A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 107

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

USA > Indiana > LaPorte County > A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana > Part 107

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Park returned to Seneca county after the war, and in 1865 came to LaPorte, Indiana, where he engaged in the dual occupation of farming and running a threshing outfit. He was one of the first to use a portable engine with a thresher, and his success in this business led to his connec- tion with the dealing in threshing machinery, which has continued up to the present time. At different times during a period of several years he did business for the thresher manufacturing company of M. Rumely Company. In 1882 he and Albert Hall and others were in the agricul- tural implement business at LaPorte, but in 1884 he became permanently connected with the Ru- mely Company, with whom he has remained as one of their most trusted and valuable employes. At that time he was assigned to the Illinois ter- ritory, and for a number of years had his head- quarters at Mendota, Illinois, but in 1892 he es- tablished the Illinois branch office in Chicago, where it has since been located.

Mr. Park's long connection with threshing machinery has made his service of great value to the company, and for a long time he was one of the experts sent out by the company to test and set up machines, and his experience and nat- ural mechanical ability have made him invalu- able to the manufacturing department of the com-

pany, while his skill as a salesman and thorough business methods added to his worth and placed him in the responsible position which he now holds. In addition to his Rumely interests, he was for two years vice president of the Acorn Brass Works, but his interests are now entirely with the M. Rumely Company.

Mr. Park was married at LaPorte in 1865 to Miss Ann Eliza Jordan, and they now have tive children : Mrs. Eva May Clark, Mrs. Susan Alta Edwards, Thomas Lloyd Park, Miss Nellie and Miss Anna E. Park. The family have many friends both in LaPorte and Chicago, and Mr. Park still cherishes great regard for the city of LaPorte. In politics, Mr. Park is absolutely in- dependent. He is a member of Excelsior Lodge No. 41, A. F. and A. M., of LaPorte.

PROFESSOR SAMUEL EDWIN MIL- LER, for twenty-two years superintendent of the public schools of Michigan City, but now re- tired and looking after his real estate interests in the city, has had a useful and honorable career since he was twenty years of age, and thirty-five years of that time has been spent in Michigan City, where he is one of the most esteemed resi- dents. He comes of good stock on both the pa- ternal and the maternal sides.

His grandfather, John Miller, was a native of Manheim, Germany, and, at the age of thirteen years, came to America. From the time of his arrival until he was twenty-one years of age he was bound out to pay for his passage across the ocean. During this term of service he ran away from his master, and joined General Washington's forces at Valley Forge, but was obliged to return and serve the remainder of his time. He died at Attica, Ohio, in 1838, aged seventy-five years.

The paternal grandmother was Catherine Crossite, whose ancestors were exiled Huguenots of France. She died in 1836, at the age of sixty- . seven years.

To this couple were born six children, the youngest of whom, Samuel Miller, father of Pro- fessor Miller, was born in Centre county, Penn- sylvania, in 1809. He came to Ohio about 1835, and, with an older brother, had surveyed and laid out the town of Attica, where he engaged in mer- cantile business until within eight years of his death, which occurred in 1870. His wife was Martha Eleanor Price, who was born near Balti- more, Maryland, in 1819. She was the eldest of seven children, whose parents were Benjamin L. Price, a native of Maryland, and Mary Ann (Lemon) Price, an own cousin to W. W. Cor-

Digitized by Google

- -- ----- -

S. EMiller.

Digitized by Google

Digitized by

Google

600

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

coran, the banker and philanthropist of Washing- ton, D. C. Samuel Miller and Martha Eleanor (Price) Miller were parents of six children, four sons and two daughters, and the three now living are Samuel E., William F., of Attica, Ohio and Dr. Claren S. Miller, of Toledo, Ohio. The mother of these children died in 1886, at the age of sixty-seven years.

Samuel Edwin Miller was born in Attica, Seneca county, Ohio, February 15, 1840, and lived in that state until he was twenty years old, attending the town schools and Oberlin College and graduating from Antioch college in 1860, in the meantime teaching a district school near Attica in the winter of 1855-56, and again at Oakland, Clinton County, Ohio, in the winter of 1857-58. After graduation he taught in southwestern Tennessee, until preparations in the south for the rebellion compelled him to re- turn home in February, 1861. He then taught in his native town two terms, after which he held positions in Tiffin, Ohio, in the Chicago high school, in LaPorte, Indiana, and was superintend- ent of the public schools of Michigan City from 1867 to 1889. During this long term of office he had a hand in every movement looking to the advancement of the standard of education and the improvement of facilities and the teaching force, and held the office during the period of greatest progress in educational affairs in the city, his efforts having borne fruit in the complete and finely organized school system which is now the pride of the citizens.

In 1878 Mr. and Mrs. Miller spent four months traveling in Europe, and, after resigning his duties as superintendent, he and his wife and son, born in 1879, went abroad and spent a year in Paris. The time since their return has been spent in Michigan City, in Niles, and at Barron Lake, Michigan.

June 23, 1870, Mr. Miller married Miss Jen- net Ferson, a graduate of Niles high school, class of 1866. She was the second daughter of Wil- liam G. and Margaret (Orr) Ferson, of Niles, Michigan. Mrs. Miller is a granddaughter of Hon. William Ferson, a descendant of Scotch ancestors, who on coming to America abbreviated the name from Macpherson. He was born in New Boston, New Hampshire, November 23, 1774, and during most of his life was a resident of Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he died De- cember 16, 1853. He was a physician, and at one time a member of the Massachusetts senate. He was a broad-minded scholar, and it was his custom to read his Greek Testament every day.

He was a graduate of Dartmouth College, class of 1797, and was prominent in Masonic circles, Ferson lodge of Gloucester, Massachusetts, being named in his honor; also he was grand senior warden of the state of Massachusetts. He was a director in the Gloucester Bank and treasurer of two savings banks there, and was one of the most successful and esteemed citizens during his long and useful life. He married a Miss Lydia Dodge, and they had two sons and two daugh- ters.

The elder son was William G. Ferson, Mrs. Miller's father, who was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1809. He came to Niles, Mich- igan, in 1836, where he engaged in mercantile business, and died in October, 1890, aged eighty- one years. He married Miss Margaret Orr, who was born in Scotland, and whose father came to America from Johnstown, Scotland, in 1819. She was the mother of three children, the two now living being Margaret C., wife of Theodore M. Finley, of Greenville, Texas, and Mrs. Jennet (Ferson) Miller. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Ferson married Miss Carrie A. Coan,. niece of Rev. Titus Coan, missionary to the Sand- wich Islands. Of this union two daughters were born, the only one living being Antoinette, widow of Daniel W. Bieger, of Mishawaka, Indiana.

To Mr. and Mrs. Miller one son has been born, Theron Ferson Miller, who graduated at the University of Michigan in 1901, and is now practicing law in Michigan City. Professor Mil- ler and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and in politics he is a Republican. He built his beautiful home at 701 Spring street in 1881, and this, with his other real estate, gives him a handsome property in the city.

MICHAEL J. TIMM, the popular and suc- cessful miller at Otis, New Durham township, LaPorte county, is one of the self-made men who have through their efforts attained a foremost place in business and social life in LaPorte county, and whose career is well worthy of emulation. He is the son of August J. and Katharina (Bie- ver) Timm, the former of whom was born in Posen, Germany, about 1828, and died in 1898. He was a farmer, and received a good educa- tion in the German language, and could also read and write English. In 1848 he came to America in a sailing vessel, and from New York came to the west, where he rafted on the rivers for several years. He came to LaPorte county in 1854, and purchased forty acres of timber land in Cool Spring township, where he cleared

Digitized by Google

610

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

a space and erected a log house of one room, in which for a number of years the Timm family had a very plain existence, not without hardships. The clothes were all home-spun and home-made, and Michael Timm, although belonging to a gen- eration which is personally unacquainted with such articles of apparel, wore clothing made al- together by his mother's hands. The elder Mr. Timm was a persevering and industrious man, and in time accumulated two hundred and twenty acres in Cool Spring township and had made a good home before his death. He was a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Catholic church. Mrs. Katharina Timm, who was born in the grand duchy of Luxemburg, is still living in Michigan City, having been the mother of six children, four of whom reside in LaPorte county, one in California and one in Iowa.

Michael J. Timm was the eldest of these chil- dren, and was born in LaPorte county, November 21, 1858. He received his education in the paro- chial schools at Michigan City, and early evinced a taste for mechanics, gratifying his proclivities in this direction by working in the car shops and with machinery in general. He began his career at the bottom of the ladder, and his willingness to perform anything that came to hand has re- sulted in a substantial livelihood. He first be- came connected with milling in 1900, when he rented the mill in Cool Spring at Waterford, and, although he was quite unacquainted with the business at the start, his knowledge of mechanics and his ability as a manager soon placed him at the successful end of the enterprise. At the end of three years he purchased the plant, which is known as the Otis Mills, and he has given it a first-class reputation among the people of that community, and its patronage has extended into the neighboring townships and is constantly growing. The mill has a very fine equipment ; it has three double sets of double rollers, two burrs, and a feed mill for grinding various kinds of feed. The plant is valued at eight thousand dollars, and has one of the most complete water powers to be found any where. The mill is so situated that it can be set in operation for grind- ing at almost a moment's notice. Mr. Timm has added to the known excellent products of his mill a reputation for fair and honest dealing that has given him the confidence of all the people around and insured the successful outcome of his busi- ness.

April 24, 1888, Mr. Timm married Miss Anna Kuhn, who was born in New York state in May,

1859, but was reared in LaPorte county and edu- cated in the public and parochial schools. The following children have been born of this union: Oscar A., who is in the eighth grade at school; Clara M., in the seventh grade; Eddie C., also in school; and Walter M., the youngest. Mr. Timm is a Democrat as regards national questions, but always holds himself independent of party lines and casts his vote for whom he thinks best. Fra- ternally he is a member of Court No. 10, Inde- pendent Order of Foresters, at Otis, and his wife belongs to the Lady Foresters at Michigan City. They are members of the St. Mary's Catholic church in Otis, Indiana, and are interested in religious and benevolent work of all kinds.

MOSES S. WRIGHT is numbered among the early settlers of LaPorte county who since pio- neer times have been active in support of all measures for the public good and have co-oper- ated in many measures which have been for the improvement of the county. He has lived an up- right, industrious and active life, and as the years have advanced he has won the prosperity which comes as the reward of honorable, persistent and manly effort.

Mr. Wright was born in Ripley, Jackson county, Virginia (now West Virginia), July 27, 1827, and is the fourth in a family of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, born to Joseph Y. and Tabitha (Evans) Wright. His father, a native of Pennsylvania, was born about 1783 and died in 1850. He made farming his life work, and when a young man went to Vir- ginia, in which state he was living at the time of the outbreak of the war of 1812, in which he be- came a soldier. In an engagement he was slightly wounded in the hand. It was in 1833 that he emigrated to Indiana, which was then the far west, making the trip down the Ohio river to the mouth of the Wabash, proceeding then up the latter stream to Attica, Indiana. Moses, then but a small lad, can well remember many inci- dents of this trip, especially the fact that when the boatmen who were poling the boat began to swear his father stepped out and told them that must desist or he would whip the entire crew. He was a man of splendid physique, large and strong, and would have carried out his threat if the men had not obeyed.

The Wrights remained for two years in At- tica, Indiana, and then came to New Durham township, LaPorte county. Joseph Wright pur- chased from the government one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land, receiving a parch-

Digitized by Google

611

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

ment deed which was signed by Martin Van Buren, then president of the United States, and which is now in possession of Moses Wright. It bears date of March 30, 1837, and is still in a good state of preservation. In the midst of the frontier conditions the father then developed a good home for his family. He was a Jackson Democrat who gave unfaltering support to the party, and he and his wife were life-long mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Tabitha Wright was a native of Virginia, and lived to the advanced age of ninety-two years. Six of the children of the family yet survive. Jonathan, the eldest, is an agriculturist and pros- perous citizen of Monterey, California, and was with General John C. Fremont throughout the west. Moses is the next of the family. Harriet is the widow of Marcus Stone and a resident of California. Gideon is an agriculturist living in Nebraska.

Moses Wright was a little lad only five years when he became a resident of LaPorte county, where he has remained to the present day, covering more than two-thirds of a century. He was educated in a log schoolhouse, such as were common at that day. He describes them as being built of round or hewed logs and covered with split boards. The size of the building was about sixteen by twenty feet, and at first the school was heated by an immense fireplace, but later a large stove was secured. The benches were made of split logs placed upon wooden legs, each bench being about ten feet in length, and the desk was a shelf, dressed with an ax, and resting upon wooden pins driven into the side of the wall. The windows were made of oiled paper, and Mr. Wright often used a goosequill pen. The text books were an English reader, Adams' Arith- metic and Webster's Spelling Book, and the school was conducted on the subscription plan.

The equipments which Mr. Wright had for his farm work were equally primitive. He used the sickle of the olden times, and his hand yet bears a scar made by one of those implements. Many a time has he swung the old-fashioned cradle, and he well remembers the first reaper that was introduced into the county. He has even threshed his grain on the floor with the old-fashioned flail, and when the wheat was beaten out one man would toss up the chaff while the other used a sheet to create a breeze, causing the wheat to be left clean below. All through the winter was this process carried on. Mr. Wright has also ridden horses on the barn floor to tramp out the grain, and has used the old-

time threshing box with the simple cylinder. He plowed with a wooden moldboard. Going to the timber, he would select a tree of the right size and shape and then take it to the blacksmith, after trimming it, where it could be converted into a plow by adding the necessary iron parts. He has cut his hay with a scythe, and has thus performed the farm work after the primitive manner of the times, but as the years have ad- vanced he has secured the improved farm ma- chinery and has kept his farm up to others of the neighborhood in the way of modern improve- ments.

When he came to the county not one of the thirteen railroads which now cross it had been built, and the wagon roads were not in very good condition. The Pottawottomie Indians were nu- merous, and on one occasion, fearing an attack by the red men, the settlers had to flee to the blockhouse near Door Village. Mr. Wright has killed many a deer south of Westville, and has seen as many as fifty in a single drove. There were also wolves and panthers, and many kinds of wild game were found upon the tables of the early settlers. Michigan City with a population of ten thousand at the present time then contained but two houses, and LaPorte was but a small vil- lage, but the years have brought many changes, and no one rejoices more in the substantial de- velopment of LaPorte county than does Mr. Wright.

On the 30th of August, 1855, was celebrated the marriage of Moses Wright and Abigail Pet- tit, who was born in the Dominion of Canada, October 12, 1832, and is the youngest in a family of six sons and three daughters, born to Robert and Abigail (Wilson) Pettit, three of the num- ber yet living: John, who is living a retired life in Hamilton, Ontario; James, a retired farmer of Haskell, Indiana; and Mrs. Wright. Her father was a native of New Jersey, born in 1782, and his death occurred in 1841. He served as a soldier in the war of 1812, and met with a fair degree of success in his business career. In his religious faith he was an Episcopalian, and his death occurred in Canada. His wife, also a native of New Jersey, passed away in Canada.

To Mr. and Mrs. Wright were born four children, three of whom are living. Watson is an enterprising young farmer of Clinton town- ship. He began to work for his father for a dollar per day, and by the time he was married he had saved one thousand dollars. He wedded Miss Jennie Koontz, and to them were born seven children, four sons and three daughters, of whom

Digitized by Google

612

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

six are living : Lillie, Ralph, Lloyd, Frank, Nada and Walter. Watson Wright is now serving as justice of the peace and is a Democrat in poli- tics. Victoria Geneva is the wife of George Loomis, who for twelve years has been a salesman in a wholesale grocery house in Kansas City, Missouri, and they have a daughter, Leah. Mrs. Loomis was for a number of years a successful teacher in the schools of LaPorte county. Hamil- ton, a resident farmer of New Durham township, married Miss Eliza E. Koontz, and they have five children : Wade E., Kemp K., Moses S., Goldie C. and Weldon.

Mrs. Wright was reared in Canada and ac- quired her education in an Indian missionary school. She has taught school both in Canada and in Indiana, and is a lady of superior culture and refinement. She is one of the leading mem- bers of the Rebekah Lodge of Odd Fellows, No. 183, and has filled all of its offices. She also be- longs to the Christian church.

Mr. Wright is a stanch Democrat, but has never sought or desired office. He is a charter member of Westville Lodge No. 136, I. O. O. F., was the first noble grand of the Rebekahs, has passed all the chairs and is also a charter mem- ber of the Rebekah lodge. He likewise belongs to the encampment, No. 147, at Westville. His identification with the fraternity dates from 1852, and he has been a delegate to the grand lodge, grand encampment and also the grand meetings of the order of Rebekahs. That he has pros- pered in his life work is shown by the fact that he is now the owner of nearly three hundred acres of valuable land in the county, and although his property was destitute of improvements when it came into his possession it is now supplied with modern equipments and the fields annually return to him golden harvests in reward for the care and labor he bestows upon them. His worth is widely recognized, and no history of the county would be complete without mention of this hon- ored pioneer settler.

WILLIAM F. ROSENBAUM. Among the native born citizens of LaPorte county, In- diana, is the subject of this review, who is a rep- resentative of a well known German family of southwest LaPorte county. The Americanized German citizen is a factor of progress and sta- bility as well as of economy and thrift.

Mr. Rosenbaum was born May 28, 1871, in Dewey township, LaPorte county, Indiana, and is the second of eight children, only three of whom grew to maturity, born to William F.

and Wilhelmina ( Klemon) Rosenbaum. The eldest son was Gustave H., who died January 3, 1904, and at the time of his death was trustee of Dewey township. He was a young man who had the esteem of all who knew him and was educated in both the German and American tongue. He belonged to the farming class. He left a wife and two children, son and daughter, residents of Lacrosse, Indiana.

The father of Mr. Rosenbaum was born in Rotingen, Germany, in 1837, and died May 19, 1886, aged about forty-nine. He was reared as a farmer. At the age of twenty-seven he came to America on a sailing vessel, bound for Indi- ana. He began as a laborer, as he was but a poor German, but honest. He purchased land in Dewey township, and here resided until his death. He was always a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife were members of the German Lutheran church of Cass township. The mother was a native of Launsburg, Germany, born in 1839, and she resides in Lacrosse, Indiana, aged sixty-five years.

Mr. Rosenbaum was reared as a farmer lad, and he well knows the meaning of hard work and toil. He received a German and English edu- cation. He remained at home till after he was mar- ried ; his father died when he was fourteen years of age, and he and his brother Gustave undertook the full charge of the homestead, and these young men found that the estate was incumbered with a debt of two thousand two hundred dollars. With fortitude and industry the boys and the mother and the sister put their shoulders to the wheel and pulled the farm out of debt.

Mr. Rosenbaum is one of the young and thrifty German-Americans who believes in hon- esty of purpose, and being a man of such indus- try has made his mark among the people who know him.

He wedded Miss Lena M. Busse, November 17, 1896, and one little son, Alvin, has graced this marriage. Alvin was born August 24, 1897, and he is now in the first grade and is bright in his school work. He is the joy of the family circle. Mrs. Rosenbaum was born in LaPorte county, Indiana, November 30, 1877, and is the third in a family of eleven children, two sons and nine daughters, born to Herman and Gusta (Domse) Busse. Six of the children are yet living. Her father was born in Germany, April 25, 1847, and he is vet living, a resident of Starke county, Indiana. He was reared as a farmer and was a soldier in the Germany army for three years. He and his wife were wedded in Ger-

Digitized by Google

W. F. ROSENBAUM FAMILY.

Digitized by

Google

Digitized by

613

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

many and came to LaPorte county soon after their marriage in 1875, and purchased land in Starke county, where he now resides. He is a Republican, and he is a member of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Busse was born in 1857, was reared in Germany, and died September 26, 1893, at Willvale, Indiana.

Mrs. Rosenbaum was reared and educated in LaPorte county, and is a lady of pleasing per- sonality and a worthy helpmate to her husband. She is a lady who loves her home, her husband and little son.

Mr. Rosenbaum is a Democrat and cast his first presidential vote for Cleveland. He was on the advisory board for one term. He is a gentle- man who is well known in his township for integ- rity and sterling worth, and when his brother died he was appointed by the board of county commissioners to the office of trustee of Dewey township, and the responsibilities of the affairs of the township have fallen upon worthy shoul- ders. He takes a deep interest in the schools of the township, the poor, the roads, bridges, and in all the details of the business. He is ever found ready and willing to promote the welfare of his community.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 107

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