A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 118

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 118

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

Mr. Denison has been a Republican since he cast his first vote for Lincoln, and has served as delegate to state and county conventions. He has been county commissioner for three years, and was trustee of his township. He is a member of the Methodist Church, one of the trustees, a teacher in the Sunday-school, and for years the Sunday- school superintendant. He is a member of Pat- ten Post No. 147, G. A. R., at LaPorte, and in the summer of 1903 attended the national en- campment at San Francisco, being gone for two months, and visiting many of the western states with their wonderland of scenic beauties.

VAN E. WILKINSON, a representative of one of the old pioneer families of LaPorte county, was born in Bourbonnais, Kankakee county, Illi- nois, September 2, 1861, and is of a commingling of good English, Scotch and Dutch stocks. His parents were Edwin R. and Sarah A. (Van Me- ter) Wilkinson, the former of whom was born in Genesee county, New York, November 12, 1832, but was reared to the pursuit of a farmer and edu- cated in the schools of LaPort county. He came to this county when nine years of age, and his first habitation was a log cabin in the midst of one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 18, Scipio township, and this had the reputation of being the banner farm of LaPorte county. In politics he was first a Republican, but later a Dem- ocrat ; he was made a Mason in Hoopestown, Il- linois, and was interred at Door Village with the rites of that body. At his death he possessed one hundred and eighty-five acres of land in this county. He was a member of the Baptist church, and his wife of the Methodist church. Sarah A. Wilkinson was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, May 9, 1844, and was a daughter of James W. and Lucinda (Brown) Van Meter, the former a native of Piqua, Ohio, and the latter from Vir- ginia. Mrs. Wilkinson was educated in the pub- lic schools of Kankakee, and is still devoted to lit- erature and the mental side of life; she resides in a beautiful home in LaPorte, and is a dearly beloved and esteemed lady.

Five of the children of these parents are still living, as follows: Van E .; Lewis F., a farmer and stockman of Benton county, Oregon ; Viletta, the wife of Richard Fleming, a solicitor of Chi- cago; Lucy L., the wife of Nelson D. Sellers, a merchant and farmer of Walkerton, Indiana, and they have three children : Mattie A., who was a school and music teacher, married P. H. Smith, who has charge, through appointment of Presi- dent Mckinley, of the United States weather

bureau at Cairo, Illinois, and has made many im- portant measurements of the Mississippi river at that point; they have one daughter, Lucille.

Van E. Wilkinson received most of his early rearing and training in LaPorte county; he at- tended the Kankakee (Illinois) high school and the Earl Park (Indiana) schools, and took a course at the Valparaiso Business College. He has been a practical and successful man all his life, and has done well in his farming and stock- raising operations. After his marriage he lived in Benton county, Indiana, for four years, and then purchased a farm of one hundred and forty acres in Vermilion county, Illinois; selling this he came to LaPorte county and took charge of the estate where he resides at present. His land consists of one hundred and eighty-five acres in both New Durham and Scipio townships, beau- tifully situated, productive, and improved with all the facilities which make farm life profitable and attractive.

Mr. Wilkinson's first wife was Miss Emma L. Evans, and of their two children, Ralph E. is living; he is a young man of splendid physical development, with every assurance of success in the world. Mrs. Wilkinson, who was a daugh- ter of William and Rachel (Martin) Evans, died in January, 1885, in LaPorte county. Following the death of his wife Mr. Wilkinson went to North Dakota and took a claim of one hundred and sixty acres, besides purchasing three hundred and twenty, and remained there for two years engaged in ranching. He then returned to La- Porte county, and was married to Miss Mamie L. Place, February 1, 1894. Three children were born of this union; Jennie G., now in the fourth grade at school; Edna E., a bright pupil; Os- born P., the youngest.

Mrs. Wilkinson was born in LaPorte county, December 15, 1871, and is a daughter of Benja- min F. and Elizabeth (Wisenbaugh) Place. The name Place is of French origin, and was once "La Place." Mr. Place was a native of Butler county, Ohio, and was a teacher, farmer and large landowner ; he was one of the original men who sat about to reclaim the marsh region of the Kankakee river, and was a successful man throughout his life. He came to La Porte county at the age of thirty, and died there. He was a Democrat, and served in several places of trust in the township. He and his wife were promi- nent members of the Methodist church ; his wife was a native of Preble county, Ohio. Mrs. Wil- kinson has a half-brother, Walker F. Place, who occupies the responsible position of superintend-

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ent of the Russ Manufacturing Company at South Bend, Indiana. Four of the six children of Mr. and Mrs. Place are yet living, as follows: Wil- lard W., a farmer on the old homestead in John- son township; Mrs. Wilkinson; Jennie, the wife of Grant Tank, a commercial salesman, of Walk- erton, Indiana; Smyers, a successful merchant of Walkerton, Indiana. Three of these children were teachers in LaPorte county at one time. The children were reared in the main by their mother, who was left a widow when the children were young, and she managed affairs so that all were well prepared for life's battles and became good and useful citizens. Mrs. Wilkinson was educated in the high school at Walkerton, and at the normals at LaPorte and Valparaiso, and taught four years in LaPorte county.

Mr. Wilkinson is a Democrat as far as na- tional issues are concerned, but generally disre- gards party lines in local elections. He is a mem- ber of the Masonic order at Westville, and his wife belongs to the Eastern Star. They are both members of the Methodist church at Door Vil- lage, and everywhere in this section of the county are held in high esteem.

GEORGE J. HOELOCKER. In a history of the men who either in the past or in the present have been or are important factors in the busi- ness life of LaPorte, George J. Hoelocker is de- serving of prominent and honorable mention. He was active and energetic in business affairs, and sustained a reputation in trade circles that was unassailable. In his home life, too, he was all that a loving and devoted husband and father could be, and his memory is cherished by his friends and held sacred by wife and children.

Mr. Hoelocker was born in LaPorte in 1858. His father Conrad Hoelocker, was a native of Germany, and with his wife and children came to America in 1856. For a few months he resided in Baltimore, Maryland, and then removed to LaPorte, where he continued to reside until called to the home beyond, his death occurring a few years ago. His widow still survives, and yet lives in LaPorte.

George J. Hoelocker spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the paternal home, and ac- quired his education in the public schools. On putting aside his text books he began learning the trade of a finisher in the furniture manufactur- ing business, that he might take his place in the business world and become an active factor in in- dustrial and commercial life. He worked for a number of years in the furniture store of William

C. Weir, and rose to a responsible position in that establishment. In 1882, when his labor and econ- omy had brought to him sufficient cap- ital, he founded a furniture store of his own on Indiana avenue, where he re- mained until 1899, when he removed to the present location of the store at 822 Main street. He prosecuted his business with success up to the time of the illness preceding his death. His store was well stocked with a carefully select- ed line of furniture, and his earnest efforts to please his customers and his straightforward bus- iness dealings had brought to him a very desira- ble patronage.

In early manhood Mr. Hoelocker was united in marriage to Miss Delilah Grebner, a daughter of Lawrence Grebner, who was born in Germany and came to the United States when a young man of eighteen years. He settled at Delaware, Ohio, and it was there that his daughter, Mrs. Hoel- ocker, was born. He afterward came to LaPorte county and engaged in the butchering business, first in Westville and later in LaPorte, where he died in August, 1898. Mrs. Hoelocker spent her young girlhood days and received most of her education in this city, where she was married to George J. Hoelocker in 1882. Of five children born to them four are living: Ada May, Charles Ernest, Harry Francis and Gertrude Alberta. The two sons are being well trained in business methods so that they may succeed to the manage- ment of the furniture store, and are manly, am- bitious young men.

Becoming ill, Mr. Hoelocker remained in the hospital for six months, but through his wife's earnest care and devotion he was recovering. He took a walk to the lake north of town, there, by accident, he fell through the ice and was drowned, his death occurring February 20, 1900. Notwith- standing the great shock to Mrs. Hoelocker, she bravely determined to carry on the furniture bus- iness alone that her boys might have a business inheritance when they became old enough to as- sume control. In her highly commendable ef- forts she met with encouragement from the busi- ness men and citizens of LaPorte, and has pros- pered far beyond her expectations. She has shown splendid business ability in buying and sell- ing and in selecting her assistants for the store, although up to the time of her husband's death hers had been purely a domestic life, her atten- tion being given to her social and home duties and to literary pursuits. She possesses considerable literary power and has written many poems which have been received with great favor. One of these

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especially, "Our Boys in Blue," written at the time of the opening of the Spanish-American war, and published in the LaPorte Herald, attracted much appreciative comment from many sources. When her husband passed away she penned the follow- ing tribute to his memory, published in the La- Porte Bulletin, March 23, 1900, and entitled :

HOW WE MISS HIM.

How we miss you, dearest papa, Husband loved, so kind and true; Oh, this life will be so lonely Dearest papa, without you.

God in wisdom has but called you From your sorrow and your pain. May you rest with Him forever That our loss is but your gain.

Tenderly we cared and nursed you, Loving hands could do no more; God in wisdom has but called you, Though our hearts are grieved and sore.

Time will heal the broken-hearted Though our eyes with teardrops burn ; Knowing that you have departed Never, never to return.

But a memory everlasting, As the days and years roll by, Ever round our home be casting Though your presence be not nigh.

God be merciful to his children, Help us through all trials to come; May our lives be trusted to Him And received unto His home.

BEN AMMI DAGGY is now in the eighty- second year of his age. For thirty-four years he has been a resident of LaPorte county, and his course has been such as to win him the re- spect. confidence and honor of all with whom he has been associated, for his actions have been prompted by earnest purpose and guided by Christian principles. Such a life record serves an example to the young and an inspiration to the aged.

Mr. Daggy was born in Augusta county, Vir- ginia. April 22, 1822, a son of Jacob and Han- nah (Ciple) Daggy. The father, also a native of the Old Dominion, was born July 4. 1796, three years before the death of General Washington.

He was of German lineage, and belonged to one of the old colonial families of the south. In early life he learned the tanner's trade, and after com- ing to Indiana engaged in merchandising. It was about 1837 that he left his old home in Vir- ginia and came to Indiana, settling first in Clin- ton county, where he purchased property. Be- coming dissatisfied there he disposed of his land and located near Greencastle, in Putnam county, where his remaining days were passed. While living in this state he was engaged in the boot and shoe business. The first home of the family in Indiana was a log structure, and they lived in true pioneer style, sharing in all the hardships and trials of life on the frontier. Jacob Daggy passed away January 16, 1869. His wife, who was also a native of Virginia, born September 15, 1800, died August 22, 1880. She was born of German parentage, and readily acquired a knowl- edge of the German language, for it was spoken in her parents' home. To her family she was most devoted, doing everything in her power to pro- mote their welfare. By her marriage she became the mother of nine children, five sons and four daughters, of whom Ben Ammi was the second in order of birth. Six others of the family are yet living, as follows: Franklin, who is married and is a banker of York, Nebraska; James, who was a soldier of the Civil war and is now overseer of a cemetery at Greencastle, Indiana ; Charles. a farmer, who is married and resides at Greencastle : Sarah, the widow of Ignatius Hawkins, also liv- ing in Greencastle; Elizabeth, who is the widow of Augustus Wood and is living in Madison, Wisconsin ; and Eliza, who makes her home in Greencastle.

Mr. Daggy was a lad of fifteen years when he came with his parents to the far west, the entire journey being made in wagons in the primitive manner of travel at that time. His father was a very pious man, and believing it wrong to travel on Sunday they rested on that holy day. Mr. Daggy pursued his education in a log school- house. Both he and his wife were pupils in such a "temple of learning," conning their lessons while sitting on a slab bench. In one end of the room was a huge fireplace, and the chimney was made of mud and sticks. The writing desk was a bench which extended partly around the room. and was made by laying a board upon wooden pins driven into the wall. Pens were made of goose quills, and one of the text books commonly in use was Pike's Arithmetic.

Amid the scenes of pioner life, its pleasures and its hardships, Mr. Daggy grew to manhood.

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Jucy of Daggy

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B.A. Daggy

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and was then married to Miss Lucy A. Stoner, of Greencastle, Putnam county, Indiana, Novem- ber 29, 1849. She was born in that county De- cember 27, 1826, a daughter of Robert and Mary (Wells) Stoner. Her father, a native of North Carolina, was a farmer by occupation, and in all of his undertaking he prospered because of his marked energy and good management. He was the soul of honor and integrity, and, while fol- lowing the most scrupulously exact methods in all his dealings he also won success and became a large landowner. In politics he was an old- line Whig until the birth of the Republican party, when he joined its ranks, remaining one of its ardent advocates, although never an office- holder. He traced his ancestry to Germany. His father, Peter Stoner, was a soldier of the Revo- lutionary war and saw General Washington, Francis Marion, and Lord Cornwallis, the com- mander of the Birtish forces. Many a day did he march barefooted in the winter time, but he never faltered in his efforts to secure liberty, and on one occasion he was wounded in the knee by a British musket ball.

Mr. and Mrs. Daggy began their domestic life upon a little farm in Putnam county, Indiana, near her father's home, and, although they had little capital, they possessed industry and enterprise, and through their united efforts they have gained a comfortable competence. They resided in Put- nam county until about 1860, when the removed to Stark county, where Mr. Daggy purchased one hundred and thirty acres of land, on which they resided for ten years, after which they came to LaPorte county, which has since been their home. Here they have a good farm of eighty acres besides the comfortable residence in West- vill, which they occupy.

To Mr. and Mrs. Daggy were born three sons and three daughters, and of this number four are now living: Franklin married Miss Laura Hutchinson, by whom he has two sons, Glenn and Bence, and is now a wide-awake and enterprising farmer residing at Manhattan, Putnam county, Indiana; Hattie is the wife of Samuel Haus, a blacksmith of Westville, and they have three chil- dren, Harry, Lola and Metta. George Thornton, a mechanic of Michigan City, married Miss Flora Williams, and they have four children, Leo, Wanda, Lotta and Nona ; and Calmetta is the wife of Walter Dodd, a general salesman for the In- ternationl Harvester Company of America, and they have one little daughter, Reva.

Mr. and Mrs Daggy are now well advanced in the evening of life, and in reviewing their careers

we find much that is worthy of emulation. While they have never sought to figure prominently before the public, they have been true to the duties which have devolved upon them, have reared a family of children who are an honor to their name, and have ever been just and honor- able in their relations with their fellowmen, and thus as they have advanced along life's journey they have gained many friends, who entertain for them the warmest respect and good will.

JULIUS C. TRAVIS. A number of the im- portant busines interests of LaPorte have felt the stimulus of the energy and executive ability of Mr. Travis, whose efforts have formed no unim- portant element in promoting professional and industrial activity ; nor has he ever been remiss in citizenship, but on the contrary has been a co- operant factor in many movements for the general good, and thus is deserving of mention among the representative men of his county. He is a repre- sentative of one of the oldest families of the coun- ty, and was born in Pleasant township in 1868.

His grandfather, Curtis Travis, was born in New York, in the historic Sleepy Hollow district on the Hudson, made famous by Washington Irving's charming little "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." He was descended from Nor- man French ancestry, who at the time of the conquest of England by William the Conqueror went to that country. Joshua Travis, about 1750, crossed the Atlantic and settled upon a farm near New York city, and his son, John Travis, was the father of Curtis Travis. The last named, leaving the Empire state, became one of the earliest settlers of north- ern Indiana, and was living here at the time La- Porte county was organized, having settled here in 1832. Within a few years following, a number of his brothers and sisters came to the west, and all were prominent in the early history of this county.

Wesley Travis, the father of Julius C. Travis, was born in Pleasant township, LaPorte county, in 1835, and became a very wealthy farmer. He died in 1902. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Rebecca Brand, was born in Scho- harie county, New York, but removed with her parents to Chautauqua county, that state, at an early age. Her people were from New York city.

Upon the home farm Julius C. Travis was reared, and when not engaged with the duties of the schoolroom he assisted in the labors of field and meadow, thus early becoming familiar with the work of plowing, planting and harvesting.

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When he had completed the district school course he entered the LaPorte high school, and following his graduation there he matriculated in the State University of Michigan, at AnnArbor, in 1888, He was a student there for six consecutive years, the last two of which were spent in the law depart- ment, in which he was graduated with the class of 1894. On motion of his preceptor he was ad- mitted to the bar before the supreme court of Michigan, and returning to LaPorte in that year he began the practice of his chosen profession, which he has since followed successfully. He now has a large clientele, and the litigation with which he has been connected is of a very im- portant character. He is a splendidly equipped lawyer and has a large practice. He is now serv- ing his second term as city councilman, and in 1898 he received the nomination for prosecuting attorney, but being a Republican was defeated, the county being largely Democratic. His oppo- nent, William H. Breese, was elected. Mr. Travis was appointed by the governor to fill out the unexpired term of prosecuting attorney of J. C. Richter, who was elected to the circuit bench.

Mr. Travis, while known as a hard-working, able and leading lawyer of La Porte, has also found time to give some attention to outside business interests. He is the president of the Rustic Hick- ory Furniture Company, the factory of which has been rebuilt with a larger equipment and facilities than ever before, following the destruction of the original plant by fire in the spring of 1903. This company manufactures rustic hickory furniture, and is one of only two of the kind in the United States. It is an important industrial enterprise of LaPorte, the product being sold to the trade all over the United States, the Wannamaker store being a large customer, purchasing in carload lots. Mr. Travis's brother, Warren Travis, is secretary of the company, and E. H. Handley is the treas- urer. Mr. Travis is also special commissioner representing all the fire insurance companies doing business in LaPorte. His duties consist of the inspection of buildings, etc., and all matters af- fecting fire insurance risks in this city.

The home life of Mr. Travis has been very pleasant. He was happily married in LaPorte, in 1896, to Miss Ethel Closser, a daughter of Jer- ome Closser, of the well known old Closser family. Mr. and Mrs. Travis have two children, Richard Churchill and Elizabeth. In social circles they occupy an enviable position, accorded them by reason of their many excellent and admirable characteristics. Mr. Travis is prominent in bus- iness and professional circles, and in the control of

important interests manifests marked sagacity and sound judgment. He is a representative of that class of men who constitute the progressive ele- ment in every community and to whom the rapid and substantial development of the west is due.

DAVID L. HECKMAN, one of the promi- nent farmers of Galena township, residing on sec- tion 17, was born in this township, February 3, 1840. His father, Jacob Heckman, was a native of Botetourt county, Virginia, and of German lineage. In the place of his nativity he spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and afterward re- moved to Ohio, whence he later made his way to Michigan, settling near Niles. The year 1834 witnessed his arrival in LaPorte county, and only here and there was the home of a settler, much of the land being still in possession of the govern- ment and the district being a frontier region. He built a cabin and removed his family to his new home in 1835. For many years he remained a resident of Galena township, interested in the wel- fare of this section of the state and contributing through his co-operation to many measures for the general good. He died in St. Joseph county, Indiana, in the ninety-second year of his age, after a long, useful and honorable career. In politics, he was a Whig until the organization of the Re- publican party, when he joined its ranks, and continued to uphold its banners until his demise. He belonged to the German Catholic church. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Elizabeth Dodd, was also a native of Virginia, and by her mar- riage became the mother of thirteen children, of whom David L. is the eleventh in order of birth.

In his native township upon the old family homestead David L. Heckman was reared. In retrospect one can see him as a little farmer lad, making his way to the little log schoolhouse in order to gain a knowledge of "reading, writing and ar- ithmetic," which were about the only studies taught at that time. He conned his lessons sitting on a slab seat, spending only about three months in the year at school, because his services were needed upon the home farm through the remain- der of the year. He assisted his father in the ar- duous task of clearing the land, and remained at home up to the time of his marriage which oc- curred on the 3d of July, 1859, the lady of his chbice being Miss Malissa Morrow, who was born in Galena township, LaPorte county, on the 17th of March, 1842, her parents being Charles and Elizabeth (Hollingshead) Morrow. Charles Morrow was born in Virgina, and, removing to

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 118

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