tippecanoe county is found in the fact that he is the first Demo- crat ever elected countv auditor, and he was the first one to hold the office
574 PAST AND PRESENT
two terms consecutively, and only one other man has done so since then. He has been several times president of the Jackson Club, and is a charter member of the Lafayette Club. He is a well read man, keeping well abreast of the times in current events and the best literary topics, having a large and care- fully selected library. His daughters and son, who are all favorites in the younger social set of the city, are also of studious dispositions. Owing to Mr. Barnes's ancestors having fought in the Revolutionary war, his daughter, Gi ace, is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Thomas J. Barnes, Jr., is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. No citizen in the county is better or more favorably known that Mr. Barnes.
WILLIA^I A. ROBERTS.
A man deserving of much credit for what he has accomplished in the world of business, considering his early environments, is William A. Roberts, whose name needs no introduction to the people of Tippecanoe county where his active and useful life has been spent, having been born in the city of Lafayette, September 26, 1854, the son of James and Philinda (Packard) Roberts. The former was a native of Pennsylvania who came to Lafayette, Indiana, as early as 1834. He was a cabinetmaker by trade and conducted the first cabinetmaker's shop of any consequence in this part of the state. A very skilled workman, he found a ready sale for what he produced in this line. He became well known here, and he was a man of such high integrity that after his deatli his son was accepted without question by a judge of the court when told that he was the son of James Roberts. Philinda Pickard, before her marriage to James Roberts, came from the state of New York about 1845. ^"d went into the millinery business for herself in Lafayette, being a leader here in her line.
When William A. Roberts was about ten years old his mother died, and he was thus deprived of her loving care, forced to stand against the world without her to champion his rights, but this he did right bravely, thus fostering that independence of spirit, that ability to "go it alone" which has contributed much to his subsequent success. His father was ever solicitous of his welfare, however, and gave him an education. He attended the old Central school at Sixth and Brown streets in Lafayette, now called the Centennial school. After leaving that school he attended a private school for some time, then went to Stockwell Collegiate Institute, which, at that time, was a noted insti-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 575
tution with four hundred pupils. In later years the school lost its prestige and, in 1895, Mr. Roberts became the owner of the building and grounds where he had spent the latter days of his school life. He demolished the old building and platted the grounds into town lots. After he had finished his course at Stockwell he went to Thorntown, where he was employed in the drug business for a period of si.x years. Although he prospered at this. he returned to Lafayette believing that better opportunities existed for him in his native city than elsewhere, and he was then employed in the grocery business for about two years. Then seeing an opening at Zionsville, Indiana. he spent the next seven years in that town where he and his brother-in-law conducted a general store, building up an extensive trade in the meantime. Here his health failed and he took up railroad work, having studied civil engineering at Stockwell College, and he began running levels in railroad construction work in this locality. In a short time, however, he went in Pennsylvania where he was with a corps of engineers on a preliminary sur\ey for a proposed narrow gauge railroad from Pittsburg to Philadelphia. This work lasted for about a year and six months. Upon returning to Tippecanoe county Mr. Roberts bought a farm at Stockwell and lived there until 1897. In that year he was appointed superintendent of the county asylum, in which position he remained for a period of nine years, rendering entire satisfaction to all concerned, leaving the institution in the fall of 1905 when he mo\-ed to Lafayette and took a position as superintendent for the Western Con- struction Company. In February, 1906, he was appointed police commissioner in this city. Soon after taking office he found that the salaries and condi- tions regidating the employment of policemen were inadequate, and that the service would necessarily be unsatisfactory unless a change was instituted. He appealed to Governor Hanly and secured a raise in salaries to a fair basis, and also got other conditions changed tending to the betterment of the depart- ment. In recognition of his services in this connection the local police force presented Mr. Roberts a beautiful gold badge. In 1908 Mr. Rol>erts was chairman of the Republican county central committee, and largely due to his efficient management of the local affairs of the party the whole county ticket was elected and there was also a gain of two township trustees to liis credit for the party.
Mr. Roberts was married, in 1877, to Ella J. Rash, whose home was near Linden. Montgomery county, and to this union four children have been born, namely: Laura A., James L., Harriett E. and W. Albert. They constitute a happy and mutuallv helpful household at the pleasant home which Mr, Poberts purchased in 1906 in Highland Park section of the city. It !■; a
576 PAST AND PRESENT
modern and attractive dwelling surrounded by well kept lawns. ]\Ir. Roberts is the owner of a very valuable and highly improved farm of two hundred acres, located a mile west of Stockwell. The soil is rich and yields abundant harvests, the place is kept well stocked and on it stand substantial and com- fortable buildings.
Mr. Roberts is a Mason of high standing, having passed through both the York rite and Scottish rite ; he also belongs to the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ; also the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having passed through all the chairs, attended the grand lodge in 1879 ^"<^ the grand encampment in 1883, and in 1896 he was a member of the sovereign lodge of the world. And in all these great orders Mr. Roberts has become well known and one would judge from his daily walk among his fellowmen that he makes an effort to exemplify their sublime teachings. He is also a member of the Christian church. Personally, he is a man of genial but positive character, straightforward, generous, self-reliant and reliable, conse- quently no man in Tippecanoe county holds higher rank as a citizen.
WILLIAM WALLACE.
The career of the honored subject of this sketch indicates the clear-cut, sane and distinct character and in reviewing the same, consistencv demands that he be given distinctive precedence as a captain of industry and a con- spicuous place among the men of action whose labors and influence permeate the industrial and civic life not only of the city for whose growth and prog- ress he has done so much, but of a number of other populous centers in various parts of the state of his adoption.
William Wallace is a native of Scotland, born near the old historic city of Edinburgh, January 19, 1841. In 1852 the family, consisting of the par- ents, Adam and Rose (Bee) Wallace, and several children, emigrated to the United States and went direct to Cincinnati, Ohio, where two of the subject's brothers and a sister had previously located, he being about eleven years old at the time. During the ensuing three or four years, young William attended the schools of that city and on laying aside his books entered upon an appren- ticeship with the old firm of John B. & T. Gibson to learn the plumbing business, to which he devoted the five years following. The Civil war break- ing out about the time he completed his apprenticeship, he enlisted in the Benton Cadets, an independent organization under General Fremont, selected
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 577
for his body-guard and which during the General's operations in Missouri rendered vakiable service in helping rid the state of the Confederate forces. When Halleck superseded Fremont the company disbanded, quite a number of the men joining other commands, while others returned to their homes, among the latter being Mr. Wallace, who shortly after his discharge entered the employ of Mr. Hattersley, of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who kept the only plumbing establishment in that city at that time. The Aveline Hotel (since burned) was then in the process of construction, also the Allen county court house. The plumbing of both buildings falling to Mr. Hattersley, Mr. Wal- lace was intrusted with the task of installing the same, and it is needless to state that the work was performed per contract to the satisfaction of all con- cerned.
In October, 1864, Mr. Wallace came to Lafayette with the view of locating, but after spending two or three months in the city he went to Terre Haute, which he supposed presented a more favorable opening for his line of work. After looking over the field there and carefully considering conditions, he finally decided to choose the former place and accordingly -returned to La- fayette and in due time established a small plumbing business. For lack of necessary capital this was conducted on rather a modest scale until the close of the war, when his brother James, who had served in the army, became his partner. The two served apprenticeships at the same time and with the same Cincinnati firm, both being skillful mechanics and well qualified for the duties which now devolved upon them. About that time the Lafayette Gas Company began a series of improvements and, requiring the services of a competent man, the subject was induced to enter their employ. Soon after engaging with the company he was tendered the superintendency of the works in the city, which position he accepted on condition that he be allowed to continue his plumbing business and carry it along with his other under- takings. He had done considerable work for the gas company at Ft. Wayne prior to his removal to Lafayette, hence was no novice when he accepted the superintendency and entered upon the- duties of the position. In 1874, when the city of Lafayette began operations for a system of water works, he Ijecame the successful bidder and secured the contract for laying the mains in the city, and constructing the reservoir, which was carried on under very discour- aging circumstances, owing to an almost unprecedented rainfall which inter- fered materially with the work, but which was carried to completion in due time. In the month of August the river rose to such a height that the water on the levee was six feet deep, while other parts of the city through which the mains extended were also sulinier^-ed. causinL-; much delay in the nrittcr ni (37)
578 PAST AND PRESENT
excavating and rendering work on the reservoir exceedingly ditificult. Not- withstanding these hindrances. Mr. Wallace addressed himself resolutely to the task in hand, and ere the close of the season finished the undertaking according to the terms of the contract, with a liberal margin for his profits.
When work began on Purdue University, Air. Wallace was employed to superintend the construction of the sewerage and water supply systems, in ad- dition to which he was also awarded the contract for heating several of the buildings. He carried the work forward as rapidly as circumstances would admit and after its successful completion he located and laid out the gas plant for the institution. The university has since grown so rapidly as to render much of the work at the time indicated obsolete, the gas plant having been abandoned a number of years ago, since which time the institution's gas sup- ply has been provided by the Lafayette company.
The gas works, which Mr. Wallace still superintends, has enjoyed a rapid and substantial growth, its patronage increasing from three hundred con- sumers to more than four thousand, to supply whom sixty miles of mains are required, the plant being a model of its kind and of sufficient capacity to meet much more than the present demand. The company also operates plants in about a dozen other cities in northern Indiana and northwestern Ohio, all fully up-to-date and equipped with the latest results of inventive genius for the manufacture and distribution of gas, these as well as the principal estab- lishment at Lafayette being subject to the oversight of Mr. Wallace, who visits them when necessary and suggests such additions and improvements as are needful.
The Wallace Machine and Foundry Company of Lafayette, witli which the subject is itlentified, was established about 1888 or 1889 by William Wal- lace and his son, Robert B. Wallace, who began operations in abuildingerecteil for the purpose on Second street, but meeting with a severe loss by fire a little later, they purchased a part of the old car works on Third street which they refitted and equipped with first-class machinery and other appliances, this plant with two or three acres of ground surrounding affording ample facilities for the s'.:ccessful prosecution of their hrge and rapidlv growing business. The company has an extensive trade in structural and architectural iron, which they manufacture in large quantities and ship to various ]iarts of Indiana. Illinois. Ohio and other states, besides doing general tVnmdrv and machine shop work. The company is in a flourishing condition and under the presidency of William Wallace bids fair to grow to still larger propor- tions and continue in the future as in the past one of the leading industrial enterprises of the city.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 579
The plumbing establishment of Wallace Brothers Company, which he and his brother James started in Lafayette when he first came to the city, does a large and lucrative business in that line. He continues as president of the company, while George B. Wallace is secretary and acting manager. This company employs none but skillful artisans and its reputation for the high standard of all work has brought a patronage which from the beginning has steadily increased.
Aside from his manufacturing and industrial interests Mr. Wallace is actively identified with various other lines of enterprise which have tended greatly to the advancement and welfare of Lafayette. Durng the last quarter of a century he has been connected with the First National Bank of this city, and since 1891 has been the efficient and honored vice-president of the same, also one of its heavy stockholders. In the year 1899 he assisted in estab- lishing the Lafa3rette Loan and Trust Company, and was elected president of the organization, which position he still worthily holds. He is also a director of the Sterling Electric Company, of his home city, and, with a nephew, is interested in the milling business at the town of Dale, in Spencer county, this state, being half owner of the plant and president of the com- pany by which it is operated. For some years he has been quite extensively interested in street railway and interurban traction lines, in which, with the Murdocks, he has large holdings in Evansville and South Bend, to say noth- ing of various other enterprises of less but by no means negative importance.
The married life of Mr. Wallace dates from the year 1867, when Miss Catherine Wilson became his wife, the ceremony having been solemnized in the city of Cincinnati, where the parents of the bride settled when they immigrated to the United States from their native country, Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. Wallace have had six children, one of whom died in infancy ; those living are Mrs. Henry Brockenbrough ; Robert B. ; Mrs. Rose Van Natta ; Roy W. and Belle, the two sons being interested with their father in the foundry and machine shop business. Robert B. Wallace was educated at Purdue University, of which he was an early student and one of the first of that institution to take a mechanical course. He is now manager of the Wallace Machine and Foundry Company, of Lafayette, and one of the most thorough mechanics in the city. Roy is a well educated and accomplished young man and as a mechanical engineer has few equals and no superiors in the city of his residence. He was graduated from Purdue and Cornell Uni- versities and since becoming interested in the a])ove company witli his father and brother has been the mechanical engineer of the enterprise.
In his political proclivities, Mr. Wallace has ever been a Reuuhlican. but
580 PAST AND PRESENT
not a politician in tlie sense the term is usually understood, much less a seeker after the honors and emoluments of office. He was reared a Presbyterian, but of recent years has attended the Baptist church with his family, the latter being members of the First Church of that body at Lafayette. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order and from time to time has been honored with important official positions in the local Blue lodge to which he belongs.
In the midst of the thronging cares of an exceptionally active and suc- cessful career in the industrial and business world, Mr. Wallace has never been else than the genial true-hearted friend and sincere straightforward man, appreciative of the welfare of those with whom his lot has been cast, regardless of the stations in life they hold. He has mingled much with men in an executive capacity, and possesses the subtle yet readily understood power of begetting loyalty on the part of those in his employ or working under his direction, while his relations with those and others have ever been of the most friendly and trustful character. No man in Lafayette is held in higher regard as a citizen and few have done as much as he for the general welfare of the city. In person he is above the average size, of a large, compact frame, unas- suming in manner, easily approachable, and affable and kindly in conversation. Frank, honest, industrious and by nature and training fitted to inaugurate and carry to successful conclusion large and important enterprises, he has stamped the impress of his individuality upon the community and is essentially one of the representative men of the city in which he resides.
HUGH FLACK.
Hugh Flack is a native of Ireland and dates his birth from December 7, 1846. having first seen the light of day in county Cavan, which, for a number of years, had been the home of his ancestors. His parents, Samuel and Mary (Bell) Flack, came to the United States some time prior to the Civil war and settled in New York, but about the year 1866 they migrated westward as far as Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. The following year they were joined by their two sons. Hugh and John, who, landing at New York on the first day of July, lost no time in proceeding on their way to the new home in Indiana.
Shortly after his arrival in Tippecanoe county, Hugh Flack entered the service of Samuel Meharry, a well-to-do farmer of the neighborhood of Shaw- nee Mound, and a local minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose employ he continued for a p^iod of eight years, during which time he bus-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 581
banded his earnings with scrupulous care with the object in view of ultimately becoming a tiller of the soil upon his own responsibility. Mr. Meharry, being not only one of the leading farmers and representative citizens of the com- munity but a man of large heart and generous impulses as well, took great interest in the young gentleman, giving him the benefit of his counsel and advice, which in after years resulted greatly to his advantage. While in the employ of this excellent man, Mr. Flack made the acquaintance of an estimable young lady by the name of Sarah Laugheed, a native of the same part of Ireland in which he was born, but who had come to America some years previous and at the time referred to was living with the family of G. N. Meharry, a nephew of his employer. This acquaintance ripening into love, finally resulted in a marriage, which was duly solemnized on the 15th day of April, 1877, immediately after which Mr. Flack set up his domestic establish- ment on the Meharry farm where he continued to reside as a renter during the eight years ensuing.
Mrs. Flack's parents were Robert and Margaret (Ray) Laugheed, the former a son of Adam Laugheed, a native of Scotland, who migrated to Ireland in early manhood and settled in county Cavan, where his death sub- sequently occurred at the remarkable age of one hundred and three years.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Laugheed reared their family and spent their lives in the above county, their daughter, Sarah, having been born on November 2, 1846. Cast upon her own resources after the death of her parents, she finally decided to seek her fortune in the great country across the sea. Ac- cordingly, in 1867, she set sail and, landing in due time, made her way to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, arriving at Shawnee Mound on February 14th of that year and found employment and a good home with Mr. Meharry, as already stated.
During the eight years that Mr. and Mrs. Flack occupied the Meharry farm they labored untiringly and saved their earnings so that at the expira- tion of that time they were enabled to purchase one hundred and twenty acres of their own near Shawnee Mound, where, in due season, they began reaping the results of their sowing in the condition of independence, which they have ever since maintained. After a residence of nearly eight years on the above farm, during which time the place was not only paid for but greatly enhanced in value, Mr. Flack sold it and purchased one hundred seven and one-half acres of fine land near Battle Ground on which he lived and prospered until the spring of 1908, when he retired from active life to enjoy the fruits of his many years of labor and good management. In all of his efforts to rise in the world, Mr. Flack found an able and willing assistant in the person of his faithful and devoted wife and helpmeet.
582 PAST AND PRESENT
In March, 1908, 'Sir. Flack turned his farm over to other hands and, accompanied by his wife, revisited the home of his childhood in the beautiful Emerald Isle, renewing many acquaintances with those whom he knew in boyhood. After spending two months in the land of their birth, Mr. and Mrs. Flack returned to the United States and since that time have been living retired lives in the city of Lafayette, where they have a comfortable home and numerous friends. Both are respected members of the Methodist Epis- copal church and in his fraternal relations Mr. Flack belongs to the Masonic lodge at Battle Ground, in which, from time to time, he has been honored with important official positions.
i\Ir. and Mrs. Flack are the parents of four children, the oldest of whom, a daughter by the name of Maggie Meharry, married C. B. Downes, who, in 1909. sold his farm in Tippecanoe county and moved to the Pan Handle of Texas, where they now reside ; they have two sons, Russell and Glenn, and are" well situated as far as material means are concerned. Mary Elizabeth, whose birth occurred November 3, 1876, died on the 15th of the same month and year. William, the third of the family, married Mary Norris, of Delphi, and is the father of one child, a daughter named Marguerite. He is a farmer by occupation and for some time past has been living on his father's home place near Battle Ground. Luella, the fourth in order of birth, is the wife of William Greenup, a member of the wealthy and widely known Greenup family of Delphi, where she has lived since her marriage, being at this time the mother of two interesting children, Nellie and Joe, aged nine and seven years, respectively.
MATT SCHNAIBLE.
The advent of the Schnaible family in the New World was most dis- couraging and apparently the future held nothing for them, when, after a disastrous voyage in the summer of 1853, members of this family landed in New York, having come from their native Germany to seek a better home in free America. They had eked out a bare living in Wurttemberg, Germany, for many years, and the father, Michael Schnaible, desiring to give his sons a better opportunity than he had ever enjoyed, concluded that the wisest thing for him to do was to establish a new home; but this was an unfortu- nate decision, for during the voyage to this country cholera invaded the sail- ing vessel and forty-seven of the passengers succumbed to the dread dis-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 583
ease, including Michael Schnaible and his son Jacob, his brother and his uncle, all of whom were buried at sea. John Schnaible, who contracted the disease, recovered, and the mother, Dorothea Schnaible, finished the voyage, which required forty days, with her remaining children, Margaret, Michael, John, George and Matt. Three of her children had died in the Fatherland. The means of the family were nearly exhausted when they reached New York. After spending a few months there, they started for the West in February, 1854, finally reaching Lafayette, Indiana, where the boys who were old enough to work found employment of whatever nature they could to make a living. Michael secured work in a small soap factory near the water works and continued in the same until 1858. Being an observing boy, he learned the business, as did also his brother John, who secured employment in the same plant. Believing that they could make a success manufacturing soap on their own account, they began business under the firm name of M. & J. Schnaible Company, which eventually developed into a large business and the family became well established, enjoying a good home and the comforts of life.
Matt Schnaible was only a baby when the family brought him from Germany, where he was born in 1853. He grew to manhood in Lafayette, attended the Lutheran schools and also a business college, receiving a good education. He first secured work as engineer in the Wabash elevator, which establishment was built by the Wabash Railroad Company in 1857 and was first operated by James Spears, who was succeeded by Morcy & Ball, and in 1875 by L E. Haviland. In 1876 Matt Schnaible, having mastered the details of this business and having shown himself a capable employe in every respect, was made manager, and in 1882 he became a partner in the concern for which he had faithfully worked for a period of sixteen years, and the firm name was I. E. Haviland Company. The business continued to prosper, largely due to Mr. Schnaible's able management, and in about 1897 he bought Mr. Haviland's interest, becoming sole owner. In 1904 he added a retail coal business to his already extensive business, all of which is now incor- porated under the name of Matt Schnaible Grain Company, which has become widely known and is doing a large business. Besides the elevator at Lafay- ette, Mr. Schnaible operates one at Shadeland, where he handles a large quan- tity of grain from year to year, his combined business often running up to very large figures, showing that he is by nature and training a business man second to none in the thriving city of Lafayette.
Matt Schnaible was united in marriage with Katherine E. Sattler in 1880. She is the daughter of John Sattler, a prominent and influential busi-
584 I'AST AND PRESENT
ness man of Lafayette, a son of George Sattler. Both father and son were born in Germany, John first seeing- the light of day in Hessen-Uarmstadt. They came to America and located in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, alx)ut 1855. John Sattler was for many years a leading tailor in Lafayette, became influen- tial in business circles and was a trustee of the board of the Lafayette water works, and for many years he was an officer in the Lutheran church.
To Mr. and Mrs. Matt Schnaible eight children have been born, of whom one died in infancy. A daughter, Mrs. Adolph J. Lottes, lives in Chicago ; Walter W. married Caroline Schurman, of Lafayette, and has one daughter named Katherine. The other children are Albert F., vice-president of the Shadeland Grain Company; Walter W., secretary and treasurer of the same company; Oswald M. is a clerk in the Merchants' National Bank; Arthur T., Elmer A. and Raymond. These children all received careful training and are well started in the successful battle of life.
Mr. Schnaible has long taken an active interest in the affairs of Lafay- ette and Tippecanoe county, lending his aid wherever practicable in promot- ing home interests. As a result of his public spirit he was in 1896 elected a member of the city council. He and his family are members of the Luth- eran church. Personally, Mr. Schnaible is frank, straightforward, courteous and generous, a pleasant man to know.
ROBERT FOSTER HIGHT, A. B.
Prof. Robert F. Hight, superintendent of the Lafayette city schools, be- longs to that class of middle-aged men who by thorough training and close application to professional duties have come to be known as capable and front- rank educators in this section of Indiana, He was born September 14, 1868, at Bloomington, Indiana, a son of Milton and Sarah (McCalla) Hight. The father graduated in law at the Indiana University in 1847, t)Ut never followed his profession to any great extent, being induced to engage in business of another character.
Professor Hight is descended from Revolutionary stock on both the paternal and maternal sides. The Hight family originally came from Germany, having emigrated to England, from which country they came to America. The great-grandfather, Thomas Hight, enlisted in the Continental army from North Carolina and was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. The family removed from Carolina to Virginia in 1780 and subsequently moved to Boyle county, Kentucky, and about 1820 to Indiana.
^'^/^y/t
Tll-PECANOE COUNTY, IND. 585
Oil the mother's side. Professor Hight is descended from the great- grandfather, Thomas McCalla, who came from county Antrim, Ireland, when an orphan boy. He enhsted in the Revolutionary army from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. In 1778 he moved to South Carolina and served under Sumpter. He was captured and imprisoned, but later, through the efforts of his wife, was released on parole. His wife (Sarah Wayne Gardiner) was a cousin of Gen. Anthony Wayne. In 1835 the subject's grandfather removed from South Carolina to Indiana, where the two Revolutionary families be- came intermarried.
Prof. Robert F. Hight was educated in the public schools of Bloomington, Indiana, and in 1888 took the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Indiana Univer- sity, where he specialized in natural science, under D. S. Jordan, J. C. Branner, Theophilus Wylie and Daniel Kirkwood. Having fully equipped himself for the work of an educator, in the modern sense of the term, from 1888 to 1891 he was instructor in biology in the high school at Huntington, Indiana. From 1 89 1 to 1902 he held the same position in the high school of the city of La- favette and from 1902 to 1904 he was principal of the high school at the last named city. He had so conducted himself as an instructor in these city school positions that in 1904 he was chosen the superintendent of the city schools here, and is still serving in that capacity, to the entire satisfaction of all interested.
Socially, Professor Hight is connected with various societies and clubs, including Beta Theta Pi college fraternity; Lafayette Club; Parlor Club and Lafayette Dramatic Club, of which he was the president in 1903. He has worked as a dramatic writer, having been in charge of this department for the Lafayette Morning Journal from 1896 to 1898.
Professor Hight was united in marriage June 3, 1897, to Elizabeth Puett Comingore. Under Mr. Hight's charge the public schools of Lafayette, which are second to none in North Indiana, have maintained their position. The subject is the author of the chapter in this work on "Literary Characters of Tippecanoe County."
WILLIAM O. CROUSE.
The well-known family of which William O. Crouse is an honora'ile representative is traceable in this country to a remote period in the time of the colonies, and many years prior to coming to the New World the ante- cedents of the American branch were quite well known in \-arious ])arts of
586 PAST AND PRESENT
i •. •'
Germany, where the name appears to have originated. Simeon Grouse, the first of the family of whom there is definite record, was doubtless a native of Wittenberg, as he figured conspicuously in the musical circles of that city and for some years was choir master of the church to which Martin Luther, the Great Reformer, ministered. He was a musician of much more than local repute ; taught in Wittenberg for many years and after losing his family by the red plague, which sad event occurred when he was in mid-life, he came about the year 1745 to America and located at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, where he subsequently re-married and reared a large family. He was a strong supporter of the colonies in their struggle for independence, con- tributing by every means in his power to their ultimate success. He gave freely of his means, and sent four sons to the army, two of whom lost their lives in the battle of Germantown. Simeon Grouse was a man of note and influence in his adopted city and lived to a remarkable age, dying two days prior to the hundredth anniversary of his birth. His youngest son. Henry, whose birth occurred in Philadelphia, married Rachael Hebison, who bore him ten children, three of whom in after years came to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, namely : Simeon, John and David Hebison Grouse.
David Grouse, about the year 1845, located at Dayton, Indiana, where he engaged in the practice of medicine and in due time became one of the most successful and best known physicians and surgeons of that community. He was thrice married and left children by two wives, one of his sons, Dr. Jerome Grouse, serving with distinction in the Tenth Indiana Battery during the late Givil war and subsequently achieving an enviable reputation in his profession. He departed this life in the fall of 1908, honored and esteemed by all who knew him.
Another son of Dr. David Grouse was Meigs V. Grouse, who entered the ministry in early life, but later, by reason of the failure of his voice, he was obliged to give up that calling and turn his attention to another line of duty. For nearly thirty years he has been the efficient and popular super- intendent of the Ghildren's Home at Gincinnati, and has made the institution a model of its kind. Two daughters of Doctor Grouse are still living, Mrs. Earl, who resides in Attica, Indiana, and Mrs. Victoria Burton, who occupies the old family home in Dayton, Indiana.
John and Simeon Grouse came west much earlier than Doctor David, both having settled in Tippecanoe county as long ago as 1827. the former in Tippecanoe county and the latter on the edge of Shawnee Prairie, in what is now the township of Jackson, where he took up a half section of land. John also entered a like amount and in the course of time both bec^me well-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 587
to-do families and prominent citizens, doing much to promote the material progress and social advancement of their respective communities.
Simeon Crouse was born in 1802, and when a young man married Anna Christman, daughter of Peter and Sarah Christman, who moved to Indiana in the early twenties from Raleigh, North Carolina, and settled in Warren county, with the subsequent history of which Mr. Christman's life was closely identified. Sarah Christman was the daughter of John Stout, who served during the war of the Revolution as an officer of a New Jersey regiment and achieved an honorable record as a brave and gallant soldier. The marriage of Simeon Crouse and Anna Christman was solemnized in Union county, In- diana, about the year 1825, some time before he became a resident of the county of Tippecanoe. Their children, three in number, were Francis M., born in 1828; Lavina, in 1836; and William O., the subject of this review, whose birth occurred in the year 1842.
Simeon Crouse followed agricultural pursuits all his life and, as already indicated, became one of the leading farmers of his township as well as one of its representative citizens. He departed this life in 1874 and left to his descendants the memory of an honorable name which they regard as a price- less heritage. His children grew up in the country, attended the subscription schools of their day and later rose to honorable positions in their respective places of abode. Francis M. was in the book business at Lafayette for a time, but disposing of his interests there went to Indianapolis, where he established a large book store and became one of the leading dealers of the city in that line of trade. He was a man of wide intelligence, profoundly versed in the literature of all countries and all ages, and possessed remarkable judgment as to the merits and value of old and rare books, of which he had long been a collector. Quiet in demeanor and of kindly nature, he had many warm friends, and his death, which occurred in Indianapolis in 1890, was greatly deplored by the best people of the city.
Lavina Crouse married John Shelby and died in 1859.
William O. Crouse, the youngest of the children of Simeon and Anna Crouse, spent the youthful years of his life in the township where he first saw the light of day and was early taught the lessons of industry and frugality which make for consecutive effort and permanent success in mater- ial things, in addition to which he was also instructed in the principles of truth and honor which in due time develop well-rounded character and fit their possessor for the sterner realities of life. After finishing the common- school course, he was planning to enter Wabash College, but the breaking out of the great Civil war caused a radical change in his calculations, for instead
588 I'AST AXn I'RESENT
of prosecuting his studies further he resolved to tender his services to his countr)' in its time of need. Enlisting in the Eighteenth Indiana Battery Light Artillery, he was soon at the front where during the ensuing three years he bore well his part in the great conflict which tested the perpetuity of the government and earned a record for bravery of which any soldier might well feel proud. Under the command of Capt. Eli Lilly, of Wilder's Brigade of Mounted Infantry, the Eighteenth Battery passed through many unusually trying and dangerous experiences. Supported by well-mounted and well- armed men, under the command of oiificers of superior ability, it saw much active service and was more frequently engaged than other batteries, the brigade having been fifty-four times under fire, which included some of the most noted battles of the war. Among the various engagements in which Mr. Crouse participated were Hoover's Gap, Chattanooga, Alexander's Bridge, Chickamauga, Ringgold, Resaca, Hopkinsville, Atlanta, Xashville. Selma. West Point and many others. The battery started out with one hundred and fifty men, and during its experience at the front three hundred more were recruited from time to time, and on being mustered out at the close of the war but twenty-six of the original force were left to tell the story of the many deeds of daring which the gallant Eighteenth accomplished in defense of the national union.
Returning home at the close of the war, Mr. Crouse entered into busi- ness with his brother in the book business, which connection lasted several years. During this period he contracted a matrimonial alliance with Sue X. Barr, daughter of Abram and Catherine (Rush) Barr, who moved from Lan- caster, Pennsylvania, in an early day, and were among the pioneer settlers of Tippecanoe county. Mrs. Barr was a niece of the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the most distinguished physicians of Philadelphia, in Revolu- tionary times, and to him also belongs the honor of being one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Mrs. Crouse comes from a distinguished ancestry. Her father's people trace their line direct to Maurice Grauf, one of the heroic defenders of the city of Leyden in Holland in 1574. Her mother's people are lineal descendants from Capt. John Rush, an officer of horse in Cromwell's army, who emigrated to this country from England with William Penn in 1683, and settled near what is now Philadelphia. Mr. and Mrs. Crouse have one child, a daughter, who answers to the name of Bertha Barr Crouse, and who, with her parents, constitute an interesting and mutuallv agreeable and happy domestic circle.
Since the year 1866. Mr. Crouse has been engaged in various lines of business in Lafayette, but during the past fifteen vears has devoted his atten-
TIPPECANOE COUNTY. IND. 589
tion principally to real estate, loans and insurance, in which he has been con- tinuously successful and in every respect gratifying. For over forty years he has been an active and influential member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, during which time he has held important offices in both the subordi- nate lodge and encampment, besides being chosen at intervals a representa- tive to the grand lodge. Religiously he subscribes to the Presbyterian faith, and with his wife and daughter is a regular attendant of the church in Lafay- ette and a generous contributor to its support and to the various lines of activity under the auspices of the denomination in his own city and else- where.
Mr. Crouse has always manifested a lively interest in everything pertain- ing to the welfare of the community, its progress and upbuilding, and bears the reputation of an enterprising, public-spirited citizen, with the good of his fellowmen at heart. In both civil and military life he has demonstrated his loyalty and love for his country, and his career throughout has been above reproach and greatly to his credit as a true American who makes every other consideration subordinate to his interest in the government and the free institutions for the maintenance of which he devoted some of the best years of his life and under which he has achieved marked success. In manner. Mr. Crouse is free from all ostentatious display, but his intrinsic worth is recognized and his friendship most prized by those who know him best, showing that his character will bear the scrutiny of close acquaintance, and that his life has been fraught with great good to those among whom his lot has been cast and to the world at large.
MICHAEL SCHXAIBLE.
Dark and dismal was the tragedy that marked the coming to America of the well-known familv of tliis name. Tiiey had long contemplated to move, had discussed it over by the fireside and looked with longing to the land of promise beyond tlie sea. Finally the momentous day arrived, and during the summer of 1853 a sailing vessel departing from a German port contained quite a party of relatives bound for the New \\'prld. Michael Sclinaible. the recognized head of these emigrants, had long been a farmer in Wnrttemberg, Germany, during the first quarter of the last century. He and his wife Dorothea had had nine children, of whom three had died, leaving Margaret, Jacob. Michael. John, George and ]\Iatt. and this familv, besides a number of
590 PAST AND PRESENT
relatives, constituted the party that took the ship for what was destined to be a tragic voyage. In those days the passages were long and tedious, often con- suming from a month to six weeks, and it took the vessel bearing these natives of Wurttemberg full forty days to traverse the Atlantic. The horrors of the passage were greatly aggravated by the breaking out of cholera in its most virulent form, and forty-seven of the passengers died of the disease. Included in this number were the elder Michael Schnaible and his son Jacob, his brother and his uncle, all of whom were buried at sea under the gruesome conditions surrounding such fatalities. John Schnaible contracted the disease, but was fortunate enough to recover, and the mother finished the sad voy- age with her remaining five children. They reached New York much de- pressed in spirit and inclined to take a gloomy view of the outlook, as their means were nearly exhausted and the future seemed to hold little for them. After a month or two in the great metropolis, they started West in February, 1854, and after a tedious journey eventually reached Lafayette. The boys who were old enough went to work at whatever they could find to do, but in time an event occurred which proved fortuitous and was destined to in- fluence the whole subsequent career of the Schnaible family. Michael found a job in a little soap factory near the water-works, and. though the wages were small, he was delighted with his good luck. He held on until 1858, when he was joined by his brother John, and the two continued for some years as faithful employes. This little factory had been started by Peirce and Cherry, but in 1855 the former sold his interest to E. T. Jenks, and the latter two years later bought the whole business. ^Meantime, the Schnaible brothers had worked hard, learned all they could about the business and saved their money. In 1868 they were able to buy the soap factory and engaged in busi- ness for themselves as M. & J. Schnaible. Their affairs prospered and in due time they built a commodious brick building to accommodate the factory. Later, they found it necessary to erect an addition and business grew apace until the soap factory became one of the important industries of Lafayette.
Michael Schnaible. senior member of the firm, was married in October. 1863, to Catherine Sattler, who died in 1867, leaving two children. Elizabeth and Wilhelmina. In 1869, Mr. Schnaible married Mary Klaiber, of Wurttem- berg, Germany, by whom he had six children: John F.. Louis. George, Emil, August and William Adolpli. John P.. who took a course in chemistry at Purdue University, died in 1908. Emil took a course in pharmacy at Purdue and now owns a wholesale and retail drug store on the east side of the public square. Louis died in youth, and the other brothers. George. August F. and William Adolph. are connected with the soap factory. Michael Schnaible.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 591
l
the father, died September 20, 1899. the mother having passed away in April, 1890. The sister and the younger sons reside in the old homestead at Seventh and Heath streets. George, the third son, was married on October 21, 1903, to Anna, daughter of John Kluth, who came from Germany in 1852, and underwent a cholera-stricken \oyage similar to that which afflicted the Schnaible family over. George and Mrs. Schnaible have one child, Ruth Lillian, and the family reside in a handsome home on North Ninth street, with a broad and beautiful view across the valley of the Wabash.
John Schnaible, junior partner with his brother Michael in the original purchase of the soap factory, married Mary Mertz, of Baden, by whom he had three children, two dying in infancy, and Willie, who passed away in early childhood. In the spring of 1899, shortly before the death of Michael Schnaible, the soap factory business was incorporated under the name of the M. & J. Schnaible Company, and John F. and George v.^ere taken in as equal partners. Two years later, August F. and William A. were also taken into the company. Thev manufacture laundry soaps exclusively, their principal brands being "Star City," "Daylight" and "Does-it-easy Naptha." The business has grown steadily and greatly increased in capacity from the small frame structure in which it was originally housed. Four different additions have been built on, as the increase of business demanded more accommodation, and in recent years another separate building has been erected. The com- pany's trade extends over Indiana, Ohio. Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, Alabama and West \'irginia.
CHARLES H. BRADSHAW.
The life record of Charles H. Bradshaw, one of the well-known and representative citizens of Tippecanoe county, Indiana, shows that a man of industry, energy, fidelity to duty and right principles can win in the battle of life despite obstacles, and his career could be studied with profit by the youth whose future course is yet to be determined.
Charles H. Bradshaw was born at Urbana, Illinois, in 1858. At the age of two years his parents moved to Decatur, that state, where they re- mained until he was about twelve years old. From that time until he was twenty-one he lived in Mattoon, Illinois. He received a good education, and after leaving school went to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he engaged suc- cessfully in the undertaking business for about three years. About 1887 he came to Lafayette and engaged in the same line of business. In 1899 he and
592 PAST AND PRESENT
Louis Schlesselman formed a partnership in the undertaking business, con- ducting an establisliment of their own. which proved to be a fortunate under- taking owing to their knowledge of the business and their considerate treat- ment of customers. About 1907 they also established the Lafayette Granite Company, making monuments and similar work. This, too, was a success from the first, and the firm is still conducting both lines of business, having become well established in each of them, their trade extending to all parts of the county.
In 1890, Mr. Bradshaw was married to Amelia Kries. of Lafayette, daughter of George M. Kries, for many years a prominent citizen of Lafay- ette, but now deceased. This union has been blessed by the birth of two children, Charles K. and Rhe K. The Bradshaw home is a pleasant one and is frequently the gathering place for the many friends of the family.
In his fraternal relations, Mr. Bradshaw is past worshipful master of Tip- pecanoe Lodge, No. 492, Free and Accepted Masons ; also past exalted ruler of Lodge No. 143, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; he is also past noble grand of Friendship Lodge, No. 22, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He takes a great interest in lodge work, and has become well known through the several orders with which he is identified. Being prominent in local political affairs, he was a member of the city council of Lafayette for several years, during which time he looked carefully after the interests of the city and won the hearty approval of his constituents. He is a Republican, especially in national politics, but in local affairs he often votes for the man whom he deems most qualified for the office sought, regardless of political affiliations. He has never sought political office, the office of city councilman coming unsought. Personally, Mr. Bradshaw is of pleasing address, sociable and friendly, thereby winning friends easily.
ROBERT W. SAMPLE.
The gemlcman whose name appears at the head of this biographical re\-iew needs no introduction to the people of Tippecanoe county since his long and active life has been spent here, a life devoted not only to the fostering of his own interests but also one given in a measure to the development of the community at large. From early envirc^nments none too favorable he has directed his efforts in successful channels until he is now president of one of the best known banking houses in tJiis part of the state, the Fir.st National.
^^^r;^
^i^-^^^t^i^-m-i-^
>D PRESENT
iiiCii a jjartnership in the undertaking business, con- it oi their uwn, which proved to bt- a fortunate under- I'sfc of the business and tl 'f treat-
,oy they also estahlishecl ' iranite
"^" similar work. fi.; >. success
"tiducting both lines of business, having ■ cm. their trade extending to all parts of
m
married to Amelia Kries, of Lafayette, aany yeais a ponninent citizen of Lafay- ii has been ble-.^cd >)y the birth of two X fhe Bradshax ' -d
ICC for the man\ i Mr. Bradshaw- is p ind Accepted Ma • J Protective Orde
. . 22, Independtii >. lU-
^i work, and ha« ix- i-<gh the
:r Ahich he is identified. Be-,"^ ; : •.!.:ul;;; lu ijcal political
= member of the city council r.i Lu layette for several years,
' ! okeJ carefully after the iiiurcsts of the city and won
; his constituents. He is ;i Republican, especially in
,.... .u Kcal affairs he often votes for the man whom he
■itied tor the office sought, regardless of political affiliations.
'■ught political office, the office of city councilman coming
i'ersinally, Mr Bradshaw is of pleasing address, soci.nble and
liereby w inning friemls easily.
ROBERT W. SAMPLE.
man whose name appears at the head of this biographical • introduction to the i>c(»vj1c of Tippecanoe county since his
^ V'een spent h ' . ted not only to the fostering
!!• also (Mie . ^ufe to the development of
'■ ""' Vione too favorable he
- now president of one
"1.. the First National.
^Bl^^^r^w^-,^^^
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 593
Robert \\'. Sample was born in tbe city of Lafayette in 1833. He was one of seven children born to Henry T. and Sarah (Sumwalt) Sample, his parents having been among the pioneer settlers of Lafayetet and well kiiowm here in an early day. Robert W. Sample was reared in his native city, at- tended the local schools during the winter months and worked in his father's tannery in the summer. After finishing his common school studies, he went to Cincinnati. Ohio, and attended business college, after which he returned to his native city and became associated with his father and brother John in the tannery and packing house plants. They also owned a farm in Benton county. Their tannery did a very extensive business for those days.
In 1862, when the First National Bank was organized in Lafayette, Mr. Sample became a director, and in 1890 became president of the concern, still holding that important and responsible position. Besides his banking inter- ests he owns two large farms in this county.
Air. Sample's domestic life began in 1855 when he married Elizabeth Anderson, born in Waverly, Ohio. After spending a few years in Perryville, Indiana, her parents brought her to Wea Plains, Tippecanoe county, while she was yet a small child. Like his father and mother, Robert W. Sample and wife have enjoyed a long and happy married life, having lived to celebrate their golden wedding in 1905, a remarkable coincidence for two generations — father and son to celebrate so many wedding anniversaries. This union was blessed by se\'en children, two of whom died in infancy. One daughter mar- ried John Ewry, both husband and wife now deceased ; they left one daughter, Elizabeth Ewry, who makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Sample. The other children are, Candace, wife of Doctor Burt ; Anna, wife of Ashley Johnson ; John G. is teller in the First National Bank, and Richard B. is president of the Lafayette Savings Bank.
In their church connections, Mr. and ]\Irs. Sample are members of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, of Lafayette. The Sample home is a pleasant one where the many friends of the family often gather, never failing to find old-time hospitality and good cheer prevailing there.
SCHUYLER A. TOWSLEY.
xne Lafayette family of this name originated in New York. Alonzo Towsley was a business man of prominence in Seneca county for many years, being extensivelv engaged in getting out and marketing stone, and emplov- ^38)
594 P-^ST AND PRESENT
ing the year around from twenty-five to one hundred men. He married Laura McLean, by whom he had four sons. Schuyler A. Towsley. the youngest of these, was born at Waterloo, New York, in 1847, and when eighteen years old had charge of a boat on the Erie canal, delivering" stone to various places. About 1870, his father met with heavy losses in business, which compelled him to discontinue operations. Deciding to come West, Mr. Towsley located at Detroit, working in a foundry as a machinist and for the Twin Brother Yeast Company. Subsequently he became a brakeman on the Michigan Central railroad between Detroit and Jackson, Michigan. Afterward he went to Chicago and helped establish the Laflin Yeast Company for Steel & Price, taking charge later of their perfumery and extract department. It was an extensive business and he had under his direction a corps of sixty employes. His health failing, he secured a position as conductor on an Ogden avenue street railway, where he could get out-door exercise. In two or three months became to Lafayette, and in 1880 entered the employment of Curtis E. Wells as traveling salesman in the queensware and glassware line. He retained this position for nearly two years and accepted a similar position with Holl- weg & Reese of Indianapolis. After remaining with them for twelve years he bought a third interest in a yeast business at Chicago, but it proved un- successful and he returned to Hollweg & Reese. He remained with them two and a half years and then came to Lafayette to take charge of the Tows- ley Yeast Company, which he had organized a year previous. In a short time, however, he sold his interest and traveled for a while for James Dufify, wholesale confectioner. In the fall of 1887 he started in business in West Lafayette with a small bakery. His stock consisted of sandwiches, con- fectionery and various sweetmeats, catering especially to the student trade. At that time there were only about six hundred students in the university, but by constant diligence and good management he built up a business that yielded and still yields a fair profit. He keeps a general line of students' supplies, a lunch counter, dining room and billiard hall. That he is quite popular with the students is shown by the large patronage he enjoys from that source and the wide circle of friends found among them. He recently purchased property on State street and during the summer of 1909 erected a two-story brick building with Ijasement. The property also includes a residence adjoining, and the whole is held at twenty thousand dollars. The restaurant and students' supply store occupies the first floor of the new building, the second floor being devoted to the l)illiard parlor, while the basement has been fitted up with an up-to-date bowling alley.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 595
In 1864 Mr. Towsley enlisted in the Third New York Light Artillery, with which he served until the close of the war. His enlistment was under the name of Richard Towsley, that being the name he went by at that time. He was in the last battle of the war at Kingston. He keeps as a precious heirloom the old saddle bags and large pistols that his father carried while a member of the New York militia.
In 1878 Mr. Towsley married x\bbie Smith, a native of the same town in New York where he himself was born. They have had three children, Charles S., Clara C. and Ida Belle. In the spring of 1905 Charles and Clara were both taken away by death, within five weeks of each other, the first being aged fourteen years and six months and the other twelve and a half years. Ida Belle remains at home attending the high school. The family are mem- bers of the Trinity Methodist church. Mr. Towsley is a member of the Masonic order, having taken the degrees of the Royal Arch chapter. He belongs also to the Knights of Pythias and the National Union.
GEORGE J. PFROMMER.
He whose name heads this biographical notice is the son of George Pfrommer, a native of Germany, born in Wurttemberg in 1826. He emi- grated to America and came to Lafayette in 1846. coming by way of the Erie canal from Fort Wayne. Until about 1854 he was employed at var- ious occupations. He was married in June, 1854, to Mary Mohrenweg. of Wurttemberg, who had come to this country a few years later than Mr. Pfrommer. Soon after their marriage he went to farming near the three- mile switch, two and a half miles south of Lafayette. He purchased forty acres of land, to which later he added more. On that farm his children were born. They were the parents of eight children, as follows : ]\Iary. who married Peter Levandowski and lives in Lafayette : Kate, who married Herman Kreuch, and she resides in Peoria, Illinois, he having died in 1900; Michael is engaged in the grocery business on South Fourth street, Lafav- ette; Maggie died, aged twelve years ; George J. was the next in order of birth of the eight children ; Dora married Joseph Eisele and lives in Chicago, where her husband is employed as a railway engineer ; John and Fred were twins ; the last named died aged four years and John died in 1900, aged thirt}-- four years. He was married and left one daughter.
George J. Pfrommer was born October 17, 1862, and was reared on a
596 PAST AND PRESENT
farm until aged eighteen years. He had the advantages of the German Luth- eran schools, and \vhen eighteen years of age began to work at the tile mill as its foreman and remained in charge for six years. This plant he had assisted in building and establishing the business. After this business experi- ence. ^Ir. Pfrommer was employed in the Lafayette Car Works and con- tinued there until 1891. when he engaged in the grocery business, which he followed one year, and then began contracting and building, and still follows this line of work. Li this he has been signally successful and does excellent work as a builder.
Politically, Mr. Pfrommer is a Democrat, believing that this political organization best represents the interests of the masses of American citizens. From 1896 to 1902 he was a member of the Lafayette city council. He is a member of the German Lutheran church and served as its trustee since 1906.
yir. Pfrommer was married in 1886 to Pauline ^Nleyer. a native of Baden, who came to this country in 1883. This union has been blessed by three children, George W., John R. and Lillian M.
Mr. Pfrommer has ever been an industrious A\orker and an intelligent citizen of Tippecanoe county. In size he is above the average, is strong and robust, genial in his manners, yet quite positive and outspoken in his opinions. He is the owner of a handsome home and other valuable property in Lafay- ette, in which city he has the esteem of a large circle of friends and admirers. He is possessed of a frank, friendly disposition, which makes him one of the city's popular men who sees the practical side of life.
MORRIS WIXFIELD PHILLIPS.
It is a privilege to pass an hour with "Win" Phillips, the journalist, lecturer, historiographer, student of Indian traditions, and especial champion of the "American Kid." Everybody around Lafayette knows him, and to know him is to like him, for he is geniality personified, and never spoke a word to hurt the feelings of the most sensitive. ^Ir. Phillips has had his full share of the ups and downs of life, has known the hard side of the couch and the pinchings of hard times, as well as the rays of sunshine which break in to relieve the wayfarer as he travels down life's way. But mis- fortune has not soured or prosperity spoiled this genial child of nature, who is devoting his mature years and untiring energy to the task of rescuing
"TIPPECAXOE COUNTY, IX D. 597
from oblivion the traditions of a race whose history constitutes at once the tragedy and romance of our history. Mr. PhiUips is of Ohio origin, being born at Dayton, February 15, 1854. His parents removed to IndianapoHs when he was quite young and there he spent his childhood as well as the years of his young manhood. In 1869 he served as a page in the house of representatives, and afterwards resumed his interrupted attendance at school and had completed arrangements for a college career, when one of those minor incidents which often influence men's careers completely diverted the whole trend of his existence. He had become acquainted with the celebrated George C. Harding, the natural-born editor and newspaper genius, par excellence, whose brilliant scintillations in the various publications at Indianapolis had delighted a generation of Indiana admirers. Mr. Phillips had caught the fancy of this remarkable man, perhaps because of his accommodating dis- position in "catching bait" for fishing excursions and skill in finding the most promising "poles." The great editor thought so much of the bright and com- panionable boy that he nicknamed him "Bullfrog Win," and many were the happy outings they had at Broad Ripple and other points along WHiite river and other fishing streams of the state. Without much persuading Mr. Phillips was indviced to join ^Ir. Harding in the newspaper field, and he remained with him for several years while he was publishing the Herald. Later, when Col. William R. Holloway began the publication of the Daily Times, Mr. Phillips joined the reportorial staff and continued with that paper until it was absorbed by the Journal. It was in 1889 that Mr. Phillips decided to become a resident of Lafayette, where he spent several years in miscellaneous employment. When Hon. William S. Haggard began the publication of a morning daily, in 1893, Mr. Phillips was assigned a position in the reportorial department and remained with the paper until its suspen- sion. Five years with the Lafayette Courier, and a subsequent engagement with the Call, brought him to the year 1903. when he accepted a position with the JMorning Journal.
Aside from his regular newspaper work. Mr. Phillips has done consider- able miscellaneous writing as a contributor to the Indianapolis Star and eastern magazines. From an early period he was enamored of the subject of Indian life and traditions and by persistent study and research has become an authority on the aborigines of the Wabash valley. In 1906, while report- ing memorial exercises at "The Battle Ground," he was so impressed with the obvious historical inaccuracies that he entered upon a study of the Xiirth- west Territory, with a view to producing a more reliable account of the stirrinsf times incident t-i the erirlv settlement and furmative i)eri(ul of Indiana.
598 PAST AND PRESENT
Especial attention was devoted to the campaigns of Gen. W'illiam Henry- Harrison, culminating- in the famous and decisive battle of Tippecanoe. His articles in the Indianapolis Star concerning this epoch-making event not only attracted widespread attention, but were the means of bringing to him a lot of valuable data and original papers never before published. One of the most valuable of these was Judge Isaac Naylor's famous historical sketch of the battle of Tippecanoe, in which he took part as sergeant in Captain Sig- ger's company of riflemen. An autobiographical sketch prepared by Judge Naylor, which was full of interesting details of his adventurous life, was sent by Mr. Phillips to the Indiana Quarterly Magazine of History, a publication to which he contributes occasionally. The outcome of his studies, enthusiastic tours of the state in search of relics and descendants of the early pioneers, is a lecture on the general subject with especial reference to Harrison's cam- paigns against Tecumseh, which he has delivered frequently to delighted aud- iences. His admiration for the children of the pioneers and his conviction that the boy has not had a fair deal in history caused Mr. Phillips to dedicate the "American Kid," and both the title and contents have proved a hit with the rising generation. He loves "the kids" and they in turn love him, with the result that Mr. Phillips is regarded as the most successful of all lecturers to boys. All his lectures are illustrated with hand-painted views of Indian life, obtained from the United States department devoted to such subjects. His data and pictures are historically correct and the whole embodies much information of absorbing interest to the student of our aboriginal history. Features of the lecture are lantern-slides of many valuable paintings and historical documents, among them l:eing several productions of John Winter, the famous painter of early Indian life, and other subjects of the pioneer period. ^Ir. Phillips is the recognized authority on the battle of Tippecanoe, of which he has exhumed many curious relics, such as tomahawks, a petrified ear of corn, from the old site of Prophetstown, and other things unearthed at Fort Ouiatenon, including a copy of a drawing of the battle, made by a soldier who participated in the engagement. :\Ir. Phillips also has lectures on Yellowstone park, Yosemite valley and the Grand canyon of the Colorado, with lantern-slides colored true to nature.
WILLT.\^I .\LFRED LOFL.WD. M. D.
To achieve an eminent standing in as exacting a calling as the medical profession recjuires something more than mediocre talents, a persistency of purpose, a fidelity to duty and the happy faculty of winning and retaining
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 599
the confidence and good will of all classes. These qualifications the gentle- man whose life record is briefly outlined in the following paragraphs seems to possess, for he has, unaided, gradually overcome all obstacles until he stands in the front rank of the medical profession in Tippecanoe county, a locality widely known for the high order of its professional talent.
Dr. William Alfred Lofland was born near Romney, Tippecanoe county, February 26, 1864, the son of John S. and Nancy A. (McMillin) Lofland, the former a native of Crawfordsville, Indiana. John S. Lofland came to the southern part of this county in his boyhood, and after attending the Sugar Grove Academy in that neighborhood, while working during the summer seasons, he acquired sufficient education to enable him to begin teaching, which he followed for some time. But he abandoned this for farming after his marriage, continuing the latter \ocaticn until within a few years prior to his death, in December. 1907. He was a successful farmer and stock raiser. Nancy A. ]\IcMillin was born in Tippecanoe county, November 7, 1840, the daughter of the late John K. McMillin, one of the former county commissioners and a well known man throughout the county. He was prom- inent in church work, also socially, and took an abiding interest in the public affairs of the county. He was an extensive stock dealer, a shrewd tradesman, but a very religious man, a strict observer of the Sabbath.
William A. Lofland grew to maturity on the old home farm where he assisted with the work about the place during the summer months, thereby securing a sound body which has meant much to him in his subsequent career. He attended the neighboring public schools in his boyhood, then took a course in DePauw University, finishing a special course preparatory to taking up the study of medicine which had long been a dominating passion with him. While in the university he read medicine in the office of Dr. G. C. Smythe, who was then considered a very advanced surgeon, ahead of his time in fact. Doctor Lofland often assisted him in delicate operations, and the skill thus acquired early in life has greatly aided him during his professional career ever since. From the university at Greencastle, Doctor Lofland went to Chicago and entered Rush Medical College, from which institution he was graduated Fel)ruary 19, 1889, having made an excellent record there. In March of that year he went to Linden, Montgomery county, and began the practice of medicine, soon having a fair practice. In October. 1901, he went to Chicago and took a post-graduate course and then located in Lafayette, where he has since practiced, having now an extensive patronage both as physician and surgeon, meeting with remarkable success.
Doctor Lofland was married on Xovember 2t,. 1802. to Susnnna Miller.
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the accomplished daughter of the late Absalom M. ^^liller. who was county commissioner at one time, also held other public offices. He was a large land owner, prominent in the Friends church, a man of influence, widely and favorably known. To Doctor and Mrs. Lofland two children have been born, a son, Edgar Miller Lofland, born November i8, 1899, who died December 12, 1908. Their daughter, Evelyn, was born June 24, 1903.
In his fraternal relations the Doctor belongs to Tippecanoe Lodge, Xo. 123, Free and Accepted Masons. He and his estimable wife are held in high favor socially in Lafayette, and their pleasant home is known as a place of 'hospitality.
\\TLLL\AI F. STILL\\-ELL.
This well-known Lafayette business man was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, August 25, 1856, but was reared in Kentucky until 1870, when he came to northwestern Lidiana, with which section he has e\er since been actively identified. Entering DePauw University shortly after his arrival here, he devoted several years to the college curriculum and was graduated in 1877. Becoming a student in the law office of Hon. John R. Coffroth, in Lafayette, he remained until his appointment in January, 1880, as assistant to the gen- eral solicitor of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Lafayette Railroad Company in charge of the legal business of that company of the lines from Crawfords- ville to Michigan City and Indianapolis to Chicago. In 1885 he resigned to take charge of the business of the Henry Taylor Lumber Company, with which he has ever since been identified. In addition to his duties as president of this company, he has for the past six years engaged in general contracting which identified him with a large amount of important building. Included in this were the Monon railroad shops at Lafayette, roundhouses and depots at Indianapolis, Lafayette, and other cities for the same company, five build- ings for the Indiana University, including the student building, library, re- modeling Wiley Hall, the observatory and remodeling of the law building. Another conspicuous achievement of Mr. Stillwell was the construction of the stylish hotel at French Lick and a subsequent addition to the same structure. He also put up the Soldiers' Memorial building at Dayton, Ohio, with a seat- ing capacity of six thousand people, the material being all of stone. Other work of a high order is represented in the court houses at Michigan City and Kankakee, Illinois, and the nine-story steel structure for the Schoff estate at Ft. Wayne. With Joshua Chew, his partner, he constructed the chemistry
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TIPPECANOE COUNTY, IND. 60I
building, new gymnasium and other structures at Purdue University. In fact, his activities have extended from coast to coast and the work done under his direction has been especially conspicuous for fine finishings found in the buildings of many cities. His company achieved international fame as the designer of the interior tinishing in the Broadway Chambers building, of New York, of which a miniature was exhibited at the Paris Exposition and a medal awarded for the American methods of interior decoration, which was pronounced the finest in the world. The company now has branch lumber yards at Danville, Illinois, Richmond, Indiana, and Stockwell, Indiana.
Mr. Stillwell married, October i6, 1881, Sallie B., only daughter of Henry Taylor, after whose death, in 1885, he gave up his law practice to take charge of the lumber business established by his father-in-law in 1852. j\lr. Stillwell deserxes well oi the laboring men of Lafayette, whom he has em- ployed in large numbers and paid good- wages. He has always been just to men in his employ, and his extensive industry, accompanied by his building operations, have been a source of wealth and prosperity to this community and the chief factor in making happy homes. Governor Matthews appointed Mr. Stillwell as a member of the Lafayette city police board, which was his only political office. He is a member of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church and of the Lincoln and Lafayette Clubs. He is also a Mason, having advanced as far in that order as the [Mystic Shrine, and belongs to the college fraternity Phi Delta Theta. Mr. Stillwell's wife died some years ago, leaving an only daughter, Isabel T
CHRISTIAN MERTZ.
No foreign country has furnished so many worthv and progressive citizens to the United States as Germany, and of the vast number of this splendid citizenship who have come to our shores and been assimilated into our civilization, resulting in incalculable good to both, is Christian Alertz, one of Lafayette's prominent business men, whose birth occurred in Richels- hausen, in the grand duchy of Baden, near Lake Constance, in the year 1834. He was the second child in a family of eight, the son of Johann Matthias and Katharine (Benzing) ^lertz, the former a native of Baden and the latter of \\'urttemberg. Th.ey die;l in their native b.ntl. but Christian Mertz's grand- father on the paternal side died in America, having come here in an early day. Johann M. Mertz was the owner of a large estate. He was a manu- facturer of chemicals and obtained possession of the Richelshausen estate,
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PAST AND PRESENT
which was formerly owned by a nobleman. The manor house in which Chris- tian Mertz was born is located in an ideal spot — the Swiss mountains, fortress Hohentwiel and Lake Constance being in plain view from the same. At this writing it is again in the possession of a baron. Christian Alertz was foui - teen years old when the revolution swept over a part of Germany ; in this his father took an active part, and it was during these years of early man- hood that he imbibed the spirit of freedom and independence, the atmosphere of Germany having been pervaded with such a spirit at that time. Mr. Mertz always regretted that his education in