A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 144

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 144

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On the Ioth of February, 1865, Mr. Taylor

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John H. Taylor

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Laurie & Taylor

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

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was united in marriage to Miss Laura Jane Di- vine, a native of St. Joseph county, Indiana, and a daughter of John Divine, who was one of the old settlers of that county. The marriage has been blessed with six children, two sons and four daughters: James, who was born in Lin- coln township, January 16, 1867; Fannie, whose birth occurred in the same township May 8, 1870, and is now the wife of Ray Burson, of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Clarie, born September 10, 1874; John F., born on the old home place, December 4, 1876; Emma, born in Lincoln town- ship, August 25, 1883; and Effie, born May 21, 1885.

Mr. Taylor located in Lincoln township in 1865, and has since been engaged in general farming here. He owns two hundred acres of rich and arable land on sections 32 and 33, and has greatly improved the place by the erection of a good residence and substantial outbuildings. He has made most of the improvements upon his property, and is well known throughout the county as a leading agriculturist, his methods being practical and progressive. He also owns a half interest in a store building in Stillwell.

His political allegiance has ever been given to the Republican party, but at one time he was elected to the position of constable on the Dem- ocratic ticket. On several other occasions he has been elected to office, but would never accept. He belongs to the United Brethren church, with which he has been identified for over thirty years and his wife and children are also members of this church. He has taken a leading, active and helpful part in its work, and he has even lived an upright life, well entitling him to the respect and confidence which are so uniformly given him in this community.

FREDERICK W. MEISSNER, the lead- ing pharmacist of LaPorte, has a record in his chosen profession and as a business man and citizen such as any man might be proud to pos- sess. He not only has a broad, comprehensive and accurate knowledge of the nature and art of compounding all the materials of the phar- macopia, but has been most prompt and reliable in all trade transactions. He never incurs obli- gations that he does not meet. and has a reputa- tion for integrity and worth in all relations be- tween man and man. In citizenship he is equal- ly progressive, and as president of the board of education of LaPorte is now rendering valuable service to his fellow townsmen.

Mr. Meissner was born in the city of La-

Porte in 1859, a son of Frederick W. and Caro- lina (Meinn) Meissner. His father was born at Schwelm, near Elberfeld, province of West- phalen, Prussia, and came to the United States in 1854. In the same year he located in LaPorte, where he continued to make his home until his death, which occurred September 20, 1897. He was a furniture manufacturer, and was a suc- cessful business man and through his enterprise contributed much to the commercial prosperity of the city. His wife, who was born in the province of Mecklenburg, Germany, came to the United States in her girlhood days, and was married to F. W. Meissner in LaPorte. She followed her husband to the future world Febru- ary 28, 1904. Because of her genuine worth of character, she had always occupied a high posi- tion in social circles.

Mr. Meissner laid the foundation for a suc- cessful business career by gaining a good prac- tical education in the public schools of his native city. He determined to become a pharmacist, and served an apprenticeship in the store of Dr. E. E. Eliel's Sons, the leading drug house in LaPorte. He also worked in Chicago and other cities, and later, in connection with his brother- in-law, purchased a drug store in LaPorte, which was conducted under the firm name of Kuehne and Meissner. In 1885 he sold out his interest in the business, and in the same year entered the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy for the purpose of increasing his knowledge and consequently his proficiency in his chosen pro- fession. With twelve years of previous prac- tical experience, he possessed a mind fertile and ready for theoretical study, and he continued in the further preparation for his calling until his graduation in 1888. He then returned to LaPorte, and in the fall of the same year em- barked in business on his own account, establish- ing the Meissner pharmacy. He has a splendidly equipped store, complete in modern appoint- ments and attractive in its arrangement and appearance. He has gained the reputation of being the most skillful pharmacist in LaPorte county, and because of this many patrons come to him from all over the county. He has the confidence of the entire medical profession as well as that of the public, and as a representa- tive of the commercial life of his native town bears a most enviable reputation. He has for years been an active member of the American Pharmaceutical Association, and also of the Na- tional Association of Retail Druggists.

In 1890 Mr. Meissner was married at LaPorte

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to Miss Alice Grace Clement, a native of Rising Sun, Indiana. They now have four children, Clement, Roger, Virginia and F. W., Jr. Mr. Meissner affiliates with the Masonic fraternity, with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a charter member of the Elks lodge, No. 396, at LaPorte. For four years he has been a member of the board of education, and is now its president, in which capacity he has done. effective and valuable service in behalf of the public schools. The board also has charge of the LaPorte public library. Mr. Meissner is in- terested in all that pertains to the advancement of the city along lines of culture and moral and intellectual development. Where questions of national interest are involved he gives his sup- port to the Democracy, and as a member of the Business Men' Club labors for local progress and improvement. He is in all respects an enterpris- ing citizen, and one that stands for all that is elevating and progressive in matters pertaining to the public welfare.

JOHN W. HEWSON. In a history of the men who are to be depended upon to conserve the best interests of LaPorte county and faith- fully perform their duties of citizenship, John W. Hewson deserves mention. He is a well known agriculturist of Union township and one of the early settlers of LaPorte county. His home is now on sectoin 32, where he has a good tract of land.

Mr. Hewson was born in Lincolnshire. Eng- land, December 29, 1842. His father, Charles Hewson, was a native of the same locality. There he followed farming, becoming foreman of a large estate of several thousand acres. Thinking that he might improve his own finan- cial condition in the new world, however, he severed his business relations on the "merrie isle," and in 1845 crossed the Atlantic to New York. arriving on the 4th of July of that year. He did not tarry long in the eastern metropo- lis, however, but came direct to LaPorte county, Indiana, landing at Michigan City. At that time there was no railroad in this county. For 'a short time he resided on Door Prairie and then removed to Kingsbury, where he worked for Jacob Early, who owned and operated a grist mill and distillery at Belmont. For four years he remained with that gentleman, and then pur- chased the farm upon which John W. Hewson now lives. There he continued to reside until he retired from active business life and removed to a place about one-half mile north of Kings-

bury, where his remaining days were passed, his death occurring when he had reached the age of eighty-six years. He was a member of the Baptist church of Kingsbury and was a life- long Republican. He was well known in the county as one of its worthy pioneers, and was a man whom to know was to respect and honor. His wife bore the maiden name of Sabina Oliver, and was also a native of England, spending the greater part of her girlhood days in London. Her death occurred in LaPorte county when she was more than eighty-three years of age in the same residence as her husband's death occurred. To Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hewson were born seven children, three of whom died in childhood, while four reached adult age.

John W. Hewson is the second child of the family, and was about three years of age when his parents came to America, continuing their journey onward to LaPorte county. He was there reared on the home farm, and acquired his education in the common. schools of Union township. To his father he gave the benefit of his services until twenty-one years of age, and gained practical knowledge of farming methods in all departments of agricultural life. After the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Hewson be- came a defender of the Union cause, and in 1865 enlisted as a private of Company F. Twen- ty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He thus served until the close of the war, after which he returned to his home in LaPorte county and re- sumed his farming operations. With the ex- ception of one year spent in Nebraska, he has . continually been a resident of LaPorte county since 1845.

On the 26th of February, 1879, Mr. Hewson was united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Smith. a daughter of Alexander Smith, who went to California when Mrs. Hewson was but a child. She was born in LaPorte county about 1845. and has spent the greater part of her life here. At the time of their marriage the young couple began their domestic life on the old Hewson homestead, where they have since continued to live. They are the parents of two sons: Ralph W., who is now an insurance man of Michigan City, Indiana, and was a student in Purdue University two years; and Earl G., who is a student of medicine in the University of Chicago.

Mr. Hewson owns over five hundred acres of valuable farming land in Union township. divided into two farms, and one-half section near Larned. Paunee county, Kansas. The home place comprises two hundred and twenty acres.

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Mrs. D. M. Hewson

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

He now rents his farms and lives retired from active business life, save the management of his interests. In former years he worked earnestly at the plow or in the harvest fields, and as the years advanced the money which he was enabled to save from his earnings kept growing until he is now the possessor of a handsome competence sufficient to supply him with all of the necessi- ties and many of the comforts of life. He votes with the Republican party and is a member of the Masonic Lodge, order No. 222, of Kings- bury, also of Patton Post No. 147, G. A. R., of LaPorte. He is now serving as senior warden in the Masonic lodge, and was at one time master of the order. His success in business is at- tributable entirely to his careful management and his untiring labor, and now he is enjoying the fruits of his former toil.

THE HATFIELD FAMILY. No history of LaPorte county would be complete without mention of the Hatfield family, for from an early day its members have been valued and esteemed residents of this part of the state and have borne an active part in promoting material upbuilding and in upholding the educational and moral status of the community.

John Hatfield, now deceased, was born in Hardin county, Ohio, on the 3d of March, 1822. Samuel Hatfield, his father, was probably a na- tive of Ohio and was there married the first time. By that union he had five children. His first wife died in Ohio and after his second marriage he came to LaPorte county, Indiana, in 1838, locating in Rolling Prairie, where his death oc- curred. He was one of the pioneers of the coun- ty, interested in its early development and he co- operated in many measures for the general good. Mary Zane, the young girl who carried powder in her apron from the store house to the fort under the fire of Indians in order to assist the soldiers in the war of 1812, was the great-grandmother of John Hatfield. John Hatfield was the third son of his father's first marriage. In 1838, when a youth of sixteen years, he came to LaPorte county, finding a district which was largely un- improved. Much of the land was still unculti- vated and although pioneer conditions existed on every hand Mr. Hatfield settled here and as- sisted materially in the upbuilding and growth of this portion of the state. Mr. Hatfield worked by the month as a farm hand in Wills township and thus gained a start in business life. In Oc- tober, 1848, he was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Sweet, who was born in Jennings coun-

ty, Indiana, December 22, 1826. She was a daughter of George and Polly ( Magness) Sweet. Her father was born in Canada and when a young man came to Indiana, where he was mar- ried and followed the occupation of farming. His wife was a native of North Carolina and was one of the heirs of the large Magness estate in Shelby county, North Carolina, being the sec- ond child in a family of seven children, one son and six daughters. Her death occurred on the 6th of December, 1902.

After his marriage John Hatfield located in Kankakee township, where he resided for more than fifty years. Unto him and his wife were born six children: Eliza J., who was born De- cember 22, 1849, became the wife of O. F. Stew- ard in June, 1871, and they had three children, Clifford, Bert and Mabel. Burnett B. was born June 2, 1851, and was educated in the blind asy- lum in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he was graduated in. 1875. Amie F., born September 12, 1853, was married September 20, 1893, to W. H. Collins, who died on the 16th of March, 1903. Noah, born June 27, 1854, married Dora Allison in February, 1879. Anna Lendora, born March 25, 1857, is the wife of J. H. Caldwell and their marriage, which occurred July 30. 1884, has been blessed with two daughters, Gladys and Annabel. Willis, born January 13, 1861, married Nora Warrick on the 21st of April, 1890.

LOUIS G. PAUL. For a number of years past Louis G. Paul has been engaged in the mer- cantile business in Michigan City, and is ac- counted one of the leading and substantial mer- chants of the city. He was born on a farm south of Valparaiso, Indiana, on the 20th of May, 1870, and is a son of Louis and Julia (Werdin) Paul, natives of Germany, as were also their par- ents. The maternal grandfather made the voyage to America, but died soon after his arrival. He was a carpenter by trade, and was the father of five children, one son and four daughters. The paternal grandfather lived and died in Germany. Louis Paul, Sr., who was a blacksmith by trade, came to America and located in Michigan City, Indiana, about 1854, there following his trade, but later became a farmer in Porter county, In- diana. Remaining there until June, 1903, he then removed to Chicago, in which city he yet makes his home. His wife died in 1899, at the age of sixty-six years, dying in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which Mr. Paul is also a faithful member. During the period of the Civil war he served as a private. Unto Mr. and Mrs.

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Paul were born nine children, as follows: Wil- liam ; Henry; Fred; Mollie, the wife of Charles LaCount, the present sheriff of Porter county, Indiana; Emma, the wife of Henry Dreblow ; Julia, the wife of Charles Matt, of Chicago; Louis G .; Minnie, the wife of Edward Haller, of Mich- igan City; Ida, the wife of William Matt, of Chicago.

Louis G. Paul was reared to years of maturity on his father's farm, six miles south of Valpar- aiso, Indiana, during which time he attended the district schools and later became a student in the Northern Indiana Normal School. For two years thereafter he taught short-hand and book- keeping at Gibbon, Nebraska, and, returning to this state, again entered the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, graduating in the pharmaceutical department in 1894. One year later, in 1895, Mr. Paul came to Michigan City and engaged in business with Ernest Krueger, who died two years ago. They were engaged in the sale of house furnishing goods until March, 1899, and then they removed to 519 Franklin street and established a furniture and carpet business. Since 1901 Mr. Paul has been alone in the business. He is now the proprietor of one of the largest and best equipped furniture stores in the city, and located at 621 Franklin street in April, 1903. He has been very success- ful in his operations, owing to his straightfor- ward business methods, his close application and the excellent stock of goods which he carries.

On the 27th of June, 1900, Mr. Paul was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Hillman, a daughter of Fred and Fredericka (Voss) Hill- man. They have one son, Harold Reynolds Wayne Paul. Mrs. Paul is a member of the Lu- theran church, and in his fraternal relations Mr. Paul is a member of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Royal Arcanum, the Maccabees and the Nation- al Union. In political matters he supports the principles of the Democracy. The family reside in a pleasant residence at 417 East Eighth street, and in the social circles of Michigan City Mr. and Mrs. Paul occupy a leading position.

J. J. KEWLEY is engaged in general farm- ing on section 16, Union township, and as an honorable business man and early settler of LaPorte county well deserves representation in this volume. He was born in Franklin county, Vermont, in the town of St. Albans, on the 14th of December, 1825. His father, John Kewley, was a native of the Isle of Man and there re-

mained until about 1820, when, crossing the Atlantic to the new world, he took up his abode in Vermont. By occupation he was a farmer. He married Miss Isabella Cowley, also a native of the Isle of Man, and in 1837 they came to LaPorte county, establishing their home in beau- tiful Scipio township, but Mr. Kewley was not long permitted to enjoy his new residence, his death occurring in 1838. His wife passed away in 1847. They were the parents of five sons and a daughter who grew to years of maturity.

Mr. J. J. Kewley, who is the youngest child and the only one now living in the family, was twelve years old when he came to LaPorte county.

As is noticed in this review of this worthy gentleman, he has been a resident of LaPorte county for the long period of six decades, and has witnessed the wonderful transformation of a virgin and primitive country to a beautiful and populous, wealthy county. When he came into the borders of this county there were few laid-out highways, not a railroad in existence and the little villages or hamlets of LaPorte and Michigan City were merely trading points. What has been accomplished in that time ! The magician's wand, as it were, Aladdin-like, was waved, and presto-beautiful and highly cul- tivated homesteads, pretty country residences, enterprising cities and towns have sprung into existence, and the locomotive's shrill whistle is heard on thirteen different trunk lines crossing the county.

All this and much more has been accom- plished in LaPorte county since Mr. Kewley be- came a resident of the county.

He remained with his mother after the death of his father and assisted in the operation of the farm. He was the youngest of the family, and for many years was his mother's mainstay and support. He afterward went to learn the mason's trade under the direction of Ashley Wilson, serving an apprenticeship of about three years. He then started out in business for him- self, working by the day at the mason's trade, which he followed for about twenty years. He also engaged in plastering and in lay- ing foundations, together with work as a gen- eral builder. When two decades had thus passed he located on what is called Crow island, in Union township, where he purchased a small tract of land and began farming. For three years he remained in that place and then pur- chased the farm on which he now resides. in section 16, Union township. He at once be-

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Fig. Kenley

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came owner of forty acres, to which he has added as his financial resources have increased until he now has one hundred and twenty-six acres.

On the Ist of February, 1858, was celebrated the marriage of J. J. Kewley and Miss Mary E. Tennis, who was born in Whitley county, Indiana, February 13, 1839, a daughter of Samuel and Jane (Crow) Tennis, who came from Whitley county to LaPorte county in 1844. Mrs. Kewley was then a little maiden of five summers and was the fifth in order of birth in a family of nine children. Her girlhood days were largely passed in Union township, where she was carefully trained in the duties of the household. By her marriage she has become the mother of four children, two sons and two daughters: Fay, who married Ada Peterson and now lives on the old homestead and has one little daughter ; Donn, who was a student at Valparaiso, and who is located at South Bend, Indiana; Carrie, the wife of John Ellis, of Union township, has two children, Blanche and Frank; and Dean, the wife of LeRoy Col- lings, a resident farmer of Union township, has two little sons, Grover and Gary. The grand- daughter Blanche is the wife of William Pointon, a resident of St. Joseph county, and they have one little son, Charlie.

Mr. Kewley has been a life-long Democrat and has filled the office of trustee for eight years. He has likewise served in other local positions and has taken an active part in public affairs. He has been a resident of LaPorte county for sixty-six years, and has contributed to its upbuilding and progress, taking an active interest in everything pertaining to its welfare as it has emerged from pioneer conditions to take its place with the leading counties of this great commonwealth. Fraternally, he is con- nected with the Masonic Lodge, order No. 222, in Kingsbury, in which he has filled some of the chairs.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, who died January 7, 1896, was the purchaser and owner of the well known Runnymede Meadows, in Dewey township, near LaCrosse, LaPorte county, and this estate to-day, under the manage- ment of his widow, Mrs. Ella McLaugh- lin, presents a fine example of what the drainage and reclamation movement (as set forth in detail in the general history of this vol- ume) has accomplished for the so-called marsh lands of southern LaPorte county. During the eight years of her bereavement Mrs. McLaughlin

has devoted her attention mainly to the produc- tion of hay on the nineteen hundred and sixty- three acres which make up her LaPorte county farm.

The Runnymede Meadows were named af- ter the famous stream of England, on the banks of which the immortal Magna Charta was signed by King John, on June 15, 1215. Mrs. Mc- Laughlin, with her son and daughter, resides at 898 Walnut tsreet, Chicago, but makes frequent trips from the city to see after her farm, and as she has a railroad station on the place, for con- venience of shipment, it is a very easy matter to go and come. The marsh grass that grows on the land is a favorite rough feed for stock, and she has reduced to a system the harvesting and baling of two thousand tons each year of this valuable wild product. She has two immense hay barns, capable of containing four or five hundred tons each, and the dwellings and various other buildings make her estate look like a villa on the marsh. The Runnymede Meadows have un- til recently been mainly valuable for this prairie hay, but Mrs. McLaughlin has already paid out five thousand dollars toward the construction of the big ditch which has reclaimed thousands of acres in this district and for the straightening of the channel of the sluggish Kankakee river. The effect of this drainage has rendered her land fit for diversified farming, and she is now prepar- ing to enter upon the cultivation of corn and other more valuable crops, which have a yield of a hundred-fold in this favored spot.

John Mclaughlin, who left to his wife this princely estate of LaPorte county, was born in Stark county, Indiana, December 28, 1855, a son of Dennis and Anna (Byrnes) Mclaughlin. His father died at San Pierre, Indiana, December 24, 1900, where he had resided for forty-five years, and his wife still lives in that town. They were natives of Ireland, and had come to this country and settled first in Massachusetts, thence removed to Richmond, Indiana, and then to northern Indiana. John Mclaughlin had a common school education, and in 1881 became a partner with his father in the general mercan- tile business at San Pierre, and in the following year purchased his father's interest. He sold out this business in 1893, and in June, 1895, moved to Chicago, where he lived in easy cir- cumstances until his death in the following year. He was a popular and highly esteemed gentle- man in every community where he made his home, and his progressive spirit and honorable methods of dealing made him a factor for good

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 144

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