A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 113

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

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Mrs. Matott is a member of the Methodist church. Mr. Matott has voted for every Repub- lican president since Lincoln, and his wife was one of the group that sang a dirge as the body of Lincoln passed through Westville. They are both worthy and esteemed people, and during their long years of residence in this part of the county have gained many friendships for common pleasure and benefit.

LUDWIG HUNDT, who is one of the pros- perous farmers and old settlers of LaPorte county, having a fine farmstead in section 24, Cass township, has in every respect thoroughly deserved his success, for when he came to this county over forty years ago he was a little bit worse than penniless, being in debt five dollars, and by his industry, saving and careful man- agement of all that has come to him he has reached a position of comparative wealth in the community.

Mr. Hundt was born in Prussia, Germany, February 4, 1836, and attended school during the customary period from the age of six to four- teen, and later served three years in the German army. He came to America in 1862, with La- Porte county as his destination, and for the first four years here earned a living by working by the day or month. He was then married, and he lo- cated on a farm three and one half miles west of his present home in Cass township. After three years he came to his present place, where he has made his home for over thirty years. There would be little ground for comparison between the present farm and as it was when he first took it. Raw land, no buildings, no fences or im- provements which would make the land attrac- tive to anyone but the true pioneer. He first built a log house thirty by eighteen feet, and from this as a center of operations began to make

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a home for himself and family. He has since built a fine residence, placed numerous substan- tial improvements on the land, and his property is a beautiful monument to his years of labor. He owns five hundred and eighty-eight acres of land, some of which lies in Hanna township, and it is all well drained and capable of producing first- class crops.

March 6, 1866, Mr. Hundt was married to Miss Matilda Kuehn, who was born in Germany in 1850, and came to America at the age of nine, directly to LaPorte county, where she has lived all the rest of her life. Four sons and four daughters were born of this union, as follows: William, Bertha, Albertine, Augusta, Ludwig, Hannah, Gustaf and Fred, all of whom were born in Cass township, and three are married and living in LaPorte county, and the rest are at home.

Mr. Hundt is a representative citizen of La- Porte county, having been identified with its pro- gress for so many years, and having been so suc- cessful in his own affairs. He has reason to be proud of his record, for he has built up an ex- cellent structure of material prosperity; has reared a family of bright young men and women who will take honorable places in the world, and has performed all the other duties devolving on the good citizen. He has taken part in public af- fairs, has been a life-long Republican, and was supervisor for some years. He is a member of the Lutheran church of Cass township, and held some office in that denomination for twelve years and contributed to its support.

MRS. MARTHA B. TALMAGE is the widow of Chesterfield M. Talmage and a daugh- ter of Nathan Bartlett, both now deceased, but who were prominent and influential citizens of La- Porte, held in warm regard by all who knew them. Her father, Nathan Bartlett, was born in Ocean county, New Jersey, and in 1837 emigrated to the west, locating in this county among its early resi- dents. Only a few homes were in the county at that time, and the business interests were but slightly developed. Mr. Bartlett took up a farm in Pleasant township, and began the development and cultivation of the fields, which in course of time became highly productive, yielding to him excellent crops. He was very successful, and un- der his labors his farm, which is now owned by Mrs. Talmage, became one of the most valuable in the county. At one time he served as township trustee, and was ever interested in matters of cit-

izenship, and in the progress and growth of the county. In religious faith he was a strict Friend, and was a man of high and noble character, of strong principles, and was unwavering in his ad- herence to a cause which he believed to be right. In all that he did he was conscientious, and well might he have been called one of Nature's noble- men.

Mr. Bartlett came to LaPorte county about the same time as did the family of James Ridgway, the father of John W. Ridgway, and he and James Ridgway married the Willetts sisters. The mother of Mrs. Talmage bore the maiden name of Hannah Willetts and like her husband was a native of Ocean county, New Jersey. His death occurred in this county in 1873, and she survived him for only eleven months, passing away in 1874 John W. Bartlett, a brother of Mrs. Talmage, was one of the forty-niners, and made the trip across the plains to California with a drove of cat- tle soon after the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast. He became a very wealthy man in that state and at the time of his death, which occurred in the same week in which Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, in April, 1865, he had thirty-six hun- dren acres of valuable land.

Mrs. Talmage was born on the old family homestead and spent her girlhood days in her par- ents' home. After reaching womanhood, she gave her hand in marriage to Chesterfield M. Talmage, who was a native of Kentucky, and in 1873 came to LaPorte, where he began dealing in ice. His business grew to extensive proportions, as he ship- ped ice very largely as well as sold to the retail trade. He obtained his supply from the lakes north of LaPorte, and his business methods, promptness and reliability won for him a liberal trade, which brought to him a very handsome and gratifying financial return. It was in 1890 that Mr. Talmage departed this life. He is remem- bered as a typical southern gentleman, of fine presence and engaging personal qualities, and his death was greatly regretted in LaPorte, where he had gained many friends and where he had won for himself a creditable position in business circles.

To Mr. and Mrs. Talmage were born three children : William, Arthur and Mrs. Daisy Low- er. The daugther is the wife of Will Lower, of LaPorte, and the sons are now engaged in the hardware business in Red Lodge, Montana, where they are highly successful merchants doing business amounting to one hundred thousand dollars annually.

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NATHAN BARTLETT.

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JOHN W. ROSENBAUM, a well known and long-time resident of section 21, Cass town- ship, has assisted much in the material develop- ment of the county since coming to it over fifty years ago. He was a poor man then, working by the day for his living, but men of his stamp and character seldom fail to gain a fair amount of ma- terial prosperity as their lives move on, and now, when past the Psalmist's limit of life, he enjoys a contented and comfortable existence.

Mr. Rosenbaum was born in Prussia, Ger- many, June 20, 1826, and spent the first twenty- five years of his life in his native land, where he obtained the substantial German education and also trained for the battle of life. He came to America in 1851, and after spending one year in the state of New York came to LaPorte county. His first work was on a railroad, and then for three or four years he was engaged at ditching in several of the townships in the southern part of LaPorte county. This important work was in the main planned and executed by German farmers, and to-day much of the fine agricultural land of southern LaPorte county is the result of this draining and tiling. Mr. Rosenbaum was able to buy some of this land in 1855, and with a log house as his first dwelling he went to work to make a good farm, and he has succeeded. He later built a frame house, some good barns and outbuildings, cleaned up and drained his land, and now the two hundred and forty acres of his farm is the equal of any similar piece of land in the neighborhood.

In 1855 Mr. Rosenbaum was married to Miss Dorothea Wagner, and the following children of this marriage are living: Adelia, Austena and Dora. After the death of his first wife Mr. Ros- enbaum married a sister of his first wife, Julianna Wagner, and their eight living children are Her- man, William, Eddie, Paulina, Louis, Adelina, John and Emma. By his two wives Mr. Rosen- baum has been the father of eighteen children. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church, to the local denomination of which he is a liberal contributor, and in questions of politics he votes for the best man, without much regard for party ties.

LEROY D. WEBBER, deceased, was one of the most prominent merchants of the city of La- Porte for nearly half a century, and at his death was head of the large retail and wholesale con- cern known as the Webber Hardware Company, which was among the largest of its kind in north- ern Indiana. In the year 1851 the Michigan

Southern Railroad had not yet been completed to LaPorte, the population had not yet reached the five thousand mark, the city charter was not granted until the following year, the great free school system which is now the city's pride was not established for five years, and all in all La- Porte was only in its infancy compared with its present development and greatness. It was in that year that Leroy D. Webber became one of the number of LaPorte business men. He estab- lished a hardware store on Main street which he continued in successful operation until 1860, and then moved it to the location which it retained for thirty-five years. This was the establishment to which he devoted the best years and the best efforts of his life, and his sudden end came while he was still looking after his interests at the store, in December, 1895. He was a reliable and pro- gressive business man, and from a small begin- ning built his store up to one of the largest of the kind in the city, as it was the oldest in the city at the time of his death. The concern was car- ried on during the period of the greatest growth of LaPorte, and Mr. Webber was one of the fore- most men in promoting the commercial progress, as he was active in the work of public improve- ment, especially along educational lines.

Mr. Webber was born in Chautauqua county, New York, November 4, 1829, a son of Stebbins F. and Emeline (Pope) Webber. The latter was born in Otsego county, New York, January 30, 1810, and died in LaPorte, Indiana, March 2, 1883. Stebbins F. Webber was born in Monson, Hempden county, Massachusetts, October 20, 1804, and in 1805 his parents removed to Cha- tauqua county, New York. In 1834 he settled in Lorain county, Ohio, where he lived over ten years, and in 1845 went to Niles, Michigan. In 1852 he came to LaPorte, where he resided till his death, in 1872. Soon after his settlement in Ohio he engaged in the tin and hardware busi- ness, in which he was very successful, and he also attained to some prominence in the public life of that county. He was an honest, practical, industrious man, and a widely known and es- teemed citizen.

Leroy D. Webber was married in 1851 to Miss Sarah Deniston, native of Niles, Michigan. They were the parents of three children, as follows : Emma, now Mrs. Charles Bosserman, and the only surviving child: Ella, who married Fred Whittaker, and who died October 25, 1885; and Sadie, who died October 17, 1880.

Mr. Webber affiliated with the Democratic party, and during his residence in the city he was

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honored with the title of mayor, which office he filled with credit to himself and party. He was later appointed a member of the public school board, and during his twelve years' service in this capacity did much for advancing the stand- ard of education and making the schools of La- Porte unrivaled in the county or state. The teaching force were his favorites, and their in- terests were always uppermost in his mind. He was an esteemed member of the Masonic order, was also a member of the banking company of Hall, Weaver and Company, and a trustee of the Ruth C. Sabin Home. Wherever he was called upon to touch the public life of the com- munity he was never found wanting in that high degree of public spirit and readiness to work for the general welfare which are the marks of the highest citizenship. Kindheartedness, generosity and manliness were the leading traits of his char- acter ; he was faithful to his friends, and with- out an enemy in the world, and family, town and county were bereaved by the taking off of this true and high-minded man.

JOSEPH REED. Certainly a great debt of gratitude is due the pioneer settlers who made their way into the regions hitherto unclaimed for the uses of civlization and established homes which are the basis of a business development and of social, intellectual and moral progress. Among the number in La Porte county who from early pioneer times have been factors in the improve- ment and upbuilding of this section of the state is numbered Joseph Reed, who is now a resident of New Durham township, where he owns and operates a fine farm. He is a native of Franklin county, Indiana, born on the 20th of August, 1831, and is the eldest of three children, two sons and a daughter, whose parents were Joseph K. and Elenor (Warfield) Reed. Two of this number are yet living, the brother of Joseph being George W., who as a commercial traveler has visited all parts of the United States and he has also trav- eled in Mexico and the island of Cuba.

The father was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, on the 6th of March, 1808, and died on the 6th of May, 1875. He was a brick and stone ma- son by trade. Through much of his life, however, he followed the occupation of farming. He re- ceived a good practical education in his youth and was a gentleman of keen discernment, of un- flagging energy and of upright character, so that in his later life he won success and also gained the respect and confidence which should ever be accorded to upright character. In politics he was

a stanch adherent to Democratic principles ad- vocated by Jackson. It was about 1824 when he came to Indiana by way of Cincinnati, establish- ing his home in Franklin county. In 1832 his father arrived in LaPorte county and purchased a large amount of land from the Michigan Road Land Company. He secured altogether eleven tracts of eighty acres each, for which he paid either two and a half or three dollars per acre. It was all wild land and was thus cheaply secured because of an agreement entered into by the set- tlers. Each pioneer made choice of the tract which he desired, and they all agreed not to bid for the farm which another had selected at the time the land was put up for sale. The first home erected by the Reed family was a log cabin situ- ated about a half mile from the present home of Mr. Joseph Reed. In August, 1836, Joseph Reed first came to LaPorte county, his father removing here at that time, and pioneer experience and hardships were borne by the parents and chil- dren as they carried forward the work of improv- ing and developing a farm. The grandparents both died and were buried in this county, and a monument now marks their last resting place. The parents of Joseph Reed are interred in the Aheart cemetery which was named in honor of an old settler, William Aheart, who in connection with grandfather Joseph Reed donated the land for the cemetery purpose and for a school ground in New Durham township. Joseph R. Reed, the father, coincided with the Universalist religious faith, while his wife was a member of the Bap- tist church.

Mr. Reed's maternal grandfather War- field was a soldier in the war of 1812, with the British and Indians, and had one brother, an uncle and cousins in the Rev- olutionary struggle. This old hero, Mr. Warfield, was one of the heroes of Lundy's Lane, and was with General Scott in all the battles of the Canadian border. He enlisted from the state of Kentucky in Colonel Dick Johnson's regiment, and was in close proximity when the great In- dian war chief Tecumseh was killed, and saw him after his death. In the Aheart cemetery, on Mr. Reed's land, Samuel Johnson, a soldier of the war of 1812, lies interred. He was a native of Kentucky, and was also a member of Colonel Dick Johnson's regiment. Samuel Johnson came to New Durham township in April, 1829, with William Aheart, and helped raise the widow Benedict's log house, the first in the county of La- Porte, Indiana.

Joseph Reed was a little lad of only five years

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Joseph Reed.

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when he became a citizen of LaPorte county, and here he was reared to manhood. He obtained his education in the primitive schools of the pion- eer period. The little temple of learning was built of round logs and was 16 by 16 feet. In one end of the room was a large fireplace six feet wide, and the chimney was built of sticks and mud, while the hearth was of clay. The seats were of slabs resting on wooden logs, and each bench was twelve to fourteen feet in length. The writing desk was made by put- ting a board on wooden pins driven into the wall, and goose quill pens were used. Among the text books was Webster's Elementary Spelling book, the New Testament, the English reader, Pike's Arithmetic and others of a similar nature. When a boy could figure to the "rule of three" he was considered quite an expert in mathematics. School was conducted on the subscription plan. Mr. Reed has lived to see a wonderful change in the educational system of the country, which has been developed until no country on the face of the globe has schools of such superior character as does Amercia. He has lived to see many changes in other directions also, for when he came to the county not one of the thirteen railroads which now provide for the traffic and transpor- tation of this section of the state had been built. There was not a church in New Durham town- ship at the time of his arrival and the ministers made a circuit on horseback. Mr. Reed has swung the old-fashioned cradle many a day in the harvest field, and also used a scythe, raking up the grain with a common rake.

When twenty-five years of age he determined to go to the Pacific slope, wishing to see the coun try and also to benefit his health by a change of climate. He proceeded by rail to New York city, and thence embarked on the steamer George Law for Aspinwall. He crossed the Isthmus of Pan- ama, and on the west side took passage on the vessel Golden Age, bound for California. While he was crossing the Isthmus the train on which he was a passenger, crashed through the bridge crossing the Chagres river and was precipitated in nine feet of water. Over one hundred passengers were killed. He saw one hundred and four persons buried in four large pits. There were twelve hundred passengers altogether. At length, how- ever, Mr. Reed reached San Francisco in safety, on the 22d of May, 1856, and on the day of his arrival there he saw two men executed by hang- ing, by the order of the vigilance committee. For about a year he remained in the far west, and re-

members with pleasure his stay amid the fields of California. By the same route he returned to his home in Indiana.

June 30, 1859, Mr. Reed was united in mar- riage to Miss Harriet Holmes, a representative of one of the old families in the county. She was born in Seneca county, Ohio, April 18, 1838, and belonged to a family of five children, two sons and three daughters, whose parents were Hiram and Mercy (Sherman) Holmes. Only two are now living, her sister Adeline being the widow of Abram A. Hart and a resident of Iowa. Her father was a native of New York, born in 1803, and he died November 16, 1891. By occupation he was a farmer and prospered in his undertak- ings. He also possessed considerable mechanical ingenuity, being very handy in the use of tools. In early pioneer times he went to Ohio, where he engaged in clearing away the forest trees and preparing the land for cultivation. He was thus employed until he earned money enough to pur- chased a tract of land for himself. When his daughter, Mrs. Reed, was four years of age he re- moved with his family to DeKalb county, Indiana, where he became the owner of a farm, residing thereon for five years. In June, 1847, he pur- chased about one hundred and eighty acres of land in New Durham township, and later he sold that property and bought a large tract of land in the northern part of the township just about the time the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- road was being built. He donated seven acres of land to the railroad, and the little village of Holmesville was named in his honor. In 1860 he went to Iowa, having traded his Indiana land for property in that state, and there he resided until 1880, which he went to Jefferson county Kansas, purchasing three hundred acres of land there. Upon his farm in that state his last days were spent. He was an old-line Whig until the organization of the new Republican party, when he joined its ranks. He lived at peace with all men, and never engaged in any lawsuit. He was well known for his integ- rity, and his worth was widely acknowledged by his warm friends. His wife was a native of Mass- achusetts, born in 1803, and her death occurred in 1846. Mrs. Reed's maternal grandmother had some relatives who were soldiers of the Revolu- tionary war, and some of the maternal ancestors of Mrs. Reed were heroes of the war of 1812 as well as the war for independence. Her aunt, Elizabeth Holmes, married into the Burlingame family of which Anson Burlingame was a repre- sentative. He was minister to China, and took

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a very important part in inaugurating a pleasant relation between the two countries.

To Mr. and Mrs. Reed were born six chil- dren, three sons and three daughters, of whom five are now living: Louisa May, who was edu- cated in the common schools and is at home with her parents ; Frank H., a resident farmer of New Durham township and who married Miss Caro- line Stormer and has three children-Grover C., Joseph and Earl; Charles S., an agriculturist of New Durham township, who wedded Miss Effie Stormer and has two children-Harriet and Es- ther ; Charlotte and Myrtle, who are at home.

Where questions of national importance are involved Mr. Reed casts his ballot with the Demo- cratic party, his first presidential vote having been given for Franklin Pierce. He has oftentimes represented his county in the district conventions. He and his wife strongly favor universal educa- tion, and do all in their power to promote the cause of the schools in this locality. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Westville, and has filled all of the chairs. He and his wife are worthy pioneer peo- ple who in the long years of their residence here have gained the warm regard and confidence of all who know them. They are now in very com- fortable financial circumstances, their farm com- prising two hundred and forty acres of good land, the products from which bring to them an in- come that enables them to enjoy all of the neces- sities and many of the luxuries of life.

ALONZO S. NICHOLS, assistant postmas- ter of Michigan City, was born in Milo Center, New York, on the 12th of February, 1841. The founder of the Nichols family in America was Isaac Nichols, who was born at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1748, and married Anna Boon, also of that state, and who was born in 1754. They were among the earliest emigrants to the New Jerusalem and settled at the Garter, at a point long known as Nichols' Corners, but now called Milo Center, where he conducted a tavern. Their grandson, Johnson A., was afterward the pro- prietor of the same tavern. They were most ex- emplary and steadfast devotees of the Friends' faith, and the meetings of the society were often held in their house. Isaac Nichols died in 1829, at the age of eighty-one years, and his wife passed away in 1838, in her eighty-fifth year. Their children were George, Alexander, Benjamin and Jacob.

Alexander Nichols, the grandfather of Alonzo Nichols, was born in Rhode Island, but later re-

moved to New York and settled in Yates county. He was a tanner by trade. He married Polly Chambers, and they became the parents of four children,-Josiah, Johnson, Alexander and Lor- ing, all of whom are now deceased with the ex- ception of Loring, who still resides on the old homestead in Yates county. Alexander Nichols was called to the home beyond when eighty-four years of age, and his wife survived to the ex- treme old age of ninety-four years. They made their home at Milo Center, and both were mem- bers of the Friends Society.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 113

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