A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 132

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

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occurred in 1814, and for many years they trav- eled life's journey together. They were sepa- rated by the husband's death in 1888, and the wife passed away in 1894. To them were born six children : Mary, born about 1835; Henry, in 1837; Peter, in 1838; Frank Hamilton, about 1840; Sylvester, about 1842; and Charles Fre- mont, about 1848.

In the public schools of Nanticoke, Pennsyl- vania, Henry Mill began his education, and sub- sequently pursued his studies in a high school in LaPorte county. He first came to Indiana when about six years of age and remained for three years, on the expiration of which period he returned to Pennsylvania on a visit. In the succeeding autumn he again became a resident of this state and remained for four years. He was a youth of thirteen when he became a resident of Laporte county, and here he has remained con- tinuously since. He completed his education when about twenty-one years of age, and after putting aside his text books assisted in the opera- tion of the home farm and also in the operation of the threshing machine. He has always been identified with agricultural pursuits, and is to- day the owner of eighty acres of rich and arable land on section 2, Noble township. He has also made a business of threshing grain for other farms, and during three different autumns has gone to North Dakota, where he engaged in oper- ating a threshing machine in addition to the care and cultivation of his home place.

In LaPorte county, in March, 1863, Mr. Mill was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Catlin. She was born May 15, 1842, a daughter of Arad S. and Mary (Babcock) Catlin, the former de- ceased and the latter a resident of Missoula, Mon- tana. She is one of five children, and four are living: John B. Catlin, engaged in the real es- tate business in Missoula, Montana, and formerly government land agent ; Pope, also a resident of Missoula; Mrs. Mill; and Eliza M., of Missoula, Montana. Mrs. Mill is a member of the Advent church. Mr. and Mrs. Mill have one son : George Grant, whose birth occurred January 7, 1864. In 1880 the son went to Minnesota, where he has since lived, and he is now a leading merchant in Rich- field, where he is engaged in dealing in agricul- tural implements. He wedded Miss Emma O. Blemis, and they have one son, Grant W.

Some of Mr. Mills progenitors were heroes of the famous Wyoming massacre in Pennsyl- vania. Mr. and Mrs. Mill have in their posses- sion two of the parchment patent deeds, executed

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March 20, 1837, and bearing the signature of President Van Buren, being rare old documents. Mr. Mill gives his political support to the Re- publican party and is firm in his advocacy of its principles. During his long residence in this county he has become well known, and his efforts in behalf of the general welfare have been sin- cere, effective and benficial.

JOHN W. RIDGWAY, a merchant, capi- talist and bank director of LaPorte, has long figured conspicuously in connection with im- portant business interests in this city, and the extent and volume of his transactions have made him one of the leading representatives of trade relations here and have brought to him splendid success. His name is a familiar one in com- mercial activity and he has contributed in large measure to the material development of this part of the country. As a citizen he has in other ways aided in advancing public progress and improvement, and LaPorte county knows him as one of the valued residents.

A native of New Jersey, John W. Ridgway was born in Tuckerton, in 1824, his parents be- ing James and Naomi (Willetts) Ridgway. The father, a native of Burlington county, came to LaPorte in 1837. He owned large tracts of farm- ing land and superintended his agricultural in- terests, but spent the greater part of his time as a merchant, being prominently connected with commercial pursuits in this city for thirty years. He died in 1880, at the age of eighty-two years, and thus ended an honorable, useful and very successful career. He became one of the found- ers of the First National Bank of LaPorte in 1864 and one of its first directors, and all that pertained to the substantial improvement of the city received his hearty endorsement. His wife, who was born in New Jersey, died in this city in 1882.

When his father came to Indiana John W. Ridgway remained for a year in Pennsylvania, where he was attending school. He arrived in 1838 and finished his education in LaPorte, after which he turned his attention to farming, which he followed for three or four years. Attracted by the discovery of gold in California, he left St. Joseph, Missouri, on the long journey across the plains. There were thirty men in the party, and they drove mule teams. After reaching California Mr. Ridgway worked in the gold mines of the Sacramento valley and around Coloma for about a year, and then turned his attention to merchandising in Coloma. He

utilized three teams in hauling goods to the store at Coloma, and in his operations in the west was very successful. He spent three years in Cali- fornia, and then returned by way of the Isthmus of Panama, as he did not care to again cross the great plains and brave the hardships of an over- land journey.

Returning to LaPorte county, John Ridg- way located upon a tract of land which he pur- chased in Scipio township, two miles south of LaPorte, continuing its operation until the Civil war, when he removed to the city, where he has since lived. His present mercantile interests are confined to the John W. Ridgway crockery store at 703 Main street. His time, however, is largely taken up with other business interests. He is a director in the First National Bank of LaPorte, and is the owner of extensive realty interests in the city. He is also a large stock- holder in the LaPorte Improvement Company, and he owns a number of very fine farms in La- Porte county, most of which are cultivated under his personal management. He is a man of keen discrimination in business matters, his judgment being rarely, if ever, at fault, and what he under- takes meets with the success which arises from energy and activity, guided by strong purpose and thorough understanding of business con- ditions.

Mr. Ridgway was united in marriage in 1856 to Melinda Hunt, of LaPorte county.

MRS. MELINDA RIDGWAY, deceased wife of John W. Ridgeway, was born in Cham- paign county, Ohio, February 6, 1828, her father being Phineas Hunt, one of the early settlers of LaPorte county. The family came here in 1835, settling first in the vicinity of Door Village, afterward moving into the city and later on living in Kankakee township on the old Michi- gan road. The stirring days of pioneer existence had their influence on the little girl who after- ward became Mrs. Ridgway and her life since showed the characted, the true culture and dis- position of those who in the years of long ago communed more closely with nature than do the people of to-day-especially those who live in the cities. She was educated in the LaPorte schools and for a number of years taught school. Her memory contained many interesting facts with reference to the earlier educational interests of the county. On March 20, 1856, she was united in marriage to John W. Ridgway. The domestic life has been a happy one, for though nearly half a century passed since the day on

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J. W. RIDGWAY.

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

which the nuptial event took place husband and wife were still as devoted as then. Surviving, beside the husband, are one brother, Hon. A. P. Hunt, of this city, and two sisters, Mrs. Will- iam Wilson and Mrs. Christian Lambert, of La- Porte. Mrs. Ridgway took a prominent part in the Friends church and in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and not only devoted much of her time to the advocacy of the principles of these organizations but gave liberally from her purse. In church and temperance circles she was idolized and her demise will be deeply felt and sincerely mourned by the members of the La- Porte church and the local union. She held all the offices in the local W. C. T. U. and had also been honored by the state organization. On several occasions she was a delegate to the na- tional convention. She was not like many wealthy people who profess great love for cer- tain causes of religion or philanthropy and then pass away without any substantial remembrance of them. This is seen from the provisions of her will in which the specific items of interest are the bequeathing of $100 to the state headquarters of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union at Indianapolis ; $100 to the Frances Willard hospital at Chicago; $100 to the Hadley Industrial School for Girls at Hadley, Indiana; $20 each to her nephews, Schuyler C. Hunt, Charles M. Hunt, Frank P. Hunt, Linden R. Hunt, and Henly H. Hunt ; her life interest in the Temperance cause to Duncan M. Ballenger, and the use of her per- sonal effects now at the W. C. T. U. rooms to that organization as long as the present management remains in charge, after which the same is given to Clara Galbreth. The bal- ance of the estate is equally divided between the brothers and sisters of the testatrix. A. P. Hunt is named as executor. The estate is valued at between $3,000 and $4,000. It is said that dur- ing the last few years of her life Mrs. Ridg- way, who was very liberal toward charitable, temperance and church work, gave away more than $10,000.

She passed away on the evening of March 21, 1904, at her late home on Indiana avenue, after an illness of several weeks. The funeral services were held at the home, on the 24th, Rev. Emily Ellis, of Kokomo, officiating, assisted by Rev. Frank Moorman, of LaPorte.

HENLEY CLYBOURN. No history of La- Porte county would be complete without mention of Henley Clybourn, deceased, who may well be termed the parent of pioneers in this section of

the state, and whose life and work find prominent mention in Chapter III of the general history of this county. Although northwestern Indiana was visited by white people long before he set- tled here, he was the first permanent resident to establish a home within its borders, and from that time until his death he took a very active and helpful part in public work, resulting to the benefit of the community. He was born in Giles county, Virginia, August 5, 1804, and was a rep- resentative of an old and distinguished family of the south, the ancestry being traced back to the reign of King James in England. The name was originally spelled Claiborne, but later gen- erations have adopted the present form of spell- ing. Representatives of the name were ac- tive in the colonization of Maryland and Virginia during the reign of King James and Charles I of England. William Claiborne became the first secretary of Virginia. He was a surveyor who was sent from England by the London Company to make a survey under Charles I, and estab- lished a trading post on the Isle of Kent. An insurrection occurred while he was living there, but in 1635 he succeeded in quelling the disturb- ances in Maryland and Virginia.

The parents of Henley Clybourn were Jonas and Elizabeth (Kinzie) Clybourn. The for- mer was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, de- fending the cause of the colonists in their strug- gle for independence. Subsequently he settled in Virginia, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. On one occasion the maternal grand- father's family were surprised by the Indians, and two of the daughters were captured and held by the red men for about eighteen years. The mother and three other children were scalped and killed, but Elizabeth Kinzie and her sister, the two girls being then nine and seven years, respectively, were hurried away into the forests by the savages. On the conclusion of peace be- tween the white men and the red men it was stipulated that all the white captives should be returned and restored to their friends and thus the Kinzie sisters were again permitted to enjoy the benefits of civilization. A manuscript copy of their capture by the Indians as dictated by one of the captives, Margaret Kinzie, who afterward became Mrs. Hall, is now in the hands of Robert Hall, Esquire, of Howard City, Kansas.

Henley Clybourn had a brother Archibald, who became a very prominent and influential citizen of Chicago, Illinois, at an early day. His descendants still reside there, and that he was a public-spirited and progressive man is indicated

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by the fact that he laid out an addition to the city and that one of the avenues there bears his name. He also had a half-brother, John Clark, who is now deceased and a half sister, Sarah Clark, who is also deceased, but who formerly resided in Indiana.

Henley Clybourn was a young man of only eighteen years when he sought a home and for- tune in the west. He made his way from Vir- ginia to Chicago about 1823, finding there a ham- let on the western prairie giving little promise of its later progress and growth. He resided there for six years and then came to what is now LaPorte county, Indiana, arriving in New Dur- ham township on the 19th of March, 1829. He had been married in Illinois to Miss Sarah Bene- dict, and he was accompanied on the removal to this state by his wife, her mother and the lat- ter's family. He erected a log cabin near where Westville now stands, being the first permanent resident of this portion of the state. He insti- tuted the work of progress and improvement which has since been carried on until LaPorte county is equal to any county in the Mississippi valley in all of its improvements and advantages.

Mrs. Clybourn was a daughter of Stephen S. and Miriam (Waldron) Benedict. Their eld- est child, E. Miriam Clybourn, was the first white child born in LaPorte county, her natal day being July 16, 1829. She became the wife of Joseph Warnock and died in Westville, Indiana. There were six children altogether by this mar- riage, the others being Araminta M., the wife of Theodore Armitage, who resides in Westville and is represented elsewhere in this work; William R., who married Mary E. Metcalf and resides near Fort Scott, Kansas ; Joseph H., who wedded Emma Tabor and is living near Fort Scott ; Mary J., who died in childhood; and Sarah E., the wife of Stephen Bryant, also living near Fort Scott, Kansas. Mrs. Clybourn died December 31, 1844, and Mr. Clybourn afterward married Mrs. Eliza (Concannon) Sherry. There were five children born of that union, but three have passed away- Ann Eliza. Nancy Catherine and Charles Len- ington. The surviving daughters are Martha Ann, the wife of Jared Gardner, of Westville, and Mrs. Virginia Adelaide Hatton, who is men- tioned on another page of this volume.

Mr. Clybourn gave his attention exclusively to agricultural pursuits and declined all politi- cal preferment. He was often urged to become a public official by his fellow citizens, who recog- nized his worth and ability. but only served as county commissioner of La Porte county two or

three terms. Year after year he carried on his labors as a farmer and prospered in his under- takings, and its value was also increased as the county became more thickly settled and there was a greater demand for property. He was held in the highest esteem in the community, and the poor had occasion to remember him with grati- tude because of his benevolences. He extended his aid freely to the poor and needy and his gifts were never made in an ostentatious manner. He would often say to his associates "You are sorry for Mr. - -. Well, the question is how sorry are you-sorry a sack of flour, a cord of wood or warm clothes for the little children? That's my religion." His gifts were freely made, and many have reason to bless his memory for his active aid in the hour of need.

He continued to reside in LaPorte county up to the time of his death, which occurred on the 9th of December, 1867, when he was sixty- three years of age. He should be remembered with gratitude by the people of this county for what he has done for its building and improve- ment, being the first settler to commence the re- clamation of the wild land for the purposes of civilization. His influence was ever on the side of justice, truth and right, and his kindly and benevolent spirit made his example one well worthy to be long remembered, honored and re- vered.

JOHN W. CRUMPACKER, son of Theo- philus and Harriet Crumpacker, and the eldest of eight children, was born near Westville. La- Porte county, Indiana, March 9, 1849. The fam- ily resided near Westville until 1863, when they moved to Kankakee county, Illinois, and returned to Porter county in April, 1865.

John W. Crumpacker was brought up on a farm, and educated in the common schools of Clinton township, the Westville schools, and later in what is now known as Valparaiso Col- lege. From 1870 to 1872 he taught country school. In August, 1872, he entered the county treasurer's office in Porter county as deputy. and served until August, 1879, at which time he became county treasurer, having been nomi- nated and elected to the office by the Republi- cans of Porter county in 1878. He was re-elected in 1880, and served until August, 1883. In 1884 he was made cashier and manager of the Hobart Bank, and in February, 1885. came to LaPorte and entered the LaPorte Savings Bank as cashier, in which capacity he has served up to the present time.

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January 3, 1877, he was married to Anna J. Smith. One son, Harry L., is now attending school at the University of Michigan.

D. PHILIP FAIL. One of the early settlers of Kankakee township still identified with its interests is D. Philip Fail, whose home is now on section 18. He was born in this township February 11, 1839, and is the youngest son of Philip and Sarah (Nuzum) Fail, whose sketch is given on another page of this work in connec- tion with that of B. S. Fail, the eldest of the three brothers in their family.

Mr. Fail was reared upon the home farm in Kankakee township, and his educational privi- leges were those afforded by the district schools. At an early age he began working in the fields, taking his place there as soon as old enough to handle the plow. He soon became familiar with farm work in all its departments and was thus engaged upon the old homestead up to the time of his marriage, which important event in his life occurred on the 7th of December, 1862, his wife being Eveline Highby, who was born and reared in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Fail began keeping house upon the old home farm in Kan- kakee township. His wife had been a teacher in the district schools here and had become ac- quainted with Mr. Fail, after which she returned to her home in Ohio, and they were married there. Four children have been born to them : Clifford, who died in infancy; Philip Francis, an engineer who is residing in Chicago; Phoebe E., who died when two and a half years of age; and Albert D., who died when seven years of age. The mother of these children passed away in 1873, and in 1878 Mr. Fail was married to his present wife, whose maiden name was Ida E. Chambers. To this marriage have been born two children: Willo E., at home; and Jesse Keene, who is attending school in LaPorte.

Mr. Fail has spent his entire life of sixty- five years in Kankakee township, and is well known here. He owns and operates one hundred and fifteen acres of land, and for nineteen years has engaged in threshing, having owned three different threshers. He has done good business in this way, and although he started out with an old horsepower thresher he has now an improved steam thresher. In his business affairs he has prospered as the years have advanced, and to- day is the possessor of a comfortable competence. Mr. Fail is a member of the Masonic lodge at La Porte and also of the Eastern Star there. Mr. Fail is a Democrat and has held local offices in

the township. His life has been characterized by unfaltering industry, and as the years have passed he has won the success which should ever crown honorable and persistent effort.

JEROME BURBANK, a well known citizen of Michigan City, was born in Wayne county, New York, October 16, 1825, and was the only son and child of Nathaniel and Cynthia (Ed- wards) Burbank. He was reared upon a farm in his native county, and gained his education in the district schools and a select school. He began learning the carpenter's trade at the age of seventeen, and followed that occupation with success for about twenty years, after which he engaged in bridge-building for ten years. At the time of the Civil war he served for six months in the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry, being once taken prisoner in the Cumberland mountains by Hood's raiders, and was later employed in the office of the quarter- master general at Washington.

Mr. Burbank first came to Michigan City in 1853. For four years he was in the employ, as bookkeeper, of the lumber firm of Peck and Son ; for four years was timekeeper in the locomotive department of the Michigan Central Railroad Company ; for six years was in the service of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company in the north- west, and then returned to Michigan City. He is now retired from a life of activity and intends to pass the eightieth milestone of his career in ease and quiet.

JAMES I. BUSH, an enterprising and suc- cessful agriculturist of Kankakee township, owns and operates a fine farm of one hundred and eighty acres on section 29, on the Chicago road, and in the management of his affairs shows marked capability both as a farmer and business man. His entire life has been passed in La Porte county, and he belongs to an old and highly re- spected family that has borne an important part in the development of this region. He was born in Kankakee township, July 31, 1855. and is the youngest child of David and Elizabeth ( Miller) Bush, of whom more extended mention is made in the sketch of W. C. Bush on another page of this volume.

James I. Bush grew to manhood under the parental roof and was educated in the district schools near his home and in the LaPorte high school. Since completing his education he has devoted his entire time and attention to farming. and he now owns and occupies the farm which

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his grandfather, John Bush, purchased at the government price of one dollar and a quarter per acre and which has since been in possession of the family. The original farm consisted of one hundred acres, to which Mr. Bush has added eighty acres. It is well improved with good and substantial buildings, and is under excellent cul- tivation.

On the 18th of February, 1880, Mr. Bush was united in marriage to Miss Hattie Hews, a daughter of Henry and Mary (Hageman) Hews. She was born in Lycoming county, Penn- sylvania, October 13, 1857, the sixth in order of birth in a family of eight children, and was only a year and a half old when she accompanied her parents on their removal to LaPorte county, In- diana, in 1859. She is a most estimable lady and an active member of the Presbyterian church. The Republican party has always found in Mr. Bush a stanch supporter of its principles. His life has been one of industry and usefulness, and due success has rewarded his efforts. He is not only one of the prosperous men of his com- munity but is also one of its esteemed citizens.

DAVID GRANT, whose sudden death on November 2, 1903, was a shock to the commun- ity and an irreparable loss to his family, was the owner of a fine farm in section 23, Cool, Spring township, and his career was of as much industry and usefulness in the industrial world as that of any other man in this community. Mr. Grant was born in England, April 5, 1826, a son of David and Elizabeth (Crocket) Grant. He at- tended the local schools at his birthplace until he was thirteen years old. He early indicated his genius and inclination for things mechanical, and on leaving school was apprenticed to the great inventor of the locomotive engine, George Stephenson, with whom he remained four years, and from whom he derived much of the in- spiration for all his subsequent years.

Mr. Grant came to America when about twenty-one years old, and for the first three years was in the employ of the Rogers Locomo- tive Company. He then came to LaPorte coun- ty, during an early period in the history of rail- road construction and operation in the county, and for ten years was in the shops of the Lake Shore Railroad in the city of LaPorte. For the next thirteen years he was a machinist for the Michigan Central at Michigan City. He was a first-class mechanic, especially in his particular branch, and was an expert in every detail of the construction and assembling of the parts of a

locomotive. Following his twenty-three years' residence in LaPorte county, he went to Texas and worked for the Texas Pacific Railroad Com- pany for two years, and from then until 1896 he was employed by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Company. He had bought a nice farm in Cool Spring township, LaPorte county, in 1870, and in 1896, when he had al- ready completed the space allotted by the Psalmist, for the period of man's existence on earth, he retired to this country place as a home for his last years. He owned one hundred and sixty acres, which he rented, and had a pleasant home, with just enough duties to prevent his rest from being rust, and enjoyed the respect and esteem of many friends.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 132

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