Albert C. Freese,
The city treasurer of
LaPorte since
Feb. 5, 1903, is one of the esteemed men of the city. Mr Freese
was born on a farm three miles west of the city Feb. 29, 1860, and has
therefore celebrated ten anniversaries of that event. His parents
were Fred and Minnie Freese and he was educated in the parochial and
public schools of the city. He and Miss Louisa Dust were married
in 1883 and they live nicely at 1212 Jackson street. They have no
children. Mr Freese came to LaPorte from the farm when he was of
age, in the year of his marriage, and entered the employ of Rogers
& Hall as a salesman. this engagement lasted several years,
after which he became a salesman for D.C. McCollum in the clothing
business and served in that capacity with great satisfaction to his
employer and customers for ten years. Then the partnership of
Freese & Heusi was formed, F.B. Heusi being his associate, and they
conducted an ever-increasing grocery business for seven years,
continuing until Mr Freese was honored by the election of his present
office by the common council to fill the vacancy caused by the death of
his predecessor. In his incumbency of this fiduciary office Mr
Freese has shown marked ability and a strict observance of his
important duties to the public, without partisan bias. He is an
active and consistent Democrat in politics. In May, 1904, he was
elected by a large majority city treasurer of LaPorte, succeeding
himself to the office.
Dr Augustus Alfred
Fahnestock,
One of the best known
physicians and
surgeons in Northern Indiana, was born Aug. 25, 1833, at Fredrick,
Maryland, his parents being Alfred Fahnestock and Eleanor Strider
Fahnestock. He received his education at Lancaster, Ohio, after
which he practiced medicine in Ohio and Indiana, having for 40 years
devoted himself to the duties of his profession. For many years
he served as a member of the city board of health. Until the
death of his brother, Dr C.S. Fahnestock, he was associated with him in
practice, but since then he has conducted an office at 808 Indiana
avenue, his residence being at the same place. Dr Fahnestock
located in LaPorte in 1880. In December, 1854, he married Susan
Amanda Wood, at Syracuse, N. Y., and they have three children, Grace,
Charles and Catherine Fahnestock. He is affiliated with the
Episcopal church, having for several years been a member of the board
of vestrymen.
Louis Decker,
Senior member of the firm
of Decker
Bros., hardware dealers, was born in Cincinnati, O., June 14, 1861,
being a son of Fred and Dora Decker. He received the rudiments of
an education in the public schools of Cincinnati and then upon the
removal of the family to LaPorte he entered St John's Lutheran school
and was graduated and then took a course in the LaPorte public
schools. He learned the tinner's trade, being very apt and
industrious, and on July 1st, 1889, he became associated with is
brother in the hardware business. The establishment is one of the
leading ones in the county. Mr Decker is a progressive citizen
and is much thought of. He served one term as a member of the
county council, his work in that body meeting with the approval of the
community. He was married in 1884 to Miss Mary Ulrich of this city and
they have five children. The family resides at 1325 Second
street. In 1893 Decker Bros. commenced the manufacture of metal
cornices and sheet metal work, being the first to engage in this line
in LaPorte and today is the only one. Mr Decker is a member of St
John's Lutheran church.
John H. Decker,
Who is associated with
his brother,
Louis Decker, in the hardware business, their place of business being
at 908 Main street, was born in Cincinnati, O., June 19, 1865, and came
to LaPorte with his parents in 1870. His education was received
in St John's Lutheran school, after which he learned the tinner's
trade. In 1899 the firm of Decker Bros., hardware dealers, was
formed and since has steadily increased in volume of business until
today it is considered one of the leading ones in the county. Mr
Decker was married at St Paul, Minn., to Miss Lena Joesting, and they
have three children. They have a very pleasant home at 315 E
street. Mr Decker is a communicant at St John's Lutheran church.
J.T. Bauer
The subject of this
sketch was born
in LaPorte February 7, 1861, his residence here having been continuous
from that period. He was married in 1884 to Miss Clara L. Miller,
and they are the parents of four children, three daughters and one
son. The family occupy a pleasant home at 310 East Jefferson
avenue. Mr Bauer, while not seeking political preferment, was
made the candidate of the Democratic party for alderman of the Fourth
ward in 1902, and was elected by one of the largest majorities ever
given a candidate in the ward. His stewardship was such that he
was renominated and elected in 1904, with a majority in excess of that
given him at the previous election. He is chairman of several
important committees, and gives painstaking and zealous effort to the
promotion of city business. Fraternally Mr Bauer is associated
with the Knights of the Maccabees, which he has served as commander,
and with the Ben Hur. His early life was passed on a farm,
continuing in that avocation until 1886, when he came to LaPorte.
He was engaged with the milling firm of Lorig & Weber for fourteen
years, and is now connected in a responsible capacity with the Columbia
bakery. He is a substantial citizen because he is distinctively
self-made, and in the varied walks of life he has always enjoyed the
respect and confidence of the community to which he has given the
impress of good citizenship.
All the above biographies are
from the
book
LaPorte Today (La Porte Print. Co., 1904)
Submitted by Amy Robbins
Tjaden
MARTIN R. WALBRIDGE,
deceased.
This gentleman was for twenty years one of the esteemed citizens of
Wyoming Precinct, and one of the progressive and prosperous farmers who
had grown up with the country. He was born in Vermont, on the 27th of
April, 1826, and was the son of John and Polly (Reynolds) Walbridge;
while yet a child our subject was left motherless. Shortly after this
event the father left Vermont and emigrated to LaPorte County, Ind,
where he resided for the remainder of his life, which, however, was not
of long duration. Thus in early youth our subject had to face the world
an orphan.
Remembering the innumerable difficulties consequent upon the
above-mentioned condition, the success that afterward became his
reflects to greatest credit upon our subject. He began the struggle for
existence not only orphaned but poor, and was compelled to work hard
for his living. He did not, however, neglect schooling, which happily
it was within his power, as it is within the power of every American
child, to obtain in the usual institution. When about eighteen years of
age he sold all his earthly possessions in order that he might start
West. He first purchased a good cow, and then started for Wisconsin,
where he located in Iowa County, not far from Madison, at which place
he had a brother, who had gone there some time previously, and was
engaged in farming and was doing well.
After a few months our subject returned to LaPorte County, Ind., and
there entered into his first matrimonial alliance. This deeply
interesting event occurred upon the 17th of February, 1853, the lady
being Sarah A. Thurber. She was born in LaPorte County, and there also
brought up and educated. The day of her nativity was the 31st of
August, 1834. She came of good family, and her home training was such
as to make her a true help to her husband. She was a lady of great
personal worth, prepossessing and of splendid disposition. Of this
union five children were born; of these two are now deceased, viz: Ida
M. and Ross W. Those still living bear the following names: Jessie, who
is married to Montgomery Robb, of Wyoming Precinct; Charles P., who is
living in New Mexico, was married, in September, 1883, to Miss Louisa
Yard, of Princeton, Ill.; Carrie A., who is living in South Bend, Ind.,
where she is a prominent and well-established teacher of music, and is
a graduate from Central Music Hall Conservatory, Chicago, Ill. On the
20th of June, 1874, Mrs. Walbridge died at the old homestead in Wyoming
Precinct.
The second marriage of our subject was celebrated in Wyoming Precinct,
April 27, 1876, the lady of his choice being Mrs. Ellen Cherry, nee
Jones, who was born in Seneca County, Ohio, Aug. 21, 1837. She is the
daughter of Filander H. and Lydia A. (Jewett) Jones, who were natives
of Vermont, where they were brought up and educated.
They were married at Detroit, Mich., and Mr. Jones here entered the
profession of teaching, having been thus engaged in early manhood. He
continued thus employed in Michigan for many years, and later went to
Indiana. He is now seventy-five years of age, is retired from active
work, and makes his home in Weir City, Kan. His wife is seventy-one
years of age, and is still the light and brightness of their home. Mr.
and Mrs. Jones are members of the Methodist Church, and he has been a
stanch Republican in political affairs for more than a quarter of a
century.
The wife of our subject was the first of the children born to her
parents. She was educated in Indiana, and until her marriage with Mr.
Cherry made her home with her parents. This important event occurred
Sept. 11, 1858, the name of her husband being R. W. Cherry. This
gentleman was born in Marion County, Ohio, April 19, 1835. He had been
carefully trained by his parents and well educated, and was engaged
subsequently in mercantile pursuits. For two years he served gallantly
as a soldier in the late Rebellion, and was finally honorably
discharged, owing to disability. He served in Company I, 29th Indiana
Infantry. His death occurred in Rochester, Fulton Co., Ind., Nov. 20,
1872. He was a good, honorable and intelligent man and an esteemed
citizen.
To Mr. and Mrs. Cherry were born four children, two of whom, Adelbert
and Minnie, are now deceased. The living children are: May L., who is a
successful teacher in the public schools of Cass County, and a member
of the Otoe County Teachers' Association; Nellie D. is happily married
to C. M. Fenno, a successful farmer in Thomas County, Kan.; they have
two little ones, named Ellen M. and John R.
The subject of this sketch attained to the advanced age of sixty-two
years before he passed to his place with the silent majority. He died
deeply regretted by all who knew him, at his home in Wyoming Precinct,
on the 10th of May, 1888, where he had lived since the year 1867. In
his politics he was a sound Republican, and was at all times a truly
loyal and upright citizen. Mrs. Walbridge is a devout member of the
Baptist Church, and attends with the congregation meeting at Nebraska
City. With her two sons. Frank B. and Eugene M. Walbridge, she resides
upon the farm which has so long been her home; it comprises 160 acres
of fine agricultural land, and is situated on section 15 of the above
mentioned precinct.
Submitted by Bonnie Magnetti
T. C. Gilbreath
T. C. Gilbreath, son of
John and Mary
Gilbreath, was born in LaPorte county, Indiana in 1846. in 1852 his
parents moved to Iowa and from there to Harrison county, Missouri in
1855. When the war broke out they went to Des Moines, Iowa where he
attended school. He was married in Newton county, Mo. May 8, 1870, to
Miss R. M. Mickens, formerly of Story county, Iowa. They have had six
children, five of whom are living. He came to McDonald county in 1893
from Jasper county, where he had lived for several years. He operated a
saw mill first on Big Sugar, then near Pineville, where he did a
thriving business. He sold his mill and tried farming awhile, but
afterwards resumed his former occupation, and is apparently master of
the art. In 1896 he was elected justice of the peace of Anderson
township which position he fills with credit. he is a member of the I.
O. O. F. and Encampment of O. F. Politically is he a Greenbacker.
Contributed by
Linda Rodriguez
CARSKADDON,
DAVID,
COL.,
Sheriff of Linn Co.,
Marion; born in
Hamilton, Butler Co., Ohio, July 8, 1825; when he was a small boy he
went with his parents to Covington, Fountain Co., Ind.; lived there,
until he was 10 years of age; then they moved to St. Joseph Co., Ind.,
near South Bend; lived there until the Fall of 1854, when he came to
Marion, Iowa; engaged for several years in the livery business, dealing
in stock, etc.. September, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Co. K, 9th
I. V. I.; September, 1861, he was elected Captain of the Company, and
Dec. 3, 1862, he was elected Colonel of the 9th Regiment; although he
was the Junior Captain of the regiment, he was so popular among the men
that he was chosen by them as Colonel in preference to those higher in
rank; he was in all the engagements (twenty-seven or twenty-eight)
which the regiment participated in; July 28, 1864 he was wounded at
Atlanta; his regiment lost during the term of service thirty-seven
officers, which was the largest number killed in any Iowa regiment;
there was but one other regiment from this State that lost more men;
the Colonel was mustered out Jan. 14, 1865. Since his return to Marion
he has been engaged in the furniture business and dealing in stock
until he was elected Sheriff in 1877; he has held various minor offices
in this town. Married Sarah Bates, May 16, 1852; she was born in Clark
Co., Ohio, Dec. 23,1830; they have now two children—Alva, born in La
Porte Co., Ind., April 11, 1853, and Harmony, (now Mrs. W. S. Twogood),
born in Cedar Co., Iowa. Jan. 11, 1855.
[Source: The history of
Linn County
Iowa; Western Historical Company; 1878; transcribed by Andaleen
Whitney]
HOCKETT,
Charles
W.
HOCKETT, Charles W.; born
Plainfield, Ind., (LaPorte Co) Jan. 11,
1860; son of Cyrus W. and Rebecca (Doane) Hockett; educated in public
schools of Muncie, Ind.; married at Detroit, June 17, 1890, Mable
Coates Redfield. Began active career in printing business; was city
editor Evening News, Muncie, Ind., 1881-83; came to Detroit and was
connected with advertising department of Detroit Free Press, becoming
manager of same, 1892; has engaged in real estate business in his own
name since 1892. Member Detroit Real Estate Board. Independent
Republican. Recreation: Outdoor sports. Office: 36 Home Hank Bldg.
Residence: 85 Hancock Av. W.
Submitted by Christine
Walters
Source: "The Book of Detroiters by Albert Nelson Marquis 1908"
CHARLES JOHN ULLRICH.
Charles John Ullrich,
deputy state engineer of Utah, with offices at the state capitol in
Salt Lake City, was born at Michigan City, Indiana, in 1883, his
parents being Henry and Johanna (Werner) Ullrich, who were long
residents of that state, his father being a mechanic. The son was
educated in the graded and high schools of his native town, and being
of an independent spirit, he worked his way through the University of
Michigan, from which institution he was graduated on the completion of
a course in civil engineering in 1906. Immediately after putting
aside his textbooks he accepted employment with the Leonard
Construction Company of Chicago, being first a material man and later
assistant superintendent of construction. For three years he
remained with that firm and during that period assisted in the
construction of the Grand Central Crossing tracks in Chicago, the
railway terminals at Parkersburg, West Virginia, the Megarge Paper
Mills at Modena, Pennsylvania, and other equally large and important
jobs. In 1909 Mr. Ullrich became superintendent of construction
of all work above ground for the Superior Coal Company of Superior,
Wyoming.
The year 1910 witnessed
the arrival of Mr. Ullrich at Salt Lake and during the first year of
his residence here he was employed in the office of the Salt Lake City
engineer, after which he accepted the post of resident engineer of the
Idaho Falls municipal hydro-electric plant and pumping station on the
Snake river, at Idaho Falls, Idaho. A year later he became
resident engineer of the Gem Irrigation District at Homedale, Idaho,
and in 1912 he became bridge engineer of the Utah State Road
Commission. In April, 1913, he was made deputy state engineer of
Utah, which position he still fills with marked capability, his course
reflecting credit upon the profession. Realizing that a knowledge
of the water rights and irrigation laws is essential to one holding the
position which he now fills, Mr. Ullrich took up the study of law and
was admitted to the bar by the supreme court in 1917. He is
generally regarded not only as a competent engineer but as a lawyer
thoroughly conversant with the irrigation and water laws of the state.
In 1912 Mr. Ullrich was
married to Miss Bertha Irene Ludwig, of Mooresville, North Carolina,
daughter of a prominent merchant and planter of that town. They
have one child, Robert Ludwig. Mr. Ullrich is a thirty-second degree
Mason, a member of the Utah Society of Engineers, of the American
Association of Engineers and a director of the Utah Irrigation and
Drainage Association. He has attained his high place in
professional circles through sheer ability and his future is
exceedingly bright with promise.
[Source: Utah since
Statehood: Historical and Biographical Volume 2; By Noble Warrum; Publ.
1919; Transcribed by Denise Moreau]
Stephen V. Tappan
Born in LaPorte county,
Indiana, twelve miles northeast of the city of LaPorte and four miles
south of the town of Three Oaks, Michigan, and growing to manhood
there, Stephen V. Tappan, of Montrose county, this state, was reared in
the midst of one of the most fertile and prolific agricultural regions
of this country, and the lessons of rural life and its leading industry
he learned there have been of inestimable benefit to him in all his
subsequent career. His life began in 1847, and he is the son of
Julius and Philuria (Marshall) Tappan, the father a native of New York
and married there, his wife also being native in that state.
1836, soon after their marriage, they moved to Indiana and settled in
LaPorte county not far from the Michigan line, where to the end of
their lives they were engaged in farming, except during the Civil war
when the father was at the front as a member of the Forty-eighth
Indiana Infantry, Company D, and the mother managed the farm
alone. He entered the army on December 6, 1861, and was not
mustered out of the service until after General Lee’s surrender.
Returning then to his farm work he followed that until his death in
1876, at the age of sixty years. He was prominent in local
affairs, filling various township offices, and after the war to the end
of his life was an enthusiastic member of the Grand Army of the
Republic. His parents were Stephen and Betsey (Woodward) Tappan,
natives of Connecticut, who moved to New York and settled near Syracuse
in early days. The father was a veteran of the war of 1812, a
captain in the service, and his son Julius, who entered the service as
a private in the Civil war, rose to the rank of Sergeant. The
grandfather of the subject of this sketch was farmer and surveyor, and
was a prominent figure in the military organization of his town of
Baldwinsville, where he died in 1828. His wife also died there,
passing away in 1866. The greater part of her life after the
death of her husband was passed Berrien county, Michigan. She was
the mother of twelve children. Stephen Tappan’s mother was the
daughter of Noah and Ruth (Paddock) Marshall. Her father was a
native of Connecticut and an early settler in the neighborhood of
Syracuse. From there he moved to Indiana and later to
Illinois. His last days were spent in Indiana, where both he and
his wife died and were buried. Their daughter, the mother of
Stephen, died in 1893, at the age of seventy-four, having been the
mother of ten children, of he was the fifth. He remained on the
paternal homestead until he was twenty-four, and having the trade of a
carpenter, worked at that and farmed in Indiana until 1877, then
engaged in the grocery business at New Carlisle, St. Joseph county,
alone for a time and later with a partner under the firm name of Tappan
& White. He followed this until 1882 when he sold out and
came to Gunnison county, Colorado, where he prospected and kept a store
for two years. In 1884 he turned his attention to farming,
homesteading on one hundred and sixty acres of sage brush land five
miles from the town of Montrose. A few years later he bought the
place he now lives on of eighty acres one mile nearer the town and has
since made that his home. Here he has five hundred fruit trees,
apples, peaches and others, and a large acreage of small fruits, from
which he has an abundant yield. He also carries on a thriving
stock business. In politics he is an active Republican. In
1889 he was married in Montrose county to Miss Mary Smith, daughter of
M. W. Smith, the subject of another sketch in these pages. They
have one son, Charley. In addition to his farming and fruit
industries Mr. Tappan is interested largely in mining properties in
western Colorado. He had two brothers, Thomas Jefferson and Noah
M., in the Civil war. Thomas belonged to the Ninth Illinois
Cavalry and Noah to the Twentieth Indiana Infantry. The latter
was wounded at the battle of Malvern Hill.
(Source: Progressive Men
of Western Colorado, Publ 1905. Transcribed by Nancy Overlander)
HON. C. N.
VALENTINE.
Among the leading and
influential citizens of Fargo, North Dakota, is this gentleman, who for
fourteen years has been prominently identified with the interests of
the state and is now serving as register of the United States land
office. He was born in La Porte county, Indiana, May 14, 1850, and is a
son of William and Samantha (Taylor) Valentine, both natives of New
York, the former born in 1804, the latter in 1811. The paternal
grandfather, Alexander Valentine, also a native of New York, was a
soldier of the Revolutionary war and later was a commissioned office in
the state troops. In 1849 the parents of our subject removed from New
York to Michigan, where the father followed farming until his death,
which occurred in 1875. In his family were six sons, but our subject is
the only one of the number living in Dakota.
On the home farm in
Berrien county, Michigan, C. M. Valentine was reared to manhood, and in
the public schools of his neighborhood he acquired a good practical
education. For a time he was engaged in the drug trade in Three Oaks,
that state, and from there removed to Benton Harbor, Michigan, where he
had charge of a lumber pier and later engaged in boating, and was
employed as bookkeeper for four years. In 1886 he came to La Moure,
North Dakota, where he was successfully engaged in the drug business
until February, 1897, when he was appointed to his present position,
that of register of the land office at Fargo.
On the 27th of September,
1876, Mr. Valentine was united in marriage with Miss Lucy Wilcox, a
native of Wisconsin, and to them have been born two children: Josephine
and Maurice. Since attaining his majority Mr. Valentine has never
wavered in his support of the Republican party and its principles, and
being a man of recognized ability, progressive and public-spirited, he
has been honored with some important official positions, having served
as senator from the twenty-fourth senatorial district of North Dakota
for four years, and county surveyor for the same length of time.
Socially he is a member of the Masonic order and is a man of prominence
in his community.
[Source: Compendium of
History and Biography of North Dakota, Publ. 1900. Transcribed by Syndi
Phillips]
WALTER W.
CLOUD
WALTER W. CLOUD, one of
the prominent business men of Okanogan county, was born in Michigan
City, Indiana, on August 25, 1873. He is the son of Stephen C. and
Jennie (Wells) Cloud, who now reside on a farm near Loomis. He has one
brother and two sisters. Walter W. was educated in Michigan City,
graduating from the high school there in 1893. He followed bookkeeping
in his native city for three years, then came to Loomis for his health.
He sought out door exercise for one year, then engaged with the
Loomiston Trading Company, which is now known as the Washington
Commercial Company (Incorporated). His first-class ability, keen
discrimination, and energy have placed him where he stands at the
present time, joint owner with the company and bookkeeper in charge of
the Loomis branch. His excellent standing throughout the community is
evidenced by the fact that he was elected county clerk in 1898. He did
not qualify for the office, however, preferring to remain with the
company. On November 30, 1899, Mr. Cloud married Miss Lina May Hunt, a
native of East Dover, Vermont. Mrs. Cloud was educated for a teacher
and spent eight years in the work before marriage. She had come west
for a visit and was teaching at Oroville, Washington, at the time of
her marriage. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cloud are devoted members of the
church. Mr. Cloud is also a member of the I. O. O. F. [Source: "An
illustrated History of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan, and Chelan Counties in
the state of Washington" Western Historical Publishing Company, 1904 -
Tr. by Helen Coughlin]
