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YALE'VNIVERSITY' ? L I B RA R,Y »

FROM THE FVND IN MEMORY OF
FRANKLIN BOWDITCH DEXTER.
SECRETAJ^UBRARJAN'HISTORJAN OF YALE

cTI.

^Z 2. M-

A HISTORY

OF

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

INDIANA

TIMOTHY EDWARD HOWARD
PRESIDENT OP THE NORTHERN INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

VOLUME ONE

THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO NEW YORK
1907

PREFACE

It is now more than three-quarters of a century, since the organization and first settle
ment of St. Joseph county. Of those who were present at the beginning there is no
one left to tell the story. Three generations have since been born to the rich inheritance
of those first toilers. Of these, the oldest yet living have, perhaps, heard the pioneer
history from the lips of the pioneers themselves. As to the rest, if they know the story
at all, they have learned it from tradition, from musty records, from letters, papers and
documents of other days, and, it may be also, from such incidental references as are to be
found in scattered pamphlets, books and other publications. For anything more definite
concerning our early history we have been accustomed to look to the historical atlas of
the county, published, in 1875, by Higgins, Belden & Company, of Chicago, and to cer
tain historical and biographical works, particularly that published in the same city, in
1880, by Chapman & Company. The maps in the atlas referred to were excellent for
their time, but have long been out of date. The footnotes in this atlas contain much valu
able information that might otherwise have been lost. The Chapman work consisted of
a brief history of Indiana, followed by detached sketches of the history of St. Joseph
county and biographies of prominent citizens. These local sketches, like the notes in the
Atlas, are of inestimable value, as preserving a variety of historical data furnished by
men then still living, much of which also, if not thus preserved, might have been wholly
forgotten. Since the publication of those works nearly a third of a century has passed,
during which time many zealous students of our early history have gathered up the old
traditions, searched the public records, turned over old newspaper files, and in a multi
tude of ways rescued from loss historical facts that were constantly slipping into oblivion.
Chief among those students of antique historical lore have been David R. Leeper, Richard
H. Lyon, George A. Baker and Charles H. Bartlett. Most of this good work has been
done for or through the Northern Indiana Historical Society. To the labors of these
painstaking searchers have been added numerous reminiscent writings prepared vby older
citizens, many of whom are now departed from us. It seemed high time . to put into
permanent form this wealth of material, new and old, to pick up these scattered threads
of our splendid history and weave them into a continuous narrative, before they should
again be scattered and perhaps lost forever.
For over a year the writer has devoted all the time which he could spare to this work,
which to him has been a labor of love. He has, so far as he knows, overlooked no source
of information which seemed open to him, and has sought to verify facts, names, dates
and events, and to arrange the whole into a connected and readable history of St. Joseph
oounty. How far these efforts have been successful must be left to the judgment of
his readers. He has received aid from many sources, and has endeavored to give due credit
for such help in the text, in the footnotes, and in the Bibliography printed on the follow-

iv PREFACE.
ing pages. This bibliography includes 'not only the books and other printed publica
tions, but also all other authorities chiefly relied on in the writing of this history.
Acknowledgments are also due to many friends who have given valued information
and furnished facts and reminiscences clearing up doubtful phases of our history. Among
these generous helpers he would make particular mention of G-eorge A. Baker, secretary,
and several other members, of the Northern Indiana Historical Society; H. S. K. Bar
tholomew, president of the Elkhart Historical Society ; Samuel J. Nieoles, of Walkerton ;
and Albert H. Compton, of New Carlisle. Others who have suggested lines of research,
answered requests, or who themselves have thrown light on the obscure past, are so
numerous that even a list of their names could not be given. They will kindly ac
cept this general acknowledgment of their invaluable services in helping, so far as could
be done at this time and with the material now available, to make this a complete and
satisfactory history of the county.
The publishers have been generous on their part. In paper, printing, binding and
illustration, all pains have been taken that could have been given to a work that was
to be sold throughout the country, whereas the patrons of this history must be found only
within the limits of St. Joseph county. For their considerate kindness, which has done
so much to make the labors of the writer a pleasant task, his acknowledgments are due
and gladly tendered.
South Bend, Indiana, January 1, 1908. TIMOTHY E. HOWARD.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.
TOPOGRAPHY. Page
I. Location and General Features  1
II. Relation of the St. Joseph to the Kan-
k9,k©p i
III. The Glacial Drift! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1
IV. Glacial Action Over Northern Indi
ana  2
V. Lakes and Subterraneous Waters  6
VI. Moraines and Waterways  9
VII. The Great Kankakee  10
Sec. 1. Three Great lee Lobes.
See. 2. The Ancient Waterways.
Sec. 3. Origin of the St. Joseph River.
VIII. Elevations, Strata and Soils  17
IX. Lakes of St. Joseph County  18
CHAPTER II.
EARLY HISTORY.
I. Marquette  ; 
Sec. 1. First Footprints.
Sec. 2. Eoutes of Travel.
See. 3. Historical Data.

20

II. La Salle  23
See. 1. Preparations.
Sec. 2. On the Great Lakes.
Sec. 3. The Portage of the St. Joseph.
Sec. 4. At the Village of the Miamis.
Sec. 5. Down the Mississippi.
Sec. 6. The Passing of the Portage.
III. Primitive Inhabitants  34
See. 1. The Mound Builders.
Sec. 2. Our Miamis and Pottawatomies.
IV. Fort St. Joseph's  39
Sec. 1. The French Power.
Sec. 2. British Supremacy.
Sec. 3. Pontiac 's War.
Sec. 4. George Rogers Clark and Fort St.
Joseph 's.
Sec. 5. Taken by the Spaniards.
V. The Parkovash, Indian Camps and
Trails  43
Sec. 1. Camps and Fishing Resorts.
Sec. 2. Trails and Traces.
See. 3. Charlevoix on Portage Prairie.
Sec. 4. Other Trails.
VI. The Removal of the Pottawatomies . . 48

CHAPTER III.
THE STATE OF INDIANA. Page
I. The French Era  57
Sec. 1. Nature of the French Oeeupancy.
See. 2. Canada and Louisiana.
II, The British and Spanish Era  58
III. George Rogers Clark  59
Sec. 1. Clark in Kentucky.
Sec. 2. His Appeal to Virginia.
Sec. 3. Secret Preparations.
Sec. 4. Capture of Kaskaskia.
See. 5. Father Gibault and Vincennes.
Sec. 6. Clark 's Winter Campaign.
IV. The County of Illinois  70
See. 1. First Measures Taken by Virginia.
Sec. 2. Nature of the County Government.
Sec. 3. Claims Made by Other States.
Sec. 4. Cession by Virginia.
V. The Ordinance of 1787  75
See. 1. First Congressional Plan: Seven
teen States.
See. 2. Jefferson's Plan: Ten .'-States.
Sec. 3. Emigration to the West.
See. 4. Development of the Ordinance.
See. 5. The Six Articles of the Ordinance.
Sec. 6. The Constitution of the United
States.
Sec. 7. Ratification of the Constitution.
See. 8. Government Under the Ordinance.
Sec. 9. Governor St. Clair.
Sec. 10. General Anthony Wayne.
Sec. 11. The Treaty of Greenville.
Sec. 12. Indian Land Titles.
Sec. 13. Lewis Cass and the Indian Treat
ies.
Sec. 14. Indian Titles to St. Joseph Coun
ty Lands.
Sec. 15. The First Legislature of the
Northwest Territory.
VI. Indiana Territory  93
Sec. 1. Extent of the Territory.
Sec. 2. Organization of the Territorial
Government.
Sec. 3. The First Indiana Courts.
Sec. 4. Lotteries and Slavery in Indiana.
Sec. 5. The First Indiana Legislature;
tne Territory of Michigan
Formed.
Sec. 6. Tecumseh and the Battle of Tip
pecanoe.
Sec. 7. Aaron Burr.
Sec. 8. Formation of Illinois Territory.

VI

CONTENTS.

Page
VII. Organization of the State  103
Sec. 1. Periods of Growth.
See. 2. Admission into the Union.
Sec. 3. Population and Revenues.
Sec. 4. Boundaries.
See. 5. The Name of the State.
See. 6. The Title of Hoosier.
CHAPTER IV.
THE ST. JOSEPH COUNTY PIONEERS.
I. The Fur Trade  125
Sec. 1. Sources of Our Civilization.
Sec. 2. The French Traders.
Sec. 3. The British Policy in Relation to
the Fur Trade.
Sec. 4. The Great Fur Companies.
II. Three Merchants of the Wilderness . . . 128
Sec. 1. Leclare.
See. 2. Burnett.
Sec. 3. Bertrand.
III. Pierre Navarre  130
IV. The First Settlers  131
See. 1. Alexis Coqudllard.
Sec. 2. Lathrop M. Taylor.
Sec. 3. First Name of tbe New Settle
ment.
See. 4. Early Days on the Kankakee.
Sec. 5. Other Early Settlers of the
County.
V The Log House  139
VI. Reminiscences  140
Sec. 1. By Daniel Greene.
Sec. 2. By John Stull.
Sec. 3. Paper by William D. Bulla.
See. 4. Recollections of Hugh V. Comp-
ton.
VII. Old Settlers' Reunions  150
CHAPTER V.
ORGANIZATION OF ST. JOSEPH
COUNTY.
I. Land Titles and Public Surveys  155
Sec. 1. Indian Titles.
Sec. 2. First Congressional and Legisla
tive Acts.
See. 3. First Surveys.
Sec. 4. First Land Sales.
II. Organization of the County  157
Sec. 1. Attached Territory.
III. Our Form of County Government . . . 160
Sec. 1. The Virginia System.
Sec. 2. The New England System.
IV. The Board of Justices  161
Sec. 1. Organization of Civil Govern
ment.
Sec. 2. The First Townships.
V. The Board of Commissioners  164
See. 1. Act of Organization.
See. 2. Our p/'irst Commissioners.
VI. Early County Records  170
Sec. 1. Organization of the Board.

Page
Sec. 2. Adoption of a County Seal.
Sec. 3. Other Orders.
See. 4. Exemptions from Taxation.
See. 5. The First Ferry and Steamboat
Landing.
Sec. 6. Licenses to Do Business.
VII. Location of County Seat  173
See. 1. St. Joseph, the First County Seat.
Sec. 2. Act to Re-locate the County Seat.
Sec. 3. Relocation.
Sec. 4. South Bend, the Permanent Coun-
, ty Seat.
VIII. The Townships Re-organized  176
IX. The County Boundaries  177
CHAPTER VI.
COUNTY BUSINESS.
I. Administrative Officers and Boards. . . .181
See. 1. The Clerk.
Sec. 2. The Recorder.
Sec. 3. The Auditor.
See. 4. The County Agent.
See. 5. The Sheriff.
Sec. 6. The Coroner.
See. 7. The Treasurer.
See. 8. The Surveyor.
See. 9. The County Board.
II. The Circuit Court  187
Sec. 1. The President and Associate
Judges.
Sec. 2. The Circuits under the Constitu
tion of 1816.
Sec. 3. The Circuits Under the Constitu
tion of 1851.
Sec. 4. The First Session of the Court.
Sec. 5. The Second Session of the Court.
See. 6. Other Sessions of the Court, Un
der the Old Constitution.
See. 7. Sessions of the Court Under the
New Constitution.
III. The Probate Court  198
Sec. 1. The First Session.
See. 2. Further Sessions of the Court.
IV. The Court of Common Pleas  201
Sec. 1. Organization.
Sec. 2. The Court in St. Joseph County.
V. A Celebrated Case  202
bee. 1. Slavery, as Known in Indiana.
Sec. 2. Our Slave Case.
VI. The County Buildings  206
See. 1. The First County Jail.
See. 2. The First Court House.
Sec. 3. The Second County Jail.
Sec. 4. The Second Court House.
Sec. 5. The Third County Jail.
Sec. 6. Re-arrangement of the Court
House.
Sec. 7. A Historic Building.
Sec. 8. The Fourth County Jail.
Sec. 9. The Third Court House.
Sec. 10. The County Asylums.
See. 11. The Old County Seminary.
Sec. 12. The Orphans' Home.

CONTENTS.

vn

CHAPTER VII.
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. Page
I. Our Rivers  223
Sec. 1. Improvements on the Kankakee.
See. 2. Navigation of the St. Joseph.
Sec. 3. Water Power of the St. Joseph.
See. 4. Generation of Electric Power.
See. 5. Accidents on the River.
II. Ferries, Roads and Bridges  231
See. 1. Ferries Over the St. Joseph.
See. 2. Bridges Over the St. Joseph.
See. 3. Roads.
III. Railroads  236
Sec. 1. The Lake Shore.
Sec. 2. The Michigan' Central.
Sec. 3. Tbe Grand Trunk.
Sec. 4. The Division Street Incident.
Sec. 5. Other Railroads.
See. 6. Railroad Accidents.
IV. Street Railways and Interurbans. . . .240
Sec. 1. The South Bend City Railway.
Sec. 2. The South Bend & Mishawaka
Railway.
See. 3. The Indiana Railway.
See. 4. The Chicago, South Bend &
Northern Indiana Railway.
Sec. 5. The Southern Michigan Railway.
Sec. 6. The Chicago, Lake Shore & South
Bend Line.
V. Telegraphs and Telephones  243
Sec. 1. The Western Union.
Sec. 2. The Postal.
Sec. 3. The Central Union.
Sec. 4. The Home.
See. 5. The Old and the New.
VI. Drainage  244
See. 1. The Swamp Land Act.
See. 2. Professor Campbell's Survey.
Sec. 3. Removal of the Momenee Roek.
See. 4. General Drainage.
VII. Farmers ' Societies and Fairs  267
Sec. 1. Agricultural Societies.
See. 2. Hailstorm, Flood and Tornado.
See. 3. Horticultural Society.
See. 4. Farmers ' Fire Insurance Company.
See. 5. The Grange, Farmers ' Institutes,
etc.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE TOWNSHIPS.
I. The First Division of the County Into
Townships  .'  272
Sec. 1. Michigan Township.
See. 2. Deschemin Township.
Sec. 3. German Township.
See. 4. Portage Township.
II. Second Division Into Townships  273
Sec. 1. Portage Township.
Sec. 2. Center Township.
Sec. 3. Highland Township.
Sec. 4. Commissioners' Districts.

Page

III.

Third Division Into Townships. . .
See. 1. Penn Township.
Sec. 2. Portage Township.
Sec. 3. Olive Township.
Sec. 4. Commissioners ' Districts.

273

IV.

Two Lost Townships 
See. 1. Plymouth.
Sec. 2. Washington.

274

V.

The Present Townships 
% Sec. 1. German.
Sec. 2. Greene.
Sec. 3. Harris.
Sec. 4. Union.
Sec. 5. Liberty.
Sec. 6. Warren.
Sec. 7. Clay.
Sec. 8. Center.
Sec. 9. Madison.
Sec. 10. Lincoln.
See. 11. Penn.
Sec. 12. Portage.
Sec. 13. Olive.
CHAPTER IX.
THE TOWNS.

275

I. '

Towns That Were 
Sec. 1. St. Joseph.
See. 2. Portage.
Sec. 3. Plainfield.

303

See. 4. Palestine.

•

See. 5. Williamsport.
Sec. 6. Greensburg.
Sec. 7. Canton.
See. 8.' Mount Pleasant.
Sec. 9. Terre Coupee.
Sec. 10. Denniston.
II.
See. 1. Osceola.
Sec. 2. Crum's Point.
See. 3. Granger.
See. 4. Wyatt.
See. 5. Lindley.
Sec. 6. Woodland.
Sec. 7. Warwick.
Sec. 8. Nutwood.
309
Ill
Sec. 1. New Carlisle.
•Sec. 2. North Liberty.
Sec. 3. Lakeville.
Sec. 4. River Park.
Sec. 5. Walkerton.
312
CHAPTER X.
THE CITY OF MISHAWAKA.
I. Formation and Incorporation  319
Sec. 1. The St. Joseph Iron Works.
See. 2. Barbee's Plat.
Sec. 3. Fowler's Addition.
. See. 4. Indiana City.
Sec. 5. Other Additions.
See. 6. Union of the Towns.
See. 7. Incorporation.
II. Business Enterprises  323
Vlll

CONTENTS.

Page
III. Religious, Educational and Social. . . 333
Sec. 1. The Episcopal Church.
Sec. 2. The Baptist Church.
Sec. 3. The Christian Church.
Sec. 4. The Catholic Church.
Sec. 5. The Evangelical Association.
See. 6. The Methodist Church.
See. 7. The Lutheran Church.- ,
Sec. 8. The Presbyterian Church.
Sec. 9. Schools.
Sec. 10. Reminiscences.
Sec. 11. Societies and Clubs.
See. 12. Soldiers ' Monument Association.
See. 13. The Press.
Sec. 14. Mishawaka Summary.
IV. Town and City Government  348
CHAPTER XL
THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND.
I. Beginnings of the Town  351
Sec. 1. The Michigan Road.
See. 2. Names given to the Town.
See. 3. The Original Plat of South Bend.
Sec. 4. South Bend the County Seat.
II. The Town Government  356
Sec. 1. The First Incorporation.
Sec. 2. The Second Incorporation.
Sec. 3. The Officials of the Town.
III. The City Government  359
Sec. 1. Officers..'
Sec. 2. Growth — Wards — Population.
Sec. 3. The Special Charter.
Sec. 4. The Municipal Code.
IV. City Improvements  369
Sec. 1. Streets and Sidewalks. '
Sec. 2. Sewers.
Sec. 3. Water Works.
Sec. 4. Fire Department.
Sec. 5. The City Hall.
See. 6. Parks.
V. Business Enterprises  394
Sec. 1. The Studebaker Brothers ' Manu
facturing Company.
Sec. 2. The Oliver Plow Works.
See. 3. The Birdsell Manufacturing Com
pany.
Sec. 4. The Singer Sewing Machine Com
pany.
Sec. 5. The 0 'Brien Varnish Works.
Sec. 6. The Staley Manufacturing Com
pany.
Sec. 7. The South Bend Toy Manufac
turing Company.
Sec. 8. The Knoblock-Heidman Company.
See. 9. The South Bend Chilled Plow
Company.
Sec. 10. The Folding Paper Box Company.
Sec. 11. The South Bend Woolen Company.
See. 12. The Indiana Foundry Company.
Sec. 13. The La Salle Paper Company. *
Sec. 14. The Winkler Brothers Manufactur
ing Company.
Sec. 15. Other Manufacturing Companies.
Sec. 16. Banks.

Page
VI. Religious, Educational and Social . . . 412
Sec. 1. The Methodist Church.
Sec. 2. The Presbyterian Chureh.
See. 3. The Reformed Chureh.
See. 4. The Catholic Church.
See. 5. The Baptist Church.
Sec. 6. The Episcopal Church.
Sec. 7. The Lutheran Church.
Sec. 8. The Evangelical Chureh.
Sec. 9. The Christian Church.
See. 10. Other Churches.
See. 11. The Young Men's- Christian As
sociation.
Sec. 12. The Young Women 's Christian
Association.
Sec. 13. Hospitals.
• See. 14. Hotels.
See. 15. Schools.
Sec. 16. Societies and Clubs.

VII.

The Press . . .

Sec. 1.

The

Pioneer.

Sec. 2.

The

Register.

Sec. .3.

The

Tribune.

See. 4.

The

Times.

Sec. 5.'

The

Sunday News.

Sec. 6.

Other Newspapers.

Sec. 7.

South Bend Summary.

463

CHAPTER XII.
NOTRE DAME AND ST. MARY'S.
I. Father Sorin 's Predecessors  603
See. 1. Pokagon.
See. 2. Stephen Theodore Badin.
See. 3. The Removal of the Indians.
II. The University of Notre Dame  612
Sec. 1, '±ne Congregation of the Holy
Cross.
Sec. 2. At Notre Dame.
Sec. 3. A Hard Winter.
Sec. 4. The First Buildings.
Sec. 5. Early College Years.
Sec. 6. The War Period.
Sec. 7. A Retrospect.
See. 8. The Development of the Univer
sity.
Sec. 9. The Fire.
Sec. 10. The Presidency of the Rev.
Thomas E. Walsh.
Sec. 11. Jubilees.
III. St. Mary's Academy  698
Sec. 1. Three Religious Societies.
Sec. 2. The Sisters at Notre Dame, Mish
awaka, Bertrand.
Sec. 3. The Story of Bertrand.
Sec. 4. At the New St. Mary's.
Sec. 5. In the War for the Union.
Sec. 6. Days of Peace and Growth.
CHAPTER XIII.
TEMPERANCE AND PROHIBITION.
 709

INDEX.

IX

CHAPTER XIV.
MILITARY HISTORY. Page
I. Black Hawk  711
See. 1. St. Joseph County Troops and
Forts.
See. 2. Thomas S. Stanfleld 's Reminis
cences.

Page
II. Other Early Wars  715
III. The War for the Union  716
Sec. 1. Enlistments.
Sec. 2. The Roll of Honor.
Sec. 3. Tne Grand Army of the Republic.
See. 4. The Soldiers ' Monument.

INDEX

Abbott, Everett L., 376.
Abenakis, 28.
Adams, John, 81.
Adelphia, 77.
Adle; Henry A., 967.
Admission of Indiana to Union, 103.
Agricultural Societies, 267.
Albert, Charles, 797.
.Aldrich, William H., 1037.
Algonquin Indians, 37, 48.
Allen County, 160.
AUouez, Father Claude, 20, 21, 22, 39, 41, 43, 57, 603,
604.
Altfield, Max E., 425.
Alward, George H., 182, 359.
Alward, George H., Jr., 888.
Ambrose, Sister, 422.
American Fur Company, 127, 132, 162, 172, 351.
American Hotel, 435.
American Telegraph and Telephone Co., 243.
American Trust Co., 412.
Amm, Leonard, 1026. •
Ancient Order of Hibernians, 462.
Anderson, Andrew, 456, 520.
Anderson, Andrew, Jr., 202.
Anderson, William S., 832.
Andre, Joseph, 358.
Andrew, William, 202.
Andrews, James M., 851.
Angela, Mother, 344, 634, 701.
Anti-Saloon League, 710.
Antrim, Daniel, 313.
Antrim, James P., 200.
Appleby, Madison H., 412.
Armstrong, James, 297.
Arnold, Joseph B., 525.
Arnold, Joseph D., 202.
Arnold, Levi F., 161.
Arson, 97.
Articles of Capitulation (1760), 58.
Articles of Confederation, 79, 80.
Askin, 129.
Asphalt Pavement, 370.
Assenisipia, 75.
Associate Judges, 187.
Associated Charities, 459.
Assumption School, 419, 422.
Astor, John Jacob, 127.
Asylums, County, 216.
Athletics at Notre Dame, 698.
Attorneys, 93.
Attorneys-at-Law, in Indiana Territory, 96.
, Atwood^ Amos T., 949.
Auditor, County, 181.

Auditorium, The, '459.
Auglaize River, 87.
Augustine Lake, 283.
Aukerman, Lewis S., 1006.
Au Sable, Jean Baptiste Point, 129.
Auten, John, 717.
Auten Post, G. A. R., 389, 718, 736; Fortieth Anni
versary, 736; 741; Appeal of, 745; 754.
Auten Relief Corps, 389, 744.
Ave Maria, The, 639.
Avenue Hotel, 440.
Babaugo Creek, 310.
Bachtel, David, 1068,
Bacon, Julia M., 416.
Badin, Father, 604, 629.
Badin, Stephen T., 51, 418.
Baer, Alpheus F., 811.
Baer, John H., 451.
Bailey, Charles E., 1114.
Baird, Thomas D., 409, 456.
Baker, A. D., 558.
Baker, Adam S., 407.
Baker, Bessie A., 453.
Baker, Darwin H., 411.
Baker, George A., 128, 426, 453.
Baker, L. F., 361, 378.
Baker, Wm., 380.
Baltimore and Ohio- Railroad, 239.
Banfil, Francis M., 424.
Banker, John, 191, 195, 199.
Banks of South Bend — State Bank, 409; Bank of
State of Indiana, 410; First National, 410;
South Bend National, 411; St. Joseph County
Savings, 411; St. Joseph Loan and Trust Co.,
412; People's Savings, 412; Citizens '- National,
412; Merchants' National, 412; American Trust,
412; Citizens' Loan, Trust and Savings, 412.
Banner, The Ligonier, 469.
Baptist Church, Mishawaka, 334.
Baptist Church, South Bend, 422, 423.
Barbee's Plat, Mishawaka, 321.
Barber, A. E., 534.
Barker, John G., 365, 388, 857.
Bar Association, 456.
Bartlett, Charles H., 449, 453.
Bartlett, John G.. 565.
Bartlett, David, 144.
Bartlett, Joseph G., 565.
Barrett Law, 370.
Basil, Brother, 626, 671.
Bass Lake, 18, 283.
Bassett, Allen, 184.
Bates, Benjamin A., 844.

INDEX.

Bates, Demas D., 515.
Battell, Joseph, 321.
Battell Park, 321, 346.
Baugo Creek, 291.
Baumberger, Fred, 1146.
Beach, William H., 372.
Beacon, The St. Joseph, 191.
Beal, Archibald, 347, 467.
Beall, Brenton H., 965.
Beall, Daniel W., 972.
Beall, Rayon, 969.
Becher, Jacob, 1141.
Beck, Samuel, 573.
Bedrock, Arched, 12.
Beehler, Adam, 1132.
Beehler, Jacob, 1125.
Beehler, Joseph, 1069.
Beehler, Peter, 1120.
Beemer, Harrison G., 182.
Beiger, Martin V, 790.
Beitner, George B., 453.
Belledin, John, 1072.
Bellinger, William M., 978.
Bells at Notre Dame, 634.
Bennett, Philo, 196.
Bettcher, George A., 988.
Bergan, Joseph, 408.
Bergan, William N., 408, 1147.
Berner's Grove, 315.
Bernhard, Albert, 852.
Berrien County, Michigan, 161.
Bertrand, 45, 47, 130, 151, 699; Story of, 701.
Bertrand, Joseph, 129.
Beulah Chapel, 425.
Beyer, August F., 766.
Beyer, Herman H., 856.
Beyrer, John, 781.
Bicknell, Ernest P., 136.
Biddle, Horace P., 198.
Biddle, William B., 197.
Bierbauer, Ambrosia, 882.
Big St. Joseph Station, 351.
Bigelow, Francis, 642.
Bingham, E. Volney, 524, 722.
Bingham, Newton, 723.
Bird, Andrew, 145.
Bird, John, 144.
Birdsell Clover Huller, Invention of, 401.
Birdsell, Joseph B., 401, 491.
Birdsell, John C, 362, 376, 401, 490, 709.
Birdsell Manufacturing Co., 401, 405, 408.
Birk, George A., 1120.
Birk, George J., 1119.
Birkinbine, John, 373.
Biro, Michael J., 422.
Bissell, Thelus M., 400.
Blackford, Isaac, 104.
Black Hawk, 146, 300.
Blaek Hawk War, 144, 373, 711.
"Black Robes," Nevin's, 604.
Block House on Portage Prairie, 713.
Blowney, Henry J., 716, 809.
"Bluff," The, 14.
Board of Commissioners, 160, 164, 190.
Board of Health, South Bend, 358.
Boards of Justices, lo8, 160, 161, 169, 186, 190.
Boles, James, 792.
Bolin Lake, 277.
Bonaparte, Napoleon, 32.
Bond, Shadrach, 92.

Boner, James, 929.
Boot Jack Cemetery, 734.
Borisowicg, N. G., 545.
Borg, John F., 424, 839.
Bostwick, James G., 549.
Boundaries of County, 177.
Boundary Line, Michigan or Indiana, 107, 620.
Bourget, J., 419.
Bowman Cemetery, 732.
Bowman, David, 874.
Bowman, John L., 855.
Bowman, Joseph, 62.
Bowman, Samuel, 187, 215.
Bowsher, Delevan D., 583.
Bowsher, Jay C, 583.
Bowsher, N. P., 582.
Bowsher, The N. P. Company, 582.
Bowsher, N. P., Feed Mill Mfg. Co., 409.
Bradley, John H., 196.
Bray, Tyra W., 181, 186, 281, 305, 308, 312, 314,
321, 410.
Breehenser, Charles, 864. ,
Bredemus, Kate, 425.
Breen, William P., 651.
Brennaman, Andrew J., 1078.
Brethren Church, 425.
Briber, 97.
Brick, Abraham L., 198, 389, 392, 506, 651.
Bridges Over St. Joseph, 232; Iron, 233.
Brick Pavement, 370.
Brink, James H., 765.
British Occupancy, 59.
Brookfield, William, 157, 162, 173, 175, 183, 185,
276, 303, 355.
Brower, Norman V., 347.
Brown, Chapel W., 191, 195, 199.
Brown, George A., 1064.
Brown, John M., 183.
Brown, William A., 358.
Brown, Rezean, 842.
Brownfield, John, 357, 358, 378, 400, 410, 411, 453
Brownson, OTestes A., 680.
Brummitt, Mark L., 909.
Brusie, Orvillc H., 378.
Brute, Bishop, 22, 52, 126, 610, 612.
Bryant, Alfred, 414, 434, 435.
Bryan, F. A., 568.
Bryce, William K., 422.
Buchheit, Jacob, 804.
Buckley, J. M., 677.
Buechler, Alexander A., 900.
Bugbee, Almond, 384, 393, 554, 709.
Bugbee, Willis A., 426, 453, 585.
Building and Loan Associations, South Bend, 463.
Bulla, Milton V., 186.
Bulla, Thomas P., 146, 186.
Bulla, Vincent S., 1004.
Bulla, William F., 187.
Burial, First, 145.
Burner, Edgar E., 876.
Burnet, Jacob, 91.
Burnett, James, 129.
Burnett, William, 128.
Burns, Albert M., 854.
Burr, Aaron, 102.
Burroughs, Ricketson, 357, 358, 361, 410, 453.
Business College, South Bend, 452.
Business Enterprises of South Bend, 394.
Business Enterprises- of Mishawaka, 323.
Butler, John P., 831.

INDEX.

XJ

Butterworth, William E., 542.
Butterworth, William W., 541.
Butzbach, George, 762.
Byerley, Samuel, 623.
Byers, Andrew, 1155.
Byers, Andrew, Sr., 1155.
Byers, John, 813.
Byers, John A., 861.
Byrkit, Edmund B., 596.
Cady, W. E., 823.
Cahokia, 22, 42, 62, 63.
Cahokias, 37.
Caldwell, Francis M., 588.
Caldwell, John, 377.
Calkins, William H., 197, 456.
Calvert, W. B., 501.
Campbell, Marvin, 407, 411, 556.
Campbell, Myron, 407, 499.
Campbell, Prof. John L., 245.
Campbell's Survey, 245.
Camper, James W., 876.
Camper Tent and Awning Works, 409.
Canada, 58.
Canton, 308.
Carey Mission, 296, 301.
Carlisle, Charles A., 394, 425, 432, 566.
Carlisle, Richard R., 312.
Carpenter, Guy O, 917.
Carrier, Joseph C, 635, 647.
Carrington, Edward, 78.
Carroll, Thomas, 419,- 420.
Cary, Abner, 91.
Case, Carl D., 422, 423.
Case, Gaylord H., 513.
Casey, Patrick H., 1140.
Cass, Albert, 187.
Cass, Lewis, 88, 226, 301.
Cassaday, W. L., 407.
Cassidy, John, 545, 639.
Catholic Church, Mishawaka, 335.
Catholic Church, South Bend, 417.
Catholic Knights of America, 462.
Catholic Order of Foresters, 462.
Cauffman, Jacob E., 1061.
Cauthorn, Henry S., 22.
Cayugas, 37.
Cedar Block Pavement, 369.
Cedar Grove Cemetery, 732.
Cement Sidewalks, 370.
Center Township, 176, 177, 273, 288.
Central Union Telegraph Co., 243.
Cession by Virginia, 73; by Other States, 74.
Chaffee, Walter D., 537.
Chain Bridges, 233.
Chain Lakes, 18, 36, 145, 283.
Chamberlain, Charles, 1056.
Chamberlain, Daniel, 1073.
Chamberlain, Ebenezer, 196.
Chamberlain Lake, 283.
Champlain Epoch, 10.
Chandonai, Charles, 129.
Chandonai, John B., 607, 716.
Chaonanous, 28.
Chapin, Horatio, 172, 194, 356, 410, 414, 453.
Chapin, Marshall P., 410.
Chapman, John B., 194, 195.
Chapman, John P., 918.
Chardon, Father, 605.
Charlevoix, 266.

Charlevoix, on Portage Prairie, 46.
Chase, ira J., 297, 335.
Cheobot, Frank W., 1144.
Chersonesus, 75.
Chestnutwood, Reeee J., 182.
Chicago Fire, 372.
Chicago, Fort, 58.
Chicago Historical Society, 63.
Chicago and Lake Huron Railroad, 238.
Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway, 243,
283.
Chicago River, 21, 24, 32, 46.
Chicago Road, 163, 309.
Chicago, South Bend and Northern Indiana Rail
way, 242, 283.
Chief Logan, 95.
Children's Aid Society, 220.
Children's Orphans' Home, 710.
Chippewas, 37, 90.
Chirhart, Ed S., 1155.
Choral Club, 463.
Chord, Samuel M., 181, 186, 202.
Christ-Church, Mennonite, 425.
Christian, Asa D., 1091.
Christian Church, Mishawaka, 335.,
Christian Church, South Bend, 424.
Christman, H. G., 829.
Christoph, Frank P., 182, 817.
Churches in Greene Township, 278.
Churches in South Bend, 412-425.
Cimmerman, F. M., 786.
Cincinnati, 83.
Circuit Court, 187; First Session, 190; Second Term.
193; Special Term, 196.
Cissne, Robert, 145.
'Cisterns, Covered, 377.
Citizens' Loan, Trust and Savings Co., 412.
Citizens' National Bank, 412.
City Building, Old, 213.
City Charter of 1901, 367, 375.
City Government, Modern, 367.
City Hall, South B'end, 381, 382.
City Improvements, in South Bend, 369.
Civil War, 731.
Civil War Period at Notre Dame, 635.
Clark County, 100, 104.
Clark, Elias V., 181.
Clark, Father, 421.
Clark, George O, 884.
Clark, George Rogers, 22, 42, 58, 59, 70, 84, 86,
95, 160.
Clark's "Memoir," 60, 62.
Clark, Stanley A., 529.
Clark, William, "95, 185, 349.
Clark's Winter Campaign, 65.
Clarke, George E., 198, 389, 516.
Clay, Henry, 605.
Clay Township, 283.
Clear Lake, 19, 150, 283.
Clenny, William, 845.
Cleosophic Literary Society, 449.
Clerk, of Circuit Court, 181.
Cline, John, 1133.
Clubs, South Bend, '452.
Codd, Robert, 859.
Code of 1807, 101.
Cointet, Francis, 604.
Colbert, 23.
Cole, Charles W., 1154.
Colerick, D. H., 194.

Xll

INDEX.

Coles, Theodore S., 196.
Colfax Manufacturing Co., 408.
Colfax, Schuyler, 182, 218, 268, 358, 375, 411, 426,
453, 461, 466, 475, 630.
Colfax, Sch., Jr., 364, 389.
College Buildings, First at Notre Dame, 621.
Collegiate Hall, St. Mary's, 703.
Collins, Charles M., 794.
Colmer Bros., Manufacturers, 409.
Columbian Anniversary, St. Joseph's Church, 421.
Colovin, Patrick J., 653.
Commencement Exercises, Notre Dame, 626.
Commercial-Athletic Club, 458.
Commissioners, First, 169.
Commissioner's Districts, 166, 169, 176, 273.
Common Law, 93.
Common Pleas, Court, 201; First Session, 201.
Community Cemetery at Notre Dame, 733.
Community of Association, 306.
Community Ownership, 101.
Company B, 15th Inf., 719.
Company I, 9th Reg., 718.
Comparet, Francis, 132. 351.
Compton, Hugh V., 147, 912.
Concrete Arch System in Bridges, 233.
Confederacy, Indian, 31.
Conflagration, A Fearful, 325.
Conflagration in 1872, 337, 347.
Connecticut, Claims, 73, 81.
Conner, William H., 996.
Connolly, Peter D., 198.
Conrad, August, 843.
Continental Cadets, 637, 716.
Continental Congress, 80.
Constitution of United States, 80; Ratification
of, 81.
Cook, Frederick J., 794.
Cooney, Peter P., 419. 421, 635.
Coquillard, Alexis, 55, 131, 133, 147, 157, 161, 170,
173, 175, 181, 199, 295, 304, 351, 410, 418, 716.
Coquillard, Alexis, Jr., 383, 387, 476, 622.
Coquillard, Alexis Theo., 314.
Coquillard, Benjamin, 432.
• Coquillard Park. 383.
Corbin, Horace, 202.
Corby, Wm., 420, 635, 641, 692.
Corn Island, 61.
Coroner, The, 184.
Corporations, 78.
Corydon, 96, 103, 104.
Cottrell, Samuel L., 184, 190, 193, 195.
Councilmen at large. 367.
Country Club, St. Joseph Valley, 463.
County Agent,, 162, 174, 183, 206.
County Asylums, 216.
County Board, 186.
County Buildings, 206.
County, First Division into Townships, 272.
County Government, 160, 161.
County of Illinois, 70, 71, 72, 160.
County of Knox, 84, 100.
County Lieutenant, 72.
County Seat, 355.
T'ounty Roads, 235.
County Seat, 157; First, 173; Re-loeation 174, 175,
304, 355.
Coureur dps Bois, 125.
Court, Circuit, 187.
Court House, First, 208; Second, 212; Rearrange
ment of, 214; Third, 215.

Court, Probate, 198.
Court Room, Order for Improvement, 197.
Cover, John A., 839.
Crabill, C. N., 1141.
Crabill, Will G., 519.
Crakes, Lawrence W., 805.
Crawley, James A., 197.
Creed, A. MeMullen, 523.
Creed, Jonathan P., 386, 518.
Creosote Blocks, 370.
Creviston, David B., 185.
Crocker, Charles, 342.
Crocker, Edwin B., 203, 456.
Crockett, Charles E., 509.
Crockett, Elmer, 215, 503.
Crofoot, Henry, 932.
Crogan, George, 132.
Cronbach, Abraham, 425.
Crum, Charles F., 1055.
Crum, Nathaniel H., 1050.
Crum's Point, 13, 45, 46, 47, 283, 310.
Crumstown Cemetery, Soldiers in, 735.
Crusade Movement, 709.
Csepke, Stephen, 424.
Cullar, William O., 1025.
Culver, John M., 449.
Culver, A. B., 378.
Cunningham, Oliver M., 198.
Cushing, Albert H., 774.
Custard, Daniel D., 184.
Cutler, Manasseh, 77.
Cutter, George, 560.
Czyzewski, Valentine, 421.
Dablon, Father Claude, 20, 29, 57, 604.
Dane, Nathan, 77, 78.
Darling, Eratus S., 982.
Daugherty, James, 581.
Davies Shirt Co., 409.
Davies. William O., 818.
Davis, 'C. O., 449.
Davis, James, 197, 202, 467.
Davis, Josephus, 920.
Davis, Terry, 97.
Day, Lot, Jr., 184; 186, 211, 377, 441.
Day, Lot, Sr., 184. 441.
Dayton, Daniel. 184, 305, 307, 358, 361, 453.
Dayton, Hiram, 713.
Deacon Post, G. A. R., 744.
Dean, Edwin R., 494.
Dearborn County, 100, 104.
Deavitt, Albert G., 197, 198.
Debates, Public at Notre Dame, 698.
DeCamp, Henry, 323.
DeCamp, Israel, 184.
Declaration of Independence. 80.
Deed of Cession bv Virginia, 71, 75, 105.
Deer Lake, 283.
Defrees, Anthony, 183, 410, 715.
Defrees, Calvert H., 385, 391, 393, 409, 580.
Defrees, John, 715.
Defrees, John D., 195, 216, 226, 456. 464, 624.
Defrees, Joseph H., 464.
DeGroote, August H., 790.
De Oroote, John F., 421, 577.
Delano, Alonzo, 186.
Delaware, 81.
Delawares, 37.
DeLorenzi, Joseph H., 883.
Delta Hose Co., No. 1, 378.

INDEX.

sin

Deming, Dwight, 187.
Deming', John J., 201, 229, 320, 323.
DeMotte, Mark L., 197.
Denaut, Matthew S., 960.
Denniston, 309.
Denniston, Garrett V., 229.
Deppen, Harrison, 1084.
DeRhodes, James M., 496.
Deschemin Township, 163, 172, 272.
De Seille. Father, 418, 604.
DeSoto, Hernando, 32, 57.
Desplaines River, 10, 32.
Detroit, 38, 42, 47, 58, 59, -83, 86, 125, 127, 132.
De Vaea, Cabeza, 32.
Dibble. Edward F., 201, 202.
Dice, Isaiah L., 876.
' ' Dictionary of Americanisms, ' ' 109.
Dietrich, William B., 842.
Dillon, Historian, 38.
Dillon, Patrick, 638.
Dinnen, John R., 638.
Directory, of South Bend, 470.
District of Louisiana, 94.
Division Street Incident, 238.
Dixon, John, 597.
Dodd, Union, 840.
Dodge Electric Light and Power Co., 331.
Dodge Manufacturing Co., 326.
Dodge, Wallace H., 326, 484.
Dodge, William W., 326, 483.
Dolph, C. A., 781.
Donahue, John, 1086.
Doolittle, Charles W., 877.
"Double Hammer," 624.
Dougherty, James, 184, 187.
Dougherty, Thomas H., 964.
Doughty, George W. E., 906.
Douglas Debating Club, 461.
Dragoon Trace, 47, 132.
Drainage, General in St. Joseph County, 266.
Drapier, Ariel E., 468, 716.
Drapier, Charles E., 349.
.Drapier, William H., 468.
Dresch, Chris A., 550.
Drollinger, Erastus M., 184, 545.
Drulinger, John, 186.
DuBail, Edward F., 772.
DuBois, Bishop, 614.
Duck Lake, 19, 277.
DuComb, ¦ Courtland P., 512.
DuComb, Philip P., 1113.
Duelling, 97.
Duey, Renatus H., 868.
Dugdale, Richard B., 184, 537.
' Dujarie, James F., 612. 698.
Duncker, Henry, 872.
Dunkard Cemetery, 733.
Dunbar, Alvi-n S., 197, 451, 456.
Dunn, B. F., 497.
Dunn, Jacob P., 111.
Dunn, Reynolds, 186, 196.
Dunnahoo, Frank H., 514.
Dunnahoo, Mrs. F. H., 459.
Dunnahoo, Griffin S., 1066.
DuQuesne, Fort, 58.
DuShane, ' James, 449, 453.
Eagle Hose Company No. 2, 378.
Eagle Hotel, 436, 441.
Eagles, Order of, 461/

Early, Charles E., 985.
Early, Isaac, 187, 983.
Eastburn, John, 1109.
Eastern State, The, 79.
Eaton, Edwin D., 1070.
Eaton, Jacob, 187.
Eberhart, Fred G.,-937.
Eberhart, George F., 801.
Eberhart, James C, 184, 938.
Eckler Manufacturing Company, 1156.
Eckler, Henry C, 1156.
Eckman, Joseph, 824.
Eckstein, Jacob, 791.
Eddy, Norman, 378, 456, 722.
Education, 78.
Edwards, James F., 418, 644, 681.
Edwafdsburg, 47, 280.
Eel River, 126.
Egan, Francis, 484.
Egbert, Andrew J., 198.
Egbert, Elisha, 201, 305, 453, 456.
Egbert, John, 183.
Egbert, Lyman C, 896.
Eighty-seventh Inf., 726.
Eikenberry, David, 425.
Elbel, Henry F., 562.
Elder, Thomas, 933.
Eldredge, H. W., 874.
Election. First County, 161.
Electoral College, 80.
Electric Light Plant, South Bend, 401.
Electric Power, Development of, 230.
Elevations, 17.
Elkhart County, 159.
Elkhart River, 12.
Elks Club, 461.
Elks, Order of, 461.
Elliott, George L., 845.
Elliott, Gilbert A., 515.
Elliott, L. A., 347.
Elliot, William G., 461.
Ellis, E. W. H.. 324, 347, 471. •
Ellsworth, Aaron B., 182.
Ellsworth, John O, 886.
Enabling Act, Indiana, 104, 105.
Endley, J. F., 317.
Endley, William A., 317, 980.
Endlich, Charles, 489.
English Literature at Notre Dame, 683.
English. W. H., 22-, 43, 60, 70.
English, William H., 810.
Entail, , 78.
Episcopal Church, Mishawaka, 333.
Episcopal Chureh, South Bend, 423.
Epworth Hospital, 393, 431.
Erb, August, 884.
Ernsperger, John, 187.
Essick, Michael L., 197.
Eucharistie Congress, 696.
Euglossian Literary Society, 449.
European Hotel, 439.
Eutzler. George, 934.
Evangelical Association, 336.
Evangelical Association, First Chureh, 424.
Evangelical Church, South Bend, 424.
Evans, Charles A., 451.
Everts, Gustavus A., 193, 195, 196.
Ewing, David A., 451.
Ewing, Sydenham C, 943.

XIV

INDEX.

Exchange Hotel, 410, 440.
Eyer, Daniel, 446.
Fair Cemetery, Soldiers in, 735.
Fair, John B., 1034.
Fair, Leander, 1036.
Fallize, Michael Ph., 421, 431, -462.
Farmers' Fire Insurance Co., 271.
Farmers' Institute, 271.
Farneman, Lucy, 1086.
Farnsworth, Reuben L., 196, 197, 202, 456.
Fassett, Ann T., 453.
Fassett, Chauncey N., 408, 453, 470, 502.
Fassnacht, Christopher, 408.
Feaser, George W., 751.
"Federalist, The," 82.
Feiten, Eugene A., 891.
Feiten, John, 891.
Feldman, George G., 365, 523.
Fellows, Joseph, 229.
Ferris, Alfred, 933.
Ferris, Nelson, 184.
Ferries, Over St. Joseph River, 231.
Ferries, Regulation of, 92.
Ferrisville Cemetery, Soldiers in, 734.
Ferry, First at South Bend, 171, 440; First Over
St. Joseph River, 132.
Ferry, Public, at Portage, 305.
Fickentscher, Gustav, 470.
Fields, Priseilla C, 1069.
Fields, Stephen, 1069.
Fifth Ward, South Bend, 366.
Finch, Frank J., 805.
Finch, John, 184.
Findlay, James, 91.
Fink, H. A., 532.
Fink, Reuben, 812.
Fire Department of South Bend, 371, 377. •
Fire, Great, in Mishawaka, 345.
Fire at Notre Dame, 656.
Fire of 1865, 442.
Fire Station, Central, South Bend, 380.
Fire Tournament, 378.
First Footprints, 20.
First National Bank, South Bend, 410.
First Through Train, 237.
Fish, Frederick S., 459.
Fish Lake, 19, 283.
Fisher, Joel, 1054.
Fisher, Manuel M., 349.
Fishing Villaee, of Miamis, 39.
Fites, John Wv 834.
Fitzgerald, Thomas J., 951.
Floods, 270.
Flouring Mill, First, 295.
Foe, Frank" H., 987.
Fogarty, Edward J., 365, 751.
Fogle, Christian Ri, 1111.
Fogle, Fannie, 1111.
Folding Paper Box Co., 407.
Folk, George N., 1049.
Folsom, C. G., Stove Co., 409.
Folsom, Charles G, 567. '
Foote, Larmou, 1013.
Ford, George, 197, 198, 202, 401, 453, 508.
Ford, Josephine Oliver, 401.
Fordham, 315.
Forster, Henry, 762.
Forsyth. Robert, 128.
Fort, Building of a, 714.

Fort Chartres, 58.
Fort Crevecoeur, 27.
Fort Dearborn, 129.
Fort Defiance, 87.
Fort Frontenac, 32, 57.
Fort Greenville, 87.
Fort Harmar, 77.
Fort Massac, 62.
Fort Miamis, 24, 28, 32, 40, 58.
Fort Pitt, 59.
Fort Recovery, 87, 93, 106.
Fort Sackville, 69.
Fort Stephenson, 132.
Fort St. Joseph's, 39, 44, 47, 58, 59, 95, 128, 130,
151, 603, 605.
Fort Washington, 83.
Fort Wayne, 38, 58, 125, 127, 132.
Fort William, 127.
Forty-eighth Inf., 724.
Foster, Andrew J., 451.
Foster, Edson, 820.
Foster, James L., 202.
Foster, Robert S., 736.
Fountain, George M., 313, 182, 492.
Fourth Ward, South Bend, 366.
Fowler's Addition, to Mishawaka, 321; H. H.
Fowler's, 322.
Fox River, 21.
Fox, Truman, 184.
Frame, James L, 840.
Frame, Nathaniel, 187.
Francais, Gilbert, 695.
Frank, Charles, 350.. 498.
Frankenberry, Thomas K., 1042.
Franklin, Benjamin, 81.
Franklin County, .104.
Franklin House, 438.
Fraternal Organizations of South Bend, 461.
Fraternities of Mishawaka, 344.
Frazer, James S., 196, 198, 266.
Fredericks, John, 1127.
Fredericks, Joseph A., 1128.
Free Democrat, 347.
Free Methodist Church, Mishawaka, 337.
Free Methodist Church, South Bend, 413.
Free Press, The, 466.
Free Soil Movement, 471.
French Era, 57.
French Revolution, 86.
Freyermuth, George W., 751, 1146.
Frick, Alfred B., 1085.
Frontenac, 23.
Frontenac, Fort, 57.
Fuchs, Christopher, 1105.
Fullerton, Daniel A., 162. 191.
Fuller, Frank L., 1047.
Fulmer, Jacob, 930.
Fulmer, John D., 187, 215.
Fulmer, John H., 929.
Funk, Walter A., 198, 507.
Fur Companies, Great, 127.
Fur Trade, 125; British Policy Relative to, 126.
Putter, Fred P., 879.
Putter. Jacoo, 1134.
Gallagher, John, 779.
Garoutte, Augustus B., 924.
Garrison. James M., 539.
Garwood, Stacy, 144.
Gazette, New Carlisle, 313.

INDEX.

xv

Gazetteer of the St. Joseph Valley, The, 470.
Gearhart, Henry B., 994.
Geltz, William, 847.
Geological Catastrophe, 352.
Geological Map, St. Joseph County, 16.
Geological Report, State, 1886, 2.
George, William G., 197,' 359, 456.
George HI., 126.
Georgia, 81.
" General Court, 95.
Genet, Mr., 86.
German Baptist Brethren, 425.
German Township, 163, 272, 275.
Geyer, Charles F.. 1131.
Geyer, Edmund G., 1009.
Geyer, Robert E., 1003.
Gibault, Father, 22, 42, 63,-66, 84.
Gibson County, 104.
Gibson, John, 95, 103.
Giddings, Mary E., 820.
Giddings, William W., 820.
Girac, Professor, 626, 671.
Glacial Action, 2.
Glacial Drift, 1.
Gladstone, vv. E., 80.
Gladwin, Major, 42.
Glover, George V., 184, 821.
Goetz, Charles L., 389, 409, 768.
Goetz, George, 778.
Goffeney, Martin, 424, 579.
Golden Jubilee at Notre Dame, 697.
Goniec Polski, 470.
Good, John, 1124.
Good's Opera House, 442.
Goodwin, T. A., 110.
Goose Lake, 19, 277.
Goppert, Herman F., 975.
Gorby, S. S., 2.
Gordon, Martin E., 1129.
Gordon, Moses, 1077.
Gorski,' Marion 8., 867.
Gorsuch, Issac, 889.
Grace Chureh, South Bend, 413.
Graham, Archibald, lloo.
Graham, Henry J., 552.
Graham, John A., 800.
Grammar School, South Bend, 450.
Grand Army of the Republic, 215, 463, 707, 735.
Grand Central Hotel, 439.
Grand Jurors (1832), 191. 193.
Grand Trunk Railroad, 237, 283.
Grand View Hotel, 439.
Grange, Felix, 837.
Grange, The, 271, 311.
Granger, 280, 310.
Granger, Alexis, 419, 691.
Grant County, 160.
Grant, Wilfird, 380.
Grapevine Creek, 13, 282.
Gravel Roads, 235.
Graves, William E., 186.
Graveyard, Set Aside in 1831, 174, 175.
Gray Mill, Passing of Old, 285.
Great Miami niver, 94.
Great Sauk Trail, 46, 129, 151, 163, 223, 234, 272,
301, 309.
Green Bay, 21.
Green Bay Route, 24.
Green, Powers, 196, 411, 423.
Greene, C. B., 827.

Greene, Daniel, 140, 453, 559.
Greene, Ezekiel, 185.
Greene, James B., 548.
Greene, Mary L., 145.
Greene, Nathan, 144.
Greene Township, 276.
Greensburg, 308.
Greenville, 155; Treaty of, 87.
Gregori, Luigi, 665.
Grider, Edward, 944.
Griffin, John, 95.
"Griffin," The, 23, 24, 27.
Griffith, John W., 1097.
Griffith, N. B., 412.
Grimes, James F., 551.
Grise, George H., 1129.
Grob, Paul, 1126.
Groff, John, 182.
Grose, Abraham L., 1127.
Grose, Alexander, 1137.
Grotto, The, 675.
Grzesk, Wladyslaw A., 522.
Gurney, Aaron, 197.
Gushwa, William E., 1011.
Guy, Miller, 425, 522.
Habeas Corpus, 78.
Haberle, John B., 869.
Hager, Frank D., 547.
Hager, George L., 827.
HageT, W. A., 532.
Hagerty, Dennis J., 421.
Hagerty, John, 359, 360, 456.
Hailandiere, Bishop, 612.
Hailstorm of 1886, 270, 421.
Hain, Henry E., 867.
Haines, Jesse, 296.
Ham, Levi J., 361.
Hamilton, Alex., 81.
Hamilton Cemetery, 733.
Hamilton, Henry, 65, 69.
Hamilton (see Terre Coupee).
Hammond, Alonzo J., 823.
Hammond, Hilton, 783.
Hammond, Matthew B., 186.
Hammond, Seth, 1041.
Hanbert, Peter, 892.
Hancock, John, 81.
Hanford, W. H., 543.
Hanna, William C, 196.
Hanna, Samuel, 132.
Hanna (Samuel) & Co., 162, 351.
Hannah. William C, 316.
Hans, Otto S., 831.
Harbou, John W, 183, 598.
Hardman, Benjamin, 186.
Hardman, Jacob, 184.
Hardy, Robert, 184.
Harper, Abram R., 232.
Harmar, tren., 84.
Harris, Albert M., 589.
Harris, Jonas, 286.
Harris' Line, 107.
Harris Prairie, 279.
Harris Prairie Cemetery, 733.
Harris Township, 279.
Harrison, Christopher, 104.
Harrison County, 104.
Harrison Mansion, 94.
Harrison, William H., 92, 95.

XV 1

INDEX.

Harrod, William, 62.
Hartman, Jonathan, 1083.
Hartman, John G., 1147.
Hartzell, Frank P., 1153.
Hascall, Milo B., 469.
Hay, John, 185.
Healy, Robert W., 638.
Heaton, Charles M, 358.
Hebrew Cemetery, Soldiers in, 732.
Heid, Paul, 424.
Heimberg, Herman F., 839.
Heiner, L. E., 806.
Heinzman, Andrew, 1040.
Helm, Leonard, 62, 64.
Henderson, Joseph, 202.
Hendricks, Thomas A., 197.
Hendricks, William, 104.
Hen Island, 230.
Hennepin, Louis, 22, 23, 24, 27, 33.
Henrieks, John A., 378, 409, 446, 453, 716.
Henry, G. W., 424.
Henry (of Maryland), 77.
Henry, Patrick, 42, 60, 72, 81.
Herald, The, 469.
Hering, Frank E., 527.
Herzog, August, 759.
Herzog, John A., 760.
Hess, A. S., 808".
Hess, William B., 202.
Heston, Mahlon, 1100.
Hibberd, John A., 526.
Hiekey, Louis A., 888.
Highland Township, 176, 177, 273.
High School, South Bend, 445, 446, 448.
Hildebrand, Jeremiah, 182.
Hill, Jacob W., 538.
Hillier, Samuel A., 570.
Hine, Henry B., 864.
Hiner, L. E., 806.
Hinsdale, Mary L., 449.
Historic Building, A, 215.
Historical Data, 22.
Historical Display, 453. .
Historical Quarters, 455.
Hoban, Martin, 370, 420.
Hoban, Thomas M., 511.
Hodson, Charles L., 1142.
Hoffman, George J., 890.
Holland, William H., 761.
Holler, Charles Ev 709.
Holloway, George, 144, 186.
Holloway, John H., 851.
Holloway, Woolman J., 182.
Hollowell, Ralph S., 1139.
Holly Water Works, 371.
Holman, William S., 469.
Holtzendorff, Henry O, 184.
Holy Trinity Eng. Lutheran Church, 424.
Home, H. N. S., 833.
Home Telephone Co., 244, 565.
Honored Soldier Dead, 740.
Hooper. John, 358.
"Hoosier's Nest," 112.
Hoosier, Title of, 109.
Hooton, Emily J., 913.
Hooton, Francis M., 915.
Hooton, Jacob, 914.
Horine, Phillip G., 1138.
Horticultural Society, 271.
Horse-stealing, 97.

Hose Company No. 3, 378.
Hosford, W. B., 489.
Hosinski, Frank S., 880.
Hospitals, of Sisters of Holy Cross, 708.
Hospitals, South Bend, 431.
Hotel, Calvin Lilly's, 190.
Hotels, in South Bend, 432.
Houghton Post, G. A. R., Roll of Honor, 734, 744.
Houser, Moses G., 1018.
Hovis, W. F., 459.
Howard, Ueorge, 91.
Howard Park, 383, 387, 388, 393.
Howard, Timothy E., 182, 389, 474.
Howard, Thomas M., 182.
Howe, William P., 356.
Hoynes, William, 649, 751.
Hubbard, Arthur L., 389.
Hubbard, Lucius, 135, 198, 299, 309, 360, 411, 453,
456, 520, 651.
Hubbard, Martha O., 453.
Hubbard, Ranson, 186, 410.
Huber, Andrew, 869.
Hudson, Albert, 493.
Hudson Bay Company, 127, 130.
Hudson Cemetery, 734.
Hudson, Daniel E., 640.
Hudson, Father, 684.
Hughes, John, 744, 754.
Hughes, Marshall, 598.
Humane Society, 393, 458.
Humphreys, Louis, 35S, 360, 378, 412, 416, 453.
Hunsberger, Adam, 185, 1151.
Hunt Bros. Wagon and Carriage Works, 409.
Hunt, George S., 559.
Hunt, Franklin W., 305.
Hunt, Herbert, 471.
Hunt, William L, 088.
Huntsinger, Abraham, 709.
Hutchins,. Isaac, 378, 380.
Hurd, Alanson M., 229, 319, 320.
Hurd, Orlando, 186, 323, 324.
Hurlbut, Harrris E., 217.
Huron Basin, Saginaw Bay, 10.
Hurst, Henry, 96.
Iachholtz, John, 1000.
Ice Lobes, Three Great, 10; Maumee or Erie, 10:
Saginaw, 10.
Illinoia, 75.
Illinois, Indians, 28, 37.
Illinois Territory, Formation of, 103.
Immanuel Baptist Church, 423.
Imprisonment, First in State's Prison, from St.
Joseph County, 196.
Imprisonment for Debt, 98.
Impromptu. Club, 460.
Indian Camps, 43.
Independent Order of Foresters, 462.
Indiana Avenue Christian Chureh, 424.
Indiana Boundary Line, 94.
Indiana City, 321.
Indiana Club, 463.
Indiana Courier, The, 470.
Indiana Foundry Co., 408.
Indiana Historical Society, 111.
Indiana Lumber and Manufacturing Co., 408.
Indiana, Name of, 108.
Indiana Railway, 241.
Indiana, Southern Boundary of, 105.
Indiana Territory, 93.

INDEX.

xvn

tnojana Toesin, 347.
Indian Land Titles, 88; to St. Joseph County
Lands, 90.
Indian Titles, 155.
Indians, Christian, 604. '
Indians, Removal of, 607.
Industrial Era, The, 470.
Ingersoll, Philo F., 835.
Ingleright, Andrew J., 985.
Ingram, Andrew, 191.
Interurban Railways (see Street Railways;.
Ipes, Peter W., 349.
Ireland, David A., 389.
Ireland, D. O, 347.
Ireland, John, 186, 196.
Ireland. Samuel J. H., 323.
Iron Bridges, 233.
Iroquois Confederacy, 42, 109.
Iroquois Indians, 21, 27, 29, 37, 47.
Irvin, Israel, 1028.
Irving, Washington, 126.
Ivey, Homer P., 981.
Ivins, Charles, 901.
Jackson, Charles H., 887.
Jackson, Charles S., 1081.
Jackson County, 104.
Jackson, Francis M., 198.
Jackson, Newton, T87.
Jacobs, Charles P., 202.
Jahnke, August E., 880.
Jail, 195; First County, 206; Second, 211; Third,
213; Fourth, 215.
Jakways, William, 914.
Jasouske, Joseph, 1142.
Jay, John, 82.
Jefferson County, 104.
Jefferson, Thomas, 32, 59, 61, 75, 76.
Jennings, James E., 937.
Jennings, Jesse W., 1085.
Jennings, Jonathan, 104.
Jennings, Samuel R., 1071.
Jernegan, Edward A., 505.
Jernegan, Jonathan L., 410.
Jernegan, Joseph L., 194, 196, 198, 416, 456.
Jernegan, Ralph H., 525.
Jesse Coppock Post, G. A. R., 744.
Johannes, Peter, 422.
Johnson, Amasa, 202.
Johnson, Evan C, 184, 358.
Johnson, Henry W., 414.
Johnson Hotel, 440.
Johnson, James M., 422.
Johnson, Lea P., 147.
Johnson", Peter, 135, 172, 196, 211, 356, 432, 434.
Johnson, William S., 77.
Johnson, Zachariah M., 184.
Johnston, Washington, 97.
Joliet, Louis, 21, 23.
Jones, Aaron, 183, 857.
Jones, Elias D., 316.
Jones, Gardner, 626, 679, 684.
Jones, John R., 96. i
Jones, Vitus G., 514.
Jordan, David, 1076.
Joseph Bowen Post, G. A. R., 744.
Jubilees at Notre Dame, 685.
Judges, 92; of Circuit Court, 187.
Julian, George W., 284.
Jungkuntz, Carl, 875.

Juries, of First Circuit Court, 190.
Jurors, 172.
Jury, Territorial, 96.
Just, A. M., 573.
Justices of the Peace, 93.
Kalezynski, George W. J., 470, 505.
Kaley, Joseph, 393.
Kaley Park, 384.
Kamm, Adolph, 594.
Kamm, Schellinger Co., 594.
Kane, Elmer, 1021.
Kankakee Pond, 305.
Kankakee River, 1, 10, 25, 32, 41.
Kankakee, Early Days on, 136.
Kaskaskia, 22, 42, 58, 59, 62, 83, 95; Capture of, 62.
Kaskaskias, 37.
Kauffman, Horace M., 772.
Kean, John, 78.
Keedy, John H., 359.
Keller, Frederick W., 186.
Kelley, Peter, Sr., 1134.
Kelley, W. P., 775.
Kemble, Fred T., 784.
Kerr, Miller F., 850.
Kerr, William F., 804.
Keltner, Josiah G., 846.
Kerner, Jacob F., 380.
Kickapoo, Indians, 21.
Kiefer, Charles E., 1074.
Kimball, Caleb, 375.
Kimball, Caleb A., 411, 500.
Kime, George, 1030.
King, Ben, 287.
King, S. R., 373.
Kingston, 23.
Kinzie, John, 128.
Kinzie, Titus E., 186.
Kirseh, Jacob P. T., 783.
Kish, Joseph, 863.
Kitch, John W., 521.
Kizer, W. 11., 758.
Klein, Peter, 422.
Klingel, John, 446.
Knights of Columbus, 462.
Knights of Pythias, South Bend, 461.
Knights of the Maccabees, 462.
Knoblock, John C, 187. 375, 407, 408.
Knobloek, Otto M., 316, 407, 453, 459, 583.
Knox County, 91; 104, 160.
Kochanowski, Paul, 848.
Koener, Andrew, 816.
Koerth, Adolph, 861.
Koenig, Cnarles, 424.
Kollar, Josiah G., 1078.
Koontz, Samuel, Sr., 954.
Kowalski, F. H., 866.
Kownover, William O, 1089. '
Korpal, Charles V., 808.
Krause, "Charles, 856.
Krieghbaum, Charles M., 509.
Kreighbaum, Hiram W., 425.
Kunstman, Andrew, 555.
Kuss, Fred W., 807. .
Kurtz, George A., 198.
Kyser, Nelson H., 365, 835.
La Coss, Cnarles, 386.
Laetare Medal, Notre Dame, 680.
La Feber, Walter F., 947.

xvm

INDEX.

Lafayette Hotel, 439, 440.
Lafayette Street SeweT, 371.
Lafortune, Antoine, 129.
LaGrange County, 160.
Laidlaw, Edwin C, 927.
Laing, Samuel, 935.
Lake County, 160.
Lake Erie and Western Railroad, 239.
Lake, James, 869.
Lake Maxinkuckee, 8, 45, 47.
Lake Michigan, Southern Bend of, 100.
Lakes, 6; of St. Joseph County, 18.
Lake Shore Railroad, 236, 283, 632.
Lakeville, 19, 280, 314.
Lakeville Cemetery, Soldiers in, 735.
Laline, Jean, 129.
La Mai, 129.
Lambert, Francis E., 518.
Lammedee, Frederick W., 1020.
Lamport, William K., 468.
Lancaster, S. O, 925.
Land Patents, 157.
Land Sales, First, 157.
Lang, Anna, 1149.
Lang, Frederick, 185.
Lang, Herman F., 860.
Lang, Mathias, 1149.
Lang, Otto E., 595.
LaPierre, A. M., 358.
LaPierre, Louis S., 536.
LaPorte County, 160.
LaSalle, 18, 21, 23, 29, 57, 58, 95, 217, 291, 603.
LaSalle Avenue, 132.
LaSalle Paper Co., 408.
LaSalle Park, 384, 388, 389.
Lasly, John D., 162, 184.
Lauth, Peter, 578.
Law School, Notre Dame, 648.
Lawton, Henry W., 389."
Leclaire, Antoine, 128.
Lehman, Noah, 182.
Lederer, John N., 187, 215, 584.
Lee, Richard H., 78, 81.
Leeper, David R., 363, 432.
Leeper Island, 130.
Leeper Park, 131, 384, 389.
Leeper, Samuel, 389.
Leer, Delmar O, 591.
Leer, Henry, 764.
Leggett, Joseph, 1008.
Legislature, First of Indiana, 100.
Legras, Col. J. M. P., 72.
Lemennier, Augustine, 652.
Leonard, John W., 931.
Lerner, John, 1091.
L'Etourneau, Louis J., 420.
Leroy, Myron D., 942.
Leslie, George H., 186.
Leveque, E., 419.
Lewinski, Konstantine, 885.
Lewis, Henry G. W., 408.
Liberty Township, 281.
Library, County, 158.
Library, Public, South Bend, 456, 455.
Licenses, Early Business, 172.
Light Guards. South Bend, 751.
Lilly, Calvin,'l72; His Hotel, 190; 199, 208, 226, 432
Lilly, Father, 671.
Lilly's Tavern (see Calvin Lilly), 433.
Lincoln Township, 290.

Linden Avenue Christian Church, 425.
Lindley, 283, 311.
Lindsay, John F., 181.
Lindsey, John T., 410.
Lindt, Harriet L., 552.
Linebaek, Jonathan, 1114.
Lister, Sorden, 286, 361.
Liston, J. A., 191, 194, 456.
Little Lake, 19.
Little Turtle, 38, 102, 155.
Lockwood, Francis W., 530.
Log House, The, 139; First Hewed, 146.
Lohr, Eugene F., 449.
Long, Andrew H., 184.
Long, Enos E., 526.
Longenecker, Zachary T., 1124.
Longley, William H., 362, 407.
Lontz, Samuel O, 587.
Lonzo, Joseph O, 871.
Loreto., Chureh of Our Lady of, 703.
Losantiville, 83.
Lotteries, 98.
Lotz, Dumont, 449.
Loughman, George W., 183, 362.
Louis XIV., 23.
Louisiana, 32, 55.
Lowell, 366.
Lowell Heights, 12, 14.
Lowell Heights M. E. Church, 413.
Lowry, Franklin E., 1093.
Lowry, Robert, 196.
Lucas, Robert F., 1152.
Luers. John Henry, 635.
Lundy, Harry A., 1152.
Lutheran Cemetery, Soldiers in, 735.
Lutheran Chureh, South Bend, 424.
Lydick, H. Wilson, 1065.
Lynch, William F., 637, 716.
Lyon, Richard H., 285, 306, 315, 453, 468, 498.
Lyons, Joseph A., 640, 643.
MaeDonald, Frank E., 592.
Mack, William, 411, 814.
Maekibbin, Stuart, 389, 449, 453, 1152.
Mackinac, 57.
Mackinac Island, 21.
Mackinaw, 125.
Mackinaw Company, 127.
"Madison's Debates," 82.
Madison, James, 81, 82.
Madison Township, 289; Rural High School, 290.
Mahingans, 46.
Main, John, 812.
Malloy, Edward, 469.
Mangus, Dayton D., 1094.
Mangus, Levi, 1013.
Mann, James A.. 356.
Manning, Ulysses G., 461, 852.
Manual Labor School, 630.
Maple Grove Cemetery, Soldiers in, 733.
Maple Grove Church, 278.
Maps, Ancient, 38.
Marble, Orson, 1060.
Marciniak, R. A., 422.
Marciniak, Roman, 577.
Marker, Jacob, 1117.
Marquette, James, 20, 23, 24, 57, 217, 603.
Marriage, First, in Greene Township, 145.
Marsh, Daniel S., 467.

INDEX.

xix

"Marshall Day," 457.
Marshal, of South Bend, 358.
Maryland, 81.
Martin, Fred W., 365, 832.
Martindale, John, 186.
Mascouten, Indians, 21; Village of, 27.
Mason, George, 61.
Masonic Lodges, South Bend, 461.
Massachusetts, Claims, 73, 81.
Massey, John, 356.
Mather, Joseph H., 196.
Matthews, Claude, 124, 198.
Matthews, George W., 181, 182, 216, 217, 412.
Matthews, Jonathan, 408.
Matthews Steam Boiler Works, 408.
Maudlin, Edward L., 899.
Maumee, Rapids of, 86.
Maumee "River, 21, 40, 42, 58, 87.
Maumee Towns, 87.
Maurer, G. Albert, 790.
Mayr, Frank, 387.
Mazeppa Hose Co. No. 5, 378.
McAllister, Elbert W., 538.
McCartney's Creek, 1.
McCartney, William, 191, 195, 295, 305, 306.
McCarty, Charles E., 184, 955.
McCarty, Charles E., 184.
McCarty, Benjamin, 184.
McClellan, H., 833.
McCombs, Lambert, 161, 830.
McCoy, Isaac, 301.
McDonald, Charles A., 453, 469, 504.
McDonald, Daniel, 48.
McDonald, S. M., 548.
McDonald, William, 1062.
MeEnderfer, Allen, 1016.
McEndarfer, B. F., 995.
McErlain & Elbel Cigar Box Manufacturers, 409.
McHenry, Arthur O, 425.
McHenry, W. K., 591.
Mellvaine, W., 424.
Memery, William A., 365, 510.
MeLelland, John T., 185.
MeMiehael, John A., 796.
McMiehael, William C, 182.
McWeeny, James, 365, 828.
Medical Society of Northern Indiana, 455.
Meighan, John F., 198, 364.
Membre, Zenobe, 25, 28.
Memorial Day, 745.
Memorial Hall, Bishops', 681.
Menominee Village, 48, 51, 55.
Merchants National Bank, 412.
Merrifield, George, 347.
Merrifield, Jacob, 451.
Merritt, A. B., 358.
Mesnard, Father, 20.
Methodist Episcopal Chureh, at South Bend, 213,
297; at Mishawaka, 336.
Methodist Church, South Bend, 412.
Metropotamia, 75.
Mexican War, 716, 731.
Miami, Indiana, 21, 47, 48, 84, 88; Village of, 18,
27; 28, 37, 44, 309; Treaty with, 29; 38, 39.
Miamis, River of, 20, 21, 24, 25.
Michael, Walter, 799.
Michigan Air Line Railroad, 237.
Michigan Boundary Line, 90.
Michigan, Southern Boundary of, 100.

Michigan Central Railroad, 237.
Michigan Hotel, 434, 435.
Michigan Road, 156, 235", 351.
Michigan Street M. E. Chureh, 413.
Michigan Territory Formed, 100.
Michigan Township, 163, 172, 177, 272.
Michigania, 75.
Michdlimaekinac, 21, 23, 24, 42, 43, 57, 59.
Middle State, The, 79.
Mikesell, vJharles W., 1059.
Milburn Chapel, 413.
Milburn, lieorge, 343, 400, 717.
Milburn Wagon Company, 325.
Military Company, First in Civil War, 717.
Military History, 711.
Military Organizations, South Bend, 463.
Military Posts, French, 57.
Militia, 93.
Miller, Aaron, 184.
Miller, Alfred B., 219, 467.
Miller, Allen G, 540.
Miller, Benjamin F., 184, 202, 358.
Miller, David B., 169, 819.
Miller, Frederick A., 468, 510.
Miller, Hiram, 185.
Miller, Isaac N., 187, 215, 751, 893.
Miller, Loren C, 1065.
Miller, John C, 184.
Miller, John F, 215, 720.
Miller, Joseph, 761.
Miller, Solomon, 185.
Miller, William, 215, 372, 374, 411.
Miller, William C, 1080.
Mills, W. F, 530.
Minims, The, at Notre Dame, 672.
Mintle, Henry S., 317.
Miranda, William F., 976.
Mishawaka, City of, 319; Plat of Town, 321; First
Town Incorporation, 323; Business Enterprises,
323.
Mishawaka Democrat, 347.
Mishawaka Enterprise, 347.
Mishawaka Public Utility Company, 331.
Mishawaka Rapids, 229, 320.
Mishawaka, Seal of, 349; Officials, 349; Census, 350.
Mishawaka Toesin, 346.
Mishawaka Water Works Company, 331.
Mishawaka Woolen Manufacturing Company, 325.
Missionaries, Early, 126; First, of Methodist
Church, 297.
Mississippi River, 10, 21.
Mitchell, H. F., 534.
Mitchell, Joseph A. S., 150, 198.
Mitehigamias, 37.
Mix, Melville W., 331, 349, 487.
Mizpah Church, 424.
Mochel, Martin J., 1130.
Modern Woodmen, 463.
Moench, Louis A., 5/9.
Mohawks, 37.
Mohegans, 28, 37.
Molloy, Emma F., 709.
Momence, 12.
Momence Rock, Removal of, 258.
Montbrun, Timothy de, 73.
Monroe, James, 81.
Monson, Albert, 185, 358.
Montgomery, Hugh T., 1, 9, 184, 364.
Montgomery, John, 62.

XX

INDEX.

Montreal, 41, 57, 58.
Moon, Calvin, 451, 557.
Moon, George E., 934.
Moon, Solomon, 930.
Moore, David, 807.
Moore, jerry 'F., 871.
Moore, John, 1100.
Moore, Maria, 1104.
Moore, Robert, 1103.
Moore, W. S., 795.
Moraines, 9.
Moreau, Basil A., 612, 705.
Morgan, Henry C, 763.
Morrison Hotel, 439.
Morrissey, Andrew, 694.
Morse, Abner, 305, 307.
Morse, E. A., 558."
Morss, Meltire M., 1068.
Morss, William A., 1062.
Morton, Oliver P., 716.
Mossey, Joseph E., 865.
Mound Builder, 22, 34, 44, 45, 283.
Mt. Olive A. M. E., 413.
Mount Pleasant, 18, 29, 45, 308.
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Soldiers in, 733.
Mount Zion Baptist Chureh, 423.
Moyer, Theodore P., 552.
Mueha, L. M., 1150.
Mud Lake, 19, 283.-
Mueller, Frederick W., 590.
Muessel, Adolph J., 563.
Muessel, Edward, 562.
Muessel, George C, 1157.
Muessel, Walter G., 563.
Muessel, William, 563.
Munhall, L. W., 425.
Municipal Code, 367, 375.
Municipal Ownership, 372, 377.
Murphy, Frank J.. 827.
Murray, Charles L., 469, 709.
Murray, Charles' T., 469.
. Muskingum, 77.
Musquito Glen, 233.
Muster Roll, Original, of Co. I, Ninth Regiment,
718.
Myers. Cornelius H., 184, 536.
Myers', John H., 758.
Myler, Martha E., 834.
Myler, Robert, 183.
Myler, Town, 366.
Napoleon, 59.
Narragansetts, 37.
Natchez, 58.
National Hotel, 439, 441.
National Union, 469.
Navarre, Pierre, 130, 295. '
Nave, Pliny, 883.
Navigation of St. Joseph River, 224.
Neff. Isaac E., 449.
Neffi Joseph E., 764.
Neitzel, Barnhart H., 828.
Nelson, James, 821.
New Carlisle, 301, 312.
New Carlisle Collegiate Institute, 313.
New Carlisle Cemetery, 733.
Newcomer, William, 1017.
Newcomer, W. F., 1018.
New England System of County Government, 160.

New France, 58.
New Hampshire, 82.
New Jersey, 81.
New Jersey, Indiana and Illinois Railroad, 240.
New Orleans, 58.
New York, Claims, 73, 81, 82.
News, The Sunday, 470.
Newspapers, of South Bend, 463.
Neyron, Louis, 418, 604. 639,
Niblack, Arthur O, 849.
Nicar, Edwin, 182, 365, 375, 378, 389, 569, 743, 751,
753.
Nicar, Robert B., 185.
Nicar, Virginius, 779.
Nicholson, Meredith, 109.
Nicoles', Samuel J., 317, 957.
Niedbalski, Vincent, 881.
Niezgodzki. John T., 848.
Niles, Henry G, 408, 594.
Niles, John B., 196, 197.
Ninth Regiment, 717.
Nixon, James, 162.
Noble, Noah, 193, 195, 200.
Norman Eddy Post, G. A. R., 745.
North Carolina, Claims, 73, 81, 82.
North Liberty, 19, 281, 313.
North Liberty Cemetery, Soldiers in, 735.
North Liberty Herald; 314.
North Liberty News, 314.
Northern Indiana Agricultural Society, 269.
Northern Indiana Historical Society, 1, 36, 128, 131,
146, 212, 215, 338, 341, 351, 386, 452, 453.
Northwest Company, 127.
Northwest Indianian, 314.
"Northwestern Pioneer and St. Joseph's Intelli
gencer," 110, 211, 227.
Norton, Frank A., 451.
Notre Dame Lakes, 14, 18, 40, 284, 603, 605.
Notre Dame University, 20, 603, 612; First Build
ings, 621; 671.
Notre Dame University. Early Years, 625; in the
War, 635.
Notre, Dame Post, G. A. R., 745.
Noyes, Daniel, 198, 202.
Nutwood, 216, 289, 312.
O'Brien, Patrick, 215, 362, 376, 402, 554.
O'Brien' Varnish Works, 402, 554.
O'Connell, Father, 684.
Odd Fellows, South Bend, 461.
Oechtering, Auguste B., 335.
Ohio Company, 77.
Ohio Line, 107.
Ohio, River, 10, 57.
Old Dominion. 70, 73.
Old Settlers, 19.
Old Settlers, Reunions, 150.
dinger, John, 187.
Olive Chapel Cemetery, Soldiers in, 733.
Olive Township, 273, 295; Only Fort In, 300.
Oliver Chilled Plow Company, 230.
Oliver Chilled Plow Works. 371.
Oliver Hotel, 369; First, 442; New, 442, 443.
Oliver, James, 342. 343, 382, 393, 400, 481.
Oliver, Joseph D., 215, 401.
Oliver Opera House, 459.
Oliver Plow Works, 400.
Oliver. Robert, 91.
One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Inf., 728.

INDEX.

xxi

One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Inf., 751.
One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Inf., 726.
One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Inf., 728.
Oneidas, 37.
0 'Neill, William P., 347,' 1154.
Onondagas, 37.
Orange County, 104.
Order of Patricians, 463.
Ordinance Boundary Line, 107.
Ordinance of 1787, 75, 78, 80, 93; Six Articles of,
78.
Oren, William H., 185.
Orphans' Home, 220.
Orr, John H., 229, 320.
Orr, Joseph G., 363.
Osborn, Andrew L., 197.
Osborn, George' A., 543.
Ort, Henry, 788.
Osceola, 294, 309, 310.
Ostrom, C. A., 801.
Ottawas, 37, 90.
Ouiatanon, Indians, 65.
Ouiatanon, Fort, 58.
Ouiaton, Village of, 27 .
Outagamies, 28, 46.
Our Lady of Peace, 707.
Owen, W. L., 536.
Owls, Order of, 463.
Packard, Jasper, 727.
Palestine, SuO, 308.
Palmer Prairie Cemetery, Soldiers in, 733.
Palmer, Emberson, 1088.
Palmer, Orlando H., 426.
Palmer Prairie, 288.
Palmer, Solomon W., 184.
Papezynski, John W., 365, 872.
Paper, First Made in South Bend, 408.
Parett, John H., 936.
Parke, Benjamin, 96, 97, 101.
Park Commissioners, 387.
Park, First in South Bend, 386; Story of a, 386.
Parkman, Francis, 22.
Parkovash, The, 43, 45, 47, 128, 129, 383.
Parks, Isaac K, 885.
Parks of South Bend, 383.
Parks, Norman E., 596.
Parochial School, Lutheran, 424.
Parrett, R. J., '425.
Parsons, Samuel H., 77, 83.
Partridge, Joel M., 528, 744.
Pattee, Cyrus E., 522.
Patteson, William H., 182, 186, 357, 358.
Paul, John, 104.
Paul, Lewis, 952.
Paul, Professor, 671.
Paxson, Edward E., 547.
Pearse, Leonard S., 999.
Pearse, Wakefield N., 1001.
Peffley, Ephraim H., 1039.
Pelisipi, 75.
Peninsular Ranroad, 238.
Pennsylvania, 81.
Penn Township Cemeteries, Soldiers in, 734.
Penn Township, 273, 291. *
People's Savings Bank, 412.
Peorias, 37.
Peppermint Industry, 291.
Pequods, 37.

Perkins, Frank G., 492.
Perkins Wind Mill Company, 326, 492.
Perley, Samuel S., 387, 393, 561.
Perrin, Earl R., 780.
Perrot, Nicholas, 20, 29, 57.
Perry County, 104.
Petit, Benjamin Marie, 52.
Petit, Father, 603.
Pfeiffer, Edward, 870.
Philadelphia Industrial Association, 306.
Phillips, D. G., 197.
Phillips, Wilnam H., 938.
Phillips, W. R., 782.
Philon, Albert J., 793.
Piano, First Brought into County, 342.
Pickett, Edwin, 186.
Pidge, Mrs. R. J., .297.
Pierson, George, 196.
Pigeon Roost, 54.
Pillory; 92, 98.
"Pilot" Steamboat, 232.
Pinckney, Charles, 77.
Pineda, Alonzo de, 32.
Pine, Leighton, 372,- 375, 402, 564, 751.
Pine, Milton B., 776.
Pinhook, 307.
Pioneer, The, etc., 464.
Place, Dixon W., 187, 316.
Place, Ira F., 941.
Plainfield, 300, 301, 308.'
Plank Roads, 235.
Plat of Mishawaka, 321.
Plat, Original, of South Bend, 352.
Platz, John, 837.
Platz, Noah F., 425.
Pleasant Lake, 19, 280.
Plymouth, 164. '
Plymouth Township, 274.
Poehlman, Godfrey L., 584.
Pokagon, Chief, 130.
Pokagon, Simon, 605.
Pokagon 's Village, 45, 47, 151, 605.
Polke, William, 236.
Polypotamia, 75.
Pomeroy, Grove, 144.
Pontiae, 64, 102.
Pontiac's War, 42.
Poor, Joshua, 977.
Portage, The, 20, 21, 45, 173, 175.
Portage of the Kankakee, 43.
Portage of the St. Joseph, 24, 25, 26.
Portage Prairie, 18, 45, 383, 603.
Portage Township, 163, 176, 272, 273, 295.
Portage Village, 231, 304.
Porter Cemetery, Soldiers in, 735.
Porter County, 160.
Porter, John R., 190, 191.
Port Huron & Lake Michigan R. R., 238.
Posey County, 104.
Posey, Thomas, 103.
Postal Telegraph Co., 243.
Postoffice, at Mishawaka, 321.
Post Printing, Co., 471.
Post, The South Bend, 471.
Pottawatomie Park, 270, 315, 384.
Pottawatomies, 28, 37, 38, 39, 45, 55, 88, 90, 132,
155, 135; Removal of, 48; Village of, 44.
Pottawatomie Trail, 47.
Potter, Jerome, 825.

XX11

INDEX.

Pound, 169.
Pourre, Don Eugenio, 43.
Powhatans, 37.
Presbyterian Church, Mishawaka, 337.
Presbyterian Church, South Bend, 414.
President Judge, 187.
Presidents of Notre Dame, 695.
Press, of South Bend, 463.
Price, Benjamin F., 357, 358, 411.
Price, William H., 1056.
Price's Theatre, 213, 382.
Primogeniture, 78.
Probate Court, 198; First Term, 199; Seal, 200, 202;
Second Term, 200.
Progress Olub, 460.
Progress, The, 645.
Prohibition Alliance, 710. ,
Prohibition Party, 709.
Prophet, The, 102.
Prophet's Town, 102.
Protsman, John O, 349.
Proud, James, 921.
Proud, Hurtain, 903.
Proudfit, Louis, 928.
Provoncille, Alexis, 196.
Public Cisterns, South Bend, 371.
Putnam, Rufus, 77.
Purucker, A. J., 859.
Pyle, Daniel, 461.
Quebec, 41, 57.
Queen City of St. Joseph Valley, 351.
Quincy Street Baptist Church, 423.
Quindre, Deneau, 129.
Quirk, Frank J., 959.
Raccoon Village, 45.
Raff, F. O, 882.
Railroads 236; Lake Shore, 236; Grand Trunk,
237; Michigan Air Line, 237; Michigan Cen
tral, 237; Port Huron & Lake Michigan, 238;
Peninsular, 238; Chicago & Lake Huron, 238;
Lake Erie & Western, 239; Baltimore & Ohio,
239; Vandalia, 239; Three I, 239; Wabash,
239; N. J., I. & L, 240.
Railroad Accidents, 240.
Randolph County, 71, 100.
Randolph, John, 100.
Randolph, Thomas, 97.
Ranstead, Henry B., 911.
Rape, 97.
Rausch, Fred, 424.
Ray, James B., 161, 193, 200.
Ray, Martin M., 194.
Reading Room and Library Association, South Bend,
459.
Ream, Charles, 815.
Reaves, John M., 1053.
Reaves, Peter H, 187, 215, 1044.
Recorder, County, 181, 182.
Red Men, Order of, 463.
Reed, Josiah P., 182.
Reeves, Charles H., 456.-
Reformed Chureh, South Bend, 417.
Register, St. Joseph Valley, 197, 213, 218, 466.
Reilly, John, 92.
Reinhardt, Benjamin F., 939.
Relief Hook and Ladder Co., 378.
Re-location of County Seat, 173.

Reminiscences, 140.
Rennoe, A., 184, 535.
Reservations, Indian, 88.
Revolutionary War, 731.
Revolutionary War, Two Soldiers of, 715.
Reynolds, Ed B., 509.
Reynolds, James, 904.
Reynolds, Mrs. Jennette^ 393.
Rhode Island, 81, 82.
Ribourde, Father Gabriel de la, 25.
Rice, P. J., 425.
Richard, Gabriel, 605.
Riehter, John C, 198.
Riddle, Alexander, 1057.
Riddle's Lake, 19, 280, 314.
Riddle, W. Harrison, 1051.
Riley, James W., 124, 716.
Rilling, James H., 424.
Ritter, Frank, 1136.
River Park M. E. Chureh, 413.
River Park, 315.
Riverview Cemetery, Soldiers in, 732.
Rivers, of St. Joseph County, Improvement of,
223; Navigation of, 224; Electric Power Devel
opment, 230.
Rixa, Alexander, 184.
Roach, Martin J., 766.
Road District, 161.
Roads, 234; Vistula, 234.
Roberts, Hanford, 811.
Roberts, James H., 1140.
Robertson, John D., 196.
Robinson, Samuel M., 773.
Robinson, Schuyler C, 184.
Rocheblave, Mr., 62, 70.
Rockhill, William D., 187.
Roekstroh, George, 184.
Roher, Joseph, 169.
Rogers, Frank, 854.
Rogers, Oliver P., 928.
Roland, Joshua, 92.
Rollins, Thomas H., 872.
Romig, Iden S., 461.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 70.
Roper Furniture and Carpet Company, 332.
Roper, Jamesi A., 495.
Rose, David, 1063.
¦Rose, Rufus, 360.
"Rose Grade," 369.
Ross, George P., 945.
Ross, Silas A., 1051.
Ross, William O., 194.
Roster of Auten Post, 736.
Rostiser, Louis A., 846.
Roth, John, 770.
Round Table Club, 460.
Routes of Travel, 20.
Row, Albert O., 802.
Row, Vvilham O, 858.
Royal Arcanum, 463.
Rudduck, Isaac. 145.
Rudduck, James H., 1043.
Rudduck, John, 144.
Rum Village, 11, 34.
Rupel, Jacob, 144.
Rupel, Bazel, 841.
Rupel, Charles O., 1033.
Rupel, Chord S., 1043.
Rupel, David E., 968.

INDEX.

xxm

Rupel, Dennis W., 973.
Rupel, E. B., 873.
Rupel, Elias, 600.
Rupel, Elisha H., 1086.
Rupel, Jacob, 316.
Rupel, John, 144.
Rupel, John N., 990.
Rupel, Osborn, 848.
Rupel's Lake, 19, 288.
Rural High School, 290.
Rush, Leonard B., 184.
Russ, Charles, 870.
Russ, Marion B., 187, 215, 788.
Ryder, James W., 1053.
St. Bavo's Chureh, Mishawaka, 336, 575.
St. Casimir's Chureh, 420, 421.
St. Clair, Arthur, 82, 83.
St. Clair County, 100.
St. Edward's Day, 643.
St. Hedwige's, Mother Church of, 420, 421.
St. Ignaee, Point, 21, 57.
St. James Episcopal Church, 423.
St. Joseph and Southern Railroad, 239, 283.
St. Joseph's Academy, 422.
St. Joseph Beacon and Indiana and Michigan In
telligencer, 244, 465.
St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 417.
St. Joseph County Agricultural Society, 269.
St. Joseph County Bar Association, 456.
St. Joseph County Farmers Fire Insurance Co., 324.
St. Joseph County Federation, Catholic Societies,
462.
St. Joseph County Medical Society, 456.
St. Joseph County Mutual Fire Insurance Co., 323.
St. Joseph County, Organization of, 157; attached
territory, 158, 159; Boundaries of, 177.
St. Joseph County Republican, 317.
St. Joseph County Savings Bank, 411.
St. Joseph Fire Company, 377.
St. Joseph's Hospital New, 431.
St. Joseph Hotel, 438; Second, 440; The Old, 441,
442.
St. Joseph Iron Works, 229, 319, 320, 323, 620.
St. Joseph Loan and Trust Co., 412.
St. Joseph Manual Labor Collegiate Institute, 305.
St. Joseph Manufacturing Co., 320.
St. Joseph River, Navigation of, 224; Water Power
of, 229; Electric Power from, 230; First Bridge
Across, 320; First Dam Across, 320, 357; Origin
of, 13; 24, 41, 58, 65.
St. Joseph's, Settlement, 135.
St. Joseph's, Station, Big, 132; Little, 132.
St. Joseph Street, 433.
St. Joseph, Town, 303.
St. Joseph Valley Medical Society, 456.
St. Joseph Valley Register, 197, 213, 218.
St. Joseph's, Village, 352."
St. Louis, 58.
St. Mary's Academy, 20, 431, 603, 633, 698; The
New, 705; in the Civil War, 707.
St. Mary's Chureh, 420, 421.
St. Mary's of the Lakes, 603.
St. Patrick's Church, 420, 421.
St. Paul's Church, 393.
St. Paul's Memorial Chureh, 414.
St. Stanislaus' Chureh, 420, 421.
St. Stephen's Church, 420, 421.
"St. Vincennes," 94, 95.
Saered Heart Church, 420, 421, 696.

Sacs and Foxes, 37, 46.
Sample Street Bridge, 233.
Sample, Samuel C, 194, 195, 196, 198, 410.
Sandilands, Alexander, 323.
Sanger, S. F., 425.
Saratoga, 75.
Sargent, Winthrop, 82, 84.
Sarle, Cora D., 809.
Sault de St. Marie, 20, 57.
Schaefer, W. B., 776.
Schafer, Charles L., 1099.
Schafer, David B. J.,, 363, 599.
Schafer, David J., 184.
Schafer, Fred K, 836.
Schellinger, Nicholas, 595.
Schenk, William O, 91.
Scherer, Joseph, 421, 573.
Sehiffer, E. A., 781.
Sehiffer, Herman, 803.
Schindler, John J., 349, 497.
Schmidt, Joseph, 786.
Schoek, Harry G., 511.
Scholastic, The Notre Dame, 645, 646.
School District, 161.
School Examiner, 451.
School, First Catholic for Larger Boys, 420.
Schools, in South Bend, 445.
Schools of Mishawaka, 337.
Schrader, Charles C, 992.
Schutt, Ross K., 787.
Scientist, First Church of Christ, 425.
Scott, James, 97.
Seal of County, 170, 182.
Seal of City of Mishawaka, 349.
Seal, of Probate Court, 200.
Seal, Circuit Court, 194.
Seaman, J. B., 928.
Seixas, Theodore J., 411, 412.
Seminary, County, 168, 217, 424, 445, 446.
Senecas, 37, 42.
Service, 92.
Seventeen States, From Northwest Territory, 75.
Seventy-third Inf., 724.
Seven Years War, 41.
Sewers, South Bend, 370; First in South Bend, 370.
Shafer, Lemen, 1107.
Shanklin, Robert, 539.
Shaw, David A., 797.
Shawe, Father St. Michael, 626, 683.
Shawnees, 37.
Shea, John G., 22, 680.
Shea, Michael O, 793.
Shearer, Frederick, 1143.
Shearer, William H., 1135.
Sheerer, C. Henry, 185.
Sheffield, E. S., 358.
Sheffield Creek, 285.
Sheffield Mill, 285.
Shenefield, Berton C, 1135.
Sheneman, Henry, 1024.
Sheneman, John A., 1010.
Sheneman, Washington A., 1015.
Sheneman, Zachariah, 1023.
Sheridan Hotel, 440.
Sheriff, The, 183.
Sherland, Matilda, 145, 146.
Shetterly, Isaac, 1102.
Shidler, Adam W., 1097.
Shimp, Jacob, 1089.
Shimp', John M., 1092.

XXIV

INDEX.

Shimp, William D., 182.
Shively, Benjamin F., 135, 365, 471, 512, 751.
Shortis, Father, 626.
Sibley, A. P., 553, ¦
Sibley, Irving A., 388, 873.
Sibrel, Irving, 380.
Sidewalks, South Bend, 369.
Siders, John, 287.
Siders' Mill, 285.
Siefer, John, 1108.
Siek, Henry, 424.
Singer Sewing Maeine Co., 402.
Singler, Frank J., 824.
Singler, John M., 822.
Slaughterbeck, Charley L., 1090.
Slave Case, Our, 203.
Slavery, 76, 77, 78, 79, 98; as Known in Indiana,
202.
Slick, Thomas J., 877.
Slick, Thomas W., 198, 517.
Slough, Peter, 1106.
Slusser, Edward M., 1074.
Small-pox, in South Bend, 358.
Smith, Adam, 161.
Smith, Alfred, 878.
Smith, Alexander, 1082.
Smith, Barney C, 187, 215, 863.
Smith, Elias, 323."
Smith, G. Scott, 860.
Smith, Henry M., 948.
Smith, Jonathan J., 1079.
Smith, Levi A., 1015.
Smith, Wm., 380.
Smith, William D., 183.
Smith, W. H., 88.
Smith and Jackson Lumber and Manufacturing
Co., 409.
Snavley, William, 358.
Snethen, Isaac T., 946.
Snyder, Amos, 1123.
Snyder, Jacob C, 798.
Societies, Agricultural, 267.
Societies and Clubs, Mishawaka, 344.
Societies and Clubs, South Bend, 452.
Soils, 17.
Sokel Polski, 463.
Soldier Dead from Olive Township, 733.
Soldiers in Southern Graves, 733.
Soldiers Monument, 390, 751, 756.
Soldiers' Monument Association, 346, 751.
Soldiers' Roll of Honor, 731.
Sons of Herman, 463.
Sons of Israel, 425.
Sons of Temperance, 709.
Sorin, Edward, 419, 603, 652.
South Bend and Mishawaka Railway, 241.
South Bend Chilled Plow Co., 407.
South Bend, City of, 351; Names Given to Town,
351; County Seat, 355; First Incorporation, 356;
Second Incorporation, 357; Incorporation As
City, 359; Officers of, 359.
South Bend, Division Into Wards, 366; Population,
367.
South Bend Families Engaged in Manufacturing,
408.
South Bend City Railway, 240.
South Bend Era, The, 470.
South Bend Evang. Hung. Prot. Church, 424.
South Bend Hydraulic Company, 229.

South Bend Inn, 433.
South Bend Iron Bed Co., 409.
South Bend Iron Works, 371.
South Bend Manufacturing Company, 229, 357, 401.
South Bend National Bank, 411.
South Bend of the St. Joseph, 156, 352, 357.
South Bend Toy Works, 407.
South Bend Tribune, 751.
South Bena Water Works, 371.
South Bend Watch Co., 409.
South Bend Watch Factory, 315.
South Bend Woolen Co., 407.
South Carolina, Claims, 73, 81, 82.
Southern Hospital, The, 707.
Southern Michigan Railway, 242.
Southold, 351.
Spain, 41, 43, 59, 86.
Spanish-American War, 732.
Spanish War Veterans, 463.
Spillard, Daniel J., 421.
Springbrook Park, 241, 385.
Springs, 6.
Stace, Arthur J., 186, 361.
Staley Manufacturing Co., 407.
Staneliff, Samuel, 323.
Standpipe, No. 6, 378.
Standpipe, The Star-seeking, 374.
Standpipe System, 372.
Stanfield, Flora L., 453.
Stanfleld; Howard S., 453.
Stanfield, Thomas S., 147, 181, 197, 198, 223, 236,
358, 410, 416, 453, 456, 712.
Stanton, Aaron, 169.
Staples, Alex., 373, 374, 599.
Staples, Ralph, 184.
Stark, Samuel W., 592.
Starr, Eliza A., 706.
Starr, William B., 453.
Starved Rock, 29, 38, 40, 41.
State Bank of Indiana, 409.
State Roads, 235.
Steele, Emeline, 993.
Steele, John, 993.
Steele, P. D., 1032.
Stegman, Henry O, 855.
Stephenson, A. H., 862.
Stephenson, Benjamin F., 736.
Stephenson, C. B., 556.
Stephenson Manufacturing Company, 408.
Stephenson Underwear Mills, 407.
Steuben County, 160.
Stocker, Peter, 809.
Stocks, 92.
Stoddard, Charles W., 684.
Stoeckinger, George F, 795.
Stoeckley, J. A., 529.
Stoffel, Nicholas J., 421.
Stokes, Milton W.. 186.
Stoll, John B., 150, 215, 392, 393, 469, 500.
Stoltz, Charles, 533.
"Story of Fifty Years," at St. Mary's, 698, 699.
Storey, Wilbur F., 347.
Storms, 270.
Stover, Calista S., 774.
Stover, David, 773.
Stover. George H., 185.
Stover, J. H., 424.
Stover, William B., 453.
Stover, William C, 185.

INDEX.

XXV

Stranz, L. V., 534.
Strata, 17.
Street Improvement, Primitive, in South Bend, 369.
Street Railways — Souti± Bend City, 240; South Bend
and Mishawaka, 241; Indiana, 241; Chicago,
South Bend & Northern Indiana, 242; Southern
Michigan, 242; Chicago, Lake Shore and South
Bend, 243.
Strope, Levi A., 1121.
Stuart, William E., 197.
Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Co., 394, 397.
Studebaker Fountain, 385, 391, 393.
Studebaker, Clement, 187, 215, 262, 360, 378, 393,
400, 414, 426, 477.
Studebaker, George M., 389, 751.
Studebaker, Henry, 478.
Studebaker, Jacob F., 480.
Studebaker, John M., 361, 375, 376, 389, 391, 479.
Studebaker, Mary E., 453.
Studebaker Park, 384.
Studebaker; Peter E., 481.
Stueckle, Gustav A., 364, 564.
Stuer, Charles L., 336, 574.
Stull, John, 145.
Stull, John S., 1087.
Stull, Samuel C, 850.
Stull, William H., 600.
Sulgrove, Berry R., 109.
Summary of Mishawaka Enterprises, 347.
Summary of South Bend Interests, 471.
Summers, Gabriel R., 778.
Summit Lake, 1, 45.
Sumption, Elisha, 451.
Sumption, George, 144.
Sumption Prairie, 47, 277.
Sumption Prairie Cemetery, Soldiers in, 735.
Superintendent, County School, 451.
Superior General Sorin, 643.
Surveyor, The, 185.
Surveys, First in County, 156; Second, 156.
Swanger, John Q., 1148.
Swank, David L., 978.
Swedish Baptist Church, 423.
Swedish Evang. Mission, 424.
Sweet Cemetery, Soldiers in, 733.
Sweet Home, 311.
Switzerland County, 104.
Swygart, John A., 586.
Sylvania, 75.
Symmes, John O, 83.
Talbot, Joseph E., 198.
Talon, Intendant, 20, 57.
Tamaronas, 37.
Tannery, First, 295.
Tavern-keepers, 97.
Taxation, Exemptions from, 171.
Tax Upon Lands, 104.
Taylor, Edmund P., 132, 184, 377.
Taylor, Francis P., 319.
Taylor, Lathrop M., 129, 132, 157, 161, 175, 181, 191,
193, 195, 295, 351, 410, 453.
Taylor, Sarah C, 453.
Taylor, Thaddeus S., 453.
Taylor, Waller, 97, 104.
Tecumseh, 102, 614.
Telegraphs and Telephones — Western Union, 243;
Postal, 243; Central Union, 243; American Tele
graph and Telephone, 243; Home, 244.

Temperance Movement, 709.
Temperance Society, First, 709.
Temple Bethel, 425.
Temple, William L., 775.
Temporary Government for Northwest Territory, 75.
Ten States, frojn Northwest Territory, , 75.
Terre Coupee, First Church, 297, 301.
Terre Couppe Prairie, 13, 296.
Terrill and Plainfield Cemetery, Soldiers in, 734.
Territory, Attached to St. Joseph County, 158, 159.
Thieme, Traugott, 424, 578.
Thomas, Alexander N., 182, 361.
Thomas, Samuel R., 8/8.
Thompson, Maurice, 2, 35, 44.
Thorpe, Kose H., 344.
Thorward, Theodore, 565.
Thrall, William C, 310.
Three I Railroad, 239, 281.
Thursday Club, 460.
Tiffin, Edward, 92.
Times Printing Co., 469.
Times, The South Bend, 468, 469.
Tippecanoe River, 12, 126.
Tippecanoe, Battle of, 97, 101, 102.
Tipton, General, 611.
Tobacco's Son, 64, 68.
Todd, Col. John, 72.
Toepp, William, 771.
Tohulka, Herman A., 187, 215.
Tong, Lucius G., 361, 386, 411, 412, 495, 638, 643,
648.
Tonti, Henry de, 23, 25, 27, 28, 32, 33.
Topinabee, 130, 607.
Total Abstinence Society, 678.
Tornado, Only in St. Joseph County, 232.
Town and Township, 161.
Town, First Incorporation, 323.
Townships, First Division of, 272; Second Division,
273; Third Division, 273; Present Number, 275
Townships, First of St. Joseph County, 163.
Townships, Reorganized, 176.
Townships, Two Lost, 274.
Towle, Charles G., 187.
Towle, oilman, 186, 187.
Trail Creek, 143, 156.
Trails. Indian, 43, 45.
Traveler's Rest, 438.
Treaty of Greenville, 94, 103, 125.
Treaty of Paris, 41, 58, 103.
Treaty of Peace, (1783), 71.
Treasurer, The, 184.
Tribune, The South Bend, 218, 468.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, 417.
Troeger, Andrew, 470.
Truax, John M., 1130.
Truax, William V... 1143.
Truss Bridges, 233.
Turner, Anthony W., 961.
Turner, Thompson, 971.
Turner. Timothy G., 190, 306, 456, 470.
Turner's South Bend Directory, 371.
Turnock, Joseph, 184, 378, 729, 769.
Turnv'erein, 463.
Tusearssas, 37.
Tutt Cemetery, Soldiers in, 733.
Tutt, Charles M., 184.
Tutt, Francis R., 187.
Tuttle, Richmond, 184.
Twin Branch, 14, 291.

XXVI

INDEX.

Twenty-first Battery, 730.
Twenty-ninth Infantry, 720.
Twigh-twees, 37, 48.
Twin Lakes, 45, 47, 49, 51, 283.
Ulery, Samuel, 802.
Ullery Cemetery, Soldiers in, 733.
Ullery, Ira M., 838.
Ullery, John C, 1144.
Ullery, Joseph C.,, 10,47.
Underwood, Israel, 184.
Union Hall, 433.
Union Hose Company No. 3, 377, 378.
Union Township, 280.
United Brethren, First Church, 425.
Utley, William, 344.
Vail, Thomas D., 186.
Van Buskirk Cemetery, Soldiers in, 733.
Vance, David, 91.
Vandalia Railroad, 239, 280.
Vanden Bosch, James Q. O, 589.
Vanderburgh, Henry, 91, 95.
Van Doren, William T., 451.
Van Pelt, Mrs. Marion B., 338.
Van Pelt, Corwin B., 387, 408.
Van Pelt, Ryan T., 544.
Van Ryper, A. N., 904.
Van Ryper, Mary Z., 904.
Van Valin, George W., 1033.
Varnum, James M., 83.
Varier, James A., 184.
Vermande, John, 887.
Vigo, Francis, 65, 84.
Vincennes, 42, 58, 59, 63, 78, 83, 100, 160.
Vincennes University, 98.
Virginia, 59, 71, 81, 82, 99.
Virginia System of County Government, 160.
Vistula Avenue, 132.
Vistula Road, 234.
Voelkers, Jerry, 866.
Vogt, Ed F., 1059.
Volunteer Aid Association, 717.
Von Barandy, Oscar, 531.
Vosburgh, Grove, 963.
Wabash and Erie Canal, 21.
Wabash Railroad, 239, 280, 281.
Wabash River, 10, 21, 41, 42, 126, 135.
Wade, Alfred B., 724.
Wagner, John C, 572.
Wair, Harry, 527.
Waldorf, Benjamin F., 186.
Walker, John, 317.
Walkerton, 291, 316.
Walkerton Cemetery, Soldiers in, 735.
Walkerton Independent, 317.
Walkerton Visitor, 317.
Wall, Benjamin, 438.
Walsh, Thomas E., 671, 691, 710.
Walter, John U., 1115.
Walters, Newton W., 1052.
Ward, Andrew J., 184.
Ward, "Wilbert, 363, 460, 513.
Wards, First Three of South Bend. 366.
War of 1812, 102, 731.
War of 1812, Soldiers of, 715.
Warner, William S., 798.
Warren, David G, 907.

Warren Township, 282.
Warwick, 301, 311.
Warwick County, 104.
Washington Block, 437.
Washington County, 104.
Washington, George, 81, 83, 86.
Washington Hall, 635.
Washingtonian Movement, The, 709.
Washington Township, 274.
Waterfield, A. A., 865.
Water Power, of St. Joseph River, 229.
Waterways, 9; Ancient, 11.
Water Works Bonds, South Bend, 373.
Water Works, Trustees, 375.
Watkins, Adam K, 1081.
Wayne, Anthony, 38, 75, 86, 155.
Wayne County, 95, 100, 104.
Weber, Peter, 373.
Webster, Aaron A., 184.
Wednesday Club, 460.
Weidler, Charles, 1148.
Weidler, Valentine, 1116.
Weir, Morgan H., 197.
Weiser, William A., 546.
Weldy, Abraham, 1122.
Weldy, John, 1122.
Weldy, Joseph W., 1122.
Wells, Flowing, 6.
Wenger's Creek, 14, 288.
Wenger, Aaron, 910.
Werwinski, Joseph A., 776.
West, Albert W., 466.
West, Scott, 184.
Westlake, Samuel B., 821.
West Troy, 316; Burk's Addition, 316.
Westbury, David A., 785.
Western Reserve, 74.
Western State, The, 79.
Western Union Telegraph 'Company, 243.
Westminster Presbyterian Church, 417.
Wharton, David F., 1045.
Wharton, James G., 1046.
Wharton Lake, 19, 277.
Wheeler, Alfred, 182, 467.
Whipping, 92, 97, 98.
White Beaver, 25.
White, Daniel A., 187, 215.
White, James, 323.
White Hall, 216.
Whiteman, George N., 593.
Whitmer, Elmer J., 1075.
Whitmore, Charles, 881.
Whitmore, Mary J., 881.
Whitten, William M., 17, 186, 217, 223, 264, 266,
360, 370, 387.
Wickham, William A., 535.
Wilcox, Benjamin. 372, 416, 449.
Wilklow, George H., 1148.
Willett, John T., 829.
Williams, B. E„ 1157.
Williams, James C, 187.
Williams, J. E., 782.
Williams, W. Oliver, 826.
Williamson, N. D., 417.
Williamsport, 308.
Williard, Amos, 800.
Wills, Emanuel R., 185, 777.
Wilson, Abraham, 357."
Wilson, James, 81.

INDEX.

XXVI 1

Windsor Hotel, 439.
Winkler, Bros. Manufacturing Co., 408.
Winkler, F. O, 408, 571.
Witter, Harry, 1110.
Witter, Martin M., 1060.
Woltman, Casimir, 879.
W. C. T. U., 710.
Woman's Literary Club, 459.
Women's Relief Corps, 463.
Wommer, John M., 935.
Wood, Aaron, 110.
Wood, Edward J., 202.
Wood, William Field, 550.
Wood, William F., 561.
Woodland, 290, 311.
Woodmen of the World, 463.
Woodward, Del M., 1029.
Woodward, Don J., 197.
Woodward, Jerry R., 887.
Woolman, Granville, 298, 922.
Woolverton, Jacob, 412, 493.
Woolverton Lake, 283.
Worden, James, 98.
Worden, Joseph, 373, 408.
Worster, Henry B., 1095.
Worth Literary Club, 461.
Wright, John K., 185.

Wright, William B., 863.
Wyandots, 42.
Wyant, William T., 591.
Wyatt, 290, 311.
Wyckoff, James W., 1058.
Wyman, George, 393, 431, 585.
Wythe, George, 61.
Ya'tes, Abraham, 78.
Yellow River, 12.
Yenn, Simon, 185, 792.
Yerrick, Benjamin F., 853.
Yerriek, Harry L., 787.
Yoder, Elmer E., 1035.
Young Hoosier No. 4, 378.
Y. M. C. A., 425.
Y. W. C. A., 393, 430.
Zahm, John A., 648.
Zeiger, John, 1118.
Zeitler, Edward A., 1072.
Zeitler, John V., 1072.
Zell, Adam, 880.
Zeltner, John, 817.
Zigler, John W., 185, 349.
Zigler, Joseph G., 1112.
Zion Evangelical Church, 424.
Zubowiez, Anthony, 422, 573.

BIBLIOGRAPHY •

A list of the principal authorities relied
on in the preparation of this History:
Constitution of the United States; Acts
of Congress; United States Supreme Court
Reports. Constitution of Indiana, 1816 and 1851;
Acts of the Legislature, Revised Statutes,
1831, 1838, 1843, 1852 and 1881, Gavin &
Hord's, Davis' and Burns'; Indiana Supreme
Court Reports.
Laws and Ordinances of Virginia and of
the Northwest Territory.
Indiana Geological Reports; Geological Pa
pers by Dr. Hugh T. Montgomery, Prof. S.
S. Gorby, Prof. Willis S. Blatchley and Prof.
Maurice Thompson.
Bancroft's History of the United States;
McMaster 's History of the United States.
Dillon's History of Indiana; Dunn's His
tory of Indiana; Smith's History of Indiana.
English's Conquest of the Northwest;
Cauthorn's History of Vincennes; Parkman's
Discovery of the Great West; Poole's His
tory of the West; Shea's Discovery and Ex
ploration of the Mississippi Valley.
Hennepin's Description de la Louisiane;
Drake's American Indians; Beadle's Unde
veloped West.
Dyer's Modern Europe; Winsor & Chai
ning 's America; Landon's Constitutional
History and Government of the United
States; Hart's Formation of the Union.
Chapman 's History of St. Joseph County ;
Htiggins Belden 's Historical Atlas of St. Jo
seph County; Parish's Art Work of South
Bend and Vicinity; Packard's History of
La Porte County; Daniels' History of La
Porte County ; Cowles ' History . of Berrien
County, Michigan; Brice's History of Fort
Wayne; King's History of Ohio; Montague's
History of Randolph County, Illinois;
Nevin's Black Robes; Irving 's Astoria; Me
moirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph Counties;
Indiana Legislative and State Manual; Per
kins' Annals of the West; Roosevelt's Win
ning of the West.
Baker's St. Joseph-Kankakee Portage;
Bartlett 's Tales of Kankakee Land; Bart
lett & Lyon's La Salle in the Valley of the

St. Joseph; Charlevoix' Travels in NortJi
America; Thompson's Stories of Indiana;
McDonald's Menominee; Campbell's Report
on the Drainage of the Kankakee; Farmer's
Map of the Territory of Michigan.
Records of: The Board of Commissioners
of St. Joseph County; the St. Joseph Cir
cuit Court; the St. Joseph Probate Court;
the St. Joseph Court of Common Pleas ; the
County Recorder's Office; the Boards- of
Trustees and Common Councils of South
Bend and Mishawaka, and the Annual Pub
lications of both cities.
Historical Papers by David R. Leeper,
Richard H. Lyon, George A. Baker, Charles
Albert McDonald, Miss Ethel Montgomery,
Mrs. Esse B. Dakin, Charles Arthur Carlisle,
Ernest P. Bicknell, Jacob P. Dunn, Daniel
McDonald, Miller Guy, Arthur Joseph Stace.
Reminiscences of Daniel Greene, Hugh V.
Compton, Mrs. Marion B. Van Pelt, Thomas
S. Stanfield, Jesse Haines, Lucius Hubbard,
Mrs. R. J. Pidge, Granville Woolman, Wil
liam D. Bulla, John Stull.
Bartlett 's Dictionary of Americanisms;
The Century Cyclopedia of Names.
Dunn's Father Gibault; Hodgin's Nam
ing of Indiana; Dunn's Hoosier; Nicholson's
Hoosiers; Finley 's Hoosier 's Nest; Philothea.
Newspapers, periodicals and other similar
publications: The North-western Pioneer:
The St. Joseph Beacon; The St. Joseph Val
ley Register; The South Bend Times; The
South Bend Tribune; The South Bend Sun
day News; The New Carlisle Gazette; The
Indianapolis Journal; The Indianapolis
News ; The Indianapolis Sentinel ; the Indian
apolis Star ; The New York Catholic Review ;
The Christian Advocate; The Baltimore Mir
ror; The Chicago Herald; The Chicago Trib
une ; The Cassopolis Democrat ; The Waterloo
Press; The Indianian; Donahue's Maga
zine; Turner's Gazetteer of the St. Joseph
Valley; Turner's Annuals and Directories;
South Bend City Directories; Intercollegiate
Law Journal; The Notre Dame Scholastic;
The Notre Dame Silver Jubilee; The Notre
Dame Golden Jubilee; Aler ding's Diocese of
Fort Wayne ; A Story, of Fifty Years ; The
Brothers of the Holy Cross.

R.2 B.

R.3 E

1UE,

10 \U rl 12ir^l^-an|er »

E.2 E.

Pt.3 E.

R.4 E.

EXPLANATION ® Scliool Hou.ses
- Wagon Roads
— ^— — Rail Roads
^— .^— Township Boundaries

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

CHAPTER I.

TOPOGRAPHY.

I. LOCATION AND GENERAL FEATURES.
St. Joseph County, Indiana, is the middle'
county of the northernmost tier of counties
of the state. To the east, in order, are the
counties of Elkhart, LaGrange and Steuben;
to the west, those of LaPorte, Porter and
Lake. On the south are the counties of
Marshall and Starke; and on the north is
Berrien county, ,in the state of Michigan. The
northern part of the county is in the valley
of the St. Joseph, and the southern part in
the valley of the Kankakee. From a tiny
lake on the summit between the two valleys,
and within the corporate limits of the city of
South Bend, by a little stream known as Mc
Cartney's Creek, the waters flow to the north
ward and into the St. Joseph River, and so
finally reach the Gulf of St. Lawrence. From
a point a little to the south of the same Sum
mit Lake, sometimes called LaSalle Lake, and
also Stanfield Lake, the waters flow to the
southward and form the source of the Kanka
kee river, and so, by the Illinois -and the
Mississippi, reach the Gulf of Mexico. Before
reaching South Bend, the St. Joseph also
flows in a southwesterly direction through
Michigan and Indiana. At South Bend the
river turns abruptly north, and flows thence
into Lake Michigan. 1

II. RELATION OP THE ST. JOSEPH TO THE
KANKAKEE.
In -a learned and exceedingly interesting
paper read before the Northern Indiana His
torical Society," Dr. Hugh T. Montgomery of
South Bend shows very clearly, from an exam
ination of the .geological formations extending
from Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay, follow
ing the valleys of the St. Joseph and Kanka
kee, that those two great valleys were orig
inally one ; and that, at a remote period, the
waters of Saginaw Bay flowed through south
western Michigan and northwestern Indiana,
reaching the Mississippi by way of the Illinois
River.. The broad flood plain marked out in
geological ages, and through which flowed the
mighty stream, called by Dr. Montgomery the
Great Kankakee, may still be traced over the
whole region from Saginaw Bay to the Mis
sissippi, passing through the heart of St.
Joseph county. III. THE GLACIAL DRIFT.
With the exception of the river bottoms and
certain high and rolling ground in places
along the St. Joseph and the Kankakee, the
general surface of St. Joseph county, like that
of the adjacent parts of Indiana and Michi-
a. "The Glacial Phenomenon as exhibited in
Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan."

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

gan, consists of level or prairie lands ; the av
erage elevation in St. Joseph county being
about 875 feet above the sea. The soil, which is
exceedingly fertile, is composed chiefly of
sand or gravel, clay and loam, with some
muck in the Kankakee bottoms. The geo
logical formation is glacial drift, which here
lies about two hundred feet in thickness over
the bed rock.
This formation, and its origin, .are well
described by Prof. S. S. Gorby, in the state
geological report for the year 1886. The
northern half of Indiana, he says, consists of
a generally level plain, broken slightly by oc
casional long, low and broad ridges that form
the divides between the various water courses.
Almost the whole of this region is covered
by vast accumulations of transported mate
rial, consisting of sand, gravel, bowlders and
clay. The general term applied to this ac
cumulated material is "drift," a term which
well indicates its origin. Large volumes of
flowing water, and immense masses of slowly
moving ice, are recognized as the agents that
transported and deposited these vast accumu
lations of drift. The uninterrupted flow of
great volumes of water, and the continued
movement of immense masses of ice through
long periods of time, resulted in the wearing
away of large portions of the original rocks.
In some locations the erosions have amounted
to hundreds of feet. Whatever elevations had
previously occurred in the northern part of
the state were leveled by advancing glaciers
and flowing waters, and the sites of , ancient
hills and mountains are now covered by
accumulations of the glacial period.
IV. GLACIAL ACTION OVER NORTHERN INDIANA.
In the same volume of geological reports
the gifted Maurice Thompson has given us a
fascinating story of the glacial deposits of
northern Indiana. From his account we con
dense the following statement, indicating the
forces' that brought about the present condi
tion of the surface and soils of St. Joseph

county, and showing the origin of our
streams, lakes and underground waters.
It has been clearly demonstrated, says Mr.
Thompson, that ice in the form of a glacier,
no matter how rigid it may appear, has a
current similar to that of water. In other
words, ice will form a solid stream, so to
speak, which will slowly but steadily creep
down an inclined plane, and if this ice-stream
be very deep, so as to give it great weight,
it will overthrow, grind up and bear away
whatever obstacle opposes it. Glaciers are
formed by the accumulation of snow, which,
by pressure and crystalization, is turned into
ice. Thus, wherever the snowfall in winter is
greater than can be melted in summer, the
snow grows deeper year by year until at
length by its own weight, and by partial sur
face melting, it is compressed into a sheet of
ice enormously thick. Now if the surface
upon which this sheet rests is inclined, the
ice flows and we have a glacier. In the Alps
there are glaciers from five hundred to over
six hundred feet in vertical depth, slowly
flowing down the mountain sides. But it does
not require steep mountain slopes for the
making of glaciers; a comparatively gentle
inclination of the surface of the ground is
sufficient if the ice be thick enough and other
' conditions be favorable to motion. The gen
eral form of a glacier is that of a wedge,
the edge resting oh the lowest point of the
surface occupied and the thick end resting
on the highest point of the same. Of course
the motion of a glacial stream will be in some
proportion to the slope of this surface, but
the thickness of the great end of the wedge
must have much to do with the force of the
current. It is well to bear in mind that the ice of
glaciers is not identical with ice frozen under
ordinary circumstances, nor is the one equiv
alent to the other. Snow compressed into
a mass of glacier ice is not perfectly crystal
line and solid, but peculiarly laminated and
porous in its texture, capable of absorbing
at times a great quantity of water through-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

out its body, thus admitting of expansion by
the very force of congelation. Moreover, the
smallest movement of this sort repeated, at
comparatively long intervals, during count
less centuries, would thrust a body of ice,
no matter how thick, over a long surface dis
tance. Long and careful study of the phe-
v nomena of existing glaciers has resulted in
establishing not only the flowing motion of
ice, but many of the effects produced thereby,
one of the most notable being the moraine
matter brought down to the glacier's ter
minus, or collected along its sides. These
masses of moraine matter consist of worn and
striated fragments of stone, of all sizes, from
giant bowlders down to tiny pebbles an'd in
finitesimal grain's of sand, together- with
earthy matter of great variety. A body of
this character collected at the foot of a glacier
is called a terminal moraine; if at the glacier's
side it is called a lateral moraine.
A striking and easily recognized feature of
moraine bowlders and pebbles, of whatever
size, is the peculiar surface-planing caused
by the glacier having dragged 'or pushed
them over other stone surfaces, or the like.
These ground and scratched faces, once seen
and fixed in the memory, serve to identify
glacier stones wherever found, whether the
stones be bowlders, pebbles or rocks in places
over which the glacier has passed. Indeed,
the floor upon which an ice-river has flowed
is always engraved with the unmistakable
sign manual of the glacier — fine striae paral
lel with the direction of the current. The
movement of a glacier may, and often does,
load the ice-surface with stones, dust and
other detritus, either by ploughing under the
same, or by receiving them as they fall from
the slopes on the side.
At the close of what geologists call the
Tertiary age, there came a great change in
the earth's atmospheric temperature, by which
a large part of the northern hemisphere was
subjected to a frigidity quite as great, per
haps, as that which now exists in the arctic
regions. This polar condition crept on slowly

until at length the desolation of almost un
broken snow and ice reigned supreme. What
length of time was required to bring about
this climatic change can only be conjectured.
Enough evidence appears, however, to make
it quite certain that a sub-tropical tempera
ture, and a fauna and flora supported there
by, were banished from our hemisphere, while
a boreal winter set its grip of ice upon every
thing. Snow accumulated year by year, and
century ,by century, until its own weight
compressed the mass into glaciers of scarcely
imaginable thickness and area, and beside
which the ice-fields of Greenland are insig
nificant. As the winter grew colder and
colder, the summer grew feebler, and there is
plenty of evidence showing that a boreal
fauna and flora crept far southward to usurp
the places of those animals and plants that
had formerly flourished in a balmy air and a
warm, kind soil.
Throughout the drift area the physical fea
tures vary but little. Above the striated floor-
rocks, the worn and peculiarly flattened bowl
ders and pebbles, the heaps and ridges of sand
and gravel, and the vast mass of bluish clay,
or till, accompany the glacial matter and
make almost the whole of its bulk. In Amer
ica the drift lies over a vast irregular area,
as yet very indefinitely outlined in the north,
but pretty accurately defined along the south
ern boundary. From the highlands of Can
ada an enormous glacier, or rather series of
glaciers, descended into the region south of
the Great Lakes, overwhelming with moraine
matter a large part of the United States,
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. An exam
ination of this drift or moraine matter shows
it to consist, in a large degree, of silicious
debris, brought from a region of granite,
gneiss, greenstone, quartzite and various other
metamorphic or igneous rocks quite foreign
to the area covered by the mass. Nor is it
difficult to see, in a general way, that much
of this matter has been transported from the
Canadian highlands, where the granitic and
other crystalline rocks are found in place,

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

their surfaces torn, worn and shattered by
the glacial action.
The mass of matter, very appropriately
named Glacial Drift, which is probably the
most important, and certainly the least under
stood geological feature of Indiana, is in the
form of an irregular wedge, its thick end
to the north, its edge, or thin end, to the
south. Of course this description is of the
most general nature, but we must bear in
mind the peculiar shape and position of the
mass in order to have a ready understanding
of its particular features. Taking this vast
wedge of matter, then, and beginning our
examination in the neighborhood of its south
ern limit, or edge, we find it more or less
obscurely outlined and its constituent parts
passing by insensible gradations into the clays
formed of decomposed rocks. Proceeding
northward, mere superficial observation dis
covers that the drift mass grows thicker and
an occasional bowlder is seen, while here and
there a bed of smooth gravel appears along
with deposits of sand. Upon examination the
bowlders prove to be rounded, scoured and
scratched blocks of granite, gneiss, green
stone and other igneous or metamorphie rocks,
and the pebbles of the gravel are simply
minute bowlders of the same materials. The
sand, when carefully studied, appears to be
composed mostly of particles of quartz, feld
spar, mica and other silieious crystals, evi
dently the result of a grinding up of igneous
rocks. Bluish or smoky gray colored clay is next
discovered and at once becomes the chief com
ponent of the drift mass, growing thicker,
step by step, as we go northward, save where
water and other agents have thinned or re
moved it. Another very notable fact is the
increase in the number of bowlders apace
with our progress toward the northern end
of the wedge. This gray-blue clay, or bowl
der till, is a mass of pulverized rock some
times quite appreciably calcareous, but often
almost wholly silieious, as if it were a grist of
granite rocks ground between some monstrous

upper and nether millstone and poured out
upon the surface of our state. From middle
Indiana northward ridges and hills of gravel
and sand, and vast accumulations of bowlders,
appear at irregular intervals. Sand, heaped
in hillocks and eccentric waves, covers a large
area in the northern quarter of the state.
Under all this, however, lies the bowlder till,
or blue-gray clay, which grows thicker grad
ually, in a general way,, as we approach the
northern limit.
Nearly all the principal valleys of Indiana
lie so that their water-flow is from northeast
to southwest, and are trenches cut by some
agency, not only through the drift mass, but
often through parts of the underlying paleo
zoic rocks as well. Leading into these valleys
from all directions smaller streams cut the
land surface into irregular areas, and expose
very interesting sections of the drift mass.
Along most of the water courses, large and
small, the -glacial materials have been assorted
at certain points and re-arranged in terraces
of stratified sand, gravel and water-worn frag
ments of stone. In the northern part of the
state, especially between Lake Michigan and
the southern limits of the Kankakee and Yel
low River valleys, the bowlder clay has a large
number of deep basins filled with water, form
ing beautiful little lakes.
Wherever streams of water have worn deep
channels into the drift, and wherever wells
have been sunk into or through the same,
there have been disclosed marked peculiari
ties of deposition. In cutting through the
bowlder clay, which is usually a most solid
and refractory substance, strata or intercal
ated beds of gravel and sand are found, not
in persistent sheets but usually lenticular,
that is, double convex lens form, or in some
other eccentric form of deposition, curiously
gripped in the surrounding clay. Some of
these sand and gravel masses would seem of
great extent, however, serving as vast sponges
to hold the water caught between the beds of
impervious clay. All through the drift mass
bowlders of every size, from tons in weight

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

to pebbles of the size of a pea, are found, hav
ing worn faces whose striae are usually par
allel to their longer axes. In many places
the deposits are curiously curved and other
wise contorted, a condition which shows very
plainly wherever the clay, gravel and sand
are stratified to some extent. Bowlder clay
is quite variable in the relative proportion
of its constituents. While many sections show
homogeneous gray or bluish clay, with only
here and there pebbles and bowlders, other
sections disclose almost every degree" of mix
ture between pure clay, obscurely stratified
gravel beds and so-called bowlder dykes. The
farther we go north in Indiana, speaking with
reference to a general average, the greater
becomes the admixture of bowlders, pebbles
and angular fragments of rock in the clay,
especially toward its surface, and the more
extended become the intercalated strata of
sand and gravel; while, at the same time,
the number of basins containing water in
creases, both at the surface and within the
mass. The drift appears in places to be parted
by a stratum, or strata, of ancient soil, in
which are found vegetable remains more or
less preserved, consisting of tree-trunks,
branches and roots, belonging to what have
been large forest trees.
One striking feature of the superficial de
posits of the drift is the situation of the
cleanest gravel on the north side of the hills
and ridges. In fact, it is a rule, with com
paratively few exceptions, that a section
drawn north and south through a drift hill
will disclose the coarse gravel and bowlders
heaped in a more or less wedge-shaped mass
against the north or northeastern side of the
elevation, the rest of which will be sand and
clay. Furthermore, beginning with the north-
most line of the section, the coarsest part of
the gravel will come first, and its pebbles
will grow finer as you pass southward across
the cutting until it becomes sand, and you
find the clay iagainst which it lies. Of course
this is not always the case, and many modifi
cations of the rule will be discovered, owing

to recent or comparatively recent erosions and
other disturbances; but every observer will
admit the larger fact to be the rule itself.
Even where conical hills or knobs of gravel
are found, as is often the case, standing quite
isolated on our level table lands, a section
of each will generally show a gradation in
the gravel, the pebbles diminishing in size
along a line from north to south, or from
northeast to southwest, the south side passing
into sand.
Between practically horizontal sheets of the
bowlder clay of Indiana, basins or under
ground lakes of fresh water exist in many
places, and when tapped by borings the water
will often flow as an artesian fountain above
the surface. This well-known feature is the
best proof of the impermeable nature of the
clay, and is of peculiar interest in connection
with a study of the manner in which our
drift has been deposited. These underground
pockets of water are, as a rule, similar in
every way to the small deep lakes that dot
the surface of northern Indiana, save that
the subterranean basins have been filled with
sand and gravel in which the water is held,
as in a sponge. Cross sections of the terraces
along our rivers show a simple enough re
arrangement of drift materials caused by the
action of the water, as the streams gradually
decreased in volume, subsequent to the with
drawal of the glaciers, while the loess, bluff
or lacustral deposits indicate the bottoms of
comparatively recent fresh water lakes over
a large area of our state.
The cuttings of the old Louisville and New
Albany railroad, from New Albany on the
Ohio river to Michigan City on Lake Michi
gan, give a key to many of the most inter
esting problems connected with the drift. As
we follow this line from the southern to the
northern border of the state, we may note
how, from a fringe of doubtful glacial debris,
the mass of superimposed materials thickens
over the rocks in -place, until at length the
excavations no longer reach deep enough to
sever the bowlder clay. It requires no prac-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

ticed eye to recognize the flat, monotonous
billows of the glacial table-lands as soon as
they are reached. The whole country, from
within thirty miles of the Ohio river to the
valley of the Kankakee, presents the appear
ance of having been heaved into long low
waves ; but erosion, in fact, and not upheaval,
has formed this rolling surface, and each bil
low is found to be simply a barrier of drift
between two drainage beds. Another feature
of the drift is not easily observable, save by
the use of the level or the barometer. It is
a series of waves or swells of the surface,
made on a grand scale, and running, in a
general way, east and west without any ap
parent reference to the valleys of erosion.
These waves or swells are due to what may
be called forward or backward steps of the
glacier or glaciers during the vacillations of
climate between the beginning and the end
of the ice period.
V. LAKES AND SUBTERRANEOUS WATERS.
As already stated, lenticular beds of sand
and gravel, strata of ancient soil and pockets
or subterranean basins of water, are found
hermetically sealed up in the body of the
blue bowlder clay of the drift. These fea
tures have puzzled the minds of geologists not
a little, and by some they have been con
sidered inexplicable in connection with the
glacial theory. At first glance it would seem
quite impossible to account for a stratum of
soft black muck and loam found intercalated
between thick beds of drift clay, especially
when this soil contains roots, branches and
even trunks of trees showing little evidence of
any crushing or grinding force such as we
must look for in connection with the glacial
action. This soil and muck, deep buried
under a vast mass of the clay, and resting on
another mass equally thick, cannot be the
result of a mere accident, but must be due
to some law. So, with regard to the beds
of sand and gravel and the subterranean lakes
of the drift; they owe their origin to per
fectly explicable and normal forces acting

consistently with, and, so to speak, parallel
with the great glacial movements.
In the study of the surface and subter
raneous waters of the drift, the following
facts are readily noted:
1st. Springs of water rising vertically, or
practically so, from drift deposits usually
come from a great depth, and are more or
less impregnated with the salts of iron and
other mineral impurities.
2nd. Flowing wells whose waters come
from natural reservoirs in the drift clay are
usually strongly impregnated with iron which
oxidizes upon exposure to the air.
3rd. Wells bored or dug in the drift, and
whose water does not rise in the bore, are, as
a rule, comparatively free from iron and other
mineral impurities, but may occasionally con
tain impurities of a vegetable origin.
In connection with these facts, it has been
observed that, in certain localities, gas gen
erated by decomposing vegetable matter has
been met with in the drift. This, indeed,
would be expected where forests lie moulder
ing in the grip of the clay. But the sudden
exit of this gas when reached by a bore shows
how impervious, even to the subtilest element,
is the bowlder clay. So when water gushes
with great force out of a bore we know that
the liquid has been safely sealed in the clay
reservoir. The question has been asked, how can it
be that a glacier, or any number of successive
glaciers, could have formed in the body of its
deposits these pouches of water, these strata
of soil and vegetable matter, and these lens-
shaped intermediate pockets of sand and
gravel? The most usual, and withal, the most
plausible answer is the general one which ac
counts for these features of the drift by as
suming that there have been many advances
and retreats of the great ice-flood over the
area of our glacial deposits, and that the sort
ing action of water, the glacial movements and
their attending accidents, have given the grand
mass its peculiarity of composition. Such in
tense and prolonged cold as would attend the

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

formation of ice thick enough to fill the con
ditions of the great glacial problem, would
freeze the crust of the earth to the solidity of
adamant many feet deep. We are not left to
mere reasoning or conjecture in this. In
many northern regions the earth is now
frozen to a great and unknown depth. It
could not be otherwise. If thirty or forty
days of w.eather with the temperature vary
ing between the freezing point and ten de
grees below zero will solidify the ground to
a depth of two feet, as is often the case now
in our state, how deep would continuous
boreal winter for many centuries solidify it?
When the glacial period began in Indiana,
no tertiary deposits had been laid down upon
our carboniferous rocks, for there is no good
evidence of the tertiary formations here. The
fauna of the carboniferous seas consisted of
marine forms, and in a large degree the
genera were those having a very deep water
habitat. As the sea became shallow, at length
the marine life disappeared. At the begin
ning of the ice age, there must have existed
in Indiana the broken remnants, so to speak,
of the carboniferous sea — a sea at that time
full of sandy, desolate islands, upon which,
in places, a scant vegetation may have begun
to appear. Far northward, the mountains of
Canada were already covered with snow, and
year by year a boreal temperature was creep
ing southward, on account of a far with
drawal of the deep seas and great changes
in their climate-controlling currents. It is
not probable that those Canadian mountains
were very high ; indeed, they must have been
low enough to be finally overwhelmed by the
awful accumulations of snow and ice north of
them, for it is plain that the great glacier
flowed over them instead of simply running
down their sides. It is impossible to deter
mine how often the ice has flowed over and
retreated from the area now covered by the
drift, but there is the best evidence that the
alterations have been many, and between a
great extreme of cold on the one hand and
a sub-arctic temperature on the other. In other

words, while the frigidity during glacial
action was incalculably powerful, the inter
vals of recession were, as a rule, far from
tropical, as we now understand the word.
Let us try to get a view of the surface con
dition of our drift area after the withdrawal
of the first great glacial agent. The high
lands of Canada have been largely demol
ished, the basins of the lakes have been
scooped out of the . paleozoic rocks and are
filled with solid masses of ice covered over
with glacial debris, and the surface of north
ern Indiana is covered with an immense drift
deposit. We have said that the great lake
basins were left full of solid ice, when the
glacier had retreated far northward, and that
the surface of this ice was covered with a coat
ing of drift material. The same statement is
applicable to innumerable small basins left
in the glacial clay, just such basins, in fact, as
the retreat of the last glacier left filled with
ice and covered with sand, gravel and bowl
ders, and which latter basins are now the beau
tiful little lakes of northern Indiana. But
how, if these basins were solidly filled with
ice, did they come to be covered with a layer
of sand, gravel and bowlders ? The question
is easily answered. As the foot of the great
glacier receded northward a constant flow of
water was caused by its melting, the washing
force of which carried forward fine sand and
gravel, and also icebergs loaded with morainic
matter, all of which was distributed over the
surface upon which the water flowed. It is
apparent, from the very nature of things, that
a vast deep basin, in the frozen crust of the
earth, filled with a solid lump of ice, would
be very slow to melt, and that the glacier
overlying it would retreat on the line of the
basin's rim and leave a great tower of ice, in
the form of a cone, marking the site. This
cone would melt down to the basin's level
and then the currents from the still retreating
glacier would flow across it, depositing its
sand, gravel, bowlders and rock fragments.
Then we have the following conditions : The
crust of the earth is frozen to a profound

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH - COUNTY.

depth below the ice which fills the lake basins,
while upon the ice is deposited a thick mass
of drift material, transported there by water
and icebergs. One instantly sees how great a
time it would require to melt a vast cake of
ice under such conditions. Indeed, before
this melting was accomplished the glacier re
turned and flowed over the whole area again.
But the very circumstances which caused a
return of the glacier necessarily operated to
re-congeal such parts of the drift as had been
thawed, so that the surface over which the
second glacier flowed was rendered as hard
as were the paleozoic rocks upon whose sur
face it first cut its lasting autograph. This
mass of sand, gravel and bowlder-clay, frozen
to adamantine solidity, must have been a very
refractory substance for a glacier to grind'
down. Indeed, the second glacier had a more
stubborn material to overcome than had the
first. So we can readily see how each retreat
of the glacier left deep basins full of ice in
the surface of the drift, and how each return
of the glacier buried these basins of ice deep
under another mass of clay. Hence, all
through the grand body of our glacial de
posits, we find the hermetically sealed pockets
of water which represent the imprisoned ice-
cakes now melted in the buried basins. The
lenticular beds of sand and strata of soil and
muck are to be accounted for upon the same
grounds. When the time between the retreat
and the return of the glacier was long enough,
vegetation was generated upon favored areas
of the drift, and a soil was formed which, if
on low places, was covered up when again the
glacier appeared.
In order to illustrate the theory above set
forth, let us take Lake Maxinkuckee as an
example and suppose that there should come
a return of the great glacier from the direc
tion of the northeast. We must remember
that before this could happen a long period
of intense cold would have to prepare the way
by freezing solid all the lakes and rivers and
the earth's crust to a great depth. Maxin
kuckee would be congealed from surface to

bottom, and the great glacier, creeping down
from its source, and scraping and ploughing
the granite-like, frozen surface of the ground,
would bury the beautiful little lake deep
under a mighty mass of moraine clay, sand,
gravel and bowlders, where it would remain
unmelted until the temperature of the sur
rounding earth rose above freezing point,
when it would slowly turn to water and be-
comev not an underground lake, but, by the
processes of pressure and solution, a subter
raneous mass of so-called water-bearing clay
or water sands.
Evidently there were long spaces of time
in the glacial age during which the ice neither
advanced nor retreated, but was held in ar
rest. No doubt when an advance followed
such a pause the glacier overrode its hard
frozen terminal moraine, and in this way left
large masses of trees and other matter buried
in an uncrushed state, for at every step we
must constantly bear in mind the arctic inten
sity of the cold during these periods of accu
mulation. The immense volume of sand
which is thrown out of our lakes, even the
smaller ones, is proof of the fact that, during
the time they were frozen solid, their surface
was covered with a coat of drift which sank
when the ice melted.
But the question arises: Why are the
waters' of flowing wells and deep springs, that
have their reservoirs in the drift, nearly al
ways impregnated with salts of iron or other
mineral impurities, while the waters of wells
that do not flow are usually comparatively
pure ? The answer must be that flowing wells
and springs presuppose, in a general way, that
their reservoirs are fed from the surface by
filtration through permeable parts of the
drift, and that the water takes up the iron
and other minerals from the material through
which it passes, while the water in wells that
are unflowing is not furnished from the sur
face, or any higher strata of sand and gravel,
but really is water from imprisoned ice melted
in the body of the drift clay. Of course not
all flowing wells are iron water, nor impreg-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

nated to a great degree with other minerals;
but that is the rule. The fact suggests itself,
in this connection, that all the porous beds of
sand and gravel, intercalated between masses
of the drift clay, were probably full of water,
in a frozen state, when they were buried. It
must not be understood, however, that this
explanation is sufficient to compass all the
conditions under which water is found in the
drift, but it does seem quite applicable to
many special problems in that connection
which heretofore have not been solved satis
factorily. VI. MORAINES AND ^WATERWAYS.
The fofegoing account, showing the prob
able origin of our lakes and underground
waters, as also of the solid ingredients of the
drift upon which we are located, is applicable
not only to St. Joseph county but also to the
greater part of northern Indiana. To Dr.
Montgomery's very able paper, already re
ferred to, we are indebted for the following
review of the action of the last glacier, re
sulting in the existing moraines, hills, rivers
and valleys going to make up the present sur
face of St. Joseph county.
During the earlier part of the quater
nary geological period, as Dr. Montgom
ery tells us, the crust of the earth was
subject to varied and wide-spread oscillations,
elevations and depressions. Elevations were
most marked in higher latitudes, and on our
own continent through the north central part,
comprising Labrador, the Canadas and the
great lake region. These oscillations were
attended with great changes in climate, the
elevated regions being subject to extreme cold.
The territories immediately north of us were
elevated from two to three thousand feet, and
from continued snowfall during a long period
of time became covered with ice to a depth of
from five to ten thousand feet. This frozen
mass was known as the great Continental ice-
sheet, and extended south near Cincinnati to a
point a few miles below the Ohio river. From
this point the lower border of the ice-sheet

took a northeasterly and northwesterly course.
The cause of the great glacial epoch is not
fully understood. But we know that even in
our own day, the surface of the earth, in
places, is subject to slow but constant changes
in elevation and depression; and it is clear
that the elevation referred to was in itself
a strong factor in the production of a severer
climate. This climatic condition was favor
able to continued snows which lasted through
long ages. The short summer suns had little
effect in dissipating the snows, but was suf
ficient to reduce the vast snow-field to glacial
ice. As the mass began to pile up to thou
sands of feet in thickness, the known glacial
movements began and the great ice flow
started southward. The ice mass being of
great' weight, and frozen solidly to the sur
face upon which it rested in its slow motion
onward, carried or dragged everything mov
able with it, and scoured, grooved and polished
every surface over which it passed, leveling
and pushing forward all loose material found
in its pathway. The great creases or channels
in the surface rock produced by stream ero
sion were partly obliterated by glacial erosion
and partly filled up by glacial rubbish. As
the ice-sheet approached and passed into the
great lakes its lower margin became lobated
and each lobe took a course largely in the di
rection of the lake valleys, but as these lobes
emerged they began to coalesce, forming
again an almost unbroken front, pushing on
ward to the south loaded with bowlders,
gravel, sand and clay. As the ice-sheet moved
on it approached a warmer climate until the
loss by melting at the south equalled the pro
duction from the north and caused the ice
border to remain stationary for unknown
years. From this line the ice yielded up its
waters which rolled onward to the sea through
the great central waterway, the Mississippi.
Under the weight of the ice, thousands of
feet in thickness and extending over a wide
territory, or from some other cause, the crust
of the earth began to settle, 'and a depression
from twelve to fifteen hundred feet below

10

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

our present level was reached. This is known
as the Champlain epoch. As -a consequence
a milder climate prevailed and the ice with
drew to the north, leaving its load of earthy
material strewn over the surface. The reces
sion was slow and interrupted, and at times
stationary, the glacier laying down moraine
ridges and broken ranges of hills, until
finally the ice border lay north of the great
lakes. The melting of this receding mountain
of ice produced great floods and mighty
streams. In our region the waters were car
ried to the south by four great channels, the
Ohio, the Wabash, the Kankakee and the Des-
plaines. Any of these streams was larger
than the Mississippi of today. The flood
plain of the Mississippi itself was then formed
as we now find it, thirty miles in breadth.
The time which elapsed after the surface
was laid down by the withdrawal of the first
ice-sheet, is measured by so long a period of
aerial and aqueous erosion that hills and
ridges were leveled and the lakes filled with
sediment and vegetation. During this Cham-
plain epoch, or period of depression, the
surface abounded in shallow pools, swamps
and lagoons. Drainage was slow and inter
rupted, with a general inclination to a level
ing of the surface. The great gorges and
stream channels that had been eroded during
the period of elevation were filled with river
drift. Forests again covered the uplands and
peat bogs filled the depressions, all again to
be crushed, ground and scraped from the sur
face by the last ice advance.
VII. THE GREAT KANKAKEE.
Sec. 1. — Three Great Ice Lobes. — We now
come to the culmination of the physical ener
gies which gave us the present surface con
tour of St. Joseph county. The conditions
necessary to produce a humid atmosphere and
great snowfalls were again present. Over the
regions north of the great lakes the mass of
snow and ice began again to accumulate, until
it reaehed thousands of feet in thickness, and
from its own weight began to move as a te

nacious, semi-liquid mass. As it approached
and entered the great lake basins its onward
movement was directed largely by the trend
or direction of their basins. The Maumee or
Erie lobe took a west southwest course. The
lobe passing through the Huron basin made
its exit in part from the southwest margin
through that part of the basin known as Sagi
naw Bay. The lobe that entered the Lake
Michigan basin passed almost directly south.
When we speak of the direction of the several
lobes we refer to their axes, as the ice move
ment in those great basins was forward and
to either side, radiating in an advance direc
tion from a common center. The Saginaw
lobe was a long wedge-shaped mass, hemmed
in on the west by the mighty Michigan lobe
and on the east receiving the full force of
the Maumee or Erie mass. A part of the
Saginaw lobe passed out at the foot of the
basin and commingled its iee and load of
earth and bowlders with the Erie lobe. From
this fact we find drift material from Lake
Superior and the northern Huron regions,
such as drift copper and porphyry conglomer
ate, scattered over Indiana and Ohio. This
may also account for the very heavy deposit
of drift over the northeastern counties of In
diana, where it- attains a depth in places of
from four to five hundred feet.
These ice tongues or lobes, after emerging
from their basins maintained their lobate
characteristics, yet were united one with an
other. The most southerly line reached by
the ice during this last movement was com
paratively but a few miles below the great
lakes, where it remained for a long period.
The ice advancing with its load of earthy
refuse from the north melted away as rapidly
as it advanced to this line and laid down its
burden of accumulated material, forming
great ranges of hills or moraines, both termi
nal and lateral, definitely marking the outline
of each glacial lobe. After the summers be
gan again to predominate over the winters
the iee gradually withdrew to the north and
disappeared from this locality. North of the

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

11

terminal moraine marking the farthest ad
vance of the ice-sheet will be found almost
all of our small inland lakes, the distinguish
ing mark of beauty of this locality. The
former lakes which once dotted the older
glaciated surface had long before been carried
away by erosion or filled up with silt. Before
the coming of this last ice the surface soil of
Indiana was composed of clay and fine sand,
with lime, slate and sandstone pebbles; no
granite bowlders or pebbles at that time were
present. It was entirely through the agency
of the last ice-sheet that they were carried
from the north and spread over this locality.
The Maumee or Erie iee lobe advanced
from the Lake Erie basin in a southwesterly
course, and the border of the lobe entered
Indiana at the northeast corner of Elkhart
county and took a westerly course through
the northerly part of Elkhart and St. Joseph
counties to a point about five miles west of
South Bend where it began to angle to the
south through the western part of the county
and continued along the western borders of
Marshall and Fulton counties and on to the
Wabash river at Logan-sport. The withdrawal
of the ice-sheet from this line and the deposit
ing of its earthy and stony contents mark
the age of the lofty range of hills lying south
of Mishawaka and South Bend. To the west,
the Lake Michigan lobe filled its basin and ex
tended east from thirty to forty miles beyond
the present shore line, where it curved south
west around the southeast corner of the lake.
It overlapped the northwest corner of St. Jo
seph county and approached near to the city
limits of South Bend. The highlands along
the north bank of the Kankakee valley, Port
age Prairie and the uplands west of the city
of Niles mark the eastern or southeastern
border of the Michigan ice lobe. The Saginaw
glacier advanced from the Huron basin,
pushed south between the Michigan and
Maumee or Erie glaciers and reached a point
one mile northeast of South Bend, its moraine
commencing about one mile east of Notre Dame
and a little south, forming the range of hills

beginning at that point and extending in a
general northeasterly direction, passing near
Dowagiac, Decatur and Lawton, Michigan,
and terminating west and north of Saginaw
Bay. This range of hills marks the western
and part of the southern terminal moraine
of the Saginaw glacier, its eastern arm and
part of its southern arm having been eroded
and washed away by the great Kankakee
river. From this outline of the glacial bor
ders, it will be noticed that the city of South
Bend is located where three great ice lobes
met, the Maumee or Erie, the Saginaw and
the Michigan. These great lobes here marked
their existence by massive accumulations,
forming . rugged and permanent ranges of
hills and uplands which fix the contour of the
landscape in St. Joseph county perhaps for
ever. Sec. 2. — The Ancient Waterways. — This
brings us to the ancient waterways of our
county. The melting of the vast fields of ice
brought on great floods and torrential
streams. South Bend and St. Joseph county
being peculiarly located as to the three
glaciers, were also peculiarly located as to
ancient streams. Where the busy city now
lies nestling in a beautiful valley, partly sur
rounded by hills, a wonderful river once flow
ed, a stream three miles wide and one hun
dred feet or more in depth, moving from east
to west. From the north also a great tribu
tary, whose mouth was three miles wide,
emptied its waters into the main stream with
in the present limits of the city1 of South
Bend. If a man could have stood upon the
hills of Rum Village, just south of the city, a
vast panorama of water would have* met his
gaze. To the northeast, a flood from five to
six miles in width and extending up the val
ley as far as the eye could reach, would have
been seen, passing at his feet and rolling on
ward to the southwest, confined only by the
hills on the north and on the south. To the
northwest, he would perceive a tributary
stream entering the great flood, three miles in
width and limited in the line of vision only

12

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

by the horizon. And if a man today should
stand on the same hills of Rum Village, or on
those to the south of the city of Mishawaka, or
upon Lowell Heights, or upon any other high
lands on either side of the great valley, he
could still see the broad bed, miles in width,
through which the ancient river once flowed.
The great stream was the Kankakee of that
day, which had its origin at the foot of the
Saginaw glacier and received its tributaries
from the Maumee. and the Michigan glaciers.
The great Kankakee was the outlet for the
waters flowing southwest from Lake Huron,
through Saginaw Bay. We know that this
valley served as a waterway during the with
drawal of the first ice-sheet from the fact that
its channel was silted up like all other valleys
during the Champlain epoch, or age of de
pression. It was never re-excavated to any
extent, and remains today a filled valley. It
is probable that the Kankakee valley also
carried the waters flowing from the northeast
during the advance of the last glacier; but,
soon after the withdrawal of this ice-sheet
began, the waters found an outlet into Lake
Michigan, leaving the Kankakee valley at the
point where South Bend now stands, and pass
ing to the lake through the large tributary
already referred to. The old valley of the
great Kankakee extends from a point in Illi
nois where the present Kankakee and the
Desplaines unite, northeasterly through Illi
nois, Indiana and Michigan to the watershed
between the streams flowing into Saginaw
Bay and the headwaters of the present St.
Joseph river. The St. Joseph now flows south
westerly through this old Kankakee channel to
South Bend, and there turns abruptly north
and reaches Lake Michigan at the city of St.
Joseph. The valley of the Kankakee was the
chief outlet to Lake Huron during glacial
times, as the Wabash valley was Lake Erie.
The flood plain, where once flowed this mighty
Kankakee, varies in width from three miles
at its narrowest point, which is one mile below
South Bend, to about twenty at its broadest,
which is between Porter and Lake counties

on the 'north and Newton and Jasper on the
south. The southeasterly bank of the valley,
from about six miles below South Bend to its
source, near Saginaw Bay, is from fifty to
one hunded feet high, while the northwesterly
bank, from South Bend to the same point, is
generally low and shelving. From South
Bend" down the valley to the Illinois line,
that is, from the point where the great
stream emerged, between the Maumee and
Michigan moraines, to its confluence with the
Desplaines, the banks are low, generally not
'exceeding fifteen or twenty feet in height.
On the southeasterly side of the old channel
will be found quite an extensive sandy flood
plain, extending from the border of the
Maumee moraine southwestward, covering al
most the entire surface of Starke county to
gether with the northern part of Pulaski,
Jasper and Newton counties. On the north
the main channel largely borders on the
Michigan moraines.
The great width of the stream from South
Bend to the eastern part of Illinois was ow
ing to three causes :
First. The surface of the country through
which this part of, the stream flowed was des
titute of rugged features.
Second. The stream, just beyond the pres
ent Illinois line, crossed the arched bed rock
which extends in a northwesterly course across
Indiana into Illinois. Near the present site
of Momence, Illinois, this rocky ridge pro
duced a well marked rapids, similar to that
in the Ohio river near Louisville, which
tended to dam the waters and cause them to
overflow a wide territory above and causing
this region to appear today as if a great lake
had occupied the territory.
Third. At the present site of South Bend.
the Dowagiac, a tributary one-third the size
of the main stream, was added to its volume.
The principal tributaries of the great Kan
kakee were the Elkhart and Yellow rivers,
draining from the Maumee glacier, also the
Tippecanoe at the point where it enters the
southeast corner of Starke county; besides,

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

13

the stream here called the great Dowagiac,
now represented by the Dowagiac creek,
which heads south of Kalamazoo, but whose
ancient waters probably accumulated far
north of that point, gathering from the slope
of the eastern lateral moraine of the Michi
gan glacial lobe. Those waters formed a
mighty glacial river, flowing south to a point
three miles north of Niles, Michigan, where
it received a tributary which had opened a
way through the lateral Michigan moraine
and discharged its waters from the Michigan
basin before these waters had found an open
ing to the south between the Michigan ice-
lobe and its moraine. The great Dowagiac,
after receiving these overflow waters from
the Lake Michigan basin, continued south
and emptied into the Kankakee at the pres
ent site of the city of South Bend.
The old channel of the Dowagiac where
that stream emptied into the Kankakee is
three miles wide, with well defined banks
rising from fifty to seventy-five feet above
the bed of the valley, which had been cut to
bed rock and silted up about one hundred
and twenty feet, leaving the above mentioned
banks yet remaining. These great streams,
the Kankakee and the Dowagiac, existed for
long periods of time. They conveyed the
glacial waters during the advance of the ice-
sheet, also during the period that it stood
at its most advanced point and during its
withdrawal, until the Michigan ice-lobe had
sufficiently receded to allow the waters along
its eastern border to escape through the Des
plaines opening. This escape by the Des
plaines promoted a rapid lowering of the
waters between the ice-lobe and its lateral
moraine and terminated the flow of waters
from the Michigan basin into the Dowagiac
river, leaving a broad, water-worn plain lead
ing from the Dowagiac river back northwest
erly to. Lake Michigan.
Sec. 3. — Origin of the St. Joseph River.
— Here began a system Of river robbing, if
we may call it so. The Dowagiac, at a point
just below Niles, doubled upon itself at an

angle of forty-five degrees, followed the aban
doned channel of its former tributary and
discharged its waters into Lake Michigan;
leaving in turn, a well worn channel from
three to four miles wide and thirteen miles
long leading to the great trunk stream, or
Kankakee, at South Bend. The distance
from South Bend, the point where the Do
wagiac had formerly emptied its waters into
the great Kankakee, to St. Joseph, Michigan,
is thirty-eight miles, with a fall of one hun
dred and forty-one feet. From South Bend
to Momence, Illinois, the distance is ninety-
two miles with a fall of ninety-three
feet. It can be readily understood that
with the first annual flood a part of the
waters of the Kankakee would follow the
abandoned Dowagiac channel, from South
Bend to Niles, there mingle with the Dowag
iac in its new route and pass onward into
Lake Michigan, at the city of St. Joseph.
The fall over the new route being three and
a half times greater than over the old, the
new channel would rapidly cut through the
old river deposit, finally taking all the waters
of the once mighty Kankakee, and leaving
the valley from South Bend to the Des
plaines a geological monument to tell of the
eternal past.
A physical force which most likely aided in
turning the current of the Kankakee into the
channel of the Dowagiac, and so forming the
stream known to us as the St. Joseph, re
sulted from an ice gorge formed seven miles
below South Bend, where, a point of land jut
ting out from the Michigan moraine, and now
called Crum's Point, extends into the valley
proper two miles and a half in an almost
transverse direction. Just below this point
we find an ancient flood plain two miles wide
which was supplied with overflow water from
the basin of Lake Michigan, but which over
flow entirely subsided when the waters of the
lake receded from the rim of this basin. This
valley, extending to and including the beauti
ful Terre Coupee Prairie, is now drained by
a small meandering stream known as Grape-

14

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

vine creek, the remnant of a once mighty
glacial river. Strong and pronounced evi
dences of an ice gorge or dam having formed
at Crum's Point and extended up the river
to the mouth of the old Dowagiac at South
Bend are yet plainly visible from the scouring,
leveling and erosion of morainic hills on the
south, and by a chain of lakes and lake beds
on the north, the latter connected by a gorge
with the glacial stream aforesaid. Evidences
of the gorge are also found at the head and
north of the ice dam, which passed well up
above the mouth of the Dowagiac, east and
north of which the waters pouring around this
dam into the Dowagiac valley excavated an in
terrupted channel or chain of depressions.
These depressions are linear, extending from
southeast to northwest, being from one-fourth
to three-fourths of a mile long, twenty to
forty feet deep and from two hundred to
four hundred yards wide, with sharp and
well-defined banks. They all show evidences
of having been filled with water for a long
period of time. All have become dry except
the lower two, the Notre Dame lakes, which
contain from twenty to thirty feet of water
at present. This channel or chain of depres
sions extends from near Mishawaka, north
westerly, to a point on the St. Joseph river
one mile north of South Bend, a distance
of four miles and a half. When the ice-dam
gave way the waters abandoned those circuit
ous or temporary routes and returned to their
former channels; only the smaller part, how
ever, continuing down the old Kankakee, while
the larger body moved along the new route
through the Dowagiac channel to Lake Michi
gan. The fall by the latter way being three
and a half times greater than by the former,
a channel sufficient to carry the entire body
of water was soon eroded. A bluff twelve
to fourteen feet high, formed at first as a
sandbar from sediment supplied by what is
now known as the Wenger creek, extended
in a diagonal direction across the old Kan
kakee bed and parallel to the new current
until it reached the opposite bank, when the

great Kankakee valley was sealed forever, and
the upper stream became a distinct river, the
beautiful St. Joseph as we know it. The sand
bar or bluff referred to, and which thus fin
ally sealed up the valley of the great Kan
kakee, is the shelf or hill extending diagon
ally from southeast to northwest, through the
City of South Bend, on the west side of the
St. Joseph. Tippecanoe place is built on the
edge of this bar, which was well known to our
early settlers as the Bluff. This ridge, while
originally built up as a sandbar by sediment
from the creek, was increased in height by
erosion as the new St. Joseph cut into its
bed. Long before those great stream changes had
taken place, the swift current of the Do
wagiac had carried down large quantities of
gravel, and as the gravel-laden waters came
in contact with the waters of the Kankakee
the velocity of the former was checked and
the gravel was laid down on the west bank
where the current remained the swiftest.
This gravel bed extends north of the city
limits of South Bend, down the west bank
of the St. Joseph, a distance of three or four
miles, and is about one-half mile in width.
It forms the eastern slope or border of Port
age Prairie. The bed has been sounded in
a number of places and found to be from
forty to fifty feet in depth, and all smooth,
rounded, water-worn gravel; placing at the
city's gates an inexhaustible supply of finest
road gravel. The Dowagiac hurling its great
volume of water against the current of the
Kankakee, also had the effect of slowing the
latter stream and causing it to deposit its
heavier material ; which we find stored away
in the form of acres of river gravel at Twin
Branch, just east of Mishawaka. The east
side of the Dowagiac near its mouth was
much more obstructed than the west, and con
sequently the gravel and coarser material
were slowly laid down farther above and
only the finer material was carried down to
the mouth, where it was laid down in great
quantities of sand, forming Lowell Heights.

GEOLOGICAL MAP OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, INDIANA.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

17

If a careful examination is made of the sand
on these heights, numerous small particles of
coal will be found, indicating that the Sagi
naw glacier had cut deep into the surface
and uncovered in places the coal fields of
Michigan and mingled their contents with the
drift. The great Kankakee river, from its source
near Saginaw Bay, took a southwesterly
course to its junction with the Desplaines,
forming with the latter the Illinois river.
When the waters left the old channel at the
point where the city of South Bend now
stands they took an almost due northerly
course, thus forming a great bend in the new
river and giving to the future county seat of
St. Joseph county its name. Since the for
mation of the St. Joseph from the changes
thus made in the Kankakee and the Do
wagiac, the new river has eroded its valleys
from fifty to sixty feet into the old river de
posits, but has not yet reached their base
level. The Kankakee valley at South Bend,
where it escapes from between the Maumee
and Michigan moraines, is narrowed to three
miles, with high, rugged banks and no flood
plain. Five miles east and up the valley
from South Bend, it reaches a width of six
miles, which width it holds, with slight varia
tion, until it arrives at the rim of the Saginaw
basin. This end of the valley is thoroughly
drained by the present St. Joseph river.
There are a few peat bogs and marshes lying
back from the river where the valley is broad
and the modern . channel well to one side.
Otherwise the old valley above South Bend
is one vast level sand-plain. Below South
Bend, where the old valley remains silted up
and there is no sufficient modern channel for
complete drainage, the spring waters escaping
from beneath the Michigan moraine, on the
west, and from the foot of the Maumee, on
the east, and also bubbling up from the bed
of the old stream itself, as reported by Mr.
William M. Whitten, when engineer in charge
of the rock excavations at Momence, have
caused a vast growth of peat or muck over
2

the entire valley proper. Beneath this muck
bed which extends from six to ten feet in
depth, is found fine sand and river gravel,
as shown by excavations made in the con
struction of large ditches, twenty to sixty feet
in width, six to ten feet deep and now ex
tending sixty to seventy miles below South
Bend. Had the stream not changed its course
at South Bend, but continued down the orig
inal valley, eroding a channel or partially
clearing the old silted valley to a depth of
from fifty to sixty feet, as the waters have
done through their new course down the St.
Joseph, there would have been no "Kanka
kee Marsh," and all that part of the valley
from South Bend to Momence would have
been a vast sandy plain, covered with timber
and in general appearance similar to that
part of the valley above South Bend.
Through the courtesy of Dr. Montgomery,
we are enabled to illustrate the foregoing
geological history with the annexed map pre
pared by him, which shows the moraines and
ancient valleys and rivers, with the result
ing configuration of St. Joseph county, In
diana, and vicinity.
VIII, ELEVATIONS, STRATA AND SOILS.
From the preceding history of the recent
geological formations of the surface, the
general character of the soils, clays, gravels
and other minerals of the county, as well as
that of its lakes and underground waters, is
apparent. There is not an outcrop of primi
tive rock in the county, the entire surface,
as we have seen, being covered with gla
cial drift which will probably average two
hundred feet in depth. The only place in
the county where this drift has "been pierced
to the underlying stratified rock is at South
Bend, where in boring for gas and oil a few
years ago, the drift was found to be one
hundred and sixty feet thick. This, how
ever, was in the valley of the St. Joseph
river, seven hundred and twenty-five feet
above tide, or fully one hundred and fifty
feet lower than the uplands in the south-

18

HISTORY OF .ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

eastern part of the county, which' are 875 to
900 feet above the sea. The levels of the
more important railway stations in the coun
ty "show the following altitudes in feet, above
tide: Osceola, 736; Mishawaka, 700 to 743;
South Bend, 708 to 726; Notre Dame, 710;
Warren, 730 ; Lakeville, 837 ; Walkerton, 711.
In seeking for natural gas and oil at South
Bend three wells were sunk into the rock.
The following is the result of the borings of
one of these wells, as given in the 18th report
of the state geologist, showing the depth in
feet of the drift and of the several layers
of rock at this point, down to the Trenton
rock: Drift, 160; Sub-carboniferous and
Devonian, 220; Corniferous, 60; Lower Hei-
derberg, 40; Niagara, 640; Clinton, 60(?);
Hudson River, 200; Utiea shales, 200; Tren
ton Limestone, 427. Total depth of well,
2,027. No gas or oil.
The drift over about one-half of the county
is a gravel plain, formed, as we have seen,
by the outwash from the ice-sheet. In the
northwestern part of the county the outwash
is from the Michigan moraine, and the plain
descends from 800 feet at the border of the
moraine to 725 at the Kankakee flats. In
the southwestern part of the county the out-
wash is westward from the moraine of the
Maumee lobe, and there is a similar descent
from the moraine to the Kankakee valley.
In the northeastern part of the county there
is an extensive gravel plain along the St.
Joseph river. The southeastern part of the
county is occupied by a till, or clay, plain,
which borders on the Maumee moraine on the
east. St. Joseph county contains an area of
about four hundred and seventy-seven square
miles, the surface of which is diversified by
prairies, marshes, oak-openings and rolling
timber lands. The oak-openings are covered
with a light sandy soil, excellently suited to
the raising of small fruits and vegetables.
The timber lands possess a subsoil of clay,
covered with a rich dark soil, which yields
all the cereals in abundance. The prairies,

• both old and young, for the marshes and
beds of former lakes are but incipient prai
ries, have the richest and most productive
soils, and are unexcelled for the raising of
all farm produce, except wheat, which winter
kills on the lowest grounds. No prairies in
the world are more beautiful or fertile than
those of St. Joseph county. The finest and
largest of these is Terre Coupee, in Olive
township, over six miles in length, east and
west, by four or five miles, north and south.
Others are : Portage Prairie, in German town
ship; Palmer Prairie, in Center township;
Sumption Prairie, in Greene township; ana
Harris Prairie, in Harris township. The flood
valley of the Kankakee is itself a prairie of
the richest and fairest promise, though as yet
not fully reclaimed. No more varied, richer
or more beautiful farm lands exist anywhere
than in this good county of St. Joseph.
IX. LAKES OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
The lakes of St. Joseph county, as said by
Prof. Blatchley, in his reporc as state geolo
gist for the year 1900, are small in size, and
most of them rapidly becoming extinct. De
posits of marl are found near and under
many of them; not generally, however, of
good workable area and thickness.
Among the most beautiful and noted of our
lakes are Chain and Bass lakes, in Warren
township, a few miles west of South Bend.
The marl beds in and around these lakes
cover nearly three hundred and fifty acres.
Their sparkling waters have always been fa
vorite resorts for boating and fishing. They
were dear to the Indian long before the com
ing of the white man. Near by, to the east of
these lakes, at Mount Pleasant, on Portage
Prairie, stood the historic village of the
Miamis, famous in story and song, where the
treaty with LaSalle was made in 1681.
The Lakes of Notre Dame, already men
tioned, lie northwest of and near to the Uni
versity, and about two miles northeast of
South Bend. St. Joseph's, the upper lake,
has an area of about sixty-five acres, and a

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

19

- maximum depth, on the west side, of twenty-
five feet. The water area of St. Mary's, the
lower lake, is a little more than thirty acres.
The two lakes are separated by a stretch of
low ground containing ten or more acres, in
the midst of which is a small gravel island
rising to a level with the uplands surround
ing the lakes. In the past the lowland was
covered with water, and there was but one
lake, with the island in the middle. There
is a marl deposit in and about these lakes
which is of especial interest from the circum
stance that it furnished the carbonate of lime
material for the first, and for more than
twenty years the only, Portland cement fac
tory in Indiana. 'At St. Mary's lake the
water deepens abruptly and close to the
shore. .The marl extends back several rods
from shore. Under both lakes, it is claimed
that the marl has an average thickness of
more than thirty feet.
Clear lake and Mud lake lie on and just
south of the Michigan-Indiana state line,
about eight miles northwest of South Bend,
the northern two-thirds of Clear lake being
in Michigan, and the remainder in Warren
township, this county. There is no workable
marl deposit at these lakes. Clear lake fur
nishes a typical example of a lake whose
water area has been encroached upon by de-
¦ caying vegetation until the lake has become
almost extinct. In 1880, according to the
testimony of persons living^ in the vicinity,
the entire basin of the lake, eighty acres or
more, was covered with water to a depth of
twenty to thirty feet. -There was then no
aquatic vegetation except along the south
shore. Now the southern half is a vast morass
of muck and spatterdock, with water nowhere
more than six inches in depth. The western
margin for one-third the distance across the
lake is similarly filled. Many floating islands,
or moving morasses of muck, rise nearly to
the surface in other parts of the lake, so
that its clear water area is but little over
fifteen acres, and its deepest water only about
twelve feet. A fine wooded ridge, with a
gravely margin, rises twenty or more feet
high along the north half of the east side.

The banks on the northwest are lower, while
the southern shores are marshy. Game fish
is abundant. The high banks of Clear lake
are the resort of numerous pleasure parties
in the summer; one of the most enjoyable
being the annual picnic of the old settlers of
St. Joseph county, Indiana, and Berrien coun
ty, Michigan.
No one who has not visited a lake like this
can realize how varied the kind and how
abundant the individuals of plant life that
can flourish in water. It is one of the best
examples at present in Indiana of a' dying-
lake, — an incipient marsh. Here one can see
in actual progress many of those intermediate
stages and processes which in time change a
body of fresh water into a body of land.
The northern edge of the basin of former
Mud lake lies south of the basin of Clear
lake about one-third of a mile. Its former
water area was over three hundred acres and
its outline very irregular. It has now be
come a vast marsh, with not more than thirty
acres of water, and that shallow and occupy
ing two or three small isolated areas. The
vegetation, however, is not nearly so dense or
so varied as that at Clear lake.
Goose lake, called also Sousley's lake, lies
a little over two miles north of the town of
North Liberty. It is surrounded by low
ground, and formerly included what is now
called Little lake. The total area, including
marsh and the surface of both lakes, is about
four hundred acres. Goose lake now has an
area of forty or fifty acres, and Little lake
about thirty acres. Goose lake is very shal
low, Little lake somewhat deeper. The sur
rounding bluffs are generally rather abrupt
and fifteen to twenty feet high. There is an
extensive deposit of marl in and about the
lakes, but it is deeply covered over by muck.
Rupel 's lake is a small body of water, lying
southeast of North Liberty. It is shallow and
mostly surrounded by flat marshy land, with
beds of marl beneath. Other small bodies of
water are Pleasant lake and Riddle's lake,
in Union township, south of Lakeville ; Whar
ton lake and Duck lake, in Greene township ;
and Fish lake, in Warren township.

CHAPTER II.

EARLY HISTORY.

I. MARQUETTE.
Sec. 1. — First Footprints. — The annals of
St. Joseph county reach further back into the
shadowy realms of romance and tradition
than do those of any other county in the
state of Indiana. The landscape of this coun
ty was the first in Indiana to be looked upon
„by the eye of the white man, and its soil
was the first to receive the impression of the
white man's foot. As in case of many other
localities in the state, it is not a question alto
gether free from doubt as to when civilized
man first walked over our valleys and uplands
and gazed upon the sparkling waters of our
lakes and rivers; yet, while it must be ad
mitted that the evidence is slight, neverthe
less it is the opinion of many of the most
trustworthy authorities that such evidence as
we have is sufficient to show that in the
month of May, 1675, Father James Marquette,
the intrepid Jesuit missionary explorer, dur
ing his last illness and a little before his
death, journeyed up the winding Kankakee
to a point a little below the limits of the
present city of South Bend. The tradition
is that his faithful Indians carried his frail
bark and guided his feeble footsteps from that
point along the ancient Portage, to the St.
Joseph, then the River of the Miamis, upon
whose crystal waters he floated down to Lake
Michigan. It seems a benediction for all time
that this saintly hero should thus, in his
last hours upon earth, have passed along our
rivers and walked upon our soil, drinking of

20

the sweet waters of our valleys and breathing
the airs that we breathe. As he moved by
the well-worn trail across the highlands of
Portage Prairie he must have looked into the
valley where the busy city of South Bend
now flourishes, and over the wooded plains
beyond the St. Joseph where the sun-lit
towers of Notre Dame and St. Mary's appear
upon the distant landscape. Father Marquette
represented in himself enterprise, heroism,
love of God and a love of human kind. Are
these high attributes, so strikingly manifested
by our people to-day, the blessed heritage of
that far off day?
Sec. 2. — Routes of Travel. — It was by way
of the Sault de Ste. Marie (The Falls of St.
Mary's River) and the straits of Mackinaw
that the French reached. the Northwest from
Canada. In 1641 the first Canadian envoys
met the western Indians at the Sault. It was
not, however, until 1659 that any of the ad
venturous fur traders spent a winter on the
shores of the northern lakes, nor till 1660
that the devotion of the missionaries, led by
Father Mesnard, caused the first station to
be established. Five years later, in 1665,
Father Claude AUouez built the earliest of
the lasting habitations of the white men
among the kindly and hospitable Indians of
the northern lakes. In 1668, came Fathers
Claude Dablon and James Marquette and
founded the mission at the Sault. Two years
afterwards, in 1670, Nicholas Perrot, as agent
for Talon, the Intendant of Canada, explored

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

21

Lake Michigan0 as far as Chicago; and in
1671 formal possession was taken of the
Northwest by French officers in the presence
of ¦ Indians assembled from the surrounding
regions. In the same year Marquette gath
ered a little flock of listeners at Point St.
Ignace, on the mainland west of Mackinac
Island. In 1673, two years after the found
ing of the mission at St. Ignace, "Marquette,
with the sanction and active aid of Talon, the
far-seeing intendant of Canada, began prep
arations for his long contemplated exploration
to the west of Lake Michigan. He wished to
establish missions for the conversion of the
Indians living along the borders of the great
river running to the south, the existence of
wmch was reported by the Indians and which
was believed to flow either into the Gulf of
Mexico or into the Pacific Ocean. The gov
ernment sent Louis Joliet, a merchant of
Quebec, and five boatmen to accompany him.
On the 13th of May, 1673, the little band
of seven left Michilimaekinac in two birch
bark canoes. They proceeded across the head
of Lake Michigan into and through Green
Bay and thence up the Fox river to an In
dian village where Father AUouez had
preached to the Miami, Mascouten and Kick-
apoo tribes. From this village they crossed
the portage to the Wisconsin river, down
which they floated to the Mississippi, which
was thus discovered June 17th, 1673.B
Another route to the west, which was used
by the Indians and by the early explorers,
was from the stations at the head of the
lakes down by the west shore of Lake Michi
gan to the Chicago river; thence up that
river and by the portage to the Illinois river,
and so down to the Mississippi. A third route
was along the eastern or western shore of
Lake Michigan to the mouth of the River of
the Miamis, or St. Joseph, and up that river
to the portage at South Bend; thence down
a. For a time known as Lake of the Illinois,
from the Indians of that name, and also as the
Lake of the Dauphin, in honor of the heir to the
French throne.
6. Perkins' Annals of the West, St. Louis, 1851.

the Kankakee and Illinois to the Mississippi.
It is said that there is a southern current
along the west shore of Lake Michigan and
a northern current along the east shore ; and,
consequently, that the voyage down the lake
and to the west was usually taken by the
Chicago portage, while the return journey
from the Illinois country was more often
taken by the portage of the Kankakee and
the St. Joseph.
There was also a route to the west by Lake
Erie, the Maumee river and the portage to
the Wabash, and so on to the Ohio and the
Mississippi. It is believed LaSalle knew of
this route in his earlier explorations of the
west, and that he was the discoverer of the
Ohio and the Wabash. This Maumee route
was, however, for a long time unsafe by rea
son of the incursions of the Iroquois from
New York. The route was afterwards adopted
as the main highway of civilized commerce to
the Southwest, the Wabash and Erie Canal
having been constructed over the old portage.
The canal fell into disuse only on the build
ing of our modern railroads.
After the discovery of the upper .Missis
sippi by Marquette, in 1673, and his return
to St. Ignace, he went again to the Illinois
Indians, at their urgent solicitation, and es
tablished missions among them, where he
toiled until the failure of his health, in 1675.
He then started on his return to the mission
at St. Ignace, near the island of Mackinac,
proceeding, as it is believed, bv the more easy
and direct way of the Kankakee and St. Jo
seph, and so passing through the whole length
of our county, as already related. After en
tering Lake Michigan on this journey, he went
along the eastern shore of the lake as far as
the little river which bears his name ; on the
banks of which, worn out with his labors, he
died, May 18, 1675, at the age of thirty-eight
years. Two years afterwards his affectionate
Indians came down the lake " in a fleet of
canoes and reverently bore his body to his
beloved St. Ignace, where it was finally laid
to rest, and where a suitable monument was

22

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

erected to his memory on the two hundredth
anniversary of the discovery of the upper
Mississippi. The state of Wisconsin has
caused the statue of Marquette to be placed
in the Capitol at Washington as that of one
of the great men of the West.
See. 3. — -Historical Data. — While, as al
ready intimated, the writers on our early his
tory are not in agreement on the point, yet
there is good authority, as there are also
satisfactory reasons, in support of the per
sistent belief that the great discoverer made
his last journey from the west by the ancient
route through our own county, so well known
to his devoted Indian friends, and which had
been used by Indian and Mound Builder for
hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years, in
their annual journeys between the Mississippi
and the lakes. This is the opinion of the
eminent historian, John Gilmary Shea, who
says that on this occasion Marquette "seems
to have taken the way by the St. Joseph river
and reached the eastern shore of Lake Michi
gan. "a
Bishop Brute also, who in 1834 became the
first bishop of Vincennes, says in his writings,
as quoted by Henry S. Cauthorn, himself an
honored member of an old Vincennes family,
that "the St. Joseph portage was used by
Father Marquette ¦ long before LaSalle and
Hennepin passed through that portage." The
saintly bishop further says, as also quoted
in Mr. Cauthorn 's exceedingly interesting his
tory of his native city, that, very early in
their missionary career in the Northwest,
"Fathers Marquette and AUouez passed
through that portage on their way to the
Oubasche country."6 Bishop Brute was a
native of France; and it is reasonable to
believe that during the years while he was
a. "Discovery and exploration of the Mississ
ippi Valley." See also "The St. Joseph-Kankakee
Portage," by George A. Baker; and "La Salle in
the Valley of the St. Joseph," by Charles H.
Bartlett and Richard H. Lyon. And see Cowles'
Hist. Berrien County, Mich., 1871, p. 27.
6. Hon. Henry S. Cauthorn, former speaker of
the Indiana House of Representatives. History
of the City of Vincennes, p. 63.

in charge of the diocese of Vincennes he be
came well acquainted with the old French
families of the city and the neighboring
towns, and with their histories and traditions ;
and that he also familiarized himself with the
records of the missions, all of which were
written in his native language. From the his
tory of Father Gibault, the friend of George
Rogers Clark, we know that the missions of
.Kaskaskia, Cahokia and other Illinois settle
ments were closely associated with the mission
at Vincennes. Mr. Cauthorn, as quoted by
William H. English, tells us that the same
missionaries often served at Kaskaskia and
Vincennes; that the church records show
many intermarriages ; and that there was fre
quent intercommunication between the two
places.0 As Marquette was himself in charge
of those Illinois missions during the last' years
of his life, we can well understand that what
Bishop Brute1 has told us of the great mis
sionary and his journey has in it something
of the certainty of contemporary history. Mr.
Cauthorn, former speaker of the Indiana
house of representatives, who was one of the
most distinguished sons of the old city, and
who gave years of devoted study to her early
history, says that "It is well known that he
[Marquette] left the Jesuit mission at Kas
kaskia a sick and worn out man in conse
quence of his labors and exposure, to return
to St. Ignace, a few days after Easter, 1675.
On this, his final trip, he traveled by way of
the St. Joseph portage."6 These statements
by Bishop Brute and Henry S. Cauthorn, who
had such unequaled opportunities to discover
the facts of our early French history, are
entitled to the greatest respect. So also is
the guarded opinion expressed by John Gil
mary Shea. With the exception of Francis
Parkman, if indeed Parkman be an exception,
there is no historian who, from painstaking
research, had acquired a more intimate knowl
edge of the early history of the northwest, or
a. William H. English, Conquest of the North
west, Vol. 1, pp. 288-292.
6. Cauthorn Hist. Vincennes, p. 65.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

23

who was more careful in his statement of
facts, than Mr. Shea. It seems, then, reason
able to conclude that Marquette crossed our
portage in 1675, and that he was therefore
tBe first white man to visit the territory now
comprising the county of St. Joseph.
II. LA SALLE.
•
Sec. 1. — Preparations. — Marquette and
Joliet explored the Mississippi from the
mouth of the Wisconsin to a point below the
month of the Arkansas; and then returned
in their frail canoes, having become satisfied
that the great river emptied into the gulf of
Mexico. The report of this achievement fired
the imagination of the people of all Canada,
and of France itself. Rene Robert Cavelier,
Sieur de La Salle, a native of Normandy, had
emigrated to Canada from France, in 1666.'
In 1669 he set out upon a tour of western
exploration, in the course of which he is be
lieved to have discovered the Ohio river and
to have followed its course down below the
mouth of the Wabash. He now became am
bitious to follow in the footsteps of Marquette
and Joliet and to perfect the discoveries so
well begun by them. He went to Frontenac,
then governor-general of Canada, and laid
before him his plan for the establishment of
a French empire in the west by connecting
Canada and the Gulf of Mexico by a series
of posts and forts from the great lakes down
to the mouth of the Mississippi. The scheme
was worthy the mind of a statesman and was
at once accepted by Frontenac, who advised
La Salle to proceed to France and obtain for
his project the sanction and patronage of
Louis XIV, then king, and of Colbert, his
minister of finance and marine. Colbert and
the king approved La Salle's plan of empire.
He was made a chevalier and given command
of the then frontier post of Fort Frontenac.
This fort, named after the governor-general,
was situated near the east end of Lake On
tario, at the head of the St. Lawrence river,
on the site of the present city of Kingston.
A fort had already been built at the locality,

but had fallen into neglect. It was to be re
built by La Salle and made the base of his
operations. He returned from France in high
spirits and labored until the close of 1677 in
the rebuilding and strengthening of the fort.
He then went to France again and obtained
additional favors and assistance from the gov
ernment. On September 15th, 1678, La Salle,
with his lieutenant, Henry de Tonti, an Ital
ian, and thirty men, arrived' at Quebec, and
in a few days proceeded to Fort Frontenac.
There he was joined by Father Louis Henne
pin, who was to become the principal his
torian of the proposed expedition, and who
afterwards, under La Salle's direction, be
came an extensive explorer and discoverer
himself. Sec. 2. — On the Great Lakes. — On No
vember 18th, 1678, La Salle embarked in a lit
tle vessel, to cross Lake Ontario from Fronte
nac to Niagara Falls. This is said to have been
the first ship that sailed upon this inland sea.
The winter following and the first part of the
year 1679 was employed in the fur trade with
. the Indians and in constructing a vessel on
Niagara river. This vessel was named the
Griffin and was the first to navigate the upper
lakes. On the 7th of August they set sail,
passed through Lake Erie, by the straits, Lake
St. Clair and Lake Huron, to Michilimack-
inac, where they arrived on the 27th of the
. month. A fort was constructed at this point,
and La Salle went with the Griffin to Green
Bay for a load of pelts gathered there for
him by the Indians. The vessel was sent back
to Niagara with her precious cargo, and with
instructions to exchange the furs for supplies
needed for the expedition.
While waiting for the return of the Griffin
La Salle and his party made preparations to
proceed to the south end of the lake where
he proposed to erect a fort and fix permanent
headquarters. The canoes were divided into
two fleets, one of which started ahead under
La Salle himself, while the other was to follow
under command of Tonti. The meeting place
was to be at the mouth of the River of the

24

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Miamis, afterwards named the St. Joseph.
Here, after establishing a strong post to se
cure the future safety of the enterprise, they
would await the coming of the Griffin. La
Salle, coasting the western and southern
shores of Lake Michigan, arrived at the river
on November 1, 1679 ; and during that month
built his fort on a high point between the
lake and the river, where the city of St.
Joseph now stands. He named the post Fort
Miamis. Tonti, coming by the eastern shore
of the lake, arrived towards the end of the
month." Sec. 3. — The Portage of the St. Joseph.
— That La Salle should have selected the route
by the St. Joseph for his first memorable
expedition to the west, makes it evident that
this route, and the portage by the Kankakee.
were, even then, well known to the French
missionaries and explorers. If Marquette, but
a little more than three years previous, had
chosen the same route on his last journey
from the Mississippi, it is not hard to under
stand that La Salle should have followed his
example. The building of the fort, even be
fore sailing up the river, is proof of La Salle's
confidence in the feasibility of reaching the
Mississippi in this way. He must have had
full and accurate knowledge of the St. Joseph
and the Kankakee and of the portage connect
ing them. There can be no doubt that Mar
quette, who had a genius for geographical
investigation and who had passed the last
years of his life in the missions to the Illinois
Indians, was familiar with all the routes from
a. The point where La Salle built his fort at
the mouth of the St. Joseph river is one of the
rare historic spots in the United States. This
point is on the lake bluff, at the junction of a deep
ravine, seventy or eighty rods southwesterly from
the present bank of the river. In 1902 the Daugh
ters of the American Revolution marked the place
with a gneiss boulder set upon a granite foun
dation. On a bronze plate, inserted in the face
of the boulder, is the following legend: "This
glacial boulder, found in the bed of the Saint
Joseph river, was erected, in 1902, by the Algon
quin Chapter, Daughters-American Revolution, to
commemorate the landing of RenS Robert Cavelier
Sieur de La Salle, and building on this point Fort
Miamis, 1679."

the lakes to the Mississippi, including this by
the St. Joseph-Kankakee portage. It was the
discoveries of Marquette that fired the ambi
tion of La Salle. The missionary, on his first
voyage to the west, had piloted the way down
the Mississippi; and now, on his last voyage
from the west, we may well believe, he piloted
the way up the Illinois and Kankakee, across
the portage and down the St. Joseph. It is
not a little remarkable that on this first effort
to reach the great river La Salle, with his fleet
of frail canoes, should have crossed from
Michilimackinac to the west coast of Lake
Michigan, passed the Green Bay route, which
Marquette had first followed, passed the Chi
cago river route, by which Marquette had
returned from his first trip, should have
coasted the southern extremity of the lake,
and even turned north again on the east coast,
until he reached the mouth of the St. Joseph
river. He did not take this long trip around
the lake without cause. If, however, he be
lieved there was a southern current on the
west coast and a northern current on the
east coast; and, particularly, if he had in
formation that Marquette's last and easiest
journey was by the St. Joseph-Kankakee port
age, the reasons for his choice of route are
perfectly clear. Marquette's fame and his
pathetic death were fresh in the minds of his
religious brethren at the northern end of the
lake; and also in the minds of those Indians
who had journeyed with him in his last ill
ness and those others who had even more
recently sought out his grave and removed
the revered body to St. Ignace. All these
Indians were known to La Salle; and from
them he certainly knew all the particulars
concerning the whole history, and particular
ly the last journey, of his illustrious prede
cessor. Going up the St. Joseph, therefore,
we may well conclude, La Salle was but re
tracing the route so lately taken down the
river by Marquette.
It was on December 3rd, 1679, that the
eventful voyage up the river was begun by
La Salle and his party, leaving a small garri-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

25

son to defend the fort and to await the return
of the Griffin. The boat, however, did not
return, nor was it ever heard of again. The
loss of his ship and supplies was a severe
blow to the hopes of La Salle, and interfered
greatly- with the success of his plans. But
he never knew discouragement. The fleet up
the river consisted of eight canoes, with La
Salle in command. His lieutenant was Tonti,
who had served in the French army, where
he had lost one of his hands. He was a son
of the distinguished financier who gave his
name to the tontine system of life insurance.
Father Louis Hennepin was also with the
party, as likewise were Fathers Gabriel de la
Ribourde and Zenobe Membre. As guide La
Salle had brought with him a Mohegan
Indian named Nika, or the White Beaver, a
most faithful follower. There were about
thirty men in addition.0

SCENE ON ST. JOSEPH RIVER BELOW
LA SALLE LANDING.
The beautiful St. Joseph, as we know it, was
called by La Salle the river of the Miamis,
from the great Indian tribe which then occu
pied its banks. The party expected to reach
the portage from this river to the The-a-ki-ki
(from theak, a wolf), a name insensibly
a. "The St. Joseph-Kankakee Portage," the
valuable paper already referred to, read before
the Northern Indiana Historical Society by its
secretary, George A. Baker.

changed to Kankakee. This portage was
known to be seventy or seventy-five miles from
the mouth of the river of the Miamis; but it
was passed without discovery by the fleet of
canoes. The Mohegan guide had left the
boats to hunt for game along the banks;
and without his aid it was not easy to discover
the old passageway up the high banks under
the trees, particularly when covered with new
fallen snow. The point where the trail starts
from the river is at a sharp bend of the stream
to the west, about two miles below the present
limits of the city of South Bend and within
the boundaries of River View Cemetery.
In Parkman 's "Discovery of the Great
West," the missing of the portage and the
incidents which resulted from that accident
are referred to as follows: "When they ap
proached the site of the present village of
South Bend, they looked anxiously along the
shore on their right to find the portage or
path leading to the headquarters of the Illi
nois. The Mohegan was absent, hunting, and,
unaided by his practiced eye, they passed the
path without seeing it. La Salle landed to
search the woods. Hours passed, and he did
not return. Hennepin and Tonti grew un
easy, disembarked, bivouacked, ordered guns
to be fired, and sent out men to scout the
country. Night came, but not their lost
leader. Muffled in their blankets and pow
dered by the thick falling snow-flakes, they
sat ruefully speculating as to what had be
fallen him; nor was it until four o'clock of
the next afternoon that they saw him ap
proaching along the margin of the river. His
face and hands were besmirched with charcoal ;
and he was further decorated with two opos
sums, which hung from his belt, and which he
had killed with a stick as they were swinging
head downwards from the bough of a tree,
after the fashion of that singular animal. He
had missed his way in the forest, and had been
forced to make a wide circuit around the
edge of a swamp, while the snow, of which
the air was full, added to his perplexities.
Thus he pushed on through the rest of the

26

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

day and the greater part of the night, till
about two o'clock in the morning he reached
the river again and fired his gun as a signal
to his party. Hearing no answering shot, he
pursued his way along the bank, when he pres
ently saw the gleam of a fire among the dense
thickets close at hand. Not doubting that he
had found the bivouac of his party, he
hastened to the spot. To his surprise no
human being was to be seen. Under a tree
beside the fire was a heap of dry grass im
pressed with the form of a man who must
have fled but a moment before, for his couch
was still warm. . . . La Salle called
out in several Indian languages; but there
was dead silence all around. He then, with
admirable coolness, took possession of the
quarters he had found, shouting to their in
visible proprietor that he was about to sleep
in his bed ; piled a barricade of bushes around
the spot, rekindled the dying fire, warmed his
benumbed hands, stretched himself on the
dried grass and slept undisturbed till morn
ing." Father Louis Hennepin has left us a detailed
account of this interesting incident, as also
some observations on the journey up the St.
Joseph, across the portage and down the Kan
kakee11 : ' ' We embarked, ' ' says his narrative,
"on the 3rd of December with thirty men in
eight canoes and ascended the river of the
Miamis, taking our course to the southeast
for about twenty-five leagues.6 We could not
make out the portage which we were to take
with our canoes and all our equipage in order
to go and embark at the source of the river,
The-a-ki-ki,c and as we had gone higher up in
a canoe without discovering the place where we
a. "Description de la Louisiane." Translation
by Dr. John Gilmary Shea.
6. The French league was about three miles.
Charlevoix estimates the distance from the mouth
of the river to Fort St. Joseph, near Niles, at
twenty leagues, sixty miles, which is very nearly
correct; making the distance by tbe river from
South Bend to Lake Michigan between seventy
and seventy-five miles.
c. The Kankakee, which, together with the
Illinois, was called by La Salle the Seignelay, in
honor of the son of the great Colbert.

were to march by land to take the other river
which runs by the Illinois, we halted to wait
for the Sieur de La Salle, who had gone ex
ploring on land, and as he did not return we
did not know what course to pursue. I begged
two of our most alert men to penetrate into
the woods and fire off their guns, so as to
give him notice of the spot where we were
waiting for him. Two others ascended the
river, but to no purpose, for the night obliged
them to retrace their steps. The next day I
took two of our men in a lightened canoe,
to make greater expedition, and to seek him
by ascending the river, but in vain; and at
four o'clock in the afternoon we perceived
him at a distance; his hands and face all
black with the coals and wood that he had
lighted during the night, which was cold. He
had two animals" of the size of muskrats
hanging to his belt, which had a very beauti
ful skin, like a kind of ermine, which he killed
with blows of a stick without these little ani
mals taking flight, and which often let them
selves hang by the tail from branches of trees ;
and as they were very fat our canoe men
feasted on them. He told us that the marshes
that he met with obliged him to make a wide
sweep, and as moreover he was hindered by
the snow, which was falling rapidly, he was
unable to reach the bank of the river before
two o'clock at night. He fired two gun-shots
to notify us, and no one having answered
him, he thought the canoes had gone ahead
of him, and kept on his way along and up
the river. After marching in this way more
than three hours he saw fire on a mound,
which he ascended brusquely, and after calling
two or three times ; but instead of finding us
asleep, as he expected, he saw only a little
fire among some brush, and under an oak
tree the spot where a man had been lying
down on some dry herbs, and who had appar
ently gone off at the noise which he had heard.
It was some Indian. . . . He called to him
in two or three languages, and at last, to show
him that he did not fear him, he cried that he
a. Opossums.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

27

was going to sleep in his place. He renewed
the fire, and, after warming himself well, he
took steps to guarantee himself against sur
prise by cutting down around him a quantity
of bushes, which, falling across those that re
mained standing, blocked the way so that no
one could approach him without making con
siderable noise and awakening him. He then
extinguished his fire and slept, although it
snowed all night. Father Gabriel and I
begged the Sieur de La Salle not to leave his
party as he had done, showing him that the
whole success of our voyage depended on his
presence. Our Indian had remained behind
to hunt, and not finding us at the portage he
went higher up and came to tell us that we
would have to descend the river. All our
canoes were sent with him, and I remained
with Sieur de La Salle, who was very much
fatigued, and as our cabin was composed only
of flag-mats, it took fire and would have burnt
us had I not promptly thrown off the mats,
which served as a door to our little quarters,
and which was all in flames. We joined our
party the next day at the portage, where
Father Gabriel had made several crosses
(blazes) on the trees that we might recognize
it. We found there a number of buffalo
horns and the carcasses of those animals, and
some canoes that the Indians had made of
buffalo skin to cross the river with their load
of meat. This place is situated on the edge
of a great plain,0 at the extremity of which,
on the western side, is a village of Miamis,
Mascoutens and Ouiaton (Weas) gathered to
gether.6 The river Seignelay (Kankakee),
which flows to the Illinois, rises in a plain in
the midst of much boggy land, over which it
is not easy to walk. This river is only a league
and a half distant from that of the Miamis,
and thus we transported all our equipage and
our canoes by a road which we marked for
the benefit of those who might come after us,
a. Portage Prairie.
6. This village was located on the prairie at
and about the high ground now known as Mount
Pleasant. See note on p. 28, following.

after leaving at the portage of the Miamis
river, as well as at the fort which we had
built at its mouth, letters, which were hung
on the trees at the pass to serve as a guide to
them who were to come and join us by the
barque,0 to the number of twenty-five. The
river Seignelay is navigable for canoes to
within a hundred paces of its source, and it
increases to such an extent in a short time
that it is almost as broad and deeper than the
Marne. It takes its course through vast
marshes, where it winds about so, though its
current is pretty strong, that after sailing on
it for a whole day we sometimes found that
we had not advanced more than two leagues
in a straight line. As far as the eye could
reach nothing was to be seen but marshes full
of flags and alders. For more than forty
leagues of the way we could not have found
a camping ground, except for some hummocks
of frozen earth upon which we slept and lit
our fire."6
Sec. 4. — At the Village of the Miamis. —
La Salle continued his voyage down the Kan
kakee and Illinois, past the great village on
the north side of the river, opposite Starved
Rock, until, on January 4, 1680, he reached
a point on the Illinois, near the site of the
present city of Peoria, where on a bluff or
rising ground he erected a fort. Owing to
anxiety for the loss of the Griffin and the des
perate straits to which he was thereby re
duced, he named the fort Crevecoeur (Broken
Heart). The winter wore away, and with
discontent among his followers and danger
from the Iroquois of New York, who were
constantly threatening war upon the friendly
Illinois, La Salle found it necessary to return
to Canada for additional help. He sent
Father Hennepin with a small party to ex
plore the upper Mississippi, placed Tonti in
charge of the little garrison of Crevecoeur;
and, on the first of March, 1680, started on
a. The barque was the Griffin, for whose safety
La Salle still had hopes.
B. See also Thompson's Stories of Indiana, pp.
35-37.

28

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

foot on his journey of twelve hundred miles,
taking with him three companions, including
the faithful Mohegan. After reaching Can
ada he found, as he had expected, everything
in confusion; the Griffin was lost; his agents
had cheated him, and his creditors had seized
upon his goods. But La Salle knew neither
fear nor despair, and by midsummer he was
on his way to rejoin the little band on the
Illinois. His ill fortune, however, was not
ended. On arriving at his posts he found
them deserted. The Iroquois had come • all
the way from New York to harass the friendly
Indians of the prairies; and Tonti and his
few followers had with difficulty escaped
north toward the lakes. Bitterly disappointed,
but with hopes not yet extinguished, the he
roic La Salle, in January, 1681, was com
pelled to return to Fort Miamis, at the mouth
of the St. Joseph.0
"There was," says Mr. Dunn, in his his
tory of Indiana,6 "something almost touch
ing the supernatural in the courage and reso
lution of La Salle. At that rude fort on the
bank of the St. Joseph, in the discomforts of
a severe winter, hundreds of miles from the
French settlements, his faithful Tonti carried
f captive, killed, or a fugitive, he knew not
which, his remaining comrades disheartened,
his colony swept from the face of the earth,
his credit shattered, his means dissipated by
disasters of flood and field, this man calmly
reconstructed his plans and prepared to re
new his enterprise on a more extended basis
than before. He determined to refound his
colony on the Illinois, and surround it with
a confederation of the northwestern tribes
that would be strong enough to repel any
army the Iroquois could bring against it. His
first converts were the warriors of a little
band of Abenakis and Mohegans, driven from
their New England homes in ihe border wars
of the English colonists. These refugees had
a. Perkins' Annals of the West.
6. "Indiana, A Redemption from Slavery,"
Jacob P. Dunn, Jr., Sec'y Indiana Historical So
ciety, pp. 26-28.

found no resting place till they reached the
clear waters of the St. Joseph. They gladly
allied themselves to the white chief who prom
ised to interpose the strong arm of the French
king for their protection. Scarcely were they
won when a Shawnee chief, from a village on
the Ohio, appeared and asked protection from
the Iroquois. La Salle with easy confidence
promised what was asked: 'The Chaonan-
ous° are too distant ; but let them come to me
at the Illinois and they shall be safe.' The
chief promised to join him in the succeeding
autumn, and kept his word.
"As soon as the weather began to moderate
La Salle started west on foot, with twenty
men, to seek communication with the Illinois,
who were necessary factors in his plan. The
first Indians found were some Outagamies,
from whom he received the glad tidings that
Tonti was safe with the Pottawatomies near
Green Bay. Soon after they found a band
of Illinois, to whom La Salle, after making
presents and lamenting their misfortunes,
submitted his plan. They heard him with sat
isfaction, and departed to carry the proposal
to the remainder of the tribe. Membre says
that La Salle visited other tribes at this time,
but he does not name them. His journey was
not long, for early in the spring he was at
Fort Miamis, and, taking with him ten men,
went from there up the river to the Miamis,
at the village above the portage.6 It was a
propitious season for approaching them. In
the late conflict they had remained neutral,
but they were now beginning to realize that
the intentions of the Iroquois towards them
were none of the best. They had murdered a
band of Miamis the preceding summer, and
not only had refused to make reparation, but
also had stationed parties of warriors in the
a. The Shawnees.
6. This great Village of the Miamis was located
at and about Mount Pleasant, west of the site of
South Bend. The territory covered, as near as
can be determined, extended along the St. Joseph
about two miles, from the Portage to Mosquito
Glen, and west to Chain Lakes and the confines of
the Kankakee. The visit of La Salle was made In
May, 1681.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

29

Miami country, who assumed the air of con
querors and held up to contempt the power of
the French. La Salle found one of these bands
of Iroquois at the village. He at once con
fronted them, threatened them with punish
ment for their attack on Tonti, and chal
lenged them to repeat in his presence their
insults to the French. The Iroquois had not
forgotten the former commander of Fort
Frontenac, and in his presence their courage
oozed away. During the following night,
much to the astonishment of the Miamis, they
stealthily left the village. With so much of
prestige, and by the aid of a band of refugee
Indians f *om the east who were wintering at
the point and who at once made alliance with
La Salle, the Miamis were easily won. On the
second day after the flight of the Iroquois
they declared their determination to become
brothers of the Illinois and children of the
French king, and celebrated the new order of
things with feasting and dances. ' '
The scene of this treaty with the Miamis, in
their famous village at Mount Pleasant on
Portage Prairie, one of the most important
events in the history of St. Joseph county, is
thus graphically described in "La Salle in
the Valley of the St. Joseph," by Charles H.
Bartlett and Richard H. Lyon :
• "To check the Iroquois and to provide for
the common defense of the native inhabitants,
La Salle sought to form a coalition of all the
western tribes and to move the principal
bands to the vicinity of Starved Rock,° on the
Illinois river. He had matured such a plan
while spending the winter at his stronghold,
Fort Miamis, at the mouth of our St. Joseph
river. He had retreated to this place for safety
after having witnessed the desolation of the
Illinois town. He found the various tribes
favorable to such a plan of defense against
the enemy from the east; but its permanent
success could not be assured until he had won
a. "Fort St. Louis was located on what was
then called Le Rocher, now Starved Rock, on the
south side of the Illinois river, opposite the town
of Utica." Dunn's History of Indiana, p. 32.

the powerful Miamis to the support of the
cause. The Iroquois, however, were subtle
enough to discover what was going on and,
anticipating the movements of the French,
they laid siege to the hearts of the Miamis
with such success as to strongly incline them
toward the English. At this critical moment,
La Salle, with ten companions, visited the
town of the Miamis on our Portage Prairie
and in the Chain Lakes region, and invited
these Indians- to a council. They consented to
hear what La Salle might have to say. They
would hold a council at the lodge of their
head chief on a certain day and when the sun
stood at a certain height in the heavens.
"This chief was a very remarkable man.
Both the Jesuit missionary, Father Dablon,
and also Nicholas Perrot, the, most famous of
all voyageurs, have left tributes to his mem
ory. They represent him as kind-hearted and
gentlemanly and possessing great intellectual
penetration. So just and wise was he that he
was held in great esteem, even among other
tribes more or less hostile to the Miamis, as
was shown in the delegations which such tribes
were constantly sending to consult this wilder
ness law-giver concerning their own affairs.
Father Dablon says that he was a savage only
in name. Yet this priest was probably the
first white man that the chief had seen. When
the hour for the council arrived some of the
mats were lifted from the lodge of this head
chief and the tent poles moved to one side, so
that the people might see the council and
might hear the discourse and understand the
nature of the transactions that were going
forward. The prominent warriors of the tribe
were arranged in a semi-circle on either side
of their great leader, and before them stood
La Salle with his companions around him.
' ' The scene was one well worthy the brush of
some great artist. The little prairie over which
their glances swept from time to time, and
through which the portage path then ran, is
spoken of by the early traveler as a place of
great beauty. Its eastern margin reaches in

30

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

one spot almost to the landing on the St.
Joseph, where the Frenchmen had drawn
their canoes out of the water, and after rising
by gentle swells to the high point where these
lodges of the Miamis then stood, the plain
sinks gradually to the west. . . . From
the elevated spot at the center, the vision
easily includes many miles along the charm
ing valley of the St. Joseph on the east, the
tract where South Bend now stands. In that

LA SALLE.
day, sylvan avenues replaced our streets and
gigantic forest trees our dwellings, trees that
stood far apart and lifted their lowermost
branches thirty to forty feet from the ground.
Beneath, no undergrowth was allowed to sur
vive, but everywhere was spread a soft, thick
turf, while here and there in the park-like
vistas could be seen the antlered buck or the
does with their fawns.
' ' But when those who had assembled for this
council turned their eyes to the south and the
west, they beheld the great fens and marshes
of the Kankakee land sweeping far away with
the river's onward course to the plains of Illi
nois and the Mississippi. Glistening pools
everywhere dotted this vast area, pools that
were the homes of countless millions of water
fowls. Flocks of plover and snipe swept
around the borders of the marsh ]and, while

the cranes stood in a row in the shallow water,
or rising on slow and ponderous pinions, filed
off in a never varying line toward the sky's
silver edge. A veritable cloud of ducks and
geese and swans, coming in from the swift
cold waters of the St. Joseph, fell into the
silent pools with splash and clamor and con
fusion of buffeting wings. The unaccustomed
eye of the guest in this Indian encampment
must have given more than a passing glance
to this endless whirl of happy life that flut
tered over the marshes. But the red skinned
host fixed his gaze not on the water fowls, not
on the hundreds of hawks that patrolled the
vast fields of wild rice, but upon the great war
eagles that rose on slanting pinions, 'climb
ing their airy spirals to the clouds.' Happy
the Indian whose brave deeds were such that
his tribe would allow him to fasten to his hair
the plumes of the war eagle. Each feather is
an historical record. The first one stands for
the brave act in which this hero overcame his
people 's foe at the ford near the portage land
ing. The next marks the time when he re
pulsed the Kickapoos that lay in the tall
grasses along the Kankakee to ambush a
Miami hunter. And this third feather stands
for the victory which he won when the young
men of his tribe contended with the Ottawas
on this very prairie in the famous ball play.
But concerns more important than the birds
of the air filled the mind of La Salle as he
turned to meet the glance of those flashing
eyes that alone gave animation to the dark
and rigid features of those men of the wilder
ness. One can picture in his fancy the stal
wart explorer, with pentrating eye, flowing
hair and bronzed, stern visage, standing fear
less and self-reliant and drawing to himself
the unflinching gaze of those solemn auditors.
La Salle, at the height of his strong manhood,
was then thirty-seven years of age and in per
fect health. He was of powerful mold, but
there was nothing of the braggart ; yet, when
it became necessary, he displayed both his
physical strength and his mental force.
• • • Neither affrighted by goblins, nor

HISTORY OF' ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

31

awed by threats, he was, withal, a cultivated
and refined gentleman, and could shine in the
palace of a king as well as in this red man 's
wigwam. The listening warriors were quickly
moved by his eloquence, for La Salle was
deeply skilled in the forensic arts as they
held sway at that time in the American
forest. . . .
"We are sorry that our ancestors did not
understand the Indian. We wish that they
could have understood him as the French did,
as La Salle did. The latter having won their
hearts^ proceeded to show them at this council
what great advantages might be theirs, if they
would stand under the banner of the great
king, Louis XIV. 'He who is my master,'
said he, 'and the master of all this country, is
a mighty chief feared by the whole world ; but
he loves peace, and the words of his lips are
for good alone. He is called the King of
France, and he is the mightiest of the chiefs
beyond the great water. ... It is his will
that yqu should obey his laws, and make no
war without leave of Onontio," who com
mands in his name at Quebec and who loves
all the nations alike, because such is the will
of the great king. You ought, then, to live
at peace with your' neighbors, and above all
with the Illinois. You have had causes of
quarrel with them ; '•; but their defeat has
avenged you. Though they are still strong,
they wish to make peace with you. Be con
tent with the glory of having obliged them
to ask for it. You have an interest in preserv
ing them ; since, if the Iroquois destroy them,
they will next destroy you. Let us all obey
the great king and live together in peace un
der his protection. Be of my mind, and use
these guns that I have given you, not to make
war, but only to hunt and to defend your
selves. '
"And now, to confirm his words and to
supply them with a token of his pledge to be
their defender, he handed to their chief two
a. The Indian title for the Governor-General
of Canada.

belts of wampum.0 The chief received the
tokens. His act was significant, for it showed
that he and his people were disposed to con
sider carefully the propositions of their
French guest. The chief made no further re
ply, but dissolved the council. He could
make no further reply until the members of
the tribe had been given an opportunity to
express their preferences. But they did not
deliberate long among themselves, for it was
found that all with one accord called loudly
for the French alliance. So the following
day the council was convened again, and the
chief gave the tribe 's endorsement of a treaty
of mutual helpfulness between Miamis and
Frenchmen. The oration of the chief was a
series of metaphors in which he accepts for
his people the protection of the great king,
and pledges to his cause the 'beaver and the
lands of the Miamis, ' and themselves individ
ually — body, intellect and heart. His speech
had all the ecstacy and sincerity of a lover's
song. And the Anglo-Saxon must admit that
it was greatly to the credit of the French that
their empires in the American wilderness
were thus wooed and won. ' '
Sec. 5. — Down the Mississippi. — After his
success in the formation of his Indian con
federacy and in securing the agreement of the
Miamis and other Indians of Indiana, Michi
gan, Illinois and Wisconsin to remove to the
country around Starved Rock, where Fort St.
Louis under command of Tonti should prove
a stronghold for their protection and secure
both Indians and French from the incursions
of the Iroquois, La Salle, with renewed confi
dence, went forward in the prosecution of his
great enterprise, the exploration of the Missis
sippi and its valley down to the Gulf of Mex
ico. His good fortune in the organization of
the Indians into a confederacy friendly to the
French and strong enough to resist the Iro
quois, seemed the beginning of a change in
the fortunes of the hard-tried leader. In
June, 1681, he had the pleasure of meeting
a. Beads, made of shells, and wrought into
belts. Used as money or for ornament.

32

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Tonti at Mackinac. From there he went to
Fort Frontenac where he made preparations
for his new expedition, and in November was
back at Fort Miamis. About the middle of
December all things were ready. They did
not go at this time by the Kankakee, but
moved along the south shore of Lake Michigan
to the Chicago river, up which they sailed,
crossed the portage and passed down the Des
Plaines and Illinois to Fort Crevecoeur. On
February 6th, 1682, they were on the banks
of the Mississippi, and on April the 6th they
reached the mouth, or rather the three mouths,
of the great river. On the 9th of April, an
elevated spot was selected on the bank, in
latitude twenty-seven degrees, where a column
and a cross were solemnly set up, and the
whole country watered by the Mississippi and
its tributaries was taken possession of for
France and for the Christian religion.0 La
Salle called the country Louisiana, in honor
of Louis XIV. of France; and the empire so
established by this intrepid explorer con
tinued, with one interruption, to be French
territory for over one hundred and twenty
years, and until another great French ruler,
Napoleon Bonaparte, to prevent the rich val
ley from falling into the hands of the English,
conveyed it, in 1803, to the American repub
lic, during the presidency of Thomas Jeffer
son. La Salle called the river "Colbert or
Mississippi ; " the first in honor of his friend
and patron, the great French statesman, the
second being the Indian Mesi-sepi, or great
river. Marquette had called it the river of the
Immaculate Conception. While the discov
eries made by Marquette and La Salle are
those that have been fruitful of great results
to our country and to the world, yet the river
had been seen by white men many years be
fore either Marquette or La Salle. In 1519,
the mouth of the Mississippi was discovered by
the Spanish explorer, Alonzo de Pineda, who
called it the Espiritu Santo. In 1528, another
a. Perkins' Annals of the West, pp. 41-44.

Spaniard, Cabeza de Vaca, crossed the river
near its mouth. On May 1, 1541, Hernando de
Soto, almost as great a man as La Salle him
self, in his expedition from Florida, reached
the Mississippi, not far from the thirty-fifth
parallel of latitude, at the lower Chickasaw
bluffs, a little below the present city of Mem
phis." He called the river Rio Grande, mean
ing the same as the Indian Mesi-sepi, great
river. In 1684, La Salle led another expedition
from France. This final venture went all the
way by sea, sailing directly for the mouth of
the Mississippi ; the intention being to found
a colony at that point. In this voyage the
evil fortune of La Salle seemed to return. As
he had missed the portage of the Kankakee in
coming up the St. Joseph with his fleet of
canoes, in 1679, so now his ocean fleet missed
the mouth of the Mississippi, and he landed at
Matagorda bay, or Bay St. Louis, as he
called it, in the present state o'f Texas. Here
they built a fort and tried to discover the
"Hidden River," as they called the Mississip
pi. Matters grew worse from month to month,
until in March, 1687, a mutiny broke out and
many of La Salle's friends, including the
faithful Mohegan, were put to death. On the
20th of the month he was himself stricken
down.6 So perished the discoverer of the
lower Mississippi and founder of Louisiana; a
man fitted for empire,. and the greatest, per
haps, of the leaders of French enterprise in
America. Sec. 6. — The Passing of the Portage.— In
St. Joseph county, local interest in La Salle
centers in his voyage up the St. Joseph and
over the portage, in 1679 ; and in his treaty
with the Miamis, in 1681. It is a question
how far he went up the river when he missed
the landing at the portage on his first visit to
our county. " We do not know, ' ' say Bartlett
and Lyon, in their historical sketch of La
Salle in the Valley of the St. Joseph, "how
o. Century Cyclopedia.
6. The Century Cyclopedia of Names. Per
kins Annals of the West, pp. 45-52.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

33

far they ascended the river beyond this point
[the portage landing] before their mistake
was discovered. It is fair to presume, how
ever, that they could not have continued for
any great distance above the spot known as
the south bend of the river [a little east of the
present Miami street] ; for they must soon
have discovered that beyond this place the
trend of the river-bed led away from the
region of the Kankakee. They landed and
prepared to search for the portage. La Salle
in his eagerness to find the path, set forth
alone. And here the unexpected happened.
He was soon lost. . . . The situation
was one which might easily confuse any ex
plorer. He was on the spot where the very tip
end of the Kankakee valley merges into that of
the St. Joseph. Over this spot the water of
the latter river once ran, when, in ancient geo
logical times, the portion of our river above
the south bend was a continuation of the val
ley of the Kankakee.0 La Salle was looking
for a ridge which should divide the two river
velleys. He doubtless supposed that the hills
to the south of the present road between South
Bend and, Mishawaka [Vistula Avenue],
formed that ridge and strove to reach their
summit. In doing so, he was compelled to
pick his way through the long, swampy tract
lying between these hills and the St! Joseph.
The view from the highland showed him the
great Kankakee marsh on the west. But in
his return to his companions, he missed the
devious path by which he had come, and tried
to go around this marshy tract extending for
several miles to the east. Tonti says that 'he
had to make the detour. ' In doing so he must
have gone east nearly as far as the present site
of the village of Osceola. Here he came again
to the banks of the St. Joseph. ' '
In Hennepin's account, already quoted, we
are informed that it was two o'clock in the
night when La Salle reached the river. He
had left the party the day before, and con
sidering the shortness of the days in Decern- ¦
a. See Chapter First, Sub-Division VII, "The
Great Kankakee." 3

ber, he must have been walking for ten or
twelve hours before he got around the swampy
grounds which are now the rich peppermint
flats above Mishawaka. Hennepin tells us,
moreover, that after La Salle had reached the
river and fired his gun to notify his followers,
and, receiving no response, he thought the
canoes had gone ahead of him; and that he
then kept on his way along up the river,
marching more than three hours more before
he saw the light on the high ground, where he
believed his companions were asleep, but
which was an Indian's resting place in which
he soon after went to sleep. This gives us
probably fifteen hours of travel from the time
La Salle left the canoes at the south bend of
the river until he settled himself to sleep in the
frightened Indian's bed of grass and leaves. It
would seem that, allowing for the difficulty of
walking in the snow and for all other delays
and obstructions, this fifteen hours of con
tinuous walking would have taken La Salle
far above the present site of Osceola. The
next morning he seems to have changed his
mind and turned down the river to find his
companions; but it was four o'clock in the
afternoon when those in the advance saw him
coming along the margin of the river. How
high up the river was this point of meeting is
also uncertain. From Hennepin's account it
is certain that it was far above the portage,
for the canoes had gone up beyond the south
bend of the river before La Salle left them to
search for the trail, and Hennepin says that
next day he took a lightened canoe and as
cended the river to seek their leader. And
after they had found him and the Mohegan
had come up and told them that the portage
was far below, and they had sent back all
their canoes with the Indian to wait at the
portage, Hennepin says that he staid all night
with La Salle "who was very much fatigued, ' '
and that on the next day they went down the
river and joined the rest of the party at the
portage. Tonti says that the point where the
Mohegan found the party was two leagues,
that is, six miles, above the portage. It would

34

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

appear, therefore that the point where La
Salle was first discovered coming down the
margin of the river, with the opossums hang
ing from his belt, must have been not lower
than within the present limits of the city of
Mishawaka, while the night before was spent
by him at least as high up as the site of
Osceola. in. primitive inhabitants.
Dr. Montgomery,0 in speaking of the time
towards the close of the last ice age, when the
great Kankakee carried its waters from Sagi
naw Bay down the valleys of the St. Joseph
and the Kankakee to the Mississippi, tells us
that, "If a man could have stood upon the
hills of Rum Village, a vast panorama of
water would have met his gaze : To the north
east, as far as the eye could reach, a stream
from five to six miles wide and a hundred
feet in depth, passing at his feet and rolling
onward to the southwest, confined only by
the hills on the north and on the south ; and to
the northwest a tributary of the same great
stream three miles wide and limited in the line
of his vision only by the horizon." And he
adds : "And primitive man was here. ' ' This
conclusion, that the first man was already
here, is read by the learned scientist in the
records of our rocks.
Sec. 1. — The Mound Builders. — But other
and more easily deciphered records are found
upon the face of the earth, all over the region
of the Mississippi valley, indicating the
presence, at a comparatively recent period, of
a highly intelligent race. These people, for
whom we have no name, but who are vaguely
included under the general term of Mound
Builders, have left evidences of extensive
works in the vicinity of our great rivers and
their tributaries. These works are of three
kinds: Mounds; square and circular enclos
ures ; and raised embankments of various
forms. The absence of remains of buildings
is explained by the circumstance that timber

a. "The Glacial Phenomenon, etc.,
Chapter I.

cited in

was here abundant, and would therefore be
chosen for building instead of stone. The
Mound Builders are believed to be the same
people who have left buildings of stone in
New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico and various
parts of Central and South America: The
stone structures of those countries remain,
but the wooden buildings of our own region
would leave no trace after a few hundred
years. These mysterious people disappeared
from our country ages ago. Nature does not
give a forest growth at once to abandoned
fields; a preparatory growth of shrubs and
softer timber comes first. But forest trees
have been found upon the summit of these
mounds which show, by annual rings and
other signs, at least six hundred years of
growth. There could be no better proof of
the great antiquity of these mounds. The
Mound Builders occupied the country, at least
the southern part of it, where their popula
tion was densest, for a very long time. This
is shown by the extent of their remains, by
their workings in the copper mines of the
Lake Superior region, and by many other
proofs. At the south they were at peace;
but as they advanced northward they came
more and more into contact with the wild
tribes, before whom they finally retired again
towards the southern countries from which
they had come.
In the Lake Superior region have been
found, as already intimated, the copper mines
worked by these ancient people. In one of
these mines there was discovered an immense
block of copper weighing nearly six tons. It
had been left in the process of removal to
the top of the mine, nearly thirty feet above,
and was supported on logs of wood which
were partly petrified. The stone and copper
tools used by the miners were discovered
lying about as they had been left by their
owners ages ago. At the mouth of this mine
are piles of earth thrown out in digging the
mine ; and out of these embankments trees are

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

35

growing which are nearly four hundred
years old.°
As said by Maurice Thompson, in his de
lightful Stories of Indiana, it is hard to realize
now what the face of the land looked like
fifty or sixty years ago, even when old people
most graphically describe it from memory.
Still more difficult do we find it when we try
to look back to the far-off time when the first
human footprints were made in Indiana.
We might naturally suppose that these first
visitors were Indians, but we do not know
that this conjecture is anywhere near the
truth. What we do know is tnat strange and
interesting traces of human activities, dating
back probably many centuries, are clearly
marked in almost every region. These are
mostly earthworks of various forms — mounds,
embankments, and curious garden-like ar
rangements of soil beds with walks between.
In some places beds or heaps of shells, broken
and charred bones of fish, birds and quad
rupeds, suggest camping spots where cook
ing and feasting went on for years. And al
most always in connection with these mounds
and the like are found human bones, curious
copper and stone and pottery implements,
and the crude ornaments worn by the people.
They had for arms bows and arrows and
spears, and used stone axes and knives;
while the women sewed with flint needles.
They were hunters, fishermen and warriors.
It is said that the Indians found here when
white men first arrived had a vague tradition
that their distant ancestors came from far
towards the setting sun, probably the south
west. These first men liked to dwell beside
running streams, where they could build
earthworks, on high, well-drained land over
looking the course of the water and command
ing a view of the surrounding country. Some
of the most beautiful landscapes in Indiana
lie round about these sites of ancient encamp
ments. Doubtless the Mound Builders were

a. The Undeveloped West, by J. H. Beadle, as
cited in Northrop's Four Centuries of Progress,
p. 18.

expert canoemen and used the streams as
highways of travel and as base lines from
which to make . explorations and hunting ex
cursions; for almost every water course in
Indiana then navigable for canoes has here
and there along its banks traces of the Mound
Builders' art. The implements of copper,
of stone and of pottery found imbedded in
the mounds show the- effect of patient and
quite accurate work. Arrowheads of flint
were sometimes so neatly finished that they
are marvels of symmetry even when compared
with like heads made of steel by the best
workmen of Europe for archers in the time
when the bowmen of England were the finest
soldiers in the world. Stone mortars and
pestles for pounding grain and the kernels of
nuts and acorns into meal served them in
stead of mills. For knives they had sharp
stones and keen-edged blades of bone. It is
evident that the Mound Builders depended
mostly upon spears and bows and arrows for
killing game. If we knew the form of their
bows it would aid us greatly in finding out
more about their character as men ; for among
the wildwood hunters, before firearms
reached them, the bow was the best sign of
their condition. Short, weak bows stood for
an inferior people; long and strong bows in
dicated a stalwart race of men. But many
of the arrowheads found in the mounds are
large and heavy, fitted for use only with
powerful bows ; and the axes and spear points
were ponderous weapons suggestive of great
muscular force in those who used them.
From the northernmost part of the state
down to the Ohio river the Mound Builders
had their fortifications, and the same may
be said of the whole country on down to the
Gulf of Mexico. In many places stone walls
were built instead of earthworks, the masonry
being regular and strong, but laid without
mortar. We have noted that the mounds
were almost invariably built on high points
of ground overlooking considerable areas of
surrounding country. This choice may have
been a measure of precaution against the ap-

36

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

proach of enemies, but there was a more
urgent and natural reason for it. In those
early days Indiana's territory was almost as
much water as dry land. During a great part
of the year nearly all the low, flat lands were
too wet for camping purposes, and in times
of long-continued rain even the animals were
all forced by the water to take refuge on the
high places. How easy it was then for the
Mound Builders to go in their light canoes
to the grounds thus surrounded by water and
take all the game they needed. No doubt the
floods often drove whole herds of deer, flocks
of wild turkeys, and even many bears and
pumas, wild cats and wolves up to the very
walls of the encampments. And this may be
why such vast numbers of arrowheads are to
this day found on the high grounds.
A great many signs point to the south and
southwest as the direction whence the first
inhabitants reached Indiana. Sometimes lit
tle things are more significant than large
ones, and the fact that some of the arrow
heads and stone ornaments found in and
around our ancient earthworks are made of
certain kinds of stone not appearing any
where this side of Tennessee, speaks almost
as clearly as written legend of the route by
which their owners came to this region. Some
historians have thought that the Mound
Builders were a race greatly superior to the
Indians found here by the whites, and have
tried to show, by remains left here by that
vanished people, that they were advanced in
.intelligence. Others maintain that the Mound
Builders were but ordinary Indians, the an
cestors of tribes still in existence when the
French missionaries and traders came to this
region.0 While no remains of great magnitude, left
by the Mound Builders, are found in St.
Joseph county, yet indications of the presence
of those mysterious people are discovered in
many places in and near the valleys of the
St. Joseph and the Kankakee.
a. Thompson's Stories of Indiana, pp. 15-20.
See also Smith's Hist. Indiana, Vol. 1, pp. 41-61.

Near New Carlisle, on the borders of Terre
Coupee Prairie, and at various other points
such remains are discovered. The most re
markable of these are three large mounds and
two small ones, found in Warren township,
on the northwest bank of the furthest south
of the group of Chain lakes, just south of
the Lake Shore railroad tracks. These
mounds have supplied some of the finest of
the copper axes in the collections of the
Northern Indiana Historical Society and
other collections; while in the vicinity of the
mounds are the usual cloth-marked frag
ments of pottery and broken stone imple
ments indicating the presence of that old race
whose remains are so conspicuous throughout
the valley of the Kankakee and the Illinois.
Across Portage Prairie, by the portage or
pathway from the St. Joseph to the Kankakee,
the Mound Builders, like the Indian tribes
that came after them, carried on the com
merce that went from the lakes to the gulf
in those far off years. Old residents who yet
remain with us remember this pathway as
deep and straight, so deep in places that a
man on horseback could almost touch the
level ground on either side with his foot. It is
not difficult to understand why this pathway,
this ancient trail from the St. Joseph to the
Kankakee, should have been straight and
deep ; caused as it was by one dusky traveler
and burden bearer, moving, man after man,
in the footsteps of his predecessor, and by the
moccasined foot pressing the soil deeper and
deeper, year after year and age after age.
Unnumbered centuries and countless hosts
knew the trend of this ancient highway ; ages
when the hosts of the lower Mississippi and
the gulf, and the regions to the south, sought
the copper mines of the upper lake region.
Not only in the mounds throughout the great
valley and the gulf region, but also in the
oldest of the Peruvian tombs, are found im
plements and tokens made from Lake Su
perior copper. And we may not doubt that
the traffic which these facts imply was itself,

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

37

in part, responsible for the depth of this path
across our Portage Prairie."
Sec. 2. — Our Miamis and Pottawatomies.
— But the earth records of the Mound
Builders are almost as unsatisfactory in the
reading as are the records of the rocks which
tell us of the presence of man in the geologi
cal ages ; and we turn with relief to the some
what scanty written records, — letters, jour
nals and reports of missionaries, fur traders,
explorers and adventurers, — who tell us of the
people that occupied these regions when they
first became known to civilized man.
When La Salle reached the St. Joseph, in
1679, he found the country in the possession
of the Miami Indians, and he gave the name
of that tribe to the river. Mr. Dunn says
that, "The main body of the Miamis proper,
whom the English called Twigh-twees, were
located in 1680 on the St. Joseph of Lake
Michigan, a little above the site of South
Bend. ' '6 This was the Miami village at
Mount Pleasant on Portage Prairie. The
Miamis were a tribe of the great Algonquin
nation. This nation formerly occupied the
territory now comprized in the New England
states, eastern New York and Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,
parts of North Carolina, Kentucky and Ten
nessee, and nearly all of Ohio, Indiana, Illi
nois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
There were no less than eleven or twelve
tribes of the Algonquin nation: Ottawas,
Chippewas, Sacs and Foxes, Miamis, Potta
watomies, Shawnees, Powhatans, Delawares,
Mohegans, Naragansetts and Pequods; all
speaking different dialects of the same speech.
The Algonquins were the most extensive and
powerful of the Indian nations. Their bitter
enemies were the Iroquois, who occupied
western Canada and New York and the
country on the south shore of Lake Erie. The
nation of the Iroquois was divided into five
tribes: Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Onei-
a. Bartlett and Lyon's "La Salle in the St.
Joseph Valley," pp. 52, 64.
&. Hist. Indiana, p. 22.

das and Mohawks. Several years after La
Salle's visit, in 1722, they admitted into their
confederacy the Tuscarosas, who had some
time previously emigrated to New York from
the Carolinas. The Iroquois are therefore
known in history at first as the Five Nations,
and afterwards as the Six Nations. They
were perhaps the most highly accomplished
and the bravest of the northern Indian na
tions. They are known to our state only by
their warlike incursions from the east, and
their attacks upon different tribes of their
hereditary enemies, the Algonquins. At La
Salle's coming there was almost constant war
between the Iroquois and a confederacy of
tribes, who called themselves Illinois, that is,
real men, or manly fighters. The Illinois,
properly speaking, did not constitute a tribe,
but a confederacy: Kaskaskias, Cahokias,
Tamaronas, Peorias and Mitchigamias. The
last tribe, which is said to have come from
west of the Mississippi, gave its name to Lake
Michigan, formerly called, from the con
federacy, Lake Illinois. The Illinois con
federacy was formed to resist the incursions
of the Iroquois, but was scarcely a match for
the latter. This enmity of the two great con
federacies was at first a chief obstacle to the
success of La Salle's explorations. The Iro
quois were allies of the English, while their
ancient enemies, the Algonquins, were almost
always on good terms with the French. The
country to the south of the lakes was there
fore unsafe ground for the French, who were
consequently compelled to make their ap
proaches by the lakes from the north." But
even the Indiana and Illinois territory was
invaded by the terrible Iroquois ; and the less
warlike and less united Algonquins seemed
unable to resist them. It was for this reason
that La Salle determined to form a powerful
and well united confederacy which should
take the place of the inefficient Illinois con
federacy, and so protect both the French
posts and missions and the western Indians
a. Parkman's Discovery of Great West, p.
17, n.

38

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

themselves from their eastern foes. In this
he succeeded, as we have seen. The Miamis
of our valley, and indeed of all northern In
diana, were at first timid about joining
against the dreaded Iroquois, but they were
finally persuaded by the arguments and the
eloquence of La Salle. The result was that
the Miamis and all other Indians left north
ern Indiana and went to reside in the Illinois
country, around Starved Rock, joining the
great confederacy of Algonquins formed at
that point by La Salle. In speaking of two
ancient maps, drawn about 1684, Mr. Dunn0
says: "On neither map is there any mark
of an Indian village or French post within
the limits of Indiana, although all other
known villages and posts are marked. The
reason was that there were no Indians' resid
ing in Indiana. They had all removed to the
Illinois. So far as has yet been discovered,
none of them returned before the opening of
the eighteenth century."
Soon after La Salle 's death his confederacy
began to dissolve. The French, however, were
then better able to protect themselves, and
the Iroquois generally found enough to oc
cupy their attention in the east. Of the tribes
gathered by La Salle at Starved Rock, some
returned to their former abode, while others
sought new habitations. The Pottawatomies
who had come from the Green Bay country,
in Wisconsin,6 took possession of the southern
shores of Lake Michigan and the adjacent
territories now known as southwestern Michi
gan, northwestern Indiana and northeastern
Illinois. The Indians known, to the early
English speaking inhabitants of St. Joseph
county were therefore chiefly Pottawatomies.
With them were mingled some Miamis, Chip
pewas and others. The great body of the
Miamis, however, went farther south and east
in Indiana and into Ohio, their chief settle
ments in Indiana being on the Wabash and
a. Hist. Indiana, p. 34.
6. Dunn's Hist. Indiana, p. 27. And see speech
of Hon. Daniel McDonald, in Division VI of this
chapter.

near the head waters of the Maumee, where
the city of Fort Wayne now stands. But the
Miamis always considered themselves the
rightful owners of all the territory included
within the state of Indiana, as well as a large
part of the adjacent sections of Ohio, Illinois
and Michigan.
More than a hundred years after the death
of La Salle, the renowned Mish-i-kin-ak-wa,
or Little Turtle, the greatest of the Miamis,
at the treaty of Greenville, in 1795, said to
General Anthony Wayne : "I hope you will
pay attention to what I will now say to you.
I wish to inform you where your younger
brothers, the Miamis, live. . . . You
have pointed out to us the boundary line be
tween the Indians and the United States ; but
I now take the liberty to inform you that
that line euts off from the Indians a large
portion of country which has been enjoyed by
my forefathers from time immemorial, with
out molestation or dispute. The print of my
ancestors' houses are everywhere to be seen
in this portion. . It is well known
by all my brothers present, that my fore
father kindled the first fire at Detroit; from
thence he extended his lines to the headwaters
of the Scioto; from thence, to its mouth;
from- thence, down the Ohio, to the mouth of
the Wabash; and from thence, to Chicago, on
Lake Michigan. ' '
Dillon informs us that, "In the early part
of the eighteenth century, and perhaps for a
long period before that time, the Miamis
dwelt in small villages, at various suitable
places within the boundaries of their large
territory. Some of these villages were found
on the banks of the Scioto — a few were situ
ated in the vicinity of the headwaters of the
great Miami— some stood on the banks of the
river Maumee— others on the St. Joseph of
Lake Michigan— and many were found on
the borders of the Wabash, and on some of
the principal tributaries of that river. The
villages which stood on the banks of the St.
Joseph of Lake Michigan, those which lay
about the headwaters of the Maumee, and

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

39

those which stood on the borders of the Wa
bash, were often visited by Christian mission
aries and by fur traders, before the middle
of the eighteenth century."0
It is plain, therefore, that our Pottawato
mies occupied the valleys of the St. Joseph
and Kankakee by grace of the Miamis.
"Branches of the. Pottawatomie, Shawnee,
Delaware and Kickapoo tribes," says Dillon,
"were, at different periods of time, permitted
to enter, and reside at various places, within
the boundaries of the large territory which
was claimed by the Miamis."6 Indeed it was
not at all uncommon for bands of different
Algonquin tribes to dwell in peace within one
another's territory. Such a band of the
Miamis themselves lived in Wisconsin with
the Kickapoos and Mascoutins.0
iv. fort st. Joseph's.
Sec. 1. — The French Power; — While the
famous post known as Fort St. Joseph was
not located within the limits of St. Joseph
county, and not even within the limits of the
State of Indiana, yet for nearly a hundred
years the history of that post was the history
of the valley to which it gave its name, and
no history of our county could be complete
without giving some attention to the old fort.
On the west bank of the St. Joseph, about
sixty miles from the mouth of the river,
measured by the windings of the stream, the
Miamis retained a noted fishing village which
had been located at this point long before the
white man's day. "The town," says Mr.
Bartlett in his charming volume, Tales of
Kankakee Land, "was there when La Salle
invaded the region, and doubtless the spot had
been held by many races through many ages
past ; for this part of the stream was one of
the famous fishing grounds. "a Across the
river, and not far from the east bank, at
tracted no doubt by the same cause, the Potta-
a. Dillon, Hist. Indiana, pp. 5, 6.
6. 76., p. 14.
c. Dunn's Indiana, pp. 6, 22.
d. Tales of Kankakee Land, p. 158.

watomies, probably soon after coming into the
valley, established a village of their own.
These towns were located about a mile above
the present city of Niles and ten or twelve
miles below South Bend.° Here, on the east
bank of the river, was established, at a very
early date, the mission of St. Joseph. It
would seem that this mission was founded by
Father AUouez, the same zealous missionary
who, in 1665, had established at the Falls of
St. Mary (Sault Ste. Marie) the first perma
nent mission in the northwest. In 1673, as
already noted, when Marquette was on his
way to the discovery of the upper Mississippi,
he came to an Indian village on the Fox river
where Father AUouez had preached to the
Miamis, Mascoutins and Kickapoos of the
Green Bay country.6 It is also known that
in 1670, 1671- and 1672, Allouez and Dablon
traversed the whole region along the western
and southern shores of Lake Michigan;0 and
there can be little doubt that on such a jour
ney the missionaries would visit the famous
fishing village of the Miamis.
In Nevin's "Black Robes, or Sketches of
Missions and Ministers in the Wilderness and
on the Border," it is said that the first at
tempt at establishing a mission at this point
was made in 1675 ; and that the design was
permanently accomplished in 1680, when
Allouez and Dablon, having coasted Lake
Michigan from Green Bay, entered the St.
Joseph and proceeded up the river until they
reached this point. Here, adds the writer,
on the east bank of the river, rises a semi
circular bluff, at the base of which, and
through the soil of the marshy level, runs a
brook into the St. Joseph. On this bluff
Allouez built a chapel, and nearby a log
cabin for his own accommodation. This mis
sion cared not only for the Miamis across the
a. Mr. Dunn's Hist. Indiana, in a note at page
26, says that an itinerary in the Haldimand Col
lection fixes this point at twelve miles below the
South Bend Portage. This might be nearly cor
rect, measuring by the windings of the river.
&. Perkins' Annals of the West, p. 30.
c. Dillon, Hist. Indiana, pp. 2, 12.

40

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

river, but, in the course of the next few years,
watched over all the Pottawatomies and other
tribes on both sides of the stream, including
those around the Notre Dame lakes and along
the banks of the Kankakee. Bartlett and
Lyon say that "It does, indeed, seem not
unlikely that Allouez, who was with the
Miami Indians in 1672, should have followed
them from their Wisconsin home when they
migrated to this valley. He was certainly
here at a later date, devoting the closing years
of his life to the work of the mission on the
St. Joseph, where he died in 1690."° The
same authors, in another connection, say that
about seven thousand Miamis left the St.
Joseph valley after the treaty on Portage
Prairie with La Salle, and joined that ex-
. plorer's confederacy on the Illinois, at
Starved Rock; and that when La Salle lost
his life in Texas, and Tonti retired from the
Illinois country, "Father Allouez brought
back a remnant of these people to their old
home on the St. Joseph."6
On the same high bluff on which the mis
sion of St. Joseph's was established, but how
soon after or by whom is not certainly known,
a fort was erected, which took its name from
the mission, being called Fort St. Joseph's.
This fort was thereafter the chief stronghold
of the French in this vicinity; and the post
was for many years one of the most important
in French America. It was the center of the
fur trade and other commerce of the St.
Joseph and Kankakee valleys. Here came
French and Indians from all the surrounding
country; and to this point expeditions were
sent up the river from Lake Michigan, and
from here they passed on to the south, across
the portage and down the Kankakee, to the
Illinois country. The center of missionary
effort among the Pottawatomies, Miamis and
other tribes ; the center of commerce ; and the
strong arm of French authority; the mission
and post at St. Joseph's long continued to be
a. La Salle in the Valley of the St. Joseph
p. 7. '
&. lb., p. 89, note.

one of the best known of the French stations
in the northwest. Fort Miamis, established
by La Salle at the mouth of the river, fell into
disuse after he left the valley, and Fort St.
Joseph took its place.0
Some have conjectured that it was La Salle
himself who, attracted by the unfailing sup
ply of food at this fishing place, and by the
opportunities for traffic in the Indian village
across the river, built his second fort at this
point.6 It is more probable, however, that
Fort St. Joseph's was built later, and after
the establishment of the mission by Allouez;
although the idea of a fort at this point might
well have occurred to the far-seeing mind of
La Salle, as he passed up and down the
river.0 The better opinion is that the military
post was established here in 1697.°' But what
ever may have been the origin of the old fort,
it is one of the historical certainties of this
region, that Fort Miamis, built by La Salle
at the mouth of the river, ceased to be oc
cupied after he left the valley; while, on the
high bluff between South Bend and Niles,
Fort St. Joseph's took its place, and became,
and for nearly a hundred years remained, the
stronghold of the French and their secure
asylum in the surrounding wilderness. e
With the change from Fort Miamis to Fort
St. Joseph's, the river also changed its name.
The mission gave its name to the fort, and
the fort to the river. It was no longer called
the river of the Miamis, but the river St.
Joseph. To distinguish it from the small St.
Joseph, which, with the St. Mary's, near Fort
Wayne, forms the Maumee, our river was for
a time called the Big St. Joseph's, the St.
Joseph's of the Lakes, or the St. Joseph's of
Lake Michigan. In time, however, it became
known, simply as the St. Joseph. From the
river the name passed to the valley, and from
a. Baker, St. Joseph-Kankakee Portage, p. 42,
note. .
6. Bartlett, Tales of Kankakee Land, p. 159.
c. Dunn, Hist. Indiana, p. 26, "note.
d. Baker, St. Joseph-Kankakee Portage, p. 43,
note. e. Bartlett, Tales of Kankakee Land, p. 160.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

41

the river and the valley, came the name of
our county, as also the familiar title of our
county seat, the Queen City of the St. Joseph
valley, — all from the pious name given to
the ancient mission of St. Joseph's by its
founder, the simple-minded and zealous Al
louez. So, too, not only the name but the
civilization of the beautiful valley dates from
the Mission of St. Joseph's.
Two objects chiefly seemed to engage the
attention of the French at Fort St. Joseph's:
The centralizing of the labors of the- sur
rounding missions; and the protection of the
fur trade with the tribes of the northwest.
While the fort was strong, yet there was com
paratively little resort, to force or intimida
tion. The French understood the Indians
and lived on friendly terms with them. Not
until the year 1730 is there any record of
important military operations. In that year
an expedition went up the river and over the
portage by the Kankakee to punish the Out-
agamies at Starved Rock for outrages com
mitted against the Pottawatomies and other
peaceful tribes. This successful operation
appears to have been conducted in conjunc
tion with another from post Vincennes
against the barberous Outagamies.
Sec. 2. — British Supremacy. — But the
comparative peace which had happily pre
vailed from the days of Marquette and Al
louez and La Salle was brought to a rude
termination by the Seven Years' War, — the
French and English war, as it was called in
America. This conflict had long been brew
ing : it was a struggle of giant powers for the
possession of a continent. On May 18, 1756,
war was declared; and on September 17,
1759, after the deaths of Wolfe and Mont
calm, Quebec passed from France to Britain.
A little less than one year afterwards, on
September 8, 1760, Montreal was surrendered.
With Montreal went all Canada, which, in
the articles of capitulation, was said "to ex
tend to the crest of lands dividing branches
of Lakes Erie and Michigan from those of the
Miami [the Big Miami, flowing into the

Ohio], the Wabash and the Illinois rivers."0
For nearly two years and a half, or until
the treaty of Paris, that provision in the ar
ticles of capitulation made the boundary be
tween the British and French possessions in
the northwest a very irregular line. The
lands drained by the Maumee and the St.
Joseph became British territory; those
drained by the Wabash and the Kankakee re
mained French. The northeast part of St.
Joseph county, including the greater part of
South Bend and all of Mishawaka, ceased
forever to be French. The boundary ran ir
regularly along the summit dividing the
waters of the St. Joseph from those of the
Kankakee. This took the present townships
of Clay and Harris, and the greater part of
German, Portage and Penn, within the
British line; while the rest of the county re
mained French territory. Under the terms
of the capitulation of Montreal, Detroit was
taken over in the fall, 1760; but Fort St.
Joseph's and the other frontier posts were
not garrisoned with British troops until the
spring of 1761, and some of them even later.
By the treaty of Paris, which was signed
February 10, 1763, the British boundaries
were extended to the Mississippi. The line
drawn through that river from its source to
its mouth was made the boundary between the
two nations, except that the city and island
of New Orleans were to remain with France.
Thereafter the province of Louisiana was con
fined to the territory west of the Mississippi.
Spain was a party to the treaty of Paris, and
in that treaty ceded the Floridas to Great
Britain. By way of compensation for this
loss, France, by a private agreement, made
over to Spain, New Orleans and what re
mained to her of Louisiana.6 Thus Spain.
for a time, came into the history of the Mis
sissippi valley, and, incidentally, as we shall
see, into the history of our own valley of the
St. Joseph.
a. Bancroft, Hist. U. S., Vol. 2, pp. 522-24.
Smith, Hist. Ind., Vol. 1, Chap. 7.
6. Dyer's Hist. Modern Europe, Book 6, Chap. 6.

42

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Sec. 3.— Pontiac's War.— The discomfiture
of France and the transfer of the northwest
territory to Great Britain brought about a
state of sullen displeasure in the minds of
the Indians, who had lived so long on friendly
terms with the French. Accordingly, in the
early part of 1763, Pontiac, the distinguished
chief of the Ottawas, formed a confederacy
to expel the English from their newly ac
quired territory. The Ottawa chief was by,
birth a Catawba, but being captured in war
by the Ottawas was adopted by that tribe.
By his wisdom and bravery he became not
only the chief of the Ottawas, but the leader
of the whole Algonquin nation. The con
federacy formed by Pontiac, one of the
strongest and best ever organized by the In
dian race, was composed not only of all the
Algonquin tribes, but embraced also the
Wyandots and the Senecas, the latter being
one of the Iroquois confederacy, so long at
enmity with the Algonquins. Pontiac's plan
was to take all the English forts at the same
time, by a similar stratagem. A body of
picked men was to visit each post in a
friendly manner during the month of May,
1763, and then, while the men and officers
were off their guard, make a sudden attack
and capture the garrison. The plan might
have succeeded if it had not been for the
treachery of an Indian girl at Detroit, who
disclosed Pontiac's design tof Major Gladwin,
the commander of that post. Major Gladwin
immediately sent a message to warn the com
mander at Fort Pitt, formerly, Fort Du
Quesne, where the city of Pittsburg now
stands. The well conceived stratagem there
fore failed at those two posts. All the other
forts, however, were taken by the Indians.
Sandusky was captured May 16; St. Joseph's,
May 25; Miami (Fort Wayne), May 27;
Ouiatanon (Lafayette), June 1; and Michil-
limackinac, June 2. Pontiac's war lasted
through 1763 and 1764, during which time
his will was law from the lakes to the Ohio
and the Mississippi, except at Fort Pitt and
Detroit; but the failure to capture those two

strong posts was fatal to his enterprise. His
powerful confederacy became dissipated by
degrees ; and the mighty chief of the Ottawas
retired to the Illinois country, near St. Louis,
where in 1769, he was basely assassinated by
a Kaskaskia Indian, prompted by a reward
for his murder by Amherst, the British com
mander. Fort St. Joseph's was again an English
post.0 Sec. 4. — George Rogers Clark and Fort
St. 'Joseph's. — The British occupancy of the
northwest was not again disturbed until after
the opening of the American revolution. But'
on July 4, 1778, George Rogers Clark acting
under a commission from Patrick Henry,
then governor of Virginia, captured Kaskas
kia, and soon after took possession of Cahokia
and other villages situated on the east side
of the Mississippi, a little below where St.
Louis now stands. A few days later, through
the good offices of Father Gibault, then in
charge of Kaskaskia and the adjacent mis
sions, the inhabitants of Vincennes joyfully
raised the American flag and proclaimed
themselves citizens of the new republic. The
French people in the west had no love for
the British; and when they learned of the
assistance given to Washington by La Fayette
and that France herself was aiding the
American cause, they were glad to take the
first opportunity to throw off the yoke of
their ancient enemies.
The British, however, were not disposed to
yield possession of this rich territory without
a struggle. Towards the end of the same
year a strong force was sent from Detroit,
by way of the Maumee and the Wabash, and
on December 17, 1778. Vincennes was re
taken from the little garrison of Virginians.
Although it was mid-winter, Col. Clark pre
pared at once to re-capture the fort ; and, on
February 24, 1779, after a most heroic march
from Kaskaskia, the post on the Wabash
a. Dunn's Hist. Indiana, 69. Poole's Hist. The
West, Vol. 6, Chap. 9.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

43

passed forever into possession of the Ameri
cans. During the summer of 1779, Clark made
preparations to take Detroit and the remain
ing British posts in the western country, in
cluding Fort. St. Joseph's. He tells us, in the
Memoir which he has left of his conquest of
the northwest, and which Mr. William H.
English has printed in full in his valuable
history and life of George Rogers Clark, that
the British sent an expedition from Michili-
mackinae, to proceed by way of Fort St.
Joseph 's and the portage of the Kankakee, for
the purpose of driving the American traders
out of the Illinois country ; but that on arriv
ing at the fort they were deserted by their
Indian allies, and becoming alarmed with
drew to the mouth of the river and sent back
to Michilimackinac for help. When the troops
came down the lake to the assistance of the
expedition and saw the camp at the mouth
of the St. Joseph (probably on the site of
La Salle's old Fort Miamis), they mistook
their friends for Americans and hastily with
drew, believing that Fort St. Joseph's had
fallen into the hands of the Americans. Clark,
however, found himself unable to raise a force
sufficient to proceed against the northern
forts, and, for the time, Fort St. Joseph's and
the other northern posts continued in posses
sion of the British.0
Sec. 5. — Taken by the Spaniards. — But
the romantic story of Fort St. Joseph's had
yet another episode. Early in 1779, war had
again broken out between Spain and England.
Louisiana still continued in possession of the
Spaniards, and they had a strong military
post at St. Louis. Mr. English in his life of
George Rogers Clark says that: "General
Clark's possession of the Illinois and Wabash
country was not only good as against the
British, but also as against the Spaniards,
and there is scarcely a doubt that the latter
would have seized the French towns, and
occupied the territory, if it had not already
a. See Vol. 1, English's Conquest of the North
west, pp. 552-4.

been in actual American possession." And
he adds : ' ' The Spaniards did make a raid, to
that end, in the winter of 1780-81, and cap
tured Fort St. Joseph 's ; but they made no at
tempt to hold the country."0 This Spanish
expedition left St. Louis January 2, 1781,
under command of Don Eugenio Pourre, the
detachment consisting of sixty-five soldiers
and sixty Indians.6 They marched rapidly
across the frozen lands of Illinois and north
western Indiana, and surrounded Fort St.
Joseph before there was any intimation of
their approach. " The garrison was easily over
come, and the' Spaniards took formal posses
sion of the post and its dependencies, in the
name of the king of Spain. The valley of the
St. Joseph, including the territory of our own
county, thus for a. time became a part of the
dominion of Spain. Not desiring to occupy
the fort, the Spaniards burned it to the
ground and returned to St. Louis. Spain
afterwards made a vain attempt to found, on
this capture, a claim to a large territory east
of the Mississippi. It is interesting to ob
serve that this victory of the little Spanish
army from St. Louis marks the extreme
northern limit in the new world of the power
of Spain, whose flag then floated from the
valley of the St. Joseph to the Straits of
Magellan. The old fort was never rebuilt;
and soon after, on the establishment of
American independence, the soil on which it
stood, together with that of all the northwest,
was, by reason of the victories of George
Rogers Clark, acknowledged as a part of the
territory of the young republic. So passed
Fort St. Joseph's, a little over a hundred
years after the founding of the mission of
Allouez upon the banks of our beautiful
river.0
V. • THE PARKOVASH, INDIAN CAMPS AND TRAILS.
While the banks of the Kankakee are low
and the soil dark and rich; the banks of the
a. lb. Vol. II, pp. 764-5.
6. See Chap. 3, subd. 2, of this work.
c. Dunn, Hist. Indiana, p. 160. Dillon, Hist.
Indiana, p. 173. Bartlett, Tales of Kankakee
Land, pp. 183-4.

44

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

St. Joseph are high and the soil dry and
gravelly. Accordingly, the growth of timber
along the St. Joseph was not "thick woods,"
but the trees stood well apart, as in a great
natural park. The Indian custom of keeping
the underbrush and leaves annually burned
away added to the park-like appearance of
the lands. The expressive phrase "oak open
ings" well describes the fine vistas through
the ancient forests that decorated the banks
on either side of the beautiful river. Added
to the beauty and shade of the woodlands, the
waters of the St. Joseph were always, as they
are today, clear and cool, while refreshing
springs bubbled up everywhere under the
high banks or trickled down their face to
the stream below. It is little wonder there
fore that this ideal solitude was dear not only
to the redman, but also to the birds of the
air and the four-footed creatures that roamed
the wilderness. Here came the elk and the
deer ; but, more than all, this was the favorite
haunt of the buffalo, the great wild oxen and
cows that came into the cool shadows from
the hot sun of the prairies, to browse on the
fresh grass and drink of the sweet waters.
From the mouth of the river, on either side,
and far up beyond the limits of St. Joseph
county, extended this magnificent park-like
buffalo range. So accustomed were the early
French hunters and traders to see the buffalo
cows come with their calves for rest and re
freshment to these pleasant haunts along the
St. Joseph, that they gave to the place the
picturesque appellation of Pare aux Vaches
(literally, park of the cows), a term changed
in the spelling by our early settlers to parko
vash. The term "parkovash" has been usu
ally, no doubt properly, confined in applica
tion to the plain along the eastern bank of
the river above and below the cities of South
Bend and Mishawaka.0
Sec. 1. — Camps and Fishing Resorts. —
Fort St. Joseph's was in the heart of the
a. Baker, The St. Joseph-Kankakee Portage,
p. 6. Bartlett and Lyon, La Salle in the Valley
of the St. Joseph, p. 40.

Parkovash ; and into and through these beauti
ful woodlands along the eastern and northern
banks of the river came every trail from the
surrounding wilderness. Here the bands set
up their wigwams, and here the council fires
arose. Hard by, on some open spot or high
land, stood a village of Miamis or of Potta
watomies. For in this valley as elsewhere,
as said by Maurice Thompson, the villages, or
rather camps, of the Indians were usually
situated, as were those of the Mound Builders,
on highlands close to a stream, pond or lake
where plenty of water could easily be had.°
Favorite fishing places were, of course, an
additional attraction. Such was the location
in the river at Fort St. Joseph's; where, on
one side of the stream, was the ancient vil
lage of the Miamis, and, on the other, the
village of the Pottawatomies. "Here," says
Mr. Bartlett, "at a place where the waters
were shallow, the aborigines had paved a strip
of the river's bed from shore to shore with
great slabs of limestone. Just who they were
that labored at this task, or when they toiled,
no one will ever know. These slabs of lime
stone are a characteristic of the surrounding
glacial hills. The purpose of dragging the
huge, flat stones into the river and disposing
them so as to form a paved path through the
waters was an important one, since thereby
the people might more easily take the great
fish with which the river at certain seasons
was fairly alive. The canoes were accustomed
to go up stream some miles, and then, descend
ing in an open line that reached from bank
to bank, so agitated the waters as to drive
before them the finny game. Companions,
who in the meantime had taken their sta
tions at frequent intervals across the lime
stone floor, stood with uplifted spears await
ing the moment when the form of the rolling
sturgeon or the catfish or the swift pickerel
or the quick-darting pike should be outlined
against the underlying pavement. Those who
sometimes witnessed these operations have left
the record that when the spearmen were at
o. Stories of Indiana, p. 29.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

45

work, the boats went frequently to the shore
and were often weighted down to the water's
edge with the burden of fishes. It was noth
ing strange, therefore, that just above this
renowned fishing-place a great Indian village
should have survived from remote times down
to a period within the memory of men now
living."0 After the Miamis went east and south, to
the vicinity of the Maumee and the Wabash,
the Pottawatomies were left in sole possession
of the valleys of the St. Joseph and the
Kankakee; but, while these Indians came
every year in great numbers by way of the
St. Joseph portage, with their furs, maple
sugar, baskets and trinkets, to the markets at
the trading posts down the river, yet no large
villages of the tribe were to be found within
the limits of St. Joseph county. Pokagon 's
village was on the west side of the St. Joseph,
two miles north of the St. Joseph county line,
near Bertrand, and there was a small band
settled about a mile or two southwest of the
site of South Bend, at a place called Raccoon
village ; but the main body of the Pottawato
mies was farther south, in Marshall county,
around Twin Lakes and Lake Maxinkuckee,
and in Fulton county. Accordingly, while the
roving Indian was constantly on the trails
throughout all this region, hunting, fishing,
or going to or from the trading stations, yet
his more permanent abode was in the villages
to the south, and when finally he came to be
removed to the west, the gathering places for
the beginning of his long journey to the lands
beyond the Mississippi were, in general, with
out the confines of St. Joseph county. And
while of course many redmen had their fixed
abode within the limits of St. Joseph county,
yet the romantic Parkovash, the prairies, the
woodlands and the streams were for visiting,
for sightseeing and for hunting and trading,
rather than for permanent dwelling places.
Sec. 2. — Trails and Traces. — And so it
came to be that into and through the fair
Parkovash ran those numerous traveled ways,
o. Tales of Kankakee Land, pp. 158-9.

out of the surrounding wilderness. When
whitemen first came into the Indian country
they found everywhere those well marked
pathways, trodden by human and pony feet,
but not by buffaloes or other animals. To
¦these pathways was given the name of trails,
and sometimes that of traces. The word trail,
as often used by hunters and frontiersmen,
denoted the slight trace left where an animal
or a man had passed but once, and to follow
such a trail was no easy matter ; but the term
was also used to denote a well worn narrow
pathway that might have been trodden hun
dreds or thousands of times. These trails
have in many instances been adopted as the
lines of permanent roads by the civilized suc
cessors of the roving Indians and their ancient
predecessors, the Mound Builders. This use
of the trails for our modern highways re
sulted from convenience and long continued
custom; for traders, travelers, scouting par
ties and frontiersmen passed along these trails
for many years before the wagons of the
pioneers widened them out with their wheels,
and before the civil authorities finally fixed
them as legal public highways.0
The most noted of these trails was that
of the Portage, already referred to, extending
from La Salle's landing, at a sharp western
bend of the St. Joseph, thence across to the
headwaters of the Kankakee, a little to the
west and south of the blue sheet of water,
sometimes known as La Salle's and sometimes
as Stanfield lake, but perhaps even still more
appropriately called Summit lake, because lo
cated almost on the line of the watershed
between the St. Joseph and the Kankakee.
This famous trail was used chiefly for the
carrying of boa|;s from one river to the other ;
and therefore came to be named the Portage,
from the French word porter, to carry. The
beautiful prairie over which the portage
passed was naturally called Portage Prairie.
Other trails seem to have led from the St.
Joseph, over the prairie to the Miami village
at Mount Pleasant,' and to Chain lakes, near
er Ball, Hist. Northwestern Indiana, pp. 76-78.

46

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

by, and thence on to Crum's Point and other
places along the Kankakee.
Sec. 3. — Charlevoix on Portage Prairie.
— It was while encamped on one of these
trails, September 17, 1721, that the celebrated
traveler and missionary, Father Charlevoix,
wrote his very interesting letter to a friend
in France descriptive of our Portage Prairie,
as he then found it. The visit to this county
at that early date of so distinguished a char
acter as Charlevoix is of itself of sufficient
historical interest to justify the making of
an extract from his letter written on that oc
casion. The letter also serves to throw light
on many points already touched upon in this
chapter. The extract is as follows:
"I believe I gave you to understand in my
last letter that I had two routes to choose
from in going to the Illinois. The first was to
return to Lake Michigan, follow along its
southern course and enter the little Chicago
river. After ascending that river five or six
leagues, one passes into the Illinois by two
portages, the longer of which is five quarter
leagues; but as that river is only a brook at
the point, I was warned that at this season
I should not find in it enough water for my
boat, and therefore I took the other route
[by the St. Joseph], which, indeed, has also
its inconveniences, and is not nearly so agree
able, but is surer. Yesterday I left the fort
of St. Joseph river [Fort St. Joseph's], and
ascended that river about six leagues. I dis
embarked on the right, walked five quarter
leagues, first following the edge of the water
and then crossing the fields into a great prai
rie, all sprinkled with little tufts of woodland
which have a very beautiful effect. It is called
Ox-Head Prairie, because there was found
there, as they say, the head of an ox of
monstrous size. Why may there not have been
giants among these animals also?0 I en
os. This "ox-head" was perhaps that of an un
usually large buffalo. More likely, however, it
was the head of a mastadon or of a mammoth,
many of the remains of both being found at dif
ferent places in tbe county, particularly in the
miry stretches of the Kankakee bottoms. See
note to Bartlett and Lyon's La Salle in the Valley
of the St. Joseph, p. 37.

camped in an exceedingly beautiful place
called the Fort of the Foxes, because the Fox
Indians [the Outagamies] had a village there
not long ago, fortified in their way. This
morning I went a league farther into the
prairie, my feet almost constantly in the
water, and then found a sort of pond, which
communicates with several others of different
sizes, the largest of which is only a hundred
paces in circuit. These are the sources of
a river called the Theakiki, which our Cana
dians here corrupted into Kiakiki [Kanka
kee]. Theak means wolf, I do not remember
in what language; but this river bears that
name because the Mahingans,' who are also
called the Wolves, formerly took refuge there.
We put our boat, which two men had carried
up to this point, into the second of these
sources, and embarked; but we had scarcely
enough water to keep afloat. Ten men in two
days could make a straight and navigable
canal which would save much trouble, besides
ten or twelve leagues of travel, and it is
necessary continually to turn so sharply that
at each instant one is in danger of breaking
his boat [a bark canoe] , as has just happened
to us. "° It is an interesting circumstance
to note in this connection that the canal, or
ditch, suggested by Father Charlevoix in
1721, nearly two hundred years ago, has re
cently been dug, and the Kankakee straight
ened and shortened, accordingly, as he said it
could be; though it has taken the labor of
more than ten men for two days to do it.
Sec. 4. — Other Trails. — Next in impor
tance to the Portage trail was the Great Sauk
Trail. To the travel and commerce of the
wilderness, between the east and the west,
this trail was what our great trunk lines of
railroad are now to the travel and commerce
between the same distant localities. The Sauk
Trail received its name from the Sac tribe
of Indians. The Sacs and Foxes used it in
their journeyings from Canada and other
eastern points to their homes in the far north-
a. Charlevoix's Travels in North America, Vol.
6, pp. 103-5.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

47

west. The trail started near the site of De
troit, followed the high ridges across Michi
gan, crossed the St. Joseph river at Bertrand,
six miles north of South Bend, and then ran
westerly, crossing the northwest part of St.
Joseph county, over Warren and Olive town
ships, passing through Terre Coupee, and
then, by Hudson lake, formerly called Lake
du Chemin, through the county of La Porte,
and on to the site of Chicago and beyond to
the Illinois and northwestern country. This-
was the path taken by the Iroquois of New
York, in their raids against the Miamis, Il
linois and other western tribes. A multitude
of smaller trails ran into and out from this
great thoroughfare. A well-known Potta
watomie town, called the village of Pokagon,
after the wise chief of that name, stood on
the west side of the St. Joseph, just south
of the Sauk trail. For fifty years and more
the Sauk trail has been called the Chicago
Road, this name having been given to the old
trail after the national government had
smoothed and straightened its course from
Detroit to Chicago.0
The Dragoon trace was a well-worn trail
leading from Fort Wayne to Chicago.
Through this county it passed under the hills
above Mishawaka and came into what is now
South Bend over the line of Vistula avenue,
passing to the west until it united with the
Sauk trail. Near the extreme south bend of
the St. Joseph river, by what has been known
as the Turkey Creek road, now Miami street,
another trail left the Dragoon trace and
passed on southeasterly through the county.
South Michigan street, a part of the old
Michigan road, marks the line of yet another
southern trail, reaching to the Pottawatomie
habitations at Twin lakes, Lake Maxinkuckee
and other points in Marshall county; while
still another trail went out southwesterly over
the line of Sumption Prairie road. Along the
east side of the St. Joseph, from its mouth
a. George A. Baker, in The Indianian, Vol. IV.,
p. 344. Bartlett, Tales of Kankakee Land, p. 223.
Ball, Hist. Northwestern Indiana, p. 77.

almost to its source, ran a well-marked trail,
connecting at Bertrand with the Sauk trail,
and receiving from place to place all the minor
trails that entered the Parkovash. Indeed'
every stream had its trail on either side ; for
although the canoe glided along the water,
yet the chief travel of the wilderness was
along the trails, on foot or on the backs of
the precious ponies.
Another trail, and the last that need be
mentioned, was the Pottawatomie trail, which
followed the Kankakee from the Illinois coun
try, crossed the St. Joseph near the site of
South Bend, one branch joining with the trail
along the river down to Fort St. Joseph's, and
another continuing along what is now South
Bend avenue and the Edwardsburg road, and
connecting at Edwardsburg with the great
Sauk trail. As South Bend avenue and the
Edwardsburg road mark this trail east of the
St. Joseph, the Crum's Point road marks it
on the west.
Throughout its course the Indian trail was
at first simply a pathway, which in time de
veloped into a well trodden highway. This
pathway "never crossed over a hill which it
might go around; it crept through the hol
lows, avoiding, however, with greatest care,
those conditions in which a moccasin could
not be kept dry and clean ; it clung to the
shadows qf the big timber-belts, and, when
an arm of the prairie intervened, sought to
traverse such a place of possible danger by
the route which was shortest and least ex
posed. At every step the ancient. path tells
the story of wilderness fears. Yet the pre
cincts of this venerable avenue of the old life
had also their own peculiar delights. A warm \
and sheltered path in the winter-time, its fra
grant airs were cool and soft in the summer
days. . . . And then to the Pottawatomie
this, above all others, was the ancient high
way of his people. Along its course he saw
the war-parties filing, away to find the enemy
in distant lands and among strange peoples.
And he heard the forest walls of the old
path re-echo the exultant cry of the returning

48

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

band, saw the unhappy captives schooling
their hearts to a stoic's calm, or following
with proud disdain in the footsteps of their
conquerors, or nursing thoughts of grim
vengeance by glaring scowls and vain mutter-
ings. At such an hour the Pottawatomie,
standing by the path of his fathers, rejoiced
to know that the name of his people was
terrible in the land of the enemy. The old
men loved to wander along this path and re
hearse the stories of the past, and tell of the
times when they with their people, in tumul
tuous throng, hurried home from the chase. ' '°
VI. THE REMOVAL OF THE POTTAWATOMIES.
The last fact of importance in the history
of the Indians of St. Joseph county is the
This pathetic story has been so well told by
removal of the Pottawatomies to the west.
Marshall county in the general assembly of
1905 and 1907, and the story as told by him
is crowded with such a wealth of historical
facts, that we cannot do better than give in
full his admirable and eloquent speech, de
livered in the House of Representatives, Feb
ruary 3, 1905, Mr. McDonald is one of the
best informed men in Indiana on the early
history of this section of the state; and, as
shown by his address, his heart was in his
subject. The address is as follows:
Address of Representative Daniel McDon
ald of Plymouth, delivered in the House of
Representatives, Indianapolis, Friday, Febru
ary 3, 1905, on the bill to erect a monument
to the Pottawatomie Indians at Twin Lakes,
Marshall county, published by direction of
the House of Representatives.
The bill to erect a monument to the mem
ory of the Pottawatomie Indians at Menom
inee village, in Marshall county, being under
consideration, Representative Daniel McDon
ald said :
Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of
Eepresentatives :
In order that a fair understanding may be
had in regard to the subject matter embraced
in this bill, I desire to submit the following:
The question of the extinguishment of the
a. Bartlett, Tales of Kankakee Land, 83.

Indian titles to the lands of the
Pottawatomie Indians in northern Indiana
and southern Michigan, and their removal to
a reservation to be provided for them west
of the Missouri river, was one of the most
important and delicate questions the govern
ment had to deal with in the early settlement
of this part of the Northwest Territory. Gen
eral treaties were made from 1820 to 1830
between the government agents and the chiefs
and headmen of the Pottawatomies by which
large tracts of land were ceded to the gov
ernment, and numerous reservations made to
various bands of Pottawatomie Indians in
northern Indiana and southern Michigan.
Later these reservations were ceded back by
treaty by the Indians for a stipulated amount,
and in all the treaties it was provided that
the Indians should remove to the reservation
west of the Missouri river within two years
from the date thereof. The dates of these
treaties were about all in the years 1835 and
in 1836, the last date for removal expiring
about the first of August, 1838.
The territory now included within the
boundaries of Indiana, Hlinois and Michigan,
which was the home of the Pottawatomie In
dians for many years prior to the time they
were removed to the reservation west of the
Missouri river, was in the early days of the
history of America owned and occupied by
the Miami Indians, originally known as the
Twightwees. It was claimed by France from
the time of the discovery of the mouth of the
Mississippi river by La Salle, in 1682, to
1763, when it was relinquished by treaty to
the government of England and held by it
until 1779 as a part of her colonial possessions
in North America. The state of Virginia ex
tended its jurisdiction over it until 1783 when
it became by treaty of peace and by cession
from Virginia the property of the United
States. In 1787 an ordinance was passed by
Congress creating the territory northwest of
the river Ohio, which embraced the territory
of the states above mentioned.
The Pottawatomie tribe of Indians, the
owners and inhabitants of the territory now
comprising northern Indiana, belonged to the
great Algonquin family, and were related by
ties of consanguinity to the Ojibways, Chip
pewas and Ottawas. The first trace we have
of them locates their territory in the Lake
Superior region on the islands near the en
trance of Green bay, holding the country
from the latter point to the headwaters of the

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

49

great lakes. Subsequently they adopted into
their tribe many of the Ottawas from Upper
Canada. About 1817 it was estimated that there were
in the region north of the Wabash river and
south of Lake Michigan something more than
two thousand Pottawatomies. They were lo
cated in villages on the Tippecanoe; Kanka
kee; Iroquois; Yellow river; St. Joseph
of Lake Michigan; the Elkhart; Maumee
or Miamis of the Lake; the St. Jo
seph emptying into it-, the St. Marys;
Twin lakes; Maxinkuckee; and Lake Ke-
wanna. At that time they had no uniform
abiding place of residence. During the fall,
winter and part of the spring they were scat
tered in the woods hunting and fishing. Their
wigwams were made of poles stuck in the
ground and tied together with strips of bark,
slender hickory withes or raw hide strings.
They were covered with bark or a kind of
mat made of flagweeds. There was an occa
sional rude hut made of logs or poles, but
nearly all the dwellings were wigwams hastily
put up as here discribed. They raised some
corn, but lived principally on wild game, fish,
fruits, nuts, and roots and were clothed with
blankets and untanned skins.
From the date of the treaty of peace at
Greenville in 1795 to 1832, all the lands in
possession of the Pottawatomie and Miami
Indians were ceded to the United States.
Nearly all the titles to the lands in this part
of the country reserved for various bands by
the treaty of 1832 were extinguished by
United States Commissioner Abel C. Pepper,
who seems to have been well fitted for the
difficult task assigned him.
In 1831 the legislature of Indiana passed
a joint resolution requesting an appropriation
by Congress for the purpose of the extinguish
ment of the remaining titles of lands held by
the Indians within the state. The appropria
tion was made and three citizens — Jonathan
Jennings, first governor of Indiana ; John W.
Davis and Marks Crume — were appointed by
the secretary of war to carry into effect the
law authorizing the appropriation. The com
missioners assembled with the several Indian
chiefs concerned at a place called Chippe-
wayning on the Tippecanoe river where the
Michigan road crosses that stream two or three
miles north of Rochester and sixteen miles
south of Plymouth, where they concluded a
treaty October 27, 1832, by which the chiefs
and warriors of the Pottawatomies of Indiana
4

and Michigan territory ceded to the United
States their title and interest to all the lands
in Indiana, Michigan, and in Illinois south of
Grand river. From this general treaty a large
number of small individual reservations were
made. Among them was a reservation of two
sections to Naswagee, and one section to
Quashqua,_ both on the east shore of Lake
Maxinkuckee, and twenty-two sections to Me
nominee, Pepinawa, Nataka, and Macataw-
maaw, adjoining the town of Plymouth on the
west and extending south to Twin Lakes, a
short distance north of Lake Maxinkuckee;
several sections in the vicinity to Aubenaube
and other chiefs making in all 160 sections.
These reservations were all ceded back to the
government between 1834 and 1837, mostly
under treaties negotiated by Abel C. Pepper.
All of these treaties contained the following:-
"Article 3.— The United States further
agrees to convey by patent to the Pottawato
mies of Indiana a tract of country on the
Osage river, southwest of the Missouri river,
sufficient in extent and adapted to their wants
and habits, remove them to the same,- furnish
them with one year's subsistence after their
arrival there, and pay the expenses of the
treaty, and the delegation now in this city."
The first removal under these treaties took.
place in July, 1837, and within the two years
from the date of these treaties to August,
1837, all had gone peaceably, or had been
removed without force, except Menominee and
his band, whose village was on the north bank
of Twin lakes. On the 6th of August, 1838,
the time stipulated in the treaties for the In
dians to emigrate having expired, and Menom
inee and his band declining to go, a council
was held at his village, at which Col. Abel C.
Pepper, agent of the Government, was present,
and most of the chiefs in that part of the coun
try, as also many white residents of the sur
rounding country. The treaty was read where
in it was shown that in ceding their lands the
Indians had agreed to remove to the western
reservation within the time specified and that
the date was then at hand when they must go.
It was plain to those present who were fa
miliar with the Indian character that there
was great dissatisfaction among them and a
spirit of rebellion growing which if not soon
suppressed would probably lead to serious
results. The leader and principal spokesman
for the Indians was Menominee. By the
treaty of 1832 twenty-two sections of land
had been reserved to him and three other

50

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

chiefs, viz., Pepinawa, Nataka and Macataw-
maaw. The last three named chiefs entered
into a treaty with Col. Abel C. Pepper on
behalf of the government August 5, 1836,
by which they ceded all their interest in the
reservation above described for which the gov
ernment paid them $14,080 in specie, and they
agreed to remove to the country west of the
Missouri river provided for them within two
years from the date of the treaty. Chief
Menominee refused to sign the treaty and per
sistently declined to release to the government
his interest in the reservation. When Col.
Pepper had made his final appeal and all had
had their say, Menominee arose to his feet,
and, drawing his costly blanket around him,
through an interpreter he addressed the coun
cil as follows :
"Members of the Council — The President
does not know the truth. He, like me, has
been imposed upon. He does not know that
you have made my young chiefs drunk and
got their consent and pretended to get mine.
He does not know that I have refused to sell
my lands and still refuse. He would not by
force drive me from my home, the graves of
my tribe, and my children who have gone to
the Great Spirit, nor allow you to tell me
your braves will take me tied like a dog if
he knew the truth. My brothers, the Presi
dent is just, but he listens to the word of
young chiefs who have lied; and when he
knows the truth he will leave me to my own.
I have not sold my lands. I will not sell
them. I have not signed any treaty and will
not sign any. I am not going to leave my
lands, and I don't want to hear anything
more about it."
Describing the scene, one who was present
said: "Amid the applause of the chiefs he
sat down. Spoken in the peculiar style of
the Indian orator — although repeated by an
interpreter — with an eloquence of which Lo
gan would have been proud, his presence the
personification of dignity, it presented one of
those rare occasions of which history gives but
few instances, and on the man of true appre
ciation would have made a most profound
impression. ' '
Considerable time was spent in trying to
persuade Menominee and his following to ac
cept the inevitable and remove peaceably to
the reservation provided for them, and that
if they did not, the government would be
compelled to remove them by force. Without
accomplishing anything, however, the council

disbanded. Menominee was a wise and ex
perienced chief, and he knew the final con
summation was near at hand. As soon as the
council had disbanded the began at once to
fire the hearts of his followers, with a deter
mination to resist the government officers in
their evident intention to remove them, peace
ably if they could, forcibly if they must. The
consequence was the Indians became desper
ate, intoxicating liquors were drank to excess;
threats of violence were freely made, and the
white settlers in the immediate neighborhood
became greatly alarmed for the safety of
themselves 'and families. In this alarming
condition of affairs, a number of white settlers
of Marshall county, early in August, 1838,
petitioned the governor of Indiana for pro
tection against what they believed would re
sult in the certain destruction of their lives
and property. In his message to the legisla
ture December 4, 1838, Governor David Wal
lace said:
"By the conditions of the late treaty with
the Pottawatomie Indians in Indiana, the time
stipulated for their departure to the west of
the Missouri expired on the 6th 'of August
last. As this trying moment approached a
strong disposition was manifested by many of
the most influential among them to disregard.
the treaty entirely, and to cling to the homes
and graves of their fathers at all hazards. In
consequence of such a determination on their
part, a collision of the most serious character
was likely to ensue between them and the sur
rounding settlers. Apprehensive of such a
result, and with a view to prevent it, the
citizens of Marshall county, early in the month
of August, forwarded to the executive a peti
tion praying that an armed force might be
immediately sent to their protection. On re
ceipt of this petition I repaired as speedily
as circumstances would permit to the scene
of difficulty in order to satisfy myself by a
personal examination whether their fears were
justifiable or not. On my return to Logans-
port a formal requisition awaited me from
the Indian agent, Col. A. C. Pepper, for one
hundred armed volunteers to be placed under
the command of some competent citizen of the
state, whose duty it should be to preserve the
peace and to arrest the growing spirit of hos
tility displayed by the Indians. The requisi
tion was instantly granted. I appointed the
Hon. John Tipton to this command and, gave
him authority to raise the necessary number
of volunteers. He promptly and patriotically

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

51

accepted the appointment, and, although sick
ness and disease prevailed to an alarming ex
tent throughout northern Indiana, yet such
was the spirit and patriotism of the people
there that in about forty-eight hours after
the requisition was authorized the requisite
force was not only mustered, but was trans
ported into the midst of the Indians before
they were aware of its approach or before
even they could possibly take steps to resist
or repel it. The rapidity of the movement,
the known decision and energy of General
Tipton, backed by his intimate acquaintance
and popularity with the Indians, whom it
was his business to quiet, accomplished every
thing desired. The refractory became com
placent; opposition to removal ceased, and
the whole tribe, with a few exceptions amount
ing to between 800 and 900, voluntarily pre
pared to emigrate. General Tipton and the
volunteers accompanied them as far as Dan
ville, Illinois, administering to them on the
way whatever comfort and relief humanity
required. There they were delivered over to
the care of Judge Polke and the United States
removing agents. Copies of all the communi
cations and reports made to the executive by
General Tipton while in the discharge of this
duty I lay before you, from which I feel asr
sured you will discover with myself that much
credit and many thanks are due not only to
him but to all who assisted him in bringing so
delicate an affair to so happy and successful
a termination." David Wallace served as governor of In
diana from 1837 to 1840. The most important
act of his administration was his order to re
move the remaining Pottawatomie Indians as
set forth in his. message herein quoted. After
his term as governor expired, he was subse
quently elected to Congress. He was made a
member of the committee on ways and means,
and in that committee gave the easting vote
in favor of assisting with a donation to Pro
fessor Morse to develop the magnetic tele
graph. This vote was ridiculed by his po
litical opponents and cost him many votes the
last time he ran for Congress. But he lived
to see the telegraph established in nearly all
the countries of the world and the wisdom
of his action acknowledged by all.
General Tipton recruited and organized the
company of soldiers authorized by Governor
Wallace immediately after the requisition was
made. These recruits were nearly all from
Cass county, at Logansport, and in the vicin

ity. They started from Logansport the latter
part of August, marching along the Michigan
road through Rochester, across Tippecanoe
river, and then along the old Indian trail
northwestward until they came to Menominee
village at Twin lakes, five miles southwest
from Plymouth. A great many of the white
settlers in the neighborhood turned out to
welcome the soldiers and to render such as
sistance as might be necessary. The Indians
were surrounded before they realized, that the
soldiers had been sent to remove them. Such
arms as they had were taken from them and
preparations at once commenced for the start
ing of the caravan. Squads of soldiers were
sent out in every direction for the purpose of
capturing the straggling bands encamped in
various places in the county, and such others
as might be found hunting and fishing in
the neighborhood. Several days were occu
pied in getting everything in readiness. The
names of heads of families, and other Indians
were registered, and when the list was com
pleted it showed a' total of 859.
On the day prior to the exodus a meeting
of the Indians was held at the little grave
yard, a short distance from the village, at
which a final farewell of the dead was taken
by those who were to leave the following
morning, never to return. Addresses were
made by the chiefs present and several white
settlers. (An address of some length was de
livered by Myron H. Norton of Laporte which
was afterwards printed, but unfortunately no
copies of it can now be found.) The scene
is said to have been affecting in the extreme.
Weeping and wailing, which was confined to
a few at first, became general, and until they
were finally induced to disperse, it looked as
though a riot would surely ensue. In solemn
reverence they turned their weeping eyes from
the sleeping dead never to look upon the
graves of their kindred again.
The Indian chapel which was used as Gen
eral Tipton's headquarters while preparing
for the removal was situated on the north
bank of the middle Twin lake about twenty
rods west of the Vandalia railroad. It was
erected by Rev. Stephen Theodore Badin,
the first Catholic priest ordained in the
United States. He was born at Orleans,
France, in 1768, ordained May 23, 1793,
and died at Cincinnati, April, 19, 1853.
The chapel was erected about 1830 and
was built of hewn logs and covered
with clapboards. It was about 30 by 40 feet,

52

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the west half being two stories high. There
was a hallway through the center. The room
for the missionary was over the west end of
the chapel which was reached from below by
means of a rustic ladder. The furniture was
of the most primitive kind; and the food,
corn, and wild meat and such fruits and
vegetables as were suitable to eat during the
summer season. The chapel was torn down
many years ago. Bishop Brute, of Vincennes,
under whose supervision this mission was
established, writes as follows in regard to the
Indians, their village and chapel:
"A large number of their huts are built
around their chapel, which is constructed of
logs with the bark on with a cross erected
behind and rising above it, and filled with
rudely made benches. The Indians begin and
end their work without hammer, saw or nails,
the ax being their only implement, and bits
of skin or bark serving to fasten the pieces
together. The room of the missionary is over
the chapel, the floor of the one forming the
ceiling of the other. A ladder in the corner
leads to it, and his furniture consists, as did
the prophets, of a table and chair, and a bed,
or rather a hammock swung on ropes. Around
the room are his books, and the trunks which
contain the articles used in his chapel, as well
as his own apparel. He spends his life with
his good people, sharing their corn and meat,
with water for his drink, and tea made from
the herbs of his little garden. He abjures
all spirits, as all Catholic Indians are for
bidden to touch that which is the bane of
their race and he would encourage them with
his example. I attended at the evening cate
chism, prayers and canticles, and in the morn
ing said mass, at which a large number at
tended." At the time the , arrangements for the re
moval were being perfected, Father Benjamin
Marie Petit was the missionary in charge of
the chapel. He was about twenty-five years
old, and had been born and reared in France.
This ardent youthful spirit evinced an in
tense enthusiasm from first to last in the work
of his chosen field, and in an outburst of
fervency he tells something of his feelings and
of his ministrations : ' ' How I love these chil
dren of mine, and what pleasure it is for me
to find myself among them. There are now
from 1,000 to 1,200 Christians. Could you
see the little children when I enter a cabin
crowding around me and climbing on my
knees — the father and mother making the

sign of the cross in pious recollection, and
then coming with a confiding smile on their
faces to shake hands with me — you could not
but love them as I do. " Of the chapel exer
cises he gave the following interesting ac
count: "At sunrise the first peal was rung;
then you might see the savages moving along
the paths of the forest and the borders of the
lakes. When they were assembled the second
peal was rung. The catechist then, in an ani
mated manner, gave the substance of the ser
mon preached the evening before ; a chapter
of the catechism was read and morning
prayers were recited. I then said mass, the
congregation singing hymns the while, after
which I preached, my sermon being trans
lated by a respectable French lady, seventy-
two years old, who had devoted herself to the
missions in the capacity of interpreter. The
sermon was followed by a pater and ave ' after
which the congregation sang a hymn to Our
Lady, and quietly dispersed. The next thing
was confession which lasted till evening, and
sometimes was resumed after supper. At sun
set the natives again assembled for catechism,
followed by an exortation and evening prayers
which finished with a hymn to Our Lady. I
then gave them my benediction — the benedic
tion of poor Benjamin. In the first three
weeks of my pastorate I baptised eighteen
adults and blessed nine marriages."
About this time officers and soldiers arrived
at the chapel and village to arrange for the
departure of the Indians. Father Petit again
wrote as follows:
One morning I said mass and immediately
afterward we began removing all the orna
ments from my dear little church. At the
moment of my departure I assembled all my
children to speak to them for the last time. I
wept, and my auditors sobbed aloud. It was
indeed a heartrending sight, and over our dy
ing mission we prayed for the success of those
they would establish in the new hunting
grounds. We then with one accord sang:
' 'O, Virgin, we place our confidence in
Thee. '
' ' It was often interrupted by sobs and but
few voices were able to finish it. I then left
them." When General Tipton and his soldiers had
arranged everything in readiness to move, the
teepees, wigwams and cabins were torn down
and destroyed and Menominee village had the
appearance of having been swept by a hurri-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

53

cane. Early on the morning of September 4,
1838, orders were given to move, and at once
nearly one thousand men, women and chil
dren, with broken hearts and tearful eyes took
up the line of march to their far western
home. General Tipton accompanied the Indians as
far as Sandusky Point, Illinois, at which place
the caravan arrived on September 18, 1838,
two weeks after the departure from Twin
lakes. From that point he made a lengthy
report to Governor Wallace, giving a histori
cal sketch of the occurrences that led up to
the removal, together with a copy of his daily
journal in which is shown in detail all that
occurred during the time he had charge of
the caravan. The report is too lengthy for
insertion here in full, and only brief extracts
can be given. He says :
"The arrival of the volunteers in the In
dian village was the first intimation they had
of the movement of men with arms. Many of
the Indian men were assembled near the
chapel when we arrived and were not per
mitted to leave camp or separate until matters
were amicably settled and they had agreed to
give peaceable possession of the land sold by
them." As has been stated heretofore, Menominee,
the principal chief in the ownership of the
reservation which bore his name, never signed
the treaty executed by the three chiefs asso
ciated with him in the reservation, viz., Pe-
pinawa, Nataka and Maekatawmaaw. The
reason he did not sign this treaty was because
he knew from past experience that the amount
of money received from the government by
these chiefs would all be spent for whisky
and riotous living before the two years ex
pired stipulated by the treaty that they
should remove to the west. His worst fears
were fully realized. The $14,080 the govern
ment paid them to sign the treaty had all been
squandered for spirituous liquors and trinkets
of one kind or another purchased at enor
mous prices from the white traders that gath
ered about them like crows about a dead car
cass until their money was all gone. Menom
inee declined to sign the treaty, and never did
sign it, but there was at no time any danger
of an uprising. The Pottawatomies as a tribe
were always friendly with the white settlers,
and in northern Indiana never caused any
disturbance except in individual cases where
they were driven into it by white traders and
other designing persons who sold and gave

them whisky for the purpose of getting them
drunk and robbing them of their lands and
annuities paid them by the government.
At the time of the removal none of these
Indians were armed for defense or warfare,
and had only a few rifles which they had
purchased from the white traders at exorbi
tant prices, and the bows and arrows for
killing game for food. Menominee, the head
of the band, was a religious man, and an
exhorter. He taught his followers to avoid
the use of intoxicating liquors; not to cheat,
or murder, or lie, or steal, , or quarrel with
one another, or the white. settlers, although
they might have ample provocation, but to
live in peace with all men. They were com
pletely under his control, and that of their
priest, Father Petit. No trouble ever occurred
between them and the whites except that re
lated by General Tipton in his report to Gov
ernor Wallace, as follows :
"On the 5th of last month, the day on
which the Indians were to have left the res
ervation, the whites demanded possession
which they — the Indians — absolutely refused.
Quarrels ensued and between the 15th and
20th the Indians chopped the door of one
of the settlers — Mr. Watters — and threatened
his life. This was followed by the burning
of ten or twelve Indian cabins which produced
a state of feeling bordering on hostilities. ' '
Having made a thorough and exhaustive
investigation of this subject a few years ago
when many of the settlers were still living
and several who were there at the time and
participated in the removal and knew all
about the circumstances leading up to the re
moval, it is but the truth to say that the origin
of the trouble was not with the Indians, but
with Mr. Watters, who had settled in the
reservation, without authority, a few months
previous, and desired the Indians to leave so
he could preempt 160 acres of the reservation
under the laws of Congress passed in June
of that year. He was the disturbing element,
and set about deliberately to work up the dis
turbance so that the Governor would be com
pelled to remove them. The information on
which Governor Wallace based his action was
that received from Mr. Watters and a few
other white settlers in the vicinity that al
lowed him to be the spokesman. The Indians
were not consulted and had no say in the
matter. Further along in his report General Tipton,
speaking of the Indians, said:

54

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

"Most of them appeared willing to go.
Three of their principal men, however, ex
pressed a wish to be governed by the advice
of their priest (Mr. Petit, a Catholic gentle
man), who had resided with them up to the
time of the commencement of the quarrel be
tween the Indians and the whites, when he
left Twin lakes and retired to South Bend
[Notre Dame]. I addressed a letter inviting
him to join the emigration and go west. He
accepted the invitation and I am happy to
inform you that he joined us two days ago
and is going west with the Indians. It is but
justice to him to say that he has both by
example 'and precept, produced a very favor
able change in the morals and industry of
the Indians; that his untiring zeal in the
cause of civilization has been and will con
tinue to be eventually beneficial to these un
fortunate Pottawatomies, when they reach
their new abode."
On the 16th of September Father Petit re
joined his flock near Danville, Illinois. He
found them moving onward, enveloped in
clouds of dust, and surrounded by the sol
diers who hurried on their march. Behind
came the wagons in which were crowded to
gether the sick, the women and the children.
The scene as described by Father Petit was
one of the most mournful description; the
children overcome by heat were reduced to
a wretched state of languor and exhaustion.
By this time General Tipton had begun to
understand something of Father Petit 's worth,
and treated him with marked respect. The
chiefs who had hitherto been treated as pris
oners of war were released at the priest's
request and took their places with the rest
of the tribe. First went the flag of the
United States borne by a dragoon; after
which came the baggage; then the vehicle
occupied by the native chiefs; next followed
the main body of the emigrants, men, women
and children, mounted on horses, marching in
file after Indian fashion, while all along the
flanks of the multitude might be seen dragoons
and volunteers urging on unwilling stragglers,
often with the most violent words and
gestures. The sick were in their wagons
under an awning of canvas, which, however,
far from protecting them from the stifling
heat and dust, only deprived them of air. The
interior was like an oven, and many conse
quently died. Six miles from Danville,. Il
linois, there was a halt for two days. ' ' When
we quitted the spot," Father Petit said, "we

left six graves under the shadow of the
cross." Order had been so thoroughly re
stored through the presence of the good priest
that the troops now retired and Father Petit
was left with the civil authorities to conduct
the emigrants to their destination. Having
seen the emigrants safely landed on their res
ervation on the Osage river southwest of the
Missouri river, such as had not died and
escaped on the way, Father Petit started on
the return trip. At St. Louis he was taken
sick from fatigue and malarial fever and died.
His remains were afterward removed to Notre
Dame, Indiana, where they lie buried beneath
a beautiful chapel at that place.
Of the onward journey after leaving San
dusky Point, Illinois, where the caravan was
placed in charge of Judge Polke, we have only
the general statement that 150 persons were
lost on the whole way by death and desertion.
What amount of suffering fell to the lot of
these poor Indians every day of this horrible
journey, no tongue can tell. Hundreds of
them were daily burning with the terrible
malarial fever so universally prevalent during
the warm part of 1838. These hundreds were
crowded into common rough wagons and com
pelled to bear the downpouring rays of a
sultry sun, and the only beverage to quench
the prevailing thirst was dipped from some
mud stream just drying up. The food was
composed of beef and flour cooked as might
be while encamped for the night. Alas, how
these poor little dusky infants must have suf
fered. No wonder that their little graves
marked the daily journey.
In the southern part of Indiana, the legisla
ture two years ago authorized the erection of
a monument to the memory of the pioneers
of that section of the state who were massa
cred by the Shawnee Indians during the
period of the War of 1812 with England. The
massacre was cruel and inhuman and without
excuse, but in the history of that most de
plorable event, the Indian side of the question
that led up to the culmination of the dispute
has never been written. The monument at
Pigeon Roost, while it commemorates the mem
ory of the murdered dead, also perpetuates
the worst feature in the Indian character.
On the other hand the state, through its
legislature, is now asked to authorize the erec
tion of a monument to mark the dawn of civ
ilization in northern Indiana; the rebuilding '
of the first house of Christian worship in the
entire great northwest, east of the Pacific

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

DO

coast, and to perpetuate the memory of the
Pottawatomie Indians, the owners and first
inhabitants of the country north of the Wa
bash river, and south of the lakes, whose writ
ten history is entirely the work of the white
people, the government agents, traders, and
schemers who wrote from the white man's
selfish and prejudiced standpoint. I stand
here to-day, in this magnificent presence, to
plead for the Pottawatomie Indians ; to give
their side of the story which has never before
been told. As I stand here to-day I wish you
to imagine that the spirit of the good Indian
Menominee has come back after nearly three-
quarters of a century to tell you the truth in
regard to the cruel and inhuman manner in
which he and his tribe were treated by the
government agents who dispossessed him of
his property against his will, without com
pensation, and forced him and his people into
captivity beyond the great Missouri, where he
was never heard of again and where he un
doubtedly died of a broken heart.
They are now all gone — not one is left to
tell the story. But whether the legislature
authorizes the erection of this monument or
not the Pottawatomie Indians will not be for
gotten. Their memory has been preserved,
and will continue to be perpetuated for all
time to come in the rivers, lakes and various
localities bearing their names. Aubenaube
and Kewanna, and Tiosa, in Fulton county,
perpetuate the names of noted Indian chiefs;
and the beautiful Tippecanoe, with its rip
pling waters of blue; and the picturesque
Manitou, and the lovely Maxinkuckee, the St.
Joseph, and especially the famous Wabash,
where " 'Round my Indiana homestead wave the
cornfields,
In the distance loom the woodlands clear and
cool;
It was there I spent my days of early child
hood — •
It was there I learned the love of nature's
school.
I can hear my mother's voice call from the
doorway
As she stood there years ago and watched
for me ;
I can hear the birds sing sweetly in the
spring-time,
On the banks of the Wabash, far away.
Oh, the moon is fair tonight along the Wa
bash.

From the fields there comes the breath of
new-mown hay,
Through the sycamores the candle-lights are
gleaming
On the banks of the Wabash, far away. ' '
All these names will perpetuate for all
time to come the memory of the Pottawatomie
Indians, the first owners and inhabitants of
all the beautiful country north of the Wabash
river and south of the great lakes.
"The Indians all have passed away,
That noble race and "brave,
Their light canoes have vanished
From off the crested wave.
Amid the forest where they roamed
There rings no hunter's shout —
But their name is on your waters —
You can not wash it out."
While the house of representatives showed
its appreciation of the eloquence of Mr. Mc
Donald by ordering his address published in
pamphlet form (the only address of the ses
sion so honored), yet the members were not
prepared to pass his bill for the erection of
the modest memorial which he requested. It
is gratifying, however, to know that Mr.
McDonald was returned to the general as
sembly for the session of 1907, and that his
bill was re-introduced during that session and
became a law by the approval of the gov
ernor, March 12, 1907. The memorial to the
great Menominee will be no less a monument
to the noble heart and wise head of his advo
cate and defender, the Hon. Daniel McDon
ald.0 In 1840, Alexis Coquillard, the first white
man to establish a trading post on the site
of the city of South Bend, was commissioned
by the general government to remove certain
bands of Pottawatomies who still remained
in St. Joseph county. They had agreed to go
peaceably with ' ' the Pottawatomie Chief, ' ' as
Mr. Coquillard was called by the Indians,
who had much admiration and affection for
this distinguished pioneer. These last Indians
were removed by Mr. Coquillard without
a. For the act as passed by the general as-'
sembly and signed by the governor, see Acts
1907, p. 623.

56

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

trouble, and in a most humane manner. There
was in this case none of the sadness and suf
fering so graphically described by Mr. Mc
Donald in the former case, — the Coquillard
removal being all in wagons. The only re
grettable circumstance connected with this last
Indian emigration is the fact that Alexis
Coquillard was defrauded by his partner, a
man named Alverson, who appropriated to
himself the large sum of money, $40,000 and
over, which the general government had ap
propriated and paid for this important serv
ice. The defalcation of his partner, for a
time, weighed heavily upon the spirits and
fortunes of Mr. Coquillard, but only for a
time. The same indomitable energies that

made his fortunes restored them. He was a
fine type of those business men that followed
him, men who refused to be suppressed by
adverse circumstances and who have made
the business enterprises of St. Joseph county
known to the people of the world.
With this last removal of the primitive
inhabitants, but two or three Pottawatomie
families were left in St. Joseph county, and
now there is not an Indian of full blood
where once the race was in absolute posses
sion. As said by Mr. McDonald, in closing
his notable speech in the state house at In
dianapolis : ' ' They are now all gone — not one
is left to tell the story."

CHAPTER 111.

THE STATE OF INDIANA.

I. THE FRENCH ERA.
Sec. 1. — Nature of the French Occu
pancy. — Not taking into account the nomadic
occupancy of the Indians or of others who
may have preceded them, the first people to
exercise governmental authority within the
limits of the territory northwest of the Ohio
river were the French. In 1641, just a hun
dred years after Hernando de Soto had pene
trated to the shores of the Mississippi, in the
south, the first conference of the French with
the Indians of the northwest took place at the
Sault Ste. Marie, between Lake Superior
and Lake Huron; but it was not until 1660
that a mission was established in that locality.
In 1665 Allouez renewed in that region the
work of Father Mesnard. In 1668, Fathers
Marquette and Dablon were laboring at the
same place ; and in 1670, Talon, the intendant,
or governor-general, of Canada, sent out
Nicholas Perrot, who explored Lake Michigan
as far as Chicago. It was in 1671, after the
establishment of those missions and the mak
ing of those explorations, that the French took
formal possession of the northwest; and in
the same year Marquette established the noted
mission at St. Ignace, on the main land near
the island of Mackinac. Two years afterwards
Marquette passed over Lake Michigan and
northern Wisconsin, and on June 17, 1673,
discovered the Mississippi, down which he
sailed to a point below where de Soto had
reached the river in 1541.° During the years
o. Perkins' Annals of th© "West, pp. 28-33. Ban
croft, Hist. TJ. S., Vol. III.

57

1670, 1671 and 1672, Allouez and Dablon con
tinued their missions to the Indians and made
explorations through eastern Wisconsin,
northeastern Illinois, northern Indiana and
southwestern Michigan." It seems well estab
lished also that as early as 1669, La Salle went
south from Canada through the eastern part
of the northwest territory until he discovered
the Ohio river, down which he voyaged as far
at least as the mouth of the Wabash, if not
to the Mississippi itself. The earliest claims
made by France to the country west of the
Alleghenies and south to the Spanish posses
sions and the Gulf of Mexico, were based upon
these explorations and discoveries of La
Salle,6 as also those made by Marquette,
Allouez and others about the great lakes.
On April 9, 1682, La Salle, after having
sailed down the Mississippi and discovered its
outlets into the Gulf of Mexico, solemnly took
possession, in the name of France, of all the
territories drained by the great river and its
tributaries, which domain he called Louisiana,
in honor of Louis XIV, then King of France.
Thereafter the territory claimed by the
French extended from the Gulf of St. Law
rence, by way of the great lakes and the Mis
sissippi, to the Gulf of Mexico. Following
out La Salle 's plan of empire, the government
of France established military posts within
supporting distance of one another through
out this vast region. Besides Quebec, Mon
treal and Frontenac, there were forts at the
Sault Ste. Marie, Michilimackinac (Macki-
a. Dillon, Hist. Indiana, pp. 2-3.
6. Dunn, Hist. Indiana, pp. 5-14.

58

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

naw); Detroit; DuQuesne (Pittsburg); Chi
cago ; Miamis (at the mouth of the St. Joseph,
afterwards abandoned for Fort St. Joseph's,
near Niles) ; Fort Wayne; Ouiatanon (near
La Fayette); Vincennes; Kaskaskia; Fort
Chartres; St. Louis; Natchez; New Orleans;
and numerous smaller posts.
Sec. 2. — Canada and Louisiana.— The
upper part of this great territory of French
America, was called Canada, and sometimes
New France; the lower part retained the
name Louisiana. The boundary between Can
ada and Louisiana was not well defined, nor
did it always remain the same. The country
west of the Mississippi was always referred
to as a part of Louisiana, as was also the
country east of that river and south of a line
through Terre Haute." Vincennes, accord
ingly, was at all times included in Louisiana;
while Detroit, Chicago, Fort St. Joseph's,
Fort Wayne and other posts situated on
waters flowing into the great lakes were re
garded as being within the limits of Canada.
As to territory north of Terre Haute, but
drained by the Wabash, Illinois and other
rivers flowing into the Ohio or Mississippi,
there was little uniformity. In the articles of
capitulation of Montreal, as we have already
seen, when, on September 18, 1760, all Can
ada was surrendered to Great Britain, it was
agreed that the limits of Canada included all
territory drained into the great lakes.6 This
statement in the articles left all the territory
now embraced in Indiana within the domain
of Louisiana, except only a small and irreg
ularly bounded part in the north, drained by
the St. Joseph and the Maumee rivers. Ac
cordingly, by the terms of the capitulation so
much of St. Joseph county as is embraced
within the St. Joseph valley was regarded as a
part of Canada and became British territory,
while the rest of the county, being within the
valley of the Kankakee, remained a part of
Louisiana, and continued to be French terri-
a. Dillon, Hist. Indiana, pp. 23-25. Dunn, Hist.
Indiana, p. 58.
6. See Chapter II., Division V., p. 43.

tory, until, by the treaty of Paris, February
10, 1763, the whole country east of the Miss
issippi passed to Great Britain.
The respective governments of Canada and
Louisiana were almost as uncertain as was
the boundary between them. At times the
governments of the two provinces were quite
distinct, but more often Louisiana was subject
to the superior rights of Canada, or New
France. While the many posts from Quebec to New
Orleans, and from Michilimackinac, on the
north, to DuQuesne, on the east, and St. Louis
on the west, commanding the waters and the
valleys of the St. Lawrence, the great lakes,
the Maumee, the St. Joseph, the Illinois, the
Wabash, the Ohio and the Mississippi, consti
tuted the framework of a mighty French em
pire, according to the fine scheme of La Salle ;
yet when the transfer of Canada and eastern
Louisiana was made to Great Britain, in 1763,
it was indeed but the framework of an empire.
Outside the several forts, and excepting the
districts near Quebec and Montreal, the
French inhabitants of the immense region
were exceedingly few in number. In the ter
ritory northwest of the Ohio the chief of the
small centers of population were at Michili
mackinac, Detroit and Chicago, on the great
lakes ; Kaskaskia and Fort Chartres, on the
Mississippi; Vincennes, on the Wabash; and
Fort Wayne, on the Maumee.
II. THE BRITISH AND SPANISH ERA.
From the capitulation of Montreal, Septem
ber 8, 1760, and the treaty of Paris, at the con
clusion of the Seven Years' War, February
10, 1763, until the beginning of the American
revolution, the country northwest of the Ohio
continued to be, nominally at least, a part of
the British dominions. In 1778 and 1779, the
expedition from Virginia and Kentucky,
under George Rogers Clark, resulted in the
capture of Kaskaskia and Vincennes and the
conquest of the southern part of this terri
tory; and, in 1781, the Spanish expedition
from St. Louis resulted in the capture of Fort
St. Joseph's, and the claim by the Spaniards

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

59

to the northern part of' the territory. It was
not, however, until the treaty of peace recog
nizing the independence of the United States
of America, September 3, 1783, that the
claims of Great Britain, as well as those of
Spain, were altogether finally extinguished.
The fifteen years of uninterrupted British
occupancy, from the treaty of Paris to the
capture of Kaskaskia, was merely occupancy,
and nothing more. The forts taken over from
the French were garrisoned by British troops ;
but the population remained practically what
it had been under the French rule. The gar
risons, too, with the exception, perhaps, of
those at Michilimackinac, Detroit, Fort Pitt,
were feeble, barely sufficient to hold the coun
try and protect the scattered posts from the
Indians. The Spanish expedition from St. Louis, in
1781, found it an easy matter to capture Fort
St. Joseph's, the English garrison being quite
insignificant, and not at all prepared to re
sist an attack in force by regular troops. The
Spaniards themselves made no pretense to
hold the country ; but were content to destroy
the old fort, and so remove all semblance of
British authority in the north, while setting
up a visionary claim of their own.°
Indeed, neither British nor Spanish author
ity was ever much more than nominal in
northwestern Indiana.
For forty years after the secret treaty of
1763, Louisiana was Spanish. In 1801, by
another secret treaty, it passed again to
France, but remained outwardly under Span
ish rule until the transfer to the United States
by Napoleon, in 1803, during the presidency
of Jefferson. Other conditions might have
made the capture of Fort St. Joseph's, in
1781, of national importance. But Clark had
taken Kaskaskia and Vincennes, the southern
part of the great northwest was in American
hands, and the American revolution was suc
cessful. The picturesque Spanish expedition
across Illinois and Indiana was but an epi
sode, and left no trace in our history.
a. See Chapt. II., subd. 4.

III. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK.
Sec. 1. — Clark in Kentucky. — The history
of Indiana, proper, as the state now exists,
begins with the expedition of George Rogers
Clark, and his capture of Kaskaskia, July 4,
1778. This beginin'g was an, auspicious one,
occurring two years, to a day, after the sign
ing of the Declaration of Independence. But
the infant nation was yet in the struggle for
existence; and comparatively few persons
then realized, indeed to this day many fail to
realize, how important to the nation, and to
the world, was this daring enterprise of the
young Virginian, "The Hannibal of the
West." It is well to keep in mind that the con
quest of the northwest was not made under
the authority of the United States, but under
that of the -state of Virginia. This great com
monwealth was not only the mother of presi
dents, but the mother of states. West Vir
ginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota
were at one time included in the territory of
'the great state of Virginia, and were all
directly subject to her laws and government.
Kentucky, during the period of the Revolu
tion, was occupied by sparse settlements of
emigrants from Virginia, surrounded by hos
tile Indians and exposed to attack from the
British posts at Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia
and other points. The people looked for pro
tection to the home government of Virginia;
but the settlements of Kentucky were far re
moved from their friends in Virginia, and all
the forces of the state were strained to the
utmost in aiding the other colonies in the dis
tressing war then waged with Great Britain.
Among the Virginians who went to the
assistance of their brethren in Kentucky was
George Rogers Clark ; and he very early made
up his mind that the best way to protect the
people of that "dark and bloody ground" was
to wrest the country north of the Ohio from
the English, who were constantly inciting the
Indians against the feeble settlements south

60

HISTORY OF .ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of the river, and who might at any time send
an expedition from Detroit to capture the
Kentucky posts and thus also be enabled to
attack Virginia, Pennsylvania and the Caro-
linas from the west, while other British troops
attacked them from the east. The necessity
of capturing Vincennes, Kaskaskia and De
troit seemed to Clark to be most urgent, not
withstanding the great difficulty of the enter
prise, and the slender assistance which he
could hope to receive. He determined, there
fore, to return to Virginia and present the
matter to Patrick Henry, then governor of the
state, the man whose eloquence had roused
the enthusiasm of the colonists to declare
their independence of Great Britain.
Sec. 2. — His . Appeal to Virginia. — Mr.
English, in his History of the Conquest of the
Northwest, presents the situation as it took
place on Clark's return substantially as fol
lows: Clark's stay in the Kentucky country
in 1777, had still further endeared him to the
inhabitants, who now looked upon him as the
leader upon whom they could rely with great
est safety. They instinctively felt that his
active spirit was hot likely to remain quiet in
these dangerous times; and, Clark says, that
when he was about to leave for Virginia, in
the fall, every eye seemed to be turned on
him in expectation that he was going to under
take some enterprise that would benefit them.
There were some, however, who thought he
contemplated entering service in the revolu
tionary army of Virginia, in the east, and
feared he would never return to the Kentucky
frontier. ' ' I left them with reluctance, ' ' said
he, "promising them that I would certainly
return to their assistance, which I had prede
termined." This was on the 1st of October,
1777. He had carefully looked over the western
field and determined that he could best serve
his country by leading a force against the
enemy's posts in the Illinois and on the Wa
bash. The authority to do it, and the men
and means necessary to make it a success,
could only come from the home government of

Virginia. To that he now directed his atten
tion, with his usual caution, good judgment
and energy. He went to Williamsburg, still
the capital of the state, and there, at first,
quietly employed himself in settling the ac
counts of the Kentucky militia, which shows
that he had been in military authority in the
Kentucky country; but he was, in fact, all
the time feeling his way to the development
of his great plan of striking the British posts
northwest of the Ohio river. Events in the
east about this time proved favorable to the
adoption of his plans. The capture of the
British army under Burgoyne had greatly en
couraged the Americans, and they were feel
ing more as if they might be able to carry the
war into the enemy's country. Clark talked
confidently upon the subject to a few discreet
friends, but it was about two months after
his arrival in Virginia before he ventured to
lay his plans before the governor of the state.
The eventful day was the 10th of December,
1777, when he first presented the matter to the
great governor, Patrick Henry. They were
not strangers to each other. The grand old
patriot gave eager attention to the youthful
Virginian, but the plans now presented were
vastly greater in importance then those he had
presented the previous year in relation to giv
ing the settlers in Kentucky a government
and the stations gunpowder. In Clark's Me
moir, he says : "At first he seemed to be fond
of it ; but to detach a party at so great a dis
tance, although the service performed might
be of great utility, appeared daring and haz
ardous, as nothing but secrecy could give suc
cess to the enterprise. To lay the matter
before the assembly, then sitting, would be
dangerous, as it would soon be known through
out the frontiers, and probably the first pris
oner taken by the Indians would give the
alarm, which would end in the certain destruc
tion of the party." Henry's great mind, no
doubt, grasped not only the danger the invad
ing party might be involved in, but the vast
benefit it might be to the future of the coun
try if the campaign should prove successful.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

61

He realized that it was a matter of the gravest
importance, and required the earnest and
careful consideration of the wisest and most
discreet men in the state. He invited as his
confidential counsellors and advisers upon this
memorable occasion three men who fully
came up to the requirement, namely Thomas
Jefferson, George Wythe and George Mason.
Seldom in the annals of military affairs has a
stranger body of men assembled to consider
the expediency of a campaign than was
assembled on this occasion. Patrick Henry,
Thomas Jefferson, George Wythe, George
Mason and George Rogers Clark — five men
who made an honorable impress upon the age
in which they lived, and who may justly be
ranked with the first men of their time,
indeed, of any time.
These distinguished gentlemen were in con
sultation upon the subject of the contem
plated campaign for several weeks, and Clark
records in his Memoir that every enquiry was
made into his proposed plan of operations,
and particularly that of retreat, in case of
misfortune, across the Mississippi into the
Spanish territory. Friday, January 2, 1778,
seems to have been the day the proposed
"expedition against Kaskaskia" was formally
communicated by the governor to the council
and approved — the same to be set on foot
"with as little delay and as much secrecy as
possible." This action of the governor and
privy council was under a law of the Virginia
legislature, passed by the General Assembly
then in session, authorizing the governor, with
the advice of the privy council, to organize an
expedition, to march against and attack any
of our western enemies, and give the neces
sary orders for the expedition. Clark says
this law was passed to enable the governor to
order the Illinois campaign, but that when it
passed but few in the house knew the real
intent of it.°
Sec. 3. — Secret Preparations. — On Janu-
a. Conquest of the country northwest of the
River Ohio, Vol. 1, pp. 86-93. The text slightly
condensed and abbreviated.

ary 4, 1778, Clark, having received his instruc
tions from the governor, together with £1,200
to defray expenses, set out to collect troops
and supplies for the most brilliant enterprise
in American history, following the conquest
of Mexico by Cortez. On February 1st, he
arrived at Red Stone, now Brownsville, Penn
sylvania. He tells us in his Memoir that he
found much opposition to the enterprise in
the Pittsburg country. The Pennsylvanians
seemed opposed to the raising of troops for
the use of Virginia. "As my real instruc
tions," he continues, "were kept concealed,
and only an instrument from the governor
was made public, wherein I was authorized to
raise men for the defense of Kentucky, many
gentlemen of both parties conceived it to be
injurious to the public interest to draw off
men at so critical a moment for the defense
of a few detached inhabitants, who had better
be removed, etc." After collecting a part of
his troops and leaving instructions for further
enlistments, Clark took his stores at Pittsburg
and Wheeling and proceeded cautiously down
the river. He occupied a small island at the
Falls of the Ohio, afterwards called Corn
Island, opposite the present city of Louisville,
where he arrived May 27, 1788, and here for
the first time, he made know to his officers
and men the nature of his design and the
secret instructions received from the governor
of Virginia. "Almost every gentleman," he
says, "warmly espoused the enterprise, and
plainly saw the utility of it, and supposed
they saw the salvation of Kentucky almost in
their reach; but some repined that we were
not strong enough to put it beyond all doubt.
The soldiery, in general, debated on the sub
ject, but determined to follow their officers;
some were alarmed at the thought of being
taken at so great a distance into the enemy's
country, that if they should have success in
the first instance they might be attacked in
their posts without a possibility of getting
succor or making their retreat. ' ' There were
some desertions at this time, but Clark reso
lutely pursued and punished the guilty par-

62

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

ties, as everything now depended on the
observance of the most rigid discipline.
Sec. 4. — Capture of Kaskaskia. — On June
24, 1778, they left Corn Island. The force
consisted of four companies, commanded by
Captains John Montgomery, Joseph Bowman,
Leonard Helm and William Harrod. The
total number of men was about one hundred
and seventy-five, besides the officers.0 The
force being so small Clark found it necessary
to alter his plans. In his Memoir, he says
that, "As Post St. Vincennes at this time was
a town of considerable force, consisting of
near four hundred militia, with an Indian
town adjoining, and great numbers continu
ally in the neighborhood, I had thought of
attacking it first, but now found that I could
by no means venture near it. I resolved to
begin my career in the Illinois where there
were more inhabitants, but scattered in differ
ent villages, and less danger of being immedi
ately overpowered by the Indians ; in case of
necessity, we could probably make our retreat
to the Spanish side of the Mississippi, but if
successful, we might pave our way to the pos
session of Post Vincennes. ' '
As Clark intended to leave the Ohio at Fort
Massac, three leagues, or nine miles below the
Tennessee, he landed at a small island in the
mouth of that river to prepare for the march
overland to the British posts. Here they sur
prised a party of huntsmen coming up the
river, who proved to be Americans recently
engaged in hunting in the country about Kas
kaskia. They willingly agreed to join the
expedition and gave much needed information
of conditions in and around the forts. On
the evening of July 4, 1778, after a trying
march of one hundred and twenty miles, the
little army arrived within a few miles of the
town of Kaskaskia, and soon after dark com
pletely surprised the fort and captured its
garrison, without striking a blow. The com
mander, or commandant, as he was called by
the French, a Mr. Rocheblave, was himself a
a. English, Conquest of the Northwest, Vol. 1,
p. 153.

Frenchman, though serving as a British
officer, and was exceedingly chagrined
at the clever manner in which he had
been overcome by Col. Clark. The French
inhabitants proved to be exceedingly
friendly. They took the oath of al
legiance and joyfully proclaimed themselves
American citizens as soon as they learned of
the good intentions of Clark, and particularly
after being informed that the French govern
ment had entered into a treaty with the
Americans and was even then aiding them in
their war for independence against the Eng
lish, for whom indeed the French in America
never had any good will. The surrounding
villages were soon taken, chiefly through the
aid of the French citizens of Kaskaskia.
The principal of these smaller towns on the
Mississippi was Cahokia, twenty leagues or
sixty miles north of Kaskaskia, a little below
and nearly opposite the site of the present
city of St. Louis.
It was formerly called Cohos, and is claimed
to have been the first white settlement on the
Mississippi. It was probably settled about
the year 1700 ° This town, hardly of less con
sequence than Kaskaskia itself, was captured
from the British without a struggle by a force
of Americans and French under Major Bow
man, formerly Captain Joseph Bowman.
Col. Clark took the most discreet measures
to win the good will of the French people and
to make the new government popular. He
tells us in his Memoir that he inquired par
ticularly into the manner the people had been
governed by the English, and much to his
satisfaction found that the government had
generally been as severe as under militia law.
"I was determined," he says, "to make an
advantage of it, and took every step in my
power to cause the people to feel the blessings
enjoyed by an American citizen, which I soon
discovered enabled me to support, from their
own choice, almost a supreme authority over
a. English, Conquest of the Northwest, Vol. 1,
p. 197. See also Montague's Hist. Randolph
County, Illinois.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

63

them. I caused a court of civil judication
to be established at Kahokia, elected by the
people. Major Bowman, to the surprise of the
people, held a poll for a magistracy, and was
elected and acted as judge of the court. After
this similar courts were established in the
towns of Kaskaskia and St. Vincent [Vincen
nes] . There was an appeal to myself in cer
tain cases, and I believe that no people ever
had their business done more to their satisfac
tion than they had through the means of these
regulations for a considerable time. ' '
The old court house in Cahokia, where
Major Bowman sat as judge after his election
in 1778 was a log building, capable of holding
not more than one hundred persons. It was
built by the French in 1716, and was used at
first as a court house and afterwards also as
a school house. It was the first building
erected and used as a court house within
the limits of the state of Illinois, and perhaps
of all the northwest. The venerable structure
of logs has been preserved to this day, and in
the early part of the year 1906, was pur
chased for the Chicago Historical Society and
moved to Jackson Park in that city. On De
cember 1, 1906, the judges of the new munici
pal court of Chicago met and took the oath
of office, and the court was duly organized,
within the walls of this historic court house.
- The following observations made by Chief
Justice Olson on that occasion are of historical
interest in this connection.
' ' The little settlement of Cahokia in Illinois
was one of the forest points of France, by
which that nation attempted to intrench her
self in the valley of the Mississippi. One of
the relics of this lost empire of France is this
court house, which has been removed from
the ancient hamlet to this city in the hope that
it may be an incentive to our youth to pursue
the absorbing story of the trials, vicissitudes
and triumphs of the early explorers and set
tlers of Illinois.
"A British commandant took possession of
the country of Illinois in 1765, and, in the
examination of the Cahokia court documents,

it appears that courts of justice with officers
of record held forth even before the arrival
of George Rogers Clark and his Virginians.
In the village where this court stood, Clark
met the representatives of every tribe between
the great lakes and the Mississippi. The
judges who first sat at this old bench were
elected by the people in the first election held
on the soil of Illinois in the autumn of 1778.
"We who are about to assume judicial
office in a court recently established by the
people are proud to accept our commissions
in this building where the first court in the
Mississippi valley was held as the result of
the first popular election on Illinois soil."
Sec. 5. — Father Gibault and Vincennes.
— The posts on the Mississippi being now well
in hand, Clark turned his attention to the
capture of the town of Vincennes. ' ' I found
it to be, ' ' he says, ' ' a place of infinite import
ance to us. To gain it was now my object,
but, sensible that all the forces we had, joined
by every man in Kentucky, would not be able
to approach it, I resolved on other measures
than that of arms. ' '
Mr. English says that the population of
Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Vincennes and the other
towns on the Mississippi and the Wabash
"were almost entirely of French extraction,
at the time of Clark's advent, and the uni
versal dislike of English rule still existed, and
greatly facilitated his operations."0 And he
adds that "Father Gibault was the embodi
ment of this sentiment, and the man of all
others who could make it effective in recon
ciling the inhabitants to the change of rul
ers."6 Clark himself tells us in his Memoir that
"the priest was inclined to the American
interest previous to our arrival in the coun
try;" and that "he had great influence over
a. Conquest of the Northwest, Vol. 1, p. 199.
6. IT}. See also Address of the Rev. Pierre
Gibault, "The Patriot Priest of the Northwest,"
delivered before the Illinois State Historical So
ciety by the Hon. Jacob P. Dunn, secretary of the
Indiana State Historical Society, at Springfield,
111., Jan. 26, 1905.

64

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the people at this period, and Post Vincennes
was under his jurisdiction. I made no doubt
of his integrity to us. I sent for him and had
a long conference with him on the subject of
Post Vincennes. In answer to all my queries
he informed me that he did not think it worth
my while to cause any military preparation to
be made at the Falls of the Ohio for the attack
of Post Vincennes, although the place was
strong and a great number of Indians in its
neighborhood, who, to his knowledge, were
generally at war; that Governor Abbott had,
a few weeks before, left the place on some
business to Detroit; that he expected that
when the inhabitants were fully acquainted
with what had passed at the Illinois, and the
present happiness of their friends, and made
fully acquainted with the nature of the war,
their sentiments would greatly change; that
he knew that his appearance there would have
great weight, even among the savages; that
if it was agreeable to me he would take this
business on himself, and had no doubt of his
being able to bring that place over to the
American interest without my being at the
trouble of marching against it; that his busi
ness being altogether spiritual, he wished that
another person might be charged with the
temporal part of the embassy, but that he
would privately direct the whole, and he
named Doctor Laf ont as his associate. ' '
Father Gibault 's plan was perfectly agree
able to what Clark had been secretly aiming
at. The party set out on July 14, 1778, and
arrived safe at Vincennes, where, after a day
or two spent in explaining matters, the people
acceded to the proposal and took the oath of
allegiance. "An officer," says Clark, "was
elected, the fort immediately garrisoned and
the American flag displayed, to the astonish
ment of the Indians, and everything settled
beyond our most sanguine hopes. The people
began to put on a new face and to talk in a
different style, and to act as perfect freemen.
With a garrison of their own, with the United
States at their elbow, their language to the
Indians was immediately altered. They began

as citizens of the state, and informed the
Indians that their old father the King of
France, was come to life again, had joined the
big knife, and was mad at them for fighting
for the English ; that they would advise them
to make peace with the Americans as soon as
they could, otherwise they might expect the
land to be very bloody, etc. The Indians
began to think seriously. Throughout the
country this was now the kind of language
they generally got from their ancient friends
of the Wabash and Illinois. Through the
means of their correspondence spreading
among the nations, our batteries now began to
play in a proper channel. Mr. Gibault and
party, accompanied by several gentlemen of
Post Vincennes, returned to Kaskaskia about
the first of August with the joyful news."
Thus, through the wise management of "The
Patriot Priest of the Northwest," and without
the shedding of one drop of blood, the import
ant town of Post Vincennes came under the
jurisdiction of the United States, — the first
spot on Indiana soil over which floated the
American flag. About the middle of August
Captain Leonard Helm was sent by Clark to
take command of the town, with instructions
to maintain the good will of the people and to
win over the Indian tribes. An Indian chief,
called the Tobacco's Son, a Peankeshaw,
resided at this time in an Indian village west
of the Wabash and not far from Vincennes.
"This man," says Clark, "was called by the
Indians 'The Grand Door to the Wabash,' as
the great Pontiac had been to that of the St.
Joseph; and, as nothing of consequence was
to be undertaken by the league on the Wabash
without his assent, I discovered that to win
him was an object of great importance,"
Clark, accordingly, had sent friendly messages
to the chief by Father Gibault, which were
returned in the same spirit; and like compli
ments were again sent by Captain Helm.
"Tobacco's Son," says Clark, "proved a zeal
ous friend to the day of his death, which hap
pened two years after this, when he desired
to be buried among the Americans. His body

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

65

was conveyed to the garrison of Cahokia and
buried with the honors of war. He appeared
in all his conduct as if he had the American
interest much at heart."
"In a short time," continues Clark's Me
moir, "almost the whole of the various tribes
of the different nations on the Wabash, as
high as the Ouiatanon, came to St. Vincennes
and followed the example of their grand
chief ; and as expresses were continually pass
ing between Captain Helm and myself the
whole time of these treaties, the business was
settled perfectly to my satisfaction, and
greatly to the advantage of the public. The
British interest daily lost ground in this
quarter, and in a short time our influence
reached the Indians on the river St. Joseph
and the border of Lake Michigan." And he
adds that the French gentlemen at the differ
ent posts engaged warmly in the American in
terests, and in promoting treaties of peace and
good will with all the Indian tribes; so that,
as he tells us, "in a short time from this we
could send a single soldier through any part
of the Wabash and Illinois country, for the
whole of those Indians came to treat, either
at Cahokia or St. Vincennes, in course of the
fall." Sec. 6. — Clark's Winter Campaign. — This
pleasant situation was to be rudely disturbed
as the early winter came on. At first there
was a vague rumor that there was active
preparation going on for a British expedition
from Detroit, intended to retake Vincennes
and all the other posts in possession of Clark,
and even to invade and conquer Kentucky.
Clark could get no definite news from Vin
cennes; his messengers being captured by
English scouting parties, as it afterwards
turned out. Indeed Clark himself was nearly
taken by one of these parties. It was not
until January 29, 1779, that he first learned
the true state of affairs from Francis Vigo, a
Spanish merchant who had been at Vincennes.
This gentleman, whose patriotism was after
ward remembered by giving his honored name
to the county of Vigo, Indiana, informed
5

Clark that in the previous December, a British
force under Governor Hamilton had come
from Detroit and captured Vincennes; after
which Hamilton, thinking the season too far
advanced to take the posts on the Mississippi,
sent some of his men to watch the Ohio, and
disbanded others, giving orders that all
should meet again in the spring to drive
Clark's forces out of the Illinois and also to
attack the Kentucky settlements.
"We now viewed ourselves," says Clark,
" in a very critical situation — in a manner cut
off from any intercourse between us and the
United States. We knew that Governor Ham
ilton, in the spring, by a junction of his north
ern and southern Indians, which he had pre
pared for, would be at the head of such a force
that nothing in this quarter could withstand
his arms; that Kentucky must immediately
fall, and well if the desolation would end
there. If we could immediately make our way
good to Kentucky, we were convinced that
before we could raise a force sufficient to save
that country it would be too late, as all the
men in it, joined by the troops we had, would
not be sufficient, and to get timely succor from
the interior frontiers was out of the question.
We saw but one alternate, which was to attack
the enemy in their quarters. If we were
fortunate, it would save the whole; if other
wise, it would be nothing more than what
would certainly be the consequence if we
should not make the attempt. Encouraged
by the idea of the greatness of the consequen
ces that would attend our success— the season
of the year being also favorable — as the
enemy could not suppose that we should be so
mad. as to attempt to march eighty leagues
through a drowned country in the depths of
winter; that they would be off their guard
and probably would not think it worth while
to keep out spies ; that, probably, if we could
make our way good, we might surprise them,
and if we fell through, the country would not
be in a worse situation than if we had not
made the attempt. These, and many other
similar reasons, induced us to resolve to at-

66

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

tempt the enterprise, which met with the
approbation of every individual belonging
to us."
Orders to begin preparations were immedi
ately issued, and all were executed with cheer
fulness by the inhabitants. Every man was
provided with whatever was needed to with
stand the coldest weather. On February 5,
1779, after listening to a patriotic address by
Father Gibault and receiving his blessing,
Clark moved forward, with his army of one
hundred and seventy men, almost exactly the
number with which he took Kaskaskia on the
preceding Fourth of July. "Insensibly," he
says, "and without a murmur, were those
men led on to the banks of the Little
Wabash,3 which we reached on the 13th,
through incredible difficulties, far surpassing
anything that any of us had ever experi
enced. ' ' On February 17th, they reached the
Embarrass river, but finding they could not
cross it they moved down the bank of that
river to its junction with the Wabash proper,
which they reached on the 18th, at a point
seven or eight miles below Vincennes. Here
they expected to find the "Willing," a boat,
or galley, as Clark called it, sent down the
Mississippi before they left Kaskaskia, and
which was to go up the Ohio and the Wabash
and take them up to the neighborhood of the
post; but the galley was delayed and did not
arrive at Vincennes until February 27th, three
days after the capture of the place. The
march for five days from the Little Wabash,
and by the Embarrass, to the banks of the
main Wabash, almost constantly through
water and that in the month of February,
was one of almost incredible hardship. Yet
those days were as nothing to the five days
that were to come.
Clark's original intention seems to have
been to cross the Embarrass river near the
site of the present town of Lawrenceville, and,
with the help of his galley, attack the post
from the front. He was now compelled to
adopt a plan similar to that followed by
a. An Illinois branch of the Wabash.

another great general nearly a hundred years
later. As Grant went down the Mississippi
and crossed the river to the rear of Vicksburg,
and so captured that stronghold, so now Clark
by the aid of hastily constructed rafts, crossed
the Wabash, marched up to the east of Vin
cennes and thus took the town from the Brit
ish. Both exploits are among the most notable
in all history. That Clark was able to hold
his little band together on this march through
the cold waters up the east side of the Wabash
often knee deep or waist deep and even more,
seems almost past belief. Only men of the
greatest resolution and inured to hardships of
frontier life could have held out during the
terrible ordeal. Indeed some of the volun
teers did for a time begin to despair. Clark
informs us that toward the end some of them
talked of returning. "But my situation," he
says, "was now such that I was past all un
easiness. I laughed at them, without persuad
ing or ordering them to desist from any such
attempt, but told them that I would be glad if
they would go out and kill some deer. They
went, confused with such conduct. My own
troops I knew had no idea of abandoning an
enterprise from want of provisions, while
there were plenty of good horses in their pos
session; and I knew that, without any vio
lence, the volunteers could be detained for a
few days, in the course of which time our
fate would be known. I conducted myself in
such a manner that caused the whole to believe
that I had no doubt of success, which kept
their spirits up."
In the absence of any news of his galley
coming up the Wabash, for which he still had
hopes, Clark had canoes constructed to aid in
the passage through the waters. Two of these
water marches, as related by the intrepid
and resourceful commander, will illustrate
the extraordinary situations through which
they passed:
"The last day's march through the water,"
says Clark, "was far superior to anything the
Frenchman had an idea of. They were back
ward in speaking, said that the nearest land to

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

67

us was a small league called the sugar camp,
or the bank of the river. A canoe was sent
off and returned without finding that we
could pass. I went in her myself and sounded
the water; found it deep as to my neck. I
returned with a design to have the men trans
ported on board the canoes to the sugar camp,
which I knew would spend the whole day and
ensuing night, as the vessels would pass but'
slowly through the bushes. The loss of so
much time to men half starved was a matter
of consequence. I would have given now a
great deal for a day's provision or for one of
our horses. I returned but slowly to the
troops, giving myself time to think. On our
arrival all ran to hear what was the report.
Every eye was fixed on me. I unfortunately
spoke in a serious manner to one of the officers.
The whole were alarmed without knowing what
I said. They ran from one to another, bewail
ing their situation. I viewed their confusion
for about one minute, whispered to those near
me to do as I did, immediately put some water
in my hand, poured on powder, blackened my
face, gave the war whoop and marched into
the water, without saying a word. The party
gazed and fell in, one after another, without
saying a word, like a flock of sheep. I ordered
those near me to begin a favorite song of
theirs. It soon passed through the line and
the whole went on cheerfully. I now intended
to have them transported across the deepest
part of the water, but when about waist deep
one of the men informed me that he thought
he felt a path — a path is very easily dis
covered under water by the feet. We ex
amined and found it so, and concluded that it
kept on the highest ground, which it did, and,
by taking pains to follow it, we got to our
sugar camp without the least difficulty.
"This was the coldest night we had. The
ice, in the morning, was from one-half to
three-quarters of an inch thick near the shores
and in still waters. The morning was the
finest we had on our march. A little after
sunrise I lectured the whole. What I said
to them, I forget, but it may be easily

imagined by a person who could possess my
affections for them at that time. I concluded
by informing them that surmounting the
plain that was then in full view, and reaching
the opposite woods, would put an end to their
fatigue ; that in a few hours they would have
a sight of their long wished for object, and
immediately stepped into the water without
waiting for a reply. A huzza took place. We
generally marched through the water in a
line ; it was much easiest. Before a third
entered, I halted, and, further to prove the
men, having some suspicion of three or four,
I hallooed to Major Bowman, ordering him to
fall in the rear with twenty-five men and put
to death any man who refused to march, as we
wished to have no such person among us. The
whole gave a cry of approbation that it was
right, and on we went. This was the most
trying of all the difficulties we had experi
enced. I generally kept fifteen or twenty of
the strongest men next myself, and judged
from my own feelings what must be that of
others. Getting about the middle of the plain,
the water about knee deep, I found myself
sensibly failing, and as there were no trees
nor bushes for the men to support themselves
by, I doubted that many of the most weak
would be drowned. I ordered the canoes to
make the land, discharge their loading, and
play backward and forward, with all dili
gence, and pick up the men, and to encourage
the party. . . . The men exerted them
selves almost beyond their abilities — the weak
holding by the stronger, and frequently one
with two others' help, and this was of infinite
advantage to the weak. The water never got
shallower, but continued deepening — even
when getting to the woods, where the men ex
pected to land. The water was up to my
shoulders, but gaining the woods was of great
consequence. All the low men, and the weakly,
hung to the trees and floated on the old logs
until they were taken off by the canoes. The
strong and tall got ashore and built fires.
Many would reach the shore, and fall with
their bodies half in the water, not being able

68

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

to support themselves without it. This was a
delightful, dry spot of ground, of about ten
acres. We soon found that the fires answered
no purpose, but that two strong men taking
a weaker one by the arms was the only way to
recover him, and, being a delightful day, it
soon did. But, fortunately, as if designed by
Providence, a canoe of Indian squaws and
children was coming up to town, and took
through part of this plain as a nighway. It
was discovered by our canoes as they were out
after the men. They gave chase and took the
Indian canoe, on board of which was near
half a quarter of a buffalo, some corn, tallow,
kettles, etc. This was a grand prize and was
invaluable. Broth was immediately made and
served out to the most weakly with great care ;
most of the whole got a little, but a great
many gave their part to the weakly, jocosely
saying something cheering to their comrades.
This little refreshment and fine weather, by
the afternoon, gave new life to the whole. "
The danger from the waters was now past,
but the danger from the living enemy was at
hand. Clark's narrative, from which we can
make only brief extracts, now continues:
"Crossing a narrow, deep lake in the canoes
and marching some distance, we came to a
copse of timber caller the Warrior's Island.
We were now in full view of the fort and
town, not a shrub between us, at about two
miles' distance. Every man now feasted his
eyes and forgot that he had suffered anything,
saying that all that had passed was owing to
good policy and nothing but what a man could
bear, and that a soldier had no right to think,
etc., passing from one extreme to another,
which is common in such cases. It was now
we had to display our abilities. The plain
between us and the town was not a perfect
level. The sunken grounds were covered with
water full of ducks. We observed- several
men out oh horseback, shooting at them,
within half a mile of us, and sent out as many
of our active young Frenchmen to decoy and
take one of these men prisoner in such a man
ner as not to alarm the others, which they did.

The information we got from this person was
similar to that which we got from those we
took on the river, except that of the British
having that evening completed the wall of the
fort, etc., and that there were a good many
Indians in town. Our situation was now
truly critical — no possibility of retreating in
case of defeat — and in full view of a town
that had, at this time, upwards of six hundred
men in it, troops, inhabitants and Indians.
The crew of the galley, though not fifty men,
would have been now a reinforcement of
immense magnitude to our little army (if I
may so call it) ; but we would not think of
them. We were now in the situation that I
had labored to get ourselves in. The idea of
being made prisoner was foreign to almost
every man, as they expected nothing but tor
ture from the savages if they fell into their
hands. Our fate was now to be determined,
probably in a few hours. We knew that noth
ing but the most daring conduct would insure
success. I knew that a number of the inhab
itants wished us well; that many were luke
warm in the interest of either; and I also
learned that the grand chief, the Tobacco's
Son, had, but a few days before, openly
declared, in council with the British, that he
was a brother and friend to the big knives."
Clark now took a bold course. It was all
that could save him or bring success to his
enterprise. He sent a placard to the inhabit
ants, by the hand of the prisoner just taken,
announcing his presence and that he was pre
pared to take the fort that night. He called
upon the people to remain in their homes;
that those who were friends to the English
King should at once betake themselves to the
fort; and any persons found in the streets
would be treated as enemies, and punished
accordingly. One object in sending in this
proclamation was to give out the idea that
this was an army from Kentucky; for the
people would not believe it possible that it
could be Clark or that he should have been
able to march across the country from Kaskas
kia. That was the effect, the people believed

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

69

that the message came from some Kentucky
officer who made use of Clark's name. "A
little before sunset," says Clark, "we moved
and displayed ourselves in full view of the
town, crowds gazing at us. We were flinging
ourselves into certain destruction — or success ;
there was no midway thought of. We had
but little to say to our men, except inculcating
an idea of the necessity of obedience, etc. We
knew they did not want encouraging, and that
anything might be attempted with them that
was possible for such a number — perfectly
cool, under proper subordination, pleased with
the prospect before them, and much attached
to their officers. They all declared that they
were convinced that an implicit obedience to
orders was the only thing that would ensure
success, and hoped that no mercy would be
shown the person who should violate them,
but should be immediately put to death. Such
language as this from soldiers to persons in
our station must have been exceedingly agree
able. We moved on slowly in full view of the
town; but, as it was a point of some conse
quence to us, to make ourselves appear as for
midable as possible, we, in leaving the covert
that we were in, marched and countermarched
in such a manner that we appeared numer
ous." The Virginians directed their march in such
a manner, in and out from the cover of the
hills, so that it was dark while they were yet
a mile from the town. It turned out that,
partly through fear of Clark's threat, and
partly through love of the American cause,
not an inhabitant of the town gave notice to
the garrison of the presence of the little army
of patriots. The British garrison felt abso
lutely at their ease and were in total ignorance
of Clark's presence, until the Americans fired
upon the fort. Even then it was thought to
be some wild shooting by drunken Indians.
The persistence of Clark's attack, however,
soon brought Governor Hamilton, the British
commander, to realize that his fort was besieg
ed by what he, too, believed to be a formid
able army. The fighting continued all the

night of the 23rd ; and on February 24, 1779,
after some negotiations, the fort was surren
dered. The terms of this surrender, as dic
tated by Clark himself, are in these words :
"1. Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton en
gages to deliver up to Colonel Clark Fort
Sackville, as it is at present, with all the
stores, etc.
' ' 2. The garrison are to deliver themselves
as prisoners of war and march out, with their
arms and accoutrements, etc.
"3. The garrison to be delivered up at ten
o'clock tomorrow.
"4. Three days' time to be allowed the
garrison to settle their accounts with the
inhabitants and traders of this place.
"5. The officers of the garrison to be
allowed their necessary baggage, etc.
"Signed at Post St. Vincent, 24th, Febru
ary, 1779.
"Agreed for the following reasons: The
remoteness from succor; the state and quan
tity of provisions, etc. ; unanimity of officers
and men in its expediency; the honorable
terms allowed; and, lastly, the confidence in
a generous enemy.
"(Signed)
"HENRY HAMILTON,
"Lieutenant-Governor and Superintendent."
So signal a victory, with such slender
means and in the face of such formidable
obstacles of nature, and against so strong a
force and so well fortified a post, places George
Rogers Clark and his army of Virginians
and Frenchmen in the foremost ranks of all
heroes. Clark's history from the day of his first
broaching his plan to Patrick Henry; his re
cruiting an army in the wilds of Virginia,
Pennsylvania and Kentucky ; his march across
southern Illinois, from the Ohio to the capture
of Kaskaskia and the other British posts on
the Mississippi; his winning the confidence
and affection of the French inhabitants; his
securing the good will of the Indians, and his
noble conduct in his refusal to allow them to
participate with him in the war, even when he
sorely needed help ; his trust in Father Gibault
in the first taking of Vincennes; but, above
all, his march in mid-winter, with his Franco-
Virginian heroes, through leagues and leagues

70

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of water-covered plains; and the brilliant
close which resulted in the conquest from the
power of Britain of the great northwest, now
the heart of the republic, — reads more like a
chapter from knight errant romance than
from sober, modern American history. Strang
est of all, however, is the apparent neglect of
this great episode in our history by Americans
themselves. It is only recently that we have
come to realize how great a debt of gratitude
we owe to this young Virginian, who is worthy
to stand by the side of the other great men
of the Revolution from his own great state, —
George- Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
Patrick Henry and their illustrious compatri
ots. Without George Rogers Clark we should
have no Indiana, no St. Joseph county, to
write about; and it is to our credit as a state
that there has been such a revival 'of the fame
of this great man. His statue stands at the
base of our noble soldier's monument at
Indianapolis, placed there February 25, 1895,
as that of our most fitting representative of
the Revolutionary period ; and, finally, the
hand and heart and brain of an Indianian,
our own William H. English, has lovingly
picked up every thread of Clark 's history and
woven it into an inspiring story of heroes, to
be read of all time.
Other great men also have spoken in fitting
terms of this savior of the west ; and we close
our reference to him with this fitting eulogy
taken from President Roosevelt's "The Win
ning of the West ' ' :
"Much credit belongs to Clark's men, but
most belongs to their leader. The boldness of
his plan and the resolute skill with which he
followed it -out, his perseverance through the
intense hardships of the mid-winter march,
the address with which he kept the French
and Indians neutral, and the masterful way
in which he controlled his own troops, together
with the ability and courage he displayed in
the actual attack, combined to make his feat
the most memorable of all the deeds done west
of the Alleghanies in the revolutionary war.
It was likewise the most important in its

results, for, had he been defeated, we would
not only have lost the Illinois, but in all prob
ability Kentucky also. ' '
IV. THE COUNTY OF ILLINOIS.
Sec. 1. — First Measures Taken by Vir
ginia. — The victories of George Rogers Clark
added enormously to the territory subject
to the control of the old dominion of Virginia.
Her authority now extended from her own
Atlantic Coast, by way of Kentucky and the
northwest, to the extreme western limits of
Lake Superior and the headwaters of the Miss
issippi. That the people of Virginia appre
ciated the glory of the achievements of their
own officers and men may well be believed.
Soon after the capture of Kaskaskia, Clark
sent a party with dispatches to Virginia, and
with them went Mr. Rochblave, the British
commander of the fort. "The arrival of the
party in Virginia," says Mr. English,0 "with
this prominent representative of the king in
the Illinois country as a prisoner, and the
startling news that all the British posts and
towns on the Mississippi, from Kaskaskia to
Cahokia, had been captured and were in pos
session of the Virginia troops, created the
most intense excitement everywhere. It was
indeed a most important event to the whole
country, and particularly to the Old Domin
ion, for these were her troops, led by Colonel
Clark, one of her favorite sons. As the news
spread, pride and gratitude took possession of
every patriotic heart, and words of praise
were upon every lip. The governor, evidently
greatly elated at the joyful news, communi
cated it to the Virginia delegates in congress
by letter, dated November 16, 1778."
"When the legislature met," says Mr. Eng
lish, "the popular feeling was embodied in
formal legislation." On November 23, 1778,
resolutions were adopted giving thanks to
Colonel Clark and the brave officers and men
under his command, for their extraordinary
resolution and perseverance, in so hazardous
o. Conquest of the Northwest, Vol. 1, p. 245.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

71

an enterprise, and for their important services
thereby rendered to their country."
Mr. English also tells us, in the same con
nection, that the legislature of Virginia
"realized the necessity of extending more
effective civil government over the conquered
Illinois country, and promptly passed an act
organizing it into 'the county of Illinois.' "
Except in saying that the legislature
"promptly" passed the act, Mr. English does
not indicate the date of its passage. Dillon
says that it was passed "in October, 1778."°
In Smith's history of Indiana, the same state
ment is made.6 In a history of Randolph
county, Illinois, in which county Kaskaskia is
situated, the writer also says that the act
creating the county of Illinois was passed ' ' in
October, 1778."° As however the letter of
Patrick Henry, governor of Virginia, an
nouncing to the delegates in congress from
that state the news of Clark's success, was
dated November 16, 1778, and the resolution
of thanks to Clark and his command by the
legislature of Virginia was adopted Novem
ber 23, 1778, it would seem that Mr. English's
statement, that the act of the Virginia legis
lature organizing the county of Illinois was
passed "promptly," must be taken to mean
that it was passed soon after the governor
had announced the good news to the delegates
in congress and the legislature had voted its
thanks to Clark. Plainly, the act for the
organization into a county of this vast terri
tory, now embracing five great states of the
union, was a more deliberative measure then
the impulsive and patriotic communication to
the delegates in congress or the voting by the
legislature of thanks to the conquerors. The
document is printed in full, but without date,
in Mr. English's great work. It is expressly
stated in the act itself, that it was passed to
establish "some temporary form of govern
ment," and that it was to be in force "for
and during the term of twelve months, and
a. Hist. Indiana, p. 136.
6. Hist. Indiana, Vol. 1, p. 97.
_ c. Hist. Randolph County, 111., by B. J. Mon
tague, p. 30.

from thence to the end of the next session of
assembly, and no longer." The duration of
the act was however1 afterwards extended,
by the general assembly.
Sec. 2. — Nature op the County Govern
ment. — This "temporary form of govern
ment," established by the legislature of Vir
ginia for the county of Illinois, is worthy of
particular attention as being the first govern
ment set up under American authority for
the territory now comprising the five states
of the northwest. It is probably true that, at
least for some time, no part of the county of
St. Joseph, and, indeed, no part of the St.
Joseph valley, was actually subject to the
provisions of this government organized under
Virginia auspices ; for, it is to be remembered,
that, at the time of the passing of that act,
the British flag still floated over Fort St.
Joseph; and it was more than two years later
when the Spaniards from St. Louis took and
destroyed the old fort. Yet, as Virginia con
tinued to hold and govern the county of
Illinois for some time after the treaty of peace
with Great Britain, there was, in fact, an
interval, following the date when England
and Spain were forced to yield their shadowy
claims, and preceding the date of the cession,
to the United States by Virginia ; and, during
this period, that is, from the treaty of peace,
September 3, 1783, to the deed of cession,
March 1, 1784, St, Joseph county was within
the wide limits of the county of Illinois, and,
as such was a part of the dominion of Vir
ginia, and subject to its laws and government,
made so by the victories of George Rogers
Clark, and asserted by the act organizing the
county of Illinois.
Two paragraphs of the act will be suffi
cient to show the general character of this
first form of free government applicable to
the soil of St. Joseph county; even though
we know that there were then, almost to a
certainty, no white inhabitants in St. Joseph
county, or indeed in this part of the state,
to whom the law could apply. The act of
the Virginia assembly provided :

72

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

' ' That all the citizens of this commonwealth
who are already settled, or shall hereafter
settle, on the western side of the Ohio afore
said, shall be included in a distinct county,
which shall be called Illinois county; and
that the governor of this commonwealth, with
the advice of the council, may appoint a
county lieutenant or commandant-in-chief in
that county, during pleasure, who shall ap
point and commission so many deputy com
mandants, militia officers and commissaries,
as he shall think proper in the different
districts, during pleasure, all of whom, before
they enter into office, shall take the oath of
fidelity to this commonwealth and the oath
of office, according to the form of their own
religion, which the inhabitants shall fully,
and to all intents and purposes, enjoy to
gether with all their civil rights and property.
And all civil officers to which said inhabit
ants have been accustomed, necessary for the
preservation of peace and the administration
of justice, shall be chosen by a majority of
the citizens in their respective districts, to be
convened for that purpose by the county
lieutenant or commandant, or his deputy, and
shall be commissioned by the said county lieu
tenant or commandant-in-chief, and be paid
for their services in the same manner as such
expenses have been heretofore borne, levied
and paid in that county; which said civil of
ficers, after taking the oaths as above pre
scribed, shall exercise their several jurisdic
tions and conduct themselves agreeable to
the laws which the present settlers are now
accustomed to."
Colonel John Todd of Kentucky was ap
pointed by the governor of Virginia, and re
ceived his instructions, December 12, 1778, as
the first county lieutenant of the county of
Illinois, but did not arrive at Kaskaskia until
June 15, 1779, when he proceeded to put in
operation the civil government established for
the county by the legislature of Virginia.
The instructions received from the governor
by the county lieutenant were, as might be
expected, coming as they did from the liberty-

loving Patrick Henry, quite in accord with
the spirit of the act organizing the county.
One paragraph from these instructions will
show the liberal character of the free institu
tions under which the government of our
northwest started into existence :
"And I know no better general direction to
give than this," wrote Governor Henry, "that
you consider yourself as at the head of the
civil department, and as such having the com
mand of the militia who are not to be under
the command of the military, until ordered
out by the civil authority and act in conjunc
tion with them. You are on all occasions to
inculcate on the people the value of liberty
and the difference between the state of free
citizens of this commonwealth and that
slavery to which Illinois was destined. A free
and equal representation may be expected by
them in a little time, together with all the im
provements in jurisprudence and policy which
the other parts of the state enjoy."
One of the earliest and most important acts
of the county lieutenant affecting the terri
tory now constituting the state of Indiana was
the establishment at Vincennes, in June, 1779,
of a court of civil and criminal jurisdiction.
This court was composed of several magis
trates, presided over by Colonel J. M. P.
Legras, commandant of the post. For three
years Colonel Todd continued to administer
the affairs of the county of Illinois,— a terri
tory so vast that it is now divided into five
great states, and these states subdivided into
no less than four hundred and thirty-four
counties. In 1782, he went to Virginia on
business connected with the county, and on
his return through Kentucky met with his
old companion Daniel Boone whom he accom
panied in an expedition against the Indians.
During the course of this expedition Colonel
Todd was killed at the noted battle of Bine
Licks. As an indication of the equal place to which
the French inhabitants had 'attained in the
new government and the confidence reposed
in them as American citizens, it is interesting

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

73

to note that the successor of Colonel Todd in
the high office of county lieutenant was
Timothy de Montbrun, a Frenchman. This
was a fitting recognition of the faithful peo
ple who had received and stood by Colonel
Clark so patriotically, and who formed so
efficient a part of the brave army that im
mortalized itself in the capture of Vincennes.0
Sec. 3. — Claims Made by Other States. —
Virginia was not the only state that made in
dividual claim to large parts of the western
country. Connecticut, Massachusetts, New
York, North Carolina, South Carolina and
other states also had their claims. Connecti
cut claimed the territory west of Pennsyl
vania, to the Mississippi, from latitude forty-
one degrees to latitude forty-two degrees and
two minutes north; while Massachusetts
claimed the strip north of the Connecticut
claim, to latitude forty-three degrees and
thirty minutes. The claims of Connecticut
and Massachusetts overlapped and of course
conflicted with the Virginia claim, which last
included the whole northwest. It is not easy
at this day to appreciate the grounds of the
claims made by the two New England states.
Those claims seem to have been based upon
the theory that no western bounds had been
fixed for those commonwealths in the royal
charters originally establishing the colonies
and defining their limits, and consequently,
that these states, to their full width north
and south, reached to the west without
limit, — even to the Pacific ocean, if there
should be any American territory extending
so far. We may note, as a matter of local
interest, that St. Joseph county is included
wholly within the bounds of the Connecticut
claim; so that the soil of our county was at
the same time claimed by Virginia and by
Connecticut. It is but the simple truth to
say, in the calm light of history, that it now
appears very clear that the claim of Virginia
is the only one that had any substantial f oun-
a. Conquest of the Northwest, Vol. 1, pp. 248-
252, Vol. 2, p. 1037. Montague, Hist. Randolph
County, 111., pp. 30-31. '

dation in fact or in right reason. The Old
Dominion, single-handed, under direction of
her governor, Patrick Henry, with the sage
counsel of Thomas Jefferson, George Mason
and other wise and far-seeing statesmen, com
missioned the-young Virginian, George Rogers
Clark, who with his little army of Virginians,
Pennsylvanians, Kentuckians and Frenchmen,
won from British power this splendid north
west. Had Clark not made that mid-winter
march through the icy waters of Illinois and
Indiana, and met and conquered Hamilton at
Vincennes, it may be doubted whether there
would now be any northwest for us, and
whether the western boundaries of the nation
would not be the Alleghanies, or at most the
Ohio, rather than the great lakes. Great
Britain retained Canada at the treaty of
peace; but without Clark Canada would have
extended at least to the Ohio and the Missis
sippi. And, .afterwards, without our bound
ary on the Mississippi; what likelihood is
there that we should have obtained Louisiana
from Napoleon?
Sec. 4. — Cession by ¦ Virginia. — The Vir
ginia claim, then, was good as against that of
any other state. But the question became
broader. Was it good as against all the states,
against the Union itself? The people of the
whole republic, and, finally, even the people
of Virginia themselves, felt that this great
northwest was too vast to be the property of
any state; that while it had been won solely
by the wisdom and valor of Virginia, yet that
it was won by her while aiding in waging war
against the common enemy. In the treaty of
peace it was the nation that was recognized;
and when the great lakes were made the
northern boundary, it was the boundary of
the American Union, and not that of any
state, that was recognized. Very early, there
fore, Virginia began to feel that, in the in
terests of harmony and the general welfare
of the common county which that great state
had done so much to establish, she ought to
yield her undoubted rights to the general
good; that while her claims were superior to

74

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

those of any other state, yet that they should
be yielded as her imperial gift to the United
States itself.
Accordingly, by an act of the general as
sembly of Virginia, passed December 20, 1783,
but a little over three months after the ack
nowledgment of the independence of the
United States, the delegates of Virginia in
the congress of the United States were author
ized and empowered, for and on behalf of the
state of Virginia, "to convey, transfer, assign
and make over to the United States' in con
gress assembled, for the benefit of the said
states, all right, title and claim, as well of soil
as jurisdiction, which this commonwealth hath
to the territory or tract of country, within
the limits of the Virginia charter, situate,
lying and being to the northwest of the river
Ohio." One of the conditions of the act of cession
was: "That the territory so ceded shall be
laid out and formed into states, containing
suitable extent of territory, not less than one
hundred, nor more than one hundred and
fifty miles square, or as near thereto as cir
cumstances will admit; and that the states so
formed shall be distinct republican states, and
admitted members of the federal union, hav
ing the same rights of sovereignty, freedom
and independence as the other states."
Another condition was : ' ' That the French
and Canadian inhabitants and other settlers
of the Kaskaskias, St. Vincents, and the neigh
boring villages, who have professed them
selves citizens of Virginia, shall have their
possessions and titles confirmed to them, and
be protected in the enjoyment of their rights
and liberties."
It was further provided that all the lands
within the territory so ceded to the United
States, except those disposed of in bounties to
the officers and soldiers of the American army,
including Clark and his command, and lands
reserved for certain other purposes named in
the act of cession, "shall be considered as a
common fund for the use and benefit of such

of the United States as have become, or shall
become, members of the confederation or
federal alliance of said states, Virginia inclu
sive, according to their usual respective pro
portions in the general charge and expendi
ture, and shall be faithfully and bona fide
disposed of for that purpose, and for no other
use or purpose whatsoever."
When we remember that the constitution of
the United States was not yet written, and
that the several states, but loosely joined
under the articles of confederation, were still
almost independent sovereignties, the gener
ous character of the order surrendering this
great territory to the equal ownership of all
the states of the Union will be more apparent.
The Deed of Cession, so authorized by the
Virginia assembly was duly executed March
1, 1784, by Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy,
\rthur Lee and James Monroe, then the dele
gates in congress from the commonwealth of
Virginia. On that day, the territory, now
comprising the county of St.- Joseph, together
with all the remainder of the northwest, be
came for the first time, in letter and in fact,
a part of the United States of America. The
other states having or making any claims to
any parts of the western territories followed
the patriotic lead of Virginia, and from time
to time, executed formal deeds of cession to
the United States: Massachusetts, April 19,
1785 ; Connecticut, September 13, 1786 ; South
Carolina, August 19, 17S7 ; North Carolina, in
1790 ; and Georgia, in 1802. New York had
at one time a claim of an exceedingly vague
and indefinite character, which was surren
dered to the United States, March 1, 1781.
Connecticut, in her deed of cession, at first
reserved her claim to the lands south of Lake
Erie, long called the Western Reserve; this
reservation was finally surrendered, May 30,
1800. The claims affecting the northwest were
only those of Virginia, Connecticut and Mas
sachusetts, — unless we consider the intangible
claim of New York.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

u

THE ORDINANCE OF 1787.
Sec. 1. — First Congressional Plan:
Seventeen States. — The Virginia deed of
cession was made on March 1, 1784 ; and, on
April 23, 1784, congress, by a series of reso
lutions, provided for the maintenance of tem
porary government in the northwest terri
tory.0 It would seem that after the capture ot
Vincennes the same wise course with the In
dians pursued by Clark after his invasion of
the Illinois country was not followed ; cer
tainly, very soon after that time, there began
a deplorable border warfare which continued,
with interruptions, until the decisive victory
of General Anthony Wayne over the Indians
in the battle on the banks of the Maumee river,
August -20, 1794. There is little doubt the
Indians were encouraged in- this barbarous
warfare by British agents and officers, to
whom the success of American army in the
Revolutionary war was exceedingly unpalat
able.6 The resolutions and code of government for
the northwest, adopted by the continental
congress, April 23, 1784, although intended
only for temporary purposes and until a more
satisfactory system could be devised, were yet
the result of much deliberation and discus
sion. The situation was novel, and the wise
men of congress were, as it were, groping in
the dark and feeling their way. One plan
suggested was to divide the new territory into
seventeen states. Eight states were to be
between the Mississippi and a line due north
from the falls of the Ohio, at Louisville ; and
eight more to be between the Ohio falls line
and a line parallel to it running north from
the western side of the mouth of the Great
Kanawha. On the extreme east was to be
a. Dillon, Hist. Indiana, p. 182.
6. In Dillon's History of Indiana, a large part
of Chapters XVI to XXVIII, inclusive, is de
voted to an account of those harassing Indian
wars, culminating in Governor St. Clair's humil
iating defeat, followed by the brilliant and de
cisive victory of General "Wayne and the historic
treaty of Greenville, which was signed August 3,
1795.

the seventeenth state. This scheme found lit
tle favor; and the subject was referred to a
special committee of which Thomas Jefferson
was chairman.
Sec. 2. — Jefferson's Plan : Ten States.
— Jefferson, Chase and Howe devised a second
plan for dividing the territory into ten states.
The lines of division are now quite forgotten,
and even the high-sounding names of the pro
posed states are seldom heard. Some of the
names were Latin, some Greek, and some were
latinized forms of Indian names of rivers in
the territory. The states were to be about two
degrees in width, north and south, and
bounded on the east and west, so far as prac
ticable, by the north and south lines of the
first plan. That part of the territory north
of the forty-fifth parallel of latitude, cover
ing the then heavy woodlands of northern
Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, was to
be called Sylvania. The remainder of the
southern peninsula of the present state of
Michigan was to be called Chersonesus, the
Greek word for peninsula. South of Syl
vania, covering a part of the present state
of Wisconsin, was to be the state of Michi-
gania. South of Michigania, as far as the
forty-first parallel of latitude, was to be the
state of Assenisipia, a word derived from the
Indian name for Rock river. East of Asseni
sipia, and extending north to the shore of
Lake Erie, was to be the state of Metropo-
tamia, mother of rivers. South of Assenisipia,
to the thirty-ninth parallel, was to be the
state of Ulinoia. To the east of Illinoia was
to be Saratoga ; and east of Saratoga, bounded
by the Ohio river, the west line of Pennsyl
vania and the eastern part of the south shore
of Lake Erie, was to be the state of Washing
ton. South of Illinoia and Saratoga, and ly
ing along the Ohio river, was to be a state
named Polypotamia, from its many rivers.
East of Polypotamia was to be the tenth
state, called Pelisipi, from a Cherokee name
sometimes given to the Ohio river. While all
those state lines have disappeared, and even
the names given by Jefferson and his commit-

76

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

tee are no longer applied to the territories for
which they were intended, yet it will be ob
served that one of the names, that of the
father of his country, has since been given
to the extreme northwest state of the Union,
lying on the borders of an ocean which even
the most far-seeing statesmen could not then
dream of as the western boundary of the
great republic. Two more of Jefferson's
names, with slight changes of orthography,
have also been adopted for commonwealths,
since created. Michigania, which Jefferson
applied to territory bordering on the west
of Lake Michigan, has been given, without the
Latin termination, to the great state east of
the same lake ; and Illinoia, which was applied
to parts of the present states of Illinois and
Indiana, has been given, with like change of
orthography, to the great southwestern state
of the territory.
There is some uncertainty in which of two
of those proposed states the county of St.
Joseph would have been situated. The state
of Chersonesus was to be the southern part
of the peninsula bounded on the west by
Lake Michigan and on the east by Lake
Huron, the Straits and Lake Erie; that is,
the southern part of what is now the lower
peninsula of Michigan. This would seem to
include the north part of St. Joseph county,
and, indeed, all that part of Indiana north of
an east and west line through the southern
extremity of Lake Michigan. On the other
hand, the state of Assenisipia was to extend,
north and south, from the forty-third to the
forty-first parallel of latitude; and from the
Mississippi east to the line running north
from the falls of the Ohio. That would give
a state bounded on the north by a line of
latitude a little south of Milwaukee, Wiscon
sin ; on the south, by a line of latitude a little
south of Fort Wayne, Indiana; on the west,
by the Mississippi river; and on the east, by
a line running nearly from Jeffersonville,
Indiana, or Louisville, Kentucky, to Grand
Rapids, Michigan. The state of Assenisipia

would therefore comprise the southern part
of the present state of Wisconsin, the northern
part of Illinois, the northwestern part of In
diana and the southwestern part of Michigan,
But as the southern part of the lower Michi
gan peninsula was to constitute the state of
Chersonesus, it is probable that the state of
Assenisipia would have embraced no territory
east of Lake Michigan. Consequently, the
north ten miles of St. Joseph county would
have been in the state of Chersonesus and the
rest of the county in the state of Assenisipia.
At the time that the boundaries of the ten
states were defined, as above set out, a code
of laws was prepared to serve for the govern
ment of each state until it should contain
twenty thousand free inhabitants. One article
of the code, as prepared by the committee,
provided that after the year 1800 there should
be no slavery in the states so organized.
This is believed to have been the first national
attempt to provide for the abolition of
slavery. Another article of the proposed code
provided that no person holding a hereditary
title should ever become a citizen of any of
the new states. This article was directed
against the society of the Cincinnati, then
recently organized by the officers of the late
Continental army. There was strong oppo
sition to a provision of the constitution of this
society making the sons and other direct
descendants of those officers, to the latest
generation, members of the organization
This looked to the stern republicans of that
day as savoring too strongly of an order of
nobility ; and they wished for nothing of that
nature in the free institutions of America.
The uncompromising republicanism of Jef
ferson is seen in his advocacy of these two
measures — against slavery and against orders
of nobility. Both articles, however, were
stricken out by congress. The paragraphs
giving names to the ten new states were also
stricken out. The resolutions as so amended
were then adopted, April 23, 1784, and re
mained the law for the government of the

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

77

northwest until the adoption of the ordinance
of 1787°
Sec. 3. — Emigration to the West. — Soon
after the close of the Revolutionary war a
heavy tide of emigration, chiefly officers and
soldiers of the war, set in for the lands west
of the Alleghanies. The southern soldiers
found lands in Kentucky, then in effect a
part of Virginia; Tennessee, then western
North Carolina ; and in the western part of
Georgia, which then extended to the Missis
sippi. The soldiers farther north naturally
looked to the lands in the new territory north
west of the Ohio. The long debates of con
gress in providing for the organization of this
territory, and the delay in the enactment of
laws for the survey and sale of the lands, tired
the patience of those who were anxious to
start life anew on those rich lands. On
March 1, 1786, the Ohio Company was formed
for the purchase and sale of western lands in
shares of $1,000 each. The directors of this
company were General Rufus Putnam, Gen
eral Samuel H. Parsons and the Dr. Manasseh
Cutler. Dr. Cutler was the master spirit of
the body, and exercised a very decided in
fluence on the future of the new country.
Under the old confederation a treasury board
acted as commissioners of public lands, but
had no power to make sales without the ap
proval of congress. Dr. Cutler, after weary
waiting for favorable action by congress,
finally succeeded in obtaining confirmation of
the sale of the lands desired by the Ohio Com
pany; and on October 27, 1787, the contract
of the treasury board with the company was
agreed to. and the contract executed. In De
cember and January following, two com
panies, forty-eight persons in all, under the
general direction of General Putnam, and
consisting of surveyors, boat-builders, carpen
ters, smiths, farmers and laborers, set out for
the west with their stores and outfit, descended
the Ohio, and on April 7, 1788, landed at the
mouth of the Muskingum. At a point appe
ar McMaster, Hist. U. S., Vol. 1, Chapt. 2. Per
kins' Annals of the West, p. 312.

site Fort Harmar, at the junction of the Ohio
and the Muskingum, they founded their town.
Before leaving Boston the prospective town
was called Adelphia; but at the first meeting
of the directors, on the ground, July 2, 1788,
the name of Marietta was selected, in honor
of Marie Antoinette, then queen of France.0
The founding of Marietta, the first settlement
in the limits of the present state of Ohio, was
a most noteworthy event, and marks the be
ginning of a new era in the history of the
northwest territory.
Sec. 4. — Development of the Ordinance.
• — After the adoption of the resolutions of
April 23, 1784, congress continued to discuss
the future of the northwest, not being satis
fied with the form of government established
by those resolutions. Little progress was
made, however, until May 10, 1786, when a
committee appointed on motion of Nathan"
Dane of Massachusetts, reported in favor of
fixing the number of states at from two to
five, to be admitted according to the proposi
tion of Jefferson, as reported to- congress
previous to the resolutions of, April 23, 1784,
but leaving the question of slavery open. No
definite action was taken on this report. On
April 26, 1787, another committee, consisting
of Johnson of Connecticut, Pinckney of South
Carolina, Smith of New York, Dane of
Massachusetts and Henry of Maryland, re
ported "An ordinance for the government of
the western territory." This first draft of
the ordinance is said to have been prepared
by Nathan Dane. After many amendments,
May 10, 1787, was fixed for the third reading
of the ordinance; but the bill was postponed
for further consideration. Congress was evi
dently not yet satisfied as to what should be
done. At this time Dr. Cutler, representing
the Ohio company, and anxious for the future
form of government in which that company
had so much at stake, appeared before con
gress and its committees; and it is believed
that he greatly influenced many important
amendments which were thereafter made to
a. King, Hist. Ohio, Ch. 8.

78

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the ordinance. On July 9, 1787, the bill was
referred to a new committee, consisting of
Carrington of Virginia, Dane of Massachu
setts, Smith of New York, Richard Henry Lee
of Virginia, and Kean of South Carolina. It
was after this that the clauses against slavery,
and in favor of the liberty of conscience and
of the press, the right of habeas corpus and
trial by jury, the equal distribution of estates,
and the encouragement of education, were
added. The anti-slavery clause was at first
rejected by the committee, but on July 11th
this and other amendments were accepted,
although a majority of the committee were
from the southern states. On July 13, 1787,
the great charter of free institutions became
a law, with but one member of congress, Yates
of New York, voting against it.° The Or
dinance of 1787 was adopted nearly two years
before the Constitution of the United States
went into effect. Except the Declaration of
Independence, it was at the date of its adop
tion the most noted declaration of funda
mental law ever enacted by a free people. In
deed the Constitution of the United States is
itself but the normal outgrowth of the Declar
ation of Independence and the Ordinance of
1787. The ordinance provides, as already indi
cated, for the equal distribution of property
among kindred of equal degrees, without dis
tinction as to whole blood or half blood, ex
cept in case of a devise by will. The fathers
of the republic took every occasion to protect
the people- against the accumulation of estates
in the hands of elder sons or other favored
persons, to the exclusion of others equally re
lated to the ancestor. Corporations had not
then become a menace to the fair and equal
distribution of property, and occasioned the
enactment of no legislation to guard against
wrongful accumulations; but primogeniture
and entail were well known evils, and against
these they guarded. The rights of the
French inhabitants of Vincennes, Kaskaskia
a. Winsor and Channing, Hist. Am., Vol. 7,
App.

and other settlements were carefully guarded.
¦ A governor and courts were provided for, and
were authorized to adopt, at first and until
the organization of a legislature, such laws
of the original states as they should find suit
able to the needs of the new government. As
soon as there should be five thousand free
male inhabitants of full age, a legislature
should be elected by the people, and should
have power to enact all laws, subject to the
approval of the governor.
Sec. 5. — The Six Articles of the Ordi
nance. — The important provisions of the ordi
nance, and those which give it so high a place
/ in the jurisprudence of the world, are set out
in the following six articles :
Art. 1st. No person, demeaning himself
in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever
be molested on account of his mode of wor
ship or religious sentiments, in the said terri
tory. Art. 2nd. The inhabitants of said territory
shall always be entitled to the benefits of
the writ of habeas corpus, and of the trial by
jury ; of a proportionate representation of
the people in the legislature; and of judicial
proceedings according to the course of the
common law. All persons shall be bailable,
unless for capital offenses, where the proof
shall be evident or the presumption great. All
fines shall be moderate; and no cruel or un
usual punishments shall be inflicted. No man
shall be deprived of his liberty or property,
but by judgment of his peers or the law of
the land, and, should the public exigencies
make it necessary, for the common preserva
tion, to take any person's property, or to de
mand his particular services, full compensa
tion shall be made for the same. And, in
the just preservation of rights and property,
it is understood and declared, that no law
ought ever to be made, or have force in the
said territory, that shall, in any manner what
ever, interfere with or affect private contracts
or engagements, bona fide, and without fraud,
previously formed.
Art. 3rd. Religion, morality and knowl
edge, being necessary to good government and
the happiness of mankind, schools and the
means of education shall forever be en
couraged. The utmost good faith shall al- ¦
ways be observed towards the Indians; their
lands and property shall never be taken from

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

79

them without their consent; and, in their
property, rights and liberty, they shall never
be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and
lawful wars authorized by congress ; but laws
founded in justice and humanity, shall, from
time to time, be made for preventing wrongs
being done to them, and for preserving peace
and friendship with them.
Art. 4th. The said territory, and the
states which may be formed therein, shall
forever remain a part of this confederacy of
the United States of America, subject to the
Articles of Confederation, and to such altera
tions therein as shall be constitutionally made ;
and to all the acts and ordinances of the
United States in congress assembled, conform
able thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in
the said territory -shall be subject to pay a
part of the federal debts contracted or to be
contracted, and a proportional part of' the
expenses of government, to be apportioned on
them by congress according to the same com
mon rule and measure by which apportion
ments thereof shall be made on the other
states; and the taxes, for paying their pro
portion, shall be laid and levied by the
authority and direction of the legislatures of
the district or districts, or new states, as in
the original states, within the time agreed
upon by the United States in congress assem
bled. The legislatures of those districts or
new states, shall never interfere with the
primary disposal of the soil by the United
States in congress assembled, nor with any
regulations congress may find necessary for
securing the title in such soil to the bona
fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on
lands the property of the United States; and
in no case, shall non-resident proprietors be
taxed higher than residents. The navigable
waters leading into the Mississippi and St.
Lawrence, and the carrying places between
the same, shall be common highways, and for
ever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said
territory as to the citizens of the United
States, and those of any other state that may
be admitted into the confederacy, without any
tax, impost or duty, therefor.
Art. 5th. There shall be formed in the said
territory not less than three nor more than
five states; and the boundaries of the states,
as soon as Virginia shall alter her act of ces
sion, and consent to the same,0 shall become
a. In the Virginia Act of Cession, passed
December 20, 1783, the cession was made "upon
condition that the territory so ceded shall be laid
out and formed into states, containing suitable

fixed and established as follows, to-wit: The
western state in the said territory shall be
bounded by the Mississippi, Ohio and Wabash
rivers ; a direct line drawn from the Wabash
and Post St. Vincent's, due north, to the ter
ritorial line between the United States and
Canada, and, by the said territorial line, to
the Lake of the Woods and Mississippi. The
middle state shall • be bounded by the said
direct line, the Wabash from Post St. Vin
cent's to the Ohio; by the Ohio, by a direct
line, drawn due north from the mouth of the
Great Miami to the said territorial line, and
by the said territorial line. The eastern state
shall be bounded by the last mentioned direct
line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said
territorial line : Provided, however, and it is
further understood and declared, that the
boundaries of these three states shall be sub
ject so far to be altered, that, if Congress
shall hereafter find it expedient, they shall
have authority to form one or two states in
that part of the said territory which lies
north of an east and west line drawn through
the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michi
gan. And whenever any of the said states
shall have sixty thousand free inhabitants
therein, such state shall be admitted, by its
delegates, into the Congress of the United
States, on an equal footing with the original
states in all respects whatever, and shall be
at liberty to form a permanent constitution
and state government: Provided, the consti
tution and government so to be formed shall
be republican and in conformity to the prin
ciples contained in these articles ; and so far
as it can be, consistent with the general in
terest of the confederacy, such admission shall
be allowed at an earlier period, and when
there may be a less number of free inhab
itants in the state than sixty thousand.
Art. 6th. There shall be neither slavery
nor involuntary servitude in the said terri
tory, otherwise than in the punishment of
crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted: Provided, always, that any per
son escaping into the same, from whom labor
or service is lawfully claimed in any one of
the original states, such fugitive may be law-
extent of territory, not less than one hundred
nor more than one hundred and fifty miles square,
or as near thereto as circumstances will permit."
By an act passed December 30, 1788, the General
Assembly of Virginia altered her act of cession
as to the foregoing condition, and consented to
the boundaries of the new states as fixed by
Congress, in the ordinance of 1787.

80

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

fully reclaimed and conveyed to the person
claiming his or her labor or service as afore
said. Sec. 6. — The Constitution of the United
States. — The Congress that adopted the
Ordinance of 1787 was the old Continental
Congress, which, under the Articles of Con
federation, had carried the government
through the Revolutionary war and secured
the independence of the young republic. As
soon, however, as the pressure of the common
enemy was removed it was perceived that the
loose Articles of Confederation were insuffi
cient to hold the former independent colo
nies together in one government; and steps
were taken by the people of all the states,
' ' to form a more perfect union, establish jus
tice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for
the common defense, promote the general wel
fare, and secure the blessings of liberty." At
the very time that the Ordinance of 1787 was
under discussion, and when it was adopted,
the convention for the adoption of a constitu
tion which should "form a more perfect
union" was in session. In the ordinance we
find the same patriotic provisions that are
permanently established in the constitution;
and both great documents were the product
of practically the' same wise Fathers who laid
the foundations of the republic.
The famous statement of Mr. Gladstone,
that the constitution of the United States "is
the greatest work ever struck off at any one
time by the mind and purpose of man," while
a most noble and deserved encomium upon the
excellence of our constitution and of the form
of government created by it, is nevertheless
misleading in so far as it carries the idea
that the provisions of that great document
were original with the men who framed our
fundamental law. Our constitution, like that
of every other free state, was a growth rather
than a creation. The Fathers of the republic
put into complete, well rounded form the
principles of free and stable government
which had developed, year by year, in the
several colonies since the time of their first

settlement. Something was drawn from the
experience of each of them. Indeed we may
go further, and say that American institu
tions, as established in the Declaration of
Independence, in the Ordinance of 1787 and
in the Constitution of the United States, and
as since developed in our history, are but the
culmination of the preceding centuries of
Christian civilization.
A profound student of our system of
government has said that, the real source of
the constitution is the experience of the Amer
ican people. They had previously established
and developed admirable little commonwealths
in the colonies. Since the beginning of the
Revolution they had become experienced in
state governments, organized on a different
basis from the colonial. Finally, they had
carried on two successive national govern
ments, with both of which they had been pro
foundly discontented. The general outline of
the constitution has been looked upon as Brit
ish; it was really colonial. The president's
powers of military command, of appointment
and of veto were similar to those of the co
lonial governor. National courts were created
on the model of colonial courts. A legislature
of two houses was accepted because such legis
latures had been common in colonial times.
In the English parliamentary system as it
existed before 1760 the Americans had no
share; the later English system of parlia
mentary responsibility was not yet developed,
and had never been established in colonial
governments; and our fathers expressly ex
cluded it from the constitution. Nor were
they more affected by the experience of other
European nations. The chief source of the
details of the new constitution was the state
constitutions and the laws then in force. In
deed, the principal experiment in the consti
tution, for which there was no precedent, was
the establishment of an electoral college for
the election of president and vice-president;
and of all parts of the system this has worked
least as the framers expected. The constitu
tion, therefore, represents the accumulated ex-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

81

perience of the time. Its real boldness is the
novelty of the federal system. The framing
of a constitution in detail by a body of un-
instructed delegates, expressly chosen for that
purpose, was familiar experience in the sev
eral states; even though it was unexampled
elsewhere in the world. That the instrument
of federal government should provide for
proportional representation in one house, and
for a federal court, were steps in federal or
ganization which mark a new federal prin
ciple. The great merit of the members of
the constitutional convention is their under
standing of the temper of their own country
men. They selected out of British, colonial
or state usages such practices' and forms as
experience had shown to be acceptable to
the people. The members of the convention
had further the wisdom to express their work
in general though carefully stated principles.
All previous federal governments had been
fettered either by an imperfect and inade
quate statement, or by an unwritten consti
tution with an accumulation of special prece
dents. The phrases of the Constitution of
1787 were broad enough to cover cases un
foreseen. A third distinction of the conven
tion is the skill with which it framed ac
ceptable compromises upon the most difficult
questions before it. The two houses of con
gress satisfied both large and small states.
The convention had profited by the experience
of the Confederation; on every page of the
constitution may be found clauses which
would not have stood there had it been framed
in 1781. An adequate revenue was provided;
foreign and interstate commerce was put un
der the control of congress; the charge of
foreign affairs was given entirely to the cen-
. tral authority ; the powers of government
were distributed among the three depart
ments, legislative, executive and judicial.0
Sec. 7. — Ratification of the Constitu
tion. — Yet, wise as seems to us this funda
mental law of our country, after our experi-
a. A. B. Hart, Formation of the Union, Sec.
62; Study of Fed. Gov'nt, Ch. 4.

ence of more than a hundred years, it was
only with the greatest difficulty that the spirit
of compromise prevailed in the convention,
and afterwards with the people themselves.
It was finally accepted only through the
extraordinary and persistent influence of
some of the wisest statesmen that ever lived,
— Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton,
James Wilson, John Marshall and others. The
opposition in Massachusetts, New York, Vir
ginia and the Carolinas was pronounced.
Hancock and Adams were lukewarm. Patrick
Henry, Richard Henry Lee and James Monroe
were in opposition. Massachusetts and South
Carolina, the former under the lead of Han
cock, finally came to the support of the con
stitution, with recommendations in favor of
amendments which were afterwards adopted.
Rhode Island refused to send delegates to
the convention, but the remaining twelve
states finally agreed so far that delegates
from each signed the constitution, September
17, 1787. The seventh, and last, article of
the constitution provided that:
' ' The ratification of the conventions of nine
states, shall be sufficient for -the establishment
• of this constitution between the states so rati
fying the same."
And then again began the great struggle.
Would the requisite number of states ratify
the work of the convention? The fate of the
proposed constitution remained in doubt for
over nine months after the adjournment of
the convention. The state of Delaware was
the first to ratify, December 7, 1787; Penn
sylvania followed, December 12, 1787, but
by the ominous vote of forty-six to twenty-
three, so strong was the opposition, notwith
standing the powerful advocacy of Franklin
and Wilson; New Jersey came next, Decem
ber 18, 1787; Georgia ratified, January 2,
1788 ; Connecticut, January 9, 1788, by a vote
of one hundred and twenty-eight to forty;
Massachusetts, with the suggested amend
ments, February 6, 1788, by the excessively
close vote of one hundred and eighty-seven to
one hundred and sixty-eight; Maryland,

82

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

April 28, 1788; South Carolina, with its
amendments, May 23, 1788 ; and New Hamp
shire, the ninth state, June 21, 1788. The
union was formed. The remaining states came
in afterwards, as follows : Virginia, June 26,
1788 (but before the ratification of the ninth
state was known, so slow were the means of
communication in those days) ; New York,
July 26, 1788 (by a vote of thirty to twenty-
eight) ; North Carolina, November 21, 1789 ;
and, finally, Rhode Island, May 29, 1790.
A powerful influence in turning the minds
of the people towards what may perhaps be
termed a reluctant ratification of the consti
tution, and without which at least New York,
even with the powerful advocacy of Hamilton,
would probably have remained put of the
union, for years if not forever, was the pub
lication of a series of essays in exposition of
the true character of the constitution, written
by Hamilton, Madison and Jay, over the com
mon signature of "Publius. " These essays
were published in a newspaper, between Oc
tober, 1787, and June, 1788. They were sub
sequently collected and published in a vol
ume, named ' ' The Federalist. ' ' The influence
of this series of essays was very great, and
deservedly so. From its publication to this
day, "The Federalist" has held its rank as
the very highest authority upon the proper
construction of the constitution. "Madison's
Debates," taken down by the "Father of the
Constitution" during the sessions of the con
vention, and this series of essays, known as
"The Federalist," must always remain in
valuable to the student of American govern
ment.0 Sec. 8. — Government Under the Ordi
nance. — The northwest .territory was gov
erned by the old continental congress, under
the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, from
the passage of the ordinance, July 13, 1787,
until the new constitution went into effect.
As soon as the ratification of the constitution
by nine states was certified to congress, that
a. Landon, Const. Hist, and Gov'nt of the U. S.,
Lecture 4.

body, by a resolution adopted September 13,
1788, provided "that the first Wednesday in
March next (1789) be the time, and the pres
ent seat of Congress (New York city) the
place, for commencing proceedings under the
said constitution." The first Wednesday of
March, 1789, was March 4th of that year, and
from that day, or, at least, from the inaugura
tion of Washington as first president, which
did not take place until April 30, 1789, the
ordinance, though still remaining in effect,
was modified by the supreme control of the
constitution. One provision of the ordinance was "that
there shall be appointed, from time to time,
by congress, a governor, whose commission
shall continue in force for a term of three
years, unless sooner revoked by congress."
Provision was also made for the appointment
by congress of a secretary for the territory;
as also a court, to consist of three judges. As
soon as the constitution was adopted this ap
pointing power and other executive functions
passed to the president. A formal declara
tion to this effect was made by act of the new
congress, approved August 7, 1789. It was
not until October 5, 1787. that the old con- '
gress had proceeded to the election of a gov
ernor for the territory, and then selected Gen
eral Arthur St. Clair, the president of that
congress, for the office of governor. Winthrop
Sargent was appointed secretary. The ap
pointees of the congress were continued in of
fice by Washington after his election as presi
dent. The ordinance provided for the election of
a legislature by the people of the territory,
"so soon as there shall be five thousand free
male inhabitants, of full age, in the district,"
— a name frequently applied in the ordinance
to the northwest territory. But, until that
time, it was provided that, "The governor
and judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt
and publish in the district such laws of the
original states, criminal and civil, as may be
necessary, and best suited to the- circum
stances of the district, and report them to

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

83

congress, from time to time ; which laws shall
be in force in the district until the organiza
tion of the general assembly therein, unless
disapproved of by congress; but afterwards
the legislature shall have authority to alter
them as they shall see fit. ' ' So fast did those
old republicans stand to the principles of
free representative government that, although
the people of the territory were as yet too few
and too scattered to make it practicable to
organize a legislature, still congress would not
suffer even its own appointees to make laws
for the territory. The most that would be
allowed, and that from sheer necessity, was
the adoption of "such laws of the original
states" as might be "best suited to the cir
cumstances of the district," and not even
then if "disapproved by congress." The
laws from which the governor and judges
were given power to make selections ' were
strictly confined to those of "the original
states," that is, to those laws which the emi
grants themselves had helped to enact in the
states from which they had come. In this
way the principle of self government was
maintained as far as possible.
Sec. 9. — Governor St. Clair. — Before set
ting out for the west Governor St. Clair re
ceived private instructions from congress re
quiring him to acquaint himself with the real
temper of the Indians, to regulate trade with
them and remove, if possible, all causes of
controversy. He was also to neglect no op
portunity that might offer to extinguish In
dian titles to lands west to the Mississippi and
north as far as the forty-first parallel of lati
tude. He was further charged to do what he
could to conciliate the whites and induce them
to live on friendly terms with the Indians.
In July, 1788, the governor and other officers
arrived at the new town of Marietta, at the
junction of the Muskingum and the Ohio, and
proceeded to organize the new government,
under the provisions of the ordinance of 1787.
On July 15, 1788, Governor St. Clair and the
three judges met for the first time as a
legislative body, and adopted a code of laws.

The first session of court for the trial of causes
was convened at Marietta, September 2, 1788,
and was opened with impressive ceremonies.
The court was a tribunal of last resort, with
power to review the decisions of inferior
courts, and had supreme jurisdiction through
out the northwest territory. Successive terms
of court were held at Cincinnati, Vincennes
and Kaskaskia, and later at Detroit. The
judges traveled this wide circuit on horse
back. Those first judges to be commissioned
under authority of the United States, and
given the two-fold power, to adopt laws for
this immense territory, and, at the same time,
to hold courts and hear and decide causes,
were Samuel Holden Parsons, James Mitchell
Varnum and John Cleves Symmes. They
were at the same time our first lawgivers and
our first judges; and were all most eminent
men, and worthy to lay the foundations of
great states.
On October 6, 1789, President Washington
issued' instructions to Governor St. Clair,
chiefly having reference to the preservation
of peace with the Indians, but providing for
hostilities if they should break out, and add
ing: "You will also proceed, as soon as you
can, with safety, to execute the orders of the
late congress, respecting the inhabitants at
Post Vincennes, and at the Kaskaskias and
other villages on the Mississippi. It is a cir
cumstance of some importance, that the said
inhabitants should as soon as possible possess
the lands to which they are entitled, by some
known and fixed principles. ' '
Early in January, 1790, the governor, with
the secretary and judges of the territory,
descended the Ohio, from Marietta to Fort
Washington, which was located at a town then
known as Losantiville. St. Clair persuaded
the proprietors of the town to change this
name to Cincinnati, in honor of the Society
of the Cincinnati, recently formed by the of
ficers of the Revolutionary army. At this
place, he also laid out the county of Hamil
ton, and appointed officers for the administra
tion of the affairs of the county. On January

84

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

8, 1790, the governor, with the secretary, ar
rived at Clarksville, from which point he sent
dispatches to Major Hamtramck, then com
mander of Post Vincennes, enquiring into the
reports as to great destitution among the in
habitants for want of food, and suggesting
plans of relief. From Clarksville the officials
proceeded to the Illinois country, to continue
the work of organizing the government of the
territory, and to carry into effect the resolu
tions of congress in relation to the lands of
the settlers near Kaskaskia and Vincennes.
Upon the arrival of the governor at Kas
kaskia the county of St. Clair was organized,
embracing the present territory of the state
of Illinois south of the Illinois river. The
county was divided into three common pleas
court districts, and judges and other officers
were appointed. Two of the three judges
were of French descent. The governor spent
some time straightening out the land titles,
which were discovered to be in great con
fusion. He found the reports as to the suf
fering of the inhabitants to be true. The
supplies furnished by the people to Clark's
army were never paid for. Troubles with
the Indians and consequent failure of trade
relations, as well as loss of crops by inunda
tions and other causes, completed the mis
fortunes of the unhappy settlers. In a me
morial, dated at St. Clair county, June 9,
1790, and signed by the patriot priest, Father
Gibault, and eighty-seven others, the misera
ble condition of the inhabitants was most
pathetically set forth for the information of
the governor. It is a sad commentary on the
distressed condition to which these generous
hearted people were reduced, to reflect that
so large a part of their suffering was due
to the failure of both the government of Vir
ginia and that of the United States to make
adequate return for the sacrifices which these
far western patriots had so freely made in
the service of their country. It is neglect of
this nature that has given currency to the
adage that republics are ungrateful. Even
Father Gibault, the friend to whom Clark

owed so much, was denied the gift of a small
plat of ground for which he had petitioned,
and he, like Clark and Vigo, ended his life in
poverty. It has been frequently said, re
marks Mr. Cauthorn, in his history of Vin
cennes, that republics are ungrateful. The
truth of this trite saying is forcibly illus
trated by the treatment of these men, who,
above all others, were the main instruments
in wresting from England the territory north
west of the river Ohio, and thereby paving
the way for the ultimate acquisition of that
vast and fertile country out of which the
five rich and populous states of Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin have been
carved, and added to the sisterhood of states.
The three men are Pierre Gibault, George
Rogers Clark and Francis Vigo. They all
went to their graves in a very similar con
dition, and all present a parallel of govern
ment neglect of consideration for patriotic
and valuable services rendered, without a
counterpart in the annals of history.0
Major Hamtramck, early in June, 1790,
sent dispatches from Vincennes to the gov
ernor, at Kaskaskia, from which it was ap
parent that no treaty could be made with
the Miamis and their confederates. Governor
St. Clair therefore prepared to go to Port
Washington, at Cincinnati, and consult with
General Harmar upon the means of sending
an expedition against the hostile Indians. He
left Kaskaskia on the eleventh of June, plac
ing the affairs of the government in the hands
of the secretary, Winthrop Sargent. This of
ficer proceeded at once to Vincennes, where
he laid out the county of Knox, appointed
the necessary civil and military officers and
organized the militia. He then proceeded to
settle the old land titles which were in the
same confusion as those near Kaskaskia.
The result of the conference of Governor .
St. Clair with General Harmar, at Fort "Wash
ington, was the sending of an expedition,
chiefly of militia, commanded by General Har
mar, against the Miamis under Little Turtle.
a. History of Vincennes, p. 105.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

85

The Indians were met near the site of the
present city of Fort Wayne, where sanguinary
fighting took place, rather to the advantage of
the Indians, so that Harmar 's forces returned
to Fort Washington. All the frontier settle
ments in Ohio and Indiana, and even those in
Kentucky, were alarmed at the outcome of this
expedition; and preparations were at once
made to raise an army sufficiently powerful
to repel the Indians. Two other expeditions,
one under General Scott, and one under Gen
eral Wilkinson, were in turn sent from Fort
Washington against Indian villages, situated
near Ouiatanon, below the site of the present
city of La Fayette, and near the site of Lo
gansport. Those villages were referred to,
generally, as the Wea towns on the Wabash.
The net results of those three expeditions was
to rouse the Indians to the utmost pitch of
resentment, with the consequent effect of
striking terror into all the white settlements
in the northwest, and also Kentucky, western
Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Little Turtle and Governor St. Clair has
tened preparations for the conflict which
all persons, Indian and white, knew was im
pending. Although it was stipulated in the
treaty of peace by which the independence
of the United States was acknowledged, sign
ed at Paris, September 3, 1783, that Great
Britain should, with all convenient dispatch,
withdraw her forces from the forts and other
places within United States territory; yet,
under claim that our government had failed
to take measures to make payment of claims
of British creditors, as also provided by that
treaty, the government of Great Britain con
tinued, from 1783 to 1796, to hold possession
of various forts within American territory,
including those at Sandusky, Detroit and
Michilimackinac. These last named posts were
within the northwest territory, and from all
of them the Indians received encouragement
and support. The English did not like to
give up the fur trade with the Indians, which
they had so long monopolized; and the Brit
ish government therefore looked with an un

friendly eye upon the efforts of the American
people to subdue the northwestern Indians
and establish states of the Union in their
stead. There is no question but that this
moral, and often active, support given by
the presence of British garrisons within the
confines of the northwestern territory had
very much to do with the building up by
Little Turtle of the strong Indian organiza
tion which must now be encountered by
Governor St. Clair and his hastily gathered
forces. The Indian feared that the American
was to deprive him of his rich lands, while
the Briton claimed that the American was
depriving British creditors of moneys due
them. These were the ostensible motives;
but, while the Indian's fear may have been
well grounded, the real British motive was
hatred of the people who had wrested from
the control of Great Britain these vast Ameri
can states and territories, and threatened to
build upon the soil a republic which should
forever be a rival to the British monarchy.
In the spring of 1791, Governor St. Clair
began the formation at Fort Washington
(Cincinnati), of an army of invasion against
the Indians under Little Turtle. There
seemed little enthusiasm among the militia.
Troops and supplies had to be procured from
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vir
ginia and Kentucky; and it was not until
September that General Butler, second in
command, led the first detachment from Fort
Washington. On November 3, 1791, the army,
on its march, reached a point about fifteen
miles from the Miami village, near the spot
where Fort Recovery was afterwards built.
Here, on the morning of November 4, 1791,
the Americans under St. Clair and Butler
were unexpectedly attacked by the Indians
under Little Turtle, and most disastrously de
feated, losing many men and all their muni
tions and supplies.
St. Clair's defeat wrought consternation
throughout the northwest. The commander-
in-chief was blamed universally, and that
blame has not ceased to this day; and yet

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

this severe judgment seems not altogether
just. The failure of the expedition was due
to causes which the governor may have been,
and probably was, unable to control, — the
character of his forces, made up as they were
of bodies of backwoodsmen who had hereto
fore been accustomed to make desultory
excursions in small parties along the borders,
and who were therefore unfamiliar with dis
cipline and movements necessary to an army ;
the inefficiency of the quartermaster 's depart
ment, due, undoubtedly, to the same causes;
and finally to the lateness of the season, which
rendered exceedingly difficult the marching of
troops, and the hauling of artillery and stores,
through the forests, across swollen streams
and over rain soaked grounds, with the win
ter snows already falling. But the governor,
stung by the universal criticism, resigned his
military command, and Anthony Wayne, one
of the most distinguished of the Revolution
ary generals, was appointed in his place. St.
Clair, however, retained his office of civil
governor of the territory; though the duties
of that office, were frequently performed by
the secretary, Winthrop Sargent.
Sec. 10. — General Anthony Wayne. —
The transfer of command from St. Clair to
Wayne, after St. Clair's defeat, was followed
by action on the part of the government
which calls to mind similar action taken after
the transfer of command from Rosecrans to
Grant, subsequent to the battle of Chicka-
mauga. Measures were at once taken to put
the army on a better footing ; men and muni
tions of war were gathered and preparations
were made to meet the formidable forces
which Little Turtle and his British allies
were massing in 'the wilderness. The govern
ment and the people, instead of waiting
apathetically for an ill supplied army to win
victories over the thoroughly roused Indian
tribes, now made every effort to send an army,
worthy the name, against their exultant foes,
red and white.
Additional causes of trouble resulted from
the condition of affairs in France. In 1793,

the French revolution was at its height ; Louis
XVI and Marie Antoinette had been put to
death; the monarchy was overthrown; and
the republic had armed nearly a million men
in war with all Europe. The sympathy of
the American people was to a great extent in
favor of the' French republic; and it was
perhaps only through the wise counsels of
Washington that we were preserved from
being drawn into the terrific storm which
then raged between France and the armies
of the world. The French minister to the
United States, Mr. Genet, artfully playing
upon the people's sentiments of gratitude for
aid received from France during our revolu
tion, tried to secure American enlistments and
to form an army to attack the Spanish posses
sions in Florida and Louisiana, and also to
induce Americans to man privateers to prey
upon British commerce. Even George Rogers
Clark accepted a Major-General's commission
from Genet, with authority to wrest from
Spain her dominions beyond the Mississippi.
Both England and Spain expected war with
the United States; and both English and
Spanish emissaries were constantly engaged
in stirring up the Indians to continue hostili
ties with the Americans. Early in 1794,
Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe, of the Canadian
government, was ordered to establish a Brit
ish military post at the foot of the rapids of
the Maumee, near the present site of Fort
Wayne; and, on April, 1794. he marched
three companies of British troops from De
troit to that point, while about the same time
a Spanish messenger from St. Louis came to
encourage the Indians assembled at that
point; promising Spanish assistance from the
settlements beyond the Mississippi. It needed
the coolness and wisdom of Washington and
the military genius of General Anthony
Wayne to carry the country safely through
this crisis. On the representations of our
government, Genet was recalled, and a new
minister sent from France who did very much
to undo the mischief which Genet had caused.
During the same time the United States

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

87

government took every measure possible to
secure the good will of the Indians, and to
enter into treaties of peace with them.. The
commissioners and agents of the government
were instructed to assure the Indians, in the
"most explicit terms, that the United States
renounced all claim to any Indian land which
had not been ceded, by fair treaties, made
with the Indian nations. ' ' All was apparently
to no purpose. The Indians, partly through
fear of losing their hunting grounds, and
partly through unfriendly representations
made by British and Spanish emissaries, re
fused to make any treaties which the Ameri
cans could agree to.
Meanwhile General Wayne went ahead with
his preparations for the conflict that finally
became inevitable. Having collected at Fort
Washington a force sufficiently strong and
well disciplined for the purpose, and all hope
of the making of any treaties of peace having
finally vanished, General Wayne with his
army, upon which so much depended, began
his eventful expedition October 7, 1793, pro
ceeding by way of Forts Hamilton, St. Clair
and Jefferson, following the line taken by St.
Clair two years previous, and arriving at a
point half way between Fort Jefferson and St.
Clair's battle ground on October 13th, where
he was compelled to await his supplies. After
garrisoning the several forts and leaving the
sick to be cared for, there remained an army
of twenty-six hundred men in the advance.
Having in mind the fate of St. Clair, General
Wayne concluded that the winter season was
unsuited for a further campaign, and went"
into winter quarters at a place which he
named Fort Greenville, near the site of the
present city of Greenville. On October 23rd,
he sent forward a detachment to take posses
sion of the ground where St. Clair was de
feated, and there erected a fort to which he
gave the appropriate name of Fort Recovery.
During the winter some attempt was made
by the Indians to renew peace negotiations
with General Wayne, but nothing came of it.
On June 30, 1794, a large body of Indians,

aided by British agents and Canadian volun
teers, made an attack on an American detach
ment in the neighborhood of Fort Recovery.
On July 26, 1794, a force of sixteen hundred
mounted Kentucky^ volunteers were added to
Wayne's army; and with these fresh troops
he felt strong enough to take up the line of
march for the Maumee towns. On the 8th
of August the army arrived at the confluence
of the Maumee and Auglaize rivers, where a
fort named Fort Defiance was erected. Here
peace was again offered to the Indians, but
was again declined. On August 15th, Wayne
marched out from Fort Defiance, and on the
20th met and defeated the Indians in a deci
sive battle, almost under the guns of the new
British fort. With Little Turtle's army were
no less than seventy white men, including a
corps of volunteers from Detroit under com
mand of a British officer. On September 17,
1794, the American army reached the deserted
Miami village at the junction of the Little St.
Joseph's and the St. Mary's rivers; and on
October 22nd, a fort was completed at that
point and named Fort Wayne. In 1814, a
new fort was built on the site of this old fort ;
and from this has grown the splendid city of
Fort, Wayne.
Sec. 11. — The Treaty of Greenville. —
General Wayne returned with his army to
Greenville, and sent invitations to all the
tribes to send representatives to him at that
place to renew negotiations for peace. On
November 19, 1794, the United States and
Great Britain concluded "a treaty of amity,
commerce and navigation"; so that the
Indians no longer could hope for British aid
against the Americans. They therefore began
to listen to Wayne 's renewed invitations ; and
in June, 1795, strong deputations from vari
ous tribes arrived at Greenville. After long
continued deliberations, and many eloquent
speeches, according to the Indian custom,
peace was finally concluded, and the famous
treaty of Greenville was signed August 3,
1795, giving peace and security again to the
northwest.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Sec. 12. — Indian Land Titles. — By the
treaty of Greenville the Indians for the first
time formally relinquished title to parts of
lands in the northwest theretofore in dispute
between them and the whites. Before that
treaty the Indians had never acknowledged
the right of the whites to any lands, even
those claimed by the latter from their first
occupancy of the county, such as the lands of
Clark's Grant and the lands in and around
Vincennes. Including the treaty of Green
ville, August 3, 1795, there were no less than
forty-six separate treaties with various tribes
of Indians, covering all the lands within the
present state of Indiana, the last of those
treaties being made with the Miamis, Novem
ber 28, 1840. "It will thus be seen," says
Mr. W. H. Smith, in his history of Indiana,
"that the process of extinguishing the Indian
titles was a slow one, and that the Indians
were not finally dispossessed until after Indi
ana had been a member of the Union for
nearly a quarter of a century. In most of
these final treaties certain tracts were reserved
by the Indians for favorite members of the
tribes, and are yet known as 'reservations,'
although about all the lands have passed to
other persons than the descendants of the
original beneficiaries. A few descendants of
the Miamis still live in Wabash and Miami
counties. [A few persons of Pottawatomie
descent are also found in St. Joseph county.]
In its various purchases from the Indians, the
United States frequently had to accept from
two, sometimes three, different tribes separate
relinquishments of their respective rights,
titles, and claims to the same section of coun
try. ' '°
Sec. 13. — Lewis Cass and the Indian
Treaties.6 — Most readers of Indiana history
know that Cass county, Indiana, was named
after Lewis Cass, the Michigan general and
governor of that name, who afterwards came
very near being president of the United
a. William Henry Smith, Hist. Indiana, Vol.
1, pp. 228-239.
6. From the Indianapolis News of May 25,
1907.

States ; but many do not know how much he
had to do with extinguishing the Indian titles
to land in this state and opening the lands to
white settlement.
Of the treaties by which the Indians at dif
ferent times made cessions of land in Indiana,
General Cass assisted in negotiating nine.
These were with several different tribes and
covered a period of about ten years, from
1818 to 1828. One of them was negotiated
and signed at Maumee Rapids, 0., in 1817;
four at St. Mary's, 0., in 1818; one at Chi
cago, in 1821 ; two near the mouth of the
Mississinewa, in 1826, and one at Mission, on
the St. Joseph, in the same year.
The process of extinguishing the Indian
titles to lands in Indiana occupied nearly
fifty years, beginning with the treaty at Green
ville, negotiated by General Wayne, in 1795,
and ending with that of Forks of the Wabash,
negotiated by Samuel Milroy and Allen Ham
ilton, in 1840.
The policy of making treaties with the In
dians as independent tribes for the possession
of their lands began immediately after the
adoption of the constitution and continued till
1871. To this extent, therefore, the Govern
ment recognized the Indian tribes as foreign
nations, making treaties with them which were
ratified by the Senate, the same as treaties
with foreign governments. No doubt this was
better than seizing the lands by force and
appropriating them without any pretense of
negotiation, though the whole proceeding was
really one of force.
As the Indians were practically subjugated
from the beginning and destined to extermi
nation or removal to reservations, making
treaties with them was rather a farcical pro
cedure, yet no doubt, it was the best method
of extinguishing their title to lands. As the
tribes, north and south, were numerous, it
required a great many treaties to complete
the process of extinguishing title.
From the foundation of the Government
to 1837, the Government concluded 349 trea
ties with fifty-four different tribes, and many

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

89

after that. Of the Indians who originally
occupied portions of Indiana eleven different
treaties were negotiated at different times
with the Kickapoos, eight with the Weas, six
teen with the Delawares, ten with the Miamis
and thirty-eight with the Pottawatomies.
Most of these treaties included a cession
of more or less land, so it will be seen the pro
cess of extinguishing Indian titles was a kind
of paring off and whittling down process. On
the whole, however, it was accomplished, as
far as Indiana is concerned with very little
bloodshed, compared with what might have
been in a struggle for the possession of so vast
and valuable a territory had the Indians been
united and determined.
The treaties by which they relinquished
their rights and ceded their lands usually con
tained provisions for the payment of a lump
sum of money to the tribe, for the payment
of annuities to the chiefs and the promise of
various articles, such as rifles, hoes, kettles,
blankets and tobacco to each Indian who
should move to the new reservation. Provi
sion was also generally made for their trans
portation. The consideration named in some
of the treaties for their cessions of land, what
might be called the purchase money, was
ridiculously small compared with its real
value. The treaties were generally preceded by
smooth and specious talks by the white com
missioners representing the urgent needs of
the whites, the advantages to the Indians of
a change, etc. General Cass's address to the
Miami and Pottawatomie Indians at Missis-
sinewa is preserved and is a sample. This
treaty was made October 16, 1826, the other
two commissioners besides Cass being James
B. Ray and John Tipton.
General Cass began by thanking the Great
Spirit for having granted them good weather
and brought them all to the council-house in
safety. He continued: "When the Great
Spirit placed you upon this island [the In
dians called this continent an island], he
gave you plenty of game for food and clothing

and bows and arrows with which to kill it.
After some time it became difficult to kill the
game, and the Great Spirit sent the white
men here, who supplied you with powder and
ball and with blankets and clothes. We were
then a very small people, but we have greatly
increased and we are now over the whole face
of the country. You have decreased and your
numbers are now much reduced. You have
but little game, and it is difficult for you to
support your women and children by hunting.
Your Great Father, whose eyes survey the
whole country, sees that you have a large
tract of land here which is of no service to
you; you do not cultivate it, and there is but
little game upon it. The buffalo has long
since left it, and the deer are going. There
are no beaver and there will soon be no other
animals worth hunting upon it.
"There are a great many of the white
children of your Great Father who would be
glad to live on this land. They would build'
houses and raise corn and cattle and hogs.
You know when a family grows up and be
comes large, they must leave their father's
house and look for a place for themselves. So
it is with your white brethren; their family
is increasing and they must find some new
place to move to. Your Great Father is will
ing to give for this land much more than it
is worth to you. He is willing to give -more
than all the game upon it would sell for.
You know well that all he promises he will
perform." The speaker then pointed out how much
happier the Indians would be far away from
the whites, where there would be no danger
of collisions, and especially where it would
not be so easy for their young men to obtain
whisky. He continued: "Your Great Father
owns a large country west of the Mississippi
river. He is anxious that all his red children
should remove there and settle down in peace
together; then they can hunt and provide
well for their women and children and
once more become a happy people. We are
authorized to offer you a residence there,

90

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

equal in extent to your lands here, and to
pay you an annuity which will make you com
fortable, and to provide the means of your re
moval. You will then have a country abound
ing with game, and you will also have the
value of the country you leave, and you will
be beyond the reach of whisky, for it can not
reach you there. Your Great Father will not
suffer his white children to reside there, for
it is reserved for the red people; it will be
yours as long as the sun shines and the rain
falls. You must go before long; you can not
remain here, you must remove or perish.
"Now is the time to make a good bargain
for yourselves which will make you rich and
comfortable. Come forward, then, like wise
men and accept the terms we offer." The
Indians were not fools and they must have
been rather disgusted by the pretended anx
iety of their Great Father at Washington for
their welfare. However, they signed the
treaty. Under it they were removed first to
a reservation in Kansas which General Cass
had assured them "will be yours as long as
the sun shines and the rain falls. ' ' But their
Great Father changed his mind, and later
they were removed to the Indian Territory.
Between 1817 ,and 1831, General Cass had
assisted in concluding treaties with different
tribes of Indians by which cessions of land
were' acquired in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan and Wisconsin, to an amount equal
to nearly one-fourth of the entire area of
those states. There is a Cass county in Michi
gan, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and North
Dakota, besides that in our own state. Gen
eral Cass's public services as superintendent
of Indian Affairs, United States Senator,
Secretary of War, Secretary of State, and
other important offices made him very popu
lar, and in 1844 he came very near being
nominated for President. On the first day of
the convention he ran up from eighty-three
on the first ballot to 114 on the eighth, and if
another ballot had been taken on that day he
would have been nominated. The next morn
ing James K. Polk was sprung as a "dark

horse" candidate and nominated on the first
ballot. In 1848, General Cass was nominated,
but was defeated by General Taylor. The
Democracy of Indiana were for him from the
beginning and in 1848 he received the elec
toral vote of the state.
Sec. 14. — Indian Titles to St. Joseph
County Lands. — The Indian title to the lands
of St. Joseph county was extinguished in
four of the forty-six treaties above referred
to, as follows :
1. The lands in the northeastern section of
the county, embracing Harris and Clay town
ships, the north part of Penn, the east part
of German, the east part of Portage and the
north part of Center, are included in the lands
ceded to the United States by the treaty made
at Chicago with the Ottawas, Chippewas and
Pottawatomies, August 29, 1821. The sites
of our two cities, South Bend and Mishawaka,
as well as those of the village of Osceola, the
University of Notre Dame and St. Mary's
Academy, are all within this cession. Only a
small part of the lands ceded by this treaty
•are within the bounds of the state of Indiana,
the greater part being in Michigan. Indeed,
it would seem as if the lands were looked upon
as all in Michigan. The Ottawas and Chippe
was were Michigan Indians, as were, in part,
the Pottawatomies also : and it is to be noted
that the southern boundary of the lands ceded
by this treaty is the old Michigan boundary
line, the line recognized by the Ordinance of
1787, running east and west through ihe
southerly bend of Lake Michigan. Indeed
this old Michigan boundary line is frequently
referred to as the old Indian boundary line.
2. The lands in the northwestern section
of the county, embracing Warren township,
the north part of Olive, the west part of Ger
man, the west part of Portage and the north
part of Greene, are included in the lands
ceded to the United States by the treaty made
with the Pottawatomies, October 16, 1826.
The southern boundary of the lands ceded by
this treaty is also the old Michigan boundary
line, the line recognized in the Ordinance of

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

91

1787. The site of the town of New Carlisle,
and also the beautiful Terre Coupee prairie
as well as the villages of Lindley and Crum 's
Point, are within this cession.
3. The lands in the southeastern section
of the county, embracing the township of
Madison, the south part of Penn, the south
part/ of Center and the east part of Union,
are included in the lands ceded to the United
States by the treaty made with the Potta
watomies, September 20, 1828. The lands so
ceded reach north to the old Michigan bound
ary line. Woodland and Lakeville are within
the limits of this cession.
4. The lands in the southwestern section
of the county, embracing the townships of
Liberty and Lincoln, the south part of
Greene and the west part of Union, are in
cluded in the lands ceded to the United States
by the treaty made with' the Pottawatomies,
October 26, 1832. The lands here ceded also
reach north to the old Michigan boundary
line. Walkerton and North Liberty are with
in this territory.
It appears, then, that all the lands of St.
Joseph county were claimed and ceded by the
Pottawatomies; except those in the northeast
ern section, which were ceded jointly by the
Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawatomies.
This former home of the Miamis had become
essentially a Pottawatomie country. And,
although, when the first treaty of cession of
the lands of this county was made, August 29,
1821, the state of Indiana had already been
five years in the Union, with its northern
boundary ten miles north of the line fixed by
the Ordinance of 1787 ; yet, in the four
treaties by which the lands of this county were
ceded by the Indians to the United States,
the old Michigan boundary line was recog
nized. It is remarkable, too, that as this
county of St. Joseph had been the center of
geological forces, resulting in the present con
figuration of the St. Joseph and Kankakee val
leys and the adjacent hills and prairies ; and
as the portage between the two rivers formed
the central road of commerce for untold ages

between the lakes and the Mississippi ; so now,
when the Indian came to yield, reluctantly,
stubbornly, these fair lands of his forefathers,
he stood, as it were, with his foot on the cen
ter of the county, and, by treaty after treaty,
ceded one fourth of the county at a time, from
1821 until 1832, when all was gone. It was,
indeed, a land to hold fast to, and to be finally
yielded to the white man only when the
superior race could be resisted no longer.
Sec. 15. — The First. Legislature of the
Northwest Territory. — The free male in
habitants of the territory northwest of the
river Ohio having reached the number of five
thousand, Governor St. Clair, on October 29,
1798, as required by the provisions of the
Ordinance of 1787, issued his proclamation
for an election to be held on the third Monday
of December following, for the election of
members of the first general assembly ; which
was called to convene at Cincinnati, January
22, 1799. The legislature met accordingly,
and nominated ten persons frqm whom the
president should select a legislative council
of five, to constitute an upper house, or ter
ritorial senate, as provided in the ordinance
of 1787. After making their nominations to
the president for the appointment of a legis
lative council, the legislature was adjourned
by the governor to meet again, September 16,
1799. The two houses were not properly or
ganized until the 24th of that month. The
members of the legislative council, as selected
by President Adams, were Jacob Burnet,
James Findlay, Henry Vanderburgh, Robert
Oliver and David Vance. This was the first
senate of tflie northwest territory. Henry Van
derburgh was elected president; William C.
Schenk, secretary; George Howard, door
keeper; and Abner Cary, sergeant-at-arms.
Seven counties were represented; and the
house of representatives consisted of nineteen
members. The counties were mostly in the
territory constituting the present state of
Ohio, showing that the emigration was chiefly
to that section. Knox county, of which Vin
cennes was the county seat, was the only

92

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

county in what is now the state of Indiana;
and it was represented in the general assem
bly by Shadrach Bond. The house organized
by electing Edward Tiffin, speaker; John
Reilly, clerk; Joshua Rowland, doorkeeper;
and Abraham Cary, sergeant-at-arms. On
October 3, 1799, the legislature elected Wil
liam Henry Harrison, afterwards president of
the United States, as the first delegate of the
territory in congress. On the 26th of the pre
vious June, Harrison had been appointed by
the president as secretary of the territory, in
the place of Winthrop Sargent, who was ap
pointed first governor of the new territory of
Mississippi. This first general assembly of the territory
northwest of the Ohio river continued in ses
sion until December 19, 1799 ; during which
time forty-eight acts were passed, thirty-seven
of which were approved by Governor St.
Clair and became laws. These first laws
enacted by the representatives of the people
were, in general, such as were necessary for
the administration of justice and the conduct
of public affairs. Many of them, however,
were peculiar to the time and to the condi
tions of the people. One was for the regula
tion of ferries, made necessary by the absence
of bridges over the large rivers. Another was
designed to prevent Sabbath breaking, pro
fane swearing, drunkenness, duelling, cock-
fighting, running horses on public highways,
gambling at billiards, cards, dice, etc. An act
for the taxation of land provided that every
hundred acres of first rate land should be
taxed eighty-five cents; every hundred acres
of second rate land, sixty cents; every hun
dred acres of third rate, twenty-five cents;
larger or smaller tracts to be assessed in pro
portion. An act for the compensation of
members of the legislative council and mem
bers of the house of representatives, provided
that each member should receive three dollars
for each day's attendance, and also three dol
lars at the beginning and end of each session
for each fifteen miles traveled.
Under the provisions of the Ordinance of

1787, the governor and judges of the general
court had adopted many laws for the govern
ment of the northwest territory, which were
to remain valid until altered by the general
assembly. The territory was therefore sup
plied with a code of laws before the convening
of the first general assembly. Among the
laws so adopted was one, published August 30,
1788, providing that the general, or supreme,
court should hold one session at the county
seat in each county during each year. One
session of this high court was therefore held
at Vincennes, Knox county, in what is now
the state of Indiana, every year. Another
act, published September 6, 1788, provided
that treason, murder and house burning
(where death resulted) were punishable by
death; burglary and robbery, by whipping,
not exceeding thirty-nine stripes, fine and im
prisonment, not exceeding forty years; per
jury, by a fine not exceeding sixty dollars,
or by whipping, not exceeding thirty-nine
lashes, and disfranchisement, and standing on
the pillory, not exceeding two hours ; larceny,
by fine or whipping, at the discretion of the
court. If the convict could not pay the fine,
it was lawful for the sheriff, under direction
of the court, to bind him for a term of serv
ice, not exceeding seven years to any one
who would pay the fine. Forgery was punish
able by fine, disfranchisement and standing
on the pillory, not exceeding three hours.
Drunkenness, for the first offense, was pun
ishable by a fine of five dimes ; and for every
succeeding offense, by a fine of one dollar. In
either case, if the fine were not paid, the
drunkard was placed in the stocks for one
hour. Persons intending to marry were re
quired to give fifteen days ' notice, by publica
tion in church, or by a writing, under the
hand and seal of a judge or a justice of the
peace, posted in some conspicuous place; or,
in lieu of such publication, a license might he
obtained from the governor. By an act pub
lished November 6, 1790, the governor was
authorized to appoint not less than three nor
more than seven judges of common pleas, and

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

93

not to exceed nine justices of the peace, in
each county ; and the number of terms of com
mon pleas court was increased from two to
four in each year. It is to be remembered
that there was then but one county for all
Indiana. On July 2, 1791, an act was passed
requiring that whenever persons enrolled in
the militia should assemble at any place of
public worship, they should arm and equip
themselves as if marching to engage the
enemy. By an act published August 1, 1792,
a licensed tavern keeper or retailer of liquors
was required to affix a sign on the front of his
building, with the words, in large letters, ' 'By
authority, a tavern"; or "By authority, a
retailer." On August 1, 1792, laws were
enacted for opening and regulating highways ;
and also for building- court houses, jails, pil
lories, whipping posts and stocks, in every
county. An act, published on the same day, required
attorneys on being admitted to practice law
to take the following oath : "I swear that I
will do no falsehood, nor consent to the doing
of any, in the courts of justice ; and if I know
of any intention to commit any, I will give
knowledge thereof to the justices of said
courts, or some of them, that it may be pre
vented. I will not wittingly or willingly pro
mote or sue any false, groundless or unlaw
ful suit, nor give aid or counsel to the same;
and I will conduct myself in the office of an
attorney within the said courts according to
the best of my knowledge and discretion, and
with all good fidelity as well to the courts as
my client. So help me God."
By an act adopted in the summer of 1795,
the common law was formally adopted, and
the laws for the decision of causes in the
courts of the northwest territory declared, in
the following words: "The common law of
England, all statutes or acts of the British
parliament made in aid of the common law,
prior to the fourth year of the reign of King
James the First, (and which are of a general
nature, not local to that Kingdom,) and also
the several laws in force in this territory,

shall be the rule of decision, and shall be con
sidered as of full force, until repealed by leg
islative authority, or disapproved of by con
gress. ' ' VI. INDIANA TERRITORY.
Sec. 1. — Extent of the Territory. — By an
act approved May 7, 1800, congress provided,
' ' That from and after the fourth day of July
next, all that part of the territory of the
United States northwest of the Ohio river,
which lies westward of the line beginning at
the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of Kentucky
river, and running thence to Fort Recovery,
and thence north, until it shall intersect the
territorial line between the United States and
Canada, shall, for the purpose of temporary
government, constitute a separate territory,
and be called the Indiana Territory." The
act provided further, "That there shall be
established within the said territory a gov
ernment in all respects similar to that pro
vided by the ordinance of congress, passed on
the thirteenth day of July, 1787, for the gov
ernment of the territory of the United States
northwest of the river Ohio; and the inhabit
ants thereof shall be entitled to, and enjoy,
all and singular, the rights, privileges and
advantages granted and secured to the people
by the said ordinance." A further provision
of the act creating the Indiana territory was,
"That so much of the ordinance for the gov
ernment of the territory of the United States
northwest of the Ohio river, as relates to the
organization ' of a general assembly therein,
and prescribes the powers thereof, shall be in
force and operate in the Indiana territory,
whenever satisfactory evidence shall be given
to the governor thereof, that such is the wish
of a majority of the freeholders, notwith
standing there may not be therein five thous
and free male inhabitants of the age of twen
ty-one years and upwards." But until there
should be such five thousand inhabitants the
representatives in the general assembly, if one
should be organized, should be not less than
seven nor more than nine; to be apportioned

94

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

by the governor among the several counties,
agreeably to the number of free male inhab
itants of the age of twenty-one years and up
wards, in each. As to the eastern boundary
line, as fixed in the act, it was further pro
vided, ' ' That whenever that part of the terri
tory of the United States which lies to the
eastward of a line beginning at the mouth of
the Great Miami river, running thence due
north to the territorial line between the
United States and Canada, shall be erected
into an independent state, and admitted into
the union on an equal footing with the
original states, thenceforth said line shall be
come and remain permanently the boundary
line between such state and the Indiana ter
ritory. ' ' A final provision was that, until the
general assembly should determine otherwise,
' ' Saint Vincennes, on the Wabash river, shall
be the seat of government for the Indiana
territory. ' '
The Harrison mansion is the name given
to the venerable building in which the legis
lature of the territory held its sessions and in
which the governor resided and where the
general court was held. The building is still
in a good state of preservation; and efforts
have often been made to have the state secure
it as a historical museum.
The house, from an architectural point of
view, as well as from its massiveness, seems
remarkable. At the time it was erected its
situation was a wilderness, far from civiliza
tion, and to get the materials for its con
struction, the glass, iron, etc., meant a year
or more of time before they could be delivered
at Vincennes. Historical societies have en
deavored to have it kept as a lasting monu
ment to the memory of those who built so
well and as a reminder that this was the birth
place of government, religion and education
in the west. The building is two stories high,
with a large attic, and a basement under the
entire place. It was completed in 1805. The
ceilings are thirteen and one-half feet high
and the rooms are spacious. The walls are of
brick and inside and out are eighteen inches

thick. The glass in the windows came from
England, and it took two years to have it de
livered. The wood was sawed with the old-
fashioned whip-saw, and all the nails were
hand-forged on the grounds. The woodwork
is hard-paneled, finished with beading and
is of solid, clear black walnut. It is said that
the walnut in the house today is worth a small
fortune. So came Indiana into existence, with a capi
tal of her own, and with even a freer form of
government than that of the northwest ter
ritory, prior to .its legislative stage. The area
of this new Indiana territory included all of
the present state of Indiana, except a small
wedge-shaped section in the southeast part of
the state, east of a line running from a point
on the Ohio opposite the mouth of the Ken
tucky river, northeasterly to Fort Recovery,
in the state of Ohio, this line being the old
Indian boundary line, between those points
named in the treaty of Greenville. The new
territory included also a norrow strip less
than three miles in width on the west side of
the state of Ohio, north of Fort Recovery, and
lying between the north and south line
through Fort Recovery and the present
boundary of the two states.0 The territory
included besides, all of the state of Michigan
lying west of the north and south line through
Fort Recovery; also the whole of Illinois and
Wisconsin ; and so much of Minnesota as lies
east of the Mississippi river. The limits of
the Indiana territory, for a time, extended even
west of the Mississippi. By an act approved
March 26, 1804, congress attached to Indiana
all that part of Louisiana west of the Missis
sippi and north of the thirty-third degree of
north latitude, under the name of the District
of Louisiana. At a session of the governor
and judges of Indiana territory, held at Vin
cennes, beginning October 1, 1804, a number
of laws were adopted for the District of Louis
iana, During the following year, however,
by an act of congress approved March 3, 1805,
this district was organized into a separate ter
es- Drake's Hist. American Indians, Chap. XIV.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

95

ritory." This was truly an imperial domain.
Detroit, Sault Ste. Marie, St. Ignace, with
eastern Michigan and all Ohio, remained in
the northwest territory, until the admission
of Ohio as a state of the Union, November
29, 1802, when the northwest territory, as a
political division, ceased to exist. At that
date also, congress attached to Indiana the
remainder of Michigan, or Wayne county,
as it was then called; and, in 1803, William
Henry Harrison, as governor of the Indiana
territory, assumed jurisdiction over all of
Michigan, and extended the limits of Wayne
county to Lake Michigan. Thereafter, until
the formation of the territory of Michigan,
June 30, 1805, Detroit, Sault Ste. Marie, and
• St. Ignace, as well as the sites of Ann Arbor,
Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Niles, with all
the valley of the St. Joseph, were in Indiana.
So much of the ruins of old Fort St. Joseph 's,
if any, as remained after the Spanish invasion
of our valley, in 1781, were in the territory.
Chicago and St. Louis were then in Indiana ;
and so were the sites of Milwaukee, St. Paul,
Minneapolis and Duluth. Our inland sea,
Lake Michigan, was wholly within the Indiana
territory. The ambition, of 'Napoleon is said
to have been tp make the Mediterranean a
French lake; and he came near succeeding.
La Salle made Lake Michigan a French lake ;
it was afterwards a British lake; and now
it is the only one of the great lakes that is
wholly American; in the first years of the
nineteenth century, it was an Indiana lake,
surrounded on every side , by Indiana ter
ritory. Sec. 2. — Organization of the Territorial'
Government. — On May 13, 1800, the appoint
ment by the president of William Henry
Harrison, of Virginia, as first governor of the
Indiana territory was confirmed by the senate.
Harrison had been secretary of the northwest
territory, and also delegate in congress from
that territory. On the next day, John Gibson,
of Pennsylvania, a pioneer of distinction,
was appointed first secretary of the territory.
a. Smith, Hist. Indiana, Vol. 1, p. 199.

It was to Secretary Gibson that the great
chief Logan, in 1774, delivered his celebrated
speech, known to every school boy.° William
Clark, Henry Vanderburg and John Griffin
were appointed the first judges of the terri
tory. Harrison did not come to assume his
office until January, 1801. John Gibson, the
secretary, arrived at Vincennes early in July,
1800, and, as acting governor, proceeded to
make appointments of territorial officers and
to provide for the administration of the
affairs of the new government, which was
formally organized July 4, 1800. The first
entry on the executive journal, dated at Saint
Vincennes, July 4, 1800, reads as follows:
"This day the government of the Indiana
Territory commenced. William Henry Har
rison having been appointed governor; John
Gibson, secretary; William Clark, Henry
Vander Burgh and John Griffin, judges in
and over said Territory. ' ' This was the second
time in the history of our commonwealth that
July 4th, proved to be a notable day. It was
on July 4, 1778, that George Rogers Clark
surprised and captured Kaskaskia, then the
capital of the British possessions • northwest
of the Ohio, thus opening up the first page
of our history, as a part of the American
Union; and now again, on July 4, 1800, was
organized the government of Indiana, as an
incipient commonwealth of the republic.
On January 12, 1801, Governor Harrison
' having arrived at Vincennes and issued proc
lamation therefor, the governor and judges
convened in legislative session and adopted
laws for the government of the territory.
This was the first body ever convened within
the present limits of Indiana to make laws
for our commonwealth. The ordinance of
1787 continued in force, so far as applicable,
as also the laws already adopted for the gov
ernment of the northwest territory before the
division. Sec. 3. — The First Indiana Courts. — The
new court, called the General Court of the
a. Dillon, Hist. Indiana, p. 408; Smith, Hist.
Indiana, p. 198.

96

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Indiana territory, organized and held its first
session at Vincennes, March 3, 1801. The
court record opens as follows : " At a General
Court of the Indiana Territory, called and
held at Saint Vipcennes the third day of
March, in the year one thousand eight hun
dred and one. The commissions of the judges
being read in open court, they took their
. seats, and present : William Clark, Henry
Vander Burgh and John Griffin, Judges.
Henry Hurst, Clerk of the General Court,
having produced his commission from the
governor and a certificate of his having taken
the oath of allegiance and oath of office, took
his place. John Rice Jones, Attorney-Gen
eral, produced his commission, and a certifi
cate of his having taken the oath of allegiance
and oath of office. ' ' One of the orders made
on this first day of court is of much signifi
cance. It was for the examination of certain
persons "for counsellor's degree, agreeable to
a law of the Territory. ' ' Among the persons
so ordered to be examined as to his proficiency
in the law was the Attorney- General himself,
John Rice Jones. After obtaining their degree
as counsellors, those distinguished gentlemen
were required to appear at subsequent terms
of court, to be examined for their second
degree, for admission to practice as attorneys-
at-law. Now-a-days it is the constitutional
privilege of "every person of good moral
character, being a voter," to be admitted "to
practice law in all courts of justice." Which
is the better system in "a government of the
people, for the people, and by the people,"
may perhaps be a subject of debate. One
may become a good lawyer, though admitted
to practice without examination ; and he may
be a poor lawyer, though admitted after the
most severe examination. "The fault, dear
Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves
that we are underlings."
The business of this early supreme court
was very light, as compared with the business
of the courts of our day. From the organiza
tion of the court, March 3, 1801, until the
close of its last term, September 16, 1816,

just before the territorial form of government
gave way to the establishment of a permanent
state government, two manuscript dockets, or
order books, one of 457 and the other of 120
pages were found sufficient to contain all the
orders of the court. The court sat at Vincennes
from its organization until 1813, when the
seat of government was removed to Corydon,
in Harrison county.
The general court, unlike the supreme court
of our day, had original as well as appellate
jurisdiction. The business, however, was
usually appellate, the appeals being taken
from the several county courts. Yet the most
important case that came before the court
was an original action for slander, brought
by the governor, William Henry Harrison,
against one William Mcintosh, a wealthy
Scotch resident of Vincennes, and said to be
a relative of the distinguished Sir James Mc
intosh. The case was tried by a jury selected
as follows : Forty-eight men were summoned
by elisors, appointed by the court; of these,
the plaintiff struck out twelve names, after
which the defendant struck out twelve. From
the remaining twenty-four a jury of twelve
men was drawn by lot. The jury gave the
governor a verdict for four thousand dollars.
a part of which was remitted and the rest
given to charity. The judges of the general
court, like the judges of our supreme court
in their respective circuits, had power to pre
side in the circuit courts; and we learn that
Benjamin Parke, after whom Parke county
was named, while judge of the general court,
rode on horseback from Vincennes to Wayne
county, to try a case of larceny. It is said
that his judicial bench on that occasion was a
log of wood. The case was one of petit lar
ceny,— exceedingly petty, indeed,— the theft
of a pocket knife. The people of those days
sought the just enforcement of the law upon
the statute books, according to its true intent
and meaning, rather than the making of many
new laws. A speedy hearing, a fair trial, a
prompt acquittal of the innocent, a certain
conviction of the guilty, the taking of no

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

97

man's property without right and the delay
of no man in the recovery of what belonged
to him, — these things seemed to our simple
forefathers the true ends of the administra
tion of justice. They deemed the enforcement
of the old laws of more consequence than the
making of new ones. To remedy miscarriage
of justice, they looked to the courts and to
the officers appointed to administer the laws,
rather than to the enactment of new laws.
The first judges of the general court were
succeeded by Thomas Terry Davis, Waller
Taylor, Benjamin Parke and James Scott.
The last three occupied the bench until the
territorial form of government came to a close,
in 1816. The most distinguished of the
judges, and one of the ablest public men in
the history of Indiana, was Benjamin Parke.
Soon after the close of his services as judge
of the general court, he was appointed first
judge of the United States district court for
Indiana, serving from 1817 until his death,
in 1835. Waller Taylor was also a man of
distinction. While judge of the general court
he served as major with Harrison at the battle
of Tippecanoe. On the organization of the
state government, in 1816, he was chosen as
one of the first United States senators from
Indiana, and served for two terms. James
Scott, the third member of the general court
at the time of its dissolution, was appointed
one of the first judges of the state supreme
court, and served for fourteen years. The
attorneys-general for the territorial period
were three in number, — James Rice Jones,
Benjamin Parke and Thomas Randolph.
Jones was one of the compilers of the Indiana
code of 1807. Disappointed in his political
aspirations, he went to Illinois, and after
wards to Missouri. He was a member of the
first constitutional convention of Missouri,
and afterwards member of the supreme court
of that state. Thomas Randolph, the last
attorney-general of the territory, was a cousin
of John Randolph of Roanoke. He was killed
at the battle of Tippecanoe, in 1811. The
office of attorney-general ceased to exist from

his death until its re-establishment by the
legislature, under the new constitution, in
1855. To Benjamin Parke, and to General
Washington Johnston, another distinguished
lawyer, our supreme court is indebted for the
nucleus of its present library, — one of the
finest west of New York City. ^The books of
Parke and Johnston upon the shelves of this
library are made the more precious by the
autographs of those eminent men. The sal
aries of the judges of the general court were
seven hundred dollars a year each; that of
the attorney-general, at first sixty and after
wards one hundred dollars a year.
The questions brought for decision before
the general court of the Indiana territory
were in many cases quite different from those
that have since engaged the attention of our
courts. Legislation itself was different.
Many acts now deemed criminal were then
either sanctioned by the law, or at least looked
upon with indifference or even indulgence.
On the other hand, some offenses were then
punished more severely than at present. Not
only treason and murder, but also arson,
horse-stealing upon a second conviction, and
rape were punishable by death. Burglary,
hog stealing and bigamy, in addition to other
penalties, rendered the offender liable to be
punished by whipping. But duelling was
punishable only by a fine; although all offi
cers, whether legislative, executive or judicial,
as well as attorneys-at-law, were required to
take an oath that they had not given or ac
cepted a challenge to a duel. In their legisla
tion against corruption in elections, the men
of those days seem to have been wiser than
some of our modern legislators. They pun
ished the briber, the bribe-giver; while more
recent laws, in many cases, have punished
only the bribe-taker. Liquor laws also differed
widely from our own. Tavern keepers might
have their licenses revoked, not only for fail
ing to do their duty towards their guests, as
to giving proper attention and providing
wholesome food for man and beast, but also
for failure to keep on hand ' ' ordinary liquors

9S

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of good and salutary quality. ' ' Provisions of
this kind, in favor of pure food and against
adulteration, again seem to be receiving some
attention from legislators, both in congress
and in the general assembly.
As we have already seen, provision was
made for the erection of pillories and whip
ping posts in every county for the punishment
of criminals. And not only men, but even
women, were publicly whipped for violations
of law. Imprisonment for debt was also
authorized by the laws of the territory, as it
was then generally throughout the United
States. Lotteries, on the contrary, now re
garded as not only illegal but even as im
moral, were in those days, rather favored
by the law.
Sec. 4. — Lotteries and Slavery in Indi
ana. — By an act of the legislature, approved
September 17, 1807, the Vincennes university
was chartered by the legislature. It is the old
est educational institution of that rank in the
state, if" not in the west. Among the provi
sions of the charter was one for the raising
of twenty thousand dollars "for the purpose
of procuring a library and the necessary
philosophical and experimental apparatus"
for such university. The trustees of the uni
versity were required to "appoint five dis
creet persons" as managers of the lottery,
who were to have power "to adopt such
schemes as they may deem proper, to sell the
said tickets, and to superintend the drawing
of the same, and the payment of the prizes. ' '
It was further provided that "said managers
and trustees shall render an account of their
proceedings therein at the next session of the
legislature after the drawing of said lottery. ' '
It is clear that our worthy forefathers thought
pillories and whipping posts suitable and
proper means for the punishment of wrong
doers ; and that they were also of opinion that
money for the promotion of the higher educa
tion of the people, might properly be secured
by the establishment of a lottery. It was not
until February 3, 1832, that an act was
passed by the legislature making the conduct

ing of a lottery a misdemeanor; but even in
that act, for the purpose no doubt, of protect
ing the Vincennes lottery, there was a saving
clause in favor of lotteries "authorized by
law. "° In the constitution of 1851, however
the prohibition was made absolute, — that "no
lottery shall be authorized; nor shall the sale
of lottery tickets be allowed." But, notwith
standing this distinct declaration in the con
stitution, added to the previous statutory
enactment, the trustees of the university still
persisted in keeping up their lottery; and in
this practice they were long sustained by the
courts. As late as the May term, 1879,
of the supreme court, the lottery pro
vision of the Vincennes university char
ter was held to be an inviolable con
tract, which neither the legislature nor
even the people, in the framing of their con
stitution, could abrogate ; and the Dartmouth
college case and other high authority was
cited in support of the decision. "We hold,"
said the court, in Kellum v. State, 66 Ind. 588,
"that the lottery established by the board of
trustees for the Vincennes university, under
the fifteenth section of the territorial law for
the incorporation of said university was and
is a lottery ' authorized by law. ' " It was not
until the May term, 1883, of the court, in the
case of State v. Woodward, 89 Ind. 110, that
the Vincennes lottery was finally declared
illegal. The opinion in the case was the last
written by the eminent jurist, James L. Wor
den ; and followed a then recent ruling of the
supreme court of the United States.6
Another illustration of the persistence of
customs which have long prevailed in a com
munity, is exhibited in the history of slavery
in Indiana. To many persons the statement
may be a surprise that human slavery ever
existed within the borders of this state. We
must remember, however, that, on the con
quest of the northwest by George Rogers
Clark, all this country became a part of Vir
ginia, under the name of the county of I1H-
a. Acts 1831, p. 269.
6. Stone v. Mississippi, 101 U. S. 814.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

99

nois. Our territory thus becoming a part of
the state of Virginia, slavery had a legal foot
hold here, as it had there. Besides, the French,
and also the Indians, held slaves in the ter
ritory previous to the Virginia conquest ; the
slaves so held being not only negroes, but also
captive Indians.0 After the deed of cession by
Virginia to the United States, it was uncertain
for a time whether slavery should be recog
nized or not ; but, in the ordinance of 1787,
for the government of the territory northwest
of the Ohio, it was finally provided, in terms,
that "There shall be neither slavery nor in
voluntary servitude in said territory, other
wise than in the punishment of crimes,
whereof the party shall have been duly con
victed. " The same prohibition was carried
into both our state constitutions. Yet, under
the plea that, before the passage of the ordi
nance, slave property had been lawfully ac
quired within the limits of the territory, it
was argued that the holders of such property
could not be legally deprived of it. The argu
ment was even made that a mother being a
slave, her children could be born only as
slaves, and that the owner of the mother be
came the owner of the children so born.
The property interests of the country were
enlisted in behalf of retaining the institution
of slavery, and even of introducing more
slaves into the country. A large part of the
population was from Virginia and Kentucky,
and- this element constituted a powerful party
in favor of perpetuating some form of Afri
can slavery. At the head of the slaveholdihg
interest was the governor of the territory,
William Henry Harrison. The governor was
a Virginian, and seemed to be sincerely of
opinion that the prosperity of the country
depended upon the establishment of slavery.
A strong effort was made to have the pjEuvi-
sion in the ordinance of 1787 prohibiting slav
ery suspended, at least for ten years. The
contest before congress was long and earnest,
but the petition from Indiana was finally
denied by that body. Yet the effort was still
a. Dillon, Hist. Ind., p. 409.

persisted in to retain in slavery, by some form
of indenture or otherwise, those who had been
slaves or who were the children of slave
mothers. As late as the year 1813, the act
concerning taxation passed by the legislature
provided, as a part of the schedule of assess
ments and taxation, for a tax "for every
slave or servant of color, above twelve years
of age, two dollars." Two cases came to the
supreme court, in which the questions so
raised were finally settled against the right
to hold slaves in Indiana. In the first of these
cases, State v. Lasselle, 1 Blackf. 60, the trial
court had decided that a colored woman,'
Polly, was the property of Lasselle. The
supreme court, without deciding whether
Virginia, by consenting to the ordinance of
1787, intended to emancipate the slaves in the
northwest or not, held that, in any event,
slavery was effectually abolished by the Con
stitution of 1816. In the other case, that of
Mary Clark, also a colored woman, decided
in 1 Blackf. 122, Mary Clark had attempted
to bind herself as a servant for a term of
twenty years. She afterwards repented of
her bargain; but the trial court held that she
must comply with her contract. The supreme
court, however, decided that such an inden
ture, though voluntarily made, was a species
of slavery, and that the contract could not be
enforced. Thus was wiped out the last ves
tige of legal bondage in Indiana. It is true
that long after these decisions, many persons
continued voluntarily to live out their lives
as slaves within the limits of the state.
Even as late as 1840, as shown by the United
States census for that year, there were still
three slaves in Indiana, — a man and a woman
in Rush county and a woman in Putnam
county. But slavery, as sanctioned by the
law, was at an end; and it came to an end, in
fact, with the death of the last of such volun
tary slaves.
The desire on the part of many of the in
habitants to establish slavery in the Indiana
territory resulted in a proclamation by the
governor calling for the election by the peo-

100

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

pie of delegates to meet in convention at Vin
cennes, December 20, 1802. This convention
petitioned congress for a suspension of the
sixth article of the ordinance of 1787, which
prohibited slavery in the territory. The peti
tion, as we have seen, was rejected by con
gress. The report of the committee to which
the petition was referred was prepared by
John Randolph, the distinguished orator and
statesman, then senator from Virginia, and
was an unanswerable argument against the
establishment of slavery in the territory. The
Vincennes convention which prepared the
petition in favor of slavery is also noteworthy
as being the first deliberative body elected to
represent the people of Indiana. The conven
tion consisted of twelve delegates. From the
county of Knox, four; from the county of
Randolph, three; from the county of St.
Clair, three; and from the county of Clark,
two. The counties of St. Clair and Randolph
were in that part of the territory which is now
the state of Illinois; Knox and Clark were
in what is now Indiana. So small was the
population, in 1802, of the territory now com
prising these two great states. Wayne county,
now the state of Michigan, does not seem to
have been represented in this early conven
tion. Sec. 5. — The First Indiana Legislature;
the Territory of Michigan Formed. — The
act of congress for the organization of the
Indiana territory, approved May 7, 1800, pro
vided that whenever the governor became sat-
isfied that a majority of the freeholders of the
territory were in favor of the organization of
a general assembly, an election for that pur
pose should be called, even though there might
not then be in the territory five thousand free
male inhabitants of the age of twenty-one
years ; thus providing an earlier period than
was provided in the ordinance of 1787, for
the establishment of a representative govern
ment. By a vote of the people taken Septem
ber 11, 1804, it appeared that a majority of
one hundred and thirty-eight were in favor
of organizing a general assembly; and ac

cordingly Governor Harrison issued his pro
clamation declaring that Indiana had passed
into the second stage of territorial govern
ment, and called an election for January 3
1805, at which members of the first house of
representatives were chosen in the several
counties. This body met at Vincennes,
February 1, 1805, and selected names for the
organization of a legislative council, or senate,
as provided in the ordinance of 1787. The
counties then represented were Knox, Clark
and Dearborn, in what is now Indiana; St.
Clair, in Illinois; and Wayne, in Michigan.
This was the last official connection of
Michigan with the Indiana territory. By an
act of congress, approved January 11, 1805,
it was provided that from and after June
30, 1805, that part of the Indiana territory
lying north of an east and west line drawn
through "the southerly bend or extreme of
Lake Michigan, until it shall intersect Lake
Erie, and east of a line drawn from the said
southerly bend" through the middle of Lake
Michigan to its northern extremity, and
thence north to the northern boundary of
the United States, should be erected into a
separate territory, to be known as Michigan.
It will be noticed that this left the greater
part of the present upper peninsula of Michi
gan in the Indiana territory. But, of more
importance to St. Joseph county, as well as
to all the other northern tier of Indiana
counties, it will be seen that the southern
boundary of Michigan, as required also by
the terms of the ordinance of 1787, was placed
ten miles south of the present boundary be
tween Indiana and Michigan, leaving the sites
of South Bend, New Carlisle, Mishawaka and
Osceola, as well as all the St. Joseph valley
and the north ten miles of the county, within
the bounds of the new Michigan territory.
The legislative council having been selected,
the first general assembly of Indiana, em
bracing then the greater part of the old north
west territory, except Ohio and Michigan, as
sembled at Vincennes, July 29, 1805. The
council, or senate, consisted of five members;

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

101

and the house of representatives, of seven
members. Michigan having become a terri
tory, Wayne county was not represented.
The counties having representation in the
assembly were Knox* Clark and Dearborn,
in what is now Indiana, and St. Clair and
Randolph in Illinois. The business of this
first general assembly was chiefly routine.
Benjamin Parke was elected the first delegate
of the territory in congress. The second
general assembly began its session at Vincen
nes, -August 16, 1807. The laws passed at
those two sessions, together with all other laws
in force in the territory were collected and
published in one volume, called the code of
1807. This was the first Indiana code of
laws. Sec. 6. — Tecumseh and the Battle of
Tippecanoe. — After the signing of the treaty
of Greenville between General Anthony
Wayne and Little Turtle and the other chiefs,
August 3, 1795, it was believed that perma
nent peace had been established between the
whites and Indians. But the emigration to
the rich lands of the northwest grew to such
proportions that the Indians were pressed
farther and farther into the interior. Numer
ous treaties, as we have seen, were made, from
time to time, throwing open to white settle-.
ment the several reservations of territory
made at Greenville to secure to the Indians
their hunting grounds. Often, too, where
two or more tribes owned certain lands in
common, as they often did, the whites secured
by treaty the title of one tribe and then
failed to respect the claim of the others to
the same lands. The French had respected
this community ownership of lands, and never
denied the title of the Indians, even to the
territory occupied by themselves. Moreover,
as to their own holdings, the French accepted
the community idea, which was universal.
Several hundred acres were set aside at Vin
cennes, which the inhabitants of the post used
in common for pasture and other uses. They
"fenced in" their stock as is now the law in
Indiana; and the crops planted outside this

community property by each householder
were without enclosure. The community idea,
however, was antagonistic to the ideas of the
emigrants from the east. Each settler wanted
his own lands for himself exclusively, and
was particularly unwilling that any Indian
should have any part or parcel in his holding.
But, besides securing additional Indian lands
by new treaties, many white emigrants, with
out any such authority, pushed in upon the
lands yet reserved to the Indians by the treaty
of Greenville and other treaties. This land
greed, as the Indians called it, was exasperat
ing to the natives, who loved their old hunt
ing grounds; and the feeling of resentment
against the encroachment of the whites be
came more acute from year to year. After
wards, when white men fell in battle with the
Indians, it was not uncommon for the latter
to stuff earth into the mouth, nose and ears
of the fallen pale face, as if in mockery of
this greed for land.
In a message to the legislature of Indiana,
in 1806, Governor Harrison referred to the
growing dissatisfaction of the Indians, in
this and other respects. The Indians, he said,
"will never have recourse to arms — I speak
of those in our immediate neighborhood —
unless driven to it by a series of injustice and
oppression. Of this they already begin to
complain; and I am sorry to say that their
complaints are far from being groundless.
It is true that the general government has
passed laws for fulfilling, not only the stipu
lations contained in our treaty, but also
those sublimer duties which a just sense of our
prosperity and their wretchedness seem to im
pose. The laws of the territory provide, also,
the same punishment for offenses committed
against Indians as against white men. Ex
perience, however, shows that there is a wide
difference in the execution of those laws.
The Indian always suffers, and the white men
never. ' '
In the state to which the minds of the In
dians were wrought up, by both their real and
their fancied wrongs, they needed but a leader,

102

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

to break out into hostilities against their
oppressors. The leader was forthcoming, a
greater perhaps than either Pontiac or Little
Turtle. In 1805, Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief,
and his brother Law-le-was-i-kaw — the loud
voice — resided in a village' on the White river
in what is now Delaware county. Law-le-
was-i-kaw took upon himself the character
of a prophet, and is usually known under that
title. He began to preach to the Indians,
calling upon them to reject witchcraft, the
use of intoxicating liquors, intermarriage with
the whites and the practice of selling their
lands to the United States. He acquired great
influence among the tribes, not, only the tribes
in Indiana, but those of the whole west.
Prophet 's Town was established on the banks
of the Wabash river, near the mouth of the
Tippecanoe, as a center to which all the
Indians were invited to gather. While the
prophet was arousing the religious enthusiasm
of the Indians Tecumseh was visiting all the
tribes of the west and the south, forming a
confederacy which might be strong enough to
resist further encroachments on the part of
the white settlers. The poison of British in
fluence was again manifested; and when the
war of 1812 broke out between England and
the United States, the Indians were found in
full and active sympathy with the British.
Interviews took place from time to time be
tween Governor Harrison and the Shawnee
chiefs, but the estrangement continued to in
crease from year to year. In the early part
of 1811 the people of the territory became
thoroughly alarmed at the growing strength
of the Indians at Prophet 's Town ; and Gover
nor Harrison, under direction of the president
and the secretary of war, began preparations
for a military expedition against the prophet.
Harrison's army consisting of about seven
hundred effective men, of whom two hundred
and fifty were regular troops, arrived near
Prophet's Town November 6, 1811. On the
morning of the seventh, before daylight, the
Americans were fiercely attacked by the In
dians, and many killed. Harrison quickly

rallied his forces and charged upon the In
dians, who were completely routed. Harri
son's loss, in killed and mortally wounded
were sixty-two, with one hundred and twenty-
six other wounded men. The enemy's forces
are believed to have been greater, and their
losses quite as severe; but there is a lack of
definite information on these points. The
battle of Tippecanoe is the most important
that ever took place within the confines of
Indiana. The spirit of the Indians was com
pletely broken, and the confederacy which
Tecumseh was building up was completely
destroyed. This great warrior was himself
absent at the time, visiting the tribes of the
south. It is said that he was angry with
his brother for bringing on the engagement.
Tecumseh was not then ready for his conflict
with the whites, and his plans were therefore
frustrated. He soon joined the British army
with his Indians and was killed at the battle
of the Thames, in Canada, not far from De
troit, October 5, 1813. He was undoubtedly
the greatest warrior and statesman ever pro
duced by the Indian race.
After the battle of Tippecanoe there was
occasional minor trouble with the Indians;
but with the death of Tecumseh their courage
and ambition as a united people was gone
forever. The remnants of the red race were
by degrees removed to the far west ; and their
place was rapidly taken by the hardy pio
neers who poured in from the eastern states
and from Europe. The triumph for the sec
ond time, of American arms over those of
Great Britain, soon after followed; and the
future of the great northwest was assured.
Up to that date there was not a white in
habitant in St. Joseph county; nor indeed
anywhere in northern Indiana.
Sec. 7. — Aaron Burr. — Another interesting
episode in early Indiana history ought to re
ceive at least a passing mention. In 1805,
1806 and 1807, Aaron Burr, once vice-presi
dent of the United States, was engaged in
different places along the Ohio valley in or
ganizing a mysterious enterprise, now believed

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

103

to have been intended for the founding of
an independent southwestern republic, to
embrace Mexican and American territory.
Some are of the opinion that Burr's ambition
looked to the uniting of all the states and
territories of the Mississippi valley, with
Mexico, into one great central state of which
he should be chief. Amongst other places
Burr visited Jeffersonville, Vincennes and
Kaskaskia. He was arrested early in 1807,
and his vast project, whatever may have been
its nature, suddenly collapsed.
See. 8. — Formation of Illinois Territory.
— As the population of the Indiana territory
increased the need of a division into two
territories became greater. Congress yielded
to the wishes of the people in the matter, and,
by an act approved February 3, 1809, de
clared that from and after March 1, 1809, all
that part of the Indiana territory lying west
of the Wabash river, and a direct line north
from Post Vincennes to the British posses
sions, should form a separate territory, to
be called the Illinois territory. The popula
tion of the whole of the Indiana territory at
that time was about twenty-eight thousand;
eleven thousand being in the Illinois division,
and seventeen thousand in Indiana proper.
The cutting off of the territory of Illinois left
the capital of Indiana on the extreme west
of the territory; and an agitation soon de
veloped for its removal from Vincennes to
some more central point. By an act of the
general assembly, approved March 11, 1813,
the capital of the territory was fixed at Cory-
don, Harrison county, from and after May 1,
1813. The capital remained at Corydon until
it was removed to Indianapolis, in 1825, as
provided in Sec. 11, article XI of the consti
tution of 1816. By reason of the absence of
Governor Harrison in the wars with the In
dians and with Great Britain, the active duties
of the office of governor devolved for the time
upon the secretary, General John Gibson. It
was by his call as governor that this last meet
ing of the general assembly was held at Vin
cennes. On February 27, 1813, President

Madison appointed Thomas Posey, then a
senator of the United States from Tennessee,
as governor of the new Indiana territory, then
reduced very nearly to the territorial limits
of the present state of Indiana.
VII. ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE.
Sec. 1. — Periods of Growth. — During the
thirty-one years from the close of the Revo
lutionary war, and the signing of the treaty
of Paris, September 3, 1783, to the close of
the second war with Great Britain, and the
signing of the treaty of Ghent, December 24,
1814, Indiana passed through the several
stages of development, until she reached the
full maturity of her growth as a common
wealth. The time during which she was a
part of the county of Illinois, nursed and
cared for by the mother state of Virginia,
may be considered the period of her infancy ;
the time during which she was a part of the
northwest territory, trained and guided by the
national authority, and governed by the ordi
nance of 1787 and other laws adopted for
her protection, may be considered as the
period of her childhood; the time during
which she was a part of the vast Indiana terri
tory and entrusted with the forms if not the
reality of self government, may be considered
as the period of her immature youth ; the time
during which she was regarded as a separate
and distinct territory, allowed to legislate in
a limited manner for her own particular
needs, and called upon to defend her integrity
by the shedding of her blood at Tippecanoe
and in battle with the British oppressor, may
be considered as the period of her adolescence.
It was then recognized that the time of her
full maturity was at hand, and that she was
entitled to take her place as one of the sister
states of the Union.
Sec. 2. — Admission Into the Union. — On
December 14, 1815, a memorial to congress,
praying for the admission of Indiana as a
state, was adopted by the general assembly of
the territory; and, on the 28th of the same
month, was laid before congress by Jonathan

104

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Jennings, the territorial delegate. The
memorial recited the provision of the ordi
nance of 1787, that when the free ^popula-
tion of the territory should be sixty thousand
or over, the territory should be admitted into
the Union on an equal footing with the origi
nal states, and stating that a census taken by
legislative authority showed that Indiana had
more than the requisite population. In com
pliance with this request of the legislature,
congress passed an enabling act, approved
April 19, 1816, providing for an election to
be held in the several counties of the territory,
May 13, 1816, to select delegates to a conven
tion to frame a state constitution.
The convention consisted of forty-three
members, elected from thirteen counties, as
follows: Wayne, 4; Franklin, 5; Dearborn,
3; Switzerland, 1; Jefferson, 3; Clark, 5;
Harrison, 5 ; Washington, 5 ; Knox, 5 ; Gibson,
4; Warrick, 1; Perry, 1; and Posey, 1. It
will be noticed that these counties were almost
altogether on the Ohio and Wabash rivers.
Indiana's first settlements were along the
rivers on the southern borders ; and the settlers
were almost all from the states and territories
south and southeast of the Ohio. The popula
tion of the thirteen counties sending delegates
to the constitutional convention of 1816, was
sixty-three thousand, eight hundred and
ninety-seven. Two additional counties, Or
ange and Jackson, also in the extreme south,
were organized in 1816, under authority of
the territorial legislature; but not in time to
send delegates to the constitutional conven
tion. The convention began its deliberations at
Corydon, on June 10, 1816, and completed the
framing of the constitution, on June 29, 1816.
Jonathan Jennings presided over the conven
tion, and William Hendricks was chosen secre
tary. On the completion of their work, presi
dent Jennings, as required by the constitution
issued to the sheriffs of the several counties
writs of election, fixing the first Monday of
August, 1816, for the election of a governor
and other state officers. Jonathan Jennings

was elected first governor, receiving 5,211
votes, to 3,934 cast for Thomas Posey, then
governor of the territory. William Hendricks
was elected first representative of Indiana in
the house of representatives of the United
States. The first general assembly, chosen at the
same election, began its session at Corydon
on Monday, November 4, 1816. Christopher
Harrison, elected lieutenant governor, pre
sided over the senate; and Isaac Blackford,
the famous jurist, was elected speaker of the
house of representatives. The governor and
lieutenant governor were inaugurated Novem
ber 7, 1816 ; John Paul having been previously
chosen president pro tempore of the senate.
Thereupon the territorial government came to
a close. By a joint resolution of congress,
approved December 11, 1816, Indiana was
formally admitted as a sovereign state of the
Union. On November 8, 1816, the general
assembly elected James Noble and Waller
Taylor as the first senators to represent the
state in the United States senate. The ses
sion closed on January 3, 1817.
Sec. 3. — Population and Revenues. — The
population of Indiana when admitted into the
Union, in 1816, was less than seventy thou
sand; but such an impetus was given to
emigration by the organization of the state
government that the census of 1820 showed
that the state then contained 147,178 inhabit
ants. The revenues of the state continued for
many years to be derived from a tax upon
lands, as had been the practice during the
territorial government. This tax was not, as
at present, a percentage of the valuation, but
a fixed sum per hundred acres according to
the quality of the land. For this purpose, all
lands were deemed to be of first rate, second
rate and third rate. In the beginning, first
rate lands were assessed at one dollar per
hundred acres; second rate, eighty-seven and
a half cents ; and third rate fifty to sixty-two
and a half cents. In 1821, the assessment on
first rate lands had increased to one dollar
and fifty cents on each hundred acres, and on

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

105

other lands accordingly. In 1831, the assess
ment on first rate lands fell to eighty cents a
hundred; second rate, to sixty cents; and
third rate to forty cents. By an act approved
February 7, 1835, the method of assessment
was changed to our present ad valorem sys
tem; and the assessor was directed to assess
land for taxation at its true value, or, as
the act expressed it, "as he would appraise
the same in the payment of a just debt due
from a solvent debtor." County revenues
were raised principally from poll taxes and
license fees, until the adoption of the ad
valorem system.
Sec. 4. — Boundaries. — The boundaries of
the state of Indiana, as fixed by the enabling
act'of congress, approved April 19, 1816, and
as agreed to by an ordinance passed by the
constitutional convention, at Corydon, June
29, 1816, are as follows: On the east, "the
meridian line which forms the western bound
ary of the state of Ohio;" on the south, "the
river Ohio, from the mouth of the great
Miami river to the mouth of the river Wa
bash;" on the west, "a line drawn along the
middle of the Wabash, from its mouth to a
point where a due north line drawn from
the town of Vincennes would last touch the
northwestern shore of the said river; and
from thence, by a due north line, until the
same shall intersect an east and west line
drawn through a point ten miles north of the
southern extreme of Lake Michigan ; ' ' and on
the north, "the said east and west line, until
the same shall intersect the first mentioned
meridian line, which forms the western bound
ary of the state of Ohio." It was provided
in the enabling act of congress that if the
constitutional convention of Indiana should
fail to ratify these boundaries, then the
boundaries of the state should be as fixed in
the ordinance of 1787.
It would seem that the boundaries as fixed
by the enabling act of congress, and as agreed
to by the constitutional convention of the
state, were so definite that no dispute could
arise concerning them ; yet each of the bound

aries, except that between Indiana and Illinois
has been the subject of contention. The west-
ern boundary is exactly that fixed in the ordi
nance of 1787 ; and also that fixed by the act
of congress, approved February 3, 1809, sett
ing off the territory of Illinois from that of
Indiana; except that the ordinance of 1787
fixes simply the "Wabash river," from its
mouth to Vincennes, as part of the boundary ;
and the act setting off Illinois territory de
fines that territory to be "all that part of
the Indiana territory which lies west of the
Wabash river, ' ' and the direct line north from .
Vincennes. The wording of the ordinance of
1787, "the Wabash river," would doubtless
be interpreted to mean the middle line of that
river • and the line is so defined in the enabling
act providing for the admission of Indiana as
a state. In the act setting off the territory of
Illinois, however, it might be contended that
as Illinois "lies west of the Wabash river,"
the boundary must be the west margin of
that river. No such contention has ever been
made by the state of Indiana. Yet such a
conclusion has been reached as to the southern
boundary of the state. The enabling act
provided, as we have seen, that the state
should be bounded on the south "by the river
Ohio ; ' ' and this would seem to mean the mid
dle line of the river. The ordinance of 1787
also provided that "the middle state," that
is, Indiana, should be bounded on the south
"by the Ohio." The plain interpretation
here also would seem to be that the middle
line, or thread of the stream, should form the
southern boundary of the state. But the
words have not been so interpreted. In the
act of cession by the legislature of Virginia,
passed December 20, 1783, and in the deed of
cession, made March 1, 1784, the territory
ceded to the United States is described as
"being to the northwest of the river Ohio."
The territory on both sides of the Ohio, and
the river itself, were at the time a part of
Virginia; and the contention was early made
by Kentucky, as succeeding to the rights of
Virginia, that no part of the river was in-

106

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

eluded in the northwest territory, and conse
quently that no part of it could pass by the
deed of cession. The ordinance of 1787 itself
was "for the government of the territory of
the United States northwest of the river
Ohio. ' ' The claim of Kentucky has been sus
tained by the courts ; and the southern bound
ary of Indiana is the low water mark on the
northwest bank of the Ohio river, as the same
existed when the boundary was fixed. As the
river has since receded to the south in some
places, we have the anomaly that parts of the
state of Kentucky are at present located on
the Indiana side of the river.
The rights of Indiana, however, as to the
use and navigation of the Ohio, and also as
to civil and criminal jurisdiction on the river,
have been made secure. By section seven of
an act concerning the erection of the district
of Kentucky into an independent state,
passed by the commonwealth of Virginia, De
cember 18, 1789, it was provided, "that the
use and navigation of the river Ohio, so far
as the territory of the proposed state of
[Kentucky] , or the territory which shall re
main within the limits of this commonwealth
lies therein, shall be free and common to the
citizens of the United States ; and the respec
tive jurisdictions of this commonwealth, and
of the proposed state, on the river as afore
said, shall be concurrent only with the states
which may possess the opposite shores of the
said river."0 The framers of the constitu
tion of 1816 seemed satisfied simply to declare
the boundaries of the state ; but the framers
of the constitution of 1851, while repeating
this declaration, took pains to add, in accord
ance with the act of the commonwealth of
Virginia, that "the state of Indiana shall
possess jurisdiction and sovereignty co-exten
sive with the boundaries declared in the pre
ceding section ; and shall have concurrent
jurisdiction, in civil and criminal eases, with
the state of Kentucky, on the Ohio river, and
with the state of Illinois, on the Wabash river,
so far as said rivers form the common bound
ed Vol. 1, Revised Laws of Virginia, p. 59.

ary between this state and said states respec
tively."0 The enabling act defines the eastern boun
dary of Indiana. to be "the meridian line
which forms the western boundary of the
state of Ohio." The ordinance of 1787 pro
vided that "the eastern state," that is, Ohio
should be bounded on the west by "a direct
line drawn due north from the mouth of the
Great Miami" to the British possessions. In
the enabling act of congress for the admis
sion of Ohio, approved April 30, 1802, the
same western boundary was fixed for that
state. But in the act approved May 7, 1800,
separating Indiana from the northwestern
territory, the eastern boundary of Indiana,
as we have already seen, was declared to be
"the line beginning at the Ohio, opposite
to the mouth of Kentucky river, and run
ning thence to Fort Recovery, and thence
north, until it shall intersect the territorial
line between the United States and Canada."
Yet, in the same act, it was also provided,
' ' That whenever that part of the territory of
the United States which lies to the eastward
of a line beginning at the mouth of the Great
Miami river, running thence due north to
the territorial line between the United States
and Canada, shall be erected into an inde
pendent state, and admitted into the Union on
an equal footing with the original states,
thenceforth said line shall become and re
main permanently the boundary line between
such state and the Indiana territory; any
thing in this act contained to the contrary
notwithstanding." As Ohio was admitted
with the Great Miami meridian as her west
ern boundary, it would seem that she could
have no claim to this irregular line by way
of Fort Recovery: and, indeed, such imagi
nary claim, as a practical question, has long
since been relinquished. Indiana has never
stood out for the three mile strip west of
Fort Recovery, now a part of the state of
a. See Sec. 17, Art. XI, constitution of 1816;
Sees. 1 and 2, Art. XIV, constitution of 1851;
Welsh v. State, 126 Ind. 71; 5 Wheaton (U. S.)
374; and 163 U. S. 520.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

107

Ohio; and Ohio has abandoned any fancied
claim to the wedge-shaped territory south of
Fort Recovery, now a part of the state of
Indiana. The old Indian boundary line, de
scribed in the treaty of Greenville, and ex
tending- southwesterly from Fort Recovery to
a point on the Ohio opposite the mouth of the
Kentucky river, is, however, yet found on
many Indiana maps, as a historic reminder
of the contention once entertained between
the two states.
But it was as to the northern boundary
of the state that there was chief contention.
The ordinance of 1787, after providing for
the boundaries of the minimum number of
three states into which the northwest ter
ritory should be divided, provided further
that, if deemed expedient, congress should
have authority "to form one or two states
in that part of said territory which lies
north of an east and west line drawn through
the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michi
gan. " The enabling act, however, provided
that the northern boundary of Indiana
should be "an east and west line drawn
through a point ten miles north of the south
ern extreme of Lake Michigan." The state
of Indiana, therefore, extends ten miles north
of the line provided in the ordinance of 1787
as the boundary between Ohio, Indiana and
Illinois, on the south, and Michigan and Wis
consin on the north. This east and west line
through the southern bend of Lake Michigan
is sometimes called the ordinance boundary
line and sometimes the old Michigan or In
diana boundary line. In St. Joseph county
this old ordinance line runs through the town
ships of Penn, Center, Greene, Warren and
Olive ; leaving Osceola, Mishawaka, South
Bend, New Carlisle, and the larger part of
the county in what would have been the state
of Michigan, according to the ordinance of
1787. The ordinance boundary line is often
referred to in the old records. As late as
the May term, 1835, of the board of county
commissioners of St. Joseph county, viewers
were appointed "to view and lay out a road

leading from the Michigan road east as near
as practicable on the old Indiana boundary
line, between, sections thirty-five, township
thirty-seven, range two east, and section two,
township thirty-six east, to the county line
of Elkhart." On the first day of the Sep
tember term, being September 7, 1835, the
viewers reported that they had laid out the
road, "Begining at the Michigan road, at
the intersection of the Indiana old boundary
line; running thence east on and as near on
the said old boundary line as practicable,
to the county line of Elkhart county. ' ' This
report was approved and the road located
and ordered opened to the width of forty
feet. The people of Michigan contended ear
nestly for the ordinance boundary line, claim
ing that any other boundary would be ille
gal and unconstitutional, for the reason that
the provisions of the ordinance of 1787 in
this regard .were irrevocable, as defining the
boundaries of the five states to be created out
of the northwest territory. It appears that
when the ordinace of 1787 was passed the
true latitude of the southern extremes of
Lake Michigan and Lake Erie was not known.
At any rate, the people of Ohio at that time
seem to have been of the opinion that an
east and west line through the southern bend
of Lake Michigan would strike Lake Erie
north of Maumee bay. As if to force such
an interpretation of the ordinance, a line
was actually surveyed from the southerly
bend of Lake Michigan to the northerly cape
of Maumee bay. The order for this survey
was made by act of congress; and the in
tention of congress was to mark the old
ordinance boundary. The survey was, how
ever, made under direction of the Ohio sur
veyor general, and he had the survey made
according to the views of the Ohio author
ities. This line is called the Ohio line, and
also the "Harris line," from the name of the
surveyor. In the final settlement of the dis
pute, Ohio succeeded in making, or retain
ing, the Harris line as the northern boundary

108

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of that state. Michigan was reluctantly per
suaded to receive in exchange for the terri
tory taken from her the upper peninsula
of that state; and a most valuable exchange
it has turned out to be. The Harris line
was never accepted as the northern boundary
of Indiana ; neither did this state accept the
ordinance boundary, but took an indepen
dent, or perhaps, we might say, an arbitrary,
position, insisting upon a ten mile strip north
of the ordinance line, and giving as a rea
son for such insistence that otherwise she
would be cut off from the navigation of Lake
Michigan and the other great lakes. The
Harris, or Ohio, line would not satisfy In
diana any better than the ordinance line;
for both would prevent her from having a
harbor on the great lakes. Michigan did
not at first make a very strong contention
against Indiana's claim.3- There were then
no settlements in northern Indiana or south
western Michigan; whereas the territory in
dispute between Ohio and Michigan included
the town of Toledo and a rapidly growing
district in the vicinity. The northern boun
dary of Indiana is an east and west line, but
the northern boundary of Ohio, the Harris
line, runs a little north of east, beginning
on the east line of Indiana, "at a point about
four miles and a half south of the northern
boundary of Indiana and running east by
north to include the city of Toledo and
Maumee bay. Neither did the ordinance line
mark the boundary between Illinois and
Wisconsin. Had it done so, Chicago would
have been in Wisconsin, as it was at one
time supposed to be. The northern boundary
provided for in the ordinance of 1787, "an
east and west line drawn through the south
erly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan,"
has therefore been wholly obliterated. For
a very full and interesting treatment of the
subject of our northern boundary line, see
a. For a controversy that arose later in Michi
gan, see Northwestern Pioneer, published at South
Bend, May 2 and June 6, 1832.

chapter sixth of Daniel's History of Laporte
County, Indiana.0
Sec. 5. — The Name of the State. — The
name of our state, "Indiana," does not ap
pear in our history until the passage of the
act of congress, approved May 7, 1800, pro
viding that all the northwest territory, west
of a line through Fort Recovery, should
"constitute a separate territory, and be
called Indiana Territory." The name thus
given is very dear to the people of this state,
not only from the beauty of the word itself,
but even more from its association with our
history, as a territory and as a state, now
for over a hundred years. Indiana terri
tory included, at first not only the territory
now forming our state, but also a part of
that of Ohio and Michigan, all of Illinois and
Wisconsin, and even part of Minnesota. As
the successive territories were set off, how
ever, and the territories themselves were
erected into states, the beloved name re
mained with us. Other names were found for
our sister commonwealths: Ohio, Illinois,
Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota; all in
deed beautiful, with their melodious French
and Indian suggestions, but none of them
comparable to our own Indiana.
There has been comparatively little dis
cussion as to the origin of the name. It
would seem indeed that the origin should he
evident. When the territorial government
was set up in the year 1800, the country was
almost wholly occupied by the Indians. So
far as occupancy was concerned, it was the
Indian land. In ancient and modern times,
in Europe as well as America, the suffix a,
when added to a word, has been understood
to mean land, country or place. Greece was
known as Greeia; Italy, as Italia; Germany,
as Germania. So we have Russia, Prussia,
Austria, Australia, Pennsylvania, Virginia,
Louisiana and many others. Indiana means
nothing therefore but Indian land or In
dian country.
a. Daniels' Hist. La Porte County, Indiana,
PP. 44-62. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chi
cago.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

109

It appears, however, that our state was not
the first to bear the pleasant sounding name.
In an interesting paper read before the
Wayne County Historical Society, Mr. Cyrus
W. Hodgin tells the story of an older In
diana.0 At the close of the French and Indian
war, in 1763, says Mr. Hodgin, a Philadelphia
trading company was formed to engage in the
fur trade on the Ohio. The company sent
its agents into the Ohio valley with large
quantities of goods to exchange for furs and
other products which the Indians were accus
tomed to bring to the trading posts. In the
fall of that year, certain bands of Indians
who wefe tributary to the Iroquois confed
eracy, attacked the agents of the Philadelphia
company at a point a little below the site
of the present city of Wheeling, and seized
upon the goods of the company, which they
appropriated to their own use. In compen
sation for this loss, the Iroquois transferred
to the company a tract of nearly five thou
sand square miles of land lying south of
the Ohio and east of the Great Kanawha, — a
tract equal in extent to the state of Con
necticut. To this princely domain the com
pany gave the name of Indiana, — Indian
land. In 1776 the tract was conveyed to a
new company, known as the Indiana Land
Company. Virginia, however, refused to ac
knowledge the Indian title held by the com
pany. A resort to the courts was equally
unavailing. The eleventh amendment to the
constitution of the United States, denying to
citizens of one state the right to bring any ac
tion or suit against another sovereign state
of the Union, was declared adopted, by proc
lamation of the president, issued January 8,
1798; and so the long contested case was
stricken from the docket of the supreme court
of the United States. The Indiana Land
Company having lost its claim, the company
itself passed out of existence; and the name
"Indiana" was but a memory, until, in 1800,
a. The Naming of Indiana, by Cyrus W. Hod
gin, Richmond, Ind., 1903.

it was bestowed upon this commonwealth,
now the great central state of the Union. It is
not at all probable that the naming of our
state had any connection with the name of
the eastern Indiana. Accidentally the name
is the same; but in each case, undoubtedly,
the name given had direct • reference to the
Indians who occupied the country.
Sec. 6. — The Title of Hoosier. — But we
have another name, a loving, pet name, the
"Hoosier State." While comparatively little
has been said or written as to the origin of the
name "Indiana," very much has been said
and written as to the origin of this good-
natured name, "Hoosier."
In the paper already referred to, "The
Naming of Indiana," Mr. Hodgin has
brought together various anecdotes and sug
gestions that have been advanced in explana
tion of the origin of the name. Since about
the year 1830, he says, Indiana has been fa
miliarly known as the Hoosier State, and the
inhabitants have been called Hoosiers. A
number of explanations of the origin of the
term have been given. Meredith Nicholson,
in his admirable little volume, "The Hoo
siers," has collected these explanations.
They are as follows:
1. An Irishman employed in excavating
the canal around the falls at Louisville de
clared, after a fight in which he had van
quished several fellow workmen, that he was
a "husher. " This was given by Berry R.
Sulgrove as a possible origin of the word.
2. Bartlett, in his "Dictionary of Ameri
canisms," says that the men of superior
strength, the heroes of log-rollings and house-
raisings, were called "hushers" because of
their ability to hush or quiet their antag
onists; and that "husher" was a common
term for a bully. The Ohio river boatmen
carried the word to New Orleans, where a
foreigner among them, in attempting to ap
ply the word to himself, pronounced it
"hoosier." 3. A Louisville baker, named Hoosier,
made a variety of sweet bread which was

110

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

so much enjoyed by Indiana people that they
were called " Hoosier 's customers," " Hoo
sier 's men," " Hoosier 's people," etc. The
Rev. T. A. Goodwin says he first heard the
word at Cincinnati, in 1830, where it was
used to describe a species of gingerbread,
but without reference to Indiana.
4. The Rev. Aaron Wood, a pioneer Meth
odist minister, says the word is a corruption
of Hussar; the corruption originating as
follows: When the young men of the In
diana side of the Ohio crossed over to Louis
ville, the Kentuckians made sport of them,
calling them "New Purchase greenies," and
boasted of their own superiority. Fighting
grew out of these boasts, and an Indianian
who had a great admiration for the prowess
of the soldiers called Hussars, after whip
ping one of the Kentuckians, bent over him
and cried, "I'm a Hoosier," meaning "I'm
a Hussar."5. But, concludes Mr. Hodgin, the most
probable explanation is that the word is a
corruption of "Who's here?" In my child
hood, in the backwoods of Randolph county,
I often heard the response, "Who's here?"
to the rap at the door late at night, after
the latch string had been drawn in. The
word "here," however, was pronounced as
if, in speaking the word "her," the sound
of y were inserted between the h and e, mak
ing it "hyer." "Who's hyer," or "Who's
yer," as it was generally abridged, was a
common response to the rap of the visitor
late at night; and "Who's yer" easily took
the form of "Hoosier."
Some of the foregoing explanations seem
fanciful. From the meaning which has al
ways been attached to the name Hoosier, we
are inclined to the opinion that it may more
likely be derived from "husher," meaning a
strong, resolute fellow who could "hush" a
boasting antagonist in short order; or, per
haps, from "Hussar," a daring soldier. It
may be that both words contributed to give
form and meaning to the term. But see
"Hoozer" in Mr. Dunn's paper, following;

we are inclined to agree with Mr. Dunn's
conclusions. In the number of the Northwestern Pio
neer and St. Joseph's Intelligencer, pub
lished at South Bend, under date of April
4, 1832, we find a humorous paragraph show
ing that the word hoosier was used at that
early date to refer to great size and strength,
and, as such, was applied to the big sturgeons
of Lake Michigan, then our regular spring
time visitors. The paragraph reads:
"A Real Hoosier. — A sturgeon, who no
doubt left Lake Michigan on a trip of pleas
ure, and with a view of spending a few days
in the pure waters of the St. Joseph, had his
joyous anticipations unexpectedly marred by
running foul of a fisherman's spear, near
this place. Being brought on terra firma and
cast into a balance, he was found to weigh
eighty-three pounds." It will be noticed that
the word hoosier, in this paragraph, has no
reference to an Indianian, as such; "a real
hoosier, ' ' as here used, simply means a strong,
husky fellow.
As applied to the human being, the word
seems to have originally conveyed the ideas of
vigorous manhood, hearty good feeling,
shrewdness and good common sense. A
Hoosier was a man to be depended upon,
but not to be trifled with. He was one Who
could do things and was not afraid or ashamed
to do them, in manly fashion. The word
has grown somewhat refined in meaning with
the advancement of the state; but it still
signifies a person of manly bearing, shrewd
ness, ability and kindliness. Such are the
men who have made Indiana great. It is a
noble word, as now used; and every genuine
Indianian is proud to be known as a Hoosier.
The suggestion has also been made that the
good word may have come to us from the'
French "huissier," meaning "usher"; that
is, one appointed to seat people attending a
public meeting and to aid in maintaining or
der. On such occasions the ushers are some
times disposed to display unnecessary author
ity, and so themselves cause more disturb-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Ill

ance than the very audience they are sup
posed to watch over. In a little French clas
sic published in the early part of the seven
teenth century, such over-officious ushers are
referred to, the author saying: The ushers
(les huissiers) make more noise than those
they are appointed to keep quiet.0 The word
"huissier," judging by the spelling, might
by one not acquainted with French, be pro
nounced almost the same as "hoosier," arid
we can fancy in a backwoods meeting, at an
early day hearing the good natured ushers
reproved by some one who remembered the
passage in the little French book, and who
knew how to read French better than he did
how to pronounce the words.
The following paper recently prepared by
Mr. Jacob Piatt Dunn, secretary of the In
diana Historical Society, and published in
the transactions of that society, is the most
complete review of this interesting topic. We
give the paper substantially as written by
Mr. Dunn.
The discussion is admirable and most sat
isfactory, and we believe the distinguished
author has actually found the original of our
Hoosier in the Cumberland "hoozer":
During the period of about three-quarters
of a century in which the state of Indiana
and its people have been designated by the
word "Hoosier," there has been a large
amount of discussion of the origin and mean
ing of the term, but with a notable lack of
any satisfactory result. Some of these dis
cussions have been almost wholly conjectural
in character, but others have been more meth
odical, and of the latter the latest and most
exhaustive— that of Mr. Meredith Nicholson*
— sums up the results in the statement ' ' The
origin of the term 'Hoosier' is not known
with certainty. ' ' Indeed the statement might
properly have been made much broader, for
a consideration of the various theories offered
leaves the unprejudiced investigator with the
feeling that the real solution of the problem
has not even been suggested. This lack of
satisfactory conclusions, however, may be of
a. "Les huissiers font plus de bruit que ceux
qu' ils veulent faire 'taire." Philothea, St. Fran
cis de Sales, Part III., Chapter VIII.
6. "The Hoosiers," pp. 20-30.

some value, for it strongly suggests the prob
ability that the various theorists have made
some false assumption of fact, and have thus
been thrown on a false scent, at the very
beginning of their investigations.
As is natural in such a case, there has
been much of assertion of what was merely
conjectural, often accompanied by the pion
eer's effort to make evidence of his theory
by the statement that he was "in Indiana
at the time and knows the facts." The ac
ceptance of all such testimony would neces
sarily lead to the adoption of several con
flicting conclusions. In addition to this
cause of error, there have crept into the dis
cussion several misstatements of fact that
have been commonly adopted, and it is evi
dent that in order to reach any reliable con
clusion now, it will be necessary to .examine
the facts critically and ascertain what are
tenable. The traditional belief in Indiana is that
the word was first put in print by John
Finley, in his poem "The Hoosier 's Nest,"
and this is noted by Berry Sulgrove, who
was certainly as well acquainted with In
diana tradition as any man of his time.0
This belief is at least probably well founded,
for up to the present time no prior use of
the word in print has been discovered. This
poem attracted much attention at the time,
and was unquestionably the chief cause of
the widespread adoption of the word in its
application to Indiana, for which reasons it
becomes a natural starting-point in the in
quiry. It is stated by Oliver H. Smith that this
poem originally appeared as a New Year's
"carriers' address" of the Indianapolis
Journal in 1830,B and this statement has
commonly been followed by other writers,
but this is clearly erroneous, as any one may
see by inspection of the files of the Journal,
for it printed its address in the body of the
paper in 1830, and it is a totally different
production. After that year it discontinued
this practice and issued its addresses on sep
arate sheets, as is commonly done at present.
No printed copy of the original publication
is in existence, so far as known, but Mr.
Finley 's daughter — Mrs. Sarah Wrigley,
former librarian of the Morrison Library, at
Richmond, Indiana — has a manuscript copy,
a. History of Indianapolis and Marion County,
p. 72.
6. "Early Indiana Trials and Sketches," p. 211.

112

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

in the author's handwriting, which fixes the
date of publication as Jan. 1, 1833. There
is no reason to question this date, although
Mr. Finley states in his little volume of poems
printed in 1860, that this poem was written
in 1830. The poem as it originally appeared
was never reprinted in full, so far as is
known, and in that form it is entirely un
known to the present generation, although
it has been reproduced in several forms, and
in two of them by direct authority of the
author.0 The author used his privilege of
revising his work, and while he may have
improved his poetry, he seriously marred its
historical value.
As the manuscript copy is presumably a
literal transcript of the original publication,
with possibly the exception that the title may
have been added at a later date, I repro
duce it here in full :
ADDRESS
OF THE CARRIER OF THE INDIANAPOLIS
JOURNAL,
January 1, 1833.
THE HOOSIER'S NEST.
Compelled to seek the Muse's aid,
Your carrier feels almost dismay'd
When he attempts in nothing less
Than verse his patrons to address,
Aware how very few excel
In the fair art he loves so well,
And that the wight who would pursue it
Must give his whole attention to it;
But, ever as his mind delights
To follow fancy's airy flights
Some object of terrestrial mien
Uncourteously obtrudes between
And rudely scatters to the winds
The tangled threads of thought he spins;
His wayward, wild imagination
Seeks objects of its own creation
Where Joy and Pleasure, hand in hand,
Escort him over "Fairyland,"
Till some imperious earth-born care
Will give the order, "As you were!"
From this the captious may infer
That I am but a groveling cur
Who would essay to pass for more
Than other people take me for,
So, lest my friends be led to doubt it,
I think I'll say no more about it,
But hope that on this noted day
My annual tribute of a lay
In dogg'rel numbers will suffice
For such as are not over nice.
a. Coggeshall's "The Poets and Poetry of the
West," and Finley's "The Hoosier's Nest and Other
Poems" published in 1860.

The great events which have occur'd
(And all have seen, or read or heard)
Within a year, are quite too many
For me to tarry long on any —
Then let not retrospection roam
But be confined to things at home.
A four years' wordy war just o'er**
Has left us where we were before
Old Hick'ry triumphs, — we submit
(Although we thought another fit)
For all of Jeffersonian school
Wish the majority to rule —
Elected for another term
We hope his measures will be firm
But peaceful, as the case requires
To nullify the nullifiers —
And if executive constructions
By inf'rence prove the sage deductions
That Uncle Sam's "old Mother Bank"
Is managed by a foreign crank
And constituted by adoption
The "heir apparent" of corruption —
No matter if the facts will show
That such assertions are not so,
His Veto vengeance must pursue her
And all that are appended to her —
But tho' hard times may sorely press us,
And want, and debts, and duns distress us,
We'll share a part of Mammon's manna
By chart'ring Banks in Indiana.
Blest Indiana! In whose soil
Men seek the sure rewards of toil,
And honest poverty and worth
Find here the best retreat on earth,
While hosts of Preachers, Doctors, Lawyers,
All independent as wood-sawyers,
With men- of every hue and fashion,
Flock to this rising "Hoosher" nation.
Men who can legislate or plow,
Wage politics or milk a cow —
So plastic are their various parts,
Within the circle of their arts,
With equal tact the "Hoosher" looms,
Hunt offices or hunt raccoons.
A captain, colonel, or a 'squire,
Who would ascend a little higher,
Must court the people, honest souls,
He bows, caresses and cajoles,
Till they conceive he has more merit
Than nature willed he should inherit,
And, running counter to his nature,
He runs into the Legislature;
Where if he pass for wise and mute,
Or chance to steer the proper chute,
In half a dozen years or more
He's qualified for Congress floor.
I would not have the world suppose
Our public men are all like those,
For even in this infant State
Some may be wise, and good, and great.
But, having gone so far, 'twould seem
(Since "Hoosher" manners is the theme)
That I, lest strangers take exception,
Should give a more minute description, i
And if my strains be not seraphic
I trust you'll find them somewhat graphic.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

113

Suppose in riding somewhere West
A stranger found a "Hoosher's" nest,
In other words, a buckeye cabin
Just big enough to hold Queen Mab in,
Its situation low but airy
Was on the borders of a prairie,
And fearing he might be benighted
. He hailed the house and then alighted.
The "Hoosher" met him at the door,
Their salutations soon were o'er;
He took the stranger's horse aside
And to a sturdy sapling tied;
Then, having stripped the saddle off,
He fed him in a sugar trough.
The stranger stooped to enter in,
The entrance closing with a pin,
And manifested strong desire
To seat him by the log heap fire,
Where half a dozen Hoosheroons,
With mush and milk, tincups and spoons,
White heads, bare feet and dirty faces,
Seemed much inclined to keep their places,
But Madam, anxious to display
Her rough and undisputed sway,
Her offspring to the ladder led
And cuffed the youngsters up to bed.
Invited shortly to partake
Of venison, milk and johnny-cake
The stranger made a hearty meal
And glances round the room would steal;
One side was lined with skins of "varments"
The other spread with divers garments,
Dried pumpkins overhead were strung
Where venison hams in plenty hung,
Two rifles placed above the door,
Three dogs lay stretched upon the floor,
In short, the domicile was rife,
With specimens of "Hoosher" life.
The host who centered his affections
On game and range, and quarter sections
Discoursed his weary guest for hours,
Till Somnus' ever potent powers
Of sublunary cares bereft them
And then I came away and left them.
No matter how the story ended
The application I intended
Is from the famous Scottish poet
Who seemed to feel as well as know it
"That buirdly chiels and clever hizzies
Are bred in sic a way as this is."
One more subject I'll barely mention
To which I ask your kind attention
My pockets are so shrunk of late
I can not nibble "Hoosher bait."
It will be noted that throughout the manu
script the word is spelled "Hoosher" and is
always put in quotation marks. Mrs. Wrig-
ley informs me that her father had no knowl
edge of the origin of the word, but found it
in verbal use when he wrote. She is confi
dent, however, that he coined the word
"hoosheroon," and the probability of this
is increased by the fact that he did not quote
it in his manuscript. In later editions of
the poem he used the form "Hoosier." His
8

original spelling shows that the word was not
common in print, and several years passed
beforethe spelling became fixed in its present
form. Although the word "Hoosier" has not
been found in print earlier than January
1, 1833, it became common enough immedi
ately afterwards.0 In fact the term seems
to have met general approval, and to have
been accepted by everybody. On January
8, 1833, at the Jackson dinner at Indian
apolis, John W. Davis gave the toast, "The
Hooshier State of Indiana."6 On August 3,
1833, the Indiana Democrat published the
following prospectus of a new paper to be
established by ex-Gov. Ray and partner:
Prospectus for Publishing
THE HOOSIER
At Greencastle, Indiana
By J. B. Ray & W. M. Tannehill.
"We intend publishing a real Newspaper.
To this promise (though comprehensive
enough) we would add, that it is intended to
make the moral and political world con
tribute their full share, in enriching its
columns. "The arts and sciences, and agriculture
and commerce, and literature shall all re
ceive a due portion of our care.
"Left to our choice we might refrain from
remark on presidential matters; but suppos
ing, that you may require an intimation,
suffice it to say, that our past preference
has been for General Jackson and his ad
ministration; and we deem it premature to
decide as to the future without knowing who
are to be the candidates. Those men who
shall sustain Western measures, shall be our
men. Believing that there is but one interest
in the West, and but little 'occasion for
partyism beyond the investigation of princi
ples and the conduct of functionaries, we
would rather encourage union than excite
division. We shall constantly keep in view
the happiness, interest and prosperity of all.
To the good, this paper will be as a shield ;
to the had, a terror.
"The Hoosier will be published weekly, at
$2 in advance and 25 cents for every three
a. For modification of this statement see ex
tract from the N. W. Pioneer of April 4, 1832,
printed, supra, in this subdivision.
5. Indiana Democrat, Jan. 12, 1833.

114

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

months delay of payment, per annum, on
a good sheet of paper of superroyal size,
to be enlarged to an imperial as the subscrip
tion will justify it.
"This paper shall do honor to the people
of Putnam county; and we expect to see
them patronize us. The press is now at
Greeneastle. Let subscription papers be re
turned by the 1st of Sept. when the first
number will appear."
On Oct. 26, 1833, the Indiana Democrat
republished from the Cincinnati Republican
a discussion of the origin v and making of the
word "Hoosier," which will be quoted in
full hereafter, which shows that the term had
then obtained general adoption. C. F. Hoff
man, a traveler who passed through the
northern part of the state, says, under date
of Dee. 29, 1833:
"I am now ir the land of the Hooshiers,
and find that long-haired race much more
civilized than some of their Western neigh
bors are willing to represent them. The term
'Hooshier,' like that of Yankee, or Buck
eye, first applied contemptuously, has now be
come a soubriquet that bears nothing in
vidious with it to the ear of an Indianian."0
On Jan. 4, 1834, the Indiana Democrat
quoted from the Maysville, Ky., Monitor,
"The Hoosier State like true democrats have
taken the lead in appointing delegates to a
National Convention, etc." On May 10,
1834, the Indianapolis Journal printed the
following editorial paragraph:
"The Hooshier, started some time ago by
Messrs. Ray and Tannehill, at Greeneastle,
has sunk into repose; and a new paper en
titled the 'Greeneastle Advertiser,' published
by James M. Grooms, has taken its place."
It is quite possible that this statement was
made with the mischievous intent of stirring
up Gov. Ray, for he was rather sensitive,
and the Whi'gs seemed to delight in starting
stories that called forth indignant denials
from him. If this was the purpose it was
successful, for on May 31 the Journal said:
"We understand that another No. of the
Hooshier has been recently received in town,
and that it contains quite a bitter complaint
about our remark a week or two ago, that it
had 'sunk into repose.' We assure the
Editor that we made the remark as a mere
matter of news, without any intention to re
joice at the suspension of the paper. Several
weeks had passed over without any paper
a. "A Winter in the West," p. 226.

being received, and it was currently reported
that it had 'Mowed out' and therefore, as a
mere passing remark, we stated that it had
'sunk into repose.' We have no objection
that it should live a thousand years. ' '
The new paper, however, did not last as
long as that. It was sold in the fall of 1834
to J. W. Osborn who continued the publica
tion, but changed the name, in the following
spring, to the "Western Plough Boy." On
Sept. 19, 1834, the Indiana Democrat had the
following reference to Mr. Finley:
"The poet laureate of Hoosierland and
editor of the Richmond Palladium has
threatened to 'cut acquaintance with B. of
the Democrat ! ! ' The gentleman alluded to
is the same individual that was unceremon
iously robbed, by the Cincinnati Chronic!-;,
of the credit of immortalizing our State in
verse, by that justly celebrated epic of the
' Hoosier 's Nest.' "
On Nov. 29, 1834, the Vincennes Sun used
the caption, "Hoosier and Mammoth Pump
kins," over an article reprinted from the
Cincinnati Mirror concerning a load of big
pumpkins from Indiana.
These extracts sufficiently demonstrate the
general acceptation of the name in the two
years following the publication of Finley 's
poem. The diversified spelling of the word
at this period shows that it was new in print,
and indeed some years elapsed before the
now accepted spelling became universal. On
Jan. 6, 1838, the Ft. Wayne Sentinel re
published the portion of the poem beginning
with the words, "Blest Indiana, in her soil."
It was very probable that this publication
was made directly from an original copy of
the carrier's address, for Thomas Tigar, one
of the founders and editors of the Ft. Wayne
Sentinel, had been connected with the In
dianapolis Press in January, 1833, and the.
old-fashioned newspaperman was accustomed
to preserve articles that struck his fancy,
and reproduce them. In this publication the
poem is given as in the Finley manuscript,
except that the first two times the word
occurs it is spelled "hoosier" and once after
ward "hoosheer," the latter evidently a typo
graphical error. At the other points it is
spelled "hoosher." This original form of
the word also indicates that there had been
some change in the pronunciation, and this
is confirmed from another source. For many
years there had been periodical discussions
of the origin of the word in the newspapers of

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

115

the State, and in one of these, which occurred
in the Indianapolis Journal, in 1860, when
numerous contemporaries of Finley were still
living, Hon. Jere Smith, a prominent citizen
of Winchester, made this statement:
"My recollection is that the word began
to be used in this country in the fall of
1824, but it might have been as late as 1826
or 1827, when the Louisville & Portland
canal was being made. I first heard it at a
corn-husking. It was used in the sense of
'rip-roaring,' 'half horse' and 'half alli
gator,' and such like backwoods coinages. It
was then, and for some years afterwards,
spoken as if spelled 'husher,' the 'u' hav
ing the sound it has in 'bush,' 'push,' etc.
In 1829, 1830 and 1831 its sound glided into
'hoosher,' till finally Mr. Finley 's ' Hoosier 's
Nest' made the present orthography and
pronunciation classical, and it has remained
so since. ' '°
Of course, this is not conclusive evidence
that there was a change in pronunciation,
for Mr. Smith's observation may have ex
tended to one neighborhood only, and it may
have taken on a variant pronunciation at the
start, but his testimony, in connection with
the changed spelling, is certainly very
plausible. There have been offered a number of ex
planations of the origin of the word, and
naturally those most commonly heard are
those that have been most extensively pre
sented in print. Of the "authorities" oh
the subject perhaps the best known is Bart
lett 's "Dictionary of Americanisms" which
was originally published in 1838 and was
widely circulated in that and the subsequent
edition, besides being frequently quoted. Its
statement is as follows:
"Hoosier. A nickname given at the West,
to natives of Indiana.
"A correspondent of the Providence
Journal, writing from Indiana, gives the fol
lowing account of the origin of this term:
'Throughout all the early Western settle
ments were men who rejoiced in their physi
cal strength, and orr numerous occasions, at
log-rollings and house-raisings, demonstrated
this to their entire satisfaction. They were
styled by their fellow-citizens, hushers, from
their primary capacity to still their op
ponents. It was a common term for a bully
throughout the West. The boatmen of In
diana were formerly as rude and primitive
a. Indianapolis Journal, January 20, 1860.

a set as could well belong to a civilized
country, and they were often in the habit
of displaying their pugilistic accomplish
ments upon the levee at New Orleans. Upon
a certain occasion there one of these rustic
professors of the "noble art" very adroitly
and successfully practiced the "fancy" upon
several individuals at one time. Being him
self not a native of the Western world, in
the exuberance of his exultation he sprang
up, exclaiming, in a foreign accent, "I'm a
hoosier, I'm a hoosier." Some of the New
Orleans papers reported the case, and after
wards transferred the corruption of the
word "husher" (hoosier) to all the boatmen
from Indiana, and from thence to all her
citizens. The Kentuckians, on the contrary,
maintained that the nickname expresses the
gruff exclamation of their neighbors, when
one knocks at a door, etc., "Who's yere?" ' "
Both of these theories have had adherents,
and especially the latter, though nobody has
ever found any basis for their historical fea
tures beyond the assertion of this newspaper
correspondent. Nobody has ever produced
any evidence of the use of the word
"husher" as here indicated. It is not found
in any dictionary of any kind — not even in
Bartlett 's. I have never found any indica
tion of its former use or its present survival.
And there is no greater evidence of the use
of the expression, "Who's yere?" when ap
proaching a house. As a matter of fact, the
common custom when coming to a house and
desiring communication with the residents
was to call, "Hallo the house!" And this
custom is referred to in Finley 's line:
' ' He hailed the house, and then alighted. ' '
Furthermore, if a person who came to a
house called "Who's yere?" what cause
would there be for calling the people who
live in the house "who's yeres?" There is
neither evidence nor reason to support it.
But there is still a stronger reason for dis
carding these theories, and most others. To
produce the change of a word or term by
corruption, there must be practical identity
of sound and accent. It was natural enough
for the Indiana pioneers to convert "au
poste" into "Opost." It was natural
enough for the New Mexican settlers to
change "Jicarilla" to "Hickory." It was
natural enough for the Colorado cowboys to
transform "Purgatoire river" to "Picket-
wire river." But there is scant possibility
of changing "husher," or "who's yere" —

116

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

as it would probably be spoken — into
"hoosh-er." This consideration has led to
the suggestion that the expression from
which the word came was ' ' who is yer ? '¦ ' but
there is nothing to support this. The early
settlers did not use "is" for "are" but
usually pronounced the latter "air." And
they did not say "yer" for "you," though
they often used it for "your."
Another theory, almost as popular as
these, derives the word from "hussar," and
this theory, in its various forms, harks back
to a Col. John Jacob Lehmanowsky, who
served under Napoleon, and afterwards
settled in Indiana, where he became widely
known as a lecturer on the Napoleonic wars.
The tradition preserved in his family is that
once while in Kentucky he became engaged
in a dispute with some natives, and sought
to settle the matter by announcing that he
was a hussar. .They understood him to say
that he was a "hoosier," and thereafter ap
plied that name to everybody from Indiana.
This theory has several shapes, one being
presented by the Rev. Aaron Wood, the pio
neer preacher, thus :
"The name 'hoosier' originated as fol
lows: When the young men- of the Indiana
side of the Ohio river went to Louisville,
the Kentucky men boasted over them, call
ing them 'New Purchase Greenies, ' claiming
to be a superior race, composed of half horse,
half alligator, and tipped off with snapping
turtle. These taunts produced fights in the
market house and streets of Louisville. On
one occasion a stout bully from Indiana was
victor in a fist fight, and having heard
Colonel Lehmanowsky lecture on the 'Wars
of Europe,' who always gave martial
prowess to the German Hussars in a fight,
pronouncing hussars 'hoosiers' the Indian
ian, when the Kentuckian cried 'enough,'
jumped up and said : ' I am a Hoosier, ' and
hence the Indianians were called by that
name. This was its true origin. I was in
the State when it occurred. ' '°
Unfortunately, others are equally positive
as to their "true origins." The chief Ob
jection that has been urged to this theory is
that Lehmanowsky was not in the State
when the term began to be used, and the
evidence on this point is not very satisfactory.
His son, M. L. Lehmanowsky, of DePauw,
Ind., informs me that his father came to this
country in 1815, but he is unable to fix the
a. Sketches, p. 45.

date of his removal to Indiana. Published
sketches of his life0 state that he was with
Napoleon at Waterloo; that he was after
wards imprisoned at Paris; that he escaped
and made his way to New York; that he
remained for several years at New York and
Philadelphia where he taught school; that he
came to Rush county, Indiana, and there
married and bought a farm ; that after bear
ing him seven children his wife died; that
he then removed to Harrison county, arriv
ing there in 1837. These data would indi
cate that he came to Indiana sometime before
1830. The date of the deed to his farm,
as shown by the Rush county records, is
April 30, 1835. Aside from the question of
date, it is not credible that a Polish officer
pronounced "hussar" "hoosier," or that
from the use of that word by a known for
eigner a new term could spring into exist
ence, and so quickly be applied to the natives
of the state where he chanced to live.
To these theories of the origin of the word
may be added one communicated to me by
James Whitcomb Riley, whose acquaintance
with dialect makes him an authority on the
subject. It is evidently of later origin than
the others, and not so well known to the
public. A casual conversation happening to
turn to this subject, he said: "These stories
commonly told about the origin of the word
'Hoosier' are all nonsense. The real origin
is found in the pugnacious habits of the
early settlers. They were very vicious
fighters, and not only gouged and scratched,
but frequently bit off noses and ears. This
was so ordinary an affair that a settler com
ing into a bar room on a morning after a
fight, and seeing an ear on the floor, would
merely push it aside with his foot and care
lessly ask, 'Who's year?' " I feel safe in
venturing the opinion that this theory is
quite as plausible, and almost as well sus
tained by historical evidence, as any of the
others. In this connection it is of interest to note
the earliest known discussion of the mean
ing of the word, which has been referred to
as republished in the Indiana Democrat of
Oct. 26, 1833. It is as follows :
"HOOSHIER.
"The appellation of Hooshier has been
used in many of the Western States, for
a. Salem Democrat, October 25, 1899; March
28, 1900.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

117

several years, to designate, in a good-natured
way, an inhabitant of our sister state of In
diana. Ex-Governor Ray has lately started
a newspaper in Indiana, which he names
'The Hoshier' (sic). Many of our ingenious
native philologists have attempted, though
very unsatisfactorily, to explain this some
what singular term. Mordecai M. Noah, in
the late number of his Evening Star, under
takes to account for it upon the faith of a
rather apocryphal story of a recruiting of
ficer, who was engaged during the last war,
in enlisting a company of HUSSARS, whom
by mistake he unfortunately denominated
Hooshiers. Another etymologist tells us that
when the state of Indiana was being sur
veyed, the surveyors, on finding the resi
dence of a squatter, would exclaim 'Who's
here,' — that this exclamation, abbreviated to
Hooshier was, in process of time, applied as
a distinctive appellation to the original set
tlers of that state, and, finally to its inhabi
tants generally. Neither of these hypotheses
is deserving any attention. The word
Hooshier is indebted for its existence' to that
once numerous and unique, but now extinct
class of mortals called the Ohio Boatmen.
— In its original acceptation it was equiva
lent to 'Ripstaver, ' 'Scrouger,' 'Screamer,'
'Bulger,' 'Ring-tailroarer,' and a hundred
others, equally expressive, but which have
never attained to such a respectable standing
as itself. By some caprice which can never
be explained, the appellation Hooshier be
came confined solely to such boatmen as had
their homes upon the Indiana shore, and
from them it was gradually applied to all
the Indianians, who acknowledge it as good
naturedly as the appellation of Yankee —
Whatever may have been the original accep
tation of Hooshier this we know, that the
people to whom it is now applied, are
amongst the bravest, most intelligent, most
enterprising, most magnanimous, and most
democratic of the Great West, and should we
ever feel disposed to quit the state in which
we are now sojourning, our own noble Ohio,
it will be to enrol! ourselves as adopted citi
zens in the land of the 'HOOSHIER.'— Cin
cinnati Republican."
Here is a presentation of the question, ten
months after Finley 's publication, covering
most of the ground that has since been oc
cupied. The "hussar" theory is carried
back to the war of 1812, long before Col.
Lehmanowsky was in this country. The

"who's here" theory is carried back to the
government surveys, although it is certain
that there were few, if any, "squatters" on
government lands in Indiana before the sur
veys were made. The "husher" theory, in
embryo, is presented in the writer's theory,
which is apparently conjectural, except per
haps as evidence that the word was applied
to the rather rough-looking class of flat-boat
men who made their trips down the Ohio
and Mississippi.
There has been a notable tendency to lo
cate these stories at Louisville, and to con
nect them with the building of the
Louisville and Portland canal which was
under construction from 1826 to 1831, in
clusive. The "husher" story is located there
by several of its advocates. Another story,
of recent origin, coming from one Vanblari-
eum, was recounted by Mr. George Cottman
in the Indianapolis Press of February 6,
1901. Vanblaricum claimed that while
passing through southern Tennessee he met
a man named Hoosier, and this man said
that a member of his family had a contract
on the construction of the Louisville and
Portland canal; that he employed his la
borers from the Indiana side, and the
neighbors got to calling them " Hoosier 's
men," from which the name "Hoosier" came
to be applied to Indiana men generally.
Vanblaricum could not give the address of his
informant, or any information tending to
confirm the story. At my request Mr. Louis
Ludlow, Washington correspondent of the
Indianapolis Sentinel, made inquiry of the
representatives from the southern districts
of Tennessee, and learned that none of them
had ever heard of such a story, or knew of
the name "Hoosier" in his district. An ex
amination of the directories of Atlanta, Au
gusta, Baltimore, Chattanooga, Cincinnati,
Kansas City, Little Rock, Louisville, Mem
phis, Nashville, New Orleans, Philadelphia,
Richmond, St. Louis, St. Joseph, Savannah,
Wheeling, Wilmington, the District of Colum
bia, and the state of Tennessee, failed to
reveal any such name as Hoosier. As it is
hardly possible for a family name to disap
pear completely, we may reasonably drop the
Vanblaricum story from consideration. The
same conclusion will also apply to the story
of a Louisville baker, named Hoosier, from
whom the term is sometimes said to have
come. It is now known that the occurrence
of "Hoosier" as a Christian name in the

118

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

minutes of an early Methodist conference in
Indiana, was the result of misspelling. The
member's name was "Ho-si-er (accent on the
second syllable) J. Durbin," and the secre
tary in writing it put in an extra "o." It
may be mentioned in this connection that
"Hooser" is a rather common family name
in the South, and that "Hoos" is occasion
ally found.
One of the most interesting wild-goose
chases I ever indulged in was occasioned by
a passage in the narrative of Francis and
Theresa Pulszky, entitled "White, Red and
Black." The Pulszkys accompanied Kossuth
on his trip through the States and visited
Indianapolis in 1852. In the account of this
visit Mrs. Pulszky says:
"Governor Wright is a type of the
Hoosiers, and justly proud to be one of them.
I asked him wherefrom his people had got
this name. He told me that 'Hoosa' is the
Indian name for maize, the principal produce
of the State."
This opened a new vista. The names
"Coosa" and "Tallapoosa" came to memory.
How simple! The Indiana flat-boatmen tak
ing their loads of corn down the river were
called "Hoosa men" by the Southern In
dians, and so the name originated. But a
search of Indian vocabularies showed no such
name for maize or for anything else. The
nearest approaches to it are "Hoosac" and
" Housatonic, " which are both probably cor
ruptions from the same stem, "awass,"
meaning beyond or further. The latter word
is supposed to be the Indian " wassatinak, "
which is the New England form of the Al
gonquin " awassadinang, " meaning beyond
the mountains.
In 1854 Amelia M. Murray visited Indian
apolis, and was for a time the guest of
Governor Wright. In her book entitled
"Letters from the United States, Cuba and
Canada" (page 324), she says:
"Madame Pfeiffer (she evidently meant
Mrs. Pulszky, for Madame Pfeiffer did not
come here and does not mention the subject)
mistook Governor Wright, when she gave
from his authority another derivation for the
word 'Hoosier.' It originated in a settler's
exclaiming ' Huzza, ' upon gaining the victory
over a marauding party from a neighboring
State." With these conflicting statements, I called
on Mr. John C. Wright, son of Governor
Wright. He remembered the visits of the

Pulszkys and Miss Murray, but knew noth
ing of Madame Pfeiffer. He said : "I often
heard my father discuss this subject. His
theory was that the Indiana flatboatmen
were athletic and pugnacious, and were ac
customed, when on the levees of the Southern
cities, to 'jump up and crack their heels to
gether' and shout 'Huzza,' whence the name
of 'huzza fellows.' We have the same idea
now in 'hoorah people,' or 'a hoorah time.' "
It will be noted that all these theories prac
tically carry three features in common:
1. They are alike in the idea that the word
was first applied to a rough, boisterous, un
couth, illiterate class of people, and that the
word originally implied this character.
2. They are alike in the idea that the word
came from the South, or was first applied by
southern people.
3. They are alike in the idea that the word
was coined for the purpose of designating
Indiana people, and was not in existence
before it was applied to them.
If our primary suspicion be correct, that
all the investigators and theorists have fol
lowed some false lead from the beginning,
it will presumably be found in one of these
three common features. Of the three, the
one that would more probably have been de
rived from assumption than from observation
is the third. If we adopt the hypothesis,
that it is erroneous, we have left the propo
sition that the word "hoosier," was in use
at the South, signifying a rough or uncouth
person, before it was applied to Indiana; and
if this were true it would presumably con
tinue to be used there in that sense. Now
this condition actually exists, as appears
from the following evidence.
In her recent novel, "In Connection with
the De Willoughby Claim," Mrs. Frances
Hodgson Burnett refers several times to one
of her characters — a boy from North Caro
lina — as a ' ' hoosier. ' ' In reply to an inquiry
she writes to me:
"The word 'hoosier' ,in Tennessee and
North Carolina seems to imply, as you sug
gest, . an uncouth sort of rustic. In the
days when I first heard it my idea was also
that — in agreement with you again — it was a
slang term. I think a Tennesseean or Caro
linian of the class given to colloquialisms
would have applied the term 'hoosier' to any
rustic person without reference to his belong
ing to any locality in particular. But when

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

119

I lived in Tennessee I was very young and
did not inquire closely into the matter."
Mrs. C. W. Bean, of Washington, Ind.,
furnishes me this statement:
"In the year 1888, as a child, I visited
Nashville, Tenn. One day I was walking
down the street with two of my aunts, and
our attention was attracted by a large
number of mountaineers on the streets,
mostly from northern Georgia, who had come
in to some sort of society meeting. One of
my aunts said, 'What a lot of hoosiers there
are in town.' In surprise I said, 'Why I am
a Hoosier.' A horrified look came over my
aunt's face and she exclaimed, 'For the
Lord's sake, child, don't let any one here
know you're a hoosier.' I did not make the
claim again for on inspection the visitors
proved a wild-looking lot who might be sus
pected of never having seen civilization be
fore." Miss Mary E. Johnson, of Nashville, Tenn.,
gives the following statement:
"I have been familiar with the use of the
word 'hoosier' all my life, and always as
meaning a rough class of country people.
The idea attached to it, as I understand it,
is not so much that they are from the coun
try, as that they are green and gawky. I
think the sense is much the same as in 'hay
seed,' 'jay' or 'yahoo.' "
Hon. Thetus W. Sims, Representative in
Congress from the Tenth Tennessee district,
says: "I have heard all my life of the word
'hoosier' as applied to an ignorant, rough,
unpolished fellow."
Mrs. Samuel M. Deal (formerly Miss Mary
L. Davis of Indianapolis) gives me this state
ment: "While visiting in Columbia, S. C, I was
walking one day with a young gentleman, and
we passed a rough-looking countryman. ' My !
what a hoosier, ' ' exclaimed my escort. ' That
is a very noble term to apply to such an
object,' I said. 'Why so?' he inquired. 'Why
I am a Hoosier — all Indiana people are,' I
answered. ' Oh ! we do not use it in that sense
here,' he rejoined. 'With us a hoosier means
a jay.' "
The following three statements were fur
nished to me by Mr. Meredith Nicholson,
who collected them some months since:
John Bell Henneman, of the department
of English, University of Tennessee, Knox
ville, writes:

"The word 'hoosier' is generally used in
Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee as an
equivalent for 'a country hoodlum,' 'a rough,
uncouth countryman,' etc. The idea of
'country' is always attached to it in my
mind, with a degree of 'uncouthness' added.
I simply speak from my general understand
ing of the term as heard used in the States
mentioned above."
Mr. Raymond Weeks, of Columbia, Mo.,
writes :
"Pardon my delay in answering your
question concerning the word 'hoosier' in
this section. The word means a native of
Indiana, and has a rare popular sense of a
backwoodsman, a rustic. One hears: 'He
is a regular hoosier.' "
Mrs. John M. Judah, of Memphis, writes:
"About the word 'Hoosier' — one hears it
in Tennessee often. It always means rough,
uncouth, countrified. 'I am a Hoosier,' I
have said, and my friends answer bewilder-
ingly, 'But all Indiana-born are Hoosiers,'
I declare, 'What nonsense!' is the answer
generally, but one old politician responded
with a little more intelligence on the subject:
'You Indianians should forget that. It has
been untrue for many years.' In one of Mrs.
Evans's novels — 'St. Elmo,' I think — a
noble philanthropic young southern woman
is reproached by her haughty father for
teaching the poor children in the neighbor
hood — 'a lot of hoosiers,' he calls them. I
have seen it in other books, too, but I can
not recall them. In newspapers the word is
common enough, in the sense I referred to."
It is scarcely possible that this widespread
use of the word in this general sense could
have resulted if the word had been coined
to signify a native of Indiana, but it would
have been natural enough, if the word were
in common use as slang in the South, to ap
ply it to the people of Indiana. Many of
the early settlers were of a rough and ready
character, and doubtless most of them looked
it in their long and toilsome emigration, but,
more than that, it is an historical fact that
about the time of the publication of Finley 's
poem there was a great fad of nicknaming
in the West, and especially as to the several
States. It was a feature of the humor of the
day, and all genial spirits ' ' pushed it along. ' '
A good illustration of this is seen in the
following passage from Hoffman's "Winter
in the West"0 referred to above:
a. Published in 1835, Vol. I, page 210.

120

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

"There was a long-haired 'hooshier' from
Indiana, a couple of smart-looking 'suckers'
from the southern part of Illinois, a keen-
eyed, leather-belted 'badger' from the mines
of Ouisconsin, and a sturdy, yeomanlike fel
low, whose white capot, Indian moccasins and
red sash proclaimed, while he boasted a three
years' residence, the genuine 'wolverine,' or
naturalized Michiganian. Could one refuse
to drink with such a company? The spokes
man was evidently a 'red horse' from Ken
tucky, and nothing was wanting but a 'buck
eye' from Ohio to render the assemblage as
complete as it was select."
This same frontier jocularity furnishes an
explanation for the origin of several of the
theories of the derivation of the name. If an
assuming sort of person, in a crowd accus
tomed to the use of "hoosier" in its general
slang sense, should pretentiously announce
that he was a ' ' husher, " or a " hussar, ' ' noth
ing would be more characteristically Ameri
can than for somebody to observe, "He is a
hoosier, sure enough. ' ' And the victim of the
little pleasantry would naturally suppose that
the joker had made a mistake in the term.
But the significance of the word must have
been quite generally understood, for the
testimony is uniform that it carried its slur
ring significance from the start. Still it was
not materially more objectionable than the
names applied, to the people of other States,
and it was commonly accepted in the spirit
of humor. As Mr. Finley put it, in later
forms of his poem:
With feelings proud we contemplate
The rising glory of our State;
Nor take offense by application
Of its good-natured appellation.
It appears that the word was not generally
known throughout the State until after the
publication of "The Hoosiers' Nest," though
it was known earlier in some localities, and
these localities were points of contact with
the southern people. And this was true as
to Mr. Finley 'j3 locality, for the upper part
of the Whitewater valley was largely settled
by Southerners, and from the Tennessee-Car
olina mountain region, where the word was
especially in use. Such settlements had a cer
tain individuality. In his "Sketches" (page
38) the Rev. Aaron Wood says:
"Previous to 1830 society was not homo
geneous, but in scraps, made so by the elec-
tic affinity of race, tastes, sects and interest.

There was a wide difference in the domestic
habits of the families peculiar to the provin
cial gossip, dialect and tastes of the older
States from which they had emigrated."
The tradition of my own family, which was
located in the lower part of the Whitewater
valley, is that the word was not heard there
until ' ' along in the thirties. ' ' In that region
it always carried the idea of roughness or
uncouthness, and it developed a derivative —
"hoosiery" — which was used as an adjective
or adverb to indicate something that was
rough, awkward or shiftless. Testimony as
to a similar condition in the middle part of
the Whitewater valley is furnished in the fol
lowing statement, given me by the Rev. T. A.
Goodwin :
"In the summer of 1830 I went with my
father, Samuel Goodwin, from our home at
Brookville to Cincinnati. We traveled in an
old-fashioned one-horse Dearborn wagon. I
was a boy of twelve years and it was a great
occasion for me. At Cincinnati I had a fip
for a treat, and at that time there was noth
ing I relished so much as one of those big
pieces of gingerbread that were served as re
freshment on muster days, Fourth of July
and other gala occasions, in connection with
cider. I went into a baker's shop and asked
for 'a tip's worth of gingerbread.' The man
said, 'I guess you want hoosier-bait, ' and
when he produced it I found that he had the
right idea. That was the first time I ever
heard the word 'hoosier,' but in a few years
it became quite commonly applied to Indiana
people. 'The gingerbread referred to was
cooked in square pans — about fifteen inches
across, I should think — and with furrows
marked across the top, dividing it into quar
ter-sections. A quarter-section sold for a fip,
which was 6V4 cents. It is an odd fact that
when Hosier J. Durbin joined the Indiana
Methodist Conference, in 1835, his name was
misspelled 'Hoosier' in the minutes, and was
so printed. The word 'Hoosier' always had
the sense of roughness or uncouthness. in its
early use."
At the time this statement was made,
neither Mr. Goodwin nor I knew of the ex
istence of the last four lines of Finley 's poem,
in which this same term "hoosier-bait" oc
curs, they being omitted in all the ordinary
forms of the poem. The derivation of this
term is obvious, whether "bait" be taken in
its sense of a lure or its sense of food. It
was simply something that "hoosiers" were

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

121

fond of, and its application was natural at
a time when the ideal of happiness was "a
country-boy with a hunk of gingerbread."
After the word had been applied to In
diana, and had entered on its double-sense
stage, writers who were familiar with both
uses distinguished between them by making
it a proper noun when Indiana was referred
to. An illustration of this is seen in the
writings of J. S. Robb, author of "The
Swamp Doctor in the Southwest" and other
humorous sketches, published in 1843. He
refers to Indiana as "the Hoosier state," but
in a sketch of an eccentric St. Louis char
acter he writes thus:
"One day, opposite the Planter's House,
during a military parade, George was en
gaged in selling his edition of the Advocate
of Truth, when a tall hoosier, who had been
gazing at him with astonishment for some
time, roared out in an immoderate fit of
laughter. " 'What do you see so funny in me to
laugh at?' inquired George.
Why, boss, ' said the hoosier, ' I wur jest
a thinkin' ef I'd seed you out in the woods,
with all that har on, they would a been the
d — dest runnin' done by this 'coon ever seen
in them diggins — you're ekill to the ele
phant! and a leetle the haryest small man
I've seen scart up lately.' "
Unfortunately, however, not many writers
were familiar with the double use of the word,
and the distinction has gradually died out,
while persistent assertions that the word was
coined to designate Indiana people have
loaded on them all the odium for the signifi
cance that the word has "anywhere.
The real problem of the derivation of the
word "hoosier," is not a question of the
origin of a word formed to designate the
state of Indiana and its people, but of the
origin of a slang term widely in use in the
South, signifying an uncouth rustic. There
seems never to have been any attempt at a '
rational philological derivation, unless we
may so account Mr. Charles G. Leland's re
marks in Barriere and Leland's "Dictionary
of Slang, Jargon and Cant," which are as
follows :
"Hoosier (American). A nickname given
to natives of Indiana. Bartlett cites from the
Providence Journal a story which has the ap
pearance of being an after-manufacture to
suit the name, deriving hoosier from 'husher
— from their primary capacity to still their

opponents.' He also asserts that the Ken
tuckians maintained that the nickname ex
presses the exclamation of an Indianian when
he knocks at a door and exclaims 'Who's
yere ? ' However, the word originally was not
hoosier at all, but hoosieroon, or hoosheroon,
hoosier being an abbreviation of this. I can
remember that in 1834, having read of hoos
iers, and spoken of them, a boy from the West
corrected me, and said that the word was
properly hoosieroon. This would indicate a
Spanish origin."
The. source of Mr. Leland's error is plain.
"Hoosieroon" was undoubtedly coined by
Mr. Finley to designate a Hoosier child, and
what the boy probably told Mr. Leland was
that the name to apply properly to him would
be Hoosieroon. But that alone would not
dispose wholly of the Spanish suggestion, for
' ' oon " or " on " is not only a Spanish ending,
but is a Spanish diminutive indicating blood
relation. In reality, however, Mr. Finley did
not understand Spanish, and the ending was
probably suggested to him by quadroon and
octoroon, which, of course, were in general use.
There is no Spanish word that would give
any suggestion of ' ' hoosier. ' ' The only other
language of continental Europe that could
be looked to for its origin would be French,
but there is no French word approaching it
except, perhaps, "huche," which means a
kneading trough, and there is no' probability
of derivation from that.0 ¦
In fact, "hoosier" carries Anglo-Saxon
credentials. It is Anglo-Saxon in form and
Anglo-Saxon in ring. If it came from any
foreign language, it has been thoroughly
anglicized. And in considering its derivation
it is to be remembered that the Southerners
have always had a remarkable faculty for
creating new words and modifying old ones.
Anyone who has noted the advent of ' ' snolly-
goster" in the present generation, or has read
Longstreet's elucidation of "fescue," "abis-
selfa," and "anpersant"6 will readily con
cede that. And in this connection it is to
be observed that the word "yahoo" has long
been in use in Southern slang, in almost ex
actly the same sense as "hoosier," and the
latter word may possibly have developed from
its last syllable. We have a very common
slang word in the North — "yap" — with the
same signification, which may have come from
the same source, though more probably from
a. But see the French "huissier," supra.
5. Georgia Scenes, page 73.

122

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

the provincial English "yap," to yelp or
bark. "Yahoo" is commonly said to have
been coined by Swift, but there is a possi
bility that it was in slang use in his day.
It is very probable that the chief cause of
the absence of conjectures of the derivation
of "Hoosier" from an English stem was the
lack in our dictionaries of any word from
which it could be supposed to come, and it is
a singular fact that in our latest dictionaries
— the Standard and the Century — there ap
pears the word "hoose," which has been in
|use for centuries in England. It is used now
to denote a disease common to calves, similar
to the gapes in chickens, caused by the lodg- '
ment of worms in the throat. The symptoms
of this disease include staring eyes, rough
coat with hair turned backward, and hoarse
wheezing. So forlorn an aspect might readily
suggest giving the name "hooser" or "hoo
sier" to an uncouth, rough-looking person.
In this country, for some reason, this disease
has been known only by the name of the worm
that causes it — "strongylus micrurus" — it
sounds very much like "strangle us marcus"
as the veterinarians pronounce it — but in
England "hoose" is the common name. This
word is from a very strong old stem. Halli-
well, in his " Dictionary of Archaic and Pro
vincial Words," gives "hooze" and "hoors,"
and states that "hoos" occurs in the "Promp-
torium Parvulorum," and "hoozy" in the
"Cornwall Glossary," the latter being used
also in Devonshire. Palmer, in his "Folk-
Etymology," says that'"hoarst — a Lincoln
shire word for a cold on the chest, as if that
which makes one hoarse," is a corruption of
the Old English "host," a cough, Danish
"hoste," Dutch, "hoeste," Anglo-Saxon,
"hweost," a wheeziness; and refers to Old
English "hoose," .to cough, and Cleveland
"booze," to wheeze. Descriptions of the effect
of hoose on the appearance of animals will be
found in Armatage's "Cattle Doctor," and in
the " Transactions of the Highland Society of
Scotland," fourth series, Vol. 10, at page 206.
There is also a possibility of a geographical
origin for the word, for there is a coast parish
of Cheshire, England, about seven miles west
of Liverpool, named Hoose. The name prob
ably refers to the cliffs in the vicinity, for
"boo," which occurs both in composition' and
independently in old English names of places,
is a Saxon word signifying high. However^
this is an obscure parish, and no special pe
culiarity of the people is known that would

probably give rise to a distinctive name for
them. There is one other possibility that is
worthy of mention — that the word may come
to us through England from the Hindoo. In
India there is in general use a word com
monly written ' ' huzur, ' ' which is a respectful
form of address to persons of rank or su
periority. In "The Potter's Thumb" Mrs.
Steel writes it "hoozur." Akin to it is
"housha," the title of a village authority in
Bengal. It may seem impossible that "hoo
sier" could come from so far off a source,
and yet it is almost certain that our slang
word "fakir," and its derivative verb
' ' fake, ' ' came from the Hindoo through Eng
land, whither for many years people of all
classes have been returning from Indian
service. It is even more certain that the word
"khaki" was introduced from India, and
passed into general use in English and Amer
ican nurseries long before khaki-cloth was
known to us.
As a matter of fact, words pass from one
language to another in slang very readily.
For example, throughout England and Amer
ica a kidnapper is said in thieves' slang to
be "on the kinchin lay," and it can scarcely
be questioned that this word is direct from
the German "kindchen." The change in
meaning from "huzur" to "hoosier" would
be explicable by the outlandish dress and
looks of the Indian grandees from a native
English standpoint, and one might naturally
say of an uncouth person, "He looks like a
huzur. ' '
It is not my purpose to urge that any one
of these suggested possibilities of derivation
is preferable to the other, or to assert that
there may not be other and more rational
ones. It is sufficient to have pointed out that
there are abundant sources from which the
word may have been derived. The essential
point is that Indiana and her people had
nothing whatever to do with its origin or its
signification. It was applied to us in raillery,
and our only connection with it is that we
have meekly borne it for some three score
years and ten, and have made it widely rec
ognized as a badge of honor, rather than a
term of reproach.

Addendum, February, 1907. The greater
part of the preceding was published in the
Indianapolis News of Aug. 23 and 30, 1902.
Afterwards I rewrote and enlarged it. Since

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

123

then there have appeared two publications
which threw some additional light on the
subject. One of these is an account of Col.
Lehmanowsky, purporting to be autobio
graphical, published under the title, "Under
Two Captains," by Rev. W. A. Sadtler,
Ph.D., of Philadelphia. This demonstrates
that Lehmanowsky believed he originated the
word, for he gives the following account of it :
"In this connection I may mention an
amusing incident that occurred somewhat
later in a town in Kentucky, where I hap
pened for a day or two. There was a drunk
en brawl in progress on the street, and as
quite a number were involved in it, the people
with whom I was speaking began to be
alarmed. I remarked just then that a few
hussars would soon quiet them. My remark
was caught up by some bystander, and the
word hussar construed to mean the men of
the State of Indiana (from which I had just
come), and thus the word 'Hoosier' came
into existence. Such is the irony of fatel
Learned men have labored long to introduce
some favored word of the most approved
classic derivation, and as a rule have failed.
Here a chance word of mine, miscalled by an
ignorant loafer, catches the popular fancy
and passes into Literature."0
At the same time he furnishes conclusive
evidence that he did not originate it, for he
says that he did not leave Washington
for the West until the spring of 1833 ; that
he went as far as Ohio with his family and
passed the winter of 1833-4 in the state,6
reaching Indiana the next spring, or more
than a year after "The Hoosier 's Nest" had
appeared in print. His story, as given above,
locates the incident at a still later date.
The other publication is the third volume
of The English Dialect Dictionary, in which
appears the following:
"Hoozer, Cum. 4 (hu-zer) said of any
thing unusually large."
The "Cum 4" is a reference to "A Glos
sary of the Words and Phrases pertaining to
the Dialect of Cumberland"; edition of 1899.
(( Although I had long been convinced that
"hoosier," or some word closely resembling
it, must be an old English dialect or slang
word, I had never found any trace of a
similar substantive with this ending until in
this publication, and, in my opinion, this
word "hoozer" is the original form of our
a. Pages 188-9.
B. Pages 182-C.

"hoosier." It evidently harks back to the
Anglo-Saxon "hoo" for its derivation. It
might naturally signify a hill-dweller or
highlander as well as something large, but
either would easily give rise to the derivative
idea of uncouthness and rusticity.
There is a suggestiveness in the fact that it
is Cumberland dialect. The very center of
hoosierdom in the South is the Cumber
land plateau with its associated Cumberland
.mountains, iCumberland river, Cumberland
gap, and Cumberland Presbyterianism. The
name Cumberland in these, however, is hon
orary in origin, the river and mountains hav
ing been named for that Duke of Cumber
land who is known to the Scotch as "The
Butcher of Culloden. ' ' But many of the set
tlers of this region, or their immediate fore
bears, were from Cumberland county, Eng
land, and so "hoozer" was a natural importa
tion to the region. Thence it was probably
brought to us by their migratory descendants,
many of whom settled in the upper White
water valley — the home of John Finley.
Since the publication of the foregoing pa
per, Mr. Dunn has written the following sup
plementary statement, which appeared in the
Indianapolis Star, under date of June 2,
1907: '
"The recent publication by the Indiana
Historical Society of a pamphlet on the origin
of the word 'Hoosier' has caused a revival
of interest in that mysterious subject, and
several noteworthy points have been brought
to light. One writer calls attention to the fact
that in the early book descriptive of Indiana,
entitled 'The New Purchase,' the word
'Hoosierina' is used for a female resident
of the State. This is evidently a coinage of
the author of the book, and one that did not
meet with popular favor, as it is not known
to have been used elsewhere.
"Another writer suggests that the word
comes from the French 'huissier' meaning
an usher or bailiff. This suggestion has been
made before (Indiana Quarterly Magazine of
History, Vol. 1, p. 94), but it is hardly with
in the bounds of possibility. The transition
would have to come through pronunciation,
and the pronunciation of 'huissier' is prac-

124

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

tically wees-se-ay, which has no resemblance
to 'Hoosier.'
"The most interesting fact is brought for
ward by Judge Timothy E. Howard of South
Bend, who has been engaged in preparing a
local history, and has found a use of the word
in print earlier than the publication of Fin-
ley's ' Hoosier 's Nest.' It occurs in a South
Bend newspaper called the Northwestern Pio
neer and St. Joseph's Intelligencer, in the is
sue of April 4, 1832, and is as follows :
" 'A REAL HOOSIER. A sturgeon, who,
no doubt, left Lake Michigan on a trip of
pleasure, with a view of spending a few days
in the pure waters of the St. Joseph, had his
joyous anticipations unexpectedly marred by
running foul of a fisherman's spear near this
place — being brought on terra firma and cast
into a balance he was found to weigh 83
pounds. '
"This paper was published at the time by
John D. Defrees and his brother Joseph H.
Defrees, both prominent in early Indiana his
tory, and both natives of Tennessee. The use
of the word here -confirms the theory of the
pamphlet that 'Hoosier' was not coined to
designate a native or resident of Indiana, but
was a slang word in common use at the time
in the South, signifying a rough, uncouth
countryman; and that it was probably used
verbally as a nickname for Indianians for
several years before it was put in print, but
not so universally as afterwards.
"The Defrees brothers were presumably
familiar with the Southern use as well as its
nickname application; and what did they
mean by calling a sturgeon a 'real' Hoosier?
Certainly not a 'real' resident of Indiana,
for they speak of him as a visitor from Lake
Michigan. The obvious idea is that he is a
'real' big, rough fellow; and that therefore
the name is appropriate to be applied to him.
So far as now known this is the earliest ap
pearance of the word in print, and Judge
Howard holds the record for successful origi
nal research in this line."
Two distinguished Indianians have done
much to give dignity and honor to the name

of Hoosier — James Whitcomb Riley, by ac
cepting and gracefully wearing the title of
"The Hoosier Poet"; and Governor Claude
Matthews, by everywhere and always pro
claiming his love for and pride in the name.
In the dedication of the Indiana building, at
the Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893, the
governor introduced Mr. Riley to that world
audience in the following noble words:
"If there be one characteristic above an
other for which the citizen of Indiana may be
noted, it is his> love of home — whether that
may be the splendid mansion in the busy
. center — the farm house mid the smiling fields
of grain and shaded pasture, or the cabins of
our fathers in the deep umbrageous forest.
It comes to us an inheritance from the 'Hoo
sier' pioneer who braved the unknown dan
gers of the forest, not with the greed of gain
his sole absorbing thought, but with his soul
filled with the noblest inspiration of our race,
to build a home that he might leave a goodly
inheritance to his children. I mentioned to
you the name of 'Hoosier' by which the citi
zen of Indiana is known far and near: I re
gret there are a few whose ears have grown
so fastidious that the name offends, but as
for me I love the name and honor it. It is
the synonym of sturdy manhood, untiring
energy, sterling integrity, unflinching cour
age and a hospitality so broad and generous
that has not its superior in all the world.
It was the strong right arm of the 'Hoosier'
that felled the forest, bridged the rivers,
pushed forward roads over hill, through
prairie and marsh, and laid the foundation
of an empire in the grandeur of their state.
We love him who can paint the picture of the
humble life; find a poem in 'the simple an
nals of the poor,' and sing the sacred home
song-s of his people. None other has ever
done this better than the Hoosier poet, James
Whitcomb Riley of Indiana."

Note. — The foregoing chapter, giving a
brief outline of the history of Indiana, pre
vious to and including the organization of the
state government, seemed a necessary intro
duction to the history of St. Joseph county.
The relations of the county to the state are
exceedingly intimate, and an adequate knowl
edge of the county, as a political organiza
tion, and in its historical relations could
hardly be had without a preliminary knowl
edge of the commonwealth of which the
county forms so important a subdivision.

CHAPTER IV.

THE ST. JOSEPH COUNTY PIONEERS.

I. THE FUR TRADE.
See. 1. — Sources of Our Civilization. —
Civilization, as we have seen in the preceding
chapter, came to Indiana by way of the
South and Southeast, from Kentucky, Vir
ginia, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas. To
St. Joseph county, however, civilization came
rather from the North and Northeast, from
the same sources, indeed, as it came to south
western Michigan, to which the greater part
of our county was so long attached. Our
earliest traditions run back to France; at
first, by way of the St. Joseph river, Lake
Michigan and the Straits of Mackinaw, and
afterwards through the interior of Michigan,
from Detroit, and on through Canada from
Montreal and Quebec. Later, and when our
first permanent population began to arrive,
our connections were chiefly with Fort Wayne
and Detroit, both also French settlements.
By the treaty of Greenville, August 3,
1795, almost the whole of Indiana, including
all the north part of the state, except a
tract six miles square at Fort Wayne, one
two miles square at the portage between the
Wabash and Maumee, and another six miles
square at Ouiatanon, near Lafayette, was con
firmed to the various Indian tribes then occu
pying the same. By successive treaties, ex

advance of the settlers, and while the Indians
still remained, the hunters and fur traders
penetrated into the wilderness. Those hunt
ers and traders, as we have seen, were at first
French. Many of the early adventurers had
their headquarters at Detroit and Mackinaw;
others mingled with the Indians and rambled
over the whole northwest. These last were a
famous class of hunters and traders, known
to the French as coureurs des bois (forest
rangers), and penetrated to the most secret
recesses of the wilderness. As in other cases,
there were enterprising and ambitious men
among those adventurers, men who sought
their fortunes in the fur trade with the In
dians, as in succeeding generations others
sought wealth in the mines of California.
This trade, says Dillon0, was carried on by
means of men hired to manage small vessels
on the lakes, and canoes along the shores of
the lakes and on the rivers, and to carry
burdens of merchandise from the different
trading posts to the principal villages of the
Indians who were on friendly terms with
French. At those places the traders ex
changed their wares for valuable furs, with
which they returned to their trading posts.
The articles used in trade by the French were
chiefly coarse blue and red cloths, fine scarlet,

tending down as late as the year 1840, those f unf ' Powdei\ balls, knives, hatchets, traps,
Indian titles, as related in the last chapter,
were extinguished. Settlers pushed in from
the east, the south and the north, and also
from Europe, as fast as the Indians retired.
Sec. 2. — The French Traders. — But in

kettles, hoes, blankets, cottons, ribbons, beads,
vermilion, tobacco and liquors. The poorer
traders sometimes carried their packs of mer
chandise by means of leather straps attached
a. Hist. Indiana, pp. 20, 21.

125

126

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

to their shoulders, or with the straps resting
against their foreheads. It is probable that
some of the Indian villages on the St. Joseph
and the Wabash were visited 'by this class
of traders before the founding of Kaskaskia
or Vincennes. The learned Bishop Brute
has expressed the opinion that missionaries
and traders, before the close of the seven
teenth century, passed to the south from the
St. Joseph river, leaving the Kankakee to the
west, . ' ' and visited the Tippecanoe, the Eel
river, and the upper parts of the Wabash."
"It was the fur trade, in fact," says
Washington Irving,0 "which gave early sus
tenance and vitality to the great Canadian
provinces. Being destitute of the precious
metals, at that time the leading objects of
American enterprise, they were long neglected
by the parent country. The French adven
turers, however, who had settled on the banks
of the St. Lawrence, soon found that in the
rich peltries of the interior, they had sources
of wealth that might almost rival the mines
of Mexico and Peru. The Indians, as yet un
acquainted with the artificial value given to
some descriptions of furs, in civilized life,
brought quantities of the most precious kinds
and bartered them away for European trink
ets and cheap commodities. Immense profits
were thus made by the early traders, and the
traffic was pursued with avidity."
Sec. 3. — The British Policy in Relation
to the Fur Trade. — So valuable had become
the fur trade of the northwest that after the
treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763, and the
transfer of this immense region from France
to England, the British government declined
to organize any form of government for the
territory, or to allow any settlers within its
limits, but determined to leave it wholly to
the Indians, so as to protect the fur bearing
animals and make of the country a vast hunt
ing reservation.
On October^, 1763, George III issued a
proclamation, providing for colonial govern
ments for the countries acquired from
a. Irving's Astoria, p. 2.

France ; but making no provision for the gov
ernment of the northwest. Nor was this omis
sion an oversight, but intentional. "The
purpose," says Poole in his history of
the west,a "was to reserve as crown lands the
northwest territory, the region north of
the great lakes, and the country between the
Alleghenies and the Mississippi, and to ex
clude them from settlement by the American
colonies. They were left, for the time being,
to the undisputed possession of the savage
tribes. The King's 'loving subjects' were
forbidden making purchases of land from the
Indians, or forming any settlements west
ward of the sources of the rivers which fall
into the sea from the west and northwest;
'and all persons who have wilfully or inad
vertently seated themselves upon any lands
west of the limit' were warned forthwith to
remove themselves from such settlements."
The government declared its purpose to be,
to confine the colonies to the region along
the Atlantic coast, so that they should he
within easy reach of "the trade and com
merce of this kingdom"; and also in order
that they might be subject to "the exercise
of that authority and jurisdiction which was
conceived to be necessary for the preserva
tion of the colonies in a due subordination to
and dependence upon the mother country."
The further extraordinary statement was
made in this royal declaration :6 ' ' The great
object of colonizing upon the continent of
North America has been to improve and ex
tend the commerce, navigation and manufac
tures of this kingdom. . . It does appear
to us that the extension of the fur trade de
pends entirely upon the Indians being undis
turbed in the possession of their hunting-
grounds; and that all colonizing does in its
nature, and must in its consequences, operate
to the prejudice of that branch of commerce.
a. W. F. Poole, The West, from 1763 to 1783
(Hist. Am., Vol VI, Chap. 9).
6. Report of the Lords Commissioners for
Trade and Plantations, in 1772, on the petition of
Thomas Walpole and others for a grant of land
on the Ohio.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

127

. . . Let the savages enjoy their deserts
in quiet. Were they driven from their for
ests the peltry trade would decrease." Such
was the eold and selfish policy which the
British crown and its ministers habitually
pursued towards the American colonies; and
in a few years this policy changed loyalty
into hate, and brought on the American Rev
olution.0 However reprehensible the motive of the
British government, in thus preventing the
settlement of the fertile lands of the north
west, it is nevertheless plain from this action
that the value of the fur trade to the com
merce of the mother country must have been
exceedingly great. Such an extensive hunting
preserve as this northwest territory and the
vast countries north and west of Lake Supe
rior was perhaps never since or before de
liberately set apart by any government. Ac
cording to the records of the custom house
at Quebec, the value of the furs and peltries
exported from Canada, in the year 1786, was
estimated at the sum of two hundred and
twenty-five thousand, nine hundred and sev
enty-seven pounds sterling, or nearly a mil
lion and a quarter dollars.6
Sec. 4. — The Great Fur Companies. — To
control this profitable industry various pow
erful companies were organized in England
and Canada, and afterwards in the United
States. In 1670, the Hudson Bay Company
was chartered by Charles II, and the com
pany has continued to our own day. Until
the acquisition of Canada by Great Britain,
in 1763, there were almost constant disputes
between the agents of the Hudson Bay Com
pany and the French merchants and coureurs
des bois. In 1783, some merchants of Mon
treal began the formation of a like company,
which, in 1787, became merged with a rival
company, and thus formed the famous North
west Company, which for years held bound
less sway over the fur trade of the west. This
company for many years held its gorgeous
a. Poole. lb.
6. Dillon, Hist. Indiana, p. 397.

annual conferences at Fort William, near the
Grand Portage, on Lake Superior; where the
merchants from Montreal met the hunters
and traders from all the northwest. These
conferences are said to have been the occa
sion of magnificent winter entertainments, of
almost regal splendor. Another company of
like character was the Mackinaw Company,
which took in the country to the south of that
controlled by the Hudson Bay and the North
west Companies.
After the establishment of American in
dependence, our government sought to check
the operations of those British and Canadian
companies within the territory of the United
States. But it would seem that governmental
supervision was no match for the skillful,
persistent personal activity of the members
and agents of 'the companies. It was during
this time, in 1783, that John Jacob Astor,
a young German, emigrated from Europe.
Here he met a countryman, a furrier by
trade; and then and there began the great
Astor fur industry. In 1809, Mr. Astor ob
tained a charter from the legislature of New
York, incorporating the American Fur Com
pany. In his enterprise he had the good will
and active co-operation of the American gov
ernment. In 1811, the interests of the Mack
inaw Company, within United States terri
tory, were practically absorbed by the Ameri
can 'Fur Company; and thereafter, for many
years, this company controlled the fur trade
of the northwest, and became a potent factor
in the development of that territory.0 To
the American Fur Company and its agents)
St. Joseph county is directly indebted for its
first permanent settlement.
The fur trade with the Indians of this
vicinity, while in the early days carried on by
way of Lake Michigan and the Straits of
Mackinaw was, after the establishment of the
American Fur Company, conducted chiefly
by agents from Detroit and Fort Wayne. The
furs and peltries which were obtained from
the Indians were generally transported to De
ft. Irving's Astoria, pp. 1-23.

128

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

troit. The skins were dried, compressed and
secured in packs. Each pack weighed about
one hundred pounds. A pirogue, or boat,
that was sufficiently large to carry forty packs,
required the labor of four men to manage
it on its voyage. In favorable stages of the
Wabash river, such a vessel, under the man
agement of skillful boatmen, was propelled
fifteen or twenty miles a day against the cur
rent. After ascending the river Wabash and
the Little river to the portage near Fort
Wayne, the traders carried their packs over
the portage to the head of the river Maumee,
where they were again placed in pirogues,
or in keel boats, to be transported to De
troit. At that place the furs and skins were
exchanged for blankets, guns, knives, pow
der, bullets, intoxicating liquors, etc., with
which the traders returned to their several
posts. The Indian hunter had long before
exchanged his bow and arrows for the white
man's fire arms. Bullets were valued at four
dollars per hundred and powder at one dollar
a pint.0
II. THREE MERCHANTS OF THE WILDERNESS.
After the destruction of Fort St. Joseph's
by the Spaniards, in 1781, and before any
settlement was made in St. Joseph county,
three traders of more than usual enterprise
established themselves at points on the river
below the limits of this county. Mr. George
A. Baker, the industrious secretary of the
Northern Indiana Historical Society, has
gleaned many interesting facts in the history
of these worthies, some of which may appro
priately find a place in this connection.6
Sec. 1. — Leclare. — Antoine Leclare, a
native of Montreal, was the blacksmith em
ployed by the English government, in 1780,
at Fort St. Joseph's, and was at the fort, in
1781. at the time of its capture by the Span
iards. He was mustered out of service at De
troit, with the garrison and other employes,
a. Dillon, Hist. Indiana, p. 397.
6. In the South Bend Sunday News, October 13,

in the fall of that year. Afterwards he re
turned to the vicinity of the old fort, and
located in the Parkovash, a few miles up the
river from the site of the fort. Here he
built a cabin, bought furs of the Indians
and worked at his trade. He was married
to an Indian woman ; and a son of his, Fran
cis Leclare, was one of the most trusted in--
terpreters in the service of the United States.
Antoine Leclare removed to Milwaukee in
1800, and there devoted himself exclusively
to the fur trade, in which he became very
successful. In the spring of each year he
went to Detroit in a small sailing vessel, tak
ing his load of furs, and also carrying furs
for William Burnett, located near the mouth
of the St. Joseph, and for John Kinzie and
Robert Forsyth, Chicago traders. In 1813,
he removed to Missouri, where he died in
1821. Sec. 2. — Burnett. — William Burnett seems
to have been the first successful trader, not
of French descent, who located on "the St.
Joseph. He was of a prominent New Jer
sey family, well educated, and a man of
means, with an established credit in Detroit
and Montreal. He was tempted to come
into the wilderness, by reason of the fabu
lous fortunes to be made here in the fur
trade. The exact date when Burnett locate!
on the St. Joseph is not known, but is be
lieved not to be earlier than 1791. He built
a warehouse for storing furs, maple sugar,
grain and salt, at a point near the mouth
of the river ; which is said to have been not
far from the site of La Salle's old storehouse,
where the city of St. Joseph now stands.
One mile up the river, at the big gap, he
built another house, which served as a resi
dence and storeroom for merchandise used by
him in the Indian fur trade. Apple trees
and asparagus beds planted by him have
served to mark this spot up to within a few
years. Some of Burnett's books of account
are among the treasures of the Northern In
diana Historical Society. His accounts were
kept in what is known as Halifax currency;

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

129

livres, deniers and sols. A. livre was worth
eighteen and one-half cents. It would appear
from certain entries on the books that Bur
nett operated at first from Mackinaw, which
was at that time the center of trade; then
traded all along the coast of Lake Michigan,
and finally located permanently at the mouth
of the St. Joseph river. It is believed that
his first venture up the St. Joseph was made
October 15, 1791, to the Kankakee.
Burnett's account books are particularly
interesting as they have to do with many of
the noted characters connected with the early
history of the St. Joseph river, as well as
with that of Chicago and Milwaukee. Many
entries are found showing accounts with Jean
Baptiste Point Au Sable, the earliest non-
Indian settler of Chicago, who at about the
time of the Declaration of Independence built
a house at what is now the corner of Cass
and Kinzie streets, Chicago, which in later
years was so well known as the Kinzie
mansion. Jean. Baptiste Point Au Sable was a French
West Indian mulatto, who settled at first at
Mobile, then successively at New Orleans,
Kaskaskia and. St. Louis, and finally on
the banks of the Chicago river. Point
Au Sable sold his house to the French
trader, La Mai ; and from La Mai it passed
to John Kinzie, in the fall of 1803. Other
names appearing on Burnett's books are
Deneau de Quindre, the government agent
and interpreter for the St. Joseph river;
Jean Laline, the government interpreter at
Fort Dearborn, who was killed at that
place in the spring of 1812; Charles Chan
donai; John and Robert Kinzie; Antoine
Leclare, already named, and Joseph Ber
trand, of the Parkovash ; Antoine Lafortune,
and others. John Kinzie, so well known
in early Chicago history, began trading
with Burnett, October 1, 1797. In 1800,
Kinzie located in the Parkovash, at the site
of the old town of Bertrand ; and lived there
until 1804, when he moved to Chicago. An
entry in Burnett's books, dated September

15, 1800, gives some insight into the intrigues
carried on in those early days by the Span
iards at St. Louis, as well as by British
emissaries from Canada, at a time when the
power of the United States was not yet well
established in these distant regions. It is
as follows: "Jean Baptiste Point Au Sable,
Dr. To seven bottles spirits paid an Indian,
Askin, for going by express with the Span
ish commandant's letter to Fort Wayne."
The returns of peltries for the various ad
ventures sent out by Burnett are instructive
as giving a definite idea of the comparative
numbers of fur bearing animals in this re
gion. For the two years 1800 and 1801, the
returns were as follows: Beaver, 9; otter,
119 ; bear, 10 ; elk, 1 ; mink, 248 ; deer, 1,076 ;
cat, 62; muskrat, 2,014; fox, 107; redskin,
518; raccoon, 5,603.
The last entry on Burnett's day book is
dated July 19, 1802, and is a charge to one
Louis Pothier of 57 packs of peltries, amount
ing to 20,500 livres, to be paid by draft on
Montreal. The old trader is known to have
been at the mouth of our river as late as
January 20, 1804; at which date he ad
dressed a letter from that point to James
May, at Detroit. Like most of the other trad
ers, Burnett was married to an Indian wife.
One of his sons, James Burnett, died July
4, 1833, and it is an interesting fact that
his estate was administered upon by Lathrop
M. Taylor, one of the earliest settlers of
St. Joseph county.
Sec. 3. — Bertrand. — Another fur trader,
and one who comes yet nearer to our early
history, was Joseph Bertrand, who was born
in Mackinaw in 1780, and in 1808 located a
log cabin and a fur press on the west side
of the St. Joseph, near the crosssing of the
Great Sauk Trail, just below the little creek
known- as Pokagon 's branch, and opposite
the site of the village of Bertrand afterwards
named from him. Some slight dealings with
Bertrand are shown on Burnett's books. In
1804 Bertrand had married an Indian girl,
Madeline, daughter of the Pottawatomie chief

130

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Topinabee. At that time he was acting as
agent for the American Fur Company, but
soon afterwards went into business for him
self. There is a tradition that the logs for
Bertrand 's cabin were taken from the ruins
of the little church once located at old Fort
St. Joseph's, a little below on the east side
of the river, and said to have been the only
building spared by the Spaniards in the burn
ing of the Fort, in 1781. Bertrand 's loyalty
to the Americans, and his great influence in
keeping the Indians at peace, brought upon
him the enmity of the British, particularly
that of the emissaries of the Hudson Bay
Company; and it is said that there was for
a time a reward of one hundred pounds
sterling placed upon his head. After the
close of the war with England, about 1815,
he settled on the east side of the river on the
spot since known as the village of Bertrand.
He afterwards removed to St. Mary's, Kan
sas, where he died about the year 1860.
III. PIERRE NAVARRE.
The first white man to make his perma
nent home in what is now St. Joseph county
was Pierre Frieschutz Navarre, an educated
gentleman of French descent, who came here
from Monroe, Michigan, in 1820, as the agent
of the American Fur Company. For several
years previous to that date, he, with others,
had been through the country, trading with
the Indians, but had not remained for any
length of time. He now permanently settled
at this point and established the first trading
post upon the St. Joseph within the limits
of this county. We are told that Navarre
was a man of literary tastes, of a kind and
genial nature, earnest and honest in his deal
ings, though not remarkable for business abil
ity. His brother Francis, a colonel, in the
American army, lost his life in the river
Raisin massacre, near Detroit. Pierre, fol
lowing the example of the fur traders who
had preceded him, married an Indian wife,
a daughter of the Pottawatomies. Tradition
represents her to have been a. very intelli

gent woman. They had six children, three
sons and three daughters. The children were
bright and received a good education, for
the time. The sons were Anthony, Isadore
and Peter. Anthony is said to have taught
a country school here. Friends tried to keep
him here when the Pottawatomies went west,
but he refused, saying, ."What would be the
use ? I am only an Indian. ' ' They built their
dwelling house, the first to be erected in this
county, on the east side of the St. Joseph
river, in what is now Navarre Place addition
to the city of South Bend, located between
Leeper Island and the bluffs of Chapin place.
This was a famous fishing ground ; and here,
until the building of the dams at Niles and
Buchanan, even those who are of the present
generation remember the mighty sturgeon
that came up in great numbers from Lake
Michigan every spring.0 From here to old
Fort St. Joseph's was the Parkovash, the be
loved resort of French and Indians. At that
time, and ever since the Miamis had gone
south and east, to the vicinity of the Wabash
and the Maumee, the Pottawatomies were the
sole inhabitants of the region. There was,
however, no large Indian village near Na
varre's trading post. Old Chief Pokagon
was located with a few members of his tribe
down the river near Bertrand ; and there was
another band about two miles south of the
new post, on what is now Sumption prairie
road, called Raccoon Village. The main por
tion of the tribe was farther south, in what
are now Marshall and Fulton counties. Na
varre's trading post was on the line along
which the Indians traded every spring and
fall to reach the posts along the river, down
to Lake Michigan; at which times they
passed through in great numbers with quan
tities of furs, maple sugar, baskets and other
articles. The old trails are now marked by
city streets and main roads leading through
and from South Bend, Mishawaka. and other
towns, towards Fort Wayne and points to the
north, south, east and west. Such trails are
a. See Chap. 3, Sub. 7, Sec. 6.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

131

marked by Vistula avenue, through South
Bend and Mishawaka; Turkey Creek road;
Michigan street and avenue ; Sumption
Prairie road; Crum's Point road; Laporte
avenue; Portage avenue; South Bend ave
nue, or Edwardsburg road; and Mishawaka
avenue. The hunting and trapping grounds
were mainly down the valley of the Kankakee,
which, for centuries, and until within a few
years past, has been the sportsman's para
dise. Pierre Navarre when in his prime is
said to have been a noble specimen of vig
orous manhood, fully six feet in height, but

by the proprietors of Navarre Place to the
Northern Indiana Historical Society, and by
the society removed to Leeper park, where
it is cared for by the city of South Bend as
its most venerable historic relic. Navarre
Place, with its beautiful' homes occupying
the site of the home of this fine pioneer gen
tleman, will perpetuate his name in our his
tory ; as will also Navarre street, which over
looks Leeper park, where the ancient resi
dence is preserved, and overlooks likewise
the Pare aux Vaches, where the enterprising
fur trader set up his Indian home in the

RESIDENCE AND TRADING POST BUILT BY PIERRE NAVARRE, IN 1820, AND NOW PRE
SERVED IN LEEPER PARK, IN THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND.

rather slenderly built.0 On the removal of
the Pottawatomies to the west, in 1840, he
went with the tribe, but afterwards returned
to this county, where he died at the home
of his daughter in South Bend, December
27, 1864. His body rests in Cedar Grove
Cemetery, near Notre Dame. The log house
built by Navarre in 1820, which was the first
fur trading station in St. Joseph county, and
where this pioneer and his household, half
white and half Indian, so long resided, has .
been preserved to this 'day. It was presented
a. See "Art Work of South Bend and Vicin
ity." The Parish Pub. Co., Chicago, 1894.

wilderness, now nearly one hundred years
ago. IV-. THE FIRST SETTLERS.
Sec. 1. — Alexis Coquillard. — The first
American home established within the limits
of St. Joseph county was that of Alexis
Coquillard, who is usually regarded as the
founder of the city of South Bend. The
continuity of our history is well preserved in
the life of Mr. Coquillard. While he was a
fur trader and of French descent, as were
most of his predecessors in the valley of the
St. Joseph, and while he was always on

132

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

friendly terms with the Indians, in so far
that the Pottawatomies would have made him
their chief if he had not prevented it; yet
both he and his wife were Americans of the
Americans, spoke the English language as
readily as they did the French, and came to
the valley to lay the foundations of a dis
tinctively American community.
Alexis Coquillard was born in Detroit,
September 28, 1795. In the war of 1812 with
Great Britain, though but a boy of seven
teen, he gave his services to the American
cause, in the army under William Henry
Harrison, seeking the camp of Major George
Crogan, the brave defender of Fort Stephen
son on the Sandusky river, and there accept
ing the hazardous duties of dispatch mes
senger for the beleaguered garrison. After
the war young Alexis became a fur trader,
and was soon acting as agent for John Jacob
Astor 's American Fur Company. In the
year 1822, in connection with Francis Com-
paret, formerly of Detroit, but then of Fort
Wayne, Mr. Coquillard purchased the agency
of the fur company for the region of the
upper lakes. The partners are said to have
paid several thousand dollars for the property
and control of this extensive agency.
It was in the year 1823 that Alexis Co
quillard established a trading post on the St.
Joseph river. This he operated by himself, Mr.
Comparet remaining in charge of the post
at Fort Wayne. To distinguish the two
posts, the one at this point was called the
Big St. Joseph's Station; and the one at Fort
Wayne, the Little St. Joseph's Station. Our
river St. Joseph, formerly the river of the
Miamis, was for a time called the St. Joseph 's
of Lake Michigan, and afterwards the Big St.
Joseph's, to distinguish it from- the small
stream at Fort Wayne, also called the St.
Joseph's river. The posts on the two St.
Joseph's were the centers of the fur trade
with the Indians of northwestern Indiana and
southwestern Michigan.
The first trading post opened at this place
by Alexis Coquillard, the first business house

in St. Joseph county, was located on what
was then called the Dragoon trace, from
Fort Wayne to Chicago, but which is
now known as Vistula avenue. The
post stood about half a square easterly
from Washington street, and in front of
what is known as the Edmund Pitts Taylor
residence. Soon after locating at this point
Mr. Coquillard abandoned it, and built a
more pretentious log store and residence close
to what is now North Michigan street, on the
north side of La Salle avenue, and near the
site of the fine concrete bridge now (1907)
in course of construction over the St. Joseph
river, on that avenue. It was at that point
that the first ferry on the river was soon after
wards established. The site of this famous
and hospitable residence has long been oc
cupied by the Miller and Loutz coal and wood
yards. In the spring of 1824, Mr. Coquillard
married and brought here from Fort Wayne
his wife, Frances C, daughter of his partner,
Francis Comparet. This was the first white
man's home in this vicinity, and, for some
time, the only one. The unit of society is
the family; and the community of the great
county of St. Joseph was then gathered in
the hospitable home of Alexis and Frances
Coquillard, on the banks of the beautiful river
that was to give its name to the county.
Sec. 2.— Lathrop M. Taylor.— In 1827
Lathrop Minor Taylor settled here. Mr.
Taylor was a native of Clinton, Oneida
county, New York, and was born July 4, 1805.
He came with his parents to Detroit when he
was six years of age. Like Alexis Coquillard,
he came to us as a fur trader, from Detroit
and by way of Fort Wayne. His brother-in-
law, Samuel Hanna, of Fort Wayne, was the
senior member of the firm of Samuel Hanna
& Co., general traders at that place, and Mr.
Taylor came here as agent of the firm, to
establish a trading post at this point. Alexis
Coquillard and Lathrop M. Taylor, though
rivals in business, seemed to think, with
Admiral Schley, that there was glory enough
for all ; and they worked in harmony for the

ALEXIS COQUILLARD,
First white man who settled with his family in
St. Joseph County. One of the
founders of South Bend.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

135

common good of the town of which they were
to become the founders. Mr. Coquillard had
great faith that the settlement on the St.
Joseph would grow towards the north from
what is now La Salle avenue, instead of to
the south of that line. To the north of us,
the St. Joseph country, as it was called, had
then received many settlers, while the
country to the south, as far as the Wabash
river, was occupied exclusively by Indians.
He therefore advised the new trader to locate
his store near to the place where he himself
had removed. The site therefore selected by,
or for, Mr. Taylor was on what is now East
Madison street, on the west bank of the river,
and a block north of Mr. Coquillard 's own
trading post. The locality is close to Judge
Lucius Hubbard's residence, between that
and the residence of the ,Hon. Benjamin F.
Shively. Lathrop M. Taylor, like Alexis Coquillard,
readily secured the lasting friendship of the
Pottawatomies, whose language he spoke
fluently. They aided him in clearing a place
in the woods, large enough for his new trad
ing post, and he soon had his stock of goods
on hand and was actively engaged in business.
It was not long, however, before he was con
vinced that his post was out of the main line
of travel. Accordingly, he removed to what
is now Vistula avenue, very near to the site
of Mr. Coquillard 's first trading post. The
place has long been occupied by the residence
of the late E. Pitts Taylor, brother of
Lathrop. The judgment of the younger
trader as to the advantages of this locality
was perhaps superior to that of the elder.
The lines of travel on what have since been
known as Vistula avenue, Turkey Creek road
and other trails and roads leading towards
Fort Wayne and other points south and east,
became of more and more importance as the
years went by and Indiana became settled
towards the Wabash. Mr. Taylor married a
daughter of Judge Peter Johnson, father of
Evan, Joshua and Lea Johnson, all of whom
were noted pioneers. Peter Johnson erected

and kept the first frame house used as a
tavern, the old American hotel which was
located on the southwest corner of Michigan
and Washington streets. Coonley's drug
store has now for many years occupied the
site. In 1835 Judge Johnson built for his
son-in-law a large frame store room on the
northwest corner of the same street, opposite
the hotel. The Michigan road had now been
opened, and commerce and travel abandoned
the old routes; and this change Judge John
son and Colonel Taylor both recognized. To
this building Lathrop M. Taylor moved his
trading post from Vistula avenue, and here
he continued to live during the remainder of
his days. Cushing's drug store occupied the
site for many years after Mr. Taylor ceased
to do business ; but the old pioneer loved the
locality and continued to occupy rooms in
the building over the drug store. The Ameri
can Trust Company now occupies the site.0
Sec. 3. — First Name of the New Settle
ment. — The first entry on L. M. Taylor's
books of account, after establishing his agency
at this place, is dated at "St. Joseph's, In
diana," October 29, 1827; and is entitled:
"Journal of Samuel Hanna, James Barnett
and Allen Hamilton, partners in business
under the title of Samuel Hanna & Co.,
Lathrop M. Taylor, agent." The name "St.
Joseph's" is retained throughout the books
of the company, and it would seem that this
was for some time the recognized name of the
trading post. Years afterwards, when the
posts of the fur traders had developed into
a flourishing town, and the ambitious inhabit
ants became dissatisfied with the name of
South Bend, which to them seemed plebeian
and meaningless, public meetings were held
to consider other and more stately names for
the incipient Queen City of the St. Joseph
valley; and among the names then suggested
was this old one of St. Joseph 's or St. Joseph.
At that time, and long afterwards, serious and
continued efforts were made for the revival
a. Memoirs Elkhart and St. Joseph Counties,
pp. 774, 775. Goodspeed Brothers, Chicago, 1893.

136

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of the original name given to the trading posts
of Coquillard and Taylor.
Sec. 4. — Early Days on the Kankakee. —
On August 8, 1889, while Colonel Taylor was
yet living, Ernest P. Bieknell, then the bril
liant correspondent of the Indianapolis News,
afterwards secretary of the Indiana state
board of charities, and now at the head of the
department of charities in the city of Chicago,
wrote for the News the following graphic
and gossipy article on "The Winding Kan
kakee" and other kindred topics relating to
our very early local history:
"Before the nineteenth century was out of
its 'teens' the flat, river-veined country be
tween the Lakes Erie and Michigan was the
site of several settlements of Indian traders,
meant to be permanent. The swamps and
sluggish streams teemed with beaver, mink
and muskrat, while the rich grasses of the
moist lands fed herds and herds of deer.
From the time of La Salle's pioneer explora
tions, trappers and traders had wandered up
and down the streams, but they had always
made some Canadian town, or perhaps Buf
falo or Detroit, their headquarters.
"But after 'Mad' Anthony Wayne had
routed the hostile Indians and calmly assured
them he would arise from his grave to fight
them if they ever warred against the whites
again, there was a freer movement from the
East toward these rich hunting grounds. In
1794 a stockade called Fort Wayne was built
and garrisoned and under its shadow a settle
ment slowly grew, which outlived the fort but
retained its name. Several big eastern fur com
panies established agencies at Fort Wayne.
After a few years the traders learned that
the old route, up the St. Joseph river from
Lake Michigan to a point near the southern
most bend, then a portage of some four miles
southwest to the headwaters of the Kankakee,
and thence down that stream toward the Mis
sissippi, or the reverse of this, was a popular
one with the Indians.
"A trader named Alexis Coquillard was the
first to see that right where the two rivers

came nearest together was certain to be a
good point for a trading post. The Indian
trappers would rather accept lower priees
for their skins' than carry them over the long
four miles of portage. Your ordinary, un-
heroic Indian was not given greatly to indus
try. So it was, that in 1823 Coquillard estab
lished himself at the south bend of the St.
Joseph river, and South Bend has the settle
ment been ever since. The trader prospered
exceedingly and that naturally attracted at
tention. In the summer of 1827 Colonel L.
M. Taylor, a young man who was an agent for
a fur dealer at Fort Wayne named Hanna,
came to South Bend. Colonel Taylor is yet
an honored citizen of the city of which he
was the second inhabitant, and though almost
eighty-five years old is active and in full pos
session of all his faculties. To him this cor
respondent is indebted for valuable informa
tion. "In the spring and fall the Indians would
come up the Kankakee, their canoes heavily
laden with skins. The low, flat banks al
lowed an uninterrupted survey of the course
of the stream for miles, and because of its
remarkable crookedness the view of a party
of Indians in their boats was peculiar. As
they moved along in single file, the general
appearance was that of a party gliding along
in every possible direction through the high
grass. On a sharp S-shaped curve, for ex
ample, some of the Indians would be moving
west, some east, some north, and some almost
due south.
The effect of this sinuosity was rather dis
couraging to the inexperienced canoeist. After
paddling steadily down stream all day, round
and round curves where the rank grass
drooped over and narrowed the ribbon of
open water, with its tangled mass, it was
discouraging to draw the boat ashore and en
camp for the night within sight of the camp-
fire, at which he had prepared his breakfast.
Though he had traveled many miles he would
find that the ' 'bee line ' ' distance from where
he began his day's journey was depressing!}'

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

137

small. To the experienced canoeist and
woodsman, however, this rate of progress was
not depressing. It was not because he did
not care to move rapidly, but because hard
ships and exposure and intimate acquaintance
with nature had taught him to accept what
ever lot befell, and make the most of it. This
it was that gave him his air of profound in
difference and stoicism in his relations with
his friends and enemies and his self-control
in times of desperate danger.
"Referring to the devious ways of the Up
per Kankakee, Colonel Taylor related an inci
dent of his early days in the region :
" ' I had decided to send two men down the
river in a pirogue to collect skins, and, as
I wanted them to bring in a big cargo, deter
mined to furnish them a big boat. I searched
through the woods along the St. Joseph river
until I found an enormous tree. Two men
helped me, and in a few days we had a
pirogue made from its trunk that was a
beauty. It was forty-five feet long, three and
a half feet wide at one end and two feet
wide at the other. We drew it across the
portage sled-fashion with a team of oxen
which had been brought to the settlement, and
proudly launched it on the Kankakee. My
two men set out and in due time returned
with their load. But a more thoroughly dis
gusted boat crew I never saw. They vowed,
in the strong, unhampered speech which char
acterizes the true woodsman, that never more
would they hold any relations whatever with
my prized pirogue. That vessel, they said,
was so long that it was almost impossible to
get it around the curves of the river, and that
a goodly portion of the time both ends of it
at once were well planted in the murky banks
and had to be dug out with great labor and
loss of time. '
' ' The Indians of this region were the Potta
watomies, and were at this time an inoffen
sive, shiftless tribe which much preferred the
pursuits of peace to those of war. Members
of other tribes which occupied the country
south and west of the Pottawatomies visited

the South Bend settlement in great numbers
to dispose of the skins which they collected.
They were easily cheated by the traders and
made no complaint, but after an Indian had
once been imposed upon he never took his
wares to that trader again. The whites soon
learned this, and as there was much competi
tion among them in business, they usually
treated the simple red man fairly.
"As has so often been the case, the closing
history of the Pottawatomie tribe of Indians
is a sad story. Certain zealous missionaries
among them established themselves ten or
twelve miles below South Bend on the St.
Joseph, and named their settlement the
Carey Mission. In time a sturdy Baptist mis
sionary named Isaac McCoy became the chief
man at the mission and he was full of plans
for the improvement of the red men. The
whites were encroaching on them, and they
were scattered sparsely over a wide territory.
McCoy conceived the idea that if they were
removed to a reservation far away from the
whites, where they could be kept simple^ and
free from the degrading vices which they
learned by contact with their civilized
brothers, they could be Christianized and
made a happy, prosperous, domestic people.
He proposed a plan to the government which
was eventually adopted. Some 8,000 members
of the tribe were gathered at a point on Lake
Michigan, and another near where the city of
Lafayette now stands, and were paid for their
lands. It was several years later that their
removal was begun, and they were taken in
detachments at intervals for several years
more. A reservation for them had been pro
vided on the great western prairie. In the
removal the happy, contented and harmless
natives were scattered. Their families were
broken up, and many who were unwilling to
leave the scenes which had been the undis
puted possession of their ancestors for many
generations, wandered away among the
friendly tribes about them and eluded the
government agents.
"The last chapter of this sad history is

138

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

briefly recorded. The Pottawatomies had al
ways lived in the woods and hunted the game
which frequented them and the secluded
streams. In their new home, the wild, bitter,
winter wind swept across the prairies and
chilled the unacclimated Indians. The game,
of which they knew the habits, was not there.
In place of the deer and beaver and muskrat,
buffalo and wolves and jackrabbits roamed
the boundless prairies. The miserable aliens
died and froze and starved and wandered
away in despair. Some came back to their
old homes and joined those who had evaded
the government officers. Now, of this once
powerful and peaceful tribe, a small remnant
remains in Kansas and some 200 or 300 are
scattered about St. Joseph and adjoining
counties in Indiana and Ohio.
"Where once the simple-minded savage pad
dled along the quiet streams, or with cat-like
stealth threaded these woods and swamps in
search of game, or carried his store of skins
and his birchen canoe across the land which
divided into two his water-way from the lakes
to the Father of Waters, now all is changed.
The heavy rumble of trains, and the muf
fled roar of machinery profane the ancient
solitudes. The slow and primitive methods of
travel — the canoe and the portage — are gone
forever, but not more certainly are they gone
to return no more, than are those dusky
tribes which, in innocence and contentment,
once owned and loved and lost this land, gone
to exist hereafter only as a memory, as a tale
that is told."
Sec. 5. — Other Early Settlers of the
County. — After Navarre, Coquillard and
Taylor, some of the very early settlers in the
county were as follows. In what is now
Portage township, these settlers were: In
1827, Louis Sancomb, Doctor Fowler, Timo
thy S. Smith, Job Brookfield, John B. Ruleau,
Peter Jebeau, Samuel Cannon; in 1828,
Henry Painter, Eli Smith, Samuel Stude
baker (not related to the noted family that
came later), Thomas Johnson, John Heag; in
1829, Levi F. Arnold, John Lasly, Henry

Stull, Isaac Bowman, Joseph Rohrer, John
Becraft, Jacob Leer, Samuel Leer, Daniel
Cripe, Benjamin Coquillard (brother of
Alexis), Hiram Dayton, Samuel Rupe, Fred
erick Bainter, Oliver Bennett'; in 1831, Isaae
Cord, Jacob Cord, Samuel Cord, George Cord
Daniel Cord, William McCartney; in 1832
William Webster, Christopher Emerick- in
1833, Matthias Stover; in 1835, David Stover.
In what is now German township, the fol
lowing persons settled: In 1827, William
Brookfield; in 1829, John Smith; in 1830,
Christian Holler, Jacob Ritter, John Bitter-
in 1831, Joshua D. Miller; in 1832, Jacob M.'
Whitmer; in 1833, David Miller, Aaron
Miller, Jacob Miller, Abram Smith, Jona
than Smith, Daniel Wagoner, John Witter,
Samuel Witter.
In what is now Penn township, the follow
ing persons settled : In 1828, William Moat,
Timothy Moat; in 1829, William Holt; in
1830, Jesse Skinner,. Samuel L. Cottrell,
George W. West, E. Smith, Joseph Coe, Dan
iel Hollingshead, David Hollingshead, Will
iam Hollingshead, George Hollingshead, Dan
iel Edwards, Samuel Edwards, George Eutz-
ler; in 1831, Jesse Bell, Henry Huhtsinger,
Jacob Ebler, Jonathan Macy, Jacob Byrkit,
George Byrkit, Edward Byrkit, James Curtis,
John Ireland, William Ireland, Braddock
Chandler, Uriah Chandler, William Webster,
Menzo Webster, Isaac Parks.
In what is now Clay township, the follow
ing persons settled: In 1828, Jacob Cripe,
Daniel Eiler, Samuel Cannon, Benjamin Pot
ter; in 1829, John Hague, William Mc-
Combs, John H. Smith; in 1830, John Cripe,
Peter Cripe, Thomas Longley ; in 1831, Peter
Eaton, Jacob Eaton, William Smith, Joshua
Johnson ; in 1832, John C. Stutsman, Thomas
B. Chalfant, Evan Chalfant, James Stuckey,
Thomas P. Bulla, William F. Bulla, Samuel
Brooks, Gideon Draper; in 1833, Francis
Jennings ; in 1834, Joseph Ulery, Stephen
Ulery. In what is now Harris township, the fol
lowing persons settled : In 1830, Jacob Har-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

139

ris, from whom Harris prairie and Harris
township were named, Samuel Bell, Adam
Miller, a Baptist minister, Adam Ringle,
David Baldwin, Josephus Baldwin ; in 1831,
Joseph Buel, Jacob Myers, Arbogast Zaehnle,
Henry Augustine, Jonathan Hartzell; in
1833, Robert Kennedy, David Ringle, Samuel
Ringle, Levi Ringle.
In what is now Olive township, the fol
lowing persons settled : In 1830, Charles Vail,
for whose wife, Olive, the township was
named, John Adams, Jacob Rush, Israel Rush,
John Druliner, Malin Druliner, Samuel Gar
wood, Garrett Nickerson, Henry Nickerson,
William White, Jacob Egbert, John Egbert,
Elder George Boyd ; in 1831, James Garoutte,
Benjamin Redding; in 1832, Job Smith,
Henry Ranstead, John Reynolds.
In what is now Center township, the fol
lowing persons settled : In 1830, Andrew Mill
ing, James Palmer and Asher Palmer, from
whom Palmer prairie was named, John Rose,
Nathan Rose, Jacob Rupel; in 1832, John
Smith; in 1833, George Smith, Abiel Hunger-
ford, Tyra N. Bray; in 1834, John Henson,
Thomas Jones, Isaac Lamb ; in 1835, James
Inwood, Richard Inwood, William Phillips.
In what is now Greene township, 'the fol
lowing persons settled: In 1830, George
Sumption, from whom Sumption prairie was
named; in 1831, John Rupel, John Bird,
Jacob Rupe, Grave Pomeroy, Stacy Garwood,
William Antrim, Abram Whitmer, William
Rudduck; in 1832, George Holloway, Nathan
Greene, John Rudduck, David Barrett, John
Greene, from whom the township was named,
Jonathan Wharton, M. Borton, George Baker,
Gabriel Fender, Samuel Pearson; in 1833,
M. E. Hammond, John McCullough.
In what is now Warren township, the fol
lowing persons settled: In 1831, Reynolds
Dunn; in 1832, Peter Brick, Peter Wykoff,
George Witter, John Kingery, Stephen Field,
Nathaniel Wilson; in 1833, Jesse Frame,
William Frame, Nathaniel Frame, Cornelius
Frame, Isaac Frame, David Frame, Jesse
Frame, Isaac W. Phillips; in 1834, Harvey

Buckles, James Dunbar; in 1835, Joseph P.
Jones, Joseph Price, Thomas Jackson, Calvin
Myler. In what is now Union township, the fol
lowing persons settled: In 1833, John Hen
derson, Elijah Lineback, John Gardner, John
Rector, Jacob Rector, Mark Rector; in 1834,
Hubbard Henderson, James Moon, John
Moon, Eli Moon; in 1835, James Annis,
Henry Hardy, Daniel Glenn, Amos Heston.
In what is now Liberty township, the fol
lowing persons settled: In 1835, Jacob Ear-
hart, John Earhart, John Kane, Isaac Town-
send, Daniel Ross, Jesse Palmer, Samuel
Loring, John Rupel, Daniel Rupel, Joseph
Liggett, James Cole, Franklin Pearse.
The foregoing names and dates may not be
strictly accurate in every instance, but the
effort has been made to avoid all error.
Neither is it intended that these were all
the settlers up to the year 1835; it was our
purpose only to give the names of some
prominent families and the proximate times
and places of their settlement in St. Joseph
county. The list will also serve to show what
parts of the county were first settled, and
the years in which the several places were first
occupied. It does not appear that in the
territories now known as Madison and Lin
coln townships any settlements were made un
til after the year 1835.
V. THE LOG HOUSE.
The rude life which these early settlers
were compelled to lead, and the many priva
tions to which they were subjected, are well
illustrated by one who gives us his own recob
lections in the following vivid sketch:"
The poet who lived and wrote his songs,
fifty to a hundred years ago, was inspired
with environments, then existing, which now
would be void of sentiment. We hear the
song: ' ' How dear to my heart are the scenes of my
childhood,
When, fond recollection presents them to
view,
a. Contributed by a writer to the Waterloo, In
diana, Press.

140

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

The orchard, the meadow, the deep tangled
wildwood ;
And all the loved pleasures my infancy
knew. The old oaken bucket —
The iron-bound bucket,
The moss-covered bucket
That hung in the well."
The passing of the open well, with wooden
curb, and the long "well sweep" balanced
in the center on a post crotched at the top,
a heavy stone fastened with large pegs on
the large end of the long timber used as the
sweep or elevating power, and the "old oaken
bucket" fastened at the top with a chain
equal in length to the depth of the well. Such
sweeps were a familiar sight fifty years ago.
The old oaken bucket made by the local
cooper, bound with iron hoops, lasted several
generations, and hence became "moss cov
ered." The sweep was pulled down and the
"bucket" dropped into the well, with a weight
fastened to one side to sink it in the cool
waters at the bottom, and it came up on a
balance with the stone at the other end of the
' ' sweep. ' ' Here the poet quaffed the refresh
ing drink of his childhood days, and received
his inspiration for the song.
Alongside the well with the sweep and the
"old oaken bucket" stood the old log house,
the home of the pioneer, now only a memory,
and to the present generation unknown, as
log houses are a thing of the past. Sixty-two
years ago the writer, after leaving the strap-
iron railroad in Adrian, Mich., came from
"York state" by "rapid transit," consisting
of "an ox team" and a covered "movers'
wagon." Several days' travel with the fam
ily in the wagon, landed us in the midst of a
dense forest. A small spot was cleared of
underbrush, and strong, enthusiastic men cut
down trees of uniform size and built the log
cabin in the woods. There were no public
highways in that time, and a man with an
ax went before the ox team to remove some
of the brush and obstructions, for the passage
of the wagon.
Those homes of the early pioneer, would
be a revelation to the present generation. The
logs were cut to equal lengths as required for
the size of the building, and rolled up on
skids as the building increased in height with
each log, the ends being notched to fit close,
and at the same time bind the building to
gether. The structure was tapered off at the

top with smaller timbers, and the roof, made
of shakes, split from clear oak with a frow
and maul, were fastened on the poles across
the top ojf the building by placing small logs
on top of them, kept equal distance apart by
short sections of timbers at right angles. Then
a bass wood log was secured to be split into
chinks for closing up the cracks between the
logs, which were plastered with clay mud
without lime or cement. The windows were
often of greased paper, and the heavy slab
doors hung on wooden hinges with a heavy
latch inside, lifted by a leather string from
without, and the string pulled inside when
the door was to be locked. Hence "the latch
string always hangs out" was the greeting
given to neighbors, meaning they were wel
come to call.
While their rude homes were being built,
the families lived and slept in the covered
wagon. There were no stoves in those days,
and the old fireplace was cut out of one side
of the building, and walls were made of stone
or bog ore, found in marshes or swamps in
the early days. The chimney was built of
small pieces of wood four square split from
the remnants of blocks from which the
"shakes" for the roof were made, and this
structure was plastered inside and out with
mud. There were no carpets on the floors,
and not infrequently the massasauga, or black
rattlesnake, the dread of the mother and the
children, found its way through the puncheon
floor and located in the bed or under the
household effects, where his rattles warned all
comers to beware. The strenuous life in the
days of old, was along different lines. It was
many years before the rag carpet made its
appearance, because of the fact that the cloth
ing of the parents was made over and over .
and handed down from the oldest to the
youngest child, until there was not enough
rags from which to cut strips for weaving into
carpets. Those were pioneer days; and what a
strange contrast with present conditions and
customs ! The generations now living hardly
realize how much credit should be given the
early pioneers who carved out their rude
homes from the dense forest, and made it
possible for the great changes that followed
them. VI. reminiscences. ¦
Sec. 1. — By Daniel Greene. — On Septem
ber 19, 1832, John Greene and his family

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

141

arrived in the territory afterwards to be or
ganized under their name, as the township
of Greene. On the seventy-third anniversary
of that day, Daniel Greene, one of the chil- >
dren of the family, now an honored citizen
of the city of South Bend, gave to his friends
and the public a most interesting interview,
detailing the coming to their Indiana home
in those far off years. The story which he
tells is the story of hundreds of pioneers who
left their homes in the east, to find other
homes in the west. By permission of the
venerable narrator, the following is taken
from this interview :°
"My parents, John Greene and Nancy Ann
Jackson, were born and married in the state
of Delaware. Not being in sympathy with
the institution of slavery, they decided to
seek a home for their little' family in the
then distant free soil of the northwest, be
yond the reach of its blighting influence. In
the fall of 1811, with their three boys, Israel,
John and Ezekiel, and such articles as could
be transported in a light wagon drawn by
one horse, they bade a final farewell to dear
ones and native state. Guided by the star
of hope, they started on the long, perilous
journey over hills and mountains, across
plains and valleys, towards the. setting sun,
cheered by the hope of a home of their own
in a land of freedom.
"After weeks of toil, privation and suffer
ing, they pitched their tent by the roadside in
the beautiful valley of the Miami, in Greene
county, Ohio; where they lived in tent and
cabin and as farm renters for twenty years,
enduring the hardships incident to pioneer
life, and adding in that time six boys and
three girls to their little Delaware family, and
increasing somewhat their worldly goods. Not
having realized their long cherished hope of
a home of their own, my father started, in
the fall of 1830, on a home-seeking tour on
horseback through northern Indiana and
southern Michigan, returning by way of Fort
a. In the South Bend Tribune, September 19,
1905.

Wayne, after having failed to locate a home.
"Not being satisfied with what he had seen,
he started, in the fall of 1831, on a second
tour, passing through Indianapolis, Logans
port and intervening territory, and arriving
in South Bend a few months after the town
had been laid out. Here he was offered a lot
for five dollars, if he would erect a log cabin
on it. Continuing his prospecting tour into
southern Michigan, he entered one hundred
and sixty acres of heavily timbered land near
where Berrien Springs now stands. He re
turned again by way of Fort Wayne, with
the intention of moving to the land the com
ing fall. After reaching home, and giving
the matter more mature consideration, he
thought it not best to take his large family
into the heavy timbered lands to open a farm,
as it would entail too much labor and hard
ship on the family, and so changed his mind
and decided to go with some old friends to
northern Indiana.
"Memory, aroused, rolls back the shades of
time, covering a period of years reaching back
beyond the wild scenes, privations and dan
gers of pioneer life in this country to the
old Ohio home and environs where I first
assisted in making the ball go round in the
active game of a busy life eighty years ago.
There, during the winter of 1831 and 1832,
the little colony was organized and Michigan
road lands received for future homes by de
positing one dollar and twenty-five cents an
acre with the secretary of state, and receiving
therefor a certificate of deposit, for which
deeds were to be obtained some two years
later, signed by Governor Nflble. One of those
deeds I now have. Arrangements were then
completed for moving the coming fall.
"Early in the spring of 1832, my brother
Nathan, and John Mannering, a cousin, were
equipped with an ox team, tools, implements
and seeds, and were sent out to fence, plow
and plant a part of the land to corn, potatoes
and other useful crops for supplies for the
families upon arrival at the anticipated time.
They took with them at the same time Nathan

142

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Greene, another cousin, and his wife, to assist
in the work and then take care of the place
while the young men returned to Ohio to
aid in moving the family in the fall.
"That being the year of the Black Hawk
Indian war in the west, the countiy, and
especially the little valley where we lived, was
kept in a state of anxiety and unrest by the
exciting and exaggerated rumors of Indian
treachery, depredations and massacres of
early settlers along the western frontier. My
brother, Nathan, and cousin, then at work on
Sumption prairie putting out the crop at the
future home, kept our people more correctly
informed about the Indian war scare, and
when they returned the first of August were
able to relieve much of the anxiety of the
colony as to the danger to life or otherwise
from the Indians.
' ' September 2, 1832, the day long fixed for
starting, came bright and cheering, and the
little Ohio valley soon became one scene of
commotion and excitement. When the fam
ilies of John Greene, George Baker, Joshua
Garwood, Jonathan Wharton, Edward Powers
and Michael Robertson, over sixty people in
all, fell into line in the dusty streets of Xenia,
their old county town, with twelve canvas
covered wagons, some drawn by two or four
good horses, and others by six oxen, with a
large following of loose cattle, sheep, hogs and
dogs, for a starter at their Indiana homes, all
kept in line by a lot of lively boys and girls,
they found the streets of their old town lined
by hundreds of friends, neighbors and strang
ers, waiting for a last friendly greeting, ex
pressions of interest in the future success and
welfare of these adventurous friends were
profuse, and a last friendly handshake was
accompanied by expressions of wonderment
why they were leaving one of the garden
spots of the earth, friends, homes and plenty,
to face the dangers and hardships of a long
journey, and the sufferings and privations of
frontier life in the then distant west.
"Words fail me to tell of the emotions and
parting scenes of that day. The last sad look

is taken and the last farewell is said. The
wheels begin to turn, the wagons begin to
fall in line and the long train has started on
its long and perilous journey. Camp was
formed that first night out about five miles
north of Xenia. By arranging the wagons in
a circle a large court was formed, in the
center of which the general camp fire was
lighted, and there the evening was spent. It
was an evening long to be remembered by the
many sad hearts that devoted the night to
struggling with their hopes and fears,
whether all should end well that seemed to
promise well.
"Early the next morning things began to
assume a more normal or business-like ap
pearance. Sad faces began to brighten and
cheer up as the wagons began to fall in line
for another day's march toward the promised
land and home. After the noon lunch and rest,
one of the older men was sent in advance on
horseback to select and secure a camping
place for the night. Every day thereafter
the camping place was located in the same
way, and each night the wagons were ar
ranged in a circle, forming a large open court,
in the center of which a general camp fire
was lighted. There the evenings were spent
as age and taste suggested, with music, games,
conversation and entertainment of visitors.
Meals were prepared and served on the out
side, to each family as called for.
" As we advanced, the distance between set
tlements increased, and our visions of red
skins, tomahawks and scalping knives became
more vivid and the timid ones more nervous.
The roads, after a few days, became very bad,
and, in many places, mere winding ways
through the forests. The difficulty of crossing
the larger rivers with the teams and loose
stock made progress very slow. One day, in
the black swamps east of Fort Wayne, only
four miles were traveled. The route lay
through Dayton, Fort Wayne, Goshen and
Elkhart. At Elkhart Messrs. Powers and
Robertson broke ranks, and proceeded on to
southern Michigan, where they located. The

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

143

other four families, forty-four people in all,
followed down the south bank of the St.
Joseph river to South Bend, then a little In
dian trading post of a few log cabins nestled
among the old oaks.
"From the trading post we followed the old
Indian trail out to Sumption prairie, break
ing ranks finally near the place where the
James Oliver farm house now stands. Each
family took its course from there through
the tall prairie grass for its new home. Just
as the sun was sinking behind the western
forest, our family came to a halt at the cor
ner of a lonely cornfield where father, alight
ing from his horse, said, 'At home at last.'
"We lived in and under our wagons until
a hewed log house, eighteen by thirty feet,
with a large fireplace in each end, the first of
its kind south of this city, was erected.
Taking in the howling of the wolf in one ear
and the whoop of the Indian in the other, we
moved into the house without floors, doors or
windows; and it soon became known as
Greene's big house. When the township was
organized it was named for the Greene f am-
iiy. "While the house was being built the ox
team was sent to Trail Creek, now Michigan
City, a distance of forty miles, for lumber for
floors, doors, windows and other purposes. It
required about six days to make the trip.
When the team returned, we found the lum
ber broad poplar boards, just as the logs
had been sawed through, not edged or shaped,
and it had to be shaped by hand with saw and
splitting gauge. As soon as the house was
ready to receive the goods my brother Ezekiel
returned to Ohio with the four-horse team to
assist my brothers Nathan and Jackson, who
had remained there, to gather and market the
crops grown there and winter the team. When
the little crops grown here had been oared
for, a part of the field sown to wheat, and
everything made as convenient and comfort
able as possible for the family, John Manner-
ing, the cousin, also returned to Ohio with
the ox team to winter there.

"Early in the spring of 1833, both teams
returned well loaded with a year's supply of
flour, farm implements and other articles,
among them a loom, a large and a small spin
ning wheel and a reel, all of which at that
time were considered indispensable articles of
the household outfit. As an illustration of the
value and service rendered by the wheels and
loom in every home in the early settlement oi
this country, I well remember myself, like
other boys of the settlement, then in my teens,
clad in a straw hat, linen shirt and trousers,
the materials having been grown, and the
goods manufactured, cut and made on the
farm. Thus clad I toiled many a warm sum
mer day, armed with an ox gad with a long
buckskin lash, driving four yoke of oxen,
which drew a large breaking plow, made of
wood, except the share and- bar, and turning
over the tough prairie sod for the first time.
This was a fair sample or illustration of the
average boy of the settlement and of his work,
in the early days of our trials and triumphs.
"When Alexis Coquillard and Lathrop M.
Taylor established their little Indian trading
posts on the banks of our beautiful river, to
exchange their merchandise for the furs, pel
try and other Indian products that abounded
in the vicinity of the Kankakee swamps, and
for miles in all directions, they were several
years in advance of the permanent Home-seek
ing pioneers who found these rich prairies and
vast forests untouched by the hand of civili
zation. These lands were as yet untouched
by the ax or the plow, and were still roamed
over at will by the Indian on the hunt and
chase and by the wild beast of the woods and
the plains. The regular and permanent settle
ment of the county began in the spring of
1830, the county being organized and the first
government lands being placed on the market
early in the spring of that year.
"The rich productive soil of the prairies,
and their readiness at all times, without pre
vious labor, to welcome the plowman and his
seed, made them most desirable; and they
were, therefore, the first to be entered and

144

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH . COUNTY.

occupied. All the prairies of the county
began to be settled about the same time, that
is, early in the spring of 1830.
"The first, white person to settle in that
part of the county lying southwest of the city
of South Bend, was George Sumption, who
was subsequently honored by having his name
given to our prairie. He located there in the
spring of 1830, on what is now the James
Oliver farm. Mr. Sumption being a man of
courage and energy, soon became one of the
leading citizens of the settlement, and re
mained such until the day of his death. He
made the brick for and erected and occupied
the first brick house south of the city of South
Bend. John Rupel, a sturdy son of. Pennsyl
vania, came next, in the spring of 1831,
locating westward of and adjoining Sump
tion. John Bird came a little later in 1831,
settling west of and adjoining Rupel. Later,
the same season, Jacob Rupe, Grove Pomeroy
and Stacy Garwood located on the southeast
part of the prairie.
"In the spring of 1832, George Holloway,
David Barrett, Nathan Greene and John Rud
duck settled on the west side of the prairie.
The Black Hawk Indian war in the early part
of that year virtually closed emigration for
the season, except as to our little colony of
forty-four who had previously arranged to
move that fall and who arrived and located
on the prairie as already related. In the
spring of 1833, the Indian scare was over,
settlers came in rapidly, and in a very few
years all the tillable lands of what is now
Greene township were occupied and produc
ing. "The first thing on the arrival of a new
settler was the erection of a log cabin for
shelter and protection. This was sometimes
accomplished in one day, the neighbors turn
ing out to assist, some cutting the logs, others
hauling them in and others laying them up,
and still others, with saws and frows, getting
out the clapboards for the roof.
"In the absence of public roads these first
cabins that we called homes were located on

the edge of the timber around the border of
the prairie, and of necessity were rude struc
tures. When public highways were establish
ed these homes were often found to be badly
located, and in many cases required removal,
or the erection of new and better houses.
"Seventy-five years of intelligent industry
and unyielding courage and energy have left
the stamp of change and progress everywhere,
and practically on everything. Yes, how
changed are the people and the scenery ! The
old familiar form and face of the red man,
who then roamed at will over the broad acres
of this beautiful valley, lord of all he sur
veyed, is seen and feared no more. His old,
well beaten paths have long since faded from
view, and the feet that made them have been
at rest. His wigwams and villages have crum
bled to dust and sunk into the kindly earth
forever. "The vast forests to the southeast of the
county, and the extensive oak openings and
wild prairies to the southwest and to the
north, once the home of the savage, the wild
beasts of prey and the timid, beautiful deer,
when touched by the hand of civilization,
began to blossom as the rose, and were soon
dotted with comely, happy homes, fruitful
grain fields and orchards, and with growing,
prosperous towns and cities. The little Indian
trading post of a few cabins that we found on
the banks of the St. Joseph, has become one
of the chief cities of a great state, and the
home of many of the largest manufactories
of the world. There mighty work shops are
daily turning their beautiful and useful pro
ducts into the lap of the world's commerce,
and carrying the name of South Bend to all
civilized countries and peoples.
"The successors of the Indians are the
heroic pioneers of 1830,. '31, '32, and '33, who
faced the dangers, endured the privations,
suffered the ills and disappointments of long
journeys and lives of hardship ; who felled the
forest and reclaimed the prairies; who ex
tended the lines of civilization and became

the promoters of the mansions, towns

and

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

145

cities of today. Having done their work and
done it well, leaving a noble inheritance to
their more favored successors, they, too, have
followed the red man to his resting place.
Of the pioneers who settled in this county,
south of the city, at that early day, the fol
lowing, who were then children, are all that
are now (1905) left to tell the story of those
early days : Ephraim Rupel and Mrs. George
Rambo, of Greene township ; John B. Greene,
of Warren; Daniel Rupe, of Liberty; John
Stull, of Center; the Rev. N. Greene, of Dan
ville, Indiana; Benjamin Garwood, of Iowa;
Mrs. James Miller and myself, of this city.
' ' So far as known, there are three other per
sons now (1905) living in the county who
were, here when our little colony arrived.
They are Robert Cissne, formerly of Warren
township, now residing in this city with his
son, John D. Cissne; Mrs. Matilda Sherland;
and my wife, Mrs. Mary L. Greene, of South
Bend. Mrs. Greene came here in March, 1830,
before the town was laid out, and is prob
ably the oldest continuous resident of the
county now living. So far as I know, there
is not a man, nor any other woman, now liv
ing in South Bend who was a resident of the
town or the county at the time when I came.
"The first dark cloud that came over our
colony was caused by the death of Isaac Rud
duck, a worthy young man about twenty-one
years of age, who died early in January, 1833,
at the home of his parents, on what is now the
Whiteman farm, just south of Dr. Jacob R.
Brown's place, on Sumption prairie road.
This death occurred about four months after
the arrival of our colony. To meet the neces
sities of the sad occasion was a severe test of
the abilities and resources of the settlement.
Some of the older men got together to select
a burial place. Mr. Sumption generously
gave an acre of land in one corner of his farm.
This was the beginning of the present ceme
tery that has been enlarged three times since.
"My brother John, who had just completed
a three years' apprenticeship to a carpenter,,
made the coffin of poplar boards which we
10

had hauled forty miles with oxen. My brother
Nelson and I were sent to the thick woods to
peel basswood bark, 'boil it and stain the coffin.
The remains were taken to the grave in a lum
ber wagon. The lines of the harness were
taken from the team to lower the body to its
last resting place ; after which the fresh earth
was filled in and the people parted in silence
from the lonely grave.
"The memory of that first burial that I
ever attended, with the late Colonel A. S.
Baker, my boyhood companion and life-long
friend, standing at my side, and the large
snowflakes coming down on the little company
of neighbors and mourners, is as vivid today,
as is another funeral, that of my esteemed
friend and neighbor, Almond Bugbee, the last
that I have attended, when our fellow citizen
James Oliver was at my side. These two
funerals, seventy-two years apart, fittingly
illustrate the changes that have taken place
in the growth of our city and county;
"The first white person born in our part
of the county was Andrew Bird. He was
born in the summer of 1832 on what is now
the John J. Rupel farm. He grew to man
hood, married and raised a family, resided
all his life in Greene township and died own
ing a good farm adjoining the one on which
he was born. The first marriage in what is
now Greene township was that of Abijah
Sumption, son of the first settler, and Rachel
Rupe. The second was that of John Rudduck
and Elizabeth Rupe, sister of Rachel. The
third was that of Ezekiel Greene and Sarah
Garwood, both members of the little colony. ' '
Sec. 2. — By John Stull. — In connection
with the reminiscences of Mr. Greene may be
given the substance of an interview with John
Stull who, with his parents, came to the
county when he was a boy nine years old. In
his conversation Mr. Stull told of his attend
ing school in 1830, in the old school building
in South Bend, on the site of the present Jef
ferson school, and also told how hard it was
to "drum up" enough pupils, by going two

146

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

miles in each direction, to maintain a summer
session. Mr. Stull then continued:
"There was then living here Lathrop M.
Taylor, who occupied a double log house on
what is now Vistula avenue, one-half of which
was devoted to a stock of dry goods, and the
business of a general country store, while 'fire
water ' was dispensed in the other half. Alexis
Coquillard was also a resident and had his
trading quarters on the ground long occupied
by Miller & Lontz as a coal and wood yard.
Center street, so called for that reason,
although but an alley proper, was the divid
ing line between the Taylor and Coquillard
properties, the latter trading the land south
to Taylor. Coquillard did not conceal his sat
isfaction that he had got the advantage of
Taylor in the division. There were but the
two stores in the place, but many dwelling
houses scattered through the surrounding
woods. ' ' In 1832 the report of the uprising of the
northwestern Indians spread like wildfire.
The news was that the Indians were killing
the people, driving off stock and burning
property. The little settlement became alarm
ed and action for defense was begun by draw
ing plans for the construction of a fort to be
located on what is now Vistula avenue, about
where the water works stand pipe is erected.
The plans for the fort were such that all lines
of approach could be commanded and swept
by the defenders. The fort was to be con
structed from small trees cut in such lengths
that about ten feet should extend above the
ground, the tops sharpened to a point. A
ditch was to surround the entire structure.
Luckily Black Hawk was defeated, up in Wis
consin, and his followers driven across the
Mississippi, and the scare in St. Joseph county
was over."
There was any quantity of big game in
the woods, Mr. Stull remarking that at one
time he saw no less than seven head of deer
making for the springs along the river. The
burning of the barrens (oak openings) was a
favorite pastime with the Indians. They

could be expected to set the fire going at least
once a year, and then there were occasionally
exciting times ; but they never could set the
heavy timber *on fire by reason of the damp
ness retained by the dead leaves. The only
survivor of those early days of whom Mr.
Stull has any knowledge is Mrs. Matilda
Sherland, niece of the original Alexis Coquil
lard." Sec. 3. — Paper by William D. Bulla. — In
the winter of 1900, Mr. William D. Bulla read
before the Northern Indiana Historical
Society a most interesting paper detailing
many of the particulars * of the life of his
father, Thomas P. Bulla, one of the earliest
residents of what is now Clay township in
this county. From this paper it appears that
Thomas P. Bulla was brought by his parents
from Ohio to what is now Wayne county, In
diana, in the year 1807, when he was but three
years of age. Notwithstanding the privations
of frontier life he became a comparatively
well educated young man and prepared him
self for the professions of teaching and land
surveying, in both of which he excelled. In
the fall of 1832 he came to St. Joseph county
to secure for himself a home. He located on
a tract immediately east of and adjoining the
grounds of the present University of Notre
Dame. Previous to this he had made four
trips to this county, coming first some time
in the year 1824. With him came his brother-
in-law, Evan Chalfant, who located on a tract
adjoining on the south.
In 1833, Mr. Bulla built for himself a
house, the first hewed log house in Clay town
ship. It was quite a pretentious building, be
ing constructed of hewed logs, with a hard
wood floor of matched oak, a brick chimney
and a pine shingle roof. It consisted of one
large room, serving the quadruple purpose of
kitchen, dining room, bed-room and parlor.
In the center the loom was often a conspicu
ous piece of furniture. There was a garret
overhead, with matched soft-wood floor, and
reached by a steep winding stair. This served
as a spare bed-room in time of need, and also

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

147

for storing the spinning wheels, reels, swifts,
spools, spool-rack, and the gears, reeds, shut
tles, quills, temple and other things belong
ing to the loom. Among the conveniences
on the lower floor were the. large open fire
place, containing a crane supplied with hooks
of various lengths, on which were suspended,
over the fire, the vessels in which the cooking
was done. A trap door led to the cellar and
there was a closet under the stairs and a ' ' cat
hole" near the back door.
While boarding with his brother-in-law,
Mr. Bulla was employed as a teacher in his
new house and also in South Bend. Amongst
his pupils were Lea P. Johnson, Judge Thos.
S. Stanfield and the great wagon manufac
turer, Alexis Coquillard, the younger, nephew
of the founder of the city of South Bend. Mr.
Bulla married Hannah, daughter of Captain
Gideon Draper, another distinguished pioneer
of the county. She was a worthy helpmate
of Mr. Bulla, and herself made a strong im
pression for good, not only upon her five
children, but upon the whole community. Mr.
Bulla, besides being a teacher and farmer,
was for eighteen years county surveyor, suc
ceeding Tyra W. Bray, in 1837. Among the
early settlers, friends and neighbors of Mr.
Bulla, living within a radius of two miles,
were his brother William F. Bulla, Evan
Chalfant, Pierre Navarre, Anthony Defrees,
Gideon and David Draper, Asa Bennett, Eze-
kiel Benton, Joseph Metzger, James Stuckey,
Samuel Brooks, Louis Swearingen, James J.
Lane, Stephen and Joseph Ulery, the Rever
end Edwin Sorin, Brother Lawrence, Brother
Francis Xavier, Isaac Eaton, Jacob Eaton,
John Eaton, Samuel R. and Jesse W. Jen
nings, John R. Thompson, Aaron Hoover, —
all of whom have passed from the activities of
this life to the realities of the life beyond.
Sec. 4. — Recollections of Hugh V. Comp
ton. — To cover the early history of another
part of the county, we give here the recollec
tions of Hugh V. Compton as to his early life
on Terre Coupee prairie.0 In 1830, when Mr.
a. As written by him for the New Carlisle
Gazette, November 16, 1906.

Compton was a child but one year old, he
came with his father from Ohio to Montgom
ery county, in this state, where the family re
mained for nearly six years ; after which they
made preparations to move to St. Joseph
county. Mr. Compton says :
"We started for St. Joseph county about
the 19th of June, 1836. I remember the
neighbors coming in to bid us goodbye and
also a pet deer with a bell on its neck. They
would pet it for a while and then set the dogs
on it to see it run. We moved in a covered
wagon and I do not remember much that hap
pened on the way except when we crossed the
Wabash river at Logansport. I remember
that as we drove on the ferry a cow swam the
river at the same time. We forded the Eel
river coming out of town, there being only a
footbridge. The last night before arriving at
Terre Coupee we stayed the other side of
South Bend, which at that time was a very
small town consisting of a few houses, two
or three stores, a small brick court house, a log
jail and the old American hotel. I thought
the road from South Bend to the prairie
would never come to an end, but about noon
the 24th of June we landed at what is now
the Bates farm, then owned by a widow
Smith and rented by uncle Joe Ivens. My
mother and family remained with aunt Sally
Ivens and aunt Maria Druliner while father
went to Illinois to look for a location. He
went on horseback and was gone about four
weeks but concluded to remain in St. Joseph
county. We moved into a cabin at Hamilton
which stood back of the store and about where
Isaac Faroute 's house stands now. That same
fall John Oaskadden came and moved into a
school house that stood in what is now the
cemetery. At that time there were but four
graves there. The ground was not fenced in
and the graves were protected by log pens.
Jonathan Hubbard and family lived on the
south side of the road in a cabin near the pres
ent Hubbard residence. The cabin was built
for a man by the name of Garwood and was
the first cabin built on that side of the prairie.

148

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

John Druliner, his brothers and Mr. Garwood
had all moved from Ohio in 1830, about the
time my father went to Montgomery county.
Uncle John Druliner and a party first landed
on the south side of the prairie and camped
until they could build their log houses.
"They began cutting down trees and dig
ging wells, but found water so near the sur
face that they concluded to see what was
on the other side of the prairie, and finding
it higher they all moved over there. They
hauled the logs that were already cut to
build the Garwood home, and then each of
the Druliners built a home and they all
helped one another until they were completed.
, ' ' While living at Hamilton during the win
ter of '36 and '37, father went back to Mont
gomery county, to settle up his business and
bring the rest of our goods. Uncle John
Druliner went with him to buy horses. While
father was away my two uncles, Elias and
William Compton, came and stayed over
night with us. They drove from near Craw-
fordsville to Michigan City with loads of
wheat and returned with loads of salt. The
wagons were the old Ohio or freight wagons,
such as were used to haul merchandise over
the mountains when emigration reached west
of the Alleghenies.
"At one time that winter there were five
or six hundred Indians camping across the
road from the church. They were on their
way to Detroit to receive pay from the gov
ernment for their lands. They were a queer
looking set with rings in their ears and noses.
They wanted to buy everything to eat.
Someone had butchered hogs and they took
all that was thrown away, boiled it and made
soup. "During the winter father fixed up a sleigh
and put a cow-bell on the end of the tongue.
Our family, Mrs. Luther and her son George,
all took a ride to Uncle John Druliner 's,
but the road being rough and full of stumps,
and the knees of the sled being low, we got
stuck several times. This was the first sleigh-
ride that I remember.

"In the spring of '37 father rented a piece
of land of Dick Carlisle, a field of twenty
or thirty acres lying just south of the town.
This was a neck of the prairie joined to the
main prairie through J. H. Service's farm,
back of his house. We lived in a cabin south
west of town on a road that led to the Lucos
and Warren farms. Before father had fin
ished plowing, an old man by the name of
Billy Pellet came and told him he had bought
the land and wanted possession. He said he
was going to lay it out in town lots, etc.
Father told him it didn't belong to him or
Dick Carlisle, as he had rented it for one
year. Carlisle proposed to change and let
him have some land north of town, about
where the depot is and taking in a part of
the Egbert farm. It was then unbroken
prairie, and Carlisle proposed to furnish a
team and someone to assist. He sent his
brother-in-law. They broke the ground,
moved the fence and raised oats on the south
part of the field and corn on the north.
"New Carlisle at that time was a very small
place. Where mast of the town is now, it
was oak grubs and woods. There were
three small stores, one in what is now Fack's
meat market, kept by Mr. Matthews (Schuy
ler Colfax's step-father) and a partner by
the name of Ervin ; a grocery on the corner
east of Warner's drug store, owned by Gar
rett Morris; also one owned by Charles
Egbert, near where E. C. Taylor's grocery
now is; and one by Dr. Egbert, located
just west of the hotel. The hotel was built
by a man by the name of Chocklet Cramner
and was sold to Richard Cramner before it
was finished. Dick Carlisle's house stood
near where Dr. VanRyper's house now
stands. There were some log cabins in the
yard, one occupied by Samuel Bates (known
as Stubby) and the other by Chocklet Cram
ner. Across the street was Mr. Matthew's
residence, a small frame house. West of this
there were no buildings except a small house
west of Dr. Egbert's store, occupied by Bber

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

149

Wbolman. A log blacksmith shop stood about
where Granville Druliner 's house now is.
"Bersaw's pole cabin, which stood near
where John Hauser's home now stands, was
used in the summer for a school house. An
eastern woman taught the school, and I at
tended, coming from our home southwest of
town, through the oak grubs. An incident
I. well remember was that Carlisle Egbert,
Dr. Egbert's son, and I were wrestling and
the boys told the teacher we were fighting.
She ordered three whips, called us in and
told each to whip the other. I refused to
do my part of the whipping; the other boy
did his part, and the teacher whipped me
because I would not whip the other boy, so
I received a double portion. Finally Mary
Ann Ivens, my cousin, put a stop to the per
formance. I will mention here, that the first
school I attended in this county was with
Charles Ivens and his sisters, in a log school-
house near and a little south of the present
Kinney school-house. One log was removed
for a window, there having been some glass
in, but some of it was broken and a greased
paper was put in its place. A board was
put under the window for a writing desk and
also a long board for al seat; so when the
scholars wrote they went to the window and
sat with their backs to the teacher. The
boys had dug a hole in the ground, three
or four feet deep, and for mischief put Henry
Ranstead, then about seven years old, in it.
When school was called and Henry did not
put in his appearance, his sisters informed
the teacher of his whereabouts and the boys
received a thrashing.
"In the fall of 1837 there was a race-track
built south of the town. There were, in fact,
two tracks about a rod apart, and each a
mile long. They started from the Burk or
Garoutte farm and extended in a northwest
direction to where Mrs. Jane Shank's house
now stands. Each track was put in shape by
Stubby Bates. He turned a large iron kettle
bottom up and hitched a horse to it, got on

top and drove over the place for the track
in order to cut the grass.
"In the fall of 1837, Schuyler Colfax, aft
erwards vice-president of the United States,
then a boy helping in the store of his step
father, Mr. Matthews, sometimes hauled wood
from the Lucos place, passing our house, and
I often went with him, and as I remember
him now I think of him as being both a boy
and a man.
' ' I attended my first Sunday school in New
Carlisle, Mrs. Matthews, her mother, Mrs.
Stryker, and Schuyler Colfax having the
management of it. What I had in. the way
of fine clothes were some of Schuyler's out
grown ones.
"In the summer of '37 I earned my first
money, a shilling, or 12% cents. A man,
named Dawson, hired me to go to James
Gilbreth's on what is now the Pidge farm
for a powder horn. I bought a cap with the
money and they called it seal skin, but I
think it was cow hide or dog skin. I kept
it in a raisin box under the bed and often
crawled under to see and smell my cap. On
one of these occasions my father stepped on
my fingers and I have the marks yet.
"Sometime during the winter of '37 and
'38 father moved to what was then the
William' Baldwin farm. While living on this
•farm my father's two sisters, Nancy and
Lucy Ann Compton, and Hugh Vail (whose
deceased wife was father's sister, Rebecca)
and his son, Randall, came from Ohio to visit
us. While here we all went to father's land,
south of town (purchased of Clayborn Smith)
and had a picnic. We took our dinner and
used a large stump for a table.
"A small deadening and a pole cabin were
the only improvements, except a log house
begun the year before; and the whole coun
try from Carlisle to Sauktown was a dense
forest except a few pioneers, the Parnells,
Hootons and a man by the name of West.
At that time there was no road laid out
from Carlisle to this land. We cleared out
a road around the west end of Burk's marsh

150

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

in a southeast direction to our farm. At
that time there was a road from Plainfield
in a southwest direction to Sauktown. Father
got up a petition for a county road where
the road now is from New Carlisle south, but
a remonstrance got up by a few who lived
on the Plainfield road because they wanted
the work all on their road, etc., prevented
the county road from being made. But not
to be outdone, father petitioned for a state
road and had it before the opposition knew it.
"Late in the fall of '38, father concluded
to finish the house on the farm. He employed
a man by the name of Job Smith to do the
work. I went with him for company and as
a cook. The house was a cabin of one room
and a loft where there were two beds. The
way of getting to this part of the cabin was
by large pegs put in holes in the logs. There
were three windows and a door which faced
the east. Smith laid the floor, put in the
door and windows and built the chimney,
which was made of sticks and plastered with
clay mixed with straw. I was much alarmed
one night when I heard an owl and thought
it was a wolf. Sometimes the Parnell and
Hooton boys would come over to visit us.
The cabin was finally finished and we moved
in on Christmas Day, 1838."
VII. OLD SETTLERS' REUNIONS.
One of the most enjoyable and profitable
recreations is that of old settlers' reunions,
held annually, or oftener, in some picturesque
spot in the county, or some neighboring
county. Here come together old friends and
neighbors who have known one another from
the days of the first settlements; and with
them come their children and grandchildren.
The old folks gather in little groups and
recount the stories of other days; while the
younger people engage in varied sports and
games that make the woodlands happy.
Afterwards young and old come together in
some shady nook where the rustic feast is
spread by each family upon a grassy plat;
and there the keen appetites enjoy foods

which the gods on Mount Olympus might
envy. Few sights are more touching than that
of an elderly couple seated complacently, on
such an occasion, in the shade of a spreading
oak or beech, looking upon the enjoyments
of their children, and talking quietly to one
another and to their old friends.
One such annual reunion is the Pennsyl
vania picnic, held at Island park, in the city
of Elkhart, on the third Saturday of August
each year. At this reunion are welcomed all
Pennsylvanians and their descendants, resid
ing in northern Indiana and southern Michi
gan. The picnic has now been given an
nually for upwards of twenty-five years ; and
is looked forward to each year with eager
ness by all our citizens of the splendid race
that came to us from the Keystone State.
There is no better blood in the citizenship of
St. Josph county than that of the sturdy
sons of that old commonwealth. The found
ers of our Pennsylvania picnic were William
B. Garman, Michael F. Shuey and the Rev.
James D. Huchison, of Elkhart county.
Many of the most eminent persons of this
and neighboring counties have been active
participators in those annual reunions at
Island park, — among them the late Joseph
A. S. Mitchell, judge of the Indiana Supreme
Court ; and also his life long friend and ad
mirer, the Hon. John B. Stoll, of this county.
Another of these reunions is the annual
pioneer picnic of northern Indiana and
southern Michigan, held at Clear lake, in
Warren township, near the state line, where
the old settlers and their families from St.
Joseph county, Indiana, Berrien county,
Michigan, and other counties in both- states,
gather on the beautiful wooded border of that
fine lake. Besides the sports, shows and feast
ing, there is always at this picnic, as well as
at the Pennsylvania picnic, entertaining
speech and song, commemorative of the past
and promising for the future. There, too,
comes the reformer, the politician, the man
of affairs; and there weighty measures are

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

151

often discussed which afterwards become a
part of the laws of the land. But the main
purpose of the reunions is reminiscence, as
to the past; enjoyment, as to the present;
and high hope, as to the future.
At the picnic held at Clear lake, August
15, 1900, the writer of this history had the
pleasure, to deliver such an address to the
assembled pioneers. It was as follows:
"Friends and Neighbors: When that
worthy pioneer, Ashbury Lindley, of Warren
township, asked me to talk to the old set
tlers of St. Joseph and Berrien counties, and
when I began to consider what I should say
on this occasion, it occurred to me that I
ought to ,be in full sympathy with any gath
ering of Indiana and Michigan people. I
am myself a native of Michigan, and lived
in that goodly state until the days of man
hood; but I have now lived in Indiana even
longer than I did in Michigan. I have there
fore some right to count myself both a
Hoosier and a Wolverine. Though not born
in Berrien county, I have yet many precious
recollections of that splendid county and of
her people. When I was first on my way
to the Hoosier state, the last town in which
I rested was the pretty city of Niles. There
I took the old-fashioned stage coach for the
south ; in those days this was the only means
of travel from Niles to South Bend. It was
' an early morning in February, in 1859, long
before daylight, when the mighty, lumber
ing stage, drawn by four great horses, began
its journey south through the darkness,
swaying from side to side along the lower
river road, once the trail of Pottawatomies
and Miamis passing to and from old Fort St.
Joseph's. The only stop which we made before
entering Indiana was at the tavern in Ber
trand. Located at the junction of the St.
Joseph river with the Chicago road, the, great
Sauk trail, known of old to Indian and early
settler, that pioneer village was at one time
a more important place than either Niles or
South Bend. But Bertrand, the famous trad
ing post, has disappeared from the face of

the earth. Its pretty gardens and its busi
ness lots are but a part of the rich farm
lands of the St. Joseph valley. Its Indian
neighbor, too, Pokagon 's village, just across
the river, can be seen no more. Civilization
has eliminated Pokagon and his band ; the no
ble chieftain, friend of the white man, is no
more. The railroad has removed the stage
coach, and with that has gone the ambitious
village of Bertrand.
"It was three years after that early morn
ing ride in the stage coach when I came back
again to Berrien county and to Michigan.
It was February again. There was civil war
in the land; and, like many another youth,
I thought it my duty to offer my service, if
need be, my life, for the preservation of the
Union. When the question came as to what
regiment I should join, I thought at once
of my native state. I was not then old
enough, had not been long enough away from
my childhood's home, to be weaned from
Mother Michigan ; and so down I went to Niles
and was taken into Company I of the Twelfth
Michigan infantry, then in winter quarters
at old Camp Barker. I did not know a sin
gle soul in the regiment; but it was a Michi
gan regiment, and I should defend my coun
try in the companionship of boys of my na
tive state. That was enough for me. Noble
fellows, too, were those Twelfth Michigan
soldiers. Many of them, • including those of
Company I, were residents of Berrien county.
A better citizen, a purer patriot, a worthier
American gentleman, than our captain, Da
rius Brown, could not be found in all the
ranks of the Union army. Lightly rest the
green sod upon his breast, where he sleeps
in peace by the banks of the St. Joseph.
Many another citizen soldier of that brave
regiment, the living and the dead, has a se
cure place in the memory of his comrades
and of his fellow citizens. From Berrien
Springs they came, and from Buchanan;
from Three Oaks and Galien ; from Niles and
St. Joseph, and Benton Harbor and New
Buffalo, and from every farmhouse and

152

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

hamlet of the county; simple-hearted and
brave pioneer patriots, who thought it noth
ing that they should go forth and bare their
breasts to the sword that sought to strike at
the heart of their country. And so am I
doubly bound to the pioneers of Indiana and
Michigan; by the strong bonds of mature
manhood no less than by the tender ties of
youth. "And what manner of men and women
were those pioneers? They were of hearts
as brave as those of the children whom they
raised up to do battle for their country. They
came qut into the wilderness with little else
than their own stout hearts and strong arms
to help them. They cut down and removed
the forest, or turned over the stiff sod of the
prairie, and so changed the desert into farm
lands and gardens. It was often a lonely
life, not to speak of the terror of wild beasts
or wilder Indians. I very distinctly remem
ber in my own home, when we could see no
habitation but our little log house, in what
soever direction we turned our eyes. We
knew that an uncle lived off to the south,
but ¦ it was through the dense forest to get
to his house. To the east a pathway by a
swamp, over a barren knoll and through a
fearfully lonely woods, led to the nearest
neighbor in that direction; and memory
still clings to that triumphant day, when as
a boy I first found my way through that
terror-haunted woods and back safe home
again. To the north, far beyond the marshes,
stretched an almost endless forest, and be
yond that we knew there lived one of our
most valued and respected friends. ¦ To the
west we never penetrated, though there was
in our minds some vague knowledge of wood
land denizens in that direction. The trees
were our near, and the hills, marshe's and
swamps our more remote landmarks. The
'hooked tree' and the 'forked tree' were
then as well recognized objects in our con
fined landscape, as are now to us the stand
pipe at South Bend or the Michigan Central
railroad bridge at Niles. And there was an

other well known tree where, once upon a
time, brave chanticleer had chased a hawk,
and not content to drive off the robber, had
followed him into the air, lighting upon a
limb high up on the great oak, which ever
after was known to us as the 'rooster tree.'
The daring feat of this rooster was the theme
of admiration at many a winter's fireside
thereafter. The 'bear's hill,' half a mile
into the mysterious western woods, was the
spot where, on a never-to-be-forgotten morn
ing, a company of thirty hunters, with dogs
and guns, had finally come up with big brown
bruin ; and ever after when the morning sun
shone through the trees and rested upon that
hillside we imagined that, through the flut
tering leaves and shadows, we could still see
the hunters and their dogs, and the big bear
in their midst. A more graceful picture rises
before us when we call to mind the pleasant
morning when the dew drops glittered over
the north marshes as we boys went to bring
the oxen from pasture, and saw far off, near
to the edge of the woods, two deer from the
forest contentedly grazing, as if they were
themselves a part of our domestic cattle.
"But the pioneer life was not all beauty
and romance. It was, even more, hard and
unremitting labor. The courageous toiler
must cut away the underbrush and burn it,
he must cut down the trees and make them
into rails, boards and shingles. Ah, what
endless work it was! But the little clearing
was finally made; the logs were laid up,
one over the other, until the walls of the
cabin were completed, and the rude roof of
split shingles was laid over it. And then
came also the brave young wife, who accepted
the prospect before her like the heroine that
she was. Year after year, the clearing was
enlarged, and a crop grown among the
stumps. The marshes and swamps were
drained and so converted into meadows.
Alas, with this stirring up of the new soil,
this reclaiming of the morasses, rose up also
the germs of malaria. Regularly as the season
came, August and September found" the pio-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

153

neer, and sometimes the faithful wife and
helpless little ones, shivering by turns and
burning with the everlasting ague, Happy
was it for them if the ague did not develop
into bilious or intermittent fever, or even
the dreaded typhoid. Many a brave pioneer,
many a struggling wife, many a stricken
boy or girl succumbed to those malignant dis
eases, and the tired bodies found rest in' the
little graveyards that spread out from year
to year around the country churches. In
those days, men and women became old at
forty-five and fifty years; and only the
hardier constitutions lived through that first
period of labors, privations and sickness. But
the hardier ones did live through it all.
Year after year, the forest, the prairie, the
marsh and the swamp, put on, little by lit
tle, the appearance of the farm and the gar
den. Wheat and oats, corn, potatoes and
buckwheat, givew and ripened among the
stumps; and finally the stumps themselves
disappeared, and great fields of grain and
vegetables and orchards filled the places once
occupied by the underbrush and the dark
and silent woods. The marshes were turned
into pastures and hay fields. The rail fences
gave way to boards, to hedges and to wire,
until finally the wild rule of wandering cows
and young stock was done away with, and
domestic animals were fenced in, and need
no longer be fenced out. The roads that
were once only Indian trails and traces,
pathways and stray tracks through the des
ert, crossing the streams or rivers by fords
or ferry boats, were straightened, drained,
graded and graveled, and substantial bridges
or culverts thrown across the streams, until
the highways along the farms became almost
as fit for travel as the paved streets of the
cities. The rude log house, laid up by the
pioneer's own hands, was set aside, and in
its place appeared, at first, the neat frame
structure, and afterwards, perhaps, the
brick or stone mansion. The stick chimney
yielded to one of brick. The log sheds and
barns disappeared; and in their place were

discovered the comfortable frame shelters
and the great bank barns, swelling with hay
and corn and wheat. Intellectually and mor
ally, a like transformation took place. Well
do I remember the old log school house, half
hidden in the woods. There gathered the chil-
idtrenof the pioneers from December to March,
stamping into the warm room every morn
ing, half frozen from the deep snowbanks;
and then again bundling up just before dark
every evening, to take the same roads to
their homes. Many an ambitious boy, sit
ting on one of the split 16g benches of those
school houses, and facing one of the lean-to
writing desks that lined three sides of the
building, thought seriously of the time when
he should be congressman, or governor, or,
it might be, president ; . or the more modest
youth or maiden, while perhaps enamored of
one another, became even more enamored of
science, literature and scholarship. And the
best of it is that a goodly number of those
day-dreams came true. From the log school
house went forth many a distinguished man
and woman of the nation; and there is lit
tle doubt that the toils and privations of
home, the long walks from home to school,
and the studious quiet of those winter abodes
of learning, have all combined to give ear
nestness, resolution and courage to the young
scholars; so that when afterwards they met
with their more luxurious city rivals they
found no trouble in distancing them in the
race of life. The pioneer schools were rude
ones, but they were nurseries of robust, vir
tuous and successful citizens in every walk
of life.
"But the log school houses have passed
away. More commodious and elegant homes
of learning have taken their place; and the
modern school building and the neat church
edifice ornament the pleasant slopes and cozy
valleys throughout all the smiling farming
lands, where once the pioneer struggled and
triumphed in the hard battle with rude na
ture. Yes, the pioneer has triumphed. Culti
vated fields, pleasant homes, churches and

154

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

school houses, line all the well kept highways ;
and where fifty years ago* the wilderness
frowned upon the first invasion of the axe,
the spade and the plow, there civilization
lifts her glorious banner over the wide land
scape. Let the pioneers and their children
then gather together in those annual harvest
reunions to commemorate the noble work,
the joys and the sorrows, that laid the founda

tions of the blessings which we now enjoy.
The pioneers builded well; they were the
founders of a great nation, the greatest that
has ever blest the earth. Let them and their
children and their children's children meet
from year to year, forever, as we are meeting
this afternoon at Clear lake, to keep green
the memory of those heroic days and to shed
honors forever upon those noble pioneers."

CHAPTER V.

ORGANIZATION OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

1. LAND TITLES AND PUBLIC SURVEYS.
Sec. 1. — Indian Titles. — When Pierre Na
varre located on the St. Joseph, in the year
1820, neither the state of Indiana nor the
United States had acquired title to any lands
in what is now St. Joseph county, nor indeed
to any lands north of the Wabash, except
small tracts near Fort Wayne and Lafayette.
The title to this great northern wild, its thick
woods, oak openings, prairies and marshes,
was still in the Indians, as it was left by
the treaty made between Anthony Wayne
and Little Turtle and the other chiefs, at
Greenville, August 3, 1795. Not only was
the legal title to the lands still in the In
dians, but they continued to occupy the coun
try as their great hunting reserve.
On August 29, 1821, as we have already
seen,0 the Ottawas, Chippewas and Potta
watomies of Michigan ceded to the United
States a large tract in southern Michigan.
This cession included also the eastern part of
the ten mile strip between our northern boun
dary, as fixed by the ordinance of 1787, and
the state boundary, as fixed by the enabling
act of 1816, on the admission of Indiana
into the Union. The western limit of the
Indiana strip so acquired by the United
States reached to the middle line of range
two east; and the southern limit reached
to the south line of township thirty-seven
north. Those lines take in the northeast
quarter of St. Joseph county. The Potta
watomies were then the exclusive owners of
a. Chap. 3 of this History; Subd. 5, Sec. 12. 155

the remainder of the county. By treaty of
October 16, 1826, they ceded the western end
of the ten mile strip, which included the
northwest quarter of St. Joseph county. By
treaty of September 28, 1828, an irregular
tract lying south of the cession of August 29,
1821, was ceded. This cession reached to
and included the southeast quarter of the
county. Finally, by treaty of October 26,
1832, the remainder of the extreme northwest
of the state was ceded. This cession included
the remaining or southwest quarter of St.
Joseph county. The only land title, there
fore, which Navarre could acquire, in 1820,
was an Indian title. The same was true as
to Coquillard on his coming, in 1823, and
for three years afterwards, except as to the
northeast quarter of the county. Even when
Taylor came, in 1827, the Indian title had
been extinguished only as to the northern
half of the county.
See. 2. — First Congressional and Legis
lative Acts. — -The first act of congress di
rectly affecting St. Joseph county was that
approved March 2, 1827, entitled "An act
to authorize the state of Indiana to locate
and make a road therein named." This act
was passed to carry out certain provisions
of the treaty of October 16, 1826, by which
the Pottawatomies, amongst other things,
ceded to the United States, " a strip of land,
commencing at Lake Michigan and running
to the Wabash river, one hundred feet wide,
for a road, and also one section of good land
contiguous to said road for each mile of the

156

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

same and also for each mile of a road from
the termination thereof, through Indianapo
lis, to some convenient point on the Ohio
river. And the general assembly of the state
of Indiana shall have a right to locate the
said road, and apply the said sections, or the
proceeds thereof, to the making of the same
or any part thereof; and the said road shall
be at their sole disposal." Following the
treaty, and the act of congress in relation
thereto, and to provide for carrying the same
into effect, the general assembly, by an act
approved January 24, 1828, appointed com
missioners "to survey and mark a road from
Lake Michigan to Indianapolis, agreeably to
the late treaty with the Pottawatomie In
dians, and the act of congress in confirma
tion thereof."0 Thus were the first steps
taken for the construction of the Michigan
road, one of the most important public im
provements known in the history of Indiana.
The work was of great moment to the whole
state, from the Ohio to the lake, but par
ticularly so to St. Joseph county and other
northern counties, which would thus be more
closely connected with the settled parts of
the state and also enabled more conveniently
to reach the lake trade at Michigan City,
or Trail's Creek, as that place was at first
called.6 It was a renewal, by another route,
of the old course of commerce from the lakes
to the gulf.
The act of January 24, 1828, in relation
to the Michigan road, was the first official
notice taken by the legislature of the terri
tory of our county. But the proposition to
construct a great highway through this re
gion was indeed the giving of most important
consideration to the welfare of the valleys
of the St. Joseph and the Kankakee.
Sec. 3. — First Surveys. — Among the earli
est surveys made in the county were those of
the Michigan road and of the Michigan road
lands. The original survey of the road was
begun in the fall of 1828; but that survey
a. Acts 1827, p. 87.
6. See Chap. 2 of this History; Subd. 2.

was abandoned as impracticable, being an
attempt to lay out a road on a direct line
from Lake Michigan to the Wabash, over al
most impassable swamps and marshes, chiefly
those of the Kankakee country. The route
proposed in this survey, from the site of the
present city of Michigan City to that of
Logansport, was seventy-four miles in length.
A second survey, made the same fall, turned
to the southeast from Trail's Creek until it
reached the south bend of the St. Joseph
river. "At this point," say the surveyors
in their report, "is a beautiful site for a
town. ' ' So, in 1828, did the surveyors of the
Michigan road make prophecy of the future
of the Queen City of the St. Joseph valley.0
From this south bend of the St. Joseph, the
survey continued nearly in a direct line to
the south. The distance by this route be
tween Michigan City and Logansport, as the
extreme points are now called, was found to
be one hundred and two miles. The maps
and plats of this survey were filed in the
office of the secretary of state, December 9,
1828. In the spring of 1829, there was a
resurvey of that part of the road from South
Bend to Logansport, over practically the
same route as that surveyed in the fall of
1828; and the maps, plats and field notes
were filed in the office of the secretary of
state on June 12, 1829. This survey, as made
from Michigan City to South Bend in the
fall of 1828, and from South Bend to Lo
gansport in the spring of 1829, was accepted;
and the field notes are called the "Field
notes of the second survey"; the first being
that over the impracticable route from
Trail's Creek, or Michigan City, through the
swamps, directly to Logansport. Had the first
survey been accepted, and the road built on
that route, South Bend and St. Joseph county
would have been left far to one side; and
our history might have been different. For
tunately for us, however, it was according
a. The field notes on which this remark is
written .were filed Dec. 9, 1828, and signed by W.
W. Wick, surveyor.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

157

to the "Field notes of the second survey,"
that the road was laid out and constructed.0
The first public surveys, after those of the
Michigan road, were the surveys made in
1829 by William Brookfield, our first county
surveyor. Brookfield 's surveys were made in
townships thirty-seven and thirty-eight,
north, ranges one, two and three, east, and
included parts of the present townships of
Portage, Penn, Clay, German and Warren.
Other surveyors during the year 1829 were
David Hillis and Thomas Brown. The prin
cipal surveyor in connection with the Michi
gan road and Michigan road lands was Wil
liam Polke, for a long time commissioner in
charge of the construction of the Michigan
road, whose surveys extend from the year
1830 to the year 1834, inclusive. Other sur
veyors were E. H. Lytle, in 1830 and 1834;
and Robert Clark, Jr., in 1833. The people
were exceedingly urgent for the completion
of the Michigan road and for the survey of
all the lands of the county; and both these
important works were pushed ahead with
energy. On the extinguishment of the In
dian title to the lands of what is now the
southwest quarter of the county by the treaty
of October 26, 1832, the surveys were rap
idly extended over all our territory; so that
by the year 1834 practically all the lands of
the county were surveyed. At the beginning
of the year 1832 the Michigan road was com
pleted .from the Ohio, at Madison, to the
Wabash, at Logansport; and 'by the end
of that year the road was opened to the lake,
at Michigan City. The tide of emigration,
induced by the facilities thus afforded,
poured into all the country between the Wa
bash and the lake; and the population of
this vicinity increased very rapidly.
Sec. 4.— First Land Sales.— While the
public surveys were begun in 1829, yet it
appears from the plat books now on file in
the office of the county auditor that the
first sales of public lands were not made un
ci. See further as to the Michigan Road, Chap.
7, Sub. 2, Sec. 3.

til late in the year 1830; and the first sales
of the Michigan road lands were made still
a year later. Yet, . although the actual sales
,were not completed until the dates named,
the entries were made much earlier. After
the entries were made, and even after the
sales were completed, it was some time yet
longer before the patents could issue. On
October 4, 1830, the south half of the north
west quarter of section twelve, township
thirty-seven, north, range two east, was sold
to Lathrop M. Taylor; and on the 25th of
the same month the north half of the same
tract was sold to Alexis Coquillard. In the
spring following, on March 28, 1831, these
two men laid out the county seat on the two
tracts so purchased, together with a smaller
tract in the southwest quarter of section one
of the same township and range. Yet on May
12, 1831, in the bond of Coquillard and
Taylor agreeing to donate certain lots in the
new town for public purposes, they say,
"which said several donations are to be
legally conveyed in a reasonable time after
the patents shall have been issued to the
said Coquillard and Taylor." It is very
plain that the population was pressing into
this rich country much faster than the state
and national authorities could prepare for
them. II. ORGANIZATION OP THE COUNTY.
So far had the population of this region
increased at the beginning of the year 1830,
that the legislature, then in session, deemed
it wise to provide for the organization of
the two sister counties of the St. Joseph
valley. This important act of legislation,
which was approved by the governor and
became a law January 29, 1830, reads as
follows :°
"An Act for the Formation of the Coun
ties of St. Joseph and Elkhart.
"Section 1. Be it enacted by the General
Assembly of the State of Indiana, That
from and after the first day of April next,
a. Acts1 1829, pp. 28-31.

158

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

all that tract of country, which is included
within the following boundary, shall form
and constitute a new county, to be known
and designated by the name of the county
of St. ' Joseph, to-wit : Beginning at [the
west line of] range No. 2 west from the
second principal meridian, of the state of
Indiana, on the northern line of the state,
thence running east, to where [the east line
of] range No. 3 east, intersects the state
line; thence south with the range line,
thirty miles; thence west to range two
west; thence north to the place of beginning.
"Sec. 2. The said new county of St.
Joseph, shall, from and after the first day
of April next, enjoy all the rights, priv
ileges and jurisdiction, which to separate
and independent counties, do and may prop
erly belong and appertain.
"Sec. 3. That Thomas J. Evans and
Gillis McBane of Cass county, Daniel North
of Randolph county, John Berry of Madison
county, and John Ross of Fayette county, are
hereby appointed commissioners, agreeable
to the act, entitled 'an act for the fixing
the seats of justice in all counties hereafter
to be laid off.'° The commissioners above
named, shall convene at the house of Alexis6
Coquillard, in the said county of St. Joseph,
on the fourth Monday of May next, and
shall immediately proceed to discharge the
duties assigned them by law. It is hereby
made the duty of the sheriff of Cass county,
to notify the said commissioners, either in
person, or by written notification, of their
appointment, on or before the first day of
May next; and the said sheriff of Cass
county, shall receive from the said county
of St. Joseph, so much as the county board
doing business for said county, shall deem
just and reasonable ; who are hereby author
ized to allow the same, out of any monies
a. The act referred to was approved January
14, 1824. See Ind. R. S. 1831, p. 459, and 1838
p. 505.
6. Written Alexander in the statute by mis
take.

in the county treasury, in the same manner
as other monies are paid.
"Sec. 4. The circuit court of the county
of St. Joseph shall be holden at the house
of Alexis Coquillard, in said county of St.
Joseph: Provided, however, that the cir
cuit court, shall have authority to remove
the court from the house of Alexis Coquil
lard, to any other place in said county, pre
vious to the public buildings being com
pleted, should the said court deem it ex
pedient ; after the completion of which, the
court of the said county of St. Joseph, shall
be holden at the court house at the county
seat of said county of St. Joseph.
"Sec. 5. The agent who shall be ap
pointed to superintend the sales - of lots,
at the county seat of the county of St.
Joseph, shall reserve ten per cent, out of the
proceeds thereof, and pay the same over to
such person or persons, as may be appointed
by law to receive the same, for the use of a
county library for said county of St. Joseph,
which he shall pay over at such time or
times, and place, as may be directed by law.
"Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the quali
fied voters of the county of St. Joseph, at the
time of electing a clerk, recorder and asso
ciate judges, to elect three justices of the
peace, who, when elected and qualified, shall
have all the powers and perform all the
duties, prescribed by law, as relates to
boards of justices, in the several counties;
and said board shall have power to hold
special sessions and to do and perform any
duties required at any previous regular
session. "Sec. 7. That all the territory lying west
of said county, to the state line, be, and the
same is hereby attached to the said county
of St. Joseph, for civil and criminal juris
diction ; and the citizens residing within the
bounds so included, shall be entitled to all
the privileges and immunities, and be sub
ject to all the taxes, impositions and assess
ments, of the citizens of the county of St.
Joseph.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

159

"Sec. 8. That from and after the first
day of April next, all that tract of country,
which is included and within the following
boundary, shall form and constitute a new
county, to be known and designated by the
name of the county of Elkhart, to-wit : Be
ginning at [the east line of] range three
east [on the northern line of the state],
thence running with the state line twenty-
four miles east ; thence south twenty miles ;
thence west twenty-four miles ; thence north
twenty-four [twenty] miles, to the place of
beginning. "Sec. 9. That the said new county of
Elkhart, shall, from and after the first day
of April next, enjoy all the rights, privileges
and jurisdiction, which to separate and in
dependent counties, do, and may properly
belong and appertain.
"Sec. 10. That William G. Ewing and
Hugh Hanna of the county of Allen, Samuel
Fleming and John Bishop of the county of
Wayne, and Joseph Bennett of the county of
Delaware, are hereby appointed commission
ers agreeable to the act, entitled 'an act for
the fixing the seats of justice in all counties
hereafter to be laid off.' The commissioners
above named, shall convene at the house of
Chester Sage, in the said county of Elkhart,
on the fourth Monday in May next, and shall
immediately proceed to discharge the duties
assigned them by law. It is hereby made the
duty of the sheriff of Allen county, to notify
the said commissioners, either in person, or
by written notification, of their appointment,
on or before the first day of May next; and
the said sheriff of Allen county, shall receive
from the said county of Elkhart, so much
as the board doing county business shall
deem just and reasonable ; who are hereby au
thorized to allow the same out of any monies
in the county treasury, in the manner as other
monies are paid.
"See. 11. The circuit court of the county
of Elkhart, shall be holden at the house of
Chester Sage, in said county of Elkhart : Pro
vided, however, that the circuit court shall

have authority to remove the court from the
house of Chester Sage, to any other place in
said county, previous to the public buildings
being completed, should the said court deem
it expedient; after the completion of which,
the court of the said county of Elkhart, shall
be holden at the court house at the county
seat of said county of Elkhart.
' ' Sec. 12. The agent who shall be appointed
to superintend the sales of lots at the county
seat of the county of Elkhart, shall reserve
ten per cent, out of the proceeds thereof, and
pay the same over to such person, or persons,
as may be appointed by law to receive the
same, for the use of a county library for said
county 'of Elkhart; which he shall pay over
at such time or times, and place, as may be
directed by law.
1 ' Sec. 13. It shall be the duty of the quali
fied voters of the county of Elkhart, at the
time of electing a clerk, recorder and asso
ciate judges, to elect three justices of the
peace, who, when elected and qualified, shall
have all power, and perform all the duties,
prescribed by law, as relates to boards of
justices, in the several counties; and said
board shall have power to hold special ses
sions, and to do and perform any duties re
quired at any previous regular session.
"Sec. 14. That, all territory lying east of
said county to the state line, be, and the same
is hereby attached to the said county of Elk
hart, for civil and criminal jurisdiction ; and
the citizens residing within the bounds so in
cluded, shall be entitled to all the privileges
and immunities, and be subject to all the
taxes, impositions and assessments, of the citi
zens of the county of Elkhart.
"Sec. 15. The county of St. Joseph shall
be attached to the first, and the county of
Elkhart to the sixth judicial district of the
state, for judicial purposes.
"This act to take effect and be in force
from and after its passage. ' '
Sec. 1. — Attached Territory. — From the
foregoing act it appears that St. Joseph and
Elkhart were the only counties then organized

160

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

on the northern boundary of the state. All
the territory to the west, including that of
the present counties of La Porte, Porter and
Lake, was attached to St. Joseph county ; and
all to the east, including the territory of the
present counties of La Grange and Steuben,
was attached to Elkhart county. In addition,
by section eight of an act for the formation
of Grant county, approved February 10, 1831,
all the unorganized territory then remaining
west of the range line dividing ranges three
and four east, was attached to St. Joseph
county; and that to the east of said line, to
Elkhart county.0 This was done in accord
ance with the practice of the legislature to
attach unorganized territory to counties al
ready organized.
The original county of the state was Knox,
with its county seat at Vincennes, organized
January 14, 1790. Northern Indiana re
mained within the jurisdiction of Knox
county until January 10, 1818, "when this
part of the state, extending to Lake Michigan,
was embraced in Randolph county, of which
Winchester was the county seat, up to the
formation of Allen county, December 17,
1823. "6
From the formation of Allen county, in
1823, until that of St. Joseph and Elkhart
counties, in 1830, all northern Indiana was
attached to Allen county; even as by act of
January 29, 1830, the territory now forming
La Porte, Porter and Lake counties was at
tached to St. Joseph county. The territory
attached in such cases was not in fact a part
of the county to which it was joined ; yet, for
all practical purposes, it was so treated. And
we shall see that St. Joseph county, both
under our board of justices and under our
board of commissioners, formed the attached
territory west to the Illinois line into a dis
tinct township, and otherwise treated it as an
integral part of the county.0
a. Special Acts 1830, pp. 16-18.
6. History of Fort Wayne, by Wallace A.
Brice, p. 290. See also Indiana Legislative and
State Manual, 1899, pp. 686-688.
c. See Subdivisions 4 and 5 of this chapter.

III. OUR FORM OP COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
Sec. 1. — The Virginia System. — In our lo
cal government we are still Virginians. The
first civilized authority exercised in this re
gion was that of France; afterwards the
power of Great Britain prevailed; the do
minion of Spain flashed up for a moment
and was gone. During the Revolution, chief
ly for the purpose of protecting her Kentucky
frontiers, Virginia sent, an expedition across
the Ohio river under George Rogers Clark,
and wrested the country from England. The
old commonwealth then formed the territory
northwest of the Ohio into one of her coun
ties, named it the county of Illinois, and, so
far as suitable to the new conditions, trans
ferred her own form of local county govern
ment to this vast wilderness empire. The
Virginians were the Romans of our early
American history. They had a capacity for
government on a large scale. The state was
the center of the system, and the county was
the unit of subordinate local government. The
townships were merely convenient subdivi
sions created for the purpose of more easily
administering the affairs of the county. Such
a scheme is well adapted for the government
of large territories, particularly when the
same are sparsely populated. The authority
passes from the state to the counties, and all
the affairs of the citizen are administered
through the county courts, county boards and
other county officers, acting also, when con
venient to do so, through subordinate town
ship officers. That is our system of local gov
ernment, and we received it originally from
the Old Dominion. After Virginia had ceded
her great county of Illinois to the United
States, the government established under the
ordinance of 1787, was somewhat modified
from the fomner, or Virginia, system, by a
selection of many wise provisions from the
laws of other states ; but the prevailing char
acter of the machinery of government under
the great ordinance remained Virginian.
Sec. 2. — The New England System.— The

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

161

New England system, as it is often called,
proceeds, not from the state to the county
and then to the individual, but from the in
dividual to the town, or other local communi
ty, and then to the state. In the Virginia
form of local government the county is the
unit, and the town, or township, is quite
subordinate. In the New England system the
town is the unit, and the county is but an
aggregation of towns. St. Joseph county ad
joins Berrien county, Michigan, but our po
litical ancestry goes back to Virginia, while
that of Berrien county goes back to New
York and New England. The original set
tlers of Michigan came directly from the east
and northeast; those of Indiana from the
south and southeast. At our northern bound
ary the two systems meet. The authority of
Berrien county is exercised through the board
of supervisors of the several townships ; that
of St. Joseph county, through a county board
elected by the people of the whole county.
On the other side of the state line the town
ship is supreme, and the county is but an
aggregation of townships ; on this side of the
line the county is supreme, and the town
ships are but its subordinate divisions. We
are very close to Michigan ; indeed, the north
ten miles of St. Joseph county, as we have
seen, was once a part of Michigan. But the
forms of government are quite dissimilar.
Which form is the better may admit of ques
tion. No doubt the Michigan system gives
larger consideration to the individual and to
the smaller local communities; it is nearer
to the people. There the township is more
than with us ; the road district is more ; the
school district is more; the power of the in
dividual citizen is greater. But with us the
county government is more effective. The
county board, consisting of three members,
selected from different sections of the county,
but elected by the voters of the whole county,
is much more efficient than a meeting of the
board of supervisors of the several townships.
We can carry on public works to much better
advantage. We can build court houses, school

houses, roads and bridges more effectively.
The work of the state, of the people at large,
can be better carried on in Indiana. But it
must be admitted that the rights and powers
of the individual citizen seem better guarded
in our sister state. Each system is good in
its way ; - and the statesmanship that should
blend the excellencies of both would merit
the very highest honor.
IV. THE BOARD OF JUSTICES.
Sec. 1. — Organization of Civil Govern
ment. — In accordance with the provisions of
section six of the act for the organization of
the county, our first county election was held
on the first Monday in August, 1830. At this
election Lathrop M. Taylor was elected clerk
and recorder, and Lambert McCombs, Adam
Smith and Levi F. Arnold were elected jus
tices of the peace. The board of justices held
its first meeting at the house of Alexis Co
quillard, on August 27, 1830. The first entry
on the record of the board reads as follows :
"In pursuance of an act of the general
assembly of the state of Indiana, entitled an
act to provide for the carrying the laws into
effect in new counties, approved January 2,
1818; and also the act, entitled an act for
the formation of the counties of St. Joseph
and Elkhart, passed and approved January
29, 1830, the Justices of the Peace met at
the house of Alexis Coquillard, in St. Joseph
county, on Friday, the 27th day of August,
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and thirty.
"Adam Smith now comes forth and pro
duces his commission from His Excellency,
James B. Ray, Governor of the State of Indi
ana, commissioning him, the said Adam Smith,
Justice of the Peace in and for said county
of St. Joseph for and during the term of five
years from the 11th day of August, 1830;
and on the back of said commission is the
following endorsement, to wit:
" 'St. Joseph county,
" 'State of Indiana,
" 'Be it remembered, that on the 27th day

!• ss. :

162

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of August, A. D. 1830, personally came Adam
Smith, within commissioned, before me, L. M.
Taylor, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and be
ing duly sworn on his solemn oath, says that
he will support the Constitution of the United
States and of the State of Indiana, and that
he will to the best of his abilities and judg
ment discharge the duties of his office of
Justice of the Peace in St. Joseph county
faithfully, and that he has not since the. first
day of January, 1819, either directly or in
directly, knowingly given, accepted or carried
a challenge to any person in or out of this
State to fight a single combat with any deadly
weapon, and that he will not knowingly ac
cept or carry a challenge to any person or
persons to fight with any deadly weapon in
single combat, either in or out of this state,
during his continuance in office. Given un
der my hand and seal the day and date first
above written. " 'L. M. Taylor, Clerk (Seal).' "
Like credentials were presented by Lambert
McCombs; and thereupon the Board of Jus
tices was organized by the election of Lam
bert McCombs as president.
The first order entered was as follows:
"Ordered by the Board of Justices of St.
Joseph county, that John D. Lasly be ap
pointed Treasurer of St. Joseph county for
the year of our Lord -1830 ; and he is required
to give bond and security in the penal sum
of $1,000." The taxes to be collected in the
year of grace 1830 were evidently very light.
Mr. William C. Stover, the treasurer of St.
Joseph county for this year of our Lord 1907
has been required to give a bond in the sum of
$950,000. At this first meeting of our first county
board other business transacted consisted of
the appointment of James Nixon as assessor;
Daniel A. Fullerton, collector of taxes, Ben
jamin Potter, Thomas Skiles and Jacob
Keith, constables; Jacob Cripe and John
Heag, overseers of the poor ; and Daniel Eiler
and Samuel Cannon, fence viewers.
Licenses were granted to the American Fur

Company (Alexis Coquillard, agent,) and to
Samuel Hanna and Oo. (Lathrop M. Taylor,
agent,) authorizing them, on payment of a
fee of ten dollars each, "to vend foreign
merchandise within the county of St. Joseph
for the term of one year from the date here
of." On Monday, September 6, 1830, the board
of justices held their second meeting, also
at the house of Alexis Coquillard. Grand and
petit jurors for the November term of the
Circuit Court were drawn, as follows:
Grand jurors, Samuel Cannon, Jacob
White, John Clyburn, William E. Short,
Adam Keith, John Banker, Samuel Leeper,
Charles Labby, Henley Clyburn, Gamaliel
Drulinger, Zachariah Grant, Jacob Cripe,
Benjamin Potter, James Nixon, Thomas Cly
burn, Phillip Fail, Louis Sancomb and
Joseph Adams.
Petit jurors, Paul Egbert, John Drulinger,
Daniel Eiler, C. B. Overacker, John Whita-
ker, Benjamin Coquillard, Israel Rush, Bar-
zilla Drulinger, Jacob Harris, John Hague,
Richard Harris, Nathaniel Steele, Samuel
Johnston, Jacob Egbert, John Rouleau,
Jacob Ritter, Jacob Rhue, Alexis Coquillard,
John Wills, John Skiles, Lewis Shirley,
Joseph Rohrer, Horace Markham, Samuel
Garwood. It does not appear from the records
that the juries so selected were ever called
upon to serve in court.0
A third session of the board of justices was
held at the house of Alexis Coquillard, on
Tuesday, September 14, 1830. At this meet
ing Thomas J. Evans, John Berry, Gillis Mc-
Bane and Daniel Worth, commissioners
named in the act of January 29, 1830, were
allowed three dollars a day each for their
services in locating the county seat. Wil
liam Brookfield was appointed county agent
to superintend the sales of lots at the county
seat ; giving a bond in the sum of five thou
sand dollars, with Alexis Coquillard and
Lathrop M. Taylor as sureties.
The fourth and last meeting of the board
a. See Chap. 6, Sub. 2.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

163

of justices was held at the house of Alexis
Coquillard, on November 25, 1830. At this
meeting certain lots donated by William
Brookfield at the county seat for the use of
the county, as contemplated in section five
of the act of organization, were accepted and
he was directed, as county agent, to make
sale of them, on terms fixed by the board.
Sec. 2. — The First Townships. — The last
act of this fourth session of the board of
justices was the division of the county into
four townships, by the following order:
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that all
the district of country lying west of the
range line dividing ranges two and three
west of the second principal meridian of the
state of Indiana shall form and constitute a
township in the aforesaid county to be known
by the name of Michigan township, and the
sheriff of said county is ordered to notify
the citizens of the aforesaid township by
written notification to meet at the house of
Lewis Shirley in said township on the 18th
of December next to elect one justice of the
peace in and for said township.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
ranges one and two west of the second prin
cipal meridian of the state of Indiana shall
form and constitute one township to be known
by the name of Deschemin township, and the
sheriff is ordered to give the citizens of the
said township written notification according
to law to hold an election at the house of
John Drullinger in said township to elect one
justice of the peace in and for said township
on the 18th day of December next.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
from the second principal meridian of the
state until the center of range two east shall
form and constitute a township in said county
to be known by the name of German township,
and the sheriff is hereby ordered to give pub
lic notice to the citizens of said township ac
cording to law for the qualified voters to meet
at the house of David Miller in said township
to elect one justice of the peace in and for

said township on the 18th day of December
next. "Ordered by the board aforesaid, That all
the district of country lying and being from
the center of range two east of the second
principal meridian of the state and thence
running east to the eastern boundary of St.
Joseph county shall form and constitute one
township to be known and designated by the
name of Portage township."
Michigan township, strictly speaking, was
not a part of St. Joseph county. As described
in section seven of the act of January 29,
1830, organizing the county, this township
embraced ' ' all the territory lying west of said
county, to the state line. ' ' It was further said
in the same section, that this territory was
"attached to the said county of St. Joseph,
for civil and criminal jurisdiction; and the
citizens residing within the bounds so includ
ed, shall be entitled to all the privileges and
immunities, and be subject to all the taxes,
impositions and assessments, of the citizens of
the county of St. Joseph. ' ' The township lay
almost wholly on the southern shore of Lake
Michigan, from which it received its name.
It included the western part of the present
county of La Porte and the northern parts
of the present counties of Starke, Porter and
. Lake. Deschemin township consisted of territory
now embraced within eastern La Porte, north
ern Starke, and western St. Joseph. The towns
of new Carlisle and Walkerton, in St. Joseph
county; and Hudson, Rolling Prairie and
Stillwell, in La Porte county, are within what
was Deschemin township. The name of the
township is evidently a corruption of the
French words Du Chemin, the designation
formerly given to Hudson Lake. Lac Du Che
min, now Hudson Lake, one of the most beau
tiful of the small lakes of northern Indiana,
was in the heart of Deschemin township. The
name, Lac Du Chemin, that is, the "Lake of
the Road," had reference to the Great Sauk
trail, since known as the Chicago road, which
passed close to the south edge of the , lake.

164

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

The Sauk trail runs west by south, through
the north part of the present Warren and
Olive townships. It passes through the old
towns of Terre Coupee, formerly called also
Prairie Coupee; Hudson, formerly called
Lakeport, on Lac Du Chemin, or Hudson
lake; La Porte and Door village, and thence
on to Chicago.0
German township, as laid out by the board
of justices, embraced the eastern half of the
present township of Olive, all of Warren, and
parts of German, Portage, Greene, Liberty
and Union, in St. Joseph county; besides the
northwest part of Marshall county. North
Liberty, in St. Joseph county; and Teegar-
den, Tyner City, La Paz and Plymouth, in
Marshall county, are within the limits of our
old German township. The original plat of
Plymouth, now the county seat of Marshal]
county, is on record in plat book number one
of St. Joseph county, at page thirteen. It
was acknowledged by the proprietors, John
Sering, James Blair and William Polke,
October 11, 13 and 20, respectively, A. D.,
1834, before Lathrop M. Taylor, Recorder of
St. Joseph county.
Portage township, as laid out by the board
of justices, extended east from the former
German township to within three miles of the
present eastern boundary of the county. The
three mile strip now on the east side of St.
Joseph county was then a part of Elkhart
county. Lakeville, Woodland, Wyatt, Mish
awaka, Notre Dame and South Bend are
within the limits of our old Portage township.
Bremen, Marshall county, is within the same
limits. Osceola was in what is now Elkhart
county. It is to be noted that the names of German
and Portage townships, with parts of their
respective territories, have been retained by
this county. No part of Michigan township.
however, was at any time within the present
limits of the county ; and only a small part of
Deschemin township. These last names have
o. See map: ."Territory of Michigan, by John
Farmer, 1835."

gone from us with the territory to which they
were attached. Michigan township, in La
Porte county, is a part of the original Michi
gan township of St. Joseph county; and has
retained the name from the time when it was
first given by our board of justices. The city
of Michigan City is within the same township.
V. THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS.
Sec. 1. — Act of Organization. — There is.
no record of any action taken by our first and
only board of justices after their fourth
meeting, held November 25, 1830. By an act
approved January 19, 1831,° the generaLas-
sembly changed the law regulating the trans
action of county business, substituting a board
of commissioners for the board of justices
and introducing many other important provi
sions. The act is undoubtedly one of the wis
est ever passed by our legislature, and consti
tutes a most comprehensive and simple code
of government for the counties of the state.
The law then passed has been modified in
several particulars since its first enactment;
but the main principles, and even much of the
language, remains unchanged. The act also
illustrates the early history of county govern
ment in our state ; and while many of its pro
visions have since been revised or amended,
yet it merits a place in this work as a histori
cal document of the highest interest. It is
therefore here given in full :
"An act to regulate the mode of doing
County Business in the several Counties in
this State.
' ' Section 1. Be it enacted by the General
Assembly of the state of Indiana, That there
shall be and hereby is organized in each
county in this state, a board of commissioners
for transacting county business, to consist of
three qualified electors, any two of whom shall
be competent to do business, to be elected by
the qualified electors of the several counties
respectively, on the first Monday in August
next, as general elections are conducted. Pro
vided, however, In voting for commissioners,
ft. Revised Statutes, 1831, p. 129.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

165

the ticket shall always show which is voted
for, for first, second or third district, and
should there be two or more candidates in any
one district, the person having the highest
number of votes, shall be elected for such dis
trict. ' ' Sec. 2. At the first election in pursuance
of this act, the person having the highest
number of votes shall serve three years; the
person having the next highest number of
votes shall serve two years, and the person
having the next highest number of votes shall
serve one year; and thereafter annually, one
commissioner shall be elected who shall serve
three years, and each commissioner elected
according to the provisions of this act, shall
continue in office until his successor is elected
and qualified; but if two or more persons
shall have an equal number of votes as above,
their grade shall be determined by 16t by the
clerk, in the presence and under the direction
of the returning officers.
"Sec. 3. Each person _elected as a com
missioner, shall, on receiving a certificate of
his election, take the oath or affirmation re
quired by the constitution of this state, before
some person legally authorized to administer
the same; which oath or affirmation, being
certified on the back of such certificate, under
the hand and seal of the person administering
the same, shall be sufficient authority for such
commissioner to take his seat with, and act as
a member of the board, during the time for
which he was elected.
"Sec. 4. The commissioners thus elected
and qualified, shall be considered a body cor
porate and politic, by and under the name
and style of the board of commissioners of
the county of  , and as such
by and under such name and style, may sue
and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend
and be defended, answer and be answered
unto, in any court either of law or equity, and
do and transact all business on behalf of their
respective counties, that may be assigned
them from time to time by law; and in all
eases where their respective counties may

have been injured, or may hereafter be in
jured, in their goods, chattels, lands, tene
ments, rights, credits, effects or contracts;
such commissioners shall and may, by and
under their corporate name and style, with
out setting out their individual names, bring
any suit or suits, action or actions, either in
law or equity, which may be best calculated
to obtain redress for any such injury, in the
same way or manner that private individuals
might or could do, and may in like way and
manner,- by and under their corporate name
and style, be sued, by any person or persons
having any manner of claims against such
county. "Sec. 5. The board of commissioners shall
meet at the court house, in each and every
county, for the purpose aforesaid, or at the
usual place of holding the circuit court in
such county, on the first Mondays in January,
March, May, September, and November, in
each and every year, and may sit three days
at each term, if the business of the county
shall require it: Provided, however, if the
circuit court shall meet on any of the before
mentioned days, the commissioners shall meet
on the Monday preceding.
"Sec. 6. The clerk of the circuit court
shall, by virtue of his office, attend the meet
ing of the board of commissioners, and keep a
record of their proceedings, and do such other
business as he shall be required by law to do ;
and the sheriff of the county shall also, by
himself or deputy, attend said board and exe
cute their orders.0
a. The duties of the sheriff as fixed by this sec
tion remain substantially unchanged; he con
tinues to be the executive officer of the board, and
executes its orders as he does those of the Circuit
Court. The duties here assigned to the clerk of the
Circuit Court have, however, since the year 1841,
been performed by the County Auditor. By an
act approved February 12, 1841, the office of
County Auditor was created. By section eight of
that act it was provided that the auditor, by vir
tue of his office, should be "clerk to the board of
County Commissioners." By section fifty:three
the clerk was required to turn over to the auditor
all books, papers, etc., relative to county busi
ness; and by section fifty-four all the duties of
clerks in relation to county affairs were required
to be performed by the auditor. The auditor is,
in effect, the County Clerk; while the clerk of the
Circuit Court performs the duties of a court of
ficer only. See Acts 1841, pp. 10-24, R. S. 1843,
p. 189.

166

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

"Where money has been advanced by any
clerk, or other county officer, for the use and
benefit of his county, pursuant to the requisi
tions of law, the board doing county business
shall order such money, so advanced, to be
first paid; and where there is any judgment
or judgments against any county in this state;
the board may in their discretion order when
and in what manner such judgment or judg
ments, shall be discharged, not inconsistent
with the constitution of' this state or of the
United States, any law to the contrary not
withstanding. And when any county shall
owe the commissioners for locating any seat of
justice therein, such claims shall be preferred
to any other against said county ; and the col
lector shall receive the said orders for com
missioners' wages, and shall pay the same out
of the first monies that shall come to his
hands, after such orders shall be presented to
him, and the said orders accepted shall be a
sufficient voucher in the hands of such col
lector for any claims the county may have
against him, to their full amount.
"Sec. 8. When two only of the members
shall be present at the meeting of the board, -
and a division shall take place on any ques
tion, it shall be continued until the next meet
ing, before it shall be finally determined.
When any vacancy shall happen in the office
of commissioner, the circuit court of the
county, or the two associate justices in vaca
tion, shall appoint a suitable person or per
sons to fill such vacancy until the next annual
election of commissioners, when such vacancy
shall be filled by an election by the electors of
the county.
"Sec. 9. It shall be the duty of the 'board
of commissioners at their May session, in each
year, to receive and inspect the listers' books,
and levy a county tax according to law, and
cause their clerk to make out a duplicate for
collection accordingly. •
"Sec. 10. The commissioners of each
county respectively, shall have and use a com
mon seal, for the purpose of sealing their pro
ceedings ; and copies of the same, when signed

and sealed by the said commissioners, and
attested by their clerk, shall be good evidence
of such proceedings, on the trial of any cause
in any of the courts of this state. The com
missioners aforesaid, at their session in
November, or when the circuit term prevents
their meeting in November, then at their first
meeting thereafter, in every year, shall make
a fair and accurate statement of the receipts
and expenditures of the preceding year, and
have the same set up at the court house door
and at two other public places in their county
respectively, and published in some news
paper in their county, if there be any ; and if
the said commissioners, or either of them,
after accepting their appointment, shall
neglect or refuse to do his or their duty, in
office, he or. they so offending, shall, on con
viction by indictment before the circuit court
of the proper county, be fined in any sum not
exceeding one hundred dollars.
' ' Sec. 11. And it is hereby made the duty
of the present boards doing the business of
the several counties, to meet on the first Mon
day of May, eighteen hundred and thirty-one,
and lay their respective counties off into three
equal commissioner's districts, numbered in
numerical order, one, two, and three ; and one
commissioner shall be elected in each of said
districts, by a vote of the whole county; and
said districts when so laid off, may be altered
once in every three years thereafter, if justice
require it, and not oftener: Provided, how
ever, that nothing in this act shall be so con
strued as to affect the term of office of any
commissioner heretofore elected. But when a
vacancy shall occur in any board of commis
sioners, now in existence, the same shall he
supplied by a person to be elected from one
of such districts, in numerical order.
"Sec. 12. That all the duties heretofore
required of the boards doing county business,
in the several counties in this state, and not
included or otherwise directed in this act, be
and the same is hereby made the duty of said
commissioners, to do and perform, in the same
manner as though it were named in this act.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

167

"Sec. 13. The commissioners so elected
and qualified, shall each receive two dollars
per day, for each and every day that they
may necessarily be employed in transacting
the county business; and said board of com
missioners, when organized, shall possess the
powers and authority heretofore given to the
county board of justices.
' ' Sec. 14. All suits, pleas, plaints, prosecu
tions, and proceedings, which may be pending
in any court, to be tried for or against any
board of justices, previous to the taking
effect of this act, shall be prosecuted to final
judgment and execution, in the same name
and manner, as the same might have been
done, had this law not been passed; and all
contracts either written or verbal, made by
such board of justices, previous to the taking
effect of this act, shall remain valid in law
and equity, and suit may be thereupon
brought, in the same way and manner as the
same might have been, had this act not have
been passed, with this difference, that the cor
porate name of the board of commissioners
shall be used, instead of the name of the board
of justices.
' ' Sec. 15. It shall be the duty of the clerks
of the several boards doing county business,
to keep fair books, wherein shall be kept the
accounts of the county, to attest all orders
issued by the board for the payment of
money, and enter the same in numerical order,
in a book to be kept for that purpose; and
shall copy into their said books the reports
of the treasurer of the receipts and disburse
ments of their respective counties, and when
ever the duplicate shall be put into the hands
of the collector, it shall be the duty of said
clerks to send a statement of the sum where
with such collector stands charged, to the
county treasurer.
Sec. 16. When any person has an attested
county order in his name, of a larger amount
than his county tax, and is desirous to appro
priate a part of such order to the payment of
such tax, he is hereby authorized to apply to
the clerk of the board doing county business,

whose duty it shall be to give to the holder
of such order, and in exchange therefor,
two or more attested county orders, making
together the same amount with the original
order, which shall thereupon be cancelled;
and such clerk shall insert in every such
order, that the same with others, were so
given in exchange to  for
such original order, together with the number
and amount of such original order; one of
which orders shall be for the amount of his
tax, and shall appear on its face to be
intended for the payment thereof.
"Sec. 17. Whenever any person shall ex
hibit any claim against any county, for serv
ices rendered, for which the fund arising
from the sale of lots, or otherwise, at the
county seat, is specially appropriated, and
those funds have been fully expended, it shall
be the duty of the board doing county busi
ness, to give such claimant an order on the
county treasury, for such sum as may be due
to such claimant, to be paid out of any
monies not otherwise appropriated.
"Sec. 18. Every collector of county taxes
is hereby required to receive any regularly
attested county order, made by the board
doing county business, when the same may be
tendered to him by any person in payment of
such person's taxes, due such county.
"Sec. 19. No collector, or other person
doing county business, shall, either directly
or indirectly, purchase or receive in payment,
exchange, or in any way whatever, any de
mand against his county, or any county order
for a claim allowed by the board doing county
business, at any time during the period for
which he may be elected, for a less amount
than that expressed on the face of such order
or demand against the county ; and every per
son elected, or appointed to do county busi
ness, shall, before entering on the duties of
his office, take an oath not to violate the pro
visions of this section; and any collector or
other person doing county business, offending
against the provisions of this section, on con
viction thereof upon indictment or present-

168

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

ment, shall be fined for every such offense, in
any sum not exceeding five hundred dollars.
"Sec. 20. That the qualified voters resid
ing within the several townships of the sev
eral counties of this state, shall meet together
at the usual places of holding general town
ship elections, on the first Monday in April
next; and annually on the first Monday in
April thereafter, for the purpose of electing
as many constables in each township as there
are justices of the peace within the same, and
shall at the same time elect one inspector of
elections for each township, two fence view
ers, two overseers of the poor, and as many
supervisors of highways as there are now or
may hereafter be allotted to the respective
townships by the proper board of commission
ers; and in all cases of failure on the part
of the qualified voters, to elect any such town
ship officers, it shall be the duty of the board
of commissioners, at the next session after the
time such election should have been held, to
appoint such officers, to remain in office until
the time for the next election. Nothing in
this act shall be so construed as to affect or
repeal the laws now in force, regulating the
manner of doing business, in the counties of
Dearborn and Switzerland, except as to the
election of township supervisor.
"See. 21. The above named township
officers shall possess the same qualifications,
and perform the same duties, as are required
of such officers by the laws now in force ; the
said township elections to be held and con
ducted in the same manner that general and
township elections are now held and con
ducted, and the constables . shall give such
bond and security, for the performance of
their duty, as is now required by law.
' ' Sec. 22. That the board of commissioners
shall, so soon as may be after the first election
held under the provisions of this act, divide
the several townships within their respective
counties, into as many highway districts as
they may deem necessary; which districts
shall be designated and numbered in numeri
cal order, and recorded by the clerk of the

board of commissioners. Where any vacancy
shall happen In any of the township officers
the said board of commissioners shall, at their
next session, appoint a suitable person or per
sons to fill such vacancy until the next annual
election for township officers, when such
vacancy shall be filled by an election of the
electors of the township.
"Sec. 23. It shall be the duty of the said
inspectors of elections in each township,
within three days after such election, to make
out and deliver to the clerk of the circuit
court, a list of the several township officers,
whose duty it shall be to make out certificates
of the election of the person or persons
elected, and the sheriff of said county shall
deliver the same to the township officers so
elected. "Sec. 24. The circuit courts in counties
where court houses shall not have been
erected, shall be holden for the time being, at
the place designated by law or selected by the
court; and the boards of commissioners in
such counties, shall with all convenient speed,
proceed to the completion of a court house,
jail and other public buildings for the same,
and keep the same in repair.
' ' Sec. 25. The board of commissioners, in
their respective counties, at their first meeting
after the passage of this act, or some subse
quent meetings, shall appoint some fit person,
as trustee of the public seminary of their
respective counties, who, on acceptance of
such appointment, shall take an oath of office,
faithfully to discharge the duties of his said
office according to law, and also give bond,
payable to the state of Indiana, with two
sufficient securities, in the penal sum of
double the amount as near as may be, of the
funds of the county seminary, conditioned for
the faithful performance of the duties of his
office, and for paying over all monies, and de
livering over all books, bonds, and papers, that
may be in his hands as trustee, to his succes
sor in office, when his term of service shall
have expired agreeably to law; which bond
shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

169

proper county, and shall not be void on one
recovery, but may be put in suit from time to
time, as often as occasion may require : Pro
vided, however, That this act shall in no way
be construed, so as to interfere with or repeal
any existing laws, respecting the county semi
nary of Switzerland county, or any other
county, for which special laws relative to
county seminaries have heretofore been en
acted. "Sec. 26. The board of commissioners,
shall annually allow the clerk and sheriff of
their county, such compensation for their
extra services, rendered the board of commis
sioners, the circuit court of such county, and
the county, in any manner whatever.
"Sec. 27. The board of county commis
sioners in each and every county, shall cause
a pound to be erected at or near the several
court houses, with a good and sufficient fence,
gate, lock and key, where estray horses, mules
and asses may be kept, on the first day of the
terms of the circuit courts ; and the said board
shall also appoint some fit person, who shall
take charge of said pound, and keep the same
in repair, and whose duty it shall also be "to
attend at the said pound, on the several court
days, during the time such estrays are
directed to continue there, with the keep of
the same ; and the said board shall make such
reasonable allowance for the erecting and
keeping such pound as to them shall seem
proper, to be paid out of the county treasury ;
and any person being appointed and under
taking the charge of said pound, and failing
to discharge his duties agreeably to the direc
tions herein expressed, shall forfeit and pay
to the person injured, the sum of eight dol
lars for every such offense, with costs, recov
erable before any justice of the peace of the
county where such offense shall have been
committed. "Sec. 28. From all decisions of the several
boards of commissioners, there shall be
allowed an appeal to the circuit court, by any
person or persons aggrieved; and the person
or persons appealing, shall take the same

within thirty days after such decision, by
giving bond with security, to the acceptance
of the clerk of -such board, conditioned for the
faithful prosecution of such appeal and the
payment of costs already accrued, and which
may thereafter accrue, if the same shall be
adjudged by the said court, to be paid by such
appellant; and the clerk shall docket such
appeal, with the cases pending in the circuit
court, within twenty days after the taking
of such appeal."
Sec. 2. — Our First Commissioners. — The
first commissioners of St. Joseph county,
elected on the first Monday in August, 1831,
in pursuance of the provisions of section one
of the foregoing act, were Aaron Stanton,
David Miller and Joseph Rohrer. As appears
from section eleven of said act, it was made
the duty of the board of justices in each
county to hold a meeting on the first Monday
in May, 1831, "and lay their respective
counties off into three equal commissioner's
districts, numbered in numerical order, one,
two and three ' ' ; and it was further provided
in the same section that "one commissioner
shall be elected in each of said districts, by a
vote of the whole county. ' ' It seems, however,
that no meeting of the board of justices, such
as provided for in the act, was held; and the
county was therefore not divided into com
missioner's districts as contemplated by the
legislature. Our first commissioners were
consequently not chosen by. districts, as re
quired by the act ; and some doubt arose as to
the legality of their election. To remedy this
irregularity, the legislature passed the follow
ing legalizing statute, approved January 31,
1832 :°
"An act legalizing the proceedings of the
board of commissioners of St. Joseph county.
"Whereas, It has been represented to this
General Assembly, that there were three jus
tices of the peace elected in the county of St.
Joseph, to transact county business, two of
whom shortly afterwards removed from said
county, and thereby said board became
a. Acts 1831, p. 105.

170

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

vacant; and that agreeably to an act, ap
proved January 19th, 1831, regulating the
mode of doing county business in the several
counties in this state, there were three com
missioners elected without regard to district
ing, who have since laid the same off in com
missioner districts; Therefore,
"Be it enacted by the General Assembly
of the State of Indiana, That the election of
said commissioners, and all proceedings relat
ing thereto in St. Joseph county, and the pro
ceedings of said board, so far as relates to lay
ing off the same in districts, be, and the same
are hereby legalized."
VI. EARLY COUNTY RECORDS.
Sec. 1. — Organization of the Board. —
The story of the development of our county
during its formative period, the changes in
the county boundaries, the location of the
county seat, the erection of county buildings,
the formation of the different townships, and
many other matters connected with the organi
zation of the new county, can be found
nowhere so fully and satisfactorily detailed
as in the records of the county board during
the early years of our history. The chief part
of the records of the board of justices has
already been given. The first records of the
board of county commissioners are of equal
historical interest. These records open as fol
lows :
"In pursuance of an act of the general
assembly of the state of Indiana, approved
January the 19th, 1831, the board of commis
sioners met at the house of Alexis Coquillard
in said county on the first Monday of Septem
ber, A. D., 1831, at 12 o'clock on said day.
"David Miller now produces his certificate
of election, in the words and figures follow
ing, to-wit:
' ' State of Indiana, St. Joseph County, ss.
I, L. M. Taylor, clerk of the St. Joseph circuit
court, do hereby certify that David Miller
has been elected county commissioner in said
county and that he received the second high
est number of votes of said county and that
he is entitled to serve for the term of two
years from the date hereof and until his suc
cessor is elected and qualified.

" 'In testimony whereof I have
hereunto set my hand and affixed
the adopted seal of the St. Joseph
Circuit Court, at South Bend, this
fourth day of August, A. D., 1831
" 'L. M. Taylor, Clerk.' '
' ' On the back of which certificate is the fol
lowing endorsement, to-wit:
' ' ' State of Indiana, St. Joseph County, ss.
Be it remembered that on the 5th day of Sep
tember, A. D., 1831, personally appeared be
fore me, the undersigned, an acting justice of
the peace in and for said county, the within
commissioned, David Miller, who being duly
affirmed saith that he will support the consti
tution of the United States and also the con
stitution of the State of Indiana, and also
faithfully and impartially execute the within
office of county commissioner according to law
and the best of his abilities and judgment, and
that he will not, either directly or indirectly
buy, receive or take any county order, allow
ance or claim against said county during his
continuance in office for ax less amount than
that expressed on the face of such order or
demand against said county.
" 'Given under my hand and.
seal the date first above written.
'Levi F. Arnold,

(Seal)

'J. of P.'"

Joseph Rohrer also appeared and qualified
in like manner. Having received the third
highest number of votes, he was, according to
the provisions of section two of the act of
January 19, 1831, declared to be a member of
the board of commissioners for one year.
Aaron Stanton, the third commissioner, who
was elected for three years, did not appear
and qualify until the third day of the term,
Wednesday, September 7, 1831. That part of
the oath of the county commissioners relating
to county orders was in accordance with the
provisions of section nineteen of the act, ap
proved January 19, 1831, creating boards of
county commissioners.
Sec. 2. — Adoption of a County Seal.— In
the afternoon of the first day's session a form
of county seal was adopted by an order read
ing as follows :
"The board adopt the following for the
purpose of sealing their proceedings which is
engraved with St. Joseph County, Indiana,

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

171

[around the margin] , with the insignia of an
eagle engraved on it [that is, on the face of
the seal] ; which will more fully appear by an
impression being made on the margin of this
page." The impression of the seal, found on the
margin of the page of the old record and re
ferred to in the order, shows the words, ' ' St.
Joseph's County, Indiana," instead of "St.
Joseph County, Indiana," as required by the
order. The later form is the one now in use.
Sec. 3. — Other Orders. — The remaining
orders of the first day of the session are as
follows :
"The board of commissioners now proceed
to select a list of grand jurors for the Novem
ber term of the circuit court, and draw from
the box the following names :
"Gayas Munger, Horace Wood, Jacob Rit-
ter, John Banker, William Garwood, Alexan
der Blake, James S. Garoutte, John Wells,
Samuel Rupel, H. Carpenter, Andrew Shaw,
Peter Johnson, Orra Morrs, Charles Oaster-
house, Samuel L. Cottrell, John Rupel,
Samuel Harberson, Henry Clyburn.
"And also the board then proceed to select
the petit jurors for said term :
"Jacob Eutzler, John Welsh, Joseph Pem-
berton, Joseph Osborn, E. H. Brown, Benja
min Gillbreath, Wyley Jones, John Martin-
dale, sen., Zachariah Grant, Jesse Skinner,
Scott West, James Highly, John Treaver,
Benjamin Coquillard, John Smith, sen.,
Jacob Egbert, Nathan B. Nicols, Ezekiel
Thomas, Lewis Shirley, John Hague, Chris
tian Holler, Charles Roe, Jr., David Pagin,
Robert Redding.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That L.
M. Taylor, clerk, be allowed out of the county
treasury the sum of forty-eight dollars for
blank books, a county seal and blank paper
purchased by him for the use of said county.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That the
sum of seventy-five' cents be allowed out of
the county treasury for each wolf scalp over
six months old and thirty-seven and a half
cents for each wolf scalp under six months

old, agreeable to the act to encourage the
killing of wolves, approved February 10th,
1831." On the second day of their first term, the
board of commissioners made the following
orders :
Sec . 4. — Exemptions From Taxation. —
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That the
following persons be exempt from paying a
poll tax, either for state or county purposes :
John Clyburn, Samuel Johnson, John Martin-
dale, sen., Basil Sperry — for the year 1831."
The reasons for this exemption are hot
given. According to section one of the "reve
nue law then in force, approved February
10, 1831, a a poll tax of thirty-seven and one-
half cents was to be assessed "on each male
inhabitant between twenty-one and sixty years
of age"; but the board was given "discre
tionary power to exempt any person over the
age of fifty years from the payment of a poll
tax, who is unable to pay the same, or on
account of bodily disability." It is also pro
vided in section two of the same act, "That
all persons who have served in the land or
naval service of the United States, during the
revolutionary war, be and they are hereby
exempt from the payment of a poll tax and a
tax upon personal property. ' ' To secure this
exemption the soldier was required to make
affidavit before some justice of the county,
"That he has served in the land or naval
service of the United States during the revolu
tionary war, three months or upwards; for
the taking of which affidavit, the justice shall
not be entitled to receive any fee or compen
sation whatever." Similar favors were after
wards given to soldiers of the Mexican war,
by acts approved January 14, 1847. 6
The order for the first ferry over the St.
Joseph river was as follows:
See. 5. — The First Ferry and Steamboat
Landing. — "Ordered by the board aforesaid,
that a ferry be established at the east end of
Water street [now La Salle avenue], in the
a. Revised Statutes 1831, p. 426.
6. Acts 1846, pp. 59 and 74.

172

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

town of South Bend, over the St. Joseph
river,0 and that there be a tax assessed there
on to the amount of two dollars ; and that N. B.
Griffith be licensed to keep the aforesaid ferry,
and that the said Griffith be required to keep
a good and sufficient flat, or boat, to convey
conveniently over said river two horses and
a wagon at one time.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that the
following be the rates of ferriage at the ferry
established at the town of South Bend, to-
wit : For each person, 6% cents ; for a man
and horse, 12% cents; for one horse and a
wagon or carriage, 25 cents ; for two horses
and wagon, 31% cents; for each additional
horse, with a wagon' as above, 6% cents ; for
oxen in wagons the same rates as horses ; for
loose cattle, three cents a head; for hogs and
sheep, two cents a head.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that the
said N. B. Griffith be required to keep twelve
hands to attend the aforesaid ferry."
The following orders were also made on
the second day of said September term:
Sec. 6. — Licenses to do Business. — "Or
dered by the board aforesaid, that five dollars
shall be the amount to be assessed on each
tavern license and retailer of spirituous or
strong liquors, foreign and domestic groceries.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
there be assessed on each license to vend
wooden clocks in said county the sum of
eight dollars per annum.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
Peter Johnson be allowed a tavern license to
keep a tavern at the town of South Bend by
his payment into the county treasury of the
sum of five dollars, to commence on the 1st
of August, 1831.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
Benjamin Coquillard be licensed to keep a
tavern at the town of South Bend by his
paying into the county treasury the sum of
five dollars.
"Ordered, by the board aforesaid, that
a. A steamboat landing was established at the
same place.

Calvin Lilly be licensed to keep a tavern at
the town of South Bend by his paying into
the county treasury the sum of five dollars.
' ' Ordered, that the American Fur company
be licensed to vend foreign merchandise in
said county one year from the date hereof
by their paying into the county treasury the
sum of ten dollars.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
George Sumption be allowed the sum of one
dollar and fifty cents out of any money in
the treasury not otherwise appropriated for
two wolf scalp certificates.
"Ordered by the board, that Horatio
Chapin be required to pay into the county
treasury the sum of eleven dollars for a
license to vend foreign goods in said county
for one year from the date hereof.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
David Pickering, deputy sheriff of Allen
county be allowed the sum of five dollars for
notifying the commissioners to re-locate the
seat of justice of St. Joseph county.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
Lewis Shirley be allowed the sum of two dol
lars for services rendered in making a return
of the annual election from Michigan town
ship. "Ordered by the board aforesaid, That
John Drullinger be allowed the sum of one
dollar for services rendered in making a re
turn of the annual election from Deschemin
township. "Ordered by the board aforesaid, That
each person of the grand and petit juries be
allowed the sum of fifty cents for their ser
vices rendered in attending the November
term of the St. Joseph circuit court ; and the
orders shall be issued by the clerk on satis
faction being made of their respective at
tendances." The jurors, grand and petit, thus allowed
fifty cents each for their services, on strict
proof furnished of their actual attendance,
were the second set of jurors that were
selected in St. Joseph county. The jurors
selected the previous year by the board of

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

173

justices were not called into service nor is
there any record other than that here given
of the service of jurors selected in 1831.
Indeed it does not appear that the Novem
ber term, 1831, of the St. Joseph Circuit
court was ever held. The presiding judge
failed to appear, although the jurors were
selected and summoned. This neglect occa
sioned some complaint, as may be inferred
from a communication from ' ' One of the peo
ple" which appeared in the second number
of the Northwestern Pioneer. The judge is
there severely upbraided for neglect of duty,
"notwithstanding he is paid a salary of seven
hundred dollars a year for his services. "a
VII. location of the county seat.
Sec. 1. — St. Joseph, the First County
Seat. — The board of justices, as we have seen,
held their sessions at the house of Alexis
Coquillard, in South Bend. The board of
commissioners did likewise. The St. Joseph
circuit court was also holden in the same
hospitable mansion.6 Indeed for several
years after the organization of the county
the seat of justice was actually at the house
of Alexis Coquillard. Theoretically, however,
the county seat was for a time on the farm
of William Brookfield, in a town laid out by
him at the portage of the St. Joseph. This
town was called St. Joseph. Though named
as the first county seat, it was never in fact
more than a town on paper. The location of
the county seat at St. Joseph was made by
the commissioners appointed under section
three of the act for the formation of St.
Joseph and Elkhart counties. This action
of the locating .commissioners never gave
satisfaction to the people of the county. A
petition asking for the appointment of other
commissioners to relocate the county seat was
circulated amongst the settlers, received over
a. "The Northwestern Pioneer arid St. Joseph's
Intelligencer, South Bend, Indiana, Wednesday,
November 23, 1831."
6. See Sec. 4 of the Act for the formation of
the counties of St. Joseph and Elkhart, set out
in bubdivision 2 of this chapter.

one hundred and twenty-five signatures, and
was laid before the legislature that convened
at Indianapolis, December 6, 1830. That
body, in an act approved February 1, 1831,°
granted the prayer of the petitioners, the act
being as follows :
Sec. 2. — Act to Re-Locate the County
Seat. — "An act to Re-locate the County Seat
of St. Joseph county.
"Section 1. Be it enacted by the general
assembly of the state of Indiana, that Absalom
Holcomb and William N. Hood of Allen
county, John Scott of Cass county, Chester
Sage and John Jackson of Elkhart county,
are hereby appointed commissioners to review
and should they judge expedient, to re-locate
the county seat of St. Joseph county. The
said commissioners shall convene at the house
of William Brookfield, in the said county of
St. Joseph, on the second Monday of May
next, and shall immediately proceed to dis
charge the duties assigned them by law.6 It
is hereby made the duty of the " sheriff of
Allen county, to notify the said commis
sioners, either in person or by written noti
fication, of their appointment, on or before
the first day of May next ; and the said sheriff
shall receive from the said county of St.
Joseph, so much as the county commissioners
of said county shall deem just and reasonable,
who are hereby authorized to allow the same
out of any monies in the county treasury, in
the same manner as other monies are paid.
"Sec. 2. Should said commissioners after
examination of the present seat of justice of
said county, be of opinion that the public
interest demands a removal or re-location of
said seat of justice, they shall then proceed
and be governed in all respects by the law
forming said county of St. Joseph,0 as though
they had been appointed to fix the said county
seat, at the formation of said county.
a. Acts 1830, p. 21.
6, See Sec. 3 of the act for the formation of
the counties of St. Joseph and Elkhart, and note
a, Subd. 2, of this chapter.
c. The law referred to is set out in full in
Subd. 2, of this chapter.

174

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

"Sec. 3. That the county agent and all
other officers within the said county, when
the county seat is hereby located, shall be
governed in all respects by the law forming
said county, .as though the county seat had
been satisfactorily fixed by the first commis
sioners appointed for that purpose.
' ' Sec. 4. Should the commissioners hereby
appointed, fix the county seat at any other
place than that fixed by the former commis
sioners, then the said county commissioners
shall deliver over to William Brookfield, and
to all other persons who may have donated
to said county, all monies, lands and other
effects which they may have given to said
county, as a consideration for said county
seat. ' '
Sec. 3. — Re-Location. — The report of the
commissioners so appointed by the legislature
to re-locate the county seat of St. Joseph
county appears of record in the proceedings
of the third and last day's session of the first
term of the board of county commissioners,
Wednesday, September 7, 1831. The record
is as follows:
"The commissioners' report which was
filed in the clerk's office in vacation of said
[county] board is now brougnt into court to
be made a matter of record here, to-wit:
" 'The undersigned commissioners ap
pointed by an act of the legislature of the
state of Indiana, at their session in the year
A. D. 1831, entitled an . act to re-locate the
county seat of St. Joseph county, met at the
house of William Brookfield, in the said
county of St. Joseph, on the second Monday
of May, A. D. 1831; and after being duly
sworn as the law directs, proceeded immedi
ately to examine the present seat of justice
for said county of St. Joseph, and are of
opinion that public interest requires a re
moval of said seat of justice, and immediately
proceeded to select a suitable site for the
county seat of said county of St. Joseph ; and,
after making all the examinations required by
law, have selected the town of South Bend, as
laid out and recorded on the records of said

county, and have hereby established the same •
and have received from the persons herein
after mentioned the following donations in
lands, lots and obligations for the payment
of the sums of money stipulated in the follow
ing bonds, to-wit : The bonds of Lathrop M.
Taylor and Alexis Coquillard, guaranteed by
Samuel Hanna, Joseph Rohrer, Samuel Stude
baker and D. H. Coldrick for the conveyance
to the use of the county, for the following
distinguished lots in the town of South Bend:
Lots Nos. 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 400,
401, 402, 296, 299, 302, 344, 323 and 257.
And also the lots specified in said bond to
religious societies, school purposes and four
acres of land described in said bonds for a
public graveyard, in addition to the lots and
ground set apart and marked on the plat of
said town for a public square, religious and
school purposes. And also the joint bond and
obligation of the above mentioned Lathrop M.
Taylor, Alexis Coquillard, Joseph Rohrer,
Samuel Studebaker, Samuel Hanna and
David Coldrick for the payment of three
thousand dollars to the commissioners of said
county, payable in the annual installments of
one thousand dollars each. Which said several
bonds and obligations are hereby particularly
referred to and made a part of this report;
all of which bear date herewith.
" 'In witness whereof we have
hereunto set our hands this
twelfth day of May, A. D. 1831.
" 'Absalom Holcomb,
" 'William N. Hood,
" 'Chester Sage,
" 'John Jackson,
" 'Commissioners.
" 'Know all men by these presents, That
we Lathrop M. Taylor, Alexis Coquillard,
Joseph Rohrer, Samuel Studebaker, Samuel
Hanna and David Coldrick, do hereby hind
and obligate ourselves and our heirs and
representatives to well and truly pay or
cause to be paid unto the commissioners of
the county of St. Joseph, in the state of
Indiana, or their successors in office, in the

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

175

full and just sum of three thousand dollars,
to be paid as follows: One thousand in one
year from the signing and ensealing of this
bond, and one thousand in two years and the
residuary one thousand in three years; in
consideration that the county seat of St.
Joseph county, in the state aforesaid, shall
be permanently located at the South Bend,
in said county. " ' In testimony whereof w j have
hereunto set our hands and seals
on this the twelfth day of May,
in the year of our Lord, eighteen
hundred and thirty-one.
'Lathrop M. Taylor, (Seal.)
'Alexis Coquillard, (Seal.)
'Joseph Rohrer, (Seal.)
'Samuel Studebaker, (Seal.)
" 'Samuel Hanna, (Seal.)
" 'D. H. Coldrick:, (Seal.)
" 'Attest: Horace Wood, Hiram Dayton.
" 'Know all men by these presents, That we,
Lathrop M. Taylor and Alexis Coquillard, do
by these presents obligate ourselves and our
representatives well and truly to convey and
donate by an indisputable title to the county
agent whom the commissioners shall appoint
agent of the county of St. Joseph, in the
state of Indiana, for the use of said county,
fifteen in lots situated in the town of South
Bend, and designated on the plat of said town
by being numbered, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278,
279, 400, 401, 402, 296, 299, 302, 344, 323 and
257 ; and to give and donate and convey in lot
number 341 on said town plat to and for the
use of a religious denomination of people
called the United Brethern, to build thereon
a church for worship ; also in lot number four
hundred and three on said town plat for the
same purpose for the German Baptist congre
gation; also in lot number two hundred and
thirty-four on said town plat for a church for
the denomination commonly called the Pres
byterian; also to give and donate for the use
and convenience of said town four acres of
land on the east half of the southwest quarter
of section number twelve in town number

thirty-seven of range number two east, to be
dedicated and used as a public graveyard; —
all of which said several donations are to be
legally conveyed in a reasonable time after
the patents shall have issued to the said Co
quillard and Taylor; in consideration that
the county seat shall be permanently located
at South Bend, in said county.
' ' ' Witnessed our hands and seals
on this twelfth day of May, 1831.
" 'Lathrop M. Taylor, (Seal.)
" 'Alexis Coquillard, (Seal.)
" 'Attest: Horace Wood, Hiram Dayton.
' ' 'Know all men by these presents, That we,
Samuel Hanna, Joseph Rohrer, Samuel Stude
baker and David Coldrick, do bind and obli
gate ourselves and our representatives, under
a penalty of two thousand dollars, to secure
and guarantee the stipulations and obligations
of the said Coquillard and Taylor in their
above bond, according to the true spirit and
equitable meaning thereof, waving all legal
technicalities or inaccuracies, if any there be.
" 'Witness our hands and seals
on this twelfth day of May, 1831.
" 'Samuel Hanna, (Seal.)
" 'Joseph Rohrer, (Seal.)
" 'Samuel Studebaker, (Seal.)
" 'D. H. Coldrick, (Seal.)
" 'Attest: Horace Wood, Hiram Dayton.' "
Sec. 4. — South Bend the Permanent
County Seat. — Thus was the county seat
definitely and permanently fixed at the new
town near the south bend of the St. Joseph
river, laid out March 28, 1831, by Alexis
Coquillard and Lathrop Minor Taylor. The
effort of William Brookfield, our first sur
veyor and one of the most distinguished of
our early settlers, to build up a business
center at the old portage was a natural but a
mistaken one. It is true that commerce had
gone by the St. Joseph-Kankakee portage for
unknown ages. The ancient traders went
from the lakes up the St. Joseph, over the
portage, down the Kankakee and the Missis
sippi, and so reached all the countries border
ing on the gulf and the south seas; and that

176

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the return was by the same ancient route.
But that day was past. Commerce had taken
new lines. Detroit, Fort Wayne and Chicago
had become gathering points; and the trails
and traces to and from these points, and from
these points to the Atlantic coast, were
gradually taking direction and form. North
and south was the Michigan road. And the
south bend of the St. Joseph river was on
the new lines. The old routes became filled
with dust and leaves and overgrown with
grass; while the new routes were worn and
traveled and improved from year to year.
Coquillard and Taylor had chosen wisely and
labored effectively. The county seat was
located in the proper place.
VIII. THE TOWNSHIPS RE-ORGANIZED.
Not only was the first location of the
county seat unsatisfactory to the people, but
also the division of the county into the town
ships of Michigan, Deschemin, German and
Portage, as made by the board of justices.
Accordingly, on September 7, 1831, on the
third day's session of the first term of the
board of commissioners, after the entry of
the record in relation to the county seat, the
following important orders were made in re
lation to the townships of the county; and
also in relation to commissioners' districts:
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That so
much of the orders of the board of justices
held on the 25th day of November, 1830, as
regards the laying off of townships in said
county be hereby repealed and set aside.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That
ranges two and three east of the second
principal meridian of the state of Indiana,
so much as lies in said county, shall form one
township in said county, and shall be known
by the name of Portage township. All elec
tions in said township shall be held in the
town of South Bend. Said township shall
form the first county commissioner district in
said county.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That
range number one east and range number one

west of the second principal meridian of the
state of Indiana shall form a township in said
county, to be known by the name of Center
township, and all elections in said township
shall be held at John Drulinger 's. Said
township shall form the second county com
missioner district in said county.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That
all the territory lying west of the range line
dividing ranges number one and number two
west of the second principal meridian of the
state of Indiana shall form and constitute a
township, to be known by the name of High
land township, and the elections in said town
ship shall be held at the house of Jacob Miller,
in said township. The said township shall
form the third county commissioner district
in said county.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That
Hiram Dayton be appointed Inspector of
Elections in Portage, and John Egbert shall
be appointed Inspector of Elections in Center
township, and also that Chapel W. Brown be
appointed Inspector of Elections in Highland
township. "Ordered by the board aforesaid, That
on the fourth Saturday of Inst, the qualified
electors in Portage township be authorized
to elect one justice of the peace at South
Bend, in said township ; and that the qualified
electors of Center township be authorized to
elect one justice of the peace in said township
on the fourth Saturday as aforesaid ; and also
that the qualified electors of Highland town
ship be authorized to elect one justice of the
peace in said township on the fourth Satur
day, Inst.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That
the sheriff be required to notify the qualified
electors of said county to meet in the several
townships as organized by this board to meet
at the several places in said townships, to
elect associate judges.""
It will be seen that Highland township, as
laid out by the board of commissioners, in-
a. The organization of our courts will be given
in another place.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

177

eluded one more range than did Michigan
township, as laid out by the board of justices.
The east line of Michigan township was "the
range line dividing ranges two and' three
west;" while the east line of Highland town
ship was ' ' the range line dividing ranges num
ber one and number two west." No part
of either of those primitive townships was
within the present limits of St. Joseph county.
Highland township included the greater part
of what is now La Porte county and all of
Porter and Lake.
Center township, as laid out by the board
of commissioners, included the west half of
range one west, now in Laporte county, and
likewise so much of the east half of said
range as is also in said county. The rest
of old Center township, being the remainder
of range one west and all of range one east,
— except parts on the south afterwards at
tached to Marshall and Starke counties— are
still in St. Joseph county. The east line of
Center township was the range line between
ranges one and two east, being the line which
now divides our present Warren township
from German and Portage. The townships of
Olive, Warren and Lincoln, as now consti
tuted, with the greater part of Greene and
almost all of Liberty, were then in Center
township. Portage township, as laid out by the board
of commissioners, took in all of the county
embraced in ranges two and three east. That
included the present townships of German,
Clay, Portage, Center and Union, with parts
of Greene, Liberty, Harris, Penn and Madi
son. The west half of range four, being a
strip three miles in width on the east side
of the county as at present constituted, was
then in Elkhart county.
IX. THE COUNTY BOUNDARIES.
St. Joseph county, as formed by the act
of January 29, 1830, extended east and west
across five ranges of congressional townships,
and reached south from the Michigan line
a distance of thirty miles. To this thirty
12

miles square was added, for jurisdictional
purposes, all the territory west to the Illinois
state line. Other unorganized territory was
afterwards attached for like purposes on the
south. This attached territory, as we have
seen,® was by the board of justices erected
into a township of St. Joseph county, and
named Michigan township. The board of
commissioners added to Michigan a range of
congressional townships on the east, and
called the whole territory Highland town
ship. Not counting the attached territory on the
west, St. Joseph county proper then included
nearly one-half of the present county of La
Porte, and also nearly one-half of the present
counties of Marshall and Starke. The act of
February 10, 1831, defining the boundaries
of all the counties of the state,6 left unchanged
the boundaries of- St. Joseph county as fixed
by the act of its organization, January 29,
1830. The county of La Porte was formed by an
act of the legislature, approved January 9,
1832. In this act the east boundary of La
Porte is declared to be, "the center line of
range number one west," extending south
twenty-two miles from the north boundary
line of the state." Thus, not counting the
attached territory west to the Illinois line,
which had constituted our Michigan town
ship, and nearly all of our Highland town
ship, the legislature, in one act, took from St.
Joseph county a range and a half of congres
sional townships on the west, and made them
part of the new county of La Porte.
As if to make up for this loss on the west,
the same legislature, a few days afterwards,
by an act approved January 31, 1832,^ took
three miles from Elkhart and added it to
St. Joseph. The act is short, and reads as
follows :
"Be it enacted by the general assembly of
a. See Subd. 4, of this chapter.
6. Revised Statutes of Indiana, 1831, pp. 110-
128. c. Acts 1831, p. 9.
d. Acts 1831, p. 114.

178

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the state of Indiana, That the boundary line
between the counties of Elkhart and St.
Joseph, be, and the same is hereby changed,
and that the same shall be a north and south
line, three miles east, and parallel with range
line number three east of the second princi
pal meridian line. And all that portion of
territory so stricken off of Elkhart county, be,
and the same is hereby attached to, and shall
constitute a part of St. Joseph county."
The net result of both those acts of the
legislature of 1831 was to move St. Joseph
county three miles to the east,, giving us half
a range on the east and taking from us a
range and a half on the west, and so reducing
the width of the county along the north
boundary line of the state from thirty miles
to twenty-four miles. This left us a half
range west of the second principal meridian
and three and a half ranges east of the same
meridian. The next act of the legislature that inter
fered with the boundaries of the county was
that approved February 7, 1835,a entitled
' ' An act laying out all the unorganized terri
tory to which the Indian title has been ex
tinguished in this state, into a suitable num
ber of counties, and for other purposes."
Section nine of that act defined the north
line of Marshall county as the north line of
congressional township thirty-four, being the
same as the south line of our present town
ship of Lincoln extended east. This bound
ary, while taking seven miles and a half off
the south end of St. Joseph county, still left
us the whole of congressional township thirty-
five, including the sites of the present towns
of Bremen, La Paz and Teegarden, besides
the right of way of the Baltimore & Ohio
railroad from the eastern to the western
boundary of the county.
By section ten of the same act, the north
line of Starke county was defined to be the
north line of the same congressional township,
thirty-four. This boundary left the territory
a. Acts 1834, pp. 44-47.

of the present Lincoln township within our
county, as it has remained ever since.
Although the boundaries of Marshal]
county were fixed by the act of February 7
1835, yet the county was not organized until
the succeeding session of the legislature. The
act passed for that purpose was approved
February 4, 1836." The eighth section of
that act appears to have no proper connection
with the other sections : it seems to be attached
to the act rather than to be a part of it. The
section, however, did seriously affect the
interests of St. Joseph county. It reads as
follows :
"Sec. 8. The northern boundary line ot
the county of Marshall shall be extended to
an east and west line running through the
center of township thirty-five north."
A strip three miles in width was thus taken
from St. Joseph county and added to MarshaD
county, leaving a part of Lincoln township
in St. Joseph county projecting between Mar
shall and La Porte counties, to a distance of
three miles south of the remainder of St.
Joseph county.
In an act approved February 16, 1839, en
titled "An act to define the boundaries of
the counties of St. Joseph, Marshall, La Porte,
Starke, Porter and Lake, ' '6 the boundaries of
St. Joseph county were left as they had re
mained after the act of February 4, 1836, de
fining the north boundary of Marshall county.
This act of February 16, 1839, denned what
were expected to be the fixed and permanent
boundaries of the county, in these words:
"St. Joseph county shall be bounded as
follows, by a line commencing on the north
boundary of this state at the intersection
thereon of the section line running north and
south through the center of range four east;
thence south to the center of township thirty-
five north ; thence "west to the second meridian
line, being that line between ranges one east
and, one west; thence south to the township
line between townships thirty-four and thirty-
a. Acts 1835, pp. 49, 50.
b. Acts 1838, p. 70.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

179

five north; thence west to the section line
running north and south through the center
of range one west; thence north by said sec
tion line to the north boundary of this state ;
thence east to the place of beginning."
St. Joseph county seemed at last to have
found herself, to have reached the definite
and fixed limits of her physical entity. For
ten years her integrity as a county was re
spected, and no further attempt was made to
interfere with her defined boundaries. But
by an act approved January 16, 1849,a the
legislature provided:
"That the territory which now belongs to
St. Joseph county, described as follows: Be
ginning at the present county line, at the
northwest corner of section twenty-two, town
ship thirty-seven north, range one west;
thence with the north line of said section, and
that of section twenty-three, to the northeast
corner of said section twenty- three ; thence
south with the section line, until it shall strike
the great Kankakee river; thence with said
river to the present county line, may be at
tached to the county of La Porte, upon the
conditions following."
One of the conditions upon which the trans
fer of territory should take place is set out
in section four of the act, in which it was
provided that, "The county commissioners of
said county of St. Joseph, shall, and they are
hereby authorized to, , decide at their regular
June term, 1849, whether said territory shall
be attached as aforesaid. ' ' Should our board
of commissioners agree to the change it should
take place. "But," it was further provided
in the same section, "in case said board of
county commissioners do not decide in favor
of attaching the territory as aforesaid, to
the said county of La Porte, then and in that
case the said territory shall be and remain
a part and parcel of said county of St.
Joseph." As might be anticipated, there was much
opposition to the scheme on the part of the
people of St. Joseph county; and the board
a. Local Laws of Indiana, 1848, p. 32.

of county commissioners accordingly refused
to concur in the action of the legislature. At
the regular June term, 1849,a of the board
if was therefore formally ordered, ' ' That said
territory shall not be set off as a part of the
territory of La Porte county."
The people of the disputed territory were,
however, bent on having the sections trans
ferred to La Porte county. It must be ad
mitted that their reasons in favor of the
project were plausible. The territory in ques
tion was situated on the west side of the Kan
kakee river; and it was then impossible to
go directly across the river and marshes to
the county seat of St. Joseph county. It was
the old trouble, over again, of the first survey
of the Michigan road from Michigan City,
directly across the Kankakee swamps, to Lo
gansport. Such roads were impossible of con
struction in those days. The people to the
west of the Kankakee quite naturally, there
fore, preferred to go to the county seat of
La Porte county, both for their marketing
and also to attend to such business as must
be transacted in the court house.
The matter came again before the legis
lature at the ensuing session ; and, by an act
approved January 14, 1850,6 the transfer of
the territory was made absolute, without any
consent asked for or given by St. Joseph
county. A touch of patriotic sentiment was
given to the severance of .the territory, by
providing in the act that the sections in ques
tion should be attached to and become a part
of La Porte county from and after July 4,
185a So was St. Joseph county reduced in size
from its original thirty miles square, and
attached territory, to its present dimen
sions. Some slight movements were after
wards made to limit still further the
size of the county. Citizens on the east
side of the county at one time tried to per
suade the commissioners that they should be
attached to Elkhart county; and citizens of

a. Commissioners' Record No. 3, p.
6. Acts, 1849, pp. 114, 115.

285.

180

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the west side of the county filed, like petitions,
with a view to the formation of another
county made up in part of St. Joseph and in
part of La Porte territory, and having New
Carlisle as a county seat. These petitions
were before our county board for several ses
sions, each, but were all finally dismissed.
Another movement developed at one time in
the southwest part of the county, with a view
to the formation of a county out of parts of
St. Joseph, Marshall, Starke and La Porte
counties, and having Walkerton as the county
seat. There was more reason for this move
ment than for either of the others, the south
west part of this county not being of easy
access to the county seat. But afterwards
came improved gravel roads, not to speak of
the Three "I" railroad; and North Liberty
and Walkerton at once found themselves in
easy reach of the city on the St. Joseph, and
more closely knit to the county of which they
form so important a part. Every inhabitant
has long since become proud of his citizenship
in the good old county of St. Joseph.
The county is now twenty-four miles in
length, east and west, measured along the
boundary between Indiana and Michigan;
and nineteen and one-half miles in width,

north and south, measured along the bound
ary between St. Joseph and Elkhart counties.
To these dimensions are to be added the nine
sections of Lincoln township, bounded on the
east by Marshall county, on the south by
Starke and on the west by La Porte. And
from these dimensions must be deducted the
fourteen full and five fractional sections at
tached to La Porte county by the act of
January 14, 1850.
Notwithstanding the loss of territory on the
west and on the south, our county is still one
of the largest, as it is one of the best, in the
state. The limits of the county are, on all
sides, within congressional townships thirty-
five, thirty-six, thirty-seven and thirty-eight,
north ; and within ranges one, west, and one,
two, three and four, east, of the second prin
cipal meridian of Indiana. It is the central
county on the north boundary of the state.
The county contains within its borders the
source and a large part of the valley of the
Kankakee. We have no less than five prairies
of various sizes, one of them, Terre Coupee,
the finest in the state; while, with Elkhart
county, we claim as ours the whole of the
St. Joseph valley within the state of Indiana.

Lathrop M. Taylor

CHAPTER VI.

COUNTY BUSINESS.

I. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS AND BOARDS.
Sec. 1. — The Clerk. — Lathrop Minor Tay
lor and Alexis Coquillard continued for many
years largely to divide with one another the
honors and responsibilities attendant upon
the development of the new county. In
friendly rivalry they had established on "the
Big St. Joseph's of the Lake" the two trad
ing posts about which gathered the early set
tlement; together they had purchased from
the government the land upon which they had
laid out the new town at the south bend of
the river, and by their united efforts they
had succeeded in causing the removal of the
county seat to the town thus established.
From the prganization of the county "the
house of Alexis Coquillard'.' appears in the
records for several years as the place of hold
ing the sessions of the circuit court, the board
of justices and the board of commissioners.
All these records, too, show the name of
Lathrop M. Taylor, L. M. Taylor or Lathrop
Minor Taylor, as it was written on dif
ferent occasions. a At the first election held
in the county, the first Monday in August,
1830, Mr. Taylor was elected clerk of the
circuit court and also county recorder. Sec
tion ten of article eleven of the constitution
of 1816 provided that the same person might
hold both these offices. He was also author
ized by statute to act as clerk of the county
board or as county clerk.6 As such officer
o. See Deed Record B, pp. 579, 580, 581, for his
different signatures.
6. See Sec. 6, act approved January 17, 1831.

181

he was therefore the keeper of the county
records. He thus united in himself the duties
of the present offices of clerk of the circuit
court, county recorder and county auditor.
The original records in each of those offices
are in the handwriting of L. M. Taylor.
Towards the end of his term appears the
name of a deputy, Thomas S. Stanfield, who
was afterwards to become one of the strong
characters of the county and of the state.
The three modest little blank books with
which Mr. Taylor began the records of the
¦county business as clerk of the court, clerk
of the county board and county recorder still
remain in good condition; except that the
recorder's records are somewhat injured by
frequent handling.
Lathrop M. Taylor's term lasted for seven
years. He was succeeded, in 1837, in the
office of clerk of the circuit court, by Tyra
W. Bray, who also held for seven years. John
F. Lindsay, the last clerk under the constitu
tion of 1816, was in office from 1844 to 1851.
Under the constitution of 1851 the term of
office was reduced to four years, and the in
cumbent rendered ineligible to more than
two successive terms. Samuel M. Chord was
clerk for two terms, or until 1859. He was
succeeded by Elias V. Clark, who also served
two terms, or until 1867. Mr. Clark was
succeeded by George W. Matthews, called
sometimes the younger, to distinguish him
from the elder George W. Matthews, formerly
county auditor.
Mr. Matthews was succeeded, in 1875, by

182

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Edwin Nicar, and Mr. Nicar by Timothy E.
Howard, who was himself succeeded in 1883
by George H. Alward, the elder. Mr. Alward
died during his term, November 11, 1885,
and the county commissioners appointed his
son, also George H. Alward, to fill out his
term. In 1886 William C. McMichael be
came clerk, and in 1895, George M. Fountain.
In 1903, George H. Alward became clerk
again, by election, and in 1907 was succeeded
by the present incumbent, Frank P. Chris-
toph. Thirteen different men have filled the
office of clerk of the circuit court from the
organization of the county.
Sec. 2. — The Recorder. — On the expiration
of Lathrop M. Taylor's term as county re
corder, in 1837, he was succeeded by William
H. Patteson, who served for two terms, and
was succeeded by Lott Day, Jr.
By an act approved February 16, 1852,°
the county recorder was required to provide
an official seal for his county. Before any
such seal should be used, it was provided in
the act that "an accurate description of the
impression thereof, attested by the proper
recorder, and the impression of such seal,
shall be filed in the office of the clerk of
the circuit court, and by said clerk recorded
in the order book of said court."
On February 28, 1853, Mr. Day, then re
corder, adopted a seal for his office, and filed
for record in the office of the clerk of the St.
Joseph circuit court a description reading as
follows : ' ' Said seal is about one and one-half
inch in diameter, with two circles on the
outer edge, between which are the following
words, 'Recorder of St. Joseph County, In
diana. ' Inclosed in the' inner circle or center
of said seal is the following design : An axe
man and two trees; and in the distance a
buffalo and rising sun." An impression of
the seal appears on the margin of the order
book.6 Mr. Day was succeeded as recorder by
a. Vol. I, R. S., 1852, pp. 427, 428.
b. See Order Book St. Joseph Circuit Court
No. 7, p. 436.

Reece J. Chestnutwood, the elder, who held
the office until 1867. Mr. Chestnutwood is
still (1907) living in the city of South Bend,
in the ninety-second year of his age.
Alexander N. Thomas' became recorder in
1867 and served for eight years, being suc
ceeded, in 1875, by John Groff. Harrison 6.
Beemer succeeded to the office in 1879,- and
was himself succeeded in 1883 by Thomas
M. Howard, who served for eight years. Will
iam D. Shimp became recorder in 1891, Jere
miah Hildebrand in 1895, and Josiah P. Reed
in 1899. Noah Lehman, the recorder elect,
will take the office January 1, 1908.
Sec. 3. — The Auditor. — By an act ap
proved February 12, 1841,° the office of coun
ty auditor was created. The auditor was by
the act made clerk of the board of county
commissioners, or virtually county clerk, and
was required to perform all the duties in
relation to county business theretofore en
joined upon the clerk of the circuit court.
After the expiration of the term of L. M.
Taylor, in 1837, his successor, Tyra W. Bray,
as clerk of the circuit court, continued to
act as clerk of the board of commissioners
until the enactment of the foregoing statute
and the election, on the first Monday of
August, 1841, of George W. Matthews, the
elder, who was the first county auditor.
Schuyler Colfax, who was a stepson of Mr.
Matthews, acted as deputy auditor during his
incumbency. This was the first experience in
public life of the man who was afterwards
three times speaker of the national house of
representatives and also vice-president of the
United States. Mr. Matthews served as coun
ty auditor until his resignation August 1,
1849. The board of commissioners selected
Aaron B. Ellsworth to fill the vacancy, and
in 1851 Mr.' Ellsworth was elected by the
people, and held the office until 1859, when
he was succeeded by Woolman J. Holloway.
Mr. Holloway held the office until 1867, and
was then succeeded by Alfred Wheeler. Mr.
Wheeler was succeeded, in 1875, by William
o. Acts, 1840, pp. 10-24.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

183

D. Smith, and Mr. Smith in 1883 by Aaron
Jones. Then followed Robert Myler, George
W. Loughman, John M. Brown, and John W.
Harbou, the present incumbent, whose second
term will begin January 1, 1908.
Sec. 4. — The County Agent. — The county
agent was an officer having charge of the real
estate and other property of the county. His
duties in the beginning seem to have been
confined to affairs connected with the organi
zation of new counties, and were provided
for in section four of the act to establish
seats of justice in new counties, approved
January 24, 1824.° He was to be appointed
by the board doing county business, and was
the fiscal officer of the county.
William Brookfield was appointed by the
board of justices as the first agent of St.
Joseph county, at a called session of the board
held for that purpose, "at the house of Alexis
Coquillard in said county, on Tuesday, the
14th day of September, 1830." The order of
appointment reads:
"Ordered by the board of justices of St.
Joseph county that William Brookfield be ap
pointed agent of St. Joseph county; and he
is required to give bond and security in the
penal sum of five thousand dollars. Alexis
Coquillard and Lathrop M. Taylor are ac
cepted by said board as his securities."
On September 7, 1831, the board of county
commissioners appointed John Egbert as the
second county agent, in the following order:
' ' Ordered by the board aforesaid, that John
Egbert be appointed county agent of said
county, and he is required to give bond under
the penalty of six thousand dollars. Jacob
Egbert and William McCartney are approved
of by the board as his securities."
At the January term, 1832, the board made
the following allowance: "Ordered by the
board aforesaid, that John Egbert be allowed
the sum of six dollars for his services for the
past year as county agent." At the Septem
ber term, 1832, he was allowed fifteen dollars
additional for his services to that date.
a. R. S., 1831, pp. 459-463; R. S., 1838, pp.
505-509.

At the September term, 1832, the following
order of appointment was made:
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that An
thony Defrees be appointed county agent in
and for said county, in the room of John
Egbert resigned ; and said Defrees is required
to give bond and security in the penalty of
six thousand dollars. Peter Johnson, L. M.
Taylor and Jacob Hardman are approved of
by the board as his securities."
The most important duties transacted by
the county agent of this county were the ne
gotiations for the sale of the town lots do
nated to the county, in consideration of the
location of the county seat, first at Mr. Brook
field 's town of St. Joseph's, and afterwards
at South Bend; and also matters in relation
to the erection of the county buildings. The
office was abolished and its duties transferred
to the county auditor, subject to the orders of
the board of county commissioners, by an
act approved May 13, 1852.°
Sec. 5. — The Sheriff. — Although the con
stitution of 1816 provided for the election
of both a sheriff and a coroner, yet neither of
these officers is mentioned in the act of Janu
ary 29, 1830, for the formation of St. Joseph
county. None seems to have been elected,
nor is there any record of the appointment of
either such officer by the board of justices or
by the board of commissioners.
The legislature, however, by an act ap
proved February 9, 1831,6 seems to have rec
ognized that Samuel L. Cottrell was appointed
by the board of justices as our first sheriff,
for the year 1830. The act is as follows :
"Whereas, it is represented to this general
assembly, that Samuel L. Cottrell acted as
sheriff to the board of justices of the county
of St. Joseph, from the month of August in
the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and thirty, to the month of Novem
ber in the same year, without being legally
elected and commissioned: and some doubts
having arisen as to the legality of the pro-
a. Special and Local Acts, 1852, p. 32.
b. Special Acts, 1830, pp. 97, 98.

164

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

ceedings of said board in consequence there
of ; wherefore,
"Be it enacted by the general assembly of
the state of Indiana, that the acts and pro
ceedings of said board of justices of the
county of St. Joseph, for and during the
time aforesaid, be and the same are hereby
declared as legal and valid, as if the said
Samuel L. Cottrell had been sheriff of said
county, according to law, at the taking place
thereof. ' '
The board of commissioners also, by an or
der entered on the third day of their first
term, September 7, 1831, recognized Mr.
Cottrell as having acted as sheriff during the
first year of our county history, and made
him an allowance for his services, as follows :
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
Samuel L. Cottrell be allowed the sum of
twenty-two dollars for services rendered said,
county as sheriff."
The sheriffs succeeding Samuel L. Cottrell
were : Benjamin McCarty, 1831 ; Scott West,
1832; Daniel A. Fullerton, 1832 to 1833;
Samuel L. Cottrell, 1833 to 1838 ; Charles M.
Tutt, 1838 to 1842; Lott Day, sr., 1842 to
1846; Lott Day, jr., 1846 to 1850; Ralph
Staples, 1850 to 1852; Benjamin F. Miller,
1852 to 1856 ; Evan C. Johnson, 1856 to 1860 ;
Nelson Ferris, 1860 to 1864; Solomon W.
Palmer, 1864 to 1868 ; George V. Glover, 186S
to 1872 ; Joseph Turnock, 1872 to 1876 ; Rob
ert Hardy, 1876 to 1878; James Dougherty,
1878 to 1880 ; Zachariah M: Johnson, 1880 to
1884 ; George Rockstroh, 1884 to 1886 ; John
Finch, 1886 to 1890; Andrew J. Ward, 1890
to 1894; James C. Eberhart, 1894 to 1898;
Charles E. McCarty, 1898 to 1903; Schuyler
C. Robinson, 1903 to 1905 ; David J. Schafer,
1905 to — .
Sec. 6. — The Coroner. — The office of cor
oner, closely related to that of sheriff, was
held by Samuel L. Cottrell beginning in
1834 ; Edmund Pitts Taylor, 1835 ; Daniel D.
Custard, 1838; Jacob Hardman, 1840; Leon
ard B. Rush, 1841; Israel De Camp, 1843;
Truman Fox, 1845; Richmond Tuttle, 1847;

Allen Bassett, 1852; Aaron A. Webster
1854; Andrew H. Long, 1856; Daniel Day
ton, 1874; Israel Underwood, 1876; John C.
Miller, 1878; Alexander Rixa, 1880; Corne
lius H. Myers, 1881; Hugh T. Montgomery,
1884; Erastus M. Drollinger, 1890; James A.
Varier, 1892; Richard B. Dugdale, 1894;
Callie A. Rennoe, 1900; Henry C. Holtzen-
dorff, 1904; Stanley A. Clark, 1906.
Sec. 7. — The Treasurer. — The office of
county treasurer was at first an appointive
one. By an act approved January 8, 1831,"
it was made the duty of the boards doing
county business, ' ' at their first meeting after
the first day of February annually, to ap
point some respectable elector as county treas
urer. ' ' This officer was required to give bond
to the satisfaction of the board, and to per
form duties similar to those now required.
His compensation was fixed at "one and a
half per centum, for all moneys received, and
one and a half per centum, for all moneys
paid out for the county; excepting, how
ever, moneys arising from the sale of lots at
county seats, in which case he shall receive
no more than two per centum for both re
ceiving and paying out."
As we have already seen, John D. Lasly
was appointed by the board of justices as
first treasurer of 'the county for the year
1830. This was the first order made by our
first county board.6
Aaron Miller was appointed second treas
urer of the county, by an order of the board
of county commissioners, made September
7, 1831, as follows:
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
Aaron Miller be appointed county treasurer
of said county, from this time until the first
of March next, and until his successor be
appointed and qualified ; and that said Aaron
Miller is required to give bond with good se
curity in the penal sum of two thousand
dollars. William McCartney and Benjamin
a. Revised Statutes, 1831, p. 136; R. S., 1838,
p. 158.
6. See Chap. 5 of this work, Subd. 4.

~j*i&M.. ja

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

185

McCarty are approved by the board as se
curity." John T. McLelland was appointed
treasurer in 1834.
By an act approved February 12, 1841,a
the office was made elective by the people,
and the term fixed at three years. The con
stitution of 1851 made the office a constitu
tional one, but shortened the term to two
years; also, as in case of other county
officers, limiting the incumbent to. two suc
cessive terms.6
From the time when the office was made
elective the county treasurers have been as
follows: Albert Monson, 1841; John K.
Wright, 1850; Robert B. Nicar, 1851; Solo
mon Miller, 1856; John H, Harper, 1860;
Ezekiel Greene, 1864; Hiram Miller, 1868;
David B. Creviston, 1872; C. Henry
Sheerer, 1876; John Hay, 1878; Frederick
Lang, 1880; Emanuel R. Wills, 1884; George
H. Stover, 1888 ; Simon Yenn, 1892 ; William
H. Oren, 1894; John W. Zigler, 1898; Adam
Hunsberger, 1903; William C. Stover, 1907.
The bonds given by the county treasurer
from time to time may be some indication of
the constant growth of the county since its
organization. As we have seen, the first
treasurer, John D. Lasly, was required, in
1830, to give a bond in the sum of one thous
and dollars; and the second, Aaron Miller, in
1831, in the sum of two thousand dollars.
John K. Wright, in 1850, gave a bond of
forty-three thousand dollars; Robert B.
Nicar, in 1851, a bond of fifty thousand dol
lars; Solomon Miller, in 1856, eighty thous
and dollars ; and' the same treasurer, in 1858,
one hundred thousand; John H. Harper, in
1860, one hundred and thirty thousand;
Hiram Miller, in 1870, one hundred and fifty
thousand; Simon Yenn, in 1892, three hun
dred thousand; William H. Oren, in 1894,
four hundred thousand; and Adam Huns
berger, in 1903, seven hundred and fifty
thousand. William C. Stover, the present
county treasurer, who is also ex-officio city
<*• Acts, 1840, p. 27.
6. Constitution, 1851, Sec. 2, Art. 6.

treasurer of South Bend, has given a bond
of nine hundred and fifty thousand dol
lars. Sec. 8. — The Surveyor. — County survey
ors, as appears from an act approved. Feb
ruary 4, 1831,a were originally "appointed
in each and every county, by the boards do
ing county . business in the respective coun
ties. ' ' Afterwards, by an act approved Feb- .
ruary 2, 1833,6 the power of appointment to
this office was placed in the circuit court,
and the duration of the office was fixed at
three years. The right of appointment was
still later placed again in the county board,
but the term remained three years."
While it does not appear from any order
of record made by the board of justices that,
any surveyor was appointed by that board,
yet it is quite evident that William Brook
field acted in that capacity during the years
1830 and 1831. He was a deputy United
States surveyor, and made the first land sur
veys of the county. He platted his own
town of St. Joseph's, the first county seat;
and also platted for Coquillard and Taylor
the town of South Bend, the permanent
county seat.
To the plat of South Bend there is ap
pended the following certificate:
"The scale by which this town is laid off
is ten rods to the inch. "Wm. Brookfield, ' ' Surveyor.
"March 28, 1831."
William Clark "was appointed the second
county surveyor by an order of the board
of county commissioners, made November 1,
1831, as follows:
' ' Ordered by the board aforesaid, that Wil
liam Clark be appointed county surveyor in
and for said county."
On the same day the following order was
likewise entered: "Ordered by the board
a. Indiana R. S., 1831, pp. 516-518; R. S., 1838,
pp. 576-578.
6. Acts, 1832, pp. 106-108; R. S., 1838, pp. 578-
580. c. See R. S., 1843, p. 103.

186

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH .COUNTY.

aforesaid, that William Clark, the county
surveyor, be requested to procure certified
copies from the registers of the different
land offices wherein the lands lying in said
county have been sold, the field notes of the
townships, ranges, sections, fractional sec
tions and quarter sections, as originally sur
veyed ;' and deposit the same in the recorder 's
office of said county, according to law. ' '
Tyra W. Bray was appointed surveyor by
the board of commissioners at the September
term, 1832. He held the office until 1836,
when Thomas P. Bulla succeeded to the of
fice ; and thereafter continued to hold it until
1856, serving the last four years by election
under the new constitution.
In 1851 the office became a constitutional
one, and elective by the people of the county.
The term was fixed at two years, but there
was no limitation as to the number of terms
which an incumbent might fill.a
Milton W. Stokes succeeded Thomas B.
Bulla in 1856, and held the office until March
12, 1864, when he was succeeded by Wil
liam D. Bulla, who held until December 5,
1865. William M. Whitten became surveyor
in December, 1865, and held the office until
1868, when Milton V. Bulla was elected; he
continued in office until 1872. In 1872, Mr.
Whitten was again elected. In 1874, Arthur
Joseph Stace became county surveyor and
held the office until 1880 ; when Mr. Whitten
was again elected. Mr. Whitten held the
office from 1880 until 1888; when Benjamin
F. Waldorf was elected, continuing in office
until 1892. In 1892 William E. Graves was
elected; and in 1894, George H. Leslie.
Frederick W. Keller succeeded to the office
in 1899 ; and Titus E. Kinzie, the present in
cumbent, became surveyor in 1905.
See. 9. — The County Board. — The first
county board, called the board of justices,
and consisting of Lambert McCombs, Adam
Smith and Levi T. Arnold, served but a part
of the year 1830. Elected in August of that
a. Sec. 2, Art. 6, Constitution of 1851; IRS
1852, p. 469; 1 Gavin and Hord.p. 595.

year, their official action seems to have come
to an end with their fourth session, in No
vember, 1830.
The first board of commissioners, elected
in August 1831, consisted of Aaron Stanton,
elected for three years; David Miller, for
two years ; and Joseph Rohrer, for one year.
Thereafter, the requirement of the act or
ganizing the board was, that each year one
commissioner should be elected for three
years, from the district represented by the
commissioner whose term should expire at
the end of the current year. The term of
each commissioner was fixed at three years;
and in case of a vacancy the commissioner
elected should serve only until the end of the
term, the design being that one commissioner
should go out and one come in each year.
At the election held on the first day of
August, 1832, John Ireland, of the first dis
trict, was elected commissioner for three
years, to succeed Joseph Rohrer, whose term
expired that year. At the same election,
John Martindale, of the second district, was
elected commissioner for one year "to fill a
vacancy occasioned by the resignation of
David Miller." And at the same election
Benjamin Hardman, of the third district,
was elected commissioner for two years, to
fill the vacancy apparently occasioned by the
departure of Aaron Stanton from the county.
Afterwards commissioners were elected for
full terms or to fill vacancies, as follows:
In 1833, Lott Day and Reynolds Dunn; in
1835, Orlando M. Hurd; in 1836, William
H. Patteson ; in 1837, George Holloway and
Alonzo Delano; in 1840, Thomas D. Vail;
in 1841, Gilman Towle; in 1842, Matthew
B. Hammond; in 1843, Thomas D. Vail; in
1844, Gilman Towle; in 1845, Matthew B.
Hammond; in 1846, Ranson Hubbard; in
1847, Gilman Towle; in 1848, Samuel M.
Chord; in 1849, John Drulinger; in 1850,
Gilman Towle: in 1851, Edwin Pickett; in
1852, John Drulinger; in 1853, Gilman
Towle; in 1854, John Hammond; in 1855,
John Drulinger; in 1856, Gilman Towle; in

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

187

1857, John Hammond; in 1858, James C.
Williams; in 1859, William F. Bulla; in 1860,
Francis R. Tutt; in 1861,' James C. Wil
liams; in 1862, Gilman Towle; in 1863,
Clement Studebaker; in 1864, Nathaniel
Frame ; in 1865, Gilman Towle ; in 1866, John
C. Knoblock; in 1867, Nathaniel Frame; in
1868, Gilman Towle. (There was no elec
tion in 1869, for the reason that the legisla
ture had provided for biennial elections,
instead of annual elections, as formerly. Had
there been an election in 1869, commissioner
John C. .Knoblock 's successor would then
have been chosen; as it was, Mr. Knoblock
held over until the election of Dwight Dem
ing, his successor, in 1870. Mr. Deming,
through a misundertsanding, held his office
for three years, instead of holding for two
years only, and so filling out the term for
which Mr. Knoblock had held one year.
Many errors of this kind occurred at this
time in different counties. To correct these
mistakes, and restore the terms to the regular
length of three years, one commissioner com
ing in each year, as intended by the original
act of January 19, 1831, organizing the
board of county commissioners;0 the legisla
ture passed a remedial act, approved March
7, 1885.6 In accordance with the provisions
of this act of 1885, the term of commissioner
Jacob Eaton was afterwards extended from
1885 to 1890, and thus the error which had
existed from 1872 to 1890 in the terms of the
commissioners of the second district was cor
rected. Since 1890, the, terms are each three
years, and one commissioner succeeds to the
office each year, according to the original
plan of the act of 1831." In 1870, Dwight
Deming became county commissioner; in
1871, Albert Cass; in 1873, Dwight Deming;
in 1874, John Ernsperger; in 1876, Dwight
Deming and William D. Rockhill; in 1877,
a. R. S., 1831, p. 129.
&¦ Acts, 1885, pp. 69, 70.
c. See Commissioners' Record, No. 11, for the
opinion of the county attornery, according to
which the error in commissioners' terms was cor
rected.

John Ernsperger; in 1879, Dwight Deming
and William D. Rockhill; in 1880, Newton
Jackson and Charles G. Towle ; in 1882, Isaac
Early and Samuel Bowman; in 1883, Charles
G. Towle; in 1885) Jacob Eaton and Dixon
W. Place; in 1886, Charles G. Towle; in
1888, Dixon W. Place; in 1889, James
Dougherty; in 1890, Jacob Eaton; in 1891,
John Olinger; in 1892, James Dougherty; in
1893, John N. Lederer; in 1894, Peter H.
Reaves; in 1895, John D. Fulmer; in 1896,
Samuel Bowman; in 1897, Peter H. Reaves;
in 1898, John D. Fulmer; in 1899, Samuel
Bowman; in 1900, Isaac Newton Miller; in
1901, Marion B. Russ. (In 1901, the legis
lature, by an act in force March 11, 1901,°
provided that the terms of county officers,
including those of county commissioners
should "begin on the first day of January
next following the term of office of the present
incumbent.") In 1903, Herman A. Fohulka
succeeded to the office of county commis
sioner; in 1904, Isaac Newton Miller; in
1905, Marion B. Russ; in 1906, Barney C.
Smith; and in 1907, Daniel A. White.
II. THE CIRCUIT COURT.
Sec. 1. — The President and Associate
Judges. — By article fifth of the constitution
of 1816, it was provided that, "The judiciary
power of this state, both as to matters of
law and equity, shall be vested in one su
preme court, in circuit courts, and in such
other inferior courts as the general assembly
may from time to time direct and estab
lish." The same article of the constitution
further provided, That the circuit courts
should each "consist of a president, and two
associate judges"; that the state should be
divided into three circuits, for each of which
a president should be appointed, who should'
reside within his circuit; that the legislature
might increase the number of circuits and
presidents as the exigencies of the state might
from time to time require; that all judges
a. Acts, 1901, p. 411.

188

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

should "hold their offices during the term of
seven years, if they shall so long behave well,
and shall, at stated times, receive for their
services, a compensation which shall not be
diminished during their continuance in of
fice;" and that, "The presidents of the cir
cuit courts shall be appointed by joint ballot
of both branches of the general assembly;
and the associate judges of the circuit courts
shall be elected by the qualified electors in
the respective counties." There was this
further provision, that "The president
alone, in the absence of the associate judges,
or the president and one of the associate
judges, in the absence of the other, shall be
competent to hold a court, as also the two
associate judges, in the absence of the presi
dent shall be competent to hold a court, ex
cept in capital cases, and cases in chan
cery. ' '
In the act approved January 24, 1831,°
the legislature provided that the president
should receive a salary of seven hundred dol
lars a year, to be paid out of the state
treasury ; and that the associate judges should
receive two dollars per day, while attending
court, to be paid out of the county treasury.
By an act approved February 15, 1838,6 it
was provided that, in the absence of any
presiding judge of a circuit, any other pre
siding judge of the state might hold court in
such circuit. This was, in effect, a provision
for a change of venue from a judge, and was
so intended by the legislature as shown by
the preamble to the act. Express provision
was afterwards made for changes of venue
in case the presiding judge should be disqual
ified for .any cause. In such case the special
judge was allowed three dollars a day for his
services.0 Sec. 2. — The Circuits Under the Consti
tution of 1816.— By an act approved Feb
ruary 10, 1831,* the state was divided into
a. R. S„ 1831, pp. 138-142; R. S., 1838, pp. 161-
164. 6. R. S., 1838, p. 164.
c. R. S., 1843, pp. 646-651.
d. R. S., 1831, pp. 142-146.

seven circuits; the first consisting of the
counties of Vermilion, Parke, Montgomery
Fountain, Warren, Tippecanoe, Clinton, Car
roll, Cass and St. Joseph. In St. Joseph
county provision was made for two terms of
court, beginning on the first Mondays of
May and November, each year. By the
same act, the terms in Cass county were made
to begin on the fourth Mondays in April and
October; and, in order to enable the judge to
come immediately from Cass to St. Joseph,
the legislature, by an act approved February
3, 1832,° provided that the terms in St. Jo
seph county should begin on the Mondays
following the terms in Cass county, which
provision in some cases made a week's dif
ference in the dates of the beginning of the
terms in St. Joseph county.
By an act approved January 7, 1833,6 the
eighth judicial circuit was organized, con
sisting of the counties of Carroll, Cass,
Miami, Wabash, Huntington, Allen, La
grange, Elkhart, St. Joseph and Laporte.
Each of these counties was given one week's
court, except Allen and Elkhart which were
given two weeks each. The terms in Cass
county began, as formerly, on the fourth
Mondays of April and October ; those in Al
len, on the Mondays succeeding the terms
in Cass; those in Lagrange in like manner,
succeeding the terms in Allen; those in Elk
hart, succeeding the terms in Lagrange; and
those in St. Joseph succeeding the terms in
Elkhart. This arrangement usually brought
the terms of St. Joseph county in June and
December. By a re-arrangement of terms in
the eighth circuit, in an act approved Janu
ary 28, 1834," the terms of the St. Joseph
circuit court were transferred to the first or
second weeks of April and October. By an
act approved January 30, 1835,<* the terms
in St. Joseph county were again changed to
the first weeks of April and November. By
a. Acts, 1831, pp. 242-244.
6. Acts, 1832, pp. 4, 5.
c. Acts, 1833, p. 70.
d. Acts, 1834, pp. 57, 58.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

189

an act approved February 4, 1836," definite
days were named for the several counties for
the year 1836, the terms for St. Joseph being
Monday, the eighteenth of April and Mon
day, the third of October, of that year.
By an act approved December 9, 1836,6
the ninth judicial circuit was formed, con
sisting of the counties of Elkhart, St. Jo
seph, Porter, Lake, Newton, Starke, Pulaski,
Marshall, Fulton and Kosciusko. The length
of the term in St. Joseph county remained
one week; the terms to begin on the first
Mondays of April and October. The district
and terms of St. Joseph county remained un
changed in the act dividing the state into
eleven districts, approved' January 28, 1839,°
except that the terms were made two weeks
each. By an act approved January 20, 1841,"*
it was provided that the terms in St. Joseph
county should begin on the fourth Mondays
of March and September.
In the revised statutes of 1843 the various
laws in relation to the twelve circuit courts
of the state were codified.e
By article seventh of the constitution of
1851, our judiciary system was completely
changed. The associate judges were discon
tinued, and provision was made for the elec
tion for six years of one judge for each cir
cuit. By an act approved June 17, 1852/
the state was divided into ten circuits, St.
Joseph county continued to be in the ninth
circuit; which now consisted of the counties
of Lake, Laporte, Porter, St. Joseph, Mar
shall, Starke, Fulton, White, Cass, Pulaski,
Howard, Carroll and Miami. By an act ap
proved June 18, 1852,0 the length of each
term in St. Joseph county remained two
weeks; and the terms were fixed for April
and October, each year, succeeding IJie terms
in Marshall county. By an act approved
a. Acts, 1835, pp. 40-42.
6. Acts, 1836, pp. 61, 62.
c. Acts, 1838, pp. 8-12.
d. Acts, 1840, pp. 103-106.
e. R. S.F 1843, pp. 646-651.
f. Special and Local Acts, 1851-2, p. 101.
g. Special and Local Acts, 1851-2, pp. 102-105.

January 21, 1853,° the eleventh circuit was
created, and the counties of White, Cass,
Howard, Carroll and Miami were transferred
from the ninth to the eleventh circuit; while
Jasper county was for a time added to the
ninth circuit. By an act approved February
3, 1853,6 the terms in St. Joseph county
continued to be in April and October, but
following the terms in Laporte; with a pro
viso that the first term of St. Joseph county
in that year should begin on the twenty-
eighth day of February. By an act approved
March 1, 1855,° a like arrangement was con
tinued, except that each term was one week
earlier. By an act approved February 15,
1859,"* the terms in St. Joseph county were
advanced still another week, following Porter
instead of Laporte.
Sec. 3. — The Circuits Under the Consti
tution of 1851. — By an act approved March
6, 1873,e the legislature re-organized the ju
dicial circuits of the state, increasing the
number to thirty-eight. In this act it was
provided that "The counties of Laporte and
St. Joseph shall constitute the thirty-second
circuit." The terms in Laporte county were
made five weeks each, beginning on the first
Monday in February, the fourth Monday in
April, the first Monday in September, and
the third Monday in November, each year.
The terms in St. Joseph county were made
four weeks each, beginning on the Mondays
following the Laporte terms. The arrange
ment so made continued for twenty-four
years; when, by an act approved January
30, 1897/ the legislature finally created a
separate district, with unlimited terms, for
St. Joseph county. Section second of that
act reads as follows :
"The county of St. Joseph shall constitute
the sixtieth judicial circuit, and the terms
thereof shall be held as follows, to-wit : Com-
a. Acts, 1853, p. 32.
b. Acts, 1853, p. 35.
c. Acts, 1855, p. 66.
d. Acts, 1859, p. 70.
e. Acts, 1873, pp. 87-98.
f. Acts, 1897, pp. 13, 14.

190

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

mencing on the second Monday of September
and first Monday of November, February and
May of each year, and shall continue' in ses
sion so long as the business thereof shall re
quire. ' '
It was found that the November term, as
so fixed, came too near the September term;
hence, by an act approved February 28,
1901,a this section was so amended that the
November term should begin on the third
Monday of November instead of upon the
first Monday. No further change has been
made, and St. Joseph county continues to be
a circuit by itself, with four terms of court
each year. The terms are practically con
tinuous during the year, beginning on the
second Monday of September, and each term
ending just before the beginning of the next
term, until July in each year, when a sum
mer vacation is taken.
Sec. 4. — The First Session of the Court.
— The first session of the St. Joseph circuit
court, of which we have any record, was held
at a term beginning on Monday, November
29, 1832, the day fixed by the act of the
legislature approved February 3, 1832.6
According to the provisions of this act, taken
in connection with those of the act of Febru
ary 10, 1831,° it would seem that terms of
court should have been held in May and Oc
tober, in the year 1831, and also in May,
1832. There was dissatisfaction, as well as
some sharp criticism, for what was looked
upon as neglect of official duty in relation to
this matter. The county records show that
juries were drawn by the board of commis
sioners for a term that should have been held
in November, 1831 ; as also by the board of
justices for a term that should have been held
in November 1830. But the records do not
show that any court was held at either of
these times. a
While, as stated, the records do not show
a. Acts, 1901, pp. 38, 39.
b. Acts, 1831, pp. 242-244.
c. R. S., 1831, pp. 142-146.
,1. See "Early County Records," Chap. 5, Subd.
6, of this work.

that the jurors selected for 1830 or 1831 were
ever called to serve in court, or indeed that
there was any term of court held in either of
these years, yet there are traditions that such
sessions of court were actually held. Mr.
Timothy G. Turner, who, in 1867, published
a "Gazetteer of the St. Joseph Valley, " tells
us of enquiries concerning this matter made
by him among the older residents of the
county, then living; and in that publication,
he makes a statement of what he learned as
to the November term, 1830, of the St. Joseph
circuit court :a
"It is, however, a matter of doubt," he
there says, "whether this court was ever
held. Mr. Samuel L. Cottrell, now living at
South Bend and who was then sheriff, has an
indistinct recollection that it was. He thinks
at least one of the county judges was present,
that court was duly opened in the woods near
the bank of the river, below Water street,
and immediately adjourned. Other persons
remember to have been present at some time,
about that date, when a court was held by
county judges; but the first court of which
there is any record, and at which there was
a presiding judge, was held at South Bend,
on the 29th day of October, 1832, by the
Hon. John R. Porter, presiding judge of the
first judicial circuit, to which the county was
then attached. It lasted but for one day,
and was held in the bar room of Calvin
Lilly's hotel, then standing on Michigan
street, [on the west side of the street, be
tween Jefferson and the first alley north.]
The old building is now in existence, and
is used by Studebaker Brothers, on Jeffer
son street as a ware room."
The proceedings of that first and only day
of the October term. 1832, of the St. Joseph
circuit court, as set out in order book number
one, are as follows:
"Be it remembered, that on the 29th day
of October, in the year of our Lord A. D-
1832, a term of the circuit court for St. Jo
seph county, state of Indiana, was begun and
a. Gazetteer of the St. Joseph Valley, p. **'

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

191

held at the house selected by the county com
missioners in the town of South Bend.
Present John R. Porter, president judge of
the first judicial circuit of the state of In
diana, also William McCartney, Senr., and
John Banker, Esqrs., associate judges of the
St. Joseph circuit court;0 also Andrew In
gram, prosecuting attorney of the first ju
dicial circuit of the state of Indiana; also
Daniel A. Fullerton, sheriff of said county,
and Lathrop M. Taylor, clerk of said county
of St. Joseph. And the court was opened
in due form of law. Now comes Daniel A.
Fullerton, sheriff, and returns the venires
which were heretofore issued. The following
grand jurors appeared and answered to their
names, viz. : Lowdy Stevenson, Eli Roe,
Pleasant Harris, Nathan Greene, Robert Red
ding, Peter Johnson, George Wilkenson, An
thony Defrees, John Smith, sen., Stanton
Porter, John Massey, William P. Howe,
Frederic Beuter, William Runion, Peter
Rupel, Jacob Harris, George Holloway and
Jacob Bowman. Whereupon the court ap
pointed George Holloway foreman; and the
said grand jurors were severally sworn, and
retired to deliberate. And Calvin Lilly was
sworn as bailiff for said grand jury.
"On motion of E. Egbert, Esqr., J. A. Lis
ten, E. Egbert, A. Ingram, Thomas B.
Brown, William M. Jenners and C. K. Green
were admitted to practice as attorneys and
eounsellers at law at the bar of this court.
a. Chapel W. Brown, was one of the associate
judges, elected at the first county election, in
August, 1830. He, together with Judge Banker,
held the first term of our probate court, in Jan
uary, 1832, as authorized by the act of February
10, 1831, organizing the probate court. He was
succeeded by William McCartney. See Subd. 3,
Sec. 1, of this 'chapter, "The Probate Court." It
does not appear that Judge Brown ever sat in the
circuit court. In Subd. 3, of this chapter, it is
shown that while Judge Brown was elected in
August, 1830, he did not qualify till the day he
held probate court, January, 1832. It would seem
that in this interval William Brookfield was asso
ciate judge, by appointment, perhaps. He took
the acknowledgment of the plat of South Bend
as associate judge, March 28, 1831. See Chap. 11,
Subd. 1, Sec. 3; also Subd. 3, of this chapter,
Sec. 1.

'Matthias Redding

vs.

}

Petition for Divorce.

Hannah Redding
"And now, at this day, comes the complain
ant, by E. Egbert, his attorney, and it ap
pearing to the court, upon affidavit filed, that
the defendant in this case is a non-resident
of the state of Indiana, it is thereupon
ordered by the court that the pendency of
this suit be published for three weeks suc
cessively, sixty days prior to the next term
of this court, in the St. Joseph Beacon, a
paper published in the town of South Bend,
notifying the defendant to appear at the
next term of this court, to answer said peti
tion; or the matters therein contained will
be heard in her absence.

"Job Brookfield vs.
William Brookfield

¦ Bill in Chancery.

"And now, at this day, comes the plaintiff,
by his solicitor; and it appearing to the
court, upon affidavit filed, that the defendant
in this case is a non-resident of the state of
Indiana, it is thereupon ordered by the court
that the pendency of this bill be published.
for three weeks successively (sixty days prior
to the next term of this court), in the St.
Joseph Beacon, a paper published in the town
of South Bend, notifying the defendant to
appear at the next term of this court, and
plead, answer or demur to said bill; or the
matter therein contained will be heard in his
absence.

"Elisha Egbert
vs.
Jacob Hardman

Case for Libel.

"And now, at this day, come the parties;
and this case is dismissed at the plaintiff's
cost, for want of a declaration.
"Received my docket fee. J. A. Listen, at
torney for defendant.

Case in Trover.

"James Nixon, Admin.
vs.
Orra Morse )
"And now, at this day, comes the plaintiff,
and the defendant not appearing, this case
is continued until the next term.

192

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

'William Harris
vs.

Case in Slander.

Reuben Brunson
"And now, at this day, comes the plaintiff,
by his attorney; and this case is dismissed
at the plaintiff's cost.
"On' motion of A. Ingram, it is ordered to
be certified on the record, that C. K Green,
an applicant for a license to practice law, is
a young man of good moral character.
"Thomas T. Benbridge
William Foster
Charles Foster
and
Cornelius Bradlewsey \ Debt.
vs.
Peter Johnson
and
Pleasant Harris
"Now, at this time, come the plaintiffs, by
Ingram, their attorney, and this cause is con
tinued by operation of law until the next
term of this court. And time is given.
"Peley Babcock \
vs. Vln Chancery.
John B. Cicott, et al. )
"Now comes the said plaintiff, by Evans,
his attorney, and files here his bill against
the said -defendants ; and it appearing to the
satisfaction of this court that Louis Cicott,
James Cicott, Joseph Cicott, Francis Cicott,
Mary Ann Labada, Hagget Fisher, and the
unknown heirs of Ferris Compo, deceased,
heirs at law of George Cicott, deceased, by
the affidavit of Benjamin Coquillard, defend
ants to said bill are not inhabitants, and live
without the state of Indiana; it is therefore
ordered that notice be given of the pendency
of this cause to the said defendants, by three
successive publications in the St. Joseph
Beacon, a newspaper of general circulation
published in the county of St. Joseph and
state aforesaid, sixty days prior to the next
term of this court, that they be and appear
on the first day of the next term of this
court, to show cause; if any they have, why
the prayer of said bill shall not be granted;
and it is further ordered that process issue
against the said Zachariah Cicott, in this be
half directed, etc. And this cause is con
tinued to the next term of this court, with
leave to the plaintiff to amend his bill.

[A case almost identical with the preced
ing case was that of The Heirs of John Hall
by their guardian and next friend, against
The Heirs of George Cicott.]
"Orra Morse \
vs. >¦ In Chancery.
James Nixon )
"And now, at this time, comes the plain
tiff, by his counsel, and the defendant, by
his attorney, comes also and files his de
murrer, in these words (here insert), to which
the plaintiff files his rejoinder. And the
court thereupon, after mature deliberation,
sustains the said demurrer to the plaintiff's
said bill. It is therefore considered by the
court that the plaintiff's said bill be dis
missed, with leave to amend his bill in ninety
days; and the said plaintiff pay the costs of
this demurrer within ninety days, or attach
ment to issue.
"State of Indiana j Indictment for Sell-
vs. v ing Spirituous Liquors
Sarah McLelland j to Indians.
' ' Now, at this day, comes A. Ingram, Esqr.,
prosecuting the pleas of the state of Indiana,
and the defendant comes also ; and being set
at the bar of the court, and it being de
manded of her how she will acquit herself of
said charge, for plea thereto says she is
guilty. It is therefore considered by the
court that the said def ' do make her fine to
the state of Ind. in the sum of five dols., and
that she stand committed in the custody of
the shff. until the fine and costs of said suit
are paid or replevied.
"The grand jury empanelled to enquire
into the body of St. Joseph county do report
that they have examined the jail of said
county, and do find in said jail one prisoner;
and further do find said jail insufficient and
uncomfortable. "Octo. 29, 1832. "George Holloway, ' 'Foreman.
' ' Ordered that court adjourn until court in
course. "Signed, Oct. 29, 1832. "John R. Porter."
Sec. 5. — The Second Session of the
Court.— The act of January 7, 1833, as we
have already seen, transferred St. Joseph

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

193

county from the first to the eighth judicial
circuit; and also fixed the terms of court
for June and December, in each year. The
second term of the St. Joseph circuit court,
accordingly, was held in June, 1833. The
record shows the court to have been held in
a ' ' court house, ' ' and also shows the presence
of a new president judge and a new prose
cuting attorney. The proceedings of this
second term opened as follows:
"At the June term of the St. Joseph circuit
court, commenced and held at the court house
in the town of South Bend, in the county of
St. Joseph and state of Indiana, on the first
Monday of June, being the third day of June
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and thirty-three.
"Gustavus A. Everts produced his commis
sion bearing date the ninth day of January
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and thirty-three, from his excel
lency Noah Noble, governor of the state of
Indiana, appointing him president judge of
the eighth judicial circuit of said state, for
and during the term of seven years from the
ninth day of January, 1833.
"On the back of which commission is the
following endorsement, to-wit: 'State of In
diana, Sixth Judicial Circuit, ss. I, Charles
H. Test, president judge of said sixth cir
cuit, certify that Gustavus A. Everts per
sonally appeared before me on the 25th day
of February, in the year of our Lord 1833,
and being duly sworn deposeth and saith that
he will support the constitution of the United
States and the constitution of the state of
Indiana, and that he will well and faithfully
and impartially discharge the duties of presi
dent judge of the eighth judicial circuit of
the said state of Indiana, to the best of his
abilities. 'As witness my hand and seal, the day and
year above written. 'Charles H. Test.' "
Lathrop M. Taylor also "produces his com
mission from his excellency j; Brown Ray,
governor of the state of Indiana, bearing
13 . '

date the eleventh day of August, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight htinfll"ed and
thirty, commissioning him clerk of the St.
Joseph circuit court for the said ootlnty of
St. Joseph, for and during the term of seven
years from the 11th day of August, 1830."
And endorsed on such commission is his oath
of office, sworn to on the twenty-fourth day
of August, 1830, before Samuel L. Cottrell,
sheriff of St. Joseph county.
So much of the record of said term as
shows the names of the jurats then sum
moned is also here given, as indicating per
sons then prominent citizens of the county:
"Daniel A. Fullerton, sheriff of the county
of St. Joseph, now returns into court the
venire of the grand jury heretofore issued,
and brings into court the following jurors
named in said venire, to-wit: Horatio Cha
pin, who was sworn as foreman, Simeon
Mason, William Roe, Samuel Witter,
Adonijah Rambo, Samuel, Ritter, Warren
Burk, James Garrett, Abraham Whitmore
and Abraham Smith, ten in number, being of
the regular panel of grand jurors. The
sheriff now summons the following by
standers, to-wit: John D. Lasley, Londy
Stephenson, John Becraft, William Stanfield
and John Ireland, who being accepted by
the court, together with the above named ten
of the regular panel, were sworn as the grand
jury of this term ; who retired tinder the .
charge of Reuben Hildreth, a sworn bailiff,
to deliberate upon matters touching their
present service.
"The following grand jurors of the regular
panel, being three times solemnly called, an
swer not, to-wit : Samuel Newman, Lot Day,
John Egbert, Daniel Edwards, James Palmer,
Henry Augustine and John Weaver, but here
in wholly make default. It is therefore or
dered by the court that an attachment do
issue against the above named delinquents,
returnable at the first day of the next term
of this court, to render excuse, if any they
have, for failing appear as grand jurors."
An order followed, admitting certain well

194

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

known lawyers to practice in court, as fol
lows: "On motion of J. A. Listen, John B.
Chapman, Martin M. Ray, D. H. Colerick,
Joseph L, Jernegan, Samuel C. Sample and
William 0. Ross are admitted to practice as
attorneys and counsellers of law at the bar of
this court, and they are severally sworn as
such." The seal of the court was also adopted ac
this term, by the following order: "The
court now devise and adopt a seal, and order
a description thereof to be recorded, which is
done as follows: 'Indiana. St Joseph
County.' The device whereof is an eagle,
bearing in his talons a bunch of darts, an
olive branch and an escutcheon. An impress
of which said seal is annexed to this entry
and description."
At this second term of the St. Joseph cir
cuit court a considerable increase was shown
in litigation. During the six days' session
there were thirty-six cases considered by the
court, distributed as follows: Domestic at
tachment, two ; attachment for contempt, one ;
action on bond, one; forfeiture of recogni
zance, two; to keep the peace, one; trespass,
two; trespass in trover and case, one; insol
vency, two ; divorce, two ; chancery cases, five ;
suppression of ferry license, one ; appeal from
county commissioners as to ferry license, one ;
appeals from justice of the peace, fifteen.
It is shown by the record of this June ses
sion that John B. Chapman appeared in
court and produced his commission from
Noah Noble, governor of the state, commis
sioning him as prosecuting attorney of the
eighth judicial circuit for the term of two
years from the tenth day of January, 1833.
On the fourth day of the term the grand
jury made their report the record being as
follows :
"The grand jury now come into court, and
return into court sundry bills of indictment
found by them, and signed by their foreman
as true bills; which are filed by the clerk as
such. And the grand jury further make the
following presentment of the insufficiency of

the county jail, to-wit: The grand jurors
for the state of Indiana, empanelled, sworn
and charged in the circuit court of St. Joseph
county to enquire in and for the body of the
county aforesaid, upon their oath present that
they. have examined the jail of the county
aforesaid, and find that the same has been
broken open by some person to them un
known, by cutting a log from one side, ren
dering the said jail insufficient for the deten
tion of prisoners; and we further present
that the said jail is wholly insufficient for the
safe keeping of prisoners in other respects.
"H Chapin,
"Foreman of Grand Jury."
The following orders relating to the re
port of the grand jury and to jury service
were made :
"Ordered by the court that writs of ca
pias ad respondendum do issue on all indict
ments found at the present term; and that
each of the defendants in said bills named
are required to enter into a recognizance in
the sum of $25.00, with surety in the like
sum, except where a different amount is en
dorsed on said bills.
"It is ordered by the court that the clerk
of this court certify to the board of county
commissioners the number of days the grand
jurors and petit jurors served at this term
of the circuit court; as also the number of
days the associate judges served at this
term. ' '
The names of the associate judges are not
mentioned in the proceedings of the term, the
record of each day's proceedings being
signed only "G. A. Everts."
The following entries are also shown:
"On motion of Samuel C. Sample, Esq.,
Albert S. White is admitted to practice as
an attorney and counsellor at law, and is
sworn as such.
"On motion of Albert S. White, Bsqr.,
Hugh McCulloch, Esqr., is admitted to prac
tice as an attorney and counsellor at law
at the bar of this court, and is sworn as
such.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

195

"On motion of Jonathan Liston, Esqr., it
is ordered by the court to be certified of rec
ord that John D. Defrees, an applicant for a
license to practice as an attorney and coun
sellor at law, is a man of good moral char
acter. ' 'a
Sec. 6. — Other Sessions of the Court
Under the Old Constitution. — The record
for the December term, 1833, beginning Mon
day, December 9, 1833, shows that Gustavus
A. Everts was present as president judge and
William McCartney and John Banker as
associate judges. Lathrop M. Taylor was
clerk; Samuel L. Cottrell, sheriff, and John
B. Chapman, prosecuting attorney.
The jurors attached to show cause why
they should not be punished as for contempt
for failing to attend at the June term were
each found to have had sufficient excuse, and
were discharged.
Ten cases of indictments for selling
spirituous liquors were considered by the
court at this term. There was one conviction,
the trial being by a jury, and a fine of twelve
dollars and fifty cents and costs was assessed
against the defendant. Three divorces were
granted. The grand jury again found the
jail "wholly insufficient for the confinement
of prisoners, there being a large hole in one
corner of said jail and otherwise deficient
and wanting much repair." Among the in
dictments returned was one ' ' for keeping and
exhibiting a gaming table," and the defen
dant was required to enter into a recogni
zance in the sum of one hundred dollars, and
bail in the like sum.
The final order of adjournment at this
term was signed only by the associate jus
tices, William McCartney and John Banker.
Chapel W. Brown does not appear in the
records of the circuit court as one of the as
sociate judges,' although he sat with Judge
a. See act approved January 31, 1824, R. S.,
1831, pp. 84-87, regulating admission of attorneys
to practice law; also acts approved January 31,
1825, December 28, 1827, February 17, 1838, R. S.,
1838, pp. 83-87; R. S., 1843, pp. 660-664.

Banker at a term of the probate court held
in 1832. (See note, supra.)
The act of January 28, 1834, brought the
first term of our circuit court for that year
in April." The session convened on Monday,
April7, 1834. The judges and other officers
were the same as at the December term,
1833, and the character of the litigation was
but little different. The final order of ad
journment was again signed by the associ
ate judges, this time with the explanation,
"previous to signing Judge Everts having
left the bench."
At the October term, 1834, the officers of
court were unchanged, except the prosecut
ing attorney. In the following entry it is
shown that one of the most distinguished
men of the local bar was advanced to that
position :
"Now comes into court Samuel C. Sample,
Esqr., and produces a commission from his
excellency, Noah Noble, governor of said
state, commissioning him, the said Sample,
prosecuting attorney of the eighth judicial
circuit. On the back of which commission
was the oath of office endorsed."
At this term there were numerous prose
cutions for violations of law, — gaming,
selling liquor to Indians, affray, assault and
battery, contempt of court, to keep the peace,
rout, drunkenness, burglary, larceny, as also
cases of slander.
The grand jury again reported "that the
jail of said county is totally insufficient in
point of strength to confine prisoners, and ,
that the same wants repairing. The same we
find clean and wholesome.
"Signed, Reynolds Dunn, Foreman of the
grand jury. ' '
On this report it was "ordered by the
court that the clerk of this court certify down
to the board of county commissioners a copy
of the aforesaid jail report, together that it is
the order of this court that said commission
ers have said jail repaired in a good and
substantial manner to contain prisoners."
a. Acts, 1833, p. 70.

196

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

John B. Niles was at this term admitted to
practice law.
On Thursday, the first day of January,
1835, a special term of the St. Joseph circuit
court was held for the trial of Alexis Provon-
cille, indicted for burglary and larceny. The
following jury was empanelled to try the
case: Simeon Mason, Ezekiel Thomas, John
Rudduck, Jr., Londy Stephenson, Seymore
Stilson, John Rose, Alexander Blake, Tim
othy Mate, Henry Smith, Francis R. Tutt,
William Middleton and Samuel Good, —
"twelve good and lawful men, householders
and freeholders of the said county of St.
Joseph, who are chosen, elected, tried and
sworn to well and truly try the issue joined,
as aforesaid. ' ' The defendant was convicted,
and was sentenced to state's prison for two
years and fined five dollars. This was the
first case of imprisonment in the state's
prison from St. Joseph county.
At the April term, 1835, the officers re
mained as before. The prosecutions for vio
lations of the criminal law continued numer
ous, particularly those for gambling, and for
keeping gaming tables. There were two in
dictments for vending merchandise without
license, and one for betting on a horse race.
At the October term, 1835, the officers of
the court were unchanged, and the character
of the litigation continued to show numer
ous violations of the criminal law. Gambling
was still the chief offense, but there were also
nine indictments for selling intoxicating
liquors without a license, and one for selling
spirituous liquors to Indians. Two indict
ments were returned for violations of the
estray laws. There were actions also to keep
the peace, and several suits for slander.
At the October term, 1836, Samuel C.
Sample was presiding judge, and Joseph L.
Jernegan prosecuting attorney. The associ
ate judges remained as before.
At the October term, 1837, John Ireland
and Reynolds Dunn appeared as associate
judges ; and an innovation is shown upon the

records — all three judges signing their names
to the orders.
At the October term, 1839, Peter Johnson
appears as associate judge, and William C.
Hanna as prosecuting attorney.
At the October term, 1840, Gustavus A.
Everts .was prosecuting attorney ; and at the
April term, 1841, the office was again filled
by William C. Hanna.
At the September term, 1842, John H.
Bradley appeared as prosecuting attorney;.
and at the March term, 1843, Ebenezer Cham
berlain. At the September term, 1843, John B.
Niles was president judge, and Reuben L.
Farnsworth prosecuting attorney.
At the March term, 1844, Ebenezer M.
Chamberlain became president judge, and at
the September term of the same year Powers
Green and John D. Robertson became asso
ciate judges.
At the October term, 1846, Joseph H.
Mather succeeded to the office ef prosecut
ing attorney.
At the October term, 1848, George Pierson
was prosecuting attorney, and at the April
term, 1849, Theodore S. Cowles. Philo Ben
nett was associate judge at the September
term, 1851, and James S. Frazer, afterwards
judge of the supreme court, was prosecuting
attorney at the same term.
Sec. 7. — Sessions of the Court Under
the New Constitution. — Under the consti
tution of 1851, which took effect on the first
day of November in that year, the offices of
president judge and associate judges were
discontinued. The office of circuit judge sim
ply took the plaee of president judge, al
though the several president judges were con
tinued in office until the ends of their re
spective terms. By the act of June 18, 1852,"
re-arranging the circuits, it became doubtful
on what day the October term of the St.
Joseph circuit court for that year should be
gin. Accordingly Judge Robert Lowry,
a. Special and Local Acts, 1851-2, pp. 102-105.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

197

who was here to preside at that term, en
tered the following order:
"It being the opinion of the majority of
the bar of this court that there may be much
doubt whether court can be legally held in
this county commencing on this day, under
the laws heretofore in force; that by .the act
of the last session of the general assembly the
old law may be considered as being repealed
and a different day fixed for holding said
court in this county. It is therefore ordered
by the court that all writs, suits, complaints
and proceedings pending in said court, both
civil and criminal, be and are hereby con
tinued until court in course, and that publi
cation hereof be made in the St. Joseph Val
ley Register. And court adjourned until
court in course.
"Signed October 4th, 1852.
"R. Lowry."
At the February term, 1853, Thomas S.
Stanfield presided as "judge of the ninth
judicial circuit, and ex officio judge of the
St. Joseph circuit court," as was then the
official title of our circuit judge. Don J.
Woodward was the prosecuting attorney at
this term. Alvin S. Dunbar appeared as
deputy prosecutor under Mr. Woodward for
several terms.
There was a special June session in the
year 1853, at which the Hon. William E.
Stuart, one of the judges of the supreme
court, presided, for the reason that Judge
Stanfield had been interested as attorney in
several cases then on the docket.
At the April term, 1855, Morgan H. Weir
was prosecuting attorney, but frequently ap
peared by William G. George, as deputy, or
as special prosecutor appointed by the court.
Mr. Weir resigned during the next year.
At the April term, 1857, Albert G. Deavitt
was judge and Mark L. DeMotte, who had
been appointed to fill a vacancy caused by the
resignation of Judge Stanfield, became ill
after his appointment and was succeeded by
John B. Niles, prosecuting attorney. Mr.
De Motte, proseeuting attorney, usually ap

peared by William G. George, and sometimes
by James Davis, special prosecutors.
At the April term, 1858, Andrew L. Os
born was judge. At this term the court pro
mulgated and had spread of record a set of
rules for the government of the business of
the court. Reuben L. Farnsworth wa» ap
pointed special proseeuting attorney. As
Judge Osborn was disqualified to try a num
ber of cases in which he had been attorney,
there was a special term for June, 1858, at
which Charles H. Test, judge of the twelfth
circuit, presided. At the April term, 1859,
Thomas S. Stanfield was appointed special
judge, and William B. Biddle appeared as
prosecuting attorney. In April, 1861, D. J.
Phillips was prosecuting attorney, and in
April, 1865, Aaron Gurney.
At the April term, 1867, Alvin S. Dunbar
was appointed special judge, to hold for the
term instead of the Hon. Andrew L. Osborn,
who was ill. At the October term of the
same year William H. Calkins, afterwards
representative in Congress, was prosecuting
attorney. At the April term, 1871, Thomas S. Stan
field was again circuit judge, and at the same
term Michael L. Essick became prosecuting
attorney. At the March term, 1873, the thirty-second
judicial circuit was formed, consisting of St.
Joseph and Laporte counties. Four terms,
each for four weeks, were assigned to St.
Joseph county. Judge Stanfield continued
to preside as judge of the new circuit. An
important order for the rearrangement and
improvement of the court room and the
clerk's and sheriff's offices was made at this
term. It was one of the most commendable
acts of Judge Stanfield 's public life, though
for a time it occasioned much adverse criti
cism. At the June term, 1873, George Ford, by
appointment of Governor Thomas A. Hen
dricks, appeared as prosecuting attorney;
and at the December term of that year James
A. Crawley became prosecutor. At the De-

198

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

cember term, 1875, George Ford again at
tained to the office, and continued to hold it
for many years, until he was elected to
congress. At a special term, opened on July 25, 1876,
the Hon. Horace P. Biddle, judge of the su
preme court of the state, presided in the
trial of important cases, Judge Stanfield hav
ing personal interests, by reason of which he
deemed it improper for him to preside.
At the December term, 1876, the Hon.
Daniel Noyes appeared for the first time as
judge of the St. Joseph circuit court. He
continued thereafter to preside for the period
of eighteen years.
At the March term, 1885, Andrew J. Eg
bert ,was prosecuting attorney, and was suc
ceeded at the December term, 1887, by Abra
ham L. Brick, who, like Mr. Ford, held the
office until his election to congress.
An adjourned term of court was held, be
ginning July 23, 1889, at which the Hon.
Joseph A. S. Mitchell, then a member of the
state supreme court, took the bench for the
trial of an intricate case involving the rights
of the various owners of the water power
generated by the dam in South Bend over
the St. Joseph river. By agreement of par
ties Judge Mitchell appointed former su
preme Judge James S. Frazer referee, to
hear and report upon the evidence. The
case was finally adjudicated to the satisfac
tion of all parties, chiefly by reason of the
measurements and well-considered system of
weirs devised by civil engineer John F.
Meighan and adopted by the court.
Judge Stuart, Judge Biddle and Judge
Mitchell were the only judges of our supreme
court to sit in the St. Joseph circuit court in
the trial of causes during their terms as
judges of our highest court. Almost as great
honor was done us by that eminent jurist,
James S. Frazer, who, however, had left the
supreme b°nch before sitting here as referee
in our noted hydraulic case.
In December, 1891, Peter D. Connolly was
prosecuting attorney. He was one of our

most promising young lawyers, but very soon
failed in health. His deputy, Francis M.
Jackson, acted for hhh during the greater
part of the time, until the death of Mr. Con
nolly in the spring of 1893. Mr. Jackson was
appointed by the court special prosecutor for
the May term, 1893, and soon after was com
missioned by Governor Claude Matthews to
fill the office until the beginning of the term
of Mr. Connolly's successor, Oliver M. Cun
ningham, in the fall of the same year.
In 1894' the Hon. Lucius Hubbard took
his seat as judge of the St. Joseph circuit
court, and in 1895 the Hon. John C. Richter,
now judge of the Laporte circuit court, be
came prosecuting attorney of the circuit. In
1897 St. Joseph county became the sixtieth
circuit of the state, and Judge Hubbard was
retained as first judge of the new circuit.
Thomas W. Slick was the prosecuting at
torney. In 1900 the Hon. Walter A. Funk became
judge, an office to which he was last year re
elected. In 1901 George E. Clarke became
prosecuting attorney. He held the office until
1905, when he was succeeded by George A.
Kurtz. The present prosecuting attorney,
Joseph E. Talbot, took his office at the be
ginning of the current year.
Of the judges of the St. Joseph circuit
court, Samuel C. Sample, Thomas S. Stan
field, Albert G. Deavitt, Lucius Hubbard and
Walter- A. Funk were at the time of their
incumbency citizens of this county, as were
also the following named prosecuting attor
neys : Samuel C. Sample, Joseph L. Jernegan,
George Ford, Andrew J. Egbert, Abraham L.
Brick, Peter D. Connolly, Francis M. Jack
son, Oliver M. Cunningham, Thomas W.
Slick, George E. Clarke, George A. Kurtz
and Joseph E. Talbot. The remaining
judges and prosecuting attorneys were citi
zens of other counties attached to our judicial
circuit.
m. the probate court.
Acting under the provisions of article fifth

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

199

of the constitution of 1816, authorizing the
establishment of courts inferior to the cir
cuit court, the legislature, by an act approved
February 10, 1831,a provided for the or
ganization in each county of a probate court,
consisting of one judge, to be elected every
seven years by the voters of the county. The
court was given "original and exclusive ju
risdiction in all matters relating to the pro
bate of last wills and testaments, — granting
of letters testamentary, letters of administra
tion, and of guardianship; including also
"the protection of minors, idiots and lunatics,
and the security and disposition of their per
sons and estates." The probate court was
also given concurrent jurisdiction with the
circuit court in actions "in favor of or
against heirs, devisees, legatees, executors,
administrators, or guardians, and their
sureties and representatives;" also "in the
partition of real estate," and some other like
cases. The procedure as to pleadings, writs, trial,
judgment, executions, etc., was in all respects
similar to that in the circuit court, including,
the right to trial by jury. There might be an
appeal either to the circuit court, or directly
to the supreme court. The clerk of the cir
cuit court and the sheriff of the county were
alike officials of the probate court. As finally
fixed by statute, the court met regularly on
the second Mondays of February, May,
August and November, — except in case the
circuit court or the board of county commis
sioners should be in session on such day,
when the probate court was to sit on the suc
ceeding Monday. The sessions of the court
were limited to six days, and the compensa
tion of the judge was three dollars per day.
Sec. 1.— The First Session. — The first
term of the St. Joseph probate court was held
on the fifth day of January, 1832. This term
was held by the associate judges of the cir
cuit court, as provided in the act of Febru-
a. R. S., 1831, pp. 154-180. See also Act ap
proved Feb. 17, 1838; R. S., 1838, pp. 172-199; and
R. S., 1843, pp. 664-670.

ary 10, 1831, for the organization of the pro
bate court,, there being at the time no pro
bate judge qualified to hold the court. Pre
vious to the holding of this term of court the
clerk, as authorized by the same statute, had
issued letters testamentary on one estate, and
letters of administration on another. The
record of those first letters issued in this
county, and also the record of the first ses
sion of our probate court, were entered up in
the order book as follows:
"Joseph Garwood, Exr )
of Jonathan 'Garwood, j
"On application of Joseph Garwood to
the clerk of the St. Joseph probate court, let
ters testamentary issued to the said Joseph
Garwood on the estate of his father, Jonathan
Garwood, late of said county, deceased, in
vacation of said court, by his filing bond with
John Wills and John Drulent as his securi
ties, in the sum of five thousand dollars.
"John D. Lasly, Admr )
of Basile Prunie. j
"On application of John D. Lasly to the
clerk of the St. Joseph probate court, letters
of administration issued to the said John D.
Lasly on the estate of Basile Prunie, late of
said county, deceased, in vacation of. said
court, by his filing bond with Alexis Coquil
lard and Peter F. Navarre as his securities,
in the sum of five hundred dollars.
"At the first term of the St. Joseph pro
bate court, begun and held on Thursday, the
fifth day of January, A. D. 1832, at the house
of Calvin Lilly, in the town of South Bend, -
in a room furnished by Alexis Coquillard, it
not being convenient for said Coquillard to
furnish a room in his house, as provided by
law; before the honorable John Banker and
Chapel W. Brown, associate judges of the St.
Joseph circuit court and sole judges of this
court, there being no probate judge qualified
in said county according to law to hold
court. "At the hour of eleven o'clock appears
John Banker and produces a commission from

200

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

his excellency, J. Brown Ray, governor of the
state of Indiana, commissioning him, the said
John Banker, an associate judge of the St.
Joseph circuit court for term of seven years
from the eleventh day of August, 1830, dated
at Indianapolis the 24th day of October,
A.D. 1831."
Endorsed upon Judge Banker's commis
sion was his oath of office, taken on December
8, 1831, before Israel H. Rush, a justice of
the peace. A like record is made of the
commission and oath of office of Chapel W.
Brown, the other associate judge. Judge
Brown's oath of office, however, was taken
before Levi F. Arnold, justice of the peace,
on January 5, 1832, the day on which the
court was held. It thus appears that Judge
Brown waited from his election, in August,
1830, until January, 1832, before qualifying.
As there is no further record of his services,
it is probable that his only official action was
that taken as ex officio probate judge on Jan
uary 5, 1832.°
The only orders made by the court at this
first session were to confirm the appointments,
of executor and administrator, made by the
clerk prior to the session ; and also to adopt a
seal for the probate court. The last order
reads- as follows :
"The court now here adopt the following
seal, to-wit: Marked with letters thereon, St.
Joseph County, Indiana, with a spread eagle
thereon, an impression whereof is made on
the margin of this page; which this court
will use for the purpose of sealing their or
ders, decrees and other proceedings thereof."
The order of adjournment of this first one-
day term of court then followed: "And no
further business appearing before the court
it adjourned until court in course.
"C. W. Brown.
"John Banker.
"Signed Jany. 5, 1832."
See. 2. — Further Sessions of the Court.
— The second term of the probate court was
o. See Note, Subd. 2, of this chapter, Sec. 4,
See also Ohap. 11, Subd. 1, Sec. 3.

not held for more than a year after the first.
The record opens as follows :
"At the February term of the St. Joseph
probate court appears James P. Antrim, at
the hour of eleven o 'clock on the second Mon
day of February, being the eleventh day of
February, A. D. 1833, at the house of Calvin
Lilly, in the town of South Bend, in a room
provided by the county commissioners of the
said county of St. Joseph, and produces a
commission in the words and figures fol
lowing :
'Noah Noble, Governor of the State of
Indiana, To all who shall see these presents,
Greeting: Know ye, that, in the name and
by the authority of the state of Indiana, I
do hereby appoint and commission James P.
Antrim probate judge for St. Joseph county,
to serve as such until a successor is appointed
and commissioned.
'In testimony whereof I have hereunto set
my hand and caused to be affixed the seal of
the state of Indiana at Indianapolis, this 10th
day of December, A. D. 1832, the seventeenth
year of the state, and of the independence
of the United States the fifty-seventh. 'N. Noble.
'By the Governor,
'James Morrison,
'Secretary of State.'
"On the back of which commission is the
following endorsement, to-wit:
'This day came James P. Antrim and af
firmed that he would support the constitution
of the United States and the constitution
of Indiana, and that he would to the best of
his abilities and judgment faithfully dis
charge the office of probate judge, in and for
St. Joseph county.
'January, the 18th day, A. D. 1833, af
firmed before me. 'Samuel Martin,
'Justice of the Peace.'
"And thereupon a probate court is held."
The only business transacted at this second
term of the probate court was the appoint
ment of Samuel Garwood as administrator

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

201

of the estate of Pricillia Garwood, and the or
dering of a citation to require John D. Lasly
to file a sale bill and make settlement of the
estate of Basile Prunie.
At the February term, 1834, Elisha Eg
bert appeared as judge of the probate court.
Judge Egbert continued to preside until the
November term, 1838, when John J. Deming
succeeded to the office. In 1846 Edward F.
Dibble became judge, and in 1848 Judge Eg
bert came upon the bench for the second
time and served until the court was abolished
under the constitution of 1851. The last en
try in the probate records reads : ' ' And court
adjourns sine die. Signed August 25th,
1852. Elisha Egbert, Probate Judge."
IV. THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
Sec. 1. — Organization. — The seventh arti
cle of the constitution of 1851, as originally
adopted, provided that "The judicial power
of the state shall be vested in a supreme court,
in circuit courts, and in such inferior courts
as the general assembly may establish."
Under the power so granted the legislature,
by an act approved May 14, 1852,a provided
for a court of common pleas, to consist of
one judge, elected by the voters of the proper
district, who should hold his office for four
years. ' '
This court was given the jurisdiction of the
old probate court, with certain additional
civil and criminal jurisdiction, inferior to the
jurisdiction of the circuit court. It was the
old probate court greatly improved, and with
its powers and usefulness much enlarged.
By an act approved June 11, 1852,6 pro
vision was made for the election of a district
attorney in every common pleas district. The
duties of this officer in the court of common
pleas were quite similar to those of the prose
cuting attorney in the circuit court, except
that his jurisdiction, like that of the common
a. 2 R.S.,1852; pp. 16-23; 2 Gavin and Hord,
PP. 19-30. See also Acts, 1853, p. 38; Acts, 1857,
P. 33; Acts, 1859, p. 91.
6. 2 R. S., 1852; pp. 385-386; 2 Gavin and Hord,
PP. 429-431. And see Acts, 1861, sp., p. 39.

pleas judge, was in general limited to prose
cutions for misdemeanors. As in case of the
old probate court, appeals might be taken
from the court of common pleas either to the
circuit court or to the supreme court. Ap
peals from justices of the peace might be
taken to the court of common pleas or to the
circuit court. There were four terms of
court each year. At first these terms were
fixed for the first Monday of January in each
year, and for the first Monday of every third
month thereafter. The length of each term
was made to depend upon the population of
the county, varying from one to three weeks.
The clerk, however, in the absence of the
judge, was, for many purposes, required to
keep the court open "on every judicial day
of the year.""
As the common pleas districts were at first
arranged, the counties of St. Joseph, Marshall
and Starke formed one district.6 But, by an
act approved March 5, 1859, Laporte, Mar
shall, St. Joseph and Elkhart were formed
into one common pleas district; while in the
act numbering the several common pleas dis
tricts, approved March 11, 1861, the district
composed of the counties of Laporte, Mar
shall, St. Joseph and Elkhart was named the
seventeenth common pleas district.0
Sec. 2. — The Court in St-. Joseph County.
— The court of common pleas of St. Joseph
county held its first session beginning on the
first Monday of January, 1853. Although the
court was in effect a continuation of the old
probate court under the constitution of 1816,
yet there were two sides to the court, law and
probate. Separate records were kept, all
civil and criminal business being transacted
on the law side; while on the probate side
were considered chiefly matters relating to
the settlement of estates and guardianships.
a. 2 R. S., 1852, p. 16.
6. lb.
c. Acts, 1859, p. 92; 2 Gavin and Hord, p. 20;
Acts, 1861, p. 53; 2 Gavin and Hord, pp. 653, 654.
And see Acts, 1859, p. 84; 1 Gavin and Hord, pp.
277-281; Acts, 1869, p. 55; Davis' Sup. 1, 206.

202

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

The first entry on the probate side reads as
follows :
"Be it remembered, that at a term of the
court of common pleas of St. Joseph county
and state of Indiana, established according
to law, begun and held at the court house in
the town of South Bend in the county of
St. Joseph, in the state of Indiana, on Mon
day, the third day of January, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
fifty-three, and before the Hon. Elisha Eg
bert, judge of the district composed of the
counties of St. Joseph, Marshall and Starke
and ex officio judge of the-said court of com
mon pleas of St. Joseph county; and also
present Samuel M. Chord, clerk of the court
of common pleas of St. Joseph county; and
also present Benjamin F. Miller, sheriff of
said county. And at the hour of one o'clock
P. M., on said day, said court was opened in
due form of law. Thereupon it was ordered
by the court that the commissions of said
judge, clerk and sheriff of said court be en
tered of record on the order book of said
court. ' '
This term lasted for three days and but
little business was done.
In vacation of court, on January 13, 1853,
the judge and clerk, as required by the act
of May 14, 1852, organizing the court, "pro
ceeded agreeable to law to devise and adopt
a seal to be used for said court, and it is de
scribed as follows: Said seal is about one
and three-quarters inch in diameter, with
two circles on the outer edge, between which
are the following words in capitals, to-wit:
Court of Common Pleas of St. Joseph County.
In the inner circle or center of said seal is
the following -design, to-wit : A female with
a spear and a pair of scales, with the word
Indiana immediately over her head."
An impression. of the seal of the probate
court is made upon the margin of the record.
There were only three judges of the St.
Joseph court of common pleas, Elisha Egbert,
who held the office until his death, in 1870;
Edward J. Wood, who held until the Janu

ary term, 1873, and Daniel Noyes, who was
elected in 1872 and held the office until the
court was abolished by the act of March 6
1873. The district attorneys during the existence
of the common pleas court of St. Joseph
county were : In 1853, Horace Corbin; in
1854, James L. Foster, and Edward F. Dib
ble; in 1855, Joseph Henderson; in 1857,
Andrew Anderson, Jr. ; in 1858, Reuben L.
Farnsworth ; - in 1859, Amasa Johnson ; in
1861, James Davis; in 1861-2, Charles P.
Jacobs; in 1863, William Andrew; in 1869,
Joseph D. Arnold; in 1872, William B. Hess,
and in 1873, George Ford.
v. a celebrated case.
Sec. 1. — Slavery, as Known in Indiana,
— Very many important cases affecting the >
rights of the people in their persons and prop
erty were passed upon from time to time b\
the three courts of St. Joseph county. To
some of them reference has been made in the
preceding pages.' No case, however, has at
any time been tried in our courts which
roused the people to a higher pitch of inter
est at the time, or was productive of more
lasting results upon the community, not only
of this county, but of all northern Indiana,
than the fugitive slave case that came before
Judge Egbert in the old probate court in
1849. The conflict in relation to slavery was
growing warmer year by year over the whole
country, and nowhere more so, perhaps, than
in this state. Indiana, as we have seen, had
originally been slave territory. The ordinance
of 1787 for the government of the northwest
had declared that "There shall be neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude in said ter
ritory, ' ' and this prohibition was repeated in
both our constitutions. But though prohib
ited by law, slavery did exist in fact. Even
as late as 1840, as we have seen, the existence
of slaves in Indiana is shown in the United
States census. From the first settlement the
question was a burning one in our common
wealth, and this fire was destined to be

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

203

quenched only by the blood of the people
in the great civil war.
But to the people of St. Joseph county in
the year 1849 the existence of slavery seemed
a thing afar off. The great body of our citi
zens knew of the institution only as some
thing, as it were, in a distant land, something
of which they had read or heard people talk.
They had not as yet come in contact with it ;
it was a thing quite removed from their
daily life. Railroad communication, which
now brings the uttermost parts of the land
so close to one another, was then unknown.
Kentucky was not nearer to us than Califor
nia or Oregon is now. Neither was the con
dition of slavery aired among the people by
any national uplifting of the subject that
set the real nature of the institution before
their eyes, or called upon them to take ac
tion in regard to it. The compromise meas
ures of Henry, Clay had not yet been passed,
nor had the fugitive slave law been enacted.
The slavery dispute was as yet smoldering,
and had not burst into flame. Such was the
condition of, the public mind of the people
of St. Joseph county upon the. subject of
slavery when a most remarkable object lesson
was brought before them. The slave and his
master were found pleading the great issue
in our simple probate court.0
Sec. 2. Our Slave Case. — John Norris,
residing south of' the Ohio river, a little be
low the town of Lawrenceburg, Indiana,
claimed to own as slaves a family consisting
of David Powell, his wife Lucy, and their
four children, Lewis, Samuel, George and
James. The family was allowed to cultivate
a plat of ground and sell the produce where
they pleased ; and David and his boys often
crossed the river to Lawrenceburg to make
sale of their crops. During the night of
a. The St. Joseph County Fugitive Slave case
was fully treated in a paper prepared for a His
tory of St. Joseph County, published in 1880 by
Chapman & Co., of Chicago. The writer shows
himself to have been familiar with the facts, but
does not give his name. "We have somewhat
abbreviated the narrative. Chapman, Hist. St.
Joseph County, pp. 618-626.

Saturday, October 9, 1847, the whole family
disappeared from Kentucky. The alarm was
given next morning and several persons
started in pursuit. Norris and his party
hunted through southern Indiana for two
months without -success, though they found
in several places articles belonging to the
fugitives. Two years afterwards, in September, 1849,
Norris started north with eight men, and at
midnight on the 27th of that month, they
broke into the house occupied by the Powells,
about eight miles from Cassopolis, Michigan.
The house was in the woods, about half a
mile from any other dwelling; and David
Powell and his son Samuel were at the time
absent from home. Norris and his party com
pelled the mother and her three children
to rise from their beds and go with them;
and, hurrying them off to their covered wag
ons, they started for Kentucky. A guard was
left at the house to prevent the other in
mates from giving the alarm. After a short
time, however, the news spread and pursuit
commenced. A neighbor, Wright Maudlin,
overtook Norris and his party about noon
next day near South Bend, Indiana, thirty
miles from where they had started. Mr,
Maudlin immediately applied to Edwin B.
Crocker, an attorney of South Bend, stat
ing what he knew of the circumstances, that
he had no doubt the Powells were free peo
ple, that he had known them as quiet and
industrious persons, and never heard any
intimation that they were slaves; that they
had purchased a small tract of land, on
which they resided at the time of their ab
duction, and that 'they were laboring hard
to pay for it.
A petition for a writ of habeas corpus was
drawn up, and signed and sworn to by Mr.
Maudlin, averring that Mrs. Powell and her
son Lewis were deprived of their liberty by
some person whose name was unknown, un
der pretense that they were fugitive slaves;
and averring that he verily believed they
sheriff, for service. Mr. Day called upon sev-

204

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

,*

were free persons. On this petition the Hon.
Elisha Egbert, probate judge, ordered a
writ of habeas corpus to issue. The writ
was placed in hands of Russell Day, deputy
eral citizens to accompany him . in serving
the writ. In the meantime, the report hav
ing spread that a party of kidnappers with
their captives were in the vicinity, the whole
community was aroused, and the people, in
a state of excitement, ran about anxiously
inquiring into the matter. The deputy sher
iff overtook Norris and his captives about a
mile south of the town, where he had stopped
in the woods to feed his horses. His party
was well armed and made quite a display
of their weapons, and at first evinced a dis
position to resist all legal proceedings. The
writ, however, was served by reading; and
after a parley in which the deputy insisted
that Norris and his party would not be al
lowed to proceed without a fair trial of his
claims, he at last agreed to go back to town
and proceed to trial on the writ of habeas
corpus. By this time thirty or forty persons
had arrived from town, two of them, with
guns; but no attempt was made to do vio
lence to the kidnappers; and Norris and his
party drove back to town, followed by the
deputy sheriff and the people. Meanwhile
another writ of habeas corpus, for all four
of the captives, was sued out, and directed
to Mr. Norris, whose name had now been
learned. The first writ was dismissed. At
the request of Norris, the deputy sheriff took
the custody of the captives until Norris could
procure counsel. In a short time he secured
the services of Mr. Liston and Mr. Stanfield,
to conduct his defense. Mr. Crocker and Mr.
Deavitt appeared for the captives.
The fugitive slave law not then being on
the statute book, the only law under which
Norris could hold his captives was an old
statute of 1793, not having any particular
reference to the recovery of runaway slaves,
but intended, in general, for the arrest of
persons who had violated law in one state and
then fled to another. It was contended

against Norris that he had not complied with
the terms of this statute, and therefore had
no standing in court to hold his captives.
In his favor it was contended that he had a
right to arrest his slaves wherever he found
them. No authority was introduced to sus
tain this contention; and Judge Egbert
after a full and candid hearing, ordered the
Powells to be discharged.
The court was crowded with an anxious
audience, listening to the argument of coun
sel and awaiting the decision of the court.
Everything had been conducted with order
and propriety, and no one anticipated the
scene that followed the decision of the court.
The judge spoke in a low tone of voice, so
that but few had heard him. Mr. Crocker,
however, stated the decision in a voice that
all could hear. Norris, in the meantime, had
gathered his men around the captives seated
within the bar; and the moment the decision
was repeated by Mr. Crocker the Norris party
seized each of the captives with one hand,
brandished their weapons with the other and
threatened to shoot the first man that inter
fered. This action took place before adjourn
ment of court and while the judge was still
sitting on the bench. Up to that time every
thing had been quiet among those gathered
in the court room ; but upon this display of
force the people rose to their feet in a state
of excitement. Some ran out to spread the
alarm through the town; others crowded
around the Norris party and their captives,
calling upon them to put up their arms.
Notwithstanding their excitement the citizens
made no attempt to rescue the captives by
force. At length the Norris party put up
their arms, the excitement subsided, and the
sheriff, at the request of Norris, locked up
the captives for safe keeping.
This was on Friday. During that evening
and the next day several warrants were is
sued against Norris and his men for assault
and battery, and one for riot, based upon
their violent proceedings in the courthouse.
Saturday was occupied in trying these cases;

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

205

and in the riot case Norris and his party
voluntarily gave bail' to appear in the circuit
court, which was to begin its session the
next Monday morning. Two suits were also
begun by the Powells against Norris and his
men, for trespass and false imprisonment;
and they were held to bail in the sum of one
thousand dollars in each suit. On Saturday
evening another writ of habeas corpus was
issued against Norris, charging him with hav
ing placed the captives in jail, returnable
also on Monday morning.
There was at this time an extensive negro
settlement near Cassopolis, in the neighbor
hood where the Powells had been found by
Norris and his men. As soon as it was
known that Powell's wife and children had
been captured, large parties of these people,
themselves almost all fugitive slaves, started
to rescue their friends. It was not until
Saturday that they learned definitely the di
rection the captors had taken. During Sat
urday and Sunday great numbers of these
negroes arrived in South Bend, many of them
armed and all of them in a highly exas
perated state of mind, though conducting
themselves with coolness and moderation.
On Saturday, a citizen of Michigan made
affidavit before a justice of the peace in South
Bend that Norris and his party had been
guilty of kidnapping in Michigan, and had
fled from that state to Indiana. On this affi
davit a writ was issued, but not served ; for
it afterwards became apparent that Norris
and his men would be pleased to be arrested
so as to give that as an excuse for not ap
pearing in court on Monday morning to
answer in the habeas corpus case.
On Sunday morning Norris, after a con
sultation with his attorneys, became satisfied
that it would be useless to attempt to take
his captives out of the county, in the face of
the great number of armed negroes from
Michigan. He therefore made up his mind
to abandon all present legal proceedings ; and
determined instead to bring suits for damages
for the value of the negroes against the per

sons who had prevented him from taking
them back.
On Monday morning, accordingly, when
the habeas corpus case came on for trial,
Norris refused to appear, saying that he did
not want the negroes; but would make the
citizens pay for them, which suited him bet
ter. The sheriff, in his return, stated that
he held the captives as the agent of Norris,
under the state writ, which was set out in
full. A replication to this return was filed,
sworn to by Lewis Powell, excepting, to the
sufficiency of the return, and alleging that
he and his family were free persons and not
slaves. One of Norris' attorneys was pres
ent at the trial, but refused to appear for
him. The case of Prigg vs. Pennsylvania, 16
Peters', in which the supreme court of the
United States declared that all laws passed by
the states in relation to fugitives from labor
are unconstitutional, was read to the court,
and several witnesses were examined in rela
tion to the facts of the case. The court, after
a full and fair hearing, again ordered the
captives to be discharged. The negro friends
and neighbors of the captives now came for
ward, conducted them out of the courthouse
to a wagon and quietly drove off to their
home in Michigan. On the bridge, as they
crossed the St. Joseph, they halted and gave
hearty cheers. They then rode on, singing
their songs of freedom and rejoicing over the
fortunate escape of their friends. The prose
cutions against Norris and his party were
now dropped, and in a few days they also
quietly departed for their homes. Thus
ended one of the most exciting episodes that
ever took place in northern Indiana.
Norris afterwards made his threat good;
and brought suit in the United States circuit
court for the district of Indiana, to recover
damages against Leander B. Newton, George
W. Horton, Edwin B. Crocker, Solomon W.
Palmer, David Jodon, William Willmington,
Lot Day, Jr., Amable La Pierre and Wright
Maudlin, who had befriended the negroes.
The pleadings were passed upon by Judge

206

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Huntington, then on the bench, who ruled
for the claimant. The case was afterwards
tried before Judge McLean. In his charge
to the jury, the judge favored the claim;
which was, for Lucy, forty years of age,
five hundred dollars ; for Lewis, twenty years
of age, eight hundred dollars; for George,
sixteen years of age, seven hundred and fifty
dollars; for James, fourteen years of age,
seven hundred dollars; and for claimant's
expenses, one hundred and sixty-five dollars
and eighty cents. The jury allowed the
claims, substantially as made, the verdict, in
the aggregate, being for two thousand eight
hundred and fifty-six dollars. During the
years 1850 and 1851, twelve additional suits
were brought against fifteen defendants for
five hundred dollars' penalty each, for vio
lation of the statute of 1793. Twenty-five
other suits were threatened, if these should
prove successful. These penalty suits were,
however, decided in favor of the defendants,
and the litigation came to an end. Such, in
brief, was the most famous case ever liti
gated before the courts of St. Joseph county,
and by St. Joseph county lawyers.
VI. THE COUNTY BUILDINGS.
On Tuesday,. November 1, 1831, the board
of county commissioners, then consisting of
Aaron Stanton, David Miller and Joseph
Rohrer, being in session at the house of
Alexis Coquillard, on the second day of the
November term of the board for that year,
took the first step for the erection of build
ings in which the business of the new county
could more conveniently be carried on. The
order of the board made on that day in rela
tion to the matter is as follows:
Sec. 1. — The First County Jail. — "Or
dered by the board aforesaid, that the county
agent be required to sell out to the lowest
bidder, on the eighth of this month, at the
hour of one o'clock on said day, the building
of a county jail, of the following dimensions,
to-wit: The jail to be thirty feet long and
sixteen feet wide, with a partition wall

through the center of the building; all the
timber of the walls to be of good white oak
timber, and to be hewed at least one foot
square; as also both the under and upper
floor to be of like timber, of one foot square-
the foundations of the building to be laid one
foot and a half below the surface of the
ground, and to be raised six inches above
the ground; the sills to be fifteen inches
wide, and the logs for the floor to be let in
on the sills six inches, and the logs to be
rabbeted out that go on the top of the floor
and let down over so as to completely cover,
the ends of the logs and prevent the floor
from being raised ; the building to be raised
with a half dovetailed notch, in each of the
corners as well as the partition wall; the
story to be eight feet between the under and
the upper floor; the upper floor to be the
ends of the logs cut off about six inches at
each end, and the under side of the ends
to be cut out or blocked off about four inches
and let down on the logs, so as to prevent
them from slipping out; the plates to he
rabbeted out over the ends of the floor logs
and onto them; the roof to be put on with
good white oak rafters, covered with good
sheathing and good joint pine shingles; the
gable ends to be done up with good poplar
weather boarding; the corners of the build
ing to be raised up plumb, and the corners
to be sawed down smooth; the outside door
to be cut out one foot from the partition
wall, and to be two feet wide and four feet
high in the clear when finished. There shall
be an iron rod run up through the ends,
or a foot from the ends, of the logs on the
side of the door opposite the partition wall,
of one inch bolt, and to extend six inches
into the log below those cut out, and six
inches up into the log above those cut out,
and running through the same. The door
shall be made of white oak plank of two
inches thick, and be made double with said
planks; the door shall be hung on three
strap hinges, the straps to be three inches
broad and half an inch thick; and the door,

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

207

shall also be lined with iron straps, to be put
on within four inches of each other, and on
each side of the door; and said straps, as
well as the hinges, shall all be riveted through
the door within four inches of each other ;
the straps, other than the hinges, shall be at
least one-eighth of an inch thick; the door
to be hung on hooks to be in proportional
size to the straps, and two of the hooks to
be set upwards and one turned downwards;
the lock of the door to be set in the inside
by the contractor; the lock to be furnished
by the agent; the hooks on which the
door is hung to be entered into the timber
well; and the cheeks of said door shall be
lined with good white oak plank, one and a
half inch thick, to be well spiked on. There
shall also be another door made in the center
of the partition wall, to be two feet wide and
four feet high in the clear of said door after
being finished; the cheeks of said door shall
be faced with good oak plank, one and a half
inch thick and well" pinned on; the door
shall be made of two inch white oak plank;
the door shall be hung on two strap hinges,
to extend across the door and hang on two
sufficient hooks driven into the wall; the
whole of the door to be driven with spikes
within four inches of each other; the con
tractor shall put the lock on furnished by
the agent. There shall be a window cut out
in each end of the house, two feet wide and
one foot high; and there shall be bars of
iron in each of said windows, of one and a
quarter inch square, and shall be placed up
and down in the windows within two inches
of each other, and the ends of said bars
shall be sunk in the lower and upper logs
at least three inches.
"And the jail shall be put on the south
west corner of the public square in the town
of South Bend, and shall set lengthways
north and south on the line of said lot, and
the door shall be on the east side of said
house. The undertaker shall be required to
give bond and security to be approved of
by the agent, in the penal sum of one thou

sand dollars. The contract to be completed
by the last Monday in April next ensuing
the date hereof. The contractor will be en
titled to receive a county order on the county
treasury as soon as the contract is completed
for the building of said jail. All the work
to be done in a good, workmanlike and sub
stantial manner."
Such were the plans and specifications for
the first jail of St. Joseph county. As in
many other cases, since and before, the work
does not seem to have been completed ac
cording to the plans, nor to the satisfaction
of the county commissioners. This will ap
pear from the following record:
"The board of St. Joseph county commis
sioners met at the usual place of meeting on
Saturday, the 28th day of April, 1832, in
the town of South Bend ; it being a special
meeting of said board to receive the jail
built for the said county. Present, David
Miller and Joseph Rohrer, Esqrs.
"The commissioners, after a full examina
tion of the said jail, are of opinion that it
was not finished according to contract; and
by an agreement with the said Woods & Mc-
Cormic [the contractors], they took the said
jail off of their hands.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
Andrew Woods be allowed the "sum of two
hundred and six dollars and ninety cents, in
full for his half in building a jail for said
county, to be paid out of the first money
that may come into the treasury from any
donations made the county for the location
of the county seat.
"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that
Denis MeCormic be allowed the sum of two
hundred and six dollars and ninety cents,
out of the first moneys that may come into
the county treasury from any donations that
have been made to said county for the loca
tion of its county seat, in full for his half in
building a jail for said county."
On March 3, 1835, the board entered into
contract with Peter Johnson to add a second
story to the jail for six hundred and twenty-

208

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

five dollars. This time the work was done
according to agreement by one of the most
competent and reliable of our early con
tractors. At the ensuing September term,
September 9, 1835, an order was made which
has a strange sound at the present day. Or
lando Hurd, then one of the county commis
sioners, was "authorized and empowered to
rent or let out the two upper rooms attached
to the jail of said county, for the purpose of
having the jail and other property belong
ing to said county guarded and taken care
of." Perhaps this primitive wooden jail, its
walls and floors of white oak timber, "hewn
at least one foot square," held its inmates
quite as securely as the steel cages of our
modern structure, "the best jail in the state,"
hold the incorrigibles of our day. If the of
ficer then in charge was as competent as his
successor in charge to-day, we have little
doubt that our first jail of white oak was
amply sufficient for the purpose.
See. 2. — The First Court House. — But the
new county needed a court house nearly as
much as it did a jail. At the January term,
1832, the board of commissioners metvas here
tofore at the house of Alexis Coquillard; but
"it not being convenient for the said Coquil
lard to furnish them a room in his house, by
request of the said Coquillard the commis
sioners adjourned to the house of Calvin
Lilly in the town of South Bend, in a room
provided for them at the request of the said
Alexis Coquillard." The need of a perma
nent place to attend to the public business
was thus forcibly brought to the attention
of the board, and on the third day of the ses
sion, Wednesday, January 4, 1832, the fol
lowing entry was made in the records of the
board :
' ' The following is a statement of the court
house to be built in St. Joseph county:
' ' The court house shall be forty feet square,
and built of brick. The foundation shall be
made of good, durable arch brick, and sunk
one foot below the surface of the ground.

And the said wall shall be raised three feet
high above said foundation, shall be twenty-
two inches in thickness ; and there shall also
be a foundation wall run north and south
through said building, and raised so high
that a sill of eighteen inches square, with
the joist placed on said wall, shall raise
the floor of the first story only three feet
from the foundation. The walls of the first
story of the building shall be raised so high
as to leave twelve feet between the first floor
and the ceiling. The walls of the first story
shall be laid eighteen inches thick. The
walls of the second story shall be raised ten
feet above the second floor, and be made thir
teen inches thick. There shall be a plate of
yellow poplar timber of thirteen inches
sqiiare placed on the top of the wall all
around said building. There shall be four
stacks of chimneys carried up in said build
ing one in each corner of the house; and
theire shall be a fireplace in each of said
chimneys in the lower story, of three and
one-half feet in the back and five feet in
the flare or front of the jambs, in the under
room of each of said chimneys, except the
southeast chimney, which may be three feet
in the back and four feet in the front. And
there shall be also a fireplace made in each
of said chimneys in the second story of said
building, except the southeast; and said fire
place shall be three feet in the clear in the
back, and four feet in the flare or front of
said fireplaces. The east half of the under
room shall be filled up with earth nearly to
top of the aforementioned sill, and then laid
over with good hard brick. There shall be
substantial iron bars under the arch of each
fireplace. And in the north of said under
room there shall be joists placed east and :
Avest across in said sill and wall, and withm
two feet of each other, of good white oak
timber; and they shall be three inches thick
and fourteen inches wide, and placed so as
the floor when laid shall be three feet froni
the foundation. The floor of said end shall
be laid of white oak boards, of one and one-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

209

fourth inch thick and six inches wide. There
shall be four air holes left in the west side
of said building, and two on the north and
two on the south, of nine inches deep and
four inches wide, to let the air in under the
floor. There shall be two columns set upon
said sill, running through the center of said
building, one twelve feet from the north side
of said building and the other twelve feet
from the south side. The said columns shall
be turned by a bilection, and with a hand
some mold at each end of the same ; and there
shall also be a hole bored through the center
of each of said columns with a common pump
auger. There shall be a poplar girder of
fourteen inches square running across said
building, north and south, and placed on
said columns; and the joists for the second
floor shall be laid into said girder, and on
the walls, east and west. The said joists shall
be ' three inches thick and fourteen inches
wide, and shall be placed in said girder
within two feet of each other; and the floor
shall be made and laid on said joists, of
poplar boards of one and one-fourth inch
thick and six inches wide. There shall be a
door made on the east side, and in. the cen
ter of the house, of four feet wide, and shall
have a transom light sash above the door,
and to be made to correspond with the height
of the windows ; and 'also a door of the same
description, to be placed in the center of the
north side of the building. The doors shall
be made of eight -panels, and lined and
braced on the inside of the door. Said doors
shall be three inches thick, and hung on
three butts sufficiently strong, and have each
a good substantial thumb latch, and each a
twelve inch stock lock fixed thereon. There
shall be three twenty-four light windows, of
glass ten by twelve, on the west side of the
building, to be placed so in the wall of the
building as to have the columns between the
windows on each side even; and also two
windows on the north side of said building,
to be placed half way between the corners
of the building and the door; and also two

14

windows in the east side of the house, to be
placed in the center of the wall between the
ends of the house and door; and also two
windows on the south side of the building, to
be placed in the wall so as the columns shall
be of a width; the last mentioned windows
to be all of the same description as the first
mentioned. "In the second story, there shall be a row
of studding running through the center of
the building, north and south, for a parti
tion wall, made of white oak studs and placed
within eighteen inches of each other. And
there shall be another partition wall running
through east and west on the west side of said
building, eighteen feet from the south wall;
and also there shall be another partition wall
of studding running through the eastern side
of said building, eighteen feet from the north
wall, of studs of white oak as aforesaid,
within eighteen inches of each other.
"In the third story, there shall be two
poplar or oak girders, running north and
south across said building, of ten by twelve
inches square, and placed in the center of
the building and thirteen feet asunder, to
start the cupola on; and there shall be joists
framed into said girders, within eighteen
inches of each other, of three inches by six.
The first story of the steeple shall be five
feet; the second story, or the octagonal part,
with the ogee formed dome, twelve feet, with
eight Venetian shutters, six feet high. The
third story, or the spire and its pedestal, to
be fifteen feet. There shall be a wooden ball,
overlaid with gold leaf, placed on said spire at
a proper place, that will measure two and one-
half feet in diameter; and there shall be
also a wooden fish fixed near the top of said
spire, overlaid with gold leaf. There shall be
a lightning rod fixed at or near the top of the
spire, and run down on the outside of the
building to the ground, of three-fourths of
an inch diameter.
"The building shall be covered with a hip
roof, drawn from each corner, and covered
with good joint pine shingles. There shall

210

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

be a cornice put on each side of the building,
of eighteen inches wide, with a bed-mold
thereon, and to have tin conductors fixed
thereunto of three inches diameter. The cor
nice is to be put up with good substantial
screw bolts one-half inch square, five to each
cornice. "There shall be three windows put in on
the north side of said building, in the second
story, over the door and windows in the lower
story ; and on the west side of said building,
two windows, to be placed over the windows
in the lower story nearest the corners of
the building; and on the south side of the
building, two windows; and on the east
side, three windows, to be placed parallel over
the door and windows below; all of said
windows to be made of glass, ten by twelve
inches, and to have each twenty-four lights
of sash. The frames are to have parting
strips, and the sash to be made one and one-
half inch thick, and to be made with lock
rails. "There shall be a six panel door made
and hung in each room in the second story,
to be hung with good butts, one pair to a
door, and a good wrought thumb latch and
stock lock for each. There shall be an open
newell staircase run up from the lower story
to the second, with banisters around the
head of the staircase; likewise, there shall
be a mill-step staircase run up from the sec
ond story, up into the cupola, at the head
of which there is to be a trap door.
"All the aforesaid rooms and inside walls
to be well lathed and plastered, except the
brick, -which shall not be lathed, but plastered
only, with two good coats of lime and sand.
"There shall be Venetian shutters made
and hung to each of the windows in said
building. The shutter blinds shall be ten
anted into the stiles, and hung on good strap
hinges put on with screws ; and shutter hold
ers shall be fixed into the walls to hold the
shutters, open, and iron bolts for the same.
' ' The outside of the walls of said building
shall be painted with good Venetian red

paint, and all pencilled off at each joint with
white lead. The cornice shall be all painted
with three coats, with white lead and oil.
The window shutters shall be painted green.
The doors shall all be ' painted with ,a ma
hogany color. The door frames shall be made
the width of the walls; and all the window
and door frames shall be well painted with
two coats of. white lead and oil; and the
sash also. The glass are to be glazed in with
good putty. The doors on the inside are to
be one and one-half inch thick.
"There shall be pieces of timber, of four
inches square and four feet long, framed on
the ends of the principal girders and joists,
for the better support of the walls, at suit
able distances from the corners. There shall
be scuppers made around at the floor of the
cupola, to let the water, etc., out. The col
umns of the cupola to be dressed neatly, eight
square. A cornice underneath the dome to
be finished in a neat and good manner.
"All of the aforesaid materials for said
building to be of the best and most durable
kind that the country affords; and all and
every part of said building to be done, fin
ished and completed in good style, and the
best workmanlike and most substantial
manner. "N. B. The undertaker to furnish every
material necessary for said building. There
shall be washboards placed around in all the
aforesaid rooms, with a base member.
And the walls of the aforesaid building, and
the roof, windows and doors, and otherwise,
well closed on or before the first day of De
cember next; and the remainder of said
building shall be fully completed on or be
fore the first of December, A. D. 1833.
"The contractor of said building will be
paid the sum of five hundred dollars on the
15th of May next; and the second payment
on the first of December next, which, with
the five hundred dollars, shall amount to the
third of the amount of the whole contract.
The second third of the amount of the con
tract will be paid when the building is fin-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

211

ished, and the last payment will be made
May 20, 1834. The contractor shall be re
quired to give bond and security under the
penalty of five thousand dollars for the per
formance of the contract.
"The county agent is directed to give no
tice in the Northwestern Pioneer that he will
receive sealed proposals at South Bend be
tween the hours of ten .and two o'clock on
Monday, the 6th day of February next, for
to enter into contract for building of the
said house, and that the contractor name his
securities in his proposals."
As required by the foregoing order, there
appeared in the Northwestern Pioneer and
St. Joseph's Intelligencer, for Wednesday,
January 11, 18 and 25, 1832, the following
notice : "A Cash Job.
"Court-House of St. Joseph County.
"Sealed proposals will be received on the
6th day of February next ensuing, at the
house of Calvin Lilly, in South Bend, be
tween the hours of 10 o'clock A. M. and 2
o'clock P. M. for building a COURT HOUSE
in said county. The time of the payment, a
description of the building, etc., may be seen
at any time, at the Clerk's Office, by any
person that may wish to see them. Security
will be required of the undertaker, for the
faithful performance of the contract, and
such security must be named in the proposals.
"JOHN EGBERT, Agent.
"South Bend, Ind., Jan. 4, 1832."
The board met on February 6, 1832, to re
ceive bids on the court house, but found all
proposals unsatisfactory; and thereupon ad
journed until the next morning, when the
following record was made:
"Tuesday, February the 7th, the board
met pursuant to adjournment. Present
Aaron Stanton, David Miller and Joseph
Rohrer. And they enter into contract with
Peter Johnson for building of a court house
for said county; which contract reads in the
words and figures following, to-wit:
Know all men by these presents, That we,

Peter Johnson, Alexis Coquillard, L. M. Tay
lor, Pleasant Harris, and Samuel Martin, all
of the county of St. Joseph in the state of
Indiana, are held and firmly bound unto
Aaron Stanton, David Miller and Joseph
Rohrer, a board doing county business in and
for the county of St. Joseph, and their suc
cessors in office, in the penal sum of six thou
sand dollars, lawful money of the United
States, to the payment whereof well and
truly to be made, we hereby bind ourselves
and our representatives firmly by these pres
ents. Sealed with our seals and dated this
seventh day of February, A. D. 1832.
" 'The condition of the above obligation is
such that if the said Peter Johnson, the above
bounden, shall well and truly build a court
house in and for the said county of St. Jo
seph, of the following description, to-wit:' "
Then follows a description of the build
ing, slightly changed from that set out in
the order of the board made five weeks
previously. The court house was formally accepted
from the contractor for partial use, at the
September term, 1833; but was not finally
completed, accepted and paid for until the
year 1837. In September of that year a con
tract was entered into with William Keeley
and Samuel C. Russ to build a clerk's and
recorder's office, forty by twenty, by way
of addition to the court house, which had
by that time proved to be too small for the
business of the county.
Sec. 3. — The Second County Jail. — The
primitive log jail, completed in 1835, did
not long satisfy the needs of the county. At
the September term, 1844, of the county
commissioners, the board ordered a new jail
built of brick, in accordance with plans on
file; and on December 4, 1844, the building
of the jail was let to Lot Day for eighteen
hundred and fifty dollars. On December 4,
1845, this second jail was completed and ac
cepted by the county commissioners.
These primitive county buildings, first un
dertaken in the early. '30 's, in the infancy

212

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

and weak financial condition of the county,
were made to do service for nearly thirty
years. After 1850, however, when popula
tion and wealth had increased, when the
railroad and the telegraph were here, when
"the St. Joseph country" had become a land
of farms and prosperous towns, when great
cities were growing up to the west and the
south, and all this throbbing life of the strong
young nation was coming nearer and nearer
to us, the people began to look upon the good
old court house, "forty feet square, and built
of brick," and even to the modest successor
of the log jail, "thirty feet long and sixteen
feet wide," its "walls of white oak timber,
hewed one foot square, ' ' as quite out of keep
ing with the attainments and prospects of
this splendid county of St. Joseph and its
enterprising citizens.
Sec. 4. — The Second Court House. — At
the March term, 1853, of the board of
county commissioners, then consisting of Gil
man Toole, Edwin Pickett and John Dru
liner, an advertisement for plans for a new
court house, with estimates of cost, was or
dered published, twenty-five dollars to be
paid for the plan adopted. At the Sep
tember term of the same year, John Ham
mond having then taken the place of Mr.
Pickett on the board, plans were adopted and
the court house ordered built. Separate- con
tracts were let. At the December term, 1853,
the contract for lumber was let to Henry
and J. T. Johnson; and for timber to Wil
liam Crews. At the March term, 1854, the
contract for sash and doors was let to J.
M. Vanosdel. At the same term the most
important contract, that for dressed stone, to
be the "best quality Athens stone," was let,
through A. B. Ellsworth, then county audi
tor, to the Illinois Stone and Lime Company,
for seven thousand six hundred and eighty-
five dollars and fifty cents, to be paid in
monthly estimates as delivered, retaining fif
teen per cent until the completion of the con
tract. The stone was to be delivered so that
the water table might be laid by May first,

1854; remainder as needed, subject to'accep-
tanee of Vanosdel & Olmstead, architects
and superintendents. At the September
term, 1855, the various offices in the new
court house were assigned; and it was or
dered that the use of the building should be
confined to the "courts, county officers and
political meetings." In the early days, the
court room was the only public hall in the
county ; and of necessity it was used for al
most every kind of a gathering of the people,
public or private. The time had come, in
the opinion of the county board, to restrict
the use of the county building to its proper
purposes,— the only leniency granted being in

OLD COURT HOUSE.
favor of "political meetings"; this, too, be
cause of necessity. At the June term, 1860,
the floor of the court room was ordered
' ' deadened, ' ' and other changes made for the
convenience of the court. (In 1906, when the
first story of this court house was prepared
for the use of the Northern Indiana Histori
cal Society, the lower set of joists used to
"deaden" the sounds below from reaching
the court room were discovered and removed
in remodeling the room for the use of the
Historical Society.)
The new court house was placed near the
northeast corner of the public square, facing
east on Main street. The building was a

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPLI COUNTY.

213

most elegaint and substantial one, and was
the pride of the people of the county. It
was thus described in the St. Joseph Valley
Register, of April 27, 1854:
"In size the new court house is sixty-one
and a half by ninety-one and a half feet,
including the portico; two stories high, the
> lower one twelve and one-half in height clear
of the joists, and the upper one twenty feet,
surmounted by a cupola 'fifty high. The
stone foundation extends thirty-three inches
below the ground and is carried above three
feet. The lower story contains all the offices.
Entering by the portico, which is on the
eastern front, and supported by six pillars,
you pass into a spacious hall, fourteen feet
wide and eighty-one feet long, on each side
of which are situated the various offices.
From the front of the hall, stairs rise on both
sides to the second story, meeting above in
a lobby thirteen by twenty-seven feet, from
which a spacious court room, fifty-seven by
fifty feet and twenty feet high, is entered by
a door in the center. About the middle of
the court room a semi-circular bar separates
the officers, attorneys, suitors and witnesses
from the audience. Inside the bar are the
lawyers' tables, pleading table, officers' desk
and witness' stand. Still further back in
the western extreme of the court room is
the judge's bench, with the grand and petit
jury box on either side, in the shape of an
L. In the rear of the court room are three
rooms, one immediately behind the judge's
bench, for a witness' room, seventeen by
twelve, and on each side a jury room, twenty
by thirteen, so that juries can retire, from
a door opening from their seats, into their
consultation room, without having to pass
through the audience. The building is of
'brick and stone, the inner walls of the former
material and the outer walls of the latter.
The cupola is surmounted by a town clock. ' '
As this second court house was built on
the site which had been occupied by the first
court house, it became necessary during its
construction to rent rooms for the use of the

county. Court was held in the basement of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, located in
the same square and just south of the county
grounds. The rental was two dollars a day,
during the holding of court. When the second
court house, in turn, gave way to the third,
or present, court house, the county commis
sioners, as we shall see, bought additional
grounds on the west of the square and moved
that building back on Lafayette" street; so
that court continued to be held, and the
county offices to be occupied, as before ex
cept during the time occupied in moving the

OLD COUNTY JAIL, SOUTH BEND.
building, when court was held in the old
Price's Theater, on Michigan street, and the
several county offices were held in the old
city building on Jefferson street, between
Main and Lafayette. Few persons, though,
remember that the basement of the First
Methodist Episcopal Church was used as a
court room during the time when what we
now call the old court house on Lafayette
street was in course of construction.
Sec. 5. — The Third County Jail. — As
soon as the second court house had been
completed, the county commissioners made
preparations for the building of a new brick
jail and sheriff's. residence, which should be

214

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

in keeping with the court house. This build
ing was constructed in 1860, at a cost of
thirty-five thousand dollars. The old brick
jail, our second county jail, was sold for one
hundred and sixty-one dollars and fifty cents
to Adam S. Baker, who took it down and re
moved it. The new jail was a handsome
structure, two stories in height, and fronting
also on Main street. It was erected on lot
two hundred and fifty of the original plat of
South Bend, which had been purchased for
that purpose, for the sum of twenty-six hun
dred dollars, and added to the original quar
ter square donated by Coquillard and Taylor.
A well proportioned tower stood well out
on the northeast corner ; and the whole build
ing presented a rather imposing, castellated
appearance from the front. No finer county
building could then be found in Indiana.
Sec. 6. — Re-Arrangement of Court
House. — In subdivision second of this chap
ter, we have referred to the order made by
Judge Stanfield, at the March term, 1873, of
the St. Joseph circuit court, for the re-ar
rangement . and improvement of the court
room. The order was as follows:
' ' It is ordered -by the court, That the court
room be re-arranged by moving the west par
tition east to the west side of the west win
dows ; that the three west rooms be enlarged
and finished up in a good, workmanlike man
ner, with a door from the court room enter
ing into each one. That an additional room
be added to the clerk's office across the space
now used for the stairway;0 and that there
also be a room of the same size constructed
above the room last aforesaid, with a door
into the court room. That a stairway be
made from the judge's desk in the court
room, as re-arranged, down into the clerk's
office, and that the court room be re-arranged
so as to place the judge's bench on the south
side of the court room;, and the bar occupy
the portion of the court room south of the
a. That is, the stairway on the left of the
entrance; that on the right remained as the sole
stairway to reach the court room.

general entrance to said room, and the por
tion north of said entrance be prepared for
the occupation of suitors, witnesses and spec
tators; and it is further ordered that the
clerk's office and court room be heated by
hot-air furnaces. All of the said work to
be completed, finished and painted in a good,
workmanlike manner; and George W. Mat
thews, Dwight Deming and Thomas S. Stan
field are hereby appointed, a committee with
full authority to cause said work to be done,
and also to furnish and carpet said court
room, and that said committee shall audit all
accounts for said work and materials and
certify the same to the county auditor for
allowance and payment. . It is further or
dered that a certified copy of this order be
transmitted to the board doing county
' business. The improvements provided for in the or
der had been urged upon the county board
for a long time; hut that body was divided
as to the expediency of doing the work,
Dwight Deming only being favorable to it.
Finally the court, as authorized by law,"
took upon itself the authority assumed in
the order. Seldom has so praiseworthy and
necessary an act been received with so little
favor by the people. The proposals to build
the court house in 1853 were received with
far less criticism than were those for its im
provement in 1873. , It does not seem that
it was so much the matter of expense that
met with opposition as it was the alleged
exercise of extraordinary power by the court.
The people seemed to think that the work
should have been left to the county commis
sioners, elected, as they said, to attend to all
county business. The commissioners, how
ever, had refused to have the work done;
and so Judge Stanfield was compelled to as
sume the responsibility of transforming an
unsightly barn-like hall into a decent and
convenient court room, as his admirers said;
a. See Board v. Stout, 136 Ind. 53; and Board
v. Gwin, 136 Ind. 562.

Judge Thomas S. Stanfield

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

215

or to change a plain and sufficient place to
hold court into a ladies' parlor, as his critics
said. Time justified the able and far-seeing
judge. No braver act was ever done by him,
none more necessary for the convenience of
the court and people, and none which in the
end was more highly appreciated and com
mended by the people of the county. It was
another instance showing that it is always
better to do the right thing, at whatever cost.
Sec. 7. — A Historic Building. — The sec
ond court house and third jail satisfied all
needs for forty years, or until the close of
the nineteenth century, when the county offi
cers, the courts and the 'boards took their
places in the present elegant buildings. The
fine, well built old court house, /of "best
quality Athens stone," portico and all, was
taken in hand by a house mover from Chi
cago, lifted up, turned half-way around and
moved back to front on Lafayette street, all
without disturbing a stone or a brick. It
was regarded as a fine piece of engineering.
Happily, the building is to be preserved as
our historic county edifice. Through the
public spirited policy of our recent boards
of county commissioners, whose membership
has been made up of Samuel Bowman, Peter
H. Reaves, John D. Fulmer, Isaac Newton
Miller, Marion B. Russ, Herman A. Tohulka,
Barney C. Smith and Daniel A. White, the
venerable building which has witnessed so
much of our county, state and national his
tory, has been devoted to the use of the
Grand Army of the Republic and the North
ern Indiana Historical Society. The latter
body occupies the first story, in which are
collected and to be collected all that is most
precious in the relics of the St. Joseph val
ley. The upper story, the old court room
itself, has been given to the veterans of the
war for the Union, where they meet weekly
in patriotic and social reunion, recalling the
days that tried men's souls and holding out
to their children and grandchildren the les
sons of purest patriotism.
Sec. 8.— The Fourth County Jail. — Not

only was it necessary to move off the old
court house, but also -to demolish the beau
tiful little brick jail and sheriff's residence,
with its picturesque turrets and battlemems,
in order to make room for the imposing
modern court house that was to take their
place. A new jail, the fourth one of our
county jails, was erected in the rear by the
side of the old court house, and like it, fac
ing Lafayette street. The private residence,
built and long occupied by William Miller,
Esq., as he was always styled, one of the
most eminent citizens of the county, and
father of General John F. Miller, distin
guished in the war of 1861, was purchased
as a sheriff's residence, and connected with
the new jail in the rear.
Sec. 9. — The Third Court House. — The
contract for the building of our present
court house was let to James Stewart & Com
pany, October 31, 1896, for $184,246.27.
Various expenses and furnishings brought
the total cost up to nearly two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. The walls are of
Bedford stone and granite; and the building
is in the Grecian style of architecture. The
corner stone was laid April 15, 1897, and
the court house was completed November 4,
1898. The county commissioners who were
members of the board from the letting of
the contract to the completion of the build
ing, and who also removed the old court
house and built the new jail, were John N.
Lederer, John D. Fulmer, Peter H. Reaves
and Samuel Bowman. The board actually en
gaged in the construction of the court house,
invited a committee of citizens, among the
most eminent business men of the county,
to act as an advisory board in the very im
portant work. This committee consisted of
Clement Studebaker, John B. Stoll, Joseph
D. Oliver, Elmer Crockett and Patrick
O'Brien. The people of the county have
good reason to be satisfied with the work done
under direction of those officials and public
spirited citizens. The state board of ehari-
v ties recently made a visit of inspection to

216

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the county, and our jail was pronounced by
them the best in Indiana. Our court house
is also said to be, in its interior, one of the
most beautiful and convenient in the state.
The exterior would no doubt be entitled to a
like commendation; provided only our
worthy county board would cause the re
moval of the stone wall and bank of earth
heaped around it, and which so dwarf its
otherwise fine proportions.
Sec. 10. — The County Asylums.— The
county has always maintained an asylum for
its poor. At first the overseers of the poor
cared for the unfortunate in temporary

was evidently not then in a condition to jus-
tify the investment of so large an amount
as would have been necessary for the erec
tion of buildings, and the carrying on of so
great an undertaking; and in March, 1839
the enterprise was abandoned and the land
reconveyed by the county.
The county board continued, as before, to
support its poor in leased premises. At the
December term, 1844, George W. Matthews,
the elder, then superintendent of the poor
house, reported the quarterly expenses in car
ing for the county charges at one hundred
and forty-one dollars and ninety-one cents.

PRESENT COURT HOUSE, SOUTH BEND.

homes, or gave such other assistance as was
possible in a new country. Afterwards more
permanent quarters were secured. For many
years a building and grounds, situated in
Vail's addition to South Bend, were leased
for a county poor home from John D. De-
frees, at a rental of one hundred dollars a
year. As early as the year 1838 the need of
a county farm became urgent; and two. hun
dred and forty acres on Portage prairie, in
sections twenty, twenty-one and twenty-nine,
in what is now German township, were ac
tually purchased, the agreed price being six
thousand dollars. But the county treasury

The financial conditions having improved,
and the need for better accommodations
having greatly increased, the county board,
on June 10, 1846, purchased another farm
for the establishment of a permanent county
asylum. This farm consisted of nearly two
hundred acres, and was located on the east
side of the Michigan road, five and a half
miles south of the town of South Bend and
one mile and a half east of the present vil
lage of Nutwood. The place had been known
as White Hall, and was purchased from
Matthias Stover for two thousand dollars,
or about ten dollars an acre. Here the county

¦

«**~

Tke Old County Seminary

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

217

poor were cared for during nearly ten years.
At its December term, 1854, the county board
ordered this farm sold; and at the March
term, 1855, measures were taken for the pur
chase of another farm on the north side of
the St. Joseph river, on the line between
Portage and Penn townships. This farm,
consisting of one hundred and twenty acres,
was purchased through President' Whitten, in
court proceedings, for twenty-one hundred
and thirty dollars; and suitable buildings
were erected at a further cost. of fourteen
hundred and thirty dollars. Adjacent lands
were afterwards purchased, and the county
asylum seemed permanently and satisfac
torily located. •
For over fifty years the county poor con
tinued to be cared for on this farm between
South Bend and Mishawaka. In recent years,
however, there has been a growing dissatis
faction with the accommodations provided
for the inmates of the asylum and for those
who had them in charge. The state board, of
charities had frequently criticised the build
ings as antiquated and inadequate to their
purpose. Finally the board of commission
ers determined to sell the old farm, which
had become valuable from its proximity to
the two cities of the county, and to purchase
a farm elsewhere and put up a spacious and
well equipped modern asylum. The old asy
lum and grounds were disposed of for about
fifty-two thousand dollars; and a farm on
the south side of the river and just below
the old portage was purchased for twenty
thousand dollars. On these grounds, almost
in touch with the old pathway trodden by
Marquette and La Salle two hundred and
thirty years ago, the county commissioners
have, at an expense of about one hundred
and ten thousand dollars, built and equipped
one of the finest county asylums in the state.
The locality is not only interesting from a
historical point of view; but is also one of
the. most beautiful and salubrious that could
be selected. ^ The new buildings were ac
cepted by the "board of commissionei-s at their

March term, 1907 ; and the officers and about
eighty inmates were transferred from the old
to the new asylum and grounds April 4, 1907.
Sec. 11. — The Old County Seminary. —
Another county building of much historical
interest must not be overlooked. Besides
making provisions for district schools in each
congressional township,® the legislature at an
early day provided for educational institu
tions of a higher grade, which were known
as county seminaries.6 The funds for the
support of such seminaries were provided for
in the statutes, and were drawn from vari
ous sources, chiefly fines and penalties im
posed for violations of law. Donations were
particularly provided for; and without such
donations it was practically impossible to
procure the necessary grounds, erect the
buildings and carry on the schools.
In St. Joseph county there was a generous
rivalry between the towns of Mishawaka and
South Bend as to where the seminary should
be located. On November 9, 1843, the county
commissioners authorized George W. Mat
thews, the elder, to receive donations for the
erection of the seminary at South Bend. At
the March term, 1844, of the county board,
Mr. Matthews made a report of subscriptions
received by him; and at the same term Har
ris E. Hurlbut made a like report of sub
scriptions received by him for the erection
of the seminary at Mishawaka. No steps
were taken in the matter at that session.
At the December term, 1844, the county
board took definite action in regard to the
seminary; and entered into contract with
Cassius Caldwell, A. M. La Pierre and James
M. Matthews for the construction of the
buildings at a cost of fiften hundred and
seventy-two dollars and eighty cents. A lot
belonging to the seminary fund, valued at
one hundred and fifty-eight dollars, and also
the sum of eight hundred and fifty-four dol
lars, donated by subscribing citizens, amount-
a. R. S., 1831, pp. 463-480; R. S.,'l838, pp. 509-
551; R. S., 1843, pp. 305-325.
b. R. S., 1831, pp. 489-499; R. S., 1838, pp. 558-
563; R. S., 1843, pp. 249, 250, and pp. 303-305.

218

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

ing in all to ten hundred and twelve dollars,
were turned over to the contractors as first
payment. The remainder was paid by the
county out of the seminary fund.
The grounds on which the seminary was
erected, situated at the corner of Washing
ton and William streets, in South Bend,
where the old high school building now
stands, were purchased for the purpose from
Alexis Coquillard, on June 9, 1841.
The St. Joseph county seminary was built
during the year 1845, under the - superinten-
dency of Gilman Towle, one of the county
commissioners. The St. Joseph Valley Reg
ister, under date of September 26, 1845, just
two weeks after the establishment of that
newspaper, describes the building as being
situated "on the north side of Washington
street, west of town"; that it was of brick,
two stories high, thirty feet wide by forty
feet long, and to be surmounted by a cupola.
The expense, it was said, was defrayed out
of the seminary fund, aided by the subscrip
tions of private persons. We are further in
formed by the editor, Schuyler Colfax, that
the seminary stands near the center of the
acre-and-a-half lot which belongs to it, and
which is to be enclosed and improved; that
there will be two rooms in the building, one
below and the other 'above; and that the
room in the second story is to be the full size
of the building, undivided at present by any
partition. He concludes with the remark that
the two rooms will comfortably contain all
the pupils of the institution for many years.
The first principal was Mr. Wheeler, a
graduate of the Indiana State University. He
was assisted by Miss L. C. Merritt. These
were followed by Professors Wright, Coggs-
well, Smith, Sperbeck, McLafferty, Miss Bar
rett, Miss Bacon and Professor Wilcox.
With the adoption of the constitution of
1851, the policy of keeping up county semi
naries was abandoned; and the grounds,
buildings and other property of the semi
naries were ordered to be sold and the pro
ceeds turned over to the common school

fund.® The people had become satisfied that
it was impracticable to carry on county high
schools, and that all the energies of the state
in relation to popular education should be
concentrated in the support and improvement
of the common schools.
The citizens of St. Joseph county, however
particularly those at the county seat, had
become ambitious to establish and maintain
a school of higher grade, where the pupils
who had passed through the common schools
might continue their education, without being
compelled to leave home to attend academies
or colleges in other places. Accordingly, on
July 16, 1853, the board of trustees of the
town of South Bend purchased from the
county auditor, Aaron B. Ellsworth, and
the county treasurer, Robert B. Nicar, the
county seminary of St. Joseph county. The
purchase was made for fifteen hundred and
sixteen dollars, payable, according to the stat
ute, in ten annual installments. The pay
ments do not seem to have been completed
until August 31, 1866. It was at that date
that the deed of conveyance was made by
Woolman J. Holloway, then county auditor,
to Dwight Deming, Almond A. Bugbee and
Charles A. Evans, trustees of what had then
become the school city of South Bend.
Although from the time of the purchase
by the trustees of the town of South Bend,
the school and grounds had ceased to be
county property, yet there were pleasant and
even affectionate associations connected with
the old institution of learning; and it con
tinued to retain the name of the old seminary.
But the county seat finally outgrew the
building which Mr. Colfax, in 1845, confi
dently predicted would ' ' comfortably contain
all the pupils of the institution for many
years to come." In 1872, the school trus
tees took down the venerable structure, to
make room for a more commodious high
school building. On April 20th of that year,
the South Bend Tribune, established only
a. Constitution, 1851, Art. 8, Sec. 2; 1 R- S"
1852, pp. 437-439; 1 Gavin and Hord, pp. 565-567.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

219

during the previous month, contained a feel
ing reference to the passing of the old land
mark of nearly thirty years standing. The
editorial was written by Alfred B. Miller,
first editor and one of the founders of the
Tribune, who was himself educated in the
old seminary.

our place, from its earlier years." Among
the first pupils educated at the seminary, Mr.
Miller mentions Alvin S. Dunbar, Daniel
Witter, Mark McClelland, D. R. Sample, and
R. B. Miller. "When first built," the edi
torial continues, "the seminary was sur
mounted by a tin-domed and pillared cupola,

ALFRED B. MILLER.

"Nothing remains of the old seminary
building on Washington street but a pile
of debris," said Mr. Miller; "and in a few
days it. will have no trace left. The South-
Bender now absent will miss on his return
the familiar structure which, homely though
it was, has been identified with the history of

in which the boys used to take delight in
lodging balls while playing 'anti-over,' that
they might have some excuse for 'shinning
up ' the lightning rod and playing havoc with
the nests of pigeons that made their homes
there. But the lightning knocked all the
beauty and utility out of the cupola one

220

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

afternoon in 1847, and in course of time it
was taken down entirely, and since then the
structure was familiar in outline to all our
citizens as it is seen in the excellent photo
graph Mr. Bonney took just previous to its
destruction. Although to be replaced by one
of the handsomest school buildings in this
part of the state, there are many, particu
larly absent South Benders who received
their education in it, who will not hear of
the destruction of that 'old seminary' with
out a pang of regret."
Sec. 12. — The Orphans' Home. — One of
the most praiseworthy institutions of St. Jo
seph county is the Orphans' Home, located
at Mishawaka and conducted by the Chil
dren's Aid Society of Indiana. The insti
tution, although managed by a corporation
made up of public spirited and benevolent
ladies of the county, is yet quasi-public- in
its character, since it is recognized and regu
lated by the statutes of the state, and is in
part supported by funds supplied by the
county. The purpose of the institution is to
nurture, train and educate destitute orphan
children, and to find homes for them in good
families. Through the zeal of the good
women who have had - charge of the home
their work has prospered. Hundreds of help
less children have been placed with worthy
families, where they have found father and
mother, brothers and sisters' in place of the
natural relatives who were taken from them
by death or other misfortune. These ladies
have so interested the public spirited people
of the county that they have after much toil
and years of effort succeeded in securing for
the Home what is indeed a most elegant and
commodious building standing on a beautiful
eminence overlooking the St. Joseph river.
On Saturday, May 18, 1907, the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the founding of the institu
tion, the society had the satisfaction of dedi
cating this fine home to its benevolent pur
pose. The followng historical items are
taken from the press accounts of the dedi
cation :

"The Children's Aid Society, of Indiana
was organized by the W. C. T. U. of St!
Joseph county under the name of the Or
phans' Home Association, of St. Joseph
county, at a mass meeting held June 15, 1882
in the Y. M. C. A. hall, Price's theater, South'
Bend. The institution was located in Misha
waka and opened July 10, 1882. On the
20th of the same month the county commis
sioners at a special meeting decided to place
all dependent children of the county with the
society at 25 cents per day. Forty-eight chil
dren were received the first year.
"The officers and directors for the first year
were: President, Mrs. Julia E. Work; first
vice president, Mrs. Z. M. Johnson, South
Bend; second vice president, Mrs. W. W.
Giddings, South Bend; third vice president,
Mrs. J. A. VanAuken, Mishawaka; recording
secretary, Mrs. William Clark, Mishawaka;
corresponding secretary, Mrs. J. A. McGill,
South Bend; treasurer, Mrs. S. M. Simkens,
Mishawaka; directors, Mesdames E. S. Rey
nolds, J. M. Studebaker, Schuyler Colfax,
L. M. Doolittle, S. P. Lantz, David Warner,
W. C. Learned, F. B. Dunham, C. Foote,
J. H. Banning, of South Bend, and Mesdames
Abbie Ney, Tabor Ham, Henry Milburn, P. C.
Perkins, C. G. Foote, Sarah Guernsey, George
Chace, Sidney Smith, Sarah Gaylor, of Mish
awaka. Mrs. Dr. Harris and Mrs. Dr. Ne- _
ville, of South Bend, also signed the consti
tution. "The present officers of the Children's Aid
Society of Indiana are : Mrs. J. McM. Smith,
South Bend, president; Mrs. J. W. Keller,
Mishawaka, first vice-president; Mrs. W. F.
Wiggins, South Bend, second vice-president;
Mrs. William Uline, Mishawaka, third vice-
president ;• Mrs. W. E. Butterworth, Misha
waka, recording secretary; Miss Agnes Par-
rand, South Bend, corresponding secretary;
Mrs. Elizabeth G. Kettring, South Bend,
treasurer. "In 1884 the association was reorganized
and passed out of the control of the W. C. T.
U. and the name was changed to the North-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

221

em Indiana Orphans' Home. In June, 1890,
the society was again reorganized under the
name of the Children's Aid Society of In
diana. "The first school in the home opened in
September, 1891. During the 25 years the or
ganization has been in existence 1,300 chil
dren have been cared for, many counties be
sides St. Joseph county sending children here
to be cared for. Good homes have been found
for several hundred children in the past 25
years. A careful watch is kept upon the chil
dren placed in homes, and it is very gratify
ing to the women of the Children's Aid So
ciety to know that the majority of the chil
dren placed in homes by the society have
grown up and made successful men and
women. "Up to March, 1891, the society was of un
certain force, having a constant struggle to
meet its financial obligations. There were
large amounts owing and but little in the
treasury. At that time a radical change was
effected in the management, a large number
of sustaining pledges were secured and under
the able presidency of Mrs. J. M. Studebaker
the institution was soon upon a more solid
basis. The present efficient superintendent,
Miss Sarah Hathaway, was appointed, and
since then the society has steadily grown in
usefulness and efficiency.
"About 15 years ago the home received a
small endowment fund of $6,250 from the
estate of Mrs. Longer, of Laporte, Ind. With
the interest from this fund and the per diem
allowance from the county commissioners the
¦ home has been self -maintaining for a number
of years.
"In 1900 the fine property now occupied
was bought for $10,000 and with the help of
contributions and entertainments this has been
all paid, besides $10,000 for improvements on
the property. The new building now com
pleted has been erected at a cost of over $60,-
000, including equipments. A loan of $30,-
000 has been made upon the property, but in
addition to this it will be necessary to raise

about $10,000 to complete paying for the
building and get only the most necessary fur
nishings. One item of large expense is. for
the fire escapes, which are of the most ap
proved up-to-date make, and the best laundry
equipment obtainable has been installed.
"The undertaking to erect this building
without any funds at hand in the beginning
was a formidable task to the 18 women of the
board, but they have been sustained through
out by an unfaltering trust in the generosity
of the public, which is being realized. The
cause represented and the fact that when the
building and furnishings are paid for, the
home will be as before, self-sustaining, are
two appealing facts to thoughtful people.
"The following women of Mishawaka and
South Bend are now serving as a board of di
rectors for the Children's Aid Society. They
are all well known and have entered into the
work with a determination to conduct* the
affairs of the home upon a sound business
basis ;
"Mrs. Jeannette Reynolds, South Bend,
charter member ; Mrs. Abbie Ney, Mishawaka,
charter member; Mrs. J. M. Studebaker,"
South Bend, charter member, served as presi
dent 1890-1891; Mrs. Tabor Ham, Misha
waka, charter member; Mrs. E. A. Jernegan,
Mishawaka, elected June, 1884, served as
president 1895-1896; Mrs. Dempster Beatty,
Mishawaka, elected 1885, served as president
1891-1892, 1892-1893, 1898-1899, 1899-1900,
1900-1901; Mrs. Lafayette LeVan, South
Bend, elected June, 1888, served as president
1896-1897, 1897-1898; Mrs. Luther Cass,
Mishawaka, elected May, 1898; Miss C. Addie
Van den Bosch, South Bend, elected May,
1898; Mrs. Charles Endlich, Mishawaka,
elected 1902; Mrs. J. C. Neithardt, South
Bend, elected 1905.
"Much credit is due the members of the
building committee for their untiring efforts.
The women of this committee are: Mrs. La
fayette LeVan, South Bend, chairman; Mrs.
Elizabeth G. Kettring, South Bend, secretary ;
Mrs. Dempster Beatty, Mrs. J. Wallace Kel-

222

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

ler, Mrs. W. E. Butterworth, Mishawaka;
Mrs. J. M. Studebaker, Mrs. J. McM. Smith,
Miss C. Addie Van den Bosch, South Bend.
The following gentlemen also served on the
committee: M. W. Mix, F. G. Eberhart, J.
A. Roper, E. G. Eberhart, Mishawaka; J. M.

Studebaker, Samuel Leeper, Max Livingston
J. B. McCance, South Bend.
' ' The committee on furnishings for the new
home is composed of the following members-
Mrs. W. F. Wiggins, Mrs. J. C. Neithardt!
Mrs. Charles Endlich, South Bend."

CHAPTER VII.

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.

I. OUR RIVERS.
Sec. 1. — Improvements on the Kane:akee.
— Ages before the white men came to dwell in
these valleys, the only means of communica
tion from north to west, from east to south,
save the mysterious trails through the forest
and over the prairies, was by way of the Kan
kakee and the St. Joseph." And long after
the coming of the white man, these rivers,
particularly the latter, continued to be the
ways looked to for commercial intercourse
with the great world outside. It is not to be
wondered at, therefore, that the early settlers
of "the St. Joseph country" looked anxiously
for the improvement of the navigation of
their beautiful river. They had the "Great
Sauk Trail," running through the northwest
corner of this county, afterwards somewhat
improved and dignified with the high sound
ing title 'of the "Chicago Road"; and they
had numerous other Indian trails and traces
through the interminable woods surrounding
them. But when they rested a moment from
their hard daily toil and thought of the future,
they could distinguish no project more feasi
ble than the improvement of the St. Joseph,
giving them direct access to the commerce of
the great lakes. An occasional enthusiast, in
those days of canals, and before the vision of
railroads came to them, spoke of digging a
great canal down the Kankakee, and so reach
ing the Mississippi and the Gulf. But the
only improvement of the Kankakee which
ever materialized, was that long afterwards
a. See "Routes of Travel," Chap. 2, Subd. 2.

suggested by Thomas S. Stanfield, one of the
most broad minded and far-seeing of our
public men. His suggestion was to construct
a great double drain down the Kankakee, with
a railroad on the bank between the two drains.
The drains have been dug and the railroad
has been built, though not just on the lines
suggested by Judge Stanfield; and the Kan
kakee valley is thus put to the best possible
use for which it is available.
In connection with the drainage systems of
Kankakee valley, and the deepening and
straightening of the river, which have taken
place in recent years, making that rich valley
"the garden of Chicago," as some of our
sanguine citizens haVe styled it, we may here
note that the legislature, by an act approved
March 7, 1889, passed an act for the removal
of the limestone ledge across the river, at
Momence, Illinois, ten miles below the Indiana
state line. Further acts to carry out the same
purpose were approved March 6, 1891, and
March 4, 1893." This natural obstruction ex
tends in a northwesterly direction over north
ern Indiana, and crosses the Kankakee near
Momence, Illinois, forming a rock dam in the
river at that point, about seven and one-half
feet in height.6 The state appropriated, alto
gether, sixty-five thousand dollars for this im
portant improvement; which was completed,
so far as the appropriation would permit,
under direction of civil engineer William M.
Whitten, of South Bend, Indiana. Immedi-
a. Acts, 1889, p. 291; Acts, 1891, p. 198; Acts,
1893, p. 328.
6. See Chap. 1, Subd. 7.

223

224

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

ately after that work was done, and even
before its completion, land owners throughout
the valley began the construction of drains
under the drainage laws of the state. The
result is shown in vast corn fields and mead
ows, where formerly hunting and fishing
clubs monopolized the country. The richest
lands in Indiana are now found within this
great valley."
Sec. 2. — Navigation op the St. Joseph. —
But the practical minds of the early '30s
were turned to the St. Joseph. In an edi
torial in our first newspaper, "The North
western Pioneer and St. Joseph's Intelligen
cer," for Wednesday, December 21, 1831, the
editor, speaking of a writer in the Crawf ords-
ville Record, says, "He undertakes to show
the difference of the relative cost of railroads
and canals, and urges our legislature to 'throw
aside the donation of lands made by the gen
eral government to aid the state in construct
ing the Wabash and Erie canal; and instead
thereof to construct a railroad from Lake
Michigan to some point on the Ohio river. ' '
The editor, John D. Defrees, then continues,
"Whether it would be good policy for the
state to give up the aid proffered her by the
general government is not our intention to
question. The late experiments made on rail
roads in Europe and America go to convince
us that they are much to be preferred to
canals; but if the legislature in its wisdom
says that a canal is preferable, let it be so.
This, however, should not prevent a railroad
from the northern part of the state, through
the interior, to the Ohio river. The writer
above alluded to suggests that such a road
ought to commence at Lake Michigan, without
being aware that there is no harbor, nor can
there be, within the state, on that lake. If
he had been informed of this fact he would
have said, commence at the nearest point
on the St. Joseph river, which is navigable
for steamboats, and at the mouth of which
is a safe harbor for vessels. He states that
the distance from the lake to the Ohio river
a. See Subd. 6 of this Chapter.

is not over two hundred and fifty miles. From
this point,0 the distance would not be in
creased, and would be over infinitely better
ground for a road. He was not aware that
his route would be met by an impassable bar
rier in the great Kankakee ponds or marshes,
which are only equalled by the famous Dismal
Swamp of Virginia.6 By commencing here
this would be avoided. ' ' The then recent sur
veys for the Michigan road, made in 1828
and 1829 were doubtless in the editor's mind
when he made this statement as to the ad
vantage of starting from "the nearest point
on the St. Joseph river, ' ' rather than directly
from Lake Michigan and through the Kanka
kee marshes, in building a railroad to the
Ohio.c The feasibility of navigating the St.
Joseph, and the superiority of the natural
harbor at its mouth, were also in his mind;
although it is true that congress has since
made an excellent artificial harbor at Michi
gan City.
That there was at that date actual naviga
tion, from Newburyport, at the mouth of the
St. Joseph river, on Lake Michigan,5 as high
up as White Pigeon, in Michigan Territory,
may be seen from the list of arrivals and de
partures of boats, as given in the Northwest
ern Pioneer and St. Joseph's Intelligencer,
for November 23, 1831, as follows:
' ' Arrivals : . "November 15.
"Keel Boat Cass, Capt. Finch; freight for
White Pigeon.
"Keel Boat Racer, Capt  ; freight
for White Pigeon. "November 18.
"Keel Boat Fairplay, Capt. Cratee; from
Newburyport. a. That is, from the south bend of the St.
Joseph river.
b. Between Virginia and North Carolina.
c. See Chap. 5, Subd. 1.
d. The site of the present city of St. Joseph.
La Salle's fort at this place was called Fort
Miamis. The town built there was at first called
Saranac ; afterwards Newburyport, from Mr. New
bury, a merchant who sent out- boats from there;
and finally St. Joseph, the name now long given
to the beautiful city.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

225

"November 21.
"Keel Boat Cass, Capt. Finch; from White
Pigeon. "Departures: "November 15.
"Keel Boats Cass and Racer, for White
Pigeon. "November 20.
"Keel Boat Fairplay, for White Pigeon.
"November 21.
"Keel Boat Cass, for Newburyport."
The subject of river navigation is more
fully developed a little later, in a communica
tion to the Pioneer, under date of January 4,
1832: "That the navigation of the St. Joseph
river by steamboats," said this writer, "is a
subject of vast importance to the whole of the
country watered by its tributary streams,
must be acceded to by everyone who has paid
any attention to the almost magical effects of
their introduction on the Mississippi, Ohio,
and their tributaries. See the great cities
which have sprung up on the banks of those
rivers since that period; besides many flour
ishing towns and villages, which but for the
powerful agency of steamboats would never
have had an existence." But the influence of
steamboat navigation has not been merely ex
ercised in erecting cities and towns. It has
given equal impulse to the improvement of
the adjacent districts, and carried the whole
western country at least a century in advance
of what any reasonable man would have cal
culated, without the knowledge of steam
power. "As a citizen of the St. Joseph country, I
have been anxiously looking for some agitation
of these questions,— Would it be practicable
to navigate the St. Joseph river by steam
boats? And if so, How shall it be brought
into actual practice in the shortest time? And
first, as to its practicability there seems to be
but little doubt. Partial examinations of the
river have been made by persons of some
practical experience, with a special view to
this object, who pronounce, without hesita
tion, that, with improvements not very expen
sive to be made, the river is highly susceptible

of being navigated, from its mouth to the
neighborhood of Crooked river," by a class of
small steamboats, such as some that are at this
time profitably used on the Ohio and other
rivers. But these obstructions are too formi
dable to be removed by individual enterprise.
Our country is yet new, and but partially
populated ; the inhabitants chiefly but recently
settled; and their time and money must of
necessity be employed in the improvement of
their farms and providing the means of living
for themselves and families.
"Although I believe it practicable to navi
gate the St. Joseph with steamboats, even in
its present natural state, for several months
in the year ; yet we may not hope that it can
be successfully and efficiently prosecuted until
its obstructions are removed, by which its
navigation would be made reasonably safe for
all seasons of the year, except when obstruct
ed by ice.
' ' Thus having seen that there scarcely exists
a doubt of the practicability of making the
St. Joseph safe for navigation by steamboats,
the next proposition is, How can it be brought
into successful practice in the shortest time?
I know of no way, unless congress can be
induced to pass an act making appropriations
competent to this object. Would it be proper
to petition congress to this effect? I think it
would. I believe it might be shown that
though we take into the account no other con
sideration than the impulse ' given to the
future increase of the population, and conse
quently the increased demand for the public
lands, and the enhanced value given to the re
maining domain within the influence of the
proposed improvements, the government
would be amply remunerated. And may we
not also calculate on the greatly increased
value to the nation of an extensive district,
amply populated, and with the arts, agricul
ture, commerce and civilization in rapid pro
gress over the same ; a great part of which
district is now in a state of nature, and may
long so remain without the proposed improve-
a. Three Rivers?

226

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

ments? We not only have these incontrover
tible arguments in our favor, but we have the
numerous precedents of the government in
like cases before us.
"I will conclude by proposing to our
friends of Michigan to lose no time in bring
ing this subject before congress by petition,
at least for an appropriation sufficient for an
examination of the river by competent engi
neers, to make estimates of the cost of the pro
posed improvements and report to the govern
ment. ' '
Public meetings were held at South Bend,
Niles and other points in the valley, to induce
congress to take action in the matter. A meet
ing held in December, 1831, at Saranac, Michi
gan, by "citizens of the St. Joseph country
in the Territory of Michigan, and the State
of Indiana, ' ' adopted a memorial to congress,
in which are found the following interesting
paragraphs :a
"The subscribers respectfully represent,
That the country they inhabit was first offered
for sale by the general government in June,
1829, since which time its population has in
creased with a rapidity which has few if any
parallels; as will appear by reference to the
returns of the land office of this district, and
in a still more striking light when the fact is
considered that a small amount of the land
sold has been purchased for speculation, but
nearly the whole by actual settlers who have
bought only the small divisions of the public
surveys. "The wants of the population of this grow
ing country, including a fertile and beautiful
portion of the state of Indiana, has created
a considerable commerce at the mouth of the
great St. Joseph river, from which the coun
try takes its name, and through which it re
ceives its merchandise and must find a mar
ket for its surplus produce in future. At pres
ent the entrance of shipping from Lake Michi
gan into the river is attended with dangers,
delays and not unfrequent loss of lives and
a. See Northwestern Pioneer for Januarv 25
1832.

property. The channel of the river varies with
every gale, during which, and for some time
thereafter, it is impossible for a vessel to find
a harbor in our river or in this part of Lake
Michigan. "It is believed that notwithstanding the
very great increase of the commerce of the
upper lakes generally, there is no point on
them where that increase bears any propor
tion to that of this port. Last year there
were less than two thousand barrels bulk of
. merchandise landed here : this year there have
been landed more than ten thousand barrels
bulk; and circumstances warrant us in the
belief that the progressive increase of business
will be as great for many years to come."
The memorialists conclude with furnishing
a diagram of the proposed harbor improve
ments, and asking for an appropriation of
forty thousand dollars for carrying them out.
At a meeting held at Niles, it was resolved,
"That we consider it of great importance to
the commercial interests of the Territory of
Michigan to have a harbor at the mouth of the
St. Joseph river." And also, "That we cor
dially approve of the memorial drawn up hy
our fellow citizens of Saranac, and that we
adopt the same as the sense of this meeting";
and "That a committee of three persons be
appointed to correspond with our fellow citi
zen Lewis Cass, delegate in congress, and with
the members of congress from the states of
Indiana and Illinois, to solicit their aid in
furthering our request. ' '
In this county a meeting for the same pur
pose ' ' was held at the house of Calvin Lilly
by the citizens of South Bend and its vicinity
on Thursday evening the 19th instant [Janu
ary, 1832] , to consider the propriety of asking
aid of the general government to improve the
harbor at the mouth of the St. Joseph river.
Mr. Pleasant Harris was called to the chair
and John Dougherty Defrees appointed secre
tary." One of the resolutions was : " That we view
the improvement of the harbor at the mouth
of the great St. Joseph river to be of vital

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

227

importance to the welfare of the whole St.
Joseph country; and we entirely concur in
the project of asking aid of congress for this
purpose, .and adopt the memorial prepared
at Saranac and subsequently adopted by the
citizens of Niles as the sense of this meeting. ' '
It was also resolved : " That L. M. Taylor,
E. Egbert, and H. Chapin compose a commit
tee to make known the proceedings of this
meeting to our representatives by the first
mail." Although congress could not be induced to
act, the people continued to consider the navi:
gation of the river as all important to the de
velopment of the country. In the same copy"
of the Pioneer in which are contained reports
of the meetings held at different points to
urge favorable action by congress, we find the
following editorial paragraph:
"It seems that our anticipations in regard
to steamboating on the St. Joseph are to be
realized sooner than we expected. We have
received information from a source which can
be relied on that there is now a steamboat
building at Erie, Pennsylvania, for this
river. It will be completed by the time navi
gation opens. It is needless to say that we are
highly pleased with the enterprise. Alive to
everything that will have a tendency to ad
vance the prosperityof this country, we shall
hail the appearance of this boat as a new era
in its improvement."
And also the following : " By an advertise
ment in the Detroit Journal, we perceive that
there is a company formed for the purpose of
building a steamboat, of the first class, ex
pressly for the commerce on Lake Michigan.
We hope that the stockholders may reap a
rich harvest for their enterprise. From the
rapid increase of business on this lake there
can be^no doubt that there will be employment
for at least one boat, in addition to the
schooners already in the trade. If the in
crease at any other point bears any proportion
to that of the St. Joseph, we would think that
still more employment could be given. From
o- The issue for January 25, 1832.

experiments lately made by merchants of St.
Louis, we are constrained to believe that in
future merchandise intended for Illinois and
Missouri will be shipped via the great inland
seas to Chicago, and thence wagoned to the
falls of the Illinois river, it being navigable
for small steamboats from that point to the
Mississippi. "There is another fact that will have a
powerful influence and give a new impulse
to the commerce on the lakes ; if. is that all the
merchandise necessary for consumption in
what is called the Wabash country, in this
state, must and will be shipped by way of the
lakes and the St. Joseph river, and then
wagoned on the Michigan road, a distance of
only sixty-six miles, to the Wabash river. We
have ventured the assertion that it can be
done fifty per cent lower than by the present
uncertain mode, and we still believe that we
are correct."
In an editorial in the Pioneer for April
25, 1832, this enthusiastic paragraph appears:
"Steamboats Coming! We understand by a
gentleman from Detroit, that it is supposed
the steamboat built at Erie, Pennsylvania, for
the St. Joseph river will be here about the
first of June. Information from another
source says, that Mr. Bysel, of White Pigeon,
has made arrangements to bring an engine
around as soon as possible for a boat to be
built somewhere on the river. We shall then
have two boats, success to them! Hope they
will have plenty of freight and passengers.
How we should like to hear a high steamer
blow its long black nose, and to see it impelled
with an almost incredible velocity against the
strong current of the majestic St. Joseph! It
would remind us of the din, the bustle and
the business so common to the principal towns
on the Ohio, but more particularly to the
Tyre of the West.""
Again, on May 9, the editor cries out in
gladness: "It is no longer doubtful concern
ing the steamboat for this river. It is reduced
to a certainty. We have received a letter
a. Cincinnati.

228'

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

from John F. Wright, Esqr., of Buffalo,
stating that he has a boat now nearly com
plete, built expressly for this trade, and
which will be here about the first of June."
And on July 4, 1832, we have these cheer
ful items: "Arrived, July 1,— Keel boat Fair
Play, Capt. Cratee ; from Newburyport, cargo
for H- Chapin, in this place. Departure,
July 2nd. — Keel boat Fair Play, Capt. Cratee,
for Newburyport."
But on August the first, this agueish note
was sounded: "The steamboat Newburyport,
built expressly for the St. Joseph river,
ascended within ten miles of Niles, when,
meeting a detachment of troops, it took them
on board and proceeded to Chicago. — She
may be expected here in a few days. ' ' Read
between the lines, this announcement was evi
dently a premonition of disappointment; and
it was justified by the event. The Newbury
port did not return "in a few days." The
difficulties of navigation were evidently too
great for the successful running of a steamer
of even moderate size.
The anticipations of the people of "The
St. Joseph country," both in the state of In
diana and in the territory of Michigan, were
exceedingly bright, — but the sequel is soon
told. Congress at first took some little half
hearted interest in the navigation of the noble
river, and then quietly dropped the matter.
Nature, the bridges, the mill dams, and finally
the railroads, did the rest.
There was for a time, however, and of neces
sity, some navigation of the river. Produce
must be shipped in and taken out, either by
the river or on wagons; and keel boats and
steamers of light draft continued to go up
the stream as high as Three Rivers. Even
persons of the present generation remember
steamboats coming up as far as South Bend,
before the building of the dams at Niles and
Buchanan. Pleasure boats even now run from
the lake as far, as Berrien Springs; and in
recent years the late John C. Knoblock had
one between South Bend and Mishawaka;
while even now the redoubtable George Wel

lington Streeter runs his boat within the same
limits. But commerce, it must be confessed
has departed from the St. Joseph forever.
In 1830, two men named Masters and Tip-
sorf made several trips from the lake as far as
South Bend and Mishawaka. In the spring
of 1831, Peter Johnson built the first regular
keel boat for general freighting on the St.
Joseph. Madore Cratee was her captain ; and
we have in the "Pioneer" (then called the
"Beacon") for July 4, 1832, the announce
ment of the arrival and departure of Capt.
Cratee in his keel-boat. In" 1833, the little
steamers Matilda Barney and Davy Crockett
made trips as far up as Mishawaka. And
from that time on until the coming of the
railroads, river vessels of various kinds plied
up and down the St. Joseph.
Something of the character of this river
commerce may be learned from a local corre
spondent, writing in 1847. He says: "We
have here a river coursing through two states,
and passing through and in the yieinity of an
agricultural body of land without a superior
in the west. For one hundred and seventy-
five miles, by the river distance, namely from
Union City to St. Joseph, steamboats can nav
igate its waters, and have done so, — a length
of steamboat navigation greater even than
that of the Hudson. Four steamboats now
ply upon it, and no one, we believe, has
counted the numerous keel-boats and arks
which annually find busy employment in its
commerce. In the spring and fall one can
hardly look upon this beautiful stream with
out seeing a boat of some character, deeply
laden, sailing towards its mouth. The manu
factories of iron, wool, oil, leather and other
articles, which line its shores and the banks
of its tributaries, and whose number is every
year increasing with fast accellerating rapid
ity, together with the eighty run of stone for
the grinding of flour, already at work or being
put in operation the present season, throw
upon its waters an amount of exports which
would surprise those who have not closely
scanned the statistics of this fertile valley.

HISTORY OF ST: JOSEPH COUNTY.

'229

Finally, however, the railroads came, and
the St. Joseph, at least above Berrien Springs,
ceased to be used or considered as a navigable
stream. Below Berrien Springs, pleasure
steamers of good size pass up and down by
the beautiful summer resorts found along the
lower part of the river. Higher up, too,
pleasure boats occasionally ply between the
many dams along the stream. But, as said
by Judge Pettit, in closing a special term of
court in this county, a few years ago, "While
no doubt, the St. Joseph was once a navigable
stream ; yet, as a matter of fact, it is no longer
so." Sec. 3. — Water Power op the St. Joseph.
— But the swift fall of the waters of the St.
Joseph suggested another use of the river,
and one which gave the first impetus to our
great factories, and tended to make South
Bend and Mishawaka the humming hives of
industry which they have become.
The first dam across the river was built by
the St. Joseph Iron Company at the Misha
waka rapids, where has since grown up the
beautiful city of that name. By an act ap
proved January 22, 1835,° Alanson M. Hurd,
John J. Deming and John H. Orr and their
associates were "constituted a body corpor
ate and politic, by the name and style of the
President, Directors and Company of the St.
Joseph Iron Works"; and, amongst other
powers, were given the right "to erect a dam
across the river St. Joseph at the head of the
Mishawaka rapids, in the township of Penn
and County of St. Joseph." Provision was
made in the act for a lock and "the passage
of steamboats and other water crafts used on
said river"; also for rafts to come down the
river, and for the free passage of fish up and
down. The act was slightly amended by the
act of February 1, 1836 ; and the name of the
corporation was at the same time changed to
the St. Joseph Iron Company. The construc
tion of this dam, while an obstruction to
river commerce, was nevertheless by reason of
its use of the water power of the St. Joseph,
a- Local Laws, 1834, pp. 79-82; 1835, p. 206.

the foundation of the prosperous city which
has grown up on both sides of the river at
that point.
It was in the same year, 1835, that Joseph
Fellows, Garrett V. Denniston and others, all
from the state of New York, purchased from
Alexis Coquillard the water power and rights
at South Bend. Early the next year, by an
act approved February 6, 1836,° they likewise
procured a charter to build a dam across the
river "at the head of the rapids, at or near
the town of South Bend." The conditions
•as to river, traffic, the passage of fish and other
matters were similar to those for the dam at
Mishawaka. This act also was amended in
some matters by an act approved January 16,
1837. The Denniston & Fellows Company does
not seem to have been so well managed ; and,
in any event, was not so successful, as the St.
Joseph Iron Company. They made some prog
ress in the work of constructing the dam and
in digging a mill race ;; but,- in 1837,- by reason
of the panic of that year, or for other causes,
they were compelled to cease operations alt'q-
igether. Later, Mr. Coquillard recovered the
-property through the courts.
By an act approved December 28, 1842,6
Abraham R. Harper, William H. Patteson
and Lathrop M. Taylor, were incorporated as
•the South Bend Manufacturing Company,
and authorized to complete the dam at South
Bend. This company became the owner of
one-half the water power of the river at that
point. Work on the dam was again taken
up in 1843, and the construction completed
the next year, with mill races on each side of
the. river. The one-half of the water power
attached to the east side of the river passed
at first to Samuel L. Cottrell, and from him,
in 1867, to the South Bend Hydraulic Com
pany. We have already referred to an inter
esting suit tried in our circuit court, in the
summer of 1889, for the division of the water
power among the owners on each side of the
a. Local Laws, 1835, pp. 339, 340; 1836, p. 380.
6. Ltocal Laws, 1842, pp. 3-6. And see Act of
January 20, 1846; Local, 1845, p. 314.

230

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

river, and in which two eminent judges of the
state supreme court took part.0
The ownership on the east side has since
remained unchanged ; except that the Hydrau
lic Company has made deeds of conveyance
of certain amounts of water to the several mill
owners along the race. In 1903 the owner
ship of the stock, property and rights of the
South Bend Manufacturing Company on the
west race, except certain shares retained by
the city of South Bend, passed by purchase
to the Oliver Chilled Plow Company. This
resulted in a great transformation. An elec
tric power plant was constructed on the west
race, capable of using for the production of
electricity the full one-half of the water
power of the St. Joseph river. The plant is
one of the best in the country, and supplies
electricity for light, heat and power to the
opera house, hotel, factories and other Oliver
properties. Previous to this time a company of eastern
capitalists had been formed to construct a
dam and electric power plant at a point above
the city of Mishawaka, known as Hen Island.
This great plant is used in connection -with
another at Buchanan, in Michigan, and with
a steam power plant on the east side of the
river, at South Bend, for the generation of
electricity in vast quantities, which is used
for lighting the cities and towns on the river
and furnishing them heat and power.
In the beginning, the water power gener
ated by the dams at Mishawaka and South
Bend was used to run the saw mills, flouring
mills and early manufacturing establishments
in those towns. As soon, however, as any line
of manufacturing greatly increased its out
put, the deficiency and uncertainty of water
power, particularly after long summer
droughts, became manifest. In addition, the
space on the river became too confined for
large concerns. Accordingly, the heavier
business, from time to time, was removed to
more roomy quarters, often at a long distance
from the river. The result is that the great
a. See Chap. 6, Subd. 2.

Studebaker, Oliver, Birdsell, South Bend
Chilled Plow and Singer Works, at South
Bend, and the mammoth Dodge factory and
others at Mishawaka, together with many of
lesser proportions in both cities, whether
originally located along the mill races or not
are now run with steady and unlimited steam
or electric, instead of water power.
Sec. 4.- — Generation of Electric Power.
— Yet, even now, there is, in another sense
a return to the river. At several places on
the St. Joseph, as already stated, the great
power of the river has invited the building
of dams for the production of electricity, to
be used not only for light and heat, but also
for motive power ; and it would seem that the
water power of the St. Joseph, through the
generation of this mysterious fluid, with its
tremendous force, is destined to make this val
ley forever a center of manufacturing activ
ity, from the mouth of the river far up be
yond the confines of St. Joseph county.
Through this electrical energy there is, then,
a return to the water power which first
attracted the attention of millers and manu
facturers. More permanent than the famed
natural gas of central Indiana, this electric
force, generated by the broad and rapid St.
Joseph, will light and heat our homes and
offices, our stores and factories; will propel
our street and interurban cars, and run our
endless varieties of machinery. The river
first gave us our manufactories and other in
dustries; and the same river, in this half
spiritual form, will retain for us those fac
tories and industries, and will add a thousand
fold to their growth, usefulness and beauty.
Sec. 5. — Accidents on the River. — Before
closing the history of the St. Joseph river, it
becomes necessary to refer to the numerous
accidents that have taken place in the beauti
ful but treacherous stream. No summer
season passes but that the seductive waters
draw into their fatal embrace one or more
victims. The number of persons that have
been caught by the charms of this syren
would seem to have been so great that the

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

231

young swimmers and bathers would avoid the
tempting waters as they would a bath of
poison. But the victims continue to disappear
from year to year beneath the treacherous
waves, until as every summer comes the peo
ple expect to hear of deaths by drowning,
almost as a matter of course. In South Bend,
the board of safety has felt called upon to
provide a life-saving station, with a boat
ready at any instant to go to the rescue of a
person caught in the dangerous currents. It
is hoped this precaution may be the means
of putting an end to the loss of life that has
for years afflicted so many households.
The most heart-rending drowning that per
haps ever took place on the St. Joseph oc
curred on the evening of Tuesday, June 2,
1868, when four young people, Eugene Seixas,
Charles Waterhouse, Adele Seixas and Molly
C. Miller, lost their lives in a boat that was
carried over the dam at South Bend. The
cause of the accident is not certainly known ;
but it is believed that the boat,' which was
launched in the still water a little above the
headgates of the west race, was caught in the
current and carried sideways over the dam
before the young men perceived their
danger or had time to grasp the oars. Miss
Miller's body was recovered that evening and
those of the others on the next day. The
tragedy east a gloom over the whole city,
where the young men and women were all
well known and were beloved by all the peo
ple. II. FERRIES, ROADS AND BRIDGES.
Sec. 1. — Ferries Over the St. Joseph. —
In the beginning, shallow places in the river,
or fords, were selected for the purpose of
crossing from one side to the other. The
first settlers were often tints required to ford
the stream with their wagons, oxen, cows and
other stock. Soon after the starting of towns,
however, it became necessary to cross the river
at the towns whether the water were deep or
shallow. Before the building of bridges such
crossings were made by ferry boats plying

from one bank to the other. These vessels
were generally flat boats, and simple in con
struction; on which teams, animals and all
kinds of goods, as well as persons, were taken
over the river at fixed charges. To protect the
public as well as the ferryman, the county
board granted special licenses, without which
no one was allowed to establish a regular ferry
or make charges for carrying goods or pas
sengers from shore to shore.
The first ferry license on the St. Joseph
river, as we have seen," was granted Septem
ber 6, 1831, to Nehemiah B. Griffith; who was
authorized, on certain terms and conditions,
to establish a ferry over the river, on what is
now La Salle avenue. This ferry was of great
advantage to the people having occasion to
pass from one side of the river to the other.6
Misunderstandings, however, arose, and com
plaints were made to the county commission
ers as to the manner in which the ferry was
conducted. This resulted in some litigation,
and the matter was in an unsettled condition
for a long time.
On January 7, 1835, Alexis Coquillard was
granted a license to establish a ferry on what
is now Colfax avenue. That the business in
creased may be known from an order made
by the board on March 3, 1835, requiring Mr.
Coquillard to add another boat to his ferry.
It is said that there was a ferry established
across the river at Mishawaka in 1834, but
there does not seem to be any record of a
license for such a ferry. There is no doubt,
however, that a means of frequent crossing of
the river at that point was a necessity,
although a regular licensed ferry may not
have been established. The people of that
town, at a very early day, had set their minds
upon a bridge over the river as being far
preferable to a ferry.
On September 1, 1834, Elisha Egbert took
out a license for a ferry, crossing the river at
the town of Portage, north of South Bend.
Mr. Egbert was much interested in this town.
o. Chap. 5, Subd. 5.
b. There was a steamboat landing at the same
place.

232

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

whose success for a time seemed promising,
but which has long ceased to exist.
Sec. 2.— Bridges Over the St. Joseph —
Not only has Mishawaka the honor of building
the first dam across the St. Joseph river, but
also of constructing the first bridge over the
same stream. Both were private enterprises;
and both were undoubtedly due in large meas
ure to the enterprise of the principal founder
of the city, Alanson M. Hurd. This first
bridge over the river was built in 1837, and
.seems to have been a substantial structure.
This may be inferred from the accident that
happened in 1847 to the steam boat Pilot by
running against the bridge. On May 3, 1847,
the county auditor reported to the county
commissioners that the owners of the Pilot
threatened suit for the loss of their boat,
claiming also that the bridge was an obstruc
tion to navigation. The only action taken by
the board was to order surveys and estimates
for a new bridge, a "lattice" bridge, at Mish
awaka. No action looking towards building a
bridge at South Bend seems to have been
taken until 1844, when Abram R. Harper,
an enterprising merchant of the town, was
authorized by the county board to take up
subscriptions and erect a toll bridge over the
river at Washington street. The idea of a
toll bridge does not seem to have been received
with favor by the people, and the project
languished. In March, 1845, the county
undertook the support of the enterprise, on
condition that eight hundred dollars were
secured by subscription. Mr. Harper was
appointed superintendent. The bridge was
to be three hundred and fifty feet in length;
and to extend from Washington street, on
the west, to Market street, now Colfax avenue,
on the east side.
At the June term, 1847, Mr. Harper report
ed to the county board that he had advanced
towards the building of the Washington-Mar
ket street bridge five ihundred and thirty-
seven dollars and fifty-four cents, and that
there was yet due on subscriptions one hun

dred and ninety-nine dollars and fifty cents.
It was evident that the board must now come
to the rescue of this work, and an order was
made that the road tax for Portage township
be turned over to the superintendent and the
bridge completed.
At the same session of the board it appeared
from the surveys and estimates for the con
struction of the Mishawaka bridge that its
total cost would be five thousand dollars, and
that said sum exceeded the amount of the
ordinary road work and tax of the two road
districts in which the bridge lay. An order
was then made that the road tax of all the dis
tricts to be benefited by the bridge should he
applied to its completion. This bridge was to,
be three hundred feet long and twenty-eight
.feet in width.
Thus was the very important work of
spanning the river with bridges at the two
towns completed. The days of the ferries
were passed. The county, under statutory
provisions, has since taken charge of the build
ing of all bridges over the river, as well as
of all other bridges in the county.
Soon after there was found need of an ad
ditional bridge in South Bend ; and a covered
wooden bridge was built on Water street, now
La Salle avenue, where the first ferry in the
town had been established. This covered
^wooden bridge is noted in our local history
by reason of the disaster occasioned to it by
the only tornado that ever visited this section
of the country.0 It was about two o'clock on
the afternoon of August 9, 1865, that a black,
angry-looking cloud was seen coming up the
Kankakee valley from the southwest. The
cloud came on swiftly and threateningly;
dipped towards the earth as it reached the
town; stripped the tin roof off the court
house, tearing the tin and rolling it up like
bales of cloth ; dipped still lower and struck
and tore down the east half of the Water
street bridge ; and then scattered houses and
barns as it rushed on to the southeast. The
tornado does not seem to have been near
a. See Note, Chap. 7, Subd. 7, Sec. 2.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

233

enough to the earth to have done any damage
except as it passed over the town. The com
missioners, in restoring the bridge, wisely de
termined to remove the roof from the whole
of the bridge, being of opinion that the cum
brous structure concentrated the full force of
the tornado and thus caused' the partial des
truction of the bridge.
Later a plain wooden bridge, a frail one it
was considered, was built on Jefferson street ;
and afterwards another, the Leeper bridge,
on North Michigan street. Four miles north
of the Leeper bridge another was built, at
Musquito Glen, near the old Sheffield or Sid-
er's mill. Still other wooden bridges were
erected from time to time, at different places
along the river.
Then came the era of iron bridges. The
first of these was a kind of suspension, swing
ing or chain bridge, built' over the river on
Water street, now La Salle avenue, in South
Bend. An unskillful workman one day drove
a pin out of the unlucky east end of this
bridge, and let the whole structure into the
river. A more substantial bridge, of the truss
pattern, was erected in its place. The truss
bridge was in favor for a time. One was
built at Mishawaka, on Bridge street, in place
of the old wooden one at that point ; another
was built in 1881, on Jefferson street, South
Bend, in place of the feeble wooden structure
that had too long done service in that place ;
still another took the place of the wooden Lee
per bridge on Michigan street, South Bend.
But the iron in the truss bridges expanded
in summer and contracted in winter, and it
required the constant care of experts to keep
the bridges in safe condition. With the new
century came the conviction that some more
safe and durable form of bridge must be
adopted. The first effort in this direction
resulted in the Sample street bridge in South
Bend. The upper truss was abandoned, and
a solid sub-structure support, with iron gird
ers, was substituted; .giving a smooth, solid
road bed, continuous with the street on either
side. A further step in the same direction

was taken in 1903, in the building of the Col
fax avenue bridge, supported on great irou
girders resting upon piers. This, too, gives
a street surface continuous with the street at
either side, a most desirable feature in all
bridge construction. It is to be regretted that
the Colfax bridge has so heavy a grade from
east to west. It would seem to have been
very easy to remedy this defect by beginning
the grade one square further east, making an
easy ascent from Bridge street to Michigan
street ; but, even as it is, this bridge is one of
the finest public improvements ever made in
the county.
Finally public opinion was so distinctly ex
pressed that the county commissioners took
the ultimate step in bridge making, and
adopted the Melan, or concrete-arch system,
the arches re-enforced with ribs of steel buried
in concrete. This system results, practically,
in the spanning of our rivers with indestruct
ible stone arches, over which are built road
ways and sidewalks absolutely similar to and
continuous with those of the thoroughfares
upon which the bridges are erected. The first
of these bridges was built on Cedar street,
Mishawaka, and so successful did the experi
ment prove that the county board no longer
hesitated. Three concrete arched bridges
were ordered, — one on Jefferson street, South
Bend, thrown open to public travel in 1905;
one on Bridge street, Mishawaka, now (in
1907) approaching completion; and one on
La Salle street, South Bend, which will
also be completed in November, 1907. The
Cedar street bridge, Mishawaka, and the Jef
ferson street bridge, South Bend, are most
beautiful as well as substantial structures.
It is sometimes said that the Jefferson
street bridge is of unnecessary length;
that one-half the east arch, being over
solid ground, might have been omitted and
the space filled in with earth. It is claimed
that, besides the shortening of the bridge, and
the consequent shortening and strengthening
of the arches, this would have straightened
Emeriek street and made the connection with

234

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Jefferson street and the bridge more direct
and convenient at that point. But the bridge,
as it is, is so noble a structure, broad and con
tinuous as the fine street on which it is built,
that it seems ungracious to draw further at
tention to faults now apparent to every one.
Hindsight is easy to us all; foresight only
to the child of genius. The vision of the his
torian is, of course, but hindsight; and he
must be pardoned for looking upon things
as they have been done and as he actually
finds them.
Sec. 3. — Roads. — The first roads, as we have

pathway had gone the Sacs and Foxes and
other Indians in their journeys to the east
from Wisconsin and other western countries'
and by this traveled way had come the dread
ed Iroquois in their incursions from the far
east. In peace, it was the pathway of the
hunter and the highway of commerce ; in war,
it was the road along which advanced in
threatening array the painted warriors of the
forests and the prairies. As a national road
the Great Sauk trail became known as the
Detroit and Chicago road, or simply the Chi
cago road, as it is called to this day. This

JEFFERSON STREET BRIDGE, SOUTH BEND.

seen, were Indian trails and traces, running
by the most convenient routes from point to
point of importance throughout the vast sur
rounding wilderness. Some of these con
nected such far distant points and were of
such convenience and even necessity for the
use of the government as well as for emigra
tion and for the needs of primitive commerce,
that they were adopted and cared for as
national roads. Of such was the Great Sauk
trail, stretching from Canada and New York
to the far northwest. This trail crossed the St.
Joseph river near Bertrand and passed over
the northwest part of this county. Over this

road would perhaps have made Bertrand a
great city had not the railroads passed
through Niles and South Bend, and made of
the great trail a common country road, in
stead of the thoroughfare of commerce which
it had been for ages.
Another wilderness highway, connecting
with the Great Sauk trail, extending thence
east through South Bend and Mishawaka
and across northern Indiana, to Vistula, Ohio,
has now long been known as the Vistula road.
This roaa, l.AC o-rners ol its kind, took in all
along the line other trails, traces and path
ways, as the Dragoon trace and the Turkey

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

235

Creek road, leading off to Fort Wayne and
other points to the south and east. Such a
highway as the Vistula road, leading as it
did through many counties, was of state im
portance, was laid out by a special act of
the legislature, and was therefore known as
a state road. Sometimes the statute so
passed, as was the ease with the Vistula road,
failed to fix any width for the highway, nam
ing only the line of the road and leaving
the width to be fixed by public travel, to
the subsequent inconvenience of the people
and the annoyance of boards of commis
sioners and often of the courts. The Vistula
road as it extends through South Bend is
called Vistula avenue ; while through Misha
waka it is known as Second street. Those
who desire to preserve historical associations
have frequently urged upon the good people
of Mishawaka the propriety of continuing
the name of Vistula through their beautiful
city. Still other highways were confined to the
county itself, although generally connecting
and forming one with thoroughfares at the
boundaries. Such highways were under the
sole jurisdiction of the county commissioners
and known as county roads. A very large
part of the time of every session of the
county board during the early period of the
history of the county was taken up with hear
ing petitions for these county roads, appoint
ing viewers to lay them out, hearing and ap
proving the reports of the viewers and estab
lishing the roads, or in listening to remon
strances and appointing reviewers. In time,
however, all the necessary roads have been laid
out, and it is not often now that petitions for
new roads are^ presented to the commis
sioners. The attention of the county board
and of the township road authorities is now,
and has for years, been chiefly given to bridg
ing, draining, grading, graveling and other
wise improving the highways already laid out.
Plank roads were for a time resorted to on
some lines, as on the Michigan road between
South Bend and Plymouth; but these were

all wisely abandoned and gravel roads sub
stituted in their place.
It is said that the United States postal au
thorities in charge of the free delivery mail
routes have recently pronounced the highways
of Indiana the best in the Union. This is
a high commendation for the public spirit
of the Hoosier state; and it is to the honor
of St. Joseph county that nowhere in In
diana are the public highways and bridges
kept in better condition for public travel than
within our own borders.
Although when first laid out and improved
the various highways were for a time dis
tinguished as national, state, county and even
township roads; yet now, and for a long
time, all roads are improved and cared for
under the county and township road authori
ties, and the laws in relation to highways
apply uniformially to all public roads, no
matter by what authority they were origin
ally established. We may note as a peculi
arity of our local highway system that the
gravel road laws of the state have never been
applied to the improvement of the highways
of this county. Good road gravel is so abund
ant in almost every section of the county that
the township trustees and road supervisors
have had no trouble in graveling the roads
by using the ordinary road labor and the
township road fund for that purpose.
In Chapter Fifth, subdivision first, of this
history, in connection with the first surveys
of the public lands, we have given some par
ticulars concerning the early history of the
most important public highway of the county,
and indeed of the state also, the Michigan
road. This road was to Indiana what the
Erie canal was to the state of New York, what
the Union Pacific was to the regions beyond
the Rocky mountains and what the old Ro
man roads were to the several provinces into
which they were extended. The most com
plete and detailed history of the Michigan
road ever written was prepared by Miss Ethel
Montgomery, a graduate of Purdue univer
sity and now one of the corps of teachers in

236

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

the South Bend high school. Miss Mont
gomery's paper was recently read by her be
fore the Northern Indiana Historical Society,
and is to be published by the society as one
of its most valued documents.
The Michigan road may be considered as
a national as well as a state road. In Chap
ter Fifth we have seen that by the treaty of
October 16, 1826, the United States secured
from the Pottawatomies the lands necessary
for the construction of the road from Lake
Michigan to the Ohio river, the road to be
one hundred feet in width. Both in the
treaty, however, and in the subsequent acts
of congress in relation thereto, the Indiana
legislature was given the right to locate the
road and to dispose of the lands and apply the
proceeds to its construction. Chief credit for
the completion of the road through this
county and on to the terminus at Michigan
City is due to the commissioner then in
charge, Judge William Polke. who was one
of the most eminent of our public men in
the early history of Indiana. The road runs
almost in a direct line from the crossing of the
Wabash at Logansport to the southern bend
of the St. Joseph, passing through Plymouth,
Lakeville and South Bend, all then within the
limits of St. Joseph county. From South
Bend the course turned to the west, so as
to reach Michigan City by the most direct
route. Michigan street and Michigan avenue
mark the course of the Michigan road through
South Bend. This section of the road was
finished in 1834 and 1835 ; and its comple
tion gave a wonderful impetus to the settle
ment of this county as well as of all northern
Indiana. III. RAILROADS.
Sec. 1. — The Lake Shore: — But the in
creased facilities for public travel and for
commercial transactions, for the marketing of
the products of the soil and the procuring of
commodities needed for the use of the people,
afforded by the opening of the Michigan road,
adding as they did to the accommodations

furnished by the navigation of the St. Joseph ¦
river, as well as by the stage travel and the
wagon traffic over the various other thorough
fares of the territory watered by the St. Jo
seph and the Kankakee, could not satisfy the
eager commercial spirit of the people of St.
Joseph county. As early as 1832, as we have
seen, Mr. John D. Defrees, in the Northwest
ern Pioneer, advocated the encouragement of
the building of a railroad into "the St. Joseph
country." The attention of the people of the state
was then chiefly engrossed by the construction
and operation of the Wabash and Erie canal,
and the high hopes awakened as to the great
commercial highway connecting Lake Erie and
the Wabash river. However, in February
1835, the legislature passed an act for the
incorporation of a company to be known as
the Buffalo & Mississippi railroad company,
with the design to have a railroad constructed
from Buffalo to the Mississippi river. In 1838
a company was organized under this act to
build a railroad from the eastern boundary
of the state, to run through South Bend and
Michigan City. General Joseph Orr, of La
porte county, was the active mover in this
enterprise. But little headway could then be
made, and the project was abandoned for
several years.
In 1847, the agitation was renewed, and a
meeting of persons interested, from Toledo to
Chicago, was held at Mishawaka. At this
meeting Thomas S. Stanfield first appeared as
a railroad builder. To the untiring efforts
of this eminent man, St. Joseph county was
ultimately indebted for the first railroads
that entered its territory. After Alexis Co
quillard, there is no man to whom St. Joseph
county is more largely indebted than to
Thomas S. Stanfield. When the time comes
in which the county shall provide for the erec
tion of statues to its distinguished citizens.
the figure of Judge Stanfield, who brought to
us our first railroads and opened up to the
world our cities, and towns and our splendid
farming territory, will not be forgotten.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

237

; At this time a corporation known as the
Michigan Southern railroad company had con
structed its road from Toledo, Ohio, to Hills
dale, Michigan; and it was proposed that a
corresponding Indiana corporation should be
formed to aid in completing the road to Chi
cago. This resulted in the formation of the
Northern Indiana railroad company. In 1850
the two companies were consolidated under
the name of the Michigan Southern &
Northern Indiana Railway Company. Desir
ing to reach Chicago more directly than could
be done through Michigan City, the old
charter of the Buffalo & Mississippi com
pany was resorted to, and the road thus com
pleted by way of Mishawaka, South Bend and
Laporte. But the rivalry then existing between the
Michigan Central railroad company and the
Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana again
brought Judge Stanfield 's resourcefulness
into action. When the Michigan Southern &
Northern Indiana was built as far as White
Pigeon, it found itself unable to reach the
Indiana line in a direct route without violat
ing the terms of the charter which it had re
ceived from the state of Michigan. This un
favorable legislation had been enacted through
the influence of the rival railroad; and the
result was that the Michigan Southern must
either come to a standstill or else go out of
its way at a considerable loss. In this junc
ture Judge Stanfield proposed to the com
pany that they should furnish him with the
means, and he would procure the right of
way and build an independent line of rail
way, four miles in length, extending from
White Pigeon to the Indiana line. This was
done; and for ten years this four miles of
road, known as the Portage railroad, was
nominally owned by Judge Stanfield, but
leased from him by the company and operated
as a part of the Michigan Southern &
Northern Indiana.
To aid the enterprise, St. Joseph county
agreed to subscribe for forty thousand dol
lars of the capital stock of the company ; but

the private subscriptions by the people
proved sufficient for the building of the road,
and the county subscription was not needed.
Even the . stock subscribed by the citizens
was taken off their hands by Judge Stan
field who found eastern capitalists glad to
take it, so that the building of this great
highway of commerce, so vital to the pros
perity of our community, was completed with
out cost to the county or to any of its people.
The day when the first through train from
the east reached Mishawaka and South Bend
is memorable in the history of St. Joseph
county. This was on Saturday evening, Oc
tober 4, 1851 ; and when the locomotive, John
Stryker, came puffing into the stations it was
received with all demonstrations of joy by the
assembled multitudes. Cheer after cheer
came from the enthusiastic people whose hopes
were thus gratified. Forty-eight rounds of can
non and brilliant bonfires bore the joyous in
telligence to the sight and hearing of the eager
inhabitants who were themselves unable to be
present. Almost equal enthusiasm was mani
fested on the incoming and outgoing of the
trains on the ensuing Monday, and for days
afterwards. It was the culmination of the
efforts and hopes of the people, ever since
the first settlement of the county. After the
consolidation of this great railroad with the
Lake Shore road from Buffalo to Toledo the
name of the consolidated railroad was changed
to the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. It
is commonly spoken of as the Lake Shore rail
road. Sec. 2. — The Michigan Central. — In 1867
a company was formed at Jackson, Michigan,
designed to aid in extending the Grand Trunk
railroad through Michigan and Indiana to
Chicago. The first plan contemplated going
by way of Niles, and then by the most direct
line to Chicago. This would have left South
Bend out. The name of the company was
afterwards changed to the Michigan Air Line
railroad company, and under this name it be
gan work. A lack of funds however com
pelled the company in 1869 to lease its road

238

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

to the Michigan Central railroad company.
The Air Line road was then rapidly com
pleted from Jackson to Niles. An Indiana
company was next formed to extend the Air
Line to South Bend. To this project the
city of South Bend extended its financial aid
by subscribing for twenty-five thousand dol
lars of the capital stock. The Michigan Cen
tral leased this South Bend branch also, and
thus the Michigan .Central system reached
South Bend early in the year 1870. Thomas
S. Stanfield was also the force that secured
this extension of the Michigan Central to our
county. It is said that for years this ten
mile branch from South Bend to Niles was
the most profitable ten miles of road in the
whole Michigan Central system.
Sec. 3. — The Grand Trunk. — But the peo
ple of St. Joseph county, led by Judge Stan
field, were not satisfied without making
further efforts to secure the passage of the
Grand Trunk extension through Mishawaka
and South Bend. Several distinct companies
were formed with this project in view, — first,
a company known as the Port Huron & Lake
Michigan railway company, to build the road
from Port Huron to Flint, Michigan ; second,
a company called the Peninsular railway com
pany, to build the road from Lansing by way
of Battle Creek to the Indiana line; third,
an Indiana company, to build the road from
the Michigan line by Mishawaka, South Bend
and Valparaiso to -the Illinois line; fourth,
an Illinois company to extend the road to Chi
cago ; and, fifth, a company to build the gap
in the road from Flint to Lansing, thus com
pleting the road from the Grand Trunk, at
Port Huron, to Chicago. These several com
panies were consolidated under the name of
the Chicago & Lake Huron railway company.
The companies were all weak financially and
the building of so great a stretch of railroad
was too much for their scant treasuries aided
by all the credit that could be obtained. The
result was that the road was for a long time
operated by a receiver. In 1879 the Grand
Trunk of Canada became satisfied that it

needed this poor insolvent road, in order to
secure connection with Chicago and the great
northwest. The road from Port Huron to
Chicago, by way of Mishawaka and South
Bend, thus became a part of the Grand Trunk
system, one of the great railroads connecting
Montreal, New York and the east with Chi
cago and the northwest.
Sec. 4. — The Division Street Incident.—
A painful episode connected with the build
ing of the Grand Trunk road through South
Bend is the wrong done the residents of Divi
sion street in that city. By an ordinance
passed through the common council March 2,
1868, the "Peninsular Railway Company of
Indiana" had been authorized to lay its rail
road tracks on Divison street. This was done
without any consent from the people on the
street. Division street was then one of the
most pleasant of the residence streets of South
Bend, and the citizens living along that street
were bitterly opposed to having their beau
tiful homes blackened with smoke and dis
turbed with the rumblings of trains and the
shrieking of locomotives day and night,— to
say nothing of the practical closing of the
street to public travel and the endangering
of the lives of their families by the incessant
passage of trains. The railroad authorities,
on the other hand, and the people of the
county generally, while acknowledging the
injustice done the residents of Division street,
were yet extremely desirous of having the
track laid through the city, so that the great
enterprise should be completed on to Chi
cago. Each party waited anxiously for the
outcome. On August the 31st, 1871, the rail
road company, having finished the bridge
over the St. Joseph river and collected all
materials needed for laying the ties and rails,
gathered a large force of men and laid their
track through the city along the devoted street,
and then ran their locomotives and cars over
the line, in the face of the angry protests
of the residents. Litigation at once followed
and has not been ended even to this day.
It is very probable that the company have

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

239

long since realized that they did not only an
unjust, but also an impolitic thing, in thus
forcing their way along Division street,
against the united and persistent opposition
of the people. Notwithstanding the acknowl
edged benefit of the Grand Trunk road to
South Bend and St. Joseph county, the peo
ple have never warmed to the company on
account of the great injustice done in the first
instance. Through sympathy, the large ma
jority of the people have adopted as their
own the cause of their wronged fellow citi
zens on Division street. It would have been
much better for the company to have gone
through the city on a line near to the Lake
Shore railroad and in territory already de
voted to railroad uses. This lesson, now so
evident, has however been learned too late.
The wrong has been done, and it is not easy
to see how it may be repaired. It is but
another illustration of the truth, that the
end can never justify the means. An ad
vantage, however great, is too dearly bought
when purchased by an act of cruelty or in
justice. Sec. 5. — Other Railroads. — What was done
for South Bend, Mishawaka, Osceola, New
Carlisle and the northern part of the county
by the- bringing here of the great lines of
the Lake Shore, Michigan Central and Grand
Trunk, was done for Walkerton and the south
west part of the county by the building of
what has long been known as the Lake Erie
& Western railroad, connecting Laporte and
Michigan City with Indianapolis; and also
the Baltimore & Ohio road, connecting Wash
ington City, Baltimore and other eastern
points with the city of Chicago.
An enterprise of the greatest value to the
people of the county was the extension in 1884
and 1885, of the Vandalia railroad system
from Logansport, by way of Lake Maxin
kuckee, Plymouth and Lakeville, to South
Bend. This road brought us into direct con
nection with Terre Haute, Evansville, St.
Louis and the Indiana coal region. It was
a most desirable acquisition, and came to us

with the good will of all the people but with
out special effort on the part of any one.
The coming of the Vandalia is of particular
interest from the circumstance that it was the
first distinctive indication that our manu
factures and other local interests had become
an inducement for the outside world to seek
our market. We had no longer any need our
selves to seek connections with the trade cen
ters and great thoroughf ares_ of the country.
Henceforth they were to seek us rather than
wait for us to seek them.
A like acquisition was the voluntary com
ing to South Bend, by way of Walkerton and
North Liberty of the Three I railroad, or, as
it is often called, the Chicago belt line. This
road gives to our manufacturers and mer
chants ¦ direct connection with practically
every railroad entering Chicago. The Three
I is distinctively a freight railroad, perhaps
the most successful of its kind in the country.
It has since passed under control of the Lake
Shore railroad company, but still maintains
its characteristic feature as a freight rail
road; although its passenger business is not
neglected. The Three I and the Vandalia
railroads have been of inestimable local benefit
to the people of St. Joseph county, by bring
ing the county seat and the other northern
towns into close connection with Lakeville,
North Liberty, Walkerton and all the other
southern parts of the county. Literally, we
are all now closely drawn together by bands
of steel; and this more intimate union of
all sections has made every inhabitant
prouder of his citizenship of St. Joseph
county. Still another railroad, the northern line of
the Wabash system, extends through the south
part of the county, passing through Wyatt,
Lakeville and North Liberty, and giving di
rect connection with Toledo and Cleveland on
the east and with Chicago on the west.
The St. Joseph & Southern, now operated
by the Michigan Central gives direct con
nection with the Michigan fruit belt and
the pleasure resorts at St. Joseph and other

240

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

points on the southeastern shore of Lake
Michigan.
Another freight railroad is the New Jersey,
Indiana & Illinois railroad, connecting with
the Wabash near Lakeville and extending into
the factory district of South Bend.
The Studebaker and Oliver factories also
own short freight lines connecting with all
lines entering South Bend. These private
lines are used for the purpose of facilitating
shipments from the respective factories to the
great railroads.
Sec. 6. — Railroad Accidents. — Consider
ing the great railroad mileage in St. Joseph
county, including street railways and interur-
ban roads as well as steam railroads, the
number of railroad accidents have been few
and the loss and injury to persons and
property has been little. The most serious
railroad accident that ever occurred in the
county took place on the night of June 27,
1859, when the night express from Chicago,
on the Lake Shore road, was wrecked at
Springbrook culvert, about half way between
South Bend and Mishawaka. Springbrook is
a very small stream, being indeed for the
greater part of the time a dry ravine. Ac
cordingly, when the culvert was being put in
over the brook, the railroad company thought
it only necessary to build a small one, such
as would be put over an ordinary ditch run
ning through any low ground. At the time
the neighboring farmers warned the men en
gaged on the work that the culvert, while suf
ficient for ordinary stages of the little stream,
would in case of an extraordinary freshet be
totally inadequate to carry the waters that
would rush through the ravine on their way
to the St. Joseph river; and they instanced
one such freshet which had come down from
the hills on the south in the year 1841. The
warning was not heeded ; and on the fateful
27th of June, 1859, the lives of many pas
sengers paid the penalty for the negligence
of those who put in the culvert. On the after
noon and evening of that day there had been
a great downpour of rain. The brook be

came a raging torrent; and, choking up the
little culvert with earth and debris, the waters
rose to the level of the track, and so
water-soaked the road bed and weakened the
culvert, that the train, rushing on in the
darkness, with its load of sleeping passengers
plunged into this valley of death. Some were
killed in the coaches; while others were
drowned in the rushing waters. How many
were lost is unknown. There were about one
hundred and fifty passengers on the train.
In a few minutes the waters, released by the
breaking away of the culvert, all passed off
to the river ; and many were thus saved from
drowning. On the next morning, a beautiful
June morning, the towns of South Bend and
Mishawaka awoke to a knowledge of the most
dreadful accident, and loss of life, that had
ever happened in our vicinity. The culvert
was then built large and strong; and very
few of the thousands who have since enjoyed
the pleasures of Springbrook park, when
looking upon the substantial masonry over the
ravine, ever have a thought of the hapless
lives that went out there on that fearful night
in June, long years ago.
IV. street railways and interurbans.
Sec. 1. — The South Bend City Railway,
—As early as June 23, 1873, the "South
Bend Street Railway Company" was incor
porated, the incorporators being John R.
Foster, Joseph B. Arnold, Jr., Jacob Wool
verton, Alexis Coquillard and Henry B. Hine,
On September 18, 1880, the first franchise
was granted by the common council. Many
subsequent ordinances in modification of this
original ordinance were passed by the city
council. At first, all motive power for the
propulsion of care except that of horses or
mules was prohibited. Afterwards, the pro
hibition was removed as to all power except
that of steam. A fear seems to have existed
that the street railway companies would run
their cars by railroad locomotives. One or
dinance expressly required that only animal
power should be employed, except that elec-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

241

tricity might be used on Michigan street. In
1882, under this permission, the use of the
overhead or trolley system was attempted, —
for the first time, it is said, in the history of
street railways. The attempt as then made
was unsuccessful; the cars could be moved
only for a part of a block, and would
then come to a stop by failure of the electric
power. It seems that the electric fluid be
came dissipated in the earth as fast as sup
plied from the power house. In time this de
fect was remedied, and the trolley system took
the place of animal power and also, in most
instances, of the cable and every other mode
of propulsion; but the claim of South Bend
to the distinction of being the place where
the use of electric power for street cars was
first attempted has not been questioned.
Sec. 2. — The South Bend and Mishawaka
Railway. — Although the South Bend street
railway was almost a failure from the be
ginning, yet that did not seem to discourage
the projectors and others who were disposed
to follow in their footsteps. Instinctively,
there seemed a conviction that street railways
must ultimately become successful. On De
cember 11, 1882, a franchise was granted to
the South Bend & Mishawaka street railway
company to construct a street railway be
tween the two towns, then a distance of about
tour miles apart. As the greater part of this
distance was without the limits of both towns,
it was necessary for the company to obtain
a franchise from the county commissioners to
use the public highway. This was granted by
the board. Soon after the building of this
line there was some dissatisfaction shown by
the public by reason of the obstruction to
travel caused by the manner in which the
company had exercises its franchise. This
dissatisfaction finally resulted in an action in
the circuit court, brought by the county com
missioners to compel the company to comply
with the terms of its contract. The suit was
decided in the circuit court against the county
commissioners; but that body at once ap
pealed to the supreme court and secured a
16

reversal of the decision, finally compelling the
company to take up a large part of the track
and re-lay it in compliance with the terms
of its franchise.0 Notwithstanding these and
other reverses, the Mishawaka line seems to
have been worked at a profit; and when the
South Bend eity railway and the South Bend
& Mishawaka street railway became the
property of a single company, it was the
Mishawaka line that sustained the life of the
double enterprise until the time came when
a new corporation, with abundant capital, be
came the owner of all the lines under all the
charters, and at once and for the first time
made the street railway business in St. Joseph
county a complete successful enterprise.
Sec. 3. — The Indiana Railway. — In 1899
the Indiana railway company was organ
ized, with Arthur Kennedy as president and
J. McM. Smith as vice-president and general
manager. This company at once became the
owner of the South Bend street railway, the
South Bend & Mishawaka line, the Elkhart
street railway and the Goshen railway line.
The construction of the South Bend, Misha
waka, Elkhart & Goshen interurban railway
thereafter followed, and very soon proved to
be one of the most excellent interurban lines
in the state. Power houses were erected at
South Bend and Osceola, in St. Joseph county,
and at Dunlaps, in Elkhart county. Spring
brook park, on the St. Joseph river between
South Bend and Mishawaka, which had ac
quired some reputation as a pleasure resort
in connection with the old South Bend &
Mishawaka line, was now greatly improved
and speedily became one of the most fre
quented places of amusement in northern In
diana. For the first time the people of South
Bend, Mishawaka and the surrounding
country learned what it was to have a first
class street railway and interurban sys
tem. But the Indiana railway company was evi-,
dently ambitious of still greater things.
Franchises were procured to extend the lines
a. Board v. South Bend &c. R. Co., 118 Ind. 68.

242

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

to Laporte and Michigan City, and the lines
at Michigan City and Laporte were pur
chased. The company also lent its aid to the
formation of another interurban company
which should. build by the way of Niles to
the city of St. Joseph on Lake Michigan. The
new company, known as the South Bend &
Southern railway company, received a fran
chise from the city of South Bend on July
28, 1902 ; and in an incredibly short time the
interurban from South Bend by way of Niles
and Berrien Springs to St. Joseph was in
full operation.
Sec. 4. — The Chicago, South Bend &

owners in all the street railways and inter-
urbans going out in every direction from In-
dianapolis. They had the experience, ability
and wealth needed to make South Bend a
second traction center, little if at all inferior
to that at Indianapolis. The new company
known as the Chicago, South Bend &
Northern Indiana railway company, already
shows a purpose to accomplish this end.
Preparations are under way to reach
Winona and Logansport on the south
and thus connect with the Indianapolis
system. Still more definitely is the pur
pose shown to exercise the franchise for

LOVER'S LANE, SPRINGBROOK PARK.

Northern Indiana Railway. — In the midst
of its great enterprises the Northern Indiana
became aware that it had undertaken too
much, even for its great enterprise and
generous treasury. It is to the credit of the
stockholders and managers of the company
that they discovered their limitations in time.
In 1906, a sale of all the Indiana railway
property was made to a powerful street rail
way syndicate, represented locally by those
worthy and successful business men, James
Murdock and his sons Charles Murdock and
Samuel T. Murdock, of Lafayette, Indiana.
These gentlemen were already large traction

completing the lines to Laporte and Michi
gan City, and from these points ultimately
to Chicago. For western St. Joseph county,
New Carlisle and all the surrounding terri
tory this interurban extension will be a great
blessing, giving the people ready access to
South Bend as well as to other east and west
(enters of trade and population, and thus
bringing the eastern and western parts of our
county into closer union.
See. 5.— The Southern Michigan Bae>
way.— The South Bend'& Southern Michigan
interurban, connecting with St. Marys,
Bertrand, Niles, Berrien Springs, St.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

243

Joseph and Lake Michigan, and known
as the Southern Michigan railway com
pany, has already become a popular and
profitable line. The Michigan fruit belt,
the fine scenery along the lower St.
Joseph and the many beautiful pleasure
resorts on Lake Michigan, are thus brought to
our door. A casual view into the future
brings us in sight of Kalamazoo, Grand
Rapids and all southwestern Michigan.
Sec. 6. — The Chicago, Lake Shore &
South Bend Line. — Many other interurban
lines are in contemplation by enterprising
business men who see the bright future that
is certainly awaiting the development of
South Bend, Mishawaka and all the St. Jo
seph valley. One of these lines, at first called
the Chicago & Indiana Air Line, but since
named the Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend
railway, received a franchise from the city
of South Bend, and also from the board of
county commissioners of St. Joseph county,
in 1903, and has already built many miles
of its line between South. Bend and Chicago.
This line, when completed, is to be one of
the great interurbans of the country, connect
ing Buffalo, by way of Cleveland, Toledo and
South Bend, with Chicago.
V. TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES.
Sec. 1. — The Western Union. — The first
movement for the erection of a telegraph line
through northern Indiana were made in 1847.
There was an effort at that time to construct a
line of telegraph from Buffalo to Milwaukee.
The feasibility and advantage of the tele
graph were not then generally appreciated
and moneyed men were slow to invest in the
enterprise. The appeal was therefore rather
made to the enterprise of the people generally
than to the cupidity of investors. South Bend
was asked to furnish two thousand' dollars
towards the building of the line, and to the
credit of the enterprising citizens of that day
be it said that the money was at once sub
scribed. But subscriptions were not so readily
made along the line. Chicago, strange to say,

refused to give any aid to the enterprise, and
the promoters were forced to abandon the
project for the time.
After a while, however, the people began to
realize that the telegraph was to prove a
success, and the necessary means to build the
line were forthcoming. Early in the year
1848 the line was completed, and the people
of St. Joseph county were among the first to
be in instantaneous communication with the
whole country.
Sec. 2. — The Postal. — The telegraph was
not only a great convenience for the people
who made use of it, but was a source of
wealth for its owners. Many new companies
were therefore formed from time to time, and
sought to partake of the profits that resulted
from the business. In 1880, the American
Union Telegraph company was granted a
franchise ; and in 1881 the same favor was ex
tended to the Mutual Union Telegraph com
pany. On December 11, 1882, the Postal Tele
graph company was authorized to erect its
poles and wires in the city of South Bend;
The Postal and the Western Union have both
become great and successful through lines of
communication to all parts of the world.
Sec. 3. — The Central Union. — After the
telegraph came the telephone ; men were en
abled instantaneously not only to write afar
off, but also to talk afar off. In March, 1880,
the South Bend Telephone exchange was au
thorized to erect poles and wires ; and almost
immediately thereafter the lines were extended
to Mishawaka and other points, until eVery
town and hundreds of farm houses were in
communication with every other place in the
county and in surrounding counties.
In 1889 the Central Union telephone com
pany was authorized to do business; and in
1893 the American Telegraph and Telephone,
or Long Distance, company extended its poles
through the county, on the line from New
York to Chicago. Other telephone companies
came into the county from time to time, and,
for different reasons, failed to maintain their
organizations.

244

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Sec. 4_ The Home. — In December, 1901,
however, the Home telephone company re
ceived a franchise and began at once to grow
into a strong and well conducted establish
ment, with telephonic connections throughout
the state and adjacent territory. The Central
Union and the Home telephone companies,
with their long, distance connections, give to
every section of the county ready communi
cation with all parts of the country.
gee. 5. — The Old and the New. — So has
it come to pass that every section of St.
Joseph county, which for its communication
with the outside world once depended upon
the uncertain navigation of the Kankakee and
the St. Joseph, and upon the ill-conditioned
wagon roads or pony pathways through the
wilderness, now has its graveled highways in
every direction, its hourly railroad and inter
urban connections, and its instant communi
cations by telegraph and telephone. It is a
marvel which we fail adequately to appreci
ate, that all this magic transformation has
come to us within the space of seventy-five
years. Perhaps the change in our facilities for
connection with the outside world may
be the more vividly realized by the
reading of the following quotation from
the prospectus of "The St. Joseph Bea
con and Indiana and Michigan Intelli
gencer," a paper published at South Bend
by John D. and Joseph H. Defrees. This
prospectus was printed in the "Beacon"
under date of May 23, 1832.°
"In establishing a newspaper in so new a
country as this," say the publishers, "we
knew that we had many difficulties to en
counter; many deprivations which are not
known in the old and densely populated parts
of the 'West,' with which to contend. One
main difficulty when we commenced was the
a. The first copy of this paper, then called
"The North-Western Pioneer and St. Joseph's In
telligencer," was issued at South Bend, November
16, 1831. It was the first newspaper published in
this region, north of the Wabash or west of
Detroit.

want of mails. People were not willing to
subcribe without being certain of receiving
their papers regularly. This difficulty has
been greatly remedied since the first number
was issued. There is now a mail twice a week
to Fort Wayne ; twice a week to Detroit, via
Niles; and once a week to Chicago — besides
several others will yet be established ;— thus
giving the people throughout the whole St.
Joseph country an opportunity of regularly
receiving the papers. This, then, can be no
longer urged against subscribing for so valu
able an acquisition to every family as a week
ly newspaper. . . . The inhabitants of the
St. Joseph country should support a paper
somewhere within its limits. The interests of
the whole country are so closely connected
that it can make no difference whether it is
published in Indiana or Michigan." '
VI. DRATNAGE.
Not the least important of the public im
provements of St. Joseph county has been
the drainage of our low lands. Not only
have the swamps and other wet lands in this
way been reclaimed and made fertile and pro
ductive, but such drainage has been one of
the most effective means for the improvement
of the public highways. If it is true, as recent
ly declared by the United States postal author
ities, that the public roads of Indiana are
better improved than those of any other state
in the Union, there need be no doubt that
this excellent condition is first of all due to
the thorough drainage which has been made.
Grading, graveling and macadamizing are of
course necessary for the making of the best
roads ; but all such work would be quite use
less if the roads were not first thoroughly
drained. The steps to be taken for the mak
ing of good roads, then, are, first of all,
thorough drainage, then grading and gravel
ing, or the putting down of other material
for a solid roadbed.
Sec. 1. — The Swamp Land Act.— On Sep
tember 28, 1850, congress passed the swamp
land act, giving to the several states "the

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

245

swamp and overflowed lands therein," to
enable such states to reclaim said lands by
the construction of "the necessary levees
and drains." This grant of the gen
eral government was consequently coupled
with the following condition: "Provided,
however, That the proceeds of said
lands, whether from sale or by direct
appropriation in kind, shall be applied,
exclusively, as far as necessary, to the
purpose of reclaiming said lands by means
of the levees and drains aforesaid. ' 'a Under
this act the state of Indiana came into pos
session of the lands of the Kankakee valley
and other overflowed lands, and the state
made, some feeble attempts to comply with the
proviso requiring that the lands so acquired
should be drained. The drainage attempted
was inefficient and altogether inadequate, and
the old state ditches thus constructed have
long been filled up. In fact, they were never
of- any value. In 1850, the people of the
state were without either knowledge or means
for the drainage of the Kankakee.
The subject of the drainage of this vast
valley continued, however, to be agitated by
the people, and by an act approved April
11, 1881, the general assembly authorized the
governor to appoint a civil engineer to make
a survey of the Kankakee region and other
large districts of wet lands in the state, with
a view of determining the best method of
drainage.6 See. 2.— Professor Campbell's Survey. —
Governor Albert G. Porter, with the utmost
wisdom, appointed as civil engineer under
this act Professor John L. Campbell, of Wa
bash College, the most competent man in the
state for the position. Professor Campbell's
report is so important a historical document
in relation to St. Joseph county, and indeed
to all northern Indiana, that it seems well to
preserve it entire as he sent it to the governor.
His survey was the first movement towards
the successful drainage of the great valley,
<?i,nrO^eenT0lie^0n Club y- state> 141 Indiana
Supreme Court Reports, p 197
6. Acts, 1881, pp. 561-563.

" and no history of any part of northwestern
Indiana would be complete without a refer
ence to this report.0 The writer had the
pleasure of receiving from Professor Camp
bell the following letter enclosing a copy of
this report:
U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey,
Crawfordsville, Jan. 19, 1889.
Senator Howard,
Dear Sir: I enclose to you a copy of my
report on the Kankakee made in 1881 which
may be of some service to you in the consid
eration of the bill introduced by you for the
removal of the obstruction at Momence, 111.
My estimate for this work on page 26 was
$22,500, which was a minimum or a very low
estimate. Your proposed $40,000 is much bet
ter. Wishing you success,
Very truly yours,
J. L. Campbell.
report upon the
Improvement of the Kankakee River
and the drainage of the marsh
lands in indiana.
By John L. Campbell, Chief Engineer.

To His Excellency, Albert G. Porter, Gov
ernor of Indiana:
Sir — I have the honor herewith to report
the results of my surveys of the Kankakee
region, and of the marsh lands in Allen,
Huntington and Knox counties, which were
made in accordance with your general instruc
tions, under the act of the general assembly,
approved April 11, 1881.
I had the honor to acknowledge, May 5,
1882, the receipt of my commission from you
as chief engineer, and I proceeded immediately
to make the preliminary examinations and
preparations necessary for beginning the field
work July 1, 1882.
It was deemed expedient to provide tents
and camp equipage for the field corps, and
this outlay was more than justified in the
actual saving in the cost of subsistence, and
in the increased facilities for the prosecution
of the work.
The chief instruments needed for the sur
vey were the transit and the level, and these
were rented at a small cost. The chain and
other minor things required were purchased.
In the organization of the field corps, with
your approval, Messrs. Albert B. Anderson,
a. For some account of the Topography of St.
Joseph county, see Chap. 1, of this history.

246

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

John M. Coulter, and Alfred R. Orton were
appointed assistant engineers.
In the division of work Mr. Anderson per
formed the duties of general assistant engi
neer, and took special charge of the recon-
noissance in advance of the corps. For this
position he had been well fitted by the ex
perience of three years as my assistant in
the United States Geodetic Survey in In
diana. Prof. John M. Coulter, of Wabash College,
was assigned to the position of surveyor, and
in addition to his duties with the transit, he
was specially charged with the examinations
of the soil and underlying strata, which you
directed to be made along the line of the
survey. Prof. Coulter's well-known reputa
tion as one of our most learned botanists and
geologists, is the best evidence of his fitness
for the part of the work committed to him.
Mr. Orton, an accomplished civil engineer,
with a successful experience of fifteen years,
was assigned to the most important position
of leveler. The lines of levels run by Mr.
Orton on this survey were carefully tested
by repetition, and are believed to be accurate
in every particular.
The other members of the corps were : Rod-
men, Jesse Blair and George W. Benton;
flagmen, Charles B. Landis and Edwin H.
Anderson; chainmen, George W. McConnell
and Henry Forsland; axeman, James M.
Simpson; commissaries, William H. Scott
and William H. Shooler ; cook, Wesley Foster.
The faithfulness and efficiency of every
member of the corps are cordially acknowl
edged. In the many exposures and hardships inci
dent to a survey through the Kankakee
marshes, there was no shrinking from duty,
and I am glad to add that not a day was
lost by any one on account of sickness.
Our tents were pitched on the first of July,
near South Bend, and the field work was con
tinued from that date, without interruption,
until August 30.
GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY.
The Kankakee region in Indiana lies chiefly
in the counties of St. Joseph, Laporte, Starke.
Jasper, Porter, Newton and Lake.
The Kankakee river takes its rise in the
elevated marsh land near South Bend, in Sec
16, T. 37 N, R. 2 E. ; thence it runs through
St. Joseph county to Sec. 14, T. 36 N., R.
IE., from which point it forms the boundary
line between Laporte, Porter, and Lake on

the north, and St. Joseph,' Starke, Jasper, and
Newton counties on the south.
The river leaves the state in Sec. 1, T. 31
N., R. 10 W., and in the state of Illinois, by
its junction with the Des Plaines, forms' the
Illinois river.
The Kankakee river is noted for its extreme
crookedness. Father Stephan, who made a
careful survey of the channel, reports two
thousand bends from the source at South
Bend to Momence, Illinois. By the same
authority the approximate length of the river
between these points is two hundred and forty
miles. The water in the stream is remarkably clear
and is of excellent quality for domestic pur
poses. The iron, and possibly other mineral
substances held in solution, give the water
valuable tonic properties.
The exceptional healthfulness of the Kan
kakee region as compared with other large
swamp districts, may be due in a great meas
ure to these mineral qualities.
The bed of the river generally is sand and
fine gravel, and the banks are very low. The
chief tributaries of the Kankakee on the north
side are Grapevine, Little Kankakee, Vails,
Mill, Hog and Crooked creeks; on the south
side, Potato and Pine creeks, Yellow river and
Bogus creek. Yellow river is the most im
portant tributary and is scarcely inferior to
the Kankakee above the junction of the two.
West of Bogus creek on the south side, and
of Crooked creek on the north side, the small
streams from the uplands lose themselves in
the marshes and have no well defined inlets
to the river.
The entire area of country drained by the
Kankakee and its tributaries in Indiana is
over sixteen hundred square miles, or approx
imately one million of acres.
The country adjacent to the river is a
broad plain, varying in width from one to
twenty miles, measured by sections north and
south, with an average width of about ten
miles. This plain has a declivity westward of a
little more than one foot to the mile.
Along the irregular border of the plain,
on both sides, are sand ridges, which give to
the region the proper designation of the
Kankakee valley.
This valley is for the most part ah un
reclaimed marsh ; and except along the river
banks and on occasional small sand is
it is destitute of timber.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

247

Coarse prairie grass, wild rice and weeds,
grow in the greatest luxuriance in all parts
of the marsh, and, in- many places, even in
the bed of the river itself.
Frequently the highest water' of the year
is caused by the rank grass growth in the
channel of the river during the summer sea
son. The soil is a rich vegetable loam and sand,
varying in depth from five feet to a few
inches. Its general richness may be inferred
from the rank growth of grasses, even in the
lowest portion of the marshes, where the wa
ter remains during the entire year.
In St. Joseph county, and in parts of La
porte, Porter and Lake counties, the adjacent
uplands have a plentiful admixture of clay,
and the drainage from these uplands for
ages has been adding fertility to the marshes,
so that, not without reason, it is believed that
these lands, when reclaimed, will be of the
best quality.
In Starke, Jasper and Newton counties, the
uplands are more sandy, and consequently
the marshes adjacent have less depth of soil ;
but there is no part of the valley which is
not worth far more than will be the cost of
reclamation. From its source to the mouth of Mill creek,
the river runs through the open marsh, but
below this point the banks on one or both
sides are covered with quite large trees.
In many places the channel is greatly ob
structed by fallen timber, which must be re
moved when the improvement of the river is
attempted. The timber belt rarely exceeds a mile in
width, but the area yet uncut is very valuable.
THE SURVEY.
The line surveyed begins in St. Joseph
county, Indiana, at station A, near the
S. W. corner of N. E. % of See.
16, T. 37 N, R. 2 E., where the small
branch which is the source of the Kankakee
crosses the Grand Trunk and Chicago rail
way; thence S. 56^° W., 12.85 miles, along
the general line of the river, to station B,
near the middle of the north line of S. W. \
Sec. 23, T. .36 N, R. 1 W., a point on the
bank of the river; thence S. 34|° W., 3.80
miles through the west part of Mud lake to
station C, near the west line of S. W. i Sec. 4,
T. 35 N., R. 1 W., a point at the middle of
the bridge over the Kankakee, on the line
of the Indianapolis, Peru and Chicago di
vision of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific

railway; thence S. 59-|° W., 3.45 miles, to
station D, near the N. W. corner of S. W. \
Sec. 13, T. 35 N., R. 2 W., a point at the
middle of the bridge over the Kankakee on
the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railway;
thence S. 31° W., 3.35 miles, to station E,
near the N. E. corner of the S. W. \ Sec. 34,
T. 35 N., R. 2 W., a point on the bank of
the river; thence S. 53£° W., 7.42 miles, to
station F, near the S. E. corner of S. W. \
Sec. 22, T. 34 N., R. 3 W., a point in the
open marsh on the north side of the river at
the head of a gap through "Pup Grove";
thence S. 45|° W., 1.20 miles, to station G,
in N. W. corner of S. E. \ See. 28, T. 34 N.,
R. 3 W., a point on the line of the New York,
Chicago and St. Louis railway; thence S.
51^° W., 6.43 miles, to station H, on the
south line, near S. W. corner of S. E. \ Sec.
15, T. 33 N., R. 4 W., a point on bridge num
ber — ¦, on the line of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati
and St. Louis railway; thence S. 63° W., 4.66
miles, to station I, on the middle line of N. £
Sec. 36, T. 33 N, R. 5 W., a point near the
head of "Sand Channel"; thence S. 89° W.,
6.9 miles, to station K, east of the middle
line of Sec. 35, T. 33 N., R. 6 W., a point
in the open marsh on bridge over slough on
road leading to Baum's bridge; thence S.
50J° W., 2.05 miles, to station L, near the
middle of the east line of S. E. i Sec. 4,
T. 32 N., R. 6 W., a point in deep slough in
gap through "Long Ridge"; thence S. 66^°
W., 0.9 miles, to station M, near the center
of N. W. i Sec. 9, T. 32 N., R. 6 W., a point
in the open marsh; thence S. 79° W., 5.32
miles, to station N, near the S. E. corner of
N. E. J Sec. 16, T. 32 N., R. 7 W., a point
in the open marsh; thence S. 60° W., 3.9
miles, to station O, near the center of Sec.
25, T. 32 N., R. 8 W., a point on the grade
of the Indiana, Illinois and Iowa railway;
thence by the survey and grade of the In
diana, Illinois and Iowa railway 12.83 miles
to the state line; and thence, by the same
railway survey, 6.8 miles to Momence, Illinois.
From station N, near the S. E. corner N.
E. i Sec. 16, T. 32 N„ R. 7 W., the line
for the improvement of the river will run
S. 66£° W., 5.45 miles, to station P, near the
middle of the east line of S. E. i Sec. 27,
T. 32 N., R. 8 W., a point in the Kankakee
river; thence S. 53^° W., 1.25 miles, in the
general channel of the river to station Q,
near the middle of the line which separates
sections 33 and 34, T. 32 N., R. 8 W., a

248

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

point in the river east of the bridge over the
Kankakee, on the Chicago and Indianapolis
division of the Louisville, New Albany and
Chicago railway; thence S. 80° W., 2.75
miles, to station R, near the middle of the
north line of N. W. i Sec. 6, T. 31 N, R.
8 W., a point in the river; thence west 2.15
miles, by a new channel, to station S, near
the N. E. corner of Sec. 3, T. 31 N, R. 9 W. ;
thence S. 85° W., 5.20 miles, to station T,
on the west line of Sec. 1, T. 31 N, R. 10 W.,
a point in the river on the state line between
Indiana and Illinois.
The Illinois section begins at station T, on
the state line; thence N. 82° W., 2.00 miles,
by a new channel, to cut off a great bend,
to station U, a point in the river; thence
S. 70° W., 3.40 miles, in the general channel
of the river, to station V; thence N. 60° W.,
1.75 miles in the general channel of the river
to station W, a point in the river below the
mouth of Bull creek ; thence S. 74£° W., 1.50
miles, in the channel, to a point in the river
below the dam at Momence.
The, total distance, as shown by
the survey, from the starting
point at station A, near South
Bend, to the state line, is  75.06 miles.
From the state line to Momence,
is  6.80 miles.
Total  81.86 miles.
The distance on the proposed line for the
improvement will be measured from the
mouth of Grapevine creek, nine miles from
South Bend, and will not differ from the line
. of the survey, until the line comes to station
O, in the river, Sec. 26, T. 32 N., R. 8 W.
From this station, the proposed line for the
improvement will be in the general direction
of the river itself, and it will be considerably
longer than the straight lines measured in
the survey. THE LEVELS.
The line of levels was run as near as pos
sible with the line of the survey, and care
was taken always to select firm ground for
the instruments. The levels were carefully
tested by repetition and are believed to be
accurate. The following tables give the levels which
show the general slope of the Kankakee river
and marsh:
Ocean level  0.0
Lake Michigan  585.

Starting point, Grand Trunk R. R., Sec. 16
T. 37 N., R. 2 E  721.6
Crum's Point Bridge, surface of water  709.1
Free Bridge, surface of water  ggj'g
I., P. & C. R. R. Bridge (Mud Lake), surface
of water . .-  689.8
B. & O. R. R. Bridge, surface of water  687.5
Barnes Bridge, surface of water  685.4
P., Ft. W. & Chicago R. R. Bridge, surface of
water  682.1
Austen's Bridge, surface of water  676 3
P., O. & St. L. R. R. Bridge (English Lake),
surface of wate'r  667.1
L., N. A. & O. R. R. Bridge, surface of water 666.1
Dunn's Bridge, surface of water  663.7
Grand Junction, surface of water  660.5
Baum's Bridge, surface of water  659.4
L., N. A. & C. R. R. Bridge (Chicago Divi
sion), surface of water  635.7
Blue Grass Bridge, surface of water  632.2
State line  624.3
Mouth of Bull creek, surface of water  619.1
Below dam at Momence, surface of water. . 613.5
The following additional levels are in the
marsh along the line of the proposed new
channel :
Point where line crosses N. Y., C. & St. L.
R. R  681.1
Point where line crosses P., C. & St. L. R. R. 672.4
Point where line crosses L., N. A. £ C. R. R. 669.8
Point where line crosses C. & A. R. R  668.5
Point station I, Sec. 36, T. 33 N., R. 5 W. . . . 668.3
Point Grand Junction . . :  SS0i5
Point Shaffner's marsh (Sec. 12, T. 32 N.,
R. 7 W.)  649.6
Point station, Newton county line  642.
The following cross sections furnished me
by the chief engineers of the several railways
named, show the general outline of the valley
and its adjacent ridges:
Baltimore & Ohio Railway:
Walkerton (East)  718.
Kankakee river  687.5
Union Mills (West)  758.
Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Bailway:
Hamlet (East)  699.
Kankakee river  682.1
Hanlna (West)  709.
New York, Chicago & St. Louis Bailway:
Kankakee river  676.3
Chicago & W. Michigan R. R. (West) . . . . 686.
Pittsburg, Cincinnati if- St. Louis Bailway:
¦North Judson (East)  ™jL
Kankakee river (English Lake)  °bU
La Crosse (West)  m-
Chicago cO Atlantic, Bailway:
North Judson (East)  "1^
Kankakee river  j!!.'
Kouts  m

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

249

Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railway:
San Pierre (South)  705.
Kankakee river  666.1
La Crosse (North)  680.
Wanatah (North)  732.
Hebron, on P. C. & St. L. R. R  676.
Shaffner's marsh  649.6
I., I. & I. R. R. (due south)  677.
Louisville, New Albany & Chicago R. R., Chi
cago Division:
Rose Lawn (South)  675.
Kankakee river  635.7
Lowell  665.
The total difference of level from station
A, the small rivulet in Sec. 16, T. 37 N., R.
2 E., near South Bend, which is the source
of the Kankakee, to the surface of the water
below the dam at Momence, is one hundred
and eight and one-tenth (108.1) feet. The
total distance, as shown by the survey, is
eighty-one and eighty-six hundredths (81.86)
miles. The average slope of the marsh is approxi
mately one and three-tenths (1.3) feet to the
mile. There is no part of the line where a slope
of one foot to the mile can not be obtained,
without any serious variation from an uniform
depth for the new channel.
I have made the estimates of capacity for
the new channel on this lowest basis of one
foot fall to the mile, although in- nearly every
part the fall will be considerably more.
The mean level of the Kankakee valley is
674.5 feet above the ocean, from which it is
important to notice that, notwithstanding its
general marshy character, it is a broad valley
which has a mean elevation of ninety (90)
feet above Lake Michigan, and of one hun
dred and sixty (160) feet above the water
in the Wabash river at Lafayette.
THE SOIL AND UNDERLYING STRATA.
In accordance with your special instruc
tions, careful examinations were made of the
soil and vegetable growth along the marsh,
and frequent borings were made for the pur
pose of determining the underlying strata.
These borings were made with a two and one-
half inch iron tube, sunk to the depth of
from eight to twelve feet, and the strata were
examined by using the sand pump.
Reliable sections were obtained near South
Bend at Crum's Point bridge, Free bridge,
Lemon's bridge, Baltimore & Ohio railway
crossing, Barnes' bridge, Austen's bridge,
Huncheon's farm, Stowell's farm, Baum's

bridge; Shaffner's marsh, Thayer's station,
and the state line.
From these borings the character of the
entire valley is properly determined.
Within the depth which will be required in
the improvement of the Kankakee, no stone
obstruction will be found from its source at
South Bend to the limestone ledge near Mo
mence, Illinois. Throughout the state of In
diana the underlying strata are fine sand, in
creasing downward to coarse sand and
gravel. Occasional thin layers of blue clay
are found, but the excavations can be made
generally in loose sandy soil and fine gravel.
The soil proper consists of a dark sandy
loam, varying in thickness, and sometimes
found even to the depth of five or six feet.
Profitable crops of wild hay are annually
harvested from a large part of the marsh,
and the partially recovered portions are
found to be especially adapted to the culture
of timothy, clover and blue grass. For stock
farms this region will be surpassed by no
section of the state.
The cranberry plant is native to the coun
try, and the experiments already made for its
culture are most encouraging.
Mr. Lamb has a farm in Starke county,
near English Lake station, on the P., C. &
St. L. railway, on which he has a field of
cranberry plants, twenty acres in extent, un
der the most successful cultivation. The yield
is enormous, and in 1882 the crop harvested
was seventeen hundred bushels. The receipts
for this crop this year will be not less than
four thousand dollars.
The Beaver Lake region, in Newton county,
is a good sample of the reclaimed marsh land
along the Kankakee, and the results in this
section are so satisfactory that the most ear
nest efforts should be made to recover all the
overflowed lands. MARSH AREA.
The number of acres in the marshes along
the Kankakee and its principal tributaries
which may be recovered by judicious drain
age, is not less. than four hundred thousand.
The acres included in the assessments made
by the Kankakee Draining Company were :
St. Joseph county  39,633
Laporte county  124,253
Porter county  75,543
Starke county  153,625
Jasper county  90,459
Newton county  :  79,854
Lake county  61,438
Total  624,805

250

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

These assessments included lands adjacent
to the marshes which would be commercially
benefited by the improvement of the river,
and therefore give an aggregate considerably
in excess of the overflowed lands. Owing to
the favorable location of the Kankakee region
with reference to the great commercial
metropolis of the northwest, and the facilities
furnished by the numerous railways which
pass through it, there will be a rapid increase
in the value of the lands as soon as the drain
age is effected.
Estimating this increase at twenty dollars
per acre, the aggregate addition to the wealth
of the state will be eight million dollars
($8,000,000) on the estimated four hundred
thousand acres reclaimed.
Or, estimating the general increase in value
for the entire section drained by the Kanka
kee at ten dollars per acre, the added wealth
to the state will be ten million dollars ($10,-
000,000). Certainly this is a problem worthy of the
best efforts of the state.
THE IMPROVEMENT.
The drainage and recovery of the Kanka
kee marshes will include : First, the construc
tion of a better main channel than now exists,
for the flow of the river ; second, the straight
ening and deepening of the beds of the
streams which empty into the main stream;
and third, the digging of a large number of
lateral ditches through the swamps, to the im
proved channels.
The portion of the work which seems prop
erly to belong to state and national super
vision, is the improvement of the main chan
nel of the river. The other parts of the work
may be left to the owners of the land, to
be executed under our general drainage laws.
Two streams, the Kankakee and Grapevine
creek, unite near the northwest corner of Sec.
4, T. 36 N, R. 1 E., nine miles from South
Bend and form the Kankakee river.
This junction seems to be the proper place
for the beginning of the improvement under
state supervision.
The approximate length of the river in the
state from this initial point is two hundred
miles, as measured along the crooked channel,
and the average fall per mile is less than four
inches. The velocity of the stream is nearly uni
form and is about one and a half miles per
hour, or one and two-tenths feet per second.

The general declivity of the marsh through
which the river flows, is 1.3 feet per mile.
It is proposed to reduce the length of the
river by the improvement, so that the distance
from the initial point to Momence, 111., will
not exceed eighty-five miles, and the average
fall per mile will be increased to more than
twelve inches.
The experiments of Messrs. Richards and
Stephans, made in 1871, and reported by Mr.
Bennet, civil engineer, show that the Kanka
kee river, one mile above Momence, 111., has
a sectional area of 1,026 square feet, a mean
velocity of 1.424 feet per second, and the
volume of discharge of 1,452 cubic feet per
second. At the state line the sectional area is 543
square feet, the mean hydraulic depth is 4.5
feet, the calculated mean velocity is 2.35 feet
per second, and the volume of discharge is
1,271 feet per second.
According to the same authority, the di
mensions of the new channel proposed by the
Kankakee Draining Company were: Width
at top, 52 feet, width at bottom 42 feet, depth
10 feet, inclination one foot per mile, area of
cross-section 470 square feet, calculated ve
locity 3.32 feet per second, volume of dis
charge 1,558 cubic feet per second.
In the determination of the dimensions of
the new channels which will be required, I
have assumed the correctness of the experi
ments made to determine the flow at the
state line, and that the volume of discharge
at ordinary stages of water will not exceed
1,271 cubic feet per second.
To provide sufficient capacity for ordinary
floods, I have given the lower end of the
new channel, fifteen miles above the state
line, an area of cross-section of 500 feet, and
the calculated volume of discharge 1,358 cubic
feet per second.
It is proper to remark that so much de
pends on physical features peculiar to. each
particular case, that hydraulic formulas can
serve only as general guides in the solution
of any given problem. Absolute results can
not be reached, and there is always room for
honest differences of opinion among engineers
as to the accuracy of conclusions.
The formulas used in the calculations for
the velocities and volumes are taken from
Fanning 's Engineering, and apply primarily

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

251

to smooth, open and straight channels. (See
foot note.)
The side slopes of the new excavations are
estimated at one and one-half horizontal to
each vertical foot in depth.
For convenience in the detailed descrip
tions of the improvement the following di
visions are made:
Division I. From the initial point at the
mouth of Grapevine creek, Sec. 4, T. 36 N.,
R. 1 E., to the lower end of Mud lake, at
Lemon's bridge and the bridge of the Indian
apolis, Peru and Chicago railway.
Division II. From the end of Division I,
to the mouth of Mill creek, Sec. 7, T. 34 N.,
R. 2W.
Division III. From the end of Division II,
by a new channel to the mouth of Crooked
creek, See. 36, T. 33 N, R. 6 W.
Division IV. From the end of Division II,
by the old channel, and from the town oi
Knox, on Yellow river, Sec. 22, T. 33 N., R.
2 W., to the place where Crooked creek, the
new channel and old channel, form a grand
junction. Division V. From Grand Junction, by a
new channel, to a point in the river in Sec.
33, T. 32 N., R. 8 W., marked station Q on
the map, near the bridge on the line of the
Indianapolis & Chicago Air Line railway.
Division VI. From station Q, along the
general line of the river, to the state line,
Sec. 1, T. 31 N, R. 10 W.
Division VII. Illinois division. From the
state line along the general line of the river
to Momence, Illinois. Division I.
From the initial point at the mouth of
Grapevine creek, Sec. 4, T. 36 N., R. 1 E.,
to the lower end of Mud lake, Sec. 4, T. 35
N, R. 1 W.
The river begins in the open marsh and is
entirely free from timber to the end of this
division. The Crum's Point bridge is near
the beginning of this division. ' ' Free Bridge ' '
is in Sec. 26, T. 36 N, R. 1 W., and Lemon's
7=V2lii. Volume of dischargers XV.
M
$=Area of cross-section.
«=Mean- velocity.
f/=Accelerating force of gravity=32.2 feet.
0=Wetted perimeter=sides and bottom of
channel. fc=Air perimeter=surface.
»^=Mean hydraulic depthr^A^
»=Sine of the angle of inclination.
rn=A tabulated coefficient dependent on r.

bridge and the bridge of the Indianapolis,
Peru & Chicago railway, are at the terminus
of the division.
Mud lake is only a widening of the river
on account of a slightly less fall than the
average. The diminished velocity has caused
the deposit of soil, and increased the growth
of grasses and weeds in the stream.
The improvement of this division will re
quire the straightening of the channel in the
general line of the river. The new channel
could be made perfectly straight without any
timber obstruction, but, by slight deviations
from a straight line, at least ten per cent, of
the cost of excavation may be saved, by using
as much of the present channel as possible,
without material increase in distance.
The length will be 8.5 miles.
The dimensions proposed for the channel
in this division are, width at bottom, 27 feet;
width at top, 45 feet; depth, 6 feet.
These dimensions would give area of cross-
section 216 square feet, mean hydraulic depth
4.26 feet, calculatel mean velocity, with a
fall of one foot to the mile, 2.105 feet per
second; volume of discharge, 455 cubic feet
per second.
The excavations will measure for each lin
ear yard 24 cubic yards, for each mile 42,240
cubic yards, for the entire division, 8.5 miles,
359,040 cubic yards. This aggregate may be
reduced ten per cent, for the old channel ap
propriated in the new, leaving a total for
the first division of 323,136 cubic yards.
Division II.
From the terminus of Division I to the
mouth of Mill creek, Sec. 7, T. 34 N, R. 2 W.
The river in this division runs through the
open marsh, and is free from timber obstruc
tion. The Baltimore & Ohio railway bridge
is in this division. The length of the division
will be 11.3 miles. The improvement will be
along the general line of the river, and the
route for the new channel will be nearly a
straight line.
The dimensions proposed for the new chan
nel are — width at bottom 27 feet, width at
top 48 feet, depth 7 feet. These dimensions
will give area of cross-section 262.5 square
feet, mean hydraulic depth 4.6 feet, calculated
mean velocity 2.187 feet per second, volume
of discharge 574 cubic feet per second.
The excavations will measure for each lin
ear yard 29.16 cubic yards, for each mile
51,321 cubic yards, for the division, 11.3
miles, 579,927 cubic yards. This aggregate

252

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

may be reduced ten per cent, for the old chan
nel appropriated in the new, leaving for the
second division 521,935 cubic yards.
Division III.
From the terminus of Division II, at the
mouth of Mill creek, by a new channel, to
the mouth of Crooked creek, Sec. 36, T. 33 N.,
R. 6 W.
The Kankakee river below the mouth of
Mill creek has a belt of timber along its banks,
which would make the cost of straightening
the river, as in Divisions I and II, very great.
The great deflection of the river from the
general direction of the valley makes it im
portant to shorten the distance by a new
channel. The line proposed for the improvement lies
in a remarkable part of the valley. The line
will be clear from timber obstruction, except
about one and a half miles at the lower end,
where it passes through the belt of river-bank
timber into the old channel. The line lies
for the most part in a series of deep marshes,
now impassable, and well known in the neigh
borhood as a deep slough, sand channel, etc.
This division will be crossed by the Pitts
burg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago ; the New York,
Chicago & St. Louis; the Pittsburg, Cincin
nati & St. Louis ; the Chicago & West Michi
gan; the Chicago & Atlantic, and the Louis
ville, New Albany & Chicago railways. The
new channel will take the greater part of the
water of the improved river above Mill creek,
and all the surface drainage on the north
side in Laporte and a part of Porter county.
The length of the division will be 21.5 miles.
The proposed dimensions for the new chan
nel for this division are at the upper end — -•
width of bottom 27 feet, width at top 51
feet, depth 8 feet, area of cross-section ' 312
square feet. At the lower end — width at bot
tom 33 feet, width at top 57 feet, depth 8
feet, area of cross-section 360 square feet.
The mean measure will be — width at bottom
30 feet, width at top 54 feet, depth 8 feet,
area of cross-section 336 square feet.
These dimensions will give — mean hydrau
lic depth 5.23 feet, calculated mean velocity
2.405 feet per second, mean volume of dis
charge 808.4 cubic feet per second. The vol
ume of discharge at the lower end will be
878.4 cubic feet per second.
The mean dimensions will give — for each
linear yard 37 1-3 cubic yards, for each mile
65,707 cubic yards, for the division, 21.5
miles, 1,412,700 cubic yards.

Division IV.
From the terminus of Division II at the
mouth of Mill creek, by the old channel of
the river, and from the town of Knox, See
22, T. 33 N., R. 2 W., on Yellow river, to
the point where Crooked creek, the new and
the old channels, form the grand junction,
It is important to preserve and improve the
old channel of the river in this division, for
the purpose of draining the large territory
on the south side, including the Yellow river
country. The new channel of Division III will relieve
the present bed of the most of the water above
Mill creek, and its relative carrying capacity
will thereby be largely increased; but owing
to its extreme crookedness, it will be necessary
to expend a liberal amount in dredging and
in cutting off the most troublesome bends, in
order to increase the velocity of flow, which
would otherwise be diminished below its pre
sent rate. The English lake region is similar
to that above called Mud lake, and is only
an enlargement of the river, of rather an ex
tensive widening of the deep marsh border.
In this lake the wild rice and grass grow in
the greatest luxuriance. Austen's wagon
bridge, Sec. 34, T. 34 N, R. 3 W.; Lougee's
wagon bridge, See. 24, T. 33 N., R. 4 W., and
Dunn's wagon bridge, Sec. 15, T. 32 N., E. 5
W., are in this division ; and also, bridges on
all the railway lines mentioned in Division
III, except the Chicago & West Michigan.
For the improvement of this division, I
would recommend the expenditure of not less
than $80,000. Dii) iSsiO'i'b </
From Grand Junction, Sec. 36, T. 33 N.,
R. 6 W., by a new channel, to a point in the
river in Sec. 33, T. 32 N, R. 8 W., marked
on the map as station Q, near the bridge on
the line of the Indianapolis & Chicago rail
way. At Grand Junction, the new channel or the
upper Kankakee, the old channel or the Yel
low river section, and Crooked creek, unite
their waters and form the enlarged lower
river. From Grand Junction to the state line, and
to Momence, 111., there is plenty of water for
the purposes of navigation, and it is desir
able that the improvement below Grand Junc
tion should be made with reference both to
drainage and navigation. The route proposed
for the new channel, as shown by the map,
will be through the open marsh, entirely free

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

253

from timber obstruction, except one mile of
river bank timber on the west end, and is
admirably located with reference to the drain
age of some of the deepest marshes in the
entire valley.
Another route may be adopted, nearly if
not quite as good as the one proposed, by
running the new line more directly west after
it enters Newton county, and terminating in
the river north of station Q; thence by the
straightened river to. the terminus at station
P. The cost of the two routes will be about
equal. The length of the division will be 16 miles.
The dimensions proposed for the new chan
nel for this division are — at the upper end,
width at bottom 36 feet, width -at top, 63
feet, depth 9 feet, area of cross-section 445.5
square feet. At the lower end — width at bot
tom 42 feet, width at top 69 feet, depth 9
feet, area of cross-section 499.5 square feet.
Mean measure — width at bottom 39 feet,
width at top 66 feet, depth 9 feet, area of
cross-section 472.5 square feet.
These dimensions will give — mean hydrau
lic depth 6.06 feet, calculated mean velocity
2.7 feet per second, volume ot discharge
1,275.7 cubic feet per second. The volume of
discharge at the lower end station will be
1,358.6 cubic feet per second.
The mean dimensions give for each linear
yard 52.5 cubic yards, for each mile 92,400
cubic yards, for the division (16 miles)
1,478,400 cubic yards.
The old channel of the river below Grand
Junction receives no important creek, and
only a small expenditure will be required to
keep this channel open for its limited drain
age area. Division VI.
From the terminus of Division V, at sta
tion Q, along the general line of the river to
the state line.
The increased velocity of the river in this
division, owing to its increased slope and the
general direction of the stream, make the im
provement desirable along the general line of
its present flow.
A new channel in Sec. 33, T. 32 N., R. 8
W., one mile in length, and a similar one,
chiefly in Sections 1 and 2, T. 31 N., R. 9 W.,
two and a half miles long, will be required.
The dimensions of these new channels are
estimated the same as in Division V — per mile
92,400 cubic yards— 3y2 miles 323,400 cubic
yards.

The other improvements in this division
will consist in a general straightening of the
channel, the removal of timber obstruction
and dredging the channel to secure an addi
tional depth of two feet.
The estimated length of the division after
the improvement has been made, will be fif
teen (15) miles.
Messrs. Cass, Singleton, Williams, Luck &
Co. are constructing a large ditch, twenty feet
wide and six feet deep, on the north side of
the Kankakee, which will be an important
part of the general improvement.
This ditch is located on the map, and ex
tends from Sec. 29, T. 33 N., R. 7 W., in a
general southwesterly direction to the river
near the state line.
The marsh is very wide in this region, but
when the land is reclaimed, as it doubtless
will be when this ditch is completed, it will
be as beautiful and as rich as any portion of
the state.
The enterprising owners have two steam
dredging machines in successful operation,
and the construction of the ditch is progress
ing satisfactorily. Division VII. — Illinois Division.
From the state line along the general course
of the river to Momence, Illinois.
Beyond the jurisdiction of Indiana it will
be necessary to continue the improvement of
the river to a point below the dam at Mo
mence. A new channel, beginning a short distance
from the state line and running west nearly
two miles, will cut off a great bend of the
river and effect an important saving in dis
tance. The dimensions of this channel should be
the same as in Division V, and owing to its
short length it will readily adjust itself to
any required size by the action of the stream
itself. The other improvements of this division
will be similar in every particular to those
in Division VI, until the rock ledge near Mo
mence is reached.
This obstruction is a limestone ledge which
extends about one and a half miles in width,
and its removal is a necessity for the proper
improvement of the river.
The increased velocity of the straightened
channel above will carry down large quanti
ties of soil and sand, for which a free outlet
must be provided by opening a way through
the rocky ledge.

254

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Even now the improvements in the Beaver
lake region have increased the growth of
grasses and weeds in the river at Momence
and this will be further increased to a very
'damaging degree, unless this free outlet is
provided. The general government has ordered a sur
vey of this portion of the river, and the
methods for this improvement doubtless will
receive proper consideration. A channel
forty feet in width and five feet in depth will
be large enough to meet the requirements of
the new improvement, which will give approx
imately for the entire length 60,000 cubic
yards. After the completion of the improvement
of the river, the estimated distance from the
the state line to Momence will be 12 miles.
The total distance as shown by the preced
ing division will be :
Division I  8.5 miles.
Division II  11.3 miles.
Division III  21.5 miles.
Division V  16.0 miles.
Division VI  .'  15.0 miles.
Division VII . . . . :  12.0 miles.
Total  84.3 miles.
Division IV is not included in this estimate
of the length of the new channel.
The entire work may be divided into two
general parts, the first including Divisions I,
II, III and IV, from the initial point to
Grand Junction, Section 36, T. 33 N, R. 6
W., and the second including Divisions V, VI
and VII, from Grand Junction to Momence.
The distance from the initial point to
Grand Junction will be 41.3 miles, and from
Grand Junction to Momence, 43 miles.
It is entirely feasible to begin the improve
ment of either of these general parts without
delaying for the other, and pending the set
tlement of the proper question of the relation
of the general government to the lower por
tion as a navigable stream, it is recommended
that work be begun as speedily as possible on
the upper portion. METHODS AND COST.
In the construction of the new channel for
the Kankakee, it will be necessary to use
steam dredging machines.
The best forms of these machines, as now
constructed, are made to float in channels of
their own making. The Kankakee open
marshes and sandy soil afford the best field
for the economic use of these dredging ma
chines. The two now in use by Messrs. Cass,

Singleton, Williams & Co., are constructed
after an excellent model, and the work being
done by them is satisfactory. Five to six men
are required to do the work on each boat
and one machine can excavate thirteen hun
dred cubic yards per day.
The engine has forty-horse power at sixty
pounds of boiler pressure.
All the operatives are comfortably fed and
lodged upon the boats.
The special machinery for the excavation
consists of a series of scoops attached to an
endless chain, which passes over a projecting
arm in the forward part of the boat, this
arm being adjustable to any point in front,
where it is desired that the excavation be
made. The scoops deliver their loads into an ele
vated chute, which is inclined about 30 de
grees, and extends over the side of the boat
far enough to deposit the excavated earth at
the proper distance from the ditch.
In the Kankakee improvement a number of
these machines will be required. For the wide
channels it will be more expeditious and eco
nomical to use the machines in pairs— one
digging half the width and the second follow
ing close behind and digging the remaining
half. In addition, it will be found necessary to
have small steam tenders to carry supplies to
the dredge boats, as in many parts of the
marsh it will be impossible to reach the boats
by wagons.
The cost of the dredging machines will he
from $7,000 to $10,000 each.
I am not able to say what is the lowest pos
sible price at which this work can be done
with these dredging machines — or rather the
lowest price per cubic yard at which the con
tract could be made with responsible and
capable parties.
The manufacturers of dredging machines
claim that the expense of moving earth will he
from two to three cents per cubic yard. This
amount, however, can not include the use of
capital invested, wear of machinery, and
necessary losses by breakage and other delays.
Persons with some experience in this kind.
of work think that five to seven cents would
be a fair price, including interest on capital
and all risks incident to the work; while
others believe that contracts with responsible
parties can not be obtained at less than ten
cents per cubic vard. .
Herewith I submit the cost of the eartn

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

255

work at both seven and ten cents per cubic
yard, and if a less price can be realized it
will only be the more satisfactory.
According to the foregoing estimates, the
amount of earth work included in the im
provement, from the initial point to Grand
Junction, will be :
Division I  323,136 cubic yds.
Division II  521,935 cubic yds.
Division III  1,412,700 cubic yds.
Total  2,257,771 cubic yds.
At 7 cents per cubic yard the cost of
this excavation would be  $158,043 97
Or at 10 cents per cubic yard  225,777 10
The amount proposed for Division
IV is  80,000 00
Making a grand total of  238,043 97
Or of  305,777 10
The amount of earth work included in the
improvement from Grand Junction to the
State line and to Momence will be :
Division V  1,478,400 cubic yds.
Three and a half miles of
Division VI  323,400 cubic yds.

Total  1,801,800 cubic yds.
At 7 cents per yard this will cost  $126,126 00
At 10 cents per yard this will cost. . . 180,180 00
The estimated expenditure for the re
maining 11% miles of Division VI
is $6,000 per mile, or for the divi
sion, $69,000; making a grand total
from Grand Junction to the State
line of  195,126 00
Or  249,180 00
The estimated cost for Division VII,
Illinois Division, is 10% miles, at
$6,000 per mile  65,000 00
One and a half miles rock excavation
at $15,000 per mile  22,500 00

Total 
The total cost from Grand Junction to
Momence, on the estimates at 7
cents, will be 
On the estimate at 10 cents, will be. .
The total cost from the initial point
to the State line, at 7 cents, will be
At 10 cents, will be 
The entire cost from the initial point
to Momence will be, at 7 cents 
At 10 cents 

Miles
Divisions. Length.
I  8.5
II  11.3
III  21.5

GENERAL RESULTS.

Cubic Cost
Yards. at $0.07.
323,136 $22,619.52
521,935 36,535.45
1,412,700 98,889.00
l?  80,000.00
v  16. 1,478,400 103,488.00
3% 323,400 22,638.00
VI  15. 11%  69,000.00
vn ¦••• 12.  87,500.00
Totals 84.3  $520,669.97

$ 87,500 00

$282,626 00
336,680 00
433,169 97
545,975 10
520,669 97
642,457 10
Cost
at $0.10
$32,813.60 52,193.50
141,270.00 80,000.00
147,840.00 32,340.00 69,000.00
87,500.00
$642,457.00

In addition to the cost of construction, the
question of maintenance of the new channel
requires consideration. The same causes
which produced the present crooked river
will, in a less degree, affect the straightened
stream, and continued care will be required
to preserve an unobstructed flow.
The broad valley of the Kankakee marsh is
doubtless the result of glacial action. At the
close of the glacial period, we may suppose
that a shallow river extended from bank to
bank of the valley. This stream had a slope
of about one foot to the mile, and a conse
quent velocity rapid enough to take up the
particles of fine sand and carry them forward.
The retardation along the borders would
cause the deposit of the sand, and thereby
make the stream more narrow by the forma
tion of banks. The narrowed and deepened
stream would have an increased velocity, and
hence, other masses of sand would be taken
up by the current and carried forward to
form obstructions in the general direction of
flow. Following the lines of least resistance,
the channel would be diverted from its orig
inal direction and would change from straight
to crooked, and continue to change so long
as the velocity was too great for the stability
of the sand bed over which the river flows.
By these processes, doubtless, the sinuous
Kankakee was formed ; and its present length,
with its many windings, approximately de
termines the velocity consistent with perma
nence in the wide marsh which it now so im
perfectly drains.
The formation of the timber line along the
river may be explained in like manner.
During freshets the low lands would be
overflowed, and the soil and sand brought
down by the increased current would be de
posited, first along the banks of the river,
thereby raising the surface next the stream
enough above the level of the marsh to permit
the seeds of trees to grow, which would not
germinate in the swamp itself.
If we assume that the river now has an op-
proximately stable bed, the result mainly of
the free action of natural forces on the sandy
soil, it is evident that any increase of velocity
will affect this stability and introduce a dis
turbing element which will require special at
tention. The banks of the new channel will likewise
deliver quantities of sand into the current
until they assume their proper angle of rest

256

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

and are protected by grass or other vegeta
ble growth.
The lateral ditches, also, will bring down
masses of sand which will, if left uncared for,
form bars where these ditches empty into the
river. To meet these difficulties it will be necessary
to keep at work one or two dredging machines
until the new channel has assumed a partially
stable condition.
Grass grows most luxuriantly in all parts
of the Kankakee valley, and from this cause
we may expect that the banks will be covered
very rapidly. After the drainage has been
once accomplished and the lands brought
under cultivation, there will be a great dimi
nution of the volume of water to be carried
off. The absorbent power of the reclaimed land
and the evaporating surface will be increased,
and the quality of surplus water will be pro
portionally diminished.
The diminished volume will give a relative
increased capacity with less depth, and thus
by degrees the new channel will become stable,
while at the same time it fulfills all the re
quirements for complete drainage.
DIVISION OF EXPENSES.
In this improvement it is proper to consider
the relation which the Kankakee sustains to
the navigable waters of the Mississippi sys
tem, and to what extent the expenses of the
work should be borne by the government of
the United States.
The Kankakee has always been considered
a navigable stream, but the point above which
it can not be properly so classed never has
been fixed.
Major Jared Smith, of the U. S. Engi
neers, in charge of the river and harbor im
provements in this state, made an examina
tion of the Kankakee in 1879, and reported
favorably for its improvement for a distance,
by the river, of one hundred and fifty miles.
Major Smith's report will be found on pages
1,455-60, Executive Documents, Second Ses
sion Forty-Sixth Congress 1879-80, Vol. 4,
Engineers, No. 1, part 2.
Major Smith's reconnoissance was made by
a small steamer from Momence as far up the
river as Baum's bridge, and in this entire dis
tance he reports abundance of water for navi
gation. He says: "The greater portion of
the distance of 120 miles, which I thus went
over, had a depth of five (5) or more feet, and

I found no case where it was less than two
feet, and but few as small as three feet."
Baum's bridge is but two miles below the
point named in this report as "Grand June
tion." I fully concur in the opinion expressed by
Major Smith, and believe that there will he a
supply of water sufficient to maintain a relia
ble depth of two and a half to three feet at
the lowest stage, even after the channel has
been straightened and improved for general
drainage. The uniform slope of the bed of the Kanka
kee, and the absence of any rock obstruction
in the entire State, will obviate the necessity
for the construction of dams for navigation
purposes, so that it will be entirely feasible
to make the improvement for the double pur
pose of drainage and navigation.
From Momence to Grand Junction there
are but one railway and two wagon bridges.
It will not be difficult, therefore, to provide
an open way for navigation.
The manifest importance of this improve
ment, as a part of the general system of water
communication through the Mississippi river,
will certainly command favorable action.
It is respectfully recommended that the
General Government be requested to consider
the improvement of the Kankakee for the pur
poses of navigation, in connection with the
State work for drainage, from Momence to
Grand Junction. DRAINAGE TO THE TIPPECANOE.
The short water-shed to the Kankakee on
the south side below English lake, has sug
gested a possible route for the new channel
of the Kankakee southward through this
dividing ridge to the Monon, and thence to
the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers; and, in
accordance with your directions, I made a
survey in that section.
The line was run from the mouth of a small
creek which empties into the Kankakee in the
N. E. i Sec. 35, T. 33 N, R. 4 W., a short dis- •
tance below the P., C. & St. L. R. R. at Eng
lish lake ; thence up this stream five miles to
the dividing ridge near the section line, be
tween Sections 23 and 26, T. 32 N, R. 4 W.;
thence down a small tributary of the Monon
to the head of the Monon ditch, in Pulaski
county, Sec. 6, T. 31 N., R. 3 W. ; thence to a
point in the same ditch in Sec. 33, T. 30 N., R.
4 W., called Hickory Grove, northeast of
Francesville. The levels on this line show that the summit

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

257

of the ridge, five miles from the starting point,
is 46 feet above the level of the water in Eng
lish lake, and allowing 6 feet for depth of the
river and 1 foot fall per mile, a cut will be
required at the summit of 57 feet. At the
county line, two miles further south, the cut
will be 43 feet in depth. The fall from the
head of the Monon ditch to Hickory Grove, a
distance of twelve miles, is 40 feet ; and, with
the same slope as before, the depth of the
ditch would be 15 feet at this point.
The impracticability of the route being so
manifest, I abandoned any further survey at
this point. It is important to remark that the
fine slope to the marsh along the Monon from
its source to Cooper's mill, and the very fer
tile marsh valley along the river, should
prompt immediate and active efforts to com
plete the drainage already partly accomplish
ed by the ' ' Monon Ditch. ' ' To finish this im
portant work will require the enlargement of
the ditch, the straightening of the channel in
the lower portion, and probably the removal
of the dam at Cooper's mill.
ALLEN AND HUNTINGTON COUNTY MAKSHES.
During the month of October I made an
examination of the extensive swamp lands in
Allen and Huntington counties, along the line
of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific railway.
The field leveling was done by Messrs. Ander
son & Orton.
The marsh region embraces twenty-five
thousand acres, and is nearly equally divided
between the two counties. In Allen county
the marsh is chiefly prairie, but in Hunting
ton county a considerable portion is in the
wood land.
In range twelve, running quite through the
county, lies the dividing line between the
waters which flow through the Maumee to
Lake Erie and those which flow through the
Wabash to the Ohio and on to the Gulf of
Mexico. The great marsh begins southwest of the
city of Ft. Wayne, and stretches along Little
river to the limestone ledge near Huntington.
Little river rises in the south part of Allen
county, and runs northward to within a few
miles of Ft. Wayne, where it is lost in the
marsh, but it reappears again with definite
banks and channel in Sec. 25, T. 30 N., R.
HE.
Through the Richardville Reservation the
marsh extends quite to the St. Mary river, and
it is both feasible and desirable to direct the
upper portion of Little river, by a new chan-
17

nel, through this marsh to the St. Mary. From
six to ten feet fall may be found from this
marsh to the St. Mary, and there are no stone
or timber obstructions in the line of the pro
posed new channel.
The following table shows the elevations, re
ferred to sea-levels from Ft. Wayne along the
general line of the marsh to the surface of the
water below the lower dam at Huntington :
P., Ft. W. & C. H. R. depot, Ft. Wayne  784.
Crossing P., Ft. W. & C, and Ft. W. & M.
R. R  792.8
Little river, in See. 25, T. 30 N., R. 11 E,
at crossing W., St. L. & P. R. R  757.5
Little river, at crossing R. R., Sec. 26  756.1
Little river, at crossing R. R., Sec. 33  754.7
Little river, at Aboite station  751.3
Little river, at Roanoke station  746.5
Little river, at Mahan  741.1
Little river, at Sec. 4, T. 28 N., R. 10 E  740.4
Little river, at foot of ripple  737.0
Little river, at upper dam at Huntington
(top)  .-...'  732.7
Little river, • at surface of water below dam 724.7
Little' river, at lower dam at Huntington
Uop)  723.5
Little river, at surface of water below dam 715.9
The chief obstruction to the drainage of
Little river is the ledge of limestone which
lies across the channel at Huntington. The
entire fall from the starting point, in Allen
county, seventeen miles from the upper dam
at Huntington, is thirty-two feet, but nearly
one-half of this fall is found in the five miles
at the lower end. The improvement of the
river and the recovery of the marsh lands
above will require the removal of the upper
dam at Huntington and the opening of a
channel through this rock obstruction.
Several years ago a company was formed
for the purpose of making this improvement
of Little river and the recovery of the marsh
prairie. The length of the improved channel
of Little river, contemplated by the company,
was sixteen and one-half miles from the upper
dam at Huntington to a point west of Ft.
Wayne, where the river first crosses the line
of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway.
The rock excavation near Huntington was
estimated at sixty-two thousand cubic yards,
and the probable cost per yard for removal
was seventy cents, giving an aggregate of
$44,400. I am not able to give an estimate
of the cost of the earth work which will be re
quired without further surveys. It is safe
to say, in general terms, that the entire im
provement can be made at a cost not exceeding
$100,000, an average cost of four dollars per
acre for the marsh land recovered.

258

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

The nearness of this vast marsh to one of
the largest and most flourishing cities in the
state, makes its reclamation especially import
ant. These lands are now practically worth
less, but when recovered will have a value at
least of thirty ($30) dollars per acre, or an
aggregate value of $750,000.
KNOX COUNTY SWAMPS.
The extensive area south of Vincennes, in
Knox county, known as Cypress Swamp, lies
in the belt of territory between Wabash and
White rivers, above their junction. The low
lands begin near the city of Vincennes, and,
interspersed with sand hills or ridges, consti
tute a series of swamps embracing not less
than 15,000 acres. The marshes have but little
elevation above the river at ordinary full
stage, and during heavy floods they are sub
merged to' the depth of five to ten feet. The
soil is very rich and the lands will be valuable
when recovered.
The reclamation of this section will require
the opening of suitable ditches for drainage
and protection from overflows.
A small stream called River Dechee runs
through a part of the marsh, and is lost in the
marsh itself, but reappears, and, through a
fairly defined channel, empties into the Wa
bash. A State ditch was once constructed from
the Dechee to White river, and by the en
largement of this incomplete work the upper
portion of the marsh may be drained. The
channel of the Dechee to the Wabash will fur
nish the proper line for the improvement of
another part of the marsh.
In order properly to protect the lands from
overflow, it will be necessary to construct
levees along the Wabash from the point where
the present levee near the city ends, to the
rapids, and, also along White river above the
junction of the two rivers. Additional sur
veys will be required to determine the cost of
these improvements.
In the eastern part of the county there is
another extensive marsh, known as Montour's
pond, embracing six to eight thousand acres
which is not subject to overflow from the
river. The levels run by the County Surveyor
show a fall of two to three feet per mile, from
the deepest part of the pond to White river.
This section can be readily drained to White
river, and when recovered it will be equal in
value, for agricultural purposes, to any part
of Knox county.

In the conclusion of this report, I deem it
proper to acknowledge the invaluable assist
ance I have received from yourself, in the
facilities furnished for the work and. in the
discussion of methods for its prosecution.
I am specially indebted to the State Geolo
gist for his cordial co-operation, and for the
information and assistance which he has given
to me.
I desire to express my thanks to the rail
way companies of the State for favors re
ceived, and to the many citizens of the State
who have kindly furnished to me valuable in
formation. The popular interest everywhere expressed
in the success of this undertaking, shows how
strongly the people will sustain efforts tend
ing to promote the real prosperity of the
State. Respectfully submitted,
John L. Campbell,
Chief Engineer.
Sec. 3.^Removal op the Momence Rock.
— In Division VII of Professor Campbell's
report, the "Illinois Division," he says:
"The other improvements of this division
will be similar in every particular to those
of Division VI, until the rock ledge near
Momence is reached. This obstruction is a
limestone ledge which extends about one and
a half miles in width, and its removal is a
necessity for the proper improvement of the
river. The increased velocity of the straight
ened channel above will carry down large
quantities of soil and sand, for which a free
outlet must be provided by opening a way
through the rocky ledge. "a
The removal of the limestone ledge, which
acted as a dam to the Kankakee at Momence,
and thus obstructed the drainage of the val
ley all the way from Momence to South Bend,
remained a problem from the date of Pro
fessor Campbell's report until the convening
of the legislature of 1887. The writer was a
member of that legislature and considered it
a duty to his constituents to seek some means
of securing an outlet to the Kankakee
through the natural rock dam at Momence.
During that session, however, political con
troversies rendered it impossible to make any
a. See Chap. 1, Subd. 6, of this History.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

259

headway in this important matter. The sub
ject was then pretty thoroughly discussed,
however, and at the beginning of the session
of 1889 a mode of procedure was adopted
which finally proved effectual.
Two difficulties presented themselves, — the
physical obstacle of the limestone ledge,
and the question of jurisdiction over the ter
ritory occupied by the rock. The Momence
rock is within the state of Illinois, a few
miles below the Indiana state line, and it was
not at first clear to the members of the legis
lature how they were to acquire the right to
go into another state to make an improvement
such as that proposed. This difficulty was
happily overcome by the action of land own
ers in Kankakee county, Illinois, who pro
cured deeds to a strip of land, including the
river bed, from the Indiana line to and in
cluding the rock at Momence. These deeds
were drawn to convey to the state of Indiana
an easement in the lands and river bed for
the purposes of drainage. There were forty
such deeds delivered to the auditor1 of
state. A legal opinion was then procured,
to the effect that the state of Indiana, like
any other land owner, having a right of ease
ment for drainage in the river bed from the
Indiana line to and including the limestone
ledge, might enter upon those lands and make
the necessary improvement. The Illinois au
thorities afterwards contested this right, and
there was much tedious litigation in the Illi
nois courts; finally ending, however, by a
decision of the court of last resort that the
state of Indiana had a clear right to make the
improvement. The law question being solved, the legis
lature, by an act approved . March 7, 1889,°
passed an act appropriating forty thousand
dollars for the removal of the rock at Mo
mence, in the state of Illinois, the work to
be done under direction of three commis
sioners and a civil engineer; the commission
ers to be appointed by the governor and the
engineer to be selected by the commissioners.
a- Acts, 1889, p. 291.

Before the passage of the bill, numerous
conferences were held in relation to the neces
sity of this drainage by Indiana and Illinois
land owners. The following is a report of one
such conference held in Chicago on January
18, 1889:
"A number of gentlemen interested in the
drainage of the overflowed and wet lands sit
uated in the Kankakee valley met this aft
ernoon in the club-room of the Palmer house.
About one hundred persons, including rep
resentatives from all the counties interested,
were present. Clem Studebaker of South
Bend, Ind., was elected chairman and J. M.
Youche of Crown Point, Ind., secretary.
' ' The following resolutions were introduced
and adopted: •
" 'Resolved, That it is the sense of this
meeting that the first and most important
step to enable the land owners to drain and
reclaim the 1,700 square miles of swamp and
overflowed lands of the Kankakee valley in
the state of Indiana, is that of cutting a chan
nel of sufficient width and depth through the
ledge of rock which extends across the Kan
kakee river at Momence, 111., so as to afford
an outlet for the marshes, and to accomplish
this we request an appropriation be made by
the state of Indiana from the state treasury
of such a sum as will bring about these im
proved conditions. '
"On motion, a committee of three was ap
pointed from each county to solicit signatures
to a petition to be presented to the Indiana
state legislature requesting these improve
ments, as follows:
"Lake county, J. W. Brown, J. A. Little,
Oscar Dinwiddie; Porter county, W. D.
Howell, Dr. John Blackston, De Forest L.
Skinner; Newton county, John Brady, John
Sink, James DeWolf; Jasper county, Isaac
D. Dunn, William Danke, George Hoehn ; La
porte county, J. N. Conboy, Patrick Hunch-
eon, George Dennison; St. Joseph county,
Dixon W. Place, Asa Knott, Clem Stude
baker; Starke county, W. H. Coffin, Dr. Hen
derson, J. H. McLaughlin.

260

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

"A committee of three was then appointed
by the chair to present these petitions to the
legislature of the state of Indiana. This
whole matter was presented to the legislature
two years ago, but nothing was done. It is
claimed that a large ledge of rock in the Kan
kakee river at Momence, 111., is the cause of
the overflow which submerges millions of fer
tile acres in the Kankakee valley in Indiana.
When this obstruction is removed, the gentle
men interested in the movement claim that
this large tract of swamp land will be drained
and can be put under cultivation."
The following is the legal opinion pro
nouncing in favor of the validity of the law.
It was from one of the ablest firms of attor
neys then in the state :
"Indianapolis, Ind., Feb. 22, 1887.
"Hon. T. E. Howard,
"Chairman Committee on Swamp Lands,
"Senate Chamber,
' ' Indianapolis, Indiana.
"Dear Sir: — Pursuant to your request of
yesterday, we have examined Senate Bill No.
237 with such care as the limited time has
permitted. "Two questions may possibly be raised as
to the constitutionality of this bill, namely:
"1st. Can the state of Indiana acquire
and hold real estate within the territorial
limits of the state of Illinois *
"We have been unable to find, either in the
constitution or statutes of Indiana, or in the
decisions of the supreme court of Indiana,
any statement, provision or ruling prohibit
ing the state of Indiana from acquiring and
owning real estate within the territorial limits
of another state. By the decisions of
courts of other states, and of the supreme
court of the United States, it seems to be con
ceded that the United States, or any state,
may acquire and become the owner of real
estate within the territorial limits of another
state, subject in all respects to the laws of
the state within which such real estate is situ
ated. " 'Rorer, on Inter-State Law,' states the
proposition thus:
' ' ' The ownership of lands by one state with
in the territorial limits of another state is in
no wise different from that of the ownership
of an individual person. The title and estate in

such case is acquired and held subject to all
the incidents of ordinary private ownership
so far as regards the mere circumstance of a
state being the owner.'
" 'Rorer on Inter-State Law,' p. 213.
' ' The doctrine, as thus laid down, seems to
be supported by several well considered eases,
among which the leading cases seem to be :
"Burbank et al. v. Fay et al., 65 N. Y.
Reps. 62.
"Biddle Boggs v. Merced M. Co., 14 Cal
375, 376.
"Pollard's Lessee v. Hogan (dissenting
opinion of Justice Craton), 3 How
U. S. Reps. 232-233.
"United States v. Chicago, 7 How. U. S.
Reps. 194.
"We find no case in our state reports touch
ing this question. There may be such de
cisions but if they are, they have escaped our
notice. If, therefore, the laws of Illinois per-
mit, we do not think the constitution or laws
of Indiana prohibit the state of Indiana from
acquiring and holding the real estate de
scribed in this bill.
' ' One state acquiring real estate within the
territorial limits of another state acquires and
holds such real estate subject in all respects
to the jurisdictional and municipal regulations
of that other state. In other words, it would
be useless for the legislature of Indiana to
attempt to assert its jurisdictional and muni
cipal control over any real estate within the
territorial limits of the state of Illinois. It
must stand in Illinois simply as any other
private owner of real estate, and must be
and become subject in all respects to the mu
nicipal regulations and jurisdictional powers
of that other state.
"2d. Has the state of Indiana the right
to expend moneys derived from general taxa
tion in opening that part of the channel of
the Kankakee river within the territorial lim
its of Illinois, as contemplated by this bill?
"The only objection to such use of said
funds derived from general taxation would be
that it might be urged that this legislation
would fall under the designation of 'local
or 'special' legislation, and be prohibited by
Article 4, Sections 22-23 of our State Consti
tution, and that it would be in effect applying
funds raised by general taxation to the exclu
sive benefit of the owners of the land re
claimed by the contemplated deepening of the
channel of the Kankakee river. But we do

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

261

not think these objections could prevail
against this bill.
"We understand, from the preamble to the
bill, that some portion of the land to be bene
fited by opening a channel through the Mo
mence ledge still belongs to, and is the prop
erty of the state of Indiana. We assume
this to be true and on that assumption are of
the opinion that the objections above named
are untenable for three reasons:
' ' First. — The contemplated improvement
would be an improvement by the state of In
diana upon its own property, held by it in
the state of Illinois.
"Second. — The contemplated improvement
would be a permanent benefit to the swamp
lands still belonging to the state of Indiana.
"Third. — The contemplated improvement
would be a work of public utility and a mu
nicipal sanitary regulation, promotive of
health, preventive of disease, and greatly con
ducive to the general welfare.
"The supreme court of Indiana has repeat
edly held that when the public health and
general welfare of the commonwealth are
involved, such objections as those above
named are invalid. This is the principle un
derlying and supporting the following de
cisions of our state supreme court:
"Tillman v. Kircher, 64 Ind. 104.
"Deisner v. Simpson et al., 72 Ind. 441.
"Wisnmier v. The State, etc., 97 Ind.
162.
"Anderson v. Baker, 98 Ind. 589.
"We have paid no particular attention to
the second and third sections of the proposed
act, because they seem to be merely directions
with regard to the work to be done in open
ing the channel of the Kankakee river, if
the real estate in Illinois is procured and con
veyed to the. auditor of state for the state of
Indiana, as provided by the first section of
the act. Yours most respectfully,
"McDonald, Butler & Mason."
Some of the very interesting correspon
dence in relation to the bill is here given :
"U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey,
"Crawfordsville, Ind., Jan. 21, 1889.
"Hon. T. E. Howard, Senator, etc.
"Dear Sir: I notice with special pleasure
the introduction by you, in the senate, of a
bill providing for the removal of the rock
obstruction in the Kankakee at Momence, 111.
"This is one of the most important meas
ures that can come before the legislature, and
I earnestly hope that it will meet with the

favor which it deserves.
' ' I can only reaffirm the statements and rec
ommendations made to Governor Porter of
the survey made by me in 1882.
"The increased value to the state of the
millions of acres in the Kankakee region,
would in a few years repay in taxes the
amount now asked in aid of the work.
"The sanitary interests involved in this
vast unreclaimed marsh are sufficient to war
rant the expenditure proposed, — while the
-good name of the state demands the recovery
of this dreary waste, now so unpleasantly
prominent from the numerous national high
ways which cross it.
"The removal of the obstruction at Mo
mence is the proper beginning of the im
provement — and this is certainly a very rea
sonable part of the general cost of the work
for the state. Permit me to refer your com
mittee to my report to the governor in 1882,
and to say that the added years have only
increased the importance of the statements
then made. Very respectfully yours,
"J. L. Campbell."
"U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey,
"Crawfordsville, Ind., Feb. 15, 1889.
"Hon T. E. Howard.
"Dear Sir: By referring to page 24 of
my report you will find my estimate of work
on the Momence ledge is based on a channel
in the rock forty feet wide and five feet deep,
giving approximately 60,000 cubic yards, —
and estimated to cost, above the probable
value of the stone removed, 37% cents per
cubic yard. This gives $15,000 per mile,
as stated on page 26.
"It may not be safe now to estimate the
cost of removal at less than 50 cents per
cubic yard, which would make the channel
I proposed cost $30,000.
"I regard^ the dimensions I proposed as
sufficient for drainage and all ordinary flow
of the river.
"For excessive floods and ice gorges the
present bed and banks will afford sufficient
protection. "However, these dimensions can be in
creased as far as the limits of the appropria
tion and the contracts made for the work
will allow — and I therefore suggest that the
dimensions of the channel be left to the com
mission — perhaps stating as a mimimum the
channel I recommended, 40x5 feet, or its
equivalent. Very respectfully,
"J. L. Campbell."

262

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

"South Bend, Ind., Feb. 11, 1889.
"Hon. T. E. Howard, Senate Chamber, In
dianapolis.
"Dear Senator: Yours of the 9th notify
ing me that a joint committee of the senate
and house will give parties interested in the
Kankakee drainage bill a hearing on the even
ing of Thursday, the 14th inst., is at hand.
I regret that I cannot be there. If I am
well enough to leave home, which at present
seems somewhat doubtful, I must go to New
York to-morrow night to attend an important
business conference. I must therefore beg
you to present to the committee my compli
ments and regrets. Kindly ask them further
to permit me to hope that they will be fa
vorably impressed with the statements and
arguments which will be presented to them by
the promoters of the bill. I can truly say that
my concern for its success is mainly inspired
by regard for the general welfare. My own
property adjacent to the Kankakee river is
near its head waters, and the fall at this point,
I am assured, is practically sufficient for
drainage purposes. But aside from the pri
vate interests which might be subserved by
the passage of this bill, there are certainly
abundant reasons in favor of the measure
that are of a general character. I take it
that there will, be no question that the im
provement is one highly desirable to be made,
and it will be easily shown that it is of a
nature which cannot well be undertaken by
private parties, but must be done, if at all,
through state aid. Gentlemen will show the
committee conclusively, I think, that the suc
cessful drainage of the Kankakee, dependent
upon the removal of the obstruction provided
for in the bill, would greatly improve the
sanitary condition of the northern part of
the state. These low, wet lands are declared
by all the authorities on the proper condi
tions for the public health to lie malarious
and fever breeding. State aid ought to be
cheerfully afforded on this account if for no
other reason. Yet, I contend that for purely
selfish motives the state may well undertake
this improvement. The drainage would re
claim and make valuable large bodies of land
the property of the state, that are now prac
tically useless, valueless. It would also add
so materially to the value of other lands as to
greatly increase their assessment valuation,
and so bring rapid returns to the coffers of
the state. But again, as a matter of state
pride, I feel that the legislature should vote

aid for the purpose of this bill. The princi
pal trunk lines between Chicago and the east
traverse this marshy section of our state, and
the observations of travelers give credit to
the belief widely entertained that Indiana
is a good state for emigrants to avoid.
Other reasons of weight will no doubt be pre
sented to the committee, favorable to this
measure, and these which I have hastily
touched upon will, I trust, be more cogently
and forcibly set forth. Hoping that the com
mittee will give due weight to what shall be
said in favor of the proposed legislation, I
am. Very respectfully yours,
"Clem Studebaker."
Immediately after the passage of the bill
the South Bend Times published the follow
ing congratulatory editorial:
' ' Considering the fact that so many people
find it irksome to investigate, inquire and
think, it is perhaps not at all strange that
a matter of such transcendent importance as
the reclamation of the vast Kankakee region
should have received comparatively little con
sideration and awakened relatively little in
terest, even in this part of the state.
" It is remarkable, however, that during the
entire session of the general assembly nearly
everybody at the state capital seemed to be
bitterly opposed to Senator Howard's bill
for the removal of the obstructions in the
Kankakee river at Momence. The press of
Indianapolis was freely utilized to awaken
prejudice against that measure. But still
more remarkable is the sudden change
wrought in public sentiment by the final pas
sage of the bill. All at once the immense
advantages likely to accrue to the state are
being recognized and favorably discussed. It
is freely said that it is the most far-reaching
and important piece of legislation that has
ever passed the general assembly in the in
terest of northern Indiana. Roseate predic
tions are made as to the future of the Kan
kakee region, which it is now said will be
come the garden spot of the state.
"The blasting out of the reck at Momence
is declared to be but the beginning. We
are told that the owners of the swamp lands

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

263

of the Kankakee valley will immediately,
after that outlet is made, clean out and
straighten the old river, putting enough
money into the work, if necessary, to equal
the present value of the lands. Such an in
vestment is morally certain to bring ten-fold
returns. We shall take frequent occasion to
speak of this matter as developments are made
in the near future.
"Senator Howard is entitled to unstinted
praise for his perseverance and tact in push
ing this measure in the face of all the oppo
sition arrayed against it. And too much
cannot be said in recognition of the zeal with
which Representative Edward A. Metzger,
aided by his colleague, Mr. William H. Stull,
urged favorable action by the house. Mr.
Metzger had charge of the bill in the house,
and started out with the determination to
secure enough votes for its passage, 'or know
the reason why.' In this he succeeded be
yond hope or reasonable expectation. The
vote on the final passage in the house stood
58 in favor to only 25 against. This remark
able achievement again proves that where
there is a will there is usually a way, and
that a good and just cause can be made to
prevail when the right man takes hold and
determines to win."
The following, from an Indianapolis pa
per, of date August 1, 1890, gives some of the
subsequent history of the work up to the
time of letting the contract for the removal
of the rock:
"The Momence rock has been a sort of
nightmare to every man who has attempted
to make a home in the Kankakee region. As
a breeder of malaria, mosquitoes and melan
cholia the Momence rock has had no rivals.
It has caused half a million acres of land
within two hours of a city of over a million
people to remain a 'slough of despond' in
stead of the garden spot of Indiana. It has
been a 'hell-gate' upon which politicians of
the region wrecked their aspirations. 'Send.
me to the legislature .and I'll remove the
rock,' is the platform upon which many a

politician elevated himself to the legislature.
However, the rock was too much for him, and
he immediately returned to private life. In
1882 an aspirant for congressional honors
said: 'If you want the rock removed, send
me to congress, ' and the candidate was elected
by a majority of 2,000.
"The so-called Momence rock is a ledge of
limestone through which the Kankakee river
cuts a shallow channel for a mile and a half
near the town of Momence, 111., eight or ten
miles west of the state line. Through this
ledge of rock the channel must be lowered
from five to seven and a half feet to give the
Kankakee the necessary fall from the state
line. But this is not the only obstacle. Near
Momence the river forms an island. For
years a dam was maintained on each side of
the island for water power. These two dams
caused the water to back up to Indiana. The
Illinois courts always protected the dam own
ers whenever the land owners of Indiana at
tempted to remove the dams. The Cass es
tate, representing 40,000 acres of overflowed
land in Lake county, seeing no other way to
reclaim it, purchased the dams, the island
and the adjacent lands, with the object of
removing them whenever the state should take
hold of the 'rock.'
"Meanwhile, the Chicago & Western In
diana railroad company built across the
island. From the Cass estate the railroad
company bought the east part of the island,
which was converted into a picnic grounds,
the Cass estate reserving the control of the
dams, the ice privileges and riparian rights.
The boating is excellent up the river for ten
miles. During the picnic season the railroad
runs excursions to Momence island nearly
every day from Chicago, Terre Haute, Vin
cennes and other points. With the boats rented
at 10 cents an hour and fare the company
derives an annual revenue of $30,000. Every
winter an enormous quantity of ice is cut
here and shipped to Chicago over this road,
adding many thousand dollars to the income
in the way of freight. To drain the Kanka-

264

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

kee marsh the dam of the main channel must
be removed and rock blasted seven feet from
one mile above the picnic grounds to five
feet one-half mile below it. . This will wipe
out the picnic, boating and ice transportation,
and the beautiful island will return to its
ante-railroad condition, but the state of In
diana will gain $8,000,000 in natural wealth.
In order to avoid a constitutional obstacle,
Mr. Shelby secured from the owners of the
adjacent lands deeds to the channel of the
river from the state line to the lower point
of proposed improvement. These convey
ances were made to the state of Indiana. At
this stage Senator Howard took hold of the
matter and the result was that when the
legislature ' adjourned the state had accepted
the channel of the Kankakee, in the state of
Illinois, and $40,000 was appropriated to re
move the rock. This work .was intrusted to
three commissioners appointed by the gov
ernor. "Prof. John L. Campbell of Wabash col
lege, Isaac D. Dunn of Jasper county and J.
B.' Kimball of Noble were selected. Prof.
Campbell's appointment was an excellent one,
he being a practical engineer, besides having
made an exhaustive survey of the whole re
gion in 1882. William M. Whitten of South
Bend was appointed engineer, and, with Prof.
Campbell, made the survey and prepared
specifications. This report was adopted May
17, 1889. The next step was to advertise for
bids to remove the rock; but Commissioner
Dunn, who had been appointed a committee
on right of way, reported that the railroad
company claimed, under the Illinois law, the
riparian right to the middle of the stream
on both sides of the river, thereby giving it
a strip 100 feet wide across the river. Con
ceding the claim, the board requested the
auditor and attorney general to secure from
the railroad' company trust deeds to the right
of way for these 100 feet.
"Mr. Dunn was also appointed to nego
tiate with the company for the privilege of
cutting through the one-hundred-foot strip.

But, having conceded this much to the com
pany, the railroad officials now claimed that
having paid taxes on the estate for seven
years, they also owned to the middle of the
stream, which also gave them an interest to
the dam and water privileges, and on June
28, 1890, the attorney of the road notified
the commissioners that an attempt to dig un
der their bridge or remove the dam would
be met with an injunction. Then followed a
correspondence between the commissioners
and the railroad officials until December,
when the board decided that nothing more
could be done, and they adjourned to await
the action of the next legislature.
"But public opinion in the Kankakee
country would not brook this delay; and, in
order to satisfy Mr. Shelby and Senator How
ard, who represented the dissatisfied citizens,
a meeting was held yesterday. Messrs. How
ard and Shelby and ex-Senator Youche of
Lake presented the matter before the board
in such a way that the commissioners re
ceded from their position, and consented to
advertise for bids. They had delayed this
very action because the railroad company
threatened an injunction suit, and had taken
for granted that the railroad acquired pri
ority of ownership to the channel, whereas
Mr. Shelby proved to their satisfaction that
the railroad acquired no right by paying
taxes for seven years, for the good reason that
the company paid taxes on the island last
year for the first time. The company claimed
that -the Cass estate, in selling the island,
did not reserve the riparian rights, when the
fact is that riparian right is still vested in
the Cass estate. Besides, Senator Howard
yesterday showed that the commissioners had
no right to suspend work upon a threat ; that
it was their duty to advertise and let the con
tract, that no injunction can be brought by
the company till the contractors reach the
railroad bridge, and Mr. Shelby satisfied them
that when the bridge was reached nine-tenths
of the work would be completed, and as for
the dam, he had ordered it torn down. The

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

265

railroad company had stopped the destruction,
but he had brought an action in the United
States court to restrain the company from
interfering with his dam. He promised to
take care of all litigation. Therefore the
board decided to authorize the state auditor
to advertise for bids in the Sentinel and
Journal for the state of Indiana and. the Chi
cago Herald and Tribune for Illinois. Bids
will be received in four sections or for the
whole work.
"It was not through any wrong motive
that the board delayed its work, but it
feared to get into litigation and exceed its
authority. If the railroad company had not
interfered with the work the 'Momence rock'
would perhaps before this time be no more.
"Out of the $40,000 there remains $37,-
428.27, the balance having been spent .in sur
vey, traveling expenses and clerk hire.
"Senator Howard has no interest in the
improvement save that of a representative
of his constituents. Mr. Youche represented
the Lake county swamp angels and Mr.
Shelby, who is vice-president of the G. R. &
I. railroad, represents 20,000 acres in Lake.
To him the state of Indiana owes the right
of way of the channel and the destruction of
the dams. It is safe to predict the work will
be pushed from now on."
A little later the contract was let; and
the Chicago Tribune, in an editorial, showed
that even thus early the opposition first mani
fested by the Illinois authorities had disap
peared, and the people of the metropolis of
the west became aware that the removal of
the limestone ledge in the Kankakee, and the
drainage of the great valley, instead of being
an injury would be of great benefit to the
city of Chicago.
The article from the Tribune was as fol
lows: "The contract has been let for the removal
of the rock ledge in the Kankakee river at
Momence, and it is probable that within a
year a million acres of fertile land, now
spoiled with swamp water, will be open to the

sun and ready for the plow-share. While the
stretch of naturally fertile land which is to
be redeemed lies mostly within the limits of
Indiana it is tributary to Chicago. The
crops and garden truck raised there will come
here, or to those Chicago outposts, such as
Hammond, whieh this city has planted on
Indiana soil.
"Some persons have claimed that the re
moval of this limestone uplift in the Kanka
kee would increase the spring floods in the
Illinois and do damage, which the Chicago
drainage trustees would be called on by the
farmers to make good. It has been alleged
also that immense quantities of silt would
be carried down stream, be deposited in the
Illinois river, and add to the difficulties of
its navigation. But on consideration there
seems no good reason to expect any of these
misfortunes. All that the small rock cut
will do practically will be to drain off the
swamp water.. It will be doing but on a far
smaller scale what hundreds of miles of tile-
drains and drainage canals are doing now in
Illinois.. It may add at the most an inch
to the height of the flood waters of the Illi
nois river in spring. After the river has
fallen and is within its banks the increased
flow will be a good thing for navigation down
to the Mississippi.
"As the 'cut' will be a rock one and can
not be enlarged by the flowing waters, there
need be no more fears of silt than there
will be from the waters of the Desplaines
flowing through the deep rock cut which this
city intends making southward from the Sag.
There will, be no marked addition to the
quantity of sedimentary matter already car
ried down the Kankakee. If the cut were
through alluvium it might be otherwise, but
it is through rock and will remain stationary
in size.
"Thus the carrying out of this great drain
age scheme will be a positive benefit to Chi
cago and be attended with no drawbacks. It
will enlarge its tributary territory and will
not interfere with its drainage plans."

266

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Mr. William M. Whitten, for many years
the very competent surveyor of St. Joseph
county and city engineer of South Bend, was
the civil engineer in charge from the begin
ning to the end of the work at Momence.
Two of the commissioners first appointed,
however, resigned from the trying task.
These were Professor Campbell and Mr.
Dunn. The important work, however, had
been accomplished. Franklin Landers, of
Indianapolis, and John Brown, of Crown
Point, Lake county, were appointed in their
place ; and these officials, with Mr. Kimball,
originally appointed, carried the work to a
successful conclusion. By an act approved
March 6, 1891, the legislature gave greater
freedom of action to the commissioners and
engineer; while, by another act, approved
March. 4, 1893, an additional appropriation
of twenty-five thousand dollars was made to
complete the work.a
The outlet at Momence thus secured, the
drainage of the Kankakee under the general
laws of the state was taken up and actively
prosecuted, year after year, by the land own
ers in all the counties of the valley. The
suggestion made by the French traveler
Charlevoix, in his letter written, in 1721,
from his camping place on Portage prairie,
that the Kankakee river could with little trou
ble be cut into a straight canal," has been
accomplished. The Kankakee has been cut
into a straight, deep channel, effectually
draining the valley from the source of the
stream, at South Bend, through the counties
of St. Joseph, Laporte and Starke; and the
people are preparing to extend this magnifi
cent drainage system through the remaining
counties of Indiana and Illinois, down to
the opening made through the rock at Mo
mence. Land values, which before the cut
ting of the limestone ledge were so low as
in many cases not to be equal to the small
•assessment for taxes, have steadily risen, un
til the drained and cultivated farms of the
a. Acts, 1891, p. 198; Acts, 1893, p. 328.
a. For Charlevoix' letter, see Chap. 2, Subd. 5.

valley are worth from fifty to seventy-five
dollars an acre. The Kankakee valley is
indeed rapidly becoming the ' ' garden of Chi
cago, " which it was at first called in de
rision; and it will at no distant time be
the richest farming section in the state of
Indiana. Sec. 4. — General Drainage. — The general
laws under which the drainage of the Kan
kakee valley was undertaken and successfully
prosecuted, after the removal of the rocky
ledge at Momence, were enacted in 1881 ; that
for proceedings in the circuit court, by an
act approved April 8, 1881; and that for
proceedings 'before the county commissioners,
by an act approved April 21, 1881.° This
legislation which, with its several amend
ments made at almost every subsequent ses
sion of the legislature, has been productive
of the utmost good to the state of Indiana.
Our low lands have become dry and fertile,
•and malaria has been banished from our
homes. The good name of the Hoosier state
has, as a consequence, been established
throughout the nation. To be a resident of
Indiana has come to be associated with cul
ture, refinement and happy homes. Our
lands are the most fertile in the country;
our highways are the dryest and most sub
stantial; and the health of our people is
the most satisfactory. To no cause are we
more indebted for these blessings than to our
drainage laws. These laws were reported to
the legislature by the codification commis
sion of 1881, and are said to have been drawn
by the eminent jurist James S. Frazer, a
member of the commission. By successive
amendments and modifications of the original
acts, we have come to have the simplest, most
equitable and most satisfactory drainage
laws. By the application of these laws every
acre of farm lands in St. Joseph county and
every mile of highway has been rendered
dry and clean, and is far. on the way to per
fection. The application of the drainage
a. Acts, 1881, pp. 397-422.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

267

laws has done much for all Indiana, for no
part more than for St. Joseph county.
VII. FARMERS' SOCIETIES AND PAIRS.
Sec. 1. — Agricultural Societies. — As
early as January 22, 1829, the legislature of
Indiana passed an act for the incorporation
of agricultural societies." Afterwards, by
an act approved February 7, 1835, provision
was made for elections in counties and town
ships for the formation of such societies.
Provisions were likewise made in said act for
the creation of a state board of agriculture.6
Still another act, approved February 19,
1838, was passed for a more simple method
of organizing agricultural societies.0 By the
revised statutes of 1843, a codification of
the best provisions of the three acts of 1829,
1835 and 1838, was effected/
The first attempt in this county to form an
agricultural society was made under the act
of 1835. On the first day of the May term
of that year, being May 4, 1835, the board
of county commissioners entered the follow
ing order :
"Ordered by the board that public notice
be given that the citizens of the county of
St. Joseph assemble at South Bend, on the
last Saturday in the present month, to or
ganize a county agricultural society, agree
able to the statute in such case made and
provided." On the application of five freeholders of
German township for the formation of a
local society, as also provided for in the act
of 1835, the board, on the same day, entered
the following order:
"It is ordered that public notice be given
for the citizens of German township to as
semble at the school house in district No. 2,
congressional township No. 38, for the pur
pose of organizing a township agricultural
society, on the first Saturday in 'June, pur-
<*¦ R- S., 1831, p. 67.
»• Acts, 1834, p. 87; R. S., 1838, p. 63.
". R. S., 1838, p. 61.
<«• R. S., 1843, p. 405.

suant to the act of the general assembly of
1835." It does hot appear that any township but
German, the banner agricultural township
of the county, made application for the
formation of a society. Nor indeed was Ger
man itself, or even the county, ready to
maintain an agricultural society. A township
society was, however, established in Penn, in
the next year, 1836. But the time was not
yet ripe for the formation of agricultural
societies. Under the simpler provisions of the act of
1838, a successful meeting for the organiza
tion of an agricultural society was finally
held in South Bend, June 12, 1841." The
incorporators were among the most promi
nent of the early citizens of the county. Their
names were as follows : George Sumption,
David Hoover, Israel De Camp, Charles
Sumption, Matthew B. Hammond, William S.
Vail, Aaron M. Parker, Sr., John J. Deming,
Evan Chalfant, Samuel Brooks, James
Stuckey, Charles W. Pomeroy, Francis R.
Tutt, Thomas P. Bulla, Tyra W. Bray, Hiram
Doolittle, William Milliken, Samuel Witter,
Thomas D. Baird, Charles M. Tutt, William
H. Patteson, E. S. Sheffield, Joel Garst, Al
bert Monson, William Cosgrove, Samuel C
Sample, Elisha Egbert and John Gilmore.
This first agricultural society organized
with the following officers: President, John
J. Deming; vice-president, Thomas D. Baird;
secretary, Tyra W. Bray; treasurer, Francis
R. Tutt; directors, Thomas P. Bulla, George
Sumption, Hiram Doolittle, M. B. Hammond,
Jonathan A. Liston, Samuel Brooks and Israel
De Camp.
The first and only fair conducted by this
original organization was held on October 11,
1841. The premium list named twenty-three
articles for which prizes were offered.
Among them were : Best ten yards of jeans ;
best ten yards of flannel; best ten yards of
linen; best sample of sewing silk; best
cheese, not less than ten pounds; best beet
a. Chapman's Hist. St. Joseph County, p. 561.

268

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

sugar, not less than ten pounds; best half
acre of ruta-bagas; best five acres of tame
grass; best cultivated farm, not less than
thirty acres.
No further action seems to have been taken
by the society until April 19, 1851, when a
re-organization was effected, with the follow
ing officers: President, Powers Greene; vice
presidents, Reuben Dunn and Gilman Towle;
secretaries, Schuyler Colfax and George C.
Merrifield; treasurer, William Miller. A
constitution and by-laws reported by Mr.
Colfax were adopted. The meeting then ad
journed until May 17th, when Mr. Merri
field delivered an address upon the advan
tages of agricultural and horticultural so
cieties. The membership was then reported
to be one hundred and thirty-two. Mr. J.
L. Jernegan was elected a delegate to attend
the meeting of the state board of agriculture.
Numerous other meetings were held during
the summer and fall, at which valuable pa--
pers were read, followed by discussions of
great interest. A very successful county fair
was held in the court house yard on October
16, 1851.
The interest aroused in the pursuit of agri
culture, horticulture and floriculture contin
ued unabated for many years. In the fall
of 1852 the fair was held at Mishawaka, the
people of the town paying all the expenses.
An excellent address was made at this meet
ing by the Hon. John B. Niles, of Laporte,
For the fair of 1853, two aeres of ground
on Washington street, in South Bend, three
squares west of the court house, were leased.
This property was afterwards purchased by
the society; which continued with varying
success to hold its meetings and annual fairs
on this ground until 1857.
On March 15, 1858, the society was again
re-organized, this time under provisions of
an act of the general assembly for the en
couragement of agriculture, approved Feb
ruary 17, 1852." At this meeting the fol
lowing officers were chosen : President, John
o. 1 R. S., 1852, p. 98; 1 Gavin and Hord, p. 60.

Drulinger; vice-president, William F. Bulla'
treasurer, William Miller; secretary, Milton
W. Stokes ; directors, Elmer Rose, George C.
Merrifield, Jacob Snyder, John Kingery
Jacob Rush, Jeremiah White, John Smith
P. S. Stambaugh, E. M. Irvin, Thomas fi!
Tutt, John F. Ulery and John Moore.
On this re-organization, the location of the
fair grounds was again changed. The two-
acre tract on West Washington street was
sold; and, in its place, the company, on
April 13, 1858, purchased about seven aeres
and a half on Portage avenue, taken off the
south side of lot one hundred and twelve, of
the state bank's first addition of outlots to
South Bend.
The first fair on the new grounds was held
on September 28, 29 and 30, 1858. The so
ciety now entered upon a period of prosper
ity which continued for ten or twelve years,
after which a state of indifference again in
tervened- The last annual fair was held Sep
tember 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, 1872. Even
before that time, that is, on December 16,
1871, the grounds had been platted and of
fered for sale as the St. Joseph County Agri
cultural Society's Addition to the City of
South Bend. During the war these fair
grounds were occupied as a military camp
for quartering and organizing troops.
Some zealous spirits still continued to keep
up an agricultural society. In 1873 an ex
hibition was held in connection with the
northern Indiana fair ; and efforts were made
to continue annual exhibitions on grounds
west of South Bend, on Division street, being
lots five, six and seven of Harper & Ruck-
man 's survey. These lots were ten acres each,
and the grounds were ample. The exhibits
shown on those lots were interesting and of
value to the people of the county; but the
enterprise was not successful financially.
By an act of the legislature, in force March
18, 1873," boards of county commissioners
were authorized, on petition of the majority
of the voters of any county, to invest not to
o. Acts, 1873, p. 118.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

269

exceed five thousand dollars in the purchase
of real estate to be used for the purposes of
agricultural and horticultural fairs. On
April 20, 1881, at a special meeting of the
board of county commissioners of St. Joseph
county, a petition such as required by the
statute was filed with the board; and there
upon an order was entered for the purchase
of forty acres' of land .on the north side of
the St. Joseph river, between South Bend and
Mishawaka, being the southeast quarter of
the southeast quarter of section seven, town
ship thirty-seven north, range three east, to
be used for agricultural fairs.
On February 3, 1881, the Northern Indiana
Agricultural Society was formed with the de
sign to hold fairs on grounds to be purchased
by the county, under the provisions of the act
of 1873. It was a stock company, each share
five dollars and the number of shares with
out limit; the purpose was to promote the
interests of agriculture in northern Indiana.
The incorporators, were among the strong
men of the county, representing every town
ship, and were as follows: William Miller,
Portage; Robert M. Savidg, Clay; Edward
A. Metzger, Harris; Ashbury Lindley, War
ren; Irwin Skinner, Portage; Dr. J. R.
Brown, Greene; William 0. Jackson, Ger
man; Peter N. Huff, Portage; William H.
Stull, Center; J. H. Eberhart, Penn; Wil
liam D. Rockhill, Portage; Elias Rupel, Cen
ter; Thomas B. Chalfant, Clay; Alexander
H. Price, Liberty; Samuel Bowman, Center;
Basil Rupel, Center; Aaron Jones, Penn;
Charles G. Towle, Penn; Christian Holler,
Warren; C. L. Stiles, Penn; Nathaniel
Frame, Portage; George W. Shade, Center;
Henry Studebaker, Penn; George W. Locke,
German; D.' F. Miller, German; Henry
Barth, Portage; John R. Shank, Penn; Seth
Hammond, Greene; Asa Knott, Greene;
William C. Jackson, German ; John C. Ulery,
Greene; James R. Miller, German; Charles
Frank, Madison; Ohauncey N. Fassett, Port
age; D. B. Jewell, Madison; W. W. Butter
worth, Penn; Edward A. Jernegan, Penn;

j. M. Wommer, Penn; Joseph Miller, Penn;
Studebaker, Portage; John M. Studebaker,
John Jackson, Center; Isaac N. Miller, Olive;
F. R. Eberhart, Penn ; A. Eberhart, Penn. ;
Christian M. Wenger, Portage; Clement
Portage; Peter E. Studebaker, Portage;
Jacob F. Studebaker, Portage.
The Northern Indiana Agricultural So
ciety, with its splendid list of incorporators,
its free grounds and the fresh enthusiasm in
fused into agricultural interests in this and
the neighboring counties, continued to flour
ish and to furnish exhibitions of a very high
order for many years. It was not until the
World's Fair at Chicago, in 1892 and 1893,
with its extraordinary exhibits from every
part of the earth, that the people began to
show a want of interest in the simpler and
more homelike display of our local fair.
Nevertheless it is good to remember how
much pleasure and profit all our people re
ceived from those fine exhibitions on the
county grounds between South Bend and
Mishawaka. The time will yet come when
the memories of those days will inspire the
people, to renew, at least for a time, those
annual farmers' reunions.
The fortunes of the society having declined,
by reason of the indifference of the people
and the consequent falling off of the attend
ance at the fairs, a new society was formed,
March 31, 1899, to take over the property,
and, if possible, to revive interest. The old
name, the "St. Joseph County Agricultural
Society," was restored; and the incorpora
tors were: Charles G. Towle, William D.
Rockhill, Abram W. Byers, Ashbury Lindley,
Daniel W. Beall, William 0. Jackson, John
B. Witwer, W. C. Jackson, Thomas H. Jack
son, Adam W. Shidler, Edward A. Metzger
and Samuel Bowman.
The end had come, however, and on June
4, 1903, the St. Joseph County Agricultural
Society made a formal surrender of the
county grounds, which were accepted by the
board of commissioners. With this surren
der the history of agricultural' societies in

270

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

St. Joseph county came to a close. On April
3, 1906, the grounds were placed in the cus
tody of the city of South Bend, to be used
as a public park, as related in chapter ninth
of this work." The name Pottawatomie was
given to the park by the city.
It has been matter of regret that the
county fairs should be discontinued; and
there are already indications that renewed ef
forts will be made at no distant day to have
those profitable and enjoyable annual exhibi
tions again provided for the people of the
county. If county fairs are again instituted,
as they ought to be, care should be taken to
have them strictly agricultural and horticul
tural. Mechanical and other exhibits should
be encouraged only in so far as they concern
the cultivation of the land and the improve
ment of live stock, crops and other products
of the soil. In the past the tendency ran too
greatly to mere exhibitions, as such, and the
farmer and gardener naturally lost interest.
The fair became a city show rather than a
farmer's exhibition. Even horse racing should
be only sparingly admitted. The continued
success of our horticultural society shows
where our county fairs failed. Let the fair
be an exhibition of the products of the farm
and the garden, including of course so much
machinery, vehicles and implements as re
late to these products. If the farmer or the
gardener wishes to go to other shows he can
do so; but let the fair be his own show, the
annual reunion where he and his friends may
come together.
Sec. 2. — Hailstorm^ Flood and Tornado.
—The county fair held in 1886 was marked
by one of the few disastrous natural phe
nomena that have visited this county. The
older inhabitants tell us of destructive floods
that occurred on the St. Joseph river, one on
January 15, 1847, and one on June 17, 1855.
We have also seen, in chapter seventh of this
history,6 that this locality was visited, on
August' 9, 1865, by a tornado from the south-
a. Chap. 9, Subd. 3, Sec. 4.
b. Chap. 7, Subd. 2, Sec. 2.

west, which did much damage in the city
of South Bend, unroofing the court house
blowing down one bent of the old Water street
bridge, and overturning and injuring many
buildings. Except the floods of 1847 and
1855 and the tornado of 1865, there is no
record of any excessively violent action of
the elements within the limits of the county
until the great hailstorm of 1886.
About fifteen minutes after two o 'clock on
the afternoon of Wednesday, September 22,
1886, this hailstorm, coming from a point a
little east of north, broke over the north
central part of St. Joseph county. In less
than five minutes, the ground was white with
hailstones from the size of a walnut to that
of a hen's egg, and even larger. Some picked
up off the streets in South Bend measured
eleven inches in circumference. Window
glass was broken in about every house in
South Bend. On the county fair grounds,
horses were struck, and ran, with buggies,
wagons and carriages, in every direction.
The people, crowded all over the grounds,
were wild with fright; but, happily, no one
was seriously injured. In the region of the
storm, the chief loss suffered was the destruc
tion of window glass. It is doubtful whether
a single window on the north side of any
building was left without broken panes of
glass. The Oliver Chilled Plow works and
the Studebaker works, each, suffered a loss
of from ten to twelve thousand fights. The
loss of the churches was very great, espe
cially in the destruction of stained glass.
The Reformed church, First M. E. church,
First Presbyterian church and St.' Joseph's
Catholic church lost the stained glass on the
north sides of the buildings. The damage to
glass at Notre Dame was estimated at a thou
sand dollars. A peculiar accident was the
knocking of the hour hand off the face of
the city clock.
The storm originated just north of Niles,
was three miles in width and extended for
about seven miles south of1 the city of South
Bend. The largest stones fell over the ter-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

271

ritory from Notre Dame and St. Mary's to
points just south of South Bend. The form
of the stones that fell in the city and on
the fair grounds was spherical ; further south
the stones were jagged. At either side of
the line of hail there was a heavy fall of
rain. The duration of the storm, in any one
place, was about seven minutes.
Comparing the hailstorm of , 1886 with
the tornado of 1865, it is noticeable that
they proceeded from nearly opposite direc
tions, — the tornado up the Kankakee valley,
from the southwest ; and the hailstorm from
a little east of north.
Sec. 3. — Horticultural Society. — On No
vember 9, 1892, the St. Joseph" County Hor
ticultural Society was formed, on petition to
the State Horticultural Society, and by action
of that body, as provided by statute. The
membership is without limit, new mem
bers being admitted at any regular meeting
on the vote of a majority of the society.
Honorary members are also provided for.
The meetings of this society are to a great ex
tent of a social character and have been of
exceeding interest to the members. A feature
of the membership is that the wives of mem
bers are admitted, without payment of dues,
to the full privileges of the society. Much
good has accrued to the fruit interests of the
county, by reason of the discussions and de
liberations, as well as by the exhibitions, of
this very successful society.
Sec. 4. — Farmers' Fire Insurance Com
pany.— On August 25, 1877, the Farmers'
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of St. Jo
seph county, was organized. The principle
on which the society proposed to act was that
all losses should be paid by a pro rata as
sessment on all the members. The plan has
proved successful, and the farmers of the
county have secured insurance for their prop
erty at actual cost. The membership has al
ways included the best farmers of the county.
The original incorporators of the company
were:

Samuel Bowman, Aaron Jones, William D.
Rockhill, George H. Stover (Center town
ship), Adam M. Shidler, Basil Rupel, Elias
Rupel, Asa Knott, Christian Holler, Louis
De Coudres, Neely Frame, Thomas B. Chal
fant, William 0. Jackson, Edwin M. Irvin
and James R. Miller.
See. 5. — The Grange, Farmers' Insti
tutes, etc. — A society that has been of the
greatest good to St. Joseph county farmers,
by reason of its perfect organization and the
close friendship which it secures among its
members, is the Grange. St. Joseph Valley
Grange, No. 584, has been most successful
from the beginning, and its members have
been among the most influential in the order.
In the person of Aaron Jones, the local organ
ization has frequently furnished the master
for the Indiana State Grange; and for sev
eral years Mr. Jones was the most ef
ficient master of the ^National Grange. In
deed, it was chiefly through him that the
farmers of the United States have become a
living force in shaping the internal policy
of the nation. The present officers of the
St. Joseph Valley Grange are: Master,
John Layton; secretary, Mrs. William
Golden; treasurer, Carrie E. Webster. The
officers of Pomona Grange, No. 31, are : Mas
ter, L. P. Robertson; secretary, Maud Gray;
treasurer, Mrs. Samuel Bowman.
For many years the citizens of St. Joseph
county have enjoyed the pleasures and ad
vantages of yearly Farmers' Institutes, in
which a full week is taken up in valuable in
struction and discussion, during the fall or
winter season. These institutes have been
schools, in which study and recreation have
been combined in an eminent degree. Dis
tinguished lecturers from Purdue University
and other seats of learning are always pro
vided. The institutes at which Governor and
Mrs. James A. Mount were present are treas
ured in the memory of all the people of the
county.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE TOWNSHIPS.

In chapter fifth, subdivision second, we
have seen that St. Joseph county proper,
as originally formed, was thirty miles square ;
and that, in addition, there was attached to
the county for governmental purposes all the
unorganized territory west to the Illinois line,
including the present counties of Laporte,
Porter and Lake, as well as parts of Mar
shall and Starke. Afterwards all unorgan
ized . territory to the south was added for
jurisdictional purposes. The area of the
county proper included ranges one and two
west, and one, two and three east, and ex
tended thirty miles south of the Michigan
line.I. the first division op the county into
townships.
On November 25, 1830, the county board,
then styled the board of justices, divided the
whole county, including the attached terri
tory, into four townships, as follows:
Sec. 1. — Michigan Township.— The at
tached territory on the west, that is, all
west of the line dividing ranges two and
three west, and extending to the Illinois state
line, was called Michigan township. This
township included the territory now em
braced within the western part of Laporte
county and all of Porter and Lake counties.
It was called Michigan township from the
circumstance that it was bounded on the
north by Lake Michigan.
Sec. 2. — Deschemin Township. — The first
township east of Michigan embraced ranges
one and two west, and was called Deschemin.

272

Range two west is now within Laporte
county, as is also the west half of range one
west. A part of the east half of range one
west is all of Deschemin township that still
remains in St. Joseph county. The name of
the township was, no doubt, a corruption of
the French Du Chemin, by which name Hud
son lake was formerly known. This lake was
in the heart of the township. As we have
seen, the name first given to Hudson lake—
Du Chemin — Of the Road, was no doubt taken
from the great east and west road, long known
as the "Great Sauk Trail," and afterwards
as the Detroit and Chicago, or simply the Chi
cago road.a
See. 3. — German Township. — East of Des
chemin was German township, embracing
range one east and also the west half of
range two east, and extending consequently
nine miles east of the second principal me
ridian. The township therefore included the
eastern part of the present township of Olive,
all of Warren, the western part of German
and Portage, the greater part of Greene and
Liberty, the west part of Union and the east
part of Lincoln. It is said to have been
named from some German settlers then re
siding within its boundaries.
Sec. 4. — Portage Township. — All of the
county east of the middle line of range two
east was called Portage township. The east
boundary of the county at.. that time was
the east line of range three, so that Portage
township was a range and a half "in width,
the same as German. It included the eastern
See Chap. 2, Subd. 5; also Chap. 5, Subd. 4.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

273

parts of the present townships of German,
Portage and Union, all of Clay and Center
and the western parts of Harris, Penn and
Madison. The township was named from the
old portage extending through the township
from the St. Joseph to the Kankakee.
II. SECOND DIVISION INTO TOWNSHIPS.
On September 7, 1831, being the first meet
ing of our first board of county commission
ers, the board repealed and set aside the order
of the board of justices, made November. 25,
1830, and ordered that the county be divided
into three townships, as follows:
Sec. 1.— Portage Township. — The order
of the county commissioners was that Port
age township should embrace ranges two and
three east. The township included the pres
ent townships of German, Clay, Portage,
Center and Union; the east parts of Greene
and Liberty; and the west parts of Harris,
Penn and Madison, — being about one-half the
area of the present county. It included, be
sides, a part of Marshall county.
Sec. 2. — Center Township. — Ranges one
east and one west were by the same order
formed into the township of Center. This
township embraced all of the present county
of St. Joseph west of the east- line of War
ren, township, and nearly all of the east tier
of townships of the present county of La
porte, besides parts of Marshall and Starke
counties. Sec. 3. — Highland Township. — All the
territory west of range number one west was
formed ' into a township which was called
Highland. No part of this township was
within the present limits of St. Joseph county.
The township, no doubt, received its name
from the high lands of rolling prairie.
See. 4. — Commissioners' Districts. — In
the same order the county board provided
that Portage township should form the first
county commissioners' district; Center town
ship, the second district ; and Highland town
ship, the third district.
is

III. third division into townships.
On January 9, 1832, the county of La
porte was organized, taking from St.. Joseph
county all territory west of the middle line
of range number one west. On the 31st of
the same month the legislature detached from
Elkhart county and added to St. Joseph
county the west half of range number four
east." It therefore became necessary for the
county board of St. Joseph county to make
a third division of the county into townships.
Accordingly, on May 6, 1832, it was ordered
that the county be divided into three new
townships, as follows:
Sec. 1. — Penn Township. — All that part
of St. Joseph county lying east of the line
dividing ranges two and three east was
formed into a township called Penn. The
township so formed embraced all the terri
tory now included in the townships of Har
ris, Penn and Madison, and also the east
parts of Clay, Portage, Center and Union.
Sec. 2. — Portage • Township. — By the same
order range two east was formed into a town
ship which was called Portage. This town
ship included the territory embraced within
the present township of German, besides
parts of Clay, Portage, Greene, Center, Lib
erty and Union.
Sec. 3. — Olive Township. — All of the
county lying west of range two east was con
stituted a township called Olive. This town
ship included the territory embraced in the
present townships of Warren, Olive and Lin
coln, and parts of Greene and Liberty. The
township was named after Olive Stanton Vail,
wife of Charles Vail, who settled in the
township in 1830.
Sec. 4. — Commissioners' Districts. — The
board in the same order re-arranged the
county commissioners' districts, as follows:
The first district embraced all of the county
east of range two east; the second district,
all of the county within range two east; and
the third, all of the county west of range two
east. The first district, consequently, em-
a. See Chap. 5, Subd. 9, of this History.

274

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

braced all the territory of Penn township;
the second, all of Portage; and the third,
all of Olive. , These townships have been very
much changed since that time ; but the county
commissioners' districts have remained un
changed since the order so made by the
county board, January 9, 1832.
iv. two lost townships.
Besides the townships of Michigan, Desche
min and Highland, which were lost to St.
Joseph county on the west, we also lost two
others; one on the south and one on the
northeast. gec_ l.— Plymouth.— On September 1,
1834, the county board ordered that all the
territory of the county lying south of the
north line of congressional township thirty-
five north, should form a new township to be
called Plymouth. The township so formed
included the south parts of the present town
ships Of Madison, Union and Liberty, and
all of Lincoln. It also included so much
of the present counties of Marshall and
Starke as then formed a part of St. Joseph
county. In the order setting off the township the
board provided for an election for the choice
of two justices of the peace for said town
ship, to be held on the 27th of September,
1834. On October 13th of the same year the
election so held was contested before the
board; when the contest was sustained and
a new election ordered. Both elections were
held "at Grove Pomeroy's, in said town of
Plymouth, in St. Joseph county." Mr.
Pomeroy was himself appointed inspector of
election until the ensuing April election. At
the May term, 1835, of the county board,
Samuel D. Tabor was "allowed the sum of
one dollar and a half for making a return
of the election of Plymouth township."
The town of Plymouth, now the county seat
of Marshall county, was situated in and gave
its name to the township of Plymouth. We
have' already seen that the plat of this town
was filed and recorded in the office of the re

corder of St. Joseph, county," in October
1834.° The commissioners ' records show that
on December 7, 1835, there was recorded
therein the description and plat of the "sur
vey of the state road from Goshen in Elk
hart county, to Plymouth, in St. Joseph
county. ' '
By an act of the legislature approved
February 7, 1835, the north boundary of
Marshall county was defined to be the north
line of congressional township thirty-four,
leaving all of township thirty-five in St. Jo
seph county. This congressional township,
as we have seen, was included in the civil
township of Plymouth. The act of February
7, 1835, does not seem to have been intended
as completing the organization of Marshall
county ; but by an act passed at the next ses
sion of the legislature, February 4, 1836, the
county was finally organized, and the north
boundary of the county was extended to the
middle line of congressional township thirty-
five, thus leaving in St. Joseph county only
so much of Plymouth township as was in
cluded in the north half of congressional
township thirty-five.6 The consequence was
that Plymouth, as a township of St. Joseph
county, ceased to exist, the territory still re
maining being attached to the adjacent town
ships of the county, as their boundaries were
defined by successive orders of the board of
county commissioners.
Sec. 2. — Washington. — But few of the
people of St. Joseph county are aware that
Washington was the name of a township once
provided for by order of our county board.
This township was located in the southeast
corner of the county, and embraced all of
fractional congressional township thirty-
eight that lies east of the west line of sec
tions eight, seventeen, twenty, twenty-nine
and thirty-two, township thirty-eight north,
range three east. It included the territory
of the present township of Harris, the north
part of Penn and the east part of Clay.
a. See Chap. 5, Subd. 4.
See Chap. 5, Subd. 9.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

275

The order for the formation of the town
ship was made May 4, 1835 ; and in the same
order it was provided that all elections in
the township should be held at the house of
Jonathan Hartsell. It does not appear, how
ever, that any election took place in Wash
ington township; and the order for the
formation of the township was itself ex
punged from the record of the board, for
the reason, no doubt, that the action taken
was not favored by a majority of the people
affected. During the next year, as we shall
see, a smaller township, that of Harris, was
formed out of a part of the same territory,
omitting the south tier of sections proposed
for Washington township.
V. THE PRESENT TOWNSHIPS.
Considering only the territory now within
the limits of St. Joseph county, the original
townships, as formed by order of the county
board, May 6, 1832, were Penn, Portage and
Olive. Portage then embraced the territory
covered by range two east; Penn, all east of
that range; and Olive, all west of it.
The three county commissioners' districts
coincided with the same descriptions; and,
while the townships have changed very much
since that time, the commissioners' districts
have, as already said, remained unchanged
to this day.
Our thirteen civil townships, as now con
stituted, have resulted from the subdivisions
made in the three original townships of Penn,
Portage and Olive, as ordered from time to
time by the board of county commissioners.
Sec. 1. — German. — On January 6, 1834, the
township of German was formed, embracing
all of congressional fractional township thirty-
eight north, range two east, together with
one tier of sections on the west, taken out of
range one east. This township, therefore,
the first to be carved out of the original three
townships, was taken almost wholly out of
Portage township, only the western tier of
sections coining out of Olive. The territory
of the township is now included in the pres

ent township of German, the west part of
Clay and the east part of Warren.
By an order of the county board for the
formation of Warren township, Novemlber 5,
1838, the tier of sections on the west of
German was attached to Warren; and by a
like order for the formation of Clay town
ship, May 5, 1840, that part of German east
of the St. Joseph river was attached to Clay.
These changes/left German township of the
dimensions which it still retains; namely, all
of congressional fractional township thirty-
eight north, range two east, which lies west
of the St. Joseph river. The first German
township, that formed by order of the board
of justices, November 25, 1830, was a much
more extensive territory, embracing range one
east and the west half of range two east.
Doubtless the name of the new and smaller
township was given with a wish to retain the
favored name given to the first township.
German township is by nature one of the
most favored townships in the county; and
the locality is undoubtedly the most famous
in our early history. Portage Prairie covers
the greater part of the township; and this
prairie constitutes one of the finest farming
districts in the world. The township is purely
an agricultural one; and is said to be the
wealthiest township per capita in Indiana.
Historically the township is most interest
ing. The famous portage between the St.
Joseph and the Kankakee crosses this and
Portage township. Over this portage the com
merce between the lakes and the Mississippi
passed for ages. Over this went Marquette,
La Salle and Charlevoix. Here, near the
spot yet known as Mount Pleasant, was
once the great Miami village, where, in
1681 La Salle made his celebrated treaty
with the Miami tribe. Here, at the junction
of the portage with the St. Joseph river,
was once the ambitious county seat of St.
Joseph county, called also St. Joseph.
A little further up on the river was
the little and, for a time, more important
town of Portage, where there was a ferry

276

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

across the river, and where the over san
guine projectors felt sure that a great town
must grow up. But the Miami village,
Mount Pleasant, St. Joseph and Portage have
all passed, leaving not a vestige of their
former urban life. Riverview cemetery al
most reaches the site of La Salle's landing,
and extends out, as if in sympathy with the
dead towns of St. Joseph and Portage. A
little lower down the stream, is the new and
beautiful county asylum, for the poor and
helpless, lately erected in close proximity to
those historic scenes and surroundings.
That the old portage is in German town
ship, that the first county seat was there and
that its prairies are among the finest farm
lands in the world, is quite enough to enable
us to understand why this should be the. first
township to be carved out of the original
three. From the nature of things, such a
locality must have attracted settlers in the
very beginning. William Brookfield, our
first surveyor, and the man who laid out our
first and our second county seat, came in
1827. In chapter fourth, subdivision fourth,
we have already given the names of some of
the other settlers of this township, from 1827
to 1833.
The first church erected was a brick build
ing still standing on section eighteen, town
ship thirty-eight range two east. It is Ger
man Baptist, and was erected in 1851. But
church services were held at a much earlier
date. The first pastor was Elder David Mil
ler, who organized a congregation in 1831.
Aaron Miller was. also a minister of the
church. John Martindale, a minister of the Chris
tian church, and Robert Martindale, his
brother, a minister of the Baptist church,
were also religious teachers in the early his
tory of the county, preaching and holding
services in school-houses and private homes.
A Methodist church, erected in 1854, passed
to the Baptist church, and is still occupied
by that church. Elder Campbell was the
first minister to hold services in the church.

This church is located in the southwest corner
of section fifteen. Mr. Josiah G. Keltner has
been an active member of this chureh, and
the membership has been steady and con
tinuous from the beginning.
There is a Universalist church on section
thirty-two. The congregation was organized
in 1858. The first pastor was the Rev. Jacob
Merrifield. The first school house in the township was
built at Mount Pleasant; and schools have
been maintained ever since by this intelli
gent community ; from those conducted in the
simple log school house of the first settlers to
the comfortable edifices of the present day.
The census of the township, for 1890, showed
five hundred and thirteen inhabitants. This
population had increased, in 1900, to five hun
dred and thirty-six.
The record of German township, save in
the efforts to build up towns, has been that
of a prosperous community. This prosperity
has been purely agricultural. The people
of the township have accepted and believed
in the truth, that there is no more happy
or useful life than that of the contented ,
farmer who has reached comfortable condi
tions. This is the ideal life ; and such rural
communities are the security of the strength
and stability of our free institutions.
Sec. 2. — Greene. — The second township to
be carved out of the original three was
Greene, which was formed January 4, 1836.
The following were the boundaries of the
township as then constituted: Commencing
at the southeast corner of section one, town
ship thirty-six, range two east; thence west
to middle of section three, same township and
range ; thence north to the north line of sec
tion twenty-seven, township thirty-seven,
range two east ; thence west to the Kankakee
river; thence with the Kankakee to the La
porte county line ; thence south to the south
line of congressional township thirty-five;
thence east to the east line of section thirty-
six, township thirty-five, range two east;
thence north to the point of beginning. This

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

277

territory included the present townships of
Greene, Liberty and Lincoln; also the west
part of Union and the southwest part of Cen
ter, besides the northwest part of what is
now Marshall county, but which at the time
was still in St. Joseph eounty.
By the act of February 4, 1836, fixing the
northern boundary of Marshall county, the
south line of Greene township was made to
coincide with the present south boundary of
St. Joseph county, as far to the east as the
township then extended.
On March 6, 1837, by the order of the
county board in forming the township of
Union, all of the territory east of the present
township of Liberty and south of the present
township of Center was taken from Greene
and attached to Union.
By the order of the county board, made
May 2, 1837, the township of Liberty was
formed. In this order the south line of
Greene was fixed as at present, that is, the
middle line of congressional township thirty-
six. Finally, by the order of May 6, 1840,
forming Center township, the east line of
Greene was fixed as at present, to-wit, the
middle line of range two east.
By orders of the board of county com
missioners, made September 8, 1841, July 1,
1843 and June 6, 1844, various slight
changes were made in the boundaries of the
townships of Greene, Olive and Warren, re
sulting, however, in leaving the Kankakee
river as the boundary of Greene on the north
west, as fixed by the order of January 4,
1836, when the township was first formed.
But after the drainage of the valley and the
drying up of the Kankakee along this boun
dary, it was found that the great ditch, which
was cut for the purpose of making that drain
age, would be a more suitable division line
between the townships than the winding line
of the dried up river bed. Accordingly, on
June 20, 1898, the commissioners made the
following order :
"The board having under consideration

the changing of the boundary lines between
the townships of Olive, Warren and Greene,
made necessary by private individuals caus
ing a large ditch [The Miller Ditch] to be
dug through the Kankakee marsh, thus dry
ing up the Kankakee river which has been
the boundary line between said townships,
find that it would be of public interest and
benefit that the old lines be vacated, and that
the middle line of said ditch, as now estab
lished and dug, shall be the dividing line
between said townships, from and after this
date." The great ditch which was thus made the
boundary between the township of Greene,
on the one side, and the townships of Olive
and Warren on the other follows closely the
general line of the Kankakee river, whose
place it has taken both as a water-course and
as a boundary.
The Kankakee river extends along all of
the northwest side of the township; while
in the northeast part is Sumption prairie, one
of the richest and most beautiful of the
prairies of St. Joseph county. The township
is further remarkable by reason of its numer
ous lakes, — Goose lake, Duck lake, Wharton
lake, Bolin lake, — and many others. The
township has always been purely an agricul
tural one.
In the reminiscences of Mr. Daniel Greene,
found in chapter fourth, subdivision fifth,
of this history, a full and interesting account
of the early settlement of this township is
given. The beauty and fertility of Sumption
prairie made this one of the sections of the
eounty to which settlers were first attracted.
The prairie was named from George Sump
tion who settled upon it in April, 1830;
while the township received its name from the
Greene family. Daniel Greene's father, John
Greene, first visited northern Indiana, on
horseback, in 1830. He continued his ex
plorations of Indiana and southern Michigan
in 1831; and, finally, in 1832, the family,
with many kinfolk and friends from Greene
county, Ohio, made their removal to Sump-

278

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

tion prairie, which was to be their perma
nent home. Samuel Leeper, in company with
his father-in-law, Joseph Rohrer, first came
to the St. Joseph valley in August, 1829. In
March, 1830, he brought his family here from
Ohio. They located near McCartney's creek,
just north of the crossing of the Michigan
road, where David R. Leeper was born, Janu
ary 12, 1832. They subsequently removed to
a point on Sumption prairie road about three
miles south of South Bend. Daniel Greene
married Mr. Samuel Leeper 's daughter.
Those early settlers seemed to give character
to the population of the township; and the
inhabitants of that beautiful section of the
county have to this day stood breast to breast
with the most intelligent and progressive of
our citizens. It is an ideal farming com
munity; and what has been said in this re
spect of German township is true also of
Greene. The Methodist church was the first to be
established in the township. This was in
1832, under the Rev. Nehemiah B. Griffith.0
As in German township, the services were
for a long time conducted in private houses
and in the log school houses. In 1841 a
church edifice was erected. Numerous zealous
ministers have served the worthy members of
that church from the date of its1 first or
ganization by Mr. Griffith, in 1832, until the
present time. Among them are the Reverend
James Armstrong, R. T. Robinson, G. M.
Beswick, Richard Hargrave, Warren Griffith,
Elias Cook, Mr. Moore, J. S. Donelson, Hiram
Ball, Thomas Hackney, Albion Fellows, P. H.
Bradley, John Mahon, George Guion, A.
Byers, A. Hayes, Jesse Hill, J. H. Clay-
pool, John E. Newhouse, E. W. Lowhouse,
J. J. Hines, J. Robertson, B. H. Bradberry,
Reuben Saunders, Francis Cox, 0. H. Beebe.
In 1865 the society built a new and commo-
a. Mr. Daniel Greene, whose interesting remi
niscences are given in Chap. 4, Subd. 6, of this
work, says that George Baker, father of Adam S.
and George W. Baker, was instrumental in estab
lishing this first Methodist church in Greene
township, and that he there organized the first
Sunday school south of South Bend.

dious church, thirty-six by fifty-five feet in
(dimensions, with basement.
In 1836, the Rev. Alfred Bryant, of South
Bend, organized the first Presbyterian church
in Greene township. Other ministers have
been the Reverend Messrs. Tombley, Reeves
and Brown. The latter was a chaplain in
the Civil war. The first members of this
church were John McCullough and his family
and Mr. and Mrs. Hammond. Members of
the Greene family and others soon after
joined. The original church was built iu
1838. Previous to that date services were
held in a school house on the site now oc
cupied by the church, on the farm of Mr.
McCullough. On February 22, 1846, Elders Samuel Mil
ler and Peter Hummer organized a Baptist
society. Other ministers have been Elders
McDonald, Hastings, Hitchcock, Miller,
Craft, Vaughn and Finch, The society, like
others, at first occupied a school house; but
in 1852 they took measures for the erection
of a church, which was completed in 1855.
The German Baptists, known also as Dun-
kards, whose purpose is to live the simple,
primitive life of the early Christians, erected
at an early day, what is usually called the
Oak Grove church. One of the earliest
ministers of this church was Mr. Whitmer.
In 1868, the Rev. James Ferris organized
the Adventist church. This society has one
of the finest brick churches in the town
ship. A society was also established which built
a church in the southeast part of the town
ship, known as Maple Grove church. This
society was afterwards removed to Olive
Branch, in Union township, where, in 1878,
they erected a beautiful little church which
the society still occupies.
A society of the Evangelical church was at
an early date also organized in the town
ship. As might be expected from the character
of the good people of the township, not only
were churches provided for, but also schools.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

279

The first school house in the township was
erected in 1832. There were then neither
special nor common school funds available;
and the people came together and built the
simple log structure, with its puncheon floor
and clapboard roof. To keep up the schools
of those early days the people voluntarily
taxed themselves for the necessary funds.
Among the early teachers were Messrs. Hollo
way, Rohn, Dwindle, and Miss Greene. By
the United States census of 1900, the popu
lation of Greene township was seven hundred
and seventy-two.
Sec. 3. — Harris.- — In subdivision fourth
of this chapter, it is shown that the town
ship of Washington was formed in the south
east corner of St. Joseph county, by order of
the county board, made May 4, 1835. This
order was canceled soon after it was made;
but a few months later, on January 5, 1836,
the township of Harris was formed in the
same locality, but embracing less territory.
The boundaries of Harris township, as
formed by the last mentioned order were as
follows: Commencing at the northwest
corner of section eight, township thirty-eight,
range three east; thence south to the south
west corner of section twenty-nine, same
township and range; thence east to the
county line; thence north to the state line;
thence east to the place of beginning.
By an order made May 5, 1840, the county
board, in forming Clay township, detached a
section and a half in width, east and west,
off the west side of Harris and attached the
same to Clay. On December 7, 1842, another
half section in width, east and west, was de
tached from Harris and added to Clay. By
these two orders Harris was reduced to its
present dimensions, to-wit : Beginning on the
north boundary of the state, at the north
west corner of fractional section ten, town
ship thirty-eight north, range three east;
thence south to the southwest corner of sec
tion twenty-seven, same township and range ;
thence east to the line dividing St. Joseph
and Elkhart counties; thence north to the

north boundary of the state; thence west to
the beginning.
Harris resembles Greene township in one
particular: it contains one of the finest up
land prairies in the county, and it also eon-
tains a large • area of lowland. There is,
however, no river in or near Harris, as there
is in Greene; but a sluggish stream, known
as Sheffield creek farther down, formerly led
through the marsh land to the St. Joseph
river. This stream has been' converted into
a great state ditch; and the lowlands have
become nearly as valuable as the uplands of
Harris prairie.
The prairie and the township both received
their name from Jacob Harris, who settled
in the township in 1830. In the same year
or the year previous came the Baldwins,
David and Josephus. Samuel Bell came with
his father-in-law, Jacob Harris. During the
same year, 1830, came Adam Miller, a Bap
tist preacher; also Adam Ringle. Other very
early settlers were: Joseph Buell, Henry
Augustine, Jacob Meyer, Mr. Hartzell, Rob
ert Kennedy, David Ringle and his sons Sam
uel and Levi, Arbogast Zaehnle, W. and E.
M. Irvin and James Lowry.
The first school-house was of logs, and in
dimensions fourteen by sixteen feet. A large
fireplace, into which a big "back-log" was
first placed, with a "fore-stick" supported
on "and-irons" furnished the means of se
curing a roaring fire for the winter days.
The chimney was of short sticks laid like the
logs of the house, and, like the logs, chinked
with mud made of stiff clay.
The first , school master was Robert Ken
nedy. He was one of the good and strong
men, not only of Harris township, but of
St. Joseph county itself. He afterwards re
moved to St. Edward, Nebraska, and there
bore the same high character that had dis
tinguished him in Indiana.
The churches that have been organized in
Harris township are the Presbyterian, the
Evangelical and the Christian.
Harris township is distinguished by having

280

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

a thriving, though as yet quite small town,
the town of Granger, situated on the Grand
Trunk railroad. This road passes northeast
erly from Mishawaka, through Penn and Har
ris townships. The next station beyond Gran
ger is Edwardsburg, in the state of Michigan.
The population of Harris township by the
census of 1900, including the town of Gran
ger, was four hundred and eighty-one. The
township is next to the smallest in the county,
having but a section of land more than Cen
ter. But, like Center, Harris makes up in
quality for what it lacks in quantity.
Sec. 4.— Union.— On March 6, 1837, by
order of the county commissioners, the town
ship of Union was formed, with the following
boundaries : Beginning at the northwest cor
ner of section twenty, township thirty-six,
range two east; thence south to the county
line ; thence east to the southeast corner of sec
tion eighteen, township thirty-five, range three
east; thence north to the northeast corner of
section nineteen, township thirty-six, range
three east; thence west to the place of begin
ning. The following sections were afterwards
taken from Madison and added to Union:
sections seventeen, eight and five, and the
west half of sections sixteen, nine and four,
township thirty-five, north; also sections
thirty-two and twenty-nine, the west half of
section thirty-three, the southwest quarter of
section twenty-eight and the south half of sec
tion twenty, township thirty-six, north, — all
in range three, east.
The first settlements in this township were
on the Michigan road lands. Elijah Lineback,
John Henderson, Johh Gardner and the three
Rectors, John, Jacob and Mark, came in 1833.
Other very early settlers were : Hubbard Hen
derson, John, James and Eli Moon, James An
nis, Michael Hupp, Abijah Mills, William H.
Robertson, Henry Hardy, Esau Lamb, Daniel
Glenn, Amos Heston, Henry Riddle, John
Riddle, James Watson, John Shivery, William
Hughes, Joseph Morris, W. Nickelson, David
Whitinger and John Long.

Originally the soil of this township was not
looked upon with favor by settlers. It was
chiefly heavily timbered clay and marsh land-
and while the soil was a strong and fertile
one, yet not until after its drainage was the
locality looked upon as desirable for farming.
The drainage has now to a great extent been
accomplished, and some of the choicest farms
of the county are to be found in Union town
ship. There is but one town in the township, the
village of Lakeville. This town was built up
near the banks of Riddle's lake, just south
of the town. Pleasant lake and numerous
other pretty little lakes are in the vieinity.
At first Lakeville depended upon the travel
along the Michigan road and upon the slowly
growing settlements in the vicinity; but after
the building of the Vandalia railroad its pros
perity was assured, and since the Wabash
from Toledo to Chicago was built through the
town, its growth has been rapid.
One mile north of Lakeville, in 1858, was
built the first church in the township. This
was built by the Methodist Episcopal Society,
which had been organized about 1839.
The United Brethren Society was organized
about the same time as the Methodist Episco
pal. The meeting place of this society was
about two miles north of Lakeville. In 1878,
they removed to Olive Branch, and built the
church of that name of which we have made
mention in the sketch of Greene township.
The Advent Society erected a chureh in
1880. For a great number of years previous
to this the society held meetings in the school-
houses and in private houses. In the, summer
of 1862, they held protracted services in a
tent erected for that purpose.
The Christian Society has a fine church in
Lakeville. In 1875, a Union church was erected in the
northeast part of tbe township where different
denominations hold services.
The first school-house in the township was
erected in 1836. As in other parts of the
' county, this primitive house of learning was

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

281

built of logs, with split slabs laid together for
a floor. The schools and school-houses of the
present day are a credit to the intelligence of
the enterprising and prosperous citizens of
this township. The population of Union town
ship by the census of 1900, including the town
of Lakeville, was one thousand, seven hun
dred and thirty-three.
Sec. 5. — Liberty. — Liberty followed Union
very closely. By order entered May 2, 1837,
the county commissioners provided that the
following territory should be embraced within
a township to be known as Liberty: Begin
ning at the northwest corner of section twen
ty, township thirty-six, range two east;
thence west to the Kankakee river; thence
down the river to the Laporte eounty line;
thence south to the Starke county line ; thence
east to the west line of Marshall county;
thence north to the north line of Marshall
county ; thence east to the southeast corner of
seetion eighteen,, township thirty-five, range
two east; thence north to the place of begin
ning. The township continued as formed in 1837,
until June 7, 1866, when all the- territory
south and west of the following line was taken
from Liberty and formed into Lincoln town
ship: Beginning at the intersection of the
south line of Congressional township thirty-
six with the Kankakee river; thence east to
the southeast corner of section thirty-six,
township thirty-six, range one west; thence
south to the southwest corner of section six,
township thirty-five, range one east ; thence
east to the southeast corner of seetion five,
township thirty-five, range one east; thence
south to the Marshall county line. Liberty
township, as so limited, has continued un
changed ever since.
The region along the Kankakee is low land,
but has been reclaimed. Several smalf lakes
are found in other parts of the township,
the lands in the vicinity having also been re
claimed by drainage. The uplands are in
general exceedingly fertile; gravel and sandy

soils being found in certain localities. The
lands were all heavily timbered.
Settlements were first made in 1833, near
the site of the present town of North Liberty.
Those who came that year were Jacob and
John Earhart, John Kane and Isaac Town-
send. Other early settlers were: Daniel
Ross, Jesse Palmer, James Loring, John and
David Rupel, Joseph Liggett, Amos Liggett,
Levi and Benjamin Collins, Daniel Antrim,
James P. Antrim, Samuel Loring, James Cole,
Franklin Pearee, Jacob Dukeman, Samuel
and S. G. Williams, Rheinhard Cripe and
Mr. Waldsmith, — all worthy pioneers, who
laid broad and deep the foundations of an
industrious, well-ordered and prosperous com
munity. The town of North Liberty is located in.
the northwest part of the township ; and is a
growing and prosperous community, being
situated at the junction of two of our great
railroads, the Wabash and the Three "I,"
now operated by the Lake Shore Railroad
Company. The town was laid out January
12, 1836, by Daniel Antrim and James P. An
trim. Tyra W. Bray, one of the early engi
neers of the county, who had been already
county surveyor and who was afterwards
county auditor, was the surveyor of the town
plat. Some of the most enterprising busi
ness men of North Liberty have been the
Houser Brothers, the Cole Brothers, Norman
S. Miller and Houser & Knepp. The inhabit
ants of North Liberty and of the township
generally, are chiefly of the sturdy Pennsylva
nia German stock.
The Methodist Society built the first chureh
in the township. It was built in the town of
North Liberty in 1851. A finer one was
erected in its place in 1878. Some of the most
eminent ministers of the church in North
Liberty have been the Reverends A. Bradley,
R. H. Saunders, Samuel T. Cooper, H. B.
Ball, Nelson Green, James Green, Samuel
Godfrey, J. C. Metzger, S. Lamb and C. W.
Miller. The Adventists erected a church in North

282

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Liberty in 1868. The Episcopalians a little
later. The German Baptists are amongst the
most numerous of the Christian societies in
the township. They have two churches in the
country. The Evangelical denomination is
also represented. Also the Lutheran and the
United Brethren.
The usual first log school-house was erected
in 1838. Since that date the schools have
grown numerous and have improved as others
in the county. A high-school was erected in
the town of North Liberty in 1868.
Notwithstanding the prosperous town of
North Liberty, with its fine railroad facili
ties; the township is nevertheless essentially
an agricultural district. The farming com
munity is an example of all that is character
istic of good American citizenship. But little
litigation reaches the county seat. The people
lead sober, industrious and contented lives.
The nation is strong in the lives of such citi
zens. There is no happier life than that of
the Liberty township farmer. According to
the census of 1900, the population of the
township, including that of the town of North
Liberty, was one thousand, eight hundred and
forty-three, North Liberty having five hun
dred and four.
Sec. 6. — Warren. — The sixth township to
be formed by subdivision of the original three,
— Penn, Portage and Olive — was Warren, so
called for Warren county, Ohio, from which
many of the first inhabitants of the township
emigrated. The order for the formation of
this township was made November 5, 1838;
the boundaries then provided for being as fol
lows : Beginning on the state line, at the in
tersection of the range line between ranges one
and two east; thence west to a point eighty
rods west of the northwest corner of section
ten, township thirty-eight, range one east;
thence south to Grapevine creek ; thence down
the creek to the Kankakee river; thence up
the Kankakee to the range line aforesaid;
thence north to the beginning.
By the orders of September 8, 1841, July
1, 1843, June 6, 1844, and June 20, 1898,

already referred to in this chapter and sub
division, in the history of Greene township
certain minor changes were made, from time
to time, in the western and southern bound
aries of Warren township. The Grapevine
creek was always too insignificant a stream to
be made a township boundary ; and the Kan
kakee itself, after the turning of the river into
a great ditch, under operation of the drain-
age laws, was equally unsuited for the pur
pose. The result of the various orders referred
to was that the west boundary of the town
ship remained as originally fixed, namely, the
line running south from a point on the state
line eighty rods west of the northwest corner
of fractional section ten, township thirty-
eight, range one east; except that, in section
twenty-one, township thirty-seven, in the
same range, for the second eighty rods from
the north, the west boundary is removed one
hundred and twenty rods west of the range
line, and for the remainder of the distance
south through that section, and south through
section twenty-eight, and through the north
half of section thirty-three, the same township
and range, the boundary is removed one hun
dred and sixty rods west of the range line,
while for the remainder of section thirty-three
the boundary is placed two hundred and forty
rods west of the said range line.
Along the southwestern border of Warren
township, as we have seen in relation to
Greene, the Kankakee proper, by reason of
drainage, ceased to be the boundary ; while the
great ditch which absorbed the river was sub
stituted for it also as the boundary between
Warren and Greene.
The range line between ranges one and
two east remains as the eastern boundary, and
the state line as the north boundary of the
township. As we said, in chapter first, subdivision
ninth, in considering the lakes of St. Joseph
county, Warren township is distinguished by
its numerous beautiful lakes, extending
through the whole length of the township,

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

283

from the Michigan border to the waters of the
Kankakee. Clear lake, of -the extreme north
ern group, is partly in the state of Michigan.
In the neighborhood are Mud lake, Deer lake,
and Twin lakes. Further south is Augustine
lake. Then, ihidway from north to south,
come Woolverton, Bass and Chain lakes, the
group being connected and known together as
Chain lakes. Further south, and near the
present township of Portage, is Fish or Cham
berlain lake.
Chain lakes, one of the most beautiful clear
water groups to be found anywhere, are drain
ed by a branch of the Grapevine; through
which the waters find their way into the Kan
kakee river. The lakes of Notre Dame are
the only lakes in the county which rival the
beauty and celebrity of Chain lakes. They
were a favorite resort of the Indian long
before the coming of the white man;
and perhaps of the Mound Builder long
before the coming of the Indian. They are
located a little to the west of the famous Port
age ; and many of those who journeyed up the
St. Joseph and down the Kankakee, or the
reverse, often turned aside for rest and enjoy
ment on the margins of those clear, deep blue
sheets of water. The chief prehistoric re
mains of the county have been found in this
vicinity. The quiet beauty of prairie, lake and wood
land has ever characterized the landscape of
Warren township. Fertility of soil and beauty
of scenery are the portion of the favored in
habitants of this region.
The first settlement of the township dates
from 1831, when Reynolds Dunn took up a
farm to the northwest of Chain lakes. Other
settlers who came very early were, W. W.
Brick, Peter Wikoff, George Witter, John
Kingery, Walter Field, Jesse Frame and
his sons, William, Nathaniel, Cornelius, Isaac,
David and Jesse, Nathaniel Wilson, Isaac W.
Phillips, Harvey Buckles, James Dunbar,
Joseph P. Jones, Joseph Price, Thomas Jack
son, Calvin Myler, John Skiles, Theophilus
Case, Jacob Mikesell, George Dunnahoo,

Abram Brown, Jonathan Platts, William
Crum. The inevitable log school house appeared as
early as 1839, or sooner. As in other parts
of the county, the school houses were at first
voluntarily built by the combined labors of
the hardy pioneers.
German Baptists were among the first to
organize a religious society. They erected a
church in 1879.
Three railroads cross the township from east
to west, — the Lake Shore, the Grand Trunk,
and the St. Joseph & Southern, now operated
by the Michigan Central. Two interurban
lines are also projected and partly construct
ed, — the Chicago, South Bend & Northern In
diana, formerly the Indiana railway ; and the
Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend. In con
nection with these interurban lines, it is the
design to establish pleasure resorts at Chain
lakes. There are two towns in Warren township.
One of these is on the Lake Shore railroad,
about seven miles west of South Bend ; at first
called Warren Center; afterwards, Sweet
Home ; and then Lindley. The railroad station
is now called Lydick. The town is little more
than a railroad station, having, however, a
post office and some small business houses.
The other town is Crum's Town, formerly
Crum's Point, located on the Grand Trunk.
It is also a small place, but of somewhat more
importance than the town on the Lake Shore.
The population of Warren township, includ
ing the town of Lindley and the town of
Crum's Point, according to the census of
1900, was nine hundred and forty-four.
Sec. 7. — Clay. — The township of Clay was
formed May 5, 1840. The boundaries fixed
by the order of that date were as follows:
Beginning on the state line, at the intersec
tion of the St. Joseph river ; thence east to the
middle point of the north line of fractional
section nine, township thirty-eight, range
three east; thence south through the middle
of sections nine, sixteen, twenty-one, twenty-
eight and thirty-three, to the south line of con-

284

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

gressional township thirty-eight; thence west
to the St. Joseph river ; thence down the river
to the place of beginning.
By order of December 7, 1842', the east half
of sections nine, sixteen, twenty-one, twenty-
eight and thirty-three was taken from Harris
and Penn townships and added to Clay ; thus
fixing the boundaries of Clay township as they
have since remained, to-wit : Bounded on the
north by the Michigan state line, on the east
by the middle line of range three east, on the
south by the south line of congressional
township thirty-eight, and on the west by the
St. Joseph river.
It will be noticed that the west part of
Clay, being that part within range two east,
and lying along the east side of the St. Joseph
river, was formerly in German township;
while the east part, that is, all within range
three east, was in Harris and Penn town
ships. The inhabitants are proud of the distinc
tion that the township. was named after Henry
Clay, who at that date had reached the high
est place in the estimation of the American
people. The first settlements, which were
amongst the earliest in the county, were near
the St. Joseph river, in what was then Port
age, afterwards German and now Clay town
ship. Benjamin Potter, John Hague and
William McCombs came in 1829. John and
Peter Cripe and Thomas Longley came in
1830 ; Peter and Jacob Eaton in 1831. Other
early settlers were : William Smith, John H.
Smith, John C. Stutsman, Evan C. and
Thomas B. Chalfant, James Stuckey, William
F. and Thomas P. Bulla, Samuel Brooks,
Jonathan Hardy, Francis Jennings, Joseph
and Stephen Ulery, Oliver P. Stucky, Menzo
Webster, David Sossaman, Jacob Chirhart.
Gideon Draper and Ariel Euclid Drapier,
John Eyler, Lambert McCombs and John
Weaver. In the reminiscences taken from the
paper of William D. Bulla, in chapter fourth,
subdivision sixth, will be found very many in
teresting details of the life of Thomas P.

Bulla and other early settlers in Clay town
ship. Mr. William H. Drapier, now of Indian
apolis, and famous as the author of the Indi
ana legislative Brevier Reports, but once a
Clay township boy, the son of Ariel E. Dra
pier, draws attention to the circumstance that
Gideon and Ariel E. Drapier, Thomas P. and
William F. Bulla and Evan C. Chalfant, all
settled on section thirty-one, township thirty-
eight, range three east, the Drapiers taking
up one quarter, Chalfant one quarter and
each of the Bullas one quarter; and also to
the further circumstance that Evan C. Chal
fant married the sister of Thomas P. and
William F. Bulla, while Thomas P. Bulla
himself became the husband of Hannah, the
daughter of Gideon Draper. It is further in
teresting to note that the Bulla family were
closely related to the distinguished Julian
family of Wayne county, Indiana, of which
George W. Julian and Jacob B. Julian were
perhaps the best known representatives. Both
the Julian and the Bulla families were un
compromising opponents of African slavery.
The most interesting features of the land
scape of Clay township consist of the scenery
along the St. Joseph river and around the
deep blue lakes of Notre Dame. The Michigan
Central railroad, and the Southern Michigan
railway (interurban) run through the town
ship, from south to north. The roads, in
general, are finely graveled; and excellent
farms are found in every section. The soil
is chiefly sand and gravel, there being but lit
tle clay or lowland within the limits of the
township. The crops average well, and are
more uniform from year to year than on
stronger soils, failures being very rare ; while
the soil is easily worked, from March to
December, in wet seasons as well as in dry.
Corn, vegetables and fruit are most success
fully cultivated.
The occupations of the people of Clay town
ship are almost exclusively agricultural. ¦
Four miles north of South Bend, at a pictur
esque point on the river, there stood for many

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

285

years a flouring mill, called in later years the
Sheffield mill, and more recently the Siders'
mill. The water power was supplied by a
small but constant stream usually known as
Sheffield creek, which drained the low lands
extending through the southwesterly section
of this township and into the marshes in the
south part of Harris, almost to the little town
of Granger. But the drainage laws have
changed all this. A "state ditch" has taken
the place of the pretty stream, and the old mill
has disappeared from its picturesque emi
nence on the banks of the St. Joseph. A little
above the grist mill there was for a time a saw
mill run by the same stream. A Mr.
Weaver also had a carding and fulling mill
there in an early day. Further up the little
stream Stephen Ulery at one time ran a card
ing machine. On another small stream lead
ing from the Notre Dame lakes to the St.
Joseph, a Mr. Graham had a fulling mill. But
all these "infant industries" have disap
peared; and the people of the township, ex
cept alone those connected with the University
of Notre Dame and St. Mary's Academy, are
wholly devoted to farming.
On Saturday, July 6, 1901, there appeared
in the South Bend Weekly Tribune, a paper
on the Passing of the Old Gray Mill, which
contained many facts of interest in relation
to this ancient "Sheffield" or "Siders' " mill.
The paper was undoubtedly from the pen of
Mr. Richard H. Lyon, and ought to be pre
served in this history of Clay township.
Reminiscence and description will be found
admirably intermingled in this charming
story :
"For more than 60 years the old gray mill
stood a picturesque object on the banks of the
St. Joseph river four miles north of the city
of South Bend. It was the most ancient and
most interesting landmark of its kind in all
this region. Gray it was in color originally,
then it was painted red, but the storms of over
half a century had beat against its antiquated
clapboards until they had gone back to brown
and gray. Of quaint style of architecture,

planted in a sequestered, romantic spot, it
had all through its long existence filled a mis
sion of usefulness, as well as attracting the at
tention of painter and poet, of historian and
romancer, of the curio fiend and the lover of
the beautiful in nature.
"For more than a mile past the site of the
old mill the river pursues a straight course
and its current sweeps smoothly along, bright,
sparkling, never changing. Winding grace
fully through a wild glen rippled a clear lit
tle brook, that rose many miles away and
coursing through a wide stretch of farming
lands found its- outlet in the St. Joseph at this
point. It supplied the mill with power, pour
ing its waters over the big wheel into the
broad river. On every side the willow and
the alder, the cedar, the juniper brush, the
rugged oak and the spreading maple, the
sumach and the elder, the thorn tree and the
wild grape vine grow in profusion, adding
to the charm of a picture of nature and
ancient art unsurpassed anywhere.
"Before the days of the modern highway
and bridges the pioneers came for many miles
over the Indian trails through the forest with
their grain to be ground at this mill. A primi
tive ferry took those across who lived on the
opposite side of the stream, and the fame of
the mill extended far away. It is related by
one of the early settlers of this region that
the meeting in the autumn seasons of the year
of farmers who came to the mill with their
grists, were memorable events. ' Often there
would be a line of teams reaching half a mile
in either direction, each driver waiting his
turn. On these occasions the teamsters had a
jolly time. They would indulge in all kinds
of sports to while the hours away, even to
racing horses on the level stretch of road over
the hill, in foot races, games of quoit pitching,
shooting at a mark and the like. Many would
bring their guns along and to "kill time"
would go out in the woods and kill big game.
Not infrequently a deer was brought in and
the men, building a big fire of logs, would
have roast venison, roast corn and roast pota-

286

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

toes for supper. Then they would gather
around the fire and spin yarns far into the
night. In later days, over macadamized
roads and across the iron bridge near by, the
descendents of those first settlers came with
their grists to the same old mill by the river 's
side. In the first days of the country's set
tlement there floated up and down the river
past the old mill's door, the keel boats, arks
and steamers of the early navigation period
and many a salute did the white capped mil
ler give to the jolly boatmen as they sped
along. ' ' Thus the wheels of the old mill turned on
day after day and its massive beams were
thick with the dust of more than three score
years, when one summer night an innocent,
but decidedly unsentimental, disrespectful
muskrat dug a hole beneath the flume, the
rains came in torrents, the foundations were
washed away and when the morning appeared
the ancient structure was lying upon its side
a helpless ruin. Soon the torn and broken
remnants were cleared away, the damaged
dam repaired and an insignificant looking
one-story, slightly built affair now fills the
place of the old gray mill of the pioneers.
"The mill was built in the winter of 1836-
'37, by Jonas Harris, a Quaker from Rich
mond, Ind., who came to this county in 1832.
He designed the building and with its quaint,
old-fashioned windows, doors and high roof,
it stood and was used for over 60 years exact
ly as he had constructed it. Burton Swearin-
gen and Samuel Brooks, both practical mill
wrights, were the contractors, and during the
summer of 1837 the mill was first put in
operation, with Ephraim Trueblood as its first
miller. In that early day there were very
few grist mills in the St. Joseph valley, and it
is believed this was the first one, certainly
it was the last of the pioneer grinding estab
lishments to go. Its dimensions were 26 by
36 feet, three and a half stories in height. It
had two sets of buhrs from the beginning,
one for flour and one for meal, and it kept
these two only all through its existence. The

original water wheel was of the cumbersome
overshot variety, but later this was supplanted
by the less cumbersome turbine wheel.
' ' Mr. Harris died about the year 1843, and
according to his own request was buried on
the farm back of the house. It was his desire
that his remains be laid at rest in that peace
ful, picturesque place, and never disturbed.
A few years later his wife, Barbara Beeson
Harris, died and was laid beside him. Here
also others of the neighborhood were buried
when they had laid aside the burdens of life
including the mother and an uncle of ex-
Councilman Sorden Lister, whose home was
north of the old mill. All the bodies were re
moved, however, to other cemeteries, with the
exception of Mr. and Mrs. Harris, whose dust
in accordance with their wish lies undisturbed
on the spot of their pioneer struggles and
pleasures. Their resting place is really un
known, as the ground has long been used for
agricultural purposes, obliterating all traces
of the old burial spot.
' ' The farm connected with the mill property
originally contained 160 aeres and after Mr.
Harris ' death, with the exception of some por
tions divided among his children, the place,
including the mill, was bought late in 1843,
by J. and E. S. Sheffield and Edward Car
penter, of New York city. Mr. Carpenter,
whose wife was a sister of the Messrs. Shef
field, came here the following year and took
charge of the mill, Charles Deyo acting as
miller. "Mr. Carpenter about this time began the
construction of the large and substantial
house that still stands on the bluff in the rear
of the mill. It was the country mansion of
this whole region in that early period. Its
frame of the heavy barn beam style was put
together to stay. Its foundation of native
field granite, floors of oak and doors of solid
black walnut, and its large dimensions, with
two mammoth chimneys, gave it an imposing
appearance. The rooms were many and of'
good size and the house was originally
warmed by five big fireplaces.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

287

"Mr. Jay S. Carpenter, an esteemed resi
dent of the city, who was the elder son of
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Carpenter, came here
from New York, his birthplace, to make his
home with his parents in 1846, and remem
bers the site of his new home in this wild
spot as really a paradise to his youthful mind.
In front of the house the trees had all been
cleared away and a broad grassy lawn extend
ed from the front steps to the high bluff above
the mill. From the front doorway, for nearly
a mile to the south the riyer was plainly in
view and the freight boats and steamers could.
be seen daily plodding their way along the
stream. Often they would stop at the mill
and take on a load of flour, for there was a
big sale in the east for the excellent flour then
made by the little Sheffield mill far away out
in the Indiana wilderness on the St. Joseph.
Across the river was a beautiful landscape of
forest and clearing and distant prairie. In
rear of the house still stood the primitive for
est, the great trees towering toward the skies
in their undisturbed majesty, while with the
undergrowth all removed a clear view was ob
tained for a long distance and the ground in
summer was covered with a solid carpet of
green turf. At the foot of the bluff the old
mill was grinding away night and day, the
rattle and rumble of its wheels and the com
ing and going of the settlers with their grain
and flour gave life to the otherwise quiet spot
in the wilderness. The Lister house, now gone,
was a little ways north of the Carpenter house
and there was a well worn path along the river
bank between the two.
"Mr. Carpenter ran the mill successfully
for a few years and then moved to the city,
living in the quaint residence at the corner of
Main and Madison streets, so long the home
of his daughters, the Misses Mary and Emma
Carpenter, and where he died in 1851. He
was a brick mason by trade and his last work
in the city was building the First M. E. and
the First Reformed churches. His son, Oscar
D. Carpenter, of the Folding Paper Box
Company, of this city, was born at the old

house by the mill. John Sheffield afterwards
settled in the city and with Charles Deyo for
several years conducted a milling, business
where Hill Bros, are now located. Then he
finally moved to Toledo, 0., and carried on
the same business there.
the mill's many owners.
"The old mill had many owners. Mary
Elting came into possession of it on a mort
gage sale in 1860. In 1864, Dr. Robert Har
ris and Elisha Hall bought it and the next
year Dr. Harris sold his interest to Mr. Hall,
who conducted it for a year and then sold out
to John Siders in 1866. Mr. Siders and sons
conducted it for many years and it became
best known in the community by the name of
Siders ' mill. The late John F. Kirby was one
of the later owners of the property and for
a few years before its collapse it was in the
possession of James L. Robinson. Four years
ago he sold out to the South Bend Power Com
pany, the present owners of the property,
who tore away the historic structure and
erected the one-story building in its place.
' ' The Ullery creek, upon which the old mill
stood was utilized for other manufacturing
purposes in early times. A saw mill was
erected by Jonas Harris on his property,
about half a mile above the mouth of the
creek, and this he ran as did the Sheffields and
Mr. Carpenter, who came after him. It has
long since passed into oblivion, except that
a portion of its frame was removed near the
old grist mill and converted into a stable.
Near where the creek crosses the Niles road
north of Notre Dame, Stephen Ullery, over
half a century ago, ran a little carding mill,
but all traces of this have disappeared.
"The old gray mill of the pioneers is gone
yet it lives in the hundreds of pictures of
various kinds, great and small that adorn the
homes and public places of this community,
chief among them being the large painting
on the Auditorium drop curtain with its ap
propriate couplet from the valley's most
gifted poet, the lamented Ben King:

288

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

" 'For my soul it seems caught in Old Time's
undertow,
And I'm floating away down the river St.
Joe.' "
The history of Notre Dame and St. Mary's
will be reserved for another chapter. In Mr.
Bulla's reminiscences, already referred to,
will be found some reference to early educa
tional matters in the township. It is said
that the first school taught in the township was
in Mr. Eyler 's house by Charles Murray. The
first school house was in the location now
known as Stover's, on the Edwardsburg road,
the teacher being Daniel A. Veasey. Since
1868, the German Baptists have had a church
in the middle of the western part of the town
ship. Among the pastors have been Jacob
Cripe, Christian Wenger and John B.
Wrightsman. There is no other church in the
township, except those at Notre Dame and St.
Mary's. According to the United States cen
sus for 1900, the population of Clay town
ship, including that of Notre Dame and St.
Mary's, was one thousand, one hundred and
fifty. Sec. 8. — Center. — Center township is one
day younger than Clay. It was formed May
6, 1840, with the following boundaries: Be
ginning at the northeast corner of section
thirty, township thirty-seven, range three
east; thence west to the northwest corner of
section twenty-seven, same township, range
two east; thence south to the southwest cor
ner of section fifteen, township thirty-six,
range two east; thence east to the southeast
corner of seetion eighteen, same township,
range three east; thence north to the begin
ning. Center has the distinction of being one of
the two townships of the county whose limits
have remained unchanged since their forma
tion. The other is Lincoln township.
The Michigan road passes north and south
through the middle of the township, angling
northeasterly; while the old Michigan bound
ary passes east and west through the north

half of the township. The result is that the
lines of survey are somewhat irregular.
The soil is, in general, a strong clay. In
the northwest there is a good deal of low land.
Rupel lake, in the "Rupel settlement," is in
this vicinity. This territory is drained by
Wenger 's creek, which flows down through
Portage township and reaches the St. Joseph
almost at the exact south bend of the river.
As in case of other such lands throughout the
eounty, these low lands have been in a large
measure reclaimed by drainage and now con
stitute the most valuable lands of the town
ship. The general character of the soil and
of the people in the north part of Center is
like those of the neighboring parts of Greene
township ; while in the southern part the soil
and the population resemble those of the ad
jacent parts of Union township. Altogether,
the soil and the people are amongst the best
in the county.
The first settlements were made early in
the thirties, although it is said that Nathan
Rose purchased his land from the Pottawato
mies in 1829. Other very early settlers were :
Andrew Milling, James and Ashur Palmer,
from whom Palmer Prairie was named, John
Rose, Henry Stull, Peter Rupel, Col. John
Smith, George Smith, Isaac Lamb, Abiel Hun-
gerford, Tyra W. Bray, James and Richard
Inwood, William Phillips and Willi3111 fl.
Robertson. Elizabeth Rose, daughter of Nathan Rose,
was the first child born in the township.
Mathias Stover was elected first justice of the
peace. Very few justices or constables
however, have qualified or acted in the town
ship. It is a simple law abiding people, who
obey the laws without restraint or compulsion
of any kind. The pioneer log school-house
was erected on Nathan Rose's farm, on the
Michigan road, in 1835. A little later a frame
school building was erected on Col. Smiths
farm, on the same road. Among the early
teachers were Mary Milling, Benjamin Gib
bons and, Daniel Robertson. The German
Baptist church, known as the Palmer Prairie

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

289

church, was built in 1859. David Miller and
Christian Wenger were among the first pas
tors. As we have seen, in chapter sixth, sub
division sixth, the first infirmary owned by
the county was located in Center township,
where it remained nine or ten years, from
1846 to 1855.
The Vandalia railroad runs north and south
through Center township. Nutwood, a station
rather than a town, is located on the railroad.
Except this station, the township is purely
agricultural. It is the smallest township in
the county, containing but twenty sections of
land. But the land makes up in quality what
it lacks in quantity. The population ,by the
census of 1900, was six hundred and eight.
Sec. 9. — Madison. — By order of the board
of county commissioners, made March 4,
1845, so.much as was then left of Penn town
ship was divided into two townships, by a
line due east and west through the centers of
sections eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve,
township thirty-six, range three east, and
through sections seven, eight and nine, same
township, range four east. The south one of
these townships was called Madison, the name
Penn being retained for the northern town
ship. The north boundary of Madison remains
unchanged; the east boundary is the Elkhart
county line ; and the south boundary, the Mar
shall county line. The west line of the town
ship, after some slight changes, is now as
follows: Beginning at the southwest corner
of the northwest quarter of section eight,
township thirty-six north, range three east;
thence south to. the southwest corner of the
northwest quarter of section twenty, said
township and range ; thence east to the north
east corner of the southeast quarter of said
section twenty ; thence south to the southwest
corner of the northwest quarter of section
twenty-eight, said township and range ; thence
east to the center of said section twenty-eight ;
thence south to the south line of St. Joseph
county. The territory now known as Madison town-
19

ship did not attract settlers until a compara
tively late period in the history of the county.
The land was heavily timbered and the soil
a strong clay, while swamps and low ground
met the explorer at every turn. Brave, hardy
pioneers, however, perceived the rich quality
of the soil of this timbered region. The saw
mill and the ditch converted the forbidding
region into the most valuable farming section
of the county. While the drains were prepar
ing the land for tillage, the sawmills con
verted the timber into lumber; so that the
courageous settlers were enabled not only to
make their living, but even to accumulate
wealth, while waiting for their lands to be
come dry enough for the plow. The soil of
Madison township, as might be expected, is
of inexhaustible fertility ; and today the most
favored sections of St. Joseph county yield
to Madison in the production of every grain
and vegetable and fruit that grows in our
climate. The population, like that of Union
and southern Penn, is to a great extent, of
the vigorous Pennsylvania stock, which is so
substantial and valuable an element in every
community of which it forms a part. It was
such a brave hearted, strong bodied people
that brought a change over the face of
Madison township, until the wilderness and
the swamps have literally blossomed as the
rose. The first settlers, Mr. Cline, Mr. Bennett
and Christian Helminger, came in 1840.
Other early settlers were Godfried Enders,
Mr. Palmer, Peter Kline, Adam Kiefer, Wil
liam Border, Thomas Crakes, Jonathan Gil
man, Christian Grose, John Schaffer, Philip
Berger, Adam Rader, Michael Kettring,
Philip McClellan, Levi Knowlton, Philip,
Jacob and John Marker, Daniel B. Jewell,
Samuel Shearer, Eli Leslie, Joseph Meyer,
Anthony Albert, Adam Layman, Joseph
Zeiger, Michael Smith, Amos Jewell, Hiram
Locker, Jacob Hetzel, Jacob Conrad,
David Newcomer, Andrew J. Strope,
Daniel Holmes, Adam Mochel, John Kelley,
Charles Kelley, Henry Flory, Harrison Pen
tecost, John Hawkins, Jacob Loucks, A. C.

290

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Heiner, John Shenefield, John Barkey, Jacob
Birk, Jacob Futler and Henry Fox.
There are but two small towns in the town
ship, Woodland, in the northwest part, and
Wyatt, in the south. The latter is situated on
the Wabash railroad, the only railroad in the
township. The first church building in Madison town
ship was a log house, built at Woodland.
This was erected by the Methodists, who
afterwards built a finer structure at the same
place. Later the church was purchased by
the Evangelicals. Three or four miles to the
east of Woodland, the Evangelicals have
another church. In the southwest part of the
township, near the Yellow river, the society
known as the Evangelical Association erected
a church in 1864. The United Brethren also
have a society and a church edifice in the
township. The German Lutherans have a church in
Woodland, which was built in 1868. Among
the pastors have been the Rev. Conrad Schus
ter and the Rev. George Rosenwinkle.
As might be inferred, the principal occupa
tions of the people of Madison township have
been in the timber and lumber business and
the business of farming. In all of these they
have succeeded in an eminent degree. It need
hardly be said that the education of the chil
dren was never neglected. The township,
which is now populous and wealthy, has the
only rural high school in the county. Wisely
the substantial citizens of the township have
provided that the ambitious youth of the com
munity may receive a superior education
without the expense, and still more without
the dangers, attendant on going away from
home at an age when parental care, is more
than at any other time needful to save the
dear ones from excesses which are but miser
ably paid for by the most finished intellectual
training that any school or college can give.
According to the U. S. census for the year
1900, the population of Madison township, in
cluding Woodland and Wyatt, was two
thousand, two hundred and four.

Sec. 10. — Lincoln. — The last township to
be formed out of the. original three, — Penn,
Portage and Olive — was Lincoln. This town
ship, as we have seen, was at first a part of
Liberty. The boundaries of the township of
Lincoln, as fixed by the Order of the county
board, made June 7, 1866, are as follows:
Beginning at the southwest corner of section
thirty-four, township thirty-five, range one
west, being the southwest corner of St. Joseph
county; thence east, on the line between St.
Joseph and Starke counties, to the southeast
corner of section thirty-six, same township
and range; thence north three miles, to the
northwest corner of Marshall county; thence
east, on the line between Marshall and St.
Joseph counties, two miles ; thence north two
miles; thence west two miles; thence north
one mile ; thence west to the Kankakee river
and the Laporte county line; thence south,
by the Laporte eounty line, to the place of
beginning. As in the case of only one other township,
that of Center, the boundaries of Lincoln
have remained unchanged since its formation.
The lands of Lincoln township have be
come valuable through drainage. With the
dredging and straightening of the Kankakee
and the construction of the great river drains
through St. Joseph, Laporte and Starke coun
ties, the rich bottoms that were formerly
water covered have been changed into
meadows and corn fields. The inhabitants of
the township have shown the greatest enter
prise in this as in all other directions. The
people of Holland, in building their dykes
against the sea, have made that country the
garden of Europe ; and the people of Lincoln,
as also the inhabitants of the other townships
along the Kankakee, by lowering and
straightening that winding stream, have
turned their lowlands into rich farms and
gardens. The first settlements in the territory now
forming Lincoln township were made as early
as 1835. Christian Fulmer came during that
year. Soon after came Thomas H. Wiley,

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

291

Philo Ruggles, Joshua Cole, Washington
Fuson, Thomas Barton, Archibald Goit,
Samuel Lorens, Ebenezer Jones, Charles and
Jackson Usher, Charles Havens, Morris Frost.
The Methodist Episcopal was the first so
ciety to erect a church in the township. This
was built in Walkerton, in 1859, under direc
tion of the Rev. J. E. Newhouse and the Rev.
James Johnson, the latter being the presiding
elder. The society was long known as the
West York Mission church. The Baptists
erected a church in 1870, and the Catholics
in 1876. The Presbyterians, United Brethren
and Seventh Day Adventists also have
churches in the township.
The first school house was erected in 1858,
about a mile from the present town of Walker
ton, and was removed into the town in 1876.
Graded schools of a high order, including a
high school in Walkerton, have long since
provided for a superior education for the
youth of the township.
No seetion of St. Joseph county has a
brighter future then Lincoln township and its
enterprising town of Walkerton. The popula
tion of the township, according to the census
of 1900, was one thousand, five hundred and
ninety-nine. This included the population of
Walkerton, which was eight hundred and
eighty-five. Sec. 11.— Penn.— When on May 6, 1832,
by order of the county board, St. Joseph
eounty was divided into three townships, cor
responding with the three county commis
sioners' districts, Penn township was made to
comprise the whole of the territory of the
county lying east of range two east. By sub
sequent sub-divisions, as we have seen, all of
the present township of Harris, part of Clay,
part of Center, part of Union and all of Madi
son, were taken from Penn.
Parts of Penn were added to Portage also,
as follows : On January 5, 1836, the west six
sections of congressional township thirty-
seven, range three east ; and on September 4,
1850, the west half of section five, same town
ship and range. Of the six sections so added

to Portage, January 5, 1836, the south two,
on May 6, 1840, became a part of the town
ship of Center.
Notwithstanding the great amount of terri
tory taken from Penn, it still remains the
largest township in the county, containing
sixty-five and a half sections of land, almost
equal to two congressional townships. It is
perhaps also, take it altogether, the richest
township in the county. The soil and charac
teristics of the south part of the township are
quite similar to those of the adjoining town
ship of Madison, as heretofore described. The
St. Joseph river flows from east to west
through the north part of the township. The
river receives two small streams, Twin
Branch and Baugo, from the south, and
another from the north side of the river.
These small streams drain large tracts of low
lands on either side of the river. The large
marsh between Mishawaka and the hills to
the south, and extending almost from the west
to the east of the township, is the principal
of these lowlands. This is the swamp behind
which La Salle lost his way, as related in
chapter -first of this work. Through drain
age, all these lowlands have now become till
able, and are amongst the most fertile lands
of the county.
A unique industry has grown up from the
cultivation of these fertile swamps, particu
larly that which may be called the La Salle
swamp. Such reclaimed swamps have in
many cases been devoted to 'the cultivation of
celery, as at Kalamazoo; and that industry
has been engaged in at Mishawaka. But it
was found that these reclaimed lowlands were
even more perfectly adapted to the cultivation
of peppermint. The following account of this
peppermint industry will be of particular
interest in connection with the history of this
county, and especially the history of Penn
township f
"The reports that the peppermint growers
and oil distillers of northern Indiana, south-
a. Taken principally from a report written for
the Indianapolis News, of October 13, 1906.

292

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

ern Michigan and Wayne county, New York,
under the leadership of James A. Everitt, of
Indianapolis, and his American Society of
Equity, are entering into a combine to inject
some 'equity' into the mint markets, and
also the reports from Washington that the
eyes of the attorney-general have been directed
toward the infant combination, calls to the
attention of Indiana a supremacy enjoyed by
her in the world's commercial markets of
which few of her citizens know anything.
"If the ordinary Indiana eater of pepper
mint drops, chewer of peppermint gum, or
user of peppermint oils for medical or com
mercial purposes were put on the witness
stand and questioned concerning where, ac
cording to his opinion, t the peppermint for
the world is made, he would probably credit
it to distant tropical lands.
"As a matter of fact the world's supply of
high grade peppermint oils and flavors comes
from , the northern Indiana counties, from
those in southern Michigan and from Wayne
county, New York ; and the low grade supply
comes from Japan. The Indiana 1906 crop
has just been harvested and distilled on the
northern Indiana farms and it represents a
little more than 50,000 pounds of the 250,000
pounds national production. Probably a half
of it will be exported to England and Ger
many and some of that may even come back
on the Indiana markets as the supreme grades
of Mitcham, England, peppermint oils and
essences. "The Indiana mint crop, which has just
been put into oil, represents considerably more
than $100,000 of value in ordinary markets.
It is understood that the Everitt combine of
mint growers proposes to hold the oil for
market quotations of approximately $2.75 a
pound. "Mishawaka is the peppermint capital of
the Indiana industry and when the almost one
thousand acres of peppermint fields that lie
in. what might be called the Mishawaka dis
trict are in harvest, and when the distilling

plants are running, the air is filled with the
aroma of the mint.
"When the crop is ready for harvesting the
reaper is driven out of the timothy or clover
meadow into the peppermint field and there
the crop is felled with a three-and-a-half-foot
swath, and is raked up like clover, and by
the same process into windrows. Into the
fragrant fields come the hay wagons and on
them the mint is loaded by men who sweat
as profusely under their bending pitchforks
as they do under the same forks and same
loads in the hay field.
' ' But the mint does not go up into the barn
loft. While it is yet green, it is hauled to the
distillation plants and is dumped in ton lots
into great wooden casks. In these it is
tramped tight and the covers are let down
and screwed on tightly, and a steam vent in
the bottom of the great cask or distilling vat
is opened. The steam pressing up through
the mint causes the oil in the leaves to liquefy
and join the steam, and this oil-steam passes
out through the top and through pipes is run
into the condensing pipes, over which cool
water is kept running.
"The temperature of these pipes is so low
that the steam precipitates and finally, after
running the long course of the pipes, the
water and oil come out into separating tanks.
Here the oil separates completely from the
water and floats on top of it, and the water
under its own pressure is discharged. The
ton of mint is left for about an hour in the
distilling tanks and the ton produces, ordi
narily, from ten to twelve pounds of oil,
though in seasons when the oil values are
heavy it will run above this.
"The ordinary oil yield is twenty-five to
thirty-five pounds an acre, which selling at
$2.50 a pound, would run from $62.50 to
$87.50 cash. But there is nothing certain in
these figures. At times the mint crop in this
part of the state has run up to sixty-five and
even seventy pounds an acre, and at times it
has dropped to less than twenty pounds, while

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

293

the prices have run as wide a range — from
50 cents to $6 a pound.
"It is a very costly crop to produce, the
weeding having to be done by hand, while the
distillation requires considerable labor. Still
in years of average production of oil for each
acre and of average market price the mint
farmer is in clover.
"While Mishawaka is really the Indiana
peppermint capital — its district covering
practically all of the fields in St. Joseph
eounty — the culture is carried on in parts of
Elkhart, Lagrange, Noble, Steuben, De
Kalb, Marshall and Laporte counties, and
has been introduced recently in an experi
mental way into the Jasper county Kankakee
swamps. "Like broom corn and. many other crops,
mint can be grown almost anywhere, but only
with commercial success and excellence in
very limited areas. Thus far in all of this
country only Wayne county, New York, south
ern Michigan and the northern tier, or 'tier
and a half, of Indiana counties, have been
found suitable to its culture. It thrives in
just those old lake and drained swamp beds
that made Kalamazoo famous for celery.
"A black muck-sand loam is the soil in
which it is raised with greatest sucess, and that
soil must, like that used in raising the finest
grades of celery, be situated in a finely-drawn
climatic zone. Mint of greater growth and
finer appearance perhaps has been grown in
the fine soils of Illinois, in Kansas and in
Oregon by people from this part of Indiana
who wished to take the industry into new sec
tions, but while it was most promising in ap
pearance it was found, on subjecting it to the
distilling process, to be decidedly short on oil,
and therefore not a profitable crop.
' ' The plant looks a great deal like alfalfa or
clover, when growing in the field, and it grows
high enough to reach almost above a man's
knees. It has a stalk a great deal resembling
the clover or alfalfa stalk, and its roots are
of much the same character. It would natur
ally be thought that a considerable part of

the oil would be found in the stalk, but hardly
a trace of it comes from any other part of
the plant than the leaves.
"The under side of the leaf, when it is
green, has a sort of velvety finish. When plac
ed under a powerful glass it is seen that the
soft finish is made up of minute oil cells. In
these the oil is carried. It seems that the oil
supply is much greater when there is a season
of hot weather. It seems also to diminish when
there is a drop in temperature. Where does
it go, or from whence the increased supply,
no one seems to know. When the plant is
nearing maturity a person going into a mint
field and running his hand through the grow
ing plants finds it "finished" with mint oil
with so great staying power that the odor will
remain for many hours.
"Jerry Woodward, who lives in Mishawaka,
is known over northern Indiana as the "In
diana Peppermint King. ' ' With his brothers,
Walter and William, he has about 320 acres
in mint, and this year the Woodward crop
ran more than 4,000 pounds. The Wood
wards are the largest growers in Indiana and
the second largest in this country and possi
bly in the world, as the Japanese, who supply
the inferior oil, are said, individually, to be
small growers. The greatest grower is A. M.
Todd, who lives in Kalamazoo, and generally
has 600 to 80Q acres in mint.
"There are a number of Indiana growers
who raise from 100 to 150 acres of mint a
year. Each of these has his own distilling
plant and distills the crops of the smaller
growers. "In respect to marketing the crop as a
finished oil or spirit, the peppermint growers
of this country who distill their own crops,
nearest approach the German potato growers,
who distill their crop into alcohol in their own
farm distilleries.
"The mint grown by these commercial cul-
turists is a cross between the wild America
and the old English mint. The growing in
this country was begun a century or more
ago in Wayne county, New York, the wild

294

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

mint being used. At that time Mitcham
(England) peppermint oil was standard and
was sold to all countries. It was, in fact,
very limited in quantity and the grower that
made the name famous only grew his mint
in a small garden and bought the mint grown
by others. He, however, developed a very
superior plant, and this later was crossed
with the American plant grown in New York.
From New York it was brought to Michigan
and from Michigan into Indiana sixty or
seventy years ago, probably the first Indiana
grower being Elam Eiler, of St. Joseph
county. The Woodward Brothers, who moved
from Michigan to Mishawaka, seventeen
years ago, were the first extensive growers.
"In recent years the acreage has been great
ly increased. As yet the principal jobbers who
buy the oil have their headquarters in Michi
gan. The exportation is done through New
York and Boston, and probably now runs in
excess of 125,000 pounds a year. As a rule
the oil is marketed in four-pound cans.
"Peppermint oil is used for the' most part
as an essential oil in the manufacture of con
fections and chewing-gum, though it also is
largely used as a medicine, especially in fight
ing certain contagions. Though a total pro
duction of, say, a quarter of a million pounds,
does not figure into much bulk, the possibili
ties of this amount . of peppermint oil are
better grasped by the simple statement that
one ounce of peppermint oil will flavor a
barrel of sugar and a barrel of sugar will
make a great deal of candy and chewing-gum
filler. "One of the greatest markets open to the
growers is that of supplying the chewing-gum
factories, of which there are over 6,000 listed
in this country. The general impression is
that a large percentage of the oil is used in
setting prints in -dress goods, but at least at
this time other cheaper oils are used.
"The mint plant is grown from roots which
are carefully carried through the winter.
They are planted in rows about as far apart
as corn rows and are cultivated much the

same as corn for some time. Then they throw
out runners, much like the sweet potato does
and cultivation from that time on has to be
by hand. Weeds grow very thick and quickly,
as a rule in the loose soils used, and they all
have to be pulled out by nimble fingers. A
stand of peppermint is good for three or four
years, at the expiration of which time a short
rest for the soil is followed in a year or two
by replanting.
"As it grows the crop is a beautiful one and
a delightful one to the sense of smell. It is,
all considered, next to the sunflower crops
of Clark county, probably the most interest
ing and prettiest crop grown in the state."
The soil of Penn township, except in the
south part and in the lowlands, is in general
a fertile sand and gravel. In places, particu
larly in the vicinity of the river, the land
scape is most charming, resembling that of
our finest prairies.
The first settlements of the township were
very early. William and Timothy Moat came
in 1828. Others among the first settlers of
the township were William Holt, Jesse Skin
ner, Samuel L. Cottrell, Jesse Bell, Henry
Huntsinger, Jonathan Macy, Jacob, George
and Edward Byrkit, James Curtis, John and
William Ireland, George W. West, George
Eutzler, Joseph Coe, Daniel, David, William
and George Hollingshead, Daniel and Samuel
Edwards, John McKnight, Braddock and
Uriah Chandler, William and Menzo Webster,
and Isaac Parks.
The early life of the settlers was much the
same as that of those in the other townships,
with the exception, perhaps, that what may
be called the public life of the people was, to
a great extent, concentrated in and near the
town of Mishawaka, and somewhat also at
Osceola. In the chapter on cities and towns
will be found details of the history of these
places. Schools and churches were organized
here as in other townships, and here also the
religious societies frequently used the school
houses 'for churches until they were able to
have both. The first church edifice was built

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

295

in Mishawaka. The first school house was
erected in 1832. On the Baugo creek, near
the site of the present town of Osceola, a
saw mill was built in the same year. The
power of the little stream has been used ever
since for milling purposes, both for saw mill
and grist mill. The name of Zelotes Ban
croft and that of his family is inseparably
connected with the milling business at this
point. The Lake Shore railroad and the Grand
Trunk both pass through Penn township ; as
does also the interurban line formerly known
as the Indiana railway, but now as the Chi
cago, South Bend and Northern Indiana.
There is also a line of railway extending from
Mishawaka to Elkhart to which the name of
Mr. Bueklen of Elkhart is given, but whose
future seems as yet not to be fully known.
The population of Penn township, outside the
city of Mishawaka, as shown by the United
States census for 1900, was two thousand,
five hundred and fifty-seven. This included
the town of Osceola.
Sec. 12. — Portage. — By the order of May
6, 1832, forming the three townships of Penn,
Portage and Olive, Portage was made to in
clude all of range two east. This range was
also fixed as the limits of the second commis
sioner's district of the county. While the
three commissioners' districts have remained
unchanged, the big townships, as we have
seen in the preceding pages, have been sub
divided and changed almost beyond recogni
tion. Range two east, which at first constituted
Portage township, now embraces all of the
present township of German and part of Clay,
Greene, Center, Liberty and Union. But the
present Portage, while embracing but a frac
tion of the old township of the same name,
is itself not confined to the original range and
commissioner 's district, but, as we have seen
in considering the history of Penn township,
extends over into range three east and into
the first commissioner's district.
The township of Portage, as now consti

tuted, with the exception of the part within
the Kankakee valley, consists almost altogether
of high and slightly rolling lands. As the his
tory of Penn township centers chiefly in that
of the city of Mishawaka; so, in even a
greater degree, the history of Portage town
ship centers in that of South Bend. The
history of South Bend, which will be given
in another chapter, will therefore substan
tially cover the history of Portage township.
The earliest history of the < county also, as
already set out in chapter four, is in sub
stance, a history of Portage township for the
time covered. The first settlers of the county
were settlers of what is now Portage town
ship ; Pierre Navarre, in 1820 ; Alexis Coquil
lard, in 1823 ; Col. L. M. Taylor, in 1827, and
the others as mentioned in chapter fourth.
The first churches and school-houses were
also in what is now South Bend. The
first flouring mill, in 1831, and the first tan
nery, a little later, both erected by William
McCartney, were in Portage township, on Mc
Cartney's creek, a little below the present
limits of South Bend. That the city of South
Bend has become the chief part of Portage
township is still further apparent from the
United States census for 1900, where the
population of the township, including the city
is shown to be thirty-six thousand, eight hun
dred and ninety-six; while the population
of the city alone appears as thirty-five thou
sand, nine hundred and ninety-nine, leaving
for the township outside the city, eight hun
dred and ninety-seven.
Sec. 13. — Olive. — The third township,
formed May 6, 1832, comprised all of the
county west of range two east, which terri
tory also constituted the third commissioner's
district. The township, as then formed, in
cluded not only the present township of Olive,
but also Warren, part of Greene and Liberty
and all of Lincoln; besides the parts on the
west and south that were afterwards attached
to Laporte, Starke and Marshall counties, by
the several acts of the legislature, as detailed
in" chapter fifth, subdivision ninth, of this

296

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

history. In addition to the territory so taken
from Olive township by the acts of the legis
lature, the board of eounty commissioners, by
the several orders made in forming the town
ships of Warren, Greene, Liberty and Lincoln,
took other territory from Olive, on the east
and the south, as already detailed in our his
tory of those townships. With all its losses,
however, Olive, in size, is still the second town
ship in the county, being exceeded in terri
tory only by Penn. By the census of 1900,
Olive township, including the town of New
Carlisle, had a. population of one thousand,
nine hundred and ninety-eight; or fourteen
hundred and ninety-one outside the town.
In another respect Olive is the first of our
townships ; that is, in the beauty of her prairie
scenery. We have many beautiful prairies in
St. Joseph county, but the finest of them all
is Terre Coupee prairie, extending in length,
east and west, six or seven miles, clear across
the township, and in width, north and south,
four or five miles. There can be no more
beautiful stretch of garden land in all the
world. The first settlements of Olive township were
made in 1830. The township received its
name from Olive (Stanton), wife of Charles
Vail, who settled in the township in that
year. Other settlers who came then or soon
after were Joseph Adams, Jacob and Israel
Rush, John, Barzilla and Gamaliel Druliner,
Samuel Garwood, Jonathan Hubbard, grand
father of the Hon: Lucius Hubbard, of South
Bend, Garrett and Henry Nickerson, William
White, John Carskaddon, Jacob Egbert, John
Egbert, George Boyd, James Garoutte, Benja
min Redding, Job Smith, Henry Ranstead and
John Reynolds.
In chapter four, subdivision sixth, will be
found the reminiscences of Hugh V. Compton,
giving his recollection of events in the early
history of Olive township. These reminis
cences give us a vivid picture of pioneer life
in the township.
The following additional reminiscences have
been secured through the courtesy of Mr.

Albert H. Compton, son of Hugh V. Compton.
Mr. Jesse Haines says : The Haines family
came in 1830. Israel Rush was the first jus
tice of the peace. John Banker was an asso
ciate judge of the St. Joseph circuit court.
He lived on Terre Coupee prairie, and walked
to South Bend to perform his judicial duties.
The first election held in Olive township was
at the home of John Druliner, in a log house.
Charles Vail was inspector of that election.
Being a Quaker, he would hot administer ah
oath, but required the members of the elec
tion board to affirm.
One evening in 1831, a little before the or
ganization of the township, Judge Egbert,
while taking supper with Mr. and Mrs.
Charles Vail, said to Mr. Vail: "This being
the best and most beautiful township in St.
Joseph county, it shall be named for your girl
wife. ' ' Hence the name Olive township.
About 1836, Samuel Garwood sold a tract
of land on the prairie to Jonathan Hubbard,
who laid out and platted the town of Terre
Coupee. A man named Hamilton built a
hotel at the place; and from the name of the
hotel the town gradually became known as
Hamilton. Mr. Haines relates that in 1832,
his father, then living in what is now Hudson
township, Laporte county, becoming alarmed
on account of the rumors as to the Black
Hawk uprising, took his wife and six children
in a four-horse wagon, riding himself on
horseback,- while Mrs. Haines carried a flint
lock musket across her lap ; and so provided
they started for the Carey Mission near Niles.
On reaching the home of Samuel Garwood, at
Terre Coupee, or Hamilton, they found the
people building a fort, and concluded to stop
there. After a few days, finding that the
danger was over, they returned home.
The early settlers of Olive township were
principally from Warren county, 0bi°- They
came by way of Niles, Michigan,. or by Craw
fordsville, Indiana; the land office being lo
cated at Crawfordsville. Those routes were
taken to avoid the Kankakee and Grapevine
marshes.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

297

The Rev. James Armstrong is said to have
been the first missionary of the Methodist
church in St. Joseph county. Principally
through his efforts, the first Methodist society
was organized at the house of Paul Egbert,
near Terre Coupee, or Hamilton, in the year
1830, by the Rev. E. Felton, of the Ohio con
ference. The class then formed consisted of
eight members, of which John Egbert was ap
pointed class-leader. The work of the chureh
was re-organized in 1834, by Mr. Armstrong,
then presiding elder, who died in the fall of
that year. The church has since been regu
larly continued. The first church edifice was
built at Hamilton, in 1839 and 1840. The
prime movers in the erection of this building
were Paul and John Egbert and Jonathan
Hubbard. The church was the best one then
north of the Wabash. Oliver Emery was the
architect. The erection of this chureh is en
titled to more than ordinary consideration as
one of the first important steps taken in the
advancement of civilization in St. Joseph
county. Early in 1868, the Christian, sometimes
called the Oampbellite, church was organized
in New Carlisle by the Rev. Ira J. Chase,
'then stationed at Mishawaka. Mr. Chase was
assisted in his work by the Rev. W. M. Roe,
of Rolling Prairie ; and, on March 29, 1868, a
society was organized in the chapel hall of
the New Carlisle Collegiate Institute. A
church building was dedicated March 13,
1870, the Rev. Mr. Chase delivering the
sermon. The chureh has continued to pros
per. The Rev. Ira J. Chase was afterwards
governor of Indiana.
The land where New Carlisle now stands
was at first owned by a man named Bouris-
sau, who was married to an Indian woman.
On the death of Bourissau, his children sold
the land to Richard Carlisle, who platted the
town and gave it his own name. The hotel
in New Carlisle was built in 1836 by Richard
Cramner who occupied it for a time and then
sold it to Joseph Ivens. Mr. Ivens remained
the proprietor for several years, and by his

genial and hospitable way of entertaining
acquired for his hotel a great reputation as
one of the best houses on the "stage line."
The following are some recollections of
fifty years ago by the venerable Mrs. R. J.
Pidge :
"Yes, it is half a century since I came to
New Carlisle. I was married January 27,
1847, to Rev. A. H. Pidge, at Big Prairie
Ronde, Mich., and arrived here on January
31st; and it has been my home ever since.
"Very many changes have taken place since
that time. In looking over the past fifty-
years the scenes and events come to my mind
like a panorama, which I have no words to
describe. "At that time Carlisle was a very small
place, only a few persons who were here then
are left; most of them have passed away
from earth.
"There was a hotel, a dry goods store, a
post office (kept in a blacksmith shop) and
perhaps some other small shops. The hotel
was kept by Joseph Ivens. There was no
church or school house in the town then,
no railroad. The only public conveyances
then were the large four-horse stage-coaches
which, perhaps, the present generation never
saw. There were no church services held here
then; but a few years before Schuyler Col
fax's mother, Mrs. Mathews, had organized a
Sunday school in her own house, assisted by
Mr. Mathews and her son Schuyler. She told
me she made little tea parties to raise money
to buy books.
"We attended church at Hamilton, which
was then the most important town of this
vicinity. In a year or two Rev. Abram Salis
bury, a Methodist minister, was appointed to
the circuit. He resided at Byron, between
here and Laporte (our parsonage was there
then). On Sunday morning he came here
and preached at 9 o'clock and then went to
Hamilton and preached at 11 o'clock. I for
got to say that Rev.- Mr. Salisbury preached
in what was then called the old Mormon

298

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Temple. It stood where Dr. Davis' residence
is at present.
"In 1852 there was a school house built
on the lot where Mrs. Hubbard's house now
stands, which was used for church purposes
and Sunday school until our present M. E.
church was built, during the pastorate of
John R. Eddy in 1858 and 1859. The Lord
only knows the great efforts 'and many sacri
fices it took to build this house for Him, and
when the day for dedication came we all re
joiced in this final event. I think it was in
September, 1859, that our church was dedi
cated. Rev. J. M. Eddy of Chicago, brother
of our pastor, preached the dedication ser
mon." The following 'paper by Granville Wool-
man was recently read at the Woman's Club
Banquet, New Carlisle :
"My father came to this county in 1830
with three of his neighbors to look the coun
try over and learn whether they would like
it and could better their condition. On their
return my father was the only one that con
cluded to come. He made arrangements to
move in 1832, but rumors of the Black Hawk
war had broken out and by the time they
had reached us it was to the effect that every
white man, woman and child was murdered
in the most cruel manner, that property was
all destroyed and the Indians reigned su
preme. While that was not the case, it had
the effect to stop the emigration for the time
being. "My father not being entirely satisfied
came in 1833, and liked the country still
better. He purchased the land where we now
live, for which he paid $2.50 per acre, it being
Indian land, and moved in 1834 in company
with Samuel Bates, his brother-in-law. We
left Ohio August 20, and arrived here Sep
tember 4th. The roads were quite bad part
of the way, especially through the Black
swamp and Grapevine, consequently we made
slow progress compared with travel nowa
days, about 20 miles a day. My father drove
three horses, one of which he rode ; the leader

was driven by a single or jerk line. The
roads across the marsh were very bad and
continued so most of the way across the prai
rie. When we arrived at the edge of the
prairie father said to mother, 'Here is Terre
Coupee, if the bottom has not fallen out.1
Not a very pleasing sight, I assure you. Mud
was 12 to 15 inches deep with water frequent
ly standing either side of the road. We
finally arrived at our 'Bunker Hill,' and a
far more pleasing sight it seemed. This some
what overcame the first unfavorable impres
sion. There was but one cabin and that was
located where the Christian church now
stands. That and the land belonged to a
family by the name of Bourissau, a half-breed
Indian. We crossed to the north side of the
prairie, where our land was located, and se
lected a place to build near where the build
ings now stand. The road ran about 15 rods
south of the building and remained there for
a number of years.
"We immediately built a shanty, intended
for a stable, covered with clapboards held
down by weight poles, and with a door cut
in one end of the shanty. Clapboards laid
crosswise extending to the opening between
the logs, with bedding on, made a comfort
able lodging place. With a slab for a table
and stools made out of the same material,
pins driven in the logs on which to hang
wearing apparel, a dirt floor and a camp
fire, we were quite at home.
"My father went to the east end of the.
prairie and bought a quarter of beef. As
we had no place to keep it, father climbed
up a small tree near the shanty, to cut off a
limb; and with mother's help managed to
hang it up.
"But the meat served to attract the wolves,
which came in large numbers, howling, snarl
ing and snapping around the shanty. The
dogs we brought to devour all the wolves
in the west came through the door with a
rush, slipped under the bed and were very
docile until the wolves left. I never could
understand why they were so afraid of

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

299

wolves when they had never been attacked
by them.
"Every one who passed along the road and
saw the shanty and covered wagon would stop
and inquire where we were from, and if we
had come to stay.
"Mrs. Abbie Druliner, who lived on the
Wade-Reynolds place, came a few days after
we had located, introduced herself and in
quired where we were from ; hoped we would
be satisfied, saying that they needed people
to help improve the country and as we were
near neighbors she hoped we would remain
as such.
" 'We have been here two years,' she said,
'and anything we have in the way of pro
vision that you haven't we want to divide
with you. I have the material for making
soap; come over and help make it and we
will divide. ' Whether this kind act had any
thing to do with their friendship or not, I
assure you they were fast friends all their
fives. They visited each other, their neigh
bors, and the sick and needy. Everyone
seemed delighted to have new comers and
worked for one another's interest. The In
dians were quite numerous, passing along the
road in squads of two to twenty. You may
imagine how a boy of ten would feel after
hearing all about the depredations the Indians
had committed the past two years. It so hap
pened one day in my father's absence that
I went down near the road to cut some wood
out of a large oak top. We had an old dog,
Rover, in some respects like Mary's lamb;
wherever I went he was sure to go. He was
lying near where I was chopping and all at
once commenced growling, his hair standing'
on end. I told him to be quiet, but I knew
that something was up. I commenced look
ing about and soon discovered two big Indians
coming down the road, with feathers in cap,
and with tomahawks and scalping knives in
their belts. With not much time to think, I
bade the old dog be quiet and settled down
m the top of the tree, hoping to avoid their
notice until they passed. But when they got

opposite where I was one of them straightened
up and pulled out a scalping knife. I went
out of that tree like a jack rabbit; out ran
the old dog ; and my hat and everything else
landed into the shanty, half way across the
room. My mother said, 'What's the matter
with thee?' 'Two big Indians; I guess they
have scalped me.' The Indians were quite
docile, except when they had firewater; then
they would pass along the road in single file
no matter what their number was, whooping
and yelling, with their ponies at full speed.
We soon became accustomed to them and had
but little fear. Many of their wigwams were
very attractive, lined with furs of different
kinds and fancy blankets, the squaws sitting
on robes doing fancy work, with papooses
lashed to boards hanging to a limb or leaning
against a tree, and the older children frisking
about, practicing with bow and arrow, jump
ing or running races. The surroundings
seemed the height of contentment and they
acted very friendly, but would never invite
you inside."
The following extract is from a paper by
Judge Lucius Hubbard, read by him in the
public hall at New Carlisle a few years ago:
-"The first record I find of white settlers
in Olive township was in 1830. In that year
quite a colony seems to have arrived, for I
hear of Jacob and Israel Rush, John, Bar-
zilla and Gamaliel Druliner, John Jacob and
Paul Egbert Jacob and Joseph Adams, Sam
uel Garwood, Charles Vail, Garrett and Henry
Nickerson, Wm. White and John Carskaddon.
"In the same year, 1830, an act of the leg
islature had formed St. Joseph county, and
as the law then stood it was governed by a
board of three justices. The board of jus
tices divided the county into four townships,
Michigan, Deschemin, German and Portage.
What is now Olive, was in Deschemin, taking
a strip of Laporte county on the west.
' ' The year 1832 was an eventful one in the
history of Olive township. The board of com
missioners reorganized the township and laid
it out under its present name. Charles Vail

300

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

had married Olive Stanton and this was the
first marriage among the white settlers, and
to her was given the honor of fixing her name
upon the new township.
"In June, 1832, the Black Hawk war broke
out. We can hardly realize the fear and
trouble it brought upon our old settlers. It
may seem strange to us now, that less than
one thousand poorly armed Sacs and Foxes
in western Illinois could awaken such fears
as they did in the summer of 1832.
"But this was when Fort Dearborn and
half a dozen log huts were all of what is now
Chicago, and when five hundred volunteers
were all that could be mustered in northern
Indiana and southern Michigan. Black Hawk
was no stranger. He had often led his tribe
along the Sauk trail that is now the road'
through Terre Coupee on his way to Maiden,
Michigan, to receive the government annui
ties. Then northern Indiana was still the
home of the Pottawatomies, and to the north,
in Michigan, the Ottawas were still numerous
and powerful. It was not then as now that
the news was flashed across the continent by
telegraph, or that we could talk hundreds of
miles pver a wire.
"The tale of the frightened and fleeing
settlers, its horrors as it sped from cabin to
cabin, uncontradicted, until in the imagina
tion of the fearful, the whoop of the savage
was heard borne on the night wind and the
smoke of burning dwellings was seen in the
west by day. This is no exaggeration. At
one time the report came that the Sacs had
reached Door Village, in Laporte county, and
that they were burning houses and murdering
settlers on their way east. Many fled to
Ohio. One fugitive had stopped to pass the
night at Samuel Garwood's. Some mischiev
ous or badly scared traveler spread a report
that the Indians were coming. At midnight
he huddled his half -dressed wife and children
into his wagon and hurried on. I have
spoken of this to mention the only fort or
military erection of any kind ever built in

Olive township. It v^as commenced in May
1832, and was located on land now owned by
Eugene Wykoff. The location was chosen for
its nearness to a narrow strip of timber that
ran out into the prairie about half a mile
on the lands of John Druliner, now owned
by James Reynolds,. and far enough from the
woods so that there would not be a hiding
place within rifle shot of the fort. A trench
was dug about four feet deep around a square
of three or four rods on a side. In this sticks
of timber were set 12 or 16 feet long. They
were left round if not more than 4 or 5
inches in diameter, and if larger split in
halves. The ditches were filled and on the
outside the prairie was broken up and the
sods piled against the palisades about breast
high so as to stop chance balls which might
otherwise pass between the palisades.
"A shallow ditch was left just outside the
embankment. It was the plan to erect block
houses at each corner with loop holes for
riflemen, higher than the palisades, from
which the sentinels could watch over the prai
rie on all sides. The work on the fort went
on rapidly at first ; but as reports of coming
Indians were heard, some stole away.
"The work lagged as the scare grew old.
The blockhouses were never finished and
when the news of the capture of Black Hawk
came the work stopped. The palisades were
carried off for firewood and after a few years
a few rotten timbers in the ground and a
rank growth of grass was all that marked the
site of the old fort. Over thirty years ago
I could not find its locality.
"Plainfield was the first -platted village in
the township, platted in December,. 1833. The
village of Palestine was next laid out in De
cember, 1834. It was about ll/2 mues east °^
Plainfield, and you can't point out its site.
In fact, I doubt if many of you ever heard
of it.
"August 15, 1835, Richard Carlisle laid
out the village of New Carlisle, the only town
that has survived : for the village of Hamil-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

301

ton, later Terre Coupee, laid out in 1837, is
on its way to join Plainfield and Palestine."
Mention is made in Mr. Haines' reminis-
censes of the Carey Mission, near Niles. Al
though that mission, like the mission at Fort
St. Joseph,0 above Niles, was without the
limits of St. Joseph county, and even beyond
the boundaries of the state of Indiana, yet
so intimately was each of those missions con
nected with the early settlement of the St.
Joseph valley, that no history of any county
that borders upon our beautiful river would
be complete without some account of both of
them. Just over the Michigan line, half way be
tween Niles and Buchanan, in the great
northern bend of the St. Joseph river, but
at a considerable distance to the south of the
stream, was located the Carey Mission, named
after a distinguished Baptist missionary to
the East Indies, an institution well
known in the early history of southern
Michigan and northern Indiana, and of
particular interest to the neighboring
people of Olive township and western St.
Joseph county during the years immediately
following the first settlement of the town
ship. The Carey Mission was established in
1822 for the education of Indian children.
The founder was the Rev. Isaac McCoy, a
zealous Baptist missionary and educator. Mr.
McCoy and his assistants exhibited the great
est self-sacrifice and zeal in their effort to
build up in the wilderness an educational in
stitution that might serve as a center from
which Christianity and civilization should be
diffused among all the Indians of the north
west. A large farm was cleared and com
fortable log buildings erected which served
as dwellings, school houses and barns. Good
crops of wheat and other grains were raised,
and, in 1825, a flouring mill was built, the
first mill west of Tecumseh or Ann Arbor,
and for a time the only one within a hundred
m?' F„0Tr.the hist°ry of Fort St. Joseph's see
Chap. 2, Subd. 4.

miles of the mission. The enterprise at
tracted the favorable attention of the people
of Michigan, and Lewis Cass, then governor
of the territory, sent agents at different times
to examine into the management and work of
the mission. The reports were most favorable.
At one time there were as many as two hun
dred Indian pupils in the institution, and the
future of the mission seemed very bright.
White emigration, however, proved to be the
ruin of the work of the benevolent mission
ary. It was foreseen that the Indian title
to the adjacent lands would soon be ex
tinguished, and that the Indians would be
forced to remove to the west, as indeed proved
to be the case in a very few years. "Accord
ingly," says Mr. Edward B. Cowles, from
whose history of Berrien county, Michigan,
the foregoing account is chiefly taken, ' ' prep
arations were made at the mission for bring
ing it to a close, and for its removal beyond
the western boundary of Missouri. It was
not fully wound up, however, until 1832. "a
The name of the ' ' Carey Mission, ' ' and of its
founder, the Rev. Isaac McCoy, were familiar
words in the history of St. Joseph county dur
ing the -existence of the mission, from its
establishment, in 1822, until its dissolution
and removal, in 1832.
Among the towns in Olive township are
Warwick and Terre Coupee, formerly called
also Prairie Coupee, but better known as Ham
ilton. These are on the Great Sauk Trail.
Hamilton was at one time a place of con
siderable importance. The Methodist society
erected the first church at Hamilton, in 1839,
or a little later. Another old town is Plain-
field, a little north of the present Terre
Coupee railroad station on the Lake Shore.
The principal town of the township, and one
of the prettiest towns in the county, is New
Carlisle, sometimes called Carlisle Hill. It
stands on a fair eminence overlooking the
beautiful Terre Coupee prairie. Where else
could the ideal rural home be found, if not
a. Cowles' Berrien County Directory and His
tory, Niles, Michigan, 1871, pp. 31-39.

302 HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
here, on this fine hill, before which stretches making his way along the old Sauk trail and
out so fair a garden of delights? Beautiful this vision of lovely landscape burst upon his
Terre Coupee, how the view must have trans- eyes. Prairie Coupee, a prairie cut out of
ported the early missionary, coureur des bois, the dark woods and lit up with the light of
traveler or emigrant, or even the stolid In- heaven, it must have seemed to his enrap-
dian, as he passed from the thick woods while tured vision.

CHAPTER IX.

THE TOWNS.

' Incidentally, in the general history of the
county and in that of the townships, as
well as in the reminiscences set out in various
chapters, much of the history of our cities
and towns has necessarily been already de
tailed. It is not the purpose to repeat what
has thus been sufficiently stated, but it seems
proper that our several municipalities should
have separate chapters, in which, without un
necessary repetition, a connected urban his
tory of the eounty may have a place.
I. TOWNS THAT WEEE.
In a new country, with few inhabitants,
the forests yet standing and the soil unculti
vated, except in spots few and far between,
without roads, except trails winding through
the woods, over the prairies and along the
marshes; and, with all these, also ambitious
men seeking fortunes in the increased values
which may come to lands happily located for
the purposes of commerce and manufactures,
it is to be expected that many towns will be
started with glowing prospects, never to be
realized. It has been so in St. Joseph county,
and the plough runs over many a townsite
of which even the present proprietor does not
know the name.
Sec. 1.— St. Joseph.— The , first of those
half forgotten towns was St. Joseph. This
town, located at La Salle's portage on the
St. Joseph river, in section 27, township 38
north, range 2 east, in what is now German
township, was, on May 24, 1830, selected as
the county seat of St. Joseph county, by the

303

commissioners named in the act organizing
the county, approved January 29, 1830.a On
September 14, 1830, the town was formally
laid out by William Brookfield, our first coun
ty surveyor, who was the owner of the tract.
The plat of St. Joseph was the first town
plat laid off and recorded in St. Joseph coun
ty, . and by reason of this circumstance, and
because the town was our first county seat,
the following quotations and other particu
lars taken from the venerable record will be
of historical interest :
"Town of St. Joseph, by William Brook
field. "All the blocks in this town plat, excepting
those on which ' Brookfield 's square' are writ
ten, belong to the county, agreeably to his
donation to the county. Donation September
14, 1830. Those blocks on which ' Brookfield 's
squares ' are written are exclusively his own. ' '
"State of Indiana, }
"St. Joseph County, )
"On this eighth day of November, in the
year of our Lord eighteen hundred and thir
ty, personally appeared before me, Lathrop
M. Taylor, recorder of St. Joseph county,
William Brookfield, and acknowledged the
within instrument to be his free act and deed
for the purposes therein expressed.
"Given under my hand and seal the day
and year first above written.
"L. M. Taylor (Seal.)"
There is on the plat a representation of the
St. Joseph river, turning sharply to the north,
a. See Chap. 5, Subd. 2, of this work.

304

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

with the following lettering: "Big St. Jo
seph River of Lake Michigan;" and on the
margin of the river, at the turn, the words:
"Portage of the Kankakee."
The following title is also shown: "A cor
rect diagram of the county seat called St.
Joseph, in the county of St. Joseph, state of
Indiana. ' '
"The Michigan State Road" is shown to
enter the plat at the corner of "South street"
and "Broadway," three quarters of a mile
south of the river, and it turns west on "Wes
ley" street, at the corner of Wesley and
Broadway, two hundred rods south of the
river. Its direction on Broadway is near
ly northwest, and it is there marked on the
plat "Michigan State Road." On Wesley
street appear the words: "Michigan State
Road, running due west to Lake- Michigan —
33 miles nearly due west."
Thirty-three squares, of ten lots each, are
found on the plat. Of these, four are marked
" Brookfield 's squares." Half a square, or
five lots, is marked "Public square." Two
lots are marked "Episcopal church;" two,
"Methodist church;" five, "court house:
three, "jail;" two, "Presbyterian church:
three, "market;" two, "Baptist church:
two, "Academy;" two, "R. Catholic church:
and two, "United Brethren in Christ." The
remaining lots, two hundred and sixty-eight
in number, were given to the county.
The north and south streets are marked,
"Brookfield," "Washington," "Jefferson,"
"Broadway," and "Madison;" and the east
and west streets, "North," "Berry,"
"Worth," "Evans," "Ross," "McBane,"
"Wesley" and "South." Each street is six
ty-six feet wide, except Washington, Jeffer
son and Madison, which are each ninety-nine
feet in width, and Broadway, which is one
hundred and twenty-three feet wide. The
alleys, which all run north and south, are
each three rods wide. The lots are each five
rods in width by eleven rods in length.
Berry, Worth, Evans, Ross and McBane
streets were named after the five commission

ers appointed by the legislature to locate the
county seat."
St. Joseph was never more than a pro
jected town, a town on paper, and was never
in fact the county seat, even during the short
period it was nominally so. The eounty busi
ness was from the beginning transacted in
the house of Alexis Coquillard, in the town
of South Bend. The people were not satis
fied with the location of the county seat at
St. Joseph, and, as shown in chapter fifth,
subdivision seven, of this history, the legisla
ture, in the year 1831, passed an act and
named commissioners for the re-location of the
seat of justice. On May 12, 1831, the commis
sioners so appointed removed the county seat
from St. Joseph to South Bend, from the his
toric Portage at La Salle's Landing, to the
south bend of the river. The "bend" is
about four miles above the portage ; but the
city has so extended that the north limits are
now but a mile and a half above, and the
time may yet come when the territory of the
present county seat will take in the old coun
ty seat.
All that is left of St. Joseph is the pioneer
plat in the office of the county recorder. Mr,
Brookfield left the county and the state soon
after the disappointment caused by the re
moval of the county seat, and the incipient
town quietly settled back into its native wil
derness. Sec. 2.— Portage.— The failure of the town
of St. Joseph at the old portage did not
altogether extinguish the anticipations of
those who thought that a prosperous settle
ment must, in the end, grow up at or near
the site of the landing where for countless
ages the commerce of the wilderness had been
transferred on its way from the lakes to the
gulf, and from the gulf to the lakes. One
more effort was to be made to establish a
town at the portage, and, to make assurance
doubly sure, .the town itself would be
named Portage. St. Joseph had been laid
a. See Sec. 3, Acts, 1829, pp. 28-31, set out in
Chap. 5, Subd. 2, this work.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

305

out as a county seat ; the new town would be
laid out as a seat of commerce, education and
manufactures. The prime mover and the mainstay of the
town was Judge Elisha Egbert, one of the
most noted men in the history of St. Joseph
county. He was judge of the old probate
court for seven years, and then became judge
of the common pleas court, and held that
office from the establishment of the court in
1851 until his death in 1870."
On July 12, 1834, the town of Portage was
surveyed for Elisha Egbert by Tyra W. Bray,
the eounty surveyor. It was located on the
southwest fractional quarter of section 26,
township 38 north, range 2 east, about half
a mile to the south and east of the site of
the former town of St. Joseph. Additional
surveys were made in March, 1837, by Thomas
P. Bulla for Abner Morse, John Egbert and
Jacob Egbert ; and as late as February, 1838,
a still further addition was made by Lemuel
Crawford. The town seemed on the high road
to prosperity. Hotels and stores were erected.
Physicians took up their abode in the new
town, and there were representatives of all
lines of business suited to a growing com
munity. Judge Egbert succeeded in securing from
the eounty commissioners the establishment
of a public ferry over the river at this point ;&
as well as to have county roads laid out to
and from Portage, on both sides of the river.
Still another project was the cutting of a
mill race from the Kankakee to the St. Joseph.
This was an idea entertained by many a pro
jector of that early day. The Kankakee is
many feet above the St. Joseph, -and it seemed
extremely feasible to dig a mill race which,
with so great a head, should supply unlimited
water power for mills and machinery. The
people of the town of Portage were so san
guine of success in this line that they pro
cured a charter from the legislature for a
company to engage in the enterprise. The
a. See Chap. 6, Subds. 3 and 4.
b. See Chap. 7, Subd. 2.
20

act granting the charter was approved Janu
ary 30, 1837,a and, amongst other things, pro
vided :
' ' That William McCartney, sen 'r, Franklin
W. Hunt, Daniel Dayton, Abner Morse and
Elisha Egbert, be and they are hereby author
ized to cut a race of such width as they may
think proper, commencing at or near the
northwest side of the Kankakee pond,6 so as
not to divert any of the waters of the Kanka
kee that naturally flow into the Illinois river
down said Kankakee that lies west of the town
of South Bend, in such manner that the race
shall not extend beyond the southern limits
of said pond, in St. Joseph county, Indiana;
thence running on the western side of the
Kankakee marsh, so as not to injure the hy
draulic privileges of any other person or per
sons, and terminating at or near the town of
Portage tin said county."
A similar mill race was afterwards dug by
Alexis Coquillard and associates, from the
Kankakee to the St. Joseph, but the water so
leaked away in the loose soil that sufficient
did not reach down to South Bend to supply
any available power.
A literary and industrial institution of a
high order was also projected, of which the
Rev. Abner Morse was to be the president.
This institution received a charter from the
legislature, by an act approved January 30,
1837," in which it was provided: "That
Abner Morse, Caleb Martin, William McCart
ney, sen'r, Franklin W. Hunt, Daniel Day
ton, S. Brace, Elisha Egbert and George
Hunt, sen'r, and their successors in office be,
and they are hereby constituted and declared
to be a body corporate and politic, by the
name and style of the 'St. Joseph Manual
Labor Collegiate Institute.' " The trustees
were given "power to appoint a faculty in
said college, consisting of a president, pro
fessors and tutors, as the necessities of the
institution may demand, and the faculty so
a. Local Laws, 1836, p. 393.
&. Now Summit Lake, or La Salle Lake.
a Local Laws, 1836, p. 292.

306

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

appointed, by and with the approbation of
the board of trustees, shall have power to
grant and confer such degrees in the liberal
arts and sciences as are usually granted and
conferred in other colleges in the United
States." A further provision was that "said
institution shall be located at or within two
miles of the village of Portage, in the county
of St. Joseph, and state of Indiana."
But the "St. Joseph Manual Labor Collegi
ate Institute ' ' was never anything more than
a project on paper; and, like all the other
ambitious projects of the town, has been long
since altogether forgotten. The panic of 1837
was on, and the promoters of the town suf
fered reverses, in common with those of many
another struggling and hopeful band of pro
jectors in every part of the country.
William McCartney, who appears as one of
the incorporators of the "St. Joseph Manual
Labor Collegiate Institute, ' ' was the owner of
a farm on the river, in German township, a
little above the town of Portage. This farm
is connected in our history with an effort
made to establish the only community asso
ciation ever attempted in St. Joseph county.
Timothy G. Turner has left us the follow
ing brief account of this ill-starred commu
nity :a
"In the winter of 1845 a community, sug
gested, probably, by the system of economics
elaborated by the French philosopher, Charles
Fourier, was established on the McCartney
farm, about two miles below South Bend. It
was a joint stock company, organized under
the name of the 'Philadelphia Industrial As
sociation.' Its objects were economical and
social. Its operations continued about two
years. The Hon. William C. Talcott, of Val
paraiso, Indiana, favors us with the following
reminiscences in relation to it:
" 'I think Mr. McCartney was the first
president, and I was secretary during almost
its entire existence. It was chiefly through
my influence that the association was formed
a. Gazetteer of the St. Joseph Valley, 1867
p. 48.

and managed. There were, probably, more
than a hundred persons, old and young, con
nected with us, from first to last ; but I should
not think more than about seventy living on
the premises at once. During a part of the
time they ate at a common table.
" 'The main cause of their dissolution, I
have ever believed, was that Mr. McCartney
violated his promise to invest the whole tract
of land; and, after we were fully organized
and on the ground, ready to receive the title
and use the land, he withheld all of the valu
able and available portion, and turned us off
with the broken, marshy land, lying between
the road and the river, at twenty dollars per
acre, the appraised price of the entire tract.' "
Mr. Turner adds, that while the association
failed, Mr. McCartney succeeded in getting
his land cleared up and improved for nothing.
It would seem that everything connected
with an attempt to build up any enterprise
at the old portage was a failure. At first,
the old St. Joseph, Brookfield 's town, and now
Judge Egbert's more hopeful town of Port
age, both alike went down before the vigorous
municipality growing up at the "south bend"
of the river. In the face of financial and
other difficulties, the people of Portage he-
came discouraged, and, one by one, all the
projected enterprises were abandoned. The
town went down as rapidly as it had arisen,
until not a vestige of its former glory re
mained. With its other misfortunes, the town suf
fered from a nickname which belittled its
pretentions to greatness. The river at this
point turned abruptly to the east, and then
as abruptly to the west, making a little
peninsula which humorous people in derision
called a pinhook ; and Pinhook the town was
named to the end of its days.
The following items concerning the good
old town of Portage, under its nickname of
Pinhook, are from the genial pen of the la
mented Richard H. Lyon, who devoted so
large a part of his later years to local histori
cal investigations. His body most appropn-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

307

ately rests in Riyerview cemetery, near the
site of the historic scenes on which his fine
mind so often dwelt :
"The original, ancient, historic Pinhook
bend of the St. Joseph river was located a
short distance below St. Mary's Academy,
about four miles from the city 'as the stream
goes, and was on ground laid out as the town
of Portage, platted in 1834, but now wholly
extinct. It was nicknamed by the Indians on
account of the peculiar strip of land around
which the river turned in the form of a bent
pin. The French traders, the boatmen and
the early settlers of the region adopted the
name and Pinhook became one of the most
famous points of interest on the river from its
mouth to the head of navigation in Branch
county, Michigan.
"The Portage town covered the lowland,
comprising about 53 acres, east of Riverview
cemetery, then owned by Judge Elisha Eg
bert, now the property of James H. Ray. It
took the nickname of Pinhook and was better
known by that title by the pioneers than by
its real legal name. A ferry was established
there and roads led to Pinhook from all direc
tions. Several stores, shops, dwellings and
warehouses were built in the town, ground do
nated for a Congregational theological school,
and a distinguished educator of New Eng
land, the Rev. Abner Morse, father of the late
Congressman William A. Morse, of Massachu
setts, sent to start- the college enterprise on
its way. It never got beyond the purchase of
a bell, however, and when the country arose
from the financial blow it received in 1837,
Portage was no more and the bell went astray
somewhere. "Productive farm lands now occupy the
entire site of the old town, not a vestige of
any kind of the early habitations being left.
The last lot owner in the plat was the late
Dr. Daniel Dayton, who was one of the town's
original boomers and for a time maintained
his office and residence there. Until a few
years ago taxes on his real estate holdings in
Portage, regularly assessed against the estate,

were as regularly paid, annually, in the ag
gregate to about 41 cents per annum, although
the corporation had ceased to exist for more
than half a century. An effort was made to
secure water power privileges for Portage
through a big race constructed at the base of
the high bluff south, west and north of the
town, with an outlet on the cemetery associa
tion 's grounds. A portion of the excavation
for this race is the most conspicuous landmark
left of Pinhook 's palmy days.
"About twenty years ago during a freshet
that caused old St. Joe to rise and rage be
yond its wonted limit, the river left its cir
cuitous route around the hook, burst over its
banks and cut a new channel pretty straight
through the pin, thus destroying the remain
ing glory of the boatmen's ancient landing
place and the pioneer town. Since that date,
with old Pinhook gone by, the river adhering
to its new and straighter channel, the pinhook
bend has been removed a short distance down
the river, on the east side, where opposite the
cemetery highlands the stream makes another
graceful turn around a narrow strip of low
land. Here is modern Pinhook, on the estate
of Samuel S. Perley, and here it will no doubt
remain until the contemplated dam in the
river at the Indiana-Michigan line is con
structed, arresting the current and backing
the water up for miles, completely submerg
ing both ancient and modern Pinhook on the
old St. Joe."
Is it the irony of fate that the, sites of the
lost towns of St. Joseph and Portage are now
embraced by Riverview cemetery on the south,
and the County Infirmary, on the north?
Should the old towns arise for a moment from
their ashes, they would find themselves en
compassed by the resting places of the dead
and of the old and infirm; and they might
then, perhaps, fall back into their long sleep
with an added sense of the fitness of their
surroundings. But would not the ghosts of
these dead cities of the old Portage take with
them into that sleep of forgetfulness a smile
of exultation that across these same grounds,

308

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

for long ages, even before Columbus dreamed
of the Indies, went up and down the commerce
of the wilderness ; that along this portage was
the pathway of the Mound Builder, the Mia
mi, the Pottawatomie, the ooureur des bois
and the missionary ; that this soil was pressed
by the feet of La Salle and Hennepin and
Tonti and Charlevoix, and perhaps even by
those of the sainted Marquette ?
Sec. 3.— Plainfield. — The village of Plain-
field was the first platted town to be laid out
in Olive township. It was surveyed Decem
ber 23, 1833, by Tyra W. Bray ; and was laid
out on "nearly equal portions of the north
east and northwest quarters of section thirty-
six and the southeast and southwest quarters
of section twenty-five, in township thirty-
eight north, range one west." The proprie
tors were Israel H, Jacob and Hiram Rush.
The town is still found upon the map located
on the Laporte road, a mile and a half east
of New Carlisle; but it is for all practical
purposes among the "towns that were," and
hence receives notice in this place.
Sec. 4. — Palestine. — A mile and a half
east of Plainfield, located also on the Laporte
road, was once the town of Palestine. It,
too, was surveyed by Tyra W. Bray, and
stood in ' ' equal parts on sections twenty-nine,
thirty, thirty-one and thirty-two, township
thirty-eight north, range one east." It was
surveyed December 3, 1834, for the proprie
tors, Martin Clark, Daniel Curry, Abijah S.
Reeden and. Matthias Kinney. The existence
of this old town is so completely obliterated
that Judge Hubbard, who was born on Terre
Coupee prairie, doubts whether any -one on
the prairie can point out its site.
Sec. 5. — Williamsport. — This town was
surveyed by Thomas P. Bulla for the proprie
tor, John Newell, who acknowledged the plat
December 13, 1834. It was located at the
junction of the St. Joseph river and Babaugo
creek, on the southeast fraction of the north
east quarter of section nine, township thirty-
seven north, range four east. It has left no
record but its plat.

Sec. 6. — Greensburg. — On December 4
1835, the town of Greensburg was surveyed
for Jacob Eutzler, in seetion twenty-five
township thirty-seven north, range three east.
It lay on each side of the South Bend and
Goshen road. It does not seem that there was
any pressing need for the existence of the
town, and on March 6, 1843, it was vacated by
order of the board of county commissioners.
Sec. 7. — Canton. — Thomas P. Bulla was
the surveyor of the town of Canton, located
on the Babaugo creek, in section sixteen, town
ship thirty-seven north, range four east. The
survey was acknowledged December 14, 1835,
by the proprietor, William Ireland. This
town did not flourish as anticipated, and on
June 3, 1844, on the petition of J. E. Hollis-
ter, the plat was vacated by the county com
missioners. None of the towns in this part of
the county, except Osceola, have had more
than an ephemeral existence.
Sec. 8. — Mount Pleasant. — There is little
left of fair Mount Pleasant except the record'
of its plat, which reads as follows:
"This is a plan of the Town of Mount.
Pleasant in St. Joseph county, Indiana. Laid
out on a part of the northwest and southwest
quarters of section thirty-two and the north
east quarter of section thirty-one in township
thirty-eight north and range two east. Each
lot is sixty-six feet wide and one hundred and
thirty-two feet long, except lots numbered
eleven and fifty-five, the width of which is
marked within them. The width and the
course of the streets is marked in each re
spectively. The alleys are each ten feet wide,
and run parallel with Michigan street. The
lots, which are numbered, form the town plat,
and nothing more nor less. Surveyed by
Tyra W. Bray, St. Joseph County Surveyor.
"Before me, L. M. Taylor, recorder, person
ally came the within named proprietors,—
David Miller, Ashbury Baltimore, Henry
Brown, Jacob Ritter and James R. McGee, and
acknowledged the within to be their true act
and deed for the purposes within represented.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

309

"Signed, sealed and delivered in my pres
ence, August 19, 1836.
"Attest: Lathrop M. Taylor, Recorder."
The town continued to maintain a feeble
existence until by an act of the legislature,
approved January 17, 1850, the plat was for
mally vacated;0 Mount Pleasant was the third
town to rise and go down in German town
ship; St. Joseph, Portage and Mount Pleas
ant, all within the limits of the great Miami
village where La Salle held his memorable
conference, in May, 1861.6 A church, a school,
farm houses and other farm buildings now
remain to mark the site of the town, well
named Mount Pleasant.
Sec. 9. — Terre Coupee. — The town of
Terre Coupee, also known as Hamilton from
Hamilton's tavern,0 was located on each side
of the Chicago road, the old Sauk trail, in the
southeast quarter of section nine, township
thirty-eight, range one east. The survey of
the town was made by Thomas P. Bulla for
Jacob Egbert who acknowledged the plat
April 12, 1837. Additions made to the plat
were acknowledged January 30, 1841, by
Jacob Egbert and Jonathan Hubbard.
Terre Coupee, or Hamilton, as it is more fre
quently called, was for a time a very pros
perous town, located as it was on the great
through line of travel from the east. But
with the building of the Lake Shore railroad
through New Carlisle the greatness of Hamil
ton declined; and even its original name of
Terre Coupee was transferred to the Lake
Shore railroad station, two miles east of New
Carlisle. The plat was vacated by order of
the county commissioners, June 10, 1841. As
the Hon. Lucius Hubbard, who spent his boy
hood in and about the town, says in his remi
niscences, which are set out in the preceding
chapter, the town "is on its way to join
Plainfield and Palestine."
An interesting item as to the burial of
veterans of the war of 1812 in the old grave-
a. Local Laws, 1849, p. 99.
B. See Chap. 2, Subd. 2.
c. See Chap. 8, Reminiscences of Mr. Jesse
Haines.

yard at Terre Coupee, and at other points in
Olive township, appeared recently in the In
dianapolis News, and is here inserted:
"Probably no township in Indiana is the
burial place of so many soldiers of the war of
1812 as Olive township, the largest town of
which is New Carlisle. At the village of
Hamilton, on the old Chicago road, formerly
the Great Sauk Trail, where the stages from
Detroit to Chicago changed horses, is a quaint
old graveyard. The veterans of the war of
1812 who are buried there are John Cooper,
David Dalrymple, Gabriel Druliner, Moses
Ivins, Wm. D. Jones, Joshua Keene, John
Lane, Leonard R. Rush, Jacob White and
Virgil Reynolds.
"Three soldiers of the Indian war buried
at this place are William Burden, Samuel
Reynolds and Elias Heaton. In the Olive
Chapel cemetery, in the same township, are
four veterans of the war of 1812. Two are
in the New Carlisle cemetery and two at
Maple Grove."
•Sec. 10. — Denniston. — This town was laid
out in July, 1837, on the northeast fractional
half of section twelve and the south part of
section one, township thirty-seven, range two
east. The proprietors were Garrett V. Den
niston and Joseph Fellows, who laid out the
town in connection with their ownership of
the water power on the St. Joseph river.0 As
in the case of others, however, their enter
prises were overthrown by the panic of 1837 ;
and, on September 3, 1845, the town of Den
niston was formally vacated by order of the
board of county commissioners. The site of
the town was nearly identical with that of
Lowell, afterwards laid out and since become
a part of the city of South Bend.
II. UNINCORPORATED TOWNS.
Sec. 1. — Osceola. — The original plat of
Osceola, near the extreme east of the county,
in Penn township, was laid out in 1837. The
record is as follows :
"This is a plat of the town of Osceola, in
a. See Chap. 7, Subd. 1.

310

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

St. Joseph County, Indiana, laid out on the
west part of the southwest part of section
nine, in township number thirty-seven north,
range four east. The lots are each sixty-six
feet front, and one hundred and thirty-two
feet back, except those which are fractional.
The width and courses of the streets are mark
ed on each respectively. The alleys are each
fourteen feet wide, and lie parallel with the
streets.
"John A. Henricks.
"November 17, 1837.
"N. B. The beginning corner to resurvey
any of the lots in this plat is the corner on
the river, between sections eight and nine. ' '
The main street in the town comes in from
the west as "Vistula street," and goes out on
the east as the "Road to Toledo." The plat
shows an elaborate system of mill races, triple
in form, connecting the river on the north,
with the Babaugo creek, on the east. A small
island is also shown on the river. This plat
was vacated by an act of the legislature, ap
proved January 31, 1842.°
An addition to Osceola, by William C.
Thrall, was platted April 24, 1856. This was
to the south of the site of the original plat, on
the east half of the northwest quarter of sec
tion sixteen, township thirty-seven north,
range four east. The plat was surveyed by
Milton W. Stokes, who also made the survey
of another addition June 4, 1859.
The town grew in its additions, rather than
in the original plat, which, as we have seen,
was vacated before the platting of the addi
tions. This was no doubt due to the building
of the Lake Shore road further from the river
than the original plat, through section six
teen instead of section nine. The main Elk-
hart-Toledo public highway runs through the
former site of the original plat, while the
Goshen highway passes through the additions.
The town received its musical name from
Osceola, the famous Seminole chief, who was
taken prisoner by General Jessup in October,
1837, a few weeks before the town was plat-
a. Local Laws, 1841, p. 166.

ted. The town of Osceola had but a feeble
growth until the building of the interurban
railway from South Bend to Goshen in 1899
and 1900. The Indiana Railway Company
built one of its power houses at Osceola, and
new life appeared at once in the old town.
Even without the building of the power house,
the extending of the interurban through Osce
ola would have worked a transformation in the
life of the town. It came at once to have
many of the advantages of a suburban town,
easily accessible as it was to Elkhart and
Goshen, on the one hand, and to Mishawaka
and South Bend, on the other. After the com
pletion of the interurban lines from South
Bend to the west, there will be a keen rivalry
between Osceola and New Carlisle, one ax the
extreme east and one at the extreme west of
the county, and both admirably located as resi
dence towns, with hourly connection with
metropolitan cities to the east and the west.
The population in 1900, was one hundred and
seventy-seven. Sec. 2. — Crum's Point. — On April 21,
1875, Christian Holler laid out the original
plat of the town of Crum's Point, on the line
of the Grand Trunk railroad, in Warren
township, not far from the junction of the
Grapevine creek with the Kankakee river; and
located on the southwest quarter of the south
west quarter of seetion twenty-seven, township
thirty-seven north, range one east. The sur
vey of the town was made by Matthias Stover,
September 7 and 8, 1874. On January 20,
1882, Mr. Holler platted an addition to the
town. With the drainage of the upper Kan
kakee valley, Crum's Point, or Crum's Town,
as it is frequently called, has become the cen
ter of a rich agricultural district, and is quite
likely to grow to be a place of considerable
importance. The population, in 1900, was one
hundred. The town is on one of the main
gravel roads leading southwest from South
Bend and connecting with the road to North
Liberty and Walkerton.
Sec. 3.— Granger.— The great farmer's
movement organized during the' latter part ot

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

311

the nineteenth century, and known as the
Grange was commemorated by the founding
of the town of Granger, in Harris township,
by Thomas J. Foster, April 3, 1883. The
town is near the Michigan line, on the east
side of what is now the Big Four railroad, in
fractional section seven, township thirty-eight
north, range four east. An addition to the
town was made by Mr. Foster in September
of the same year. The population in 1900,
was yet small, being but sixty-seven souls. A
more suitable name than Granger could not
have been selected for the town. It is situ
ated in the heart of the rich and beautiful
Harris prairie ; and the country, both in Indi
ana and Michigan, is one of the finest farming
districts to be found anywhere. An extensive
grain trade is carried on over the Big Four.
Sec. 4. — Wyatt. — East of Lakeville, on the
northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of
section thirty-four, township thirty-six north,
range three east, in Madison township and on
the Wabash railroad, is the new and busy
town of Wyatt. It was laid out and platted
March 27, 1894, by Jeremiah Bechtel and
Louisa Bechtel. When the Wabash came
through the heavy timbered section of the
south part of Madison township, and the
drainage of the rich lands turned that wet
region into fertile farms, the need of a ship
ping town was evident, and Wyatt came in
answer to the pressing needs of the enter
prising people. In 1900 the population had
reached one hundred and seventy; and the
town promises to be one of the pushing, bus
tling communities of the county.
Sec. 5. — Lindley. — The youngest of our
towns is Lindley, in Warren township. It
lies on the north side of the Lake Shore rail
road, in the north part of the northwest quar
ter of the northeast quarter of section two,
township thirty-seven north, range one east. It
was platted September 6, 1901, by Ashbury
Lindley and Mina Lindley. The locality,
though but little more than a railway station,
has had a surfeit of names. For a long time
it was known as Warren Center, and that was

the name of the railroad station. The name
given to the post office, however, was Sweet
Home, a very pretty designation for a country
town ; this name has been changed to Lindley.
Recently the railroad company hunted up a
fourth name, and the station is now called
Lydick. It would be fitting that all should
compromise on the honored name of that
worthy pioneer, Ashbury Lindley, who lived
his good life in the neighborhood, and platted
the town. A little to the west of the town is
the crossing of the branch of the Michigan
Central railroad, running from South Bend
to St. Joseph, on lake Michigan. The census
of 1900 shows the population of Sweet Home
to be thirty-four.
Sec. 6. — Woodland. — At the corner of sec
tions fifteen, sixteen, twenty-one and twenty-
two, township thirty-six north, range three
east, in Madison township, the town of Wood
land has been in existence during a time ex
tending back at least as far as the year 1860.
The town was never platted; although on
August 7, 1899, Mochel's plat, practically an
addition to the town, was laid out on the
north half of the northwest quarter of said
section twenty-two. The place has always been
a business center of some importance. Schools,
churches, groceries, post office, physician's
office, saw-mills, blacksmith shop, and other
like features of a rural town have always been
maintained. The population in the year 1900
was ninety persons. Some of those who have
been prominent in the business of the town
are: Martin Fink, William Shenefield, Dr.
Bishop, Adam Mochel, Frederick Weber, Con
rad Kelley, Michael Kettring, Philip Buhler,
Dr. Fisher, Frederick Lang and Charles
Frank, the saw-mill and lumbermen, Scott,
Shenefield, Thomas Crakes and many others.
In the lumber business particularly, Wood
land has been a busy town. No less than four
or five saw-mills were, at different times, at
work in and around the town.
Sec. 7. — Warwick. — In the northwest
quarter of section eighteen, township thirty-
eight, range one east, in Olive township, is

312

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

another unplatted hamlet, which seems ad
vancing to the dignity of a busy center. It is
known as Warwick, and is located on the old
Chicago road, or Great Sauk Trail, at the in
tersection, of the South Bend and St. Joseph
branch of the Michigan Central railroad.
The population is very small.
Sec. 8. — Nutwood. — This town is a station
on the Vandalia railroad, in Center township,
in the south part of section three, township
thirty-six north, range two east. It has a post
office ; and in 1900 had a population of forty-
three. Some other little hamlets, or collec
tions of houses, may be found in different sec
tions of the county ; but they are hardly more
than pleasant neighborhoods and need not be
referred to as towns.
III. INCORPORATED TOWNS.
Sec. 1. — New Carlisle. — One of the oldest
of our towns, as it is one of the most beauti
fully situated, is New Carlisle, which from its
picturesque eminence overlooks fair Terre
Coupee prairie in Olive township. The town
was founded in 1835 by Richard R. Carlisle,
a unique character of our early history. He
was of a restless disposition, a sportsman and
a traveler rather than a pioneer settler. He
did not remain in the town to which he gave
his name, and is said to have spent his last
days in Philadelphia. The land on which the
town was laid out had been obtained from the
Indians by one Lazarus Bourissau, a French
man who married an Indian wife. It was from
the children of Bourissau that the land was
purchased by Carlisle. The dedication and
acknowledgment of the town plat reads as
follows :
"This plat represents the Town of New
Carlisle, situated in the northeast quarter of
section thirty-four^ in township thirty-eight
north, in range one west, in St. Joseph coun
ty, Indiana. Each lot is one hundred and
thirty-two feet in length by fifty feet in width.
All the streets and alleys cross at right angles
— variation north eight degrees and twenty
minutes west. The width of the streets is

marked in each respectively. [Michigan street
is shown to be one hundred feet in width ; and
Front, Chestnut, Cherry, Filbert, Arch and
Race, each, sixty feet.] The alleys lying par
allel with Michigan street are each sixteen and
one-half feet wide ; those of a contrary course
are each eight feet wide.
' ' Richard R. Carlisle, "Proprietor.
"The beginning point to re-survey any of
the lots of this town is at a stone at the north
east corner of No. thirty-three.
"Surveyed by Tyra W. Bray, St. Joseph
County Surveyor."
The plat was acknowledged by Mr. Carlisle
August 15, 1835.
On March 15, 1837, R. R. Carlisle filed and
acknowledged a very much extended plat of
New Carlisle, on the same general plan as the
first. This last plat was printed and litho
graphed in the city of New York, and contains
a beautiful view of the town overlooking
Terre Coupee prairie. Apparently a large
number of these printed plats were prepared.
They were no doubt intended to be circulated
throughout the east and to attract attention
to the beautiful town.
New Carlisle, though still a small place,
could hardly fail to hold its own in the strug
gle for existence. The fine eminence on
which it stands; the unequaled landscape
which spreads out before it ; the rich agricul
tural county that surrounds it; and the ab
sence of any rival town for many miles, — all
united to attach its people to the old town and
to draw others to it. The coming of the Lake
Shore railroad, in 1851, secured the stability
of the little municipality. On June 7, 1866,
Samuel C. Lancaster and thirty-one others
filed with the board of county commissioners
a petition for the incorporation of the town;
and the board fixed June 30, 1866, for an
election to determine the question. On Sep
tember 4, 1866, the report of the election was
filed with the county board, and it showed
forty-four votes for incorporation and six
against it. Thereupon the board entered an

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

313

order incorporating the town, under the name
of New Carlisle.
Under an act approved March 3 , 1899,
towns not having more than fifteen hundred
inhabitants, and having no school indebted
ness, were authorized to transfer their schools
and school property to the trustees of the
townships in which such towns respectively
should be located." New Carlisle took advant
age of this law and transferred its schools to
the jurisdiction of the trustee of Olive town
ship; and, consequently, it has since been
simply a civil and not a school town. The
schools of New Castle are nevertheless of a
high order and excellently conducted.
The New Carlisle Collegiate Institute, a
school for the education of both sexes, was
erected by the Methodist Episcopal church, in
1859; and the school was opened in 1861,
under the' patronage of that church. The In
stitute took high rank as a classical school;6
and continued to flourish for seven or eight
years. The Institute building was a substan
tial two-story brick structure, forty-four by
seventy-five feet. The expense of conducting
the school, however, proved too heavy for the
church; and accordingly the building was
purchased for the use of the school town of
New Carlisle.0 An exceedingly interesting
reunion of the surviving students of the old
Institute took place August 29, 1907, which
was attended by about eighty alumni from
different parts of the country, At the close
of the reunion, a regular organization was
perfected. The population of the town of New Carlisle,
according to the census of 1900, was five hun
dred and ninety-seven.
The New Carlisle Gazette, one of the best
of our eounty papers, was established Febru
ary 6, 1880, by George M. Fountain and
George H. Alward. It was at first independ
ent in politics ; but at the end of six months
Mr. Fountain bought out his partner, and
a. Acts, 1899, p. 373.
6. Turner's Gazetteer, 1867, p. 73.
c. See Chapman's Hist. St. Joseph County,
P. 768.

continued the publication of the Gazette as a
Republican journal, until his election as clerk
of the St. Joseph circuit court, when the
present proprietor, Mr. E. L. Maudlin, took
charge. On the incorporation of the town, it would
seem that the people of New Carlisle had
everything needed to make life full and con
tent: Churches, schools, shops, stores, news
paper, all located in one of the most beautiful
landscapes in America; and with these, and
more than all these, a highly moral and intel
lectual community. It is an ideal home for
the philosopher, the artist or the poet, as
well as for the contended, right living Ameri
can citizen. With the completion of the two
interurban railways soon to connect the town
with South Bend, on the east and with La
porte, Michigan City and Chicago on the west,
it would seem that nothing will remain to
make New Carlisle one of the most desirable
residence towns in the country.
Sec. 2. — North Liberty. — The town of
North Liberty, situated in Liberty township,
followed close after New Carlisle. It was
founded in 1836 by Daniel Antrim. The
dedication of the plat is as follows :
"This is the plat of the Town of North
Liberty, in St. Joseph county, Indiana. Laid
out on the southwest quarter of section
twenty-eight and the southeast quarter of sec
tion twenty-nine, in township thirty-six north,
in range one east. The streets and alleys
cross at right angles, bearing east, west, north
or south. The width of the streets is marked
in each, respectively. [The streets are each
sixty-six feet in width, except Main street,
which is eighty -two and a half feet wide.]
The alleys lying north and south are each six
teen and one-half feet wide; those lying east
and west, fourteen feet -wide. Each lot is ten
rods, east and west, by four rods north and
south, containing one quarter of an acre.
"Laid out for the purposes above men
tioned, as witness my hand, this 12th day of
January, 1836.
"Daniel Antrim.

314

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

"N. B. The corner of sections twenty-eight,
twenty-nine, thirty-two and thirty-three is
designated as the beginning point in survey
ing the town plat.
"Surveyed by Tyra W. Bray, St. Joseph
County Surveyor."0
Since the extension of the Wabash railroad
and the Three " I " railroad through the town,
North Liberty has become one of our most im
portant centers of business and population.
So far as can be learned, the first news
paper, the North Liberty Herald, was estab
lished about the year 1892. The Herald was
published for nearly four years. On March
23, 1895, publication of the North Liberty
News was begun by its present editor and pro
prietor, Mr. Dell M. Woodward. The News
is a sprightly well conducted paper, and fully
meets the wants of the people of North Lib
erty and vicinity. About the year 1903, the
North West Indianian was started at North
Liberty, but continued for only about a year.
The population of North Liberty, according to
the United States census of 1900, was five
hundred and four. The town was duly incor
porated June 8, 1894.
Sec. 3. — Lakeville. — The town of Lakeville
is situated in Union township, on either side
of the Michigan road; and is located on the
east half of the southeast quarter of section
thirty-four, and the west part of the south
west quarter of section thirty-five, in township
thirty-seven north, range two east. It receives
its name from a number of small lakes south
of the town, the chief of which is Riddle's
lake. Originally this was merely a place of,
rest and refreshment for the accommodation
of travelers, merchants and others doing busi
ness along the great highway leading through
the state from the Ohio river to Lake Michi
gan. After the opening of the Michigan road
and before the coming of the railroads, immi
gration and commerce for northern Indiana
sought this north and south highway from
Logansport to Michigan City, instead of pro-
a. See the history of Liberty Township, in the
previous chapter.

ceeding, as formerly, along the Indian trails
from Fort Wayne and Detroit, or coming up
the St. Joseph from Lake Michigan. The im
migrant seeking a home upon the Michigan
road lands or bringing his family and house
hold goods to the home already selected; the
speculator intent upon picking out the fat of
the land or in projecting towns in the wilder
ness, and the merchant bringing up his goods
from the Wabash, — all moved along the great
thoroughfare, on foot, on horseback, by the
lumbering stage coach or in the weighty
Pennsylvania wagons that perchance had once
rolled across the Alleghanies, bearing in their
capacious bosoms the seeds of future common
wealths. And on this thoroughfare Lakeville
was a modest station.
The original plat of the town, consisting
of Lots A. B. C. D. E. & F., on the west side
of the Michigan road, is first shown on record
as lying north of and adjoining Coquillard 's
addition to the town ; which addition was
platted August 18, 1857, by Alexis T., Alexis
and Frances C. Coquillard. Alexis Theodore
Coquillard was the son; Alexis, the nephew;
and Frances C. Coquillard, the widow of the
elder Alexis Coquillard, one of the founders of
the city of South Bend. The original plat
was itself afterwards placed on record Decem
ber 23, 1859; but again in connection with
the Coquillard addition.
Like others of our towns, Lakeville was for
many years of slow growth. When the Michi
gan road, from South Bend to Plymouth be
came a plank road, an infusion of new life
for a time gave an air of prosperity to the
little hamlet, and several additions were plat
ted to the town ; but after a few years the
plank road became out of repair and the old
planks Were taken up and the toll houses re
moved. After another interval the Vanda
lia railroad came in, and still later the Wa
bash gave connection with Chicago and with
the east. The town has since prospered, and
is now one of the busiest- of our small munici
palities. Additions have been. platted by John
Henderson, Michael' Hupp, Stephen A. -Ulery

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

315

and Sarah E. Rush; and the population, in
1900, had- reached three hundred and fifty.
The drainage and improved cultivation of the
surrounding lands have also tended to estab
lish the town upon a substantial basis, and
Lakeville is now sure to go on prospering and
to prosper. Lakeville became an incorporated
town by order of the board of county commis
sioners, July 7, 1902.
Sec. 4. — River Park. — River Park occu
pies the territory between South Bend and
Mishawaka, on the north side of the St. Jo
seph river. The original plat was acknowl
edged April 7, 1892, by Albert J. Home and
Benjamin F. Dunn. Several additions have
since been platted, the principal of these be
ing Fordham and Berner's Grove. A peti
tion for the incorporation of the town was
filed with the county board May 7, 1900, and
an election ordered for May 23, 1900. While
the election was in favor of incorporation,
yet, on remonstrance being presented and
considered, the commissioners refused to or
der the town . incorporated. From this de
cision of the board an appeal was taken to
the circuit court, where the decision was re
versed; and an order was made by the court,
December 28, 1900, incorporating the town
of River Park. The town has grown rapidly,
the population being now estimated at from
two to three hundred people. It has a post
office, an excellent school and many business
houses suited to the needs of a suburban pop
ulation. A fine fruit nursery is conducted
by Mr. John B. Witwer, who, like the great
majority of his townsmen, has a most de
lightful home in River Park. The South
Bend watch factory, which rivals Elgin and
Waltham in the superior quality of its
watches, is located in River Park.
Pottawatomie Park adjoins the town of
River Park; although this fine pleasure
ground, the largest in the county, was
placed in the custody of the city of
South Bend by the county commission
ers. The park consists of sixty acres,
including forty acres formerly used for

the St. Joseph county fair grounds. On
the discontinuance of the holding of an
nual county fairs on those grounds, an act,
approved March 1, 1905,° was passed by the
legislature authorizing the county commis
sioners to place such lands in the care of the
city, authorities, to be used as a park, which
on April 3, 1906, was done in this case. The
county afterwards added twenty acres
of fine woodland on the north, formerly a
part of the old county farm. The city of
South Bend, in accepting this trust, gave to
the grounds the exceedingly appropriate
name of Pottawatomie Park. The late Rich
ard PL Lyon, whose fine taste and historical
instinct were sensibly affected by the erection
of this noble park for the use of the people
of the county, wrote the following beautiful
tribute to the friendly Indians, after whom
the park was named :
"The action of the South Bend authorities
in adopting the name Pottawatomie for the
new park on the old fair grounds, recently
donated to the city by the county commis
sioners, will meet the general approbation of
this community. It is a commendable pro
ceeding, thus honoring the great nation of
red men, who with their cousins, the Ottawas
and the Chippewas, once possessed and occu
pied this vast territory now embraced in
northern Indiana, by giving to the largest
and most important tract of the region dedi
cated to public use this highly appropriate
title in recognition of a tribe whose name is
written high in Algonquin history.
"Too little attention is paid in this part of
the west to the preservation of good old In
dian names by the white race that took the
land from their dusky brethren, the original
and rightful owners. South Bend's streets,
most of her leading ones, are laid out on
Indian trails, yet not one bears an Indian
name with the sole exception of Miami street,
formerly the old Turkey Creek road. There
have been distinguished red men enough as
sociated with the early history of this country
a. Acts, 1905, p. 108.

316

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

to have afforded each of our important thor
oughfares a representative Indian name. In
the states east of us, particularly in New
York and New England, Indian names of
appropriate significant meaning have been
generously applied to streets, public buildings,
parks and private estates, thus preserving
permanently the quaint lore of the original
Americans. "Every Indian word and especially an In
dian name, has a distinct meaning and that
is one reason so many have been adopted by
the whites of the east. The word Pottawato
mie has its peculiar definition or meaning in
English. The Indians of this race were said
to be experts in starting fires from the rub
bing of two sticks together, hence they were
called flame creators or blaze blowers. They
originated in the Green bay country, Wiscon
sin, and followed the explorer, Robert Cave-
lier de La Salle, into the St. Joseph valley,
soon after he discovered this region in 1679.
It is an important fact that the first friendly
service that La Salle received from either
whites or Indians, after he launched out on
his tour of the discovery of the great north
west, was at the hands of a Pottawatomie
chief. The Pottawatomies were ever the
white man's friend, but the white man was
not always their friend, at least did not al
ways treat them as they deserved.
"During the Chicago massacre in 1812 and
the Black Hawk war of 1832, the Pottawato
mies of the St. Joseph valley rendered invalu
able service to the whites, which at the time
was duly appreciated, but forgotten in after
years when the government obtaining pos
session of their lands by subterfuge, bundled
the most of them off to Kansas, where they
were given a small and unfruitful reserva
tion for the vast and rich lands they and
their fathers once owned here. TheTast of the
tribe to leave this vicinity was the Pokagon
band, which removed from the original vil
lage on the old Sac and Fox trail down tbe
river near Bertrand to VanBuren and Cass
counties, Michigan, in 1836.

"There is not a full-blooded Pottawatomie
living in St. Joseph county now. Not manv
moons in the past the brave red man held
undisputed sway in the wilds hereabouts, but
his wigwam, his hunting grounds, his war
whoop and his quaint garb have all disap
peared and in their place the productive
farms, the thriving cities and villages of the
white man cover the landscape. Nothing is
left of the Pottawatomie but the unknown
graves of his ancestors, the memory of his
useful deeds and his extreme friendliness
toward his white brethren. Why should we
not honor his memory by christening the
new and extensive park with the name of
Pottawatomie? When shall we see a statue
of a representative Pottawatomie chief
placed in a conspicuous spot in the grand
park? Sec. 5. — Walkerton. — The town of Walk
erton, not far from the center of Lincoln
township, is one of the most flourishing cen
ters in northern Indiana. Except the cities
of South Bend and Mishawaka, it is the larg
est and most important municipal corpora
tion in St. Joseph county. The town, as it
now stands, is a combination of different
towns and additions, all united under the
name and government of Walkerton. The
first of these corporations was that of West
Troy, laid out by Elias D. Jones in the south
east ipart of the northeast quarter of section
twenty-three, township thirty-five north,
range one west. This town was platted by
Mr. Jones December 14, 1854.
On June 20, 1856, William C. Hannah
platted the town of Walkerton, which was
laid out in the southwest quarter of section
twenty-four, in the^same township and range
as West Troy. Burk's addition to West Troy
was platted April 27, 1860. On December 11,
1868, Jacob Rupel had the plats oMiis first
three additions to Walkerton placed on rec
ord. A fourth addition was platted by him
on July 2, 1875, and a fifth on January 23,
1884. Dixon W. Place platted his first addi
tion to Walkerton September 3, 1887. All

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

317

these corporations and additions, with the
subsequent growth of each, are now united
in one vigorous municipality, the center of
an active and enterprising business and farm
ing community.
The town was named from John Walker,
the promoter of a railroad through the town,
from Plymouth to Laporte, known at first
as the Indianapolis, Peru & Chicago railroad,
but long since become a part of the Lake
Erie & Western system, extending from In
dianapolis to Michigan City. This railroad,
during the feeble period of its existence, was
nicknamed the Pe-wee road. Two other rail
roads unite with the Lake Erie & Western
to make Walkerton an important railroad
center. These are the Baltimore & Ohio, and
the Three I, otherwise the Chicago, Illinois
& Southern. The Lake Erie and the Three I
are under the control of the Lake Shore sys
tem. These railroads are of great moment to
Walkerton and the southwest part of the
eounty. Formerly the connections with the
outside world were practically confined to
exits by way of Plymouth and Laporte. Now,
in addition, the people are in close connection
with Chicago and the east by the great trunk
line, the Baltimore & Ohio, and with the coun
ty seat at South Bend, as well as with the
Illinois coal fields, by the Three I, or Chi
cago, Illinois & Southern, as it is now called.
Mr. Samuel J. Nicoles, long a leading citi
zen of the town, as he is indeed a Christian
gentleman, whose citizenship would be an
honor to any community, gives the following
comprehensive statement of present condi
tions: Walkerton, says Mr. Nicoles, is com
pactly built, with a very good class of homes
in the residence sections, and with good two-
story brick buildings in the business part.
Among these is an excellent hotel. Another
is the two-story cement stone building, occu
pied and owned by William A. Endly, the
enterprising editor and proprietor of the
Walkerton Independent.
The first newspaper established in the town
was the Walkerton Visitor, the first copy of

which was issued by Henry S. Mintle, April
7, 1875. Mr. Mintle continued the publica
tion until his death, May 13, 1886, when the
paper was sold to J. F. Endly, who changed
the name to the Walkerton Independent.
Since the death of Mr. Endly, his son, Wil
liam A. Endly, has continued the publication
of the Independent, which has become a first
class newspaper.
In 1879, before J. F. Endly became the
owner of the Independent, he started the
publication of the St. Joseph County Repub
lican, which, in 1881, he sold to D. M. Eve-
land. This paper was afterwards purchased
by Theodore Needham, who, in turn, sold it
to Burroughs & Son. Later it ceased publi
cation, and the presses and material were re
moved to Laporte.
The Walkerton State Bank, with a capital
of twenty-five thousand dollars, is a well con
ducted and very safe and conservative insti
tution. A grain elevator of ample capacity
is owned and managed by a reliable com
pany with abundance of capital. The mer
chants are agreeable and accommodating
business men, and. carry at all times large and
well assorted stocks of goods. The town is
also well supplied with lawyers and doctors.
There is a substantial brick school building,
in which is conducted a graded school, in
cluding a first class high school.
There are at present five church organiza
tions: the Presbyterian, the Catholic, the
United Brethren, the Methodist and the Sev
enth Day Adventist. Two of these have re
cently built fine church edifices, one of ce
ment stone and one of pressed brick. An
other has in course of erection a fine large
building of stone and concrete. The first
church to be erected in the town was by the
Methodists, in 1859. The Baptists erected a
chureh in 1870, and the Catholics in 1876.
The Presbyterian society, as stated by Mr.
Endly, was organized February 5, 1876, with
sixteen members, when the old Baptist church
building was used as its house of worship.

318

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

The present fine edifice was formally dedi
cated June 12, 1904.
The streets of Walkerton are wide, with
cement sidewalks extending in every direc
tion, and with shade trees on either side.
The town is in some degree committed to
municipal ownership of public utilities. It
has a well constructed and well managed
system of water works; and also a fine elec
tric light plant. Both are owned and oper
ated by the town.
After several fruitless attempts, Walkerton
became an incorporated town June 8, 1877.
The first petition for incorporation was filed
with the county auditor December 2, 1873,
and an election was ordered for the 22nd of
the same month. By reason of- irregularities
in the proceedings, the commissioners re
fused to act favorably on the petition. A
second petition was not filed until March 8,
1876, when an elction was ordered for April
3, 1876. No further proceedings were had

on this second petition. The third petition
was filed with the board March 5, 1877, and
an election was ordered for April 2nd fol
lowing. The report of this third election was
returned on June 8, 1877; and the board of
county commissioners finding everything reg
ular and according to law, an order was en
tered duly incorporating the town.
By the census of 1900, the population of
Walkerton was one thousand and thirty-sev
en. The town has grown rapidly since that
date, and Mr. Nicoles estimates the present
population at fifteen hundred. With its enter
prising citizens, its fine farming surround
ings and its excellent railroad facilities,
Walkerton is, besides, well located, being at a
sufficient distance from South Bend, Laporte,
Plymouth and Knox to admit of free and
ample growth. Its future is assured; and
St. Joseph county has good cause to be proud
of her southwestern capital.

CHAPTER X.

THE CITY OF MISHAWAKA.

I. FORMATION AND INCORPORATION.
Unlike as they are in many respects, there
is one thing in which Mishawaka resembles
Walkerton. The town consisted originally of
several towns, plats and additions, which, ul
timately, were brought into a single munici
pal body. To this municipality was given the
musical name of Mishawaka, a name which
before the union did not belong in a dis
tinctive manner to any of the divisions.
Sec. 1. — The St. Joseph Iron Works —
The first and principal of these minor divi
sions was the St. Joseph Iron Works, a town,
laid out in 1833 by Alanson M. Hurd, who
is therefore generally regarded as the founder
of the city of Mishawaka. The following is
Mr. Hurd's dedication and description of his
plat: "The exterior line of this village plat be
gins on the top of the bluff, on the south side
of the St. Joseph river, and runs thence south
seventy poles to a stake; thence west eighty
and 1/1621 poles to a stake; thence north
sixty-one poles to a stake; thence west seven
teen poles to a stake ; thence north sixty-two
poles to the river; and thence, as the river
meanders, one hundred fourteen and one-half
poles, containing fifty-two and seven-tenths
acres. The subdivision is as this plat rep
resents. Each lot is four by eight perches,
containing, of course, thirty-two square
perches each. The alleys are sixteen and a
half feet wide, and the width of each street
is marked in them respectively. This village
is laid out on the north part of lot number

319

six and the northeast part of lot number five,
in school section number sixteen, township
thirty-seven north of range number three
east, called the town of the St. Joseph Iron
Works. ' ' In testimony I have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this 15th day of July, 1833.
"A. M. Hurd."
Acknowledged July 15, 1833, by William
L. Earl, his attorney-in-fact. "Laid out and
surveyed for Earl and Hurd, by T. W. Bray,
St. Joseph county surveyor." The river is
marked in the plat as the "Great St. Joseph
River." The original plat was re-filed by A. M.
Hurd, on February 21, 1835, together with
additions on the north, west and south. It
is this second plat that is usually referred
to as the "Original Town."
On October 23, 1835, a plat of out lots was
filed by Mr. Hurd, lying on the west of the
original town, and opposite the island in the
river at that point. On this last plat the
name of the principal east and west street
is recognized as the "Vistula Road."
On August 17, 1836, Francis P. Taylor
acknowledged and filed his plat as an addi
tion to the town of St. Joseph Iron Works.
This plat was surveyed by Thomas P. Bulla,
and the road from the west is called "Vistula
and Loteas Road."
The name St. Joseph Iron Works was
taken from that of a company of the same
name which Mr. Hurd, Mr. Earl and others
had organized for the manufacture of iron

320

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

at this point. Bog iron ore was found in con
siderable quantities in the swamp under the
hills south of the town, being the same swamp
around which La Salle was forced to find his
way on the night in December, 1679, when
he got lost in seeking for the portage to the
Kankakee." Mr. Hurd and his company were
of opinion that the ore in this marsh would
prove inexhaustible and that his iron works
would expand into a flourishing manufactur
ing town. The construction of a blast fur
nace for the reduction of the ore had been
commenced the spring previous to the plat
ting of the town, and was completed in 1834.
The company was duly incorporated by
an act of the legislature, approved January
22, 1835, in which it was declared, "That
Alanson M. Hurd, of the county of St.
Joseph, John J. Deming and John H. Orr,
and their associates, be, and they are hereby
constituted a body corporate and politic, by
the name and style of the president, directors
and company of the St. Joseph Iron Works,
for the purpose of manufacturing iron."6
By section 6 of the act, it was provided
' " That the said corporation shall be and they
are hereby authorized to erect a dam across
...e river St. Joseph, at the head of the Mish
awaka rapids." The dam thus authorized
was built by the iron company in 1835. It
was the first dam across the St. Joseph river
and is still in good condition.
The elaborate title of the company, being
the "President, Directors and Company of
the St. Joseph Iron Works," proved to be
needlessly cumbrous, and the legislature, by
an act approved February 1, 1836, shortened
the name of the corporation to the "St.
Joseph Iron Company."0 Under this title
the company continued to operate its fur
naces and manufacture iron until 1856, when
the bog ore was exhausted. The business of
the corporation was thereupon changed to
manufacturing. A foundry was put in oper-
a. See Chap. 2, Subd. 2.
6. Local Acts, 1834, p. 79.
c. Local Laws, 1835, p. 206.

ation, and plows, cultivators and other like
machinery were manufactured. In 1868 the
name of the corporation was again changed
and it has since been, known as the St. Joseph
Manufacturing Company. This old corpora
tion has been one of the effective forces in
building up Mishawaka and in making it a
great manufacturing center.
Alanson M. Hurd and other enterprising
citizens, not content with the building of the
dam and laying the foundation of great
manufacturing industries, were desirous of
having a bridge across the river. For this
purpose a charter was obtained from the
legislature by an act approved February 7,
1835," in which it was provided, "ThatN. M.
Wells, A. M. Hurd, John J. Deming, J. H.
Orr and 0. Hurd, with their associates, he
and are hereby constituted a body corporate
and politic, by the name and style of the
Mishawaka bridge company, for the purpose
of constructing a bridge across the St. Joseph
river at the Mishawaka rapids, in the town
ship of Penn, in the county of St. Joseph."
The bridge was finally constructed in 1837.
• ft was built across the river at Bridge street
and was a substantial structure creditable to
the private enterprise of its builders. This
was the first bridge to be placed across the
St. Joseph river.6
It will have been noticed that although the
offieial name of the town was the St. Joseph
Iron Works, yet the name Mishawaka per
sisted in indicating its presence, even before
its time. In each of the acts of the legisla
ture to which reference has been made the
name Mishawaka appears; the president, di
rectors and company of the St. Joseph Iron
Works were authorized to build a dam "at
the head of the Mishawaka rapids," and the
company incorporated to construct a bridge
over the river was styled "the Mishawaka
bridge company," and was authorized to
build its "bridge across the St. Joseph river
at the Mishawaka rapids." Even earlier
a. Local Laws, 1834, p. 87.
b. See Chap. 7, Subd. 2.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

321

than this action on the part of the legislature
of the state of Indiana, was the action of the
United States government. In the spring of
1834 a post office was established for the
new town and the name of Mishawaka was
given to the post office at the suggestion, it
is said, of Mr. Yerrington, the first post
master. It is said, too, that this was the
name of an Indian village formerly located
on the site of Taylor's addition to the St.
Joseph Iron Works."
Sec. 2. — Barbee's Plat. — The first record
ed plat, however, on which the name of
Mishawaka appears is that made by William
Barbee and Henry Harman, April 2, 1835.
For convenience, perhaps, this plat is usually
referred to as Barbee's addition; but it does
not appear to have been intended as an addi
tion, but rather as an independent town. The
name of the St. Joseph Iron Works nowhere
appears, although the Barbee plat adjoins the
"Original Town" on the east. The title is
"Plat of the Town of Mishawaka," and it
was acknowledged April 20, 1835, as the
"Town Plat of Mishawaka," by the pro-
, prietors, "William Barbee and Henry Har
man, by William Barbee as Agent. ' ' The de
scription by the surveyor, Tyra W. Bray,
reads :
"This plat represents the town of Misha
waka, in St. Joseph county, Indiana. Laid
out by William Barbee and Henry Harman
on the 20th day of April, 1835, on a part of
the northwest fractional quarter of section
fifteen, in township thirty-seven north, and
in range three east (2 Mer.), and on a part
of the northwest quarter of the southwest
quarter of the same section. The beginning
point of this plat is the quarter section cor
ner on the line dividing sections fifteen and
sixteen, running thence north fifty-six poles
to a stake; thence east five poles to the
northwest corner of lot number eleven, etc.,
etc." Sec. 3. — Fowler's Addition. — The next
a. Chapman's Hist. St. Joseph County, Chica
go, 1880, p. 790.
21

plat laid out is entitled "Fowler's Addition
to Mishawaka." The surveyor's description
is as follows: "Town plat for G. W. R.
Fowler, north side river St. Joseph, opposite
St. Joseph Iron Works. First lot, No. 1,
north of the southwest corner of section ten,
14% rods, size of lots four rods in front,
eight rods back. All streets four rods. Al
leys one rod, running north and south, hav
ing eight lots in a block. T. P. Bulla, sur
veyor." The plat was acknowledged April
22, 1836, by "George W. R. Fowler, the pro
prietor of the above mentioned and described
village. ' '
Sec. 4. — Indiana City. — During the same
year another plat, called "Indiana City,"
was laid out on the north side of the river.
This appears also as an independent town.
The plat was acknowledged June 28, 1836, by
the proprietors, Joseph Battell, James R.
Lawrence and Grove Lawrence, and is de
scribed as follows: "This is a plat of In
diana City, in St. Joseph county, Indiana,
laid out on the south half of section number
nine and the northwest fraction of section
sixteen,' in township thirty-seven north, in
range three east." Between Joseph street
and the river the plat shows a vacant tract
marked "Reserved for water power," and a
mill race is shown from the rapids along
the north side of the river, down to the
"Island." The mill race, however, was
never dug along the plat of Indiana City,
and consequently the vacant tract was never
nsed "for water power." Years afterwards
this sightly tract, high over the St. Joseph
river, was presented by Mr. Battell to the
city of Mishawaka, to be used as a public
park. It has been kept up and maintained
by the city, with walks and drives, green
sward, flowers and shade trees. The delight
ful spot is known as Battell Park. The plat
of "Indiana City" discloses another circum
stance showing that Messrs. Battell and Law
rence were ambitious of great things for
their town. Two large squares, of several
acres each, are set apart for public purposes;

322

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

one is marked "College Green," and the
other "Court House Square." No college
has been erected on the "College Green,"
nor has any court house been built upon the
"Court House Square"; and "Indiana
City" itself was destined soon to lose its
own identity.
Sec. 5. — Other Additions. — On March 8,
1837, the plat of "H. H. Fowler's Addition
to Mishawaka, ' ' also on the north side of the
river, was acknowledged by Henry H.
Fowler. On April 19, 1837, Thomas P. Bulla sur
veyed a second plat for G. W. R. Fowler,
laid out on the southwest fractional quarter
of section ten, township thirty-seven north,
range three east, "Commencing eighty rods
east of the southwest corner of section ten."
There is nothing on this plat to show whether
it was intended as an addition or not; there
being no reference to any other plat.
Sec. 6. — Union of. the Towns. — At the
close of the year 1837, there were therefore
no less than four independent town plats,
besides the additions. On the south side of
the river were the St. Joseph Iron Works,
platted by Alanson M. Hurd; and Misha
waka, platted by Barbee & Harman. On
the north side, were Indiana City, platted
by Battell & Lawrence; and Fowler's vil
lage, platted by George W. R. Fowler. Tay
lor's, as well as Hurd's own additions, rec
ognized the St. Joseph Iron Works; while
the remaining additions seemed to recognize
Mishawaka. The post office, as we have seen,
was also called Mishawaka.
On February 17, 1838, an act of the legis
lature was approved, designed to bring the
several towns and additions under one
name.0 The act declared:
"That the name of the town of St. Joseph
Iron Works and the name of the town of
Indiana City, in St. Joseph county, be, and
the same are hereby changed to that of
Mishawaka; and that all the lots now laid
out on either side of the Big St. Joseph river,
a. Local Laws, 1837, p. 410.

whether included within the towns of St,
Joseph Iron Works, Indiana City, Misha
waka, or additions thereto, be included
within the incorporation of the- town of St.
Joseph Iron Works (hereafter to-be known
by the name of Mishawaka)."
Thus was unity given to the several towns
and their additions, gathered "at the head
of the Mishawaka rapids, in the township of
Penn, in the county of St. Joseph." For
convenience of reference, the old divisions
are still recognized as the "original plat,"
"Taylor's Addition," "Barbee's Addition,"
"Lawrence & Battell 's Addition," and the
several "Fowler's Additions"; but all these,
and many others since formed, are merged
under the happily chosen name of Misha
waka. The word Mishawaka is Indian, meaning,
as it would seem, Big Rapids; the etymology
being similar to that of the word Michigan,
signifying Great Lake. The town therefore
took its name from the most remarkable nat
ural feature of the locality, the great falls
in the river at this point. This, too, gave
to the citizens an indication of the fine water
power that could be secured by throwing a
dam across the river just above the rapids.
The actual fall of the river for a few rods
at the rapids has been found to be two feet
anct nine inches. Thus, Mishawaka 's future
history as a manufacturing town was recog
nized in the very name given to the infant
municipality, — the town of the big rapids,
the town of the great water power. The iron
ore which had suggested the name of the
St. Joseph Iron Works has all been taken
from the bog where it was once thought to be
inexhaustible; but the water power of the
rapids which suggested the name of Misha
waka remains a perennial boon to the town
and to the city which has grown from the
town. Sec. 7. — Incorporation. — Even before the
date of the act of the general assembly unit
ing the several divisions, the town, under
the name of the St. Joseph Iron Works, had

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

323

already been incorporated. On Monday, the
first day of September, 1834, being the first
day of the September term, 1834, of the
board of commissioners of St. Joseph county,
the following order was entered:
"Now at this day comes in before the
board Orlando Hurd and files a petition of
the inhabitants of the town of St. Joseph
Iron Works, praying for the said board to
order an election in said town, that they
may have the said town incorporated. And
the said board, after examining the prem
ises and the evidence adduced, order and di
rect that notice to the said citizens be given
to meet at the house of Orlando Hurd on
the last Saturday in this month, to elect
trustees of said incorporation."
For some reason which does not appear of
record, the election was not held as ordered;
and, on Tuesday, January 5, 1835, being the
second day of the January session of the
board of eounty commissioners for that year,
the following further order was made:
"It is ordered by the board that an alias
notice be given to the citizens of St. Joseph
Iron Works to meet at the house of Orlando
Hurd and elect trustees for the incorporation
of said town.""
The following return was made of the
election so called :
"At a meeting of the qualified electors
of the village of St. Joseph Iron Works, held
pursuant to publick notice given by the sher
iff of the county of St. Joseph, at the house
of Orlando Hurd in said village, on Satur
day, the thirty-first day of January, one
thousand eight hundred and thirty-five, for
the purpose of electing five trustees in and
for said village, Elias Smith was called to
the chair and John J. Deming appointed
clerk. And thereupon the said chairman and
clerk were duly sworn to the faithful dis
charge of their duties respectively, in super
intending said election, by Samuel J. H. Ire
land, Esq., one of the justices of the peace
in and for said county. The votes of the
electors were then taken and canvassed, and

the result of said election declared to be as
follows: James White, Alexander Sandi-
lands, John J. Deming, Samuel Staneliff,
Henry De Camp, trustees.
"It witness hereof I have hereunto set
my hand this 3 Apl., 1835.
"Jno. J. Deming, Clerk."
This was the first town incorporation in
St. Joseph county, preceding by a few
months the incorporation of the town of
South Bend. II. business enterprises.
From the beginning Mishawaka has been
noted for its business enterprise. The
founders and early settlers of the town were
men remarkable for their public spirit. They
were enterprising, pushing, persevering.
They built the first dam across the St. Joseph,
and likewise erected the first bridge, and
both by private means. A mill race was dug
on each side of the river; and early use was
made of the unequaled water power at the
rapids. The St. Joseph Iron Works, the original
corporation organized by Alanson M. Hurd
to reduce the iron ore found in the bog
south of town long continued to be the
leading business corporation. Under the
name of the St. Joseph Manufacturing Com
pany, . and engaged in the production of
plows and other farming implements, it con
tinues to this day as one of the business
forces of the community.
Another company, organized under an act
approved February 17, 1838,° was the Misha-
ivaka Iron <md Manufacturing Company,
with a capital of one hundred thousand dol
lars, the incorporators being John N. Sher
man, Orlando Hurd, George W. R. Fowler,
Charles W. Pomery and Alonzo Delano.
In 1836, leading citizens of the town had
taken a prominent part in organizing the
first insurance company of St. Joseph county,
The St. Joseph's County Mutual Fire Insur
ance Company. By an act approved Feb-
a. Local Laws, 1837, p. 211.

324

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

ruary 8, 1836,a the company received a char
ter from the legislature, the first section of
which provided:
"That Samuel Sample, Horatio Chapin,
L. M. Taylor, A. Coquillard, John Brown
field, Elias Smith, Orlando Hurd, J. E. Hol-
lister, J. H. Orr, Francis P. Taylor, A. M.
Hurd, and all other persons who may here
after associate with them in the manner herein
prescribed, shall be a corporation by the name
of the St. Joseph's County Mutual Fire In
surance Company, for the purpose of in
suring their respective dwelling houses,
stores, shops, and other buildings, household
furniture and merchandise, against loss or
damage by fire."
This company is of interest, if for no other
cause, in that it brought together, seemingly
for the first time, the prominent founders of
South Bend and Mishawaka. It is of interest
for another reason, that its organization and
management seem to have been quite sim
ilar to those of the present St. Joseph County
Farmers' Fire Insurance Company, which
for many years has proved so successful and
economical for the insurance of the property
of the farmers of the county.
During the year 1834, Orlando Hurd
opened a hotel for the accommodation of
the traveling public; and in the following
year Francis P. Taylor erected the first flour
ing mill. The town at the rapids was thus
fairly under way.
At this early date, after the St. Joseph
Iron Works had been incorporated, but be
fore the passage of the act of the legislature
organizing the several town plats into the
one town of Mishawaka, and before the erec
tion of the bridge over the river, we have a
ray of light thrown upon the condition of the
enterprising community, in a record left by
Dr. E. W. H. Ellis, one of the early settlers
of St. Joseph county. Dr. Ellis tells us that
he reached the north bank of the St. Joseph
river, "opposite Mishawaka," August 7,
1836, and was taken across the river by the
a. Local Laws, 1835, p. 157.

ferryman. He adds that the population was
then not over five hundred; and that the
population of South Bend at the same time,
was not over eight hundred.
While the dam was built, the races dug
and a number of manufacturing plants or
ganized at an early day; yet the greater
number of the concerns that have given to
Mishawaka its high place as a manufactur
ing center are of a later date. The most
important step taken, perhaps, in giving sta
bility and activity to the Mishawaka manu
facturing industries, was the organization,
June 28, 1867, of the Mishawaka Hydraulic
Company. This company was made up
chiefly of the manufacturers already engaged
in using the water power of the river. The
list of names of the incorporators alone is
sufficient to show the importance attached to
the proper management and care of the dam,
races and other things connected with the
use ' and protection of the invaluable water
power, from the beginning regarded as the
true source of the prosperity of the town.
The incorporators of the Hydraulic Com
pany were:
George Milburn, Ann M. Studebaker,
Thomas H. Milburn, Washington J. Brower.
John S. Ball, David Nottage, Horace B. Mar
tin, Lorenzo W. Martin, George Kuhn, John
Kuhn, Anthony Kuhn, Albert Cass, Adol-
phus Eberhart, Palmer C. Perkins, Adoniram
B. Judson, Nelson Ferris, William Dawley,
Martin K. Lushbaugh, Thomas Costello,
Warren Palmer, Joseph Warden and the St.
Joseph Iron Company, by Henry G. Niles,
trustee. The subscribed capital of the company was
fifty thousand dollars; and the objects
stated in the articles of association were to
keep up the dam, water power, races, banks
and other matters connected with the power,
and to sell and dispose of water power to
other manufacturers.
The Mishawaka Furniture Company was
organized October 10, 1867, with a capital
of sixty thousand dollars. The incorporators

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

325

were: Adoniram B. Judson, Robert Mont
gomery, Lewis T. Booth and De Witt C.
Eggleston. On August 23, 1869, the famous Milburn
Wagon Company was incorporated, with a
capital of one hundred thousand dollars. The
incorporators were : George Milburn, Thomas
H. Milburn and John Milburn. The business
of the company was the manufacturing of
wagons, farm implements and other business
incident thereto.
George Milburn was a man of extraordi
nary energy and force of character. His
company at once entered upon a career of
great activity and prosperity; and it seemed
that Mishawaka was about to become one of
the great wagon making centers of the
world. The company reported the value of
vehicles manufactured during the year end
ing July 1, 1873, at four hundred and forty-
six thousand, six hundred and fifty-two dol
lars. During the same year, however, an un
fortunate controversy arose between the
company and the town. Mr. Milburn asked
for certain facilities for side tracks along
the streets from the factory to the Lake
Shore railway which the authorities of the
town felt unable to agree to. Instead of
exercising a spirit of forbearance towards
one another, the parties allowed the breach
to widen until the Milburn Wagon Works
abandoned the town of Mishawaka where
they had grown and prospered. Induce
ments held out to the company to locate in
Toledo had perhaps something to do in com
pleting the estrangement.
It was an unhappy quarrel for both town
and company. A mammoth building in
process of erection by the company at To
ledo was blown down by a storm on Decem
ber 4, 1873, entailing a loss of over twenty
thousand dollars. In other respects it does
not seem that the company prospered as it
would have done in the town of its origin
and vigorous youth. As for Mishawaka it
self, the loss of the factory seemed almost
irreparable. Coming as it did, so soon after

the fearful conflagration that destroyed the
business section of the town, on September
5, 1872,° the blow was such as might well
stagger the energies of the people. For
years, the silent walls of the Milburn wagon
works were an unpleasant sight to those who
had so long hoped and labored for Misha
waka 's prosperity. But, by degrees, this
loss, as well as that occasioned by the great
fire, was overcome. The vacant buildings,
one after another, were filled with new in
dustries; until, finally, the wounds were all
healed, and the good town went ahead and
flourished as if no harm had ever been suf
fered. As in case of Chicago after its fire,
or San Francisco after its earthquake, it
was demonstrated that Mishawaka, by rea
son of her situation and surroundings, was
destined to be a successful manufacturing
center, so that even what appeared as over
whelming calamities could not destroy her.
Among the plants established in the early
seventies and later that had very much to
do in determining the success of Mishawaka
as a manufacturing town were the following:
The Andrews School and Church Furni
ture Company was incorporated December
20, 1870, with a capital of fifty thousand dol
lars. The incorporators were: William W.
Ferris, S. E. White, J. Q. C. Vandenbosch,
William N. Dunn, James Welliver, Henry G.
Niles and Alfred H. Andrews.
The Hollow Axle Manufacturing Com
pany was organized March 4, 1871, with &
capital of twenty thousand dollars ; the in
corporators being: George Milburn, Wil
liam A. Lewis and William Moffitt.
The Bostwick Refrigerator Company was
incorporated August 10, 1873, with a capital
of twenty thousand dollars. The incorpo
rators were: Joseph Bostwick, Thomas A.
Bless, Christian Bless and William Bost
wick. They manufactured not only refrig
erators, but also other house furnishing
goods. The. Mishawaka Woolen . Manufacturing
a. See Subd. 3 of this chapter, Sec. 13.

326

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Company was incorporated January 31,
1874, with a capital of twenty-five thousand
dollars. The incorporators were: George
Hartstein, Jacob Beiger, Martin V. Beiger,
D. A. Dixon and George E. -Wells-. This
company has become noted for its success
in the manufacture of wool boots; the ex
tent of the manufacture and sale of such
wool felt boots having long since attained
mammoth proportions.
On July 14, 1873, the Perkins Wind Mill
and Ax Company was incorporated. The
capital was fixed at forty thousand dollars.
The incorporators were: Palmer C. Per
kins, Pardon J. Perkins, Albert Hudson,
Luther I. Clark, Byron C. O'Connor, Jacob
C. Snyder and Reuben E. Perkins. By de
grees the production of windmills engaged
the attention of the company to such an
extent, that, on September 9, 1902, on pe
tition to the St. Joseph circuit court, the
name was changed to the Perkins Wind Mill
Company. The company has sold its prod
ucts all over the United States. During the
year preceding its incorporation, the con
cern made and sold over one hundred wind
mills; and the production and sales have
increased enormously since that date. Per
kins' windmills are as well known in Michi
gan or Nebraska as they are in Indiana.
The Mishawaka Wagon Company was in
corporated January 18, 1876, with a capital
of fifty thousand dollars; the incorporators
being Robert Montgomery, De Witt C. Eg-
gleston and Charles E. Sillsbee.
- Several paper and wood pulp companies
were established, as follows :
March 4, 1880, the Mishawaka Wood Pidp
Company; capital, fifteen thousand dollars;
incorporators, Lucius Clark, John F. Clark
and Robert R. Clark.
April 21, 1881, the Mishawaka Paper Com
pany; capital, fifteen thousand dollars; in
corporators, George H. Taylor, Lucius Clark
and Robert F. Fram.
February 24, 1882, the A. Gaylor Pulp
Company; capital, twelve thousand dollars;

incorporators, Lucius Clark,- Albert Gaylor
and Edmund C. Westervelt.
April 1, 1887, the Mishawaka Pump Com
pany; capital, nine thousand dollars; in
corporators, William Miller, J. W. Vanden
Bosch and W. L. Kimball.
The Mishawaka Pump Company was in
corporated February 27, 1883, with a cap
ital of ten thousand dollars. The incorpo
rators were James Dougherty, John H.
Uline and George Dougherty.
The St. Joseph Milling Company was or
ganized July 2, 1883, with a capital of six
teen thousand dollars. The incorporators
were : Adolph Kamm, Simon Yenn, John J.
Schindler and Caspar Kuhn. The mill was
erected in 1861 by George Kuhn, Caspar
Kuhn and August Kellner. It ¦ was after
wards operated by George Kuhn ; and finally
by the corporation organized in 1883, as
before stated.
Somewhat more than a quarter century
ago, Wallace H. Dodge founded at Misha
waka, Ind., what has since become known as
the Dodge Manufacturing Company. The
embryo was in the form of a little sawmill
property for the production of hard-wood
lumber. This industry prospered so well
that on February 24, 1880, the Dodge Manu
facturing Company was incorporated by
Wallace H. Dodge, William W. Dodge and
Elizabeth H. Dodge. The business contin
ued to grow rapidly and steadily, with every
indication of most gratifying prosperity.
Within a year, however, in 1881, the little
factory was totally destroyed by fire.
The loss of its uninsured plant was a se
rious one for the young concern, but rebuild
ing was undertaken at once, on a larger and
more substantial plan.
As an indication of the growth of the fac
tory, it may be stated that the original cap
ital was fixed at fifty thousand dollars, and
that, in 1897, it became necessary to increase
the capital to five hundred thousand dollars.
Two products of this factory have brought
fame to it from all over the world,— one is

ORIGINAL DODGE FACTORY, 1878.

FACTORY AS REBUILT 1882.

\ ¦¦: \
VIEW OF THE DODGE MANUFACTURING CO.'S PLANT.

TPUje+uju, ^ ^^

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

331

the wood split pulley, designed to be clamped
to iron shafts; the other is the use of the
continuous wrap system of rope transmis
sion power, using a single endless rope, in
successive wraps, to convey power, instead
of the old plan of using separate ropes.
Wallace H. Dodge, the founder of the com
pany and the perfecter of its notable in
ventions, was perhaps the most original me
chanical genius produced by St. Joseph
county. Unhappily, he died in 1894, in the
prime of his manhood. He was not only a
genius, but a most amiable and lovable gen
tleman. His brother-in-law, the Hon. Mel
ville W. Mix, succeeded to the presidency of
the company.
On November 27, 1885, the Power and
Transmission Publishing Company was or
ganized by Wallace H. Dodge, Edward A.
Jernegan and Alexander L. Thorp, with a
capital of ten thousand dollars.
The purpose of this company was the
"Manufacture, publication and sale of a se
ries of mechanical journals in the interests
of manufacturers, millers, master mechanics,
and all interested in the use and transmis
sion of power." The monthly magazine
called Rope Transmission Power published by
this company reached so large a circulation
as to affect very sensibly the business and
standing of the post office at. Mishawaka.
Two other companies organized by Wallace
H. Dodge bore directly on the welfare of the
town. The first of these was the Mishawaka
Water Works Company, incorporated Sep
tember 9, 1890, with a capital of twenty
thousand dollars. The incorporators were
Wallace H. Dodge, Henry G. Niles and John
J. Schindler. The town was in need of a
system of water works, but financially un
able to build them. The purpose of the or
ganization, as stated in the articles of in
corporation, was to "construct water works
for the use of the town of Mishawaka, to
rent to the town of Mishawaka for an an
nual rental, and after the payment of a given

amount of rent then to deed such water
works to said town."'
Of like character to the water works com
pany was the Dodge Electric Light and
Power Company, incorporated November 29,
1890, with a capital of twenty-five thousand
dollars. The incorporators were: Wallace
H. Dodge, William W. Dodge, W. B. Hos-
ford, R. D. 0. Smith, Charles Endlich,
George Phillion and Melville W. Mix. The
object of this organization was the produc
tion of "electric light, heat and power for
commercial, domestic and manufacturing
purposes. ' '
Mishawaka was thus supplied with water
and light, and given easy terms of payment
for utilities which had become absolutely
necessary for the comfort and safety of the
people. With the rapid growth of the town,
however, there grew up a demand for the ex
tension of water mains and electric light poles
and wires, which the municipality found it
self unable to supply. This need grew more
acute from year to year; until finally a sen
timent developed in favor of the formation
of a private corporation by public spirited
citizens, who, in the interests of the public
welfare, should agree to take upon them
selves the burden of sustaining the water
works and electric light works, and issuing
bonds to complete the payments still due the
Dodge companies, and also in sufficient
amount to procure means to extend the water
mains and electric facilities so as to satisfy
the wants of the people. This plan involved
the sale of the water works and the electric
light plant to the proposed company, reserv
ing to the city the continued management to
gether with an option to repurchase the same
as soon as able to do so.
As there was some doubt whether the city
had power to make such a sale, an act was
passed by the legislature, approved February
26, 1903, giving the necessary power.0
The next step taken to carry out the plan
was the organization of the Mishawaka Pub-
a. Acts, 1903, p. 89.

332

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

lie Utility Company, which was incorporated
April 1, 1903, with a capital of ten thousand
dollars. Carrying out the public character
of this work, which was purely in the inter
ests of the public, and without profit to the
company, a large number of the most pa
triotic and public spirited citizens became in
corporators, as follows: Martin V. Beiger,
James A. Roper, E. Volney Bingham, Fred
erick G. Eberhart, Jr., Everett G. Eberhart,
Manuel M. Fisher, Vincent Bruner, Melville
W. Mix, Nicholas Schellinger, Frank R.
Eberhart, William B. Hosford, Henry G.
Niles, James De Lorenzi, John A. Herzog,
Adolph Kamm, William M. Clark, John E.
Baker, Edward .A. Jernegan, Francis X.
Ganser, Charles Endlieh, Simon Yenn, John
J. Schindler, David A. Shaw, Albert Gay
lor and William N. Schindler.
That list is Mishawaka 's roll of honor.
The water works and electric light plant
were taken over by the Utility Company;
bonds were issued for one hundred thou
sand dollars, the old debts were paid off;
the water pipes and electric appliances ex
tended for the accommodation of the citi
zens; a city hall was erected; the water
works and electric light works meanwhile
continuing to be operated wholly by the city.
The stipulated rents have been paid to the
Utility Company, and are applied by the
company to the payment of interest on the
bonds and the making of stated payments
upon the principal. When the city becomes
possessed of sufficient means to take up the
remainder of the bonds, it has the option to
do so, and will then be entitled to a deed back
from the company. This arrangement has
relieved the city of Mishawaka of an ex
ceedingly embarrassing situation; and has
given to the inhabitants the facilities of a
first class system of water works and elec
tric light, bringing also in their train an
extended sewer system and paved streets and
sidewalks. The Beatty Felting Company was incor
porated January 2, 1886, with a capital ' of

fifty thousand dollars, for the "manufacture
and sale of felt goods." The incorporators
were Dempster Beatty, Luthera Beatty and
Emmett L. Beatty. The company is one of
the strongest fn Mishawaka, and has built
up a great plant for the manufacture of felt
boots. On March 7, 1887, the extensive Kamm &
Schellinger Brewing Company was incorpo
rated. The capital was fixed at sixty-five
thousand dollars; the incorporators being,
Adolph Kamm, Nicholas Schellinger and
William Bender, Jr.
The Mishawaka Factory Company was in
corporated July 4, 1887, with a capital of
twenty thousand dollars, and with Frederick
A. Rohleder, Joseph Bostwick and Jared E.
Morse as incorporators. It was organized
"For the purpose of manufacturing various
articles of wood and iron, furnishing mo
tive power and factory buildings connected
therewith, etc."
The Mishawaka Pulley Company was or
ganized March 19, 1888, with a capital of
one hundred thousand dollars. The incorpo
rators were John J. McErlain, Frank A.
Baker and Charles T. Lindsey.
On August 12, 1890, the Misliawaka Fur
niture Manufacturing Company was incor
porated with a capital of one hundred thou
sand dollars. The incorporators were: J.
P. Creque, A. J. Wheeler and Leonard
Adsit. The Eberhart Milling Company, with a
capital of fifteen thousand dollars, was in
corporated June 25, 1891. The incorporators
were: Henry G. Niles, Adolphus Eberhart
and John H. Eberhart.
The Mishawaka Pad and Harness Company
was organized, with a capital of ten thou
sand dollars, on November 27, 1893. The
incorporators were : C. K. Beam, John May,
Fred W. Shultz, H. A. Camfer and J. F.
Tascher. On June 24, 1902, the Boper Furniture
and Carpet Company was incorporated, with
a capital of fifty thousand dollars. The in-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

333

corporators were: C. J. Wenderoth, J. A.
Roper, H. C. Roper, L. E. Roperj C. A.
Roper and N. E. Roos.
The Major Brothers'. Packing Company
was incorporated February 10, 1906, with a
capital of one hundred thousand dollars. The
objects of the company are to buy, sell and
slaughter cattle, hogs and sheep, and to vend
meats and other products. The incorpora
tors were: Ambrose J. Major, Frank T. Ma
jor and Frederick Major.
While the date of incorporation is given
as to each of the foregoing companies, yet
it will be understood that in most cases the
business was actually begun and under way
before the organization of the corporation, in
some cases for many years. As a rule, the
manufactories that have made Mishawaka
famous have grown from small beginnings.
Indeed, that has been one source of their suc
cess. The proprietors grew up with their
business, and each member of the firm or
corporation had the experience of years in
building up the institution from its simple
beginning until it had attained state and
national reputaton.
The Mishawaka Mills, erected in 1836, were
long operated by Joseph Miller and Wil
liam Miller, and, with the St. Joseph Mills,
long gave to Mishawaka a high reputation
for the production of superior flour. The
Bipple Mills, erected and long owned by A.
Cass & Company, and afterwards by J. H.
& A. Eberhart, added their share to this
enviable reputation.
In addition to her manufactories, which
have made the name of Mishawaka a house
hold word throughout the United States, all
lines of business characteristic of a wide
awake and progressive town have flourished
in the busy town. Indeed, it is doubtful
whether there is anywhere a city of the size
of Mishawaka in which so large a 'business
has been done for so many years. It is truly
a hive of industry.

III. RELIGIOUS, EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL.
The religious, moral, educational and so
cial well being of Mishawaka has at all times
kept pace with its business development.
Churches and schools have been provided for
from the beginning. The result is that the
population of Mishawaka has at all times
ranked high in morals and intelligence.
Sec. 1. — The Episcopal Church. — On
January 25, 1907, the people of St. Paul's
parish, Mishawaka, took part in a notable
service, being the dedication of their fine new
church by the Right Rev. John Hazen White,
bishop of the diocese of northern Indiana.
It was indeed a great day in the history of
St. Paul's Church. The congregation left
the old church, which had been attended by
them for no less than seventy years, and en
tered the new temple, one of the handsomest
church edifices in the state. The following
historical reminiscences were brought out in
connection with the dedication of the new
church :"
Just seventy years ago Friday, January
25, 1837, St. Paul's Day, there was organ
ized in Mishawaka St. Paul's parish, and it
was most fitting that the seventieth anniver
sary should be celebrated Friday evening in
the dedication of the handsome new St.
Paul's Episcopal Church on East Second
street. The old church vacated is noteworthy both
as to history and tradition. It is located on
Spring street between First ,and Second
streets and stands on a high hill, which is
said' to have been the burying ground of the
Indians many years age Tradition says that
here the Indian chief, Elkhart, and his bride,
Mishawaka, after whom this city was named,
are buried. The hill is rich in gravel and a
part of it has largely, been sold. Nearly two
years ago the site, a church and rectory were
sold to Mrs. J. A. Roper, Harry Roper and
a. From the South Bend Tribune, January 26,
1907.

334

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

other members of the Roper family, who will
move the church to First street and remodel
it into a house.
The church to the best knowledge of the
members was erected in 1837. This is doubted
by some who claim that in 1842 the lots were
purchased of Sarah M. and N. S. Hollister,
Troy, N. Y., by the vestrymen, Hiram Doo
little, John H. Orr, J. E. Hollister, Samuel
P. Knight and Norman Eddy, afterward a
colonel in the army, for "$100, good and law
ful money," and that in 1843 lumber was
purchased of Judge Deming, who then owned
a saw mill south of the town. There is no
positive record, however, of the building of
the church, and as the Hollisters were mem
bers here it is possible that the structure
was erected in 1837. Mrs. D. H. Smith, who
is well along in years and has resided here
a long time, says the church was erected in
1836 and dedicated January 25, 1837. The
old bell now in the belfry cracked from hard
usage was made in 1836. It has been sug
gested that the Historical society, of South
Bend, should have this bell, on account of
its historic associations and age.
The church is the oldest in the diocese,
and one of the oldest in the state. The rec
tory was erected in 1876. Very little can
be learned regarding the early history of
the church or its rectors, but it is known
that some of the most influential men of the
country were baptized, confirmed and many
of them married in this old house of worship
which is still in a good state of preservation.
In 1860 Elias Birdsell was rector; Joseph
Adderly served in 1866. He was followed by
Richard Brass. In 1872 J. Gierlow came and
in 1874 M. C. Stanley was the rector. Other
rectors were as follows: 1881, S. Rosevelt;
1883, A. Prentiss; 1886, J. G. Miller; 1888,
Frederick Thompson; 1890, A Prentiss, fol
lowed by Rev. De Lou Burke ; 1899, H. D. B.
MaeNeil; 1902, the present incumbent, Rev.
J. A. Linn.
Sec. 2. — The Baptist Church. — What is
said to have been the original Baptist church

in St. Joseph county, was constituted at a
meeting held at the house of Eli B. Mead,
a few miles south of Mishawaka, February
11, 1837. The meeting was presided over
by the Rev. Mr. Price, of Edwardsburg,
Michigan. Elan S. Colby, of Lockport, was
present, and acted as clerk. Mr. Alger, of
Mishawaka, was also present. Those exam
ined by Elder Price and pronounced a church
were: Isaiah Ferris, Jacob M. Gaylor, Jona
than Buck, John Barton, Lucinda Ferris,
Sr., Elizabeth Ferris, Azubah Gaylor, Anna
Buck, Delinda Barton and Parmelia Ferris.
The church so organized was to be known
as "The First Baptist Church of Penn
Township." John Barton was chosen as the
first clerk, and B. J. Ferris as first treasurer.
Jacob M. Gaylor and Jonathan Buck were
elected trustees. A small log church building
was erected in 1838. The first pastor was the
Rev. Adam Miller. In 1849 a large frame
church building was erected about four and a ¦
half miles south of Mishawaka. By emigra
tion and removals to Mishawaka, as well as
by death, the membership declined, until the
church became extinct; so that the story
of this first Baptist church is now purely
historical." There was another organization of the Bap
tist church, in Mishawaka, previous to 1840;
but this also has become extinct. This was
succeeded by the church organized May 14,
1867, by Elders T. P. Campbell, of South
Bend, and B. P. Russell, of Niles, Michi
gan, and other brethren from the churches
of South Bend, Niles and Penn township.
There were eighteen charter members of this
church. The Rev. M. T. Lamb was the first
pastor, Palmer C. Perkins first clerk, and
J. C. Snyder 'first treasurer. The first dea
cons were John Merriman, A. J. Ames and
J. C. Snyder. Other pastors were the Rev.
F. Morq, the Rev. H. H. Lipes, the Rev. B.
P. -Russell, the Rev. H. J. Finch and the
a. For many of the facts relating to the early
churches of Mishawaka credit should be given to
Chapman's Hist. St. Joseph County, p. 798, and
following.

Rev. Auguste B. Oecktering

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

335

Rev. Fred A. Lankin. In the northeast part
of Penn township is still another society, the
Pleasant Valley Baptist Church.
Sec. 3. — The Christian Church. — About
the year 1843, the Christian church was or
ganized at Mishawaka. Harris E. Hurlbut,
A. Alden and Morris Hartwick were the first
elders; and S. B. Hutchinson, A. L. Wright
and C. Hartman, the first deacons. Among
the early ministers of this church were, R.
Wilson, C. Martin, J. Martindale, P. T. Rus
sell, H. E. Hurlbut, William T. Horner;
afterwards came Elders Lane, New, Beggs,'

men from Notre Dame. Among these first
missionaries were, the Rev. Francis Cointet,
the Rev. J. F. Gouesse, the Rev. W. Master-
son, the Rev. R. A. Shortis, the Rev. Alexis
Granger and the Rev. Edward Sorin. The
first regular pastor was the Rev. John Mayer,
appointed in 'July, 1857. He was succeeded,
in 1859, by the Rev. H. Koenig. In Marchy
1860, the little church was destroyed by fire ;
and during the same year a new church, of
ampler proportions, was erected on the south
side, at the corner of Third and Spring
streets. Mr. George Milburn, though not a

ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, MISHAWAKA.

Green, Shepard, Sutton, Ira J., Chase, Wil
liam B. Hendrin, R. Fauret, S. K. Sweet-
man and C. P. Hendershot. Elder Ira J.
Chase, who became pastor in 1867, and re
mained for two years, was afterwards gov
ernor of the state of Indiana, succeeding to
that high office on the death of Governor
Alvin P. Hovey, November 23, 1891.
Sec. 4.— The Catholic Church.— The first
organization of a Catholic congregation in
Mishawaka was in December, 1848, when a
church edifice erected on the north side of
the river, was dedicated. Previous to that
date there were occasional servides by clergy-

member of the church, materially assisted in
this undertaking, and he is held in grateful
remembrance by the congregation. In Jan
uary, 1861, this church was dedicated as St.
Joseph's Church by the Right Rev. John H.
Luers, who in 1857 had been appointed as
the first bishop of Fort Wayne. In 1865 a
parochial school was built. In May, 1867,
the Rev. Auguste Bernard Oechtering became
pastor and remained in charge of the parish
until his lamented death Sunday afternoon,
December 27, 1902. The thirty-five years of
the Rev. Father Oechtering 's pastorate were
distinguished by extraordinary activity. As

336

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

results of his labors, St. Joseph's congrega
tion increased in a manifold manner. He
left after him also, one of the finest churches
in northern Indiana, besides an excellent
pastoral residence, and a school building
and parish hall suitable to the needs of a city
far larger than Mishawaka. Long before his
death, Father Oechtering was universally
looked upon as one of the representative citi
zens of Mishawaka, ever foremost in promot
ing the interests of the city of his choice. His
successor was the Rev. Louis A. Moehch, the
present pastor, who is carrying on the good
work of St. Joseph's congregation to the ut
most advantage of the people and with the
good will of all the people of Mishawaka.
During the year succeeding Father Oechter
ing 's death, the Flemish Catholics of Misha
waka formed a congregation of their own,
under the efficient direction of the Rev.
Charles L. Stuer. They have a neat church,
under the name of St. Bavo's, and also an
excellent parochial school.0 The corner
stone of St. Bavo's church was laid May 8,
1904; and the church completed that year.
It was solemnly blessed by Bishop H. J. Aler-
ding, New Year's Day, 1905.
Sec. 5. — The Evangelical Association. —
There have been two Evangelical Associations.
The Mishawaka Evangelical Association was
organized in 1846, with fifteen charter mem
bers. The organizer of the association was
the Rev. G. G. Platz, who was also the first
presiding elder. The first pastor was the
Rev. William Kolb. The association erected
a house of worship in 1857, and another and
finer church in 1872.
The Coal Bush Evangelical Association is
located three and a half miles south of Mish
awaka. It was organized in 1847, also by the
Rev. G. G. Platz. A church was erected in
1856. The Rev. Henry Arlen held services
for this association, and also for the associa
tion in Mishawaka.
The rules and regulations of the Evan-
a. See St. Joseph County Atlas; Higgins Bel
den & Co., Chicago, 1875, p. 21.

gelical Association resemble those of the
Methodist church ; and consequently they are
sometimes called German Methodists.0
St. Andrew's Evangelical Church was or
ganized in 1864, with twenty-five members, hy
the Rev. Philip Wagoner. The congrega
tion erected a church edifice the same year.
This society differs in certain respects from
the Evangelical Association, although some
disposition has been shown to unite the two
societies.

M. B. CHURCH, MISHAWAKA.
Sec. 6.: — The Methodist Church.— This
church has greatly prospered in Mishawaka.
The Mishawaka Methodist Episcopal Church
was organized in 1835. The chartered mem
bers were Richmond Tuttle and wife, Joseph
Skerritt and wife, Susan Hurd and brother.
The society at first worshiped in a vacant
store building, which was also used by the
Presbyterians. The first church building was
erected in 1836 ; another was built in 1844,
which was afterwards sold and then
used by a furniture store. In 1872, a
a. Known also as Allbrights.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

337

large and elegant church was erected
oh West Second street, which is still
occupied by a large and earnest congre
gation. The M. E. Church is also repre
sented by another society in Penn township,
the Tamarack Methodist Church, seven miles
southeast of Mishawaka. This class was or
ganized in a log school house, December 19,
1855, by the Rev. E. P. Church, with eleven
charter members, — A. B. Lamport, A. M.
Lamport, Roxy Lamport, Willard Rockwell,
Deborah Rockwell, Elam Crouch, Benjamin
Pickard, Isaac Ghrist, Esther S. Ghrist, Ed
win Sawyer and Phoebe Sawyer. Services
were held in the Tamarack school house until
1880, when a church thirty-four by fifty feet
was erected.
The Free Methodists are also represented
in Mishawaka. Their society was organized
in 1877. They have not a large membership.
Sec. 7. — The Lutheran Church. — The
Lutheran church was organized at Misha
waka prior to 1848, by the Rev. Philip Bern-
venther, with about twelve members. The
membership increased considerably during
the following years, and a parochial school
was established by the congregation. Among
the pastors was the Rev. Gustavus Rosen-
winkel. Sec. 8. — The Presbyterian Church. —
The Presbyterian church at Mishawaka was
organized July 25, 1834, by the Rev. N. M.
Wells, at the house of Philo Hurd. The
charter members were; The Rev. N. M.
Wells, Elias Smith, Alma Smith, Levi Dean,
Polly Dean, Philo Hurd, Martha Hurd, Alan
son M. Hurd, Sarah L. Hurd and Willis S.
Garrison. The first elders were Philo Hurd
and Elias Smith. The first deacon was Philo
Hurd. On January 29, 1835, John J. Dem
ing was received into the church as an elder,
and was elected clerk. A chandelier now in
the church was presented to the society by
Judge Deming 's daughter, Mrs. Charles
Crocker, of San Francisco. The first church
building was erected in 1837. Another was
erected in 1845. The latter was burned
22

in the conflagration of September 5, 1872,
by which no less than thirty-two buildings
were destroyed in the business section of the
city. The energetic membership of the
church, consisting of some of the best stock
of Mishawaka, with the courage of their fel
low citizens, rebuilt their church at once;
only making a greater and a better building,
as their fellow citizens built up a greater and
better Mishawaka.
Sec. 9. — Schools. — The architecture of the
pioneer school house was a very simple mat
ter. It was a small cabin, built up of round
logs. The floors were made of puncheons;

HIGH SCHOOL, MISHAWAKA.
that is, small logs split in halves, with the
flat sides turned up. The doors were like
wise of puncheons, as were the seats and
desks. A huge fireplace occupied one end of
the room, and was piled with great logs cut
fresh from the woods. The roof was made
of clapboards, fastened by poles laid length
wise, three feet apart, from the eaves to the
crown of the roof. The chimney was built
up of sticks, the chinks filled in with moist
ened clay. The windows consisted of a log re
moved from a part of one side of the build
ing, the opening closed with greased paper.
Often the pupils found the "window" well
named, when the cold wind came sharply
through the "eye" of the dark little building.

338

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

The revenues of the schools were at first
supplied entirely by subscription. Our school
laws, as well as most other things relating
to our social and industrial life, have greatly
changed since 1832, when the first log school
house in Penn township was built. The first
school building in Mishawaka itself was a
small frame structure erected in 1834. The
first teacher in this school is said to have
been a Miss Sheldon, of White Pigeon, Mich
igan. Greater interest, perhaps, has been
taken in the public schools by the people of
Mishawaka than by those of any other com
munity in this part of the state. One result
of this interest is the existence of the fine
school buildings of the city. The high school,
with its fine grounds, is, as it may well be,
the pride of the city. Prof. Elisha Sump
tion, remembered as one of the most pains
taking and zealous educators of the state, did
very much to place the schools of Mishawaka
on the high plane which they have so long
occupied. -The several parochial schools, espe-
cially.that built up by the Rev. A. B. Oech
tering, are equally an honor to the good peo
ple of Mishawaka.
Sec. 10. — Reminiscences. — The following
reminiscences of early life in Mishawaka are
from the graceful pen > of Mrs. Marion B.
Vanpelt, daughter of Mr. John Niles, long
a resident of Mishawaka and one of the
earliest settlers of St. Joseph county. From
the intimate relations of the Niles family
with all the first residents of Mishawaka, the
opportunities enjoyed by Mrs. Vanpelt to
obtain the multitude of facts here detailed
were such as have been possessed by very few
of those who have written of our early his
tory. The paper was read before the North
ern Indiana Historical Society, in the month
of May, 1901. It will be found to refer to
the names of many persons and places men
tioned heretofore in this work, in treating
of the history of Penn township and of
Mishawaka :
"In looking backward more than three
score years it is best to forget for a little our

modern environment and if possible close our
ears to the noise of the bustling present and
take this May ramble among the old homes of
Mishawaka along grass grown streets and
sunny lanes by the brookside and over the
hills of the village, now nearly lost
in the city of today. From the vigorous
memory of the daughter of a pioneer settler
in the little town, who as a girl, was one of a
merry company gathered at the home built
by Mr. A. M. Hurd in 1834, we glean this
word picture of that hospitable abode.
" 'Imagination fondly stoops to trace
The parlour splendours of that festive place.'
"Its one story and basement formed a
commodious dwelling divided by a hall and
having two rooms on either side. The loca
tion on the site of Dr. Grimes' residence
probably favored a ground floor entrance to
the kitchen and work rooms below. In those
days houses were often built with a cellar
kitchen and it is quite possible that a lift
or sliding cupboard was used to convey the
savory dishes of that period of good old-
fashioned cookery, to the dining room above
at the end of the hall on the first floor, as
there is one in existence in a house built
on the same bluff. The furnishings of this
home were good and substantial, the win
dows being curtained after the most approved
fashion of the day, in drapery, half red and
half white, and the whole effect of the es
tablishment was considered elegant. Mrs.
Wing, who has so kindly imparted much of
this story of the past, was often a guest at
this home and it was there that a spirited
reply to a merry bantering challenge from a
young man, the burden of whose song was,
'Westward Ho!' led to the marriage of Maria
Tuttle and Andrew M. Wing. Fire was a
grim enemy as well as a useful servant in
those early days. This home and the one
built by Mr. John Orr, which stood where Mr.
Fisher now lives, were burned.
"Very dimly remembered and a somewhat
misty tradition, the first home built by Mr.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

339

Philo Hurd, the father of A. M. Hurd, prob
ably stood near the site of Mr. Kamm's house
at the west end of Second street, and is said
to have been built of wood and brick com
bined. Its beautiful, garden within a prim
hedge of box is one of the sweet memories
of a lady who played as a child among the
old-fashioned flowers.
"Beside another old home, 'remembrance
wakes with all her busy train. ' Still sturdy
and sound, a familiar landmark to the few
remaining to tell us of its hospitality, an
old friend to those of a later day, who can
recall the story of the ghost in the garret
and remember the luscious fruit on the big
pear tree in the garden, stands the old Orr
house on Main street. Built in 1835 by Mr.
Asa Taylor, the father of Mrs. John Orr,
its black walnut timbers, solid foundation
walls of St. Joseph county granite, and mas
sive chimney six feet wide, speak of the wis
dom of one who builded better than he knew.
A part of the chimney still stands in the big
cellar. What mighty fires must have roared
in its giant throat! What bed-time lullabies
and cheery neighborhood chat enlivened the
eventide in those old days in the spacious liv
ing room! The hall and staircase are on the
south side, extending the length of the par
lor with doors on the north opening into
parlor and living room. A smaller room at
the end of the hall and the kitchen and wash
room in the wing at the back were included
in the original structure. The wing on the
north side of the house was added at a later
period and was probably used for a nursery
or family room. The upper story contains
four bed rooms and an old-fashioned garret,
where the heavy black walnut beams may
still be seen. Upon the floor of this garret
the children of the family spread their treas
ures of Indian relics, and not many years ago
quantities of stone arrow heads were seen
there. A part of the household once gath
ered about the hearth stone of this home,
sleep in the plat of earth given to Indiana
City for a cemetery by men who saw in a

vision bright the fair and goodly proportions
of that ambitious hamlet rise from the green
sward.0- And one comes now and then to
look upon' the scene where the days of boy
hood slipped away and wonders why the old
house seems small and plain. We, too, liv
ing in the opening era of an electric age,
must summon up the rural setting of the
little village.
" 'To me more dear, congenial to my heart,
One native charm than all the gloss of art.'
"The noble forests, the sweep of the river
alive with the laden craft of the pioneer, the
sunny brooks winding in and out of cottage
gardens, the green slope of the gentle hills
formed the scene, obscured now, it is true,
by the mists of rolling years, but clear
enough to enable us to realize the verdant
beauty of the scene so inspiring to the pride
which filled the hearts; the courage which
strengthened the purpose of those early set
tlers and builders of homes in the little
community. "Directly across the street and attached
to the Kuss grocery is a portion of one of
the old dwellings, built by Mr. Henry John
son in 1835, and on the southwest corner of
the same block may be seen the old Delmo
House, built by Mr. Zenas Dunbar at about
the same time. It resembles the Orr house
arid is still a comfortable dwelling, having
a central hall with square rooms on either
side and a wing at the back. Mr. Dunbar
having lost heavily by the washing out of
the dam, sold this property to Mr. Delmo,
who livetl there a number of years. Of the
Andrew Taylor house opposite, no especial
details were learned. It must, however, have
been built at an early day, and is now most
interesting because of its unaltered appear
ance and the fact of having been the family
residence since its erection. The quaint por
ticos are a distinctive feature of the old-
fashioned cottage, and as such it is hoped
a. The Mishawaka cemeteries are all within
the former plat of Indiana City.

340

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

that it may be preserved. The small house
on the corner of First and Spring streets
was built by Edward Mulligan, one of the
molders in the old bog iron furnace. In the
parlor of this cottage mass was said by the
Reverend Father Cointet, then a young priest
at Notre Dame. The Reverend Father Sorin,
of blessed memory, often held services there
at a time when no church was available. An
altar was raised on the parlor table and the
small bedroom next the parlor was used as
sible to learn the order in which the early
homes of the village were built, but very
evidently a number were raised at nearly the
same time. So, during our ramble past the
portals of these simple homesteads and tread
ing in the footsteps of those who lived and
loved and toiled and hoped and prayed, so
long ago, we reach the old Nicar house which
might have been called Brook Side, so closely
did the waters of the little stream in which
all the children of the village played and
paddled in by-gone summers past the door
way. Robert Nicar, its builder, came from
Virginia, and the broad chimneys of that
little home were the "Golden Mile Stones"
of his southern heart. In the kitchen fire
place swung the crane and the pot-hooks of
a past regime. The house was low and wide,
with two rooms opening from a small entry,
fronting on First street, and was considered
a roomy cottage.
" 'Up yonder hill the village murmur rose.'
"Up the hill, past old Saint Paul's, whose
fluted pillars and hand-carved doors give si
lent testimony of the honest, patient work of
men, not called contractors nor architects,
but carpenters, a calling dignified by the
Master whose symbol gleams above the little
steeple, we pass one or two old houses, and
on the left hand side in the high bank, so
says an 'oft-told tale' whispered among the
children as they played on the hill side in
the summer evenings, an Indian chief lies
buried by the hands of those who found him
on his rude bier.

' ' The house back of the church and front
ing the high school, known for years as the
James Smith' property, was built by Mr.
Wilson and is now owned by Mrs. Leonard
Adsit, of South Bend- It probably dates
from about 1839, and, though much enlarged
still preserves the harmonious lines of houses
built at that time, having a story and a half
upright, and one story wing, with pillared
porch, giving a touch of the colonial to its
exterior. The interior finish of hand-
wrought doors arid window casings is still
sound and pleasing, but the great charm of
this old home, and lovingly remembered by
those who played in childhood beneath its
trees, was the garden. The big grass plat
in the northwest corner, completely shaded
by an immense tulip tree, the long well-kept
walks between trim flower beds and leading
from the house to the little gate opening into
the church yard appeal to remembrance.
Surely, such peonies — red, pink and white—
never grew in any other garden. There honey
suckle and snowballs, ribbon grass and roses
flourished in profusion.
'Where smiling spring its earliest visit
paid,
And parting summer's lingering blooms de
lay 'd.'
"On the spot now occupied by the high
school building and grounds another old home
and its well-kept boundaries was for many
years one of the landmarks of Mishawaka.
Mr. Zelotes Bancroft built the house and his
wife, one of Mr. Philo Hurd's daughters,
more familiarly known in later years as Mrs.
Edwin Hollister, played the little pipe organ
in St. Paul's church. We feel the sweet
spirit of those days unmarred by the vandal
ism of street commissioners when, told that
an elevated walk leading from her gate to
the church was built that the dainty lady
might pass in stormy weather unharmed to
her labor of love at the organ, brought from
Waterloo, N. Y., where it once stood in a

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

341

hotel. Pathetic, indeed, is the little chant and
hymn book marked Z. Bancroft and pub
lished by Elam Bliss in 1836, now among the
relics in the collection belonging to the
Northern Indiana Historical Society.
"It is not possible to give more than a pass
ing glance at some of the old homes, but we
must linger for a little before two houses on
West street near the spot once known as the
Indian burial ground. The one now occu
pied by Mr. Samuel McQuillan was built by
Levi Dean, a son-in-law of Mr. Philo Hurd.
The second, near the corner, where steel rail
and noisy engines have usurped the place
once made lovely by the brook's song, was
built by A. M. Hurd, as a home for his
father, Mr. Philo Hurd, who lived there until
his death.
"The McQuillan home, known for many
years as the Samuel Towle place, has been
enlarged and changed somewhat, but the
charm of the old time has been carefully pre
served. The heavy cross-paneled door, made
from black walnut and having an iron
knocker with a brass plate, was recently
brought from the garret and restored to its
old place at the entrance to the hall. The
staircase and all of the woodwork is of the
same dark material, the large fireplace in the
sitting room having curious cupboards like
doors below the mantel to enclose the hearth
stone when not in use. An old painting
below the parlor mantel piece and thought
by one who has lived there for many years
to have been an original decoration, is most
interesting. All of the timbers in this house
are of heavy walnut and. a recent attempt to
reduce the size of an exposed beam was found
to be quite impracticable. In the door yard
of this old home are many fine old trees, sur
vivors of the forest primeval, which were
probably cherished by the first inmates who
were valued members of the community.
"Indeed, the very walls of these old homes
seem reminiscent of- the simple, cordial hos
pitality which prevailed during the early
growth of the village, when singing schools

and donation parties were the chief social
functions. From letters written in 1837 and
1838, we learn that music and musical par
ties were the principal amusements. The vil
lage contained one piano and expected the
arrival of another at that time.
"The Ireland house is another relic. It
was built by Mr. Goodrich, but has for so
many years been occupied by the Ireland
family that it has become part and parcel of
that name. One of the household treasures
is a record of the first marriage in the vil
lage, dated March 29, 1834, a faded reminder
of one of the early duties of Squire Ire
land. "The Looman Smith house, now owned by
Mr. Daniel Bieger, is one of the few brick
houses built at an early day, and must have
been erected during the forties. Like others
of that era, it is solidly framed and finished
in black walnut. The carving on door frames
and window casings is very good and more
elaborate and ornate than was usual at that
time. There is a large fireplace in the sitting
room, and a hall originally led from this
room to a staircase on the other side of the
main part. The designer must have contem
plated .the use of solitary confinement as a
means of family discipline, as a small, dark
room was formerly a part of the house. This
home was rather gloomy in appearance at
one time, but, although unchanged externally,
seems completely transformed.
"The home on the corner of Hill and
Second streets was built by Mr. Colby at an
early date and was originally much like the
Adsit house. It was owned for many years
by Mr. John Niles. The increasing needs of
the household and the numerous clan of kin
dred ever welcomed there caused its roof to
widen over many additions extending on all
sides and without regard for artistic appear
ance, but was always essentially old-
fashioned, roomy and comfortable. Divided
and enlarged in late years, only the front of
the main house and a portion of the wing
remain the same. It was once famous for its

342

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

rose garden and from the place in the days
of its first ownership Gilbert Colby, after
ward a successful manufacturer, moved all
of his worldly possessions across the street
in a wheelbarrow to his first home, having
a cash fund of 25 cents as a nucleus of his
fortune. "The home of Mrs. Marcella Terry was
built by Robert Montgomery when he was a
young man. The main part of the house is
said to have been rafted down the river from
Michigan. An exposed beam gives a quaint
look to the front room of the wing, and if
the giant elm which shelters under its spread
ing branches the entire house, could whisper
tales of the men and women who have lived
and died since that old tree was young, we
would need no better historian.
"Many points of interest must be passed
unnoticed in this paper, but we must not
miss the old house standing beside the Terry
homestead. Its native heath was the high
school playground and has been mentioned as
the Bancroft cottage. It was, however, the
home of Mr. Allan Sisson until moved to its
present site, and stood back of another ¦
famous garden during the intervening years
which link the old days to the present. An
other old home near by recalls the builder,
one of the men who helped to bring the
cylinder for the furnace many weary miles,
a kindly Scotchman, James White by name.
The house was surrounded by a fine orchard
which was then .at the west end of Third
street. It was a pretty old place and was
sold by Mr. White to Mr. Colby and after
wards became the home of Mr. and Mrs.
James Oliver. One old apple tree marks the
spot where many others made fragrant the
Maytime of years long past, but a public
highway has swept away all traces of the
garden. The house, still used as a dwelling,
was built in 1835.
"Gone is the little pink house which stood
on the banks of the creek back of M. Tromp 's
home. It used to nestle under the trees at
the foot of the garden, like a pink lady-

slipper. There were bees and blossoms and
happy children in that cosy cottage garden
during many summers. In the little kitchen
were baked the delicious tarts, always in de
mand for donation parties and made famous
by the art of Grandpa Martling, who never
parted with the recipe brought from 'Merrie
England.' "The house of Mr. Charles Towle, built by
Judge Demming during 1835, is one of the
veteran homesteads. Its present sound condi
tion bears witness to the fact that sturdy
hewn timbers and handmade nails were used
by Mr. Wing and his fellow craftsmen who
framed and finished the old landmark. In
the parlor in the northeast corner of the
house Mary Demming and Charles Crocker
were married with not a soul among the wed
ding guests to dream of the golden dower to
be won for the happy pair from the unde
veloped resources of the far west. It became
the home of Mr. Gilman Towle, who enlarged
and improved it in various ways and is now
an ample and dignified homestead. Here,
too, was a dear old garden where, beneath the
mould, a tiny bit of china was found not long
ago which fitted the broken edge of an old
colonial plate found between the walls of the
house. "The house built by Mr. Asher Miller some
time during the forties and now the home of
Mrs. Booth is in design and detail a most
pleasing member of the group of old timers.
The quaint look given by the projection of
the center beyond the columned porches of
the wings is unique and like the New Eng
land village homes. The roomy parlor has a
beautifully carved mantle piece, supported
by Ionic columns, and happily the ornaments
so entirely in keeping with the design are
old hand wrought candelabra purchased for
the house by Mrs. Edwin Hollister when she
was chatelaine of this old home. In this par
lor she played upon the first piano brought to
St. Joseph county while children and grown
ups stopped outside to listen to a novelty
more wonderful in the western village than

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

343

automobiles in the same streets today. The
room in the right wing was called the Bish
op's room, as the Millers and Hollisters often
entertained that right welcome visitor. In
the large room at the back, evidently used
occasionally as a dining room, there is a slid
ing cupboard running from below. The large
room in the basement seems to have been
finished for a dining room, as glass knobs
and brass button shaped fastenings give an
air of elegance to the interior.
"During the summer of 1834, Mr. Joseph
Skerritt built a house on the corner directly
west of the Booth house. No trace of it has
been found but many persons will remember
it as the Harris house. The old Si Burt
house was once the residence of Mr. Doty
and here under her father's roof, Miss Susan
Doty and Mr. James Oliver were married by
the Rev. Norman Kellogg. Mr. George Mer
rifield was one of the wedding guests and pre
sented the bride with a bouquet of roses from
his garden. Transplanted to memories' fair
fields they still bloom, 'A thing of beauty
and a joy forever.' The house has been
turned around and changed in appearance.
The joist beams are round logs and all of the
timbers so heavy that alterations were dif
ficult to make. Mr. George , Merrifield is still
growing roses on land purchased in 1838 and
where, mid scenes of pastoral beauty on the
grassy slopes of the lovely river valley, the
lines of the old Indian trail may be traced.
The spring about which the red men camped
still sends its waters, a tiny cress filled
stream, to the river and the lark spur which
grew about the cabin of Joseph Pemberton in
1831 blooms, as cheerily as ever. The house
built by Mr. Merrifield now belongs to the
Cass family. It was made after the good old
fashion of thick timbers cut on the river
bank; has large chimneys and once boasted
a huge 'dutch' oven, where 12 loaves of
bread and numerous pies were baked at one
time and removed on a big shovel. The house
occupied by the family at present was built
by Mr. Jacob Merrifield somewhat later. The

fact that many of the primitive features of
the landscape exist about this old home is
most delightful in this day of ravenous
growth. Returning down the street we reach
the site -of the old Barbee tavern, which, in
corporated into the modern residence of Mrs.
Quigg, offers no suggestion of the roadside
hostelry, where the stage once drew up with
a flourish of whip and horn. The bar was in
a wing on the left and the landlord's name
was Kellogg. Another tavern stood on the
corner west of the Doty house, and there were
three others in the town. All succumbed in
due time, leaving the field to Orlando Hurd
of jovial memory.
"The Judson home, built during the early
years of Mishawaka 's prosperous growth, was
a pretty place and intended by Mr. Judson
to be the home of his old age. The material,
carefully selected, was the best to be had. 'I
am building upon a rock,' said the master
of that home. Alas! that the adverse winds
of an unkind fortune should have swept him
from that haven. The house, completely re
modeled by its present owner, presents a new
face to the passer and as the home of Mr.
Martin V. Beiger is one of the attractive
places of East Second street.
"The house built by Mr. Albert Hudson
was the first brick dwelling erected in town,
and has always been a family possession. It
looks quite the same, and though older and a
little worn is familiar as in the old time.
"A late fire has changed the Henry John
son house. Built in 1838, it was at that time
the finest dwelling in northern Indiana and
presented the only colonial front in the vil
lage. With spacious double parlors and hand
somely finished interior, it was much admired
by townsfolk and visitors. There was orig
inally a large, open fireplace in the kitchen
and doubtless the cooking was done there.
Much of the substantial mahogany furniture
placed in this home by Mr. Johnson was pur
chased by Mr. George Milburn, who bought
the property many years ago and lived there
with his family until their departure to To-

344

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

ledo. Mrs. Milburn treasures in her Kansas
home the fine old furniture brought from the
East. " It is quite remarkable that so many of the
old walls remain for us to ponder over, and
enter today, when we consider that Misha
waka is a western town, not placed among
the rocky hills of the East. The cottage built
by Mr. Milburn on Fourth street is still a
cozy dwelling standing in a large garden, and
Mr. William Milburn built an old style house
in the same block and lived there several
years. It finally became the home of Mr. and
Mrs. A. M. Wing and the latter resides there
with her niece, Mrs. J. R. Hudson. The
house has the same interior finish and much
the same arrangement of the others described
in this paper.
"On the north side of the river are many
old homes, well preserved and worthy of de
scription. It is not possible to mention more
than one at this time. Mr. William Sisson
built this home when Indiana City still pre
served its identity and it is very little
changed, the old hardwood finish and brass
door knobs remaining intact. The property
was bought by the order of , the Sisters of the
Holy Cross, and Mother Angela lived there
for some time.
"A portion of Earl's tavern, built in 1833,
still stands, and one room of the foundry
boarding house is a part of Mr. Charles San-
dilands' residence. A jolly set of moulders
must have met around the table where Mrs.
Ireland supplied the wants of the brawny
workers. One of the pranks of those merry
men, related by Mr. Merrifield, was a mad
chase to capture a fat pig tb grace the rous
ing supper always given in the old furnace
after 'blowing out.' Foreman Lucas led his
men eastward over the Barbee creek, en route
over hill and dale, the odors wafted from
a dutch oven suggested its savory contents.
Having secured the pig and homeward bound,
the foragers stole oven and all, to the utter
bewilderment of the housewife, whose Satur
day baking added zest to the feast of roast

pig eaten around a glowing fire in the fur
nace that night.
"From pork to pictures is a wide digres
sion, but that art and artists were not want
ing in the village the portraits of Mr. and
Mrs. Wing, exhibited by the historical so
ciety, give evidence. They were painted in
1847, by Mr. William Utley, afterwards a
colonel in the civil war, where he became
famous for conducting a negro boy who
wished to join the Federal army into the
Union lines in a hollow square formed of his
men, with bayonets fixed, the rebels in full
pursuit. Young Mr. Utley was a nephew of
Mr. Wing, who lived in Mishawaka for a
time, painting other portraits of which little
has been learned.
"The fact that 'a prophet is not without
honor save in his own county' is generally
found to be most unpleasantly true, but that
Rose Hartwick Thorpe has written real
poetry none will deny. She lived as a child
in a little cottage near Barbee creek and
spent hours dreaming by the brookside.
"Many years have passed since the old
homes visited in this Maytime were new, but
they served their day and generation well and
from their doors the builders passed to rest,
while many of the sons and daughters of
those scattered households have won distinc
tion in the fuller, more restless life of to
day." Sec. 11. — Societies and Clubs. — While, as
might be inferred from Mrs. Vanpelt 's remin
iscences, Mishawaka has always been a home
town, a city of homes ; yet the friendly spirit
of the people has, from the beginning, mani
fested itself also in the formation of social,
benevolent and patriotic associations.
St. Joseph Lodge, No. 27, Independent Or
der of Odd Fellows, was organized about
1843. Among the members at that time were
Dr., afterwards Colonel, Norman Eddy, John
Niles, Albert Cass, Harris E. Hurlbut, A. H.
Long and James Easton. This lodge was aft
erwards discontinued, but on August 13,
1867, Monitor Lodge, No. 286, was instituted.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

345

The charter members of Monitor Lodge were
A. H. Long, James Easton, Washington Gib
son, Philip McElvain and Thomas S. Long.
On September 5, 1872, the great fire de
stroyed the lodge hall with all its costly fur
niture ; but very soon a new and finer hall in
the Phoenix building,, took its place. The
lodge is still in a flourishing condition.
A Masonic lodge was organized May 26,
1852. The first officers were: R. S. Alden,
W. M. ; D. H. Smith, S. W. ; J. Holdridge,
J. W. ; J. E. Hollister, treasurer; T. S.
Cowles, secretary; A. C. Foot, S. D.; W. M.
Wood, J. D.; and A. L. Brimsmaid, Tyler.
The following is believed to be a list of
about all the other societies and clubs, of the
city as they now exist :
Fidelity Rebecca Lodge, No. 122, I. 0.
0. F.— Mrs. Vona Borden, N. G. ; Mrs. Marie
Burkhart, secretary.
Free and Accepted Masons, Mishawaka
Lodge, No. 130, F. & A. M.— A. H. Henwood,
W. M. ; John W. Hutchinson, recorder.
Grand Army of the Republic, Houghton
Post, No. 128 — Manuel Fisher, post com
mander; Charles Frank, adjutant.
Improved Order of Red Men, Mishawaka
Tribe, No. 304, I. 0. R. M.— John C. Quick,
sachem; George Hitesman, secretary.
Independent Order of Foresters, St. John's
Court, No. 1490.— B. F. Pew, chief ranger;
P. A. Young, secretary.
Catholic Order of Foresters, St. John's
Court, No. 952.— John Barry, chief ranger;
William Gehl, secretary.
Catholic Order of Foresters, Sacred Heart
Court.— Mrs. Minnie S. Vincent, chief ranger ;
Mrs. Anna Winters, record keeper.
Knights and Ladies of Columbia, Misha
waka Council, No. 2, K. & L. of C— C. F.
Taylor, scribe.
Knights of the Maccabees, Mishawaka Tent,
No. 12, K. 0. T. M.— W. J. Armstead, com
mander; F. A. Partridge, record keeper.
Knights of the Modern Maccabees, Twen
tieth Century Tent, No. 1121.— Elbert Robin

son, commander; George Hitesman, record
keeper. Annex Christian Association. — Everett G.
Eberhart, president; Vernice Ludwig, secre
tary. Catholic Benevolent Legion, St. Joseph
Valley Council, No. 503, C. B. L.
Catholic Knights of America, St. Michael's
Branch, No. 498, C. K. of A.— John J.
Schindler, recording secretary.
Knights of Pythias, Mishawaka Lodge, No.
453, K. of P.— William Garman, C. C;
Frank P. Christoph, K. of R. and S.
Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias — Wal
ter C. Herzog, captain; William Drumhiller,
recorder. Ladies' Branch W. 0. W., Home Grove
Circle, No. 10, W. 0. W — Mrs. Lizzie Philion,
guardian; Mrs. Minnie Spaeth, secretary.
Ladies of the Maccabees, Mishawaka Hive,
No. 68, L. 0. T. M.— Mrs. Ella Middleton,
commander; Mrs. Allie Michael, record
keeper. ¦
Ladies of the Modern Maccabees, Misha
waka Hive, No. 907. — -Carrie Diltz, command
er; Bertha Beeman, record keeper.
Royal Arch Masons, Mishawaka Chapter,
No. 83.— Tabor Ham, H. P. ; John W. Hutch
inson, secretary.
Masonic Club of Mishawaka— H. A. Edris,
president; Guy Richards, secretary.
Order of Eastern Star, Mishawaka Chap
ter, No. 26, 0. E. S.— Amelia Henwood, W.
M. ; Allie Michael, secretary.
Mishawaka Court of Honor, District Court,
No. 167. — J. A. Rishel, chancellor ; Mrs. Hazel
Pontius, secretary.
Modern Woodmen of America, Mishawaka
Camp, No. 4788, M. W. A.— Fred Schroeder,
con. ; B. Kraushanski, clerk.
Woodmen of the World, Enterprise Camp,
W. 0. W.— E. K. Reed, C. C. ; A. C. Brown,
clerk. Bricklayers', Masons' and Plasterers'
Union, No. 39. — Alfred Swift, president;
Harry Lowder, secretary.
Odd Fellows' Mishawaka Encampment, No.

346

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

98, I. 0. 0. F.— R. S. Selders, C. P.; Harry
Knee, scribe.
Order of Owls, Mishawaka Nest, No. 4.— W.
E. Zweigle, president; H. D. Roper, secre
tary. Order of Patricians, Mishawaka Court, No.
104. — J. E. Roper, sen. ; Enos E. Long, scribe.
The Pathfinders, St. Joseph Lodge, No. 59.
— J. A. Purviance, president; Margaret
Ayers, secretary.
The Protective Home Circle, Mishawaka
Circle, No. 518.— Guy S. Thompson, presi
dent; Amelia Behny, secretary.
The Rathbone Sisters, Sunlight Temple,
No. 286. — Mrs. Clara Austin, com. ; Mrs. Min
nie Huntsinger, record keeper.
Royal Neighbors of America, Spring Camp,
No. 1992, R. N. A.— Mrs. Effie Pelton, orator;
Mrs. Clara Austin, recorder.
The • St. Joseph Benevolent Society. —
Charles Koeppen, president; A. G. Hoerst-
mann, secretary.
Twentieth Century Club. — D. J. Campbell,
president; R. P. Wines, secretary.
Council of Royal and Select Masters, Mish
awaka Council, No. 19, R. & S. M.— W. P.
Robinson, H. P.; John W. Hutchinson, re
corder. The Country Club of the St. Joseph Val
ley. — M. P. Reed, president and treasurer;
H. T. Reynolds, secretary.
The Dodge Club— Melville W. Mix, presi
dent; A. J. Williams, secretary.
Sec. 12. — Soldiers' Monument Associa
tion. — On June 4, 1874, the Mishawaka Sol
diers' Monument association was formed,
for the purpose of erecting a monument to
commemorate the deceased soldiers and sail
ors who enlisted in the war for the Union
from Mishawaka and Penn township. The
incorporators of this patriotic society were:
Almon Stuart, Elizabeth Stuart, Martin
Barnhart, Minerva Barnhart, James H.
Loughman, Abbie A. Loughman, M. A. Cur
tis, William H. Judkins, Belle M. Judkins,
Nelson Ferris, F. R. Eberhart, J. M. Man-
wairing, James Aitken, S. M. Garom, B. Hol

comb, B. R. O'Connor, F. J. O'Connor, Wil
liam B. Hoover, Elias Hoover and J. Q. Z.
Vandenbosch. As the people of Mishawaka and Penn
township had supported their first schools
by voluntary subscriptions and had built the
first dam and erected the first bridge across
the river, in the same public-spirited manner,
so now they began to solicit from one another
the means necessary to do honor forever,
both to their patrotic dead, and also to the
patriotic living who thus generously remem
bered the heroes who had gone out from their
neighborhoods to battle for the' Union, the
constitution and the laws.
For ten years the work of contribution and
preparation went bravely on, until, in Sep
tember, 1884, the people assembled in beauti
ful Battell park, to dedicate the noble memo
rial. The material selected was white bronze.
The monument is surmounted by the figure
of a soldier about to load his gun, and the
whole structure is in- harmonious proportion
and with appropriate inscription. At the
base, on the four sides, are read Shiloh, Vicks
burg, Chickamauga and Mobile, while higher
up, on the north and south sides, are the
names of no less than fifty-eight other famous
fields on which Mishawaka and Penn town
ship boys did battle for their country.
Much praise is due those who had the good
taste to cause the monument to be placed out
in the heart of Battell park, not hiding it in
among lofty buildings, nor crowding it out
upon the street corners, but giving to it
spacious grounds where its beauty may be
seen and admired. This park, extending for
a distance of three squares along the river
front, and overlooking the whole city from
the highlands between Joseph street and the
water's edge, is, with its fine forest trees, one
of the most attractive pleasure resorts in
northern Indiana and forms a magnificent
setting for the soldiers' monument.
Sec. 13.— The Press.— The first newspaper
published in Mishawaka seems to have been
the Mishawaka Tocsin, established in 1841 by

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

347

Wilbur F. Storey, afterwards famous as
editor of the Chicago Times. Mr. Storey re
mained in charge of the Tocsin for but a
short time and disposed of it to George Merri
field. In 1845 Thomas Jernegan purchased
the paper and removed it to South Bend,
changing the name to the Indiana Tocsin.
The Tocsin was no better sustained in South
Bend than in Mishawaka and was soon dis
continued. In 1848 Dr. E. W. H. Ellis established a
paper called the Free Democrat. It sup
ported Martin Van Buren for the presidency
against Lewis Cass. The paper did not sur
vive the campaign of 1848. The Mishawaka
Bee, started in 1846 by S. P. Hart, was also
of short duration, being discontinued after
two years.
In 1853 the people seemed to be ready for
a permanent newspaper. In that year D. C.
Ireland began the publication of the Free
Press. After two years Mr. Ireland sold out
to L. A. Elliott, who changed the name of the
paper to the Mishawaka Enterprise and soon
after disposed of it to, Archibald Beal. In
1865 Norman V. Brewer became the owner of
the paper. Finally, in 1872, the Enterprise
was purchased by Edward A. Jernegan, since
which time the name of Jernegan has become
almost synonymous with that of the Enter
prise. The paper and its publisher suffered,
in common with the rest of the city, in the
calamity of September 5, 1872.° Both, how
ever, rose nobly to the task before them and
not only overcame that disaster, but, after
that event, the Enterprise, more than ever,
deserved its title. It is praise enough of the
Mishawaka Enterprise to say that it has kept
pace, step by step, with the progress of the
good city of Mishawaka itself.
As for the enterprise of the city at this
time, it may be noted, as stated by the press
in the succeeding summer: "Outside the
burnt district, more buildings have been put
up this season than ever before. This can be
set down as Mishawaka 's most prosperous
a. See Subd. 2, this chapter.

year." And that was written within less
than a year after what seemed to be the com
plete destruction of the town. It was enter
prise, not to say ' ' The Enterprise, ' ' that built
up a new Mishawaka.
The plucky people had so far overcome
their calamity that on the first anniversary
they made up their minds to have a meeting
to celebrate their victories of the year. This
is what the South Bend Tribune said on the
evening before the anniversary:
"One year ago tomorrow night Mishawaka
was visited by the most destructive conflagra
tion that ever occurred in this part of the
state. Over sixty buildings were burned, at
a loss of nearly two hundred thousand dol
lars, and many who were not animated with
the pluck and enterprise of the citizens of
Mishawaka believed that the town had re
ceived its death blow. We wish that all such
could be at the anniversary celebration to
morrow night, iri Phoenix hall, and then take
a glance over the rebuilt town — its solid
brick blocks — and see how far they were from
reading our plucky neighbors aright."
The Mishawaka Enterprise did its full
share in that eventful year's work.
On July 4, 1891, there seemed to a young
man an opportunity for another paper in
Mishawaka, and the Mishawaka Democrat
was launched upon the sea of journalism
by William P. O'Neill. That his anticipa
tions were well founded seems to have been
justified by the event. The Democrat has con
tinued to hold its place and has thus shown
that there was room for two newspapers in
Mishawaka. Sec. 14. — Mishawaka Summary. — Misha
waka is beautifully situated on the St. Joseph
river, one of the most picturesque streams in
the world, in the center of a fertile valley, 90
miles east of Chicago. It is one of the most
healthful and most charming places of resi
dence. It has every modern convenience.
While it is a manufacturing city with sev
eral of the largest plants of their kind in the
world it has retained that simplicity which

348

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

makes life worth the living. The Hen Island
dam across the St. Joseph river a few miles
above the city creates a lake 30 feet deep,
nearly a mile wide at points and 14 miles
long. Pickerel, bass, croppies, perch and
other fish abound. Mishawaka is advertised
world wide.
City hall.
A theater.
High school.
Veneer plant.
Plow factory.
Cigar factories.
Masonic temple.
Healthful climate.
Good newspapers.
Population 10,000.
A beautiful park.
An orphans' home.
One G. A. R. post.
A famous brewery.
Artificial ice plant.
One national bank.
Pipe organ factory.
Rural mail routes.
Reasonable taxation.
Four public schools.
Beautiful residences.
Fine machine shops.
An automobile plant.
Odd Fellows' temple.
Paid fire department.
Four Catholic schools.
Fifty miles of sewers.
Free delivery of mail.
Two telephone systems.
Two express companies.
Large furniture factory.
Three parochial schools.
Vegetable slicer company.
Over 30 fraternal societies.
Three medicine companies.
Felt shoe and slipper plant.
Three bridges across river.
An aluminum last company.
Gamewell fire alarm system.
A folding carriage company.

Annual pay rolls of $2,000,000.
Three miles of electric service.
Thirteen church organizations.
Four square miles of territory.
Largest pulley factory in world.
Gas, electric and water service.
A building and loan association.
Twelve handsome church edifices.
Twenty-five miles of water mains.
Three trust and savings companies.
Largest knit boot factory in world.
The largest rubber factory in the west.
The finest of manufacturing facilities.
Macadam, asphalt and brick pavement.
,A malt cream and medicine company.
Largest windmill factory in the world.
Power house generating 10,000 horse elec
tric power.
A large number of modern stores handling
every commodity.
IV.  TOWN AND CITY GOVERNMENT.
From the election of the first board of trus
tees of the town of the St. Joseph Iron Works,
January 31, 1835, and the act of the legis
lature, approved February 17, 1838, re-incor
porating said town, together with adjoining
towns and additions, under the name of the
town of Mishawaka, as set out in the first
subdivision of this chapter, the people con
tinued for over sixty years to be satisfied with
their simple and inexpensive form of govern
ment. But as the town grew in population
and as new and diversified interests mani
fested themselves with the years, it became
apparent that a more efficient form of gov
ernment was needed ; consequently, as the old
century drew to a close the people prepared
to take upon themselves the obligations and
to secure the advantages of a city form of
government. On January 23, 1899, a petition, signed by
five hundred and thirty-seven voters, being
more than one-third of the voters of the town,
was presented to the board of town trustees,
asking for the incorporation of the town of
Mishawaka as a city. The board fixed Febru-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

349

ary 20, 1899, as the day of election, when the
people should determine the question of in
corporation. The opposition to the change
was quite pronounced; but, at the election,
seven hundred and two voted for incorpo
ration, and only three hundred and thirty-six
against it. On March 1, 1899, the board di
vided the new city into five wards and or
dered notice to be given for the election of
city officers on the first Tuesday of May,
being May 2, 1899. After the election the
board of town trustees met for the last time,
on May 8, 1899, to close up town affairs and
turn over the government to the city officers.
The accounts showed the receipts of the treas
ury for the last fiscal year to be $38,114.76/
and the expenditures $27,368.01, leaving a
balance for the new government to start out
on of $10,746.75. Thereupon the board of
trustees of the town of Mishawaka, after a
government extending from January 31,
1835, to May 8, 1899, adjourned sine die, and
Mishawaka entered upon its career as a
city. The last board of town trustees, who
closed up the affairs of the old corporation
and superintended the transfer of Mishawaka
from a town to a city government, were:
John C. Protsman, Charles E. Drapier, John
J. Schindler, John W. Zigler and Peter W.
Ipes. The new city council proceeded at once to
elect a city attorney and other officers to be
chosen by the council. The first and third
Mondays of each month were fixed upon for
the regular meetings. At the next meeting,
May 15, 1899, the mayor appointed the coun
cil committees, and the machinery of the city
government was fairly started. The order
adopting a seal for the city of Mishawaka was
as follows :
The seal of said city shall consist of a cir
cular device, around the margin of which
shall be inscribed the words, ' City of Misha
waka, Indiana, ' and in the center thereof the
American flag, across which shall be inscribed
the word 'Liberty.' "

The officers of the city of Mishawaka since •
its organization have been as follows :
May, 1899: Mayor, Manuel M. Fisher;
clerk, Henry C. Eggleston; treasurer, Wil
liam M. Clark; street commissioner, Charles
H. Doolittle; marshal, Grant Needhahi; at
torney, Archibald G. Graham; councilmen,
First Ward, Lorenzo D. Partridge, John Z.
Wilklow ;¦ Second Ward, William B. Hosford,
Millard F. Kerr; Third Ward, Samuel G.
Todd, Peter Tollens ; Fourth Ward, Jesse H.
Gaines, Alfred S. Hess; Fifth Ward, Milton
McKnight, William Lerner.
May, 1900: Mayor, Manuel M. Fisher;
clerk, Henry C. Eggleston; treasurer, Wil
liam M. Clark; marshal, Grant Needham;
street commissioner, Charles H. Doolit
tle; attorney, Archibald G. Graham; coun
cilmen, First Ward, Albert E. Kreutz,
John Z. Wilklow; Second Ward, Millard F.
Kerr, William B. Hosford; Third Ward,
Samuel G. Todd, Peter Tollens; Fourth
Ward, Jesse H. Gaines, Alfred S. Hess ; Fifth
Ward, Milton McKnight, William Lerner.
May, 1902: Mayor, Melville W. Mix;
clerk, Horace G. Eggleston; treasurer, Wil
liam M. Clark; marshal, Jerome Rossman;
street commissioner, Charles H. Doolittle; at
torney, Edward A. Howard; councilmen,
First Ward, Albert E. Kreutz, August H.
Herzog; Second Ward, John A. Graham,
Lean der Delcamp; Third Ward, Peter Jan-
sen, Henry De Groote ; Fourth Ward, Alfred
S. Hess, James H. Nettleton; Fifth Ward,
Otto Muinch, Alvin A. Keltner.
May, 1904: Mayor, Melville W. Mix;
clerk, Francis X. Ganser; treasurer, William
M. Clark; marshal, Frederick Stockberger;
street commissioner, Charles H. Doolittle ; at
torney, Archibald Graham; councilmen, First
Ward, August H. Herzog, Lorenzo D. Part
ridge ; Second Ward, Leander Delcamp, David
H. Wilber; Third Ward, John J. Schindler,
Peter Jansen ; Fourth Ward, Jesse H. Gaines,
James H. Nettleton; Fifth Ward, Albert T.
Garner, Joseph Colbert, Edward H. Suther
land.

350 HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.
November, 1905: Mayor, Charles Frank; John D. Fulmer; Third Ward, August H. De
clerk, Walter Michael; treasurer, William M. Groote; Fourth Ward, William L. Minzey
Clark; marshal, Benjamin F. Jarrett; street pifth Ward; BurtQn yarney. at , ^
commissioner, Charles H. Doolittle; attorney, ,„- XT , , ,-. , . . „. ~r
¦nr-ii- -d Vmtvt -n i. j e-u mx. -n, MeNabb, Frederick W. Kuss.
William P. O'Neill; board of health, Dr.
James J. Bostwick, secretary, Dr. Christian As shown hy the United States census, the
A. Dresch, Alfred S. Hess; councilmen, First population of Mishawaka, in 1860, was 1,486;
Ward, Lorenzo D. Partridge; Second Ward, in 1880, 2,640; in 1890, 3,371; in 1900,5,560.

CHAPTER XI.

THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND.

I. — BEGINNINGS OF THE TOWN.
Sec. 1. — The Michigan Road.— "At this
point is a beautiful site for a town." These
words, written in 1828, are found entered
on the field notes of the second survey of the
Michigan road. The point referred to is
where the survey of the road reached the
south bend of the St. Joseph river — the site
on which the town, now city, of South Bend
was afterward founded, and where it has
flourished in a far greater degree, no doubt,
than the prophetic surveyor could then have
anticipated. It is quite certain that the con
struction of the Michigan road to the south
bend of the St. Joseph river, according to the
second survey, instead of running it directly
from Logansport to Michigan City, across the
marshes, as contemplated in the first survey,
had a decided influence in promoting the
early growth of the town.0 Yet the place was
an important trading point for several years
before the coming of the road and even be
fore any survey was made.
Sec. 2. — Names Given to the Town. — As
we have already seen, Alexis Coquillard es
tablished an Indian trading post at this point
in 1823.6 He was agent of the American Fur
company and his trading post was called the
Big St. Joseph's Station, to distinguish it
from another trading post at Fort Wayne, on
the little St. Joseph river, conducted for the
same fur company by his father-in-law, Fran
cis Comparet.
a. See Chap. 5, Subd. 1, Sec. 3; also Chap. 7,
Subd. 2.
6. See Chap. 4, Subd. 4.

We have likewise seen that, in 1827, Lath
rop Minor Taylor, or Col. L. M. Taylor, to
use the name by which he is generally known,
established a trading post here, as agent for
Samuel Hanna & Co., of Fort Wayne.0 The
Northern Indiana Historical Society has come
into possession of Col. Taylor's account
books. The opening entry on these books is
dated at "St. Joseph's, Indiana," October 29,
1827, and the name "St. Joseph's" is re
tained throughout the books of the company.
Indeed, it would seem that this was for some
time the recognized name of each of the trad
ing posts. Years afterwards, when these
trading posts had developed into a town, and
the ambitious citizens became dissatisfied
with the name of South Bend, which to them
seemed plebeian and meaningless, public
meetings were held to consider other
names for the incipient Queen City of the
St. Joseph Valley; and among the names then
suggested was this old one of St. Joseph's or
St. Joseph. At that time, and even long aft
erwards, serious efforts were made for the re
vival of the original name given to the trad
ing posts of Coquillard and Taylor.
In 1829 a post office was established, and
on June 6, 1829, Lathrop M. Taylor was com
missioned as first postmaster. In connection
with the establishment of the post office is
the mystery of still another name for the
new town. In Mr. Taylor's commission he
was appointed postmaster at "Southold, Al
len county, Indiana." The county of Allen

a. Chap. 4, Subd. 4.

351

352

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

then extended over this part of Indiana, but
no one has ever given a satisfactory explana
tion of Southold as the name of the town.
There is a town of this name in Suffolk coun
ty, New York, on the coast of Long Island
sound, and, for want of a better explanation,
the supposition has been entertained that an
official connected with the post office depart
ment and having some charge of the appoint
ment of post masters, may have been familiar
with this town of Southold, on Long Island,
and so have designedly or by mistake sug
gested the name for the new town on the
banks of the St. Joseph. This, however, is
mere conjecture, and the origin of Southold
as a former name of our city is yet to be dis
covered. The name was retained but a short
time, and on October 18, 1830, the United
States authorities directed the name of the
post office to be changed to South Bend,
which has since been retained. It has been
said that the origin of this name is due to
Alexis Coquillard, but it is plain that the
name came naturally from the location of the
town upon the river. Up to a recent time
the place was often referred to, simply as
"The Bend," and even yet one occasionally
hears this irreverent appellation applied to
the fair metropolis of northern Indiana. From
the most remote time, the great south bend
of the Big St. Joseph's was, to the red man,
and to the white man, as it is to the geologist
of our day, the most remarkable natural
phenomenon of the region south of the great
lakes. The portage of the St. Joseph was
hardly more noted than the bend two miles
up the river; and it was for a time uncertain
at which of these historical points the coming-
town would be built, whether at the "Port
age" or at the "Bend.'
As a matter of fact, as we have already
seen, two efforts were made to build a town at
the portage, but Mr. Brookfield 's old "St.
Joseph" and Judge Egbert's "Portage" are
both among the towns that were.0
It was natural enough that the town built
a. See Chap. 9, Subd. 1.

at the bend should be referred to as "The
Bend," even before it was formally given
that name. It is an instance in which the
name was given to the locality long before
the existence of the town itself. The town
was built at the bend, and hence called "The
Bend." Some dignity was added to the
woodsman's simple designation by prefixing
to it the word "South," suggested by the lo
cation of the bend, strengthened also, per
haps, by the accidental name of Southold first
given to the post office. South Bend it is,
and South Bend it will be, for the people
have become attached to the simple and ex
pressive, even if homely, title that has come
down to us from that geological catastrophe
which turned the Kankakee from its ancient
bed and swept it, in this noble bend from the
south, until it found its way, as the St.
Joseph, into the waters of Lake Michigan.0
Sec. 3. — The Original Plat of South
Bend. — The town of South Bend was laid
out by Alexis Coquillard and Lathrop M. Tay
lor on the 28th day of March, A. D. 1831.
The dedication and description, as entered on
the recorded plat, are in the following words :
"Town of South Bend, by Alexis Coquil
lard and Lathrop M. Taylor.
"The aforesaid town is laid off on the
northwest fractional quarter of section num
ber twelve and on the southern part of the
southwest fractional quarter of section num
ber one, of township number thirty-seven
north, and range number two east of the sec
ond principal meridian of the State of In
diana. Each lot is ten rods east and west and
four rods north and south, containing one
quarter of an acre. The fractional lots, ac
cording to the number of feet and rods
marked on the sides of said lots. The alleys,
running east and west, north and south,
through the center of each square, are four
teen feet wide. Lots numbered two hundred
and forty-seven, two hundred and forty-eight
and two hundred and forty-nine are hereby
donated for the purpose of building a conrt-
a. Chap. 1, Subds. 2 and 7.

.,^M.

THE SOUTH BEND OF THE ST. JOSEPH RIVER FROM WHICH THE CITY DERIVES ITS NAME.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

355

house and gaol on, whenever the county seat
of said county may be established at the town
aforesaid. And lots numbered sixty-seven
and two hundred and eight are hereby do
nated to said town of South Bend for the use
and purpose of erecting school houses there
on. And lot numbered three hundred and
twenty-one is hereby donated to the Method
ist society, for the purpose of erecting a
church thereon. And also lots numbered one
hundred and seventeen and one hundred arid
eighteen are hereby donated to the Catholic
church for the purpose of erecting suitable
buildings for a church thereon.
"In testimony whereof, the said Alexis
Coquillard and Lathrop M. Taylor, pro
prietors of said town of South Bend, have
hereunto set their hands and seals this 28th
day of March, in the year of our Lord one
thonsand, eight hundred and thirty-one.
"Alexis Coquillard.
"Lathrop M. Taylor."
"State of Indiana, St. Joseph County, ss. :
"On this 28th day of March, A. D. 1831,
Alexis Coquillard and Lathrop M. Taylor, the
proprietors named in the foregoing instru
ment and town plat of the town of South
Bend, personally appeared before me, one of
the associate judges of the St. Joseph circuit
court in and for said county, and severally
acknowledged the signing and sealing of the
aforesaid instrument of writing, and the
aforesaid plat, to be their own free act and
deed for the purposes therein expressed.
"Given under my hand and seal the day
and year first above written.
"William Brookfield,
"Asst. J. C. C.
"The within town plat was recorded March
28th, 1831."
William Brookfield, who took the acknowl
edgment of the foregoing plat, as associate
judge of the St. Joseph circuit court,0 was
himself also the surveyor of the plat, as ap-
a. As to Mr. Brookfield's office of Associate
Judge, see note to "Circuit Court," Chap. 6,
Subd. 2, Sec. 4.

pears from the following additional entry
found on the same record:
"The scale by which this town is laid off
is ten rods to the inch.
"William Brookfield, Surveyor.
"March 28, 1831."
The river is marked on the plat as the "Big
St. Josef river."
Sec. 4. — South Bend the County Seat. —
We have seen, in chapter fifth of this
work, that the town of St. Joseph, as laid out
by William Brookfield at the old portage, was
the first county seat of St. Joseph county;
that, on petition of the people of the county,
the legislature, by an act approved February
1, 1831, appointed commissioners to re-locate
the county seat; and that on May 12, 1831,
the commissioners so appointed, after having
met at the house of Mr. Brookfield, and "after
making all the examinations," re-located the
eounty seat at South Bend.0
The master hand of Alexis Coquillard was
shown in the change of the county seat. Mr.
Coquillard 's house was at first the only con
venient building in the county for holding
the meetings of the county board, and was,
therefore, in fact, the seat of the county gov
ernment, even though the legal seat of justice
was nominally* at the projected town near
the portage. Considering, therefore, that
for the first years of the county's history the
actual place of government was at the resi
dence of Mr. Coquillard, it may be said that
South Bend was always the real county seat,
even during the short time that the town of
St. Joseph was the nominal seat of govern
ment. But it was not enough that the county busi
ness was actually done at South Bend, or
rather "at the house of Alexis Coquillard,"
to use the expression in the records. It was
also necessary that South Bend should be
the county seat according to law. The steps
in bringing about the change taken in chron
ological order, were : First, The petition pre-
a. See "Location of the County Seat," Chap.
5, Subd. 7.

356

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

sented to the legislature, in December, 1830,
signed by one hundred and twenty-five citi
zens of St. Joseph county, praying for a re
location of the county seat; Second, The act
approved February 1, 1831, appointing com
missioners to consider the question of re-loca
tion, and to act thereon as they should judge
best; Third, The platting of the town of
South Bend, March 28, 1831; Fourth, The
meeting of the legislative commission, on May
9, 1831; Fifth, The concessions made by
Coquillard and Taylor, in addition to those
shown on the original plat, to wit: Fifteen
lots given to the county; lot three hundred
and forty-one given to the United Brethren
church; lot four hundred and three to the
German Baptists ; lot two hundred and thirty-
four to the Presbyterians; four acres to the
town for a cemetery ; also three thousand dol
lars in cash to the board of county commis
sioners for the use of the county of St. Joseph.
All these additional donations were made "in,
consideration that the county seat of St.
Joseph county, in the state aforesaid, shall be
permanently located at the South Bend, in
said county." As to the title to the lots the
further agreement was made that they were
"to be legally conveyed in a reasonable time
after the patents shall have issued to the said
Coquillard and Taylor, in consideration that
the eounty seat shall be permanently located
at South Bend, in said county." To secure
the donations, Coquillard and Taylor exe
cuted their individual bond, and also filed
the written guaranty thereof, signed by
Samuel Hanna, Joseph Rohrer, Samuel Stud
ebaker and David H. Colerick; Sixth, The
conclusion of the legislative commission,
May 12, 1831, after receiving the fore
going concessions and after an exami
nation of "the present seat of justice
for said county," was "that public inter
est requires a removal of said seat of jus
tice." Thereupon they "immediately pro
ceeded to select a suitable site for the county
seat of said county of St. Joseph ; and, after
making all examinations required by law,

have selected the town of South Bend, as laid
out and recorded on the records of said coun
ty, and have hereby established the same."
Thus was the town, — called at first "The
Bend," then the "Big St. Joseph's Station,"
then "St. Joseph's," then "Southold," and
finally "South Bend, "—brought into exist
ence — platted March 28, 1831, and made the
permanent county seat of St. Joseph county
May 12, 1831. In chapters fifth and sixth
of this history, in detailing the early chron
icles of the county, we have given further
particulars of the early history of the town.
As the county seat of St. Joseph county, the
history of the county for a long time necessar
ily included the greater part of the history of
the town, and it is not necessary to repeat
these details in the present chapter.
II.  THE TOWN GOVERNMENT.
Sec. 1. — The First Incorporation. — Al
though the town was platted and made the
county seat in 1831, yet there were no steps
taken to secure an incorporation until 1835,
when a petition for that purpose was laid be
fore the board of county commissioners. On
Tuesday, September 8, being the second day
of the September term, 1835, the board of
county commissioners made the following or
der :
"Ordered, that the sheriff of said county
give notice to the citizens of South Bend, by
advertising the same, to meet at the court
house, in the town of South Bend, on the 3rd
day of October next, and then and there to
elect trustees for the incorporation of the
town of South Bend. The said order was
granted on petition of the two-thirds of the
citizens of South Bend filed."
The election was held on October 3, 1835,
as ordered, and the following board of town
trustees elected: William P. Howe, Horatio
Chapin, Peter Johnson, John Massey and
James A. Mann. Horatio Chapin was chosen
as the first president of the board. In I837
Edmund Pitts Taylor, brother of L. M. Tay
lor, was made president, and Francis R. Tutt

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

357

secretary. During the panic of 1837 the town
languished and for a time the organization
was wholly abandoned.
Sec. 2. — The Second Incorporation. —
But, as shown in a previous chapter, local
conditions grew better in a few years.0 By a
special act of the legislature, approved De
cember 28, 1842, the South Bend Manufactur
ing Company was incorporated. The object
of this organization was to finish the dam
across the St. Joseph and so make use of
the power of the river. This work was begun
during the spring of 1843, and in 1844 the
dam was completed, together with a mill race
on each side of the river. This great accom
plishment roused the people to a realization
of the fine prospects before them for building
up a great manufacturing town at the south
bend of the St. Joseph.
The old prophesies were about to come true.
Coquillard, in 1823, had not established the
"Big St. Joseph's Station" in vain, nor had
Taylor, in 1827, been iriistaken in following
with another Indian trading post, at "St.
Joseph's, Indiana," nor, in 1828, did the sur
veyor of the Michigan road err in judgment
when he wrote on the face of his field notes :
"At this point is a beautiful site for a town,"
nor was that correspondent of the Indian
apolis Journal deficient in mental vision, who,
under date of November 30, 1830, wrote the
following :
"Having lately traveled through the north
part of Indiana, I am of the opinion that a
description of it will not be without interest
to your readers. Traveling west, I passed the
southern bend of the St. Joseph river, at the
intersection of the Michigan road, where it
is supposed the seat of justice of St. Joseph
county will ere long be established. This
town, I have no doubt, will in a very few
years become one of the most important towns
north of Indianapolis, and it is a misfortune
that the law of the last session authorizing the
partial opening of the Michigan road, did not
a. See Chap. 7, Subd. 1.

cause it to be opened to the St. Joseph at this
bend." So, with the panic past, the Michigan road
became a great north and south thoroughfare,
the boats up the St. Joseph bringing here the
commerce of the lakes, the county seat fixed,
the mill dam and the two mill races completed,
the population rapidly increasing, and, in
a word, all the early anticipations far on the
way to fulfillment, it was high time to start
again the wheels of local government. By
reason of the failure to elect officers or to
keep up the meeting of trustees formerly
elected, it was a matter of doubt whether the
original incorporation had not altogether
lapsed. In this dilemma it was thought best
to apply to the legislature for a special char
ter, as might be done under the constitution
of 1816, then in force. This course was ac
cordingly taken, and, by "An act incorpor
ating the town of South Bend, St. Joseph
county, Indiana," approved January 15,
1844,"° the new charter was granted, as fol
lows: "Section 1. Be it enacted by the General
Assembly of the State of Indiana, That Ben
jamin F. Price, William H. Patteson, John
Brownfield, Abraham Wilson and Ricketson
Burroughs be and they are hereby appointed
trustees of the corporation of the town of
South Bend, St. Joseph county, Indiana, to
serve as such until the first Monday in March,
1845, and until their successors are elected
and qualified, as hereinafter directed.
"Sec. 2. That the said trustees, at their
first meeting, after the passage of this act,
shall elect a president from their own body,
whose duty it shall be to preside at all meet
ings of the board and preserve order, put all
questions, and upon an equal division of the
board, give the casting vote, and at the close
of each meeting shall sign the minutes of the
same. And the said trustees shall also, at said
meeting, or as soon after as may be con
venient, appoint all officers necessary to carry
into effect the provisions of this act, and
a. Local Laws, 1843, pp. 35-44.

358

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

make to them such compensation as to said
trustees shall appear reasonable and right.
"See. 3. The said president and trustees
of said town and their successors in office
shall be a body politic and corporate, with
perpetual succession, by the name and style
of 'The President and Trustees of the Town
of South Bend.' "
By other sections of the act, the following
additional provisions were made: The first
election was fixed for the first Monday in
March, 1845, and annually thereafter on the
first Monday in March each year. The town
was to be divided into five wards, and one
trustee elected from each ward. Trustees
should be residents of the wards from which
they were elected. It was provided that the
limits of the corporation should extend to
and embrace the original plat of the town,
with all additions of in-lots or out-lots
"which have been or hereafter may be made
thereto." The right to amend or repeal the
charter was reserved by the legislature. The
old incorporation was expressly dissolved, but
not so as to impair the deed made March 1,
1841, by Alexis Coquillard for the cemetery
west of the town.
By an act approved January 19, 1846,° cer
tain amendments to the foregoing charter
were made, chiefly affecting the assessment
and collection of taxes. These provisions
were also made applicable "to the charter of
the village of St. Joseph Iron Works, or
Mishawaka, in said county."
Sec. 3. — The Officials of the Town. —
The trustees named by the legislature, chose
John Brownfield as president and William H.
Patteson as clerk. The same board, appoint
ed Dr. William A. Brown, Dr. Daniel Dayton,
Dr. E. S. Sheffield, Dr. A. B. Merritt, Dr.
Louis Humphreys, Mr. A. M. Lapierre and
Mr. B. F. Miller as a board of health. The
duties of this board were of unusual import
ance by reason of an epidemic of small pox
then prevalent in the town. John Hooper was
a. Local Laws, 1845, pp. 312, 313.

appointed town marshal, and after a few days
was succeeded by Evan C. Johnson.
The first election under the new charter, as
required by the statute, was held on Monday
March 3, 1845; and resulted in the election
of the following named trustees : John Brown
field, Benjamin F. Price, William H.' Patte
son, Rieketson Burroughs and Joseph Andre.
The trustees selected John Brownfield as pres
ident;' Charles M. Heaton, as clerk; Schuyler
Colfax, as assessor; Albert Monson, as treas
urer ; and William Snavely, as marshal.
The names of the subsequent town officers,
elected and appointed, so far as can now be
learned, are set out below. In some
years there were no elections, the old officers
holding over ; and in other cases we have no
record of the officers elected or appointed.
The officers, so far as known were as follows :
1846. — President, John Brownfield; Trus
tees, Lathrop M. Taylor, William H. Patteson,
Harrison M. Crockett and Benjamin F. Mil
ler; Clerk, Charles M. Heaton; Treasurer, Al
bert Monson ; Marshal, Jacob Grassnical ; As
sessor, Jacob Hardman.
1848. — President, John A. Henricks; Trus
tees, John Hooper, A. M. Lapierre, Benjamin
Wall, John Becraft; Clerk, Charles M. Hea
ton; Treasurer, John Brownfield; Assessor,
Daniel Dayton; Marshal, Charles B. Chan
donai. 1850. — President, Solomon W. Palmer;
Trustees, John M. Veasey, David P. Gerberck,
Abraham Wilson, (No election in Second
Ward); Clerk, John M. Veasey; Treasurer,
John Brownfield; Assessor, Daniel Dayton;
Marshal, John Becraft.
1851.— President, Matthias Stover; Trus
tees: David P. Gerberck, Charles A. Stover
(resigned), Lathrop M. Taylor (appointed
to fill vacancy), A. G. Deavitt, John Becraft;
Clerk, Daniel Matthews; Treasurer, John
Brownfield; Assessor, Jacob Hardman; Mar
shal, John Becraft.
1858.— President, Henry Carleton; Trus
tees, Jesse L. Walterhouse, Thomas S. Stan
field, Edmund Pitts Taylor, H. A. Finley;

HISTORY OF ST, JOSEPH COUNTY.

359

Clerk, Daniel Matthews; Assessor, Cassius
Caldwell ; Marshal, Charles Vinson.
1859. — President, Benjamin F. Price ; Trus
tees, John A. Henricks, Elmer Rose, George
W. Matthews, Isaac Ford; Clerk, Daniel
Matthews; Treasurer, Daniel Dayton; As
sessor, John Caldwell; Marshal, William S.
Saunders. 1860. — President, Benjamin F. Price; Trus
tees, John T. Lindsey, Edmund Pitts Taylor,
George W. Matthews, Dwight Deming ; Clerk,
Edwin E. Ames; Treasurer, Daniel Dayton;
Assessor, Elisha Sumption; Marshal, William
S. Saunders.
1861.— President, Edmund Pitts Taylor;
Trustees, John C. Knoblock, John Hooper,
Aaron A. Webster, Wright Clapp ; Clerk, Ed
win E. Ames ; Treasurer, Daniel Dayton ; As
sessor, Charles M. Baker; Marshal, William
S. Saunders.
1862— President, Edmund Pitts Taylor;
Trustees, John C. Knoblock, John Hooper,
Aaron A. Webster, Wright Clapp ; Clerk,
George H. Alward; Treasurer, Daniel Day
ton; Assessor, Elisha Sumption; Marshal,
Daniel Roof.
1863. — President, John A. Henricks; Trus
tees, Charles W. Martin, William Miller, John
Gallagher, Ulrich Foegley; Clerk, George H.
Alward; Treasurer, Elisha Sumption; Asses
sor, C. William Price ; Marshal, Evan C. John
son. 1864. — President, John A. Henricks ; Trus
tees, Charles W. Martin, William Miller, Esq.,
(father of General John F, Miller, so called
to distinguish him from William Miller,
afterwards Mayor), Aaron A. Webster, Ul
rich Foegley; Clerk, George H. Alward;
Treasurer, George W. Matthews; Assessor,
Elisha Sumption; Marshal, Daniel Roof.
1865. — President, Henry Carleton; Trus
tees, William G. George, Thomas S. Stanfield,
Lemuel M. Staples, John Gallagher; Clerk,
George H. Alward; Treasurer, George W.
Matthews; Assessor, Elisha Sumption; Mar
shal, Daniel Roof.

ih. the city government.
In 1865, the town organization came to an
end, and South Bend was incorporated as a
city. On May 8, 1865, John H. Keedy and
two hundred and eighty-five others presented
a petition to the trustees of the town praying
for an incorporation as a city. Thereupon it
was ordered by the board of trustees that an
election be held at the sheriff's office in the
court house, on Monday, May 22, 1865, be
tween the hours of nine, A. M., and four,
P. M., to determine whether said town should
be incorporated as a city.
The election resulted in favor of a city
organization. At a special session of the
board of town trustees, held on Friday, June
2, 1865, the report of the election was laid
before the board, whereupon the following
preamble and order were made and entered
of record:
"Whereas, at an election held on the twen
ty-second day of May, 1865, the citizens have
decided by a large majority (286 ayes, 194
nays) that the town of South Bend should be
incorporated as a city :
"Ordered, that the city be divided into
three wards, and that an election be held on
the fifth of June, 1865, for the election of of
ficers." The first city officers, elected on Monday,
June 5, 1865, and all subsequent city officers
for each year, to this date, are here set out
in full :
Section 1. — Officers. — Chronological table
of Municipal Officers of the City of South
Bend from its incorporation, May 22, 1865, to
July 1, 1907 :
1865.— Wm. G. George, Mayor ; Geo. H. Al
ward, Clerk; Geo. W. Matthews, Treasurer;
Daniel Roof, Marshal; Washington Saunders,
Civil Engineer; Elisha Sumption, Assessor.
Councilmen — First Ward, William Miller
and John Klingel; Secbnd Ward, William
Miller and Thomas S. Stanfield; Third Ward,
John Gallagher and Israel C. Sweet.
1866.— W. G. George, Mayor; John Hag-

360

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

erty, Clerk ; John H. Spain, Treasurer ; Jacob
K. Huston, Marshal ; Elisha Sumption, Asses
sor; Rufus Rose, Civil Engineer; A. B. Wade,
City Judge; J. A. Hartman, Street Commis
sioner. Councilmen — First Ward, William
Miller and John Klingel ; Second Ward, T. S.
Stanfield and David Stover; Third Ward,
Isaac Ford and A. B. Merritt.
1867.— W. G. George, Mayor; John Hag
erty, City Clerk ; Joseph B. Eaker, Treasurer ;
W. Carlton, Marshal; Matthias Stover, Civil
Engineer; A. B. Wade, City Judge; J. A.
Hartman, Street Commissioner. Councilmen —
First Ward, S. F. Myers and William Miller ;
Second Ward, T. S. Stanfield and David
Stover ; Third Ward, T. W. Defrees and A. B.
Merritt; Fourth Ward, A. Russwurm and
Samuel Parry.
1868. — Louis Humphreys, Mayor; David
M. Rennoe, Clerk; Joseph B. Eaker, Treas
urer; Lea P. Johnson, Assessor; George W.
Foulke, Marshal; Geo. H. Alward, City
Judge; Matthias Stover, Civil Engineer; Cas
sius Caldwell, Street Commissioner. Coun
cilmen — First Ward, S. F. Myers and Wil
liam Miller; Second Ward, T. S. Stanfield
and William Miller ; Third Ward, T. W. De-
frees and Elliott Tutt; Fourth Ward, An
drew Russwurm and S. L. Cottrell.
1869. — Louis Humphreys, Mayor; David
M. Rennoe, Clerk; Joseph B. Eaker, Treas
urer; Lea P. Johnson, Assessor; George W.
Foulke, Marshal; Geo. H. Alward, City
Judge; John R. Foster, City Attorney; Mat
thias Stover, Civil Engineer; Cassius Cald
well, Street Commissioner. Councilmen —
First Ward, William Miller and John H.
Keedy; Second Ward, William Miller and T.
S. Stanfield; Third Ward, Elliott Tutt and
T. W. Defrees; Fourth Ward, S. L. Cottrell
and A. T. Coquillard.
1870. — Louis Humphreys, Mayor; David
M. Rennoe, Clerk; John G. Maughermar,
Treasurer; George W. Foulke, Marshal;
George Pfleger, City Judge; John R. Foster,
City Attorney; Lea P. Johnson, Assessor;
Matthias Stover, Civil Engineer; Cassius

Caldwell, Street Commissioner. Councilmen
—First Ward, John H. Keedy and William
Miller; Second Ward, Lucius Hubbard and
Clement Studebaker ; Third Ward, T. W. De-
frees and Adam Bernhard ; Fourth Ward, A.
T. Coquillard and A. C. Staley.
1871. — Louis Humphreys, Mayor; David
M. Rennoe, Clerk; John G. Maughermar,
Treasurer; George W. Foulke, Marshal;
George Pfleger, City Judge; John R. Fos
ter, City Attorney; Lea P. Johnson, As
sessor; Matthias Stover, Civil Engineer; Cas
sius Caldwell, Street Commissioner. Council-
men — First Ward, William Miller and Irvin
Skinner; Second Ward, Lucius Hubbard and
Clement Studebaker; Third Ward, Adam
Bernhard and Elliott Tutt; Fourth Ward, A.
C. Staley and A. T. Coquillard.
1872.— William Miller, Mayor; David M.
Rennoe, Clerk; John G. Maughermar, Treas
urer; J. A. Hartman, Marshal; Mark Whin-
ery, City Judge ; Edward Egbert, City Attor
ney; Lea P. Johnson, Assessor; William M.
Whitten, Civil Engineer; Charles Zigler,
Street Commissioner. Councilmen — First
Ward, Irvin Skinner and Charles Hartman;
Second Ward, Clement Studebaker and John
R. Foster; Third Ward, Elliott Tutt and
Alex. Staples; Fourth Ward, A. T. Coquil
lard and N. S. Marsh.
1873.— William Miller, Mayor; David M.
Rennoe, Clerk; John G. Maughermar, Treas
urer; William Crews, Marshal; Mark Whin-
ery, City Judge ; Edward Egbert, City Attor
ney: William M. Whitten, Civil Engineer;
Charles Zigler, Street Commissioner. Coun
cilmen — First Ward, Charles Hartman and
Joseph Warden ; Second Ward, John R. Fos
ter and Seeley R. King; Third Ward. Alex.
Staples and William Simmons ; Fourth Ward,
N. S. Marsh and Peter Weber.
1874.— William Miller, Mayor; E. W.
Hoover, Clerk; Jacob N. Massey, Treasurer;
Robert Hardy, Marshal; John Hagerty, City
Judge; Edward Egbert, City Attorney;
George W. Sumption, Assessor; William M.
Whitten, Civil Engineer; Charles Zigler,

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

361

Street Commissioner. Councilmen — First
Ward, Joseph Warden and A. Defrees;
Second Ward, Seeley R. King and A. N.
Thomas; Third Ward, T. W. Defrees and
M. N. Walworth; Fourth Ward, Peter Weber
and Simon Raff; Fifth Ward, William Sim
mons and J. M. Asire.
1875.— William Miller, Mayor; E. W.
Hoover, Clerk; Jacob N. Massey, Treasurer;
Robert Hardy, Marshal; John Hagerty,
City Judge ; Edward Egbert, City Attorney ;
George W. Sumption, Assessor; William M.
Whitten, Civil Engineer; Charles Zigler,
Street Commissioner. Councilmen — First
Ward, A. Defrees and Ricketson Burroughs;
Second Ward, A. N. Thomas and Robert Har
ris; Third Ward, M. N. Walworth and A.
J. Jaquith; Fourth Ward, Simon Raff and
Dwight Deming; Fifth Ward, J. M. Asire
and Lester F. Baker.
1876.— A. N. Thomas, Mayor ; E. W. Hen
ricks, Clerk; D. C. Rush, Treasurer; George
Bernhard, Marshal; William L. Farr, As
sessor; John Brownfield, Jr., City Attorney;
William M. Whitten, Civil Engineer ; Charles
Zigler, Street Commissioner. Councilmen — -
First Ward, Ricketson Burroughs and Dan
iel Dayton ; Second Ward, Robert Harris and
E. P. Taylor; Third Ward, A. J. Jaquith and
W. W. Giddings; Fourth Ward, Dwight
Deming and L. A. Hull; Fifth Ward, L. F.
Baker and L. R. Richardson.
1877.— Alexander N. Thomas, Mayor ; E. W.
Henricks, Clerk; D. C. Rush, Treasurer;
George Bernhard, Marshal; William L. Farr,
Assessor; John Brownfield, Jr., City Attor
ney; William M. Whitten, Civil Engineer;
Charles Zigler, Street Commissioner. Council-
men— First Ward, Daniel Dayton and Ricket
son Burroughs; Second Ward, E. P. Taylor
and George F. Nevius ; Third Ward, W. W.
Giddings and H. C. Crawford; Fourth Ward,
L. A. Hull and Jonas Lontz ; Fifth Ward, L.
A. Richardson and S. W. Palmer.
1878.— Lucius G. Tong, Mayor; E. W. Hen
ricks, Clerk; D. C. Rush, Treasurer; E. C.
Johnson, Marshal'; William L. Farr, As

sessor; Lucius Hubbard, City Attorney;
William M. Whitten, Civil Engineer; Dennis
O'Neil, Street Commissioner. Councilmen —
First Ward, Ricketson Burroughs and Dan
iel Dayton; Second Ward, George F. Nevius
and Nathaniel Frame; Third Ward, H. C.
Crawford and James Butler; Fourth Ward,
Jonas Lontz and T. E. Howard; Fifth Ward,
S. W. Palmer and George W. Loughman.
1879.— L. G. Tong, Mayor; E. W. Hen
ricks, Clerk; D. C. Rush, Treasurer; E. C.
Johnson, Marshal ; William L. Farr, Assessor ;
Lucius Hubbard, City Attorney; William M.
Whitten, Civil Engineer; Dennis O'Neil,
Street Commissioner. Councilmen — First
Ward, Daniel Dayton and Sorden Lister;
Second Ward, Nathaniel Frame and Joseph
Henderson; Third Ward, James Butler and
W. W. Giddings; Fourth Ward, T. E. How
ard and J. A. Neuperth ; Fifth Ward, George
W. Loughman and William S. Weaver.
1880.— Levi J. Ham, Mayor; Fred B.
Williams, Clerk; D. C. Rush, Treasurer;
George Bernhard, Marshal ; William L. Farr,
Assessor; John Hagerty, City Attorney; Ar
thur J. Stace, Civil Engineer; A. Defrees,
Street Commissioner ; John M. Studebaker, A.
C. Staley, Jacob Strayer, Water Works Trus
tees. Councilmen — First Ward, Sorden Lister
and Irvin Skinner; Second Ward, Joseph
Henderson and David Stover; Third Ward,
W. W. Giddings and James Butler; Fourth
Ward, J. A. Neuperth and T. E. Howard;
Fifth Ward, William S. Weaver and George
W. Loughman.
1881.— Levi J. Ham, Mayor ; Fred B. Wil
liams, Clerk; D. C. Rush, Treasurer; George
Bernhard, Marshal; William L. Farr, Asses
sor; John Hagerty, City Attorney; William
M. Whitten, Civil Engineer; A. Defrees,
Street Commissioner; J. M. Asire, A. C. Sta
ley, Jacob Strayer, Water Works Trustees.
Councilmen — First Ward, Irvin Skinner and
Sorden Lister; Second Ward, David Stover
and J. P. Creed ; Third Ward, James Butler
and Peter Makielski; Fourth Ward, T. E.

362

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Howard and Samuel C. Lontz; Fifth Ward,
Geo. W. Loughman and N. J. Bernhard.
1882.— Levi J. Ham, Mayor ; Fred B. Wil
liams, Clerk; E. R. Wills, Treasurer; George
Bernhard, Marshal; William L. Farr, Asses
sor; John Hagerty, City Attorney; William
M. Whitten, Civil Engineer; A. Defrees,
Street Commissioner; Patrick O'Brien, J. M.
Asire, Jacob Strayer, Water Works Trustees.
Councilmen — First Ward, Irvin Skinner and
Sorden Lister; Second Ward, David Stover
and J. P. Creed ; Third Ward, Cornelius Hag
erty and Peter Makielski; Fourth Ward, T. E.
Howard and Samuel C. Lontz; Fifth Ward,
H. E. Jackson and N. J. Bernhard.
1883.— Levi J. Ham, Mayor; Fred Wil
liams, Clerk; E. R. Wills, Treasurer; George
Bernhard, Marshal; William L. Farr, Asses
sor; John Hagerty, City Attorney; William
M. Whitten, Civil Engineer; A. Defrees,
Street Commissioner; William Mack, P.
O'Brien, J. M. Asire, Water Works Trus
tees. Councilmen — First Ward, Irvin Skin
ner and T. E. Knoblock; Second Ward, David
Stover and William H. Longley; Third
Ward, Cornelius Hagerty and Peter Makiel
ski; Fourth Ward, T. E. Howard and J. C.
Dille ; Fifth Ward, H. E. Jackson and N. J.
Bernhard. 1884. — George W. Loughman, Mayor; B.
B. Kimble, Clerk ; John Roth, Treasurer ;
Thomas Hoban, Marshal ; John Hagerty, City
Attorney; William M. Whitten, Civil Engi
neer; James Butler, Street Commissioner; N.
P. Bowsher, William Mack, P. O'Brien,
Water Works Trustees. Councilmen — First
Ward, T. E. Knoblock and Sorden Lister;
Second Ward, W. H. Longley and John Yant ;
Third Ward, Peter Makielski and Cornelius
Hagerty ; Fourth Ward, J. C. Dille and Mar
tin Hoban ; Fifth Ward, N. J. Bernhard and
W. S. Anderson.
1885. — George W. Loughman, Mayor; B. B.
Kimble, Clerk; John Roth, Treasurer;
Thomas Hoban, Marshal ; John Hagerty, City
Attorney; William M. Whitten, Civil Engi
neer; James Butler, Street Commissioner;

John C. Birdsell, Sr., N. P. Bowsher, William
Mack, Water Works Trustees. Councilmen—
First Ward, T. E. Knoblock and Sorden Lis
ter; Second Ward, Robert Harris and John
Yant; Third Ward, Frank Kowalski and Cor
nelius Hagerty; Fourth Ward, J. C. Dille and
Martin Hoban; Fifth Ward, A. J. Rudduck
and W. S. Anderson.
1886. — George W. Loughman, Mayor; B.
B. Kimble, Clerk; John Roth, Treasurer;
Thomas Hoban, Marshal; Lucius Hubbard,
City Attorney; William M. Whitten, Civil
Engineer; James Butler, Street Commission
er; E. R. St. John, J". C. Birdsell, Sr., N. P.
Bowsher, Water Works Trustees. Council-
men — First Ward, T. E. Knoblock and M. B.
Staley; Second Ward, Robert Harris and
John Yant; Third Ward, Frank Kowalski
and L. T. Stedman; Fourth Ward, J. C. Dille
and Martin Hoban ; Fifth Ward, A. J. Rud
duck and George H. Asire.
1887.- — George W. Loughman, Mayor; B.
B. Kimble, Clerk; John Roth, Treasurer;
Joseph Turnock, Marshal; Lucius Hubbard,
City Attorney; William M. Whitten, Civil
Engineer; James Butler, Street Commission
er ; Alex. Staples, E. R. St. John, J. C. Bird-
sell, Sr., Water Works Trustees. Councilmen
—First Ward, M. R. Staley and P. O'Brien;
Second Ward, John Yant and David Stover;
Third Ward, L. T. Stedman and Jacob Ja-
nowski; Fourth Ward, M. Hoban and S. C.
Lontz ; Fifth Ward, George H. Asire and A.
J. Rudduck.
1888.— William H. Longley, Mayor; David
Casey, Clerk; John Wagener, Treasurer; L.
T. Stover, Marshal ; T. E. Howard, City At
torney; William M. Whitten, Civil Engineer;
James Butler, Street Commissioner; Charles
H. Pavey, Alex. Staples, E. R. St. John,
Water Works Trustees. Councilmen— First
Ward, P. O'Brien and Henry F. Elbel;
Second Ward, David Stover and Hanford T.
Roberts; Third Ward, Jacob Janowski and
Adam Weaver; Fourth Ward, S. 0. Lontz
and Joseph E. Robert; Fifth Ward, A. J.
Rudduck and Joseph E. Williams.

,iaS .^stUI

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

363

1889.— William H. Longley, Mayor; David
Casey, Clerk; John Wagener, Treasurer; L.
T. Stover, Marshal; T. E. Howard, City At
torney ; William M. Whitten, Civil Engineer ;
James Butler, Street Commissioner; R. L.
Braunsdorf, Charles H. Pavey, Alex. Staples,
Water Works Trustees. Councilmen — First
Ward, Henry F. Elbel and A. S. Ginz, Second
Ward, Hanford T. Roberts and Chris. Fass-
nacht ; Third Ward, Adam Weaver and Peter
Makielski; Fourth Ward, Joseph E. Robert
and J. F. Weiss; Fifth Ward, Joseph E. Wil
liams and Thomas A. Kerr.
1890. — William H. Longley, Mayor; Cor
nelius Hunt, Clerk; John Wagener, Treas
urer; Lewis T. Stover, Marshal; T. E. How
ard, City Attorney; William M. Whitten,
Civil Engineer; A. Defrees, Street Commis
sioner; Jonathan Mathews, Water Works
Trustee. Councilmen — First Ward, A. S.
Ginz and Henry F. Elbel; Second Ward,
Chris. Fassnacht and Hanford T. Roberts;
Third Ward, Alex. Rex and Jeremiah Hager
ty; Fourth Ward, J. F. Weiss and John Tag-
gart; Fifth Ward, Thomas A. Kerr and
George Kerner ; Sixth Ward, Peter Makielski
and Chas. V. Korpal ; Seventh Ward, Joseph
E. Robert and M. J. Roach.
1891.— William H. Longley, Mayor; Cor
nelius Hunt, Clerk; John Wagener, Treas
urer; Lewis T. Stover, Marshal; T. E. How
ard, City Attorney; William M. Whitten,
Civil Engineer; A. Defrees, Street Commis
sioner; S. L. Brubaker, R. L. Braunsdorf,
Charles Pavey, Water Works Trustees.
Councilmen — First Ward, A. S. Ginz and
Henry F. Elbel; Second Ward, M. J. Wor
rell and Hanford T. Roberts ; Third Ward,
Jeremiah Hagerty and Fred Schafer ; Fourth
Ward, John F. Weiss and John Taggart; ,
Fifth Ward, Thomas A. Kerr and George
Kerner; Sixth Ward, Valentine Duszynski
and Chas. V. Korpal; Seventh Ward, M. J.
Roach and Joseph E. Robert.
1892. — David R. Leeper, Mayor; Louis A.
Hull, Clerk; Will A. Rutherford, Treasurer;
Benjamin H. Rose, Marshal ; 0. M. Cunning

ham, City Attorney; William M. Whitten,
Civil Engineer; A. Defrees, Street Commis
sioner; Chas. M. Collins, Chas. W. Clapp,
Chas. Brehmer, Water Works Trustees.
Councilmen — First Ward, J. B. Haberle and
A. S. Ginz; Second Ward, James H. Roberts
and M. J. Worrell; Third Ward, Fred Scha
fer and Jeremiah Hagerty; Fourth Ward,
Addison McNabb and J. Ed. Skillman ; Fifth
Ward, Chris. Sieg and Thomas A. Kerr ; Sixth
Ward, Frank Gorisiorowski and V. Duszyn
ski ; Seventh Ward, S. C. Schmidt and M. J.
Roach. 1893.— David R. Leeper, Mayor; Louis A.
Hull, Clerk; Will A. Rutherford, Treasurer;
Benjamin H. Rose, Marshal; Joseph G. Orr,
City Attorney; William M. Whitten, Civil
Engineer; A. Defrees, Street Commissioner;
Chas. M. Collins, Chas. W. Clapp, Chas. Breh
mer, Water Works Trustees. Councilmen —
First Ward, J. B. Haberle and A. S. Ginz;
Second Ward, James H. Roberts and W. B.
Russell; Third Ward, Fred Schafer and
Jeremiah Hagerty; Fourth Ward, Addison
McNabb and J. Ed. Skillman; Fifth Ward,
Chris. Sieg and Thomas A. Kerr; Sixth
Ward, Frank Gonsiorowski and Anton Bilin-
ski ; Seventh Ward, S. C. Schmidt and M. J.
Roach. 1894.— David B. J. Schafer, Mayor; Louis
A. Hull, Clerk; Will A. Rutherford, Treas
urer; Wilbert Ward, City Attorney; Dr. C.
Stoltz, Health Officer; William M. Whitten,
Civil Engineer; John Yant, Street Commis
sioner; Otto M. Knoblock, Chas. M.. Collins,
Chas. W. Clapp, Water Works Trustees.
Councilmen — First Ward, Isaiah H. Unruh
and J. B. Haberle; Second Ward, Marcus W.
Doolittle and James H. Roberts ; Third Ward,
Peter B. Johnson and Fred Schafer; Fourth
Ward, J. Ed. Skillman and Addison McNabb ;
Fifth Ward, Albert G. Harlin and Chris.
Sieg ; Sixth Ward, Anton Bilinski and Frank
Gonsiorowski; Seventh Ward, Patrick A.
Joyce and S. C. Schmidt.
1895. — D. B. J. Schafer, Mayor; Louis A.
Hull, City Clerk; Wm. A. Rutherford; Treas-

364

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

urer; Wilbert Ward, City Attorney; Dr. C.
Stoltz, Health Officer; Wm. M. Whitten, City
Engineer; John Yant, Street Commissioner;
Otto M. Knoblock, Chas. M. Collins, Chas. W.
Clapp, Water Works Trustees. Councilmen
—First Ward, J. B. Haberle and I. H. Un-
ruh ; Second Ward, J. H. Roberts and F. W.
Doolittle ; Third Ward, Fred Schafer and P.
B. Johnson; Fourth Ward, A. McNabb and
J. Ed. Skillman ; Fifth Ward, Chris. Sieg and
A. G. Harlin; Sixth Ward, Anton Bilinski
and F. Gonsiorowski; Seventh Ward, S. C.
Schmidt and Patrick Joyce.
1896.— D. B. J. Schafer, Mayor; Louis A.
Hull, City Clerk ; Wm. A. Rutherford,. Treas
urer; Wilbert Ward, City Attorney; Dr. C.
Stoltz, Health Officer; Wm. M. Whitten, City
Engineer; John Yant, Street Commissioner;
John T. Kelleyj Samuel C. Lontz, Wesley
Hill, Water Works Trustees. Councilmen —
First Ward, Sorden Lister and Isaiah H. Un-
ruh; Second Ward, Thomas V. Evans and
Marcus W. Doolittle; Third Ward, Henry
Hartzer and Peter B. Johnson ; Fourth Ward,
Patrick Joyce and J. Edward Skillman ; Fifth
Ward, Henry C. Morgan and Albert G. Har
lin ; Sixth Ward, Martin Zielinski and Anton
Bilinski; Seventh Ward, John W. Fites and
William Kingsley.
1897.— D. B. J. Schafer, Mayor; Louis A.
Hull, City Clerk ; Wm. A. Rutherford, Treas
urer; Wilbert Ward, City Attorney; Dr. C.
Stoltz, Health Officer ; Wm. H. Rosencrans,
City Engineer; John Yant, Street Commis
sioner; S. W. Hill, John T. Kelley, F. V.
Krzeszewski, Water Works Trustees. Coun
cilmen — First Ward, Sorden Lister and Isaiah
H. Unruh; Second Ward, Thomas V. Evans
and Marcus W. Doolittle ; Third Ward, Henry
Hartzer and Peter B. Johnson ; Fourth Ward,
Patrick Joyce and J. Edward Skillman;
Fifth Ward, Henry C. Morgan and Albert G.
Harlin; Sixth Ward, Martin Zielinski and
Anton Bilinski ; Seventh Ward, John W. Fites
and William Kingsley.
1898. — Schuyler Colfax, Mayor; Louis A.
Hull, City Clerk ; Wm. A. Rutherford, Treas

urer; 0. M. Cunningham, City Attorney;
Wm. H. Rosencrans, City Engineer ; John P.
Butler, Street Commissioner ; John T. Kelley
John F. Irvin, F. V. Krzeszewski, Water
Works Trustees; Schuyler Colfax, J. C. Sto
ver, Dr. H. A. Fink, Board of Health. Coun
cilmen — First Ward, Sorden Lister and John
Beyrer ; Second Ward, Thomas V. Evans and
George A. Knoblock; Third Ward, Henry
Hartzer and Frank Essex; Fourth Ward,
William Schermann and P. A. Joyce; Fifth
Ward, Henry C. Morgan and James N.
Thumm; Sixth Ward, Martin Zielinski and
Peter Koczorowski; Seventh Ward, J. W.
Fites and W. H. Kingsley.
1899. — Schuyler Colfax, Mayor; Louis A.
Hull, City Clerk ; Wm. A. Rutherford, Treas
urer; 0. M. Cunningham, City Attorney;
Wm. H. Rosencrans, City Engineer; John
P. Butler, Street Commissioner; F. V.
Krzeszewski, John F. Irvin, William Tur-
nock, Water Works Trustees; Schuyler Col
fax, J. C. Stover, Dr. H. A. Fink, Board of
Health. Councilmen — First Ward, Sorden
Lister and John Beyrer; Second Ward,
Thomas V. Evans and George A. Knoblock;
Third Ward, Henry Hartzer and Frank Es
sex; Fourth Ward, William Schermann and
P. A. Joyce; Fifth Ward, Henry C. Morgan
and James N. Thumm; Sixth Ward, Martin
Zielinski and Peter Koczorowski; Seventh
Ward, J. W. Fites and W. H. Kingsley.
1900. — Schuyler Colfax, Mayor; Louis A.
Hull, City Clerk; Wm. A. Rutherford, Treas
urer; 0. M. Cunningham, City Attorney;
John F. Meighan, City Engineer; John P.
Butler, Street Commissioner ; Dr. H. A. Fink,
Health Officer; John F. Irvin, William Tur-
nock, Marshel Hughes, Water Works Trus
tees. Councilmen — First Ward, John Beyrer
and Henry F. Elbel; Second Ward, George
A. Knoblock and Hugh T. Montgomery; Third
Ward, Frank Essex and J. Henry Hartzer;
Fourth Ward, P. A. Joyce and Gustav A.
Stueckle ; Fifth Ward, James N. Thumm and
James H. Loughman; Sixth Ward, Peter

.*J1& adi

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

365

Koczorowski and Leo M. Kucharski; Seventh
Ward, W. H. Kingsley and M. .J. Somers.
1901. — Schuyler Colfax, Mayor; Louis A.
Hull, City Clerk; Wm. A. Rutherford, Treas
urer; E. P. Stanfield, Comptroller; Wilbert
Ward, City Attorney; Alonzo J. Hammond,
City Engineer; John G. Barker, Park Super
intendent; J. W. Fites, Street Commissioner;
Charles M. Butterworth, M. D., Health Com
missioner; Arthur L. Hubbard, Samuel Lee
per, Charles L. Goetz, Board of Public
Works; R. Orchard Cotton, George W. Fea-
ser, Andrew J. Ward, Board of Public
Safety; Peter Kline, Superintendent of
Police; Irving W. Sibrel, Chief of Fire De
partment; A. G. Bailey, Sealer of Weights
and Measures ; William L. Benitz, City Elec
trician. Councilmen — First Ward, John
Beyrer and Henry F. Elbel; Second Ward,
George A. Knoblock and H. T. Montgomery;
Third Ward, Frank Essex and J. Henry
Hartzer; Fourth Ward, P. A. Joyce. and Gus
tav A. Stueckle; Fifth Ward, James N.
Thumm and James H. Loughman; Sixth
Ward, Peter Koczorowski and Leo M. Kuchar
ski; Seventh Ward, W. H. Kingsley and M. J.
Somers. 1902.— Edward J. Fogarty, Mayor ; Nelson
H. Kyser, City Clerk; George G. Feldman,
Judge City Court. Councilmen — First Ward,
Henry F. Elbel; Second Ward, Dr. H. T.
Montgomery; Third Ward, J. Henry Hart
zer; Fourth Ward, Gustav A. Stueckle ; Fifth
Ward, James H. Loughman; Sixth Ward,
Leo M. Kucharski ; Seventh Ward, Mitchell
J. Somers; John C. Schreyer, George N.
Whiteman, Peter Koczorowski, At Large.
Department of Finance — Fred W. Martin,
City Comptroller; George J. Martin, Deputy
City Comptroller.
Department of Law— Benjamin F. Shively,
City Attorney.
Department of Public Works— William A.
Mclnerny, President; John W. Papczynski,
Edwin Nicar, Nelson H. Kyser, Clerk ; Har
vey F. Rostiser, Deputy Clerk.

Water Works — George W. Shock, Superin
tendent. Engineering — Alonzo J. Hammond, City
Engineer. Streets and Alleys — John P. Butler, Street
Commissioner. Parks — John G. Barker, Superintendent.
Cemetery — James D. Gillis, Sexton.
Department of Health and Charities — Dr.
D. W. McNamara, Commissioner.
Plumbing Inspector — Fred P. Futter.
Department of Public Safety — Robert
Codd, President; J. T. Niezgodzki, H. A.
Lundy. Police Department — James McWeeny, Su
perintendent. Fire Department — Wilfrid Grant, Chief.
Weights and Measures — John T. Willett,
Sealer. Electrician — William E. Williams.
1903. — Edward J. Fogarty, Mayor; Nelson
H. Kyser, City Clerk; George G. Feldman,
Judge City Court. Councilmen — First Ward,
Henry F. Elbel; Second Ward, Dr. H. T.
Montgomery; Third Ward," J. Henry Hartz
er ; Fourth Ward, Gustav A. Stueckle ; Fifth
Ward, James H. Loughman; Sixth Ward,
Leo M. Kucharski; Seventh Ward, Mitchell
J. Somers; John C. Schreyer, George N.
Whiteman, Peter Koczorowski, At Large.
Department of Finance — Fred W. Martin,
City Comptroller; George J. Martin, Deputy
City Comptroller.
Department of Law — Frank H. Dunnahoo,
City Attorney.
Department of Public Works — William A.
Mclnerny, President; John W. Papczynski,
Edwin Nicar, Nelson H. Kyser, Clerk; Har
vey F. Rostiser, Deputy Clerk.
Water Works — George W. Shock, Superin
tendent. Engineering — Alonzo J. Hammond, City
Engineer. Streets and Alleys— John P. Butler, Street
Commissioner. Parks— John G. Barker, Superintendent.
Cemetery — James D. Gillis, Sexton.

366

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Department of Health and Charities — Dr.
D. W. McNamara, Commissioner.
Plumbing Inspector — Fred P. Futter.
Department of Public Safety — Robert
Codd, President; J. T. Niezgodzki, H. A.
Lundy. Police Department — James McWeeny, Su
perintendent. Fire Department — Wilfrid Grant, Chief.
Weights and Measures — John T. Willett,
Sealer. Electrician — William E. Williams.
1904. — Edward J. Fogarty, Mayor; Nelson
H. Kyser, City Clerk; George G. Feldman,
Judge City Court. Councilmen — First Ward,
Albert P. Sibley; Second Ward, Marion S.
Gorski; Third Ward, Albert Bernhard;
Fourth Ward, Gustav A. Stueckle; Fifth
Ward, Charles G. Folsom ; Sixth Ward, Peter
Koczorowski; Seventh Ward, Charles E.
Maurer; George N. Whiteman, Jacob E.
Kuntz, Casimir Woltman, At Large.
Department of Finance— Fred W. Martin,
City Comptroller; George J. Martin, Deputy
City Comptroller.'
Department of Law — Frank H. Dunnahoo,
City Attorney.
Department of Public Works — William A.
Mclnerny, President; John W. Papczynski,
Edwin Nicar, Nelson H. Kyser, Clerk; Har
vey F. Rostiser, Deputy Clerk.
Water Works — Fred Schafer,. Superintend
ent. Engineering — Alonzo J. Hammond, City
Engineer. Streets and Alleys — John P. Butler, Street
Commissioner. Parks — Herman H. Beyer, Superintendent.
Cemetery — James D. Gillis, Sexton.
Department of Health and Charities — Dr.
D. W. McNamara, Commissioner.
Plumbing Inspector — Fred P. Futter.
Department of Public Safety — Robert
Codd, President; J. T. Niezgodski, H. A.
Lundy. Police Department — James McWeeny, Su
perintendent.

Fire Department — Wilfrid Grant, Chief.
Weights and Measures — John T. Willett
Sealer. Electrician — William E. Williams.
For the years 1905, 1906 and 1907, the
officers were the same as for 1904, with the
following exceptions : Councilmen— First
Ward, Frank Rogers; Second Ward, Frank
S. Hosinski; Seventh Ward, Herman Lang;
Second, at large, John A. Hans; Third, at
large, Adam Zell. By the Municipal Code of
1905 the name of the office of Comptroller
was changed to Controller.
Sec. 2. — Growth. — Wards. — Population.
— -When the city of South Bend was organ
ized, in 1865, it was divided into three wards,
and these continued unchanged for two. years.
In 1867, Lowell, an unincorporated town on
the east side of the St. Joseph river, was an
nexed to the city and designated as the Fourth
Ward. Although additions continued to be
made to the city from time to time, yet there
was no further change in the wards until
1874, when a large extent of territory having
been taken in, on the south and east sides of
the city, the Fifth Ward was created. In
1890, there was a rearrangement of the wards,
by reason of unequal growth in different sec
tions; and the city was then divided into
seven wards, by dividing the fourth into two
wards, the Fourth and the Seventh, and creat
ing the Sixth Ward in the southwest part of
the city. In 1892, the incorporated town of
Myler, lying south of and adjoining South
Bend, was united to the city, by the votes of
a majority of those voting on the subject, in
the city and the town, at an election held in
both corporations on May the third of that
year. There was some litigation resulting
from the act of union, but the supreme court
held that the union had taken place according
to law.° The territory of Myler was attached
to the existing wards of the city, without in
creasing their number. In 1896, the wards
were once more rearranged, but not increased
a. See the City of South Bend against Lewis,
138 Ind. 512.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

367

in number. The east side of the river was
again made one ward; while the old town of
Myler, together with other territory on the
south side of the city, was made the Seventh
Ward. There has been no further change,
except as the wards have been added to from
time to time, by annexation of adjacent terri
tory to the city. Up to the time of the adop
tion of the Special Charter of 1901, the wards
of the city of South Bend, like those of all
other cities of the state, were represented by
two councilmen each, one elected every other
year; but since the adoption of the charter,
and also under the present Municipal Code,
each ward has been represented by one coun
cilman only, while three additional council-
men have been elected by the city at large.
The purpose of this change was, undoubtedly,
to diminish the importance and power of the
wards, as separate divisions of the city ; while
the election of three councilmen at large
would secure an elevation in the character of
the council, give the city, as a whole, direct
representation in the legislative body, and
would, almost certainly, result in the election
of a majority of the council who should be in
sympathy with the views of the mayor and
other executive officers of the government.
Effectiveness and harmony of action have
thus been given to the city government ; while
personal responsibility has been placed upon
the single councilman from each ward, as well
as upon the mayor and the heads of the sev
eral executive departments.
Not only since the organization of the city,
but even from the original platting of the
town, and the first organization of the town
government, South Bend has grown steadily,
in business, in civic development and in popu
lation. This growth has never been spas
modic, advancing one year and declining
another. There never was a boom in business
or population; but always, through good re
port and evil report, through panic and pros
perity, an even, steady, irresistible advance,
like the quiet flow of a noble river. The pop
ulation of South Bend, as taken at the dif

ferent periods of the history of the town and
city, is a good indication of this steady
growth. In 1831, when the original plat was record
ed, and the county seat was located at the
new town, the population was 128 ; in 1840, it
had increased to 728; in 1850, it was 1,652;
in 1860, 3,833 ; in 1870, 7,206 ; in 1880, 13,392 ;
in 1890, 21,819 ; and in 1900, 35,999. No esti
mate has placed the population in 1907 at
less than 50,000; and the people have confi
dence that the census of 1910 will show the
good city at the south bend of the St. Joseph
to have more than 60;000 inhabitants. "At
this point is a beautiful site for a town."
Sec. 3. — The Special Charter. — By an
act approved March 8, 1901,° South Bend was
given a special charter, based upon the act .of
March 6, 1891,6 granting a special charter to
the city of Indianapolis. These charters em
bodied the principles of what has been called
modern city government. The chief purpose
was to separate the powers of government into
the three departments, — legislative, adminis
trative and judicial,— after the plan adopted
in the constitution of the United States and
the several state constitutions.
The legislative, or law making, department
was the common council; the administrative
functions were confided to the mayor and the
several officers and boards to be appointed
by him; while the judicial department was
placed in a court presided over by a city
judge. The principal advantage of this form of
city government was to secure greater unity
and independence in the government, and also
greater responsibility and efficiency on the
part of city officers. Under former laws the
common council not only passed ordinances
but practically controlled all departments of
the city government. Such a system had
proved sufficient for the wants of a primitive
form of town and city government, when the
population was small and it was easy for each
a. Acts, 1901, p. 198.
6. Acts, 1891, p. 137.

368

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

officer to be acquainted with all the wants of
the community. By degrees, however, various
private and local interests began to have un
due influence upon the members of the com
mon council; -and as the membership was
numerous, and each one particularly inter
ested in his own ward, the responsibility to
the city at large could not easily be fixed. In
the new form the council was confined to its
proper functions, — the making of laws and
ordinances; the responsibility of enforcing
these laws and ordinances, as well as the
general laws of the state, was placed in charge
of the mayor and his appointees, while pun
ishment for the violation of the laws and
ordinances was entrusted to the city court,
instead of, as formerly, to the mayor and his
court. The new system gave entire satisfac
tion to the people of South Bend, as it did
to the people of the other cities of the state
where it was adopted.
Sec. 4.- — The Municipal Code. — So great
an improvement were the special charters over
the old municipal laws, that there came to be
a desire on the part of the people of all the
cities of the state to have a revised municipal
code, according to which every city should
have the benefit of the so-called charter form
of government, so far as the system could be
applied to each, making due allowance for dif
ference of population and other conditions.
By means of a common code it was desired
also, so far as possible, to do away with a
vicious habit which had grown up of securing
from the legislature the enactment of a multi
tude of special and local laws for the different
cities, in plain violation of the spirit of the
state constitution, though not perhaps of its
letter. Accordingly, by an act approved March 9,
1903,° the legislature created a codification
commission, to consist of the secretary of state
and two other persons to be appointed by the
governor, whose duty it should be to prepare
for the action of the succeeding legislature a
bill for. a "compilation, revision and codifica-
a. Acts, 1903, p. 391.

tion of the statute laws of the state of Indi
ana, concerning public, private and other cor
porations, " as well as concerning other sub
jects named in the act, if the commission
should have time or deem it proper.
The most important "compilation, revision
and codification" of the statutes concerning
"public corporations" which suggested itself
to the mind of this commission had relation
to the chaotic condition of the laws for the
government of the towns and cities of the
state. The preparation of a municipal code
was therefore begun very early in the time
given the commission for its work ; and at the
opening of the legislative session for 1905, "A
Bill for An Act Concerning Municipal Corpo
rations, ' ' as prepared by the commission, was
laid before the general assembly. By an act
approved March 6, 1905,° this bill, with many
modifications, some of them undoubtedly bene
ficial, and others, it is believed, injurious,
finally became a law, placing all the towns
and cities of the state, 'as classified, for the
first time under a uniform code of laws.
Besides the towns, for which the simplest
form of government is provided, there are
five classes of cities. The cities of the fifth
class, those under ten thousand population,
according to the last United States census, of
which class Mishawaka is one, are governed
with as few officers and at as moderate ex
pense as consistent with efficient government.
Indianapolis is the only city of the first class,
and in that class the system is most complete.
Evansville and Fort Wayne are the only cities
of the second class. South Bend and Terre
Haute are the principal cities of the third class.
As a city of the third class, under the code.
the system of government does not greatly dif
fer from that under the special charter.
Under the charter, and still more so under
the municipal code, South Bend enjoys per
haps the best form of government that a
city with its population and attendant condi
tions could have. Under the code, we have
good government; public improvements are
a. Acts, 1905, pp. 219-410.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

369

advanced, and our town has become indeed
a city beautiful. IV. CITY IMPROVEMENTS.
Many of the most important improvements
of the city have already been noted in treating
of the public improvements of the county;"
among these, the mill dam and mill races on
the St. Joseph, the bridges over the river, the
railroads, street and interurban railways, the
electric plant and the telegraph and telephone
lines. Other public improvements will now
be referred to :
Sec. 1. — Streets and Sidewalks. — The first
systematic grades of the streets of South
Bend were established on surveys made in
1865, by Rufus Rose, city engineer. The
grades so established are usually referred to
as the "Rose Grade." The street improve
ments were at first a simple working or grad
ing of the streets to the grade so established.
Afterwards, the streets were graveled, there
being an abundance of good road gravel easy
of access just northwest of the city.6 The
next improvement made was to pave the gut
ters on each side of the roadway with cobble
stones, the stones being from three to seven
inches in diameter. These cobble stones were
also used in paving the alley crossings on the
sidewalks; the remainder of the sidewalks
being at first paved with boards or planks, and
afterwards with brick. The work to this
point may be called primitive street improve
ment. The manner of doing this primitive work is
well illustrated by the following ordinance
for paving the sidewalk on the north side of
Washington street, along what is now the
south front of the Oliver hotel :
Section 1. Be it ordained by the common
council of the city of South Bend, That the
sidewalk on the north side of Washington
street, between Main street and the first alley
west, be graded to the grade established by
the city engineer, and that the same be paved
with brick fourteen feet wide.
a. See Chap. 7, Subds. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
6. See Chap. 1, Subd. 7.
24

"Sec. 2. — Unless said sidewalk is graded
and paved by each land owner in front of his
property by the tenth day of November, 1866,
the street commissioner will immediately ad
vertise the work to be done by the best bidder
by the twenty-fifth day of November, and the
cost thereof will be assessed upon the property
in front of which the grading and paving is
done, to be collected according to law.
"Passed October 15, 1866.
"W. G. George, Mayor.
"John Hagerty, City Clerk."
The first steps towards the paving of the
streets were taken in 1865, the year in. which
the city was incorporated. On December 5,
1865, an ordinance was passed by the common
council for the paving with cobble stone of
a part of Michigan street and a part of Wash
ington street. Section four of this ordinance
reads as follows:
"Sec. 4. That Michigan street, from Mar
ket street* to the south side of Washington
street, and Washington street to the west side
of Main street, shall be graded as provided in
the first and second sections of this ordinance,6
and paved with small boulder stone of not
less than three nor more than five inches in
diameter. The center of the street when
paved to be one inch below the top of the
curbstone. The gutter at the bottom, to be
one foot below the center of the street, and
the street to have a regular curve from the
bottom of one gutter over to the other. The
gutters to be shaped according to the direc
tion of the street commissioner. ' '
This cobble stone pavement was but little,
if indeed it was any, improvement over the
graveled street ; but the people endured it for
over twenty years. They endured the cobble
stone gutters and alley crossings for even a
longer time.
In 1888, a new departure was taken. The
people determined to try cedar block pave
ment. On April 9, 1888, the cobble stone laid
down on Michigan and Washington streets
a. Now La Salle Avenue.
6. That is, according to the Rose grade.

370

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

was ordered replaced with cedar blocks. This
pavement won many encomiums for two or
three years; but, in the end, it proved even
rougher than the cobble stone.
In 1889, a further advance was made. On
July 22, 1889, an experiment in brick pave
ment was determined upon. Jefferson street,
from Michigan to Lafayette, was ordered
paved with "two courses of hard burned
brick. ' ' This was the first modern pavement
laid on the streets of South Bend. William
M. Whitten, then the efficient city engineer,
drew up the specifications with great care.
The block from Main to Lafayette was an ex
cellent pavement. The brick for the experi
ment was ordinary building brick, made in
the Leeper brick yard in South Bend. ' This
brick pavement was laid down by Martin
Hoban, contractor, and remained in good con
dition until its removal in 1907.
By an act approved March 8, 1889,a the leg
islature provided for the payment of the cost
of street and sewer improvements in install
ments of ten per cent a year for ten years.
This act, known as the Barrett law, is one
of the excellent series of laws enacted by the
reform legislatures of 1889 and 1891. The law
has proved a boon to the cities and towns oi
Indiana. It came just in time for South
Bend. The brick pavement on Jefferson street
was so decided a success that the only ques
tion left for consideration was the matter of
payment for the work. The city was then
up to the contitutional two per cent limit of
indebtedness, and the treasury could not be
resorted to in order to lighten the burden of
the property owner. But by making the pay
ments in ten annual installments, as was done
by the Barrett law, the problem was solved.
Street and sidewalk pavements, as well as
sewers, were at once projected in every busi
ness and populous residence section of the
city. In 1898, an asphalt pavement was laid
down on Washington street, and two years
afterwards one was laid on Lafayette street,
a. Acts, 1889, pp. 237-246.

and since that time on several other streets.
It was said at the time, and has since proved
to be true, that the asphalt on Washington
street was too dry, had too large a proportion
of gravel, and that it would soon "grind out"
in spots by the action of the wheels of vehicles
passing over it. The complaint on the part
of the people on Lafayette street, on the con
trary, was that the pavement was too soft,
that the wheels would sink into it in warm
weather. The Lafayette pavement has grown
harder and better with years; but that on
Washington street has "ground out" in num
erous places, as predicted.
Street paving has gone on in South Bend
since 1889, until at the end of the year 1906
there were forty-two miles of pavement. Of
this, about thirty-six and a half miles are of
brick. The chief part of the remainder is of
asphalt ; there being a little creosote block and
other experimental pavemerits.
Originally the sidewalks, like the roadways
of the streets, were principally of gravel; but
plank and boards were also used, and in time
brick also. Early in the eighties, the common
council prohibited the putting down of any
more wooden sidewalks ; for the reason that so
many accidents had occurred from rotten and
broken planks that there were almost constant
suits for damages against the city. As early
as 1867, John R. Foster laid a cement side
walk on the north side of West Washington
street at the corner of North Taylor street.
This cement sidewalk is still in good condition,
notwithstand its age. Soon afterwards cement
walks began to come into general use;
although for a. while there was trouble with
persons who claimed to have patents on the
proper mixing of the cement. This was but a
temporary check, and it was not long until
the cement sidewalk was a favorite all over
the city. Brick, however, continued to be used
for walks until 1907, when its further use for
this purpose was forbidden, for reasons simi
lar to those which had caused the disuse of
plank sidewalks.
Sec. 2.— Sewers.— The first sewer in South

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

371

Bend was constructed in 1861, long before the
incorporation of the city. After several pre
liminary steps were taken, the board of town
trustees, on December 24, 1860, entered into
contract with William Mack to construct a cir
cular brick sewer on Washington street, four
feet in diameter and twelve hundred feet long,
extending from the west line of Lafayette
street to the river. It was to be finished by
May 1, 1862, the cost to be twelve hundred
and forty-three dollars. But one fault has
been found with this first and most noted of
our sewers. The sewer was not laid low
enough. It was provided that, at the com
mencement of the work, at Lafayette street,
the bottom of the sewer, on the inside, should
be eight feet and a half below the street grade,
and should fall at the rate of three inches to
each one hundred feet to the east line of Mich
igan street, after which the rate of fall should
be as required by the board of town trustees.
This depth proved quite insufficient to drain
the basements of business houses afterwards
constructed along Washington street; and it
was necessary to correct the defect by the con
struction of other sewers.
Under the city government all the principal
streets have been supplied with sewers, and
others are being constructed every year, and
paid for by property assessments under the
Barrett law. At the close of the year 1906,
there were fifty-four miles of sewers in the
city of South Bend.
One of the sewers of the city has a peculiar
history. On October 8, 1875, the city pro
vided for the construction of what has been
called the Lafayette street sewer. This was
built, primarily, for the accommodation of
the South Bend Iron Works, now known as
the Oliver Chilled Plow Works, which
had then been recently located in the south
west part of the city, on the Kankakee side
of the "divide." The sewer was paid for out
of the city treasury; but the owners of lots
along Ford, Scott, Railroad, South and Lafay
ette streets, fronting on the sewer, were allow
ed to tap the same by paying into the city

treasury sixty-two and one-half cents per
front foot.
Sec. 3. — Water Works. — In Turner's
South Bend Directory for 1871-2, is the fol
lowing, entitled, "Water — Fire":
"A company has recently been formed for
the purpose of erecting Holly Water Works
and furnishing the city with pure water from
the St. Joseph river. Action has, however,
been deferred for the year 1871, it being con
sidered too late in the season to commence
operations. Another year will, doubtless, see
this important work completed. A good sys
tem of water works would be highly advanta
geous to South Bend, although we have at
present an abundance of most excellent water
for domestic use, furnished by wells; while
thirty public cisterns, entirely self -supplying,
are distributed throughout the city for fire
purposes. These cisterns are six feet in
diameter, with a minimum depth of six feet
of water. No steam fire engine can make any
perceptible diminution in the depth. These
cisterns form an extraordinary means of pro
tection against fires, and, in connection with
a well organized and efficient fire department,
serve greatly to reduce the premium on insur
ance. We have one first-class steam fire
engine, which will soon be duplicated. Few
cities have so good protection against the
ravages of fire as South Bend, and few
during the past five years, have suffered so
little." The foregoing paragraph by Judge Turner
shows the condition of the city in regard to
the subject of water works at the close of the
year 1871. The people were becoming restless
on the question of adequate fire protection.
The actual means then provided for this pur
pose are disclosed in the statement quoted;
while the proposed action to form a Holly
Water Works Company shows that the situa
tion was not altogether satisfactory. The
Holly system had very earnest advocates. In
deed, the majority of the common council was
at first in favor of the Holly system, to such
an extent that a contract was entered into for

372

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the erection of Holly Water Works. This
system provided for pumping water directly
from the river into the mains and water pipes,
as it should be required. Two other systems
were talked of, the Reservoir and the Stand
Pipe systems. It was practically agreed by all
parties that the reservoir system, that is, the
drawing of water by pipes from a large body
of water located on a height above the city,
would be most desirable, provided we had such
a high location, and the water upon it ; but we
had neither. The stand pipe advocates said
that next in excellence to the reservoir came
the stand pipe, or water tower, as Professor
Wilcox preferred to call it; that when the
stand pipe was pumped full of water the pres
sure on the water mains throughout the city
would be of that equable and uniform charac
ter which marked the reservoir system. The
Holly advocates replied that if it were neces
sary to pump water into the stand pipe, why
not pump it directly into the mains? The
answer to this was that an equable pressure
was preferable, besides the stand pipe would
be ready at the instant, while the Holly en
gines might not be in order to do their work
at the moment of danger. And so the argu
ment raged for two years.
The leader of the Holly advocates was
William H. Beach, one of the proprietors of
the first paper mill established in South Bend.
The leader for the stand pipe party was Leigh-
ton Pine, the superintendent of the Singer
Sewing Machine factory, then recently located
in this city. Mr. Pine was one of the most
able, enterprising and public spirited citizens
that ever resided in South Bend. The war
between him and Mr. Beach, for it was a war
without quarter given or taken, was carried
on in the newspapers, on street corners, on
the stages of the theaters, in meetings of citi
zens, and in every other way in which public
opinion could be influenced. Great meetings
were held in the court house. In one of these
Mr. Pine had a small stand pipe erected upon
the rostrum, with a faucet at the bottom-
and when the little stand pipe was filled

with water, and the faucet turned to rep
resent the tapping of a water main for
the fire hose, Mr. Pine's triumph was com
plete. The little jet of water flew up half
way the height of the stand pipe; and the
people left the court room shouting for the
stand pipe party. As may be imagined, politi
cal parties were rent asunder. The elections
were on the lines of Holly and stand pipe. The
stand pipe won by a tremedoos majority ; and,
in 1872, William Miller was elected mayor,
and a majority of the common council were
with him in favor of Mr. Pine 's plan.

HON. WILLIAM MILLER.
The new city government, backed by the
great body of the people, were not only in
favor of the stand pipe, but also in favor of
municipal ownership. They were resolved
that the city should build, own and operate
its own water works. It was an era of con
flagrations, and the minds of the people were
wrought up to a keen anxiety for protection
against the dreaded danger. The Chicago
fire, the greatest in history, with its loss of
two hundred millions of dollars, had occurred
on October 8 and 9, 1871. The Mishawaka

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

373

fire," with its loss of two hundred thousand
dollars, as great as that of Chicago, in propor
tion to wealth and population, took place on
September 5, 1872, in the very heat of the
South Bend agitation. And, soon after, on
November 9, 1872, Boston had its eighty mil
lion dollar fire.
The city authorities, however, were not
hasty in action ; and it was not until the sum
mer of 1873 that the first steps were taken.
On July 7, 1873, a carefully prepared ordin
ance on the subject passed the common coun
cil. The ordinance contained the following
provision :
That "William Miller (mayor), Joseph
Worden, Peter Weber, Alexander Staples and
S. R. King be and they are hereby constituted
a committee on behalf of the city of South
Bend, and as such are hereby authorized and
empowered to enter into a contract on behalf
of the city with suitable and responsible party
or parties for the erection and construction
for said city of a suitable and sufficient sys
tem of water works, of what is called the stand
pipe system, and as proposed and planned
by John Birkinbine; for the purpose of
furnishing said city with a sufficient supply of
water for fire purposes and fire protection."
This was followed up, on July 9, 1873, by
an ordinance for the issue of water works
bonds for one hundred thousand dollars. On
October 6, 1874, the issue so authorized was
supplemented with an additional amount for
sixty-five thousand dollars. The great work
was under way. The specifications, as re
ported by John Birkinbine, the very compe
tent engineer, provided for a wrought iron
pipe five feet in diameter and. two hundred
feet high. For the first twenty-one feet, the
plates were to be of seven-sixteenth inch iron ;
for the next twenty-seven feet, of three-eighth
inch; for the next thirty-six feet, five-sixteenth
inch; for the next forty-eight feet, one-fourth
mch; and for the last sixty-eight feet, three-
sixteenth inch. The weight ol the plates was
forty-two thousand pounds. The castings for
a. See Chap. 10, Subd. 3.

the support of the pipe, themselves resting
upon concrete foundations, weighed twelve
thousand one hundred and eighty pounds.
The wrought iron bolts used to put the plates
together weighed two hundred and fifty
pounds. On July 29, 1873, the committee de
termined to erect the stand pipe at the cross
ing of "Pearl, Jefferson and Carroll
streets." The actual location was ultimately
fixed on the north side of Pearl,a not far from
the intersection of the first alley west of
Carroll street, nearly opposite the site of the
fort erected in the Black Hawk war, in 1832,
where the pipe now stands. The excavation
was thirty feet square and fourteen feet below
the grade of the street, and was filled with
stone imbedded in cement and afterwards
grouted, so that the whole formed one solid
mass of stone. The specifications further pro
vided for an enclosure of brick, two and a
quarter feet from the pipe and rising to a
height of one hundred and ninety-five feet
from the street. Between the pipe and the
protecting wall was a winding stairway of
two hundred and ninety steps to the top. A
pointed roof over all was to reach a distance
of two hundred and twenty-one feet.
Separate contracts were let for the several
parts of the work, all under supervision of
John Birkinbine. The greatest anxiety was
as to the lifting of the stand pipe into posi
tion after the plates should be riveted and
water tight. This most responsible task was
confided to Alexander Staples, then one of the
common council and a member of the commit
tee in charge of the water works; and well
did he perform the task assigned him. It was
determined to raise the great pipe as one piece,
rather than in sections, which had been at
one time contemplated. In September he be
gan to get his huge gin poles and other neces
sary apparatus in readiness. On November
11, 1873, the council appointed as special
peace officers, George V. Glover, Noah Hug-
gins, William Overaeker, Ananias Forst and
0. C. Perry, who were directed to obey strictly
a. Now Vistula Avenue.

374

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the orders of John Birkinbine and Alexander
Staples, during the momentous and exceed
ingly dangerous work of raising the stand
pipe. This precaution was timely, both for
the protection of the people who should be
gathered at the time and also for that of
the great pipe itself. The undertaking of
lifting this mass of iron from the ground to
a perpendicular was the greatest engineering
feat ever attempted in this part of the coun
try. A like attempt at Toledo resulted in
the falling and breaking of the stand pipe
when it had been lifted half way up.
On Friday, November the fourteenth, the
raising of the massive tube was begun and
on that day the stand pipe was elevated about
twenty-two feet, on two capstans and with a
force of twelve men. On Saturday, the fif
teenth, the work of lifting the great pipe was
continued, in the presence of five thousand
people. Three capstans were used for raising
the pipe, one for guiding it and one for pull
ing it forward. At four o'clock in the after
noon it had reached an elevation of seventy
degrees, at which it hung in the air all that
night. On Sunday morning the perilous task
was resumed ; but the pipe again hung in the
air over Sunday night. On Monday, Novem
ber 17, 1873, at eleven o'clock, it was nearly
plumb, and at half past two o'clock on that
day, the great iron tube stood in position, two
hundred feet perpendicular from its rocky
base. An impromptu meeting was at once organ
ized. Mayor Miller mounted a capstan and
congratulated the people of the city. "Aleck"
Staples, the hero of the occasion, was then
called for, and fairly lifted and pushed upon
a capstan. His speech' was characteristic :
"Gentlemen, I can raise a stand pipe like
this a great deal easier than I can make a
speech." That was all, but it was cheered
as loudly as if Edward Everett had spoken.
Alexander Staples was a Union soldier, and
his modesty after his great engineering feat
was like that of the true soldier on the field
of battle who has won the day for his country.

The Star Spangled Banner did not seem too
noble a model for the humble verse that '
sought to glorify his deed; and this was the
tribute that was then paid to him. Whatever
of history or description may be found in the
stanzas will perhaps excuse its insertion in
this place:
' ' The Star-seeking Stand Pipe.
Dedicated to Alexander Staples.
[All day Saturday the stand pipe rose
slowly from the earth, until at dark it hung
over the city like the leaning tower of Pisa.
During the night the wind blew pretty hard,
and doubtless many an anxious eye looked out
on Sunday morning, to see that our pipe
"was still there." Certainly one pair of
eyes did so peep out; hence this travesty.]
I.
O say, can you see by the dawn's early light
What we anxiously viewed at the twilight's last
gleaming?
Whose huge bulk on gin poles, through the peri
lous night,
O'er the house-tops beneath was so Pisa-like seem
ing;
And the lamp-light's bright glare, the dark tube
in the air,
Gave proof through the night that our pipe was
still there; —
Oh, say, does that star-seeking stand pipe yet rise
O'er the city we love to its home in the skies?
II.
On the bank, dimly seen through the mists of the
morn,
Where the 'Bend's busy host in sweet silence re
poses,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the tree-tops
forlorn,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the light, as the morning grows
bright;
In full glory enveloped, now shines on the hight:—
'Tis the star-seeking stand pipe! Oh, long may it
rise,
O'er the city we love to its home in the skies.
III.
And where is that crowd who despondently said,
That the weight of the pipe and the ropes in
confusion
Would never allow it to rise from its bed?
Their cheers have proclaimed that 'twas but an
illusion:
No stand pipe so long but Aleck the strong,
With his tackle would lift with a cheer and a
song;
And the star-seeking monster in triumph should
rise,
Till he Staples the thing to its home in the skies.

I

%0

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

375

IV.
0 there may it ever its blest waters send,
To save our loved homes from the flames without
pity;
While in harmony and peace our united South
Bend
Gives praise to the Power that has guarded our
city.
A brotherly band, our future is grand, —
And this be our motto, United We Stand;
While the star-seeking stand pipe in glory shall
rise,
O'er the city we love to its home in the skies.
On December 25, 1873, Christmas ,day, there
was an interesting sequel to the Holly-Stand-
pipe controversy. A wager had been laid be
tween Leighton Pine, representing the stand
pipe forces and John M. Studebaker, who had
favored the Holly system. The wager was
for a cow. Mr. Studebaker agreed to stand
in the belfry over the Studebaker works ; and
Mr. Pine proposed to drive him from the bel
fry with a one inch stream from a hydrant
near the works, while, at the same time, five
other one inch streams should be thrown from
as many other hydrants in the vicinity. There
were three judges, Edwin Nicar, John C.
Knoblock and Caleb Kimball, named to stand
with Mr. Studebaker in the belfry, where they
could see the other five streams and be able
to decide on all questions- relating to the test.
Schuyler Colfax also stood in the belfry with
Mr. Studebaker. Before those who stood in
the belfry knew what had happened, the one
inch stream from the street below had driven
them from their station, and the stream flew
clear over the top of the cupola. Mr. Stude
baker gracefully turned the cow over to Mr.
Pine. His friends had her gaily decorated
with ribbons, and so marched with a band and
in carriages to his residence. Two days after
wards Mr. Pine donated his prize to the
Ladies' Benevolent Aid Society, by whom she
was sold, and several times re-sold, for the
benefit of the poor of South Bend. So ended
the famous controversy, in a triumphant vic
tory for Leighton Pine and those who had
faith in his genius and leadership. The origi
nal cost of the water works was about one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

Following the test made at the Studebaker
works and the jollifications that succeeded,
Mr. Colfax made one of his happy little
speeches, briming over with interesting his
torical allusions. "This magnificent. Christ
mas day," said he, "has opened a new era
in the history of our busy and prosperous city.
Over thirty years ago, the building of the
three-story Washington Block," the largest
frame building at that time in northern In
diana, was commenced with a special celebra
tion and opened the first era of the advance
ment of our town. Next, the construction of
the dam, by the free and generous subscrip
tions of rich and poor alike, gave us our great
water power, and was another and most im
portant forward movement. Then the great
manufactures, which have caused our city to
be known throughout the length and breadth
of the land, gave us another impetus. While
today, with the water works, which, from the
experiments this morning, seem sure to render
efficient fire protection, we continue our ad
vancing progress among the cities of the state,
and take another onward stride toward the
future before us."
The city water works continued under the
management of a committee of the common
council, known as the water board, until, by
an act approved March 25, 1879,6 the legisla
ture provided for the election of a board of
three water works trustees, the first board to
be selected by the common council; after
which the trustees should be elected by the
people. The first board so elected should be
chosen one for one year, one for two years
and one for three years. At every subsequent
annual election one trustee should be elected
for three years.
By the special charter,0 the water works
were placed in custody of the board of public
works, where they also remain under the
municipal code.d Under all these boards, —
a. On the north side of Washington street,
from Main street to the first alley east.
b. Acts, 1879, p. 88.
c. Acts, 1901, p. 198.
d. Acts, 1905, p. 219.

376

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the committee of the common council, the
trustees of the water works and the board of
public works — the manner of conducting the
business has been practically the same. The
immediate control of the works has been in
the hands of a superintendent selected by the
board and under its direction. The finances
have been cared for by a water works clerk.
The names of all members of the' board of
public works have been given in the list of city
officers. The names of the members of the
former water works boards are as follows :
1873. Joseph Worden, Peter Weber, Alex
ander Staples and S. R. King.
1875. M. N. Walworth, Dwight Deming
and Alexander N. Thomas.
1876. Dwight Deming, Edmund P. Taylor
and W. W. Giddings.
1877. W. W. Giddings, Edmund P. Taylor
and George F. Nevius.
1878. George F. Nevius, Solomon W. Pal
mer and Nathaniel Frame.
1879. 0. H. Brusie, John M. Studebaker
and Alexander C. Staley.
1880. John M. Studebaker, Alexander C.
Staley and Jacob Strayer.
1881. Alexander C. Staley, Jacob Strayer
and J. M. Asire.
1882. Jacob Strayer, J. M. Asire and Pat
rick O'Brien.
1883. J. M. Asire, Patrick O'Brien and
William Mack.
1884. Patrick 0 'Brien, William Mack and
N. P. Bowsher.
1885. William Mack, N. P. Bowsher and
John C. Birdsell.
1886. N. P. Bowsher, John C. Birdsell
and Edwin R. St. John.
1887. John C. Birdsell, Edwin R. St. John
and Alexander Staples.
1888. Edwin R. St. John, Alexander
Staples and Charles H. Pavey.
1889. Alexander Staples, Charles H. Pavey
and Robert L. Braunsdorf.
1890. Charles H. Pavey, Robert L. Branns-
dorf and Jonathan Matthews.

1891. Robert L. Brannsdorf, Jonathan
Matthews and Samuel L. Brubaker.
1892. Jonathan Matthews, Charles M. Col
lins and Charles W. Clapp.
1893. Charles A. Brehmer, Charles M.
Collins and Charles W. Clapp.
1894. Charles M. Collins, Charles ' W.
Clapp and Otto M. Knoblock.
1895. Charles W. Clapp, Otto M. Knob
lock and Samuel C. Loutz.
1896. Otto M. Knoblock, S. Wesley Hill
and John T. Kelley.
1897. S. Wesley Hill, John T. Kelley and
F. V. Krzeszewski.
1898. John T. KeUey, F. V. Krzeszewski
and John F. Irvin.
1899. F. V. Krzeszewski, John F. Irvin
and William Turnock.
1900. John F. Irvin, William Turnock
and Marshal Hughes.
At first, only the water of the St. Joseph
river was pumped into the stand pipe.
While this gave the people fire protection,
what they had looked for, and also the use
of water to sprinkle the streets and lawns;
yet they soon began to look for water for
domestic use also. The first superintendent
of the water works, Everett L. Abbot, made
a happy discovery just in time to meet this
want. He sank a driven well, about a hun
dred and ten feet deep, near the water works
pumping station and not far from the river
bank. This was our first artesian well. The
water rose to the surface, and proved to he
pure and wholesome. The question was
whether wells enough could be sunk to supply
the stand pipe. To test the quantity of water
that underlay the great bed of clay through
which the pipe had been driven, and particu
larly to see how far, if any, the flow of the first
well would be diminished by the sinking of an
other in the vicinity, well after well was sunk
near the water works station, until thirty-four
six-inch wells or over have been sunk in that
locality. The problem was solved; reservoirs
were constructed into which the waters from
the artesian wells flowed freely; the river

s.v^wL-^

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH ' COUNTY.

377

water was turned off and the stand pipe and
water mains were filled with the purest water
in the state. To supply more wells as the
population of the city has increased, a new
station, at the foot of North Michigan street,
was erected and new wells, to the number of
thirty-seven more were sunk. Still a third
station has recently been secured further
down on the river; and from all of these it
is believed that an ample supply of the
purest water for fire and domestic use can be
obtained sufficient for a city of over one hun
dred thousand population.
It need hardly be said that since the supply
of artesian water has been obtained the people
have asked for water on almost every street
of the city. Over eighty miles of water mains
have been laid to this date, and the. demand
is still for more. No tax is more freely paid
by the people than the water rents ; and, while
the original outlay by the city was large, yet
the investment has been a profitable one.
During the year 1907, the substantial sum of
twenty thousand dollars was transferred from
the water works rent fund to the general fund
of the city treasury. At the same time the
people have had an abundant supply of pure
water at most reasonable rates, with no grasp
ing water works company to cut down the
supply or raise the charges. The municipal
ownership of the South Bend water works has
been satisfactory from the beginning. The
present valuation of the works is nearly one
million dollars; the annual income has now
reached almost one hundred thousand dollars.
The expenses foot up about seventy thousand
dollars, which includes interest and wear and
tear, leaving to the city a net profit of thirty
thousand dollars a year.
See. 4. — Fire Department. — The fire de
partment of South Bend has grown from a
bucket brigade, taking water from wells or
from the river, to the complete system of to
day, with its water received directly from the
constant pressure of the stand pipe. The first
fire organizations were volunteer companies,
with a chief and assistants responsible to the

town trustees. The distinction awarded by
the public to the bravery of the young fire
fighters was usually sufficient inducement to
keep up the organizations. To this were added
certain favors, as the remission of city poll
taxes and exemption of a given amount of
property from taxation, as was done by the
common council April 19, 1866.
The first regular organization for fire pro
tection seems to have been in 1853, when a
hand engine was procured and a company
formed, with Edmund Pitts Taylor as fore
man and John Caldwell as assistant. The
company was named St. Joseph Fire Com
pany Number One. Fire Company Number
Two was formed soon after, with Lot Day,
Jr., as foreman. In 1857, Union Hose Com
pany Number Three was organized, and a
second engine was purchased.
Another step taken at an early day was the
securing of a sufficient supply of water by
constructing covered cisterns at convenient
points. As shown above, in treating of our
water works, there were 30 such cisterns be
fore the erection of the stand pipe ; and the
citizens were re-assured when they learned
that "No steam fire engine can make any
perceptible diminution in the depth." Per
haps that might not be the case today, after
our deep sewers have dried out the ground
to a depth of ten to fifteen feet.
The next step in the volunteer service was
to procure pumping apparatus, ladders and
other implements and machinery necessary
for the use of the firemen. One of the
simplest styles of pumps was a hand engine
placed upon wheels and worked by from two
to six firemen on each side of the wagon. A
noted improvement on this rude pump was
the steam fire engine, which relieved the men
of this hard labor, and was besides much more
effective in throwing strong streams upon the
burning buildings. The most famous of these
old fire engines was "Young Hoosier," which
gave its name to Young Hoosier Fire Com
pany No. Four. This company, after re
peated deliberations in the common council,

378

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

extending over a period of several months,
was organized January 20, 1868. To show
the high character of the citizens who honored
Ihemselves by serving in these volunteer fire
companies, the original membership of Young
Hoosier company is here given : George Hert-
zell, John C. Knoblock, Alexander Staples, A.
Buck, William Buck, John M. Pierce, Alexis
Coquillard, Peter Weber, Elijah Hartzell,
Warren A. Luce, Edward Gillen, Isaac Miller,
Reuben Garrett, Seth F. Myers and Harrison
M. Crockett. The company was authorized to
increase its membership to thirty persons,
taken equally from hose companies numbered
one and three. Old number three was soon
after disbanded; and on May 29, 1868, the
present hose company number three, in the
fourth ward, was organized.
A little earlier, on June 17, 1867, a citizens'
committee was appointed to report to the
council the best means of protection from
fire. The committee consisted of the following
leading citizens: John Brownfield, chief of
the fire department; Dr. Louis Humphreys,
chairman of the board of health; Charles W.
Guthrie; Clement Studebaker; Woolman J.
Holloway; Joseph G. Bartlett; Dr. John A.
Henricks; Daniel M. Shively; Lester F.
Baker; Dwight Deming; Francis R. Tutt,
Daniel A. Veasey and Norman Eddy. The
conferences of this committee foreshadowed
the water works system and the paid fire de
partment that were to come in a few years.
In 1873, the common council re-organized
the volunteer fire department and appointed
Edwin Nicar as chief engineer. Captain
Nicar served with great efficiency for three
years, when Joseph Turnock was appointed
to the place and served for a year, being
succeeded by Orville H. Brusie, who served
for three years. A. B. Culver was then ap
pointed engineer; and after him came Mr.
Brusie again and then Isaac Hutchins.
The fire companies in the later years, and
before the organization of the paid depart
ment, were Delta Hose Company No. 1 ; Eagle
No. 2; Union No. 3; Young Hoosier No. 4;

Mazeppa No. 5 ; Stand Pipe No. 6, also No. 7-
besides Relief Hook and Ladder, which was
located with Young Hoosier, at Hose House
No. 4. Hose House No. 4, where both Young
Hoosier engine, and its company and also the
hook and ladder company were, housed, was
the central fire station and headquarters of
the department. This house was on the north
side of Jefferson ' street, between Michigan
street and the first alley west. Fire tourna
ments, in South Bend and in the surrounding
towns, were a prominent feature of the old
volunteer department. At these tournaments,
or exhibitions, the South Bend companies al
most invariably carried off the prizes. The
tournaments were of great value in keeping
up interest in the service, as well as putting
in practice the best features of actual fire pro
tection. On February 23, 1874, a grand review of
the fire department and inspection of the new
stand pipe and water works system was held,
to which firemen and fire committees from
neighboring cities were invited. The last
days of the old volunteer fire department
were among the brightest. On October 6,
1873, the common council, although preoccu
pied with the completion of the new water
works system, yet found time to express the
formal thanks of the city to the fine city fire
department and its efficient chief, then Capt.
Edwin Nicar. Yet the change was coming.
On October 19, 1874, it became apparent that
the water pressure, present in full force at
every hydrant, made all fire companies, ex
cept hook and ladder and hose companies,
quite out of harmony with the new conditions;
and they were accordingly disbanded.
On August 7, 1882, the Gamewell Fire
Alarm system, for communicating alarms of
fires, was adopted. On July 26, 1886, a com
mittee sent out to examine paid fire depart
ments in other cities reported in favor
of the system in operation in Kalama
zoo. They recommended for the city
of South Bend the following plan: That
the city should procure one 2-horse hose

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

379

carriage ; two 1-horse carriages ; one hook and
ladder truck, with sixty foot extension lad
der, to be drawn by two horses; one 2-
horse chemical engine; and that these should
be manned by ten paid firemen and a fire
chief, to be aided in emergency by twenty
called men. The cost of making the change
was estimated at nine thousand dollars. The
recommendation of the committee was adopted
by the common council. The paid fire depart
ment was formally organized, November 26,
1886. On January 10, 1887, the department
was reported by fire chief Isaac Hutchins as
in full working order; and, on his recom
mendation, all the volunteer companies were
disbanded. Since the establishment of the paid depart
ment, in 1886, the work of improvement has
gone forward, year by year, until South Bend,
without question, has one of the best fire de
partments in the land, — water works; hose
houses; telegraphic fire alarm; efficient of
ficers and men; trained horses; trucks and
hose wagons; and all other apparatus neces
sary for first-class modern fire service. In
cluding the central station, there are eight
fire stations and hose houses, distributed at
the most advantageous points throughout the
city. At the central station there are three
companies, — one truck company; one chemi
cal engine company ; and one hose company.
At each of the other seven stations is found
a hose company, provided with full apparatus.
The cost of transforming the volunteer de
partment into a paid fire department, in 1886,
was estimated at nine thousand dollars. Com
pared with this is the following expense ac
count for the year 1906 : Paid out in salaries,
$46,384.29 ; paid for running expenses during
that year, $10,664.32. Total expenses for the
South Bend fire department, for the year
1906, $57,048.61.
On the Fourth of July, 1907, the anniver
sary of the Declaration of Independence was
celebrated by the South Bend fire department
in the greatest public display ever inaugur
ated by the "fire laddies" of the city. The

day was delightful ; and the street parade one
of the finest ever seen in Indiana. The dis
play then made was an exhibition of what
may perhaps be regarded as the culmination
of efforts to make the department a perfected
fire force; for we can hardly conceive of a
more complete and efficient fire department
than that which South Bend now possesses.
On June 4, 1907, in anticipation of the
Fourth of July demonstration, the South
Bend Tribune gave an interesting summary
of events connected with the history and
present condition of fire organizations in the
city; and this summary may fitly conclude
our historical sketch:
' ' South Bend has a fire department second
to none in the country. It has a reputation
that is not confined to this locality, but which
is spreading to all parts of the country. The
announcement several months ago that the
fire department intended to give a Fourth of
July celebration this year has attracted the
attention of people all over the country, but
especially fire departments and parties en
gaged in the manufacture of fire fighting
equipment. As a result many people have in
spected the local service and pronounce it
the best in the world for a city this size.
"South Bend's paid fire department was
organized and pressed into service Nov. 26,
1886, following a resolution of the common
council passed the year previous. Since that
time it has been maintained and has been
under the control of the city government.
The present fire department consists of 58
men, 28 horses and the following rolling stock
in active service: Seagrave hook and ladder
truck, chemical engine, two chief's wagons,
supply wagon, electricians' wagon, eight hose
wagons. Ten fire companies and eight fine
stations are represented in the complete ser
vice. In reserve the department has a hook
and ladder truck, a hose wagon and a spring
wagon. "The present paid department is the out
growth of the old volunteer fire department.
Prior to the year 1853 South Bend had no

380

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

fire department or organized system of pro
tection in case of fire. The first organized
effort in that direction was made in this year,
when the St. Joseph company, No. 1, was or
ganized and a small hand engine was pur
chased for its use. Another company was
soon after organized and in 1857 Union hose
company No. 3, was formed and another en
gine added to the department. In 1865 a
steam fire engine was purchased, which was
called the Young Hoosier. After that date
various volunteer organizations were formed
until the present efficient fire fighting system
was given its inception and placed in success
ful operation.
"Many of the men on the present fire de
partment were leaders in the volunteer move
ment and did very effective work for the city
in that capacity. It is no wonder that the
impetus given the fire fighting system by them
has developed into the great department of
today. Isaac Hutchins, an old time volunteer,
was the first chief of the paid fire department,
which when organized had but 11 men and
20 call-men. He had two assistant chiefs,
John Donahue and Jacob F. Kerner. Later
one of the assistants was dropped from the
position on the fire department and the call-
men plan was also abolished.
"The first companies were those at the
central station and consisted of the hook and
ladder, or truck company, No. 1, and the
chemical company, No. 1. These were located
in a small brick building on the north side
of Jefferson street between Main and Michi
gan streets. Later hose company No. 1 was
organized. It was across from the Sheridan
hotel on the north side of La Salle avenue
and was located in a two story frame building,
which was not in the best of condition and
many a cold winter wind and not a few de
luges of water poured into the leaky roof.
"The present central fire station at the
southeast corner of Wayne and 'St. Joseph
streets was completed in 1902. Into it the
central station companies from the old build
ing as well as hose company No. 1 moved.

The latter company made the transfer July
31, 1902, and the former the day before.
This centralized the different kinds of fire
fighting apparatus and gave the central a full
equipment, greatly strengthening the effi
ciency of the service. Twenty-one men, nine
horses, a truck, a chemical, wagons for the
chief and the assistant chief and a reserve
truck and a reserve hose wagon are housed
in the building, which is one of the best, and
the most complete as well as the largest station
of the kind, according to investigations, in
the country.
' ' Chief Wilfird Grant and his worthy assist
ant have been on the department ever since
it was organized. They also served in the old
volunteer companies, the chief two years with
hose company No. 4 and his assistant, William
Smith, with hose company No. 3. Mr. Smith
entered the volunteer service in 1877. Grant
was elevated to the captaincy and was later
promoted to chief, a position he has filled with
the very greatest credit since Sept. 1, 1902.
Smith was appointed second assistant in 1892
and was made first assistant in 1898, a posi
tion he has filled with acceptancy and
thorough efficiency all these years.
' ' The chiefs ' of the paid fire department
have been as follows: Isaac Hutchins, Wil
liam Baker, Jacob F. Kerner, Irving Sibrel
and Wilfird Grant."
The valuation of the property of the South
Bend fire department, as estimated by the
board of public safety, at the close of the
year 1906, was $131,461.68, distributed as fol
lows :
STATEMENT OF ASSETS— FIRE DEPART
MENT.
Central Fire Station, house
and lot  $40,000.00
Less amount still due  12,223.31
Total  7~ $27,776.69
Contents of Central Fire Sta
tion, including Truck Co. No.
1, Hook and Ladder, Hose Co.
No. 1, and Chemical Engine
No. 1. Total  $28,883.20
Chief's Barn and contents at
Central Fire Station, includ
ing wagons, horses, etc  $ 1,047.811

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

381

No. 2 Hose House and Lot  $ 4,900.00
Contents  3,857.45
Total  $ 8,757.45
No. 3 Hose House and Lot  $ 7,199.87
Contents  3,640.10
Total  $10,839.97
No. 4 House and Lot  $ 5,628.00
Contents  3,941.65
Total  $ 9,569.65
No. 5 Hose House and Lot  $ 5,135.00
Contents  3,918.45
Total  $ 9,053.45
No. 6 Hose House and Lot  $ 4,965.00
Contents"  3,458.43
Total  $ 8,423.43
No. 7 Hose House and Lot  $ 7,929.49
Contents  3,656.00
Total  $11,585.49
No. 8 Hose House and Lot  $ 6,478.04
Contents  3,920.36
Total  $10,398.40
Supply Barn and Sheds at No. 3
Hose House  $ 1,500.00
Contents  3,574.65
Total  $ 5,074.65
Blacksmith Shop at Central
Fire Station. Contents  $ 51.50
The organization of the fire department and
the location of the several companies for the
year 1907 is as follows :
Chief Headquarters, Central Fire Station, No.
202-204-206 E. Wayne St.
Wilfird Grant  Chief
William Smith  .'Assistant Chief
Harry E. Coil  Secretary
Truck Company No.-l, Central Fire Station.
John Haney  Captain
Otto Lockstidt  Lieutenant
George Vahlert  Driver
Charles Moritz  Ladderman
John F. Howard  Ladderman
Harry Brazy  Ladderman
Chemical Engine No. 1, Central Fire Station.
Irving Sibrel  Captain
Charles Warrell  Lieutenant
James Auer  Driver
Percy Alford  Pipeman
John Hull  Chief's Driver
Hose Company No. 1, Central Fire Station.
Adam Seifert  Captain
Edward Luther  Lieutenant
Roy Knoblock  Driver
William Bernhard  Pipeman
August Bailey  ;  Pipeman
August Kraszewski  Pipeman
Hose Company No. 2, West Sample Street.
Henry Entzion  Captain
William Freeh  Lieutenant

Joseph Shirk  Driver
Frank Kuliberda  Pipeman
Thomas Harrens  Pipeman
Hose Company No. 3, North Hill Street.
John Sto-ney  Captain
Alfred Virgil  Lieutenant
Louis Led«rer  Driver
William Furey  Pipeman
Frank Kubiak  Pipeman
John Schroth  Pipeman
Hose Company No. 4, West Thomas Street.
Camile De Vleeschouwer  Captain
Henry Czajkowski  Lieutenant
Karl Vensen  Driver
John McKeel  Pipeman
John Borkowski  Pipeman
Hose Company No. 5, E'ast Sample Street.
August Hoglund  Captain
William Heiman  Lieutenant
George Stilwell  Driver
Edward Tohulka  Pipeman
Louis Torok  Pipeman
Hose Company No. 6, Portage Avenue and
Lindsey Street.
Frank Strickler  Captain
Alex. Frederick  Lieutenant
Paul Bgresces  Driver
Harry Hinkle  Pipeman
Paul Wegner  Pipeman
Hose Company No. 7, South Bend and Notre
Dame Avenues.
Oscar Stallard  Captain
Thomas Hartford  Lieutenant
Edward McNulty  Driver
James Scott  Pipeman
William Baker  Pipeman
Hose Company No. 8, Washington and Olive
Streets.
John Wentland  Captain
Michael Touhey  Lieutenant
Anton Sroda  Driver
Andrew Anderson  Pipeman
Anton Topel  Pipeman
Chester Vanarsdel 
 Houseman and Weighmaster
Edward Koehler 
 Lineman for Department
Sec. 5. — The City Hall. — Until a little
prior to the year 1899, the city of South
Bend does not seem to have made any move
towards securing a city hall for the transac
tion of its affairs. During the whole period
of town and city government, up to that
time, the business- of the municipality was
conducted in offices leased for the purpose.
In the '70 's and early '80 's, these rented
offices were on Washington street, between
Main and Michigan; after which, a disas
trous fire compelled a removal to Michigan
street, between Washington and Market, now

382

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Colfax avenue. In the later '80 's and early
'90 's, the offices were on Jefferson street, be
tween Main and Lafayette; and afterwards
on Michigan street, in what was long known
as Price's Theater.
On October 18, 1899, the mayor and com
mon council entered into a contract with
James Oliver for the erection of a city hall
suited to the needs of the growing metropolis
of the St. Joseph valley. Not long previous
to this time the city had purchased a site for
a building, on North Main street, between
Colfax and La Salle avenues, with the in
tention of erecting a permanent home for the
municipality as soon as funds sufficient for
that purpose could be procured. But South
Bend was nearly up to the constitutional
limit of its indebtedness, and it became evi
dent that if a city hall was to be built within
a reasonable time, it must be built by private
parties. In this emergency, Mr. Oliver, who had
often before manifested his public spirit in
favor of the community in which he had built
up his great fortune, came to the assistance
of the promoters of this civic enterprise. The
contract entered into provided that he should
have permission to enter on the premises
owned by the city and erect thereon a city
hall, the building to remain his property un
less and until the city should exercise an
option given in the contract to purchase the
same. The hall should be suited to the needs
of the city, and according to plans and speci
fications named, and the work let to the best
bidder, the cost not to exceed seventy-five
thousand dollars. The contract further pro
vided that when the building should be con
structed it should be leased to the city for
twelve years, at an annual rental of seven
thousand two hundred dollars, payable from
year to year, as the same should accrue. It
was also provided that the city should have
an option to purchase the building at any
time at a price equal to the original contract
cost, with four per cent interest, less the
several amounts of rent then paid, also with

four per cent interest. In ease this option
should not be exercised, the property should
remain Mr. Oliver's, and in that case he
should have the right to purchase the
grounds. As .there was some doubt as to the validity
of this contract, in order to test the matter,
suit was brought by a property holder to en
join the city from performance. The cir
cuit court held that the contract was in effect
a purchase, under the guise of a lease, and
was therefore invalid. The supreme court,
however, decided that, by reason of the
option, the city undertook no obligation of
purchase, and that the contract was valid."

CITY HALL, SOUTH BEND.
Mr. Oliver, accordingly, went ahead and
constructed the building; and the city has
since continued to pay him the annual rental,
as stipulated in the contract. Although the
city has assumed no obligation to purchase,
yet as soon as it finds itself with sufficient
funds, there is no doubt that it will exercise
its option of purchase, and thus become the
owner of this beautiful and -convenient city
hall. The building is in keeping with its noble
purpose. All the city officers and boards,
a. See City of South Bend v. Reynolds, 155
Ind., p. 70.

Cr-^7,C«

si^_J!M a^-tJ^

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

383

including the police department, are housed
within its ample walls. Indeed, it is doubtful
whether any city in Indiana is provided with
a more, substantial, elegant and convenient
city hall.
Sec. 6. — Parks.— In the year 1878 the first
public expression was made in.favor of a park
for the city of South Bend. While generous
in many respects, as we have seen, the pro
prietors of the original plat of the town seem
never to have thought of a park. It may
be that the fine oak openings which formed
the site of the town, together with the
Parkovash on the east side of the river and
Portage Prairie on the northwest, to say
nothing of the other beautiful prairies and
woodlands in the vicinity, made the whole
country a natural park, so that perhaps the
doughty founders of the city would have
smiled at the idea of reserving valuable town
property for so useless a purpose as park or
pleasure ground. Yet the founders of other
towns as pleasantly situated did not think it
unwise to set apart public squares and plots
of ground for pleasure resorts for the peo
ple. The lack of liberality in this respect is
painfully apparent in our -confined court
house grounds; and here a comparison with
the neighboring county seats makes our de
ficiency the more marked. In Goshen, Ply
mouth, Valparaiso and Laporte a full square
is devoted to- the court house; but in South
Bend but one quarter of a square was set
apart in the beginning for that purpose. The
county commissioners afterwards bought an
additional lot for the county jail, and still
later bought two more lots, one for the
present jail and one upon which the old court
house has been placed. The founders- of the
city of Kalamazoo, were more far sighted in
this particular, having laid aside two full
squares for public parks, in addition to a
square for the county buildings.
Even in 1878, when the subject of parks
was first broached, the grounds considered
were most unpromising. They consisted of
an overflowed swamp waste along the east

side of the St. Joseph river, extending from
Jefferson street to Division street. It was at
first but a dumping ground ; but, in the course
of years, the unsavory locality has become
the most beautiful spot in South Bend, and
is known to the public as Howard Park. A
more detailed history of this park will be
given at the close of this seetion.
But little further interest seems to have
' been taken in public parks for many years.
In 1889, however, Alexis Coquillard, who in
herited the 'enterprise and public spirit, as
he did the name, of his distinguished uncle,
the founder of the city, showed his zeal in
this direction by making a gift of four lots
to Howard Park, and, still more, by offering
to the city for park purposes a fine tract
of ground, of nearly one hundred acres, on
the east side of the corporation. He went
so far as to lay out this park, plant trees and
grade boulevards, walks -and drives. In
Coquillard Park, the city of South Bend
seemed about to have one of the finest parks
in the west. Unhappily, Mr. Coquillard, in
the midst of his laudable enterprise, and in
what should seem to be the prime of his
active and useful life, died on February 25,
1890. With his death the life seemed to leave
the noble project which he so fondly cher
ished. It was not until 1906 that all contro
versies as to this gift were settled, and the
city accepted, in compromise of all its claims,
a tract of ten acres, taken out of the grounds
in dispute, for which the name of Coquillard
Park has been retained.
With the coming in of the new century,
attention was drawn to the large tract on the
St. Joseph river, at the foot of Michigan
street, which had been purchased in 1895 by
the city for the use of the water works de
partment. The building of a pumping sta
tion on those grounds, and the sinking -and
capping over of numerous artesian wells, left
the greater part of the tract suitable for use
as an. additional park, without interfering
with its use for water works purposes. The

384

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

grounds were accordingly graded, planted
and improved as a park.
On November 27, 1900, David R. Leeper
died. He had been born very near to the
present limits of the city of South Bend.
on January 12, 1832 and was during the
whole of his vigorous manhood one of our
most honored citizens. He represented the
eounty in the state legislature, in both house
and senate, and w-as also mayor of the city.
His residence, during the later years of his
life, just north of the river and near the
Dew park, perhaps also suggested his name as
one that might most appropriately be be
stowed upon it. The beautiful stretch of

in 1905, by the placing of a drinking foun
tain in this park, the 'gift of Mrs. Mary P
Bugbee, in memory of her husband, Almond
Bugbee. Another park along the river is La Salle
Park, located on the east side of the river
near the Sample street bridge. This will be
only a park in name until the bayou in the
river at that point has been filled up. When
finally improved La Salle Park, like all our
other river parks will be a place of beauty.
The Studebaker Park, in the southeast
part of the city, named in honor of Henry
Studebaker, -and the Kaley Park, in the
southwest part, are among the largest and

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LEEPER PARK, SOUTH BEND.
ground along the river, including the island
near the south shore, was accordingly named
Leeper Park. In 1904, there was an extension
of the park to the north along the river, from
Michigan street to Lafayette street. Mean
while a boulevard had been constructed all
along the river, from Marion street to Michi
gan street, which has since been extended
north, the intention being ultimately to have
a continuous driveway down to River View
cemetery and the old portage. Leeper Park
is destined therefore to be one of the finest
pleasure grounds anywhere along the banks
of the St. Joseph. The name of another
worthy citizen of South Bend was honored,
most valuable of our recent acquisitions.
These fine breathing places are gifts to the
city by public spirited donors whose names
they bear. Pottawatomie Park, the old
county fair grounds between South Bend and
the town of River Park, has been described iu
connection with the history of River Park."
A comprehensive summary of the condi
tion of the park system of the city, at the
close of the year 1906, will be found in the
following extract from the report of Herman
II. Beyer, the park superintendent, for that
year :
"The year 1906 was marked by numerous
a. Chap. 9, Subd. 3, Sec. 4.
.„.Ji ajJid
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

385

park extensions in South Bend. The city ac
quired in the past year approximately
seventy-eight acres of park property, dis
tributed as follows: Coquillard park, com
prising ten acres, secured by the city in the
settlement of the old Coquillard park litiga
tion. This ground is in the northeastern
part of the city on East Campau street. It
lies directly east of the Perley school and is
a very desirable site for a public park. The
most important park property which was
added to our park system is the old County
Fair grounds, presented to the city of South
Bend by the county commissioners for park
purposes. This ground is situated on the
north side of'Mishawaka road just beyond the
eastern city limits. It comprises about sixty
acres and is a most beautiful piece of rolling
and wooded land. This tract will be known
as Pottawatomie Park, in honor of the tribe
of Indians of that name who formerly in
habited this locality.
"The city has also acquired by purchase
an addition to Kaley Park which con
tains about three acres. This addition is a
great improvement to the park as it is now
entirely surrounded by streets. Formerly
the south line was bounded by an alley which
prevented a proper development of this beau
tiful piece of wooded ground. The next
property acquired by purchase was about
four acres from Messrs. Anderson and Du-
Shane. This is situated at the foot of North
Lafayette street, and will make a valuable
addition to Leeper Park. It also forms a
connecting link with the river shore drive
(Marion boulevard) and Chapin Park.
"A great deal of work has already been
done in the new park grounds. At Coquil
lard Park a great many trees and shrubs
were planted; the entire park was seeded,
and laid out with drives and walks.
"Kaley Park was thoroughly cleared of
leaves and underbrush, twenty-four park
benches were stationed in this park which
were appreciated by the many people that

sought rest and shade in this beautiful piece
of woodland.
"We have also done considerable work in
Pottawatomie Park. This work was limited
to the removal of stumps and underbrush. At
this park were also placed thirty benches,
which were much appreciated.
"There has also been considerable work
done in Leeper and Howard Parks the past
year. The west end of Leeper Park between
Main and Lafayette streets, was graded,
seeded and planted with trees and shrubs;
this will soon bring this part of the park into
good condition.
At Howard Park the new addition was de
veloped. In this location was erected the
beautiful , Studebaker fountain that was do
nated to this park by Mr. John M. Stude
baker, who is greatly interested in the de
velopment of this park. The band concerts
at Leeper and Howard Parks were very much
appreciated by the thousands- of people that
gathered in the parks- on Sunday afternoons
during the season.
"Our Zoo at Leeper Park is one of the
chief attractions at that park on account of
the numerous donations of pets that were
received the past year. We were compelled
to increase our cage room to take care of this
fine collection of pets. This department is
receiving considerable attention and is mak
ing gratifying progress."
After the foregoing report was made, Mr.
Calvert H. Defrees, in the summer of 1907,
placed in Howard Park a fine bronze drink
ing fountain; which, like tbe electric foun
tain presented by Mr. Studebaker, and the
drinking fountain in Leeper Park, presented
by Mrs. Bugbee, is highly appreciated by the
throngs of summer visitors.
Closely connected with the pleasure resorts
of the city, yet not of them, is Springbrook
Park, owned and managed by the Chicago,
South Bend & Northern Indiana railway
company, and situated near the river on the
line of the interurban, between South Bend
and Mishawaka. Upon the grounds are a

386

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

baseball enclosure, a casino and numerous
other places of amusement. Throngs of peo
ple visit Springbrook during the summer
season. In the light of the splendid progress that.
has recently been made in extending and
ornamenting our parks, it may be interesting
now to look back over the history of our first
park, the first effort at park making in our
beautiful city. On April 7, 1903, the follow
ing paper was read before the Northern In
diana Historical Society by the writer of this
history : THE STORY OF A PARK.
"Prior to the year 1878, the tract along
the east bank of the St. Joseph river in the
city of -South Bend, stretching from Jefferson
street to the Grand Trunk (formerly Lake
Huron) railroad, was an impassable morass,
breeding malaria in summer and good in
winter for skating only. Cottrell avenue ran
on the eastern side of the tract, and the
ownership of the part between the avenue and
the river was in doubt. This morass was
claimed by Mr. William Heck, who platted
the same into lots, which, however, remained
vacant and unimproved, except that a part
of the ground was scooped out deeper to
make an ice pond for the cutting and storing
of ice in the cold season.
"The place had become a nuisance in the
summer as an ague breeder; but, as the city
had no unquestioned control over it, the
means of relief were not apparent; and yet
the people were insistent on some plan for
the abatement of the nuisance. Few persons
in those days thought of parks, still less did
any dream of turning this swamp into a pleas
ure ground. Something however, had to be
done in the interest of the public health;
and here, as in many other cases, necessity
became the mother of invention.
"On October 14, 1878, the writer of this
paper, then a member of the city council,
offered the following resolution, which was
adopted :

' ' ' Resolved, by the common council of the
city of South Bend, Indiana, That the city
attorney is hereby directed to examine the
title of the city to that tract of overflowed
land lying along the east bank of the St.
Joseph river, between the Jefferson street
bridge and the Chicago & Lake Huron rail
road, and bounded as follows : On the north
by Jefferson street, on the east by Cottrell
avenue, on the south by Division street, and
on the west by the St. Joseph river; and if
the title of the city to said tract is found to
be good, then that the attorney report an
ordinance to the council setting apart said
tract as a -city dumping ground for the de
posit of all refuse matter from the streets
and alleys of the city, with the view, of finally
filling, leveling and planting said gronnd,
and thus, in time, converting the same into
a public park or pleasure ground for the use
of the citizens of South Bend.'
"On November 25, following, the city at
torney, now the Hon. Lucius Hubbard, re
ported that, in his opinion, the said lands
were a part of Cottrell avenue, but that as
'Heck's addition' they were held adverse to
the city ; and he requested authority to bring
suit in the circuit court to quiet the title of
the city; which authority was granted.
"On January 6, 1879, the attorney re
ported that John and George Beck, who ap
peared to have title to the greater part of
'Heck's addition,' were willing to quit claim
to the city their supposed interest for one
hundred dollars, each party to pay one-half
costs of suit in court.
"On February 3, 1879, the city offered to
pay sixty dollars for the lots in Heck's ad
dition held by John and George Beck. This
offer was accepted and the purchase made.
"On February 4, 1879, the Hon. Lucius
Tong, then mayor of the city; Jonathan P.
Creed and Charles LaCoss quit-claimed for
a small consideration four other lots in
Heck's addition. And on February 17, 1879,
the city engineer was directed to mark the
boundaries of the park.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

387

"On March 17, 1879, pursuant to a motion
therefor introduced by the writer, ordinance
No. 524, establishing the city park and plac
ing the same under the control of the city
marshal, was adopted by the common council.
"On April 5, 1880, also on motion of the
writer, the board of public improvements was
authorized to plant 50 trees, elm and soft
maple, upon the narrow ridge of ground near
the river bank ; which was done. The maples
all died, and some of the elms also, but many
of the elms have grown and flourished, and
now afford grateful shade in the summer
weather. "Afterwards, on like suggestion of the
writer, the city purchased the Semortier
property, between Hill street and Cottrell
avenue, being lot 170, Cottrell 's first addition
to Lowell; and on June 4, 1883, the common
council vacated that part of the avenue be
tween the Semortier lot and the river, thus
greatly enlarging the original ground.
"No further action, except the gradual
filling up of the low ground, was taken until
November 5, 1889, when Alexis Coquillard,
as a gift for the park, made a deed to the
city of lots 195, 196, 197 and 200 in Cottrell 's
first addition. Lot 200, so given by Mr.
Coquillard, proved to be of exceptional value,
inasmuch as it fronted upon St. Louis street,
and thus enabled the authorities afterwards
to connect the walks and driveways of the
park directly with that street.
"During the fifteen years, from 1878 until
1893, the 'City Park' was little more than
a by-word among the people, and in the city
press. The locality was indeed an unsavory
one. At first a quagmire, the filling of street
cleanings made it only slightly less offensive ;
and those who saw a future 'public park or
pleasure ground' in the repulsive tract were
compelled to suffer much obloquy in connec
tion with the embryotic, park. But the refuse
continued to be covered from time to time
with fresh earth; and when the years 1892,
1893 and 1894 came around, the people began
to see that, in the end, the originators of

the park on the -St. Joseph were sure to be
vindicated. To give some idea of the work
accomplished, it is said that the filling, or
'made ground,' is, in places from ten to fif
teen feet deep.
"On June 8, 1891, the common council
elected a board of park commissioners, con
sisting at first of Frank Mayr, Corwin B.
Vanpelt and Samuel S. Perley. On October
5, 1891, this board reported that steps should
be taken for the improvement of the park.
The filling was at this time nearly complete^
and the ground almost ready for covering
with fresh soil, preparatory to grading, lay
ing out walks and planting to grass, flowers
and trees. On July 10, 1893, the park com
missioners took the first important action
looking to the permanent improvement of the
grounds. The members pf the board at that
time were Corwin B. Vanpelt, Frank Mayr
and Joseph E. Robert. They recommended
the appropriation of $5,000 for the erection of
a sea wall along the river front and for other
necessary work. The matter was before the
council for several months; and it was not
until June 25, 1894, nearly a year after
wards, that ordinance No. 949, making the
appropriation requested, was finally passed.
"On February 26, 1894, the city engineer,
William M. Whitten, reported that he had
nearly ready for the engraver a new map of
the city and desired to have a name given to
the park, so that he might enter the same on
his map. The engineer in his report was
kind enough to refer to the action taken by
the writer while a member of the council in
securing the grounds for the city and pro
viding for their enlargement and improve
ment; and he suggested that the writer's
name be therefore given to the park. The
council accepted Mr. Whitten 's suggestion;
and by a unanimous vote ordered that the
tract should thereafter be known as 'Howard
Park. '
"On June 25, 1894, Corwin B. Vanpelt,
Martin J. Roach and Oren G. Huff were
elected park commissioners.

388

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

"On February 25, 1895, the commissioners
asked that the park cease to be further used
as a dumping ground. The city then pro
cured other ground for the purpose, since
known as La Salle Park, adjoining the new
Sample street bridge, and also lying along
the east side of the St. Joseph river.
' ' The commissioners now sought for a com
petent landscape artist to lay out the park,
and were exceedingly fortunate in securing
the services of Mr. John G. Barker, at whose
magic touch the former swamp began at last
to assume the fair outlines of a pleasure
ground. Under his skilled hand a wonderful
transformation has taken place. Those who
enjoy the park, -as it is today, owe -a debt of
gratitude to Mr. Barker. He has shown by
apt illustration how 'a thing of beauty is a
joy forever.'
"During the summer of 1895 the fine sea
wall and cement walk along the river was
constructed. The report filed by the com
missioners, November 19, 1895, shows re
ceipts $5,673.96, and expenditures $5,663.62.
The funds in the hands of the board were
most judiciously expended. The results of
that summer's labors are not only for the
pleasure of those now living, but for the en
joyment of thousands yet unborn.
"The good work continued. The trees
flourished from year to year. The green
sod grew firmer. The gravel walks and
drives were extended until they wound grace
fully over the whole tract. During the sum
mer months picturesque mounds of flowers
mingled their bright colors with the deep
green of the grass and trees and with the
silvery sheen from the waters of the St.
Joseph. "And, lest the people in their enjoyment
should forget that life is not all a holiday and
that there had been times that tried men's
souls, Captain Vanpelt, president of the
board, secured three fine guns that had done
service during the war, and had them
mounted where they remain today, as if on
guard against any possible enemy that might

appear upon the placid bosom of the fair St.
Joseph. "On October 25. 1897, the board, in a peti
tion filed with the city council, began to
agitate the procurement of additional land to
the east of the park up to the alley first west
of St. Louis street. The demand for that
addition did not then, however, seem to be
sufficiently urgent to induce the city fathers
to yield to the request of the park commis
sioners. That extension was destined to come,
but only after many years.
"With his third, and final, report, filed
January 24, 1898, Captain Vanpelt, in the
following words, feeling perhaps that he had
done his work of love, and done it well,
handed in to the common council his resigna
tion of the office which he had so acceptably
filled: 'Owing,' he said, 'to the pressure of
private business, I feel it my duty to tender
you my resignation, to take effect immedi
ately. I desire to thank you, on behalf of the
board of park commissioners, for the uniform
courtesy and consideration you have at all
times extended to us in the matter of the im
provement of Howard Park, transferring a
pestilential tract into what is, even now, a
clean and wholesome spot, which, in time, will
inure to the benefit of the general public.
" 'C. B. Vanpelt,
" 'President and Treasurer.'
"Would that every public servant might
lay down his burden with as much honor to
himself and with as many good wishes from
the public who have been so greatly benefited
by his unselfish labors.
"Captain Vanpelt had a worthy successor
in the person of Irving A. Sibley, who
was elected in his place, and who continued
the same progressive methods, until the en
actment of the new city charter, when the
department of parks was placed in charge of
the board of public wjarks.
' ' On Friday evening, August 18, 1899, the
park was formally dedicated as a public
pleasure ground, in one of the most splendid
civic demonstrations ever witnessed in the

,M

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

389

queen -city of the St. Joseph valley. The
dedication was in connection with a patriotic
festival in honor of Indiana's distinguished
soldier, Henry W. Lawton, then winning his
laurels in the Philippines. Dedication and
festival were under the auspices and direc
tion of Auten Post No. 8, G. A. R., of which
the writer was then post commander, and
Auten Relief Corps No. 14, W. R. C. Full
and graphic accounts of the double celebra
tion were given in the city press next day.
"The following paragraphs are abbreviated
from- The 'Times:
" 'South Bend's park commissioners well
earned the praise bestowed upon their park-
making efforts by the great multitude that
thronged Howard Park at the Gen. Lawton
memorial festival and park dedication. The
results were a pleasing surprise to the many
who had not before visited the park; and
many friends were made for park expendi
tures so judiciously directed.
" 'It was an imposing parade that was
formed on South Michigan street in front of
Auten Post headquarters, last evening, led
by Col. George M. Studebaker and Capt.
David A. Ireland on horseback. When the
line of march reached the Jefferson street
bridge there was a crowd found on that struc
ture that was simply alarming from its
density, and all breathed easier when the pro
cession had passed over. At the park there
was a vast multitude, one of the largest ever
gathered in South Bend. '
"The Tribune said:
" 'Silvery rays of many electric lamps and
the full flood of moonlight turned pretty
Howard Park into a fairyland last night ; and
the thousands of visitors who strolled over its
winding paths, its graveled roads and well-
kept lawns, and gazed into the quaint and
picturesque St. Joseph, will long remember
the dedication of what is to be the most
beautiful little park in Indiana.
'As the thousands assembled on the city's
pleasure ground to take part in the formal
dedication of the place and to do honor to

that Indianian who is distinguishing himself
in the Philippines, they found a revelation,
for Howard Park was never more beautiful
nor the river more sparkling than on last
evening. " 'The speaking was from the open pa
vilion in the center of the park. The
speakers, who were introduced by Post Com
mander Howard, of Auten Post, as master of
ceremonies, were Mayor Colfax, Congressman
Abraham Lincoln Brick, Attorneys Stuart
McKibbin and George E. Clarke and Captain
Edwin Nicar.'
"The articles in the city papers were
elaborate and enthusiastic in the extreme ; but
the foregoing condensed extracts will suffice
to give some idea of the wonderful interest
awakened among the people by the final open
ing of the park upon the St. Joseph.
"In 1901, on the re-organization of the
city government under our special charter,
the commissioners who had done their work
so well, turned over the park to the new
board of public works, consisting of Arthur
L. Hubbard, Samuel Leeper and Charles L.
Goetz. During the administration of this
efficient board the park became so frequented
a resort that attention was drawn more and
more to the need of extending the area of the
grounds set apart by the city for recreation
and breathing places for the people. Early
in their administration the board established
La -Salle Park, an admirably situated tract
half a mile further up the river. Soon after
wards, over a mile down stream, they laid
out the fine Leeper. Park, which includes the
dainty island in the river at that point.
"The urgent desire of the people for the
enlargement of Howard Park wrought upon
the public-spirited and enterprising nature of
one of South Bend's most eminent, as he is
one of her most wealthy, citizens, Mr. John
M. Studebaker; and in August, 1902, the
board of public works received from Mr.
¦Studebaker a deed for lots 187 and 188 in
Cottrell's first addition, together with two
thousand dollars in cash for the further im-

390

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

provement of the park. This timely gift was
made conditional on the purchase by the city
of lots 183, 184, 185 and 186, also to be added
to the park. The purchase of those lots was
accordingly made by the city at the price of
twelve thousand, five hundred dollars; and
the east limits of the park were thus extended
to the alley next to St. Louis street, carry
ing out the design so long entertained by the
park commissioners, as well as by the board
of public works.
"As we have already seen, Mayor Tong,
Mr. Creed and Mr. LaCoss practically donated
four of the original Heck lots to the city

eastern part of the park, it was the desire of
many people that the soldiers' monument
about to be erected by the county should be
located on those high grounds, where it could
be seen to so good advantage from all the
city and surrounding country. The location
finally chosen was different; and time only
must tell whether a mistake has been made
or not.
' < With the ground clear from the river to
the east side of the recent acquisition, the
artist hand and brain of Mr. Barker will give
us, with Howard Park and Leeper Park
pleasant recreation grounds, surpassing in

.

mmmii ...r mi --<«=«

w
r*>$i|
S3
i
HOWARD PARK, SOUTH BEND.
when the park was first projected ; and, after
wards, Alexis Coquillard gave four Cottrell
lots for the same public use, bringing the
grounds out to St. Louis street on lot 200.
Finally, Mr. Studebaker added two lots more,
with a gift of money for the same worthy
purpose. So it has been that the generosity
of high-minded citizens has combined with
the ceaseless activity, wise economy and ex
cellent taste Of the officials in charge to make
this park what it has now become, an orna
ment to our city and a place of delight for
all our people.
"After the purchase of the last lots, giving
a high and commanding position in the
beauty, extent and attractiveness those of any
of our near-by sister cities.
"Howard Park will attain to its destined
outlines and usefulness only when the lots
immediately on the east are added to it.
The grounds will then be bounded by Jeffer
son street, St. Louis street and the St. Joseph
river. It will be a pleasure ground most
romantically and at the same time most con
veniently situated, consisting of nearly twen
ty acres of ground, lying in the very heart
of the city, and stretching along the banks
of the 'St. Joseph-^by far the finest river in
Indiana. That will, without doubt, give our
fair city, if we have it not already, the most
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

391

delightful small park in the state, perhaps in
the country.
To conclude, it will soon be twenty-five
years since the passage by the common coun
cil of the original resolution first proposing
to convert into a public park the tract of low
and "overflowed land- lying between Cottrell
avenue and the St. Joseph river. It has taken
all those years to bring about the transforma
tion proposed by the terms of the resolution.
But the work is done, and the citizens of
South Bend are in the actual use and enjoy
ment of the anticipated pleasure ground. Let
us trust jthat this is but the first of the many
public parks that are to adorn our beautiful
city." During the four years that have passed
since the writing of the foregoing paper, the
materials for "the continuation of the story"
of Howard Park have been added to, by
reason of the presentation of an ornamental
electric fountain by John M. Studebaker and
a bronze drinking fountain by Calvert H.
Defrees. On July 21, 1906, there was a double dedi
cation in the park, as there had been on
August 18, 1899, when the park itself was
opened to the public, and at the same time
the people united with the dedication a patri
otic festival in honor of General Lawton, then
doing honor to his country, and particularly
to his state, during the war in the Philippines.
On July 21, 1906, the people came together
to dedicate the Studebaker fountain and also
to witness the opening of the beautiful Melan
bridge over the river, at Jefferson street, then
recently completed. On the Monday evening
following the dedication, the following par
ticulars in relation to the exercises appeared
in the South Bend Times :
"The outpouring of people Saturday night
to witness the dedication of the electric
bronze fountain presented the city for How
ard park by John M. Studebaker, must have
been greatly pleasing to that gentleman for
the appreciation of the gift it evidenced.
Estimates of the crowd assembled in the park

are from eight to ten thousand. It was a
good natured assemblage, standing patiently
through the concert given by Miller's band
preceding the ceremonies, and listening in
tently to the speakers.
"Mayor Fogarty brought the assemblage to
order, speaking of the pleasure it gave him
to be permitted to preside at a meeting of
this nature, when two such magnificent gifts
as the fountain and the Jefferson street
bridge were to be received by the city. He
then introduced Mr. Studebaker.
' ' The address of the latter was of an extem
poraneous order and of a happy nature. He
said it was not his purpose to attempt mak
ing a speech, but he wanted to speak a few
words to the young men who stood before
him. ' ' He was surprised and delighted at the sea
of faces before him; the appreciation of the
gift thus shown was ample compensation.
"The incentive for giving the fountain to
Howard park, he said, came from his travels
over the country and visits to the parks of
the larger cities. He had found that the
parks most frequented were those made most
attractive through public or private enter
prise. This reflection caused him to reach the
decision to do something that would make
Howard park more attractive, and from it
came the suggestion of an electric fountain as
the best thing he could do.
"Mr. Studebaker then became most inter
estingly reminiscent, and told of his start in
life; how he had struggled along, believing
in the principle that God helps those who
help themselves, eventually leading up to
what made it possible for him to make the
city this gift. It was at this point that he
wished the close attention of his young audi
tors. " 'Fifty-six years ago,' said Mr. Stude
baker, 'I landed in South Bend as poor a
boy as stands before me tonight. The only
shoes I wore were those God had given me.
I lived with my parents in a log cabin and
there are men and women here today who

392

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

can remember it. I got up at 4 o'clock in the
morning and walked one or two miles in the
woods where I cut my two cords of wood a
day. That is the way I got my start. The
opportunity for young men then was not very
great or promising. It is better today. Times
have changed it is true, but the opportunities
are here just the same. The trouble is that
many do not avail themselves of them, and
are not willing to work as it is necessary to
gain a start in life, and oftentimes fail to
save and store away their earnings.'
' ' In his concluding remarks Mr. Studebaker
made reference to the new bridge, and told
of the struggle to get commissioners who
would go on with these improvements. Where
the commissioners were unable to realize the
necessity for new bridges they were super
ceded by men who did. The improvements
of the city had made, he said, South Bend
known far and wide as a progressive and
enterprising city, and it would grow still
greater. Best of all, he said, was that in all
these improvements there had been no graft
ing by officials.
"Mr. 'Studebaker then formally presented
the fountain to William A. Mclnerny, presi
dent of the board of public works.
"The address of Mr. Mclnerny was a high
ly creditable effort, and in his remarks he took
occasion to make it known that this was not
the first evidence of public spiritedness on the
part of this honored citizen. He said that
Mr. -Studebaker was an extensive traveler and
greatly interested in municipal government.
When he found something that was a de
parture from old established lines of govern
ment and that was an improvement, he
brought the ideas home and laid them before
the board.
"In the years he had served upon this
board, Mr. Mclnerny said, he had always
found Mr. Studebaker ready to co-operate in
any necessary improvement and one who had
never turned a deaf ear to requests for advice
upon matters where his opinions would be of
value to the board.

"The Hon. John B. Stoll, of The Times,
referred to the value citizens of Mr. Stude
baker 's type were to a city, and also called
attention to what an institution of the Stude
baker factory's magnitude meant to South
Bend. He said it should be the object and en
deavor of every citizen to help improve South
Bend as Mr. Studebaker had done. The poor
est and humblest could do their mite and yet
accomplish wonders by the planting of a tree,
a shrub or a flower and keeping their lawns
and premises in a neat, tidy condition.
"Congressman Abraham L. Brick was the
last speaker. He spoke of the efforts to make
the city more attractive and more beautiful
and how its fame has spread. He had seen
the new bridge built at Boston and although
it was some spans longer he could honestly
say that it was no prettier than the Jefferson
street bridge, while he was confident that the
county got better value for its money at less
cost, than did the Boston builders.
"Mr. Brick referred to the charges of graft
ing that were being made over the country,
taking occasion to say that citizens of South
Bend could rest assured that there were no
such conditions existing here. He believed in
giving full credit to whom credit was due,
and it was certainly due the present city ad
ministration for the improvements that were
going on and the clean streets with the limi
ted funds at hand.
"At Mr. Brick's close the water was turned
into the fountain and as the cascades began
falling over the basins the electric lamps
burst into blaze, revealing the full magnifi
cence and beauty of the gift of this most
public spirited citizen and generous donor."
The Times took occasion in the same issue
to speak in deserved praise of the public spirit
of the citizens of South Bend who had been
liberal in bestowing of their means in mak
ing their city beautiful. Some of these items
are of special historical interest, and are here
inserted for that reason:
"The thousands of people," said the Times,
"who turned out last Saturday to witness

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

393

the dedication of the Studebaker fountain in
Howard Park bore eloquent testimony to the
high appreciation which the citizenship of
this municipality feels in the beautifying of
the queen city of the St. Joseph valley.
"Calvert H. Defrees is deserving of honor r
able mention in connection with the installa
tion of the Studebaker fountain in Howard
Park. With commendable generosity and by
the manifestation of an "appreciable public
spirit he constructed free of charge the ap
proaches to the fountain — the modern walks
leading to that ornamentation of the city's
most inviting resting place. In doing this
voluntarily and gracefully, the name of Mr.
Defrees is given an honorable place in the list
of South Bend's benefactors. Doubtless the
well-known contractor will find much satis
faction in contemplating that he. has ren
dered a good service to those who seek recrea
tion and joy in Howard Park.
' ' There are still opportunities for well-to-do
citizens of South Bend to do something for
the city by way of adornment and useful
ness. Good examples have been set; emula
tion should follow according to circum
stances and inclination. The Studebaker
fountain in Howard Park serves as a pointer.
It was, on a smaller but none-the-less appre
ciated scale, preceded by the widow of the
late Almond Bugbee in rearing a fountain
in Leeper Park. Epworth Hospital and St.
Paul's church constitute imposing monuments
to the memory of that noble citizen, the late
Hon. Clement Studebaker. The Y. W. C. A.
will soon be provided with a splendid home
through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs.
George Wyman. The Studebaker Manufac
turing Company will presently give us a su
perb building for the Y. M. C. A., supple
menting the spacious Auditorium. The Oli
vers have supplied the city with a magnificent
hotel, preceded by an elegant opera house.
valuable school sites have been generously
donated by Samuel S. Perley, James Oliver,
the Muessel estate and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Kaley; and Mrs. Jennette Reynolds has en

dowed the Humane Society with a $5,000
fund." The following also, from an editorial in
the same issue of the Times, coming as it
does from the philosophic and eloquent pen
of the Hon. John B. Stoll, its able editor, is
in the truest vein of appreciation of the deeds
of those eminent citizens who have made
South Bend renowned throughout the world
and beloved by her own people:
South Bend on Saturday evening, wrote
Mr. Stoll, accepted and dedicated the beau-
tifcil Studebaker fountain in Howard Park.
The formal ceremonies are, however, but
introductory to the real acceptance and dedi
cation of the fountain. These will continue
day after day and year after year, as the
citizens singly or in groups seek the whole
some recreations of the park, listen to the
falling waters of the fountain, quaff its re
freshing bounty or feast their eyes upon its
beauty. Little children will accept it as they
play about its base or laughingly dip their
childish fingers in its waters. Youths and
maidens will accept its influences unconscious
ly, perhaps, in their absorbed devotion to one
another ; tired manhood and womanhood will
accept it in an hour snatched for rest from
weary toil; old age will accept it as an aid
to contemplation — and all will dedicate amt
rededicate it to purposes of culture and com
fort. Nor will this acceptance and dedication
be confined to the present time or to those
now living.
When this generation shall have passed
away, when its successor shall have come and
gone and others still and others shall have
followed; when the great industries which
have built up our city and which effectuate
its present prosperity may have passed into
forgetfulness, this fountain, giving forth its
waters like some of the old Roman structures
that have blessed their localities for .2,000
years, will be annually accepted and conse
crated by the people who centuries hence shall
come after us. When the Studebaker wagon
or automobile even shall perchance have be
come as obsolete as is now the chariot of the
ancients, this fountain "gives bond in ever-
during brass" to guard the name of its donor
and immortalize the trust committed to it.
This trust Is to express, in material form,
a bond of sympathy between employer and
employe — -between capital and labor. It

394

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

manifests a recognition by one whom fortune
has favored of the obligations which pros
perity has laid upon him. ' ' Noblesse oblige ' '
— nobility imposes obligation — was the motto
of the old feudal lords of 'France.
In this land of equal manhood there are
no lords and retainers, no barons and peas
ants — the highest rank may be reached by
those in humblest conditions. But there are
those whose organizing genius, financial skill
or executive ability, combined with favorable
circumstances, enables them to amass for
tunes. They are the captains of industry,
leaders of the hosts of enterprise. Such lead
ers are a blessing to any community. In their
enterprise a city grows and its citizens pros
per. The employment they furnish becomes
a means of frugal comfort to many others,
and of fortune to some. Of course, the con
centrated profit means greater wealth to the
few whose capital is risked and whose busi
ness ability is chiefly responsible for success
or failure. If now, out of these accumula
tions the holder feels himself, under the ob
ligations of good fortune, bound to use a part
for the benefit of the citizens at large, his
activities become a double blessing, and his
individual success is still more the success
of all.
South Bend is fortunate in her capitalists.
They have not built up their fortunes in
doubtful speculations or by crushing feebler
competitors. They have conducted legitimate
business enterprises in such a way as to bene
fit their co-workers as well as to enrich them
selves. They have honestly earned the re
wards that have come to them. They also are
generous in sharing their surplus. Charities,
churches, hospitals and Christian associations,
in plans completed or projected, are continu
ously and munificently aided'. The city, too,
has been beautified by the generous expendi
ture of money not all with hope of return.
This Studebaker fountain, though conspicu
ous, .stands not alone as evidence of a gen
erous, broad-minded public spirit in the suc
cessful men of the city. It may well be ac
cepted as a type of what has been and is yet
to be. V. BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.
Sec. 1. — The Studebaker Brothers Manu
facturing Company. — The writer pf this his
tory is indebted to the courtesy of Col. Charles
Arthur Carlisle for the following sketch of

the evolution of the modern vehicle ; including
also an -account of the organization of the
Studebaker company and the development of
its mammoth manufacturing business. The
article has already been published in a widely
circulated vehicle journal, and has received
general commendation as a modest but com
prehensive treatment of a most interesting
subject. The article is followed by a sum
mary of the Studebaker history since the com
ing of Henry and Clement Studebaker to
South Bend, in 1852; also written by Mr.
Carlisle :

All vehicles prior to 1750 A. D. were
lutely springless and the leather thorough-
brace, which preceded the steel springs, did
not come into use until the end of the seven
teenth century (about 1692).
Westward Ho! the advance of civilization
carries us through all Europe, across the At
lantic, and we see the birth of a new nation
— a people who will outrank and outshine all
others in progress. In 1768 Boston proudly
boasted of having twenty-two carriages of
every description. In 1798 the number had
increased to one hundred and forty-five.
In 1770 President Quincy, of Harvard col
lege, wrote as follows of a stage journey be^
tween Boston and New York :
' ' The carriages were old and shackling, and
much of the harness made of ropes. One pair
of horses carried us eighteen miles. We
generally reached our destination for the
night, if no accident intervened, at ten o'clock
and, after a frugal supper, went to bed, with
a notice that we should be called at three next
morning, which generally proved to be half-
past two, and then, whether it snowed or
rained, the traveler must rise and make, ready
by the help of a horn lantern and a farthing
candle, and proceed on his way over bad
roads, sometimes getting out to help the coach
man lift the coach out of a quagmire or rut,
and arriving at New York after a week's
travel, wondering at the ease as well as the
expedition with which our journey was ef
fected." In 1775 Washington went to take command
of the American Army. It took him eighteen
days to go from Philadelphia to Cambridge,
Massachusetts. With the improvement of good roads and
the advancement of civilization We find the

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

395

industry of vehicle construction developing
and spreading in America. The leading styles
then in use throughout Europe naturally be
came the patterns followed by the American
craft, but here we began to mingle the ideas
of the English, the French and the German,
and development shows we made rapid pro-

In 1736, among the passengers who arrived
at Philadelphia on September 1st, on the ship
Harle, with Ralph Harle as master, from
Rotterdam, as per the original manuscripts
now in the Pennsylvania state library, were:
Peter Studebecker, age 38 years.
Clement Studebecker, age 36 years.
Henry Studebecker, age 29 years.
Anna Margetha Studebecker, age 38 years.
Anna Catharine Studebecker, age 28 years.
These brave pioneers, like others who were •
flocking to the shores of the land of the free
and the home of the brave, entered upon the
plain life before them. In 1830, in the village
of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, yet unknown to
fame, nestling at the foot of the mountain,
quiet and lovely, forming a scene of rustic
beauty and of ideal life, lived John Stude
baker, worthy son of a worthy sire, a village
blacksmith, whose 'motto hung upon the door:
"Owe no man anything,
But love one another. ' '
He built wagons, shod horses and did all kinds
of work at the forge and anvil. He did honest
work and his fame spread, and people came
from afar, because they knew of it. He was
poor, but he was young, and he was strong,
and he was of good heart. While he ham
mered at the anvil his good wife was running
the spinning wheel or making into garments
the cloth she had spun and woven. Cheerful,
haPPy, industrious and economical, she was a
fit helpmate for such a man.
Into this home of frugal but domestic bliss
Henry and Clement (the latter afterwards
known as Clem Studebaker, of national fame,
a man honored among men and beloved by all
who knew of him,) were born.
In 1835, after long and anxious thought
and prayer, John Studebaker, with his wife
and two sturdy boys, decided to move farther
west, hoping there to find greater prosperity.
A wagon was built for the family use, the
type and style of the Conestoga, or prairie
schooner ; another for the forge and anvil and
tools; a third for the household articles, and
with all of these the little family with brave

hearts put their trust in God and set their
faces toward the West.
Ashland, Ohio, was selected as the place
for the new home, and there a new shop was
erected and the hard-working smith once more
began the. battle of life.
At Ashland three other sons were born to
the happy smith and his wife^John Mohler,
Peter E., and Jacob F. So far as the loving
parents were able, each child was given a
common school education, but better than this
was the inspiration of love of honest toil and
living inculcated through the lessons taught
by the father and mother. They taught them
industry, frugality and honest dealings, and
as each of these boys learned his trade he was
taught how to put an honest and conscien
tious endeavor into everything he undertook.
It is a far cry from a village blacksmith
shop, with its solitary forge and one anvil, to
a factory covering more than one hundred
acres of land, employing more than three
thousand workmen, using more than fifty mil
lion feet of lumber and thousands 6"f tons of
refined bar iron and steel; manufacturing
and selling more than one hundred thousand
vehicles in a single year.
In 1852, Henry and Clem Studebaker, the
oldest of the five brothers, set their faces
again to the westward, and saying "good-by"
to loved ones at home, moved overland from
Ashland, Ohio, to South Bend, Indiana, then
a bustling little community located as an im
portant trading post upon the banks of the
beautiful St. Joseph.
With sixty-eight dollars in cash and stock-
in-trade, these two boys opened a blacksmith
shop in South Bend, Indiana. The first year
they built two wagons, shod horses and laid
the foundation for their greater success. One
of these wagons was found in daily use thir
ty-three years afterwards.
Within a few years, Henry,- desiring to re
tire from the firm of H. & C. Studebaker,
his interest was bought by John M., the third
son, who, like his brothers, was no stranger
to the anvil and the forge. Little by little,
but ever pressing forward, like the great oak
from the acorn, these brothers developed and
grew. A few years later the fourth son, Peter E.,
bred to buy and sell, joined his brothers,
Clem and John M., and together they con
tinued the march for great victory.
St. Joseph, Missouri, was at that time the
great western point, where congregated the

396

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

pioneers who were going overland to pene
trate the gold fields and the fertile valleys of
the western plains. There located, Peter E.
Studebaker opened the first repository for the
sale of Studebaker vehicles. Growing in the
confidence and respect of the people, the de
mands for the Studebaker product, so ably
represented by its western manager and so
splendidly and honestly made by the broth
ers, Clem and J. M., at the factory, began to
roll in upon them, and additional facilities
were required. The youngest brother, Jacob
F., was taken into the firm and the work of
building, vending and spreading its influence
became almost a herculean task, but the
emergencies as they arose found willing and
capable energies equal to the demands.
In 1852 two wagons were built; in 1904
more than one hundred thousand vehicles of
every description were made and sold.
They pushed into the West with the ad
vance of civilization, they spread to the
South, the North and the East.

ORIGINAL STUDEBAKER PLANT.
The government in 1864 gave them their
first great order, and every demand upon
them was promptly and quickly met, ever
keeping before them the motto of their sire :
"Owe no man anything, but love • one an
other. ' '
Fire swept in upon them, and within a few
hours their frame factory buildings were al
most entirely destroyed. Before daylight the
next morning one brother could be seen fly
ing to the eastern markets for new equip
ment; another to Chicago for temporary re
lief; another superintending the removal of
the debris and arranging for reconstruction.
These men knew how to meet an emergency.
and they set aside all grief and thought of
loss, and inspired the confidence of others

\.xlii their bra^e, determined hearts and
willing hands.
_Out of the ashes of the fire rose quickly
.brick and stone structures, equipped with
modern appliances and machinery, and al
most before their great loss was known -broad
cast the announcement was rushed, over wire
and by mail, from mouth to mouth their
story ran, and the world saw and knew of
their greater achievement — a modern factory
of brick and mortar, splendidly equipped,
improved facilities, almost doubling the for
mer output in capacity, ready for business,
not a loss of trade, not. a dissatisfied custo
mer. Is it any wonder that they grew in
the confidence and respect of the people?
Why, apparent hardships seemed almost a
pleasure to such men. Often, though, have I
heard Clem Studebaker tell the true story;
that is, the story of those dark hours at home,
when all the world seemed asleep; there the
great struggle of these men was uncovered,
there the true strength of the man's honest
heart was seen. The love and devotion of a
true wife, the blessings and comforts of a
happy home, come to such a man as the in
spiration of prayer, and God leads him out
of darkness again into the. sunshine.
Ever keeping apace with the demands upon
them, the Studebaker Brothers increased
their variety of styles, until it embraced
every type of vehicle for pleasure or busi
ness use, from a two-wheeled cart or a farm
wagon to a Presidential landau, and inclu
sive of electric and gasoline automobiles.
Lord Roberts, the military head of the
armies of Great Britain; in South Africa, in
his official report, said:
' ' Wagons were imported for trial from the
United States, and these proved to be su
perior to any other make, either of Cape or
English manufacture. The wheels were of
hickory and the metal work of steel. They
were built by Messrs. Studebaker Bros. Mfg.
Co., who have a great vehicle factory at
South Bend, Indiana.
"The superiority of these vehicles was
doubtless due to the fact that such are largely
used in America, for the carriage of goods.
' ' It may be added that the wagons in ques
tion cost considerably less than the Bristol
pattern wagon."
This splendid testimonial was looked upon
as a triumph for the American manufacturer
pnd the skill of the American mechanic. Ihe
Studebaker ambulance, service and field

..j ,j j

STUDEBAKER MANUFACTURING PLANT.

Founders and Officers of
Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company.
South Bend, Indiana.

ADDRESSES OF BRANCHES
Studebaker Bros. Co. of N. Y.. Broadway and 7th Ave., Cor. 48th St., New York, N. Y.
Studebaker Bros. Mfg. Co., 378 to 3S8 Wabash Ave., Chicago, 111.
Studebaker Bros. Co. of California., Cor Market and 10th Sts., San Francisco, Cal.
Studebaker Bros. Mfg. Co.. Cor. Hickory and 13th Sts., Kansas City, Mo.
Studebaker Bros. Co. Northwest, 330 to 336 E. Morrison St., Portland, Ore.
Studebaker Bros. Co. of Vtah, 157 to 159 State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah
Studebaker Bros. Mftf. Co., Cor. 15th and Blake Sts., Denver, Col.
Studebaker Bros. Mfjf. Co., 317-319 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

399

wagons, have been the standard for govern
ment use and have been found in our great
conflicts. Today magnificent Studebaker repositories
are seen in New York, Chicago, Kansas City,
San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, Denver,
Salt Lake City, Dallas, with more than ten
thousand selling agencies penetrating almost
every corner of the civilized world.
The New York Sun, under date of Sep
tember 4th, 1904, says: "How rarely now
one sees a foreign name-plate on a carriage in
New York. How often a few years ago.
There is no question but that Studebaker did
most to make American carriages better than
those of Europe — better in character and
style of design, better in workmanship. In
fact, Studebaker has built the spirit of sturdy
and progressive Americanism into the vehicle
itself." Henry and Clement Studebaker, having re
ceived a common school education and having
learned their father's trade, wagon-making,
moved from Ashland, Ohio, in 1852, and set
tled in South Bend, Indiana. Here they
opened a blacksmith shop on Michigan street,
where they shod horses, built two wagons the
first year, and laid the foundation for their
greater successes. Their cash capital and
stock in trade was $68. In 1858 Henry re
tired from the firm of H. & C. Studebaker,
his interest being purchased by John Mohler,
the third son, for $5,200. A few years later
Peter E. joined his brothers and located the
first repository for the sale of their output
at St. Joseph, Mo. In 1868 they were incor
porated as a stock company, capital $75,000.
As the business grew, Jacob F., the youngest
brother, was taken into the company.
In 1872 their frame factory north of the
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway
was completely destroyed by fire, entailing a
loss of $80,000. New works were immediately
erected south of the railroad, on the present
site. In 1874 the works were again burned
to the ground, the loss amounting to $350,000,
including 2,400 wagons; but out of the ashes
grew a modern factory, splendidly equipped
with improved facilities, almost doubling the
former output in capacity and making all

types of vehicles. These works now consti
tute the largest wagon and carriage manu
factory in the world, covering more than 100
acres; employing more than 3,000 workmen;
using more than 50,000,000 feet of lumber,
and thousands of tons of refined bar iron
and steel; manufacturing and selling more
than 100,000 vehicles of all descriptions in a
single year.
The present officers of the company are as
follows: John Mohler Studebaker, president;
Geo. M. 'Studebaker, vice-president; Clement
Studebaker, Jr., treasurer; John M. Stude
baker, Jr., secretary.
In 1891 the Studebakers commenced the
manufacture of harness in all its branches,
and in 1906 the business was incorporated
under the name of Studebaker Harness Com
pany. Their annual product approximates
25,000 sets of complete single and double
work, team and- driving harness, besides a
large output of collars, strap'work and patent
leather saddlery.
Keeping pace with the march of progress
and the advent of self-propelled vehicles, the
Studebakers in 1902 embarked in the manu
facture of automobiles. The business was
incorporated as the Studebaker Automobile
Company; large buildings were erected and
equipped; and the Studebaker automobile
has already gained an enviable reputation,
not alone in this country but abroad. The
output consists of gasoline passenger cars,
electric passenger cars, and electric wagons
and trucks for commercial purposes.
The ' several Studebaker companies have
been evolved from a little blacksmith shop
to their present proportions in the city of
South Bend, and their agencies and ware-
rooms are spread throughout the civilized
world. Their policy is permanent and fixed,
and the spirit of American progressiveness
and integrity characteristic of the founders
of the parent company, has been handed
down from father to son, and in like manner
will be transmitted to the next generation,
each being particularly trained in knowing

100

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

how to do his work best as a part of an or
ganization complete in all its details.
Sec. 2. — The Oliver Plow Works. — James
Oliver was born in Liddisdale, Scotland,
August 28, 1823, and came to America with
his parents when he was twelve years of age.
After a stay of one year in Seneca county,
New York, the family removed to Mishawa
ka, Indiana, where Mr. Oliver was married
and where he continued to live until the year
1855, when he came to South Bend. During
the last ten years of his residence in Mish-

f ull share of mishaps ; the water power bein»
at one time washed away, while afterwards on
December 24, 1859, the works were totally de
stroyed by fire. But these hardships only
served to infuse new energy into the sturdy
manufacturer, who rebuilt his foundry and
constantly increased his business. It was in
this foundry that Mr. Oliver began and per
fected his experiments in the manufacture of
chilled plows, and thus laid the foundations
of his great fame and fortune.
On July 22, 1868, Mr. Oliver, in connection

RESIDENCE OP JAMES OLIVER, THE FAMOUS PLOW MANUFACTURER, SOUTH BEND.

awaka, he was in the employment of the St.
Joseph Iron "Works, where he became an ex
pert in the foundry business and other mat
ters relating to the manufacture of machinery
and farm implements.
In 1855, Mr. Oliver formed a partnership
with a Mr. Lamb and Mr. Fox in the foundry
business. The foundry was named the South
Bend Iron Works, probably by reason of Mr.
Oliver's long association with the St. Joseph
Iron Works in Mishawaka. The foundry in
South Bend was located on Mill street, on
the west race. The establishment had its

with some of his enterprising friends, incor
porated the South Bend Iron Works— after
wards developed into the famous Oliver
Chilled Plow Works. The incorporators
were: James Oliver, Thelus M. Bissell,
George Milburn, John Brownfield and Clem
ent Studebaker. In time the stock of the cor
poration passed entirely into Mr. Oliver's
hands, and those of his wife and children,
James Oliver and his son, Joseph D. Oliver,
becoming the sole active owners and mana
gers of the mammoth establishment.
When the little foundry on Mill street be-

Tne Century FU]lisftin§ &.Enf;ravin£ Co, Chicago .

awud '(yZssvwt-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

401

came too small for the immense business that
began to crowd into it, Mr. Oliver purchased
a large tract in the southwest part of the city
of South Bend, or rather outside what were
then the city limits. There has grown up
the largest plow factory in the world, the
Oliver Chilled Plow Works," out of which
daily carloads of the famous chilled plow go
to every quarter of the globe. The value of
the great plant hardly admits of estimate,
running as it does into millions of dollars.
Within the past two or three years the
Oliver Company has become the owner of the
greater part of the stock of the South Bend

On October 12, 1901, the company was
reorganized under the more fitting title of
the Oliver Chilled Plow Works, with a capi
tal of five hundred thousand dollars. This
sum, vast as it is, is but a small part of the
great property which it represents, as the
most extensive plow works in the world.
Sec. 3. — The Birdsell, Manufacturing
• Company. — The Birdsell Clover Huller was
invented and perfected by John Comly Bird-
sell, while he was engaged in farming in Mon
roe county, New York. After several years
of thinking and experiment the famous ma
chine was patented in 1855. Ten years more

RESIDENCE OF J. D. OLIVER, SOUTH BEND.

Manufacturing Company. The old mills and
factories have been removed, and the new
owners of the water power have constructed
an electric light plant, using the water power
of the river to generate. the electric fluid, as
heretofore noted in this history." The elec
tricity so generated is used not only to give
light, heat and power to the immense factory,
but also to light and heat the Oliver Opera
House, the Oliver Hotel, and the residences
of Mr. Oliver and those of his son, Joseph D.
Oliver, and his daughter, Mrs. Josephine Oli
ver Ford, wife of Ex-Congressman George
Ford. o. Chap. 7, Subd. 1, Sec. 4.
26

were given to its improvement. In 1864 Mr.
Birdsell 's factory, which had bjsen erected on
his farm in New York, was destroyed by fire.
He then determined to remove to the west,
and settled at South Bend, Indiana, where,
notwithstanding vexatious and expensive liti
gation growing out of infringements on his
patents, the business grew rapidly. On
March 8, 1870, the Birdsell Manufacturing
Company was incorporated by Mr. Birdsell
and his sons, Varnum 0., Joseph B., and By
ron A. — John Comly Birdsell being made
president, and Joseph Benjamin Birdsell,
treasurer. Brief biographies of father and son
are found elsewhere in this work. In the same

402

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

year, a five-story brick factory building was
erected, which is still the main building of
the Birdsell plant. At the time this was the
largest factory building in South Bend.
In 1887, the company began the manufac
ture of farm wagons, which enterprise has
nearly equalled in success, that of the clover
hulling manufactory. The company has long
enjoyed the distinction of having the largest
clover huller factory in the world. The Bird-
sell clover hullers are used in every civilized
nation of the world. Agencies for its sale are
now established in every state in the Union
where clover grows, and likewise in Great
Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Russia and
other countries in the old world. No article
manufactured in South Bend has brought
more honor and fame to the city than the
Birdsell Clover Huller.
Sec. 4. — The Singer Sewing Machine
Company. — The Singer Sewing Machine
Company was originally incorporated under
the laws of the state of New Jersey with a
capital of ten millions of dollars; and this
has since been increased to thirty millions.
The three principal plants of the company are
near Glasgow, Scotland, at Elizabeth, New
Jersey, and at South Bend, Indiana. The
plant at Glasgow is the largest sewing ma
chine factory in the world, and has a capacity
of twenty thousand completed machines a
week. Other factories are at Hamburg and
Berlin, Germany. The cabinets and cases
manufactured at South Bend are finished
here complete for the American trade and
shipped to Elizabeth, where they are per
fected and then supplied to the trade. Cases
and cabinets are also shipped from South
Bend direct to the great factory at Glasgow,
and likewise to Hamburg and Berlin, for the
European trade.
The South Bend Singer plant was estab
lished in 1868. At that time the capacity of
these works was one thousand cabinet sets a
week. Today the capacity of the South Bend
works approaches ten thousand sets per day,
while over two thousand persons are em
ployed in the various departments.

The South Bend plant was originally lo-
cated on East Madison and North Emrick
streets, adjoining the tracks of the Michigan
Central railroad; and the buildings were
increased in size from year to year until all
the available territory in the locality was oc
cupied. In 1899 and 1900 preparations were
made for the moving of the plant to another
part of the city, in order to accommodate the
constantly increasing business. A tract of
about sixty acres, at Division and Olive
streets, adjoining the Lake Shore railroad
tracks was accordingly purchased; and the
erection of massive structures of brick was
at once begun, which with the vast lumber
sheds had by the close of the year 1901, near
ly covered the vast area. Even persons who
had fair knowledge of the vastness of the
business of the Singer Company could hardly
believe that so much business space could be
occupied. But the new works are filled with
men and machinery and the enormous daily
product already mentioned is the result.
The genius of the Singer Company in
South Bend was Leighton Pine, already
spoken of in connection with the building of
our city water works." Mr. Pine was not
only the untiring genius of the Singer Sew
ing Machine Company in South Bend; he
was, in addition, one of the most valued
citizens of the city, always foremost in what
pertained to the welfare of the community
of which he was so highly honored a member.
Sec. 5. — The O'Brien Varnish Works.—
The O'Brien Varnish Works has a history
similar to many others in South Bend. It
is the creation of a man of energy and force
of character, combined with good business
capacity. The company was organized May
31, 1878, with a capital of twenty thousand
dollars, and is now owned and managed en
tirely by Mr. Patrick O'Brien and his very
capable sons. The officers are: Patrick
O'Brien, president; George L. O'Brien, vice-
president; William D. O'Brien, secretary;
and Frederick 0 'Brien, treasurer. The plant
has increased to very large proportions, pro-
o. Ante, this chapter, Subd. 4, Sec. 3.

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THE BIRDSELL FACTORIES OF TODAY.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

407

ducing not only varnish, as originally con
templated, but also all oils and materials go
ing to the manufacture of paints. The
company has won a very high place among
the manufacturers of the city.
Sec. 6. — The Staley Manufacturing
Company. — Alexander C. Staley was one of
the substantial men of South Bend, and be
came a successful manufacturer of woolen
underwear. The A. C. Staley goods have for
. many years been well known to the trade of
the country. On July 24, 1888, Mr. Staley,
with his son, Marion B. Staley, and William
H. Longley organized the A. C. Staley Manu
facturing Company, which has continued to
maintain the reputation of the founder. After
the death of Mr. A. C. Staley, Marion B.
Staley and other stockholders continued the
business which has developed into very large
proportions. The present stockholders and
managers are the Stephenson brothers, who
also constitute the Stephenson Manufacturing
Company. In 1907 the name of the A. C.
Staley mills, and that of the company, was
changed to Stephenson Underwear Mills.
See. 7. — The South Bend Toy Works. —
The South Bend Toy Manufacturing Com
pany was organized December 22, 1882, with
a capital of fifteen thousand dollars, for the
purpose of making croquet sets and other
articles of wood, chiefly intended for amuse
ment. The incorporators were John W. Teel,
Frederick H. Badet and William T. Cars-
kaddon. It is said to be at present the largest
establishment of the kind in the world. Be
fore incorporation the works were known as
the Teel & Badet Company, and are some
times so called even now.
Sec. 8. — The Knoelock-Heidman Com
pany. — This company has been very success
ful in the ma'nufacture of electrical appara
tus. The present owners and managers are
Otto M. Knoblock, William H. Miller, and
George H. Heidman. The company was
originally organized May 17, 1900, with a
capital of one hundred and twenty-five thou
sand dollars, as the Miller-Knobloek Electric

Priming Manufacturing Company, the in
corporators being John C. Knoblock, Otto M.
Knoblock, William H. Miller, Horace G. Mil
ler, Albert W. Morrell and C. Warren Sheets.
Sec. 9. — The South Bend Chilled Plow
Company. — The Knoblock Brothers' Manu
facturing Company was organized April 18,
1871, for the manufacture of farm imple
ments, the incorporators being John C. Knob
lock, William Knoblock, Theodore E. Knob
lock and John IT. Dolman. Out of this com
pany grew the St. Joseph Reaper and Ma
chine Company. In 1876, the Company began
the making of chilled plows, and on July 1,
1878, was reorganized as the South Bend
Chilled Plow Company, with Adam S. Baker,
as president; John C. Knoblock as treas
urer; and George W. Baker as secretary.
Ever since the closing of the Northern In
diana College, at the west end of Washington
street, the company has occupied the build
ings and grounds of that institution. Other
buildings, however, have been erected and the
lands of the company much extended. The
present officers are: W. L. Cassaday, presi
dent; A. D. Baker, secretary and treasurer.
The company has become one of the great
manufacturing concerns of the city, and its
plows are everywhere acknowledged to be
among the best made at any place.
Sec. 10. — The Folding Paper Box Com
pany. — This company was incorporated De
cember 2, 1893, for the manufacture of paper
boxes of every kind. The incorporators were
William H. Barger, Marvin Campbell and My
ron Campbell. The capital stock was twenty-
five thousand dollars. The present owners
and managers of the plant are: Marvin
Campbell, president; John B. Campbell, sec
retary; Myron Campbell, treasurer; and
John Campbell, manager. The company has
prospered from the beginning, and the busi
ness operations have become very large.
Sec. 11. — The South Bend Woolen Com
pany. — This fine plant has been in operation
for a great number of years, and has always
been noted for the excellent quality of the

408

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

cloth manufactured. The efficient managers
in the beginning were Joseph Worden, George
W. Lewis, Corwin B. Van Pelt and Henry G.
Niles. It was, as these names will indicate, an
institution originating in Mishawaka. The
present managers are : Henry G. Niles, pres
ident; Corwin B. Van Pelt, vice-president;
S. A. Niles, secretary; Henry G. Niles, Jr.,
treasurer and manager; and William Fisher,
superintendent. Sec. 12. — The Indiana Foundry Com
pany. — This is one of our latest acquisitions.
The company was organized April 17, 1903,
with a capital of ten thousand dollars. Like
most of our successful manufactories, it had
a modest beginning; but it has developed rap
idly. The incorporators were: William N.
Bergan, Alonzo A. Forsyth, Joseph Bergan,
Frederick L. Dennis, Edward Bergan, Hiram
W. VanNest and Chauncey N. Fassett. The
present officers are: Frederick L. Dennis,
president; William N. Bergan, vice-presi
dent; F. H. Fassett, secretary; Chauncey N.
Fassett, treasurer and general manager; M.
Konzen, cashier and purchasing agent.
Sec. 13. — The La Salle Paper Company.
— This company is now under the sole man
agement of Frank P. Nicely. The building
in which the business of manufacturing paper
is- carried on, situated on East Madison
street, on the east race, is deserving of par
ticular notice from the circumstance that
here, when Beach & Keedy were the proprie
tors, the first paper made in South Bend was
manufactured. It is at present the only fac
tory in South Bend for the manufacture of
paper.
Sec. 14. — The Winkler Brothers' Manu
facturing Company. — The friendly relations
of the members of manufacturing companies
in South Bend is manifested by the number
of companies organized by families — the
Studebakers, the Olivers, the Birdsells, the
O'Briens, the Knoblocks, the Stephensons, the
Campbells, the Hunts, the Colmers, and many
others ; and more recently, the Winklers. The
Winkler Brothers are also distinguished for

their success before the organization of any
corporation. Like the Studebakers, they be
gan at the anvil and the bench. On October
29, 1902, when their business in the manu
facture of wagons and other vehicles had
increased to mammoth proportions, they
found the necessity of becoming incorpora
ted. The capital was fixed at seventy-five
thousand dollars ; and they purchased a large
vacant tract on the Lake Shore railroad, in
the southwest part of the city, where they
erected a most complete and modern factory
building, which was completed and occupied
during the past two years. The present offi
cers are : Frederick C. Winkler, president ;
Charles H. Winkler, vice-president;' John G.
Grim, secretary; Remy Vuylsteke, superin
tendent. Sec. 15. — Other Manufacturing Com
panies. — South Bend is essentially so much
a manufacturing city that it would be quite
impossible in this work to give an extended
notice of each, or even of a majority, of the
companies now organized and engaged in al
most every variety of manufacturing. The
following is but a partial list of companies
not yet mentioned, most of which would he
entitled to far more notice than that which
can here be given :
The Matthews Steam Boiler Works, long
conducted by that good, industrious citizen,
Jonathan Matthews.
The Indiana Lumber and Manufacturing
Company, one of the present live companies
of the city, at the head. of which is the genial
and energetic Christopher Fassnacht.
The Colfax Manufacturing Company, en
gaged in the building of light wagons, and
which preserves in our industrial history the
name of our most distinguished citizen of
other days, Vice-President Schuyler Colfax,
and that of his son, also Schuyler Colfax, for
mer mayor of South Bend.
The Stephenson Manufacturing Company,
makers of wood turnings. This is the same
corporation mentioned in connection with the
A. C. Staley Manufacturing Company.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

409

The South Bend Iron Bed Company.
The Colmer Brothers, makers of tools and
bicycle specialties.
The Hunt Brothers' Wagon and Carriage
Works. The Davies Shirt Company; and the Wil
son Brothers' Shirt Manufacturing Company.
Both of these are very prosperous, and the
Wilson Company has a number of very large
buildings. The South Bend Watch Company, having
a factory situated near the eastern city lim
its, between South Bend and Mishawaka. The
quality of the watches made in this factory-
is quite equal to that of those made at Elgin
or Waltham.
Still other manufacturing industries are:
The Boiler Compound Manufacturing Com
pany; The Hull Brothers' Boiler Company;;
Thaddeus Talcott's Boiler Works; Maurer,
Labadie & Company, boiler makers; The
Northern Brass & Aluminum Foundry; The
Frank Fisher Brick Kilns; The Frank Per
kins Brick Kilns; The South Bend Brick
Company; The Jacobson-Peterson Broom
Works ; The Botts & Klaasen Concrete
Works; The Calvert H. Defrees Concrete
Works; The R S. Hollowell Concrete Works;
The Henry C. Eckler Building Material Man
ufacturers; The Miller & Donahue Lumber
Manufacturing Company ; The Smith & Jack
son Lumber and Manufacturing Company;
The Ziegler-Stickler Lumber and Manufac
turing Company; The Ideal Concrete Ma
chine Company; The Edmondson Concrete
Machine Company; The R. Z. Snell Cement
Block Machine Manufacturers; The South
Bend Machine Manufacturing Company; The
Williams-Forrest Machine Company; The
South Bend Chandelier Company; The Mc-
Erlain & Elbel Cigar Box Manufacturers;
Bernard J. Engeldrum, Charles L. Goetz,
Omacht & Stedman, and eighteen to twenty
other cigar manufacturers; The South Bend
Dowel Works; The Sibley Drill Manufac
turers; The George Cutter Electric Specialty
Company; The Russell & Ober Excelsior Man

ufacturers; The Wells-Kreighbaum Extension
Table Manufacturers; The N. P. Bowsher
Feed Mill Manufacturing Company; The In
diana Anchor Fence Company; The Worden
Buektail Fishing Tackle Company; The An
derson Brass Foundry; The Meyer Foundry
and Manufacturing Company; The Sibley
Machine Tool Company; The South Bend
Foundry Company; The John Gannen Grill
Company; The William Neidhart Grill Man
ufacturer; The John A. Neuperth Grill Man
ufacturer; The Owen Harness Snaps Manu
factory; The John D. Haberle Machine
Works; The Schock Machine Company; The
Charles M. Starr Machine Works; The Per
fection Mattress Company; The Russell &
Ober Mattress Makers; The Turner Oil Fil
ter Company; The South Bend Pulp and
Plaster Company; The Beall Non-Pounding
Frog and Crossing Company; The John Bey
rer Roofing Company; The Lauber & Weiss
Galvanized Works; The Cassady Rotary En
gine Company; David Armstrong Rubber
Stamp Factory; The H. A. Pershing Office
Supply Works; The Bailey & Ingram Rub
ber Stamp Works; The August Soderberg
Snuff Factory; The South Bend Spark Ar
rester Company; The Malleable Steel Range
Manufacturing Company; The C. G. Folsom
& Co. Stove Company ; The South Bend Tent
& Awning Company; The Indiana Tent &
Awning Company; The James W. Camper
Tent & Awning Works; The South Bend
Spring Wagon & Carriage Company; The
John Dyer Weather Strip Works; the
Chauncey Pippinger Weather Strip Works;
The South Bend Split Pulley Works.
See. 16. — Banks. — Closely connected with
the manufactures and general business of
South Bend are its banks. These institutions
are almost coeval with the municipality it
self. The State Bank of Indiana was char
tered on January 28, 1834, with headquarters
at Indianapolis, and with authority to es
tablish ten district branches throughout the
state.0 Dr. John A. Henricks and Hon.
Thomas D. Baird, assisted by Hon. George
a. R. S., 1838, pp. 92-115.

410

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Crawford, of Elkhart county, secured the lo
cation of one of the branch banks at South
Bend. On February 22, 1838, a public meet
ing was held at the court house to express
the great satisfaction of the people with this
action; and on February 24, 1838, a dinner
was given at the Exchange hotel in honor of
the same event. Subscription books were
opened July 2, 1838, Alexis Coquillard, Lath
rop M. Taylor and John Grant acting as com
missioners. The books were closed August
4, 1838, with more than a thousand shares sub
scribed over the amount required. The bank
was opened for business November 24, 1838.
It was first located in a two-story brick build-

Among the presidents of our first bank
the South Bend Branch of the State Bank
of Indiana, were Tyra W. Bray, John Eg
bert, Lathrop M. Taylor, Anthony Defrees,
Jonathan L. Jernegan, Samuel C. Sample and
Ricketson Burroughs. Marshall P. Chapin
as teller, settled up the affairs of the bank
at the expiration of the charter. The officers
of the second bank, the Bank of the State of
Indiana, during its existence, from 1858 to
1864, were : President, John Brownfield ; cash
ier, Horatio Chapin; and teller, John T.
Lindsey. The First National Bank of South Bend
was organized September 5, 1863, by Charles

OLD FIRST NATIONAL BANK.

ing at the northeast corner of Michigan
street and what is now Colfax avenue. In
1841, the long familiar building . opposite,
with its imposing porticos, on the southwest
corner of the same streets, was occupied by
the bank; and there it remained until the
expiration of the charter, in 1858.
On March 3, 1855, a charter had been
obtained for a bank to be known as the Bank
of the State of Indiana, with a capital of
one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to
begin business on the expiration of the char
ter of the old bank. This bank continued
until the establishment of national banks in
1864.

N. Culver, Thomas S. Stanfield, John A. Hen
ricks, Ethan S. Reynolds, John Reynolds and
Ransom Hubbard. The capital stock was one
hundred thousand dollars. The bank opened
for business in the old St. Joseph block, at
the corner of Washington and Main streets,
November 30, 1863. Thomas S. Stanfield was
the first president and John T. Lindsey first
cashier. The directors were Thomas S. Stan
field, John Reynolds, Ethan S. Reynolds,
John A. Henricks and Ransom Hubbard. Wil
liam Miller, afterwards Mayor Miller, be
came president in 1867, and in the same year
Charles W. Guthrie became cashier. In 1869
John A. Henricks was elected president: On

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

411

January 13, 1871, Caleb A. Kimball was
elected cashier, a position which he has ever
since held. John R. Foster "was afterwards
president, and was succeeded by Lucius Hub
bard, who is still president. The vice-presi
dents have been Albert G. dishing, Ethan S.
Reynolds, Edward B. Reynolds and Marion
B. Staley, the present incumbent. On the
burning of the old St. Joseph block, in 1865,
the bank was removed to the building of
the old State Bank of Indiana, where it re
mained for thirty-five years. On June 10,
1900, the bank was again located on the site
of its original quarters, in the Oliver hotel
block, at the northwest corner of Washington
and Main streets.
The South Bend National Bank was organ
ized in 1870 by John Brownfield, William
Miller, Lucius Hubbard, Schuyler Colfax,
William Mack, Powers Green, Darwin H.
Baker, Benjamin F. Price and Caleb A. Kim
ball. John Brownfield was the first president.
He was succeeded, in 1888, by William Mil
ler, who remained president until his death,
February 21, 1901. Marvin Campbell has
been president since the death of Mr. Miller.
The bank was for many years located in the
Price Theatre building on Michigan street,
adjoining the old State Bank building. It is
now on the same street, near the corner of
Washington street.
The origin of the St. Joseph County Sav
ings Bank is principally due to Theodore J.
Seixas, one of the brightest financiers in the
history of the county. The bank was incor
porated November 25, 1869. The 'incorpo
rators were Louis Humphreys, John C. Knob
lock, Thelus M. Bissell, Joseph Worden,
Adam S. Baker, T. Wilkes Defrees, David
G-reenawalt, Almond Bugbee, William F. Bul
la and John C. Birdsell. The bank was opened
for business in January, 1870. The first bank
building was located on the east side of
Main street, a little north of Washington.
The location was afterwards changed to a
point' nearly opposite, on the west side of the
same street. Afterwards, for a time, it was at

the southwest corner of Michigan and Jeffer
son streets. In 1883, the present site was
purchased, at the northeast 'corner of Main
and Center streets, where a commodious bank
building was erected. In 1900 this building
was greatly enlarged and improved. The
bank has now as commodious and pleasant
quarters as could be desired. The business
has continued to increase in an ex
traordinary degree, from the beginning. In

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY SAVINGS BANK,
SOUTH BEND.
1870 the deposits were seven thousand,
two hundred and sixty-seven dollars and
ninety-eight cents. They are now over three
and a quarter millions. The depositors num
ber nearly ten thousand, and over thirteen
hundred thousand dollars have been paid to
them in interest. Mr. Seixas served as secre
tary and cashier until 1878, when he was suc
ceeded by the present incumbent, Lucius
G. Tong. The first president was Louis

412

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Humphreys. On the death of Dr. Hum
phreys, George W. Matthews became presi
dent. On the death of Mr. Matthews, in 1895,
Jacob Woolverton became president. In the
year 1900, the St. Joseph Loan and Trust
Company , was organized in connection with
the bank, andhas since done a most extensive
business. It may be said that the extraordin
ary success of the St. Joseph County Savings
Bank has been" due chiefly to the business
ability, kindliness and strict integrity of
Theodore J. Seixas, Lucius G. Tong and the
other managers of its concern. The present
officers of the bank are: President, Jacob
Woolverton; vice-president, Benjamin F.
Dunn ; second vice-president, George U. Bing
ham; secretary and treasurer, Lucius G.
Tong. The officers of the trust company are:
President, John M. Studebaker, Sr.; vice-
president, Jacob Woolverton; second vice-
president, George U. Bingham; secretary and
treasurer, Lucius G. Tong.
The People's Savings Bank was organized
in 1875 by Joseph B. Arnold, Jr., and oth
ers. Mr. Arnold was the first president. The
trustees were : Hiram Jackson, Newton Jack
son, Aaron. Webster, Henry B. Hine, George
W. Swygart, Andrew J. Jaquith, Joseph B.
Arnold, Sr., and Joseph B. Arnold, Jr. The
business was successfully carried on for ten
years, when the bank voluntarily closed, paid
its depositors in full and retired.
The foregoing may be considered as the his
torical banking concerns of the city. , The
remaining banks and trust companies, all of
which are doing an excellent business, are :
The Citizens' National Bank, the Merchants'
National Bank, the American 'Trust Com
pany and the Citizens' Loan, Trust and Sav
ings Company.
VI. RELIGIOUS, EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL.
Sec. 1. — The Methodist Church. — From
May 6th to May 13th, 1906, the First Meth
odist Episcopal Church of South Bend held
its diamond jubilee, in commemoration of the
first organization of the local society.

Through the courtesy of the Rev. Madison
H. Appleby, present pastor of the church,
the following historical sketch, published iu
connection with the jubilee, is here given:
"Organized Methodism north of the Wa
bash river had its beginnings in 1831, when
from the Illinois conference N. B. Griffith
was appointed to the Ft. Wayne mission,
Madison district, Allen Wiley, presiding
elder." "On the 24th of January, 1831, Rev. N.

B. Griffith and Benjamin Ross and family ar
rived at South Bend. Samuel Martin and
wife and Benjamin Potter and wife, who were
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
had preceded them. N. B. Griffith came as
a missionary, but as there was a deep snow
on the ground and the weather was very cold,
and as the few families in the village were
a. But see Chap. 8, Subd. 5, Sec. 13, of this
history. While the first regular organization may
have been under the Rev. N. B'. Griffith, as statea
yet it appears that the Rev. James Armstrong
organized the first Methodist church m w»
county, at Hamilton, on Terre Coupee Prairie,
in 1830.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

413

sheltered in cabins and half-faced shanties,
no room could be had large enough to ac
commodate the people for preaching. On the
evening of the 31st of January, these Meth
odist families met at the house of Benjamin
Ross and held a prayer-meeting, which was
the first Methodist worship, if not the first
Protestant worship, held in South Bend.
"Some time in March following, the Rev.
Leonard B. Gurley, on a missionary tour, ar
rived and preached in the house of Benjamin
Ross; but as the field had been provided for
by the appointment of Mr. Griffith, he did not
remain. "Early in April Mr. Griffith returned, and
on the evening of the 6th collected the peo
ple in the bar-room of a small tavern kept
by Benjamin Coquillard, a Roman Catholic,
and preached; after which he organized the
first class, consisting of Samuel Martin and
wife, Benjamin Potter and wife, Benjamin
Ross and wife, Rebecca Stull and Simeon
Mason. Martin and Ross were appointed
leaders. In June, 1831, William StanfieTd
and wife came to South Bend and were
added to the class by certificate, and Mr. Stan
field was soon afterward appointed leader.
About the same time Samuel Newman and
wife were also added by letter. , In August Ja
cob Hardman, M. D., a.nd in the fall Samuel
Good and wife joined by certificate. A Sab
bath school was organized and officered as
follows: Superintendent, William Stanfield;
secretary and treasurer, Horatio Chapin;
teachers, H. Chapin, E. R. Tutt, Elliott Smith
and Dr. Hardman. This was a union school.
In 1835 the first Methodist Sunday school
was organized. It met for a time in John
Brownfield 's kitchen. The first church build
ing was erected on North Main street in
1835-36. A brick church building was built,
in 1851, on the site of the present building,
at the corner of Main and Jefferson streets.
It was dedicated on the 17th of August of
that year. The present building was com
pleted in 1871. A parsonage on the site now
occupied was built in 1866, during the pas

torate of Dr. C. A. Brooke. This building
was torn down and replaced by the present
modern and commodious structure, in 1905.
The following men have served the church
as pastors since its organization, in 1831:
"N. B. Griffith, R. S. Robinson, G. M. Bes-
wick, B. Phelps, S. R. Ball, James S. Harri
son, David Stiver, William M. Farley, G. M.
Boyd, Zachariah James, F. Crane, John H.
Bruce, John B. DeMotte, Milton Mahin, John
P. Jones, T. C. Hackney, Henry C. Benson,
E. S. Preston, James Johnson, James C. Reed,
A. A. Gee, C. S. Burgner, William Wilson,
Joseph C. Reed, G. Morgan, S. T. Cooper,
Clark Skinner, C. A. Brooke, John Thrush,
J. H. Swope, G. M. Boyd, H. A. Gobin (two
terms), J. C. Stephens, S. B. Town (two
terms), W. H. Hickman, H. M. Middleton,
J. H. Hollingsworth, E. P. Bennett and M.
H. Appleby."
The second society established in South
Bend by the Methodist church was the Michi
gan Street Church, or Grace Church, as it
is more properly called. This chureh was
organized in 1869, with one hundred and thir
ty-seven members. The first pastor was the
Rev. William R. Mikels. This church has con
tinued prosperous to this day.
The German Methodist Episcopal Church
was organized in 1872 by the Rev. Philip
Walker, of Michigan City. The first pastor
was the Rev. William Keller. The society
has a fine brick church at the northwest
corner of Lafayette and Wayne streets. The
present pastor is the Rev. Henry Karnopp.
The other Methodist churches of the city
are: The Free Methodist Chureh, the Rev.
B. R. Parks, pastor; the Lowell Heights
Methodist Church; and the Mount Olive
African Methodist Episcopal Church, the
Rev. Cyrus E. Roberts, pastor. There is also
the River Park Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Milburn Chapel, in memory of her
father, George Milburn, was built on West
Thomas street, in 1883 by Mrs. Clement Stu
debaker at a cost of ten thousand dollars.
Before his lamented death Mr. Studebaker

414

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

began the erection at the corner of Laporte
and Colfax avenues of what has since become
the finest church edifice in northern Indiana,
if not in the state. It has been dedicated un
der the name of St. Paul's Memorial Church;
and is a fitting monument to the memory of
the great and good man who projected it, as
well as to that of Mr. Milburn, for whose com
memoration the original chapel was built.
Clement Studebaker, known and beloved by
the people of South Bend, could have no fitter
monument than this magnificent church of
Saint Paul's. The present eloquent and

wives and their children, forming and organ
izing the pioneer church. At the first meet
ing held in the house of Horatio Chapin, Rev
M. M. Post, of Logansport, officiated as' mod
erator, and John McConnell, of Crawfords
ville, was elected the first elder. Later on,
August 17, 1834, another meeting was held
and more families united with the church,
and the Lord's supper was celebrated. Oii
the next day following, Horatio Chapin was
elected an elder, and was later ordained by
Rev. A. B. Brown of the then territory of
Michigan. For over a year they were with-

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, SOUTH BEND.

learned pastor is the Rev. William Forney
Hovis. Sec. 2.— The Presbyterian Church.— The
Presbyterian church in South Bend had its
inception in 1831, when Horatio Chapin and
William Stanfield organized the first union
Sunday school in a log school house. The his
tory of the First Presbyterian Church in this
city has recently been published under the
auspices of the church ; and, by permission of
the reverend pastor, Dr. Henry Webb John
son, it is inserted in this history, as follows:
' ' On the third day of May, A. D. 1834, in
the then wilderness, abounding with Indians,
the First Presbyterian Church of South Bend
was organized by families, husbands and

out a pastor, and held services in private
houses, and in a log school house, that stood
where the Jefferson school house now stands.
Here it was that their first pastor, Rev. Alfred
Bryant, preached to them in October, A. D.
1835. Mr. Bryant was a young man, a grad
uate of Princeton College, and was sent out
by the' Board of Home Missions, who paid
two-thirds of his salary. He was a scholarly
and saintly man, and thoroughly devoted to
the work of his Lord and Master. He came
here with his young wife to face the hardships
of the wilderness, and ready to toil with all
his powers, that he might preach the gospel.
With his own hands he planed and sawed.
and dressed lumber, and prepared seats and

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

415

a pulpit for his little flock, and with a few
hundred dollars left him from his father's
estate, he in later years bought a lot on Main
street which he used for the benefit of the
church. His earnest, self-sacrificing labors laid
the foundation of the church of to-day. The
chureh society was then without a building
to worship in. Horatio Chapin owned a large
two-story building on Michigan street, near
the Water street bridge. In the first story
he kept a dry goods store, and in the large
upper rooms were the cradle and nursery of
the infant church. How often must their
thoughts have turned to that large upper
room where centuries before their sorrowing
Master instituted the Lord's supper in remem
brance of Him. In this upper room the first
Sabbath school was organized with Horatio
Chapin for superintendent. It began with
twelve scholars. The Hon. Samuel Hanna,
of Fort Wayne, donated a lot at the corner
of Lafayette and Water streets for a church
building, and here, in 1836, a small frame
church was erected, which in later years was
converted into a dwelling, and still remains
as such to-day. The first bell of this church
was of Spanish make, and was imported by a
Catholic church, but for some reason was not
accepted, and was purchased and sent here
by a sister of Mr. Bryant. This bell was later
disposed of in some manner, and later still
another bell, cast in New York in 1838, was
purchased and is still owned by the church.
For over half a century its soft mellow tones
sent its ringing invitation to enter the house
of God, and tolled solemn funeral notes for
the dead.
"The location of the church was found to
be not central enough, and the pastor, Mr.
Bryant, raised all he could by subscription
here, obtained $300 from his esteemed friends
and relatives, borrowed $500 on his own re
sponsibility, and turned all over to the trus
tees. With this, in 1839, a new church was
built on Main street, on the next lot south
of the Y. M. C. A. building, now owned by
Mrs'. Jacob Kerner. , The church was a fine

structure for the time, and had a basement
for the Sabbath school. Here in this build
ing, Revs. George Gordon, Robert R. Wells,
A. Kerr, J. T. Umstead, A. Y. Moore, Dr.
John C. Brown, D. D., and Walter Forsyth,
ministered to the church. During Dr. Brown's
ministry he enlisted in the army and became
chaplain of Colonel Eddy's Forty-eighth
regiment, and died in the service. Rev. Wal
ter Forsyth, a native of Scotland, who had
been apprenticed as a machinist or engine
builder, but afterwards studied and prepared
himself for the ministry, succeedd Dr. Brown.
He was a young man full of enthusiasm, and
untiring in his labors, and to his active ef
forts, the third church was built of brick
with a spire 145 feet tall, in the year 1866,
on the corner of Lafayette and Washington
streets. "At the time it was built, it was the finest
church building in the city. In this edifice
the Rev. Mr. Forsyth was succeeded by the
Revs. James F. Knowles, Henry M. Morey
and George T. Keller. Under the pastorate
of the Rev. Mr. Keller, in 1887, the brick
church was leveled to the ground, and the
present beautiful stone church was planned
and begun. The work had hardly commenced
when the pastor passed away from his earthly
labors and entered into heavenly rest. His
loss was keenly felt and universally deplored.
For a year the church worshipped in the Y.
M. C. A. building, without a pastor, awaiting
the completion of the new stone edifice. On
its completion the Rev. Henry Webb Johnson,
D. D., the present loved and able pastor, was
called to the church, and under Ms pastorate
the church has been signally blessed. It
would be impossible in a brief sketch to review
the labors of the several pastors of the church.
The church, however, will ever hold their la
bors and sacrifices in grateful remembrance.
"During the pastorate of the Rev. Mr.
Keller, in the year 1884, the church cele
brated its semi-centennial, the exercises last
ing three days, and the entire history of the
church during the fifty years preceding was

416

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

fully reviewed and all ending with a banquet
to celebrate her jubilee year. Many of the
leading events of the church will have to be
omitted in this brief article.
"Nor can we recount here the self-denying,
faithful devotion to the interests of the
church, of those who were long identified with
her, who bore her burdens, who shared her
adversity and prosperity, who labored heart
ily and zealously to build up and strengthen
tbe church, and to secure her peace and pros
perity. It is all bound up in the volume of
their lives, to be read by the great Head
of the church, who in that great day will
say, 'Well done, good and faithful servants,
enter ye into the joy of the Lord.'
"Nor will the church in all its history ever
forget her warm friends, who helped in her
work, and aided and encouraged her, when
in need of help and encouragement, and for
them and theirs the blessing and favor of
God will be their reward.
"The church has had men and women
within its fold of marked ability and great
influence which they exerted to make the
world better. Some have been noted as
authors (as Miss Finley, author of the popu
lar Elsie stories), others as jurists, editors,
educators, legislators, officers of the county,
city, state and nation, and of the army, bank
ers, professional men, business' men, minis
ters, pastors, missionaries, and many others
too numerous to mention, who have used their
talents and influence to advance Christ's
Kingdom in the church and world. The
church to-day has entered into their labors.
Of the workers in the Sabbath school, brief
mention will be made of a few. Of the su
perintendents, mention has been made of a
few, and of the secretaries, were Edwin B.
Crocker, Schuyler Colfax, John T. Lindsey
and Colonel A. B. Wade. Judge Crocker aft
erwards became chief justice of the state of
California. Of the teachers were Judge
Thomas S. Stanfield, who once taught a Bible
class, and Prof. Benjamin Wilcox, Dr. Louis
Humphreys, Julia M. Bacon, who later be

came a missionary in India, and a host of
other able and efficient teachers, now in heav
enly rest. One of the early superintendents
was Joseph L. Jernegan, then president of
the State Bank, a lawyer of great ability
who later became prominent in his profes
sion in New York City, and afterwards re
sided in Florence, Italy, where he died. But
the list might be extended and multiplied at
length, if space permitted. We have only
mentioned some now deceased, and none now
living. Such in brief are some of the events
in the history of the church. That the labors
of those gone before us may not have been
in vain, this heritage planted and watered by
them and blessed of God, and left to us, must
be maintained and the work carried on in
the same earnest, zealous spirit. Our prayers
and labors and our sacrifices must be given
till the night of death shall come to each,
when our mission here shall end.
'.The pastors of the church have been:
Alfred Bryant, 1843 ; George Gordon, 1844;
Robert R. Wells, 1844-46 ; A. ' A. Kerr,
1846-48; Justice V. Olmstead, 1848-49; A.
Y. Moore, D. D., 1849-61; James C. Brown.
1861-62 ; Walter Forsyth, 1862-71 ; James F.
Knowles, 1872-74; Henry M. Morey, 1874-79;
George T. Keller, 1880-88; Henry Webb
Johnson, D. D., 1889.
"The following are some of the Sabbath
schools teachers: John McConnell, Horatio
Chapin, Dr. James B. Finley, Francis Miller,
Joseph L. Jernegan, Edward Carpenter,
George W. Matthews, Sr., John Grant, Bli-
phalet Ferguson, Jacob N. Massey, Henry
Fisher, Charles W. Martin, Joseph G. Bart
lett, Robert Johnson, Joseph B. Arnold, Sr.,
George W. Cook, John M. Campbell, Mar
shall P. Chapin, Benjamin Wilcox, Daniel
Greene, A. H. Wheeler, Dr. Louis Hum
phreys, Henry C. Crawford, Elmer Crockett,
Willis A. Bugbee, Samuel F. Allen, Ernest
F. Grether, James Miller, William 0. Da
vies, Frank M. Hatch, Will U. Martin and
Daniel S. Marsh.
"The following members of this church are

..j«ai ...J--

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

417

ministers in charge of congregations: Rev.
George Thompson, Hamilton, Ohio; Rev.
Charles Evans, Hoboken, N. J.; Rev. John
N. Mills, Evanston, 111."
The Trinity Presbyterian Church is lo
cated at the corner of North St. Peter street
and East Colfax avenue, the Rev. Samuel M.
King, pastor. The Westminster Presbyterian
Church is located at the corner of North
Scott and West Lindsey streets; the Rev.
Henry B. Hostetter, pastor. Hope Presby
terian Chapel is on ' South Leer street ; the
Rev. Prentiss H. Case, pastor.
Sec. 3. — The Reformed Church. — The Re
formed Church of South Bend was organ
ized in 1849 by the Rev. David McNiesh.
The brick church erected in that year at
the corner of Lafayette street and Colfax
avenue continued to be occupied until two
years ago, when the present beautiful mod
ern building was erected in its place. The
parish was re-organized March 31, 1870, by the
Rev. William J. Skillman. The most noted
pastor in the history of this church was the
Rev. N. D. Williamson, who became pastor
in July, 1872, and who was known and hon
ored p<? Father Williamson by hundreds of
persons besides those who were members of
his church. The pastor since the completion
of the new church is the Rev. Israel Rothen-
berger. In 1873 a Mission Chapel was built
on the corner of Lafayette and Sample
streets1; but this has been discontinued.
Sec. 4. — The Catholic Church. — In the
year 1901, there was issued a brief history of
St. Joseph's Catholic Church, situated at the
southeast corner of La Salle, avenue and
Hill street, in the city of South Bend. In
cidentally, this sketch contains much local
history relating also to other Catholic
churches in the city. The facts here stated
are abbreviated from the sketch so published
in 1901:
"St. Joseph's Church is the oldest Catho
lic establishment in South Bend. A short
sketch of its history during the last fifty
years is hereby submitted. For his material
27

the compiler depended on public and private
records and the recollections of some of the
oldest members of the parish.
"On the 18th day of September, 1847, be
fore Justice Johnson Howell, the Right Rev.
Celestine de la Hailandiere, bishop of the
diocese, in trust for St. Joseph's congrega
tion, bought of Christopher W. Emerick
and his wife, lots 133, 134 and 135, situated
on Main street, now La Salle avenue, in the
village of Lowell, now the Fourth ward of

ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, SOUTH BEND.
the city of South Bend, for the consideration
of fifteen dollars ; and Catherine, the wife of
Christopher W. Emerick, in consideration of
the sum of one dollar to her in hand paid
' relinquished said Celestine de la Hailandiere
to the aforesaid premises.'
"At that time South Bend belonged to the
diocese of Vincennes, and regular transfers
of the trust were made as follows: At the
end of 1847, to the Right Rev. John S. Bazin;
in 1848, to the Right Rev. Maurice de St.
Palais; then in 1857, when the diocese of

418

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Fort Wayne was established, to the Right
Rev. J. H. Luers; in 1871, to the Right Rev.
Joseph Dwenger; in 1893, to the Right Rev.
Joseph Rademacher, and in 1900, to the Right
Rev. Herman Joseph Alerding, the present
incumbent, who was consecrated bishop of
Fort Wayne on the 30th day of November,
the -Feast of St. Andrew, .1900.
"Lots 133, 134 and 135 are the premises
on which the present St. Joseph's church and
parochial residence stand, the southeast cor
ner of Hill street and La Salle avenue.
"In the early forties the village of Lowell
was owned by the elder Alexis Coquillard,
the uncle of our late Alexis and Benjamin
Coquillard, and of the Mesdames Sherland,
Miller, Decker, Rupel, Campeau, Beaubien,
Meeker and Wills. But in 1847 a large por
tion thereof had been deeded to Christopher
W. Emerick. Coquillard, Emerick and Sorin
were considered the enterprising spirits of
the time ; and, no doubt, a place for a church
was donated by Emerick, though not a Cath
olic, in a spirit of enterprise.
"The Catholics of South Bend, however,
were not as yet numerous enough, and con
sequently not as yet able to erect a church,
and, like their brethren of the neighboring
woods, towns, cities and states, they continued
to depend on Notre Dame for their spiritual
wants, which were administered by the Rev.
Fathers Edward Sorin, Alexis Granger, Fran
cis Cointet, Richard Shortis, Thomas Flynn,
B. S. Force, and other fathers of the Con
gregation of the Holy Cross.
"Father Sorin with his small band of six
Brothers arrived here and founded Notre
Dame on the 26th day of November, 1842.
On his arrival he found at Notre Dame a
small log chapel which had been erected by
Father Stephen Theodore Badin, the first
priest ordained in the United States of
America. "Father Badin, it is said, never collected
any pew rent, nor did he ever pay a cent for
any services rendered to him. To boat cap
tains- and to ox-drivers calling for fare he
would reply simply, 'I am Father Badin!'

"In this chapel the earliest Catholic set
tlers joined in divine worship with the In
dians who had been civilized, instructed and
christianized by such early mssionaries as
Father Badin, Father de Seille and Father
Petit. The regularly kept records of these
early missionaries, as far as they have been
secured by Prof. James F. Edwards, the
manager of the archives of the Bishops' Me
morial hall at Notre Dame, date back to the
year 1830.
"The site of the chapel is religiously pre
served at Notre Dame. An arbor vitae hedge
marks the lines of the original foundations
and a large stone cross with a suitable in
scription tells the visitor that this is a
sacred spot.
"It was in a small cell behind the altar of
this chapel that the saintly Father de Seille
succumbed to his labors in 1837. When he
felt the end approaching he longed for the
Last Sacraments, those very consolations of
religion which he had so many times admin
istered unto others. His nearest brother
priests then had stations in Chicago, in Lo
gansport and in New Albany. He knew that
even these were for the greater part of the
time away from home on missionary fields,
and to make sure of receiving the rites of
the church at the hands of one of them, he
sent three of h;- "^thful Indians for a priest,
one to each of the above named posts. Fa-
ter Louis Neyron, of New Albany, was the
only one that could be found. He followed
his guide, through woodland tracts, without
any other thought before his mind but the
sad duty of ministering, as he thought, at the
bed side of a dying brother priest. But when
he arrived he found the chapel surrrounded
and filled with Indians who, in silent mourn
ing, were praying for the repose of the soul
of the departed shepherd of their own souls.
"Father de Seille was dead three days,
and the Indians never thought of either
touching or disposing of his body. In his
last hour he had asked his Indians to carry
him to the tabernacle of the altar, whence
his own dying hand drew forth the Blessed

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

419

Sacrament and administered to himself the
Holy Viaticum. Father. Neyron made prep
arations for the burial, and one of his warm
est recollections in favor of the docility of
the Indians on the one hand, and the zeal
of Father de Seille on the other was the fact
that, at the funeral, the Indians sang the
Requiem Mass from beginning to end, in a
manner which would put to shame many a
more pretentious church choir.
"This same Father Neyron had charge of
St. Joseph's congregation from 1864 to 1867.
A native of France and an attache of Na
poleon's army previous to his ordination to
the priesthood, he had labored in the Ameri
can missions under Bishops Brute, de la Hai
landiere, Bazin, De St. Palais, Flaget and
other pioneer prelates for thirty years, when
in 1862 his health failed and he retired "to
Notre Dame for rest. But to attend to the
little parish of St. Joseph's at the very door
of Notre Dame was for him but play.
"On the 14th day of September, the feast
of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, in the
year 1853, the Very Rev. Father Edward
Sorin, then provincial superior of the priests,
brothers and sisters of the Order of the Holy
Cross in America, bought of Samuel L. Cot-
' trell and Catherine his wife, lots 124, 125
and 126 in the town of Lowell for the consid
eration of two hundred and fifty dollars.
As a part of the consideration the deed pro
vides that the property be used 'For the
benefit of the Catholir School of St. Joseph's
County, Indiana.' This property, at present
known as the northeast corner of Hill street
and La Salle ' avenue, is now exclusively used
for school purposes and is -under the manage
ment of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, the
trust having been transferred to them for the
consideration of one dollar.
"The same year, 1853, Father Sorin erected
on the above-named property a brick struc
ture, twenty-two by forty feet, to serve as a
school and at the same time as a church for
the Catholic population of South Bend. The
school has long been known as the Assump

tion School; and the church first as St.
Alexis, but now for many years as St. Jo
seph's. A little addition was made to the
rear of the building to serve as a residence
for the sisters who taught the school.
"Both church and school were then under
the patronage and the title of St. Alexis,
which name, however, never belonged to the
congregation that worshipped therein and
whichj even as far as the school is concerned,
is no longer in existence.
"Mass was said here every Sunday for the
people of South Bend and the Indians of the
neighboring woods, and once a week for the
sisters of the school and their pupils.
"Thus hand in hand together started
school and church, and the wise pioneers ap
preciated the fact that the school is the more
important of the two. The school received
from the beginning a full corps of resident
teachers, whose kitchen was regularly sup
plied by the commissioner of Notre Dame.
"In the St. Alexis Church, which wias
opened in 1853 and was used for Divine
worship until the year 1866, the following
reverend fathers have taken charge of the
spiritual wants of the congregation : Edward
Sorin, Alexis Granger, J. Bourget, E. Leveque,
Peter Paul Cooney, Thomas Carroll and other
priests of the Holy Cross. But these can
scarcely be called pastors. They were not
resident priests. They all resided at Notre
Dame, taught there all week and then on
Sundays did missionary work for St. Joseph's
congregation in South Bend, for the Cath
olic congregations !of Laporte, Logansport,
Goshen, Kalamazoo, Niles, Bertrand and
other missions, the very names of which
would, after this comparatively short time,
be lost from the memory of a more prosperous
succeeding generation if it were not for the
baptismal, marriage and funeral records
which they so faithfully kept and which are
preserved at Notre Dame. Father Sorin,
during this time and for many years to come
may be put down as the real pastor, who
would on Sundays, and whenever on week

420

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

days a priest was wanted, send the one who
to him appeared most available.
"In the year 1859 the Catholic population
of South Bend had largely increased, and
the people living in the western part of the
town considered themselves numerous enough
to have a church of their own. Father Sorin
at once encouraged the enterprise and sent a
priest to take the matter in hand.
"This priest was Father Thomas Carroll,
then newly ordained and in charge of St.
Joseph's congregation, in St. Alexis' chapel.
He found a ready ear when he went among
the people who were then arriving or passing
here, and persuaded them to settle perma
nently in South Bend. With the unanimous
good will of the people, the young priest or
ganized St. Patrick's congregation and built
the old St. Patrisk's Church on Division
street, one block west of Taylor.
"While engaged in this work Father Car
roll taught catechism daily for all the chil
dren of South Bend in St. Alexis' school and
said mass there every morning. All sick-calls
and other demands on the pastor were sent
to the sisters of the school, who, as a rule,
knew where the reverend father could be
reached. Father Thomas Carroll may, there
fore, be said to have been the first priest to
whom was entrusted the whole charge of
South Bend.
"When the old St. Patrick's Church was
built, Father Carroll continued to attend to
the whole of South Bend on week days, but
gav>e his time to St. Patrick's Church on
Sundays. For Sunday services St. Joseph's
congregation then again depended on Notre
Dame; and the records show that Fathers A.
Granger, William Corby, C. Exel, J. Bourget,
J. C. Carrier, L. Neyron, P. Hartlang, A. Le-
monnier, S. Daugherty, L. J. L'Etourneau
and Julius Frere of Notre Dame conducted
services on Sundays. It would appear from
this that St. Joseph's Church may rightly
be called the mother church of St. Patrick's,
St. Hedwige's, St. Mary's, St. Casimir's,
St. Stanislaus', St. Stephen's and the Sacred
Heart Churches, of South Bend."

The first church and the first school had
been put up at the expense of Notre Dame.
The second church, however, was to be
erected on the diocesan property and at the
expense of the congregation. Accordingly
Father Louis J. L'Etourneau, who suc
ceeded Father Louis Neyron, in September,
1867, started a subscription for the new
church. The contract for building the church was
given to Mr. Hodson, for $1,385.76. It was a
frame building, 40x60 feet, and was erected
on lot 133, the southeast corner of Water and
Hill streets, on the site of the present St.
Joseph's Church. The church was completed
in September of 1868, by which time Father
L 'Etourneau had been succeeded by the Rev.
Julius Frere.
In the year 1862, a frame building,
eighteen by twenty-six feet, was erected on
Lowell Heights, at the northwest corner of
South Bend and Notre Dame avenues, to
serve as the first school for larger boys. Here
Brothers Raymond, Daniel, Romuald and
Philip, surnamed the "Presbyterian" (be
cause he was a lineal descendant of John
Knox) taught the school for several years;
and the large boys whom they made good
still speak, at this late day, with the fondest
recollections, of the school-masterly abilities
and the eccentric methods of these early
masters. On the 13th day of September, 1869, Fa
ther Frere, then pastor of the new church on
the original church property, had this school
house moved from the hill into the middle of
the parish, to the site of the present paro
chial residence, and Brother Raymond taught
the boys here until' March 3, 1871, when Fa
ther Demers, a succeeding pastor, sold "la
petite ecole a Cottrell" for one hundred dol
lars, and the larger boys were returned to
the sisters in St. Alexis' school, which had
in the meanwhile been called "The Assump
tion Academy." La petite ecole is now a
neat little residence. It stands on East Madi
son street and may be recognized by the
name of Martin Hoban, which this lad en-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

421

graved on a door post while attending school
on the hill.
In 1866 the original St. Alexis' Church was
found to be too small for the congregation,
in spite of the comparatively recent exodus
of the people who now formed St. Patrick's
Chureh; .and a larger church was built on
the site of the present church.
On the 26th of December, 1872, at high
noon, this church, from some unknown source,
took fire and burnt to the ground. The con
gregation then returned to the old St. Alexis'
Chapel across the street, with the Rev. Peter
Lauth as their pastor; and Father Sorin
bought the block on which St. Joseph's hos
pital now stands for a new church. Beyond
the fact that the insurance money for the
old church was used, and that five thousand
s was paid to William Neddo for the
block now purchased, no one ever knew what
the hew church cost. Father Sorin drew the
plan; Brother Charles superintended the
work; and Brother Edward, treasurer of
Notre Dame, paid the bills.
Several pastors succeeded one another in
"the church on the hill," until the year .1880,
when the Rev. Michael Ph. Fallize became
pastor.. Under his pastorate the present
beautiful church at' the corner of La Salle
avenue and Hill street was erected. It was
on September 22, 1886, that the stained glass
windows on the north side of this church
were destroyed by the hail storm, as already
related.0 Father Fallize also built for a
school and parish hall the brick building on
the south side of the church lots, which has
however, until the year 1907, been chiefly
used as a pastoral residence.
In the fall of 1888, Father Fallize took
his departure for East Bengal, India, where
he has since remained as a devoted mission
ary. The succeeding pastors have been the
Rev. James Gleeson, the Rev. Nicholas J.
Stoffel, and the present zealous pastor, the
Rev. Peter Lauth. During the pastorate of
Father Lauth the parish has greatly flour-
o. Chap. 7, Subd. 7, Sec. 2.

ished. In 1907 the fine parochial residence
was erected.
The most noted civic and religious demon
stration in which St. Joseph's parish ever
took part was the commemoration of the
discovery of America on the afternoon of
Sunday, October 16, 1892. In the parade
through the city it required forty-five min
utes to pass a given point; and it is esti
mated that five thousand persons participated.
The pastors of St. Patrick's Church, after
the Rev. Thomas Carroll, the founder of the
parish, were the Rev. Peter Paul Cooney,
who became a famous chaplain during the
Civil war; the Rev. Louis Neyron, a veteran
of Napoleon's wars, who was on the retreat
from Moscow and at the battle of Waterloo;
the Rev. Paul Gillen, the Rev. Joseph C.
Carrier and the Rev. William Corby, all chap
lains in the Civil war; the Rev. Peter Lauth,
now pastor of St. Joseph's; the Rev. Father
0 'Mahoney, a distinguished pulpit orator;
the Rev. Daniel J. Spillardj the Rev. Den
nis J. Hagerty; the Rev. Father Clark; and
the Rev. John F. De Groote, the present
pastor. Under the pastorate of the Rev. Father
Hagerty the new church on Taylor street,
near the head of Wayne, was built. Under
the pastorate of the Rev. Father Clark, the
parish hall and school on Scott street was
erected. These two buildings the church
and the hall, have established St. Patrick's
parish on a substantial basis; they are both
modern and elegant, as well as convenient
and useful, structures.
As St. Patrick's is the child of St. Jo
seph's; so St. Mary's, St. Hedwige's, St. Ste
phen's and the Church of the Sacred Heart
bear the same filial relation to St. Patrick's,
having gone forth from the latter; while
St. Casimir's and St. Stanislaus' have devel
oped from St. Hedwige's. All the congrega
tions are large, and the parishes prosperous.
The pastor of St. Hedwige's is the veteran
Rev. Valentine Czyzewski; the pastor of
St. Mary's is the Rev. Joseph Scherer;

422

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the pastor of St. Casimir's, the Rev. Anthony
Zubowicz; the pastor of St. Stanislaus', the
Rev. R. A. Marciniak; the pastor of St. Ste
phen's, the Rev. Michael J. Biro; and the
late pastor of the Sacred Heart Church, the
Rev. Peter Klein, deceased, his successor not
yet being appointed.
Each of the Catholic churches has a flour
ishing parochial school with teachers under
the direction of the pastor. There are. be
sides, two academic schools of a high order, —
the Assumption school, already mentioned, at
tached to St. Joseph's Church; and St. Jo
seph's- Academy, attached to St. Patrick's

Rev. Peter Johannes, the good priest who
founded and built up during the last twenty
years of his life the church and school of
St. Mary's parish.
Sec. 5— The Baptist Church.— The first
Baptist Church in South Bend was organ
ized September 14, 1836, with the Rev. James
M. Johnson as pastor." Mr. Johnson served
as pastor for about six months, and was suc
ceeded for a time by the Rev. M. Price, of
Cassopolis, Michigan. There was a revival of
the organization in March, 1842, when the
Rev. Alexander Hastings was chosen pastor.
The following reverend pastors have served

'FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, SOUTH BEND.

church. The graduates of St. Joseph's Acad
emy rank with those of the best high schools.
The foundation of the Assumption school,
.as we have seen, dates from the year 1853.
It was greatly enlarged and improved in
, 1907, under the administration of Sister Boni
face. St. Joseph's Academy dates from 1866.
It was built up under the direction of the
'efficient Sister Ambrose, a sister of the Rev.
William Corby, chaplain in the Civil war,
and for several years before his death the
able provincial of the Order of the Holy
'Cross in America. The history of the Cath
olic .church in South Bend should not be
•closed without special commemoration of the

the church since 1842: Mr. William
L. H. Stocker; E. T. Manning; S. L. Col
lins; D. Thomas; A. S. Ames; Ira Corwin;
C. Ager; T. P. Campbell; M. Mulcahy; J.
L. M. Young; T. E. Egbert; C. D. Chaffee;
A. B. Ghaffee; Carl D. Case; E. S. Stucker;
G. M. Lehigh; David Cooper; and William
Kirk Bryce, the present eloquent and ener
getic pastor.
It was in the month of January, 1874, dur
ing the pastorate of the Rev. Mr. Young,
that the frame church at the corner of Main
a. South Bend and the Men who have Made it,
1901, p. 37; Higgins Belden St. Joseph County
Atlas, 1875, p. 24.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

423

and Jefferson streets, on the present site of
the post office, was burned. This is known
in local annals as the Baptist church fire,
and was one of the most terrible fire con
tests that the old volunteer fire department
ever experienced. The weather was intensely
cold and many of the firemen never recovered
from the dreadful exposure then experienced.
This building had been moved from the next
lot south in 1864; and was at that time
greatly enlarged and improved. After the
fire of 1874, the building was repaired and
used by the .congregation until their removal
to the fine stone edifice at the corner of Main
and Wayne streets, in January, 1887. The

Mount Zion Baptist Church, 116 North Bird-
sell street, the Rev. H. M. Stoval, pastor;
the Immanuel Baptist Church, 875 South
Marietta street, the Rev. W. F. Bostick, pas
tor; the Quincy Street Baptist Church, the
Rev. Henry B. Finch, pastor, organized in
1906; and the First Swedish Baptist
Church, corner of Laurel and Napier streets.
Sec. 6. — The Episcopal Church. — St.
James' Episcopal Church was organized as a
parish July 28, 1868, with the Rev. George
P. Schetky, as rector. Through the munifi
cence of Judge Powers Green, a church build
ing was erected in 1869 on the north side of
Wayne street, a little east of Lafayette; and

ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH BEND.

old frame building was removed to the
grounds of the Studebaker wagon factory,
where it still continues to do service. The
present field stone church, one of the most
elegant and commodious in the city, was
erected in 1886, but not occupied until 1887.
The Rev. Carl Delos Case came to the
church in April, 1895, and remained for four
years. He won the admiration of the com
munity as well as of the members of his
own church. The present pastor, the Rev.
William Kirk Bryce, has taken a like high
place in public esteem.
Besides the First Church, there is the

was dedicated with appropriate services on
September the fifth of that year. In January,
1871, the church was moved to a point a lit
tle north of the northwest corner of Lafay
ette and Jefferson streets. This building was
again moved in 1898 ; this time" to the north
west part of the city, where it was used as
the Westminster Presbyterian Church. The
lot on which it had stood was sold at the same
time, and the present site, on the west sid<:
of Lafayette street, between Washington and
Colfax, was purchased. On this lot the pres
ent handsome bri^k church was erected in
1894. The church was solemnly dedicated on

424

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Christmas eve of that" year, at a midnight
service, by the Right Rev. Bishop of Spring
field, George Franklin Seymour. It is one
of the finest churches in the city, and is
valued at over thirty thousand dollars. The
present rector is the Rev. Francis Milton
Banfil, who was installed January 1, 1899.
gec_ 7. — The Lutheran Church. — St.
Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, of
South Bend, was organized in 1878 by the
Rev. Henry Siek. The original church, built
on the southeast corner of Jefferson and Wil
liam streets, was dedicated August 21, 1878.
The Rev. Paul Heid was the second pastor.
He was succeeded by the present pastor, the
Rev. Trangott J. Thieme. The congregation
has a large and substantial church building,
and is in a flourishing condition. A note
worthy feature of this chureh is the excellent
and largely attended parochial school which
is attached to it. The history of this school
is coeval with that of the church itself.
While the parish was in its infancy, the first
pastor, the Rev. Mr. Siek, taught the school
himself. Afterwards, when conditions im
proved, a teacher was employed. And now1
for several years past, two teachers are con
stantly engaged.
The Holy Trinity English Lutheran
Church is located at the corner of Sherman
avenue and Lindsey street. The Rev. Wil
liam Brenner is the pastor.
The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Gloria
Dei Church is located at the southwest cor
ner of Chapin and Kerr streets. The Rev.
John F. Borg is the nastor. The congrega
tion, which is very numerous and zealous, has
erected a beautiful concrete stone church.
Sec. 8. — The Evangelical Church. — St.
Peter's Evangelical Church was organized in
1863. The congregation has a handsome
brick church at No. 429 West La Salle ave
nue. The Rev. Charles Koenig is the pastor.
Zion Church, located at No. 231 South St.
Peter street, was established in 1888, by tho
Rev. Martin Goffeney, who ' has been pastor
of the church from the beginning. In 1892 a

school was established in connection with the
church; and in 1895 a neat parsonage was
built. Both church and school are in a flour
ishing condition.
The First Church Evangelical Association
is located at the northwest corner of Lafay
ette and Monroe streets. The pastor is the
Rev. Fred Rausch. The congregation has a
beautiful hew brick church.
Mizpah Church is located at No. 126 West
Monroe street. The Rev. James H. Rilling is
the pastor.
The South Bend Evangelical Hungarian
Protestant Church is located at No. 1422
West Washington street. The pastor is the
Rev. Stephen Csepke.
The Swedish Evangelical Mission Church
is located at the corner of Scott and Orchard
streets. Sec. 9. — The Christian Church. — The
Christian Church of South Bend was first
organized on Portage prairie, at a point about
four miles north of the city limits. The Rev.
W. Mcllvaine, a zealous minister, was the first
pastor. In the spring of 1851, Elder Mcll
vaine secured the old seminary on West
Washington, where services were held for a
year. The lot on which the present .church
stands, on the east side of Main street, be
tween Wayne and Division, was purchased
in 1852, and a church erected that year. In
1878 a larger building was erected on the
same lot. This church -building has been ma
terially enlarged and improved since that
time. The membership of this church has em
braced many of the best citizens of the city.
Among the pastors after the Rev. Mr. Mc
llvaine have been, — John Martindale, Reuben
Wilson, Gideon Drapier, Frederick J-
Thomas, W. J. Homer, J. Belton, H. N. Lord,
W. B. Hendrix, William P. Ailsworth, J.
Hurd, George W. Sweeney, J. H. Stover. The
present pastor is the Rev. G. W. Henry.
The Indiana Avenue Christian Church is
located at the corner of Indiana avenue and
Witwer street. This church was established

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY

425

principally through the zeal and eloquence
of the Rev. P. J. Rice. The present pastor is
the Rev. Arthur C. McHenry. There is also
the Linden Avenue Christian Church, lo
cated on Lincoln street.
Sec. 10. — Other CHURCHES.-^Other promi
nent churches in the city are the following:
The First Brethren Church, located at No.
1212. South Michigan street, the Rev. David
Bikenberry, pastor; the First United Breth
ren in Christ Church, No. 522 South Michi
gan street, the Rev. R. J. Parrett, pastor;
the German Baptist Brethren, corner of Cush-
ing and Van Buren streets, the Rev. S. F.
Sanger, pastor; the First Church of Christ,
Scientist, corner of Madison and Main streets ;
the German Baptist Brethren Church, corner
of Indiana avenue and Miami street, the Rev.
Hiram W. Kreighbaum, pastor; the Beulah
Chapel Evangelical Association, corner of
Brick and Euclid avenues, the Rev. Noah F.
Platz, pastor; the Sons ef Israel, No. 420
South William street, the Rev. Max E. Alt-
field, pastor; the Temple Bethel, corner of
La Salle avenue and Taylor street, the Rev.
Abraham Cronbach, pastor; the Mennonite
Brethren in Christ Church, corner of Lind
sey street and Harrison avenue, Miss Kate
Bredemus, pastor.
Sec 11. — The Young Men's Christian Asso
ciation.— On November 27, 1906, the corner
stone of the 4-story and basement brick build
ing, with stone trimmings, at the northeast
corner of Main and Wayne streets, which is
to be the house of the Y. M. C. A. of South
Bend, was laid, with impressive ceremonies.
In the copper box inserted in the cornerstone
were placed various articles and documents
which may be of rare historic interest to some
future generation, when, perhaps, this then
venerable structure shall give place to another
edifice. Amongst the documents placed in the
box were a history of the Young Men's Christ
ian Association, prepared by Mr. Miller Guy,
an officer of the local association ; a history, by
Mr. Charles Arthur Carlisle, of the Stude
baker Brothers' Manufacturing Company,

through whose munificence the building is to
be erected, and a history of the city of South
Bend, by the writer. Through the courtesy of
Mr. Guy the following sketch of the local
association is taken from the general history
deposited by him in the copper box then sealed
up in the cornerstone of the Y. M. C. A.
building :
The local Young Men's, Christian Associa
tion of the city of South Bend dates from the
ninth day of March, 1882. It was born of the
great series of union revival meetings then
being held under the leadership of Dr. L. W.
Munhall, of Indianapolis, and who was at that
time state secretary of the Young Men 's Chris-
tion Association of the state of Indiana. This
first meeting was preliminary, and record of
it has been preserved as follows :
' ' South Bend, Indiana, Thursday, March 9th,
1882. "Nine-thirty o'clock P. M.
"In compliance with a call made by Dr. L.
W. Munhall, state secretary of the Young
Men's Christian Association of Indiana, a
large number of people met in the lecture
room of the First M. E. Church,- at the close
of a revival service.
"The meeting was called to order by Dr.
Munhall, who proceeded to state the object
and aim of association work, and to urge the
organization of a Y. M. C. A. in South Bend.
"The sense of the meeting was then taken
and on motion Marvin Campbell was made
secretary pro tem., after which it was moved
and seconded that we proceed with the or
ganization at once.
"On motion the various pastors of the city
churches were then appointed a Committee on
Constitution, and directed to report at the
next meeting.
"A committee on permanent organization
was called for and appointed as follows :
"E. C. Westervelt, of the First Presby
terian church.
"H. F. Clipfell, of the First Christian
church. "J. H. Wilson, of the First Methodist
church. "Geo. W. Loughman, of the Mich. St.
Methodist church.
"Samuel Kinney, of the Baptist church.
"C. Liphart, of the German M. E. church.
"H. S. Fassett, of the Episcopal chureh.
"J. G. Kline, of the Evangelical church.

426

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

"Jasper E. Lewis, of the Reformed church.
"After a general discussion of the favor
able auspices under which we are about to or
ganize and the bright prospects of success, an
adjournment was had until Friday night at
the close of service.
"Marvin Campbell, Secy, pro tem.
"0. H. Palmer, Secretary elect."
The permanent organization of the local
was effected on the following evening, being
Friday, March 10, 1882.
The meeting was called in the basement of
the First Methodist Church at the corner of
Main and Jefferson streets, to hear the reports
of the committees on organization. Sixty-
three names were subscribed as charter mem
bers. The membership fee was fixed at one
dollar per year. The official minutes of this
first regular meeting of the association are as
follows :
"South Bend, Indiana, March 10th, 1882.
"Friday, Nine-thirty P. M.
"Pursuant to adjournment, a meeting of
those interested in the organization of a
Young Men 's Christian Association was called
to order by Dr. L. W. Munhall, in the lecture
room of the First M. E. church, at the close
of a revival service.
"The committee on constitution presented
its report through the chairman, Rev. S. B.
Town. "The constitution submitted was substan
tially that subscribed to by the Y. M. C. A. at
Indianapolis, and was unanimously adopted.
"Sixty-three names were then attached to
the instrument, after which the committee on
permanent organization made a report, which
was accepted and confirmed by the unanimous
election of the following officers for the ensu
ing year. Hon. Clement Studebaker, President.
Hon. Schuyler Colfax, 1st Vice President.
vice presidents.
Elmer Crockett, 1st Presbyterian.
Marvin Campbell, 1st Methodist.
Andrew J. Ruddick, Mich. St. Methodist.
Jacob Ginrich, German Methodist.
William Mack, Baptist.
Francis M. Hatch, Reformed.
Herbert S. Fassett, Episcopal.
Chas. Hartman, Christian.
Emil Pabst, Evangelical.
John P. Rosen, Swedish.
George A. Baker, Cor. Secretary.
Orlando H. Palmer, Rec. Secretary.
Willis A. Bugbee, Treasurer.

executive committee.
Samuel F. Allen Jasper E. Lewis
George W. Loughman Gilbert L. Elliott
George T. Hodson Henry F. Clipfell
Daniel Achenbach
BOARD OP TRUSTEES
John M. Studebaker Eugene B. Adams
David Warner William Mack
M. N. Walworth Darwin H. Baker
Nathaniel Frame Josiah G. Keltner
Schuyler Colfax
"Congratulations and commendations hav
ing been extended the meeting adjourned.
"0. H. Palmer, Secretary."
Doubtless by few institutions of its kind can
the claim be made and substantiated that
their first officers and governing bodies were
superior to or equal in ability to those who
consented to act and work for the good of .the
local association. The records of the proceed
ings of the board of trustees, executive com
mittee and directors, disclose the fact that'
the Hon. Clement Studebaker held the office
of president for two years, presided person
ally over its meetings, and was rarely absent
from its business sessions, and that the Hon.
Schuyler Colfax, its first distinguished vice
president, assumed the duties of the office
given him, and continued in touch with its af
fairs until his death.
Among the first officers chosen was Mr. El
mer Crockett, who has since given continuous
service as, and still is, a member of the board
of directors. Myron Campbell, who was an
active charter member, and elected a director
during the first few months after the organi
zation, has since continuously served in that
capacity and is now treasurer of the associa
tion. Marvin Campbell and Willis A. Bugbee
are still members of the board of trustees.
On account of the interest which attaches
to it, in the light of recent developments in
our local work, a report of a meeting held at
the home of President Clement Studebaker is
given in full, and is as follows:
"South Bend, Indiana, April 8th, 1882.
' ' Upon invitation of the president, a meet
ing of the association was held at his resi
dence, to which a number of the business men
of the city were invited, that they might hear
the objects and aims of association work dis
cussed by several Y. M. C. A. workers from
abroad. Order was caHeo1 by the president,
who requested Dr. L. W. Munhall, state sec
retary, to open the meeting and state the ob
ject of it.

d MA

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

427

"He was followed by Mr. Haughey, chair
man of the executive committee of the Indian
apolis association; S. A. Kean, a prominent
banker of Chicago and treasurer of the asso
ciation in that city; J. V. Farwell, the 'Mer
chant Prince' of the same city; J. E. Deffen-
baugh, former general secretary of the asso
ciation at Burlington, Iowa, and Hon. Schuy
ler Colfax, of South Bend.
"Each of the speakers presented the inter
est of the South Bend Association, and they
spoke of the work of the Y. M. C. A. in gen
eral in forcible, plain and practical terms,
urging those present to make large contribu
tions of time and money to the organization
in South Bend.
"With a feeling that a lively interest had
been created in our cause adjournment was
had without date. "0. H. Palmer,
"Rec. and Gen'l Secretary."
The executive committee at a meeting held
on the ninth day of April, 1882, elected Mr.
Orlando H. Palmer general secretary, to take
charge of the work for one year from the fif
teenth day of April, following, at salary of
$1,000 per year.
Steps were taken immediately to secure
suitable quarters in which to carry forward
the work. The executive committee entered
into negotiations with the South Bend Na
tional Bank for the use of the second and
third stories of its building at 129 and 131
North Michigan street, known at the time as
the "Old Price Theater," and leased the same
for three years at $400 per year. The first
regular meeting of the society was held in
that place on May 17th, 1882, and was called
to order and presided over by the Hon. Cle
ment Studebaker. Reports of the progress of
the work at that gathering showed a total
membership of 177 young men at the time.
Under the secretaryship of Mr. Palmer the
work was ably and vigorously pushed. Reli
gious and social meetings were held regularly ;
the membership reached 250 ; a library of sev
eral hundred volumes was secured, and his
recognized ability gave the movement a good
standing in the community. He received a
call to the general secretaryship of the Indian
apolis association, and left this field January
30, 1884, to begin work at that place.
Immediately after the retirement of Mr.
Palmer from the local work Mr. J. C.
Stephens was engaged to fill the position tem
porarily, and held it until the following fall.

On the twenty-fifth day of September, 1884,
the board of directors extended a call to
George S. Fisher, of Anderson, Indiana, to
take the position of general secretary in this
city. The offer was accepted and Mr. Fisher
took up the work soon after. He held the
position for about one and one-half years.
In the spring and summer of 1885 Mr.
Fisher organized and conducted the canvass
for funds with which to purchase a home.
Under his direction subscriptions to the
amount of $8,000 were secured, for the pur
pose of purchasing and equipping the "Old
Hotel Bristol," at 122 and 124 South Main
street. The property was owned by Dr. Rob
ert Harris and Warren Irwin, and was offered
for $11,000. The owners executed an agree
ment to convey the same for that amount on
the second day of May, 1885. The requisite
amount for the cash payment of $5,000 and
repairs estimated at $3,000 being secured in
the meantime, the deeds were executed for the
same to the association on the eleventh day of
August, 1885, and the work of repairing and
renovating the building was taken up forth
with by the secretary.
The building had been used for a number
of years as an old hotel, without rating,
and as a cheap boarding house. Previous to
its occupation by the Y. M. C. A. there are
no traditions or prior history connected with
it, that the association desires to perpetuate.
The boys never ceased calling it the "Old
Joint," and it appears that the name had
come down from the time whereof "the mem
ory of man runneth not to the contrary. ' ' On
the sixteenth day of December, 1885, Secre
tary Fisher reported to the board of directors
that the building had been formally opened
to the public for association purposes.
Mr. Fisher thus securely placed the local
work upon a final and lasting foundation. He
was a bright, active, energetic young man,
with executive ability, and a genuine hustler.
The membership reached 310 during his term.
He left South Bend early in the year 1886,
and became state secretary of the Young
Men's Christian Associations of Kansas.
The year following the retirement of Secre
tary Fisher from this field may be appropri
ately termed the "Dark Ages" of our local
history. The movement suffered a dangerous
relapse and it almost proved fatal. The sec
retaryship went begging, and the canvass for
a building fund had apparently exhausted
the generosity of many of its supporters. The

428

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

, board called as general secretary Mr. C. A.
Tiebout, who accepted, but resigned a few
months later on the twelfth day of October,
1886. Public meetings were abandoned ; debts
for current expenses accumulated and re
mained unpaid ; interest on the mortgage notes
was not paid; the membership scattered and
the members failed to renew upon expira
tion, and the directors talked of disbanding.
F. J. Lewis Meyer, who was secretary of the
board of directors, as a volunteer worker gave
much time and attention to the work and held
it together until the next secretary was se
cured, in the early spring of 1887.
Leslie C. Whitcomb will always be remem
bered as one of the bright particular stars in
our local firmament, and was one of the best
secretaries the state of Indiana has ever had.
As a young man he came to South Bend to sell
life insurance, and incidentally became inter
ested in the work of the association. The di
rectors asked him to take the position as gen
eral secretary for two or three months on trial.
He took up the work under discouraging cir
cumstances. The fully paid membersnip had
decreased to less than 100 and an indebtedness
for current expenses to the amount of $2,000
had remained unpaid. The work had become
disorganized and the workers discouraged.
The old building soon became a scene of gen
eral activity under his guidance. The mem
bership was increased to 255 on May 10th,
1887, and on February 8th, 1888, before the
end of his first year, reached a total of 334,
163 of whom were active, and 171 associate
members. The average number of men tak
ing gymnasium work was about one hundred,
and in the educational classes about fifty. A
staff of committee men and helpers number
ing about seventy-five was organized. Every
department of the work, religious, social, edu
cational and physical was set in motion. An
entertainment course was provided; a free
employment bureau was maintained, and ca
pable physical directors were employed.
It was during the secretaryship of Mr.
Whitcomb that an eventful meeting was held,
which should be remembered as one of our
historical landmarks.
Mrs. J. M. Studebaker, always a warm
friend and faithful worker of the association,
extended a special invitation to all the com
mittees to meet at her residence on "Sunny-
side. ' ' About seventy-five were present. Re
ports of all the different lines of activity were
read and commented upon, and Mr. J. M.

Studebaker, Sr., made a short talk, in which
he said that he was surprised and delighted to
learn that such effective work was being done
in our community, and that it had given him
new light on the scope and importance of the
Y. M. C. A. work.
Pondering these words anew after a lapse
of one and a half decades, and in the light of
subsequent developments, this event may he
' ' remembered with the things that were among
the high tides of the calendar." Mr. Whit
comb held the position until January 1, 1892.
Mr. Logan succeeded him as acting secretary
until July 30, following, when W. F. Carey
was called to the field.
Mr. Carey was a hard working conscientious
official and did efficient service, maintaining a
good average for the six years of his term.
All the departments were kept going. The
membership averaged about 275. He resigned
May 5, 1898, and became general secretary of
the association at Pottsville, Pa. He, too, will
be remembered as one of the builders of our
work. On June 30, 1898, Mr. Paul H. Metcalf be
came general secretary and held the position
until July 31, 1899. He resigned for the pur
pose of accepting the assistant pastorate of
an institutional church in Elyria, Ohio. Mr.
Metcalf revived the entertainment course idea
which had been abandoned some years before,
and was so successful that the first series
netted profits to the amount of $527.57 for the
association. From August 1, 1899, to May 15, 1902, the
association was without the services of a regu
lar general secretary. The writer of this
sketch and Prof. Calvin O. Davis of the city
high school, as members of the board of di
rectors, gave considerable time to the work,
but were unable to prevent a serious falling
off in membership and interest. It was ex
ceedingly difficult to secure a leader with the
meagre equipment on hand. Mr. Guy was
acting secretary until January 1, 1901, and
Mr. Davis followed until May 15, 1902.
On May 21, 1902, Eugene S. Willis, of
Brooklyn, N. Y, was called at a salary of
$1,200 per year, and on September 1 of the
same year Francis A. Messier was engaged
as assistant general secretary. When Willis
and Messier began the work it soon reached
its normal standing, and it was during the
period of their associate work that the great
event of our association life transpired.
A banquet, attended by the leading business

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

429

men of the city, was given in honor of the
three Willis brothers, who were prominent Y.
M. C. A. workers, and were here visiting
their brother, The banquet was held in the
New Oliver hotel on Saturday evening, De
cember 20, 1902. The day following a large
Sunday afternoon meeting was held in the
First Presbyterian. Church, in charge of the
four Willis brothers. About four hundred
men were in attendance, and its influence was
far-reaching. It was then that Mr. J. M.
Studebaker, Sr., president of the Studebaker
Bros.' Manufacturing Company, decided to
make a Christmas gift to the local association,
and addressed a communication to its direct
ors to that effect. But the gift was to be a
greater one than even Mr. Studebaker himself
then contemplated.
On December 31st, 1902, the Studebaker
Bros.' Manufacturing Company closed the
first semi-centennial period of its history, and
to commemorate the founding of the great en
terprise, and its growth from a small shop, to
the greatest manufacturing plant of its kind
in the world, and in memory of the five broth
ers who had founded it, and built it up, the
company resolved upon a monumental work
in behalf of the Young Men's Christian As
sociation of South Bend, and pursuant to the
resolution addressed a communication to the
board of directors, as follows :
"South Bend, Indiana, December 31, 1902.
"Mr. E. S. Willis, Secretary Y. M. C. A.
South Bend, Indiana.
"Dear Sir:
"At a meeting of the board of directors of
Studebaker Brothers' Manufacturing Com
pany this morning action was taken of inter
est to your association in South Bend, which
is best expressed in the words of the resolu
tion itself, as follows :
" 'Resolved, That on this 31st day of De
cember, 1902, making the closing of the fif
tieth year since the founding of the business
of Studebaker Brothers' Manufacturing
Company, this board, desirous of carrying out
the oft-expressed wish of each of the five
Studebaker brothers that some day this com
pany would in the city of South Bend, where
their business, was founded and grown to its
present proportion, erect some building which
should be devoted to philanthropic purposes,
and which should be in the nature of a me
morial and thank offering; believing that a
gift to the Young Men 's Christian Association
of a permanent home will best serve this pur

pose, we do hereby decide that this company
will erect and present to the Young Men's
Christian Association of South Bend a build
ing for its use as a permanent home; this to
be done at the earliest opportunity, as speedily
as possible, and' that this intention be com
municated to the association and their dis
position thereon be obtained. '
"You will kindly bring the foregoing to the
attention of your board of directors as early
as practicable and transmit to us their conclu
sions with respect to the offer. Anticipating
your prompt action we are, with a Happy
New Year for yourself and the Y. M. C. A.
of South Bend, Truly yours,
"Studebaker Bros.' Mfg. Co.,
"By J. M. Studebaker, "President."
On New Year's Day, 1903, a committee ap
pointed by the Y. M. C. A. directors respond
ed to the proposition as follows :
"South Bend, Indiana, January 1, 1903.
"Studebaker Bros.' Mfg. Co.,
"J. M. Studebaker, President,
"South Bend, Indiana.
' ' Gentlemen :
"At a special meeting of the board of di
rectors of the South Bend Young Men's Chris
tian Association, held on New Year's Eve,
1902, your committee consisting of Col. George
M. Studebaker, J. M. Studebaker, Jr., and
Clement Studebaker, Jr., brought to us your
letter and a copy of the resolution passed by
your board of directors, proposing to erect
and. present to this association a permanent
home for its work.
"Immediately upon receipt of your gener
ous offer our board with one voice voted to
accept the same. From the remarks of each
present we can assure you that their gratitude
was profound and they were unable to ex
press the joy and thankfulness they felt in
their hearts. At their request the undersigned
committee hereby tenders a formal acceptance
of your proposition on behalf of the di
rectors and trustees of the South Bend Young
Men's Christian Association and on behalf
of the young men of this community who
are to be the beneficiaries of this sacred
trust. "It seems eminently fitting to us that such
a monument as you propose should be erected
here in memory of the five brothers who came
to this city as young men, grew with its
growth, contributed so largely to its prosper
ity and here met with such abundant success.

430

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

We rejoice and feel thankful that the future
association work in our beautiful city will al
ways be linked with a name that is as dear at
home as it is well known and honored abroad.
"Trusting that this gift of the New Year
will also reward the donors with the same
full measure of joy that we have experienced,
we beg to remain, ' ' Yours very sincerely,
"Marvin Campbell,
"W. 0. Davies,
"F. A. Park,
"Miller Guy,
"EugeneS. Willis."
The Young Men 's Christian Associations of
the world have been the recipients of many
magnificent gifts and subscriptions from the
great merchants, bankers and captains of in
dustry, but the foregoing undertaking of the
Studebaker Brothers' Manufacturing Com
pany eclipsed all former records in behalf of
this movement, and stands today as the great
est instance and example of the vitality,
strength and prosperity of this brotherhood
of young men, now over seven hundred thou
sand strong. This single gift, made uncondi
tionally by a single corporation, involves the
expenditure of over three hundred thousand
dollars, in the purchase of real estate and the
erection of the building.
Mr. Willis resigned at the end of his first
year, and on June 1st, 1903, Assistant Secre
tary Francis A. Messier, was elected to suc
ceed him at a salary of $1,200 per year.
On August 14, 1903, the association sold its
property at 122-124 South Main street for
$17,000, but continued to occupy the building
under a lease until July 1st, 1905, when it
moved to No. 222 South Main street, into the
building now owned by the Studebaker Bros. '
Mfg. Co., which they generously repaired and
fitted up for a temporary home of the asso
ciation until the new building will be ready.
Mr. Messier had charge of the work until
July 1, 1906, when he took up the work as
general secretary of the association at Battle
Creek, Michigan. He has been assigned a
place in the front line of our secretaries. He
was capable and efficient and an indefatigable
worker. The association was prosperous
under his management. When he first came
into the field as assistant secretary there were
but 125 members on the records; he saw it
reach its high water mark at the end of the
great contest in the spring of 1906, with 700
young men enrolled as members. At the close

of the contest a splendid banquet was given
to the new members in Place Hall, at 226-230
South Lafayette street, and was attended
by about four hundred men and boys. He
first organized a canoe club and tennis club
in addition to carrying on the general work
in the other departments.
Mr. F. M. Armstrong succeeded as acting
secretary from July 1st to {September 1st
1906. On September 1st, 1906, Mr. F. W. Lillie,
the. physical director, was engaged to take up
the secretarial work in addition to the con
ducting of the physical department, and is
now acting general secretary of the associa
tion. During the year 1907 the beautiful build
ing, the gift of the Studebaker brothers to the
Young Men's Christian Association, was en
closed. When completed, as it will be early
in the year 1908, the South Bend association
will have one of the most complete edifices
of the kind in the world. All the pursuits'
sanctioned by the history and customs of the
Y. M. C. A., physical, mental and moral, will
be amply and elegantly provided for. It is in
the doing of such work as the Studebaker
brothers have here done that men of wealth
and public spirit endear themselves to the
people. The following are the presidents of the
South Bend Y. M. C. A. since its organiza
tion: Clement Studebaker, Mar. 10, 1882, to Mar.
4, 1884.
Samuel F. Allen, Mar. 4, 1884, to Apr. 4,
1885. Dr. J. A. Kettring, April 15, 1885, to Sept.
19, 1885.
J. C. Neville, Sept. 19, 1885, to Sept. 21,
1887. Wm. Mack, Sept. 20, 1887, to Sept. 21, 1892.
W. O. Davies, Sept. 21, 1892, to Oct. 12,
1894. Elmer Crockett, Oct. 12, 1894, to Feb. 6,
1900. W. O. Davies, Feb. 6, 1900, to Nov. 23,
1901. Miller Guy, Nov. 23, 1901, to Dec. 4, 1903.
Elmer Crockett, Dec. 4, 1903, to Sept. 21,
1904. W. O. Davies, Sept. 21, 1904, to Sept. 25,
1905. Christopher Fassnacht, Sept. 25, 1905, to -
Sec. 12.— The Young Women's Christian
Association.— What the Studebaker Bros.'

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

431

Manufacturing Company has done for the
Young Men's Christian Association by the
erection of the building referred to in the pre
ceding section that Mr. George Wyman and
his wife, Mrs. Clara L. Wyman, have done for
the Young Women's Christian Association, by
the erection of the beautiful association build
ing on the west side of Lafayette street, be
tween Washington street and Colfax avenue,
just north of St. James' Episcopal church.
This is a three-story building with a basement,
and is constructed of pressed briek with stone
trimmings. As might be expected, the struc
ture is modern and complete throughout, and
altogether suited to the taste, health and com
fort of young ladies. The accommodations
are the most liberal, providing, as they do,
for the physical, intellectual and moral wel
fare of the young women of the city, who seek
to partake of its advantages. The building
was constructed during the year 1906, and
early in 1907 Mr. and Mrs. Wyman turned it
over to the association, furnished and com
plete. Sec. 13. — Hospitals. — In 1873, after the
burning of St. Joseph's old church, as related
in section four of this subdivision, the Rev.
Edward Sorin purchased as the site for a new
church large lot, or square, number nine in
Cottrell 's First Addition, bounded by Cedar,
Notre Dame, Madison and St. Peter's streets.
It was believed that this site would be more
central than the former location. It proved,
however, that lot number nine was not so de
sirable a place for a church as had been an
ticipated. When, therefore, in 1880, the Rev.
Michael Ph. Fallize became pastor of St.
Joseph's and concluded that a new church
building was needed, he determined to return
to the grounds at the corner of Hill street and
La Salle avenue. Some other use must there
fore be made of large lot number nine, and
the little brick church building. It was then
that this square was purchased by St. Mary's
Academy, to be used as the site for a hospital.
Ihe old building was accordingly prepared
for its new use, and the hospital was, opened

in the year 1882. The people were not at that
time accustomed to hospital service, and there
was for a few years even a repugnance on the
part of many sick persons to enter a hospital.
The facilities for caring for the sick and in
jured became so apparent, however, and the
good words spoken by the patients who had
been nursed by the sisters were so generous
and hearty that patients increased in number
year after year; and after ten years' experi
ence it was determined that more room and
a better building were needed. The new St.
Joseph's Hospital was then planned, and on
April 26, 1903, the cornerstone was laid with
elaborate ceremonies and in the presence of a
large concourse of people. The building, as
now completed and furnished, is one of the
most complete hospitals in the country. It is
admirably adapted to its purposes, located on
high grounds overlooking the city, with large
and pleasant rooms and with complete mod
ern appliances and all conveniences for the
careful nursing of its patients. This hospital
is in charge of the Sisters of the Holy Cross.
The Epworth Hospital, whose handsome
building is located at the northeast corner of
Main and Navarre streets, originated in 1892.
It was at first intended as a home for un
fortunates, and was in charge of the Woman 's
Home Missionary societies of the Methodist
church and the Dorcas society of Milburn
Chapel. Since that time the hospital has
steadily grown in public favor, and is one of
the best constructed hospital buildings in the
state. Mrs. Clara A. Carr is the superintend
ent. The board of lady managers is : Presi
dent, Mrs. George M. Studebaker; vice-presi
dents ; first, Mrs. C. H. Myers ; second, Mrs. F.
P. Eastman, third, Mrs. J. B. Stoll; fourth,
Mrs. Martha Hillier; secretary, Mrs. K. C.
De Rhodes; treasurer, Mrs. Charles Haecke;
finance committee, Mrs. Charles Arthur Car
lisle, Mrs. Charles Krieghbaum, Mrs. F. J.
Lewis Meyer, Mrs. Charles Russ and Mrs. M.
M. Stull. The board of trustees is: Presi
dent, Marvin Campbell; vice-president, Wil
liam R. Boyd; secretary, John Roth; treas-

432

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

urer, John C. Paxon; Col. George M. Stude
baker, Judge Lucius Hubbard, John Chess
Ellsworth and Lloyd F. Weaver.
There is a unique custom established in the
city, designed to secure contributions for the
support of both city hospitals. It is called
Tag Day, and was instituted chiefly through
the efforts of Mr. Charles Arthur Carlisle.
The day is observed at some fixed time in the
pleasant weather in May or June, when an
active and eager host of ladies place them
selves at conspicuous points in the city and
distribute hospital tags to every comer. It
is not considered in good form on those anni
versaries to be without a hospital tag pinned
upon the breast. Those who are thus tagged
contribute what they feel disposed to the good
ladies, who thus toil from six o'clock in the
morning until six o'clock in the evening in
their sweet work of charity. The contribu
tions are divided equally between the two hos
pitals. Sec. 14. — Hotels. — David Rohrer Leeper
was born near the intersection of McCartney 's
creek with the Michigan road, now Michigan
avenue, just beyond the present city limits,
January 12, 1832, and died at his home, on
the Hights north of the St. Joseph river, in
this city, November 27, 1900. He was identi
fied with the growth of this city from his in
fancy, and had, especially during his later
years, given a great deal of his time and at
tention to our early history. Of this history,
did his modesty permit, he might truthfully
say with. Virgil's hero: "All of which I saw,
and a great part of which I was. ' ' As repre
sentative, and senator in the general assembly
of the state, and still more as mayor of his
city, he won the admiration of his fellow
citizens; yet his tastes were literary rather
than political. He was fond of gathering up
the facts of the early history of the city
and county and then writing them out in an
interesting story, in the simple and elegant
style of which he was so consummate a mas
ter. In March, April and May, 1900, a few
months before his untimely death, Mr. Leeper

wrote for the South Bend Times a series of
gossipy papers on the early hotels of the city.
Incidentally, these sketches contain much his
torical matter and personal reminiscences.
From them the greater part of this history of
our hotels is taken, almost word for word :°
The history of the hotels of South Bend has
in several instances been given more or less
attention through the local newspapers and
otherwise. If the present effort in the same
direction should show in some particulars
more detail and closer approach to accuracy,
it will be owing solely to the fact that
more time and patience have here been given
to the matter than would be practicable in
the rush of ordinary newspaper work. Yet
the writer did not flatter himself that his
narrative was exhaustive or free from error.
Within its first decade there were, alto
gether, eleven taverns operated in the town.
Just when the first two of these were opened
may not at present be easily determined. The
earliest documentary evidence on the subject
known to the writer is to be found in the rec
ords of the county commissioners' court,
where, at their first session, September, 1831,
Calvin Lilly, Benjamin Coquillard and Peter
Johnson were each granted a license for this
purpose. On November 23, following, the ad
vertisements of Lilly and Coquillard appeared
in the North- Western Pioneer, this being the
second number of that newspaper; the first
number is missing from the preserved file.
Lilly's place is said to have been the first and
Coquillard 's the second, both dating back to
1830. These claims appear to be based solely
upon tradition and cannot now be verified.
Both Lilly and Coquillard boarded some of
Brookfield 's men when he was surveying the
town plat in the spring of 1831, which may
signify, as far as it goes, that they wew
keeping tavern at that date.
Mr. Lilly's announcement runs as follows:
"SOUTH BEND INN.
"Calvin Lilly.
"Has opened a House of public Entertain
ment on St. Joseph Street. His table is fur
nished with the best the country will afford—
his Bar is supplied with the choicest of Li
quors — and his stable with provender.
a. Acknowledgments are due to Mr. H. S. K.
Bartholomew, of Goshen, Indiana, for the use oi
these papers. Mr. Bartholomew is himself an
enthusiastic student of. our early history- a-e
is president of the Elkhart County Historical
Society.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

433

"No exertion will be wanting to render gen
eral satisfaction to those who may favor him
with a call. ' '
This building stood on the northeast corner
of lot 37, which is the irregular tract lying
southwest of Vistula avenue and west of St.
Joseph street. The property seems to have be
longed to Edmund Pitts Taylor, who adver
tises the same for sale, April 17, 1832, posses
sion to be given May 1, and described it as "a
good frame house, two stories high, with a
brick cellar — likewise a two-story hewed log
house and kitchen, well calculated for a pub
lic stand and situated in as beautiful and
pleasant part of town, as any other. The lot
is 200 feet front on Pearl street. ' '
May 22, 1832, the North-Western Pioneer
makes the following announcement: "The
Printing Office has been removed to the sec
ond story of the house formerly occupied as a
tavern by Mr. Lilly, on the corner of St.
Joseph and Pearl streets. ' ' St. Joseph street is
here mentioned first, which may have some sig
nificance, indicating that this was then the
principal street, the Michigan road not having
been constructed, and the ' ' dragoon trace ' ' be
tween Fort Wayne and Chicago at that time
crossing Bowman's creek near the present
Henry Studebaker 's barn, intersecting St.
Joseph street at about Wayne, and then fol
lowing the former down to Pearl. The place
was now certainly vacated as a hotel. It has
not been possible to find out anything of its
subsequent history. If part of the building was
a frame, as is stated, it was most likely the
first of the kind in the state north of Logans
port. E. P. Taylor, the owner, as is well
known, was a brother of Latrop M. Taylor,
one of the founders of the town, and came to
this locality not long after his brother. Most
people of today remember "Pitts" Taylor
best as the owner and operator of a sawmill
on the West Race, and his immense log piles
on and about the present site of the stand-
pipe and over the adjacent bluff.
The Union Hall, a "House of Public En
tertainment," in the language of that day, was
owned by Benjamin Coquillard, brother of
the elder Alexis, and father of the late Alexis,
the well known capitalist and wagon manu
facturer. The building stood on the site of
the L. F. Baker rooms attached to the rear of
the present Citizens' National Bank. Some
say the location was on the point across the al
ley; but that is hardly probable, for Mr. Co
quillard did not own any ground there and it
28

is not likely that he would have built on
ground belonging to somebody else, especially
as his brother was half owner of the whole
town plat. The frame that preceded the pres
ent brick and that was long known as the Har
ris corner, was built in 1838 by Wm. H. Patte
son; and now, modified in external appear
ance, stands on the northeast corner of Jeffer
son and St. Joseph streets. Mr. Patteson was
long a merchant in South Bend, was recorder
of the county, and always a staunch pillar of
the Baptist church. The late "Deacon" Hatch
called him "Praying Billy." The two were
partners. They did business, as Hatch was
wont to say, according to the scripture; they
watched and prayed, Billy doing the pray
ing and Hatch the watching. Humble as the
Union Hall was in itself, it was nevertheless
quite ambitious in its pretentions. The pro
prietor, in his advertisement, "hopes, by his
long experience in the business, to give gen
eral satisfaction to those who may favor him
with a call. His table is furnished with the
best the country affords. His bar is supplied
with the choicest of liquors. ' ' His advertise
ment appears in the same issue of the paper
as Lilly's, and his license also bears' the same
date as Lilly 's ; though it has been claimed —
on what authority is not known — that the
South Bend Inn was the first to begin busi
ness. It is not probable that his career as mine
host was long continued. At any rate his last
license was issued in September, 1832, and on
November 10, following, the title passed to his
brother Alexis, he having held it exactly one
year. Calvin Lilly in 1831 purchased of the orig
inal proprietors lots 28, 29 and 30, which com
prise the block lying on the west side of
Michigan street between Jefferson and the
first alley north, being 198 by 165 feet, or
three-fourths of an acre. On this property
he erected a one-and-a-half -story frame house,
which was known as Lilly's Tavern. The
proprietor took out a tavern license for this
stand at the September term. It was in the
bar room of this establishment that the first
circuit court of the county was held on Octo
ber 29, 1832, with Hon. John R, Porter as
the president judgei The session lasted but a
single day. The first case was a divorce suit
and was successful, thus establishing a reputa
tion for the state in this line which it has
since zealously sustained. The second case
was for libel, and the third the prosecution of
a woman for selling liquor to the Indians.

434

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

A son of this defendant learned' his
trade as a tanner with Mr. Bugbee, and is
now, if living, a respected citizen of one of the
flourishing county seats of northern Indiana,
having represented the county in the legisla
ture for one or more sessions. Mr. Lilly ap
peared at the commissioners' court for a tav
ern license the last time at the May term, 1834.
March 9, 1835, he sold to John Fowler, and
went his way to swell the tide setting as the
star of Empire takes its way. From a
rather cursory examination of the record, Mr.
Fowler appears to have held but one license
as tavern-keeper, this having been issued at
the September term, 1835. What happened
here for several years succeeding this date,
cannot now be learned. But in 1837, Mr.
Almond Bugbee, to whom the writer was in
debted for much of the information used in
this article, boarded at the place, the location
being indicated by a large swinging sign,
which bore in sharp relief the, at that day,
anomalous legend, "Temperance House. "a
By the way, in passing, it may be remarked
that while drinking may have been quite as
common in those days as at present, the cause
of temperance was then perhaps given much
more serious attention. Early in this very
year the Rev. Alfred Bryant was at the head
of a temperance movement which received 156
signatures, among which were those of the
father, mother, two uncles and an aunt of the
writer. These, indeed, needed no such for
mality for self -protection ; for not one of
them touched, tasted, or handled. Some reader
may think, that this laudable trait might have
been better sustained among some of the very
few descendants now living. Of those 156
whose names were thus enrolled, but one re
mains to tell the story. He bad been in the
village but a few weeks. The letters 1. 1. a. fol
low his signature, meaning teetotal abstinence,
a designation he has ever since maintained, in
letter and in spirit. It goes without say
ing, remarks Mr. Leeper, that I refer to our
well-preserved and highly esteemed octogen
arian, Almond Bugbee. I do not know how
long Mr. Fowler kept the Temperance House.
The last occupant of the place in the Forties
was James Doan, who was a blacksmith
at the end of the West Race, and made
the first steel plow known in Northern
Indiana. He crossed the plains in 1849,
the entire distance on foot. A year or two
later his body, still warm, was found on the
trail between Carson valley and Placerville,
a. See Chap. 13.

where he had been murdered and robbed. In
18— Mr. Fowler sold all his real estate to
David Stover, and moved to California. To
the latter gentleman I am also indebted for
much old-time data. Hale and hearty at four
score and four, he now resides at his cosy semi-
country home near Springbrook. Mr. Fowler
had several sons and one or more daughters.
One of the daughters was the mother of the
Listenberger brothers, Albert ' and Miner.
Alexander, the second son, was a Mexican war
veteran, and lost a thumb at the storming of
the Heights of Cerro Gordo. He also made
an honorable record as a colonel of infantry in
the war for the Union.
The building, so long known as Lilly's Tav
ern, according to Judge Turner in his Gazet
teer of the St. Joseph Valley, was moved to
Jefferson street, and used as a warehouse for
the Studebaker Wagon Works. I know not
what became of it afterward, but believe it to
be a part of the livery stable on West Jeffer
son street.
The Michigan Hotel was situated on the
southwest corner of Michigan and Washington
streets, now known as the Coonley drug store
corner. It was erected by Peter Johnson,
father of Ex-City Councilman Johnson,
grandfather of Thad. S. Taylor, and, several
years later, an associate judge. Mr. Johnson
moved with his family to South Bend from
Logansport early in 1831. Ice was still in the
Tippecanoe and in Yellow river, but was too
rotten for safe crossing ; so that Indian canoes
had to be obtained with which' to ferry. The
trail from the south then swung to the west
ward through what is now Liberty and Greene
townships, this county, to avoid the lakes,
marshes and heavy timber on the direct route,
afterward taken by the Michigan road. Mr.
Johnson was a practical carpenter and build
er, and began at once the erection of his hotel
and stable, the latter on the alley at the west
end of the lot. The main building was a two-
story structure, and may still be seen at 215
West Navarre. There was also a wing attach
ed, which fronted on Washington street. The
license was granted to commence August 1,
that year. The same season Mr. Johnson
built the Fairplay, which was the first keel
boat to gladden the waters of the St. Joseph.
Washington street between Michigan and
Main was his shipyard. Here he erected the
necessary scaffolding upon which he mounted
the largest pirogue available. This he split
in two with a whip-saw. Then oak plank of

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

435

the proper length were ripped out in like man
ner and bent to match the contour of boat
along the line of its clearage. Now, with
the knees, beams, calking, pitching, running-
board, enclosing, pike-poles, and rudder-
sweep, the boat was launched for service. Mr.
Johnson was also the contractor and builder
of our first court house.
In 1834, the license for this house was issued
in the name of Mr. Wm. L. Earl, father of
Mrs. A. B. Merritt, of this city, and Wm. L.
and Daniel Earl, of California. Mr. Earl was
previously a partner with Alanson M. Hurd in
the iron works and town plat of Mishawaka,
and was keeping tavern there, says Mrs. Mer
ritt, at the time of the great meteoric shower,
in 1833. He alleged that Hurd swindled him
out of his interests in that locality. In 1835,
when the United States land office was opened
at Laporte, the Michigan Hotel did a thriv
ing business. At the September term, 1836,
Mr. Earl took out license for Earl's Tavern,
a stand which he erected that season at the
present site of Lakeville, he having purchased
for this purpose a 40 acre tract of Jacob Rec
tor, grandfather of our Attorney J. D. Hen
derson. In the same year Mr. Johnson sold
the Michigan Hotel property to one Charles
Thrasher, and built a sawmill on the edge of
the bluff at the rear of the present residence
of Hon. J. B. Stoll. This was the first attempt
to employ steam power for manufacturing
purposes in St. Joseph county and the experi
ment proved a dismal failure. It cost more
for fuel than the mill could earn. Daniel
Gephart appears to have kept the hotel for a
short time, having taken out license at the
September term, 1836. Levi Wills followed;
then John Mowry and Is#ac M. Baldwin, Sep
tember, 1837 ; several months after Levi Wills
again, in January, 1838. Mr. Wills, it may
here be stated, afterward kept "Our House"
at Mt. Pleasant, this county. In 1850, he
crossed the plains to California. He there
engaged in supplying some of the Hangtown
markets with beef cattle, and soon after was
killed by a wild steer. The hotel property was
sold December 12, 1837, by Mr. Thrasher to .
Abram R. and John H. Harper and John N.
Smith. On February 27, 1838, a permit was
granted these proprietors to occupy for 120
days a part of Michigan street opposite this
lot and the one adjoining on the south for
making improvements on this property. What
these improvements were does not appear;
perhaps the erection of the wing to the west

was one of them. It was the Harpers, proba
bly, that changed the name to American Hotel,
a name borne on its large swinging sign to
the close of its career. In 1838, Renatus N.
Koehler came to South Bend from Pennsyl
vania, and clerked in Harper's store for
awhile. In January, 1839, he and Thomas
Duey, having formed a partnership, rented
the hotel and ran it till November, 1840. Now
the Harper brothers themselves carried on the
business, and later Abram alone took charge.
In January, 1845, the smallpox broke out in
the village and spread to an alarming extent.
From first to last there were about 75 victims
and the percentage of fatalities was very
great. Some of the patients were quartered
in this hotel and Harper, rather than have
these taken to the pest house, had the doors
closed. Louis Comparet, brother of Mrs. Alexis
Coquillard, and long a noted wit of the town,
had a very severe attack of varioloid among
the earliest of the attacked. He recovered in
season to be of much service in attending
other patients, among these our ex-mayor,
William Miller, who was at the American.
Jacob N. Massey, happening to meet Louis on
the street, inquired as to Miller's condition,
and was told the case was very serious. Jacob
was very pious; and his thoughts turning be
yond things, of earth, earthy, he asked Com
paret whether he thought Miller would like
to see a preacher. ' ' Oh, yes ! Oh, yes ! ' ' said
Louis, seizing heartily upon the opportunity
to perpetrate a joke. Jacob soon found the
Rev. Mr. Pratt, the Baptist minister here, and
brother of United States Senator Daniel D.
Pratt, of Logansport. Both the preacher and
the senator were men of giant frames and sten
torian lungs. Preacher Pratt consented to
serve without hesitation, though he may have
wondered why Mr. Massey did not see his
own preacher, Alfred Bryant, long the Pres
byterian pastor here. Well, Mr. Pratt pre
pared himself for the ordeal as well as he
could, covering his face with a bandanna
handkerchief; As he opened the door of the
scourged chamber, Louis, now happening to
be in and expecting a scene, slipped out. Pratt
approached the bedside and asked Miller as
to whether his services were desired, and was
told that no such request had been made. He
then inquired whether he should come again,
with the reply that there was no necessity for
him to thus expose himself. Nor did he. This
story with many variations, was for many

436

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

years retailed as the stock joke of the town.
I have given Mr. Miller's version of the inci
dent, as he related it to me a few days ago.
In 1847, August 25, Koehler & Duey again
became the landlords, and now the owners as
well. Mr. Koehler was the actual head, as
Mr. Duey, for his part, took charge of the
farming interests of the firm
Another story was current about the town
for many years, happening during this man
agement. One James McGoggy, a carpenter,
who had a terrible impediment of speech from
a bad case of hare-lip, came into the bar room
one day, in a state, seemingly, of considerable
excitement. Elmer Rose was with him. Ad
dressing Mr. Koehler, McGoggy went on to
detail that Rose and he had just bet the
drinks on a certain dispute between them, and
asked whether they could get the grog and
pay for it wnen the wager was decided. Mr.
Koehler, with his usual suavity, but by no
means his usual sagacity, set out the jug. Both
quaffed down a generous potation. McGoggy
now proceeded to explain. "Well, Mr. Koeh
ler," said he, "Elmer and I were looking at
your sign post out there and wondering which
way it would fall when it rotted off at the
bottom. We got to disputing about it and
finally made the bet. I bet it would fall
south, and Elmer, the fool, bet it would fall
north." Of such, it appears were the wit
and humor when the bar room was the social
resort of the town. In 1850, Koehler & Duey
sold the property to Capt. Samuel L. Cottrell
and the furnishings to Col. Adam S. Baker,
our now venerable townsman, of 908 South
Michigan street. Mr. Baker kept the hotel
till the Michigan Southern and Northern In
diana railroad was completed, which I think
was in 1851. Daniel Haight and George Clark,
his brother-in-law, next became the propriet
ors. They remained as such only about six
months. Sylvanus G. Gaylord then operated
it, probably till he and Lot Day, Jr., succeeded
to the proprietorship of the St. Joseph hotel,
which was on December 28, 1858. This seems
to have been the last use made of the so-called
American corner as a hotel. Indeed, the lower
floor had for some time prior been used for
merchandising by Ezekiel -French and a Mr.
Adams, and perhaps after them others. It
was the longest-lived hotel known to South
Bend, running as such for about a quarter of
a century. The present three-story brick was
erected in 1866 by Ex-Sheriff Solomon W.
Palmer, Dr. George F. Nevius and James

Bonney, the latter our veteran photographer.
Next in order seems to come the Eagle
Hotel. I do not know much of this hostelry.
It is one of the three hotels marked on the first
map of South Bend, made, as would seem
from some of its data, early in 1837. It was
a story and a half frame that stood on the
southeast corner of Lafayette and Washing
ton streets, across from the present First Pres
byterian church. The lot was purchased of
Samuel Hanna by Levi Barnes and Samuel 0
Russ, jointly, on November 16, 1835. Both
were carpenters .and joiners, and doubtless
put up the building. Samuel C. Russ was
licensed to keep tavern here at the May term,
1836, and again at the September term, 1837.
Russ was succeeded by John A. Prestana, who
became owner of the property August 24,
1841. Prestana sold to Amable M. Lapierre,
April 26, 1843, and moved from here to Chi
cago. Mr. Willis A. Bugbee remembers the
family well and visited them in that city, they
having a son about his age. Mr. Lapierre was
a Frenchman, and withal an ardent Metho
dist, although brought up a Catholic. He was
a bricklayer and plasterer by trade, and was
the head mason on the first college building
put up at Notre Dame. The smallpox here
in 1845 marked him as one of its victims, and
he carried a badly pitted face to his grave.
He was also involved in the noted Norris fugi
tive slave ease, and I think, as a consequence,
lost his property through process of the United
States court at Indianapolis. Later, he re
moved to Niles, where he was gathered to his
fathers some years ago. John A. M. Lapierre,
of 113 East Navarre street, is his nephew.
Mr. Bugbee boarded with Russ a while in
1837. His bedchamber was the loft with noth
ing between him and the star-bespangled fir
mament save the shingle roof, through which
the snow often filtered with a liberality that
did not always evoke joyous apostrophes to
' ' the beautiful. ' ' There were flush times then.
The Kankakee canala was in course of con
struction, so was the East race. Judge Gar
rett V. Denniston, who, with "Prince" John
Van Buren, Gen. Wm. J. Worth, of Mexican
war renown, and others, was pushing the last-
named enterprise, was one of the boarders.
There were about twenty in all. The current
rate was $3.00 for board and lodging; cheap
enough, in all conscience, one would think,
since most supplies were at that time as high
or higher than at the present day. But,
a. See Chap. 9, Subd. 1, Sec. 2.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

437

nevertheless, a dollar looked much larger than
it does to our vision. Benj. R. Hall was run
ning the Exchange at the same time. He had
syndicate ideas in his head, and organized a
combination among the craft to advance the
rate to $3.50. At once there arose a loud pro- ¦
test. The hotel patrons of the several estab
lishments held a meeting and vigorous resolu
tions were adopted. Mr. Bugbee, backed by
those of the Eagle Hotel, presented a series
of these fulminations to his landlord. John
Milligan, of The Free Press, got out fiery
"dodgers" headed "Insurrection," and had
them scattered about the streets. The big two-
story Collmer building on Vistula avenue,
built by Robert Wickersham, was rented and
a man named Laribee engaged to take charge
of it as a community boarding house for the
irate "insurrectionists," as they were pleased
to call themselves. The upshot was a back
down on the part of the hotel keepers, a resto
ration of the old rate and the abandonment
of the boarding house project. The Eagle
Hotel building burned down a few years ago
and the site is now graced with the elegant
Kizer & Woolverton block occupied by the
Eliel drug store.
The Washington Block was the pride of the
town in its day. The site was on lot 19, which
lies on the north side of Washington street
from Main to the first alley east. The lot was
purchased February 5, 1833, from State Sen
ator Samuel Hanna, of Fort Wayne, by
Samuel Studebaker, who was the original
owner of the Martin L. Wenger farm, now
embraced within the city limits. March 1,
1836, Mr. Studebaker sold the same to Hiram
Rush; but there being some deferred pay
ments the deed was not made till 1840. Mr.
Studebaker, dying meantime, the conveyance
was executed by the late Judge Thomas S.
Stanfield, as commissioner in chancery. Mr.
Rush, immediately after the purchase in 1836,
subdivided the lot into blocks fronting upon
Washington street, .about if not exactly, as
marked off by the several buildings that oc
cupy the ground today. The purchasers were
James and Wm. Wickersham, Charles Egbert,
F. J. and E. Townsend, and Wm. M. and
John Parker. The building was a frame, 60
feet deep by 145 feet long, the whole three
stories above the ground with a basement.
Thus extending from Main street east on
Washington to within 20 feet of the alley, it
was for that day and for so small a village
a quite imposing structure, as its front eleva

tion appeared in its white paint varied with
window shutters in green. The two Wicker-
sham's owned three of the blocks and were the
prime movers in the enterprise. Both were
carpenters and joiners, as was also their
brother Robert, and these three did the bulk
of the work, William superintending and
doing the laying out. Ralph Staples arrived in
the village just as the rafters were being
placed, and thereafter was a conspicuous
figure on the job. From that time forward
for many years there were few buildings re
quiring carpenter work, hereabouts, either in
town or county, that Ralph did not have a
hand in their construction. Sixty-two feet of
the west end of the building in question was
planned and fitted up for a hotel and took the
name Washington House, which it bore to the
end. It was owned by the two Wickershams,
James and William. The first license for the
tavern, as such called in the official records,
was taken out by William and Robert Gep-
hart at the September term, 1837; but the
establishment was opened August 1, the pre
vious month.
Andrew Simmons succeeded the Gepharts,
taking' out the county license in his name at
the March term, 1838, while the town incor
poration license was issued to Alva Simmons,
his wife, May 15, following. Simmons was
keeping the place as early as February 3, that
year, at which date David Scott took break
fast there and had his horse fed, after having
foully murdered and robbed his friend Joshua
Copeland on Rolling Prairie. Mr. Bugbee at
the same time did some repairing on Scott's
bridle. Scott was overhauled at Edwards
burg, taken back to Laporte, tried, convicted,
and hanged in the presence of an immense
concourse of people. Gephart and Richmond
were the next proprietors, their license being
dated September, 1838. The next license was
issued to Robert Gephart at the May term,
1839. The widow of Robert, I may here state,
is still living in Niles, at the age of 73. On
December 12, the same year, Mary Gephart,
widow of Daniel and mother of Robert and
William, figures as the proprietress through
an advertisement of the hotel furniture and
fixtures for sale. From the spring of 1840
for several' years the stand seems not to have
been occupied. At least, definite data are not
at present known. Chauncey S. Fassett and
John Hooper each took the station as mine
host here for awhile, but exactly when or how
long have not been ascertained. I interviewed

438

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

a lady in this city on the subject. She was
married in 1844, and at once took rooms in
the Washington House, occupying them for
a year or more. Mr. Fassett, she said, kept
the hotel during that time. From Mr. Bug
bee 's abstracts of titles, which he kindly allow
ed me to consult, we learn that Mr. Hooper
purchased an interest in the property Febru
ary 13, 1845, and that he sold this interest to
Stephen Fields, December 18, 1847. If this
period of part ownership affords any clue to
Mr. Hooper's occupancy, it is about all I have
been able to find, except that the lady to whom
I have just referred stated that he was living
there at the time of the death of his mother-
in-law, Mrs. Jane Smith. Mr. Defrees, the
accommodating sexton of the city cemetery,
at my request, found the proper inscription
on Mrs. Smith's tombstone in the Hooper lot,
which gave her death as on May 1, 1845.
I have a distinct personal recollection of
seeing Mr. Fassett then. We lived on a farm
three to four miles distant from town. He
was the customer for the butter we had to
spare, paying 10 cents per pound by the year
whatever the current price. I was attending
school in town, living at home and walking
back- and fourth for the sake of muscular de
velopment. I sometimes had to carry the
dairy product to boot. But I do not recall
the date. Nor do I remember even having
seen Mr. Hooper about that place. In 1848,
' ' Black ' ' John Rush succeeded to the proprie
torship, his advent as such being duly herald
ed in The Register, in which, under date of
February 18, he announces that he has rented
the hotel, "refurnished and refitted it up in
the most convenient style. ' ' This was the first
instance after 1832 that any direct reference
to any "hotel" in South Bend had been
found, and afforded much relief, as the musty
pages of The Register and of the few stray
copies of The Free Press were being eagerly
searched. Mr. Rush kept the place till March
3, 1849, when the ownership passed to John
Grannis and John Hammond. Mr.. Rush, wife
and two daughters crossed the plains to Cali
fornia in 1850, the two former dying of
cholera in Sacramento shortly after their ar
rival. The oldest daughter, Julia, married
William L. Earle and now lives in Jolon, Cali
fornia. Mr. Hammond became the active
manager of the hotel and became its sole own
er till it went into "innocuous desuetude," as
Grover Cleveland would say. This was prob
ably in about 1856, when the first St. Joseph

Hotel was opened. The three story brick on
the alley east of the hotel, now occupying, part
of the site, was erected by Joseph G. Bartlett
in 1865, T. Wilke Defrees and Elias V. Clark,
contractors. In 1837, Benjamin Wall began tavern keep
ing on the southeast corner of Michigan and
Jefferson streets. Upon the great swinging
sign, in conspicuous letters, was the alluring
scroll, "Traveler's Rest." The license was
issued at the November term. Mr. Bugbee
was a guest at the opening spread. Mr. Wall
kept the place a number of years. The writer
well remembers the guide-board on the tall
sign post that, with its index finger, so long
pointed the wayfarer to the south, advertising
him that it was "65 miles to Logansport."
The property was purchased by Mr. Wall
of the writer's father, and, it is believed, did
not prove satisfactory as a hotel venture. The
building was removed by Alex. Staples to
1221 Laurel street, where it may still be seen.
The Franklin Houses on the south side of
Washington street, stood on lot 36, on the first
alley corner east of Odd Fellows Hall. An
oval signboard mounted upon a high post, and
inscribed with the name of the house, invited
such as were hungered and athirst. It was the
property of Henry and Margaret Diehl, both
immigrants from Germany. The former was
the maternal uncle of Charles Vinson, Sr., of
this city, and Margaret was the sister of John
Bert (or Beard, as generally called), who
for many years kept a similar house in Misha
waka. He was the father of Henry Bert, the
well-known meat market man, of this city. The
first record we have of Henry Diehl in South
Bend is that of a license to retail liquor, taken
out at the September term, 1837. He then
occupied a log house on the east side of Michi
gan street somewhere between Washington
and Colfax avenue. The same kind of license
was issued to him a year after that date, and
also at the May term, 1839. At the September
term, 1840, he received his first license for
tavern keeping. January 15, 1838, he pur
chased the corner referred to, with 29% feet
fronting on Washington street and extending
back 118 feet along the alley. The building
was a two-story frame, covering the Washing
ton street frontage, and extending back 70
feet. His barn was on the rear end of lot 33,
on which Edward Fredrickson is now doing
business. He could not pay for this lot, and
it reverted to the grantor, Samuel Leeper.
Mr. Diehl was a baiter by trade and the fame

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

439

oi his ginger-bread soon became known far
and wide. The writer remembers distinctly
how tempting it looked, dark-brown from the
Orleans molasses, and the top crust deftly cor
rugated. A kind of root beer of his make also
drew many customers. But his greatest
attraction, perhaps was his musical clock. Set
in motion, a number of automatic musicians
would file out in front and at the signal of the
leader the instruments were properly adjust
ed and the melody began to pour forth. At
the end to the right was a clown whose antics
kept time to the cadence. Mr. Bert had the
same kind of a clock at Mishawaka. The
writer acknowledges his profound indebted
ness to each of these instruments for sundry
free entertainments. The Diehl clock was sold
by Mr. Charles Vinson in the settlement of
the estate to Edward Buysee, the jeweler, for
$20, and Mr. Buysee, in turn, sold it to some
Chicago party ; so the ' mock orchestra may
still be amusing the unsophisticated some
where. Mr. Diehl died November 19, 1841, at the
age of about 35 years, and the funeral serv
ices were held at the Presbyterian church.
He is said to have been quite intelligent and
comely of person. His wife survived him
many years, and, for some time — I do not
know how long — continued the business. There
were three children, Mrs. Catharine Schreck,
Malinda, widow J. George Vinson, and John
H., all of whom are still living and residents
of this city.
The Lafayette Hotel, afterwards named the
National, then the St. James, and now the
Windsor Hotel, is situated at the southeast
corner of Lafayette and South streets. On
July 13, 1865, writes Mr. Leeper, President
Whitten, father of William M. Whitten, for
many years city civil, engineer and eounty
surveyor, purchased of the late George Knob
lock the Lafayette Hotel, a one-story frame on
the southeast corner of Lafayette and South
streets. He enlarged the building by putting
on another story and adding other improve
ments. In the following December, the place
was opened as the National Hotel, with Mr.
Whitten and Thomas J. Slick, his son-in-law,
proprietors. July 28, 1868, Sarah A. Mat
thews, widow of Daniel Matthews, deceased,
and daughter of Mr. Whitten, purchased part
of the property, at $5,000, and Mr. Slick re
tired. The business was continued in the firm
name of Whitten & Matthews till 1874, when
L. H. Packard took charge. In 1877, we find

R. Wansbrough thus acting. This is the year
the building was partially destroyed by fire;
but was soon rehabilitated, making it a three-
story, as you see it today, when it was rechrist-
ened the St. James. Mrs. Matthews had now
become the sole owner.
We shall now have to run over the succeed
ing proprietorships hastily as details would be
tedious. L. H. Packard, 1879; Matthews &
Crawford, 1880 ; Matthias M. Faulknor, 1881-
2-3-4-5 ; Clem Crawford, 1885 ; Byron J. Mc-
Elrath till May 18, 1888, when the irrepres
sible Louis Pfeiffer stepped upon the scene,
purchasing the property, refurnishing the
hotel, making certain improvements, and in
general instilling new life and a thrifty air
into the place. Louis seems to be there to stay,
whoever else in that business may come and
go as the years roll on.
The Grand Central Hotel, on South Michi
gan street, 114-116, was built and owned by
Daniel M. Shivery. Henry C. Knill was the
first proprietor, opening in 1875. M. L. Den
nis succeeded Mr. Knill in 1882. Frank Knill,
Thomas Ragan, Henry C. Needham, A. K.
Price, George W. Reynolds, S. H. Rice, War
ner B. Titus and Mrs. S. J. Junkin followed
in order as the lessees. Under Mr. Reynold's
regime the name was changed to Reynold's
House; under Mr. Titus' to Titus House; and
now it is the Columbia. It was the first house
in South Bend to introduce the passenger ele
vator, having put in one of these in May, 1879,
and was the only hotel in the city with such a
convenience till the opening of the new Oliver.
The European Hotel,0, afterwards used as
the Y. M. C. A. hall, 122-124 South Main
street, was erected by Dr. Robert Harris and
Edward M. Irvin in 1880, and was opened
by L. H. Packard the following year. In
1883, Mrs. Anna R. Smith became the pro
prietress, and changed the name to Hotel Bris
tol, under whose management the establish
ment eked out a precarious existence for about
two years, when it was finally closed as a
hotel. The Grand View Hotel, on the northeast
corner of St. Joseph street and Vistula ave
nue, was built by Christopher Muessel in
1892-3, and opened August 11, 1893, by John
Ober. Then came, in order, Byron L. McEl-
rath, September 28, 1896 ; Godfrey E. Knight,
March, 1897 ; Mrs. Ida Powell, June, 1898 ; T.
M. Morrison, March, 1899, who changed the
name to The Morrison. It is now called the
a. See Chap. 11, Subd. 6, Sec. 11.

440

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Avenue Hotel. The building is a substantial
and sightly four story brick and the view
from the location is one of the most pictur
esque in the city. It is the property of the
heirs of the original projector, as above stated.
The Exchange Hotel, now known as the
Sheridan House, was erected in 1840 by Wil
liam L. Earl, who was its first landlord. It
is located on the southwest corner of Michigan
street and La Salle avenue, formerly Water
street. This was originally the heart of the
little town. On the northeast corner of the
same streets was the Indian trading post
of the American Fur Company, in charge
of Alexis Coquillard, which he called the
"Big St. Joseph's Station." At this point,
too, was the first ferry across the St. Joseph.
Naturally enough, therefore, was the place
selected for the Exchange Hotel, which, under
different names, has prospered to this day. It
was for a time managed by Mr. Gibbs, and
known as the Gibbs House. Dwight Deming
also had charge of it for a long time, when it
was known as the Dwight House. Samuel
Ragan owned it for a time and called it the
Sheridan House, after the great Union gen
eral. On being enlarged and improved a few
years ago it received its present name, the
New Sheridan. Other proprietors have been,
Captain Mills, Jeremiah H. Knight, George
Horn, William Mason, John F. Kirby. In
1895, it came into the hands of Bird Bickford
who managed it until his death, since when it
has been in charge of his family. It is, and
has always been, an excellent hotel.
The Hotel Johnson, now the Lafayette
Hotel, situated adjacent to the Grand Trunk
passenger station on the north side, was built
by Johnson & May, in 1895. It was badly
damaged before its completion by the burn
ing of John R. Shank's livery barn, and was
purchased by Charles L. Goetz and the late
Louis Benz and leased by them, June 1, 1896,
to Alexander Curtis, who at once won a liberal
patronage and has since maintained the stand
as a favorite resort for the local and transient
public. Mr. Curtis was by no means a novice
in the hotel business, having, previously, long
and acceptably filled that station at the Mil-
burn House, Mishawaka. He also, by the way,
belongs to one of Penn township's earliest
pioneer families, being himself a native of
that section, not of yesterday, either. He
bears vivid recollections of the luxuries of the
round-log cabin, the country schoolmaster's
hickory sprout, and corn-hoeing barefoot

among the nettles, as well as do some of the
rest of us.
Under the heading of "hotels" the follow
ing houses are mentioned in the city director
ies, but were perhaps more in the nature of
boarding houses than hotels : Emmet House
corner of Franklin and South streets F Sul
livan, 1869-70-71-72. 1871-72, Kunstman
House, 125 South Michigan street, Andrew
Kunstman, and, later, Conrad Oltsch; and
Union House, corner of Michigan and Center
streets, Franz Bauer, Jr., later Arnold &
Vahlert, and now John C. Wagner. 1873-74,
Lafayette House, 77 Michigan street (old
numbering) , George Knoblock & Son. 1876,
South Bend House, 76 Michigan street, Frank
Ambos. 1889, Hotel Royal, 117 West Wash
ington street, Mrs. M. Vanderhoof. 1892,
Hotel Washington, 538 South Scott street, M.
Pfaffenbach. The Second St. Joseph Hotel is the quaint
looking three-story brick, with four dormer
windows now known as 115-117 Colfax ave
nue, and partly occupied by Schuler & Klin-
gel, the wholesale fruit, feed, and produce
dealers. It was built and owned by the late
David Greenwalt, being planned expressly for
a hotel. Mr. Greenwalt was from Lebanon,
Pa., and had the peculiar Pennsylvania ideas
of architecture. The brick building on Water
street directly north of this hotel presents
another example of Mr. Greenwalt 's architec
tural taste, as did the J. F. Studebaker resi
dence, before remodeled, just east of Sunny-
side. The hotel was opened September 10, 1868,
by Chauncey Nichols, formerly of the Bond
House, of Niles, as proprietor, and L. H. Pack
ard as clerk. The next year Barber and Slo-
cum took the place, and this management was
succeeded by E. L. Abbott, in 1871; by Jerry
H. Knight and Henry Galloway, in 1872; by
Henry Galloway, in 1873-4-5 ; and by John G.
Greenawalt, in 1876, at the close of whose lease
the St. Joseph Hotel, with its large imposing
sign, ceased to exist. The name St. Joseph
was twice applied to a hotel in this city; at
first to a hotel on the site of the present Oliver
and afterwards to this hotel on the north side
of Market street, or La Salle avenue, as the
street is now called.
After the second St. Joseph Hotel ceased to
exist, as above stated, the building stood un
tenanted till about 1880, when Marvin Camp
bell became the lessee, with an extensive stock
of hardware. With Marvin's characteristic

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

441

hustle the locality became a brisk and stirring
center. Mr. Campbell sold his business in 1886
to Munroe & Creviston. To them succeeded
Munroe & Keltner; and after them came
Sehuler & Klingel.
The first hotel on the site of the present
Oliver was The Old St. Joseph. The name did
not continue without interruption, and in one
of the intervals the name of St. Joseph was
taken by the second St. Joseph, on Market
street, or La Salle avenue. In 1852, the late
President Whitten, father of civil engineer
William M. Whitten, purchased of the late
Evan C. Chalfant, of Clay township, 54 feet
of the west end of lots 240 and 239, this being
part of the site of The Oliver block. He also
purchased the next lot north and the one now
occupied by Louis Nickel, Jr., & Co. There
was a one-story frame on Washington next to
the alley. Mr. Whitten put another story on'
this for his family residence and alongside of
it he erected a two-story wagon shop. Just
east of this building he had a blacksmith shop.
William Conrad, later, became interested with
Mr. Whitten in both ownership of the proper
ty and the business, the firm name being Whit
ten & Conrad. The former was a Dlacksmith
and the latter a wagonsmith.
Mr. Conrad, later, became a resident of
Warsaw, where he still resides. He is a
staunch Democrat; is always seen at Demo
cratic district gatherings and has served as a
member of the state central committee.
In about 1857, Mr. Whitten removed his
shop to the rear end of the lot just across the
alley east of the present postoffice, and con
verted his two buildings on Washington street
into one, and added at the rear a one-story
part, 30x40 feet, thus forming what became
the first St. Joseph Hotel About the first of
December, 1859, John A. Derbin leased this
property and went to keeping tavern, calling
the place The Derbin Hotel. County Assessor
Thomas J. Slick clerked there about three
months, commencing in December, that year.
Mr. Derbin was an uncle of Yoppie Hogue,
of the Hogue studio, Jefferson street.
About June 1, 1861, Mr. Derbin was suc
ceeded by M. M. Shultz, who changed the
name to National Hotel. Mr. Shultz (father-
in-law of J. Edward Skillman, of the Singer
works), continued here until 1862, when Mr.
Whitten and his son-in-law, Harvey C. Bor
den, took possession and rented the west half
of the St. Joseph Hotel of Elisha Egbert and
Mary J. Higinbotham, connecting this with

the frame by an arched way. The west room
of ths St. Joseph Hotel was used for the office.
The name National Hotel was continued
under the new arrangement. In February,
1865, about two months before the great fire,
Lot Day, Jr., purchased Mr. Borden's inter
est. There were some deferred payments.
The loss was total, with no insurance. There
was not the scratch of a pen to witness the
indebtedness, yet it was paid to the last cent,
without a whimper or quibble. The Days, it
may be added, were long a prominent family
in and about South Bend. Captain Lot
Day, the elder, settled here in 1832, carried on
the tanning business in several places, one of
his tanyards being on Michigan street, just
north of Navarre. Was also a brick manu
facturer, and was the contractor in the erec
tion of the first brick jail. He served as
county commissioner, twice as sheriff, and
once as state senator.
At a celebration of the Fourth of July,
1844, young Lot Day, then about 21, was act
ing as cannoneer. The cast-iron piece was
placed on the bluff, about where the stand-
pipe now lifts its lofty column. A charge
prematurely exploded, driving the ramrod,
with its rough swab end, through Lot 's hands,
tearing off the right hand entirely and the
thumb off the other hand, besides terribly
lacerating the remaining four fingers, but >
these were saved. Lot walked from the scene
of the accident to the old Eagle Hotel (south
east corner Washington and Lafayette), then
occupied by his sister Mary Ann, wife of Wil
liam Norton. Here, a Dr. Brown and Dr.
Merritt amputated the arm and dressed the
other wounds, the former operating and doing
a bungling job. This, I believe was prior to
the use or knowledge of anaesthetics in the
practice of surgery. David Stover, ex-Mayor
Miller and Thomas E. Beyerly witnessed the
operation. Much sympathy was aroused for
the unfortunate young man, and liberal con
tributions were made by the citizens for his
schooling, under the tutorship of Prof. C. M.
Wright, who was long the leading educator in
this section.
In 1846, the two Lots, father and son, were
candidates on the Democratic ticket, the one
for the state senate and the other for sheriff.
The county was decidedly Whig, and each
had a strong competitor, but both were
elected. Lot, Jr., succeeded himself as
sheriff by a largely increased majority, and
at the close of his second term as such was

442

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

elected county recorder. Later, he was a mem
ber of the first board of directors of the state
prison North. Of splendid figure, pleasing
address, and a genial, generous nature, Lot
Day, Jr., was beloved by everybody that knew
him, even by the schoolboy and the- frowsy
urchin playing "knuckles" on the sidewalk.
The elder Lot was among the early overland
emigrants to California, where he died. The
younger Lot went there, too, later; kept the
National Hotel, at Sacramento, for awhile,
and died in that state, some ten or more years
ago. After the destruction of the first St. Joseph
Hotel by the fire of 1865, a continuous block,
consisting of three-story business buildings
and Good's Opera House, was erected by the
several owners of the ground on the site of the
hotel. On December 24, 1878, the block so
erected was again destroyed in what is known
as the St. Joseph hotel fire, one of the most
disastrous that the city has ever known. The
firemen worked vainly to extinguish the
flames, while the temperature was five degrees
below zero. Six buildings were destroyed
with their contents, involving a loss of sixty
thousand dollars, while several firemen had
their hands and feet frozen.
One of the indirect results of this terrible
fire was the building and naming of the First
Oliver House. In the spring of 1879, the
owners of the St. Joseph block decided to re
build the entire frontage in a uniform style
of architecture, the lower floors to be occupied
as stores, while the upper stories should be
converted into a hotel and the restored Good's
Opera House.
Out of compliment to Mr. James Oliver, the
new hostelry was christened the Oliver House,
which was formally opened on the evening of
July 14, 1879, with Jerry H. and Godfrey E.
Knight, proprietors. The Knight Bros, ran
the place for nearly ten years, and were fol
lowed, successively, by Jones & Cox, J. S. Mc-
Farland, father-in-law of Melville E. Stone,
founder of the Chicago Daily News, W. B.
Titus, Phelps & Parsons, Parsons, Parsons &
Faulknor, Faulknor & McElrath, Rice &
Faulknor, and S. H. Rice. Under the latter's
management the house was finally closed with
a supper on the evening of April 30, 1898,
after a period of nearly nineteen years. Few
tears followed its going, for it betokened the
beginning of the gorgeous up-to-date and
splendidly equipped new hotel, The Oliver.
The new Oliver Hotel, which was erected

and furnished by the public spirit and muni
ficence of Mr. James Oliver, was dedicated by
a public reception at which there was a great
outpouring of the people from the city and
from the surrounding cities, towns and coun
try, on the evening of December 20, 1898. On
the following day the hotel was formally
opened for business.
Mr. Leeper closes his painstaking, graphic
and complete hotel reminiscences with this
generous eulogy of the Oliver and its builder:
' ' The Oliver of today needs no writing up.
It speaks for itself, as the pride of South
Bend, as unexcelled in the state or in the
West, as the latest and highest ideal of hotel
appointments, as an enduring monument to
its public spirited and free-handed founder,
James Oliver."
The Oliver hotel is one of the most magnif
icent structures occupied for hotel purposes in
the west." It has a frontage on Washington
street of one hundred and sixty-five feet, and
on Main street of one hundred and thirty-five
feet. It is six stories in height, and of the
most tasteful and imposing design of archi
tecture in the renaissance style. The lower
story is of light colored stone, and the upper
stories of cream colored brick, with enriched
terra eotta architraves, and with an elaborate
and artistic frieze and cornice of terra eotta.
The Washington street entrance is marked by
a handsome Doric portico, with massive stone
pedestals; and the Main street entrance is
protected by an elaborately designed porte
cochere of wrought iron.
The interior decorations and furnishings
of the Oliver are superbly artistic and most
beautiful in every detail, from the expansive
and imposing rotunda, with its grand fresco
ornamentations, to the sleeping apartments
upon the upper floors. The parlors, dining
rooms, guest chambers, halls and corridors are
all finished in most beautiful designs and with
the highest regard for artistic harmony and
richness. The paintings in the rotunda are works of
art, and represent, in life size figures, the
seasons, fine arts, poetry, architecture, sculp
ture, painting, the elements, water, fire, earth,
and air, and music, song, the drama and the
dance. The parlors, the Louis XVI and the
Oriental rooms are marvels of beauty and
finish, and are most luxuriously furnished;
and the main dining room, with its flower-
a. This description is chiefly from "South Bend
and the Men who have Made it," pp. 52, 53.

ot-1
< HX
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JT1 Uloa
xtdHSi d

t^ams* Jite^i^P^ pp :m ^Sj

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

445

decked ceiling and tapestry panels upon the
walls, is a dream of beauty. The spacious
banquet room is most elaborately decorated,
the panels in the walls are finished in crimson
silk, with a background of deep cream, col
ored with gold, while the ceiling represents a
large tinted panel, embellished with forty-five
life-size allegorical cherubs, emblematic of the
arts and seasons.
In every respect the new Oliver Hotel is
one of the most magnificent and imposing edi
fices, and, in every detail and finish and fur
niture, is artistically beautiful and enduringly
attractive. In the rotunda is a massive gold loving cup,
presented to Mr. Oliver by his friends, com
memorative of the erection of the hotel. It
is of superb design, with bas relief medallions
of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver, and miniature repro
ductions of the pioneer factory and the mod
ern works of the Oliver Chilled Plow Com
pany. Aside from its intrinsic and artistic
value, this loving cup is prized by its honored
recipient rather as an evidence of the high
esteem in which he is held by his friends and
associates in this city which has been the scene
of his labors and triumphs, from the day he
came to Mishawaka, a poor boy, in the four
teenth year of his age, until he has entered
upon his eighty-fifth year, blest with untold
wealth and full of honors by reason of the
great public benefits to which he has applied
so generous a share of this wealth.
Sec. 15. — Schools.— By Article Nine of the
Constitution of 1816, it was made the duty of
the legislature "to provide by law for a gen
eral system of education, ascending in a regu
lar gradation from township schools to a
state university, wherein tuition shall be grat
is, and equally open to all." In the same
article particular provision was made for the
creation of funds for the support of county
seminaries, as intermediate between the town
ship schools and the state university. The
system was excellent in theory, but proved to
be impracticable, as the funds to support such
an elaborate system of education could not be
provided. Accordingly, in the constitution of 1851 the
legislature was required only "to provide by
law for a general and uniform system of com
mon schools, wherein tuition shall be without

charge, and equally open to all."0 Not only
is there no provision for a state university or
a county seminary, or other high school, but
there is express provision for the sale of
county seminaries and requiring that the pro
ceeds of such sale, and also "the moneys and
property, heretofore held for such seminar
ies," should become a part, of the common
school fund. The theory of the framers of
the constitution of 1851 was very plainly, that
ample provision should be made for a free
common school education; but that any one
who wished to give his child a high school, or
a university education, should do it at his
own expense.
Under the old constitution, as we have
seen,6 a county seminary for St. Joseph coun
ty was established, and was located in South
Bend, on the north side of West Washington
street, at the intersection of William, on the
site of the present high school. After the
constitution of 1851 went into effect, the
county seminary and grounds were purchased
by the South Bend school trustees and have
ever since been used for a high school.
Whether high schools are at all authorized
under our present constitution, has been
questioned. But, while no express provision
for such schools is found in the constitution,
and while the requirement that the old county
seminaries should be sold and the proceeds
turned into the common school fund, seems
like an implied provision against the support
of such schools by the state, yet there are some
general provisions found in Article Eight,
Section One, which make it the duty of the
legislature, not only to provide for "a general
and uniform system of common schools," but
also "to encourage, by all suitable means,
moral, intellectual, scientific, and agricultural
improvement." However this may be, high
schools have been established and placed
under control of city school trustees through
out the state.
In South Bend the high school proceeded
a. Constitution of 1851, Art. 8.
6. Chap. 6, Subd. 6, Sec. 11.

446

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

directly from the eounty seminary. Indeed,
it was but a continuation of the old seminary
under a new name and' under direction of new
officials. It was on July 16, 1853, as we have
seen,0 that the transfer of the seminary prop
erty was made from the county officials to the
board of town trustees. The purchase was
on time, and the payments were not all made
until after South Bend had become a city and
the school functions of the board of town
trustees had passed into the hands of the
board of school trustees of the city of South
Bend. On August 31, 1866, the deed of
transfer was formally made, and soon after
wards there was a reorganization of the old
school. The name of seminary passed away
and that of high school took its place.
An accomplished teacher in the high school
has written an interesting historical sketch
of the South Bend schools, particularly the
high school, from about -the date of the deed
of transfer of the seminary, which sketch is
here inserted with her permission:6
"The first step toward the organization of
the South Bend High School was the appoint
ment of Mr. Daniel Eyer as superintendent
of the public schools in 1867. The board of
education at that time consisted of Messrs.
John Klingel, J. A. Henricks and E. S. Rey
nolds, and it was due mainly to Mr. Klingel's
efforts that our schools were graded and a
high school was established. The schools of
the city occupied five buildings : the old Madi
son school, a brick structure of four rooms ; a
frame building of two rooms on the site of
the present Jefferson building; the Lowell
school in the east part of the city, and the
seminary on Washington street. Seventeen
teachers were employed, and as the schools
were entirely ungraded, classes ranging from
primary readers to English literature, from
notation to geometry, were found in the same
room, conducted by one teacher.
"Mr. Eyer proved himself an able organiz
er, harmonizing conflicting conditions and
a. Chap. 6, Subd. 6, Sec. 11.
&. Mrs. Esse Bissell Dakin, in The Interlude.

bringing order out of chaos ; and soon the va
rious schools were pursuing a uniform course
of study leading up to the High school. The
classification of the pupils who composed the
High school was not an easy task, and so num
erous were the inequalities in the preparation
of pupils, that it was not until 1870 that a
continuous four years' course of study was
followed. ' ' On account of the central location of the
old seminary, it was selected as the home of
the incipient school, and Mr. Eyer was in
stalled as principal with one assistant. The
seminary was a prominent building at that
time, and as evidence of the importance of
its erection we quote from the St. Joseph Val
ley Register of September 26, 1845: 'This
building, on the north side of Washington
street, west of town, is rapidly approaching
completion. It is of brick, two stories high,
and is to be surmounted by a cupola.
' ' ' The seminary stands near the center of
an acre and a half lot, which belongs to it
and which is to be inclosed and improved.
There will be two rooms in the building, one
below and the other above. The one in the
second story is to be the full size of the build
ing, undivided at present by any partition,
and the two rooms will comfortably contain
all the pupils of the institution for many
years to come.'
"The prediction in regard to the capacity
of the two rooms, as well as the location, 'west
of town, ' is especially interesting now, in view
of our 10 overcrowded rooms and our loca
tion in the heart of the city.
"Unfortunately the records of the meetings
of the board of- education for the period from
1868 to 1873 have been lost, but we are able
to give the important changes through the
kindness of Mr. John Klingel, whose efficient
services were given to our schools for many
years. At the close of the first year of the
existence of our High school, Mr. A. C. Ross
was appointed principal, and Mr. Eyer, who
was reappointed superintendent, conducted
several classes, in addition to his work of sur

HIGH SCHOOL, SOUTH BEND.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

449

pervision. Professor Ross was succeeded in
1870, by Prof. Benjamin Wilcox, who„ enjoyed
a wide reputation as an instructor. He com
pleted the grading of the pupils and under
his guidance the course of study was defi
nitely prescribed, the school increased in
numbers and interest, literary societies were
established and a new High school building
was felt to be a necessity. The time had come
when the old seminary no longer comfortably
contained "all the pupils of the institution.
"Prof. Wilcox, Mr. John Klingel and Dr.
J. A. Henricks were the moving spirits in
the project of a new building, which assumed
definite shape upon paper in the plans of
Architect Rose, of Chicago. In April, 1872,
the seminary was torn down, the High school
occupying temporary quarters in the old Mad
ison building. In September, 1873, the school
met in the new building, a part of which was
occupied by the Washington school.
"In April, 1874, the first diplomas were
issued to a graduating class in assembly hall.
The following year the school met with a
severe loss in the death of Prof. Wilcox, whose
sterling worth and upright character have
left their impress upon all with whom he came
in contact. His successors have been James
DuShane, Charles H. Bartlett, Eugene F.
Lohr, Stuart MacKibbin, Mary L. Hinsdale,
John M. Culver and Dumont Lotz. Under
these instructors the school has grown in num
bers, strength and equipment until it stands
second to none in our state for thorough in
struction and practical work.
"In 1875-76 an additional month was given
to instruction. The one course of study was
expanded to three courses, Latin, German and
English. The average attendance has in
creased from 50 to 280; the number of teach
ers from two to 11.
"The library, which consisted mainly of
books of reference, numbered 148 volumes
in 1887; at present we have 2,000 volumes
and 21 periodicals. For a number of years
the proceeds of commencement lectures and
junior exhibitions were devoted to the pur-
29

chase of books, but the library has received
no additions from this source for several
years. ' ' The library occupies a -room upon *the
second floor and is in charge of the assistant
librarian, Miss Maude Ott, from 8 to 12 a. m.
and 2 to 4 p. m. Pupils have the privilege
of withdrawing books for use at their homes.
A complete card catalogue has been made
under the supervision of the librarian, Miss
Thekla Sack.
"In 1886 a wing of four rooms was added
to the building, a physical science room fitted
up and the chemical laboratory enlarged and
equipped with modern apparatus. In 1898
additional recitation rooms were formed by
dividing two large rooms into four smaller
rooms. "Through the influence of Superintendent
Moon the yard has become a beautiful park,
with broad stone walks, a well kept lawn and
high overarching trees, adding greatly to the
attractiveness of the building.
' ' There are two societies connected with the
school, the Euglossian and Cleosophic literary
societies, founded by Prof. Wilcox in 1870.
These societies have been valuable aids in the
cultivation of literary taste and forensic
ability, and for a number of years engaged in
an annual contest during commencement
week. ' ' The school year is divided into two semes
ters and the annual events are the junior exhi
bition, the reception tendered the juniors by
the seniors, the faculty reception for the
seniors, the baccalaureate sermon, class day
and commencement. ' '
Following the principalship of Mr. Dumont
Lotz came that of Charles H. Bartlett, who
held the position of principal of the High
school for three and one-half years. After
Mr. Bartlett came C. O. Davis, who is now a
member of the faculty of the University of
Michigan. The \ present principal, Mr. Isaac
E. Neff, succeeded Mr. Davis in September,
1905. The number of teachers now in the
high school is twenty-two, and the number of

450

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

pupils, five hundred and seventy-three. A
feature of this school that should be noted is
the attention given to manual training. The
graduates of the South Bend High school are
admitted without examination as students of
the colleges and universities of the country.
In 1867, as appears from the foregoing
sketch, the city schools were ungraded and
were all conducted in a few old buildings.
Since that time, as the years have gone on, a
complete gradation of studies and classifica
tion of pupils, from the kindergarten to the
high school, have taken place. During the
same period, all the old buildings have been
taken down, and fine brick and stone struc
tures been erected in their place, with the best
present day appliances in every department.
New buildings, of the same superior character,
have been located at different points in the
city, as increased population made it neces
sary. Besides the high school, erected on the site
of the old county seminary, the grounds in
the rear of that building, and fronting on
Colfax avenue, have been purchased and a
beautiful building there erected for a gram
mar school, to be intermediate between the
ward schools and the high school. This build
ing is at present used also for the high school
classes, the intention being, as soon as funds
are available, to rebuild and improve the
high school building on Washington street.
In addition to the high school and the
grammar school, the city has the following
ward, or primary schools, in which the first
seven grades are taught: The Jefferson
school; the Madison school; the Lafayette
school; the Laurel school; the Coquillard
school ; the Elder school ; the Franklin school ;
the Colfax school; the Linden school; the
Oliver school ; the Perley school ; the Bowman
school; the Weidler school; the Muessel
school; and the Henry Studebaker school.
The schools have been named either from the
streets on or near which they are situated
or from citizens distinguished in the history
of the city.

Under authority of an act of the general
assembly, approved March 7, 1881° the board
of school trustees have established an excellent
free Public Library, and have housed the
same in one of the finest architectural public
buildings of the city which is located at the
southeast corner of Main and Wayne streets.
Steps had been taken 'as early as 1872 for the
establishment of a public library. In that
year, principally through the efforts of Dr.
Louis Humphreys, William G. George and
John Klingel, a library was established in
a rear room of a store on the east side of

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PUBLIC LIBRARY, SOUTH BEND.
Michigan street, a little north of Washington
street. In a short time, to secure more room,
the library was removed to the second story
of number one hundred and twenty-three
West Washington street, where it flourished
greatly until the building was burned. After
the passage of the law authorizing the school
board to establish a free library in connection
with the public schools, and before the pro
ceeds of the tax levies for the purpose were
collected, Mr. James Oliver advanced the
amount necessary to open the library and
purchase the first books. Donations were
made by Clement Studebaker, Leighton Pine
a. Acts, 1881, p. 47. And see amendment, Acts,
1883, p. 103.
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

451

and others, and in 1888, the library was
opened on the third floor of the Oliver opera
house block. In 1895 the school board pur
chased the lot at the corner of Main and
Wayne streets; and the fine library building
was completed that year and early the next,
and on May 1, 1896, was formally opened to
the scholars of the schools and to the public.
The cost was about forty thousand dollars.
Miss Virginia Tutt is the present accomplished
librarian; and under her excellent manage
ment and that of her predecessor, Miss Evelyn
C. Humphreys, the library has become an
excellent school of instruction, not only for
the children of the schools, but for the people
at large.
By an act approved March 6, 1865, the
legislature revised and codified the laws in
relation to the common schools, and provided,
amongst other things, for the election in each
county of a school examiner, who should have
general supervision over the schools of the
county.0 By an act in force March 8, 1873, the office
of county superintendent was created, to take
the place of that of school examiner.& The
county superintendent was given larger
powers than those which had been given to
the school examiner, and the office was in
many respects made more efficient.
The school examiners for St. Joseph county
were: William T. Van Doren, appointed
June 7, 1861; Alvin S. Dunbar, appointed
November 2, 1861; Charles A. Evans, ap
pointed June 10, 1864 ; Jacob Merrifield, ap
pointed January 30, 1866 ; and Elisha Sump
tion, appointed June 2, 1868.
In 1873, during Mr. Sumption's last term
as examiner, the law was passed which
abolished the office .of examiner and created
that of county superintendent, and he served
a short time as superintendent, being the first
to fill that office. The succeeding county
superintendents have been : Andrew J. Foster,
appointed July 1, 1873 ; David A. Ewing, ap-
o- Acts, 1865, p. 1; see Sec. 33.
<>¦ Acts, 1873, p. 75; see also Acts, 1899, p. 240.

pointed June 9, 1875 ; Frank A. Norton,
appointed August 12, 1876 ; Calvin Moon, ap
pointed June 4, 1877; John H. Baer,
appointed in July, 1891 ; and William Clem,
the present incumbent, appointed in June,
1897. The officers of the city schools have been
as follows: BOARDS OP EDUCATION.
1865-'66, Almond Bugbee, Pres.; Rev. C. A.
Evans, Sec; Dwight Deming, Treas.
1866-'67, Almond Bugbee, Pres.; Rev. C. A.
Evans, Sec; Dwight Deming, Treas.
1867-'68, R. L. Koehler, Pres.; Philip Wagner,
Sec; Dr. J. A. Henricks, Treas.
1868-'69, R. D. Koehler, Pres.; John Klingel,
Sec; Dr. J. A. Henricks, Treas.
1869-'70, Ephraim S. Reynolds, Pres.; John Klin
gel, Sec; Dr. J. A. Henricks, Treas.
1870-'71, Ephraim S. Reynolds, Pres.; John Klin
gel, Sec; Dr. J. A. Henricks, Treas.
1871-72, John M. Studebaker, Pres.; John Klin
gel, Sec; Dr. J. A. Henricks, Treas
1872-73, John M. Studebaker, Pres.; John Klin
gel, Sec; Dr. J. A. Henricks, Treas.
1873-74, David Stover, Pres.; Daniel Greene,
Sec; Dr. J. A. Henricks, Treas.
1874-75, David Stover, Pres.; Daniel Greene,
Sec; Marvin Campbell, Treas.
1875-76, Elliott Tutt, Pres.; John Klingel, Sec;
Marvin Campbell, Treas.
1876-77, Elliott Tutt, Pres.; John Klingel, Sec;
Elias W. Hoover, Treas.
1877-78, Elliott Tutt, Pres.; John Klingel, Sec;
Elias W. Hoover, Treas.
1878-79, Elliott Tutt, Pres.; John Klingel, Sec;
Elias W. Hoover, Treas.
1879-'80, Dr. George P. Nevius, Pres.; Elliott
Tutt, Sec; John Klingel, Treas.
1880-'81, Dr. George F. Nevius, Pres.; Elliott
Tutt, Sec; John Klingel, Treas.
1881-'82, Dr. George F. Nevius, Pres.; John
Hay, Sec; John Klingel, Treas.
1882-'83, John Klingel, Pres.; John Hay, Sec;
Dr. George F. Nevius, Treas.
1883-'84, John Hay, Pres.; Dr. C. A. Daugherty,
Sec; Benjamin F. Dunn, Treas.
1884-'85, Dr. C. A. Daugherty, Pres.; John N.
Lederer, Sec; Benjamin F. Dunn, Treas.
1885-'86, Dr. C. A. Daugherty, Pres.; John N.
Lederer, Sec; Benjamin F. Dunn, Treas.
1886-'87, Dr. C. A. Daugherty, Pres.; John N.
Lederer, Sec; Benjamin F. Dunn, Treas.
1887-'88,- Dr. C. A. Daugherty, Pres.; Dr. D. M.
Calvert, Sec; Benjamin F. Dunn, Treas.
1888-'89, Dr. C. A. Daugherty, Pres.; Dr. D. M.
Calvert, Sec; Benjamin F. Dunn, Treas.
1889-'90, Dr. C. A. Daugherty, Pres.; Dr. D. M.
Calvert, Sec; Benjamin F. Dunn, Treas.
1890-'91, Dr. C. A. Daugherty, Pres.; Joseph E.
Williams, Sec; Benjamin F. Dunn, Treas.
1891-'92, Dr. C. A. Daugherty, Pres.; Joseph E.
Williams, Sec; Benjamin F. Dunn, Treas.
1892-'93, Dr. C. A. Daugherty, Pres.; Joseph E.
Williams, Sec; Benjamin F. Dunn, Treas.

452

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

1893-'94, Dr. C. A. Daugherty, Pres.; Henry F.
Elbel, Sec; Benjamin F. Dunn, Treas.
1894-'95, Dr. C. A. Daugherty, Pres.; Albert
Listenberger, Sec; Henry F. Elbel, Treas.
1895-'96, Albert Listenberger, Pres.; Henry F.
Elbel, Sec; Myron Campbell, Treas.
1896-'97, Albert Listenberger, Pres.; Catharine
C. Esmay, Sec; Myron Campbell, Treas.
1897-'98, Myron Campbell, Pres.; Catharine C.
Esmay, Sec; John A. Hibberd, Treas.
1898-'99, Catharine C. Esmay, Pres.; Dr. John
Cassidy, Sec; John A. Hibberd, Treas.
1899-'00, John B. Stoll, Pres.; Dr. John Cassidy,
Sec; John A. Hibberd, Treas.
1900-'01, John B. Stoll, Pres.; Dr. John Cas
sidy, Sec; Wm. O. Davies, Treas.
1901-'02, John B. Stoll, Pres.; George A. Baker,
Sec; Wm. 0. Davies, Treas.
1902-'03, John B. Stoll, Pres.; George A. Baker,
Sec; Wm. O. Davies, Treas.
1903-'04, Francis M. Jackson, Pres.; John B'.
Stoll, Sec; George A. Baker, Treas.
1904-'05, John B. Stoll, Pres.; Dr. Frederick P.
Eastman, Sec; Francis M. Jackson, Treas.
1905-'06, John B. Stoll, Pres.; Dr. Frederick P.
Eastman, Sec; Francis M. Jackson, Treas.
1906-'07, John B. Stoll, Pres.; Henry F. Elbel,
Sec; Dr. Frederick P. Eastman, Treas.
1907-'08, John B. Stoll, Pres.; John C. Paxon,
Sec. ; Henry F. Elbel, Treas.
SUPERINTENDENTS.
Daniel Eyre  2 years  1867-1869
L. E. Denslow  1 year  1869-1870
W. K. Kidd  1 year  1870-1871
David A. Ewing  5 years  1871-1876
Alfred Kummer  3 years  1876-1879
James DuShane  12 years  1879-1891
Calvin Moon  16 years  1891-1907
HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS.
Daniel Eyre  2 years  1867-1869
L. E. Denslow  1 year  1869-1870
W. K. Kidd  1 year  1869-1870
Benjamin Wilcox  4 years  1871-1875
James DuShane  3 years  1875-1878
Alfred Kummer  1 year  1878-1879
Charles H. Bartlett  11 years  1879-1890
Eugene F. Lohr:  3 years  1890-1893
Stuart MacKibbin  2 years  1893-1895
Mary L. Hinsdale  2 years  1895-1897
John M. Culver  1 year  1897-1898
Dumont Lotz  3 years  1898-1901
Charles H. Bartlett  2 years  1901-1903
Calvin C. Davis  1 year  1903-1904
Isaac E. Neff  3 years  1904-1907
Many pf our Private Schools, including
parochial schools, the Assumption school and
St. Joseph 's academy, are noticed in" the pre
ceding sections of this subdivision. A private
school of the utmost value to the commercial
and manufacturing interests of the city is
the South Bend Business College, in which
young men and women are fitted for useful
employment as bookkeepers, stenographers
and typewriters. This is a first-class school of

its kind, and occupies airy and extensive
apartments on the third floor of Nos. 228 to
236 and also No. 304 South Michigan street.
One of the most noted educational institu
tions conducted under private auspices in
northern Indiana was the Northern Indiana
College, founded in 1861 and located at the
west end of Washington street, in South Bend.
It was an incorporated college, for the educa
tion of young ladies and gentlemen. The
first board of trustees consisted of Schuyler
Colfax, William Miller, John H. Harper,
John Brownfield, Asbury Clark, George P.
Layton, Francis R. Tutt, John W. Chess and
Elisha Egbert. The college buildings, beauti
fully located at the head of Washington street,
a mile west of and in full view of the court
house, was of brick, fifty by ninety feet and
four stories high, including basement. The
front was ornamented by a central tower, ris
ing one hundred feet high, from which there
was an entrance to every floor of the college.
It was a substantial and elegant building and
well adapted to the purposes for which it
was intended. The college was dedicated on
January 10, 1867, and duly opened for the
reception of students. This institution which
opened with so much promise was continued
for but a few years. It suffered and ulti
mately perished from the same blight that has
affected many another institution launched
with high hopes under private auspices, — a
lack of funds. The erection of the building
and the furnishing of the college exhausted
the means of its projectors, and as soon as
it became evident that the institution was not
self-sustaining the enterprise was discon
tinued. The old college building is now a
part of the South Bend Chilled Plow Works.
Sec. 16. — Societies and Clubs.— As ap
pears from reminiscences' heretofore set out
in this work,11 the people of St. Joseph county
have always manifested an interest in their
local history. As early as 1867, if not earlier,
steps were taken to form a Historical Society,
for the promotion of the early history of the
a. See, in particular Chap. 4, Subds. 5, 6 and 7.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

453

county. On October 26, 1867, the following
prominent citizens met for- that purpose:
Horatio Chapin, Woolman J. Holloway,
George F. Layton, Thomas S. "Stanfield, Lath
rop M. Taylor, Phillip B. Boone, Charles
Morgan, John Brownfield, Louis Humphreys,
Almond Bugbee, Joseph G. Bartlett, William
L. Barrett, John T. Lindsey, John Reynolds,
Mark Whinery, Elisha Egbert, Charles M.
Tutt, Benjamin Wall, Ethan S. Reynolds,
Jacob Hardman, Benjamin F. Price, Jacob N.
Massey, Ricketson Burroughs, Elliott Tutt,
Matthias Stover, John A. Henricks, Daniel
Greene, Daniel Dayton, Daniel A. Veasey,
Charles W. Martin, Schuyler Colfax, Francis
R. Tutt and William Miller. This list repre
sents the very highest type of citizenship of
the city in the year 1867. On November 2,
1867, the organization was completed, and
very interesting meetings continued to be
held from time to time, at which valuable
papers, reminiscent in their character, were
read by pioneer members, Judge Thomas S.
Stanfield, Dr. Louis Humphreys and others.
But one member of this pioneer historical
society of 1867 is now living, Mr. Daniel
Greene, whose valuable reminiscences were
given in a former chapter. So complete a
change have forty years brought about.
On January 22, 1895, a meeting was called
to revive interest in historical work. The
purpose of the new organization was not only
the preparation and reading of historical es
says and reminiscences, but also the collec
tion and safe keeping of such data, relics,
papers and other matters as would be of
interest in the history of this section of the
state. To broaden the scope of the work, it
was determined to name the society the
Northern Indiana Historical Society, and to
extend its work to all matters relating to the
history of the valleys of the St. Joseph and
Kankakee, in so far at least as such matters
might throw light upon the history of St.
Joseph county and vicinity. On February
4, 1896, the society was formally incorpo
rated, with the following membership :

Lucius Hubbard, Richard H. Lyon, Otto M.
Knoblock, George A. Baker, Willis A. Bugbee,
Chauncey N. Fassett, Charles H. Bartlett,
Ann Thrush Fassett, William B. Starr, Mary
Ewing Studebaker, Stuart MacKibbin, Mar
tha 0. Hubbard, Bessie A. Baker, George B..
Beitner, Thaddeus S. Taylor, Sarah C. Tay
lor, James Du Shane, Howard S. Stanfield,
Flora L. Stanfield, George Ford, William B.
Stover. Many valuable papers have been
read before this society since its organization,
and many old books, papers, portraits and
relics have been collected. The relics are
carefully marked and are preserved in neat,
strong, glass covered cases.
For several years after the organization
of the Northern Indiana Historical Society
there was a growing desire on the part of the
people of the city and county to have a pub
lic exhibition of the fine old treasures in the
possession of the society and of its members
and their friends. This exhibition was
finally held on the week beginning February
5, 1900, in what was then known as "the
old curry-comb building," on the west side
of Lafayette street, between Washington and
Jefferson, the site at present occupied as an
automobile garage. The moving spirits in
preparing this most interesting exhibit, were
George A. Baker, secretary, Otto M. Knob-'
lock, treasurer, and George B. Beitner, all
enthusiastic and active members of the North
ern Indiana Historical Society. After the
first evening's opening the following graphic
and appreciative description of the exhibit
was written by the lamented Charles Albert
.McDonald, then associate editor of the South
Bend Times, and himself an earnest member
of the society:
"The most optimistic expectations of the
most sanguine admirer of the curious, the
beautiful, the antique and the wonderful
were far exceeded in the grand collection
secured by the leading spirits in the Northern
Indiana Historical Society, to grace the first
historical display ever given under the so
ciety's auspices.
"The exhibit, carefully watched and

454

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

guarded, occupies nearly two entire floors
of the spacious building formerly occupied
by the South Bend Curry Comb factory, and
was first opened to the public at 5 P. M. Mon
day, the display to be continued on through
this week.
"There on the walls and benches, in cases
and frames, on shelves and counters
stretched, spread and appealed to the lover
of curios a show that would do credit to a
city many times the size of South Bend.
"The mound builder, the cliff dweller, the
Inca and the American Indian vied with the
Moor, the Japanese, the Chinese, the South
Sea Islanders, the Hawaiians and the Hin
doos in contribution to the vast array.
"Antique specimens of the bookmaker's
art; cloths and vestments of the middle ages;
bureaus, boxes, chests, trunks, cradles, jew
elry, candlesticks, lanterns, lamps, rich
china, pewter dishes, andirons, choicest crock
eries, spinning wheels, flax hatches, old
clocks, hand forged tools and chains, da
guerreotypes, miniatures, portraits, Navajo
blankets, ancient parchments, autograph let
ters, old invitations, army relics of all kinds
and of many wars, steel engravings, old
paintings, rich old embroideries, idols, temple
gongs, old coins, fractional paper currency
(shinplasters), postage stamp collections, an
tique firearms, hand spun fabrics, very old
maps, valuable models, old deeds and a vast
variety of other objects give one not only
hours but days of enjoyable and instructive
diversion in viewing and admiring.
"The magnificent Indian relic collections
possessed by George A. Baker, Charles H.
Bartlett, Baz Rupel, Charles M. Schuell, Wil
liam B. Stover, Dr. H. T. Montgomery, J. D.
Henderson, George 0. Ware, Miss Sadie L.
Kirby. David R. Leeper and others, are richly
in evidence and while not shown in entirety,
are given in full variety. It is safe to say
that South Bend could get up one of the best
Indian relic displays to be seen outside of
two or three collections nationally known.
"The Historical Society's splendid display
from the ruins of old Fort St. Joseph 's, a few
miles north of the city, were here shown com
pletely mounted, the work of George A.
Baker, and a very artistic job he made of
it. The society also shows pictures of the
first court house, the old seminary and
numerous old portraits.
"One of the many things that attract
much attention is South Bend's first post

office, a case with something like eighteen
pigeon holes and a large space at the bottom.
It was used by Colonel L. M. Taylor when
South Bend was called Southold, being so
named June 6, 1829, and its name being
changed to South Bend October 18, 1830.
Mr. Taylor was postmaster here from 1829 to
1838. "Then there were Colonel Taylor's old
books as first Indian trader here and dating
back to 1827. The accounts with the Indians
present many peculiar names and when com
pared with the white men in another book,
the noble red man is found to be a far better
debt payer. These books were carefully kept
and are indeed a valuable and interesting
feature. ' ' Another thing in the locally antique that
comes in for attention is the old bell used on
the now deserted Catholic church at Ber
trand, Mich., when it called the red men to
worship. This bell was loaned by Notre
Dame. ' ' The various Studebaker families vie with
one another in costly, varied and interesting
exhibits which fill case after ease and shelf
over shelf, their part of the great collection
being exceedingly conspicuous and abound
ing with art and historical treasures of great ,
value. They were exceedingly generous in
making up the collection and the immediate
families' efforts are ably seconded by Hon.
and Mrs. F. S. Fish and Mr. and Mrs. C. A.
Carlisle. The latter have a particularly fine
and varied lot of steel engravings illustrating
the life of Washington, while in the Fish col
lection a most elaborate pewter dish display
is supplemented .by a vast array of curios
from the far East.
"The Olivers have some very interesting
features in the display. Mr. William Oliver
shows a stove made many years ago at Misha
waka, from bog iron.
"TV O'Briens, among the many interest
ing articles contributed for the occasion, show
some exquisite specimens of old china, they
being related to the celebrated WedgewoodSj
whose name is dear to every china collector s
heart. "Something particularly fine was a mas
sive brass fender, two huge pairs of andirons
and a pair' of tongs from the great Valcour
Aime mansion near New Orleans, these
splendid and massive specimens of fireplace
furnishings datina- back in the early part oi
the eighteenth century as a feature in the

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

455

princely mansion of probably the wealthiest
planter in the South. This exhibit is owned
by M. B. Staley, A. H. Stephenson and C. N.
Fassett, and is conspicuously in evidence.
"The Candlestick Club show an array of
candlesticks and snuffers that is dazzling in
appearance and of great variety in design.
With this display is much from the fine col
lection of Mr. and Mrs. Otto M. Knoblock
along with over sixty tea pots that form Mrs.
George B. Beitner 's elaborate and interesting
showing at the exhibit..
"Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Ferstl showed a line
of jewels, portraits, ancient articles of attire,
etc., that attracted every eye. They show the
Ferstl coat of arms, the ,doeument conferring
knighthood upon the family several hundred
years ago, and also a bureau over 300 years
old that came from a monastery and required
the work of two monks nine years to complete.
It is a rare specimen of the wood worker's
art. A helmet worn by Mr. Ferstl and hav
ing a bullet hole through it shows that he
had been under fire, that being the relic of
a battle in the Fatherland.
"J. Q. C. Van den Bosch has a very interest
ing exhibit in the antiques; Mr. and Mrs.
J. G. Elliott show a great and elegant variety
of valuable china and other table ware, some
being valuable souvenir products ; Mrs. Car
rie E. Meyer displays among other things
some very fine embroideries of the long ago;
Miss Vin Farmer shows a wide assortment
of curios in which some hand carved boxes
are very noticeable. Charles M. Schuell not
only displayed Indian relics in great variety,
but also a vast array of coins, some ancient
clocks, as well as other curiosities.
"A feature that attracted much attention
was the relics of the ' 306 ' campaign for Grant
in 1880 as displayed by Hon. Clem Stude
baker, one of that 306. " He also showed Pan
American congress souvenirs, autograph let
ters, etc. Another feature in the Studebaker
display was two wrought iron chains, shaped
in all their sturdy strength by the father of
the Studebakers sixty years ago. The bread
box used by the Studebaker family was also
shown with their royal loan to the exhibition.
"George B. Beitner injected some humor
and no small degree of interest by his display
of discarded footwear from all sizes and con
ditions of men. The toe holes appealed elo
quently for attention, and various holes, rents
and gaps yawned knowingly.
"Among the many others who contributed

articles to the display were Hon. Schuyler
Colfax, in connection with his father's active
participation in govermental affairs; Auten
Post, G. A. R; Willis A. Bugbee, Mrs. J.
E. Williams, R. G. Edwards, Mrs. J. D. Hen
derson, Mr. and Mrs. Howard S. Stanfield,
Horace Reynolds, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall P.
Chapin, Mr. Almond Bugbee, Mr. and Mrs.
George A. Baker, R. H. Lyon, Dr. G. P.
Morey, C. N. Fassett, Mr. and Mrs. Edward
McDonald, C. B. Stephenson, Dr. J. M. Par
tridge, Mrs. Bartlett, Dr. W. D. Chaffee^
the Bullas, Will E. Geltz, Thad Taylor and
a ho«t of other public-spirited people who
seconded the almost herculean efforts of
Messrs. George B. Beitner, George A. Baker,
and Otto M. Knoblock in getting together
so wonderful an aggregation of the unique
and interesting. The various articles are sys
tematically tagged and fully described and
will repay anyone to take several evenings
to completely examine and adequately ad
mire." Through the courtesy of the school board,
the collections of the society were for several
years placed in the upper rooms of the pub
lic library, and the stated meetings were
held there also. In 1906 the board of county
commissioners appropriated the first floor of
the old court house for the housing of the
society and its valuable collections. To pre
pare the rooms for this purpose and to pro
vide heat and light for the building, the
county council, acting under the provisions
of a statute enacted for the support and care
of historical societies, approved March 11,
1901, provided the means necessary.01 The
society, as a consequence of this generous
treatment, has most convenient and well-
lighted historical quarters. The present of
ficers are: President, Timothy E. Howard;
vice-president, Mary Stull Studebaker; secre
tary, George A. Baker; treasurer, Otto M.
Knoblock. The Medical Society of Northern Indiana
was organized in May, 1839. At the first
meeting, held in the American hotel, the
officers elected were: President, Dr. Asa
Egbert; vice-president, Dr. George Rex; re
cording secretary, Dr. Daniel Dayton; cor-
a. Acts 1901, p. 542.

456

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

responding secretary, Dr. F. W. Hunt;
treasurer, Dr. A. B. Merritt: censors, Dr.
L. B. Rush, Dr. Griffin Smith, Dr. Lyman
Griffin, Dr. G. Chapman and Dr. R. L. Gro-
ton. The St. Joseph County Medical Society
was organized July 2, 1855, with the follow
ing officers: President, Dr. Louis Hum
phreys; vice-president, Dr. Reuben Pierce;
secretary, Dr. J. H. Rerick; treasurer, Dr.
Jacob Hardman; committee on admission of
members, Dr. J. B. Buchtel, Dr. D. B. Van
Tuyl and Dr. J. R. Brown; committee on
ethics, Dr. Daniel Dayton, Dr. D. B. Van
Tuyl and Dr. J. R. Brown. Other members
were: Dr. Andrew Foster, Dr. W. W. But
terworth, Dr. Ross W. Pierce, Dr. F. T.
Bryson, Dr. G. F. Myers, Dr. J. M. Stover,
Dr. S. Eisenbise, Dr. S. Higenbotham and Dr.
S. Laning. From 1859 to 1865, the society
seems to have been practically disbanded ; but
in the latter year, on May 12, there was a
re-organization. The revival, however, was
but temporary. On April 6, 1875, an or
ganization was again effected, with a state
ment that the society was a continuation of
the organization of 1855. The officers of this
last organization were : President, Dr. Levi
J. Ham; first vice-president, S-. Laning;
second vice-president, Dr. John C. Sack; sec
retary, Dr. G. V. Voorhees; treasurer, Dr.
Byron R. O'Connor. The remaining in
corporators were: Dr. Louis Humphreys,
Dr. John Cassidy, Dr. C. A. Fletcher, Dr. E.
W. McAlister, Dr. James B. Green, Dr. S.
W. Alexander, Dr. William W. Butterworth,
Dr. Joshua A. Kettring, Dr. J. R. Brown,
Dr. John Moore, Dr. Robert Moore and Dr.
0. P. Barbour.
On July 10, 1874, the St. Joseph Valley
Medical Society was organized. It was at
first composed of physicians residing in St.
Joseph, Elkhart and Laporte counties, In
diana, and in Cass and Berrien counties,
Michigan. Since that time the locality of
membership has been somewhat extended. Dr.
Louis Humphreys was the first president and

Dr. E. W. McAlister the first secretary. This
has been a strong organization.
The St. Joseph County Bar Association has
been a society of great influence in the affairs
of the county, and of much benefit and
pleasure to its members. Among the dis
tinguished early members of the bar were:
Elisha Egbert, Jonathan A. Liston, Thomas
D. Baird, John Dougherty Defrees, Joseph
L. Jernegan, Edwin B. Crocker, ' Reuben L.
Farnsworth and Norman Eddy. Among the
noted names of a later date were: Thomas
S. Stanfield, James Davis, Alvin S. Dunbar,
George W. Matthews, Francis R. Tutt, Timo
thy G. Turner, William G. George, Joseph
Henderson, John F. Kirby, Orlando S.
Witherill, Harris E. Hurlbut, George Pfleger,
John R. Foster, George H. Alward, John
Hagerty, John Dixon, Edwin G. MeCollum,
James H. Ellsworth, William A. Dailep and
Lucius F. Copeland.
On October 8, 1873, at a meeting held iu
the court room, the first St. Joseph Bar
association was formed. It was a joint stock
company, the shares being twenty-five dollars
each, with annual dues, afterwards fixed at
ten dollars. The purpose was to purchase
a law library and to hold business and social
meetings. The first officers were : President,
Andrew Anderson; secretary and treasurer,
Lucius Hubbard. At the third annual meet
ing Thomas S. Stanfield was elected presi
dent. On February 22, 1875, the association
had its first annual banquet, which was a
notable one. It was at the Dwight House,
now the Sheridan. Major William H. Cal
kins, the eloquent Laporte congressman,
spoke to the toast of Washington. The witty
and intellectual Charles H. Reeves,, of Ply
mouth, answered to The Legal Profession.
The Hon. Lucius G. Long, afterwards mayor
of the city, read a most humorous poem, in
which all the lawyers at the bar were happily
taken off. Alvin S. Dunbar, Timothy G.
Turner and Lucius Hubbard followed with
appropriate addresses. Two years after — on
February 22, 1877, the bar banqueted again

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

457

— this time at the Grand Central hotel.
Among those then present were : Judge Stan
field, Andrew Anderson, Lucius Hubbard, Geo.
W. Matthews, George Pfleger, George Ford,
George H. Alward, Lucius G. Tong, John
Hagerty, John Brownfield, Jr., John E.
Fisher, Willis A. Bugbee, John R. Foster,
Orlando S. Witherill, James H. Ellsworth,
Harris E. Hurlbut, John Dixon, Charles
Evans, Edwin Nicar and John W. Harbou.
Two years again intervened, and on Novem
ber 21, 1879, the bar varied the programme
by presenting the drama of Bardell vs. Pick
wick. Dickens himself would have enjoyed
this roaring farce, acted by the staid mem
bers of the St. Joseph county bar. Even the
dignity of Judge Thomas S. Stanfield did not
prevent him from taking the .part of Mr.
Pickwick. Judge Turner represented old Mr.
Weller, Mayor Tong presided as Judge Stare-
leigh. The veteran Andrew Anderson ap
peared as Sergeant Buzfuz, and William G.
George as Sergeant Snubbin. Mr. Skimpin
was represented by Judge Hubbard, and Mr.
Phunkey by Jonathan- P. Creed. George W.
Matthews took the part of Mr. Perker, and
James Du Shane that of Mr. Dodson. James
H. Ellsworth appeared as Mr. Fogg, and John
E. Fisher as Nathaniel Winkle. George Ford
took the part of Tracy Tupman, and Willis
A. Bugbee that of Augustus Snodgrass.
George H. Alward was sheriff, and John W.
Harbou, clerk. John Hagerty took the part
of Thomas Groffin, while John Brownfield,
Jr., and Orlando S. Witherill were bailiffs
The lady friends of the lawyers helped out
the play, which was an unqualified success.
Interest in the association began to flag as
the years went on. The fees were regarded
as burdensome by many. The affairs of the
organization were finally wound up and the
library distributed among the remaining
members. In December, 1900, a new association was
formed which has been altogether social in
its character; although, in a few cases, the
organization has not hesitated to meet and

take action on matters affecting the public
interest. The main feature of the association
is the annual banquet, which takes place on
or near Marshall Day, February the fourth,
in commemoration of the appointment of
John Marshall to the supreme court of the
United States.
THE ST. JOSEPH COUNTY BAR
ASSOCIATION.
OFFICERS FOR 1907.
George E. Clark   President
Harry R. Wair  Vice-President
J. Walter Osborn . . .'  Secretary
Arthur L. Hubbard  Treasurer
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
F. J. L. Meyer, • W. G. Crabill.
Thos. W. Slick.
GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE.
W. A. McInersty. Wm. P. O'Neill.
Andrew Hildebrand.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE.
T. E. Howard. George Ford.
R. T. Miller.
MEMBERSHIP.
Anderson, Andrew Jackson, F. M.
Bates, D. D. Jernegan, R. H.
Bingham, E. V. Judie, J. A.
Brick, A. L. Jones, H. W.
Case, G. H. Jones, V. G.
Creed, J. P. Krieghbaum, Charles
Crabill, W. G. Kitch, J. W.
Clarke, George E. Lambert, F. E.
Creed, Arch. McM. Lippman, Oscar
Crabill, Clinton Meyer, i. J. L.
Cramer, B. J. Miller, R. T.
Dunnahoo, F. H. MacKibbin, Stuart
DuComb, C. P. McMichael, J. Alex.
Davey, Charles A. Mclnerny, W. A.
Doughty, George W. Mclnerny, J. W.
Drummond, Charles P. Miller, William E.
Elliott, Gilbert A. Neff, J. E.
Fisher, John E. Osborn, J. W.
Ford, George O'Neill, William P.
Feldman, George G. Pattee, C. E.
Fish, George Parks, I. K.
Guy, Miller Pyle, Dan
Graham, A. G Parker, Samuel
Garst, Jasper Rich, Daniel
Gray, Charles P. Rich, Sanford
Gabriel, F. C. Romig, I. S.
Hibberd, John A. Riley, N. S.
Hubbard, Lucius Steis, Henry A.
Hubbard, A. L. Shively, Dudley M.
Howard, T. E. Shively, B. F.
Harris, A. D. Slick, T. W.
Houlihan, P. J. Slick, W. A.
Hastings, V. C. Sinkes, J. L.
Hoban, T. M. Seebiert, E. F.
Hildebrand, A. N. Schurtz, Daniel
Handley, C. L. Schwab, E. H.
Howell, Marshall L. Talbot, J. E.
Holler, Charles F. Talcoti, Thad M., Jr.

458

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

MEMBERSHIP (Continued).
Vaughn, D. R., Jr. Whitcomb, L. C.
Ward, Wilbert Wurzer, H. F.
Woodward, Fred Warner, H. D.
Wair, Harry R.
HONORARY MEMBERS.
Walter A. Funk.. Judge St. Joseph Circuit Court
Vernon M. VanFleet 
Judge St. Joseph Superior Court
Frank P. Christoph 
Clerk St. Joseph Circuit Court
Will N. Bergan 
Deputy Clerk St. Joseph Circuit Court
The Commercial- Athletic Club was or
ganized in 1895, when the South Bend
Athletic association was formed for the en
couragement of athletic games. The institu
tion afterwards took up the commercial
interests of the city, although the athletic

COMMERCIAL-ATHLETIC CLUB,
SOUTH BEND.
feature was still encouraged, and in June,
1896, the name was changed to the Com
mercial-Athletic Club. The fine club house
on Colfax avenue, between Main and La
fayette streets, was dedicated October 1,
1896. Since that date the commodious and
well furnished club rooms have been the
gathering place of the business interests of
the city of South Bend. The leading busi
ness men of the city there discuss the ques
tions that, from time to time, affect the public
welfare, and there have been inaugurated and
advanced to successful issue many of the most
important enterprises that distinguish the
Queen City of the St. Joseph valley.
An association that has done very much to
develop a spirit of refinement and kindliness

of feeling in the people, old and young, edu
cated and uneducated, is the South Bend
Humane Society. This benevolent organiza
tion was formed August 20, 1896, with the
following representative membership: Theo
dore Blake, Mrs. S. C. Humphreys, Myron
Campbell, Caleb A. Kimball, D. B. J.
Schafer, H. P. Blair, L. C. Whitcomb, Jacob
D. Henderson, Alfred Klingel, Carl J. An
derson, Patel Kinfer, S. T. Gibson, John
Finch, James C. Eberhart, J. P. Hill, M. M.
Meyer, John B. Stoll, W. F. Carey, John A.
Chockelt, Dr. S. L. Kilmer, C. B. Greene,
William A. Rutherford, Charles B. Hibberd,
Frederick D. Ellsworth, George Wyman,
Corwin B. Van Pelt, Christopher Fassnaeht,
Henry C. Wheeler, Kemper and Schafer,
Miller & Loutz, John C. Knoblock, Joseph E.
Williams, L. P. Hardy, Alexander M. Honer,
Frank M. Baker, Louis Nickel, Jr., Francis E.
Lambert, Jonathan, P. Creed, Benjamin P.
Dunn, Henry Heller, Demas D. Bates, Frank
Mayr, John Yant, Stephenson Manufacturing
company, John G. Slick, Irving A. Sibley,
Clement Studebaker, George W. Loughman,
Frederick W. Mueller, C. B. Beichelt,
Kanouse & Phillips, Samuel Spiro, J. Sos-
nowski, S. D. Rider, Elmer Crockett.
There has been, perhaps, no humanitarian
movement in South Bend that has been more
productive of good influence than this. The
visit of the humane officer is always attended
with the best results. The faithful beasts of
burden are no longer cruelly beaten, and no
longer stand in the cold without blankets.
Cruelty to women and children has been
checked. Birds and squirrels are less and less
disturbed in the shade trees and on the parks.
Dumb animals are no longer turned out into
the commons and roadways to suffer and
die. Public watering troughs are erected
throughout the city. All this results in a
kindlier spirit of people towards one another
as well as towards the inferior creatures that
God has entrusted to human care. There is no
organization more creditable to the people of
South Bend than their Humane Society. In

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

459

the summer of 1907, the benevolent spirit of
Mrs. Jennette Reynolds was so attracted to
the good work of the society that she en
dowed it with a gift of five thousand dollars,
the income of which is to be used forever for
its humane work During the same year the
city took upon itself the care of the watering
troughs erected upon the principal streets en
tering from the surrounding country. The
gift of Mrs. Reynolds and the liberal action
of the city government have lifted a great
burden from the society, and it is now better
prepared than ever to continue its benevolent
work. The present officers are: President,
Thomas C. Barnes; vice-president, Charles G.
Folsom; treasurer, Myron Campbell; secre
tary, Henry A. Pershing; humane officer,
Abraham Moore.
Of kindred character to the Humane
society is the Associated Charities. The
object of this organization is to systematize
and regulate the giving of aid to the weak
ones of society. It is not so much an alms
giving association as it is one to oversee, guide
and advise those who are engaged in works
of benevolence and in the care of the helpless
and the delinquent. Prisons, poor . houses,
hospitals, orphan asylums and all agencies,
whether public or private, that are engaged
in the care of delinquents are equally the
objects of the associated charities, who work
under the general direction of the State
Board of Charities.
The present officers of the society are:
President, Hon. Frederick S. Fish; vice-
president, Rev. W. F. Hovis; secretary, Otto
M. Knoblock; treasurer, Mrs. F. H. Dun
nahoo. The general secretary is Miss Carrie
Rein, and her assistant, Miss Ella E. Hall.
From what has been said in section fifteen
of this subdivision concerning the history of
public libraries in South Bend, it is apparent
that a literary taste has always characterized
the people of the city. This conclusion is
abundantly borne out by many other circum
stances of our history. Education has been
fostered from the beginning; public lecture

courses have been maintained; the drama has
been well patronized ; as shown by the present
theatre facilities, including the Oliver opera
house and the Auditorium, two of the finest
playhouses in the country ; but, more than all,
the people have taken kindly to literary and
scientific societies, — those pleasant weekly or
monthly conferences where congenial spirits
discuss questions affecting the promotion of
culture, refinement and general knowledge.
Some of the principal of these societies will
be noticed.
On October 4, 1871, the South Bend
Library and Reading Room Association was
formed, with the following membership : Wil
liam G. George, Lucius Hubbard, W. J. Skill-
man, Alvin S. Dunbar, L. 0. Turner, Timo
thy G. Turner, Andrew Anderson, Thomas S.
Stanfield, Louis Humphreys, Jasper E.
Lewis, William Mack, Mrs. Mahala E. Dun
bar, B. M. Hance, Mrs. Sarah A. Bartlett,
William H. Beach, E. D. Hartman, Joel M.
Partridge, Virgil G. Huey, M. Mulcahy and
Sarah A. Matthews.
While it may be true that many such
societies flourished but for a time, and then
ceased to exist or gave place to others; yet
it is clear that the meetings of such a com
pany as the foregoing, even if continuing for
but a few years, were productive of the ut
most good to the members themselves and to
their immediate friends. One such meeting
would produce an elevating and lasting in
fluence for the higher and better life, even
if but a single paper were prepared and read
and then discussed by the members.
Another such association was the Woman's
Literary Club, organized in April, 1889, by
Anna Thrush Fassett, Louise Taylor, Ellen
Wade Colfax, Flora Louise Stanfield, Eloise
Taylor, Marie L. Chapin, Lauretta L. Mack,
Mary C. Chapman, Mary L. Greenawalt,
Henrietta Steel, Nettie Walworth, Marion B.
Van Pelt, Martha 0. Hubbard, Hattie J.
Dunning, Mary E. Humphreys, Hannah M.
Peck, Hattie Elder, Mary E. Spain, Abbie
J. F. Campbell, Martha E. Hillier, Nellie

460

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Ellsworth, Emma F. Chapin, Lucretia M.
Creed, Hattie E. Lantz, Ada M. Studebaker,
Catherine E. Esmay, Emma D. Lantz, Anna
H. Listenberger, Harriet C. Studebaker, L.
H. Pfleger. This club was exceedingly
popular and useful, and for many years pro
moted in a high degree the literary and
artistic culture of its members and of the
community at large.
The principal woman's literary association
existing at present and for many years past
is the Progress Club, organized in May, 1895.
The first officers were: President, Catherine
C. Esmay; first vice-president, Mary Stull
Studebaker; second vice-president, Laura
Putnam Chaffee; third vice-president, Mary
L. Hine; recording secretary, Sarah Louise
Kirby;' corresponding secretary, Mary Kauf-
mann Wiggins; treasurer, Mary Porter Le
Van. The remaining directors were: Olive
Tarbell Birdsell, Elizabeth Kizer, Cora B.
Nicar, Sarah Harris, Alberta Buckner Jones,
Carrie Johnson, Elizabeth Greene Kettring
and Nellie N. Livingston. The subjects en
gaging the attention of the club include
history, literature, current events, art, philan
thropy and civics, domestic science and music.
It is one of the largest and most influential
organizations of its class in the state; and is
affiliated with the State Federation of
Women 's Clubs, of which Alice M. Mummert,
of Goshen, is president. The present officers
are: President, Esse Bissell Dakin; first
vice-president, Stella H. Drummond; second
vice-president, Sophie M. Halske; third vice-
president, Mary D. Dunnahoo ; recording sec
retary, Florence M. Chandler; assistant re
cording secretary, Ella Learn; corresponding
secretary, Sabra Ann Fralick; treasurer,
Adeline G. Smith; directors, Stella H. Drum
mond, Elizabeth Greene Kettring, Katherine
Campbell, Laura B. Shidler, Esse Bissell
Dakin, Nadine Folsom, Thekla Sack, Annie
S. Miller, Gertrude P. Emerson.
Numerous other clubs have been organized
by the women of. South Bend, from time to
time, as social, literary, philanthropic and

other like needs developed in the life of the
community. Amongst those of recent origin
are: The Impromptu Club; Carrie Moore,
president; Maude Freeman, vice-president-
Edith Pershing, secretary; Eva Strayer,
treasurer. The Mothers' Club; Kate E.
Bulla, president; Mabel Reamer, secretary.
The Thursday Club: Martha E. Ward,
president; Bessie Burns, vice-president;
Emma Fink, secrtary; Mrs. Dillon, treasurer.
The Wednesday Club : Clara Dunham, presi
dent; Mary Chapin, secretary and treasurer.
The membership of The Round Table is
limited to sixty gentlemen, residents of the
city; while the management of the affairs of
the club is entrusted to a board of five
governors. The meetings are held on the first
Wednesday evening of each month, from Oc
tober to June. At each meeting a simple
table d'hote dinner is served. After this
Attic repast, a member reads a paper on some
literary, historical, scientific, social or other
subject of general interest. A free discus
sion of the paper is then in order.
The club was organized during the winter
of 1906-7, chiefly through the efforts of
Wilbert Ward. The first meeting was held
in March, 1907. The Round Table is a de
light to its members and a seat at its festive
board is esteemed a most valued privilege.
There is neither constitution nor by-law, but
the following rules are observed:
"While every member is invited to take
part in the general discussion, no member
will be called upon to speak.
"Speeches will be strictly limited to five
minutes. "No member will be permitted to speak
more than once except by permission of the
Chairman. "The Speaker will be allowed the last
fifteen minutes for reply or explanation.
"There must be no personalities.
"Long stories are not desirable.
"Applications for membership may be
made through a member to the Secretary, ac
companied by the membership fee, and will

Schuyler Colfax

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

461

be passed upon by the Board of Governors.
"No member may bring an invited guest
except a non-resident, and then only on con
ferring with one of the Board, and securing
a card from the Secretary.
"Any member who shall be absent from
any three consecutive meetings shall cease to
be a member of this organization."
Since the organization the board of gover
nors have been: Wilbert Ward (Chairman),
Timothy E. Howard, Fred Woodward, John
A. Hibberd, W. K. Lamport, William Happ
(Secretary and Treasurer).
The Douglas Debating Club meets every
Friday afternoon in the court house. The
president is Donald A. Kahn and the secretary
J. Elmer Peak. The character of the ex
ercises of the club have won the' praise of
the public.
The Worth Literary Club meets at the
Madison school building every Monday even
ing, from September to June. The club has
attained the highest order of excellence, and
merits the name which it bears. William G.
Elliot is president; Iden S. Romig, first vice-
president; Ulysses G. Manning, second vice-
president; Daniel Pyle, secretary and treas
urer. The fraternal orders of South Bend are
exceedingly numerous. The following Odd
Fellows organizations meet in Odd Fellows
hall, corner of Main and Washington streets,
the oldest fraternal building in the city:
South Bend Lodge No. 29, I. 0. 0. F. ; the
South Bend Encampment No. 9, I. 0. 0.
F. ; Canton South Bend No. 9, I. 0. 0. F. ;
Schuyler Rebekah Lodge No. 29, I. 0. 0. F.
The Rebekah Lodge, for women, owes its origin
to Schuyler Colfax, who was almost as dis
tinguished as an Odd Fellow as he was as a
statesman; in both of which relations his
memory is held very dear in his beloved city
of South Bend. Other lodges of Odd Fellows
are: Robert Blum Lodge No. 278, I. 0. 0.
P.; Helena Rebekah Lodge No. 72, I. 0. 0.
F-; and Grand United Order of the I. 0.
0. F.

The Masonic Lodges are : Germania Lodge
No. 301, F. & A. M. ; South Bend Chapter No.
29, R. A. M.; South Bend Commandery No.
13, K. T:; South Bend Lodge No. 294, F.
& A. M. ; St. Joseph Lodge No. 45, F. & A.
M.; Order of Eastern Star, Chapter No. 2.
All of the foregoing meet in the beautiful
Masonic Temple, recently erected at the
northwest corner of Michigan street and La
Salle avenue, one of the most elegant and im
posing examples of the architecture of South
Bend. The remaining Masonic Lodges are:
Anderson Commandery No. 4, U. R. of M. ;
Odessa Chapter No. 28, Q. E. S.; St. Peter's
Lodge No. 31, A. F. & A. M.
The Knights of Pythias are represented by
Crusade Lodge No. 14; 0. B. Lancaster, cap
tain; Roscoe Cullar, record keeper. Uniform
Rank K. of P., South Bend Co. No. 12; Cad
mus Crabill, chancellor commander; A. W.
Hildebrand, keeper of records and seals. Moon
light Temple, Rathbone Sisters, No. 255; Bes
sie Snoke, most excellent high chief; Louise
Davies, most excellent past chief; Lizzie Tag-
gart, financial secretary.
The Order of Elks is represented by South
Bend Lodge No. 235, B. P. 0. E. They have
built a fine Elks' Temple on West Colfax
avenue, opposite the Commercial-Athletic
building. The temple is one of the archi
tectural ornaments of the city. The lodge
meets every Monday evening. James B. Mc-
Cance is exalted ruler; David A. Westburg,
secretary^ Edward J. Fogarty, treasurer;
Edward T. Staley, Edward F. Gaffney and
John C. Barrett, trustees.
The Tribe of Ben Hur is represented by
South Bend Court No. 41, which meets the
first and third Wednesday evenings of each
month; and by Beech Tree Court No. 211,
which meets on the evenings of the second
and fourth Tuesdays of the month. The of
ficers of the -South Bend Court are Edward
E. Carr, chief, and Lillian Stockwell, scribe ;
and of Beech Tree Court, Arthur Miller,
chief, and Orpha Elliott, scribe.
The Order of Eagles meets every Wednes-

462

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

day evening ; Michael F. Calnon, past worthy
president; Charles Keller, present worthy
president; Charles Miller, worthy vice-presi
dent; Fred H. Lutzen, secretary;' J. Lott
Losey, worthy treasurer; W. A. Wahl, L. F.
Connell, Joseph Home, trustees; Dr. Charles
H. Taylor, aerial physician.
The Catholic Order of Foresters, St. Ed
ward Court No. 1424, meets on the first and
third Tuesday evenings of each month. The
Rev. John F. De Groote, S. Director; Charles
H. Taverneer, D. H. C. R. ; H. M. Fritzen, chief
ranger; John J. Gehring, V. C. R. ; Amos C.
Oberley, recording secretary; Charles A.
Schubert, F. S. ; Frank J. Zeiger, treasurer;
Louis H. Coquillard, Sr., conductor; William
Kelly, Jr., conductor; Dr. Daniel W. Mc
Namara, medical examiner; Frank Gooley,
Peter Scheibelhut, Jacob A. Fisher, trustees;
John C. Buczkowski, inside sentinel; Peter
Schuler, outside sentinel.
The Independent Order of Foresters, Court
St. Joseph No. 1576, meets on the first and
third Mondays of each month. The officers
are: Chief ranger, James McGregor; record
ing secretary, Dr. A. P. F. Gammack;
deputy, Sidney Thornton.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division
No. 1, of St. Joseph county, founded in
January, 1885, meets on the first and third
Sunday afternoons of each month. The of
ficers are : John J. Hayes, county president ;
James Nelson, division president; James
Casey, recording secretary; Edward Johnson,
financial secretary; Dr. Robert F. Lucas,
treasurer. The St. Joseph County Federation of
Catholic Societies meets on the last Sunday
of each month; John J. Schindler, Misha
waka, president; John C. Hiss, South Bend,
secretary. The Catholic Knights of America are rep
resented by St. Paul's Branch No. 408, C. K.
of A., founded in September, 1885, by the
Rev. Michael Ph. Fallize, which meets on
the first Sunday and the third Friday even
ing of each month; John C. Hiss, commander;

Kathryn Hiss, recording secretary; Maude
Crepeau, financial secretary; Charles Brech-
enser, treasurer. St. Boniface Branch No.
701, C. K. of A., meets on the third Sunday
of each month; Michael Mathis, president;
Jacob Jahn, secretary. St. Mary's Com
mandery, U. R. of C. K. of A., meets on the
first Monday of each month ; Eugene Hausler,
president; Michael Haas, secretary.
The Knights of Columbus, South Bend
Council No. 553, meet on the first and third
Wednesday evenings of each month. The
present officers are : Grand Knight, John B.
Weber; treasurer, Arthur Wolfe; recording
secretary, Robert F. Lucas; financial secre
tary, Frank J. Schumacher.
Knights and Ladies of Columbia, supreme
officers: Supreme counsellor, Ormond Ken
nedy; supreme scribe, John Roth; supreme
cashier, Elmer Crockett; supreme medical di
rector, Cornelius H. Myers; supreme at
torney, Daniel Rich. Executive board : John
Roth, Ormond Kennedy, Elmer Crockett,,
Cornelius H. Myers, Daniel Rich. Supreme
deputies : Anna M. Wright, John D. Roberts.
Loyal Workers, K. and L. of C, meet on the
first and third Mondays of each month; Wil
liam J. Wright, secretary and treasurer.
Knights and Ladies of Columbia, Interurban
Association, meets once a month. South
Bend Council No. 1, K. and L. of C, meets
second and fourth Wednesdays of each
month; Jacob E. Henry, counselor; William
B. Wright, scribe. Winona Council No. 39,
K. and L. of C, meets on the first and third
Thursdays of each month; Stephens Smith,
counselor ; William J. Wright, scribe.
The Knights of the Maccabees is repre
sented by the following societies: Pixley Di
vision No. 2, U. R. K. 0. T. M., meets on
the second and fourth Mondays of each
month. The officers are: Benjamin P.
Berger, colonel of the second regiment ; Harry
F. Mitchell, brigadier general ; D. W. Keefer,
adjutant; Calvin Black, sergeant major; C.
B. Matthews, captain; Edward L. Stickler.
first lieutenant; Jesse B. Hawkins, second

HISTORY. OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

463

lieutenant; Frank W. Bailey, record keeper;
Levi Nave, treasurer.
South Bend Tent No. 1; K. 0. T. M., meets
on the first and third Monday of each month.
The officers are: Levi Nave, commander;
Samuel R. Thomas, secretary; Edward L.
Strickler, treasurer. South Bend Hive No.
4, L. 0. T. M., meets every fourth Friday
of each month. The officers are: Anna
Secor, lady commander ; Alice Mountain, lady
record keeper. Schiller Tent No. 20, K. 0.
T. M., meets every second and fourth Friday
of each month. The officers are: Ernest
C. Heinrichs, commander; George K. Rohr,
record keeper. Schiller Hive No. 84, L. 0. T.
M., meets every first and third Friday of each
month. Miss Seifert is the record keeper.
The Knights of the Modern Maccabees are
represented by two societies: St. Joe Valley
Tent No. 1108,. which meets on the second and
fourth Friday of each month; F. M. Cald
well,' commander; C. S. Handley, record
keeper; Daniel Pyle, finance keeper; and St.
Joe Valley Hive No. 900, which meets every
first and third Tuesday of each month; Lib-
bie Bloom, Commander ; Lulu Penwell, record
keeper; Dora S. Raybuck, finance keeper.
The Order of Owls was recently established
at South Bend and is chiefly the work of John
W. Talbot. The officers of the Supreme Nest
are: John W. Talbot, supreme president;
Burrell Cramer, supreme past president;
George D. Beroth, supreme secretary ; J. Lott
Losey, supreme treasurer; John J. Johnson,
supreme invocator; John D. Burke, supreme
warden; Joseph E. Talbot, supreme counsel.
The Supreme Trustees are : Dudley M. Shive
ly, South Bend; Frederick Cook, Niles, Mich
igan; Lemuel Darrow, Laporte, Indiana; T.
J. Bewson, Chicago, Illinois; William Vis-
scher, Chicago, Illinois. The Supreme Or
ganizers are Bert Overly and J. M. Culler.
The Home Nest meets every Tuesday evening,
the officers being: John W. Talbot, president;
George D. Beroth, secretary; J. Lott Losey,
treasurer. Ladies' Nest No. 1 meets every
Friday evening; the officers are: Carrie F.

Clark, president; Carrie B. Long, secretary;
Sarah Colby, treasurer. This order has dur
ing the short time of its organization experi
enced a phenomenal growth, having flourish
ing nests from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It
evidently supplies a need in fraternal club
life. Among other fraternal orders now flour
ishing in the city are: The Order of Patri
cians; the Protected Home Circle; the Red
Men, Leota Council No. 44, Degree of Poca
hontas, and Montauk Tribe No. 426 ; the Roy
al Arcanum, South Bend Council No. 347;
Sons of Herman; the Turn Verein; the Po
lish Turners; the Sokel Polski, M. R.; Royal
Neighbors of America; Modern Woodmen of
the World; the Woodmen of the World, Fi
delity Camp No. 28, Linden Camp No. 42,
Harmony Camp No. 78; Woodmen Circle,
Live Oak Grove No. 1, Olive Grove No. 12,
Linden Grove No. 29; and the National
Union. The neighborhood, social, musical and
church clubs and societies are almost without
number. Some of the principal of these are:
The Choral Club, and numerous other musi
cal associations, orchestras, bands and drum
corps; the Country Club of the St. Joseph
Valley; the Concord Club; the Indiana Club;
the La Salle Club ; the Per Se Club ; the Sun-
nyside Golf Club; the Bismarck Club; the
Press Club; six Building and Loan Associa
tions; seven Military Organizations, includ
ing Grand Army Posts, Women's Relief
Corps, Company F, Sons of Veterans and
Spanish War Veterans. vn. THE PRESS.
The history of our newspapers is coeval
with that of South Bend itself. The editors,
in the main, have been intelligent and broad
minded, and have acted on the assumption
that their readers were also people of refine
ment and intelligence. Appeals to passion
and prejudice have been the exception. The
appeal has rather been to reason, morals,

464

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

patriotism, good citizenship and the general
welfare of the community.
It is a compliment to the intellectual and
moral character of the first inhabitants of the
St. Joseph valley that our first newspaper was
not only first in South Bend and St. Joseph
county, but first in northern Indiana and in
the whole region of the extreme northwest.
In 1831 there was no newspaper published
north of Indianapolis or west .of Detroit but
that published at South Bend. Even Chicago
was without a newspaper. It was here, in
St. Joseph county, that the intelligent editor
sought out the intelligent reader.
Sec. 1. — The Pioneer. — It was on Wednes
day, November 16, 1831, that John Dougherty
Defrees and his brother Joseph H. Defrees
published the first number of the Northwest
ern Pioneer and St. Joseph's Intelligencer.
The prospectus of the paper was as follows :
"Prospectus of the North- Western Pioneer;
and St. Joseph's Intelligencer.
"We have commenced the publication of a
weekly newspaper, bearing the above title,
in the town of South Bend, Ind.
"Among the many causes which have con
tributed to the happiness of the human family,
the influence of the press must be acknowl
edged. It is the grand means of disseminat
ing useful information of all kinds, literary,
religious, political and scientific. It is the
chief engine of knowledge, one of the strong
pillars of our liberty, one of the safeguards
of the republic. Destroy the Press, and to
what are we reduced? Take away its liberty,
and you sap the foundation of one of the
happiest features of our government. To the
influence of the Press, is attributed the prog
ress of the liberal principles, which now
pervade all ranks among many nations of
Europe. It gave impulse to the glorious
achievements of our forefathers, and to the
revolution of July, 1830, in France. The
'Spirit of Liberty' is abroad — its banner nas
been unfurled, and spread its blessings to the
world. Its course may for a time be impeded,
it may for a moment be trampled upon by

unhallowed despots; but the command is
given, Onward! — and it will, if the source of
intelligence is left open, eventually triumph.
"Information is conveyed through the
medium of newspapers, much cheaper than
by any other means. This being the case, and
recollecting that 'knowledge is power,' we
cannot see how any family, where there is
one that can read, can ' do without a news
paper. "The principles which shall govern us in
conducting this paper, shall be purely NA
TIONAL. We unfurl the Standard of
'LIBERTY and UNION' — 'INTERNA
TIONAL IMPROVEMENT, and the PRO
TECTION of DOMESTIC INDUSTRY'; and
everything having a tendency to infuse a love
and adoration for our inestimable federal
compact, and the 'American System,' into
the minds of the people, shall be published.
"All important state papers, and the pro
ceedings of our National and State Legisla
tures, during their respective sessions, will be
laid, with all possible dispatch, before our
readers. "As a Literary paper, it shall be our aim to
combine in its columns 'instruction and
amusement. '
"TALES of 'feeling and fancy' shall occa
sionally find a place in our paper. Nor will
the spirit of chastened humor be 'frowned
austerely' from our pages.
"POETRY in all its variety—
' ' Interesting Anecodotes, Scraps, Extracts,
&c, &c, &<x
' ' The people who have emigrated to the St.
Joseph country, are enterprising and intelli
gent : and we confidently look to them for a
liberal patronage.
"CONDITIONS: The 'PIONEER' is
printed on a large super-royal sheet, with
entire new materials, and contains as much
(//' not more) matter as any paper in the
state, at $2, paid within three months after
receiving the first number, $2.50 within the
year, or $3.00 at the expiration.
"J. D. & J. H. Defrees.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

465

"Agents for the Pioneer. The following
gentlemen are requested to act as agents for
us, in procuring subscribers, &c. : E. Pen-
well, Esq., Pleasant Plain; Mr. Brisel,
Goshen; Charles Egbert, Terre Coupee;
Aaron Staunton, Door Prairie; M. C. Whit
man, La Grange; Mr. Stilson, Niles; Robert
Clark, Esq., White Pigeon; Major Edwards,
Beardsley's Prairie; Samuel Hanna, Esq.,
Fort Wayne; T. J. Larsh, Esq., Richmond;
James Defrees, Piqua, Ohio; Mr. Brittain,
Newberry port, a M. T.; Mr. Harris, Christiana
Mills; George Kesling, P. M., Lebanon, 0.;
William Stevens, Eaton, Ohio."
Not considering its politics, which were
Whig, it is doubtful whether any newspaper
starting in a new country today could put
out a more comprehensive, manly and patrio
tic prospectus than that issued for the North
western Pioneer by its enterprising editors
and' publishers.
The Pioneer was at first published "on
Water street, South Bend, opposite A. Coquil
lard 's store;" that is, on the southeast corner
or what is now La Salle avenue and Michigan
street. This was one of the centers of the
original town. Alexis Coquillard 's trading
post was on the northeast corner of the same
streets; while the original ferry and steam
boat landing were at what was then the foot
of Water street, where the beautiful concrete
bridge now spans the river.
After seven months the place of publication
and the name of the paper were both changed.
In the issue of May 23, 1832, the change of
place was announced as follows : ' ' Removal !
The printing office has been removed to the,
second story of the house formerly occupied
as a tavern by Mr. Lilley, on the corner of
St. Joseph and Pearl streets." The locality
is now known as the southwest corner of
Vistula avenue and St. Joseph street. This
was at what might be called the original
center of the town, near the site of the first
trading post of Alexis Coquillard, and near
the point where Lathrop M. Taylor estab-
a. At present St. Joseph, Michigan.
30

lished his second trading post." The change
in the name of the paper is best shown in the
new prospectus published also in the issue of
May 23, 1832, as follows:
"Prospectus of the St. Joseph Beacon:
And Indiana and Michigan Intelligencer.
' ' Six Months ago we commenced the publi
cation of a weekly newspaper in the St. Jo
seph country, entitled the 'North-Western
Pioneer.' Various considerations have in
duced us to change its title to that of the St.
Joseph Beacon. One of the principal rea
sons of 'this change is a wish to associate the
name of the country in which the paper is
published with its title.
"In establishing a newspaper in so new a
country as this, we knew that we had many
difficulties to encounter — many deprivations
which are not known in the old and densely
populated parts of the 'West' with which to
contend. One main difficulty when we com
menced, was the want of mails. People were
not willing to subscribe without being certain
of receiving their papers regularly. This diffi
culty has been greatly remedied since the first
number was issued. There is now a mail
twice a week to Ft. Wayne, twice a week to
Detroit, via Niles, and once a week to Chicago,
besides several others will yet be established;
— thus giving the people throughout the whole
St. Joseph country an opportunity of regu
larly receiving the paper. This, then, can be
no longer urged against subscribing for so
valuable an acquisition to every family as a
weekly newspaper. That more valuable and
essential information is disseminated through
this medium than any other way, cannot be
denied. Who that is desirous of acquiring
a just knowledge of the times in which he
lives— of the prosperity or the adversity of
the nation of which he is a member — or is
anxious to place within the reach of a rising
family the means of rendering them useful
and intelligent members of society, would re
fuse to take a newspaper? It has been our
o. See Chap. 4, Subd. 4, Sees. 1 and 2; and see
this chapter, Subd. 6, Sec. 14.

466

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

aim — and shall continue to be our highest
ambition — to render this paper useful and
interesting to all, of whatsoever political
faith they may be: — but never to become a
vehicle for retailing the party slang of the
day. ' ' The inhabitants of the St. Joseph country
should support a paper somewhere within its
limits. The interests of the whole country
are so closely connected that it can make no
difference whether it is published in Indiana
or Michigan."
The sentiments expressed in the prospectus
of the Beacon, as also in that of the Pioneer,
do credit to the head and heart of the ^writer,
or writers ; and the people of the ' ' St. Joseph
country" will always have good cause to
honor the memory of the editors and publish
ers of their first newspaper.
It is easy to detect in the prospectus of the
Beacon a note of disappointment. The coun
try, — even the whole St. Joseph country, in
cluding also all northern Indiana and south
western Michigan, — was evidently not yet
ready to support a newspaper of the high
standard adopted by the Defrees brothers.
Joseph H. Defrees sold his interest to his
brother in 1833, and removed to Goshen. In
1834, John D. Defrees removed the paper to
White Pigeon, Michigan, where he disposed of
it to a Mr. Gilbert. This town was also in
the "St. Joseph country," and according to
the prospectus of the Beacon it was imma
terial whether the paper was published in the
state of Indiana or in Michigan territory, pro
vided only it was published in the St. Joseph
country. It is pleasant to add, that although the
Defrees brothers failed in permanently estab
lishing a newspaper in the St. Joseph country,
yet each of them attained to success in after
life. Joseph IT. Defrees, through the kindly
help of Col. Lathrop M. Taylor, became a dis
tinguished merchant in Goshen. He also
represented his constituency in both branches
of the state legislature and in congress. John
D. Defrees returned to South Bend, studied

law, obtained a lucrative practice, was elected
to the state senate, became editor of the Indi
anapolis Journal and was appointed public
printer by president Lincoln.
Sec. 2. — The Register. — South Bend did
not remain long without a newspaper. The
Free Press was established by William Milli-
kan in 1836. The paper was fairly successful
for a time; but after nine years was discon
tinued. In September, 1845, the plant and
fixtures were purchased by Albert W. West
and Schuyler Colfax. On September 12,
1845, the first copy of the St. Joseph Valley
Register was issued by Albert W. West and
Schuyler Colfax as publishers. Schuyler Col
fax was the editor. Thus came into existence
the famous Register, for so many years a wel
come visitor to hundreds of families in St.
Joseph county. It was at first a weekly, six-
column folio, 22x32 in size. In politics, the
paper was whig. On the subject of slavery,
the editor took "the middle ground between
the two dangerous extremes." "We shall be
opposed," said he, "both to Calhounism
and Birneyism, viewing them as ultra-
isms." "To the first we shall be hostile
because it holds that outrageous doctrine that
slavery is a national blessing." "To the
other we shall be opposed because its course,
we think, tends to rivet the chains of the slave
more firmly, to prevent a calm and argument
ative discussion of the whole question through
the south." "Without regard, therefore, to
these two extremes, we shall be fixedly op
posed to enlarging the borders of slavery even
one inch, either so far as soil or power and
weight iu the national councils are concerned,
and shall hail with happiness the day when
the southern states, after calm examination,
shall in a constitutional and legal manner
adopt a feasible plan of emancipation, either
gradual or immediate. ' ' Such was the states
manlike position taken by Schuyler Colfax on
his first stepping before the footlights on that
stage where he was destined to play so impor
tant a part in the history of his country. Well
would it have been for that country, north

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

467

and south, if these moderate views of the
future vice-president of the United States had
been adopted, rather than appeal to the dread
ful arbitrament of war. After seven months,
Mr. Colfax became sole proprietor of the
Register. The paper prospered under the business
management and editorial supervision of
Schuyler Colfax, and with the beginning of
the third year it was enlarged to a seven-
column folio. Early in the year 1848, as we
have seen, the first telegraph line was built
from New York to Chicago."' The enterpris
ing editor of the Register of course made in
stant use of this new means of receiving in
formation from the outside world. The fol
lowing, from the issue of December 27, 1849,
while in a half humorous vein, is now of his
torical interest, both as to what had then been
done, and, even more, as to what was to be
done through the marvelous discoveries of
Samuel Finley Breese Morse :
Dispatches appeared in the Register of that
date which were sent from New York at four
o'clock in the afternoon, and, by reason of
the difference in local time between New York
and South Bend, were received at South Bend
at three o'clock and thirty-five minutes, —
apparently twenty-five minutes before they
were sent. The editor had this to say of the
strange feat: "If Morse ever gets a line
across the ocean, by way of Iceland, we shall
expect him to furnish European news up to
Thursday night every week for our Thursday
morning's paper." Morse did not get a line
across the ocean ; but Cyrus West Field did,
— to Ireland, however, and not by way of Ice
land. Mr. Colfax's humorous prediction, like
that of Puck, that he would "put a girdle
round about the earth in forty minutes, ' ' has
been more than fulfilled, and Thursday even
ing's European news is now published every
Thursday morning ; and this Mr. Colfax and
the Register both lived to see.
Another historical telegraphic item ap
peared in the same issue ot the Register.
a. See Chap. 7, Subd. 5, Sec. 1.

"Last Saturday," says the editor, "the atmos
phere being dry, cool and pure, and every
thing else propitious, the proper communica
tions were made, and the operator at Buffalo
wrote through beautifully to Milwaukee, eight
hundred miles, without re-writing at Detroit.
We received our report of that afternoon
direct from Buffalo. This is the first time
that this has been done, and we believe eight
hundred miles is as far as writing has ever
been sent by any of the operators on any of
the lines of the world." It would seem that
the world was still dazed with the marvels
of the electric telegraph; and yet, like the
vivid anticipations of the Queen of Sheba, the
half of its glories were not then made known.
In 1851, Mr. Colfax received his first nomi
nation for congress, but was defeated. Dur
ing the campaign James Davis, a talented
lawyer and writer of the day, occupied the
editorial chair. In July, 1853, a Northrup
power press, capable of printing a thousand
copies of the paper per hour, was placed in
the Register office. This was a great advance.
In 1854, Mr. Colfax was again nominated for
congress, and was this time elected. Alfred
Wheeler then became editor; and in April,
1857, the partnership of Colfax and Wheeler
was formed, under which firm the paper was
continued until Mr. Wheeler became sole
owner. Mr. Hall afterwards became a part
ner of Mr. Wheeler.
In November, 1865, Archibald Beal, who
for eight years had been the proprietor of the
Mishawaka Enterprise, purchased the Regis
ter, in partnership with C. E. Fuller. Two
years afterwards Alfred1 B. Miller and Elmer
Crockett, who had been engaged on the paper,
purchased the interest of Mr. Fuller, and the
firm became Beal, Miller and Company. In
January, 1872, Mr. Beal purchased the inter
ests of Mr. Miller and Mr. Crockett ; and 1873
Daniel S. Marsh became associate editor. In
February, 1874, D. J. Benner purchased a
half interest in the Register, and became one
of the editors, Mr. Marsh remaining but a
short time longer in that capacity. In

468

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

August, 1875, the Register Company was
formed, with Mr. Beal as president ; Edward
W. Henricks, secretary ; Noah F. Van Winkle,
treasurer; Orlando H. Palmer, George H.
Alward and Alexander N. Thomas, the re
maining incorporators. On October 13, 1878,
a new corporation was formed, the Register
Printing Company, with Daniel S. Marsh,
president; Chauncey N. Fassett, secretary;
Herbert S. Fassett, treasurer; Eugene M.
Herr and Frank A. Marsh, the remaining in
corporators. On September 18, 1875, a daily
edition of the Register was established. A
Sunday edition was also issued for a time. In
1887, after a notable career of over forty
years, the famous journal was discontinued,
the plant and fixtures being sold to the Trib
une Printing Company. The Register was
weakened by the withdrawal of Mr. Miller,
Mr. Crockett and others, in 1872, and the sub
sequent establishment by these young men of
the South Bend Tribune.
Sec. 3..— The Tribune.— On March 9, 1872,
the first copy of the South Bend Weekly Tri
bune was issued by the Tribune Printing Com
pany. The incorporators of the company were
Alfred Bryant Miller, Elmer Crockett, James
H. Banning and Elias W. Hoover. These
gentlemen had all been connected with the
Register, and had withdrawn by reason of
some dissatisfaction with the management of
that paper. They were young men, experi
enced already in newspaper business and fully
determined to issue a progressive, up-to-date
journal, such as they believed the people of
South Bend and St. Joseph county demanded.
On May 28, 1873, the first issue of the Daily
Tribune appeared; and since that date the
Tribune, daily and weekly, has been one of
the strong and influential papers of the state.
Alfred B. Miller, the first editor, was a
man of marked personality and great force
of character; and he made the Tribune a
power not only in politics, but in the molding
of public opinion on all social and other sub
jects in which the people were interested. His
style as a writer was incisive, persuasive and

popular, with humorous and poetical veins
that made the Tribune one of the most read
able papers. Accordingly, although the Tri
bune was Republican, almost partisan, in poli
tics, yet its news and editorial columns were
sought by people of all shades of political
opinion. At the same time Mr. Crockett, who
has been the business manager from the he-
ginning, has so conducted the fiscal affairs
that the plant has yearly increased in wealth
and has besides made its owners wealthy.
One of the fine characters connected with the
Tribune in an editorial capacity for many
years, Richard H. Lyon, has already been
many times mentioned in these pages. He was
a writer of the most elegant taste, and did
very much to give to the paper its high
literary character. Mr. Miller died in the fall
of 1892, and Mr. Lyon early in the year 1907.
The editorial charge of the paper since their
death has fallen into worthy hands, and the
original high stand of the Tribune has been
maintained. Mr. Frederick A. Miller, only
son of Alfred B. Miller, is now the editor-in-
chief, and William K. Lamport is associate
editor. The veteran Elmer Crockett, the only
one left of the original founders,- is still the
business manager. Charles E. Crockett, son
of Elmer, is secretary of the company.
The original site of the Tribune plant was
No. 127 West Washington street. Afterwards
the company purchased the lot at No. 128
North Main street, with grounds in the rear
for its extensive presses and machinery, for
a complete printing and bindery establish
ment. There the company has built up one
of the best equipped newspaper and job print
ing establishments in the state. Typesetting
machines have been introduced, and the most
modern presses have been installed, including
a perfecting stereotype press, electrotyping
machines and everything else demanded by
the most modern printing office in the country.
See. 4.— The Times— In the year 1853,
Ariel Euclid Drapier and his son William E
Drapier began the publication in South Bend
of the St. Joseph County Forum. This was

John B. Stoll

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

469

the first attempt, to establish a Democratic
newspaper in St. Joseph county. The ma
jority of the people in the early history of
the county were Whigs ; and after the found
ing of the Republican party that party took
the place of the Whigs, and under the bril
liant leadership of Mr. Colfax maintained its
supremacy in county politics. The task of the
Drapiers, father and son, in building up a
Democratic paper was therefore one of diffi
culty. Ariel Euclid Drapier was a man of
great force of character, and he and his
talented son did succeed in making the Forum
a powerful newspaper. They were both ex
pert shorthand writers, and their talent in
this respect was for many years made use of
in the legislature, where they prepared and
published the celebrated Brevier Reports,
now so valuable from a historical point of
view, as preserving the debates and proceed
ings of the sessions of the general assembly.
This work was carried on by William H.
Drapier for many years after the death of his
father. During the absence of the father and
son in attendance upon the legislature,
Charles E. Drapier, a younger son, was in
charge of the Forum. A semi-weekly edition
of the Forum was published for a few months
in 1858, but did not prove a success. For
some vigorous language used by the paper in
relation to the conduct of the war, it was for
a short time suspended during the year 1863,
by order of General Milo B. Hascall. The
Forum was afterwards sold to Edward Mal-
loy, who, having been a gallant soldier in the
Union army, determined to change the name
of the paper to the National Union. This
name was subsequently changed to the South
Bend Weekly Union. In December, 1874,
Charles L. Murray, a veteran newspaper man,
and formerly a member of the state senate
from the Goshen district, purchased the
Union and placed it in charge of his son, the
brilliant Charles T. Murray. Charles T.
Murray changed the name to the Herald, and
formed the Herald Printing and Publishing
Company, which assumed control of the paper

and started a lively morning daily. On May
22, 1876, Qharles L. Murray re-purchased the
plant, came to South Bend and assumed
charge of the Herald which he conducted in
a <very able manner, making it one of the
most influential Democratic papers in the
state. From 1881 to 1883, Henry A. Peed
was owner and editor of the paper. He gave
to it the name of the South Bend Times,
which it has since retained. On September
26, 1881, Mr. Peed formed the South Bend
Times Company, the stockholders being Henry
A. Peed, Robert L. Peed and Jacob D. Hen
derson. On March 2, 1882, the paper need
ing additional capital, the property was taken
over by a new company, the Times Printing
Company. The stockholders were Joseph
Henderson, Sorden Lister, Henry A. Peed,
Alfred Klingel, Robert L. Peed, Jacob D.
Henderson, Timothy E. Howard and Harri
son G. Beemer. In the spring of 1883, the
controlling stock in this corporation was
transferred to the Hon. John B. Stoll, the
brilliant editor of the Ligonier Banner, which
Mr. Stoll had made "the ablest Democratic
paper in Indiana," as William S. Holman de
clared to the writer, years afterwards. Of
the succeeding history of the Times, it is per
haps sufficient to say that the Democrats of
the city and county soon became satisfied that
they had in that paper one of the very best
in the country and in its editor-in-chief, one
of the ablest and wisest editorial writers in
the United States. Closely associated with
Mr. Stoll, from 1883 until his lamented death,
December 15, 1906, was Charles Albert Mc
Donald. But better than mere party service,
however desirable that may be, the Times
and its accomplished editors had and still
have a constituency far beyond all partisan
lines. The paper has been in the best sense
independent in politics and in all other mat
ters affecting the public welfare. The inde
pendence of the press is one of the chief safe
guards of the liberties of the people ; and this
truth the people themselves are quick to recog
nize. It does not follow that the independent

470

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

paper does not sometimes make mistakes,
grievous mistakes occasionally, does not at
times do violence to the feelings and convic
tions of its readers and particularly its .party
supporters ; this, however, is far better in the
end than to take a cowardly part in the dis
cussion of public questions. Party principles,
as in the case, of all other principles, must
of course control in large degree the senti
ments of a party newspaper ; any other course
would be dishonest with its readers. But
within the lines there is ample room for a
free and manly course, as was exemplified
in the career of Peter Stirling. In this best
sense the Times has been an independent
party paper ; and the people, without respect
to party, have appreciated the strong,- manly
course pursued by the Times and have ac
corded to it a most generous support. There
is indeed no town in the state, perhaps in the
whole country, that has two better newspa
pers than the South Bend Times and the
South Bend Tribune. Of course they quarrel
with one another occasionally, but the people
make allowances for this and appreciate the
fact that they are favored with two first class,
manly, independent newspapers, devoted, first
of all, to the welfare of the Queen City of
the St. Joseph valley.
Sec. 5. — The Sunday News. — Besides the
Sunday Register, already noted, a Sunday
paper was issued for a time by Timothy G.
Turner, in connection with his Annuals, which
he began in 1869. His first publication was
the Gazetteer of the St. Joseph Valley, in
1867. He likewise began in 1871 the publica
tion of a city directory. The annual and the
directory were continued until 1881, after
which William L. Farr, who had been a can
vasser for Mr. Turner's publications, con
tinued the directory, but the Turner's An
nuals and Sunday paper were discontinued.
On April 24, 1887, Chauncey N. Fassett,
who had been editor of the Register, issued
the first copy of his Sunday News, and has
continued since that time to issue the paper
every Sunday morning. It has admirably

filled its well recognized place among the
established journals of the city, being, as its
name indicates, and in harmony with the
versatile talent of its genial editor, a newsy
local Sunday morning paper, one that would
be sorely missed by every citizen who looks
there for the news that is reported after the
issue of the Saturday Tribune and Times.
The News has occasionally some difficulty in
steering its course between the breakers' of
the Times and the Tribune, avoiding a re
publication of the news given by either of the
two dailies, and taking its own independent
course in the discussion of topics pertaining
to the city 's interests and in giving the news
in its own line. It is enough to say that the
course pursued by the Sunday News has been
a successful one.
Sec. 6. — Other Newspapers. — The Goniec
Polski, or Polish Messenger, is published in
the interests and for the entertainment and
information of the very large and intelligent
Polish population of South Bend and vicin
ity. It is a semi-weekly, six-column folio, and
is independent in politics. The editor and
proprietor is Mr. George W. J. Kalczynski,
born and educated in the United States and a
master of the English language and literature
as well as of the Polish. He is one of the most
accomplished and enterprising of the younger
leaders of the city of South Bend.
The Indiana Courier was established in
1873, and published in the German language
in the interests of the German people of South
Bend and vicinity. Soon after its establish
ment the Courier was purchased by Gustav
Fickentscher, who changed the name to the
South Bend Courier. Later Mr. Fickentscher
associated with himself in the management of
the Courier Mr. Andrew Troeger. The Cour
ier was always a liberal, democratic journal.
The Industrial Era was. established in the
fall of 1879 by Ralph E. Hoyt. It was an
advocate of the principles of the national
Greenback party. It was published for only
a few months and was succeeded by the South
Bend Era. The first copy of the latter paper

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

471

was issued on March 27, 1880, by Benjamin
Franklin Shively, who was sole editor and
proprietor. Those who had the pleasure of
reading this bright, crispy, carefully edited
paper, remember its pages with a great deal
of satisfaction as the first public work of the
brilliant gentleman whose fine oratory was
afterwards for years heard in the halls of
congress and before the people not only of
Indiana, but throughout the whole country.
Mr. Shively, a native of St. Joseph eounty, is
without question one of the first orators, as he
is one of the wisest statesmen of Indiana.
The Martin Van Buren Free Soil movement

POST OFFICE, SOUTH BEND.
of 1848 was championed for a few months in
the Free Democrat, established by Dr. E. W.
H. Ellis.
On January 26, 1892, the Post Print
ing Company was incorporated by John
W. O'Bannon, William H. Burke and Gay
L. Tafts, for the purpose of engaging in the
publication of a newspaper. The office of the
Post was located at No. 232 North Main street,
and the paper was an exceedingly neat and
well edited one. But there did not seem to
be any place for it, and it survived but a
few months. The editor deserves to be re
membered. He was Mr. Herbert Hunt, and
was unusually talented and ambitious. He
was afterwards one of the most valued re

porters on the Indianapolis Sun, and even
tually removed to the state of Washington,
where he became editor of a newspaper on
the coast.
Aside from the journals mentioned, a
few newspapers representing special inter
ests have been published from time to time,
but need not be further referred to. The
city seems now to be, and for several years
past to have been, fully provided for in this
line by the Daily and Weekly Times, the
Daily and Weekly Tribune and the Sunday
News. No city has better newspapers, and
they seem to fully satisfy all the needs of
our people in this line.
Sec. 7.— South Bend Summary. — The fol
lowing statement is taken from a leaflet issued
from the Tribune press, in the general inter
ests of the business men of the city of South
Bend. In summing up the advantages of our
city as a place of residence and business, this
statement seems at the same time to present a
comprehensive "abstract of what South Bend
has attained to, from the year 1820, when
Pierre Navarre, the first white man to settle
here, built his cabin on the banks of the St.
Joseph, even down to this year of our Lord,
1907: '
South Bend, population approaching 60,-
000, the largest city in the northern part of
Indiana and the county seat of St. Joseph
county, is situated on the St. Joseph river, one
of the most picturesque inland streams in the
world, six miles south of the Indiana-Michigan
line. It is regarded as one of the cleanest,
best-paved and healthiest cities in America.
It has eight steam railroads, fine street rail
ways, electric interurban systems to adjacent
territory and is one of the best points for
manufacturing, general business and resi
dence in the United States. South Bend is
86 miles east of Chicago and within a day's
ride of New York city. Manufacturers seek
ing a location should carefully investigate
South Bend and its manifold advantages be
fore arriving at a decision. With scores of
prosperous manufacturing establishments, the
product of many of which goes to all parts of
the civilized world, South Bend is one of the
best advertised cities in the universe. It is
a stamp of merit for goods to bear the name

472

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of South Bend. Here are a few of the many
notable features of our city:
Six banks.
A humane society.
Rural mail service.
Free kindergartens.
Garbage crematory.
A $75,000 city hall.
Beautiful residences.
A government building.
Good daily newspapers.
A $250,000 court house.
Police ambulance system.
Two local telephone systems.
Two well equipped hospitals.
The world's largest toy works.
Two loan and trust companies.
Eight square miles of territory.
Over 140 miles of public streets.
Long distance telephone service.
The world's largest plow factory.
Freedom from labor disturbances.
Assessed valuation of $25,000,000.
Six building and loan associations.
A handsome $35,000 public library.
Abundant water and electric power.
Annual payrolls of over $6,000,000.
Twenty-four miles of street ear. lines.
Historical society and public museum.
Annual wholesale trade of $25,000,000.
Savings bank with $3,000,000 deposits.
The world's largest clover huller plant.
Theatrical and show printing company.
Fifty passenger trains, nearly all daily.
One hundred and ninety acres of parks.
One of the world's largest shirt factories.
Gamewell fire and police alarm systems.
Unsurpassed features as a business center.
A splendid surrounding agricultural region.
Fifty miles of paved public thoroughfares.
Extensive gas and electric lighting plants.
One military company, Indiana national
guard. The world's largest sewing machine case
plant. The largest wood turning plant in the
world. Unrivaled facilities as a manufacturing
center. Over 100 fraternal and benevolent so
cieties. One of the largest watch factories in
America. Unequaled qualifications as a place of
residence.

One of the largest underwear mills in the
world. Largest concrete block machine factory in
America. A business amounting to about $50,000,000
annually. The largest exclusively men's underwear
mills in America.
American District Telegraph Company mes
senger service.
Two telegraph companies — Western Union
and Postal.
Young Men 's Christian Association and fine -
new building.
The largest paper box factory in Indiana
and one of the largest in the world.
Two G. A. R. posts, one Spanish war vet
eran camp, two W. R. C, one Sons of Vet
erans. Eighty-three miles of water mains supplied
all year with pure artesian water.
Young Women's Christian Association and
beautiful and modern new building.
The largest kitchen range plant in Indiana
and one of the largest in the world.
Boarding home for young women under
auspices of Young Women's Christian Asso
ciation. Splendid opportunities for profitable em
ployment for bright and energetic men and
women. Three of the handsomest theaters in the
west, of 1,000, 1,200 and 1,600 seating ca
pacity. .
Fifty-two church organizations, many with
church edifices of striking architectural ap
pearance. Population of about 200,000 reached hy
electric railway service of which South Bend
is the center.
Constant bona fide and profitable oppor
tunities for the investment of capital in good
manufacturing and other substantial enter
prises. A paid fire department of 12 companies
forming one of the best fire departments in <
the world, besides several private factory fire •
departments, and 850 fire hydrants.
Eleven hotels of various grades and prices,
the Oliver, erected at a cost of $600,000, being
one of the finest and most complete in the
world. . ...
Many clubs devoted to social, athletic, lit
erary and dramatic objects, several in their
own buildings, besides a large number oi
lesser social organizations.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

473

Fourteen public and a number of parochial
schools, all of a high order, the celebrated
University of Notre Dame, for men, the world-
famed St. Mary's Academy for women and
a commercial college.
Eight railroads — the Lake Shore & Mich
igan Southern, Grand Trunk Western, Mich
igan Central, Chicago, Indiana & Southern,
Indiana Northern, New Jersey, Indiana &
Illinois, Vandalia and Chicago & South Bend.
One hundred and twenty-two artesian wells
supplying pure water for domestic, factory
and fire protection purposes all the year, the
water being forced throughout the city by
standpipe pressure supplied by three pump
ing stations with a daily capacity of 24,000,-
000 gallons.
Connections by one of the best electric rail
ways in America, with Mishawaka, population
9,000, four miles distant; Elkhart, 19,000,
15 miles ; Goshen, 10,000, 26 miles ; Warsaw,
7,000, 50 miles; Niles, Mich., 7,000, 10 miles;
St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, Mich., popula
tion 15,000, 35 miles.
Many, manufacturing establishments of
various sizes, some the largest in the world,
making automobiles, automatic computing
scales, adjustable shade hangers, artificial
fuel, awnings, alfalfa hullers, automatic field
glasses, bicycles, building stone, books, brooms,
bricks, beer, blinds, box making machinery,
baking powder, boats, blueing, bob-sleds, boil
er compound^ brick-making machinery, brass
articles, box springs, bar fixtures, barrels, bolt
threading machinery, clover hullers, cigars,
carpets, cultivators, cutlery, cigar boxes, cast
ings, carriage covers, concrete mixing ma
chinery, chandeliers, cement blocks, cornice,

confectionery, carriages, cement bricks, carts,
cut building stone, doors, dowels, electric dry
batteries, electrotypes, electric house fixtures,
electric sparking devices, electric coils, elec
tric switches, electric specialties, engines, fur
niture, feed mills, flour, fishing tackle, flue
brushes, furnaces, folding paper boxes, gas
and gasoline engines, gas fixtures, grills,
games, grain drills, harness and harness ap
purtenances, hand carts, harrows, horse cov
ers, hose carts, hardware specialties, ice, ice
cream, jewelry, knit underwear, linseed oil,
lumber, labels, loose leaf ledgers, machinery,
mattresses, malleable steel kitchen ranges,
mineral water, milling machinery, mail boxes,
mill cogs, motors, office furniture, oil filters,
plows, printing press rollers, paper boxes, pro
prietary medicines, pulleys, paper roll pro
tectors, pony vehicles, porch swings, paste,
photo mounts, pulp plaster, power drills,
printed matter, rubber stamps, razors, roof
ing, rugs, railroad supplies, respirators, re
seating machinery, roof paint, rattan special
ties, shirts, steel skeins, shipping tags, sewing
machine parts, soda water, steam boilers, sash,
street sprinklers, -soldering fluxes, street
sweepers, shovels, street car signs, screens,
. sleighs, snuff, standpipes, seeders, steam
specialties, sheet iron products, stereotypes,
spark arresters, stone making machinery, toys,
tool specialties, tombstones, tooth paste, tele
phones and telephone supplies, tents, theatri
cal posters, tables, varnish, wagons, woolens,
wood boxes, watches, willow specialties, water
works machinery, wire bound boxes, wire
fence, wood turnings, well boring machinery,
wagon covers, wind stacker hoods. Most
South Bend plants run the entire year.

Distinguished Careers Selected from the
Industrial, Business and Profes
sional Life of the County
and the Oldest
Citizens.
The preceding pages of history are rich in
personal reference, for it would be impossible
to describe the civilization that has grown up
within the limits of the county, in the coun
try, the towns and the cities, without having
continually in mind and speaking of the men
and women who bore the part of pioneers, or
who did the work of the second generation,
or who during the last quarter century have
reaped the rewards of their predecessors and
have themselves assumed responsiblities for
succeeding generations. "Institutions are
but the lengthened shadows of men" is a fine
statement of the part individuals play in his
tory, and there are a great many individuals
in St. Joseph county who have built enduring
monuments in character or industrial enter
prise, so that either their names or the insti
tutions with which they completely identified
themselves are known by all and have unfor
gettable places in the county's history. Most
of the names which follow have already been
mentioned in the preceding pages, but here
will be found a more complete account in
biographical form of many of the men whose
accomplishments have done so much for the
development of city and county.
The preparation of the general history of
St. Joseph county has been the result of
more than a year's diligent and painstaking
labor on the part of Judge Howard, of South
Bend. Written at the close of a long resi
dence and active participation in the affairs
of the county, this history is the expression

of a ripened judgment and intelligent ob
servation of the varied events and the com
plex development that have attended the
splendid progress of the county and its cen
tral cities. As a result, this work becomes
a valuable contribution to the historical lit
erature pertaining to the St. Joseph valley,
and is probably destined to remain for many
years the principal authoritative work of
local history.
In addition to speaking these words of
appreciation concerning the labors of Judge
Howard, the publishers deem it fitting to
state the principal facts in the career of the
author and insert a brief sketch of his life
¦among those of other well known citizens of
the eounty.
Timothy Edward Howard was born near
Ann Arbor, Michigan, January 27, 1837.
His parents were both of English-Irish an
cestry. His father, Martin Howard, was
born near Fermoy, county Cork, Ireland, and
his mother, Julia (Beahan) Howard, at or
near Mount Rath, Queen's county, Ireland,
whence both parents came to America and
became pioneers of Michigan territory.
The father died when Timothy was four
teen years old, and being the eldest of the
seven children, he took charge of the farm
and became the principal reliance of his wid
owed mother and the younger children. The
subject of this sketch has long been known
for his ripe scholarship and classical learn
ing.. The foundation of this knowledge was
acquired in his youth, despite the primitive
schools then existing in Michigan and the
necessary .confinement of his farm duties.
As a boy he had attended country schools
during the winters, and at the age of seven
teen had two terms in the Ypsilanti union
school, where he enjoyed the instruction of
Professor Joseph Estabrook and other excel
lent teachers. Entering the University at
Ann Arbor in his eighteenth year, he was able
to continue his studies only until the middle

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

475

of his sophomore year, when the home farm
again needed his presence. At the age of
twenty and again the following year he
taught country schools. When twenty-one he
was elected inspector of the schools of North-
field, his native township.
Judge Howard first became identified with
St. Joseph county, Indiana, as a student in
Notre Dame, when he was twenty-two years
old. Three years later he was graduated,
having taught primary classes during his. col
legiate career. From the quiet study halls
of Notre Dame he took his place as a private
soldier in the struggle of the nation for
existence. Enlisting, February -5, 1862, in
the Twelfth Michigan Infantry, he .hurried
to the front, and just two months later, April
6, was severely wounded at the battle of
Shiloh. After Tying for a time in the Marine
Hospital at Evansville, he was discharged
June 14, 1862, by reason of his wound. His
return to Notre Dame was marked by his
employment as professor of English litera
ture and other classes in the university. For
a number of years his career was identified
with this university, and as an educator he
is remembered and esteemed by hundreds
who are now in active life.
For nearly thirty years he has been al
most continuously in public life. Beginning
in 1878, he served six years as a member of
the South Bend common council. One of
the acts which stands to his credit as coun
cilman is the fact that through his efforts the
first public park was secured for the city, and
later was named Howard Park. During this
time, beginning in 1879, he was clerk of the
St. Joseph circuit court four years. In 1886
came his election to the state senate, where
he served three sessions until his . resigna
tion in 1892. His chief services in the upper
house were as follows: He was author of
the bill to remove the limestone ledge in
the Kankakee river at Momence; assisted in
framing the Australian ballot law in 1889;
brought in the bill for the establishment of
the, appellate court in 1891 ; and framed the
bill tor the Indiana tax law of 1891. On
his^ resignation from the senate he was elected
a judge of the supreme court, serving six
years. In addition to these elective offices,
Judge Howard has served as city attorney
of South Bend and county attorney for St.
Joseph county, and has also been selected
for service on special commissions dealing
with subjects of vital interest or reform in

state government. He was president of the
Fee and Salary commission, 1900-01, by ap
pointment "of Governor James A. Mount;
was appointed by Governor Durbin a dele
gate to the tax conference held at the Pan-
American Exposition in Buffalo, May 23-24,
1901, where he read a paper on the Indiana
tax law; and was appointed by Governor
Durbin a member of the commission of
1903-05 for codifying the laws of the state.
Our author has long been interested in
the history of his county and state and is
now president of the Northern Indiana His
torical Society. Besides this history of St.
Joseph county, he has written miscellaneous
papers and books, some of them prepared as
text books during his work as an educator
and others for special purposes and occa
sions. By his marriage, on July 14, 1864,
at Detroit, to Miss Julia A. Redmond, Judge
Howard has had ten children, seven of whom
are still living.
Hon. Schuyler Colfax. When Schuyler
Colfax, vice-president of the United States,
congressman from Indiana for many years
and one of the speakers of the house of rep
resentatives' during the period of the Civil
war, passed away at Mankato, Minnesota, on
the 13th of January, 1885, South Bend lost
its most distinguished citizen, and the country
not only a leading statesman and patriot, but
a good and noble man as well. He was among
the most eminent men of the west, whose life
record forms an integral part of the history,
not alone of South Bend but of the state and
nation, and who is therefore most worthy of
special mention in a work of this character.
In his death the nation lost one of its most
progressive citizens, one whose influence was
felt in marked degree along intellectual and
moral advancement.
As the day with its morning of hope and
promise, its noonday of activity, its evening
of completed and successful efforts, ending
in the grateful rest and quiet of the night —
so was the life of this honored man. His
career was a long, busy and useful one,
marked by the utmost fidelity to the duties
of public and private life, and crowned with
honors conferred upon him by his home city,
state and nation, in recognition of superior
merit. His name is inseparably interwoven
with the annals of Indiana, with its best de
velopment and its stable progress, and his
memory is cherished as that of one who made
the world better for his having lived.

476

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Schuyler Colfax was a native of the Em
pire state, born on the 23d of March, 1823,
in New York City. As a lad of thirteen he
came to New Carlisle, St. Joseph county,
where he was educated and early developed
a taste for politics and newspaper work. In
1845 he founded the St. Joseph Valley Regis
ter, and, after filling many political positions
of local import, in 1852 was selected as a
delegate to the Whig convention which nom
inated General Winfield Scott to the presi
dency. In 1855 he was sent to congress and
re-elected for six consecutive terms, and from
1863 to 1869 — covering such momentuous pe
riods of the Civil war and Reconstruction —
ably served as speaker of the house of rep
resentatives. His vice-presidential term with
General Grant covered the period 1869-73,
and in the latter year he retired from public
life and returned to South Bend.
In 1868 Schuyler Colfax was united in
marriage to Miss Ellen Wade, a niece of the
widely known Senator Wade of Ohio. She
is a most accomplished lady, whose many acts
of charity and kindness have endeared her
to the citizens of South Bend and St. Joseph
county. One son was born of . their union,
Schuyler Colfax, Jr., who for many years
was an active business man of South Bend
and was elected its mayor in 1898, but is no
longer a resident of the place.
In his public capacities, Schuyler Colfax
was a recognized orator of his day and a wise
statesman. In his domestic and personal rela
tions he was a loving husband and an affec
tionate father; was kind and benevolent, and
charitable to a fault; a man beloved by all,
especially by the citizens of South Bend and
others who knew him best. With him friend
ship was inviolable and the circle of his
friendship was almost co-extensive with the
circle of his acquaintance. When those who
needed assistance came to him his aid was
never withheld. Honor and integrity char
acterized his every act, and he was never
known to take advantage of his fellow man.
His name will be honored for many genera
tions as that of one who stood as the highest
type of American citizenship.
Alexis Coquillard. The name Coquillard
is synonymous with South Bend, and is inter
twined with so many interests of this city
that it is difficult to say what is the most
prominent feature of its historical relations
with South Bend. To the oldest residents,
and to those who would learn of the origin of

this city, one of the first personalities in a
long list of celebrities is that Alexis Coquil
lard who, after Peter F. Navarre, became the
first white settler on the site of South Bend.
He located here in 1823, an agent of the
American Fur Company, and as such con
ducted a trading post in a log cabin that was '
the first residence of white man in the woods
at the south bend of the St. Joseph river.
Unlike others in that occupation, who usually
retreated before the advance of actual settle
ment, he remained on the site of South Bend
while it was being settled by a thrifty class
of pioneers, and until his death in 1855 was
closely identified with the interests of the
growing town, being one of the proprietors
of the first flouring mill and in many other
ways a citizen of note and influence.
It was a nephew and namesake of this
trader and pioneer whose career is most fami
liar to the later generation of St. Joseph
county. Although it is now seventeen years
since his death, he is still remembered with
affection and gratitude for his noble character
and his usefulness and generosity as a citi
zen. Many departments of activity were in
fluenced by him while living, and much re
mains with which his name can still be
identified. Having acquired a fortune in his
home city and county, he was generous in
its expenditure for the benefit of his citizens.
A few years before his death he purchased
one thousand acres of land adjoining the city,
and donated a large tract of it for the pur
poses of a public park. He established the
Coquillard Wagon Works in 1865, and di
rected it through a prosperous growth until
its output was sold in nearly every county
in the United States. In ways too numerous
to mention, his private interests were inter
twined with the progress of the entire com
munity, and among those who helped make
South Bend during its first half century of
existence he will always be considered as one
of the most prominent.
Dying at Battle Creek, Michigan, February
25, 1890, Alexis Coquillard bad rounded out
a life of sixty-five years. He was born in
Detroit, April 29, 1825, where his parents,
Benjamin and Sophia (Andre) Coquillard,
were among the well known French settlers
of that city. Benjamin Coquillard was m
almost the first group of notable pioneers who
came to St. Joseph county at the close ol the
decade of the twenties. He brought his fam
ily to the site of South Bend in 1829, only

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

477

a few years after his brother, the fur trader,
had located here, although by 1829 the fur-
trading period was rapidly passing and the
era of permanent settlement had begun. Ben
jamin Coquillard made of his rough and
primitive home a place of public entertain
ment, or tavern, as it was then known, and it
was in this backwoods inn that the boy Alexis
gained his first experiences in the world. His
tendency to trade early became marked, and
while still a boy he was conducting a profit
able traffic among the Indians. It is recalled
that when he was sixteen years old, L. P.
Johnson, who kept a tavern located at the
southwest- corner of Michigan avenue and
Washington street, built a wagon which at
tracted general attention, this being the first
one ever constructed in South Bend. The
wagon became, an object of envious interest
to young Coquillard, and when it was com
pleted he induced his mother to rmrchase it
for him. He put it into service by hauling
produce and goods from the river for the
few merchants of the town, and soon had paid
not only for the wagon but for his team of
horses. As is made clear in other parts of this his
tory, the educational facilities offered at
South Bend during the thirties and forties
were very meager. In the history of Notre
Dame University, Alexis Coquillard's name
comes first — the first student. This oppor
tunity for gaining an education came when
Father Sorin, in two log houses, commenced
the work that proved the nucleus of the pres
ent university, and the young boy who so
cheerfully rowed him across the river to per
form his priestly labors became his first stu
dent. . Alexis pursued his studies and. grad
uated from the log cabin college.
The spirit of the pioneer has always been
strong in the Coquillard family. When the
rush to California began, this spirit took holcU
of Alexis, and, having persuaded his uncle to
furnish him with an outfit, he started to find
his fortune in the Eldorado. The agreement
was that the profits of the venture were to
be divided between the uncle who furnished
the capital and the nephew who furnished
the energy and enterprise. He was one of
the lucky forty-niners, for after nine months
he returned to South Bend and faithfully
divided his little fortune of four thousand
dollars with the uncle who bad thus stood
sponsor for his honesty and good judgment.
The two thousand dollars realized from his

California venture became the working capi
tal with which he built up his fortune. With
this money he bought some land near the
present family homestead at Mosquito Glen,
but he soon found farming too monotonous
and its profits too tardy. Following the sale
of this property, he turned his attention to
real estate dealings, and in that direction
gained the greater part of his fortune. His
operations were at first confined to the vicin
ity of South Bend. Another departure was
the buying of a sawmill, which directed him
into the lumber business, and in a few years
he became one of the most extensive lumber
dealers of northern Indiana. His real estate
interests were growing so rapidly that by
1860 he was reputed to be the largest land
owner in St.. Joseph county. The founding
of the wagon works followed in 1865, and
with the extension of his real estate and other
operations to various parts of the country, he
built up a large fortune.
Of the marriage of Mr. Coquillard to Miss
Maud Perley, of Portland, Maine, two sons
were born, Alexis and Joseph Alexander, who
continue the Coquillard interests in South
Bend and are worthy successors of a father
whose life and work were of so much im
portance to South Bend's history.
Hon. Clem Studebaker. Those are rare
characters in the world's history who have
both the tact and the force of character to
overcome all obstacles caused by lack of early
education, and take their place not only
among the material forces of their country
but with the cultured and professionally
trained, who have had every advantage af
forded by the universities of two continents.
But eminent common sense, a great heart and
the courtesy of an inborn gentleman will over
come all artificial considerations, especially in
these United States of America, and perhaps
half a dozen times in a generation a family
of characters bearing these strong traits comes
to the surface and holds the unbounded ad
miration of the country. The Studebaker
family is of this great democracy, and none
of its representatives was more typical of its
admirable characteristics than the late Hon.
Clem Studebaker.
Mr. Studebaker was born near Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, March 12, 1831, the boy being
four years of age when the family moved to
Ashland county, Ohio. There his youth was
passed, attending the public schools and work
ing with his father at the forge and in his

478

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

wagon shop. Through the latter occupation
he laid the basis of that thorough and prac
tical knowledge which enabled him in later
years to be a prime factor in the founding
of the great industry conducted by the Stude
baker Brothers Manufacturing Company.
When nineteen years old (in 1850) he came
to South Bend to live, and was introduced to
the 'locality as a teacher. His career as an
educator covered only two terms of school,
after which, in partnership with his oldest
brother, Henry, he opened a small blacksmith
shop near Jefferson and Michigan streets.
It appears that during the first year of
what may be considered the establishment of
the industry which now has a world-wide
fame two wagons constituted the total out
put, although the brothers also engaged in a
general blaeksmithing business. Their initial
capital was sixty-eight dollars. The succes
sors of these sturdy founders have now in
their splendidly equipped office an oil paint
ing of this little blacksmith shop, which
proved to be the foundation of the splendid
reputation and fortune made eventually by
the Studebaker family. The plant is now
the largest of its kind in the world, and its
wagons and vehicles of all kinds are turned
out by the hundreds of thousands, being dis
tributed throughout the civilized globe.
Clem Studebaker, who had so large a share
in bringing about this remarkable industrial
and commercial development, and although
before all else a practical man of rare ability
and tireless energy, coupled with an iron de
termination and a manly ambition to excell in
his life work, was at the same time liberal
in his outlook and deeply interested in edu
cational and public movements. He was one
of the leading Republicans of his state, which
he twice represented in national conventions.
He was thrice honored as a United States
commissioner to the great modern expositions,
being a representative to those at Paris, New
Orleans and Chicago, and at the World 's Co
lumbian Exposition he served as president of
the Indiana board of managers. For many
years Mr. Studebaker was a member of the
board of trustees of DePauw University, was
president of the board of trustees of the
Chautauqua Assembly in 1889-90, and was
selected by President Harrison to represent
the United States at the Pan-American Con
gress held at Washington, where his wide
knowledge of commercial conditions, as they
existed on the western hemisphere, and his

strong personal influence were freely recog
nized. Clem Studebaker was not only a man of
strength, but one of magnetism, with a sym
pathetic outflow toward all suffering. He was
charitable in spirit, and his benevolence mani
fested itself in countless practical works. An
ideal business man, a good citizen, a helpful
friend, a broad . philanthropist and man of
the world, eager to aid in its best progress,
the deceased left a great void both in the
public community and in the hearts of count
less friends.
Mr. Studebaker 's wife, before marriage
was known as Mrs. Ann (Milburn) Harper,
daughter of George Milburn, a prominent
wagon manufacturer of Mishawaka. Their
home, which is one of the finest in the state,
is known as Tippecanoe, in commemoration
of the famous treaty which is said to have
taken place on the ground now occupied by
the Studebaker residence. No citizen of In
diana ever passed away whose death was
more keenly or generally deplored.
Henry Studebaker was one of the
founders of the great vehicle industry
of the Studebaker Brothers Manufactur
ing Company, and although he retired
from the business at an early period in its
development, it was quite • firmly founded
when he retired to the less strenuous career of
an agricultural life. He was born near Get
tysburg, Pennsylvania, October 5, 1826, the
son of John Studebaker, whose sketch appears
elsewhere. When Henry was nine years of
age the family migrated to Ashland county,
Ohio, being transported in a wagon which
was built by the father. So it may be that,
in reality, John Studebaker was the founder
of the business which has carried the name
of the family to every part of the globe.
In Ashland eounty Henry Studebaker was
apprenticed to a country blacksmith, working
at has trade during the busy season and in the
winter months attending the district schools.
He finally mastered his trade under his fa
ther's instruction, and when he was ready to
go out into the world as an independent work
man there was no more expert blacksmith
than he in that section. In 1847, then of age,
he bought <a horse and started for the farther
west. His first stop was at Goshen, Indiana,
where he worked at his trade for some
months, but, finding nothing to encourage
him in the outlook of the locality, returned
to his home in Ohio.

h-l E". N R Y S T L IDEBAKER

The Century Eullisldng & Engraving Co,, CJiicago

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

479

In 1850 Henry Studebaker, in company
with his younger brother Clem, made a trip
to South Bend, Indiana, and with their joint
capital of sixty-eight dollars established a
blacksmith shop. During the following year,
in addition to a general business in the line
of their trade, they turned out and sold two
wagons, which was the commencement of a
world-famed business. The prospects were so
promising that in 1852 the remainder of the
family came from Ohio, making the journey
in two wagons. The brothers established
their little blacksmith shop at the corner of
Michigan and Jefferson streets, under the
firm name, of H. & C. Studebaker, worked in
dustriously and hopefully night and day,
toiled and economized, and, within a few
years had the satisfaction of knowing that
they had founded a new and profitable in
dustry of unusual proportions for those
times. In 1858, with the business fairly on
its feet, Henry Studebaker was obliged to re
tire from it on account of impaired health,
disposing of his interest to his brother, J. M.
Buying a large tract of land adjoining South
Bend, he continued to cultivate and improve
it until his death, March 12, 1895, by which
time, on account of the general development
of the country and the consequent increase in
real estate values, coupled with Mr. Stude
baker 's good management and business judg
ment, he had reached a position of comfort
and agricultural prominence.
Henry Studebaker was a man of strictly
temperate habits, being an abstainer from al
cohol and tobacco during his entire life. He
was of an affectionate disposition, a loving
husband and father and a good neighbor and
citizen, and possessed altogether a warm, hon
orable and Christian character. He was a
member of the Dunkard Church, and took
especial delight in entertaining the brethren
and elders at his home. His wife, to whom
he was married in 1852, was Susan Stude
baker, daughter of Samuel Studebaker, by
whom he had the following six children : Mrs.
A. W. Bowman, Samuel W., Edith (now Mrs.
Eryin Gingrich). Clem W. and Mrs. J. M.
Chillas, all of whom are living; and Laura,
who died in 1876. The mother and wife
passed away June 8, 1871.
In 1873 Henry Studebaker married as his
second wife his estimable widow, who now
occupies the commodious residence which was
so many years a comfortable and happy fam
ily home. Mrs. Studebaker was formerly Miss

Priscilla Kreichbaum, and she is the mother
of four children: D. Adelle, William, Peter
C. (who married Mrs. Olive Lewis), and
Arthur. Her devotion as a mother and her
feminine talents as a home maker have earned
for her the admiration of a wide circle of
friends and the honor of the children whom
she has reared.
J. M. Studebaker. In this age of colossal
enterprise and marked intellectual energy the
prominent and successful men are those whose
abilities, persistence and courage lead them
into large undertakings and to assume the
responsibilities and labors of leaders in their
respective vocations. Mr. Studebaker has
made of life a grand success, steadily over
coming the difficulties and obstacles in his
path and working his way upward to the
place where success places the laurel on the
victor's brow. He was born near Gettysburg,
Adams county, Pennsylvania, October 10,
1833. His father, John Studebaker, worked
as a blacksmith there, but when his son was
two years of age he moved to Ashland county,
Ohio. It was in that county that J. M. Studebaker
received the early educational training which
, fitted him for life 's responsible duties, being
obliged to walk two miles to attend a country
school. At the age of thirteen he began work
on the farm of his brother-in-law at three
dollars a month, at the same time contrib-
nting his earnings to the support of the fam
ily. In 1851 the family home was established
in South Bend, the journey being made in a
wagon built by the father, and they took up
their abode in a log cabin four miles from the
city in the winter of that year, supplies being
obtained by selling wood in South Bend. The
lad was a strong and willing worker, and cut
two cords a day during the winter of 1851,
while his father hauled it to town and se
cured two dollars a cord. In the spring of
1852 he entered the employ of John Cotton,
a wagon maker. In the spring of the follow
ing year, 1853, a company was formed to go
to California overland, and Mr. J. M. Stude
baker gave his services and furnished a wag
on, the wood work made by him, and ironed
bv his brothers, for the privilege of joining
the party. The trip was a perilous and weary-
one, fraught with many dangers and hard
ships, with mountains to scale, rivers to cross
and Indian savages to fight. The leader of
the party died as the result from a bite of a
scorpion and was buried en route. Finally,

480

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

however, the brave little band reached their
destination in Hangtown, California, after
five months and eight days spent on the road,
Mr. Studebaker 's cash capital at that time
consisting of but fifty cents. He at once found
employment at his trade of a wagon maker
with H. L. Hines, who in after years became
a stockholder in the Studebaker Company
and superintendent of the factories. There
he battled earnestly and energetically, and by
indomitable courage and integrity soon be
came a partner in the business. By practicing
the strictest economy he was while thus con
nected enabled to save enough funds at the
close of five years with which to return to
South Bend and also to purchase a half in
terest in the business of the Studebaker
Brothers. At that time the brother Henry
retired from the business and engaged in
farming, and the firm name was then changed
to C. & J. M. Studebaker, Clem doing the
blacksmith work and J. M. the wood work.
Both were skilled artisans in their respective
trades, were ever faithful in the performance
of their duties and success attended their ef
forts. They subsequently took into the firm
Peter E., the next younger brother in age to
J. M., while later Jacob F. was admitted into
the partnership. These brothers have by their
own energy and ability built the wonderful
business which is known all over the world
as the Studebaker Manufacturing Company.
The men of influence in this enlightened age
are the enterprising, progressive representa
tives of commerce, and to such ones advance
ment and progress are due. Although having
reached the seventy-fourth milestone on the
journey of life J. M. Studebaker still takes
an active interest in the business, and is fami
liar with its every detail. His son, J. M., Jr.,
and two sons-in-law, F. S. Fish and H. D.
Johnson, are also actively associated with the
firm, as are also the young men of different
branches of the family and by their ability
and industry are keeping the firm to the
front. Mr. Studebaker 's beautiful home, Sunny-
side, is one of the beautiful sights of the city.
His name figures conspicuously in the history
of St. Joseph county from the period of early
development to the present time.
Jacob F. Studebaker. Practical ability of
the highest order, combined with the warm
traits of humanity and an invariable consid
eration for the rights and feelings of others,
are qualities which mark the Studebakers as

a family; and the late Jacob F. Studebaker
inherited these family traits in their full
strength. He was therefore a large factor in
the erection of the splendid industrial monu
ment which his kindred have erected to the
glory of themselves and their descendants.
The Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing
Company is one of the distinctively great in
dustries of the world, and none of its depart
ments are better or more favorably known
than that devoted to the output of carriages,
with which Jacob F. was so long identified
as manager.
Jacob F. Studebaker was born in Ashland
county, Ohio, May 26, 1844, the son of John
'Studebaker, a sketch of whom appears else
where in this work. The old family home
stead was near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a
change of location to the Buckeye state being
made in 1835, and, in 1852, to South Bend.
At the old seminary there and at the Notre
Dame University, the boy obtained the bulk
of his education, and early displayed those
strong family traits which marked him as a,
valuable future element in the fortunes of the
Studebaker company. His brothers Clem, J.
M. and Peter E. were proud to give him full
credit for his admirable business and per
sonal qualities. Methodically and surely he
advanced from post to post until as manager
of the carriage department he was one of the
most important personal forces connected
with the great industry. Under the stimulus
of his practical knowledge and keen foresight
the branch of the business under his direct
supervision reached mammoth proportions.
He was energetic and straight-forward, at the
same time land and considerate to those in
his employ.
The nature of Mr. Studebaker 's specialty.
in the business of the company necessarily
brought him in contact with the owners and
lovers of horses, and he himself became one
of the most enthusiastic horsemen in the coun
try. He possessed some of the stars of the
turf, but his particular admiration was the
Percheron, and he organized the great Perche-
ron Horse Company of Colorado, which has
been the means of importing some of the fin
est specimens of that breed ever brought to
the United States.
Jacob F. Studebaker found vent for his
large activities in other channels than those
of business, and in connection with his ab
sorbing duties connected with the Studebaker
company, he was interested in the orgamza-

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Jacob F. Studebaker

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

481

tion of the Agricultural Association, and
identified in the leadership of many public
enterprises of city, county and state.
In 1864 Mr. Studebaker was united in mar
riage to Harriet Chord, a daughter of Sam
uel Chord, a prominent citizen of South
Bend, and two daughters have been born to
them. The widow has occupied their beauti
ful home at "Sunnyside" since the death of
her husband December 17, 1887, The fu
neral sermon of the deceased was preached
by the Rev. G. E. Farr, and the opening of
his address well expresses the sentiment of
this review — "Know ye not that there is a
prince and a great man fallen." In the field
of labor to which he was called Jacob F. Stu
debaker was truly a prince, and a figure of
national importance, while among his inti
mates his character was. but another name
for' strict reliability and unimpeachable
honor. Peter E. Studebaker. For more than a
quarter of a century treasurer of the great
Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Com
pany, the deceased and prominent member of
the family mentioned above was long acknowl
edged to be one of the most far sighted finan
ciers of the country. By virtue of his posi
tion with the company he could have been
nothing else but a financial leader. He was
energetic, a close observer of industrial and
commercial conditions, and always prepared
for financial depression or booms, guiding the
finances of the immense enterprise thus con
trolled by him according to his wise forecast.
Peter E. Studebaker was a native of Ash
land eounty, Ohio, born April 1, 1836, the
son of John Studebaker, who is elsewhere
mentioned in this volume. He was educated
in the public schools of that seetion, and in
1852 came to South Bend, Indiana, soon se
curing employment with Kingsley and Beach,
then the leading dry goods merchants of the
place. From his clerk's salary of fifteen dol
lars a month he finally saved one hundred
dollars and began business for himself. He
thus continued until 1856, when he was mar
ried to Dora Han, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and
removed to Goshen, Indiana, where he was
associated with Joseph H. Defrees, a dry
goods merchant of that city, who used to
send Mr. Studebaker out with a peddling out
fit and in later years he often told how one
day while peddling through the country he
rapped at a farm house door and the lady
of the house came out and informed him she
31

did not want anything to do with peddlers.
He told her he was not a peddler, but a trav
eling merchant and sold her quite a large bill
of goods.
In the connection named, Mr. Studebaker
was profitably engaged until 1860, when he
began handling his brothers' goods, and made
such a success of it that they offered him a
partnership in the business. By the accep
tance of their proposition he became a mem
ber of the firm of Studebaker Brothers, in
1864, and in the following year he established
a branch warehouse at St. Joseph, Missouri,
at that time an important outfitting town for
miners, plainsmen and emigrants. He soon
extended their trade over the entire western
country, but in 1872 relinquished the St. Jo
seph office, as his services were in imperative
demand as general officer of the company.
In the year named Mr. Studebaker assumed
the highly responsible duties of the treasurer-
ship of the company, which he retained until
his death at Alma, Michigan, October 9, 1897.
During that period there was never a time
when the brothers doubted his ability to meet
any crisis, industrial, commercial or financial,
and their confidence in his good judgment
was never displaced.
Mr. Studebaker 's first wife died in- 1865,
his second wife, whom he married in 1871,
being Mrs. M. L. Guthrie, daughter of
Charles W. Ewing, of Fort Wayne, Indiana,
and the widow still survives him. Besides
Mrs. Studebaker, the members of his family
were William F. Studebaker, deceased, and
two daughters, Mrs. Nelson J. Riley and Mrs.
W. R. Innis.
James Oliver. A great inventor, in the
field of agriculture and a real benefactor to
mankind, the venerable and venerated James
Oliver, the discoverer of the chilled-plow
process, stands out pre-eminently among
the practical geniuses of the United States,
and is at least one striking exception to the
sweeping biblical statement that "a prophet
hath no honor in his own country." So
secure, in fact, is he in the affectionate honor
of his neighbors of South Bend and Indiana,
and his admirers throughout the west and the
United States, that the very warmth with
which he is regarded may detract somewhat
from a calm consideration of his greatness as
a benefactor to the world through his con
tribution to the progress of the primal and
cosmopolitan industry of agriculture. With
such men as Fulton and Morse he stands as

482

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

one of the historic inventors, who has perse
vered in the development of his original idea
and its application to the good of mankind.
There is also one feature in his life in which
his family and widely scattered admirers take
a well grounded pride, and that is that no
suspicion has ever been east upon the origi
nality of his invention. Perhaps the history
of invention furnishes no case like his — un
less it be that of Edison — in which the real
inventor, fighting for many years against
ridicule and ignorant criticism, has emerged
triumphant from the long and bitter conflict
and enjoyed the legitimate satisfaction not
only of seeing his invention recognized by the
authorities of the world, but of profiting by it
even to the point of opulence. Locally, James
Oliver is admired and revered as a public
spirited, liberal minded gentleman — practical,
but open hearted and warm — and, having
passed his more than fourscore years of great
and useful toil, the sunset of his life is aglow
with the rich colors of a fair western sky.
James Oliver is a Scotchman by birth, or
it may be that the discouragements of his
earlier years would have completely over
whelmed him. His native place was Rox-
buryshire, and he was born amid humble cir
cumstances on the 28th of August, 1823.
Early in life he learned the value of honest
and unremitting labor, and his remarkable
success has never weakened his respect and
warm regard for the conscientious workman.
At the age of twelve years the boy came with
his family to the United States, and, after
living for one year in Seneca county, New
York, they located at Mishawaka, St. Joseph
county, Indiana. James at once put his shoul
der to the family wheel and became one of
the supporters of the household, and in 1840,
then seventeen years of age, entered into in
dependent work.
In the year mentioned Mr. .Oliver under
took a contract for the Lee Company, of
Mishawaka, to lay pump logs in trenches for
the purpose of carrying water from a brook,
through Vistula street to the race and still
house. He was, successful in this undertaking
and soon. after bought his first house and lot
in Mishawaka. The still house, however, was
later destroyed by fire and it was necessary
to seek a new occupation. Soon after the
manly youth learned the cooper's trade, get
ting out his own timber and making his own
barrels, sometimes as high as eleven per day.
From 1845 to 1855 he was in the employ of

the St. Joseph Iron Works, Mishawaka, where
he acquired that practical knowledge of the
foundry business which became so useful to
him in after years. Prior to; this time— May
30, 1844 — he had married Miss Susan Doty,
of Mishawaka, and commenced housekeeping
in the modest cottage which he owned.
In 1855, while waiting at South Bend for
a train to Goshen on a matter of business,
Mr. Oliver met a Mr. Lamb, who was part
owner of a small foundry in South Bend —
the first of its kind. The attraction was so
mutual that the young man purchased an in
terest in the enterprise, and thus became a
permanent fixture and force. It is by such
accidents as this that the destinies of men
and the progress of ' communities are de
termined. The little foundry, with its additions, which
became the foundation of the mammoth es
tablishment lof the present day, was first-
known as the South Bend' Iron Works, the
plant being located on Mill street near Wash
ington, not far from the site now occupied by
the Coquillard Wagon Works buildings. In
a few years Mr. Oliver bought the interest of
his partner, and among his first contracts se
cured the iron work for the new St. Joseph
Hotel, which was then being built where the
stately Oliver House now stands. While the
enterprise was rapidly advancing a flood
•washed away his water power, and, although
he was obliged to install horse power, he com
pleted his contract according to stipulations.
On ' Christmas eve, 1859, a portion of the
works was destroyed by fire, but was prompt
ly rebuilt and operated on a larger and a
more modern scale. Later, Mr. Oliver was
associated with T. M. Bissell, of South Bend,
and George Milburn, of Mishawaka, who be
came heartily interested in the bright pros
pects and substantial interests of South Bend.
In 1864 another fire wiped out the plant, but
it was promptly rebuilt and increased in
capacity. If ever there was a heroic cam
paign conducted against adverse circum
stances it was this which Mr. Oliver bravely
fought, marshalling his forces with masterly
skill and unflinchingly advancing toward the
triumphant future.
In the new and enlarged works Mr. Oliver
continued his experiments which resulted in
the perfection . of the chilled plow — a plow
which is self -scouring, with share and mold-
board of chilled cast iron. In spite of ig
norant pleasantry of friends and bitter at-

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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

483

tacks of critics, he patiently labored night
and day to prove that his ideas were prac
ticable. The agricultural world knows the
result, as the plow trade of the globe was
revolutionized. At the Centennial Exposition,
held at Philadelphia in 1876, the Oliver
Chilled Plow received the encomiums of the
expert agriculturists of the world, and the
West Race works soon proved too small to
meet the demands of the host of converted
farmers. Foreseeing this, Mr. Oliver had pur
chased the Perkins farm of thirty-two acres
southwest of the city, and in 1875 commenced
the great Oliver Chilled Plow Works which
are there located and whose products go to
every part of the civilized globe. They are
considered in the light not only of one of the
greatest public benefits of this section of the
state, but among the leading industries of the
world. In 1885, with his son, Joseph D., Mr. Oliver
completed a handsome opera house, conceded
to be one of the best equipped play houses
in the west. It' was dedicated, October 26,
1885, by the rendition of the drama, Louis
XI, by the great actor, W. H. Sheridan. In
December, 1899, the magnificent Oliver Hotel
was thrown open to the public. It is one of
the finest hostelries in the country, and but
another monument to the public spirit and
liberality of James Oliver. At his own ex-
.pense he also erected South Bend's beautiful
city hall, generously agreeing to await the
pleasure of tax payers for repayment. It
is little wonder that the citizens of South
Bend take an attitude of deep gratitude and
profound veneration toward James Oliver.
The home of this revered citizen is a beau
tiful residence on West Washington street,
and for many years was presided over by his
estimable wife, who departed this life on the
13th of September, 1902. In the calm eve
ning of their lives they were dispensers of
numberless charities and benevolences, and
were blessed with abundant and well merited
rewards. The children born to Mr. and Mrs.
Oliver are: Joseph D., associated with his
father in his large interests, and Josephine,
wife of Hon. George Ford, a prominent at
torney of South Bend and congressman from
this district from 1886 to 1887,
William W. Dodge. The one whose name
forms the caption of these memoirs was one
whose labor, influence and co-operation was
a strong moving element in the business, in
tellectual and moral development of St. Jo

seph county, Indiana, who rose to promi
nence through the inherent force of his char
acter, the exercise of his native talent and
the utilization of opportunity, and the high
regard in which he was uniformly held came
through the fact that his was largely an ideal
American manhood. While he controlled im
portant and extensive business enterprises,
they were largely of the character that pro
mote public progress as well as individual
prosperity, and his efforts were directed
along many lines in which the community
was the sole recipient of benefit. His connec
tion with i the manufacturing interests of the
state was of the most practical and helpful
.character, for he aided in shaping the indus
trial interests and in promoting the educa
tional, aesthetic and moral development of his
city, county and state. Aside from his great
manufacturing interests, his patriotic citizen
ship and interest in community affairs found
manifestation in his zealous labors for im
provements along many lines, and through
the institutions of many trade interests,, af
fecting the material growth of this part of
the state and nation.
William W. Dodge was born in Mishawaka,
January 18, 1861, and was a son of Harlow
and Elizabeth Dodge. As a boy he attended
the public schools of his native city, and
completed his education in the University of
Notre Dame. In 1878 Mr. Wallace H. Dodge,
his brother, founded the Magic Jack Com
pany, and began the manufacture of a su
perior wagon jack, and Mr. William W.
Dodge became interested in the business. In
1879 the Dodge Manufacturing Company
was organized and our subject became the
treasurer, and held that position at the time
of death, September 1, 1899. About this time
the company began to manufacture saw
frames, door stops and a line of wooden hard
ware. On July 10, 1881, the plant burned
down and the Dodge Brothers rebuilt and
continued the business, and then commenced
manufacturing a wood split pulley. In 1884
they discarded all else and confined them
selves to the manufacture of The Dodge In
dependence Wood Split Pulley, and in 1886
they perfected the great system of power
transmission by means of manila rope.
Through their energy and abilitv they have
built up the great plant that will ever stand
as a monument to their progressive business
methods and which has branches in all parts
of the civilized world. Mr. William W. Dodge

484

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

directed the financial affairs of the great en
terprise, and the impress of his methods will
ever remain with the company. It was his
foresight that built up great system in many
ways, and his master mind handled the fin
ances of all the branches in all parts of the
world. Mr. Dodge was one of the best known
and most highly esteemed men that St. Jo
seph county ever produced; he organized the
Western Gas Engine Company, and was its
president at the time of his death. During
his ever active and useful life, his many ex
cellent virtues endeared him to a constantly
growing circle of friends here and abroad.

to Miss Nettie Ford, a most estimable and
cultured lady of Mishawaka who, with his
son, William Wallace, was left to mourn his
loss. Of Mr. Dodge it may be said, in his
private life he was distinguished by all that
marks the true gentleman; his was a noble
character, one that subordinated personal
ambition to public good and sought rather
the benefit of others than the aggrandizement
of self. When those who needed assistance
came to him, his aid was never withheld, if
it could be rendered, and many a business
man and firm of St. Joseph county owes its
prosperity in a large measure to the generous

A Corner of the Parlor, Dodge Engineering Association.

He was prominent in church, social and fra
ternal life, and was a member of the Indiana
and Commercial Athletic clubs of South
Bend, and the 20th Century Club of South
Bend and Elkhart. He was a member of
Mishawaka Lodge No. 130, F. and A. M.,
Mishawaka Chapter No. 19, R. A. M., South
Bend Commandery No. 13, Knights Templar,
and a member of the Mystic Shrine. His
funeral was conducted with impressive cere
monies of his lodges.
Mr. Dodge was married November 26, 1890,

assistance of Mr. Dodge in time of need. His
own business career was unassailable. Honor
and integrity characterized his every act. He
enjoyed to the fullest extent the love and es
teem of those with whom he was associated.
Wallace H. Dodge. Deeds are thoughts
crystallized, and according to their brilliancy
do we judge the worth of a man to the coun
try which produced him, and in his works we
expect to find the true index to his character.
The study of the life of the representative
American never fails to offer much of pleas-

Library, Dodge Engineeripg Association Rooms.

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Dodge Engineering Association Dining Room.
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH 'COUNTY.

487

ing interest and valuable instruction, devel
oping a mastering of expedients which has
brought about most wonderful results. The
subject of this review was a worthy repre-
(¦ atv of that type of American character
and of that progressive spirit which promote
public good in advancing individual pros

perity and conserving popular interests. He
was long prominently identified with the busi
ness interests of Mishawaka and St. Joseph
eounty, and while his varied affairs brought
him success they also advanced the general
welfare by accelerating commercial activity.

Mr. Dodge was a representative of an hon
ored pioneer family in St. Joseph county, and
he was one of Mishawaka 's native sons, born
on the 10th of July, 1848. His father, Har
low Dodge, who is remembered as one of the
leading hardware merchants of Mishawaka,
was a native of Booneville, New York, but
when a young man he came to St. Joseph
county, Indiana, this being in the early '40 's,
and he was first employed as. a contractor
and builder for the railroad. Subsequently
however, he embarked in the hardware busi
ness, and as such will be well remembered
by the early residents of Mishawaka. During
his residence in Mishawaka he was married to
Elizabeth Luce, a native also of the Empire
State, and they became the parents of four
children, two sons and two daughters, all of
whom claimed St. Joseph county as the place
of their nativity.
Wallace H. Dodge, the eldest son and sec
ond child in order of birth, spent the early
years of his life in St. Joseph, and received
an excellent educational training in the Uni
versity of Notre Dame. His first employment
was in the hardware business, continuing in
that line of activity for twelve years. In
1881 he founded what is now the Dodge
Manufacturing Company, and to that large
corporation he gave the benefit of his time
and abilities until his busy and useful life
was ended. A history of this manufactory
appears on other pages of this work.
For his wife Mr. Dodge chose Hattie E.
Vesey,. who was born and reared in Michi
gan, where her father, Madison Vesey, was
an agriculturist, having removed to that com
monwealth from Vermont. In life Mr. Dodge ,
exercised his right of franchise for the benefit
of the Democratic party. Not only in busi
ness affairs was he well known, but he was
active and earnest in his advocacy of all
measures for the public good, and was a
worthy and consistent member of- the Masonic
order. He did all in his power to promote
sobriety, morality and godliness among men,
and his own upright, honorable life formed
an example well worthy of emulation.
Melville W. Mix. For a number of years
Melville W. Mix has been prominently identi
fied with the business interests of St. Joseph
county as president of the Dodge Manufac
turing Company, of Mishawaka, and in that
time has become recognized as one of its most
valued and useful citizens. Mr. Mix was
born in Atlanta, Illinois, November 16, 1865,

488

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

his parents being Walter W. and Mary E.
(Dodge) Mix. The mother was a native of
Mishawaka and a daughter of Harlow Dodge.
The father, who was a native of New York,
journeyed west in 1859, and at that early
day took up his abode in St. Joseph eounty,
being accompanied on the journey hither by
his mother and one brother, the former hav
ing conducted a millinery store in Mishawaka,
the first in the county. In 1863 Walter W.
Mix removed to Illinois and resumed his for
mer occupation of a tinner and hardware
merchant, having learned his trade in Mish
awaka. He is still a resident of Atlanta,
Illinois. In the city of his birth Melville W. Mix
received his educational training, graduating
in the Atlanta high school in 1881. From the
time of his graduation until January, 1885,
he was employed in his father's hardware
store. " In January, 1886, he came to Mish
awaka and entered the employ of the Dodge
Manufacturing Company, but in the year
preceding this he had had charge of their
exhibit at the New Orleans Exhibition. Mr.
Mix entered this corporation at the very bot
tom round of the ladder, but his meritorious,
honorable effort enabled him to ascend step
by step until in 1890 he was given charge of
their Chicago branch, thus continuing for
four years, when he returned to South Bend
in 1894, this being at the time of the death
of the founder and president, Wallace IT.
Dodge. With the latter 's brother, William
W. Dodge, Mr. Mix was then appointed one
of the executors of the estate, also vice-presi
dent for the year, while in 1895 he was
elected president. Thus he has made for him
self a place in connection with the activities
and honors of life, has successfully sur
mounted obstacles and has gained recognition
for intrinsic worth of character.
The Dodge Manufacturing Company was
founded more than a quarter of a century ago
by Wallace Ii. Dodge. It was first a little
saw miii for the production of hardwood lum
ber, and it is interesting to note that never
mrough all the years of its existence has the
saw mill feature been missing from the com
pany's plant. From time to time the produc
tion of such wooden hardware specialties as
window screens, door stops, tool handles, saw
frames, vice handles, mallets, etc., were in
troduced as the business extended and grew,
while later automatic turning lathes and
other more improved tools were added. The

industry prospered so well that in 1880 the
Dodge Manufacturing Company was incor
porated by Wallace H. Dodge, William W
Dodge and George Philion. In 1881, how-,
ever, the little factory was destroyed by fire
and being uninsured proved a heavy blow to
the young concern. But they rebuilt at once
on a more substantial plan, and from then
until now the business has continued to grow
in volume and importance. Foundries and
machine shops have been added, for the more
extensive manufacture of power transmission
iron goods. The Dodge Company were the
first to recognize the great possibilities of the
wood pulley idea, and developed it into prac
tical commercial fame. They also revolution
ized the mechanical world by the invention
and introduction of the famous Dodge Amer
ican or Continuous Wind System of rope
transmission. Other numerous devices and
appliances which have made the Dodge Com
pany known the world over have from time
to time been added, such as the Dodge Iron
Split Pulley, the iron center wood rimmed
pulley, the safety wood rim fly wheel, the
split friction clutch, the Eureka water soft
eners and purifiers, and many others.
The founder of the company, Wallace H.
Dodge, died in 1894, and was succeeded by
Melville W. Mix, who has proved a worthy
successor and by his careful and able man
agement the business has more than doubled
during the last decade. W. W. Dodge, the
younger brother, served for years as secre
tary and treasurer, later as treasurer only,
and his death occurred in 1899. George Phil-
ion, associated with Wallace H. Dodge as
joint inventor of the Independence Wood
Split Pulley, continued as superintendent of
the company until the time of his death in
1903. The present officers are M. W. Mix,
president; W. B. Hosford, vice-president;
and Charles Endlich, secretary and treasurer.
The company has had a phenomenal growth,
and it is worthy of note that since its incep
tion it has never had an unprofitable year.
Demands for the Dodge products are showing
a steady increase, and the success of the in
stitution is due entirely to the straightfor
ward business methods employed by its offi
cers and to the excellence of its products.
In addition to his connection with this large
corporation Mr. Mix is also president of the
Mishawaka Trust and Savings Company,
which was organized in 1905 to succeed the
old bank of Clark & Whitson. He is inter-

%^&//r

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

489

ested in the National Veneer Products Com
pany, a new organization, but one which has
already demonstrated its usefulness and its
success, is a stockholder in the Simplex Motor
Car Company, and is connected with many
others of the leading corporations of St. Jo
seph county. He is a member of the Mish
awaka Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery,
past commander of South Bend Commandery
No. 13, a member of the Indianapolis Con
sistory of Scottish Rites and of Murat Temple
of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of
the American Society of Mechanical Engi
neers, president of the American Supply and'
Machinery Manufacturers' Association, a
member of the Academy of Political and So
cial Science, of Philadelphia, and is a Demo
crat in his political affiliations. Mr. Mix was
a member of the Indiana Commission to St.
Louis in 1904, and from 1902 until 1906 was
the mayor of Mishawaka.
The marriage of Mr. Mix was celebrated
in 1887, when Zella Louise Kenyon, a daugh
ter of Thomas W. Kenyon, of Lincoln, Illi
nois, became his wife. Their home has bsen
blessed by the birth of one son, Kenyon, and
one daughter, Dorothy L.
W. B. Hosford. The sterling characteris
tics in the life of W. B. Hosford have made
him a leader in the business world, and as
the vice-president of the Dodge Manufactur
ing Company his name is widely known
throughout St. Joseph county. He was born-
in Oberlin, Ohio, August 9, 1842. His father,
Elihu Hosford, was s, native of Vermont
but when a young man accompanied his
lather on his removal to Oberlin, Ohio, where
they cleared the land on which the cottage
is now located. Remaining there until the
early '40s he removed to Owego, New York,
which continued as his home until 1860, when
he became connected with the well known
stove manufacturing company of Fuller,
Warren & Company of Troy, New York, with
whom he remained for many years. His
death, however, occurred in Washington, D.
C, in 1890, where he was extensively and
successfully engaged in the practice of medi
cine, he having entered upon the study of
that science at the close of the war. Mrs.
Elihu Hosford bore the maiden name of
Elizabeth Jennings, and was a native of
Connecticut. W. B. Hosford received his educational
training in Olivet College of Michigan, and
then learned the machinist's trade. Since

entering upon the business world he has had
a varied experience, but his path has ever
been upward and he is now leaving his im
press upon the industrial world. During a
period of three years he was employed as an
engineer on a Mississippi river steamer, while
from 1861 to 1867 he was with the Toledo,
Peoria & Warsaw Railroad Company as loco
motive engineer, and finally rose to the po
sition of a master mechanic. From 1867
until 1884 he was with the Fuller, Warren
& Company manufacturing industry, and in
the last named year came to Mishawaka and
entered upon his connection with the Dodge
Manufacturing Company in the capacity of
vice-president, which position he has ever
since so ably filled.
In 1866 Mr. Hosford was united in mar
riage to Emma E. Keener, of Peoria, Illinois,
and one son has been born of this union,
Hugh H., a prominent resident of South
Bend, and one daughter, Eva May, now Mrs.
Lampkins. Mr. Hosford is associated with
Mishawaka Lodge No. 130, A. F. & A. M.,
also with the Chapter No. 83, R. A. M., Com
mandery of Mishawaka No. 51, and the
Shrine and Consistory of Indianapolis. He
is also an officer of the Grand Commandery
of the state of Indiana.
Charles Endlich. During many years
Charles Endlich has1 been prominently iden
tified with the business interests of Misha
waka, and throughout the entire period of his
residence in this city h'e has been associated
with the Dodge Manufacturing Company,
in which he now holds the important offices
of secretary and treasurer. His birth oc
curred in Chicago, Illinois, January 5, 1859,
but when only two years of age he was taken
by his parents to Denver, Colorado, and
thence to Reading, Pennsylvania, where he
was reared to mature years and received his
educational training. In 1878 he accompa
nied his mother to Colorado, and after a
residence in that state of four years
came to Mishawaka, Indiana, and in 1882,
as a stockholder, became associated with the
Dodge Manufacturing Company. His first
connection with this corporation was in the
capacity of an office clerk, but gradually,
step by step, he won his way to the front
and to his present high position of secretary
and treasurer of the manufactory. His abil-
itv and versatile talents are well known and
acknowledged, gaining him entrance into
many of the leading business interests of the

490

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

city, among which may be mentioned his con
nection with the National Veneer Product
Company. In 1898, in Mishawaka, Mr. Endlich was
united in marriage to .Carolina VoUmer, born
in Reading, Pennsylvania, but reared in
Philadelphia, and they are well known in
the social circles of this city. Mr. Endlich
gives his political support to the Democracy,
and fraternally is a Knight Templar Mason.
John Comly Birdsell. The Birdsell
Manufacturing Company's plant at South
Bend represents more than a large area of
ground, covered with stories of brick and
iron, filled with powerful engines, clanking
and whirring machinery, and all the wonder
ful system and tremendously efficient energy
of the modern business plant. Admirable
and impressive to be sure, but what the casual
visitor sees is only the superficial greatness
hiding with its bulk a story of human
interest. The nucleus of it all was once contained
in the ingenious mind of a quiet, industrious
Quaker farmer, who for something like a
quarter of a century had pursued his reg
ular vocation on a little farm in Rush town
ship, Monroe eounty, New York, and with
more than the average success of the farmers
who were his neighbors and friends. These
neighbors had much respect and esteem for
the fertile mind and energetic ability of the
Quaker, and were accustomed to obtain his
services in threshing their seeds and grain
with the rather primitive machinery then in
use. This occupation furnished opportuni
ties for his inventive ability to develop. The
difficulty of separating clover seed from the
straw and the expensiveness of the operation
were apparent to everyone, but to him alone
were the insight and careful toil granted by
which the process could be facilitated. He
began to work on this problem early in the
fifties, and by 1855 had invented a machine
combining in itself the characteristics of all
the separate machines then used for that pur
pose. Upon this machine he succeeded in
obtaining a patent in 1855, and on his New
York farm established, with humble begin
nings, the industry which the developments
of later years made one of the cornerstones
of South Bend's manufacturing greatness.
With the granting of the patent for his
clover huller and the manufacture of the first
machines, the Quaker farmer, who had up
to that time found the difficulties of agricul

ture only moderate and had pursued the quiet
tenor of his way very much as the tradi
tional Quaker is supposed to do, found him
self beset by unscrupulous rivalry and com
petition that taxed his every resource of mind
and body and transformed him into a gen
uine "fighting Quaker." A stern defender
of what he believed his rights, he spent years
in litigation over his clover huller patents.
proseeuting all infringers, and courageously
battling for the privileges which alone could
insure the success of his manufactures. He
spent nearly ten years in perfecting his in
ventions and in the litigation that this
involved. In 1864 his whole factory on his farm in
New York was destroyed by fire. This was a
serious loss to the inventor, but South Bend
should regard it as a fortunate event, for
after the fire he decided to sell his farm and
move to this thriving town situated in one
of the great states of the central Mississippi
valley, where he foresaw the future market
for his invention to lie; and also attracted
by the excellent quality and cheapness of
the timber used in the construction of his ma
chines. After the establishment of the fac
tory in South Bend, as is elsewhere stated,
it enjoyed a steady growth, and the founder
devoted all his energies to improving still
further the clover huller and extending the
trade. With a career so independent, so self-re
liant, it seems almost superfluous to speak of
antecedents and of the minor facts; and
yet, perhaps for the very reason that his
life was cast for large undertakings, we want
to know some of the more familiar facts that.
concerned him. Born in Westchester county,
New York, March 31, 1815, a son of a West
chester county farmer, Benjamin Birdsell,
and his wife, Charity Carpenter, John Comly
Birdsell inherited his industry and his pri
mary occupation of farming from a Quaker
family that had long resided in that section
of the Empire State. In 1822 the family
moved west to Monroe county, New York,
where the wilderness was yet scarcely broken,
and there began making a new farm and
home. While a boy in this rather primitive
country, John C. attended district school.
The meagerness of the education which this
supplied was somewhat amended by two
terms in the academy of the neighboring vil
lage of West Henrietta. During some of the
winters that followed he taught school, but

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

491

while still a boy began the vocation of farm
ing which he supposed would continue
through lite. When twenty-one he left home
and rented a farm near'Mendon, in Monroe
county, and three years later purchased a
place in the adjoining township of Rush.
Just about this time he was married, on
June 7, 1838, to Miss Harriet Lunt. There
were five children, and their names and dates
of birth are: Joseph Benjamin, December 2,
1843 (see sketch) ; Byron A., March 7, 1847.i
Varnum 0., January 5, 1841 (died December
6, 1875); John C.,.June 25, 1859; Harriet
Elizabeth, died April, 1863. In June, 1879,
Mr. Birdsell was married to the wife who
still survives, to Mrs. Susan Snelling, of
Boston, Massachusetts.
Mr. Birdsell continued as president of the
manufacturing company in South Bend until
his death, July 13, 1894. The company was
incorporated in 1870, with his sons as offi
cers and stockholders. Mr. Birdsell mani
fested a keen public spirit, and his practical
interest in his city was shown during the
three years he devoted to his duties as mem
ber of the city water works board of trustees.
He was a man of robust frame, five feet nine
inches in height, weighing about 225 pounds,
and all who knew him will never forget the
vigor of character that accompanied this
physique. His most distinguishing charac
teristic was his iron determination and his
perseverance in the face of discouragements.
Though a member of the Society of Friends,
there being no meeting house of this sect in
South Bend, he became a regular attendant
of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was
a Eepublican nearly all his life, but during
his last years his enthusiasm for the cause of
temperance led him to' support the Prohibi
tion movement. For many years he had af
filiated with the Masonic order. His travels
took him to all parts of the United States,
and he talked of men, places and affairs
with a familiarity that showed close observa
tion and study. In 1880 he took an extended
tour through Europe, Egypt and the H°ly
Land, spending about fifteen months abroad.
Joseph Benjamin Birdsell. South Bend
in the '60s was a community of too infan
tile growth to have developed any careers, or
to have indicated any business prominence.
In the nature of things its destiny was the
slow but sure unfolding of a prairie site,
dependent upon a rich agricultural region,
and upon its proximity to a clear and beauti

ful river. The most adventurous and daring
could discern no road to rapid fortune, nor
any short cut to any immediate personal ag
grandisement. The man who sought wealth
only, continued his way to the Pacific coast,
necessarily those who tarried here to lend
their brain and energy and heart to the mak
ing of homes and the establishment of legiti
mate enterprises possessed patience, courage
and pioneer instincts. They were the. back
bone of the city of to-day. A few remain to
tell the story of unsettled conditions, but
more left hardy sons to continue their work
or to maintain the dignity and purpose of
their less happily environed lives. To the
latter class belongs Joseph Benjamin Birdsell,
whose death, September 27th, 1906, inter
rupted his forty-second year as a manufac
turer of South Bend, and around whose name
centers much of the stability and public spir-
itedness of bis adopted city. He was born
in Monroe county, New York, December 2,
1844, and was a son of John Comly Birdsell
(who in 1855 invented the famous clover
huller which bears his name, and whose biog
raphy appears on another page of this work).
His mother's maiden name was Harriet Lunt.
The family migrated from New York in
1864 and settled in South Bend. A. small
factory for the manufacture of clover hullers
was established, most of the work being
turned put by hand, all the members of the
firm acting as general utility men, doing all
phases of the work. ¦ Our subject received his
education in the common schools of New York
state, and after' leaving school began work
at the age of nineteen years in' the office of
his father's establishment, continuing thus
until 1870, when the Birdsell Manufacturing
Company was incorporated, and Mr. J. B.
Birdsell was made treasurer. In that year
the main building of the present plant, five
stories in height, was built, being the first
large factory building erected in South Bend.
Mr. Birdsell now devoted himself to the af
fairs of the company with untiring energy.
It continued to prosper, and in 1887, in
response to the desire of its patrons, the
manufacture of wagons was begun. Through
his indefatigable efforts the business of the
company was greatly extended, not alone
throughout America, but to Europe and many
foreign ports', and large additions to the fac
tory were made necessary by the increasing
trade. To-day the company is not only one
of the largest wagon manufacturers in this

492

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

country, but enjoys the unique distinction of
having the largest clover huller factory in
the world. Upon the death of his father in
1894 Mr. Birdsell was chosen president and
treasurer of the company, in which capacity
he continued until the time of his death.
He was a director of the St. Joseph County
Savings Bank, served as president of the
Municipal League of South Bend and as one
of the board of directors of the Associated
Charities of this city. He was a member of
the Commercial Athletic Club, of the Indiana
Club and the Country Club, and derived
much pleasure in an informal way from
these institutions. Early in the spring of
1906, Mr. Birdsell decided to turn over the
active management of this extensive and
growing business to his brothers, and retire
from the cares involved to enjoy a long mer
ited and well earned rest. With his wife and
daughter he had journeyed to Los Angeles
with the intention of a sea voyage to the
Orient, but was taken suddenly ill and re
turned to his home, and after a sickness cov
ering a period of three months was called
to his final rest, on the 27th day of Septem
ber, 1906. He is survived by his widow, son
and two daughters. As a mark of respect
and to show the high esteem in which Mr.
Birdsell was held, all of the factories of
South Bend were closed on the day that his
funeral was held. He was for m.ore than
forty years a resident of South Bend, where
he became known as a leading representative
of business interests, an active factor in com
munity affairs and a valued representative
of commercial and social interests. It was
not these alone that entitled him to special
distinction^ or won for him the great love
that was extended him by those with whom
he was associated. It was his kindliness of
heart, his generosity, his deep sympathy and
abiding tenderness. He was all that is meant
by the term, a gentleman and a manly man,
strong and vigorous in intellect and reliable
in judgment. It may be true that he held
decided opinions of his own, but he had the
courage of his convictions to express them
freely, frankly and fearlessly, which, when
said truly, is the greatest eulogy that can
be pronounced upon an American citizen.
Strong and manly was his life in all its
relations, and most beautiful and tender was
it in the home circles. His deepest interests
centered there, and no personal sacrifice on
his part was considered too great if it would

promote the welfare z.1 ms wife and children
Having nearly reached the bounds of man's
appointed years, at last life's blessings all
enjoyed, life's labors done, serenely to his
final rest he passed, while the tender memory
of his virtues yet lingers like twilight when
the sun has set.
Frank G. Perkins. The family of which
the subject of this memoir is a most honored
representative is a pioneer one of St. Joseph
county. They have taken a patriotic interest
in everything bearing upon the upbuilding
and progress of the community, and have
aided in many enterprises which have greatly
benefited the city, county and state. Frank
G. Perkins, the vice president of the Perkins
Windmill Company, was born in Branch
county, Michigan, January 28, 1852, a son
of Barber and Jane (Boon) Perkins, both
natives of New York. In 1842 the father re
moved to the west, the mother coming earlier
in 1836, and they established their homes in
Branch county.
The public schools of his native county fur
nished Frank G. Perkins with his preparatory
education, and he afterwards became a stu
dent in Hillsdale College. Coming thence to
Mishawaka he learned the machinist's trade
with the Perkins Windmill Company, owned
and conducted by his uncle, P. C. Perkins,
and has remained with this large corporation
ever since, being now its vice president. He
has thoroughly learned the business in every
department, and step by step has mounted
the ladder of success until he has reached a
place of prominence, a just reward of hon
orable effort.
In December, 1875, Mr. Perkins . married
Carrie Hudson, a daughter of Albert Hudson.
one of the founders of the Perkins Windmill
Company. Two children have been born to
bless their home, — Mrs. Robert Campbell and
Mrs. Glen Hillier. Mr. Perkins is a capable
business man and a worthy scion of the fa
mous old Perkins family.
George M. Fountain. This name is one
known throughout St. Joseph county, for
within its confines George M. Fountain has
passed his entire life, and here also his
parents lived for many decades. He was
born in South Bend on the 21st of March,
1857, his parents being Solomon H. and Jane
Ann (Tuttle) Fountain. The maternal
grandfather, Richmond Tuttle, was also num
bered among the honored pioneers of St. Jo
seph cbunty, where he was prominently iden-

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J^&LtW- ^ "^

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

493

tified with its manufacturing interests, and
in other ways contributed to its advance
ment and upbuilding. In his lifetime he was
the oldest Mason in the state. His daughter,
Jane A. Tuttle, was a native of Brockport,
New York. Solomon H. Fountain was born
in Maryland, but came to South Bend in
1834, and with Captain Pierce organized
Company D, of the One Hundred and Twen
ty-eighth Indiana Volunteers. He served
through the entire struggle or until the 8th
of March, 1865, when he was shot at King
ston Roads, North Carolina, and died as the
result of the wound. He was a carpenter
and builder, and for a time was also in part
nership with his father-in-law, Richmond
Tuttle, in a saw mill enterprise at Wengers
Creek. George M. Fountain received his educa
tional training in the schools of Mishawaka,
and in 1880 embarked in the journalistic
field in New Carlisle, Indiana! In 1894 he
was elected the clerk of St. Joseph county,
in which he served for two terms, and during
his term of office won the commendation of
all with whom he was concerned. In 1900
he assumed business relations with the Per
kins Windmill Company as its treasurer, and
is now ably -filling that important position.
He is a well known and honored citizen of
St. Joseph county, a faithful public official
and an excellent business man.
Albert Hudson. In the death of Albert
Hudson St. Joseph county lost one of its
most valued citizens. Many years of his life
were spent within its borders, and through
a long period of that time he was connected
with one *of the chief industrial interests, of
the county, the Perkins Windmill Company.
His life was strictly honorable, upright and
just, being" in accord with the highest princi
ples of human conduct.
Mr. Hudson was born in Middletown, Con
necticut, on the 1st of December, 1815, a son
of Benjamin Hudson, also a native of that
commonwealth and a member of an old New
England family. In 1835 Albert Hudson
came from Brockport, New York, where he
had been living for some time, to the west,
arid in his journey hither visited Mishawaka.
So pleased was he with the prospects of this
future city that he returned to Brockport
and in the following year came again to
Mishawaka and engaged in the shoe business
where the depot now stands. He erected the

first brick house in the town, on Second
street, into which he moved in September,
1844, and he subsequently moved his shoe
business to Main and later to Second street.
About 1870, in company with P. C. Perkins,
he organized the business which has since
become universally known as the Perkins
Windmill Company. However, it was first
organized as an axe factory, but ultimately
the product was changed to windmills. After
a time Mr. Hudson abandoned his pioneer
shoe business and threw his entire energy
into the new corporation, continuing an
active factor in its growth and upbuilding
until his busy and useful life was ended in
death in 1887; Many years of his life were
thus spent in this county of his adoption,
and in the work of development he ever bore
his part. He was ever honorable in busi
ness, loyal in friendship, faithful in citizen
ship, and he commanded the respect of his
fellowmen for his uprightness and splendid
abilities. Four children now survive this honored
early pioneer, namely: Carrie, now Mrs. F.
G. Perkins; Harriet, Mrs. Russell Hudson,
of Mishawaka: Edward A., of Toledo, Ohio;
and George, secretary of the Perkins Wind
mill Company. Mrs. Hudson survived her
husband until 1901, when, at the age of
eighty- four years, she. joined him in the home
beyond. The loved vand honored father and
husband passed to his reward in 1887, aged
seventy-two years.
Jacob Woolverton. It has often been
stated and commented upon. that the United
States has always presented great opportu
nities to men of industry, ability, honesty
and integrity, and as long as men have the
aspirations and the determination to improve
their conditions of life and earn the success
which it is possible to obtain the theme will
never be exhausted. One of the prominent
business men of this community whose enter
prise and sound judgment have not only
promoted their individual prosperity but have
advanced the public welfare is Jacob Wool
verton. As a business man in many lines of
endeavor, as a citizen and as a friend we
would preserve the record of his career among
a people who have learned to admire, respect
and honor him.
Jacob Woolverton was born in Warren
township, St. Joseph county. Indiana, Sep
tember 3, 1845, a son of Charles Woolverton,

494

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of Hamilton county, Ohio, who came to War
ren township of this county in 1831, and was
thereafterward prominently identified with
its welfare and upbuilding, his name being
well known in the buying and selling of farm
lands. His life's labors were ended in death in
1852. His son Jacob supplemented the early
educational training which he received in the
district schools by attendance at the North
ern Indiana Normal College and the East
man's Business College. He was then for a
short time thereafter associated with Colonel
Norman Eddy, collector of internal revenue
for this district, after which he traveled for
an oil firm of Cleveland for a short time,
while next he was with the Studebaker Broth
ers as bookkeeper in the counting room. Fore
seeing the great possibilities in the real estate
business, Mr. Woolverton in June, 1869, be
came associated in partnership with W. L.
Kizer in that occupation, and the firm of
Kizer & Woolverton has been prominent and
successful to a high degree, conducting exr
tensive loans on property in Indiana, Michi
gan and Ohio. However, the efforts of Mr.
Woolverton have not been confined to one line
of endeavor. He is now president of the St.
Joseph County Savings Bank, a stockholder
and vice-president of the St. Joseph Loan &
Trust Company and vice-president and treas
urer of the Malleable Steel Range Company.
He is a stalwart advocate of the principles of
the Republican party, active and enthusiastic
in its support and well being, and on several
occasions has served as treasurer of the Re
publican Central Committee.
The marriage of Mr. Woolverton was cele
brated in October, 1870, when Miss Alice M.
Rupel became' his wife. He has earned for
himself an enviable reputation as, a careful
man of business, always known1 for his
prompt and honorable methods of dealing,
which have won him the deserved and un
bounded confidence of his fellow men.
Edwin R. Dean, M. D. In the medical
profession advancement is not easily secured.
It comes through true merit and cannot be
obtained by gift or purchase. One must be
well qualified in the profession, for in no
other calling is pretense so easily discovered
as among those who engage in the alleviation
of human suffering. That Dr. Dean has a
large patronage is indicative of his skill and
ability. He is a native son of the southland,
his birth having occurred in Mt. Sterling,

Kentucky, on the 27th of August, 1865, being
a son of Ellis and Emma (Robinson) Dean
the former of Scotch-Irish and the latter of
English descent. The parents were natives of
Kentucky, but were of old Virginian families.
The father was a farmer by occupation, but
was well known in public life, having held
various offices in his eounty for twenty-seven
years. His death occurred on the 2d of Octo
ber, 1898, when he had reached the sixty-
fourth milestone on the journey of life.
Edwin R. Dean received his preparatory
education in the Harris Institute at Mt. Ster
ling, after which he pursued a collegiate course
at Georgetown College, graduating therefrom
in 1888 with the degree of B. S. His medical
training was received in the Jefferson Medical
College, of Philadelphia, in which he gradu
ated as a member of the class of 1890, and he
immediately began the practice of his chosen
profession in Mt. Sterling, where he remained
for nine years. In 1899 he came to South
Bend and opened an office, and he has re
mained here ever since engaged in the prac
tice of medicine. His long professional career
has been attended with marked success. His
promptness, his sympathetic nature and his
generosity are well known factors in his make
up, and those who have known him longest
esteem him most highly. As an instance of
his early maturity he was appointed deputy
tax collector of Montgomery county, Ken
tucky, at the age of thirteen years, and held
the office for eight years under three different
officials, having given a bond of one hundred
and fifty thousand dollars for faithful per
formance of his duties, and before removing
from Montgomery eounty he also served as
president of the Montgomery County Medical
Society. He is now a member of the medical
staff of Epworth Hospital and the St. Joseph
Hospital; is a member of the St. Joseph
County and the Indiana State Medical Socie
ties, of the American Association and is exam
iner for a number of insurance societies.
Dr. Dean married Miss Emma Dunn, a
native of South Bend and whose death
occurred in 1903. The Dunn family is num
bered among the old and honored settlers of
St. Joseph county. Three children were born
of this union : Esther R., born April 6, 1895;
J. Edwin, born September 23, 1897 ; and R.
Ellis, born January 5, 1899. The Doctor was
married in 1905 to Miss Bessie Stover, a
daughter of J. C. Stover, one of the old and

ULCCurUl ^jfrl^t^^s

Weafern Biojt Pub Co

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

495

highly respected citizens of South Bend. To
them have been born one son, William S. In
his fraternal relations Dr. Dean is a member
of the Masonic order, the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, and other fraternal organiza
tions, while his religious connection is with
the Baptist church. He is the proprietor of
the Dean Building, a fine office building and
the first of its kind in South Bend.
Lucius G. Tong, cashier of the St. Joseph
County Savings Bank, has filled that position
since 1882. He was born in Carroll, Fairfield
county, Ohio, August 1, 1842, and was sent
to college and received a thorough educational
' training, after which he served as his father 's
assistant in business. For a number of years
following this he was numbered among the
prominent educators of northern Indiana,
filling the position of professor at Notre Dame
University. Although being highly successful
in that field of endeavor, he abandoned the
educational profession for that of the law,
having been admitted to the bar and practiced
in South Bend for a number of years, win
ning for himself a name and place among the
leading law practitioners of St. Joseph coun
ty. In 1878 Mr. Tong was elected mayor of
South Bend on the Republican ticket, but
he knew no party ties, his sole aim while fill
ing that exalted position being the welfare
and advancement of the city, and at the close
of his term was warmly endorsed by the
Democratic press for renomination.
In 1882 Mr. Tong was made cashier of the
St. Joseph County Bank, one of the oldest
and most' solid financial institutions of the
city, organized on the 8th of December, 1869,
with Dr. Lewis Humphreys as its first presi
dent. Mr. Tong was selected to succeed T.
J. Sexias, the principal organizer of the bank,
and he has worthily discharged the duties en
trusted to his care. The St. Joseph Loan and
Trust Company is an important branch of
that institution, and Mr. Tong is serving as
its secretary and treasurer. He is one of the
most popular and best known business men
in the city of South Bend, and his straight
forward and honorable dealings in all the re
lations of life have won for him the confidence
and respect of his fellow men. He is also
interested in the insurance business, and in
all his varied interests has met with the suc
cess which he so richly deserves. '
In 1873 Mr. Tong was united in marriage
to Miss Cecelia Ball, of Lafayette, Indiana,

and their family consists of four sons and two
daughters. James A. Roper. An honored citizen of
Mishawaka for many years past, James A.
Roper is entitled to a prominent place in the
annals of St. Joseph county, the county of
his birth. v His natal day was the 15th of
December, 1846, his parents being John and
Cornelia (Youngs) Roper, the former a na
tive of England and the latter of the state of
New York. The father, whose birth occurred
in Bristol, came to the United States in the
early 40 's, taking up his abode in the state
of New York, but a few years thereafter he
came to St. Joseph county, Michigan. In
1847 the family home was established in Mish
awaka, but the father was only permitted to
enjoy his new place of residence for a short
time, as his death occurred in 1852. His
widow continued to reside in Mishawaka until
her death in 1862.
James A. Roper received his preparatory
education in the public schools of Mishawaka,
this being supplemented by an attendance at
De Pauw University of three years. In 1861,
when only fourteen years of age, he enlisted
for service in the Civil war, becoming a mem
ber of Company F, Forty-eighth Indiana
Regiment, which was recruited at Mishawaka
and commanded by Colonel Norman E. Eddy.
Mr. Roper enlisted as a private on the 19th
of September, 1861, and was discharged on'
the 22d of July, 1865. After two years of
service he was promoted to the position of
corporal, and after Sherman's march was de
tailed as guard at General Clark's headquar
ters, while at the close of the march through
the Carolinas he was given a sergeant's com
mission at Richmond, Virginia, and had full
charge of General Clark's headquarters. He
served in that capacity until mustered out of
service, and participated in all the battles
of the Army of the Tennessee. It was after
returning from the army that Mr. Roper en
tered De Pauw, and after his three years of
college life there he was employed as clerk
in the post office and a dry goods store for
two years for Colonel Newton Bingham. In
1872 he embarked in the lumber business _ in
Cass county, Michigan, but after a period
of six years returned to Mishawaka and
formed a partnership with P. C. Perkins for
the manufacture of furniture, theirs being the
first factory on the north side of the river.
In 1879 the St. Joseph Valley Furniture Com
pany was organized, with Mr. Roper as presi-

496

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

dent, and later they purchased the old Mil-
burn Wagon Works and converted it into a
furniture factory. In 1883 Mr. Roper sold
his interest in that corporation to Frank Per
kins, and for one year thereafter conducted a
furniture factory in South Bend. On the ex
piration of that period, in 1884, he organized
the Roper Furniture Company, his associates
being J. W. and J. Q. C. Vandenbosch, and
after the death of J. W. Vandenbosch he pur
chased their interest, and the Roper family
are now sole owners of the business. In ad
dition to his connection with this important
industry Mr. Roper is also president of the
First National Bank, a director of the First
Trust and Savings Bank, president of the
Public Utility Company, was formerly presi
dent of the City Electric Light Company and
was' one of the organizers of the Public Util
ities Company. In an early day he also
served as a member of the city council, while
at the present time he is a member of the
county council.
In 1868 Mr. Roper was united in marriage
to Miss Ella M. Dowling, a daughter of Ed
ward and Margaret Dowling of St. Joseph
county, and they have five sons, H. C, C. A.,
H. D., L. E. and J. G., all of whom are hold
ing prominent positions in their father's busi
ness with the exception of L. E. Roper. Mr.
Roper is a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic, Houghton Post, of which he served
as the first commander, holding that position
for a number of years, and is also a member
of the Methodist church, being now superin
tendent of its Sunday school.
James M. DeRhodes. Banking institutions
constitute the heart of the financial body, in
dicating the healthfulness of trade. There
are no other enterprises which so soon feel a
depression in the market or a period of pros
perity, and banks which follow a safe, con
servative policy do more to establish a feeling
of confidence in times of widespread financial
panic than any other institutions in the world
of trade. Mr. DeRhodes stands today at the
head of one of the leading financial concerns
of South Bend, being president of the Mer
chants' National Bank. With a thorough un
derstanding of his business, he has labored
for the success of the institution along lines
that have awakened public confidence, and
made the bank one of the safe, reliable monied
concerns of this portion of the state.
Mr. DeRhodes was born in Columbiana
county, Ohio, on the 12th of November, 1853,

a son of David and Mary A. (Miller)
DeRhodes, both natives of Pennsylvania,
The father, who was born 'in 1815
removed to Ohio during his boyhood
days, where he was engaged in both
farming and merchandising, and his death
occurred in 1892, at the age of seventy-
seven years. He obtained his early education
in the country schools of his native county,
and, after completing his studies, his father
gave him a third interest in the home farm,
under which arrangement he met with a high
degree of success, making a specialty of the
raising of grain. His desire to embark more
extensively in the grain trade induced him
to remove to North Dakota, in 1882,'his part
ner in the enterprise being his brother, K. C.
DeRhodes, now the cashier of the Merchants'
National Bank of South Bend. They were
engaged in both grain farming and merchan
dising on a large scale, also conducting an
elevator and a wood and coal business; but,
although their interests were varied, exten
sive and very profitable and the brothers rap
idly acquired wealth and a high position as
citizens, they decided to return to Indiana
where their children could enjoy better edu
cational advantages. In 1896 they therefore
disposed of their interests in North Dakota,
and located in Lafayette, successfully engag
ing in -the wholesale grain trade in that city.
On the 21st of June, 1902, they settled in
South Bend, erected the Merchants' Bank
building on the corner of Michigan and
Wayne streets and organized the Merchants'
National Bank, of which James M. DeRhodes
became president and his brother cashier.
In 1884 Mr. DeRhodes was married to
Sarah E. Large, a daughter of Levi Large,
of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and they have
three children — Guy L., Emma G. and Alice.
The family are associated with the Methodist
church, and Mr. DeRhodes is a member of
the Modern Woodmen of America. Although
he has been identified with South Bend but
a few years, he is highly regarded in all cir
cles — social, religious and business. He is a
man of sterling worth and strong character,
but affable and courteous in manner, and has
a wide circle of friends, both social and busi
ness. He is a recognized authority in the
financial world, and has thoroughly identified
himself with the leading interests and enter
prises of his adopted home. He is broad-
minded and liberal, and while not seeking
notoriety has a just pride in the development

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

497

and progress of his home and his own success
in life.
John J. Schindler. Since the days when
Mishawaka was but a village the Schindler
family have been influential in its develop
ment and gradually increasing prosperity,
contributing to the establishment and mainte
nance of its institutions and upholding the
law and the best interests of the public in
general. The birth of Mr. Schindler occurred
in Buffalo, New York, on the 11th of Febru
ary, 1851. His father, Andrew Schindler, was
born in Baden, Germany, on the 16th of June,
1823, and his education was received in its
schools. In 1838 he crossed the waters to the
United States, and from the time of his ar
rival until 1864 was a resident of Buffalo,
New York. In that year he removed to Dun
kirk, New York, and was there engaged in
the hotel business until 1869, in which year
the family home was established in Misha
waka. After coming to this city Mr. Schind
ler was engaged in both the grocery and hotel
business, and he was very successful in both
ventures, at the same time winning for him
self a high place in the estimation of the
people with whom he so long lived. His busy
and useful life was ended on the 25th of
August, 1872. He married Rosa Kuhn, a
native of Switzerland, and thev became the
parents of eight children, four of whom grew
to years of maturity, namely : John J., An
drew J., William N. and Joseph J.
John J. Schindler, their oldest son, was a
student in the St. Joseph Acadamy of Buf
falo, New York, until his thirteenth year,
when he came to Mishawaka and entered the
employ of his uncles, the Kuhn Brothers,
proprietors of the St. Joseph flouring mills,
with whom he remained for nine years,
during that time obtaining a thorough knowl
edge of the business in every department. On
the death of his father he assumed the man
agement of his business, which he successfully
conducted until 1872, in that year opening a
similar business of his own and conducting
the same until 1887. In 1872 Mr. Schindler
added fire insurance to his other occupation,
while in the following year a steamship agency
and foreign exchange was assumed. In 1876
he was made a notary public and conveyancer,
while in 1888 he was elected township trustee,
winning that election by only five votes, but
so well did he discharge the duties entrusted
to his care during his .incumbency that in
1890, when his name was put forth for re-
32

election he received a majority of four hun
dred and nineteen votes. He was admitted as
an attorney in the department of interior
bureau of pensions in 1880, and many sol
diers and their widows have reason to "thank
him for the services he rendered them while
serving in that important office. From 1890
until 1894 Mr. Schindler served as secretary
of the county board of education, and was
also the organizer of township libraries in
district schools. He is now extensively en
gaged in the fire insurance and steamship
business, in which he has won an excellent
success, at the present time representing thir
ty of the largest companies in the world. He
also represents eight steamship companies
and issues letters of credit and exchange to
all parts of the globe. The splendid success
which has come to Mr. Schindler is directly
traceable to the salient points of his charac
ter. With a mind capable of planning, he
has combined a will strong enough to execute
his well formulated purposes, and his great
energy, keen discrimination and perseverance
have placed him among the men of affairs in
St. Joseph county.
On the 20th of May, 1879, he was married
to Miss Christena Fierstos, and they have
three children: Aloysius J., born May 4,
1880; John W., born November 7, 1884; and
Clara M., born October 26, 1887. The family
are members of the Catholic church, of which
Mr. Schindler has been secretary and treas
urer for the past twenty years and was also
secretary of the building committee during
the erection of the St. Joseph school. Mr.
Schindler gives his political support to the
Democratic party, and is a member of the
Catholic Knights of America. He is a di
rector of the First National Bank of Misha
waka, also vice-president of the First Trust
and Savings Company, a director in the Mish
awaka Trust and Savings Company, a director
in the Beiger Realty Company, and is also
a member of the city council and secretary
of public utilities.
B. F. Dunn. In the history of the indus
trial interests of South Bend the name of
B. F. Dunn cannot be omitted, for through
many years he has been one of the leading
business men of St. Joseph county, progres
sive, enterprising and persevering. Such
qualities always win success, sooner or later,
and to Mr. Dunn they have brought a hand
some competence as the reward of his well-
directed efforts.

498

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

A native son of the county of St. Joseph,
and one of which it may well be proud, he
was born on the 14th of June, 1833, a son
of Reynolds and Phoebe Dunn, the former a
native of New Jersey and the latter of Greene
county, Ohio. During his boyhood days, how
ever, the father went to Ohio, and shortly
after his marriage he brought his bride to
St. Joseph county, Indiana, where their hon
orable and upright lives won them the re
spect and confidence of their fellow citizens.
In the public schools of South Bend their son
received his early educational training, and
for a number of years after laying aside his
text books he served as a clerk for John
Brownfield, the then leading merchant of the
city. In 1860 he made the trip to Pike's
Peak, Colorado, with a party in search for
gold, but not being successful in the finding
of the precious metal Mr. Dunn returned to
South Bend in the following year. In 1864
he was engaged in the dry goods business as
a member of the firm of Dunn & Zimmerman,
while later his brother was admitted to a part
nership, business being thereafter conducted.
under the firm name of Dunn Brothers. Sub
sequently, however, B. F. Dunn relinquished
his interest in this enterprise and in company
with his brother-in-law, Robert Myler, was
thereafterward engaged in manufacturing
pursuits until 1873, in which year he sold
his interest. Since that time his time and
attention have been given to the real estate
business. In company with Mr. A. J. Home
he platted and laid out the town of River
Park, one of the beautiful subdivisions of the
North Side and which they now own. Mr.
Dunn has been a potent factor in the success
which has attended various enterprises. He
is the trustee and vice-president of the St.
Joseph County Savings Bank, and for eleven
years was a member of the board of education,
having also been actively interested in the
establishment of .the public library.
Mr. Dunn was married in 1864 to Mary V.
Hamilton, of Ohio, and three children have
been born to them: Mrs. J. G. Shurtz, of
Michigan ; Mrs. F. A. Miller, of South Bend ;
and Miss Blanche. The family affiliate with
the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Dunn
is a member of the Commercial Athletic Club,
and is accounted one of the prominent and
progressive citizens of South Bend.
Richard H. Lyon, for thirty-three years
connected with the South Bend Tribune,
was one of the pioneer newspaper men of

the city. He was. born near Bridgeport
Conn., and in I860 moved with his family to
Ypsilanti, Mich. After a residence there of
several years' they moved to Van Buren
county, that state. His early education was
obtained in the public schools and was fol
lowed by learning the printers' trade in
Decatur, 111.
Mr. Lyon, who had served as correspondent
of The Tribune, came to South Bend in 1874
and accepted a position in The Tribune com
posing room and his connection with that
paper continued until his death, April 4,
1907. He was advanced to the reportorial
staff in 1875, became city editor in 1878 and
later was made associate editor, a position
which he filled with splendid credit until
failing health compelled him to resign in
1905. He continued his connection with
The Tribune, however, as a special writer and
did some excellent work.
Mr. Lyon was a co-author with Charles H.
Bartlett, formerly principal of the South
Bend high school, in a beautiful historic
volume entitled "La Salle in the Valley of
the St. Joseph" which was published by the
Tribune Printing Company. He had also
written many articles and papers of historical
value and deep interest. He was a thorough
musician and had been identified with nearly
every musical organization in South Bend
for a quarter of a century. He was the com
poser of seyeral sacred songs and anthems.
Mr. Lyon was 'known as the original "Old
Shady" and his services in political cam
paigns in a musical way made him very
popular in northern Indiana and southern
Michigan. He was married in 1876 at Kalkaska,
Mich., to Miss Frances A. Kurtz, of Buffalo,
N. Y., who continues to make South Bend
her home. Mr. Lyon was prominent in
numerous movements of a progressive charac
ter and was a member of the Northern In
diana Historical Society and fraternally was
associated with the National Union.
Charles Frank is numbered among the
leading business men of Mishawaka, and is
also an honored soldier, of the Civil war.
His birth occurred in Beaver county, Penn
sylvania, March 18, 1842, and his father,
Reinhold Frank, was a native of Germany,
coming to America during his boyhood
days in 1806. In this country he was
married to Catherine Roupp, also a native ot
the fatherland, and she was .about eighteen

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

499

years of age when she came to this country,
where her death occurred when she had
reached the age of eighty years. In their
family were seven children, five sons and two
daughters, all of whom grew to years of ma
turity. The father spent the remainder of
his life in Pennsylvania, dying there at the
age of seventy-three years.
Charles Frank, the fourth child and third
son in his parents' family, received his edu
cational training in the schools of Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania, and remained at home until
1861, when he offered his services to his
country during the Civil war, enlisting when
a youth of nineteen years in Company B,
Sevepty-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteer In
fantry. His bravery and faithful service won
him many promotions, and he was honorably
discharged as a commissary sergeant after
three years of faithful and arduous service,
during which time he had participated in
many of the principal battles of the war, in
cluding Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg.
He was slightly wounded while at Charleston,
South Carolina, and after the close of the con
flict he returned to his old home in Pennsyl
vania, while shortly afterward, in 1864, he
came to St. Joseph county, first locating at
Woodland, where for about twenty years he
was engaged in the lumber business and also
in conducting a saw mill. From that city he
came to Mishawaka in 1889, resuming his
lumber business. For forty-three years he has
been a resident of St. Joseph county, and
strictly upright, and above reproach in all
his dealing with others, he merits the high
esteem in which he is held by all who have
the pleasure of his acquaintance. His prom
inence in the public life of the community
has led to his selection for many offices of
public trust, having been the Republican rep
resentative in the office of school trustee for
several years, and was a justice of the peace
in Madison township for many years, was
elected mayor in the fall of 1906. In addi
tion to his extensive lumber business he also
has stock in the First National Bank of Mish
awaka. In 1868 Mr. Frank was married to Mary
A. Buchheit, the daughter of Jacob Buchheit,
and their four children are: George F., a
resident of Mishawaka; J. N. ; Estella, the
wife of R. H. Jernegan, of Mishawaka ; and
Grace, the wife of John W. Beiger, also of
this city. Mr. Frank has membership rela
tions with Houghton Post, No. 128, G. A. R.,

in which he has filled all the offices, and is
also a member of the Odd Fellows order of
Mishawaka and the Elks of South Bend.
Myron Campbell is cashier of the South
Bend National Bank, and his prestige in
financial and business affairs has been won
through marked executive force, keen discrim
ination, sound judgment and unfaltering
energy. He was born in Valparaiso, Indiana,
on the 13th of March, 1849, a son of Samuel
A. and Harriet (Cornell) Campbell, and is a
twin brother of Marvin Campbell. The public
schools of his native city furnished him with
his early educational training, this being sup
plemented by attendance at the Northern In
diana Normal College of Valparaiso, where he
studied civil engineering, wiring and survey
ing', and afterwards assisted in the construc
tion of the Chicago & Grand Trunk Railroad
between Flint and Lansing, Michigan. Dur
ing a period of four years, Mr. Campbell also
acted in the capacity of surveyor of Porter
county. In 1872 he embarked in the grocery
business in South Bend', in partnership with
Ex-Postmaster Horace G. Miller, business
being conducted under the firm name of Mil
ler & Campbell.
During the past many years, however, Mr.
Campbell's endeavors have been directed to
the banking business, and his wise counsel and
sound judgment have contributed to the suc
cess of the institution with which he is con
nected. In 1878 he entered the South Bend
National Bank as a bookkeeper, and oh March
14, 1891, was elected cashier, which position
he has since held. He is also the manager of
the South Bend Clearing House. He is an
authority on banking business, having been
awarded prizes by the Rand-McNally Bank
ers' Magazine for papers on country banking,
and also by the Rhoades Journal for a paper
on Domestic Exchange. He is also the author
of a valuable book of interest and exchange
tables, which has been endorsed by the lead
ing bankers and business men. The cause of
education finds in him a warm friend, who has
efficiently advanced its interests, having from
1895 until 1898 been a member of the Board
of Education, and other measures for the pub
lic good receive his hearty support and co
operation. Mr. Campbell was united in marriage m
1871 to Miss Abbie Fifield, also of Valparaiso,
Indiana, and they have four children, two sons
and two daughters: Edward H., a graduate
of the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and

500

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

now a lieutenant commander in the United
States navy,- Robert S., assistant cashier of
the South Bend National Bank; Ada C, a
graduate of DePauw University, and now Ex
tension Secretary of the Y. W. C. A.; and
Vera, a student in the Ohio Wesleyan College
of Delaware, Ohio. The family are devout
members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
in which Mr. Campbell is serving as treasurer,
and he is also an active member and Treasurer
of the Young Men's Christian Association.
Reliability in all trade transactions, loyalty
to all duties of citizenship, fidelity in the dis
charge of every trust reposed in him — these
are his chief characteristics, and through the
passing years they have gained for him the
unqualified confidence and respect of his fel
low townsmen.
Caleb A. Kimball. From an early period
Caleb A. Kimball has been prominently iden
tified with the history of northern Indiana,
and for many years past he has served as
cashier of the First NationalBank of South
Bend. He was born in Ipswich, Massachu
setts, twenty-seven miles from Boston, Febru
ary 13,1829, a son of P. H. and Susan (Stan
ly) Kimball, both also natives of that com
monwealth. The father was of English de
scent, and was a life-long manufacturer of
furniture and lumber.
Caleb A. Kimball, the third of his parents'
five children, was reared and received his edu
cational training at Yarmouth, Maine, there
remaining until his removal to St. Joseph
county in 1850. He at once engaged in the
cutting of black walnut timber and the pro
duction of lumber in South Bend, being thus
engaged for six years, when he turned his
attention to farming for a few years. In
1864 he became connected with the First Nat
ional Bank as bookkeeper, but in 1870 was
promoted to the position of cashier, in which
he has ever since remained. He is a man of
commanding influence in the community and
the county, and widely known and honored
throughout northern Indiana. He has attain
ed prominence in business circles, while in
private life he has many warm friends.
In 1856, Mr. Kimball was united in mar
riage to Marcia L. Willis, the daughter of
Lyda Willis, and one son has been born of
this union, W. L. Kimball, cashier of the First
1 National Bank of Mishawaka. During the
long period of fifty years Mr. Kimball has re
sided within the borders of St. Joseph county,

and throughout all that time has been deeply
interested in its upbuilding and improvement.
Hon. John B. Stoll. To Honorable J. B.
Stoll has come the attainment of a distinguish
ed position in connection with journalism, his
rise and present standing being due to deter
mined, honest and intelligently directed
efforts, based upon a natural strength and
practical ability. The intuitive insight and
quick judgment, so necessary to the success
of the journalist, were also his, as well as a
practical knowledge of the printing business
which enabled him to build his newspaper en
terprises on firm financial bases. Having all
the best qualifications of the all-around news
paper man, his final success was assured.
Mr. Stoll is of German birth, being a native
of Wurtemberg, and the day of his birth,
March 13, 1843. His father, who was a large
landed proprietor, was drowned in the river
Murg a few months before his birth, and the
child went to live with his grandparents,
attending school until 1853. In that year he
emigrated to the United States with his
mother and located at Harrisburg, Pennsylva
nia, where she died, leaving him an orphan
at the age of twelve years. After seeking em
ployment of various kinds the boy found
work in the printing office of the Harrisburg
Telegraph and Der Vaterlands-Waechter. By
diligent study and extensive reading he mas
tered the English language and, at an early
age, entered the political arena. Although a
sturdy Democrat, he was opposed to slavery,
and in 1860, when but seventeen years of age,
was, by the Democracy of Cambria county,
chosen as a delegate to the Douglas state con
vention. Upon the nomination of Douglas
and Johnson, by the Baltimore national con
vention, he delivered an eloquent address at
the ratification meeting held in Johnstown,
Pennsylvania. The following year he went to
Middleburg, Snyder county, that state, where
he worked as a journeyman on the People's
Friend, purchasing the paper in 1863. When
he thus made his first independent venture in
journalism he was only twenty years of age,
but he greatly improved the paper, and in the
year following the purchase was elected a
member of the school board, while subsequent
ly he was made auditor of Snyder county.
In 1866, Mr. Stoll first came to Indiana,
publishing the Ligonier Banner for a period
of seventeen years. In the spring of 1869, he
established and edited the Laporte Argus, and
in 1873 became editor of the South Bend

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

501

Courier, published in German. The next
journal with which he became connected was
the Daily and Weekly Democrat, oi which he
became editor and proprietor, as also of the
Monitor. During all this period he resided-
at Ligonier, where he edited and published
the Banner. Mr. Stoll organized the Press
Association of northern Indiana, and for six
years successively was its president, while in
1881 he was chiefly instrumental in founding
the Democratic State Editorial Association,
serving as its first president.
As the editor and proprietor of the Times,
Mr. Stoll is a power for good in his commu
nity. He .is a brilliant .writer, an able jour
nalist and a forceful speaker, and has placed
the Times among the leading newspapers of
northern Indiana. His influence has passed
beyond' the confines of his home locality, and
upon the ladder of. his own building he has
climbed to prominence' and prosperity. In
tensely loyal to all movements for the good of
his locality, he is especially interested in edu
cational and literary affairs, and has served
as president of the schopl board of South
Bend for eight years. Thus commingling his
characters of journalist and citizen, and the
management of his private with public affairs,
his influence is of great breadth and effective-

William Bell Calvert. The history of
the Calvert family, continued to the present
generation through William Bell Calvert, the
well known real estate man of South Bend,
introduces personages who have been promi
nently known in St. Jpseph county since the
first years of its settlement and pioneer life.
For the origin of the American branch
of the family, we go back to the parish of
Essex, England, where on August 25, 1793,
was born Isaac Bond Calvert, grandfather
of the Calvert above named. On January
15, 1815, he married Isabella Bird, who was
born in Cumberland, England, March 17,
1792, and in 1819, with two children, this
pioneer couple came to America, settling
near Philadelphia.
For a number of years Isaac B. Calvert
engaged in the dairy business, with Philadel
phia as his market. In the fall of 1834 he
set out for the west, and after a long over
land journey by wagon, arrived in the little
village of South Bend in January, 1835. In
Portage township, four and a half miles
west of South Bend, is located the Calvert
farm, one of the best known and handsomest

country estates in the county. It is still
owned in the family, and 220 aeres of it has
never passed from this ownership since Isaac
B. Calvert bought it, over seventy years, ago.
Although his first Jiome shelter has long since
been removed, it deserves a place of lasting
remembrance in the family records.
It was a double cabin, and was of rather
advanced style of pioneer architecture, be
cause the logs were hewn on two sides, giv
ing plane surfaces both within and without.
Chips and clay filled up the spaces between
the logs. The floor was of puncheons, and
the one door swung on wooden hinges, with
a wooden bolt and latch on the inside, and,
in accordance with family hospitality, the
latch string was always on the outside. A
clay and stick chimney completed the prin
cipal features of this primitive home. Here
occurred the death of Isaac B. Calvert, Feb
ruary 27, 1839, leaving a widow and eight
children to continue his memory. His widow
died March 7, 1866.
Joseph Hall Calvert, son of the above pio
neer and father of W. B. .Calvert, was born
near Philadelphia, October 30, 1822, and ac
companied the family to St. Joseph county
when he was twelve years old. To continue
his schooling in this county he had to walk
two and a half miles to the primitive school-
house that then gave, for a few weeks in
the year, educational facilities to the neigh
borhood children. He bought the interest of
the other children in the old homestead, and
continued to reside there until his death,
April 1, 1885, since which time his widow has
made this her home.
Another log house was erected by him,
and somewhat later he built a commodious
frame house, barn and other farm buildings,
so that the farm, then containing 320 acres,
was the best improved in the township at the
time of his death.
By his marriage on March 30, 1862, to
Mary Jane Brick, he united by family ties
two of the oldest families connected with
the history of St. Joseph county. His wife
was the daughter of William Woolsen and
Elizabeth (Wills) Brick. The former, who
was born at Mount Holly, New Jersey, Feb
ruary 13, 1808, traced his ancestry back to
1663, when three brothers, John, William
and Samuel, of whom the first was the
founder of this branch of the family, came
from England with a Quaker colony that
settled in New Jersey and became owners of

502

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

large tracts of land there, where the family
is still prominent. John, the direct ancestor,
was conspicuous in the activities of his lo
cality, being a lawyer, farmer, banker and
judge. William Woolsen Brick, on coming west,.
first settled on Pokagon prairie in Cass
county, Michigan, in 1826, but two years later
came to St. Joseph county, joining the first
settlers who beat, down the wilderness and
founded the institutions of civilization here.
Securing government land in Warren town
ship, he began the improvement of what is
to-day one of the best farms in the county,
and after living a number of years on this
farm he moved to South Bend, where he
spent his declining years. He was three
times married and left a large family.
Representing the third generation of the
family in this eounty, William Bell Calvert
was born in his father's log cabin in Portage
township, October 22, 1863. After attending
the country schools he continued his educa
tion at Valparaiso (Ind.) Business College
and at Oberlin (Ohio) College, preparatory
to entering Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.,
where he was a member of the class of 1890.
His studies at the university were mainly
along the lines of mechanical and electrical
engineering. Having completed his education, he re
turned to his home county and bought a
farm in Warren township a few miles from
South Bend. However, farming was his ac
tive vocation only a few years, when he moved
to South Bend and entered the manufactur
ing field, from which after two or three years
he turned his attention to the real estate
business. In the handling of city and farm proper
ties and the promotion of building additions,
Mr. Calvert has become a large factor in the
expansion and development of his city. Be
sides acting as agent for others in numerous,
large transactions, he has had a large busi
ness on his own account. On his Highland
Park addition there is a natural park of
twenty-five acres, well wooded and attractive,
which he intends giving to the city for public
park purposes. This addition is valued at
about one hundred and fifty thousand dol
lars. Mr. Calvert was the first to introduce
grading and the improvement, of streets in
the new additions of South Bend, — his first
work of this kind having been done at Rose-
land Park, one of his several additions to

the city. Calvert street, one of the principal
streets of the city, was named in honor of
him. Mr. Calvert has one of the finest and
best equipped real estate offices in the state.
August 24, 1887, Mr. Calvert married
Miss Ella Sincox, a daughter of Alvin and
Caroline (Carleton) Sincox, of Ohio and Vir
ginia ancestry respectively. Mr. and Mrs.
Calvert have two sons, Charles Everett and
William Franklin.
Mr. Calvert affiliates with the Independent-
Order of Odd Fellows in all its branches and
has been elected to and filled all the offices
up to the Supreme Lodge ; the Elks and other
orders ; is a member of the Commercial Ath
letic Club, Business Men's Association and
several others. He was one of the organizers
and the first secretary of the Real Estate
Board of South Bend, which was the first
successfully organized Real Estate Board in
the state. It is the most active institution
in advancing the general interests of the
city. Chauncey N. Fassett. For a long period
Chauncey N. Fassett has been a resident of
South Bend, and during many years of that
time has been connected with its journalistic
interests. South Bend also claims him among
her native sons, for his birth occurred in this
city on the 30th of July, 1849, his parents
being Chauncey S. and Lucy Jane (Harmon)
Fassett, both natives of the state of New York.
In the late '30s the father came to South
Bend and engaged in a mercantile business.
He was also numbered among the Argonauts
to California, going to that state in 1849, and
remaining for four years, when he returned to
the east and established himself in business in
Middlebury, Elkhart county, Indiana. He
afterwards removed to Missouri, wnere he
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits,
but failed in the general panic of 1857. Be
fore the war Mr. Fassett had gone to Colo
rado with his eldest son, Charles S., and they
assisted in opening Russell's Gulch, Deing
among the first there. The father spent most
of his remaining days in the west, dying in
St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1879, when he had
reached the age of seventy-six years.
In 1863 the family returned from Missouri
to Goshen, where the son Chauncey N., at
tended the common schools, and after com
pleting his education spent two years in the
law office of the late Judge Mitchell. At that
time Mr. Fassett became convinced that his
forte was journalism, and in 1873 he began

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

503

work on the old "Union," one of the early
papers and which was owned by his brother
Herbert. After the Union was sold, he pur
chased the Register, later was employed on
the Tribune until 1878, and was then ap
pointed assistant postmaster, continuing as
the incumbent of that office for eight years.
In 1887, Mr. Fassett established the Sunday
News, and although it is owned by a stock
company, he has the controlling interest and
is president and editor of the corporation. He
is a writer of force and ability, and his name
occupies a conspicuous place among the lead
ing journalists of northern Indiana.
The marriage of Mr. Fassett was celebrated
at Lewistown, Pennsylvania, on the 31st of
October, 1877, when Anna Thrush became his
wife. Her father, the late Rev. John Thrush,
was former pastor of the First Methodist
Episcopal church of South Bend. One daugh
ter was born of this union, Thrush, who died
at the age of eighteen years, on the 5th of
May, 1901. In her memory her parents have
established a silver medal to be given annually
in the high school for highest standing in
English literature, the Thrush Fassett Medal.
In addition to his journalistic work, Mr. Fas
sett is treasurer and manager of the Indiana
Foundry and Machine Company, and is also
interested in real estate in a general way. He
is an able and experienced newspaper man,
and at the present time is engaged in prepar
ing a biography of the late Clem Studebaker.
Coming from such a versatile and brilliant
writer, this will prove an interesting and valu
able work.
Elmer Crockett. Conspicuous on the roll
of names who have conferred honor upon the
profession of journalism in Indiana is that of
Elmer Crockett, president of the Tribune
Printing Company. He has a great versatil
ity of talents, and exactness and thoroughness
characterizes all liis attainments and work. He
is a writer of superior force and ability, and
in all the relations of life he is an honorable,
upright gentleman. He was born in St. Joseph
eounty, September 1, 1844, a son of Shellem
and Louise (Ireland) Crockett, and a de
scendant of Davy Crockett. In 1849 the fam
ily moved to South Bend, but Elmer remained
in Mishawaka for several years with an uncle,
S. I. H. Ireland, receiving his education in
its public schools. He later became a student
in the Northern Indiana College at South
Bepd, thus receiving an excellent educational
training as 'the foundation of his future life

work. During the Civil war he served with
the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Indiana
Volunteers, and after being mustered out he
entered the office of the Mishawaka Enter
prise, where he learned the printer's trade.
He then returned to South Bend in 1867, and
has ever since been identified with the inter
ests of this city.
For several years Mr. Crockett served as
foreman in the office of the St. Joseph Valley
Register, founded by Schuyler Colfax, vice-
president of the United States, and ultimately
purchased the paper in company with A. Beal
and his brother-in-law, Alfred B. Miller,
forming the firm of Beal, Miller & Company.
In 1872 the firm of Miller & Crockett founded
the South Bend Tribune, which is now num
bered among the leading Republican news
papers of northern Indiana. A few years
later the Tribune Printing Company was in
corporated, with Mr. Miller as president and
Mr. Crockett vice-president and manager.
After the death of Mr. Miller in 1892, Mr.
Crockett became printer and business man
ager, which position he still occupies. He is
an active and valued member of the Republi
can party, and in 1888 was appointed by Ben
jamin Harrison as postmaster of South Bend.
He has also served as a member of the State
Republican Committee during several cam
paigns, and was chairman of the State News
paper Bureau.
In 1868, Mr. Crockett was united in mar
riage to Anna Miller, whose father, the late
B. F. Miller, was an honored pioneer of St.
Joseph county and at one time served as its
sheriff. Five children have been born of this
union, but only two are now living: Charles
E., secretary of the Tribune Company, and
Ethel. Mr. Crockett holds membership rela
tions with the Grand Army of the Republic,
being past commander of Auten Post, No. 8,
and in 1896, was senior vice department com
mander of Indiana, He is also an active
worker in the Presbyterian church, in which
he is serving as superintendent of the Sunday
School, and is also a valued factor of the
Young Men's Christian Association, of which
he has been president. He was selected as a
member of the citizens' advisory committee
during the building of the new court house,
and proved a valued member of the commit
tee. He exemplifies in his life the tenets of
the Masonic fraternity, of which he is a
worthy member, and in 1889 and 1890 served

504

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

as Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter
of Indiana.
Charles Albert McDonald both by work
and character was long identified with the
higher progress and life of St. Joseph coun
ty. He was born in South Bend, Indiana,
on the 15th of September, 1859, the son of
John M. and Elizabeth McDonald, his father
being a native of Virginia' of Scotch ancestry,
and the mother of New York state, whose fore
fathers were of the German fatherland.
Charles A. was a faithful school attendant
in his boyhood and youth, graduated from
the South Bend High School in the class of
1879, taught for some time, and was subse
quently principal of the Washington and
South schools. While thus employed he be
came assistant editor of The Times, then a
weekly paper with a Saturday edition. A few
years later he became a partner with J. B.
Stoll in the. ownership of the South Bend
Daily and Weekly Times, as well as its city
editor, maintaining these dual relations until
his death, which occurred December 14, 1905.
From numerous tributes to the high and
lovable character of the deceased, which
sprung spontaneously from the hearts of men,
women and children in all walks of life, one of
the most tender and broadly descriptive was
penned by a classmate, who had known him
from his youth. It is as follows: "A fresh,
wholesome interest in intellectual pursuits dis
tinguished him even in his boyhood. He felt
to the last a warm enthusiasm for all that was
good and noble. Earnestness of purpose and
a determination to excel were distinguishing
marks of his character. He was ambitious
and cherished high ideals, and to these he was
always faithful. In spite of the harsh de
mands of practical life he never lost his rever
ence for the ideals of his boyhood and the
beautiful dreams of his youth. Energy, per
severance and the exercise of1 all those facul
ties which make for success are admirable
always, but when they are tempered by a
broad love of humanity, and a deep inborn
sense of devotion to family and friends and
unfailing loyalty to the ideals of youth, they
make a man the best of which a human being
is capable. Mr. McDonald had all these in
good measure. He was so tender and true in
every relation that even the casual acquaint
ance felt the warmth of his personality and
the wholesome influence of his generous, loving
nature. He was the best possible exponent of
George Eliot's Simple Creed Religion. Kind

ness, piety and reverence were inherent quali
ties, and the memories of old associations
were sacred to him, for he clung with all his
heart to the friends and teachers who had
guided him in youth. His tenderness and re
gard for old friends, his cordiai interest in the
welfare of his fellowmen, his unfailing sym
pathy for the afflicted and the oppressed, are
the best testimonials of Jiis character. Strong,
upright and honorable, he knew no deceit,
but gloried in the greater power of an all-
conquering love. The high esteem of all who
knew him is the best proof of his worth, the
sorrow of those who knew him well, the no
blest tribute to his memory."
Mr. McDonald 's business associate wrote of
him : "From the beginning to the close of his
connection with this establishment, he proved
himself a thoroughly honest man. Greed was
absolutely foreign to his nature. Avarice
never warped or dwarfed his intellect. He
became profoundly impressed with the belief
that man's mission was above money-making.
While he recognized the propriety and neces
sity of man's wants, he regarded an unsullied
reputation as to personal honor far above the
value of glittering gold. His career was too
short to fully develop what was in the man.
Could he have lived the scriptural allotted
period, his splendid traits of character would
have been conspicuously brought within the
vision of a discerning public. But he lived
long enough to leave a record to which his be
reaved relatives, friends and associates' will
point with satisfaction and pride. While this
cannot, at the moment, assuage grief, subdue
sorrow, still tears nor silence anguish, in years
to come it will serve as a pleasant reminder
that it was well for this community to have
been the beneficiary of Charles A. McDon
ald's well directed and honorable efforts."
Another writer said of the deceased: "It
was during his last years that many of Mr.
McDonald's choice poems were penned, which
brought to him considerable fame. His
ability in this line was unquestioned, and he
took great pleasure in hailing the arrival of
holidays and referring to South Bend's im
portant events in metrical form."
On the 17th of November, 1886, Mr. Mc
Donald married Miss Fannie Everson Brad
ley, of Berrien Springs, Michigan, daughter of
Edward and Imogene Everson (Royce) Brad
ley, both natives of New York. Four children
were born to their union — Marie, Arthur
Royce, Kenneth Bradley and Charles Albert,

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

505

Jr. Mrs. McDonald is now connected with
the editorial department of the South Bend
Times. Although a public spirited man, Mr. Mc
Donald was interested in only one fraternal
organization — South Bend Lodge, No. 235, B.
P. 0. E. — but in this he was a willing and
enthusiastic worker. As a reward for his
zeal in this direction he was recently elected
chaplain, and was selected as one of the
directors of the Elks Temple Association.
Much credit is due him for the erection of this
monument to Elkdom, as he was one of the
prime factors in bringing about the plans
which made possible the erection of the home.
It was also Mr. McDonald who suggested that
the laying of the cornerstone should take
place at eleven o'clock at night, the mystic
hour of the order. The deceased was a mem
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, which
he joined in his youth and from whose teach
ings he never departed.
George W. J. Kalczynski, one of the lead
ing journalists of northern Indiana, was born
in Haverstraw, New York, January 17, 1872,
a son of George W. and Mary (Urbanowska)
Kalczynski. In 1877, the family came to
South Bend, here remaining for five years,
during which time George attended a paro
chial school. On the expiration of that period,
just after the death of the mother, they re
turned to Yonkers, New York, where the son
resumed his studies. In a few years, however,
he came again to €>outh Bend, where he learned
the printer's trade on the South Bend
Times. In 1894, he went to Toledo, Ohio,
and purchased the Toledo Courier (Kuryer), '
continuing its publication for sixteen months
as a weekly, when he made it a daily and the
name was changed to the Times (Czas). Sell
ing that paper at the expiration of two
months, be went to Chicago, Illinois, and
thence to Bay City, Michigan, where for five
months he served as general manager of the
Truth (Prawda).
For the third time Mr. Kalczynski came to
South Bend, and with Messrs. H. C. Dunbar
and H. Elliott organized the Goniec Polski
Publishing Company. Messrs. Dunbar and
Elliott owned a printing establishment, to
which they added some Polish type and fur
nished the means with which to establish the
paper, while Mr. Kalczynski contributed the
editorial ability and experience. The paper,
the Polish Messenger (Goniec Polski), was
an immediate success, and has continued so to

the present time, being now a seven column
folio, semi-weekly, and independent in poli
tics. , The first number was issued on the 27th
of June, 1896, and at that time Mr. Kalczynski
was literally penniless, but he is now the sole
owner of this large plant, which is equipped
with the latest and most improved ma
chinery, conducted by electric power and is
valued at twelve thousand dollars. This is
the only newspaper printed in the Polish lan
guage in the state of Indiana. Outside of
his paper, he is also prominent in Polish
affairs, being president of the local Polish
Turners M. R., and was national president of
Polish Turners Alliance of America from 1901
to 1905. He is a member of the Knights of
Columbus, the Woodmen of the World, St.
Stanislaus Society, the Polish Literary society
known as St. John De Cantus, and the South
Bend Press Club, of which he is secretary-
treasurer. He is also a member of the Euro
pean society known as "Powsciagliwosc i
Praca," whose object is the bringing up of
orphan boys and fitting them for the battle of
life. This, is conducted by the Roman Catho
lic clergy, and its headquarters are at Miejsce
Piastowe in Gallicia, Austria. Mr. Kalczyn
ski has gained a brilliant success so far on the
journey of life, and a still brighter future
awaits him.
Edward A. Jernegan. Among the leading
newspapers in northern Indiana is the Misha
waka Enterprise, edited and published by
Edward A. Jernegan. His keenly analytical
mind,- his readiness in noting the most impor
tant points and his strong logical powers have
combined to make the journal a leading news
paper of this locality. He was born in La
porte, Indiana, on the 27th of January, 1846.
His father, Thomas Jernegan, a native of Ed-
gartown, Massachusetts, was also an old and
prominent newspaper man. In 1842 he came
to South Bend, where he was for a number of
years engaged in a mercantile business, and
at that time his brother, Joseph L., was a
leading attorney of the city. Purchasing the
Mishawaka Tocsin, Mr. Jernegan moved it to
South Bend, next to Laporte and ultimately to
Michigan City. He was ,a prominent news
paper man of his time, and was also a public
spirited and patriotic citizen. For a period
of eighteen years he served as a government
employe in the pension department, dying in
the harness at Washington, D. C, in 1900, at
the age of eighty-four years. His wife, nee
Anne M. Clasby, and a native of Nantucket,

506

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Massachusetts, preceded him to the home be
yond many years, dying in 1872.
Edward A. Jernegan attended the schools
of Michigan City, but ere the completion of
his education he enlisted as a drummer boy
in the Seventy-third Indiana, Company K.
Subsequently, however, he entered the navy,
where his father was paymaster, and during
the latter part of the war was in Company
D, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Indiana,
thus continuing until 1864. In that year he
returned home and served in the provost mar
shal's office until the close of the war. After
the struggle ended, the father resumed his
newspaper business in Michigan City, and
Edward joined him as assistant editor. In
1872 he came to Mishawaka and purchased the
Enterprise, which had been established in
1854, and which he has ever since conducted
in such a manner as to make it a power for
good in this part of the state. The journal
gives evidence of the high editorial ability of
Mr. Jernegan, whose clear presentation of
every question which he treats has borne
marked influence upon his constituency. In
1897 he served as a member of the state legis
lature, while for four years during the Har
rison administration, he was postmaster of
Mishawaka. In 1869 he was married to Miss Nannie C.
Sherman, a daughter of Dr. M. G. Sherman,
of Michigan City, and they have two living
children, Mrs. C. A. Ostrom, of Mishawaka,
and Ralph, a promising young lawyer of this
city. Their eldest son, Mason Sherman, died
in 1901. He was a newspaper man of promise,
and at the time of his death was serving on
the Detroit Free Press. Mr. Jernegan is a
member of the Masonic order and of the
Grand Army of the Republic, Houghton Post.
He has had many difficulties and obstacles to
overcome on his way to success, among them
being the great fire which swept over Misha
waka in 1872 and completely destroyed the
town, proving a great loss to the young editor.
His genial temperament, courteous manners
and broad minded principles render him a
favorite with all, and the circle of his friends
is almost coextensive, with that of his acquaint
ances. Hon. Abraham Brick. Whether the fun
damental attributes 6f success in life are in
nate, or whether they are quickened by a pro
cess of circumstantial development, is impos
sible to clearly determine ; yet the study of a
successful life is none the less profitable, as

it is found that in the majority of cases ex
ceptionable ability, supplemented by earnest
purpose and close application, forms the real
secret of advancement. It is a noticeable fact
that the young men are rapidly occupying the
foremost places in the financial, professional
and political circles. Whether this is due to
superior education, or to native ability is a
question of dispute; at all events the fact
remains that each community numbers among
its leaders men who, although young in years
are controlling extensive interests in all fields
of endeavor ; and in this class is emphatically
placed Hon. Abraham Brick, of South Bend.
Hon. Abraham- Lincoln Brick is known as
a man of high attainments and possessed of
'that practical ability which has brought him
•success as a lawyer and a man of varied af
fairs. His broad influence extends into profes
sional, political and public fields, so that he
has become recognized as one of the strongest
and most popular men in the state. Born on a
farm in Warren township, St. Joseph county,
on the 27th of May, 1860, he is descended
from Scotch-Irish and English ancestry. His
father was a native of New Jersey, but re
moved to Indiana at an early day, and was
there married to Elizabeth Calvert, who had
.come with her parents from Germantown,
Pennsylvania. Their son Abraham received
his primary education in the district schools
of Warren township, later attended the South
Bend grammar and high schools, and was sub
sequently a student at Yale and Cornell uni
versities. Close application to his studies im
paired his health to such an extent that he
"went to Kansas, where he spent a year on a
ranch. With restored strength he returned
to Indiana and soon after entered the Univer
sity of Michigan to prosecute his law studies,
graduating there in 1883 and at once began
practice at South Bend. As a lawyer he is
remarkable for the wide research and provi
dent care with which he prepares his cases. In
no instance has his reading ever been confined
to the limitations of the questions at issue; it
has gone beyond and compassed every con
tingency, providing both for the expected and
unexpected — the latter happening quite as
frequently in the courts as out of them. His
close and logical grasp of facts' and princi
ples, with the law applicable to them, has been
another potent factor in his success; while a
remarkable clearness of expression which
enables him to make others understand ' not
only the. salient, but the fine points of his

^v

'oU£si.<A> cb^v-t^

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

507

argument, may be accounted another of his
conspicuous accomplishments which go to
make up 'the strength and attraction of his
character as a lawyer.
Mr. Brick's public services have been vari
ous and noteworthy. He was first brought
into official prominence by the able discharge
of his duties as prosecuting attorney in the
district then comprising the counties of La
porte and St. Joseph. In 1892, he was elected
a member of the State Central Committee of
the Republican party, of which he has. long
been a recognized leader in a state which has,
at times, been classed as doubtful and pivotal.
His labors on the state committee were of
such value that he was accorded a place among
the leaders of national influence by being sent
as a delegate to the presidential convention
which met in St. Louis in 1896. But advance
ment and high standing in the law was his
prime ambition, and it was really against his
personal inclination that he was nominated
and elected as a representative of the Thir
teenth congressional district in 1898, receiving
a majority of twenty-five hundred votes. He
was re-elected in 1900, 1902, 1904 and 1906,
being also returned during those years by
handsome majorities. As would be expected
from his character as a lawyer and a man
his legislative labors were faithfully and ably
performed and most fruitful of results which
redounded to the good of his country. In
congress, as in the field of his profession, he
has been a hard worker, an effective speaker
and a courteous gentleman, and with the pro
gress of his service his constituents are con
tinually placing a higher value upon him as a
faithful and practical representative.
On the 11th of November, 1884, Mr. Brick
was married to Miss Anna Meyer, a daughter
of the late Godfrey E. Meyer, and one daugh
ter has been born to them. Mr. Brick is a mem
ber of the Indiana and Commercial Athletic
clubs and also holds fraternal relations with
the Masons, Knights of Pythias and Elks. Per
sonally, he is of a genial nature and inspires
friendship of an unusual strength. Endowed
with active, energetic and strong capabili
ties, he is a worthy representative of that class
of comparatively young men who are forging
to the front and remaining there.
Hon. Walter A. Funk. The bulwark of
the country, is composed of members of the
great middle class, who from lowly circum
stances, though stress of brave endeavor
and inherited energy of sturdy ancestors, rise

to positions of great personal influence and
public responsibility. Thus struggling, as it
were, from the ground upward, closely sur
rounded by relatives and old-time friends,
their progress is so natural and unobtrusive
that jealousies seldom arise to embitter their
progress, as is usually the case when standing
and authority depend largely oh family con
nections and inheritance. This wide and pow- •
erful influence of members of the middle
class upon the public affairs of American com
munities is nowhere more evident than in the
domain of the law, and few judges of note
have come from wealthy, or so called aristo
cratic families. A good judge must be a good
sympathizer with the people at large, in order
to carry into court both the spirit and the
letter of the law.
All of the above general remarks may well
be applied to the personality and career of
Hon. Walter A. Funk, long an active and
prominent member of the South Bend bar and
for a number of years past circuit judge of
St. Joseph county. Born on a farm in Elk
hart county, Indiana, on the 18th of Decem
ber, 1857, his most serious occupation until
he attained his majority consisted of hard
and faithful work upon the farm of his father,
William Funk. But the boy early showed
that his ambitions extended beyond the bare
performance of his prosaic duties connected
with the family homestead, and when only
sixteen years of age, he had so advanced in
his studies that he was called upon by the
township authorities to teach district school.
At this profession he did well and saved
enough money to warrant him in aiming for a
higher education than he could secure at
home. After laying a firm foundation for his pro
fessional studies in various educational insti
tutions of Goshen and Valparaiso, Indiana,
Judge Funk had the satisfaction of becoming
a student in the law department of the Uni
versity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, having
already enjoyed the benefits of study and
tutelage in the offices of Judge Smith, of Cas-
sopolis, Michigan, and of Hon. Andrew An
derson, of South Bend. Mainly through his
association with the latter, upon his gradua
tion from the state university and the win
ning of his professional degree, in 1885, Mr.
Funk came to South Bend : and he seems from
the outset to have been received by its citizens
and his fellow practitioners as a stable and
most valuable personal addition to the com-

508

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

munity and the bar. He was thorough in the
preparation of his oases, courteous yet firm in
the positions which he assumed as an advo
cate, clear and concise in his arguments, and
underneath all his high qualities as a lawyer
could plainly be perceived the warm and com
mon-sense character of the man of broad sym
pathies. This combination constituted' his
main strength when he was put forward for
the office of circuit judge of St. Joseph county
and resulted in his decisive election to that
position in 1900. These attributes of legal
and- personal character also made him an
earnest, able and upright judge, bringing him
also the popularity which, through the votes
of his constituents,, called him to the bench
in 1906 for a second term of six years. On
the bench he is the embodiment of judicial
dignity — ever courteous and considerate, and
never attempting to win cheap applause at
the expense of an inexperienced attorney or
an overwrought witness. Of • unimpeachable
character and of unusual intellectual endow
ments, with a thorough understanding of the
law; patient, urbane and industrious, Judge
Funk took to the bench the very highest
qualifications for the discharge of his responsi
ble duties. His record as a judge has been in
harmony with his career as a lawyer and his
character as a man, being distinguished not
only by unswerving integrity but by a master
ful grasp of every problem which has come
before him for solution.
Judge Funk's domestic relations are most
harmonious, as befits one of his character and
temperament. His wife was formerly Miss
Mary E. Harris, who has borne him one child
— William Harris. His character thus rounded
and softened by the influences of wife, family
and home, the Judge is a typical American
citizen, vigorously Upholding the framework
of society both in his public capacity as an
able judge and as a founder of that great
American unit — the household. His is truly a
complete and grand character, subordinating
personal ambition to public good, seeking the
benefit of others rather than the aggrandize
ment of self. Endowed by nature with high
intellectual qualities, to which have been
added the discipline and embellishments of
culture, his is a most attractive personality,
and in South Bend, where he has so long made
his home, he is numbered among the most
honored citizens, receiving the respect and re
gard of all peoples and classes.
Hon. George Ford. For more than a third

of a century Hon. George Ford has been
recognized as a distinguished member of the
bar of South Bend, Indiana. The city is
therefore pleased to claim him as one of her
native sons, his birth occurring at No. 422
South Main street on the 11th of January,
1846. His father, Isaac Ford, had come to
the city during the preceding year, dying
here in 1880, in his sixty-second year. His
wife, formerly Emeline Perkins, was born in
Oswego county, New York, and survived her
husband until 1903, when she passed away at
the age of seventy-nine years. For more than
sixty years, therefore, the sterling record of
the Eord family has been a part of the annals
of South Bend.
The local public schools furnished George
Ford, with the early mental training which
he enjoyed, and his professional studies were
pursued in the law department of the Univer
sity of Michigan, from which he was gradu
ated in 1869. In that year he began practice
in South Bend, and during the intervening
years has secured not only a large and dis
tinctively representative clientele, but estab
lished a reputation as a strong and progressive
leader of the Democracy. For a number of
years after his graduation he was associated
in practice with Colonel Norman Eddy and
Joseph Henderson. The litigation with which
his name has been prominently associated em
braces many of the important eases tried in
the courts of this circuit, and his powers as
an advocate as well as his far-sightedness as
a counselor, have been freely acknowledged
these many years. His career as a Democratic
leader was inaugurated in 1874 by his election
to the office of prosecuting attorney of St.
Joseph county, and, after a continuous and
most meritorious service of ten years in this
¦arduous position, in 1885 he commenced his
term in the Forty-ninth congress as a repre
sentative of the Thirteenth district. Mr.
Ford was a working, useful and practical
member of congress, and returned to South
Bend with a greatly strengthened and broad
ened reputation.
In 1885 George Ford was united in mar
riage to Josephine Oliver, a daughter of
James Oliver, the great inventor of the
Chilled Plow and one of the most venerable
and best beloved citizens of South Bend. In
his fraternal relations Mr. Ford is a member
of the Masonic order and of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. He is sociable and
popular, possesses a keen intellect and is logi-

¦A-l-t ¦• '• i.-A-H

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

509

cal and liberal in his deductions. Regarded
as a citizen, he belongs to that public spirited
and useful type of men whose ambitions and
desires are centered and directed to those
channels through which flow the greatest and
most permanent public benefits.
Charles M. Krieghbaum. There are few
who can more justly claim the proud Ameri
can title of a self-made man, than Charles
M. Krieghbaum, who without any extraordin
ary family or pecuniary advantages at the
commencement of life has battled earnestly
and energetically, and by indomitable cour
age and integrity has achieved both character
and influence. By sheer force of will and un
tiring effort he has worked his way upward.
He was born near Plymouth, Marshall county,
Indiana, March 13, 1867, a son of Edwin and
Mary (Ringer) Krieghbaum, both natives of
Ohio. The father, who was born in Stark
county, Ohio, came to Indiana when a young
man, taking up his abode within the borders
of Marshall county, where he was engaged in
agricultural pursuits. His death occurred in
1901, when he had reached the age of sixty-
three years.
Charles M. Krieghbaum received his ele
mentary education in the country schools of
Marshall county, this being supplemented by
attendance at the Normal College of Logans
port and the normal school at Valparaiso,
Indiana. He thereafter taught for two years
in Marshall eounty, and in 1889 became a resi
dent of St. Joseph county, where he also fol
lowed the teacher's profession for four years.
During this time he had been taking a course
in the South Bend Business College, and he
also studied law in the office of W. A. Funk,
while in 1894 he graduated from the law de
partment of Notre Dame University. In the
same year he opened an office in South Bend
for the practice of his profession. He is able
and well posted in his profession, clear and
convincing as a speaker before judge and
jury, painstaking and accurate in the prepa
ration of his eases, and conscientiously adheres
to the spirit as well as to the letter of the law.
He gives his political support to the Demo
cratic party, and although an active worker
in its cause he has never desired the honors
or emoluments of public office.
In 1896, Mr. Krieghbaum was united in
marriage to Miss Lillian Kellar, a daughter
of Howard M. and Annie Kellar, of Misha
waka, Indiana, and they have one son, F. Wal
lace, born May 22, 1898. In his fraternal rela

tions Mr. Krieghbaum is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the
Order of Owls. His friends have the highest
appreciation of his many excellent qualities,
and his life history furnishes a splendid
example of what may be accomplished through
determined purpose, laudable ambition and
well directed efforts.
Charles E. Crockett, secretary and
treasurer of the Tribune Printing Company,
was born in South Bend, August 8, 1876,
being a son of the president of the Tribune
Company, whose sketch is given elsewhere.
Educated in the public schools and grad
uating from the South Bend High school
in 1894, he then entered Wabash College at
Crawfordsville, where he was graduated in
1898 with the degree of B. A. He showed
his talent and inclination for journalism
while a student in college, having been chief
editor of "The Wabash" while there. Since
leaving college he has been connected with
the South Bend Tribune, and became secre
tary and treasurer of the company. In col
lege his fraternal connections were with the
Delta Tau Delta and the Phi Beta Kappa
Greek letter societies. He is a member of
the First Presbyterian church in South Bend.
He married, April 17, 1906, Miss. Edna Sum
mers, and they have one child, Elizabeth
Ann Crockett.
Ed B. Reynolds. In the death of Ed B.
Reynolds, St. Joseph county lost one of its
most valued citizens. His entire life was
spent within its borders, and for a number
of years he was connected with one of the
chief industries of the county, having been
vice president of the First National Bank.
Many business concerns and moral enter
prises, however, owe their excellence and
progress largely to his influence. He was in
touch with the people, and from a sincere
and deep-felt interest in their welfare lar
bored for all that would prove of public bene
fit until the busy and useful life was ended.
Mr. Reynolds was born in South Bend on
the 28th of June, 1859, being a son of Ethan'
S. and Janette (Briggs) Reynolds, the fa
ther having been for many years an honored
and respected business man of this city. The
public and high schools of South Bend fur
nished their son with the educational train
ing which fitted him for life's duties, and
his first employment was in his father's paper
mill, where he remained for fifteen years.
The father had been one of the organizers

510

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of the First National Bank of South Bend,
of which he was also a director, stockholder
and vice president, and at the time of his
death his son E. B. took his place therein.
He was a keen and reliable business man, an
able financier, a sympathetic and kind-
hearted man and his loss was deeply felt
throughout the community in which he had
so long made his home. During' his lifetime
he had been an extensive traveler, having
visited all parts of the United States, also
Mexico and Alaska, and traveled all over
Europe, the Holy Land and many oriental
countries, including China and Japan.
Mr. Reynolds withheld his support from no
philanthropic or benevolent movements or en
terprises for the public good, and labored
earnestly for the betterment of mankind,
realizing most fully that financial success,
fame or high position count for naught un
less supplemented by an upright, honorable
character. He was a member of the leading
clubs of South Bend and was prominent in
fraternal societies. In 1901 he was appointed
by Mayor 'Schuyler Colfax as a member of
the board of public works. He passed away
October 1, 1906, but in the hearts of his
friends are enshrined many pleasant mem
ories of him, and his influence for good will
long remain with those who knew him.
Frederick A. Miller. As mentioned in
the history of journalism on other pages of
this work, the name Miller has been connected
with South Bend newspapers for nearly forty
years. Alfred B. Miller, the father of the
present editor of the Tribune, was born in
South Bend, the son of B. F. Miller, one of
the pioneers of the city. B. F. Miller was
of Scotch-Irish ancestry, a native of Penn
sylvania, and after settling in this 'county was
honored by election as one of the early sher
iffs. Alfred B. Miller was born, reared and
educated in this cpunty. He enlisted at the
breaking out of the Civil war and was com
missioned second lieutenant of the Twenty-
first Indiana Battery, serving with that com
mand through the entire war. On his return
from the field he clerked for D. M. Shively
and John Brownfield and later entered news
paper work, purchasing an interest in and
becoming editor of the St. Joseph Valley
Register, founded by the late Vice-President
Colfax. In 1872 he and Elmer Crockett
founded the South Bend Tribune, the first
issue of which appeared March 9 of that year.
He continued as editor and as one of the

active heads of this paper until his death
December 10, 1892. His wife was Esther
A. Tarbell", a native of Ohio and a daughter
of William Tarbell, a pioneer of the county.
Mrs. Miller died January 15, 1906.
Frederick A. Miller has been engaged in
newspaper work in South Bend for over
twenty years. Graduating from the South
Bend High school with the class of 1887,
on the 3d of July following he began work
as a reporter for the Tribune, and since his
father's death has been the editor of this
flourishing index of affairs and opinion in
South Bend. June 8, 1892,, Mr. Miller mar
ried Miss Flora Dunn, second daughter of
B. F. Dunn. (See sketch elsewhere.) Mr.
Miller is a member of the Knights of Pythias
and the Royal Arcanum.
William A. McInerny. The law has
ever called into its circle of devotees the
brightest minds, the most gifted sons of the
nation. The most careful analysis, closest
reasoning and most logical thought are
brought into play, and the lawyer of ability,
by reason of his strong intellectuality, rises
above the many to become a leader in thought
and action. Among the members of the legal
profession of St. Joseph county who are rap
idly forging to the front may be mentioned
William A. Mclnerny, a native of Cutler,
Carroll county, Indiana, born on the 14th of
October, 1875, his parents being Matthew and
Mary (Barrett) Mclnerny, both natives of
Ireland, the former of County Clare and the
latter of Roscommon. The father came to the
United States with his parents when a boy, the
family home being established in Carroll
county, where the son Matthew became a
prominent merchant. During the Civil war
he served as captain of the Eighty-sixth Indi
ana Volunteer Infantry, Company H, parti
cipating in the entire campaign. In 1889 he
removed with his family to South Bend, where
he is now well known as a commercial traveler.
Mr. and Mrs. Mclnerny became the parents
of five sons and one daughter, four of whom
are living in South Bend.
William A. Mclnerny supplemented the
early educational training which he had re
ceived in the public schools of Carroll county
by attendance at the high school of South
Bend, while his legal training was obtained
in Notre Dame University, graduating in that
institution in 1901. Previous to entering
Notre, Dame, however, he' was for five years
employed in the money order department of

^Ue^cJ, a.'LiM^

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

511

the South Bend postoffice. Immediately after
his graduation he began the practice of his
chosen profession in South Bend, where he is
now associated in business with his brother,
Joseph Walter, the, firm of Mclnerny & Mc
lnerny being well known throughout this sec
tion of the state. William A. Mclnerny is
also interested in several land companies, .is a
director and secretary of the South Bend Iron
Bed Company, also president of the M. B.
Bieger Realty Company, of Mishawaka, and
president of the Mishawaka Folding Carriage
Company. In October, 1902, occurred the marriage of
Mr. Mclnerny and Miss Ann Murphy, she
being a daughter of Frank J. Murphy, of
South Bend. Two children have been born of
this union, — Dorothy Agnes, born on the 26th
of August, 1903, and Anna Marie, born Octo
ber 6, 1905. In his fraternal relations Mr.
Mclnerny is a member of the Knights of
Columbus, the Modern Woodmen of America,
the Elks and the Ancient Order of Hiber
nians. Throughout the years of his majority
he has been a prominent worker in the ranks
of the Democratic party, and for a number
of years has been a member of the county
committee, while in 1902 he was appointed by
Mayor E. J. Fogarty as president of the board
of public works.
Harry G. Schock, a member of the firm
of Bugbee and Schock, attorneys at law
-and abstracters, with offices at 122 North
Main street, South Bend, is a represen
tative of a family that from an early period
has been prominently identified with the his
tory of St. Joseph county. His paternal
grandfather, Joseph Schock, located in the
county in the '30s, as did also the maternal
grandfather, George Replogle, the latter at
that time taking up his abode in South Bend.
Since that early day the various members of
the families have won for the name an envi
able distinction by their true worth of charac
ter. The parents of Harry G. were James J.
and Emma (Replogle) Schock, a native son
and daughter of St. Joseph county, and the
father is now employed' by the Studebaker
Manufacturing Company, but the mother is
deceased, passing away in 1901, at the age of
forty-seven years. Their younger son, James
E., resides in South Bend.
Harry G. Schock was born in New Carlisle,
St. Joseph county, Indiana, March 8, 1872,
but his education was received in tho public
schools of South Bend, in which he graduated

in 1890. He then entered the literary depart
ment of the Michigan University, while later
he was a student in the law department of
that institution, spending in all six years in
that temple of learning. Thus with an excel
lent training to form the foundations of his
future life work he formed a partnership with
W. A. Bugbee in the law and abstract busi
ness in 1899, and this firm has continued to
the present time and has won a distinguished
position at the bar of northern Indiana.
In 1904 Mr. Schock was united in marriage
to Evalyn, the daughter of W. A. and Evalyn
(Badet) Bugbee. She was born in the city
of South Bend and after attending its public
schools completed her education at Ferry
Hall 'Seminary at Lake Forest, Illinois. Mr.
Schock is a musician of note, and during the
past twenty years has been connected with the
Elbel Band as a cornet player. His political
support is given to the Republican party.
In his business relations he is thoroughly up
right and conscientious, is public spirited and
progressive in all his ideas, and has won an
enviable position among the younger repre
sentatives of the legal profession.
Thomas M. Hoban. One of the early fami
lies to make a settlement in South Bend is that
now worthily represented by the gentleman
whose name introduces this review. For
many years the Hobans have been identified
with the business interests of this city, aiding
materially in the development of the resources
of their sections and taking an active part in
everything tending to promote the welfare
and happiness of the majority. Martin Ho
ban, the father of Thomas M., was a native of
Bath, Maine, but when only seven years old
was brought by his parents to South Bend,
and he became a well known and prominent
resident of this city. For many years he was
a general contractor, and was also prominent
in the public life of his community, having
served as the Democratic alderman of the
Eighth ward for eight years. His death oc
curred in 1903, when he had reached the age
of fifty-five years. He was thoroughly in touch
with the people, and from a sincere and deep-
felt interest in their welfare labored for all
that would prove of public benefit until the
busy and useful life was ended. Mrs. Hoban
bore the maiden name of Julia E. Downey,
and was a native of Rome, New York.
Thomas M. Hoban, a worthy son of these
honored pioneer settlers, was born in South
Bend on the 20th day of July, 1878, and to

512

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

its public schools he is indebted for the early
educational training which he received, while
later he became a student in Notre Dame Uni
versity, from which he was graduated in law
in 1899, but in 1900 he took a post graduate
course therein. He has spared neither time
nor labor in his preparation for the legal pro
fession, and is recognized as a young man of
great promise, with a bright future before
him. Courtland P. DuComb. The man who
wins prominence at the bar of America's
thriving cities, of which South Bend is one,
must have a thorough understanding of the
law, a keen perception, logical reasoning, for
cible argument, and, above all, habits of pains
taking, patient industry. In like manner with
all others Courtland P. DuComb started out to
win a name and place for himself, and his suc
cess has made him one of the leaders of the
South Bend bar.
Mr. DuComb was born in Union township,
St. Joseph county, Indiana, August 12, 1872,
a son of Philip P. and Bertha E. (Wright)
DuComb, the former a native of Ohio and the
latter of Indiana. During the '50s the father
came to St. Joseph county, Indiana, and when
the Civil war was inaugurated he enlisted in
the Twenty-ninth Indiana Infantry, Company
K, in which he served for four years, and
after the close of the struggle he resumed the
quiet pursuits of a farm life. Subsequently,
however, he removed to Lakeville, Indiana,
where he engaged in general agricultural pur
suits, for awhile. He was then engaged in the
general merchandising business but selling
out, returned to the farm and remained about
fifteen years, when he again entered the gen
eral mercantile ' field, and is still in business
there. Courtland P. DuComb, the second in order
of birth of his parents ' four sons, received his
elementary education in the country schools,
and for a number of years thereafter was en
gaged in teaching in St. Joseph county.
While thus engaged he conceived the idea of
entering the legal profession, and to perfect
himself in that calling he entered the law
department of the Indiana State University,
from which he graduated in 1895, but prior
to entering that institution he had also had a
year's preparatory work in DePauw Univer
sity. After his graduation Mr. DuComb came
to South Bend, and has since been engaged in
active practice. He enjoys a large clientage,
which has connected him with much of the im

portant litigation heard in the courts of the
district for the past few years. His political
support is given to the Republican party, and
on one occasion he was the candidate of his
party for the office of city judge, being de
feated by only a small majority, although he
ran ahead of his tickets For four years he
served as a deputy prosecuting attorney, and
has been engaged in some important county
litigation and several noted murder trials.
He was appointed to assist the state in the
celebrated Koonsman murder trial, and suc
ceeded in convicting the three Koonsman
brothers and several others.
In 1896 Mr. DuComb was united in mar
riage to Miss Clara B. Augustine, a daughter
of William Augustine, an old and honored
resident of Warren township, St. Joseph
county. This union has been blessed with one
son, Noel V., who was born on the 15th of
October, 1897. In his fraternal relations Mr.
DuComb is a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 29, and of
other societies. His religious connection is
with the Christian church.
Benjamin F. Shively. For a number of
years a distinguished member of the legal pro
fession, honored and respected in every class
of society, Mr. Shively has long been a leader
in thought and action in the public life of the
state. His name is a familiar one in political
and professional circles throughout the north
ern portion of Indiana, and by reason of his
marked intellectual activity and superior
ability he is well fitted to aid in upbuilding
the policy of the state, to control general inter
ests and form public opinion.
Mr. Shively was born in St. Joseph county,
Indiana, March 20, 1857, a son of Rev. Joel
and Elizabeth (Penrod) Shively, natives of
Pennsylvania who came to St. Joseph county
in 1854. Their son Benjamin F. spent
the days of his boyhood and youth in attend
ance at the district schools and in assisting in
the work of the home farm, while later he be
came a student in the Northern Indiana Nor
mal College at Valparaiso. From 18.75 until
1880 he was engaged in teaching, and in the
latter year came to South Bend and embarked
in the newspaper field. Mr. Shively has long
been recognized as a leader in the ranks of
the Democratic party, and in 1884 he was
elected to congress to represent the Thirteenth
district, and on the expiration of his term
of service, in 1885, he entered the University
of Michigan at Ann Arbor, in which he gradu-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

513

ated in the law department in 1886. He was
then again elected to congress, and in 1888
and 1890 re-elected, while in 1906 he was nom
inated for the same position, and although he
was defeated by less than three hundred votes
he succeeded in reducing a majority at pre
vious elections of over six thousand. While
in congress Mr. Shively proved himself one
of its most indefatigable members and ren
dered excellent service to his constituents.
While a member of that body he served on
banking and currency, Indian affairs and
ways and means, and on the expiration of
his term he returned to South Bend and has
since devoted his time to his large legal prac
tice, having secured a distinctively represen
tative clientele. In 1896 he received the
Democratic nomination for governor, and
although defeated in the race, he polled more
votes by thirty thousand than had ever been
cast for governor up to that time. His name
was also mentioned for vice-president in 1896,
but he absolutely declined to allow it to be
put forward, although his ability would en
able him to grace any position which he might
be called upon to fill. He is a brilliant lawyer,
an eloquent speaker, a deep thinker and stu
dent of affairs, and it is believed that still
higher honors await him.
In 1889, Mr. Shively was married to Miss
Laura Jenks, a daughter of the Hon. George
A. Jenks, of Brookdale, Pennsylvania, who
from 1880 to 1886 was solicitor general of the
United States. He has also been for a num
ber of years trustee of Indiana University.
Gaylord H. 'Case, is becoming con
spicuously identified with the bar of
St. Joseph county. He was born in La
Grange county, Indiana, on the 25th day -of
July, 1878, and was reared on the farm. His
father, Zopher Case, for many years a farmer
well known in La Grange county, was a native
of Ohio, and came to La Grange county and
settled there in 1834. Zopher Case was promi
nently identified with the early history of
La Grange county and the state of Indiana.
He was also a prominent and influential
worker in the Democratic party, and among
the people with "whom he so long resided he
was very popular. Mrs. Zopher Case bore the
maiden name of Anna Smith and for many
years was a teacher of public schools in La
Grange county.
Gaylord H. Case received his preparatory
education in the public schools of La Grange
county, afterwards attending the Wolcottville
33

High School. In 1895 he entered St. Mary's
Institute, Dayton, Ohio, in which institution
he graduated in the scientific department in
1899. In 1899 he entered the Law Depart
ment of the University of Michigan, where he
graduated in 1902. He was admitted to the
bar in the State of Michigan in the same year,
and in the spring of 1902 went to North
Dakota where he was examined by the
Supreme Court of that state and admitted to
the bar. He practiced in North Dakota dur
ing the summer of 1902, and in the fall of the
same year he returned to Indiana, located in
South Bend and practiced law in partnership
with A. I. Field until the year of 1904. Since
1904 he has practiced by himself. In March,
1907, he was married to Miss Nellie Eshel-
man, a native of La Grange county, and since
that time has lived with his wife and mother
in South Bend.
He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, No.
45, F. & A. M., the South Bend Humane
Society and Crusade Lodge of the Knights of
Pythias, and is well known throughout the
city. Wilbert Ward, a lawyer of South Bend
in the vigorous prime of early middle
life, has achieved high standing in his
profession and is also an influential Re
publican. He has won a most substantial rep
utation as both advocate and counselor, this
dual achievement implying and demanding
qualities of eloquence and brilliancy as well
as of broad knowledge of the law and solid
common sense. All of these Mr. Ward pos
sesses; hence his continuous progress and
present standing.
Wilbert Ward is a native of St. Joseph
county, his birth occurring April 29, 1861,
and his parents were George and Jane (Cobb)
Ward, both natives of the county and long
residents of Clay township. The paternal
grandfather, George Ward, settled in this
region about 1837, and resided there until his
death in the spring of 1885. The son of
George Ward and father of Wilbert, also
George by name, is a farmer by occupation,
as he always has been, and by his wife (nee
Jane Cobb) became the father of the follow
ing children : Wilbert, Albert, Cora, the wife
of Richard Hicks ; Mertie and Grace.
Wilbert Ward, the eldest child of the above
named family, attended the public and high
schools of Mishawaka until he was thirteen
years of age, when he removed on to a farm
which his father had purchased and was also

514

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

trained to the useful and health-giving labors
of agriculture. His industry and intelligent
application at school enabled him to enter the
ranks of pedagogy at the early age of seven
teen, his services embracing Dutch Island
School of Penn township and Stover school
of Clay township. The latter was his home
district and he had among his pupils his own
brothers and sisters. In the fall of 1880 he
matriculated at De Pauw University, and the
succeeding winter taught a term of school in
Portage township, after which he returned to
the university and completed his collegiate
studies in June, 1884. He was principal of
the Clayton High School of Hendricks county
in the winter of 1884-5, and in the following
summer commenced the study of the law in
the office of Williamson & Daggy of Green
eastle, Indiana. The next winter he completed
his law course at De Pauw University, and
almost immediately afterward commenced his
duties as principal of the high school at An
derson, Indiana, and continued in that posi
tion until June, 1888.
From the above mentioned date, Mr. Ward
has been a resident and a progressive practic
ing attorney of South Bend, and is firmly
placed among the leading lawyers of the St.
Joseph county bar. He has also been promi
nently identified with the internal revenue
service of his district, and has served with
credit as a state representative.
Mr. Ward's wife was formerly Miss Alice
Chearhart, of Anderson, Indiana, by whom
he has had one child, Wilbert. The parents
are both members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Aside from his general practice Mr.
Ward has long been the attorney of the Work-
ingmen's Loan Association. His strict princi
ples of personal honor, as well as his profes
sional ability, make him an especially promi
nent and valuable -factor in the stability and
progress of all such associations.
Vitus George Jones. During the four
years which marks the period of Mr. Jones'
professional career he has met with gratifying
success, and is known as a man of nigh attain
ments and practical ability as a lawyer. He
was born on a farm in Cass county, Michigan,
June 15, 1879, a son of Thomas P. Jones, a
native of Ireland. When but seven years of
age, however, the father was brought by his
parents to the United States, the family home
being established in Michigan. Mr. Jones be
came very well known for his literary ability,
and for many years taught school in Willow

Springs, Illinois, and was also connected with
the Englewood Normal School. He then em
barked in business in Chicago, but his love for
a country life impelled him to return to Michi
gan and engage in fanning, and he still makes
his home in that state and carries on his agri
cultural pursuits. He has been prominent in
public life as well as in business circles, and
is leaving the impress of his individuality for
good upon many lines of progress and ad
vancement in his community. He married
Catherine Callinane, who was born in Michi
gan of Irish parents.
Their son, Vitus G. Jones, received the rudi
ments of his excellent education in the coun
try schools of Michigan, and in 1894 he
entered Notre Dame University, where he
studied English and law, remaining there for
nine years and receiving the degrees of LL. B.
and Litt. B. He was graduated in law in
1903 and immediately opened an office for the
practice of his profession in South Bend,
being associated with F. M. Jackson for one
and a half years, since which time he has
remained alone. In January, 1905, he was
appointed by the county commissioners as a
justice of the peace. The following year,
1906, he formed a partnership with D. D.
Bates, which continued until the firm of
Howell, Bates, Elliott & Jones was formed
in May, 1907, of which firm he is a member.
As a lawyer Mr. Jones has won rank among
the leading members of the bar of Indiana,
and in addition to his large legal practice
he is also interested in the real estate busi
ness with H. A. Tohulka, the latter conduct
ing that part of the business.
Mr. Jones was married on the 5th of Novem
ber, 1903, to Miss Mary Morley, daughter of
James Morley, of South Bend. In his frater
nal relations, Mr. Jones is a member of the
Knights of Columbus, the Knights of Equity
and the Maccabees. He gives his political
support to the Republican party, and is
accorded a prominent position at the Indiana
bar. Frank H. Dunnahoo. One of the rising
young men of South Bend is Frank H. Dun
nahoo, a representative of the bar of St.
Joseph county. He is conscientious, prompt
and thoroughly' reliable, and has won the
praise and regard of all with whom he has had
dealings. He is a native son of this county,
his birth having occurred on the 5th of April,
1873. His father, Griffin S. Dunnahoo, has
been for many years a prominent factor m

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

515

the agricultural interests of St. Joseph county.
Reliability in all trade transactions, loyalty to
all duties of citizenship, fidelity in the dis
charge of every trust reposed in him, these.
are his chief characteristics, and through the
passing years they have gained for him the
unqualified confidence and respect of his fel
low townsmen.
The public schools of St. Joseph county
furnished Frank H. Dunnahoo with his ele
mentary educational training, while his pro
fessional studies were pursued in the Univer
sity of Michigan, from which he graduated in
the law department in 1894, and in the same
year he opened an office in South Bend for the
practice of his profession. During his first
six years in practice he was associated with
the Hon. A. L. Brick, but during the past
six years he has been alone. He is a rising
young man in the profession, popular and
respected by all with whom he has had deal
ings, and his prestige at the bar of St. Joseph
county stands in evidence of his ability and
likewise serves as a voucher for intrinsic
worth of character. He gives his political
allegiance to the Democratic party, and has
for a number of years acceptably filled the
office of city attorney of South Bend. In his
social relations he is a member of the Indiana
Club, the Elks and the Knights of Pythias.
Demas D. Bates. Honored and respected
by all, Demas D. Bates has been for a number
of years prominently connected with the bar
of St. Joseph county, while during this time
he has also been identified with its public
affairs. Throughout the entire period of his
residence here he has been actively interested
in all measures advanced for the good of the
people, and has performed his full share in
the development and improvement of the city.
Mr. Bates was born near Liberty, St. Joseph
county, Indiana, November 4, 1865, a son of
Calvin Bates, a farmer by occupation. The
son spent the period of his boyhood and youth
on his father's farm and in attendance at the
district school near his home, and thereafter-
ward for nine years he was a member of the
teacher's profession. While thus engaged he
was also at intervals a student in the Northern
Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso, Indi
ana, from which he was graduated in the law
department in May, 1893, and in the same
year he came to South Bend and opened an
office for the practice of his chosen profession.
He continued alone in his practice until Sep
tember, 1899, when he formed a partnership

with Hon. A. L. Brick, the firm being known
as Brick & Bates. In 1898, Mr. Bates ac
cepted the position of referee in bankruptcy
for the Thirteenth district, which was ten
dered him by Judge Baker of the United
States District Court, but this position he
resigned in 1899 to enter a partnership with
Mr. Brick. In December, 1899, Mr. Bates was
the choice of his fellow citizens for the office
of county attorney, and held this position
until 1906, when he resigned to become post
master of South Bend. He took charge of the
postoffice April 1, 1906. and during the short
period he held the office he obtained a busi
ness-like grasp of the situation which caused
him to introduce methods and outline a policy
that greatly increased the efficiency of the
office. In April, 1907, Mr. Bates found it neces
sary to relinquish the office of postmaster on
account of pressure of other opportunities
and his desire to accept them. He resigned
the office of postmaster to take effect June 30,
1907, and entered into a law partnership with
Hon. M. L. Howell, Hon. Gilbert A. Elliott,
and Vitus G. Jones under the firm name of
Howell, Bates, Elliott & Jones. The firm
holds first rank with those of the central west,
and occupies offices in the American Building,
which are fitted up in the most modern style.
Mr. Bates has ever taken an active interest
in politics as a Republican, and in the 1898
campaign, he was a member of the Republican
Central Committee for the Thirteenth district,
while in 1900 and 1902 he was treasurer of
the Central Committee. He is a bright and
skillful lawyer, and has been a faithful public
servant, and is enjoying the confidence of all
with whom he has business or private rela
tions. Hon. Gilbert A. Elliott. The name of
Gilbert A. Elliott figures conspicuously upon
the legislative page of the history of Indiana.
An enumeration of the men of the present
generation who have won public recognition
for themselves and at the same time have hon
ored the county and the state to which they
belong, would be incomplete without promi
nent reference to the one whose name intro
duces this review. He is serving his second
term as a member of the state legislature,
where he has ever manifested deep interest in
those questions which are to the statesman,
as to the man of affairs, of vital importance
to the commonwealth and the nation. While
he has not been without the personal ambition

516

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

which is the spur of energy and without which
little would be accomplished in life, his patri
otic attachment to his country is even greater,
and he has ever placed her good before self-
aggrandizement. Thus over his public career
there falls no shadow of wrong, and, while he
has awakened envy and criticism such as
always come to the man who figures promi
nently before the public, the citizens who
know him best have manifested their confi
dence in his worth and work by re-electing
him to represent them in the council chambers
of the state.
Mr. Elliott is a splendid example of the
brilliant ytt enduring stock of English-Irish
ancestry transplanted to American soil and
subjected to the broadening influences of
western education and training. He has left
nothing to chance, and taken nothing for
granted except that he could never expect to
reach a given point in his career without
fighting obstacles and struggling over difficul
ties, continuously and persistently. The
decided ground which he has thus gained,
although of unusual extent for one of his
years, has been held with determination, but,
from the very nature of his character, with no
indication of overweening pride. He is a
native of South Bend, born on the 11th of
October, 1879, a son of Gilbert L. and Anna
(McElroy), Elliott, the latter being born in
Ireland. The paternal grandfather was a cap
tain in the English army, stationed in India,
where the father of Gilbert A. was born. The
family .afterward removed to Canada, and in
1870, after remaining there for a number of
years, come to South Bend. The father, Gil
bert L. Elliott, died in this city in 1893.
Gilbert A. Elliott has spent his entire life
in the city of his nativity, is indebted to its
public schools for his early literary training
and is a graduate of its high school, class of
1898. Subsequently he pursued a higher
course in the University of Michigan, and in
1903 graduated from the law department of
that institution. After his admission to the
bar Mr. Elliott entered the office of Wilbert
Ward, of South Bend, but in 1904 began the
practice of his chosen profession alone. He
early took an interest in public questions and
as they were discussed and manipulated
mainly through political parties he naturally
drifted into politics. As it is quite foreign to
his nature to take any but an active part
in anything which occupies his attention, he
soon became recognized as a remarkably clear

headed and influential Republican, and after
his admission to the bar his old friends at
once saw that he would make a very useful
legislator. In 1904, therefore, before he had
fairly entered practice, he was elected to the
legislature from his home city, and so fulfilled
the public expectations as to his faithfulness
and ability that he was re-elected in 1906.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Elliott is
identified with the Masonic order, Lodge No.
294, and the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks, and socially is a member of the Com
mercial-Athletic Club. While unassuming
and companionable, he is at the same time
a well read and substantial lawyer and a prac
tical man of affairs, straightforward and de
termined. At an age when most young men
are unknown to but a very limited circle, Mr.
Elliott has achieved a firm public standing,
and his merits are freely .recognized, not only
at home, but in other sections of the state.
He is a fine type of the progressive American
citizen — enterprising in business, deeply inter
ested in the current political situation, and,
whatever his position, defending it with the
same zeal with which he. fosters his private
affairs. In every sense he is intensely, yet
broadly, American.
George E. Clarke. The history of a city,
county or state, as well as that of a nation, is
chiefly the chronicle of the lives and deeds of
those who have conferred honor and dignity
upon society. The world judges the character
of a community by that of its representative
citizens, and yields its tribute of admiration
and respect for the genius, learning, labor or
virtue of those whose work and actions consti
tute the record of a state's prosperity and
pride ; and it is in the character, as exempli
fied in probity and benevolence, kindly virtues
and integrity in the affairs of life, that we are
afforded worthy examples of emulation and
valuable lessons of incentive.
Among the men whose impress of individu
ality is felt upon the city of South Bend, Indi
ana, whose efforts have promoted its welfare
and progress, none are more worthy of men
tion in the volume than George Edmond
Clarke, whose success at the bar classes him
among the foremost members of the legal fra
ternity of the state of Indiana, and who has
directed his efforts along lines demanding
strong mentality and keen discernment that
continued progression has followed as a logical
sequence. As an exponent of the law he has
manifested a strength that shows comprehen-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

517

sive familiarity with the great judicial prin
ciples involved ; and yet his powers have not
so concentrated along one line of thought as
to produce the abnormal development that so
often is misconstrued as genius. On the con
trary, his is an evenly balanced mind that has
found scope for activity in literary, fraternal
and social circles. Nor has he been remiss in
that citizenship which takes cognizance of the
great questions affecting the welfare of the
country, and lends hearty co-operation to the
movements for municipal improvement and
advancement. George E. Clarke has been practicing law
at South Bend since 1890. In recognition of
his legal ability and sterling worth as a citi
zen, the people of the county elected him
twice to the office of prosecuting attorney. In
this office he added numerous laurels to his
success in criminal law. Though an active
member of the St. Joseph county bar, Mr.
Clarke is, perhaps, best known to the younger
generation of lawyers, in this county and
elsewhere, as a lecturer on legal subjects. He
has taught in the law department of Notre
Dame University and is a well known lecturer
on historical and legal subjects. At a
recent meeting of the State Bar Association
at Indianapolis, he delivered an address
which was widely and favorably commented
upon and which gave him general recogni
tion as one of the able public speakers of the
west. When the American Bar association
met in Saratoga, New York, he was1 one of
the three delegates from Indiana, and was
elected by his fellow delegates as a member
of the council for the state. *
A man of exceptional attainments in vari
ous fields of effort, Mr. Clarke has had a
varied career, though his endeavors have been
applied in one general direction ever since
he attained manhood. Born in New Orleans,
Louisiana, May 8, 1860, he was the son of
a railroad and steamboat official whose home
was at that place. Both parents, Matthew
and Ellen Clarke, were natives of Ireland.
He is a graduate of the public schools. Dur
ing his earlier years he had experience in
various capacities, at one time being private
secretary of the president of the M. & 0.
railroad and later a newspaper reporter. For
sometime he was in the employ of the Stude
baker Brothers of South Bend. He soon
gained the prestige that comes through the
recognition of ability, and, moreover, as a
young man with a reputation to make, he

displayed the unremitting industry and
energy without which success in any walk of
life is impossible. His college training and
experience were received in several of the
foremost schools of the country, namely, St.
Vincent's College, Cornell University, the
Sniversity of Michigan and Notre Dame
niversity. He thoroughly informed himself
concerning great judicial principles involved
and his preparation of cases has always been
most thorough and exhaustive. Notre Dame
University has conferred upon him the de
gree of LL.B., B.A. and M.A. The Uni
versity of Michigan made him a Master of
Laws. He is one of the best known officials of
the order of Knights of Columbus of Indiana,
being a district deputy, and in the interests
of this1 order, as well as a lawyer, he is known
outside of the state, where he has conferred
the degree' of the order and has lectured in
its interests. He is also a member of the
Indiana State Bar and the American Bar
Associations. He is an active member of the
Catholic church.
Mr. Clarke is an influential Republican and
has advocated the doctrines of the party from
the platform in many campaigns, setting
forth the real issues before the people in a
concise, logical and forcible manner that car
ries conviction to the minds of his auditors.-
He was honored by being appointed a mem
ber of the reception committee to receive
Vice-President Fairbanks in Chicago in
March, 1907.
Mr. Clarke married in 1887, Miss Mamia
Giddings. At her death she left two child
ren. His present wife was Miss Mary
Vanderhoof, of South Bend, Indiana.
Thomas W. Slick. The law has ever called
into the circles of its devotees the brightest
minds, the most gifted sons of the nation. The
keen intellect is sharpened by its clash with
others as brilliant, and gains thereby an added
strength and power. A prominent represen
tative of the bar of St. Joseph county is
Thomas W. Slick, who is a native son of South
Bend, born on the 5th of July, 1869. His
father, Thomas J. Slick, is a native of Ohio,
but came to St. Joseph county, Indiana, in
the early '50s, when a young man, and was
thereafter engaged in business in South Bend
for a number of years. In 1876, however, he
took up his abode upon a farm, and from that
time until 1886 was actively engaged in agri
cultural pursuits, but for a number of years

518

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

past he has been prominently engaged in the
laundry business in this city. His life has
been one of untiring activity, and he is now
numbered among the honored pioneers who
aided in laying the foundation on which to
erect the superstructure of St. Joseph
county's present prosperity and progress.
His wife bore the maiden name of Laura Ann
Whitten, she being a daughter of President
Whitten, of South Bend.
Thomas W. Slick, whose name introduces
this review, received his early educational
training in the public schools of South Bend,
graduating from its high school in 1889, and
he thereafter taught school for two years. On
the expiration of that period he entered upon
the study of the profession which he had de
termined to make his life work, and in 1893
graduated in law and literature at the Michi
gan University at Ann Arbor. His prepara
tion for the bar was thorough and compre
hensive, and he was therefore ably fitted to
open an office- in South Bend and engage
actively in practice. During the present year
his brother was also admitted to the bar and
has been taken into partnership. Throughout
the period of his majority Mr. Slick has been
a zealous and efficient worker in the Republi
can party, and for four years he served as
prosecuting attorney.
The marriage of Mr. Slick was celebrated in
1894, when Mollie G. Falknor, of Covington,
Ohio, became his wife, and they now have two
sons, Glenn, born July 9, 1895, and Ralph,
born September 29, 1896. In his fraternal re
lations Mr. Slick is a member of the Masonic
order, lodge No. 294, of which he is a past
master, and also a member of the Chapter
and Knights Templar. Mr. Slick is accorded
a prominent position at the Indiana bar, and
his professional career is an honor to the dis
trict which has honored him.
Jonathan P. Creed. The name of Jona
than P. Creed is inseparably associated with
the history of jurisprudence in northern In
diana. He has not looked to public or official
life for advancement, but has found it in
the line of his chosen profession, wherein he
has manifested ability of a superior order,
and in the faithful performance of each
day's duties in accordance with the princi
ples of the loftiest and most noble manhood.
Mr. Creed was born in Benton, Yates
county, New York, on the 2d of December,
1844, his father, William IT. Creed, being a
well known contractor and builder of that

city. During his early manhood the son
Jonathan attended Genesee Wesleyan Semi
nary at Lima, New York, and at the age of
seventeen years he offered his services to
the Union cause in her efforts to overthrow
the South, enlisting in the One Hundred and
Twenty-sixth New York Volunteer Infantry,
and was sent to the front. His regiment was
attached to the Army of the Potomac, being
a part of the Second Army Corps commanded
by General W. S. Hancock. The One Hun
dred and Twenty-sixth was one of the fa
mous "three hundred fighting regiments,."
and young Jonathan saw much arduous serv
ice, as his command took part in all the
battles and skirmishes in which the Army
of the Potomac participated. On the 4th of
July, 1863, at Gettysburg, he was shot
through the side and right arm. He was a
brave and fearless soldier and suffered many
hardships and privations for his country's
cause. The year 1868 witnessed the arrival of
Mr. Creed in South Bend, where he began
the study of law in the office of J.- B. Arnold,
with whom he afterwards formed a partner
ship. In 1881 he began the practice of law
alone, but since 1897 he has had associated
with him his daughter, Miss Alice M. Creed,
who is a graduate of the South Bend high
school in the class of 1892. She pursued her
law studies at the University of Indianapolis,
graduating in 1897, and was admitted to
practice before the supreme court of Indiana.
Her mother, nee Lucretia Miller, is a daugh
ter of Solomon Miller, of South Bend. Mr.
Creed is a member of Auten Post, No. 8, G.
A. R., of which he served as commander for
three years. For many years he has been
accorded a prominent position at the Indiana
bar, and he and his popular and gifted
daughter form a strong combination.
Francis E. Lambert. Many years have
passed and gone since the family to which
this well known lawyer belongs became iden
tified with St. Joseph county, and its various
members have won for the name an enviable
distinction by their intelligence and worth.
This high reputation is in no way dimin
ished in this generation, and Francis E. Lam
bert, who is numbered, among the leading
members of the bar in St. Joseph county,
displays in a marked degree the admirable
characteristics which the name suggests.
A native son of this county, Mr. Lambert
was born on a farm on the 4th of June,

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

519

1860, a son of Oliver C. and Ellen (McMul-
len) Lambert, the former a native of Vir
ginia, and the latter of Henry county, In
diana, born November 27,. 1825. In their
family were ten children,- seven sons and three
daughters, of whom five are now living. The
father was born in Frederick county, Vir
ginia, in 1818, and as early as 1835 cast in
his lot with the early pioneers of the Hoosier
State. For many years after his arrival he
conducted a cooper shop in South Bend, and
in 1853 purchased the farm in Warren town
ship on which his remaining days were spent,
passing away in 1872, when one more name
was added to the list of honored dead whose
earthly record closed with the words, "Well
done." Francis E. Lambert obtained his early
educational training in the schools of old St.
Joseph county, this being later supplemented
by attendance at the Northern Indiana Nor
mal College at Valparaiso, Indiana, from
which he graduated with the class of 1884.
For twelve years thereafter he was numbered
among the prominent and efficient teachers of
the county, and was also connected with the
South Bend Commercial College as princi
pal of the business department. During all
this time his ambitions had been to become a
lawyer, and as a means to that end he pur
sued a course in the law department of the
Valparaiso College. After his admission to
the bar in 1891 he immediately began the
practice of his chosen profession in South
Bend, and for a number of years thereafter
was in partnership with F. M. Jackson, but is
now alone. He is recognized as a man of
exceptional attainments and mental culture,
and his success has made him one of the
leaders of the South Bend bar. He advo
cates the principles of the Republican party,
and for two terms, 1894-1898, was a member
of the state legislature. Prior to that time
St. Joseph and Laporte counties formed one
judicial district, and during his term in of
fice Mr. Lambert introduced and had passed
a bill making this county the circuit. He
was also appointed referee in bankruptcy in
1898, ,and is now filling that position.
On the 12th of February, 1904, Mr. Lam
bert was united in marriage to Miss Blanche
Gee, a native of- Oshkosh, Wisconsin. His
first marriage, however, was celebrated in
1891, when Mary E. Moomaw, of South Bend,
became his wife. One daughter, Mildred,
was born of this union on the 13th of July,

1893. In his fraternal relations Mr. Lam
bert is a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Pro
tective Order of Elks.
Will G. Crabill was born in Wabash, In
diana, September 22, 1869. He came of
sturdy Hoosier parentage, his grandfather,
Michael R. Crabill, who died at Wabash in
November, 1906, having been one of the pio
neers of Wabash county and a prominent
factor in its history. He held many offices
of public trust, and had the distinction of
being the first Democratic mayor ever elected
in the city of Wabash, and that in the face
of a large political majority. Charles B.,
eldest son of Michael R. Crabill, and father
of W. G. Crabill, is a veteran of the Civil
War. He married Julia Ann Guin, a native
of Howard county, Indiana, in 1866. He
removed to South Bend with his family in
1882 and entered the employ of the Stude
baker Brothers' Manufacturing Company as
lumber buyer and inspector.
Will G. Crabill at once entered the public
schools of South Bend and graduated from
the high school in 1888. At this time he re
ceived his first public recognition, his high
standing entitling him to the only honor
then in the gift of the high school, — a schol
arship to Wabash College. Immediately after
his graduation he entered the employ of Hon.
Andrew Anderson, the leading lawyer of
the St. Joseph county bar, of South Bend,
Indiana, and began the study of law. In
1890 and 1891 he took a special course in
law at the University of Michigan. Returning
he re-entered the office of Mr. Anderson, who
was then associated with James DuShane,
and in the same year was admitted to the
bar. Mr. Anderson was doing an excellent class
of business and so much of it that he was
working day and night. So the boy did not
spend much time in cutting his legal teeth on
the rubber ring of trivial business that
usually falls to the infant lawyer, but was
put to the bone of real work. He was alert
and self-reliant, and depended not upon luck.
but upon studious and thorough preparation
to win his cases, and he rapidly developed a
precocious ability to "deliver the goods."
In .the year i893 he married Laura C.
Jones. They have two daughters. In 1897
he became a member of the firm, which then
read Anderson, DuShane & Crabill. In 1906
Mr. DuShane, who had devoted his time ex-

520

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

clusively to patent business, formally retired
from the firm. The Hon. Samuel Parker,
formerly of Marshall county, came to South
Bend and became associated with Mr. Ander
son and Mr. Crabill, the firm style now being
Anderson, Parker & Crabill. Mr. Anderson
has reached the contemplative, philosophic
age, and has withdrawn from active practice,
willing, as he says, to "let the boys do the
work." This is what Mr. Crabill has always
been doing. How well he is doing it the
records of St. Joseph county show. He is
helping make the current history of the
county and is bearing the brunt of a large
numbei1 of its most important legal battles.
He and his firm represent large corporate in
terests, being attorneys for the Grand Trunk
Western Railway Company, Studebaker
Brothers' Manufacturing Company, St. Jo
seph County Savings Bank, Vandalia Rail
road Company, and many concerns less pow
erful, but have never turned a deaf ear to
the impecunious client with a meritorious
case. Mr. Crabill has been too deeply engrossed
in business and study to attain any great
social prominence. He lives in a quiet, un
pretentious way. He is affiliated with a
number of fraternal organizations, but is con
tent with the position of lay member in most
of them. In Masonic circles he is well known,
having held successive posts of honor, cul
minating with the office of Eminent Com
mander of South Bend Commandery No. 13,
Knights Templar.
He has a host of friends. He is still
young, his practice is clean, his methods are
vigorous and straightforward, and his ideals-
are high. He has a future more brilliant
than his past.
Hon. Lucius Hubbard. Occupying a high
place among the leading law practitioners
of St. Joseph county may be found the name
of Hon. Lucius Hubbard. His entire life
has been passed in the county, for his birth
occurred within its borders in Olive township
on the 7th of January, 1844. His parents,
Ransom and Mariette (Whitlock) Hubbard.
were natives respectively of Oneida and
Delaware counties, New York. As early as
1835 the paternal grandfather of our subject.
Jonathan Hubbard,' came from Oneida
county and settled within the borders of
Olive township, St.- Joseph county, Indiana,
where he was engaged in agricultural pur
suits. The life history of Ransom Hubbard

was closely identified with the history of St.
Joseph county, which was his home for
many years, and through all that period he
was closely allied with its interests and up
building. He, too, devoted his time to agri
cultural pursuits, and was of the highest
type of business man. In his family were
three sons, one of whom, Haven, now resides
on the old homesjtead which has been in the
possession of the family for three generations.
When fifteen years of age Lucius Hubbard,
whose name introduces this review, entered
Notre Dame University, where he received an
excellent literary education, while his legal
training was obtained in the University of
Michigan at Ann Arbor, in which he gradu
ated with the class of 1866. In the same
year he began the practice of law in South
Bend, where he has ever since been accorded
a prominent position at the bar, his profes
sional career being an honor to the district
which has honored him. His superior ability
has won him marked success in public life,
and from 1871 until 1873 he served as a
state senator, while from 1894 until 1900 he
was circuit judge. Professional eminence is
an indication of individual merit, for in
professional life advancement cannot depend
upon outside influences or the aid of wealthy
friends; it comes as the reward of earnest,
persistent labor and the exercise of natural
talents, and for many years Judge Hubbard
has been accorded a leading place at the
Indiana bar.
The marriage of Judge Hubbard was cele
brated in 1869, when Miss Mattie 0. Davis,
a daughter of Joshua Davis of St. Joseph
county, became his wife. One son has been
born to them, Arthur, a bright young lawyer
who is in partnership with his father. He
also graduated from the University of Michi
gan and from Harvard law school. In his
fraternal relations the judge is a member of
the Masonic order of St. Joseph county.
Andrew Anderson. There is no nation
ality more honored in the United States or
which has been of more practical strength,
value and utility than the Scotch. Intensely-
honorable, and ever having a clear compre
hension of the ethics of life the Scotch have
wielded a wide influence, and this service
cannot but be held in high estimation by
those who appreciate true worth and true
advancement. Although a native of White
hall. Washin.<?ton county. New York," born
October 6. 1830, Mr. Anderson is a descendant

fi ..Ufci i

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

521

of Scotland, for his father, Andrew Ander
son, was a native of Dundee of that country,
born in 1779. When twenty-three years of
age he came to the United States, taking up
his abode in Washington county, New York,
where he was engaged in mercantile pursuits.
His death occurred in 1870. He married
Lucinda Goodrich, of an old New England
family. Andrew Anderson, Jr., attended Union
College of Schenectady, New York, and grad
uated from the Albany Law School in 1856.
He at once came to South Bend, and on the
1st of January, 1856, opened a law office in
this city, where he has1 since been engaged in
active practice. He enjoys a large clientage,
which has connected him with much of the
important litigation heard in the courts of
the district for many years, while for a long
period he has also been the lecturer on law
at Notre Dame University. He is a dean of
the St. Joseph county bar, a forceful speaker
before judge and jury and is a man of the
most sterling qualities of heart and mind. He
is a true friend and an honorable opponent.
For a number of years Mr. Anderson was in
partnership with Thomas S. Stanfield, and
he is now a member of the firm of Anderson,
Parker & Crabill. His name also stands con
spicuously forth on the pages of Indiana's
political history, and in 1862 he served as a
member of the legislature. He was also the
first man in St. Joseph county to offer his
services to his country during the Civil war,
becoming a member of Company I, Ninth In
diana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served
for three months.
In 1857 Mr. Anderson was married to
Miss Mary Chapin, a daughter of Horatio
Chapin, a banker and an honored -early set
tler of South Bend. Her death occurred in
1905, leaving two daughters, Mrs. Willis Put
nam, of Massachusetts, and Emma, the wife
of James DuShane, of South Bend. Mr. An
derson continues his connection with his old
army comrades by his membership in the
Grand Army of the Republic' He is inde
pendent in his political affiliations, and re
ligiously is a member of the Presbyterian
church. John W. Kitch, a substantial and progres
sive lawyer of South Bend, residing at No.
906 East Dayton street, is a native of In
diana, born in Marshall county, June 8, 1866.
Of his parents, Martin Van Buren and
Amanda M. (Lehr) Kitch, his father was for

many years engaged in his native county as
a lumberman and farmer. He was proprietor
of a saw mill, and a man of substance and
considerable prominence. The mother was *
born in Harris township, in the extreme
northeastern part of St. Joseph county, and
her father was one of the first to take up
land in that section. Samuel Lehr became a
settler of Harris township in the early thir
ties, and until his death was a well known
pioneer in the locality named.
Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs.
Martin V. Kitch two died in infancy, . and
John W. is the oldest of the five sons. His
early education was obtained in the district
schools- of Marshall county, and he afterward
became a student in Valparaiso University, in
which he pursued both scientific and classical
courses. His first intention was to enter the
educational field and cultivate it permanently,
and, judged by the progress he made in his
early manhood, he would have acquired emi
nence there. After graduating from the Val
paraiso University, he located in Holland,
Michigan, where for two years he held the
position of principal of the high school. Sub
sequently he was an incumbent of the same
position at Adair and Coon Rapids, both in
Iowa. While thus engaged at the former
place he commenced the study of the law in
an attorney's office.
Having been admitted to the practice of
his profession, in 1898 Mr. Kitch opened an
office for practice at Bremen, Indiana, and
engaged in professional labors at that place
for three years. Early in 1901 he located at
South Bend, and, with the exception of two
years, when he was connected with the Lindon
School, he has devoted himself to his chosen
calling. He now has a profitable and high-
grade practice, .and is recognized as a leading
lawyer and a valuable citizen.
On September 12, 1890, Mr. Kitch was
married to Miss Ida Simpson, the ceremony
occurring at the home of her parents in Fow
ler, Indiana. Mrs. Kitch is a native of Tippe
canoe county, that state, and she was raised
to useful womanhood in the locality of her >
birth. Her father, Jeremiah Simpson, was
long the foreman for Moses Fowler, a mil
lionaire farmer of that county. Mr. and Mrs.
John W. Kitch have two children-^Lorene
and Donnell. Politically Mr. Kitch is a Dem
ocrat, .and is an active and effective party
worker. His fraternal connections are with

522

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the Masons and Odd Fellows, in whose ranks
he is a progressive member.
Cyrus E. Pattee. During the past eight
years Cyrus E. Pattee has been engaged in the
practice of law in St. Joseph county. He is
able and well posted in his profession, clear
and convincing as a speaker before judge and
jury, painstaking and accurate in the prep
aration of his cases, and conscientiously ad
heres to the spirit as well as the letter of the
law. He was born in Kankakee county, Illi
nois on the 25th of February, 1870, a son of
Cyrus .and Nancy E. (Fleming) Pattee, the
former a native of the state of New York and
the latter of LaGrange, Indiana. In the year
1845 the father established his home in Illi
nois, where both he and his wife are still liv
ing, enjoying the comforts which many years
of earnest and persistent labor have brought
to them.
The elementary educational training of Cy
rus E. Pattee was received in his native coun
ty of Kankakee, after which he completed
the scientific course in the Northern Indiana
Normal College at Valparaiso, Indiana, grad
uating with the class of 1893. For one year
thereafter he was engaged in the study of law
in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor,
and in 1898 graduated from the law depart
ment of the University of Colorado, at Bould
er, that state. In the same year he began the
practice of his chosen profession in South
Bend, remaining alone until 1901, when he
formed the partnership with Miller Guy which
still exists, and the firm of Guy & Pattee has
gained a high reputation throughout St. Jo
seph county. Mr. Pattee gives his political
support to the Republican party, and was its
nominee for the office of prosecuting attorney
in 1906. His first political work was in the
Blaine campaign, when he was a member of
the School Boys' Marching Club of Yellow-
head township, Kankakee county, Illinois. He
is an indefatigable and earnest worker, and
he is proficient in every department of the
law. Before taking up the practice of the
law he also attained distinction in educational
fields, having been principal of the Grant
Park high school of Grant Park, Illinois.
Mr. Pattee married Miss Elizabeth Miller
Creed, a daughter of J. P. Creed, whose his
tory appears elsewhere in this volume. This
union has been blessed with two children:
Edwin John, born December 13, 1902, and
Robert Stuart, born in May, 1905.

Miller Guy, a prominent attorney of
South Bend, Indiana, and well known
throughout this section of the state among the
younger representatives of the bar, was born
in Washington county, Pennsylvania, on the
13th of December, 1870. His parents, S. L.
and Agnes A. (Miller) Guy, were natives
respectively of Washington county, Pennsyl
vania, and Brook county, West Virginia. The
father removed to Kansas in 1887, where he
was engaged in farming and stock-raising,
and there his life's labors were ended in
death in 1896.
Miller Guy attended the public schools of
his native county and also Bethany College,
West Virginia, in which he was graduated
in 1889 with the degree of B. A. He also
graduated in law from the University of
Michigan in 1895, and after working for one
year in Ohio, he came to South Bend, arriv
ing here on the 1st of November, 1896, and
from that time until April, 1901, he prac
ticed alone, but then formed a partnership
with C. E. Pattee, the name of Guy & Pattee
being well known in the northern portion of
Indiana. Mr. Guy has won prominence at
the bar of South Bend, and has been con
nected with much important litigation, while
at the same time he has made a specialty of
drainage law, and is looked upon as an
authority on that particular branch on ac
count of the success which has attended his
efforts in its practice. His activity in politi
cal lines has connected him with much cam
paign work, and he is recognized as a Re
publican leader in this section of the state.
Mr. Guy is also a prominent worker in the
Young Men's Christian Association, having
done much valuable and voluntary work for
the organization, and was president of the
board of directors for two years, also chair
man of the executive committee and a mem
ber of the building committee.
Wladyslaw Alex Grzesk, a prominent at
torney of South Bend, is known as a man of
high attainments and practical ability as a
lawyer. He was born in Portage township,
St. Joseph county, Indiana, June 4, 1880, a
son of Thomas and Anthony Grzesk, both
natives of Poland, but who came to this coun
try in 1873 and located in South Bend. In
1885 they took up their abode on an eighty
acre farm ten miles west of this city, their
first home being a little log cabin, and on this
old home farm the father still resides, but the
mother died on the 7th. of June, 1906. In

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

523

their family were eleven children, nine of
whom grew to years of maturity and are still
living. Wladyslaw A. Grzesk, the third child and
second son in order of birth, spent the early
years of his life on the homestead, attending
the district schools' .and also the South Bend
public schools until seventeen years of age,
when he began traveling for the McCormick
Harvesting Machine Company, his territory
extending over northern Indiana and south-
em Michigan. After remaining with this com
pany about one year he pursued a course in
the South Bend Commercial College. In
April, 1901, however, he returned to the Mc
Cormick Harvesting Company, but on the 1st
of October following became a student in the
law department of the Valparaiso college,
completing the course and graduating in
1904. All during his vacations, however, he
continued with his' old employers, the Mc
Cormick Company, but since 1904 he has
given his entire time and attention to his
law practice, his prestige at the bar of South
Bend standing in evidence of his ability and
likewise serves as a voucher for intrinsic
worth of character. Mr. Grzesk is a member
of the Polish Turners Association, is a stock
holder in the Jan III Sobiski Building and
Loan Association, and is also extensively in
terested in real estate operations, handling
much valuable property. As a Republican he
has taken an active part in the public life of
his community, and at one time was a can
didate for the office of justice of the peace.
On the 6th of June, 1905, Mr. Grzesk was
united in marriage to Martha Gierzk, and
their only daughter is Jeneva. He is a splen
did example of the boys who have educated
themselves and secured their own start in
life, and as the record of a young man it is
one of which he may justly be proud.
A. McMullen Creed. None of the young
and progressive attorneys of St. Joseph coun
ty have a brighter outlook than A. McM.
Creed, of South Bend, a partner of Herbert
D. Warner, with convenient offices in the
Jefferson building. He is a native of Sin-
clairville, New York, born January 20, 1879,,
and is the son of Rev. Edward K. and Fannie
(McMullen) Creed. His father, long an hon
ored figure in the Methodist ministry, was
born in New York state, and his mother was
a native of Warren, Pennsylvania. In their
familv of three children he is the only son
and the oldest.

A. McMullen Creed received his prepara
tory education in the high school of -South-
ington, Connecticut, and afterward pursued
an academic course at Pennington, New Jer
sey. After leaving school in 1900 he became
a clerk in a New York law office, and in the
spring of the following year came to South
Bend to study his profession under the guid
ance of his uncle, J. P. Creed. He was about
a year in his office, when he entered the law
department of the Maryland University at
Baltimore. After his graduation therefrom
he returned to South Bend, and since July,
1904, has practiced with ability and increas
ing reputation.
Mr. Creed was married October 10, 1906,
to Miss Winifred Purshall, a native of Erie,
Pennsylvania. He is a member of the col
lege fraternity Kappa Sigma, and while a
college student at Pennington, New Jersey,
was a leading athlete. He has retained his
enthusiasm and skill for all forms of exercise,
and at one time was director of the Y. M. C.
A. gymnasium at South Bend, holding a simi
lar position at Mishawaka. Politically Mr.
Creed is a Republican of firm convictions,
and, fraternally, a Mason in good standing.
George G. Feldman. The name of George
G. Feldman is inscribed on the pages of St.
Joseph county's history in connection with
the records of her jurisprudence, and he is
also accounted one of the political leaders of
this section of the state. He was born in
Marshall county, Indiana, June 27, 1861, a
son of August and Barbara (Michael) Feld- '
man, the former a native of Altendorf, Grand
Duchy of Hesse, born September 1, 1821, and
the latter of Bavaria, Germany, and both are
now prominent old residents of South Bend.
In 1848 the father came to the United States
and settled in Greenville, Ohio, and was there
married December 26, 1849. That city con
tinued to be his home for six years, and on
the expiration of that period, in 1854, he took
up his abode within the borders of Indiana,
the first year in this state being spent in
Elkhart county. He then settled in the woods
near Bremen, where he erected a log cabin
and engaged in agricultural pursuits. To
establish a home amid such surrounding as
he here encountered and to cope with the
many privations and hardships which were
the inevitable concomitants, demanded an in
vincible courage and fortitude, strong hearts
and willing hands. All these were character
istics of the pioneers, whose names and deeds

524

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

should be held in perpetual reverence by
those who enjoy the fruits of their toil. So
well did he succeed in his business ventures
that in 1900 Mr. Feldman was enabled to lay
aside the active duties of a business life, and
removed to Bourbon, Marshall county, In
diana, while in 1906 he came to South Bend,
where he and his wife are now enjoying the
reward of their former toil, surrounded by
the many luxuries which a life of industry
has brought to them.
George G. Feldman received his elementary
educational training in the schools of Mar
shall county, and after completing his studies
therein he was engaged in teaching from
1879 until 1889. In 1889 he entered upon a
course in the Northern Indiana Normal Col
lege at Valparaiso, Indiana, now the Univer
sity of Valparaiso, graduating in the next
year with the degree of B. S., and two years
later, in 1892, graduated in law and classics
with the degrees of A. B. and LL. B. On
May 18th of the latter year he was granted
a life state teacher's certificate on examina
tion on twenty-four subjects, and this he
prizes very highly, as such documents are
very rare. In August, 1892, Mr. Feldman
took up his abode in South Bend and com
menced the practice of law. His prestige at
the bar of St. Joseph county stands in evi
dence of his ability, and he has used his in
tellect to the best purpose. He is also ac
counted one of the leaders of Democracy in
this section of the state, and was a candidate
' for the legislature in 1894, while from 1896
until 1898 he was chairman of the County
and City Democratic Committees.' In 1902
he was elected city judge, the duties of which
he discharged with such ability that in 1905
he was re-elected for another term of four
years, by an increased majority of over two
hundred votes. What higher testimonial of
his able service on the bench could be given
than the fact of his long continuance thereon ?
On the 27th of June, 1897, Judge Feldman
was married to Miss Louise A. Wenger, a
daughter of Gustavus Wenger, a manufac
turer and a prominent early settler of South
Bend, a well known and highly respected
business man of this city for many years.
This union has been blessed with three chil
dren: Horace W., born March 20, 1899;
Earl R., born September 12, 1900; and George
G., Jr., born January 26, 1904. Judge Feld
man has been identified with the Masonic or
der for sixteen years, a member of Lodge No.

294, also of the Chapter and Commandery
and is also a member of the Knights of
Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks.
Hon. E. Volney Bingham. Everywhere
in our land are found men who have worked
their own way from humble beginnings to
places of leadership and high esteem, and
thus it has been with the eminent ' member
of the bar of St. Joseph county, E. Volney
Bingham, in whose life history many useful
lessons may be gleaned. He is a native son
of Penn township of this county, born August
1, 1844, his parents being Alfred and Ann
(Miller) Bingham. The father, a native of
New York, took up his abode in St. Joseph
county in an early day, and was for many
years associated with the St. Joseph Iron
Works. E. Volney Bingham attended during his
boyhood days the public school near his home,
and after the completion of his studies be
came an employe in -the furniture factory.
In his early youth he had a desire to become
a member of the legal profession, and had
made up his mind to enter upon the study
of law, but at the inauguration of the Civil
war he put aside all personal considerations
and enlisted for service in the Union cause,
becoming a member of Company G, Forty-
eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which
he served throughout the entire struggle and
was promoted to sergeant major of his regi
ment. After the close of his military career
he returned to Mishawaka and for two years
thereafter was employed as a clerk, and later
became a traveling salesman. In the mean
time Mr. Bingham had found time to gratify
his old desire for the study of the law, and
when he gave up his position on the road on
account of ill health he was elected to the
office of justice of the peace on the Demo
cratic ticket, winning the election in a strong
Republican township and continuing as its
incumbent for twelve years. He was ad
mitted to the bar of St. Joseph county in
1875, and at once began the battle for name
and position, and from that time forward
he has prospered. During Cleveland's admin
istration he served as postmaster of _ Misha
waka, but, higher honors awaited him and
he was made a member of the state senate,
1892, for St. Joseph and Starke counties, suc
ceeding Judge Howard, who was promoted to
Judge of the Supreme Court. To this high
position Mr. Bingham was returned in No-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

525

vember, 1906, and in doing so the Republican
majority was reversed. During the sixty-fifth
regular legislative session he has been a mem
ber of the Criminal Code Committee, Commit
tee on Public Morals, Claims and Expendi
tures Committee, Constitutional Revision
Committee, Natural Resources Committee,
Supervision and Inspection of Journal. In
the legislature of 1903 he was chairman of
the Committee on State's Prisons. He was
a member of the Committee on the Organi
zations of Courts, Fees and Salaries Com
mittee, Labor and Labor Statistics Commit
tee. Mr. Bingham was the Democratic can
didate for judge in 1894, for St. Joseph and
Laporte counties. Close study has given him
keen insight into the important political
problems, and he has thus been a valued fac
tor in administering the affairs of the gov
ernment. In December, 1872, Mr. Bingham was
united in marriage to Hattie E. Grimes, a
daughter of -Dr. Grimes, one of the old and
well known physicians of Mishawaka. Four
children have 'been born to bless their home.
Joseph B. Arnold was born near Medina,
Orleans County, New York, July 1, 1839. He
attended an advanced school in South Bend,
and then taught one term of school in Elk
hart county, after which he went to Des
Moines, where he clerked in his brother-in-
law's store until the breaking out of the war,
when at the first call for troops he enlisted
for three months. He drilled with the com
pany and was in readiness to start when word
came that the quota was full, and the services
of the company not accepted. He then re
turned to South Bend and soon turned his
attention to the study of law, in the office of
Judge Thomas S. Stanfield, after which he
attended a law school iii Chicago and was
admitted to the bar in South Bend in 1863,
and engaged in practice. He soon com
menced compiling an abstract of the titles to
real estate of St. Joseph county. That he
understood the business and spared no pains
is attested to by the fact that the Arnold
Abstracts always stand the test. For many
years he devoted much time to the abstract
business, but in 1902 he sold the abstracts,
and since then has practiced law, when not
busy attending to his private affairs, which
take much of his time. With his sister, Mrs.
Garrison, he occupies the beautiful home
stead on West Jefferson street, purchased of
his father in 1861. He cast his first presi

dential vote for Lincoln in 1860, and has been
true to the principles of the Republican party
since. He joined the Masonic Fraternity in
about 1868.
Mr. Arnold is unquestionably one of the
most astute and painstaking lawyers of St.
Joseph county, a constant student of men
and affairs. His honorable means of adjust
ing the legal complications of his clients has
won for him the confidence of the entire com
munity. Endowed by nature with a sense of
right and justice, he shuns all action that is
to the detriment of his fellowmen, and
squares his life by the Golden Rule. His
courtesy, tact, consideration, and all-around
good fellowship, have added to his apprecia
ted many warm and dependable friends.
Ralph H. Jernegan. Although a com
paratively short time has elapsed since Ralph
H. Jernegan began practice at the bar of
Mishawaka his rise has been rapid, and he to
day occupies a leading position among the
representatives of the legal profession in his
district. His reputation has been won through
earnest, honest labor, and his high standing
is a merited tribute to his ability. His birth
occurred in the city of Mishawaka on the 30th
of August, 1877, his parents being Ed A. and
Nannie C. (Sherman) Jernegan, whose his
tory will be found on other pages in this
work. Their son Ralph, the youngest of four
children, two sons and two daughters, ob
tained his early literary education in the pub
lic schools of his native city, in which he was
graduated in the high school with- the class
of 1897, and immediately thereafter he en
tered upon the study of the profession which
he had chosen as a life work in the University
of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Close application
characterized this period of his career, and
at the time of his graduation in that high in
stitution of learning in 190O he had gained
a broad general knowledge of jurisprudence.
On the 3d of October, 1900, he opened his
law' office in Mishawaka, where for a time he
was in partnership with Mr. Bingham, but
since the severance of that relationship has
been alone. Although the duties of his pro
fession have assumed extensive proportions
he is also interested in many of the leading
business concerns of the city, being a stock
holder in one of its leading banks, and is also
interested in the Beiger Furniture Company
of Mishawaka, in which he is now serving as
secretary. In 1904 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.

526

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Jernegan and Estella Frank, she being the
daughter of Charles and Mary (Buckheit)
Frank, whose history also appears elsewhere
in this work. Mr. Jernegan is a member of
the Masonic Order and the Knights of Pyth
ias, No. 453, both of Mishawaka. In his politi
cal connections he is. a Republican, and takes
a deep interest in the political questions which
affect the welfare of state and nation and
mold the public policy. As its representative
he has served as the township chairman of the
central committee, also as first vice chairman
of the county central committee, and for six
years was deputy prosecuting attorney under
Clark and Kurtz. He is a broad-minded,
progressive man and public spirited citizen,
and in all life's relations is found true to
the duties of professional and social life
which the day may bring forth.
Enos E. Long. The family of which the
subject of this review is a representative is
a pioneer one in St. Joseph county, for as
early as 1837 Stephen M. Long came from
Ohio to Indiana and secured government
land in Penn township, St. Joseph county.
There he was engaged in agricultural pursuits
until 1875. In that year he moved to Mish
awaka, which continued as his home until his
death in 1890, at the age of seventy-eight
years. His name is deeply engraved on the
pages of St. Joseph county's history in con-r
nection with its public affairs of an early day.
For a number of years he served as a mem
ber of the town board of Mishawaka. Mrs.
Long bore the maiden name of Mary Eutzler,
and was a native of Ohio. Her death oc
curred in 1865, when sixty years of age.
Enos E. Long, a son of this honored old
pioneer couple, was engaged in farming from
the time he completed his education in the
country schools until he had reached his twen
ty-third year. His birth occurred in Penn
township of this eounty, on the 28th of Au
gust, 1848. In 1873 he came to Mishawaka
and was in the employ of the Andrews School
and Church Furniture Company four years,
and then with the Perkins Company fourteen
years. From 1888 until 1892 he served as a
justice of the peace, to which office he was
returned in 1898 for four years, and in 1906
he was again elected to that office for a pe
riod of four years. During this time Mr.
Long also studied law, and in March, 1901,
was admitted to the bar in South Bend. He
has gained distinction in his official and pro
fessional career, has been an earnest and dis

criminating student, and has drawn about
him a circle of devoted friends.
On the 1st of December, 1870, Mr. Long
was united in marriage to Maggie House
holder, a native of Wood county, Ohio, and
a daughter of John Householder. One son
has been born of this union, Fred L.
John A. Hibberd is . actively connected
with a profession which has important bear
ing upon the progress and stable prosperity
of any section or community, and which has
long since been considered as conserving the
public welfare by furthering the ends of jus
tice and maintaining individual rights. His
reputation as a lawyer has been won through
earnest, honest labor, and his standing at the
bar is a merited tribute to his ability. He
now has a good practice and his careful
preparation of cases is supplemented by a
power of argument and forceful presentation
of his points in the court room, so that he
seldom fails to impress court and jury.
The life history of Mr. Hibberd is closely
identified with the annals of St> Joseph coun
ty, which has been his home for forty years.
He is not alone a prominent representative
of the bar of northern Indiana but is also a
leading citizen and financier of this section of
the state. He is a native of the Empire State,
born in Syracuse November 12, 1855, a son
of Joseph H. and Helen (Baldwin) Hibberd,
also natives of that great commonwealth. The
father, whose birthday was January 19, 1827,
is a retired farmer, making his home with his
son, John A.
The public schools of South Bend furnished
John A. Hibberd with the foundation of his
education, and after mastering the elementary
branches he completed a high-school course
and then for a time taught school in the
county. While thus engaged he decided upon
the law as his life work, spending two years
in the office of Arnold & Creed and then en
tering the Union College of Law, Chicago,
from which he graduated in 1883 — William
Jennings Bryan being a fellow student of
the same class. Having thus thoroughly pre
pared himself to assume the active duties of
his profession Mr. Hibberd returned to South
Bend, and has since practiced here, establish
ing himself both as a leading lawyer and a
prominent man of affairs. He is an active
supporter of Republican principles and poli
cies, and was nominated by the party as
prosecuting attorney many years ago, mak
ing the race with no hope of election.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

527

Throughout the period . of his residence in
South Bend he has been actively and practi
cally interested in public and progressive
movements, having been for a number of
years a member of the school board, one of
the organizers of the Citizens' National Bank,
of which he is the vice-president, and is also
one of the founders and the vice-president of
the Citizens' Loan, Trust and Savings Com
pany. Mr. Hibberd is also the proprietor of
the Hibberd Printing Company.
In 1884, on the 8th of May, Mr. Hibberd
was united in marriage to Miss Mollie C. Cor-
bett, a daughter of Charles Corbett, of
Williams county, Ohio, and two children
have been born of this union — Helen, in
1885, and Marjorie, in 1890, the former now
a student in Smith College, Northampton,
Massachusetts. Mr. Hibberd is a Mason, a
member of the Royal Arch Chapter No. 29,
and is identified with the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, the Elks and other societies.
He ranks high at the bar and in political cir
cles, and is altogether a most substantial and
influential citizen. In a more special and
personal sense Mr. Hibberd is a broad-minded
man, giving his chief attention to his business
affairs, but, nevertheless, finding opportunity
to aid in the intellectual development and
moral progress of the community, realizing
the necessity of growth along these lines. As
a man of unswerving integrity and honor,
one who has a strong appreciation for the
higher ethics of life, he has gained and re
tained the confidence and respect of his fel
low men.
Harry Wair. A prominent representative
of the younger members of the bar of this
section of the state is Harry Wair, of South
Bend who is also accounted one of the rising
political leaders. He was born in LaPorte,
Indiana, being a son of Andrew Jackson and
Judith S. Wair. His rudimentary education
was received in the schools of his native city,
after which he pursued a course in the Uni
versity of Michigan at Ann Arbor, gradu
ating from the law department of that uni
versity. He then returned to LaPorte and.
opened an office for the practice of his chosen
profession, but a short time afterward came
to South Bend and resumed the private prac
tice of law. From the beginning of his career
as a legal practitioner his efforts have been
attended with success, for he has thoroughly
mastered the science of jurisprudence and his
deep research and thorough preparation of

every case committed to his care enable him
to meet at once any contingency that may
arise. His ability has led to his selection for
public honors, and during his residence in
LaPorte county he was elected to the state
legislature. Mr. Wair ranks high among the
younger representatives of the bar and in
political circles, and South Bend numbers him
among her leading and influential citizens!
Frank E. Hering. In connection with
both the industrial and political interests of
northern Indiana the name of Frank E. Her
ing is well known and honored. He was born
in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, on
the 30th of April, 1874, a son of Solomon and
Mary (Neuer) Hering, both of German par
entage. The father, also a native of Pennsyl
vania, now makes his home with his son in
South Bend.
Frank E. Hering received an excellent edu
cational training in his youth, having first
attended the Williamsport, Pennsylvania,
high school, in which he graduated in 1892,
and during the following year was employed
by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Dur
ing the years of 1893-94-95 he attended the
University of' Chicago and in 1896 was at
Bucknell University in charge of athletics.
He then came to Notre Dame as director of
athletics, and there received the degree of
Bachelor of Philosophy in 1898 and Bachelor
of Laws in 1902. During the intervening
period from 1898 until 1902 Mr. Hering
taught history and English, being awarded
the English medal in 1898. His broad intel
ligence, scholarly attainments and his full
appreciation of the value of knowledge as a
preparation for life's responsibilities made
him an able educator. His name is also well
known throughout northern Indiana in politi
cal circles, for in 1902 he was the Democratic
nominee for Congress, two years later being
renominated for that high official position,
and although he declined to have his name
used the party refused to accept his declina
tion. At both elections he ran far ahead of
his ticket, in 1904 receiving five thousand
above the average vote. In 1902 Mr. Hering
left Notre Dame and entered upon a connec
tion with the ice business in the wholesale
trade, as a member of the firm of Hering and
Murphy. The name has become well known
throughout this section of the state in busi
ness circles, and they have won an enviable
success in this line of endeavor. Mr. Hering
is also president of the State Association of

528

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the -Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
and was chairman of the building committee
for their new hall in South Bend, one of the
finest in the United States. He is also Na
tional Treasurer of the Fraternal Order of
Eagles. In 1895, in Chicago, Mr. Hering was united
in marriage to Miss Florence Madison Dal-
mond, a daughter of Charles M. Dalmond,
of French descent and a resident of Chicago.
Mr. Hering is a scholarly gentleman, a bril
liant orator, a prominent politician, courteous
and popular, and his future is bright with
promise. Dr. J. M. Partridge, for nearly forty years
a successful and honored practicing physician
of South Bend, St. Joseph county, was born
in Gustavus, Trumbull county, Ohio, May 17,
1835, and is a son of Isaac and Elizabeth
(Bailey) Partridge. His father was a native
of Connecticut, born in 1808, and when
twelve years of age removed with his grand
father, Thomas, to the state of Ohio. His
mother, a daughter of Iddo Bailey, was a
native of Vermont, removed to the Buckeye
State about 1825, and died in February, 1856.
Thomas Partridge, his grandfather, served
through the Revolutionary War, and partici
pated in the engagement which resulted in
the surrender of the British forces under
Cornwallis. During his early years Dr. Partridge lived
on a farm, and received a good education in
the district schools of his neighborhood. At
the age of twenty he began teaching in the
winter months, assisting his father on the
home farm in summer. Thus he continued
for three years, when, yielding to an earnest
desire for a classical education, at the age of
twenty-three he began his preparatory studies
at Oberlin college. A stranger and without
means he was obliged to find employment to
support himself, and during the six years
covering his preparatory and collegiate
courses worked and studied far into the night
of each day. During a part of this time he
was employed as a teacher in the preparatory
department of the college.
After his graduation from Oberlin College
Dr. Partridge enlisted (in 1863) in the Ohio
state militia, an organization intended for
home protection, but subject to the orders of
the governor. In April, 1864, his regiment,
the One Hundred and Fiftieth Ohio, was or
dered to the front and attached to the garri
son holding the fortifications about the city

of Washington, his company (K) being sta
tioned at Fort Slocum and later removed to
Fort Stevens in anticipation of an attack
from the enemy, which occurred July 12
1864, when General Early was repulsed from
his assault on the national capital. He was
mustered out of service August. 23, 1864, and
returned to Oberlin. At this time, upbn the
recommendation of President Fairchild, of
Oberlin College, he went to Berea, Kentucky,
and organized the first classes in Greek, Latin
and algebra for the recently established in
stitution which afterward became the well
known Berea College.
In the spring of 1865 Dr. Partridge en
tered the office of Dr. L. B. Dye as a medical
student, his preceptor being a physician of
Gustavus. In the fall he continued his studies
with Doctors Blair and Sanders, at Cleve-'
land, Ohio, and during the ensuing winter
he attended his first course of lectures in
the Cleveland Homeopathic College. In No
vember, 1866, he commenced medical prac
tice in partnership with Dr. Craig at Niles,
Michigan, where he remained a year and then
attended a second course of lectures at
Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, where
he received a diploma in the spring of 1868.
In the preceding year he had obtained his
second literary degree, with the title A. M..
from Oberlin College, so that he now was en
titled to both M. D. and the title indicated.
In March, 1868, Dr. Partridge commenced
the practice of his permanent profession at
South Bend, being the first homeopath to
be recognized as a successful practitioner in
the city. By his quiet yet positive ways, his
superior mental discipline, his sympathy and
practical judgment, and his thorough pro
fessional knowledge, all enforced by most fa
vorable results of actual practice, he estab
lished himself firmly in the public confidence
and won position as well as pecuniary re
wards. He erected a beautiful residence for
his family, as well as a fine block of houses
for rent, and came into possession of other
property which placed him among the sub
stantial citizens of South Bend. Although
well advanced in years, the doctor is still
in the active ranks of his profession. He is
an old member of the Indiana Medical Insti
tute, and has-been a frequent contributor to
the medical press, his papers showing a
marked clearness and condensation of state
ment and an interesting style in the convey
ance of professional information. The doctor

k5tt jL)?i

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

529

and his family are Presbyterians. Politi
cally he is a stanch Republican, but has never
been active in any field but that of his pro
fession. On the 28th of October, 1866, on leaving
Ohio for Niles, Michigan-, Dr. Partridge was
married to Aurelia H. Chapman, of Kings
ville, Ohio, a daughter of Jedediah and Sarah
E. (Osborne) Chapman. She was a graduate
of Oberlin College, class of '65, and at the
time of her marriage was preceptress of
Kingsville Academy. The family born to
them consisted of Clara, Eloise, William Har
vey, Charlotte, Frances and Katherine. Dr.
Partridge had two brothers and five sisters,
one of the former, Captain Harvey W. Par
tridge, being killed at the battle of Chicka-
mauga and buried in the Soldiers' Cemetery"
at Chattanooga, Tennessee. The remainder
are all living. The doctor and his wife and
their six children are all graduates of Ober
lin College.
Stanley A. Clark. Dr. Stanley A. Clark,
one of the younger members of the medical
profession in St. Joseph county, was born in
Galien, Berrien county, Michigan, July 14,
1877, a son of Charles A. and Lydia. (Blakes-
lie) Clark, the former a native of Huntsburg,
Ohio, and the latter of Batavia, Illinois.
Dr. Clark, the eldest of their three chil
dren, two sons and a daughter, received his
literary education in the public schools of his
native city of Galien, graduating in the high
school in 1894. For one year thereafter he
studied pharmacy in the Northern Indiana
Normal College at Valparaiso, Indiana, and
then entered the Hahnemann Medical College
of Chicago, in which he completed the course
and was graduated in 1898. He was house
surgeon in Hahnemann Hospital, Chicago,
for the following year, and in 1899 located
at his old home in Galien, Michigan, for the
practice of his chosen profession, where he
remained for two years, and since 1901 has
been numbered among the leading medical
practitioners of South Bend. He is a mem
ber of the St. Joseph County Medical So
ciety, the American Medical Association and
the American Institute of Homeopathy, also
a member of the staff of Epworth Hospital.
In his political views Dr. Clark is a stanch
Republican, and is coroner of St. Joseph
county at the present time. His fraternal
connections are with the Knights of Modern
Maccabees, Modern Woodmen of America,

and the Masonic order, South Bend Com
mandery No. 13.
J. A. Stoeckley. There is ever a degree
of satisfaction and profit in scanning the life
history of one who has attained to an em
inent degree of success; who has had the
mentality to direct his endeavors toward the
desired ends, and the singleness and stead
fastness of purpose which have given due
value to each consecutive detail of effort. As
a distinctive type of a self-made man we can
refer with singular propriety to the honored
subject whose name forms- the caption of
this review. Doctor Stoeckley 's father died,
when he was but one year of age. Thus grow
ing from infancy to boyhood he was thrown
upon his own resources, working his way
¦ through school, college and his profession to
the substantial position he has attained.
He was born in Monroeville, Ohio, on the
20th day of May, 1870, a son of Anthony and
Theresa Sinnot Stoeckley, the latter a native
of Ohio but of German descent. The father
was born in Germany, but came to the United
States when nineteen years of age and identi
fied his interests with the city of Monroe
ville, being long numbered among its prom
inent merchants. His death occurred in 1871.
He was an honored soldier of the Civil war,
and the severities which he endured during
his campaign hastened his death.
Dr. Stoeckley attended the parochial and
public schools, and graduated from the high
school of Monroeville, Ohio,- in 1887, and then
entered a drug store as a clerk, earning and
saving enough money for his first year's col
lege course, and immediately thereafter be
gan the study of pharmacy at the Western
Reserve College of Cleveland, Ohio, and thus
continued in pharmacy until the fall of 1893,
when he entered the Chicago College of
Dental Surgery. He continued his occupa
tion as a pharmacist in the summer months.
Thus with the help of some borrowed money
he was enabled to continue his college work
and was graduated on the 7th of April, 1896.
In the same year he came to South Bend and
opened an office in the Oliver Opera House
block, but in the following year, 1897, moved
to his present offices on West Washington
street, which are well equipped with modern
appliances for the conduct of his business.
He has a dental surgeon and lady attendant
to assist him in his work, and he always
keeps in touch with the advancement that is
continually being made in the profession. He

530

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

has not only an enviable reputation and prac
tice in South Bend and vicinity, but enjoys
a nice practice at Notre Dame and St.
Mary's. He has since pursued a post-grad
uate course in the Chicago College of Dental
Surgery, his alma mater. The doctor further
keeps in touch with the advancement in den
tistry by his membership in the Northern
Indiana Dental Society, of which he has been
secretary, treasurer, vice-president and presi
dent ; is also a director of the Indiana State
Dental Society; also a member of the Odon
tography Dental Society of Chicago and a
member of the National and International
Dental Society. He was one of the three rep
resentatives from Indiana to the International
Dental Congress at St. Louis during the
World's Fair.
The marriage of Dr. Stoeckley was cele
brated on June 18, 1902, when Miss Emelyn
Hinkle, a native of Muncie, Indiana, and a
daughter of Mrs. Cecelia B. Hinkle, now of
South Bend, Indiana, became his wife. They
have one son, John Francis, who was born
on the 13th of September, 1904, and a daugh
ter, Hildegarde Cecelia, born February 6,
1907. Dr. Stoeckley gives his political sup
port to the Democratic party, and fraternal
ly he is a member of the Benevolent and Pro
tective Order of Elks and the Knights of
Columbus. He and his family are members
of St. Patrick's Catholic church of South
Bend, Indiana.
In seeking for the causes which have con
tributed to Dr. Stoeckley 's success, we find
them1 in their rarity as in their harmonious
union, and they may be summed up by say
ing that he has the manners of a gentleman,
the habits of a man of business, and the
scientific ability so necessary in the practice
of his profession, a combination of qualities
that are bound to produce the highest re
sults. He is yet a young man, but has at
tained success which many an older practi
tioner might well envy. His laudable ambi
tion to rise in his profession, his close appli
cation, and his conformity to the strictest
professional ethics have combined to win him
advancement in a profession where success
depends on individual merit.
W. F. Mills, M. D. Among those who
have attained distinctive prestige in the prac
tice of medicine in the city of South Bend and
whose success has come as the logical sequence
of thorough technical information and skill
stands Dr. Mills, who is a man of scholarly

attainments and who has made deep and care
ful research into the science to which he is
devoting his life. He was born in Joliet, Illi
nois, February 22, 1856, a son of Andrew and
Sarah E. (Whitemore) Mills, the latter a
native of Pennsylvania. The father was also
a member of the medical profession, having
practiced in Joliet for a number of years.
W. F. Mills received his early literary edu
cation in Bloomington, Illinois, in the Normal
University, pursuing the teacher's course
there, and then began teaching in 1875, con
tinuing in that profession in Will county for
six years. In 1881 he became a student in Rush
Medical College of Chicago, but the same year
took the state examination and received a di
ploma to practice medicine from the State
Board of Medical Examiners. In 1887 he grad
uated from Rush Medical College, and im
mediately began the practice of medicine in
Chicago. In a short time, however, he returned
to his old home in Joliet, but hearing such fav
orable reports concerning the city of South
Bend he decided to locate here, and did so in
1899, having never had occasion to regret his
change of residence. Dr. Mills has gained dis
tinction in the line of his chosen calling, has
ever been an earnest and discriminating
student, and holds a position of due
relative precedence among medical prac
titioners of northern Indiana. After a
residence of only six months in this
city he was appointed physician for both
the township and county, and these of
fices he still continues to fill with ability and
wisdom. He is also examining physician for
the Knights of the Maccabees, the Ladies of
the Maccabees, the Tribe of Ben Hur, and
holds membership relations with the Masons
Lodge, No. 294, the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, and other orders.
In 1883, in Chicago, Dr. Mills was married
to Miss Agnes McDonough, a daughter of T.
McDonough, a prominent early pioneer of
that city, having resided there as early as
1838. By this union was born, May 17, 1885,
one daughter, Alice Elda. Dr. Mills is deeply
interested in the affairs of the city which has
been his home for a number of years, and in
private life has gained that warm personal
regard which arises from true nobility of
character, deference for the opinion of others,
kindliness and geniality.
Francis William Lockwood, M. D. The
genealogy of Francis W. Lockwood betokens

<?-&/Z^

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

531

that he is a scion of a family whose associa
tion with the annals of American history has
been intimate and honorable from the early
colonial epoch. Such men and such ancestral
prestige fully justify the compilation of works
of this nature, that a worthy record may be
perpetuated for future generations. The
Lockwood family is a very old English one,
and the first of the name to come to America
was Robert Lockwood, who was a member of
the Winthrop fleet and settled near what is
now Norwalk, Connecticut. From that time
to the present the representatives of the family
have been prominent in the history of the
country, and it has given many distinguished
men to the various professions, while in both
the Revolutionary and Civil wars there are
recorded two hundred and eighty-nine Lock-
woods who valiantly fought for the flag.
Among its many distinguished members may
be mentioned a few — Major James Lockwood,
a gallant soldier in the Revolutionary war;
James Lockwood, one of the founders of the
famous firm of Case, Lockwood & Brainard,
of Hartford, Connecticut; Brigadier General
Henry Hayes Lockwood, a soldier of the Civil
war and a well known writer on many sub
jects ; J. Booth Lockwood, the Arctic explorer ;
Rev. James Lockwood, pas-tor of the first
church in Weathersfield. ; Commodore Samuel
Lockwood, of the United States Navy and
others. The parents of Francis W. were Cor
nelius Gray and Mary Catherine (Barrett)
Lockwood, both natives of Port Jervis, New
York. The father was a jeweler and optician
in that city, as was also his father, while on
the maternal side there were also many pro
fessional men, physicians and dentists, the
maternal grandfather, S. T. Barrett, having
won a wide reputation as a dentist of Port
Jervis, and he is still a resident of that city,
having reached the age of ninety years. Cor
nelius G. Lockwood was called to the home
beyond in 1894, when fifty-four years of age,
but his widow survived until 1906, dying at
the age of fifty-five years.
Dr. Francis W. Lockwood was born in Port
Jervis, New York, on the 11th of June, 1878,
and in the schools of his native city he
received his early educational training, gradu
ating from its high school in 1897. He then
began the study of pharmacy, but before leav
ing school he had taken a special interest in
the study of chemistry, so consequently his
knowledge of the drug business was very com
plete when he entered upon the study of phar

macy. He graduated in the medical depart
ment of the University of Michigan in 1902,
and immediately came to South Bend and
engaged in the practice of medicine aud sur
gery. Although he has but practically just
entered upon his life work, yet he is an
earnest and discriminating student and has
already gained a large practice.
In 1903. Dr. Lockwood was united in mar
riage to Miss Florence Jenkins, a daughter
of John Fletcher and Susan E. (McQueen)
Jenkins, the mother being a member of the
well known McQueen family of Canada. The
Doctor's professional work connects him with
the County, State and Tri-State Medical So
cieties, and in his fraternal relations he is a
member of the Woodmen of the World. His
religious affiliations are with the Presbyterian
church. Oscar Von Barandy, M. D. Dr. Oscar
Von Barandy, who is rapidly winning for
himself a name and place among the leading
physicians and surgeons of South Bend, was
born in Hungary, October 22, 1876. He grad
uated from the public schools of his native
country in 1886, and going thence to Kalocsa,
one of the great educational places of Hun
gary, was graduated in the classic schools of
that city in 1894. In the same year he
entered the University of Budapest, and after
five years in that high institution of learning,
graduated in 1899. During the year and a
half following this eventful period in his life
he was engaged in hospital work in Hungary,
while in March, 1900, he bade farewell to the
heme and friends of his native land and came
to America, at once coming to South Bend.
It was not until 1903, however, that he was
able to pass the examination before the state
board, for he had some difficulty in mastering
the intricacies of the English language, but
in that year he engaged actively in the prac
tice of medicine and surgery, working princi
pally among his countrymen. He is a mem
ber of the St. Joseph County Medical Associa
tion and also of the Indiana State and the
American Medical Associations, thus being
enabled to keep fully informed concerning the
many improvements in the two sciences to
which he is devoting his life with such eminent
success. He is serving as the examining phy
sician for many Hungarian societies of South
Bend, and is very deeply interested in the wel
fare of his native countrymen. Since coming
to this city, Dr. Von Barandy has been instru-

532

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

mental in having over two thousand Hungar
ians become citizens of America.
On the 16th of September, 1906, there was
erected a statue of Washington at Budapest,
Dr. Von Barandy serving as one of the
directors of the monumental association,
and represented over fifty thousand
Hungarian born Americans at the dedi
catory festival. At the services there
were fifty thousand people present, with
about two thousand delegates from dif
ferent places in Hungary, and was one
of the most noted historical events of
that nation. Since his arrival in America the
Hungarian citizens here have been organized
into about twelve fraternal societies, three
federations and two political clubs. Since
coming to America to cast his lot with this
free country he has been actively interested
in its institutions, and is rapidly winning for
himself a, prominent place among the leading
citizens of South Bend.
H. A. Fink, M. D. For a period of over
seventeen years, Dr. Fink has been engaged in
the practice of medicine in South Bend, and
his name is a household word in many of the
homes of this community. His long identifica
tion with the place and his prominence here
entitle him to more than a passing notice in a
work of this character, devoted as it is to the
portrayal of the lives of representative men
of the county. The Doctor was born in Elk
hart county, Indiana, on the 26th of Decem
ber, 1854. His father, Peter Fink, was a
native of Pennsylvania, but removed to Elk
hart county in the '30s, where he engaged in
his life occupation of farming. He bore an
important part in the early settlement of Elk
hart county, and when the Civil war was in
augurated he enlisted for service in July,
1862, remaining a faithful soldier until the
war had ended. He participated in many of
the historical battles, took part in the Grand
Review at Washington, where the victorious
armies were welcomed by the president and
many eminent men of the nation, and was
active in the organization of the Grand Army
of the Republic. After his removal to Indi
ana, Mr. Fink married Mary Clouse, a native
daughter of Ohio, but who had removed to the
Hoosier state about 1838, her parents having
been among the early pioneers of Elkhart
county. She has now reached the age of sev
enty years, and resides in Wakarusa, Elkhart
county. In the family of this worthy pioneer

couple were nine children, five sons and four
daughters. Dr. Fink, the eldest of the nine children
entered the high school of Goshen during his
boyhood days, later spending two years at the
Northern Indiana Normal College of Valpa
raiso, Indiana, while his medical training was
received in the Northwestern University of
Chicago, in which he was graduated in 1888.
He immediately opened an office and engaged
in the practice of his chosen profession in
Woodland, St. Joseph county, but soon sought
a larger field of endeavor and in 1890 came to
South Bend, where he has won distinctive
prestige in his special line. His long profes
sional career has been attended with success,
and those who have known him longest esteem
him most highly. He keeps in touch with, the
progress made in the medical world by his
membership in the St. Joseph County, the
State and American Medical Associations.
In 1880, Dr. Fink was married to Martha
J. Moore, a daughter of John and Julia
Moore, of Elkhart county, Indiana, and they
have a son and a daughter. The son, Ralph
A. is a graduate from the high school of
South Bend and spent two years at Ann
Arbor, University of- Michigan, returning
thence to South Bend. Being of a mechani
cal turn of mind, he bought a one-half in
terest in the Meeklenberg Gas and Gasoline
Engine works, one of the important manu
facturing concerns of South Bend. The
daughter, Grace M., is a musician of marked
talent in both vocal and instrumental music.
The Doctor takes an active interest in politi
cal matters, voting with the Democratic party,
and for three years was chosen for the posi
tion of health officer of South Bend. His
fraternal relations are with the Masonic order
and the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks. W. A. Hager, M. D., one of the lead
ing physicians and surgeons of South
Bend, has made a specialty of the dis
eases of the ear, nose and throat. He is a
great student and endeavors to keep abreast
of the times in everything relating to the dis
coveries in medical science. His birth occurred
in Ontario, Canada, on the 23d of August,
1863, his parents being Addison and Maria
(Smith) Hager, both also natives of Canada.
During his active business career the father
was extensively engaged in farming and the
grain business, but he is now living in quiet

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

533

retirement. The wife and mother died at the
comparatively early age of forty-four years.
Dr. Hager is the older of their two chil
dren, his sister being Ada J., the wife of
Richard S.' Babb, of Hamilton, Ontario. After
completing his literary education in the com
mon schools of his native city the Doctor
entered the Ontario College of Pharmacy in
Toronto, in which he was graduated in 1883.
He then became a student in the Jefferson
Medical College of Philadelphia, graduating
there with the class of 1891, and for the fol
lowing two years was interne in the Jefferson
College Hospital. Coming thence to South
Bend in 1893, he opened an office for the gen
eral practice of medicine, but during the years
of 1899 and 1900 he pursued post graduate
work in Germany, England and Austria as a
specialist in the diseases of the eye, ear, nose
and throat. During the period of his profes
sional career Dr. Hager has met with a
marked and gratifying success, and has won
the good will and patronage of many of the
residents of South Bend and vicinity, both in
a general practice and in his special line. He
is a member of the St. Joseph County Medical
Society, the Indiana State Medical Society,
the American Medical Association and the
American Ophthalmblogical and Otological
Society, which enables him to keep well
informed concerning the advancement made
in the medical world.
The marriage of Dr. Hager was celebrated
in 1904 when Harriet B. Campbell, the
daughter of Hon. Marvin Campbell, became
his wife, and their two sons are Walter A. and
Donald C.
Dr. Charles Stoltz, whose skill in surgery
has given him more than local prominence in
addition to his high rank in the general field
of medicine, began practicing in South Bend
in 1893. A graduate of the College of Phy
sicians and Surgeons of Chicago, he entered
upon his profession not .only with excellent
class-room .and clinical training, but also with
unusual natural talent. His family for sev
eral generations have been noted for a certain
manual dexterity, which has been very useful
to its possesors whether employed in the me
chanical trades or in the skilled professions.
Among Dr. Stoltz 's relatives now living in
Europe are several well known physicians and
surgeons, while in his immediate family both
his grandfather and father were skilled cab
inet-makers and several uncles were successful
bridge builders. The inventive and construc
tive genius is an inheritance of the family,

and this faculty has proved very valuable to
Dr. Stoltz in his profession. A high degree
of manual dexterity is a pre-requisite in sur
gery, and all the great surgeons have been
noted in this respect.
In addition to this natural fitness, deep
research and study have also been character
istics of his career in medicine. A number
of years of youth and early manhood were
spent in those studious pursuits and occupa
tions which are the best preparation for a
professional career. Having received his
higher literary education in the Northern
Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso and in
the scientific department of the University of
Indiana, he then taught school in St. Joseph
and Laporte counties for five years, serving
as principal of the Union Mills high school
in Laporte county during the last year of
that occupation. His broad intelligence,
scholarly attainments and his full apprecia
tion of the value of knowledge as a prepara
tion for life's responsibilities made him an
able educator, and he will be long remem
bered for his effective work in the schools
with which he was connected. He had al
ready planned a career in medicine, and in
the final stage of preparation entered the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chi
cago, where he was graduated in 1893. Lo
cating at South Bend, almost from the start
he acquired an extensive practice. To sur
gery he has given much time, observation and
research, and the local medical fraternity
acknowledge his ability in this department.
He is the author of many technical papers on
surgical and medical subjects, and is a mem
ber of the Northern Tri-State, the Mississippi
Valley and several other medical societies.
During four of the early years of his practice
he was health officer for South Bend, an honor
that came without his seeking, but he served
with credit to himself and with much benefit
to the city. Though always interested in pub
lic affairs, he has never held any other public
office. A native of St. Joseph county, Dr. Stoltz
was born on Sumption Prairie January 17,
1864. His parents, Charles and Margaret
(Popp) Stoltz, were born in Germany, the
former in Alsace and the latter in Bavaria.
The father came to America when a young
man, living awhile with his parents in Can
ton, Ohio, and then moving to St. Joseph
county, where the family have been well
known since almost pioneer days. On June
5 1895, Dr. Stoltz married Miss Lillian Dun-

534

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

nahoo of South Bend. Their one son, Charles,
was born June 13, 1897.
H. F. Mitchell, M. D. For a number of
years past, Dr. Mitchell has been engaged in
the practice of medicine in South Bend, and
during these years has not only maintained
his position among the leaders of the medical
fraternity, but has taken part in much of the
public and social life of the city, so that he is
accounted one of her honored citizens. His
birth occurred in Kingston, Ontario, Canada,
on the 10th of July, 1866, being a son of Peter
Mitchell, a native of Scotland and a ship
builder by occupation. When a young man
he left his Scotland home for Canada, the
year of his emigration being 1846, and for the
long period of twenty-four years was proprie
tor of the Portsmouth Marine Railway. His
busy and useful life was ended at the age of
sixty-five years. He married Victoria G.
Wycott, a native of Canada, but of English
parentage, and four children were born of
their union; C. F., a practicing physician of
Cleveland, Ohio; Beatrice F., a graduate of
the Epworth Hospital Training School of
South Bend; and Florence, who died at the
age of five years.
H. F. Mitchell, the second child and second
son in the family, was graduated at Queens
University in 1889, and the Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons, after which he was
engaged in the practice of medicine in On
tario, New York, for one year. Removing
thence to Indiana, he practiced in Lakeville,
St. Joseph county, for the following three and
a half years, since which time he has been
numbered among the practitioners of general
medicine in South Bend. During these years
he has fully demonstrated the fact that he is
well informed concerning the science to which
he is devoting his life, and has therefore been
accorded a liberal patronage.
In 1892, Dr. Mitchell was united in mar
riage to Lillie M. Woodburn, a daughter of
the late Thomas M. Woodburn, of Ottawa,
Canada, in which city Mrs. Mitchell was born.
By her marriage she has become the mother of
two sons, Weir W., aged twelve years, and
Grant F., a little lad of five years. The Doc
tor is now serving as President of the St.
Joseph County Medical Society, and also has
membership relations with the Indiana State
Medical Association, the American Medical
Association and the Tri State Medical Asso
ciation. His fraternal relations connect him
with the Masonic order, Lodge No. 294, of

South Bend, and with the Maccabees, in which
he is now serving as surgeon general of the
Uniformed Rank.
L. V. Stranz. In connection with the
science of medicine, Dr. Stranz has gained an
enviable prestige as one of the most able of
the younger practitioners in the city of South
Bend. He was born in Germany, May
24, 1868, and ere his removal from his native
land received an excellent education in its
high schools. In 1890, he sailed for America,
and after his arrival stopped for a time in
Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York, subse
quently making his way to Detroit, Michigan,
where he taught Latin and Greek in the Po
lish seminary for one year. On the expira
tion of that period he began the study of medi
cine in the Detroit Medical College, but later
went to Cleveland, Ohio, and continued his
studies in Wooster University, thence enter
ing the Dunham Medical College of Chicago,
in which he was graduated in May, 1896.
Thus with an excellent training to serve as
the foundation on which to erect the super
structure of his future life work he went to
South Chicago, Illinois, but three months
later removed to La Salle, Illinois, where he
remained three years. He then joined the
hospital corps in the Spanish-American war
where he served four months, enlisting in the
First Division, Third Army Corps, and was
stationed at Chickamauga Park, receiving his
honorable discharge at Anniston, Alabama.
Dr. Stranz then came to Hanover township,
Lake county, Indiana, where he was. engaged
in practice until 1904, and in that year came
to South Bend. Although he is one of the
younger representatives in practice in point
of years of continuous service in this city, yet
he has demonstrated the fact that he is well
informed in its principles and their correct
application, and is therefore building up a lib
eral patronage.
In 1894 Dr. Stranz was united in marriage
to Magdalena Missal, and their union has been
blessed with three children, Isabel, Edmund
and Martin.
A. E. Barber, M. D. One of the most
earnest workers in the medical profession is
A. E. Barber, and to his own energy and per
severance he owes the success which he has
achieved thus far in life. He was born in
Leeds county, Canada, on ths 24th of Decem
ber, 1868, a son of Charles Earl and Mary E.
(Davis) Barber, the former a native of Can
ada and the latter of Belfast, Ireland. The

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

535

father, however, was of Irish descent, and
during his early life followed agricultural
pursuits, but in 1890 abandoned that occupa
tion and engaged in the banking and invest
ment business. In 1893 he retired from an
active business life and thus continued up to
the time of his death which occurred in April,
1895. Dr. Barber's mother was an exceedingly
cultured lady, and for a number of years had
been a member of the teacher 's profession.
The public and high schools of Ontario,
Canada, furnished their son, A. E., with his
early educational training, while later he be
came a student at the Queen's Royal College
of Physicians and Surgeons of Kingston, On
tario, graduating therein in 1892 with the de
grees of M. D. and C. M. Coming thence to
St. Joseph county in 1892 he established him
self in practice in Mishawaka, but that town
soon proving too small for his capabilities he
came_to South Bend in 1898, where he has
succeeded in building up an enviable reputa
tion for skill in his chosen line of endeavor.
He has made a specialty of the diseases of the
eye, ear, nose and throat, and in this special
branch he has achieved remarkable success for
a young man. His membership with the
County and State Medical Society enables
him to keep abreast with all the progressive
movements in the medical profession, and he
has proved himself worthy of the patronage
and confidence of the public. He is a mem
ber of the Epworth Hospital staff of phy
sicians and surgeons, as a specialist in diseases
of the eye, ear, nose and throat, and he has
held the position of medical expert in the
Bureau of Pensions of the United States gov
ernment since 1899.
In 1895, Dr. Barber was united in marriage
to Grace M. Greene, a daughter of Dr. J. D.
Greene, of Mishawaka, whose death occurred
on the 26th of March, 1903. One daughter
has blessed this union, Grace Margaret, whose
birth occurred on the 18th of August, 1898.
Mrs. Barber was a graduate of the Mishawaka
high school. She was a cultured lady and
social leader, both in Mishawaka and South
Bend. Her demise was deeply regretted
throughout the county. Dr. Barber holds
fraternal relations with the Masonic order,
Lodge No. 294, also with the Chapter, Council
and Commandery, with the Knights of the
Maccabees and the Elks. He is also a member
of the Commercial Athletic club.
C. A. Rennoe, M. D., one of the leading
physicians of South Bend, with offices

at 234 South Michigan street, was born
in Windsor, Canada, October 7, 1868.
His father, Joseph Rennoe, also a native of
Canada, was of French origin, and his life oc
cupation was that of the tilling of the soil.
About the year 1872 he took up his abode in
Portage township, St. Joseph county, where
he purchased a farm and continued his agri
cultural pursuits, but retired from the active
cares of a business life in 1901, and lived in
South Bend until his death on June 22, 1907.
His wife, nee Mary Clark, was a native of
Canada, although her father was born in Eng
land and her mother in France. In their
family are eight living children, including
twins, C. A. and Alexander J., they being the
third in order of birth.
Dr. Rennoe was but four years of age when
brought by his parents to St. Joseph county,
and the days of his boyhood and youth were
spent on the home farm until his fourteenth
year when he entered the city schools of South
Bend. When about nineteen years of age, he
began the study of medicine under the precep-
torship of Dr. Kilmer, of this city, with whom
he continued until his graduation from Rush
Medical College of Chicago, in 1892. In
•that year he located in South Bend for
the practice of his profession, where he
has been engaged as a general practitioner
ever since. He has gained an enviable pres
tige as one of the most able and successful fol
lowers of the medical science, and the success
which he has attained is due to his thorough
technical information and skill, as reinforced
by that sympathy and tact which are the in
evitable concomitants of precedence in this
noble profession.
The marriage of Dr. Rennoe was celebrated
in 1895, when Josephine M. Beckwith, a native
of White Pigeon, Michigan, and a daughter of
Levi and Lucy Beckwith, became his wife.
The Doctor is a member of the American
Medical Association and the St. Joseph
County Medical Society, while his fraternal
relations connect him with the Knights of
Pythias, the Elks and other societies. He is a
stanch Republican, and for four years served
as the coroner of St. Joseph county. He has
also been an active worker in the local militia,
having served as captain surgeon of the Third
Indiana National Guards from 1900 to 1904,
and he is now the examining surgeon of the
order.
William Allen Wickham, M. D., who
for a number of years past has been

536

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

actively engaged in the medical profes
sion in South Bend, is one of the
most talented members of his profession
in northern Indiana. Being of broad and
liberal mind, and having enjoyed the ,advant-
ages of a superior education, he has had the
interests of the people deeply at heart, and by
pen and speech has used his influence in the
advocacy of higher education and training for
physicians. He was born in Goshen, Indiana,
on the 28th of February, 1860, a son of Wil
liam Wallace and Anne (Reiley) Wickham,
the latter a native of Ireland. The father was
born in the state of New York, but when a
young man made his way to Indiana, where
he was engaged in the practice of medicine
for over half a century. His long professional
career has been attended with marked suc
cess, and his name is a household word in the
homes of the community in which he resides.
He has now reached the eighty-seventh mile
stone on the journey of life, and those who
have known him longest esteem him most
highly. Dr. W. A. Wickham obtained his literary
education in the high school of Goshen, while
his professional training was pursued in the
Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio,
in which he was graduated in 1880. He then
took post graduate courses in Europe in 1893-
95, also in Chicago in 1903. Thus with an
excellent training to serve as a foundation on
which to rear the superstructure of his life
work he began practice in South Bend, where
success has attended his efforts. He has made
a specialty of the eye, ear, nose and throat,
and has also been United States Pension Ex
aminer and surgeon since McKinley's first ad
ministration. He is a member of the County
and State Medical Societies and of the order
of Elks. Dr. Wickham has been a resident
of South Bend since 1881, and throughout all
these years he has commanded the regard of
all by his upright life.
Louis S. La Pierre, D. D. S. During the
years in which he has been engaged in the
practice of dentistry in South Bend, Dr. La
Pierre has demonstrated the fact that he is
well informed concerning the principles of the
science, and has not only maintained his posi
tion among the leaders of the dental frater
nity, but has taken part in much of the public
and social life of the city, so that he is ac
counted one of her honored citizens. His
birth occurred in South Bend on the 8th of
June, 1866, his father., J. M. La Pierre, having

been a prominent business man in this city
for many years. The son Louis was educated
in the schools of his native city and those of
Walkerton, Indiana, and after the completion
,of his literary education he entered the em
ploy of Cushing & Company, pharmacists,
with whom he remained until 1890. Previous
to this time he had formed the determination
to devote his life to the practice of dentistry,
and with that end in view he pursued a course
in the Chicago College of Dental Surgery and
graduated in 1892. Returning thence to his
native city of South Bend, he immediately
opened an office for the practice of his chosen
profession, and the large patronage which he
now enjoys is indicative of his skill and
ability. On the 17th of February, 1896, Dr. La
Pierre was united in marriage to Clara Ginz,
of South Bend, and their home is the center
of a gracious and warm hearted hospitality.
W. L. Owen, M. D. During the
short time which marks the period of
Dr. Owen's professional career he has
met with a gratifying success, while at
the same time he has won the good
will of the citizens of South Bend. He was
born in Porter county, Indiana, April 27,
1877, a son of William B. and Annie (Pride)
Owen, the former a native of the state of New
York, and the latter of Scotland. During his
business career the father was engaged largely
in manufacturing enterprises, in the making
of porous tiles, etc., and his life's labors were
ended in death in 1901, having survived his
wife for a number of years, she having passed
away in 1897.
The public schools of Lake county, Indiana,
and the Morgan Park Academy, of Chicago,
furnished, Dr. Owen, with his early literary
training, while his medical education was re
ceived in the Hahnemann Medical College of
Chicago, from which he graduated, in 1906.
Immediately after his graduation he came to
South Bend, where he has since been actively
engaged in professional work.
In 1898, Dr. Owen married Miss Mary Wil
ling, who was a practicing physician at the
time of her marriage, also a graduate of
Hahnemann, and she is now associated with
her husband in practice. Both are members
of the St. Joseph County Medical Society.
Cornelius H. Myers, M. D. One of the
exacting of all the higher lines of occupation
to which a man may lend his energies is that
of the physician. A most scrupulous prelimin-

*r

<8rf9hu**,fyAt

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

537

ary training is demanded and a nicety of
judgment little understood by the laity. Thus
when professional success is attained in any
instance it may be taken as certain that such
measure of success has been thoroughly
merited. In Cornelius H. Myers we have one
who has gained distinction in the line of his
chosen calling, who has been an earnest and
discriminating student, and who holds a posi
tion of due relative precedence among the
medical practitioners of northern Indiana.
He is a native son of Ohio, his birth occurring
in Wayne county of that state on the 29th
of October, 1853, a son of Enos and Mary
(Funk) Myers, both of whom claimed the
commonwealth of Pennsylvania as their place
of birth. In 1854, however, a year after the
birth of their son Cornelius, they removed to
Elkhart county, Indiana, where the father
engaged in agricultural pursuits and where
the son attended the public schools during his
early boyhood days. After completing his
education he taught school in Elkhart and
St. Joseph counties for two years.
Prepared by a broad general knowledge for
entrance into professional life, Mr. Myers
then went to Goshen and entered the office of
Dr. Whippey, being then twenty-three' years
of age, and he remained there for six months.
He was next a student in Hahnemann College
for two years, graduating therein in 1879, and
in the same year he returned to that institu
tion for a post-graduate course, also taking a
post-graduate course in the New York Homeo
pathic College. All this was a splendid train
ing for the young physician, and thus with a
comprehensive knowledge of anatomy and the
science of medicine he began the practice of
his chosen profession in South Bend, where
he has succeeded because he desired to suc
ceed. Nature has endowed him bountifully,
and he has studiously, carefully and conscien
tiously increased the talents that were given
him. Dr. Myers holds membership relations
with the Indiana Homeopathic Association
and the American Institute, and has also
served as coroner of St. Joseph county.
The marriage of Dr. Myers was' celebrated
in 1879, when Gertrude Harris became his
wife. She is a daughter of Fred Harris, one
of the honored old pioneers of St. Joseph
county, while her mother was a sister of Judge
Andrew Anderson, of South Bend. Six chil
dren have been born of this union, Frederick,
Edgar, George, Jeanette, Gertrude and Mar
garet. The family are members of the Pres
byterian church.

Richard B. Dugdale, M. D., who occupies
an enviable position as a member of the
medical profession in St. Joseph eounty, was
born in South Bend on the 17th of Septem
ber, 1868. He is a son of Thomas and
Susannah Dugdale, both natives of England.
The father came to South Bend in the '60s,
and was thereafter employed in the Oliver
Chilled Plow Company for thirty-eight years,
or until his life 's labors were ended in
death in June, 1905, at the age of sixty-eight
years. Richard B. Dugdale, whose name introduces
this review, received his preparatory educa
tion in the public schools of his native city,
'graduating from the high school in 1887, and
two years later, in 1889, he became a student
in Rush Medical College of Chicago, where he
graduated in 1892. During the three years
following his graduation Dr. Dugdale was en
gaged in practice in North Liberty, Indiana,
and on the expiration of that period, in 1895,
returned to South Bend, where he has since
been numbered among the ieading members
of the medical fraternity. He is a member of
the County, State and National Medical So
cieties, and in 1905 was made president of the
County Medical Society. During the three
terms of 1894-96-98, he was the eounty coro
ner of St. Joseph county. His professional
career has been attended with marked success.
His promptness, his sympathetic nature and
his generosity are well known factors in his
personality, and those who have known him
longest esteem him most highly.
Dr. Dugdale was married in 1893 to Miss
Fannie Bungay, a daughter of Francis B.
Bungay, of Constantine, Michigan, and they
have one son, Milo, who was born October 29,
1895. The Doctor gives his political support
to the Republican party, while fraternally he
is a member of the Elks, the Woodmen of the
World and other societies. The family are
members of the Presbyterian church.
Walter D. Chaffee, M. D. In the prac
tice of medicine in South Bend, Dr. Chaffee
has demonstrated the fact that he is well in
formed concerning the principles of the medi
cal science and their correct application to
the needs of suffering humanity, and has
therefore been accorded a liberal patronage.
He is a native son of Michigan, born in Lima
on the 4th of August, 1865. His father, the
Rev. Comfort T. Chaffee, was born in the state
of New York and was a well known minister
of the Baptist church, having been pastor of

538

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the church of that denomination at the time
of the birth of his son Walter. His death
occurred on the 23d of June, 1899, where he
was living in quiet retirement after a pastor
ate in the Baptist church of that city. He
was also at one time pastor of a church
in South Bend. He was a Doctor of
Divinity, and was thoroughly earnest
and sincere in all his thoughts, words
and deeds, and his noble, manly life proved
an inspiration to many of his friends and fol
lowers. He was also a great financier, and
while in charge of his church at Centerville,
Michigan, he built knitting mills there, of
which he was president, and he was also an
organizer and president of the First National
Bank of Centerville, Michigan. Prior to en
tering the ministry he was admitted to the bar
and practiced law at Three Rivers, Michigan.
Mrs. Chaffee bore the maiden name of Hattie
Dennison, and was a native of Ohio.
Dr. Walter Chaffee was a student in the
University of Nebraska and Central Univer
sity of Pella, Iowa, in those excellent educa
tional institutions receiving the instruction
which enabled him to enter upon the study of
his chosen life work, for he had decided upon
the medical profession as his vocation and to
that end entered the Hahnemann Medical Col
lege of Chicago. Graduating from that insti
tution in 1886, he immediately began practice
in Saginaw, Michigan, where he remained for
only a few months, and then spent a short
time in Vicksburg and Three Rivers. Since
1888 he has been a resident of South Bend,
and his long identification with this place and
his prominence here makes his name a house
hold word in the homes of this community.
His professional career has been attended with
success. His promptness, his generosity and
his sympathetic nature are well known factors
of his life, and those who have known him
longest esteem him most highly. He is a
homeopath and gynecologist, while in his fra
ternal relations Dr. Chaffee is a member of
the Masonic order, Lodge No. 45 and the
Chapter, and of the Benevolent and Protect
ive Order of Elks.
Jacob W. Hill. As a member of the medi
cal profession Dr. Jacob W. Hill has won dis
tinction, and throughout the period of his
residence in St. Joseph county he has enjoyed
an extensive and remunerative practice. He
is progressive in all his ideas, constantly read
ing and studying, and keeps in close touch
with the spirit of the times. He was born in

Columbia eounty, Bensylvania, September 6,
1858, a son of Jacob and Anna (Auchenbaeh)'
Hill, natives also of the Keystone state. The
father, who was a farmer by occupation,
passed away in death in 1859.
Dr. Hill received his elementary education
in the public schools of Pennsylvania, while
later he attended Dickerson Seminary of Wil-
liamsport, that state, in which he was gradu
ated in 1877, and he then entered upon the
study of the profession which he had determ
ined to make his life work. He first studied
under the preceptorship of Dr. Jesse R. Cas-
selberry, and in 1881 completed the course in
the Jefferson Medical College. In the same
year he came to South Bend, and opened an
office for the practice of medicine, and he has
met with gratifying success. He is a student
and endeavors to keep abreast of the times in
everything relating to the discoveries in medi
cal science. Progressive in his ideas and
favoring modern methods as a whole, he does
not dispense with many of the true and tried
systems which have stood the test of years.
During the past eight years Dr. Hill has
served as secretary, of the St. Joseph county
board of health, is a member of the State and
County Medical Societies, was a member of
the Board of Censors of the St. Joseph County
Medical Society, is a delegate to the State
Medical Society, appointed in 1905 for two
years and is a member of the Masonic lodge,
No. 45 and of the Chapter No. 29.
Elbert W. McAllister, M. D. -Dr. Mc
Allister, a prominent representative of the
medical profession in South Bend, with office
and residence at 1327 West Washington
street, was born in Buffalo, New York, July
1, 1845. His father, William A. McAllister,
was a native of Connecticut, although his
father was born in Ireland and his mother in
Norway, and was extensively engaged in deal
ing in harness in his native state. About 1854
he came to Goshen, Indiana, and there his
death occurred when he had reached the age
of eighty-four years. Mrs. McAllister bore
the maiden name of Ellen Stevens, and was of
German descent. She was called to the home
beyond after reaching the age of seventy-five
years. Dr. McAllister, their only child, was_ about
eight years old when he accompanied his par
ents on their removal to Indiana, the family
home being established at Goshen, where he
was reared and educated. When a young man
he began the studv of medicine, but his pre-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

539

paration for that profession was interrupted
by his enlistment in 1864 for service in the
Civil war, becoming a member of Company
D, One Hundred and Thirty-Sixth Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, in which he served his
period of enlistment and then returned to his
home in Goshen. From 1861 until 1863 he
was a student in the Rush College and Uni
versity of Michigan, after which he re
sumed his medical studies and graduated at
the Long Island College Hospital of Brook
lyn, New York, in 1866. His first work in
his chosen profession was as surgeon on a line
of sailing vessels plying between Liverpool
and New York city, but after one year of this
work he engaged in a general practice of med
icine in Goshen in partnership with Dr. Wick
ham, that relationship continuing until 1874,
when Dr. McAllister came to South Bend.
Here he entered into partnership relations
with Dr. L. J. Ham, with whom he remained
until 1879, and since that time he has been
alone in practice. Dr. McAllister in a large
measure meets all the requirements necessary
for a successful physician, and the value of his
services to the community cannot be overesti
mated. He is a member of Auten Post, G. A.
R., of South Bend, also of the Masonic order
in this city, in which he has attained the
Knight Templar degree. The marriage of Dr.
McAllister and Miss Alice Elliott, was cele
brated in about 1870, and they have two chil
dren, Nellie, the wife of Thomas Luce, of
South Bend, and William E., a machinist.
James M. Garrison, D. V. S. Dr. Garri
son, who is accorded an extensive patronage
as a veterinary surgeon in St. Joseph county,
was born in Penn township of this county
February 3, 1847, a son of Lewis and
Catharine (Mead) Garrison, the latter of
French descent, although her father was
born in Vermont. Mr. Garrison was a
native of New York, and was numbered among
the early pioneers of St. Joseph county, Indi
ana, but in 1849 he joined the tide of emigra
tion to California, and his death occurred dur
ing his residence in that state. In their family
were two sons, the elder being George A., a
prominent real estate dealer in Guthrie, Okla
homa. Dr. Garrison was reared to years of
maturity in St. Joseph county, receiving his
education in the schools of Mishawaka, and
after its completion he engaged in the prac
tice of veterinary surgery. On the 17th of
October, 1861, he enlisted for service in the

Civil war, becoming a member of Company
F, Forty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
He was only fifteen years of age at the time
of his enlistment, and was one of the young
est soldiers to carry a knapsack in the war of
the rebellion. He subsequently re-enlisted in
the same company and regiment, and took
part in many of the historic battles of the
war, including Corinth and Malvern ¦ Hill,
and was then transferred to Sherman's army
and went with him in the celebrated march to
the sea. He was never seriously wounded,
although on one occasion he was hit by a piece
of shell. During his entire military career of
four years and fourteen days, he was in active
service as a private, and throughout that time
his brother was with him in the same regiment,
both participating in the Grand Review at
Washington, after which he received an hon
orable discharge at Lexington, Kentucky, in
1865. Returning thence to his old home in
Mishawaka, Dr. Garrison engaged in the quiet
pursuit of agriculture, but a short time after
ward resumed his practice as a veterinary sur
geon in Penn township, St. Joseph county.
For a period of two years he was in Warsaw,
Indiana, returning thence to Mishawaka, but
later went to Marcellus, Michigan. In 1893
he took up his abode in South Bend, where for
the past thirteen years he has been actively
engaged in the practice of veterinary surgery,
in that time winning for himself a prominent
place among the professional men of the com
munity. In 1869, in Mishawaka, Dr. Garrison was
married to Catherine Westfall, a native of
Mecbanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and a daughter
of Jacob and Sarah Westfall, also of that
commonwealth. Seven children have been
born of this union, namely: William; Laura,
wife of George Harper, of South Bend;
Frank ; Ida, wife of Arthur Fordham ; Mamie,
at home ; Jay, of South Bend ; and Lulu, also
at home. The Doctor is a staunch supporter
of Republican principles, although in local
affairs he votes rather for the man than party,
and during his residence in Cass county,
Michigan, he served as a deputy, sheriff, re
signing that office to remove to South Bend,
where he is now a well known and honored
citizen. He holds pleasant relations with his
old army comrades by his membership in the
Grand Army of the Republic.
Robert Shanklin, M. D. During his brief
connection with the practice of medicine in
South Bend, Dr. Shanklin has demonstrated

540

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the fact that he is well informed concerning
the principles of the medical science, and has
therefore been accorded a liberal patronage.
He was born in Frankfort, Indiana, on the
3d of February, 1881, a son of Robert and
Mary Jane (Sims) Shanklin, both natives of
Indiana. The father, who was born in Carroll
eounty, followed agricultural pursuits during
his early business career, but during the past
thirty years has been the senior member of
the firm of R. P. Shanklin & Company, whole
sale grocers of Frankfort, Indiana. He has
earned for himself an enviable reputation as
a careful man of business, always known for
his prompt and honorable methods of dealing,
which have won him the deserved and un
bounded confidence of his fellow citizens.
After attending the public schools of
Frankfort, Indiana, Robert Shanklin entered
Hanover College, in which he was graduated
in 1902 with the degree of B. S., while in
1905 he graduated in medicine, from Rush
Medical College of Chicago. His first year
after leaving college was spent as an interne
in St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, Wiscon
sin, but in August, 1906, he came to South
Bend and entered at once into the practice of
medicine. Although numbered among the
younger practitioners he maintains his posi
tion among the leaders of the medical frater
nity, and has also taken part in much of the
public and social life of South Bend. Dr.
Shanklin is an exemplary member of the
Presbyterian church, and also of the Masonic
order, South Bend Lodge No. 294. As a
member of the St. Joseph Medical Society he
has taken an active interest in all medical
affairs affecting the profession in general.
Allen G. Miller, ,M. D. One who has
attained distinction and wide-spread celebrity
for his skill and research is Dr. Allen G. Mil
ler, whose knowledge of the science of medi
cine is broad and comprehensive, and his
ability in applying its principles to the needs
of suffering humanity has gained him an en
viable prestige in professional circles. He
was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania,
October 12, 1835, and is descended from a
prominent old Saxon family and from three
brothers who left Saxony, Germany, and came
to Pennsylvania about the same time as Wil
liam Penn, and in that commonwealth his
great-grandfather, Jacob Miller, was born.
The grandfather, Abraham Miller, was born
near Philadelphia, and to him belongs the
honor of being the first sheriff of Somerset

county. Isaac Miller, the father of the Doctor,
also claimed Somerset county as the place of
his nativity, and he became well known there
as a hat manufacturer. He married Caroline
Miller, also a native of Somerset county,
Pennsylvania, where her father, Jacob G. Mil
ler, was also born. He became one of the
first merchants of Somerset county, and he
there also owned two tanneries, and was
accounted one of the leading citizens of his
time in the county. He was of Prussian de
scent. Dr. Allen G. Miller, the only living repre
sentative of his parents ' family of five chil
dren, two sons and three daughters, accom
panied his father on his removal to Allegany
county, Maryland, when six years of age, and
when fourteen the family home was estab
lished in Baltimore that state, the son receiv
ing his educational training in the schools of
Baltimore and Philadelphia, and also in the
University of Maryland. Having decided to
enter the medical profession, he became a stu
dent in the Jefferson Medical College of Phila
delphia, and completing the course therein
returned to Somerset county, Pennsylvania,
to engage in practice, there continuing until
1879, when he transferred his residence and
the scene of his activities to South Bend. He
first located on South Michigan street, where
he was engaged' in practice during the long
period of twenty-five years, and in 1904 he
removed to the corner of Miller and Sample
streets. In his practice the Doctor has made
a specialty of chronic and complicated dis
eases, and is the proprietor of what is known
as the Neuropathic Remedies Laboratory, 721
East Sample street, where his remedies are
compounded under his own supervision. He
also owns the Dr. Miller Sanatorium and
Northern Indiana Mineral Springs, located on
the St. Joseph river between Mishawaka and
South Bend, while at the present time he is
planning to build a large observatory on Mil
ler 's Hill, which is claimed to be the highest
point in the state of Indiana, and is located in
Penn township, south and west of Mishawaka.
In addition to all these varied interests, the
most noted of which is his large and elegantly
equipped laboratory, Dr. Miller owns the larg
est orchard in the county of St. Joseph, con
sisting of twenty thousand trees of various
kinds of fruit, and which is located in Penn
township. In this township he is also the
owner of Floral Park. He is one of the largest
land owners in St. Joseph county, owning the

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

541

iouth portion of the Frantz addition to South
Bend, also the Peterman addition, and he
has five hundred and thirty acres of land, in
the coal regions of Somerset county, Pennsyl
vania, also four hundred and eighty acres of
the finest timber land in Pennsylvania, con
sisting of poplar, basswood and oak timber.
This tract is located on the Raystown branch
of the Juniata river. Thus as a physician and
business man, Dr. Miller has made of life a
grand success, and South Bend is fortunate
that he has allied his interests with her.
In September, 1856, the Doctor married
Susan Kimmel, whose death occurred on the
16th of November, 1886, aged- forty-five y6ars.
She was the mother of fourteen children:
Clara, born June 27, 1857 ; Horace M., .March
4, 1858 ; Isaac N., August 2, 1859 ; Elmer E.,
January 30, 1861; Edward S., August 8,
1862; one who died in infancy; Frank D.,
. born March 4, 1866 ; Anna A., May 28, 1869 ;
Nora A., March 29, 1871 ; Mary M., April 28,
1872 ; an infant born January 15, 1874 : Cora
E., February 2, 1875; Charles H., August 1,
1877; and an infant who was born and died
in 1880. On the 21st of March, 1888, Dr.
Miller married Jennie E. Sanderson. During
his residence in the east the Doctor held mem
bership with all the leading medical societies.
He is well known throughout the state of Indi
ana in connection with the medical profession.
for he has been eminently successful in his
chosen field of endeavor, and the fraternity
places him in its front ranks.
Hon. William Webster Butterworth, M.
D. Possibly there are no names upon the
pages of the history of St.' Joseph county that
are more worthy of special mention in a work
of this character than that which forms the
caption of these memoirs. A name which
was a household word in hundreds of homes —
the name of Dr. W. W. Butterworth, which
stood for all that was grand arid noble. In
fact the name of Butterworth has been con
nected with affairs of the state and nation
for over a century past, and the subject of
this sketch was a most creditable representa
tive of that grand old pioneer family, of
Quaker stock.
William Webster Butterworth, M. D., (de
ceased) was born in Waynesville, Warren
county, Ohio. His father, Benjamin Butter
worth, was born in Campbell county, Virginia,
and his father, Benjamin Butterworth, was a
native of the same county. His father, Isaac
Butterworth, was born in England and came

to America in Colonial times and settled in
Campbell county, where he spent the re
mainder of his days. His son Benjamin,
grandfather of our subject, was reared and
married in his native state, but in an early
day removed from there to Ohio and settled
on the Miami river in Warren county, where
he was one of the first settlers. He purchased
about one thousand five hundred acres of
timbered land and first erected a log house,
but later erected a commodious stone house,
a large frame barn and other farm buildings.
He and his sons were Abolitionists, and his
home was a station on the "Under ground"
railroad through which many a dusky slave
passed en route to Canada. He resided here
until his death, and the old homestead is now
owned by his great-grandson, Professor
Eugene Foster. The maiden name of his wife
was Aravilla Gilbert, also a native of Virginia
and of English ancestry. She reared the
following children: Moorman, Benjamin,
Polly, Millie, Betsy, Nancy, Samuel, Rachel,
William and Thomas. The parents were
members of the Society of Friends, and reared
their children in that faith. Their son
Benjamin was reared in his native state, and
went to Ohio with his parents. His father
gave him land in Waynesville, and his wife
inherited land adjoining, so that he had an
extensive farm. While living there he went
to Michigan and bought government land in
that state, and also came to Indiana and pur
chased land in St. Joseph county. In 1835
he sold his possessions in Ohio and emigrated
to Indiana, accompanied by his family, mak
ing the entire journey with teams. He lo
cated about three miles south of LaPorte,
where he purchased a tract of land and later
added thereto until he owned nearly one
thousand acres, and there he made his home
till his death in 1869, aged seventy-four years.
The maiden name of his wife was Judith
Welch. She was born in Iredell county, North
Carolina. Her father, Gilbert Welch, a na
tive of Virginia, married Chloe Hendricks.
She was one of seven sisters and was of
Swedish ancestry, a lineal descendant of
Gustavus Adolphus. Samuel Gilbert Welch re
moved with his family from North Carolina
to Hillsboro, Ohio, and later to Waynesville.
From there he came to Indiana and lived for
a time, then returned to Waynesville and
' spent his last years there. He and his family
were also members of the Society of Friends.
Mrs. Benjamin Butterworth died at the

542

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

homestead in LaPorte county in 1880. She
reared eight children: Mary, William Web
ster, Isaac, Ruth, Moses, Sarah E., Benjamin
Thomas and Turner.
The subject received his early education in
the public schools of Waynesville and La
Porte county, and supplemented this by a
course in an advanced school at Greeneastle,
Indiana. He studied medicine at a medical
college at LaPorte, and later graduated from
a medical college in New York city, after
which he commenced practice at Mishawaka.
At the first call for troops in 1861 he was
called upon by Governor Morton to go to
the front as surgeon of the three months regi
ment. After the expiration of that term he
was appointed surgeon of the Ninety-ninth
regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and
was with the regiment in all its marches, cam
paigns and battles, including Sherman's
march to the sea. He served until after the
close of the war, and then returned to
Mishawaka. He served for two terms as a
member of the state legislature and during
that time was instrumental in framing and
passing many bills of general good. He was
a personal friend of Governor Hendricks.
He resumed his practice and continued until
his death in 1888, December 7. He was twice
married, first to Sarah J., a daughter of Elias
Smith, of Mishawaka, who died five years
later. He was married to his second wife,
Mrs. Eugene Kennedy, daughter of Milo
Whitney and Sarah (Hall) Smith, and widow
of Eugene Kennedy, in 1859. Milo Whitney
Smith was born in Benson, Vermont, and
his father Judge Smith, was a native of Eng
land and on removing to America settled in
Benson, where he spent the remainder of his
days. The father of Mrs. Butterworth at
tended the State University at Burlington, and
later went to Richmond, Virginia, and attended
the State University there. While in Rich
mond he married Sarah Thorston Hall,
daughter of William Hall, a native of
England, who on emigrating to America
settled in Hanover county, Virginia,
where he bought a plantation which
he operated by slave labor. After his
marriage Mr. Smith returned to Benson,
Vermont, and entered into the practice of
law. He became prominent in public affairs
and served as a representative in the state
legislature. About 1854 he came to Indiana
and located at Plymouth, where he practiced
for a time, and then removed to Mishawaka

and resided there until his death in 1860
aged sixty-two years. His wife survived him
several years. She reared six children:
Carrie Virginia, widow of E. A. Sherwood-
Mrs. Butterworth; Melvina A., who married
David Smith of Mishawaka; Milo Agustus-
Mary Louise, who married Jerry L. Taylor-
and Ella, who married Dr. W. H. Hanford'
of South Bend.
To Dr. and Mrs. Butterworth there were
born three children, William Eugene, deputy
postmaster at Mishawaka; Dr. Charlie M., a
practicing physician of South Bend; and
Camilla, superintendent of the kindergarten
at the Laurel' school.
Dr. Butterworth had a winning personality,
a genuine appreciation of manly principles,
a noble purpose and a pure heart. He was
generous, and his innumerable acts of kind
ness were unostentatiously and quietly per
formed. Of a philosophical turn of mind, he
saw the best, in his friends and life in general,
and thus brought the best of friends to him.
He was all that can be termed a manly man ;
large in sympathy, the depth and wealth of
his friendships, and above all the love of his
fellow men, most applicable to him is
"Homer's Requiem to a Departed Hero:"
' ' Ne 'er to the chambers where the mighty rest
Since their foundation came a nobler guest ;
Nor e'er was to the bowers of bliss conveyed
A fairer spirit, a more welcome shade."
William E. Butterworth, the deputy
postmaster of Mishawaka, is one of the native
sons of this city, his natal day being the 17th
of October, 1860. His father, W. W. Butter
worth, was a native of Virginia, but in an
early day he removed with his parents to, La
Porte, Indiana, and later came to Mishawaka,
where he was one of the best known physi
cians of the early days, practicing his profes
sion here for forty-six years. It was in this
city that he was married to Sarah M. Smith,
by whom he had one daughter, now deceased,
and after the death of the wife and mother
he married Sarah E. Smith, the vridow of
Eugene Kennedy. Their union was blessed
by the birth of three children: William E.,
whose name introduces this review ; Dr. C. M.
Butterworth, of South Bend; and Camilla, a
kindergarten teacher in the Laurel school of
South Bend.
After completing his education in the pub
lic schools of Mishawaka, William E. Butter
worth engaged in the drug business, thus con
tinuing from 1880 until 1892, while for three

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

543

years he was also engaged in the wood and
coal business. In 1898 he became the deputy
postmaster of Mishawaka, first under Mr.
Gaylor and later under Mr. Shaw, the present
postmaster. He is a popular official, systema
tic and careful in the discharge of his duties,
courteous to all, and no man connected with
the office has a greater number of friends
than has he. He is also connected with the
agricultural interests of the county, and is
the owner of one hundred and forty aeres of
land in the eastern part of Mishawaka.
In 1887 Mr. Butterworth was united in
marriage to Ella, the daughter of William
and Emily (Griffin) Skerritt and a native of
Mishawaka. Mr. Butterworth is a stanch Re
publican in his political affiliations, and, a
life-long resident of Mishawaka, he is well
and favorably known to its citizens.
George A. Osborn, M. D. During many
years Dr. Osborn was engaged in the practice
of medicine in South Bend, and in that time
endeared himself to many friends, so that his
death was deeply mourned throughout this
section of the county. He was born on the
Ohio .river in Madison county, Indiana,
February 28, 1823, his father, Isaac Osborn,
having been extensively engaged in shipping
on the river. The son, however, was reared
in Clinton county, Ohio, receiving his early
literary training in its public schools, and
later pursued a scientific and medical course
in Indianapolis, Indiana. For about fifteen
years after leaving college he was engaged in
the practice of his chosen profession in La
fayette, Indiana, and in 1886 he arrived in
South Bend, resuming his medical practice,
which was continued until within a few years
of his death. His busy and useful life was
ended on the 5th of November, 1903. His
long professional career was attended with
marked success, while in private life he gained
that warm personal regard which arises from
true nobility of character, kindliness and
geniality. He exemplified in his life the
beneficent spirit of the Masonic' order, of
which he was long a faithful member, and. he
was also a member of the Medical Society of
Indiana. On the 22d of December, 1846, Dr. Osborn
was united in marriage to Dr. Margaret A.
Fannon, who was born in Clinton county,
Ohio, April 30, 1827, the daughter of John
and Helen (McGrath) Fannon, both also na
tives of that commonwealth. The father, who
was an agriculturist, moved to Pickaway

county, Ohio, about 1827, while six years
later, in 1833, he took up his abode in Clinton
county, that state, where his death occurred
in 1834. Mrs. Fannon was but thirty-six
years of age when she was called to the home
beyond, the husband and wife dying on the
same day, leaving their three little children,
two sons and a daughter, homeless and parent-
less. Their daughter Margaret was then but
seven years of age, and, she was bound out
to a family named Hoblit, with whom she
lived until eighteen years old, in the mean
time pursuing her education in the public
sehool until she had reached her fourteenth
year. She later graduated at the Ladies Com
mercial College of Xenia, Ohio, and after her
marriage began the study of medicine under
the preceptors-hip of her husband and a Pro
cessor Brown. She practiced during the war
of 1860-65, and had been actively engaged
in the profession for .ten years before she re
ceived her license, but in the meantime had
attended the Indiana Medical College. Dur
ing a long period of years she has continued
the practice of medicine in Lafayette and
South Bend, in the time winning for herself
a name and place among its leading practi
tioners, and she now confines her duties to
office work. She is the mother of eight child
ren, namely : Eugene B., of Milwaukee, Wis
consin; Stephen P., a farmer of St. Joseph
county; Sarah E., the wife of David M. Reed,
of Lafayette, Indiana; Georgiana, the widow
of F. W. Brown and a resident of South
Bend; Chase S., a prominent journalist of
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; Horace E., at
home; Charlie, of Jackson, Michigan; W. D.,
a plumber of South Bend. Dr. Osborn and
his wife took up their abode in South Bend
during an early epoch in its history, and
during the intervening years which have since
come and gone they have witnessed many
changes, while they also performed their full
share in its wonderful development and im
provement.- During many years they con
tinued the journey of life together until one,
tired and worn, lay down to rest, while the
other continues on alone until she too shall
be called to lay aside the burdens and re
sponsibilities of this life and join her husband
in the home beyond.
W. H. Hanford, M. D. For many years
Dr. Hanford has traveled life's journey, and
now in the evening of a long, useful and
honorable career, he is enjoying a well earned
rest, relieved of the burdens and responsi-

544

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

bilities of a professional life, for through
many decades he was engaged in the practice
of both medicine and dentistry. He was born
about seven miles from Springfield, in Clark
county, Ohio, August 15, 1825, his parents
being Henry and Harriet (Chamberlain)
Hanford, the former of English and the latter
of Welsh descent. The father was reared in
his native state of Connecticut, where he fol
lowed the dual occupation of farming and
coopering, and at one time was engaged in
business in what is now Cincinnati, Ohio.
When a boy he was associated with the
Beecher family, and he often held the little
daughter Harriet upon his lap. He continued
to make his home at Lewistown, Logan -
county, Ohio, for many years, his death there
occurring when he had reached the eighty-
second milestone on the journey of life, but
his wife preceded him to the home beyond,
dying at the age of seventy-five years. In'
their family were seven children, all of whom
grew to years of maturity, but all have now
passed away with the exception of a son and
daughter,, the latter being Lottie McKennon,
of Lewistown, Ohio.
Dr. Hanford, the sixth child in order of
birth, was about twelve years of age at the
time of the removal of the family to Logan
county, Ohio, receiving his education in both
Springfield and Lewistown, and he was early
inured to the work of the farm. After com
pleting his education he was engaged for
about three years in the printing business,
but on the expiration of that period began
the study of medicine at Bellefontaine, Ohio.
Coming to Indiana when about seventeen
years of age, he resumed the study of medi
cine at Lebanon, Boone county, and after com
pleting his studies began the practice of medi
cine at Republic, Ohio, where he remained for
about two years. For some time following
Dr. Hanford was engaged in the practice of
his profession at Elgin, Illinois, and he then
entered upon the dental profession, thus con
tinuing in that city for about two years. He
then moved to Sycamore, Illinois, and in 1865
came to South Bend, Indiana, where for a
long period he was engaged in both the prac
tice of medicine and dentistry, being without
doubt the oldest practitioner in the state of
Indiana. He gained an enviable reputation
as a successful practitioner, the result of
thorough technical information and skill, for
he made deep and careful research into the

two sciences to which he devoted so many
years of his life.
Dr. Hanford was married in 1864, but his
wife has preceded him to the home beyond.
Their three children are Carrie, a music
teacher of ability and organist of St. Paul's
church, and William Arthur and Chester 0.
of South Bend. The doctor is independent in
his political affiliations, preferring to cast his
ballot for the men whom he regards as best
qualified for their respective positions, and
at all times he has been safely relied upon
to use his influence in the advancement of
whatever has been for the good of the com
munity. Ryan T. Van Pelt, M. D. In the medical
profession advancement is not easily secured,
but the high position which Dr. Van Pelt now
occupies in the medical fraternity demon
strates the fact that he is well informed con
cerning the principles of the science, and has
therefore been accorded a liberal patronage.*
He was born in LaPorte, LaPorte county,
Indiana, on the 4th of May, 1852. His father,
Ryan Van Pelt, Sr., was a native of Pennsyl
vania, but was reared in Ohio and was a
farmer by occupation. In an early day in
its development he came to Indiana, and
although removing to Illinois in 1861, he
afterward returned to this state, and here
the remainder of his life was spent, passing
away in death at the age of eighty-seven years.
He was of Holland descent. Ere his removal
from Pennsylvania he married Catherine Van
Pelt, and she, too, passed away at the age of
eighty-seven years. In their family were
twelve children, namely: Mariah; Elizabeth,
who died in infancy; Mary; Sarah; Amanda;
Abner ; Aaron, who laid down his life on the
altar of his country in the Civil war; Jacob,
also deceased; Eliza, the wife of Reese
Stephens, of South Bend; John, who served
four years in the war of the rebellion and is
now a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah; and
Catherine, the wife of Henry C. Wheeler, of
South Bend.
Dr. Ryan T. Van Pelt, the youngest of the
twelve children, was reared in both Indiana
and Illinois, having been about eight years
of age when he accompanied his father on the
removal to Kankakee of the latter state, where
he continued his education in the city schools.
Returning thence to LaPorte in 1865, he com
pleted his literary training, graduating from
the high school with the class of 1869.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

545

Shortly thereafter he took up the study of
medicine in the Rush Medical College of Chi
cago, where he completed the course and was
graduated in 1877, after which for a short
time he served as interne in the Cook County
Hospital, one of the largest hospitals of that
city. From 1878 until 1890 Dr. Van Pelt
was engaged in the practice of his chosen pro
fession in Mishawaka, Indiana, after which
he returned to Chicago and opened an office
in the Lexington hotel, Twenty-second street
and Michigan avenue, as a house physician.
After a continuous and lucrative practice of
thirteen years in Chicago the doctor came to
South Bend, his pleasant and well equipped
office being located at 222 South Lafayette
street. He is a member of the American Medi
cal Society, the St. Joseph County and the
Indiana State Medical Societies and the Rush
Alumni. Throughout the long period in
which Dr. Van Pelt has been a representative
of the medical profession he has maintained
his position among the leaders of the frater
nity and has won a large and lucrative prac
tice. In 1885 was celebrated the marriage of Dr.
Van Pelt and Mrs. Hattie L. Simpson, the
widow of Col. John E. Simpson, of St. Louis,
and a daughter of Dr. M. G. Sherman, of
Michigan City, Indiana. Mrs. Van Pelt was
born in Ogdensburg, New York, and received
her education in the eastern states. The
Doctor married for his second wife, Miss Mary
A. Goggin, of Chicago, June 26, 1907. He
is a stanch Republican, and fraternally is a
member of the Knights of Pythias and the
Eagles. E. M. Drollinger. Many years of self-
denying labor in the service of suffering
humanity is the resume of the life of this
honored physician of South Bend. Being of
broad and liberal mind, and having enjoyed
the advantages of a good education, he has
had the interests of the people deeply at
heart, and his influence has been exerted at
all times as the champion of progress. He
was born in Laporte county, Indiana, on
the 6th of June, 1853, a son of Gabriel and
Mary E. (Chapman) Drollinger, the former
a native of South Carolina and the latter of
New York.
The literary training of their son, E. M.
Drollinger, was received in the excellent pub
lic schools of Laporte, and after completing
his studies there and having decided upon the
medical profession as a life work he entered
35

the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical Institute,
where he was graduated in 1878. In the fol
lowing year, 1879, he came to South Bend
and opened an office for the practice of medp
cine, where he has practiced for many years
and is the loved family physician in many a
household. In 1878, the year of his graduation from
his medical college, Dr. Drollinger married
Miss Mary A. Jarrell, of Marshall county, In
diana, and they have one daughter.
N. G. Borisowicg, M. D. In the medical
profession advancement comes only through
true merit, and that Dr. Borisowicg has a
large and representative patronage is indica
tive of his skill and ability. He was born in
Russian Poland, February 14, 1852, and after
completing his literary education in his na
tive country began the study of medicine,
graduating from the medical department of
the Imperial University of Harkow, Russia,
in 1886. From the time of his graduation
until his emigration to America in 1889 he
was engaged in practice in the province of
Kursk, Poland, and after his arrival in this
country he located at Toledo, Ohio, and re
sumed his profession. On the 27th of Novem
ber, 1892, the Doctor arrived in South Bend,
Indiana, where he has ever since been engaged
in the active practice of his profession. In
his long identification with this city he has
gained distinction in the line of his chosen
calling, for he has ever been an earnest and
discriminating student, and now holds a
leading place among the medical practitioners
of northern Indiana.
Dr. Borisowicg was married in Pennsyl
vania to Clementena Dydzinska', also a native
of Russian Poland, and their pleasant and at
tractive residence is located on Chapin street,
which was built in 1904 and where the doctor
also has his well equipped office.
John Cassidy, M. D. A man's worth in
the world is determined by his usefulness and
by what he has accomplished for his fellow-
men, and he is certainly deserving of the
greatest honor and regard whose efforts have
been of the greatest benefit to humanity. And
to none is there so great an opportunity given
as to the physician and surgeon, and a work
of this character would certainly be incom
plete did it not enroll on its historical pages
the gentleman whose name forms the caption
of this article. In private life he is disting
uished by all that makes the true gentleman,
one that subordinates personal ambition to

546

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

public good, and seeks the benefit of others,
— morally, physically and intellectually —
rather than the aggrandizement of self. En
dowed by nature with high intellectual quali
ties to which may be added years of practical
experience as a physician and surgeon, Dr.
Cassidy needs no introduction, for he has
been the well known and loved family physi
cian in the homes of St. Joseph county for a
great many years.
Dr. John Cassidy was born in Linden town
ship, Washtenaw county, Michigan. His
father, John Cassidy,. was born in county
Monaghan, Ireland, where his parents were
life-long residents. His brothers, Hugh,
Cornelius and Michael, and sisters, Mary,
Ellen and Catherine, all came to America,
and in due time settled in Michigan. The
father of our subject was the youngest, and
the last to come to America. He joined his
brothers and sisters in New York, where he
lived for a time, and then went to Chatham,
New Jersey, and lived there until 1836. He
then started for the territory of Michigan,
having been commissioned by his brothers and
brothers-in-law to buy land for them. He
located in Linden township, Washtenaw
county, and entered several tracts of govern
ment land, making the journey to Detroit and
return on horseback. At this time and for
some years after there were no railroads in
Michigan. Deer, wild turkeys and other kinds
of wild game were plentiful. He immediately
commenced improvements by building a log
cabin and then commenced to improve the
land. In 1838 his wife and child joined him
in their western home. He engaged in
general farming and stock raising and was
the first to introduce sheep into Linden. He
was successful, and in due time erected a
brick house, a commodious barn, and other
farm buildings, and resided there till his
death, at a good old age. The maiden name
of the mother of our subject was Rose Tim-
mons. She was born in county Fermanagh,
Ireland. A brother, Michael, and two sisters,
Margaret and Susanna, came to America.
Their mother also came and spent her last
years with her children, and died at the ad
vanced age of ninety-eight years. The
parents of our subject reared seven children,
named: Margaret, John, Thomas, William,
Mary, Rose and Susanna.
Out- subject received his early education in
the pioneer schools of his native town, and
attended for two years a private school and

the Ypsilanti high school. After completing
his course there he entered Notre Dame Uni
versity at South Bend and graduated from
there with the degree of B.S., and later re
ceived the degree of M.S. He had as tutors
in the different institutions of learning
Duane Doty, who was later superintendent
of schools in Chicago; Col. R. W. Johnson,
late of Elkhart; Judge Howard O'Brien of
Minnesota and Judge Rose of Auburn, and
Professor Bacon. After completing his course
at Notre Dame, he studied medicine at Ann
Arbor, one year, then entered Rush Medical
College, Chicago, and graduated from that
institution in 1868, and commenced practice
in South Bend, where he has practiced con
tinuously since. He was married in 1870 to
Cecilia Ascher. She was born in New Lon
don, Ohio, a daughter of Hermann and Sa-
brina (King) Ascher, the father a native of
Konigsberg, Germany, and the mother of New
York state. Dr. and Mrs. Cassidy have eight
children: Edith (now Mrs. Connelly) of
Detroit ; Minnie, Rose, Sophia, John, Bertha,
Thomas and Marjorie, The family are mem
bers of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church.
The children have all studied at the State
University at Ann Arbor. Two have gradu
ated from that institution, and three are now
students there.
William Augustus Weiser, M. D. Among
those who have attained distinctive prestige
in the practice of medicine and whose success
has come as the logical result of thorough
technical information and skill stands Dr.
Weiser, who is a man of scholarly attainments
and who has made deep and careful research
into the science to which he has devoted his
life. He is a descendant of the sturdy, per
severing and honorable sons of Germany for
his father, Adam Weiser, was a native of the
fatherland, and was a member of the medical
profession, as was also his grandfather. The
former served as a soldier in the German
army, but being opposed to the government
of that time, as were also many notable Ger
mans, he escaped to this country at the same
time as Carl Schurz, in 1848, first settling in
New Jersey. He afterward removed to
Philadelphia and Pittsburg, and finally lo
cated in Butler county, Pennsylvania, where
he practiced medicine until he was accident
ally killed at a railroad crossing on the 10th
of January, 1900, when he was seventy-seven .
years of age. He was a typical American
citizen, thoroughly in harmony with the spirit

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

547

of the republic, and during the Civil war he
valiantly fought as a member of Company B,
One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Regiment of
Pennsylvania Infantry. Mrs. Weiser bore the
maiden name of Catherine Werner, and was
also a native of Germany. She was also ac
cidentally killed, as the result of a fall, on
January 10, 1866, and her father met his
death in exactly the same manner in 1894,
at the remarkable age of one hundred and
four years.
William Augustus Weiser was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of
March, 1852, and when but twelve years of
age was obliged to begin the battle of life
for himself. At that time he was taken from
school to work as a gathering boy, he being
the only boy in Bellevernon who could speak
the German language. This accomplishment
was then quite necessary, as the glass blowers
all came from the fatherland. What educa
tional training he received in the earlier
years was obtained in the schools of Fayette
county, and he was obliged to walk four miles
in order to enjoy their privileges. He holds
a certificate from a medical school of Chicago,
and was elected regent in Pennsylvania under
the act of 1881, also in Michigan under the
act of 1899, and pursued a post-graduate
course in the Chicago Medical College. Dr.
Weiser was made professor of pharmacology
in Indianapolis, a director in the Bourbon
Medical Institute, and is a member of the
American Pharmaceutical Association and ex-
secretary of the Marshall County Pharmaceu
tical Association. For a time he studied law
and was admitted to practice in Marshall
county in 1898, but his entire professional
career has been devoted to the medical profes
sion, having practiced in Michigan, South
Dakota and is registered in Oklahoma, Illinois
and Indiana. He came to South Bend in
1904, and has won prominence in the medical
fraternity of this city.
In 1891 the doctor was united in marriage
to Miss Mary Ann Lewallen, whose family is
a prominent one in Marshall county and is
of Welsh descent. He. is a member of the
United Brethren church, and, fraternally, of
the Masonic Lodge No. 227, of Bourbon,- In
diana, the Red Men, Loyal Americans, and
St. Joseph County Grange, Society No. 584,
with which his wife is also identified. The
doctor is also about to join the Sons of
Veterans, Grand Army of the Republic, and

thus be one of the patriotic host to keep Old
Glory flying.
Edward E. Paxson. During the years of
Dr. Paxson's connection in South Bend he
has won for himself a place of distinction in
the dental fraternity in this part of the state.
He has now an office well equipped with
modern appliances for the conduct of his
business, and he ever keeps in touch with the
advancement that is continually being made
in the profession, utilizing modern methods
and adding to this a superior mechanical skill
which is one of the strong elements of success
in the dental practitioner.
The doctor was born in Elkhart county,
Indiana, on the 11th of December, 1864, a
son of Eli W. and Elizabeth (Vesey) Paxson,
the father born in Virginia, and the mother
in Vermont. The father, who was born in
1825, removed- to Elkhart county in 1835,
where he was long engaged in agricultural
pursuits, and he still resides at Bristol in that
county at the age of eighty-two years. Dr.
Paxson attended the public schools of South
Bend during his boyhood days, and graduated
from the high school in 1883. Choosing the
profession of dentistry as a life work he then
entered the dental department of the Univer
sity of Michigan, in which he was graduated
in 1887, and in the same year came to South
Bend and opened an office for the practice
of his profession. He is a member of the
Michigan State Dental Society and of the
South Western Michigan Dental Society.
Frank D. Hager, D. D. S. Dr. Hager, one
of the leaders in the ranks of the dental fra
ternity in South Bend, with offices at 108
West Washington street, was born in Hagers-
ville, Ontario, December 14, 1871, the sixth
son of Charles and Mary Hager, who were
natives of Canada. After attending the
parochial and high schools of his native city
of Hagersville their son Frank entered the
Caledonia" Institute, where he completed the
course and was graduated, and to still further
perfect himself in his literary studies then
became a student in the normal school, there
preparing himself for the teacher's profes
sion. But after teaching for a short time in
Canada he entered the dental office of Dr.
Nobbs, while in 1896 he graduated from the
Chicago Dental College and in the same year
came to South Bend and began the practice
of his chosen profession. From that time for
ward Dr. Hager has steadily advanced in his

548

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

work, keeping in touch with its onward pro
gress, and the prestige which he has gained
is indicated by the liberal patronage which he
receives. In 1899 the doctor was married to Adalyn
Von Trump, whose father, C. C. Trump, -is
a well known resident of South Bend, where
the daughter was born and received her edu
cation. One child has been born of this union,
Frances Adalyn. Dr. Hager is a member of
the Northern Indiana Dental Society and the
Chicago Alumni Association, while his fra
ternal relations connect him with the Elks
and the Masons in South Bend. Dr. Hager
is also well known in the musical circles of
this city, having received an excellent musical
education, and is now basso in the choir of
the First Presbyterian church, also a member
of the male quartette and is engaged in much
concert work.
S. M. McDonald, D. D. S. Since entering
the professional world Dr. McDonald has
steadily advanced step by step until he has
won for himself a place of distinction in the
dental fraternity of northern Indiana. His
palatial offices at 102 South Michigan street,
South Bend, are equipped with modern appli
ances, and he ever keeps in touch with the
advancement made in dentistry. At a very
early day in its development, in 1847, John
Milton McDonald, the father of the doctor
and a native of Ohio, came with ox teams to
South Bend, being then about twelve years
of age, and was accompanied on the journey
by his parents and other members of their
family. From that early day he has remained
an honored resident of this city and St.
Joseph county, where with his wife, nee
Elizabeth Ouderkirk, a native of New York,
they are enjoying the fruits of long years of
toil in the past. In their family were ten
children, eight of whom grew to years of
maturity. The much lamented Charles Albert McDon
ald, a brother of the doctor and eldest son
of Mr. and Mrs. John M. McDonald, passed
away December 14, 1905, at forty-six years
of age. His untimely and regrettable death
was due to typhoid fever mistakenly diag
nosed and treated as malaria. At the time
of his death, Mr. McDonald was city editor
of the South Bend Times, a leading daily and
semi-weekly newspaper, and was also one of
the principal stockholders and founders of
the Times Printing company, an institution
he was devotedly identified with for a quarter

of a century. The community and news-
paperdom never lost a more capable, popular,
prominent man, nor a better friend and citi
zen. Dr. McDonald, the seventh in order of
birth of his parents' children, is a native of
South Bend, and in its public schools received
his early literary training. He then attended
the Kansas City Dental College, from which
he was graduated in 1895, and since 1899 he
has been actively engaged in the practice of
his chosen profession in the city of his birth,
being now an acknowledged leader in the
ranks of the fraternity. But outside of his
profession Dr. McDonald has also achieved a
worthy success, for he is a true railroad man
and is now serving as president of the Chi
cago, St. Louis & Kansas City Electric Rail
way company's project. He is recognized as
a railroad promoter, and was one of the or
ganizers of the latter company. During the
Spanish- American war the doctor enlisted as
a member of the One Hundred and Fifty-
seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving
as brigade dental surgeon throughout the en
tire struggle, and at its close returned to his
home in South Bend and resumed the prac
tice of dentistry. He has made of life a suc
cess, and were one to seek for its secret it
would be found in that persistent purpose
which has been a motive power in his life
to make the world brighter and better by
putting to the best use all that he is and has.
He is the author and writer of many good
articles that have appeared in newspapers and
magazines throughout the country.
James B. Greene, M. D., who is one
of the leading physicians and surgeons of St.
Joseph county, was born in Lower Sandusky,
Ohio, May 29, 1845. His father, John L.
Greene, a native of St. Lawrence county, New
York, removed to Ohio with his father in
1813, the family locating on a farm of three
hundred and twenty acres. This proved poor
land, however, and was later' sold for one
thousand dollars, , considered a large price at
that time, although it is how located in the
very heart of the city of Cleveland. In the
journey to the Buckeye state Abraham Gar
field drove a team for Mr. Greene, Sr., and in
the party was also Mary Ballou, who gave
her hand in marriage to Abraham Garfield
after their arrival in Ohio, and their union
resulted in the birth of James A. Garfield,
the loved and honored president of the United
States. John L. Greene took up the study of

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

549

law and became a prominent member of the
bar of Ohio, also a judge of the common pleas
court for many years, his son, John L., Jr.,
succeeding him both in practice and on the
bench. His death occurred on the 8th of
November, 1879, when he had reached the age
of eighty-seven years. He had married Marie
Rosetta Du Comb a native of Bordeaux,
France, whose father was a sailor and a resi
dent of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was
the first man to run the British blockade in
1812. The subject of this review is a repre
sentative of a military family on both the
maternal and paternal sides. His paternal
grandfather, who was born at Valley Forge,
was a soldier in the war of 1812, his father,
Eleazer Greene, having been a captain in the
Continental army at the time, while the lat
ter 's father was the well known Nathaniel
Greene. Dr. Greene's father and eldest
brother were soldiers in the Mexican war,
while seven brothers and himself served in
the war of the rebellion, and his youngest
brother, Marshal, too young to serve in the
Civil war, took part in the Spanish war and
was killed at Manila.
James B. Greene, one of a family of twelve
children, but all of whom are now deceased
with the exception of himself and brother
Vincent Du Comb, superintendent of the Au
tomatic Telephone Company of Chicago, re
ceived his education in the schools of, Ohio,
while his professional studies were pursued
in the Cleveland Medical College, in which he
graduated in 1867, and the Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, complet
ing the course in the latter institution in 1890!
On the 1st of June, 1867, he opened an office
in Woodland, St. Joseph county, for the prac
tice of his chosen profession, but in the follow
ing year came to Mishawaka. His prepara
tion for the medical profession was thorough
and comprehensive, and since his entrance
thereto has won high encomiums from the
public and profession. Dr. Greene was the
first local man to attempt abdominal surgery,
in which he met with great success and has
established for himself a reputation as a
specialist in that particular branch all over
northern Indiana. Previous to entering upon
the study of medicine the doctor, in April,
1861, enlisted for service in the Civil war,
becoming a member of the Eighth Ohio In
fantry, and in September, 1861, he went out
with the Third Ohio Cavalry, from which he
was discharged in November, 1865, for the

war had then ended. Throughout the period
of his enlistment he never received a furlough
and during the entire time was at the front
from the battle of Shiloh, under Sherman and
. Thomas, until the capture of Jeff Davis.
The marriage of Dr. Greene was celebrated
in January, 1868, when Mary E. Hagey, a
native of Carroll county, Ohio, and a daughter
of Jonathan Hagey, became his wife. They
have become the parents of five children, of
whom two are living. The doctor is a mem
ber of the Masonic order, the Grand Army of
the Republic, Houghton Post, the Mishawaka
Physicians Club, the County Medical Society,
the Thirteenth District Medical Society, the
Tri State Medical Society, the Indiana State
Medical Society and the American Medical
Association. His political support is given
to the Republican party, and although an ac
tive and public spirited citizen the only office
which he has held has been that of president
of the medical examining board for twelve
years. He is an enthusiastic hunter, and shot
the last deer killed in St. Joseph county.
The doctor can speak both French and Ger
man fluently, being self-taught in those
languages, and at all times he has commanded
the respect and esteem of his fellow men by
his superior intellectual attainments and his
upright life. On the evening of June 3, 1907,
the members of the medical profession of
Mishawaka met at the residence of Dr. Stroup
and marched to the home of Dr. Greene to
celebrate the fortieth anniversary of his medi
cal practice in St. Joseph county. In token
of their appreciation of his ability and efforts
they presented him with an elegant gold-
headed cane, beautifully chased and engraved.
James G. Bostwick, M. D. One of the
honored younger representatives of the medi
cal profession in Mishawaka, Dr. Bostwick is
laboring unceasingly in his calling, striving
to do all in his power toward the amelioration
of the "ills to which the flesh is heir," and is
succeeding to a gratifying degree- in his noble
endeavors. His birth occurred in this city
on the 23d of August, 1878, where his father,
William Bostwick, has for many years been
well known as a traveling man. He was born
in Lakeville, Connecticut, but came to St.
Joseph county, Indiana, some time in the '70s
and was married to Mary A. Grimes, the
daughter of Dr. James F. and Caroline E.
Grimes, honored early pioneers of St. Joseph
county and also early residents of Mishawaka.
Mrs. Bostwick was called from this life on the

550

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

17th of January, 1904, after becoming the
mother of three sons.
Dr. James G. Bostwick, the eldest and only
living child, is a member of the alumni of the
Mishawaka high school, and was also for a
time a student in the University of Indiana
at Bloomington, where his close application
to his studies gained him a broad literary
training, and enabled him to enter upon the
study of the profession which he had chosen
as a life work. Entering the Rush Medical
College of Chicago, he graduated therein on
June 18, 1902, and at once began the practice
of medicine in Mishawaka, the city of his
birth, where he has built up an excellent prac
tice and is rapidly winning the commendation
of the public and his professional brethren.
On the 15th of June, 1904, Dr. Bostwick
married Mable E. Gaylor, the daughter of
Albert and Mary Gaylor, and they have one
son, William G. The doctor is a member of
the Physicians 'Club' of Mishawaka, also of the
State, County and American Medical Socie
ties, and of the Masonic order and the Knights
of Pythias. His professional popularity has
led to his selection as secretary of the city
board of health, and he is well and favorably
known to the citizens of his native county and
city. Chris A. Dresch, M. D. Dr. Dresch, who
is rapidly winning for himself a name and
place among the leading medical practitioners
of St. Joseph county, was born in Goshen,
Indiana, May 23, 1878, a ,son of Christian
and Anna (Wambach) Dresch, both natives
of Germany. When about twenty years of
age the father sailed from his native land to
America, and making his way to Goshen,
Indiana, became one of the first business men
of that city, where he was extensively engaged
in mercantile pursuits. His life labors were
ended in death when he had reached the age
of fifty-four years, but the wife and mother
was seventy-one years of age ere she was
called to the home beyond. They became the
parents of five children, three sons and two
daughters, all of whom grew to years of
maturity. Dr. Dresch, the youngest of the family,
spent the early years of his life in the city
of his birth, receiving his early literary train
ing in its public schools, and in 1893 he went
to Denver, Colorado, and entered the Rocky
Mountain University, graduating in its medi
cal department in 1898, before he had reached

his twenty-first year. On his twenty-first
birthday, however, he received his diploma,
and for two and a half years he remained at
Pueblo, Colorado, in the Colorado Fuel and
Iron Company's hospital. In 1900 he went
to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and entered
the Medico-Chirurgical College, where he
completed the course and graduated the fol
lowing year. Thus with an excellent medical
training to serve as the foundation of his life
work Dr. Dresch came to Mishawaka in the
same year of his graduation, 1900, and has
here gained distinction in the line of his
chosen calling. He is a member of the Ameri
can Medical Association, the Indiana State
Medical Society and the Physicians Club of
Mishawaka, and through his connection with
these organizations, as well as through con
stant study, he keeps in close touch with his
profession in its advance toward perfection.
In 1900 Dr. Dresch was united in marriage
to Elizabeth Sears, who was born in Newton,
Kansas, the daughter of T. H. Sears, a resi
dent of Pueblo, Colorado. One little daughter
has been born to bless this union, Elizabeth.
Dr. Dresch has membership relations with the
Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias and
the Modern Woodmen of America, all of Mis
hawaka. Both in professional and social life
he inspires friendship of unusual strength,
and all who know him have the highest ad
miration for his many noble characteristics.
William Field Wood, M. D. In a com
parison of the relative value to mankind of
the various professions and pursuits to which
men devote their time and energies, it is wide
ly recognized that none is more important
than the medical profession. From the cra
dle to the grave human destiny is largely in
the hands of the physician, not only on acj
count of the effect he may have on the physi
cal system, but also upon man's mental and
moral nature. In a review of Dr. Wood's
life one of his principal features is his use
of this power.
From sterling Canadian ancestors has the
Doctor descended; from earnest, upright,
sturdy men, and women of piety and grace
of character. His father, Alpheus Field
Wood, was for many years connected with
the Dominion government under the late Sir
John A. MacDonald, and for twenty years
served as government valuator for the fail-
way and canals department, while for twelve
years he was elected as a member of the legis
lative assembly of the provincial government

ooct.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

551

of Ontario. Mrs. Wood bore the maiden
name of Eliza A. Ross, and was a most re
fined and cultured lady.
In his early youth Dr. W. Field Wood,
who was born at Madoc, Ontario, June 3,
1867, was sent to Upper Canada College at
Toronto, a government school modeled after
Rugby College in England, where he was pre
pared for the University of Toronto, there
pursuing the arts . course. It was, however,
his earnest and cherished desire to enter the
medical profession, and accordingly he en
tered the medical department of the Universi
ty of McGill College at Montreal, where he
studied for one year, and then to further
perfect himself in his chosen profession he
went abroad and studied three semesters
under the direction of the conjoint examina
tion board of Great Britain in the Royal
University of Berlin. And it is here worthy
of mention to note that Dr. Wood visited in
Germany during the ninety days' reign of
the late Emperor Frederick, thus having the
unusual pleasure of seeing the throne occu
pied by three different emperors. After the
completion of his studies abroad he returned
to his home and attended three sessions of
the medical faculty of Queen University at
Kingston, Ontario, graduating in that famous
medical institution in 1891. In November of
the same year the doctor came to Mishawaka
and embarked on the professional sea, where
he has built up a large and remunerative
general practice. He holds a membership in
the Landsmannschaft Normannia, a" most
ancient and distinguished corps of Berlin
University, and is also an elder in the Zeta
Psi fraternity, an exclusive organization
which has existed for sixty years among the
leading colleges of this country, while to
further perfect himself along professional
lines and to keep abreast of the advances
which are constantly being made in the medi
cal world he is associated with the American
Medical Association and with the State and
County Medical Societies.
In 1890 Dr. Wood was united in marriage
to Mina A. H. McKinnon, a daughter of
David McKinnon, a distinguished barrister
of Hamilton, Ontario, but whose death oc
curred in Mishawaka in 1893. The doctor
afterward, in 1895, married Mary Radomska,
of this city, and his family residence is at
113 East Third street, Mishawaka. Honored
alike by all, he is well worthy to be repre

sented in a history of the leading men of St.
Joseph county.
Bs. James F. Grimes, the oldest practicing
physician of Mishawaka, has been closely
identified with the progress and development
of St. Joseph county throughout the period
of his long and active business life, and none
of her citizens have manifested greater public
spirit or more earnest interest in the reduc
tion of the country from a wilderness to a
fertile land of fine farms and a flourishing
little city. His birth occurred in Frederick
county, Maryland, April 13, 1825, and he is of
Irish descent. When he was a little lad of
eight years his father, who was also a native
of Frederick county, and a farmer by occu
pation, moved to Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio.
where the little son grew to mature years and
received his literary education. When he had
reached the age of twenty-one years he began
the study of medicine in Tiffin, and later.
about 1851, graduated from the Eclectic
School or College of Cincinnati, Ohio. In the
same year he came to Mishawaka and engaged
in the practice of his chosen profession, and
during the fifty-six years which have since
rolled their course he has continued one of
the city 's valued and useful residents, winning
success in the medical profession, and thor
oughly deserving the genuine praise which is
freely accorded him by those who have known
him almost a lifetime.
In Ohio Dr. Grimes was married to Caro
line E. Harris, a native of England, but she
was reared in America and died in Mishawaka
on the 14th of March, 1906. Of their family
of four children two are now living, Mrs.
R. E. Wilklow and Harriet B., the wife of
B. V. Bingham, also of this city, whose his
tory will be found elsewhere in this work.
Dr. Grimes owns one hundred and twenty
acres of land in Madison township, St. Joseph
county. During his early life he voted with
the Whig party, and at the organization of
the Republican party he joined its ranks, be
ing one of the forty now living in this county
who voted for its first presidential nominee,
Fremont, and since that time he has continued
to support each of its presidential candidates
with the exception of Greeley. He has always
taken an active part in the public affairs of
the locality, and at one time served as the
trustee of Mishawaka. Faithful and true in
all the relations of life, he need have few
regrets in looking back along the pathway by

552

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

which he has come, and to his children he
will leave the priceless heritage of a stainless
name and history.
Harriet L. Lindt, M. D. To' those familiar
with the- residents of Mishawaka Dr. Harriet
L. Lindt needs no introduction, for her ef
forts in behalf of the medical profession have
gained her a reputation not confined to the
limits of the locality. In all that tends to her
chosen profession she has taken a deep inter
est, and her zeal has been of that practical
kind that secured results immediate and bene
ficial. Mishawaka may well be proud to claim
her as a daughter, for her career has been
one which reflects honor upon her adopted
city. She was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa,
June 18, 1878. Her father, John. Lindt, was
a native of Erie, Pennsylvania, where he was
also reared and educated, and ' became a
lawyer of note, receiving his professional
training in the Oberlin Law School. About
1873 he came west, locating in Council Bluffs,
Iowa, where he continued his practice of the
law and also took an active part in the public
affairs of the community. During the war
of 1861-65 he nobly put aside all. personal
considerations and offered his service to his
country's cause, and is now department com
mander for Iowa in the Grand Army of the
Republic. In Mishawaka, Indiana, he was
married to Sarah Griffin, a native daughter of
this city. Her 'father, Stephen Griffin, was
one of the early pioneers in St. Joseph county
and Mishawaka, and was one of the first
blacksmiths in the county. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Lindt continue to reside in Council
Bluffs, where they are well known and hon
ored residents.
Harriet L. Lindt, their only child, received
her literary training in the schools of Council
Bluffs, and after its completion entered the
John A. Creighton Medical College, of Omaha,
Nebraska, to prepare for her chosen life work,
graduating in that well known institution in
1900. During the following two years she
was engaged in practice in Omaha, but in
January, 1903, came to Mishawaka, the birth
place of her mother, and entered upon the
career which has been so fruitful of good
works, kind deeds and loving ministrations.
Dr. Lindt is a member of the Omaha Medical
Society, and of the Episcopal church. She
is and has been a discriminating student, and
has gained distinction in the line of her chosen
calling. Her strong mentality and intellec
tual attainments, her broad sympathy and

charity and her pleasing social qualities have
rendered her very popular and won her the
love of many with whom she has been asso
ciated in the active pursuits of life.
Henry J. Graham, M. D., who is
recognized as one ¦ of the most promi
nent physicians of Mishawaka, was born in
the province of Ontario, Canada, April 28,
1878, the son of John and Rebecca (McLel-
lan) Graham, the former a native of Scotland
and the latter of Canada. She is now de
ceased, but the husband and father survives
still residing in Canada. After his gradua
tion from the Glencoe high school of Ontario.
Canada, the son Henry became a student in
the Detroit Medical College, where he com
pleted the course and graduated in 1900.
During the two years following this impor
tant event he was connected with the Detroit
hospital, while for one year he had charge of
the Jackson, Michigan, hospital. In 1903 Dr.
Graham became a resident of Mishawaka,
where he immediately opened an office for the
practice of his chosen profession, and has
ever since enjoyed a large and representative
patronage. In the line of his profession he is
a member of the St. Joseph County Medical
Society, the Ft. Wayne Medical Society and
the Jackson County Medical Society, thus
being enabled to keep pace with the many new
discoveries which are constantly being made
in the science. Fraternally the doctor has
membership relations with the Masonic order,
the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the
Maccabees, and the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, all of Mishawaka.
Dr. Theodore P. Mover is acknowledged
a leader in the ranks of the dental fraternity
in South Bend, and he has risen to his present
enviable position through earnest study, close
application and marked ability. With a na
ture that could not be content with medi
ocrity and prompted by a laudable ambition
to rise in his profession,, he has steadily
advanced and gained prestige that is indi
cated by the regard which his fellow practi
tioners entertain for him and by the liberal
patronage which he receives. He was born
in St. Catherines, Lincoln county, Ontario,
Canada, on the 8th of January, 1869, a son
of David H. and Anna Moyer, both also na
tives of Canada.
In the public schools of his native county
Theodore P. Moyer received his literary edu
cation, while his professional studies were

ei/p, £>i

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

553

pursued in Buffalo, New York, graduating
from the University of Buffalo in 1897. He
then began the practice of his profession in
Ashtabula, Ohio, where he remained for a
year and a half, coming thence to South Bend
in 1898 and entering the ranks of the dental
profession. During the first two years of
his residence here the doctor was associated
in practice with Dr. D. B. Calvert, but since
that time he has been alone, maintaining an
office in the Dean building.
In 1898 Dr. Moyer was united in marriage
to Miss Alice Guy, a daughter of Andrew and
Jane Guy, of Ashtabula, Ohio, and they have
one son, Harold, born on the 3d of July,
1901. Dr. Moyer and wife are members of
St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal church, while
fraternally he is connected with the Modern
Woodmen. He is very prominent in the mu
sical circles of South Bend, and is now serv
ing as bass singer in St. Paul's church.
A. P. Sibley. There is ever a degree of
satisfaction and profit in scanning the life
history of one who has attained an eminent
degree of success as the direct result of in
dividual efforts ; one who' has had the cour
age, patience, perseverance, energy and
economy, together with the mentality, to di
rect his endeavors toward the desired end,
and the singleness and steadfastness of pur
pose which has given true value to each
consecutive detail of effort. As a distinctive
type of this kind of man we can refer with
singular propriety to the gentleman whose
name forms the caption of this review.
A. P. Sibley, late president of the Sibley
Machine Tool Company, of South Bend, was
born in Worcester county, Massachusetts, on
the 30th of April, 1847, his father, Paul Sib
ley, also being a native of that state. The
family, which is of English ancestry, is traced
back to the early part of the seventeenth
century, when the first American ancestor
came from England and located in New
Hampshire, thence removing to Massachusetts.
The surname Paul has descended through
many generations, the great-grandfather,
grandfather and father by that name having
been Massachusetts farmers. The death of
Paul Sibley, the father, occurred in his na
tive county, when A. P. Sibley was but ten
years of age. His wife (nee Esther Stone"),
also born in the old Bay State, was a sister
of Amasa Stone and an aunt of Mrs. John
Hay. She lived to the age of forty-seven
years and reared a family of vsix children,

two sons and four daughters, but only two
are now living — the daughter being Mary,
wife of George L. Hobbs, of Massachusetts.
_ A. P. Sibley, the fifth child in. order of
birth and the only member of the family to
live in Indiana, was reared and educated in
his native county of Worcester, and after
completing his studies learned the trade of a
machinist at Warren, Massachusetts, being
employed for eight years on contract work
in the shops of L. W. Ponds. In company
with John R. Mills he . made the machinery
which they brought to South Bend in 1874,
and with which they embarked in business.
They were also accompanied by George 0.
Ware, and the firm of Sibley, Wells & Ware
founded an establishment for general ma
chine repairing at the foot of Washington
street. Later they moved to' what is now
known as the old Bissell machine shops, and
four years afterward, upon the retirement
of Mr. Wells, the firm became Sibley & Ware.
In 1883 their shops were destroyed by fire,
and in the same year the site on which the
present plant stands was purchased and the
buildings erected, but on account of the fail
ing health of Mr. Ware, Mr. Sibley purchased
the entire business in May, 1904, at which
time it was , incorporated under the name of
the Sibley Machine Tool Company. This cor
poration, of which he was president, employs
about one hundred operatives, makes a spe
cialty of power drills and is one of the largest
establishments of the kind in northern In
diana. Mr. Sibley is also vice-president of
the Merchants' National Bank of South
Bend. The marriage of A. P. Sibley was cele
brated in June, 1876, when Eva, the daugh
ter of Robert Hardy, of South Bend, became
his wife, and their three children are Olive,
Walter and Helen. Mr. Sibley was an in
fluential supporter of the Republican party,
and from 1904 to 1906 represented the First
ward in the city council. He was a member
of the Commercial Athletic Club and of the
Methodist Episcopal church. In noting his
prominence and broad usefulness it is inter
esting to remember that his location was a
matter of pure accident. At the time of his
journey hither he and his companions had
purchased tickets for Chicago, intending to
stop off at different places on the route;
but they continued on as far as Iowa, where
they spent one week, expecting to return di
rectly to Lynn, Massachusetts. But hearing

554

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of Elkhart, Indiana, they stopped off at that
place, and missing' their train the following
morning decided to locate in South Bend.
Thus it was that Mr. Sibley became a resi
dent of that city of thirty-three years ' stand
ing, during which period he enjoyed a con
tinuous and prominent identification with its
progressive and meritorious interests. His
career was ever such as to warrant the trust
and confidence of the business world, and his
activity in financial circles forms no unim
portant factor in the history of St. Joseph
county. While Mr. Sibley devoted the greater part
of his attention to his private affairs, his in
fluence in public matters was great and his
judgment eagerly sought and highly valued.
Against his wishes he was elected to the city
council in 1904, being considered a valuable
addition to Republican leadership and the
public service, giving as he did the same care
ful attention to his public duties as he had
to his private affairs. When he refused a re-
nomination in 1906, it was felt that the city
had lost the services of a most superior pub
lic servant, and when the community learned
of his death, which occurred May 25, 1907,
it was fully realized what a broad and lea-d
ing part he had played in the best citizenship
of South Bend. The irreparable loss, how
ever, was to his most intimate relatives — his
widow, his son and two daughters, who had
been knit to' him by years of thoughtful care
and affectionate solicitude, and his sister of
the earlier years, Mrs. Mary Hobbs, of Spen
cer, Massachusetts. These, as well as his
warm friends and close business and indus
trial associates, appreciated his stalwart man
hood and his high worth, from personal eon-
tact and the inner view of character.
The O'Brien Varnish Works. One of
the most extensive manufactories of South
Bend and one of the largest industries of a
sharply limited nature in the West, is known
as the O'Brien Varnish Works, located at the
corner of Washington and Johnson streets.
The business was established and incorpo
rated by P. 0 'Brien in 1878, and he has been
its president ever since. The other officers of
the company are his sons — Samuel P., W.
D., George L. and F. J. — all keen and popular
business men, who have joined their abilities
to those of their father to develop one of
the largest manufactories of superior var
nish in the country. The high reputation both
of the management and the output is na

tional, and therefore materially adds to the
importance of South Bend as a commercial
and industrial center.
Sixteen years ago the company erected a
linseed oil mill, with a capacity of 225,000
bushels of flax seed annually, and thousands
of barrels of oil and large quantities of oil
cake are yearly shipped from the plant, some
of the output being exported to Europe. Tho
company is independent in its transactions,
and has always maintained such a high stand
ard of its products that it is the general ad
mission of dealers and consumers alike that
the aim of its trademark has been fully real
ized; the legend thereon inscribed is
"Agimus antecedere," "We strive to excel."
Mr. O'Brien, the founder of the cosmo
politan business which now extends through
out the United States and Canada, and has
branched into no small portion of the old
world, has been the leading figure of th.;
great industry for almost half a century.
He is therefore a notable force in the ma
terial progress of South Bend, and is placed
high in the class of famous manufacturers
which have given the city a standing in the
enterprising and growing municipalities of
the country.
Almond Bugbee. In the death of Almond
Bugbee St. Joseph county lost one of her
most prominent and useful citizens. His in
fluence for good was widely felt, and his ex
ample was indeed worthy of emulation. He
was at all times actuated by the highest mo
tives and the most lofty impulses; he lived
for the benefit of others, and his memory re
mains as an unalloyed benediction to all who
knew him. The history of South Bend would
be incomplete without the record of his life,
so intimately was he connected with indus
trial institutions.
Mr. Bugbee was born in Hyde Park, Ver
mont, January 3. 1815, a stirring period in
our national history, and was left without,
father or mother when ten years of age. The
educational training which he received was
obtained in the district schools, and at the
age of sixteen, in Strafford, Vermont, he
learned the tanner, currier and shoemaker's
trades, and at the same time, although but
a mere boy, acted as assistant postmaster. On
reaching his twenty-first year he started west,
his objective point being Milwaukee, Wiscon
sin, but on his way thither he heard much
concerning the. prospects to be found in South
Bend and he, determined to direct his steps

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

555

to this city and see for himself. Reaching
his destination on the 9th of March, 1837,
he was at once pleased with the village and
its people, so he cast in his lot with its early
settlers, and from that time until his busy
and useful life was ended in death he was
ever a stalwart supporter of its institutions.
His first employment here was as a shoe
maker, and in December, 1837, he started a
shoe store of his own. In 1842, however, Mr.
Bugbee purchased a tannery of G. D. Edge,
which he enlarged, equipped with water
power, and at that time gave employment to
more men than any one employer in South
Bend. He was the first person in this city
to sell shoes ready made, and with Alexander
Foote organized the first incorporated com
pany in the city, "The Cordwainers' Union,"
for the manufacture of boots and shoes, it
being also the first co-operative union incor
porated in Indiana and of which Mr. Bugbee
was made the president. In its management
he displayed splendid executive power and
keen discrimination, and he was widely rec
ognized as a most capable business man.
The first tannery which Mr. Bugbee owned
was burned, and although he immediately re
built the flood of 1856 swept away the dam
across the river. He then erected a furni
ture factory on the same site, which he leased,
and this, too, was destroyed by fire. Again
he rebuilt, this time leasing it to a Massa
chusetts firm, while it was afterward leased
to the Judson Montgomery Company, the
Studebaker Brothers and to Alexis Co
quillard, to whom he ultimately sold the
property. At the close of the war he re
tired from business, choosing to rest from the
arduous cares as he passed down the western
slope of life. Mr. Bugbee was a director
in the State Bank of Indiana, and also as
sisted in organizing the St. Joseph County
Savings Bank, of which he was the first treas
urer. The cause of humanity never had a
truer friend, and while he was deeply con
cerned in numerous philanthropic enterprises
he was more especially identified with the tem
perance cause.
On the 28th of April, 1844, Mr. Bugbee
was united in marriage to Miss Adelia Ann
Crocker, who was the lady principal of the
first academy of South Bend. Her death oc
curred January 28, 1861. Willis A. was the
only child of this marriage', and he is truly
a worthy son of a worthy sire, well known in
the business circles of South Bend. The sec

ond marriage of Mr. Bugbee was celebrated
January 13, 1881, when Miss Mary P. Moody
became his wife. She was a native of New
buryport, Massachusetts. Mr. Bugbee died
May 24, 1904, and the community mourned
the loss of one of its most valued citizens.
Andrew Kunstman. Since the early days
of St. Joseph county the Kunstman family-
has occupied a distinctively honorable place
in its history, and Andrew Kunstman, whose
death occurred May 23, 1907, represented it
with high credit as one of the most respected
citizens of South Bend. About two years
ago he retired from active business to the
restful comforts of his pleasant home at 230
North Lafayette street, and for some time
prior to his death was suffering with loco
motor ataxia, although his trouble had not
deterred him from out of door exercise. Some
two weeks before his demise he had his first
stroke of apoplexy, and was bedfast there
after, the second stroke proving fatal in about
an hour.
In Mr. Kunstman 's sudden death Union
township lost a native son, his birth in that
section of the county occurring July 21,
1863. He was the younger of two children —
a son and a daughter — .born to Andrew and
Barbara Kunstman, an account of whose
lives will be found in another portion of this
work. Andrew Kunstman, Jr., received his
early education in the schools of Mishawaka
and South Bend, and pursued his higher
studies at Notre Dame University. At the
age of twenty-three he entered upon the ac
tive duties of a business life, conducting
operations on his own account in South Bend
until January, 1906, when failing health in
duced his retirement. At that time he had
not only acquired considerable wealth in his
business enterprises, but was a stockholder
in the American Trust Company and the
owner of a building on Washington street
and what are known as the Kunstman Flats.
So that he was able to pass the last years
of his life free from worldly anxieties, and
left his family in comfortable circumstances.
On October 2, 1889, the deceased was
united in marriage to Ann Elizabeth Boye, a
native of Valparaiso, Indiana, and they be
came the parents of two children — Harold,
now attending the high school at South Bend.
and Marguerite, a student at the Sisters'
Academy, of- that place. Mr. Kunstman was
a member of the fraternal orders of Elks
and Eagles, also of the Commercial Club;

556

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

was a Republican in his political affiliations,
but preferred to concentrate his attention
and his abilities on the development of his
business interests and the domestic duties of
a good husband and father. That he made
many friends and retained them through life
is an evidence of his just, steadfast and alto
gether substantial character.
Marvin Campbell. Becoming identified
with South Bend over thirty-five years ago,
Mr. Campbell has, since that time, been con
nected with many activities of the city, but
has become best known as a manufacturer.
After coming here in 1870, at that time a
young man of twenty-one years, and fresh
from college, he spent two years as a teacher
of mathematics in the South Bend high school.
During the following fifteen years the citi
zens always spoke of him as one of the en
terprising hardware merchants and a public-
spirited helper when needed in a movement
of a general nature. In 1888, as treasurer
and partner of the Mishawaka Woolen Man
ufacturing Company, he became associated
with one of the most important manufactur
ing concerns of the two cities, and his energy
and business ability were recognized as a fac
tor in its success until the past year (1906),
when he disposed of his interests.
In 1893 the South Bend Folding Box Com
pany was organized. This is now and has
been for several years one of the largest en
terprises of the kind in the west. Its prod
uct, which a quarter of a century ago had
only a very limited use, is now indispensa
ble and peculiarly adapted to the demands
of modern business, and as such has attained
a use and demand as extended as commerce
and industry. For a number of years Mr.
Campbell and his sons have been sole own
ers of this establishment, and under their
skillful management it is constantly growing.
Among other well known business inter
ests in which Mr. Campbell's influence is felt,
are the South. Bend National Bank, and the
Long Distance Telephone Manufacturing
Company, of both of which he is president.
Mr. Campbell, whose later years have wit
nessed the business success above noted, was
born on a farm near Valparaiso, March 13.
1849, a son of Samuel A. and Harriet (Cor
nell) Campbell. His father, who was born
in New York in 1821, accompanied his pa
rents to Indiana in 1833, their settlement on
a farm two miles east of Valparaiso being
in the nature of a pioneer endeavor. On

that same farm where the family located
nearly three-quarters of a century ago, the
father still lives, having reached the ripe age
of eighty-six years. His wife, who was born
in Ohio in 1826, died many years ago in
1865. Reared on a farm, Marvin Campbell at
tended district school and completed his edu
cation in the old V. M. & F. College at Val
paraiso. Before moving to South Bend he
taught mathematics in the high school of his
home city for one year. In 1874 he married
Miss Lydia A. Brownfield, a daughter of
another pioneer family of 1833, her parents
being John and Lydia (Beeson). Brownfield.
Mr. and Mrs. Campbell's children are: John
Brownfield, Harriet B. and Marvin Rudolph.
The sons are, respectively, secretary and su
perintendent, and treasurer, of the Folding
Paper Box Company, and are thoroughly
capable young business men. The daughter
is the wife of Dr. W. A. Hager, of South
Bend. The family are members of the Meth
odist chureh, of which Mr. Campbell is a
trustee and in 1904 was a delegate to the
quadrennial general conference at Los An
geles. He affiliates with Lodge No. 45, of
the Masons. Some years ago Mr. Campbell
took an influential part in local politics, and
from 1883 to 1885 represented St. Joseph and
Starke counties in the state senate. He is
president of the board of trustees of the
Epworth Hospital at South Bend, and is a
member of the board of trustees of De Pauw
University. C. B. Stephenson. The Stephenson broth
ers are among the most prominent manufac
turers of South Bend. C. B. Stephenson, a
worthy and prosperous member of the fam
ily, was born in Wabash county, Indiana, on
the 12th of August, 1845. His father, Amos
T. Stephenson, was a native of Iredell
county, North Carolina, but as early as 1837
came to South Bend, where he married Miss
Priscilla 0. Wall. The maternal grandfa
ther, Benjamin Wall, became a resident of
South Bend in 1836, and was highly re
spected as a useful and honorable pioneer.
Mr. Stephenson received his early educa
tion in the public schools of South Bend,
later attended the' Ypsilanti (Mich.) Union
Seminary, and for a time served as a clerk
in the postoffice of the former place. At that
time there were only two clerks in that serv
ice, and they were not broken down by
over-work. Afterward the youth spent four

+^&wlhu-tri*S

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

557

years in Colorado, and then removed to New
York, where for twenty years he was em
ployed as a dry goods salesman. In 1873,
with his father and brothers, he established
a retail plumbing business in South Bend,
which, from the first, met with a high de
gree of success. In 1889, however, the char
acter of the enterprise was changed and the
business was incorporated under the name
of the South Bend Pump Company and
later the Stephenson Manufacturing Com
pany, which is still engaged in the manufac
ture of automatic wood turnings. In the
year mentioned C. B. Stephenson returned
to South Bend to reside, and, with his broth
ers, A. H, B. C. and F. A. Stephenson, be
came identified with the A. C. Staley Manu
facturing Company. During the past four
years the business has been entirely in the
hands of the Stephenson brothers, and, un
der their enterprising and skillful manage
ment, the establishment has become one of
the leading industries of South Bend and
one of the best known underwear manufac
tories in the country. The subject of this
sketch is also president of the Stephenson
Manufacturing Company.
While a resident of New York Mr. Stephen
son was united in marriage to Miss Ada Pres
ton, a native of that city, and they have one
daughter, Bertha. Mr. Stephenson is a pub
lic spirited, progressive citizen, honored for
¦his integrity in business, his faithfulness to
family and friends and his absolute fidelity
to every trust which he has ever assumed.
Calvin Moon, superintendent of the South
Bend public schools, is of Scotch-English an
cestry. He is the son of James and Mary
(James) Moon, and was born May 16th, 1849,
on his father's farm near the village of Lake
ville, St. Joseph county, Indiana, where he
grew to manhood. He acquired his education
in the district schools and the V. M. & F.
college of Valparaiso, Indiana, where a severe
illness from pneumonia brought his student
ship to a close at that institution two months
before the end of his third year.
After leaving college, Mr. Moon taught
school for two years, then joined the engineer
ing corps engaged in making the preliminary
surveys for the Chicago & Canada Southern
Railroad, now known as the Wabash. This
was merely a temporary engagement, however,
for his taste tended in a different direction,
inclining him to educational work. The op
portunity to gratify this desire came to him

in June, 1877, when he was elected superin
tendent of the schools, of St. Joseph county,
there being nine candidates in the field for the
position at that time. His administration of
the school affairs of the county was so emi
nently satisfactory that he was re-elected
seven times to that position, under varying
political conditions, five of which were by
unanimous vote. Mr. Moon's experience of
fourteen years and one month in this capacity
made for him a reputation as a superintend
ent of schools that was scarcely limited by the
boundaries of the state.
It is due to Mr. Moon's industry, progres-
siveness and tact that St. Joseph county has
the distinction of being the first in the state
— (a) to have a uniformity of text books
throughout the country; (b) to adopt a uni
form course of study and grade the country
schools; (c) to establish a minimum salary (of
forty dollars a month) for teachers in the
country schools and abolish the ancient cus
tom of "boarding around"; (d) to organize
and maintain a County Teachers ' Library As
sociation. Through his personal efforts the
Association was organized in 1884 with Mr.
Charles H. Bartlett as president and Mr.
Moon as librarian. The library, which is still
in a flourishing condition, under the careful
supervision of County Superintendent Wil
liam Clem, has several hundred volumes,
largely of a professional nature, and has prov
en a potent factor in the uplift of the teach
ing profession in the county.
In June, 1891, Mr. Moon's abilities were
recognized by his appointment to the superin-
tendency of the South Bend public schools,
the position which today he holds to the credit
of himself and satisfaction of the public, and
through his entire incumbency, covering a .
period of sixteen years, his steps have been
steadily forward. Resigning the superin
tendency of the eounty schools, July 1, 1891,
to accept the superintendency of the city
schools, he applied to the latter the same intel
ligence, zeal and energy that had brought him
distinction in the former position.
The growth of the city schools during Mr.
Moon's superintendency is clearly indicated
in the figures showing that the enrollment for
the school year ending in June, 1891, was
3,046, while for the current year (1907) it is
6,266. The number of teachers in 1891 was
61, for this year there are 202 ; and during the
sixteen years ten commodious ward school
buildings and a high school have been erected,

558

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

additions have been made to two, doubling
their capacity, and one of the old buildings
reconstructed and made as good as new. In
addition to these improvements, a thirteen
room ward school and a manual training shop
are being built.
Mr. Moon's domestic life is as well ordered
and happy as his educational work. He was
married December 21, 1876, to Miss Cynthia
A. Stonehill, a native of the county, and a
daughter of Daniel and Adaline (Brothers)
Stonehill. With the exception of a daughter,
who died in infancy, his family is intact. He
has five sons, James S., Otto R., Ray E., Clar
ence C, and Charles S., all engaged in useful
occupations, or in school preparing themselves
for the serious duties of life. The family oc
cupies a pleasant home at 518 West Colfax
avenue, conveniently near Mr. Moon's office
in the high school building, where he fre
quently may be found in the evening prepar
ing his work for the following day.
Mr. Moon is a man of strong convictions
and broad intelligence. He has methodical
habits of work and throws all the energy of
his ardent nature into the task of promoting
the interests of the schools of South Bend.
In him the pupils of the schools have a zeal
ous guardian, the parents a trusty friend, the
teachers a loyal and unselfish helper, and the
board of education a capable, earnest and ef
ficient official.
E. A. Morse. Mr. E. A. Morse, the presi
dent of the South Bend Brick Company, one
of the leading institutions of the city and
county, has made for himself a place in the
industrial activities of life and gained recog
nition for intrinsic worth of character. He
is also, numbered among the younger business
men of his adopted city, for his birth oc
curred on the 21st of May, 1874, in Durand,
Wisconsin, his parents being Hobart D. and
Elizabeth A. (Dorwin) Morse, both of whom
¦were born in St. Lawrence county, New
York, and both are living at the present
time. Of their seven children two are de
ceased. E. A. Morse was but a babe of six months
at the time of the removal of his parents
from Wisconsin to New York, and in St.
Lawrence county he grew to mature years.
receiving an excellent educational training in
its public schools and in an academy and
business college at Ogdensbnrg, that state.
Thus well equipped for the activities of life,
he came to South Bend at the age of

eighteen years and secured employment with
the old South Bend Construction Company
in the capacity of a bookkeeper, while later
on he was made the manager of' the South
Bend Brick Exchange, conducting its busi
ness for some years. Finally purchasing the
brick plant of the John H. Shank estate,
Mr. Morse continued the business until the or
ganization of the South Bend Brick -Com
pany in 1903, which was launched with a
capital of fifty thousand dollars, and he was
made the president and manager, his pres
ent positions. He is also the agent for the
Hydraulic Press Brick Company through
northern Indiana and western Michigan,
which necessitates his being on the road about
half the time. Their yards are located on
Portage avenue, and the output of the plant
is about sixty-five thousand brick a day.
The marriage of Mr. Morse was celebrated
in 1898, Edith Dunnahoo then becoming his
wife, and she is a daughter of Griffin Dun
nahoo, of South Bend. Two children, a son
and a daughter, have been born to them, Ed
ward and Phoebe. Mr. Morse holds member
ship relations with the Elks and the Odd
Fellows, of South Bend, and he is an active
worker in the ranks of the Democratic party.
He is a man of enterprise, liberal views and
sterling worth, and is thoroughly identified
in feeling with the growth and prosperity of
the city and county which have been his
home throughout his entire business life.
A. D. Baker has been so closely identi
fied with the interests of South Bend that the
city feels a just pride in claiming him among
her citizens. He stands to-day at the head
of one of the leading industrial concerns of
the county, being secretary and treasurer of
the South Bend Chilled Plow Company, and
his prestige has been won through marked
executive force, keen discrimination, sound
judgment and unfaltering energy. His
birth occurred in Decatur, Illinois, on the
25th of April, 1856. His father, George W.
Baker, was a native of Pennsylvania, but
when only six years old was brought by his
brother, A. S. Baker, to South Bend, where
he remained until he had reached' his twenty-
seventh year, going thence to Decatur, Illi
nois. In 1876, however, he returned to South
Bend, and this city continued as the scene
of his operations until his busy life was ended
in death. To him came the attainment of a
distinguished position in connection with the
industrial interests of' this section of the

. nAsi

HISTORY' OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

559

state, for he was one of the organizers of
the 'South Bend Chilled Plow Company,
which has attained' a wide reputation over all
portions of the United States. A man of
distinctive and forceful individuality, he left
his impress upon the business world, and
upon the ladder of his own building he
climbed to prominence and prosperity. Mr.
Baker married Catherine Dewey, of Vermont,
and they were the parents of three children,
but only two are now living," A. D. and his
sister, who is now Mrs. Oren, of South Bend.
One sister became the wife of J. C. Birdsell,
of this city, and is now deceased.
A. D. Baker, after receiving an excellent
educational training, assisted his father in or
ganizing the South Bend Chilled Plow Com
pany in 1875, and has since been connected
with it as secretary and treasurer. This in
stitution has received world-wide renown,
and in conducting its affairs and enlarging
its scope Mr. Baker has so directed his ef
forts that the business interests have grown
apace with the progress which dominates this
country. He was married in 1883 to Bessie Hinds,
of Madison, Indiana. In his1 fraternal rela
tions Mr. Baker is a member of the order of
Elks, and was also one of the organizers of
the Indiana Club, of which he was president
for nine years. His religious connection is
with St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal church.
George S. Hunt. In the business circles
of South Bend the name of George S. Hunt
is well known as the president and treasurer
of the Hunt Brothers' Manufacturing Com
pany, located at 332 and 334 South Scott
street. He was born in Dodge county, Wis
consin, April 4, 1859, a son of W. D. and
Biantha (Dunham) Hunt, both of whom
claimed the Empire State as the common
wealth of their nativity. They, however, be
came early pioneers of Wisconsin, taking up
their abode there in 1850, where the father
was well known as a wagon maker in Bran
don. ¦ They now maintain their residence in
South Bend.
George S. Hunt, the second child in order
of birth in his parents' family, spent the
days of his boyhood and youth in the place
of his nativity, receiving his educational
training in its public schools, and he there-
learned the painter's trade. On tbe 22d of
May, 1880, he became a resident of South
Bend, where be was afterward employed by
the Studebaker Brothers and the Olivers,

while in the fall of 1892 he became associated
with his brother, W. I. Hunt, in the manu
facturing and repairing business. This as
sociation continued for eleven years,- and at
its close in 1905 Mr. Hunt purchased his
brother's interest and reorganized the com
pany, which was always known as the Hunt
Brothers' Manufacturing Company, and of
which he is the president and treasurer. The
manufactory furnishes employment to about
twelve men, and they are extensively en
gaged in the manufacture and repairing of
buggies and other vehicles. Mr. Hunt is a
man of excellent business and executive abil
ity, of keen discrimination, sound judgment
and capable management, and he enjoys the
confidence and regard of those with whom
he has been brought in contact through busi
ness dealings.
In 1884 was celebrated the marriage of
Mr. Hunt and Miss Emma McBroom, she
being the daughter of William and Annaliza
McBroom. Two sons have been born of this
union, Charles E. and Russell G. Mr. Hunt
supports the Republican party where national
issues are involved, but at local elections
casts his ballot independent of party ties.
For twenty years he has been a member of
the Masonic order, and for eight years has
had membership relations with the Modern
Woodmen. The principal years of his life
having been spent in St. Joseph county, he is
well known among its citizens and is held
in uniform regard.
Daniel Greene, president of the South
Bend Foundry Company, is one of the ven
erable and honored fathers of St. Joseph
county, and his wife has the distinction of
being' the oldest continuous resident of St.
Joseph county. Their homelike and commo
dious residence on South Lafayette street is
therefore the headquarters for many of the
old-timers who have watched with pride the
commercial, industrial and civic growth of
their town.
Daniel Greene is a native of Greene county,
Ohio, the date of his birth being December
15, 1818. His parents were John and Nancy
N. (Jackson) Greene and they were both na
tives of Delaware. Of the fourteen children
in the family, twelve reached manhood and
womanhood and all settled in St. Joseph
county. Daniel was the seventh child, and
was fourteen years of age when he came to
the county with the other members of the
family. He was reared in Greene township

560

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

in the western part of the county, and re
mained on the family homestead until 1866.
His father died in 1838 and his mother in
1844, and he continued to reside there after
his marriage in 1849 until the year named.
In 1866 he settled in South Bend to assume
the position) of deputy eounty treasurer, un
der his brother Ezekiel. Later he became
connected with the South Bend Chilled Plow
Company, of which he was treasurer for
many years. In 1886 he severed his con
nection with that establishment and spent
about six months with bis family in Cali
fornia, 'since which time he has been virtually
retired from active business, although for the
sake of employment he has been somewhat
identified with .fire insurance.
It is difficult to realize that Mr. Greene
has been a resident of St. Joseph county for
nearly seventy -five years. His first presiden
tial vote was1 cast for Martin Van Buren in
1840, and he has since voted in St. Joseph
eounty at every national election. In 1844,
1848 and 1862 he supported the Free Soil
ticket, and in 1856 he assisted in the organ
ization of the Republican party. Since the
founding of the party he- has never aban
doned it; on the contrary, has been an en
thusiastic advocate of its principles, although
he has never sought public office or other
preferment through the organization. Mr.
Greene is a leader in the work of the Presby
terian church, and is the oldest member of
that religious body in South Bend. He has
long been one of its elders, and has repre
sented the church in several of its general
assemblies. In 1849 Daniel Greene was married to Mary
Leeper, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth
Leeper, his wife being born in Darke county,
Ohio, in 1829. When she was about six
months of age the family came to St. Joseph
county, in which she has since continuously
resided. Her parents were among the very
first pioneers of the county, coming, in fact,
before it was organized or before South Bend
was platted as a town. Of the five children
born to Mr. and Mrs. Greene three are still
living: Elizabeth, widow of Dr. Kettering,
now living in the home of her parents; Hor
ace, proprietor and manager of the South
Rend Foundry Company, and Edna, wife of
William C. Warner of South Bend.
George Cutter. The men of deeds are
the men the world delights to honor, and
among those who have stood as distinguished

types of the world's workers and who have
introducd new eras of thought by inven
tions of great utility no one is more worthy
of honorable mention than George Cutter, the
president of the George Cutter Company,
patentees of electrical specialties. He was
born in Boston, Massachusetts1, October 13,
1853, and in that city his father, George T.
Cutter, also had his nativity. The family his
tory, however, is traced back to the mother
country of England, in Northampton, but as
early as 1630 representatives of the family
came to America and established their home
here, where they have ever since. been lead
ing and honored, residents. George T. Cut
ter followed the miller's trade, becoming the
well known proprietor of the Mahogany Mill.
His wife bore the maiden name of Abbie
E. Blaisdell, and was a native of Milton,
New Hampshire, but of north of France de
scent. They became the parents of four sons,
all of whom grew to useful manhood.
George Cutter, the third son in order of
birth, was reared and received his educa
tional training in his native city of Boston,
and there he also prepared for his life's
work. He began the electrical business at
the early age of sixteen years, and after com
pleting his apprenticeship he spent two years
in Europe, those of 1881-2, in order to fur
ther perfect himself in Ms chosen occupa
tion. Returning home, he became associated
with the Bell Telephone Company at the
time of its organization, and later as its rep
resentative he spent one year in Russia.
During two and a half years Mr. Cutter was
the chief engineer for the Thomson-Houston
Electric Light Company, while for six years
he had charge of their testing rooms. At
this time Mr. Cutter decided to engage in the
electrical business for himself, and choosing
Chicago as bis field of endeavor he engaged
in business there in 1889, but in 1905 trans
ferred his residence and place of activity to
South Bend, where he is engaged in the
formation and manufacture of outdoor light
ing supplies. His business now extends to all
parts of the known world, and at the present
time he furnishes employment to about sixty
operatives. In this age of large enterprise
and marked intellectual energy the promi
nent and successful men are those whose abil
ities, persistence and courage lead them into
large undertakings, and it is these qualities
that have made Mr. Cutter a leader _ in the
business world and won him a name in eon-

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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

561

nection with industrial interests that is
widely known.
In 1888 Mr. Cutter married Miss Inez
Gass, whose father, John Gass, was born in
Waynetown, Indiana. Mr. Cutter is a mem
ber of the American Institute of Electrical
Engineers. In his business relations he is
thoroughly upright and conscientious, con
siderate and courteous in his personal and
social contact, and is at all times an earnest,
patriotic citizen.
Samuel Shepard Perley. One of the
most prominent of South Bend's business
men is Samuel S. Perley. His connection
with many of the leading corporations of this
city makes him too well known to need intro
duction to the readers of this volume, but as a
business man and citizen we would preserve
the record of his career among a people who
have learned to respect and honor him. He
was born in Portland, Maine, on the 8th of
October, 1861, a son of J. H. and Fannie
(Smith) Perley. The father was long a busi
ness man in Maine, and was the first presi
dent of the Board of Trade of Portland. In
1869 he removed with his family to Detroit,
Michigan, where he was largely interested in
the lumber business until his retirement from
trade relations, and his death occurred in
South Bend the 2d of December, 1869. His
wife, who was a native of Newburyport, New
Hampshire, survived him for many years,
passing away in 1886.
Their son and the subject of this review,
Samuel S. Perley, on leaving school entered
the wagon works of Alexis Coquillard in an
official capacity, and as the years have grown
apace he has risen step by step until he now
occupies a high position in this large con
cern. For many years he has held an ex
ecutive position therein, and since the death
of Mr. A. Coquillard, the founder of the
business, has been its trustee and manager.
His interests in South Bend, however, are
many and varied, for he is also president of
the Perley Lumber Company, a director of
the Citizens' National Bank, a stockholder in
the Bissell Plow Company and also con
nected with other large enterprises. Thus to
Mr. Perley has come the attainment of a dis
tinguished position in connection with large
industries. A man of distinctive and force
ful individuality, he has left and is leaving
his impress upon the industrial world, while
there has been no shadow of wrong or in
justice to mar his career.
36

The marriage of Mr. Perley and Miss Lil
lian 'Casady, a daughter of W. L. Casady,
was celebrated in 1892. The father is a well
known business man and an honored citizen
of South Bend. Three children have been
born to bless this union, namely, Margaret,
William Casady and Harold Otis.
William F. Wood. Among the names of
the men who are distinguishing themselves
for the possession in an eminent degree of
those qualities of character which mainly
contribute to the success of private life and
to public stability is found that of William
F. Wood. As the record of a young man it
is one of which he may be justly proud, for it
is distinguished by the most substantial qual
ities of character. He was born in Ross-
ville, Indiana, May 7, 1876, a son of Rev.
Deloss M. and Emma (Farraw) Wood, who
make their home in Hammond, Indiana. In
their family were but two children, a son
and a daughter, and the latter, Louise, is at
home. The father is a prominent minister
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in
that capacity he has traveled over much of
this country.
William F. Wood, their only son, attended
De Pauw University for four years, pursuing
the classical course, and during a similar
period he was a newspaper correspondent,
his work in that line taking him over many
parts of the world and identifying him with
the Spanish-American war, where he served
on the battleship Iowa in the capacity of
ship's yeoman. After the close of the con
flict he was associated with the "San Fran
cisco Evening Report" until in February,
1900, when he went to Lebanon, Boone
county, Indiana, there maintaining his resi
dence until his removal to South Bend in
September, 1900. His first association in
this city was with the Sandage Steel Skein
Company, with whom he remained until in
February, 1904, and in July of that year
purchased a half interest in the Economy
Electric Company. Afterwards Mr. Wood
bought the remaining stock and the firm
name was changed to the Wood Electric and
Manufacturing Company. The company
gives employment to about twenty men, and
is one of the leading electrical manufacturing
enterprises of the city. He is a man of dis
tinctive and forceful individuality, and un
der his direction the Wood Electric and Man
ufacturing Company has increased its busi
ness three hundred per cent. Although one

562

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

of the younger representatives of the busi
ness interests of South Bend, he has gained
a brilliant success, the just reward of meri
torious, honorable effort, which commands
the respect of all.
On the 3d of July, 1900, Mr. Wood: was
united in marriage to Blanch Lee Daily, a
daughter of American C. Daily, a prominent
banker and financier and ex-state auditor.
Mrs. Wood was born in Lebanon, Indiana,
there receiving her education in its grammar
and high schools, and she is also a talented
musician. They have two children, Mary
Daily and Deloss Calvin. Mr. Wood has in
every way proven himself a public spirited
citizen, and he possesses the public confidence
to a high degree.
Henry F. Elbel. No name figures more
conspicuously or is mentioned with greater
honor on the pages of the history of St. Jo
seph county than the Elbel family. What
the Olivers and Studebakers have been to
the industrial life of South Bend, the Elbels
have been to the musical life. They are a
family of musicians, and in the early days
made this city famous in the musical world.
There were' six brothers of the first family
of Elbels associated with South Bend, Er-
hardt, Christian, Lorenz, Wolf, John and
Henry, and all were fine musicians, while
Christian won more than a local reputation
as a composer. Lorenz, the father of him
whose name introduces this review, was for
more than half a century a director of the
orchestra which still bears his name and was
also a leader of the Elbel Military Band.
He had six sons, — Henry, Herman, Richard,
Robert, Fred and Louis, all of whom have
inherited their father's musical ability to a
high degree, and Louis has gained high hon
ors both at home and abroad. At Leipsic he
was one of the very few Americans to ap
pear as soloist, and made a record of which
he and his family may well feel proud. The
brothers are proprietors of a large piano
store, and all are enterprising, worthy citi
zens, worthy children of a worthy sire.
Henry F. Elbel, the immediate subject of
this review, was born in South Bend on the
9th of November, 1856, a son of Lorenz and
Johannah Elbel, both natives of Germany.
Early in life, however, they crossed the ocean
to the United States and became thoroughly
American citizens, in harmony with the spirit
of the republic, and, making the most of his
opportunities, Mr. Elbel steadily worked his

way upward to success and all that was de
sirable and ennobling in life. Their son
Henry F. received his educational training in
the schools of South Bend, and was for many
years thereafter engaged with the Singer
Company. He is now a member of the firm
of the South Bend Engraving and Electro-
typing Company, one of the leading and
most prosperous institutions in the city. He
has ever been active and earnest in his ad
vocacy of all measures for the public good,
and the cause of education especially finds
in him a stalwart friend. He. is now serving
as treasurer of the school board, and has
proved himself a valued factor in its behalf.
Edward Muessel. During a pioneer epoch
in the history of St. Joseph eounty the Mues
sel family was founded within its borders
by Christopher Muessel, the father of Ed
ward, and who was a native of Bavaria,
Germany. In a very early day, however, he
came to South Bend, and the members of
his family have taken an active and promi
nent part in the development of this sec
tion of the state. He was a brewer in the
old country, as was his father before him,
and after coming to Indiana continued in
the same occupation, his first brewery being
located at Vistula, and a part of this old
building is still standing. He owned one
hundred and thirty-six acres of land north
of the city, on which was splendid water
power, but in about 1868 he removed to the
present site of the brewery. It was the first
one established in the town and is still owned
by the family, Mr. Edward Muessel serving
as its president. It is one of the oldest in
stitutions of the county, and has served its
part in making South Bend one of the lead
ing industrial centers. Though his business
demanded much of his attention, Christopher
Muessel yet found time to labor for the ad
vancement of many movements and measures
intended to benefit the community and pro
mote the welfare of his fellow men. He was
a public-spirited, progressive citizen, honored
for his integrity in industrial life and for
his fidelity to every trust.
Edward Muessel, a son of this honored In
diana pioneer, was born in South Bend on
the 3d of January, 1858, and in its public
schools received his early educational train
ing, while later he was a student in Notre
Dame University. He then began work with
bis father in the brewery, and in 1895 com
menced a wholesale liquor business. He was

^t^tU^

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

563

married to Mary Miller, a daughter of George
Miller, of Marshall county, Indiana, and they
have two daughters, Alma and Netta. Mr.
Muessel is a member of the South Bend Turn
Verein. ¦ William Muessel. One of the oldest and
most enterprising business men of South
Bend is William Muessel, the secretary of the
Muessel Brewing Company, and who is
ranked with the representative citizens of the
place. His birth occurred across the sea in
Germany, July 10, 1847, but when only six
years of age he was brought by his father,
Christopher Muessel, to the United States,.
who at once made his way to South Bend and
permanently established the family home in
this city. The year of the emigration was
1852, and shortly after their arrival the
father established the brewing business. The
little son grew to years of maturity in this
city, and after completing his education in
its public schools began work in his father's
brewery, thus continuing until the latter 's
death, the son being then about thirty years
of age. His brother Ludwig then assumed
charge of the business, and when it was reor
ganized as the Muessel Brewing Company
William Muessel was made the secretary, an
office which he hag since so ably filled. Al
though he entered upon a business already
established, in conducting this and enlarging
its scope he has so directed his efforts that
its interests have grown apace with the prog
ress which dominates this progressive age, and
with the other members of this large manu
factory he occupies a leading place in the
business life of the community.
Mr. Muessel was married in 1875, Martha
Kelner then becoming his wife, and she, too,
claims the fatherland as the place of her na
tivity. Their union has been blessed by the
birth of seven children: Leander, Otto S.,
Emma, Henry, Albert, Clara and William.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Muessel is a
member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows of this city and the Turners Society.
During the long period of fifty-three years he
has made his home in South Bend, and during
that time he has attained prominence in its
business circles, while in private life no man
in the city has more friends than he.
Walter G. Muessel, treasurer and man
ager of the Muessel Brewing Company, was
born in South Bend on the 5th of September,
1869, the eldest of the two sons of Ludwig
Muessel. The father was the eldest son of

Christopher Muessel, who came to this coun
try from Germany, and in an early day estab
lished the family home in South Bend. To
him belongs the credit also of the establish
ment of the Muessel Brewery, and although
fifty-five years have passed since that event
it is yet owned by the family, and under their
guidance has grown to large proportions, oc
cupying a leading place among the large
manufactories of South Bend.
Walter G. Muessel, the grandson of this
early St. Joseph county pioneer, has spent
his entire life in South Bend. After attend
ing its public schools he entered Purdue Uni
versity, where he pursued the mechanical en
gineering course and graduated in 1892. Dur
ing the following two years he was employed
as an engineer in different localities, and on
the 1st of March, 1895, assumed the important
position he now holds in the Muessel Brewing
Company, that of treasurer and manager,
while in addition he is also director of the
American Trust Company of South Bend.
His interests are many and varied, and he is
numbered among the successful young busi
ness men of South Bend, where his entire life
has been passed and where he has won and
retained many friends.
The marriage of Mr. Muessel was celebrated
in 1897, when Florence, the daughter of the
late Andrew J. Chrisman, became his wife,
and their three children are Robert, Helen
and Hester. Mr. Muessel holds a leading
place in the social as well as business circles
of South Bend, and has membership rela
tions with the Elks, the Odd Fellows and the
Masonic orders.
Adolph J. Muessel, superintendent of the
Muessel Brewing Company of South Bend,
was born in this city on the 3d of October,
1870, the second son of Ludwig Muessel. The
latter is the son of Christopher Muessel, who
was the founder of the family in the United
States and the organizer of the Muessel Brew
ing Company. After completing his educa
tion in the city schools of South Bend Adolph
J. entered Notre Dame University, where he
completed a three years ' general course. Dur
ing the three succeeding years he was em
ployed in the sheet iron works of this city,
and on the expiration of that period, in 1893,
was made the superintendent of the Muessel
Brewing Company, one of the largest manu
facturing concerns of St. Joseph county. He
has ever since discharged the duties of that
important position, and South Bend is proud

564

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

to claim him among her enterprising young
business men.
In 1897 Mr. Muessel was united in mar
riage to Sarah E. Blyler, the daughter of
David Blyler, of St. Joseph county, and their
only child is a daughter, Margaretta. Mr.
Muessel is a member of the Turners Associa
tion, and is a valued factor in the social life
of his community.
Leighton Pine. When Leighton Pine
passed away one more name was added to
the list of honored dead whose earthly rec
ords closed with the words, "Well done,"
but as long as memory remains to those who
knew him the influence of his noble life will
remain as a source of encouragement and in
spiration. Many business concerns and
moral enterprises owe their excellence and
progress largely to his influence. He was
in touch with the people, and from a sincere
and deep-felt interest in their welfare la
bored for all that would prove of public
benefit until the busy and useful life was
ended. ]
Mr. Pine was born in the city of New
York, February 10, 1844, the youngest son
of William Pine, and his education was re
ceived in the schools of his native city. At
an early age he learned photography, and-
during the Civil war was official photogra
pher on the staff of General Gilmore. In the
early '60s he entered the employ of Francis
A. Ross, at that time engaged in cabinet work
for the Singer Sewing Machine Company.
With his far seeing judgment Mr. Pine pro
posed to the Singer Company the establish
ment of a cabinet factory in the middle west,
which was approved, and he came to South
Bend on the 15th of May, 1868. The city
then, as now, offered superior inducements,
and the company built on the east race, but
the site was abandoned in a few years and
the mammoth concern was built on West Di
vision, one of the finest plants in the world,
and with the new plant was established a
foundry. In 1875 Mr. Pine left the Singer
Company and went with the Oliver Chilled
Plow Works, assisting in organizing the plant
and becoming its secretary. But in November,
1879, he returned to the Singer Company,
remaining with that corporation until his
life's labors were ended in death. In the
late '70s Mr. Pine also organized the Econo
mist Plow Company, while later he organ
ized the South Bend Spring Curry Comb
Company, but the latter afterward passed

into the control of Marvin Campbell. He
was a man of distinctive and forceful indi
viduality, and the Singer Company even
tually made him manager of all its great cabi
net works in South Bend, Cairo, Illinois,
Scotland, Germany and Russia. In this high
position Mr. Pine displayed executive power
and keen discrimination, and was widely
recognized as a most capable business man.
Much of the strength of his life for many
years was given to the betterment of public
life. He fought relentlessly against boodle
and graft in public affairs, and his life was
beautiful in its purity, goodness and Chrisr
tian virtues. A staunch Republican in his
political affiliations, he ' defended the policy
of his party with intelligence and ardor.
On the 5th of November, 1865, Mr. Pine
was married to Maria C. Barmore, of New
York city, and one son was born to them,
Milton B., who now ably fills his father's
position. The death of the loving husband
and father occurred on the 15th of Novem
ber, 1905. His loss was deeply mourned in
this community, and his memory is en
shrined in the hearts of his friends and
associates, to whose interests he was ever
faithful. Gustav A. Stueckle. From a little Ger
man home across the sea Gustav A. Stueckle
made his way to the United States and en
tered upon a career which has proved suc
cessful. He is distinctively the architect of
his own fortunes, for coming to this country
without capital he has made his way to suc
cess through wisely directed efforts and to
all that is ennobling in life. He was born
in Wurtemberg, Germany, on the 1st of De
cember, 1863, a son of Jacob John and Caro
line (Rapp) Stueckle, also natives of Wur
temberg. They now reside in the village of
Rohracker, in the district of Cannstatt, and
Mr. Stueckle also has two brothers and two
sisters in the fatherland.
After receiving an excellent educational
training in his native land Gustav A. Stueckle
came to the United States, arriving in this
country on the 23d of July, 1881, and im
mediately took up his abode in South Bend.
Thus for many years his life history has
been closely identified with the history of
this city. His career has been one of un
tiring activity, but success has attended his
efforts and has placed him in the ranks of
the leading men of affairs. His first em
ployment here was as a cabinet-maker, which

oZL^

&.

Trie Home Telephone Company Building

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

565

was also the trade of his father, thus con
tinuing for twelve years. During all those
years he was also a diligent student, obtain
ing a good comprehensive knowledge of tbe
English language and of the business meth
ods of this country. In 1899 he entered upon
a business life for himself, and through many
channels he has contributed to his own pros
perity and to the welfare and upbuilding of
South Bend. He is president of the South
Bend Brewing Company, which was organ
ized in 1903, the stock of which is principally
owned by local capital, and in 1900 he was
elected1 a member of the city council to repre
sent the Fourth ward, to which position he
has been twice re-elected and is now serving
his third term. The Democracy receives his
hearty support and co-operation, and he is
an active worker in its ranks.
In 1886 Mr. Stueckle married Elizabeth
Margaret Doberlein, a daughter of John
Doberlein, who came from Germany- and set
tled in St. Joseph county in the early '70s.
One son has been born of this union, Clar
ence C. Mr. Stueckle is a member of the
Turn Verein, the Mannerchor and the
Eagles. He arrived in this country a stranger
in a strange land, with no knowledge of the
English language, but by persistent study
and hard and diligent work he has mastered
the intricate problems of life, and few have
more devoted friends than he. He has but
lately returned with his family from a visit
to his native land.
Theodore Thorward. No better illustra
tion of the characteristic energy and enter
prise of the German- American citizen can be
found than that afforded by the career of
Theodore Thorward, one of the best known
business men of South Bend. Coming to
this country with no capital except his abili
ties, he has made his way to success through
wisely directed efforts, and he can now look
back with satisfaction to past struggles. He
was born in Germany on the 11th of Novem
ber, 1859, and coming to the United States
with relatives settled in Powhattan, Ohio,
where he was educated in the public schools
and also attended the German Methodist
Episcopal College of Wallace, at Berea, Ohio.
He fully realized the value of an education,
and therefore worked his own way through
college. Thus with an excellent foundation
for his future life work he busied himself
at various occupations until 1881, when he
went to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and entered

the telephone business. He commenced work
by soliciting for the first independent tele
phone company there, and after obtaining a
thorough knowledge of the business he was
made the assistant manager of the Home
Telephone Company of that city.
At that time Mr. Thorward began looking
about for new fields for his operations, and
as South Bend offered a splendid opportu
nity he induced capital to invest here and
secured a thirty-seven year franchise for a
telephone system in South Bend and Misha
waka. He then organized the Home Tele
phone Company, with exchanges at South
Bend, Mishawaka and several places, and the
company now has two hundred miles of toll
line connected with the Home Company. The
system is one of the most perfect in the
country, and under Mr. Thorward 's presi
dency and management has been very suc
cessful, representing an investment of five
hundred thousand dollars, including real es
tate in South Bend and Mishawaka. Mr.
Thorward has also interested some well known
capitalists in Chicago in the organizing of a
long distance independent toll line between
Chicago and South Bend, with the result that
this city will be the hub of a large inde
pendent toll line system. He is president
and general manager of the Home Telephone
Company, and although his residence in
South Bend dates from only 1902 he is num
bered among its best known and most suc
cessful business men. His political support
is given to the Republican party, and he takes
an active interest in its work and upbuilding.
Tbe marriage of Mr. Thorward was cele
brated in 1881, when Miss Minnie Dendel, of
Allegan, Michigan, became his wife, and
they have two sons, George T., a graduate
of the University of Michigan and now as
sistant manager of the Home Telephone
Company, and Benjamin, a graduate of the
South Bend high schooland now a student
at Ann Arbor. The family worship in the
Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Thor
ward is a member of the order of Elks, the
Commercial Athletic Club and the Indiana
Club. Joseph Greeley Bartlett, who died in
South Bend on January 9, 1873, was one
of the prominent pioneer merchants of the
city, and, aside from his business career, is
especially impressed upon the minds of the
old settlers because of the leading part he
took in the establishment of the Presbyterian

566

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

church in this locality. A native of New
Hampshire, born in 1816, he came to St.
Joseph eounty in the early thirties, while
still a youth, and was thereafter reared, edu
cated and trained to manly ways in the com
munity in which he passed the balance of
his life. When he came to Indiana all rail
roads were in their early infancy, and he
passed through New York on his way west
ward, via the Erie canal. He lived, there
fore, through 'a remarkable era of develop
ment, both for the east and west, of which
latter section Indiana was a border state at
the time of his coming to it.
When Joseph G. Bartlett arrived in South
Bend he was already master of the baker's
trade, and immediately proceeded to open a
shop. He prospered in the undertaking, and
added groceries to his bakery goods, the com
bination proving, in the after years, remark
ably profitable. During his career as a mer
chant in these lines he received Myron Camp
bell into partnership, and for many years
before his death he was placed among the
leading business men and honorable, public
spirited citizens of St. Joseph county. Quite
early he built the present residence of the
Bartlett family, its location then being at
the head of Washington street.
Mr. Bartlett was married in New England
to Elizabeth Springer, by whom he - had
four children — -William, Joseph, Anna and
Charles, all natives of South Bend, where the
wife died in 1861. In 1865 he married again,
his second wife being Mrs. Sarah Whittaker,
and by this union had a son and a daughter
— Harry H. and Mabel A. Both of these
children were also born and reared in South
Bend. Harry H. Bartlett is well known for
his connection with the Singer Sewing Ma
chine Company, and Mabel A. is a talented
organist. The life of Joseph Greeley Bart
lett is therefore very closely intertwined with
the history of South Bend, considered from
the standpoints of business, religious and
family reasons.
During his long residence in South Bend
Mr. Bartlett was among the most active lead
ers in the work of the Presbyterian church.
Pie was long one of its most influential
elders, helped to build its present house of
worship, and was in every way among the
most liberal contributors to its support and
progress. He was an old-line Whig and Re
publican, and a member of the I. 0. 0. F.
Energetic and conscientious in whatever field

of activity he entered, endowed with great
common sense and an unusual power for mak
ing and retaining friends, when death called
him away at the comparatively early age of
fifty-nine, the community deeply mourned,
both because of close attachment to his per
sonality and because he seemed to be snatched
away at the very height of his broad
usefulness. Charles Arthur Carlisle. The glory of
our republic is the perpetuation of individ
uality and in according the utmost scope for
individual accomplishment. Of America is
the self made man a product, and the record
of accomplishment in this individual sense is
the record which the true and loyal Ameri
can holds in the deepest regard and highest
honor. From a poor lad Mr. Carlisle has
alone made his way, step by step, until he
won admittance to one of the greatest com
mercial institutions of the land.
He was born in Chillicothe, Ross county,
Ohio, May 4, 1864, and was educated in the
public schools of that city, but to his mother
he gives all credit for her persevering pri
vate tutoring at home. Owing to financial
reverses in the family, he began at a very
early day to contribute financial support at
home, his first work being as a clerk in a
grocery store, after which he tried his hand
at the dry goods business, but found both
confining and not to his liking. He next en
tered the railway service, commencing as
messenger boy for the Marietta & Cincinnati
Railway, now the Baltimore & Ohio South
western Railroad, at Chillicothe, Ohio. In
1884, however, he left the railway service
and identified himself with journalistic work,
becoming connected with the Ohio State Jour
nal, of Columbus, Ohio, a leading Repub
lican paper. In the broad field of journalism
he came into contact with those who moulded
public opinion, and from his association with
public men his inspirations led him forward
successfully into the great arena of public
activity. In 1886 Mr. Carlisle re-entered the rail
way service, determining upon a career in
that great arm of commerce. Standing again
upon the lowest round of the ladder, in a
subordinate position with the local freight
department of the Nickel Plate Railroad, the
New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad,
at Cleveland, Ohio, he passed successfully
through various departments and in 1888
was elected to fill the very important posi-

Charles 'A. Carlisle

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

567

tion of cashier of three joint stations. In
the following year he became the private
secretary of the general manager of the To
ledo & Ohio Central Railroad, at Toledo,
Ohio. In 1890 he was made purchasing
agent of the "Burke System" of railways,
to which had been added the Toledo, Co
lumbus & Cincinnati Railroad and the
Kanawha Michigan Railroad.
Mr. Carlisle has recently been selected by
the unanimous choice of the board of di
rectors of the American Trust Company as
its president. This is a new financial insti
tution with a capital of two hundred thou
sand dollars and a surplus of fifty thousand,
and which began business at South Bend
about January 1, 1904. This institution,
which ranks prominently among the foremost
financial concerns of the state, is made up
of the progressive element of this busy com
munity, and numbers among its stockholders
substantial, conservative leaders in modern
and advanced methods, and who are promi
nent in civic, state and national affairs. He
is a director of the Studebaker Brothers'
Manufacturing Company, of South Bend, in
charge of the purchasing department, the
advertising, department and the traffic de
partment. He is the secretary of the South
Bend Fuel and Gas Company, a director of
the South Bend Malleable Iron Company and
is prominently identified with many other ex
tensive corporations.
Although Mr. Carlisle has no political as
pirations and not seeking public favors, he
has served as president of the Harrison Re
publican Club, the leading permanent Re
publican organization in St. Joseph county.
He is vice-president of the National Asso
ciation of Manufacturers, and, if the will
of that organization had been heeded, he
would doubtless have been at the head of
the new Department of Commerce and Labor
— with a seat in President Roosevelt's cabi
net. He is a member of the executive com
mittee of the Carriage Builders' National
.Association and is the vice-president for In
diana of the Scotch-Irish Society of America.
He is also prominent in the great order of
Masonry, being a thirty-second degree Mason
and a Shriner as well- as a Knight Templar.
He served for four years as a member of
Governor Mount's military staff of Indiana,
with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and when
Governor W. T. Durbin came into office he

commissioned Mr. Carlisle as a member of his
staff, with the rank of colonel.
On the 17th of September, 1891, at South
Bend, Mr. Carlisle was married to Miss Anna
Studebaker, only daughter of Hon. and Mrs.
Clement Studebaker. He has a beautiful
summer home at Chautauqua, New York,
where his summers are spent. He is a mem
ber of St. Paul's' Methodist Episcopal church
of South Bend, and takes a prominent inter
est in all the work of his church and is a
member of its official board. He was an
honored guest at the meeting of the Gridiron
Club of Washington, D. C, at its banquet on
January 31, 1903. His name has been
enrolled in the great Guest Book of that
world-famed organization, and will go down
to posterity associated with the greatest and
most brilliant of national leaders. Mr. Car
lisle is also a member of the American Acad
emy of Political and Social Science, of Phila
delphia, Pennsylvania; the American Insti
tute of 'Civics, of New York city ; the Twen
tieth Century Club, of Chicago, Illinois; the
Sphinx Club, of New York city, composed
of only national advertisers; the Columbia
Club, of Indianapolis, Indiana; the Chicago
Athletic Association, of Chicago, Illinois;
the Indiana Club, of South Bend; the North
ern Indiana Historical Society, of South
Bend; and the Country Club, of St. Joseph
Valley, of which he was its first president.
He is a life member of the Scottish Patri
otic Association, of Glasgow, Scotland, the
object of which is the cultivation of the
spirit of patriotism and the defense of Scot
land's national rights. He is also chairman
of the executive committee of the Associated
Charities of South Bend, an association that
devotes much time and attention to the poor
as well as correcting the indulgences of evil
in the community.
Charles G. Folsom is a man who has
a remarkable record, and from the study
of his life history one may learn valuable
lessons. It illustrates in no uncertain man
ner what it is possible to accomplish when
perseverance and determination form the
keynote to a man's life. Depending upon
his own resources, he has risen froni com
parative obscurity to a place of prominence
in the commercial world.
Mr. Folsom was born in Waterloo, Seneca
county, New York, on the 2d of November,
1845. His father, Benjamin Folsom.was a
native of Vermont and started upon his won-

568

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

derful business career as a wagon maker.
He subsequently rose to the position of a rail
road contractor, and removing to New York
in 1823 he became a personal friend of
DeWitt Clinton, governor of that state. Dur
ing his residence there he was one of the
promoters of the Erie canal, also the builder
and contractor for the first line of telegraph
from Albany to Buffalo, this important work
being completed on the 1st of November, 1845.
He was then awarded many important con
tracts on the New York Central, the New
York & Erie, the Michigan Central, the Chi
cago, Burlington & Quincy, the Michigan
Southern and Northern Indiana railroads. He
was afterwards with the New York & Erie,
where he was the right-hand man for Jay
Gould and Jim Fisk. Coming to South Bend,
Mr. Folsom resided on a farm in the western
part of the county until 1863, when he went
to Detroit, Michigan, and constructed the De
troit City Railroad, in which he was a stock
holder. The death of this great financier and
business man occurred suddenly near La
porte, Indiana, while on a railroad journey
from Chicago to the east. Mrs. Folsom bore
the maiden name of Polly Sedgwick, and was
a native of the state of New York, her people
having been among the early settlers of the
Mohawk valley.
Charles G. Folsom, whose name introduces
this review, received his early educational
training in the schools of Adrian, Michigan,
while later he became a pupil in the South
Bend public schools. His first employment
after completing his education was at the
tinner's trade in Adrian, Michigan, later fol
lowing the same occupation in Detroit, and
in 1866 he came to South Bend. For some
time after his arrival in this city he worked
at his trade at St. Mary's, which was then
built for the music hall, also assisting in the
construction of the St. Joseph Academy of
South Bend. In 1867 he removed to Cham
paign county, Illinois, where he was engaged
in agricultural pursuits until 1872, when he
returned to South Bend and started in busi
ness in a very small way at the tinner 's trade.
During the panic of 1873 he suffered in the
general disaster, and he then removed to Roll
ing Prairie and was engaged in the hardware
business for four years. Coming again to
this city, Mr. Folsom became an employe of
the Studebakers, Singler and Creviston in a
hardware business, after which he was with
the Miller Knoblock Company, and next with

the Lake Shore Railroad Company. His pres
ent business was commenced by pushing a
hand cart on the streets of South Bend and
doing odd jobs at the tinner's trade, and from
that time to the present, as the years have
grown apace, his business has enlarged cor
respondingly until it now occupies a place
among the leading industrial concerns of
South Bend, and the name of the C. G. Fol
som Manufacturing Company is well known
throughout northern Indiana. The manufac
tory gives employment to fifty men and is a
valuable adjunct to the business interests of
the city. Mr. Folsom was the first manufac
turer of rural mail boxes in the United States,
and still continues in their construction, and
in addition manufactures all kinds of sheet
metal and structural iron work. As a man
his business ability has been constantly mani
fested, showing unlimited possibilities, noth
ing too great to grasp and master, and the
extensive concern of which he is now the head
is a monument to his wonderful power.
Mr. Folsom married Miss Mary C. France,
a daughter of Adam and Lydia France, of
Rolling Prairie. They have five living chil
dren: Jonathan France, engaged in business
with his father, Lydia Mary, Emma Lou,
Charles R. and Nadine. Mr. Folsom is an
active worker in the ranks of the Republican
party, and has been twice elected as a member
of the city council, representing the fifth
ward, which is one of the richest wards in
the city, and is the present incumbent of the
office. He is a member of Lodge No. 45 of
the Masonic order, having been connected
with that fraternity since 1871, and is also
a member of the Chapter and Council, of
which he is past high priest and a Knight
Templar. He is vice-president of the County
Humane Society.
F. A. Bryan. Rising above the heads of
the mass are many men of sterling worth and
value, who by sheer perseverance and deter
mination, accompanied by unflagging effort,
have risen from the ranks of the commonplace
to eminence, and to occupy positions of re
spect and trust. Among this number may be
mentioned F. A. Bryan, whose birth occurred
in Carroll county, Ohio, on the 21st of De
cember, 1867, his parents being John Henry
and Anna (Azdell) Bryan, both natives of
Ohio. The father, who was a well known busi
ness man, passed away in death in 1872.
F. A. Bryan attended the public schools
of Wellsville, Ohio, and the Pennsylvania

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

569

State College, graduating in the engineering
course in the latter institution. .Thus having
laid an excellent foundation for his future
life work he became an employe as engineer
of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Edison Gen
eral Electric Company and Michigan Central
Railroad. In May, 1901, he came to South
Bend in the capacity of manager of the South
Bend Electric Company, which was formed
in 1884, and he is also vice-president and
general manager of the Elkhart Electrical
Company, the St. Joseph and Elkhart Electric
Company and the Berrien Springs Electric
Company. These companies own" practically
the entire water power along the river, and
are under the management of Mr. Bryan.
Since assuming charge of these concerns they
have been greatly developed and improved,
for previous to that time they were purely
fighting companies, while now the various cor
porations have secured rights and erected
dams along the river, thus supplying prac
tically all the power used by the smaller man
ufacturing companies in South Bend. Wires
have also been placed underground, and the
service in every way has been vastly im
proved, being now one of the best organized
systems in the state. The company owns the
Elkhart dam, the Twin Branch dam, the
Buchanan dam and has commenced construc
tion on the Berrien Springs dam, while in the
near future they will have dams at the state
line and Bristol, making six in all. It is a
master mind that can plan, execute and con
trol a large institution, and the gentleman
who stands at its head well deserves to be
ranked among the most prominent business
men of his adopted city, where only ability
of a very superior order is now recognized.
In 1896 Mr. Bryan was united in marriage
to Estella McVicker, of Lisbon, Ohio. They
are members of the Presbyterian church, and
Mr. Bryan is also connected with the Country,
Commercial and Indiana clubs.
Captain Edwin Nicar. Its mission, ful
filled in the union of its warring factions by
a bond of common humanity, and, in place
of a demoralized trade, the substitution of a
commercial growth unparalleled in the his
tory of the world- — the tragedy of the Civil
war has become only an echo, a fading into
historical mists of tented fields, glittering
armaments, marching armies and waving ban
ners. Individual experience alone keeps a
vivid remembrance of the desolation and un
certainty, carnage and heroism, of the great

struggle for unity of purpose and ideals,
which animated the followers of the great
Emancipator. Yet among those who comprise the fast-
thinning ranks of veterans a difference exists
in impressions, influence and effect, and a
perusal of the lives of these soldiers reveals
stories of great human interest and import.
To some the service was an episode, a fulfil
ment of duty as they saw it, and a subsequent
return to accustomed tasks with little change
save a broader conception of existence. To
others the experience was a keynote, a magnet
toward which seemed to gravitate their zeal
ous youth, and which mastered and deter
mined their entire future. In this class be
longs Captain Edwin Nicar.
Edwin Nicar, who is connected with one of
the largest corporations in northern Indiana,
the Oliver Company, was born in St. Joseph
county, on the 1st of January, 1840, a son
of Robert B. and Mary E. (Lewellen) Nicar,
both natives of Lynchburg, Virginia. In 1833
the father came to Mishawaka, Indiana, mak
ing the journey by team across the Allegheny
mountains. There he followed his trade of a
miller and millwright until 1851, when he was
elected treasurer of St. Joseph county and
thereafter made his home in South Bend. He
held the office mentioned for five years, after
which, until 1865, he was engaged in the hard
ware business in that city, ill health then
necessitating his retirement from active work.
His death occurred in the year named. The
deceased was a Whig and afterwards a Re
publican and strongly opposed to slavery, this
attitude being the principal reason which in
duced him to leave his native state. He was
both honored and beloved among the early
pioneers of St. Joseph county.
After completing his education in the pub
lic schools of South Bend, Edwin Nicar went
to Wisconsin to live with relatives, and there
remained for four years. Returning thence
to South Bend he joined his father in the
hardware business and thus continued until
the outbreak of the Civil war, responding to
the first call of 1861 and, as a member of
Company B, Fifteenth Indiana Infantry,
serving as a private and non-commissioned
officer until November of that year. He was
then made second lieutenant and in Decem
ber, adjutant of the regiment with the rank
of first lieutenant, while on the 26th of No
vember, 1863, he was promoted to the rank
of captain. He served in western Virginia,

570

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

under Rosecrans and McClellan, and partici
pated in the battle of Rich Mountain. This
was followed by scouting duty during the
summer months, when , his command, under
General J. J. Reynolds, repulsed the rebels
under General Lee at Cheat Mountain. On
the third of October, 1861, he took part in
the battle of Green Briar, while in November
following he was ordered to Louisville, Ken
tucky, to join the army of General Buell,
afterward organized as the Army of the Ohio
and the Army of the Cumberland. In Febru
ary, 1862, a new division was formed com
manded by Brigadier General Thomas J.
Wood, and in that command Mr. Nicar served
until after the battle of Chickamauga. He
participated in the battles of Shiloh and Per-
ryville and in numerous skirmishes, and was
afterward in the fighting ranks at Stone River
and Murfreesboro, in the latter engagement
the fragment of a shell injuring his horse and
wounding him in the ankle — the only wound
he received during his entire army career.
At this battle, also, his regiment suffered
severely in killed and wounded, as it did in
many other engagements. His brigade was
the first to cross into Chattanooga and was
left there as a garrison during the progress
of the battle of Chickamauga. Afterward the
regiment was thrown into Sheridan's division
and took part in the battle of Missionary
Ridge, where it lost one hundred and ninety-
nine out of three hundred and thirty-four en
gaged. Captain Nicar, then on staff duty,
was with General Wagner during the Atlanta
campaign, and in May, 1864, took part in the
battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Dalton, Adairs-
ville and Kenesaw Mountain, after which he
rejoined his regiment, which had been ordered
home on account of the expiration of service,
and was mustered out at Indianapolis, on the
25th of June, 1864. His military career is
one which will ever redound to his honor as
a loyal and brave son of the republic, and
as one whose courage was founded on the
rock of his convictions.
Returning at once to South Bend, Captain
Nicar remained with his father in the hard
ware business until 1865, when he was ad
mitted to a partnership, continuing to con
duct the establishment after his father's
death, or until 1875, when for four years he
assumed the responsible duties of clerk of
the circuit court. He then entered the employ
of the Oliver Chilled Plow Works, with which
corporation he has ever since continued.

In 1884 Captain Nicar was married to Miss
Cora A. Beckwith, of Michigan, and they
have two sons — Edwin B. and Philip L. Lo
cally Mr. Nicar has held not a few positions
of responsibility. He reorganized the volun
teer fire department of South Bend and was
its chief from 1873 to 1876. .In 1902 he was
appointed minority member of the board of
public works, and, whether as an official or
a private citizen has always done his full
share in advancing the best interests of his
home city. In his fraternal .connections he
is a member of the Masonic order, the Grand
Army of the Republic, the Indiana Com
mandery of the Loyal Legion and Auten Post
of South Bend, No. 8. Captain Nicar 's char
acter and personality are as well known in
South Bend as are his services in behalf of
the Union. Kindly in manner, obbging at
home and abroad, always ready to do a good
turn for those less fortunate than himself,
he embodies many excellencies of mind and
heart, and enjoys the appreciation and good
will of all.
Samuel A. Hillier. For many years an
active factor in the industrial interests of
South Bend, Samuel A. Hillier, through his
diligence, perseverance and business ability,
acquired a handsome competence, and also
contributed to the general prosperity through
the conduct of a large enterprise, for until
his death he was the leading lumber merchant
of South Bend. His birth occurred in Bur
lington, New Jersey, October 30, 1850. His
father, Richard Hillier, was a native of Eng
land, and after coming to America became
an extensive shoe manufacturer of Burling
ton, New Jersey, where he was also extensively
engaged in the real estate business. In Phila
delphia, Pennsylvania, he was married to
Francis Stoll, who was born in Switzerland,
but came to America when a child and was
reared in the east. They became the parents
of nine children, four sons and five daughters,
of whom Samuel A. was the youngest in order
of birth, and all grew to years of maturity.
After attaining to manhood's estate Samuel
A. Hillier left his native city of Burlington
and came to South Bend, being a lad of
eighteen years of age when he arrived in this
city, his only capital being his willing hands
and willing heart. During a period of two
years he was employed as a contractor, after
which he launched out into the lumber busi
ness, organizing what is now known as the
Indiana Lumber and Manufacturing Com-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

571

pany, and when death cut short his busy and
useful life he was serving as its manager. In
other fields of endeavor he also directed his
energies, and his wide counsel and sound
judgment contributed to the success of one of
the leading concerns of the city. He erected
his beautiful residence at 1104 South Mich
igan street, and also owned many dwellings
at one time-, in addition to valuable farming
land. On the 8th of February, 1872, Mr. Hillier
was united in marriage to Martha E. Elder,
who was born in South Bend on the 9th of
January, 1851, her father, John Elder, having
been numbered among the early pioneers of
the city. He was born in Scotland November
11, 1808, and in 1838 came to America, lo
cating first in Buffalo, New York, where he
followed his trade of tailoring. In 1839 he
oame to South Bend, and in 1847 purchased
a small- farm on South Michigan street, which
is now a very valuable property. His politi
cal support was given to the Whig party, and
he was one of the best known men in the city
of South Bend in an early day. In 1842 Mr.
Elder married Emily A. Sweet, a native of
Connecticut, and they became the parents of
nine children, five sons and four daughters,
namely : Robert and Alexander, deceased ;
John W. ; Mary A. Whitten; William A.,
Martha E. ; Amanda A. Williams ; Sidney ;
and Harriet E., deceased, all of whom were
born, reared and educated in South Bend. The
loving husband and father died on the 7th of
October, 1895. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hillier
were born six children : Ada A. ; Edith E.,
the wife of H. C. Kreighbaum, of Tulley, New
York ; Forest, treasurer of the Indiana Lum
ber Company ; Glenn, a resident of Salt Lake
City, Utah ; Samuel Dale ;• and Martha Fran
cis. Mr. Hillier held membership relations
with the Royal Arcanum, and was also a mem
ber of the First Methodist Episcopal church,
in which he was an active worker and a gen
erous contributor. His political affiliations
were with the Republican party, and he was
one of the active temperance workers of the
community. Death oame to him while with
his wife at Kingston, Ontario, whither he had
gone to take a long needed rest, at the age of
fifty-two years, when one more name was
added to the list of honored dead whose earth
ly records closed with the words, "Well done,
thou good and faithful servant."
Mr. and Mrs. Hillier and son, Dale, left
South Bend late Monday night, their objective

point being Portland, Maine, for an absence
of two months. They left the train at Kings
ton, intending to take a boat for a trip down
the St. Lawrence river to Montreal, Canada,
and to there resume the journey by rail to
Portland. Mr. Hillier had been in poor
health resulting from heart troubles and when
they arrived at Kingston Tuesday night he
became very ill. A number of telegrams re
garding his condition were sent to South Bend
and on Thursday his son, Forest, and daugh
ter, Miss Ada, were summoned.
Mr. Hillier was one of South Bend's best
known citizens. He was an excellent business
man, a man of high character and one who
made and kept friends.
F. C. Winkler. During a long period the
name of F. C. Winkler has been prominently
identified with the business interests of St.
Joseph county, and as the president of the
Winkler Brothers Manufacturing Company
he is too well known to need introduction to
the readers of this volume. A native son of
South Bend, his natal day was the 10th of
July, 1854, and he is a worthy representative
of the sturdy sons of the fatherland, his
father, Charles Winkler, being a native of
Darmstadt, Germany. When eighteen years
of age he left his little home across the sea
and came to America, but three years later
returned to his native land, where he spent
one year, thence coming again to this coun
try and locating in South Bend. About 1856
he removed to Ohio, which continued as his
home until 1862, and in that year returned
to South Bend. During his residence in Ohio
he was employed as a merchant, but on his
return to Cass county, Michigan, he engaged
in agricultural pursuits, thus continuing until
his removal to St. Joseph county, Indiana, in
1891. Again he returned to South Bend, and
is yet an honored resident in this city. In
his native land Mr. Winkler married Barbara
Brickman, a native also of Germany, and her
death occurred when she had reached the age
of sixty-eight years. In their family were
six children, four sons and two daughters, all
of whom grew to years of maturity and were
an honor to the honored name.
F. C. Winkler, the eldest child in order of
birth, was reared on a farm in Michigan, re
ceiving his elementary education in its com
mon schools and completing his training in
Notre Dame University. He learned the
wagon and carriage builders' trade at Niles,
Michigan, and in 1877, with his brother Len-

572

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

hart, engaged in the manufacturing business
at what is known as Trutt Corners in Cass
county, but three years later removed to
South Bend and resumed their manufactur
ing, while in addition they also added the gro
cery, coal and wood business, admitting
Charles H. Winkler to the partnership. The
brother Lenhart died about 1897. After a
time the grocery, coal and wood departments
were abandoned, and in 1902 the firm was
incorporated as the Winkler Brothers Manu
facturing Company, with F. C. Winkler, pres
ident; C. H. Winkler, vice-president; Will
iam Knoblock, treasurer, and John G. Grimm,
secretary, these gentlemen also constituting
the board of directors. In this large manu
factory are constructed business and delivery
wagons of every description, and their plant
has been constantly enlarged to meet the
growing demands of the trade.
On the 6th of May, 1879, Mr. Winkler was
united in marriage to Emma Jane Gardner,
and their five children are Sada B., Jenevieve,
Alfreda, Frederick Charles and Harold. Ever
since attaining to years of maturity Mr.
Winkler has taken an active part in the pub
lic affairs of his community, and has long
.been accounted one of the prominent and
progressive citizens of South Bend, affiliating
with the Democratic party. He has earned
for himself an enviable reputation as a care
ful man of business, always known for his
prompt and honorable methods of dealing,
which have won the deserved and unbounded
confidence of his fellow men. The family
affiliate with, the Catholic church, and he is
also a member of the Knights of Columbus
and St. Paul's Benevolent Society.
John C. Wagner, who is now living re
tired from the active duties and cares of life,
enjoying the fruits of his years of toil in the
past, was born in Peru, La Salle county, Il
linois, on the 11th of September, 1849. His
father, John C. Wagner, a native of Prussia,
Germany, came to America with his parents
when about seventeen years of age, and' after
a residence in Maryland for a short time the
family came to St. Joseph county in 1831. At
that time John C. Wagner, Sr., entered the
property which afterward became the county
poor farm, on the Michigan road, which he
owned and operated for about ten years, when
he sold it and purchased the present Stover
farm. At that time the property was owned
by B. A. Birdsell, and Mr. Wagner subse
quently disposed of it to Jacob Stover, father

of Ex-Treasurer George H. Stover. ' Moving
thence to Mishawaka, he organized the first
brewery in St. Joseph eounty, located on the
present site of the Baker Wagon Works, but
after conducting this for several years' the
brewery was converted into a furniture fac
tory. For a short time thereafter Mr. Wag
ner was a resident of Illinois, and returning
to South Bend formed what is now known as
the Kamm & Shellingar Brewery Company,
which he conducted from 1849 until 1868. In
the latter year he sold his interest therein and
retired from the active cares of a business
life, his death occurring when he had reached
the age of eighty-two years. His name was
inscribed high on the roll of St. Joseph coun
ty's honored pioneers, and he performed well
his part in the further development of the
community. Mrs. Wagner, who bore the
maiden name of Barbara Meyer, was a native
of Alsace, France, now a part of Germany,
and was there reared and educated. Coming
to America with her parents, the family home
was first established in Ohio, but later in St.
Joseph county, Indiana, and she lived to the
age of seventy years. In the family of Mr.
and Mrs. Wagner were two children, the sis
ter of our subject being Rocelia, the wife of
John Good, of Denver, Colorado.
John C. Wagner, the younger of the two
children, was born during the sojourn of his
parents in La SaDe county, and when less
than a year old they returned to St. Joseph
county and he was educated in the schools
of Mishawaka and the University of Notre
Dame, in the latter institution taking the
commercial course, while his preceptor in
mathematics was Judge Howard, the editor
of this work. During the long period of nine
teen years Mr. Wagner was proprietor of the
Union House, and although retired from its
active management, still owns the building in
which it is located, on the corner of Michigan
and Center streets. He also owns a business
block at the corner of Main street and La Salle
avenue, as well as the commodious home at
521 North Main street, in which he lives. A
Democrat in his political affiliations, from
1884 until 1892 he was very active in the po
litical affairs of his community, having served
as both city and county chairman and as a
member of the State Central Committee of
the Democratic party.
In 1870 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Wagner and Clara A. Meyer, a daughter of
Jacob Meyer,, late of Harris township, St. Jo-

£&/

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

573

seph county. Six children have been born of
this union, three sons and three daughters:
J. Edward, of Chicago; Eba B., at home;
Catharine. B., wife of John Blakley, of South
Bend; and Ada, Lulu and Fred, all at home.
Father Joseph Scherer, C. S. C, pastor
of St. Mary's church in South Bend, was
born in Zunsweir, Grand Duchy of Baden,
Germany, July 15, 1850. When but five years
of age he came with his parents to the United
States, the family first locating in Pennsyl
vania, but in 1866 moved to Portsmouth,
Ohio, and in June, 1873, the son Joseph came
to Notre Dame to pursue his studies. His
work therein was pursued thoroughly and
diligently, and on the 21st of June, 1875, he
entered the novitiate, but just one year later,
on the 23d of June, 1876, he became a pro
fessor of the college. In 1880, by Rt. Rev.
Dwenger, Father Scherer was ordained to the
ministry, and from that time until 1887
served as president of St. Isidor's College
at New Orleans. In that year he was made
pastor of the Sacred Heart church, New Or
leans, Louisiana, and in 1890 was called to
St. Mary's Academy as its chaplain. In
1897 Father Scherer was transferred to Notre
Dame as assistant superior of the community
house and pastor of the congregation, but in
the following year he was sent to Cincinnati,
Ohio, as president of St. Joseph College. Re
turning again to Notre Dame in 1904, Father
Scherer was appointed superior of the com
munity house, and upon the death of Rev.
Father Johannes, C. S. C, was appointed his
successor at St. Mary's church, where he has
since' been active in the continuance of the
work to which he dedicated his life when in
the prime of his early manhood. His influ
ence has been far-reaching and beneficial, his
power in his holy office having been exerted
in a spirit of deepest human sympathy and
tender solicitude .and his efforts have been,
abundantly blessed.
Rev. A. M. Just, C. S. C, pastor of the
Sacred Heart church of South Bend, was
born in Harlange, Grand Duchy of Luxem
burg, May 27, 1880. His elementary educa
tion was received in the Atheneum of Luxem-
berg, but when fifteen years of age, in 1895,
he went to Paris, France, and studied in the
University of Angers. In 1902 he began his
travels over the eastern, country, visiting
Rome, Bengal, where he remained for two
years, and other points in Asia. On account
of ill 'health he then came to America, where

he entered the Washington Catholic Universi
ty, and was ordained priest on the 2d of
August, 1906. On the 6th of October, 1906,
Father Just was appointed the successor of
Rev. P. P. Klein as pastor of the Sacred
Heart church of South Bend, where he min
isters to a congregation of one hundred and
five families.
Rev. A. Zubowicz, C. S. C. For many
years Rev. Zubowicz has been one of the most
efficient laborers in the cause of Christianity,
and, a strong and forcible speaker, earnest
and eloquent in the presentation of the truth,
his efforts have been abundantly blessed. He
was born in Poland March 4, 1860, and in his
native country received an excellent academic
and classical education. After coming to
America in 1882 he still continued his search
for knowledge by his matriculation in Notre
Dame University, where he was subsequently
graduated. For a time thereafter he was as
sistant pastor at St. Hedwig's and had charge
of the schools for twelve years. He was in
strumental in the building of the St. Casimir
church and school, but subsequently left that
charge and assumed the directorship of the
St. Hedwig's school) where he remained until
1902. In that year he was called back to his
former charge at St. Casimir, where he has
ever since been the loved pastor. He organ
ized the parish and all the societies connected
with the church, and was also special mis
sionary to the Tarakopa congregation at Roll
ing Prairie, Indiana. Rev. Zubowicz has been
an indefatigable worker in the interests of his
people, and in addition to the building up of
his own charge he was also instrumental in
the organization of the St. Casimir parish in
South Bend, which under his able ministra
tions has increased from a population of two
hundred and eighty families to five hundred
and twenty-five families. He is a member of
the C. S. C. order. He is thoroughly earnest
and sincere in .all his thoughts, words and
deeds, and his noble, manly life has proved
an inspiration to many of his associates.
Rev. Samuel Beck. During many years
Rev. Beck has been an efficient laborer in the
cause of Christianity in northern Indiana in
the Methodist Episcopal church, and has the
honor of having served in its conference more
years than any minister now Mving in the
county. His birth occurred in Wayne county,
Indiana, November 3, 1832, a son of William
Beck, who was born in Darke county, Ohio,
in 1809. His father was Samuel Beck, a na-

574

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

tive of the, Old Dominion state of Virginia
and of German descent, and in a very early
day he removed with his family to Wayne
county, Indiana, becoming a resident of the
commonwealth ere its admittance to state
hood. His son William was but a lad at the '
time of the removal of the family to Wayne
county, receiving his education in its primi
tive pioneer schools, and in later life became
a prosperous and well known farmer. In
1849 he removed to Putnam county, Indiana,
where he devoted the remainder of his life
to agricultural pursuits and died at the age
of sixty-four years. Mr. Beck married Cath
erine Nethercutt, a native of Virginia and the
daughter of Moses and Christena Nethercutt,
who in a very early day moved from the Old
Dominion on horseback to Ohio, carrying their
little daughter in their laps. Later they con
tinued the journey to Wayne county, Indiana,
where Mrs. Beck grew to years of maturity,
and subsequently the family moved to Put
nam county. There, on November 26, 1858,
and at the age of forty-five years, she died.
The Nethercutt family was of German and
English descent. Mr. and Mrs. Beck became
the parents of nine children, but only three
are now living, namely: M. M., who served as
captain of the Eighteenth Indiana Battery
during the Civil war, and is now editor of the
Holton County Recorder and Tribune at Hol-
ton, Kansas; Samuel, whose name introduces
this review, and David D., who is now serving
as postmaster at Scott, Kansas. He was also
a member of the Eighteenth Indiana Battery
during the Civil war.
The boyhood days of Rev. Samuel Beck
were spent on a farm in Wayne county, In
diana, where he attended its common schools
during the fall and winter seasons, and when
sixteen years of age went to Putnam eounty,
this state, with his parents, but previous to
this time he had taught one term of school in
Wayne county. During the winter of 1849-
50 he taught in the schools of Putnam county,
continuing the dual occupation of teaching
and farming for twelve years. From his
youth Rev. Beck possesed a deeply religious
nature, and as he grew older the meaning and
responsibilities of life wore ' a yet graver
aspect for him, finally leading him into the
ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church
in 1858, while in 1864 he entered the North
west Indiana Conference, his first appoint
ment being at Covington, Indiana. During
his subsequent years in the ministry he wan

stationed at Attica, Crawfordsville, Green
Castle, Florenton, Terre Haute and Brazil,
and at this time was made a presiding elder
of the Frankfort district, thus continuing for
four years. During the following three years
he was stationed at Asbury, Terre Haute,
after which he served six years in the La
Porte district, residing at South Bend, In
diana. Subsequently for a similar period he
served as the presiding elder of the Valparaiso
district, closing his term of service there in
1902, and was then appointed corresponding
secretary of the Preachers' Aid Society, while
in addition and by request of the Quarterly
Conference he is serving as associate pastor
of the First Methodist Episcopal church of
South Bend. He has for a number of years
been permanently located in this city, where
he owns his own pleasant residence and other
property, including four houses which he
rents. On November 18, 1854, Rev. Beek was
united in marriage to Elizabeth Adair, of Put
nam county, Indiana, and they were the par
ents of four children, three of whom are. now
living : Emma, the wife of Rev. J. W. Walker,
D. D., presiding elder of the Green Castle
district; James Watson, M. D., a practicing
physician of Des Moines, Iowa; Lillian, the
deceased wife of Daniel Rich, a member of
the firm of Rich & Rich, prominent attorneys
of South Bend; and Bertha E., the wife of
Horace Zimmerman, circulating manager for
the South Bend Times. The mother of these
children died in Green Castle, Indiana, in
1875, and in 1876 Rev. Beck married Harriet
N. Dunlap, of Perrysville, Indiana, and their
only child, Hubert, died at the age of two
years. During his work in the ministry Rev.
Beck has filled many pastorates, for many
years labored as a presiding elder, and has
served more years in the Methodist confer
ence than anyone now living in the county.
A strong and forcible speaker, earnest in the
presentation of the truth, his efforts have
been abundantly blessed, and although he has
practically retired from the active ministry,
he yet earnestly continues the work to which
he devoted his life when in the prime of his
early manhood.
Rev. Father Charles L. Stuer, pastor of
St. Bavo's Catholic church, Mishawaka, was
born at St. Gilles, East Flanders, Belgium,
on the 11th of September, 1876. He was
reared and educated in his fatherland, pur
suing a course of six years at St. Anthony

ST. BAVO'S CHURCH, MISHAWAKA.

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

577

College, Renaix, Belgium, after which he en
tered the College of Philosophy at St. Nich
olas, a town situated a few miles southwest
of Antwerp. He remained at that institution
for about two years, after which he attended
the seminary at Ghent, Belgium, until June
10, 1900, upon which date he was ordained
priest of the diocese of Ghent. Following
his first mass he became preceptor in a noble
Belgian family, and at a still later date pro
fessor of French, Flemish and Commerce in
St. Joseph Institute, at St. Nicholas. While
he was thus engaged he received a visit from
Bishop Theophile Meerschaert, of Guthrie,
Oklahoma, who was so attracted to the per
sonality of the priest that he urged him to
come to the United States, but his own bishop
prevailed on him to remain another year in
Belgium, during which time he held the po
sition of assistant at Wieze. During this
year Father Oechtering of Mishawka inter
ceded through Father Stuer's bishop at home
in Belgium, for a priest to be sent here, and
Father Stuer was thus prevailed on to come
to Mishawaka instead of Oklahoma. His la
bors here have been such as to receive only
words of praise from all denominations.
Father Roman Marciniak, C. S. C. One
of the well known and most generally loVed
Polish citizens of South Bend is Father Ro
man Marciniak, pastor of St. Stanislaus
church. He was born in the city of New
York January 17, 1873, and was but a small
boy when he came to South Bend, receiving
his elementary education in the parochial
school of St. Hedwig, after which he entered
Notre Dame University and later the Wash
ington Catholic University; remaining in the
last named institution for two years. He was
ordained at Notre Dame on the 12th of Sep
tember, 1897, and was made assistant pastor
at St. Hedwig's for one year, while during the
following two years he served in the same ca
pacity at the Holy Trinity Polish church in
Chicago, Illinois. At the end of that time
he was made pastor of St. Stanislaus church,
entering upon his duties in this charge in
1900. His parish consists of three hundred
and sixty families, with a fine brick church
and residence, while in 1903 he was instru
mental in the erection of a school house in
connection with the church. Father Mar
ciniak is an efficient laborer in the cause of
Christianity, and is proving a light to guide
many to the better way.
37

Rev. John F. De Groote, C. S. C. It is of
distinct value to the thoughtful reader to be
able to scan the life history of one who not
only has progressed through the unaided force
of his own personality, but has achieved suc
cess according to a wisely matured plan in
which the details seem to have been nicely
calculated, each with reference to the other.
As a noteworthy example of this rare and
strong type of manhood is presented the hon
ored subject named above.
The Rev. John Francis De Groote, pastor
of St. Patrick's church of South Bend, is one
of the most esteemed and able pastors the
city has ever had. In seeking for the causes
which have contributed to his success, they
may be summed up by saying: The dignity
of a moral leader, the literary ability of a
teacher and the eloquence of an orator — a
combination of qualities which are bound to
produce highest results. It is no very rare
thing for a poor boy in our country to be
come a prosperous man or occupy a com
manding position in the world, but many who
fought their way from poverty to wealth,
from obscurity to prominence, retain some
scars and marks of the conflict. They are
apt to be narrow and grasping, even if not
sordid and unscrupulous. Father De Groote,
however, is an instance of a man who has
achieved success without paying the price at
which it is so often bought, for his prom
inence has not removed him farther from his
fellow men, but has brought him into closer
and more intimate relations with them; the
more success he has had, the more he has done
for those around him, for his congregation
and city, and he is now numbered among its
most prominent citizens. He is a native of
Indiana, born in Mishawaka August 27, 1866,
a son of Benjamin De Groote, a native of
Belgium, and Catherine Woods, who was a
native of Ireland. His father immigrated to
America and became a prosperous farmer of
St. Joseph county. Until he was fourteen
years of age Father De Groote lived at Mish
awaka and attended the parochial schools of
his native city. In 1881 he entered Notre
Dame University and worked his way through
the preparatory courses, afterwards taking a
classical course, with a view of preparing for
the priesthood. He graduated from that
famous institution with high honors in 1887.
He later went to Austin, Texas, as prefect
of discipline at St. Edward's College, where
he remained one year, when he was called

578

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

to New Orleans, Louisiana, as prefect of
discipline at the Holy Cross College in the
Crescent City. Here he remained four years.
Father De Groote was ordained to the priest
hood in 1893 at Notre Dame, by Bishop Rade-
macher, of Ft. Wayne. While in New Or
leans he was assistant pastor of the Sacred
Heart church. In March, 1899, Father De
Groote was called to South Bend as pastor
of St. Patrick 's church, to succeed the late
Father Clark. Under his careful and intelli
gent pastorate the church has advanced in
usefulness, and Father De Groote has given
to his charge his earnest thoughts and un
selfish labor. Each day witnesses the com
pletion, as far as lies in his power, of the
tasks assigned him. He does all things well
and in perfect order, realizing that a power
higher than his measures the extent of his
work. He is a man of rare mental graces, a
deep thinker, and forcible speaker, whose sil
very, poetic eloquence voices eternal truths
and points the way to practical, useful citi
zenship. Father De Groote is loved by all
who know him, regardless of chureh ties.
Rev. Traugott Thieme. For many years
an effective laborer in the cause of Christian
ity, Rev. Traugott Thieme has spent eighteen
and a half years of his life as the loved pas
tor of the St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran
church of South Bend. He was born in Ft.
Wayne, Indiana, October 27, 1857, a son of
J. G. and Sophia (Bleeke) Thieme, the for
mer a native of Saxony, Germany, and the
latter of Prussia. In about 1847 the father
left his native land for the United States, lo
cating in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where he was
engaged in the clothing business for fifty
years, and his death oecured when he had
reached the seventy-eighth milestone on the
journey of life. The mother was but thirteen
years of age when she left her German home,
and she is yet living, having attained the
ripe old age of seventy-seven years. In their
family were seven children, two sons and five
daughters, all of whom grew to years of ma
turity. Rev. Traugott Thieme, the eldest son and
fourth child in order of birth, spent the early
years of his life in his native city of Ft.
Wayne, and for six years he was a student
in the Concordia College of that city, pur
suing the study of languages. In 1877 he
matriculated in a college in St. Louis, Mis
souri, in which he was graduated in 1880, and
immediately thereafter he took up his abode

at Tuscumbia, Colbert county, Alabama,
where he remained for two years and four
months, returning thence to Columbia City,
Whitley county, Indiana. For six years he
there labored as a minister of the gospel, and
at the close of the period, in 1889, came to
South Bend and has since been the loved
pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran
church. A strong and forcible speaker, ear
nest and eloquent in the presentation of the
truth, his efforts have been abundantly'
blessed, for during his pastorate the church
membership has doubled in numbers, the
church now containing five hundred and thir
ty members. In connection with the church is
a school, where all branches are taught as
well as the Bible, and the pupils from this
institution can enter the eighth grade of the
public schools. The school is under the super
vision of two competent teachers, and the
teaching is performed in German and Eng
lish, but mostly English.
In 1881 Rev. Thieme was united in mar
riage to Anna Roemer, who was born and
reared in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter
of J. C. D. Roemer, a prominent merchant of
that city. Six children have blessed this
union : Rev. Traugott Thieme, Jr., a minister
in the German Lutheran church of Saskatoon,
Canada, and he is also a missionary; Anna,
the wife of Oscar Roeder, of Bremen, In
diana; and Hattie, Beata and Martin. One
little son, Otto, died at the age of four years.
Rev. Thieme is a member of the Evangelical
Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and other
states, and in its central district he is the
visitator of its congregation and pastors.
Rev. Peter Lauth, C. S. C, pastor of the
St. Joseph church of South Bend, was born
at the bend of the Mosel river in Luxemburg,
Germany, May 24, 1834, but just twenty
years later, in 1854, he bade adieu to his boy
hood's home and friends and came to the
United States, landing in New York city on
the 9th of May following. For a few years
thereafter he was a resident of Illinois, and
in 1859-60 was a student in St. Mary's Col
lege of Chicago, while on the 7th of Septem
ber, 1861, he came to Notre Dame. On the
7th of March, 1869, he was ordained to the
priesthood, and for a time thereafter served
as assistant priest to Father P. P. Cooney, of
St. Patrick's church in South Bend, going
thence to the St. Joseph church, where he
served as its pastor from 1872 until 1876.
During the following year he served as presi-

o<^ c^j/ ^^^^

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

579

dent of the St. Joseph College of Cincinnati*
during the following three years was engaged
in missionary work with his former pastor,
Father Cooney, and from 1887 to 1881 was
the pastor of St. Patrick's church of South
Bend. Going thence to California, Rev.
Lauth then spent one year among the Indians
there, from whence he journeyed to Austin,
Texas, and after a pastorate in that city of
sixteen years, went to New Orleans and
served as pastor of the Sacred Heart church
for one year. He then returned to Notre
Dame, where for a similar period he served
as pastor of the Sacred Heart church there,
after which he again embraced the mission
ary work with Father Klein, and since the
5th of April, 1902, he has served as the loved
pastor of the St. Joseph church of South
Bend. Rev. Lauth has devoted himself with
out ceasing to the interests of humanity and
to the furtherance of all good works, and
there has not been denied him the full har
vest nor the aftermath whose garnering shall
bring the full reward in the words of com
mendation, ' ' Well done. ' '
Rev. Martin Goffeney is one of the best
and most generally loved citizens of South
Bend, many years of whose life have been
passed in this city as pastor of the Zion Evan
gelical church, located at 235 South St. Peter
street. He was born in France, July 11, 1858,
but when seventeen years of age he went to
Basel, Switzerland, and for six years was
'a student in a missionary college there. On
the expiration of that period he was sent to
Western Africa, on the Atlantic coast, where
as a missionary and teacher he labored until
the climate of that locality so impaired his
health that a change became necessary. Com
ing to America in the fall of 1883, Rev. Gof
feney 's first field of labor was at Sand Lake,
on the Hudson river, where he remained for
six years or until 1888, when he was called
to South Bend. He entered upon his minis
terial labors in this city in the Dutch Re
formed church, with thirty families under
his charge, but in the year following the Zion
church was built, and in 1890 a school-house
erected. During all this time, under his ef
fective ministrations his congregation had in
creased rapidly in numbers, until in 1896 the
church had to be enlarged to adequately ac
commodate its growing membership, but pre
vious to this time, in 1894, a parsonage had
also been built. The membership of the Zion
church now contains two hundred and fifty

families. Rev. Goffeney has led a life of
great activity in his holy calling, and to his
unceasing labors are due the many improve
ments which have been instituted in the Zion
church. He is thoroughly sincere in all his
deeds, and his noble, manly life has proved an
inspiration to many of his associates.
_ In 1886 Rev. Goffeney was united in mar
riage to Caroline Schnell, who was born in
Stuttgart, Germany, and they have four chil- ,
dren, Otto, Herbert, Waldemar and Irene.
Rev. Goffeney is identified with many of the
religious organizations of South Bend, and
is an active and efficient worker in the cause
of his Master.
Rev. Louis A. Moench. Very few of the
Roman Catholic clergy of the Ft. Wayne dio
cese are better known or more highly esteemed
than Rev. Louis Aloysius Moench, .irremov
able rector of St. Joseph's church,' Misha
waka, Indiana.
Father Moench is a native of Germany.
He was born in the beautiful little village of
Freudenberg, Baden, January 25, 1853, on
the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, who
has ever been his inspiration and his model;
and rarely does he ascend the pulpit without
some loving reference to the "Apostle of the
Gentiles. ' ' His early education was obtained
in the schools of his native town, and under
the wise instruction and counsel of the pas
tor of the parish chureh he gained the im
pulse to follow in the steps of his Divine
Master. With this end in view, when but
fourteen years of age, he came to the United
States and took up his residence with Rev.
D. Duehmig at Avilla, Indiana, whom he ever
regarded with filial affection. In 1869 he
entered St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, where he went through a thor
ough theological course. On the 10th of June,
1876, he was ordained priest for the diocese
of Ft. Wayne by Rt. Rev. Joseph Dwenger,
and at once began his labors as assistant pas
tor to Father Duehmig at Avilla.
Shortly afterward he was assigned to the
cathedral in Ft. Wayne as assistant pastor,
and in 1879 was sent to Lebanon, Boone
county. In 1881 he returned to Ft. Wayne
and took up the work of assistant at St.
Mary's church, and in February, 1883, he
was asked to go to Plymouth to fill the va
cancy caused by the death of the good priest
who had been pastor there for fourteen years.
With trembling heart but with unbounded
trust in the Providence of God, the young

580

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Levite took up the responsibilities and cares
that ever faU to the lot of those who will
accept them. At Plymouth he spent the very
flower of his life. He found the church sadly
in debt, the school not up to the standard, and
the congregation in tears. He set himself the
task, with never wearying zeal, of giving his
people a standing in the community. He
taught them by precept and by example (and
¦ as a teacher he has few equals) the truths of
their holy religion, and knew no rest until the
work of the parish school had attained a high
degree of excellence. Under his direction St.
Michael's Academy came to be one of the
strongest educational factors in the diocese.
His maxim, "The best is not too good for
my people," bore excellent fruit in the
schools; and above all, his towering faith
attracted, many outsiders who came, through
him, to find their true home. His sixteen
years of devoted, persistent work in Plym
outh is best illustrated in the intelligence,
loyalty and zeal of the people of St. Michael's
parish as Catholics.
Father Moench is not a dreamer of dreams.
He is practical, far-seeing and his sound
judgment has enabled him to transact the
business part of his duty in a most gratify
ing manner. Indeed, so rare is it to find a
priest who possesses the varied gifts that have
enabled Father Moench to fill the difficult role
of pastor, teacher and financier so effectively
that he bas always had his full share of the
latter. Wherever he has been stationed he has
been obliged to undertake the unpleasant
task of removing debts. Plymouth was no
exception. He found a small congregation,
a debt of five thousand dollars and an annual
interest of five hundred dollars. At the close
of his sixteen years of labor he. had the happi-
nes of seeing this entirely cleared, with the
addition of many valuable improvements and
four thousand dollars in the treasury. He
was happy and content and came to look upon
Plymouth as his abiding place during his
earthly career. But God had ordered other
wise. There was a vacancy at Valparaiso and
he was asked by the bishop to take up the
work there.
Like a faithful soldier who knows no word
but ' ' obey, ' ' he went to Valparaiso in July,
1898, and found conditions similar to those
of Plymouth in 1883. Although he remained
there but four and a half years, he won the
love and respect and esteem of all, irrespect
ive of creed, race or party. He proved him

self a pastor of whom his people were proud ;
a sympathetic, true friend; and a citizen and
public benefactor of the highest type. On all
important questions concerning the well-
being of the community his wise counsel was
sought. He improved the church, rectory
and church property (which he found in a
very dilapidated condition) until they looked
like new. He purchased the school property
from the Sisters of Providence and made it
a permanent part of the church property.
He reduced the indebtedness many thousands
of dollars, and when he left, non-Catholics
united with his own people in a loving trib
ute of esteem to the Right Reverend Bishop.
In February, 1903, at the word of command,
he took up the important work at Mishawaka,
left incomplete by the death of the lamented
Father Oechtering. Here he is following out
the plan so dear to his heart, and is well fitted
for the work.
He is a most convincing and persuasive
speaker, an able theologian, a scholar of wide
and varied culture. He has won for him
self an enviable reputation as an educator
of high rank. Under such guidance it is safe
to predict that the parish and schools of St.
Joseph's will rank among the first in the dio
cese. In all these things, however, he takes
no credit to himself, humbly maintaining
that, " Neither he that planteth is anything, nor
he that watereth; but God that giveth the
increase. ' '
Calvert H. Defrees. In connection with
business interests the name of Calvert H.
Defrees is not confined within the limits of
South Bend or St. Joseph county, but is
widely known through the northern portion
of Indiana. He is a representative of one of
the earliest families making permanent settle
ment within the borders of St. Joseph county,
and throughout the many years which have
since come and gone its members have aided
materially in the development of the re
sources of the community and taken an active
part in everything intending to promote the
welfare of its people. As early as 1835
Archibald Defrees located on a farm west of
South Bend, being accompanied on his jour
ney hither by his son, Joseph IT., who was
a native of Ohio and was seventeen years of
age at that time. He was here subsequently
married to Sarah Calvert, who was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but when a
young lady in 1834 came with her father,

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

581

Isaac Calvert, to St. Joseph county, Indiana,
where they were numbered among the early
pioneers and Where the father became well
known as an agriculturist. Together Mr. and
Mrs. Defrees lived and labored in St. Joseph
county until their life work was ended in
death, the father passing away at the age of
seventy-five years, while the mother was
seventy-six when called to join her husband
in the home beyond. They became the par
ents of two children, a son and a daughter,
the latter being Isabel, of South Bend.
Calvert H. Defrees, the elder of the chil
dren, was born in South Bend on the 5th of
August, 1859, and during his youth and early
manhood received an excellent educational
training, having attended the high school of
his native city. His first business venture
was with the Stone & Pipe Manufacturing
Company, and after severing his connection
therewith was engaged in the laying of ce
ment sidewalks and in sewer contracting
until embarking in the sale of cement, lime
and mason's supplies. Later Mr. Defrees be
came well known as a contractor for brick
pavements, having constructed many miles
of those pavements in South Bend, and he is
now extensively engaged in the manufacture
of cement, building stone, sewer pipe, fire
brick, etc. Thus he stands today at the head
of one of the leading industrial concerns of
the eounty, and his prestige has been won
through marked executive force, keen dis
crimination and unfaltering energy. Many
enterprises stand as the result of his splen
did ability, one being tbe South Bend &
Southern Michigan Traction Railroad, which
he built from South Bend to Niles, Michigan,
and he has also done much contract work in
this city and in Niles, Mishawaka, Michigan
City, St. Joseph and Knox. It is a master
mind that can plan, execute and control large
undertakings, and the man who stands at
their head well deserves to be ranked among
the most prominent business men of northern
Indiana. In 1878 Mr. Defrees married Ellen Curl,
who died after becoming the mother of two
children, William, a resident of Los Angeles,
California, and Grace, who died at the age
of twenty-one years. The father subsequent
ly married Mary S. Brown, and they have
four children, Victor, Frank, Inez, and Isa
bel. Mr. Defrees has given a life-long sup
port to the Republican party, and is a prom
inent member of the Masonic order, in which

he has reached the Knight Templar degree,
and of the Elks of South Bend.
James Daugherty. One of the prominent
and well-known citizens of South Bend and
St. Joseph county was James Daugherty, who
has long since passed away, but his influence
for good yet remains with those who knew
him, and his example is well worthy of emula
tion. Born in Adams county, Pennsylvania,
March 28, 1824, he was of Irish parentage.
His father, James Daugherty, Sr., was a na
tive of the Emerald Isle, and was there mar
ried to one of its native daughters, Elizabeth
McCloggan. After the birth of their first
child they came to America, first locating in
Pennsylvania, but later removing to Canton,
Ohio, and for twelve years the father was
a member of the teacher's profession. It was
in the year 1850 that the family home was
established on a farm in Penn township, St.
Joseph county, Indiana, where the loving
husband and father died just one year later.
Of their five children, three sons and two
daughters, James Daugherty, Jr., was the
eldest son. In Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio,
March 28th, 1849, he was married to Anna
Elizabeth Stauffer, also a native of Pennsyl
vania, but when -a little maiden of five years
her parents came to Wayne county, Ohio,
where she was reared to. mature years, mar
ried and lived there until 1858. Her father
was one of the well-known and prominent
agriculturists of that county, as well as one
of its leading public men. In 1864 he pur
chased a farm of eighty acres in Madison
township, which he owned and operated until
1877, in that year, on the Democratic ticket,
being elected the sheriff of St. Joseph county,
in which he served , for two years, while for
two terms he was a county commissioner and
for eight years a member of the board of
trustees. He took an active part in the ad
vocacy and adoption of all measures tending
to prove of public benefit, and lived that prac
tical life which teaches charity, kindness,
sympathy and benevolence. Unto Mr. and
Mrs. Daugherty were born eight children:
Charles A., Alice M., Minnie E., John, Emma,
Anna, Carrie, and George M. ; but three,
Alice, Minnie, and John, are deceased. The
three youngest were born in St. Joseph coun
ty, and all were reared and educated here.
During many years Mr. Daugherty carried on
his agricultural labors in St. Joseph county,
winning for himself a name and place among
its leading business men, and in addition to

582

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

his farm he also owned a third interest in a
sawmill near by. Throughout the period of
his residence here he . was closely identified
with the locality's leading interests, was suc
cessful in his business, and in bis death, which
occurred on the 20th of October, 1896, the
community mourned the loss of one of its
valued citizens. He was a member of the
Masonic fraternity.
The N. P. Bowsher Company. This com
pany, manufacturers of feed-grinding mills,
mill cogs, conveyor flights, speed ^indicators,
balancing ways and other like specialties, has
done a large part in spreading abroad the.
reputation of South Bend for reliable goods
and fair dealing. Their feed mills are per
haps their greatest specialty, and have
brought the Bowsher name to the favorable
attention of cattlemen throughout the United
States and even in many foreign countries.
The Bowsher Company serve a widely varied
class of customers, from the fancy dairies
along the Hudson where expenditures for
equipment are sometimes on a prodigal scale,
to the humble farm of the newly arrived emi
grant on the extreme northwestern frontier,
where the investment of every dollar must be
considered and planned with care. The busi
ness was established in 1882 by the late N. P.
Bowsher and removed to its present location,
corner of Sample and Webster street, in 1894.
Nelson P. Bowsher, the founder of the
company, was born in Noble county, Indiana,
in 1845. He was the second son of Boston
and Sophia (Koonce) Bowsher, who came
from Virginia Dutch stock and reached In
diana by ox-team as the Pottawatomie and
Miami Indians were leaving it. The youth
early learned the trade of cabinet making,
himself felling the walnut trees which he
afterward worked into finished goods. After
finishing a four years' apprenticeship at
Ligonier, under W. A. Brown, he spent a
short time in Cincinnati, which was then the
center of the furniture industry, and followed
his trade as a journeyman. In 1871 he
walked into South Bend, a frail-looking
young man of twenty-six, but charged to the
brim with energy and dauntless spirit. He
first secured employment in the overhauling
of the Keedy & Loomis flouring mills, where
his industry and mechanical skill and insight
brought prompt recognition. Soon after he
was employed by Bissel & DeCamp, machin
ists and millwrights, and his next engagement
was in the pattern department of the Oliver

Plow Works. The eight years of his associa
tion with the latter firm established his rep
utation as both an originator and an expert
mechanic, but, to their mutual regret, ill
health compelled him to sever these relations.
Several years before Mr. Bowsher had pat
ented his speed, or motion indicator, and as
his health compelled him to adopt an outdoor
life he took a horse and wagon and com
menced to install his devices in the small
flouring mills of the country. Eight months
each year he spent in travel and four months
in the manufacture of goods. In this way
he virtually covered the northwest, and in
1884, with restored vigor, located in South
Bend, on the old West race, and opened a job
machine and blacksmith shop there. Busi
ness continued, with varying seasons of
growth and discouragement, until the close of
the World's Fair year, 1893. By this time
it had so expanded that Mr. Bowsher was
justified in removing to the present location.
The finest exclusive display of feed mills at
the World's Columbian Exposition was made
by Mr. Bowsher, and his company later main
tained its reputation at the fairs held at At
lanta, Omaha, and St. Louis.
The death of Mr. Bowsher occurred in May
of 1898, and- during the last six years of his
life he was a semi-invalid. During this period
the responsibilities of the business fell upon
his sons, D. D. and J. C, Who were thus
trained to carry forward the work he had
established. The company was incorporated
in 1897. The business done today is double
what it was at the time of its founder's death,
the works having been enlarged, new machin
ery installed and other changes brought about
to make the plant an up-to-date concern.
The deceased was an active factor in the
public improvements of South Bend. From
1884 to 1887 he was a member of its board
of water works, and he was largely instru
mental in establishing the city's fine supply
of artesian water. In religious and charitable
matters he was also a leader, being a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church and one
of its trustees. Generous hearted in all his
dealings with his fellows, by his will he left
a thousand dollars to the Epworth Hospital
building fund, which nucleus went far to
ward encouraging the active promoters and
friends of this enterprise in renewed effort
for the completion of the work. When build
ing operations commenced his sons also con
tributed liberally toward its completion, and

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

583

his widow served for many years as secretary
of the woman's board.
In 1865 Mr. v Bowsher married Clarissa
Hostetter, whose family emigrated from Ohio
about the same time as his own and settled
on an adjoining section of land. Mrs. Bow
sher 's elder brother was the first white child
born in Noble county. Mr. Bowsher 's first
wife, who was a most earnest and loving help
mate, died in 1892, and the deep grief and
shock caused thereby undoubtedly weakened
his vitality to a point which brought about a
recurrence of his former illness. His second
wife was Miss Laura Caskey, of South Bend,
to whom he was married in 1897, but he sur
vived her less than a year.
Delevan D. Bowsher, president and treas
urer of the company, was born in Ligonier,
in the year 1868, and his parents removed to
South Bend upon his third birthday. In
1884 he graduated from the High School, was
connected for a short time with the Tribune
Printing Company, and was then taken into
his father's shop, where he worked as a me
chanic in the day and as a bookkeeper at
night. With the growth of the business all
his time was given to the office and the adver
tising side of the business, and the success
of the company is largely a testimonial to his
efficiency in these departments. He resides
in the old home at No. 805 West Washington
street. Jay C. Bowsher, the vice-president of the
company, was born in South. Bend in 1872,
and practically his entire life has been spent
in the city. He was educated in the High
School and through special studies. Travel
from home, with business responsibilities
laid upon him at an early age, rounded out
the work of the class-room. He has always
given special attention to the mechanical de
partment of the business, has taken out a
number of valuable patents, and in these re
gards has done credit, in a marked degree, to
his father's name. Mr. Bowsher was married,
in 1898, to Eva A. Spencer. They have two
children and reside in a very comfortable
home at No. 828 West Colfax avenue.
John C. Knoblock. No more honored
family exists in northern Indiana than that
of the Knoblocks, who from a very early day
have been intimately associated with tbe de
velopment and increasing prosperity of South
Bend and -St. Joseph county, the name being
inseparably interwoven with the record of
their advancement. The family was estab

lished here by John C. Knoblock, who came
from Canton, Stark county, Ohio, where he
was born November 3, 1830, to St. Joseph
county, Indiana, in 1843, locating first near
Bremen. In 1847 he came to South Bend,
where he became one of its leading business
men. He engaged in the grocery business in
1856, and originated the wholesale grocery
trade of South Bend. He organized the
South Bend Chilled Plow Company in 1875,
and was its president until he sold out in
1890. He assisted in organizing the St- Jo
seph County Savings Bank in 1869 and was
its treasurer until he died.
He was married, July 12, 185,3, to Lizetta
Meyer, who died in 1897. He married Mrs.
Rebecca Baer in 1905, who survived him.
Mr. Knoblock died August 18, 1906. South
Bend has had few more valued citizens, and
by the pioneers who knew him, as well as the
younger residents, his memory is revered.
Otto M. Knoblock, son of John C. and
Lizetta (Meyer) Knoblock, was born in South
Bend June 19, 1859, and has spent his entire
life within the confines of this city. After
completing his studies in its public schools
he became a student in the Indianapolis
Business College, in which he graduated in
1876. With this excellent educational train
ing he was well fitted to engage in life's activ
ities, and entering the manufacturing field,
assisted to organize and was treasurer of the
South Bend Chilled Plow Company, but in
1890 he sold his interest in that corporation
and turned his attention to the manufacture
of wagons as secretary of the Miller-Knob
loek Company. In 1900 Mr. Knoblock en
gaged in the manufacture of electrical appli
ances as a member of the jAnoblock-Heideman
Manufacturing Company, of which he is now
the president. He is also a stockholder in
the Knoblock-Ginz Milling Company, of
South Bend. As a representative of the
manufacturing interests of South Bend he
fills an important place in its business life
and has made tbe institutions with which he
is connected the leading financial concerns of
this section of the state.
On the 24th of November, 1887, Mr. Knob
lock was united in marriage to Margaret
Starr, who was born in Cass county, Mich
igan, of which her father was one of the hon
ored early residents, and they have one son,
J. Starr, a young man of seventeen years.
Mr. Knoblock holds membership relations
with many of the fraternal orders, including

584

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the
Maccabees, the Modern Woodmen of Ameri
ca, and the Travelers' Protective Associa
tion. He is also a member of the Country
Club, the Indiana Club, and is treasurer of
the Northern Indiana Historical Society. He
gives a stanch and unfaltering support to the
principles of the Republican party, and as
its representative served as the trustee of the
city water works. Upright and just in all
his relations, Mr. Knoblock has won the con
fidence and high regard of all who know him,
and is a man of the most sterling worth.
Godfrey L. Poehlman. From an early-
period in the development of South Bend and
St. Joseph county Godfrey L. Poehlman has
been an important factor in their improve
ment and advancement, but he is now living
retired from the active cares of a business
life save his connection with the Muessel
Brewing Company. He was born in Bavaria,
Germany, June 5, 1835, and in 1853, when
about seventeen years of age, he left his Ger
man home and came to America, coming
direct to South Bend. For a short time there
after he clerked in a dry goods store, after
which he learned the tinner's trade in the
hardware store of Massey Brothers, with
whom he was connected for seven years. In
1860 he joined the tide of emigration to
Pike's Peak, Colorado, making the journey
across the plains with a team, and after
spending a short time in the mountains went
to the city of Denver, where to him belongs
the distinction of putting on the first tin roof
of the first mint built at Denver. Remaining
there for a time, he worked his way back,
making the return journey via Council Bluffs
and Iowa City to South Bend. For four
years thereafter he was employed as a clerk
in the dry goods store of John Brownfield, at
that time the leading merchant in the city,
and on the expiration of that period estab
lished in company with Godfrey Meyers a
hardware store and tin shop, the firm being
known as Meyers & Poehlman. They con
tinued in business from 1864 until 1893, when
Mr. Poehlman sold his half interest to his
partner's son, John B. Meyers, the present
proprietor of the business. Although Mr.
Poehlman has retired from his mercantile in
terests, he is yet a stockholder and one of the
directors in the Muessel Brewery Company,
one of the large establishments of the city.
On the 10th of July, 1864, Mr. Poehlman
was united in marriage to Anna K., a daugh

ter of Christopher and Christene Muessel.
The father is well known throughout St. Jo
seph county through his identification with
the brewing business, and his residence here
dates from 1852, during all of which time he
has been prominently connected with the for
mative history of the locality. Two daughters
have been born to brighten and bless this
home: Hattie, the wife of John Ober, and
Ottilia, wife of Homer Miller, both of South
Bend, where Mr. Miller is connected with the
Stephensen Woolen factory. During the long
period of fifty-three years Mr. Poehlman has
been prominently identified with the history
of South Bend, ever taking an active ana
commendable interest in its public life and
ever honored for his integrity to every trust.
He has given a life-long support to Demo
cratic principles, and fraternally has been a
member of the Odd Fellows for fifty years.
John N. Lederer. John N. Lederer, one
of the leading business men of South Bend,
was born in Arzberg, Bavaria, Germany, on
the 16th of November, 1833, a son of Fred
erick and Barbara (Kunstman) Lederer. He
acquired a good education in his native coun
try, first attending the public schools and
then a gymnasium. In April, 1853, he left
his little German home and sailed for the
United States, and after his arrival came
direct to South Bend, first securing a position
in the office of Harper & Company, the lead
ing manufacturers of this city at that time,
and with whom he remained for one year.
During the following year he was an employe
of the Lake Shore Railroad Company, while
from 1854 until 1860 he was a clerk in a gro
cery store, on the expiration of that period
purchasing a meat market on West Washing
ton street, which he conducted until 1871,
being very successful in that venture. In the
following year, 1872, Mr. Lederer returned
to his old home in Germany to visit his par
ents and the scenes of his boyhood days, and
on his return to this city he engaged in the
grocery business with John C. Knoblock, for
whom he had formerly clerked. So honor
able had been his relations as clerk, and so
diligently had his duties been discharged that
Mr. Knoblock was anxious to admit him to
partnership, and this connection was main
tained until 1877.
Disposing of his interest in the business
in that year, Mr. Lederer went to. Nebraska
to look after his landed interests there, but in
1880 returned to this city and opened a

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

585

steamship agency, also a fire insurance busi
ness and was a notary public. He is still in
terested in these various enterprises, and as
the years have passed he has enlarged their
scope until they have assumed large propor
tions, and he has thus won for himself a name
and place among the leading business men
of South Bend. He is a man of more than
ordinary ability, and carries forward to com
pletion whatever he undertakes.
In 1860 Mr. Lederer was married to Miss
Antinetta Bauer, who died in 1871, and he
was afterward married to Miss Margarette
Kunstman, a native of south St. Joseph
eounty and a daughter of Christopher Kunst
man, who emigrated from Germany to the
United States in 1849, and at once established
his home in St. Joseph county. One daugh
ter, Anna, was born of the first union, while
by the second marriage there were three chil
dren: Herbert, who is engaged in business
with his father, and Alma and Irma. During
the early years of his residence in South Bend
Mr. Lederer served as city and county com
missioner and also as a member of the school
board. Public-spirited and progressive in all
his ideas, he lends his influence to all meas
ures which he believes useful to the majority,
and throughout his long connection with
South Bend and St. Joseph county has ever
been recognized as an earnest and. patriotic
citizen. Willis A. Bugbee. Since the early days
of South Bend's history the Bugbee family
have occupied a distinctive place, and Willis
A. Bugbee is a worthy scion of the name.
His birth occurred in this city on the 17th of
September, 1845, and is a son of Almond
Bugbee, the history of whose life will be
found in another part of this work. Willis
A. attended the public schools of South Bend
and Chicago, and in 1867 graduated from
the law department of the University of
Michigan at Ann Arbor. After his admis
sion to the bar he entered the law and ab
stract office of Andrew Anderson, with whom
he was associated until 1880, when Mr. An
derson retired from the firm and Mr. Bugbee
purchased the records and established the
business on his own account. His office con
tains a perfect set of records of the title of
every foot of ground in the county, and being
a painstaking, particular and conscientious
worker, his records are unqualifiedly accepted
by every real estate man and attorney in the
county. His real estate transactions cover

millions of dollars, and the universal satis
faction evinced by his clients speaks for it
self. When a man wins the high respect of
those with whom business and social relations
have brought him in contact it is by reason
of his intrinsic honor and his worthy achieve
ments. In addition to his large business in
terests Mr. Bugbee is secretary of the South
Bend Building & Loan Association, also an
official in the St. Joseph Loan & Savings
Association, a trustee of the St. Joseph Coun
ty Savings Bank and director of the St. Jo
seph Loan & Trust Company.
Mr. Bugbee married Miss Evelyn E. Badest,
of New London, Connecticut, and they have
two daughters. He is a worthy member and
officer of the First Presbyterian church, and
takes an active interest in the cause of Chris
tianity. George Wyman. Many years have been
added to the past since George Wyman, a
youth of twenty-one years, arrived in the
city of South Bend, where he has won for
himself a distinguished position in connection
with its great material industries, being now
the proprietor of the leading mercantile estab
lishment of the city. His birth occurred in
Painesville, Ohio, January 27, 1839, his par
ents being Guy and Rebecca J. (King) Wy
man, the former a native of Manchester,
Vermont, and the latter of Suffield, Connec
ticut. He had three sisters: Clarissa J., who
became the wife of Byron Paine, the asso
ciate justice of the supreme court of Wiscon
sin ; Ellen M., who died at the age of twenty-
one years; and Abby A., the wife of Professor
D. H. Darling, of Joliet, Illinois.
George Wyman attended the public schools
of his native city of Painesville until four
teen years of age, and at that early age began
clerking in the store of Albert ' Gillett, with
whom he remained for one year, while during
the following year and a half he had charge
of the store of Jarvis Howard at Madison,
ten miles east of Painesville. At the close of
that period Mr. Wyman was able' to enter
college, and accordingly matriculated in the
Commercial College of Milwaukee, where he
continued his studies for several months.
Returning thence to Painesville, he resumed
his occupation of clerking in the store of
George R. Cowles, more commonly known as
" Yankee " Cowles, where a line of notions,
carpets and dry goods was carried, and there
he remained until he had reached his twenty-
first year. It was then that he came to South

586

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

Bend, this being in the year 1860, and in
August of the same year opened a store on
North Michigan street, occupied until re
cently by T. F. Berkley, and on the 1st of
December, 1865, removed to what was known
as the Colfax Building in the Marble Block.
Previous to this time, in January, 1865, he
had admitted to a partnership in the business
Henry H. Metcalf and Garland E. Rose, un
der the name of George Wyman & Company.
Mr. Metcalf only continued with the firm for
one year, however, his interest being then
bought by Mr. Wyman, but Captain Rose
continued his association therewith for about
eighteen years. On the 17th of September,
1878, the firm moved to their present quar
ters, the building having been erected by
them, and then consisted of a large double
store room, forty by one hundred and five
feet, two stories in height. In 1883 Captain
Rose sold his interest in the business, and a
few years later, in 1888, sixty feet was added
to the rear two stories, the business having
so increased in volume as to make enlarge
ments necessary. In 1890 the store was re
built, also an addition of one store room on
the south, twenty by eighty-five feet, while a
third story was added to the entire building.
With the passing years, however, the busi
ness continued to increase so rapidly that in
1904 another addition was made to the build
ing, consisting of a store room on the second
and third floors, and the first floor is leased
by the South Bend National Bank. In 1898
H. W. Eldridge was admitted to a partner
ship in the firm. The growth of the business
has been continuous and healthy from the
start, and its importance to the city of South
Bend places its proprietor, George Wyman,
among the leaders in its industrial circles,
and he has achieved that success which is the
result of enterprise, resolute purpose and
straightforward methods. These are the only
qualities absolutely essential to development,
and upon the ladder of his own building he
has climbed to prominence and prosperity.
John A. Swygart, a prominent repre
sentative of one of, the old and hon
ored pioneer families of St. Joseph county,
was born in Cleveland, Ohio, February
23, 1856. His father, George W. Swy
gart, was a native of Pennsylvania, and there
continued to make his home until his removal
to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1848, where he resumed
his trade of a mason and contractor. In the
early year of 1858 he made his way to South

Bend, Indiana, and here purchased sixty
acres of land south of Sample street, which
is now owned by the , Studebaker Manufac
turing Company. He took an active part in
the upbuilding and improvement of South
Bend and vicinity, and the home which he
erected on West Washington street was con
sidered at that time the finest building in
the city. After the destructive fire he pur
chased the present site of the Oliver Hotel,
or rather the corner lot on which the hotel
now stands and occupied by the First Na
tional Bank, there erecting the three-story
business block which he later sold. Subse
quently he purchased the land and erected
the buildings occupied by the Johnson meat
market, but these he also later sold and then
bought the property south of the oity hall on
Main street, this being still owned by his
estate. Mr. Swygart continued the business
of brick-making, real estate and contracting
throughout the remainder of his active busi
ness career, his busy and useful life being
ended, at the age of seventy-nine years. He
was an important factor in the improvement
and advancement of this section of the state,
and the part which he took in its develop
ment well entitles him to prominent mention
in this volume. He was a Republican in his
political views, was at one time a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
was prominently identified with the Presby
terian church, having erected the building,
previously occupied by that congregation.
Mrs. Swygart bore the maiden name of Caro
line M. Moyer, and was born and reared in
Pennsylvania. She lived to be seventy-three
years of age, dying in Elkhart, Indiana, in
1896. In their family were nine children,
five daughters and four sons, of whom seven
are now living.
John A. Swygart, the fourth child and sec
ond son in order of birth, was about fourteen
years of age when he started out in life for
himself. He had previously learned teleg
raphy at the Lake Shore depot, and his first
employment was as a brakesman for that
company, his run being from Elkhart to
Chicago. Subsequently he was promoted to
the position of conductor, but five years later
severed his connection with that company,
and during the following eight years was a
passenger conductor with the Wabash Rail
road Company. On the expiration of that
period he accepted the position of foreman in
the machinery department, but fourteen

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

587

months later removed to Palestine, Texas, to
enter upon the work of a yard engineer, while
three months later he was placed in the shops
as a machinist's -helper. Gradually, as he
displayed his ability, he was promoted from
one higher position to another, serving as
foreman of the shops at Houston, Texas, as
road engineer for the International and Great
Northern for six months, and was then made
traveling engineer, having charge of all engi
neers and firemen on the system. After one
year in that high official position Mr. Swy
gart was placed in charge of the reconstruc
tion of the San Jacinto river bridge and the
road in that vicinity. He was next given
charge of the International & Great Northern
Railroad trains and engine men on the con
struction of the road from Rockdale to Aus
tin, Texas, a distance of about sixty miles,
and after the completion of this important
work Mr. Swygart was offered and accepted
the position of engineer for the Wabash Rail
road Company, his run being from Spring
field, and he remained with that corporation
for eighteen years, filling the following posi
tions: Freight engineer one year out of
Springfield, two years as engineer of the Kan
sas City and Chicago division on the mail
train, after which he was transferred to the
Chicago and Decatur division as passenger
engineer. He was next placed on the St.
Louis run, where for twelve years he had
charge of the limited known as the Royal
Blue. On the expiration of that period he
transferred his connections to the Rock Isl
and Railroad, but a short time afterward was
offered and accepted the position of train
master on the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis
Road, where he remained for eight months,
returning thence to the Wabash road as road
foreman in charge of the engineers and fire
men, while later he was made train-master,
which be continued for three years. His
next position was as superintendent of the
Missouri Pacific, later was general superin
tendent of the Louisiana Railway & Naviga
tion Company, and then severing all connec
tions with railroad work, returned to South
Bend to take charge of his father's estate.
His record in the service, however, is one of
which he has just reason to be proud, for he
was ever prompt, vigilant and efficient, and
one who could be trusted and relied upon on
every occasion.
In 1887 Mr. Swygart was united in mar
riage to Mattie J. Hollyman, who was born

and reared in Hannibal, Missouri, a daughter
of John and Emma Hollyman. The only
child of this marriage, a daughter, died in
infancy. Mr. Swygart is a member of the
Masonic order, in which he has attained the
Royal Arch degree, and is also a member of
the order of Elks of South Bend.
Samuel C. Lontz. Of the pioneer fam
ilies which have materially contributed to the
prosperity of St. Joseph county, and par
ticularly to South Bend, the one represented
by Samuel C. Lontz occupies an important
place. He is a member of the firm of Miller
& Lontz, dealers in coal, wood, etc., in South-
Bend, and was born in Cumberland county,
Pennsylvania, March 14, 1847, his parents
being Jonas and Hannah (Heck) Lontz, both
also natives of that county. The father moved
to Ohio in an early day, establishing his home
in Summit county, where he was engaged in
the milling business until his removal to St.
Joseph county, Indiana, in 1861, where he
found employment as a miller with the firm
of W. Miller and Joseph Miller for some time.
He lived to the age of about sixty-two years,
and at one time in his active business career
he represented the Fourth ward in the city
council. With his old employer, Mr. Miller,
he was one of the three organizers of the
Grace Methodist Episcopal chureh, and con
tinued as one of its most efficient and active
workers until his life's labors were ended in
death. Mrs. Lontz passed away at the age
of sixty-eight years. In their family were
eleven children, five of whom grew to years of
maturity. Samuel C. Lontz, the eldest of the living
children, was fourteen years of age when he
accompanied his parents on their removal to
St. Joseph county, completing his education
in the schools of South Bend. When seven
teen years of age he began the milling busi
ness, serving for two years as head miller for
Joseph Miller, and in 1886 was admitted to
a partnership with his old employer, the firm
of Miller & Lontz being now extensively
known over northern Indiana. They are ex
tensively engaged in the sale of wood, coal,
building materials, farm implements, etc., and
they are now the oldest merchants in their
line in South Bend, twenty years having
rolled their course since they established their
business in this city. Mr. Lontz is also a
member of the American Trust Company of
South Bend, of which he is one of the direc
tors.

588

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

In 1868 he was united in marriage to Hen
rietta Harris, and the only child of this
union, Albert, is now deceased. In 1876 Mr.
Lontz married Jennie Martin, and two sons
have been born of this marriage, Daniel R.,
and Harley C, who are engaged in business
with their father. Mr. Lontz has been a life
long Republican, and has twice represented
his ward in the city council and was also
trustee of the water works. Fraternally he
has attained the third degree in the Masonic
order, and is also a member of the Elks and
the Knights of Pythias. He takes a deep
interest in everything pertaining to the wel
fare of his town and county, and contributes
liberally to the support of all measures for
the public good.
William I. Hunt. William I. Hunt may
well be termed a representative citizen of
South Bend, as well as one of its leading busi
ness men, for as proprietor of the Vehicle
Exchange, located at 664 and 666 Laporte
avenue, he is well known to its citizens. He
was born in Dodge county, Wisconsin, July
22, 1863, a son of W. D. and Diantha (Dun
ham) Hunt, both of whom are yet living and
residents of this city. The father, a native
of Tioga county, New York, was one of the
early pioneers in Washington county, Wis
consin, having resided there as early as 1853,
and became well known as a wagon-maker,
following that occupation in the days when
work was done by hand.
William I. Hunt, the youngest of his par
ents' four sons, inherited the love of his trade
from his father, for when large enough to
handle the tools he began working at the
wagon-maker's trade, becoming proficient in
the calling as the years grew apace and finally
winning for himself a leading place in manu
facturing circles. In 1903 the Hunt Brothers
Manufacturing Company was formed, while
three years later the brother George was ad
mitted to the partnership, the name continu
ing the same until in 1905 William I. Hunt
withdrew from the firm and in the following
year built the plant of the Vehicle Exchange,
of which he is the sole owner. His place is
equipped with all the necessary appliances,
and employment is furnished to a number of
skilled workmen. From the inception of his
business career until the present time he has
been steadily advancing until he now occu
pies a very creditable and enviable position
in the ranks of the business men of St. Joseph
county.

In 1886 Mr. Hunt married Hettie Jewett,
who died in 1898, leaving one son, Jay Jew
ett, at home with his father. In the following
year, 1899, Mr. Hunt was united in marriage
to Ida Barhardt, but no children have been
born of this union. In his political views he
is a supporter of Republican principles, and
takes a deep interest in the issues and ques
tions of the day, at the same time laboring
earnestly to promote the growth and pros
perity of the community in which he has so
long resided.
Francis M. Caldwell. The true measure
of individual success is determined by what
one has accomplished, and in connection with
the industrial interests of South Bend, with
its real estate and loans, Francis M. Caldwell
has gained recognition as one of the repre
sentative citizens of St. Joseph county. He
was born in Xenia, Ohio, March 12, 1851, and
on the paternal side is descended from Mary
Jackson, his grandmother, who was a cousin
of Old Hickory Jackson and a sister of Gen
eral Robert Jackson. The family is of Scotch-
Irish descent. The parents of our subject are
John M. and Mary Ann (Nichol) Caldwell,
both natives of Ohio. The father, who was
a farmer and stock-raiser by occupation, re
moved to Illinois in 1855. He left Xenia,
Ohio, with one thousand sheep and one shep
herd dog, and took them safely to Illinois.
He took up his abode in Warren eounty of
that state, and was there engaged in farming
until his life's labors were ended in death in
1892, at the age of seventy-nine years.
After attending the public schools of War
ren county, Illinois, Francis M. Caldwell en
tered Monmouth College, where he gained an
excellent education. When the time came to
enter upon a business life he embarked in the
building, loan, real estate and insurance busi
ness, and during his connection therewith he
held several important positions, having been
the general traveling loan agent in Indiana
and Michigan for the Indianapolis Loan
Company. Many other positions of trust and
responsibility were awarded him as he demon
strated his true worth and ability. In 1902
Mr. Caldwell became a resident of South
Bend and took charge of the La Salle Build
ing and Loan Company, and the St. Joseph
County Real Estate Company, which are very
successful corporations, and under his man
agement they have achieved successes. In
addition to his connection with these com
panies he. is also engaged privately in the real

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

589

estate business, and is numbered among the
representative business men of South Bend.
The marriage of Mr. Caldwell was cele
brated in July, 1904, when Anna Schmidt, of
Burr Oak, Michigan, became his wife. He is
a member of the Masonic order, Lodge No.
294, also of the Chapter and Commandery,
and is council commander of the Modern
Maccabees of South Bend. He is a worthy
and consistent member of the Congregational
church. James Q. C. Vanden Bosch. The late
James Q. C. Vanden Bosch, who passed away
at his home in South Bend, April 20, 1907,
was a highly respected resident of that place
for nearly half a century. Quite early in his
industrious and useful life he amassed con
siderable wealth in western mining ventures,
and, by far-seeing investments in various in
dustries and property in St. Joseph county,
added to his fortune so that the later years
of his venerable life were spent in the repose
which his long period of intelligently directed
labors had justly earned him. He was a
typical Hollander, of the higher class, intelli
gent and educated. His loss is deeply felt by
loving relatives and many friends knit closely
to him by his steadfast character and thought
ful acts. The deceased was also a man of
remarkable determination, business ability
and balanced strength of character.
James Q. C. Vanden Bosch was born in the
Netherlands, on 'the 17th of October, 1824,
and when ten years of age was sent to Ger
many to pursue his education at school at
Neuwied on the Rhine, Germany. He com
pleted his education at Lausanne, Switzer
land, and he paid particular attention to
chemistry and metallurgy. After complet
ing his studies he made several voyages
to the East Indies, but the climate of the
tropics threatening his health he returned to
Holland, and in 1848 emigrated to America.
He first settled at Buffalo, New York, where
he was bookkeeper in a hardware store. But,
like other enterprising Europeans, the east
was but a station for the collection of funds,
for inquiry and investigation, in anticipation
of a westward journey and final settlement.
In 1849 Mr. Vanden Bosch started for what
was then the west, and, arriving in South
Bend, found a position there as clerk and
bookkeeper in the general store of Leonard
Harris, which position he held for about two
years. The excitement of mineral discoveries
in the real west was then at its height, and,

having saved a tidy little sum, he joined the
caravan of fortune-seekers wending their
way toward the Pacific coast, his special des
tination being Oregon. For ten years he was
actively and profitably engaged in mining in
the vicinity of Roseburg, after which he
headed his horse toward central Nevada.
There he surveyed the site and founded the
city of Austin, Lander county, and also dis
covered the Reese river silver mining coun
try, which, has since produced millions of dol
lars of that metal. For three years he con
tinued his mining operations in that locality,
being at one time at the head of the Oregon
Mill & Mining Company, but at the expira
tion of that period he sold his interests to
the Manhattan Company of New York, which
corporation has since taken out twelve mil
lions of dollars from the mine.
From Nevada Mr. Vanden Bosch returned
to South' Bend, in 1866, being now in such
comfortable circumstances that, accompanied
by his Wife and four children, he spent a
year of rest and recreation in a European
trip. He then located in South Bend as his
home, established the first wood-pulp mills in
that locality and invested largely in real es
tate throughout St. Joseph county. At the
time of his death he owned two hundred acres
of land five miles south of South Bend, and
valuable property in the city, as well as at
Mishawaka. The pleasant family home is lo
cated at No. 529 West Washington street.
In 1851 Mr. Vanden Bosch was married
to Mary Jane Smith, daughter of Colonel
John Smith, of St. Joseph county, Indiana,
and their three living daughters are: Sarah
Louisa, wife of Henry Beiger, of Mishawaka;
Mary Alice, now Mrs. Clem W. Studebaker,
of South Bend; and Cornelia Adrina, living
at home. The oldest child was John Walter,
who died April 22, 1899, leaving his wife and
one son, James W. He was for many years
engaged with his father in all his business
enterprises. Mr. James Q. C. Vanden Bosch
was a firm Republican and, in his fraternal
relations, a prominent member of the Masonic
order and the Independent Order of Odd Fel
lows. Following the lines of the national
character he was domestic in his tastes, and,
with the throwing aside of business cares,
he had no inclination to assume any burdens
in behalf of the public.
Albert M. Harris. Among the families
which have been prominent in the history of
St. Joseph county from an early period in its

590

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

development may be mentioned the Harrises,
who established their home within its borders
during the pioneer epoch, and its township
of Harris was named in their honor, as was
also Harris Prairie. The grandfather of the
subject of this review was the founder of the
family here, and he was numbered among
the honored, early pioneers of Harris town
ship. His son, James Harris, was a native
son of Pennsylvania, and he became the
father of twelve .children, six sons and six
daughters, of whom Albert M. of this review,
was the seventh child and fifth son in order
of birth.
Mr. Albert M. Harris, one of the leading
representatives of this honored pioneer fam
ily, is well known throughout St. Joseph
county as the proprietor of the South Bend
Spark Arrester Company. His birth occurred
in Clay township, St. Joseph county, Sep
tember 30, 1850, and he was about five years
of age at the time of his parents' removal to
Portage township, where he grew to years of
maturity, and his educational training was
received in the schools of South Bend. Dur
ing his early business career he was engaged
in the tin and general iherchandise industry
in company with Levi Steadman. In 1886
he turned his attention to his present indus
try, the manufacture of spark arresters, and
in 1890 formed the company known as the
South Bend Spark Arrester Company, but
after the. death of W. H. Kingsby Mr. Harris
purchased the entire stock and has since been
the sole proprietor of this large and con
stantly increasing industry. To his enterprise
and thorough reliability the success of the
business is largely due, and to his efforts may
be attributed its high standing in financial
circles. In 1881 Mr. Harris was united in marriage
to Elva Loutz, whose death occurred in 1893,
leaving two children, Bessie and Jay. In
1896 Mr. Harris wedded Maggie Holem, and
their only child is a daughter, Margaret. He
is independent in his local political affilia
tions, voting for the men whom he regards
best qualified for public office, and he at all
times takes an active part in the advocacy
and adoption of all measures tending to prove
of public benefit. He is now the only repre
sentative of the once large and happy family
which gathered around the table of the pio
neer settler, James Harris. He is a man of
unquestioned integrity in all business trans
actions, is progressive in his methods, and the

success and prosperity he has achieved are the
deserved reward of honorable labor.
Frederick W. Mueller. When one is able
to say of a grocery house that it has been in
existence and doing an extensive business for
the long period of twenty-seven years it must
argue strong business vitality and the con
ducting of the establishment along estab
lished commercial lines. This is true of the
well-knoWn Mueller grocery house, and to its
proprietor, Frederick W. Mueller, belongs
the honor of being the third oldest grocer in
point of years of continuous service in South
Bend. His birth occurred in Jefferson, Wis
consin, October 2, 1853, a son of John Martin
and Elizabeth B. (Meyer) Mueller, both na
tives of Germany. They came to America in
1847, making their way at once to South
Bend, but after a residence in this city of six
months they went to Jefferson, Wisconsin,
where Mr. John M. Mueller, who was an agri
culturist, took, up land. Later, however, he
began work at the carpenter's trade and in
the hotel business, and his death occurred in
Jefferson at the age of fifty-nine years. Mrs.
Mueller survived him for many years, and
died in Wisconsin at the age of seventy-five
years. Of their children four sons and one
daughter are now living.
Frederick W. Mueller, the second child and
eldest son in order of birth, spent the early
years of his life in the place of his nativity,
receiving his education in its common schools.
When he had reached the age of fifteen years
he left home and served his time at the har
ness-maker's trade. It was in 1872 that he
came to South Bend and worked at his trade
as harness-maker until December, 1873. He
served as a clerk for L. Nickel from 1874
until 1880, when he established his grocery
store on the corner of Jefferson and Michigan
streets, continuing at that location for twen
ty-six years. On the 18th of November, 1906,
he moved into his present handsome building,
217 East Jefferson street. He is one of the
oldest grocery dealers and most highly
esteemed citizens of South Bend, and one of
its best-known business men. His interests
here are many and varied, for in addition to
being proprietor of one of its leading grocery
houses he is also treasurer of the South Bend
Wholesale Grocery Company, a stockholder
and a director in the Citizens National Bank,
and a stockholder in the Citizens Loan &
Trust Company.
In 1880 Mr. Mueller was united in mar-

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

591

riage to Anna M. Sack; whose father, Dr.
John C. Sack, was numbered among the hon
ored, old pioneer physicians of St. Joseph
county. She is a native daughter of South
Bend. Six children have been born to bless
their union, Edward, Thekla, E. Margaret,
Gertrude A., Ella and Walter S. Mr. Muel
ler is a Democrat in his political affiliations,
while fraternally he holds membership rela
tions with the Masonic order, and the Odd
Fellows of South Bend. He is an active, hon
orable and highly esteemed citizen and busi
ness man, and enjoys to tbe fullest extent the
highest regards of the community.
Delmar C. Leer. Connected with the real
estate business, Delmar C. Leer is well known
in South Bend, where he has resided through
out his entire life and where the family have
long been prominently identified with its in
terests. As early as .1830 his grandfather,
Samuel Leer, journeyed to this city, where
he built the little log house which stands on
Vistula avenue, one of the first houses erected
on that street and one of the valuable old
landmarks of South Bend. His son Jacob,
the father of Delmar C. Leer, and who was
born in Miami county, Indiana, was but a
babe of three years when he was brought by
his parents to this city, and he continued to
live and labor on the farm now owned by his
son Delmar until his busy and useful life was
ended, death claiming him when he- had
reached the age of sixty-four years. Two of
his children are now living, a son and daugh
ter Kathryn.
The former, Delmar C. Leer, is a native
son of the city of South Bend, his birth here
occurring on 'the 3d of July, 1869, and in its
public schools he received his educational
training. Upon reaching the age of twenty
years he embarked in the real estate business,
having ever since been extensively engaged in
the buying and selling of property, and he
now owns about one hundred lots and has
built about forty residences. He has platted
two additions, known as First and Second
Leer Additions to South Bend. In the line
of his endeavor he has proved a valuable fac
tor to, the business life of South Bend, and is
rapidly winning for himself a name in con
nection with its industrial interests that is
widely known. His interests are many and
varied, and include the vice-presidency of the
South Bend Brick Company.
In 1892 Mr. Leer was united in marriage
to Elnora Denslow, the daughter of Robert

and Mary Denslow, and their only child is a
son, Bertram R. Mr. Leer is prominent in
the social as well as the business life of his
community, and his fraternal relations con
nect him with the Elks and the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows.
W. K. McHenry, who is identified with
the manufacturing and real estate interests
of South Bend, was born in county
Antrim, Ireland. He received his edu
cation in Belfast, Ireland, where he at
tended a Methodist college. In 1892 he left
his home in the old world and sailed for the
United States, and after his arrival in this
country went at once to Salina, Kansas,
where for seven years he was successfully en
gaged in the dry goods business. On the ex
piration of that period, in 1899, he came to
South Bend, and in company with his
brothers, Daniel and John, engaged in the
dry goods business under the firm name of
McHenry & Company. In 1901, however,
this firm dissolved partnership, the brothers
engaging in the manufacture of roofing and
machinery. About that time he also em
barked in the real estate and insurance busi
ness, in which he has been successfully en
gaged to the present time. He is a business
man of more than ordinary ability and carries
forward to completion whatever he under
takes. In his fraternal relations he is a mem
ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks, and is also connected with the Com
mercial Athletic Club.
William T. Wyant. One of the leading
citizens and influential business men of South
Bend during the past ten years, Mr. William
T. Wyant is well known in industrial circles
through his connection with the South Bend
Cold Storage Company, of which he is the
president and manager. His birth occurred
in Plymouth, Marshall county, Indiana, Au
gust 5; 1866, a son of William and Lydia
(Clemens) Wyant, also of that county, where
they reared their son William to years of
maturity and gave to him the advantages _ of
a common-school education. In his native
city of Plymouth he began his business career
as a butter maker, spending eight years in
that occupation with the Plymouth Creamery,
and in that long period he learned the busi
ness in its every detail. Seeking a field in
which to engage in business on his own ac
count, he came to South Bend in 1897, and
in 1904 organized the South Bend Cold Stor
age Company, dealers in butter, eggs and

592

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

cheese, and in the same year the building in
which this business' is transacted was erected,
located at 414 and 416 South St. Joseph
street. They are exclusively wholesale deal
ers, and about four persons are associated in
the business. Mr. William T. Wyant is at
the head of this large industrial concern, and
is numbered among the influential residents
of his adopted city.
In 1888 Mr. Wyant was united in marriage
to Sarah J. Lechlitner, of German township,
Marshall county, Indiana. They are held in
high esteem in the community in which they
have so long made their home, and their
kindly social qualities have won for them the
friendship and good will of all who have the
pleasure of their acquaintance.
Samuel W. Stark is conspicuously iden
tified with the business life of South Bend
as a contractor and builder, being associated
in his work with IT. G. Ohrisman. Back to
the land of Germany must we turn for the
early ancestral history of the family, but
long ago they left that country and crossed
the ocean to the United States. There have
been strong men and true as one generation
has followed another, men leal and loyal to
our national institutions and to the duties
of citizenship. Mr. Stark's birth occurred in
Prussia, Germany, November 9, 1843, and in
the land of his nativity he received his educa
tion and learned his trade of a builder, hav
ing attended the Builder's High School in
his native city, and from 1863 until 1866 he
served in the engineering corps in the Ger
man army, while for twenty-six months he
was secretary of the Engineer Guard. In
1866 he joined his parents in the United
States, they having preceded him to this coun
try, and made his way at once to Cleveland,
Ohio, where he gradually worked his way
upward as a ' contractor. After a residence
in that city of five years he removed to Chi
cago, Illinois, in 1871, where he worked at
the mason's trade until 1873, coming thence
to South Bend and securing employment by
the day with the Studebaker Brothers, where
his ability soon became recognized and it was
not long until he was made their boss mason.
During his connection with the Studebakers
he erected about one-half of their build
ings, and he remained with them for
ten years, a faithful and competent
employe. At the expiration of that period
Mr. Stark began contracting and build
ing, on his own account, and among

the many large structures which he erected
may be mentioned the Grace M. E. church
the German Evangelical church on the east
side of the river and the Presbyterian church
all of which were erected in the same year'
also the school house on Lafayette street, the
Studebaker school, the Manual Training
school, the Christian church, the Joe Oliver
residence on Washington street, the Y.
M. C. A. building, the Russworm har
ness shop, and it is known that he
has erected more school houses, churches and
dwellings than any one man in South Bend.
In 1898 he became associated in the work
with H. G. Chrisman, and since that time has
been identified with much of the building of
the city. He is one of the oldest contractors
in St. Joseph county, and his commendable
efforts have made his success well merited.
The marriage of Mr. Stark was celebrated
in 1868, when Caroline Wanner, a native of
Wellersburg, Germany, became his wife, and
they have had four children: Emma, who
became the wife of Joseph Horenn, collector
for the Mishawaka Brewing Company and a
resident of South Bend and she died February
19, 1899 ; Bertha, musical director for the
Olympic Theater of this city; Clara, ticket
seller at that theater; and William S., who
is associated with the Mineral Point Zinc
Company in DePue, Illinois. Mr. Stark has
given a stalwart support to the Democratic
party, taking an active interest in the public
affairs of his community, and is a prominent
member of the Masonic order.
Frank Elmer MacDonald, secretary and
general manager of the St. Joseph Lumber
& Manufacturing Company, has been identi
fied with the lumber interests since he
was ten years of age, and as its
representative he has risen to a place
of prominence in the commercial world. He
is also numbered among South Bend's native
sons, his natal day being the twenty-eighth of
September, 1873, and his parents, Joseph and
Sarah H. (Smith) MacDonald, both of whom
were born in the commonwealth of Ohio. The
father was numbered among the earliest
residents of South Bend, where he be
came prominently known as a contrac
tor and builder, and many of the large
and important buildings of this county
were the result of his handiwork. The
death of this honored South Bend pioneer oc
curred when he had reached the sixty-seventh
milestone on the journey of life, but is still

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

593

survived by his widow, who has returned to
her native state of Ohio. They became the
parents of. four children, two sons and two
daughters: Jennie B., the wife of W. H.
Heck, of South Bend; Frank Elmer, whose
name introduces this review; Cora, the wife
of A. A. Waterfield, assistant manager of the
Colfax Manufacturing Company on East La
Salle avenue; and Joseph A., with the South
Bend Engraving Company.
Mr. Frank E. MacDonald received his edu
cational training in the public schools of this
city, and' at the early age of ten years he
began to work with his father. During eigh
teen years of his early life he was associated
with the Indiana Lumber company, working
his way upward in that corporation from a
humble capacity to the important position
of manager of their east side lumber yard,
and for seven years he continued in that ca
pacity. In 1905 he organized the St. Joseph
Lumber & Manufacturing Company, with the
following members: Mr. H. M. Kauffman,
C. P. Greene and Frank E. MacDonald, the
last named being made the manager. After
a time Mr. Kauffman sold his interest to 0.
S. Hans, and the present members and of
ficers are: C. B. Greene, president and
treasurer; 0. S. Hans, vice-president; and
Frank E. MacDonald, secretary and general
manager. The company operate a factory in
connection with their lumber yard, and
furnish employment to from ten to fifteen
men. The long experience of Mr. MacDonald
in the lumber business enables him to conduct
the duties connected with his important posi
tion with ability, and his well directed ef
forts, sound judgment and capable manage
ment have brought to the company a gratify
ing success.
The marriage of Frank E. MacDonald and
Miss Lida Harpster was celebrated on the
twenty-fifth of "June, 1902. She is a daughter
of David and Amanda Harpster, and they
have become the parents of two children, a
son and a daughter, Horace E. and Helen
Ruth. In national politics Mr. MacDonald
casts his ballot with the Democracy, but in
local affairs he is not bound by party ties.
As a citizen he is held in high esteem, and
as a business man he is rapidly winning a
high place in life 's activities.
George N. Whiteman has long been
closely identified with the interests of
South Bend, and today stands at the head
of many of its leading industrial concerns,
38

being vice-president of the Whiteman Whole
sale Grocery Company, president of the South
Bend Paper Box Company, and is also serv
ing as a councilman at large of this city.
He was born in Portage township, St. Jo
seph county, Indiana, December 15, 1858, his
father being Abram Whiteman, who came
from his native commonwealth of Pennsyl
vania to Indiana in 1854, locating on a farm
in Portage township, St. Joseph county. His
entire business career was devoted to agricul
tural pursuits, and he lived to the age of
eighty-three years, passing away in the faith
of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which
he was long a faithful member. Mrs. White-
man bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Beeh
ler, and was a native of Germany, but came
to America in her girlhood days and lived
to the age of seventy-nine years. In the
family of this worthy pioneer couple were
nine children, seven sons and two daughters,
all of whom are living at the present time.
George N. Whiteman, the fifth child and
fifth son in order of birth, spent the period
of his boyhood and youth on the old home
farm in Portage township, early becoming in
ured to its varied duties, and when not thus
employed attended the district school near his
home. After attaining to years of maturity
he began the business of teaming in South
Bend, following that occupation for five years,
while during the following four years he was
engaged in the confectionery business. Sell
ing his interest therein on the expiration of
that period he embarked in the wholesale gro
cery business in 1891, at that time forming
a partnership with his brother William, while
in 1906 the business was incorporated under
the name of the Whiteman Brothers Company,
wholesale grocers, of which George N. White-
man is the vice-president. In the same year
he also built the factory known as the South
Bend Paper Box Manufactory, of which he
is the president, and is also a stockholder in
the Whiteman Land company. It is a master
mind that can plan, execute and control large
institutions, and the man who stands at their
head well deserves to be ranked among the
most prominent business men of his city,
where only ability of a very superior order
is now recognized.
In 1882 Mr. Whiteman was united in mar
riage to Mary Borough, but she died leaving
one son, Warren, of Chicago, Illinois. He
was afterward married to Annie Wagner, and
they have two daughters, Edith and Esther.

594

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

In matters of public moment Mr. Whiteman
is deeply interested, giving his support to the
Democratic party, and in 1900 he was elected
to represent his ward in the city council of
South Bend, being returned to that office in
1906. He is a member of the Knights of the
Maccabees, the Elks and Owls.
Henry Gardner Niles. The life history
of Henry Gardner Niles is closely identified
with the history of St. Joseph county, which
has been his home for many years. He began
his remarkable career in the early pioneer
epoch of the county, and throughout the years
which have since come and gone has been
closely allied with its interests and upbuild
ing. His life has been one of untiring ac
tivity, and has been crowned with a high
degree of success. He is of the highest type
of business man, and none more than he de
serves a fitting recognition among those whose
enterprise and abilities have achieved results
that awaken the admiration of those who
know him. Mr. Niles was born in Geneva,
New York, February 11, 1833, his parents
being John and Catherine (Gardner) Niles,
the former a native of Vermont and the latter
of New York. In 1837 the father came to
South Bend, Indiana, but after a short resi
dence there, during which he was connected
with Alexis Coquillard as advisor in the
building of water power, he came to Misha
waka in 1838 and became connected with the
St. Joseph Iron Company, the original works,
and Mishawaka at that time was known only
as St. Joseph Iron Works. In connection
with this industry he also operated a smelt
ing works and store. This company executed
all the iron work done for hundreds of miles
around. In 1855 Mr. Niles purchased the
interest of the other partners, and until his
death was president of that large corporation
and had entire charge of its control. His
busy and useful life was ended on the eighth
of September, 1874, when he had reached the
seventy-first milestone on the journey of life.
In the forties Henry G. Niles, a son of
this honored old Indiana pioneer, came to
Mishawaka, this being in the midst of the
campaign of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too,"
and in its public schools and the University
of Michigan he received, his educational train-
, ing. In the meantime his father and asso
ciates had purchased an iron mine and erected
a blast furnace in Wisconsin, sixty miles
from Milwaukee, and young Henry went there
to take charge of the store connected with

the works. Three years later he returned
to Mishawaka, but two years afterward went
to Watertown, Wisconsin, and was' engaged
in business there for himself for' two years.
During this time his father had purchased
his partners' interest and the son then re
turned and assumed control of the mercantile
department, thus continuing until his father's
retirement ten years later, when he was given
the management of the entire works. After
the expiration of the old charter it was trans
ferred to the new corporation, of which he
became secretary. The new company manu
facture plows. The company went out of
existence in 1903, and since that time Mr.
Niles has qwned and conducted the entire
plant. He is also president of the South Bend
Woolen Company, of which he is the prin
cipal owner, and he owns large landed in
terests in Mishawaka.
In 1857 Mr. Niles was married to Martha
Spencer Drapier, a daughter of Ariel Drapier,
publisher of the St. Joseph County Forum in
South Bend. Five children have been born
of this union: Josephine, the wife of W.
W. Hubbard, of Indianapolis; Harry G.,
manager and treasurer of the South Bend
Woolen Company; John, in business with his
father; Stanley A., secretary of the South
Bend Woolen Company; and Catherine, now
Mrs. Bressler. Mr. Niles is a member of
Lodge No. 130, of the Masonic fraternity, also
of the Chapter and Council, and is a worthy
and acceptable member of the Christian
church. He is thoroughly identified in feel
ing with the growth and prosperity of the
county which has so long been his home, and
in years past he served the town of Misha
waka as trustee and also as president of the
board of trustees. As a business man he
is upright, reliable and honorable. Few men
have more devoted friends than he, and none
excell him in unselfish devotion and unswerv
ing fidelity to the worthy recipients of his
confidence and friendship.
Adolph Kamm. One of the leading busi
ness men of Mishawaka is Adolph Kamm, a
man whose history furnishes a spendid ex
ample of what may be accomplished through
determined purpose, laudable ambition and
well directed efforts. Starting out in life for
himself at an early age he has steadily worked
his way upward and is now the senior mem
ber of the Kamm & Schellinger Brewing
Company. He was born at Zoebingen Ober-
ant Elevanger, Wurtemberg, Germany, June

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

59c

13, 1842, a son of Frank J. and Antonia
Maria (Wurstner) Kamm. . The father came
to the United States in 1848, taking up his
abode in Fryburg, Ohio, where the son Adolph
remained until his sixteenth year. He then
went to Delphos, Ohio, to become an em
ploye of a brewing company, and also fol
lowed the same occupation in Fort Wayne
and Toledo. Coming to Mishawaka in 1870,
he became associated in business with
Clemens Dick, purchasing the brewery
of John Wagner, who had established
it as early as 1853. At that time the
business was not on a very paying
basis, but by hard and persistent labor and
honest dealing the new firm soon placed it on
the road to prosperity, equipping it with the
best and latest improved machinery, and it
soon became recognized among the leading
breweries of Indiana. Mr. Dick subsequently
sold his interest to his partner, who then ad
mitted his brother-in-law, Nicholas Schell
inger, into the firm, business being thereafter
conducted under the name of the Kamm &
Schellinger Brewing Company. Under the
new regime the business has continued to pros
per and grow, and in 1883 it was incorporated
with a capital of sixty-five thousand dollars.
Improvements are constantly being made, and
a new ice plant of a most approved plan has
just been added. The output of the brewery
is thirty-three thousand barrels a year, and
this is one of the largest industrial interests
of the county.
In 1869 Mr. Kamm married Maria Weber,
of Toledo, Ohio, whose death occurred in
1871, and he subsequently married Josephine
Schellinger. They have become the parents
of ten children, the eldest of whom, Rudolph,
is associated with his father in business.
Nicholas Schellinger. Mishawaka in
cludes among its leading business men Nicho
las Schellinger, the treasurer of the Kamm &
Schellinger Brewing Company. He was born
in Muehlheim, Wurtemberg, Germany, No
vember 4, 1847, a son of Xavier and Elizabeth
(Huber) Schellinger. The father was a suc
cessful miller in his native land, and after
coming to the United States took up his abode
in Mishawaka, where he became prominently
identified with its business interests. The
son Nicholas received his education in Ger
many, and, accompanying the family on their
emigration to America, soon became connected
with the business life of Mishawaka. In 1880

his brother-in-law, Adolph Kamm, admitted
him to a partnership in the brewery, the firm
then becoming known as the Kamm & Schell
inger Brewing Company, of which Mr.
Schellinger became the treasurer. His life
has been characterized by industry, deter
mination and ambition, and these qualities
have enabled him to steadily work his way
upward to success, and he now ranks among
the prominent business men of St. Joseph
county. Mr. Schellinger married Amelia Kamm, a
daughter of Frank J. and a sister of his part
ner, Adolph Kamm. Of their ten children
five are living.
Mr. Schellinger is a member of the Catho
lic church, the Catholic Order of Foresters,
Elks, Turn Verein and the Maennerchor.
Otto E. Lang, to whom belongs the dis
tinction of being the oldest hardware mer
chant in Mishawaka, was born in Penn town
ship, St. Joseph county, Indiana, April 17,
1858. His father, Frederick Lang, was a
native of Wurtemberg, Prussia, Germany,
but when seventeen years of age he left his
native land for America, first establishing his
home in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, but in the
fifties came to St. Joseph county, Indiana,
where he purchased a farm in Penn township.
In addition to his agricultural labors he was
also employed as a lumberman and saw mill
man, and his busy and useful life was ended
at the age of sixty-four years. Mr. Lang
had married in early life Ernestine Frank,
who was born in Pennsylvania, and their mar
riage was celebrated in that commonwealth.
She too was laid to rest at the age of sixty-
four years, after becoming the mother of four
children, the three daughters being Emma,
the eldest daughter, who died in 1892, wife
of F. E. Milburn; Tillie D., wife of C. D.
Hilderbrand, of South Bend; and Minnie,
wife of Henry McKnight, of Toledo, Ohio.
Otto E. Lang, the eldest child, spent the
early years of his life in Penn township and
Mishawaka, receiving his education in the
common and high schools of the city. In
1886 he embarked in the hardware business
in Mishawaka, and from that time to the pres
ent his name has been prominently associated
with that line of trade, in which he has won
an enviable reputation,- and he now has the
honor of being one of the oldest merchants
in the city and its oldest hardware dealer.
His interests, however, have been many and

596

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

varied, and at the present time he is serving
as a director in the Mishawaka Trust and
Savings Bank.
In December, 1886, Mr. Lang was united
in marriage to Martha, the daughter of L. T.
and S. M. (Boyce) Booth and a native of
Mishawaka. Their two children are Lewis
and Helen. Mr. Lang has given a lifelong
support to the Republican party, ever taking
an active interest in the public affairs of his
community, and for five years he was the in
cumbent of the office of township trustee.
His fraternal relations connect him with the
Masonic order of Mishawaka and the Elks of
South Bend.
Norman E. Parks. In the, early settle
ment and subsequent history of St. Joseph
county the Parks family have been very
prominent, and for the long period of fifty-
eight years Norman E. Parks has made his
home within its borders and been prominently
identified with its interests. His birth oc
curred in Mishawaka on the 19th of March,
1849. His father, Isaac K. Parks, a native
of Pen Yan, Yates county, New York, was
one of the early pioneers of Mishawaka, com
ing to this city during his early boyhood days.
In Elkhart, Indiana, he was united in mar
riage to Sarah A. Huntsman, who was a
member of the first family that located in
that city, while to her sister belongs the dis
tinction of being the first white woman to re
side in Penn township, St. Joseph county.
The family removed from Ohio to Elkhart.
For many years in addition to his agricultural
pursuits Isaac Parks conducted a peddling
wagon, and during several years he served as
the constable of Mishawaka, taking a very
active part in the early political history of
this locality. He lived to the age of sixty-
four years, while his wife was eighty-two ere
she was called to the home beyond, and they
were the parents of five sons, namely: Lieu
tenant Seth Parks, who was killed during the
battle of Chickamauga during the Civil war;
Horace, who served throughout that conflict
and is now a farmer in Johnson county, Kan
sas; Robert M., who was a member of Com
pany B, Seventh Illinois Cavalry during the
Civil war, but was captured by the Confed
erates three weeks after his enlistment and
remained as a prisoner of war for thirteen
months and died sixteen days after his ex
change; Norman E., whose name introduces
this review ; and Eben, who resides in Misha

waka, his native city. All of the five sons
were born in this city.
When but five years of age Norman E.
Parks accompanied his parents on their re
moval to a farm five miles northeast of Misha
waka, where he remained until his thirteenth
year, going thence to the place on which he
now resides. For many years he had been
engaged in the nursery business for his uncle,
George C. Merrifield. The old home now lies
within the corporate limits of Mishawaka and
is platted and laid out into town lots, on
which have been erected many buildings.
The land is located on Second street, and is
one of the valuable additions of the city.
Probably no family has been more influential
in this seetion of the state than has the Parks,
and the name is favorably known on account
of the active part which the owners have
borne in its varied interests. t Norman Parks
gives his political support to the Democratic
party, and is a popular member of the
Knights of Pythias and the Elks fraternities
of South Bend.
Edmund B. Byrkit. Since the early days
of St. Joseph's history the Byrkit family has
occupied a distinctive place, it having been
founded within the borders of the county by
Edmund Byrkit, who leaving his Ohio home
in a very early day took up his residence on
a farm on the St. Joseph river in St. Joseph
county. The various representatives of the
family have taken an active part in the de
velopment of this section of the state, aiding
in transforming its wild lands into rich
farms, and in other ways promoting the prog
ress and advancement which made a once wild
region the home of a contented, prosperous
people. George V. Byrkit, a son of this honored old
St. Joseph pioneer, was born in Penn town
ship of this county, and was here married to
Susan Boles, a native of Ohio. Although he
was a contractor, he purchased a farm near
Rolling Prairie, on which he remained but a
short time and then returned to Mishawaka
and resumed his contracting business, while
for a long period he was engaged in the mak
ing of wagon boxes for the Milburns. His
death occurred when he had reached the fifty-
sixth milestone on the journey of life, when
a noble and useful career was ended. During
his lifetime he had served his native county
in many positions of honor and trust, at one
time having been its representative in the

HISTQRY OF. ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

597

legislature, and he was well known through
out the community in which his entire life
had been passed. Mr. and Mrs. Byrkit had
but two children, a son and daughter, the
latter, Jennie, being the wife of G. H. Uhler
and a resident of Olympia, Washington.
Edmund B. Byrkit, the only representative
of this honored pioneer family in St. Joseph
county, was born on Rolling Prairie, Indiana,
November 26, 1863, and- was but six years of
age when his parents returned to Mishawaka,
where he was reared to years of maturity
and received his education. After entering
upon his business career he spent five years
in Tacoma, Washington, in the grocery busi
ness, and on his return .to Mishawaka was
married to Laura Stincheomb, a native of
Ohio and a daughter of W. R. and Catherine
(Elarton) Stincheomb. Two sons have
blessed this union, George W. and Harold
E., both of whom were born in Mishawaka.
For a time after his marriage Mr. Byrkit
was engaged in dairying on the old home
stead farm, but after about eight years de
voted to that occupation he platted the land
and in 1893 placed on the market the Byrkit 's
First Addition, in the same year erecting his
present commodious and pleasant residence
thereon, while two years later, in 1895, he
platted Byrkit 's Second Addition, on which
he has erected several houses. He owns in
all about one hundred and forty acres, the
most of which is within the corporate limits
of. Mishawaka and all in one body. Thus he
has been prominently identified with the de
velopment and advancement of Mishawaka,
and while his varied interests have brought
him success they have also advanced the gen
eral welfare. He is prominently associated
with the Mishawaka Trust and Savings Com
pany, of which he is one of the directors, and
also has many other interests in St. Joseph
county. But not only in business affairs is
he well known, for he is active and earnest
in his advocacy of all measures for the public
good, and is a stanch Democrat in his po
litical views. His fraternal relations are with
the Masonic order in Mishawaka, whose benefi
cent and helpful principles he manifests in
his every day life.
John Dixon.' For many years John Dixon
was a prominent figure in the business circles
and at the bar of Mishawaka. By a life of
uprightness, industry and honorable methods,
a life devoted to the support of whatever was
good and true, he won the admiration and

regard of a large circle of acquaintances, who
sincerely mourned his loss when he was called
upon to lay aside the burdens, joys and sor
rows which had fallen to his share, as to all,
in the journey of life. His birth occurred in
Gallipolis, Ohio, January 26, 1834, a son of
Hezekiah and Malinda Dixon. When but a
babe of one year he was brought by his pa
rents to St. Joseph county, Indiana, where
the father entered a farm of one hundred and
sixty acres in Penn township, and as the son
grew older he assisted in the work of the home
stead and attended the district schools near
his home. At the age of eighteen years he
began teaching school, following that profes
sion until 1855. In the following year, 1856,
he was united in marriage to Susan L. Laid-
law, a native of Penn township and the
daughter of John Laidlaw, who was born
near Edinburgh, Scotland, and was but a lit
tle lad of eight years when he accompanied
his parents on their emigration to America.
His father and mother died in New York,
and he journeyed on to St. Joseph county
when a young man, and was here married to
Sallie Shaw, a native of Ohio. They became
the parents of thirteen children, five sons and
eight daughters, Mrs. Dixon being the eldest
in order of birth. Mr. Laidlaw devoted his
business life to agricultural pursuits, and in
Penn township he cleared a large tract of
land and was numbered ampng the leading
farmers of the township. His life's labors
were ended in death when he had reached
the age of seventy-eight years, and thus ended
a busy and useful career. His entire posses
sions were the result of ceaseless labor and
unfaltering perseverance, for he began the
battle of life with but fifty cents to his credit,
but so honorable was his course and so per
sistent his efforts that at the time of his death
he was worth one hundred thousand dollars.
After his marriage Mr. Dixon farmed for
seven years in Minnesota, but in 1863 re
turned to St. Joseph county and entered the
mercantile business, becoming a member of
the A. M. Wing Company. In 1865 he en
gaged in the dry goods business in company
with his brother, but in the meantime he had
been pursuing the study of law, and in 1873
was admitted to practice in the courts of In
diana. It was in 1875, two years after his
admission to the bar, that he began the prac
tice of his chosen profession, which was con
tinued with such gratifying success until his
useful life was ended in death. He gave his

598

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

political support to the Republican party, and
as its representative was four times elected
to the office of justice of the peace. He was
at one time a member of the order of Odd
Fellows. He was a kind and loving husband,
sympathetic and responsive to the needs of
the poor and just and noble in all the rela
tions of life.
John W. Harbou, the present auditor of
St. Joseph county, has for many years been
an honored citizen of South Bend, actively
interested in all measures advanced for the-
good of the people, and has performed his full
share in the development and improvement
of the city. His birth occurred in Oneida
county, New York,, on the 24th of January,
1847, his parents being Fritz and Judith
(Fritcher) Harbou. The father was born in
Copenhagen, Denmark, but came to the
United States when a young man, and ever
afterward remained a loyal citizen of the
republic. John W. Harbou came to South Bend on
the 16th of October, 1873, and for two years
thereafter worked at his trade as a carpenter.
He then became deputy clerk of the circuit
court under George W. Mathews, continuing
two years through the remainder of his term,
for four years during the term of Edwin
Nicar, then under Judge Howard for a period
of six months, filling the position as deputy
clerk six and a- half years altogether. For
four years after that time he served as justice
of the peace, to which office he was duly
elected. On the expiration of his term of
office as justice of the peace he entered the
employ of the Oliver Chilled Plow Works,
serving in their office for fourteen years. On
the 1st of January, 1903, he became the audi
tor of St. Joseph county, while in 1906 he
was re-elected to that position, being the
present incumbent. He is a stanch Republi
can in his political affiliations, and fraternal
ly is a member of Lodge No. 45, F. & A. M.,
and the Chapter of the Masonic order, and
of the orders of Elks and Owls.
Marshall Hughes, who is now filling the
position of trustee of Portage township, was
born at Three Rivers, St. Joseph county,
Michigan, April 7, 1855. His parents, Jesse
and Louisa (Adkinson) Hughes, were natives
of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In
1854 they established their home in St. Jo
seph county, Michigan, where they were en
gaged in agricultural pursuits near Three
Rivers. During the last forty-one years of

his life the father resided at Schoolcraft,
Michigan, where his busy and useful life was
ended at the age of eighty years, but he is
still survived by his widow, who has reached
the ripe old age of eighty-four years. In
their family were twelve children, four of
whom are now living, three sons and one
daughter, namely : Frank, a resident of Lan
sing, Michigan; Dr. George A., of Cassopo-
lis, that state; Marshall, whose name intro
duces this review; and Emma, the wife of
Bela Crose, of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Marshall Hughes accompanied his parents
on their removal from Three Rivers to School
craft, being then about ten years of age, and
in the schools of the last named city he re
ceived the beginning of his school training,
this being later supplemented by attendance
at the Kalamazoo Business College. With an
excellent educational training to serve as the
foundation for his future life work Mr.
Hughes began learning the carpenter's trade,
which he followed as an occupation for twelve
years. On the expiration of that period he
embarked in the grocery business in Marcel-
lus, Michigan, in partnership with his brother
Frank, but after about seven years of a pros
perous business connection in that city their
store was destroyed by fire. Mr. Hughes then
turned his face westward and journeyed to
Wichita, Kansas, where he remained for two
years, and during the following four years
was engaged in carpenter work in the Da-
kotas. During his residence there he was
also for twelve and a half years lumber in
spector. It was in 1887 that he came to South
Bend, and during all the years which have
since come and gone he has labored earnestly
and energetically in its growth and upbuild
ing. He stalwartly upholds the principles of
the Republican party, and a number of years
ago was elected trustee of the water works
of this city, holding that position for one year
or until the old city charter abandoned the
office. In 1901 he was appointed to fill out
the unexpired term of James D. Reed as trus
tee of Portage township, to which position
he was elected in 1904, and is the present in
cumbent. In 1890 Mr. Hughes was married to Alice
Standerline, a native of St. Joseph county,
Michigan, and a daughter of George Stander
line. His fraternal affiliations are with the
Masonic order of South Bend, the Blue
Lodge, Chapter and Commandery; the Ben
evolent and Protective .Order of 'Elks, No.

John W. Harbou

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

599

235 ; the Knights of Pythias ; the South Bend
Eastern Star; and the Grange. In his social
and official relations he is popular and influ
ential, and his life is characterized by great
activity in the important things that concern
the interests of society and good government.
David B. J. Schafer. Honored and re
spected by all, David B. J. Schafer has been
for many years prominently identified with
the public affairs of St. Joseph county and
is now serving as its efficient sheriff. He has
long been an honored citizen of South Bend,
actively interested in all measures advanced
for the good of the people, and has performed
his full share in the development and improve
ment of the city. He was born in Adams
county, Indiana, February 21, 1859, a son of
Christian and Catherine (Abr) Schafer, both
natives of Germany. The father was there
born in 1810, and when nineteen years of age
crossed the ocean to the United States, living
for a number of years thereafter in Cleve
land, Ohio, when he removed to Adams coun
ty, Indiana. He was there actively engaged
in agricultural pursuits from that time until
his life's labors were ended in death, in 1886.
The mother came with her parents to the
United States when but three years old, the
family home being first established in Ohio,
where she resided until her marriage. This
worthy couple continued to travel life's jour
ney together for many years, and were num
bered with the honored and valued residents
of the localities in which their lots were cast.
David B. J. Schafer, whose name intro
duces this review^ obtained his early educa
tional training in the country schools, being
early inured to the work of the fields, and he
continued to reside on the farm until seven
teen years old, when he removed to Decatur,
Indiana, and obtained employment in a gro
cery store. After thus continuing for a few
years he entered a railroad office and learned
telegraphy, and in 1879 he came, to South
Bend and became an employe in the Stude
baker works, where he remained for two
years. In 1882 he entered the grocery busi
ness for himself, and for many years he has
been prominently identified with the varied
interests in St. Joseph county, in this time
becoming recognized as one of its most valued
and useful citizens. For four years Mr.
Schafer served as the mayor of South Bend,
for a time was census commissioner of the
thirteenth congressional district, and in 1894
was elected sheriff, the duties of which high

official position he is discharging at the pres
ent time. He is a Republican in his political
affiliations, and is one of the most trusty ad
visers of his party in the county. He has
filled the various offices to which he has been
called with credit and distinction, and as
sheriff has given the county one of the best
administrations in its history. He is a mem
ber of the Masonic order, Lodge No. 294, also
of the Chapter and Commandery, and has
membership relations also with the Knights
of Pythias, the Royal Arcanum and the Be
nevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Alex Staples is well known to the resi
dents of South Bend, for here he has passed
his entire life, and here his parents lived for
many decades. His birth occurred in the city
of South Bend on the 10th of June, 1840,
his father, Ralph Staples, a native of Maine,
having taken up his abode here as early as
1836. The latter 's father, Alex Staples, was
also a native of Maine, where he spent his
entire life, and was of English descent.
Ralph Staples, a contractor and carpenter,
erected many of the large buildings and fac
tories in South Bend, and was engaged in
that occupation from 1836 until 1860. In
1861 he went to Pike's Peak, Colorado, where
he was killed when about fifty years of age.
He had taken an active part in the improve
ment and upbuilding of St. Joseph county,
and his, name is on the roll of its honored
pioneers. He served as the postmaster of
South Bend and as sheriff of St. Joseph coun
ty, and was at all times a public-spirited and
loyal citizen. Mrs. Staples bore the maiden
name of Hannah Cromwell, and was a daugh
ter of Olen Cromwell, a native of Maine and
a descendant of Oliver Cromwell. Her death
occurred when she had reached the age of
eighty-seven years. In their family were
eleven children, nine sons and two daughters,
three of whom died when young.
Alex Staples, the third child and second
son in order of birth in the above family,
was reared and educated in South Bend, and
in his boyhood days learned the carpenter's
trade, while in 1862 he was engaged in the
house-moving business. In 1863 he enlisted
in the Twenty-first Indiana Battery as a cor
poral, serving with his command until the
close of the war in 1865, and during that
time participated in many of the historical
battles, including those of Nashville, Frank
lin and Columbia, Tennessee. Three of his
brothers also took part in the struggle, all of

600

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

whom returned home without having been
wounded, and all are yet living. After his
military Gareer had ended Mr. Staples re
turned to South Bend and resumed his oc
cupation of house moving, which he contin
ued for forty years, retiring from the active
cares of business life in 1905 to enjoy the
comforts which he had so richly earned.
In 1866 Mr. Staples was married to Selestia
Alexander, whose death occurred in 1883,
leaving two sons, Crawford E. and Guy D.,
both of South Bend. Mr. Staples afterward
married Elmira Lytel. For sixty-six years
he has made his home in South Bend, during
which time he has witnessed its growth from
a village of a few inhabitants to a population
of fifty thousand, faithfully performing his
full share in this wonderful transformation.
He has been a life-long Democrat, has served
as a member of the city council, as a commis
sioner of water works, as a member of the
board of public works, for over forty years
has been a member of the fire department,
and is one of the three charter members of
Auten Post, G. A. R. His religious connec
tion is with the Presbyterian church.
Elias Rupel. Throughout his entire life
Elias Rupel has been a resident of St. Joseph
county, for he is one of its native sons, his
birth occurring in Center township on the
23d of February, 1835, and throughout the
subsequent years he has been identified with
many of the interests that have contributed
to its substantial development and improve
ment. His sterling characteristics have won
him the confidence of his fellow townsmen,
and now, in the evening of life, his pathway
is brightened by the veneration and respect
which ever follow an upright career. In the
days when St. Joseph county was a wilder
ness the parents, Peter and Christena (Schu-
maker) Rupel, became identified with its in
terests, and a more complete account of their
history will be found in the sketch of their
son Bazel elsewhere in this work.
Elias Rupel received his educational train
ing in the primitive schools of Center town
ship, for they were indeed primitive in those
early days, and when a small boy he began
assisting his widowed mother in the mainte
nance of her large family of children, remain
ing with her until she was called to her final
rest. On January 29, 1885, he was married
to Mary A. Lock, the widow of Wesley Bar
rett, and in the same year located in his pleas
ant home in South Bend, at 1421 South Michi

gan street. She died February 15, 1903.
Since age conferred upon him the right of
franchise he has supported the principles of
the Democracy, and for four years served as
the trustee of Center township, while for a
time he was treasurer and clerk of Mylertown,
which he assisted in organizing. He also as
sisted in the organization of the Grange, being
now one of its charter members and an active
worker in its ranks. No one in the communi
ty enjoys a better reputation for integrity
of word or deed, and when a man stands high
in the estimation of the people who have
known him during his entire life no greater
testimonial to his worth can be given.
William Hughes Stull. No death caused
more profound sorrow throughout the county
than did the passing away of this venerable
citizen, William Hughes Stull, for by long
years of an honorable, upright life and kindly
nature he had grown into the affections of
his fellow citizens to a marked degree.- He
was born on a farm near North Vernon, Jen
nings county, Indiana, February 28, 1826, his
parents being Henry and Rebecca (Hughes)
Stull, the former a native of Virginia and
the latter of South Carolina. They were num
bered among the earliest pioneers of St. Jo
seph county, for it was during the early year
of 1830 that they established their home
within its borders, eventually becoming num
bered among its leading citizens. In their
family were eleven children, nine of whom,
three sons and six daughters, grew to years
of maturity, and all were born in Indiana,
while six of the number claimed St. Joseph
county as the place of their nativity. The
family journeyed hither from Jennings coun
ty, Indiana, in 1830, and in the following
year the father entered a farm from the gov
ernment, going on horseback to Ft. Wayne
to have the deed signed by Andrew Jackson.
As the years grew apace he cleared this farm,
placed the fields under an excellent state of
cultivation, and became one of the leading
agriculturists of Portage township. In his
political affiliations he was an old-line Whig,
and was a prominent factor in the early his
tory of St. Joseph county.
Remaining on the old homestead farm un
til twenty-one years of age, William H. Stull
then began the battle of life for himself, his
first employment being as a carpenter, and
after following that occupation for about
four years he returned to the work of the
farm, starting with a small place of eighty

HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

601

acres and gradually adding to his possessions
until he was the owner of one hundred and
forty acres, all of which he had cleared and
placed under an excellent state of cultiva
tion. St. Joseph county claimed him among
her leading and representative citizens, and
both in business and social circles he was well
known and honored.
In 1850 Mr. Stull was united in marriage
to Saphronia Day, who became the mother of
two daughters, and died in 1862. In 1864
Mr. Stull was again married, Miss Nora
Rohrer then -becoming his wife. She was
born in Center township, St. Joseph county,
Indiana, December 9, 1843, the daughter of
John Rohrer, who was born in Ohio, but in
1830 came to St. Joseph county with his pa
rents, where they entered land from the gov
ernment. Their son John was married in this
county to Charlotte Pickett, and Mrs. Stull
is their only child. Mr. Rohrer followed the
tilling of the soil as a life occupation, and
was successful in his chosen calling, his name
being well known throughout the county as a

leading agriculturist. Throughout the period
• of his majority Mr. Stull was actively inter
ested in all measures advanced for the good
of the people, and was a zealous worker in
the ranks of the Democratic party. In 1886
he was elected to represent his district in the
state legislature, wherein he won the com
mendation of all concerned and when he was
again placed in nomination he was elected
with little opposition, and continued to fill
the duties of that high and important posi
tion for three terms. He was also a valued
member of the Grange. The death of this
honored' old St. Joseph pioneer occurred in
1899, leaving a wife and three daughters.
His loss was deeply mourned throughout the
community, and his memory is enshrined in
the hearts of his old friends and associates,
to whose interests he was ever faithful. Since
her husband's death Mrs. Stull has erected a
pleasant home on St. Joseph street, where
she is spending the declining years of her
beautiful and useful life surrounded by life
long friends and associates.

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