A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 20

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 20

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Digitized by Google

115

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

a small portion of the time spent in Boston. In May, 1835, he came west and settled in Michi- gan City, bringing with him a general stock of dry-goods, groceries, boots, shoes, etc., and car- ried on a mercantile business and land agency for three years. In 1837 he went east and mar- ried Miss Mary Barker, born July 14, 1806, in his native county, a daughter of Stephen and Asenath (Pearl) Barker, also of the same county and of English descent. In 1842 Mr. Low rented and finally bought land on sections thirteen and eighteen Cool Spring township, made extensive improvements, and put up a large brick house, an excellent barn, and outbuildings. He gave much attention to fruit raising. He dealt exten- sively in land and had the selling of several estates. For fifteen years he was one of the three township trustees, and when the law was changed he was the sole trustee eleven years longer. In the first year of his office only twenty dollars was collected for school purposes, latterly it went up into the thousands. Mr. and Mrs. Low were the parents of three children : Augustus B., Charles Otis, and Mary E. Charles had a checkered ex- perience as a soldier of the Civil war and as a prisoner in Libby prison, and latterly settled in Holton, Kansas. Daniel Low was a strong per- sonality with more than ordinary capacity for business.

BIRD McLANE. The given name seems peculiar but it is historic ; it is not from the animal or feathered creation, at least not immediately, but is from Captain Bird, an officer in the Revolu- tionary war, whom the grandfather of Mr. Mc- Lane esteemed so highly that he named one of his children after him, and the name descended to the grandson, the subject of this sketch. His forefathers were staunch Irish people who settled in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. From there they moved to Virginia, where the grandparents lived and died. .

Following their death a sale of all the property was held, including the slaves on the plantation. The latter did not want to go to any other family, and so Bird McLane, an uncle of the deceased, bid in one of the old servants, whereupon the latter was unable to control himself and throwing his hat high in the air, shouted, "Hurrah ! Mastah Bird! Hurrah, Mastah Bird!" Years before Indi-

ana became a state, the parents of Bird McLane left the east and came to Richmond, Wayne county, Indiana, where December 10, 1817, the deceased first saw the light of day. There were nine children in the family, all of whom died, with the exception of Arthur McLane, of Erie, Illinois, and Dr. Jesse McLane, of DeFuniak Springs, Florida.

In 1832 Bird McLane came to LaPorte county with his father without the family and after taking up a claim raised their first crop. In the fall of that year the family was moved to the county and settled on what was known as Rolling Prairie. The place was then little more than a wilderness and the people lived in log cabins. The Indians were everywhere, and though usually friendly they at times became troublesome. The deceased was here in time of the Sac war. The men were out in the field working, and at noon when they came home to dinner they found the women and children were gone. All had hurried east to escape the Indians. When Bird McLane was fourteen years old, he and his brother drove an ox team from Logansport to Cincinnati and loaded it with groceries, and in the load were $9,000 in silver to be paid to the Miami Indians. The money was brought through safely without any guard-through the Miami reserve, thirty miles, where there were no settlements, to the mouth of the Missinniwa river, close to where Peru is now situated. Mr. McLane's memory until recent years was wonderfully accurate, and he often delighted in telling of the hardships of the early days of the county. Chicago was then only a trading post, and he had plenty of oppor- tunities to purchase for a few dollars the land on which are located some of Chicago's largest and finest buildings, and which now is worth many millions of dollars. Mr. McLane helped build the old plank road east of town and also worked with the surveying gang that first staked off the county. In 1834 the family moved to Noble township, settling near Union Mills, where the father and mother died and were buried. At the age of twenty-one, Bird McLane, as he was wont to tell it, was in the possession of two good hands, which were ever ready to work, and was in debt fifty dollars for his clothes. He engaged in farming near Union Mills, showed that he possessed that indomitable will which conquers,

Digitized by Google

116

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

and by his industry and thrift was soon free of debt and on the road to success. With his first savings he purchased the farm which he still owned at his death, and which was known as the McLane homestead. He continued farming until 1868, when he purchased a general store at Kingsbury, moving it to Union Mills three years later.

September 24, 1848, Mr. McLane was mar- ried to a daughter of the late Theodore H. Wells, the ceremony taking place on a Monday morning, it being characteristic of Mr. McLane that he began everything the first of the week. To this union there were two sons born, Albert McLane, who died in 1871, and George L. McLane, the well known dry-goods merchant of LaPorte. Mrs. McLane passed away February 10, 1901, after nearly sixty years of happy married life. Bird McLane was identified with the early history of Presbyterianism in this county, and is the last of the charter members of the church at Union Mills. He held all the principal offices in the church during the years of his active life. He was also a member of the Masonic lodge at Union Mills, but in later years had not affiliated with the order. He was one of the first subscribers of the Weekly Herald, and continued so until recently, when his removal to the home of his son made it unnecessary, for he then read the Daily Herald. The deceased possessed a strong character, per- severed in all that he undertook, and by his honest and upright manner of dealing with all he com- manded the esteem of everybody. He passed away early on the morning of Sunday, January 24, 1904, at the home of his son, George L. Mc- Lane, in LaPorte, where since the death of his wife, three years before, he had spent the declin- ing days of his busy life. He was comparatively vigorous until the day before his death, but his declining force was not great enough to react successfully against congestion of the lungs. Brief funeral services were held at the house, 1108 Jefferson avenue, on January 26, and then the remains were taken to Union Mills, where his life-long pastor, the Rev. S. E. Smith, conducted services and paid an eloquent tribute to the memory of the departed.

MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM W. TRAVIS. Mrs. Travis passed away on Saturday, January 23, 1904, and her mortal remains were buried

from the Kingsbury Baptist church on Monday, January 25. She was the last of her generation. With her, that branch of the family line termin- ates. Her maiden name was Ann Waxham. She was the daughter of James and Ann Gill Wax- ham, of Hanover, Chautauqua county, New York. Her parents were natives of Cambridgeshire, England, five miles from the city of Ely, where Mrs. Travis was born on July 27, 1819. With her mother and two other children she was brought to America by her father in 1829. On April 20, 1839, she was married to William Travis, who passed away several years ago, and two years after their marriage the couple came to LaPorte county. They started from New York with a two-horse wagon, on which were placed all of their household goods. They were accom- panied by a magnificent dog which they called Tiger. On the third day out the dog had a leg broken, and Mr. Travis gave the animal his own place in the wagon, walking most of the way himself. The dog was kindly nursed and came through safely, and recovered from his injury, and was of great service in their new home, especially as a watch dog when Mr. Travis was absent. Mr. Travis possessed a wonderful power over the brute creation, and taught his dogs re- markable things, always relying on them to drive his cattle to pasture, herd them and drive them home at night. Many instances might be re- lated. The couple came through from New York all the way, five hundred and fifty miles, requiring eighteen days for the journey. We can imagine some of the weariness and hardships which they had to undergo. Mr. Travis was intrusted with quite a sum of money, all in silver, to bring to his brother, who had already located in LaPorte- county. This money was cared for by Mrs. Travis, and it caused her no little anxiety, as even while sleeping she felt the responsibility of it; but eventually they were enabled to deliver it to the owner. The couple finally located a home, were frugal and industrious, exercised good judg- ment, and gradually added to their property until they possessed an excellent and valuable estate. They were very patriotic, and during the Civil war their home was a veritable hospital for sick and wounded soldiers. The couple took great pains to invite and welcome Union soldiers there, and on one occasion Mr. Travis went south to nurse them himself. They could do this the-

Digitized by Google

117

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

more readily, never having had any children of their own to demand their care and attention. They were in every way worthy citizens, neigh- bors and members of the community, and the country owes much to just such people.

GEORGE W. REYNOLDS. This settler had much to do with building up the county in Scipio, Cool Spring, and Union townships. He was a native of Rome, Oneida county, New York, and was born December 19, 1814. His parents were Adam and Mary Reynolds. He lived in Rome till he was seven years of age, when he went with his parents to Lawrence county, Penn- sylvania, where he learned the carpenter's trade and millwright business. In April, 1835, Mr. Reynolds, in company with two other families of Lawrence county, started for Indiana. They arrived in LaPorte county on the 4th day of May in that year, and commenced felling trees with which to build a house, which they erected on section twenty in Scipio township. Mr. Rey- nolds and a man by the name of Hill then built a saw-mill and carding mill about midway be- tween Michigan City and Door Village. On Sat- urday, June 19, he went to Door Village, and that night the remarkable heavy frost fell, which proved so destructive to the crops. Mr. Reynolds completed the mill on July 3, and on the 4th he came to Kingsbury and commenced building the Kingsbury grist mill, which was finished the next spring. After this he built three houses on the road from Kingsbury to LaPorte. On June 23. 1836, he was united in marriage with Miss Cynthia Winchell. In 1837 he assisted in rebuild- ing the Kingsbury mills. In 1836 he was elected justice of the peace, which office he held for many years, and was notary public for two years. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds had seven children, among whom were Emrett, afterwards Mrs. Grover, Celestia, Julia, afterwards Mrs. Kimball. and Herman P. George W. Reynolds came of heroic stock; his father was a soldier in the war of 1812, and his paternal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war under Washington.

JEREMIAH WILLSON. This settler was one of the most rugged and forcible characters among our pioneers. His grandfather came from Scotland to America during the Revolutionary

war and settled in New Jersey. The father mar- ried and moved to Pennsylvania, where he fol- lowed farming and blacksmithing. He after- wards settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, then a small place, where he carried on his trade. His first wife died, and in about two years he married again and moved to Vigo county, Indiana, where he died. Jeremiah, one of the children of the first wife, went to live for a time with a brother- in-law, and then came and located in Hudson township. This is said to have been in 1831. There he married Miss Abigail, daughter of John E. Wills, after whom Wills township was named. He first bought property in Hudson, but sold it and in 1842 located on the south line of Clinton. About ten years afterwards he sold this, intending to go west with his father-in-law and family dur- ing the Oregon fever that struck the county ; but changing their plans he bought another farm in Cass township. Mr. and Mrs. Willson had thir- teen children, only four of whom lived to adult age.

It is related of him that he came from Vigo county with his brother Henry M. and wife. All was wilderness north of Tippecanoe river. On .arriving at the Kankakee river they tried to attract the attention of an Indian on the opposite shore that he might come with his canoes and ferry them over, but he would only stick his head out of the wigwam and say nothing. So, though the weather was so cold that the ground was covered with snow, Jeremiah had to swim across. He went to the Indian and endeavored to con- verse, but he would say nothing. Mr. Willson then took the canoes and ferried the family and goods across. At this the Indian came out and cursed them in broken English. But Mr. Willson, who could speak Indian, talked back in straight Indian lingo to such purpose that the stubborn Indian returned to his wigwam stepping pretty high.

One of the oldest settlers of Clinton town- ship was WILLIAM SNAVELY, who came to the county in 1835 and took up land in that town- ship. He was born in Montgomery county, Vir- ginia, June 9, 1797. His parents came from Germany before the close of the eighteenth cen- tury and did good service in our Revolutionary war. His father was at the surrender of Bur-

Digitized by Google

118

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

goyne at Saratoga. The family first settled in Pennsylvania and subsequently moved into Vir- ginia and engaged in farming. Here William spent his youth and early manhood, attending the schools and aiding his father in farming. His parents died in Virginia and their remains were buried in Montgomery county. Mr. Snavley mar- ried Margaret, daughter of William Eahart, of Virginia, and by her became the father of ten children. She passed away in 1866. He mar- ried for his second wife Mrs. Lovina (Dunham) Robinson, who came from Ohio. Her grand- fathers were both Revolutionary soldiers. She was of Scotch extraction through her grand- father Drummond, who came from Scotland. Mr. Snavley became the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in Clinton township. He passed away in 1877 or 78, but his descendants remained in the county.

JOHN CLARK was a native of Erie county, Pennsylvania, and was born November 22, 1822. His father was from Scotland and his mother from Ireland. They came to America sometime previous to the Revolutionary war, and were act- ive participants in that struggle for independence. After our liberty was assured and peace was de- clared, they settled in the state of New York and engaged in agriculture. During the war of 1812 the father again entered the army and fought for our rights upon the seas, and at the return of peace he became a pioneer of Erie county, Pennsylvania. He married Mary Furguson, by whom he became the father of ten children, John, the subject of this sketch, being the seventh. John spent his youth till he was twelve or thir- teen years of age in Erie county, attending school and aiding his father on the farm. In the fall of 1834 he moved with his father to Clinton town- ship in this county and bought land at the land sales and thus secured about three hundred acres. The land sales were held in LaPorte and they were quite lively when speculators undertook to bid on squatter's claims. It was not safe for speculators to do this as the settlers were organ- ized against it. A meeting had been held, An- drew Burnside had been appointed leader and to act as a committee of one, with aids if necessary, to "go for" every speculator who dared offer to purchase a settler's claim. Mr. Clark's first wife was Adaline Wright, who thus became the

mother of eight children, three of whom passed away in childhood. Mrs. Clark passed away February 13, 1866, and her remains were buried at Union Chapel. Mr. Clark married secondly Lucy Simpson, from which union came another family.

JAMES VENAMON HOPKINS was an- other of the first settlers. He was a descendant of one of the earliest settlers of the American colonies. He was born October 29, 1802, in Bourbon county, Kentucky. It is said that three brothers left England and settled one in Massa- chusetts, another in Delaware, and a third in Pennsylvania. Thomas Hopkins was the one who came to Massachusetts. He settled in Plymouth. In 1636 he followed Roger Williams to Rhode Island. His great-grandson was the first Amer- ican admiral or commodore commanding the first armed fleet sent out by the colonies in the time of the Revolutionary war. In the "Fourth American Archives," pages 360-364, and in I. "Cooper's Naval History," page 103, may be found the following: "Resolved, that the following naval officers be appointed: Ezekiel Hopkins, Esq., commander-in-chief ; Dudley Saltonstall, captain of the 'Alfred'; Abraham Whipple, captain of the 'Columbus': Nicholas Biddle, captain of the 'Andrea Dorea': John B. Hopkins, captain of the 'Cabot', etc." The fleet consisted of four ships and three sloops, and the rank of Ezekiel Hop- kins was intended to correspond in the navy to that of General Washington in the army. The above resolution was passed by Congress De- cember 22, 1775, and the pay of the commander- in-chief was to be $125 per month. A portrait of Commodore Hopkins may be seen in the collec- tion at Brown University. The Hopkins family multiplied rapidly and spread into several of the states. Ezekiel Hopkins married Sarah Hazard, of Bourbon county, Kentucky. Their fifth child was Lemuel, who married Mary Venamon of Fulton county, Illinois. And the third of these was James Venamon, the subject of this sketch. In 1812 he moved to Preble county, Ohio, with his parents, where he remained about eight years, thence to Hamilton county, and thence to Butler county, where he married. In 1835 he moved to LaPorte county, the year of the "land sales." He lived in Porter county about five years and then settled in Michigan City. His father had been

Digitized by Google

Mrs. Catherine Calmer

Digitized by Google

Digitized by

Google

Digitized by Google

119

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

a man of great ingenuity and skill in working in wood. James Venamon inherited these qualities, and in Michigan City, and also in Springville, he plied the trade of carpenter and joiner. At the latter place he entered into carpentering and brick-making with a view to building a tavern, but sold out to Ingram Gould. In 1853 he pur- chased the place in Springfield township where he afterwards resided. In 1827 he married Miss Elizabeth Ross, born in New Jersey in 1804. She passed away in 1874 after having been para- lyzed for seven years. Their children were . David, who died at twenty-three, Hazard M. and James T. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins were members of the Disciple's church and were highly respected by the community.

ZIBA W. PALMER, deceased, for many years one of the prominent farmers of Cool Spring township, LaPorte county, was born in New York state, November 2, 1823. His parents, Ebenezer and Fanny Palmer, came to LaPorte county in 1833 and bought a farm in Cool Spring township, where they passed their lives and on which Mr. Palmer spent his life, so that it is one of the oldest, in length of continuous occupation, in the county.

Mr. Palmer was about ten years old when he came to LaPorte county, and was reared on his father's farm and educated in the log schoolhouse of the township. He followed farming as a life occupation, and the old homestead was more pro- ductive when he plowed his last furrow than when he took up his work. He was highly esteemed by all his friends and neighbors, and at his death on October 10, 1902, it was felt that one of the landmarks had been taken from the community which he had helped by his strength and in- fluence during a lifetime of nearly eighty years. He was a member of no church, but contributed liberally to religious work and benevolences. He was a Democrat, and several times served as trustee of the township.

March 7, 1865. Mr. Palmer was married to Mrs. Catherine (Gardner) Shreves, who was born in Onondaga county, New York, March 20, 1840. Her father, Joseph Gardner, was born, reared and married in New York state, and was a cooper by trade. Her mother Catherine Clinton, was also a native of New York. They came to LaPorte county in 1847, locating first in Michi-

gan City, and then in Michigan township, where Mr. Gardner died at the age of sixty-four and his wife at the age of seventy-three. Of their thirteen children, five grew to maturity, and Mrs. Palmer was the twelfth in order of birth. She was reared and educated in LaPorte county, and was married to Francis Shreves, who died while a soldier in the Civil war. The one son of this marriage, William, married Phebe Redding, and now resides in Chicago.

The following children were born of the mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Palmer : Etta, the wife of Robert Shreve; Arthur, a resident of Chicago, who married Etta Hornback; Ziba, deceased ; Hattie, deceased; Ray, unmarried and at home; Elsa, wife of Frank Redding, of Cool Spring township ; Bert, unmarried and at home.

Mrs. Palmer resides on a part of the old place, all but fifty-seven acres having been divided among the heirs. She is a member of the Metho- dist church, in whose work she takes an active part, and she has also been influential in pro- moting temperance reform, having been instru- mental in the closing of a neighboring saloon. As one of the old settlers of the county, and be- cause of her estimable character and kindly deeds, she deserves the respect which is everywhere ac- corded her.

These sketches show that the personnel of LaPorte county strikes its roots far back not only among the people of one nation, but continually subdividing and ramifying, among all the nations of the earth; and it is said that this mixture of races produces the strongest people. Certainly the mixture has been well stirred.

It is hardly fair in these sketches to instance only the men. Man is not complete without woman, nor woman without man; just .as .the head is not complete without heart, nor the heart without head. As intellect and affection must go together to make a human soul, so it requires both man and woman to make a complete man. All talk as to which is superior, man or woman, is talk wasted. Man and woman are equal but unlike ; they are counterparts. Which is superior, the north or south pole of the magnet? It re- quires both to constitute a magnet. Which blade of a pair of scissors is superior ? Marriage is not like any branch of business into which we can enter or not as we please, it is the normal state

Digitized by Google

I20

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

of life. True, we are free to enter into it or not, and so we are free to eat or not. But if we don't eat we starve; and so if we refuse to enter this normal state of life, the character suffers loss. It is true also that circumstances compel some to remain single. And so circumstances compel some to go without the necessities of life. What purpose these exceptions serve in the characters of those who in the divine providence have to suf- fer them, we know not; but doubtless some good purpose. However, they no more prove that the marriage union of one man and one woman is not the normal state, than disease proves that health is not the normal state.

At this point therefore we give the sketch of one of our women pioneers. We select it not from the ranks of those who attained to wealth and affluence, nor from the ranks of those who have suffered poverty, but purposely from what was about the average condition of the house- wife and mother during the trials and struggles of pioneer life. We refer to Mrs. Louisa Wells, who passed away in the Ruth C. Sabin home in LaPorte on August 13, 1902. At the time of her death she was probably the oldest person in the county, with the exception of John P. Teeple, who was nearing the century mark, and who has since exceeded that mark by about three months and passed away. Next to Mrs. Wells probably was John Ludwig, who passed away in LaPorte, at the residence of his daughter Mrs. Sophia Felton, on Monday morning, June 24, 1904, at the age of ninety-seven years; his death having been caused by blood poisoning. Mr. Ludwig was born in Prussia, June 4, 1807, and came to LaPorte in 1858, where he had continuously re- sided until his death. His wife died a number of years ago. Surviving him are five children, Charles and Fred, of this city, John, of Arizona, Mrs. Felton and Mrs. Joseph Schultz, of LaPorte. On the 5th of June Mr. Ludwig's many friends in this city assisted in celebrating his ninety-seventh birthday anniversary. A large number of the older citizens of the place joined in this notable event.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 20

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