A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 106

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels
Publication date: 1904
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1273

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Mr. Bement can remember no other home than the farm upon which he now resides, and through- out his business career he has never sought other labor than that connected with the development of his fields and the conduct of his place. He owns two hundred and forty acres of land which is arable and productive and is now well im- proved with modern equipments. Here he en- gages in general farming and stock-raising, and is meeting with creditable and gratifying success in his chosen work. He has always voted with the Democracy, and as every true American citi- zen should do, keeps well informed on the ques- tions and issues of the day. For sixty-nine years he has resided in LaPorte county, and during this long period great changes have occurred until the county here bears little resemblance to that district to which Mr. Bement was brought in his early infancy. Now there are seen here all of the evidences of an advanced civilization replacing the primitive condition which prevailed in pio- neer times.

ANDREW SWANSON. Sweden has furn- ished many valuable citizens to the new world. The sons of that country are noted for their in- dustry and integrity, and of his race Mr. Swan- son is a worthy representative. He resides on sec- tion 22, Lincoln township, where he is now de- voting his attention to agricultural pursuits. His birth occurred in Sweden in 1841, and in his na- tive country he started out upon his business career by working as a farming hand. He also spent two years as a sailor on steamships, and in 1869 he came to America, making his way at first to Michigan. He located in Muskegon, where he secured a position as a foreman in the construction of the Northern Michigan Railroad, which was then building its line from Grand Haven to Pentwater, and from there to join the Michigan Central Railroad. Mr. Swanson acted as foreman of a number of men engaged in build-

ing a double track. From Michigan he removed to Chicago and afterward went to Buchanan and to Niles, Michigan. He remained in the employ of the Northern Michigan Railroad Company for four years, and then entered the services of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, acting as foreman during the construction of this line.

In 1876, however, he abandoned railroad building and came to LaPorte county, establish- ing his home in Lincoln township, where he se- cured a tract of land of eighty acres. He had no capital, but he possessed a strong will and reso- lute purpose. Only nine acres of this land had been cleared, but since that time he has added to his farm and has cleared one hundred acres of the place. Altogether he and his wife own two hundred and eighty acres of valuable land, rich and productive. This property, which he pur- chased for from nine to thirteen dollars per acre, is now worth more than fifty dollars per acre. He has placed good improvements on his farm, and is a practical and progressive man, whose labors have brought to him a good financial re- turn.

In 1872 occurred the marriage of Mr. Swan- son and Miss Matilda Johnson, and to them have been born seven daughters and one son: Ida, Minnie, George, Katie, Mary, Maggie, Annie and Lucy. Mr. Swanson has been identified with the upbuilding of LaPorte county for a number of years. He served as supervisor for thirteen years, and is independent in his political affilia- tions, giving his support to the men whom he thinks best qualified to discharge the duties of office. Mr. Swanson need never have occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in America, for here he has found good business opportunities, and as the years have passed he has prospered, so that he is now one of the reli- able and substantial citizens of his adopted county.

WILLIAM I. SNYDER. A valuable farm of eighty-five acres on section 17, Lincoln town- ship, is the property of William I. Snyder, who also owns a half interest in two hundred and thirty-three acres, being associated in this owner- 'ship with Leroy T. Smith. He was born in Wills township on Rolling Prairie, LaPorte county, July 6, 1859. His father, Jacob Snyder, was a native of Indiana, but it is not definitely known where he was born, whether in Allen or in Union counties. When a young man he came to La- Porte county, and was married in Rolling Prairie, where he spent the remainder of his life.

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By occupation he was a farmer, energetic and in- dustrious, and was one of the well-known and respected pioneers of his district. His father, David Snyder, was a native of Virginia, and also established his home in LaPorte county in pio- neer times. He lived in Wills and Lincoln town- ship, and was a man of sterling worth, respected by all who came in contact with him. The Sny- der family is .of German lineage. The mother of William I. Snyder bore the maiden name of Nancy Dawson, and was a native of Fayette county, Indiana. When about ten years of age she came to LaPorte county, where she has since spent her remaining days. She is the mother of seven children, four daughters and three sons, all of whom reached years of maturity except one that died in infancy, but only three are now living.

William I. Snyder, the fifth child and second son in this family, was about nine years of age at the time of the removal of the family to Lin- coln township, and here he was reared on the old homestead, remaining with his parents until after he had attained his majority. He attended the public schools and worked in the fields when not occupied with the duties of the school room. On the 25th of November, 1880, he made prepa- ration for having a home of his own by his mar- riage to Miss Henrietta Kissell, a daughter of Jesse and Elizabeth Kessell and a native of In- diana. The young couple began their domestic life upon the old homestead, where they remained until the following February, when they re- moved to a farm on section 20, Lincoln town- ship, Mr. Snyder renting a tract of land there for three years. He then took up his abode on section 16, and afterward removed to another farm in the same township. Since 1894, how- ever, he has lived upon his present farm, and is a leading agriculturist in this community.

Aside from farming, however, he has had other business interests. He was connected with the packing firm of Swift & Company for four years, and was foreman of their ice plant on Fish Lake. He was also foreman of their gro- cery business in the Fourth ward for about ten months, and on the expiration of that period dis- posed of his business interests there and removed to Chicago. In that city he was employed by the Consumers Ice Company for about two months, when he returned to Indiana and located on his present farm on section 17, Lincoln town- ship. Here he began general farming and stock- raising, which he has since followed, having in the home place eighty-five acres of land and also owning a half interest in two hundred and thirty-

three acres in partnership with LeRoy T. Smith. Mr. Snyder is also the field boss for the Swift & Company during the season that ice is being packed. He never fears laborious attention to business, and through his perseverance and dili- gence has gained the success which he now en- joys.

To Mr. and Mrs. Snyder have been born a son and a daughter, Archie D. and Laura E. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are well known people of the community and enjoy the high regard of many friends. He has been a life-long Democrat, and at one time was a member of the advisory board. Socially he is connected with the Knights of the Maccabees in LaPorte. Having spent almost his entire life in LaPorte county, he needs no special introduction to the readers of this volume, who know that his career has been characterized by persistency of purpose and honesty in all busi- ness transactions.

ARTHUR W. TAYLOR. The young, ac- tive, energetic man of to-day is the lever that moves the affairs of the present era, in the politi- cal, educational and commercial arena, and among that class of citizens is the subject of this sketch, Mr. Taylor, the young merchant at Stillwell, Indiana.

He is a product of LaPorte county, having been born in Pleasant township, November 10, 1873, a son of James H. and Eliza J. (Dare) Tay- lor, whose full history is presented elsewhere in this volume. He was reared in this county and was educated in the common schools and by his own personal application. He is of an energetic and progressive nature, and did not take a college course, but by being in contact with commercial life readily adapted himself to such. Up to the age of sixteen he was on his father's estate, and since that time has been constantly engaged in mercantile pursuits. His first lessons were with his father and brother Frank, for five years, em- ployed as salesman and accountant. In April, 1896, he assumed a partnership with his father, under the name of J. H. Taylor and Son, and the firm is doing a fine business, having the full con- fidence of the surrounding people. Their annual trade amounts to thirty-five thousand dollars. They carry a full line of general merchandise. such as dry-goods, fancy and staple groceries. meats, and handle all kinds of grains. Mr. Tay- lor began on a salary, and a small one at that. but by strict attention to business and by being fair with the people has had a most successful and praiseworthy career. Stillwell is in the midst

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of a rich agricultural community, and this point would be an available one for the establishment of a branch bank, and the Taylors are the proper men to found such an institution.

January 7, 1896, Mr. Taylor married Miss Mollie N. Tobin, and one bright little boy, A. Gordon, has been born to them. Mrs. Taylor was born in Pleasant township, LaPorte county, being a daughter of William and Nora (Laugh- lin) Tobin. She was educated in the common schools, and finished at the St. Rose Academy in LaPorte. She was a successful teacher in Pleas- ant township for six years. She is an affable and genial lady, and her home is her heaven. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor reside in a neat little cot- tage home, and they occupy a high social status among the young people of Stillwell and vicinity.

Mr. Taylor is a stanch Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for William J. Bryan. He was elected a delegate to the state convention in 1902, at Indianapolis, and has also filled the position of delegate to his county convention to represent his people's interests. He is an advo- cate of all true policies that advance the good and welfare of his party. Fraternally, he is a member of Lodge No. 396, B. P. O. E., at LaPorte, and also of the G. H. Terpenny Tent No. 25, K. O. T. M., at LaPorte.

GAIUS L. HOWELL, who owns one of the choicest farms in New Durham township and has an excellent reputation among his neighbors for thrifty and profitable farming and the raising of fine stock, has been a resident of this county all his life. On the paternal side of his family there were representatives in the Revolutionary war. He is the son of Smallwood N. and Eliza- beth (Williams) Howell, who are residents of Clinton township, LaPorte county, where they still look after a small farm of sixty-eight acres. The former is seventy-five years old, and was born in Kentucky, while the latter was born in Connecticut seventy-six years ago, and was about ten years old when she was brought to the new country of Indiana. The elder Howell was or- iginally a Whig in politics, but is now a Repub- lican : fraternally he is a Mason and an Odd Fel- low. and he and his wife are members of the Methodist church. There were three sons and two daughters in their family, but only three are living. Samuel, who was educated in the public schools of Wanatah and Westville, is a farmer of Clinton township, and Wilton is also a resident of Clinton township.

Gaius L. Howell, the eldest of the living chil-

dren, was born in LaPorte county, January 24, 1860, and was educated in the Wanatah schools and at the Westville high school. He was an all-round student and has always retained his fondness for good books and literature. After his marriage he settled down to the occupation in which he had been reared, and has made more than ordinary success in his operations. He built, in 1901, one of the handsomest and most comfortable residences in this township, and this, as well as the numerous excellent improvements and the general thrifty appearance of the farm, indicates the ability of the owner in up-to-date, scientific farming. He does general farming, and is especially fond of high-grade stock of all kinds, and none other will be found on his place. He superintends one hundred and eight acres, and owns forty acres, so fertile and so situated that there is little variation in the production from year to year, however unfavorable the season.

September 19, 1883, Mr. Howell married Miss Cornelia Lucas, the daughter of George and Mary (Monfort) Lucas, of whose family of fifteen chil- dren five sons and five daughters remain. Mrs. Howell was born in Warren county, Ohio, Aug- ust 23, 1861, and was a student in the Westville high school. Mr. Howell cast his first vote for Garfield, and has since taken considerable inter- est in party affairs, having been a delegate to the convention at Michigan City. He has passed all the chairs in the Odd Fellows lodge at West- ville, and was a delegate to the grand lodge at Indianapolis. Mrs. Howell is a member of the Rebekahs at Westville, and represented the lodge at the Rebekah assembly at Indianapolis in 1895. They are both members of the Methodist church and she is a member of the ladies' aid society, and in many other ways they show their good citizenship, their loyalty to church and state and established institutions, and are held in high esteem by their many friends.

FRED STIELOW, who for many years has been identified with agricultural interests in La- Porte county, but is now practically living re- tired, his home being on section 19, Lincoln township, was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, on the 13th of October, 1826. He has therefore passed the seventy-seventh milestone on life's journey, and well does he merit the rest which has been vouchsafed to him. In the place of his nativity he was reared, remaining a resident of the fatherland until 1857. He was employed in that country as a common workman, and while still living in Germany he was married, in 1855,

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choosing as a companion and helpmate on life's journey Miss Fredericka Mulleing, a native of the same country, where she, too, was reared and educated. They began their domestic life in Germany, but after two years sailed for the new world.

It was in 1857 that they crossed the Atlantic and landed in New York city. ; They remained in the city of New York until July, 1857, and on the 9th of April, 1858, came to LaPorte county, Indiana. For a year Mr. Stielow remained in the city of LaPorte, and then removed to a rented farm in Pleasant township, where he was em- ployed for wages for four years. On the expira- tion of that period, with the money he had earned through his own industry and saved through his economy, he purchased the farm upon which he now resides. It was then entirely destitute of improvements, and was covered with timber. There were no roads in his immediate vicinity and much arduous labor was required to develop the farm to its present high state of cultivation. He cleared the land, constructed the roads, built fences, erected buildings, and has been one of the most active and enterprising agriculturists of the community, his labors as an agriculturist being attended with a high degree of success. With the exception of about six years spent in LaPorte he has remained continually upon the home farm since it first came into his possession. The place comprises two hundred and eighty acres of rich land, and is now a splendidly im- proved property.

In 1902 Mr. Stielow was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away in the month of March of that year. There were three children born to them: Louisa, now the widow of Benjamin Smith and a resident of Knox, Indiana; Alvina, the wife of Martin Peo, of Stillwell, Indiana; and Barnhart, who mar- ried Minnie Ludwig, of LaPorte, and resides up- on the old homestead.

Mr. Stielow started out in life a poor man, . working by the day as a farm hand, and he has made all that he now possesses through his own industry and untiring effort. He is well known as one of the pioneer settlers of LaPorte county, and as a useful citizen. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and has taken an active part in the growth and welfare of the party organization. He served as justice of the peace, and proved fair and impartial as an officer, but has never been an aspirant for political preferment, as his time and attention have been fully occupied by business cares. He holds membership in St. John's Luth-

eran church of LaPorte, and is deeply interested in everything pertaining to the substantial up- building and permanent improvement of his county .:

H. W. WORDEN, city attorney of LaPorte and one of the prominent young lawyers of that city, is a native son of LaPorte county, and has in the main made his own way since he was sev- enteen years of age. He was engaged in several occupations before he was able to complete his legal studies and gain admission to the bar, but since that time he has made a favorable impres- sion with the public and members of his own pro- fession, and that he is recognized as a man of ability, legal acumen and knowledge, and force- ful powers of utterance and pleading, is shown by his recent appointment to the office of city attorney.

Mr. Worden is a son of H. B. and Rachel Worden. His father was born in New York state, and was a carpenter by trade. He enlisted from Michigan and served throughout the entire Civil war. He was in the battle of Gettysburg, in which one of his brothers was killed, and he also participated in many other engagements, giv- ing faithful service to his country and enduring all the hardships of the soldier's life.

Mr. H. W. Worden was born in Rolling Prai- rie, LaPorte county, Indiana, January 15, 1874, and graduated from the Rolling Prairie high school when he was fifteen years of age. In 1890-91 he attended school at Valparaiso, and completed a shorthand and business course. The first occupation to which he turned his attention was teaching school in LaPorte county, which he began in the fall of 1891 and continued for six years. In the spring of 1897 he entered the law office of Weir and Weir and Darrow at La- Porte as stenographer, and was employed in that work until the fall of 1899. This work was valu- able to him not only as a means of livelihood, but gave him much practical legal knowledge and experience, and from this office he entered upon the study of law at Valparaiso, which he con- tinued till his graduation from the law depart- ment in the spring of 1901. At the students' ora- torical contest in the spring of 1901 he won first place, and his forensic ability has been one of the chief elements of his success. He was admitted to the bar of the Porter circuit court, the supreme court of Indiana and the federal court of the United States, and in September, 1901, was ad- mitted to practice before the LaPorte circuit court

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and at the same time opened his office in the city of LaPorte. In January, 1902, he formed a part- nership with L. Darrow, and these enterprising practitioners are now building up an extensive practice in the city and county. Mr. Worden was appointed city attorney by the common coun- cil of LaPorte in the fall of 1902.

Mr. Worden is a Democrat in politics, and fra- ternally he affiliates with the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, the Tribe of Ben Hur and the Knights of the Maccabees.

MATHIAS SEBERGER, one of the sterling German pioneers and old settlers of LaPorte county, has been the well-known business man of Otis junction for half a century, within which time he has thoroughly won the respect and es- teem of all his fellow citizens and has won a lead- ing place in business circles.

Mr. Seberger was born in the Rhine province, Germany, August 25, 1825,a son of John and Mar- garet Seberger, also natives of the same province, where the father was a farmer and a zealous Catholic. In 1846 the whole family, with the exception of one son, set sail on the Moselle river, up the historic Rhine to Rotterdam, Hol- land, thence across the North Sea to London, whence they took passage on a sailing vessel, and thirty-seven days later, in July, they arrived in New York. They came direct to Lake county, Indaina, where they were among total strangers, and unable to speak a word of English and with very little money, but these conditions have al- ways been met with great fortitude by German emigrants, and in a few years they had found a niche for themselves in the new world. They pur- chased eighty acres of land, which they set about to improve, and on which Mathias, who had reached manhood, remained for three years.

He then came to Michigan City, when that was a very little village, as was also the city of Chicago at that time. He worked by the month in the old Lake House, and after saving up some money came to Otis, where he was employed in watching the crossings of the Monon and Lake Shore railroads, and also as agent, for five or six years. In 1855 he established a small merchandise store at the junction, which was the nucleus around which he has continued for the past fifty years, and where he has built up a large and profitable business. He had but little capital to begin with. and his growth has been steady and sure, and his success may be attrib- uted to his good management, fair and square dealing and his German persistency. He has,

besides his store, ninety acres of good land, well improved, and a comfortable residence. He has seen the county in its early stages of growth, and was here when the two railroads were put through. He was the first postmaster at Otis junction, and has held the office almost all the time since; the office was first located in the depot.

In 1852 Mr. Seberger married Miss Mary Klein, who was also born in Rhine province, in January, 1835, and was educated in her native land. Ten children were born of this marriage, and the following are still living: Frank, who is paralyzed in the right side; John, engaged in the manufacture of dynamite in Chicago; Nellie, the . wife of Gerris P. Black, of Porter county ; Effie, the wife of John Harrold, of New Durham town- ship; Clara, the wife of John Glass, in the hard- ware business in South Chicago; Libbie, the wife of Younger Shorner, of Michigan City; Bertha, the wife of Ed. C. James, a merchant of East Bradley, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Seberger is a Democrat in politics, and was township trustee for one term. He has been a member of the Masonic lodge at Westville since 1866, and has held all the offices in the blue lodge; when he was master of the lodge there was no state meeting of the Masonic fraternity in Indiana.

J. W. PARK, who for nearly twenty years has had charge of the business of the M. Rumely Manufacturing Company of LaPorte in its Illinois territority, and for ten years has been manager of the Chicago branch house, is the son of William and Sarah (Forsman) Park. Wil- liam Park was one of the pioneers to the great Northwest Territory. He was born in 1773 in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and when a young man started for the west with a gun over his shoulder, and walked through the wilderness of Ohio until he came to Seneca county, where he made settlement among the Indians and prim- eval nature. In 1828 he bought land from the government and cleared a farm, on which he pursued the occupation of agriculture up to the time of his death, in 1849. His wife was also a native of Pennsylvania, and was married to Mr. Park in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. She died in 1861 in Seneca, Ohio.

J. W. Park was born in Seneca county, Ohio, September 1, 1843, and was reared on a farm among the pioneer surroundings which still ex- isted in that part of the state. During the few years that he went to school he walked along a

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path blazed through the woods by his father. He was thrown on his own resources at an early age and had to struggle for all he got. When twenty years old he started for the west, and in 1863 first became identified with LaPorte, where he remained only a short time, however, and then went to California by the Isthmus of Panama. In 1864 he returned to Ohio, and during the summer joined the "pioneer corps" of the Union army. His family had already furnished a full quota to the ranks, three of his brothers being enlisted men; one of them died from the effects of the service, and another, David W. Park, after participating in sixteen hard-fought battles, was killed at Chancellorsville in 1863. Mr. Park as a member of the "pioneer corps" was sent south and employed at building pontoon bridges and repairing railroads that had been destroyed, in the vicinity of Chattanooga. This was often dangerous work, for he was exposed to the fire of unseen bushwhackers. In this capacity he was with General Thomas's army at Nashville. Mr. Park also had experience in the Civil war as one of the Ohio minute-men who were sent to the defense of Cincinnati at the exciting period when that city was threatened with a raid from General Kirby Smith.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 106

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1273

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels
Publication date: 1904
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1273