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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
Submitted by K. Torp and B. Ziegenmeyer
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The women of a community are oft times the most enterprising factors in its activity, and extend their influence far beyond their supposedly legitimate sphere of work. There is no citizen of West Creek township more highly esteemed for enterprise and worth in the business and industrial departments of Lake county as well as for large qualities of heart and mind, than Mrs. Einspahr, who resides on the fine estate in this township which she and her husband by indefatigable labor and honest industry and wise management built up to extensive and valuable proportions.
This worthy representative of the ladies of West Creek township was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, June 26, 1852, being the eldest of three children, all daughters, and her two sisters being: Christine, wife of George Walker, a retired resident of Chicago, and who has one child; and Mary, wife of James Nott, engaged in real estate business in Chicago. The parents of these three daughters were T. Baldanzer and Maggie (Albus) Frank. Her father was born in Frankfort on the Rhine in 1823, and died in 1887. He was educated in the German tongue, and followed farming throughout life. In 1857 he set sail from Germany with his family, the port of departure being Bremen, and, on account of the heavy storms which the sailing vessel encountered, they were three months and nine days in reaching this side of the Atlantic. He at once brought the family out to Blue Island, Illinois, where he began his active career as a farmer, poor but honest, and at his death could say that he had always made his own way and had enjoyed the high regard of his neighbors and friends. For a time he was a watchman in the Union Depot at Chicago, and he died in that city. He was a Republican in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. His wife was born in Nassau, Germany, in 1817, and died in 1895, having lived, after her husband's death, with her daughter.
September 20, 1871, Miss Katharina Frank was married to Mr. August Einspahr, and the ten children born of this union are all living at the present writing, as follows: Fred, who is a farmer of Odebolt, Iowa, and is married; William, a prosperous farmer of West Creek township, and a married man; August, a farmer of the same township; Maggie, wife of Otto Sutton, one of the prosperous men of West Creek township whose histories appear in this volume; Martin, who resides with his mother and conducts the farm; Emil, who is a farmer of the same township; Emma, wife of Joseph Carl, who is in a greenhouse at Crown Point; Walker, a farmer of West Creek township: Alfred, who makes his home with his mother; and Katie, the youngest, who is in the sixth grade of school.
Mr. Einspahr was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, May 2, 1843, and died February 11, 1894. He was ten years old when he accompanied his parents to America, their residence from the first being at Blue Island, Illinois. He was thus trained and educated in both the German and English languages. His parents were Frederick and Anna K. Einspahr, both deceased. Mr. Einspahr gave almost a year of loyal service as a soldier to the Union during the Civil war, and then received his honorable discharge. After his marriage he and his wife began life on eighty acres of land in West Creek township, the property being incumbered with twenty-two hundred dollars' debt. But they were industrious, shrewd managers, and had early learned the lesson of making both ends meet, so that it was not long before the indebtedness was cleared off and they were free to add more to their estate.
Mr. Einsphar was a stanch Republican, and all his sons follow his example. He was a solid man, reliable and of unflinching integrity, and all men respected him for his sterling worth. He and his wife were both members of the German Methodist church. Since her husband's death Mrs. Einspahr has erected her comfortable residence in the township, and has supervised the placing of the many improvements and the tiling of the land. She is a lady who is held in the highest esteem by all her acquaintances, and her hospitable home is a place of rest and comfort for all who enter therein.
Henry Brandt, the prosperous and well known farmer and stockman of West Creek township, belongs to that fine class of German-American citizens who have been such praiseworthy factors in the upbuilding of the material and intellectual resources of Lake county. He is a native son and a life-long resident of the county, and therefore his interest in the county is deep-rooted and sincere. The history of his career shows that he has accomplished a more than ordinary success, and it may be said that in every relation of life he has merited the esteem of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Brandt was born in Lake county, April 2, 1856, and is the fifth in a family of nine children, four sons and five daughters, born to Dietrich and Anna (Bischop) Brandt. Eight of this family of sons and daughters are still living, as follows: John, who is a farmer of Benton county, Iowa; Mary; wife of David Locker, a farmer of Greeley county, Nebraska; William, a farmer of Lyon county, Iowa, and married; Henry; Anna, wife of George Sautter, a Nebraska farmer; Lena, wife of William Bahr, a farmer of Lyon county, Iowa; Emma, wife of Casper Gross, a tile manufacturer of Benton county, Iowa; and Herman, a farmer of Lyon county, Iowa.
Dietrich Brandt, the father of these children, was born near the free city of Bremen, in Hanover, Germany, was educated in the German language, and followed farming pursuits throughout the active part of his life. He was married in Germany, and three of their children were born in the fatherland. About the year 1848 he decided to come to America to seek his fortune, and he accordingly embarked his own on board a sailing vessel at Bremen, and after thirty-six days arrived in New York. He came out to Lake county, thus being among the early settlers, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of rather wild land. The first home was a log cabin, and the hazel bushes were standing thick around and over the present highly cultivated place. He was a successful man in his work, and besides providing well for his family he accumulated two hundred and ninety acres in West Creek township, his estate containing some of the choicest land in the community. He was a Republican in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Evangelical church in West Creek township, he having assisted in the building of the church edifice. His death occurred about 1880, and his wife, who was also born in the vicinity of Bremen, passed away in 1893.
Mr. Henry Brandt received an education in the English public schools of West Creek township, and from his earliest years of active labor to the present time has been identified successfully with farming and stock-raising pursuits. He remained at home with his parents until he had reached his majority, and when he started out independently he was possessed of a capital of fifteen hundred dollars.
January 18, 1882, he married Miss Emma Sastrow, and of this happy marriage eight children have been born, seven of whom are living. Ernest, the eldest, received his diploma for completion of the common school course in 1900, and is at home; Elsie, a graduate of the class of 1902, has also taken music; George is a graduate in 1903; Dora is in the fifth grade; and Harry, the youngest, is in the second grade of school. Mrs. Brandt was born in Cook county, Illinois, June 28, 1860, being a daughter of Charles and Henrietta (Steiner) Sastrow. She has one sister, Carrie, wife of William Brandt. Her parents came from Prussia, her father being a native of Pomerania and her mother of Holstein, and her father is still living, being a resident of Lyon county, Iowa.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brandt settled on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres within half a mile of their present homestead. They have been thrifty and good managers, and as the years have gone by their prosperity has manifested itself by an accumulated estate of three hundred and ninety-nine acres, all finely cultivated and as good land as lies within the confines of West Creek township. They also own three hundred and twenty-acres in South Dakota, near Salem, the county seat of McCook county. Mr. Brandt is a good judge of fine stock, and keeps good grades of Norman horses, Durham cattle and Chester White hogs. He has the best of improvements on the farm, consisting of large and commodious barns, granaries and other outbuildings, and in 1896 he erected a comfortable country residence which is a credit to the community. He is a Republican in politics, and, from the time of casting his first presidential vote for James A. Garfield, he has been a loyal upholder of Republican principles. Fraternally he is a mem-ber of Lodge No. 14, of the Independent Order of Foresters at Brunswick, Indiana.
Louis Larson is a prominent and enterprising farmer of Lake county, residing on section 17, Ross township, where he has a well improved property that in its beautiful appearance indicates his careful supervision. A native of Sweden, he was born on the 20th of November, 1860, and was a son of John Larson, who was also born in that country, whence he came to America, landing in New York in 1866, and then spent two years in Chicago. Two years afterward he came to Lake county, Indiana, establishing his home in Hobart township in 1868. There he remained for seven years and then removed to Ross township, but later he returned to Hobart township, where his death occurred in 1898, when he was in his sixty-sixth year. He was a life-long Republican, having firm faith in the principles of the party and giving to it his stalwart support. Both he and his wife are members of the Swedish Lutheran church at Hobart, and he was deeply interested in all that pertained to the moral and educational advancement as well as to the material upbuilding of his community. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Ellen Olson, is also a native of Sweden. She still survives her husband and now makes her home with her son Louis. She has been twice married, and by the first union she had two daughters, while the children of the second marriage are two sons.
Louis Larson, the younger son, was but five years of age when his parents left Sweden and came to the new world, while since seven years of age he has made his home in Lake county, Indiana. Here he was reared and educated, attending the Hobart schools and also the Ainsworth school in Ross township. To his father he gave the benefit of his services through the period of his minority, working in the fields throughout the summer months or from the time of early spring planting until crops were harvested in the late autumn. He remained at home to the time of his marriage, which occurred on the 3d of January, 1885, the lady of his choice being Miss Hilda Strom, a native of Sweden, who came to the United States when fourteen years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Larson have been born three children: William, Edwin and Herbert.
After his marriage Mr. Larson rented his father's farm for about four years and then purchased the place upon which he has since carried on general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. He now has eighty acres of good land here, well improved with substantial buildings. There is a comfortable house and large barn, and other modern improvements which indicate the owner to be a man of progressive and practical spirit. His land is arable, and the well-tilled fields yield to him a good return for his labor. In his political views he is a stanch Republican, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Swedish Methodist Episcopal church at Hobart. Almost his entire life has been passed in Lake county, and those who have known him from boyhood esteem him highly because his life has been honorable and upright.
Thomas Grant, numbered among the wide-awake and progressive business men of Lake county, Indiana, is now engaged in merchandising in Lowell and is also filling the position of township trustee, being active and influential in community affairs. He was born in Lowell on the 13th of September. 1865, and is a son of Thomas Grant, who was born in Scotland and came to America when a young man, locating in Chicago. Subsequently he removed to this county, settling in Lowell in 1860. He assisted in building the mill here, but his business career was early terminated by death. He died in the south when his son Thomas was but nine months old.
Thomas Grant was early thrown upon his own resources, for when a youth of only nine years he began working by the month as a farm hand. He also worked as a section hand for three years on the Monon Railroad, after which he learned the carpenter's trade and followed that pursuit for ten years. As time passed he prospered in his undertaking because of his economy and diligence, and on retiring from active connection with carpentering- he invested the capital he had acquired in a mercantile enterprise in Lowell, becoming a partner of his brother James. This business connection was formed in 1900, and they now carry a large and well selected line of general merchandise. Mr. Grant of this review is also a stockholder in the Lowell National Bank and his efforts are an important factor in promoting commercial activity and prosperity in his town.
In 1893 Mr. Grant was united in marriage to Miss Gracie Nichols, a daughter of W. C. and Mary Nichols. They have one son, Byrl. Mr. Grant is a stanch Republican, taking an active interest in the work and success of his party, and in 1900 he was elected township trustee, which position he is now filling. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias lodge No. 300, at Lowell, and with the Masonic order. Having spent his entire life in Lowell he is well known in this portion of the county, and his life history is as an open book which all may read. His friends entertain for him warm regard, for he has ever commanded their respect and confidence, and because of his prominence in public and business affairs he well deserves mention as one of the representative citizens of this part of the state.
Albert Foster, ex-trustee of West Creek township, for many years actively engaged in agricultural affairs and now a resident of Lowell, belongs to the well-known Foster family which for two-thirds of a century have been conspicuous in the development of the county's material resources. The landed possessions in the Foster name are among the largest single estates in the county. Besides being accumulators of property, they have been producers of wealth, and from the time of the father who located here during the pioneer days the influence and works of the family members have always been on the side of progress in social, intellectual and institutional affairs. What has been accomplished by this family will always remain as a test and mark of their merit and worth as citizens, and Mr. Albert Foster has not been one of the least of the name in conferring great good upon the county of his nativity.
Mr. Foster was born in West Creek township on Christmas day of 1856. His parents were George L. and Lucy Jane (Hathaway) Foster, and he was the fifth of their ten children, five sons and five daughters, nine of whom are still living, as follows: Edwin L., who is married and engaged in the oil business at Jacksonville, Illinois; Volney, married and a farmer in prosperous circumstances in Wrest Creek township; Edson, married and a resident of Chicago Heights, Illinois; Albert; Eliza, wife of Arthur Farley, a farmer of Lowell; Emeline, wife of F. E. Nelson, the banker at Lowell; Martha, wife of Frank L. Smart, who is principal of the Dubuque, Iowa, high school, and who was educated at Valparaiso and in Harvard College; Marillia, wife of S. A. Richards, of Valparaiso; and Julia, wife of George Bailey.
George L. Foster was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, April 10, 1821, and died in Kansas, May 12, 1877. He was a farmer and stockman and for some time was a cattle drover. He was a self-educated man, gifted with a retentive memory, and had great individuality and force of character. His active career began at the early age of fifteen, when he left his father's home and went to work on the Erie canal. He came home at the end of nine months and gave his parents, in addition to his regular wages, twenty dollars that he had picked up as extras. His father returned to him this twenty dollars, and thus capitalized he started out on foot for the distant destination of Lake county, Indiana. When he arrived in this county, in 1836 or '37, he had eleven dollars in cash, so that he began at the foot of life's ladder. For ten years he was a wage earner. About 1841 he entered a tract of eighty acres in section 7, West Creek township, consisting of pure virgin soil, and his first domicilium was a log cabin, the material for which was cut from the Kankakee swamp trees. Not to enter into details, he prospered to the extent that he owned over one thousand acres of land in this county, all in one body, besides eleven hundred acres in Kansas. This land has never passed from the family, and the descendants instead of selling any of it have added much more to it.
Mr. George L. Foster was a very remarkable man in many ways, and he was uniformly successful in all his undertakings. During the California gold excitement he started for the Eldorado, but got only as far as Pike's Peak. Later, however, he went on to the coast, returning by way of the Isthmus. Politically he was an old-line Whig and then joined the Republican party at its birth, being a warm admirer of Abe Lincoln. In official capacities he served as county commissioner of Lake county during the war, 1861-65, and was a strong supporter of the Union. He had a decision of character and a firmness that elevated him above the rank and file and gave a distinctive stamp to both word and action. He and his wife were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he assisted in the erection of both houses of worship of that denomination in West Creek township, the last one being built in 1867. His wife, Lucy (Hathaway) Foster, was born in the Hudson river valley of New York, April 20, 1828, and she died November 30, 1876. Both the Foster and Hathaway families were of pure English stock, and grandfather Elijah Dwight Foster was one of the famous minute-men of the Revolution.
Albert Foster was reared in western Lake county, and his early education stopped with the common schools, after which he trained himself mainly by personal application. He was only twelve years old when he left the parent nest and tried his young wings in independent flight. He was imbued with the desire that comes to all vigorous-minded boys, to travel and see the world. As he says, when he should have been at home under his mother's care, he was far in the west in New Mexico and Arizona, and spending two years in the silver mines of Colorado. He later returned and had already got quite a start in life by the time he reached his majority and was in the mind of settling down in life.
On December 30, 1877, just after he had passed his twenty-first birthday, he was married to Miss Mary E. Sponslor. They have been happily wedded for more than twenty-five years, and six children, three sons and three daughters, have been born to them. Clyde D., the eldest, graduated in the class of 1896 from the Lowell high school, secured his teacher's certificate, taught in his home township two years, was principal at Shelby one year, principal of the Franklin school at Hammond two years, and then entered the literary department of Northwestern University and is still carrying on his studies: he is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and is a member of the Masonic lodge at Lowell; during the present scholastic year of the university he was unanimously elected president of the class, which honor conferred on him was graciously yet modestly received. Emma Stella graduated in 1901 from the Lowell high school and is now taking the teacher's course at the Ypsilanti (Michigan) Normal, being especially interested in elocution. Hattie L., a graduate from the high school in 1903, is also at Ypsilanti. Arthur Lyman graduated from the Lowell high school in 1904 and pursuing normal studies at the Valparaiso College is now a teacher in Lake county. Mr. and Mrs. Foster have not spared means or effort in giving their children the best of training and educational advantages, and they should be congratulated on the excellent results already apparent.
Mrs. Foster was born in Hardin county, Ohio, December 29, 1852, and was reared in that state and educated in the ladies' seminary at West Geneva. She was a teacher for a number of years in her native state and also in Kansas. Her parents, both now deceased, were Jacob and Margaret (Slonacker) Sponslor, and she has five brothers living.
For twenty-one years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Foster resided upon their homestead in West Creek township, where they have a fine estate of three hundred and ten acres, besides some property that Mrs. Foster owns in Ohio. In 1898 they moved into Lowell, where they erected one of the most pretentious homes of the town, and have been citizens there ever since. Their home is finished in hardwood and Georgia pine, is heated by furnace, is prettily furnished, and, best of all and its chief charm, is the abode of hospitality and a place of welcome for their many friends.
Mr. Foster has been prominent in civic affairs in his township, and is one of the leaders in matters pertaining to the general welfare. He is a stalwart Republican, having cast his first vote for Garfield. In August, 1895, he accepted the office of trustee of West Creek township, and during the five years and three months of his tenure of this office many of the most important public improvements effecting the people and material progress were brought about. He caused the erection of several of the fine modern school buildings in the township, which would be a credit to any community, and during his official career, also, the West Creek high school was organized, and education in general received a most stimulating influence in all directions. In 1900 he was appointed by Judge Gillette as drainage commissioner in Lake county. He has often been selected as delegate to his party's county, district and state conventions. Fraternally he affiliates with Colfax Lodge No. 378, F. & A. M., and served as worshipful master one year. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, No. 300, at Lowell, and belongs to the uniform rank of that order.
From an early period in the development of Lake county Thomas J. Steams has resided in this portion of the state and is now living at Lake Station. His interest in public affairs has been manifested in active co-operation in all movements for the general good and he has long been a witness of what has been accomplished in this county as it has emerged from pioneer conditions to take its place with the leading counties of the commonwealth.
Mr. Steams was born February 28, 1842, upon a farm in Porter county. Indiana, about six miles west of Valparaiso. His father, Joseph Steams, was a native of Rhode Island and was reared in New York, whence he went to Porter county, Indiana, about 1838. In 1852 he came to Lake county, casting in his lot with the early settlers of Hobart township, where he performed the arduous task of developing a new farm from wild and unbroken land. He served for several terms as trustee of Hobart township and in public affairs took an active and helpful part. He was also an interested and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his labors promoted the cause of Christianity in his neighborhood. He died when in his seventy-ninth year and left behind an untarnished name and a most honorable record. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rhoda Wilson, was a native of Ohio and was of Irish descent, while Mr. Steams was of English lineage. She was reared in the Buckeye state and lived to be about sixty-nine years of age. To them were born thirteen children, nine of whom reached years of maturity, while two are yet living, Thomas J., and Mrs. Rhoda Toothel, of Hobart.
Thomas J. Steams was the next to the youngest in the family, and he was brought to Lake county, Indiana, when but ten years of age. His education was acquired in the old time district schools, and in the summer months he worked at farm labor until he had gained broad and practical knowledge concerning every department of agricultural work. He continued at home with his parents until 1861, when, feeling that his first duty was to his country, he donned the blue uniform and enlisted in the Fourth Indiana Battery as a private. He served for three years and one month, and six months of that time was spent in a rebel prison. He was first incarcerated at Libby and afterward at Belle Isle. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Lookout Mountain, Perryville and many other engagements, but never received a wound, although he was often in the thickest of the fight.
After being honorably discharged at Indianapolis, Indiana, Mr. Steams returned to Hobart, Lake county, since which time he has continuously resided in this part of the state, living a part of the time in Hobart, where he was engaged in conducting a hotel and also in the grocery business. He has likewise followed farming, and he was a guard in the Northern prison for a year. He has manifested energy and enterprise in every work that he has undertaken, and he is now engaged in the real estate and insurance business at Lake Station.
In 1864 Mr. Steams was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Crowthers. They became the parents of two children, but both are now deceased. In 1871 Mr. Steams married his present wife, who bore the maiden name of Ella Stilhvell, and was a native of New York. Her birth occurred in Schoharie county, August 3, 1845, and she is a daughter of Smith T. and Hannah (Banks) Stilhvell. She was nineteen years of age when she came to Lake county and here she has since resided. Mr. Steams has firm faith in the principles of the Republican party and is a recognized leader in its local ranks. He is now serving as township assessor, and for twelve years he was justice of the peace. He is also notary public and has acted in that capacity for twelve years. He belongs to Hobart Post, No. 411, G. A. R., and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. During fifty-one years he has made his home in Lake county, so that he is very familiar with its history and has been a witness of nearly all of its growth and development.
Charles C. Gibson, who is acting postmaster of Tolleston and is proprietor of the Hotel Gibson, was born in Chicago, September 25, 1835. His father, Thomas Gibson, was a native of Columbus, Ohio, and became a resident of Chicago in 1834, three years before the incorporation of the city. It was then but an embryo village, and the most farsighted could not have dreamed of the marvelous development and growth which awaited it. Thomas Gibson conducted a hotel on the beach called the Lake House. He remained there until 1838, when he removed to Lake county, Indiana, and here again engaged in the hotel business at what was then known as Grass Ridge. He was one of the first settlers of that place and kept a stage house, for there was no railroad through this part of the country at that time and, in fact, few wagon roads had been laid out. Mr. Thomas Gibson afterward opened a hotel one mile east of where Tolleston now stands, and he there remained until his death, which occurred in the year 1850. His widow afterward conducted the hotel until 1860, when she opened the first hotel at Tolleston. In 1879 she sold that property and enjoyed a well merited rest up to the time of her death, which occurred in 1900. Mrs. Thomas Gibson bore the maiden name of Maria Neil, and was born in Ireland, whence she came to the United States as a maiden of thirteen summers. By her marriage she had six children, two sons and four daughters, all of whom reached mature years, but only three are now living, the sisters of our subject being Mrs. Elizabeth Baird, who resides at Hunnewell, Shelby county, Missouri; and Mrs. Julia B. Follette, who is living in Chicago.
Charles C. Gibson, the eldest of the children and the only one now living, was reared under the parental roof and was but three years old when brought by his parents to Lake county. After his father's death he assisted his mother in the hotel business and later entered the service of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad Company, with which he was connected for about seventeen years. He entered the service as a brakeman and was afterward promoted to the position of conductor. He was also for a time with the Michigan Central Railroad Company and also with the Northwestern Railroad Company, and throughout his railroad service proved himself a most capable, efficient and faithful employee. Mr. Gibson is also engaged in farming, having carried on agricultural pursuits in Lake county for about six years or until 1900, when he opened Hotel Gibson, at Tolleston. He has since conducted this hostelry and has made it one which is creditable to the town. He has a thorough and practical training concerning the best methods of carrying on the hotel business, and his earnest desire to please his patrons has secured him a continuance of a liberal patronage.
On the 2d of September, 1860, Mr. Gibson was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Combs, a native of Canada, who was born in Hamilton on the 18th of September, 1844. She is a daughter of David and Eliza (Woodruff) Combs. Mrs. Gibson was reared in Chicago, to which city she was taken by her parents in her early girlhood days. By her marriage she has become the mother of three children, two sons and a daughter: Walter, who follows farming in Lake county, Indiana; Florence, who is the wife of Harry Miles, of Michigan City, Indiana; and George, a blacksmith by trade, who is now engaged in business along that line in California.
Mr. Gibson has spent the greater part of his life in this county and is the oldest living resident of his portion of the county, his connection therewith covering sixty-seven years. He is therefore well known, and the circle of his friendship has broadened as the circle of his acquaintance has been extended. He is a man of many strong characteristics, and his good qualities have won for him the regard of his fellow men. His political allegiance is given to the Democracy, but he has never had time nor inclination to seek
public office.
A native of Germany, Mr. Meyers was born in Prussia, on the 22d. of June, 1842, a son of Mathias and Elizabeth Meyers, both of whom were natives of Germany, where they resided until 1858, when they crossed the Atlantic and established their home upon a farm in Hanover township, Lake county, Indiana, the father there carrying on agricultural pursuits for a number of years.
In the public schools of Germany Stephen Meyers acquired his education and when sixteen years of age he accompanied his parents to the new world. The remainder of his minority was spent on the old homestead farm in Hanover township, and practical business methods became familiar to him through the assistance which he rendered his father in the cultivation of the fields and the sale of the crops. In 1886 he engaged in the saloon business at Hanover Center, and for thirty-two years he actively continued that business in Hanover township. He also became the owner of a farm. As the years passed he added to his financial resources and he is now loaning money and buying commercial paper.
On the 28th of August, 1866, Mr. Meyers was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Bechtloff, a native of Germany, who came to America in April, 1866. They have four living children: Mathias, Stephen, Katie and Frank.
Mr. Meyers has been somewhat prominent in community affairs. He was elected assessor of Hanover township and filled the position for five years. He was also chosen by popular suffrage to the office of trustee and served for six years. He has been a resident of Lake county for forty-six years, his family locating here in pioneer times. He and his family are members of the Catholic church and are well known in the county. Leaving Hanover Center, Mr. Meyers established his home in Crown Point, and is well known in the city and throughout this portion of the state where he has so long resided.
Albert J. Swanson, who is filling the office of township trustee and is engaged in the hardware business at Hobart, Indiana, is a worthy citizen that Sweden has furnished to Lake county and in his business career and private life he displays many of the strong and commendable qualities of the Swedish race. He was born April 6, 1868, a son of John and Beatrice Swan-son. He was only two years old when his parents crossed the Atlantic to America, establishing their home in Moline, Illinois, whence they came to Lake county, Indiana, in October, 1871. Mr. Swanson was then only three years of age. He pursued his education in the public schools of Hobart and in a Swedish school at that place, and when fifteen years of age he started out to earn his own living, working for George Stoker in a general store in Hobart. There he remained for two years, and at the end of that time accepted a clerkship in the store of J. E. Mander, with whom he continued for three months. His next employer was J. J. Wood, a general merchant of
Hobart, with whom he continued for two years, and later he was a salesman in the general store of B. W. Stratton. In 1891 he embarked in merchandising on his own account in partnership with his brother, F. P. Swanson. They purchased the grocery department in the store of B. W. Stratton, and after a partnership of three years Albert J. Swanson bought his brother's interest and continued in the grocery trade until 1900. He then sold out and purchased the hardware store of A. Mealin. He has since added to his stock and is now conducting a well equipped hardware, tin shop, and plumbing establishment. He has secured a good patronage, and his constantly growing trade is now bringing to him a very desirable financial return. He is also engaged in dealing in coal in partnership with William Jahnke, their yards being situated along the line of the Nickle Plate Railroad track.
In 1891 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Swanson and Miss Margaret Cooke, a daughter of M. J. and Elizabeth Cooke. They have four children: Beth, Margaret, Geraldine and Pliny. Beth is in the seventh grade, Margaret in the sixth, Geraldine in the third, and Pliny in the second. Both of the two elder children have taken music.
Mr. Swanson is a public-spirited citizen who has manifested an active interest in many measures pertaining to general progress. In politics he is a Republican, and in November, 1900, was elected township trustee, which position he is now filling. He is the youngest trustee that has ever served in Lake county, and he was chosen to the office by one of the largest majorities ever given a candidate for the position. Mr. Swanson is the only trustee in the county of Lake who has introduced a special teacher of music for the schools of the township, which is highly commendable, as an educative element. The teacher in charge, Miss Cleo Z. Barnes, visits each school each week. Mr. Swanson has also introduced typewriting in the public schools of Hobart, and it proves a successful venture.
Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 333, the Knights of Pythias, No. 458, and the Knights of the Maccabees, Tent No. 65, and he has filled all the offices in these various lodges with the exception of the Masonic. He is well known in the county for his business ability and political activity, and he has made for himself a most creditable record. He started out in life empty-handed, and all that he possesses has been accumulated through his own persistent purpose, capable management and progressive business methods.
George L. Castle, now deceased, who was well known in Lake county, was born in Florence, Huron county, Ohio, February 18, 1839. His father, Squire Castle, was a native of Vermont, whence he removed to Berrien county, Michigan, from Ohio, in 1850. Two years later he came to West Creek township, Lake county, Indiana, arriving here in 1852. George L. Castle was then but thirteen years of age, and he continued his education in the district schools of West Creek township, while with farm work he became very familiar, gaining a broad practical experience as he assisted in the labors of field and meadow and in all departments of farm work. When the country became involved in Civil war, however, he put aside all business and personal considerations, for his patriotic spirit was aroused and he determined to aid his country in the preservation of the Union. Accordingly he enlisted in 1861, becoming a member of Company B, Twentieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until 1864. He was orderly sergeant and took part in many hotly contested battles, displaying marked valor and loyalty upon the field. After being honorably discharged he returned to Lowell and took up the work of contracting, which he followed continuously in this county until June, 1882, when he removed to Chicago. There he engaged in dealing in sand, gravel, brick and lumber, and for twenty years was an active and enterprising business man of that city, his death occurring on the 12th of October, 1902, in Lowell, Indiana. In his political views he was a Democrat, but the honors and emoluments of office had little attraction for him.
On the 18th of December, 1866, Mr. Castle was united in marriage to Miss Laura P. Hull, who was born in Franklin county, Vermont, on the 11th of February 1847. Her father, Samuel P. Hull, was also a native of Franklin county and on emigrating westward established his home in Illinois, where he remained for two years. In 1867 he came to Lake county, Indiana, locating at Lowell, where he followed the occupation of farming. His death occurred February 3, 1898. Mrs. Castle's mother. Emeline Castle, was likewise a native of Franklin county, Vermont, and it was in the Green Mountain state that she was married. Mr. Hull was at one time the owner of the land on which occurred the birth of the late President Arthur. To Mr. and Mrs. Hull were born seven children, two sons and five daughters, namely: Jasper, Mrs. Mary Edmonds, Mrs. Joseph A. Clark, Mrs. Laura Castle, Albert, Mrs. William Sigler, and Mrs. Stanley Babcock, who is now deceased.
Mrs. Castle is the fourth child in the family, and was the mother of one daughter, Mrs. Jessie B. C. Riggs, who died February 13, 1893, leaving a daughter, Laura M. Riggs, whose birth occurred August 28, 1889. (See obituary.) Mrs. Castle still carries on the business at Chicago which was established by her husband, and in this enterprise has the assistance of the secretary of the firm. She also owns a farm in West Creek township, Lake county, to which she gives her personal supervision. She is a woman of business ability, keen foresight and marked enterprise and is capably conducting her varied business interests.
The following obituaries, while covering the main points sketched above, also further indicate the character and life of Mr. Castle and his only daughter and child :
George L. Castle was born in the town of Florence, Huron county, Ohio, February 18, 1839, and died at his home in Lowell, Indiana, October 12, 1902, at the age of 63 years, 7 months and 24 days. His sickness dates back nearly two years, in which time he has been attended by the best medical skill, but all to no purpose. In hopes of regaining his health he went to Florida last winter, but was forced to return without obtaining the desired benefit. Since his return from the south his disease has been of a dropsical nature and that was probably the immediate cause of his death.
When a lad of ten or twelve he moved with his parents to Michigan, remaining there about two years, when they again moved, coming to Lake county, Indiana, arriving here February 18, 1852, since which time Mr. Castle has resided in or near Lowell, with the exception of a few years in Chicago. He was among our best citizens: a man possessed of many noble traits of character, chief among which was his open-heartedness; no one ever applying to him for assistance was turned away empty handed, if within his power to prevent. He was a man very highly respected by all who knew him for his honorable, upright ways. When his country was in distress and needed his services he offered himself as a soldier, enlisting in Company B, 20th I. V. V. I., July 22, 1861, and from which he was discharged as corporal, July 29, 1864, after a faithful service of a little over three years.
December 18, 1866, he was united in marriage with Miss Laura P. Hull. To this union was born one daughter, Jessie, who became the wife of Howard E. Riggs. She died February 13, 1893, leaving a little daughter, Laura M.
The funeral, which was largely attended, occurred from his late home at 2 p. m., October 15. Elder John Bruce assisted by Rev. D. D. Hoagland, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church, officiated. Funeral Director Clifford Stowell had charge of the burial service. Interment was made in the Lowell cemetery.
He leaves his wife, three brothers: John M. and Mortimer, of Lowell, and Charles E. of DeBorgia, Montana, one grand-daughter, Laura M. Riggs, together with a large number of relatives to mourn his death, to whom the Tribune extends sincere sympathy in their darkest hour of sorrow.
Died, at her home in Englewood, February 13, 1893, Jessie Bell (Castle) Riggs, aged 24 years, 4 months and 24 days. Jessie Bell was born in Kansas City, Missouri, September 20, 1868. She was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. George L. Castle, of South Chicago, and wife of Howard Riggs. She came with her parents to Lowell, Indiana, when about three months old, where she resided till she was fourteen years of age, from whence she moved with her parents to South Chicago, Illinois. She was married to Howard Riggs, of Cambridge, Ohio, September 20, 1888. To this union two children were born, a daughter and a son. The son preceded its mother to the Spirit Land about two years ago. Her funeral took place from the Methodist Episcopal church, Thursday, Rev. Bird, of South Chicago, officiating, assisted by Rev. Bruce, of Lowell, where a large concourse of relatives and friends gathered to pay the last sad tribute of respect to one who was loved and held in high esteem by all who knew her. Her remains were laid in the Lowell cemetery, there to rest until the morn of resurrection, from whence she will come forth and her garments shall be white. She leaves a husband and daughter, and father and mother, and other relatives and friends to
mourn her loss.
John Dwyer, whose intense and well directed activity in business affairs has won him success, is now living a retired life in Lowell and enjoys in high measure the respect and esteem of the community. He is an honored veteran of the Civil war, has served as auditor of Lake county and in all relations of life has been found trustworthy and loyal. A native of Knox county, Ohio, his birth occurred on the 26th of June, 1834. His grandfather, James Dwyer, was born in the north of Ireland, and on coming to America settled in Maryland. His father, John Dwyer, was a native of Maryland and settled in Knox county, Ohio, in 1808, becoming one of the pioneer residents of that portion of the state. He was a carpenter and joiner and also a cabinet-maker, and he carried on business at Mount Vernon, Ohio, along those lines. His remaining days were spent in the Buckeye state, where he died at the age of seventy-eight years. His political allegiance was given to the Democracy in early manhood, but in 1856 he joined the ranks of the new Republican party and voted for John C. Fremont. His religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Baptist church. His wife bore the maiden name of Sarah Martin and was a native of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, where she was reared. She, too, spent her last days at Mount Vernon, Ohio, and passed away at the very advanced age of seventy-seven years, there being only a week's difference in the date of hers and her husband's death. This worthy couple were the parents of three sons and eight daughters, all of whom reached years of maturity.
John Dwyer, the ninth child and second son of the family, was reared in Knox county, Ohio, and pursued his education in Frederickton Academy and in Oberlin College. He learned the trade of a millwright in the county of his nativity, serving a full term of apprenticeship, but soon afterward gave up the business. He followed that pursuit for nine months in Iowa. In 1854 he removed to Lake county, Indiana, settling at Crown Point, and engaged in farming one mile east of the city, carrying on that pursuit for about three years.
In the meantime Mr. Dwyer was married on the 28th of December, 1856, the lady of his choice being Miss Cornelia A. Clark, a daughter of Jabez and Marrelle E. (Burrows) Clark, in whose family were seven children-, two daughters and five sons. Mrs. Dwyer, the second in order of birth, was born in Tompkins county, New York, June 27, 1837, and was but seven months old when she was brought to Lake county, Indiana, by her parents, who located at Lowell. The father was a farmer by occupation and, securing land from the government, at once began its cultivation and development, transforming the wild tract into richly cultivated fields. He continued to carry en farming up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1876, when he was sixty-eight years of age. His wife died in her eighty-eighth year. Mrs. Dwyer has one living brother, Perry D. Clark, of Lowell.
In the year 1857 Mr. and Mrs. Dwyer took up their abode upon a farm a half mile south of Lowell, and there he devoted his energies to general agricultural pursuits for about a year and a half. At that time they removed to a farm two and a half miles northwest of Lowell, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1861. Feeling then that his first duty was to his country he joined the boys in blue, enlisting as a member of Company B, Twentieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He joined the army as a private, but was soon afterward made corporal, and he served from June, 1861, until May 5, 1864. He took part in a number of the leading battles of the Army of the Potomac and was wounded in the shoulder at the battle of Gettysburg by a minie ball. He was again wounded at the battle of the Wilderness on the 5th of May, 1864, being struck in the knee by a minie ball. This necessitated the amputation of the left leg above the knee, and on account of his severe injuries he was honorably discharged September 25, 1864.
Mr. Dwyer then returned to Lowell. He certainly made great sacrifices for his country and yet he has never regretted the part which he performed in the preservation of the Union. On again reaching Lake county he took up the work of school teaching, but after he had spent a month in that way he was appointed by Schuyler Colfax to a clerical position in the war department of Washington. Removing to that city he remained for seven years in that department, on the expiration of which period he resigned and returned to his old home in Lake county in 1871. In the same year he was made a candidate for the position of county recorder and was elected the following fall for a term of four years. During that period he made his home in Crown Point, and in the discharge of the duties of the office he was found most capable, efficient, prompt and faithful. On his retirement from official service he returned to Lowell and located on a farm a half mile southwest of the town, there remaining until 1882, when he sold his farm property and removed to Greencastle, Indiana, in order to educate his family. Not long after his removal to that place he was re-appointed to a position in the war department at Washington and remained as a clerk there until 1890, when he again resigned and returned to Lowell, where his family had previously located. He has since lived retired in the enjoyment of a rest which he has truly earned.
Mr. and Mrs. Dwyer are the parents of seven children, but John Byron died at the age of three years and twins died in infancy, while Bessie Eliza died at the age of seventeen months. The others are Cassius C, Schuyler C, who is an attorney at Lowell; and Sylvia May, the wife of Roy M. Abrams, of Indianapolis, Indiana.
Mr. Dwyer has been a life-long Republican, never faltering in his allegiance to the party, which stood as the defender of the Union in the dark days of the Civil war and which has ever been the champion of progress, reform and improvement. He is a member of the Grand Army post at Lowell, and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades. He has a wide and favorable acquaintance in Lake county, and during his residence elsewhere he has felt the keenest interest in the development of this portion of the state. In all life's relations he has been true to duty and in matters of citizenship is as loyal today as when he followed the old flag upon battlefields of the south.
Mahlon Hathaway is one of the representative agriculturists and stock-raisers of West Creek township, and is a man whose success in life and prominence as a citizen well deserve mention in such a historical record as this present volume. He is a native of Kankakee county, Illinois, where he was born November 17, 1856. He is the eldest of the three children, two sons and one daughter, born to Bethuel and Lucinda (Hayden) Hathaway. His brother Henry, next to him in age, is an agriculturist of West Creek township, a successful man, and is married and has a family. Janie, the sister, is the wife of Charles Belshaw, a farmer at Lowell. The father of this family was born in New York state about 1818, and died in Lake county, Indiana, when about seventy years old. He was reared to manhood in his native state, and received his public school education there. He was a pioneer of Lake county, being among those who came in 1843, and he purchased a hundred and sixty acres of land in West Creek township and was a successful farmer during the remainder of his active career. He acquired an estate of two hundred and seventy-five acres, all situated in West Creek township. He was an energetic personality, and in business affairs was aggressive and prosperous. He was an out and out Republican in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Methodist church.
Mr. Hathaway was reared to the age of ten years in Kankakee county, and since then has been a resident of Lake county. He was educated in the common schools, and gained much of life's training by personal application. He had only a small capital when he arrived at majority, and his subsequent success has been almost entirely by his own efforts. He married Miss Julia Smith, by whom he had three children, two living: Blanche completed the eighth grade of school, and Carrie is at home and in the ninth grade of the Lowell high school. The mother of these children died in 1886, and for his second wife Mr. Hathaway married Miss Barbara Grimes, who is the mother of four children, as follows: Leslie, who is in the eighth grade in school, and a bright lad in his studies; Gladys, in the fifth grade; Lucille; and Archie, the youngest.
Mrs. Hathaway was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, in 1866, and was reared and educated in her native county. She was a student of the Valparaiso College, and was also engaged in teaching for several years. Mr. Hathaway is a stanch Republican, and cast his first vote for the lamented Garfield. He has been chosen as a delegate to the county conventions, and has in various ways been active in practical politics in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Hathaway are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in West Creek township. Their homestead is in this same township, where they possess one hundred and forty acres of good land. The buildings about this farm are first class, and in 1898 he erected a modem residence and one of the most charming homes in the neighborhood. He was formerly engaged in the milk business, shipping all his product, but he has of late years bought a De Laval separator and begun the making of butter at home, which he finds a more satisfactory enterprise. Mr. Hathaway is one of the successful men of the county, and has won a large degree of material prosperity and attained the recognition and esteem of his fellow citizens through his well directed efforts and honest endeavor.
Amos Brannon, a retired farmer of Lowell, who was dependent upon his own resources for a living from an early age, is a self-made man, whose record is creditable and well worthy of emulation. He started out in life empty-handed, and, realizing that labor is the basis of all success, he worked diligently and persistently for many years and is now the possessor of a very comfortable competence. Moreover, he has advanced far on life's journey, reaching a stage in which nature seems to have intended that man should put aside active business cares and spend the evening of life in quiet.
Mr. Brannon was born in Summit county, Ohio, on the 4th of September, 1821. His father was William Brannon, whose parents were natives of Ireland. The mother bore the maiden name of Lucina Loveland, and was born in Vermont. William Brannon died in Ohio in 1828 when his son Amos was but seven years of age, but the mother lived to be more than eighty years of age. In their family were eight children, seven of whom reached mature years. Of this number Amos Brannon was the third child and second son. After his father's death he remained with his mother, but worked out for a living until twenty-two years of age. He then came to Indiana, locating in Porter county in the spring of 1843, and in the fall of the same year he came to Lake county. Here he engaged in farming, purchasing a small tract of land in West Creek township. This was wild and unimproved and covered eighty acres. With characteristic energy he began its development and continued the work of improvement until he sold the property and purchased an adjoining farm of two hundred and forty acres. This he also improved, breaking the prairie and transforming wild land into rich and productive fields. He continued agricultural pursuits there until 1885, when he retired and removed to Lowell. He has since built a good residence in the town and is now comfortably situated in life. During the early years of his residence in Indiana he bravely faced all the hardships and dangers of frontier life and performed the arduous task of developing two new farms, but as the years passed by excellent results attended his efforts, making him one of the substantial farmers of the community.
On the 18th of September, 1844, Mr. Brannon was united in marriage to Miss Sallie Taylor, who was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, April 6, 1827, and is a daughter of Calvin and Mary Ann (Nugant) Taylor. They came to LaPorte county, Indiana, in 1834, casting in their lot with the early pioneer settlers. Subsequently they removed to Porter county, Indiana, where the mother died, while the father's death occurred in Lockport, Illinois. In their family were five children, of whom Mrs. Brannon is the eldest. She came to Lake county when but fourteen years of age, and has lived here continuously since. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Brannon has been blessed with eleven children, seven of whom yet survive, while four have passed away, namely: Willia, Amos, Calvin and James M. Those still living are Mary Ann, Amelia, Ida, Milo, William J. and Lucian and Lucina, twins. All were born in West Creek township, Lake county, and the living children are married and have established comfortable homes of their own. Both Mr. and Mrs. Brannon hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, and take zealous and active interest in its work. He has long been a Republican, voting for Fremont on the organization of the party, and twice supporting Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. Mr. Brannon has traveled far on life's journey and can look back over the past without regret and forward to the future without fear, for his has been an honorable, active and useful career. He has never been known to take advantage of the necessities of his fellow men in any trade transactions, but has been just and considerate of others, and in his business life as well as in social circles has gained warm personal regard and respect.
From an early period in the development of Lake county Henry Suprise has been numbered among its residents, and is now a prominent old settler well deserving of mention in this volume. He lives on section 18, Cedar Creek township. A native of New York, he was born on the 1st of December, 1830, and is of French lineage. His father, Peter Suprise, was born in France and came to America when about thirty-five years old. He located in Lake county among its pioneer residents, being one of the first settlers of Cedar Creek township, and there he lived to the very advanced age of about one hundred and nine years. In early manhood he married Rosina Taylor, who was born in Canada and was reared and married there. They removed to New York, where they remained one year, and then came to Lake county, Indiana, where Mrs. Suprise died when about eighty-three years of age. They were the parents of four sons and three daughters, who are now living.
Henry Suprise, the third child of the family, was only six months old when brought to Lake county, o Indiana. His educational privileges were extremely meager, for he began to work as soon as old enough and assisted his father in the arduous task of developing a new farm and continuing its cultivation. He became familiar with every department of farm labor and continued to aid his father on the old homestead until he had attained his majority and afterward cared for his father until the latter's death.
In 1855 occurred the marriage of Henry Suprise and Miss Elizabeth Hill, a daughter of James and Mary (Skinner) Hill. She was born in Decatur county, Indiana, near Greensburg, July 12, 1841. The young couple began their domestic life in Cedar Creek township, where Mr. Suprise engaged in general farming, and he has since followed that pursuit. In the winter he buys and sells cattle, and he is widely recognized as one of the most successful farmers in the county and one of the most extensive landowners, his realty possessions now aggregating about one thousand acres. He worked hard and persistently in the early years of his married life, and as his financial resources increased he made judicious investment in property until to-day he is one of the leading land-holders of this portion of the state. He also owns stock in the Lowell National Bank at Lowell, and is one of its directors, and to a greater or less extent he has engaged in loaning money in Lake county.
To Mr. and Mrs. Suprise have been born three children who are yet living: Jasper, Albert and William, all residents of Lake county. They also lost one child. Since the organization of the Republican party Mr. Suprise has given to it a stalwart and unfaltering support, where matters of state and national interest are involved, but at local elections he votes independently, giving his ballot for men and measures rather than for party. In matters of citizenship he is public-spirited and progressive, and his patriotism stands as an unquestioned fact in his career. He has, therefore, co-operated in many movements for the general good and has been particularly active in the agricultural development and progress of northwestern Indiana.
The ladies of our state and .nation play a most conspicuous part in the affairs of home and community, although "the happiest women, like the happiest nations, have no history," their lives and influence being among the "silent forces" which effect great works without display or heralding abroad. Among the worthy, noble and esteemed women of Lowell is to be numbered Mrs. Sarah E. Nichols, who has lived in this county a number of years and has made her influence felt through her family and in whatever relation she has touched the society about her.
Mrs. Nichols was born in Barnston Corner, Lower Canada, February 24, 1845, being the third of four children, one son and three daughters, born to Hiram and Elvira (Sprague) Wheeler. Her two sisters are still living, Matilda, a widow, being a resident of Arkansas City, Kansas, and Laura the wife of Alexander McNay, of Lowell, Indiana. Her father was born in Canada about 1818, and followed the occupation of farming. Mrs. Nichols' mother was also" a native of Canada, and her death occurred when the former was about seven years old.
Mrs. Nichols being left an orphan was reared by her grandmother until she was fourteen years old, and her education was received in the common schools. March 29, 1862, she married Horatio J. Nichols, in this county. They became the parents of ten children, four sons and six daughters, and six of them are still living: Laura was educated in the Lowell schools and still resides in this town; she wedded Sigel Hayden, and has two children: Harry S., in the second year of high school, and Harold J., in the sixth year of Lowell schools. Wheeler J.. a stock buyer and farmer at Lowell, married Miss Cora Davis and has three children, Dilwyn and Ruth and Ruby, twins; his wife was educated in the Crown Point high school and was a successful Lake county teacher; he is the owner of a nice farm in this county and also of real estate in Lowell, and in politics is a Republican. Sadie Nichols is a successful teacher, and has studied music. Pearl, who graduated from the Lowell high school in 1896 and has shown considerable ability as an artist in crayons, is now the wife of Emil Ruge, who was engaged in the mercantile business at Lowell. Calhoun, one of the popular young Republicans of Lowell, married Miss Lona Flynn, who is a daughter of an ex- soldier of the Civil war and who spent three years in the high school at Rensselaer, Indiana; they have two children, Halbert and Vilmer. Huron, the youngest, is a bright pupil in the eighth grade of the Lowell schools. Mrs. Nichols' deceased children have the following record: Edna, who died in 1894, was the wife of William Bruce and had two children, Carrie and Bertie. Albert, who was killed by lightning in June, 1896, had by his wife, Amma Pinkerton, now a resident of Lowell, four children, Fern, Guy, Beulah and Bertie. Jessie, deceased wife of Bert Holshaw, passed away February 1, 1897, she being a well educated and most lovable young woman. The boy Fay is in the third grade.
Horatio J. Nichols was a native of Lake county, born January 4, 1841, and his death occurred September 12. 1898. He was reared and educated in this county, and being trained on his father's farm he early took to farming pursuits, and he followed that occupation and dealing in stock for his career. He lost his father when he was young, and he remained with his mother and was her mainstay and principal support for many years. He was a student in a log-cabin school, and his early life in Lake county was spent among pioneer conditions. He and his wife began their married life without much capital, and their success was due to their happy combination of energy and good management. The first land he bought was forty acres in Cedar Creek township, and he went in debt for part of it, but their diligence soon paid off all the incumbrance. and after selling it they bought land in Cedar Creek and West Creek townships, and at his death he was the possessor of over four hundred acres of land, an estate which is still held by the family entire. It was in 1887 that they erected their pretty residence in the western part of Lowell, on Commercial avenue, and it still retains its reputation as a home of genuine hospitality and good cheer.
Mr. Nichols was an ardent supporter of the Republican party, and his first presidential vote was cast for Abe Lincoln, and he continued to uphold the party doctrines and candidates from that time till his death. He was a man of generous nature, offering his philanthropy to those in need; and being a man of the strictest honor and integrity, his word was always considered as good as his bond. In his death the community lost a most worthy citizen, and his family lost their best friend, for he was a lover of home and fireside and found his chief delight when among his family.
In 1895 he and his wife made an extended trip to the east, to Boston, and on the return visiting Mrs. Nichols' old home in Canada. His remains rest in the Lowell cemetery, and a beautiful monument stands sacred to his memory. Mrs. Nichols resides in her pleasant Lowell home, surrounded by children and friends, and her family record forms a most important addition to this history and genealogy of Lake county.
The Sage of Concord, Emerson, has said "there is no history; only biography," and in the detailed life sketches that appear in this work will be found the most authentic facts concerning the life and growth of Lake county as a social, industrial and political organization of the state of Indiana. The life of Mr. Robinson, of West Creek township, for long one of the foremost citizens and representative men, adds additional facts to the completeness of this work, for most of his active career has been passed in this county.
He was born in the old Bay state of Massachusetts, April 12, 1846, a son of John G. and Adeline (Thayer) Robinson. There were six children, four sons and two daughters, in the family, and he is the second oldest of the five now living, the others being as follows: Sumner T.. now residing in Sac City, Iowa, was formerly a farmer and later a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, and during the Civil war was a member of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, as part of the Army of the Potomac, and during a skirmish was shot through the shoulder. Ellen, who was a successful teacher in Porter county for a number of years, is now the widow of Anthony Smith and resides in Valparaiso. Emily, who also taught for some years, is the wife of Lemmon Cain, a farmer of Porter county. William is an agriculturist of St. Joseph county, Indiana.
Mr. Robinson's father was also a native of Massachusetts, had a common school education, and followed the vocations of shoemaking and farming. For three years he followed the Union flag as a member of Company H, Twentieth Indiana Infantry, and at the terrible battle of the Wilderness, on May 12, 1864, gave up his life for his country. Of the one hundred and one men of his company who went into that memorable engagement, only four came out unscathed, the dead and wounded being piled up five tiers deep. He had been an ardent Republican and an admirer of Lincoln. He had come to Porter county, Indiana, in 1854, and purchased land on which he made his home until going to the war. His wife was also born in Massachusetts, and the Robinsons and Thayers were both of English origin.
Mr. Robinson was eighteen years old when his father died, and he lost his mother also when he was a boy. Even while his father was away in defense of the flag the care and responsibility of the home devolved in great measure upon him, so that he has been serious-minded and practical from an early age. He has made farming his life vocation, and his early education was obtained in the common schools. He is of the constantly decreasing number who can look back to a log-cabin school as the scene of schoolboy-days. Over in Porter county he daily for several months in the year attended a school held in a sixteen by sixteen foot, round-log building, with roof of shakes, and furnished inside and out in the most primitive pioneer plainness. Ray's arithmetic and the elementary spelling book formed his intellectual pabulum, and from these facts it may be understood how far education has advanced since the youth of Mr. Robinson.
On Christmas day of the year 1869 Mr. Robinson married Miss Sarah T. Evans, who became the mother of seven children, four sons and three daughters, five of whom are living: James W., a farmer residing east of Crown Point in Center township, was educated in the common schools and by his marriage to Miss Laura Kobelin had two children, John L. Hannon and Victor William. John Melvin, who was educated in the common schools and is a prosperous farmer in West Creek township, married Miss Ella Surprise. Kittie is the wife of William Futhey, who is a practical farmer and also managed the construction of the water-works systems in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. Frank Evans, now of Lowell, was educated in the common schools, a graduate of the township high school in the class of 1900, took the teacher's course at the Valparaiso normal, and was a successful teacher in West Creek township for four years: he wedded Miss Ina Klein, daughter of John Klein. Louisa, the youngest of the family, completed the eleventh grade in the high school, graduating from common school in 1899, taught for two years, part of the time in Kankakee county, Illinois, took her second term in the Valparaiso normal, and is now teaching in her home district. The daughter Nellie died at two years of age, and Charlie died when one year old.
Mrs. Robinson was born in Miami county, Ohio, December 29, 1848. being the fourth of seven children, two sons and five daughters, born to James and Mary (Wait) Evans. She has a brother and a sister still living; Robert Evans, who has been employed in the Chicago city postoffice for the past eight years, and was a teacher in Lake county eight years, finished his education at Valparaiso, and is a married man; her sister Mary is the wife of Oscar Kitcheil, a mechanic residing in Englewood, Chicago, and she taught successfully in Porter and Lake counties. James Evans, her father, was a native of Ohio, of Welsh origin. He was a farmer, and about 1849 settled in LaPorte county. He was a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Baptist church. He died in West Creek township of this county September 21, 1877, and his wife in Porter county August 11, 1886. Mrs. Robinson's great-grandfather Wait was a hero in the Revolutionary war, and her grandmother's name was Goble. Mrs. Robinson has spent most of her life in Porter and Lake counties, and her education was received in the common schools.
For the first five years of their wedded life Mr. and Mrs. Robinson resided in Porter county, and then came to Cedar Creek township, Lake county, which was their home for thirteen years, and in 1888 they took up their residence in West Creek township. They have friends throughout the county, and are universally esteemed for their worth and upright lives. Mr. Robinson is a Republican, having cast his first vote for General Grant. He and his good wife were formerly members of the Baptist church denomination, but now belong to the Christian church at Lowell, and contribute to all worthy benevolences according to their means.
John Spry, of West Creek township, is a progressive and prosperous farmer of this part of the county, and during the years of his residence has commended himself to his fellow citizens by his capable industry and integrity of character. As a tiller of the soil he is one of the solid and substantial units from which the strength of the nation is formed, and he is the more highly esteemed as a citizen and a man because he has gained his own success in the world, being both a self-educated and a self-made man.
Mr. Spry is a native of the old blue-grass state of Kentucky, and was born August 7, 1846, being the seventh in order of birth of the nine children, four sons and five daughters, born to John and Melvina (Kimbrell) Spry. He has two brothers living, Enoch, a farmer at Momence, Illinois, and Green, a farmer of old Kentucky, both these brothers being older than Mr. John Spry. The father of the family was born in South Carolina in 1807 and died about 1856, when John was ten years old. He was by occupation a farmer, and adhered to the Democratic party. His wife was born in Kentucky about 1811. and died in 1865. Both were members of the Methodist church.
Mr. John Spry was reared in his native state, and he is one of the men yet living who passed their school days in the now out-of-date log-cabin schoolhouse. The one he attended was about twenty by forty feet in size, was heated by a fireplace, and had one long window in the end. And the text-books were Webster's speller and McGuffey's well known readers, grammar and geography. He has also used the goosequill pen, and seen it fashioned out by the master's hand. When he entered upon his career of independent activity at the age of eighteen his material capital consisted of a horse, a cow and one bed, but he had plenty of energy and determination, which are, after all, the principal factors in acquiring success, as he has experienced it.
On October 27, 1864, he married Miss Catharine White, and eight children were born of this union, seven of them now living: Bessie is the wife of James Little, a prosperous Lake county farmer whose history appears elsewhere in this work; Sadie is the wife of Don Cadwell, a barber of Crown Point; Mollie is the wife of Emil Larrison, a farmer of West Creek township; William C, a farmer of Cedar Creek township, is married and has two children; Solomon is a farmer of West Creek township and is married; Clarence, of West Creek township, is a farmer and married: Earnie is at home with his parents. Mrs. Spry was born in Clarke county, Kentucky, in 1847, and six of her children were born in that state.
About the year 1879 Mr. Spry brought his family to Kankakee county, Illinois, and followed farming there as a renter for six years, after which he located in West Creek township, this county, and continued tenant farming for some years. He was prosperous and a good manager of his affairs, and in 1894 he purchased one hundred and forty-nine acres in West Creek township. At the present writing he lives on and farms his nice estate of eighty acres, and he has surrounded himself with many of the comforts of life, besides doing his full duty by his children and seeing them all well started in the world. He is a Republican and has supported the principles of his party since casting his first vote. He and his wife are members of the Christian church, and are generous of their means and efforts in advancing any worthy cause.
The enterprising agriculturist is the factor who plays the most conspicuous part in the records of a state or nation, and really furnishes the groundwork upon which all other classes of citizens stand. West Creek township of Lake county has long been noted for the excellence of its soil and the worth of its farm lands when properly cultivated, and one might travel all through the township and not find a farmstead which he could more easily pronounce a model in all respects than that owned by Mr. A. B. Chipman. He is not an old resident of Lake county, but makes up in enterprise and public-spirited interest in local affairs what he lacks in length of citizenship, so that he and his worthy family hold high rank in the esteem of their friends and associates.
Mr. Chipman was born in Kankakee county. Illinois, November 20, 1867, being a son of Ansel B. and Laura (Sanger) Chipman, six of whose children are still living. His father was a native of Canada and of English descent. He was born about 1820, and died when sixty-eight years old, having spent his active life in farming pursuits. He left Canada when a young man and came to the United States, where he was married. He owned a farm in Yellowhead township, Kankakee county, and he passed away in that township. In politics he was a stanch Republican. His wife was born in the state of Ohio, and is still living at the age of seventy-one years, bearing the weight of years with singular brightness. She makes her home with her children, whose homes are always open with filial love to receive her.
Mr. A. B. Chipman made the beginning of his active career with very little capital. He received a common school education, but is in the main a self-educated and self-trained man. From his own early experience it has become his ambition to give his own children as good an education as is possible.
He made his home with his parents until he was twenty-one years old, and on December 29, 1888, he was married to Miss Laura E. Kelsey. Of this happy marriage there are three children, one son and two daughters: Mildred has received her diploma for completing the eighth grade of school and has taken instrumental music; Edith has also completed the eighth grade and has taken musical instruction; and Albert, the son, has reached the fifth grade of school. The children are very bright in their studies, and their parents may be very proud of their auspicious start in life. Mrs. Chipman is a native of Kankakee county, Illinois, and was born October 27, 1864. She was educated in the public schools and was a teacher in Illinois for one term. She also had an excellent training in music and taught that art for some time.
Mr. and Mrs. Chipman began their married life as renters in Kankakee county, where they remained some four or five years. Mrs. Chipman bad forty acres in her own right, and they afterward purchased eighty acres. They continued with increasing success in Kankakee county for four years. In 1900 they purchased the beautiful farm known as the A. Brannon estate, from William Brannon, located just two miles from the prosperous town of Lowell, and the farm is convenient to business, markets and the schools. The farm contains two hundred and forty acres of as fine land as there is in West Creek township. The cosy and comfortable residence and the convenient outbuildings are also among the best to be found in the township. The land is fairly well tiled, and this work of improvement is still progressing, Mr. Chipman having placed about ten thousand tiles during 1903 and 1904. Mr. Chipman is a stanch Republican, and cast his first vote for Benjamin Harrison. He has been selected as a delegate from his township to represent his party.
Whether the elements of success in life are innate attributes of the individual, or whether they are quickened by a process of circumstantial development, it is impossible to clearly determine. Yet the study of a successful life is none the less profitable by reason of the existence of this uncertainty, and in the majority of -cases it is found that exceptional ability, amounting to genius, perhaps, was the real secret of the pre-eminence which many envied. Thus it appears to the student of human nature who seeks to trace the history of the rise of F. Richard Schaaf, Sr., a typical German-American of the best class.
Mr. Schaaf was born in Saxony, Germany, on the 26th of March, 1857, and is a son of Ferdinand and Catherine Schaaf, who were also natives of the same country. The son was reared in that land and pursued his education in the public schools of Germany. He also attended college there and was educated for the army in order to enter military service as a veterinary surgeon with the rank of lieutenant. He volunteered to enter the army and by reason of this he was honorably discharged after two years six months. It was his desire to come to America, and for that reason he secured his release from the army.
Mr. Schaaf was but fourteen years of age when left an orphan by the death of his parents, and when about twenty years of age he was married in the fatherland. He came to America about 1880 and the same year located in Chicago, where he became an employee in the tool department of the Electric Construction Company. He was a representative of that house for five years, at the end of which time he rented the American House, which was located at the corner of Twenty-second street and Archer avenue. This he conducted until 1889, when he came to Whiting and built the Berry Lake hotel. He continued as its manager and proprietor until 1893, when he sold out and removed to Robertsdale, where he established a grocery store. Later he turned his attention to the insurance business, and he now represents the Queen of America, the Hamburg, Bremen, the Norwich Union, the Hanover and the Scottish Union & National insurance companies; also is notary public. His policies represent a large amount of insurance each year, and his business has grown to profitable proportions. In his political allegiance Mr. Schaaf is a Democrat, and has been a member of the Hammond city council since 1894, covering a period of ten consecutive years. He has been very active as a representative of this body, has taken a deep interest in the city's welfare, has exercised his official prerogatives for the general progress and improvement and has done much in this way for the upbuilding of the city. He has been particularly active in locating school-houses, in opening and improving streets and he advocated the opening of Wolf river for harbor purposes; and located Lake Front Park in Robertsdale, Hammond. He is a strong believer in this harbor measure, and if it is carried into effect it will undoubtedly prove of great value in community interests. Mr. Schaaf is also deputy assessor of North township.
In 1877 occurred the marriage of F. Richard Schaaf and Miss Catherine Schlueter, a native of Germany, and they have become the parents of seven children, namely: F. Richard, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume, being well known in business circles in Whiting; Clara; George; Elizabeth; Catherine; Martha; and Edward. Socially Mr. Schaaf is connected with the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Waldeck Lodge No. 674, F. & A. M., of Chicago. He is likewise a member of Moltke Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Hammond. A public-spirited citizen, his efforts in behalf of Lake county have been far-reaching and beneficial. He is one of the best known men of his locality, having resided here since the establishment of the towns of Whiting and Robertsdale. Recognizing the possibilities of these places he has contributed to general progress and improvement, and no man is more loyal to the best interests of this portion of the state. In his business career, too, he has made for himself an enviable name, and his life history shows what can be accomplished by determined effort and strong purpose.
William Charles Belman, cashier of the First National Bank of Hammond, is one of the leaders in business and financial affairs of this city. He is a self-made man, and has been dependent on his own exertions since he was fourteen years old. By hard labor and diligent application he became a successful teacher, and for many years was at the head of the Hammond public schools. From that profession he entered business, and for several years has taken an active part in the financial matters of Hammond.
Mr. Belman was born in Detroit, Michigan, May 1, 1860, a son of William F. and Matilda H. (Sabine) Belman, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Detroit. There was one other child of these parents, Lettie, wife of C. E. Cummins, of Putney, South Dakota. Mrs. Matilda Belman died in Detroit in 1866, at the age of twenty-nine years. She was a member of the Methodist church. Her father was John Sabine, a son of John and a native of England. He came to America about 1827 and settled in Detroit, where he followed his trade of harness-maker. He is still living at the age of eighty-eight years. By his wife, Maria Hagell, he had nine children. The father of William F. Belman, John Belman, was also a native of England, whence he became an early settler of Pennsylvania and later of Detroit, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying at the age of seventy years. He was a shoemaker. His wife was Hannah Creighton, and they had nine children. William F. Belman learned the trade of harness-maker, and when a young man moved to Detroit, where he lived for many years and plied his craft. In 1869 he moved to Perry, Michigan, and bought a farm, on which he still resides. He married for his second wife Amanda Rowell, who died the following year. His present wife was Miss Elizabeth Gibbs, who is the mother of six children: Stella, wife of W. A. Tucker, of Des Moines, Iowa; Vidi, of Perry, Michigan; Burchel, of Perry; Sarah, of Perry; Job, of Perry; and Bessie, of Perry. The parents of this family are both Methodists, and the father is a Republican.
Mr. William C. Belman lived in Detroit until he was ten years old, receiving his first schooling there. At the age of fourteen he left his father's farm and came out to Indiana, where for several years he was engaged in hard manual labor on farms during most of each year, and at intervals attended the Valparaiso College. He became a successful teacher, and for eighteen years previous to accepting the position of cashier of the First National Bank he was superintendent of the public schools of Hammond. He has held his present position for the past three years. He is also secretary-treasurer of the Lake County Savings and Trust Company and is president of the Hammond Building and Loan and Savings Association.
Mr. Belman is a Republican in politics. He is a Master Mason of Garfield Lodge. F. & A. M., and also affiliates with Hammond Lodge No. 210, Knights of Pythias, and with the National Union and Royal League societies. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church, and he is a church trustee and steward and for a number of years served as superintendent of the Sunday school. He resides at 130 Ogden avenue, where he built his pleasant home in 1889.
June 25, 1884, he married Miss Nettie Smith, a daughter of Thomas W. and Sarah (McCabe) Smith. Mrs. Belman was also a Methodist. She died in July, 1897, at the age of thirty-three, leaving two children, Charles and Edna. On August 10, 1899, Mr. Belman married Miss Emma Rork, a daughter of William Rork. They have a son, Creighton, and lost a daughter in infancy.
Mrs. Johanna Meyer, of West Creek township, has, since the recent death of her husband, managed with fine executive ability the affairs of her fine homestead and farm, and has again illustrated woman's capacity for controlling the weightier matters of the world when such burden devolves upon her. The Meyer family belong to the thrifty and esteemed class of German-American citizens who have prospered so well in this country and at the same time have added so largely to its resources and high grade of citizenship.
Mrs. Meyer was born in Westphalia, Germany, September 29, 1855, being the oldest in a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, born to Herman and Ann E. (Wilke) Krudup. Four of the children are still living, Mrs. Meyer being the oldest. Her brother, Herman C, is married and resides in Englewood, Chicago, where he is a salesman in a wholesale grocery establishment; William F., married, is a harness-maker in Gibson City, Illinois: and John, who has a mercantile business in Brunswick, resides on the old homestead in Lake county, and is married. The two oldest of the children, both daughters, were born in Germany, while the others, four sons and one daughter, were born in this country. Their father was born, reared, and married in Germany, and was trained to the life and pursuits of farming. He brought his family to America about 1859, coming in a sailing vessel from Bremen, and it was nine weeks before they landed in New Orleans. Will county, Illinois, was their first destination, and from there they came to Lake county, where the father purchased eighty acres of land which remained his home till his death, although he had increased his estate to one hundred and sixty acres. The farm was virgin soil when he first took hold of it, and all the improvements and system of cultivation he brought about by his own efforts. He was a Republican, and the family religion was German Lutheran.
The mother was born in the same part of Germany as her husband, and she preceded him in death.
Mrs. Meyer has spent all but the first four years of her life in Lake county, and she was educated in the common schools.. October 26, 1871, she was united in marriage with John H. Meyer, and they had a happy union of many years, during which time seven children, three sons and four daughters, were born into their household, six of them being still living, as follows: Henry D., who was educated in the common schools, is a practical farmer and stockman and conducts the home farm, and is a Republican in political faith. Anna M., who was educated in the common schools and also in music, resides at home. Emma M., a graduate in 1903 and also trained in music, is at home, as is also the daughter Ida C, who graduated in 1904 and a student in Lowell High School. Herman C. is in the eighth grade of school, and Bertha, the youngest, is in the fifth grade. All the daughters have received musical instruction, and are bright and intelligent young ladies and are being well trained by their practical mother for the serious matters of the world.
Mr. John H. Meyer, the father of happy memory, by whose death on April 16, 1900, the entire community as well as the family suffered a positive loss in character and worth of manhood, was born in Hanover, Germany, November 23, 1849. He was educated in the fatherland and was about twenty years old when he came to America with his father. In time he became recognized as one of the first-class farmers of West Creek township, although he began humbly and with little in the way of capital. He and his wife, after their marriage, made their beginning on one hundred and twenty acres of his father's estate, and by industry and frugality and good management between them they were enabled to build up a fine estate. They later purchased the eighty acres where the home residence is now located. This land had for some years previous been rented out, and was badly run down. He went to work fertilizing and increasing the productivity of the soil and also improving the land by buildings and the many facilities that marked the first-class agricultural property. The Meyer farm is now known as one of the model places of West Creek township, and one that any family might be proud to own. Since her husband's death Mrs. Meyer has for four years given her attention equally well to both household and outdoor duties of farm management, and with the assistance of her noble children has succeeded remarkably well in her enterprise. She is deserving of all credit for her capable direction of the farm as also for rearing such useful and worthy sons and daughters and providing well for their education and training in youth. Mr. Meyer enjoyed the respect and esteem of all in the circle of his acquaintance, and was a man of excellent ability and integrity of character. He was an ardent Republican. He and his wife were confirmed in the German Lutheran church at the age of fourteen, and the family house of worship is at Eagle Lake, Illinois.
Miles C. Frysinger, attorney at law of Indiana Harbor, has established himself in this town at the beginning of his career, and as a talented young professional man is making his influence felt in its development and general progress. He has shown much, ability and conscientious effort at the outset of his own career as a lawyer, and his thorough training and personal worth are sure to be determining factors in his success and progress to prominence at the bar of the state and county.
Mr. Frysinger was born in Adams county, Indiana, March 17, 1871, a son of Andrew J. and Phoebe (Cause) Frysinger. His paternal grandfather, Peter Frysinger, was born in Pennsylvania and was an early settler of Van Wert county, Ohio, where he followed the occupation of farming and died at the age of seventy-seven years. He held various county offices. He was of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. His wife was Catharine Bodey, and they had fourteen children. Grandfather Gause was a native of Virginia, whence he moved to Pennsylvania and later to Ohio, and died in Van Wert county at the age of seventy-five years. He was also a farmer. He had eleven children.
Andrew J. Frysinger, the father of Miles C, was a native of Ohio, and throughout his active career followed farming. He came to Indiana about 1860, settling in Adams county. He bought and improved a farm, and died there in 1885 at the age of forty-four. He saw active service as a soldier during the last three months of the Civil war. His wife, also a native of Ohio, died in 1892, at the age of forty-three. They belonged to the United Brethren church, that denomination having the only church in their vicinity.
They were the parents of fourteen children, as follows: Grant M., of Cabool, Missouri; Klell, deceased; Laura B., wife of William If. Winans, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; May R., deceased; Miles C, of Indiana Harbor; Audie, of Angola, Indiana; David F., of Van Wert, Ohio; Katy E. and Minta M., twins, deceased; Eva and Effie, twins, the former the wife of a Mr. Davis of Fort Wayne, and the latter also living in Fort Wayne; Maggie; and Iva, the wife of Walker H. Spayd of Van Wert, Ohio; Bertha L., deceased.
Mr. Miles C. Frysinger was reared on his father's farm in Adams county, Indiana, securing his first education in the district schools. He later attended the normal school at Middlepoint, Ohio, and Valparaiso College, at Valparaiso, Indiana, and in 1902 graduated from the Indiana State University with the degree of A. B., and in 1903 graduated from the law department with the degree of LL. B. He was admitted to the bar in 1903, and in November of the same year established his office at Indiana Harbor, where he has already gained considerable clientage and become identified with the progressive interests of the town. Mr. Frysinger is a Republican in politics. He has fraternal affiliations with the Knights of Pythias.
He was married to Miss Flora Wilmer, of Ironton, Ohio, October 10, 1904.
John K. Hayden was a resident of Lake county in early pioneer days and is numbered among the county's honored dead. He bore his full share in the work of early progress and improvement and was known as a reliable business man who never took advantage of the necessities of his fellow men in any trade transaction, but won success through unflagging industry, strong and commendable purpose and honorable effort. His birth occurred in Knox county, Ohio, on the 23d of October, 1835, and he was one of the thirteen children born to Nehemiah and Harriet (Kitchell) Hayden. He was only about a year old when brought to Lake county, and his boyhood days were passed in West Creek township. There he was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads, attending the district schools through the winter months, while in the summer seasons he worked at the plow or in the harvest field. To his father he gave the benefit of his services up to the time of his marriage, which important event in his life was celebrated on the 3d of March, 1859. He then located in Kankakee county, Illinois, near the boundary line of Lake county, and was there engaged in farming until 1896, when he removed to Lowell and retired from active business life. He was well known as an agriculturist who conducted his farm along modern and progressive lines, placing his fields under a high state of cultivation and equipping the farm with all improvements and accessories that facilitated its work and rendered his labor of greater value ins the acquirement of a competence. As his financial resources increased he added to his landed possessions, and at one time he owned in the neighborhood of six hundred and thirty acres of valuable land. The homestead farm comprised one hundred and twenty acres, and he afterward divided some of his property among his children.
Mr. Hayden was united in marriage to Miss Rachel Dodge, who was born in West Creek township, Lake county, Indiana, June 6, 1840. Her father, Henry Dodge, was a native of Vermont and died in Michigan in 1879. He had removed to the west in 1837 and was one of the pioneer settlers of northwestern Indiana, establishing his home in West Creek township, Lake county. He removed to Oceana county, Michigan, in 1871, and there passed away in 1879. His wife bore the maiden name of Lucretia De Gau, and was born in Canada. Her death occurred in Michigan in 1879. This worthy couple were the parents of twelve children, of whom Mrs. Hayden was the second in order of birth. She has spent her entire life in Lake county, Indiana, and in Kankakee county, Illinois, the district separated only by the boundary line of the states. To Mr. and Mrs. Hayden have been born eight children, of whom George and Willis A. are now deceased. The others are Robert, who is a resident of Virginia; Mary, the wife of William Beeman, who resides in Monticello, Indiana; Lizzie, the wife of E. N. Hayhurst, of West Creek township; Alva, who is married and lives near Roanoke, Indiana; Ella, the wife of J. W. Diss, of Sherburnville, Illinois; and Jesse, of Kankakee township, Kankakee county, Illinois.
Mr. Hayden continued to make his home in Lowell until his death, which occurred on the 6th of October, 1903. He was very well known in the county as the champion of all measures for general progress and improvement. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party, and the cause of education found in him a warm friend. He took a deep interest in the schools and served as school director for about nine years. Mr. Hayden spent almost his entire life in this portion of the country and he possessed many sterling traits of character which gained for him warm personal regard and friendship. He was a devoted husband and father, a progressive and public-spirited citizen and one whose loss was deeply mourned throughout the community.
For a half century Reuben Fancher has made his home in Lake county and is now living a retired life at Crown Point. He was for many years actively identified with agricultural interests, but now is enjoying a well earned rest. His birth occurred in Huron county, Ohio, on the 28th of April, 1834, and he comes of English ancestry. His grandfather and his father both bore the name of Thaddeus Fancher, and his mother bore the maiden name of Amy Chapman. She was born in Connecticut and was a daughter of Cyrus Chapman, who was also of English lineage. To these parents were born twelve children, of whom seven are yet living.
Reuben Fancher, the eldest of the family, was reared in Huron county, Ohio, until twenty years of age, when he started out in life on his own account and, believing that he might have better business opportunities in a less thickly settled district, he went to Michigan, where he attended the public school during the winter months. March 20, 1855, he came to Crown Point, and at that time his capital consisted of only forty dollars in gold, but he possessed a resolute and determined spirit, renting a tract of land on which he began farming. He also bought stock, and when his financial re-sources had increased to a sufficient extent he purchased eighty acres of land, to which he added until his farm comprised one hundred and sixty acres. Subsequently he traded that for property in Crown Point and took up his abode in the city. For three years he served as deputy sheriff. He has, however, been largely engaged in dealing in farm machinery and live stock, but is now living a retired life, for through his perseverance and energy he accumulated a handsome competence that now supplies him with all of the necessities and many of the comforts and luxuries of life.
In August, 1857, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Fancher and Miss Mary Hawkins, who was born in New York and died in Lake county, Indiana, in 1895. They were the parents of four children, the eldest of whom died in infancy. The others are William; Mary, the wife of E. H. Crowell; and Grace, at home.
Mr. Fancher is a Republican, and cast his first presidential vote for Fremont and afterward supported Lincoln in 1860 and again in 1864. He has never wavered in his allegiance to the party, but has always voted for its presidential candidates and has put forth every effort in his power to promote its growth and secure its success. For thirty-five years he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has been identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for about the same length of time. For half a century he has lived in Lake county, spending much of the time in Crown Point, and his life record is thus closely identified with the history of this portion of the state. He has watched the development of the county as it has emerged from pioneer conditions and has advanced toward its present progress and prosperity. His mind bears the impress of the early historic annals of northwestern Indiana, and what to many others are matters of record are to him affairs of intimate knowledge if not of personal experience.
Many years ago he established the important business, with its adjuncts, of putting down wells; an occupation still carried on by his son; and although nominally retired from business life, being now seventy years of age, he may be found quite regularly in their office on Main street, looking after the interests of their business. The wells which they put down are known as tubular walls. They go down to various depths. Furnishing windmills and pumps is one of the adjuncts of this business.
Mr. Fancher is a believer in Christianity, a friend to Sunday schools and churches, and became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church many years ago.
The fuller genealogic record, which in such a work as this it is desirable to preserve, is the following:
1. Thaddeus Fancher was born in England in 1777. He was by trade a harness-maker. When a young man he came to the United States and settled in Connecticut. He there married Sally Mead, "a daughter of General Mead of Revolutionary fame." There were of this family twelve children.
2. Thaddeus S. Fancher was born in Ulster county, New York (to which state his father had removed in 1808), April 8, 1809. His father was a soldier in the American army in the war of 1812, and in 1815 visited the then new and truly wild region of Huron county, Ohio, to which state he removed with his family in November and December of 1820, when Thaddeus S. was eleven years of age. The Fancher family therefore were true pioneers of Huron county, Ohio, knowing well the experiences of a frontier life. Thaddeus S. Fancher was married to Annie M. Chapman, September 8, 1833. In 1894 they were "the oldest married couple in Huron county."
3. Reuben Fancher, the oldest of twelve children, of whom the foregoing sketch has been written, it thus appears, is a descendant of soldiers of the war of the Revolution and the war of 1812, and of resolute and successful pioneers of the state of Ohio.
P. J. Kelly, who is engaged in the real estate and insurance business at Hobart and is also notary public, is a type of the representative business man whose life contains no exciting chapter or incidents, but whose record shows the force of consecutive endeavors supplemented by laudable ambition and guided by sound and reliable judgment. He was born in New York city March 4, 1841, and when but four years of age was taken to England by his parents, where he remained until 1864. He then returned to his native land, locating in Chicago, where he engaged in the grocery business at the corner of Randolph and State streets. In 1871 he suffered severe losses in the great fire which swept over the city. He had nothing left but a horse and wagon. He remained in Chicago, however, for about a year or until he had managed to earn a little money, when he again engaged in business as a partner of James Casey under the firm style of Kelly & Casey, at the corner of State and Fourteenth streets. There he remained until he came to Hobart, Indiana, where he was engaged in teaching school for four years, and was also justice of the peace and filled that position for eight years. He was also a railroad postal agent for eight years, running between New York and Buffalo, and during that time he maintained his residence in Hobart. He was known as one of the "short stops" of the postal service. He made the trip between New York and Buffalo three times a week, distributing the mail from the former city west to Buffalo. The mail was distributed on the cars, a regular postoffice being maintained on the mail train. His continuance in that position was from 1881 until 1889, and he never missed a day's service during all that time and many times he substituted for others. Formerly he conducted a newspaper in Hobart for two and a half years, this being the first Republican journal of the town. When he left the mail service he was elected justice of the peace of Hobart and filled the office for eight years, at the end of which time he declined a renomination. He is now notary public and is also engaged in the real estate and insurance business. He is doing well in both branches and has handled many important real estate transfers since beginning in this line.
In 1866 occurred the marriage of Mr. Kelly and Miss Mary E. Wilbur, a native of Compton, Rhode Island. They were married in Chicago, and traveled life's journey happily together for more than a third of a century, when in December, 1901, Mrs. Kelly was called to her final rest. In the following July Mr. Kelly was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Elizabeth Butts, the widow of Frank Butts, who was formerly a prominent contractor and builder of Lake county, Indiana. Mr. Kelly owns his own residence, which is one of the attractive homes of Hobart. He is numbered among the representative citizens of Lake county, and is a stanch Republican, while socially he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has been grand master, district deputy and chief patriarch of the grand encampment. For thirty-two years he has maintained his residence in Hobart, and throughout this period he has been noted for his reliability in every relation of life in which he has been found, whether in the government service or conducting private business affairs.
Emerson Otto Sutton is a representative of one of the oldest and most representative families of west Lake county, and in his life vocation of agriculture and in the discharge of those responsibilities which fall to the lot of every substantial and public-spirited American he has shown himself a man of perfect integrity and solidity of character well befitting one of his family name.
He was born in Rush county, Indiana, December 6, 1859, and is the sixth in a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters, born to Gabriel F. and Almeda (Hall) Sutton. Seven of these children are still living', named as follows: Festus, who is a prosperous farmer and stockman of West Creek township, and whose biography will be found on other pages of this history; Maggie, wife of William Smith, a retired farmer of Lowell; Mary, wife of Frank A. Hayden, a resident of Kankakee county, Illinois; John, a farmer of West Creek township: Emerson O.; Grant, a farmer of Jasper county; and May, who resides on the old home with her mother and brother Otto.
Mr. Gabriel F. Sutton, the father of this family, was a factor of great importance in the life of Lake county and a man whose influence will not soon be lost to the world in which he lived. He was born near Connersville, Indiana, and was reared to farming life and educated in the common schools. He was throughout life a man of sound judgment and substantial character, and was successful in whatever he undertook. He followed teaching in this state for a number of years. He was an old-line Whig during the early part of his political career, and later upheld the banner of true Republicanism. He died about 1900, and his remains are interred in the Lowell cemetery, where his devoted wife and children have erected a beautiful monument sacred to his memory. He and his wife were members of the Christian church at Lowell. He had begun life in Rush county with very little capital, and at his death his estate comprised three hundred and twenty-five acres in Lake county and six acres in the village of Lowell, with one hundred and forty acres in Jasper county, besides personal effects, and was valued at forty thousand dollars. The ancestry of this honored citizen is traced back to old England.
Mr. Otto Sutton was reared in Lake county, receiving his education in the public schools, although he is indebted mainly to his own efforts and personal application for the training and insight into practical affairs of the world. He has always resided on the parental homestead, and since his father's death his mother and sister have continued to live with him. He was happily married on Christmas day of 1903 to Miss Maggie Einspahr. She is a native of West Creek township, and comes from one of the prominent German-American families of the township, being a lady who stands high in the social scale. She was educated in both the German and the English languages.
Mr. Sutton is a stanch Republican, cast his first vote for James A. Gar-field, since which time he has never faltered in his allegiance to the party. He has been selected as a delegate to the county conventions, and is a member of the district committee. He affiliates with Castle Hall Lodge No. 300, Knights of Pythias, at Lowell.
Gabriel F. Sutton, deceased, was born October 27, 1822, in the vicinity of Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana. While he was yet in his infancy his parents moved to Rush county. Indiana, where he grew to manhood. On January 1, 1846, he was united in marriage to Almeda Hall, who survives him. To this union were born eight children: Festus P., Maggie J., Mary A., John H., Henry M., Emerson O., Elsworth G., and Viola M. With the exception of Henry M.. who died in his infancy, all remain to mourn the father's loss. Brother Sutton came to Lake county. Indiana, in the year 1862, and from that time until his death evinced the true spirit of citizenship in every detail. He united with the Christian church in early manhood, and filled its pulpit very acceptably many times. He was a loving husband, a kind and indulgent father, a true friend and neighbor, a stanch. believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and died in peace with God, December 17, 1899, at the age of seventy-seven years, one month and twenty days. His funeral occurred from the Christian church at Rensselaer at 11 a. m., Wednesday, December 20, 1899, Rev. A. L. Ward, pastor of the Christian church at Rensselaer, officiating. His mortal remains were laid away in the Lowell cemetery, there to rest in quiet slumber until the morning of the great resurrection.
"Through all pain at times he'd smile.
A smile of Heavenly birth, And when the angels called him home.
He smiled farewell to earth. Heaven retaineth now our treasure;
Earth the lonely casket keeps. And the sunbeams love to linger
Where our sainted father sleeps."
James H. Little is a member of a very prominent family in the annals of Lake county, and is the second son of the third successive generation that has found lodgment and prosperous position in this county. He is a prosperous agriculturist of West Creek township, in which same township he was born on February 27, 1863, being a son of Joseph A. Little. His father was one of the true, broad-minded and successful men of this county, and the following account gives the outline of his worthy career:
"There was joy in the home of Thomas Little on the 24th of May, 1830, that came not alone from the beauty of the season, but more largely from the fact that on that day a male child came to add the blessings of its presence to the family circle. The family at that time lived in Webster township, Merrimac county, New Hampshire. In accordance with the faith of the parents the child received its name in connection with the ordinance of baptism, and for nearly two generations the name of Joseph Ames Little has been a synonym for industry, integrity and kindness. The young man came west with his parents in 1855. From that time until his death his home was mostly in West Creek township, Lake county. He united with the Presbyterian church at Lake Prairie in 1859. He was not profuse in profession, but those who knew him best had strongest trust in his Christian character. In 1859 he married Miss Mary Gerrish. Six of their children survive him. During the years 1886-7 he was a member of the legislature of Indiana.
"On the morning of February 19, 1892, the angel of death entered this home. At the call of that imperious visitor the soul that through years of constant suffering had grown weary of earth's sorrows left its pilgrimage to the rest that remaineth for the people of God. On February 22, 1892, the deceased was laid to rest in the Lake Prairie cemetery."
Mr. James H. Little is classed as one of the leading agriculturists and stock-raisers of West Creek township, and he makes a specialty of Durham cattle. He received his education in the common schools, and was also a student for a short time in Wabash College. He graduated from the school of agriculture in Purdue University in the class of 1890, and has ever since devoted himself enthusiastically and profitably to the practical work of farming. He is one of the few men who have received special training for the science of agriculture, and in proportion to his advantages he has made his pursuits a means of success and profitable endeavor. His stock farm is a model of its kind and size.
In June, 1894, he married Miss Bessie Spry, and three children, two sons and one daughter, have been born to them, all living, as follows: Joseph A. and Seth S., of school age, and Hester E., the youngest of the household. Mrs. Little was a native of the Bluegrass state of Kentucky, and was reared for the most part in Illinois and Indiana. She attended the State Normal School at Terre Haute, and for five years before marriage was a successful teacher, and since entering upon her domestic duties she has proved an equally able and worthy helpmeet to her husband. Mr. Little is a stalwart Republican, and cast his first presidential vote for Benjamin Harrison and has always supported the principles of Republicanism. Both he and his wife are members of the Lake Prairie Presbyterian church in West Creek township, and he has been one of the elders and also superintendent of the Sunday school. His wife has also taken an active part in church and Sunday school work in different places, and was superintendent and a teacher in the Pine Grove Sunday school. Mr. Little owns four hundred acres of land all in West Creek township, and his residence and buildings are a credit to the entire township. He and his brothers, Lewis and Jesse, are among the foremost and most influential citizens of this county, and these annals would be incomplete without mention of their life and work.
Emerson has said that the true history of a nation is best told in the lives of its most prominent citizens and residents, and in Mr. William N. Hayden, the trustee of West Creek township and a prosperous farmer, we have a representative of one of the most prominent families of the county of Lake. He is a native of Lake county, was born May 24, 1855, and is the youngest of the fourteen children born to his father by two marriages, he being the only son and child of the second union. His parents are Nehemiah and Sarah (Smith) Hayden, and the full record of this worthy family in the earlier generations is given in connection with the biography of the elder Hayden in another portion of this volume.
Mr. Hayden was reared in Lake county and was educated in the common schools. He was brought up to agricultural pursuits, and in the continuation of these has made his best success. His commencement in life was not remarkably auspicious, and possibly he and his wife had not more than four hundred dollars cash capital when they set their feet upon the highroad of life and began to tread their way through circumstance and earnest endeavor and useful purpose to a worthy and successful goal. He was married to Miss Maria J. Edmonds, on August 21, 1876, in Crown Point. They began as renters, and continued in that way until they had a secure start, which was not long. They then located on eighty acres which they had purchased, going in debt for most of it, but their frugal industry and enterprise more than offset the debt. They thus began life happy but not full-handed, and by their continued co-operation and faithful toil from year to year they added to their possessions until now they own in fee simple two hundred and seventeen acres of fine land, all in West Creek township. And the best part of the record is that they have gained this property by their own industry and efforts.
Mrs. Hayden was born in Lake county, March 13, 1858, the youngest of the six children of Melvin and Sarah (Leffler) Edmonds. Her brothers and sisters are: Nelson., a resident and retired farmer of Lowell, and married; Nancy, who is the wife of Charles Morgan, a farmer and resident of West Creek township; Charles, who was a soldier and an active participant in the battles of the Civil war, and is now a resident of Kansas; Mary, who is the wife of Wallace Hayden, a resident and retired fanner of Lowell; Eli, who for many years followed farming and is now a resident of West Creek township, and is married. Mrs. Hayden's father was a native of Canada, and died in 1874 at the age of sixty-three years. He followed farming, and in politics was a Republican. Mrs. Hayden was reared in Lake county and received her education in the common schools.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hayden have been born two children, a son and a daughter, both living. Jodie M. is a citizen of West Creek township and a prosperous young farmer. He married Miss Lura Pulver. He completed his education in the common schools of this county, had two years' work in the Lowell high school, and also took a business course in the Dixon Business College at Dixon, Illinois. For two years he was telegraph operator at Lowell for the Monon Railroad. Edna S., the daughter, is at home. She finished two years of high school work, and at the age of seventeen she took the teachers' examination and passed creditably. But on account of being so young she did not begin active work in the teaching profession until she was eighteen. She has taught three years in her home township, and has been very successful in her work. She has also studied music.
Mr. Hayden is a Republican in politics, and cast his first vote for Hayes, having upheld his party's principles ever since. In 1899 he was elected town-ship trustee of West Creek township. He has the supervision of fourteen schools in addition to the numerous other duties of this important office. He has about seventy-five square miles of territory to cover in this township, and he devotes himself assiduously to his administrative duties. He is a member of Cedar Camp No. 5155, Mo
