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BIOGRAPHIES OF NOTABLE RESIDENTS OF LAKE COUNTY, INDIANA
From the "Encyclopedia of Genealogy and Biography of Lake County, Indiana" from 1834-1904
Transcribed by K. Torp and B. Ziegenmeyer
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Frank Hess, treasurer of the city of Hammond and otherwise prominent in the public and business life of his city and county, is a native son of Lake county and has lived here all his life, for over half a century. For fifteen years he has taken a leading part in the official matters of his county, has been the incumbent of some place of trust during this time, and in whatever relation he has met his fellow-citizens has won their entire confidence and esteem.
Mr. Hess was born in North township, Lake county, Indiana, November 17, 1853, being the only son and child of Joseph and Mary Ann (Sackley) Hess. His mother was a native of Canada and a daughter of William Sackley. She died in 1860, when Frank was seven years old. Joseph Hess was a native of France, and was one of three sons and one daughter, children of a life-long resident of France. Joseph Hess was a baker by trade. He came to America about 1846, and worked at his trade in Syracuse, New-York, for a time, and in 1848 moved west to Chicago. About 1852 he settled at West Point, or Gibson station, in Lake county, Indiana, having come to North township, Lake county, in 1850. That place was then the western end of the Michigan Central line of railroad, passengers being carried by stage from there into Chicago. He conducted an eating house there for a short time, and then moved to the place which was named in his honor, Hessville. He was in the cattle and stock business there for a time, and then conducted a general store. He held the office of trustee of North township for twenty-two years, and was also postmaster of Hessville for nearly forty years, his second wife having the place after his death. He died in August, 1895, Past seventy-one years of age. He was recognized as one of the most prominent citizens of that part of Lake county, and in many ways was identified with the progress and development of the community. He was a devoted member of the Catholic church. He married for his second wife Elizabeth Natke, and they had eleven children, nine of whom are now living: Edward; Alice, deceased, who was the wife of Fred Scheuneman, also deceased; George; William; Julius; Gustave, deceased; Albert; Joseph; Emma, who was the second wife of Fred Scheuneman, and after his death married William Bundy; John, and Lydia.
Mr. Frank Hess was reared on a farm in Lake county, and secured his education by attendance at the district schools. He remained with his father and assisted in his business until he was married at the age of twenty-six. He early took a prominent part in the public affairs of his township, and served as assessor of North township for thirteen years. He was city councilman of Hammond for three years, was city clerk for four years, and in 1892 was elected city treasurer, which position he has held and whose responsible duties he has discharged most faithfully to the present time. He has always been an advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party. He is vice-president and also a director of the Lake County Trust and Savings Bank. He built his good home at 443 North Hohman street in 1886, and besides has other business interests and property in the city and county.
Mr. Hess married, May 24, 1879, Miss Emma Haselbach, a daughter of August and Mary (Grabo) Haselbach. Ten children were born of their union, but all died when young. Mrs. Hess died February 12, 1894. On October 10, 1895, Mr. Hess married Miss Martha Karsten, a daughter of John and Mary Karsten. They have one daughter, Emma C. Mrs. Hess is a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. and Mrs. Hess have an adopted daughter, Lydia Hess, born May 13, 1895.
John P. Schaefer, of Section 33, St. John township, is a life-long resident of Lake county, and for many years has been one of its prominent farmers and representative citizens. He has been frugal, industrious and a good manager all through his career, and at the prime of his years has acquired a competence in a fine landed estate. He farms the small place where he resides, and rents out most of his other property. He has also identified himself with various community interests, and as an all-round successful man is a fine example of sterling American citizenship.
Mr. Schaefer was born in Center township of Lake county, on October 9, 1854. His father, Jacob Schaefer, a native of Germany, is counted among the early settlers of Lake county, and lived to be eighty-three years old, having spent his life as a farmer. His wife was Maggie Willem. also a native of Germany, and she died at about the age of sixty-five years. There were nine children in the family and all of them reached manhood and womanhood.
Mr. John P. Schaefer was the youngest of the family. He was nine years old when the family moved over into St. John township, and he was reared and received most of his education here. He remained at home and assisted his father in the cultivation of the farm until the latter's death, and he has continued farming to the present, gradually adding to his estate interests as he was prospered. He now owns four hundred acres where the old homestead is situated, and seventy-three acres where his present residence is located. He does general farming and stock-raising. He located on his present farm in 1901, having lived in section 35 previous thereto, and gives most of his own labors and attention to the seventy-three acres at his home, renting nearly all the rest of his land.
Mr. Schaefer is a Democrat as far as concerns national politics, but in local affairs tries to vote for the best man. regardless of what party tag he bears. He has church membership with the St. John's Catholic church. He was married in 1883 to Miss Susan Jordan, who was born in St. John township, Lake county, October 5. 1864. a daughter of John A. and Johanna (Klassen) Jordan, old settlers of Lake county. Mr. and Mrs. Schaefer have six children: Maggie, Edward, Carrie, Zelie, Mary and John A.
Floyd M. Pierce is the eldest child of Marion F. and Maggie (Randolph) Pierce, whose biographies as prominent citizens of Lake county are given on other pages of this history. The son has himself found a broad field of usefulness in his native county, and Ross township has especial reason to be proud and grateful for his sterling and public-spirited citizenship and his loyalty to all that concerns the general welfare. Both now and in later years his work for the educational interests of the township will be cherished and held up as one of his most important achievements. As trustee of the township he has given a far more than ordinary or perfunctory attention to the practical matters of education, and every child of school age is receiving more or less benefit from the enlarged educational opportunities which have been so largely the result of his endeavor and ambition along these lines.
This leading young business man and public official of Ross township was born in the township and county of his present residence, on May 25, 1873. He was educated in the public schools and the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, after which he taught school for two years, from which experience his later work for the schools has received the greater stamp of practicality and effective direction. He was also appointed to the office of postmaster of Merrillville for a term of four years, and at the present time is successfully engaged in the coal business at this town.
Politically Mr. Pierce follows his father in adhering stanchly to Democratic principles. He was elected to the office of trustee of Ross township in 1900, and still holds that important office. During his term he has had the oversight of the construction of three schoolhouses and has otherwise been a leader in local affairs. He was directly concerned with the erection of the beautiful high school building at Merrillville, which is an honor to the town, the township and county, and shows how thoroughly this section of northwestern Indiana is living up to the reputation for high educational ideals established for the entire state of Indiana. The high school is seventy-four feet front and thirty-six feet wide, has two stories and a seven-foot basement, is built of stone and pressed brick, is heated by two furnaces, contains four large rooms, and is finished throughout after the most modern style of school architecture and educational equipments. The total cost of this permanent and model structure was seven thousand dollars, and its durability and thoroughness of construction are its chief points of economy, and it is altogether a credit to the taxpayers of the community. The rooms are seated with desks of the most approved and hygienic pattern, there are genuine slate blackboards, speaking tubes, and many other points of equipment which would astonish the old-time educator of half a century ago. In 1903 the Merrillville high school held an exhibition of the work done by the pupils of the manual training department, and the products of their youthful skill and handiwork were of such high grade that the photos of the different articles have been sent to St. Louis and are now on exhibition there at the World's Fair. Prior to the erection of the high school building the school contained only eight grades, but since Mr. Pierce's administration the full twelve grades have been instituted and now afford the children of Ross township unequalled opportunities for public school education. Another act of his administration has been the discontinuing of three small rural schools and their consolidation with the central school, the pupils being transported at the public expense to the school daily, and this has been done with de-creased expenditure for maintenance and with much increased efficiency in the character of work accomplished.
Mr. Pierce has fraternal affiliations with the Masonic lodge No. 551 and with Hobart Tent No. 65 of the Knights of the Maccabees. He was married, February 16, 1895, to Miss Lillie M. Niksch, and they have three children, Vida, Myra and the baby. Vida is now in the second grade of her school work. Mrs. Pierce was born January 25, 1876, and was reared in this county and educated in the common schools. Her father passed away March 2, 1903, at the age of seventy-seven, but her mother is still living at the age of seventy-two.
Joseph Patton, who for some years has been living retired from active life at Crown Point, is a pioneer farmer and settler of Lake county, with over fifty years of continuous residence to his credit. During most of this long period he has made farming his vocation, and still retains the farm on which he laid the basis of his prosperity. He has also given time and energy to the promotion of the general welfare of his community, and now at the age of three score and ten ranks among the men of influence and ability and excellent personal character and reputation in this part of Lake county.
Mr. Patton was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, October 17, 1834. His father, John H. Patton, was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and came to Lake county in 1852 from Trumbull county, Ohio, locating and improving a farm in Winfield township, where he died in 1865 at the age of sixty-five years. He married Eliza Jane Dixon, who was born in Ireland and came to America when about fourteen years old, and who died at the age of sixty-seven years. They were the parents of sixteen children, and all of these grew up and married (except the oldest, who never married) and lived to be past thirty-five years of age. Some of them still live, being from seventy to eighty years old.
Mr. Joseph Patton, the seventh son and twelfth child, was reared in Trumbull county, Ohio, up to his eighteenth year, receiving most of his education in the old-time log schoolhouse, and in 1852 he accompanied his parents to Lake county. That was an early year in the history of Lake county, and there were but three stores in Crown Point at the time. In 1855, after he had married, he located on land of his own in Winfield township, where he cleared and improved a good farmstead of one hundred and sixty acres, building the houses and barns and completing the last of the important improvements in 1882. This is one of the model places of the township, and he still owns it and finds it a steady source of revenue, although in 1882 he retired from its active and personal management and moved into Crown Point, where he also has a fine property. He deserves the comforts of retired life, and as one of the old settlers has reaped his share of the profits accruing to those who place themselves in the van of progress and help develop a new country for the uses of civilization.
He has also been identified with the public life of Lake county, and is one of the life-long and influential Republicans of the county. During the Civil war he enlisted and served as a member of Company E, One Hundred and Fifty-first Indiana Infantry, his record to the end of the war having been most creditable. He is now a member of the John Wheeler Post, G. A. R., at Crown Point. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for forty-five years, and has filled all the offices and is devoted to its work.
He was trustee for about twenty years and is now class leader and also treasurer. He has handled all the money for the erection of the church at Crown Point, and has contributed much of his own to the various departments of church work.
Mr. Patton married, in 1854, Miss Phebe Folsom, who was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, and who became the mother of two daughters: Olive, the wife of William Pardington, of Chicago; and Ida May, the widow of Lincoln S. Blakman. In 1867 Mr. Patton married his present wife, Mrs. Eliza (Foster) Patton, who also had two daughters: Hattie, who died at the age of one and a half years; and Jennie, the wife of Edward Muzzall, and they have four children.
Reuben Hipsley, retired farmer and ex-county commissioner, residing at Palmer, Winfield township, has lived in Lake county for over fifty years, and most of that time has been spent in fanning. He retired a few years ago and moved into Palmer, but still supervises his farming operations and takes active part in business affairs. His career throughout has been one of integrity and upright dealings, and besides being successful in his life work he has found time to devote to public affairs and has been honored with the most important county office.
Mr. Hipsley was born in Knox county, Ohio, August 22, 1846. His grandfather, Joshua Hipsley, was born in Maryland, of German descent, followed for a life occupation farming, and was one of the pioneers of Knox county, Ohio. Jonathan Lewis Hipsley, the father of Reuben, was born twenty miles from Baltimore, Maryland, March 4, 1820, and died January 2, 1895. At the age of fourteen he accompanied his parents to Knox county, Ohio, and was reared and lived there until 1853, when he located in Lake county, Indiana, and bought and improved a farm of one hundred acres in Winfield township, on which he was living at the time of his death. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, was a stanch Whig during the existence of that party, and afterward became an equally ardent Republican. He married Eliza Phillips, who was born in Jefferson county. Ohio, was reared in Knox county of the same state, and now makes her home at Mt. Vernon, Ohio. She is eighty years old, having been born August 1, 1824. Her father was Reuben Phillips, probably born in Pennsylvania.
Jonathan Hipsley and his wife had five children: John, deceased; Reuben ; Charles, of Broken Bow, Nebraska; Sarah, wife of J. J. Stoffer, of Knox county, Ohio; and Phebe, deceased.
Mr. Reuben Hipsley was about six years old when he moved with the family from Knox county, Ohio, to Lake county, so that his schooling was received in this county. He remained at home and assisted his father until his marriage, in 1870, and he then located in Winfield township on a farm that he still owns. He was engaged in farming there until 1900, when he built a residence in Palmer and moved to town. He has one of the nicest residences in this part of the county. He owns about three hundred acres of land, and still does farming on one hundred acres comprising the home place.
Mr. Hipsley has been a life-long Republican and voted for Grant, and has done much local work for the party. He was elected to the office of county commissioner in 1894 and was re-elected in 1898, so that he was in office for six years altogether. All the gravel roads of the county, costing in the aggregate six hundred thousand dollars, were constructed during his administration. He is a stockholder in the Commercial Bank of Crown Point. He affiliates with the Masonic Lodge No. 502 at Hebron.
Mr. Hipsley married, December 18, 1870, Miss Marilda Dittrick, who was born in Lapeer county, Michigan, October 12, 1849, a daughter of Walton and Sarah (Wells) Dittrick. Six children have been born to them: Carrie D., deceased; Alice A., deceased; Sherman J., deceased; Ida F., at home; and Lucile M. and Rillia Blanche. Ida was educated in the Conservatory of Music at Valparaiso. Lucile is in the eighth grade, Blanche in the sixth. Mrs. Hipsley was four years of age when she came with her parents to Marshall county, Indiana, and was reared and educated in that county. Her parents are both deceased, and she is the only survivor. Mr. and Mrs. Hipsley have in their possession an old parchment deed dated August 1, 1844, and executed under the hand of President John Tyler. This is the eleventh deed of the kind found in the county of Lake.
Charles Keilmann of St. John township is one of the oldest living members of a family which has been prominently identified with the agricultural and business affairs of Lake county since pioneer times. He has himself always followed farming, and is still residing on and operating a farm which he located upon after his marriage, over a half century ago. He has been a man of industry and good business habits, has now, at the age of seventy-five, a successful career behind him and much to show for his past efforts, and at all times and in all circumstances has enjoyed the respect and high esteem of his friends and neighbors.
Mr. Keilmann was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, August 29, 1829, being the fourth child of Henry and Elizabeth Keilmann, who in 1845 left their native fatherland and came to Lake county, Indiana, becoming early settlers in this portion of northern Indiana. Charles was about sixteen years old when he came to this county. He was reared to farm work, and remained at home and assisted his father until several years after he was grown. He was married in 1852, and in the same year located on his present farm. He now owns one hundred and twenty acres, and has had a long and continued record of success in his operations at farming. He is well known throughout the county, and is a truly representative citizen. He is a Democrat in politics, and served as road commissioner for three terms. He and his family are members of the Catholic church in St. John.
In 1852 Mr. Keilmann married Miss Anna Mary Orr, who was born in Germany and was a young girl when she came to Lake county. She died in 1884, having been the mother of twelve children, ten of whom are living: George, deceased; Susanna, wife of Adam Bohling; Frank, of Chicago Heights, Illinois; Phillip, of Nebraska; Henry, of Lowell, Indiana; Leonard, of Hammond; Michael, who lives at home and married May Dahlkamp; Charles, of Dyer, Lake county; John, who died aged five years; Mary, wife of Jacob Spanier, of St. John; Peter, of Hammond; and Jacob, of Chicago Heights. All these children were born and reared in St. John township.
Leonard Keilman, agriculturist, merchant and general business man of Dyer, St. John township, is the foremost man of affairs in this town, and has been identified with its commercial prosperity and general development for over forty-five years. He belongs to the family which is perhaps the most prominent in the industrial and commercial history of St. John township, and its members have played their various parts in Lake county for the past sixty years, from the primitive pioneer times to the progressive present. Mr. Keilman has numerous interests, from those purely agricultural to financiering and banking, and throughout his career he has been to a high degree successful and at the same time has used his influence and efforts for the advancement of the community along lines of material, social and intellectual good.
As were the rest of the family, he was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, on May 4, 1833, being the youngest of the seven children of Henry and Elizabeth Keilman, further mention of which worthy pioneer couple will be found in the sketches of the various other members of the family appearing in this work. When Leonard was seven years old the family came to America, and for a little more than four years lived in Portage county, Ohio, coming to Lake county in 1844. He was between eleven and twelve years of age when he arrived in this county, and for several years more attended the early schools of the county. He remained at home with his parents until twenty years of age, and then started out for himself by engaging in farming. In 1854 he was married, and then at once located on the farm where he has ever since made his home, and where he continued his farm operations exclusively for several years. In 1858 he branched out into the mercantile enterprises which have since occupied so much of his attention. He established a store in Dyer and at the same time added- a lumber yard. About 1860 he began the buying and shipping of hay and grain, and later took up the milling business at Lowell, where he still owns the mill and also the lumber and grain yards and elevators. In 1903 he was one of the organizers of the First National Bank at Dyer, and is one of its stockholders. His son Henry is its president and a director, and John L. Keilman is also a director. Henry Batterman is a director and vice-president. William F. Keilman and John A. Kimmet are the other directors, and Augustus Stumel is cashier. The capital stock is twenty-five thousand dollars, and it is already one of the important financial institutions of this part of the county. Besides all the enterprises just mentioned, Mr. Keilman owns about seven hundred acres of Lake county land. He has taken a good citizen's part in the public affairs of his community, and in national affairs has always voted the Democratic ticket. He and his family are members of the Catholic church.
In 1854 Mr. Keilman married Miss Lena Austgen, who was born in Germany and came to America when about twelve years old, locating with her family in Lake county during the same year. Mr. and Mrs. Keilman are the parents of eight children : Henry, who is a farmer and also mentioned in connection with the bank; Margaret, wife of J. A. Kimmet, of Lowell: Catherine, Mary, both single; Frank, a farmer; Ellen, a sister in St. Joseph's order; John L., a merchant and in partnership with his father; and Lizzie, single. All the children were born in Dyer.
Prominent among the energetic and capable young men of Lake county is numbered Harold H. Wheeler, who is now clerk of the circuit court and a resident of Crown Point. This is his native city, his birth having occurred on the 28th of December, 1871. He is the great-grandson of Solon Robinson, who was the first county clerk of Lake county and was the founder of Crown Point. He became one of the very earliest settlers of this portion of the state, locating here when much of the land was still in its primitive condition, when the forests were uncut, the prairies uncultivated.
John J. Wheeler, the father of our subject, is represented elsewhere in this work. In his family were four children, of whom Harold H. Wheeler is the eldest son. The latter was educated in the high school of Crown Point and immediately after leaving school he accepted the position of deputy clerk under George I. Maillet, under whom he served for three years. He was then deputy clerk for George M. Eder for eight years and at the end of that time was nominated without opposition at the Republican primaries for the position of clerk of the circuit court, in 1900. His election followed and he discharged the duties so acceptably that in 1902 he was re-nominated, and he now has five years to serve. His second term began in January, 1904. His connection with the office has been of long duration, so that he is thoroughly familiar with the business transactions therein and he has instituted many reforms and improvements, which have been of value in the system of conducting the work of the office of the clerk of the circuit court.
Mr. Wheeler is identified with several fraternal organizations. He belongs to the Independent Order of Foresters, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias fraternity and is a prominent Mason, always true and loyal to the teachings of the craft. He belongs to the blue lodge, chapter, council and commandery, also to the lodge of Perfection of the Rose Croix and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is likewise identified with the Mystic Shrine, and is very active in the work of the fraternity, while in his life he exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft.
In 1891 he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Ward, a daughter of Henry R. Ward, and they have one son, John Ward Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler has a very wide acquaintance throughout the county in which his entire life has been passed, and his election to office was a tribute to his personal worth as well as to his business ability.
William H. Vansciver, a retired farmer residing in Crown Point, was horn at Beverly, New Jersey, December 25, 1852, and is of Holland lineage. His paternal grandfather was William Vansciver, his father, Barnet Vansciver. The latter was a native of New Jersey, acquired his education in the schools of that state and was married there to Miss Anna Homer, who was born and reared in Pennsylvania. Their only child, William H. Vansciver, was a year old when in 1853 they came to Lake county, Indiana, settling on a farm in Winfield township, where the father carried on agricultural pursuits until sixty-eight years of age, when his life's labors were ended in death.
Upon the old family homestead William H. Vansciver spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and his education was acquired in the common schools. As soon as old enough he assisted in the work of field and meadow, and later he took charge of the home farm, continuing its cultivation and management for many years. In fact, throughout his entire business career he has carried on agricultural pursuits, and he is now the owner of two hundred and twenty-eight acres of valuable land in Winfield township, which he rents, this bringing to him a good income. He is now practically living retired from active business life, although occasionally he assists in selling agricultural implements.
Mr. Vansciver was united in marriage to Miss Kate Patton, who was born in Ohio and was a daughter of James Patton. She was reared in Lake county, Indiana, and by this marriage there were four children, but two died in early life. The others are Delia and Dana. Both Mr. and Mrs. Vansciver are well known in this county and have a large circle of warm friends. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, has taken an active interest in political work in his locality and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He served as township trustee of Winfield township for nine years, and he has always been interested in public progress and improvement. He is identified with the Masonic lodge and with the Foresters at Crown Point, and he con-tributes generously to different churches, although he is not identified with any denomination through membership relations. His life has been quietly passed, yet it contains many elements that are well worthy of emulation, for he has always been active and honorable in business, loyal in citizenship and faithful in friendship.
David A. Fisher, of Section 29, Eagle Creek township, has been among the leading farmers of this part of Lake county for the past twenty years, and carries on his operations on an unusually extensive scale. He is a native son of the county and township, and most of the years of a very busy and successful business career have been spent here. Besides farming, he has at various times branched out into commercial lines, where he has likewise been prosperous, and in citizenship and matters of community interest he performs his part in a public-spirited and generous manner.
Mr. Fisher was born in Eagle Creek township, Lake county, March 13, 1855, and was reared and educated in the county. From the public schools he went to Valparaiso and took a course in the Northern Indiana Normal School. For two years he was engaged in the hardware and implement business at Hebron, during 1882-83. In 1884 he returned to the farm, where he has found his pleasantest and most profitable scene of work. He has done general farming and stock-raising, and has the management of five hundred and ninety-five acres, with four men in his employ. During 1902 and 1903 he was once more in the implement business, selling binders, mowers and other farm machinery manufactured by the Piano Company. For some months in 1879-80 he was in Colorado for his health, and during the winter was engaged in freighting from Colorado Springs and Leadville, and he also
spent a part of the same winter in New Mexico. Mr. Fisher is one of the influential Republicans in local affairs, and served his township as trustee from 1886 to 1890. He affiliates with the Masonic lodge No. 502 at Hebron and the Independent Order of Foresters at Hebron.
In 1876 Mr. Fisher married Miss Elizabeth Bliss, and for their wedding journey they attended the Centennial at Philadelphia. Mrs. Fisher was born in New York state and was reared in Pulaski county, Indiana. They are the parents of two sons: Kenneth William and Winford B. Kenneth has received his diploma from the public schools in the class of 1902 and will take an extended course in schools of higher instruction. Winford married, June 11, 1903, Miss Lilly B. Volkee, of Eagle Creek township.
August Koehle, proprietor of the Spring Hill resort at St. John, was born in Germany on the 3d of October, 1853, and came to America in 1871, being at that time eighteen years of age. He settled first in Chicago, where he was employed by a brewing company, remaining in that city for about five years or until 1876, when he went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There he visited the Centennial Exposition and later returned to Chicago, but the same year came to Lake county, settling first at Crown Point. There he worked for the Crown Point Brewing Company and was made foreman of the plant, for his previous experience and comprehensive knowledge of the business well qualified him for this position, which he filled in an acceptable manner for about four years. On the expiration of that period, with the money which he had saved from his earnings, he established a saloon in Crown Point, conducting it for six months. On the expiration of that period he came to St. John, where he erected a building and carried on a saloon for some time. Later, however, he sold out and established his present resort called the Spring Hill Grove. This is a summer resort, contains fine buildings and all modern equipments to promote the pleasure of the general public. Everything is in first-class condition and the place was built at a great expense. He has good bowling alleys here and has a resort which is well patronized and brings to him a good financial return upon his investment.
On the 13th of June, 1878, Mr. Koehle was united in marriage to Miss Anna Smith, and to them has been born a son, William. In his political affiliations Mr. Koehle is a Democrat, active in support of the party, and he now has charge of the stone roads in St. John township. He is well known in this part of the county and is deeply interested in its welfare and substantial upbuilding. He and his family are members of the Catholic church of St. John. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in America, for here he has found the business opportunities which he sought, and through close application, energy and untiring effort he has passed from humble surroundings and has become one of the well-to-do citizens of his community.
Herbert E. Jones, who is serving for the third term as city clerk of East Chicago, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on the 23d of July, 1866, his parents being John T. and Mary (Jones) Jones, both of whom were natives of Wales. The paternal grandfather, John Jones, was also born in Wales, was an iron worker by trade and coming to America was identified with the iron industry of Pennsylvania. He died in Pittsburg, that state, when more than eighty years of age. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Jones, also a native of Wales, spent his entire life in that little rock-ribbed country, dying in middle life. He had made fanning his occupation. His widow married again, becoming the wife of a minister.
John T. Jones followed in the business footsteps of his father and became an iron worker. He emigrated to America about 1851 and located in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, making his home in that state until 1866, when he went to Knoxville, Tennessee, continuing to reside there and in the neighborhood of Chattanooga until 1873, when he removed to Portland, Maine. About seven years were passed in that city, at the expiration of which period he took up his abode in Chicago, Illinois, where he continued until 1889, when he removed to East Chicago. Here he spent his remaining days, passing away in 1897, when seventy-one years of age. His wife had departed this life about six months before, in July, 1896, at the age of sixty-nine years. They were members of the Congregational church. Their family numbered ten children, five sons and five daughters, of whom four are now living: John A., a resident of East Chicago; Mary, the wife of John P. Hickman, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Herbert E., of East Chicago; Daniel, who is also living in East Chicago.
In taking up the personal history of Herbert E. Jones we present to our readers the life record of one who is now widely and favorably known in East Chicago. Born soon after the removal of his parents to Knoxville, Tennessee, he spent the first seven years of his life in that state and then accompanied his parents to Portland. Maine. His education was acquired in the public schools. When he was thirteen years of age he began to earn his own living by working in a rolling mill, thus following the occupation which had been the life labor of his ancestors through several generations. He continued in that pursuit for a number of years, and in the meantime had become a resident, first of Chicago and then of East Chicago. Finally, however, he abandoned the iron industry to accept the position of city clerk, in 1898, and by popular franchise he has been continued in the office for three terms. His re-elections are certainly indicative of his methodical, systematic and accurate work in the office and of his unfaltering fidelity to duty. In March, 1904, he was nominated for the office of recorder of Lake county.
On the 1st of September, 1896, occurred the marriage of Mr. Jones and Miss Mary Jenkins, a daughter of Richard and Mary Jenkins, and they are now the parents of two children - Agnes and Herbert. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are consistent members of the Congregational church. They reside at 4222 Magoun avenue, where he has recently erected a comfortable home. Fraternally he is connected with East Chicago Lodge No. 595, F. & A. M., was formerly its master and is now filling the position of secretary. He also belongs to East Chicago Lodge No. 677, I. O. O: F., to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, his study of the questions and issues of the day and of the attitude of the two parties respecting these leading him to give a loyal support to Republican principles, and it was upon the ticket of that party that he has been three times chosen to the position of city clerk.
Frederick Lash, the popular and successful proprietor of the Erie Hotel and Restaurant at Hammond, Indiana, has been numbered among the business men of this city since 1890. He has lived in the state of Indiana since the late sixties, taking up his residence here after a brilliant record as a soldier in both the volunteer and regular forces of the United States, and in his private career since that time he has been as successful, as enterprising and public-spirited as when he followed the flag of the nation. He has a permanent place in the regard of the citizens of Hammond, and has never been known to shirk the responsibilities of private, social or public life.
Mr. Lash was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, December 19, 1843, being the only son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Hummel) Lash, natives of Germany. His paternal grandfather, John Lash, was a native of Germany, was a baker by trade and also served in the regular army, and died in that country at the age of ninety-five years, having been the father of a good-sized family, mostly sons. Benjamin Lash was also a baker by trade, and followed that pursuit after emigrating to America and taking up his residence in Berks county, Pennsylvania. He died there in 1849, aged seventy-five years. His wife's father Hummel died in Germany, and that part of the family history is lost.
Mr. Frederick Lash was reared in Berks county, Pennsylvania, on a farm, and the school which he remembers having attended was in a log cabin. He was at home until the summons of war went out through the land, and as a boy of about seventeen he enlisted, in 1861, in the First New York Artillery. He was in the conflict from almost the very beginning to the end, and entered as a private and was gradually promoted to the captaincy of his company, being of that rank at the close of the war. He was in the battles of Lookout Mountain, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, Missionary Ridge and the Wilderness, and was all through the Atlanta campaign. He was slightly wounded at Vicksburg. After the war he served three years in the regular army, being stationed most of the time in the eastern states, principally in New York.
Following his army service, he came to Indiana and engaged in the restaurant business in Lafayette for some years. He conducted a restaurant, bakery and confectionery establishment at Attica, Indiana, until 1890, and in that year came to Hammond, where he has been in the restaurant and hotel business ever since, for the past twelve years having had charge of the Erie Hotel, one of the most popular public houses of the city, owing all its prosperity to the excellent management of Mr. Lash.
Mr. Lash was married in March, 1869, to Miss Elizabeth Lahr, a daughter of Ulrich and Julia Lahr. There were two children of this union, William and Frederick, the former being a clerk in Hammond and a married man, while the latter is single. Mrs. Elizabeth Lash died April 8, 1899. On May 2, 1900, Mr. Lash married Miss Elizabeth Mclntyre, a daughter of James P. and Eliza Jane (Forrest) Mclntyre. Mr. and Mrs. Nash are Episcopalians in faith, although not identified with any church. He is a Republican in politics, and is alderman from the Third ward. He affiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569, F. & A. M., with Hammond Chapter, R. A. M., and Bethlehem Temple of the Mystic Shrine in Chicago, and he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star. He also belongs to Moltke Lodge, I. O. O. F., and to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a member of the William H. Calkins Post No. 549, G. A. R. For ten years he was commander of the Indiana State Guard, and was elected colonel of the Lake County Brigade, G. A. R, in 1900. He is the owner of several houses and lots in Hammond, and his material prosperity has come to him as the results of his own efforts. He is a self-made man, and well deserves the place of esteem which he has gained by a life of endeavor.
Mrs. Lash's grandfather, James Mclntyre, was of Irish lineage, but was born in the north of Scotland. He married Mary Booth, of pure English stock, and they had eleven children. He came to America in young manhood and settled in Vermont, where he died at the age of seventy-three years. His father, also named James, died in Ireland. Mary (Booth) Mclntyre died in Vermont at the age of seventy years.
The parents of Mrs. Lash were natives of Vermont, and lived at St. Albans Bay. They had two children: Elizabeth and Edgar Forrest Mclntyre. James P. Mclntyre, her father, was a molder by trade, and had a business of his own. He settled in Jackson, Michigan, at an early day, and thence moved to Athens, and from there to Three Rivers, in the same state, where he had a large plow factory. He returned to Vermont, but later came to Baldwin, Wisconsin, and from there to Stillwater, and thence to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he had extensive plow works. He later took up his residence in Chicago, which is his present home. His wife died in 1869. She was a member of the Methodist church. Her father, William Forrest, came to Vermont from Canada, and he and his wife Eliza had a large family. Mr. Mclntyre was a soldier in the Civil war. belonging to Company I, Vermont Infantry, and served four years, having been enlisted as a private and mustered out as a colonel. He was once wounded in the forehead by a shell. He married for his second wife Louisa Amelia Stannard, and they had nine children, five sons and four daughters, the five now living being Frank E., James H., Archie R., Sarah J. and Belle, all of Chicago.
John Stephens, as superintendent of the Inland Steel Company at Indiana Harbor, is a prominent factor in the industrial development and substantial growth of northwestern Indiana, and his career is one which excites the admiration and awakens the respect of all who know aught of his life history. To a student of biography there is nothing more interesting than to examine the life history of a self-made man, and to detect the elements of character which have enabled him to pass on the highway of life many of the companions of his youth who at the outset of their careers were more advantageously equipped or endowed. Mr. Stephens has through his own exertions attained an honorable position and marked prestige among the representative men of this state, and with signal consistency it may be said that he is the architect of his own fortunes, and one whose success amply justifies the application of the somewhat hackneyed but most expressive title of "a self-made man."
Mr. Stephens was born in Lydney, Gloucestershire. England, December 2, 1844, and is a son of John and Charlotte (Hawkens) Stephens, both of whom were natives of Lydney. The paternal grandfather also bore the name of John Stephens, and he too was born in Lydney. He was a mill worker, connected with the tin industry, and he died at the advanced age of ninety-two years, while his wife, Mrs. Hannah Stephens, died at the age of seventy-four years. They were the parents of three sons and four daughters. The maternal grandparents of our subject were Samuel and Sarah Hawkens, and were native residents of Lydney, where the latter died at the age of forty-two years, while the former reached the venerable age of eighty-nine years. He was a shipping contractor, loading and unloading vessels as they came into the canal and dock, or preparing them for passage at sea. To him and his wife were born a son and a daughter, the latter becoming the wife of John Stephens, the father of Mr. Stephens of this review. John Stephens, 2d, was a hammerman and lived and died in his native town of Lydney, where his death occurred in 1899, when he was seventy-seven years of age. His wife departed this life in March, 1902, when seventy-six years of age. Both were members of the Methodist church. They had but two children, the daughter, Sarah, being the wife of Lot Malsom, of Sharon, Pennsylvania.
Mr. John Stephens spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Lydney, England, and acquired his education in the public schools there. When six-teen years of age he became identified with the industry which he has made his life work, securing employment in an iron foundry. There he became familiar with the business in every department, and in detail as well as principle. He worked in both the tin and sheet-iron departments, gaining a most practical and comprehensive knowledge of the trade, and thus he was well equipped for advancement along that line when he came to America.
Believing that the new world offered better business advantages, Mr. Stephens, on the 22d of February, 1872, left England for America, landing in New York city on the 9th of March. The same day he went to Oxford. New Jersey, arriving there at half past six o'clock in the evening. He continued in Oxford until the following August, when he removed to Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, where he remained for ten months, and then located at Sharon, Pennsylvania, where he resided for eleven years, actively connected with the iron industry at that place. His next home was in Greenville, Pennsylvania, and two years later he went to Newcastle, in the same state, where he lived for five years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Sharon, where he remained for seven years longer. For eighteen years he was in the employ of P. L. Kimberly & Company, and during the last seven years with the Sharon Iron Company, being its superintendent. On leaving Pennsylvania, he removed to Muncie, Indiana, where he took charge of the plant of the Midland Steel Company, with which he was connected for six and a half years. From Muncie he came to Indiana Harbor, on the 1st of March, 1902, and in company with R. J. Beatty, John McGrath, John G. Dauks, R. W. Wick and some Chicago capitalists, including L. E. Block, P. D. Block and others, built the Inland Steel Mill, which now employs about nine hundred and fifty men, and this number will be increased as the work progresses. The output of the plant has reached very extensive proportions and it is destined to become one of the leading industrial concerns of the middle west. Throughout his business career Mr. Stephens has been connected with great productive industries, in which he has gradually worked his way upward through efficiency, skill and practical knowledge, until he stands today as one of the foremost representatives of the iron industry in Indiana. Moreover, throughout the entire period of his business career he has ever sustained a reputation which is unassailable, and while fully guarding the interests of his company he has also been most just and fair in his dealings with those who have worked under him, and no better proof of both statements, can be given than the fact that he has received from both employers and fellow-employees substantial tokens of their trust and esteem for him.
When Mr. Stephens left Newcastle, Pennsylvania, the employees of the mill there made him a present of a handsome gold watch and chain, a set of gold cuff buttons and a pair of fancy slippers, while the company gave him a purse of twenty-seven dollars and a rocking chair. When he left Sharon, Pennsylvania, the employees gave him a full set of the Encyclopedia Britannica and a rocking chair for himself and one for his wife. When he left Muncie the employees gave him a three-hundred-dollar silver set, and these tokens of kindly regard and good will he justly prizes highly.
On the 14th of October, 1865, Mr. Stephens was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Jones, a daughter of Herbert and Hannah Jones, and to them have been born the following children, five sons and five daughters: Emily, Caroline Charlotte, Frederick J. H., Lillie Hannah, Minnie Maude, William Charles, Francis Eusebius, Mabel, Harold and Clairmont. Emily is now the wife of Edwin Hoke, of Indiana Harbor, and they have two children, Emma and Beulah. Frederick J. H. Stephens married Miss Laura Halstock, of Muncie, Indiana. Lillie Hannah is the wife of Walter Dang, of Indiana Harbor.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephens are prominent, influential and active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is serving as a member of the board of trustees and also as superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a local minister, having been licensed to preach thirty-four years ago. Politically he is a Republican. He built in 1902 the largest residence in Indiana Harbor, on the lake front. Possessing strong domestic tastes, his interest largely centers in his family, and he counts no sacrifice on his part too great that will enhance the welfare or promote the happiness of his wife and children. The church, too, claims considerable of his attention, and while in his business career he has steadily advanced, he has always found time to discharge his duties to his fellow-men and his obligations of citizenship.
Charles M. Baker, who is proprietor and successfully conducts a large livery, feed and sales stable at Crown Point, is a business man who can point with much pride and satisfaction to his career of self-achievement culminating in a substantial place in the business circles of Crown Point and in the esteem of his fellow-citizens and associates. He has practically hewn out his own destiny and been the architect of his own fortune since he was a lad of few years and with little preparation such as most boys enjoy. From various experiences in varied lines of activity he has progressed gradually but surely, and is now able to claim one of the very best establishments of its kind in Lake county, with a constantly growing patronage as evidence of the excellence of his teams and equipments and methods of doing business.
Mr. Baker was born in Porter county, Indiana, March 26, 1866.. a son of Justice and Eunice (Allen) Baker, the former a native of New York state. He was four years old when he lost his mother, and five years old when he lost his father, and their individual histories are not easily recalled. Mr. Baker has one brother, George, of Boone Grove, Porter county, and three sisters: Lydia, wife of Noah Merriman, of Marion, Indiana; Jennie, wife of James Lewis, of Champaign, Illinois; and Emma, who is the widow of Alfred T. Coffin and lives in Crown Point.
Mr. Baker, thus left an orphan before he was of an age to attend school, was deprived of many circumstances of rearing that most children have. At the age of nine he was bound out to a man with whom he remained three years, and then started out on his individual career. He worked by the day and month at anything he could find. He clerked in a store in Crown Point for some time, and also spent two years as a clerk for the H. P. Stanley Fruit Company in Chicago. For several years after that he was engaged in various lines of enterprise in Crown Point, which has been the scene of most of his efforts since arriving at years of manhood. In 1900 he bought the livery stock of Charles Wilson, and in 1903 he built his present barn, thirty-eight by one hundred and forty feet. He keeps twenty-six head of good horses, and has the reputation of sending out the best rigs in town.
Mr. Baker is one of the public-spirited citizens of Crown Point, and has served on the town board and as one of the trustees of Crown Point. He is stanch in his adherence to the Republican party. He affiliates with the Independent Order of Foresters. In connection with the livery business he also buys and sells horses, and up to 1902 he was engaged in the hay business.
Mr. Baker married, in 1887, Miss Adah Holton, the daughter of Janna S. and Catherine J. (Eddy) Holton, who were Lake county pioneers. Mrs. Baker was born in this county, September 14, 1867, and was educated at Crown Point, finishing in the high school. She died February 16, 1904, when in her thirty-seventh year. There are three sons and one daughter of the family : Harry J., born in 1889: Fay M., born in 1892; Lewis C, born in 1895 ; and Howard H., born in 1897.
F. Richard Schaaf, Jr., is filling the position of bookkeeper with the Standard Oil Company and is an expert accountant. He also owns valuable real estate in Robertsdale, and is a director of the First National Bank of Whiting. While his life history is characterized by no exciting incidents, it, nevertheless, proves the value of activity, energy and reliability in the affairs of life and shows that the young man may occupy positions of great trust and responsibility.
Mr. Schaaf was born on the 15th of April, 1878, in Hamburg, Germany. His father, F. Richard Schaaf, Sr., was a native of Saxony, Germany, was reared and married there, Miss Catherine Schlueter becoming his wife. Her birth occurred near Hamburg. In the year 1880 they left the fatherland and with their family sailed for the new world, taking up their abode in Chicago. Mr. Schaaf, Sr., is a blacksmith by trade, but in Chicago engaged in the hotel business. In 1890 he removed to Whiting, where he also established a hotel, which he conducted for about five years. On the expiration of that period he went to Robertsdale, a suburb of Hammond, Indiana, where he engaged in the grocery business and also became a real estate and insurance agent. Both he and his wife are still living in North Hammond and are well known there. They are the parents of seven children and with one exception all are yet living.
F. Richard Schaaf, Jr., is the eldest child and was only about two years of age when brought to the United States. His education was acquired in the public schools of Chicago and in Bryant & Stratton's Business College of that city. In 1898 he became an employee of the Western Newspaper Syndicate of Chicago, continuing in that service for about seven months, when he was offered the position as bookkeeper by the Standard Oil Company at Whiting. His efficiency won him promotion to the position of head bookkeeper of the paraffin department six months after he had become an employee of the corporation. He is likewise a director of the First National Bank at Whiting and he owns a large amount of real estate in Robertsdale, having made judicious investments in property, from which he has already realized good returns.
Mr. Schaaf is well known in political circles in northwestern Indiana, and when he was but twenty-one years of age he was elected a delegate to the Republican state convention held at Indianapolis in 1900. He was also elected a member of the county central committee and made vice chairman of the city central committee of Hammond, Indiana. In the spring of 1904 he was nominated for trustee of North township. He is also president of the Robertsdale fire department, having filled this position for six years.
On the 12th of June, 1901, Mr. Schaaf was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Roberts, a daughter of Mrs. Agnes Roberts of Robertsdale, and they are well known in Lake county, where they have many friends. Fraternally Mr. Schaaf is connected with the Masons, belonging to Whiting Lodge No. 613, F. & A. M., of which he is now treasurer. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a man of considerable influence, aiding in molding public thought, action and opinion. The interests which have made claim upon his time and attention have been such as tend to the betterment of the conditions of mankind and for the stimulus of material progress or the improvement of the city.
During the seven years which mark the period of his professional career Dr. Robert Spear has met with gratifying success. Throughout this time he has made his home in East Chicago, where he has won the good will and patronage of many of the best citizens. He is a thorough student and endeavors to keep abreast of the times in everything relating to the discoveries in medical science. Progressive in his ideas and favoring modern methods as a whole, he does not dispense with the time-tried systems whose value has stood the test of years.
Dr. Spear was born in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada, January 23, 1868, and is of Scotch lineage. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Spear, was a native of Scotland and thence emigrated to Canada, where he followed the carpenter's trade. He was twice married and by the first union had one son. William, who reached mature years, while the three other children died in their teens. For his second wife he chose Miss McComb, and they had one daughter who died in childhood. William Spear, a native of Ontario, Canada, learned and followed the wagon-builder's trade in early manhood and afterward turned his attention to farming. He, too, was twice married, first wedding Miss Sarah Davidson, by whom he had four children, of whom three are now living, namely: Thomas, of Cobourg, Canada; William K., also of Cobourg; and David, of Pipestone, Manitoba. Their daughter, Elizabeth, is deceased. After the death of his first wife William Spear married Miss Margaret Brown, also a native of Ontario, and they became the parents of nine children, three sons and six daughters, of whom eight are now living., as follows: James, of Cobourg; Annie, also of Cobourg; Agnes, of Virden. Manitoba; Dr. Robert Spear; Andrew, of Cobourg: Margaret, of Rochester, New York; Christina, of Cobourg; and Isabell, of Wilton, North Dakota. Jennie died at the age of twenty-one years. The father of this family passed away at Cobourg, Canada, in 1901, at the age of seventy-five years, and is still survived by his widow, who is a devoted Christian woman, holding membership in the Presbyterian church, to which her husband also belonged. She was a daughter of Robert Brown, a native of Scotland, who crossing the Atlantic took up his abode in Canada, where he followed the occupation of farming. He married a Miss Miller, and they reared a large family of nine children. His death occurred when he was about eighty years of age.
Dr. Robert Spear spent his boyhood days in the usual manner of farmer lads, remaining under the parental roof near Cobourg. In the summer months he assisted in the work of the fields and in the winter seasons attended the district school. Later he continued his education in the collegiate institute at Cobourg, and subsequently entered Queen's University at Kingston. In order to prepare for the practice of medicine he became a student in the Trinity Medical College, of Toronto, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1897. He then began practice in East Chicago, establishing his home in this city on the 1st of May of that year. Here he has remained continuously since, and his skill and ability are indicated by the patronage which is accorded him. He has always been a close and earnest student of his profession and his efforts are beneficially put forth for the alleviation of human suffering.
On the 6th of October, 1897, Dr. Spear was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Cook, a daughter of John and Martha (Sykes) Cook. Two children have been born of this union, Wilfred Garnet and Helen Gladys. Dr. and Mrs. Spear are Presbyterians in their religious faith, and in politics he is somewhat independent. In May, 1904, he was elected to represent the First ward in the City Council of the city of East Chicago. His professional connection is with the Lake County Medical Society, the Kankakee Valley Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. He resides at No. 4530 Forsyth street, where he erected a good home in 1901.
George M. Eder, cigar manufacturer at 205 South Hohman street, Hammond, has been a successful business man in Lake county for a number of years, having learned his trade when a boy and having begun the manufacture of cigars in Crown Point about thirty years ago. There is a large and steady demand for all the goods that he can produce, and his output has gained him quite a reputation. Before coming to Hammond he held a number of important local offices, and his public-spirited interest in general affairs and his loyalty to home, city and state mark him out as a representative citizen as he is also a man of highest integrity and sterling personal worth.
Mr. Eder was born in Landau, Bavaria, Germany, April 22, 1855. His paternal grandfather, Martin Eder, was a farmer and died in Germany when an old man. By his wife, Mary Eder, he had seven sons and one daughter. Mr. Eder's maternal grandfather died in Germany during middle life, and his wife, Theressa Huber, lived to the great age of ninety-six years, they having been the parents of only one child, the mother of Mr. Eder.
Mr. Eder's parents were John B. and Theressa (Huber) Eder, both natives of Germany. His father was a laborer in the fatherland, and later served for twelve years in the Bavarian army. He came 'to America in 1855.. locating in Chicago, where he followed various pursuits. He was burned out at the Chicago fire in 1871, and in 1873 moved to Crown Point, Indiana, where he died February 3, 1877, aged sixty-nine years. His wife survived him and died at the age of eighty-two. They were both Catholics. There were three sons and one daughter in their family, and the two now living are Joseph, of Crown Point, and George M., of Hammond.
Mr. George M. Eder was in infancy when his parents crossed the ocean to America. He was reared in Chicago, where he attended the public and parochial schools and learned the cigarmaker's trade, and lived there until 1873, when he accompanied the rest of the family to Crown Point. He engaged in the manufacture of cigars at the county seat until his election, in 1890, to the office of county clerk, which position he occupied for two terms, or eight years. In May, 1903, he moved to Hammond and resumed the manufacture of cigars. He owns his nice home at 205 South Hohman street, where is also located his factory. Mr. Eder is a stockholder in the Commercial Bank of Crown Point, and for five years was vice-president of the bank.
Mr. Eder was town clerk and treasurer of Crown Point for six years, and was twice elected township trustee, resigning that office after three years in order to accept the county clerkship. He has fraternal affiliations with the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Independent Order of Foresters. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church.
September 24, 1878, Mr. Eder married Miss Frances M. Scherer, a daughter of Peter and Catherine (Young) Scherer. There are seven children of this union, George J., Edward ]., Clarence M., Louis G., Rose M., Daniel and Florence. George J. is in the employ of the American Express Company; Edward J. is a lawyer in Hammond; Clarence M. clerks in a grocery store in East Chicago; Louis G. is attending college in Chicago; and the other three are in the public schools of Hammond.
Clarence C. Smith is a member of the firm of Smith & Clapper Brothers, liverymen at East Chicago, Indiana, and was born in Mason, Michigan, on the 5th of October, 1863. His paternal grandfather was a native of New York and was a farmer by occupation, but aside from that little is known concerning the ancestry of the house in the paternal line. Gideon Smith, the father of C. C. Smith, was born in the Empire state and became a boot and shoe maker. He followed that occupation in the east for a time and then abandoned it and removed to the middle west, locating in Michigan about 1862. He took up his abode at Mason, that state, where he remained until 1864, when he came to Lake county, Indiana, and settled one mile west of Deep River postoffice, where he purchased what was known as the Ed Chase farm There he carried on agricultural pursuits and also worked at his trade to some extent. He lived a life of untiring activity and industry, and whatever success he achieved was due solely to his own labors. He married Mrs. Anna L. Hanna, nee Marble, who was the widow of Thomas Hanna and a daughter of Simeon Marble, who was born in Vermont, which was also her birthplace. Mr. Marble followed the occupation of farming in New England and on emigrating westward about 1858 he located a mile and a half west of Deep River postoffice, where he purchased what was known as the Booth farm. There he carried on the work of tilling the soil throughout his remaining days, and his death occurred when he was seventy-five years of age. He was married five times, his first union being with a Miss Imes. He had but three children, all born by his first wife: Ann L.. who became Mrs. Smith: Horace Marble, who is living at Crown Point and Wheatfield, Indiana: and one that has now departed this life. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Smith were members of the Methodist church and lived earnest, consistent Christian lives. Her death occurred in Hobart, Indiana, about 1880, when she was thirty-nine years of age, and Mr. Gideon Smith passed away in December, 1902, in East Chicago, at the age of eighty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Smith were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, of whom five are now living: Eva, the wife of Henry Hanson, of Chicago; Clarence C, who is living in East Chicago; Flora, the wife of George Green, also of East Chicago; Simeon, who makes his home in Hammond, Indiana; and Alice, the wife of S. G. Carley, of Hammond.
Clarence C. Smith was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads, partly spending his boyhood days on the old homestead place west of Deep River. As soon as old enough to handle the plow he took his place in the fields and assisted in their cultivation from the time of early spring planting until crops were harvested in the late autumn. His education was acquired in the district schools, which he attended mostly through the winter months. When he was quite young his parents removed to Jasper county, where he remained until he was nine years of age, when he returned to Lake county and lived with his grandfather until he started out upon an independent business career. He was first employed as a farm-hand by the month and continued thus to serve until twenty-one years of age. At that time he took up the study of telegraphy, and in 1885 entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, working as telegraph operator until 1888. In that year he came to East Chicago as assistant station agent, and in March, 1889, he was appointed agent at Hammond, Indiana. On the 27th of January, 1891, he was appointed agent at East Chicago and served in that capacity until the 29th of December, 1903. when he resigned in order to engage in business for himself. He then joined the Clapper Brothers in forming the present firm of Smith & Clapper Brothers, liverymen, of East Chicago. They have a well equipped barn and do a good business, which is constantly increasing. Mr. Smith is also agent for the East Chicago Company, a real estate firm which is developing one of the good sections of the city, and he also owns three valuable properties there, his home being located at 4414 Magoun avenue. In March, 1904, Mr. Smith was appointed agent for the United States Express Company at East Chicago.
On the 21st of May, 1893, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Maude Holmes, a daughter of Milton D. and Helen (Turner) Holmes. Four children have been born of this union: Leonard C. (deceased), Beulah, Irene and Rolland. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith hold membership in the Congregational church and take an active part in its work and contribute liberally to its support. He is now serving as a member of the board of church trustees. He is also deeply interested in the cause of education and is serving his second term as treasurer of the city school board. Politically he is a Republican, and is a progressive and public-spirited man and takes an active and helpful interest in every movement that he believes will contribute to the general progress and improvement.
Charles C. Bothwell, stock farmer, buyer and shipper, of Section 5, Ross township, has spent his life of successful effort in Lake county, and is numbered among the highly esteemed and prosperous citizens of the county. He has given the best in him to his life work, which accounts for the results he has gained, but he has also performed his share of public duties and responsibilities as a friend and neighbor and a citizen of the community.
Mr. Bothwell was born in Ross township. Lake county, June 11, 1852, being a son of John A. and Nancy (Dutton) Bothwell, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of New York. His father came to Lake county in 1839, thus being one of the earliest settlers, and located first in St. John's township, later in Ross township, and for about five years lived in Porter county, after which he returned to Lake county and lived here till his death, at the advanced and venerable age of eighty-three years. He followed farming all his life. He and his wife are both buried in Ross township. They were the parents of eight children, of whom Charles was the third.
Mr. C. C. Bothwell was reared in Ross township with the exception of the five years spent in Porter county, and he finished the education begun in the common schools at the Crown Point high school. As soon as his school days were ended he engaged in farming and the buying and shipping of cattle, which he has made the chief lines of his pursuit ever since. He has a farm of two hundred and eighty-three acres with excellent improvements, and besides the large crops of hay and grain, he keeps and feeds a large number of cattle and hogs. He also carries on a considerable dairy business.
Mr. Bothwell is one of the influential Republicans of his township. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was married, October 26, 1884, to Miss Anettie Stone, who was born in Elkhart, Indiana. September 16, 1857. They have had five children: Cora; Walter; Charles Benjamin; Lillie May; and Lottie, who died in infancy. Mrs. Bothwell was reared and educated in Elkhart, Indiana, and she was educated in the common schools and then a course in the Elkhart high school, after which she obtained her teacher's certificate, having attended the Valparaiso Normal and taken the teachers' course. She taught five terms in Lake and Porter counties. Her father was a native of Vermont and was reared as an agriculturist. He was well educated. He was a Republican in politics. He died at the age of seventy-five years in Elkhart. Mother Stone was reared in Vermont and she died in Elkhart county, aged about forty years. There are four of the Stone family yet living: Benjamin Stone, a resident of Elkhart county: Amanda, widow of Richard Berritt, of Hartline, Washington; Hubert Stone, a resident of Elkhart: and Mrs. Bothwell. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bothwell have received good educational training. Cora received her diploma in the class of 1903, and she was a student at the Valparaiso Normal School. She has taken music and also elocution. Walter is in the fourth grade, Benjamin is in the eighth grade of the public schools. He is a gifted penman and he is taking up the art of photography. He also takes music. Lillie May is in the sixth grade, and has taken music.
Jacob Rimbach, a prominent retired citizen of Hammond residing at 78 West Sibley street, has been a resident in the vicinity of Hammond for a longer period perhaps than any other present inhabitant of the city. In fact, when he first came here, a half century ago, no town was here, and the name and the town did not come into existence until nearly a quarter of a century later. He has lived a life of industry, good business management and foresight, and high and noble integrity, and is esteemed at the present not only because he is one of the largest property owners of the city, but also because of his own personal worth and character and for the part he has played in advancing the progress and welfare of his adopted city. What he has accumulated in the way of worldly wealth has been done so by diligence and sagacity in investment, and he deserves the credit of having achieved his own success and of being a self-made man.
Mr. Rimbach was born in the province of Eisenach, Germany, December 3, 1832, being one of two sons and the only one now living born to Christopher and Elizabeth (Hassar) Rimbach. His mother's father lived and died in Germany, and his history is lost in consequence of his having died when his children were small. Christopher Rimbach's parents were Jacob and Christina Rimbach, both of whom died in Germany, and they had one son and two daughters. Christopher Rimbach was a shoemaker by trade, and died in Germany about 1835. His wife survived him till 1893, and was about seventy-two years old at the time of her death. They were Lutherans. She was married a second time, her husband being Frederick Schroeder, and their two daughters are now both deceased.
Mr. Jacob Rimbach was reared in the land of his forefathers, receiving a common school education. He had a farm training, and knew the value of honest endeavor long before he came to this country. In 1854 he accompanied his mother to America and settled on the present site of Hammond, before the town had been started. He and his brother Frederick began work on the Michigan Central Railroad, which road had been built through the county only three years before. Two years later he was made foreman of a section, and continued in the employ of that company for twenty-four years, filling the position of foreman for twenty-two. After leaving the service of the railroad he started the M. M. Towle lumber yard in Hammond, being its manager for two years. He owned ten acres of land within the present confines of Hammond, and when he quit the lumber business he devoted his time to flower gardening. He divided his land into town lots and gradually sold them off, and also built a number of cottages on them. He now owns, in addition to his good home at 78 West Sibley street, a block of business buildings, including the Lion Store building, and also about fifteen tenant cottages. He is now living retired in the main, being occupied only by the oversight of his extensive property interests.
In 1858 Mr. Rimbach married Miss Mary Hillman, and they have four daughters: Emma, who married Morris Champaign, and has two daughters, May and Emma; Henrietta, who married Fred Champaign, and has two children, Myrtle and Fred; Francisca, who married Frank Hanson, and has two children, Jacob and May; and Louise, who wedded Otto Marback, and has a daughter, Anna. Mrs. Rimbach's parents, August and Christina (Feidel) Hillman, were natives of Germany and came to America in December, 1854, settling at New Buffalo, Michigan. Her father followed various occupations. He died in Chicago in January, 1898, at the age of eighty-four years, followed in death a week later by his wife, at the age of eighty-one. They were both Lutherans in religion. They were the parents of four children : Mrs. Mary Rimbach; Caroline, deceased, who was the wife of Andrew Burman; Sophia, the wife of Adolph Foin, of Los Angeles, California; and August, of Hammond.
Mr. and Mrs. Rimbach are members of the Lutheran church. At the time of the Civil war he paid fourteen hundred dollars for a substitute in the army. He is a stanch Republican in politics, and is a member of the county council.
Honored and respected by all, there is no resident of Whiting who occupies a more enviable position in public regard than does Henry Schrage, the president of the Whiting Bank and one of the early settlers of Lake county. His position of influence is not due alone to his success, but is the result of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever followed, his entire career being such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. Moreover, he is an active factor in public life and one whose influence has been exerted toward general progress, reform and improvement.
Mr. Schrage is a native of Germany, his birth having occurred in Auhgen, Hessen, on the 21st of January, 1844. The first ten years of his life were spent in the fatherland, and he then came to America with his parents, Chris and Fredericka Schrage, who on crossing the Atlantic took up their abode in Chicago, whence they removed to Lake county in October, 1854. The subject of this review was reared where the town of Whiting now stands. He attended the public schools of Chicago and remained at home until about twenty years of age, when in response to the call of his adopted country he enlisted in 1863 as a member of Company K, Thirteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, as a private. He thus served until the close of the war and did active duty with his regiment, which was assigned to the Seventeenth Army Corps under the command of General Sherman. When hostilities had ceased and his aid was no longer needed to defend the Union, the preservation of which was an established fact, he received an honorable discharge, in July, 1865.
Mr. Schrage then returned to Whiting and entered the railroad service o as a section hand, being thus employed until 1868. The following year he engaged in business on his own account, opening a small general store, which he continued to conduct with fair success until about 1890. He then retired from active business and enjoyed a brief period of rest, but in 1895 he opened the Whiting Bank, a private banking institution. He also owns the East Chicago Bank, which he purchased in 1902, and he is therefore well known in financial circles in Lake county. These institutions have become recognized as strong financial concerns, and he is now conducting a large and prosperous banking business. He is at the same time a representative of that class of American citizens who, while promoting individual success, also advance the general welfare and prosperity. As his financial resources have increased he has made judicious investments in real estate, and he now owns much property in Whiting, in East Chicago, Hammond, South Chicago and in the city of Chicago. He has been identified in large measure with the upbuilding of Lake county, few men having contributed in greater degree to the substantial progress and upbuilding of his section of the state, in which he has spent the greater part of his life.
Mr. Schrage was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Wustenfelt, who was born in the province of Hessen, Germany. This marriage was celebrated in 1868, and has been blessed with six children: Harry C, who is cashier of the Whiting Bank; Mary, the wife of August Tresen: William C who is cashier of the East Chicago Bank; Herman; Sophia C, at home; and Walter E., who is employed in the bank in Whiting. The family is well known in that city and its members are prominent in local circles there. In the front rank of the columns which have advanced civilization and improvement in this portion of Lake county stands Mr. Schrage, and has been among those who have led the way to the substantial development and progress of Whiting, being particularly active in the growth of the city, in which he still makes his home. His memory goes back to the time when this was an undeveloped region, but when the town was founded he had the business foresight to recognize possibilities here and to utilize them for the benefit of the public as well as his individual interests. As a business man he has been conspicuous among his associates not only for his success, but for his probity, fairness and honorable methods. In everything he has been eminently practical, and this has been manifested not only in his business undertakings, but also in social and private life.
John E. Luther, who has been a resident of Lake county since seven years of age and has a wide acquaintance within its borders, the vice-president of the First National Bank of Crown Point, is a veteran of the Civil war and a citizen whose active co-operation in public affairs has led to substantial improvement in northwestern Indiana. He is a native son of this state, his birth having occurred in Porter county three miles from Valparaiso on the 22d of November, 1840. His paternal grandfather was James Luther.
His father, James H. Luther, was born in Chazy, New York, in 1814, and when eighteen years of age went to the west. A year later he became a resident of Porter county, Indiana, where he followed farming until 1849. In that year he arrived in Lake county, locating- at Crown Point, and he carried on agricultural pursuits on a tract of land that embraces the site of the two railroad depots and the public school building of this city. He was honored with public office, being chosen county auditor for two terms or eight years. He carried on merchandising from 1855 until 1859 as a member of the firm of Luther, Holton & Company, and the firm then became Luther & Farley, while subsequently John G. Hoffman succeeded the firm of Luther & Farley. Prominent and influential, his efforts in behalf of his community were effective, and he was recognized as one of the leading men of Lake county. His aid in behalf of general progress was never sought in vain, but was given with a cheerfulness that made his work of much value in public affairs. He was a Whig until the dissolution of the party, when he became a stanch Republican and continued to march under the banners of that party until his demise. During the period of the Civil war all of the money that came to the county from the government was given to him for distribution among the families of the soldiers. He was reared in the Presbyterian doctrine, but for many years was a spiritualist. He died at the advanced age of seventy-nine years and five days. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Phoebe Ann Flint, was a native of Vermont and lived to be about twenty-seven years of age. They were the parents of four sons, all of whom reached manhood, namely: John E., Amos O., Albert W. and Henry E.
John E. Luther, the eldest son, is now the only living representative of the family. He was but eight years of age when he came to Lake county, and here he attended the district schools, his first teacher being Martin Wood. When about nine years of age he went to Valparaiso, where he worked for five years in the printing office with his uncle. Judge W. C. Talcott. On the expiration of that period he came to Crown Point, and later he went to Minnesota with a drove of cattle, walking all the way. He was eleven weeks on the road, receiving ten dollars for the trip. Mr. Luther remained in Minnesota for about two years, driving a stage for a year and a half and during the remainder of the time working" in a livery stable. On the expiration of that period he returned to Crown Point and accepted a clerkship in a store owned by John G. Hoffman. When a little more than a year had passed he offered his services to the government, enlisting April 19, 1861, under Mark L. Demotte, being the first man to enlist from Crown Point. He became a member of Company B, Twentieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and after serving for two years as a private he was commissioned first lieutenant and adjutant, continuing in that rank until October 10, 1864, when he was mustered out as a supernumerary officer. He took part in twenty-seven important engagements and was three times wounded, but he has never" applied for a pension. He was mustered out because of the consolidation of the Seventh, Fourteenth and Nineteenth regiments with the Twentieth Indiana Regiment, and as all of the officers could not be retained in their rank Mr. Luther was among those who was retired, for he had already served for three years and a half. He is life president of his regimental association.
In November, 1864, Mr. Luther returned to Crown Point, and on the 28th of December following he was united in marriage to Miss Addie Wells, a daughter of Henry Wells. She was born in Crown Point, was educated in the public schools there and was well known in the city. Her death occurred August 25, 1875, at Indianapolis, and she left one son, Harry W., who died in San Francisco of blood poisoning, July 15, 1896.
In 1868 Mr. Luther entered the employ of the McCormick Reaper Company and went to Galesburg, Illinois, where he remained through that season. He afterward continued with the company as bookkeeper and traveling salesman until 1879, when he removed from Indianapolis to Troy, Ohio, where he was engaged as bookkeeper for the firm of Beadle & Kelly. He spent several years in Ohio, and in 1882 went to California, where he remained for one year, and since 1886 he has resided continuously in Crown Point. He has been vice-president of the First National Bank since 1900 and is one of the oldest stockholders of that institution. He also owns a farm of about three hundred and twenty-five acres and has valuable city property. He is now living retired from active business, giving supervision merely to his invested interests.
Mr. Luther is a member of John Wheeler Post No. 161, G. A. R., of which he is a past commander. He is also a member of the Union Veteran Legion, Encampment No. 84, of Indianapolis. He did his duty to his country willingly and with marked loyalty because of his love for the Union, and he does not ask to be reimbursed for the sacrifice which he made in behalf of the stars and stripes. In politics he has been a life-long Republican. He certainly deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, as he started out in life in early boyhood without capital. As a business man he has been conspicuous among his associates not only for his success but for his probity, fairness and honorable methods. In everything he has been eminently practical, has discharged every public duty with ability and fairness.
William F. Bridge, city engineer of Hammond and county surveyor of Lake county, has lived in Hammond since 1890 and is a proficient member of the civil engineering profession and is popular in both business and social circles.
Mr. Bridge was born at Delphi, Indiana, April 11, 1864, being the only son and child of Jacob C. and Emma (Witherow) Bridge, both natives of Indiana. His paternal grandfather, John Bridge, was a native of Ohio, was a farmer there, and afterwards came to Carroll county, Indiana, at an early day, where he bought land of the government and improved it and added to his property until he had a large estate of five hundred acres. He was of Scotch descent. He died in Carroll county when about seventy years old. His wife, Rosanna Carr by maiden name, died at about the same age, and they had two children. Mr. Bridge's maternal grandfather, James Witherow. married a Miss Filson, and they were early settlers of Carroll county. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church, and died in middle age, having had four children. Jacob C. Bridge was a bookkeeper for many years. He lived in Delphi, Indiana, until 1886, was then in Colorado for four years, and since then he and his wife have been residents in Hammond. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. William F. Bridge was reared at Delphi, Indiana, graduating from the high school there in 1884, and later took a special course in Wabash College. He then took up the study of civil engineering, and has followed that profession ever since, having gained a most creditable position in its ranks. He spent the years from 1886 to 1890 in Colorado, and since then has been a resident of Hammond. He was elected city engineer of Hammond in 1893, and with the exception of four years, has been in that office since. He was elected county surveyor of Lake county in 1902, and assumed the duties of that office in January, 1903. He has given entire satisfaction in both offices. In the spring of 1904 Mr. Bridge was nominated for a second time as surveyor of Lake county.
Mr. Bridge is a member of the Presbyterian church, and his wife is a Baptist. He affiliates with Garfield Lodge No. 569, F. & A. M., with Hammond Chapter, R. A. M., and with Hammond Commandery, K. T., and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He belongs to the Sigma Chi college fraternity. In politics he is a Republican, and is city chairman of the Republican committee.
December 23, 1885, Mr. Bridge married Miss Lillian Sharrer, a daughter of Dr. Wilbur and Catharine (Moore) Sharrer. Four children were born of this union, Edgar, Grace, Norman and Helen. Mrs. Lillian Bridge died in January, 1900. She was a member of the Presbyterian church. On August 19, 1903, Mr. Bridge married Miss Bertha C. Watkins, a daughter of Rev. W. G. and Ruth (Evans) Watkins, the former a native of Wales and the latter of Pennsylvania.
Mrs. Bridge's paternal grandfather, William Watkins, was a native of Wales, whence he came to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania. He was a Baptist minister, and died in middle life. His wife was named Mary. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Bridge were Robert and Susan (Todd) Evans; the former was a son of David Evans and was a native of Wales,, and died when a young man; the latter lived to an advanced age. and was the mother of four children. Mrs. Bridge's father was a Baptist minister, a graduate of Bucknell University, of which she is also a graduate, and he now lives in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in which state he has done most of his ministerial work. He has always been in public life, and for a number of years taught music. He and his wife were the parents of six children, one son and five daughters: Bertha C. (Mrs. Bridge), Susie, Lillian, Ethel, Earl and Ruth.
Henry Chester, of section 17, Ross township, is one of the well known old settlers and prominent agriculturists of Lake county, having spent over a half century in his one township. He spent his youthful days among the rather crude and primitive conditions of that time, and has ever since been identified with the progress and advancement that have raised Lake county from an unprofitable wilderness to one of the banner sections of the state. He recalls many of the interesting experiences of that early day. His opportunities for literary accomplishment were meager, and as he had to work during the daylight hours he did his reading by the light of a rag dipped in a saucer of grease or by the flickering firelight of the old-fashioned hearth and chimney. And when he clad himself in his best and went forth to attend one of the balls of the countryside, he and his best girl rode in a wagon drawn by an ox team. From this primitive conveyance to the modern automobile graphically represents the progress of Lake county and the world in general since Mr. Chester was a carefree boy on his father's Lake county farm.
Mr. Chester was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1834. His grandfather, John Chester, was a native of England, whence he came at an early day to Pennsylvania, and for seven years fought in the ranks of the patriots in the Revolutionary war, becoming an officer in the Continental army. He saw and talked with General Washington and was a prominent man. His son Charles, father of Henry, was born in Pennsylvania, and came out to Lake county, Indiana, as a pioneer in 1847, living here until his death in 1874. He married Mary E. Price, a native of Pennsylvania and of German descent, and they were the parents of two daughters and one son that reached maturity.
Mr. Henry Chester was about twelve years old when he came to Lake county with his parents, and his subsequent rearing and early training was in Ross township, where, indeed, he has spent the rest of his life. When the war came on he enlisted on September 10, 1861, in Company G, Ninth Illinois Cavalry, and served until his honorable discharge, October 31, 1865, after giving four years and three months of his youth and strength to the defense of the Union cause. From choice he remained a private through all this time. He was in many battles in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and the various campaigns of the middle west. He returned home to engage in the farming pursuits which have ever since employed him so profitably. He operates over a thousand acres of as fine land as lies in Lake county, and his agricultural enterprises mark him as one of the most progressive and successful farmers of his vicinity. He has also taken part in local affairs, and is well known throughout the county as a representative and public-spirited citizen.
Mr. Chester was first married, in 1859, to Miss Harriet Perry, who was born in Porter county, Indiana, a daughter of Ezekiel Perry. They had one child, Mary, wife of Henry Merchant. Mr. Chester's second wife was Harriet L. Hanks, of New York state, and at her death she left five children: Ella, wife of Charles Olson; Lovisa, wife of Charles Nelson; Carrie, wife of William Raschka, a merchant of Ainsworth, Indiana; and Charles E. and James H. Mr. Chester married for his present wife Mary E. Baird, and they have three children: Jerome, John and Daisy. The children have received good and practical educations, and Miss Daisy has taken instruction in music. Mrs. Chester was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, November 8, 1854, being the eldest of the ten children, four sons and six daughters, born to Samuel and Jane (Oakes) Baird. When she was a girl of twelve years her parents moved west to Bureau county, Illinois, where she completed the education begun in her native state.
Mr. Chester is a member of Earl Lodge No. 333, I. O. O. F., at Hobart, and his wife belongs to the Rebekahs at the same place. Mr. and Mrs. Chester are both church members, their respective denominations being the Methodist Episcopal and the Baptist.
From this brief review of the main facts of his career, is indicated the prominent position that Mr. Chester holds in his community and in Lake county. His individual enterprise and success and his strength of character are marked in still bolder outlines when it is remembered how he has been the architect of his own fortunes, and is a truly self-made man. At the beginning of his active career he worked for wages, receiving only thirteen dollars a month. Yet with this seemingly scant hold on prosperity's coign of vantage he continued to climb higher to success, and during his useful career has accumulated a large estate and made his life a factor for good throughout Lake county.
Andrew Kammer, postmaster at St. John, has been a well known man of affairs in this town for a number of years. He has held his present office almost continuously for seventeen years, which in itself shows his popularity with the community and his prestige as a public-spirited and energetic citizen. The first few years of his life were passed in his native land of Germany, but he was practically reared and has been identified with American institutions all his life. He has followed various lines of business, and during his connection with Lake county affairs has acquired property interests in several places. He is an influential citizen, and a hearty worker in any cause that he takes up and believes to be for the general welfare of the community.
Mr. Kammer was born in Hesse-Darnstadt, Germany, September 2, 1838, and at the age of eight years accompanied his parents to America, landing at Baltimore. He remained in that city until 1860, gaining his education and learning the tailor's trade. He followed that business in Cumberland, Maryland, until 1868, and then returned to Baltimore, where he continued in business for a year. In 1869 he came out to Lake county, Indiana, locating at St. John, and for the first six years taught school during the winter seasons. For ten years he was traveling in the interests of the Catholic Volkszeitung, Baltimore, Maryland, and did much business for that paper. He was also on the road eight years as the representative of a liquor house. In December, 1887, he was appointed to the office of postmaster of St. John, and with the exception of eight months has held the office continuously to the present time. Some years ago he built three tenant houses in Whiting, being one of the first to make that kind of investment in that town, and he still owns this property and rents it.
May 3, 1860, Mr. Kammer married Miss Katherine Wagner, who was born in Germany and came as a girl to America, having lived in this country since she was fourteen years old. Mr. and Mrs. Kammer have seven children living: Elizabeth; Mary; Nicholas; Michael; Theodore A., a teacher in the public schools of St. John; Andrew; and Catherine. The family are members of the St. John Catholic church.
Adam J. Gerlach, with residence and farm on section 30, Center township, has been identified with the most important interests of Lake county for over forty years. He passed part of his boyhood in this county, after which he was one of the popular and leading workers along educational lines for many years, and the latter part of his career has been devoted most successfully to the life insurance business and to farming, so that his years have been both varied in their activity and prosperous in their fruits.
Mr. Gerlach was born at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, March 8, 1848, being a son of Michael and Catherine (Wirtheim) Gerlach, both natives of Bavaria, Germany. His father, on coming to America, located at Harper's Ferry, and in 1857 brought his family to Lake county, Indiana, settling in St. John township. He improved his first farm and also was the owner of two other farms, being during his lifetime one of the leading citizens. He taught school for some time and for many years was assessor o£ his township. He died at the age of seventy-five, and his wife in her seventy-sixth year. They were the parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters, and all but one are living and married at the present time.
Mr. Adam J. Gerlach, who is the third child and third son, was about nine years old when he came to Lake county, where he continued the education he had begun in Virginia. He graduated from the Crown Point high school, and from that time has made his own way in the world. He began by clerking in a store, but at the age of seventeen entered upon his career as school teacher, which he continued, altogether, for twenty-one years. One term was in Cook county, Illinois, but all the rest was in Lake county. He taught different branches, English and German being favorites, and he also made a specialty of musical instruction, both vocal and instrumental. He is an accomplished musician, and at the present time is organist in St. Mary's Catholic church at Crown Point.
He now resides on his farm of two hundred and forty-five acres situated three and a half miles south of Crown Point., where he was one of the fine farmsteads of this part of the county. But he devotes most of his time to soliciting life insurance for the Aetna Life of Hartford, having been agent in this business for twenty-one years. He has written many thousands of dollars in this time, and his work has extended to all parts of the county. One of his chief industries on the farm is a large dairy, and in this connection he has become one of the directors of the Chicago Milk Shippers' Union, which comprises many thousand dairies of Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. He is also interested in a company organizing, at Crown Point, a jelly manufacturing business. About eighteen farmers of the surrounding country will raise currents for this enterprise.
Mr. Gerlach is one of the well known Democrats of Lake county, and for some years served as justice of the peace. He is a member and a trustee of the Catholic church at Crown Point. He was married, August 10. 1874, to Miss Margaret Scherer, the daughter of Nicholas and Frances Scherer, who were among the early settlers of Lake county, where Mrs. Gerlach was born. Mr. and Mrs. Gerlach have had thirteen children, and all are living but one, who died in 1903, the others being as follows: Adam M. Amelia, wife of Theodore Stech; George F.; Frances; Agnes: Michael; Joseph; Richard : Philip; Susan; Josephine; and Lillie. Adam and Agnes graduated in the Crown Point public schools, and the former and George F. are members of the Crown Point brass band. Mr. Gerlach, being so proficient in music, has given his children fine instruction in music, and at gatherings, assemblies and farm institutes they take a prominent part.
Active in community affairs which have had important bearing upon public progress and improvement, Judge G. W. Jones is numbered among the leading and representative men of Whiting, Indiana, where he is now filling the office of justice of the peace. He has also been closely associated with educational affairs there and has done much for the upbuilding of the schools. In an official connection he has been largely instrumental in securing the attendance at school of a greater percent of pupils than had hitherto been enrolled. His labors have always been of a practical character, attended by results that are far-reaching and beneficial.
Judge Jones is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Butler county on the 23d of May, 1844. He is a son of Dr. Caleb H. and Beulah (Staggs) Jones, the former of Welsh descent and the latter of English lineage. His paternal grandfather, Jonas Jones, was a native of New Jersey, and was a civil engineer by profession. Removing westward he surveyed a large part of southern Ohio and was one of the promoters of pioneer development in that portion of Ohio. His son, Dr. Caleb H. Jones, was also a native of Butler county, Ohio, prepared for the practice of medicine in early life and continued active in the prosecution of his profession up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1848. His wife was a native of North Carolina. On her father's side she was of English lineage and on the maternal line her ancestry could be traced back to John Smith, whose life was saved by the Indian maiden Pocahontas.
Judge Jones was the seventh in a family of nine children born to Dr. and Mrs. Jones. He spent his youth in the county of his nativity, and his early boyhood was a period of earnest and unremitting toil, for when he was only four years of age he was left an orphan. He earned his living during the greater part of the time until he had attained the age of sixteen years, but the elemental strength of his character was thereby developed and he became a self-reliant, courageous young man who bravely faced life's duties and made the most of his opportunities. In 1861 he offered his services to the government as a defender of the Union, enlisting in Company D, Fifth Regiment of Ohio Cavalry. He served for three years and seven months in the army as a private, but was promoted to the rank of sergeant. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, the siege of Corinth and the battle at that city, the siege of Vicksburg and the engagement at Lookout Mountain, where was displayed one of the most daring military feats of the great war. He was also with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea.
When the war was over and he was mustered out of service. Judge Jones returned to his native county in Ohio and there served a term of apprenticeship as a machinist. In 1867 he made a business trip to Europe, being gone about six weeks, during which time he visited Liverpool and other points in England, beside going to France. After his return to his native land he removed to Middletown, Ohio, where he remained until 1869. and in the fall of that year he came to Indiana, locating at Kentland. He afterward removed to Sheldon, Illinois, where he engaged in the manufacture of carriages and wagons for a short time. He next went to California, afterward to Australia and subsequently to Japan and China, looking for a location and a better country than America. He remained in Australia for three months and visited Hongkong, China, and Yokohama, Japan. His travels, however, convinced him that there was no better country on the face of the globe than his own United States, and upon once more reaching this country he located in Sheldon, Illinois, where he remained for two years. During that time he was married and later he went to Nebraska, settling at Lone Tree. There he secured a homestead claim and continued its cultivation and development until the grasshoppers entirely destroyed his crops. He next returned to Iroquois, Illinois, and afterward went to Sheldon, while in January, 1884, he located in Hammond, Indiana, where he entered the employ of the Tuthill Spring Company and the Chicago Carriage Company, being thus engaged until he entered the services of the Hammond Packing Company as a machinist, filling that position until 1890, when he came to Whiting. Here Judge Jones entered the employ of the Standard Oil Company as a machinist and foreman of the compound press house, and later was sent to the round house in the switching department. During the last four years of his connection with the Standard Oil Company he had charge of the repairs on locomotives, and was regarded as one of the most capable and trusted representatives of the corporation in Whiting.
In the meantime Mr. Jones had become recognized as a prominent and influential factor in public life, exerting strong influence in behalf of measures for the general good. In 1898 he was elected justice of the peace of Whiting and has served in that capacity continuously since, discharging his duties in a prompt and able manner, his decisions being strictly fair and impartial. He was also elected city clerk of Whiting and is now filling that office. He is likewise engaged in the insurance business, having time to devote to these interests as well as his official duties. He is now vice-president of the board of children's guardians of Lake county, Indiana, and since taking his place as a member of the board he has made strenuous and effective efforts to keep children out of the saloons, and more children are now attending school than ever before in Whiting. He is the only Democrat that has been elected to public office in the town, and this fact is indicative of the confidence and trust reposed in him by his fellow citizens. He is not bitterly aggressive in politics., for while he believes in Democratic principles he casts his ballot independently at local elections where no issue is involved. Since 1867 Judge Jones has been an exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity and has filled all the chairs in the local lodge. He is also a Knight of Pythias, holds membership relations with the Knights of the Maccabees and Colonel Robert Heath Post, G. A. R., of Hammond, in which he has filled all of the positions with the exception of that of quartermaster.
In 1870, while living in Sheldon, Illinois, Judge Jones was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Markley, and to them were born two sons and one daughter: Harry, who is an engineer for the Standard Oil Company; Guy, a switchman in the employ of the same company; and Annie, at home. The Judge and his family are well known in Whiting, where they occupy an enviable position in social circles and have many warm friends. He has taken a very active and helpful part in public affairs, and in his life record has displayed many commendable characteristics. His benevolent spirit has prompted generous assistance to the borough, and he has the reputation of giving more liberally than any other man in Whiting according to his means. No one in need seeking his aid is turned away from his door empty-handed, and while he does not believe in the indiscriminate giving that fosters vagrancy and idleness, he does everything in his power to help those who are willing to help themselves. Judge Jones attended school for only about ten months, and his knowledge has all been acquired through practical experience and by reading and study at night. He has made the most of his opportunities as the years have advanced, and to-day he is a well-informed man, widely and favorably known throughout the community, his abilities well fitting him for leadership in political, business and social life. The terms progress and patriotism may be considered the keynotes of his character, for throughout his career he has labored for the improvement of every line of business or public interest with which he has been associated and at all times has been actuated by a fidelity to his country and her welfare.
Judge W. C. McMahan, in 1902 elected to his present office of circuit judge, has been one of the leading members of the bar at Crown Point for the past twenty years, and his legal talent and learning, his wholesome and genial personality, and his loyalty to the public welfare have been recognized in an extensive law practice and a large personal and party following who have honored him with various public offices, the last being the circuit judge-ship. Since taking his seat on the bench he has fully preserved the judicial dignity of the office and has made a most commendable record by his expeditious yet thorough handling of the numerous cases on his docket. His career has been typical of those of many successful lawyers, he having entered upon the law after a period of experience in school teaching and having passed the usual novitiate of hard study and early trials in gaining recognition from the people. His past record proves his success, and he has reached his present prominence at the bar and bench while in the prime of manhood, being a man of forty-six and with many years of useful work before him.
Judge McMahan was born in Carroll county, Indiana, August 2, 1858, being of Scotch-Irish lineage. His grandfather, Robert McMahan, was an Indian trader, and served as aide-de-camp to General Washington. He was later one of the first settlers in the old town of Chillicothe, Ohio, where he located during the Indian wars. During the pioneer epoch of Ohio history and throughout the remainder of his life he was actively identified with the development and upbuilding of that state and of Indiana.
Judge McMahan's father is Robert McMahan. who was born in Darke county, Ohio, and when a small boy went with his parents to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, where he was reared to the occupation of farming, passing his youth among frontier scenes. He became a farmer of Carroll county, where he has devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits to the present time, although he is now seventy-nine years old and one of the honored patriarchs of his community. By his first wife he had one son. He was afterward married in Carroll county to Miss Martha White, who was born in Ohio and is still living. Her father, Zenas White, was a native of Ohio, and settled in Carroll county, Indiana, in 1832. Of this second union six children were born, four sons and two daughters.
Judge McMahan, the eldest of his brothers and sisters, was reared in Carroll county, Indiana, obtaining his early education in the country and village schools. He later attended the normal school at Ladoga, Indiana, and for four years engaged in teaching school. With his ambition set for the profession of law, he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and studied there one year. He spent another year in reading law with a firm in Logansport, and in 1883 was admitted to the bar at Delphi Carroll county, Indiana. In April of the following year he located in Crown Point and began the practice which he has continued with so much success during the last twenty years. He has almost continuously been in some office demanding his professional services. He was town attorney for sixteen years, was prosecuting attorney of the county from 1890 to 1894, and in January, 1902,. was appointed to the position of circuit judge and in the fall of the same year was elected to that office. He has for a number of years been one of the influential Republicans of this part of the state, and as far as his duties permit he takes an active part in politics. His only fraternal affiliations are with the Knights of Pythias.
In 1888 Jude McMahan married Miss Irene Allman, a daughter of Amos and Mary (Luther) Allman. She was born in Crown Point, and by her marriage became the mother of three children: Claudia, Mary and Maurine.
Seth L. Pearce, of section 19, Eagle Creek township, is a life-long resident of this fertile portion of Lake county, and has been prominently identified with its fanning and stock-raising interests during nearly all his years since attaining manhood. Very little time has been spent away from the scene of his childhood joys, and his career has been worked out to a successful degree of fulness among the people and in the environments that he has known since he first became conscious of the great world about him. As the head of a happy home and as a factor in the social and business life of his community he has borne his share of responsibilities and become known everywhere in his township as a man of integrity and industrious habits.
Mr. Pearce was born in Eagle Creek township, Lake county, July 29, 1854, being the eighth child and the third son of Michael and Margaret J. (Dinwiddie) Pearce. His father, who was one of the pioneer settlers of Lake county, was born in 1808 and died in 1861, and his mother was born in 1818 and died August 8, 1894. Besides Seth L., there are six children living: John, in whose biography on another page further details of family history will be found; Harriet, wife of Isaac Bryant, of Hebron, Indiana: Nancy Ann, wife of O. V. Servis, also written of in this volume; Mary J., wife of W. T. Buchanan, of Eagle Creek township; Susanna, wife of G. H. Stahl, of Eagle Creek township; and Thomas, on the old homestead.
Mr. Seth L. Pearce was reared in his native township, and after attending the local schools went to the Crown Point high school and then to the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso. He spent a year and a. half in Oregon and California, but returned to his native township to take up the agricultural pursuits which have ever since formed his chief occupation and given him his livelihood. After his marriage he located on the farm where he still resides, consisting of one hundred and sixteen acres, well improved and under his capable management producing good general crops and stock. Mr. Pearce is a stanch Republican, and in church matters is a member of the United Presbyterian church at Hebron, taking a useful part in its work.
March 16, 1886, Mr. Pearce married Miss Sarah G. Patterson, a native of Kosciusko county, Indiana, where she was born July 16, 1859, the daughter of John and Margaret (Kirkpatrick) Patterson. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, September 15, 1799, and died April 7, 1864, and her mother in Ohio, August 21, 1819, and died December 12, 1900. She is the only child of their marriage. She was reared and educated in her native county. Father Patterson was reared as an agriculturist in Pennsylvania, and educated in the log-cabin school of "ye olden days." In his early life he was a Whig, and at the birth of the Republican party took up its principles. He came to Ohio from Pennsylvania and afterwards to Kosciusko county, Indiana, in 1843, and there had purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Plain township. He and wife were members of the United Presbyterian church. Mother Patterson was born in Clarke county, Ohio, and was seventeen when she became a resident of Indiana. Mrs. Pearce was educated in the common schools, was also a student in the Warsaw high school three years. She is a lady of genial, cordial bearing, and her cosy,
hospitable home is a haven for friend or stranger. Mr. and Mrs. Pearce have one daughter, Margaret E., born March 6, 1887, and who graduated from the Crown Point high school in 1904. She expects to enter a university of high rank, and take the classical course.
James Montgomery Halsted, of section 11, Ross township, is a life-long resident of Lake county, and has found in agricultural pursuits the best employment for his energies and a means of gaining a comfortable livelihood and a substantial place in the world of material circumstances. He is a son of one of the very earliest pioneers to the county, so that the Halsted family has figured in the industrial and social life of Lake county from its earliest years to the present, and, furthermore, have always retained the esteem and high regard of their fellow citizens and business associates.
Mr. Halsted was born in Ross township, September 12, 1852. His father, James Halsted, was a native of Oneida county, New York, and about 1838 came out to Lake county, Indiana, locating in a very sparsely settled community and playing the part of the doughty pioneer in clearing the ground and making way for civilization. He was a farmer all his life, and lived to the advanced age of eighty-seven years. He was a member of and helped to build the Unitarian church at Hobart. In politics he was a Democrat from the time of casting his first vote to the last. His wife was Mary Woodhouse, who was born and reared in New York city, a daughter of Edwin Woodhouse. She is still living at the age of seventy-six, and has been the mother of six children, four sons and two daughters, all of whom grew up and married, and five are living at the present writing.
Mr. James M. Halsted is the eldest son and the second child. He was reared in Ross township, being educated in the public schools, and he remained at home and assisted his parents until his marriage, in 1877. In the same year he located on the farm where he has since made his home. This consists of one hundred and fifty-seven acres of well improved and highly cultivated land, and is devoted, under his skillful management, to general farming and stock-raising. Mr. Halsted is also interested in public affairs, and in 1904 was the Democratic candidate for the office of trustee of Ross township.
He married, in 1877, Miss Emma Brown, the daughter of James and Jane Brown. She was born in Michigan City, LaPorte county, Indiana, and was reared there. Mr. and Mrs. Halsted have five children: Albert, Ura, Roy, Mamie and Ethel.
