A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 121

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

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He then traveled over many states as a journeyman miller, and in 1873 engaged in oper- ating a mill at Westville, LaPorte county, but his

plant was burned down in 1878. He had invented several improvements on mill machinery, and for several years pushed the sale of these on the road. In 1885 he took up his permanent residence in Wanatah, and in partnership with Groth, Fudenski & Conitz built a mill which he operated for the company until 1897, when it was burned. Mr. Dolman and Conitz then built the present fine mill plant, and since then the firm has become Dolman & Mitzner. The capacity of the mill is one hundred barrels a day, and it has a reputa- tion as turning out as good brands of feedstuffs as any mill in the county, its choice grades of flour finding a ready market in this and neighbor- ing counties. Mr. Dolman having been reared to the business, is a practical miller, with not only the business capacity for enlarging the patronage of his mill, but with the theoretical knowledge of mill machinery which enables him to suggest many improvements and increase the operating power of his plant.

Mr. Dolman was married in 1867 to Miss Mary J. Knowlton, a native of New York state and a daughter of Henry J. Knowlton. Five chil- dren were born to them. Mabel is the wife of Jacob Eaton, a grocer of Wanatah; Ethel is the wife of Frank Wilson; Pearl died at the age of twenty-two; and two others died in infancy. Mr. Dolman has always held to the Democratic views on the tariff question, and has usually voted with that party. He is a member of the Royal Ar- canum and of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is a trustee. He has enjoyed a grati- fying prosperity in his business ventures, and is reliable and upright in all his dealings. Like- wise he has done his part as a citizen of his county and township, and in domestic and social relations is kind and popular. It is evident that Mr. Dolman is the oldest miller in northwestern Indiana at the present time of writing.

EDGAR W. HICKMAN. This well known and successful farmer residing in Kankakee township, is a worthy representative of an old and honored pioneer family of LaPorte county, which has taken an active part in the develop- ment and permanent improvement of this sec- tion of the state. He was born in the township where he still lives, February 5, 1841, and is the seventh in order of birth in a family of ten chil- dren, whose parents were Jacob V. and Rachel (Copland) Hickman. He was reared and edu- cated in his native township, attending the early schools.

Mr. Hickman assisted in the operation of his

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father's farm until his marriage, which was cele- brated on the 8th of January, 1865, the lady of his choice being Miss Sarah J. Downing, also a native of Kankakee township and a daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Wagner) Downing, who were among the first settlers of LaPorte county. To Mr. and Mrs. Hickman were born three chil- dren, namely : David D., now a prominent far- mer of Kankakee township; Cora E., wife of Frank J. King, of Center township, this county ; and Mamie Eliza, at home with her parents. All were born on the farm now occupied by their father.

Mr. Hickman took his bride to this farm right after their marriage, and to its improvement and cultivation he has since devoted his energies, making it one of the most desirable farms of its size in the county. It comprises two hundred and eighty-seven acres of fertile and productive land.

Politically, Mr. Hickman has been a life-long Democrat, unswerving in his fidelity to the party and its principles, and religiously, he is an earnest member of the Rolling Prairie Christian church. During the sixty-three years of his residence in this county he has watched with interest its de- velopment and upbuilding, and as a public-spir- ited and progressive citizen he has materially aided in its advancement, doing all in his power to promote the welfare of the community. His name is a synonym for honorable business deal- ings, and on the roll of honored pioneers his name should be among the foremost.

CHARLES WESLEY MCCARTY has been vouchsafed rest from labor. He was for many years identified with active agricultural interests, and through his careful management and unfal- tering diligence accumulated a competence that now enables him to live retired, his home being at Rolling Prairie. He was born in Muncy, Penn- sylvania, August 24, 1830, a son of Charles and Mary (Haller) McCarty, both of whom were natives of the Keystone state. In the year 1847 they sought a home in the west, and with their family came to LaPorte county, locating in Kan- kakee township. The site of Rolling Prairie was then unmarked save by a log cabin, while the town of Byron was the principal trading place, having four stores at that time. The father of Mr. McCarty purchased a small tract of land of fifty acres, the greater part of which was cov- ered with timber. This he cleared away and im- proved the fields, but later he took up his abode in Rolling Prairie, where he followed the trades

of a stonemason, bricklayer and plasterer. He built some of the first houses in LaPorte county, and was identified in many ways with the early devel- opment and progress of this portion of the state, being widely recognized as a citizen of worth, whose efforts were of value in developing the new west. He died in Rolling Prairie when about seventy-five years of age, and his wife passed away at the age of seventy-six years. In their family were three sons and a daughter who reached adult age, and three are still living: Frank, a resident of LaPorte city ; Mary Ann, the wife of Samuel Burhams, of Rolling Prairie ; and Charles Wesley, who is the third child and sec- ond son.

In the state of his nativity Charles Wesley McCarty spent the first fifteen years of his life, and then came to LaPorte county, settling in Kankakee township, where he assisted in the work of the home farm and also attended school. After attaining his majority he was married, in 1852, to Miss Catherine George, and thus com- pleted arrangements for having a home of his own. She was born in Lehigh county, Pennsyl- vania, a daughter of Solomon George, who was one of the early pioneer residents of LaPorte county. Mrs. McCarty passed away in 1881. By that marriage there were eight children: Flor- ence, now the widow of John Norris, of this county ; Ella, now Mrs. Stevens, of Rolling Prai- rie ; William Edgar, a prominent farmer of Kan- kakee township ; Jennie, now deceased ; Tolman : Monroe : and two that died in infancy. All were born in this country.

At the time of his marriage Mr. McCarty located on a farm in Kankakee township, and subsequently he removed to Wills township, where he was extensively engaged in general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. He after- ward rented land to a considerable extent, hand- ling about three hundred acres. At a later date he purchased a farm in Kankakee township, com- prising two hundred acres, its former owner hav- ing been Samuel Harvey. Taking up his abode upon the new place, he continued to engage in stock-raising as well as in the tilling of the soil until his retirement from active business life about twenty-five years ago. He still owns the farm of two hundred acres, and has other landed passessions, altogether aggregating four hundred acres in Kankakee township. His two sons now have charge of his farming interests. Mr. Mc- Carty owns a fine home in Rolling Prairie and other property in the town, and all of his pos- sessions have been acquired through his own ef-

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forts and are a monument to his life of thrift It was also in the year of his graduation and and industry. For many years he has been a . of his removal to the United States that Dr. Mason, and has been a life-long Republican. For two terms he served as trustee of his township, and although there was no money in the treasury of the township when he was elected trustee he turned over to John Noble, his successor, the sum of forty-nine hundred dollars at the end of his four years' term. No trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree, and his fellow citizens know him to be an honor- able man, unfaltering in the performance of duty, loyal in citizenship and reliable in friendship.

WILLIAM WALKINSHAW, M. D., who is engaged in the practice of medicine in Stillwell, where he has gained prominence because of his capability, was born in Northumberland county, Ontario, Canada, on the 18th of September, 1866. His father, George Walkinshaw, was a native of Scotland and there spent the first ten years of his life, after which he crossed the Atlantic to Amer- ica, locating in Canada, where he followed the occupation of farming, retaining his residence there up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was seventy-seven years of age. His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church, and he took an active part in its work, progress and development. In early manhood he wedded Eleanor Hall, who was born in New- castle, England, and when about four years of age was taken by her parents across the Atlantic to the new world. She was then reared and educated in Canada, and is still living there, maintaining her home in Northumberland county. This worthy couple were the parents of eight chil- dren, five sons and three daughters, and all are now living, being residents of Canada with the exception of Dr. Walkinshaw.

In the place of his nativity Dr. Walkinshaw was reared and educated. His early literary studies were supplemented by a course in Queen's University at Kingston, Canada, where he was graduated on the completion of a classical course in 1890, winning the degree of Bachelor of Arts, while in 1893, having completed a course in the medical department, he won the degree of M. D. His theoretical knowledge was supplemented by practical experience of one year in the hospital there. In 1893 he came to Stillwell, and has since been a member of the profession in LaPorte county. Here his broad learning and marked skill soon gained recognition, and his patronage has steadily increased so that a handsome competence has rewarded his efforts.

Walkinshaw was married, the lady of his choice being Miss Anna Maude Copley, a native of New York, born August 25, 1864, and a daugh- ter of William and Catharine ( May) Copley. Two children have been born to this union, Beatrice Helen and Eunice Catherine. Mrs. Walkinshaw is a member of the Episcopal church, the established church of England. Her parents are both deceased. Dr. Walkinshaw is an ex- aminer of the New York Life Insurance Company. The Doctor is a stanch Democrat in his political views, but has no time or opportunity to seek public office even of he so desired, because of the demands made upon his attention by his pro- fession. He is a surgeon for the Grand Trunk Railroad, and he is well known as a physician. continually broadening his knowledge through reading and investigation and promoting his ef- ficiency through the valuable lessons which he gains in the daily round of his duties. As a citi- zen, however, he is interested in public progress and improvement, and endorses all measures for the welfare of his community.

WILBUR W. FULLER is a retired farmer living in Rolling Prairie, and is one of the old settlers of the county. He was born in Chau- tauqua county, New York, December 10. 1830. His father, Joseph Fuller, was a native of Che- nango county, New York, born in 1806. There he remained until about eighteen years of age, when he removed to Chautauqua county with his brother Orin, and in that locality he engaged in the operation of a sawmill. He was married there to Miss Isabel Wilson, and in 1833 they came to Indiana, making the trip on horseback. He established his home in Elkhart county. where he engaged in the operation of the sawmill unti! 1834. The following spring he was joined by his family, who came by way of the lakes and Detroit, continuing their journey from the latter point with a two-horse wagon. Eventually they reached Goshen, Indiana, where they joined the husband and father, and in the fall of 1834 the latter took his wife and children to Galena town- ship, LaPorte county. Indiana, where he en- tered a claim of government land, and engaged again in the manufacture of lumber. He there died in the forty-eighth year of his age, while his wife passed away when about sixty years of age. They were the parents of four children. but only two are now living: Wilbur W., who is the only son and the older child : and his sister,

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Mary S. who is now the widow of Lansel Mc- Intyre and makes her home in Kansas.

Wilbur W. Fuller was only about four years of age at the time of the removal of the family to LaPorte county, and upon the home farm in Galena township the days of his childhood and youth were passed. He pursued his education in a log school house, for in those pioneer times the present splendid educational system of La- Porte county had not been adopted. Farm work, as well as the duties of the schoolroom, occupied his attention during his youth, and he remained with his parents until twenty-three years of age, assisting largely in the operation of the home farm and in the milling business.

As a companion and helpmate for life's jour- ney he chose Miss Mary A. Heckman, the wed- ding being celebrated in 1853. She was born in Berrien county, Michigan, April 10, 1835, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Dodd) Heck- man. She is the seventh of nine children, and was brought to LaPorte county when only a year old by her parents, who settled in Galena town- ship. She was a student in the school conducted by Dr. W. B. Wilson, one of the pioneer physi- cians of LaPorte county, and subsequently she engaged in teaching school for several terms in this county.

At the time of his marriage Mr. Fuller located on a farm in Galena township, where he remained for a year, and in 1854 he removed to Hills Cor- ners in Berrien county, Michigan, where he was engaged in clearing the land of the heavy growth of timber in order to carry on general agricul- tural pusuits. As his fields were cultivated he harvested good crops and prospered in his un- dertakings during the seven years of his residence there. On the expiration of that period the Civil war broke out, and Mr. Fuller with patriotic spirit offered his services to the government, en- listing in Company C, Twelfth Michigan Volun- teer Infantry, as a private. He joined the army on the Ist of November, 1861, and was mustered out on the 6th of March, 1866, being in the ser- vice for four years and four months. He had been promoted to the rank of sergeant, and was serving in that capacity at the time he received his discharge. The first battle in which he par- ticipated was at Shiloh, but his regiment formed a part of the Western Army and went to Arkan- sas, remaining in that section of the country during the greater part of the war. Mr. Fuller, however, was also in the siege of Vicksburg, and though often under fire he never received a

wound throughout his long connection with the army. His military record is most creditable, for throughout the years he never faltered in the performance of any duty that would aid in the preservation of the Union.

Hostilities having ceased Mr. Fuller returned to LaPorte county. His wife had in the mean- time purchased a farm in Galena township, and he now took up the work of tilling the soil, which he followed during the summer months, while in the winter season he taught school in Galena township for ten terms. For many years he con- tinued as an active agriculturist and placed his land under a high state of cultivation, develop- ing one of the model farms of the community. On the 28th of April, 1892, he retired from active farming life and removed to Rolling Prairie, where he still resides.

To Mr. and Mrs. Fuller have been born three children : Mary V., the wife of Wesley Mayes, a teamster of LaPorte ; Dr. C. D. Fuller, now a leading physician of Bourbon, Indiana, and who married Florence McCarty and has one son, John ; and Schuyler C., who died in 1862.

Wilbur W. Fuller has been in continuous residence in LaPorte county since 1866, and has been in touch with the community and its best interests since 1834. His life record has been most commendable. In politics, he has always given a loyal support to the Republican party and its candidates, and for eight years he served as justice of the peace while living in Galena township. He was also notary public for six- teen years, county assessor for four years, and is now filling the position of justice of the peace in a most capable manner, his decisions being strictly fair and impartial. Since 1869 he has held membership with the Christian church, and has taken an active part in church and Sunday-school work, having served often as superintendent of the latter. His efforts in behalf of the church have been far-reaching and effective, and his life has at all times been in consistent harmony with his professions. Socially he is connected with Hathaway Post, G. A. R., and is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. In the former he has filled all of the positions, including that of com- mander. He assisted in the organization of the Masonic lodge in Galena township, and has ever been deeply interested in its promotion and growth. A self-made man, he is deserving of great credit for what he has accomplished. for it has been due to his force of character, his per- sistent and earnest purpose and his laudable am-

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bition that he has gained a place among the sub- stantial citizens of his county, and at the same time has maintained an untarnished name.

THEODORE ARMITAGE is one of the veterans of the Mexican war. There are few survivors of that struggle in this country, and all honor is due to the venerable men who were de- fenders of the American cause in that struggle. Mr. Armitage certainly deserves mention in this volume not alone because he is the survivor of the Mexican war, but also because of the active and helpful part which he has taken in the develop- ment and upbuilding of LaPorte county. He is a native of Athens county, Ohio, born October 29, 1827, and is the fifth in the family of twelve children, ten sons and two daughters, who were born to John A. and Elizabeth (Herrold) Armi- tage.

His father was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1798, and his death occurred in August, 1844. He was a very active man in business life, in the early days engaged in teaming, using a four-horse team and a large wagon in order to transport goods from place to place-this being at a period antedating the introduction of railroads. He fre- quently hauled stone and coal from the Hocking valley, and also hay. Although his educational privileges were limited, he was a man of good practical ideas, and displayed marked common sense in his business affairs and in other relations of life. For eighteen years he served as justice of the peace, and he married more couples than any minister of his locality. He belonged to the Wesleyan Methodist church, served as one of its class-leaders and lived in harmony with his pro- fessions. In early days he operated a flatboat on the Hocking river, making trips to the Ohio and thence down the Mississippi to New Orleans. He possessed marked mechanical ingenuity, and could make something from almost nothing. In early times he served as a member of the Home Militia, and was an active factor in many de- partments of life bearing upon the general wel- fare and progress of his community. His wife was born in Pennsylvania in 1802, and died in 1873 at the age of seventy-one years. Both were interred in Wolf Plain cemetery in Athens coun- ty, Ohio, where a monument was erected to mark their last resting place. Of their children four are yet living, Theodore being the eldest. The others are Hiram, who is a retired farmer resid- ing in Athens, Ohio; Henry, who also followed agricultural pursuits and is now living retired in Earlville, Iowa; and Granville M., who is inter-

ested in the oil industry under John D. Rocke- feller, making his home in Topeka, Kansas. All of the brothers have prospered in their under- takings, becoming well-to-do business men.

Theodore Armitage was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads of his age and locality, and when but a youth worked in the fields, early becoming familiar with the arduous task of de- velopment and cultivating new land. When eighteen years of age he was apprenticed to learn the shoemaker's trade, but the following year he put aside business and personal considerations and offered his' services to the government as a volunteer in the Mexican war, enlist- ing in Company E, Second Ohio Regi- ment, under Captain McLean. With his company he went to camp at Cincinnati, and afterward went down the Mississippi river to New Orleans and crossed the Gulf of Mexico to La Brazos, Texas. He thence proceeded up the Rio Grande and crossed the river into Mexico under General Taylor, who was afterward termed old "Rough and Ready." Mr. Armitage partici- pated in the battle of Buena Vista, where one hundred and fifty American soldiers were sur- rounded by fifteen hundred Mexicans, but re- enforcements came to their aid and the enemy was defeated. Mr. Armitage served for thirty-six days longer than his term of enlistment, and then received an honorable discharge at New Orleans on the 6th of July, 1847.

Returning to his home in Athens, Ohio, he there remained until the fall of the same year, when he came to LaPorte county, Indiana. with his brother, and began working at the shoemaker's trade, following this pursuit until his marriage to Miss Araminta M. Clybourn, the wedding being celebrated on the 2d of August, 1849. Mrs. Armitage was born March 22. 1832, in New Durham township, being a daughter of the hon- ored pioneer settler. Henley Clybourn, who is men- tioned on another page of this work. Both Mr. and Mrs. Armitage were students in the old-time log schoolhouses such as were common in the western section of the country at an early day. He attended school at an early time in an old shoe shop, on another occasion in an abandoned house, and at one time school was held even in a barn, in which the farmer was putting in hay and grain. He studied from Smiley's arithmetic and the New Testament. Mrs. Armitage obtained her education in the school not unlike the school de- scribed. There were greased paper windows. and the writing desk was formed by a long board laid upon pins driven into the walls. The benches

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Theodore Armitage

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were made of slabs placed upon wooden logs, and they were made so high that the children's feet could not touch the floor. The buildings were heated by an immense fireplace in one end of the room, and the chimney was made of mud and sticks. Everything was very primitive, and the methods of instruction were very inferior as com- pared to those of the present day. The teacher taught little save reading, writing and arithmetic, and the school was conducted on the subscription plan.

Mrs. Armitage has spent almost her entire life in LaPorte county and has seen its marvelous de- velopment from early pioneer times, watching its wonderful progress as it has kept pace with the national improvement. She can remember when there were no telegraph or telephone lines and when there was no railroad in the county, when the homes of the settlers were widely scattered, when the now thriving towns and cities were but mere villages or perhaps had not been founded. She has seen many Pottawottomie Indians, the red men frequently visiting at her father's home. Her uncle, Joseph H. Benedict, made the first coffin in which an Indian was buried in this part of the country. The Wabash Railroad now crosses the old cemetery of pioneer times. She has seen deer, bears and wolves in the county, and there was much wild game including prairie chickens and turkeys. Many a time has Mrs. Armitage ridden to church behind an old ox team-Buck and Bright-in the early day. Her maternal grandmother was Mrs. Miriam Waldron Benedict, and it was she who named New Durham township, calling it after the village of Durham in Greene county, New York, in which she had previously lived. Mrs. Armitage is now seventy- two years of age, and is the oldest living native daughter of the county. She has a remarkable memory concerning early events in LaPorte county. She can relate many interesting incidents in pioneer life and tell accurately the way in which progress was accomplished here and most of the events which have formed the history of the county.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 121

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