Class ^hJL3J^_ Book >L 1 3^ i / <9' 't vT ^ J^..jey, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Genealogy and Biography OF LAKE COUNTY, INDIANA, WITH A COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY 1834— J904 A Record of the Achievements of Its People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. REV. T. H. BALL OF CROWN POINT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO NEW YORK THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1904 INDEX. A Ackerman, William W 395 Adams, James 9S Address to Children 45 Agnew, David ig A Golden Wedding 156 Ainsworth Made a Station 34 Allman, Amos 296 Allman, Mary 298 Allman, Walter L 205 Ames, Samuel 122 An Old Landmark 154 Artesian Wells 49 Artesian Well at Crown Point 37 Asche, Henry 614 Atkinson, David C 229 Ausley, Robert 543 A West Creek Settlement 12 Ayers, Alexander E 493 B Babbitt, W. S 60 Bacon, E. R 528 Bader, Callus J 216 Bailey, Charley T 512 Bailey, George B 498 Bailey, Josiah B 526 Bailey, Levi E igi> Baker, Charles M 263 Ball, Amsi L 107 Ball, Charles 57 Ball, Hervey 69 Ball, James H 576 Ball, John 107 Ball, T. H 667 Banks, N. P 388 Baptist Organization 11 Barker, Louis 555 Barr, Herbert S 213 Barrett, Edward F 649 Batterman, Edward 382 Batterman, Henry C 331 Batterman, Herman A 621 Bauer, Carl E 299 Beattie, Joseph A 320 Beckman, Herman C log Beckman, John N S92 Bell, Benjamin L. P 484 Bell, Samuel A 655 Belman, William C 454 Belshaw, George 77 Belshaw, Henry 77 Belshaw, William 77 Belshaw, William E 368 Berg, Joseph B 40S Biggs, Mrs. T. Norton 552 Black, John i8c Blakeman, John 179 Bliss, M. G 102 Bohling, John G 194 Borger, Charles A 418 Borger, John H 626 Borman, Otto C 524 Bothwell, Charles C 271 Boyd, Eli M 317 Boyd, George 401 Bradford, James M 176 Brandenburg, Elmer D 656 Brandenburg, Oliver C 657 Brandt, Henry 421 Brannon, Amos 442 Brannon, James 360 Brennan, John J 192 Brick Blocks at Crown Point 32 Bridge, William F 278 Bridges Across the Kankakee 37 Brown, Alexander F m Brown, George 112 Brown, John 168 Brown, Mathew J 202 Brownell, F. E 605 Bryant, David 118 Bryant, Elias 119 Bryant, E. Wayne 119 Bryant, John 392 Bryant, Samuel D 119 Bryant, Simeon 119 Buckley, Fred W 595 Buckley, William 521 Buczkowski, John i8g Buse, Fred T 524 Butler Cabins of 1834 i Business Men of Crown Point 27 Campbell, Cyrus W 658 Capturing Timber Thieves 7 Carlin, Bernard F... 529 Castle. Fred 352 Castle, George L 435 Cedar Lake Incidents 162 Chartier, Fred S 567 Cheney, Byron M 595 Chester. Henry 280 Children at World's Fair 40 Chipman, A. B 451 Church, Richard 81 INDEX. Churches, School Houses, Banks 48 Claims Made in 1834 2 Clark, Alexander 89 Clark, Judge 88 Clark, Sanford D 117 Clark, Thomas 89 Clark, Wellington A 538 Cleveland, Ephraim 103 Cleveland, Timothy 103 Cochran, Henry 175 Cochran, William 174 Conrad, August 356 Conroy, Joseph H 501 County Officers of 1847 17 County Organized 6 County Purchased from Indians i County Seat, Efforts to Remove 39 County Seat Location 13 County Set Off from Porter 4 County Surveyed i Cox, Arthur T 324 Cox, Lawrence 215 Creston Made a Station 35 Crown Point Telephone Co 41 Crumpacker, Peter 662 D Dickinson, William T 485 Dinwiddie, John W 73 Dinwiddie, Oscar 568 Doescher, Herman 86 D wyer, John 437 E Earle, George 64 Early Mail Routes 9 Early Railroad Stations 27 Early Religious Meetings 8 Early Sawmills 9 East Chicago Commenced 38 Eddy. Russell 91 Eder, George M 267 Edgerton, Alfred 124 Edgerton, Amos 124 Edgerton, George W 57 Edgerton, Horace 124 Ege, Francis X 664 Einsele, Sebastian 607 Einspahr, Frederick H 411 Einspahr, Mrs. Katharina 420 Electric Lights at Crown Point 39 Electric Railway at Hammond 41 Exploring Parties in 1834 2 F Fancher, Reuben 461 Fancher, Richard 90 Fancher, Thaddeus S 362 Farley, Benjamin 116 Farrineton. Dr 99 Farwell, Major C 92 Fieler, Christian 183 Fiester, John L 349 First Bridges Built 10 First Census of the County 14 First Church Buildings 15 First Court House (Log) 8 First Justice of the Peace 5 First Meeting of Commissioners 6 First Minister at Crown Point 15 First Postoffice 6 First Railroad Through Crown Point. 29 First Regular Physician 8 First Resident Methodist Minister 15 First Store 6 First Term of Circuit Court 7 First Townships 5 Fisher, David A 254 Fisher, John 220 Fisher, John ^ in Fisher, Thomas in Foster, Albert 425 Foster, John M 59 Foster, William M 353 Fowler, Luman A 91 Franz, Balzer 222 Friedrich, Charles A 292 Fricdrich, Charles W 223 Fry. Alfred 58 Frysinger, Miles C 45S Fuller, James 125 Fuller, Richard 197 G Gavit, Frank A 616 Gavit, John A 559 Gerlach, Adam J 283 Gerlach, George F 327 Gerrish, Abiel 121 Gibson, Charles C 431 Gilbert, Edwin S 541 Gill, James A 572 Glover, William J 328 Golden Wedding, A 156 Grant, Thomas 424 Gravel and Rock Roads 42 Gravel Road Through Hobart 41 Graves, M 58 Greene, Joseph 98 Greenwald, Charles E 237 Griffin, Charles F 98 Griffin, Elihu 97 Griffith Becoming a Town 40 Griffith, David D 346 Griffith Made a Station 34 Grimmer, Michael 193 Gromann, Charles 589 Growth at Tolleston 28 Growth of Lowell 30 Growth up to 1847 16 Gruel, Charles 383 Guyer, E. H 650 Guyer, James 399 INDEX. H Hack, John 83 Hack, Mrs. Angelina 84 Haie, William F 172 Half man, William 654 Halls Opened 2,2 Halsted, James M 291 Halsted, Melvin A 560 Hammond in 1894 41 Hammond, Superior Court 41 Hammond, Walter H 212 Harrison, Elizabeth 500 Hart, A. N 8,V5S2 Hathaway, Mahlon 440 Hathaway, Peter 116 Hayden, Albert L 519 Hayden. Cyrus 481 Hayden. Edgar 496 Hayden, Jacob 516 Hayden, John K 459 Hayden, Joseph 497 Hayden, Lewis 52J Hayden, Nehemiah 116 Hayden, William N 468 Hayes, Benjamin F S50 Hayhurst, Eldon N 517 Hayward, Charles 113 Hay ward, Thomas 113 Hayward, Warren H 574 Herlitz, Lewis 86 Herlitz, Louis W 628 Hershman, William H 557 Hess, Frank 242 Higgins, Jolm 100 Higgins, John 344 Highland Made a Station 35 Hill, James 96 Hill, Rufus 120 Hillman, John 359 Hipsley, Reuben 248 Hobart, Founding and Growth of 28 Hobart Public Schools 404 Holmes, Charles J 597 Holton, J. W 89 Holton, W. A, W 90 Hornor, Amos 105 Hornecker. George M 240 Hoskins, George H 184 Huber, Albert C s8S Humphrey, Augustine 126 Hunting Wild Hogs 160 Hurlburt, Jacob 79 Hutton, Levi 211 Ibach, Benjamin F 563 Iddings, H. L 319 Indiana City Named 5 Indiana Harbor 43 Irish, J. Floyd 569 J Jackson, Joseph 115 Jackson, L. D 659 Johnson, Charles A 304 Jones, David 107 Jones, George W 284 Jones, Herbert E 256 Jones, J. D 77 Jones, Levi D 107 K Kammer, Andrew 282 Keilman, Henry L 335 Keilman, John L 191 Keilman, Leonard 250 Keilmann, Charles 249 Keilmann, Francis P 233 Kelly, P. J 463 Kelsey, James J 414 Kenney, Jerry M 208 Kimmet, John A 507 Kitchel, John n6 Klaas, Henry A 635 Knotts, Armanis F 571 Koehle, August 255 Kolb, Michael 638 Kopelke, Johannes 225 Kozacik, Michael 316 Krinbill, Oscar A 661 Krost, John 87 Krudup, John 591 L Lake County Crow Roosts 152 Lake County's Semi-centennial 35 Land Sale 12 Landmark, An Old 154 Landscapes 150 Large Land Holders S3 Larson, Louis 423 Lash, Frederick 258 Lauerman, Mathias M 618 LeRoy 29 Little, James H 467 Little, Jesse 472 Little, Joseph A 121 Little, Lewis G 5M Liverpool Made a Town 5 Livingston, Robert no Livingston, Samuel 1 10 Log Court House Built ' 8 Love, James H 536 Love, John E 49i Love, Samuel A 534 Luther, James H 94 Luther, John E 276 Lynch, Daniel 504 Lyons, Frank H 637 M Mandernach, Frederick W 623 Marvin, Charles 114 INDEX.' Marvin, Mrs. Eliza L 386 Mason, Cyrus M 79 McAleer, William J 343 McCarty, Benjamin 65 McCarty, Miles F 57 McDonald, Alexander 102 McGlashon, W. G 108 McKnight, David 127 McMahan, W. C 288 Meeker, Charles H 239 Meeker, Hiram H 232 Meeker, J. Frank 236 Meeker, Nathan B 301 Meikle, Hugh F 206 Merrill, Dudley 78 Merrill, John P 60 Merrill. William 78 Metcalf, Ozro 544 Methodist Organization 11 Meyer, John H 610 Meyer, LeGrand T 599 Meyer, Mrs. Johanna 456 Meyers, Stephen 432 Mexican War Company 17 Michael, Edwin 375 Michael. William H 47S Miller, H. F. C 506 Miller, Samuel 119 Miller's Station 31 Morey, Mrs. Susann 397 Muenich, Gottlieb 334 Murphey, William C 584 Muzzall, Edwin J 639 Muzzall, Thomas 114 N Names of One Hundred and Twenty Women 129-142 Names of Soldiers Who Fell in the War 61 Nelson, F. E 503 New Brick Blocks in Crown Point.... 34 Nichols, Charles E 364 Nichols, Horatio R 366 Nichols, Mrs. Sarah E 445 Norwegian, A Young 21 Number of Families in Crown Point, Lowell, Hobart. in 1897 42 Number of School Children in 1895... 41 Number of School Children in 1897... 42 Number of Votes in 1876 34 Number of Votes in 1884 35 Number of Votes in 1896 42 o Old Settler and Historical Association. 45 Our Dead Soldiers at Nashville 58 Our Soldiers 54 Owen, W. B 35° P Palmer, Dennis 336 Palmer, H. D 66 Palmer, James 124 Palmer Made a Station 35 Pattee, Wesley 371 Patten. John H 117 Patterson, James A 332 Patton, James 295 Patton, Joseph 246 Patton, Seymore 294 Pearce, John 641 Pearce, Michael 75 Pearce, Seth L 289 Peiton, H. S 88 Pettibone, Harvey 100 Pettibone. Henry 100 Pierce, Floyd M 245 Pierce, Marion F 218 Pioneer Children and Nature 146 Pioneer Period, Review of 18 Pixley, Chester P 470 Plummer, Abiel G 488 Plummer, Frank B 487 Politics of Lake County 29 Population in 1900 44 Pratt, A. J 99 Pre-historic Man 53 Presbyterian Church Organized 15 Pulver, David C 532 R Railroad Through Merrillville 44 Red Cedar Lake 5' Reiland, John S 185 Reilley, Patrick 56S Review of Pioneer Period.... 18 Rhodes, Jonas 113 Richards, Frank 475 Rifenburg, William H 494 Rimbach, Jacob 272 Robbins, Stillman A 56 Robinson, Clifford C 642 Robinson, John G 447 Robinson, Milo 88 Robinson, Solon 63 Rockwell, T. C 81 Rockwell. W. B 81 Rockwell, William 81 Rowins, James F 604 S Sanders, William 127 Sasse, Henry, Sr 85 Sasse, Herman E 85 Sauerman, Andrew A 188 Sauerman, J. C 86 Saunders. Gilbert C 643 Sawyer, Daniel F 60 Saxton. Ebenezer 75 Schaaf, F. Richard, Jr 264 Schaaf, F. Richard, Sr 452 Schaefer, John P 244 Schafer, Nickolas 510 INDEX. Scharbach, Frank C 368 Scharbach, William 367 Scherer, Nichols 308 Schmal, Adam 84 Schmal, Alfred 630 Schmal. Joseph 84 School Grove, now Oak Grove, and Its Sportsmen 33 Schrage, Henry 274 Schrage, Heinrich C 303 Scoffern, Isaac H 646 Scritchfield, Hiram H 127 Seehaiisen, Henry 609 Servis, Orlando V I99 Settlers of 1833 3 Settlers of 1834 and 1835 3 Settlers of 1836 5 Settlers of 1837 6 Sharrer, Harry E 54^ Sheerer, George B 181 Shelby Village Commenced 35 Sherart, Frank P 3/8 —Sherman, William 97 Sickness of 1846. . .^ 16 Sigler, Samuel 76 Sigler, William 76 /'Bniith, Andrew J 384 Smith, Clarence C 269 Smith, Cyrus E 323 Smith, Fred J 200 Smith, Joseph P 88 Smith, William C SSi ySrnith, William E 347 Soldiers Enlisting 29 Soldier's Monument 62 Soldiers at Nashville, Our Dead 58 Soldiers, Our 54 Some Lake County Miscellany 146 Some Sheep Brought In 14 Some Sad Occurrences 19 Some Suggested Pictures 22 Spear, Robert 266 Spalding, Heman M 117 Spalding, N 116 Spring and Wells of Water 49 Spry, John 449 Squatters' Union Organized 5 Stark, John 401 Stark, Joseph 581 State Line Slaughter House 31 Steam Dredges on the Kankakee Marsh 37 Stearns, Thomas J 429 Stephens, Francis E 653 Stephens, John 260 Sternberg, Mathias G 647 Stuppy, Philip 480 Sturtevant, Daniel B 374 Summers, Zerah F 108 Sunderman. Fred L 380 Suprise, Henry 443 Sutton, Emerson 464 Sutton, Festus P 408 Sutton, Gabriel 466 S wanson, Albert J 433 Swartz, Henry P 227 Sykes, William N ^2 Tabular View of Railroads 26 Take, John F 650 Taylor, Adonijah 124 Taylor. Albert 124 Taylor, Charles A 476 Taylor, DeWitt C 124 Taylor, Horace 124 Taylor, Obadiah 124 Templeton, Charles L 82 Thiel, John M 234 Thompson, Alexander C 358 Thompson, D. H 204 Thompson, Lyman 97 Torrey, Henry 116 Towle, Marcus M 306 Township Organizations 49 Traptow, Ernest 407 Turner, A. M 341 Turner, David 73 Turnei . Samuel 72 Turner, Samuel R 310 U Underwood, John 80 V Valuation of Taxable Property in 1895. 41 VanDewalker, James G 579 Van Home, Willard B 178 VanLoon, D. M 348 Vansciver. William H 253 Village and Town Life at Hammond.. 32 Viimer, W. E lOI Voltmer, August 391 VonHollen, Henry 85 w Wagonblast. Gotf ried W 170 Walsh. Redmond D 312 Warriner. Lewis ^0 Warwick, William E 322 Wason, H 122 Wason, T. A 473 -^Wells, Henry 72 —Wells, Rodman H 54^ West Creek Settlement, A 12 Wheeler, Harold H.. 252 Wheeler. John 54 Wheeler, John J 577 Wheeler, Oliver G. 601 Whiting Commenced 39 Wiggins, Jeremiah 123 INDEX. Wille, H. Ph 339 Y Willey, George 123 Wise, Jacob 125 ,,• r, t> Wood, James A 98 Yeoman, SB gg Wood, John 67 l°'"'^'='J- W-V,; ^°^ Wood! Martin 102 ^ °""g' George W 224 Wood, Thomas J 632 Wood, Wilham H 330 Z Woods, Bartlett 92 Worley, John L 127 Zumbuelte, Mathias 612 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. CHAPTER I. Outline History of Lake County, Indiana. From 1834 to 1850. Indiana Territory was organized May 7, 1800. Indiana was admitted into tlie Union as a State in December, 18 16. At that time, and for several years after that date, the northwestern part was a true American wild. In 1820 the county of Wabash had an area of 8000 sc[uare miles with a population, according to the census, of 147. The entire north part of the State, about one-third of its area, had not then been purchased from the Indians. .\ very small part of what became Lake county was purchased in 1826, the little fractions north of the Ten Mile Line, but the main part, it might be said all, of Lake county was purchased in 1832. In 1834 file land was laid out liy LTnited States surveyors into townships and sections. A rumor of the desirableness of this region soon went southward into the Wabash Valley and far below the ^\'al)ash River into Jennings county. From those older settled parts of the State explorers and persons seeking new locations came, and some from the eastward, in the summer and fall of 1834. There is evidence that some came from the eastward in the sum- mer by the name of Butler, and that claims were made bv them and some cabin bodies erected, probably no roofs put on, where is now the town of 2 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Crown Point : but for some reason these made no settlement tliere then or afterward. The log walls were found there by those who came later, but who came to stay. In September of 1834 a party of fi^■e men came from Attica on the Wabash and camped on the bank of the Red Cedar Lake. These were Richard Fancher, Charles Wilson, Robert Wilkinson, afterwards known as Judge Wilkinson, and with him two nephews. Richard Fancher and Charles AVilson were well mounted, the other three men had a wagon and team, and these two rode extensively over the central parts of the county. If they could ap])reciate nature's beauties those lonely rides must have been delight- ful. Lonely, these rides are called, as there were no settlers, no human beings to be seen in their explorations, (the Indians were probably then on the Calumet and the Kankakee), and these two men had the open prairies, the groves, and the woodland to themselves. They had first choice of the locations. Richard Fancher selected that little lake, which still bears his name, and the land around it. which is now the Lake County Fair Ground. Charles Wilson selected his location on the west side of that lake, on the shore of whicli was their camping ground, of which mention will hereafter be quite fully made. To that same lake in October of 1834 came another ]iarty from the W'abash, Dr. Thomas Brown, David Hornor, and, probably, Thomas Hornor. These men selected locations for settlement, made several claims, according to pioneer or squatter usage, and returned to their shel- tered homes for the winter. These were the explorers bi what liecame the Hornor settlement on the west side of that lake. But settlers as well as claim- seekers came in that summer and fall of 1834. E.\RLV SETTLERS. According to the Ijest authority now accessible, the Iiest, indeed, now in existence, the Claim Register, claims were made or locations selected, in 1834, by the following named persons or for them: in June, William S. Thornburg, Thomas Thornburg, William Crooks, Samuel Miller; in October, Robert Wilkinson, who became Probate Judge and made his selection of a HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 3 home spot on that stream called West Creek. Noah A. Wilkinson. Noah B. Clark, R. Fanciier. Thomas Chiklers, Thomas Hornor. Solon Robinson, Milo Robinson; in November. T. S. Wilkinson. Robert Wilkinson of Deep River. B. Wilkinson. Thomas Brown, Jacob L. Brown, claim bought of Charles Wilson. Thomas H. Brown, ^\■illiam Clark. J. W. Holton. H. Wells, David Hornor. L. A. Fowler. J. B. Curtis. Elias IMyrick. Thomas Reed: in Decem- ber. W. A. W. Hulton. Harriet Holton. then a widow, Jesse Pierce. David Pierce. John Russell. William Montgomery. Persons made claims. — that is the form used l.)y the pioneers. — or selected locations, for their friends as well as for themselves, and there is no evidence tliat many of these named above actually made settlements in 1834. Those who did settle in this year were: Thomas Chiklers and family in School Giove. on "section 17." in October: William Crooks and Samuel Miller, probably in the summer: Solon Robinson and family (in the last day of October, claim dated November, and spending that winter with him two young men. Luman A. Fowler and J. B. Curtis: Robert Wilkinson of Deep Ri\"er and family in November. In January of 1835 settlers were. Lyman Wells and John Driscoll : in Februarv. \\'illiam Clark, known afterwards as Judge Clark, and family, W. A. W. Holton with his mother and sister, and J. W. Holton with wife and child. In the spring Richard Fancher with his family came to settle on the shore of the little lake which he had selected on section 17. a noted section for several \'ears, but to his great disappointment he found out before long that on that section had been laid an "Indian float." As the year of 1835 ad\'anced settlers came in quite rapiill}'. In April the "Bryant Settlement" was commenced. The names of these Bryants were, Wayne, David. Elias, and Samuel D. ; and with them in this settlement was a sister. Mrs. Agnew. They called their location Pleasant Gro\-e. In May the "INIyrick Settlement" was made by Elias M}-rick. \\'illiam Myrick. and 'I'homas Reed : and Centre Prairie was settled by S. P. String- 4 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. liam and J. Foley. Robert Wilkinson of \\"est Creek also settled on his choice location, and north of him. in wliat becan^e known as the West Creek woods, Thomas \\'iles and Jesse Bond. In the fall of 1835 the large Hornor family came. Da\'i(l Flnrnor and fonr sons, Thomas, George, Amos. Levi, a daughter, Ruth, and other children, and Jacob L. Brown, a son-in-law. In this year also John ^^'ood from Massachusetts made a claim, Robert Ham- ilton settled, ^lilo Roljinson came from New York city, and Henry Wells of Massachusetts began his long residence in what became Crown Point. The settling of a nev>- region is always a rich, an interesting, sometimes a tr\'nig and a dangerfuis experience, whether in planting colonies like those early tlnrteen on the Atlantic coast a few hundred years ago. or commencing, as thousands did in the nineteenth century, in what was called for many years the West, new settlements of white people among Indians and wild animals, the native dwellers on our prairies and in our forests. The experiences of the pioneers in the prairie belt was different, in some respects, from the earlier life of the settlers in the large forests of Ohio and of southern and central Indiana, for although they Iniilt their first cabins in the edges of woodlands or in groves where they had the shelter of trees, instead of being obliged to make clearings in heavy timlier thus opening up at first a very small farm, these prairie settlers started at (jnce the large "breaking plows," with six or more yoke of oxen attached, and could sow and plant the first sunnner after their arrival. And they put up free of any expense all of the grass for hav which they could find time to mow. From a large amount of heavy labor in what is called clearing land they were thus relieved. Thev had at first rails to split for fences, making as they did the Virginia worm fence, and this was their heaviest work. It is to be remembered that these early prairie settlers, — one family, that of William Ross, in 1833, Init not a permanent family, these others in 1834 and 1835, — were what were called squatters on newly surveyed Gov- ernment lands, before Lake county had any civil existence. The legislature of Indiana in the winter of 1835 and 1836 divided the territory north of the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 5 Kankakee River, extending from the organized connty of LaPorte to tlie Illi- nois line, into two portions, one to l)ecome Porter connt\- and the other Lake. Porter was organized and the territory that was to he Lake was attached to it to hring it under ci\-il go\'ernnient. It was cli\-ided into three townships and a justice of the peace was elected in each. These were, Amsi L. Ball, Solon Robinson, and Robert Wilkinson of \\'est Creek, In 1836, the year of the first justice courts, when three or four cases only were tried, settlers, came in rapidly. The names of one hundred and thirteen "settlers in 1836" have been found on tlie Claim Register. As many of these names are likely to appear in the Isiographical sketches they are not gi\'en iiere. It will be sufficient to state that in this year there came the Taylor and Edgerton and Nordyke families, the families of James Farwell and Charles i\Iar\'in. the Church and Cutler families of Prairie West. William Alerrill and Dudle}- ^lerrill, and in September George Earle. These commenced new centers of settlement. The town of Liverpool, which became Lake coimtv's first countv seat, was laid out as a town in May probably or in June of this year. The sale of lots there in July amounted to sixteen thousand dollars. Lot number 107 sold for eighty dollars. The men concerned in this town were John B. Chapman, Henry Fredrickson, and Nathaniel Davis. A true "paper city" was laid out, probably this year, at the mouth of the Calumet River, by a company of men from Columbus, Ohio. It was called Indiana City, and was designed no doubt to compete, with tlie then young Michigan City and Chicago, for the commerce of Lake Michigan. It was sold in 1841, the tra- dition is, for fourteen thousand dollars. There is no evidence that it bad any inhabitants, and actually it was valueless. July 4, 1836, there was organized at the house of Solon Robinson or in his grove. The Squatters' LTnion of Lake County. A constitution of four- teen articles was adopted, and attached to that four hundred and seventy-six signatures have been counted. Some of them, however, held claims in Porter countv. 6 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. In ]\Iarch nf lliis same year a postoffice was estalilished called Lake Court House, Solon Robinson, postmaster, bringing tbe mail bimself or by a deputy from Michigan City and for which he was to have the proceeds of the oirice. Although letters in those days, coming any long distance, cost twenty-fi\e cents each, paid by those who received them, the proceeds of this office, up to October i, 1836. were only fifteen dollars. In this same year was opened the first settlers' store by Solon and Milo Robinson, brothers, who sold, before the spring of the next year, about three thousand dollars' worth of goods, selling the largest amoun. to the Indians, buying from them fur and cranberries. COUXTY ORG.VXIZATION. By an act of tbe Indiana Legislature Lake was declared to be an inde- . pendent county, separated entirely from the jurisdiction of Porter, after Feb- ruary 15, 1837. March 8. 1837. Henry \\'ells was commissioned Sheriff, and an election was dulv held at the house of Samuel D. Bryant, E. W. Bryant Inspectoi. at the bouse of A. L. Ball. \V. S. Thornburg Inspector, at the house of Russel Eddy, William Clark Inspector, for the purpose of electing a Clerk of the Circuit Court, a Recorder, two Associate Judges, and three coimty Commissioners. Solon Robinson was elected Clerk, William A. ^\^ Holton Recorder, William B. Crooks and William Clark Judges, Amsi L. Ball. Thomas Wiles. S. P. Stringbam, Commissioners. April 5. 1837. the Board of Commissioners held their first meeting. They transacted, as one might expect, a large amount of business in starting all the departments under their jurisdiction in a newly organized county. Some of their acts it will be of interest to notice. They adopted a county seal. They (li\'i(led the county into three town- ships and three commissioner's districts, these having the same geographical limits. The number of districts is still three. They appointed J. \\". Holton county treasurer arid fixed the amount of his bond at two thousand dollars. They appointed ]\Iiio Roliinson trustee of what was then called the Seminary Fund, the amount of his bond as trustee to be two lumdred dollars, and they HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 7 appointed liini also agent of the Tliree Per Cent. Fund, fixing his bond as agent at tiiree thousand dollars. They instructed the sheriff to prevent any person from taking pine timber from the public land or school lands of the county, and to bring such offenders to justice. It was found on trial much easier for the commissioners to give these instructions than for the sheriff to carry them out. It is an old saying, catch before hanging, and the catch- ing part was what the sheriff found to be difficult. An amusing instance of an attempt to capture some timber thieves is on record. When the young Chicago was beginning to grow and pine timber was needed, a report reached the county officers that men were stealing valu- able trees from off our northern sand hills. A posse was summoned and an independent military company was taken into the service. The party took dinner at Liverpool, and proceeded, it is said, with drum and fife sound- ing, — how could niililary men march \\ithout martial music? — to the place where men had Ijeen cutting down the grand pines. But the men had dis- appeared. Knowing that they were trespassers they did not propose to face, not only the ci\-il but the military authorities of Lake county. It was cer- tainly a novel way to secure the capture of thieves. The county commis- sioners finally paid the amount of the different bills, and perhaps they and the sheriff learned wisdom from experience. The pine timber went to Chicago. Solon Robinson, who is good authority for those times, wrote in 1847 about Lake county, that the sand ridges along Lake Michigan were "orig- inally co\ered with a valuable growth of pine and cedar, which has been all stript off to build up Chicago." So, according to this statement, the instruc- tions given by the county commissioners in 1837 amounted to very little. CIRCUIT COURT. In October of 1837 was held at Lake Court House, in the Robinson log building, the first term of the Lake Cnxuit Court, Judge Sample presiding and Judge Clark associate. The other associate. Judge Crooks, does not seem to ha\-e been present. There were nine lawyers, and thirty cases for 8 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. this first term were on the docket. It is reported to have been a very quiet session. The majest}', as sometimes manifested, of human law, coming for the first time into the wild magnificence of nature ouglit to have quieted human passion. In this year of the organization of the countv. mail facilities were poor while letters were costly. John Russell was sent from Lake Court House to Indianapolis to oIit?in the sheriff's appointment and he went and returned on foot before a letter could go and return. The postoffice eastward, from which the mail was brought, was then Michigan City, distant about forty miles, and the ne.xt ones west, in Illmois, were Chicago and Joliet, each also distant about forty miles. There was in the county at this time one regular physician. Dr. Palmer. A quite large log building was put up in the summer by the two brothers. Solon and Milo Robinson : it was made later in the year or in 1838 a two- story building, and a few frame buildings were in this summer erected. Many new settlers came in, and log cabins were becoming quite abundant, with their stick and clay chimneys, their puncheon floors, clay plastered walls, and roofs made without nails. Of the eighty-one whose names are on record as "Settlers in 1837," the Claim Register for that year not being entire, the following names are quoted as having been at one time grouped together : "Bartlett Woods and Charles Woods, natives of W'inchelsea, England ; Llervey Ball and Lewis Warriner of Agawam, Massachusetts ; George Flint, Benjamin Farley, Henry Torrey, Joseph Jackson : Henry Sanger. Ephraim Cleveland, William Sherman, A. D. Foster, and, first of the German settlers on Prairie West, John Hack." These were prominent settlers in different parts of the county and their names, with many others of that }-ear, must continue to live in Lake county history. Religious services ^vere held several times this year at Solon Robinson's house and in the log l)uilding at Lake Court House, and at Pleasant Grove, where probably the Methodists commenced a formal organization, the first on record in the countv. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 9 These early }ears, so important in laying foundations for the future, passed rapidly along with their excitements, their adventures, and, to some extent, with their privations, and the date soon came of 1838. As early as 1S33 had been opened along the beach of Lake Michigan a route for travel, and another road opened not long after a few miles inland, and four-horse coaches had been put upon the road by Hart, Steel and Sprague, for conveying passengers and mail from Detroit to Fort Dearborn which became Chicago. But this, except furnishing a ta\ern-stand or two on the lake shore and a ferry across the Calumet, had little to do with the settlement or growth of Lake count)'. But in the winter before the summer of 1838 Congress established some mail routes through the county, two of which were of considerable benefit. One was from LaPorte to Joliet, pass- ing through Lake Court House, which was taken by H. S. Pelton. and the other was from Michigan City to Peoria, this also passing through Lake Court House, now Crown Point, and then southwest, passing near the present town of Creston. SAW MILLS AND BRIDGES. Luniber is a necessar_\' article for any improvement in building beyond the primitive log cabins, and enterprising pioneers soon commenced erecting saw mills. They seem to ha\'e found considerable difficulty in making their mill-dams sufficiently strong to gi\e them water in a dry season and then to resist the pressure of a freshet. Four of these earliest mills are accredited to the year 1838. called Irom the names of their builders, Walton's, Wood's. Dustin's, and Taylor's. The Wood mill, where is now, at \\'oodvale, a large flouring mill, furnished the most lumber. One mill had been put into successful operation before this year, built by \Wlson S. Harrison, which in the spring of 1837 furnished oak lumber for fifteen dollars for a thousand feet. The great market place was Michigan City, afterwards Chicago, from which places pine lumber could be obtained. Pine trees grew in the northern part of Lake count}-, but this was mostly stolen and taken to the market in Chicago. 10 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Bridge-buikling commenced in tliis year of 1838, for wliich work lumljer was a necessity. One who looks over tlie county now. especially in the sum- mer time, seeing here and there a ditch, but very little flowing water, can have no correct idea of our streams in the early days, when free and bridge- less, in the spring and (jften in mid-summer, the Calumet and Turkey Creek, Deep River and Deer Creek. Eagle Creek, Cedar Creek, and West Creek, were sending off their full flow of water to the distant Atlantic, some through Lake ^lichigan. and some southwanl through the Kankakee to the Alissis- sippi and the Gulf. The stream called West Creek, with its wide marsh, its springs, its quicksands, formed, until Ijridges were built, an impassable bar- rier for any thing like tra\-el. The horseman was in danger in many places if he tried to urge his horse across. Two bridges were built, in this year of lumber, across Deep River, a short distance northeast of Lake Court House, costing five Inuulred dollars. These were built by Daniel ALay and Hiram Xordyke. That bridges were needed across this river then was evi- dent, for in the mid-summer of 1837 a very large horse drawing a buggy, in an attempt to ford the marshy stream, went down, probably into quick- sand, lea\'ing only his head out of water, and only by rapid exertion of his dri\-er wiio plunged at once mto the water, was separated from the buggy and helped up<)n his feet, regaining the drv prairie on the further side. Over West Creek, near the Wilkinson home, a bridge costing four hundred dollars was built by N. Havden. Across Cedar Creek, called some- times the Outlet, near the home of Lewis Warriner, now the Esty place, the Ijridge cost only two hundred dollars, erected by S. P. Stringham and R. Wilkinson. The one across Deep River at B. \\'ilkinson's crossing near the Porter countv line, built liy Amsi L. Ball, cost four hundred dollars. Thus, in the first year of bridge-building it appears that for five very needful bridges the amount of fifteen hundred dollars was laid out. The money came from what was known then as "the three per cent, fund." FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. June 17. 1838. was constituted, according to their denominational usage, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 11 with nine Baptist members from the two states of Alassachusetts and New York, Elder Frencli of Porter county present and acting" as Moderator, what was called the Cedar Lake Baptist Church. The meeting for organization was held in the large log schoolhouse which was not then quite completed. Besides this center two otlier places were selected for holding Sabbath meet- ings. Prairie West and Center Prairie, hut these two other places were soon given up. It may be added that at the schoolhouse of this first Baptist center, public, formal recognition services, according to usage, were held May 19. 1839. METHODIST ORGANIZ.ATION. Says an old manuscript, referring to the summer of 1838, "The Meth- odist Episcopal Church mav be considered as regularly organized in the county from this time, forming with Porter county a circuit, and supplied with preaching at stated times." According, however, to Conference Min- utes the circuit which comprised Porter and Lake was not formed till 1840, but there was a Ivankakee Mission formed in 1839. and a Deep Ri\-er Mission formed in 1835. so that it is probable, as was stated in regard to Pleasant Grove, that there was a beginning of Methodist organization in the county earlier, Ijut not much earlier, than the Baptist organization. These two bodies of Christians, the Methodist and Baptist, were the strong religious forces in the early years until the Presbyterians made a beginning in 1840, and man\' more iNIethodist than Baptist pioneers came into the county. They were successful also in establishing themseh'es in a fe\\- centers which did not change as did the Baptist center, until it became only a pleasure resort. Before, however, that first Baptist church was com- jiellecl to disband by the changes which were taking place, it had on its record book th.e names of nearly one hundred members, fort\'-two of whom had been baptized in accordance with their usage in the crystal water of their beautiful lake. Of the earliest Methodist centers, four at least, at one of which a bishop once preached, would not now be recognized as places where people ever met for worship. 12 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. This summer of 1838. at the reHgious organizations of which a glance has been tal\en. was one of ''continued cHstressing sickness." It is quite sure that, in proportion to the number of inhabitants, more deaths took place than in any other summer of the county's historw It was a very dry sum- mer, called a summer "of excessiye drouth." Yet many improyements were made this year, and other settlers came in. One party came from the state of New York in four wagons drawn by horses, making the journe\- in four weeks. Among these were the families of Solomon Burns and George Willey. also Harry Burns. They settled on the west side of West Creek, where a little neighborhood was formed com- prising the families bearing the names of Rankin. Hitchcock, Gordinier, Mar- yin. Burns, FuHer. Farwell, \\'illey, and later of Grayes, Irish, also Blayney. which was an almost inaccessible neighborhood from the eastward until the constructicm of the Hanoyer bridge. THE LAND SALE. ;\Iarch 19. 1839, came that event for which the settlers had been looking and waiting, and yet for which many of them were not ready. The sale of United States lands, including the public lands in Lake county, commenced on that day in the !own of LaPorte, The, so called, squatters of Lake were there in large numbers, some of them hardy pioneers, accustomed to frontier life, some of them but recently from New England and New York, who had been taking their first lessons in frontier life, and some of them sturdy Germans, lately remoyed from the thronging life of Europe into the new freedom and abundant room of this western world, all determined to stand by each other in seeing that no speculator should bid upon a claimant's land. The e\'ent in view of which they had organized the Squatter's L'nion, July 4, 1836, had now come, and they were prepared to fulfil its agreements and its pledges. The impression \vas strongly made that no speculator should oyerbid a squatter, and the moral force of the fact that five hundred deter- mined men had decided upon that question, was sufficient. Men were chosen, according to their agreement, to do the bidding, Solon Robinson for one HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 13 townsliii), W'iniam Kinnison for another, and A. ^McDonald, whose name appears here for the first time in these records, who was afterwards a promi- nent lawyer, tlie first one at Crown Point, whose date of settlement is 1839, was the bidder for the third township. No speculators interfered. The record is : "The sale passed ofi^ quietly, and the sons of Lake returned peace- fully to their homes."' COUNTY SEAT LOCATION. Another prominent event took place this year, in ]\lay, the location oi the county seat. The Lidiana Legislature api)ointed the commissioners. They, it is to be supposed, looked over the county. Three places sought the location. These were, the town oi Liverpool where so many town lots were sold in ICS36, the village of Lake Court House, where already a log court house was built and where Commissioners" Court and Circuit Court bad been held, and where the comity ofiicers were residing, and Dr. Calvin Lilley's place at the now well known lake. By some means or by some influence the Commissioners selected Liver- pool. Great dissatisfaction resulted from their decision, and the citizens determined to ask for a re-location. Their request was granted. The Legis- lature again appointed commissioners. These were, "Jesse Tomlinson and Edward Moore of Clarion county, Henrv Barclav of Pulaski, Joshua Lind- sey of \\ bite, and Daniel Doale of Carroll county.'" The same localities were in competition as l^efore. George Earle for one, Solon Robinson for one, and. instead of Dr. Lilley, Judge Benjamin ]\IcCart\' f(ir the third, having busliel. It was a trying time for farmers. Many hecame discouraged. There is evidence from different sources that in these years of depression as many as one-half of the earliest settlers passed out of the county seeking homes in the then distant West. But some improvements in this trying time were made. Gospel min- isters came, churches were organized, buildings erected. Almost as soon as the county seat cjuestion was settled and Crown Point was named, so that Solon Robinson felt sure of the growth of his town, he secured the residence of Rev. N. \\'arriner, a Baptist minister who harl Iieen recenth- ordained at Cedar Lake, built a house for him near his own home, and helped to provide for his support. In 1843 K^^'- -^J^- Allman. a Methodist minister, settled in Crown Point. Two church buildings were erectetl : one for the Methodist congregation at the crossing of West Creek, the other a Romaji Catholic chapel <:in Prairie U'est. And, this same year or the next, was built a Methodist church at Hickory Point, on the county line, Init in Lake county. April 2'j. 1844. was organized, liy Rev. J. C. Brown of Valparaiso, the Presbyterian church at Crown Point witli eighteen members. The two prom- inent women of this church at this time were, Mrs. Harriet Warner Holton and Mrs. Richard Fancher. Elias Bryant and Cyrus M. Mason were the first elders. In 1846 Rev. William Townley became the first resident pastor of this church. A church building was soon erected at a cost of three thou- sand dollars. About the same time, between 1845 and 1847, the Methodists also erected a church building. Cost not now known. In 1846 sickness again came, and other calamities befell the struggling inhabitants of the new county. The summer was very dry, the weather was very hot. This is part of a record: "Sickness was almost universal. There were few to relieve the wants of the sick or to administer medicine." There were no trained nurses to be obtained in those days, and no money 16 - HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. to pay for trained nursing if it could have been obtained. So the members of eacli family did for themselves the best that Avas possible. Physicians were few. This is another record: "The summers of 1838 and 1846 are the two most noted for sickness in the annals of Lake. Both were very dry seasons." Besides the sickness of 1846 fields of grain went to waste, for there were no men to do the harvesting. The men and the boys who were able to work were taking care of their sick and performing the needful house- hold A\ork. .Only those who passed through that trying year can know how great the trials were. In the present conditions of the county such a time can not come again, even if extensive sickness should again prevail. Increas- ing the privations of that memorable year, much of the wheat that some did succeed in harvesting was hardly fit for market or for bread, and half the . potato crop raised was destroyed by disease. In those years spring wheat was quite extensively raised in the county, and potato bugs were destroyers unknown. That summer of 1846 passed; a number had died, some, perhaps all, sadly missed in what had been bright homes: but the living prepared again to hope on and live on. A very favorable fall and a mild winter followed. In 1847 th.ere were in the county seven postoffices, five saw mills in oper- ation furnishing oak lumlier. two grist-mills, 'A\'ood"s mill," which did grind- ing for the farmers of both Lake and Porter counties, and ^^■ilson and Saun- der's. George Earle of Liverpool was also erecting a third at what became Hobart. There were then in the county about fifty frame houses, five church buildings, two brick dwelling houses, and five stores. Two of these were at Crov.'n Point, one kept by H. S. Pelton and one by William Alton. One was at Pleasant Grove, one at Wood's mill, (ine at St. John. There were in the county two lawyers, six, perhaps seven, physicians, fifteen justices of the peace. There were five local Methodist ministers, one circuit preacher, and one Presbyterian pastor. The Baptist pasior, the first minister of the Gospel residing in Crown Point, had removed to Illinois. The county officers for 1847, ^vhen were completed ten years of organ- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 17 ized county life, were the following named men: "Henry Wells, Sheriff; H. D. Palmer, Associate Judge: Hervey Ball, Probate Judge; D. K. Petti- bone, Clerk; Joseph Jackson, Auditor; Major Allman, Recorder: William C. Farrington, Treasurer; Alexander McDonald, Assessor; S. T. Green, H. S. Pelton, Robert Wilkinson, Commissioners." OUR MEXICAN WAR COMPANY. Lake county ha\ing made so grand a record in that fearful conflict for the life of the nation between 1861 and 1865, it would not be just to omit some mention of the deeds of Jier earlier sons in a very diiYerent contest. May II, 1846, there was declared by our Government war, stern, and ever fearful war, upon the country called Mexico. Fifty thousand volunteers were called for by the President. Many young men were ready tO' ofifer their services, and to join the forces that were expected to reach — there was an air of romance in the expression — tlie "Halls of the Montezumas." Joseph P. Smith, a business man of Crown Point, who had been a mili- tar\- man in New York city, was at this time captain of an independent mili- tary company at Crown Point, and lie with twent}'-five or thirty of these men, and others from outside of the county, started for the war. This com- pany joined the army in Mexico in 1847. They saw little of what some call the glory of war, little of the glitter of JNIontezuma halls. They were in no battle. They did that needful but wearing work, guard duty. They were si.x months at Monterey. Forty-seven of the company died amid the burning heats or on the trying march, and in the fall of 1848 they returned, as Tennyson said of the Light Brigade, "all there were left of them." One of them who had lived through the sickness and death of so many comrades, afterward lived through the sufiferings of the Libby prison, and returned a second time, safe from the perils of war. to his home in Crown Point. In that later war record his name will appear. The year 1849. ^^ years after the Land Sale, and with it the vear 1850, closed up in Lake county the true pioneer mode of life, a life that had its enjoyments and its privations, a life which has been many times described IS HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. on written antl printed pages, but whicli In' the younger people of this gener- ation can he 1)ut sHghtly understood or appreciated: yet which made possible for them and those coming after them the great advantages wliich are now enjoyed. Lord Bacon assigned tlie higiiest meed of eartiily fame to the founders of States, called in the Latin tongue coiditons iiiipcrioruin. The Pilgrims and the Puritans, the Quakers and Covenanters, the Cavaliers and Hugue- nots, with many others from the kingdoms of Europe, helpeil to found the first thirteen states of this Lnion. Our pioneers founded a county, not a large division of country, but twice as large as that noted region, the ancient Attica, a division of the old Greece, which contained once a large population, seven times as many as we yet ha\-e. And these men and women who laid the foundations here are justly entitled to a fair meed of fame, and their pioneer life, up to 1850, is worthy of consideration and of due appreciation. Some of its peculiarities are in detail yet accessible to the present inhabitants of the county. Memorial sketches of many of these pioneers will l)e found in this work. According to the L'nitecl States census there were in the county in 1850 seven hundred and fifteen families. Beautiful, exceedingly l^eautiful, as this region was in its nati\-e wild- ness, the prairies, the groves, the woodlands, showing \ery little indication that man had e\-er Ijeen here, only some trails, some dancing floors made of ■earth, some Ijurial places, it did not prove to be an Eden after the white man's presence began to be felt in its most choice localities. Virtuous in general as the pioneers were, there was so little of society restraint, of civil restraint over them, that sometimes the temptations to do wrong proved too strong for a feeble \-irtue. But these were rare cases, only a few dark spots, in a generally moral, upright, virtuous community. When one considers the crimes that are so numerous in these later years, not only in towns and cities, but often in country neighborhoods, it is pleasant to look back sixty years ago upon the quiet, yet active home life, that was spreading out upon the prairies, and to see how secure life and property were, HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. 19 and liow fearlessly the young maidens could roam into the -wilds in search ol' Howers and fruits, before tramps had an existence: and if they met some hunter youth, he was sure to be a friend. Now a lone man is to be dreaded and shunned. It was not so then. SAD OCCURRENCES. In the course of vears. and in anv community, as human life is. there will always he some e\'ents of more than ordinary sadness. At least two of such events may fittingly be recorded here. The first is the death Ijy freez- ing of David Agnew, whose wife was a Bryant, on the ifight of April 4, 1835. As one of th.e Bryant family making the settlement at F^leasant Cirove, it fell to his lot to take an ox team across from Morgan prairie in Porter county to the new settlement. The weather had been mild with some rain, and snow and cold were no longer expected ; Lmt on that .April day there came "a most terrible snow- storm." Circumstances had separated Da\'i by a cpiartette, Benton Wood, Cassius Griffin. Miss Ella Warner, Miss Georgie E. Ball. Mrs. Jennie Young, pianist. On the first day of the celebration the opening hymn was the well known one, "My Country 'Tis of Thee." i_in the second day the new hymn was sung called "Our Broad Land." l'"urther features of this celebration cannot here be given, but this writer ho]5es that thirty years from now, in 1934. a still larger gathering will be found upon the Lake County Fair Ground, when a book now in the Recorder's office is then to be opened, a book presented to the Association bv Hon. Joseph A. Little, and which contains very many signatures of persons present HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. 37 at Lake County's semi-centennial in 1884. A special committee, to be appointed thirty }-ears hence, is to open that at present sealed book. To be called for and to be opened at that same time, by that same committee, there is now sealed up in the Recorder's office a quite large map of Lake county On this map are the names of many children some of whom, as men and women, it is expected will be ])resent then. On Saturday. September 17. 1887. at four o'clock in the afternoon, the real work began of boring an artesian well on the south side of the public square in Crown Point. One half of the cost was to be paid by the town and one half by the county. The work was carried diligently on, into an immense mass of rock which seemed to underlie the town, until the fall of i88cj, when work was given up, as there was no reason.able hope of obtaining flowing water without an outlay of more money than it was considered wise to expend. The depth reached was aliout 3,100 feet. In the summer of 1887 two steam dredges were busily at work cutting ditches in the Kankakee ^Nlarsh. .\t- tempts to drain that wet land by ditching had been made by state legislation soon after 1852. some large ditches had been dug. but the methods employed were costly and slow in attaining results. The newly employed steam dredges worked busily in 1888 and 1889. and in the latter year, by means of the ditching through the marsh, a road was opened from the Orchard Grove postoffice to \\'ater \'alley. on the east line of the town lots laid out that year by the Lake Agricultural Company and called "the village of Shelbv." It was found that the sand brought up by the dredge made a good road-betl and so bridges were built across the ditches that went westward, and a bridge for wagons over the Kankakee River, and at last there was a good wagon- road leading from Lake county over into Xewton, Soon there was another road passing by Cumberland Lodge in Oak Grove, and another bridge, and a road running directly south to Lake Village in Xewton. It was a new and a pleasant experience, after so many, many years, to be able to ride in a car- riage down to that long line of blue which had ended the view southward in Lake county, and to pass that great barrier of marsh and river, and visit 38 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. t!ie citizens of Xewton county. \\'hile as to distance in miles they had been neighbors, as to access to their homes they had been for more than fifty years strangers. Returning to the history proper of the railroad period in this Conipenchuni or Outline, five other roads are yet to be noticed. In 1888 the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern road commenced running cars across the county from Dyer to Hobart, but as a belt line, a freight line, adding not much to business or agricultural interests. In the same year, 1888, several miles were built and used of a road called the Chicago & Calumet Terminal. This must have aided much in building up a city the first family in which commenced a residence in 1888. The name East Chicago was given to the locality, and the name of the first resident family was Penman. This locality was truly "in the woods" or the wilderness state in 1888. Sand ridges, and marshes, long and narrow, parallel with the ridges, and thick underbrush of a swampy and not an upland growth, characterize that strip of land north of the Grand Calumet for some miles eastward. It was not an attractive spot on which to build a city. But it was near a great city, and work commenced. The swampy growth was cleared out of the way. Sand ridges Avere quite easily transferred into the low, wet places. Dwelling houses were erected, manufactured articles were produced soon in the factories, a saw mill fur- nished a large cpiantity of lumber, various industries were soon starting into existence, and in a little time, almost as if by magic, there were long streets lined with city-like buildings, there were stores filled with goods, there were school buildings and churches and waterworks and electric lights, social or- ganizations, clubs and lodges, a well conducted newspaper, an electric railway line passing through, and the needed adjuncts of a modern city. East Chicago was for a short time an incorporated town, and then, not waiting long there, it became an incorporated city. The Penman family of 1888 soon had around them some three thousand neighbors. Much was done in building up this cit_\' by the Terminal railroad. Another citv S(jon started. There had been for se\-eral vears a station HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 39 village called Whiting, on the Michigan Southern road, which in 187^ con- tained fifteen families. Railroad work was the main employment. In 1889 some land was there hought. according to popular report, for one thousand dollars an acre, and nine hundred men were soon employed in erecting a large brick building for what it was claimed would be the largest oil refinery in this country. The estimate was for twenty millions of brick to be used in the construction of the first large building. This was the beginning of the work of the Standard Oil Company in Lake county. In 1890 about seventy-five votes were cast. In 1895 the town was incorporated. In 1900 about fifteen hundred votes were cast. The town is a city now. Starting as a town and to become a city in 1899, its growth, like that of East Chicago, has been remarkable. It is located on quite le\-el land on the first low ridge of sand that here skirts Lake Michigan, with no sand hills east- ward for several miles and none westward lietween it and Chicago. Whiting has some fine resident and business streets, but not much roiim for^territorial growth, being surrounded liv Lake ?klichigan. East Chicago, and Hammond. In the winter of 1890 and 1891 there was much excitement in Lake county on account of a strong eft'urt on the part of some citizens of Hammond to secure the passage of a bill by the State Legislature which would lead to the removal of tlie county seat from Crown Point to Hammond. For fifty years the question of the county seat location had been at rest: but this winter restless and amhitious men were determined it should rest no longer. The citizens of Crown Point and citizens of other counties fought against the bill and its passage was defeated. In the summer of 1891 Main street and some other streets of Crown Point were paved with cedar blocks. September 10, 1891, at about 6:30 o'clock, electric lights first flashed out in Crown Point. The date of the first electric lighls at Hammond is not at hand. In fact Hammond, East Chi- cago, and Whiting have grown sn rapidly from nothing to cities, that to keep trace of their improvements is almost bewildering. 40 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. In 1891 was founded the town of Griffith. Its location was excellent, on the Cut Oft' and the Belt Line, on the Erie and the Grand Trunk. It made a promising beginning. In 1892 it h.ad four factory buildings, one church edifice, two Sabbath congregations, two Sunday-schools : and in these schools were eighty members. Two years liefore the family of the station ageiit lived alone in tlie woods and the undergrowth. It is not yet a city, bright as its first promise was. It has two schoolhouses, some stores, and a good many dwell- ing houses. It has an abundance of room for growth. It needs enterprise and capital. In 1892 the Wabash line of road was completed across the county. It scarcely touched Tolleston, hut passed through East Chicago and Hammond. It added not much to the growth of either of these places. The year 1893 '^^"''^^ "^'"^ ^^'^^' ^'^ ''^ remembered in Lake county, as the inhabitants so largely had the opportunity of attending the Columbian Ex- position at Jackson Park. Their locality was favorable: the number of rail- roads running near so many of their homes, passing in the morning and re- turning in the evening as the passenger cars did, gave them excellent oppor- tunities for spending the days at the expositon and the nights at home, and well ilid thev improve their opportunities. An effort was made to obtain the ■exact nuniljer of school children that visted Jackson Park, but only a part of the teachers made any report. So the whole number can never be known. There were reported, through the kind consideration of quite a number of teachers, pupils from Hobart graded school 250, from Ross township 47, from Hanover 24, from Crown Point t,/^. from Eagle Creek township 83, from Cedar Creek 53, from West Creek township 84. making, with a few other small numbers reported. 973. Certainly never before did so many thousands and hundreds of thousands of people cross Lake county ?s in that yery pleasant summer of 1893. The year 1894 w-as a very different year. It was noted for great stagnation of business in mining and manufactures, the year of the Pullman Ijoycott, the Debs strikes, and the miners' strikes, and railroad communication with Chi- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 41 cago for a time ceased. In Hammond the civil officers were unable to main- tain order and enforce law and United States troops and about eight hundred Stale militia of Indiana were sent in to secure railroad transportation and the passage of the mails through the city. A gatling gun stood on the platform at the Erie station and the passenger room could be reached only Ijy passing the sentry and the corporal of the guard. The tents, the soldiers on duty with their arms gave to Hammond the appearance of a city under real martial law. Cars on the electric railway were running in the summer of 1894 so that pas- sengers could go into Chicago from Hammond on the electric and elevated roads. The year in Lowell was noted for much building. Thirty-one dwelling houses and four business houses were erected within the year. Cedar-block pa\-ing was laid on nine more streets in Crown Point at a cost of over forty- five thousand dollars. The Superior Court at Hammond dates from 1895. Some interesting figures are here inserted, obtained from the County Auditor, then A. S. Barr. The valuation of the taxable property of the county for 1895. without railroad, telegraph, and telephone property, was $15,224,740. The number of polls in 1895 was in North township 1,929, and the number of men over twenty-one years of age was 4,309 ; number of polls in the county 4.265, and of men 8,216. The trustees reported for the same year school children in North township 4,068, and in the cmintv 9.380. The United States census gave the population of the countv in 1890, 23,886. In May. 1896, was oj^ened for public use the electric railwav from Hammond direct to South Chicago between Lake George and W'olf Lake, thus enabling one to go for three fares only into the heart of Chicago. In August of this year the Crown Point Telephone Company began erecting poles and putting up wires. The road improvement for the year was in Hobart township, the road leading from the south line of the township through Hobart and Lake to Lake Michigan. November 3d of tliis year, a presidential election, there were votes cast 42 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. in the county, for Congressman. 8.300: for President. 8,267; of these 3,384 were for Bryan, 4,883 for McKinley. Also some Proliibition votes. In the county probably 8,400 voters. In 1884 there were about 4,200. The numlier of voters was doubled in tweh-e years. Of the 8.300 votes in Xovem- ber of 1896 there were in North township 4,328; in Center township 842. February 16. 1897. made the sixtieth year of the existence of Lake as an independent county, and it happened to be the four hundredth anniver- sary of the bu'th of the noted ?\Ielancthon of the Reformation. The numlier of children of school age enumerated this year was 9,834. Of these, in North township were 4,512, Hammond having 3,106, and East Cliicago 547. Crown Point had 689, and Lowell 356. Hobart, town and county together. 859. North township, including Whiting then and the county, had the same number, 859. These figures from the official reports are given that the growth and the nature of the population may be more readily seen. In the manufacturing cities there will naturalh' be more men and more voters in proportion to the children than in the country towns. In 1898. according to a cpiite careful count, there were in the three older towns of the countv the following number of families: In Crown Point 580: in Lowell 290: in Hobart 315: in even hundreds 600, 300, 300. It has been already stated that in 1850 there were in all Lake county 715 fam- ilies. No attempt was made to count the families of Hammond, East Chicago, and Whiting. For the year 1899 the great improvement going on in the county was road-making. Some of the roads were called gravel, and others stone roads. Before this year eleven miles of gravel road had been made in Hobart town- ship. The following paragraph is quoted : "Cost of different roads : In Hobart township, ist gravel road, $36,990, 2d, $21,990, 3d, $36,990, mak- ing in all for Hobart, $95,970. In North township, the Bradford roads, $124,500. In Ross. $71,485. In Cedar Creek, $47,540. In Calumet, $42,988. In St. Johns and Center, $167,500. and in Center, the Jenkins road, $12,900, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 43 in all for St. Johns and Center roads, $180,400. Grand total for roads in the seven townships, $562,883, or a little more than half a million of dollars." These were not all completed till 1900. .\round the puhlic square in Crown Point was laid a walk of sandstone, the stone ten feet in length, five in breadth, and six inches in thickness, the walk costing $11,000. The Nineteenth Century closed upon a certainly prospering, enterprising CGiunumit}' in this county of Lake. Li 1899 O"^ more railroad was constructed running from Griftith to Lake Michigan and then westward, called the Griffith & Northern. This is a freight road and made no towns. In June, 190 1, work was commenced in the northeast part of the linuts of East Chicago, miles away then, however, from its factories and stores and dwellings, for new industries, especially for a large, independent steel mill, which was to furnish employment, when in full operation, for one thou- sand men. In July, when the locality was first visited by this writer, about one hundred and fifty men were at work 'grading the ground for streets and for buildings, and breaking the ground for a new city. It was an interest- ing sight. This record was made in .\ugust, 1902: ".V large mill building has been erected called The Inland Steel ;\Iill, and on Moudav, .\ugust 11, 1902, 'the wheels of the big mill were started to receive the first iron of the rolls." A well sunk by the Inland IMill people 276 feet deep will furnish abundance of good water. Indiana Harbor is alreadv a town, almost a city of it.self. Its future none can foresee, but it promises now, when its mill work is all in operation and its harbor constructed, to make East Chicago one of the great lake cities of Indiana."' Indiana Harbor, as this part of East Chicago is called, is rapidly making good the pronu.se of 1902. Since February 20. 1904, electric cars have been running between the two divisions of the city. To one who saw cities try to grow in northern Indiana sixty-seven years ago, and saw them fail, it is amazing to see how cities now .spring up and grow. Electricity is a great agent now. Money and energy, steam and electricity, are doing 44 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. much for Lake county in its rapid advance among the counties of tiie State. In 1903 yet another road was completed as far as Griffitli, tlie Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville road, whicii promises to be an imjiortant thorough- fare when its trains can reach Chicago'. It has made the \illage of MerriH- ville, wiiich had waited long, a railroad town, and may yet add quite a little prosperity to Griffith. Besides tiie sixteen roads named, most of them important roads of the countr}', there are six short lines within the count\' as given l)v the State Board of Tax Commissioners for 1903. These are; Chicago Junction, length three miles, fractional parts omitted ; East Chicago Belt, fire miles ; Indiana Harl^or, nearly five miles; Sfjuth Chicago & Southern, seven miles; Standard Oil Company, fnurteen miles; Chicago. Lake Shore & Eastern, eight miles; making, according to that report of the State Board, miles of main track in Lake county. 324.28. and of side tracks. 194.55. Lake county has many more miles of railway than an}- other county in Indiana. According to the United States census the population of Lake count}' in 1900 was 37,892: the population of Hammond was 12,376; of Whiting 3,983; and of East Chicago, 3.411. The population of \\'hiting may still be placed, in round numljers. at 4,000 ; and that of East Chicago, which includes within its limits that new locality called Indiana Harbor, may also be plac'ed at 4,000. It thus appears, by consulting a county ma]i, that more than twenty thousand of the inhabitants of the county live within h\e miles of the southeast limits of Chicago. Acct)rding to a state authority the numlier of voters in the county in 1901 was 11,162, of these 16 l>eing colored men. AN ASSOCIATION. The Old Settlers' Association, of which mention has been made, was organized at the court house in Crown Point, July 24, 1875. The first public meeting was held at what was the old Fair Ground, September 25, 1875. September 14, 1876, the annual meeting was held at the same place. September 15, 1877. on account of rain, the meeting was held in Chesliire Hall. September 10, 187S, after tlie public exercises connected with laying HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 45 the ccirner stone of the new court house, the fourth meeting was lield at the old Fair (iround. hi 1879 the Association met in the then new Fair Ground. In 1880, met again in Clieshire Hall. In 188 1 and iS8j, met in Hoffman's Opera House. In 1883 and 1884 at the Fair Ground. Since 1884 the annual reports of the Historical Secretary have heen printed every five years for the memhers of the .Association and other citizens of the county. Si.xteen of these reports are nuw in jirint, four more will this year be in writing, and these, if continued on, will furnish, it is supposed, quite an amount of in- formation for the historian, whoever he may be, of 1934. It is probable that no other county in Indiana has so full historic records. , At the annual meeting in August, 1903, the name of the Association was slightly changetl. The "s" was dropped from the word "Settlers" and the word "Historical" was added, so that die name now is The Old Settler AND HiSTORic.\L .Associ.vnoN of Lake County, Indiana. It is expected that the Association will liave a room before long in which to preser\'e records and relics. An account has been gi\-en of the anniversary meeting of 1884. ,\t the annual meeting in 1889, when East Chicago and Whiting, now thri\ing cities, were starting into existence, the following address was delivered to the children present at the Fair Ground : and believing it to be of interest to the children of the lamilics where this book will come, it is repeated here: "Beloved children, representatives of the descendants of the ]Moneers of Lake, some of you grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those pioneer settlers whose names have already, in the annals of Lake, become historic, — representatives also to-day of some three thottsand children in our <:ounty, — it is my privilege to speak to yoti for a few moments in regard to the heritage w-hich those pioneers and early settlers, with others who hax'e come among us, have left and will leave for you and those whom to-day you represent. "My subject is. Our Heritage to the Children. I am to represent therefore those men and women, venerable in age, a few of whom yet remain among us, who ha\e come down to us from a former generation. .\s in their name and in their behalf, and in behalf also of pioneer children, who are nr.w- between sixty and seventy years of age, I am to- speak to you to-day. "We are leaving, we are to leave you, this county of Lake with its present great resources. We found it almost a wild. We shall leave it to you a wealthy portion of this great commonwealth of Indiana. 46 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. "Whether or not the Indians succeeded the Mound-Builders here, I do not certainly know. But I do certainly know that we took possession of Indian hunting grounds; of Indian homes. When the pioneers came they found here Indian trails and dancing floors, Indian gardens and burial grounds, Indian ponies and Indian life. I have been in an Indian canoe on the Lake of Red Cedars, have seen them eat and trade; and there are those yet among us who have seen them in their wigvvams and on their hunting grounds. We came next to the Indians here. And almost a wild, so soon as they were gone, were these five hundred square miles of land and water. We found here the prairie and the woodland, the lakes, the marshes, and the streams. These were then free and bridgeless streams. We have put bridges over them all. The only obstructions, the only dams then were made by the beaver. We have built dams and erected mills. The musk- rats made their homes in the marshes. We have turned many of these into meadows and corn-fields. On the southwest of Cedar Lake, where over a large area the sand-hill cranes waded, where the largest boats of the lake passed, and the best fishing ground was found for the large pike, we have made dry land. "Through the great Kankakee Marsh, where lived the muskrats and the mink, where the wild geese made their nests, we have cut long ditches witJi steam dredges and have opened up thousands of acres for pasturage and farming. We have fenced up all the once wild prairie, and now, where the deer bounded and the wolves galloped leisurely along, where the cranes 'danced' on the high areas and the prairie hens had their nests undisturbed, where the wild flowers of such rich beauty grew, there are orchards and gardens and barnyards and dwelling houses, and the wild life of the prairie is no more. We ha\e ]ilantevl twenty-fi\'e towns and villages where were only Indian wigwams and gardens. A\'e have built forty-eight churches and one hun(h"ed schoolhouses. We have dug some three thousand wells of water. In the early times, in a dry season, it became sometimes needful to steal water. One spring on the west side of Cedar Lake supplied at one time neaily all the families around the lake. What the Indians did for water in the dry season I know not. They left very little. We found only nature here: but we shall leave to you the marks of white men on this soil which no coming years will erase. Lake county has been made first in the state 'of Indiana in railroads, first in exporting beef to foreign markets, first in the great oil refinery now in process of erection at \\'biting, first in organized Sunday-school work. And it has been placed among the first in exporting hay, raising horses, in the general prosperity and intelligence of the people. Tiiere are now some eighteen thousand people, about one-half living in the twenty-fi\-e towns and villages, and the other half, nine tlinusand, on the rich and well cultivated farms. "Xow, all these farms and orchards and pasture lands, all these towns and villages, all these manufacturing interests and industrial pursuits, all the material results in our public school and Sunday-school work, all this civilization and prosperity attained since the moccasined Indians ceased here to tread, we shall leave as a heritage to you, the children of this generation. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 47 Instead of succeeding Indians, who left only trails and dancing floors and burial places. }0u will succeed a generation of busy workers, of intelligent white people, who will leave you wagon roads and railroads, bridges and fences, and the results of the outlay of a large amount of money and labor making what we call fixed capital in the land. The property in Lake county was assessed for taxes in 1888 at nearly nine and one-half millions of dol- lars. Do you see how differently you will enter upon life compared with your pioneer ancestry? You will ha\e no court-house, no public buildings to erect, few churches and few schoolhouses to build, no prairie sod to turn over and subdue, few fences to make, few houses to build. All these things have been done for you by those who struck the first blow here with the axe, erected the first log cabin, built the first bridge, constructed the firsi mill, made the first brick, sowed the first wheat and oats, and reaped the first harvest. "Can you see, beloved children ; and through you I speak as to the three thousand, can you see how much has been done for you by the two generations that have gone before you here? Some have worked in one line, some in another. They have all helped tO' furnish for you a rich, a valu- able, and, as earth is, even a glorious inheritance. Soon it will all be yours, for rapidly we are passing away. "Snow YOURSELVES WORTHY OF THIS INHERIT.-VNCE." Since this address was delivered to the children in i88g, those who have read a few preceding pages have seen that the heritage for the children has \'ery largely increased, more than half a million dollars having been invested in inipro\-ed roads, a hundred thousand dollar court house having been built and furnished at Hammond, the assessed value of the property in tlie count}' lia\-ing reached the sum of twent};-one and a half million, and the courity auditor's rejjort for January 1st, 1904, showing receipts for 1903 with balance then on hand of about one million dollars. And now the ciuestion comes up: ^^■ho were the men of the past gen- eration who se\-enty years ago began to lay foundations here, and who for twenty, thirty, forty years, toiled on, amid privations and discouragements, to furnish for us the inheritance which we all now enjov? Shall we not honor their efforts, and count their names worthy of Listing remembrance? For the names of some of these men, all of whom have passed from the activities of life, sec in another chapter short memorial sketches. 48 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. INTERESTING ITEMS. Cliurches, School Houses, Banks. The first church buildings erected in the county were a Methodist church on West Creek and a Roman Catholic chapel near the present St. John, date of both, 1843. In 1872 there were twenty-three church buildings, one only being north of the Calumet, the Lutheran church at Tolleston. There are now : In West Creek township three ; in Cedar Creek five ; in Winfield four ; in Center eight; in Hanover three: in St. Johns four: in Ross two: in Hobart nine: in Calumet two; and in Xnrth twenty-six. In all si.xty-si.x. Of schoolhouses there are one hundred and twenty, and of teachers two hunf'red. Of banks there are; In Crown Point two; Lowell has two; Dyer one; Hobart two ; Hammond three ; East Chicago two : \Vhiting two. Total num- ber fourteen. The capital inxestecl in most of these banks is owned by resi- dents of the county. Of the Lake County State Bank of East Chicago. Potter Palmer. Jr., is a director, vice president, and cashier, and pnjljably a large owner of the capital, which is advertised to be fifty thousand dollars. A FEW MORE P.\RTICrL.\RS. \\'ater. So far as surface water was concerned the county was originally well watered, \\niile not a region of rocks and rills, of springs and streams of crystal water, there were marshes in abundance and some flowing springs, which in the pioneer days usually furnished a supply for all the domestic animals. In these hundreds of marshes usually lived some nniskrats, some little fishes, and one or two ])air of wild ducks. Shallow wells were dug near the marshes or in low places which furnished drinking water for the families. But dry seasons came, marshes began to be dry. the muskrats. even, were driven by thirst and hunger to tlie JKiuses and stables (^f the settlers, and the cattle were driven to the central lake and to the large streams once a day for water. The surface wells also gave out. as drv seasons came and the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 49 draining of marshes was commenced, and deeper wells were dug and walled uj) with brick: and at length wells were driven or bored, .so that now on everv large farm there is a well of some depth, a windmill to work the pump, and a good-sized tank to hold the water. These windmills are pic- turesque as well as useful. Without them it would seem almost impossible for the farmers to keep such large numbers, as now they do, of domestic animals. There are yet a few. comparati\ely. of valuable living springs in the county, four or five of these furnishing a large flow of water; and there are a very few artesian wells. The cities of the county can obtain water in pipes from Lake Michigan: and the larger inland towns have "water- works." Many of the town families ha\e their own wells and cisterns. The water in every part of this county, where they who use the water have wells, is generally good. Li regard to wells of water, there have been found some peculiar and interesting facts in the county, .^long the line of the Grand Trunk Rail- road west of .\insworth is the Adams' neighborhood. I qu(jte a sentence: "There is a strip running across that neighborhood, about three miles long and eighty rods wide, where good water can be obtained at a depth of from sixteen to eighteen feet. On each side of tliis narrow strip it is needful to go about forty feet to obtain water." Other peculiarities have been found. TOW.XSHIP ORG.\NIZ.\TIONS. The county now known as Lake was "erected out of the counties of Por- ter and Xewton" January 28. 1836, and by act of the Legislature, January 18. 1837. it was declared to be an independent county on and after February t6. 1837. the day on which the writer of this was eleven years of ao-e. At the first meeting of the first board of County Commissioner.s the county was divided into three townships, Xorth, Center and South, each ex- tending across the county from east to west. This meeting was in April, 1837- May 9, 1839. the Commissioners divided the original south township into three townships called \\'est Creek. Cedar Creek, and Eagle Creek townships, 50 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. from tlie names of the creeks running" through them from nortli to south. In 1S43 ^^'i^field tuivnship was set off from tlie orginal Center, named, it is supposed, after General ^^'infield Scott. June 8. 1848, tlie Commissioners took olY a large strip from the north part of Center township, and organized St. Johns township and Ross town- ship, the latter taking its name from our earliest farmer settler, ^^■illialn Ross, a settler in 1833, and the former, probably, from John Hack, the first German settler. \\'hate\'er may have been the boundary lines of the original north town- ship of the county, boundaries were fixed September 5, 1849, for North town- ship, which Ijoundaries give that township as laid down on the map oi Herbert S. Ball in "Lake Countv, 1872." That map shows the ten townships as they were from 1853 until the Calumet township was organized. June 8, 1853, Hanover was taken off from Center I;y the Commissioners and made a separate township. The present Center t(i\vnshi]i was therefore left as it now is, in June. 1853. Hobart township was at first formed Septemlier 5. 1849, '^^t its bound- aries were slightly changed December 6, 1853, and the township then included the sections as sh(_iwn in the county map in "Lake County, 1872," the north part not extending beyond the Little Calumet River. March 9, 1883. its terri- torv was again changed, sections i and 2 in township 35 being given to it from Ross township and its west line, running on the west side of section 2. was extended up to Lake Alichigan, its east lx)undary line following the county line up to the lake. It was thus made fixe miles in width and eight miles long. A strip five miles in width, on the west side of the old North township, was then made a new division of the county, called North township: and !>e- tv.-ccn that and the new township of Hobart, a strip of territory six miles in width e.xtending from the north line of township 35 to Lake Michigan, was made a new township and called Calumet. .\s this took three sections away from Ross, the village of Ross is no longer, as it originally was, in Ross township. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 51 Tlic three original townships of the criunty liave now hecome ele\'en, there lia\'ing been no other clianges since 1883. Red Cedar Lake or tlie Lake of tlie Red Cedars, or as more commonly called in Lake count}' and Ijy the railroad officials, plain Cedar Lake, has some interesting special history. In its original wildness it was beautiful. Job \\'orthington of Massachusetts, \\ho spent a summer and a winter there in 1837 and 1838. said years afterwards that he had thought of it by day and dreamed of it by night, as one of the most beautiful ])laces that he had seen; and as late as 1879 Colonel S. B. Yeoman, of Ohio, who was deciding ujjon a line of railroad to run across Lake county, is reported to ha\e said that whatever interests in other parts of the county might be affected by the location to be made. Cedar Lake was "too beautiful to be left out. promising too much as a pleasure resort." So the proposed road was laid on the west side of the lake, adding nothing, however, to its laeauty, and a ])leasure resort it did indeed become. Solon Robinson spoke of the lake as being in 1834 very attractive to claim-seekers. Charles Wilson in tb.at summer laid a claim on the west side, on section 27. This soon passed into the bands of Jacob L. Brown, and l)v him the claim was transferred to Hervey Ball for S300. So says the Claim Register, date July 18, 1837. The family tradition adds, "in gold." This was much more than the claim was worth, but it was then considered one of the most desirable locations in the county. For some twentv-three years this place remained in the possession of the Ball family and was one of the nrom- inent religious, educational, and literary centers until the pioneer da^-s had ended. Its church, its school, its Sunday-school, its two literary societies, were second in influence to none in the county, .\fter the first settlers, the Brown, Cox. Nordyke, and Batton families sold their claims, the neighbor- hood which was to continue for many years was formed in 1838 by the f(;ur families of H. Ball. H. Sasse, Sr.. H, Von Hollen, and Louis Herlitz: and of these, the last, of the older members of the households, known as Mrs. H. 52 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. \'an Hollen, lias lately passed away, eighty-seven years of age and having lived in the old home for sixty-five years. Younger members of the Herlitz familv vet remain nn what was at first the Xordyke claim, bought from that genuine pioneer sixty-fi\e years ago. On the east side nf this lake claims were located and settlements made in 1836 by memliers of the large Taylor families, of whom the men then in active life were four. Adonijah and Horace Taylor, brothers, and Dr. Calvin Lillev and Horace Edgerton, sons-in-law of the father, Obadiah Taylor, tlien quite an aged man. Records of this family will be found among memorial sketches. These faiuilies gave considerable attention to saw-mill Iniilding and to fishing. On the southwest side of the lake were the two regular fisherman fam- ilies of Lyman i\Iann and Jonathan Gray. They soon left that side of the lake. A PLE.\SURE RESORT. From tlie very first of the settlements in the county this lake had been a favorite place to visit for fishing and recreation by small parties from the growing neighborhoods ; but after cars commenced running on the new road in the spring of 1881, that it would become a large pleasure resort was evident. In April, 1881, Captain Harper, a Lake county man. who had learned to manage a boat on Lake ^Michigan, put a small sailing vessel on this lake. It would carry about twenty passengers. Excursion trains soon commenced running, many row boats were ])ut on the lake, man\- improvements to accom- modate pleasure seekers followed, a se\en hundred dollar steamer was put on the lake in 1883, and one worth twelve hundred dollars in 1884. Other sail Ixjats also came into use. As early as 1884 about two hundred boats of dififerent kinds were on the waters of this lake, and from three to fi\e thousand people would sometimes be visiting the lake in the same week. Since then build- ings have been erected on both sides of the lake and every summer there are thousands of visitors. Almost entirely in these later years has that Lake of the Red Cedars been given up to the devotees of pleasure in the summer time. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 56 and in the winter to the ice Inisiness when busy men fill the Armoiu" and other large ice houses. REM.AIXS OF MAN. Before taking final leave of this lake there is one more item of interest to be recorded. On the first day of October. 1880. two young men. Orlando Russell and Frank Russell, Cdmmcnced excavations for a mill foundation. The spot thev had selected was a lieautiful grassy knoll, a very sunny spot, a few feet higher than the sandv lake lieach. sloping slightly in e\'ery direction. It had l)een, the summer before, a camping ground for many days and nights of a pleasure party, who did not dream as they reposed upon that turf, what dust was slumbering a very few feet beneath their heads. \\'hen on that Octolier morning the work of excavation commenced an unexpected discovery was made. It was found that the top of that mound was artificial, so soon as the surface soil was removed, and as the ])low- share cut into the second laver of earth it struck a mass of human bones, evidently entire skeletons, until the plow reached them, of human Ijeings and in a good state of preservation. As many as twenty skeletons were taken out from a small space of ground, and a tree, under the \ery roots of which some of them were found, gave evidence that they were buried there, apparentlv in one promiscuous heap, two hundred years ago. L.-\RGE LAND HOLDERS. In 1872, about twenty years after railroads began to cross Lake county, the following areas of land were held liy the following named persons: Non- residents of the county: Dorsey & Cline. atout 12.000 acres; Forsyth, 8,000; G. W. Cass, 9,577; J. B. Niles, about 1.800; Dr. Hittle, 1,200; D. C. Sco- field. i.ooo. Residents: A. N. Hart. 15.000: J. W. Dinwiddie estate, about 3,500; Wellington A. Clark. 1.320. In all, 53.500 acres. Calling the area of the county, wet land and all, five hundred sections, the Claim Register says : 'This county contains 508 sections of land, about 400 of w'hich are dry, tillable ground" — and considering each section to contain 640 acres, there are, then, in the county 320,000 acres ; and, according to the 54 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. figures given aljove. in 1872 the representatives of onlv ten families held Due- sixth part of the area of the county. Tliirty years have made cpiite a change in those ten families, and all those tracts of land have heen more or less divided up. The Lake Agricultural Company. President W. R. Shelby of Michigan, still holds cjuite a portion of the G. \\'. Cass land, and William Xiles. Esq., of La Porte, still holds quite a large amount of the J. B. Niles land. The other tract of land now held by non-residents lies on Lake ^lichigan cornering on Tolleston. comprising about 4,000 acres. Real owners unknown. Soldiers of Lake County. Some mention is justly due, beyond what has yet been made, of the men and young men, some of them scarcely more than boys, who so readily left their homes, "To march o'er field and to watch in tent," to fight for their country, and perhaps to die. But of the more than a thou- sand that probably went from the "Homes of Lake," and of the two hundred or UT ire that never returned, of only a few can memorials lie recorded here. There are on one Lake county roll, taken from Volume VIII of the Ad- jutant General's Report, the names of nineteen who died, members of Com- pany G of the Twelfth Cavalry, nineteen who were members of Company B of the Twentieth Regiment; of twenty who were in Company A, Seventy- third Regiment: and t\\enty members of Company A of the Xinety-ninth Regiment. The following are some records concerning a few. Were the material ample it is evident that some selection must be made or the war record alone would make a quite large volume. Colonel John Wheeler. — Born in Connecticut, February 6, 1S25, spending the years of youth and early manhood in Ohio, married in 1846 to Miss Ann C. Jones, a daughter of John D. Jones, himself the son of Johnson Wheeler, who was the father of seven children, in 1847 the ^^'heeler and Jones families becoming residents in Lake county, the home of John Wheeler was for about si.x years in West Creek township. In 1853 he was appointed or HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 55 elected county surveyor, holding the office for three years, l-'or the next four years he was associated with Zerah F. Summers in editing and publishing the Crown Point Register. In iS6i he raised a company of one hundred men, was chosen Captain, his company becoming a part of the Twentieth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. February i6, 1862, he was commissioned Major, and in March, 1863, Colonel. "In July, as Colonel of the Twentieth Indiana Regi- ment, he led his veteran troops on that bloody and decisive field of Gettys- burg, and there fell on July 2d in the slaughter of that terrible conflict." Colonel \\'heeler's line of genealogy, traced backward, is the following: His father, Johnson Wheeler, who removed from Connecticut to Ohio in 1824, and who became a resident of Lake county in 1847, was born in 1797, and was the son of Johnson Wheeler, born in 1754, who was a son of Samuel Wheeler and Ruth Stiles WHieeler. Ijorn in 171 2. who was a son of John Wheeler, born in 1684, who was a son of John Wheeler, of Woodbury, who died in 1704, date of birth not known, who was a son of John WHieeler, who settled in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1644, and had resided in Conc(5rd before 1640, Date of migration from England not known. Ruth Stiles, wife of Samuel \Mieeler, and so the great-grandmother of Colonel \Mieeler, was a daughter of Benjamin Stiles, of which New England Stiles family Dr. Stiles of Yale College was a member : and as Dorcas Burt, of the noted Burt family of Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1658 was married to John Stiles of this same family of which Dr. Ezra Stiles was a member, the probability is that Ruth Stiles was a descendent through Dorcas Burt of Flenry and Eulalia Burt, who came from England also "before 1640." To one who traces lines of genealogy, it is singular how many of the earliest New England families have been, in some generation, connected by marriage. And that those first early families should have intermarried is natural. One line from that same Henry and Eulalia Burt goes down to that noted man. Grover Cleveland. It is certain that there were eight Burt daughters who were married and had many descendants, and it is claimed that there were eleven sons. No man can choose his ancestry ; and no man can be sure of what sort will be his descendants. 56 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Stillmax a. Robbins. — In marked contrast with the foregoing record of one who liad led veteran troops in brilhant and bloody battles, is placed a memorial of a soldier youth. It is copied from a publication of 1864. "Died. In Huntsville. Alabama, July 18. 1864, Stillman A. Robbins, of Company G, Twelfth Indiana Cavalry, aged 22 years and 8 months. There are those who recollect, a few years ago, a bright little bqy, deeply interested in mastering that key to knowledge, the magic alphabet: then, in early boy- hood, leaving the sports of other children, and stealing away by himself with his favorite books, treasuring with care a neglected Sunday-school library; then in the academy the attenti\-e scholar, winning the love of teachers and classmates by obedience and politeness: and soon again in the business of life with a mechanical taste Ijecoming a skillful engineer: and they saw in the child, the boy, and the man, a characteristic nobleness, manliness, and energy, that e\'er attracted attention, and won respect and love. "In November, 1863, when returning after a five months' absence, the 3^oung engineer finding a cavalry company recruiting in his neighliorhood, after spending but a few hours under his parents" roof, enrolled himself as a volunteer. "Soon after the organization of the regiment he was detailed as clerk in the adjutant's oflice. where he soon won the confidence and esteem of all the officers in the regiment by his attention to business and soldierly conduct. At Huntsville he was again detailed as chief clerk in the provost marshal's office, which position he filled for a month with great credit, when he was taken with a fever from which he was just recovering, when a hemorrhage suddenly closed his career. "He sleeps where 'southern vines are dressed above the noljle slain," none the less a martyr to his country than if he had wrapped his colors round his breast in some blood-red field of battle; and there is no nobler grave than that of a patriot soldier. His loss was deeply felt by all the regiment — 'talk not of grief till you have seen the tears of warlike men" — but who shall speak of the loss to those parents who had given up their two brave boys, their all, without a murmur, to their countrv? — C. Ball."" HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 57 The writer of the record just copied was Lieutenant Charles Ball, him- self a member of tlie Twelfth Cavalry, who "was detailed to serve as a staff officer, and was appointed sergeant-major." a position which "kept him gen- erally at the headquarters of the regiment." He sent to his Cedar Lake home very interesting letters, but they are too lengthv to be reproduced here. Some of them are in a publication called "The Lake of the Red Cedars." One incident only will be given here of his many experiences. There was assigned to him at Hnntsville a somewhat dangerous duty. He had taken from his home the best horse for cavalry service that he could find, a good and easv trax-eller and \-ery hardy. "Mounted on this hardy and faithful ani- mal the sergeant-major started from the headquarters and passed out of Hnntsville alone to carrv orders. He knew not what moment the aim of a concealed foe would be upon him, but proceeding upon a gentle gallop, he slacked not rein nor did his trusty steed break his pace, till a ride of about twenty miles was accomplished." It had not the excitement of Sheridan's famous ride, but perhaps it was more dangerous. Miles F. ]\IcCartv. — Another member of the Twelfth Cavalry was Miles F.. usually called Franklin. McCarty. He was the third son of Judge Benjamin McCarty. of \^'est Point, a member of a pioneer family of La Porte. of Porter, and of Lake counties. He was talented and ambitious. He had capabilities which would have de\-eloped nobly under favorable circumstances, but by some means he was not in the line of promotion. He was taken sick at Nashville, or on the way there: and died at Nashville. May 27. 1864. His death was more than usually sad. Four members of Coinpany G died at Nashville. George \\'. Edgertox. — Of two members of Company B who fell at Gettysburg with their Colonel on that bloody field. Jidy 2, 1863. one was George W. Edgerton, a member of a true pioneer family and a young patriot soldier. He was a son of Amos Edgerton, a grandson of Horace Edgerton, and was connected with the large Taylor family of pioneers of East Cedar 58 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Lake. He was a promising youth, and his loss, like that of thousands of others, was a great grief to a fond mother who has herself long since passed to the peaceful shore. Her son fell in one of the greatest decisive battles of the world. M. Gr.wes. — Another youth \\hose life was given for his country was M. Graves, son of Oi-rin W. Gra\es, of West Creek. He was a member of Company A, Seventy-third Regiment, and died at Nashville, December i6. 1862. He was a mild and pleasant boy, too young to bear the exposures of a soldier's life. Nashville seems to have been a fatal place for our soldiers. The record states that of the Seventy-third there died at Nash\-ille Lewis Atkins, Novem- ber 22, 1862; Eli Atwood. November 29, 1862: E. Woods. November 29, 1862; Albert Nichols, December i, 1862: John Childers, December 3. 1862; William Frazier. December 15, 1862: A. Lamphier. January 7, 1863; James Roney, February 8. 1863: L. ^Morris. April 30, 1863: T. ^^'. Loving, Sep- tember 30, 1863; of the Twelfth Cavalry, W. M. Pringle. November 4. 1864; \\'illiam Harland. January 8, 1865; William Stinkle. February i. 1865; be- sides M, F. McCarty and ]\L Graves, specially named. Captain Alfred Fry. — Among those who returned from ^Mexico in 1848 was Alfred Fry of Crown Point, fifteen years older than when he first became a soldier, who enlisted as a private July 26. 1862, and was mustered into the service of the L'nited States as Orderly Sergeant of Company A, Seventy-third Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, August 16, 1862. September 1st of the same year at Lexington, Ky.. he was commissioned Second Lieutenant of Company A. The regiment returning to Louisville he was as- signed to the position of Brigade Commissary. December 2d be was com- missioned First Lieutenant and engaged in the battle of Stone River. He was under fire for si.x days. January 19. 1863. he was commissioned Cap- tain of Company A. His regiment was assigned to Colonel Streight's brig- ade and surrendered in "May. 1863. in that disastrous attempt of about fifteen hundred men to pass through North .\labama to Rome, in Georgia. Cap- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 59 tain Fry"? narrative of the treatment the otficers of the Seventy-third Regi- ment received, after they had surrendered on lionorable conditions, was pub- lished in full in "Lake County, 1872," and presents a very dark picture of man's inlninianity to man. For one vear thev endured the horrors of Libl)}- Prison, and for about one more year were removed from one prison pen to another. Finally they were paroled, February 14, 1865, and in ]\Lirch entered the Union lines. Captain Fry was in a few weeks exchanged, returned to his company, then in Alabama, was discharged in the summer with his regiment, and became again a resident of Crown Point, where he continued to live, engaged in the peaceful pursuits of life, until 1873. Captain John AL Foster. — Of Company G, Twelfth Cavalry, Juhn M. Foster became Captain, promoted from First Lieutenant. His brother, Al- mon Foster, was the iirst captain. They were sons of Frederick Foster, of Crown Point, and brothers of ]\Irs. John Pearce, of Eagle Creek. Unlike the infantry regiments, the Twelfth Cavalry was sent into no great battles and the officers and men had no opportunity to gain promotion through deeds of valor; but the regiment performed a large amount of cavalry ser- vice. Colonel Karge, of the Second New Jersey, who commanded in the course of the war several different regiments, is reported, in a letter written June II. 1865, to have said that the Twelfth Indiana was the best regiment he ever commanded. After the war closed. Captain Foster returned to Crown Point and en- gaged again in the peaceful pursuits of business life. Sons and daughters grew up in his home. He was a worthy citizen: was quite successful in business; and lived tmtil February, 1893, rejoicing in the prosperity of a united nation. As this cavalry regiment gained no distinguished war honors, as the in- fantry regiments did, it seems just to quote a few statements from the report of the Adjutant General of Indiana, see Vol. Ill, showing that its members accomplished a large amount of soldier work in various wavs, in North Ala- 60 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. bama. in Tennessee, in Soutli Alabama and Florida, and (j\er n.iany hundreds of miles of southern territory. Out from Hnnts\ille as a center the men "were emjiloyed \ery extensively in fighting' and ridding the country of guer- rillas and 'bushwhackers." in which numerous skirmishes and engagements were fought." In September, 1864, the regiment was removed to Tulla- homa, Tennessee, and there constantly employed against General Forrest's forces. They went to South Alabama and into Florida, fighting, skirmish- ing, doing different dut_\' from what infantry could do. "The regiment was highly and specially complimented by IMajor General Grierson, in a letter to Governor Morton, for its gallant conduct and military discijiline." No one reading the full report of the Adjutant General could reasonaljly think that the members of Company G failed to do their duty. As to what to do a sol- dier has little choice. Captain D.xniel F. Sawyer. — Officers as well as men in the ranks fell victims to the sickness incident to camp life and to climate. Daniel F. Saw- yer, the first captain of Company A, of the Ninety-ninth, was taken sick and died in Mississippi, and was succeeded in command by K. M. Burnham. Cap- tain Sawyer was from Merrilh-ille, and his body was lirought home and laid away to sleep in the INIerrillville cemetery. Lieutenant John P. Merrill. — One of the sons of Dudley ^Merrill, of Merrillville, John P. ^ilerrill was born October 13, 1843. I" August, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, of the Ninety-ninth Regiment, and in October, 1864, was promoted from the office of Sergeant to that of First Lieutenant. He returned home in June, 1865, and became a merchant. In 1867 be was married to ]\Iiss ?ilartba T. Randolph. He was for many years Trustee of Ross township, and at lenglb, having been elected County Treasurer, lie re- moved to Crown Point. Spending several years of life as an active, useful citizen of Crown Point, he died there suddenly "at 5 o'clock Sunday evening, February 21," 1897. Immediately following the record of his death is the following record : "Ca])tain W. S. Babbitt was liorn in Vermont, December 19, 1825. When HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 61 eleven years of age lie went to sea. Sailed five times around Cape Horn and made three voyages on a whaling vessel. Came to Ross township in 1854. A\'as a soldier in our army in that great conflict, and died, at Crown Point, on the next daw Fehruary 22. one of our national anniversary days. .\ge, 71 years." The "next da}-" in the record here (|uoted means the day after the death of Lieutenant Merrill. Like him he was Lieutenant in Company B, of the Twentieth, Init was transferred to Company C and was promoted Captain. He also remo\ed to Crown Point, where he spent with his family the later years of his life. He did not forget God in the days of peace, of whom he could say as king Davitl once said, "Thou hast covered my head in the day of hattle." hut was an active member of the Methodist E])iscopal church. Such are a few brief memorials of our loyal anil gallant soldier dead. There were many others, perhaps not cjuite so well and widely kncnvn as these., who were e(|ually dear to their special kindred and friends, and of these others a small xdIuuic of memorials might be collected. Of the Twelfth Cavalry there fell in battle or died, at Xew Orleans. Henry Brockman and .Sidney W. Chapman; at Kendalhille, Charles Croth- ers. l'"red Kable, and .Mliert Moore; at Vicksburg, Jacob Deeter; at home, R. L. Indler, !•'. S. ]\Iiller, William Stubby, and Ezra Wedge; at .Starkxille. Ephraim \\. (ioff; at Huntsxille, M. Hoopendall; at ^lichigan City. A. Mc- Millen : making with those elsewdiere named sixteen of whom no memorials are here given. But their names will live and their deeds are on record. Of the Twentieth. Company B, there fell in battle or died, Horace Ful- ler, Wilderness; Lawrence Frantz, Spottsylvania ; John ( Iriesel, David Island; 3.J. Hafey, I^ittsburg; C. Hazworth, ; William Johnson, Petersburg; Albert Kale, Camp Hampton; William Mutchler, Camp Smith; P. Mutch- ler. Washington; James !\lerrill, Wilderness; S. Pangburn, Anderson\-ille; C. Potter, ; D. Pinkerton, ; J. Richmond, Gettysburg; John !•". Farr. Washington; Isaac Williams, Charles Winters, City Point. Sexenteen names without memorials. Of the Seventy-Uiird, Company A, the names not already given in the 62 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Nashville list are these : John H. Easley, Stone River ; R. W. Fuller, Indi- anapolis : J. j\I. Fuller. Gallatin : I. \\'. Moore. ^I. Vincent, Gallatin ; John INIaxwell, Scottsville; C. Van Burg, Bowling Green; E. \\'elch, Stone River: 5. ^^'hite, Blount's Farm. Nineteen names in all, of this company, with no memorial sketch. Of the Ninety-ninth, Company A, the names are: O. E. Atkins, D. T. Burnham; J. Bartholomew and H. H. Haskins at Andersonville; J. D. Clinghan at Huntsville : H. A. Case at La Grange; James Foster and James Horton at Atlanta : R. T. Harris and T. C. Pinnel at La Grange: John Lorey, Adam Mock, N. Newman, at Black River: Corydon Pierce at \^■ashington ; Albert Robbins, a lirother of Stillman Robbins of the Twelfth, dying August 6, 1864; J. Schmidt, Indianapolis; and J. Stickleman, A. \"andervert. and M. Vv'inand, the last one dying "at home," December 11, 1864. Of this com- panv are also nineteen names. Seventy-one names are thus here given following the ele\'en mem()rial sketches. Patriot soldiers all. This writer gives no sketches of the living. A soldier's monument. In 1903 the citizens of the three southern townships. Eagle Creek, Cedar Creek, and \\'est Creek, inchuling as quite central the town of Lowell, determined to erect a monument to perpetuate on lasting stone the names, if not all the deeds, of their brave sons who engaged in the great conflict which commenced in 1861. It is understood that the monument is to cost three thousand dollars, tlie money mostly, perhaps all, raised by the efforts of the public-spirited w^omen of those townships. It is to stand on the public square at Lowell. I --iSCW SOLON ROBINSON <»y r y^ ^ y y /■ j^ y y^ ^ ^ S N JVOAH i\OBi.f:, \ S } ru bim, Ltb*»Aiii*'^«^* ^/r>v,, ^^^^ ^/>,'y^^, -V- 1. w-^ ,/. . . l..r lh.-.- I„ ,.,o, i l,.„i,l. aad cau.eirth, his father killed fifteen wild turkey's, four deer, and one bear. As that father was Thomas Dinwiddie, a well kmnvn early settler in Porter county, and as it is 74 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. on a reliable record that one of the Lake county marksmen in 1S82 shot fifty-nine wild geese in one day, no one should stop to question that family tradition. John Wilson Dinwiddie's family line goes l)ack through Thomas Din- widdle, his father, and Da\'id Dinwiddie, his grandfather, to David Din- w'iddie. his great-grandfather, a Scotch-Irish settler at Marsh Creek, Penn- sylvania, about I7-|0. Alembers of fhe old Dinwiddie family of Scotland were pioneers in Pennsyb.ania, in Ohio, in LaPorte county, Indiana, in Porter, and in Lake. J. W. Dinwiddie li\"ed for some tiiue with his father and sister at Indian Town. Ijut afterward made his home at Plum Grove, where he obtaineil quite a large tract of land. He spent a few years in business life at Crown Point, but as the pioneer days closed and the railroad period of new life commenced he made his final home upon his Plum Grove farm and commenced farming work there on quite an extensive scale. His prairie land ar.d marsh land consisted of about three thousand and fi\'e hun- dred acres. He was married August 19, 1844, to Miss M. J. Perkins, of Rome, New ^'ork. They had three sons and two daughters. Their home was well supplied with material comforts and with books and periodicals, and in that home was done a large amou.nt of reading. The father held for some time the ofrice of township trustee, and built, for that day three large, good frame schoolhouses. It was said of him in a memorial record : He "was recognized as one of the most energetic, and prudent, and thorough business men and farmers in the county, an excellent manager, firm in principle and successful in carrying out his plans, and was ra])id!\' advancing in the accumulation of property, when sickness came unexpectedly upon him and then death. He died April 12, 1861, being forty-seven years of age." The descendants of his sons and daughters are many, and his influence through them will live long in northwestern Indiana. They are members, active and enterjirifing. of two large organizations, the Dinwiddie Clan of Lake and Porter counties and the Old Settle;- and Historical .\ssociation of Lake countv. JOHN W. DINWIDDIE HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 75 Michael Pearch, of Eagle Creek township, was a quite early settler. He located a claim about 1838, before the Land Sale. He was born in Ohio, February 20. 1808. He was married in 1840 to Miss Margaret Jane Din- widdle. He was a farmer, but held the offices of Justice of the Peace and of School Trustee. He died April 4. i86t, of typhoid pneumonia, and his death, at that exciting time in the history of the country, made, with that of his wife's brother, J. W. Dinwiddle, a great loss to the community. He has three sons now li\ing and four daughters. Also many grandchildren. The attentive reader mav notice that one cluster of families in the county have the name written Pierce; the other, these Eagle Creek families, write Pearce. Ebexezer Saxton, a nati\e of Vermont, who had resided in Canada for some time, in the year of the Patriot \A'ar, 1837, sold his farm in Canada on credit, and m a wagon drawn by oxen started with his family for Detroit, distant four hundred miles. That journey was safely made. Following the westward movement, in that year of very large migration, the Saxton family passed onward from Detroit toward Fort Dearborn, or the young Chicago, taking no doubt the then well traveled stage road, till they reached Deep River at the new town of Liverpool. Here they f(jund a ferry boat, and eight families, it is said, went on board with their ox teams. The boat sank. The families were at length taken across the ri\-er, the boat was raisedi, refitted for service, and the ox teams were ferried over. The Saxton family started southward into the new Lake county, their means now reduced to five dollars in gold. Reaching Turkey Creek the oxen for the first time on that long journey were stuck fast w^th their load in the deep mud. Two dollars was the sum of money paid here to some man for helping them out. He ought not to have taken anything. [It is in the kno^dedge of this writer that the streams of Lake county were full of water and mud, or perhaps quick-sand, in the spring and early summer of 1837. He h.ad abundant reason to know.] The Saxton family, with three dollars remaining, passed on to wdiat 76 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. was the old McGwinn Indian village and burial ground and dancing floor, then known as Wiggins Point, where the}- found the Wiggins cabin and sought shelter and rest; and where at length, for many years, they made their abode. This family brought into the county a sea shell called a conch, which according to family tradition came over with Ebenezer Saxton in the May- flower, and has been handed down from one generation of Ebenezer Saxtons to another till it reached the one who came to Wiggins' Point. He met with more than the ordinary trials and disappointments of frontier life, but passed through them as became a descendant of a Mayflower family, was a prominent citizen of what became the village of IMerrillville, and lived to a good old age. He has left at Merrilhille some worthy descendants. SiGLER. — :S.\MUEL SiGLER chosc, in 1 837. a location, as some others did, on the sandy soil north of the prairie belt. His log cabin remained for many years on a "sand hill north of the Sykes" ])lace." He was another of the early settlers who had reached middle age. He had four sons, Samuel. Eli, Daniel, and William, all of whom l^iecame merchants. He had three daughters, one of whom became the wife of Hon. Bartlett ^^"oods. The father of these seven children, the living one of whom is aged now, died at Hebron about forty years ago. WiLLi.'VM SiGLER was a merchant for man}- years at Lowell. He was born December 31. 1822, in Clarksburg, which is now in ^^'est ^^irginia, and so was fifteen years of age when the Sigler family settled in this county. In May, 1848, he was married to Miss Margaret Lee. In 1881 he removed from Lake county to Englewood and afterward to La Grange, where he died in 1902, nearly eighty years of age. • Of the nine members of the Sigler family of 1837 one only is now living. Mr. Eh Sigler, of Hebron, for many years one of the principal busi- ness men of that town. He has a son in Crown Point. Mr. E. Sigler, jeweler, and a daughter, Mrs. \\'. B. Brown: and William Sigler has a son in this county, Charles Sigler. the hotel builder at Cedar Lake. Samuel Sigler, the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 77 pioneer, has ir. the county other grandchildren. His descendants are to be found in other family lines. Belshaw. — George Bel.sh.\\v came from England, with quite a large family, in 1834. The family located for a short time on Rolling Prairie in LaPorte county, where the older daughter. ?klary, was married. The family soon came to the south, part of Lake Prairie, that lieauty of the In- diana prairie belt, and there settled on farms in this cnunty of Lake. The sons were George. William, Henry. Charles, and Samuel. The daughter wdio came to Lake Prairie was named Ann. She died in 1846 when eighteen years of age. Her memorial is in the "Lake of the Red Cedars. '" This family, with the exception of two sons, remoyed to Oregon in 1853. where George Belshaw, who had married the younger daughter of Judge McCarty, became a large and noted wheat-raiser. William Belshaw, who remained in this county, had yisited England in 1846 to see once more his birthplace, and in 1847 '"'''^'^^ ^^^^" '"'ii'i'ied to T\Iiss Harriet A. Jones, continuing to liye on his Lake Prairie farm, died there in Xoyember, 1884, seyenty-one years of age. Of his three sons. one. Edward Belshaw, now liyes at Lowell. His daughters are, in number, also three, all married and well settled in life. Hexry Belshaw. the ring of 1832. then twenty-one years of age. he went with his father s famih- into Michigan Territorv. a member of a true pioneer family in that newly settled region, a large tract of land in Indiana and Michigan ha\ing that year been purchased from the Pottawottamie Indians. He remained some time with his father in ^Michigan and learned the art of brickmaking. In 1838. about December, he went into LaPorte county, Indiana, and culti\-ate(l a farm there in the summer of 1839. In 1840 he came into Lake county and settled on a farm a mile east of Crown Point, where he lived throagh the remainder of a long. acti\-e, useful life. In 1841 he commenced making brick according to the slow and lalxiri- ous process of those days, and made one million before he discontinued the business. He was a constituent member of the Crown Point Presbvterian church, one of its first Elders, and from his official position was widely known as Deacon Mason. He lived to be eighty-six and a half years of age, a highlv valued and valuable member of the church and of the communitv. 80 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. • His father died in [Michigan about 1850, seventy-five years of age, and his mother, born in 1777, died in 1871, wanting only six years of filHng out a century. Before Deacon ]\Iason's death, feehng that he would soon pass away, he requested tlie writer of tin's memorial to take down from his dving lips, while his mental faculties were still good, the foregoing outline of a long life. Surely no one more riclily than he deserves the name of a zcorthy pio- neer. Such men lay good foundations as builders of states or counties or neighborhoods : and many such helped to make Lake county as virtuous as still it is. Let their names be honored. John Underwood was one of three brothers, Harmon Underwood and Daniel Underwood, the other two, who had farms, one, two, and three miles east from IMerrilhille. His sisters now living are Mrs. Harper, ]\Irs. Joy, and Mrs. Palmer. He carried on a farm for many years. He was County Commissioner in 1858, and a debt of gratitude is due to him for preventing by his tact a proposed loss of territory from the county. Unknown, perhaps, to many of his neighbors, he was decidedly a poet. This writer calls him the poet of Lake county, and he knows of nothing written in Indiana, of the same style of poetic composition, to excel "El Muza" and "Lindenwald" written b}- the plain farmer. John L^nderwood. His style of writing is very different from that of James W'hitcomb Riley. It is not humorous. It is not pathetic. It may not be called popular. But it shows much historic reading and a \-ivid fancy, good descriptive jMwers and a love for beauty in scenery and nobleness and greatness in human action. "El ]\Iuza" is a Spanish tale of love and war in nine cantos, pages 148, and one who can read with interest Sir Walter Scott's "Vision of Don Roderick," ought to read with interest "El Muza." "Lindenv.ald" is a larger work, pages 165, also nine cantos, and deals also with war and human love. It is historic. Is called a "Tale of the "Siege of Vienna." The author says in his preface, "The year 1683 will ever HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 81 be memorable in Austrian history as the last invasion by the Turks and the siege of Vienna.'" That the author liail read European history to some pur- pose is evident, and a cultivated mind, interested in historic poetry in which facts are interwoven with poetic fiction, will find interest in this. Lake county has no writer who can equal these poems now. PR.MRIE WEST PIONEERS. Among a few very early residents who were considerablv advanced in life was one of the settlers on Prairie West in 1836, Rich.\rd Church. Some of his children, even then, had families of their own. He had lived in Michigan Territory for a time, but before that became a state he made his last home in Lake county. Indiana. He was one of the pioneer Baptists of the county, taking an active part in the organization of the first Baptist church. He had a large family of sons and daughters, nearly all of whom were men and women in 1837. His home, the home of his son. Darling Church, those of his son-in-law, Leonard Cutler, of his near neighbor, W. Rockwell, of Mrs. Owen, a widow woman from Wales, of Mrs. Leland with several sons, of John Bothwell. were the early homes of what was called for a few years Prairie West, all of which prairie is now thickly cov- ered over with the homes of the German settlers who have spread out from the Hack and Schmal center at St. John. The work of that very worthy citizen, Richard Church, was done more through his children than by himself, as only a few years of active life were assigned to him here. Another of the early settlers well advanced also in life, was William Rockwell, a near neighbor to the Church families of Prairie West, one of whose .sons, W . B. Rockwell, was born in 1813 or 1814. and the other, T. C. Rockwell, in 1817. The Rockwell family orignally came from Con- necticut, residing for a time in Xcw York state, where these sons were born. The Church family came from X'ew York, stopping for a time in Michigan. A son of the Church family. Darling, the father of Edwin Church, had mar- ried a daughter of the Rockwell family. There were other daughters of the 82 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Rockwell family. The father. William Rockwell, was for some time Couiitv Commissioner. Tlie date of his election is gi\-en as 1840. His date of set- tlement i? 1837. He died in 1855. when ahont seventy-four years of age. He must therefore have been about fifty-six in 1837. Both the sons left the farm and became citizens of Crown Point, ^^'ill- iam B. Rockwell, commonly called liy his familiar friends Commodore, was twice married. Bcjth his wi\-es died, one in 18G6. the second in 1876, and left no children. He still kept up his interest in life and in the town. He was for some time a town Trustee. Many years ago he bought for two bundled dollars forty acres of land which contained a cranberrv marsh. The yield that year proved to be large, the price was high, and he cleared on the one crop fifteen hundred dollars. His own time tO' die came in 1896. T. C. Rockwell, the other son, was married in 1845 to ^tliss JNIalinda Brown. He bought hotel property in Crown Point which was well known for many years as tiie Rockwell House. He retired at length to private life, occupying a neat residence on Court street. Two daughters, Airs. \\'ard and Mrs. Raasch, reside in Crown Point, and three sons have Ijeen in busi- ness life for many years. These all ha\'e families, but not so large as was their grandfather's family who had the honor of being one of the last asso- ciate judges of Lake county, elected a little time before the oflice was abol- ished in 183 1. [Note. — The name Commodore, so generally given to ^\■illiam B. Rock- well, is said to have been applied to him from Commodore Perry, who in September, 1813, achieved so great a \-ictory on Lake Erie: and as William B. was born in September, it seems much more natural that the title of Com- modore should have been applied to tbie babe then born, than to one born a whole year after that noted victory.] Ch.\rles L. Templeton was born December 2, 1816, and became a resident of this county in 1840, and died Jnnuary is, 1899. eighty-two years of aoe. He was an active and useful citizen in dift'erent lines of effort, as a farmer and promoting the Grange movement and interests, as a friend of Sundav-schools, encouraging the early celebrations, and aiding through HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 83 almost sixty active years tilings that were good. His wife was a daughter of W. Rockwell, of Prairie West, and sister of \\'. B. Rockwell and T. C. Rockwell, of Cro\\"n Point. A. X. Hart, the large land owner and business man of Dver, came to Lake county from Philadelphia about 1835. He had been interested in book publishing. A large work in four richl_\ bound volumes is in the possession of this writer. It is called "The National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans, with Biographical Sketches." Publishers. D. Rice & A. X. Hart. 1854. It is a grand work, massi\-ely bound, richlv gikled, v.-ith man)- portraits, and although it is fifty years since these volumes passed from the hands of the binder they look as though just issued from the press. \\'ith all the modern improvements of the last fifty years, no better portraits or more substantially bound books can easily be found now. That the man who was engaged in publishing such books should come with his family to the sand ridge of Dyer, and should accjuire possession of so- much of the wet land eastward included in the original Lake George, is one more of the facts that show how fortunate Lake county was in having among her settlers such capable men as those that came from New England, Xew York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. GERMAN PIONEERS. There began to come, in the early period of the settlement of this county, immigrants from the old kingdom of Prussia, from Hanover, from Wiir- temberg, and different principalities now united in the great German Em- pire, to find homes on these then open prairies and to make farms in the then untenanted woodlands. Since that early period tb.ere have followed them families from Sweden and Xorway, from Holland and Poland, from Bohemia and Italv, and other European countries, making a mixture of languages and nationalities resem- bling the great mixture in the city of Chicago. Some memorials of German settlers will follow here. John Hack was born in 1787, in a Rhine province that passed from. 84 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. France to Prussia, and came into this county with a quite large family in 1837. He was the first German settler so far as known. He established a home on the western limit of what was called Prairie West. Receiving- the hospitalities of that family one August night in 1838, the v.-riter of this memorial made the following record: "In the summer even- ings the family would gather around an out-of-doors fire, the smoke of which would keep off the mosquitoes, and sing the songs of their native Rhine region, presenting a scene at once picturesque and impressive." Their two guests, while ignorant of the language, could enjoy the music of those beautiful evening songs of the "father-land." Those early Germans did much singing in the evening and when out from home in the still night hours. The night music is no longer heard. Another record of John Hack is this: "Tall and dignified in person, patriarchal in manner, clear and keen in intellect, he was well fitted to be a leader and a pioneer." He had large views of government and looked closely into the genius of our institutions." In 1838 the four families of Joseph Schmal, Peter Orte, Michael Adler, Matthias Reder, came from Germany together and settled near the Hack family, and others soon followed. In 1843 on the Hack land was erected and consecrated a Roman Catholic chapel and regular religious services were held. The founder of the settlement, near whose early home spot is now the town St. John, lived to see great changes in the land of his adoption. Greater ones, of which he never thought, his descendants in Crown Point now behold. Times Change. Joseph .Schmal, one of the four who crossed the ocean in 1838, had quite a family of sons and tlaughters. He was not a young man and did not become very fully americanized ; but one of his sons, Ad.^m Schmai., became prominent in political life, and held for two terms the office of county Treasurer. Another son, bearing his father's name, Joseph Schm.-\l, became a prdminent farmer at Brunswick. One daughter, marrying a son of tlie Hack family, Mrs. .Angelina Hack, was for many years an active, energetic, well known, and much respected woman in the life of Crown HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 85 Point. One of her sons. John Hack, two miles east of Crown Point, is one of the noted (lair)'men of Lake ct i JOHN KROST HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 87 in !iis iiio\-emenls. In social i|ualitics Ik- was kindly, gentlemanly, gen- erously disposed, urbane. He was a menil)er of the Lutheran church, a useful, worthy citizen, a noble Christian man. His two children are residents of Crown Point, A. A. Sauerman, Cash- ier of the First National Bank of Crown Foint, and Mrs. Henry Pettibone. His grandchildren are in number four, among them one voung man to bear and perhaps transmit the Sauerman name and virtues. John Krost. One more of many citizens of favored Lake county wdio by means of talent and intelligent effort became prominent was Ji.ihn Krost. Born in Germany in 1828, he became a resident in Hobart in 1853, where for one year he was clerk in a store : then for about six years a clerk at j\Ier- rillville, and a farmer for two years; and then lie made his final home in Crown Point. He was elected county Treasurer in 1862 and continued in office till 1867. In 1868 he was elected county Auditor and held that office for eight years. He was accommodating and very coiu'teous, he was kind and gen- erous to the poor, the needy, and the unfortunate or the unsuccessful. He was an exemplary member of the Roman Catholic church. He accumulated quite an amount of property, and his home on Main street was one of com- forts, of social advantages, of cultivation and refinement. His children have been educated. He died in Alarch, 1890. not only one of the wealthy, but one of the most kindly and gentlemanly of Crown Point's many cultured citizens. One of his sons is a physician in Cliicago, and one a medical student at Rush. One is a dentist in Crown Point, gentlemanly and kindly as was his father. One has been county Recorder, and one is in Germany, learning the ways of his father's nati\-e land. Three daughters are living, educated and cultivated, and the sixth son is a student at Notre Dame, South Bend. The names of several early citizens of Crown Point are placed in this group wiili only short notices or brief records, as of some their residence here was brief, and of others not much is now fuUv known. 88 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. MiLO Robinson, a brother of the founder of Crown Point, joined his brother here in November, 1835. He came from New York city, was with his brother in the first store, he kept the first hotel, was a Justice of the Peace, and, as did his brother Solon, solemnized marriage, but died in 1839. H. S. Pelton, an early resident, came into possession of the Robinson store about 1840. An active business man in Crown Point for a few years, he died May 26, 1847, sri<^ his goods passed into the ownership of Carter & Carter of New York, and soon after into the possession of J. W. Din- widdle, who for a time was a merchant in Crown Point. Joseph P. Smith came from New York and "settled July 5," 1836, in Crown Point. For several years he was a leading business man, and also the principal military man. He led a company of men to the Mexican war and returned with some of them. He was the second county Clerk holding office from 1843 to 1847. After some years he went into the then wild and yet new West, and was shot at and was killed by those noiseless but often deadly weapons, Indian arrows. Captain once of the Monroe Blues in the city of New York, a man quite fond of military life, it seemed strange that he should fall while at work in his field by the hand of an unseen American Indian. Judge Clark. \\'illiam Clark was born about 1788, probably in New York or Nevv England, in what was called "the East,"" and became a quite early settler in Jennings county, Indiana. His wife \\as Miss Ann Campbell, for whom in.quiry was niatle at Crown Point a few years ago in order to fill up a genealogical record. In February, 1835, the Clark family came with ox teams from Jennings county to Lake county. They came with three sons, Thomas, Alexander, and John F., and two daughters. Margaret, who was married to an early settler at Crown Point, W. R. \\'illiams (a descend- ant according to family tradition, of Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island), and Man- M., who was married to Benjamin Kellogg. Judge Clark was active and prominent, along with Solon Robinson, as one of the proprietors of Crown Point, where his log cabin remained for HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. S9 some years near the present East and South streets. He afterward hved two miles east on a farm. He died in 1869. He had a stout, vigorous frame, but was not tall in person. Thomas Clark, his oldest son, was married by Judge H. D. Palmer, January 23, 1839, to Miss Harriet Lavina Farwell, whose home was on the west side of West Creek, south of the present village of Brunswick. The marriage party, some on foot and some on horseback, which passed up the next day to Lake Court House, was, for those days, quite an event. The writer of this is probably the only living witness. They were active members of society in their day, keeping for a time the hotel known as tlie Mills and then as the Rockwell house, and for a time living on the farm two miles east where Mrs. Farwell. Mrs. Clark's mother, died, and a burial procession passed over that same road back to the cemetery south of Brunswick. Both Mr. and Mrs. Clark closed up life many years ago. Some of their descendants yet live in Crown Point. Alexander Clark. Judge Clark's second son. born in Jennings county, November 4. 1822. was married to A'liss Susan Wells (a pioneer child of De- cember, 1835). November 5. 1848. He became an enterprising and prosper- ous farmer, living two miles east of Crown Point, where he died in 1879. Mrs. Susan Clark and her daughter, now Mrs. John ^L Hack, still reside on the farm, near a cluster of grand oak trees which must ha\-e seen more than one generation of Indians pass away before the white settlers came. HoLTON. Associated with the Clark and Robinson families in Jennings county, and associated with them here in starting a settlement and a village and at length a town, were the members of the Holton family of 1835. The two sons were, J. W. Holton, commonly called Warner Holton. and W. A. W. Holton, usually called \\'illiam Holton. The following is their line of descent from their English ancestor: i. William Holton came from England in the ship Francis in 1634. He died in 1691. 2. John Holton, his son. died in 1712. 3. William Holton of the third generation died in 1757. 4. John Holton of the next generation died 90 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. in 1797. 5. Joel Holton was born in 1738. 6. Alexander Holton, the lawyer, the father of \\'arner and A\"illiam. was born in 1779. 7. J. W. Hol- ton (\\'arner) was born in 1807. The two brothers became, with their mother, of whom in another chapter a record will be found, and with their sister, members of the little hamlet formed in the center of Lake countv in 1835. They were connected with learned and cultivated men of the Holton line, and, of their mother's seven sisters, — that mother was Harriet Warner of Xev>- England — one was ^Irs. Robinson, wife of the wealthy governor of Vermont, one was Mrs. Stuart, wife of the wealthy Judge Stuart of Vermont, one was Mrs. Bradley, wife of a Vermont lawyer, one was ]vlrs. Brown, wife of a Massachusetts lawyer, and yet another, ]Mrs. Hitchcock, was also wife of a Massachusetts lawyer. With such family connections and in such a line, the Holtons would be expected to be intelligent, if they were early Indiana pioneers, and intelligent they all were. W. A. W. Holton was the first Recorder of Lake county. He was also School Examiner and could examine a candidate for a teacher's license in fifteen minutes, finding out very readily whether one was intelligent or ig- norant. Prominent and useful citizens of the county in its earlier years, Warner Holton at length removed to Arkansas and there died, and ^V. A. W. Holton closed his quite long life in Oakland. California. His father and mother both born and speiiding their early years not far from "the Bay where the Mayflower lay." and into which the ship Francis sailed, he spent his last years where the great Pacific dashes its waves upon our golden \\'est. Jonathan Warner Holton (J. \\'. ) vras the first white owner of the land wdiere is now the Crown Point public school building, making his claim on the southeast quarter of Section 5, Thirty years after his settlement, in 1835. wdien the ground was secured for the Crown Point Institute, in 1865, the old orchard was standing. Richard F.\ncher, an explorer here in 1834. a settler in 1835. lived for a short time on the bank near the little lake where he first made his claim, but finding an Indian float on all of Section 17, he was soon counted in with the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 91 families of the village. He was boni in iSoo. He hadfive daughters, and these became Mrs. J. C. Xiclmlson, ]\Irs. Alton, Mrs. Sanford Clark, ]Mrs. J. Clingan. and I\Irs. Harry Church. Excepting himself the family were Pres- byterians. He lived to a good old age and died at the home of his daughter, ^Irs. Clingan. in 1893. Russell Eddy, born in Pittstown, New York, in April, 1787, son of General Gilbert Eddy who commanded some of the New York troops in the war of 18 12. himself at the same time a paymaster in the army, afterward a merchant in the city of Troy, married to Miss Ruth Ann Wells, of Massa- chusetts, coming to Michigan City in 1836, became a resident of Lake Court House in 1837. His was one of the first if not the ven.^ first frame dwelling house, and it is probable that in his home was the first piano in the county, one b.eing there in 1838. He was for many years an influential citizen, the family having, for those years, abundant means, his wife a leader in the Presbyterian church and her home a resting place for ministers, a home for some time for the first resident Presbyterian pastor. Rev. W. Townley; and in that home a young, beautiful, and refined daughter, Ruth Ann. She married young and died young, leaving no children. And neither in Lake county, nor yet out of Lake county, are there any bearing the name of Eddy to claim descent through Russell Eddy from General Gilbert Eddy of New York, and hold the position in society that once was theirs. Some families have a large increase in members and in wealtl; in two or three generations; some fail to keep up their ancestral position : some lose the ancestral name. Fowler. Anotlier true j^ioneer. and in fact one of the earliest dwellers in th.e hamlet that grew into the county seat was Luman A. Fowler. He was born in Eerkslnrt county, ^Massachusetts, October i, 1809. He came with Henry Wells in the fall of 1834 and spent one night with some explorers on the wooded bank of the Lake of Red Cedars. He returned to the camp of Solon Robinson and with his small company, six in all, himself making seven, he spent the winter. There were t\^■o other families before the winter closed, twenty-one persons in all, that made up the hamlet. In 1835 Luman A, Eow- 92 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. !er went to Michigan, then a territory, and in October was married to i\Iiss Ehza Cochran, born in New York October 2-j, 1816. In December they came to the hamlet wliere he had spent the last winter. Travelling in those days was more expensive than it is now, for the Fowler record of expenses for the first year has this item at the head of the list: ".\mount of money paid out from the time of starting to the landing on Robinson's Prairie is $83.00." Their first child was born in October, 1836, Harriet Ann, and eight other children, four sons and four daughters, followed her into the household. These eight all married and their descendants are many, some in Lake county, some are out of the county. Luman A. Fowler became fully a public man. He was elected Sheriff of Lake county in 1837, in 1847, 1849- i" 1^59' ^^^i, thus holding the office for ten years. One of his sons, born in Crown Point and still residing in Crown Point, has held the office of town or city marshal. A Manufacturer. M.\.TOR C. F.\RWELL, a son of James Farwell, an early settler on the west side of West Creek, while not among the earliest was quite an early settler and resident of Crown Point. He had learned to work iron and soon left his father's home, went into School Grove, put up a blacksmith's shop and made plows. In 1841 he moved into Crown Point, then the new county seat, and in 1842 built a hewed log shop, stocked plows, and began to make wagons. He also made a few buggies and some cutters. About 1851 he sold his establishment and went "westward" on the direction which it is said "the star of empire takes." Somewhere on the other side of the ]\Iissis- sippi, it is probable his dust is sleeping. He spent some five years in Colorado and Idaho and Montana, and afterward resided in Carthage, Missouri. He may be called Crown Point's first plow, wagon, and bugg)- maker, Bartlett \\'oods. No history of Lake county could lie complete, no memorial records of the founders and builders of Lake county would be suf- ficiently full, without some mention of one known in later years as Hon. Bartlett Woods. Born Julv is. 1818, in Winchelsea, England, jjrougiit up in HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 93 tliat noted cinque-town called Hastings, where his father was postmaster for some forty years, in 1837 he crossed the ocean with a brother. Charles Woods, and came to this newly organized county, being then nineteen years of age. He little knew then what was liefore him. but e\-ents proved that until Alay. 1903. his life was to be closely interwoven with the growth and the interests of th.e county of Lake. He became a farmer. He was married to jMiss Ann Eliza Sigler, who was born in 1827. and who died October 6, 1900. He re- sided for many years on his farm between Merrillville and Ross, and at length retired with his wife and youngest daughter to Crown Point. He had received in England an education such as became a postmaster's son, but had not taken a Rugl-y or an Oxford course of study. He was through his life here a reader and a thinker, and became a public speaker and a writer. His public, political life commenced in the fall of 1848, when he was thirty years of age. The event was "the first free soil meeting in Lake county." The following influential and then active citizens are named as having l^een present: "Judge Clark, Alexander AIcDonald, Wellington Clark, Alfred Foster, Dr. Pettibone. Luman A. Fowler, William Pettibone, John Wood, of Deep River, Bartlett Woods, Jonas Rhodes, Samuel Sigler, David K. Pettibone. and Dr. Wood of Lowell." Besides these who are named there was an audience filling the room of the Log Court House. Judge Clark was chosen to preside and W. A. Clark and Bartlett Woods were Secretaries. After this quite enthusiastic meeting held September 16. 1848. ]\Ir. Woods made arrangements to go out wdth Alexander McDonald, the lawyer of Crown Point, and deliver free-soil speeches. Lito this campaign he entered heartilv, and he wrote in 1884, "From this time on. Lake county's free-soil idea grew in strength. It was the germ from which the Republican Party sprung." (Lake county had been strongly Democratic rather than \Miig). He adds: "Its large Republican vote attests this. Its vote for Fremont, for Lincoln, and for Grant and Colfax, and for Colfax all through his congressional course, gained for it the honor of being one of the banner Republican counties of the .State." In 1861 and in 1865 he was elected State Representative. yi HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Besides his interest in political affairs, he took a large interest as a farmer in the Grange movement and in farmers' institutes. As a pioneer whose date of residence here went back to the year of the organization of the countv he was thoroughly interested in tlie Association of the early settlers, and was an officer for man}- years of that organization. And as a friend of what he re- garded as right, the older supporters of law and order passing one by one away, he came more and more to the front, in conflicts of opinion or of inter- est, ready to confront what he thought was wrong and to advocate what he believed was right, until he became for Lake county what John Ouincy Adams became for Massachusetts, "the Old Man Eloquent." And not only with his voice but with his pen. which he freely used, he set forth the views which he held and advocated until he was about eighty-four years of age. He has four sons living and three daughters, and a number of grandchildren. J.\MES H. Luther, ^^'hile not at first a resilient within the area that liecame Lake county, James H. Luther passed "back and forth" along the Lake Michigan beach as early as 1835 and 1834. his father's home then Ix-ing in Porter or La Porte county, himself being nineteen years of age when he made his first trip around the south border of the great lake. He came into Lake county in 1840 and became a resident or a visitor long enough, to be- come deeply interested in a Lake county girl, ^liss P. .\. Flint, a member of that large IMethodist Flint family, yet to he mentioned, of South East Grove, whom he married, two ^Methodi^^t ministers selecting wives also from that large cluster of attractive girls. He went back with his ynung wife to Porter county l)ut became a resident of Crown Point in 1840. That young wife soon passed away from him and went o\er the unseen river. leaving him with some young l)ovs that needed care and training. About 1852 he married a widow, Mrs. M. ]\I. Mills, and until 1854 kept the hotel then known as the Mills and afterwards as the Rockwell house. The second wife proved to be a good mother for his own and for other motherless children. In i860 he was elected county Auditor aufl held the office for eight years. His material interests prospered year by year and he at length became JAMES H. LUTHER HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. 95 one of the capitalists of Crown Point. He was a g-enerous. kind-hearted man. of refined feehngs and sympathies, a man also of good judgment, a man to make an excellent member of any organization, and one to he selected as a good neighbor and friend. For some reason or for no reason that could be named, from the tirst time that they met as strangers to each other in 1853, when he did a large kiiiflness. until the \ery last year of his life in 1803, '^^ seemed to take, amid all the changes of forty years, a large and peculiar in- terest in the welfare of the writer of this memorial record. And this friend- ship as marked bv deeds was the more singular on account of the great differ- ence between the two in their religious beliefs. An earnest, active member of the Old Settler and Historical A.ssocia- tion, for some years its Treasurer, James Henry Luther was in his eightieth year when he passed to the unseen world. He has one son yet living. John E. Luther, and a sister, ]\Irs. Allman, both ha^■ing• homes in Crown Point. Another citizen of the county, who like 'Mr. James H. Luther, passed around the south shore of Lake ^lichigan in early days, was James Adams, of Rose township. His name is gi\-en to a schoolhouse east of Alerrillville toward Holjart. He was a stage driver on the line from Detroit to Fort Dearborn, on the road opened in 1833. He was liorn in ^Nlanlius, Xew "S'ork, September 11, 1814. In 1837 he was sent from Detroit to Fort Dearborn, now Chicago, in the month of January, by Governor Mason and General Brady, as a messenger to have the soldiers from the fort sent to Detroit. It was the time of the Patriots' \\'ar in Canada. The sleighing was then good. Warmly clad, furnished by General Brady with good fur gloves, carrying in- structions to ha\-e the best horse furnished for him at each stage house, he was to make the distance, 284 miles, in twenty-four hours if possible. The stopping places where he could change horses were from twelve to fourteen miles apart. He ga\'e the attending hostlers onlv a few moments to change horses, requiring each time the best horse in the stable, and he reached Chicago or the fort in twenty-eight hours, leaving Detroit at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and reaching the fort at 8 o'clock on the next afternoon. Ten miles an hour for stage horses was very good .speed. They were not race horses. 96 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. In 1842 this experienced driver, horse-man, in a good sense of the word, he quite snrelv was, settled on a farm in Ross township, and there hved a use- ful farmer life till July 31, 1896, then nearly eighty-two years of age. A daughter with her mother, her husliand, and two children, still hold the Adams farm. An Early Explorer. T.NMES Hill, horn in Kentucky, May 29. 1810, was not one of the earliest settlers, hut he was an early, a very early visitor and explorer in this region, and his name is entitled very justly to a place among these memorials of a past generation. He w'as one of the few of our citizens born south of the Ohio River. His father, William Hill, was a Captain of militia in the State of Kentucky and died in 1822. The young James Hill soon after made his home with the family of James Lloyd, and in 1827 they removed to Decatur county, Indiana. Here, in 1838, James Hill was mar- ried to Miss Mary Skinner of the State of New York, and here he became acquainted with William Ross, a resident in Decatur county. In February of 1834, then twenty-three years of age, four years before his marriage. Tames Hill made an exploring expedition into the new Indian Purchase, this Northwestern Indiana. He found a few white families, he saw tlie Indians in their wigwams, and, coming into what became Lake county, he found, already settled, W^illiam Ross and family, who as early as 1833 left Decatur county and had established a home among the Indians and amid the wild denizens of the Deep River woodlands and the not distant prairie. But finding the snow-covered prairies and the leafless oaks and the Indian wigwams not sufficiently inviting to induce a lone young man to settle then, he returned to Decatur county, was married, commenced farm life, and deferred his actual settlement in Lake county till 1853, when the delightful pioneer years had passed. In Cedar Creek township, near what is now called Creston, he bought three hundred and twenty acres of land and there hved for many years, a prosperous, useful, faithful citizen. He was a very noble- hearted man, patient amid many trials, kindly and true and generous in the HISTORY 01- LAKE COUNTY. 97 different relations of life. One daughter is living. Mrs. Henry Surprise, a kindly and a noble woman, and two sl of medi- 102 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. cine was dififerent from the others wlio have lieen named. His professional Hfe was short. He fixed up a pleasant home and left in it. when he went from earth, besides his wife, two sons and one daughter. The other name is that of Dr. I\I. G. Bliss, coming here as a retired physician, opening and carrying on for som.e little time a drug store which was at length destroyed by fire, causing to him a great loss, and then taking a new course of lectures in Chicago, opening an office and acquiring" consid- erable practice as a physician of the Eclectic school. He had nothing on which to start and, unlike the others, he did not, he could not, accumulate; but he was for some thirty vears here a kind, good-hearted, successful phy- sician, a very pleasant, kindly man, and a school Trustee for many years. He has in Crown Point two sons and two daughters. A Lawyer's Record. The first lawyer of the county has been named in ditTerent connections, Alex.\xder ]\IcDox.\ld, whose home for some years was on East street, who died in that home in 1866, one of whose daughters is ^Irs. Belle Lathrop of Florida, and one Mrs. H. S. Holton, and one is the wife of Dr. Poppe, a physician settling here in 1870 and after some }ears removing to Chicago, all now living. Lawyer McDonald's date of location in Crown Point is 1839. Before that time he had a residence at or near what became Lowell. But the next lawyer, and the one whose record was here to be given, was Martin \\'ood. He was an earlier resident in Crown Point than ]\Iajor Grififin. The record is, "April 4, 1848, he came among us." The pioneer modes of living were soon to end, but he was well adapted to help on the ending and to press forward into the new. As many a young man had done before his day and as many have since done, he taught for a time in a public school. He opened a law office. His next step was to secure a partner, not for business but for life, and he wisely selected a minister's daughter. Miss Susan G. Taylor, of Pleasant Grove, to whom he was married August 26, 1849. Besides being a lawyer and looking after the interests of his clients, he secured a small farm of fifty-five acres close to the town, having a taste for HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 103 agricultuial or horitculturai pursuits. Ten acres he encldsed with ornaniental trees, as many as twenty varieties he put on his grounds, some of tliem quite rare varieties, and he set out about eiglit hundred e\'ergreens, inchuhng arbor vitae, red cedar, Norway spruce, Scotch pine, white pine, vellow pine, silver spruce, Austrian pine. Weymoutli pine, Siberian arbor \-itae. I>alsam fir. and juniper. He set out fruit trees to bear apples, pears, cpiinces, and peaches. He gave attention to small fruit. He did not neglect his law- business nor political life while doing all this. It will probalily be long before Crown Point has such another citizen lawyer as was he. There was force, energy in his ^•oice and movements. He spread a quantity of ink on paper when he wrote. His frame, as to his body, was stoutly built, compact, but not above medium height, and his manner, to a stranger, might have seemed slightly brusk. But he was the very man to contend earnestly for the cause he believed to be right, and was in reality of a kind and gentle disposition. His speeches were not polished, but in them and through them there was force. He acquired a large law practice and entering to some extent into political life he represented Lake county for two terms in the State Legis- lature. Hon. [Nlaitin Wood was born in Ohio, November 26. 1815. He died at his pleasant home Monday morning, September 5, 1892, being nearly seventy- seven years of age. He had four sons and three daughters who are all now living and active in the busy world, making money, gaining honors, doing good. Cleveland. Among the lawyers of Crow-n Point forty years agO' was one wdio came as a child into this county in 1837, a son of Ephr.\im Cleve- L.^ND, wdiose family were active Methodists and Sunday-school workers at Pleasant Grove in the very beginning of Sunday-school organization in the county. This child, Timothy Clevel.vxd, was born November 22, 1829, in the state of New York, and so was about eight years of age when the family came to Lake county. He passed the years of boyhood and youth at Pleasant Grove, settled at Crown Point as a lawyer in 1863. gave some attention to 104 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. journalism and some to farming, published a paper, the Herald, for a short time, and lived to be seventy years of age. He was a man of strong Chris- tian principle, and manifested, when it was called out, a rare Christian spirit. His older daughter, Miss Helen Cleveland, was for several years a prominent teacher in the Crown Point pitblic school and is now the wife of Professor Weems of Valparaiso. The younger daughter. Miss Cynthia E.. was married July 17, 1898, to Mv. Joseph Baker, of Valparaiso. One son, Charles A. Cle\'eland, is carrying on a printing office at Hammond, and Walter W. Cleveland is a printer in the Star ofifice at Crown Point. Another son, Otis W. Cleveland, married a daughter of J. S. Holton and is living in Crown Point. The Cleveland family of the east and south is large, but where the Lake county family connects back in the old ancestral line is not here known. Another genuine Christian lawyer was James B. Turner, a member also of one of the true and substantial pioneer families of 1838, himself then a youth .seventeen years of age. He was a son of Judge Samuel Turner of Eagle Creek and a brother of Judge David Turner of Crown Point. He left the Eagle Creek farm, studied law, settled as a lawyer at Crown Point in :86i, established a reputation as "a very refined and a Christian man," and died in August, 1866. He was married in 1848 to Miss Austria C. Lindsley. They had no children, but adopted a boy who was called Walter Turner. Hon. J. W. YoucHE. A later resident than these that have just been named, and a much younger lawyer, was Julius W. Youcue. He was born March 4, 1848. m Saxony, the son of Frederick William and \\'ilhel- mine Pfeifer Yonche. He was brought across the Atlantic when two years of age, and the home of his childhood and youth was in the state of Ohio. The Youche family were Lutherans. In that faith he was brought up. He came into Lidiana and completed a course of literary studies at the State University at Bloomington. He then came to Crown Point as a teacher; was principal of the Crown Point public school in 1870. then twenty-two years of age. He went to Ann Arbor in Michigan, graduated at that uni- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 105 versity as a law student in 1872. He returned to Crown Point and com- menced the practice of law. January i, 1873, he was married to Miss Eunice Higgins, the only child of Dr. Higgins, of Crown Point, and in that home, which l^ecame the Higgins- Youche mansion, one of the costly and spacious and beautiful residences of Crown Point, he resided for twenty-eight years. He was a model son-in-law; a good citizen; an exemplary and devoted husband and father; a man of refined feelings and of cultivated taste. He was scholarly in different lines. As a talented young lawyer he had risen rapidly in his profession. He was a state senator, was vice president of the Crown Point National Bank, was a trustee of the State University, and "was for many years." as said one of the best and most cultivated lawyers of the count)-, "easily the leader at the bar of this county, and a leader in north- western Indiana." He died January 2, 1901, nearly fifty-three years of age. Unlike one of our older lawyers he had not opened a little farm and set out trees and shrubbery ; but his love for nature was large, and his enjoy- ment of geologic and historic research was keen He had accumulated in his professional life quite an amount of prriperty. and had collected a large and valuable library. He has left one son, Julian Higgins Youche, now a college student, talented and ambitious, climbing up toward fame and success. To him and to his mother, to Crown Point and to Lake county, the loss of such a man and such a lawyer, in the prime of manhood, has been great. Of him it was said when he first came to Crown Point, that he was an unusually con- scientious and inoffensive young man, and this noble trait, to avoid giving ofifense, he retained through life. Of those representing the earliest pioneer times iv> one retained the peculiarities of a few settlers more fully than one well known in all Old Settler meetings, Amos Horxor. Ihe Hornor family came from the \\ ''abash region. In the eyes of the New England and New York children they were in appearance, in dress, in language, genr.ine '"Hoosiers." Most of that family in a very few years 106 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. • returned to tlie Wabash, and the others from that locality, as the large Xor- dyke family, Wiles, Bond, and others, returned or went westward to other frontier regions. But Amos Hornor remained. He was born ^lay 19, 1813. He was of Quaker descent. His father. David Hornor. continued to use the Quaker forms of speech. In 1834 a few members of the family came up and made claims in Octo- ber and November on the west side of the Red Cedar Lake. In the summer of 1S35 more members of the family came up. and Amos Hornor. then twenty-two years of age, came with them. They cut grass for ha}-, put up some cabins, and returned once more to Tippecanoe county. In November, 1835, the Hornor and Brown families removed to Lake county, and this date established by documentary evidence, the Claim Register, marks the commencement of Amos Hornor's residence in the county. He was quite desirous at one time of being considered the first or one of the first settlers in the county only second to Solon Robinson and a \ery few others. But no man can go back of the testimony of the Claim Register, on whatever points it gives testimony. After the return of his father's family to the Wabash Amos Hornor resided for some time at Crown Point. Soon he was married to Miss Mary White, one of the }oung belles of Crown Point, daughter of ^Irs. Sally Wliite. afterward Mrs. \\'olf, of Porter county. The marriage took place in Porter county, July 4. 1844. She lived less than a year. And he was again married. June 24, 1849, to a widow woman now. and not a young girl, Mrs. Sarah R. Brov>n. He made his final Imme at Ross, and with her he lived many peaceful years. They had two daughters. One is not now living. I\Irs. Sarah Horner at length died, and a third wife, Airs. Amanda M. Co- burn, January 10, 1892, took the vacant place. In a few years his own time came, and Amos Hornor. of Ross, the last representati\-e of the Hornor and Brown families of 1835, departed from among the living August 25, 1895, nearly eighty-two years of age. For al- most sixty years he had trodden the soil of Lake county and amid all the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 107 change? of the last half of the Xineteenth Century he retained to a large extent the characteristics of h'S youth. In all Old Settler meetings at Crown Point and at Hehron he took a large interest and was always ready to rehearse tlie experiences of early years. B.\LL. — The name. .\msi L. Ball, occurs c|uite frequently in the earliest history of Lake county. He was one of the more mature men active and prominent in laying the foundations of civil and social institutions. He came with his son, John B.a.ll, from the State of New Y'ork in 1836. To which band of the large family of Balls emigrating from England between 1630 and 1640 he belonged is net known. In March, 1837, an election was held at his house, also at the house of Russell Eddy and at the house of Samuel D. Bryant, at which election, having received seventy-eight votes for county Commissioner, he was elected for three years ; but he resigned this office in the summer in order to be a candidate at the August election for Representative to Indianapolis. Lake cixmty voted for him, l>ut Porter county, with which Lake for some years was united in electing a Repre- sentative, did not. He gave up a certaintv for an uncertainty and so lost both offices. He was rather tall in person, a fluent speaker, a man capable and ambitious. He was, as the political parties of those days were desig- nated, a Democrat, and Solon Robinson, who had been the "Squatter King" of Lake, was a strong Whig. Politically these two, both ambitious men, were not friendly, and each had the credit in those days of defeating to some extent the political aspn^ations of the other. Amsi L. Ball, while not holding office, continued to be an influential and prominent citizen, luit, about 185 1 or soon after, he returned to the State of New York after a resi- dence here of about fifteen years. Of his son's sojourn here but little is known. Jones. — Levi D. Jones, whose name is on record as a grand juror at the first term of the Lake Circuit Court, in 1837, must have been an early settler, but further records concerning him have not been found. Damd Tones vv-as an earlv resident in Porter countv and then near the 108 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Hurlhurt Corners, and, retiring from his farm life at length, he li\-ed for many years on East street in Crown Poin.t, an exemplary chnrch .memher and a quiet citizen, where he died in 1895. He had se\'eral children, of whom one son and one daughter live in Crown Point. W. G. ]\IcGl.\shon, who came to Crown Point in 1846, was very closely identified with the business interests of the town for manv vears. He was some of the tune clerk or salesman, and his positions will indicate some of the business houses of former years. In 1850 he became clerk for \\'illiam Alton, then a leading merchant. Afterward he was clerk for Turner S: Bissel, successors to J- W. Dinwnddie; then for D. Turner; for Turner & Cramer : and for Strait. He was in these stores for four years. Then he was in the store of A. H. Merton, successor to Turner & Cramer: then clerk for John G. Hoffman. In these two stores for three years. It was now 1S58 and he went into business for himself. In i860 he bought a stock cf goods in Boston and then took in as a> partner M. L. Barber. He kept the postoffice, and when the railroad came through the town he did the express business. He next bought out M. L. Barber, and at length closed out his business and in 1867 retired to a farm about four miles south of town. In 1871 he returned to the town and to business life. He at last Avent to the A^/est and died there, a very aged man. He was rather low in stature and quite portly. A true man. He was born in Quebec, October 19, 1814, was married in Vermont in 1833, and lived to be eighty-two years of age. That Vermont wife, Mrs. McGlashon, is still living with an unmarried daughter in the West. Her great-grand- children live at Hammond, the children of Dr. Turner. Summers. — Among those who have aided largely in building up Crown Point and the county the name of Zer.mi F. Summers is prominent. He was a son of Judge Benjamin Summers, of Ohio, and was born in Ver- milion, Erie county, Ohio. July iCi. 1829. He came to Crown Point, where he had several relatives, in November, 1854. He had received a good business education, which included also surveying and civil engineering. HERMAN C. BECKMAN HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 109 In 1S55 and 1856 he assisted the county surveyor, Jolm Wheeler, wlio was one of his relatives, and with him in 1857 bought out the Crown Point Herald and issued. August 4, 1857. the first number of the Crown Point Register. He was elected count}- Clerk in 1859 and held that office till 1867. He also held other offices, as school Examiner, town Trustee, and was appointed real estate appraiser for the county. In 18^)5 he erected a warehouse near the railroad depot and commenced shipping grain. He also erected a grain building at Le Roy, then called Cassville. and bought and shipped grain. In this grain liusiness he continued until his death in 1879. He had spent several months, probably in 1869 and 1870, as surveyor and civil engineer, on the line of what was then called the Vincennes, Danville, and Chicago Railroad, a business for which he was well fitted. About one half of his life, nearly twenty-five years, was given to different interests in Crown Point and the region around, and the results of his work and influence will long remain. He took a large interest in the North Street Baptist church, of which he was a Trustee and where his daughters attended Sunday school, and for which, had he continued to live, he would have no doubt done much more. Pie came to Crown Point when twenty-five years of age. August 2, i860, he was married to Miss Margaret M. Thomas, a daughter of Ambrose S. Thomas, Esq., of New York. One son, an only son, Wayland Summers, is living in the West, and a daughter, Mrs. Jennie Webster, lives in Chicago. In a somewhat lengthy memorial in "The Lake of the Red Cedars" he is well called an active, upright, useful, honorable citizen; a kind, obliging, faithful friend; a loving, generous, tender husband and father; with a very refined and noble nature. In his official and business life he enjoyed \-ery largely the confidence of his fellow citizens throughout the county. Beckman. — The principal merchant in Hanover tinvnship, first at Han- over Center and then at Brunswick, was Herman C. Bfxkman. He was born in 1822, he came to America in 1S46, he was married in 1852, he com- mencetl business as a merchant in 1855, he was elected countv Commis- no HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. sionei" in 1867. he was postmaster at Brunswick for twenty-nine years, he accumulated a good amount of property, and died at Brunswick in 1894, an upright, kindly, highly respected citizen. He had several children who became estimable members of society and are li\ing now. Livingstone or Livingston. — Xcar the beginning of the railroad period there came from Europe to Lake county S.\muel and Jane Livingston. There were nine sons, Robert, John, Sam, Joseph, James, \\'illiam, Hart- ford. Thomas, and ]\Ioses. Six of these sons went as soldiers in the Union Armv. There were three daughters, in all twelve children, making another quite fair-sized family in the county. The mother, Mrs. Jane Livingston, died in February. 1879, and the father in ]\Iarch of the same year. Robert Livingston, who was married fifty or more years ago. had ten children, two sons called Sam and Moses, and eight daughters, yimiy of the daughters became teachers in the public schools of the county, and at length married and became active women in domestic and social and religious life. Robert Livingston, living for many years on a farm a mile west of Crown Point, died October 13. 1895, nearly eighty-six years of age. He was born near Belfast in L-eland. of Scotch-Presbyterian descent, and was a member of the Twentieth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers in our Civil war. Family Lines from Scotland. While many of our early settlers were descendants of Pilgrims and Puritans and Quakers or Friends, and of Scotch-Irish, who had lived for several generalions m Xew England and New York and Pennsylvania, there were others whose ancestors came from Scotland but a few generations ago. Three of these closely connected families bear the names of Fisher, Brown, and \\'.\LL.\CE, and for the genealogy here given I am much indebted to "Lake County, 1884," a book containing many valuable records, but now "out of print." Fisher. — Alexander Fisher was born in Ayr, Scotland, in 1801, and came to Montreal in 18 18, and soon after went into Schenectady county, HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. Ill New York, and there, in 1819, was married to ^liss Agnes Brown, who was bom at Paisley, in Scotland, and was a danghter of Alexander Brown, who came to the United States in 1S05. Alexander Fisher and Agnes Brown were commencing American life almost in their youth. They had eight children. Three of their sons and one daughter hecame residents of Lake county, Lidiana. One of these, William Fisher, born in 1825, is now living at Hebron in Porter county. Thomas Fisher became a resident here in 1851. He was married to Miss Mary Brown, daughter of another Alexander Brown, a settler at South- east Grove. He was for many years engaged in the manufacture of brooms at Crown Point. He liecame quite wealthy. He had no children. John Fisher, the third of these three sons of Alexander Fisher from Scotland, was born in Schnectady county, New York, in 1832, became a resident in this county in 1855, and was married in 1865 to Miss Joanna \\'illey, a danghter of Mr. George \\'illey, of Hanover township. He was a surveyor and held the office of county surveyor for many years. He had many excellent traits of character. He was a generous friend. He took a large interest, as did the Willey family, in the Association of Old Settlers. He became a member, in his later life, of the Presbyterian church. He died March 7, 1897, leaving one son, George \\'. Fisher, to occupy his place in the Masonic lodge and as county surveyor, in the activities of life, and, per- haps some day, in the church. Brown. — Alexander Brown, who came to the United States in 1805, has been already mentioned. Besides his daughter Agnes, who also has been mentioned, he had a son named John. This John Brown, bearing a name that is noted in the martyr history of Scotland and England, had six sons and two daughters. One of his sons, Alexander F. Brown, was born in 1804, August 25th, Ijefore his grandfather. Alexander, came to America, was married in 1835. and became a resident of this county, at Southeast Grove, in 1840. He was going on prosperously, with his Scotch enterprise and industry, when his life was unexpectedly terminated in 1849. He left 112 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. three sons and two daughters, two of the sons and the daugliters are now living in Crown Point. TItc sons and one daughter are among the wealthy citizens. There came also to Southeast Grove in 1840 a brother of Alexander F. Brown, another of the six sons of John Brown of Scotland, who was known as John Brown, Jr. He was never married. He made his home for many years with the Crawford family west of the Grove, which home was near liis farm. He was quite a prominent citizen. Yet another of those six sons, William Brown, the youngest probably of the six, also came to Southeast Grove, but as he is still living his record does not come in here. George Brown, the youngest son of A. F. Brown, was born May 5, 1849, the year in which his father died. He was married in 1869 to jNIiss Turner, of Eagle Creek township, a sister of ^Irs. T. Pearce; he continued farm life at the Grove; became interested and active in Sunday-school life; and died June 21, 1878, leaving three sons. Alexander, \\'illiam, and Herbert. The record of the two living sons, John Brown and William Barringer Brown, of Crown Point, is to be found elsewhere. Wallace. — This name, so fully interwoven in the history of Scotland, calls to mind the old days of Robert Bruce and Sir William Wallace and the heroes and patriots of that age. Lyman Wallace, the first of the Lake county Wallace family in Amer- ica, was born in Washington county, New York, in 1800. His first wife was a native of Vermont, and had one son, William Wallace, and three daughters. Hi'-, second wife was also a native of Vermont. She was burn May 4, 1798. She became the mother of five daughters. He came with his wife and these daughters to Southeast Grove in 1843 from Genessee county. New York. He died at Southeast Grove in 185 1. Four of the daughters became mistresses of families, Mrs. John Dinwiddie, Mrs. Starr, Mrs. William Brown, and Mrs. Parkinson. The influence of these closely connected families has been large on the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 113 material interests of Lake county, extending through more tlian sixty years. Some of its members have been active also in church and educational lines, and they have all taken a commendalile interest in the Association of early Settlers. English Settlers. Jonas Rhodes was one of those early settlers, the Woods brothers, the Haywards. the Muzzall family, and a few others, who from among the "cot- tage homes" and the "stately homes" of fair old England, of which Mrs. Hemans has so beautifully written, came to found for themselves new homes as beautiful as they might make them, in this, if not a fairer, yet certainly a broader, a much more roomy land, this land we call America. Jonas Rhodes made his settlement in 1837. not on the border of one of those prairies which were to the New Englanders generally so beautiful and so attractive, but on the sand ridge and amid the wooded growth of what is now Calumet township ; and a little place that has lately sprung up, called Glen Park, is near what was his early home. Without knowing what would take place in a few years he selected a location near which more than one railroad line now passes. The years passed with him as with others busily and pleasantly engaged. Children grew up in his home. He did his part in developing the resources of the county, aiding enterprises that were good, prospering in his activities of life, and reaching a good age. He was a pleasant man with whom to meet. He was much interested in the first published history of Lake county, and once remarked that he thought the weather record it contained was worth the whole price of the book. He has in this county a number of descendants. H.\vw.\RD — Five brothers by the name of Hayward, and not the tra- ditional three, came over from England and settled, in 1837, i" Lake county, Indiana. These were called in their father's home Charles, Thomas, Henry, Alfred, and Edwin. Charles Hayward settled a little distance from what is now the stone church of Ross township. His brother, Thomas Hayward, settled not far eastward towards Hobart. The other three brothers, settling in the same lU HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. part of the county, not far from the claim of Bartlett \\'oods, are still living in the ^^'est. A son of Charles Havward is Edwin Hayward. the second in this county to bear that name, and two sons, George Hayward living near Hobart, and Oliver Hayward, are the two sons of Thomas Hayward, who died in March. 1904. after a residence in the county of sixty-six full years. Thomas Muzzall. also from England, with a mother and two sisters, residing a short time m Canada, became also a settler in the same neighbor- hood in 1837. All these English families became good Americans and valu- able citizens. They all selected the same part of the county a little north of the prairie belt. Their descendants are now among the prosperous and enterprising citizciis of Crown Point and Hobart and the far ^\'est. Charles M.\r\ix, a pioneer of 1S36, was born August 4, 181 1, in Norwich, Connecticut. In his young manhood he spent about two years in South Carolina, visited Xew Orleans, went up to Alton and then to Lock- port in Illinois, in 1S33. In 1835 ^^^ ^^'^^ married to Miss Charlotte Perry, and with her mother came into the western edge of Indiana in 1836. He and Mrs. Perrv located claims, and those claims were included in Lake county HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 115 when that was organized. He sold his first farm, now in Hanover, near Brunswick, to Henry Sasse, Sr., alwut 1839. In 1851, then a widower, he was married to Miss Ehza Fuller, a daughter of Mr. H. S. Fuller, of West Creek. Ahout 1881 he sold his second large and valuable farm and bought the old Judge \\'ilkinson place, where he built a stately residence. He there died in 1892, nearly eighty-one years of age. He was a noble example of true manhood and was noted among Lake county pioneers for the urbanity of his manners. He was a true gentleman. He had no children. He had .some kindred at L(ick])ort, and there his body was taken for burial, although for fifty-six years he had been a citizen of Lake. Jackson, Farley. — Two New York or New England families, that be- came closely connected by marriage, came in the true pioneer days to the southwestern part of the county, and helped to form what became known as the West Creek neighborhood. Joseph Jackson, coming here from Michigan in 1837, was born in 1793, probably in New England, but lived for some time in New York State, and then in ^Michigan. In the spring of 1837 he came and located his claim, in the summer he came again with liis son, Clinton Jackson, and his son's family; and removed with his own family in October, 1837, from Monroe county, ^Michigan, to Lake county, Indiana. They came with teams, and were nearly three weeks on the way. There was an early snow that fall, and on the first morning of their journey they f(jund the ground covered with snow. They had started on a warm, bright, October afternoon. Mr. Jackson took with him some dr\- goods and groceries and opened the first store in that part of the county. In 1838 a schoolhouse was built, and one of the family. Miss Ursula Ann Jackson, became teacher of the first school in what is now West Creek township, .\fter sex'cral years of farm life the family removed to Crown Point, put up l)uildings, kept hotels, and the father, J. Jackson was for one term the fir'^t county Auditor. After a residence in this county of nearly twenty years, an active, useful, very substantial citizen, in the spring of 1857 111! HISTORY OV LAKE COUXTV. he rcniovecl to Iowa, lie was lor two terms of office Mayor of the city of Wapello, and lived to be nearly ninety-five years of age. Benjamin Farley came with his family to the West Creek neighbor- hood also in 1837. He was born in 1781. in Xew York, and came to this coiintv from the State of New York, and was when he settled here well on in middle age. He had five sons and two daughters. He lived here only a few vears. His tombstone is m the West Creek cemetery. One of his sons, Zebulon Pierce Farley, was married to jMiss Amarilla \^aleria Jackson, daughter of Joseph Jackson. Z. P. Farley, bom April 14. 1821. is still living, but not now in this county. In our civil history and in our Masonic history the name of Farley will remain. Hatuawav. Haydex. — Into this same \\'est Creek neighborhood there came two other families having now many living descendants and repre- sentatives. Peter Hathaway was tlie head of one of these families and Nehemiah Hayden of the other. Peter Hatliaway. a native of Xew Jersey, was born, according to one record, in March. 17S2. was married in Xew Jersey, came into New Y^'ork and about 1839 became a citizen of this county. Three sons are named in the early Sunday-school history of the county, Silas, Abram, and Bethuel ; and there were probably several other children. Indeed, one record sajs there were twelve in all. of sons and daughters. The mem- bers of this large, pioneer family were active church and Sunday-school work- ers; and worthy successors of such a valuable family reside in the same neighborhood now, members of the third and fourth generation. Xehemiah Hay'den was a pioneer settler of 1837. Some other early settlers of this same neighborhood were Henry Tor- rey. in 1837, — a bridge across \\'est Creek in 1838 was called the Torrey bridge: John Kitchel, settling probably in 1836, of whom not much is now known: AniN Sanger, a settler of 1838: and X^. Spalding. This West Creek or Hathaway and Hayden neighborhood soon became a very prosperous portion of the county, and a flourishing religious center. Here was erected one of the earliest church buildings of the county. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 117 Spalding. — Heman M. Spaujinc. .'iie of nine cliiklren of Heinan Spalding of New England, settled in Lake county in .\ugust, 1837. in the Hathaway and Hayden neighlxjrhood. He had five sons and four daughters. One of the sons is Joshua P. Spalding, of Orchard Grove, and one is Dr. Heman Spalding, of Chicago. Tiie father was born in 1809. He was a good citizen. Sanford D. Ci.akk. — l<"ur many years one of the noble, useful, exem- plary citizens of Crown Point, Sanford D. Clark, was not a pioneer settler. In our earlier years of settlement he was a prosperous merchant in Ohio, and in the spring of 1839, before the land sale, he came to this countv on horseback, and furnished some relatives and acquaintances with money for entering several claims. For himself, so far as land was concerned, he seems to have made no provision. Near the beginning of the railroad period he became a resident of Crown Point: from 1864 to 1872, be was county Recorder; he took a deep interest in the war for the Union, and especially in the discourses of the three resident pastors, J. L. Lower, T. C. Stringer, and T. H. Ball, being himself what was called an "abolitionist'" in those days of conflict of opinion, and approving of "the underground railroad." thoroughly religious, a member with his wife of the Presbyterian church. very unselfish, true-hearted. He at length removed to a western state and li\ed to be ninety or more years of age. Valuable in the society of Crown Point was bis life for the many years while he remained here, and in these memorials of useful citizens it well deserves a place. Patten or Patton. — John H. Patten, as he wrote the name, born January 10. 1801, came to Lake county from the East in fulv, 1852, after the real ])ioneer days had ended and much of tlie foundation work in building up society had been done, yet his family found sufficient work for them in the railroad periofl then coming on. He bad nine .sons and seven daughters, but only seven of the sons became residents here for much length of time and five of the daughters. lis HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Of tlie third and fourth generations there are now many members of this large family and they write the name Patton. The father, J. H. Patten, died in November, 1865, and Mrs. Patten, his wife, born in 1799, died in May, 1867. She was probably the mother of more children than any other woman who has lived and died in tliis county. Three of the sons, Seymour Patton. James Patton, and Joseph Patton, are still living in the county, and one of the seven daughters, IMrs. Colby, lives in Crown Point with her daughter, the wife of the lawyer, J- Frank Meeker. The Christmas and New Year's family dinners have been in years past large and interesting gatherings. Bryant. — The Bryants, Bryant Settlement and Pleasant Grove, have been mentioned in the Outline History. David Bryant made a settlement in 1835 at Pleasant Grove, but was not a permanent resident. His wife died in March. 1836, and. although he was married again, in the spring of 1838 he removed to Bureau county, Illinois, and staid some years. He then went to Missouri and lived there a few years, returned to Illinois, then went to Ohio, probably to his earlier home and staid five years, and then again, in 1853, became a resident of this county. In 1854 he brought into the county one thousand and sixty-three sheep. He went again to Illinois for a short time, and returned, and again made visits there. He made his last Lake comity home with his daughter. Mrs. William Fisher, then living at Eagle Creek, now in Hebron. A younger daughter, a Lake county girl for a number of years, is still living in this state, Mrs. Ora Doddrige. Mr. Brvant was a very sociable, friendly man. of religious principle, and a church member. Born about 1797. It was said of him when seventy- five vears of age, "He is growing feeble, but retains the use of his mental faculties.'" His memorial belongs to this county of Lake. Of the five Bryants who commenced in 1835 the Bryant Settlement, and some of whom gave to the grove the name Pleasant, Simeon Bryant. David Bryant, E. Wayne Bryant. Samuel D. Bryant, and Elias Bryant, who joined the others in the fall of 1835, few of them seem to have made it a permanent home. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 119 Simeon Bryant staid about one year and removed to Indian Town, over the line in Porter county, soutli of the present town of Hebron, and there made his permanent home as a citizen of Porter. Samuel D. Bryant returned to the original home in Ohio and staid a few years, then came again to Lake county and bought at length, in 1854, a farm south of Southeast Grove, near what is now the Center School House, and there spent the remainder of his days, living to be more than eighty years of age. Elias Bryant, according to a Porter county history, died on the Pleas- ant Grove farm, but a son. Robert Bryant, in 1854, settled in Porter county, south of Hebron, where many Bryant families now reside. They have crossed over from Lake into Porter. E. Wayne Bryant, who had a brother, Jacob Bryant, living in LaPorte county, a pioneer of that countv. arranged for a family home in the Grove. As earlv as the fall of 1836 he provided a room for a school, where the children of the Settlement were taught by Mr. Bell Jennings, "a veiw excel- lent man." He also aided in starting a Sunday school for the children in 1838 or 1839. He was a valuable pioneer. He bought some hand mill- stones of Lyman Wells, another early settler, and in the winter of 1836 and 1837 had them arranged to be run by horse power, and ground corn and buckwheat for all the neighbors. This little mill continued to- grind for two or three years, and at one time there were in the mill, so^ says one of the family, over three hundred bushels of grain waiting to be ground. Miller. — There was beyond any room for doubt an early mill seat found and a mill built on Deep River. The Claim Register, which is author- ity, says : "^\'illiam Crooks and Samuel Miller in Co. Timber and Mill Seat." Claim made in June, 1835, but settled in November, 1834. Locality, Section 6, Township 35, Range 7. W. Crooks from Alontgomery county. This William B. Crooks was elected, in 1837, Associate Judge, and a "Per- mit" v/as granted, July 31, "to Samuel Miller to retail foreign merchandise at his store on Deep River." Tliat he had a mill and a store is certain; but 120 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. of himself very little is known. It is said, and this is tradition and not history, and for its accuracy no good authority can be named, that his wife was part Indian, that he had sold property at Michigan City for eighty thou- sand dollars in gold and silver, and that much whiskey, as well as other articles of "foreign merchandise," was sold at his store. This last particular is no doubt true. If the gold and silver tradition is true, he must have been the most wealthy adventurer who came into the county in those early years. He made no long stay at that store but sold it to A. Hopkins, who soon sold it to H. Young, and he sold the mill irons to a mill builder, and for himself opened a gun shop which he kept for several years. A gravel road crosses Deep River now at this locality and a few years ago some of the old timbers of Miller's mill could still be seen in the waters. Somewhere there may be descendants of this Samuel Miller. Note. — Since the above was written there has come into my hands a little book of autobiography by Dr. James Crooks, a son of Judge William B. Crooks, who it seems was also a physician, and Dr. James Crooks says that his father settled at Michigan City in the spring of 1834. This James Crooks was then eight years of age. He says that Samuel Miller was then the principal business man of that place, that he "owned considerable real estate, houses, a store, warehouse, and a schooner." He also says that his father. Dr. W. B. Crooks, removed into what became Lake county in Novem- ber, 1834. and that in the spring of 1835 his father and Samuel Miller com- menced building a mill on Deep river. After narrating many interesting recollections of his childhood in Lake county he at length says that his father .sold out, in the spring of 1838, "his possessions in Lake county to Samuel Miller of Michigan City," for one thousand dollars, and that five hundred dollars was paid "in gold." So Miller must have had some gold. He further adds that "Miller failed a short time afterwards." In June of 1838 the Crooks family left Lake county. RuFUS Hill, an early resident in Pleasant Grove, perhaps as early as 1839, is noted for having one of the ^■ery largest families in the county. Credible authority gives the number of his children to be twenty-two. These were not all the children of one woman. The names of six of his older sons were Welcome, William, John, Charles, INIartin, and Richard. There were six daughters of corresponding age, and then younger sons and daughters that made up the number. He lived to be over eighty years of age. JOSEPH A. LITTLE HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 121 New Hampshire Settlement. Joseph A. Little, son of Captain Thomas Little, was the seventh in descent from George Little who came from London to Newbury, Massa- chusetts, in 1640. The given names of his ancestors were, George, Moses, Tristam, Enoch, Jesse, Thomas. The names of sixty-five hundred descend- ants of George Little have been collected. The family of Thomas Little came into the then open and wild and beautiful center of Lake Prairie, and with the Gerrish, Ames, Peach, Plumer, and Morey families, formed wliat was known as the New Hampshire Settle- ment. The Wason family was soon added to the number. Joseph A. Little was torn in Merrimack county. New Hampshire. May 24, 1830. In 1859 he was married to Miss Mary Gerrish. He became a suc- cessful farmer and large wool-grower, keeping large flocks of fine wool sheep. He represented Lake county in the Indiana Legislature in 1886 and 1887, secured excellent farms for his sons in the Kankakee lowlands, and was laid aside from a life of acti\-ity and usefulness by the messenger, death, February 19, 1892. In the records of the Association of Old Settlers his name is in- erasibly written. He had three sons and three daughters. Abiel Gerrish, one of those men of mature age who came from New Hampshire to Lake county, was also the se\'enth in descent from Captain William Gerrish, who settled in Newbur)-, Massachusetts, in 1639. The given names of the men in this line are: William. Moses, Joseph, who had thirteen children, and who \\'as accustomed to swim across the Merrimack River near its mouth every year till he was over seventy }'ears of age, Stephen, Henry, Hem-y, Jr., and Abiel, who came to Lake Prairie. He was born March 7, 1806. at Boscawen, New Hampshire. His mother was Mary Fo.ster, daughter of Hon. Abiel Foster, of Canterbury, and her mother was Mary Rogers, daughter of Rev. Daniel Rogers, of Exeter, New Hampsliirc. who was the sixtli in descent fnmi jdhn Fiogers, of London, who was burned at Smithfiekl, Fel)ruary 14, 1535, the first martyr in the reign of the "l)Ioody Queen Mary." The first was one of those ''small childien." as represented in that pictured 123 HISTORY OF L.\KE COUNTY. group upon which so many Xew England children have looked, who on that dark day in England's histon.- stood with their mother near the nKirt\T"s stake. The seoMid was Rev, John Rogers, of Dedham. who died in 1639. The third was Rev. Xathaniel Rogers, who came to America in 1636. The fourth was ]tim Rogers. President once of Har\-ard College. The fifth was Rev. John Rogers, of Ipswich. The sixth was Rev. Daniel Rogers, of Exeter. The seventh, in this line, wiis his daughter Mar\- Rc^rs. The eighth was Mar}- Gerrish. wife of Henr\- Gerrish. who had five daughters and two sons. .\nd the ninth was the younger of these sons. Abiel Gerrish. who became a citiioi of the county of Lake, a descendant of a noted martjT and also of a long line of worthy ancestors. His wife, a very deAX»ted Christian woman, died in September. iSSi. the two having celebrated in 1880 their golden wet^ '---c "-^niversar\-. and he died in June. 1SS4, The\- had one son and five :>,..;ers. One daughter became the w-fe ,^' Hon. Josepli A. Little, and still li\-es in the prairie home. The head of another of these seven Xew Hampshire families was S.\muel Ames. His descent is from Jacob Ames, of Canterburj-. Xew Hampshire. His son was Samuel Ames, bom in 1724. His oldest son was Joseph Ames, bom in 1771. One of his six scxis was Samuel Ames, who came to Lake Prairie, who was bom July 14, 1813, in Xew Hampshire. He represented Lake o^unty in the Legislamre some years ago. His scaa. Edward P. Ames, li\-es ir. He died a few years ago at Elkhart, where Mrs. Ames and his cmiy daugiiJer now reside. Rev. H. W.\sox. who spoit many acti\-e years in pastoral life in West Creek towTiship, after retiring from the re^)onsibilities of a pastor's duties, gave quite a little attenticm to fanning along w^ith his one son. and he too was chosei by the \-oters of the coimt>- ut represent than at Indianapolis. It was certainly creditable to the majorit}- of the citizens of the couoitj- that they sent three such thorough!}.' religious men, in the course of a few }-ear5, frc«i the same not large neighborhood, men of Xew England birth and Xew England training- 'o represent them in the L^slature. Such men as cit-zens HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 123 are everywhere valuable. The readers of these memorials must have noticed how many of tlie earlier settlers were of New England and so of English descent. WiLLEY. — Another pioneer from the State of New York was George WiLi-EY. He was born in Connecticut, April 3, 1814, but when four years oi age his home was removed to the State of New York. His father w-as Jeremiah Willey, of Connecticut, born in 1777, and his grandfather was David Willey, both bearing Bible names, as did so many of the children of New England. George Willey, brought up in the State of New York, receiving the train- ing of the N^ew York schools, well informed in regard to some of the higher institutions of learning in that State, was married in 1835 ^ Miss Cynthia Nash, and came with her and a party of settlers in 1838 to the western limit of Lake county. He made his home near the present Klassville, in what was West Creek township but is now in Hanover. George Almeron Willey, the one living son, has a home now in St. Louis. His oldest daughter, Mrs. Jolin Fisher, resides in Crown Point. Two other daughters are living, but not in Indiana. The family removed from the farm many years ago, and Mr. Willey erected a spacious dwelling house near Crown Point, where his life closed .■\pril 5, 1884, while he was Chairman of the Committee of .\r- rangements for the Semi-Centennial celebration of the county. He was seventy years of age. He had taken a good interest in the jubilee celebration, and would have enjoyed it had he lived. Jeremi.\h Wiggins was an early settler where is now Merrillville, but the exact date of his settlement seems not to he known. He gave name to the woodland where he made his claim, which for some time was known as Wiggins' Point. Southwest from it, across the prairie, was Brown's Point, and at the south, across the prairie about five miles distant from Wiggins' Point, there grew up in the edge of the woodland, Crown Point. J. Wiggins probably came in 1836. In 1837 his claim passed into the hands of E. Saxton. Fie was with Mr. Saxton in 1838 and soon disappears 124 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. from any of tlie county records. He seems to !:a\-e been a lone man without mucli connection with any one, but that he was hving in 1838 is abundantly certain. Taylor, Edgerton, Palmer. — In 1836 a quite large family connection commenced a settlement on the east side of the Red Cedar Lake where were then many cedar trees. The head of this family was Obadiah Taylor, born in Massachusetts, who removed to New- York, afterward to Pennsylvania, and came at last to Lake county, an aged man, where he died in 1839. A son, Adonijah Taylor, born in New- York in 1792, was one of these early settlers; PIorace Taylor, another son, born in 1801, was also one of this group : Horace Edgerton, a son-in-law, having lived for some years in Pennsylvania, was a third of these men; each of these having several chil- dren, and all, with the family of Mrs. Miranda Stillson, a daughter of Obadiah Ta\lor, and the family of James Palmer, a son-in-law, born in Connecticut, a soldier in the ^^'ar of 1812, but coming later than the others into this county, forming the large Cedar Lake and then Creston community. These who have been named, active and useful in their day, have passed away, and some of their children, as Albert Taylor, Obadiah Taylor, Amos Edger- ton and Alfred Edgerton, have grown old in this county and followed their fathers into the unseen world. Also DeWitt Clinton Taylor, born in 1826, died some years ago, not very aged then. But there remain grandchildren and great-grandchildren, members sufficient in these lines to hand these names down to other generations. Those who ha\e gone will be remembered by what they have done. Of New England stock, they were not idlers in the world's great w-orkshop. Many family lines have been traced back for several generations by the inhabitants of this county, .\mong others is the line of Wise or W'eise. Before 1750, the date not known, the ancestors of the present Wise family came to Pennsylvania. John George W'eise and his wife, ^Irs. Eve W'eise, were living in that State in Philadelphia count}', where was Ijorn, December -3- 1 75 1' '1 •'^o"' Adam W'eise. For a given name his parents could go no HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 125 further back in the -world's history. The family were members of the Evan- gelical Lutheran church. .\ilam W'eise was married February 2, 1772, to Margaret Elizabeth Win- gard. February i, 1799, he was commissioned by the Governor Justice of the Peace, one sentence in the rather lengthy and peculiar commission being "To have and to hold this Commission, and the Office hereby granted unto you the said Adam Wise so long as you shall behave yourself well." As "he remained in office," so the record says, "thirty-four years, or until his death in 1833," it is evident that he did beha\e himself well. It appears also that the Governor gave to his name at that time the English form which most of the family have since retained. Adam \Vise w-as, when he died, October 5, 1833, in the eighty-second year of his age, and had eleven children, sixty-three grandchildren, and one hundred and thirty-tliree great-grandchildren, and it is claimed that his descendants are now in nearly every state of the Union. The Wise family is not one to become extinct. J.\coB \\'iSE, a grandson of this Adam Wise, a son of John George Wise, became a citizen of this county in 1849. His father, John George Wise, died at his home in Winfield township in 1859. John George was born in 1786. He had six sons. Jacob Wise, the Lake county settler, was born January 20, 1817. In his Winfield home he was a farmer, a larick- maker, a teacher of vocal music, a township Trustee, a very useful, upright, valuable citizen. He spent his last years as a retired farmer in Crown Point, he and his wife both interested in the Association of Old Settlers, in the meet- ings of the North Street Baptist church, near which church building was his home, and in the general good of society. He died November 9, 1895, about eighty years of age, and his wife died in March, 1904, a very kindly, noble woman. ]\Iany children and grandchildren are living. Fuller. — Another large family must have some mention here. James Fuller, with more means than many of the early settlers had, came to the county about 1840. He had nine sons and one rlaughter, perhaps more than one. The daughter was married to Abram Nichols. 126 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Names of sons and numljer of tlieir children : — Oliver Fuller, four sons four daughters. James Fuller, one son. Aaron Fuller, six children. Archi- bald Fuller, four sons and four daughters. Frank Fuller, two sons and seven daughters. Benjamin Fuller, one son and two daughters. Richard Fuller, five sons and six daughters, ^^'oodbury Fuller, two sons. John 'SI. Fuller, five sons and three daughters. In all fifty-six. Three of the nine sons named above are now living in the county. How manv descendants there are now of James Fuller of 1840 has not been reck- oned up. The great-grandchildren would make of themselves alone quite a group. Brief Records. The following are names of worthy citizens who did their parts well in making Lake county what now it is. but of whom there is very little to place on this page as memorials. The first one to be named might have well said, in the words of Dr. Bonar's "Everlasting Memorial," a ^■ery different poem from Tennyson's "In Memoriam" : "So let my living be. so be my dying: So let my name lie. unblazoned unknown : Lnpraised and unmissed, I shall still be remembered. Yes — but remembered by what I have done.'" Augustine Humphrey settled on Eagle Creek Prairie, now Palmer, as earlv as 1837, probably in 1836. He was from New England, he and his wife both devoted and very useful members of the Presbyterian church, his children intellectual and well brought up. his oldest son. Henry Humphrey, graduating at the University of Michigan in 185 1, and at Princeton Theo- logical Seminarv in i860, but dying in a few years, other sons following soon to the unseen world, and then the noble. Christian mother, and, except one daughter-in-law, he was left before many years quite alone in life. He was county Commissioner in 1847 ^"^ ^S^'^^^ i" i^S^- His family genealogic rec- ord went back to the Norman Conquest, through, according to the family tradition, the old Duke Horton of England, but no copy of it was brought to this countv. He died many years ago, the last of his household except the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 127 daughler-in-law's family who remo\ed to Colorado, and the burial of his body was one of the most lonely burials ever in this county. In that world, where such a spirit as his would go, there is no lack of life and love. Another of these names is John L. \\'orley, born in Indiana April 28, 1820, settling in Lake county in 1839. President for nine years of the Lake County Sabbath School Convention, residing south of Lowell, an active church member, who lived to be over eighty years of age. Another name is that of William Sanders, of West Creek township, whose name was given to one of the cemeteries of that township, the oldest member of the Association of Old Settlers, who died October 16, 1898, nearly ninety-seven years of age. And yet another name is Hir.\m H. Scritch field, another settler from the State of Kentucky probably, as his wife was born near Lexington. Ken- tucky, January 4, 1812, and he was born in 181 1. They were married in 1832. and were the parents of fourteen children. A few years ago their living descendants numbered eighty-two, and would now quite certainly number more than a hundred. The last name in this group is that of David !McKnight. He was the father of six sons and three daughters. His first settlement was at Hickon.- Point in 1845. About 1864 the family removed to the neighborhood of LeRoy. Four of the sons went into the L'nion Army and two of them re- turned. The father went to the ^^'est some years ago and there died. The family in church relations were what is now called Reformed Presbyterians, valuable members of any community. A son, a daughter, and grandchildren are still in the county working on the side of virtue and righteousness. That some other names might have proi^erly been placed upon this list is certain. There are limitations to all human efforts. There are phvsical im- possibilities, mental impossibilities, and moral impossibilities, and to reach perfection in this line of writing may well he called a mental impossibility. Xo one could give of our most worthy early settlers a perfect list. Some names are added here of those whom a few mav vet remember. Daniel ]\Iav, Peleg 128 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. S. Mason. William Hodson, Robert Wilkinson, of Deep River. James West- brook, Jonathan Brown, Royal Benton, Edmund Brown, Jabez Rhoades, David Gibson, Jacob Mendenhall, S. J. Cady, Horace Wood, John Russell, Peyton Russell, William Myrick, Jesse Pierce, David Pierce, these last two, accord- ing to the Claim Register in December, 1834, and in 1836, Jacob Van Volken- burg, John J. Van Volkenburg, and M. Pierce, from the State of New York. Lorenzo D. Holmes became a resident about 1838 and died at Ross in 1883. Buildings as well as men disappear. About this time three old landmarks in Crown Point were removed. The first Methodist church building was taken down in the fall of 1882. It stood on East street. The Crown Point bakery was taken down in July, 1883. The first Baptist church building, which was also on East street, was taken down in August, 1883. And so with these twenty-one added names and the mention of three old buildings this memorial chapter ends. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 129 CHAPTER IV. Names of Women of Whom Honorable Mention Should Be Made. Note. — In presenting and recording under this heading tlie names of quite a numbei" of pioneer women, and appending, as I propose to do, to some of them special statements, I am well aware that some fault may be found with this otherwise interesting and important chapter. For I expect that some one will say, after looking over all these names, "The name of my mother (or grandmother) is not here, and she too was entitled to an honorable mention. Why is not her name on this list?" I have considered this criticism, this question, and have endeavored to weigh it well. Of course my reply to the question would be. Because the name of that mother or that grandmother was not in the range of my knowledge, or did not come to mind in my efiort to recall the names of our pioneers : certainly not because it was intentionally omitted. So^ now I ask myself ; Shall I omit entirely this list of names of so many of our noble mothers and grand- mothers because I cannot make it a full and perfect list? And I answer. No. I will get what help I can; I will do the best I can; (surely no one without the personal knowledge which I possess could begin to do as well as this will be done) ; and then I will trust to the good sense of our citizens, trusting that very little fault will he found. T. H. B. Mrs. Harriet Warner Holton is the first name recorded here. She came into the county in February, 1835, with her son W. A. W. Holton, a daughter, and with William Clark and family, from Jennings county, Indiana. She was born in Hard wick, Massachusetts, Januarv 15, 1783, a daughter of General ^\'arner. She commenced her active life as a teacher in the town of Westminster. She married a young lawyer, Alexander Holton, about 180^, and leaving New England in 1816 for what then were true Western wilds, in March, 18 17, they settled at Vevay in the new State of Indiana, four years after Vevay had been laid out as a town. In 1820 the Holton family removed to Vernon, in Jennings county, where Mrs. Hol- ton again became a teacher. In 1823 her husband died leaving her with two sons and one daughter. In the early winter of 1834 tidings came to Vernon 130 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. from Solon Robinson concerning the beautiful prairie region he had found far up in the northwest corner of the State, and the Clark and Holton families determined to join him there. They started in midwinter with ox teams. The weather in February, 1835, was severely cold, but they came through, crossing the Kankakee Marsh with their ox teams on the ice. In some respects Mrs. Holton was the most remarkable woman ever in Lake county. She was Lake county's first teacher. Her mother lived to be about ninety-four years of age. She had seven sisters in New England and all died of old age, two while sitting in their chairs. All the eight were members of the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Holton, a true Indiana pioneer, at Vevay and Vernon and in the county of Lake, lived on, active in church and Sunday-school and social life till old age came upon her. She died October 17, 1879, then nearly ninet}'-se\'en years of age. From a record in "The Sunday Schools of Lake" the following" sentence is taken: "Such a woman, in such a long life, the daughter of an army leader, with her native intelligence, her New England training, her granite-like, Presbyterian prin- ciple, her de\-otion. her meekness, her love, must in various ways have ac- complished no little good." Tlie second name to be placed on this list is that of Mrs. Maria Rob- inson, wife of Solon Robinson, the first white woman to live where is now Crown Point. She came to the spring that was, to the grove or woodland that still is, the last day of October, 1834. She was born November 16, 1799, near Philadelphia. She was married in Cincinnati, May 12. 1828, to Solon Robinson, and in a few years they became residents in Jennings county, Indiana. In 1834 she came with her husband, one assistant, and two small children, in a wagon drawn by oxen, to the spot where they settled November i, 1834. She was not an ordinary woman, although very differ- ent in training and character from Mrs. Holton. She had much "executive ability;" she is described by one who knew her well as "always cheerful and vivacious," attending to the needs of the sick and the poor, aiding, as her means permitted, churches and Sunday schools and benevolent organizations. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 131 Slie died February i8, 1872. Two daughters are now living, one of whom, Dr. L. G. Bedell, is now a noted physician of Chicago. Her older daughter, Mrs. Strait, who has children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, now lives in Crown Point, the oldest resident and only original resident of the town. Two names should follow here on this list of worthy pioneer women, but of whom little by this writer is known, Mrs. Chiklers, the wife of Thomas Childers, the first white woman, so far as known, after Mrs. Will- iam Ross, to set'tle in the county, and Mrs. Clark, wife of Judge William Clark, who came to Lake Court House in February, 1835, which was then known, as the guide boards on the trails testified, simply as Solon Robin- son's. Mrs. Clark had sons in her household, two of whom, Thomas Clark and Alexander Clark, were for many years active citizens in Lake county. Other active pioneer women whose names belong on this page were Mrs. Henry Wells, the mother of Mrs. Susan Clark, of Rodman \Ye\\s and Homer Wells; Mrs. Richard Fancher, one of the first Presbyterian women in Crown Point, the mother of Mrs. Nicholson, Mrs. Clingan, and Mrs. Harry Church, and the mother who brought up such daughters certainly deserves to be remembered ; Mrs. Russel Eddy, who became a very active Presbyterian woman, a leader for many years in that church; Mrs. Luman A. Fowler, one of the few resolute pioneer women, who came as a young wife in December of 1835 to Solon Robinson's hamlet, born in Madison county. New York, in October, 1816, married October 18, 1835, her maiden name Eliza Cochran, and who, as mother and grandmother led in Crown Point a long and useful life: and one more name, that of Mrs. Henry Farmer, coming with her husband from Bartholomew county in 1836, whose daughters became wives of well known citizens, completes this group. To nearly all the women yet named Crown Point as now it is owes very much. Another group of our noble pioneer women, of whom Lake county had a goodly number (and few of their names have ever until now been on a printed page), were these, not grouped in alphal^etical order, but as 132 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. they are associated in the mind of the writer : Mrs. Richard Church, Airs. Leonard Cntler. jNIrs. Rockwell, I\Irs. Darling Church, mother of Edwin Church, a grocer for many years at Crown Point. Airs. Bothwell, Mrs. Owens, Airs. Benjamin Farley, Mrs. N. Hayden, an active Sunday-school woman in the \\ est Creek neighborhood, active also in the same work. Airs. Spalding, mother of J. P. Spalding, Airs. Fisher, and Airs. Cooper Brooks; also in the same neighborhood, Airs. Peter Hathaway, the mother of Silas, Abram, and Bethuel Hathaway, Airs. Lyman Foster, Airs. Jackson; in an- other neighborhood. Airs. Fuller, mother of Airs. Alarvin, Airs. Blayney, Airs. Graves, all interested in Sunday-school and church work, also Airs. Gordinier, who with only one hand accomplished the work done by ordinary women with two hands. Airs. George A\'illey, mother of Airs. J. Fisher, of Crown Point, Airs. James Farwell, the first white woman known to have set foot on tlie site of Crown Point, who with her family camped there July 4, 1833, a more than ordinary woman from Vermont, the mother of six sons and one daughter, that daughter becoming the wife of Thomas Clark and the mother of Airs. Oliver Wheeler, the grandmother of Aliss Alay Brown, of Crown Point; Airs. Alercy Perry, mother of the first Airs. Alarvin, and Airs. Solomon Burns. East of there was a small group of 1837 and 1838. the first Airs. Henry Sasse, Airs. Herlitz, Airs. \'an Hollen, these by birth Germans and Lutheran by training, and Airs. Jane A. H. Ball. Airs. Ball was from Alassachusetts, the only daughter of Dr. Timothy Horton of West Springfield, had been educated in the best schools of Hart- ford, Connecticut, and began as early as 1838 to teach in the small neigh- borhood, pu]3ils coming from Prairie ^^"est, three miles away. As early as 1840 she commenced a boarding and academic school, the first in the countv, which continued in some form for many years. She had brought from her father's home c^uite a chest i)f medicines and some surgical instru- ments, which she thought would be needed, and she soon became, not in name, but in fact, the physician and dentist of the neighborhood, her den- tistrv, however, extending no further than extracting and cleaning teeth. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 133 For extracting teetli and fur medicine she took some pny. iuit not any for her time, and she was called from home sometimes in the night as well as in the day. Besides being the first academic teacher, she also was the first who might be called a woman pliysician of the county. Her own se\-en children were all educated and two sons and one daughter yet li\-e to cher- ish her memory. In another group are placed the following names : ■Mrs. John \\'ood, also from Massachusetts, a cousin of the noted missionary, Mrs. Sarah B. Judson, born October 13, 1802. married November 16. 1824, the mother of eight children, the oldest of whom, Nathan Wood, is yet living at W'ood- \-ale. and dying September 2~, 1873. A fine granite monument, about fifteen feet in height, marks the burial place, on which is inscribed, "A true, faith- ful, loving wife; a kind and affectionate mother; e\'er toiling for the good of all; and this is her memorial." Mrs. Wood was another of those superior New England women, like Mrs. Holton and Mrs. Farwell of A'ermont, and others who are yet to be named, with native endowments and a Puritanic training, which fit their possessors so well for frontier life and for laving the right foundations for an enduring civilization. The comfort and hos- pitality of her home were not excelled by any in those early rears. She was one of oiu^ unselfish women, and well does her memorial say. "toiling for the good of all." In this group, though li\-ing in another part of the county, mav be fittingly named ^Mrs. Augustine Humphrey, one of the ver)- earlv residents on Eagle Creek Prairie, now called Palmer. She was also from New England and besides caring for her children and attending to home duties she was much interested in church work, a devoted Presbyterian woman. j\lrs. Woodbridge was yet another of these well trained New England- ers, an early resident also at Palmer, the wife of Rev. George A. Wood- bridge, and near neighbor to Mrs. Humphrey, the two families being con- nected by ties of kindred as well as by a common religious faith. At their iiomes was Presbyterian preaciiing by Rev. J. C. Brown an.d \w Rev. W. 134 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Townley. After some years the Woodbridge family removed to Ross and here Mrs. Woodbridge became the Superintendent of the Sunday school. An active, truly noble, intelligent. Christian woman, she spent part of her later vears of life, sometimes with her son at Ross, sometimes in Joliet. She lived on, a pleasant and peaceful life allotted to her, until August, 1902, having reached eighty-eight years of age. The name of Mrs. Nancy Agnew may be placed by itself here as be- longing to a resolute, earnest woman. A sister of those Bryants who found, and bore Isack to her m Porter county for burial, the body of her husband who perished from exhaustion and exposure in the stormy night hours of April 4, 1835, she did not yield to her bitter trial, but soon came herself to the new settlement, and on the settler Register for that year stands among the claimants the name Nancy Agnew, widow. To her son, born not long after her husband's death, she gave his father's name, David Agnew. Mrs. Margaret Fearce, who was Margaret Jane Dinwiddle, sister of T. W. Dinwiddle, of Plum Grove, manifested some of her heroic equalities in her girlhood in her experiences with the Indians, then living near her cabin home. Two of the young Indians about her own age were sometimes quite annoying. One day, seizing an opportunity to frighten her at least, they sprang up and threatened her with their tomahawks. Instead of cry- ing out, as they perhaps expected, or turning pale with fright, she simply stood still and laughed at them. Asliamed, it may be they became, at the idea of injuring that bold, defenseless, laughing white girl, and let her pass on unharmed. Well they knew that a blow inflicted upon her would bring upon themselves sw'ift punishment. She was married in 1840 to Michael Pearce, and was the mother of ten children. She was born June 5, 1818, and died in 1S94. She was a w'orthy member of the United Pres- byterian churcii, and exemplified many excellent qualities besides courage ni her long home life in Eagle Creek township. A good likeness of this excellent woman, who was of Scotch-Irish descent, is to be found in the Dinwiddle Clan Records. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 3 35 The name of Mrs. Margaret Jeanette Dinwiddle comes next on this page. A member of the Perkins family, she was Ijorn near Rome, New York, May 5. 1818, was married to J. W. Dinwiddie August 19, 1844, and died March 15, 1888. She was one of the true an'd successful Sunday- school workers of the county. Educated at Rome, New York, accustomed to teaching, an experienced teacher, for about twenty-five years she carried on with some others the Plum GroA-e school, herself generally the Super- intendent. To her more than to any other one woman in the county the County organization for twenty-five years was indebted for its success. She was a member of the first Baptist church in Lake county and a member of the North Street Baptist church m Crown Point at the time of her death. In the "Lake of the Red Cedars," and in the "Sunday Schools of Lake," may be found her memorials. Some names are agam grouped. Mrs. Sarah Beadle, Mrs. Sarah \\'ells, Mrs. Sarah Childers. these three Sarahs with their husbands and with J. L. Worley, were the constituent meml^ers of the first church in the county called "Christian" or Disciple church with no other designation. This church is located now at Lowell, where there are three Christian churches, one Roman Catholic, one Presbyterian, one Methodist. The Methodist pio- neer women were: Mrs. E. \V. Bryant, Mrs. Ephraim Cleveland, Mrs. Kitchel, Mrs. Taylor, mother of Mrs. S. G. Wood, Mrs. Wood, wife of Dr. James A. Wood, Mrs. Viant, women all of character and note. Other women among early and active and useful residents in the county were, Mrs. Wallace, born in Vermont, the mother of Mrs. W. Brown, of Crown Point, Mrs. Brown, of Southeast Grove, mother of John Brown and \\'. B. Brown, Mrs. Crawford, mother of Mrs. Matt. Brown, and Mrs. E. Hixon, Mrs. McCann, of Plum Grove, and ]\Irs. Hale, Mrs. E. M. Rob- ertson, mother of Airs. O. Dinwiddie, ]\Irs. "Ruth Barney, widow," whose name stands thus as a claimant on the Register for the year 1836, Mrs. Sig- ler, the mother (jf se\'eral sons, Mrs. Servis, mother of O. V. Servis, and Mrs. George Earle. Some of these women were Presbyterians, most of them in fact, Methodists and Baptists being also represented. 136 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. There are yet other names. Mrs. Banks, two of whose sons are well known at Hobart and Crown Point ; Mrs. Sykes, mother of a large family of well known sons and daughters, a woman who has but lately gone from among the living, having spent in this county a large part of a long, active, and useful life, and who like the other women named has left her impress upon this generation; Mrs. Rhodes, wife of Jonas Rhodes, whose daughters are active women now ; Mrs. Abraham Muzzall : Mrs. Henry Hayward, younger than some of the others: Mrs. Bartlett ^^'oods; ]\Irs. Kenney and Mrs. Woodruff, of Orchard Grove ; some from New England, some from Old England; and Mrs. ^^'inslow. mother of A. A. \Vinslow, Consul to Guatemala. JNTrs. J. C. Kinyon and Mrs. Henry Sanger both died in 1881. There are yet other names. Five earnest Christian women of West Creek township for a time, who did much to make the central part of Lake Prairie, that gem of the prairie region, "bud and blossom like the rose," were Mrs. M. L. Barber, spending her latest years in Kansas, her sister, Mrs. Burhans, who closed her life in Hammond, Mrs. Little, mother of Hon. Joseph A. Little, and ]Mrs. Gerrish, and Mrs. ^^'ason; the last three from the Granite State, and all five with granite-like principle. A little group comes in here now of women of foreign birth, who had crossed the broad Atlantic, who had much tn learn in regard to language and institutions, but whose well trained children proved them to be true mothers, known years ago among us as Mrs. John Hack, Mrs. Giesen, Mrs. Dasclier, Mrs Beckley. Mrs. Hack, so far as known, was the first German woman to find a home in the county. The sturdy sons and tall husband that came with her are gone, Ijut grandchildren and great-grandchildren live at Crown Point. Mrs. Gcisen is represented at Crown Point by two furniture dealers and undertakers, son and grandson. Mrs. Dascher came from the old country with a cluster of blooming, well trained girls around her, and one son. Her descendants yet live among us. and some of them are bloom- ing girls now. Inulding into womanhood. The descendants of Mrs. Beckley, that fervent, sensible, courteous, German Methodist woman, are somewhere HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 137 in the world, li\-ing in a way, it is to be hoped, to do lier memory honor. Here are the names of a very different group: Mrs. CaHsta Sherman, born in \'ermont, dying in Crown Point when more than ninety-five years of age, one of our oldest women, who shared largely in the respect and esteem of the community; and connected with her may be named two daughters, Mrs. Farrington and Mrs. J. H. Luther. It is recorded of Mrs. Luther, who had no children of her own, that she was "a mother to some motherless girls, and one of our noblest women in relieving suffering hu- manity, in avoiding injurious gossip, in kindly deeds of friendship and neighborly regard." The next in this group is the name of Mrs. Rosalinda Helton, a sister of Mrs. Sherman, the youngest of thirteen children of the Smith family of Friends of Shrewsbury, Vermont, born July i8, 1795, dying in Crown Point when nearly eighty-nine years of age, at the home of Mrs. R. C. Young, where she had resided for many years. Next to her name belongs the name of her daughter, Mrs. R. Calista Young, mother of Charles H. Young, of Chicago, who has herself closed up a life not short, a life marked by large unselfishness, by untiring efforts for the good of those con- nected with Jier, by a steadfast Christian faith and hope. Five such women are not found in e\'ery community as were tliese twO' aged sisters and their daughters. Other names : Mrs. Vinnedge, head of a large family, a Methodist when sixteen years of age, an earnest church member through a long life; Mrs. Frank Fuller ( Haimah Ferguson), mother of nine children; Mrs. Sarah R. Brown, who became the second wife of Amos Hornor; Mrs. Mary M. Mason, daughter of Henry Farmer, becoming a resident in 1836, second wife of Deacon Cyrus M. Mason; Mrs. Martin Vincent (Mercy Pierce), married in 1837, the head of a well-known family, that is, the womanly head, the mother; i\Irs. William Belshaw, born in 1824. a mem- ber of the Jones family, and who, then Miss Jones, was a teacher in two of the early log schoolhouses, one near Lowell, one near Pine Grove; Mrs. Lucy Taylor, wife of Adonijah Taylor, born in Connecticut, bnuight up in 138 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Vermont, born in 1792, the mother of nine children, dying in 1869. '"a liighly respected and estimable Christian woman" ; Mrs. Ebenezer Saxton of Wig- gins Point and Merrillville. a woman who had a fearful experience with a drunken Indian in the absence of her husband, the Indian, surly and cross, threatening the death of an infant in the cradle, she at length, when the In- dian slept, pouring out the remainder of the whiskey from his jug, watching the children through that long night, relieved at last of the presence of the Indian hy Dr. Palmer, who came along some time in the morning of the next day. The girls and the mothers of that day had fortitude and courage. .\ few more names, for this is a grand list, including the names of many who were among the excellent of the earth. Mrs. ]\IcCarty, wife of Judge Benjamin ^^IcCarty. the mother of six sons and two daughters, was not only an early settler in Lake county but in Porter and La Porte, having a home in the latter county in 1832, 1833, and 1834. She was not young when coming into Lake county, some of her sons were young men, her daughters were young women, intelligent and cultivated all. and at Creston, in a little pri\-ate cemetery her dust reposes. Mrs. Bclshaw. an English Baptist, a mother of sons and daughters, also came from La Porte county, in middle age, to become an early resident in Lake. Hers was for a time a bright home. But death came, and her young daughter, eighteen years of age, was taken away from earth, and she with many of the large family found another home in the then distant Oregon, where one of her sons, who had married Candace McCarty, became a noted wheat raiser in that great wheat state. Other members of the Belshaw family yet remain in Lake county, and her name belongs of right among our worthy mothers and grandmothers. In a different part of the county, in the woodland north of Hanover Center, where was a great resort for deer, was the first home of another worthy woman, a Presbyterian churcl: member, Mrs. Hackley. She was the mother of Mrs. W. A. Clark and Mrs. Pettibone, of Crown Point, and at HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 139 length she and her hushand had their residence at Crown Point with Mrs. Clark. Other names are: Mrs. Robbins. of Brunswick and Lowell, both of whose sons fell as members of the Union Army; ^Slrs. Dudley Merrill, of Merrillville: ^Irs. Krost, of Crown Point, the mother of four sons and two daughters: Mrs. Sohl, of Hammond, an early resident in the old North township, before Hammontl was: ]\Irs. Payne, Mrs. Foley, Mrs. Stringham, the earliest residents on Center Prairie, who did not long remain, but who helped to start civilization before their husbands removed : IMrs. Jones, a later resident than they, mother of Perry Jones, born in October, 1804, who lived among us to be almost ninety-six years old. One of our very aged women. "She retained her faculties well, enjoyed reading, and in her re- lations in life was an estimable woman." Mrs. Allman, the wife of Rev. AL Allman, spending many useful years in Crown Point, closed her days in Michigan. Mrs. Mary Hill, mother of Dr. Hill, of Creston, and of Jvlrs. Henry Surprise, a motherly woman indeed, of rare patience and untiring love, lived to complete eighty-four years of life. ]\Irs. Gibson, an early resident of the old North township of the county, closed her life in Chicago, eighty-seven years of age. The name of Underwood is prominent in Lake county and Mrs. LTnder- wood's name must be recorded here. She was the mother of five daughters, three of whom are yet living; Mrs. Harper and j\Irs. Joy, of Hobart, and Mrs. Palmer, of Hebron. She was also the mother of several sons, of whom one is living east of Merrillville. She died many years ago at the home of her daughter. Airs. Palmer, wife of Dr. Palmer, and was over ninety years of age. Three Later Residents, Not Pioneers. -Another of our excellent women was Mrs. Reuben Fancher, who was in girlhood and young womanhood Mary Elizabeth Hawkins. She was born in Genoa, Cayuga county. New York, March 4, 1835. She was baptized 140 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. February 17, 1856. and became a member of the ^Methodist Episcopal church September 28, 1856. She spent several years of hfe in Buffalo, and was active there in Sunday-school work, ha\-ing charge of a mission class num- bering from fifty to one hundred members, which she taught for several years, thus gaining much experience in that grand work. August 17-, 1859, she was married in Buffalo to Reuben Fancher, and they soon after came as permanent residents to Lake county. Lidiana. She became before long a teacher in the Methodist Sunday-school, and her Chris- tian character and rich experience in that work made her a very valuable teacher to whom that school is largely indebted for the good done in the past. She was in Buffalo and Crown Point engaged in that work for about tw'enty-five years. She kept a diary as some others in the county have done. January 11, 1897, when nearly sixty-two years of age, she passed from earth, leaving two daughters to follow in her footsteps and do good. The following is one of the resolutions adopted by Lake Lodge, of which her husband and son were members : "Resolved, That by her death Crown Point has been deprived of a highly respected Christian woman, whose character was beautiful, sincere, and pure, and whose home influence merited the emulation of all." Signed, James C. Gibbs, Edward A. Krost, Herman J. Lehman, Committee. Mrs. Lydia F. Flint, a member in girlhood of the large Smith family, w^as born July 16, 1825, in Franklin county. New York. She was married in Delaware county. Ohio, August 5, 1846, to William Flint. A son, James, was born December 15, 1847. In the fall of 1859 the family came into Lake count\-, Indiana, where in 1862 her husband and son both died, leaving her a chiklless widow. She died I\Iay 22, 1903, having had a home for thirtv years with her sister. ]\Irs. C. X. Morton. \\"ith no descendants to perpetuate her name and cherish her memory, as a good and true Chris- tian woman, her name deserves a place among our honored women. A third one of these later residents was ]\Irs. Hart, wife of A. X. Hart, of Dver. mother of ]Malcolm and Milton Hart and ^Nlrs. Biggs, of HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 141 Crown Point, the family coming from Philadelphia about 1855. and settling on the State Line at Dyer, while that part of the county was still quite new and wild. ]Mrs. Hart was not a frontier woman. Accustomed to the life of a city, she was retiring in her habits, and did not feel the necessity that women who had very young children did feel to enter \-ery actively into the work of building up society around her. To her three sons and one daughter she gave much care, and to her diligent training they were much indebted. She had a strc^ng nati\-e sense of justice, wishing to see all per- sons treated justly, without partiality. She loved beauty, and, brought up as she had been, she prized the true refinements of life. She spent the later years of her life at Crown Point, where she had an elegant residence built to suit her taste for beauty in architecture, now the residence of ]\Irs. jMalcolm Hart. While not so widely known as were many other mothers the name of INIrs. A. X. Hart (one sun and her one daughter, Mrs. F. X. Biggs, and some intimate friends yet living to cherish her memory) will stand here to represent a very cultivated, refined, and worthy woman. ".Aunt Susan."' The next name to be recorded here is the name of a verv motherly woman, who was not herself a mother, who was never married, but of whom, as doing a mother's part, it may truthfully be said, that many would rise up to do her honor. Susan Patterson Turner was born in Pennsylvania, February 27, 18 13. Her father's family were genuine pioneers. As the oldest child and the only daughter of the family of Samuel Turner of Eagle Creek, she was left in charge of the household through the winter of 1838, while the father and mother returned to La Porte county to find a more com- fortable winter abode. She and her l^rothers passed safely and well through the privations of that winter; and when, in 1871, her aged mother died, the care of the household, in which she as an only daughter had large experience, devolved very fully upon her. To her brothers' children, who delighted to visit the old homestead, she was Aunt Susan, and as vears came on, and her 142 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. motherly capabilities and excellent qualities continued to be brought out she was known as "Aunt Susan" by a large community who highly appre- ciated her nobility of character. She died Juh" 24. 1899. Mrs. Higgins. coming into Lake county as DiaiTtha Tremper in 1844, was born near Niagara Falls in 1824. She became well accjuainted witli the families of the early settlers in both Lake and Porter counties. In 1847 she was married to Dr. J. Higgins. who in 1859 settled as a physician in Crown Point. In the earlier years of her life in Crown Point she was an active woman in the life around her. She trained up carefully her only child, now Mrs. Youche. and her one grandson, but in later years impaired health kept her more closely in her home. As a Christian woman her examples and influence were for good on those around her. She died in 1895. In a printed memorial of her it was said : "A woman broad-minded, not taking narrow views in the great interests of humanity, cherishing warmly the domestic virtues, she will have a right to be remembered as one of those connected with our many pioneer women who have finished up their threescore years and ten of life, and have passed on before to the rest and the activities of the unseen world." And here may be added the names of faithful mothers who have lately passed from among us, Mrs. Jacob \\'ise and Mrs. Seymour Patton, both quite aged women, faithful to duties in their generation, lx)th members of well known and substantial families. Grouped with these also may be th.e name of Mrs. James Patton, of Winfield, the mother of Mrs. Vansciver, of Crown Point. Mothers of Many Children. Among the mothers of large Lake county families must be placed, first, the name of Mrs. Flint, of Southeast Grove. Among the first settlers of that beautiful Grove were the members of this noted Methodist family. One daugliter was the first wife of James H. Luther, one became the wife of Rev. D. Crumpacker, and one, the eighth child, Olive L., was the v ife of Rev. Robert Hyde. There were, in all, fifteen children, and Mrs. Hyde en- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Ii3 joyed the distinction of having seven brothers and sisters older and seven younger tlian herself. Airs. Hyde died in Chicago, September 3. 1901, about seventv-five years of age. Of her mother, )*Irs. Flint, not much is now known, but it is enough for this record that she brought up so large a family on firm religious principles, fitting them for stations of usefulness and honor. As the second among these mothers may be placed the name of J\Trs. Scritchfield, of Creston, the mother of thirteen children, having very many giandchildren and great-grandchildren yet living. The third of these mothers is Mrs. Julius Demnion, in girlhood Xancy Wilcox, member of a pioneer family, married in 1850, the mother of six sons, and six daughters, and who in less than fifty years had sixty-one living grandchildren in Lake county. The attentive reader has noticed that many of the earlier mothers had from six to eight or ten children, and it was a pleasant thing to find in those cabin homes wide-awake boys, and cheerful, li\-ely girls. Each of those large homes was a little world of itself. Home then was more like the old patriarchal times than is much of what is called home life now. Some be- lieve it was richer, purer, better than now. A place must be found on this roll of honor for the name of Mrs. Samuel Turner, of Eagle Creek, who was Jane Dinwiddle, born January 19, 1783, a woman of Scotch-Irish blood, of Scotch Presbyterian principle, who was married to Samuel Turner at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in February, 1810, and with him came to a choice location on Eagle Creek, in Lake county, in 1838, becoming a permanent resident in 1839, then fifty-six years of age. Not many now live who knew her in the home circle, but her like- ness in the "Dinwiddle Clan Records" shows her to have been an estimable woman, and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren in Iowa and In- diana show that through her they inherited the blessing of having been "well born," a pri\ilege to which it has been saiil all children have a right. The very close observer may notice that the first woman whose name lU HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. is on this list was born January 15, 1783, and that tlie last one was born January 19, 1783, both born in the year that gave peace after the Ameri- can Revolution. They were our oldest pioneers. For the most part the women, as well as the men, who came to share privations here and lay foundations were rather young, or in the prime of life. It is claimed as a saying of Napoleon Bonaparte, that what France most needed was mothers. That the mothers have much to do with what the children are and what they became is a well accepted fact. Mothers that were mothers had homes in Lake county two generations ago. And the names of at least some of them have been placed upon these pages. They could make bread and butter and cheese : they could wash and iron ; they could sew and knit and spin wool into yarn, and some of them could weave that yarn into cloth ; they had spinning wheels and looms : they could mold and dip candles; they could cut out garments and make them up; they could keep domestics, girls and women to help them in their work, having no trouble in trying to reduce them to the position of "servants," for they gave them seats at the family table and places around the fireside, treating them as they would wish their own daughters to be treated; they were mothers indeed, and looked well after all the wants of their households, carrying out well in their living the instructions given to women, and imi- tating well the model placed before women, in the Bible. They were not what is called in this day "society women" ; they were not members of any Clubs or of Secret Orders; they knew nothing of mod- ern "functions." They made visits and had dinners together and some- times suppers ; they had apple-paring bees, and quilting bees, and donation parties; they had much social life, attending camp-meetings and associations and other religious meetings. They were largely keepers at home, yet were they sociable, friendly, hospitable. Such were our mothers and grand- mothers, the early settlers here sixty years ago. And when the time came for a thousand of the sons of Lake to go forth, from eighteen hundred homes, containing about nine thousand people, to join the mighty American Army HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 145 in fighting for tlie lite of the nation, tliis thousand went from homes where there were mothers with loyal as well as loving hearts. Of our little army of noble pioneer women, probably three or four hun- dred in number, there are living descendants now in the county to carry out in the life of this generation the rich results of their influence and their virtues. I am not claiming for any of them, those named and those not named, great brilliancy of intellect, fascinating social endowments, or remarkable talents, but I do claim that so long as there is a county of Lake, so long the influence of our noble women will endure. That women have done a large work in the county in promoting educa- tion is beyond any question. A deep and lasting impression on education and literature, in this county and outside of its borders, was made by the schoack having been wrenched while he was mowing. His wife lived still longer, passing away at the age of ninety-two years. Her maiden name was Susan Stitely. They had a large family. Benjamin F. Sheerer, the father of George B. Sheerer, was a Baptist minister, and has made home missionary work the principal object of his endeavors all his life. He came out west to Illinois in an early day, and bought one hundred and fifty acres of land where the Chicago business center now is, but he afterwards sold out and went back east. He is now li\-ing at Waterton, Luzerne county, Pennsyh-ania, being in his eighty-eighth year. His wife. Elizabeth (Fritz) Sheerer, is in her seventy-ninth year. Her father, Lucius Fritz, came from Germany when a young man and located in Pennsylvania, where he was a farmer. He had been a soldier in a German war, and was also in the war of 1812. He married Miss Mary Gorman, and they had eleven children. He died at the age of sixty-seven, and she when about seventy-three. Eight children were born to Benjamin F. and Elizabeth Sheerer, and the six now living are: Friend B., of Town Hill, Pennsylvania; Alfred N., of Burwick, Pennsylvania; Marion ^l.. of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; George B., of Hammond; Matilda, the wife of R, Gregory, of Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania ; and Millard, of Miners Mills, Pennsylvania. The two deceased children were Layton L., who was president of the Colfax Seminary, at Colfax, Washington; and Celinda, the wife of Rev. James R. Wilson, of Svracuse, Xew York. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 183 George B. Sheerer lived at home in W'aterton. Pennsyhania, until eleven years of age. and received his first schooling there. He then started out to make his own way, working during the summer at three dollars a month and board, and going to school during the winter. He taught school in the east for some time, beginning when he was seventeen years old. In 1884 he came west to Indiana and entered the normal school at Valparaiso, where he was graduated in the law department in 1889. In the same year he was admitted to the bar of the state. After his graduation he at once set to work to pay up his debts contracted in his efforts to school himself. In the fall of 1892 he opened his ot^ce for practice in Hammond, and has enjoyed an increasing patronage to the present time. November 16, 1892, Mr. Sheerer married Miss May E. Wertman, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Wertman. They have two children, Ger- trude and Mildred. Mrs. Sheerer is a member of the Baptist church. They reside at 50 Warren a\enue. where he built a good home in 1900. Mr. Sheerer affiliates with the Calumet Lodge No. 601, I. O. O. F., and with Hammond Lodge No. 210, K. of P. He is independent in voting, but his general political cleavage is Democratic. He is treasurer of the board of education, and has been a member of the board for the past six years. CHRISTIAN FILLER. Christian Fieler, a prominent and well-known farmer of Center town- ship. Lake county, is a natixe son and a life-long resident of the county, and has enjoyed a prosperous career devoted to the agricultural interests in this fine farming section. He is likewise one of the public-spirited men of this part of the county, performing his share of the duties of society, and is held in high esteem both for his own personal character and for wdiat he has accomplished in the world of material things. Mr. Fieler was born in Hobart townsliip. Lake county, Indiana, July 10, 1861 His father, Jacolj Fieler, was a native of Wiirtemberg. Germany, and came to America and to Lake county in the year 1854. He was one of the early settlers and bought a farm in Ross township, where he continued his vocation of farmer until his death in 1877. when in his fifty-eighth year. He was a member of the German Methodist church, and a well-known and representative citizen of the county. His wife was Catharine Kelver, a ISi HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. native of the same province of Germany from which he came, and she died at tlie age of sixty-nine years, liaving been tlie mother of five children. Mr. Christian Fieler was the only son and the youngest child. He was reared in Hohart township, and was educated in the puhlic schools of Ross township and also of Chicago. He \\as sixteen years old wlien his father died, and he then took the mantle of manly responsibility and carried on the w'ork of the farm, in which his father had trained him. His mother died in 1884, and he then bought the interest of the other heirs in the old homestead and continued his farming there until 1898. He then sold and moved to Center township, where he bought his present place on Section 3, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres, fertile, well improved and highly cultivated. He also has sixty-three acres in \A'infield township and two hundred in Ross township, so that altogether he is the possessor of three hundred and eighty-three acres of first-class Lake county soil. Besides his general farming work he buys and ships stock, and has carried on his exten- sive concerns with much individual success and profit. Mr. Fieler was married in iqoi to Miss Alice Palmer, a daughter of H. D. and Catherine (Underwood) Palmer, one of the prominent families of Lake county. Mrs. Fieler was born and reared in Ross township, and was educated in the Crown Point schools. ' Mr. Fieler has always been a stanch Republican since casting his first presidential vote for Blaine in 1884, GEORGE H. HOSKINS, M. D. Dr. George H. Hoskins, who has attained prominence as a representa- tive of the medical fraternity and is now ser\-ing as coroner of Lake county, making his home in \\'hiting, is a native of New York, his birth having occurred in Essex, Esse.x county, on the i8th of October, 1872. His father was Henry E. Hoskins, a native of Montreal, Canada. In early life, how- ever, he was taken to New York, was reared in the Empire state and there spent his remaining days, but died on the eve of his departure for the west in the year 1875. His widow then came with her two children, a son and daughter, to the Mississippi valley, locating at Grant Park. Illinois. She had previously learned the milliner's trade, and for about fifteen years was engaged in that business at Grant Park, Illinois, thus providing for her children. She ^;^^^Wu.M%S, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 3 85 was quite successful in the conduct of her business enterprise and secured a liberal patronage. Dr. Hoskins was Inil four years of age when he arrived in Grant Park, and there he acquired his early education which was supplemented liy one year of study at Valparaiso, Indiana. In 1894 he took up the study of medi- cine in Northwestern University at Chicago, Illinois, and was there graduated in June, 1898. In July of the same year he located at Whiting, where he has since been in constant practice. He was the first health officer here, and in 1902 he was elected county coroner, entering upon the duties of the office in lanuarv, 1903. He has secured a large private practice which is indicative of the confidence and trust reposed in him by the public. He is a thorough and discriminating student, constantly broadening his knowledge and pro- moting his efficiency by investigation and research. He is thoroughly in touch with modern ideas concerning medical science and practice, and his professional duties make hea\'y demands upon his time and energies. On the 24th of October. 1900. was celebrated the marriage of Dr. George H. Hoskins and Miss Bertha E. Dewey, a daughter of George H. and Celesta L. Dewey. They now have two interesting little sons. George H. and Harley D. Socially Dr. Hoskins is connected with the Masonic fraternity at Whiting, and he was a member of the Baptist church at Grant Park. He belongs to the Lake County [Medical Society, and his attention is chiefly de- voted to his profession, wherein he has won a creditable name. He closely follows the ethics of the medical fraternity and enjoys the entire confidence and esteem of his professional brethren as well as of the general public. As a citizen, too, he is progressive and has been a co-operant factor in many movements for the general good. In politics he is a Republican, and in March, 1904, he was nouiinated by that party for his second term as coroner of Lake county. He completed his new residence on Sheridan a\enue. near One Hundred and Nineteenth street, in the fall of 1903. For 1903 Dr. Hos- kins was worshipful master of Whiting Lodge No. 613. F. & A. M. He is also a m.ember of the Owls Club. JOHN S. REILAND. In an analvzation of the character and life work of John S. Reiland we notice manv of the salient traits which have marked the German nation 186 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. for many centuries, the perseverance, reliability, energy and unconquerable determination to pursue a course that has been marked out, and it is these sterling qualities which have gained to Mr. Reiland success in life and made him one of the substantial and valued citizens of East Chicago. He is now living a retired life, for through his energy and capable management in former years he gained a comfortable competence that now enables him to put aside further business cares and to enjoy the fruits of his former toil. Mr. Reiland was born in Prussia. Germany, on the 17th of March, 1834. His paternal grandfather, Dominicus Reiland, was long in public life, holding office for twenty-four years in the city of Berlin and discharging his duties with a promptness and fidelity that won him the highest commendation and respect. His death occurred when he had attained an advanced age. His family numljered four children, including John Reiland, the father of our subject. He, too. was born in Germany, became a trader of that country and died in the fatherland at the age of seventy-three years. He had wedded Miss Mary Thomas, also a native of Germany and a daughter of Stephen Tiiomas, who was an active factor in industrial circles in the community in which he made his home, operating a distillery and twenty-four lime kilns. He died at the ripe old age of eighty-two years. In his family were four children, two sons and two daughters, yir. and I\Irs. John Reiland became the parents of five children, four sons and one daughter, but only two are now living, the sister of John S. being Annie, who is the widow of Mathias Jones and is living on the old Reiland homestead in Germany. The father died at the age of seventy-three years, while his wife passed away at the age of eighty-nine years. Both were communicants in the Catholic church. John S. Reiland spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Germany, continuing a resident of that country until nineteen years of age, during which time he acquired a good practical education in the public schools. He also learned the carpenter's trade and was thus (|ualifien to earn his living as an artisan. In the year 1854 he crossed the Atlantic to America, having heard very favorable reports concerning the new world and its business oppor- tunities. He located in W'illiamsport, Pennsylvania, and there took out his naturalization papers, for he had made his way to this country to become a citizen of the United States. Believing that he might have still better business privileges and advantages in the middle west, he luade his way to HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 1S7 Illinois in 1861, settling in Peru, that state, in the month of October. There he lived for about five years or until 1866, since which time he has made his home in Lake county, Indiana. On removing to this locality he secured a tract of land and was engaged in farming until 1872, after which he became proprietor of a hotel in South Chicago, conducting the same until 1888. Since that time he has lived in East Chicago and is now enjoying a well merited rest from further business cares. On the 6th of August, 1856, Mr. Reiland was married, the lady of his choice being Miss Henrietta Meisenbach. a daughter of Jacob and Margaret Meisenbach. They became the parents of the following children : Jacob C, born September 8, 1857: John, born August 2-j, 1859; Mary, deceased, born January 17, 1862; Lena, born October 17, 1864: Antony, born February 17, 1866; Nicholas, torn January 2-j, 1868; William, born November i, 1869; Frank, born October 30, 1872: George, born August 18, 1876: Carrie, born August 6, 1881; Albert, born October 31, 1883. Of these Jacob i.s street commissioner and water inspector in East Chicago. He married Mis= Mar>' Mahr, and they have three children. William, John and ]\Iollie. John, who is a carpenter by trade, and is following his vocation in East Chicago, married Lena Smith and has one daughter. Pearlie. Mary died Januan,- 10, 1893, was the wife of John D. Williams and had one daughter. Pearl. Lena is the present wife of John D. Williams and they make their home in East Chicago. Antony, who is a bricklayer, is married and has three children, Grace, George and Henry. Nicholas follows the pursuit of boiler-making. William is serving as city judge of East Chicago. Frank is an electrical engineer of Cleveland, Ohio, and is married. George is an attorney of East Chicago. Carrie is the wife of A. C. Huber. and they have a daughter. Helen Ruth. Albert is now a student in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Mr. and Mrs. Reiland and their family are members of the Catholic church, and politically he is a Republican, deeply interested in the success of his party. He served as alderman for several years, and during that time exercised his official prerogatives in support of every measure that he be- lieved would contribute to the general improvement and upbuilding. In 1903 he built a beautiful home in East Chicago at the corner of One Hundred and Fortv-eighth street and \\'hiteoak avenue, where he is now living' retired. 188 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. The liope that led him to leave his r.ative land and seek a home in .\merica has been more than realized. He found the opportunities he sought, which, 1)y the way, are always open to the ambitious, energetic man, and making the best of these Mr. Reiland has steadily worked his way upward. He pos- sessed the resolution, perseverance and reliability so characteristic of people of the fatherland, and his name is now enrolled among the best citizens of East Chicago. ANDREW A. SAUERMAN. Andrew A. Sauerman, whose interests are thoroughly identified with those of Lake county so that he is at all times ready to lend his aid and co-operation to any movement calculated to benefit this section of the state or advance its substantial development, is a native son of Crown Point, his l)irth ha\ing occurred on the 22(\ of February, 1838. The family comes of German lineage and was founded in America bv Nichols Sauernian, the grandfather of our subject, who was born in Germany and crossed the Atlantic to America. He possessed strong purpose and laudable ambition, and as the years progressed won a fair measure of prosperity. His son, John C. Sauer- man, was born in Bavaria, Germany, and when fourteen years of age crossed the .\tlantic, locating in Chicago. There he learned the harness-maker's trade, and in 185 1 he remo\'ed to Crown Point, where he engaged in business as a manufacturer of harness, continuing in that line for about twenty-four years or until 1875, when he put aside private business interests in order to perform public service, having been elected county treasurer of Lake county. He filled the office for four years and then retired to private life. ^:pending his remaining da}s in the enjoyment of a well-earned and richly merited rest. He died in the year 1886. at the age of fifty-four years, and his value as a citizen and friend made his death the cause of general sorrow in his com- munity. He was a life-long Republican, ever active in the local circles of the party, and in religious faith was a Lutheran. His wife bore the maiden name of Pauline Stroehlein and was likewise a native of Bavaria, Germany, where she was reared. She came to America in early womanhood and for many years she traveled life's journey as the wife of John C. Sauerman. Her death occurred in 1900, when she was seventy-one years of age. This worthy couple were the parents of four children, one of whom died when only a year old, wdiile Flora died in 1888. Margaret T. is the widow of Dr. Llenry Pettibone, of Crown Point. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 189 Andrew A. Saiierman, the second in order of birtli of this family, was reared at Crown Point, attended the pnbHc schools there and after acquiring his elementary education attended college at Valparaiso, Indiana, the insti- tution being known as the Northern Indiana Normal School. He was grad- uated in the business department and after returning to his home he fol- lowed the harness-maker's trade, which he had previously learned, following that pursuit until 1876. In that year he entered the office of the county recorder as deputy, acting in that capacity for two years, and in 1878 he became assistant cashier of the First National Bank, which position he filled until January, 1896, when he was elected cashier of the bank. This has been his connection with the institution to the present time, and the success of the bank is attributable in no small degree to his efficiency and fidelity. He is a popular cashier, his obliging manner and unf:dtering courtesy being greatly appreciated by the patrons of the institution, while at the same time he is most loyal to the interests of the corporation which he represents. Since 1884 Mr. Sauerman has been a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank. In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Sauerman and Miss An- toinette Aurich. of Hancock, Michigan, a daughter of Michael and Mag- dalena (Diem) Aurich. She was born in Sheliovgsn. W^isconsin, and was reared in Hancock, Michigan, and she died on the loth of March. 1903. leaving two children : Harvey A., who is engaged in the drug business at Valparaiso; and Pauline M., who is attending school at Crown Point. Mr. Sauerman is a member of the Lutheran church, of which he is serving as a trustee, and he is well known throughout the county as a stanch Reimblican, having considerable influence in local political circles. He is a rein'esenta- UvQ of our best type of /\merican manhood and chi\alry. By perseverance, determination and honorable effort he has overthrown the obstacles which barred his path to success and reached the goal of prosperity, while his genuine worth, broad mind and public-spirited interest have made him a director of public thought and action. JOHN BUCZKO\\SKI. The prosperity and progress of every community depend upon its busi- ness activity, its commercial interests and industrial development, and those 190 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. who are foremost in the public h'fe are the men who are controlHng the veins and arteries of traffic. Mr. Buczkowski has become well known in connection with mercantile circles in Whiting, where he is now conducting a grocery and confectionery establishment. He deserves great credit for the success he has attained as it has been won entirely through his own well directed efforts guided by sound business judgment and permeated bv trust- worthy methods. Mr. Buczkowski is a native of Germany, his birth having occurred on the 14th of June, 1857. He was but a small boy when he came to America with his parents, the family home being first established in LaPorte county, Indiana, near Westville. The father was a farmer by occupation, and John Buczkowski was reared upon the home farm, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, in connection with the cultivation of the fields. He remained a resident of LaPorte county until about thirty-three years of age, and in his boyhood days attended the common schools, thus becoming equipped for life's practical and responsible duties. After entering upon his business career he had charge of a depart- ment for the street car company for a time and later was in charge of the convicts of the state prison at Michigan City for one year. In 1889 he came to Whiting, where he opened a saloon, which he conducted for five years at one location. He then removed to Robertsdale or North Ham- mond, where he continued in the same business for about five years. He then retired from active business for a time, but indolence and idleness are utterly foreign to his nature and he afterward entered trade circles. He erected three buildings in North Hammond, and he now owns four buildings there. He also bought and sold land and speculated to a considerable extent in real estate, doing a business which has resulted profitably. He is now connected with the firm of Smith & Bader in the real estate business, oper- ating under the name of the W'hiting Land Company. He has assisted materiallv in the upbuilding and improvement of North Hammond and of \\'hiting, having erected two houses here, and he is known as one of the most enterprising and progressive men of the town. As proprietor of a grocery and confectionery store he is conducting a large and growing busi- nesS; and in the different fields of trade with which he has been connected he has met with creditable success. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 191 ^Ir. Buczkowski was elected justice of tlie peace at the same time that Judge Jones was elected to represent North Hammond, W'hiting and East Chicago in North township. Mr. Buczkowski has taken quite an acti^•e part in public affairs, and is a Democrat in his political views where national questions are involved, but at local elections casts his ballot independently of party ties, supporting the candidates whom he thinks best qualified for office. May 17. 1904, he was appointed by the council as street commissioner of Whiting. In 1881 was celebrated the marriage of John Buczkowski and IMiss Mary Przyblinski, and they now have three children, two sons and a daughter, namely : Harry. Frank and Vangeline. Mr. Buczkowski is well known in Lake and LaPorte counties, where he has many friends, and his consecutive endeavor, strong purpose and laudable ambition have formed the foundation upon which he has builded liis business success. As the architect of his own fortunes he has builded wisely and well, and may justly be called by the somewhat hackneyed but very expressive title of a "self-made man." JOHN L. KEILMAN. John L. Keilman. general merchant and a director in the First National Bank at Dyer, is an influential and progressive young business man of Lake county, where he has had his life-long residence. He early marked out business pursuits as the object of his career, and he has been steadily advanc- ing to greater success in his enterprises since he took up active life some fifteen years ago. He is well known throughout the county, not only for his connection with commercial and financial affairs but also as the bearer of a famil}- name that will always be entitled to honor and esteem in Lake county, with whose growth and material development the first American Keilman became identified in the pioneer epoch, and the family influence and resources have been increasing to the present time. Mr. Keilman is the youngest son of Leonard and Lena (Austgen) Keilman, who have lived in Lake county for sixty years and whose history, together with other facts concerning this prominent family, will be found on other pages of this volume. John L. Keilman was born in St. John town- ship, Lake county, August 21, 1867, and was reared in his native place. After receiving a common school training he spent two years at the Catholic 15*2 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. seminary at St. Francis, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he took a busi- ness course. After his return home he engaged in the general mercantile business, in 1890, in partnership with his father. In 1892 he sold out his interest to his father, and spent the following nine months sight-seeing in California and the Pacific coast. He returned once more to engage in busi- ness with his father, under the name of L. Keilman & Son, and this firm is still doing business at the old stand which was established nearly fifty years ago. They have a large stock of general merchandise and do a large busi- ness with the surrounding district. Mr. Keilman was one of the men who organized the First National Bank in Dyer, in 1903. and is now one of its directors. Mr. Keilman married, October 3, 1895, Miss Emma Schaefer, who was born October 3, 1871, and is also a native of Dyer, St. John township, a daughter of Jacob Schaefer. They have no children. JOHN J. BRENNAN. For ten years John J. Brennan has been a resident of Roby, where he has large property interests and where in public circles he is well known, his influence having been a strong element in shaping public policy here during the decade in which he has been identified with the city. He is a typical busi- ness man of the present time, energetic and enterprising, who quickly recog- nizes business possibilities and also is cognizant of the fact that the present and not the future holds his opportunity. He knows that the moment for action is not to come, but uses his powers daily to the best advantage, and his life, therefore, has been crowned with successful accomplishment. Mr. Brennan is a native of Ohio, his birth ha\-ing occurred in Urbana, Champaign county, on the 8th of August, i860. He is a son of Edward and Bridget (Ryan) Brennan both of whom were natives of Ireland, and having crossed the Atlantic to America they became residents of the Buckeye state. Mr. John J. Brennan was reared in the city of his nativity, and pursued his education in the public schools. After putting aside his text books he en- tered upon his business career in a grocery store in the capacity of a shipping clerk and for about a year he remained in that establishment, which business was carried on along both wholesale and retail lines. In 1876 he went south and completed his education in the Southwestern Presbyterian University. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 193 He afterward became registered letter and money order clerk in the postot^ice at Clarivsviile, Tennessee, where he remained for four years. He then re- turned to Ohio, again locating in his native city, and was engaged in the coal business with his father for about two years. In 1887 he removed to Chicago, where he accepted the position of bookkeeper with the United States Rolling Stock Company, doing business at Hegewisch, Illinois. He continued as accountant with that company for seven years and came to Roby in 1894, since which time he has been a resident of this city. Here he is engaged in the saloon and restaurant business. He is also one of the principal land- holders of Roby, and likewise owns property in Illinois. Mr. Brennan has been very active and influential in politics and is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, believing that its principles contain the best elements of good government. In 1901 he was elected a member of the Hammond city council from the Fourth ward. He is one of the active members of that body, progressive and public-spirited in his citizenship and taking an active and helpful interest in everything that pertains to the general welfare. Viewed in a personal light, he is a man of excellent judgment, fair in his views and highly honorable in his relations with his fellow men. His life has been kindly, his actions sincere, his manner unaffected, and his example is well worthy of emulation. ^IICHAEL GRIMMER. iMichael Grimmer, who is serving for the second term as county auditor of Lake county and is a resident of CrovvU Point, was born in Ross township, this county, on the i8th of July, 1853, and his entire career has been such as to command the confidence, good will and respect of his fellow-citizens. His father, ^lichael Grimmer, made his way to Chicago in 1841, and after residing in the embryo city for a number of years took up his abode in Lake county, Indiana, in 1849. He was one of the pioneers of this section of the state, and he devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1853. when h.is son Michael was but eight weeks old. He left beside his widow four children, two daughters and two sons, the eldest being then but little more than twelve years of age. The mother afterward married again, and Michael Grimmer remained at home with his step-father until about sixteen years of age, assisting in the operation of the lt»4: HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. home farm. He then started out in hfe on his own account, and though he had but hniited school privileges to equip liim for the duties of the business world he possessed energy and determination, and resolved to win advance- ment. By working as a farm hand he earned the money that enabled him to attend school in the winter months, and later he began teaching in the district schools, being connected with that profession for ten years. In 1880 he embarked in general merchandising at Schererville. where he continued for seventeen years. His business was capably conducted, and his enter- prise and fair dealing formed the substantial foundation upon which he budded his success. In the meantime ]\Ir. Grimmer had been called to public office. He is a .stanch Republican in his political views and has taken an active interest in the work of the party throughout the period of his majority. While engaged in merchandising at Schererville he served for eight years as trustee of St. John township, and in 1897 he was elected auditor of Lake county, serving so faithfully during the succeeding three years that in 1900 he was re-elected and is now the incumbent in that office. He discharges his duties with, marked promptness and fidelity, arid his public career is one which has gained for him unabating confidence and respect. In 1879 ^Ir. Grimmer was united in marriage to Miss Lena Newman, a daughter of Joseph and Mary Newman, and thev have two children : Frances, who is in the office with her father: and Fred, who is attending school. ]\Ir. Grimmer is one of the leading citizens of Lake county, where he has spent his entire life. He is a self-educated as well as a self-made man. Starting out in life for himself ere he had attended school to any e.xtent. he became imbued with a laudable ambition to attain something better, and has steadily advanced in those walks of life demanding intellectuality, business ability and fidelitv. To-day he commands the respect and esteem not only of his communit\- but of peojjle throughout the state. Over the record of his public career and his private life there falls no shadow of wrong, for he has ever been most loyal to the duties of friendship and of citizenship, and his history well deserves a place in the annals of his nati\-e county. JOHN G. BOHLING. John G. Bohling, a prominent farmer of St. John township, has resided HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 195 in this part of Lake county all his life an.d carries on his extensive agricult- ural operations on the same farm on which, he was born, and which his father settled in the early days of the county's existence. He has always been known among his neighbors and fellow-citizens as a man of ability and energy and progressive spirit, and he has so managed his afifairs as to gain a substantial place in the world and surround himself with comfortable circumstances. ]\Ir. Bohling was born in St. John township. Lake county, October ii, 1855, a grandson of Andrew and a son of John Bohling, both well known men in the early settlement of Lake county. His father was born in Ger- many, November 26, 1823, and was reared there to the age of fifteen, when he was brought by his father to America. They lived in Joliet, Illinois, for two years, and in 1841 came to Lake county, Lidiana. Here John Bohling married, in 1843, Anna Mary Shillo, who was -also born in Germany and came to America in 1842. She died at the age of seventy years After their marriage they located on a tract of unimproved land in St. Joh.n township, and he gave his attention to its improvement and cultivation for many years, and still resides on it. with his son John. He is now past eighty years of age, and is revered as one of the sterling pioneers of Lake county. Of his seven children only four are now living, as follows : ^lagdalen, wife of Bart Schaefer, of Center township, Lake county ; Susanna, wife of Nick Alaginot, of St. John township; Joseph P., of Hammond; and John G. Mr. Bohling, the youngest of the family, was reared on the farm where he still lives, and received his early education in the schools of St. John township. On his fine farm of one hundred and si.xty acres he raises general crops and stock, and has been able to extract more than a good livirig from his fertile soil, so that he ranks among the progressive and representative farmers of the township. Li national afifairs he has always given his alle- giance to the Democratic party, but \-otes for the man in local afifaiis. He and his family are members of the Catholic church in St. John, the patron saint St. John's. April 2/. 1880. Mr. Bohling married Miss Lillosa Schmal. who was born in the village of St. John, Lake county. February 4, 1857, and is a daughter of .\dam Schmal. Five children have been lx)rn to Mr. and Mrs. Bohling: Clara, the wife of Frank A. Beiker, of Crown Point: William, at home; Eleanor; Norbert; and Joseph A., deceased. U>C HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. LEVI E. BAILEY. On the roster of county officials of Lake county appears the name of Levi E. Bailey, who is the present treasurer and is a most faithful custodian of the public exchequer. He is living at present in Crown Point, and through- out this portion of the state he is widely and favorably known. By birth, training and preference he is a western man, imbued with the spirit of enter- prise and advancement which is characteristic of the middle west and has led to its rapid growth and development. Mr. Bailey was born in A^ellowhead township, Kankakee county, Illi- nois, Tanuarv 9, 1858. It is known that his ancestors lived at one time in North Carolina, afterward in Pennsylvania and still later in Ohio. His paternal grandfather, John Bailey, became one of the pioneer settlers of LaPorte county, Indiana, locating there during tlie early boyhood of Josiah B. Bailev. On leaving LaPorte county Josiah B. Bailey took up his abode in Lake county with his parents, and was here reared. He was also married here, the lady of his choice being Miss N'ancy Kile, who was born in Lake countv, Indiana. Immediately after their marriage they removed to Kanka- kee countv, Illinois, where the father followed the occupation of farming until 1866 He then returned with his family to Lake county, locating in West Creek township, where he spent his remaining days, his death occurring when he was sixtj^-seven years of age. He was a verA- public-spirited man, took an active and helpful interest in the building of roads and gave a generous and zealous support to the measures for the public good. In politics he was a verv stanch Republican. His wife died at the age of thirty-eight years. In the family were four children, three sons and a daughter, all of whom are now residents of W^est Creek township. Lake county. Levi E. Bailey is the eldest and was but si.x years of age when the family returned to Lake count}-, so that he was reared here. He attended the com- mon schools, worked on the home farm and remained under the parental roof until twenty-two years of age, when he started out in life on his own account. He engaged in farming in Kankakee county, Illinois, where he remained for three years, and then again came to Lake county, settling in ^^"est Creek town- ship. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits until November. 1902, when he was elected county treasurer. On the ist of September, 1903, he HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. I'JT took up his abode in Crown Point. He took possession of the office on tlie 1st of January, 1903, and is now capably discharging the duties thereof. He owns a farm of four hundred and twenty acres in West Creek township, which is now rented. He is also a stockholder in the Lowell National Bank. ]\Iarch 19, 1904, Mr. Bailey was re-nominated for a second term as treasurer. In 1880 occurred the marriage of Mr. Bailey and ]Miss Emma Hayden, a native of ^\'est Creek township. Lake county, and a daughter of Daniel and Louisa Hayden, who were pioneer settlers of this county. Four children graced this marriage : Nancy, the wife of Loren Love, of West Creek town- ship ; Murray ; Merritt ; and Bennett. Mr. Bailey takes a veiy active interest in local political affairs and is an unfaltering advocate of Republican principles, believing firmly in the prin- ciples of the party and endorsing the \'arious planks of its platform. He is identified with the Knights of P}'thias fraternity and the Independent Order of Foresters, at Lowell, and he is well known in fraternal, political and agri- cultural circles throughout the county. RICHARD FULLER. Richard Fuller was for some years one of the extensive farmers of Lake county, operating one thousand acres, and his name has been a prom- inent and honored one in connection with agricultural interests and with the dealing in hay, grain and stock. He is now proprietor of the Fuller House at Shelby, and few men of this part of the state have a wider or more fa\-orable acquaintance than has Richard Fuller. Moreover, he is entitled to distinc- tion as a self-made man, whose success is attributable directly to his own efforts Mr. Fuller was born in Athens county, Ohio, February 12, 1829, and has, therefore, passed the seventy-fifth milestone on life's journey. His parents were James and Lydia (Dodge) Fuller, both of whom were natives of Maine. His maternal grandmother, however, was born in Scotland and w'as brought to America when a little maiden of seven summers. The paternal grandfather was born in Maine and was of English descent, the family having Ijeen founded in America in early colonial days. When the colonists attempted to throw off the yoke of British oiipression he joined the continental army and fought for the independence of the nation. Both 15^ HISTORY OF L.\KE COUXTV, Mr, «ii>d Mirsi. Janies Faller wiene reareti aixi evtwcAted ia ibc Piii* Tre« state, *«ihJ irt>«r nwrriAg* \x-«s tliene cfk^iratied They becanie the parents of ek>«n chiktjwiv, ot wiboaii'i RiohsTd Frailer is tihe tentli chiM asud nijwh 5icvn, "Rk-hainJ F-nl)er was rn ihi* wmth vear wihen be ounw to Labe oowmy, :'^ 'hi? fatheir . ' Vr, The tami'h- K-nnie wa? established in ^v\,.. . V vViv toAVTJsMjv >>i...... ,^ tAther entered land tTiMM the giweTmiiem ATK^ iwfvrox'ed a tamv spendii^ hfe TonaTiiiT^ tiays tlwreoni, hts death oc- oaTrir^ when be xirjis m M$ ssex^wy-^first year, Hfe xriie passed ai«ra}i when AKvnt the satne «§«, They were pJcsneer settters ■of La^ coflsmty air>d »mv«3y assisted m the eariy dex^'kipniient awd progiwss isf tihi? piimoin of the sstaite. R-Jchard "~ ". ^ " " - , ■ ;x-«n m one of the old leg schcol hoiases . ■ of the war he *ssl^ . , - —, ■ -. ^ vlaTid aith? i^A^lopa-r^ the homw tawix He gave hts father iflne heiiefit of his semces he ha».l attained his Tfja^^^iW", aand dnen er^^ged in farmrr^ •im ihss tmn aocowiift in Ce<3aT Cwek towsusJinip, He later j«niioved t© West Oree?^ towtf- >' '.,'., , " " tS:^^ 'wheal he came to 5', " ', . r ed ^. . -. - ^ ^" -r trme he oipcw;.*;.. v .< , - ■■d ... - ... . - , - . H-as extensiivieJy er^jaged . ig iw hay, ^jrai-n atid iJtodc tnwil aibowt iten y«ars .^a when he iparchased 9ns present place, the FnTler Hoiose, which he is mow <-i.tnd«criT^. 1*1 11S54 Mr, Fualer 'w^s minmed wu wjanrii^ ito Miss IDehorah Hale, a natix* of M/ . "\- x^:as T«aTetl hcw^'ver, in iLake ooimty, iTidiana. She 'd?ei9 m 1^5. vv. V .:g ele^ien chi"".""^- '" ' -"--— -^-y--;-. ' - ■-■• -_-^ -.-,j inwie ai* h%-hi^- at this '»Tfl»r^> 1- - - .• _ - i;h school coarse, is wjatried asid a faraier at iRose in WV^io^scm coanty, KaTJsas. OsTa A'deha was iecciorfly, Jtow^ Pra-nltlm, a <;or.«r»c»csr aind ImJIiSer -of Oamvcm City, OoiJorado. is a - - ' ' ' - . , ' - . ^ " S"? - - of Xe\' ... - :ist !lrr proiiess?on and was edncated in ibe <3ty ^tdhere ^ uowr Tendes. Richard Edwin is wjamiwd atjd is « swcccssfdl t«staTfra*enr at MonoTi, IndJaafia, Ha-nn^ Ann is at s -1- -^ V- . - -, farmer at SbeillM-, was «ednca!ted in ir>e commor. scho^.s ,'::;.. ;s .r. ^^'cm^xrat to pdBncs, Laxrra Jeafmene is ^dic I lis Tom' ()!•■ I.AKI'. (YHJNTY. 199 will" (if J:iiiu's I'llink, .1 pri is]ii'ri 'lis slucl^ I'.irn'cr I'l' ( Jicli.iicl (irn\i\ liulimia. A.qncs I )clii ii ;ili, ilic xmmqi'sl nl llic rliiMicn. is llic wile ol Jnlin l'>'>ri;', who is fililni (i| llic AVvi'.v /\'rr7(Ti" :il I li:i\i'r. Iiiili;iii;i. \l ilu- iiiiic (il llic (nil will Mr. I'lillcr scrxcii for six nmntlis as a iiiciiiIht 111 ( iiiii|i:iii\ I''. I'lfu liflli liiilianii NUIiiiilccr liifaiilrv. and was tlicii lMiii(iiaM\ (liscliaiLM'il li\' rcasmi of tin- cossalicni nf linsiilitics, July 27, liSf)5. I U' is a hciiHH'ial ill Ills |i(i|iiu'al \ icw s aiiil a suppdrUT (il W. J. llryaii. Me lias lu'cii a usulciil nl I .akc ocuiiiU- fur si\ly-li\o years, and few iif ils citi/ciis lia\i' lcinL;i'r witnessed its prDi^rcss and iinprdvement. His llic has hccii cliaiaclci i/cd h\- nnliiini; aeii\it\' ;uid perseverance and he is well l^iiKwii and hij^iily respcelcd hecaiise nf iiis many sterling traits of clinracter. OKI \\i>() W Si''K\iS. (>ilaiidii \. Ser\ is. a piiiniiiu'iit ami wcilkn.iwn lainier of Section J5, Entile Creek low iisliiii. has made 1 .ake county the scene of his (juiet and siiccessfnl i-iide,i\i>rs ever since lietiinnin_t;' his active career, and tlie township wliere he now resides is also his hirthplace. so that sixty odd _\ears of resi- dence h.is made Lake conniy the most paiticiilar and dearest spot of the inhab- ited ijlohe to him. The most strenuous p.art of Mr. Servis's Hfe. Iiowever, was jiassed aw.iv from ilie peaceful limits of 1 .ake county, in the daily marches and h.itllcs i^i the i;real Kehcllion. in which he was one of the faithful soldiers of llic I'lnoii .md i;a\c oxer four \cars' of conscientious service for its intCL;! ily. riiis Nctcr.in soldier and successful farmer was horn in luigle Creek township. Lake conniy. Seincmher u, 184,^, heing the sixth of the eight children, four sons aiu! four daughters, horn to Orlando \'. and I'diza (hdint) Servis, hoth natives oi \ew N'orU state. Iiis father came ti> Lake county in llic ihirlies. and lIills." He had begun in this factory at an early age, at wages of six dollars a week, and had steadily advanced to a foremanship in another department, learning every detail of the business. He was receiving a salary of eighty-five dollars a month when he left. On his return to Lake county he began farming near Hobart, but in 1871 sold out and went to Chicago, where he was employed as 212 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. a helper in the carpenter trade. At his father's death he returned to Hobart and was appointed administrator to settle up the estate, after the completion of which task he returned to Chicago and engaged in the saloon business, continuing it for eight months. His next enterprise was the buying of milch cows and disposing of them in Chicago, being thus engaged for two years. He then rented a farm near Hobart for two years, and in 1877 bought a small farm in Winfield township. In 1886 he bought the farm of one hundred and eighty acres where he still resides, and all the fine improvements and excellent features of this farmstead are the result of Mr. Hutton's own industry and management. From 1894 to 1901 he was engaged in the grocery business at East Chicago, in partnership witli \Y. R. Diamond, and their monthly sales ran up to a high figure. Mr. Hutton is one of the influential Repuljlicans of his township, and is the present nominee for the trusteeship of \Vinfield township. He has served as road supervisor of this township. He was treasurer of the East Chicago Republican committee, and has been delegate to various Republican conven- tions. Mr. Hutton married, in 1868, Miss Gertrude R. Fieler, a daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Schrage) Fieler. She was born in Germany and came to America when seven 3'ears old. Her brother, Christian Fieler, is sketched elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Hutton lost three children in child- hood, and the three living are : Ida C, wife of L. A. Phillips, of Porter county, Indiana ; Lydia M., wife of Albert Lewis, of East Chicago ; and Tames P., at home. WALTER H. HAMMOND. \\'alter H. Hammond, who is one of the prominent real estate an 1 insur- ance men of Hammond, has spent almost his entire life in this city, and has for several years been accounted one of its most progressive and enlightened business men. He is a son of one of the pioneers of this city, and is con- nected with the family which gave Hammond its name and its greatest in- dustry. Mr, Hammond was born in Detroit, Michigan, October 26, 1873, being a son of Thomas and Helen (Potter) Hammond, natives of Massachusetts. His paternal grandfather was a native of Massachusetts, of English descent, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 213 and had a large family. His maternal grandfather was a nati\'e of the same state. Thomas Hammond was a carpenter by trade, and followed that pnr- suit in the east. He came to Detroit, Michigan, when a yonng man, and was engaged in the meat business there until 1875, '" which year he came to Hammond, Indiana, and became connected with George H. Hammond & Company. This well-known packing company at the beginning employed. a force of about fifty men, but later increased it to nearly two thousand. The business was carried on in Hammond until May, 1903, when it was moved to Chicago. Thomas Hammond is now president or the Commercial Bank of Hammond, and is also engaged in the real estate Inisiness. He was con- gressman from this district for one term dinging the Cle\-eland reginicn, and also served as mayor of Hammond for six years and as alderman for four years. He was originally a Methodist, and his wife is a Baptist. They had five children, two sons and three daughters: Elizabeth E., deceased; Carrie, wife of W. A. Hill, of Hammond; \A''alter H. ; Frank; and Edith. Mr. Walter H. Hammond was about four years old A\hen he came to Hammond, and has lived here the rest of his life. He graduated from the high school in 1892, after which he attended Oberlin College. He then took a business course in the Metropolitan Business College in Chicago, and shortly afterward engaged in the real estate and insurance Ijgsiness. which he has continued with increasing success to the present time. He is president of the Home Building and Loan and Savings ^Association of Lake county, and is the owner of considerable city property in addition t(^ his nice resi- dence at 704 South Hohman street, wdiich he built in 1902. June 17, 1896, Mr. Hammond married Miss Miami J. Laws, a daughter of John and Eliza Laws. They have three children, Harold W., Florence E. and Kenneth H. Mr. and Mrs. Hammond are members of the First Baptist church, and he is a church trustee. He affiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569, F. & A. ]M., with Hammond Cha]5ter No. 117, R. A. M., and with Hamninnd Commandery. K. T. In politic^ h.e is a Democrat. HERBERT S. BARR. The true measure of success is determined liy what one has accom- plished, and, as taken in ciintradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his o\\n cnuntry, th.ere is pai'licnlar interest 214 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. attaching to the career of the subject of this review, since he is a native son of the place where he has passed his acti\-e life, and has so directed his ability and efforts as to gain recognition as one of the representative citizens of Lake county. He is actively connected with a profession which has important bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section or community, and one which has long been considered as conserving the public welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual rights. Mr. Barr was born in Crown Point, March 4, 1865. His paternal grand- father w-as Samuel Barr and his father S. A. Barr. The latter, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Lake county in 1866, was prominent and influential in public afifairs and was widely recognized as one of the leading, honored and respected citizens of his community. He served his country as a soldier of the Civil war and was wounded at the Isattle of Peach Tree Creek by a minie ball, and the injury that he there sustained caused his death thirty- four years later. In politics he was a stanch Democrat and filled the oitice of county auditor for four years. He was likewise a worthy representative of the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in all life's relations was found true and loyal to every trust reposed in him and to high ideals. He married Miss Emma Standish, a direct descendant of Miles Standish. 'Mr. S. A. Barr passed away in 1898. but his widow stil! survives. They were the parents of five children, all of whom are yet living. Mr. H. S. Barr was the second child of the family, and in his early youth attended the public schools of Crown Point. He afterward became a student in the Northwestern Law School, and his reading for his profession was also directed by J. \\'. Youche for several years. Later he was asso- ciated in practice with IMr. Youche for about seven years, and since 1893 he has been successfully prosecuting his profession at Crown Point. He lived for about one year in Chicago, but with this exception has remained continu- ously in his native city, where he is now numliered among the leading law- yers. In 1899 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Barr and ]\Iiss Jessie Hill, a daughter of Charles J. Hill, and they h.a\-e two children, Harold and Ruth. Mr. Barr affiliates with the ]\Iasonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Foresters, and in politics is a supporter of Democratic principles. His life has been one of untiring activitv crowned with success, vet he is not less HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 215 esteemed as a citizen than as a la\v}-er, and his kindly impulses and charm- ing cordiality of manner have rendered him exceedingly popular among all classes. LA\\'RENCE COX. Lawrence Cox, superintendent of the Tdetropolitan police of Hammond, has been connected with the public life and business interests and as a private citizen of Hammond for over fifteen years, and there is perhaps no better know'n resident of the city nor any more interested in the welfare and gen- eral development of both city and county. He has been in some important official position for the past seven years, and has been found efficient, ener- getic and painstaking in all his performances. ^Ir. Cox was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, near Kingston, June i6, 1866, a son of John and Mary (Kane) Cox, both natives of Canada. His paternal grandfather was the founder of the family in America. He was born in Ireland, and about the beginning of the nineteenth century he and his wife Isabella emigrated to Canada, and their four daughters and one son were all born on this side of the waters. John Cox has been a life-long and prominent farmer of Canada, and now resides on Howe Island, in Ontario. He has been prominent in the public affairs of his community, being now county commissioner of Fron- tenac county. He was reeve of his township for a number of years, nnd was fishery overseer for some years under Sir John McDonald. He is a member of the Catholic church, as was also his wife. She died in 1894, at the age of fifty-one years. Her father was Thomas Kane, a native of county Water- ford, Ireland, and who emigrated to Canada about 1836, settling on Howe Island, where he was a farmer. His wife was Catharine (Powers) Kane, and they had a family of twelve children. John and Mary Cox had thirteen children in their family, and nine are still living, as follows : Kate, the wife of \V. J. Collins, of Hillsville, Penn- sylvania : Lawrence, of Hammond: Maggie, the wife of R. J. Patterson, of Danville, Connecticut; ^latthew J., of Ontario, Canada; Miss Marian, a teacher of Howe Island. Ontario ; John, of Scranton, Pennsyhania : Miss Lillian, of ^Montreal, Quebec; Agnes, the wife of William Beaubien, of Howe Island ; and \'incent, of Hillsville, Pennsvlvania. 216 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. IMr. Lawrence Cox was reared on his father's farm to the age of four- teen years. He received his education in the district schools, the Kingston Collegiate Institute, and also in the night school of the Dominion Business College at Kingston. He was a bookkeeper for a time, and in 1884 made a trip to the Lhiited States. In 188S he came to Hammond as his permanent location. He was first emplo}-ed with the G. H. Hammond & Company for two years, and from 1891 to February, 1897, was in the fire and life insur- ance business. At the latter date he became deputy sheriff under B. F. Hayes, and then held the same position under the latter's successor until May I, 1901, which was the date of his appointment to the ofifice of superintendent of the Metropolitan police, which ofiice he has filled to the eminent .-.atisfac- tion of all concerned for the past three vears. Aug-ust 8, 1899, ^Ir. Cox married Mrs. Mary Nelson, the widow of R. H. Nelson and a daughter of William W. Reece and Anna E. (Dowdi- gan) Reece. Her parents were pioneers of the Calumet river region, and for many years were the only residents between the Indiana state line and South Chicago. Mrs. Cox is their only child, and her father died when she was about three years old, but her mother still lives and makes her home with Mrs. Cox. She has considerable propertv interests in Chicago. Mrs. Cox had two children by her former marriage, Alfaretta and Mae. Mr. and Mrs. Cox are members of the Catholic church, and he afiiliates with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is also a charter member of the Hammond Club. His politics are Republican. He owns his nice home at 517 South Hohman street, and he and his wife have hosts of friends in the city and vicinity. CALLUS J. BADER. Gallus J. Bader, prominent as a representative of tlie business and finan- cial interests of Whiting, is now the president of the First National Bank at tliat place. A man of great natural ability, his success in business from the beginning of his residence in ^^'hiting has been uniform and rapid. As has been truly remarked, after all that may be done for a man in the way of giving him early opportunities for obtaining the advantages which are found in the schools and in books, he must essentially formulate, determine and give shape to his own character, and this is what Mr. Bader has done. He has perse- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 217 vered in the pursuit of a persistent purpose and has gained the most satisfac- tory reward, and his name is a strong one on commercial paper and an honored one in all business transactions. Mr. Bader was born in LaPorte, Indiana, on the 2d of November, 1864, and is a son of Callus J. and Magdalene (Mantel) Bader, both of whom were natives of Baden, Germany, whence they emigrated to America, settling in LaPorte county, Indiana, at an early period in the development and upbuild- ing of this portion of the state. The father was engaged in the hotel business and conducted what was called the Washington House. Callus J. Bader. his namesake and the immediate subject of this review, is the voungest in a family of six children, all of whom reached adult age. His education was acquired in the public schools of LaPorte, and his boyhood days were spent under the parental roof. At the age of twenty-one years he began business as a dry-goods merchant of LaPorte, where he continued until 1890, when he came to Whiting and entered into partnership with Fred J. Smith in the conduct of a bakery and restaurant. Subsequently he turned his attention to the electric light business, and in this enterprise was associated with James A. Gill. They organized a company and erected a plant, of which Mr. Gill was the president, while Air. Bader was the secretary and treasurer. This enterprise prospered and enabled him at a later date to extend hi^ labors into financial circles. The First National Bank of Whiting was organized on the 1st of December, 1902, and capitalized for fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Bader is now president, while John M. Thiele is the cashier and W. E. War- wick is vice-president. These gentlemen are members of the board of di- rectors together with James A. Gill, Richard F. Schaaf and Frank H. Morri- son, the last named of LaPorte, and F. J. Smith, of Whiting. In 1893 occurred the marriage of Callus J. Bader and Miss Elizabeth Wagner, who was born in 1870 and was reared in Michigan City, LaPorte county. This marriage has been blessed with one child, a son, Clarence. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bader are well known in Whiting and this portion of Indiana, and have gained many warm friends who entertain for them high regard and extend to them the hospitality of the best homes of Whiting. In his political views Mr. Bader is a Republican, having joined the ranks of the party in 1896 on account of the money question. He had formerly supported the Democracy, but could not endorse the "free and unlimited 218 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. coinage of silver at the ratio of i6 to i." Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Columbus. He has been a ver\' successful business man and one whose life history should serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration to others, showing what may be accomplished by determined purpose and capable management. He began with a very small amount of money. His father died when the son was but thirteen years of age, and from that time forward the boy had to depend upon his own resources for a living. He entered upon his business career as a salesman in a dry-goods store, and in order to perfect his education attended night school for two winter seasons. He remained for two years in the employ of the man whose service he had first entered, and then went to Chicago, where he became an employe of the Crane Elevator Company, continuing for three years in the machinist depart- ment. He then returned to LaPorte and engaged in business for himself, and for five years he was numbered among the merchants of that place. On the expiration of that period he sold his business there in order to remove to Whiting, where he has since been located and where he has made for himself an honored name, gaining at the same time a very creditable success. Since 1900, the firm of Smith & Bader have been engaged extensively in the real estate business, after having been in the bakery business for ten years. Mr. Bader possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution, and his close application to business and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which is to-day his. He thoroughly enjoys home life and takes great pleasure in the midst of his family and friends, to whom he is always courteous, kindly and affable, and those who know him personally entertain for him warm regard. MARION F. PIERCE. Marion F. Pierce, merchant and well-known business man of Alerrill- ville, Ross township, is one of the oldest native sons of Lake county still engaged in the active pursuits of life. Three generations of the Pierce family have been identified with the industrial and commercial affairs of the county, covering a period of seventy years, and extending from the time when the alternate stretches of woodland and prairie in Lake county offered habitation to few white men, until now there is not a square foot anywhere HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 219 not in private possession or devoted to public use. ]\Iyiel Pierce, the grand- fatlier; Marion Pierce, the father: and Floyd AI. Pierce, the son, are the three men wlio have wrought out tlieir success and advanced the welfare of the county during the years of their lives spent here, and to the second of the three is due the distinction of sixty-three years of residence in the township where his business interests are still located. Mr. M. F. Pierce was born in Ross township. Lake county, August i, 1841. His father, Myiel Pierce, was born about 1800 in Erie county, New York, and as a pioneer among the pioneers arrived in Lake county, Indiana, June 25, 1835. He was a farmer and hotel-keeper and in September, 1842, erected the old and well-known Mcrrillville Hotel, which after sixty-two years of use still stands as a monument to its founder and builder. He sold this hotel property after running it two years, and then bought the farm on which he died in 1847. He was county assessor for a time, and was well known throughout the surrounding country. His wife was Marcia Ann Crawford, a native of Erie county. New York, and who died in January, 1897. in her seventy-eighth year. There were six children in their family: Corydon, Angelina, Sidney, Marion F., ]\Iyiel, and Myron, who died about 1848. Clarion F. Pierce was about six years old when his father died, and he never enjoyed many days of pleasant boyish recreation, nor yet had he his full complement of schooling. His mother was compelled to go into the hayfield and do a man's labor in order to maintain her family and home, and Marion was never behindhand in assisting her, and in each succeeding year did a larger share of the farm duties. He thus remained on the home farm until he was twenty-one, and on .-\ugust 9, 1862, enlisted in Company A, Ninety-ninth Indiana Infantry, serving in the ranks for nearly three years, until his discharge after the close of the war, on June 16, 1865. He was in thirty battles altogether, taking part at Vicksburg, Jackson, Resaca, Lookout Mountain, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Fort McAllister, was all through the campaign to the sea, and thence to Washington, where he participated in the grand review. He returned to Ross township and resumed farm work, remaining at home till his marriage, in 1867. In 1873 he engaged in the mercantile business at Merrillville, and has been in that for over twenty years, now ranking as the premier merchant and business man of the town. 220 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Mr. Pierce is one of the influential Democrats of the county, and has taken an active part in local affairs. He was trustee of Ross township for nine years, served as postmaster of Merrillville four years, and was in the internal revenue service five years under Cleveland's administration. He affiliates with the John Wheeler Post, G. A. R., at Crown Point, and in the Masonic Lodge No. 551, at Merrillville, has filled all the chairs but one, senior deacon. He was married, October 27, 1867, to Miss Maggie B. Randolph, daughter of Cyrus and Allie (Meade) Randolph. They are the parents of three children: Floyd M., Cora B. and Ralph M. JOHN FISHER. John Fisher, now deceased, was a respected and honored resident of Crown Point, who had many friends in Lake county, and whose death, there- fore, was deeply regretted. He was born in Schenectady county, Nev,' York, September 7, 1832. and was of Scotch parentage and ancestry. His father, Alexander Fisher, was born in Ayr, Scotland, and in 1818 crossed the At- lantic to the new world, settling first in Montreal, Canada. The following year, however, he removed to Schenectady, New York, where he spent his remaining days. He was a millwright and farmer, following the dual pur- suits as a life work. In his native county John Fisher was reared, spending his boyhood days under the parental roof, where he was trained to habits of industry and economy. The west, with its business possibilities, attracted him, and in 1855 he came to Lake county, Indiana, locating at Southeast Grove in Eagle Creek township. There he was engaged in the broom manufacturing business and soon after his arrival in Lake coun.tv he was elected county surveyor, which position he filled for many years. He knew every foot of the county, his business making him thoroughly familiar with every locality. It also brought to him a wide acquaintance, and he became one of the most prominent and influential men in this part of the state, taking an active and helpful interest in public affairs. He was one of the civil engineers who worked on the con- struction of the Panhandle Railroad, assisting in the survey of the road from Columbus, Ohio, to Chicago. This work was done about 1864. Mr. Fisher also carried on agricultural pursuits, owning a farm two miles southeast of HISTORY OJ- LAKE COUNTY. 5^21 Crown i'oint, and he thoroughly understood the best methods of caring for the fields and producing good crojjs. Whatever he undertook he carried for- ward to successful completion, for he was a man of unfaltering energy and strong purpose. Mr. J"'isher was united in marriage to Miss Amelia J. VVilley, who was lx.irn in Lake county. The VVilley family is of English lineage and was estal>- lished in America in early colonial days by David VVilley, the great-grand- father of -Mrs. l-'ishcr. His son, Jermiah VVilley, was Ix^rn in Connecticut, July 28, 1777, and there resided for many years, Imt eventually removed to the Empire state. Her father, Cer>rge Willey, was born in Connecticut and was four years of age when he removed to Madison county. New York, with his parents. In August, J838, he arrived in Lake county, Indiana, locating in Hanover township. He removed to a farm alxjut a mile east of Crown Point in 1865, and there he spent his remaining days, devoting his energies to agri- cultural jmrsuits until his death, which occurred on the 5th of April, 1884. He was one of the pioneers of this county and did much for its early develop- ment and improvement. He was ever actively interested in public affairs, was zealous in his advocacy <>i all measures that tended to prrjmrjte the gen- eral welfare arul was widely known as an influential anfl valued citizen. His wife Ijorc the maiden name of Clynthia Nash and was a native of Madison county, New York, and a daughter of Thomas Nash, Mr, anrl Mrs, Willey became the jjarcnts of seven children, four .Sfjns and three daughters, but three of the sons died in infancy. The only surviving son is George A, Willey, a resident of St, L^juis, Missfjuri, The sisters are Mrs, Alice Granger, of I''ort Dodge, Iowa, and Mrs, Adella C, Griffin, of Oklahoma, Mrs, l''isher is the eldest of the seven children and was born in Hanover t^nvnship. Lake Cfmvty, Indiana, April 30, iH^i. She pursued her early education in the district schools and afterward continued her education in Crown Point. She gave her haml in marriage to Mr. I-'isher on the 7th of November, 1865, and Ijy this marriage there have )>cen born two children, Agnes May, who died when twenty months old, and George W,, who is now a resident of Crown Point, In his political views John Fj.sher was a life-long Kq^ublican, and polit- ical questions had for him great interest. He was a Koyal Arch Mason and was a amsJstent and faithful member of the Presbyterian church. He died 222 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. March 7, 1897, and because of his honoraljle, upright hfe he left to his family an untarnished name as well as a comfortable competence. He gained the respect of all with whom he had been associated, and his loss was therefore deeply deplored by his many friends as well as by his widow and son. Mrs. Fisher has spent her entire life in Lake county, Indiana, and is well known. She has been a resident of Crown Point for ten years, where she has a wide circle of friends. For many years she has been a member of the Presbyterian church. BALZER FRANZ. Balzer Franz, of section 8, Ross township, came to this township as a boy of twelve, some fifty-frve years ago, and when he began doing for !iim- self he had only his industry and strong constitution for his capital stock. He has been a hard worker and good manager all his life, and does not even now remit much of his former diligence, although the success that he has won gives him freedom from care and necessary business activity. He has proved himself an influential factor in the development of the agricultural interests of Lake county, and through his o\\n material prosperity and good citizenship has enriched the community in which he has passed so many years of his life. When he was a boy in the county there was not a railroad in operation through the county, from which fact it is evident that he has been a personal witness of all the great development that has resulted in making Lake county a network of railroad lines, and six acres from his own farm have been taken for railroad rights of way. Mr. Franz was born in Bavaria, Germany, March 21, 1836, so that he is now within the shadow of the age of threescore and ten. He remained in the old country until he was twelve years old, and then accompanied his mother and step-father to America, the family coming directly to Ross town- ship. Lake county. He was reared and has spent all his subsequent years in tliis countv, and during his boyhood attended for several years the township schools. Fie remained at home and worked for his mother and step-father until he was twenty-three years old, and for several years thereafter was engaged in various pursuits connected with farming, working en farms by the month, driving cattle to Chicago markets, hauling cord wood, etc. He was all the time getting a more substantial vantage ground in material worth, and was soon engaged ir. the operation of his own farm, from which time HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 223 he has continued with increasing success in agricultural pursuits until he is now the owner of a fine farm of five hundred acres, well improved, highly cultivated and productive of as good all-around crops as are raised anywhere in Ross township. Mr. Franz has been married twice. In 1865 he wedded Miss Elizabeth Geibe, who died without issue. He then married Anna Shello, and they have nine children : George, Helen, Nora, Maggie, Elizabeth, Cecilia, Grace, Marv and Balzer. They were all born in Ross township, and all are well educated, Cecilia and Grace having finished the country schools and being now students in Merrillville. CHARLES W. FRIEDRICH. Charles ^^^ Friedrich, the miller at Dyer, has been successfully con- ducting the mill at this place for the past ten years, and has followed that line of business almost continuousl}- since he was fifteen years old, when he became an apprentice to the trade in his native Germany, r.nd where he learned all the details of the work in the thorough manner so mucti in vogue in the fatherland. He came to America during his young man- hood, and has had a very successful career in different parts of the middle west since that time. He is counted among the influential citizens at Dyer, and is enterprising and public-spirited in all that he undertakes, whether for personal advantage or for community interest. Mr. Friedrich was born in Germany, December 24, 1846, and was reared and educated in his native country. He attended the public schools during the required limit up to his fourteenth year, and then became a miller's apprentice, continuing his work faithfully for three years and gradu- ating as a master at the trade. He followed his chosen occupation in Ger- many until 1872, when he embarked and crossed the ocean to America. For some time he was engaged in the express, grocery and saloon business in Oak Park. Illinois. In 1881 he moved to North Judson, Starke county, Indiana, and bought a mill, which he operated until 1893. He then sold out, and in the following year came to Dyer and bought the flouring mill at this place. He has improved the plant in many ways, and increased its pro- ductive capacity to fifty liarrels a day besides adding to the quality of its output and building up an extensive trade and demand for all his products. 224: HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Mr. Friedrich has been a Democrat ever since entering the ranks of American citizenship, and is loyal and pnblic-spirited in his attachment to his adopted land. He is a member of the Lutheran church, and also af- filiates with the ^fasonic fraternity at Hammond. He was married in 1870 to Miss Mary H. Ness, also a native of Ger- many. They are the parents of three children: William H.. wlio is at home, and who married Miss Ida Ross, of North Judson; Dr. L. M., of Hobart : and Jacob O., of Berwyn, Illinois. GEORGE W. YOUNG. George W. Young, a prominent farmer on section 32, Ross township, has lived in Lake county most of his life. He is almost a native son of the county since he was born very close to the line between this and Porter county. Outside of eleven years spent in business in Chicago, he has devoted most of his active years to farming, with such success that he is numbered among the representative men of that class in this section of Lake county. He is a man of ability in whatever enterprise he undertakes, and has more than once been influential in community affairs, having a public-spirited de- sire to further the material and social welfare of the county which has so long been his home. He was born just across the line in Porter county, Indiana, February 25, 1852, a son of D. L. and Lovina (Guernsey) Young, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Canada, whence she came to Lake county in young" womanhood. His father came to Lake county about 1850, and died here in his sixty-second year. He followed the occupations of farming. carrying the mail and keeping hotel in Hobart. He was a well known old citizen, both of Lake and Porter counties, owning land in both counties. He carried the mail between Lake station and Crown Point. He was a life-long Republican. His ancestors were German. Flis first wife died at the age of thirty, having been the mother of two daughters and four sons, of whom four died young. George ^^^. the only living son, has a sister, Emma L., wife of Henry Cunningham. Mr. D. L. Young, by his second marriage, had three children, and the two living are D. L. and Malida, the latter the wife of Charles Miller. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 225 Mr. Young \vas reared and educated in Lake and Porter counties, and for several years after taking up active work remained at home assisting his father on the farm. Li 1876, after his marriage, he went to Chicago, wliere for eleven years he was engaged in the ice business, being located on Twelfth street near L^nion. He sold out in 1887 and returned to Lake county, where he has since followed farming. He has a well-imi^roved farm of two hundred and fifty acres, and he raises general products, stock, and does dairy- ing, making it all a very profitable enterprise. Mr. Young has been a life-long Republican and cast his vote for Hayes, and at one time held the office of supervisor of the township. He is a mem- ber, at Hobart. of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 2i33- and the Independent Order of Foresters, No. 141, at Holiart. He married, in 1876, Miss Susan S. Cunninghan.:, who died October 3, 1890, having been the mother of six children : Carrie L. : George A. ; Del- bert E. ; Han-y L. ; Louie L. ; and Joseph W., deceased. The three eldest were born in Chicago, and the others in Lake county. Mr. Young was mar- ried in Lake county, Indiana, in 1892, to Mrs. O. M. Young, and one son was born, Isaac Lane, aged eleven, in the foiu"th grade. Mrs. Young is a native of Ohio, born in 1855 and was reared in Ohio and Indiana and edu- cated in the latter state. HON. JOHANNES KOPELKE. Hon. Johannes Kopelke, of Crown Point, is a lawyer of established reputation for ability and legal learning in northwestern Indiana, is an ex- senator of the state and has taken a prominent part in local and state politics, and throughout his career in this city of nearly thirty years has been a leader of public opinion and progress and more than once has been the aggressive spirit in carrying out reforms and suppressing abuses and in promoting and supporting the highest interests of social and institutional life. He was torn at Buchwald, near Neustettin, Prussia, June 14, 18^4. His father, Ferdinand Kopelke, was an Evangelical Lutheran minister. His mother was Sophia Erbguth, and her grandmother was a sister of the famous Prussian General York, who took the first step leading to the final overthrow of Napoleon in 181 3, and was afterward made a count and field marshal by the king of Prussia. 226 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. J\Ir. Kopelke gained his early education in the people's schools of German}^ and from these entered a gymnasium, wher he continued the education which in America is offered by the high schools and colleges. From 1865 to 1871 he had a thorough grounding in the literary branches, especially the languages, in this typical German educational institution, and in the latter year, when se^-enteen years old, he came to the United States. He obtained his professional training in the law at the University of Michi- gan, wljich he attended from 1874 to 1876, graduating in the spring of the latter year. He has been fond of study from his toyhood days to the present, and while in the gymnasium he gained many prizes for scholarship, and was also a member of the society called "Thought Chips." composed of the members of the first class or "Prima." In April, 1876, 3ilr. Kopelke came to Crown Point and entered upon the career which has since been productive of so much honor to himself and benefit to the community. His German scholarship attracted the atten- tion of Hon. Thaddeus S. Fancher, a distinguished memljer of the bar at Crown Point, wlio ofifered young Kopelke a partnership in his large practice, which the latter accepted and continued until 1879, and since then he has managed his increasing legal interests alone. He has enjoyed a large private practice, and his connection with litigation of a public nature has won him no small degree of fame in this part of the state. One of his cases to attract the most attention was the one involving the constitutionality of the fee and salarv law. in 1891. He was also, as the assistant of Attorney General Ketcham, connected with the famous fight made to suppress racing and gambling institutions at Robey. For a number of years he has had all the professional business he could well manage, and his time and energies have often been called to other matters. For a tiiue he held the rank of major on the stafif of Governor Gray. Mr. Kopelke allied himself with the Rqxiblican party when he first beo-an casting his vote, but in 1882 he found his opinions to consist more harmoniously with those of the Democracy, and he has been a stanch advo- cate of that party ever since. In 1884 he was chosen presidential elector from the Tenth Indiana district, and thus cast one of the votes which placed Grover Cleveland in the presidential office. In 1891 he was elected to represent Lake and Porter counties in the state senate, and his career as a HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 227 legislator was especially noteworthy in its results. He served on the judiciary and other important committees during both sessions of his term of office. He became prominent as the originator and promoter of measures for the welfare of the state, and he also carried through some remedial legis- lation regarding matters of practice and procedure. He was active in pro- curing the new charter for the city of Indianapolis, and his influence was strongly felt in behalf of the tax law which redeemed the state from Ijank- ruptcy. Senator Kopelke was the Democratic nominee for the office of appellate judge in 1898, but the state went strongly Republican that year. Mr. Kopelke is an Episcopalian in religious faith. He has never mar- ried. His long identification with Crown Point makes him one of the most highly esteemed citizens, and his life has been praiseworthy and fruitful in good results from whatever standpoint it is regarded. HENRY P. SWARTZ, M. D. For thirty-three years Dr. Henry P. Swartz was engaged in the practice of medicine and the conduct of a drug store at Crown Point, and is now closely and actively identified with business interests as president of the Commercial Bank. Thus, for many years he has been one of the forceful and honored factors in professional and financial circles, and his influence has not been a minor element in public affairs in northwestern Indiana. He has attained to prominence through the inherent force of his character, tlie exercise of his native talent and the utilization of surrounding opportunities, and he has become a capitalist whose business career has excited the admira- tion and won the respect of his contemporaries. Dr. Swartz was born at Spring yUWs. Center county, Pennsvlvania, July 12, 1841. The family is of German lineage and was founded in America by the grandfatlier of Dr. Swartz, who settled in the Kevstone state. There the father, Jacob Swartz, was born and reared, and by occupa- tion he became a stonemason. He also followed farming and on lea\-ing the east he removed to DeKalb county, Illinois, where he worked at farming. He also became the owner of a tract of land and carried on general agri- cultural pursuits. Politically he was a Democrat, and was a member of the Lutheran church. His death occurred when he was sixty-three years of age. His wife, who tore the maiden name of Catherine Mosser, was also a 22S HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. native of Pennsylvania and died in Freeport, Illinois, in Januarv', 1903, in her eighty-eighth year. They were the parents of ten children, three daugh- ters and seven sons, all of whom reached adult age, and with the exception of the eldest, who died at the age of sixty-six years, all are yet living. Dr. Swartz is the third child and. third son of the family, and was reared in the place of his nativity until thirteen years of age, during which time he attended the public schools of Pennsylvania. On going to Illinois he became a student in the public schools of that state and assisted his father in farm work until twenty years of age. August 4. 1861, he enlisted as a memlier of Company A, Fifty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, becoming a private in the ranks of the Union army, with which he served until the close of the war. In the meantime he re-enlisted in the same company and regiment in 1863, and thus as an honored veteran he continued with the Ixiys in blue. He was promoted to the position of commissary sergeant of his regiment, and after his re-enlistment he was made quartermaster, but this position was conferred upon him so near the close of the war that he was mustered out as commissary sergeant. He participated in all of the battles with Sherman's forces and also made the celebrated march to the sea. His regiment brought the prisoners from Ft. Donelson to Chicago and returned by way of Paducah, Kentucky, and Shiloh. Mr. Swartz was with the regiment at the grand review in Washington, D. C, the most celebrated military pageant ever seen on the western hemisphere, and in July, 1865, he received an honorable discharge. At the battle of Shiloh Dr. Swartz was severely wounded, being shot through the body by a minie ball. This occurred in April, 1862, and October had arrived ere he was able to rejoin his regiment at Corinth. The succeeding morning he entered the battle at that place and was slightly wounded on the right side, which caused him to remain for four weeks longer in the hospital. When the country no longer needed his services Dr. Swartz took up his residence in Freeport. Illinois, and pursued a two years' course of study in Rush Medical College of Chicago. He then engaged in the drug business as a clerk for his brother in Freeport. Illinois, where he remained until 1871, when in the month of December of that year he located in Crown Point, Indiana. Here he established a drug store, which he conducted in connec- tion with the practice of medicine. He has here been engaged in practice HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 229 for more than thirty-two years and has always maintained a position in the foremost ranks of the representatives of the medical fraternity in this portion of the state. Reading, experience and ohservation have continually broad- ened his Iniowledge and kept him in touch with the progress of the times. Dr. Swartz is also president of the Commercial Bank of Crown Point, and as chief executive oflicer of the institution his sound judgment and business ability are frequently called into use and have contributed in large measure to the successful conduct of the institution. In 1868 Dr. Swartz was united in marriage to Miss Mary Frances Bell, a daughter of William and Mary (Atkins) Bell. She was born in Ehnira. New York, and during her infancy her mother died so that she was reared by an aunt, ^Irs. Kimball, of Freeport. Illinois. She was a graduate of the high school there and pursued a literary course at Aurora, Illinois. She was afterward employed in the postoffice department at Freeport, Illinois, by her uncle. General S. T. Atkins. To ^Ir. and 'Sirs. Swartz have been torn four children: Carrie Belle, at home: Harry D., who is assisting his father in the drug store; Mamie G., the wife of Walter I. Coljle, of Chicago; and Catherine C. the wife of Alonzo D. Shoup, of Chicago. Dr. Swartz is a charter member of Lake Lodge No. 152. F. & A. ^l.. and has been a life-long Republican. He served as township trustee for a number of vears. was president of the Commercial Club for two years and has taken an acti\-e interest in all public matters — social, political and educa- tional. He is a man of distinct and forceful individuality, of broad men- tality and most mature judgment, and has left and is leaving his impress upon professional and financial interests in northwestern Indiana. He lias contributed to the advancement of the general welfare and prosperity of the. city in which he makes his home, and at the same time has so conducted his private business interests as to win gratifying success. DAVID C. ATKINSON. David Clarence Atkinson, attorney-at-law at Hammond, is one of the young members of the bar of Lake county, and during his five years" practice in Hammond has gained a most creditable degree of success. He has also some business interests in. the city and various properties in the county. He 230 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. is a public-spirited man, capalile and stanch in his citizenship, and thoroughly representative of the best interests of his city. ^Ir. Atkinson was bom near Oxford. Benton county, Indiana, April 8, 1870, a son of Robert M. and Xancy E. (McClimans) Atkinson, lx)th natives of Ohio. The family history goes back to the English Quaker settlement of Pennsylvania in 1682, -when the first Atkinson ancestors settled there. Of such forefathers were Joseph and Susanna (Mills) Atkinson, both natives of Pennsylvania, and who were married there, becoming the parents of eleven children. They were the great-grandparents of David C. Atkin- son. Joseph was a wea\'er by trade, but later came to Ohio and took up farming. He bought two hundred acres of land in Clinton county, but fifteen years later, through a defective title, lost his purchase money and all his effects, and after that farmed the place on the shares until his death in 1830. He was one of the pioneers of the state. Thomas M. Atkinson, the tenth child in the family of Joseph and Susanna Atkinson, was born in Pennsylvania, but came to Ohio in early youth. He was educated in a log schoolhouse, and mainly by his own efforts secured a good education. He was an eager and intelligent reader, and possessed a fine library. At the age of twenty years he married Miss Frances Head, and then moved to Greene county, Ohio, where he bought two hundred acres of military land and engaged in farming. He afterwards became one of the pioneers of Benton county, Indiana, where he herded cattle, and drove them to market at Philadelphia. He was a vigorous and active man. and when he had already rounded the sixtieth turn on life's journe}- he walked all the way from Benton county to Philadelphia to attend the Centennial celebration of 1876. He had also planned to walk to the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893, l^'-'t died the preceding winter at the ad- vanced age of eighty-three. He was first a Quaker in religious faith btit later espoused the Spiritualistic faith. He was a prominent man in his community. He was one of the first commissioners of Benton county, and in 1865 he represented Benton and \\niite counties in the lower house of the Indiana legislature. He was an abolitionist and later a Republican. In 1830 he traded a horse worth fifty dollars to Luke Conner for two thousand acres of what were known as the "lost lands" in the south part of Benton county. He soon afterward sold this claim for one hundred dollars, but HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 231 in 1848 purchased part of it back at thirteen dollars an acre, and moved his family to the land, on which he lived until a few years before his death. The land became very valuable and most productive farming property. He and his sons subsequentlv biiugbt up nearly all the original two thousand acres, and also owned twelve himdred acres besides. His wife also lived to a good old age, passing away when eighty-one years old, and they were the parents of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. Nine of these sons and daughters likewise attained to length of years, and they were all farmers or farmers' wives. Robert M. Atkinson, the son of Thomas M. Atkinson, was a farmer and stock-raiser in Benton county, and one of the county's most highly esteemed citizens. He ser\-ed several terms as commissioner of Benton county. He died there in February, 1881, at the age of fifty-six years. His wife survived him until August, 1889, at which time she was fifty-five years old. She was a Methodist. They were the parents of six children, five sons and one daughter, as follows : Morton C, of Oxford, Indiana ; Thomas L., of Toledo, Ohio; ^^'ilbert M., of Benton county; David C, of Hammond; Alice, wife of William Forsythe, of Indianapolis; and Curtis, of Oxford, Indiana. Nancy E. Atkinson, the mother of these children, was a daughter of William and Nancy (Pearson) McClimans, who were parents of twelve children. Her father was of Irish descent, and her mother of German ancestry. Her father li\-ed in Ohio, and died there past middle life, in 1840. David C. Atkinson was reared on his father's farm in Benton county. He received his early education in the district schools and then at the Oxford, Indiana, high school. He later entered the preparatory department of the State University, took the regular course in the university, graduating in 1893. In the following year he was a student in the University of Chicago, and received the degree of Master of Philosophy. His law studies were pursued at the Northwestern University Law School, where he was graduated in 1896 with the degree of LL. B. He was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of Illinois, and on mo\ing to Indianapolis was admitted to the Indiana bar in September, 1896. He carried on active practice in Indianapolis until March, 1899, and then opened his office in Hammond, which he has made the scene of his activities ever since. 232 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Mr. Atkinson is a member of Hammond Lodge No. 210, K. of P., also of Royal League Council No. 38. He is a member of tbe Hammond Club. In politics he is a Republican, and he and his wife have church membership with the Plymouth Congregational church at Indianapolis. In addition to his pleasant home at 368 South Hohman street, he is interested in farm property. He is secretary of the Dermicilia Manufacturing Company. Mr. Atlcinson married, in June, 1895. Miss Lillian Knipp, a daughter of Fred and Pauline (Youche) Knipp. They have one daughter. Helen. HIRA^^I H. MEEKER. Hiram H. Meeker, the well known nurseryman and fruit grower of Crown Point, has been identified with this town for thirty-five years, com- prising the latter half of a very Ijusy and useful life, and his energies have been directed along several different lines of activity. He is one of the sur- viving veterans of the Civil war, in which he served until he was disabled, and it was only a few years after that contlict that he took up his residence in Crown Point, where mercantile interests, farming and tree culture and small fruit growing have at various times taken up his attention. Mr. Meeker was born in Wyoming county, Pennsylvania. IMarch 10. 1835. a son of Joseph and Anna (Bronson) Meeker, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Connecticut. He is the third child and second son of the family of six children, all of whom grew to adult years. Mr. Meeker was reared on a farm in his native place and was educated in the common schools, remaining with his father until the outbreak of the Rebellion. In October, 1861, he enlisted in Company A. Fifty-seventh Penn- sylvania Infantry, as a private, and serxed until he was disabled during a forced march, near Poolville, Maryland. During the battle of Fredericks- burg he was acting steward in the hospital. He received his honorable dis- charge in the spring of 1863, having served for nearly two years. He re- turned home and remained in his native state for a few months and then came to Indiana and located in Carroll county. In i860 he came to Crown Point and for two years was engaged in the mercantile business, after which for the same period he followed farming. He then bought the stock in the same store and continued merchandising for several years, when he sold out anr.: has since then conducted a nursery which has become one of the important HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 233 institutions of Crown Point and has maintained a reputation for the quaHty of its products. He makes a specialty of growing small fruit for the market, most of it being consumed in town. He has about seven acres within the city limits, and also forty acres near by, and also owns one of the nice residences of Crown Point. Mr. Meeker is one of the best posted men in Indiana on the subjects of the growth of small fruits, shrubbery, shade trees and all nursery stock. Mr. Meeker is a member of the John Wheeler Post No. i6i, G. A. R., and a member of the Masonic fraternity. He has been a life-long Republican in politics. He was married January 7, 1864. to Miss Mary A. Bryant, who was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, September 3, 1837, being a daughter of John and Susan (Graves) Bryant, of the William Cullen Bryant branch. There were three daughters born of this union : Addie is the wife of Julius Rockwell, of Crown Point ; Alta is the wife of William Thompson, of South Chicago ; and Josephine is a popular teacher in the public schools of Crown Point. Mrs. Meeker and her daughter Josephine are leading members of the Presbyterian church. FRANCIS P. KEILMANN. Francis P. Keilmann, of St. John, has the distinction of being the longest established merchant of Lake county. He began business in St. John nearly fifty-five years ago, and a continued record of success has been his lot to the present time, when, as the dean of Lake county business men, he enjoys along with his material prosperity the esteem and thorough confidence of all his old friends and associates. He and the family of which he is a member have been identified with Lake county and St. John township since pioneer times, for a period of sixty years, and their enterprise and personal influence have always been reckoned as important factors in the various affairs of the county. Mr. Keilmann was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, November 23, 183 1. His father was Henry Keilmann, a native of the same place. He left the fatherland and brought his family to America in 1840, his first loca- tion being in Portage county, Ohio, but in 1844 he moved to Lake county. Indiana, and settled on a farm in St. John township. His life occupation was farming. He lived to the advanced age of eighty-five years. His wife 234 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. was Mary Elizabeth Ofenloch, who was Ijorn in the same province of Ger- many as he, and died in Portage county, Ohio, wlien thirty-eight years old. They were parents of seven children, and all reached maturity. Mr. F. P. Keilmann, the fourth son and the fifth child of the family, was nine years old when he landed on American soil, and had already begun his education iu his native land. He remained with the family in Portage county for two years, and then, at the age of eleven, went to Chicago with his older brother, Henry. He attended school in that city for some time, and then joined his father on the latter's removal to Lake county. Two years later, however, he returned to Chicago and clerked in a store for four years. He then came to St. John township and became a clerk in his brother Henry's store at St. John. The brothers soon formed a partnership, and the firm of Henry and F. P. Keilmann continued to do business in St. John until 1865, having the premier mercantile establishment of the village. In 1865, after fifteen years' connection, Francis bought the interest of his brother, and then took George F. Gerlach, another well known merchant of St. John, into partnership, continuing thus until 1885. Since that time Mr. Keilmann has carried on his business alone, and no other man in the county has a record for such long connection with mercantile enterprises. He has a large store and a fine general stock valued at about ten thousand dollars. He owns Lake county real estate to the amount of over a thou- sand acres, and also has property in other places. He has always affiliated with the Democratic party, and from 1856 to 1885 was postmaster of St. John. In 1857 Mr. Keilmann married Margaret Schaefer, who was born in Germany and came to America in childhood with her parents. There are nine living children of this marriage: Susan, who is the wife of Joseph H. Gerlach, of Chicago; Francis B., of Chicago; John, of Crown Point; William F., of St. John; Elizabeth, wife of Edward Schmal. of Chicago; Margaret, unmarried; George: Lena, wife of Frank Thiel. of St. John; and Peter. All these children were born in the same house and in St. John town- ship, and they are now all capable and worthy men and women. JOHN M. THIEL. John M. Thiel, the genial old "village blacksmith"' of St. John, came to HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 235 Lake county as a German lad of ten years old, and has been numbered among the citizens of the county for all the subsequent sixty odd years. He learned his trade in the county, and established his shop in St. John forty- seven vears ago, so that his place of business is the oldest of its kind in the county, and he himself holds the palm for long continuance at his trade. At the age of seventy-three, he is still hearty and strong, does a day's work that he need not be ashamed of, and is respected and honored through- out the township not only because he has so long been a factor of its in- dustrial enterprise but also because of his personal character and genmne worth of citizenship. Mr. Thiel was born in Prussia, Germany, ^Nlay 15, 1832, a son of John and Marv ( Klassen) Thiel, who emigrated from their German fatherland in 1842 and settled in Lake county, Indiana, about a mile and a half from St. John. His father devoted himself to the improvement and cultivation of a farm, and lived there till his death, when he was aliout eighty-two years of age, and his wife died in the same place at the age of seventy-seven. They were jiarents of twelve children, and seven of them grew to man- hood and womanhood. John ^I. Thiel is the fourth son. He was ten years old when he came to Lake county, where he was reared and received his English education. At the age of twenty he left his parents" home and went to Crown Point, where he served his time at learning the blacksmith trade. After his ap- prenticeship of two years he worked at his trade in Crown Point for three years, and in 1857 came to St. John and opened his own shop, which he has conducted from that year to this, always giving satisfaction to his large patronage and at the same time being on good terms with every person in the community. Besides this business, which he still carries on, he owns a fifty-acre farm in the town of St. John, and this is managed bv his son Joe. In politics Mr. Thiel has always been a Democrat, and he and his family are all members of the Catholic church in St. John. In 1857, the same year in which he located in St. John, Air. Thiel mar- ried Miss Susan Davis, who was born in the same prcjvince of Germany as Mr. Tliiel, but preceded him to America by two years. They are the parents of seven children, all of whom were born in St. John: Jacob mar- ried Lena Thiesen, who died, and he now lives in Whiting; George mar- 236 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. ried Flora Sneider and lives in Chicago; Elierhard married ]\Iary Scheidt, and works in the shop with his father; Joe. mentioned ahove, is the only one of the children who has not married ; Frances, who married John Dietz, died in 1894; Clara, also deceased, was the wife of Jacob Keilmann; Thresia, wife of Henry Neibling, resides in St. John. J. FRANK MEEKER. J. Frank Meeker, county attorney of Lake county, is one of the younger members of the bar at Crown Point, but during the twelve years of his practice he has acquired an extensive clientage and in the later years found himself in possession of as much business as he can consistently manage. He is thoroughly identified with the interests of Lake count}-, having known it all his life, and he has the distinction of being one of the youngest of the log-cabin children of northwestern Lidiana, to which favored class some of the most prominent men of the present belong, but whose day and genera- tion are of the past in the populous and highly developed state of Indiana. Mr. Meeker was born December 11, 186S, and his birthplace was in Center township, fi\-e miles east of Crown Point, in the primitive and pioneer log caljin that his father had made his home place on first coming to the county. His parents are Sherman B. and Elizabeth (Cress) Meeker, both natives of Pennsylvania and now living retired from the active duties of life at Crown Point. His father, on emigrating to the west, first established his home in Illinois, afterwards located in Michigan, and in 1866 came to Lake county, Indiana, settling in Center township, where he followed the occupa- tion of farming" for a number of years. He and his wife were the parents of four children : Nathan Brewster, who is engaged in farming on the old homestead ; Charles H., conducting an implement business at Crown Point; Henrietta, the deceased wife of Elliott Bibler; and J. Frank. Mr. J. Frank Meeker, the youngest of the family, spent his early boy- hood da}s upon the old homestead in Center township, attending the dis- trict schools. He came to Crown Point at the age of thirteen, and con- tinued his education here until graduated from the high school. Later he took up the study of law with Mr. Peterson, under whose direction he con- tinued his reading for about two years, and he afterward entered the Uni- versity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in the law HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 237 department with the class of 189J. In the same year lie made the beginnings of his practice at Crown Point, was then at Hammond for one year, after which he returned to Cro\\n Point, which has been the center of his activity ever since. He was in partnership with Judge McMahan for two years, but since then has practiced alone and built up a very fine patronage. He served as deputy prosecuting attorney for two terms, covering four years, and in February, igoi, was appointed county attorney, which office he still fills. Mr. Meeker since taking his place among the legal fraternity at Crown Point has taken considerable interest in Republican politics, and has done much for the organization and influence of that party in Lake county. He is vice chairman of the county central committee. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity at Crown Point, of the Knights of Pythias, the Inde- pendent Order of Foresters and the North American Union. On March 24, 1894, Mr. Meeker was united in marriage with Miss Stella S. Colby, a daughter of Mrs. Catherine Colby. She is also a native of Lake county, and has the distinction of being the only w'oman who has qualified and obtained admission to the bar of Lake countv. Mr. and Mrs. Meeker have one daughter, Stella. CHARLES E. GREEN WALD. Endowed by nature with peculiar qualifications that comliine to make a successful lawyer and possessing the energy and determination without which advancement at the bar can never be secured, Charles E. Greenwald has won for himself a prominent position as a representative of the legal fraternity in Lake county. Patiently persevering, possessed of an analvtical mind and one that is readily recepti\'e and retenti\-e of the fundamental prin- ciples and intricacies of the law, gifted wkh a spirited de\-iition ti:) wearisiime details, quick to comprehend the most subtle problems and logical in his conclusions, fearless in the advocacy of any cause he may espouse and the soul of honor and integrity, Mr. Greenwald has achieved a position of prom- inence that is most creditalile and is a recognized leader of public thought and opinion in the communit\- in which he resides. A native of Ohio, his birth occurred in the citv of Cleveland on the 2ist of January, 1876. He is a son of Joseph and Mary (Mack) Green- wald, and he began his education in the public schools of Cle\-eland and 238 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. afterward continued his studies in the high school of South Chicago. He took up the study of law in 1895, having determined to make its practice his life work, and was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor with the class of 1898. He then located for practice at Whiting, opening an office here. Although professional advance- ment is proverbially slow and he had to demonstrate bis skill in handling intricate legal problems, he won a good clientage in a comparatively short space of time, and in 1902 he was elected city attorney of Whiting. He has been deputy prosecuting attorney since 1898, and is now the candidate on the Republican ticket for prosecuting attorney of the district composed of Lake and Porter counties. In this connection one of the Republican papers of Whiting said : "Attorney Charles E. Greenwald of our city has announced himself as a candidate for the Republican nomination for prosecuting attorney. For months many influential lawyers and politicians have insisted that he should be a candidate, but until this week failed to get his consent that his name might be used. Mr. Greenwald has served six years as deputy prosecuting attornev here, and his conduct of the office during this time justifies his friends in their claim that he has shown himself well qualified to fill the posi- tion. He is regarded by the lawyers as one of the most promising young- men at the bar, and the number of lawyers who are supporting him is the best possible evidence of his ability to fill the position. He is a 'Strong favorite with the politicians and other men interested in the success of tlie Republican party in this county, recognizing the loyal services rendered for his partv in previous campaigns. The active Republicans of Lake county are fjuick to remember and repay those who have rendered valiant service to the party, and this sentiment will enure to Mr. Greenwald's advantage as against any opponent who may contest with him for the nomination." In his private practice Mr. Greenwald has shown great care in the preparation of his cases, and as a ]niblic official in courtroom he has been unfaltering in the performance of his duty in furthering the ends of justice and right. He is one of the stockholders of the First National Bank of Whiting. In the year 1900 Mr. Greenwald was united in marriage to Miss Christine Michaely of Michigan City and they have on little daughter, Dorothy. Tliey HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 239 are well known in Whiting and have gained a wide circle of warm friends. Mr. Greenwald is a scholarly gentleman who speaks four dififerent languages — the Polish, Slavonian, Bohemian and English. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and has taken a very active and influential part in the work of the organization, doing all in his power to promote its growth and insure its success. He organized the National Slavonian Political Club, which has been in existence for two years and is now one of the prominent organiza- tions in this part of Indiana, composed of about two hundred men. The object of the club is to teach political economy and civil government. He is well fitted for leadership and his opinions carry weight and influence in political and other circles in Whiting. CHARLES H. MEEKER. Charles H. Meeker, who is energetic and notably reliable in business afifairs, is now dealing in agricultural implements in Crown Point. He has never sought to figure before the public in any light save that of a business man and in his chosen field of labor he has won confidence and respect and at the same time has gained a fair measure of success. He was born in Calhoun county, Michigan, on the 2d of November, 1857, and is the second son and third child of Sherman and Elizabeth A. (Cress) Meeker. His father was born in Pennsylvania and on emigrating westward established his home in Illinois. He afterward located in Michigan and in 1867 came to Lake county, Indiana, settling in Center township, where he followed the occupation of farming for a number of years. He now lives retired in Crown Point. His wife tore the maiden name of Elizabeth Cress, who is also a native of Pennsylvania, and a resident of Crown Point. They are the parents of four children : Nathan Brewster, who is engaged in farming on the old homestead; Charles H., who is conducting an implement business at Crown Point: Henrietta, the deceased wife of Elliott Bibler: and J. Frank, an attorney of Crown Point. \\'hen only about a year old Charles H. Meeker was taken by his parents to White county. Indiana, while the family home was afterward established in Carroll county when he was six years of age. In the fall of 1867 he removed to Lake county, where he attended the district schools of Center township. He was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads, early 240 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agri- culturist, and he continued to assist his father up to the time of his marriage. It was on the 22d of September, 1880, that ]\Ir. Meeker was joined in wedlock to Aliss Rose A. Sweeney, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Johnson) Sweeney, who was born in Center township, Lake county, Indiana, and was educated in the same school that her husband attended. The young couple located on a farm lying in Center and Ross townships, and there ]Mr. ^Meeker engaged in farming for ten years. In 1891, how- ever, he retired from that department of labor and established an agricultural implement business in Crown Point, since which time he has dealt in farm machinery of all kinds. He also handles buggies and wagons, and he draws his patronage from almost every section of the county. He is one of the best known men in this line of business, and has secured a liberal patronage which is constantly growing. His Ijusiness methods are such as will liear the closest investigation and scrutiny, and his earnest desire to please his patrons com- binetl with strong and honorable purpose has been the foundation upon which he has builded his prosperity. Mr. Meeker keeps well informed on the cjuestions and issues of the day and gives a stalwart support to the principles of the Republican party. In 1904 ]\Ir. Aleeker was nominated for the ofifice of township trustee of Center township. He belongs to the Independent Order of Foresters and to the fire company at Crown Point. He is well known throughout this por- tion of the state, his business taking him to all parts of the count}-, and he has thus formed a wide acciuaintance and gained the warm regard of many friends. His residence in Lake county covers thirty-seven years and there- fore he has been a witness of much of its development, progress and ad- vancement. GEORGE M. HORNECKER. George M. Hornecker is the proprietor of the Fair, a general department store at ^^'hiting" and in this connection has met with very creditable success. In viewing the mass of mankind in the varied occupations of life, the con- clusion is forced upon the observer that in the vast majority of cases men have sought employment not in the line of their peculiar fitness, but in those fields where caprice or circumstances have placed them, thus explaining the reason of the failure of ninetv-five Der cent of those who enter commercial HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 241 and professional circles. In a few cases it seems that men with a pecuhar fitness for a certain line have tal inson, who was the first county clerk of Lake county and was the founder of Crown Point. He became one of the veiy earliest settlers of this portion of the state, locating here when much of the land was still in its primitive con- dition, when the forests \\ere uncut, the prairies uncultivated. John J. ^^'heeler, the father of our subject, is represented elsewhere in this work. In his family were four children, of whom Harold H. Wheeler is the eldest son. The latter was educated in the high school of Crown Point and immediately after leaving school he accepted the position of deputy clerk under George I. Maillet, under whom he served for three years. He was then deput}- clerk for George M. Eder for eight years and at the end of that time was nominated without opposition at the Republican ])rimaries for the position of clerk of the circuit court, in 1900. His election followed and he discharged the duties so acceptably that in 1902 he was re-nominated, and he now has five years to serve. His second term began in January, 1904. His connection w'ith the office has been of long duration, so that he is thor- oughly familiar with the business transactions therein and he has instituted many reforms and improvements, which have been of value in the system of conducting the work of the office of the clerk of the circuit court. Mr. \\'heeler is identified with several fraternal organizations. He belongs to the Independent Order of Foresters, the Benevolent and Protect- ive Ordef of Elks, the Knights of Pythias fraternity and is a prominent yjLAr HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 253 Mason, always true and loyal to the teachings of the craft. He belongs to the lilue lodge, chapter, council and commandery, also to the lodge of Perfection of the Rose Croix and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is likewise identified with the Mystic Shrine, and is very active in the work of the fraternity, while in his life he exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft. In 1891 he was united in marriage to ]\Iiss Jennie \\'ard, a daughter of Henry P. Ward, and they h.ave one son, John Ward Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler has a very wide acquaintance throughout the county in which his entire life has been passed, and his election to ottice was a tribute to liis per- sonal worth as well as to his business ability. WILLIA^I H. VANSCIVER. ^^'illiam H. Vansciver, a retired farmer residing in Crown Point, was born at Beverly, New Jersey, December 25, 1852, and is of Holland lineage. His paternal grandfather was \\'illiam Vansciver, his father, Barnet Van- sciver. The latter was a native of New Jersey, acquired his education in the schools of that state and was married there to Miss Anna Horner, who was born and reared in Pennsylvania. Their only child, William H. Vansciver, was a year old when in 1S53 they came to Lake county, Indiana, settling on a farm in Winfield township, where the father carried on agricultural pursuits until sixty-eight years of age, when his life's labors were ended in death. Upon the old family homestead William H. \'ansciver spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and his education was acquired in the common schools. As soon as old enough he assisted in the work of field and meadow, and later he took charge of the home farm, continuing its cultivation and management for many years. In fact, throughout his entire Lousiness career he has carried on agricultural pursuits, and he is now the owner (jf two hun- dred and twentj^-eight acres of valuable land in Winfield townsiiip. which he rents, this bringing to him a good income. He is now practically living retired from active business life, although occasionally he assists in selling agricultural implements. Mr. Vansciver was united in marriage to Miss Kate Patton, who was born in Ohio and was a daughter of James Patton. She was reared in Lake county, Indiana, and by this marriage there were four children. Init two 254 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. died in early life. The others are Delia and Dana. Both Mr. and Mrs. Van- sciver are well known in this county and have a large circle of warm friends. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, has taken an active interest in political work in his locality and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He served as township trustee of Winfield township for nine years, and he has always been interested in public progress and improvement. He is identified with the Masonic lodge and with the Foresters at Crown Point, and he con- tributes generously to different churches, although he is not identified with any denomination through membership relations. His life has been quietly passed, yet it contains many elements that are well worthy of emulation, for he has always been active and honorable in business, loyal in citizenship and faithful in friendship. DAVID A. FISHER. David A. Fisher, of Section 29, Eagle Creek township, has been among the leading farmers of this part of Lake county for the past twenty years, and carries on his operations on an unusually extensive scale. He is a native son of the county and township, arid most of the years of a very busy and suc- cessful business career have been spent here. Besides farming, he has at \'arious times branched nut into commercial lines, where he has likewise lieen prosperous, and in citizenship and matters of community interest he performs his part in a public-spirited and generous manner. ^Ir. Fisher was born in Eagle Creek township, Lake county, March 13, 1855, and was reared and educated in the county. From the public schools he went to Valparaiso and took a course in the Northern Indiana Normal School. For two years he was engaged in the hardware and implement busi- ness at Hebron, during 1882-83. In 1884 he returned to the farm, where he has found his pleasantest and most profitable scene of work. He has done general farming and stock-raising, and has the management of five hundred and ninety-five acres, with four men in his employ. During 1902 and 1903 he was once more in the implement business, selling binders, mowers and other farm machinery manufactured liy the Piano Company. For some months in 1879-80 he was in Colorado for his health, and during the winter was engaged in freighting from Colorado Springs and Leadville, and he also HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 255 spent a part of the same winter in New ^Mexico. Mr. Fisher is one of the influential Republicans in local affairs, and served his townsliip as trustee from 1886 to 1890. He affiliates with the Masonic lodge No. 502 at Hebron and the Independent Order of Foresters at Hebron. In 1876 jNIr. Fisher married Aliss Elizalieth Bliss, and for their wedding journev thev attended the Centennial at Philadelphia. ]\Irs. Fisher was Ijorn in New- York state and was reared in Pulaski county, Indiana. They are the parents of two sons: Kenneth ^^'illiam and ^^'inford B. Kcnnetli has re- ceived his diploma from the public schools in the class of 1902 and will take an extended course in schools of higher instruction. Winford married, June II, 1903, I\Iiss Lilly B. Volkee, of Eagle Creek township. AUGUST KOEHLE. August Koehle, proprietor of the Spring Hill resort at St. John, was Ixjrn in Germany on the 3d of October, 1853, and came to America in 1871, being at that time eighteen years of age. He settled first in Cliicago, where he W'as employed by a brewing company, remaining in that city for about five years or until 1876, when he went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There he visited the Centennial Exposition and later returned to Chicago, Init the same year came to Lake county, settling first at Crown Point. There he worked for the Crown Point Brewing Company and was made foreman of the plant, for his previous experience and comprehensive knowledge of the business well qualified him for this position, which he filled in an acceptable manner for about four years. On the expiration of that period, wdth the money which he had saved from his earnings, he established a saloon in Crown Point, conducting it for six months. On the expiration of that period he came to St. John, where be erected a building and carried on a saloon for some time. Later, however, he sold out and established iiis present resort called the Spring Hill Grove. This is a summer resort, con- tains fine buildings and all modern equipments to promote the pleasure of the general public. Everything is in first-class condition and the place was buih at a great expense. He has good bowling alleys here and has a resort which is well patronized and brings to him a good financial return ujjon liis investment. 256 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. On the 13th of June, 1878, Mr. Koehle was united in marriage to Miss Anna Smith, and to them has been born a son, \\'iniam. In his pohtical affiHations Mr. Koehle is a Democrat, active in support of die party, and he now has charge of the stone roads in St. John township. He is well known in this part of the county and is deeply interested in its welfare and sub- stantial upbuilding. He and his family are members of the Catholic church of St. John. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in America, for here he has found the business opportunities which he sought, and through close application, energy and untiring efifort he has passed from humble surroundings and has become one of the well-to-do citizens of his community. HERBERT E. JOXES. Herbert E. Jones, who is serving for the third term as city clerk of East Chicago, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on the 23d of July, 1866, his parents being John T. and Mary (Jones) Jones, both of v.hom were natives of Wales. The paternal grandfather, John Jones, was also born in Wales, was an iron worker by trade and coming to America was identified with the iron industry of Pennsylvania. He died in Pittsburg, that state, when more than eighty years of age. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Jones, also a native of \\'ales, spent his entire life in that little rock-ribbed country, dying in middle life. He had made farming his occupation. His widow married again, becoming" the wife of a minister. John T. Jones followed in the business footsteps of his father and became an iron worker. He emigrated to .America about 185 1 and located in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, making his home in that state until 1866. when he went to Knoxville, Tennessee, continuing to reside there and in the neighborhood of Chattanooga until 1873, when he removed to Portland, Maine. .Vtout seven years were passed in that city, at the expiration of which period he took up his abode in Chicago, Illinois, where he continued until 1889, when he removed to East Chicago. Here he spent his remaining days, passing away in 1897, when seventy-one years of age. His wife had departed this life about six months before, in July, 1896, at the age of sixty- nine years. They were members of the Congregational church. Their family numbered ten children, five sons and five daughters, of whom four (5NN.3-^ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 257 are now living: John A., a resident of East Cliicago ; Mary, the wife of John P. Hickman, of Milwankee, Wisconsin; Herbert E., of East Chicago; Daniel, who is also living in East Chicago. In taking up the personal history of Herbert E. Jones we present to our readers the life record of one who is now widely and fax'orably known in East Chicago. Born soon after the removal of his parents to Knoxville, Tennessee, he spent the first seven j-ears of his life in that state and then accompanied his parents to Portland, Maine. His education was acquired in the public schools. \\'lien lie was thirteen years of age he began to earn his own living by working in a rolling mill, thus following the occupation which had iDeen the life labor of his ancestors through several generations. He continued in that pursuit for a number of years, and in the meantime had become a resident, first of Chicago and then of East Chicago. Finally, however, he abandoned the iron industry to accept the position of city clerk, in 1898, and by popular franchise he has been continued in the office for three terms. His re-elections are certainly indicative of his methodical, systematic and accurate work in the oftice and of his unfaltering fidelity to duty. In March, 1904, he was nominated for the office of recorder of Lake county. On the 1st of September, 1S96, occurred the marriage of Mr. Jones and Miss Mary Jenkins, a daughter of Richard and Mary Jenkins, and they are now the parents of two children — Agnes and Herbert. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are consistent members of the Congregational church. They reside at 4222 Magoun avenue, where he has recently erected a comfortable home. Fraternally he is connected with East Chicago Lodge No. 595, F. & A. M., was formerly its master and is now filling the position of secretary. He also belongs to East Chicago Lodge No. 677, I. O. O. F., to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political allegiance is given to the Republican partv. his study of the questions and issues of the day and of the attitude of the two parties respecting these leading him to give a loyal support to Repub- lican principles, and it was upon the ticket of tliat party that he has been three times chosen to the position of city clerk. 25S HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. FREDERICK LASH. Frederick Lash, the popular and successful proprietor of the Erie Hotel and Restaurant at Hammond, Indiana, has been numbered among the busi- ness men of this city since 1890. He has lived in the state of Indiana since the late sixties, taking up his residence here after a brilliant record as a soldier in both the volunteer and regular forces of the United States, and in his private career since that time he has been as successful, as enterprising and public-spirited as when he followed the flag of the nation. He has a permanent place in the regard of the citizens of Hammond, and has ne\'er been known to shirk the responsibilities of private, social or pulilic life. ]\Ir. Lash was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, December 19, 1843, being the only son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Hummel) Lash, natives of Germany. His paternal grandfather, John Lash, was a native of Germany, was a baker by trade and also served in the regular army, and died in that country at the age of ninety-five years, having been the father of a good-sized family, mostly sons. Benjamin Lash was also a baker by trade, and followed that pursuit after emigrating to America and taking up his residence in Berks county, Pennsylvania. FIc died there in 1849, aged seventy-five years. His wife's father Hummel died in Germany, and that part of the family history is lost. ]\Ir. Frederick Lash was reared in Berks county, Pennsylvania, on a farm, and the school which he remembers having attended was in a log cabin. He was at home until the summons of war went out through the land, and as a boy of about seventeen he enlisted, in 1861, in the First New York Artillery. He was in the conflict from almost the very beginning to the end, and entered as a private and was gradually promoted to the captaincy of his company, being of that rank at the close of the war. He was in the battles of Lookout Mountain, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, Missionary Ridge and the Wilderness, and was all through the Atlanta campaign. He was slightly wounded at \'icksburg. After the war he ser\-ed three years in the regular army, being stationed most of the time in the eastern states, princi- pally in New York. Following his army service, he came to Indiana and engaged in the restaurant busines in Lafayette for some years. He conducted a restaurant, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 259 bakery and confectionery establishment at Attica, Indiana, until 1890. and in that year came to Hammond, where he has been in the restaurant and hotel business ever since, for the past twelve years having had charge of the Erie Hotel, one of the most popular public liouses of the city, owing all its prosperity to the excellent management of Mr. Lash. Mr. Lash was married in March, 1869, to Miss Elizabeth Lahr, a daughter of Ulrich and Julia Lahr. There were two children of this union, William and Frederick, the former being a clerk in Hammond and a married man. while the latter is single. Airs. Elizabetli Lash died April 8. 1899. On May 2, 1900, Mr. Lash married Miss Elizabeth Mclntyre, a daughter of James P. and Eliza Jane (Forrest) Mclntyre. Mr. and Mrs. Nash are Epis- copalians in faith, although not identified with any church. He is a Repub- lican in politics, and is alderman from the Third ward. He afifiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569, F. & A. Yi.. with Hammond Chapter, R. A. M., and Bethlehem Temple of the Mystic Shrine in Chicago, and he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star. He also belongs to Moltke Lodge. I. O. O. F.. and to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a member of the William H. Calkins Post No. 549, G. A. R. For ten years he was commander of the Indiana State Guard, and was elected colonel of the Lake County Brigade, G. A. R., in 1900. He is the owner of several houses and lots in Hammond, and his material prosperity has come to him as the results of his own efforts. He is a self-made man, and well deserves the place of esteem which he has gained by a life of endeavor. Mrs. Lash's grandfather, James Mclntyre, was of Irish lineage, but was born in the north of Scotland. He married Mary Booth, of pure Eng- lish stock, and they had eleven children. He came to America in young man- hood and settled in Vermont, where he died at the age of seventy-three years. His fatlier, also named James, died in Ireland. Mary (Booth) Mclntyre died in Vermont at the age of seventy years. The parents of Mrs. Lash were natives of Vermont, and lived at St. Albans Bay. They had two children : Elizabeth and Edgar Forrest Mc- lntyre. James P. Mclntyre, her father, was a molder by trade, and had a business of his own. He settled in Jackson, IMichigan, at an early dav, and thence moved to Athens, and from there to Three Rivers, in the same state, where he had a large plow factoiy. He returned to \'ermont, but later came 260 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. to Baldwin, Wisconsin, and from there to Stillwater, and thence to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he had extensi\'e plow works. He later took up his residence in Chicago, which is his present home. His wife died in 1869. She was a member of the Methodist church. Her father, William Forrest, came to Vermont from Canada, and he and his wife Eliza had a large family. Mr. Mclntyre was a soldier in the Civil war, belonging to Company I, Ver- mont Infantry, and served four years, having been enlisted as a private and mustered out a.s a colonel. He was once woundefl in the forehead liy a shell. He married for his second wife Louisa Amelia Stannard, and they had nine children, five sons and four daughters, the five now living beirig Frank E., James H., Archie R., Sarah J. and Belle, all of Chicago. JOHN STEPHENS. John Stephens, as superintendent of the Inland Steel Company at Indiana Harbor, is a prominent factor in the industrial development an.d substantial growth of northwestern Indiana, and his career is one which excites the admiration and awakens the respect of all who know aught of his life history. To a student of biography there is nothing more interesting than to examine the life history of a self-made man, and to detect the elements of character which have enabled him to pass on the highway of life man>' of the com- panions of his youth who at the outset of their careers were more advan- tageously equipped or endowed. Mr. Stephens has through his own exertions attained an honorable position and marked prestige among the representative men of this state, and with signal consistency it may be said that he is the architect of his own fortunes, and one whose success amply justifies the application of the somewhat hackneyed but most expressive title of "a self- made man." Mr. Stephens was born in Lydney, Gloucestershire, England, December 2, 1844, and is a son of John and Charlotte (Hawkens) Stephens, both of whom were natives of Lydney. The paternal grandfather also i)ore the name of John Stephens, and he too was born in Lydney. He was a mill worker, connected with the tin industry, and he died at the advanced age of ninety- two years, while his wife, Mrs. Hannah Stephens, died at the age of seventy- four years. Tiiey were the parents of three sons and four daughters. The maternal grandparents of our subject were Samuel and Sarah Hawkens, and HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 261 were native residents of Lydney, where the latter died at the age of forty-two years, while the former reached the \enerahle age of eighty-nine years. He was a shipping contractor, loading and unloading vessels as they came into the canal and dock, or preparing them for passage at sea. To him and his wife were born a son and a daughter, the latter becoming the wife of John Stephens, the father of Mr. Stephens of this review. John Stephens, 2d, was a hammerman and lived" and died in his native town of Lydney, where his death occurred in 1899, wben he was seventy-seven years of 'jge. His wife departed this life in J\Larch, 1902, when se\'enty-six years of age. Both were members of the Methodist church. They had hut two children, the daughter, Sarah, being the wife of Lot Malsom, of Sharon, Pennsylvania. Mr. John Stephens spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Lydney, England, and accjuired his education in the public schools there. \Mien six- teen years of age he became identified with the industry wdiich he has made his life work, securing employment in an iron foundry. There he became familiar with the business in every department, and in detail as well as prin- ciple. He worked in both the tin and sheet-iron departments, gaining a most practical and comprehensive knowdedge of the trade, and thus he was well ecjuipped for advancement along that line when he came to America. Believing that the new world offered better business advantages, Mr. Stephens, on the 22d of February, 1872, left England for America, landing in New York city on the 9th of March. The same day he went to Oxford. New Jersey, arriving there at half past six o'clock in the evening. He ciin- tinued in Oxford until the following August, when he removed 10 Catasaucjua, Pennsylvania, where he remained for ten months, and then located at Sharon, Pennsylvania, where he resided for eleven years, actively connected with the iron industry at that place. His next home was in Greenville, Pennsylvania, and two years later he went to Newcastle, in the same state, where he lived for five years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Sharon, where he remained for seven years longer. For eighteen years he was in the employ of P. L. Kimberly & Company, and during tlie last seven years with the Sharon Iron Company, being its superintendent. On leaving Pennsvl- vania. he removed to iNIuncie, Indiana, where he took charge of the plant of the Midland Steel Company, with which he was connected for six and a half years. From ]Muncie he came to Indiana Harbor, on the ist of March, 1902, 262 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. and in company with R. J. Beatty. John McGrath, John G. Dauks, R. W. Wick and some Chicago capitaHsts, including L. E. Block, P. D. Block and others, built the Inland Steel Mill, which now employs alxjut nine hundred and fifty men. and this number will be increased as the work progresses. The output of the plan^t has reached very extensive proportions and it is destined to become one of the leading industrial concerns of the middle west. Throughout his business career Mr. Stephens has been connected with great productive industries, in which he has gradually worked his way upward through efficiency, skill and practical knowledge, until he stands today as one of the foremost representatives of the iron industry in Indiana. More- over, throughout the entire period of his business career he has ever sus- tained a reputation which is unassailable, and while fully guarding the inter- ests of his company he has also been most just and fair in his dealings with those who have worked under him, and no better proof of both statements can be given than the fact that he has received from both employers and fellow-employes substantial tokens of their trust and esteem for him. When Mr. Stephens left Newcastle. Pennsylvania, the employes of the mill there made him a present of a handsome gold watch and chain, a set of gold cuff buttons and a pair of fancy slippers, while the company gave him a purse of twenty-seven dollars and a rocking chair. \Mien he left Sharon, Pennsylvania, the employes gave him a full set of the Encyclopedia Britan- nica and a rocking chair for himself and one for his wife. When he left Muncie the employes gave him a three-hundred-dollar silver set, and these tokens of kindly regard and good will he justly prizes highly. On the 14th of October, 1865. Mr. Stephens was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Jones, a daughter of Herbert and Hannah Jones, and to them have been born the following children, five sons and five daughters : Emily. Caroline Charlotte. Frederick J. H.. Lillie Hannah, Minnie Maude, William Charles, Francis Eusebius. Mabel. Harold and Clairmont. Emily is now the wife of Edwin Hoke, of Lidiana Harbor, and they have two cliil- dren, Emma and Beulah. Frederick J. H. Stephens married Miss Laura Halstock, of Muncie, Indiana. Lillie Hannah is the wife of Walter Dang, of Indiana Harbor. Mr. and Mrs. Stephens arc jjrominent. influential and active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is serving as a member of the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 263 board of trustees and also as superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a local minister. lia\-ing lieen licensed to preach thirty-four years ago. Politi- cally he is a Republican. He built in 1902 the largest residence in Indiana Harlxjr, on the lake front. Possessing strong domestic tastes, his interest largely centers in his family, and he counts no sacrifice on his part too great that will enhance the welfare or promote the happiness of his wife and children. The church, too, claims considerable of his attention, and while in his business career he has steadily advanced, he has always found time to discharge his duties to his fellow-men and his obligations of citizenship. CHARLES M. BAKER. Charles M. Baker, who is proprietor and successfully conducts a large livery, feed and sales stable at Crown Point, is a business man who can point with much pride and satisfaction to his career of self-achievement cul- minating in a sulistantial place in the business circles of Crown Point and in the esteem of his fellow-citizens and associates. He has practically hewn out his own destiny and been the architect of his own fortune since he was a lad of few years and with little preparation such as most boys enjoy. From various experiences in varied lines of activity he has progressed gradually but surely, and is now able to claim one of the very best establishments of its kind in Lake county, with a constantly growing patronage as evidence of the excellence of his teams and equipments and methods of doing business. Mr. Baker was born in Porter county, Indiana, March 26, 1866, a son of Justice and Eunice (Allen) Baker, the former a native of New York state. He was four years old when he lost his mother, and fi\-e years old when he lost his father, and their individual histories are not easily recalled. Mr. Baker has one brother, George, of Boone Grove, Porter county, and three sisters: Lydia, wife of Noah Merriman, of ]\Iarion, Indiana; Jennie, wife of James Lewis, of Champaign, Illinois: and Emma, who is the widow of Alfred T. Cofifin and lives in Crown Point. Mr. Baker, thus left an orphan before he was of an age to attend school, was deprived of many circumstances of rearing that most children have. At the age of nine he was bound out to a man with whom he remained three years, and then started out on bis individual career. He worked by the day and month at anything he could find. He clerked in a store in Crown Point 264 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. for some time, and also spent two years as a clerk for the H. P. Stanley- Fruit Company in Chicago. For se\eral years after that he was engaged in various lines of enterprise in Crown Point, which has been the scene of most of his efforts since arriving at years of manhood. In 1900 he bought the livery stock of Charles Wilson, and in 1903 he built his present barn, thirty-eight by one hundred and forty feet. He keeps twenty-six head of good horses, and has the reputation of sending out the best rigs in town. Mr. Baker is one of the public-spirited citizens of Crown Point, and has served on the town board and as one of the trustees of Crown Point. He is stanch in his adherence to the Republican party. He affiliates with the Independent Order of Foresters. In connection with the livery business he also buys and sells horses, and up to 1902 he was engaged in the hay business. Mr. Baker married, in 1887, Miss Adah Holton, the daughter of Janna S. and Catherine J. (Eddy) Holton, who were Lake county pioneers. Mrs. Baker was born in this count}-, September 14. 1867, and was educated at Crown Point, finishing in the high school. She died February 16, 1904, when in her thirtv-seventh vear. There are three sons and one daup-hter of the family: Harry ].. Ijorn in 1889: Fay M., born in 1892: Lewis C, bom in 1895 ; and Howard H., born in 1897. F. RICHARD SCHAAF, Jr. F. Richard Schaaf, Jr., is filling the position of bookkeeper with the Standard Oil Company and is an expert accountant. He also owns valuable real estate in Robertsdale, and is a director of the First National Bank of Whiting. While his life histoi-y is characterized by no exciting incidents, it, nevertheless, proves the value of activity, energy and reliability in the affairs of life and shows that the young man may occupy positions of great trust and responsibility. Mr. Schaaf was born on the 15th of April, 1878, in Hamburg, Ger- many. His father, F. Richard Schaaf, Sr., was a native of Saxony, Ger- many, was reared and married there. Miss Catherine Schlueter becoming his wife. Her birth occurred near Hamburg. In the year 1880 thev left the fatherland and with their family sailed for the new world, taking up their abode in Chicago. Mr. Schaaf, Sr., is a I)!acksmith by trade, but in Chicago engaged in the hotel business. In 1890 he removed to Whiting, where he HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 265 also established a hotel, which he conducted for about five years. On tlie expiration of that period he went to Robertsdale, a suburb of Hammond, Indiana, where he engaged in the grocery business and also became a real estate and insurance agent. Both he and his wife are still living in North Hammond and are well known there. They are the parents of seven chil- dren and with one exception all are yet living. F. Richard Schaaf, Jr., is the eldest child and was only about two years of age when brought to the United States. His education was acquired in the public schools of Chicago and in Bryant & Stratton's Business College of that city. In 1898 he became an employe of the Western Newspaper Syndicate of Chicago, continuing in that service for about seven months, when he was offered the position as bookkeeper by the Standard Oil Com- pany at Whiting. His efficiency won him promotion to the position of head bookkeeper of the parafiin department si.x months after he had become an employe of the corporation. He is likewise a director of the First National Bank at Whiting and he owns a large amount of real estate in Robertsdale, having made judicious investments in property, from which he has already realized good returns. Mr. Schaaf is well known in political circles in northwestern Indiana, and when he was but twenty-one years of age he was elected a delegate to the Republican state con\'ention held at Indianapolis in 1900. He was also elected a member of the county central committee and made vice chairman of the city central committee of Hammond, Indiana. In the spring of 1904 he was nominated for trustee of North township. He is also president of the Robertsdale fire department, having filled this position for six years. On the 1 2th of June, 1901. Mr. Schaaf was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Roberts, a daughter of Mrs. Agnes Roberts of Robertsdale, and they are well known in Lake county, where tliey have many friends. Fra- ternally Mr. Schaaf is connected with the Masons, belonging to Whiting Lodge No. 613, F. & A. M., of which he is now treasurer. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a man of considerable influence, aiding in molding public thought, action and opinion. The inter- ests which liave made claim iqion his time and attention ha\'e lieen such as tend to the betterment of the conditions of mankind and for the stimulus of material progress or the inipro\'ement of the city. 266 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. ROBERT SPEAR. M. D. During the seven years which mark the period of liis professional career Dr. Robert Spear has met with gratifying success. Throughout this time he has made his home in East Chicago, wliere he has won the good will and patronage of many of the best citizens. He is a thorough student and endeavors to keep abreast of the times in everything relating to the dis- coveries in medical science. Progressive in his ideas and favoring modern methods as a whole, he does not dispense with the time-tried systems whose value has stood the test of years. Dr. Spear was born in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada, January 23, 1868, and is of Scotch lineage. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Spear, was a native of Scotland and thence emigrated to Canada, where he followed the carpenter's trade. He was twice married and by the first imion had one son,. \\'illiam, who reached mature years, while the three other children died in their teens. For his second wife he chose Miss McComb, and they had one daughter who died in childhood. William Spear, a native of Ontario, Canada, learned and followed the wagon-builder's trade in early manhood and after- ward turned his attention to farming. He, too, was twice married, first wedding Miss Sarah Davidson, by whom he had four children, of whom three are now living, namely: Thomas, of Cobourg, Canada: \\'illiam K., also of Cobourg: and David, of Pipestone, Manitoba. Their daughter, Elizabeth, is deceased. After the death of his first wife William Spear married Miss Margaret Brown, also a native of Ontario, and they became the parents of nine children, three sons and six daughters, of whom eight are now living, as follows: James, of Cobourg: Annie, also of Cobourg; Agnes, of Virden, Manitoba: Dr. Robert Spear: Andrew, of Cobourg; Margaret, of Rochester, New York: Christina, of Cobourg; a:id Isabell, of Wilton, North Dakota. Jennie died at the age of twenty-one years. The father of this family passed away at Cobourg, Canada, in 1901, at the age of seventy-five years, and is still survived by his widow, who is a devoted Chris- tian woman, holding membership in the Presbyterian church, to which her husband also belonged. She was a daughter of Robert Brown, a native of Scotland, who crossing the Atlantic took up his abode in Canada, where he followed the occupation of farming. He married a ]\Iiss IMiller. and they HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 267 reared a large family of nine children. His death occurred when he was ahout eighty years of age. Dr. Robert Spear spent his boyhood days in the usual manner of farmer lads, remaining under the parental roof near Cobourg. In the summer months he assisted in the work of the fields and in the winter seasons attended the district school. Later he continued his education in the collegiate insti- tute at Cobourg, and subsequently entered Queen's University at Kingston. In order to prepare for the practice of medicine he became a student in the Trinity Medical College, of Toronto, from which institution he was grad- uated W'ith the class of 1897. He then began practice in East Cliicago, estab- lishing his home in this city on the ist of May of that year. Here he has remained continuously since, and his skill and ability are indicated by the patronage which is accorded him. He has always been a close and earnest student of hi.-; pmfession and his efforts are beneficially put forth for the alleviation of human suffering. On the 6tli of October, 1897, Dr. Spear was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Cook, a daughter of John and ]^Iartha (Sykes) Cook. Two children have been born of this union. \\'ilfred Garnet and Helen Gladys. Dr. and Mrs. Spear are Presbyterians in their religious faith, and in politics he is somewhat independent. In May, 1904. he was elected to represent the First ward in the City Council of the city of East Chicago. His professional con- nection is with the Lake County Medical Society, the Kankakee Valley Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. He resides at No. 4530 Forsyth street, where he erected a good home in 1901. GEORGE M. EDER. George M. Eder, cigar manufacturer at J05 South Hohmar. street, Ham- mond, has been a successful business man in Lake county for a number of years, having learned his trade when a boy and having begun the manu- facture of cigars in Crown Point about thirty years ago. There is a large and steady demand for all the goods that he can produce, and his output has gained him Cjuite a reputation. Before coming to Hammond he held a numljer of important local ofifices, and his public-spirited interest in general affairs and his loyalty to home, city and state mark him out as a representative 268 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. citizen as he is also a man of highest integrity and sterhng personal worth. ^Ir. Eder was born in Landau, Bavaria, German)', April 22, 1855. His paternal grandfather, IMartin Eder. was a farmer and died in Germany when an old man. By his wife. Mary Eder. he had seven sons and one daughter. Mr. Eder's maternal grandfather died in Germany during middle life, and his wife, Theressa Huber, lived to the great age of ninety-six years, they having been the parents of only one child, the mother of Mr. Eder. Mr. Eder's parents were John B. and Theressa (Huber) Eder, both natives of Germany. His father was a laborer in the fatherland, and later served for twelve years in the Bavarian army. He came to America in 1855. locating in Chicago, where he followed various pursuits. He was burned out at the Chicago fire in 1871, and in 1873 moved to Crown Point, Indiana, where he died February 3, 1877, aged sixty-nine years. His wife survived him and died at the age of eighty-two. They were both Catholics. There were three sons and one daughter in their family, and the two !iow living are Joseph, of Crown Point, and George M., of Hammond. Mr. George M. Eder was in infancy when his parents crossed the ocean to America. He was reared in Chicago, where he attended the public and parochial schools and learned the cigarmaker's trade, and lived there until 1873, ■^vhen he accompanied the rest of the family to Crown Point. He engaged in the manufacture of cigars at the county seat until his election, in 1890, to the office of county clerk, which position he occupied for two terms, or eight years. In May, 1903, he moved to Hammond and resumed the manufacture of cigars. He owns his nice home at 205 South Hohman street, where is also located his factory. ^Mr. Eder is a stockholder in the Commercial Bank of Crown Point, and for five years was vice-president of the bank. I\lr. Eder was town clerk and treasurer of Crown Point lor six 3-ears, and was twice elected township trustee, resigning that office after three years in order to accept the county clerkship. He has fraternal affiliations with the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Independent Order of Foresters. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church. September 24, 1878, Air. Eder married l\Iiss Frances M. Scherer, a daughter of Peter and Catherine (Young) Scherer. There are seven chil- dren of this union, George J., Edward J., Clarence AI., Louis G., Rose M.. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 69 Daniel and Florence. George J- is in the employ of the American Express Company; Edward J- is a lawyer in Hammond; Clarence Xi. clerks in a grocery store in East Chicago ; Louis G. is attending college in Chicago ; and the other three are in the public schools of Hammond. CLARENCE C. SMITH. Clarence C. Smith is a member of the firm of Smith & Clapper Brothers, liven-men at East Chicago, Indiana, and was born in [Mason, ^Michigan, on the 5th of October, 1863. His paternal grandfather was a native of New York and was a farmer by occupation, but aside from that little is known concerning the ancestn.^ of the house in the paternal line. Gideon Smith, the father of C. C. Smith, was born in the Empire state and became a boot and shoe maker. He followed that occupation in the east for a time and then abandoned it and removed to the middle west, locating in Michigan about 1862. He took up his abode at Mason, that state, where he remained until 1864, when he came to Lake county, Indiana, and settled one mile west of Deep River postofiice, where he purchased what was known as the Ed Chase farm There he carried on agricultural pursuits and also worked at his trade to some extent. He lived a life of untiring activity and industry, and whatever success he achieved was due solely to his own labors. He married Airs. Anna L. Hanna, ncc Marble, who was the widow of Thomas Hanna and a daughter of Simeon Marble, who was born in Vermont, which was also her birthplace. Mr. Marble followed the occupation of farming in New England and on emigrating w^tward about 1858 he IvKated a mile and a half west of Deep Ri\'er postoffice, where he purchased what was known as the Booth farm. There he carried on the work of tilling the soil throughout his remaining days, and his death occurred when he was seventv- five years of age. He was married five times, his first union being with a Miss Imes. He had but three children, all born by his first wife: Ann L.. who became Mrs. Smith : Horace Marble, who is living at Crown Point and Wheatfield, Indiana: and one that has now departed this life. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Smith were members of the Methodist church and lived earnest, consistent Christian lives. Her death occurred in Hobart. Indiana, about 1880. when she was thirty-nine years of age, and Mr. Gideon Smith passed away in December, igo2, in East Chicago, at the age of eighty-two 270 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. years. Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Smith were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, of wliom five are now Hving: Eva. the wife of Henry Hanson, of Chicago: Clarence C. who is living in East Chicago; Flora, the wife of George Green, also of East Chicago: Simeon, who makes his home in Hammond, Indiana : and Alice, the wife of S. G. Carley, of Hammond. Clarence C. Smith was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads, partly spending his boyhood days on the old homestead place west of Deep River. As soon as old enough to handle the plow he took his place in the fields and assisted in their culti\'ation from the time of early spring planting until crops were harvested in the late autumn. His education was acquired in the district schools, which he attended mostly through the winter months. When he was quite young his parents removed to Jasper county, where he remained until he was nine years of age, when he returned to Lake county and lived with his grandfather until he started out upon an independent business career. He was first employed as a farm-hand by the month and continued thus to serve until twenty-one years of age. At that time he took up the study of telegraphy, and in 1885 entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, working as telegraph operator until 1888. In that year he came to East Chicago as assistant station agent, and in March, 1889. he was appointed agent at Hammond, Indiana. On the 27th of January, i8gi, he was appointed agent at East Chicago and served in that capacity until the 29th of December, 1903, when he resigned in order to engage in business for himself. He then joined the Clapper 'Brothers in forming the present firm of Smith & Clapper Brothers, liverymen, of East Chicago. They have a well equipped barn and do a good business, which is constantly increasing. Mr. Smith is also agent for the East Chicago Company, a real estate firm which is developing one of the good sections of the city, and he also owns three valuable properties there, his home being located at 4414 Magoun avenue. In March, 1904, Mr. Smith was appointed agent for the United States Express Company at East Chicago. On the 2ist of May, 1893, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Maude Holmes, a daughter of ]\Iilton D. and Helen (Turner) Holmes. Four children have been born of this union: Leonard C. (deceased), Beulah, Irene and Rolland. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith hold membership in the Con- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 271 gregational church and take an active part in its work and contribute liber- ally to its support. He is now serving as a member of the board of church trustees. He is also deeply interested in the cause of education and is serving his second term as treasurer of the city scliool board. Politically he is a Republican, and is a progressive and public-spirited man and takes an active and helpful interest in every movement that he believes will contriliute to the general progress and improvement. CHARLES C. BOTHWELL. Charles C. Bijthwell, stock farmer, buyer and shipper, of Section 5, Ross township, has spent his life of successful effort in Lake county, and is numbered among the highly esteemed and prosperous citizens of the county. He lias given the best in him to his life work, which occoimts for the results he has gained, but he has also performed his share of public duties and responsibilities as a friend and neighbor and a citizen of the community. Mr. Bothwell was born in Ross township. Lake county, June 11, 1852, being a son of John A. and Nancy (Button) Bothwell, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of New York. His father came to Lake county in 1839. thus being one of the earliest settlers, and located first in St. John's to\vnship, later in Ross township, and for about five years lived in Porter county, after which he returned to Lake county and lived here till his death, at the advanced and venerable age of eighty-three years. He followed farm- ing all his life. He and his wife are both buried in Ross township. They were the parents of eight children, of whom Charles was the third. ]\Ir. C. C. Bothwell was reared in Ross township with the exception of the five years spent in Porter county, and he finished the education begun in the common schools at the Crown Point high school. As soon as his school days were ended he engaged in farming and the buying and shipping of cattle, which he has made the chief lines of his pursuit ever since. He has a farm of two hundred and eighty-three acres with excellent unprovements. and besides the large crops of hay and grain, he keeps and feeds a large number of cattle and hogs. He also carries on a considerable dairy business. Mr. Bothwell is one of the influential Republicans of his township. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was married, October 26, 1884, to Miss Anettie Stone, who was born in Elkhart. Lidiana. Sep- 27-2 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. teml>er i6, 1857. They have had five children: Cora; WaUer; Charles Benjamin; Lillie May; and Lottie, who died in infancy. Airs. Bothwell was reared and educated in Elkhart, Indiana, and she was educated in the common schools and then a course in the Elkhart high school, after which she obtained her teacher's certificate, having attended the Valparaiso Normal and taken the teachers' course. She taught five terms in Lake and Porter counties. Her father was a native of Vermont and was reared as an agriculturist. He was well educated. He was a Republican in politics. He died at the age of seventy-five years in Elkhart. Mother .Stone was reared in Vermont and she died in Elkhart county, aged about forty years. There are four of the Stone family yet living: Benjamin Stone, a resident of Elkhart county: Amanda, widow of Richard Berritt, of Hartline, Wash- ington: Hubert .Stone, a resident of Elkhart: and Mrs. Bothwell. The children of Mr. and I\Irs. Bothwell have recei^-ed good educational training. Cora received her diploma in the class of 1903, and she was a student at the Valparaiso Normal School. She has taken music and also elocution. ^Valter is in the fourth grade, Benjamin is in the eighth grade of the public schools. He is a gifted penman and he is taking up the art of photography. He also takes music. Lillie May is in the sixth grade, and has taken music. JACOB RIMBACH. Jacob Rimbach, a prominent retired citizen of Hammond residing at 78 West Sibley street, has been a resident in the vicinity of Hammond for a longer period perhaps than any other present inhabitant of the city. In fact, when he first came here, a half century ago, no town was here, and the name and the town did not come into existence until nearly a quarter of a century later. He has lived a life of industry, good business management and foresight, and high and noble integrity, and is esteemed at the present not only because he is one of the largest property owners of the city, but also because of his own personal worth and character and for the part he has played in advancing the progress and welfare of his adopted city. What he has accumulated in the way of worldly wealth has been done so by diligence and sagacity in investment, and he deserves the credit of having achieved his own success and of being a self-made man. Mr. Rimbach was born in the province of Eisenach, Germany, December .^at&i (JIj(^}z£3u^ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 273 ■3, 1832, being one of two sons and tlie only one now living born to Christopber and Elizabeth (Hassar) Rinibacb. His mother's father lived and died in Germany, and his histor_v is lost in conseqnence of his having died when his children were small. Christopber Rimbach's parents were Jacob and Chris- tina Rimbach, both of uhom died in Germany, and they bad one son and two daughters. Christopher Rinibacb was a shoemaker by trade, and died in Germany about 1835. ^^^ wife survived him till 1893, and was about seyenty-two years old at the time of her death. They were Lutherans. She w'as married a second time, her husband lieing b'rederick Schroeder, and their two daughters are now both deceased. Mr. Jacob Rimbach was reared in the land of his foref.ithers, receiving a common school education. He had a farm training, and knew the \'alue of honest endea\'or long before he came to this country. In 1834 he accom- panied bis mother to America and settled on the jjresent site of Hammond, before the town had been started. He and his brother Frederick began work on the Michigan Central Railroad, which road bad lieer: built through the county only three years before. Two years later he was made foreman of a section, and continued in the employ of that company for twenty-four years, filling the position of foreman for twenty-two. After leaving the service of the railroad he started the M. M. Towle lumber yard in Hammond, being its manager for two years. He owned ten acres of land within the present confines of Hammond, and when he Cjuit the lumber business he devoted his time to flower gardening. He divided bis land into town lots and gradually sold them off, and also built a number of cottages on them. He now owns, in addition to his good home at 78 West Sibley street, a block of business buildings, including the Lion Store building, and also about fifteen tenant cottages. He is now living retired in the main, l)eing occupied only by the oversight of his extensive property interests. In 1858 Mr. Rimbach married Miss Mary Hillman, and they have four daughters : Emma, who married Morris Cbami^aign, and has two daughters, May and Emma; Henrietta, who married Fred Champaign, and has two children. Myrtle and Fred : Francisca, who married Frank lianson. and has two children, Jacob and May; and Louise, who wedded Otto Marback, and has a daughter, Anna. Mrs. Rimbach's parents, August and Christina (Feidel) Hillman, were natives of Germany and came to America in Decem- 18 274 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. ber, 1854, settling at Xew Buffalo, Michigan. Her father followed various occupations. He died in Chicago in January, 1898, at the age of eighty-four years, followed in death a week later by his wife, at the age of eighty-one. They were both Lutherans in religion. They were the parents of four chil- dren : Mrs. Mary Rimbach ; Caroline, deceased, who was the wife of Andrew Burman; Sophia, the wife of Adolph Foin, of Los Angeles, California; and August, of Hammond. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Rimbach are members of the Lutheran church. At the time of the Civil war he paid fourteen hundred dollars for a substitute in the army. He is a stanch Republican in politics, and is a member of the county council. HENRY SCHR.\GE. Honored and respected by all, there is no resident of Whiting who occu- pies a more enviable position in public regard than does Henry .Schrage. the president of the Whiting Bank and one of the early settlers of Lake county. His position of influence is not due alone to his success, but is the result of the honorable, straightforward business policy be has ever followed, his entire career being such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. More- over, he is an active factor in public life and one whose influence has been exerted toward general progress, reform and improvement. Mr. Schrage is a native of Germany, his liirtli having occurred in Auhgen, Hessen, on the 21st of January. 1844. The first ten years of his life were spent in the fatherland, and he then came to America with his parents. Chris and Fredericka Schrage, who on crossing the Atlantic took lip their abode in Chicago, whence they removed to Lake county in October. 185J. The subject of this review was reared where the to^vn of \\'hiting now stands. He attended the public schools of Chicago and remained at home until aliotit twenty years of age, when in response to the call of his adopted country he enlisted in 1863 as a member of Company K. Thirteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, as a private. He thus served until the close of the war and diil active duty with his regiment, which was assigned to the Seventeenth .\rmy Corps under the command of General Sherman. When hostilities had ceased and his aid was no longer needed to defend the Union, the preservation of which was an established fact, he received an honorable discharge, in July, 1865. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 275 Mr. Sclirage then returned to \\'liiting and entered the railroad service as a section hand, being thus employed until 1868. The following year he engaged in business on his own account, opening a small general store, which he continued to conduct with fair success until about 1890. He then retired from active business and enjoyed a brief period of rest, but in 1895 he opened the Whiting Bank, a private banking institution. He also owns the East Chicago Bank, which he purchased in 1902. and he is tlierefore well known in financial circles in Lake county. These institutions have become recognized as strong financial concerns, and he is now conducting a large and prosperous banking business. He is at the same time a representative of that class of American citizens who, while promoting individual success, also advance the general welfare and prosperity. As his financial resources have increased he has made judicious investments in real estate, and he now owns much property in Whiting, in East Chicago, Hammond, South Chicago and in the city of Chicago. He has been identified in large measure with the upbuilding of Lake county, few men having contributed in greater degree to the substantial progress and upbuilding of his section of the state, in which he has spent the greater part of his life. Mr. Schrage was united in marriage to Miss Caroline W'ustenfelt. who was born in the province of Hessen, Germany. This marriage was cele- brated in 1868, and has been blessed with six children: Harry C. who is cashier of the Whiting Bank; Mary, the wife of August Tresen : William C. who is cashier of the East Chicago Bank; Herman; Sophia C. at home; and Walter E.. who is employed in the bank in Whiting. The family is well known in that city and its members are prominent in local circles there. In the front rank of the columns which have advanced civilization and improve- ment in this portion of Lake county stands Mr. Schrage, and has been among those who have led the way to the substantial development and progress of Whiting, being particularly active in the growth of the city, in which he still makes his home. His memory goes back to the time when this was an undeveloped region. Init when the town was founded he had the business foresight to recognize possibilities here and to utilize them for the benefit of the public as well as his individual interests. As a business man he has been conspicuous among his associates not only for his success, but for his probity, fairness and honorable methods. In everything he has been eminently prac- 27(i HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. tical. and this has been manifested not only in his business undertakings, but also in social and private life. JOHN E. LUTHER. John E. Luther, who has been a resident of Lake county since seven years of age and has a wide acquaintance within its borders, the ^ice-presi- dent of the First National Bank of Crown Point, is a veteran of the Civil war and a citizen whose active co-operation in public affairs has led to substantial improvement in northwestern Lidiana. He is a native son of this state, his birth having occurred in Porter county three miles from Valparaiso on the 22d of November, 1840. His paternal grandfather was James Luther. His father, James H. Luther, was born in Chazy, New York, in 1814. and when eighteen years of age went to the west. A j^ear later he became a resident of Porter county, Lidiana, where he followed farming until 1849. In that year he arrived in Lake county, locating at Crown Point, and he carried on agricultural pursuits on a tract of land that embraces the site of the two railroad depots and the public-school building of this city. He was honored with public olifice, being chosen county auditor for two terms or eight years. He carried on merchandising from 1855 until 1859 as a mem- ber of the firm of Luther, Holton & Company, and the firm then became Luther & Farley, while subsequently John G. Hoftman succeeded the firm of Luther & Farley. Prominent and influential, his efforts in behalf of his com- munity were effective, and he was recognized as one of the leading men of Lake county. His aid in behalf of general progress was never sought in vain, but was given with a cheerfulness that made his work of much value in public affairs. He was a Whig until the dissolution of the party, when he became a stanch Republican and continued to march under the banners of that party until his demise. During the period of the Civil war all of the nioiiev that came to the county from the government was given to him for distribution among the families of the soldiers. He was reared in the Presbyterian doc- trine, but for many years was a spiritualist. He died at the advanced age of seventy-nine years and five days. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Phoebe Ann Flint, was a natixe of X'ermcint and lived to be about twenty- seven years of age. They were the parents of four sons, all of whom reached manhood, namelv : John E., AniiiS O., Albert W. and Henrv E. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 277 Jolm E. Lutlier, the eldest son, is now tlie only living representative of the family. He was but eight years of age when he came to Lake county, and here he attended the district schools, his first teacher being Martin ^^'ood. When about nine years of age he went to Valparaiso, where he worked for fi\'e vears in the printing office with his uncle. Judge \\". C. Talcott. On the expiration of that period he came to Crown Point, and later he went to Min- nesota with a drove of cattle, walking all the wa}'. He was ele\'en weeks on the road, receiving ten dollars for the trip. Mr. Luther remained in Minne- sota for about two years, driving a stage for a year and a half and during the remainder of the time working in a livery stable. On the expiration of that period he returned to Crown Point and accepted a clerkship in a store owned by John G. Hofifman. When a little more than a year had passed he offered his services to the governm.ent, enlisting April 19, 1861, under Alark L. Demotte, being the first man to enlist from Crown Point. He became a mem1>er of Company B, Twentieth Luliana Volunteer Lifantry, and after serving for two years as a private he was commissioned first lieutenant and adjutant, continuing in that rank until October 10, 1864, when he was mus- tered out as a supernumerary officer. He took part in twentv-seven inqiortant engagements and was three times wounded, but he has never appliet' for a pension. He was mustered out because of the consolidation of tb.e Seventh, Fourteenth and Nineteenth regiments with the Twentieth Lidiana Regiment, and as all of the officers could not be retained in their rank Mr. Luther was among those who was retired, for he had already served for three years and a half. He is life president of his regimental association. Li November, 1864, Air. Luther returned to Crown Point, and on the 28th of December following he was united in marriage to ]\Iiss Addie \\'ells, a daughter of Henry Wells. She was torn in Crown Point, was educated in the public schools there and was well known in the city. Her death occurred August 25, 1875. at Indianapolis, and she left one son, Harry W., who died in San Francisco of blood poisoning, July 15, 1896. In 1868 Mr. Luther entered the employ of the McCormick Reaper Com- pany and went to Galesburg, Illinois, where he remained through that season. He afterward continued with the company as bookkeeper and travelirig sales- man until 1879, when he removed from Indianapolis to Troy, Ohio, where he was engaged as bookkeeper for the firm of Beadle & Kelly. He spent 278 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. several years in Ohio, and in 1S82 went to California, where he remained for one year, and since 1886 he has resided continuously in Crown Point. He has been vice-president of the First National Bank since 1900 and is one of the oldest stockholders of that institution. He also owns a farm of about three hundred and twenty-five acres and has valuable city property. He is now living retired from active business, giving supervision merely to his invested interests. Mr. Luther is a member of John Wheeler Post No. 161, G. A. R., of which he is a past commander. He is also a member of the Lfnion Veteran Legion, Encampment No. 84, of Indianapolis. He did his duty to his coun- try willingly and with marked loyalty because of his love for the L'nion, and he does not ask to be reimbursed for the sacrifice \\hicli he made in behalf of the stars and stripes. In politics he has been a life-long Republican. He certainly deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, as he started out in life in early boyhood without capital. As a business man he has teen conspicuous among his associates not only for his success but for his probity, fairness and honorable methods. In everything he has been eminently prac- tical, has discharged every public duty with ability and fairness. WILLIAM F. BRIDGE. ^^'iIliam F. Bridge, city engineer of Hammond and county surveyor of Lake county, has lived in Hammond since 1890 and is a proficient member of the civil engineering profession and is popular in both business and social circles. Mr. Bridge was born at Delphi. Indiana, April 11. 1864, being the only son and child of Jacob C. and Emma (Witberow) Bridge, both natives of Indiana. His paternal grandfather, John Bridge, was a native of Ohio, was a farmer there, and afterwards came to Carroll county, Indiana, at an early (lay, where he Ixiught land of the government and improved it and added to his property until he had a large estate of five hundred acres. He was of Scotch descent. He died in Carroll county when about seventy years old. His wife, Rosanna Carr by maiden name, died at about the same age, and they had two children. Mr. Bridge's maternal grandfather, James Witberow. married a Miss Filson, and they were early settlers of Carroll county. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church, and died in middle age, having had HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 279 four cliildren. Jacob C. Bridge was a bookkeeper for many years. He lived in Deipbi. Incbana, until i8S6. was tben in Colorado for four years, and since tben be and bis wife bave been residents in Hammond. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian cburcb. Mr. William F. Bridge was reared at Deipbi, Indiana, graduating from the high school there in 1884, and later took a special course in Wabash College. He tben took up the study of civil engineering, and has followed that profession ever since, having gained a most creditable position in its ranks. He spent the years from 1886 to 1890 in Colorado, and since then has been a resident of Hammond. He was elected city engineer of Ham- mond in 1893, and, with the exception of four years, has been in that office since. He was elected county surveyor of Lake county in 1902, and assumed the duties of that office in January, 1903. He has given entire satisfaction in both offices. In the spring of 1904 Mr. Bridge was nominated for a second time as surveyor of Lake county. Mr. Bridge is a member of the Presbyterian church, and bis wife is a Baptist. He affiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569, F. & A. M., with Ham- mond Chapter, R. A. M., and with Hammond Commandery, K. T., and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He belongs to the Sigma Chi college fraternity. In politics he is a Republican, and is city chairman of the Republican committee. December 23, 1885, Mr. Bridge married Miss Lillian Sharrer, a daugh- ter of Dr. Wilbur and Catharine (Moore) Sharrer. Four children were born of this union, Edgar, Grace, Norman and Helen. Mrs. Lillian Bridge died in January, 1900. She was a member of the Presbyterian cburcb. On August 19, 1903, ^Ir. Bridge married Miss Bertha C. Watkins, a daughter of Rev. W. G. and Ruth (Evans) Watkins, the former a native of Wales and the latter of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Bridge's paternal grandfather, William Watkins, was a native of Wales, whence be came to the LTnited States and settled in Pennsylvania. He was a Baptist minister, and died in middle life. His wife was named Mary. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Bridge were Robert and Susan (Todd) Evans: the former was a son of Da\-id Evans and was a native of Wales, and died when a young man : the latter lived to an advanced age, and was the mother of four children. 'Mrs. Bridge's father was a Baptist minis- 280 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. ter, a graduate of Bucknell University, of whicli she is also a grafliiate, and he now Hves in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in which state he has done most of his ministerial work. He has always heen in public life, and for a num- ber of years taught music. He and his wife were the parents of six children, one son and five daughters: Bertha C. (Mrs. Bridge). Susie. Lillian. Ethel. Earl and Ruth. HENRY CHESTER. Henry Chester, of section 17, Ross township, is one of the well known old settlers and prominent agriculturists of Lake county, having spent over a half century in his one township. He spent his youthful days among the rather crude and primitive conditions of that time, and has ever since been identified with the progress and advancement that have raised Lake county from an unprofitable wilderness to one of the banner sections of the state. He recalls many of the interesting experiences of that earh' day. His oppor- tunities for literarv' accomplishment were meager, and as he had to work during the daylight hours he did his reading by the light of a rag dipped in a saucer of grease or by the flickering firelight of the old-fashioned hearth and chimney. And when he clad himself in his best and went forth to attend one of the balls of the countryside, he and his best girl rode in a wagon drawn by an ox team. From this primitive conveyance to the modern automobile graphically represents the progress of Lake county and the world in general since Air. Chester was a carefree boy on his father's Lake county farm. Mr. Chester was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, Octoloer 15, 1834. His grandfather. John Chester, was a native of England, whence he came at an early day to Pennsylvania, and for seven years fought in the ranks of the patriots in the Revolutionary war. becoming an officer in the Con- tinental army.- He saw and talked with Genera! Washington and was a prominent man. His son Charles, father of Henry, was born in Pennsyl- A'ania, and came out to Lake county, Lidiana, as a pioneer in 1847. living here until his death in 1874. He married Mary E. Price, a native of Penn- sylvania and of German descent, and they were the parents of two daug"hters and one son that reached maturity. Mr. Henry Chester was aly)Ut twelve years old when he came to Lake county with his parents, and his subsequent rearing and early traim'ng was in Ross township, where, indeed, he has spent the rest of his life. When the H 'JyTlA^ CyhJ^^aAl\ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 281 war came on he enlisted on September lo, 1861. in Company G, Ninth IHi- nois Cavalry, and served until his honorable discharge, Octoljer 31, 1865. after giving four years and three months of his youth and strength to the defense of the Union cause. From choice he remained a private through all this time. He was in many battles in Kentucky, Tennessee. Mississippi, and the various campaigns of the middle west. He returned home to engage in the farming pursuits which have ever since employed him so profitably. He operates over a thousand acres of as fine land as lies in Lake county, and his agricultural enterprises mark him as one of the most progressive and success- ful farmers of his vicinity. He has also taken part in local affairs, and is well known throughout the county as a representati\e and public-spirited citizen. Mr. Chester was first married, in 1859, to Miss Harriet Perry, who was born in I^orter county, Indiana, a daugliter of Ezekiel Perry. They had one child, ]\Iary, wife of Henry Merchant. Mr. Chester's second wife was Har- riet L. Hanks, of New York state, and at her death she left five children: Ella, wife of Charles Olson; Lovisa, wife of Charles Nelson; Carrie, wife of William Raschka, a merchant of Ainsworth, Lidiana; and Charles E. and James H. Mr. Chester married for his present wife Mary E. Baird. and they have three children: Jerome, John and Daisy. The children ha\'e received good and practical educations, and Miss Daisy has taken instruction in music. Mrs. Chester was born in Westmoreland county, P'ennsylvania, November 8, 1854, being the eldest of the ten children, four sons and six daughters, born to Samuel and Jane (Oakes) Baird. When she was a girl of twelve years her parents moved west to Bureau county, Illinois, where she com- pleted the education begun in her native state. !\Tr. Chester is a member of Earl Lodge No. ^t,^, I. O. O. F., at Hol,art, and his wife belongs to the Rebekahs at the same place. Mr. and Mrs. Chester are both church members, their respective denomin;itions bemg the Methodist Episcopal and the Baptist. From this brief review of the main facts of his career, is indicated the prominent position that Mr. Chester IkiIcIs in his community and in Lake county. His individual enterprise and success and his strength of character are marked in still bolder outlines when it is remembered how he has hcen the architect of his own fortunes, and is a trulv self-made man. At tlie 232 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. beginning of his active career lie worked for wages, receiving only thirteen dollars a month. Yet with this seemingly scant hold on prosperity's coign of vantage he continued to climb higher to success, and during his useful career has accumulated a large estate and made his life a factor for good throughout Lake county. ANDREW KAMMER. Andrew Kammer, postmaster at St. John, has been a well known man of affairs in this town for a number of years. He has held his present office almost continuously for seventeen years, which in itself shows his popularity with the community and his prestige as a public-spirited and energetic citizen. The first few years of his life were passed in his native land of Germany, but he was practically reared and has been identified with Amer- ican institutions all his life. He has followed various lines of business, and during his connection with Lake county affairs has accjuired property interests in several places. He is an influential citizen, and a hearty worker in any cause that he takes up and believes to be for the general welfare of the community. \lr. Kammer was born in Hesse-Darnstadt, Germany, September 2, 1838. and at the age of eight years accompanied his parents to America, landing at Baltimore. He remained in that city until i860, gaining his education and learning the tailor's trade. He followed that business in Cumberland. IMaryland, until 1868, and then returned to Baltimore, where he continued in business for a year. In 1869 he came out to Lake county, Indiana, locating at St. John, and for the first six years taught school during the winter seasons. For ten years he was traveling in the interests of the Catholic V olkszeihmg, Baltimore, Maryland, and did much business for that paper. He was also on the road eight years as the representative of a liquor house. In December, 1887, ^^^ ^^'^s appointed to the office of postmaster of St. John, and with the exception of eight months has held the office con- tinuously to tlie present time. Some years ago he built three tenant houses in \\'hiting, being one of the first to make that kind of investment in that town, and he still owns this property and rents it. May 3, i860, Mr. Kammer married Miss Katherine Wagner, who was born in Germanv and came as a girl to America, having lived in this country HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 283 since she was fourteen years old. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Kammer have seven children living: Elizabeth; Mary; Nicholas; Michael; Theodore A., a teacher in the public schools of St. John ; Andixw ; and Catherine. The family are members of the St. John Catholic church. ADAM J. GERLACH. Adam J. Gerlach. with residence and farm on section 30, Center town- ship, has been identified with the most important interests of Lake county for over forty years. He passed part of his boyhood in this county, after which he was one of the popular and leading workers along educational lines for many years, and the latter part of his career has been devoted most suc- cessfully to the life insurance business and to farming, so that his years have been both varied in their activity and prosperous in their fruits. Mr. Gerlach was born at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, March 8, 1848, being a son of Michael and Catherine (Wirtheim) Gerlach, both natives of Bavaria, Germany. His father, on coming to America, located at Harper's Ferry, and in 1857 brought his family to Lake county, Lidiana, settling in St. John township. He improved his first farm and also was the owner of two other farms, being during his lifetime one of the leading citizens. He taught school for some time and for many years was assessor of his township. He died at the age of seventy-five, and his wife in her seventy-sixth year. They were the parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters, and all but one are living and married at the present time. Mr. Adam J. Gerlach, who is the third child and third son, was about nine years old when he came to Lake county, where he continued the educa- tion he had l>egun in Virginia. He graduated from the Crown Point high school, and from that time has made his own way in the world. He began by clerking in a store, but at the age of seventeen entered upon his career as school teacher, which he continued, altogether, for twenty-one years. One term was in Cook county, Illinois, but all the rest was in Lake county. He taught different branches, English and German being favorites, and he also made a specialty of musical instruction, both vocal and instrumental. He is an accomplished musician, and at the present time is organist in St. Mary's Catholic church at Crown Point. He now resides on his farm of two hundred and fortv-fi\-e acres situated 284 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. three and a half miles south of Crown Point, where he owns one of the fine farmsteads of this part of the county. But he devotes most of his time to soliciting life insurance for the Aetna Life of Hartford, having been agent in this business for twenty-one years. He has written many thousands of dollars in this time, and his work has extended to all parts of the county. One of his chief industries on the farm is a large dairy, and in this connec- tion he has become one of the directors of the Chicago Milk Shippers' Union, which comprises man}- thousand dairies of Lidiana. Illinois and Wisconsin. He is also interested in a company organizing, at Crown Point, a jelly manu- facturing business. About eighteen farmers of the surrounding country will raise currents for this enterprise. ]\Ir. Gerlach is one of the well known Democrats of Lake county, and for some years served as justice of the peace. He is a member and a trustee of the Catholic church at Crown Point. He was married, August lo, 1S74, to Miss Margaret Scherer, the daughter of Nicholas and Frances Scherer, who were among the early settlers of Lake county, where Mrs. Gerlach was born. Mr. and Mrs. Gerlach ha\"e had thirteen children, and all are living but one, who died in 1903, the others being as follows : Adam ]M. : Amelia, wife of Theodore Stech ; George F. : Frances : Agnes ; Michael : Joseph ; Richard; Philip; Susan; Josephine; and Lillie. Adam and Agnes graduated in the Crown Point public schools, and the former and George F. are mem- bers of the Crown Point brass band. Mr. Gerlach, being so proficient in music, has given his children fine instruction in music, and at gatherings, assemblies and farm institutes they take a prominent part. JUDGE GEORGE \^^ JONES. Active in community affairs which have had important bearing upon public progress and improvement. Judge G. W. Jones is numbered among the leading and representative men of ^^'hiting, Indiana, where he is now filling the oiifice of justice of the peace. He has also been closely associated with educational affairs there and has done much for the upbuilding of the schools. In an official connection he has Ijeen largely instrumental in securing the attendance at school of a greater percent of pupils than had hitherto been enrolled. His labors have always been of a practical character, attended by results that are far-reaching and beneficial. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 285 Judge Jones is a native of Ohio, liis l^n-th having occurred in Butler county on the Jjd of May. 1844. He is a son of Dr. Caleb H. and Beulah (Staggs) Jones, the former of Welsh descent and the latter of English lineage. His paternal grandfather, Jonas Jones, was a native of New Jersey, and was a civil engineer by profession. Removing westward he surveyed a large part of southern Ohio and was one of the promoters of pioneer devel- opment in that portion of Ohio. His son. Dr. Caleb H. Jones, was also a native of Butler county, Ohio, prepared for the practice (if medicine in early life and continued active in the prosecution of his profession up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1848. His wife was a native of North Caro- lina. On her father's side she was of English lineage and on the maternal line her ancestry could be traced back to John Smith, whose life was saved by the Indian maiden Pocahontas. Judge Jones was the seventh in a family of nine children born to Dr. and Mrs. Jones. He spent his youth in the county of his nati\'ity, and his early boyhood was a period of earnest and unremitting toil, for when he was only four years of age he was left an orphan. He earned his living during the greater part of the time until he had attained the age of sixteen years, but the elemental strength of his character was thereby developed and he be- came a self-reliant, courageous young man who bravely faced life's duties and made the most of his opportunities. In 1861 he offered his services to the government as a defender of the Union, enlisting in Company D, Fifth Regiment of Ohio Cavalry. He served for three years and seven months in the army as a private, but was promoted to the rank of sergeant. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, the siege of Corinth and the liattle at that city, the siege of \'icksburg and the engagement at Lookout JNIountain, where was displayed on.e of the most daring military feats of the great war. He was also with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea. When the war was over and he was mustered out of service. Judge Jones returned to his native county in Ohio and there served a lerm of apprenticeship as a machinist. In 1867 he made a business trip to Europe, being gone about si.x weeks, during which time he \isited Li\'erpoi:)l and other points in England, beside going to France. After his return to his native land he remo\-ed to ^liddletown. Ohio, where he remained until 1869, and in the fall of that vear he came to Indiana, locating at Kentland. He 286 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. afterward removed to Sheldon, Illinois, \\here he engaged in the manufacture of carriages and wagons for a short time. He next went to California, afterward to Australia and subsequently to Japan and China, looking for a location and a better country than America. He remained in Australia for three months and visited Hongkong, China, and Yokohama, Japan. His travels, however, convinced him that there was no better country on the face of the globe than his own United States, and upon once more reaching this country he located in Sheldon, Illinois, where he remained for two years. During that time he was married and later he went to Nebraska, settling at Lone Tree. There he secured a homestead claim and continued its cultiva- tion and development until the grasshoppers entirely destroyed his crops. He next returned to Iroquois, Illinois, and afterward went to Sheldon, while in January, 1SS4, he located in Hammond, Indian.a, where he entered the emplo)- of the Tuthill Spring Company and the Chicago Carriage Company, being thus engaged until he entered the services of the Hammond Packing Com- pany as a machinist, filling that position until 1890, when he came to Whiting. Here Judge Jones entered the employ of the Standard Oil Company as a machinist and foreman of the compound press house, and later was sent to the round house in the switching department. During the last four years of his connection with the Standard Oil Company he had charge of the repairs on locomotives, and was regarded as one of the most capable and trusted representatives of the corporation in \\'hiting. In the meantime J\Ir. Jones had become recognized as a prominent and influential factor in pubHc life, e.xerting strong influence in Iiehalf of measures for the general good. In 1898 he was elected justice of the peace of Whiting and has served in that capacity continuously since, discharging' his duties in a prompt and able manner, his decisions l>eing strictly fair and impartial. He was also elected city clerk of Whiting and is now filling that office. He is likewise engaged in the insurance business, ha\-ing lime to devote to these interests as well as his official duties. He is now vice-president of the board of children's guardians of Lake county, In(liana, and since taking his place as a member of the board he has made strenuous and effective eft'orts to keep children out of the saloons, and more children are now attending school than ever before in Whiting. He is the only Democrat that has been elected to public office in the town, and this fact is indicative of the confidence and trust ** HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 287 reposed in him by his fehow citizens. He is not bitterly aggressive in politics, for while he believes in Democratic principles he casts his ballot inclepen- dently at local elections where no issue is in\-olved. Since 1867 Judge Jones has been an exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity and has nITed all the chairs in the local lodge. He is also a Knight of Pythias, holds mem- bership relations with the Knights of the Maccabees and Colonel Robert Heath Post, G. A. R., of Hammond, in which he has tilled all of the posi- tions with the exception of that of quartemiaster. In 1870, while living in Sheldon, Illinois, Judge Jones was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Markley, and to them were born two sons and one daughter: Harry, wdio is an engineer for the Standard Oil Company; Guy, a switchman in the employ of the same company : and Ann.ie, at home. The Judge and his family are well known in A\'hiting. wdiere they occupy an enviable position in social circles and have many warm friends. He has taken a very active and helpful part in public affairs, and in his life record has dis- played many commendable characteristics. His benevolent spirit has prompted generous assistance to the borough, and he has the reputation of giving more liberally than any other man in \Miiting according to his means. No one in need seeking his aid is turned away from his door empty-handed, and while he does not believe in the indiscriminate giving that fosters \a- grancy and idleness, he does everything in his power to help those who are willing to help themselves. Judg'e Jones attended school for only aI;out ten months, and his knowledge has all been acquired through practical experience and by reading and study at night. He has made the most of his oppor- tunities as the years have advanced, and to-day he is a well-informed man, widely and favorably known throughout the community, his abilities well fitting him for leadership in political, business and social life. The terms progress and patriotism may be considered the keynotes of his character, for throughout his career he has labored for the improvement of every line of business or public interest with which he has been associated and at all times has been actuated by a fidelity to his country and her welfare. • 288 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. JUDGE W. C. McMAHAN. Judge W. C. McMahan. in igo2 elected to liis present office of circuit judge, has been one of tlie leading members of the bar at Crown Point for the past twenty years, and liis legal talent and learning, his wholesome and genial personality, and his loyalty to the public welfare have been recognized in an extensive law practice and a large personal and party following who have honored him with various public offices, the last being the circuit judge- ship. Since taking his seat on the l^ench he has fully preserved the judicial dignity of the office and has made a most commendable record by his ex- peditious yet thorough handling of the numerous cases on his docket. His career has been typical of those of many successful law^yers, he having entered upon the law after a period of experience in school teaching and having passed the usual novitiate of hard study and early trials in gaining recogni- tion from the people. His past record proves his success, and he has reached his present prominence at the bar and bench while in the prime of manhood, being a man of forty-six and with many years of useful work before him. Judge McMahan was born in Carroll county. Indiana, August 2, 1858, being of Scotch-Irish lineage. His grandfather, Rolaert Mc]\Iahan, was an Indian trader, and served as aide-de-camp to General Washington. He was later one of the first settlers in the old town of Chillicothe, Ohio, \\here he located during the Indian wars. During the pioneer epoch of Ohio history and throughout the remainder of his life he was actively identified \,ith the development and upbuilding of that state and of Indiana. Judge McMahan's father is Robert ^McMahan, who was born in Darke county, Ohio, and when a small boy went with bis parents to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, where he was reared to the occupation of farming, passing his youth among frontier scenes. He Ijecame a farmer of Carroll county, where he has devoted his energies to agricultural i)ursuits to the present time, although he is now seventy-nine years old and one of the honored patriarchs of his community. By his first wife he had one son. He was afterward married in Carroll county to Miss Martha White, who was born in Ohio and is still living. Her father, Zenas White, was a native of Ohio, and settled in Carnll county, Indiana, in 1832. Of this second union six children were born, four sons and two daughters. ^^»p? HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 289 Judge McMalian. the eldest of liis lirotliers and sisters, was reared in Carroll county. Indiana, dlitaining his early education in the country and village schools. He later attended the normal school at Ladoga. Indiana, and for four years engaged in teaching school. With his amhition set for the profession of law. he entered the L^nix-ersity of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and studied there one year. He spent amither year in reading law with a firm in Logansport. and in 18(83 ^^''^s admitted to the liar at Delphi Carroll county, Indiana. In A]M-il of the following year he located in Crown Point and began the practice which he has continued with so much success during the last twenty years. He has almost continuously been in some office de- manding his professional services. He was town attorney for sixteen years, was prosecuting attorney of the county from 1890 to 1894. and in lanuary, 1902. was appointed to the position of circuit judge and in the fall of the same year was elected to that office. He has for a number of years been one of the influential Republicans of this part of the state, and as far as his duties permit he takes an active part in politics. His only fraternal affiliations are with the Knights of Pythias. In 1888 Jude McMahan married Miss Irene Allman. a daughter of Amos and Mary (Luther) Allman. She was born in Crown Point, and by her marriage became the mother of three children : Claudia, Mary and Maurine. SETH L. PEARCE. Seth L. Pearce, of section 19, Eagle Creek township, is a life-long resi- dent of this fertile portion of Lake county, and has been prominently identi- fied with its farming and stock-raising interests during nearly all his years since attaining manhood. Very little time has been spent away from the scene of his childhood joys, and his career has been worked out to a suc- cessful degree of fulness among the people and in the environments that he has known since he first became conscious of the great world about him As the head of a happy home and as a factor in the social and business life of his community he has borne his share of responsibilities and become known everywhere in his township as a man of integrity and industrious habits. Mr. Pearce was born in Eagle Creek township. Lake county, July 29, 1854, being the eighth child and the third son of Michael and Margaret J., 290 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. (Dinwiddie) Pearce. His father, who was one of the pioneer settlers of Lake connty, was horn in 1808 and died in 1861, and his mother was torn in 1818 and died Augnst 8, 1894. Besides Seth L., there are six children living : John, in whose biography on another page further details of family history will be found; Harriet, wife of Isaac Bryant, of Hebron, Indiana; Nancy Ann. wife of O. V. Servis, also written of in this volume; Alary J.. -wife of W. T. Buchanan, of Eagle Creek township; Susanna, wife of G. H. Stahl. of Eagle Creek township; and Thomas, on the old homestead. Mr. Seth L. Pearce was reared in his native township, and after attend- ing the local schools went to the Crown Point high school and then to the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso. He spent a year and a half in Oregon and California, but returned to his native township to take up the agricultural pursuits which have ever since formed his chief occupation and given him his liveliho(.Kl. After his marriage he located on the farm where he still resides, consisting of one hundred and sixteen acres, well improved and under his cajiable management producing good general crops and stock. Mr. Pearce is a stanch Republican, and in church matters is a member of the United Presbyterian church at Hebron, taking a useful part in its work. March 16, 1886, Mr. Pearce married Miss Sarah G. Patterson, a native of Kosciusko county. Indiana, wliere she was born July 16, 1859, the daugh- ter of John and Alargaret ( Kirkpatrick ) Patterson. Her father was born in Pennsylvania. September 15, 1799, and died April 7, 1864, and her mother in Ohio. August 21. 1819. and died December 12, 1900. She is the only ■child of their marriage. She was reared and educated in her native county. Father Patterson was reared as an agriculturist in Pennsylvania, and edu- cated in the log-cabin school of "ye olden days." In his early life he was a Whig, and at the birth of the Republican party took up its principles. He came to Ohio from Pennsylvania and afterwards to Kosciusko county. In- diana, in 1843. ^"<^'- tliere had purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Plain township. He and wife were memtors of the United Pres- byterian church. Mother Patterson was born in Clarke county. Ohio, and was seventeen when she became a resident of Indiana. Mrs. Pearce was educated in the common schools, was also a student in the Warsaw high school three years. She is a lady of genial, cordial bearing, and her cosy. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 291 hospitable home is a ha\-en for friend or stranger. Mr. and Mrs. Pearce have one daughter, Margaret E., born March 6. 1887, and who graduated from the Crown Point high school in 1904. She expects to enter a universitN of high rank, and take the classical course. JAMES MONTGOMERY HALSTED. James Montgomery Halsted, of section 11, Ross township, is a life- long resident of Lake count}-, and has found in agricultural pursuits the best employment for his energies and a means of gaining a comfortable hvehhood and a substantial place in the world of material circumstances. He is a son of one of the very earliest pioneers to the county, so that the Halsted family has figured in the industrial and social life of Lake county from its earliest years to the present, and, furthermore, have always retained the esteem and high regard of their fellow citizens and business associates. Mr. Halsted was born in Ross township, September 12, 1852. His father. James Halsted, was a native of Oneida county, New York, and about 1838 came out to Lake county, Indiana, locating in a very sparsely settled community and playing the part of the doughty pioneer in clearing the ground and making way for civilization. He was a farmer all his life, and lived to the advanced age of eightv-seven years. He was a member of an.d helped to build the Unitarian church at Hobart. In politics he was a Demo- crat from the time of casting his first vote to the last. His wife was Mary Woodhouse, who was born and reared in New York city, a daughter of Edwin Woodhouse. She is still living at the age of seventy-six, and has been the mother of six children, four sons and two daughters, all of whom grew up and married, and five are living at the present writing. Mr. James M. Halsted is the eldest son and the second child. He was reared in Ross township, being educated in the puljlic schools, and he remained at home and assisted his parents until his marriage, in 1877. In the same year he located on the farm where he has since made his home. This consists of one hundred and fifty-seven acres of well improved and highly cultivated land, and is devoted, under his skillful management, to general farming and stock-raising. Mr. Halsted is also interested in public afifairs, and ni 1904 was the Democratic candidate for the office of trustee of Ross township. 292 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. He married, in 1877, Miss Emma Brown, the daughter of James and Jane Brown. She was Ixirn in Michigan City, LaPorte county, Indiana, .ind was reared there. Mr. and Mrs. Halsted have five children: Albert, Ura, Roy, Mamie and Ethel. CAPTAIN C. A. FRIEDRICH. Captain Charles A. Friedrich is the proprietor of the Harbor riotel at Indiana Harbor and is one of the upbuilders of the town, which has had an existence of but a very few years, but in this brief space of time has made rapid strides, enjoying a marvelous yet substantial growth. The hostelry of which Captain Friedrich is projirietor is the leading one of the town, and in addition to its conduct be is also engaged in real estate operations. The Captain is descended from a distinguished family of Germany, prominent in public life there. His grandfather Friedrich was commander of and had supervision over all the fortifications in central Gemiany, and at his death was buried under the monument which he had erected at Coburg, Germany. He married a Miss Demuth, and among their children was Charles E. Friedrich, the father of Captain Friedrich. He, too, was a native of Germany, and was in the government service throughout his entire life. He lived for a time in Saerbricken. He became a prominent officer, and the emperor voluntarily placed a medal upon his breast — the medal of the order of the Red Eagle. He was twice married, his first union being with Miss Leopoltina Miller, also a native of Germany and whose father spent his entire life in that country, where he conducted a hotel. To Mr. and Mrs. C. E, Friedrich were born three children, who are still living : Charles A. ; Emelia, the wife of Ernst Gross, of Rheinholz, Germany: and Julius, of New York, .\fter the death of his first wife the father married Katharina Dawald. and thej^ had four sons — Ernst, Robert, Rudolph and Carl, all in Germany. Charles E. Friedrich died in the year 1899. ^^ the advanced age of seventy- nine years, while the mother of (lur subject died of cholera in 1866, Both were consistent members of the Lutheran church. Captain Charles A. Friedrich was reared in the fatherland and acquired his education in that country. When he had completed the high school course he attended college and afterward entered a sailors' school at Ham- burg. Germany, known as the German Seamen's School, v.here he pursued a if^^^ ^^ ^^^.^^ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 293 tliorough course. Subsequenth- he entered tlie merchant marine service, wliicli claimed liis time and energies until 1901. His first trip to America was made in 1865. he landing at Xew York in April on the dav that Presi- dent Lincoln was assassinated. He continued to follow the ocean until 1869, when he began sailing on the Great Lakes, and was captain of \arious ves- sels until 1 90 1, when he determined to abandon the vocation which had so long occupied his attention, and came to Lidiana Harbor. Captain Friedrich was the first nian who slept in his own bed in the town. He opened the Harbor Hotel, renting the building when it was Init partially finished, and the first night he had sixty-six boarders. There was not a bedstead in the house at the time, although he had four thousand dollars' worth of furniture upon the way, it being almost impossible to get the furni- 'ure from the cars by wagon, because of the swampy and stumpy condition of the ground, almost making hauling impossible. As rapidly as possible. howe\-er, he providetl for the comfort of his guests, and the Harbor Hotel has ever maintained the first place among the leading hostelries of the town. He has a good patronage and his success is assured because of the enter- prising" methods he follows, and his earnest and untiring efforts to please his patrons. He is also interested in the real estate business and has handled considerable property here. The condition of Indiana Harbor at the time of the opening of the hotel, contrasted with its present condition, indicates the rapid growth of the town, which now contains a population of three thousand and is still rapidly grow- ing. The wise system of industrial economics which has been brought to bear in the development of Indiana Harbor has challenged luiiform admira- tion, for while there has been steady advancement in material lines there has been an entire absence of that inflation of \-alues and that erratic "boom- ing" which ha\'e in the past proved the eventual death knell to many of tlie localities in the central west, where "mushroom towns" ha\e one day smiled forth with "all modern improvements" and practical!}- on the next ha\'c been shorn of their glories and of their possibilities of stable prosperity until the existing order of things shall ha\'e radically changed. In Indiana Harbor progress has been made continuously and in'safe lines, and in the healthful growth and advancement of the town Mr. Friedrich has taken an acti\e part. On the 14th of May, 1898. Captain b'riedrich was united in marriage 294 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. to Miss Xellie T. Burke, a daughter of Jt>lin and Tlieressa Burke. He belongs to several fraternal organizations, including the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Improved Order of Red Men, and lia^ attained the uniformed rank in the K. of P. He is a member of the Indiana HarlKir. Columbia and Jackson Park Yacht clubs. Politically he is a Republican, but his attention has never been directed tOAvard oiTice-holding. as he prefers to perform his duties of citizenship in other ways. While on the water he had some thrilling experiences, and now he is living the more cjuiet life of a hotel proprietor, ably ministering to the wants of the traveling public and by his genial, oblig- ing manner making many friends. SEYMORE PATTON. Seymore Patton is one of the oldest citizens of Lake county, both in years of his age and in length of residence, and his honorable and active career as a fanner here for over forty-five years is one of the important items of the histon,' of Center township. He came here in the strength and vigor of his young manhood and settled on the land which has ever since formed part of his homestead, and from the wild prairie and woodland he developed a farm whose continued cultivation has afforded him a most honor- able occupation and a means of livelihood, resulting in comfortable circum- stances for his old age and in grateful esteem and regard from all his fellow citizens and associates. Mr. Patton was born in Trumbull county. Ohio. December i8, 1828, a son of John and Eliza Jane (Dixon) Patton. the former a native of Butler county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of Ireland, whence she came to America at the age of fourteen. His parents were married in Butler county, Penn- syhania, where his father followed the occupation of farming, but spent his last years in Lake county, Indiana, where his death occurred at the age of sixty-four years. His mother died in this county at the age of sixty. There were sixteen children in the family, and all but one grew up and married and reared families. Mr. Patton, the fifth child of the family, was reared in Trumbull countv, Ohio, and was educated in that county's public schools. He was married there in 1852, and in the same year he came to Indiana, for the first two vears being located in the south part of the state, in ^Morgan county. In 185^ he HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 295 came to Lake county, but two years later moved to LaPorte county, whence two years later he moved back to Lake county. He then bought the farm where he now lives, and has continued his home and habitation thereon during ail the subsequent \ears. He found the place a raw prairie, but he has placed and replaced many improvements since the day of his arrival. The present home place consists of eighty acres besides fifteen acres of tim- ber tract. In 1852 Mr. Patton married Miss Sarah Ann Beber, who was born near Allentown, Pennsylvania, and died May 8, 1904. Five children were bom of this union of over fifty years, and four are now living: Anna M., the wife of Freelaird Price, of Norton county, Kansas; Sarah, unmarried; William H., at home and performing most of the active work of the farm; and Vina, at home. Anna was a successful teacher in Lake county and also in Kansas. Mr. Patton has long been one of the Democratic voters of the county, and has always given his influence to the work of progress and devel- opment of his community. JAMES PATTON. James Patton, retired farmer of Winfield township, is a representative citizen of Lake county, entirely deserving of the substantial place he has gained in the esteem and high regard of his fellow citizens. His life of more than threescore and ten years has been fruitful in many ways. From early years he devoted himself industriously to his duties as a farmer, and only within the last few years has he remitted the diligence and constant effort which gained him prosperity in material circumstances and influence in affairs of citizenship. He made his first acquaintance with Lake county over fifty-five years ago, and some fifteen years later returned to this fertile agricultural section of northern Indiana and made it the field of his endeavors for his subsequent active career. He is accordingly well informed as to the various epochs in Lake county's industrial and political history, and is one of the honored old-timers. Mr. Patton was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, April 26, 1831, being a son of John and Eliza Jane (Dixon) Patton, the former a native of Butler county, Pennsylvania, anti the latter of Ireland, whence she came to America at the age of fourteen. His parents were married in Butler county, Penn- sylvania, where his father followed the occupation of farming, but spent 296 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. his last years in Lake county, Indiana, where his death occurred at the age of sixty-five. There were sixteen children in the family, and all but one grew up and married and reared families. Mr. James Patton, the eighth of this large family, was reared in Trum- bull county, and during his boyhood attended a log-cabin school for several years, drinking in such knowledge as this primitive fountain of learning afforded. In 1848, when aged seventeen, he started out in life for himself, coming to Lake county, Indiana, where he remained and gained a good acquaintance with the country for three years. He returned to Trumbull county, where he was married, and remained in his native county until 1864, when he went to Williams county, Ohio, and in 1868 came and took up his residence in Winfield township of Lake county, where he continued his suc- cessful larming operations until 1901, when he moved to his present resi- dence in the same township and resigned most of his former business cares. Mr. Patton has always adhered to the Democracy in his political views. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married, in 1858, Miss Mary Earl, who was born and reared in Trumbull county, Ohio, and died in Lake county, April 9, 1894. There were eleven children born of this marriage, but six are deceased. Those living are : Euthema, the wife of David Booth, of Chicago; Kittie, wife of William Vansciver, of Crown Point; Orwillie, wife of Michael Hefron, of Chicago Heights, Illinois: Flora Unora, at home; and James, unmarried. AMOS ALLMAN. Amos Allman is numbered among the honored dead of Lake county, whose memory is yet enshrined in the hearts of many of those who enjoyed his friendship. His life was so straightforward, his conduct so manly and his actions so sincere and unaffected that he won the warm regard of all with whom he was associated and he left behind him an untarnished name, Mr. Allman was born at Alwick, in Yorkshire, England, Fel^ruarv 17, 1825. His parents were Major and Margaret ( Haxby) Allman, who were also natives of England, and there the mother spent her entire life. She passed away in 1826, leaving six children, of whom Amos was the youngest. Four years later, in 1830, the father bade adieu to friends and native country and ■with his children sailed for the new world, at first settling in Canada. In 1843 lis became a resident of Crown Point. /^:^^^f-;T ^4^5 ;^^--e^ ^ii^^/- 1^ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 297 Amos Allman accom])anie(l his father on the emigration to the new- world wlien but five years of age and hved in Toronto and \\'hitby, Canada, residing with liis eldest sister. In 1842 when about seventeen years of age he entered upon an apprenticeshi]) to the tailor's trade in Stnrgis, Michigan, and the following year he removed to Crown Point, where he worked at his trade, but was soon obliged to abandon this vocation because of the partial failure of his eyesight. Several years later he returned to Sturgis, Michigan, and there embarked in merchandising, continuing in business at that place until 1855. In the latter year he once more came to Lake county to look after his father's business and with the exception of one year spent in Niles, Michigan, he remained continuously a resident of Crown Point from 1855 until his death. His father had served as county recorder up to the time of his death in 1856 and in that year Amos Allman was elected to the position, which he filled for eight consecutive j'ears, having been re-elected. He was also for eighteen months, beginning' in 1856, deputy revenue collector at this pert. After his retirement from office Mr. Allman turned his attention to the abstract and real estate business, in which he continued for a long period, becoming widely known in that way. He handled much valuable property, negotiated many important real estate transfers and did a large abstract busi- ness, so that his clientage in both departments brought to him a good financial return and as he carefully husbanded his resources he was eventually enabled to retire frcjm active busiriess life and spend his remaining days in the enjoy- ment of a well-earned rest. He erected a number of buildings in Crown Point, including his own beautiful home, and tlius he contributed in sub- stantial measure to the improvement of the city. Mr. Allman was twice married. On the 26th of November, 1857, he was joined in wedlock to Miss Olive Wilcox, who died on the ist of June, 1859. On the 22(1 of March, i860, he was again married, his second union being \\ ith ]\Iiss Mary A. Luther, and they became the parents of five chil- dren, who survi\e the father, whose death occurred at his home in Crown Point January 14, 1897, when he was nearly seventy-three years of age. Mr. Allman held membership with no church, but lived a most uprig'ht, hon- orable life, was always temperate in his habits and generous in his support of religious and benevolent enterprises. Indeed his career was in manv respects most exemplary. He was always deeply interested in the growth and 298 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. progress of the city and his co-operation could always he counted upon to aid in the advancement of any movement which promised to be of lasting benefit to Crown Point. He possessed a strong love of nature and was never happier than when he could find time to get away from his office and spend some hours nearer to nature. He was a man whom to know was to respect and honor. Numbred among Crown Point's pioneers his entire life to his fellow townsmen was as an open book which all might read. He possessed strongly domestic tastes and while he accomplishetl much in the business world and ratified his friendships by kindly sympathy and thoughtful consideration for others, his greatest depth of love was reserved for his family. MRS. MARY ALLMAN. Mrs. Mary Allman. the widow of Amos Allman, of Crown Point, whose sketch is given above, was born in Concord, New Hampshire, October i8, 1832, and is a daughter of James and Irena (Ransom) Luther. Her father was also a native of the old Granite state and in the year 1834 he emigrated westward to Indiana, becoming one of the pioneer settlers of the state. He took up his abode in Porter county and there secured a tract of wild and unim- proved land, which he transformed into a good farm, carrying on agricult- ural pursuits on that property up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was in his sixty-second year. His wife survived him, for some time and passed away in her sixty-ninth year. This worthy couple were the parents of ten children, seven sons and three daughters, all of whom reached years of maturity, but Henry, Maria, John, Amos, Caleb, Charles and ]\Iartha A. are all now deceased. Those still living are Martin, who makes his home in Colorado, and Mary A. Mary Luther was but two years old when brought by her parents to Indiana. She was reared in Porter county and after attending the common schools of those early days she became a student in Valparaiso. When about sixteen years of age she began teaching and was thus engaged until twenty years of age. On the 22d of March, i860, she ga\e her hand in marriage to Amos Allman, whose life record is given above. By her marriage she be- came the mother of two sons and three daughters: \\'alter L.. who is repre- sented elsewhere in this volume; IMary I., the wife of Judge McMahan, whose life historv is also given in this work; Claude W'.. who is with his ^piPoAAA a, aUr. HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. 299 brother Walter in business: Jessie May. at homie: and Xellie L.. the wife of J. B. Neal. of Joliet. Ilhnois. All were born in Crown Point. Mrs. Allman has spent almost her entire life in Indiana and has long been a resident of Crown Point. She is one of the pioneer women of this portion of the state and has witnessed the wonderful transformation that has occurred as Lake and Porter counties have emerged from frontier conditions into a high state of civilization. She has a wide accpiaintance in northwestern Indiana and to-day many friends entertain for her the warmest regard. Mrs. Allman is a lover of flowers and among the beauties of nature she enjoys many happy hours. CARL EDWARD BAUER. Carl Edward Bauer, secretary of the Simplex Railway Appliance Com- pany at Hammond, is one of the practical and progressive business men of the city. As a mechanical expert and contriver he is especially proficient, and as such has been a valuable mernber of his company. He has been an American citizen for over twenty years, and owing to his ability he has been constantly engaged in useful activity and has filled a worthy niche in the world of industry. Pie is one of the highly esteemed citizens of Ham- mond, where he has lived for the past six years, and in both business and social and civic affairs his personal integrity and worth of character have made him a man of influence. Mr. Bauer was born in the village of Langenholzhausen, province of Lippe-Detmold, Germany, on November 5, 1857, being a son of Ferdinand E. and Minna (Bock) Bauer, both natives of the fatherland. His mother was a daughter of Christian Bock, who was a farmer and brewer and also ran a bakery at Varenholz, in the province of Lippe-Detmold. He had an inn in that place, and was a prominent burger of the town, serving as its mayor. He died at the age of fifty-five years, and his wife surAived him a number of years. They had three children. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Bauer was Frederick E. Bauer, who was a German miller, and was also mayor of his home ^■illage. He lived to be about seventy years of age. His wife, who attained the age of seventv- six, was named W^ilhelmina Alello, whose father was a Hollander and later a German settler. Ferdinand E. Bauer was one of a good-sized familv. Pie followed in 300 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. the footsteps of his father and made niilHng his occupation until veiy recently. He is now living retired at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, being one of those sturdy Teutons who never grow old and -who retain their vitality to the last. He resides in his old home at Langenliolzhausen. He is still able to read without glasses. He has been a prominent man in his community, having been mayor of the village a number of times, and also a deputy to the provincial diet. In his younger days he traveled all over Europe, and is a well-informed and most intelligent old gentleman. His wife is also living, and well and liearty at the age of eighty-three. They belong to the Reformed church. They were the parents of four sons and two daughters: Leopold; August; Johanna, wife of Rev. Koriif; Emil; Carl E. ; and Helen, who died at the age of six years. Mr. Carl E. Bauer was reared and educated in Germany, and served his full time in the cavalry branch of the regular army, being a non-com- missioned officer during his service, and at the time of his departure from the country he was a lieutenant of the army reserve. His education was received in the gymnasium and his technical training at the polytechnic school, so that he had the thorough and careful German equipment for life's duties. He came to America in 18S2, locating first at Terre Haute. Indiana, where he was in the employ of the Terre Haute Car ^Manufacturing Com- pany as a mechanical engineer. He was there until 1887, and then took a similar position at Muskegon. Michigan, with the Muskegon Car Company, with whom he remained until 1892. From that time until 1895 he was in the employ of the Indiana Car and Foundry Company at Indianapolis, and for the following two years was with the Illinois Car and Equipment Com- pany. In 1897 he began his connection with the Simplex Railway Appliance Company, which in the following year located its shops at Hammond. He is now secretary of the company. From three to four hundred persons are employed by this concern, and their large annual product consists of various kinds of car and railway appliances. Mr. Bauer has fraternal affiliations with Hegewisch Lodge Xo. 766, I. O. O. F., and also with Crystal Lodge No. 258, K. of P. His politics are Republican. He has a nice home on Hohman street, and he and his family .stand high in the social circles of the city. He was married in April, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 301 1887, to Miss Olga Wittenberg, a daughter of Otto and Charlotte (Sachs) Wittenberg. There were four sons and two daughters born of their union : Walter; Gretchen; Carl; Minnie, who died at the age of six years; Ernest, who lived only a little over a year; and Emil. NATHAN B. MEEKER. Nathan B. Meeker, who has been a well-known and prosperous farmer of Center township on the old Meeker homestead for over a quarter of a century, is a member of an influential and long established family of Lake county, his brothers, J. Frank and Charles H., being worthy and successful representatives of the professional and business life of the county as he him- self is of the agricultural interests. He has devoted his best efforts and endeavors tO' farming since arriving at years of manhood, and these thirty odd years have l^een prosperous from a material and individual standpoint and of eminent usefulness to the social and industrial development and progress of the community in general. Mr. Meeker was born in Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, November 4, 1850, being the eldest son of Sherman B. and Elizabeth (Gress) Meeker, whose history is furtlier detailed in the sketches of their above mentioned sons, to be found on other pages of this work. Mr. Meeker, when four years old, was brought from his native place to Illinois, about a year later to Calhoun county. Michigan, at the age of nine to White county, Indiana, and thence to Carroll county, and in 1865 to Lake county, where his home has been ever since. He was educated in the public schools of the last three mentioned counties, and was reared to farm life and remained at home assisting his parents until his marriage in 1873. Mr. Meeker married, April 29, 1873, Miss Isadore Craft, and they have one son, Thomas C, who is studying in the pharmacy department of the Northern Indiana Normal at Valparaiso. Mrs. Meeker was born in Ohio, .\pril 23, 185 1, and came with her parents, Thomas and Lucinda (Forsha) Craft, to Lake county when she was about two years old, and she was reared and educated at Orchard Grove, Cedar Creek township. There were twelve children in the Craft family, seven sons and five daughters, and there are seven now living: Morgan, who is married and is engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in Monon, White countv, this state; 302 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Cassander. who is married and is a farmer at Momence, Kankakee county, Illinois; Mrs. Meeker; James, a farmer of Lake county; Jennie, who was a Lake coimty teacher and is now the wife of George Norton, a farmer of Lake county ; Adelbert, who is married and is farming at Lowell ; and Elza, a farmer in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Meeker began their married life as renters in Kankakee county. Illinois. They located in Center township in 1878, on the homestead farm of one hundred and sixt)' acres, where they have resided ever since and conducted a farming and stock-raising business. They are citizens of high standing socially and personally, and are held in high esteem throughout their home township. Mr. Meeker has been a life-long Republican and first voted for General Grant. He and his wife are members of the Grange, and he has fraternal affiliations with the Knights of the Maccabees at Crown Point. ]\Irs. Meeker's parents are both deceased, and the following paragraphs, taken from the local press, give the details of their useful and well-spent lives and add to the completeness of this biography : "Thomas Craft, the subject of this week's half-tone illustration, is now a resident of Lowell, where he moved a short time ago to spend his remain- ing years. "He was born in Pennsylvania on July 24. 1826. At the age of five years he moved with his parents to Ohio, in which state he received his early education in a day when school facilities were not of the best and school hours few and far between. On arriving at manhood he first started to work for his father at one hundred dollars per year, but at the end of the first year found tliat this was earning money too slow, so he cleared about four acres of timber land and started into the cultivation of tobacco and made considerable money ni raising and handling this product. "He was married November 30, 1848, to Lucinda Forsha, with whom he lived happily for forty 5'ears, when death claimed her in 1888. In 1854 he moved with his family to Orchard Grove, where he first purchased one hundred and fifty acres of land, to which he added other purchases from time to time until at last his total holdings were over four hundred acres of well improved real estate. "He has eight children, all of whom with the exception of one are HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 303 married and living upon farms, with the exception of the oldest son, Morgan, who is in business at Monon, Indiana. "He was married again in 1894. "He has recently sold his entire farm to James Black, of Momence, for sixty dollars per acre, the tract bringing him twenty-four thousand dol- lars, and a public sale of his personal property netted him two thousand dollars, thus leaving him sufficient means to provide for his welfare in his old age and enable him to live in peace and comfort." "Passed Away — Mrs. Lucinda (Forsha) Craft was born in Marietta, Monroe county, Ohio. January 16, 1830. Died at her residence in Orchard Grove, Indiana, January 31, 1888, aged fifty-eight years and sixteen days. She was married to Thomas Craft, November 30, 1848, in Fredericktown, Ohio. In the fall of 1854 she with her husband moved to Lake county, In- diana, where she lived till her death, then crossing the bright river. She was the mother of twelve children, three in their heavenly home, nine on earth. She lived happily forty years with her husband. January 25 she was taken very ill, and after six days of intense suffering, she gave up life on earth for a brighter home above. She has passed away and left us with nothing but a pleasant memory. A break has been made in our hearts by that casket, open grave and silent mound, which can never lae healed. "Dearest mother, thou hast left us. And gone to that better land ; Would that you could have remained with us But the voice of God you heard. "Oh ! mother, thou hast left us. To jom that heavenly band. Nevermore to return to your lo\'ed ones — Lefl us here, on this desolate plain." HEIXRICH C. SCHRAGE. Heinrich C. Schrage is filling the position of teller in the Bank of Whiting and is a son of Henry Schrage, the president of the institution, wild is mentioned on another page of this work. Heinrich C. Schrage was born (in the 2d of July, 1869, pursued his education in the public schools 304 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. here and in the Lutheran school at Coleliour, IHinois, where lie spent one year. He entered upon his business career as a clerk in the general store owned by his father at Whiting, and served in that capacity until he took charge of the postoffice in 1892. He remained there until 1896, since which time he has been largely connected with banking interests. He was. how- ever, appointed postmaster in January, 1899. and filled that position for two and a half years, when he resigned in order to accept the position of teller in the Whiting Bank. In this capacity he is now serving, and he has thor- ough and practical knowledge of the banking business that has resulted in making him one of the strong and influential representatives of financial interests in Lake county. The bank has a capital and a surplus of sixty thousand dollars and a large business is conducted. The management of the institution devolves in marked measure upon INIr. Schrage, who is well qualified for the onerous duties. Mr, Schrage has spent most of his life in W'hiting and is well known here. He is the owner of considerable real estate in Schrage avenue, having houses there which be rents, and these bring to him a good income. In politics be is a stanch Republican, and he belongs to the Lutheran church. In \Mnt- ing he is well known, and bis social qualities have made bim popular with a large circle of friends, and the fact that many of his stancbest friends are those who have known bim from early boyhood is an indication that his salient characteristics are those which command respect, confidence and good will. CHARLES A. JOHNSON. Charles A. Johnson, nominee for c(iunty auditor and who is engaged in the undertaking business in Whiting and is also agent for the Adams Express Company, was born in Chicago, Illinois, June 5, 1866, his parents being Andrew M. and Margaret Johnson, both of whom were natives of Sweden and who on emigrating to the new world established their home in Chicago. On the 18th of July, 1866, Andrew M. Johnson removed with his family from that citv to Lake count)-. Indiana, his son Charles being then nnh- but six weeks old. The bo}' was reared in this county, pursued his early education in the public schools and afterward attended Augustana College at Rock Island, Illinois, where he completed his school work. He then returned to his father's farm and for some four or fi\e years remained with his parents. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 305 Being the youngest of the family he assumed cliarge of the home farm after the others had left and continued its management up to the time of liis mar- riage. He had early been trained to habits of industry and economy upon the old homestead place, and was familiar with the work of field and meadow when he relieved his father of the care and lalior of the farm. In 1888 Charles A. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Wild, who died April 19, 1894. She was the mother of four children, of whom two are now living: Charles E. and Herbert T. On the 3d of March, 1899, Mr. Johnson was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Charlotte Beck, and they are now well knuwn in Whiting, where they have an extensive circle of friends. Mr. Johnson took up his abode in this city on the 5th of March, 1892, and embarked in the undertaking business. He also established a livery stable and has continued in both lines to the present time. He holds three diplomas for efficiency in embalming, having attended and graduated from the United States School of Embalming at St. Louis, conducted by Professor Sullivan; the Boston School of Embalming, under Professor Dodge, and the Embalming School of Professor Myers at Springfield, Ohio. He has a well equipped undertaking establishment, carrying everything in his line, and he is also receiving a liberal patronage in the livery business. He is like- wise agent for the Adams Express Company and is thus well known in the business circles of Whiting. Mr. Johnson is quite active and influential in local political circles and has been chosen for a number of public offices. He served as trustee of his town for two years, has been president of the town board, and, March 19, 1904, received the nomination for county auditor of Lake county on the Re- publican ticket. For many years Mr. Johnson has taken a leading" part in Republican politics of Lake county, and ever since he gamed his majority he has earnestly supported the principles and policies of that party and without question has fully earned the nomination for the office of county auditor. Socially he is connected with the Knights of Pythias fraternity, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and with the Knights of the Maccabees. Almost his entire life has been passed in Lake county, and the circle of his acquaintances has continually grown. By perse\-erance. determination and honoraljle eft'ort he has overthrown the obstacles which barred his path to 20 306 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. success, and through untiring activity has reached the goal of prosperity. He is recognized in his comanunity as a man of broad mind and pubHc spirit. and his genuine worth has won liim high esteem. MARCUS M. TOWLE. Marcus M. Towle, the well-known business man of Hammond, has the distinction of being one of the founders of this now thriving city in extreme northwest Indiana. Hammond is best known to the outside world for its dressed beef industries, and it is a matter of history that Mr. Towle took part in the establishment of the first packing house in this place, as it was one of the first in the country, and was one of the energetic and enterprising, members of the firm that sent some of the first consignments of beef abroad. He was not only thus active in giving birth tO' the city, but has since been vitally interested in the material development and progress of the city. While he has been successful in his own affairs, he has never neglected the welfare of his city, and with unselfish devotion to its good has participated in many enterprises, both in the capacity of an ofticial and as a private citizen, and for that reason is regarded by his fellow citizens as one of the most public-spirited and progressive of men. Mr. Towle was born in Danville, New Hampshire, January 14, 1843, a son of Amos G. and Mary P. (Page) Towle. His grandfather, Nehemiah Towle, was a native New Hampshire farmer, and died when aljout eighty jears old. His wife survived him some years, and they had only one son, Amos G. The latter was also a native of New Hampshire, and was a mer- chant, first in Danville and then in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he re- mained up to the time of his death, in i860, when forty-four years old. He was postmaster at Danville under President Taylor, having been one of the eight men of the town who voted for Taylor. He and his wife were both Universalists. His wife, Mary (Page) Towle, who sur\-ived him until 1900, being seventy-six years of age, was a native of New Hampshire and a daughter of Thomas Page, who was a New Hampshire farmer, a soldier in the war of 18 12, was the recipient of several offices in his township and the owner of considerable property, and lived to be a very old man, having been the lather of several sons and daughters. Amos and Marv Towle were ihe parents of sixteen children, seven sons and nine daughters, nine of whom HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 307 are living now: Marcus RI.; Mrs. Mary Flanders, of Haverhill, Massachu- setts; Charles, of Haverhill; Porter, of Hammond, Indiana; Amos, of Ham- mond; Olive, of Haverhill: Mrs. Henrietta Ladd, of Haverhill; Elizabeth; and Clara. Mr. Marcus M. Towle lived in Dan\-ille until the age of twelve, and then moved with the family to Haverhill, in which two towns he received most of his education. He learned the butclier"s trade, and followed it for many years. He was in Boston for some time, and then came to Detroit, Alichigan, where he lived for six years, and then returned to Boston. In 1869 he came out to where the present city of Hammond is situated, for there was no town there at the time. In partnership with George H. Ham- mond, Caleb Ives and George W. Plumer, he established the dressed beef business, which was the real foundation of the town. He also laid out the town and named it in honor of Mr. Hammond. The beef business was started as the Hammond, Plumer & Company, and at the death of Mr. Plumer in 1874 the business was incorporated as the George H. Hammond & Company, with Mr. Hammond as president and Mr. Towle as vice-presi- dent. Mr. Towle continued his connection with the company until 1884. They originated the dressed beef business in this country, and shipped the first cargo of dressed beef to England, Mr. Towle .going on the first trip and making arrangements in England for the handling of the product. The enterprise was started on a small scale, but eventually employed two thousand men. The firm has recently been removed to Chicago. On withdrawing from the meat business Mr. Towle engaged in various enterprises in the city. He organized the First National Bank in 1886. In 1902-3 he built the fine new opera house known as the Towle Opera House, with a seating capacity of fourteen hundred persons. For the past ten years he has given his attention to the greenhouse and florist business, having now an area of twenty-five thousand square feet under glass, and carrying on an extensive trade in this and surrounding cities. December 25, 1865, Mr. Towle married Miss Irena Dow, a daughter of Jacob and Mrs. (Stevens) Dow. They have six children: Marcus M., jr., wdio is a clerk in the First National Bank, and who married Miss Matilda Gherke; George Hammond, who is assistant manager of the opera house; Fred Cheney, who is a locomotive engineer on the Erie Railroad; 308 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Annie i\Iay; Birdie; and Ida Mary. Mrs. Towle is a member of tlie Meth- odist church. Mr. Towle affiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569, F. & A. M., and was the first master of the lodge; also with Hammond Chapter, R. A. M., and Hammond Commandery, K. T. In politics Mr. Towle is a Republican, l)ut has been interested in party affairs only so far as it would help his city. He was the first mayor of Hammond, serving for two terms, and was town- ship trustee two terms, and has also been a delegate to several state con- ventions. He owns a beautiful residence, which he erected in 1885, and also has other city property. HON. NICHOLS SCHERER. Hon. Nichols Scherer has for many years figured prominently in pul^Iic afi'airs and business circles in northwestern Indiana, and his history is a notable one in that he came to this state empty-handed and in humble capacity entered business life. If those who claim that fortune favors certain indi- viduals will but examine into the life record of such men as Mr. Scherer they will learn that it is not circumstance or environment, but indefatigable energy and industry that form the basis of all success. Mr. Scherer, recog- nizing that each day held its duty and its opportunity, worked on steadily, performing to the best of his ability each task that came to him, and now after many years of residence in Indiana he is numlaered among the sub- stantial citizens and leaders in Lake county. He makes his home at Scherer- ville, which was named in his honor, and of which town he is the founder and promoter. Mr. Scherer was born in Prussia, Germany, on the 29th of June, 1830, and came to America with his parents. John and ]\Iary Scherer, in 1846. They landed at New York city, where they remained for about four weeks, and thence proceeded westward by steamer and canal boat to Chicago, and on to St. John township. Lake county, settling in the town of St. John. The father died about 1865, aged one hundred and three years and the mother died about 1870, aged ninety-nine years. The father died in Dyer and the mother died in Schererville, and both parents are interred in St. John's cem- etery in one grave. Mr. Scherer began working for the state of Indiana as swamp-land ditcher and was afterward appointed land commissioner, which position he HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 309 held until he became ccnnected with raih'oad interests. He went from St. John to Dyer in the capacity of landlord, and in the latter place was engaged in the hotel business, as well as railroading. He remained there for aljout nine years, or' the expiration of which period he was engaged on the con- struction of the Panhandle Railroad, then called the Chicago & Great East- ern. He was head boss on the road from Richmond, Indiana, to Chicago, having charge of the building and the repairing and also running all kinds of trains. He located at what is now Schererville in 1865, being at that time connected with the Great Eastern Railroad, and he remained with the com- pany for twelve years. In the meantime he purchased the land upon which Scherer\'ille now stands, laid out the town, and it was named in his honor. He has been a resident here for almost forty years. He was with the Pan Handle Railroad, which is now a part of the Pennsyh'ania Railroad system, and during that time he als(T built a part of the Michigan Central Raih-oad at Union City, Michigan, and a part of the Eastern Illinois Railroad, of the Waliash Rail- rod, and the ]\Iil\vaukee «S: St. Paul Railroad, also constructing what is knov.-n as the Joliet cutoff, now a part of the Michigan Central Railroad. .\t the same time he was engaged in the sand business, shipping sand from Scherer- ville, and in this he still continues. He likewise dealt in real estate, and car- ried on farming, and thus extending his energies to many lines of Iiusiness acti\-ity he conducted important interests, which pro\-ed to him lucrative and made him one of the substantial citizens of northwestern Indiana. Mr.* Scherer has been a resident of Lake county for fifty-eight vears. and is \\ell known in this part of the state, his labors being of a character that ha\'e contriljuted to the dex'elopment and improvement of the state, as well as to his individual prosperity. Outside of the strict path of business he has also jiroved a helpful factor in interests for the general good, and has co- operated in many movements which have for their object the welfare of the general public. His political allegiance has always been given to the Democ- racy, and he has served as road superintendent and as constable. He was also swampland commissioner and for one term represented his district in the state legislature, where he gave loyal support to all bills which he be- lieved contained measures for benefit to the comnmnwealth. \\'hile residing in St. John Mr. Scherer was united in marriage to Miss 310 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Francisco Ulilenl3rock, wlio was Ixirn in Germany October lo, 1833. They became the parents of seven chilihxn. but only tliree are now hving: .\nna. tlie wife of Nicholas Schaefer; Maggie, the wife of Adam Gerlach. who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume: and Teressa, the widow of Jacob Aust- gen. There are now thirty-three grandchildren and two gieat-grandchil- dren. Mr. Scherer and his family are members of the St. ^Michael's Catho- lic church. No history of this community would be complete without men- tion of Mr. Scherer, for, coming to this section of the state at an early period in its development, he is now numbered among the honored pioneers, his mind bearing the impress of the historic annals of the county. He can relate many interesting incidents of those primitive times as well as of the later-day progress and improvement, and moreover he has played so prom.- inent and helpful a part in the substantial upbuilding of the county that his name is inseparably interwoven with its history. DR. SAMUEL R. TURNER. Dr. Samuel R. Turner, a leading physician and surgeon at 107 First National Bank Building, Hammond, has gained a good practice and taken a foremost position among the medical fraternity of this city and Lake county since taking up his residence here about three years ago. He is a man of ability both in his profession and in the performance of his duties as a man and citizen, and his career has been most creditable from his early years, during which he had to make his own way and earn the means for his professional education. Dr. Turner was born in Stephenson county, Illinois, near Freeport, May 13, 1858, a son of Samuel and Jane E. (McGlashon) Turner, natives, re- specti\-ely, of Trumbull county, Ohio, and of the state of Vermont. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Turner, was a native of Ireland, though of Scotch descent, and a son of a life-long Irish citizen. He came to America about 1797 and located near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He was a carpen- ter and cabinet-maker b}' trade. He came to Indiana about 1833 and set- tled in LaPorte county, and four years later came to Lake county, where he settled on a land claim and to which he brought his family in 1838. He improved a farm, and was both a prosperous and influential citizen. He died there in 1846 at the age of sixty-four. His wife was Jane Dinwiddie, who HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 311 \vas born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. January i8, 1783. and died in 1870, aged eighty-seven years. Tliey had seven chihh'en who grew to maturity. Samuel Turner, the father of Dr. Turner, was a farmer liy occupation, and was a young man at the time of his removal to Indiana in 1833. He followed farming there up to the breaking out of the Mexican war, and then enlisted and served as quartermaster in the American army. He returned to his Indiana farm, then moved to Illinois and lived in Stephenson county for a few years. In January or February of 1859 he returned to Lake county, and lived on a farm in Eagle Creek township from then until his death, which occurred April 24, 1864, when he was forty-six years old. His wife survived him until October, 1884, when she was fifty years old. They were members of the United Presbyterian church. They had two sons, Dr. Turner, and William M., of Denver. Colorado. Mrs. Jane E. Turner's father was W. G. McGlashon, a native of Canada and of Scotch parents who moved to Vermont from Canada. He was a tailor in his younger years, and after coming to Indiana among the early settlers engaged in merchandising in Crown Point for se^•eral years. He afterward lived on a farm near Crown Point. In 1876 he moved to Ottumwa, Iowa, and died there in 1897, when eighty-one years old. His wife was Ann Duffy, a native of Ireland and still living. They had five children. Dr. Samuel R. Turner was brought to Lake county when alx)ut a year old, and was reared on a farm in Eagle Creek township. He attended the district school, and later the high school in Hebron, Porter county. For several years he was engaged in teaching during the winter and farming during the rest of the year. He then took up the study of medicine, and in 1888 graduated from the medical department of the University of Louis- ville, Kentucky. He has since been engaged in practice for varying periods of time at Dyer, Hobart, in Lake county, in Wheatfield, Jasper county, in Lansing, Illinois, and about three years ago took up his residence in Ham- mond, where he has enjoyed an increasing practice to the present time. December 13, 1883. Dr. Turner married Miss Henrietta Burgess, a daughter of Henry and Eliza (McCay) Burgess. Six children have been born of this union, three sons and three daughters : Albert, who died at the age of two years and three months : Susan E. ; Mary Edna ; Harold B. ; James Samuel, who died aged five years nine months: and W'ilma Jane. 312 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Dr. Turner affiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569. F. & A. M., and also with the Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a mem- ber of the Lake County Medical Society, the Lidiana State ^Medical Society, the Kankakee Valley Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is a stanch Republican in politics, and has served four years as county coroner, his term expiring January i, 1904. COLONEL REDMOND D. ^^^\LSH. Canada has furnished to the L'nited States many bright, enterprising young men, who have left that country to enter the business circles of the United States with its more progressive methods, livelier competition and advancement more quickly secured. Among this number is Colonel Walsh. He has somewhat of the strong, rugged and persevering characteristics de- veloped by his earlier environments, which, coupled with the livelier impulses of the Celtic blood of his ancestors, made him at an early day to seek wider fields in which to give full scope to his ambition and industr}- — his dominant qualities. He found the opportunities he sought in the freedom and appre- ciation of the growing western portion of this country. Though born across the border he is thoroughly American in thought and feeling, and is patriotic and sincere in his love for the stars and stripes. His career is largely identified with the history of railroad building in the middle west, and in more recent years he has been a prominent and influential citizen of East Chicago, where he is now engaged in real estate operations. Colonel Walsh was born in the county of Peterboro, Ontario, Canada, and is of Irish descent. His paternal grandfather, William \\'alsh, was born on the Emerald Isle and died there at an advanced age. He married a Miss INIurphy and they had a large family, including Richard Walsh, whose birth occurred in county Cork, Ireland. He was a farmer by occupation and in 1818 he emigrated to Canada, spending his remaining days in that country with the exception of a brief period which was passed in the United States. He always engaged in the tilling of the soil, making that a source of income whereby he provided for his family. He served in the Patriot war in Canada in 1837 and died there at the age of sixty-six years. In early manhood he had married Elizabeth Ford, likewise a native of county Cork, Ireland. Her father, Dennis Ford, was born in Ireland and died in that country at an ^^ ^l^KZ^^y^ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 313 advanced age. He reared a large faniih- upon his home farm, where his industry and enterprise in the cultivation of the fields brought to him a com- fortable living. His grandson, Ted Ford, now lives upon the old home place, which comprises two hundred acres of rich land and which has continuously been in possession of the family from the eleventh century. It was at one time a very extensive tract, but during the reign of Queen Elizabeth it was confiscated, although two hundred acres were afterward restored to the family. By the marriage of Richard Walsh and Elizabeth Ford thirteen children were born, twelve of whomi reached adult age, while six are now living: Colonel Redmond D. : Richard, of the Soldiers" Home; Bridget L.. the widow of James Haynes, of Corry, Pennsylvania: John, who lives on the old homestead in Ontario: Elizabeth, the wife of James Fyfe, also of On- tario ; and Ann, the wife of David Kelley, of the same place. Colonel Walsh was reared on the old homestead farm in Canada and also followed lumbering in his early life. His business career has teen charac- terized by intelligent and well-directed efforts, and he may well be called a self-made man, a representative of the progress and ad\'ancement which have been a manifest factor in the history of .\merica in the nineteenth centnr^^ His success has not been the result of genius l^ut of individual and continued effort. He acquired a common school education and also received instruction from a private teacher for some time. WHiile in Canada he followed lum- bering, taking his timber to the Quebec market. He made several trips to the United States in search of a location which he regarded as favorable, and in 1862, accompanied by his wife, he went to Corry, Pennsylvania. There he entered upon a contract to build the Oil Creek Railroad, which he completed in 1862, and afterward entered the services of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, assisting in the construction of its line from Franklin to Meadville, Pennsylvania. He was superintendent of construction and for some time held that position after the completion of the road. Subsequently he built the Allegheny Valley Railroad from Warren to Pittsburg, and was thus engaged in railroad construction work at the time the Confederate army made its way into Pennsylvania. He then enlisted in order to defend this state and after participating in the battle of Gettysburg, follovving which time the rebels were forced to retreat, he resumed the pursuits of private life. In 1865 Mr. Walsh took a prominent part in organizing the Fenian 314 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Brotherhood. The following year he went west and was engaged as a con- tractor and superintendent of work on the Union Pacific Railroad, his time being thus occupied until the completion of the line in i86q. In 1870 he entered into business relations with the Central Pacific Railroad Company, with which he continued for a year, after which he went to Kansas, where he was superintendent of the work for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Rail- road. The period of his connection with that company covered three years, during which time the line was constructed to connect with the Houston & Texas Central road. He afterward became associated with the latter com- pany, with which he continued for three years, and then he returned to Penn- sylvania, where he built a coal road from Larabee to Bunker Hill. Subse- quently he went to the Buckeye state, where he assisted in the building of the Scioto Valley Railroad and later he was engaged in the construction work of the Springfield, Jacksonville & Pomeroy Railroad, then the St. Clairsville & Bellaire Railroad, and afterwards a railroad extending from' Youngstown, Ohio, to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Returning to Ohio he built the valley railroad from Canton to Cleveland, and then went to Colorado, where he engaged in the construction of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad over Mar- shall Pass, connecting it with the Denver, Rio Grande & Western Railroad at Junction City. Another important contract which was awarded him and which he faithfully and capably executed was the building of the Alpine tunnel, a work which covered two years. He then embarked in mining in Colorado, being interested in several diggings. Returning to St. Louis he was associated with a partner, ^Michael Coffey, in the construction of the standard gauge road from East St. Louis to Cairo, and later he went to Nebraska and built the approach to the United Railroad bridge at Rulo, Nebraska. There he moved more dirt than any other contractor in the same length of time, three hundred thousand yards being taken away in ninety days. His next work was the construction of twenty miles of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad from Galesburg west. He built the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad, and then came to East Chicago, Indiana, where he built the Chicago, Calumet & Terminal Railroad, the contract being awarded him by General Joseph T. Torrence, now deceased. At that time General Torrence promised to make a present of a town lot to the first child born in the town. Not long afterward there were born to Mr. and j\Irs. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 315 R. W. O'Brien, the former a nephew of Colonel Walsh, twin lioys. It seemed r.ecessary that two lots should be given, one to each child, and General Tor- rence gave one lot, while Colonel Walsh gave the other. The boys are now young men. During his railroad construction work on the site of the present city of East Chicago Colonel Walsh became convinced of the advantages which might be derived from establishing a home here, and he took up his abode here in 1888. It was he who first used an ax in cutting down a tree on the present site of the city. He assisted in laying out the town, being the con- tractor for all the street work. He also erected ten of the first buildings of this city, and he has continued an active factor in the work of improvement and progress to the present time. In the year 1893 East Chicago was changed from town to a city government. The city council of that date made a contract with a contract- ing company to build water and light plants. The city council accepted the plants before they were half completed and issued the city bonds for the full amount of the contract. The water works were useless and cost more to keep it in repair than it was worth. Three hundred and thirty thousand dollars of bonds were turned over by the city council to the company. R. D. Walsh took the company into the courts and knocked out two hundred and ninety- six thousand dollars of bonds, and the supreme court of the state of Indiana granted a perpetual injunction against ever collecting either interest or prin- cipal on these two hundred and ninety-six thousand dollars of bonds. Then the city council sold, or rather gave the plants back to the bogus bondholders. R. D. Walsh again went into court and took the plants away from the bond- holders for the city. All this at his own expense. The plants are now in the city's possession. In 1889 the residents of the town had an election and incorporated East Chicago, and Colonel \\"alsh at that time was elected the first president of the town board. He has also been treasurer of the city and trustee, and he is a well known and representative resident of this thriving place. Perhaps no man is better known in the county than he, because of his great activity in business. By his strength of character and mental power he has accjuired a handsome competence and by his genial social manner has \\on many warm friends. 316 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Colonel Walsh was married in Ontaiio, Canada, to Miss Hanna Curtain, who died in 1871. They hecame the parents of eight children, hut all have passed away. Many and eventful have l>een the experiences which have come to Mr. Walsh in the course of his active business career. While executing iiis con- tract in connection with the building of the Union Pacific Railroad he at one time became engaged in battle with the Indians on Rock Creek, Wyoming, and sustained a gunshot wound in the instep, which forced him to go upon crutches for two years. He is now living a retired life in East Chicago. To him there has come the attainment of a distinguished position in connection with the great material industries of the country, especially in the line of rail- road construction — a work the value of which cannot be over-estimated. He is a man of distinct and forceful individuality, of broad mentality and mature judgment, and he has left an impress for good upon the industrial world. He earned for himself an envialile reputation as a careful man of business and in his dealings became known for his prompt and honorable methods, which win for him the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellow men. For the entire length of his life he has been in sympathy with the indepen- dence of Ireland and has always taken an active part in all movements tend- ing toward lessening the oppressed sons of Erin. IMICHAEL KOZACIK. Michael Kozacik is a self-made man who is now the possessor of valu- able propert}' interests and who at the outset of his business career was empty-handed. He had no inheritance or influential friends to aid him, but by determined purpose and perseverance he has gradually accumulated a handsome competence. He is now engaged in business as a retail liquor dealer at W'hiting. A native of Austria, he was tern on the 29th of Sep- . tember, 1873, and was reared in his native country until more than eigh- teen years of age, during which period he acquired his education in attend- ance at the public schools. He entered upon his business career as a day laborer in Austria, receiving but t\\enty-five cents per day. Not content with business conditions. howe\'er, in that country, he resolved to test the fa\-orable reports which he had heard concerning opportunities in the new world, and making arrangements to leave Europe when about eighteen years HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. 317 of age he sailed for America and came from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi valley, establishing his home at Blue Island, Illinois. There he remained for but two months, but not succeeding in finding work there he removed to Whiting and entered the employ of the Knickerbocker Ice Com- pany. His position necessitated his working ten hours per day at a salary of one dollar and a quarter. Strong resolution and untiring purpose, however, were numberetl among his salient characteristics, and he continued to work through the ice-cutting period. He afterward entered the employ of the Standard Oil Company at a salary of one dollar and a half per day, and continued in the service of that corporation for seven and a half years. He was fireman and did various other kinds of work, and during the period of his service with the company he managed to save from his earnings the sum of thirteen hundred dollars. In the meantime he had also married and furnished his home. With the capital he had acquired through his labor and economy he invested his money in Whiting property and also established a small saloon in a little frame building, where he conducted a retail liquor business for a few years. During that period he erected a l:)nilding at In- diana Harbor at a cost of six thousand dollars, but becoming convinced of the fact that Indiana Hartor was not a desirable place he sold his property there, and erected the building in ^^■hiting that he now occupies, at a cost of ten thousand dollars. Altliijugh Mr. Kozacik had but six dollars when he landed m the United States he is to-da)- in good circumstances. He is a liberal man, who h.as given generous assistance to the poor, and he is a public-spirited citizen, who takes a deep and active interest in general progress and in the material development of Whiting. The hope that led him to leave his native country has I)een more than realized for in the new world he has won prosperity, gained a comfortable home and has also found many friends. In politics, he is a strong Democrat and always does all in his power for the interests of that party, and. May 3rd, 1904, he was elected to represent the first ward in the Whiting city council. To the union of Mr. Kozacik and wife have been born four sons, viz: Michael. Peter. John and Paul. ELI M. BOYD. Eli M. Boyd, prominent farmer of Ross township, is one of the very 318 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. oldest living settlers of Lake county, where he and his well known twin brother located over fifty-five years ago, when the country was largely wild and much of it still belonging to the government. Their subsequent career is a part of the agricultural history of the county, for in time they became and still are ranked among the largest farmers of the county. Furthermore. they are men of eminent public spirit, interested in the welfare of the county, and their efiforts and influence have been felt in diverse ways for the benefit and unbuilding of industrial and social institutions. Mr. E. M. Boyd was born in Lucus county, Ohio, September lo, 1837, so that he is now near the limit of threescore and ten. His father, Alexander Boyd, a native of Pennsylvania, died when Eli was seven years old, and little is known of his history. He married Elizabeth Kelley, a nati\e of ^^'est- moreland county, Pennsylvania, and she lived to be seventy-six years old and was married a second time. They had three children, a daughter and the twin sons, Eli 'SI. and Levi, who are the principal characters with whom this sketch is concerned. Mr. Boyd and his brother made their own way from an early age, al- though they lived with their mother and step-father for some time. They came out to Michigan and thence settled in Lake county, Indiana, in 1848, working on their step-father's farm about nine months of the year and at- tending school for three months. They were industrious and frugal and enterprising in their habits and methods of management, and were not long in getting started in the world. Farming has always been the work in which they have found the best field for their endeavor, and they are now the owners of six hundred acres of land in Ross and Hobart townships, containing some of as good soil as is to be found in the county. Mr. E. M. Boyd is a member of the advisory board. Mr. E. M. Boyd was married, January 6, 1874, to Miss Agnes Hyde, and five children were born to them : George, who is married and lives on one of his father's farms : Alexander, single : Warren, who is married and follows farming; Charles, at home; Alice, aged fifteen, at home. Warren was a student at Valparaiso normal. Alice is in the eighth grade in the public school and has taken musical instructions. Mrs. Boyd was born on Wabash avenue, Chicago, September 8, 1850, a daughter of Michael and Mai"y (Mclntoller) Hyde. Her parents are dead. There are six sisters liv- ing at present, of her family. She was educated in the common schools. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 319 The Boyd brothers are ardent supporters of the Repubhcan party, and ha\'e always advocated strongly the principles of the platform. The first presidential vote they cast was for Lincoln, and they cast their votes for Grant, Garfield, Blaine and McKinley. Mr. Eli Boyd has yet in his pos- session a vest made in the year 1856, the year that General Fremont was the first nominee of the Republican party. The Boyd brothers and wives are attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church, and give to the benevolences, and all needy are well remembered. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd are among the leading people of Ross township, and we are pleased to present this sketch. DR. H. L. IDDIXGS. Dr. H. L. Iddings, of [Merrillville, Ross township, has been the leading medical practitioner of ihis town for the past twenty years. He had already attained to considerable prominence in his profession before locating here, and since then he has not only found in Jilerrillville and the surrounding country a large field for his life work, but has also taken an active part in various matters pertaining to the general welfare of the community, filling in all respects the niche of a broad-minded, public-spirited and enterprising citizen. Dr. Iddings was born in Ivendalh'ille, Noble county, Indiana, January 22, 1852, being the eldest of the seven children, four of whom are now de- ceased, born to ^^'arren and Hester (Newman) Iddings. Warren Iddings was a son of Henry Iddings, a native of Pennsylvania and of Scotch and Welsh descent. He was born in Summit county, Ohio, where he remained till he was eleven years old, and during the rest of his life followed agri- cultural pursuits mainly in Nolile county, Indiana, where his death occurred in his seventy-ninth year. His wife was also a native of Ohio, and of Irish and German descent. Dr. Iddings was a student in the high school at Kendallville, Indiana, spent one year in the Fort Wayne Methodist Episcopal College and one year at Ann Arbor in the State University. He gained his early training mostly by his own efiforts, and before taking up the study of medicine taught school for three years. He read medicine with Dr. Gunder Erickson at Kendallville, and in 1876 graduated from the Detroit College of Medicine, 320 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. at Detroit. For four years he was located in practice at Swan, Xoble county, Indiana, and was then appointed to tlie office of physician to the state peni- tentiary at Michigan City, discharging the duties of that position for two years. He came to Merrillville in 1883, and has been in constant and suc- cessful practice here ever since. He is examining surgeon for the New York Life Insurance Company, the Equitable Life Insurance Company, and is district examiner for the Catholic Order of Foresters. Dr. Iddings affiliates with the Knights of Pythias at Crown Point. He is a strong Republican in politics, and on the ticket of that party was elected to the trusteeship of Ross township, which office he held for seven years and a half. Dr. Iddings married, in 1878, Miss Mary E. Clark, the fourth in num- ber of the seven children of Jonathan and Polly (Skinner) Clark. She was born in Xoble county. Indiana. There are six children of this marriage: John, who is a student in the medical department of Northwestern Lini- versity at Chicago: Harold and Harry, twins: Morris, Eva and Fred. JOSEPH A. BEATTIE. Joseph A. Beattie, who resides on section 34. Center township, and is filling the position of township trustee, was born in Winfield township, Lake county, Indiana, July 5, 1862. His father was \\'illiam Beattie, a native of Ireland, in which country he was reared and married. His wife bore the maiden name of Rebecca Ross and was also a native of the Emerald Isle. Crossing the Atlantic, they became residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and thence removed to Lake county, Indiana, locating in Winfield township, where Mr. ^^'illiam Beattie carried on agriculttu-al pursuits throughout his remaining days. He passed away April 9, 1899, ^"<1 ^""is ^'^'ife ^'so died in Lake county, the date of her death being June i, 1899. In their famdy were nine children, three sons and six daughters, of whom three died in infancy, while six reached years of maturity and four are now living. Joseph A. Beattie, the eighth member of the family and the onlv sur- viving son, was reared on the old family homestead and is indebted to the district schools for the early educational privileges he enjoved. He after- ward attended the high school at Crown Point, and when not engaged with the duties of the schoolroom he gave his father the benefit of his services by Ot/^cuXCJi, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 321 assisting in the culti\'ati(in and iniproxenient uf the home farm. He remained under the parental roof until his marriage, which important event in his life occurred on the 27th of No\'ember. 1890, the lady of his choice being Miss Gertrude C. Holton. a daughter of Charles V. and Margaret Jane (Cochran) Helton, who were early settlers of Lake county. Mrs. Beattie was born in this county and was here reared and educated. At the time of his marriage Mr. Beattie became a resident of Crown Point, but in 1891 he took charge of the Willowdale stock farm, coiuprising four hundred and twenty acres. He has since remained as its superintendent, filling the position for twelve years in a most acceptable manner. This is the property of William |. Davis, of Chicago. In 1892, in connection with Mr. Davis, Mr. Beattie purchased three hundred acres of land on section 18, Center township, and this farm is also conducted by Mr. Beattie, it being de\ott(l to pasturage and to the rais- ing of hay for the stock. He handles about one hundred and fiftv 'lead of cattle and horses and feeds all of the grain raised. There is a fine creamery upon the place and the cream is shipped principally to the \\'ellington and the Stratford hotels and the Chicago & Alton Railway for use on diiu'ng cars. Mr. Beattie is recognized as a most enterprising and progressive busi- ness man, conducting his farming interests along modern lines, and his capable direction of his business affairs and untiring energy have brought to him a creditable and gratifying measure of success. In his political views Mr. Beattie is a stanch Republican, and in 1900 he was elected upon that ticket to the position of township trustee of Center township for a term of four years, receiving a majority of more than two hundred, and recei\'ed sixty-six more votes in the township than were cast for the presidential ticket, a fact which indicates his personal popularity among the people with whom he has been acquainted from early boyhood. He has been the president of the Lake County Agricultural Society for six years and was re-elected in 1903. His efforts as the head of this organization have been effective in promoting the welfare of the farming class of this county. He has taken an active part in all public measures contributing to the general good, and is a most progressive and enterprising citizen. Fra- ternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Foresters. He has never lived outside the borders of Lake county, his interests centering here, and among the residents of this portion of the state he has many warm friends. He is one of the leading and popular men of Lake county. 21 322 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. HON. WILLIAM E. WARWICK. Hon. William E. Warwick, who for a number of years has been one of the forceful and honored factors in public life and business circles in Whiting, has attained to prominence through force of his character, the exercise of his talent and the utilization of opportunities. By education and training he was well qualified for the important position which he is now filling, that of first assistant superintendent for the Standard Oil Company, at \Miiting, where is located the largest plant of the kind in the world. He is also the vice-president of the First National Bank of \^'hiting. and his busi- ness career has won the respect of his contemporaries and excited their warm admiration. It is not this alone, however, that entitles him to rank as one of the foremost men of his city, for his connection with its public interests has been far-reaching and beneficial. He has aided in shaping the municipal policy, and his patriotic citizenship has taken tangible form in his zealous labors for the improvements instituted through aldermanic measures. He is now the mayor of Whiting, and as its chief executive is giving an admin- istration characterized by a Inisiness-like spirit and by substantial upbuilding and progress. Mr. Warwick was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on the 13th of January, 1862. His father, William P. Warwick, was born in Dahlonega, Georgia, but was partially reared in New York city. He became a lumberman of Wisconsin, where he has resided for many years, still making his home in that state. He wedded Miss Mary Palmer, a native of \\'aukegan. Illinois, but her death occurred when she was thirty-five years of age. In the family were two daughters, but one is now deceased. Hon. William E. Warwick, the only son, was reared in the place of his nativity until seventeen years of age, and from the age of six years he attended the public schools, thus acquiring a good practical education. On leaving Wisconsin he went to Bedford, Iowa, where he lived two years with an uncle, who was engaged in farming there. Then he began teaching in the country schools of Iowa, and in the meantime he had begim preparation for college, wish.ing to gain a more advanced education, the value of which he realized. He attended the Iowa State Agricultural College, and during the periods of vacation engaged in teaching school in order to meet the expenses HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 323 of his college course. He was graduated in 1888, and the following year he came to Whiting, where he accepted the position of mechanical draftsman for the Standard Oil Company, acting in that capacity for about two years. He was then made assistant master mechanic, and thus served until the ist of December, 1893, when he was transferred to the paraffine department as its superintendent. For almost ten years he acted in that capacity, and in November, 1903, he was made first assistant superintendent of the works, which position he is now filling. This plant is the largest in the world of its kind, two thousand men being employed, and the position of I\Ir. War- wick is therefore a most important and responsible one. He is yet a com- paratively young man, his thorough practical training, his close application and his sound business judgment well qualify him for the onerous duties that devolve upon him. He is likewise the vice-president of the First Na- tional Bank of Whiting. In October, 1902, Mr. Warwick was united in marriage to Miss Ella Fredenberg. They have a pleasant home in Wheeling which is noted for its gracious and warm-hearted hospitality. Fraternally he is a Mason, having taken the three degrees of the blue lodge. In his political views Mr. War- wick is a gold Democrat, and after the incorporation of Whiting as a city in 1903 he was elected its first mayor and is still its chief executive. He came to W^hiting when the town was being laid out by the Standard Oil Company, which built its extensive works here, and with the growth and progress of the place he has since been identified, doing all in his power for its substantial improvement and upbuilding. He is a public-spirited citizen, has wrought along modern lines of progress, both in his business and his public life, and in Whiting he commands the respect and confidence of the great majoritv of those with whom he has come in contact. CYRUS E. SMITH. Cyrus E. Smith, a pronnnent farmer on section 18. Ross township, and e.x-county commissioner, has been identified with the various interests of Lake county for over forty years, and is a representative citizen in every sense of the ^\ ord. He has found in farming a profitable and pleasant vocation, which at the age of sixty-five has surrounded him with comfortable circum- stances for approaching old age, and his interest and work for the public 324 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. welfare and his high personal integrity and character have gained him the esteem and well thinking of his fellow citizens and business associates throughout the county. Mr. Smith was liorn September 29, 1839, in Springfield township, Erie county, Pennsylvania, on the farm \Ahich his grandfather settled in 1801, and on which his father, Amos Smith, was also born and reared. His father followed farming, and dies at a young age, in 1852. He married Harriet Ellis, a native of Massachusetts, and who died in 1858, leaving four children, one daughter and three sons. ^Ir. Smith, the eldest of the children, was reared and educated in his native place, growing up on the old liomestead farm. He continued farming in Pennsylvania for two years after his marriage, and in 1863 came out to Lake county and located on the farm which he has ever since cultivated and owned. Pie placed countless improvements on the place during the subse- quent years, and his farm of one hundred and sixty-five acres will now com- pare favorably with any in the township. He carries on a general farming, stock-raising and dairy business, and has made his operations pay steady profits. For about eight years he taught school during the winter seasons in Ross township. Mr. Smith was married in Erie county, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1861, to Miss Ellen Harper, a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, and a. daughter of Benjamin and Ruth (LTnderwood) Harper. The son born of this marriage is deceased, and they have an adopted daughter, Pearl. Mr. Smith, as a stanch Repu1)lican, first voted for Lincoln, and has taken an active part in public affairs. He was elected county commissioner in 1884 and held that important county office from 1885 to 1891. He was also appointed trustee of Ross township to fill out a vacancy. ARTHUR T. COX. Arthur T. Cox, treasurer and manager of the Wisconsin Lumber and Coal Company, at East Chicago, is an enterprising young man who in his active career has followed modern business methods and wrought along lines which have resulted in gaining for him a very desirable position in the busi- ness world, one that brings to him a good financial return He was born near Westfield in Hamilton cou^t^■. Indiana, December HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 325 9, 1863. and is the oldest of four living children of Stephen and Julia A. (Rich) Cox. In the family, however, were seven children, four sons and three daughters. The family was established in the south at an early day, and the grandfather, Hugh Cox, was a native of North Carolina, where he always made his home, passing away in that state when in middle life. Through his business career he followed the occupations of farming and mill- ing. His wife, ]Mrs. Rebecca Co.x, has also been called to her final rest. They were the parents of two sons and four daughters. They held membership in the Friends church, and their lives were in harmony with their religious faith. Stephen Cox, father of Mr. Cox, was born in North Carolina, was reared to the occupation of farming and followed that pursuit throughout his acti\'e business career. He came to Indiana in the spring of 1861 and settled near Westfield, where he continued to engage in the tilling of the soil until igoi. In that year he retired from liusiness life and is now enjoying a well-earned rest in Westfield. He married Miss Julia A. Rich, who was born in Indiana and was a daughter of Peter Rich, also a native of this state. Her father was a farmer by occupation, and li\-ed at Westfield, where he died at a ripe old age. He was very prominent and influential in his communitv, and various local positions were conferred upon him. His wife, who hnre the maiden name of Amy Jessup, also died at an advanced age. In their family were a son and three daughters. Mr. Rich was a most earnest and untiring worker in the Friends church, and he and his wife were recognized as leaders in the congregation of their home locality. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Co.x were also ardent workers in the Friends clnuxh. likewise took an acti\-e interest in the temperance cause and did all in their power to ]3romote tem- perance legislation. In the year 1899 Stephen Cox was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who flied in the month of July when about si.xty years of age. Of their family of four sons and three daughters, those now living are Arthur T. : Erwin. who makes his home near Westfield, Indiana: Nietha, the wife of E. L. Foulke. of Kansas City, Missouri: and Elsie, who is the wife of Charles Baldwin, of W^estfield. In retrospect one can see .\rthur T. Cox as a farm boy, working in the fields as he assisted his father in the cultivation of the crops, or attending the district schools. After he had largely mastered the branches of study taught in the local school he entered the Union high school, and subsequently pur- 326 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. sued a collegiate course and was graduated on the completion c.f the scien- tific course in Earlham College, at Richmond, Indiana, with the class of 1890, at which time the Bachelor of Science degree was conferred upon him. The following year he entered upon his husiness career in connection with the lumber tratle. He was employed first in his home town and after\\-ards in the county seat at Noblesville, Indiana, where he remained for two years. On the expiration of that period he entered the employ of the Nordyke and Marmon Company, of Indianapolis, being in their office for a few months. Later he was sent out by the firm as collector to different towms in Indiana. A year later he entered the employ of the Paxton Lumber Company of Ham- mond, in 1894, and was located there until 1897, when he went to Rensselaer. where he continued for about a year. He next secured a position in Morocco, Indiana, and afterwards went to Lowell, where he accepted the management of the Wilbur Lumber Company, of Milwaukee, filling that position in a manner entirely satisfactory to the company for three years. He was next offered and accepted the position with the Greer-Wilkinson Company at Russellville, Indiana, and in February, 1903, he came to East Chicago to act as manager of the luml>er yards of the same company at this place. In February, 1904, the Greer-Wilkinson Lumber Company sold its interests in East Chicago to the Wisconsin Lumber and Coal Company, of which concern Mr. Cox became treasurer and manager and one of the stockholders and has continued in these relationships up to the present time. In 1904 the company erected a two-story lumber warehouse, sixty by one hundred and fifty feet, in which is carried an extensive and varied line of building ma- terials, and the establishment is one of the flourishing business enterprises of East Chicago. June 20, 1901, occurred the marriage of Mr. Cox and Miss Laura LuEUa Fuller. Mr. Cox is a member of the Society of Friends, while his wife is identified through membership relations with the IMethodist Episcopal church. Fraternally he is connected with Colfax Lodge No. 378, F. & A. M., at Lowell, Indiana, and belongs to Renssalaer Lodge No. 82, Knights of Pythias. His political endorsement is given to the Republican party, but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him, as he has preferred to give his time and attention to his business interests and to the enjoyment of home life. The Co.x household is noted for its hospitality.. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 327 which is generous and cordial, and Ijotli Mr. and Mrs. Cox have won many friends during tlieir residence in East Chicago. GEORGE F. GERLACH. George F. Gerlacii, the prominent and well-known merchant of St. John, Lake county, is a self-made and successful business man. He began life for himself at an early age, finding in school teaching the first stepping stone of progress, and at the same time acquainted himself with the details of mer- cantile affairs. He is and has been for some years an important factor in business circles of St. John township, and is always found identified with the side of progress and general advancement in material, social and educa- tional movements. Mr. Gerlach was born in Bavaria, Germany, January 24, 1841. His father, Michael Gerlach, was a native of the same country, and in 1846 emigrated with his family to America. He settled at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, where he followed his trade of carpenter for about eleven years. In 1857 he emigrated further west, locating in St. John township. Lake county, Indiana, where he turned his attention to farming pursuits. He bought eighty acres of land, improved it, and for the remainder of his life made fanning a successful enterprise. He died at the age of seventy-four years. Flis wife was Agnes Catherine Wartheim, a native of Germany, and who also attained the age of seventy-four years. They were highly respected in Lake county, and are to be counted among the early settlers who opened up and developed the farming regions. They were the parents of seven children, one of whom died young, but the others, four sons and two daugh- ters, are still living. Air. George F. Gerlach, the eldest of the family, was about five years old when he crossed the ocean to America, and about sixteen when the family came to Lake county. He began his education in Virginia, and later attended the St. Vincent's College in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. After coming to Lake county he began his independent career by teaching school, beginning at the age of seventeen and continuing the profession for about three months of the year during the following ten vears, in St. John and Hanover townships. What time he was not teaching he employed by acting as clerk in the store of Henrv and F. P. Keilmann, at St. Tohn. In 328 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 1867 he married and in the same year began business in partnership with Mr. F. P. Keihnann. They carried on a general merchandise business until 1885, when the partnership was dissolved, and since then Mr. Gerlach has been conducting his store alone and at his present location. He has a long established and prosperous business, carrying a stock valued at about sixteen thousand dollars, and is recognized as one of the foremost business men of the county. He also buys and ships grain and live-stock. This position in the world of affairs is the more creditable when it is remembered that Mr. Gerlach commenced his career with nothin.g except his own ambition and industrious habits. Fie has also performed his part in public affairs. He has been a Demo- crat since the casting of his first vote, but maintains an independent attitude in local affairs, voting for the best man. He has been a justice of the peace, and is now a notary public. He is also interested in the agricultural develop- ment of Lake county, for he owns about nine hundred acres of land in dif- ferent parts of the county. Mr. Gerlach married, in 1867. Miss Margaret Keilmann. and they are the parents of nine children: Katie, wife of Peter Schmidt: Frank, in his father's store: Joseph M.. also in the store; Maggie, wife of John Stoltz, who is employed in Mr. Gerlach's store; Lizzie, wife of Michael Weis. of Ross tow-nship ; George and Charles, who are in their father's store ; and Lena and Clara, who are still in school. The children were all born in St. John township. Lake county. WILLIAM J. GLOVER. William J. Glover has almost completed his second term as recorder of Lake county, and during an eight years' incumbency of that office has set a standard of efficiency and administrative ability which is a matter for pride to himself and for profit and good to the county. Like most of the worthy citizens of Lake county, Mr. Glover has spent his years in labor providing for the material wants of himself and family, and is therefore a popular man in the true sense of that word. He first became known to Lake county as an employe of the iron mills of East Chicago, and for the past fifteen or more years has been an upright, puljlic-spirited and hard-working citizen, always steadily progressing toward a higher goal of endeavor. As a public official HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 329 in varicius places of trust he has sliown himself worthy of honor and con- fidence and an excellent depositary of the county's administrative afTairs. Mr. Glover is a Pennsylvanian hy birth and rearing. He was born at Bolivar, January 26. 1856, and is of Scotch lineage in only the third genera- tion from the original American progenitor. His paternal grandfather, James Glover, was born in the city of Edinburg, Scotland, and came to the United States something over seventy years ago. He settled in Maryland, and died at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, at ninety-two years of age. Rolaert Glover, the father of the Lake county recorder, was born in Mandand, and is now seventy-one years old, residing in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He has been a stationary engineer nearly all his life. His wife is also living at the age of sixty-seven, and her maiden name was Clara Corsin. Mr. William J. Glover was taken to Pittsburg in childhood, and was- educated there in the public schools. He found employment at different lines of work before he entered the iron mills, and for some twenty-two years he was employed in the iron mills in Pittsburg and in East Chicago. He came to Chicago, Illinois, in 1882, and in 1888 settled at East Chicago. The latter was a mere town at that time, and he was one of the first settlers. In addi- tion to his daily work he became identified with the public life of the place, and before long was taking an active part in Republican politics. He was elected and served one term as treasurer of East Chicago, and was elected to the city council for two terms. While serving in the latter position he was elected, in 1896. to the office of recorder of Lake county, and then severed his connection with affairs in East Chicago and mo\'ed to Crown Point, where he has since made his home. He was chosen for a second term as recorder in 1900, so that he has ser\ed nearly eight years. He has always been a Republican, and is a man of popular and genial manners, just such a one as the people of a community pick out as a representative citizen and choose for their various administrative offices. Mr. Glover has affiliations with the Masons, the Elks, the Foresters, the Maccabees, and the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Work- ers. He was married in June. 1881. to Miss Elizabeth Owens, of Pittsburg. Pennsylvania. They have fi\'e children: Robert S.. Edward C. Florence M., William J.. Jr., and Helen. 330 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. \\ILLIAM HENRY WOOD. William Henry Wood, general merchant at Deep River, has been the leader m the business affairs of this community for many years. In fact, the Wood family, grandfather, father and sons, have been closely identified with industrial and commercial interests of Ross township as long as any other family still existing in the county, and they have kept fully abreast of the tide of progress and development which has advanced Lake county from a wilderness to one of the richest and most prosperous counties of the state. The pioneer of the family was John Wood, grandfather of the above named, whO' came out from the east to Lake county, Indiana, before the official separation and organization of the counties of Porter and Lake. He was a miller by occupation, and by building and operating the old grist and saw mill at Deep River supplied the early settlers with commodities abso- lutely essential to civilization and modest comfort. His mill was one of the first in the county, and he carried on his business here for many years. He was of English and Scotch descent. George Wood, the father of William H. Wood, was born in Massa- chusetts, and in boyhood came out to Lake county with his parents, being reared, educated and married in this county. He engaged in general mer- chandising and milling at Deep River during most of his active career, and was a prominent and influential man in the surrounding country. He was a member of the Unitarian church at Hobart. His death occurred when he was fifly-nine years old. He married Mary J. Digerd, who was born in Buffalo, New York, of Irish descent, and is still living. They were the parents of six children, four of whom reached adult age. W^illiam Henry Wood, the fourth child and third son of this family, was born in Deep River, Lake county, July 2, 1865, and was reared and has spent all his life at this place. After attending the common schools he entered the business department of the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, where he was graduated in two years, and then returned to Deep River. He was with his father in the creamery business for two years, and then he and his brother Eugene bought out their father and carried on the general store and creamery in partnership for six years. Mr. Wood then HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 331 bought out his brother, and lias been very successfully conducting the mer- cantile business ever since. He is also vice-president of the Ohio Standard Oil Company, at Amsterdam, Ohio, and has various other business interests. As a life-long Republican he has taken much interest in public affairs. He is now candidate for tOAvnship trustee, and was at one time on the ad- visory board. He has been the postmaster of Deep River for the past ten years, the office being located in his store. He is a Mason affiliating with Hobart Lxidge No. 357. He is well known in business and social circles, and his store is up to date and a large one for a place the size of Deep River. He carries about four thousand dollars' stock, and has a large trade from all the surrounding country. , Mr. Wood married, in 1894, Miss Martha Battia, of Middle Falls, New York. They have two children, Olive and Raymond. HENRY C. BATTERMAN. Henry C. Batterman, prominent in the industrial, mercantile and finan- cial affairs of Dyer, St. John township, began his career at this place some thirty years ago, with his trade and his character as his principal capital, and during the intervening period has come to be one of the most influential business men of this part of Lake county. He has been prominently identi- fied with nearly all the affairs of Dyer, whether of a business, social or polit- ical or whatsoe\'er nature, and is an all-round worthy citizen whom all esteem and hold in highest regard. Mr. Batterman is a brother of Edward Batterman, the well known business man of Hobart, and in whose personal history on other pages of this work will be found the parental and ancestral records. Mr. H. C. Batter- man was born in Vv'ill county, Illinois, October 10, 1855, ^"^ was reared and educated there. He learned the harness-making business, and at the age of twenty, in 1875, came to Lake county, where he continued to work at his trade, following it altogether for twenty-two years. He prospered from the first, and has been on the up-grade ever since he started oiit on his own hook. In 1894 he established a livery business in Dyer, and has carried it on very successfully to the present time. In 1900 he opened his machine and blacksmith shops and agricultural implement house, and in these lines does a large and steadily increasing business. He took a leading part at the 332 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. organization of the First National Bank at Dyer, and is a director and the vice-president of that substantial financial institution. He also owns stock in the creamery at Dyer, and is secretary and treasurer of the Horse Breed- ers' Association at Dyer. He has had an annual trade in his implement arid shops enterprise amounting to over ten thousand dollars, and his Ijusiness push and energy are continually increasing his hold on the commercial and mdustrial affairs of the county. In public matters and political questions be has always adhered to the principles and policies of the Republican party. He has served as superintendent of roads and was on the township advisory board. Tie has also been active in religious afifairs, and is an official member of the Dyer Union church. Mr. Batterman has been married three tunes. His first wife was Mary Richart, by whom he had one son, Joe B. The second marriage was with Maggie Young, and his present wife was Miss Helen Richart, a sister of his first w'ife. They have two living children, Carrie and Johanna. Fraternally lie is a member of the Order of the Foresters of America. Council No. i6, at Dyer, and he was a member of the High Order of Foresters. JAMES A. PATTERSON. James A. Patterson, an attorney at law engaged in practice in Indiana Harbor since the summer of 1902, was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, on the 31st of August, 1867, and is one of a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters, whose parents are William and Mary (McAlpin) Patterson. His paternal grandfather, William Patterson, Sr., was born in Scotland, belonging to one of the old families of that country. Emigrating to America, he spent his last days in Canada, where he died at the very advanced age of ninety-two years. He had long devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits and in that way had provided for his family, numbering his wife and four or five children. William Patterson, Jr., was born in Catron, Scotland, and after arriving at years of maturity he married Miss Mary McAlpin, a native of Kilmarnock, Ayr.sbire. She belonged to a family numbering several daughters and her father died in Scotland when he had attained a venerable age. William Patterson followed mining during much of his life. \M:en a young man he left Scotland and went to Australia, where he was engaged in mining gold. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 333 He afterward emigrated to Canada, locating in a pioneer district, and there he carried on farming for three or four years, at the end of which time he went to Pennsylvania. On leaving that state about 1876 he journeyed west- ward to Illinois, settling" at Coal City, where he engaged in mining coal, but his last vears were spent in the Indian Territor}', where he died in 1885, ''■^ the age of fift}--eight years. His wife still survives him and is now seventy- six years of age. Like her husband she is a member of the Presbyterian church, and through many years has shaped her life by its teachings and precepts. To this worthy couple w"ere born four sons and four daughters, and six are yet living: Margaret, who is the wife of D. W. Frye, of Coal City. Illinois; Helen, the wife of David H. \\^ilson, also a resident of Coal City; \\'illiam M., who is living in St. Louis, Missouri; Robert J., a resident of Moberly, Missouri ; James A. ; and Elizabeth, the wife of Cornelius Clark, of Coal City, Illinois. James A. Patterson was a lad of about nine years when with his parents he removed to Coal City, Illinois, where the days of his youth were passed and his early education was acquired. He afterward pursued a liusiness course in a commercial college at Leavenworth, Kansas, and later he occupied a position as bookkeeper for four or five years. He then went to Valparaiso College and was graduated from the scientific and literary departments, so that he gained a broad general knowledge to serve as an excellent foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional learning. Following the completion of his normal work at Valparais(T. he took vi\i the study of law in the Chicago Law School of Chicago, from which he was gradtiated in 1898, and the same year was admitted to the bar. He has since engoged in practice, covering a period of six years, and on the ist of April. 1902, he opened an office in Indiana Harljor, where he has since been located. His clientage is continually growing and has connected him with much of the im- portant litigation tried here. He is thorough and painstaking in the prepara- tion of a case, clear and concise in argument, cogent and logical in his reason- ing, and has attained a creditable position among the younger members of the Lake county bar. On the 24th of June, 1898, occurred the marriage of Mr. Patterson and Miss May A. Wiles, a daughter of Truman B. and Abigail E. Wiles. Abigail E. Wiles died June 17. 1904, at Mabel, Minnesota. They reside at 3729 ?34 HESTORY OF LAS;^ 'J ^_ :i - ^ : . _ ^- , '.15 ot Fydiias ami Modem Waotituet firstsmrtiesw ami bis wxtee is GomaBEtef wi& tfte laiiies" 3ri3ilraiies '^f bcjtfe. Sfe. too^ is a graifcale nE TalpsE^so Ccllege. ami t&ef befttt Gccapr an etrria&Ie posEteJn; in. t5e scctaE circies- wBaaie cdirEre ami nrfgi'- IrgfeEice pre&nifnaDe. GOTHJEB MUESIC^ ,- — -. ,:, -,-..._.,•_ ffee^Tcs 33 6e — —"■----■ :niciig: tie cM. aeEsSes q£ tSfi CL -^ -;^_.„ ._ tor Ere oas res: ' cwenrr-iore years. wMca tase c»rve3 afiiH^c iSs£ ercire gecictt ot tiiE c3?"'s growtfe. ami dev^cpineit tn its preait r Fn . Fvutg: g iog c irtT o iis- Ai: t&e age e£ neatEy- ^jbty jkears. &e s aisc- one m t&e- ^tranfe Gt tfee c&»:. ami Ms diaractsr ami perscit are weie-- a&fe ami respectm irt tfee eyes at aE cmzsas oz HsxmisomL wfe esDeem Frim Betfii ECT Ms Lengrft oc yeir= "' ' "' -^ " " ' " = """ ■■" iie Ml? ~>— e afeirs a£ cit?ir. ccfunrr. scl.- _: - ._- -. - .-- ^ a. natui" — : -i: nirwards of llkLv yeairs agp^ He was- 6csgi m tfee pEowmce ax Bramferrfna^^ Geinai^. in. sS-.^ ami is now ifte enty atrororg^ oik '3* iSe khit cfrrTrfrgL che snt ami tfiree dangficers. ficni tD nrrrs tranr anmf CfeistiaEna: (Hamie:- — idL tfre ssonie- oi wMmt was a 'J es Li iau fiirmer ami ifed M tfte f. '■oit tS<:r " '' -eti x sr' ■" •"■•? anET trv Ms wtk. Tliev- wer'i .._- trTmrg _„c .^;a"rraf g^ -g- c?r Mir- M-mB3ic5i ifed in Gerrnany wfigt cibse to ssty-agM jeirs oM. ami tfee m i a i *■« n a li gcamiatfi^ was a feuauKL ami (ffiesi irt Gaaaamr. GcfttHsis Mtteirc&i was r^areti he Cesinairr ami receiweii a g^od! esfmmicit in. tfte conmicit sc&ccls. He tsjck op Mes tfatfes; by ferMmg t&e wensers trajfe He was a scjiiiie" M t&e rcj^i^ armies &ir foe v^irs. beng: a. j ta ac m C ami also fiir s evo r al yeais was ovorsee: ■^nnf t^-t— ' i^^ i large escit& He was mamxef freSTre leivMg t&e- clti e:^mLLy. - lycrtam: niC've of Ms Efe lie maiie m fi^JT- ^^r tire fest year lie I&resf iir Ctecagc?. ami t&er were tD HJessscflle. r m frana. wfe:E- &e btmsfe a soesK Sirm ami tSewotm MmseEf t _ ■ " : "5. Iir ' ■ • jeft tie amr tr> ti.. - _.. -:.-: :-;.-._._- _.. ,^_^....._.. -. .....-.: was tfiti:. .. ._- sages of begiit- rrfng ami grrjgxess to ward a grosperars cry. He has Irveti Lnae ev^ arrce. Hs &^c h mJt a large LsLaime Mmse 'Jil Somir HcMnait scree: admrnrng Ms ptesem. resdemre. amt sSkt Irving litH^ se^foraL years soM 3: to Ms son HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 335 Gustav. In 1897 he built his present substantial brick residence at 216 South Hohman street. Mr. Muenich is a veteran of the Civil war in this country, having en- listed in 1S62 in Company I, Seventy-second Illinois Infantry, and served about a year, after which he returned to his home at Hessville. Mr. and Mrs. Muenich are both members of the Lutheran church, and in politics he has always adhered to Republican principles and policies. August 8, 1853. Mr. Muenich was married to Miss Anna Xatke, a daughter of Christian and Maria (Wannock) Xatke. Both her paternal and her maternal grandfathers died so long ago that no knowledge of their his- tor}' is obtainable, but the name of the former's wife was Maria (Rockhill) Natke, and that of the latter's Katharina ^Vannock. Mrs. Muenich's father was a farmer, and in 1857 he emigrated with his wife and family from Ger- many to America, and after a short residence in Chicago located at Hessville, where he remained till his death, in 1887, at the age of eighty-one. His wife died in 1877, aged seventy-four. They had three children : Anna, the wife of Mr. !Muenich ; Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Hess ; and Martin Natke. Four sons and one daughter were born to ^Ir. and Mrs. IMuenich : Carl Gustav is a contractor in Hammond : he married ]\Iiss ^laria Bellof . and the}' have one daughter, Etta. Gustav Adolph Muenich died at the age of five and a half years. Rudolph is a paperhanger: he married Alvina Zachholz, and their three children are George, Ida Anna Alvina and Bertha. ]\Iaria married Henr\- Huehn, now deceased, and they had five children. Emma, ^^'illiam. Henry. ]\Iyrtle and Arthur. Edw-ard Muenich follows the trade of carpenter: b}' his wife, Alice Benedict, he has five children, Rebecca, Elmer, Lola. Roy and Arthur. HENRY L. KEILMAN. Henrj- L. Keilman, president of the First National Bank of Dyer and a prominent farmer of St. John township, has spent all his life in Lake county and is of the third generation of the well known family who located in this count}- sixty years ago. He has spent most of his active years in farming pursuits, which he has followed for over thirtv- years, and he has resided on his present fine farmstead for twenty-five years. Outside of his financial and agricultural interests he has concerned himself in a public-spirited manner with the administrative affairs of his county and township, and is everywhere 336 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. known as a good citizen, a good neiglilx)i' and a man of unusual energy and business capacity. Mr. Keilman was born in St. Jobn township, September 22, 1856, being the eldest son of Leonard and Lena (Austgen) Keilman, who in childhood cnme from their native land of Germany. His father, who is still among the active and enterprising business men of St. John township, is written of elsewhere in this work, and various details of family history are to be found under the name Keilman in various portions of the history. Mr. Keilman was reared in his native township, and was educated in the district school and then attended, in 1872, Pionono College, near Mil- waukee, Wisconsin. On his return home he at once took up farming, and after his marriage, in 1879, located on the farm where he still resides. He owns three hundred acres, and does general farming, stock-raising and dairving. At the time of the organization of the First National Bank in Dyer, in 1903, he was elected its president, which ot^ce he still holds, and his direction of the bank's affairs has been most satisfactory to the stock- holders and is resulting in giving the institution considerable prestige among the business interests of St. John township. Mr. Keilman was elected, on the Democratic ticket, to the office of trustee of St. John township, in 1894, and he held that office for five years and three months. He and his family are members of the Catholic church, St. Joseph's church at Dyer. Lt 1879 Mr. Keilman married Miss Maggie Schaefer, who is also a native of St. John township. They have eight children, all born on the old homestead farm in St. John township, as follows: William H., Frank L., Emma, Frances, Raymond, Leonard, Verna and Helen. DENNIS PALMER. Dennis Palmer, old settler and man of affairs of Lake county, has been for many years a leading spirit in the commercial and industrial development of Lake county and particularly of that portion where the town of Palmer is situated, which was founded on his land and named as a lasting memorial to his life and services in behalf of the community. He was one of the influ- ential residents who contributed of their own means and lent their vigorous efforts for railroad building in this county. Many enterprises of private ^^99UJi ^yi^^^^^^A^ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 337 business and public nature liave engaged bis attention during a long life of over seventy years, and bis place in tbe county is one of bonor, bigb esteem and most public-spirited and useful performance of bis part in life. Mr. Palmer was liorn in Lorain county. Obio, August 21, 1830. His fatber, also named Dennis, was born in Massacbusetts. wbence be moved to New York state, and from tbere to Obio. settling first in Lorain county, tben in Crawford county, and aliout 1854 came to Lake county. Indiana, wbere he passed his declining years and died at tbe age of eighty-two years. His wife, Olive Terril, was a nati\'e of Connecticut, Init was reared in tbe early times of Lorain county, Ohio, and died in that state at tbe age of eighty. Mr, Palmer was tbe only son of his parents" five children. He was seven years old when be moved to Crawford county, Ohio, where be was reared. His education was accjuired in one of tbe primitive old log-cabin schools. He remained in that county for two years after bis marriage, and in 1854 moved to Mason county, Illinois, but after six months came to Lake county and took up his first residence in W^infield, W'infield township. He was tbere six years and then came to tbe place wbere he has ever since made bis place of- residence, for over forty years. During his more active career he engaged in various kinds of business, in the raising and shipping of stock, merchandising and farming. A town was laid out on his land in 1882 and named in his honor. At present he owns only one hundred and seventy acres in this vicinity, but once was possessor of six bun(h-ed. Much of the growth and prosperity of this region is due to bis active eft'orts. He has one son, Richard, who is in the real estate business in Kansas City, Missouri. He owns lands in Kansas, but these are under the control of this son and his grandson. Mr. Palmer started out in life without a dollar, and the story of bis life is one of self-achievement, industry and capable business management. He therefore deserves tbe esteem which is accorded him in Lake county, and tbe weight of bis opinions has in many ways been felt throughout tbe county. He has in the main retired from active pursuits, and confines most of his attention to lending money and dealing in securities. He has been a strong Republican since the organization of tbe party, and has served as township trustee one term, and was justice of tbe peace for twenty years. He was an old-line Whig and at tbe birth of tbe Republican party espoused its prin- ciples and voted for Fremont, then Lincoln, Garfield, Blaine and McKinley. 338 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. He helped in getting the hnes of the Pennsyl\-ania and the Erie raih-oads run through Crown Point, wliich resulted in much of the subsequent prosperity of that town as a commercial center. He was the first man to sign the right of way and give a mile of his own land to the Erie road, doing this with the understanding that the line should be constructed through Crown Point. He also assisted in taking up subscriptions for the Pennsylvania Railroad, signing his own name for one hundred dollars. Through many such enterprises he has made his influence felt for good in Lake county, and is one of the best known and truly successful men of the county. Air. Palmer was married, May 12, 1852, to ]\Iiss ]\Iary Wilson, and of the two children, both sons, born to them, one is living, Richard, also men- tioned above. Richard Palmer was born February 17. 1853. and was reared in this county, being educated in the common schools. He has been engaged in the stock, real estate and the banking lines of business, and for some time he resided in Monona county, Iowa, and carried on stock, banking and mer- cantile enterprises. He marriefl. November 4. 1875. Miss !Mary E. Fargo, bv wliiim he had one son, ]\Iark S. D.. \vho was educated in tlie common schools and at the Valparaiso College, and is now postmaster at Eskridge, Kansas ; at the time of recei\'ing his official notice he was the youngest post- master in the United States. This grandson of ]\Ir. Palmer was married on August I, 1899, to Miss May E. F. Parsonage, who was born in Wabaunsee county, Kansas, June 17, 1879, '"'^r parents being still living and farmers in Wabaunsee county, and she received a high school education and for some time was a teacher. The one daughter of this marriage. Lois Z(ie. is thus a great-grandchild of Mr. and Mrs. Palmer, so that there are four genera- tions alive at the present time. Mark S. D. Palmer is a Republican. ha\-ing cast his first vote for McKinley, and fraternally he is associated with Tent No. 79, of the Maccabees, at Eskridge, and with the Ancient Order of United Workmen No. 165. Mr. Richard Palmer's first wife died Deceml;er 10, 1880. and i)y his second wife he has six children, as follows: John R. : Alice, who is in the high school : Maude, in school ; Fayette. Lucile and Katie On February 27, 1902. Mr. Richard Palmer married Mrs. ]Mary E. (Hatterly) Luth, who was ])orn in Harrison county, Iowa, November 5, 1866, being a daugliter of Tames and Flannah Hatterly. She was educated in the common schools, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 339 finishing at the Shenandoah high school, and she taught in Iowa for a year and a half. By her marriage to Henry Luth one son, Leslie E., was horn, he being now fifteen years old and a student in the public schools of Kansas City, where his parents reside. Richard Palmer moved to Kansas City in June, 1903, and engaged in the real estate business. He is a Republican, having cast his first vote for Hayes, and he has always supported those prin- ciples. His wife is a member of the Christian church, and they are generous in regard to the benevolences. Mrs. Dennis Palmer was born in Wyandotte county, Ohio, Feljruary 1*9, 1833, and was a daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Taylor) Wilson. She was one of thirteen children, and six are yet living. She was reared in her native state, and her first school was a log cabin, with a mud and stick chim- ney, with benches of slabs resting on four pins for legs, and the desk for the older scholars a long board resting on pins driven into the wall. She used the goosequill pen, usually fashioned out with the knife of the master, who, for a portion of her school days, was none other than her future husband. Mr. Palmer. Much more might be related of those early pioneer days. For half a century have Mr. and Mrs. Palmer traveled the journey of life together, sharing the joys and sorrows as the}- have followed one close on the other. And now at the eventide of life, when the sun of their careers is fast setting, thev can look back over the past years as over a golden harvest field where the garnered sheaves of golden deeds lie before God and man as proofs of their noble characters and generous endeavors, so that all — son, grand- children and all who come after them — may rise up and call them blessed. REV. H. PH. WILLE. Rev. H. Ph. W'ille has l.ieen pastor of the First Lutheran church of Whiting since 1891 and was the first minister regularly located here. Dur- ing the years which have since come and gone he has succet^ded in build- ing up a strong religious organization and one which has had potent and far-reaching effect in the moral development and progress of this part of the state. \Mdelv known and resijected by all with whom he has come in contact, the life record of Re\'. W'ille cannot fail to prove of deep interest to many of our readers. He was born in Hamburg, Germany, on the 18th of December, 1843, when his parents were en route for America. His father. 340 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Philip W'ille, was a native of Prussia and was a farmer by occupation. He came to tlie United States in tlie spring of 1844, locating near }vlil\vaukee Wisconsin, and he lived to enjoy the privileges and opportunities of the new world for forty years, passing away in 1884, when seventy-four years of age. His -wife, who Ixire the maiden name of Charlotte Tews, was abo a native of Prussia and is still living at the very advanced age of eighty- eight years. They became the parents of nineteen children, but only six reached adult age. Rev. PI. Ph. W'ille is the only surx'iving son, and was but three months old when his parents arrived in America. He was educated in the public and parochial schools near ^Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in Martin Luther College at Buffalo, New York. He also attended Concordia Seminary at St. Louis, Missouri, where he was graduated with the class of 1870 on the completion of a theological course which prepared him for the active work of the ministry. His first charge was at California, Missouri, where he re- mained for about four years. He then removed to Concordia, Missouri, where he acted as pastor of the Lutheran church for twelve years, and on the expiration of that period he accepted a call for the church at Geneseo, Illinois, w'here he continued his ministerial labors for five years. In 1891 he arrived in Whiting. It was then but a mere village and he became the first regular pastor in this place. He began here with a membership of only forty, but his labors have resulted in great and substantial growth in the church, which now has an enrolled membership of over three hundred. He is also inter- ested in the building up of a congregation at Indiana Harbor. His active connection with the ministry covers thirty-four years, during which time he has not been denied the full harvest nor the aftermath. \\'ith conscientious zeal he has devoted his time and energies to his holy calling, and his pulpit addresses, his pastoral labors and his personal influence and example have been strong and forceful elements for the betterment of mankind and the upbuilding of the church in the various localities in which he has resided. On the 1st of September, 1864. Rev. Wille was united in the holy bonds of matrimony to Miss Minnie Plenning. who was born and reared in Buf- falo, New York, and is a daughter of G. and ^linnie (Voelker) Henning. The}'' have become the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters : Edward, a farmer now residing in Nebraska; Lillie. the wife of Paul A. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 341 Scliolz. who follows farming near La Porte, Indiana; Hernian C, who is proprietor of a grocery store in Chicago: Emma, wlio is engaged in (h-ess- making in Whiting; Otto, wlio died at the age of thirty years: Clara, the wife of George Hornecker: Julius, who is engaged in the tinner's husiness in ^\'hiting; Ella, the wife of William Clock, of Whiting: Rudolph, who is employed as a salesman in a grocery store in Chicago : and Mollie, at home. The family is well known in \Miiting, where they have resided for twelve years, and the hospitality of the best homes is very cordially extended to them. Mr. \^"ille commands the respect of people of all denominations, and while he is firm in his advocacy of what he believes to be right he is also charitable in his opinions and of kindly, generous spirit. A. MURRAY TURXER. A. Murray Turner, president of the First National Bank of Hammond, is a life-long resident of Lake county, and for some years has been prom- inently identified with its business and financial affairs. He has shown great ability in promoting and organizing enterprises whose results are for the welfare of the community and people at large, and his influence and work in this direction have been of great benefit to Lake county. He is essentially a business man, but has also directed some of his energies tc politics and social matters, and is a representatixe citizen of the city of Hammond. He was born in Crown Point, Indiana, October 3, 1859, being a son of David and Caroline (Bissell) Turner, The family is one of the oldest of Lake county, and the business and agricultural interests of the county have felt the stimulating control of three generations of the name. Grandfather Turner was a native of the north of Ireland, whence as a small boy be came to America with a family to whom he had been bijund out for a term of years. He grew to manhood in Trumbull county, Ohio, and in 1837 came to Lake county. Indiana, where he spent the remainder of his sixty years in farming pursuits. His wife, named Patterson, died in Eagle Creek town.ship. Lake county, at the age of eighty-seven years, and they had a large family. David Turner, the father of the Hammond banker, was born in Ohio, and during the early years of his manhood followed farming. He came to Lake county in 1837. For some years he was the only merchant in the town 342 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. of Crown Point. He served as state senator from 1858 to 1862, and was then appointed United States assessor by President Lincoln, holding that office until its abolishment. He was president of the First National Bank of Crown Point for a number of years and died in February, 1890, at the age of seventy-three years. He was a Republican in politics, and a Pres- bvterian. His wife, who still survives and resides with her son, A. Mur- ray, is a native of Ohio. Mrs. Mary Brunot, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, is a sister of Mrs. David Turner, and they two are the only survivors of the family. David Turner and wife had seven children, all of whom are still living: John Bissell Turner, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Sarah J., wife of Thomas W. Monteith, of Port Huron, Michigan: Emma, wife of I. C. Emory, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Annie T., widow of Freeman Morgan, of Chicago; Mary T., widow of Charles A. Holm, of Hammond. Indiana: A. IMurrav: and Austria T.. wife of Charles A. Ross, of Austin, Illinois. Mr. A. Murray Turner was reared in Lake county, and received his education in the Crown Point schools. He was engaged in farming and stock-raising until 1888, at which time he was elected sheriff, and sen'ed four years. He came to Hammond in 1893 and joined a syndicate formed to build the first street railway of the city. He was president of this com- pany until 1900. He was engaged in various other enterprises, and in 1901 organized the First National Bank of Hammond, becoming its presi- dent, in which office he has effected much in making the First National one of the soundest and most reliable financial institutions of the county. Mr. Turner is a stanch Republican, and was a delegate to the national conven- tion that nominated McKinley for president in 1900. December 31, 1890, Mr. Turner married Miss E. Lillian Blackstone. Thev enjoyed a most happy marital union for ten years, during which one daughter was born, Margaret Caroline Turner. ]\Irs. Turner passed away in November, 1900, at the age of thirty years. She was a member of the Presbyterian church, and a woman of many social graces and accomplish- ments, tboroughlv devoted to her home interests antl thoughtful and careful of her husband's best interests. She was a daughter of Dr. John K. and Margaret J. (Bryant) Black- stone, of Heljron, Indiana. Her paternal grandfather was also a physician, and her maternal grandfather, Simeon Bryant, was a native of Ohio and HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 343 a farmer. She had three brothers and was the only daughter. Her mother was a native of Hebron, and lier father of Athens, Ohio. Her father was a soldier in the Mexican war, being the youngest commissioned officer in that conflict, and in the Ci\il war he served as surgeon with the rank- of major. WILLIAM J. McALEER. William J. McAleer, a prominent lawyer of Hammond and prosecuting attorney of the thirty-first judicial circuit of the state of Indiana, has had seven years of creditable and successful practice at the law, all in Hammond, and his popularity in the city and county is shown by his election and re- election to the important administrative office which he now holds. He was a teacher a number of years, and also followed other occupations before taking up the law, and all in all he has had a career of which he may well be proud. Mr. McAleer was born in Gray county, Ontario, Canada, July 31, 1867, a son of John and Frances (Burchill) McAleer, both natives of Canada. His mother was one of the fourteen children born to Jason Burchill, a native of Ireland and a Methodist preacher, who emigrated to Canada about 1840, and died there when eighty-four years of age; his wife was Isabell Brown, and she li\-ed to be eighty-three years old. The father of John McAleer was William McAleer, who was born in Ireland and emigrated thence to Can- ada, where he spent the remainder of his long life of ninety-seven years, being a farmer by occupation. His wife, Nancy (Brown) McAleer. attained the ad- vanced age of eighty-six years. John McAleer, the father of William J. McAleer, was a Canadian farmer all his life. He lieM the office of reeve for many years, and also other minor offices. He died in 1901, at the age of sixty-two years. His wife survives him, and is now sixty-three years old. They were both Methodists. Thev were the parents of five children : Edith, the wife of R. T. McGirr, of Maford, Canada; William J.; Martha, the wife of David Berridge of Tlies- salon. Algoma, Canada: Annie, the wife of Thomas Brooks, of Thessalon; and Robert, of Thessalon. Mr. William J. McAleer was reared on a farm in Canada, and after a course in the district schools graduated from the Owen Sound Business College, in 1886. He then came over into the L^nited States, and for six 344 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. years was engaged in teaching in Sault Ste. Marie. Michigan. From there he went west to the state of Washington, and was employed by the govern- ment in the Indian service for two years at Granville, Chehalis county. He resigned his position and came to Valparaiso. Indiana, and entered the col- lege there. In 1897 he graduated with the degrees of B. S. and LL. B., and in the same year was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law at Hammond. In November, 1900. he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney, leading the Republican ticket in that election, as he also did in the election of 1902. He is one of the professors in the law de- partment of the Valparaiso Normal College. Mr. McAleer has been in the Republican ranks ever since attaining man- hood, and is an interested political worker. He affiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569, F. &. A. M.. and also with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His residence is at 368 State street. He was married May 21, 1892. to Miss Ethelia Hembroff, a daughter of Joseph and Harriet (Grady) Hemb- roff. They have two children, Leoda and Verna. JOHN HIGGINS, M. D. Dr. John Higgins, who for some time before his death, on April 7, 1904. li\ed as a retired physician, was one of the early settlers of Crown Point, and in community afifairs was prominent and influential, so that his life record forms an important chapter in the history of the city in \v-hich he made his home. He was born in Perry, Wyoming county. New York, May 28, 1822. Ebenezer Higgins, his grand fatlier. was born in Connecticut, the familv having continuously remained in that portion of the country. David Higgins, the father, was also born in Connecticut and became a civil en- gineer. He married Miss Eunice Sackett, a native of Vermont, and bis death occurred in New York. In their family were ten children, of whom Dr. Higgins was the seventh in order of liirth He was only about four years old when his parents remo^•ed from Wyoming county to Osborn. New York, where he remained until fourteen years of age. The family home was then established at Seneca Falls, where he remained until sixteen years old. when he came with his mother to the west, arriving at Chicago, Illinois, on the 2d of July, 1838. After a brief period passed in that city he removed to Vermilion county, Illinois, where the following winter he was engaged in reaching cJir^^^^ / / HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 345 school He afterward worked on a farm tlirough the summer months and in the winter seasons continued teaching until 1843, when he took up the study of medicine. In the winter of 1843-44 he came to Lake county, In- diana, and in May of the latter year established his home at Crown Point, where he began studying medicine \\ith Dr. \\\ C. Farrington, who directed his reading for about two years. In the year 1850 he went to California, crossing the plains to Sacra- mento, and spent a year in the mountains. On the expiration of that period he returned to Frankfort, Illinois, and in February, 1859, he estab- lished his home at Crown Point, Indiana. There he continued in practice until 1861, when he was appointed surgeon of the Twelfth Illinois Cavalry, but was employed mainly as a brigade surgeon and in general hospitals in Chicago and \\'ashington, where he remained tor three years and four months, rendering active and efficient aid to the wounded soldiers. He made a most creditable record as an army surgeon, his aid being of great value to those who needed professional services. In 1865 Dr. Higgins returned to Crown Point and located where he now lives. He was in active and continuous practice until 1900, and he had a large patronage, his efforts being very effective in alleviating human suffer- ing. He kept in touch with modern progress in the line of his profession and through broad study maintained a foremost position among the repre- sentatives of his calling. He was examiner for different life insurance com- panies, and in the earl}' days of his practice he rode for long distances across the country, even traveling from twenty-five to forty miles to attend a patient, his practice extending into Porter county, Indiana, and into Illinois. In 1847 Dr. Higgins was united in marriage to Miss Diantha Tremper, who was born in Lewiston county. New York, and died in 1898. They had one daughter, Eunice A., who is now the widow of Julius \V. Youche. Dr. Higgins was a Mason for many years and in early life was a Whig, casting his ballot for William Henry Harrison, although he had not then attained the age of twenty-one years. He continued to affiliate with the Whig party until the organization of the Republican party, after wh.ich time he was one of its stalwart advocates. He was at the time of his death the only sun-iving member of his father's family of ten children, one of whom died when forty-four years of age, three between the age of sixty and seventy, 3'i6 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. two between seventy and eighty and two lietween tlie asres of eiehty and ninety. In his practice he was connected with tlie hnhana Medical Society, and was at one time a delegate to the .\nierican Medical Association. He long maintained .h creditable position as a leading representatiye of the medical fraternity of northwestern Indiana, and his prominence in his pro- fession was well dcseryed and his .succcess was justly merited. He was yery widely kunwn throughout this portion of the state because of his active connection with the profession, which is of the greatest possible value to humanity, and was ever accounted one of its foremost members on account of his skill and also because of his fidelity to the ethic? of the profession. DAVID D. GRIFFITH. David D. Criffilh is filling the position of city treasurer of \\"hiting, and is one in whom iiis fellow townsmen have had confidence because his ability and fidelity have been tested in business and social life. He was born in South Wales on the 20th of March, 1844, and is a son of David and Ann (Jenkins) Griffith. The days of his childhood and youth were passed in his native country and his education was acquired in the schools there. He came to .\merica m 1870, when about twenty-six years of age, attracted to the new world by the hope that he might find improved business conditions and greater opportunities here. He located first in Hubbard, Ohio, but soon removed to Pennsylvania, establishing his home in Oak Hill, that state, where he remained for about three years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Churchill, Ohio, near Youngstown, and subsequently he resided at New Straitsville, Ohio. On leaving there he came to Whiting, Indiana, in 1895. and entered the employ of the Standard Oil Company, with which he was connected continuously for eight years or until 1903, when, following the incorporation of Whiting as a city, he was elected the first city treasurer and is now acting in that capacity. He was chosen to this position on the Republican ticket and since coming to America he has been a stanch advocate of Republican principles. He keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day and warmly espouses the party by which he was chosen 10 office. In 1865 Mr. Giitfith was united in marriage to Miss Annie Owens, a native of South Wales, and they are now the parents of six living children, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 347 three soit? and three daugliters, namely : William, Sarah. Thomas. Gomer, Margaret and .Amelia. They also lost one son. David, who was killed by an explosion in a mine in British Columbia, and was under ground for five months before discovered. Mr. Griffith is quite well known in fraternal circles, being a member of tiie Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias Lodge, of which he is now financial secretary; the Whiting Mutual Benefit Association, of which he is secretary, and Ivorites Lodge, a Welsh organization. He is a very public-spirited man and takes an active interest in all things pertain- ing to the w-elfare and upbuilding of his community. No citizen of Whiting is more thoroughly representative or more devoted to the promotion of her welfare than Mr. Griffith, whose name is widely known for the prominent part he has taken in local mterests. He has never regretted the step which he took when he left his native country and came to the new world, for he has thorough sympathy with the free institutions and the governmental policy of the United States and there is no more loyal American than this adopted son. Fie has been connected with the Baptist denomination the most of his days, in this and the old country. WILLIAM E. SMITH. William E. Smith, present incumbent of the office of assessor of Ross township, has been identified with the farming interests of Lake county and at present owns a farm on section i8. He has lived in this county for over forty years, so that he is familiar with most of its history subsequent to the real pioneer epoch. During all this time he has had a busy career, devoted mainly to agriculture, but has also found time to give to the management of the affairs of his community, in which he has heen esteemed and honored throughout his life. Mr. Smith was born in Erie county. Pennsylvania. June 6, 1847, ^n the old homestead where his father, Amos Smith, was born, and where he followed farming until his death in young manhood, in 1852. Mr. Smith's mother was Harriet (Ellis) Smith, who died in 1858, leaving four oriihaned children. Mr. Smith has a l.rother, Cyrus, who is a prominent farmer also in section 18 of Ross township, and whose life history is given on other pages. 348 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Mr. \\". E. Smitli was reared on tlie old Penns^dvania homesteafl to llie age of sixteen, receiving" his education in the puljh'c schools. He came to Lake county. Indiana, in 1863, and for a time also attended the public schools here. Farming has been his principal occupation since arriving at man- hood, and his nice farm of fifty acres is well improved and highly cultivated. Mr. Smith is a steadfast Republican, and takes considerable interest in local politics. He -was appointed to the office of assessor, holding it four years by appointment, and was then elected for one year, and in 1900 was re-elected for a full term, discharging its duties at the present time and hav- ing given a most painstaking and satisfactory administration for nine years. For se\'eral years he also held the ofifice of township supervisor. He was first married in 1870, to Miss Cassie Booth, who had one daugh- ter, Mabel, now the wife of Frank F. Peterson, a farmer of Ross township. Mrs. Smith died in 1874. and in 1881 Mr. Smith married Miss Caroline Harper, a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio. There are no children bv this marriage. D. M. VANLOON. D. M. Vanloon is one of the revered patriarchs of Hobart, who has attained the age of seventy-seven years and who for fifty-seven years has been a resident of this part of the state. For a long period he was identified with building interests, and has contributed in no small degree to the progress and improvement of the community. He is now living retired, and he enjoys in high measure the respect and good wnll of his fellow men, who have long been familiar with the history of his upright career. Mr. Vanloon was born in Bradford county, Pennsyhania, December 18, 1827, his parents being Everett and Elizabeth S. (Miller) X'anloon, who were natives of Pennsylvania. He remained at home until about twenty-five years of age, assistnig in the work of the home farm. In the year 1846 he became a resident of LaPorte county, Indiana, and the following year arrived in Lake county, settling about three miles south of Hobart. where he devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits. When twenty-five years of age, how- ever, he began learning the carpenter's trade, which he followed for a long period, being closely identified with building interests in this portion of the state. In 1861 Mr. Vanloon responded to his country's call, enlisting as a HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 349 member of Company H, Ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, witli which lie served for three months. He was then honorably discharged on account of disability. He was one of the first men to enlist from Lake county, but was unable to endure the hardships and rigors of war. He then returned to Hobart and again took up work at the carpenter's trade, which he followed continuously until 1896. In that year he retired from active business life and is now enjoying a well merited rest. In 1864 Mr. Vanloon was united in marriage to Aliss Johanna Switzer, and they ha\-e become the parents of four children, of whom two are now deceased, Elizabeth and James Justin. Those still living are Rudolph D. and Lawrence F. Mr. Vanloon holds membership with the Holjart Post No. 411, G. A. R., and in politics he is an earnest Republican and is now filling the ofifice of justice of the peace, being strictly fair and impartial in the discharge of his duties. A review of his life record shows that at all times he has Ijeen loyal to principle, faithful in the performance of every task assigned him, honor- able in his business relations and straightforward in all his dealings with his fellow men. Moreover, he is entitled to distinction as a pioneer settler of Lake county, having been an interested witness of its growth and develop- ment for fifty-seven years. Great changes have occurred in that time, and Mr. Vanluon has endorsed every measure which he lielieved would contribute to the county's progress, and in his community has aided materially in ad- vancing the substantial upbuilding and development of Hobart. JOHN L. FIESTER. The business interests of Hobart find a worth)- representati\-e in John L. Fiester, a general mercliant of the town. He has always lived in this sec- tion of the country, and early became imbued with the enterprising spirit which has been the dominant factor in producing the wonderful and sub- stantial development of the middle west. His birth occurred in Chicago on the 28th of Noveml^er, 1858, his parents being Jacob and Mary (Thering) Fiester, both of whom were born in Switzerland. Coming to America in early life ihey were married in this country. The father was employed as a fireman in steamboats on the Mississippi river for about ten years, and in 1854 he went to Chicago, where he secured employment in a rolling mill. 350 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. His last cla}s. liowever, were passed in Hobart, where he died in 1900 and where his widow is still living. They were the parents of thirteen children, six of whom yet survive, three sons and three daughters. John L. Fiester, the third of the living children, was reared and educated in the city of his nativity, where he ranained until eighteen years of age. when he secured employment on a farm in Lake county, Indiana, being thus employed for five years. He came to Hobart in 1883, and was engaged in the butcliering business for five years in partnership with James Roper. He then sold out and formed a partnership with Lewis Passow, this relation being maintained for two years, at the end of which time Mr. Passow died. Mr. Fiester then took entire charge of the business, but a year later admitted John Killigrew, and they were together in business for ele\-en \-ears, when Mr. Fiester sold out. He then turned his attention to the hardware trade, conducting a store for about six months, and his next venture was in the line of jewelry merchandising, becoming proprietor of the store which he now owns. He carries a well selected line of general merchandise, and by reason of his earnest efforts to please his patrons, his reasonable prices and his straightforward dealing, he has secured a patronage that is constantly growing and has assumed profitable proportions. The home life of Mr. Fiester is very pleasant. He was married June 28, 1883. to Miss Amanda Passow, a daughter of Ernst and Mamie Passow. This union has been blessed with three sons : Frank, Edward and ^^^alter. Mr. Fiester is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters, and politic- ally is a Democrat. He has been a representative of Hobart's business inter- ests for twenty-one years, and his enterprise has contributed to the com- mercial activity of the town and at the same time has ujade his own career one of signal success, in which he has risen from a humble financial position to one of aiTiuence. \\". B. OWEN. W. B. Owen, superintendent o'" the National Fire Roofing Companv at Hobart, Indiana, is a young man whose responsible business position indi- cates his marked capabilit}' and enterprising spirit. He is numbered among Indiana's native sons, his birth having occurred in Porter countv on the 31st of October. 1882. His father. \\'i]liam B. Owen, was born in Crown Point, New York, in 1835, and about 1878 became a resident of Porter HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 351 count\". Indiana. He was a prominent Ijrick manufacturer of Porter and Lake counties, establishing his liome in the latter about 1886. There he founded a brick manufacturing plant, which he conducted until his death in 1901. This became a leading industrial enterprise of the county and was a factor in the business prosperity of the communit}- in which it was located. jMr. Owen's father was well known in temperance circles, took an active part in the work of suppressing the liquor traffic and gave his political allegiance to the Prohibition party. He served as town trustee of Hobart for about twelve years and was greatly interested in the development and progress of the town. He was also a prominent Mason and was an active and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, his life being in consistent harmony with his professions. He married Miss Annie Pride, a native of Glasgow. Scotland, who came to America with her parents when but six years old. She was a resident of Chicago for some years, and she died in Lake county. Indiana, in November. 1897. Mr. and Mrs. \\'illiam B. Owen, Sr.. were the parents of four children, three sons and a daughter : \\'i]liam L., who is studying medicine in Chicago; Jessie and Robert, who are de- ceased ; and W. B. W. B. Owen, the youngest of the family, pursued his early education m tlie iHiblic schools of Plobart and afterward attended the Chicago Manual Training school for three vears. He was then associated with his father in business, and in 1902 was made superintendent of the National Fire Roofing Company, which position he now holds. He has a thorough and accurate knowledge of the business in both principle and detail, and combined with his executive force and keen discernment he has been enabled to so control the affairs of the company as to make its interests ^'ery profitable. He now has in his employ one hundred and five men. and the enterprise of which he is the head is one of the most important productive industries of the county. Fifteen hundred car-loads of the products were shipped in the year 1903. The company also owns a large plant at Twin Bluff. Illinois, near Ottawa, of which Mr. Owen is superintendent, and there they do about one-half the amount of business transacted at Hobart. In 1902 yir. Owen was joined in wedlock to Miss Eva May Kitchem. a daughter of Albert Kitchem. The}- have one child, Jessie. Like his father, Mr. Owen is a most stalwart advocate of temperance principles and gives his 35-2 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. political allegiance Lo the party which embraces his views on this question. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his has been an upright and honorable career. In all of his business life he has never been known to take advantage of the necessities of his fellow men, but places his dependence upon the sure and safe qualities of energy, good workmanship and honorable dealing — which always prove an excellent foundation upon whicli to rear the superstructure of prosperity. FRED CASTLE, M. D. Dr. Fred Castle, who was formerly engaged in the practice of medicine, enjoying a large and lucrative practice and rendering valuable assistance to his fellow-men, is now living retired in Lowell. He is a native of Franklin, Franklin county, Vermont, his natal day being August 9, 1840. His father, Stanley Castle, was also born there and was a farmer by occupation. He left New England, however, in 1847, ^"^ made his way westward to Lake count}^ Indiana, locating in Cedar Creek township, where he secured a tract of land, which he developed into a rich and productive farm. Prospering in his undertakings, he added to his possessions from time to time until his realty holdings aggregated about seven hundred acres. Dr. Castle is the elder of two children, and was a lad of seven, summers when brought by his parents to Lake county. His early education was ac- quired in an old log schoolhouse, such as was common in pioneer days of this portion of the state. He afterward attended Valparaiso College, and, while there pursuing his study, enlisted in response to the country's call, becoming a member of Company G, Twelfth Indiana Cavalry, in 1863. He joined the army as a private, but was made orderly sergeant and did active service until the close of the war, when he received an honorable discharge from the hospital in which be had been for six months on account of rheumatism. When the country no longer needed his services Dr. Castle returned to Lowell, where he remained for a year and a half, ere he had sufficiently recovered his health to engage in active business. At the end of that time he began teaching in the public schools and also taught vocal and instrumental music. Later he retired from the field of public-school education in order to devote more time and attention to music. He also took up the study of e^fm (^^/2^:£/^^u/ "^^^a^k^^ FRED CASTLE HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 353 medicine, ami alter pursuing his reading for five years he was graduated from the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arhor with the class of 1869. He practiced medicine for ten years in Minnesota., being located at Caledonia. Houston county. He was forced to abandon the practice, however, on account of rheumatism, and then returned to In- diana, after which he devoted his time to farming for a number of years. At length he divided his land among his children, but still continues the supervision of the property. Dr. Castle owned at one lime about three hundred and fifty acres, and he still has control of two hundred and fifty acres. He was married to his present wife in 1878. She bore the maiden name of Rachel Ellingsen, and to them have been born three children : Carrie M., who is now the wife of Cecil M. Johnson, who resides upon one of her father's farms: John; and Nellie M. Prior to the Civil war Dr. Castle was a Democrat, but at that time he joined the Republican party and has since been unfaltering in support of the party and its platform. He is a member of Burnham Post, G. A. R., and is a Royal Arch Mason. Coming to Lake county in early boyhood days, he has witnesed the greater part of its growth and improvement as it has emerged from pioneer conditions to take its place among the leading counties of this great commonwealth. Whatever has been accomplished here in the way of progress and improvement has been to him a matter of deep interest, and inasfar as possible he has co-operated in the work for the general good. WILLIAM M. FOSTER. William M. Foster is the efficient and popular agent of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Cliicago Railroad at Hobart, and his relations in a business and personal way with this city have been most pleasant and profitable. He was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, September 16, 1861. His father, James Foster, was a native of Allegheny comity, Pennsylvania, and was of Scotch-Irish descent. He followed the occupation of farming in early life, and at one time was engaged in the operation of a sawmill and the manu- facture of lumber. At the time of his death, however, he was connected with the steel industry in Pittsburg, where he died in 1880. His wife and the mother of Mr. Foster was Charlotte Benton, also a native of the Keystone 23 354 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. state, where imicli of lier life has been passed, but she is now Hving in Hobart, Indiana, at tlie age of seventy-five years. Her parents were EngHsh born, and some of their children were also born in England. James and Charlotte Foster had five sons and two daughters : Sarah Antoinette, who died in December, 1897; John Benton, who is a foreman in the Edgar Thompson Steel Works at Braddock, Pennsyh'ania ; Henry Albert, who was engaged with a pulilishing company at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and was formerly train dispatclier at Fort Wayne for the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad; William M., -who is the fourth child and third son; Marian A., who died in infancy; James Alexander, who is a foreman in the machine shops of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne anil Chicago Raihva)-, at Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he entered as an apprentice, in 1886, and has occupied posi- tions in several other machine shops since then, returning to the Pennsyh'ania Company's shops in 1901, and was promoted to his present position of fore- man in 1903; and Richard Franklin, a telegraph operator at Liverpool, In- diana, with the Pennsylvania S3'stem, who was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, July 2S. 187 1. This son. the youngest of the family, is an especially proficient musician and performer on the mandolin, possessed of much artistic skill, besides being so capable in his serious line of work. j\Ir. William M. Foster was reared and educated in Pennsylvania, at- tending school at Pittsburg for one year. He was a traveling man for four years, representing different lines of business. In 1887 he took up the study of telegraphy at Fort Wayne in the office of the Pittsburg. Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad. He had completed his term of apprenticeship in one year, and then served a year as extra operator. In Decemlier. 1889. he was given a regular position, and in 1892 was appointed relief agent. In 1895 he was transferred from the latter capacity to the post of station agent at Hobart, which position he is still filling to the entire satisfaction of his companv. He is a very capable man. and his courtesy in the treatment of the |iatrons of the road has won him high commendation and been a chief factor in his success. Mr. Foster is a true-blue Republican, and fraternally is affiliated with Camp No. 5202, M. W. A., and with the M. L. McClelland Lodge No. 357, of the Masonic order at Flobart. He and his wife are members of the Unitarian church at Hobart. Mr. Foster's wife, to whom lie was married on June 24, 1896, was HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 355 I\Iiss Julia C. Butler, a daughter of William M. and Elizabeth (Johnson) Butler. The history of her father, a pioneer of Chicago and of Lake county, is detailed below. Mrs. Foster was born in Chicago, July 4, 1871, and she spent some of her girlhood days in Holiart. She received her education in the grammar schools and in the Hobart high school, antl she completed her education in the Valparaiso Normal College. Her own educational qualifica- tions led her into teaching, and before her marriage she was known as one of the successful teachers in the public schools of Hobart and Liverpool. Her interests are still afforded as far as possible to literary affairs, and she is a member of the \Voman"s Reading Club of Hobart. She is among the most highly esteemed ladies of Hobart, and her social relations are with the best people of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Foster have two children : The son, James Moulton. was born July 8, 1897, and Helen Virginia was born April 30, 1900. Shortly after their marriage Mr. Foster purchased a comfortable and commodious modern residence on Cleveland avenue in Hobart, really ex- changing for it his residence property in Fort Wayne. ]\Ir. Foster takes great pride in his nice home, and gives attention to the adornment of the nice grounds about the house, while Mrs. Foster does her part so well fcjr interior comfort and beauty. There follows the obituary of Mrs. Foster's father, as clipped from an issue of the local press dated in December, 1895. Died, December i, ^\'illiam M. Butler, Sr., one of Hobart's oldest residents. He was a native of Watertown, New York, where he was born Jannarv 22. 1824. He came to Chicago in 1837, and was one of the far- sighted pioneers who watched the frontier trading post de\'elop, like the fairy castles of a single night, mto the representative commercial metropolis of a continent. Mr. Butler was engaged in the hardware business there until the great fire. He then mo\-ed to Hobart, where he has ever since resided. He lea\-es a wife and ten children, an interesting fa'nily, to whom the sincere sympathy of this community is extended in their bereavement. The funeral services were held Wednesday forenoon from the home. "We see but dimly through the mists and vapors." — And perhaps most dimly on this earth can we penetrate the \'eil which co\ers the inmost heart and impulses of our fello^^• men. We see the puppets play upon the boards ; 356 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 1)iit of the hand beliind the curtain which controls and impels them, we know- nothing. Mr. Butler's was a unique character— rugged, and strong of purpose and will. All-sufficient unto himself, he possessed his hopes and his ambi- tions, and he fought and struggled for them with a silent determination which was only the stronger because its ordinary indications were repressed. He b.ac! many acquaintances, yet the number of men who really knew him was very few. Those who were permitted to see beneath the stern and rugged exterior found something, within the inner self of the man, to under- stand and look upon with no little admiration. He had had his troubles and his disappointments : and out of them he had brought one strong desire to provide for the children whose happiness and worldly welfare was. as a matter of fact, his highest wish. Taciturn he was. and not given to revealing his inner emotions to those about him. And yet he had moments when lie unbent, when his grim silence seemed to relax ; and in those moments, \\hich were seldom seen by any except his family, there could be read the better nature which dominated his life's hard and really unselfish struggle. He possessed in an exceptional degree the refined education and deep mental grasp which might have made him a highly known student and thinker had he chosen. His ideal of life was a plain and far from idyllic one. He was faithful to his religious tenets to the end, and in accordance with a prevouslv expressed desire, the funeral address was made by the eloquent Cora L. V. Richmond, of Chicago, one of the most brilliant leaders of the Spiritualistic exponents in America. Appropriate music was pleasingly ren- dered by the quartette choir of the Unitarian church. AUGUST CONRAD. Perhaps no one business enterprise or industry indicates more clearly the commercial and social status of a town than its hotels. The wide-awake, enterprising villages and cities must have pleasant accommodations for vis- itors and traveling men, and the foreign public judges of a community by the entertainment afforded to the strangers. In this regard the Conrad Hotel. of which Mr. Conrad is proprietor, is an index of the character and advan- tages of Tolleston, for the hostelrv will rank favorablv with those of manv a larger place, and its genial proprietor neglects nothing that can add to the comfort of his guests. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 357 Mr. Conratl is a native of Germany, his birth having occurred in tlie fatherland on the 9th of September. 1841. He was tliere reared, his boyhood days being quietly passed, and the pubHc schools of Germany afforded him his educational privileges. After putting aside his text-books he began preparation for life's practical duties by serving an ajiprenticeship to the cabinet-maker's trade. He began when fourteen years of age and worked on that way until twenty years of age, when, in accordance with the laws of the fatherland demanding military service from every able-bodied son. he joined, the German army and served for three years. Desirous of benefiting- his financial condition Mr. Conrad resolved to come to America, having heard much of its superior fiusiness opportunities and possibilities. Accordingly he bade adieu to home and friends and in 1866 sailed for the new world, landing eventually at New York. He did not tarry in the eastern metropolis, however, liut made his way at once into the interior of the country, locating in Chicago, where he followed his trade as an employe until 1870. In that year he removed to Clarke Station, where he entered the emplo}' of the Washington Ice Company, but later returned to Chicago, although he still remained in the service of the \\'ashington Ice Company. In 1879 he came to Tolleston, where he embarkctl in the hotel business, in which he has continued to the present time, co\"ering a period of twenty-five consecutive years. As hotel proprietor he is well known, being a genial landlord, and has made it his study to understand the needs and wishes of his guests and to meet these inasfar as is possible. He has obtained a good patronage and has made the Conrad Hotel a credit to the town. In 1870 was celeljrated the marriage of August Conrad and Miss Harmena Ratzlow, who died in 1S98 leaving four children, namely: Otto. Emma, Minnie and Paul, all of whom are yet under the parental roof. ^Ir. Conrad has been quite active and influential in public affairs in his community and is a recognized leader of public thought and action in Tolles- ton, where his worth and .ability have been recognized by election to public office. In 1892 he was chosen by popular suffrage to the position of town- ship trustee, in which capacity he served in a most acceptable manner for four years. He then was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry Seegers in the office of trustee. He was also supervisor for two 358 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. terms, or four years. Mr. Conrad cast liis first presidential vote for General Grant, but since that time has been a Democrat and is a stanch advocate of the ])arty, bielieving that its platform contains the best elements of good government. Air. Conrad is well known in his part of the county and has been identified with its upbuilding aufl progress through a quarter of a century. In every ofiice that he has been called upon to fill he has discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity so that over the record of his public career as well as his private life there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. He came to America empty-handed, but the strong and salient cliaracteristics of the German people have been manifested in liis career, and the hope that led him to come to the United States has theref'ire been more than realized. As time has passed he has made financial progress and has also gained in addition to his material success the good will and confidence of those with whom he has been associated. ALEXANDER C. THOMPSON. Alexander C. Thompson, formerly identified with agricultural interests in Hobart and now living a retired life, was born in the town of Streetsboro, Portage county, Ohio, on the loth of July, 1838, and is the third son in a family of eleven children, whose parents were John and Elizabeth (Cock- burn) Thompson. The father was a native of Edinburg. Scotland, and the mother was born in Dalkeith, Scotland. They were married in that country, and two of their children were born there, but the others were born in Ohio. Alexander C. Thompson was reared in the county of his nativity, pur- sued a common school education, and afterward spent one year in Hiram College when General James A. Garfield was a teacher there. He wgs reared to farm labor and continued upon the old homestead until 1861, when he left the plow and donned the blue uniform in defense of the stars and stripes. He enlisted in Company E, First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as a private, in response to President Lincoln's first call for troops. He served for one year and then returned to Portage county, Ohio. Later he visited different states of the Union and finally located in Ford county, Illinois, at Paxton. There he was engaged in farming for four years, after which he came to Lake county, Indiana, in 1865. He then bought a farm in Ross township of partly impro\'ed land, and devoted his attention to its further cultivation and HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 350 development until iSgy. He placed the fields in excellent condition so that they returned to him large crops. He made substantial improvements upon his land and conductetl his farm interests according to the most approved plans and progressive ideas. Year by year his financial resources were in- creased through the sale of his harvests, and in 1897, with a \-ery desirable competence, he retired from business life and took up his abode in Hobart. In 1862 Mr. Th.ompson was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Wat- son, a native of Lorain county, Ohio, and a daughter of John and Elizabeth Watson. This marriage has been blessed with three children: Frederick, William and Hugh. The family is widely and favorably known in Hobart. and their circle of friends is extensive. ]\Ir. "Thompson has figured quite prominentl}' in public affairs, and his worth and ability have lieen recognized by his fellow citizens, who have frequently called upon him to serve in public office. He was county assessor for two years, previously he was assessor of Ross township for eighteen years, and in all matters of citizenship has been progressive and helpful. His political allegiance is given the Democracy, and he is a Mason, lielonging to the Hobart Lodge. He has a pleasant home in Hobart ami other property there, and in addition he owns his valuable farm of two hundred acres in Ross township, which he now rents. He has one of the old deeds executed bv President Fillmore, which is a rare docu- ment. JOHN HILLMAN. In the field of political and commercial life in Hobart John Hillman is well known and is nunil)ered among the leading and influential citizens of the town. A young man. he possesses the enterprising spirit of the west, which has been the dominant factor in producing the wonderful development of this section of the country. He is the chief executive officer of Hobart and is giving to the town a progressive and business-like administration. Mr. Hillman was born in Elgin, Illinois, on the 7th of May, 1870, and is a son of Frederick and Hannah (Moss) Hillman, both of whom were natives of Germanv, where they spent their childhood days and were mar- ried. John Hillman is their youngest son. His mother was twice married and has one daughter and two sons by her last marriage. In his early boyhood Mr. Hillman was brought to Lake county and was reared upon the home farm in Hobart township, pursuing his education in the 3(!0 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. common schools. He remained with his step-father nnti! he started out in life on his own account, and then engaged in the saloon business, which he conducted continuously since 1889. He is also a stockholder and director in the First State Bank of Hobart, and is thus connected with financial in- terests in his part of the county. He has also taken an active part in public affairs, and, is now serving for the third year as a member of the town board and at this writing is president of that body. In fact, he has continued as its chief executive officer throughout his connection therewith, and his efforts in behalf of Hobart have been practical, effective and far-reaching. He is chairman of the township central committee of the Republican party, and does all in his power to secute Republican successes. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Independent Order of Foresters of America. September 27, 1889, Mr. Hillman was united in marriage to Miss ]Mary Neiman, and to them has been born a son, Fred. They have many warm friends in Hobart and throughout the surrounding district, and their own home is noted for its gracious hospitality. JAMES BRANNON. James Brannon, now deceased, was a well-known and highly respected citizen of Lake county, and his life record should form a place in the history of this section of the state. He was born in Boston, Summit county, Ohio, July 3T, 18 19, and was a son of William Brannon, a native of Pennsylvania and of Irish descent. The father died in Boston, Summit county, Ohio, when his son James was but nine years of age. The boy afterward lived with an uncle until sixteen years of age, when he started out in life on his own account. He worked by the month for two years and never lost a day during that time. A\nien living in Ohio he belonged to an independent mili- tary company and took part in the drills which were common at that time. Although he earned but eight dollars per month at farm labor, he managed to save most of the amount, and with the money which he had acquired he came to Indiana in 1843, establishing bis home in Lake county. Here he preempted a tract of land, first owning a farm of eighty acres, to \\hich he afterward added forty acres. Later he sold that property and bought a soldier's land warrant, wherewith he secured one hundred and sixty acres of land in West Creek township, becoming owner of this property in 1850. As a farmer he was energetic, practical and progressive. He worked hard c* f-^ Mb^ (^^Cx..^ /^fz^i^.,.!.^*^^-^ -es^^^^/x^ 7 i A^iyn/]rurv\^^_^^ HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. 361 year after year, and as his financial resources increased he extended the boundaries of his farm by additional purchases until at the time of his death in 1898 he was the owner of seven hundred and fifty acres of very valuable land, which had been accumulated through his own industry, perseverance and capable management. Mr. Brannon was ^ery well known in the county as an honored pioneer settler and enterprising agricultiu'ist, and as a citizen he favored public progress and improvement along material, social, intellectual and moral lines. He served as a trustee of West Creek township for twenty years, and was a life-long Republican, heartily endorsing the principles of the party. He held membership in the Presbyterian church, in which he ser\'ed as an elder for a number of years and he was very liberal in his contributions to the cause of Christianity. His life was at all times actuated by honorable and manly principles. Mr. Brannon was united in marriage to Miss Eleanor Foster, on the 17th of May, 1851. She was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, March 25, 1832, and was a daughter of Elijah D. and Jemima (Nichols) Foster. Her father was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts, and came to Lake county in 1843, locating on a tract of land in West Creek township, where he en- gaged in general farming" throughout his business career. He passed away at the advanced age of eighty-three years and his wife lived to be fifty-six years of age. Both parents of Mrs. Brannon had been married before, and the father had two sons by his former marriage, who were early settlers of T>ake county, A. D. Foster coming to Indiana in 1837, while George S. Foster arrived in 1838. There were but two white families in this part of the county at that time. The mother of Mrs. James Brannon was Jemima Nichols, and she was born near Chelsea, Orange county, Vermont, February 7, 1792. She married first Amos Loveland. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, entering the ranks at the age of fourteen. He was pres- ent at the execution of Major Andre. His occupation was that of an agri- culturist. He was a Democrat in his political afiiliations. The grandfather Nichols was also a si)ldier in the Re\T)lutionary war. Mrs. Brannon's grand- mother was a niece nf the celebrated Cotton Mather of historic fame. The parents of Mrs. Brannon had ten children, and she was Iiut eleven years of age at the time of the remo'val of the familv to this state. .She has since 3«2 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. lived in Lake county, making her home here from a time in \\hich there were no frame houses in the county, all the dwellings being built of logs. She has. therefore, witnessed the greater part of the growth and develop- ment of this portion of the state and can relate many interesting incidents concerning pioneer life and experience here. To 'Sir. and Airs. Brannon were liorn five children: Lucina, the wife of AI. E. Belshaw : Julia, the de- ceased wife of T. A. ^^'ason: Perry, who lives in Xorth Dakota: George D., who is a practicing physician at Crown Point : and Melvin. \\ ho has charge of the Biology Department in the State L'niversity at Grand Forks. North Dakota. Airs. Brannon is the owner of a valuable farm of one hundred and seventy-one acres, which she rents. She holds membership in the Presby- terian church at Lowell and is well known throughout the county, being a representative of one of the honored pioneer families. HON. THADDEUS S. FANCHER. Hon. Thaddeus S. Fancher has been an attorney at Crown Point. In- diana, for over thirty years, and has been interested in the draining and im- provement of the swamp land of southern Lake county. He has depended on his own efforts for the advancement made in his profession, ha\ing de- frayed his early expenses for education by teaching school. He has had a very successful career, both from his individual standpoint and for the gen- eral welfare, and his services to the county and state as a legislator and promoter of public improvements indicate his worth as a citizen. His grandfather, Thaddeus S. Fancher. was of French descent, a native of Connecticut, and was a pioneer to Huron county. Ohio, where his son, T. S. Fancher, was born in 1809. The latter lived all his life on one farm in Greenwich township. Huron county, and was a prosperous farmer, living to be eighty-four years old. He was a member of the Aletbodist church. He married Amy Chapman, who was born and reared in Richland county, Ohio, and is now living in Huron county at the age of eighty-seven. Her father. Cyrus Chapman, was of Scotch descent and a pioneer of Richland county. These parents had ten children, eight sons and two daughters, and five are living at present. Hon. Thaddeus S. Fancher, who is the seventh child and fourth son. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 363 was born in Huron county, Ohio, August 31, 1848. and was reared there. His schooling was received in tlie faniihar little red schoolhouse, which was situated a mile from his home, and which contained the primitive equip- ment of the temples of learning of that day, such as hard slab seats, board writing desk, etc. After leaving the district school Mr. Fancher began at- tending Oberlin College, teaching school during the winter to pay expenses. He came to Crown Point in 1868, and for the following two years read law with Major Griffin and taught school. In 1870 he went to the Michigan State Uni\-ersity at .\nn Arbor, and in 1871 graduated in the law depart- ment. He had been admitted to the bar in Crown Point in 1870, and im- mediately on his return from Ann Arbor took up practice. He lost no time in gaining a client or patronage of some kind, for eighty cents was the entire capital to tide him over the initiatory stages of practice. In the same year he was married and settled down to the career of usefulness which has been continued to the present. In 1873 he was elected county superintendent of schools for a term of two years, and was re-elected, but served only a short part of this term, resigning to lake up practice. He was prosecuting attorney of the county for four years, and in 1879 ^^''S elected to the state legislature by the Republican party. In 1881 he was returned to his seat by the largest majority ever given any candidate in the county up to that time. He was eighty-one days in the first session and one hundred and one in the second, two of the longest sessions on record. The state statutes were revised at the time, and he was one of the revision committee. Since 1881 he has been con- tinuously engaged in practice and also in dealing in land. Mr. Fancher owns a large tract of land in Lake county, and for the past fifteen years has made a specialty of constructing ditches and draining marsh land. He has had the legal business invoI\-ed in the construction of over one hundred and fifty miles of ditching, authorized under the law of 1881 passed while he was a member of the legislature, and which has cost the landowners up to this time two hundred thousand dollars, and has re- sulted in untold benefit to the citizens of Lake county. This land in the Calu- met district was formerly worth comparati\eIy nothing, but now sells for sixty, seventy and eighty dollars per acre. The first ditch uhich he con- structed in the Kankakee marsh in 1885 is known as the Singleton ditch, and is seventeen miles long and cost se\'enteen thousand dollars. 364 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Mr. Fanclier married, in 1871. Miss Ardelle W'ashloorn. a daughter of Charles A. and Marietta (Griffin) W'asliborn. Tliey have one son. Thad- deus ]Milton Fanclier. who is attending- the schools of Crown Point. Mr. Fancher is a memher of the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. CHARLES E. NICHOLS. Charles E. Nichols, a representative of the business life of Lowell, is engaged in dealing in hay. grain and seeds. He has lived in Lake county throughout his entire life, his birth ha\-ing occurred in \\'est Creek township, on the 14th of December, 1861. His grandfather. William Nichols, was born in New York and was of French and English descent. His father. H. R. Nichols, was born in Madison county, New York, and came to Lake county in 1836, casting in his lot among the pioneer settlers of this portion of the state. He first located in Crown Point, afterward lived in Cedar Creek township, and subsequently in \\'est Creek township. Lake county ; he entered land from the government and developed the wild tract into richlv cultivated fields, continuing his active connection with farming interests throughout the period of his business career. He lived to be seventy-nine years of age and spent sixty-two years of that time in Lake county. His early political allegiance was given to the Whig party, and upon its dissolu- tion he joined the ranks of the new Republican party, with which he con- tinued to affiliate until his death. He was well known in this portion of Indiana, and as a pioneer settler he aided in laying broad and deep the foundation for the present development and progress of the state. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Phoebe Eliza Kenyon. and was a native of Rhode Island, whence she was brought to Lake county, Indiana, in 1838, when but twelve years of age. Her father. John C. Kenyon, was one of the earliest settlers of Lake county and made his home at Pleasant Grove from the time of his arrival in this state until his death, which occurred in 1888. Mrs. Nichols still survives her husband, and now resides in Lowell in her seventy-eighth year. She has been a resident of Lake county for sixty- five years, and has, therefore, been a witness of the greater part of its growth, development and upbuilding. She can relate many interesting inci- dents of pioneer days and is familiar with its history from the period of early ^ettlement here down to the present time. To ]\Ir. and Mrs. H. R. HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. 365 Nicliols were Ijorn six children, three sons and three daughters, all of \vlu)m were natives of Lake county, while tive are still living, namely: William C, a resident of Lowell ; Irving, who died at the age of thirty-one years ; Hannah N., the wife of JMortimer Gragg, of Topeka, Kansas; Ella JM., the wife of Cyrus Dickenson, of Lowell : and Alma, the wife of Edson Foster, of Chicago Heights, Illinois. Charles E. Nichols, the youngest member of the family, was but six years of age when his parents removed from the farm to L(3well and there he began his education in the public schools. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of life for him in his boyhood. When nineteen years of age he entered business life as a dealer in hay and grain, being asso- ciated with his father and brother from 1880 until 1886. In the latter year he went to Chicago, where he was engaged in the same line of business for about seven months, and from 1887 until i8go he was a grain dealer of Crown Point. He again went to Chicago, in 1890, where he remained for about a year and while there was a member of the board of trade. In 1891 he returned to Lowell, since which time he has engaged in dealing in hay, grain and seeds at this place. He makes large purchases and sales, and his well conducted business interests have brought to him very gratifying success. He has now a very large patronage, and his annual sales reach an extensive figure. He is a stockholder and director in the Lowell National Bank and is well known in business circles as one whose success is the legitimate outcome of his energ\\ determination and honorable dealing. In 1888 Mr. Nichols was united in marriage to Miss Edna May Smith, a daughter of T. M. Smith, of Hammond, Indiana, and they have one child, Stella. Mr. Nichols belongs to Colfax Lodge No. 378, F. & A. M.. and to Lowell Lodge No. 300, K. of P. In politics he has ever been a stanch Republican, has served as a member of the school board, and takes an active interest in the cause of education and in everything pertaining to the welfare and upbuilding of his native county. With the exception of the brief inter- vals passed in Chicago, he has always resided within the borders of Lake county, and his life record is therefore well known to his fellow-citizens here. while the fact that many of his stanchest friends are numliered among those with whom he has been acquainted from boyhood is indicative of the fact that his career has ever been such as to command respect and confidence. 3(56 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. In July, 1904. Mr. Nichols was appointed by the President of the National Hay Association, chairman of the Arbitration National Committee. At the ronvention at St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Nichols attended and it was subse- (juently that he was appointed to this responsible position. HORATIO R. NICHOLS. Horatio R. Nichols was born in Fenner, Madison county. New York, January 25, 181S, and died in Lowell, April 13, 1897, leaving to mourn him a devoted wife, five children, four sisters and one brother, one son, three sisters, and one brother having preceded him to the Spirit Land. His age at the time of death was seventy-nine years, two months and seventeen davs. Mr. Nichols worked upon his father's farm, following the usual routine of a farmer boy's life: that is, laboring on the farm during the summer, attending the district school in winter, until he had reached his eighteenth year. At this time a tide of emigration set in towards the great and grow- ing west. .\ strong desire took possession of Mr. Nichols to see the western country, and, although }-et in his feens, he, in company with his brother, bade adieu to the old homestead and set upon their journey townrds the setting sun. They reached LaPorte, Indiana, June 2. 1836. Plere he sought and obtained work on a farm, where he remained until December following, when he again started west, arriving in this county the same month. Liking the appearance of this part of the country he concluded to settle here. .\ man by the name of Nolan who preceded Mr. Nichols about two years to this county, lived in a little cal;in near where the lirickyard of H. J. Nichols was. which is unw Washington street on the west side. The Nichols brothers ])u.rchased Nolan's claim, which then included a large share of the site of Lowell, for which they paid two liundred and fifty dollars. Mr. Nolan moved farther west. In the following May Mr. Nichols moved onto his claim, where he and his brother continued to !i\e alone for several years. Tb.ey were known by tlie neighbors as "the nld Ijachelors." After iKuing "batched it" for fi\-c years Mr. Nichols concluded it was not "good for man to be alone." So he wooed, won and wedded JMiss Phoebe E. Kenyon. January 23, 1845. Fifty years from that date a golden wedding was given in their capacious west side home. Mr. Nichols was converted and united with the Methodist Episcopal church at the age of thirteen years and reuniteil JUj ^jt^RJ/fu^ /^/l .A^'&yt^ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 367 witl'i the church in Lowell under the ministr^• of J. F. McDaniel. His first vote tor president was cast for Alartin V^an Burcn in 1840. Thus you see he identified himself with the Democratic party, but being of philanthropic turn of mini! and believing that all men should be free he became a Free Soiler. Since 1856 he has voted with the Republican party. At the time Mr. Nichols settled here his nearest neighbor on the west was Robert Wilkinson, who li\ed wdiere Mrs. Marvin now lives. Jacob Mendinthall lived where Captain J. L. Manning now lives: Samuel Bryant, Duane Bryant and Elias Bryan lived on the Perry Jones farm, Ross Sanger farm, and John Nichols farm, respectively. Although Mr. Nichols was not one of the oldest settlers here he lived to see this part of the country reclaimed and made to blossom and bloom as the rose. Funeral services, which were attended by a large concourse of sorrow- ing friends, were held at the Methodist Episcopal church, the Rev. J. B. Sites, assisted by Rev. E. P. Bennett, ofificiating, after which the mortal remains of the beloved man were interred in the Lowell cemeter\', there to rest until the great judgment day comes. WILLL\M SCHARBACH, SR. Numliered among the leading business men of Hobart is William Schar- bach. a dealer in lumber and building materials. He is a nati\e son of Ger- many, and in his career has manifested many of the strong and sterling traits of the people of the fatherland. His birth occurred in Sophienhofi' bei- Demmin. Stettin, October 15, 1843, l''S parents being William and Marv (Stoll) Scharbach, both of whom are now deceased. His father came to the United States in 1867, locating in Chicago. In taking up the personal history of William Scharbach we present to our readers the life record of one who is widel)- and favorably known in Hobart and Lake county. His education was acquired in Germany, and he remained there until after he had attained his majority. He was but twentv- four years of age, when in 1867 he bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed for the United States, hoping that he might find better business oppor- tunities in the new world. He did not tarry long on the Atlantic coast, but made his way at once into the interior of the country, locating in Chicago, where he was engaged in the lumber business. He came to Hobart in 1893 368 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. and established the lumber yard whicii he is now conducting. He deals in all kinds of lumber and building materials, and has tleveloped an enterprise which has reached extensive and profitable proportions. Ernestly desiring to please his patrons, he has through his obliging manner, honorable dealing and reasonable prices won a large share of the public trade. He also con- ducts a planing mill in connection with the lumber trade. In 1868 Mr. Scharbach was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Hagen, who was born in Germany and came to America in 1867. They have five children : Frank, William, Emil, Bernhard and Frederick. Mr. Scharbach is recognized as a stalwart Republican and has been town trustee for one term, but his time and attention are chiefly devoted to his business interests, in which he has met with signal success. Frank C. Scharbach, the eldest son of William Scharbach, was born in Chicago, January 31, 1873, and was largely reared in that city, attending German schools. He was also a student in Concordia College at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for three years, during which time he made a special study of languages. After completing his education he joined his father in the lum- ber business. He was twenty years of age when he came to Hobart, and he is now a well known factor in commercial circles. He, too, is a stanch Republican and is very active in the work of his party, serving as chairman of the township central committee. He is now precinct committeeman of the second precinct of Hobart township. On the jqth of September, 1895, ^''^ wedded Miss Mary Schumacher, a daughter of John Jeremiah Schumacher, and they have one daughter, Gertrude. Both Mr. Scharbach and his son are well known, and the business enterprise and laudable amljition of the young man, supplementing the sound judgment of the senior ])artner. render this firm a very strong one in Hobart. WILLIAM EDWARD BELSHAW. William Edward Belshaw, formerly identified with agricultural and horticultural interests in Lake county and now lix'ing a retired life in Lowell, manifested throughout his business career those sterling traits of character which lead to honorable and satisfactory success. He was resolute and energetic and these qualities were resultant factors in winning him the pros- perity that he now enjoys. He was born in West Creek township. Lake yZ'*-T_tf<-/ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 369 county, September 28, 1848. His father, William Belshaw, was a native of England and when a young man came to America, locating at Dot)r Prairie, LaPorte county, Indiana, whence he came to Lake county about 1836. Few settlements had been made within the borders of this county at that time. Much of the land was still in possession of the government, and in consequence was uncidtivated and unimproved. The streams had not been bridged and the forests were uncut, and it remained to such enter- prising and progressi\-e citizens as Mv. Belsliaw to reclaim tlie wild district for the purposes of ci\-ilization.. He secured a tract of land from the gov- ernment and developed a good farm in West Creek township, whereon he spent his remaining days, his life labors being ended in death when he was seventv-one years of age. His religious views were in harmony with the doctrines of what is known as the Church of God. He married Harriet Jones, a nati\-e of Ohio, in which state she was reared until eight years of age, when she came to Lake county. Indiana, with her father, Harr\- Jones, the family home being fstablished in ^^'est Creek township amid the condi- tions of frontier life. Mrs. Belshaw lived to be about sixty-eight years of age. By her marriage she became the mother of seven children, three sons and four daughters, of whom one daughter died in infancy. The others are all living, as follows : William Edward, of this review ; Mrs. Mary Cath- cart. of LaPorte, Indiana: Florence, the wife of James Chitwood, of Lowell; Charles, who is a resident of Oregon ; Lucy, the wife of Sherman Hayden, of Los Angeles, California; and John, a farmer, of Eugene, Oregon. W'illiam Edward Belshaw was reared under the parental roof upon the old homestead farm in \A'est Creek township. His education was acquired by attenrling the common schools for about two months in the winter season, and throughout the remainder of tiie year he worked upon the home farm, doing such service as his age and strength permitted. As the years ad,- vanced he gained in proficiency and he continued to assist his father until twenty-four years of age. On Christmas day of 1874 Mr. Belshaw was united in marriage to Miss Lucina Brannon. daug^hter of James and Eleanor (Foster) Brannon, who are mentioned on another page of this work. Mrs. Belshaw is their oldest child and was born and reared in West Creek township. Lake county. Mrs. Belshaw received her primary education in the district schools and 24 370 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Lowell high school and then she was a student in the Western Female Sem- inary at Oxford, Ohio, for two years. She was a successful teacher in her native county for six years. Religiously she is a member of the Presbyterian church, and was also a teacher in the Sunday schools. She is the mother of six children, three sons and three daughters, and five are living, as follows : J. W. Belshaw is a scccessful attorney-at-law in Lov/ell; he graduated in the class of 1892 in the Lowell high school and afterwards was a student in the Normal at Valparaiso. He was a teacher one year in the Lowell high school and a number of years in his native county. He read law with Attorney R. C. \\'ood and upon his being ad- mitted to the bar began the practice of his profession at Lowell. He wedded Miss Maud Holshaw, in July, 1898, and one little ilaughter graces this union, by name Ernestine. He has an attractive residence in Lowell, and is one of the representative citizens of the village. Lewis D.. a resident of West Creek township and a farmer, wedded Miss Emma Stuppy. and has two daughters, Mabel and Edith. Lewis graduated from the teachers' course in Valparaiso Normal and taught four years in Lake county. His wife was also a teacher in the same county. Albert B.. also a resident of West Creek township and a practical farmer, wedding Miss Alatilda Hadders. Julia, at home with her parents, was educated in Lowell high school, but her chosen profession is music. She was educated in music at Steinway Hall at Chicago, and is a successful teacher in west Lake county. She is a member of the Presbyterian church. Edith, the youngest, is in the fourth grade of the public schools. Mrs. Belshaw's progenitors were heroes in the Revolu- tionary war and the direct descendants are eligible to become members of the society of Sons and Daughters of the Revolution. Mrs. Belshaw went with her husband as a bride to a part of the old Belshaw homestead in West Creek township, and there Mr. Belshaw was engaged in general farming until 1895. In that year he built his present brick residence in Lowe'l, took up his abode thereon and is now engaged in fruit-growing. His life has been characterized by unfaltering industry and good management, and suc- cess has attended his efforts. He is now the owner of a farm of one hun- dred and thirty-six acres, on which his son resides. He is also a stockholder in the State National Bank, of Lowell, and his wife is the owner of a farm of one hundred and thirty acres in West Creek township, to which Mr. Belshaw gives his personal supervision. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 371 yiv. Belsliaw gives his political allegiance to the Democracy and has been chairman of the township central committee. He takes an acti\-c interest in the work of the party, and his efforts in its behalf have been effective and far-reaching in the locality where he resides. He is at the present writing nominee for county treasurer on the Democratic ticket. He keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day and also has a broad general knowledge of matters touching the general interests of society and the welfare of the country. Having spent his entire life in Lake county, he is well known to its citizens, and the fact that many of his friends are num- bered among those who ha\-e known him from boyhood is an indication that his career has been honoraI:)le, straightforward and worthy of respect. \\-ESLEY PATTEE. Wesley Pattee, of ^\■est Creek township, Ijelongs to thai better class of citizens whose li\'es form the truest history of an}- portion of country, national or local, and his genealogical and personal recon.l has many points of interest and worth to add to the value of this history of Lake county. He is a nati^•e of northwestern Indiana, having been born in the county of LaPorte, l\Iay 22, 1836. He was the fifth of a family of eight children, six sons and two daughters, whose parents were Le\vis and Susan (Mun- ger) Pattee, and he is the youngest of the three yet living, the other two being: Cyrus, married and a retired farmer of Lowell; and Sophronia, wife of \^olney Dickey, of Grant Park, Illinois. Two of the son.s were in the Civil war as members of Company B, Twentieth Indiana Infantry, and w'ere taken prisoners at the battle of Gettysburg and starved in the prison pens of Libby and Belle Isle. Mr. Pattee's father was liorn in Montreal, Canada, in 1803, and died aged seventy-three in 1876, He lived in Canada until he was of age, then came to Huron county, Ohio, where be remained till after his marriage, and took up his abode in LaPorte county. Indiana, at the lirst years of that county's history. From there, after a few years' residence, he moved over to West Creek township in this county, and twenty years later became a resident of Kankakee county, Illinois, where he passed the rest of his life. He purchased four hundred acres of land in this latter county, and in his later years enjoyed very comfortable circumstances. He was a successful man in business affairs, was known for his decided and strong 372 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. character, and made his influence felt wherever he lived. His ancestry was traced back to France, while his wife was of Scotch lineage. ' His wife, Susan ]Munger by maiden name, was born in Seneca county. New York, in 1803, and she attained the great age of ninety-two years. She was a Pres- byterian in faitli. Mr. Pattee was reared in LaPorte county during the first twelve years of his life, and then in Lake and Kankakee counties. He is one of the men of the present who can look back to a log cabin school as the scene of their first educational experiences. The building which he recalls having attended in ^^'est Creek township was constructed of hewn logs and was about twelve by twenty feet in dimensions. He did his writing on a long Ixmrd placed aslant on pins driven into the wall, and he sat on a rough bench with no back. The teacher's place of honor was a mere stool. Light and ventilation came through the apertures left by the removal of two logs, filled in with panes of glass. He studied the elementary spelling book and Smith's arith- metic, while seated around the big box stove that occupied the center of the room. Subscription schools were the only kind known at that time, and twenty dollars was looked upon as a munificent salary to pay a teacher each month. During his own lifetime and in this very township of West Creek Mr. Pattee has witnessed a progression and even revolution of educational methods and equipment such as were not brought about in all the centuries before the time of his youth. And not alone in education has Mr. Pattee seen and been a part of progress. He and his wife well rememlier when not a railroad crossed the bounds of Lake county, while now fifteen lines network the county in every direction. He has been in Chicago when the teams would mire down on the State street thoroughfare : Lowell was not thought of in his youth, and while he was growing up the now rich agri- cultural region of West Creek township was mainly a marsh. When Mr. Pattee was twenty-six years old, on December 13. 1862, he married Miss Elizabeth Pattee, and they have lived and plied their daily tasks side by side now for over forty years. During this time six children, three sons and three daughters, were born to them, and three are living. Hattie is the wife of Richard Sailor, a prosperous farmer of Eagle Creek township, this county, and they have seven children, all living, Walter, Mun- ger, Elmer, Chester, Mabel, Cirilla and Mildred, of whom Walter and Mun- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 373 ger ha\-e reached the eighth grade in school : Mrs. Sailor was a teaclier for two years in her home county. Miss Cora, who was educated in tlie Lowell high school, is noted for her special proficiency as an artist in crayon and oil, and some of her finely wrought crayon pieces hang on the walls of the Lowell National Bank and attract attention from all \-isitors, while her exhiliits at the county fair ha\'e always won the rihlions. C\'rus, the only son living of Mr. and ih^s. Pattee, took two years" work in the Lowell high school and completed the course in the Vories Business College at Lidian- apolis in 1902. He is a member of the Lowell band, affiliates with the Knights of Pythias, lodge No. 300, at Lowell, and with the Knights of Columbia Council No. 37. and is a stanch Republican and an ardent supporter of "Teddy" and his party. Mrs. Pattee was born on Door prairie, Scipio township, LaPorte county, February 13. 1837, and was the second in a family of twelve children, six sons and six daughters, she being the oldest of the five survivors ; Melvina is the wife of C. C. Pattee, a retired farmer of Lowell; Emily is the widow of Israel Koplin, of Kansas ; George is married and farming in LaPorte county : and James is married and residing on the old homestead in LaPorte county. Mrs. Pattee's father was born in Canada and came to Fluron county, Ohio, at the age of twelve, growing to manhood there. He was a carpen- ter and joiner by trade, and was also a sailor on the great lakes, having put into the port of Chicago when there were but two houses there. He came to LaPorte county and purchased land of the government, being among the very earlv settlers of that county, and his son James has in his possession the parchment deed to the land. He was an old-line Whig and later a Republican. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church at Door Village, and he helped erect the edifice there. His wife was born in Huron county, Ohio, and was seventy years old at the time of her death. Mr. and Mrs. Pattee began their domestic life in Yellowhead township in Kankakee county, Illinois, and lived for a time in a little log cabin home, but prosperity soon came to them and gave them a good home and com- fortable circumstances. They resided in Kankakee county until 1882, when they took up their home a half a mile from the postoftice of Lowell in West Creek township. They remodeled the house into a pretty country residence, put up various good buildings on the farm, and their estate is now known 374 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. as one of the valuable and model farm properties of the township. They ha^■e one hundred and six acres lying in West Creek and Cedar Creek town- ships, and of this twenty-six acres lie within the corporation of Lowell. One of their valued possessions is a parchment deed executed April i, 1848, under the signature of President Polk, and this is one of the few docu- ments of the kind in west Lake county. Mr. Pattee is a Reptiblican. having cast his first presidential vote for the first Republican nominee, General Fremont, and he has never deviated in his support of the Grand Old Party. Airs. Pattee is a meml>er of the Chri.s- tian church. DANIEL BEAUMAN STURTEVANT. Daniel Beauman Sturtevant, of section 28, Ross townshi]), has lived in this vicinity all his life, and from his boyhood days of sixty years ago to the present almost the entire development of Lake county has taken place, so that few men are better informed by actual personal experience of the ma- terial history of this portion of the county. He has lived continuously on one farm for over fifty-five years, and all the associations and interests of his life are bound up with it, and there it is his good pleasure to pass tlie re- maining days of his busy and prosperous career and await the summons from an activity that has borne much fruit and been worthy and beneficial to the community in general. Mr. Sturtevant was born in Porter county, Indiana, just three miles east of the farm where he has lived so long, on April jj, 1840. His father, John Sturtevant, was born in the town of Barton, Vermont, in 1806, and was reared, educated and married there. He came to LaPorte county, In- diana, in 1833, being one of the first carpenters to follow his craft in that now populous county. In 1836 he moved to Porter county, locating on the farm where he remained until 1848, when he settled on the old farm in Lake county now owned by his son, and where he died on January i, 1858. lie belongs to the list of early settlers of the county, and was also successful in his general career. He married Miss Louise Cass, who was a native of New Hampshire and a cousin of Dr. Lewis Cass, who was one of the pioneers and foremost men of Lake county. She died at the age of thirty-eight years, having been the mother of three sons and three daughters. Mr. D. B. Sturtevant. who was the second child and eldest son, was HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 375 eight years old wlieii lie went witli his parents to Lal^XX^i Crt-^l^. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 409 recognized for its integrity and the personal excellence of its individual members. The Snttons are of English origin, and those of the name have the advantage of a well knit and wholesome ancestry, with reputation throughout for substantiality and solidit3^ Mr. Sutton was born in Rush county. Indiana. October 9, 1846. There were eight children in the family, four sons and four daughters, seven of whom are living, and more detailed mention is made of them in the history of Mr. Otto Sutton to be found elsewhere in this \'olume. The parents were Gabriel F. and Almeda THall) Sutton. The father was a man who stood four-square to the world, and is one of the most worthy characters that figure in the history of Lake county. He was an exemplary citizen, and set a good example to his children and family, who in turn have honored him. He began life as a poor man in Rush county of this state, and when he died a few years ago in Lake county he was reckoned as a man of affluence, and left a fine property to his children, besides the rich heritage of his own name. He was a lover of relics and antiquities, and had in his possession many articles and papers connected with the earlier history of the Sutton family. His aged widow is still living a contented and peaceful life on the old home- stead not far from her children. Mr. Festus Sutton was reared in his native county of Rush until he was about fifteen or sixteen years old, and since then he has been a resident of Lake county. He !iad already gained most of his education before coming to Lake county, but also here continued his schooling for a time in the public institutions of learning of the county. Self-application has been the ground for most of his success in life, and in his life work of farming he has made a very creditable success. He has also been engaged for the past thirty years in grain-threshing in northwest Indiana, and is one of the best known men in this part of the state in this line of industr}'. Mr. Sutton lived at home with his parents until he was over forty years old. On June 20. 18S9. he was united in marriage with Miss Altie L. Cover, and since then they have resided on their pleasant and profitable homestead in West Creek township. Mrs. Sutton was born in Belmont county, Ohio. June 28, 1868, being a daughter of George N. and Harriett (Jarvis) Cover. When she was four years old she came to Jasper county, Indiana, where she 410 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. was reared and received her education in the public schools. She is very fond of good literature as of all other things that enhance the beauty, coin- fort and pleasure of home. Mr. and Mrs. Sutton have one daughter, Altie Almeda. Mrs. Sutton's father still lives in Jasper county, where he is a well known farmer. She was one of eleven children, five sons and six daughters,, and in this family there were four pairs of twins. Ten of these children are living-, and ]\Irs. Sutton is the only one in Lake county; two are residents of Oklahoma, and the rest of Jasper county. The following is the obituary of Mrs. Sutton's mother : Harriett (Jarvis) Cover was born in Noble county. Ohio. June 25, 1839; died at her home in Union township, Jasper county, Indiana, January 10, 1890, aged fifty years, six months, and sixteen days. ]\Ioved with her parents when three years old. to Belmont county. Ohio, and was there married to George N. Cover, December 15, 1859. She was the mother of eleven chil- dren, six girls and five boys, all of whom survive her. Among these eleven children are four pairs of twins. She was a teacher in the public schools for eleven terms, and a teacher and worker in the Sunday schools for many years. She joined the Christian church in 1853 and was a faithful and zealous member until the end. Her husband and all her children were present at the funeral, and also Mrs. Sarah E. Johnson, a sister, from Belmont county, Ohio. The funeral was held Sunday, January 12, and was conducted by Elder E. D. Pierson. The interment was in Prater graveyard. The sorrowing husband and children desire to express, through these columns, their smcere thanks to the many friends for aid and sympathy in iheir affliction. "A precious one from us has gone, A voice we loved is stilled; A place is vacant in our home, W^hich never can be filled. God in His wisdom has recalled The boon His love had given ; And though the body moulders here, The soul is safe in heaven.'' Mr. Sutton cast his first vote for General Grant, and as far as consistent HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 411 witli Iiis personal activity has never failed to support with enthusiasm the principles of the Grand Old Party. He has been selected as a delegate to the district and county conventions at various times. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias. Lodge No. 300, at Lowell, and Mrs. Sutton is a charter member of the Rathbone Sisters at the same place. Mr. and Airs. Sutton are both adherents of the Christian church, and contribute according to their means to the benevolences. '& FREDERICK H. EINSPAHR. Frederick H. Einspahr, of \\'est Creek township, is an enterprising, energetic, public-spirited agriculturist and citizen, and his career and achieve- ments in every department of life are an honor and credit to his county. Lake county as much as any comity in the state is indebted to the fine class of German-Americans who have taken up their abode within its boundaries and. devoted themselves to the development of its interests. Wherever this class of citizens have settled there one may look for the highest degree of agricultural enterprise, as would be apparent to even a casual observer or traveler in Lake county. As a rule these settlers came to America poor but honest and industrious, and these qualities of character pro^•el to be among the most important factors in the improvement of the great west and also resulted in individual prosperity and influence. As a class they also believe in the education of their children and the training of them in proper habits of living and morality, so that all institutions of society have profited and been elevated by the coming of the men of the Teutonic race. Mr. Einspahr was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, August 25, 1852, a son of Frederick and Anna Kathrine (Claussen) Einspahr. He was the fourth of their seven children, five sons and two daughters, and five are yet living : Lizzie, who is the wife of Jacob Buehler, a farmer of Ode- bolt, Iowa; Anna, wife of Adolph Kuehl, a prosperous farmer at Crown Point; Mr. Einspahr; Martin, married and a farmer of ^\'est Creek town- ship; and John E., who is married and is a wagon-maker at Odebolt, Iowa. Frederick Einspahr, the father, was born in the same part of the fatb.er- land as his son, on ]\Iarch 13, 1816, and died October 29, 1875. He was a tailor by trade. He was educated in the German language, and was a man of more than ordinary intelligence. As a journeyman tailor he traveled 412 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. tliroughout ("lerniany. and cimtinued that business in his nati\e land for a number of years. He finally concluded to leave his fatherland and find in America a place for his family and better opportunities for gaining a for- tune. In the spring of 1853 he embarked his little family on a sailing vessel at Hamljurg and thence by way of England crossed the Atlantic and after a long voyage of ninety days landed in Quebec. Canada, being there amid a strange people and in a foreign land. Blue Island, Illinois, was their first permanent destination, and the father remained there some years, following his trade in the winter and farming in the summer. In 1867 he brought his family to West Creek township and purchased eighty-five acres of land. The little log cabin which ser\-ed as their bumble habitation for the first few years still stands on the farm, as a memorial of the past with its pri\'ations and primitive ways. He ^^•ent in debt for his property, but his diligence and good management paid for it and also enabled him to buy eighty acres more. He was a man of honest and upright character, was a stanch Republican in political beliefs, and he and his wife were reared in the faith of the German Lutheran church and after coming to Indiana became German Methodists. Mr. Einspahr's mother survived her husband for over a quarter of a cen- tury, and passed away at the home of her son Fred, February 8, 1903, aged eighty-five years eleven months and six days. She was born at Xeuminster, Schleswig-Holstein, March 2, 1817. June 7. 1842, she was united in mar- riage to Frederick Einspahr, and at her death, besides her own five children, there were forty-eight grandchildren and twenty-one great-grandchildren and a large circle of relatives and friends to mourn her loss. Funeral services were held at the German Methodist church February 10, 1903, Rev. Dis- myer conducting the obsequies, after which her remains were laid to rest in the cemetery adjoining the church. She had resided in America for nearly half a century, and for the last forty-five years had been a faithful member of the German Methodist church and always lived a true and Christian life. She was always a true and loving mother, a good friend and obliging- neighbor. Mr. Einspahr was not a year old when the voyage to the new world was undertaken, and he was about fourteen or fifteen when he became a resi- dent of West Creek township. During his active lifetime he has witnessed this beautiful agricultural region improved from a bare prairie or marsh into HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 413 the most productive part of the county. Within his remembrance the couii- tr}- was largely unfenced, and Lowell, now a beautiful town of sixteen hun- dred, contained only two stores. Wolves were also plentiful during his boy- hood. Every two weeks during the season it was the custom to haul their grain to tlie Chicago market, and Fred always accompanied tlie wagon each time. ]Mr. Einspahr is a more than ordinarily well educated man, having been trained in both the German and English languages. He began earning wages at the age of fourteen years, giving the money to his parents. And when he started out for himself at the age of twenty-one he had not five dollars to his name. He went to Chicago and was a coachman for two years, and then in the ice business one year, after which he returned to Lake countv and took up his permanent career as a farmer. November 17. 1878, he married Miss Dorathea Frederick, and during their felicitous marriage union, lasting twenty-two years, nine children were born, all of whom are li\ing at the present time, as follows : Christena, who finished the eighth grade of school and can read and speak the German language, has, since her mother's death, taken full charge of the home, and is a young" lady who has many friends and acquaintances throughout the township: Peter F., who finished the eighth grade and is a farmer in West Creek township, married ]Miss Lottie B. Flayden and has a little daughter, Mabel Lucy; Wilhelmina, who is in the eighth grade of school: Frederick J., in the eighth grade; Laura, who graduated in 1902 from the grammer schools at the age of thirteen: Anna, in the sixth grade: Clara, in the fourth; L'vin, in the first; and ]\Iartha, who is the baby of the home. The full review of the life of ]Mrs. Einspahr is gi\-en in the following published obituar}- ; Dorathea Frederick was born near Blue Island, Illinois. August 17, 1859, and died at her home in ^^'■est Creek township after a brief illness, December 17, 1900, at the age of forty-one years and four months. In infancy she came with her parents from Blue Islanrl to Dyer, Indiana. November 17, 1878, she \\as united in marriage to Frederick Einspahr. To this union nine children, three boys and six girls, were born; all of which sur\-i\-e their mother, their dearest and truest friend on earth. At the age of fifteen years she joined the Lutheran church, and ever lived the life of the true Christian ; being ever ready to assist in any good work, ever thinking more of the happiness of others than of her own. She was a true 4U HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. and faithful wife; a kind and indulgent mother and an obliging neighlx)r, and will be greatly missed and sincerely mourned bj^ the whole community in which she lived. The seventeenth day of the month seemed to be the day upon which the epochs in her life were to occur, for upon that day of the month she was born, married and died : rather a strange fatality. She leaves her husband, nine children, two brothers : John Frederick, of D}-er, Indiana, and Peter Frederick, of Lowell, Indiana ; and four sisters : Mrs. Joseph Sons, of Dyer, Indiana, Mrs. John Harms, of Dalton, Illinois, Mrs. Albert Ger- ritsen, of Fernwood, Illinois, and Mrs. William Einspahr, of West Creek, Indiana; an aged mother-in-law, together with a large circle of friends, to mourn the departure of a true, noble and loving wife, mother and friend, to that higher sphere of life. Her funeral occurred from the German ■Metho- dist church in \\'est Creek township, Thursday, December 20, at 2 p. m. Rev. Dismyer, of Crown Point, preached the funeral discourse. She was laid away in the cemetery near the church, there to rest in cjuiet slumber until the morning of the first resurrection, then to come forth into immortal life to enjoy the companionship of the dear friends she has left Iiehind throughout an endless eternity. To the sorely berea\-ed family the Tribune extends its sincere sympathy. Mr. and Mrs. Einspahr began on the old homestead, which he had purchased from the other heirs. He went in debt, but by industry and honest toil and careful economy cleared off all incumbrances and gained a com- fortable and valuable estate. His farm of eighty-fi\-e acres lies in. \\'est Creek township, and he is looked upon as one of the most progressive farmers of the community. By his upright life 1:)efore God and man he has won the respect and confidence of all who know him, and can bear his part with dignity and honor wherever he goes. As a Republican voter he cast his first ballot for R. B. Hayes. He has represented his township in the county conventions of the party at various times. He has been road superintendent time and again for twenty years. He fraternizes with Council No. 13 of the Order of Foresters at Lowell, and he and the family attend the German Methodist church. JAMES J. KELSEY. The pioneers of the country, those who blazed the way to civilization and made the wilderness to bloom and blossom like the rose, are as a class HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 415 rapitlly passing a\Yay, and it is a pleasure to be able to record while some of them are yet living their achievements and their place in society and the world. Mr. Kelsey is one of this worthy class of citizens in northwestern Indiana, and has passed many years in this vicinity and in eastern Illinois. He was born in Tioga county, Pennsyhania, February 25, 1842, and is the second of the three children, being the only son, of John D. and Eunice (Johnson) Kelsey. His sister Mary is still living, being the widow of Otis Townsend and a resident of Duluth, Minnesota. John D. Kelsey was born in Vermont about 1809, and died in 1876. He was a farmer by occupa- tion He was reared to young manhood in Vermont, thence nio\"ed to Penn- sylvania, some years later to New York, and then to Lake county, Lidiana, where he passed away. He had enjoyed a common school education in his youth, and was a man of superior intelligence and capability. In politics he was a Whig and then a stalwart Republican, with pronounced anti-slavery sentiments. Fraternally he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife were members of the Christian church. His remains are Imried in the L(.iwell cemetery. Mr. Kelsey lost his mother when he was three years of age, and it was about the same time when the family moved to New York state, where he was reared to the age of eighteen. Part of his education was obtained in an old-fashioned hewn-log cabin school with slab seats resting on four wooden pins, and with the desk for the big boys and girls a broad board running part way round the room and resting on pins driven into the wall. The room was heated by a box stove, for which the big boys by turn cut the wood used as fuel. His pen was a goosequill, and he conned his lessons from Davies arithmetic, the Rhetorical reader, and the Sanders speller, and the school was supported on the subscription plan. From these facts it will be seen what a change has been wrought in educational matters since Mr. Kelsey's youth. Mr. Kelsey began life at the bottom of the ladder. He worked out at nine dollars per month in order to earn money with which to liring his par- ents to Indiana. And when they arrived at Cedar Lake in this county they had twenty dollars only. He began working at wages as low as fifty cents a day, from which it is seen that he has made great progress in this county. His father rented a farm in West Creek township in the spring of i860, and 416 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. the son began witli liiin and remained tliere two years, and then his father gave him his time. He did not liave enough to buy his winter clothing, and he began to earn wages by chopping wood. From Lake county he went to Momence, Illinois, where he found employment in a distillery, and then hired out to a farmer at thirteen dollars a month. This continued until August. 1862. at which date he joined Company K, One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, and was in ser\-ice as a part of the Army of the Tennessee until February, 1863. Part of the time he served as guard for the provision train, and for about a month was in the hospital at Keokuk, Iowa. On re- ceiving his honorable discharge he returned home and resumed his farming operations. September 18, 1863, 'i^ married Miss Nancy J. Kile, and their three children, two sons and one daughter, are all living, as follows : Laura E. is the wife of A. B. Chipman, whose history is given elsewhere in this volume. Merritt, the elder son, is the popular liveryman at Lowell, where he has a splendid business and a pretty home; by his wife, Catherine Stubbs, he has two daughters, Vernal Nancy, in the seventh grade of the public schools, and Ethel Pauline. Leroy Elkin, the younger son, is a machinist, residing in Lowell, and he married Miss Mary Ponto, by whom there is a son. Cecil Glenn. Mrs. Kelsey was born in Yellowhead township, Kankakee county, Illinois, January 3, 1842, being a daughter of Reason C. and Nancy Jane (Hayden) Kile, and she was reared and educated in that county. She is a kind and loving wife and mother and has always stood by her husband in liis life work. The first land that they purchased was one hundred and forty acres in Yellowhead township, and Mr. Kelsey went in debt for it. Init with characteristic energy and with the aid of his good wife and children paid off every dollar. And to that original tract he has subsequently added, first one hundred and twenty acres, and then one hundred and eighty-two acres, all of which lies in Yellowhead township, and the improvements on the old homestead are of the very best. This is an admirable record for a man who began life without twenty dollars to his name, and he has prospered de- servedly. At one time he was paying as high as sixteen per cent interest on his indebtedness. Mr. Kelsey and his wife came to Lowell in 1899 and purchased a pretty HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 417 and comfortable residence where they are li\ing a retired hfe. He is a Re- publican in politics, and cast his lirst vote for the Rail-Splitter President Abe Lincoln, since which time he has always supported that party's prin- ciples. For twelve years he served as a public school director in Kankakee county. Fraternally lie is a member of Burnham Post No. 226. G. A. R. He and his wife are kind, lining people, respecters of Christianity, and have many friends in Lowell and in Kankakee county. The following paragraphs, which appeared in the local jiress. indicate further facts anent the life and character of ]Mrs. Kelsey's parents : Reason C. Kile died at his home one and one-half miles northeast of Sherbnrnville. on Friday, February 10. 1899. The funeral was held at the residence on Sunday, and interment took place at \\'est Creek. Mr. Kile was born August 10, 1S17, in Knox county, Ohio. He came to Kankakee county in 1837, and located on section 36. Yellowhead township, where he cleared a farm, and remained there about seven years. He then remo\'ed to the location wdiich was his home when he died. He -was married in 1840 to Miss Nancy Hayden, daughter of Nehemiah Hayden, one of the pioneer settlers of Lake county, Lidiana. Five children came from this union, three of whom are still living — Nancy, wife of James J. Kelsey; Mary Ellen, wife of George W. VanAlstine; and Flora, wife of William Hatton. Mr. Kile commenced for himself without anything, but through industry and economy has accjuired a competency. Mrs. Nancy Jane Kile died at her home in Yellowhead township, Kan- kakee county, Illinois, last Sunday morning, after a prolonged illness of about four years, her malady being in the form of a gradual decline, but for the past four weeks before her death she was confined to her bed and was as helpless as a babe. The best of care and attention was bestowed upon her by relatives and friends during her long period as an invalid. The fun- eral services were held from the \\'est Creek Methodist church Mondav fore- noon at 10 o'clock, at which services a very large concourse of relatives and friends were in attendance, and the expressions of sorrow and sympathy were sincere and heartfelt for the bereaved. The services were conducted by Elder John Bruce. The remains were laid to rest in the West Creek cemetery. Funeral Director Clifford Stowell conducting this part of the b 418 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. service. Edgar, Jake, Lute. John. Cyrus and William Hayden, brothers of the deceased, acted as pall-bearers. Nancy Jane Hayden was born in the state of Pennsylvania, April 27, 1823, and when but a child her parents, Nehemiah and Harriet Hayden, moved to Knox county, Ohio, where she spent her early childhood. In 1836 she came with her parents to Lake county, Indiana, they being among the first pioneer settlers of this county. She was united in marriage to Reason C. Kile. To this union five children were born, three of whom are living, namely: Nancy, wife of James Kelsey, Mary E., wife of George VanAlstine, and Flora, wife of A\'illiam Hatton. After her marriage to Mr. Kile in 1841 they settled on the farm near Sherburnville, which has been the home of the deceased until death, preceded by a long and severe ill- ness, took her away on October 19, 1902, at the age of 79 years, 5 months and 22 days. Mrs. Kile was well known and highly esteemed by all. Her many relatives and friends mourn her loss. CHARLES A. BORGER. Prominent and influential in the business and public life of Hobart. Charles A. Borger is now engaged in the manufacture of harness there, and is also a member of the town board, and while successfully conducting his private business affairs he is at the same time ably assisting in getting com- miuiity interests which affect the entire town. His wide acquaintance and the esteem in which he is uniformly held renders it imperative that his life his- tory be given a place in this volume. He was born in Hanover township. Lake county, October 5, i860, and is a son of John and Metta (Meyer) Borger, the former born in Hanover. Germany, and the latter in Bremen. Germany. It was after their emigra- tion to the new world that they were married, the wedding ceremony being performed in Lake county. They then took up their al»de in Flanover town- ship, and the father carried on agricultural pursuits until his life's labors Avere ended in death, when he was but fifty-six years of age. He had been a resident of the county since 1842 and during the greater part of that period was a factor in agricultural circles. His wife died when but fifty-four years ■of age. They were the parents of nine children, all born in Lake county. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 419 and eight of tlie number are still living, Mr. C. A. Borger being the fourth son and fifth child. Upon the home farm in Hano\er township, Charles A. Borger spent the davs of his boyhood, remaining with his mother until nineteen years of age, when he entered upon an apprenticeship to the harness-maker's trade in Dyer, Indiana. He served for a term of fiiur years and then went to Chi- cago, where he worked for one year. On the expiration of that period he came to Hobart in 1885 and here began the manufacture of harness. He received a little aid from his parents in the beginning of his business career. In 1893 ^"1^ bnilt his present place of business, which is a two-story brick structure, in which he is now conducting one of the leading productive in- dustries of the city. He has secured a lilieral patronage, owing to the ex- cellence of the goods which he manufactures and to his honorable treatment of his patrons. ]\Ir. Borger was married in October, 1885. the lady of his choice being Miss Henrietta Batterman, who was born January 3, 1864, in Will county, Illinois, being a sister of E. Batterman, who is represented elsewhere in this work. They are the parents of two daughters. Sena and Edna. Sena was born July 3. 1886: she graduated in the class of 1903 in the Hobart township high school, and is now one of Lake county's successful teachers, at Miller's Station. Edna was born INIarch 15, 1893, ''"'^' is in the sixth grade of the Hobart schools. Mr. Borger exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican part^• and has firm faith in its prin- ciples and in their ultimate triumph. He is now a member of the town board. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, ^'o. 33,.^- with the Knights of Pythias Lodge, No. 458, and with the Knights of the Maccabees, Tent No. 65, and also a member of the ^Masonic fraternity, ^"o. 357. He enjoys the warm esteem of his brethren of these orders, for he is true to their teaching and the beneficent principles upon v.'hich they are founded. He has in his business career made consecutive progress, and his course has been marked by desirable accomplishment, but when he started out in life for himself he possessed little capital, nor did he recei\'e any ad- vantages from influential family connection. He has worked ;)ersistently and has gained prosperity as the result of earnest labor, in wdiich keen discrimina- tion and sound business judgment have formed a part. 420 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. MRS. K.VTHARINA EINSPAHR. The women of a community are ofttimes the most enterprising factors in its activity, and extend their influence far beyond their supposedly legiti- mate sphere of work. There is no citizen of West Creek township more highly esteemed for enterprise and worth in the business and industrial de- partments of Lake county as well as for large qualities of heart and mind, than Mrs. Einspahr, who resides on the fine estate in this township which she and her husband by indefatigable labor and honest industry and wise management built up to extensive and valuable proportions. This worthy representative of the ladies of West Creek township was born in Hesse-Darmstadt. Germany. June 26, 1852, being the eldest of three children, all daughters, and her two sisters being : Christine, wife of George W^alker, a retired resident of Chicago, and who has one child : and Mary, wife of James Nott, engaged in real estate business in Chicago. The par- ents of these three daughters were T. Baldanzer and Maggie (Albus) Frank. Her father was born in Frankfort on the Rhine in 1823, and died in 1887. He was educated in the German tongue, and followed farming throughout life. Li 1857 he set sail from Germany with his family, the port of departure being Bremen, and, on account of the heavy storms which the sailing vessel encountered, they were three months and nine days in reaching this side of the Atlantic. He at once brought the family out to Blue Island, Illinois, W'here he began his active career as a farmer, poor but honest, and at his death could say that he had always made his own way and had enjoyed the high regard of his neighbors and friends. For a time he was a watchman in the Union Depot at Chicago, and he died in that city. He was a Republi- can in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. His wife was born in Nassau, Germany, in 1817, and died in 1895, having lived, after her husband's death, with her daughter. September 20, 1871, Miss Katharina Frank was married to Mr. August Einspahr, and the ten children born of this union are all living at the present writing, as follows : Fred, who is a farmer of Odebolt, Iowa, and is mar- ried : \\'illiam, a prosperous farmer of West Creek township, and a married man; August, a farmer of the same township; Maggie, wife of Otto Sutton, one of the prosperous men of West Creek township whose histories appear in this volume ; Martin, who resides with his mother and conducts the farm ; HISTORY OF LAKE COUxXTY. 4:^1 Emil, wlio is a farmer of the same township; Emma, wife of Joseph Carl, who is in a grcenhonse at Crown Point ; Walker, a farmer of \\'est Creek township: Alfred, who makes his home with his mother; and Katie, the youngest, who is in the sixth grade of school. Mr. Einspahr was horn in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, May 2, 1S43. and died February 11, 1894. He was ten years old when he accompanied his parents to America, their residence from the first being at Blue Island. Illinois. He was thus trained and educated in both the German and Eng- lish languages. His parents were Frederick and Anna K. Einspahr. both deceased. Mr. Einspahr gave almost a year of loyal service as a soldier to the Union during the Civil war. and then received his honorable discharge. After his marriage he and his wife began life on eighty acres of land in \\^est Creek township, the property being incumbered with twenty-two hundred dollars' debt. But they were indtistrious, shrewd managers, and had early learned the lesson of making both ends meet, so that it was not long before the indebtedness was cleared off and they were free to add more to their estate. Mr. Einsphar was a stanch Republican, and all his sons follow his ex- ample. He was a solid man. reliable and of unflinching integrity, and all men respected him for his sterling worth. He and his wife were both mem- bers of the German Methodist church. Since her husband's death Mrs. Ein- spahr has erected her comfortable residence in the township, and has super- vised the placing of the many improvements and the tiling of the land. She is a lady who is held in tlie highest esteem liy all her acquaintances, and her hospitable home is a place of rest and comfort for all who entei'' therein. HENRY' BRANDT. Henry Brandt, the prosperous and well known farmer and stockman of West Creek township, belongs to that fine class of German-American citizens who have been such praiseworthy factors in the upbuilding" of the material and intellectual resources of Lake county. He is a native son and a life-long resident of the county, and therefore his interest in the county is deep-rooted and sincere. The history of his career shows that he has accomplished a more than ordinary success, and it may be said that in ever}- relation of life he has merited the esteem of his fellow citizens. 422 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Mr. Brandt was born in Lake county, April 2, 1856, and is the fifth in a family of nine children, four sons and five daughters, born to Dietrich and Anna (Bischop) Brandt. Eight of this family of sons and daughters are still living, as follows : John, who is a farmer of Benton county, Iowa ; Mary, wife of David Locker, a fanner of Greeley county, Nebraska ; Will- iam, a farmer of Lyon county, Iowa, and married ; Henry ; Anna, wife of George Sautter, a Nebraska farmer; Lena, wife of William Bahr, a farmer of Lyon county, Iowa : Emma, wife of Casper Gross, a tile manufacturer of Benton county, Iowa ; and Herman, a farmer of Lyon county, Iowa. Dietrich Brandt, the father of these children, was born near the free city of Bremen, in Hanover, Germany, was educated in the German lan- guage, and followed farming pursuits throughout the active part of his life. He was married in Germany, and three of their children were born in the fatherland. About the year 1848 he decided to come to America to seek his fortune, and he accordingly embarked his own on board a sailing vessel at Bremen, and after thirty-six days arrived in New York. He came out to Lake county, thus being among the early settlers, and purchased one hun- dred and sixty acres of rather wild land. The first home was a log cabin, and the hazel bushes were standing thick around and over the present highly cultivated place. He w-as a successful man in his work, and besides provid- ing well for his family he accumulated two hundred and ninety acres in West Creek township, his estate containing some of the choicest land in the com- munity. He was a Republican in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Evangelical church in West Creek township, he having assisted in the building of the church edifice. His death occurred about 1880, and his wife, who was also born in the vicinity of Bremen, passed away in 1893. Mr. Henry Brandt received an education in the English public schools of West Creek township, and from his earliest years of active labor to the present time has been identified successfully with farming and stock-raising pursuits. He remained at home with his parents until he had reached his majority, and when he started out independently he was possessed of a capi- tal of fifteen hundred dollars. January 18, 1882, he married ^liss Emma Sastrow, and of this happy marriage eight children have been born, seven of whom are H\ing. Ernest, the eldest, received his diploma for completion of the common school course HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 423 in 1900, and is at lionie; Elsie, a graduate of tlie class of 1902, has also taken music: George is a graduate in 1903; Dora is in the fifth grade; and Harry, the youngest, is in the second grade of school. Mrs. Brandt was born in Cook county, Illinois, June 28, i860, being a daughter of Charles and Henrietta ( Steiner) Sastrow. She has one sister, Carrie, wife of Will- iam Brandt. Her parents came from Prussia, her father being a native of Pomerania and her mother of Holstein. and her father is still living, being a resident of Lyon county, Iowa. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brandt settled on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres within half a mile of their present homestead. They have been thrifty and good managers, and as the years have gone by their prosperity has manifested itself by an accumulated estate of three hundred and ninety-nine acres, all finely cultivated and as good land as lies within the confines of West Creek township. They also own three hundred and twenty acres in South Dakota, near Salem, the county seat of McCook county. Mr. Brandt is a good judge of fine stock, and keeps good grades of Norman horses, Durham cattle and Chester White hogs. He has the best of improve- ments on the farm, consisting of large and commodious barns, granaries and other outbuildings, and in 1896 he erected a comfortable country residence which is a credit to the community. He is a Republican in politics, and, from the time of casting his first presidential vote for James A. Garfield, he has been a loyal upholder of Republican principles. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of Lodge No. 14. of the Independent Order of Foresters at Brunswick. Indiana. LOUIS LARSON. Louis Larson is a prominent and enter]M"ising farmer of Lake county, residing on section 17. Ross township, where he has a well improved property that in its beautiful appearance indicates his careful supervision. A native of Sweden, he was born on the 20th of November, i860, and was a son of John Larson, who was also born in that country, whence he came to America, landing in New York in 1866, and then spent two years in Chicago. Two years afterward he came to Lake county, Indiana, establishing his home in Hobart township in 1868. There he remained for seven years and then removed to Ross township, but later he returned to Hobart township, where his death occurred in 1898, when he was in his sixty-sixth year. He was a life-long Republican, having firm faith in the principles of the party and 424 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. giving to it his stalwart support. Both he and his wife are members of the Swedish Lutheran church at Hobart, and he was deeply interested in all that pertained to the moral and educational advancement as well as to the material upbuilding of his community. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Ellen Olson, is also a native of Sweden. She still survives her husband and now makes her home with her son Louis. She has been twice married, and by the first union she had two daughters, while the children of the second marriage are two sons. Louis Larson, the younger son, was but five years of age when his parents left Sweden and came to the new world, while since seven years of age he has made his home in Lake county. Indiana. Here he was reared and educated, attending the Hobart schools and also the Ainsworth school in Ross township. To his father he gave the benefit of his services through the period of his minority, working in the fields throughout the summer months or from the time of early spring planting until crops were har- vested in the late autumn. He remained at home to the time of his mar- riage, which occurred on the 3d of January, 1885. the lady of his choice being Miss Hilda Strom, a native of Sweden, who came to the United States when fourteen years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Larson have been born three children : William, Edwin and Herbert. After his marriage Mr. Larson rented his father's farm for about four years and then purchased the place upon which he has since carried on general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. He now has eighty acres of good land here, well improved with substantial buildings. There is a comfortable house and large bam, and other modern improvements which indicate the owner to be a man of progressive and practical spirit. His land is arable, and the well-tilled fields yield to him a good return for his labor. In his political views he is a stanch Republican, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Swedish Methodist Episcopal church at Hobart. Almost his entire life has been passed in Lake county, and those who have known him from boyhood esteem him highly because his life has been honorable and upright. THOMAS GRANT. Thomas Grant, numbered among the wide-awake and progressive busi- ness men of Lake county, Indiana, is now engaged in merchandising in /.^^n^^^T^yi^^^--^^ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 425 Lowell and is also filling the position of township trustee, heing active and in- fluential in community affairs. He was born in Lowell on the 13th of Sep- tember. 1865, and is a son of Thomas Grant, who was born in Scotland and came to America when a yotmg man, locating in Chicago. Subseciuently he removed to this county, settling in Lriwell in 186(3. He assisted in build- ing the mill here, but his business career was early terminated by death. He died in the south when his son Thomas was but nine months old. Thomas Grant was early thrown upon his own resources, for when a youth of only nine years he began working by the month as a farm hand. He also worked as a section hand for three years on the Monon Railroad, after which he learned, the carpenter's trade and followed that pursuit for ten years. As time pass"ed he prospered in his undertaking because of his economy and diligence, and on retiring from active connection with carpen- tering he invested the capital he had acquired in a mercantile enterprise in Lowell, becoming a partner of his brother Jarnes. This business connec- tion was formed in 1900, and they now carry a large and well selected line of general merchandise. Mr. Grant of this review is also a stockholder in the Lowell National Bank and his efforts are an important factor in promoting commercial activity and prosperity in his town. In 1893 Mr. Grant was united in marriage to Miss Gracie Nichols, a daughter of W. C. and Mary Nichols. They have one son, Byrl. Mr. Grant is a stanch Republican, taking an acti^•e interest in the work .-uul success of his party, and in 1900 he was elected township trustee, which position he is now filling. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias lodge No. 300, at Lowell, and with the Masonic order. Having spent his entire life in Lowell he is well known in this portion of the county, and his life history is as an open book wdiich all may read. His friends entertain for liim warm regard, for he has ever commanded their respect and confi- dence, and because of his prominence in public and business affairs he well deserves mention as one of the representative citizens of this pari of the state. ALBERT FOSTER. Albert Foster, ex-trustee of West Creek township, for many years actively engaged in agricultural affairs and now a resident of Lowell, belongs to the well-known Foster family which for two-thirds of a century have 426 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. been conspicuous in the development of the county's material resources. The landed possessions in the Foster name are among the largest single estates in the county. Besides being accumulators of property, they have been producers of wealth, and from the time of the father who located here during the pioneer days the influence and works of the family members have alwaj's been on the side of progress in social, intellectual and institutional affairs. What has been accomplished by this family will always remain as a test and mark of their merit and worth as citizens, and Mr. Albert Foster has not been one of the least of the name in conferring great good upon the county of his nativity. Mr. Foster was born in W^est Creek 'township on Christmas day of 1856. His parents were George L. and Lucy Jane (Hathaway) Foster, and he was the fifth of their ten children, five sons and five daughters, nine of whom are still living, as follows : Edwin L., who is married and engaged in the oil business at Jacksonville, Illinois ; Volney, married and a farmer in prosperous circumstances in West Creek township; Edson, married and a resident of Chicago Heights, Illinois; Albert; Eliza, wife of Arthur Farley, a farmer of Lowell; Emeline, wife of F. E. Nelson, the banker at Lowell; Martha, wife of Frank L. Smart, who is principal of the Dubuque, Iowa, high school, and who was educated at Valparaiso and in Harvard College; Mariilia, wife of S. A. Richards, of Valparaiso; and Julia, wife of George Bailey. George L. Foster was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, April 10, 1 82 1, and died in Kansas, May 12, 1877. He was a farmer and stockman and for some time was a cattle drover. He was a self-educated man, gifted with a retentive memory, and had great individuality and force of charac- ter. His active career began at the early age of fifteen, when he left his father's home and went to work on the Erie canal. He came home at the end of nine months and gave bis parents, in addition to his regular wages, twenty dollars that he had picked up as extras. His father returned to him this twenty dollars, and thus capitalized he started out on foot for the distant destination of Lalve county, Indiana. When he arrived in this county, in 1836 or 't,", he had eleven dollars in cash, so that he began at the foot of life's ladder. For ten years he was a wage earner. About 1841 he entered a tract of eighty acres in section 7, West Creek township, consisting of pure HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 427 virgin soil, and liis first domicilium was a log cabin, the material for which was cut from the Kankakee swamp trees. Not to enter into details, he pros- pered to the extent that he owned over one thousand acres of land in this count}-, all in one body, besides eleven hundred acres in Kansas. This land has never passed from the family, and the descendants instead of selling any of it have added much more to it. Mr. George L. Foster was a very remarkable man in many ways, and he was uniformly successful in all his undertakings. During the California gold excitement he started for the Eldorado, but got only as far as Pike's Peak. Later, howe^•er, he went on to the coast, returning" by way of the Isthmus. Politically he was an old-line Whig and then joined the Re- publican party at its birth, being a warm admirer of Abe Lincoln. In official capacities he served as county commissioner of Lake county during the war, 1861-65, and was a strong supporter of the Union. He had a decision of character and a firmness that elevated him above the rank and file and gave a distinctive stamp to both word and action. He and his wife were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he assisted in the erection of both houses of worship of that denomination in West Creek township, the last one being built in 1867. His wife, Lucy (Hathaway) Foster, was born in the Hudson river valley of New York, April 20, 1828, and she died November 30, 1876. Both the Foster and Hathaway families were of pure English stock, and grandfather EHjah Dwight Foster was one of the famous minute-men of the Revolution. Albert Foster was reared in western Lake county, and his early educa- tion stopped with the common schools, after which he trained himself .mainly by personal application. He was only twelve years old when he left the parent nest and tried his young wings in independent flight. He was im- bued with the desire that comes to all vigorous-minded boys, to travel and see the world. As he says, when he should have been at home under his mother's care, he was far in the west in New Mexico and Arizona, and spending two years in the silver mines of Colorado. He later returned and had already got quite a start in life by the time he reached his majority and was in the mind of settling down in life. On December 30, 1877, just after he had passed his twenty-first birth- day, he was married to IMiss Mary E. Sponslor. They have been happily 428 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. wedded for more than twenty-five }-ears, and six children, three sons and three danghters, have been born to them. Clyde D., the eldest, graduated in the class of 1896 from the Lowell high school, secured his teacher's cer- tificate, taught in his home township two years, was principal at Shelby one year, principal of the Franklin school at Hammond two years, and then entered the literary department of Northwestern University and is still carrying on his studies ; he is a niem!)er of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fra- ternity and is a member of the Masonic lodge at Lowell ; during the present scholastic year of the universit)- he was unanimously elected president of the class, which honor conferred on him was graciously yet modestly received. Emma Stella graduated in 1901 from the Lowell high school and is now taking the teacher's course at the Ypsilanti (Michigan) Normal, being espe- ciall}- interested in elocution. Hattie L., a graduate from the high school in 1903, is also at Ypsilanti. Artlnn^ Lyman graduated from the Lowell high school in 1904 and pursuing normal studies at the Valparaiso College is now a teacher in Lake county. Mr. and Mrs. Foster have not spared means or efl:ort in giving their children the best of training and educational advantages, and they should be congratulated on the excellent results already apparent. Mrs. Foster was born in Hardin county, Ohio, December 29, 1852, and was reared in that state and educated in the ladies' seminary at \Vest Geneva. She was a teacher for a number of years in her native state and also in Kansas. Her parents, both now deceased, were Jacob and Mar- garet (Slonacker) Sponslor, and she has five brothers living. For twenty-one years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Foster resided upon their homestead in West Creek township, where they liave a fine estate of three hundred and ten acres, besides some property that Mrs. Foster owns in Ohio. In 1898 they moved into Lowell, where they erected one of the most pretentious homes of the town, and have been citizens there ever since. Their home is finished in hardwood and Georgia pine, is heated by furnace, is prettily furnished, and, best of all and its chief charm, is the abode of hospitality and a place of welcome for their many friends. Mr. Foster has been prominent in civic affairs in his township, and is one of the leaders in matters pertaining to the general welfare. He is a stalwart Republican, having cast his first vote for Garfield. In August, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 429 1895, he accepted tlie office of trustee of West Creek township, and during the five years and three months of his tenure of this office many of the most important puhlit improvements effecting the people and material progress were brought about. Me caused the erection of several of the fine modern school buildings in the township, which would be a credit to any community, and during his official career, also, the West Creek high school was organ- ized, and education in general received a most stimulating influence in all directions. In 1900 he was appointed by Judge Gillette as drainage commis- sioner in Lake county. He has often been selected as delegate to his party's county, district and state conventions. Fraternally he affiliates w'ith Colfax Lodge No. 378, F. & A. M., and served as worshipful master one }ear. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, No. 300, at Low^ell, and belongs to the uniform rank of that order. THOMAS J. STEARNS. From an early period in the development of Lake county Thomas J. Stearns has resided in this portion of the state and is now living at Lake Station. His interest in public affairs has been manifested in active co-oper- ation in all movements for the general good and he has long been a witness of wdiat has been accomplished in this county as it has emerged from pioneer conditions to take its place with the leading counties of the commonwealth. Mr. Stearns was born February 28, 1842, upon a farm in Porter county, Indiana, about six miles west of Valparaiso. His father, Joseph Stearns, was a native of Rhode Island and was reared in New York, wdience he went to Porter county, Indiana, about 1838. In 1852 he came to Lake county, casting in his lot with the early settlers of Hobart township, where he per- formed the arduous task of developing a new farm from wild and unbroken land. He served for several terms as trustee of Hobart township and in public affairs took an actix'e and helpful part. He w-as also an interested and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his labors promoted the cause of Christianity in his neighborhood. He died when in his seventy- ninth year and left behind an untarnished name and a most honorable record. His wife, wdio bore the maiden name of Rhoda Wilson, was a native of Ohio and was of Irish descent, while Mr. Stearns was of English lineage. She was reared in the Buckeye state and lived to be about sixty-nine years of 430 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. age. To tliem were born tliirteen children, nine of whom reached years of maturity, while two are yet living, Thomas J-, and j\Irs. Rhoda Toothel, of Hobart. Thomas J. Stearns was the next to the youngest in the family, and he w-as brought to Lake county, Indiana, when but ten years of age. His edu- cation was acquired in the old time district schools, and in the summer months he worked at farm labor until he had gained broad and practical knowledge concerning every department of agricultural work. He continued at home with his parents until 1861, when, feeling that his first duty was to his country, he donned the blue uniform and enlisted in the Fourth Indiana Battery as a private. He served for three years and one month, and six months of that time was spent in a rebel prison. He was first incarcerated at Libby and afterw-ard at Belle Isle. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Lookout Mountain, Perryville and many other engagements, but never received a wound, although he was often in the thickest of the fight. After being honorably discharged at Indianapolis. Indiana, Mr. Stearns returned to Hobart, Lake county, since which time he has continuously re- sided in this part of the state, living a part of the time in Hobart, where he was engaged in conducting a hotel and also in the grocery business. He has likewise followed farming, and he was a guard in the Northern prison for a year. He has manifested energy and enterprise in every work that he has undertaken, and he is now engaged in the real estate and insurance business at Lake Station. In 1864 ^Ir. Stearns was united in marriage to ?^liss Elizabeth Crowthers. They became the parents of two children, but Ijotli are now de- ceased. In 1871 Mr. Stearns married his present wife, who bore the maiden name of Ella Stillwell, and was a native nf New York. Her birth occurred in Schoharie county, August 3, 1845, ^"<-l she is a daughter of Smith T. and Hannah (Banks) Stillwell. She was nineteen years of age when she came to Lake county and here she has since resided. Mr. Stearns has firm faith in the principles of the Republican party and is a recognized leader in its local ranks. He is now serving as township assessor, and for twelve years he was justice of the peace. He is also notary public and has acted in that capacity for twelve years. He belongs to Hobart Post, No. 411, G. A. R., and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. During fifty-one years he has made HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 431 his home in Lake count}-, so that he is very famihar with its liistorv and has been a witness of nearly all of its growth and development. CHARLES C. GIBSON. Charles C. Gibson, who is acting postmaster of Tollestcn and is pro- prietor of the Hotel Gibson, was born in Chicago. September 25, 1835. His father, Thomas Gibson, was a native of Columbus, Ohio, and became a resi- dent of Chicago in 1834. three years before the incorporation of the city. It was then but an embryo village, and the most farsighted could not have dreamed of the man'elous development and growth which awaited it. Thomas Gibson conducted a hotel on the beach called the Lake House. He remained there until 1838. when lie removed to Lake county, Indiana, and here again engaged in the hotel business at what was then known as Grass Ridge. He was one of the first settlers of that place and kept a stage house, for there was no railroad through this part of the country at that time and, in fact, few wagon roads had been laid out. 'Sir. Thomas Gibson afterward opened a hotel one mile east of where Tolleston now stands, and he there re- mained until his death, which occurred in the year 1850. His widow after- ward conducted the hotel until i860, when she opened the first iiotel at Tolles- ton. In 1879 she sold that property and enjoyed a well merited rest up to the time of her death, which occurred in 1900. Mrs. Thomas Gibson bore the maiden name of Maria Neil, and was born in Ireland, whence she came to the United States as a maiden of thirteen summers. By her marriage she had six children, two sons and four daughters, all of whom reached mature years. Init onl}- three are now living, the sisters of our subject being Mrs. Elizabeth Baird. who resides at Hunnewell. Shelby county, Missouri : and Mrs. Julia B. Follette, who is living in Chicago. Charles C. Gibson, the eldest of the children and the only one now liv- ing, was reared under the parental roof and was but three years old when brought by his parents to Lake county. After his father's death he assisted his mother in the hotel business and later entered the service of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad Company, with which he was connected for about seventeen years. He entered the service as a brakeman and was afterward promoted to the position of conductor. He was also for a time with the Michigan Central Railroad Company and also with the North- 432 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. western Railroad Company, and throughout his railroad service proved him- self a most capable, efficient and faithful employe. Mr. Gibson is also en- gaged in farming, having carried on agricultural pursuits in Lake county for about six years or until 1900, when he opened Hotel Gibson, at Tolles- ton. He has since conducted this hostelry and has made it one which is creditable to the town. He has a thorough and practical training concern- ing the best methods of carrying on the hotel business, and his earnest desire to please his patrons has secured him a continuance of a liberal patronage. On the 2d of September, i860, Mr. Gibson was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Combs, a native of Canada, who was born in Hamilton on the i8th of September, 1844. She is a daughter of David and Eliza (Wood- ruff) Combs. ]\Irs. Gibson was reared in Chicago, to which city she was taken by her parents in her early girlhood days. By her marriage she has become the mother of three children, two sons and a daughter : Walter, who follows farming in Lake county, Indiana ; Florence, who is the wife of Harry Miles, of Michigan City, Indiana ; and George, a blacksmith liy trade, who is now engaged in business along that line in California. Mr. Gibson has spent the greater part of his life in this county and is the oldest living resident of his portion of the county, his connection there- with covering sixty-seven years. He is therefore well known, and the circle of his friendship has broadened as the circle of his accjuaintance has been extended. He is a man of many strong characteristics, and his good qualities have won for him the regard of his fellow men. His political allegiance is given to the Democracy, but he has never bad time nor inclination to seek public office. STEPHEN MEYERS. A native of Germany, 'Sir. Meyers was born in Prussia, on the 22d of June, 1842, a son of Mathias and Elizabeth INIeyers, both of whom were natives of Germany, where tliey resided until 1858, when they crossed the Atlantic and established their home upon a farm in Hanover township, Lake county, Indiana, the father there carrying on agricultural pursuits for a number of years. In the public schools of Germany Stephen IMeyers acquired his educa- tion and when sixteen years of age he accompanied his parents to the new world. The remainder of his minority was spent on the old homestead farm o o DC u 'Si w o s ^ z Ko m W & o ■" < W O HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 433 in Hanover township, and practical business methods became famihar to him through the assistance which he rendered his father in the cultivation of the fields and the sale of the crops. In 1886 he engaged in the saloon business at Hanover Center, and for thirty-two years he actively cnntinuecl that busi- ness in Hanover townshi]). He also became the owner of a farm. .\s the years passed he added to In's financial resources and he is now loaning money and buying commercial paper. On the 28th of August, 1866, Air. Meyers was united in marriage to Miss Catherine BechtlofT, a native of Germany, who came to America in April, 1866. They hare four living children : Mathias. Stephen, Katie and Frank. Mr. Meyers has been somewhat prominent in community ai¥airs. He was elected assessor of Hanover township and filled the position for five years. He was also chosen by popular sufifrage to the office of trustee and served for six years. He has been a resident of Lake county for forty-six years, his family locating here in pioneer times. He and his family are members of the Catholic church and are well known in the county. Leav- ing Hanover Center, Mr. Meyers established his home in Crown Point, and is well known in the city and throughout this portion of the state where he has so long resided. ALBERT J. SWANSON. Albert J. Swanson. who is filling the office of township trustee and is engaged in the hardware business at Hobart, Indiana, is a worthy citizen that Sweden has furnished to Lake county and in his Inisiness career and private life he displays many of the strong and commendable qualities of the Swedish race. He was born April 6, 1868, a son of John and Beatrice Swan- son. He was only two years old when his parents crossed the Atlantic to America, establishing their home in Moline, Illinois, whence they came to Lake county, Indiana, in October, 1871. Air. Swanson was then only three vears of age. He pursued his education in the puldic schools of Hobart and in a Swedish school at that place, and when fifteen years of age he started out to earn his own li\ing. working" for George Stoker in a general store in Hobart. There he remained for two years, and at the end of that time ac- cepted a clerkship in the store of J. E. Mander, with whom he continued for three months. His ne.xt employer was J. J. Wood, a general merchant of 28 434 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Hobart. with whom he continued lor two years, and later he was a salesman in the genera! store of B. W. Stratton. In 1891 he embarked in merchandis- ing on his own account in partnership with his brother. F. P. Swanson. They purchased the grocery department in the store of B. \\'. Stratton, and after a partnership of three years Albert J. Swanson bought his brother's interest and continued in the grocery trade until 1900. He then sold out and pur- chased the hardware store of A. Mealin. He has since added to- his stock • and is now conducting a well equipped hardware, tin shop, and plumbing establishment. He has secured a good patronage, and his constantly grow- ing trade is now bringing to him a very desirable financial return. He is also engaged in dealing in coal in jiartnership with William Jahnke, their yards being situated along the line of the Nickle Plate Railroad track. In 1891 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Swanson and Miss Mar- garet Cooke, a daughter of M. J. and Elizabeth Cooke. They have four children : Beth, Margaret, Geraldine and Pliny. Beth is in the seventh grade, Margaret in the si.xth. Geraldine in the third, and Pliny in the second. Both of the two elder children have taken music. Mr. Swanson is a public-spirited citizen who has manifested an active interest in many measures pertaining to general progress. In politics he is a Republican, and in Noveml)er, 1900, was elected town.ship trustee, which position he is now filling. He is the youngest trustee that has ever served in Lake county, and lie was chosen to the office by one of the largest majorities ever given a candidate for the position. Mr. Swanson is the only trustee in the county of Lake who lias introduced a special teacher of music for the schools of the to\\nshii), which is Ifighly commendable, as an educa- tive element. The teacher in charge. Miss CleO' Z. Barnes, visits each school each week. Mr. Swanson has also introduced typewiiting in the public schools of Hobart, and it proves a successful venture. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 333, the Knights of Pythias, No. 458, and the Knights of the Maccabees, Tent No. 65, and he iias filled all the offices in these various lodges with the exception of the Masonic. He is well known in the countv for his business ability and political activity, and he has made for himself a most creditable record. He started out in life empty-handed, and all that he possesses has been accumulated through his own nersistent pur- pose, capable management and progressive business methods. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 135 GEORGE L. CASTLE. George L. Castle, now deceased, wlio was well known in Lake county, was born in Florence. Hiumii county, Oliio. Feliruary i8, iSy). His father, Scjuire Castle, was a nati\e of Vermont, whence he removed to Berrien county, Michigan, from Ohio, in 1850. Two years later he came to West Creek township. Lake county, Indiana, arriving here in 185J. George L. Castle was then Init thirteen years of age, and he continued his education in the district schools of West Creek township, while with farm work he be- came very familiar, gaining a broad practical experience as he assisted in the labors ot iield and meadow and in all departments of farm work. When the country became involved in Ci\il war, 4iowever. he put aside all busi- ness and personal considerations, for his patriotic spirit was aroused and he determined to aid his country in the preservation of the Union. Accordingly he enlisted in 1861, becoming a member of Company B, Twentieth Intliana ^'olunteer Infantry, with which he served until 1864. He was orderly sergeant and took part in many hotly contested battles, displaying marked valor and loyalty upon the field. After being honorably discharged he re- turned to Lowell and took up the work of contracting, which he followed continuously in this county until June, 1882, when he removed to Chicago. There he engaged in dealmg in sand, graxel. brick and hnnlicr. and for twenty years was an active and enterprising business man of that cit\'. his death occurring on the 12th of October, 1902. in Lowell, Indiana. In his political views he was a Democrat, but the honors and enmluments of office had little attraction for him. On the 18th of December, 1866, Mr. Castle was united m marriage to Miss Laura P. Hull, who was born in Franklin county, Vermont, rjn the nth of February, 1847. Her father. Samuel P. Hull, was also a native of Franklin county and on eiuigrating westward estaljlished his home in Illinois, \\here he remained for two years. In 1867 he came to Lake count v, In- diana, locating at Lowell, where h.e followed the occupation of farming. His death occurred February 3, 1898. Mrs. Castle's mother, Emeline Castle, was likewise a native of Franklin county, Vermont, and it was in the Green Mountain state that she was married. Mr. Hull was at one time the owner of the land on which occurred the birth of the late President Arthur. To 43fi HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Mr. and Airs. Hull were born seven children, two sons and five daughters, namely: Jasper, Airs. Alary Edmonds, Mrs. Joseph A. Clark, Mrs. Laura Castle, Albert, Airs. William Sigler, and Airs. Stanley Babcock. who is now^ deceased. Mrs. Castle is the fourth child in tlie family, and was the mother of one daughter. Airs. Jessie B. C. Riggs, who died February 13, 1893, leaving a daughter, Laura AI. Riggs, whose birth occurred August 2S>, 1889. (See obituary.) Airs. Castle still carries on the business at Chicago which was established by her husband, and in this enterprise has the assistance of the secretary of the firm. She also owns a farm in West Creek township. Lake county, to which she gives her personal supervision. She is a woman of luisiness ability, keen foresight and marked enterprise and is capably con- ducting her \aried business interests. The following obituaries, while covering the main points sketched above, also further indicate the character and life of Air. Castle and his only daugh- ter and child : George L. Castle was born in tlie town of Florence. Huron county, Ohio, February 18, 1839, and died at his home in Lowell, Indiana, October 12, 1902, at the age of 63 years, 7 months and 24 days. His sickness dates back nearly two years, in which time he has been attended by the best medi- cal skill, but all to no purpose. In hopes of regaining his health he went to Florida last winter, but was forced to return without obtaining the de- sired benefit. Since his return from the south his disease has been of a dropsical nature and that was probably the immediate cause of his death. \\'hen a lad of ten or twehe he moved with his parents to Alichigan., remaining there about two years, when they again moved, coming to Lake county, Indiana, arriving here February 18, 1852. since A\hich time Air. Castle has resided in or near Lowell, with the exception of a few years in Chicago. He was among our best citizens ; a man possessed of many noble traits of character, chief among which \\as his open-heartedness ; no one ever applying to him for assistance was turned away empty handed, if within his power to prevent. He was a man ver_\- highly respected by all who knew him for his honorable, upright ways. \Mien his country was in distress and needed his services he offered himself as a soldier, enlisting in Company B, 20th I. V. V. I., lulv 22, 1861, and from which he was discharged as cor- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 437 poral, July 29, 1864, after a faithful service of a little over three years. December 18, 1866. he was united in marriage with Miss Laura P. Hull. To this union was bom one daughter. Jessie, who liecame the wife of Howard E. Riggs. She died February 13, 1893. leaving a little daughter, Laura J\I. The funeral, which was largely attended, occur'red from his late home at 2 p. m., October 15. Ekler John Bruce assisted by Rev. D. D. Hoagland; pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church, officiated. Funeral Director Clif- ford Stowell had charge of the burial service. Literment was made in the Lowell cemetery. He leaves his wife, three brothers: John M. and Mortimer, of Lowell, and Charles E. of DeBorgia. Montana, one grand-daughter, Laura M. Riggs, together with a large number of relatives to mourn his death, to whom the Tribune extends sincere sympathy in their darkest hour of sorrow. Died, at her home in Englewood, February 13, 1893, Jessie Bell (Castle) Riggs, aged 24 years, 4 months and 24 days, Jessie Bell was born in Kan- sas City, Missouri, September 20, 1868. She was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. George L. Castle, of South Chicago, and wife of Howard Riggs. She came with her parents to Lowell, Indiana, when about three months old, where she resided till she was fourteen years of age. from whence she moved with her parents to South Chicago, Illinois. She was married to Howard Riggs, of Cambridge, Ohio, September 20. 1888. To this union two children were born, a daughter and a son. The son preceded its mother to the Spirit Land about two years ago. Her funeral took place from the Methodist Episcopal church, Thursday, Rev, Bird, of South Chicago, officiating, as- sisted by Rev, Bruce, of Lowell, where a large concourse of relatives and friends gathered to pay the last sad tribute of respect to one v.-ho was loved and held in high esteem by all who knew her. Her remains were laid in the Lowell cemetery, there to rest until the morn of resurrection, from whence she will come forth and her garments shall be white. She leaves a husband and daughter, and father and mother, and other relati\'es a.nd friends to moiu^n her loss. JOHN DWYER. John Dwyer, whose intense and well directed activity in business af- fairs has won him success, is now living a retired life in Lowell and enjoys 438 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. in high measure tlie respect and esteem of tlie community. He is an honored veteran of the Ci\il war, has served as auditor of Lake county and in all relations of life has been found trustworthy and loyal. .\ native of Knox county, Ohio, his birth occurred on the 26th of June. 1834. His grand- father, James Dwyer, was born in the north of Ireland, and on coming to America settled in ^Maryland. His father, John Dwyer, was a native of Marvland and settled in Knox county, Ohio, in 180S, becoming one of the pioneer residents of that portion of the state. He was a carpenter and joiner and also a cabinet-maker, and he carried on business at ]Mount Vernon, Ohio, along those lines. His remaining days were spent in the Buckeye state, where he died at the age of seventy-eight years. His political allegiance was given to the Democracy in early manhood, liut in 1856 he joined the ranks of the new Republican party and voted for John C. Fremont. His religious faith was indicated by his memliership in the Baptist churcli. His wife bore the maiden name of Sarah Martin and was a native of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, where she was reared. She, too, spent her last days at Mount Vernon, Ohio, and passed away at the very advanced age of sev- enty-seven years, there being only a week's difference in the date of hers and her husband's death. This worthy couple were the parents of three sons and eight daughters, all of whom reached years of maturity. John Dwyer, the ninth child and second son of the family, was reared in Knox county, Ohio, and pursued his education in Frederickton Academy and in Oberlin College. He learned the trade of a millwright m the county of his nativity, serving a full term of apprenticeship, but siion afterward gave up the liusiness. He followed that pursuit for nine months in Iowa. In 1854 he removed to Lake county, Indiana, settling at Crown 'Point, and engaged in farming one mile east of the city, carrying on that pursuit for about three years. In the meantime 'Slv. Dwyer was married on the 28th of December, 1856, the lady of his choice being Aliss Cornelia A. Clark, a daughter of Tabez and ^Marrelle E. (Burrows) Clark, in whose family were seven chil- dren, two daughters and fi\-e sons. ]\Irs. Dwyer, the second in order of birth, was born m Tompkins county, Xew York, June 2y. 1837, and was but seven months old when she was brought to Lake county, Indiana, b}- her parents, who located at Lowell. The father was a farmer by occupation HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 439 and, securing land from the government, at nnce liegan its cultix-atinn and development, transforming the wild tract into richly cultivated fields. He continued to carry en farming' up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1876, when he was sixty-eight years of age. His wife died in her eighty- eighth year. Mrs. Dwyer has one living brother. Perry D. Clark, of Lowell. In the year 1857 Air. and ]Mrs. Dwyer took up theii- abode upon a farm a half mile south of Lowell, and there he de\oted his energies to gen- eral agricultural pursuits for about a year and a half. At that time they removed to a farm two and a half miles northwest of Lowell, wdiere he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1861. Feeling then that his first duty was to his country he joined the bo}s in blue, enlisting as a member of Com- pany B, Twentieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He joined the armv as a private, but was soon afterward made corporal, and he ser\ed from June, 1861, until ]May 5, 1864. He took part in a number of the leading battles of the Army of the Potomac and was wounded in the shoulder at the battle of Gettysburg by a minie ball. He was again wounded at the battle of the Wilderness on the 5th of ]\Iay, 1864, being struck in the knee by a minie ball. This necessitated the amputation of the left leg above the knee, and on account of bis severe injuries he was honorably discharged September 25, 1864. Mr. Dwyer then returned to Lowell. He certainly made great sacri- fices for his country and yet he lias never regretted the part which he per- formed in the preservation of the Union. On again reaching Lake county he took up the work of school teaching, but after he had spent a month in that way he was appointed by Schuyler Colfax to a clerical position in the war department of Washington. Removing to that city he remained for seven \'ears in that department, on the expiration of which perioeen born three children: Henry Boyd has finished the eighth grade and is about to take up high school work, and he is very fond of literature as well as of athletics; Isabelle is also ready for high school and is also a student of instrumental music: Faith is in the seventh grade. Mrs. Wason, the mother of these children, died in May, 1894. She was a lover of home and a good and faithful wife, and her memory is still sacred in the hearts of those who were closest in friendship and ties of kindred. She was a member of the Lake Prairie Presbyterian church. ]\Ir. Wason is a stanch Repulilican, and cast his first presidential vote for General Grant. He has had no time to accept public or official responsi- bilities, as his business interests have absorbed all his time. He affiliates with Colfa.x Lodge No. 378, of the Masons, at Lowell, and is also a mem- ber of the lodge of the Knights of Pythias at the same place. He and his family are all members of the Presbyterian church in West Creek town- ship. He has traveled about the country a good deal, and has visited both the New England states and the northwest. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 475 FRANK RICHARDS. In the tillers of the soil and the garnerers of the crops have always rested the main strength and hope of a nation, and the substantial character of any community is best judged by the personnel of its farming population. Lake county is particularly well favored in this class of men, and among the more recent arrivals to swell the enterprising agricultural element is the solid and substantial citizen ]\Ir. Frank Richards, who is now one of the most active and intelligent farmers and stockmen of ^Vest Creek township. Mr. Richards was born in Kankakee county, Ilhnois, March 12, 1856, being the eldest of six children, four sons and two daughters, born to Will- iam C. and Mary (Campbell) Richards. He has just one brother living, Samuel, a resident of Valparaiso. His father was born in Onondaga county, New York, in 1822, and died in 1875. He was a surveyor l?y profession, and was educated at Elbridge .Academy. Fle also folbiwed the \'ocati<)n of teaching in New York, Iniliana and Illinois, and was always known for his superior intelligence and Iireadth of mind. He was a Republican in politics. His wife was a natix-e r,f Ohio, and she jjassed away in 1899. Mr. Frank Richards was reared on a farm, and his education has been mainly self-acquired, and he has been the architect of his own fortune. He remained with his parents, giving them his time and wages, and at the age of twenty-one he had just a team of horses and a plow as capital for his life career, so that what he has since made is the result of his own diligence and prudence. He has had full regard throughout life for the principles of in- tegrity and rectitude, and he is amply rewarded in the confidence and trust in which he is held by friends and business associates. He began his farm- ing career as a renter, and continued so for twenty-one years in the states of Illinois and Indiana, and during tin's time he lived comfortalilv, provided well for his family, and increased his store of world's profits. In 1901 he purchased one hundred and eighty-eight acres in West Creek and Cedar Creek townships, and went in debt for a large amount of the juirchase price. During the first year he paid fourteen hundred dollars on the place in addi- tion to the interest, and in a short time will own his fine propert}' free of incumbrance, and its possession will be a fine reward for his life of careful iTG HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. August i8. 1880, he was married to Miss Alice Ballou, and one daugh- ter, Mary Ballou, has been born to them, she now being a student in the Lowell high school and having taken also instrumental music. Mrs. Rich- ards was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, November 2. 1861, being a daugh- ter of Davillo and ]Mary (Cutler) Ballou. She was reared for the greater part of her early years in Galesburg, Illinois, and received her education in the city schools. ^Ir. and Mrs. Richards located as renters in Lake county in 1888, and have made their home in the county ever since. The Richards family traces its ancestr}- back to the Plymouth Rock Pilgrims. ^Ir. Richards" father was an important personage, and was appointed by old Governor Richard Yates as a ditch or swamp land commissioner in Illinois. He was the oldest in a famil}^ of eighteen children, and was the best educated of them all. Mr. Richards is a stanch Republican, and has had no cause to falter in his allegiance to the party since casting his first presidential vote for Garfield. Fraternal!}- he is a member of the camp of the Modern \\'ood- men of America at Lowell. CHARLES A. TAYLOR. "Biography is the only true history," says Carlyle, and ihen the ]ihi- losopher Emerson further asserts that the true history of a nation is best told in the lives of its representative men and women, so that in detailing the careers of the leading citizens of Lake county its own history is like- wise being written. One i-ecord that will add to the completeness of this work on Lake county is that of Mr. C. A. Taylor and wife, who belong to the younger class of citizens of West Creek township and whose success in their life work gives them high place in the estimation of their fellow citizens. Mr. Taylor is a native son of this county, and was born July 16, 1857. being the second in a family of five children, three sons and two daughters, born to DeWitt Clinton and Emma L. (Palmer) Taylor. He is the oldest of those living; his brother Frank J., now married and engaged in stock- raising at Hiawatha, Nebraska, received a college education at Valparaiso and taught school in Lake county three or four years ; Emma, the wife of Martin D. Palmer, a farmer of Jennings county, Indiana, received her edu- cation in the Lowell high school : \\'illiam. who was educated in th.e public HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 477 schools and at college, is married and is a farmer and butcher at Lowell. De^^'itt C. Taylor was horn in 1826 and died in January, 1888. He was reared to farm life, and his education was mainly self-acquired. He was a successful man, being so through the energy and forcefulness of his own character. During his boyhood he had attended the old log-cabin school. He was one of the early settlers of Lake county, and was here before the Indians had left their ancestral haunts. His first home was on the east side of Cedar lake, where he was domiciled in a log cabin for a time, then sold that and moved to Cedar Creek tow^nship, and afterward became a pioneer settler of West Creek township. He accumulated c.-er two hun- dred acres of fine land, and did well by his family. He cast his early votes for the \\'hig party, and later became one of the stanchest supporters of Republican principles, being a warm admirer of Lincoln. He was one of Indiana's brave men who went to the front during the Civil war, enlisting at Crown Point in the Sixty-third Indiana Infantry, along at the first of the war. He was first assigned to the Army of the Potomac and later to the Trans-Mississippi department, and he wore the blue uniform and continued in service until the end of the war, when he returned to peace and quiet labor on his own farm. His wife was born in St. Joseph county of this state, in 1831, and died in March, 1903. Her ancestors were early New Englanders, some of whom were soldiers in the Revolution, which entitles the Taylor family to membership in the patriotic orders of the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution. Both parents of Mr. Taylor are interred in the Creston cemetery, where suitable monuments mark their final resting places. , Mr. Charles A. Taylor was reared and educated in this county, and from his earliest years his training and piirsuits have been in farming and stock-raising. When he was twenty-three years old, on August 19, 1880, he was united in marriage to Miss Alice E. Pixley. They have one son, Edson M., who received his diploma from the grammar schools in 1903 and has taken one year's work in the Lowell high school. Mrs. Taylor was born January 20, 1861, a daughter of William H. and Nancy Ann (Scritchfield) Pixley, whose history will be found in connection with their son Chester Pixley. Mrs. Taylor was reared in this county and educated in the com- mon schools. She is a memljer of the Methodist Episcopal church at Creston. 478 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Taylor began as renters in West Creek township, but a year later purchased sixty acres of land where they now Ii\'e. They went in delit for practically all of this, but their combined industry, economy and capaljle management have given them a beautiful estate in their own name, improved it immeasurably above its first condition, and made the Taylor farm a model of thrifty and progressive agricultural enterprise. They have since added forty acres to their first farm, and also twenty acres inherited by Mrs. Taylor. Besides their country farmstead they own a pretty residence property on the west limits of Lowell, and this they contemplate making their home. Mr. Ta}lor has been lo}-al and efficient in supporting the Republican party e\er since casting his first vote for Garfield, and has served as a dele- gate to the county conventions. As a resident of the banner township of the county he has done his share in all public works and enterprises and made his influence felt on the side of progress in social, moral and intellectual afifairs. \MLLIA:M H. MICHAEL. William H. Michael is one of the oldest living native citizens of Lake county, but also has many other claims to distinction in connection with his residence here. He is a man of much ability in the various affairs of life, has been prosperous in his agricultural and stock-raising enterprises, gives attention to religion and education in his community, and is altogether a type of the true American citizen, self-reliant and upright. He was born March 23, 1S47. ^"'^' ^^^ '^"*^' '"i'^ brother Edwin are the only survivors of a family of five children, four sons and one»daughter, born to John J. and Wealthy Ann (Green) Michael. He was reared to man- hood in this county, and his education was received in the country schools and in the excellent high school at Westville. He has always taken much interest in good literature, and in his home some good books will always be found handy with their information and culture. He was reared to farm- ing pursuits, and has gi\-en liis best years and efforts to that line of industry, with the result that he is one of the prosperous farmers of this rich agri- cultural county. .\s a stockman he makes a specialty of shorthorn cattle, and he justly takes much pride in his herd, which at present numbers fifty- five head of registered animals. This stock is of such high grade that a HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 479 demand comes tor tliem from every part of the country, and he has shipped bv express cattle as far west as CaHfornia and as far east as Maryland. His estate comjjrises one iiundred and sixty-six acres of fine land in West Creek township, and he has a nice residence and delightful home, with all the as- S(xiations and surroundings capable of making him happy and contented with what the good world has given. He was with his parents until attaining his majority, and in Xo\-ember, 1872, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary S. Morey. Five children, three sons and two daughters, were born to them, and the three now living are as follows : Loren P. is a mechanical engineer and foreman in the Big Four shops at ]\lount Carmel. Illinois: he was a graduate in the class of 1896 from the engineering department of Purdue University: he is married and has a son, William Conrad. The second son, Herbert, graduated with the class of "04 in the classical course at Butler University at Indianapolis, /essie M., the daughter, is at home, and has received, besides a public school training, a musical education in a conservatory at Chicago and in Indianapo- lis. From this it is evident that IMr. and ]Mrs. Michael believe in gi\-ing their children the best of equipment for life, and the children, in turn, have proved the wisdom of this course liy the honorable part they have already taken in life's activity. ]\Ir3. Michael was born in New Hampshire, in March, 1850. being a daughter of Epliraim and Susan (Peach) Morey, the former deceased and the latter still li\ing in West Creek township. The father of Mr. ]\Iichael was born in Orleans count}'. New York, in 181 1, and died in 1897. He was a carpenter by trade, which he followed in the early part of his life, and later gave his attention to farming. He was an old-line Whig', and later a Repub- lican, and served as justice of the peace for a number of years during the early history of Lake county. He came to Lake county as a pioneer in 1838, and his first habitation was a log house, in which his children were also born. He and his wife were Baptists. Mr. ^Michael is a stanch Republican, and since casting his first ballot for General Grant, the soldier president, he has been an unfaltering advo- cate of true Republicanism. At various times he has been selected as a dele- gate to district conventions of his party. He and his family are members of the Lake Prairie Presbvterian church, and he has aided bv his means in 480 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. the erection and support of the church. He is a trustee and also treasurer of the official board. The society is in a flourishing condition, and there is a Sunday school with a regular attendance of forty. PHILIP STUPPY. German- American citizens have contributed more largely than any otiier race to the material development and progress of Lake county, and the thrift, honest industry and integrity which are the characteristics of the people as a class can nowhere be better proved than in this county. Among these practical and enterprising men in West Creek township should be men- tioned Mr. Philip Stuppy, who has lived in the county for something over a third of a century and from small beginnings advanced to a place of esteem and affluence among all his fellow men. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, April 20, 1845, being the second child of Adam and Elizabeth (Lindemer) Stupp}'. There were seven chil- dren, four sons and three daughters, and four others are still living and all residents of Germany, as follows: Mary E., wife of Mr. Kaufman, of Bonn, Germany, a farmer; Magdalene, wife of a Mr. Guider; Amelia, vidio is married : and Adam. The father of this family was also a native of Bavaria, was born in 1819 and died in 1862, and followed farming most of his life. He v.as a man of superior education, having been trained for the priesthood. His wife was also born in the same locality, and died when her son Philip was an infant. 'Siv. Philip Stuppy was reared to farm life, and received his education in tlie German tongue. He is the only one of the family who decided to leave his fatherland and seek better opportunities in the Occident, and he was twenty-one when he crossed the ocean. He left the fatherland in com- pany with one of his comrades, on June 28, 1866, and sailed from Havre, France, and landed in New York. For the first four years he employed him- self at Scranton. Pennsylvania, accepting any work which would give him an honest dollar. He finally bought a piece of land in Wyoming county, but after a year sold and came to Lake county, arriving here in 1871. He purchased forty acres of land with a little house and stable and with few improvements. He has since added to his possessions till he is now the owner of one hundred and sixty-eight acres of choice land, and has one of the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 481 model farmsteads of the entire township of West Creek. He came here early enough that much of the land was unimproved, and has thus witnessed most of the agricultural de\-elopment and material progress. On February 12. 1867, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Rodel. who became the mother of two children, a son and a daughter, the latter dying in infancy. The son. Philip P.. is a prosperous farmer in \Vest Creek town- ship. 'Sir. Stuppy lost his first wife in Pennsylvania, in September, 1870, and on March i. 187 1, married Miss Bridget Murphy. Three sons and two daughters came to this second union, and four are living: John A., a farmer on his father's place, completed the common schools and took the teacher's course in Valparaiso: Emma L.. who attended high school and was a teacher in her home township six years, is the wife of Lewis Belshaw, of \A''est Creek township: Frank M. graduated from the Lowell high school in 1898, attended the University of Lidiana and took a business course at the \'alparaiso normal, and is now a practicing attorney at Crown Point : Edgar T., the }oungest. was educated in the Lowell high school and is now a practical farmer and stockman. ^Irs. Stuppv was born in countv ]\Iayo, Ireland. Mr. Stuppy is a Democrat, but cast his first presidential vote for Grant, although he has since upheld the principles of the Democracy. He was selected as a delegate to the state convention of the party in 1896. and at various times has been sent to the county conventions. He was once can- didate for the office of county commissioner. He has always performed his share of the ci\'ic duties devolving upon the public-spirited man. and the general welfare of his community finds in him a loyal advocate. He aided in the erection of the JNIetliodist Episcopal church at Creston, and has duly proportioned his time and energies toward all proper enterprises, social, intellectual and personal. CYRUS HAYDEX. Cyrus Hayden was born in Lake county over sixty years ago. to be exact, on the 24th of September, 1843, ^o that he is among the oldest of the native born citizens of the county. He has spent the adult years of his life in useful activity in farming pursuits, and from an impecunious beginning has. by his constant industry and sagacious management, acquired a measure 31 482 HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. of success such as to place him among the truly representative men of the county. He was the youngest of thirteen children, eight sons and five daugh- ters, whose parents were Nehemiah and Harriett (Kitchell) Hayden. Six of this family are still living, and all residents of Lake count}'. The Hay- den family long since gained the reputation of being one of the most pro- gressive in the w^est part of the county. The parents migrated out to this part of northwest Indiana when the country was all a wilderness, without railroads, and everything in the primitive condition of unsettled regions. Mr. Cyrus Hayden was reared to farm life, and has from boyhood known the details of farming and stock-raising. He is one of the citizens of West Creek township who in their childhood attended the old log-cabin school-house. The school was located a little north of the Hayden home- stead, on section 12 of West Creek township, and the size of the building was about fourteen by sixteen feet, with one or two rough windows, and a wood-stove to furnish heat. He sat on a slab seat supported by wooden legs, and when he became classed with the older boys and girls he used as a desk the slanting board that ran nearly around the room and rested on pins driven into the wall. His pen was a gooseciuill, fashioned into the necessary shape by the schoolmaster. From the conditions of which this school was a representative Mr. Hayden has seen Lake county pass through a most wonderful period of development, witnessing when a email boy the advent of the railroad and then the many other concomitants of rising civiliza- tion, until be now lives in a county that is among the most highly im- proved of the middle west and contains all the arts and indu?tries and in- stitutions of twentieth century life. He remained at home until he was fifteen years old, when his father died, and he then lived with his brothers for three years. When he was ready to begin on his own account all he had was a team, so that he has risen from the very bottom of the ladder. In his early days he has raked the grain after the old-fashioned cradle, and has seen the hay cut down with a scythe. It is a well remembered event when the first reaper came into liis neighborhood, and with that machine it was necessan- to rake the "•rain bv hand off the platform, and the reaper could also be used as a mower. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 483 He has thus been intimately acquainted with all the improvements in agri- cultural processes as they ha\-e been introduced. During the war ]\Ir. Hayden offered his services to the Union cause, enlisting in Kankakee county, Illinois, in Company K, One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Infantry. He joined his regiment at Memphis, and was then assigned to duty in the trans-Mississippi department. He did guard and patrol duty, and got as far south as New Orleans. He was still in the service when the glad news of Lee's surrender came, followed five days later by the distressing tidings of Lincoln's assassination. He received his honor- able discharge at Chicago, and then returned home to take up his duties as a peaceful citizen. September i, 1864, he was married to Miss Caroline Cleaver, and five children, two sons and three daughters, were born to them, three of the children being stiU living: Myrtie, the wife of William Einspahr. a farmer of West Creek township, finished the public school work and took instruc- tion in music. Thuel A. was educated in the country schools and the Lowell high school, and prepared himself for teaching, which profession he followed verv successfully in this county, having taught in his home township for four years; he is now a successful farmer of West Creek township, and married Miss Minnie Shirley, an old soldier's daughter, and they have a son, Hugh. ]Mamie, the youngest, is at home, and she graduated f!(jm the public schools in 1904 and has also taken music. Mrs. Hayden was born in Yel- lowhead township, Kankakee countv, Illinois, June 15, 1846, and was the second of five children born to W'oster D. and Eliza A. (Sargeant) Cleaver, four of the family being alive at the present writing and residents of Lake county. Mrs. Hayden was reared and educated in Illinois and was a teacher in her nati\e county for three years. Her father was born in Connecticut. April 7, 1816, and died November 2S. 1867. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade. In young manhood he came to Illinois, where he resided till his death. He was a strong Republican in politics. He and his wife were members of the Christian church. His wife was born in Fotmtain county. Indiana, December 31, 1825, and passed away August 14, 1897. During the first year of their married life Mr. and ]\Irs. Hayden were tenant farmers in Yellowhead township of Kankakee county. He then purchased eighty acres in West Creek township of this county, and this 484 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. land was the nucleus around which they liave since built up their fine estate. Their first eighty was in the condition of nature, and it was by his persever- ing labor that it became such a profitable piece of agricultural land. There was a lone burr-oak tree on the place, and it stood for many years as a natural guide-post to the traveler across the prairie, being finally cut down by Mr. Havden in the spring of 1904. His first home was a little frame building, and the barn was small and roofed with hay. But the days of early struggle and hard labor have given place to comfortable circumstances, and Mr. and Mrs. Hayden now look out upon a beautiful estate of three hundred and forty acres, all of which is in \\'est Creek township with the exception of five acres in Cedar Creek. They have a nice country residence, and they take much satisfaction in the knowledge that their possessions are the result of their own Avork. Mr. Hayden is a Simon-pure Republican, and has cast his ballot for the presidential candidates from Lincoln down. BENJAMIN L. P. BELL. Benjamin L. P. Bell, chief of the Hammond fire department, has had a career in this important branch of public service lasting over fifteen years, both in the employ of a private concern and with the municipality. The fire- man does more for the conservation of property than any other individual, and he has a proportionately high regard in the public favor and esteem. Heroes are discovered every day in this liranch of municipal service, yet their quiet performance of duty goes on without interruption and their deeds often fail of casual mention in the press. The Hammond fire department has developed and maintains as high a state of efficiency as that of the near-by city of Chicago, and takes rank among the best of the state, so that Mr. Bell occupies both an honorable and a responsible position in the city of his choice. Chief Bell was born in Chicago, Illinois, No\-eml)er 14, 1849, a son of Joshua and Hannah (Weaver) Bell, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of New York state. His grandfather, also Joshua Bell, was of Scotch ancestry, but was born, lived and died in Ireland, having been the father of several children. The younger Joshua Bell emigrated from Ireland in 1819, and became a shoe merchant in Montreal, Canada, where he lived until the rebellion in 1836. He then came to Chicago, in the early period of th.at HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 485 city"'; liistory. and remained there till his death in 1875. when he was eighty- four years old. His wife. Hannah Bell, was one of a good-sized family of children born to Benjamin and Phoebe (Paddock) Weaver, the former of whom was a native of Onondaga county, New York, was a farmer, and lived to be over ninety years old. Mrs. Hannah Bell survived her hus- band until 1883, being sixty-three years old at the time of her death. She had come to Chicago in 1833, when the Indians still made it their haunt. Both she and her husband were Protestants. They had four children, three sons and one daughter: Joshua, of Chicago: Kossuth H., of Chicago: Ben- jamin, of Hammond: and Grace, deceased, who was the wife of Henrv F. Schiefer, who is also deceased. !Mr. Benjamin L. P. Bell was reared in Chicago, attending the public schools, and later took a course in Bryant and Stratton"s Business College. He learned the plumber's trade, and followed that for a number of years in Chicago. Fie came to Hammond in 1889 to take the position of fire mar- shal for the Hammond Packing Company, and two years ago was appointed to the office of fire chief of the city fire department. Mr. Bell was married August 6, 1890, to Miss Agnes Henrietta Hob- man, a daughter of Ernest W. and Caroline (Sibley) Hohman. who were the first settlers of the original town of Hammond, and whose six children are still living. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bell, Fred J.. Grace Lena, Alice and Gladys Hohman Bell. Fred J. and Alice both died when about a year old,- and the other two are in school. They reside at 2']() South Hohman street, where Mr. Bell built a good home in 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Bell are members of the Episcopal church, and he affiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569, F, & A. ]M.. and with Hammond Commandery No. 41, K. T. He is a strong Republican in politics. \\TLLIA^I T. DICKINSON. \\'illiam T. Dickinson is so well known as a worthy citizen of West Creek townsliip as to need hardly any introduction to the readers of this volume. He has spent all his life in the count}-, antl in farming and stock- raising has found the proper sphere for the successful direction of his ener- gies, but in addition is also a public-spirited man and willing to serve the common weal wherever possible. 486 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. He was born in Lake county, July 26, i860, and is the sixth of nine children, six sons and three daughters, born to Thomas and Rachel (Miller) Dickinson. Of this family the six yet living are as follows : Minerva, wife of E. L. Watson, a farmer of Cedar Creek township ; Susie, widow of G. H. Baker and a resident of Lowell; William T. ; S. E., a farmer of Cedar Creek township, and married; P. B. and E. G., residents also of Cedar Creek township. Thomas Dickinson, the father, was born in Yorkshire, England, De- cember 30, 182 1, and died December 16, 1892, and followed farming during most of his career. When about eight years old he accompanied his mother to America, the voyage being made on a sailing vessel and being protracted forty days on account of storms. For three years he and his mother lived in Philadelphia, and then moved to Ohio, where he lived until the spring of 1 86c, when he came to Lake county and took up his residence on a tract of land two miles south of Lowell. He was reasonably successful in his life work, and was held in high esteem by his fellow men. He always sup- ported the Republican party until his death. He was a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Lowell for many years before his demise. He was bap- tized in the Established Church of England. Rachel, his wife, was born in Ohio in February, 1825, and is now living at a very advanced age in Cedar Creek township, being a ver\- bright old lady. TMr. William T. Dickinson was reared to the life of farming. After completing the work of the common schools he took a literary course at Valparaiso College, and also taught a year in West Creek township. His first purchase of land was eighty-six acres at his present place, which he has since increased to ninety-four acres. He keeps his farm in fine condition, and has a \'ery comfortable residence and all necessary improvements. October 3, 1881, he was married to Miss Lida Miller, and three sons were born to them, one of them now being deceased. Thomas A. is a boy who has shown unusual talent in school work and made remarkable advance- ment. He completed the common school course of study on April 29. 1898, when he was twelve years old, then took three years' high school work in the Lake Prairie high school, and in 1902 graduated fn^m the Lowell high school, at the age of sixteen. He entered Purdue L'niversity as a student, but after two months was compelled to forego his further education for the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 487 present on account of failing health. The younger son, Qiarles E., gradu- ated from the common schools May 9, lyoi, and is now a student in the LoA:"ell high school. The parents may be very proud of what these youths have accomplished in their preparation for life's duties, for they have shown capacity and industry which will at some day rank them among the suc- cessful men of the world. Mrs. Dickinson v>-as born in Kankakee county, Illinois, April 10, 1863, and was reared in that county and in Iroquois county. Her parents were Uriah and Catharine (Jones) Miller, and of the four children in the fam- ily, ilrs. Dickinson has two brothers living: John A.. whO' is a generai merchant at Pittwood, Illinois, and Charles U., a resident of Lowell, Indiana. Mr. Dickinson and his wife spent the first two years of their married life on his father's farm in Cedar Creek township, and lie then located on his present place. He had to begin in the world without capital, and it has been through industry, careful economy and wise management that he and his wife have made for themselves a comfortable home and pleasant surround- ings. Mr. Dickinson has supported the Republican party since his first vote went for Blaine, and he has at various times been selected as a delegate to county and district conventions of his party. He has fraternal relations with the Masonic lodge No. 378, at Lowell, and with Camp No. 5500 of the Modern \\'oodnien at the same place. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian church at Lowell. FRANK B. PLUMMER. Frank B. Plummer conies from one of the best known and most prom- inent families identified with the business and agricultural industries of Lake county. He has spent practically all his acti\e career in this county, and in connection with farming, and has been prosperous in material afifairs and a leading and influential spirit in civic and social matters. He was born in this county January 16, 1857, and is the eldest of three children born to Abiel and Kate (Baughman) Plummer, a detailed history of the father beirig given place on other pages of this volume. He has one brother living, Edwin, who is a resident of Chicago' and employed in the iMasonic Temple. 488 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. j\[r. Plumnier passed his early }-ears in Lake county, and in addition to the course at the common schools he attended the high school at Fisher- ville, New Hampshire. All his active career has been spent as a farmer and stockman, and with the exception of two years in Kansas his work has been con.lned to this county, ^^'hen he made his start in Kansas he had very little capital, and his own intelligent management and industry have been the principal factors in bringing him success. In September, 1881. he was married to Miss Lizzie Alexander, and of this happy marriage two daughters have been born. Blanche, the elder, is in the eighth grade of school and has also taken music : Beulah will graduate with the class of 1905 from the Lowell high school. Mrs. "Plummer was born in Mifflin county, Pennsyh'ania, in September. 1867. and was reared and educatetl in her native state. Her mother is still living in Pennsylvania, but her father is deceased. She has been a true and worthy helpmate of her husband, and is a lady of many social attractions and gracious and kind- hearted at home and abroad. After his marriage Mr. Plummer located in Lake county and began farming". He now has charge of about a section of fine land in West Creek township, and in i8g6 he erected a beautiful country residence cin the estate. He gives especial attention to the raising of stock, and has some fine regis- tered Galloway cattle and Poland China hogs. He has voted for Republican principles and candidates since the time of Garfield. He and his wife are adherents of the Lake Prairie Presbyterian church, and stand high in the social circles of the township. ARIEL G. PLUMMER. Abiel G. Plummer has been a citizen of Lake county since the years 1852, for over half a century, and he thus belongs to the pioneer class of the citizens of the county and state. It was a matter of great pleasure to his manv friends throughout tlie countv that he was able recentlv to celebrate his eightieth birthday, and be has li\-ed this long life so usefully and worthily that he is venerated and held in the highest esteem by all who know him. He is a native of New England, and was born in the state of New Hampshire, May 24, 1824. He is of true colonial stock, and it is related that the earliest progenitor of the Plummer family was Francis Plummer, who Uj ^^;^ iZ^ ^^^'^-^/:-i»el. Bessie May and Alice Edith. In his political views INIr. Love is an earnest Republican, keeping well informed on the questions and issues of the day and giving unfaltering sup- port to the principles of the party. He served as township trustee from 1S95 until 1900 in Cedar Creek township. He is also well known in ^Masonic circles, belonging to Colfax Lodge No. 378, F. & A. M., of which he has been secretary for twenty years. He is likewise a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 300, at Lowell, Indiana, of which be is one of the trustees, and he holds membership relation with the Independent Order of Foresters of America. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has filled various ofiices. His nature is kindly, his temperament jovial and genial, and his manner courteous. He has steadily advanced in those walks of life demanding intellectuality, business ability and fidelity, and to-day be commands the respect and esteem of all of those with whom be has been associated in liusiness or social relations. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 493 ALEXANDER E. AYERS. Alexander E. Avers is a recent addition to the already fine personnel of Lake county citizens, and his energetic character and successful prosecu- tion of his husiness aflairs make him a valued factor in the material and civic progress and prosperity of the county. He has been in the county for the past three years, and is already well known throughout the township of West Creek. He was born in Shelby county. Ohio, December 15, 1847, '^''"^1 is the seventh of eight children, four sons and four daughters, born to Alexander H. and Julia (House) Avers. He has two brothers still li\-ing. Michael, now a resident of Lake county, was a soldier for four years in the Civil war, was under fire for one hundred days during the Atlanta campaign imder Sherman, then was on the march to the sea, was wounded at Stone River. December 31, 1862, being struck in the hips: at Marietta, Georgia, was struck on the head by a piece of shell, and received his honorable discharge at Louisville, July 17, 1865. Samuel is a retired farmer of Heyworth, Illinois, and is a man of family. The father of this family was born in Butler county, Ohio, December 12, 1812, and died December 20, 1885. He was reared and educated in his native county, and throughout life was a great reader and profound thinker. He was an active Whig and later an ecjually ardent Republican, and cast his votes for the candidates of the party from Fremont until his death. He canie out to Woodford county, Illinois, in 1865, and lived there the greater part of his remaining years. He was a Universalist in religion, and his wife was inclined to the Methodist faith. The ancestry of the Ayers family is traced to the French. Julia Ayers, the mother of Mr. Ayers, was born in Butler county. Ohio, September 15, 1810, and died in 1897, December 21, being then eighty-seven years of age. Mr. Alexander E. Ayers accompanied his parents to Woodford county. Illinois, in 1865. He is in the main a self-educated man. He lived with and took care of his parents for many years. He has been married twice. His first wife died without issue, and on February 25. 1885, he married Miss Alice V. DeBolt, who became the mother of eight children, si.x of whom are still living: Arthur H.. who has reached the eighth grade in his school work; J. Emerson, who is a bright lad in the eighth grade of school, with an especial 49i HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. fondness for mathematics and history: N. Gny. who has received his diploma from the eighth grade: Ava Ray: H. Bernard, wlio is in the fifth grade: and Frank Leslie, the baby of the family. Mrs. Ayers was born in Woodford county. Illinois, October 5. i860, and is the oldest of the three children and the only daughter born to John and Eliza J. (Drake) DeBolt. One brother is living. John jNL. a successful grain merchant at El Paso. Illinois. Her father was born in Greene county. Pennsylvania, Januar\' i. 1830, and died July 28. 1898, at the age of sixty-eight. He was a farmer and went from Pennsylvania to Virginia, where he was reared. In 1857 he located and pur- chased land in Woodford county. Illinois, near El Paso. He was a strenuous Jackson Democrat in politics, and was a man of broad intelligence and ability. He was a member of the Christian church at the time of his death. His wife was a strong Methodist, and she was a bright and intelligent lady. Mrs. Ayers is a lover of the choicest literature, and she finds books to be her best companions. She is an ardent Methodist, antl joined a class of one hundred and twenty-one under Rev. Milsap. Mr. Ayers owned fifty acres of excellent land in Woodford county, and resided there until March i. 1902. when he purchased and removed to his fine estate of bottom land in \\'est Creek township, consisting of four hundred and fifty-five acres, on which he has already placed many valuable improve- ments and which in time will lie one of the model farms of the county. He is very much interested in stock-raising, and keeps some fine grades on his place. He is a Republican in politics, and has supported the candidates since casting his first vote for General Grant. He holds in the highest respect the tenets of Christianity, and for himself has tried to guide his path according to the golden rule. Durin.g their short residence he and his wife ha\e gained the confidence and high regard of all with whom they have become asso- ciated in Lake county, and are people of the best personal worth and char- acter. HON. WILLIAISI H. RIFENBURG. Hon. \^■illiam H. Rifenburg, so prominent in the ranks of the citizens of Hobart, was born in the town of Summit. Schoharie county, New York, October 22, 1834. His grandfather, Henry Rifenburg, was born in Columbia county. New York, near Poughkeepsie, and was a farmer and a contractor by occupation, having assisted in the building of the Erie canal. His father, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 495 also named Heniy, was born along the Hudson, and was the son of an emi- grant from Holland, the family being a sturdy New York Dutch stock. Aaron Rifenburg, the father of our Hobart citizen, was a nati\e of Schoharie county, and was reared and educated there and became a farmer. He passed away at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. His wife was Mary Banks, and she died when about forty-five years of age. Her father, William Banks, was a native of the same portion of New York state as the other members of the family, and was of Holland Dutch descent. Aaron Rifenburg and wife had seven children, and all reached adult age except one. Hon. William H. Rifenburg. the eldest of the family, was reared in New York, received his education in the common schools, and at the age of twenty went west to Allegan county, Michigan, where he spent one year. He came to Lake county in 1856, among the early settlers, and for a while clerked in a store. He bought a farm in Hobart township, and was engaged in farm- ing until the Ci\'il war. In 1861 he enlisted in Company E of the famous old Ninth Indiana Infantry, and served as a private and second sergeant. At the battle of Shiloh he was wounded in the shoulder, and in the following August received his honorable discharge. On returning to Hobart he embarked in the mercantile business, and from then until 1892 was concerned in various enterprises. In the latter year he began contracting, and did some important work in that line. In 1897 he was elected to the state legislature from Lake county, and his Republican constituents returned him for two years, his record at the state capital being in every way creditable. He served as trustee of his township for two years, 1864-65, and held the office of justice of the peace from 1864 to 1868. He is a charter member and was the first commander of Hobart Post No. 411. G. A. R. During his legislative career he was chair- man of the prison committee north, and it was largely due to his influence that the Michigan City penitentiary was rebuilt, the contract system of prison labor abolished, and the indeterminate sentence law passed. He is also recog- nized as the father of the present gravel road system of Indiana. In 1859 ^Ir. Rifenburg married Rebecca Stearns, and of this marriage there is one daughter, Mary, now the wife of John J. W'ood. In 1866 Mr. Rifenburg was married to Anna Howe, by whom there are no children living, and in 1869 he married Miss Sabrina Sawyer. They ha\e three li^•ing chil- ren: Grace, the wife of Joseph H. Conroy, whose history is given on another 490 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. page: Alaude, the wife of Elmer Armet, an official at the Alichigan City prison : anil Ruth, single. Mr. Rifenbnrg affiliates with the ]\I. L. McClellan Lodge No. 357, of the Masonic Order, at Hobart, and is a member and a trustee of the L^nitarian church. EDGAR HAYDEN. Edgar Hayden, after long years of active connection with agricultural interests, is now living a retired life in Lowell and belongs to a family of prominence in the county — a family that has taken a very active and helpful ]:)art in the work of public progress and impro\'ement. He was born in ^^'est Creek town.ship. October 16, 1840, and in a family of thirteen children is the eleventh in order of birth. His parents are Nehemiah and Harriet (Kitchell) Hayden, and the family history is given in connection with the sketch of Joseph Hayden on another page of this volume. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Mr. Hayden in his youth. In his boyhood he pursued his education in a log schoolhouse, which had a puncheon floor and was seated with slab benches. Lie attended through the winter months, and when spring came he assisted in the work of plowing and planting in the fields, continuing their cultivation until after crops were harvested in the late autumn. He started out to earn his own living when a mere boy, working by the month as a farm hand, and thus he was employed until 1861, when he was married and began farming on his own account. He secured as a companion and helpmate for life's journey Miss Rachel Knisely, a sister of the wives of Jacob and Lewis Hayden. She was born in New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas county. Ohio. February 16, 1841, and is the third in a family of five daughters. The young couple began their domestic life in Yellowhead township, Kankakee county, Illinois, just across the state line that divides Illinois and Indiana. His barn, however, was located in Lake county, while the house stood in Kankakee county. Mr. Hayden was there engaged in farming for a quarter of a century, and during that period he transformed his land into very arable and productive fields, making his property one of value and also of attractive appearance. When twenty-five years had passed he put aside farm labor and took up his abode in Lowell. He at one time had two hundred and sixtv acres of land, but lias since sold one hundred acres, and he now HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 497 rents the remainint^- quarter section. His first purchase of land comprised sixty-five acres, for wiiich he paid fifteen dollars per acre, and the greatest price which he ever paid was thirty-se\-en dollars per acre. He sold one hun- dred acres in October, 1903. for one hundred dollars per acre, a fact which indicates how well he had improved the property. He began life a poor man, but by his own energy and unflagging perseverance, supplemented by the assistance of his estimable wife, he has become the owner of a valuable farm and is to-day enjoying the fruits of his former toil in a comfortajjle home in Lowell, his competence being sufficient to enalile him to surround himself and family with the necessities and many of the comforts and luxuries of life. To Mr. and Mrs. Hayden have been born two children, Nellie, who is now the wife of Charles Beebe, who is living a half mile west of Lowell upon a farm in West Creek township; and Seigel, who resides in Lowell. Mr. Hayden is numbered among the honored pioneer settlers of Lake county. The family was established here in 1837, and since that time has been closely identified with the improvement and upbuilding of the county. In tlie family were eight sons and five daughters, most of whom have remained residents of this county. When a boy Edgar Hayden drove ox teams to Chicago, taking grain and hogs to the city market in that way. There were no railroads at that time and he did teaming to the city even after his mar- riage. His political \'iews have ever been in harmony with the principles of the Republican party, liut he has never sought or desired the honors or emolu- ments of public office. He has endeavored to live peaceably with all men, and has himself been engaged in no lawsuit. He is now a member of the town council of Lowell and is deeply interested in everything pertaining to its progress and upbuilding. JOSEPH HAYDEN. Joseph Hayden, now deceased, was a prominent old settler of Lake county and a man whom to know was to respect and honor. He lived here for many years and because of his upright life, his activity and relial:)ility in business and his fidelity in matters of citizenship he won the respect, con- fidence and friendship of the large majority of those with whom he came in contact. He claimed Ohio as the state of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Knox county, July 7, 1832. He was a son of Nehemiah Hayden, who removed with his family to Lake county, Indiana, during the early boy- 32 498 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. hood of liis son Joseph, who was reared in West Creek township upon the old homestead. He endured tlie hardsliips and trials incident to pioneer life and assisted in the arduous task of developing his father's farm. Outside of this no special event occurred to vary the routine of his life in his youth. He remained at home with his parents uj) to the time of his marriage, which was celebrated on the loth of October, 1854. the lady of his choice being Miss Maria P. Green, who was born in Michigan, March 13, 1836, and is a daughter of John and Phebe Green. The mother died when Mrs. Hayden was but a week old, and she was reared by her sister, j\Irs. Michaels. She was brought to Lake county when but three years old and pursued her education in one of the old-time log schoolhouses common in all frontier settlements in the middle west. By her marriage she became the mother of nine children : Lester, who is living in Topeka, Lidiana ; Sidney, who follows farming in \\'est Creek township; Williur. who carries on agricultural pur- suits near Alomence. Illinois: Anna, the wife of Elias Bryant, of Lafayette, Indiana ; Hilton, who makes his home in Chicago : Clarence, who follows farming near Momence, Illinois; Cass J., a banker of Grant Park, Illinois; Merritt, who follows farming on the old homestead; and Ralph, who is a phvsician of Chicago and a member of the firm of Fosmer & Hayden, dealers in farm lands and investments. All of the children are married. Joseph Havden was a life-long Republican and as a citizen was deeply interested in everything pertaining to public progress and improvement. He was honorable in all business transactions, faithful to his friends and family, and his death, which occurred in 1898, was therefore the occasion of deep and tmiform regret throughout the community in which he had so long lived. After her husband's demise Mrs. Hayden came to live in Lowell in 1899. She attends the services of the Christian church, lieing a devout member, and is well known in Lake county, where almost her entire life has been passed. GEORGE B. BAILEY. George B. Bailey comes from one of the old families of Lake county, of which he is a representative agriculturist and a man whose standing as a stanch business man is unquestioned. He is a native of \\'est Creek town- ship, of Lake county, and was born March 26. 1870, being the youngest of the four children, three sons and one daughter, born to Josiah and Nancy HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 499 (Kyle) Bailey. All the children are living: Leroy is the efficient treasurer of Lake comity, and whose hiography appears on other pages of this volume ; Charles is a progressive farmer of West Creek toxAuship: Grace M. is the wife of F. T. Buse, also of West Creek township. Mr. George B. Bailey was reared and educated in Lake county. His advanced training was accjuired in the Valparaiso College, where he was a student during the years 1887-88-89 and took the teacher's course. His active career has been spent as an agriculturist and stiickman. and his active, aggressive alid business nature causes him never to stop short of real attain- ment in wh*ate\'er Ire undertakes. After his return from college, being the youngest child, he remained at home and soon l^ecame a partner with his father. For the past thirteen years he has been engaged in the business of buying and feeding cattle, being" with his father for seven years. No\-ember 16, 1891, he married Miss Julia Foster, and one son has been born to them. Leon L.. who is in the fourth grade of the public schools and thus early in life seems to be inclined to follow in the footsteps of his father. Mrs. Bailey was born in Parker. Kansas, November 16. 1872, and is the tenth and youngest of a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters, born to George Lyman and Lucy J- (Hathaway) Foster. There are nine of her brothers and sisters li\ing. and five are in Lake county. She was about four years old when the family came to Lake county. Her early education was obtained in the public schools, and then for two years she took the teacher's course in Valparaiso College. Mr. Bailey is a strong Republican, and was a stanch supporter of the administration of Benjamin Harrison, for whom he cast his first presidential vote, and during every subsequent administration he has upheld Republican- ism in doctrine and practice. He has served as a delegate to the county con- ventions. Mr. and ]\Irs. Bailey are peiiple who respect true Christian prin- ciples and the church institution, and they are attendants of the West Creek Methodist church. The Lowell National Bank, detailed mention of which is made on other pages, was organized on May 13, 1903, with a full roster of solid financial men at its head, and Mr. Bailey is \-ice-president of its official board. Mr. and !Mrs. Bailey's beautiful country seat, known as the "Diamond Farm." comprises five hundred and ninety acres, all in \\'est Creek township. 500 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Tlieir comfortable and cosy residence was erected in 1897, and during several subsequent years excellent improvements and outbuildings were constructed, so that as concerns general appearance and profitable usefulness there is hardly a place in the township more deserving" of the reputation of "a model farm- stead." Cleanliness and order are cardinal points in the management of this farm, and the passer-by cannot but pause and admire the entire farm as one of the bright and high-class agricultural enterprises of Lake county. Mr. Bailey lielongs to the young and substantial business men upon whom the responsibility for the welfare of a community will in the main always rest. While enthusiastic and aggressive, he possesses also a due amount of con- servatism and finely balanced judgment, and these excellent qualities are to determine his success in the future as they have in the past and give him his due meed of prominence in the substantial industrial enterprise of Lake county. MRS. ELIZABETH HARRISON. Mrs. Elizabeth Harrison, well known in Lowell, was born in Center township. Lake county, Indiana, on the 17th of August. 1840. Her father. Dr. James A. Wood, was a native of Medina county, Ohio, and when a young man came to Indiana. He was married in the former state to Miss Anna Jacobs, whose birth occurred in New York, on the 7th of January. 1818. It was in the year 1838 that they removed to this state, settling in Porter county, and soon afterward they came to Lake county, taking up their abode in Cen- ter Prairie. Dr. Wood was a well-known physician and practiced for many years in Lake county, carrying professional assistance and relief into many of the households, where his labors proved of great value in the alleviation of human suffering. At the time of the Civil war he served as assistant surgeon in the First Indiana Volunteer Cavahy, and then returned to his practice in Lake county. He followed his profession here in the early days when the work of a physician demanded that he take long rides across the countr\-, for the homes were widely scattered. This involved many personal sacrifices and hardships, but Dr. ^^'ood faithfullv performed his duties as a physician and frequently responded to a professional call when he knew tliat he would re- ceive no remuneration for his services. He became very widely known through Lake and adjoining counties, and his professional skill, combined with his broad humanitarian principles and kindly spirit, won for him the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 501 respect and love of the great majority with whom he was associated. He died only twenty-six days before the eighty-fourth anniversary of his birth, and his wife passed away in her eightieth year. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom two died in infancy, while three died in childhood. ]\Irs. Harrison, the third child of this family, was reared in Lake county and began her education in the common schools. She afterward continued her studies in Crown P(nnt, Indiana, and in \'alparaiso. She afterward en- gaged in teaching school in Indiana. Illinois and Kansas. In 1873 she went to Jewell county, Kansas, where she took up a claim on which she remained for about two years, and during that period she continued teaching. She then returned to Lake count}' to take care of her parents, and remained with them until their death. On the nth of November, 1878, Miss Elizabeth Wood gave her hand in marriage to John Harrison, who was born in Dorchester, England, and died on the ist of January, 1884. Soon after her husband's death Mrs. Har- rison returned to Lowell, where she has since resided. With the exception of two years spent in the Sunflower state her entire life has been passed in Lake county, and she is numbered among the worthy pioneer women of this part of the state. She belongs to the Christian church, is a ^-ery active worker therein, has long been a teacher in the Sunday-school and is now a teacher of the old i^eople's Bible class. She is well known throughout Lake county, and her Christian character, her many kindly traits and good deeds have won for her the love and good will of those with whom she has been associated. JOSEPH H. COXROY. Joseph H. Conroy, engaged in the practice of law at Hobart, Indiana, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. January 20. 1872, a son of Thomas and Kate (Musser) Conroy, the former a native of New York and the latter of .Sacramento, California. Thomas Conroy removed from the Empire state to Pennsylvania in early manhood, and at the time of the Civil war he re- sponded to the country's call for aid, enlisting in the Ninety-first Pennsyl- vania Infantry as a private. He served for four years, doing valiant duty as a defender of the Union cause. Removing westward he spent his last days in Allen county, Indiana, where he died in 1883. His wife was born in Sacramento, her parents having removed to California at an early period in 502 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. the development of that state. She is a graduate of the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, and is now a teacher in the puhlic schools of Hobart. Joseph H. Conroy, the only child born to his parents, was reared in Allen and in Adams counties of Indiana, having been brought to this state when only a year old. His education was acquired in Valparaiso, where he was graduated in 1890, completing the course in the scientific department of the Northern Indiana Normal School. In early life he had attended the common schools of Adams county. In August, 1890, he came to Hobart and was principal of the Miller puhlic school for two years, while for three years he engaged in teaching in the high school at Hobart. During this time he took up the study of law, devoting all his leisure hours to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence. He read alone for a time and afterward under the direction of George W. Musser, an uncle, who is now a prominent attorney of Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1895 he retired from the field of educational labor and opened a law office at Hobart, where he has since engaged in practice, and during the nine years which have since elapsed he has secured a larg-e and gratifying" clientage, connecting him with mucli im- portant litigation tried in the courts of this district. Mr. Conroy was married in 1895 to Miss Grace Rifenburg, a daughter of Hon. W. H. Rifenburg. There were born to Mr. and ]\Irs. Conroy three children, one son and two daughters: Elliott R., in the fifth grade; Kathryn S., who died at three years of age: Mary J., died in infancy. Mv. Conroy is quite prominent in fraternal circles, belonging to the Indejiendent Order of Odd Fellows, Earl Lodge No. 333, the Knights of Pythias fraternity No. 458, the Knights of the Maccabees, Tent No. 65. the Modern ^Voodmen, Camp No. 5202, and the Independent Order of Foresters of Indiana, Court No. 3. He has been city attorney for five years. Since attaining his majority he has been recognized as a stanch advocate of the Democracy. He has taken a very active interest in public affairs in Hobart, and his labors and influence have been effective in promoting general progress and improve- ment He has made for himself an en\-iable reputation as a lawyer through earnest effort, close study and untiring devotion to his clients' interests. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 603 F. E. NELSON. Few men are more prominent or more widely known in the enter- prising city of Lowell than F. E. Nelson, the president of the Lowell Na- tional Bank. His success in all his undertakings has been so marked that his methods are of interest to the commercial world. He has based his business principles and actions upon strict adherence to the rules whicli govern industry, economy, and strict, unswerving integrity. His enterprise and progressive spirit ha\-e made hini a typical American in every sense of the word, and he well deser\-es mention in history. What he is to-day lie has made himself, for he began in the world with nuthing but his own energy and willing hands to aid him. By constant e.xertion, associated with good judgment, he has raised himself to the prominent position which he now holds, having the friendship of many and the respect of all who know him. Mr. Nelson is a native son of Lake county, his birth ha\ing occurred in West Creek township, February 4, 1855. His father, Truman Nelson, wa.s born in Oswego county. New York, came to Lake county, Lidiana, in 1850, and after about six years' residence here was called to his final rest, his death occurring in 1856. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sena French, was a native of Ohio and died in Lake county, Lidiana, in 1879. They were the parents of seven children, two daughters and five sons, of whom F. E. Nelson was the sixth child and fifth son. Reared in his native township, Mr. Nelson acquired bis' education in the common schools and in Valparaiso, where he studied f(5r two years. He also engaged in teaching, first having charge of a school when eighteen years of age. He continued in educational work until twenty-five years of age, spending two years as principal of the schools of Lowell. He was very capable in his work in the schoolroom, being an excellent disciplinarian and at the same time having the ability to impart clearly and readily to others the knowl- edge that he had acquired. Wlien twenty-five years of age he began farm- ing in the souihwestern ]jart of \Vest Creek towaiship, where he remained for eleven years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Lowell and was chosen cashier of the State Bank in 1S93, filling that position in an ac- ceptable manner until 1900, when the institution became the State National Bank of Lowell. He was retained as cashier until 1903, when he resigned his position, and in May of the same year joined other prominent business 504 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. men in the organization of the Lowell National Bank, of which he was chosen president. He has since remained at the head of this institution, which is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars. The other officers are George B. Bailey, vice president, and P. A. Berg, cashier, and the directors are Frank E. Nelson, George B. Bailey, C. E. Nichols, George M. Death and Henry Suprise. In addition to his financial interests Mr. Nelson has farm- ing property in West Creek township. Lake county, and in Monroe county, Indiana. In 1879 ■^'^'^s celebrated the marriage of Mr. Nelson and Miss Emeline Foster, a daughter of Liman and Lucy Foster, early settlers of West Creek township, where Mrs. Nelson was born and reared. Six children graced this union, two sons and four daughters, namely, Raymond L., Bernice S., Ned E., Julia F., Emily and INIarion, all of whom are natives of Lake county, Indiana. Mr. Nelson has been a life-long Republican and for five years served as trustee of West Creek township. He is a member of Colfax Lodge. F. & A. M.. also of Lowell Lodge No. 300, K. of P., and is true and loyal to the teachings of these fraternities. He has been an important factor in educa- tional and financial circles in Lake county, and his popularity is well deserved, as in him are embraced the characteristics of an unbending integrity, unabat- ing energ)^ and industry that never flags. DANIEL LYNCH. Daniel Lynch is an honored veteran of the Civil war and is now filling the position of postmaster at Lowell. He was born in Cedar Creek town- ship. Lake count}', Indiana, on the 6tli of July, 1843, and is a son of Daniel and Mary Lynch, both of whom were natives of Ireland and became resi- dents of Lake county during the pioneer epoch in its history. The father was identified with the early progress and development of this portion of the state. He died in the month of February, 1843. and it was not until July following that the birth of the son Daniel occurred. The mother afterward married again, and Daniel Lynch, remained at home -with his step-father until aliout fourteen years of age and during that period attended the common schools through the winter months. He afterward started out in life on his own account and worked by the month as a farm hand, thus earning his living HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 505 until after the outbreak of the Civil war. He watched with interest the progress of events in the south, and in 1861 he enlisted as a member of Company H, Ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, of which he became a pri- vate. He served in this regiment for about a year and a half. He was wounded at the battle of Shiloh. after which he received an honorable dis- charge on account of his disability. Later, wlien he had recovered his health, he once more offered his services to the government and this time became a member of Company A, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Illinois Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. He was promoted from the ranks to the position of orderly serg^eant and was then discharged. He participated in a number of important engagements, and was always a loyal defender of the L^nion cause, faithfully performing his duty, whether it led him into the thickest of the fight or stationed him on the lonely picket line. When the war was over and the preservation of the L'nion was assured Daniel Lynch located in Hebron, Porter county, Indiana, where he was en- gaged in the livery business for two years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Lowell, where he conducted a similar business for about twelve years, when he traded his liverv' stable for a farm in Center township. There he carried on agricultural pursuits for seven years, at the end of which time he sold his property and bought a farm in Cedar Creek tow-nship, one mile from Lowell. This he continued to cultivate and improve for about twelve years, when he again sold out and once more took up his abode in Lowell. He was appointed postmaster under President McKinley in 1897 and was re- appointed in 1902 by President Roosevelt, so that he is now filling the posi- tion. As a public official he is capable and loyal, his administration being characterized by business-like manner, and the patrons of the office have for him high words of commendation. In politics he has ever been a stanch Republican, having firm faith in the principles of the party. In 1S69 was- celebrated the marriage of Mr. Lynch and ^liss Ada Starr, and to them have been born five children: Fred J.. Alva, Daniel, Benjamin L. and Ruby. Mr. Lynch is a member of Burnham Post No. 256. at Lowell, in which he has filled some of the offices. He is likewise a member of Colfax Lodge No. 356, F. & A. M. Mr. Lynch is a self-made man, who without extraordinary family or pecuniary advantages at the commencement of life has labored earnestly and energetically and by indomitable courage and in- 506 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. tegrity has achieved both character and a fair measure of success By sheer force of will and untiring effort he has worked his way upward and is num- bered among the respected and leading citizens of Lowell. H. F. C. jMILLER. ^^r. D. Dr. Miller, who recently passed away, was a native of New York city, born on the 15th of September, 1850. His father, Augustus Miller, was born in Westchester county, New York, and was a son of Daniel Miller, whose birth occurred in the eastern part of this country. The family is of German lineage and was established in America in colonial days. Augustus Miller was reared in the county of his nativity. He was reared by a carriage manufacturer of Bedford and he spent his entire life in Westchester county, residing upon a farm until called to his final rest at the age of sixty-four years. He married Miss Emily Baker, a native of Connecticut, or of New- York. She is still living in the Empire state at the advanced age of eighty- five years, and she is of Scotch descent. Bv her marriage she became the mother of seven children, all of whom have passed away with the exception of one daughter and Horace B. Miller, of New York, Dr. ;\Iiller, the fourth child of the family, was reared in New York, while his education was accpiired in the jniblic schools and in the academy at Bed- ford, that state. At the age of sixteen years he started out to make his own way in the world and secured a clerkship in the wholesale and retail jewelry store of Brown, Spalding & Company, of New York city. There he remained for about four years and was afterward for two years with the firm of Sco- ville. Gray & Company, also jewelry merchants of that city. Desiring, however, to leave mercantile circles and enter professional life, he took up the study of medicine, and from 1872 until 1877 was a student in Rush Medical College of Chicago, being graduated in the latter year. ]Most of the money needed to pay his college expenses was earned by him. and he certainlv deserved great credit for thus acquiring his education as well as for the success which he gained since his graduation. Dr. Miller located for practice at Salem Crossing in LaPorte county, Lidiana, where be remained for about two years, and then came to Hobart in 1879. Here he was in active practice until 1890, when he removed to HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 507 Chicago, where he remained for five years, but in 1895 returned to Hobart. He enjoyed a large and growing patronage. In July, 1874, Dr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Deetta Van Horn, who was born in Herkimer county. New York, and in childhood came to Indiana, where she was reared and educated. It was in 1857 that her parents, Jake and Elizabeth (Brown) Van Horn, came to this state. Mr. and Mrs. Miller had two sons and twn daughters. Spencer A. ; Jennie D., who is the wife of Ed Tibbits, of Urbana, Illinois ; Hosea Mortimer ; and Julia E., at home. They also lost one daughter. Emily E. Dr. Miller was an exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity and at one time took a very active part in other fraternal organizations, but the demands of his practice left him little time for such work. He was a Demo- crat in his political views. He had a large patronage, which extended to Valparaiso, South Chicago and even to the city of Chicago. The resolution which he showed in acquiring an education was proof of the elemental strength of his character, and. his latent resources and powers were developed as the years passed until he stood as one of the strongest representatives of !i;s profession. JOHN A. KIMMET. One of the most prominent and energetic Inisiness men of Lowell and Lake county is John A. Kinimet, the \ice president of the State National Bank at Ldwell, a director of the First National Bank at Dyer, and a dealer in grain, lumber and building materials. His business career has been char- acterized by consecutive advancement along modern lines of progress, and his ready recognition and utilization of opportunity have formed the basis of his present success. His activity touches so many lines of business that he has become a most important factor in commercial and financial circles, and while promoting his individual success he has at the same time contrib- uted to the general prosperity. He is a self-made man. and one who deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, since he started out in life empty- handed, but, brooking no obstacles that could be overcome by determined purpose and honorable effort, has steadily worked his way upward. Mr. Kimmet was lx)rn in a log stable in Seneca county, Ohio, on the 25th of April, 1856. His father, Jacob Kimmet, was born in Bavaria, Germany, near the river Rhine. After establishing his home in Seneca 508 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. county. Ohio, he became prominent and inflnential there, and although he was in very hmited financial circumstances during the period of his early residence in that portion of the Buckeye state, he improved his opportunities and through earnest labor won a comfortable competence. His ability and loy- alty to the general good made him a recognized leader in public affairs, and one who aided in shaping public thought and action. In political circles he was particularly influential, and he delivered campaign addresses through- out the state in connection with Charles Foster. He also held local positions in Seneca county. His wife bore the maiden name of Catherine Scheiber, and was born in France. She came to America when six years of age, and was reared among the Indians v/ho lived in Seneca county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Scheiber, the maternal grandparents of Mr. Kimmet, lived for the first six months of their residence in this countrv in a house liuilt with only four posts, and later used to shelter cattle. "Sirs. Catherine Kimmet made all the clothes for her children from raw wool, which she spun and wove, and from the cloth she manufactured coats, pants and even hats and caps. Like her hu.sband. she bravely met the conditions of pioneer life, but as the years advanced all the comforts of civilization were introduced and the family were enabled to enjoy better privileges and come into possession of many of the luxuries of life. Mr. John A. Kimmet has eight living brothers, all of whom voted for William McKinley as the presidential can- didate of the Republican party. Seven of the number are residents of Ohio, and one, George Kimmet, is now a merchant of Lowell, Indiana. The only sister. Tillie, is the wife of Anthony Deponet, of Seneca county, Ohio, John A. Kimmet was but seven years of age when his father removed from the log stable in which the son had been born into a house built after more modern plans. His early education was acquired in the com.mon schools, but afterwards he enjoyed excellent school privileges, attending Heidelberg College at Tiffin, Ohio: St. Vincent College in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania : and St, Francis College near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was his intention to prepare for the ministry of the Catholic church, and he studied Latin, English and German, devoting five years to the mastery of the first named language. When but sixteen years of age he began teaching, and followed that profession for five years in Ohio, He was also principal of the Dyer school in Lake county, Indiana, for three years. In the mean- HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. 509 time he abandoned his intention of becoming a member of the priesthood, and on the loth of July, i8Si. he removed to Lowell, where he has since been an active business man. He assisted in building the elevator here, and is now well known as a grain merchant at this place. He was the business manager for the Du Breuil and Keilman firm from 1881 to 1892. When the senior partner of that firm died ]\[r. Kimmet purchased a half interest in the firm, which is now conducted under the firm style of L. Keilman & Company, the partners being L. Keilman and John A. Kimmet. Mr. Kim- met also owns a farm of twenty acres, on which he resides and which is located within the city limits of Lowell. In 1893 '"'^ became a director of the State Bank of Lowell, and later, upon the consolidation of the State Bank with the First National Bank, the name of State National Bank was chosen. Upon the death of A. A. Gerish, vice president, Mr. Kimmet was appointed vice president, and holds said position now. He is also a director of the First National Bank at Dyer, is engaged in the milling business, and is dealing in grain, lumber and building materials. His business interests have assumed extensive and profit- able proportions, and his activity has reached out to many lines of trade that affect general progress. On the 24th of June, 1880, occurred the marriage of Mr. Kimmet and Miss Maggie Keilman, a daughter of Leonard and Magdalena (Austgen) Keilman. Mrs. Kimmet was born and reared at Dyer, and by her marriage has become the mother of eleven children, seven of whom are yet living : M. Tillie. M. Lena. Rose, Charles F., Ida V., Celia M. and Hilda. Those who have passed away are Elizabeth, Rose, Leonard, and one that died in infancy. Mr. Kimmet is a gold Democrat, and cast his ballot for William Mc- Kinley in order that he might support the gold standard, the money question being at that time the paramount issue before the people. He is a member of the Catholic church, and was active in the building of the house of wor- ship at Lowell in 1897, contributing more largely to this undertaking than any other resident of the community. In public affairs he is very prominent, and his aid and co-operation might l^e counted upon for all measures that have for their object the public welfare and general advancement. He is now treasurer of the Three Creek Monument Association, a monument 510 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. being erected at Lowell in memory of the soldiers of the three townships of West Creek, Eagle Creek and Cedar Creek. He is also a trustee of the high school at Lowell. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution. His close application to business and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which is to-day his, but while he has gained wealth it has not been alone the goal for which he is striving, for he belongs to that class of representative American citizens who promote the general prosperity while advancing individual interests. NICKOLAS SCHAFER. Nickolas Schafer, of West Creek township, is a leading and prosperous farmer of this section of Lake county. He is of German birth and parentage, although he has spent all the years of his life since early boyhood in this country. It is to the lasting credit of the sterling ability and wortli of the German- American citizens that such l.ieautiful agricultural sections as that comprised in West Creek township have been largely developed and brought to their present value and richness through the painstaking efforts and intelligent direction of men of this nationality, among whom Mr. Schafer is one of the most influential and progressive. His birthplace was along the lieautiful and historic Rhine river, at the village of Alflen, in Prussia, where he first saw the light of day on January 12. 1846. He was the second in age of a family of ten children, six sons and four daughters, and he and his brother Edward are the only survivors, the latter being a resident of Chicago and an engineer on a lake steamer. His parents were Jacob and Anna Mary (Schoenerock) Schafer. His father was born in the same part of Germany, June 13, 1817, and died July 2^, 1880. He was educated in Germany and reared to agricultural pursuits, and about 1855 embarked his family and sailed down the Rhine to the North sea, thence to London, where he set out for the new world in a sailing vessel which was seven weeks before reaching the port of New York. Storms and heavy seas beset the ship, and the passengers were compelled to cook their own meals and endure many other hardships before blessed land finally hove in sight, many times it seeming as if the craft would go to the bottom. From New York city the family went to Springfield Hollow, in New York, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 511 and remainetl there a year and a half, and thence made tlie once more stormy and perilous voyage by the great lakes to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This German family landed in the new world with only two dollars in cash, and a friend afforded them free transportation to the village of Springfield Hol- low. From this state of povert}' of material resources, when they were in a strange country and unahle to speak the English tongue, handicapped in countless ways, their honest industry and persevering labors effected, in the end, a substantial and honorable place in the world's activity. The father Jacob got work in the erection of the custom house at Milwaukee, at a dollar and twelve cents a day, and was thus employed for three years. He then m.oved to Dodge county, Wisconsin, near Beaver Dam, and purchased forty acres of land and engaged in farming and stock-raising. He finally sold this and came to Ch.icago, where he was in the lumber yards for a year, and then arrived in West Creek township of Lake county. Here he purchased one hundred acres of land, going in debt nine hundred dollars for it, and by industry and good management paid off the entire indebtedness and resided on this good home until his death. He was entirely independent in political sentiments, and he and his wife were Catholics and members of the St. Martin's church at Hano\'er Center. His wife was also born near the river Rhine, August i, 1821, and she died December 13, 1898. She was a kind and good mother, and a good disciplinarian in her home. Mr. Schafer was nine years old when the eventful journey was made to this country, and he was educated mainly in the English tongue, although he can read the German te.xt. His life has been throughout devoted to farm- ing pursuits, and he was no more than twelve years old when he began adding his share of labor to the family establishment, and he remained with his parents until he was grown to manhood. .\t the age of twelve he began working for wages, four dollars and a cjuarter per month, and the first cow and the first pair of steers owned by the family were purchased from his wages. With the exception of one year in Chicago he has spent all his active life on the farm. October 9, 1883, he was married to Miss Mary Massoth, and it is to their combined industry and management that their success has been mainly due. They have been the parents of nine children, and happily the family circle has never been broken bv the hand of death. The children are as fol- 512 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. lows: John Adam, who is in the eighth grade and already a practical farmer; Henry, who is in the seventh grade; Cecelia M., who has passed the eighth grade; Katrina, in the seventh grade; and Ida E., John J., Marie, Mar- guerite and Frank Nicholas. The first three children have been confirmed, the two sons by Bishop Radamacher, and Cecelia by Bishop Allerding, of the North Bishopric of Indiana. Mrs. Schafer was born in Hanover township, Lake county, May 5, 1863, and is the second and the only survivor of the three children, all daugh- ters, born to Adam and Johanna (Hack) Massoth. Her father was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, September 8, 1833, and died September 2, 1899. He came to America when a young man, and with his mother purchased forty acres of land just north of pretty Cedar Lake in Lake county. He was a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife Catholics. Mrs. Schafer's mother was a native of St. John township in this county, and was the first white child born in the township. She was educated in the German lan- guage. Mrs. Schafer was born and reared in this county, and was con- firmed at the age of thirteen by Bishop Twenger of St. Martin's. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Schafer began life on the farm where they still reside. Their first estate consisted of one hundred and twenty-nine acres, and most of the improvements have been placed there by their own efforts. Their home is a large and comfortable country resi- dence, and their farm, now comprising twd hundred and forty-four acres in Center, Hanover and West Creek townships, is among the best land in the county. And they have especial reason to be proud that there is not a dollar against the entire estate. Mr. Schafer is, like his father, entirely independent as to politics, and casts his vote according to his best judgment and where he thinks it will do the most good. He and his wife are members of St. Martin's church, and Mrs. Schafer is a member of the Rosary sodality and Cecelia a member of the young ladies' sodality. CHARLEY T. BAILEY. Industry and enterprise coupled with a disposition of sagacity culminate in the sucessful man of the day. The truth of this aphorism is especially manifest in the case of Charley T. Bailey, who comes from one of the most HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 513 prominent families in the west part of Lake county. He is a native of Illi- nois, was born in Kankakee county, April 12, 1862, being the second of a family of four children, three sons and one daughter, the oldest of whom is Levi E., the county treasurer of Lake county, who is represented elsewhere in this volume; the daughter Grace is the wife of Fred T. Buse, a prosperous agi-iculturist of W'est Creek township (see their sketch) ; and George, an- other leading farmer of West Creek township. The father of this family is biographed in full on another page, and mother Bailey is deceased. Mr. Charley T. Bailey was an infant when he became a resident of Lake county, and consecjuently he has been reared in this county. He is a practical agriculturist and stock farmer, and in the latter department of his business has gained more than ordinary reputation. He makes a specialty of Hereford cattle and coach horses. He has one of the finest Hereford bulls to be found in northern Indiana, having purchased it from the well known stockman, Tom Clarke, of Beecher, Illinois. He is making a great success in the breeding of this fine stock, and his long experience of sixteen years has given him a big leverage for causing a happy culmination of all his enterprises. He has devoted much time and money to raising the grade of cattle to a high standard in this county. He has also bred coach horses for a number of years. j\Ir. Bailey is what may be termed a self-made man, having in a scholas- tic sense received only a common school education and one term in high school. He remained at home till the age of twenty-six, when he married for his first wife ^liss Tillie E. Grimes, on April 23, 1888. Four children, two sons and two daughters, were born of this union, and all are living. The eldest is Alay, who graduated from the eighth grade as salutatorian of her class and has also taken instrumental music : Ray is in the seventh grade of school : and Earl and Hilda are both at the sixth grade in their school work. All the children are bright and progressing rapidly in their prepara- tion for life's larger duties. Mrs. Bailey, the mother of this family, died on January 3, 1897. On September 4. 1899, Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Aliss Esther Starkweather, who was born in Michigan and was reared and educated in that state, graduating from the Romeo schools. She is a woman of more than ordinary business ability and acumen, and has been able to assist her husband in many ways. 33 514 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. After his first marriage \Iy. Bailey located on one hundred and forty- acres in section 7 of ^^'est Creek township, and he has made his home here ever since, although his first tract of land was but the nucleus of his present fine large estate. He has erected a modern country residence and excellent barns and outbuildings, and now owns four hundrd and fifty-three acres of land in this township. His farm is known as the Lanthus stock farm, which name was given by the government when it established the postoffice which at one time existed on this farm. Mr. Bailey is classed among the young and successful and progressi\'e farmers of this township, and coming from such a prominent family as the Baileys are in Lake county it is a pleasure to be able to record his biography in this handsome work. Mr. Bailey is a stanch Republican, and cast his first presidential vote for James G. Blaine, the "plumed knight." He has ever since strenuously upheld the banner of Republicanism during each administration. He has been chosen as a delegate to the county and district conventions, but as to ofiice-seeking has never had any aspirations at all. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey at- tend the West Creek Methodist Episcopal church, and contriluite their share of the benevolences. Their beautiful estate lies entirely in West Creek town- ship, and they stand high in the estimation of all who know them. ^Ir. Eailey has traveled cpiite extensively in the jNIississippi valley and also in the east, and is a well informed man both as to his business and concerning the outside world and its important happenings. LEWIS G. LITTLE. Among the many names known for integrity of character and honesty of purpose in West Creek township of Lake county we find that of Little to hold no inconspicuous place, and it is with modest courtesy that we present a review of Mr. Lewis G. Little, a scion of this well known family. He is a product of this locality of Lake county and was born February 21, 1861, being the eldest of the seven children, three sons and four daughters, born to Joseph .\. and ]\Iary (Gerrish) Little. Six of the children are still liv- ing, and in order of birth from Lewis they are: James H., \\ho is a pros- perous agriculturist and stockman of West Creek township, and whose per- sonal sketch will be found in this work; Ellen, who is now the wife of the Rev. John C. Wilson, minister of the Presbyterian church at Willow City, HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 615 North Dakota, b}- whom she has three children, was formerly a successful teacher in the schools of Lake county, and was educated at the Oxford Fe- male Seminary at Oxford, Ohio ; Jesse, a prosperous farmer of West Creek township, resides on the old homestead with his mother, and his history will also be found elsewhere in this volume; Myra is the wife of Solomon Spry, of West Creek township; J\L Emma, wife of Claire Landis, a resident of Montreal, Canada, and a mechanical draftsman for the Northern Pacific Railroad, lias one son, Chester G. by name. The father of this family was born in the Granite state of New FTamp- shire in 1830, and died February ig. 1892. By occupation he was a farmer. He was reared in his nati\'e state, and about 1856 he migrated to Lake county. Indiana, where he purchased some two hundred and forty acres of land in West Creek township. He traced his lineage to the English, and some of his ancestors figured as soldiers in the Revolutionary war. There was a Benjamin Little who bore arms against the British and who himself weighed by ninety-six pounds and carried an old flint-lock or Queen Ann's gun that itself weighed twelve pounds. The Little family are of most hon- orable birth and lineage. Joseph A. Little, the father, was an old-line Whig in politics, Init at the birth of the Republican ])arty he ardently espoused its political and moral principles, and continued so until his death. He repre- sented his district most worthily in the Indiana state legislature in 1886 and 1S87. While residents of the east he and his good wife were members of the Congregational church, but in West Creek township they became members and devoted adherents of the Lake Prairie Presljyterian church. His wife was also a native of Nev.' Hampshire, and is still living. Mr. Lewis G. Little was reared in his native county, and after finishing the common schools he took a course of study at \Vabash College in Craw- fordsville. He is a gentleman of modest and unassuming disposition, avoid- ing aught that savors of display or ostentation. June 12, 1900, he was married to Miss Efiie G. Kearney, who was born in Will county, Illinois. She followed the profession of teacher before her marriage. Politically Mr. Little is a Republican, and began his active advocacy of the principles of that party by casting his first presidential vote for James G. Blaine, the Plumed Knight. He anrl his wife are member of the Lake Prairie Presby- terian church. He and his wife enjoy the comforts of a happy and cosy 510 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. farm residence, where they meet and welcome their many friends from the community. JACOB HAYDEN. Jacob Hayden, a retired farmer and one of the early settlers of Lake county now living in Lowell, was born in Knox county. Ohio, March ii, 1 83 1. His parents were Nehemiah and Harriet (Kitchell) Hayden, both of whom were natives of New Jersey and became pioneer settlers of Knox county, Ohio, where they were married. Li March, 1837, they removed to Lake county. Indiana, casting in their lot with its pioneer residents. They settled in West Creek township, where Nehemiah Hayden developed a new farm, continuing the work of improvement and culti^•ation there until his death, which occurred when he was but fifty-eight years of age. His wife died at the age of forty-two years. In their family were thirteen children, of whom Jacob Hayden was the sixth in order of birth, and he was but six years of age at the time of the removal to Lake county. In a log schoolhouse near his father's home Jacob Hayden pursued his education. His training at farm labor was not as meager as his school privileges, for at an early age he began to assist in the cultivation and de- velopment of the home farm and continued to follow- agricultural pursuits for many years. He was married December 10, 1854, to Miss Sarah M. Knisely, a daughter of Edwin and Barbara (Baughman) Knisely, both of whom were natives of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where they were reared and married. They came to Lake county in 1837, and the father, who was born in 18 1 4, passed away in 1886 when about seventy-two years of age. The mother, who was born in October, 1819, is still living, having reached the very venerable age of eighty-five years. In their family were eleven children, of wdiom Mrs. Hayden is the eldest, and she was a maiden of fourteen summers when she came to Lake county. Her birth occurred in Tuscarawas county. Ohio, August 7. 1837. At the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hayden began their domes- tic life in West Creek township, where he was engaged in farming, and there they lived for more than forty-four years. He devoted his energies to the improvement and cultivation of his fields and annually gathered rich harvests as a reward for his labors. He now owns one hundred and sixty acres of land, hut at one time the old family homestead comprised more HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 517 than four Inmdred acres, but lie has I)een very generous with his children, dividing" his landed possessions with them. He was in very limited circum- stances when he started out in life on his own account, possessing only two steers. In the early days he hauled wheat to Chicago with an ox team, and sold the grain for thirty-five cents per bushel. He went through all the hardships and experiences of pioneer life, and carried on farming at a time when much of the work was done by hand, before the introduction of the modern machinery' which is to-day in use and has rendered labor much less difficult than it was in former years. He is now living retired in the enjoy- ment of a well earned rest, his capital having been acquired entirely through his own labors. To Mr. and Mrs. Hayden have been born nine children : Elmer, Lerov, Alice, Fred, Bertha, Martha, George, Jessie and Grace. George and Grace are now deceased, and the others are all married. One son now lives in Bloomington, Indiana, one daughter in Billings, Montana, while |he others are residents of West Creek township. Lake county, and with the exception of the eldest son, who was born in Illinois, all are natives of Lake county, Indiana. Mr. Hayden has given his political allegiance to the Republican party since its organization, and prior to that time he was a Whig. He voted for Fremont in 1856 and for Lincoln in i860 and 1864, and since that time he has supported each presidential candidate of the party. At one time he served as assessor of \^^est Creek township, but has never sought or desired political preferment. On the contrary, he has felt that his business affairs claimed his entire time and attention, and in the careful conduct of his agricultural interests he has won the prosperity that now enables him to live a retired life. ELDON N. HAYHURST. Eldon N. Hayhurst is representati\-e of the best interests of western Lake county, whether in industrial, social, intellectual or moral affairs. Em- erson has said that the true history of a nation is best told in the lives of its progressive citizens, and in presenting the biographies of the foremost men of this county there is necessarily and at the same time a recording of the most authentic annals of Lake county's history. Mr. Hayhurst was born May 16, 1867, in Momence township, Kankakee county, Illinois, being the fourth in a family of six chililren, four sons and 51S HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. two daughters, born to Benjamin Perry and Juliet ( Farrington ) Ha}iuu"st. There are four of his brotiiers and sisters still living: Isadora is the wife of Hubert C. Libheart, of Woodstock, Illinois; Alvin is a barber of Chicago; Ellsworth is a barber in Kankakee, Illinois, and is married : Alletha is the wife of John Hart, a carriage-maker of Connersville, Indiana. Mr. Hayhurst's father was born in Yellowhead township. Kankakee county, Illinois, in December, 1838, and died in March, 1883, being of Eng- lish lineage. He was reared to farm pursuits and was educated in the public schools. He enlisted as a Union soldier in Company K, Seventy-sixth Illi- nois Infantry, and was at the siege of Vicksburg and with Sherman on the march to the sea. He served as a boy in blue for two years, and then received an honorable discharge. He was a Republican in politics. His wife survives him and is a resident of Attica, Indiana, being sixty years of age. Mr. Eldon N. Hayhurst lived the first seventeen years of his life in Illi- nois, and received his education in the common schools. He has depended on his own energy and resources for success in life, and is truly a self-made man. At the age of sixteen he hired out for a wage of sixteen dollars a month, and when he began life on his own account at the age of majority he had a small capital. On December 22. 1886, he was married to Miss Lizzie Hayden. and five children have been born to them, all but one living at the present time. Lyrrel, the eldest, received her diploma from the schools in 1902, and has also taken a year of high school work, being especially fond of the sciences; she has taken about five years of piano instruction and is a lover of music and accomplished in the art beyond the average of young ladies. Kitchell, who is in the eighth grade of school, has also taken some music instruction. Eleanor is in the third grade, and the youngest of the family is Ruby. Mrs. Hayhurst was born December 30, 1866. in Kankakee county, and is a daugh- ter of John and Rachel (Dodge) Hayden. whose histories are told on other pages of this volume. The Hayden family is one of the oldest and most progressive in Lake county, and its \arious members have taken a prominent part in developing its resources. The lineage of the family is English. Mrs. Havhurst was reared in her native county until her marriage. Mr. and ]\Irs. Hayhurst began domestic life as tenant farmers on eighty HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 519 acres of land in \\'est Creek township, and continued as renters until 1896. They tlien purchased one liundred and thirty-three acres of good land with modern improvements, and as they were continually prospered in their en- deavors, in igoi they hought eighty acres just east of their original estate. On April 7, 1904, they purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Hand county, Soutli Dakota, near Wessington, and they now ha\'e fine property holdings and are in comfortable circumstances as a re\\ard of past industry and effect- ive management. Air. Hayhurst takes much pride in his Percheron horses, and raises only good grades of live-stock. He is a Republican in politics, and his active participation in public affairs as a voter began with the campaign of Benjamin Harrison. He has served as a delegate to the county con- ventions at various times. Fraternallv he affiliates with Lodge No. 300 of the Knights of Pythias at Lowell, and the choice of himself and wife as to churches has favored the Christian den(imination. ALBERT L. HAYDEN. The student of history does not have to carrv his investigations far into the annals of this section of the country without learning of the important part which the Hay den family have played in the agricultural development and progress of western Lidiana and eastern Illinois. Air. Hayden of this review was for many years closely identified with agricultural interests, and is now enjoying a well earned rest in Lowell. He was Irorn in Kankakee county, Illinois, about seven rods from the boundary line of Lake county, Lidiana, on the ist of March, 1849. His father, Daniel Hayden, was a native of Knox county, Ohio, and was the eldest S(in in a family of thirteen children. He came to Lake count}' in 1837, locating in West Creek township near the state boundary line. Soon afterward, however, he crossed the boundary line into Kankakee county, Illinois. Ijut he ever maintained his association with the public interests and with the -people of Lake county. His death occurred w hen he was sixty-nine years of age. In early manhood he married Louisa Hill, a native of Connecticut and who lived to be sixty-five years of age. They were the parents of thirteen children, all of whom reached adult age and are still lix'ing. All are married and most of the number reside in Lake county. Albert L. Havden, the second child and eldest son, was but twelve years 520 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. of age when his father luiilt a home in \Vest Creek township. Lake county, just across the horcler Hne from Illinois. He was reared in that township and began his education in a log schoolhouse, where he mastered the elemen- tary branches of English learning. He attended school only through the winter months, while in the summer seasons his time and energies were de- voted to farm work. He remained at home until he had attained his ma- jority, assisting in the development of his father's farm and thus gaining the practical knowledge and experience which enaliled him to successfully carry on agricultural pursuits in later years. On the 26th of January, 1872, Mr. Hayden was united in marriage to Miss Julia Clement, a daughter of H, V. and L}'dia (DeA\'itt) Clement, who became pioneer residents of Lake county and were here married. ]\Irs. Hayden was born in Fulton county, Ohio, and was only about a year old when brought to Lake county, her girlhood days being passed in Cedar Creek township. She attended the common schools and was also trained in the work of the household so that she was well qualified to take up the cares of her own home at the time of her marriage. By this union have been born three children : Amenzo, who is a resident farmer of Lake county ; Albert D., who follows agricultural pursuits in West Creek township; and Lydia, at home. At the time of his marriage Albert L. Hayden located on a farm in West Creek township, where he remained for three years, at the end of which time he removed to Cass county, Iowa, where he spent about seven years. He then again took up his abode in ^^^est Creek township, where he carried on general farming until 1902, since which time he has lived retired. He owns, however, a farm of one hundred and sixt}' acres, which is well improved and is equipped with all modern conveniences. The improvements upon this property he made himself, and the farm is, therefore, a monument to his capable management, unflagging energy and business capacity. No one need remain in doubt as to his political \iews. for he is fearless and out- spoken in his advocacy of the princijilcs of the Republican party, believing that its platform contains the best elements of good government. He is now enjoying a well earned rest at his pleasant home in Lowell, ha\-ing won the competence that enables him to li\e retired. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 521 \\TLLL\M BUCKLEY. William Buckle}', who was formerly ideiitifietl with agricultural inter- ests in Lake county, but has put aside business cares and is now resting in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil at his pleasant home in Lowell, is numbered among the worthy citizens that Ireland has furnished to Indiana. He was born in county Cork, Ireland, in 1831. His father, Dennis Buckley, was also a native of that count}', and in the green isle of Erin carried on agricultural pursuits, making his home there until 1849. when he came to Lake county, Indiana. He settled in Cedar Creek township, about a half mile from the present site of Lowell, but he was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, his death occurring in 1851. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Catherine Fleming, was born in county Cork, Ireland, and died in Lake county, Indiana, in 1858. Their family numbered five children, four sons and a daughter, and William Buckley is the eldest. John is a resident of Lowell ; and Patrick makes his home in Cedar Creek township, where he follows agricultural pursuits. The sister, Julia, is the wife of Patrick Feley, a leading farmer of Cedar Creek township. She is the only sister of Mr. Buckley. The first eighteen years of his life William Buckley passed in Ireland, and then came to America, hoping that he might have better business oppor- tunities in the new world. He made his way direct to Lake county, where he began working by the month as a farm hand, and following any employ- ment that would yield him an honest living. He assisted in building the first brick house in Lowell and for some time worked for Mr. Halsted, the founder of the town. He was employed by the month for about five years, and then began buying small tracts of land. He soon located on one of these and improved the place. In partnership with his brothers, John and Patrick, he carried on agricultural pursuits for several years. He after- ward engaged in farming alone until about seven years ago, when he retired from active connection with agricultural pursuits and took up his abode in Lowell. His progress has been consecutive and enviable. He has worked on year after year, and as his financial resources have increased he has become the owner of valuable realty holdings. To-day he owns four hundred acres of good farming land in Lake county, all of which has been accumulated through his capable management. n22 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Mr. Buckley has been twice married. He first wedded ]\Iiss Elizabetli Darst. who died leaving nine children, namely : Kate, Franklin D., Dennis P., Addie. Julia ]\I., John P., Joseph L.. Fred W. and Raymond. John P. is a finely educated man. He graduated at Valparaiso College, .and is a professor of chemistry in a college in Chicago. He received his education by his own ambition. On the 3d ot June, 1901, Air. Buckley was again married, his second union being with a Airs. Louisa Comeford. who was born in Vermilion county. Illinois, June 11, 1851. but was reared in Dwight, Illi- nois. She is a daughter of Reuten and Lovina (Kuntz) Comeford, both of whom are now deceased. Airs. Buckley is the mother of nine children by a former marriage: John F., Fred \\'., Alary A., Thomas P., Daniel A., Joseph E.. Rosa E., Ella L. and Lizzie L. Comeford. Air. Buckley is a member of the Catholic cluirch and in politics is a Democrat, where state and national issues are involved, but at local elections he votes independently. He has never had occasion to regret his determina- tion to seek a home in the new world. He found the opportunities he sought, — which, by the way, are always open t(3 the ambitious, energetic man, — and, making the best of these, he has steadily worked his way upward. He possessed the resolution, perseverance and reliability so characteristic of peo- ple of his nation, and his name is now enrolled among the best citizens of Lake county. LEWIS HAYDEN. Lewis Hayden is numbered among the early settlers of Lake county and is a retired farmer now living in Lowell. In fact, he is one of the native sons of this portion of the state, his birth having occurred in W'est Creek township, March 12, 1838. He is the eleventh of a family of thirteen chil- dren whose parents were Nehemiah and Harriet (Kitchell) Hayden. men- tion of whom is made on another page of this work in connection with the sketch of Jacob Hayden. Amid the wihl scenes of frontier life Lewis Hay- den was reared upon the old family homestead in \\'est Creek township. The settlements in northwestern Indiana were then widely scattered, and much of the land was still unimproved. Crude farm machinery was used in developing the fields, for the era of modern invention had not yet dawned resulting in the production of the modern agricultural implements that are to-day in use. Lewis Hayden performed his full share of the work on the HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 523 home farm, clearing the fields, planting the seed and harvesting the crops. He hauled wheat to Chicago with ox teams before there was any railroad, and he remained upon the home farm until the death of his father, when he started out in life on his own account. His educational privileges were such as were afforded in a log schoolhouse of that period. Mr. Hayden was united in marriage to jMiss Lucinda Knisely, and to them were Ixjrn two sons and a daughter, Sherman, Grant and Addie, but the last named is now deceased. The mother passed away January 5, 1867, and !Mr. Hayden afterward wedded Almeda Knisel}', a sister of his first wife. She was born in New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, Oc- tober 16, 1846, and by her marriage she became the mother of ten children: Judson; Edward: Sylvia: Albert and .\lma twins: and Carrie, Mark, Bruce, Ruble and Blanche, all of whom are now deceased. .All were born in West Creek township and the living children are ail married with the exception of Albert. Mr. Hayden has spent his entire life in Lake county and during the greater part of the time has engaged in farming. He now owns two valuable farms comprising rich and productive land, one of which is two hundred and seventy-two acres in extent and the other one hundred and twenty acres. This land he rents, and it brings to him a good annual income. He him- self was actively engaged in farming until 1899, when he retired from busi- ness life and removed to Lowell. He had been very successful as an agri- culturist, had placed his fields under a high state of cultivation, and had an- nually garnered rich crops which found a ready sale on the market. He improved his farm by building fences and erecting a large modern residence, substantial barns and other outbuildings : in fact he added all modern ecjuip- ments and accessories to his place and his property is now very valuable. His political allegiance has ever been given to the Republican party, and upon that ticket he has been chosen for a number of local positions. He belongs to a family of nine brothers, who have contributed in large measure toward the improvement and progress of the southwestern part of Lake county. They own adjoining farming property in \\'est Creek township, and contril:iute in large measure to the agricultural interests of this portion of the state. They always favor general progress and improvement touching the interests of society at large, and Mr. Hayden has given his hearty co-op- 52i HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. eration to many movements that have been of direct benefit to this portion of the state. OTTO C. BORMAN. Otto C. Borman, active and energetic in business affairs, has until re- cently been engaged in general merchandising and in milling at Tolieston. He is a young man who jMSsesses the enterprising spirit of the age, his birth having occurred in Tolieston on March 3, 1877. He is the fourth son of Christopher and Wilhelmina (Kurth) Borman, who were early residents of Lake county, coming here when this was largely a frontier district Otto C. Borman is indebted to the public school system for the educational advantages which he enjoyed, and he entered business life as a clerk in his father's store when a mere boy. He afterward went to Chicago, where he W'Orked for one year, and spent a similar period in Hammond. In 1898 he was united in marriage to Mrs. IT. F. Seegers, the widow of the late Henry F. Seegers, who was at that time engaged in business in Tolieston. Mr. Borman then conducted the business and developed this enterprise to good proportions, a large line of general merchandise being carried and a liberal patronage won through honorable methods and straightforward dealing. Mr. Borman was also engaged in conducting a flour and feed store, and was the leading real estate man of the town. To Mr. and Mrs. Borman has been born a daughter, Caroline, and there are three children by Mrs. Borman's former marriage, Laura, Renata and Hertha. In his political views Mr. Borman is a Democrat and is deeply interested in the success and growth of his party. He belongs to the German Lutheran church, and does everything in his power to promote general progress and improvement along material, social, intellectual and moral lines. He has an intimate knowledge of the history of the county for a quarter of a centiu-y or during the entire period of his life, and he is widely and favorably known in Tolieston and the surrounding districts. FRED T. BUSE. Energy and enterprise coupled with sagacity have made the successful business man Fred T. Buse and brought him to prominent rank among the citizens of Lake county as well as in the other places where his life of activity has been passed. He is now classed among the progressive and prosperous HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 525 agriculturists of \\'est Creek tcwuship, and stands high in the estimation of all who know him. He is a native of Dubuque, Iowa, where he was born September 13, 1863, being the fifth in a fanu'ly of seven children, five sons and two daugh- ters, born to Christian and Hannah (Ponta) Buse. Five of these children are yet li\ing: William, who is connected with the commercial activity of Dubuque, and is a man of family; Sena, wife of Henry Ehlers, who is con- nected with the police force in W'ashington, D. C. : Charles, a saleman in a hardware establishment at Dubuque, and also married : Fred T. ; and Ida K., wife of Robert Knoll, a machinist of Dubuque. The father and mother of this fa.mil}- were natives of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, and the former was born May 9, 1826, and died July 4, 1900. He learned the trade of mechanic, and remained in his fatherland until he was a grown man. He served for four years in the German army. He came across the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, and from New York went to Cleveland, and thence to Louis- ville, Kentucky, and then followed the Mississippi as far north as Dubuque, where he permanently established himself. He was a stanch Republican, and he and his wife were members of the German Lutheran church. His wife, Mrs. Hannah Buse, was born April 11, 1827, and at the age of seventy-seven enjoys fine health. Mr. Fred T. Buse spent the early years of his life in Dubuque, and received his education in the city schools. At the age of sixteen he began his career by working for wages, and from a beginning without any money capital nor with any subsequent material assistance, he has attained by his own efforts an honorable and comfortable position in the world of affairs. He was in Dubuque until 1886, and then for two years he was employed as a brakeman on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, his run being from Savannah, Illinois, to La Crosse, Wisconsin. He was next a baggage master and express messenger for the same road until 1893, running from McGregor, Iowa, to La Crosse. Then for a year he was baggage master from Savannah to La Crosse, and during 1894 he weighed United States mail on the Milwaukee & St. Paul road from McGregor to Chicago. He was then on a way-freight of the same road during a part of 1895-96. October 2. 1895. he married Mrs. Grace M. (Bailey) Barhite. They have one son, Elliott E., born in Dubucjue, October 20, 1896, and who is 526 HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. now in the second grade of school. Mrs. Buse was born Jnne 5, 1867. being a daughter of Josiah B. and Nancy E. (Kile) Bailey — one of the oldest and most prominent families of Lake county and whose history appears on other pages of this work. Mrs. Buse was educated in the common schools of this county, and on December 21. 1887, was married to Adelbert Bar- hite. from which union there was one son, Ceylon A., who was born October 18, 1888, and who recently graduated from the graded school of the town- ship and in 1904 entered the Lowell high school. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Buse were located in Dubuque for a time, and he was then engaged in the manufacture of harness at West Salem. Wisconsin, in the firm of Wakefield & Buse. He was also interested in the La Crosse Leather Company, and for a time was on the road for that concern, his territory fieing South Dakota, southern Minnesota and central Wisconsin. After about a year in this latter business he sold out his interests, and he and his wife then came to Lake county and located on the old Bailey homestead in West Creek township. This place is known as the Hickorj'^ Grove farm, and contains two hundred and eighty acres of as fine soil as can be found in Lake county. Not only the entire farmstead is a beautiful and profitable estate, but the home is one of comfort and cheer such as is not met with at every turn of the road. Mr. Buse is devoting much of his time and attention to the raising of Hereford cattle. He is an enthusiastic and pro- gressive agriculturist in the true sense of the word, and is interested not only in making his farm a source of profit but in causing it to be a property of beauty such as he or anyone might take pride to call his own. He has re- cently built a fine modern granary, forty by thirty-six feet, and twenty feet high, with concrete walls and floor, and also in the same style of construction is his tool shed, sixteen by forty feet. Mr. Buse is a stanch Republican, and cast his first presidential vote for James G. Blaine. He fraternizes with Lodge No. 300 of the Ivnights of Pythias at Lowell. JOSLAH B. BAILEY. In the death of Josiah B. Bailey, on November 25, 1902, the community of West Creek township lost one of its most esteemed and worthy citizens, a man of unimpeachable character, of serious mind and worth, and with an HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 527 influence emanating" from liis personality tliat affected not alone his own family and circle of friends but all with whom he came in contact throughout his career. At the time of his death he was sixty-seven years, one month and two days old. He was horn at Door \'illage, LaPorte county. Indiana, October 23, 1835. When he was a child he lost his father, and tlien went to make his home with his grandfather in Pulaski county, and some time later he accompanied his grandfather to Lake county and made this his home through- out the rest of his life, \\ ith the exception of two years spent in Kankakee county. Illinois. March ig, 1857, he was married to Miss Nancy E. Kile, who died April 18, 1876. There were four children liorn of this union, three sons and one daughter, as follows: Levi E., Charles T., George B., and Grace, who is the wife of Mr. Fred T. Buse, whose history is given above. In Feb- ruary, 1877, ]Mr. Bailey married ]\Irs. Amelia Sanger, who is still living. Mr. Bailey was also survived by a sister. Mrs. Mary E. Hamiltnn, of Minne- apolis, and by two brothers, S. T. Bailey, of Battle Grounds, Indiana, and O. L. Chapman of Coyville, Kansas. Mr Bailey's life was of tliat sturdy, upright character such as stands as its own justification and is the mark of the career of a good citizen. He had an inquiring and adaptive mind, and his constant desire to progress made him more than ordinarily successful as a farmer. His advice and opinion in matters of practical concern were often sought, and freely given. He was public-spirited in everything that concerned the welfare of his com- munity of \\^est Creek township, and his good citizenship here made him also a valuable unit and factor in the makeup of the state and nation. He served as supervisor of his township for some time, and during that time urged with all his power and official authority the building of gravel roads. He was of a sympathetic nature and was always ready to help those really in need. While not a memlier of any church, he was free an.d open-handed in his giving to the cause of Christianity. He was an attendant of the West Creek Methodist church, and the last rites were performed in that church. He was well known in the county and had many friends, and his death meant a personal loss to many outside the family circle that loved him so well. 528 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. E. R. BACON, M. D. During the years which marked the period of Dr. Bacon's professional career he has met with gratifying success, and while a resident of Lake county he has won the good will and patronage of many of the best citizens of Lowell and the surrounding districts. He is a thorough student, and endea\'ors to keep abreast of the times in everything relating to the discoveries in medical science. Progressive in his ideas and favoring modern methods as a whole, he does not, however, dispense with the time-tried systems whose value has stood the test of years. He has a large practice, which is indicative of the Irust reposed in his professional skill, and so widely and favorably is he known that no history of the county would be complete withotit a record of his life. Dr. Bacon was born in Orleans county, New York, February 22, 1840. His father. Benjamin Bacon, was a native of Washington county. New York, and was a farmer ]>y occupation. He died in the Empire state in his seventy- fifth year. His wife died when the Doctor was only three years of age, and the boy was reared by B. G. Merrick. He pursued a common-school educa- tion and started out in life for himself at a very early age. When a young man of twenty-one years he responded to his country's call for troops, enlist- ing on the 24th of April, 1861, as a member of Company G, Second Michigan Vohuiteer Lifantry. He was a private and whh that command served for three n:onths. Li 1862 he re-enlisted in the One Hundredth Illinois Volun- teer Regiment and served for three years. In 1864 he was transferred to the regular army as ho-spital steward, and thus continued his connection with the Union troops until the fall of 1865, when he was discharged on a general war order. His clothing was pierced by five bullets at the battle of Chicka- mauga, but he sustained no personal injury. Diu'ing the years of his active service he was in many important ]:)att]es, and never faltered in the perform- ance of duty or in his allegiance to the old flag and the cause it represented. In May, 1866, Dr. Bacon came to Lowell, and here took up the study and practice of medicine. He had attended lectures at Nashville, Tennessee, during the war and had begun practice on his arrival in Lowell, at the same time continuing his reading in order to perfect his knowledge of the healing art. He is a graduate of the Chicago Medical College of the class of 1873, and has been in constant practice in Lowell for thirty-five years, during which /^ {S e^eed 'CLG,ed build the breastworks aroimd New York dur- ing the war of 1812. His birthplace was Hoboken. New Jersey. lie was one of the first settlers of Jasper county, Lidiana, and was one of the first county commissioners of Jasper and Newton counties, serving for several terms. He left Indiana and went to Kansas in the fifties, where he took part in the border warfare of that state. He died at Brook, Indiana. He had been left an orphan, and been bound out as apprentice to a tanner, and his long life was filled with honorable and useful effort. JOHN A. GAVIT. John A. Gavit, attorney at law in the ^lajestic building at Hammond, has carried on a successful practice in this city since 1896, and has been practicing at the l:-ar for the past sixteen years. Before coming to Hammond he took considerable part in public affairs, and he still gives pub- lic-spirited interest to all matters affecting the general welfare of his com- munity. He is an able lawyer, well read and a fluent talker, and is a genial and talented gentleman who wields a good influence in the city and county. Air. Gavit was born in \\'alsingham, Canada, August 19, 1861, a son of Albert N. and Bridget (Highland) Gavit, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Ireland. His paternal grandfather, Albert Gavit, was a native Connecticut farmer, but who died in Canada in old age, having reared a large family. His maternal grandfather, Patrick Highland, was born in Ireland and followed farming during his earlier years. He emigrated to Canada, and after some years moved to Pontiac, Michigan, where he died in old age. By his wife Hannah he had a number of children. Albert N. Gavit has always followed farming, and is still living on his farmstead near Saginaw, Michigan. He has been honored with various township oflices. He and his wife had seven children : John A. : Frank M.. of Whiting, In- diana; Louis N., of Saginaw, Michigan: Mary, wife of Frank Cole, of Saginaw; William, of Saginaw; the other two children are deceased. 560 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. y\r. John A. Ga^it spent his boyhood days near Pontiac. Michigan. He attended the pubhc schools there, and in 1886 graduated from tlie Normal College at Flint, Michigan. He then read law, and was admitted to the bar in 1888. He was engaged in practice at Saginaw from then until 1896, at which date he came to Hammond, where he has created a good reputation in his profession and built up a very fine clientage. Mr. Gavit is a Democrat in politics, and at Saginaw was justice of tlie peace for three years. He re- signed that office to accept the nomination for prosecuting attorney, and was elected and served in that office for two years. Mr. Gavit affiliates with the Knight of Pythias, the Maccabees and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He resides at 755 Sibley street, where he bought ground and erected a good home. In January-, 1890, he married Miss Emma Campbell, the daughter of John and Adelia (Johnson) Campbell. They have six children : Elwin J., Russell, Bernard, Donald. Hubert and Inez. MELVIN A. HALSTED. Melvin A. Halsted, who is living a retired life in Lowell, was born in Rensselaer county, New York. March 29, 1821. The ancestry of the fam.ily can be traced back to William the Conqueror, and three brothers of the name came to America in early colonial days, settling in New York. The great- grandfather of Melvin A. Halsted was a mmister of the Baptist church and was one of a party of six that owned an entire township in Rensselaer countv. New York. One representative of the family, Thomas Halsted, remained loyal to the British crown, but Joseph Halsted, the grandfather of our sub- ject, espoused the cause of the colonists and valiantly did battle for their rights. He was born in the Empire state on the bank of the Hudson river, became a farmer and followed that occupation throughout his entire life. William Halsted, the father of ]\Ielvin A., was also a native of Rensselaer county, New York, and after arriving at years of maturity he was united in marriage to Miss Patty Haskin, who was born in Pittstown, New York, and was a descendant of Enoch Haskin, who was of Scotch birth, coming from the land of the heather to America in the year 1700. Mr. and Mrs. William Halsted were the parents of two sons, Init tlie younger, Edson, is now de- ceased. The only sur\-iving member of the family is Melvin A. Halsted, who MRS. M. A. HALSTED JC^Mt^aAHcC HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 561 was reared in the place of his nativity until fourteen years of age and attended the public schools there. He was also a student in the high school at Benning- ton, Vermont, and in 1837 he removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, locating in Dayton. He was there married in May, 1842, to Miss Martha C. Foster, and for three years they continued their residence in Dayton, at the end of which time the}- came to Lake county, Indiana, locating in West Creek township, where IMr. Halsted carried on farming until 1848. He then came to what is now the town of Lowell and built and operated a sawmill. The following year he burned four hundred thousand brick, and erected the house in which he still lives. It is yet a stibstantial structure and is a monument to his life of thrift and energy. Attracted by the discovery of gold in California, l\ir. Halsted crossed the plains in 1S50, accomplishing a part of the journey with ox teams and the remainder of the trip with mule teams. He was one hundred days upon the way, and after spending about a year on the Pacific coast he returned to the Mississippi valley by way of Salt Lake city, being eighty days upon the return trip. In 1852 he built the flour mill at Lowell, hauling all of the machinery from Chicago in wagons. In 1853 he began the operation of this mill, and it became one of the important industries of this part of the state, receiving a patronage from a large district. Alx)ut 1857, however, he sold the property and removed to southern Illinois, but in the meantime he had entered the land upon which the town of Lowell now stands. In southern Illinois he built and operated a grist and saw mill at Kinmundy, twenty miles north of Centralia, on the Chicago branch of the Illinois Cen- tral Railroad. There he remained until 1859, when he sold his property and again went to California, where he built another flouring mill thirty miles south of San Francisco. In 1861 he sold this for twelve thousand dollars, and then returned to Kinmundy, Illinois, where he owned real estate. After four months, however, he again went to California, by way of New York and the isthmus route, arriving eventually at San Francisco. He then made his way to Virginia City and was engaged in mining at Gold Hill for about three years, when he returned by way of Panama and New York to Lowell, Indiana. His family had joined him at Gold Hill in 1862, and in 1863 he made a trip among the giant trees of the state. At Gold Hill he built four houses, which he rented, and thus he contributed to the improvement and development of the town. On the 4th of January, 1864, he started for Indiana by the 562 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. water route, leaving his family, liowever. in California. On reaching Lake county he found that his original property at Lowell was for sale, and ]jur- chased it, together with other property, including a flour mill three miles from Lowell, in addition to the one at Lowell. On his return to Lowell he put the mills in excellent condition and carried on the business of manufactur- ing flour for some time. He then sent word for his wife to sell his property in California and Nevada and join him in Lowell. He met his family at New York city and went to Washington, where they \isited Mount \'ernon and many places of interest in and about the city. While there ]\Ir. Halsted obtained the assistance of Mr. Colfax in getting the first daily mail for Lowell. Mr. Halsted continued in the milling business at Lowell until 1869, when lie sold out and spent the succeeding winter in San Francisco, again making the trip to the Pacific coast by water. He erected fourteen houses for renting purposes at Valejo, California, twenty-two miles from San Francisco, and continued to own that property until 1872, when he sold out to one of the owners of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. In tliat year his family returned to Indiana, while Mr. Halsted made a hunting tour off the Island of St. Barbara. He captured four sea lions on the expedition, which he sold to John Robinson, the showman, for twelve hundred dollars. Later Mr. Halsted visited Kinmundy. Illinois, before returning to Lowell. He has also visited New England, viewing many points of historic interest in that country, including Plymouth Rock, on which the early settlers first stepped as they landed from the Mayflower on American soil. Going to Utah territory, he sent for his family to join him there, and became superintendent of a mine, which he conducted until the demonetization of silver in 1873, After his return from Utah he was instrumental in securing the building of the Monon Railroad through Lake county. He did grading to the value of eighty-five thousand dollars, but only received sixty-five thousand dollars, thus suffering a loss of twenty thousand dollars. He is now engaged in the real estate busi- iies in Lowell. Mr. and Mrs. Halsted have two sons, William M., who is a resident of Topeka, Kansas, and Theron H., who is residing in Lowell. Mr. Halsted gave his early political support to the Whig party, and heard William Henry Harrison deliver a political speech on the lOth of September, 1840. On the dissolution of that party he joined the ranks of the new Republican party, of HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. . 563 which he has since been a stalwart advocate. He is now the oldest Mason of Lowell and a charter member of the lodge in this place. He has passed the eighty-third milestone on life's journey, and his has been a very eventful career, in which he has largely witnessed the growth and upbuilding of the country and has taken an active and helpful part in the work of progress in many sections of the United States. From actual experience he has intimate knowledge concerning the history of pioneer days in California as well as in Lidiana and Illinois, and his life record, if written in detail, would present many chapters of intense and thrilling interest. He is very widely known in northwestern Indiana, and his worth as a man and citizen is widely ackn<.iwl- edged. BEXJAMIX F. IBACH. Benjamin F. Ibach, lawyer of Hammond, with offices in the Hammond building, has been prominent in practice at the bar of Indiana for the past forty years. He has gained an enviable reputation as pleader and counsel, but huS also gone afield into politics and public life, and one of the most im- portant state charitable institutions owes its organization and high efficiency to his sincere and intelligent efforts. Before entering the law he bad made a great success in the teaching profession, and he performed noteworthy service in this line in both Pennsylvania and Indiana. Mr. Ibach is a man of broad practical and scholastic attainments, devoted to bis main work in life and al.io interested in world and community affairs, and has the humanly sympa- thetic instincts which are the marks of the well rounded and large character. Mr. Ibach was born in Cherrington. Lebanon county. Pennsylvania. January 31, 1834, so that he has now passed the limit of life set by the Psalmist, but is still able to perform a useful part in life for some years to come. He is a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Hine) Ibach, and is the only one living of the three sons and two daughters born to those parents. His father was torn at Reimscheid, near Diisseldorf, Germany, and was a manu- facturer of iron kitchen utensils, as was also his father. He was brought to America in 1799, when six years old, the family locating in Chester county, Pennsylvania, and there he was reared and in that state lived the rest of his life. He died in Cherrington, Pennsylvania, in August, 1833, before his son Benjamin was born. He and his wife were both Lutherans in faith. His wife was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and survived 564 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. him until 1881, being then eighty-two years old. Her father, J(ihn Hine, was a life-long resident of Pennsylvania, dying at Philadelphia when nearly sev- enty years old. He was a fanner until he retired late in life to Philadelphia. Mr. Benjamin F. Ibach was reared on a farm in Pennsylvania. He at- tended one of the first public schools established in the state. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to Emanuel Schaefifer, of Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania, and learned the saddle, harness, collar and trunk-making business. After completing his apprenticeship he worked at his trade long enough to earn money with which to attend the Strasburg Academy. After a term or so in that institution he taught in the public schools of Lancaster county, and then became principal of the Strasburg Academy, which position he held for several years, ^^l^ile principal he and James P. Wickersham and anotb.er gentleman were appointed a committee at a teachers" county conven- tioi; to organize a normal school. They organized and set going such a school at Millersville, with ]\Ir. \\'ickersham as president, and out of this institution grew the State Normal School at Millersburg. After leaving the Strasburg Academy Mr. Ibach for several years was superintendent of the public schools of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and in 1862 became superinten- dent of tiie public schools of Huntington, Indiana. While engaged in school work both in Pennsylvania and in Huntington Mr. Ibach was reading law, one of his preceptors being W. T. Phail, of Lan- caster, Pennsylvania, and in November. 1864, he was admitted to the bar at Huntington. He began practice in that city at once. He was elected prosecuting attorney for several terms, and was also judge of the common pleas court for a time. He held the office of city attorney of Huntington for seventeen vears. As a matter of recreation principally he had devoted some study to feeble-minded children, and when the legislature passed an act for the organization of a school to care for such children. Governor Will- iams appointed Mr, Ibach as one of the trustees. After the completion of a suitable building for the purposes, the governor induced him to resign his place as trustee on condition that the board of trustees should elect him super- intendent of the institution, which was done. He organized the school, placed it on a good business basis, and during his two years' management the asylum attracted national attention to its efficiency and was visited by superintendents from various states for the purpose of noting its methods of improving this class of children. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 565 After resigning this important work he resumed legal practice at Hunt- ington, where he remained until 1895. in which year he came to Hammond, and has continued his successful legal career in this city to the present writ- ing. In 1886 he was elected to the legislature for the counties of Hunting- ton and Allen, being a member of the memorable assembly of 1887, during which he voted for David Turpie for United States senator. His political allegiance was given to the Democratic party until after Cleveland's first election, and from that time until 1896 he was in alignment with the Re- publicans. His views as to money caused him to swing with the silver Re- publicans, and since then most of his influence has been on the side of Democ- racy. He is a member of the Methodist church, and fraternally is affiliated with Garfield Lodge No. 569. F. & A. M.. at Hammond. January 29, 1856, Mr. Ibach married Miss Kate E. Warfel, whose parents died when she was an infant, and she was taken and reared as the daughter of B. B. Gonder. Three children were born of this marriage, Charles L., Preston G. and Joseph G. Charles L. was a clerk in Indianapolis at the time of his death ; his wife was Lizzie Chambers, of Camden, New Jersey, who is also now- deceased. Preston G. is a successful physician in Hammond; he married Miss Nellie Huntoon. Joseph G. is an attorney in Hammond: he married Miss Minnie Friedley. and they have three children, Mary, Anna and Joseph. Mrs. Kate Ibach died in February, 1864, when twentv-nine vears old. She was a member of the ]\Iethodist church. In May, 1876. Mr. Ibach married Miss Martha \\'ilson, a daughter of Samuel \\'ilson. She died in October, 1891, at the age of sixty-three, having been a faithful member of the Methodist church. There are no children liv- ing of that union. On July 22, 1903, Mr. Ibach married for his present wife Mrs. Amanda L. Rounds, a widow. PATRICK REILLEY. Patrick Reilley, at present of the Reilley Plumbing Company of Ham- mond, is a man of broad and varied business and industrial experience, cov- ering several important fields of human activity and in tlifferent parts of the countn-. He has known a life of busy and useful effort since he was a young bov. when he joined the na\-al serx'ice of the United States while the Civil war was still in progress. While with the navy he saw much of the inhabited 566 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. part of the globe. He came west to Hammond, aljout twenty years ago, to identify himself with the butterine department of the packing company, and since then has embarked in the plumbing business, in which he has been most successfully employed for a number of years. He is now able to rely and place much responsibility on the shoulders of his stalwart sons, and he has good reason to be proud of his fine family, which lie has reared to careers of usefulness in addition to perfcjrming well his own part in life. He has entered much into public affairs since taking up his residence in Hammond, has been honored with the office of mayor of the city, and in many ways is identified prominently with the life and welfare of his community. Mr. Reilley was born in Verplanck's Point, New York, January i. 1848, a son of James and Bridget (O'Donnell) Reilley, both natives of Ireland, where their parents lived and died. His father followed various pursuits in young manhood. He was a brick-maker by trade, and on coming to America settled in New York state. He was for some time superintendent of the Second Avenue car stables, and in 1855 was killed there by the kick of a horse. He and his wife were both Roman Catholics. His wife survived him three years, and by her second husband, John Allen, had one son, John Allen, Jr. There were six children, two sons and four daughters, born to James and Bridget Reilley, but only two are now living: Patrick and Bridget, the latter the wife of John Hessick, of Lebanon, Indiana. Mr. Patrick Reilley lived in New York state until after the breaking out of the Civil war, and recei\ed his early education in that state. On October 23, 1863, when fifteen years old, he enlisted at Philadelphia in the United States Marine Corps, and served as drummer for five years, three months and eight days. He re-enlisted at the close of his service, and went to Europe in the United States frigate Guerriere. He served four years in all, and was also assigned to other ships, the Don, the De Soto and the Brooklyn. After leaving that department of naval work he was employed in the Brooklyn navy yard for some time, and later began the manufacture of butterine at Charlestown, Massachusetts. He was in the employ of the vStandard Butter Manufacturing Company for some time, and later with John Reardon and Son of Cambridgeport, Massachusetts. In 1884 he came to Hammond to accept the position of superintendent of the Hammond but- terine department, remaining with the company for twelve years. He re- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 56T signed and went into the pluni1)ing and later into the grocery business with his sons James and Edward, confining his attention to that line of mer- chandising for three years. For the past six years he has given his principal energies to the conduct of the Reilley Plumbing Company, which has a large and profitable patronage in this city. Mr. Reilley gives his political allegiance to the Democratic party. He served as councilman of the third ward for eight years, and for the last eighteen months of that time acted as mayor. Two years later he was re- elected to the council, and was afterward elected to the office of mayor, which he held four years. He and his wife and family are members of the Catho- lic church, and he affiliates with the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Order of Foresters, the Independent Order of Foresters of the State of In- diana, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. He has lived at his pleasant home at 283 South Hohman street for the past eighteen years. Mr. Reilley married Miss Mary A. McSweeney, a daugliter of Edward and INIary (Murphy) McSweeney. They are the parents of thirteen chil- dren, eight of whom are living, as follows: Marj' Ann. James C, Edward, Catherine. Bessie, Xora, Julia and Joseph. James C. married Josie Enright. FRED S. CHARTIER. Fred S. Chartier. the popular liveryman at Hammond, has been identi- fied with the business affairs of this citv for the past five years and has gained the esteem and high regard of all his fellow citizens through his fair and progressive business methods and his own personal integrity of character. He was born in Valparaiso, Indiana, May 24, 1871, being a son of Jacob and Emma Chartier, natives of Napierville, Quebec, and born, respec- tively, November 2, 1835, and October 19, 1845. The father of Mrs. Emma Chartier was a native of Canada, whence he came to the Ignited States and was one of the early settlers of St. Ann. Illinois, where he died at the age of eightj'-four years, having been the father of a large family. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Chartier was of French parentage but a native of Canada, and was a farmer by occupation. He died at Valparaiso, Indiana, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. There were eight children in his family. Jacob Chartier was eighteen years old when he came to the United 568 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. States in 1853 and located at Valparaiso, Indiana, where he engaged in farm- ing for a few years. He then became a brick manufacturer, and continued that business up to 1897. since which time he has Hved retired. He served as city councilman of Valparaiso for several terms, and has otherwise been prominent in business and pul^lic affairs. He and his wife are Catholics in faith. They had eleven children, six sons and five daughters, and eight are now living: George, of Stony Island, Illinois; Fred S., of Hammond; Leonie, of Valparaiso; Eliza, wife of H. B. Blair, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Alfred C, of Hammond; Margaret, wife of Clarence Dillingham, of Val- paraiso; Stella, wife of David Lameroux, of Chicago; and Peter, of Val- paraiso. Mr. Fred S. Chartier was reared at Valparaiso, in which city he at- tended both the parochial and the public schools. He undertook life's re- sponsibilities at an early age, and has since made his own way and gained by self -achievement the prominent position in business affairs that now be- longs to him. At the age of fifteen he went to Michigan, where he remained for a year, and then went to South Chicago, where he lived for eleven years. He followed railroading until 1894, '^"fl ^^'^s then in the o\\ and gasoline and bottle-lieer business. In September, 1899, '^^ came to Hammond, and for the past two years has been engaged in conducting a first-class livery establishment, to v^■hich he has recently added an undertaking business. He is a live, wide-awake business man. and understands the art of gaining trade and retaining it by fair and honoraljlc dealings. Mr. Chartier was married .\pril 10, 1893, to Miss Catherine Young, a daughter of Michael J. and Mary (Conway) Young. They have three children, Fred Walter, Marie Agnes and Irene .Mice. Mr. and Mrs. Char- tier are members of the Catholic church, and he affiliates with the North American Union, and with the Independent Order of Foresters of Toronto. In politics he is a Democrat. OSCAR DINWIDDIE. Oscar Dinwiddle, of whom a likeness is here given, is the oldest son of the pioneer J. W. Dinwiddle. He is a farmer and large land owner of Plum Grove, in Eagle Creek township, is master of Center Grange, has been an officer in the State Grange and National Grange of the Patrons of Hus- OSCAR DINWIDDIE HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 56!) bandry, and is president of the Old Settler and Historical Association of Lake connty. He takes an active part in the Farmers' Listitutes and is a member of the Lake County Tax Payers' League. He is corresponding secretary of the Dinwiddle Clan. J. FLOYD IRISH. J. Floyd Irish, engaged in the real estate and insurance business at Hammond, with office over the First National Bank, has been connected with various departments of business activity in Lake county for the past twenty years, and has made a commendable record for reliability, integrity and ability in all his dealings. He takes much interest in the progress and welfare of his city and county, and is a citizen who can be depended upon to carry out his obligations in every department of life. Mr. Irish was born in Brunswick, Lake county, Indiana. June 19, 1867, a son of Josephus Hull and Mary Ellen (Vinnedge) Irish. His paternal grandfather. Joab Irish, was a nati\"e of Vermont, a farmer by occupation, and died well advanced in years, having been the father of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. Josephus H. Irish was born in Chittenden county, Vermont, and trained himself for the profession of veterinary sur- geon. He came west to Brunswick, Indiana, in 1S50, and lived there until 1888, when he moved to Hammond, where he died January 20, 1902, at the age of seventy-fi\'e years. He held the office of justice of the peace for thirty- four years. His wife still survives him, and now resides in Zion City, Illinois. He was married three times. His first wife died about a year after their marriage, and her child died in infancy. His second wife was Clarissa Bidwell, by whom he had four children, three now living, as follows : Cornelius E., of Hammond: Martha M., wife of Elliott J. Jarrard, of Ham- mond ; and Arvilla, wife of Walter Bowes, of Crown Point, Indiana. His third wife was Mary Ellen \'innedge, who was born near Plymouth. Indiana, and they were the parents of six children : Ida May : deceased, who was the wife of Adolphus E. Crowell ; Clara A., the deceased wife of Ernest \\^ Sohl ; Iva E., deceased, who also was the wife of Ernest W. Sohl ; George Edward, deceased ; J. Floyd Irish, of Hammond ; and Charles Hull Irish, of Zion City, Illinois, assistant cashier in a bank. Mr. J. Floyd Irish was born and reared and has lived all his life in Lake county. He attended the public schools at Brunswick and Crown Point, after 570 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. which he engaged in teaching school for six terms. He clerked in a furni- ture and undertaking establishment in Crown Point for some time, and in 1888 came to Hammond. He taught school and later clerked in a con- fectionery store, after which he returned to Crown Point, and was in the employ of Peter Geisen for two years. He went back to Hammond and was circulator and reporter for the Hammond Tribune until January, 1898, when he entered the real estate and insurance business in connection with his father. In 1899 h^ bought his father's interest, and has since conducted the business alone, dealing in city and countr}^ property on an extensive scale and annually writing large amounts of insurance for the standard companies. In politics Mr. Irish is a Republican, and is one of the city commis- sioners. He affiliates with Hammond Lodge No. 210, Knights of Pythias, and with Pioneer Council No. 38, Royal League. He and his wife are members of the First Presbyterian church of the city, and he is an elder. He purchased his present good home at 628 May street in 1897. He was married, September 30, 1891, to Miss Eva A. Pierce, and their family circle now contains two daughters, Zella Gertrude and Blanche Marie. Mrs. Irish is a daughter of Israel R. and Mary C. (Atkin) Pierce, the former a native of Ontario, Canada, and the latter of Ohio. Her paternal grandfather was James Pierce, who came from Canada to the United States, and lived at Valparaiso, Indiana, many years. He died in advanced years. By his wife, Jane (Lane) Pierce, he had three sons and three daughters. Mrs. Irish's maternal grandparents were Major B. and Betsey (Banks) At- kin, five of whose children are still living: he was a farmer and lived in Crown Point during the last fifteen years of his life, which ended in 1897: he was a Republican. Mrs. Irish's father was a farmer and an early settler in Indiana, having left Canada when he was eight years old. He lived on a farm near Merrillville from before the war until his death, on April 2^,, 1885. when forty-nine years old. He served as a private in the Civil war for three years, being in many important battles and in Sherman's campaign to the sea. He was a Republican, and he and his wife, who survives him. were both Methodists. They had five children, four of whom are now living: Jennie, wife of Alva Saxton. of Merrillville, Indiana: Carrie, wife of Robert Saxton, of Merrillville; Eva A., wife of Mr. Irish: Ernest L. Pierce, of Crown Point : and one that died in infancy. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 571 ARMANIS F. KNOTTS. Armanis F. KiKitts, mayor of Hammond and since 1888 continuously engageii in law practice in this city, is an able, industrious and successful member of the Lake county bar, and deserves all the more credit because he arrived at his present prominent position by diligent application early and late from the days of boyhood. He has spent nearly all his active career in northwestern Indiana, and for a number of years was a successful school teacher, by which profession he entered uiion his broader field of activitv in the law and public life. He is one of the infiuential Republicans of Lake county, and to the social, institutional, professional and political affairs of his community has given a generous share of his time anil effort. Mr. Knotts was born in Highland county, Ohio, February 29. i860, a son of Frank D. and Margaret (Bell) Knotts, the former a native of Penn- sylvania and the latter of Ohio. His mother was a daughter of an early settler and farmer of Ohio, of Irish descent, and wIkt reared a large family. On the paternal side the family is of Holland Dutch stock, from early settlers in Maryland, and the great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolution. The grandfather, a soldier in the war of 18 12, moved to Ohio at an early day, and lived there till his death at the age of seventy years, ha\ing reared a large family. Frank D. Knotts, the father of Mayor Knotts, has followed the occupa- tions of carpenter and farmer principally. When he was quite )'oung he moved with his parents to Ohio, and in 1868 came to Indiana, locating first in Tipjiecanoe county, near Lafayette, and afterward at Medaryville, Pulaski county, where he was engaged in farming, but now lives in the town. He is a Democrat in politics, and has held \arious township offices. His first wife died in 1870. at the age of twenty-nine years, and he married for his second wife ^liss Jennie Yates, who became the mother of two children: Nettie, the wife of Nandis Cox, of Medaryville: and William, of Medaryville. Mayor Knotts was eight years old when he came with his parents to Indiana, and he grew to manhood in Pulaski county, being reared on a farm and learning its duties at an early age. He laid the foundation for his larger training while a student in the district schools, and later attended the normal school at Valparaiso. After leaving the home schools he had taught for some time in the country schools and in ]\Iedaryville. He spent five years 572 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. at \^alparaiso, and graduated in the classical course in 1883. He then taught two years at Ladoga, heing principal of the Centra! Lidiana Normal and Business College. He then returned to Valparaiso, where he took the law course and was graduated in 1887. In 1888 he opened his office in Ham- mond, and has been successfully practicing in this city ever since. He was elected county surveyor of Porter county while in school in Valparaiso, and held the office eighteen months, resigning when he came to Hammond. Since coming to Hammond he has been much interested in Republican politics. He was elected and served one term in the state legislature, from 1898. In May, 1902, he was elected mayor of Hammond, and has given a very efficient administration of municipal aiifairs. Mr. Knotts resides at 8 Clinton street, where he built a comfortable home in 1892. He affiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569, F. & A. M., with Hammond Chapter No. 117, R. A. M., and with Hammond Commandery, K. T. His wife and the children are members of the Catholic church. In 1884 he married Miss Mary Hennessy, a daughter of Michael Hennessy. They have had four children : Anna Frances, Eugenia, Leo and Marguerite. Leo died at the age of two vears. ^s'- JAMES A. GILL. James A. Gill is well known in the business circles of Whiting, where his keen sagacitj^, enterprise and well directed efforts have led to his con- nection with important interests and his consecutive progress therein. He is now the superintendent of the wax-pressing department of the Standard Oil Company, is president of the Whiting Electric Light Company and is also a director of the First National Bank of Whiting. Mr. Gill was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on the 3d of January, 1865. His father, Isaac Gill, was a native of England and was reared in that country, remaining there until about thirty years of age, when, hoping to enjoy better business opportunities in the new world, he crossed the Atlantic, taking up his abode in Cleveland, Ohio. In that city he was united in mar- riage to Miss Barbara Heck, who was born in Germany and came to the United States after reaching womanhood. Isaac Gill was in the employ of the Standard Oil Company of Cleveland for thirty-eight years, in fact, he was one uf the pioneer representatives of the company and was employed HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 573 directly by John D. Rockefeller. After the establishment of the plant at Whiting he came to this city, and here died in his seventieth }ear, while his wife also died when about seventy years of age. James A. Gill, their only child, spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the city of his nativity, and came to Whiting in 1889 when the Standard Oil Company located its manufacturing plant at this place. He acted as timekeeper for the brick-layers employed in the construction of the build- ings, was afterward made inspector of oils in the laboratory, filling that position for about three years. He was next appointed superintendent of the acid works, holding this position for about ten years, going from the acid works to the paraffine department, which position he now holds. He is one of the most trusted as well as capable representatives of the corpora- tion, and this department is always managed with excellent executive ability that results in efficient workmanship. As his financial resources have in- creased, owing to the increased wages that have come with promotion, he has been enabled to extend his efforts into other lines of activity and is now the president of the ^^'hiting Electric Light Company and one of the direc- tors and stockholders of the First National Bank of Whiting. He was one of the incorporators of the Petrolene Paint and Roofing Company, and was made its first president, resigning same some time ago, as the duties of the office were getting too great for him to handle in connection with his other business. He is also the owner of valuable real estate here and erected the first three-story brick block built in Whiting. In 1891 occurred the marriage of James A. Gill and Miss Carrie H. Halsey, a daughter of Charles Halsey. She was born and reared in Cleve- land, Ohio, and by her marriage has become the mother of two children : Jesse il. and Grace A. ]Mr. Gill is a stanch Republican who keeps well in- formed on the questions and issues of the day, but has never sought office as a reward for party fealty. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, and he is also a member of the Owls Club, in which he formerly took a very- active part. He is deeply interested in the growth and progress of his adopted city, and has witnessed its development from its earliest inception to the present time. For fifteen years he has been connected with the upbuilding of the place, and has just reason to be proud of the fact that to his efforts can be traced several substantial enterprises and achievements contributing greatly 574 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. to the prosperity and progress of Whiting. In e\er\' sense of the word he is a representative citizen dexoted to tlie welfare of liis chosen state and coni- mnnity and loyal to the g()\eniment. WARREN HENRY HAYWARD. Perhaps the majority of Lake county families have some visible evidence of Mr. Hayward's artistic work in. their homes, and there are certainly very few families in the county that ha\'e not some knowledge of who Mr. Hay- ward is and what his life work represents in the way of fine art. For over a quarter of a century he has been the leading photographer of Lake county, and in a profession which, during the last decades of the nineteenth century, made as phonomenal advancement as any other science he kept up with the rapid pace of improvement, and as he stood for the highest type of art in the seventies and eighties so now in the early years of the twentieth century he takes the palm in competition with the masters of the profession. The prob- able secret of Mr. Hayward's success is that he has from his first acquaintance with photography as a profession been enthusiastic and invincibly industrious in its pursuit, and he spared none of the resources of body or mind in his preparation for the work. Mr. Hayward is a native son of Lake county and the county has been his home and center of activity nearly all his years. He was born in Ross township, June 25, 1852, being the eldest son of Henry and Martha D. (Kronkright) Hayward, the former a native of England and the latter of Vermont. Henry Hayward emigrated with' his parents to Canada when he was eight years old, and a few years later the family home was located in Lake county. After his marriage Henry Hayward entered eighty acres of land in Ross township, and his industry and successful management increased this estate to three hundred and twenty acres, on which fine farm he lived until 1897, when he moved into Crown Point. After living there for a few years he moved out to Santa Barbara, California, where he now lives in re- tirement from a career of activity that has been splendidly useful and fruitful. Warren H. Hayward attended the common schools of his township during the winter seasons, and when summer came he was at home helping on the farm. This routine of boyhood he continued until he was eighteen vears old, and he then entered the Valparaiso Male and Female Methodist HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 575 Episcopal College, where he remained two years until his graduation in the commercial department. On his return home he decided to teach dis- trict school during the winter seasons, and was accordingly examined and received a license to engage in pedagogic work. He was hired to teach a winter term in Ross township, but before the term began he had settled upon his definite life occupation, and his resignation was therefore sent in and accepted by the school authority. It was Mr. Hayward's plan to launch into the photographic business at Valparaiso as a full partner with his uncle, who had had much experience in the profession. In order to learn his part of the work Mr. Hayward at once commenced in what was then the best studio in Chicago, the firm of Copelin and Melander. where he paid ten dollars a week tuition fee. and at the end of six weeks graduated from their printing and finishing rooms. At Valparaiso the partnership of E. J. and W. H. Hayward was carried on for a little over a year, and then the junior partner tought out his uncle's interest on account of the latter's failing health, and for the following two years con- tinued the business alone. He then sold out and returned to Chicago in order to continue his professional training ?.nd prepare himself for the ex- tended career in photography which he saw was opening up before him. On May lo, 1876. Mr. Hayward married Miss Jessie Indiana Bliss, the youngest daughter of Captain H. G. and Louise M. Bliss, of Crown Point. On the day following the marriage they left for Santa Barbara. Cali- fornia, where for a year Mr. Hayward was manager of a large photographic business. He then returned to Crown Point and in September, 1877, started in business for himself. He has made Crown Point his headquarters ever since, and at different times has also conducted branch establishments at Hammond and Lowell. ]Many things prove the high estimate in which Mr. Hayward's art is held, not only in Lake county but wherever it has come into competition with other work. He was selected by the G. H. Hammond Company packing house ofificials to make a set of interior and exterior photographs of their plant, which were to be sent and placed on exhibition at the Paris exposition of igoo. He has likewise taken many prizes on pictures entered in various competitions, and he was awarded a bronze medal at the National Conven- tion of Photographers at St. Louis in 1894. 576 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. From childhood Mr. Hayward has found his greatest recreative pleasure in the rod and gun, and his vacations have usually been spent on the banks of the Kankakee river, whence many times he has brought home a hundred ducks and geese that have fallen before his accurate and practiced marks- manship. When wild game became scarce he interested himself for several years in trap-shooting as a diversion, and won numerous prizes and medals in competition with Chicago's best shooters. Fraternally ]\Ir. Hayward is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters of America, the Knights of Pythias, and the National Union. He is also a member of the Crown Point Commercial Club, and at this writing has the honor of being its president, now serving his second term as such. This club is primarily a social organiza- tion, but at the same time is always looking out for the best interests of the town and has efifected much for its welfare in the past. Three children have come to bless the home of IMr. and Mrs. Hayward. Nina Louise was born June 20, 1878, and on Christmas day of 1900 married Frank E. Daily, of Chicago. By this daughter ^Ir. and Mrs. Hayward have a little grandson, Milton Hayward Daily, who is now three years old, having been born November 21. 1901. Harry Bliss, the only son, was born August 28, 1879, and after spending five years in the study of medicine in Chicago graduated in 1902, and is now located at Valley Mills, Texas, where he is practicing his profession with flattering success. Neva Belle, the youngest of the family, was born April 21, 1881, and on January 12, 1904, married John T. Daily, of Chicago. The two daughters married brothers. This happy family is well known and highly esteemed in the social circles of Crown Point, and both children and parents individually have found and I ' are performing worthy parts in the world's affairs. JAMES HERVEY BALL, Esq. James H. Ball, of whom a likeness is here given, youngest son of Judge Hervey Ball, was fifteen months of age when his father settled at Cedar Lake. A student for a time at Franklin College in Indiana, he became a teacher in the public schools of Lake county, and at length school examiner of the county. He held as county examiner the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh county institutes. He made the first official school visitations before they were required by law. JAMES H. BALL HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 577 In 1 87 1 he graduated at tlie Law School of the University of Chicago. He was in active life in Lake county for several years. He has been for some time a resident in Scott. Kansas, where he has a law office, and he has been for two terms probate judge of Scott county. Before leaving Crown Point he erected four brick dwelling houses which still remain as memorials of his enterprise, as well as his work for many years in educational lines. He now holds, in Scott county, quite a tract of land, through which flows a stream of water, making it valuable for grass and for pasturage. On this pasture land he keeps some fine cattle of the Galloway variety. His place is called "Edith Ranch." JOHN J. WHEELER. John J. \Vheeler. proprietor and publisher of the Lake County Star at Crown Point, the newspaper known as possessing the best equipment and the largest circulation of any paper in northwestern Lidiana, is a representative of the journalistic fraternity whose present prosperous and successful posi- tion in life has been won by hard and persevering labor and serious attention to the interests which of his own responsibility he has assumed or which ha\e lieen intrusted to him through circumstances. His career, like that of many newspaper men, has been varied and concerned with several fields of human activity; and, also, his entire life spent within the bailiwick of Lake county has brought him into most intimate relations with its citizenship and industries, — forming experiences and associations of inestimable value in the conduct of a local journal. The Lake County Star is a conservative journal in that it adheres to the best traditions and policies of the past, whether in political or material afTairs, but is also exceedingly progressive in that its point of view broadens with the advance of the decades and it continually advocates the upbuilding of the county and state and a betterment of all the vital conditions of society and the world in general. The Star is an influential organ, contains the best winnowings of the local news, and both as an indi- cator and director of public opinion its strength has long been felt in Lake county. Mr. Wheeler is a native son of West Creek township. Lake countv, and was born in that prosperous agricultural section of the county January 11, S7 578 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 1848. The Wheeler family originally came from Connecticut, and this branch is from the same strain as is General Joe Wheeler, the famous little rebel general, but the political associations of the Lake county Wheelers have always adhered to the Union and Republicanism. Mr. Wheeler's father was John Wheeler, and his mother Ann Wheeler, a daughter of John D. Jones. These parents came from Ohio to Indiana in 1847. The father first engaged in school teaching, later was county sur- veyor of Lake county, and in 1857 founded the Crown Point Register, which he continued to publish until June, 1861. He then entered the Union army as captain of Company B, Twentieth Indiana Infantry, and in the spring of 1863 he was promoted to colonel of the command. He had been in all the Potomac battles up to that time, and on the second day of the great Gettys- burg engagement he was shot from his horse and instantly killed at the "Devil's Den," July 2, 1863. His children are John J., Edgar C, and Alice M., now Mrs. S. S. Cole, of East Brookfield. Their mother died in the seventies. John J. Wfieeler received a very meager education in the country schools of this county, nor did his opportunities of school attendance long continue, since he was obliged to make his own way from the time he was fourteen years old. For several years he clerked in a store. He entered the army when he was fifteen years old, and he now possesses two honorable dis- charges, showing that his youth did not hinder him from performing a full meed of patriotic service to his country. His field of life work has always been in Lake county, and he was twice elected to the office of county Sur- veyor. While in tlie second term of this office he resigned in order to enter the newspaper business, which he has followed since 1872. He has owned his present fine newspaper plant for twenty-four years, and is among the oldest as he is one of the most successful publishers in northwest Indiana. During Harrison's term of president he served Crown Point as postmaster, and it is needless to state that he has always been a stanch Republican in political faith. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for thirty- three years, and also a Forester, and has been identified with the Grand Army of the Republic since its organization. He is eclectic in his religious views. Mr. Wheeler was married to Miss Belle Holton, October 27, 1870, at HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 579 Crown Point. Slie was a granddaugliter of Solon Robinson, who figures so prominently in this history as the founder of Crown Point; he was a remark- able man in many other ways, was the author of numerous lx)oks, and for many years was agricultural editor of the New York Tribune. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler have two sons and two daughters. Harold H., the eldest, is now serving his second term as county clerk, and when his time expires he will have been connected with that office for twenty-two years, he having been deputy fourteen years. Fred, the second son, is f(ireman in the Star office. Jennie A., the older daughter, is now Mrs. W. P. Tice, and Josephine C, aged fifteen, is still at home. Mr. \\'heeler's career is its own best justification, and he has every reason to be satisfied with the outcome of the battle of life as he has fought it. He is prosperous and a highly esteemed man i>f affairs in his county, and a conscientious and diligent devotion to the work of the present world makes him content with what his lot will be when he is called upon to cross the great unknown. DR. JAMES GILBERT VAN DeWALKER. Dr. James Gilbert Van DeWalker, a prominent and well known physi- cian and surgeon residing at 712 Johnson street, Hammond, Indiana, has been numbered among the popular practitioners of this city for over twenty years, and has been engaged in professional work for nearly a half century. His long life has been full of useful activity, and he has been identified with many enterprises botli public and private during his career. He is a man of breadth and harmony of character, and his energetic disposition and large intelligence have brought him into relationship with all kinds of people and with various activities. He is one of the veteran soldiers of the republic, and has also been a lawyer of no mean ability, and has taken his full share in the social, fraternal, political and pulilic affairs of the various communities where he has had his home. Dr. Van DeWalker was born in Otsego county. New York, January 31. 1 83 1. He is a descendant of one of three brothers wdio settled in New York during the early Dutch colonization of that state, and the family has been numbered among the Knickerbocker houses of New York. Martin Van DeWalker, the grandfather of Dr. Van DeWalker, was a native New 580 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. York farmer, and several of his brothers were Revokitionary soldiers. He — and the same has been true of the family in general — lived to an advanced age, dying when he was ninety-five years old, and his wife, whose maiden name was Christina Flansbury, lived to be still older. John \'an De^^'alker, the father of Dr. De^^'alker, was a native of New York state, was a farmer there, and about 1842 came west and settled in Pleasant township, LaPorte county, Indiana, where he bought a farm and lived until his death, in 1889, at the age of eighty-one years. He and his wife, who died in 1880. at the age of seventy-seven, were both members of the Methodist Protestant church. His wife's maidei> name was Nancy Thompson, a native of New York and a daughter of Robert Thompson. The latter was a New York farmer, and for a short time was a soldier in tlv war of 1812* He married Elizabeth Hull, an own cousin of General Hull, who surrendered at Detroit, and also a cousin of General Stark, who fought at the battle of Bennington, Vermont, where she was born. Robert Thomp- son died at the age of forty-five, and his wife lived to be eighty years old. They bad three sons and three daughters. Robert Thompson's father was known as Colonel Thompson. He was the founder (if the family in America, bavins come from the north of Ireland and settled in Cherrv Vallev, New" York, a short time before the Indian massacre. John and Nancy Van De- Walker had six sons and three daughters, and the three now living are Dr. James G. ; Emma Jane, the widow^ of W. T. Horine, of Washington, D. C. ; and Elizabeth, the wife of Preston Green, of Lapaz, Indiana. Dr. James G. Van DeWalker was about eleven years old when he left New York state and came to Indiana with his father, and he grew to manhood on the farm in LaPorte county. He attended the district schools, and later studied bv the light of a tallowdip, and in the main he is a self-educated man, having gained by hard efforts all the advantages for education and in- tellectual development. After leaving home he studied with an uncle, Dr. Pierce, of Momence, Illinois, and up to the time of the Civil war did a small practice. He enlisted in 1862 in Company B, Twelfth Indiana Infantry, and served till the close of the war. He was in the battle at Richmond, Ken- tucky, in the siege of Vicksburg, at Jackson, Mississippi, at Missionary Ridge, and ;dl the fifteen engagements of the Fifteenth Army Corps during the .\tlanta campaign. He was then with Sherman to the sea, thence up HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 581 through the Carohnas. the last battle being at Bentonville. In 1863 the officers had learned that he was a physician, and put him on duty as hospital steward, and he was assigned to General John A. Logan's. Fifteenth Army Corps headquarters, where lie ser\ed till the close of the war in 1865. After the war he practiced medicine at Lisbon, Xoble county, Indiana, until 1868; from then until 1875 was at Lafayette; until the fall of 1878 was at Medaryville. Indiana : then moved to Davenport. Nebraska, and prac- ticed until 1882, in which year he took up what has proved his permanent location at Hammond, where he has carried on a successful practice ever since. Right after the war he also studied law. and was admitted to the bar in Pulaski county. Indiana, in 1876. and practiced that profession there until 1878, and also in Nebraska. He had served as marshal of Valparaiso in 1856. ]\Iarch 22. 1856. Dr. Van De^^'alker married ]Miss ]Mary Beattie. wh.o died Januar}' 21, 1891. On ]March 31. 1892, he married Mrs. Jennie Simp- son, the widow of Robert Harrison Simpson and a daughter of Daniel and Ann (Shannahan) Foley, Dr. Van De\\'alker is a member of the First Congregational church. He afhliates with Calumet Lodge No. 601. I. O. O. F.. and John A. Logan Encampment No. 95. He belongs to the Colonel Robert Heath Post No. 544. G. A. R., of the Department of Indiana. He is a member of tlie Lake County Medical Society, an honorary member of the Nebraska Eclectic Medical .\ssociation. and a charter member of the Indiana State Eclectic Association. In jiolilics he is a Re])ul)Hcan. He was secretary of the board of health r>f Hammi^ud for eight years, was county physician tweh'e years and county coroner two years. He has also beer, pension attorney for a number of years. He bought his present home and added improvements, and also luiilt liis office on the same lot. JOSEPH STARK. Joseph Stark is a represenlati\-e of the best ideals in agriculture, citi- zenship and personal character, and as such he is held in the highest esteem in Lake county, and especially througlmut \\'est Creek township, where the years of his activity have been passed. He is a native of St. John township, this county, and was horn December 30. 1859, being the fourth in a family of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, born to Joseph and Mary Ann (Merrick) Stark. There are 5S2 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. nine of the children still living, as follows : Afra. who is the wife of Matthew Herman, a farmer of St. John township : John, who is a prosperous farmer of West Creek township, and who has a sketch elsewhere in this book; Mary, the wife of Jacob Klassen. a retired farmer of St. John; Joseph: Frank, a resident farmer at St. John, who married Aliss Amelia Koeblin ; George, who resides on the old homestead and who married Miss Rosa Thiel ; Michael, who is a butter-maker at St. John, and married Miss Mary Schreiner : Peter, a farmer of St. John, who married Miss Lizzie Klassen ; and Frances, who resides with her mother at St. John. The children were all confirmed in the Catholic church, and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Stark are members of St. Martin's church at Hanover Center. The senior Joseph Stark, the father of this large family, was born in the province of Bavaria, Germany, December 30, 1824, and died March 17, 1879. He was deprived of his mother's care when six years old, and at the age of thirteen began to earn his own way in life. He worked day and night in a mill until he was twenty-two years of age. and his wages were wonderfully meager when compared with those paid by twentieth century American prosperity. He had a common school education in his native tongue, but in the main was self-trained and self-educated. He was always reckoned as a man of character and solid manhood. At the age of twenty- two he took passage on a sailing vessel at Bremerhaven, bound for the free land of America, and at the end of six weeks he landed in New York city. At tliis stage of his career he was three dollars in debt, and the first thing he did in the new world was to work three days and clear himself of this incumbrance. He then worked his way to Chicago, where he was employed on the docks until cold weather, when he obtained work from a minister, being, in fact, willing to accept anything that would earn him an honest dollar. After remaining in Chicago for thirteen months he enlisted as a soldier in the ^Mexican war, and served throughout that important struggle. After the war he traveled through South America, where he was very much pleased with all he saw, and thence he returned to New York by ship and finally arrived in Chicago again. He and two other men purchased teams and drove through to California, but on the great salt desert the horses perished, and the remaining distance they were compelled to cover on foot. Mr. Stark was in California thirteen months, and during that time he dug out of the a HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 583 ground tiiree thousand dollars in gold. He returned on foot to Chicago, got married, and for a year farmed on rented government land at Home- wood. Illinois. He came to St. John in Lake county, about 1859, and lived here till the end of his useful and busy life. He owned four hundred and forty acres in St. John township, and when it is recalled how lie started out in young manhood with less than nothing, and before he had reached the meridian of his career, had gained a competency for those days, he must be recorded in this history as one of the truly successful and worthy men of the past who have made Lake county what it is at the present. In politics he was a loyal Democrat, and he and his wife were devout Catholics. His ■wife, Mar}^ Ann Stark, was born in Alsace. Germany, in June, 1836, and is now living in St. John, a hale and hearty old lady. Mr. Joseph Stark, who was born on the same day of the month with his father and who received the latter's name, was reared and has spent prac- tically all his life in Lake county. His education was obtained in the parochial schools. He has made farming and stock-raising his vocation, and has been more than ordinarily successful in all his enterjjrises. He remained at home and cared for his mother until he was twenty- five years old. and on February 5, 1885, he married Miss Susan Thiel. They have been made happy by the birth of ten children into their home, four sons and six daughters, and all but one of these are still living, as follows : Tillie S.. who is in the seventh grade of school and is a piano student; Frances AI., who is in the eighth grade and also a music student ; Josephine is in the eighth grade and takes music ; George, who is now in the German school; Edward J., who is in the fifth grade; Joseph, in the fourth grade; Oliva E. ; ^Madeline M. ; and Christina B., the baby of the family. Mrs. Stark was born in Lake coimty. March 17, 1864, and was educated in the parochial schools. Her parents were Mathias and Susan (Laurerman) Thiel. Her father was born near the Rhine river, and was ele\-en years old when he accompanied his parents to America and to Lake county, and he lived in this county until his death, on November 10. 1901. At the time of his death he owned a farm of one hundred and forty-eight acres in St. John township, and also had real estate in Hammond. He was a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife were Catholics. There were eleven children in the Thiel family, and ten are living, six of them residents of Lake county, and those 584 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. elsewhere are: Katie, wife of George Thielen, a farmer of Cresco, Howard county, Iowa ; Mathias L. is a merchant of Chicago, and is married ; Frank, who was born June 2, 1870. and was educated in the parochial schools, is a resident of Chicago, and married Miss Lena Keilman. who was born in Lake county, November 17, 1873, and educated in the common schools, both of them being Catholics : nnd Andrew, who is a merchant of Chicago, and is a married man. Mr. Stark is independent in politics, casting his vote for the best man in his judgment. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in West Creek township, and on this he has recently erected a beautiful and comfortable farm residence. The farm is improved with good buildings and other conveniences, and the entire place has a progressive and prosperous appearance. He is a stock fancier, and takes much pride in his fine cattle and hogs. He is a shareholder in the West Creek creamer}-, which is located near his property. Biographical Sketch of WILLIAM CLINTON MURPHEY. Corporal, Company B, One Hundred Thirty-ninth Indiana Infantry IN THE Civil War, Merchant and Banker. The Murphey family in Henry county is as old as the county itself. The family came originally from North Carolina, for it was in the old North State that Miles Murphey and Dorothy Evans were united in marriage. Thev were the parents of sixteen children, six of whom died in North Caro- lina. About 1820 the family determined to emigrate to Indiana, and, coming to this state, they settled first in \\'ayne county, bringing their ten surviving children with them. In the spring of 1822, the same year that Henry county was organized, the family moved to what is now Henry county and settled on Flat Rock, two and one-half miles southeast of the present town of New Castle. One of the ten surviving children was a son, named Clement, born in North Carolina, December 23, 1808. In 1827, near New Castle, he married Huldah Bundy, also a nati\e of North Carolina, and soon thereafter settled on a piece of land and started out to make a farm in Prairie township, about four miles northeast of New Castle. Clement and Huldah Murphey were the parents of fifteen children, eight hoys and seven girls, viz. : Joel L., Hiram B., Francis M., Robert P., Eli C, William C, Miles E. and John F. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 585 The daughters were named Ehzabeth, Sarah J., ^lary, Alartha, Eliza J., Huldah E. and Catlierine. Clement Murphey Ijecame a prominent farmer and was one among the most successful agriculturists that ever lived in Henry county. He and his wife were upright, religious people and took great interest in church and educational matters. They were very highly respected by all who knew them, and the good name which they left behind them is a valuable legacy to their children. In i860 Mr. Murphey retired from his farm and moved to New Castle, where he and his excellent wife continued to reside until the day of their death. William Clinton Murphey, the sixth son, is the subject of this sketcli. He was born on his father's farm above mentioned, Januarv i, 1842. He lived with his parents, working or. the farm and attending the public schools, until i860, when he accompanied his parents to New Castle. He early de- veloped mercantile and business qualities of a high order. In the fall of i860 he became a clerk in the hardware store of his brother, Joel L., in New Castle, and soon after obtaining- his majority in 1863, he had a hard- ware store of his own. Later he moved to Middletown in Henry county, and engaged in the dry-goods trade, remaining there for a period of about two years, when he returned to New Castle, where he continued in the dry- goods business until the summer of 1868, when he engaged in the grocery business, which he operated until the fall of 187 1. In the fall of this year came the turning point in ]\Ir. Murphey's business career, for at this time he was induced by Mr. George Hazzard of New Castle to dispose of his grocery store and engage in the banking business. A firm was formed consisting of George Hazzard, \\'illiam C. Murphev and Reuben Tobey, under the firm name of Hazzard, Murphey and Co., op- erating a private bank, known as the Citizens Bank of New Castle, with a combined capital of $40,000, ten thousand dollars of which was contributed by Mr. Murphey. This venture was highly successful, so much so that in the summer of 1873 these partners, with some new capital solicited in Henrv county, were able to and did organize, under the laws of the state of Indiana, the Citizens State Bank of New Castle, with a capital of $130,000, of which bank Mr. Murphey was made cashier. In 1874 there was not a banking institution of any kind in Lake countv. Indiana. Now there are, perhaps, twenty such organizations in the county. 588 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Neither was there a banking institution of any kind on the line of the Penn- sylvania railroad, between Logansport and Chicago. This unoccupied terri- tory was certainly an inviting field, and accordingly Mr. iVlurphev disposed of his interests in the Citizens State Bank of New Castle, when he together with Martin L. Bundy, George Hazzard and Augustus E. Bundy of New Castle, and John Brown, William ^\'. Cheshire, David Turner, James Burge. James H. Luther and perhaps one other of Crown Point, the latter taking $i,ooo each in the capital stock, organized the First National Bank of Crown Point, with a capital of $50,000, Mr. Murphey becoming \ice president. Later the other parties from New Castle .sold their stock in the bank, and ]\Ir. Murphey became cashier, a position he held vmtil physically disabled for further service. With this bank Mr. Murphey was continuously identi- fied as the controlling spirit from the date of its organization until the close of his business career. Under his management the bank was highly success- ful. It accumulated a surplus fund equal to its capital, and so desirable was the stock as an investment that it readily sold for two hundred and fifty dollars a share. The par value of the shares was one hundred dollars each. It was in Crown Point that he made his great reputation as a prudent and sagacious business man and banker, and it was there also that he accumulated the fortune of a quarter of a million dollars which he left at the time of his death. In the Civil war Mr. Murphey was not forgetful of the patriotic duty which every citizen owes to the government, for he became a soldier in Company B, One Hundred Thirty-ninth Indiana Infantry, being mustered into the United States service as a corporal June 5, 1864, and mustered out September 29, 1864. At New Castle on the 29th day of November, 1866, he was married to Alice lone, second daughter of Joshua and Nancy Holland, old and highly respected citizens of Henry county. Mrs. Murphey was a native of New Castle where she lived all her life. She was highly esteemed by all who knew her. She died December 22, 1869, and her tody now lies at rest in Ijeautiful South ?kIound cemetery. From this union there was one child, a daughter. .\nna Florence, born October 12, 1867. This loving child was not permitted to reach her full estate, for while at the O.xford (Ohio) Fe- male College, she was suddenly stricken and died. February 22. 1885. Her re- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 587 mains were laitl at the side of her mother in Snutii Mound cemetery. Her death was a great sliock to lier father, wiio never fully reco\-ered from the great loss then inflicted. On November 22. 1882. Mr. Murphey again married, tliis time to Louise I\L Luther, iicc Louise M. Whippo, now his surviving widow, a most esti- mable woman, liighly educated and who was horn at Dulilin. Wayne county, Indiana, September 9, 1844. It was after Mr. Murphey's union with Mrs, Luther that his greatest success and prosperity came to him. She proved in every way a true wife, a good companion and a great business helpmeet. It was with the most tender solicitude that she cared for Mr. Murphey during his last years of almost total helplessness and supervised his business affairs. Mr. Murphey died July 21, i8g8, at Crown Point, Indiana. On .\ugust 3, 1895, while engaged in the duties of his position at the bank, Mr. Murphey was stricken with paralysis. For days he hovered be- tween life and death, but finally a change for the better came, and as soon as he was able to travel he was taken to southern California, where with the warm sun and genial climate he rapidly improved and in May was aljle to return home. But in November he returned to California, spending the winter in Los Angeles. In I\Iay be again came home, but soon left for Mt. Clemens, Michigan, where he hoped to find his health restored. He did receive some benefit, but in the fall again went to California, remaining until spring. He was failing before his departure for home, and on his return was confined to the bed for some days, but for ten weeks he was able to be out and meet his old friends, liut Anally the fatal disease was more than his heroic efYorts could overcome and death claimed its own. For many years Mr. Murphey had been an earnest advocate of crema- tion, as the proper method of disposing of the dead, and, in accordance with his often expressed wish and direction, that disposition was made of his remains, and his ashes deposited by the side of his wife and only child in South Mound cemetery. New Castle. No man that ever lived in Lake county, for that matter in northwestern Indiana, left behind him a more enviable reputation for prudence, sagacity and sterling integrity than William Clinton Murphey. His judgment was the controlling factor in all disputed business affairs, throughout Lake county. He was an excellent person for one in doubt to consult, for he could take 588 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. up the case and point out the uncertainties as well as the winning points. His advice was sought far and wide. He was a man of polished manners and pleasing address. His memory will long be cherished by all who knew him. ALBERT C. HUBER. The prosperity of any city or locality depends upon its commercial and industrial activity, and the early upbuilders of a town are they who suc- cessfully conduct business enterprises. A representative of this class is Albert C. Huber, who is now engaged in dealing in groceries, market supplies and coal in East Chicago. He is a native of Ohio, his Ijirth having occurred in Seneca county, that state, on the 14th of February. 1874. Little is known concerning the ancestral history of the family save that the Hubers are of German lineage. The paternal grandfather spent his entire life in Germany, and in that country Michael Huber, the father of Albert C, was born, the place of his nativity being Luxemburg. In early life he learned the wagon- builder's trade and about 1830 he came to America, locating in Berwick, Seneca county, Ohio, where he was engaged in wagon building. There he died in the year 1876. His wife survived him until January 13, 1903, and passed away at the ripe old age of seventy-four years. Both were communi- cants of the Catholic church. Mrs. Michael Huber, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Sachas, was also a native of Luxemburg, Germany, and was a daughter of Nicholas Sachas, who was born in Germany and came to the United States in 1830 with a small colony of people that established a settlement in Seneca county, Ohio. He was a carpenter and bridge builder, and in Seneca county spent his remaining days, departing this life at an advanced age. In his family were fi\e children. To Mr. and Mrs. Michael Huber were born ten children, five sons and five daughters, of whom five are yet living, namely: Elizabeth A., a resident of Pullman, Illinois; Mary, who is the wife of D. H. Chapman, of Kensing- ton, Illinois; Michael W., who is living in Austin, a suburb of Chicago; Ida, the widow of Thornton Berry, and now of Pullman, Illinois; and .\lljert C, of this review. Albert C. Huljer resided in Seneca countv, Ohio, until sixteen years of age and in his liovhood days attended the parochial and public schools HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 589 there. \\'lien nineteen _\ears of age he hegan learning the tinsmith's trade, Wiiich he followed continuously until 1899. He then turned his attention to the grocery business in East Chicago, forming a partnership with Thorn- ton Berry under the firm style of Huber, Berry & Company. This rela- tionship was maintained until 190^, when Mr. Berry died, and since that time the business has been conducted under the firm style of A. C. Huber & Company, his sister Elizabeth becoming his partner. He has a well appointed grocery store, and in addition also conducts a meat market. The tasteful arrangement and neat appearance of the store secures a good patronage, and Mr. Huber is always able to retain his customers because of his honorable business methods. He is likewise connected with the Lake Coal Company as a partner. In 1903 he established the Empire restaurant in East Chicago, but later sold out to Leo McCormack. On the 1 2th of February, 1901, Mr. Huber was united in marriage to ]\Iiss Caroline M. Reiland, a daughter of John S. and Henrietta (Meisen- bach) Reiland. They have one daughter. Helen Ruth Huber. The parents hold membership in the Catholic church, and fraternally he is associated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and with the Royal League. Politically he is a Republican, having firm faith in the principles of the party as set forth in its platform. He is now serving as president of the board of education in East Chicago and is a citizen whose interest in the welfare of the town is deep and sincere and is manifested by active co-operation in many movements for the general good. He is yet a young man, but has already attained creditable success through honorable efifort, untiring industry and capable management, while in private life he has gained that warm personal regard which arises from true nobility of character, deference for the opinion of others' kindness and geniality. CHARLES GROMANN, M. D. In the German element of her citizenship Lake county has found a fac- tor of uplift and progress toward substantial ideals such as no other race has brought to the county, and this history would lack one of its most essential parts should the work and lives of the German-Americans be neglected. Dr. Gromann, whose professional career has made him so familiar to numerous families of the county, is a native of the little province of Lippe-Detmold, 590 HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. Germany, wliere he was born December 2, 1823. He is the younger of two children born to Phili]) and Dorothea (Witte) Gromann, and is the onlv survix'or of the family. The father was born in the same province in 1794 and died in 1867. He was a lirick-maker l)y trade, and was a successful man throughout his life. He and his wife were Lutherans. Dr. Gromann was reared in his native land to the age of twenty-five years. He was fomierly a druggist by occupation, having taken a practical course in a store under an experienced pharmacist. In 1849 he cf)ncluded to come to America. He sailed from Bremerhaven. being si.x weeks on the voyage to New York, and from the latter city he went to Chicago, thence to Dalton, Illinois, where he and his brother-in-law purchased land and re- mained until the spring of 1853. Then the Doctor came to Hanover town- ship, Lake county, and purchased eighty acres of raw land. His first resi- dence there was a log cabin which he himself built, and he has seen deer and wolves roaming about in this county. In fact, he one day killed two deer Avithin a half an hour, shooting them with a shotgun, and also shot a bear from the window of his cabin. It was his intention to follow farming as his permanent occupation, but his health was poor and he took up the study of medicine. He went to Chicago and entered the office of Dr. Julius Ull- rich, with whom he carried on his studies, and he later came to Hanover township and began the medical practice which he has continuetl in this county for half a century. He is a genial and cordial gentleman and well preserved for his years, and his career has Ijeen such as to win him esteem in all circles. Dr. Gromann has been married three times. His first wife v.as Miss Caroline Kluckhohm. They became affianced in Germany, but were married in Chicago. Eleven children, six sons and five daughters, were born of this union, and nine are living, as follows : Wilhelmina, the eldest; Henry, of Crown Point ; August, a physician in Iowa ; Sophia and Caroline, twins, both wives of ministers: Charles; Louise; Fred; Anna. The mother of this family died in 1869, and Dr. Gromann's second wife was Miss Sophia Ort- meyer. Five children, one son and four daughters, were born of this union, and the three living are: Paulina, a professional nurse; Julia, wife of George Piepho, a prosperous farmer in Hanover township; and Dora, the youngest. This second wife passed away on February 5, 1897. On March 20, 1901, Dr. Gromann married Mrs. Charlotte (Bernhardt) Sauer. who was born HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 591 near the city of Wiesbaden, Germany, November i, 1837, being a daughter of Jacob and Philopena (Weltert) Bernhardt. There were nine children in the Bernhardt family, but only two are li\ing. and Mrs. Gromann is the only one in America. She was educated in her native land, and is a Lutheran in religion. Her first marriage took place in Germany. In 1867 she came to America, and from Cincinnati later moved to Chicago. Mrs. Gromann is a genial and cordial lady, and with such a jovial companion as the jolly Doctor their home is truly a happy one. Their cosy, comfortable home is open to all their friends, and good cheer and congenial company are always to be found there. Dr. Gromann is a stalwart Republican, and has supported the candidates of the G. O. P. since casting his first vote. Ofiicially he was elected to the office of township trustee and served as such for nine years, during which period he erected the schoolhouse in Brunswick, and Ixsth before and since the cause of erlucation has always found in him a true friend. He was form- erly a memter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his good wife are members of the German Methodist church society, and they are well known and highly esteemed in their home town of Brunswick and also throughout the neighborhood. JOHN KRUDUP. The Germans form one of the most prosperous elements of state or nation, and are especially noteworthy for the part they have played in the substantial and enduring development of Lake county. Mr. Krudup was bom in Hanover township. Lake county, April 19, 1870, and is the youngest of the seven children, four sons and three daughters, born to Herman H. and Anna Elizabeth (Wilke) Krudup. There are four of the children still living. The eldest, Johanna, is the widow of John H. Meyer and a resident of West Creek township. Herman, who is married, is a salesman in a wholesale grocery house of Chicago. William F., married, is a dealer in harness and hardware at Gibson City, Illinois. And John is the youngest. Herman H. Krudup, the father, was a native of Germany, born in 1828. He was a farmer by occupation. He was married in Germany and about 1858 he came to America, arriving at New Orleans and making the trip up the Mississippi and the Ohio to Cincinnati, being 592 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. two months and six days on the water. \Mien he came to Inchana he began as a farmer. He purchased eight}' acres of land, going in debt for part of it, and by diligence he not only paid for it, but added to his property until he had one hundred and sixty-seven acres, and fifteen acres of timljer- land. This land is now the property of Mr. John Krudup. The father was a Republican in politics. The mother was a native of Prussia. Germany, born in 1832, and her death occurred in 1892. Mr. Krudup was reared to the life of a farmer, and received his educa- tion in the common schools of the county, personal application being a prin- cipal factor in his success from the beginning of his career. At the age of twentv-one he began without capital, and at the age of twenty-seven he re- ceived his share of the estate. He has been careful and frugal, and has accu- mulated a good property and become well known for his effective business management. In March, 1904, he purchased the stock of merchandise of Hon. John Beckman, at Brunswick. This was a well established general ■merchandise business, the stock consisting of dry-goods, shoes, staple and fancy groceries, queensware and other general goods. Mr. Krudup is a young and progressive business man, affable and genial, and his integrity and character and reputation for honesty and fair dealing are well known throughout his native community, where the people have all confidence in him, and his business career begun under such favorable auspices is certain to lead to success. March 17, 1898, Mr. Krudup married Miss Carrie Russell, and two daughters have been born to them, Emma M. and Edna J. Mrs. Krudup was born in Hanover township, this county, March 17, 1871, and was reared in the county and educated in the common schools. She is a daughter of Christopher and Johanna Russell, the former now deceased, and both her parents were born in Germany. Mr. Krudup is a stalwart Republican, having cast his first presidential vote for Benjamin Harrison, and having supported each candidate since. He and his wife are church members and are young people who stand high in the estimation of all who know them. JOHN N. BECKMAN. The German-American has played a conspicuous part in the affairs of this nation, and Lake county has been especially benefited by their presence HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 593 and activity in the important industries and social and public affairs. As a class these people have been noted for their pluck, industry and accumulative methods, and their love for home and community makes them citizens par excellence. Mr. Beckman is a man who needs no introduction to the citizens of Lake county in mercantile and ]iolitical circles. He is a native of Hanover town- ship, Lake county, where he was born October 26, 1856. He is the eldest of nine children, three sons and six daughters, born to Herman C. and Elizabeth (Fink) Beckman, and eight of them are still living. Gesina M. is the wife of Dr. A. Groman, of Odebolt, Iowa, and their son, Herman C., is a graduate, with honors, in the class of 1904 from Yale University; 'Sirs. Groman was educated in the common schools and by individual study and application. Elizabeth K. is the wife of William H. Rohe, a banker and druggist of Crete, Illinois. Anna M. is the wife of H. H. Gansbergen, a music publisher, with Root and Company of Chicago. Hermina, a lady of charming and lovely character and disposition, is a bookkeeper with E. F. Root and Son of Chicago. Margaret J- is the wife of Charles J. Murphy, who is a farmer and stock dealer. Herman C, who is niarried and a resident of Chicago, is in the employ of the DeLaval Separator Company. B. Fred- erick, who is married and a resident of Red Oak, Iowa, is road master of the C, B. & O. Railroad. Father Beckman was born in Hanover, Germany, June 3. 1822, and died July 5, 1894. He was reared to young manhood in his native land, and gained his education by personal application and by reading the newspapers. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, and in the later years of his life he corresponded for some agricultural papers. He bade adieu to his native land and came to America to cast in his lot among a strange people and with not a great deal of cash on hand. It was about 1846 when he came to New York, and he remained there until 1856. He spent a short time in South Carolina, and in May, 1856, he arrived in Lake county. He began the mer- cantile business at Hanover Center, and also the breeding of high-grade cattle. Most of his life in Lake county was spent in merchandising. He was an ardent Repulilican, and prior to the formation of that party was a Whig, and was a warm admirer of Lincoln, Blaine and Garfield. Frater- nallv he was a member of the Masons and the Odd Fellows. His wife and 694 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. tlie mother of Mr. Becknian was born in the ])rovince of Hanover, Germany, August 14, 1835, and she died in July. 1879. Mr. Beckman was reared and educated in his native county of Lake. He was educated in the common schools and at T. H. Ball's Institute and at Bryant and Stratton's Business College. His early life was spent on the farm. Mr. Beckman is one of the cordial gentlemen who are popular with both the masses and the classes, and by his courtesy and genial manner he has won the confidence of the people of Lake county, and has played a conspicuous part in the political arena. November 3, 1880, he married Miss Mary A. Echterling, and twelve children have been born to them, six of whom are living. The eldest, John F., is at the present writing in the model dairy of the agricultural department of the World's Fair at St. Louis. He was educated in the common schools and at Crown Point, and took four years at Purdue L'niversity, graduating in the class of 1904. August C. is a civil engineer in northern Wisconsin in the employ of the C. & N. W. Railroad. He was also educated at Purdue University, graduating in 1904. Elenora M. is in the public schools, as are also Marie T. and Frederick Herman, and William Edgar is the youngest of the family. Mrs. Beckman was born in the province of ^^'estphalia, Germany, May 14, 1858, being a daughter of Frederick and Mary A. (Cloidt) Echterling. She was educated in the German and English languages, and is a member of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Beckman has always espoused the princi- ples of the Republican party, and cast his first presidential vote for James A. Garfield. Mr. Beckman is a lover of his county, state and nation, and has always had the good of his county at heart. He received the nomination for the office of county auditor in 1892. Init was defeated by the Democratic land- slide of that year. In 1900 he was elected joint representative of Lake county, and each year since, including the present year, has been chosen to that important office. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters and also of the Knights of Pythias. He is now to a great extent retired from business. We are pleased to present this brief text of this worthy gentleman who has spent his entire life in Lake county, to form an enduring record in the Encyclopedia of Genealogy of Lake county. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. _ 595 FRED W. BUCKLEY. Fred W. Buckley, formerly manager for the Wilbur Lumber Company of Lowell, was born in Cedar Creek township. Lake county, Indiana. March 2, 1878, his parents being William and Elizabeth (Darst) Buckley, who were early settlers of Lake county. The father is now living a retired life in Lowell. Upon the home farm Fred W. Buckley spent the first sixteen years of his life, and during that period acquired his education in the public schools, which he attended during the winter months. He then began work for the Lowell Lumber Company. John E. Burns being the owner of the yards, and in that employ Mr. Buckley remained until May 5, 1898, when the yard was sold to the Wilbur Lumber Company, Mr. Buckley continuing there until February, 1901. He then resigned and joined his former employer, Mr. Burns, in Chicago, and continued with him for three months, at the end of wliich time he was offered the management of the \Vilbur Lumber Company. He was then but twenty-two years of age, but he had demonstrated his superior ability, his thorough understanding of the lumber trade and his trustworthin£Ss, and thus his strong qualities gained him a very desirable position, which he held for three years, at the end of which time he again re- signed to accept a better position offered by the Sheridan Brick Works. Brazil. Indiana. On the 19th of July, 1900, Mr. Buckley was united in marriage to Miss Lotus Metcalf. who died on the 15th of November, 1901. He is a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity at Lowell and is a man well known in Lake county, where he has a large circle of friends, among whom he is very popular, owing to his genial disposition, unfaltering courtesy and high personal worth. BYRON M. CHENEY. Byron M. Cheney, who is engaged in fhe practice of law and occupies the position of justice of the peace in East Chicago, ranks among the rep- resentative residents of that place, where he has so directed his energies as to win substantia! success in business and at the same time gain the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been associated. As a public official he has made a creditable record, his course being marked by the utmost 59() HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. fidelity to duty, while his decisions are characterized by strict impartiality and fairness. Mr. Cheney is a native son of Illinois, his birth having occurred in Jersey ville, Jersey county, on the 2nd of September, 1840. He comes of a family of English lineage and his ancestors were among the passengers of the Mayflower, who made the first settlement in New England. The paternal grandfather, Prentiss Dana Cheney, was a native of Vermont and a physician by profession. He served his countrj^ in the war of 1812. participating in the battle of Lake Champlain, and aided largely in the care of the wounded. He was twice married, first wedding Miss Murray, by whom he had five children, while his second wife was a Miss Goodell. Dr. Cheney reached a very advanced age, dying full of years and honors. Murray Cheney, son of Dr. Prentiss D. Cheney, was born in the Green Mountain state and became a member of the bar. Establishing his home in Illinois, he engaged in the practice of law in Jersey county and also held the office of sherifif there for two terms. It was in the year 1833 that he left his home in New England for the central west, taking- up his abode at what was then called Hickoiy Gro^•e. but is now the site of Jerseyville. He afterward entered some land in Sangamon county, Illinois, in 1852, and this is still in possession of his children. In 1857 he removed to that county, locating upon his farm (the Blue ]\Iound) in Talkington township, near Springfield, where he carried on agricultural pursuits until the fall of 1861. He then remo\'ed to Virden, Illinois, where he resided until bis death, which occurred in 1885, when he was seventy-six years of age. In early manhood he wedded Miss Caroline Pickett, also a native of Vermont and a daughter of Gilead Pickett, who was born in the same state and was of English lineage. He was a black- smith by trade, served his country in the war of 1812 and died when well ad- vanced in years. In his family were seven children, including Mrs. Cheney, who survived her husband for a long period and passed away on the 6th of July, 1903. when more than ninety years of age. Both were members of the Mis- sionary Baptist church and j\Ir. Cheney had served his counti"y as a soldier in the Mexican war. They were the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, of whom five are now living : Gilead P., a resident of Jerseyville, Illinois; Byron M. ; Martha C, the wife of Oliver S. Green, of Chicago, Illi- nois: John George, of Lyons, Colorado; and William, of Virden, Illinois. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 597 Judge Byron M. Cheney spent the first fifteen years of his Hfc in Jersev- ville, Illinois, and from the age of six years attended the public schools. Later he worked upon a farm and afterward engaged in railroad contracting and levee work on the Illinois river. In 1888 he arrived in East Chicago and estalilished a coal and lime yard. The following year he was elected justice of the ])eace and has continuously filled the position since that time, with the exception of one term. As a business man he has ever been found reliable and trustworthy, manifesting also the progressive spirit of the age. and in office he is known for his fearless performance of his duty and his promptness and fidelity in the discharge of every task which devolves upon him. On the 22nd of February. 1865, occurred the marriage of Judge Cheney and Miss Sarah. Beatty, a daughter of Francis and Jane Beatty, but in the following March the Judge was called upon to mourn the loss of his young wife. Several years later he married Miss Mary Van Zandt, a daughter of John and Anna (Barber) Van Zandt. Mrs. Cheney's grandfather, John Van Zandt, was in the war of the Revolution, having- entered the ranks when only 12 years of age. She is a member of the Methodist church and an estimable lady who, like her husband, shares in the warm regard of her many friends. Judge Cheney belongs to the JNIasonic fraternity and has attained the Royal Arch degree. Politically he is a Republican, earnest in his advo- cacy of the principles of the party, and he served as school trustee in Sanga- mon county, Illinois, for a long period. He and his wife now reside at No. 4815 Olcott a\'enue in East Chicago, where he owns a good home, and in addition to this he lias two oth.er desiralile lots in East Chicago, and a part of the old homestead farm in Sangamon county, Illinois. His life has been one of continuous acti\-ity, in which has been accorded due recognition of labor; and to-day he is numbered among the substantial citizens of the countv. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of the middle west and at all times he is ready to lend his aid and co-operation to any mo\'ement calculated to benefit this section of the country or ad\'ance its won- derful development. CHARLES J. HOLMES. Among the good and worthy citizens of West Creek township is Mr. C. J. Holmes, who is held in high esteem by all who know him. His active 598 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. careei '.n nortliern Indiana has extended over a period of nearly thirt\' years, and lias been one of absorbing indnstry and puljlic-spirited citizenshi]), snch as to eventuate in material prosperity and a position of honor among his fellow citizens. He hails from the little kingdom of Sweden, where he was born June ii, 1854, being the third in a family of eight children, two sons and six daughters, born to John and Anna (Swanson) Johnson. The reason that Mr. Holmes has a name so different from that of his parents is that, while lie was serving as a soldier in the Swedish army, his number was 313. the corresponding name to which number was Charles J. Holmes, and Ijy this name thus applied he has been known ever since. He has a sister and a brother yet living, his sister, Christine, older than himself, being the wife of Oscar Petersen, a carpenter and joiner residing in Sweden, and his brother Peter being on a ranch at Salina, Kansas. The father of this family passed his life in Sweden, and was a shoemaker I>y trade. He also served in the military of his country. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran church, and they are now both deceased. Mr. Holmes was born in the province of Smolen, and received his edu- cation in the schools of his native land. He learned the trade of shoemaker from his father, and remained with his parents until he was twenty-one years old. .-Xt that age he concluded to come to America to better his fortune, and on April 28, 1875, ^^ sailed from Gothenburg and landed in Philadelphia with just seven dollars in cash capital to support him while he gained a start in a foreign land. From Philadelphia he came to Chicago, and three weeks later went to an uncle of his in Porter county, Indiana, where a farmer pro- cured his services at a wage of thirteen dollars a month. After three months he hired out to another farmer at seventy-five dollars a year, and worked for this employer for eighteen months. During the ne.xt eighteen months he re- ceived twenty-one dollars a month, and his prosperity was soon assured, for his diligence and intelligent management of all the interests intrusted to his charge soon won him the confidence of all with whom he had dealings, and he was before long on the independent road to success. On October 5, 1881, he wedded an estimable lady. Miss Emma Ryden, and eight children were born of this marriage, seven of them being living, as follows: 01i\'er, who received his diploma from the jjublic schools on Feb- ruary 19, 1898, and was later graduated froiu the business college at North HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 59^ Park, Chicago, and tlie academy at tlie same locality, is now engaged as a clerk in one of the banks of Mr. Murray Turner at Hammond ; Emily, who received her diploma of graduation from the public schools on May q. 1902. at present has charge of her father's home ; Grace is now in the first year of the high schocil ; Harry graduated fnnn the common schools on May 12. 1904, when (jnly thirteen vears of age : George is in the eighth grade of school work ; Bertha is in the sixth grade ; and Esther is in the third grade. Mrs. Holmes was born in Smolen. Sweden, March 2J, 1863. being a daughter of .\ndrew and Lovisa (Johnson) Swanson, both of whom are now living in Porter countv. Indiana, and one sister is also living. Her parents are both Lutherans, and her father had served in the Swedish army. She was eight years of age when she accompanied lier parents to America, the home lieing established in Chesterton, Porter county. She was educated in both the Swedish and English languages. She was a woman of noble char- acter and an able assistant to her husband in the rearing of her children and the caring for the home. Her disposition was all gentleness and kindliness toward all. and she made friends where\'er she went. She was a memlier of the Lutheran church at Chesterton. This good woman passed away from the world and her sorrowing family on February 24, 1901, and her remains are interred in the Chesterton cemetery. She was a loving and affectionate wife and mother, and her admonitions and advice to her children have sunk deeply and permanently into their hearts and become part and parcel of their worthy characters. Mr. Holmes is now living in West Creek township with his children around him. and his noble daughter Emily assumes complete management of the home. Too much cannot be said of this good man and worthy citizen of West Creek township, and he has friends by the score. Ever since coming to this country and assuming the active duties of citizen- ship he has been a stanch upholder of Republican principles. He and the older children are members of the Lutheran church. LEGRAND T. MEYER. LeGrand T. Meyer, who has been a leading attorney at law in Ham- mond for over ten years, is a life-long resident of Lake county, and has worked out his successful career almost within call of his first home. He has been a member of the bar of the county for the past fifteen years, but did GOO HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. not at once engage in active practice, continuing iiis legal and literary studies until his graduation in 1892. He has for several years been prom- inent in the business as well as professional activity of the city, and is to be counted among the truly representative and public-spirited citizenship of Hammond. Mr. Meyer was born in Crown Point, Indiana, November 22, 1867. His father, John H. Meyer, was born in Hanover. Germany, son of a life- long resident of that province. He was reared in Germany, and in 1855 emi- grated to America. He lived in Brunswick, Indiana, until his enlistment, in 1861, in Company B, Twentieth Indiana Infantry, with which he served three and a half years as a private. He was wounded at the second day of Gettysburg, and sent to the hospital, but afterward rejoined his regiment. He was also in the second battle of Bull Run, at Chancellorsville, and throughout the hard Wilderness campaign. After the war he conducted a general store at Crown Point for a number of years, and then retired to his farm at Cedar Lake. John H. Meyer, the father, died on September 20, 1904. after a few days' illness from pneumonia, and on September 23, 1904, \vas buried in the family lot in Crown Point by a large gathering of his old comrades and neighbors. In politics he was an uncompromising Demo- crat, and his wife is a member of the Methodist church. He married Mar- garet E. Dittmer, who was liorn in Savannah, Georgia, a daughter of Will- iam Henry and Sarah Elizabeth (Carr) Dittmer. Her father came from Germany and settled at Savannah before the Civil war. He owned con- siderable real estate there, was a prosperous merchant, and erected grist mills in various localities. In 1857 he came to Lake county, Indiana, and Ixiught a farm at Cedar Lake, but afterward returned to Savannah, where he died at the age of sixty-six. Mr. and ]Mrs. John H. Meyer had three children : LeGrand T., Howard C. and Horace G. Mr. L. T. Meyer lived in Crown Point the first eleven years of his life, and received his first schooling there. He li\'e(l mi the home farm at Cedar Lake for some years, and studied law and continued his literary training in his home county. He was admitted to the bar in 1889, and in 1892 graduated from the literary deiaartment of the University of Michi- gan, at Ann Arbor, where he had also taken a law course. He opened his office in Hammond in 1892, and has built up a \ery satisfactory practice I HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 601 in the intervening years. He is vice president and one of the cHrectors of the Champion Potato JNIachinery Company, which mannfactures potato planters and diggers. He gives his poHtical allegiance to the Democratic party. His wife is a member of the Baptist church. He resides at 47 Doty street, where he built his home in 1896. Mr. Meyer was elected city attor- ney of Hammond, on June 21. 1904. He has always taken an active part in politics, having several times been chairman of the Democratic city cen- tral committee, and has invariably been successful. In 1893 Governor Claude Matthews appointed him chief of the engineer corps of the Indiana National Guard, with rank of colonel, and during the tempestuous time of Roby pugilism and railway riots he was in sen-ice as tlie confidential adviser of the governor. Pre\iously to this Mr. i\Ieyer had always been active in mili- tary affairs, having commanded a company of Sons of Veterans infantry, and had been an active Son of Veteran of the State, holding many state offices therein. May 22, 1895, Mr. Meyer married Miss Sarah L. Jennings, the daugh- ter of William and Adelaide (Miller) Jennings. They have three children, Helen Margaret. Laura M., and LeGrand T., Jr. Through the maternal side Mr. Meyer traces his direct ancestry to the \\'illiani Carrs of South Caro- lina, who took an active part in the Revolutionary war of .American In- dependence. OLIVER G. WHEELER. Prominent among the energetic, enterprising ano successful business men of Crown Point, Indiana, is numbered 01i\er G. Wheeler, who is con- ducting a dry-goods store in that city. His business career will bear the light of strong investigation, and throughout the community where he makes his home he is held in high regard because of his active, useful and up- right life. He was born in Florence, Erie county. Ohio. March 4, 1842. and in the paternal line comes of English ancestr}-, although the family was estab- lished in .\merica at an early period in the de\elopment of this countrw The paternal grandfather was a native of Connecticut, and it was in that state that Johnson \\"heeler, the father, was born and reared. He removed to Ohio during the pioneer epoch in the history of that state, settling" in Erie 602 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. county, wlience he came to Lake county. Lidiana, in 1847, establisliing his home in tlie southern part of the county. He was a civil engineer and sur- veyor by profession, and did work in that hne throughout northwestern In- diana. For a long period he served as county surveyor, and he surveyed the larger part of Lake county. His activity, however, extended to other lines of business, and he carried on Ixith farming and merchandising interests, his efforts contributing to the business development and substantial commercial growth of his portion of the state. He died when seventy-two years of age, honored and respected by all for what he had accomplished and for what he did in behalf of his fellow men. He gave his political allegiance to the Whig party in early manhood, and upon the organization of the Republican party joined its ranks. He held membership in the Universalist church. He mar- ried Sallie Burr, a native of Connecticut, who died in Crown Point when fifty-four years of age. They were the parents of ten children, four sons and six daughters, se\'en of whom reached years of maturity, while four are now living, three daughters and one son. Oliver G. Wheeler, the ninth child of the family, was only five years of age when he came to Indiana. -His education was acquired in the dis- trict schools until he reached the age of fifteen years, when the family re- moved to Crown Point, and he then continued his studies there. He entered upon his business career as a clerk in his father's mercantile establishment, and he was thus employed until after the inauguration of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company A, Seventy-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in August, 1862. He joined the army as a private, but was promoted to the rank of orderly sergeant and afterward to second lieutenant. He served for alxDut three years or until the cessation of hostilities in 1865. His first battles were at Perryville and Stone River. The command, known as Colonel Straight's Provisional Brigade, then consisting of fifteen hundred men, passing through North Alabama on the way to Rome in Georgia, overtaken by Forrest's men at dusk in the passes of Sand mountain and fighting there for three hours, April 30, 1863, repulsing an attack of three thousand cavalry, surrendered on the 2d of May, at Blount's Farm in Ala- bama. This expedition is known as Straight's raid. Brewer, a historian of Alabama, says of the three hours of night battle, "The scene of this pro- longed and desperate conflict on the barren mountain heights of north HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 003 Alabama is remeniliered by participants * * * ^jg one of peculiar, weird grandeur, impossible to paint witb words." Tiie men of the Seventy- third were exchanged at Richmond, and Mr. Wheeler went home on fur- lough. He soon returned, joined his regiment at Indianapolis, and went south, again, to Nashville and to Decatur in Alabama, taking part in tlic battles at Athens, at Decatur, and at Nashville. At the close of the war he receivetl an honorable discharge at Indianapolis in July, 1865. He never faltered in the performance of any task assigned to him, but did his full duty as a soldier, his military career being a credit to the army. Returning to Crown Point, Mr. Wheeler has since been identified with business interests iiere. In 1867 he opened a hardware store which he conducted successfully and continuously until 1896. In that year he sold his stock of hardware and opened his present store, dealing in dry-goods, boots and shoes and clothing. His business methods are in keeping with the mod- ern progressive spirit of the times, and his earnest desire to please his patrons, his honorable dealings and his reasonable prices have secured to him a trade that makes his enterprise a profitable one. In 1870 Mr. Wheeler was united in marriage to Miss Alice Clark, a granddaughter of Judge William Clark. She was born in Crown Point and was educated in the public schools. Four children have been born of this union, three daughters and a son : Maud, a very promising, talented and truly handsome girl, who lived to be fifteen years of age and died at Ash- ville. North Carolina; Myra, at home; Ned J., who is a teacher in Purdue Uni\-ersity, giving instruction in the mechanical engineering department ; and Gretchen Hope. Mr. Wheeler is a member of John Wheeler Post No. 149, G. A. R., in which he has filled a number of positions. This post was named in honor of Colonel John Wheeler, a brother of Mr. W'heeler, who was killed at Get- tysburg. Mr. Wheeler is also identified with the Masonic fraternity at Crown Point, and he has been a life-long Republican. Almost his entire life has been passed here, and those who know him — and his acquaintance is wide — recognize in him a loyal citizen, a reliable business man and a faith- ful friend. His salient characteristics ha\-e ever been such as to Cduimend !iim to the confidence and good will of all, and it is therefore with ])leasure that we present the record of his career to our readers. 604 HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. Of the "English ancestry" of Mr. Wheeler there are cnly uncertain tra- ditions, as is the case with other old New England families, but it is certain that John Wheeler settled in Concord before 1640, and removed to Fair- field, Connecticut, in 1644: also that a son of this early resident of New Eng- land, another John Wheeler, joined a colony for the settlement of Woodbury on the east of the Housatonic river, of which colony he was a prominent member and had a large family. He died in 1704. His youngest son, a third John Wheeler, was born in 1684. He had a son, Samuel \\nieeler, born in 1712, and a grandson, Johnson Wheeler, born in 1754. This grand- son of the third John Wheeler had a son. Johnson W'heeler, born in 1797. w^ho was the father of O. G. AAHieeler of this sketch, so that between him and the unknown English ancestry are six generations, two ancestors bearing the name of Johnson, one the name of Samuel, and three having the noted Eng- lish and also Bible name of John. "The Wheelers of New England were a hardy, robust set of men." Members of the earlier and more aristocratic families often referred to their English family escutcheon. Evidently the Lake county Wheeler families came of a good English lineage. Inheriting the benefits of such ancestry, descendants also through tlieir gifted mother of the prominent Clark and Farwell families of pioneer days, Miss Myra Wheeler is justly prized for her excellent qualities in home life. in society and as assistant to her father in his business: and the now young school girl, Gretchen Hope, is a bright beam of life and joy within her father's home. JAMES FRANCIS ROWINS. James Francis Rowins. who is prominently identified with the printing business in Chicago, is a well known former resident of Lake county, where he has spent the greater part of the past thirty years. Mr. Rowins was born in Easton. Talbot county, Maryland, August 7. 1850. being a son of John Rowins and Sarah Benson Rowins. His father was a manufacturing jeweler in Easton and owner of milling interests in that city, and also owned several large plantations in the neighboring counties. Mr. Rnwins" genealogical tree runs back for se\-en or eight generations to Irish ancestrv on the father's side and to English and Scotch stock on the mother's side. Near relati\-es were engaged on both sides during the late HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. (505 rebellion, the family interests being in close touch with both the north and ihe sottth. Mr. Rowins was educated almost entirely in private schools, graduating from a Methodist classical institute near Annapolis, the capital of the state. In earl}- manhood he began reading medicine, but never completed his prepa- ration for that profession since he became interested in the printing business, which he has followed almost his entire life, ^h: Rowins first became iden- tified with Crown Point as a resident and business man in 1873, and for the greater part of the subsequent period has called Lake county his home or been within close touch with this part of the state. For several years he was connected with the newspaper business in Crown Point, and is well re- membered in that city and in other communities of the county, although his business interests have for some time been centered in the citv of Chicago. In religious views JNIr. Rowins is liberal and is identified actively with no church. He is a worker in the Masonic vineyard, and has held the high- est official positions in his blue lodge, chapter, council and commandery. At the present writing he is at the head of the oldest commandery of Knights Templar in the west, a body well and favorably known around the world. He is also a prominent oflicer in the largest IMasonic body on the globe — the Oriental Consistory of Chicago. May 7, 1873, I\Ir. Rowins was married at Crown Point to Miss Jennie S. Holton, a daughter of Janna S. Holton and a granddaughter of Solon Robinson, the pioneer of Crown Point and Lake county, whose prominence in early affairs has often been noted in other portions of this volume. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Rowins : Howard Holton, born January 21. 1875: James Edward, born ]\Iay 17. 1877. and died Aug- ust 17. 1898: Josephine Sarah, born January 10. 1880, and died March 18, 1903: and Cora Belle, born June 10, 1883. F. E. BROWNELL. The business interests of Lowell find a worthy representative in F. E. Brownell, who is engaged in dealing in agricultural implements there and who in the careful management of his business affairs is winning creditable .success. He was born in Schoharie coui:ty. New York, on the 24th of April, 1852, and comes of Scotch lineage. His paternal grandfather, a na- 60(3 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. tive of Scotland and the founder of the family in America, crossed the At- lantic when a young man and established his home in Pennsylvania. Dr. Alva Brownell, the father, was born in Schoharie county. New York. He removed to Lake county, Lidiana, settling at Crown Point, where he en- gaged in the practice of medicine for two years. He then removed to what is now Plum Grove in Eagle Creek township, where he carried on agricul- ural pursuits in connection with his professional duties up to the time of his death, which occurred in May, 1871, when he was in his sixty-eighth year. He was a life-long Republican and took an active interest in public affairs, being particularly loyal to the Union cause at the time of the Civil war. He held a number of local positions, inchuling those of trustee and justice of tlie peace. He was also active in church work and conducted a Sunday- school at Plum Grove for many years. His acquaintance in the county was wide and favorable, his fellow townsmen recognizing his sterling worth and giving him their warm personal regard and friendship. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Sturnburg. was a native of Pennsylvania, where she made her home until about twelve years of age, when she ac- companied her parents on their removal to Schoharie county. New York. Slie was of German descent and parentage and could not speak a word of English until alx)ut the time of the removal to the Empire state. Her death occurred in Plum grove. Lake county, Indiana, in February, 1855. Dr. and Mrs. Brownell were the parents of eight children; five reached adult age. but only two are now living, the eldest and the youngest, the brother of F. E. being Ezra Brownell, who is a retired farmer living in Madis^'i county, Iowa. F. E. Brownell, the youngest of the family and the only representative left in Lake county, was but four years of age when he came with his parents to Crown Point. His education was obtained in Plum Grove, Eagle Creek township, and he remained at home through the period of his boyhood and youth, and in early manhood took charge of the home farm, continuing its cultivation up to the time of his marriage. It was on the second of February, 1871, when he was joined in wedlock to Miss Frances Dinwiddle, a daughter of John and Mary (Perkins) Dinwiddle, who were early set- tlers of Lake county. Mrs. Brownell was born in this county May 9, 1853. She was taken as a l>ride to the old Brownell homestead, and her husband HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 60T continued to engage in general farming there until 1900. when lie put aside the active work of the fields and took up his abode in Lowell, where he established an agricultural implement business. He still owns the old home- stead property, however, and it is operated under his direct supervision. It comprises two hundred and sixty acres of land in Eagle Creek townsliip and is a valuable and productive property, which annually brings to him a good income. He now carries in Lowell a large and well-selectecl line of agricul- tural implements, and has built up a good patronage in his commercial venture. To Mr. and Mrs. Brownell have been born ten children : Carl, who is living on the old homestead : Alice, the wife of Howard Slocum, of Lowell ; John, who is living in Brazil, Indiana: Claude, of Sandwich, Illinois; Kate, the wife of Harry Hill, of Joliet. Illinois; Guy and Edward, both of Lowell; Ruth, at home; \\'alter and Ralph, who are also under the parental roof. All of the children were born in Eagle Creek township. Mr. Brownell has ever been a stanch adherent of Republican principles and has taken an active part in promoting the welfare and growth of the Republican organization, yet has never sought or desired political preferment for himself. He be- longs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity at Lowell and is well known throughout Lake county, where be has spent almost bis entire life. He has been true to every trust reposed in him, has been found honorable and straightforward in his business dealings, and lx;cause of his straightforward purpose and unflagging energy he has attained a very desirable measure of prosperity. SEBASTIAN EINSELE. Sebastian Einsele, who has done much by bis progressive efiforts for the development and industrial welfare of Lake county, and who is a well known resident of Hanover township, was born in Baden, Germany, March 16, 1838, being the fourth of the children born to Michael and Barbara (Ferrold) Einsele. His father was bom November 25, 1805, and died in 1899, and was a wagon-maker by trade. In 1847 l^^ came with his family to America, starting from Havre, France, in a sailing vessel, and it was forty-three days before they reached New York. Thence he came to Lake county, where he purchased eighty acres of partially impnned land in Han- over township, and his first home there was a log cabin. He was a prosper- ous man, and accumulated about two hundred and twentv acres of land in <30S HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Hanover township. Politically he was independent. He aided in the erec- tion of St. Martin.s Catholic church at Hanover Center. His good wife was also born in the fatherland in 1805. and her death occurred in 1876. ]\Ir. Einsele was a boy of nine years when he became a resident of this county, and he has therefore passed most of his life in the county. He is a self-educated man. having gained most of his knowledge by personal ap- plication. He remained with his parents until twenty-eiglit years old, and when he married and began life for himself he had only two teams, and he started to farm on rented land. He continued as a renter for twenty-four years in one part of the township, so that it is evident that he began at the bottom of the ladder and advanced to his present prosperity by degrees and persistent efforts. November 16, 1866, he married Miss Katharine Drinen, and ten chil- dren were born to them, nine of whom are living. Mary resides with her father. Tena is in Chicago, but her home is still with her father. Joseph is at home, as also are Michael, Lizzie, Sebastian, Anna, Jacob, Emil. Mrs. Einsele was born in Prussia in 1848, and when four years old came to America. In 1899 Mr. Einsele began the erection of his excellent summer resort hotel at Cedar Lake, and since that time he has given his chief atten.tion to its management. He has one of the most popular hotels and saloons in Cedar Lake, and each summer this resort with its efficient service is thrown open to the public, and he is a well known host to the many people who each year flock out to this delightful locality. The hotel is about sixty rods from the landing and from the Monon depot, so as to Ije most conveniently located for the reception of the crowds who, especially on Sunday, throng from the city to this pleasure and recreation spot. The Einsele Hotel is surrounded by a beautiful natural grove, and with all these charms of situa- tion and equipments its popularity each season increases among the Chi- cago excursionists. And Mr. Einsele is of the jovial and cordial nature which attracts people to him, and his business increases accordingly. He has telephone connection with all the towns of Lake county and with Chi- cago, and evervthing is at hand to make his guests comfortable and pleased. His property there is worth about ten thousand dollars, and within a few years the value of the trade and of his permanent investments will rapidly HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. * 609 increase, as Cedar Lake iDecomes known as it sliould among the vast nnm- bers who seek such retired spots for rest and vacation. Mr. Einsele is independent in poHtical affairs, and supports whom he regards as the 1)est man for tlie office. He and his family are members of St. Martins Cathoh'c cliurch at Hanover Center. HENRY SEEHAUSEN. Henry Seehausen, a prosperous farmer and citizen of Hanover town- ship. Lake county, is a native son of the same locahty, and was born April 2, 1858. being the eldest of the six children, four sons and two daughters, of Henry and W'ilhelniina (Glade) Seehausen. The son William is mar- ried and a farmer of Hanover township. Fred is married and a farmer of Flanover township. Louisa is the wife of William ^^'ille. a farmer of Will county, Illinois. .August, married, is a motorman on the Wentworth a\-enue electric car line in Chicago. Father Seehausen was born in Hanover, Germany, April 7, 1829, and died about 1874. He was about twenty-six years of age when he came to America, and he had little ca])ital to begin on. He came out to Indiana and started as a wage earner. He purchased one hundred and sixteen acres of partially improved land, and his first home was a little frame structure. He went in debt for most of the property, but by. diligence lifted the in- cumbrance and added to his estate until at his death he was possessed of two hundred and fifty-four acres, all in Hanover township. He was a Re- publican, and he and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. His wife was born in Hanover township. July 27, 1839. and she is still living at the age of sixty-five years. Mr. Seehausen was born and reared in Hanover township, and was educated in both the German and English languages. March 9, 1884, he married Miss Anna Seegers. and seven children have been born, six of whom are living. August F., who completed the seventh grade of school. is farming at home. Rosa, at home, finished the seventh grade in school and in a German school took musical instruction. Ella, who was in the sixth grade, is now in the German school. Albert is in the fourth grade. Edna is in the second, and William is the baby of the family. August and Rosa have both received their confirmations. 39 GIO ■ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Mrs. Seehausen was bom in Hanover township, Marcli 20, 1866, being a daughter of Christopher and Dorothea (Koehhng) Seegers. There were eight children in the family, three sons and five daughters, and of the three living Mrs. Seehausen is the oldest. Her sister ]\Iary is the wife of Fred Seehausen, a farmer of Hanover township, and Sophia is the wife of Fred Hitzeman, a farmer of Hanover township. Father Seegers was Ijorn in Han- over province, Germany, in 1821, and died in 1880. He was reared, edu- cated and married in Germany, and was a wea\-er by trade. He came to Lake county about 1847, ^"^1 had about sixty acres of land in Hanover township. He and his wife were Lutherans, and he was a Republican. His -wife was born in Hanover, Germany, about 1830, and is still living. Mrs. Seehausen was educated in both the English and German, and she has been a faithful wife and has aided her huslxind in the establishment of their pretty home. Mr. and Mrs. Seehausen began their married life on the old homestead, he buying out the other heirs to the estates, and although he went in debt in the end he paid off all that he owed and now has one of the best farms and homesteads in Hanover township. He has one hundred acres of fine land, and it is well improved with buildings and all things necessary for its successful and profitable operation. He has a splendid lot of stock, and is particularly proud of his Poland China hogs, which he regards as the most profitable breed. He is a stockholder in the Inter-State Creamery, which is a prosperous enterprise. Mr. Seehausen is a Republican, having cast his first presidential vote for James A. Garfield. He has not cared for office, and his full time has been devoted to his private business and domestic affairs. He and his good wife are members of the Lutheran church located in the northwestern part of the township, and their daughter is organist in the church, and all the children attend the Sunday school. JOHN HENRY MEYER. John Henry Meyer, who is one of the oldest and most prosperous farmers of Hanover township, was born in Hanover, Germany, September 21, 1833, being the oldest of four children, two sons and two daughters, born to John H. and Maggie (Beckman) Meyer. Only two survive, his brother John being a wealthy retired farmer of Crown Point. JOHN H. MEYER 4 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 611 The father of this family was born and reared in Hanover, Germany, being educated in the German schools and following; the occupation of farmer. He married in Germany and all the children were born there. In 185 1 he and his family sailed from Bremen, and forty-two davs later ar- rived in New York. The parents and one of their children went to Savannah, Georgia, for the winter, but the other three remained in New York. In the spring of 1852 the parents started for the west with the intention of locating either at Fort Wayne, Indiana, or in Iowa, but on the death of a brother who had taken up land in Lake county they came to this county and pur- chased two hundred acres of land near the western corner of Cedar Lake. The father added to his possessions until at his death he owned three hun- dred acres of good land. The first home of the Meyers was a log cabin, and deer and wob.es were still to be seen in the neighborhocd. The father voted for Fremont, the first Republican nominee, and he and his wife, who was a native of the same locality in Germany as himself, were members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Meyer was a young man when he became a resident of the United States, and during his first winter in this country he clerked in a store in New York. Coming to Lake county in the spring of 1852, he began on the farm and has remained a tiller of the soil all his life. He was educated in both the German and English languages. He remained with his parents to the age of twenty-seven, when, on January 20, 1861, he was married to Miss Christena Doescher, by which union twelve children have been born, all of whom are living. Johanna is the wife of John E. Meyers, a merchant of Kinman, Jasper county, In- diana. Henr}' is married and is a contractor and builder at Mexico. ^lis- souri. John is married and a resident of Kansas City. Kansas. August, married, is a dealer in and a manufacturer of harness at Mexico. Missouri. Emma is the \\ife of August Grabe, a professional horseshoer of Chicago. Lizzie is at home with her parents. Christena is in Chicago. Anna is in Chicago. Julius is a resident of Independence. Missouri. Edwin, a prac- tical farmer and stockman in Hanover township, had a common school edu- cation and then took a business course at Valparaiso, where he graduated in 1896; he is a Republican and cast his first vote for McKinley. Adolph, who took the commercial and shorthand course at ^^alparaiso. graduating in 012 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 1900, is now in the wholesale house of Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company, at Chicago. Ernest, also a student at Valparaiso, is at home. Airs. Meyer was born in Hanover, Germany, November 8, 1841, a daughter of Herman and Johanna (Sleffens) Doescher, who were the par- ents of eight children, two sons and six daughters, five of whom are living. Herman, the eldest, is married and is a farmer in Endor, Illinois. Johanna, of Endor, Illinois, is the widow of Christopher Batterman. Fredericka is the widow of Charles Horn, a resident of Crete. Illinois. Mrs. Meyer is next. Charles, who was a soldier in the Civil war, is married and a resident of Crete, Illinois. When Mr. and Mrs. Meyer began life it was as renters on section 19 in Hanover township, and for six years they farmed on rented land. The first land he purchased was twn hundred and twenty acres in section 31. and he went in debt for a large part of it, luit in the end his diligence and good man- agement paid off all the indebtedness, and he is now owner of three hun- dred and two acres in Hanover township and fourteen acres in Center town- ship, well improved with barns, granaries, and other buildings, and they have an excellent farm residence, without a dollar of mortgage standing against the property. He is also owner of three hundred and sixty-five acres in Audrain county, Missouri, situated only four miles from the thriving city of Mexico. jMr. Meyer is a Republican, having cast his first presidentwl vote for Fremont, since which time each party candidate has received his support. He and his wife had seen all the remarkable development of Lake county during the last half century, and they are therefore among the real old- timers, and held in the highest esteem for their many excellent qualities of mind and heart. REV. :mathias zumbuelte. The clergy of the Roman Catholic church, as a rule, are gentlemen of ripe scholarship, and are important factors in the civilization of remote dis- tricts as well as founders of great and beneficent works. They are noted for their persistency, energy^ and ambition. Rev. Zumbuelte comes of that class of priests. He is a native of Westphalia. Germany, and was born February 19. 1S39, being a son of Anthony and Elizabeth (Oellinghoff) Zumbuelte. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. til3 He was from the first of a literary turn of mind, and the priesthood seemed to him to be his chosen work. His primary training was begun in the common schools of Germany, and later he received training under a tutor. At the age of seventeen he entered the gymnasium, which course regularly required nine years, but in five years he received his diploma, and then entered the seminaiy of the old city of ]\Iunster. where he put in three years at his work. The tirst }'ear"s work was in philosophy, and th.e last two in theology. When he had completed this course of study he received a cordial letter from Bishop Leuers, of the Northern Bishopric of Indiana, who was on a visit to Europe and at that -particular time in the city of Munster. Bishop Leuers advised him to enter the American College of Theology of the famous University of Munster, which he did in 1864, and accordingly spent two years in that noted seat of learning. May 26, 1866, he received his ordination as priest from the hands of Cardinal E. Sterx. He was then fitted to enter the priesthood in America, and he set sail from Bremen and arrived at Fort Wayne. Indiana, in Octolier, 1866. and was appointed as- sistant priest to Rev. Joseph B. Ferce at St. \'incent"s parish at Logansport. He remained there until January 6, 1868. \Miile there his duties were arduous, as he had a great deal of mission work to perform, and also visit- ing the poor, the sick, the distressed and dying, at all times of the day and night, and during any kind of weather. In this Father Zumbuelte showed himself to be a man of more than ordinary courage and industiy as his work extended over a large area of country. The next work he took charge of was as assistant to Rev. D. Duehmig. at Avilla, Noble county, Indiana, and he was there six months. In July. 1868, he was sent to Leo, Allen county, In- diana, a small parish of nineteen families. The name of the parish was St. ]\Iar)-. There was a small frame building used as church — no home for the priest, and Father Zumbuelte was forced to live with a farmer for two years. He remained there two years in all. and while there he erected a nome for the priest. In 1870 he erected St. MichaeFs church at a ccst of tliir- teen hundred dollars, and liquidated every dollar's indebtedness and paid an additional delit of seven hundred dollars. In 187 1 Father Zumbuelte was sent to St. Vincent de Paul at Columbia City, Indiana, and while there kept up the property in excellent repair, the parochial school in session and other important parish work. In that locality he had two missions to attend to. 614 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. at Pierceton and W'arsaw in Kosciusko couiit\'. There were about seventy- five families in the Columbia City parish. In September, 1875, he was called to St. Mary's parish at Crown Point, Ixit remained there only seven months, or until April, 1876, when he concluded to visit his native land to see his parents and relatives. His father was an old soldier under the great Napoleon, and was present at the famous battles of Leipsic, Jkloscow and other memorable battles of that epoch. He was one of the cannoniers. After spending three months in the land of his birth Father Zumbuelte returned to his field of labor in Indiana, and was then sent as chaplain of the colleee at Rennselaer, where he remained until 1888, and while there he erected a beautiful brick church costing six thousand dollars. In 1888 he again paid a visit to his home in Germany, and upon his return he was sent to Reynolds, Indiana, and besides this charge he had the missions of Medar}'- ville and Francesville. He was there one year, and then, in October, 1889, he came to St. Martin's parish in Hanover township, where he has been in active charge to the present writing in 1904. There are about sixty-five families, a parochial school, a nice church building, and an elegant and mod- ern residence erected for the priest in 1902. The value of the entire parish property is placed at eight thousand dollars, and not a dollar is standing against it. On July 9, 1902, Father Zumbuelte met with a severe loss when fire destroyed his home and all its contents, including his fine library and all of his wearing apparel. But with indomitable will he set to work at once and erected a model residence of modern style of architecture, two stories, and finished in hard-wood, and containing twelve rooms. It is a beautiful home and a credit to the township. The parochial school of St. Martin's jwrish comprises forty-three pupils. HENRY ASCHE. The German citizen in America has been specially important as a factor in the development of farming interests, and to this worthy class of people l>elongs Mr. Henry Asche, one of the oldest German farmers in Hanover township as well as one of the most prosperous. Mr. Asche was born in Hanover, Germany. April 21, 1830, a son of Frederick Asche. There were onlv three sons, and Henrv is the onlv sur- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 615 vivor. Father Asche was a man of industrious habits, of German educa- tion, and was a soldier in the European war of 1812 against the French, and saw the great Xapoleon. He underwent many of the hardships of the war. Mr. Asche was reared in his native land to the age of twenty-four, and learned the weaver's trade. May i, 1854, he bade adieu to his native land and sailed from Bremen in a sailing vessel, and the voyage lasted forty-nine days before the arri\-al at New York. He landed in a strange land and among a strange people, and could not speak the English tongue, and all the money he had was thirty-five dollars. He remained in New York about ten months, and then came to Chicago, where he resided for ten years. He began as a wage-earner, at twenty-six dollars a month, the next year got thirty-four dollars a month, and the next vear forty. In the fall of 1864 the crisis came when there was no work. During" the vears 1862-63-64 he received sixty-five dollars a month, and in 1865 he came to Hanover township and purchased seventy-five acres of partially improved land, going in debt for part of the purchase price. His first home was a little frame structure, and it still stands as a monument of the early days of his entry into this township. As the years have passed he and his good wife worked and toiled and added to their possessions until now they have two hundred and ten acres in Hanover and W'est Creek townships. Since that early day he has erected the most comfortable and desirable residence, barns and other build- ings to be found in the township, and the premises around the home indicate the careful, industrious man which Mr. Asche is. He has prospered greatly in his affairs, and now in the evening of life he and his good wife live in peace and plenty. Mr. .\sche is one of the stockholders in the Brunswick Creamery Company at Brunswick. October 2, 1859, he was married in W'ill county, Illinois, to Miss Sophia M. Becker, and of the six children, four sons and two daughters, born to them, only one is now living, Hermann H. This son was born in Hanover township, March 13, 1874, was educated in the English language, and is a practical farmer, residing with his father and mother. He is a Republican in politics. Thus only one child is left to Mr. and Mrs. Asche in their declining years, and they too have had grief and sorrow in their journey through life. Mrs. Asche was born in the province of Hesse, Germany, May 24, 616 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 1836, a daughter of H. H. and Elenora Becker. There were ten cliildren in the family, and six are Hving, of whom Mrs. Asche is the eldest. John Becker is a resident of Chicago and is married. Ella is the wife of Henry Moeller, a resident of Minnesota. Henry is married and lives in Hanover township. H. Henry Becker is married and a farmer of Iowa. Conrad is married and resides in hiwa. Mrs. Asche was reared in Germany until she was eighteen years old, and she came to America with her hrother John. sailing from Bremen and being forty-two days in crossing the ocean. She came to Chicago to her friends and resided there for four years. For thirty-nine years have Mr. and Mrs. Asche resided in Hanover township, and they are among the best and most prosperous people of the township. Mr. Asche is a Republican and has always supported the ticket and candidates since his first vote. He has held no ofifice, preferring to devote his time to his business interests. Mr. and Mrs. Asche's beautiful country seat is one of the most desirable locations in the township, and could well be called the "Pleasant View Farm." They are typical German- American citizens of sterling worth. Having come to this country poor people, by their industry and economy they have gained a competency which places them in easy circumstances. FRANK N. GAVIT. It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of a state lies not in its machineiy of government nor e\en in its institutions, but in the sterling qualities of its individual citizens, in their capacity for high and unselfish effort and their devotion to the public good. Regarded as a citizen, Frank N., Ga\'it belongs to that public spirited, useful and helpful type of man whose ambitions and desires are centered and directed in those channels through which flow the greatest and most permanent good to the greatest number, and it is, therefore, consistent with the purpose and plan of this work that his record be gix'en among those of the representative men of the state. He is now an attornev of Whiting, and his ability classes him with the prominent representatives of the bar in northwestern Indiana. He has been connected with much important litigation as the representative of private interests, and he was also a defender of \\'hiting"s interests in its contests with Hammond. In this wav he has become widelv known, and his x^< i HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 617 efforts in behalf of the city of his residence were untiring, eff'ective and beneficial. Mr. Gavit was born in Walsingham, Ontario, Canada, on the 21st of October, 1864, and comes of a family of. Irish lineage. Several genera- tions ago representatives of the name left Ireland for the new world, becom- ing residents of the United States. The paternal grandfather, Albert M. Gavit, was born in New London. Connecticut, and was a farmer by occupa- tion, following that pursuit throughout his entire life in order to provide for his family. His son, Albert A. Gavit, father of Mr. Gavit, was also a native of New London, Connecticut, and there spent his boyhood days. AMien a young man, however, he accompanied his parents on their removal to Canada. He had been reared to the occupation of farming and also made it his life work. Leaving the Dominion he went to Oakland county, Michigan, where he resided for five years, and then took up his abode in Saginaw county, Michigan, where he still makes his home. He was united in marriage to Miss Bridget Highland, who is a native of Ireland and was brought to America in early girlhood. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Ga^•it occupy a pleasant home in Michigan, and the father is now sixty-eight years of age, while the mother has reached the age of sixty-one years. They were the parents of ten children, eight sons and two daughters, and five of the number are now living. Frank N. Gavit. the second child and second son of the family, was seven years of age when he accompanied his parents on their removal from Canada to Michigan. He was educated in the common schools of that state and in the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, where he was graduated. His literary course being completed, he then determined to make the practice of law his life work and entered the law department of the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, being but twenty-four years of age when he was graduated there. He located for practice in Sagi- naw, Michigan, where he remained for about two and a half years, and then came to Whiting in 1892. Here he has resided continuously since and has won some notable successes at the bar. He has enjoyed a large private practice and has also served as city attorney and as deputy prosecut- ing attorney. He is attorney for the two banks of Whiting and stantls to-day as one of the strongest representatives of the Lake county bar. being a strong 618 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. advocate before the jury and concise in his appeals before the court. He is notable among lawyers for the wide research and provident care with which he prepares his cases. In no instance has his reading been confined to the limitations of the question at issue, and his logical grasp of facts and principles and of the law applicable to them has been another potent ele- ment in his success, while his remarkable clearness of expression and ade- quate and precise diction enables him to make others understand not only the salient points of his argument but his every fine gradation in meaning. In politics Mr. Gavit is a stanch and unfaltering Republican, and was nominated on that ticket for supreme judge in 1896, but lost by a fraction of a delegate vote and in 1900 by two delegate votes. At a meeting of the bar of Lake county he was endorsed by the bar for the position of circuit judge to succeed Judge Fulett. He was at one time candidate for mayor of Whiting and was defeated by only two votes. Mr. Gavit drew up the incorporation papers for the town of Whiting and afterward incorporated it as a citv, and he has represented Whiting in all of the litigations between this place and Hammond. In 1893 Mr. Gavit was married to Miss Minnie Tweedy, a daughter of David and Susan (Baxter) Tweedy. Mrs. Gavit was born, reared and educated in Saginaw, Michigan, and this marriage has been blessed with two children who are yet living, Albert and Ruth. Fraternally Mr. Gavit is a Mason and has attained the Knight Templar degree. As a lawyer and progressive citizen he is well known, and Whiting has profited by his ef- forts in her behalf. MATHIAS M. LAUERMAN. Mathias M. Lauerman is so well known as a merchant and business man of Hanover township that he needs no introduction to the people of Lake county. He is a native of Hanover township, where he was born February 8, 1854, and is the fourth in a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters, born to Mathias and Marie (Heiser) Lauerman. There are seven children living. Mary is the wife of Bartel Hepp, a farmer at Flor- ence, Montana. Angeline is the widow of Conrad Wagner, and is a landlady at Morris, Illinois. ^Mathias M.. is the next. John is married and is a farmer at Hanover Center. Mike is married and is a United States mail HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. G19 carrier at Hammond. Katharine is the wife of Jacob Card, a farmer of Hanover township. Elizabeth is the wife of John Stummel. wlio is a teacher and a resident of Turkey Creek, this county. Alathias Lauerman. the father, was a native of Prussia, Germany, born February 8, 1824, and he was reared in the fatherland until he was nine- teen years old, being educated in the German tongue. In 1843 '^^ came with his parents to America, and the voyage across the ocean consumed sixty days, although it can now be accomplished in six days. Landing in a strange land and among a strange people and with but little money, he came to Lake county with his parents, who purchased one hundred and sixty acres of partially im- proved land, going in debt for it, but by diligence and thrift eventually free- ing the incumbrance. Mathias Lauerman was a successful man, having ac- cumulated one hundred and sixty acres of good land and a nice residence near Hanover Center, and he spent most of his life in Hanover township, where his death occurred. He was a Democrat in politics. He and his wife were devout Catholics, and he was one of the leading members in the erec- tion of St. ^Martin's Catholic church, and he always aided those Ijenevolences worthy of his consideration. His remains are interred at Hanover Center, where a beautiful stone marks his last resting place. Mother Lauerman was born in the same province, April 15, 1828, and she is still living at the age of seventy-six, with mental faculties well preserved in spite of the more than three-quarters of a century of her earthly pilgrimage. IMr. Lauerman was reared to the age of twenty-three in his home town- ship and was brought up as a farmer. He was educated in the common schools and by dint of personal application. February 12, 1879, he married Miss Mary Scholl, and seven children, six sons and one daughter, have blessed the union. Joseph, the eldest, was educated in the Metropolitan Business College of Chicago and is now in the wholesale rubber business in Portland, Oregon. Edward is associated with his father in the large and lucrative mercantile business at Armour and Cedar Lake, and he will per- sonally conduct the new store at Cedar Lake. He was educated in the com- mon schools, and through the School of Correspondence passed the examina- tion for mail clerk, but he is devoting his life to the mercantile business. He has the affability and geniality which is the best stock in trade for a young man The son Arthur, after a common school education, learned the barber 620 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. trade at a Cliicago barljer college, and is ikav at home. Emil is a salesman in his father's large store at Armour. He too took his business course at the Metropolitan Business College of Chicago. Jerome received his diploma from the common schools in the class of 1903, and is now at home with his parents. Martha is in the sixth grade and has also taken piano instruction. Victor the youngest, is in school. All the children but Martha and Victor ha\e been confirmed in the faith of the Catholic church, the confirmation ceremony for all having been administered by Bishop Rademacher, now deceased. Mrs. Lauerman was born in Schererville, Lake county, March 15, 1856. and she was reared, educated and confirmed in this county. After their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Lauerman located in Sheridan county, Missouri, where he purchased forty acres of partially improved land, later added to this land until he owned one hundred and twenty acres, and continued to reside there for six years. Then on account of sickness he returned to Lake county and began work on the Monon Railroad as a wage earner, continuing at that for two years. He then Ijegan merchandising at Armour in partnership with Mat. Thiel, with a capital of about eight hundred dollars, and after this part- nership had continued about fcair weeks Mr. Thiel took sick and died, after which Mr. Lauerman continued his business career on his own account. From these small beginnings the business has increased to the extensive establish- ment which we find in 1904, comprising a large double store, which is known as a department store, and carrying a heavy line of fancy and staple dry goods, boots, shoes, family and staple groceries, queensware, clothing, and in fact all commodities which go to make up a first-class mercantile house. The annual trade runs up to a \ery high figure. In the fall of 1904 he erected at Cedar Lake a new store in which he placed a full stock of fresh goods, and this is the store which is to be managed by his son Edward. This is an ex- cellent business record which Mr. Lauerman has made, and in twenty wears' time he has progressed from a position of very modest circumstances to a foremost place among the substantial business men of Lake county — which is a career that any man might be proud of. He and his sons are cordial and genial gentlemen, and by fair and courteous treatment they have found ample patronage in whatever direction they have extended their trade. Mr. Lauerman is a Republican, brit he has never cared for any office, and gives all his time to his business. But in 1886 he W2s appointed post- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. G21 master at Armour. He and his family are members of St. Martin's Catho- lic church at Hano\ er Center, and throughout the entire community this fam- ily meet the respect and esteem which are always given to people of true personal worth and whose lives have accomplished something praiseworthy in the world. HERMAN A. BATTERMAN. The country of Germany has aided most materially in the founding of the great nation of the United States, and its citizens have been especially prominent factors in the agricultural development which has been the basis of all other prosperity. The German-American is noted for his pluck, energy, .economy and frugality, and exhibits the best and most productive estates to be found anywhere. Mr. Herman A. Batterman comes of one of the old German families of west Lake county, and is a true and typical specimen of the prosperous agriculturist. His early life was spent in Will county, Illinois. Born July 26, 1853, he was the oldest of eight children, six sons and two daughters, born to Christopher and Johanna (Doescher) Batterman. The son Henry is repre- sented elsewhere in this volume. Edward is also one of the honorable men whose lives are sketched in this work. Charles is married and engaged in cultivating the old home place in Will county, Illinois. Henrietta is the wife of Charles Borger, of Hobart, also sketched in this volume. Matilda is the wife of Joseph Echterling, of Will county. The father of the family was born in Hanover province, Germany, was reared to young manhood in his native land, and in 1842 he came by himself to America, landing in New York with only eighteen cents in his pocket, so that he began life at the bottom of the ladder and among strange people and in a foreign land. He came to Chicago in 1842, when that now great city was small and insignificant, and out in the neighborhood of the Des Plaines river he got work at twel\-e dollars a month, continuing this work for three years and three months. He then took his earnings and entered two hundred and twenty acres of land in Will county, Illinois, an unimpro\-ed tract. Then for a while he did teaming in Chicago, but finally returned to his land and erected a little shack of a shelter, and, aided by his brother Fred from Ger- many, he developed a farm. For a time he was also interested in a sawmill 622 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. enterprise, but then returned to the farm. He was a succes,sful man, and ac- cumulated ahnost five hundred acres of land in lUinois and Indiana. He was a stanch Repubhcan and before the formation of that party he was a Whig. He had good reason to rememl^er tlie famous wildcat monej- l^efore the Civil war, as on one occasion he had one hundred and thirty dollars of this cur- rency, but thirty dollars was all he could realize on the entire amount. Both he and his wife were Lutherans. His wife v.as also born in Hanover, and she is still living, at the age of sixty-nine years. Mr. Batterman was reared to the pursuit of a farmer and stockman, and was educated in the common schools and by personal application. At the age of twenty-one he began life on a capital of one thousand dollars, starting on the farm where he now resides. He purchased three hundred acres and paid the one thousand dollars on it, and by his economy and industry in time he lifted all incumbrances and the beautiful and high-class buildings and other improvements on the estate he has made himself. August I, 1875, Mr. Batterman married Miss .\nna Borger, and twelve children, six sons and six daughters, have been born to them, seven of whom are living. Johanna is the wife of Altert Keun, who is connected with a publishing house in Chicago ; Mrs. Keun was educated in the common schools and the Hobart high school. Julius, educated in the common schools and at the Valparaiso normal, is married and a farmer at Palmer, Indiana. Mag- gie, educated in the common schools and at Hobart, is the wife of Michael Schmal, a farmer of St. John. Edwin is a resident of Hanover township. Herman is in the ninth grade of the Brunswick schools. Alvin is in tlie seventh grade, and Elsa is also in school. Mrs. Batterman comes from the well known Lake county family of Borgers whose sketch will be found elsewhere. Mr. Batterman is a lover of high-grade stock, and takes especial in- terest in the Percheron horses and the Red Poll cattle, and his cattle of this breed are registered, and he also raises fine grades of Chester White hogs. During his career he has suffered setbacks and misfortunes, but is a man of such determination and energy that he has on each occasion risen phoem'.x- like out of the ashes of ill-chance, and is now one of the financially substan- tial men of Hanover township. Besides his beautiful and well improved estate in Hanover township, he owns nine hundred and fifty acres in Hinds HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 623 county, Mississippi, five miles northeast of Jackson, the state capital, about six hundred acres of this land being arable. The land on the whole is level, the location eligible, and as Mr. Batterman thinks the climate there far excels that of the northern latitude of Indiana he anticipates locating in that vicinity for his future home, — which will mean the loss of a valuable and prominent citizen from the ranks of Lake county. Mr. Batterman is a Re- publican on national issues, but in local affairs gives his voting support to the man best fitted for the office. He cast his first presidential vote for R. B. Hayes, and has supported each candidate since. He is a man who stands high in the estimation of all his fellow citizens, and has been selected to represent his township in the county conventions of his party. In 1898 he was appointed a member of the county council, and his services have been ably and efficiently performed, and he is accordingly tendered the thanks of the citizens of the whole county. FREDERICK W. MANDERNACH. The American nation owes much to the thrifty and hardy virtues of the German race, for this class of citizens has lx;en important factors in ad- vancing every industrial enterprise. It is to this class that Mr. Frederick W. Mandernach belongs, and he has long since proved himself to be one of the most prosperous, progressive and public-spirited citizens of Lake county and Hanover township in particular. Mr. Mandernach was born in the house where he still resides, on Octo- ber 15, 1864, and is the youngest of eight children, four sons and four daugh- ters, born to John and Tena (Saak) Mandernach. All the children are liv- ing. John is married and is living as a retired farmer at Odebolt, Iowa. Caroline is the wife of Herman Raasch, a farmer of Odebolt, Iowa. Henry is a resident of the same locality in Iowa, and is married. Flora is the wife of Gottlieb Nitsche, also in this Iowa community. Louisa is the wife of Charles Sauter. a ranchman of Big Springs, Nebraska. Henrietta is the wife of Simon Sunderman. horticulturist at Cullman, Alabama. W'illiam, of Odebolt, Iowa, is married and is a farmer. And Frederick is the last. Father Mandernach is a native of Prussia, where he was torn November 17, 1817, and is still living at Odebolt, Iowa, retaining the use of his mental and physical faculties although at the great age of eighty-seven years. He 624 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. was about twenty-six years old when he bade adieu to the fatherland and came to America, and the voyage was of six months' duration. He came to America emptv-handed. not having ten dollars to his name when he arrived. In a strange land, among a strange people, whose language he could not speak, he had to subsist on the little earnings he could get by daily work. He came to Lake county and in Hanover township began as a wage earner, and worked for the Rev. T. H. Ball's father at the munificent wage of eight dollars per month. He was one of the most energetic and industrious of men. The first land he purchased was forty acres, and he traded a pair of oxen for it. The first habitation the Mandernachs lived in was a log cabin. The father was one of the earliest settlers in western Lake county, and has seen deer and wild turkeys on his place. During his early years in the county he worked on the first railroad being built to Chicago. He has seen Chicago when it was a village in size compared to its present immensity. He was a successful man in his active career, and had accumulated seven hundred acres of fine land in Sac county. Iowa, and in Hanover town.ship of this county. The home residence occupied by ]Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Mandernach was erected by his father, and the lumber for its construction was brought from Chicago by ox teams. The father was a true Republican. He and his wife were members of the German Methodist church two miles south of Hanover Center, and he aided very materially in its erection. Even the stove in the church was purchased l)y him. Mother ]\Iandernach. a native of Lippe, Germany, was born January 13, 1827, and is still living. Mr. Mandernach was reared and educated in Hanover township, his earl)' mental training being acquirefl in the common schools. He has con- tinued a farmer and stockman during his acti\'e career. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-one years old, and he and his brother William then began as renters on his father's farm. He continued five years as a renter, and he then purchased the old homestead in Hanover township, con- sisting of one hundred and eighty acres. August 6, 1889, he married Miss Matilda E. Piepho, and five children, two sons and three daughters, have been torn to them, four of whom are living. Elenora A. is in the seventh grade, being a bright student, and has also taken piano instruction. Elmer ^^^. in the fifth grade, is well along in his studies and takes piano music. Nelson R. and Blanche D. are the youngest in the household. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. • 625 Mrs. Mandeniach was liorn in Kankakee county, Illinois. May 29, 1867, a daughter of August and Wilhelmina (Breuscher) Pieplio. There were ten children in the' family, and eight are living. Mary, the eldest, is the wife of David Dippon, a farmer at Dwight, Illinois. John is married and lives on the old homestead in Kankakee county. Emma is the wife of Herman Meyer, a farmer of Scotia, Nebraska. Mrs. Mandernach is the next. Minnie is the wife of Herman Nichols, a painter at Blue Island, Illinois. Louise is the wife of Charles Sauerman, a farmer of Kankakee county. George is a prosperous farmer in Hanover township, .\nnie, the youngest, is the wife of Ruda Jors, a carpenter at Blue Island. Father Piepho was a native of Hanover province, Germany, and was born January 21, 1833. and died January 13, igoo. He came to America when a boy of sixteen or seventeen. He was a shoemaker by trade and at an early day had a log-cabin store in Cliicago. He went to the Pacific coast and Cali- fornia in 1849, ^^^ dug gold for five years, at which he was very successful, bringing back three thousand dollars' worth of the precious metal. He went out to the Eldorado countr\' by way of the Isthmus of Panama. The first land he purchased in Kankakee county was two hundred and twenty acres, antl he bought and sold several times, and at his death he owned three hundred acres in that county and two hundred and eighty in Lake county, so that he was evidently a very successful man. He was a Repub- lican in politics, and he and his wife were members of the German Meth- odist church. His remains are interred in the cemetery below Hanover Center. The mother of Mrs. Mandernach was born in Little Hanover, Germany, December 16, 1842, and is now living with her son George in Hanover township. Mrs. Mandernach was a girl of ten years when she became a resident of Lake county, and her education was acquired in the common schools. She and her husband are very cordial, genial people, and have hosts of friends. Mr. Mandernach is a Republican, and cast his first vote for Benjamin Harrison. Several times he has been selected as a delegate to represent his township at county conventions. In 1904 he was elected a trustee of the Hanover township, and thus broke a record of some twenty-two years during which no Republican had held that office. The people of the township recognize in him ?. safe and progressive man of affairs, and his election 40 626 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. means that the business and educational achninistration of the township will be in good hands during the following term. He is a member of Council No. 23 of the Independent Order of Foresters at Brunswick, and he and his wife are members of the German Methodist church, of which he is a trustee. JOHN H. BORGER. German-American citizenship lias been an important factor in the advance and progress of the state and nation, and one of this worthy class, Mr. John H. Borger, is a prosperous resident of Hanover township and a true type of the German-z\merican of the twentieth century. Mr. Borger was born in West Creek township. Lake county, February 15, 1853, and is the eldest of nine children, five sons and four daughters, born to John and Metie (Meyer) Borger. There are eight of the family living at the present ■writing, John H. being the first. Herman is a farmer of Jewell county, Kansas. Anna is the wife of Herman Batterman. a prosperous farmer of Hanover township. Charles is represented elsewhere in this volume. Edward is a farmer of Porter county, Indiana. Johanna is the wife of Henry Thineman. a farmer of Porter county. Metie is the wife of James CampMl, a resident of LaPorte, Indiana, and a carpenter and joiner by trade. Maggie, the youngest, lives in Chicago. Father Borger was a native of Hanover province, German}', and was I)orn July 22, 1816, and died March 3, 1873. He was reared in his native land till manhood, and was educated in the German language. He was about thirty years of age when he bade adieu to his native land and sailed from Bremen to New York, and the voyage was of several weeks' duration. He landed in a strange land, among strange people, and with little money. He came at once to Lake county, and began as a wage earner by the day or month. The first land he purchased was a small tract in \\'est Creek town- ship, and he sold this and purchased one liundred and sixty acres in Hanover township, in Sections 30 and 31, and he moved a little log house onto the land and this was his first habitation. He was one of the early settlers of Lake county, and there were then no roads, and Chicago, the now great city of two million, was but a town in size, and he could have purchased land around Chicago at a dollar and a half an acre. There was only one railroad HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 627 across the county at that time. He was a prosperous man, and added forty acres more to his real estate in the township. He was a farmer of high order and a lover of high grades of stock. He was a stanch Republican and always stood firmly on his principles. Mother Borger was a native of Lippe province, Prussia, and was born Decemlier i8, 1835, and died February 20, 1888. Both parents are interred in the Brunswick cemetery, where beautiful stones mark their last resting places. ]\Ir. Borger has been reared and spent all his life in this county, having given his attention to farming and stock-raising. He was educated in the English language. He remained with his parents until of age, and he con- ducted the estate for his mother until his marriage. P'ebruary 14, 1882. he married Miss Susan Hoffmann, and ele\-en children, four sons and se\en daughters, were born, ten of them lieing alive at this writing. Tillie M., the oldest, was educated in the common schools, graduating with the class of 1898 from the Brunswick schools. She does very artistic work in silk embroidering. Metie S. has completed the seventh grade of common schools. John W'., who has passed the seventh grade, is a practical farmer boy. Lizzie T. graduated from the Brunswick public schools with the class of 1904. Otto H. is in the sixth year work of the schools, Henry E. is in the fifth grade, Edward M. is in the fifth grade, Margaret H. is in the third year, Luella A. is in the first year, and Clara E. is the baby of the family. Mrs. Borger was born in Hanover township. September 15, 1859, a daughter of Mike and Susanna (Huppentahl) Hoft'mann. There were eight children, five sons and three daughters, in the family, and four of these are living, as follows : John, who is a carpenter and resides with his mother in Hanover township: Mrs. Borger; Theresa, wife of Anton Hein, a mer- chant of Hanover township; and Anton, of Hanover township. Father Hoffmann was born in Germany in 1824 and died in 1896. He came to America when a young man, having been educated in the German tongue. He was a Republican, and a Catholic. His wife was also born in Germany, and she is still living at the age of sixty-seven in Hanover township. Mrs. Borger was reared in Hanover township and was educated in the common schools. Mr. and Mrs. Borger began life on the present homestead where they now reside, purchasing the shares of the other heirs. All the excellent 628 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. improvements of the farm have been effected through their efforts, and tlieir comfortable farm residence is a credit to the township. Mr. Borger is one of the prosperous agriculturists of the township, and is a stockholder in the Brunswick Creamery Company, which was established in 1892. He likes good stock, and is endeavoring to raise the standard of his own cattle and hogs and horses, his favorite breeds of these animals being the Holsteins, the Chester Whites and the Normans as a hea\-v draft horse for farmine His wife is a fancier of Brown Leghorn chickens. Their estate comprises two hundred acres of land in Hanover township, and best of all there is not a dollar's indebtedness on the property. Mr. Borger is a stalwart Repub- lican, and cast his first vote for R. B. Hayes, having supported each candi- date since. Mr. and Airs. Borger and their excellent family are among the leading German-American families of Hanover township, and we are pleased to give this full history of their lives. It may be added that the German spelling of the name Borger is Borger. LOUIS \V. HERLITZ. The German citizens are the impcjrtant personages who have made the wilderness to flower and blossom like the rose in the central Mississippi valley. They are noted for their diligence, industry and economy. Mr. Herlitz was born in Hanover township. Lake county, in the homestead where he now resides. He was born January 22, 1841, and is the third in a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, born to Louis E. and Gesche (Berger) Herlitz. There are five living. Fred, the eldest, is a resident of West Creek township and is a farmer. Margaret, widow of Dr. E. W. Vilmer, resides in Crown Point. Mr. Herlitz is next. Mena, widow of Fred W'eber, resides in Chicago. Oscar G. is a resident of Ross township. Father Herlitz was born in the \'illage of Hemann, province of Lippe, about the year 1804, and died in 1869. He was reared in his nati\-e land until early manhood, when he came to America. He was nine weeks making the voyage across the Atlantic, and came to New York, thence to a place near Detroit, Michigan, where he remained four years, and where he married. He was an agriculturist, and was one of the earliest settlers of Lake county, coming here about 1839, when there were a number of Indians HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 629 here. He purchased eighty acres of wild land, and the first hdme was a log cabiiL He was quite successful in life. He was a Republican. Mother Herlitz was a nati\-e of Hanover pro\ince, Germany, born not far from Bremen atout 1807, and died in 1875. Mr. Herlitz is one of the oldest citizens now living who were born ni Hanover township. He was educated in the English language and \)y his own application. He has been reared as a tiller of the soil. He married Miss Anna Meyer A])ril 5. 1877, and eight children ha^■e blessed the union, three sons and five daughters, seven of whom are living. Mary, the eldest, is one of the successful teachers of the county. She was educated in the common schools, and was a graduate in the class of 1900 at Crow-n Point, and was a student in Valparaiso normal and has also taken music. Anna M. was etlucated in the common schools and at Crown Point high schoiji. She has taken instruction in music and is now at home. Julius is at home. He has completed the common school course and has also been a student at Valparaiso normal. Laura \\'. and William D. are twins. Laura has grad- uated from the common schools, and is in her second vear at the Crown Point high school, and she has taken instruction in music. William gradu- ated in the common schools and is a student at the Crown Point high school. Louis F. is in the eighth grade of school. Gesche, in the seventh grade, is a bright little girl. Mrs. Herlitz was born in Hanover pro\-ince, Germany, February 14, 1853, and is a daughter of D. H. and Anna (Beckman) Meyer. There were five children, two sons and three daughters, in the family. Mrs. Herlitz and her In'other Herman, living in Nebraska, are the only survivors. Mrs. Herlitz was educated in her nati\'e land, as she was sixteen years of age when she came to America, and most of her life has been spent in Lake county. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Herlitz began their married life on the homestead where they now reside, and for twenty-seven years, over a c|uarter of a century, thev ha^■e lived in Hano\'er townshijj. and are citizens of the highest social standing. They ow^n two hundred and five acres of choice land in Hanover township, and their beautiful syh'an homestead is a ha\-en of rest for their friends as also for strangers. Mr. Herlitz is a Republican. He cast his first presidential vote for Lincoln and for each candidate of the party since. 630 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. He was one of the boys who wore tlie blue, and was a memljer of Com- pany D, Eig-hty-tbird Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and bis regiment was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee under General Sherman. He enlisted in October, 1862, and was ten months m service, being in the battles of Vicksburg, Arkansas Post and Jackson. Mississippi. He was hon- orably discharged August 2. 1863, at Camp Sherman, Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Herlitz and their excellent family of intelligent children are citizens who are among the better class of people of Lake county, and we are pleased to present this sketch of this worthy gentleman. ALFRED SCHAIAL. Alfred Schmal is one of the leading and successful farmers and stock- men of Hanover township, and is a gentleman so well known in this part of the county as to need no introduction to the readers of this volume. In his veins is the blood of the hardy Teutonic race whose sturdy character and intelligent industry have been the most important factors in the upbuilding of this country, and Lake county has been especially happy to have among her inhabitants so many of German birth or parentage. Mr. Schmal was born in Hanover township, on the estate where he now resides, on September 24, 1863, being the next to the youngest of fourteen children, eight sons and six daughters, born to Joseph and Barbara (Keefer) Schmal. Nine of these children are yet living, as follows : Katharine, wife of Wilhelm Ahles, a carpenter in Hanover township: Mary, widow of Fred Gerbing, of Cedar Lake, Indiana; Joseph, married, a blacksmith of St. John; Jacob, married, a farmer of St. John ; Barbara, wife of Henry Ebert, a farmer of Cedar Creek township; Louie, who is married and is a merchant in Chicago: Frank, married and a resident of West Creek township: Aurelia, wife of Fred Ebert, a prosperous farmer of Cedar Creek township; and Alfred. Joseph Schmal. the father, was born in 1819, in Rhenish Prussia, Ger- many, and died in January, 1894. He was a young man when he came with his parents to America, and he became one of the early settlers of Lake county, even when Indians formed a part of the population. He attained more than ordinary success in life, and was noted for his industry and economy and good sense. He accumulated a landed estate of some one HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 631 hundred and thirty-two acres in Lake county. He \va.s a standi Repuhhcan and supported the party's doctrines and principles from the time of its organ- ization. Both he and his good wife were Cathohcs. For some twenty or twenty-five years during the early history of the county he was United States mail carrier between Crown Point and Brunswick. Mother Schmal is still living, although she has reached the advanced age of eighty-five years, and she resides with Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Schmal, who care for her during her declining years. ]\Ir. Schmal has been reared as a tiller of the soil and as a stockman, and his early education was received in his native township and in the Bruns- wick public schools. On February 12, 1889, he married Miss Caroline Herr- mann, by whom he has had eight children, three sons and five daughters, seven of whom are living. Joseph is in the eighth grade of school and very bright in his studies. Barbara is in the seventh grade, Josephine in the fifth grade, Elenora in the third o-rade, and Susan, Aenes and Albert are the three )'oungest. Mrs. Schmal was born in St. John township, November 8, 1865, being a daughter of Jacob and Katharine (Palm) Herrmann. There were fifteen children in her parents family, nine sons and si.x daughters, and of the nine living six are residents of Lake county, and the other three are as follows : John, a resident of^ Cissna Park, Illinois, is married and is a blacksmith by trade; Katie, wife of William Baunte, a painter in Chicago; and Albert, who is married and lives in Chicago Heights. Jacob Herrmann, the father of Mrs. Schmal, was born in Prussia in 1822 and died in 1895. He was a black- smith, learning his trade in Germany, and he has a farm in St. John township of this county. He and his wife were Catholics and he was a Democrat. His wife is still living in St. John, being seventy-seven years old and hale and active for one who has passed so many milestones of life. Mrs. Schmal was reared in St. John township, was educated in the common schools, and was confirmed by Bishop Durnger at the age of twelve. Mr. and ]Mrs. Schmal began life on the old homestead, and for sixteen years thev have been prominent German-American citi;^ens of Hanover town- ship. All the excellent improvements in the shape of outbuildings and of other kinds have been placed on the farm by Mr. Schmal, assisted, of course, bv his estimable wife. He is a lover of excellent stock, constantly endeavor- 632 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. ing to improve the quality of his animals, and takes especial pride in his Chester White hogs. Mrs. Schmal, on her part, is a fancier of thorough- bred poultry, and her silverlaced Wyandottes are her particular care, and of this fine breed she has sold a goodly number for breeding purposes. At the present writing Mr. Schmal is manager of the Brunswick Creamery Com- pany, an enterprise which has been very successful during the last ten years of its existence. In politics he is a stanch Republican, having cast his first vote for Benjamin Harrison. He served as assessor of Hanover township for two years, filling that office most acceptably; at the last election of 1904 and at the three prior elections he was inspector of elections. From all of which it may be seen that he stands high as a worthy and honorable citizen of Hano\er township, and is also one of the financially solid men of the township. Mr. and Mrs. Schmal are members of St. Anthony's Catholic church at Klaasville, and they are well known and highly esteemed in west Lake county, where they have been reared and passed their days since childhood. THOMAS T- WOOD. Thomas J- \Vood, man of alTairs at Crown Point, a leader in the Demo- cratic partv, and one of the most prominent lawyers in northwestern In- diana, has a career of unusual interest from whatever point of view it is beheld. In his early years he made his own way and paid from his own earnings for his educational advantages. When he entered the political field it was as a man of principles and definite convictions, and it is uni- versally true that the man who stands for something is certain to have manv loval adherents and sincere admirers. For a number of years Mr. Wood has wielded a large influence in public and party affairs, as many of- fices of honor and trust held by liim wimld indicate, and his work has as- sumed national importance since Indiana has tecome one of the "doubtful" states in national elections. Mr. Wood is a man of the highest integrity, and prosecutes both private and public affairs with an eye to the highest welfare of the community and state. Mr. Wood was born in Athens county, Ohio, September 30, 1844, being a son of Darius C. and Diana S. (Carter) Wood. His mother was a descendant of the great tarter family of Massachusetts. His father was a school teacher and farmer. This branch of the Wood family settled in HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 633 America before the Revolutionary war, being of English and Welsh ex- traction. Their first home was at Litchfield, Connecticut, and later descend- ants of the family moved to Rochester, New York, and to the state of Michigan and to Ohio. Governor Wood of Ohio was of the family, as also was President Millard Fillmore. Many of Mr. Wood's relatives were sol- diers and officers in the war for American independence, and some of his direct ancestors feil in the liattles of Bunker Hill and Yorktown. When Thomas J. Wood was seven years old his father brought the family out to Indiana and settled on a farm near Terre Haute. The son lived at this place until he was twenty-two years old. spending much of his time in working on the farm. For two winters he attended the high school in Terre Haute, having gained his elementar}' education in the common schools of Vigo county. After his high school course he taught school for two years, and then took up the study of law in the office of Judge William Mack at Terre Haute. He later went to the Ann Arbor Law School, from which he graduated at the head of his class in 1868. For this literary and professional education he paid by his own efforts, either at manual labor or in teaching school. In his youth he formed excellent habits of industry and personal morality, and these staying principles have remained with him ever since. After he graduated at Ann Arbor he settled at Lowell in this county and began active practice of the law. He remained there only a short time, and in 1870 moved to Crown Point, where he has since carried on his ex- tensive legal business, practicing in all the county, state and federal courts. He has been retained in many important cases, and in the course of his pro- fessional career he has handled nearly four thousand court causes. He is considered a safe and reliable counselor, and is one of the strongest advo- cates in this part of the state, being especially successful in jury trials. Tklr. Wood's career in public life began soon after he entered upon the active work of his profession. He was elected to the offices of clerk and treasurer of Crown Point; was elected and held the office of state's attorney for two terms of two years each, from 1872 to 1876, and made a fine record in convicting criminals of all classes, from misdemeanors to murder. In 1876 he was elected state senator for Lake and Porter counties, and during his four years in that office was identified with much important legislation. 634 ■ HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. and he stood among the pre-eminent debaters on the floor of the senate and was a leader on the Democratic side. His alertness to the true interests of both the country and his party is illustrated by an incident during his sena- torial career. At a time when many of the Democratic senators were absent from the hall the Republicans took advantage of the occasion to call up some purely partisan legislation, hoping to get it through by whirlwind work be- fore their opponents could rally their forces. Mr. ^^"ood at once leaped into the breach by taking the floor and launching into a long-winded speech with a vehement arraignment of the Republican side, which he continued until the messengers could bring from various parts of the city the absentee Demo- cratic members, thus restoring the normal equilibrium and saving the day for tb.e party. While in the senate Mr. ^^'ood pushed through much legis- lation affecting land titles all over the state. In 1882 he was elected to the forty-eighth Congress, representing for two years the old Colfax district. In this strong Republican district he was defeated for re-election, but by less than three hundred votes. It is said that he was defeated by Democratic votes in Valparaiso and Chesterton, one thousand dollars having been the price paid to withdraw enough venal Democrats from his support in order to accomplish his defeat. Previous to the last Democratic national con- vention Mr. Wood was a much talked of favorite for the presidential can- didacy. He had friends at St. Louis from fifteen states, and had the Alton B. Parker movement failed on the first ballot Mr. Wood's name would have been placed before the convention and he would have received thirty-nine votes on the next ballot. Mr. Wood has been a prominent Mason for thirty years, iDcing a Mas- ter and a Royal Arch Mason. He has been an Odd Fellow for twenty- five years. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Crown Point for sixteen years, and is a trustee and a member of the official Ixiard and active in church work, having filled the pulpit many times. May II, 1871, Mr. Wood married Miss Mary E. Pelton, of Crown Point. Her mother, Eliza Pettibone, is the widow of the late Dr. Harvey Pettibone. Her father, Hiram S. Pelton, was a prominent business man in Lake county, a successful merchant, and a fine man and much beloved by the people, having been one of the first county commissioners. For his time he left quite a large estate. Mary E. Pelton was a relative of John HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 635 W. Pelton, a nephew of Hon. Samuel J. Tiklen, who was elected president of the United States by the people. Mr. and Mrs. Wood had seven children, but through the ravages of diphtheria lost five of them within six weeks. Mrs. Wood is a woman of splendid character and capabilities, motherly and kind-hearted, and one of the women who make great wives. Mr. Wood is personally a genial gentleman, wholly without deceit, straightforward, honest and earnest in all social relations. He is forceful in character, hates shams and puts truth and honesty above all other virtues, and is highly respected by all people of his community and accpiaintance. He is himself above the low level of light amusements, many of which he holds as tending to the moral degeneracy of the race, but at the same time he is broad-minded and liberal in his outlook on life, is optimistic of the future, has no jealousy of others and is not willing to cast others aside in his own race for the best of the world's possessions, and, withal, looks con- stantly on the sunny side of life and wants to see men made better and happier. But most prominent of all his characteristics is his firm and un- flinching devotion to what he sincerely believes to be right, and when the moral right and wrong are arrayed there is no doubt what side he will take. His own career has wrought out in him a sturdy independence and he feels thoroughly able to take care of himself on any proposition, and from this ability of self-control and direction of his energies into the channels which he chooses he is also able to give intelligent and valuable aid to causes and principles lying outside his own personal relations. He has pride in good moral society, believes in the beneficence of church influences for the betterment of the world, and his life has worked out for the general good and advancement of his fellow citizens. HENRY A. KLAAS. Henry A. Klaas, of Hanover township, belongs to a class of citizens noted for industry, thrift and native intelligence, derived largely from his German race and lineage, to which nationality Lake county is indebted for much of her permanent development and prosperity. Mr. Klaas was born in Hanover township, this county, June 15, 1857, being the eldest of eleven children, four sons and seven daughters, born to Christian and Willielmina (Brenker) Klaas. Six of these children beside 636 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Mr. Klaas are living, namely : Louisa, wife of F. Berg, a farmer of Parnell, Missouri: Anna, wife of Fred Echterling, also a farmer at Parnell: August H., who is married and farming in Hanover township : Mary, wife of Joe Schenker, of Conception, Missouri ; Christian F., who is married and a farmer of West Creek township; Emma, wife of John Kretz, a harness dealer at Crown Point. Christian Klaas. the father, was born in Lippe-Detmold, Germany, in 1828. and is still living at the age of seventy-six years. Being reared in Germany to the age of nineteen, he then took ship at Bremen and after a voyage of seven weeks reached New York, whence he came directly to Lake county, arriving with little money but with plenty of youthful energy and ambition. He purchased land from the government, and during a successful career he came into possession of about three hundred and eighty acres of land in Lidiana and Illinois. He was a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Catholic church. The village of Klaasville was named after his father, Henry, who also aided in the erection of the St. Anthony Catholic church in that place. Mother Klaas was also born in Germany, in the year 1832, and she is still living. ]\lr. Klaas was reared in Hanover township, and was educated in both the English and German languages. At the age of fourteen he was con- firmed by Bishop Durnger. He w-as reared to the life of a farmer and stockman. November 28, 1882, he married Miss Mary Moenix, and all their twelve children are still living, as follows : Rosa E. was confirmed at the age of fourteen by Bishop Rademacher, was educated in the common schools through the eighth grade, and is now at home. Henry C, w'ho was in the eighth grade of school, is a farmer and living at home. Mary A. was confirmed at the age of fourteen by Bishop Rademacher and has taken the seventh grade of school work and also studied music. Veronica, con- firmed at the age of twelve, is in the seventh grade. Edward, confirmed by Bishop Alerding. is in the sixth grade. Agnes is in the sixth grade of school, Alma is in the fifth, Emma in the fourth, Anton B. in the third, and the three youngest children are Andrew C, John F. and Stella. Airs. Klaas was born in Lake county, December 5, 1861, being a daughter of Christopher and Anna Marie (Berg) Moenix, her parents natives of Germany and both now deceased. There were ten children in the Moenix HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 637 family, six sons and four daughters, and of the four still living- two are resi- dents of Lake county, and Anna is in Illinois and Louie is in Canada. Mrs. Klaas was educated in the common schools, and was confirmed at the age of thirteen by Bishop Durnger. Mr. and Mrs. Klaas began life at his birthplace in Hanover township on land which his father ga\'e him. For twenty-two years, or almost a quarter of a century, they have resided m Hano\'er township, and they are citizens of the highest standing in every relation of life. They have reared a large and excellent family, and they are known among their friends and associates as people of industry and honesty and high worth. Mr. Klaas is a Democrat. ha\-ing cast his first vote for \\'. S. Hancock, and has sup- ported each candidate since. He is a friend of education and does all in his power to support the public school system. He and his wife and the older children are members of the Catholic church. St. Anthony's, at Klaas- ville, and Mrs. Klaas is a member of the Rosary Sodality and the girls of the St. Mary's Sodality. He and his wife own one hundred and thirteen acres of good land in Hanover township, and he is one of the prosperous German citizens who stand high in the estimation of the people. FRANK H. LYONS. Frank H. Lyons, in the real estate and insurance business at Hammond, has for a number of years been identified with the industrial, public and business affairs of this city, where he has practically spent the vears ui his life. He is a young man of much ability, alert and eager, and gifted with an energy and an enterprise which make him influential in his circle of business acquaintances. Mr. Lyons was born in Sandusky, Ohio, September i8, 1873. a son of John M. and Winifred (Conlon) Lyons, both natives of Ireland, and the latter one of a large family born to Michael Conlon, who was an Irish farmer and died in Ireland at the advanced age of eighty-five years. The father of John M. Lyons was also a life-long Ireland farmer, and was about ninety years old when he died. There were twelve children in his family. John ;\I. Lyons was a general contractor, and after his migration to America located on Kelly's Island in Lake Erie. About 1874 he came to Indiana, and a year later located at Hammond, where he has since lived. He and his wife are members of the Roman Catholic church. Thev had nine 638 HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. children, four sons and five daughters, and the five now hving are Peter J., Frank H., John and Matthew, all of Hammond, and Miss Winifred, of Chicago. Mr. Frank H. Lyons was reared in Hammond, recei\ing his education in the public schools. He afterward took up the trade of tinner and sheet metal worker, and followed it for twelve years. He was foreman of the sheet metal department of the G. H. Hammond Packing Company for five years. From 1898 until 1902 he held the office of city clerk, and during the same period was deputy clerk of the superior court. Since lea\ing this office he has been engaged in the insurance and real estate business, and has already built up a creditable amount of business. June 26, igoo, Mr. Lyons married Miss Mollie B. Hastings, a daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Clark) Hastings. They have one son, named Robert F. Mr. and Mrs. Lyons are members of the Catholic church. Their residence is at 142 Russell street, at w-hich location they also own another good house. He affiliates with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Maccabees, and in politics is a Democrat. MICHAEL KOLB. Michael Kolb, the well known druggist and pharmacist at Hammond, is one of the native sons of Lake county, and has proved an honor and a credit to his county and city in business and in matters of citizenship. He is a man of known integrity among his associates, and his worth of character and thrifty enterprise have gained him a well deserved place among the fore- most men of Hammond. His life span covers much of the history of Lake county from the primitive pioneer past to the wonderful progress of the present, and he has faithfully borne his share of the duties and responsibilities in private, business and political life. Mr. Kolb was born on a farm in Lake county. February 28, 1855, being the eldest of the family of Michael and Katharine (Becker) Kolb, both natives of Alsace-Loraine. Germany, and the latter being one of the nine children of George Becker, a life-long German farmer, who attained the age of seventy-six years. Both the paternal great-grandfather and grandfather of Mr. Kolb bore the name of Michael, and the grandfather spent his life in Germany as a farmer, dying when an old man. He had two children by his first marriage, and was twice married. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 639 Michael Kolb, the father of Mr. Michael Kolb, grew to manhood in his fatherland, and in 1854 came to America and located in Lake county. He bought a farm in St. John township, and improved it and reared his family on it. \\"hen he bought the land it was wild and covered with woods, in which were often seen the wild deer. He cleared it up, and eventually had a fine farmstead, on which he lived until 1893, since which time he has resided with hi?; son Michael. His wife died November 14, 1879, at the age of fifty-nine years. They were both Catholics. There were nine children in their family, four sons and five daughters, and the four now living are : Michael; Joseph, of Hammond; Katharine, wife of Anthony Kouratt, of Chicago; and Rose, wife of John C. Klein, of Chicago. Mr. Kolb spent the first twenty years of his life on his father's farm, where, among other valuable things, he learned to be thrifty and industrious. He attended the district schools, and also the high school at Crown Point, where lie graduated in 1878. For the following twelve years he was en- gaged in teaching school. In tlie latter part of this period he spent his leisure in learning the drug business from his brother-in-law, L. G. Kramer, and in 1890 he came to Hammond and entered the drug business on his own account, which enterprise he still continues with profit and success. Mr. Kolb is a Democrat in politics. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church, and he belongs to the Catholic Order of Foresters. His residence is at 23 Condit street, where he erected a fine home in 1891. He was married May 4, 1880, to Miss Angeline Kramer, a daughter of ilatthias and Susan (W'achter) Kramer. Eleven children have been born of their union: Rose M., Michael E., Maria, deceased, Matthias J., Leonard G., Clara K.. Agnes M.. Francis A., Katharine M., Cecelia, and Edward O. EDWIN J. MUZZALL. Edwin J. Muzzall, proprietor of a livery stable at Crown Point, where he is also engaged in buying and selling horses, was born in Ross township. Lake county, August 28, 1861. The family of which he is a representative is of English lineage and was founded in America by Abrani Muzzall, a native of England, who, on emigrating to America, established his home in Canada. He afterward came to Indiana, settling in Lake county in 1836. 640 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Here he took up land from the government, for wliich he paid one dollar and a quarter per acre, thus becoming the owner of a quarter section in Ross township. He was one of the first settlers in this part of the state and found here an undeveloped region. The prairies were uncultivated and unclaimed and the forests still stood in their primeval strength, only here and there could be seen the little log cabin of the pie of the priniitiTe ]c§-cabdn schools, now a tJiii^ of andent history in Indiana. He got efficient training in farm work from Ms faliher, and at the latter's death be took mp tl>e managenxait of the home place and has carried it on ever since. He has one hundred and tweniTi- acres in the home farm and fifty acres elsewhere in the township, and he and his son Jay M. make a specialty of raising hogs and cattle respecti%-dT of the Poland China and Shorthorn Tarieties. He has line facili- ties for hc^-raising, and has been in the business tor twraity-five years. Mr. Pearce is a stanch Republican in politics, and has taken a good citizen's part in public aSairs. He is an active member of the Masonic lodge at Grown Pcrant. He was married to Ikliss Elizabeth B, Foster, a native ol Pennsvlrania and a daughter of Frederick and Betsey Foster, likewise natives of Pennsylvania- Mrs. Pearce was reared in her native state to -fee age of axteen, and then came to Lake county, and in this and in Porter countv taught school for sevoal years before her marriage, being one of the instroctars in Bal Institnte at Crown Point. Mr. and Mrs. Pearce have Iw^o children Erii^, and two are deceased : Florence is the wife of Thomas Ross, of Eagle Creek township; and Jay M. is the partner of his father. CLIFFORD C ROBIXSOX, M. D. One of the younger representatives of the medical profession in north- western Indiana is Dr. Qiffcrd Clarence Rdbinsooi. who snoe 1902 has en- gaged in practice at Indiana Harbar, bringing to his work accurate and ccam- prebensive knowledge of tibe meet nsodem ideas, discoveries and methods used bv the n-jembers of the medical fraternity. He is a native son of In- diana, his tnrth having occurred in Elkhart, on the :?7th of Aitgnst, 1S74. His paternal grandfather. Squire Robinson, M. D., was a natiine of tbe siate of Xew York and in eaify Hfe was a njanisiter of the Ikmkard church, bat later be took up die study of medicine and began practice when thimvax vears of age. At tibe time of the Cavil war be sers«d in xbe L'nicn anny as a surgecin, thus rendering valuable aid to the boys in bhie. He became a resi- dent of "■■" '^'— : at an eariy period in the settlement and improvement of the state, a: ard removed to Michigan, locating at Benton Harbor, where HISTORY OF LAKE COUXTY. 6-13 lie tiied at an advanced age. He married a Miss Clem and they reared a large family. This number included Dr. Clarence S. Robinson, who was bom in Indiana and is now a practicing physician and surgeon of Dowagiac. Michigan, where he has lived for the past ten years, enjoying a liberal pat- ronage. He married Miss Agnes Clark, also a native of Indiana. Her father, who was a native of the state of Xew York and was a farmer by cKCupation, enlisted for service in the Civil war, as a meml)er of the Union amiy, and was killed in battle. His wife bore the maiden name of Julia Fuller and they had a numerous family. Their daughter, Mrs. Robinson, passed away in 1897, when thirty-seven years of age. She held membership in the Baptist church, to which Dr. Clarence S. Robinson also belongs. Their children were two in numl)er, but one died in infancy. Dr. Clifford Clarence Robinson, of Indiana Harbor, the third genera- tion of the family to engage in the practice of medicine, was reared in the vicinitA" of Dowagiac, Michigan, and attended the public schools there, being graduated from the high school with the class of 1896. He then took up the study of medicine in tlie medical department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and on the completion of the full course was graduated in the class of 1902 and entered upon the practice of his chosen profession in In- diana Harbor, in August of that year. Already he has gained a good pat- ronage and has demonstrated his ability- to successfully cope with the intricate problems which continually confront the physician. He is a member of the Lake County Medical Society. On the 1st day of July, 1903, Dr. Robinson was united in marriage to Miss Belle Corless, a daughter of Hiram and Martha Corless, and during their residence in Indiana Harbor they have won the favorable regard and friendship of many. In politics he is a Republican, and in citizenship is pub- lic-spirited and progressive. GILBERT C. SAUNDERS. M. D. Dr. Gilbert C. Saunders, who is engaged in die practice of medicine and surger}- at Indiana Harbor, was bom at Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, July 18. 1859, and is one of the four sons whose parents were William and Susan (Coutant) Saunders. The family was established in .\inerica at an early period in the colonization of the new world by ancestors who came from 6U HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Scotland. The grandfather was born in \'irginia and died at Fish Creek, that state, when in middle life. He was a typical soutliern gentleman, and owned a plantation which he operated with the aid of his slaves. His wife was Mrs. Susan Saunders and they were the parents of one son and one daughter. The son, \\'illiam Saunders, father of Dr. Saunders, was born in West Virginia, and after arriving at years of maturity he wedded Miss Susan Coutant, a native of Connecticut. Her father. Gilbert Coutant. was also born in that state. He was a shipbuilder and owned a ship yard at Xew Haven, but subsequently removed to Honesdale. Xew York, where his remaining days were passed, his death occurring when he had reached the seventy-sixth milestone on life's journey. In the family were two sons and five daughters. The name Coutant is of French origin and was formerly spelled Coutante. The ancestral history of the family can be traced back to the time of Charlemagnie. William Saunders was reared upon the planta- tion owned by his father in \'irginia and afterward engaged in the manu- facture of glass, but later entered professional life, beginning the practice of medicine in Peru, Indiana, when forty-five years of age. Subsequently he removed to La Salle. Illinois, where he continued in active practice up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1S91, when he was sixty-three years of age. His wife still survives. Like him she is a Methodist, and has long guided her life by the teachings and precepts of the church. To this worthy couple were bom eleven children, four sons and seven daughters, of whom seven are now living: William, a resident of Newcastle. Pennsylvania; Gil- bert C, whose name introduces this record: Sarah E., the wife of Thomas A. Downs, of Orestes, Indiana: Charles B., who is Hving in Chicago, Illinois, where he is engaged in the practice of medicine; Ida. the wife of John Jen- nings, of Chicago; Mar\-. the wife of Charles Johnson, of the same city; and Belle, of La Salle, Illinois. Dr. Gilbert C. Saunders resided in Pennsylvania until fifteen years of age and then went to La Salle, Illinois, with his parents. His early education was acquired in the public schools of Pennsylvania and he afterward attended a grammar school in La Salle, Illinois, while later he continued his studies in a business college in Davenport, Iowa. He was trained for his professional duties in Chicago and San Francisco, attending the Hahnemann Medical Col- lege of the former city and afterward matriculating in the Hahnemann Hos- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 645 pital College, of San Francisco, from which institution lie was graduated in 1894. He began practicing in San Trancisco, where he remained for about nine years or until 1903, when be returned eastward and established an ofticc in Indiana Harbor, where be has since been located. He is deeply interested in his profession both from a scientific and humanitarian standpoint, and continued reading and investigation constantly broaden his knowledge and promote bis efficiency in the line of his chosen profession. On the 8tb of January. 1883, Dr. Saunders was united in marriage to Miss ]\Iary A. Robson, a daughter of Angus and Maria (Walters) Robson, who were natives of England. Her father came to .\merica when twenty- one years of age, and her mother was a little maiden of only eight summers when she crossed the Atlantic. After their marriage they resided at Belle Yernon, Pennsylvania, for some time and subsequently ren.ioved to Rock Island. Illinois, where Mr. Robson died on the 9th of July, 1880, at the age of forty-seven years. His widow still survi\es him and now resides at El- wood, Indiana. He was engaged in the manufacture of glass. He was a son of William and Mary A. (Campbell) Robson. The former died in Eng- land at the age of seventy-six years. In their family were one daughter and several sons, including Angus Robson. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Saunders was James W. Walters, a native of England, and on crossing the Atlantic to America be settled in Blossburg, Pennsyhania, while later he established his home in Belle \"ernon, that state. In the year 1849 ^''^ went to California, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast and later he made his way to old Mexico, where he died at a very advanced age. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Frank, and they were the parents of two sons and two daughters. To Mr. and i\Irs. Angus Robson were born eleven children, se\'en sons antl four daughters, six of whom are now living: John A.: Mrs. Saunders: Isaljel : James R. : ]\Iaria Jane, the wife of John Evans ; and Angus C. To Dr. and Mrs. Saunders ha\-e been born two children, ^Margaret and Lester, but the latter died at the age of thirteen months. Dr. Saunders is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, while his political allegiance is gi\-en to the Republican party. Although he has made his home in Indiana Harbor for only a brief period he has already gained a favorable acquaintance both professional!}- and socially and enjciys tlie high regard of many friends. 646 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. ISAAC H. SCOFFERN. Isaac H. Scoffern, who for fifteen years has been agent for the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad, or Outer Belt Line, at Hobart, was born in Eng- land, February 20, 1858, and when twelve years of age came to the Laiited States with his parents, Richard and Susan (Cory) Scoffern. The father was born in England and was a mason by trade. He followed that occupa- tion in the old world until about 1870, when he crossed the Atlantic to America and located in Allen, Hillsdale county, Michigan, where he followed both farming and mason work. He now resides in Hobart, making his home with his son, Isaac H. His wife was also born in England and died on the old home farm in Michigan at the age of seventy-eight years. This worthy couple were the parents of six children, two daughters and four sons, but the first two died in infancy. Robert F. is a resident of Chickasaw, Indian Terri- tory, having been appointed a judge there by the government. Dixon Rich- ard is cashier of the Niles City Bank, at Niles, Michigan. Elizabeth is the wife of A. B. Kirchof¥, and resides at Franklin Park, Illinois, his business being that of an employe in the auditor's office of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company at Chicago. Isaac H. Scoffern, the fourth child and third son of the family, spent the first twelve years of his life in the land of his nativity and then became a resident of Hillsdale county, Michigan. He attended the public schools of England and afterward continued his education in the public schools of Allen, Michigan. The duties of the farm claimed his attention during the summer months until he was twenty-one years of age, when he began railroading, be- ing employed in 1879 as a checker or tallyman in the freight department of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad at Chicago. He was after- ward promoted to the position of special delivei7man for the same company, which position he filled until about 1S83. He then accepted a position as operator and agent with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad at Spalding, Illinois, where he remained for three years, when he was trans- ferred to Minonk, Illinois, where he remained for one year as agent for the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad. In 1889 he came to Hobart as agent for the same company and has since filled this position covering a period of fifteen years, a fact which indicates his loyalty to the company and also his fidelity and capaliilitv in the performance of the duties which devolve upon him. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 64T On the 24th of August, 1879, Mr. Scoffern was united in nianiage to Miss Mary Wonnacott. a daughter of Jolui and Sarah \\'onnacott. Slie was born in Chicago and was reared and educated there until twelve years of age. Their children are Robert Floyd, who is now in the employ of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad Company; and Bessie Edith, who is assisting her father in the office. Mr. Scoffern was one of the leading members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Hobart, takes a most active and helpful part in its w'ork and is now^ serving as treasurer and trustee. He is also a recognized leader of the Pro- hibition party in this community and is chairman of the central committee for Lake county. He is likewise a member of the Modern Woodmen Camp and is well known in Hobart as one of its leading citizens who favors progress and improvement along every line which tends to upbuild humanit}'. He is the champion of educational, social, temperance and moral measures, and his influence and support are ever on the side of right, truth and justice. MATHL\S G. STERNBERG. Mathias G. Sternberg, proprietor of the Block Avenue Hotel at Indiana Harbor, was born at College Point, New York, April 6, 1855, and in both the paternal and maternal lines lie comes of German ancestry. His paternal grandfather resided in Holstein, Germany, and there he spent his entire life, nor did the maternal grandfather ever leave that country. The parents of our subject were George and Wilhelmina Sternberg, also natives of the fatherland. The former became a school teacher and crossed the Atlantic to America some time in the '50s, settling in New York. He proved a loyal son of his adopted country and at the time of the Civil war he espoused the cause of the Union, enlisting under Captain Roma, with whose command he went to the front. He was killed at the battle of Fredericksburg, and was long survived by his wife, wdio died in 1886 at the age of fifty-six years. Both were members of the Lutheran church. In their family were fourteen children, six sons and eight daughters, but only two of the number are now living, the sister of our subject being Dora, the wife of Nicholas Schwartz, of College Point, Long Island, New York. Mathias G. Sternberg resided on Long Island in his early boyhood days and attended the public schools there. He afterward went to Delaware. 648 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Sullivan county, New York, w here he worked as a farm hand for two years, and on the expiration of that period he removed to Waterbury, Connecticut. where he was employed by the Plume & Atwood Company, manufacturers of various kinds of brass goods. There he continued until the spring of 1876, when he went to Philadelphia and was employed by the Centennial Exposi- tion Company in the machinery hall. In the following August he came west and took passage on board the steamer Tidal \\"ave of the Diamond Joe line, whereby he proceeded from Fulton, Illinois, to Stillwater, Minnesota, accom- panied by his brother, Casper Sternberg. In the fall of 1876 he made his way to Chicago and secured employment with the Holmes & Pyatt Company, man- ufacturers of printing presses. He continued in that service until 1878. when he accepted the position of clerk for G. E. Smith in the Metropolitan Hotel on Wells street, acting in that capacity until 1880. He then went to the town of Harvey and began working for the Hopkins Manufacturing Com- pany, manufacturers of mowing machines, and during two yexirs was asso- ciated with that enterprise. The company then erected a hotel called the Hopkins House and Mr. Sternberg assumed its management. Later, how- ever, he again entered the employ of the Holmes-Pyatt Company, but after a short time he made his way to Montana, locating on a ranch twenty-two miles from Livingston. There he lived for a time and subsequently returned to Chicag'o, where he entered the employ of the William Deering Harvester Company. In 1887 he furnished a hotel for G. E. Smith called LeGrand. and he later became proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel, which he conducted until 1893, when he entered into business relations with the Piano Agricul- tural Works at West Pullman, being expert road man for that house. In the fall of 1903 be came to Indiana Harbor and has since been engaged in the hotel business here, being now proprietor of the Block Avenue Hotel. On the 17th of August, 1883, 'Sir. Sternberg was united in marriage to Miss Rose Shiller. Five children were born of this union, four daughters and a son: Florilla and Orilla, twins; Matbias G. : Doris: and Rosa, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Sternberg are members of the Congregational church, and he belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity. Politically he is a Democrat, but has had neither time nor inclination to seek public i:)ffice, preferring to give his attention to his busip.ess affairs, in which he has met with very good success. All that he possesses has been accpiireil through his HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 049 own labors and industry, and lie has steadily worked his way upward so tliat he deserves much credit for what he has accomphslied. REV. EDWARD F. BARRETT. Rev. Edward F. Barrett, who has been the beloved pastor of All Saints Catholic church at Hammond for the past seven years, has almost the entire credit for the present flourishing' condition of his church and parish. The church had been organized but a year when he took charge, and there were then but seventeen families under his religious care. There are now one hun- dred and thirty-eight families. The church and the schoolhouse were built in 1897, and there are now two hundred pupils in attendance. A handsome rectory of brick was erected in 1898, and in the following year the sisters' convent was built. Father Barrett has thrown his whole heart and religious zeal into the cause, and has accomplished wonders in the short time of his pastorate. He is a tireless worker not only in the cause of his own church but for humanity in general, and he richly deserves his immense popularity among both Catholics and Protestants. His kindness of heart, his benevo- lence and broad public spirit are traits of his character that appeal to all men, and his depth of learning and catholicity of sympathy enable him to wield a potent influence for righteousness in his community. Father Barrett was born in Rutland, Vermont, December 22, 1867, be- ing a son of James and Ann (Clifford) Barrett, natives of Tipperary county. Ireland. Both his maternal and his paternal grandfather died in Ireland. His father has been for fifty-two years foreman of the Vermont Marble Com- pany at Rutland, and he and his wife are highly esteemed citizens of that place. They had seven sons and three daughters, nine of whom are men- tioned as follows: John, of Rutland, Vermont: W^illiam, of New York city; Patrick, of Rutland; James, of Mexico; Sarah, wife of John Purcell, of Rutland ; Michael, who died at the age of sixteen ; Henry, of Rutland : Rev. Edward F., of Hammond; and Mary E., of Hammond. Father Barrett was reared in his native city of Rutland, and attended both the public and the parochial schools there. He was a student in Assumption College in Canada, and took his theological course in the Grand Seminary at Montreal. He was ordained to the priesthood in July, 1895, at Belle Isle, by Bishop La Flech, and in the same year became assistant pastor of St. Patrick's church at Fort Wavne, Indiana, under Father Delaney. He re- 650 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. mained at Fort Wayne for two years and then came to Hammond, where he took charge of All Saints' church as the successor of Rev. John Cook, who had been its first pastor and organizer in the previous year. 1896. E. H. GUYER. E. H. Guyer, who is engaged in merchandising and also in dealing in stock at Hobart, was born in Calhoun county, Michigan, Jnne 8, 1854. His father, Andrew Guyer, was one of the pioneer settlers of Calhoun county. His wife, who bore the maiden name Mary Royce, died during the infancy of her son, E. H. Guyer. In the family were twelve children. The eldest brother was killed in the battle of Stone River during the Civil war. Mr. Guyer was the youngest child of his father's first marriage, but has a half-sister born of the second marriage. He was but fifteen years of age when he started out in life on his own account, and in 1874 he made his way to Lake county, Lidiana, where he secured employment in a brickyard at driving a team by the day and month. He worked for about four years in the butchering business, and in 1884 he established a meat market of his own in Hobart. He is also en- gaged in buying, selling and shipping stock and also dealing in hay. To some extent he has dealt in real estate and now owns considerable property at Hobart and Indiana Harbor. In 1897 he built his present business block, one of the substantial structures of the city. In 1884 Mr. Guyer was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Green, a daughter of John A. and Cordelia (Bird) Green. She was born in Lake county, being a representative one of the pioneer families here. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Guyer is celebrated for its gracious hospitality, and the hos- pitality of the best homes of the city is extended to them. Mr. Guyer is a Cleveland Dtemocrat, but at local elections votes for the candidate \\hom he thinks best qualified for office. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity at Hobart. He has traveled extensively over the county, buying and selling- stock, and is recognized as a most progressive business man of Hobart, whose success indicates his life of thrift and industry. JOHN F. TAKE, ^I. D. In professional circles Dr. John F. Take has won a position of prom- inence that is an indication of his skill, close application, determined purpose HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 051 and laudable ambition. He is largely a self-educated as Avell as a self-made man, and he has exerted his efforts in a calling where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit. Not by gift, by purchase or by influence can it be secured. A physician's labors must stand the test of practical work, and favorable public opinion is won only as he demonstrates his power to suc- cessfully cope with the intricate problems continually presented by disease. That Dr. Take is now enjoying a large practice is indicative of his thorough understanding of the principles of the science of medicine and his correct- ness of their application to the needs of suffering" humanity. Numbered among the native sons of Illinois, Dr. Take was born in Fountain Green, Hancock county, on the 6th of April, 1864. His father, Charles Take, was a native of Germany and came to America when twenty- one years of age, hoping that he might have better business opportunities in the new world than were afforded him in his native country. A farmer by occupation, he devoted his entire life to that calling in order to provide for his family, but he died at a comparatively early age. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Church and was a native of Indiana. They were the parents of three children, two sons and a daughter, but the latter died in infancy and the brother of Dr. Take is known as Robert Hetrick, having been adopted by the Hetrick family of Laharpe, Illinois, when but three years of age, his father having died. He is now a merchant of Denver, Colorado, and is a journalist by profession. Dr. Take, the eldest of the three children, was only six years of age at the time of his father's death. He afterward lived with a family by the name of Hopper until eleven 3ears of age, and during that time was a resi- dent of Hancock county, Illinois. His mother then removed to Rockford, Michigan, and Dr. Take resided with her there until eighteen years of age, during which time he attended the common schools and also assisted in the work of the home farm. Later he went to North Dakota, where he spent one year, and subsequently removed to Lamars, Iowa, where he attended high school for two years. By earnest labor he gained the money necessary to defray his college expenses. Desirous of becoming a member of the medical fraternity he pursued a course in reading under Dr. Prosser, of Lamars, Iowa, for a year, and next went to Chicago in the fall of 1887. There he entered the Bennett Medical College and was graduated from that institution with the 652 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. class of 1889. 'In the fall of the same year he matriculated in the Chicago Homeopathic College and was graduated in the spring of i8go. On the i5tli of April, of the same year. Dr. Take located for practice in Whiting, opening an office on Front street. He was the first physician to locate here and he has been in constant practice in the town since that time, building up an ex- tensive practice which has constantly grown in volume and importance. He has made a specialty of the diseases of children and is particularly proficient along that line. Dr. Take is a member of the Eclectic ]\Iedical and Surgi- cal Society of Chicago, and he is a student who is constantly promoting his efficiency through reading and investigation. He discharges the duties of his profession with a sense of conscientious obligation, and his ability has long been proved by the excellent results which attend his efforts. In November, 1887, Dr. Take was united in marriage to Miss Mary Isabel Haines, of Rockford. Michigan, who was born in that city and is a daughter of Moses Davton Haines, whose birth nccurred in Dutchess county, New York. Her mother bore the maiden name of Jane Wilkinson, and was also a native of Dutchess county. In their family were eight children, three sons and five daughters, of whom Mrs. Take is the sixth child and fifth daughter. Her birth occurred July 8, 1866. and she was reared in Rockford, Michigan, attending the public schools there and afterward becoming a student in St. Mary's Academy. To the Doctor and his wife have been born two children: Lena Frances, who was born June 15, 1889, at 3636 Fifth avenue, in Chicago: and Milton Jay. at 304 One Hundred and Nineteenth street in AVhiting, Indiana, on the loth of May, 1892. Dr. Take has been a life-long Republican and has ser\'ed Whiting as a member of the town board of health, but aside from this has had no political aspirations. He is a self-educated as well as self-made man, having earned the money which enabled him to pursue his college course. The history of mankind is replete with illustrations of the fact that it is only under the pres- sure of adversity and the stimulus of opposition that the best and strongest in man are brought out and developed, and the life record of Dr. Take is another proof of this statement. In private life be has gained that warm personal regard which arises from true nobility of character, deference for the opinions of others, kindness and geniality. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 653 FRANXIS E. STEPHENS, D. D. S. Dr. Francis Euceives Stephens, who is engaged in the practice of den- tistry in Indiana Harbor, was born in Sharon, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, on the 29th of June, 1880, and is a representative of an old English family that for several generations resided in Lydney. Gloucestershire, England. His father, iiis grandfather and his great-grandfather all bore the name of John Stephens. The last named was connected with the tin industry in Lydney, his native town, and there died at the age of ninety-two years, while his wife, Mrs. Hannah Stephens, departed this life at the age of seventy-four years. Their family of three sons and four daughters included John Stephens, 2d. who spent his entire life in Lydney. where he worked as a hammer- smith. He married Charlotte Hawkens of that town, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah Hawkens, who were also natives of Lydney and died at the ages of eighty-nine and forty-two years, respectively. Mr. Hawkens was a ship- ping contractor who loaded and unloaded vessels in the canal and at the dock, and in his family were two children, a son and daughter, the latter Mrs. Stephens. John Stephens, 2d, died in 1899, ^"^ '^'S wife in Alarch, 1902. Their only son, John Stephens, 3d, is the father of Dr. Stephens. He was born in Lydney, December 2, 1844, was reared and educated there and throughout his entire life has been connected with the iron industry. Com- ing to this countrv, he was employed in various places, and winning promo- tions from time to time. He is now superintendent of the Inland Steel Com- pany of Indiana Harbor, employing almost a thousand men. A detailed ac- count of his life and work is given on another page of this volume. Dr. Stephens, one of his ten children, acquired his early education in the public schools of Sharon, Pennsylvania, and later attended the INIuncie high school. When he had completed his more specifically literaiy education he entered upon preparation for a professional career as a student in the Indiana Dental College, of Indianapolis, and was graduated with the class of 1903. Thus well equipped for his chosen calling he came to Indiana Harbor, opened his office, and has in the months which have since intervened secured a good patronage, w'hich is constantly increasing. Dr. Stephens was reared in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church and is one of the members at Indiana Harbor. He belongs to tlie Delta 654 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Sigma Delta, a dental fraternity, and he exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party. WILLIAM HALFMAN. William Halfman, promir.ent farmer and cigar manufacturer, residing on section 3, Ross township, is a nati\-c son of Lake count)- and has spent most of his life in busy pursuits within its liountlaries. He is a young man of progress and enterprise, has never lacked plenty to do and has made money from boyhood up, and has really only begun the career of activity which will result in greater successes in the future. Mr. Halfman was born May 18. 1875, on the farm where he still re- sides, in Ross township. Lake county. His father. Henry Halfman. was one of the old settlers of Lake county. William was reared and educated in Ross township, receiving his early educational training in the district schools. At the age of sixteen he left home and went to Cliicago, where for a time he was engaged in the milk business, was conductor on the street railway, and was also connected with the police force. He then returned to Lake county and began farming the old homestead, where he has since centered most of his energies. He does general farming, stock-raising and dairying and milk- shipping, and his place of over three hundred acres is one of the best in Lake countv, being a scene of business activity and industry from one end of the year to the other. For about two years, while still engaged in fanning, he traveled through Illinois, Wisconsin. Indiana and South Dakota as the sales- man for the McCormick and Champion farm machinery. In 1902 he began the manufacture of cigars, which he has made a very profitable enterprise. His most popular brand is the "Halfman's White Ribbon," a high-grade five- cent smoke. Mr. Halfman is one of the influential young Democrats of the county, and is at the present writing a candidate for the office of township trustee. He has always been interested in the public affairs and general welfare of his community, and can be depended upon for his due share of assistance and co-operation in all good works. Mr. Halfman married, in 1895, Miss Clara Klein, who was born in Grundy county, Illinois, a daughter of Henry J. and Clara Klein. They have three children : Clara, Edward and Marie. HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 655 DR. SAMUEL A. BELL. Dr. Samuel A. Bell, a succes.sful and prominent member of the dental profession at Hammond, where he has been in practice ever since his gradu- ation from college, is a man of recognized ability and talent, not only in connection with his duties as a professional man, but in the larger realms of life, both business and social. He has concerned himself with, and con- sequently his time and energies have been called upon for many affairs per- taining to the general progress and development, and he has proved himself a thoroughly public-spirited and enterprising man. He is especially popular as a dentist, and has a large and high-class patronage, whose constantly re- curring needs make steady demands upon all his time. Dr. Bell was born in Kingston, Canada, October i8, 1868, being a son of John and Helen (McKechnie) Bell, natives, respectively, of England and Edinburg, Scotland. His mother was a daughter of William and Helen Mc- Kechnie. who came to America from Scotland. William IMcKechnie \\as a soldier in the English army during the war of 181J, arid by occupation was a general merchant in Canada. He died in Kingston, at the age of ninety-two, and his wife died when about sixty-five. They had seven children. John Bell, the paternal grandfather of Dr. Bell, was born in England, whence he moved to Canada, and was a farmer near Kingston the rest of his life, which came to an end when he was about eighty years of age. His wife Ellen also attained advanced years, and they were the parents of eight children. Dr. Bell's father was a farmer throughout the active period of his life, almost all of which has been spent in Canada, and he still resides at Kingston. In his earlier years he was a soldier in the English army, with the rank of lieutenant. He is a Methodist, as was his wife, whom death separated from him in February. 1901. when she was sixty-seven years old. They were the parents of ten children, seven of whom are still living, as follows : John A., of Watertown, New York; James H.. of Kingston, Canada; Senator Thomas E., of Hammond; Dr. Samuel A., of Hammond; Rose A., wife of Thomas Copely. of Kingston ; ]\Iaggie, widow of James Butland, of Kings- ton; and Nellie H., wife of Andrew McLean, of Kingston. Dr. Bell spent his youth on a Canadian farm, attending the district schools for his earlv education. He later entered the Ontario Veterinary 656 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. College, where he was graduated in 1890. He did not make a permanent choice of the veterinarian profession, but on coming to the United States en- tered the dental department of the Northwestern University, of Chicago, graduating in 1894. He at once began his practice in Hammond, and has had ten most successful years of professional work in this city. He is a member of the Indiana State Dental Association. Dr. Bell affiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569. F. & A. M.. and is treasurer of the lodge. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and Elks fraternities. In politics he is a stanch Republican. He is a member of the Hammond school board, and is president of the Indiana State Associa- tion of School Boards. His residence is at 366 South Hohman street, wdiere he built a good home in 1897. and besides this he owns other city real estate. He was married September 6. 1896. to Miss .\da Sanger, a daughter of Cvril and Carrie (Childres) Sanger. They have two children. Cyril and Walter. ELMER D. BRANDENBURG. Elmer D. Brandenburg, attorney at law, and in the real estate and in- surance business in Hammond, Indiana, belongs to the younger and pro- gressive element of the city and has gained quite a reputation and a prom- inent place among the members of the bar and the business men since identi- fvine himslf with Hammond. Mr. Brandenburg was born in Harrisburg, Ohio, October 13, 1871, being a son of John W. and Eliza J. (England) Brandenburg, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Ohio. His grandfather, Patterson C. Brandenburg, was born in the early days of Kentucky histon.-, and was a farmer, reaching the great age of ninety-eight years. His wife Elizabeth died young, and they had five sons and one daughter. John W. Brandenburg for a number of years operated a sawmill and a threshing outfit at Harrisburg, Ohio. He came to Indiana in 1881, locating at Winamac, where he lived until 1898, when he came to Hammond and is now in the employ of the Chicago Telephone Company. He was a soldier in the Civil war, serving three years as a private in Company F, Thirteenth Indiana Infantry, and was in the battle of Shiloh and other hard-fought bat- tles of that great struggle. He is not identified with any church, but his HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 657 ■wife is a ]Methodist. His witVs fatlier was David England, a native of Ohio, a soldier of the Ci\il w ar. and a farmer Ijy occupation. He died in Ohio at the age of sixty-three years, and his wife, who was Matilda Brown, died in Hammond, Indiana, in 1903, at the age of seventy-one. They had five sons and five daughters. John ^^^ and Eliza J. Brandenburg had four chil- dren : Eva, deceased: Elmer D. ; Lacy A., wife of John M. Kellar, of Ham- mond; and Oliver C, of Hammond. Elmer D. Brandenburg attended the public schools of Columbus, Ohio, and of Winamac, Indiana. He afterward entered the University of Indian- apolis, from which he graduated in 1898, having taken the law course, and was admitted to the bar the same year. He began his practice in Gas City, Grant county, and fegan practicing in Blue Grass, Fulton county, Indiana, where he remained until 1891, and in the spring of that year located in Hammond, which has Ijeen the seat of his suc- cessful practice to the present time. October 30, 1873, Dr. Campbell married Miss Ellen Wallace, a daughter of James and Margaret (Balx:ock) Wallace. Seven children have been born to them. Margaret, Clarence, Ethel, Claudius, Fay, Murley and Dean. Clar- ence died at the age of thirteen months. Ethel married Frank Stakemiller, of Hammond, and they ha\e two children. Donald and Ellen. Claudius is in the employ of the Hammond Company, being foreman of the casing de- partment; he married Frances Kizer, and they have one son, Cyrus. The family are Baptists in religion. Dr. Campbell affiliates with the Knights of Pythias and the Maccaljees, and is a member of the Kankakee Valley Medi- cal Association. He is a Republican in politics, and is secretary of the board of health of Hammond. He owns his nice home at 326 Truman avenue, where the family extend an open-hearted hospitality to their many friends. DR. L. D. JACKSON. Dr. Lorenzo D. Jackson, physician and surgeon at Hammond, has been engaged in acti\-e practice in this city for nearly fifteen years, and in this useful profession has attained considerable distinction both in Hammond and the surrounding country. He is not only an able and sympathetic practi- tioner, but is also a man of broad experience and capacity in other lines of work. He had been successfully engaged in various activities and kinds of business before taking up the practice of medicine, and his life has been spent in dilYerent parts of the country. He is an active, public-spirited citizen, and is held in high esteem by his many friends and business associates. Dr. Jackson was born in W^ayne county, Indiana, January 15, 1849, ^ son of Joseph and Mary E. (Harvey) Jackson, natives of Virginia and In- diana, respectively. Mrs. Mary E. Jackson was a daughter of William Harvey, who was born in North Carolina, and became a pioneer settler of 660 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Wayne county. Indiana, where he took up government land an.tl liecame a thriftv and prosperous farmer. He and his wife li\ed to advanced years, and were the parents of five cliildren. He was of Welsh descent. Caleb Jackson, the paternal grandfather of Dr. Jackson, w-as a native of Virginia, and a descendant of English ancestors who had come from the north of Ireland and settled in Virginia. He grew to manhood in that state, and in the early days of the last century he came direct from the Old Dominion • state to Wayne county, Indiana, where he figured as one of the ])rominent pioneer settlers and where he spent the remainder of his long and useful life. He took up government land, on which he reared his six children. He was foremost in the promotion of railroad building in those days. He had the contract for building the Pennsylvania road through Wayne county, and was afterward for a number of years a director in that railroad company. Joseph Jackson, the father of Dr. Jackson, was about eight years old when he came west with his parents to Wayne county, where he grew to manhood and spent the remainder of his life, his occupation being farming. He lived to be seventy-six years old, and his wife died at the age of fifty-six. Thev were brought up in the faith of the Friends, but she later joined the Christian church. They were the parents of thirteen children, all of whom are living, as follows: Rebecca J., the wife of William O. Elliott, of Sterling, Kansas: John W., of Cambridge City, Indiana: 01i^■e, wife of John Cod- dington, of Wayne county, Indiana: Salina J., w'idow of Lemuel Morgan, of Indianapolis; Caleb B., of Wayne county; Joseph \\'., of Lebanon, Ohio; Lorenzo D., of Hammond; Lafayette, of Wayne county; Columbus, of La (irange, Indiana; ^lary E., wife of Nathan Ray, of Sterling, Kansas; Charles, of Wayne county; Sarah, wife of George McConaha. of \\'ayne county: and Lincoln, of Arkansas City, Kansas. Dr. Jackson spent his youth in the environments of country and farm life. After completing the district school course he entered Earlham College, in Wayne county, and later taught school for two terms. He then went out west to California and Nevada, where he was engaged, principally, in milling quartz for the miners. After four years spent in the west he returned to Wayne county, and for a time devoted his efforts to farming. He then l>e- gan the study of medicine in the Physio-Medical College at Indianapolis, from which he was graduated in 1889. For about a year he practiced in HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 601 Rensselaer, Jasper county, but in 1890 opened his olfice in Hammond, where he has carried on his practice ever since. Dr. Jackson is a member of Cahimet Lodge No. 601, L O. O. F.. and his poHtical cleavage is Republican. He married Miss ]\Iary E. Blease, a daugh- ter of James and Hannah Blease. They had three children, Eva, John and Sarah, but John died in infancy. Mrs. Jackson is also a physician and sur- geon. Ijeing a graduate of the Physio-Medical College, and she also has an extensive practice in Hammond. OSCAR A. KRINBILL. Oscar A. Krinbill. manager of the Chicago Telephone Companv and commissioner of Lake county, at Hammond, with residence at 25 Rimbach avenue, is one of the successful business men of long standing in this city, and has made his home in Lake county all his life, with the exception of two years spent in Kansas. He was known for many years as the leading drug- gist of Hammond, but has recently withdrawn from purely commercial pur- suits and devoted himself to the management of his other business matters. He is a popular citizen of both Hammond and Lake county, as he deserves from his life-long identification with their interests, and he has to his credit many public-spirited endeavors undertaken for the promotion of the welfare and upbuilding of city and county. Mr. Krinbill was born in Crow^n Point, Lake county. August 3, 1863, being a son of George and Marie (Arnold) Krinbill, natives of Pennsyl- vania, the latter one of two sons and two daughters of a native German who came to America and settled in Pennsylvania. The father of George Krin- bill was a life-long resident of Pennsylvania, and was the father of six sons. George Krinbill was engaged in merchandising for many years, and later was a farmer. He is an old settler of Licliana. having come to this state in 185 1 and settled at Cedar Lake, and later at Crown Point, his present home. He has lived in Lake county for fifty-two years. He and his wife are Methodists. They were the parents of eight children, four sons and four daughters, and six are living at the present time: George Edward, of Dixon, Illinois; Julia, a teacher in the schools of Minneapolis : Daniel W., of Rochester, New York ; Albert, deceased: Lena, of Crown Point: Oscar A., of Hammond: Sarah, de- ceased: and Lillian M., a teacher in the kindergarten department of the pul)- lic schools of Princeton. Illinois. 662 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Mr. Oscar A. Krinbill was reared at Crown Point, and attended the public schools of that jilace. He studied pharmacy, and was engaged in the practical work of that profession for seventeen years. He came to Ham- mond, February 14, 1886, and for the first seven years was a drug clerk and for the past ten years conducted a drug store of his own, until he retired from the business in 1903. On September 21, 1903, he became manager of the Chicago Telephone Company, and is performing the duties of that responsible position at the present time. June 15, 1893. Mr. Krinbill married Miss Edith \\'eaver, a daughter of Edward and Anna (Randolph) Weaver. One daughter has been torn to them, Josephine M. Mrs. Krinbill is a member of the Presbyterian church and he belongs to Garfield Lodge No. 569, F. & A. M., Hammond Chapter, R. A. M., and Hammond Commander}' No. 41, K. T., and is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. In politics he is a stanch Republican. He was appointed county commissioner on January i, 1903, to fill out the vacancy of Stephen Ripley, and he was on the Hammond board of educa- tion for five years. In 1898 he built his nice home at 25 Rimbach avenue, and he also owns two other good residence properties. PETER CRUMPACKER. Peter Crumpacker, one of the leading lawyers of Hammond, Indiana, and a member of the firm of Crumpacker and ]Moran, belongs to an old and prominent family, it having been represented in ^Maryland prior to the Revo- lutionary war, but later moved to Virginia. In the Old Dominion the paternal grandfather. Owen Crumpacker. had his nativity, and he was of German descent. \\'hile a resident of his native commonwealth he was a farmer and after coming to Indiana, in 1828, he continued that as his life occupation, and his death occurred when about sixty-five years of age. His wife Hannah reached the ripe old age of eighty-six years, and loecame the mother of six children. On the maternal side Mr. Crumpacker is de- scended from the Emmons family, of Scotch-Irish descent, who made their homes in the same section of Virginia as the Crumpackers. In 1832 his grandfather removed from that state to Cass county, ^Michigan, where his life's labors were ended in death at the age of sixty-eight years, while his wife Elsie survi\-cd him to the age of eighty-one years. In their family were three sons and tln-ee daughters. c:^:2;^.-^y^?^v HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 663 Peter Crumpncker was born in LaPorte county, Indiana, on the 9th of August, 1858, being a son of Theophilus and Harriet (Emmons) Crum- packer, natives of old Virginia. Eight children were born to this worthy couple, six sons and two daughters, but only seven are now living : John W., cashier of the Savings Bank of LaPorte; Hon. Edgar D., the present con- gressman from the tenth Indiana district and a resident of Valparaiso; Daniel W., of Willow Springs, Illinois, in the railway mail service; Eliza A., who became the v.ife of Melvin W. Lewis, but Iioth liave passed away; Peter, of Hammond; Dora A., the wife of Iredell Luther, of Chicago; Charles, who is employed as a traveling salesman and maintains his home in Valparaiso ; and Grant, a lawyer of that city. Theophilus Crumpacker. the father of tltis family, accompanied his parents on their removal to Indiana in 1829, during his boyhood, their first location being in Union county. In 1832 they became residents of Porter county, this state, there spending one year, after which Mr. Theophilus Crumpacker removed to LaPorte county, that continuing as his home until the fall of 1863. From that time until 1865 he resided near Kankakee, Illinois, on the expiration of which period he returned to Porter county, locating on a farm three miles east of Valparaiso. Throughout his active business career he followed agri- cultural pursuits, Iiut in 1890 he retired from the farm and has since made his home in \^alparaiso, having now reached the eighty-second milestone on the journey of life. His wife is also in her eighty-second year, and although not members of any religious denomination this worthy old couple are adherents of the Christian faith. Mr. Crumpacker has always taken an active part in public affairs, and for three terms represented his district in the legislature, while he has also served as a tow-nship trustee, and has but recently retired from the city council of Valparaiso, of which he was a member for many years. Peter Crumpacker, the fifth child of this honored Indiana pioneer, spent the greater part of his bojdiood days in Porter county, remaining on the homestead farm until twenty-three years of age, during which time he acquired his education in the district schools and in the Valparaiso Normal School. For eight terms thereafter he was employed as a teacher in the country schools, also assisting his father witli the work of the farm during tlie summer months and for a period of nearly three years was the deputy 664 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. county clerk under John Felton in Porter county. He then spent a year and a half in completing a general index of all judsrments that had been taken in Porter county, placing them in alphabetical order for ready refer- ence. These duties completed, Mr. Crumpacker began reading law with his brother Edgar at Valparaiso, later taking a one-year course at the North- ern Indiana Law School, in which he graduated in June, 1887, ^"^ ^^'^^ immediately thereafter admitted to the bar. In 1888 he began the practice of his chosen profession in Hammond, Indiana, locating in this city on the 5th of March of that year. As a lawyer he is conspicuous among his asso- ciates, not alone on account of the success he has achieved, but by reason of his strong intellectuality, and his influence extends not only into the profes- sional but the political and social circles as well. In March. 1883, Mr. Crumpacker was united in marriage to ]\Iiss Ida M. Younglove, a daughter of Wilbur and Maiy E. (Hurr) Younglove. of Valparaiso. Indiana.- Si.x children have Iieen born of this union, three sons and three daughters, — Harriet ]\I.. Robert. Theophilus Charles. Mary A., Edgar D. and Dorothy. — but two of the number. Robert and Mary A., died in infancy. ]\Irs. Crumpacker is a member of the Christian church. In liis fraternal relations Mr. Crumpacker affiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569, F. & A. M., of Hammond: with Crown Point Chapter, R. A. M. ; with the Independent Order of Foresters : and with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Hammond. His political support is given to the Repub- lican party, and as its representati\e he served as the city attorney for four years. REV. FRANCIS XAVIER EGE. In the history of the new world the Catholic clergy, in its \-arious orders, have performed the work of religious, and often industrial, pioneers — ac- companying closely the traders and agricultural settlers, and keeping up with the very vanguard of civilization as it pushed out from the eastern coast and spread over the western prairies. These men have justly obtained wide recog- nition for their indefatigable energy, their unfailing patience and endurance, and their sincere and zealous devotion to the cause which they represented. In whate\'er vineyard they ha\e worked they have assisted in the industrial progress, and have been especially powerful factors in advancing education HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 665 and building up the other beneficent institutions which are the mainstay of social order and permanence. Father Ege, the well known priest of northern Indiana, where he has labored for a cjuarter of a century, and who is now the beloved priest in St. Anthony's parish in Hanover township of this county, is a representative of the highest type of the Catholic priesthood — zealous and hard-working, pos- sessed of broad and beneficent purposes, of sweet and generous character, and a man revered for his work and worth wherever and among whatso- ever people the duties of the Master place him. Father Ege is a native of Wiirtemberg, Germany, where he was born in 1849, being a son of Xavier and Mary Ann (Steinhauser) Ege. His studious nature manifesting itself in childhood, he determined to educate himself for the priesthood, and accordingly from the age of fourteen to twenty-one he was a student in his native province. After the priman,- schooling he entered ihe gymnasium at Felkirk, Austria, where he continued his scholastic career until he was twenty-one years of age. The war l>etween Germany and Aus- tria at that time threatened to interfere seriously with his plans, and it was on this account mainly that he concluded to come to America. The reputation of the thorough curriculum of study in philosophy and theology offered by the famous St. Xavier De Sales Saiesium at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was al- ready familiar to him, and after arriving in this country he entered this in- stitution in 1869, and after a seven years' course which fitted him for the priesthood he graduated in 1876. On June 10, 1876, he was ordained priest at Fort Wayne, Indiana (the seat of the Northern Bishopric of Indiana), by Bishop DAvenger. His first parish was at Earl Park. Benton county. Indiana, where he remained until 1878. and where he was instrumental in the erection of the priest's home, and although he found the parish encumbered by a debt of eight hundred dollars he left the church entirely free from money obliga- tions. There were in this parish some eighty French families, forty German and forty Irish, and since that time there have been erected two additional churches so as to make one for each nationality. The next field of labor for Father Ege was in southeastern Noble county, Indiana. This parish then lay in almost a wilderness, surrounded lay the virgin forest. There was no pat- ron saint's name given to the parish, it was simply known as the "French HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. settlement." A new frame Gothic church had been built in 1875, and there were seventy-five or eight)^ poor families in the parish, and the property was encumbered with three thousand dollars" indebtedness. Hardly two months had passed before the energizing labor of Father Ege had estab- lished a parochial school and placed over it a male instructor, who was later superseded by two Sisters of St. Francis, one the teacher and the otiier the cook, and these latter have remained in charge since ]\Iarch, 1879, al- though an additional teacher has since been given the school. Due to Father Ege's managements and industry also, the debt of this parish was canceled. In 1886 this parish, known as St. Mary's, met with a dire calamity, the priest's home, the sisters' home and the school being all destroyed by fire, and the Father saved nothing, his extensive and beloved library and even his cloth- ing being consumed. But there was no evidence of despair, no time was lost in useless lamentation, and in a short time Father Ege had the pleasure of see- ing arise, phoenix-like, one of the most beautiful and attractive brick school buildings to be found in the diocese, built at a cost of twenty-two hundred dollars, and paid for before it was finished. Also there was erected a two- story brick residence for the sisters, and a priest's home of brick costing twenty-one hundred dollars and all were paid for at the time of completion. He also caused to be constructed an ornamental iron fence around the en- tire premises, and beautiful shade trees were planted to adorn the grounds. He remained in this parish altogether for nineteen years. During this period he at first experienced considerable trouble in getting his mail, and he ac- cordingly appealed to the United States government, which established a post- office in his parish and named it Ege in his honor, this being done in 1884. After this long siege of trouble and care his health was greatly impaired and he was forced to enter one of the leading hospitals in Chicago, where he remained six months. Even then he was not restored to his normal capa- bility, and under the advice of the good Bishop Durnger he spent about seven months traveling in the extreme south, southwest, and western parts of the United States and also in British Columbia. He visited much of the grand sublime mountain scenery of the great west, drinking in its inspiration and exhilaration, and so much was he impressed by the splendors of nature that he considers the Swiss or Tyrolese Alps so famed in continental Europe to be inferior in many respects to the vast ranges of our own west. In the mean- HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 067 time his normal health returned, and in August, 1898, he was able to assume charge of St. Anthony's parish in Hanover township. Lake county, where he has since been the Iseloved priest. He has kept the parish property in splendid repair, and there is not a dollar's indebtedness. There are thirty-five families in the parish, and all are in prosperous circumstances. While pastor of St. Mary's in Noble county, Father Ege had a mission at Albion, the county seat, where there were fifteen families with an excellent church. After he had been there some time the Father was informed that a debt of six hundred dollars stood against the property. This circumstance troubled him. and one Sabbath he informed his congregation of the state of afifairs and made a business proposition which was at once accepted, and on the very next day the entire amount of six hundred dollars was paid to one of the Albion banks. Father Ege always remembers with extreme gratitude the great kindness and substantial material aid given him by the Protestant people during his misfortune in losing his home and other church property while in Noble county. Father Ege is a devout man, a good citizen, and is held in the highest esteem by all regardless of differences of religious creed. He is in every way fitted for his work as a leader of men, and it is a pleasure to be able to record the principal events of his beneficent career in this took of Lake county history. A LIFE OUTLINE. T. H. Ball, recognized as the historian of Lake county, Indiana, has had quite an eventful life, the full details of which would make more than a small volume. A comparatively brief outline is all that can here be given. Birthplace, Ahwic, Lineage. He was born February 16, 1826, at the home of Dr. Timothy Horton, his mother's father, in tlie present town of Agawam, then West Springfield, Massachusetts. At this date only about six weeks of the second quarter of the grand nineteenth century had passed, and in a few months from this date took place the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of this nation and the death of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Only one president had died before he was born. John Ouincy Adams was then president. It was a favorable period in which to begin life, and some very pleasant circum- 668 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. stances were around him. Througli liis fatlier, at that time a lawyer in the state of Georgia, near Augusta, he is tlie seventh in descent from Francis Ball, of \\'est Springfield, who was, according to the late researches of the Ball International Union, one of six brothers who came from England between 1630 and 1650. Through his mother he is a descendant of the Hortons from England, a great-grandson of Dr. Timothy Horton, Sr., who was born in Springfield or West Springfield in 1726, and probably the seventh in descent from Thomas Horton, of Springfield, a settler in 1638. Also through his mother, Jane Ayrault (Aro) Horton, and his grandmother, Eli.zabeth Hanmer, daughter of James Hanmer, he is a descendant of the English Hanmers. an early branch of which family settled in Connecticut; and through his great-grandmother, Elizabeth Ayrault, of W'ethersfield, he is a descendant of Dr. Nicholas Ayrault. a Huguenot refugee of about 1681, who settled in Rhode Island and married Marian or Mary Ann Breton, daughter of a prosperous Huguenot merchant of the south of France, so that through these, from whom he is the sixth in descent, he goes back to a line of Huguenots who were in good circumstances in life, who possessed physical endurance, and who clung tenaciously to their religious faith. Perhaps some of that tenacity came down, Ijy what is now called a law of heredity, to their Indiana descendant, for Dr. Higgins, of Crown Point, once remarked of him that he had a bull-dog tenacity of purpose. Going back now to his grandmother Ball, who was a daughter of John Miller and Hepzibah Chapin, he is the eighth in descent from Deacon Samuel Chapin, an early settler in Springfield, a noted man in Puritan church life, a man highly esteemed, who in 1652 was "appointed one of the magistrates of Springfield." It thus appears that the child Ixirn in Agawam in 1826 had four w ell established lines of Puritan and English ancestry — the Ball. Horton, Hanmer and Chapin lines — and one well-known Huguenot line, so that he would now be quite inexcusable not to have some strong principle. The name given to that child was Timothy Horton, the name of his grandfather, a quite noted physician at that time in West Springfield. The name being rather long, Timothy Horton Ball, he has become accustomed to write it as his ordinary and business signature, T. H. Ball, using as a signature to many of his writings the initials T. H. B., and .sometimes the finals Y. N. L. He learned a few years ago that there was and perhaps is still another T. H. Ball HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 669 in this cDuntry wlio was a corset-maker, Init he is very sure that no one else in this entire country can claim the ad(h"ess Rev. T. H. Ball. Different Home Spots. From his grandfather's home in Agawam the young T. H. Ball went with his mother, in the fall of 1828, to his father's home in Columbia county, Georgia, but of that ocean voyage frotn New York to Savannah he retains no remembrance, his memory reaching back onlv to himself, his mother, his father, the black servants, and the surroundings of his father's home, in a newly erected house at the county seat of Columbia county. Here he re- mained, learning as a boy naturally would, one form of life in the south, the native scenery of that part of the south, its social and its religious life as he saw this life, till tlie late fall of 1833, when he was nearly eight years of age. and then he returned with his iiKither and a sister and a brother, also with his father, to the town of West Springfield and to his birthplace. There, in looking on the walls of the ancestral home, an object attracting his attention immediately was a painting representing the Horton and Hanmer coats of arms. Whether his English ancestors were really of the families to whom these were originally given he knew not then, he knows not now, but these armorial representations, lions couchant and rampant, had quite an influence upon him. From the fall of 1833 to the spring of 1837 he learned New England life and customs and traditions, as fast as he could grasp thein, learned something of the kindred of his father and his mother, and in 1837 the family, then increased by the addition of two Massachusetts brothers, came to Indiana. For a little while in the summer and fall a home was found in the new village of City West, on the shore of Lake Michigan, ten miles west from Michigan City. Here he learned the meaning of frontier life, learned the grandeur of Lake Michigan in storms and its beauty in repose, gained from the tops of the great sand hills an idea of the solitudes of nature, and saw something of Indian life. But he made visits with his father to the prairie region of Lake county in mid-summer, and to that beautiful little lake, the Lake of the Red Cedars, where for the next thirtv years the home of the Ball family was to be, and where in December of 1837 the entire family was comfortably domiciled. To this home of lake and 670 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. prairie beauty his grandmother from New York city soon came and two httle Cedar Lake sisters, hke prairie liirds, also came, making in ah. without the domestics, usually two or tliree in number, ten members of the trans- planted New England family. This became the dear home spot, the dearest at length to him of all home spots of earth, where he learned something of farm work, of raising cattle and sheep and hogs, and learned to hunt, and to spear fish, and to swim, and to pole and row and scull a boat, and where the most important experiences and events of his life took place. One more home spot remains to be named. Crown Point, where he established his own home in 1863, and where that home continues to be. Lito the Crown Point home at different times many friends and some kindred have gathered, and within its peaceful walls a daughter has been married, a little niece has died, and a grandson has been torn. His Mental Training. Of course many ideas had been acquired and quite a little mental train- ing had been carried on by his mother in his first two years of life of which he has no remembrance. He had learned in those years one great lesson, and that was obedience. Of learning to read in his Georgia home he has no distinct recollection. His father, a graduate of Middlebury College, and estimating highly the value of classical studies, had him commence the study of Latin so soon as he could read well and had learned from his mother some- thing of elementary geography and arithmetic and lx)tany. He commenced attending an academy. He had some good teachers, all of them men. He went over the usual spelling and reading lessons of the other pupils but applied himself diligently to his Latin studies. The only certainty as to age at this time is this, that he had committed to memory very largely Adams' Latin grammar, had read a Latin first reader then used called Liber Primus, had read a second book called Viri Roinae, and in the fall of 1833 commenced reading in Caesar's Commentaries, when his southern academic life ended. In West Springfield, when eight years of age, in an academic school he continued to read the writings of Caesar. When nine years of age he commenced the study of Greek and continued this with his other studies for two years, having for a portion of this time a private tutor for his Greek. • HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 671 The year 1837 came and classical studies were laid by. At the Cedar Lake home school he pursued English studies as a kind of recreation, applied himself vigorously to arithmetic, surveying and philosophy, doing quite an amount of reading along with some farm work and hunting. He had com- menced in Georgia reading poetry, having in his own library "Original Poems for Infant Minds" and Cowper's works, three volumes. To these were added in Agawam "The Poetical Works of Hemans, Heber and Pol- lok," and in his lake home there came into his hands "Ossian," of which he became intensely fond. Several of the British poets naturally followed in his youth except Shakespeare, for whose writings he never formed a taste. In West Springfield he attended when nine years of age a literarj' society and acquired there a taste for literary pursuits which was further cultivated by the Cedar Lake Lyceum and the Cedar Lake Belles Lettres Society, which taste has never left him. The time at length came for him to lay aside farm work and hunting and prepare in earnest for college life. Classical studies were resumed in the home at the lake. He read largely and rapidly Caesar and Cicero's orations and Virgil, reading the twelve books of the Aeneid, the Bucolics, and the Georgics. reading the last Georgia, 566 lines, in one June day. Entering Franklin College, Indiana, in 1848, a long ways "in advance" of the regular college course, he graduated in 1850, received the degree of Bachelor of Arts and soon commenced teaching, first, taking charge of the Hendricks County Seminary at Danville, Indiana, and in 185 1 becoming principal of the Grove Hill Male and Female Academy of Clarke county. Alabama. Here, as a teacher, he applied himself diligently to the studv of English grammar and in a short time, with a few years of teaching, he considered himself well skilled in the three departments of parsing, so-called, of analyzing, and of scanning. In college he had given much attention to the odes of Horace, and he soon found English prosody very attractive. In three years from the time of his graduation he received the degree "in course" of Master of Arts. The time came for another change in studies. In i860 he entered as a student the Xewton Theological Institution near Boston, and there spent three years in close study, having as teachers Dr. H. B. Hackett, Dr. Alvah Hovey, and Dr. A. S. Train. He graduated in 1863 and has been cultivating his mental powers ever since. 672 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. Special Statements. He was received as a member into tlie Cedar Lake Baptist church April 19, 1845. a"<^' o" the next day, Sunday, April jo, was baptized according to Baptist custom in the waters of the Red Cedar Lake, on the same day with his oldest sister. He was licensed to preach, also according to Baptist usage, February 8, 185 1, at Danville, Indiana. He went to Clarke county. Alabama, in 1851, and was there married, April 19, 1855, to Martha Caroline Creigh- ton, daughter of Rev. Hiram Creighton, of Clarke county, with whom he has now lived for nearly fifty years, and who has nobly filled all the positions which have come to her in life. He was ordained at Crown Point Decemlier 30. 1853. He went south in 1858 and remained there till the fall of i860. He settled as pastor at Crown Point in 1863. In 1865 he established the Crown Point Institute, and erected a good, substantial building, and secured several teachers. August I, 1871, he sold the land and building to the town of Crown Point for public school purposes, receiving the sum of $3,600. As Pttblishcr. He issued his first publication, a ijamijhlet on the Immortality of the Soul, in 1861, at Boston, and his first book in 1873, at Crown Point. His largest book, "Clarke and Its Surroundings," pages 774, was published at Grove Hill, Alabama, in 1882. In all he has published thirteen books and six pamphlets, historical, poetical, genealogical, and religious, nearly all sent out from Crown Point. In all, thousands of copies have gone into ])ublic and private liliraries, and he has ])aid out thousands of dollars fcir printing and binding. Most of these ])ublications have brought in some income. LTnlike general and large publishers he has issued only his own writings, being at the same time author and pulilisher. Besides books and pamphlets, he has also published maps, his own maps, and these have been a source of a more considerable income. He also published, at different times, three periodicals, the Casta- llon, the Prairie Voi-ce, and Our Banner, the latter being for a time the organ of the Indiana State Sunday School Union. In his younger days, before commencing to publish books, he wrote HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 673 quite frequently fi)i" large religious papers, the Journal and Messenger, tlie Southzvesleni Baplisf. tlie Te/utessee Baptist, the IJ'itiiess, the C/irisfiaii Times, now the Standard, antl for some secular papers. Concluding Statements. The three departments of iiis hfe work have been teaching, writing, and preaching, tlie latter including much Sunday-school work. In these lines of work and including his childhood travels, he has made fourteen journeys from Massachusetts or Indiana to Georgia and Alabama, passing from north to south and from south to north twenty-eight times, taking some- times the Atlantic Ocean and coast route, being once east of the Gulf stream and among a school of whales, sometimes passing through Kentucky and Tennessee, and sometimes .going up and down the Mississippi river; tra\-el- ling in the old stage coaches, on sailing vessels, on a canal boat, on lake and river steamers, as well as on railway cars, on horseback and on foot. He has been in Montreal and on the Gulf of Mexico and in nearly every state east of the Mississippi. His first teaching" was in the winter of 1843, sixty years ago, in a public school of Lake county, on the east side of Cedar Lake, and there is quite certainly no man now li\'ing who was a teacher in Lake county so long ago. He had charge for some years of the Crown Point Institute, taught the first normal school in the county, and gathered up from various sources for its first publication the county history. In acti\'e Sunday-school work there is room to say only this, that liesides work as a missionary of the American Sunday School L^nion for several years, he was for twenty-two years secretary of the County S. S. Convention. As a missionary pastor, the only minister of the gospel for several years of his denomination in the county, commencing his labors fully as such January i, 1856, he has preached in all the central and southern parts of the county, in churches and school- houses, and has conducted burial services at twenty-two cemeteries in the county, also at Salem and in the Hebron cemetery in Porter county. This record extends from 1853 to 1904, over a period of fifty years. Hon. Bartlett Woods is reported to have remarked that Mr. Ball had carried the gospel to more people in Lake county than any other minister ever did or ever would. 43 674 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. His disappointments, trials, sorrows, whicii. if few. have not been small, are not to be given in this outline. His blessings and successes of various kinds have been neither few nor small. Among these he counts the homes of his childhood and youth ; well educated, cultivated, and judicious Christian parents; three manly and kind brothers and three affectionate, culti\ated sisters; and more than that oft-quoted number of dear "five Imndred" friends, for he has certainly l)een as a visitor, a tourist, a Sunday-school missionary, a gospel minister, in more than -a thousand homes in Xew Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts ; in Indiana and Illinois; in Kentucky and Tennessee; in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and he has seldom failed in every home to gain a friend. Among other great blessings he counts tiie Alabama maiden \\ho Ijecame his wife, his .son antl daughter and other kindred dear. Successful in several particulars for which he is very grateful, he hopes yet to accomplish something more in life. He has earned something in teaching and !)}• means of his publications. Something of an amount of money has passed through his hands, seldom more than two thousand dollars in a year, dribblets compared with what many receive and spend, and he has nothing laid by for helpless old age if that should ever come upon him. He yet has two of the great blessings of life, good eyesight and good health.