A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 123

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 123

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cial standpoint, and well merits the liberal patron- age now accorded him.

In LaPorte, in 1890, was celebrated the mar- riage of Dr. Fisher and Miss Lilly Way, a daugh- ter of James and Anna Helen (Brown) Way. Her father was a prominent old-time resident of this city, her grandfather, Seth Way, having come to LaPorte in 1834. He was therefore one of the pioneer settlers of this locality, and through his well conducted business affairs became a wealthy man. The Doctor is especially well known in Masonic circles, having taken all of the degrees of the York Rite, while in the Scot- tish Rite he has attained to the thirty-second de- gree, becoming a member of the consistory. He is likewise connected with the Mystic Shrine, and in his life exemplifies the teachings of the fra- ternity concerning mutual helpfulness and broth- erly kindness. LaPorte's welfare is dear to him, and in the city where he has now long made his home he has put forth effective effort for public improvement and progress. He belongs to the Northern Indiana Dental Society, and is con- nected with a number of local insurance orders and with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.

JOHN H. SHAFOR, proprietor of the Vree- land Hotel at Michigan City, is conducting a hostelry which is a credit to the city. He was born in Butler county, Ohio, November 10, 1839, his parents being Abraham and Maria (Long) Shafor, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Ohio. At an early period the family was established in the east and Jacob Shafor. the grandfather of John H. Shafor, was a native of New Jersey, whence he removed to Kentucky, making the journey by wagon after the primitive manner of travel of that day. He afterward re- moved to Ohio, taking up his abode in Butler county, where he spent his remaining days, dying there when well advanced in years. He always followed agricultural pursuits, and thus provided for his family, numbering his wife and nine chil- dren, five sons and four daughters. The family name was originally spelled Sheafor.

Abraham Shafor was a lad when his parents removed from Kentucky to Ohio. He became a carpenter, and for some time was identified with building operations, but later turned his attention to farming, securing a tract of land in Butler county about three miles from Middletown. There he carried on agricultural pursuits throughout his remaining days. During the early settlement of the state he served for a short time as a soldier.

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He had wedded Miss Maria Long, who was born in Ohio and was a daughter of Gideon Long, who was also born in that state. Gideon Long likewise carried on the tilling of the soil, and he had reached old age when called to his final rest. His family numbered four sons and four daugh- ters. There were five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Shafor, namely: David, who is living in Arkansas; Alfred and William, both deceased ; John H .; and Ellen, the wife of Daniel Helwig, of Middletown, Ohio. The father at- . tended the old-school Baptist church, of which his wife was a member. He voted with the Democracy and was interested in the growth and success of his party. His death resulted from the kick of a horse when he was about sixty-five years of age, in 1855. and his wife passed away when about the same age, dying in 1875.

John H. Shafor was reared to manhood upon his father's farm in Butler county, Ohio, where he worked in field and meadow until he had be- come familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. His education was obtained in the district schools, and he re- mained at home until his father's death, after which he worked in the store owned by his brother David in the village of Amanda, there spending three years. On the expiration of that period he returned to the farm, and the brothers worked together in the operation of the place for two years. The farm was then sold to his brother-in-law, in whose employ he continued for about two years, when on account of impaired health he went to Minnesota, hoping that he might be benefited thereby. For a year and a half he continued in that state, and then returned to Ohio, where he was employed in a grocery store in Middletown for two years. He next engaged in clerking in a hotel, which was his first experience along the line of business to which he now devotes his energies. Going from Ohio to California and afterward to Arizona, he served in the latter state as local agent for the California & Arizona Stage Company for a short time. Following his return to Middletown, Ohio, he was engaged in the grocery business for a while, subsequently embarked in the wholesale notion business, which he continued from 1867 until 1870. He then again engaged in clerking at a hotel, and his next step was taken as a miner in Colorado, where he remained for three years. In 1893 Mr. Shafor engaged in the hotel busi- ness in Sterling, Illinois, as proprietor of the Gault House, conducting it successfully until 1901. On the Ist of April, 1903, he took charge

of the Vreeland Hotel in Michigan City, Indiana, as its proprietor, and is conducting it along pro- gressive lines.

In April, 1891, Mr. Shafor was married to Miss Ella F. Dugan, a daughter of Patrick Du- gan. She is a member of the Presbyterian church, and is an estimable lady who has gained many friends during her residence in Michigan City. Mr. Shafor belongs to Jefferson Lodge, No. 90, F. & A. M., of Middletown, Ohio, also to Middletown Chapter, R. A. M., and formerly to Reed Commandery, K. T., of Dayton, Ohio, but is now affiliated with Sterling Commandery of Sterling, Illinois. Where questions of na- tional interests are involved he votes with the Democratic party, but at local elections where there is no political issue before the people he gives his support to the men whom he thinks best qualified for office, regardless of party affili- ations.

JOHN J. ACKERMAN. From an early period in the development of LaPorte county John J. Ackerman has resided within its borders, his home being on sectioin 30, Hudson township. He was born in Allegheny city, Pennsylvania, on the 16th of July, 1836, and was a son of John and Mrs. (Himelroyd) Ackerman. His father died when our subject was but five years of age. and little is known concerning the family history, save that he was an extensive builder and con- tractor. He was born either in Germany, or his parents were natives of that country, and his wife also died during the early youth of their son, John J.

Mr. John J. Ackerman is the third of a fam- ily of four sons, and being left early an orphan he was taken to Mahoning county, Ohio, when a little lad of about five years old. There he lived with an uncle until ten years, when he was bound out for two years to another uncle. After serving for that period he started out in life on his own account, although very young to thus face the world and its heavy responsibilities. For a year he was employed in a coal mine, and then went to Warren, Ohio, where he secured a position on the railroad, running from Warren to Cleve- land. When harvest time came he left the rail- road service, however, and became employed in the fields. When about seventeen years of age he started westward, making his way first to Coldwater. Michigan, and afterward to Misha- waka, Indiana. Thence he came to LaPorte county, where he began earning his living by chopping wood. In this way he made one hun-

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dred and twenty-five dollars. He then returned to his old home in the east, where he remained until the following autumn, when he again came to LaPorte county, going first to Cleveland on horseback, thence by boat to Chicago and after- ward traveling through Wisconsin and Illinois and on to Indiana. He worked by the month as a farm hand until he came to Hudson township, when he began chopping wood. In this way he accumulated four hundred dollars, and desirous of having a home of his own he invested his capital in forty acres of land. All of this money was paid upon his property and he also incurred an indebtedness of four hundred dollars by the purchase.

Wishing a companion and helpmate for life's journey, Mr. Ackerman chose Miss Mary L. Robeson and following their marriage he built a little log cabin upon his forty acres of land. He at once began to clear the place, and, unaided, performed the arduous task of cutting away the timber and preparing the land for the plow. In his work he prospered and soon made enough to enable him to purchase an adjoining tract of forty acres. To his original farm he kept adding until he became the owner of one hundred and sixty acres in the old home place, and he also owned at one time in addition to this a tract of eighty acres, which he later sold. His farm is well im- proved, and the property is the visible evidence of his life of thrift and industry.

To Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman have been born six children : Jacob, George, Janie, Miler, Schuy- ler, and Henry, who died in infancy. Jacob wedded Miss Emma Leleider, and has one daugh- ter; they are residents of LaPorte. George, a resident of Hudson township, wedded Miss Anna Miller and has three sons and one daughter. Janie wedded Edward Bean, a resident of South Bend, Indiana, and has one daughter. Miler, a resident of South Bend, wedded Miss Lora Michael. The family is well known in the county and Mr. Ackerman is numbered among the early settlers, to whom can be attrib- uetd much of the substantial upbuilding and progress of this section of the state because they laid the foundation upon which the present pros- perity has been builded. In citizenship he is pub- lic-spirited, taking an active interest in many measures for the public good and largely co-op- erating in the work of general improvement. In politics he is a Democrat, and has held township offices. Truly he has earned the proud American title of a self-made man, for starting out in life he considered it an excellent schooling for him

as a boy empty-handed, he has steadily advanced and the difficulties and obstacles in his path have served as an impetus for renewed effort.

JOHN H. BARKER. That Michigan City has become an important manufacturing and in- dustrial center is largely due to the efforts of such enterprising, progressive business men as John H. Barker, the president of the Haskell & Barker Car Company. He was born here Feb- ruary 4, 1844, and is a son of John and Cordelia E. (Collamer) Barker. The ancestry of the fam- ily can be traced back to Richard Barker, a native of England, who braved the dangers incident to an ocean voyage in the middle of the seventeenth century and took up his abode in Salem, Massa- chusetts, in 1643.

Mr. Barker's grandfather, Stephen Barker, was a native of Andover, Massachusetts, and mar- ried a Miss Wood, by whom he had a large fam- ily. By occupation he was a farmer, and through the tilling of the soil accumulated a comfortable competence. He was an excellent representative of the thrifty and aristocratic New England agri- culturists, and became a leading and influential resident of his community, where he served for a number of years as a justice of the peace. He died when well advanced in years. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Barker was also a native of Massachusetts and belonged to one of the promi- nent families of that section. His entire life was spent in the east.

John Barker, Sr., the father of John H. Barker, was born in Andover, Massachusetts, December 16, 1814, and died March 21, 1878. He was mar- ried June 28, 1841, to Cordelia E. Collamer, who was born at Sandy Hill, Washington county, New York, June 20, 1818, and died December 24, 1894. John Barker was reared upon a farm and acquired his education in the public schools. Later he served an apprenticeship in a store in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and in 1834 started westward, spending a short time at Cincinnati, Ohio, after which he went to Dayton, Ohio, where he became a salesman in the wholesale and retail establishment of T. & W. Parrott, dealers in dry- goods, groceries, boots and shoes, hardware and other commodities. His salary for the first six months was not definitely fixed, but it was agreed that if he could fill the position to the satisfaction of his employers he would be paid not less than twenty and not more than twenty-five dollars per month. The position was just what he sought. for

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in business matters, so he courageously under- took the work with the hope of pleasing his em- ployers and gaining valuable knowledge concern- ing business for himself. He attended strictly to his duties, shunned evil companions and saved his money .. Dayton was thirteen hundred miles from his old home, and he met few people while there whom he had known in the east. When He ar- rived in Dayton he was advised not to go any further west, which advice he thought unneces- sary, having already determined upon that course.

After a time, however, desiring to engage in business for himself, he decided to venture further west, and in the spring of 1836 he came to Michigan City, where he engaged in general mer- chandising as a member of the firm of Carter & Barker for several years. A change in the part- nership caused the formation of the firm of Barker & Best, and later Mr. Barker was alone in busi- ness for a number of years. In 1852 the firm be- came Barker & De Wolfe, which continued but a short time. He then retired from merchandising and began buying grain, conducting an elevator, and for the purpose of facilitating shipment building the west pier in the harbor, which was the second one built in Michigan City, the one on the east side having been built by Chauncey B. Blair. Mr. John Barker engaged in shipping grain in the summer seasons and packed pork in the winter months, being thus engaged until about 1855, when he acquired an interest in the car works under the firm name of Haskell, Barker & Ald- ridge, which firm continued until about 1860, when Messrs. Haskell and Barker purchased their partner's interest. This business style was main- tained until 1871, when the Haskell & Barker Car Company was formed. In 1867 Mr. Haskell re- moved to Chicago and there resided until his death. In 1869 Mr. Barker also moved to that city, where he died, at the age of sixty-four years. Mr. Haskell was the president of the company un- til his retirement in 1883, when he disposed of his interest and was succeeded in the presidency by John H. Barker, who up to that time had been general manager.

In his political views John Barker, Sr., was first a Whig and afterward a Republican. He and his wife attended the Second Presbyterian church of Chicago and contributed generously to its support. In their family were four sons and a daughter : John H., the eldest, born in Michigan City, September 1I, 1842, died in Detroit, Michi- gan, August 9, 1843. The second son was also named John H. and is the subject of this sketch. George Tyler Barker, born November 3, 1846,

died February 24, 1852. Wallace C., born Sep- tember 14, 1848, became a wholesale iron mer- chant of Chicago, and was drowned June 1, 1878, when yachting near Kenwood, Illinois, being then thirty years of age. He had married Jessie O. Norton, and they had two children : Norton W., born January 30, 1875; and Anna O., born November 25, 1876. Anna S., born January 7, 1855, is the present wife of Frederick C. Austin, of Chicago. She first. became the wife of John W. Ogden, of Chicago, married May 9, 1876, and their children were Marion, born July 22, 1878; and Wesley, born September 18, 1885. John W. Ogden died August 27, 1885, and on the 11th of May, 1887, she gave her hand in marriage to Frederick C. Austin.

John H. Barker, who is now the president of the Haskell & Barker Car Company, resided in Michigan City until eighteen years of age and during that time acquired his early education in the public schools here, and then spent two years and a half as a student in Racine College, of Ra- cine, Wisconsin. When a young man of eighteen he went to Chicago and entered the wholesale sugar warehouse, owned by J. H. Dunham, in the capacity of a shipping clerk. Later he began working for the wholesale grocery firm of Pollard & Doane, and on leaving that employ went to Springfield, Illinois, where he was engaged in the wholesale grocery business on his own account, under the firm name of Smith & Barker, his part- ner being Lafayette Smith. After a year he pur- chased Mr. Smith's interest and was alone in business for a year and a half, when he returned to Chicago and formed a partnership in the whole- sale grocery business under the firm name of Meeker & Barker, which continued up to 1869. Then he came to Michigan City and entered the car works, of which his father was part owner. In 1871 he was made general manager, and con- tinued as such until elected president in 1883, in which office he has since served. For a number of years the company was engaged in the construc- tion of passenger and sleeping cars, but in 1873 they discontinued the passenger car equipment, and since that time have built freight cars, supply- ing roads in all parts of the country. Theirs is one of the largest industrial enterprises of the west, employing twenty-two hundred people.

On the 28th of August, 1873, Mr. Barker was united in marriage to Miss Genia Brooks, who died April 3, 1891. They were the parents of three children : Cordelia, born May 30. 1877, died June 21, 1880; Wallace, born February 16, 1879, died on the 21st of July, of the same year ;

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'and Eugenia, born August 19, 1880, died August 21, 1882. On the 14th of February, 1893, Mr. Barker married Miss Katherine Fitz-Gerald, of Manchester, New Hampshire, a daughter of Mar- tin and Mary (Devine) Fitz-Gerald. They have one daughter, Catherine, born February 4, 1896. Mrs. Barker's father was born in county Galway, Ireland, and her mother in county Cork. They had four children, of whom two are living : George B., of Boston; and Mrs. Barker. Martin Fitz- Gerald came to America sometime in the fifties, and his wife crosed the Atlantic in 1848, their marriage being celebrated in Boston. His busi- ness was that of stone contractor and quarryman, and in 1885 he retired from business and now re- sides in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His parents were William and Catherine (Hayes) Fitz-Ger- ald. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Barker was Maurice Devine, and his wife bore the maiden name of Ellen Quirk.

The political support of Mr. Barker is given to the Republican party, and for one term he was the mayor of Michigan City. For many years Mr. Barker has been a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Chicago. He manifests a public-spirited interest in the wel- fare of the city, its progress and improvement, and his name is always found upon the lists of those who contribute to measures for the public good. But perhaps his greatest work in its be- half is the conducting of an industry of such magnitude as the works of the Haskell & Barker Car Company, for it furnishes employment to many workmen and thereby provides a means of living to hundreds of families. He is fair and just in his treatment of employes, maintaining a system that is of benefit to both, and it is a well- known fact that in the factory faithful service and capable workmanship will win promotion as opportunity offers. If more men conducted bus- iness upon the principles here maintained, the la- bor question would be more quickly and satis- factorily settled.

HENRY E. HUNTLEY, the late proprietor of a first-class, water-power flour mill in Spring- field township, LaPorte county, and who made an honorable record during his fifty years of resi- dence in the county, was the son of C. F. and Bertha ( Bradt) Huntley. The former was born in Connecticut, was a carpenter by trade, and came to LaPorte county, in 1851. locating at Ross's Mills, in Springfield township. He died at the age of sixty-nine years. His wife was

born and reared near Albany, New York, and lived to be eighty years old.

Henry E. Huntley, the eldest of six children, was born in Dayton, Ohio, May 28, 1838, and was about thirteen years old when he came to La- Porte county, having already received the greater part of his school training. At the age of six- teen he began his career as miller in Ross's Mills, and served a full apprenticeship at the business. But before he had progressed far as an inde- pendent workman the Civil war came on, and in 1862 he enlisted in Company B, Seventy-third Indiana Infantry, and served a year and a half. At the battle of Day's Gap, Alabama, April 30. 1863, he was wounded in the thigh and taken prisoner, and for a time was confined in Libby prison, and from there was taken to Annapolis hospital, where he received his honorable dis- charge December 23, 1863. On returning to La- Porte county Mr. Huntley resumed milling work at Ross's Mills, where he remained five years, and was then engaged in the operation of other plants. In 1888 he bought his mill in Springfield township, and his mechanical skill brought about many improvements and added much to its effic- iency. It is a water-power mill, and turns out a high grade of flour and feed of all kinds, and has a deserved reputation among the people of the vicinity. Mr. Huntley was a good manager, and his business afforded him a comfortable liv- ing and gave him considerable prestige among his fellow citizens.

In 1871 Mr. Huntley married Miss Sarah E. Shippee, who was born in Springfield township, April 24, 1850, and comes of one of the pioneer families. She was educated in the county, and is highly esteemed among those with whom she has grown up and lived. She is the mother of one daughter, Henrietta E., a high school student and stenographer. Mr. Huntley was a member of Patten Post, G. A. R., and was a life-long Re- publican. He was at one time a member of the Christian church. He was well known through- out the township, and his business and social relations were on the high plane of integrity and honorable dealings.

Since the above was first compiled Mr. Hunt- ley passed away, and we append the obituary of the worthy gentleman clipped from a LaPorte county paper :

Henry E. Huntley, one of La Porte county's oldest and perhaps best known residents. died at his late home at Willow Creek Mills, at an early hour Sunday morning, February 28. Mr. Hunt-

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ley had been ill less than thirty-six hours, and was afflicted with heart disease. He was taken ill late Friday evening, and his condition became such that medical aid could not avail.

Mr. Huntley had been a resident of LaPorte county for about fifty years. He was a native of Ohio, and was born in Dayton, May 28, 1838, be- ing about sixty-five years, nine months old. He came to this county when a boy. He was married to Sarah E. Shippee of this county on October I, 1871. One daughter, Etta E., at present liv- ing in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, was born to the union. The wife and Miss Etta survive the husband and father. One brother, John F. Hunt- ley, in Logan, Iowa, and two sisters, Mrs. Charles Emory Smith, Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, and Mrs. Robert Greenwood, in Albany, New York, also survive Mr. Huntley.

The deceased was one of the best known and most highly respected residents of the county. He was a miller by trade and had run several mills in this county, having been owner of the Willow Creek mill for the past fourteen years or more. He was noted for his honest, upright dealings, and his friends were only limited by his acquaintances. Mr. Huntley leaves also an honorable war record, having served as a mem- ber of Company B, Seventy-third Indiana Vol- unteers. He was wounded at the battle of Day's Gap, Alabama, at which time he was taken pris- oner. The widow and other relatives have the deepest sympathy of their many friends in these hours of bereavement.

ISIDORE I. SPIRO. In an analyzation of the life record of Isidore I. Spiro there is found much that is worthy of commendation, for he is a self-made man and his efforts to advance his business interests. have been put forth along legitimate lines. Close' application, unfaltering perseverance and laudable ambition have formed the foundation. upon which he has builded his prosperity and he has become one of the sub- stantial citizens of Michigan City. He is an at- torney at law and is engaged in the real estate and insurance business, and is likewise agent for all European steamship lines. He is the secre- tary of the Michigan City Loan & Building As- sociation, and while promoting his individual in- terests his business activity has also added to the general prosperity.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 123

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