A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 109

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 109

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About the time he was of age Mr. Bundy took to himself a wife, and two years later came to Westville, LaPorte county, to live. He began life with hardly ten dollars to his name, and from his first work at fourteen dollars a month he saved forty-two dollars; with this he bought a colt, which he traded at a profit, and from this first.business venture has prospered steadily. Dur- ing the first three years he saved up three hun- dred dollars in gold. His first purchase of land was forty acres in Porter county, for which he paid four hundred dollars, and of which he cleared off ten acres and realized good profits from his products. At one time he owned one hundred and five acres in Porter county, well improved and with substantial buildings. For this he received sixty-three hundred dollars, which was certainly a wonderful increase from

his industry and business judgment over the forty-two dollars with which he started. At the present time he owns a comfortable residence and three hundred and eighty-five and a half acres of good land near Westville, part of it lying in Porter county. For this prosperity in worldly things he has to thank his own industry, coupled with the ever willing advice and assistance of his wife.

At the age of twenty-one Mr. Bundy was mar- ried to Miss Martha Barnum, who died in Por- ter county, in 1872, and her two children are now also deceased. In 1875 Mr. Bundy married Mrs. Celia M. (Noble) Dudley, the daughter of John P. and Mary Ann (Smith) Noble, the former of whom was born in Canton, New York, in 1807, and died in October, 1887, and the latter was born in Perry county, New York, October 18, 1818, and died April 2, 1895. Mr. Noble was reared and educated in New York, and came to Porter county, Indiana, at an early day, in 1835, and entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government, in Jackson township, his first home being a log cabin. He was a success- ful farmer, and also a good mechanic, and pros- pered in his undertakings. He was a Whig and a Republican in politics, and in religion was a Universalist. His wife was a lady of more than ordinary education for the time, and had taught school. They were the parents of six children, and four of them are still living, of whom Mrs. Bundy is the oldest. The others are: Julia, the wife of E. S. Smith, the banker of Westville; Hattie, the wife of Dr. John W. Green, of Ma- rion, Indiana ; and Lois N., wife of G. B. Mor- gan, an attorney at law of Aledo, Illinois, who was educated in Chicago, and is now master in chancery of Mercer county.

Mr. Bundy supports the policies of the Repub- lican party ; fraternally has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at West- ville for twenty-five years, and has passed all the chairs in the subordinate lodge, and in the fall of 1883 was representative to the grand lodge in Indianapolis. Mr. and Mrs. Bundy are among the most highly esteemed citizens of Westville. and the record of their life achievements is stimu- lating and helpful to all with whom they came in contact. Mr. and Mrs. Bundy have in their possession one of the old patent parchment deeds which was executed under the administration of President Van Buren and bearing his signature and is dated March 30, 1837. This is the third deed of the kind found in the west part of LaPorte county at the present writing.

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MARQUES C. COULTER is a native of LaPorte county, and has lived here from the primitive conditions which surrounded the first settlers until the full bloom of the twentieth cen- tury civilization makes living seem a fairy tale compared with the past. His ancestry is Scotch and Irish, and some of his forefathers were Revo- lutionary soldiers.

His father, James Coulter, was born in Hali- fax county, Virginia, in 1800, and died in 1855. He was a farmer and mechanic, and in youth came with his mother to Ohio, thence to White Pigeon, Michigan, and from there made settle- ment in LaPorte county, Indiana, in 1833, about the time of the Black Hawk war. In 1836 he purchased at a government land sale, the northeast quarter of section 20 in New Durham township, and in the possession of Marques Coulter there is the deed to this land, signed by President Van Buren on March 20, 1837, an old and interesting parchment document. The first home was a log cabin, twenty-four by eighteen feet; the bed was made of poles, with uprights at one end, and at the other the poles were thrust into holes in the wall ; and the floor was of puncheons. And this primitive condition was supplemented by the presence of Indians as numerous as the whites. Mr. Marques Coulter has made perhaps one of the largest collections of Indian arrow heads to be found in the county, most of them picked up on the Coulter farm. Father Coulter was strict in his religious and moral views, and in political prin- ciple was an old-line Whig, dying just as the Republican party was being organized. He mar- ried Margaret Stephenson, whose father, Huston Stephenson, was a soldier in the Revolution. She was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, whence she removed to Ohio, and she died in 1888, both she and her husband being buried on the Coulter farm in LaPorte county. She was a Presbyterian in religion. She was the mother of eight children, of whom four are living: Wil- liam, a farmer of Wanatah, Indiana; Silas, a resident of this state; Marques C .; and Caleb, a farmer of Porter county.

Marques C. Coulter was born in a log cabin not twenty rods from his present residence, in New Durham township, September 1I, 1841. He was educated in the subscription school of that day-a round-log building, with a big fireplace at one end ; slab seats ; a stick and clay chimney, and the writing desk one long board resting on pins driven into the wall. The cost of such men- tal training under these conditions was seventeen cents per month per pupil. Mr. Coulter had

other pioneer experiences outside of school, for he cut grain with the old-time cradle, and hay with a scythe.

He was hardly graduated from this early training when he was called away by the Civil war. In November, 1863, he enlisted in Com- pany A, Twelfth Indiana Cavalry, at Westville, under Captain Peck, and the regiment was or- dered to Nashville, Tennessee, where it was in several skirmishes and battles. At Stone River he was hit by a minie ball, but was not disabled. His regiment proceeded through Alabama, Geor- gia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, and was at the siege of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. He spent three months in the hospital on account of disability. He was at Mobile, Alabama, when the news of Lee's surrender came, and he re- ceived his discharge at Vicksburg, Mississippi, in November, 1865.

Mr. Coulter has always resided in New Dur- ham township, and has carried on farming with great success. When he settled down after his marriage, he had just fifteen dollars of cash capi- tal and eighty acres of land, and his present fine farm of two hundred and eighty acres and his good residence are evidence of his faithful work and industry, and he deserves to enjoy a restful and happy close to such a career.

Mr. Coulter has been married twice, his first wife being Miss Mary Gee, but she and her two children are deceased. March 31, 1874, he mar- ried Miss Mattie A. Moore, to whom four chil- dren have been born: Roy, a resident of New Durham township, married Miss Grace Loomis ; he received a common school education, and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. Linea, at home with her parents, finished the eighth grade in school, also took instrumental music; she has been a member of Silver Star Lodge of the Rebekahs at Westville for six years. Dora is the wife of Ira Barnard, a farmer and horticulturist of Porter county, and they have one daughter, Martha E .; Mrs. Barnard is an artist of much natural ability, and her work in crayon and oil adorns the home of her parents. Orta is a young farmer at home with his parents.

Mrs. Mattie A. Coulter was born in Russell county, Virginia, August 31, 1841, and has had many similar pioneer experiences to those of her husband. She spent the first sixteen years of her life in Virginia, and the school that she at- tended was very much like that in which her husband gained his early tuition. She has also spun the cotton threads with which she sewed, and has woven the jean and linsey cloth from

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which she made garments for her family. She, too, is of Revolutionary descent, her maternal great-grandfather Gibson serving in that war. Her parents were William and Linea (Brown- ing) Moore. William Moore was born in Vir- ginia in 1804, and died in 1878. In 1859 he moved his family to Camden, Ray county, Mis- souri. He was a Whig and Republican, and a member of the Methodist church. His wife was also born in Virginia, in 1809, and died in 1863. They were the parents of ten children, two sons and eight daughters, and five are living, as fol- lows: Mrs. Coulter; Anna, the wife of Alfred Lents, a resident of Ray county, Missouri ; Mel- vina, the wife of James G. Allison, a mechanic and a resident of St. Joseph, Missouri ; Adelaide, the wife of Charles Pugh, of Fort Worth, Texas ; and Virginia, the wife of Joseph Hicks, a me- chanic, of Liberty, Missouri.

Among the keepsakes in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Coulter is an old Bible dictionary, which was printed in 1803, and is still in good condition, notwithstanding its age. Mr. Coul- ter cast his first persidential ballot for Lincoln, and has voted for every Republican candidate since that time. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and she is a member of the Eastern Star. They are both highly esteemed residents of LaPorte county, where their substantial worth has been shown in the home they have created, in the children they have reared to honorable manhood and womanhood, and in the position they maintain in the regard of all their friends and neighbors.

OTTO GROTH, deceased, a pioneer mer- chant of Wanatah and one of the most highly respected business men of that town, where he built up an establishment which is still continued under the management of one of his sons, was born in Germany June 3, 1835. He came to America in 1857 when a young man, and shortly after locating in Indiana answered the call for troops to defend the Union which he had adopted as his home. He enlisted in the Ninety-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and performed four years' service as private, being in many battles and with Sherman on his march to the sea, and also present at the grand review in Washington at the close of the war. Immediately at the close of the war he came to Wanatah, and clerked in the general store of Joseph Unruh. He soon after engaged in business with a partner under the firm name of Groth and Williams, and this con- tinued as one of the reliable and popular mer-

cantile houses of the town until Mr. Groth bought out his partner, and then carried on the business until his death, in 1891. His energy, sagacity and enterprise assured his success, and for many years he was looked upon as one of the foremost business men of the town.

Mr. Groth was very public-spirited, and could be depended upon for his due share in enterprise for the general good. He was a member of the Christian church and contributed largely to its support. He was an ardent Republican, and at one time was the candidate of his party for county treasurer. He was a charter member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Wa- natah. Being so closely identified with all the departments of activity in the community he could not help but wield much influence, but his fellow citizens testify that this influence was always on the side which he sincerely believed to be right. It is for these stanch and sterling qualities of an energetic nature and kind and generous char- acter that he is especially remembered in the town where most of his years were spent.

In 1868 Mr. Groth married Miss Isabella M., the most estimable and popular daughter of John and Margaret (Monroe) Harris, who were na- tives of Ireland and came from there to Ohio, thence to LaPorte county in the fifties, locating about five miles south of Wanatah, in Cass town- ship, where Mr. Harris died, but Mrs. Harris is living now in Nebraska. Mrs. Groth is the eldest of their family of eleven children and the only one now living in LaPorte county. She was born in Ireland, April 13, 1849, and was reared and educated mainly in Cass township, and was nineteen years old when she married Mr. Groth. She is a member of the Christian church, and has spent the greater part of her life in one house in Wanatah.

Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Groth. Margareta is the wife of John Pritsch, in the lumber business in Wisconsin. Grace, after graduating from the vocal and instrumental departments of music at Valparaiso when only sixteen years old, was an instructor in music in that college for eleven years, and is now the wife of Clarence Drown, who is manager of two theatres in Los Angeles, California, and has an interest in one of these theatres. Otto G. Groth died in Greeley, Colorado, in December, 1902. J. Earl, born in Wanatah, December 4, 1878, was educated in the Wanatah grade and high school, and, at that time, was the second young- est in the county to graduate from the eighth grade; he is now the capable manager of the

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Groth store in Wanatah, and is proving a worthy successor of his honored father in the conduct of the business. Lulu Bell assists in the store, and the youngest child, Loman Monroe, is still at- tending school in Wanatah, in the eighth grade. Miss Lulu, the daughter at home, graduated in the class of 1899, of the Wanatah high school, and, besides, she took a course in instrumental adn vocal music at the Valparaiso normal school, and at the present time she is organist in the Christian church at Wanatah.

The following notice appeared in the Val- paraiso Messenger of April 2, 1891 :-

DEATH OF OTTO GROTH.

Died, in Wanatah, LaPorte county, on the 25th of March, 1891, Mr. Otto Groth, aged fifty- five years, eight months and twenty-two days.

Otto Groth was born in Hamburg, Germany, on the 3d of June, 1835. His father died when he was only six years old. His mother cared for him as best she could, yet he had to largely de- pend on himself for his living. The like condition with a mother's love and tender care has made many a boy a useful man. His early life so cir- cumstanced, no doubt, gave Mr. Groth a training that was helpful to him throughout life.

Mr. Groth came to this country in 1857 and worked on a farm until the war broke out; then he enlisted in the gallant Ninety-ninth Indiana, and soon was marshalled to the front, where he saw the heat and dust of battle. He was in the army for three years. Through sleepless nights and weary marches he followed the merciless or- der "forward." When the war closed he re- turned to the quiet walks of life, but he has joined the silent army, and no return of morning will ever awake him to marching orders. Nor will the summons' hurrying tramp ever awake him again from the slumber of the grave. His name will stand enshrined in the history of his country with all the brave defenders living and dead.

On returning from the war he clerked in a store for three years. On the 29th of October, 1868, he was united with Miss Isabella Harris in the happy bonds of marriage. Their union was a happy one ; their home was one of sunshine. There were born to them six children-three girls and three boys-Maggie, Grace, Otto, Earl, Lulu and Monroe. They are bright and happy chil- dren. The family tie was very strong, and they were faithful and devoted to each other.

Soon after Mr. Groth's marriage he entered into the mercantile business for himself and con-

tinued the same until his death. He was a suc- cessful business man and succeeded in accumu- lating enough property to make it pleasant and comfortable for his family. He stood well with his neighbors and friends, being highly respected by all that knew him. He was faithful in the discharge of all his duties, as a husband, father, citizen and Christian. He was baptized and uni- ted with the Christian church in December, 1886. The church loses one of its most valuable work- ers. He was a good Christian man, striving to gain his home in heaven. His wife has been a faithful member of the church for years. Their three oldest children have given their hearts to the Lord. Their home has ever been open to brethren in Christ, and it was one of Christian influence.

On the 25th of March, 1891, Mr. Groth fell asleep in the arms of Jesus. His name, we be- lieve, is recorded on the Lamb's book of life, and this will be more to us when we join the con- gregation that is forever assembling in the eter- nal world than all else. His faithful and noble life spoke for itself. The Christian needs no eulogy. The life tells the story. It is a comfort to all to believe, that, "Blessed are they that die in the Lord, yea, the spirit saith they rest from their labors and their works do follow them."

The funeral sermon was preached by Elder A. Linkletter, of Donovan, Illinois, Sunday, March 29, and was largely attended by the friends and relatives of the deceased.

The son Otto, deceased, was a young man of more than ordinary ability, as an artist or de- signer. At the time of his illness he had been engaged in land surveying in Weld county, Colo- rado, and the contiguous territory, and as there had been no atlas of the county published, he un- dertook the task of making the draughts of the county from the abstractor's office, and had about completed the work, when he was forced to give it up.

He had the confidence of the people whom he had been associated with, and this, coupled with his honesty of purpose, and his persistency, aug- ured for him a successful future, when he was cut down, just as he had entered the portals of man- hood.

Otto G. Groth, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. O. Groth, was born in Wanatah, Indiana, May 3, 1874, died at Greeley, Colorado, December 2, 1902. He grew to manhood in this city and re- ceived his education in the Wanatah schools and at the Northern Indiana Normal School, at Val- paraiso, graduating from the scientific course in

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1899. He taught several years in the public schools of LaPorte county, and one year in the grammar department of the Wanatah high school. Many times during his illness he spoke of his pupils, and hoped he had said something that would cause them to be better men and women.

His health began to fail, and in April, 1900, accompanied by his mother, he went to Colorado in hopes that the change of climate would be a benefit to his health. His mother remained with him for five months, then she returned home. In April, 1902, she again returned to Colorado, his sister Maggie and her husband, John Pritsch, also going in August. All were with him until the end.

Over twelve years before his death he became a member of the Christian church. Many hours he spent in reading and studying the Bible, being especially fond of the twenty-third Psalm. Al- though at times suffering greatly, he never gave up in despair. Many of his friends said he had been to them a lesson in patience, as he was al- ways cheerful and hopeful, looking only on the bright side of life.

His remains were laid to rest in the Westville. cemetery, by the side of his father who died nearly twelve years before. The funeral was largely attended, many being present from abroad and surrounding cities.

JOHN WOZNIAK, for several years retired from the severe duties of life, and a resident of the town of Otis, has, during his forty-two years of residence in Laporte county, made a most hon- orable record, from the time he came here with hardly a dollar in his pocket until his industry and other excellent qualities as a farmer and husbandman brought him prosperity which ranks him among the foremost farmers of the county:

Mr. Wozniak was born in Polish Prussia, in the province of Posen, February 6, 1837, and is the second of the nine children of Joseph and Josephine (Bochacz) Wozniak, natives of the same part of Germany and members of the Catho- lic church, and the former a farmer and for some time a soldier in the Germany army. Two other of their children are living at present, Frank, a farmer of Fulton county, Nebraska, and Jacob, a resident of Chicago.

Mr. Wozniak remained in his native land until he was twenty-four years of age, and received a good education in the German and Polish tongues, and also gained some acquaintance . with the English language. He was learned in ' the art of farming on his father's

estate, and in these respects was well equipped for life when he came to America at the age of twenty-four. He sailed from Hamburg, and after a voyage of six and one-half weeks landed in New York city, whence he came directly to LaPorte county, and when he arrived here, in 1861, he had only seventy-five cents. His first employment was chopping cord wood at seventy cents a cord, and after a short time he hired out to work for thirteen dollars a month, during the harvest season, and then took a job of grubbing three acres at seven dollars an acre, taking a cow as part payment. After three years of like work he purchased for cash sixty-one acres of raw land in Scipio township, and with this as a starter he got married and settled down, going in debt nine hundred and fifty dollars to furnish and equip his home and farm. His first home was a log cabin, which still stands as a reminder of the hard but not unhappy past. At the present time he owns three hundred acres of fine LaPorte county land, well improved and capable of pro- ducing a fine revenue. In 1900 he left his farm and came to Otis, where he built a comfortable and commodious brick residence in which to take the comfort to which his early years of toil entitle him. Between the log cabin home and the brick dwelling is a long stretch, needing no words of comment to show the hard work and frugality and careful management of affairs to bring about such steady progression toward the goal of prosperity.

On July 30, 1865 Mr. Wozniak married Miss Mary Szolc, and to this marriage were born fourteen children, nine of whom are living, as follows: John, a farmer of Cool Spring town- ship, and married and has four children ; Jacob, a farmer of LaPorte county, and married and has one child; Joseph, a resident of Michigan City, and married; Frank, of Michigan City, and has one child; Maci, a farmer on the home place, and is married and has three children; Adam and Bartley, twins, residents of Michigan City and both married; Anna, of Michigan City ; and Mary, at home. All the children have been con- firmed in the Catholic church.

In the fall of 1874 Mr. Wozniak returned to the old country and paid a visit to his native home. On the return trip in the following Feb- ruary, the ship encountered a terrific storm, and for three or four days the passengers were locked below in a state of utmost anxiety, but the only one lost during the gale was a sailor.

Mr. Wozniak is a devoted Catholic, and was one of the founders and organizers of the St.

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Mary's parish and church, in 1873, when the present church was erected. It has since been remodeled, a school building has been erected, and a home for the priest built, and the church property altogether is valued at about fifteen thousand dollars. He is one of the trustees of the parish. Mr. Wozniak is a stanch Republican, and attends the conventions of the party.

AUGUST Z. ANDERSON is a native of Sweden. That kingdom has furnished to America many of its most thrifty and industrious citizens, men who have been largely instrumental in up- building and improving the great west and north- west. He is a worthy son of that country, and his life record is a credit to his native land and to the land of his adoption.

Mr. Anderson was born in the little province of Jonkopping, Sweden, on the 19th of April, 1857, a son of Andrew W. and Eliza (Johnson) Johnson. The father was born in Jonkopping about 1820, and is still living at the age of eighty- three years, his home being in Chicago. He was reared as an agriculturist and became an inspector of lands in his native country. He was educated in the schools of Sweden, and became an adherent of the Swedish Lutheran church. It was in 1869 that he came with his family to America, sailing from Gottenburg on an ocean steamer which was nine days in reaching the port of New York. He landed in a strange country, unfamiliar with the ways and customs of the people and with the language here spoken, but he possessed the in- dustry and enterprise so characteristic of the peo- ple of the Scandinavian peninsula and was willing to follow any pursuit that would yield him an honest living. Making his way to this county, he settled near the city of LaPorte, and the first land which he purchased was a tract of nineteen acres on section 1, New Durham township, while the first home of the family was a typical log cabin, such as was frequently seen upon the fron- tier in pioneer times. He added to his original tract until he had thirty acres. In politics he be- came a stanch Republican, and reared his sons in that political faith. His wife was born in Jon- köpping, Sweden, about 1824, and died in 1892, her remains being interred in the Swedish ceme- tery in New Durham township. She was a con- sistent member of the Swedish Lutheran church, of which her husband was one of the founders and leading workers. He is now living retired, enjoying a period of rest in the evening of life.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 109

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