A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 41

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 41

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).

Not long ago Dr. F. T. Wrench, a dentist, late of LaPorte, but now of Elyria, Ohio, invented and patented what is called the sanitary tooth brush. It is said that to remove the particles of food which decay and form bacteria in the mouth, it is necessary to use a toothbrush after every meal. But the ordinary toothbrush is inconven- ient, unsightly and unsanitary. If carried in the pocket it collects lint and dust, moistens the pocket and looks vulgar. But the sanitary tooth-

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brush is arranged so as thoroughly to cleanse the teeth, of light but durable material, shuts up tele- scopically into the handle which is perforated with holes to admit the air, and is made to be car- ried in a chatelaine bag or grip or in the vest pocket. It is a very useful article especially for those who travel or lunch down town.

The LaPorte Argus-Bulletin of December 2, 1903, contained the following :

"By the genius of Elmer Burlingame, a La- Porte boy, the sermon preached Sunday by the Rev. Dr. D. H. Cooper, pastor of the First Bap- tist Church, at Peru, was heard in Logansport, Wabash and by dozens of people in Peru. Pre- vious to the meeting no announcement of the. innovation was made. A transmitter was placed in front of the pulpit and connected with the Home Telephone Company's exchange, where Burlin- game was waiting to ascertain the success of the experiment. When it was learned that the ar- rangement was working satisfactorily, friends in Peru and other cities were called up."

It is said that the clergy are alarmed at this but they need not be. They fear that such inven- tions will increase the habit of non-church-going which is already so prevalent. But there are a power of sacrament and an atmosphere of worship which cannot be transmitted over telephone wires, and which can be received only by one's personal presence in the congregation, and this will come to .be understood.

Among other inventions of LaPorte county citizens, is that of an automobile railroad by R. T. Van Valkenburg, of LaPorte, who was granted a patent on his invention in November, 1903. He hopes to see an automobile road in operation between Cleveland and Chicago.

And so we might go on mentioning the inven- tions of LaPorte county people, among which would be included the Schultz gate and Smith Brothers' fire extinguisher, both of 1844; the mail box of Elmer E. Reese, of Rolling Prairie; the grain sieve and other inventions of Henry K. Clement, the voting machine of C. E. Wolfe, Jay D. Parkinson's gate hinge, Milton Henoch's bicy- cle support, Oliver P. Wilhelm's service for re- pairing car couplings, several improvements of Hutchinson of the watch school for watches, clocks and opera glasses; William C. Robby's attachment for clover hullers, besides numerous

patents issued to the great manufacturing compa- nies of the county.

In the line of discoveries there should be men- tioned the opium cure of Dr. Samuel B. Collins. In the sixties the opium habit was considered by some of the highest medical authorities to be in- curable, "A fatal fascination never to be broken by any wily stratagem or open force whatever," a habit from which the victim could no more break away "than the paralytic imbecile can throw off his lethargy." The "first instance of volun- tary renunciation" and of "permanent reforma- tion after the habit had been confirmed," was yet to be found. In the midst of this pessimism Sam- uel B. Collins, a mechanic in LaPorte working at his trade, which was that of a brick mason, an- nounced that he had discovered a cure for the opium habit. His claim was received with in- credulity and ridicule, but he persevered ; and when .certain victims of the opium habit, living in LaPorte and vicinity, announced themselves cured by Dr. Collins' remedy, his success was assured.

Various opinions are held, especially by pro- fessional men of the medical fraternity, concern- ing this remedy of Dr. Collins'; but whatever view we take of it, it is a matter of history that the fame of it spread far and near. By means of it many were saved from the opium habit, and testified to its efficacy. A book larger than this volume might be filled with such testimonials. The marble front building on Michigan avenue, and the elegant mansion northwest of town which is now' the Interlaken Sanitarium with its ac- companing buildings and spacious grounds, are monuments to Dr. Collins' success. He ad- vertised liberally, wealth flowed into his coffers, and he poured it out with a lavish hand in the place where he had been a laborer. He gener- ously donated the third story of his new build- ing on Michigan avenue to the Library Associa- tion for five years, if the Grand Army post needed a band to play on memorial day he stood ready to pay for it, and actually did so, and in very many ways he showed a liberal hand with the money which had come to him so plentifully.

Other remedies and proprietary medicines have been put forth by La Porte people. For some years there was a medicine company in LaPorte of which George M. Dakin, M. D., was a mov-

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ing spirit. From time to time he has ordered some of his formulas prepared by the great drug houses for his own use, and those houses have continued to compound and sell them elsewhere, until they are used in other states ; and doubtless the like might be said of other physicians in the county.

This by no means completes the list of in- ventions and discoveries in the county, and even those which have been mentioned have not been treated exhaustively ; but enough has been said to show that in this respect as in others LaPorte county is in the van, and her influence has been widely felt.

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CHAPTER XXIV.

NEWSPAPERS.

"He that writes,. Or makes a feast, more certainly invites His judges than his friends; there's not a guest But will find something wanting or ill drest."- Prologue to SIR R. HOWARD'S Surprisal.

In 1829 the Pottawottomie and Miami Times of Logansport, established in August of that year, was the only paper north of the Wabash. In 1831 its name was changed to the Cass County Times. In 1833 it was changed to the Logansport Repub- can and Indiana Herald. In 1834 it was succeeded by the Canal Times. By this time other papers had been established north of the Wabash, and LaPorte county not yet having any newspapers of its own, its legal notices were published in the papers of other counties. One of these papers was the St. Joseph Beacon of South Bend; an- other was the Canal Telegraph of Logansport, which contained legal notices of the April term of the LaPorte circuit court.

The establishing of the Michigan City Gasette, the first paper published in the county, has been referred to in the preceding pages. In the spring of 1835 Mr. J. S. Castle, then living in Utica, New York, purchased the stock for his printing office and shipped it by canal to Buffalo and thence by way of the lakes to Michigan City, where it arrived in June. The Castle family, accompanied by the lad Polaski King, went by the same route to Buffalo, thence by steamer to Detroit, and thence by teams to Michigan City, where they arrived in advance of the printer's stock, which gave the boy good opportunity to survey the city which was new and sandy but full of life. After the material for the printing office arrived Mr. Castle set it up and as soon as possible issued the first number of his paper,

the Michigan City Gazette; which appeared om Wedensday, July 8, 1835. It was a five-column folio, and the size of each page was fourteen by twenty inches. . That was before the time of pat -. ent insides, and all four of the pages were printed in the office. The first page was made up of judi- ciously selected matter of a general character ; the second' page was given to editorials, local articles and items and local politics; the third page contained editorial selections and para- graphs, arrivals of vessels, a list of unclaimed. letters, and some advertisements; and the fourth page was devoted to national politics. It was an ably conducted sheet, full of life and energy, and the first few numbers, which are still extant, would do credit to any local publishing house of to-day. Pulaski King, then about twelve years of age, was the printer's devil and distributed the paper through the town and sold it on the streets. It seems that Samuel Allen was one of the prime movers in starting. this paper, which was established as a Democratic organ. That was a year of extraordinary political activity and witnessed the first political agitation of the county. The question of greatest interest was a local one. Many of the settlers had made im- provements on government lands, but having no pre-emption rights they were in danger of having their possessions bought by those who would bid higher than government prices. This aroused a strong feeling among the farmers, and public meetings were held in different parts of the

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county to take such action as seemed expedient and the matter was made a political one. There were also other political questions of a more gen- eral nature, and it was felt that a newspaper organ was necessary not only as an exponent of Democratic principles but to help develop the re- sources of the county. The paper, however, re- mained Democratic but a short time ; it was soon suspended and seems to have passed into the pos- session of L. C. McKenny & Company, who re- vived it, this time as a Whig organ. But again it was suspended, and in May, 1839, the com- pany issued a prospectus for a paper to be called The Michigan City Register, LaPorte, Porter and Lake Counties Commercial Advertiser, an impos- ing title surely, which leads one to think that the publishers were like the fowl which tried to cover two many eggs. The paper, however, was never issued, the old Michigan City Gazette was resus- citated, which passed into the possession of Mr. Samuel Miller ; and J. M. Stuart, who had just left the LaPorte County Whig, became its editor. ·

This was in the autumn of 1839. In 1842 the Gazette prodded its subscribers who were in ar- rears and mentioned several improvements which it was about to make. It was a strong paper until well along into that year, after which it ceased to exist.

There is an account of the Michigan City Her- ald which was published cotemporaneously with the Gazette, though it lived but little more than a year. It was established by Richard Burley, or Burleigh, and in politics was Democratic while the Gazette was Whig. The city at that time was strongly Whig, and a paper of the opposite political faith had but a poor opportunity for existence.

LaPorte was not far behind Michigan City in having a newspaper. On November 5, 1836, the first number of the LaPorte Herald appeared. Orton & Saxton were editors and proprietors. It announced itself as published every Saturday morning at its office on the corner of South Main (now Main) and Monroe streets. Its terms were $2.50 per year if paid in advance, or $3.00 at the expiration of six months, no subscriptions re- ceived for less than six months, and no paper to be discontinued, unless at the discretion of the proprietors, until all arrearages were paid. In the announcement the editors say that while some

had advised them to publish a strong Whig paper in favor of General Harrison, and others had ad- vised them to publish a strong Democratic paper advocating the claims of Martin Van Buren, they concluded that there was no need of a one-sided partisan paper in LaPorte, and therefore would publish a paper having for its first object the prosperity of the county. The paper was a large, six-column folio, and contained an excellent as- sortment of selected and original articles and items, including an article on the capture of Santa Anna. The third page contained a number of advertisements showing the business of the young and thriving town, and among them the editors advertised all sorts of legal blanks at a low figure, and concluded with the words, "Also job work done on the shortest notice. We expect in a few weeks an extensive additional assortment of fancy job type."

The issue of this paper has been disputed, but the writer has examined a copy of it very carefully, and its genuineness is beyond the pos- sibility of doubt. It has been said that if it was issued it could not have been printed in LaPorte as there was no printing office there at that time. But would the editors and publishers advertise to do job printing on short notice, if they did not possesss a printing office? and would they say they expected an "additional" assortment of type, if they had not possessed a printer's stock al- ready? It has been said that the first number of this paper was the only one ever issued. But this is a statement wholly lacking of proof. On the contrary, the bona fide announcement of the editors to take subscribers, and all the circum- stances indicate that the paper was issued more than once, and continued to be published regu- larly for a time, though how long it would seem impossible to ascertain. In its editorial column the publishers said, "The next number will be issued three weeks hence, as it will require all that time to ascertain who and where our patrons are, and to make arrangements for the de- livery of the papers, after which time the Her- ald will be issued regularly once in each week." Mrs. Dr. G. L. Andrew, daughter of the late James Andrew, one of the founders of LaPorte, now living at 6123 Kimbark avenue, Chicago, writes under the date of August 7, 1903: "In the winter of 36-37, I was a little girl going to the

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second school ever taught in LaPorte. I was placed in the boarding house kept by Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Evans, and there were six young men taking their meals, only one or two having a small room. One of the six was named Saxton and he was editing a paper, but I do not remem- ber the name of it." It is very probable that this was the LaPorte Herald.

So then, in view of all the facts and circum- stances, the Herald of November 5, 1836, which probably was published regularly for a time, was the first paper ever published in LaPorte. Whether the Present LaPorte Herald is a con- tinuation of it, or ever had any connection with it, is another question.

There was another LaPorte Herald which was begun in March, 1838. This was the second paper in LaPorte. It was published by William Hagenbuch and edited by Wilbur F. Storey. Of all this, the writer has good evidence. This was not in any sense a continuation of the Herald of 1836. Volume I, number I, of the first Herald was issued in 1836. Volume I, number I, of the second Herald was issued in 1838. In other words, the first Herald had ceased to exist, how soon after it was first published we know not, and an entirely different paper, under a wholly new management, was begun, though it took the same old name. The first Herald was Whig, though not pronouncedly so; the second was intensely Democratic, even bitter in its spirit. The LaPorte Herald which was begun in 1838 was issued every Saturday; but in May, 1839, it skipped two issues ; namely May 11 and 18, and in the interim Joseph Lomax succeeded William Hagenbuch as publisher. Hagenbuch had been only the pub- lisher and Storey the sole editor ; but Lomax, the new publisher, took a hand at the editing and the heading carried the announcement "Published by Joseph Lomax," and "edited by Storey and Lo- max." Then there was trouble on the editorial staff. It is said the printer's stock used in the publication of the Herald was purchased in Chi- cago by ten Democrats, each giving his note for $100. They did not pay the notes when they be- came due and in the spring of 1841 Mr. Lomax and Mr. Storey got at outs, and Mr. Lomax con- ceived the idea of becoming the possessor of those notes with a view of owning the office and mov- ing it to Mishawaka, where he had promised to

move it and publish a paper a year, for which service a combination of Mishawaka people were to pay him $500. While Mr. Lomax was thus playing sharp with Storey and others, Storey dis- covered it, and one morning he came down town and found that Storey had become possessor of the office and loaded it on wagons sometime in the night and was then half across Terre Coupee prairie on the way to Mishawaka, where he had been and contracted to edit the paper for a year without any pay whatever.

At the end of the year, in June, 1842, Thomas Jernegan, who then lived at South Bend, pur- chased the office and moved it back to LaPorte and began the publication of the Indiana Tocsin, a Democratic sheet, which he continued until 1847 when he moved it to Michigan City and changed the name to the Michigan City News. This he published until 1853, when the office burned down, and as Mr. Jernegan was postmas- ter at that time, he did not resume the publication of the paper. Its politics was Democratic and as nearly as can be ascertained the first number of the Michigan City News appeared on Friday, March 5, 1847.

At the time when Wilbur F. Storey began to edit the LaPorte Herald he was engaged in the drug business in LaPorte, and was the heaviest advertiser among the business men of the place. As a writer he was severe and merciless. He dealt in the most bitter sarcasm, the most cutting satire, the harshest invective; he was sharp and apt in controversy, and his expressions, though often more forcible than elegant, were well calcu- lated to cut an opponent to the quick. He after- wards became an editor on the Chicago Times and these qualities gained for him a wide repu- tation.

Joseph Lomax also was a fighter. He was once a law student under the instruction of Judge William P. Andrew. During the political cam- paign of 1840, the campaign of log cabins, barbe- cues and wild excitement, on Saturday, July 2, Hon. Henry S. Lane made a speech in LaPorte on the political issues of the times. In noticing this speech and the meeting where it was given, Mr. Lomax in the Herald made some statements of a personal nature which the LaPorte County Whig characterized as personal reflections upon the ladies who had been present. This so angered

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one of the prominent members of the Whig party that on the morning of the Fourth of July, while the audience was dispersing from listening to an oration, he attacked Mr. Lomax with a cane, and attempted to give him a caning and a public castigation for his alleged insult to the ladies who had been at the Lane speech the Saturday before. But Mr. Lomax quickly drew a knife and returned the attack with two thrusts of the weapon, and at this juncture the two men were separated by friends who interfered. Fortunately no serious physical injury was done, but the affair did not tend to allay the animosities of the political campaign, and it might easily have been far more serious even physically.

On Saturday, June 23, 1838, the first number of the LaPorte County Whig and Porter, Lake and Marshall Counties Advertiser was issued with J. M. Stuart and L. C. M'Kenney proprie- tors. Mr. Stuart did the editing. It was pub- lished in LaPorte, and as its name would indicate it was strongly Whig in its politics. After it had been published every Saturday for three months, M'Kenney retired and J. M. Stuart became sole editor and proprietor. In that issue-September 15, 1838, the editor said, "This number completes the first three months of the Whig, and during that time we have much reason to thank our friends for the liberal patronage we have received. Our subscription list has been swelled much be- yond our expectations, and our advertising col- umns display a good variety."

At about that time the Detroit Courier Jour- nal said of it,

"We have received the LaPorte County Whig and Porter, Lake and Marshall Counties Ad- vertiser, an uncompromising Whig paper just commenced at LaPorte, Indiana, by J. M. Stuart and L. C. M'Kenney. The columns, which are under the control of Mr. Stuart, bespeak for it a rare spirit of independence, which we are con- fident will have the desired effect on the political character of that state. The inspiring motto, 'Tis Rome demands our help,' graces the head of its columns."

And at about the same time the Huron, Ohio, Commercial Advertiser said of it,

"The 7th No. of a new paper entitled the LaPorte County Whig, printed at LaPorte, Indi- ana, has been received. It is edited by James M.

Stuart and is really a very handsome sheet. Hoosiers of LaPorte, it is your duty to support it-it is a good representative of the growing im- portance of your state and should it linger and die for want of support the people of old LaPorte must lack intelligence, that is certain."

J. M. Stuart remained as editor and proprietor of the Whig until about September, 1839. Some- time between August 10, 1839, and November 2, 1839, Captain A. P. Andrew obtained possession and control of the paper, and became its editor and manager. He continued in this capacity until July 29, 1840, when he advertised the plant for sale because he had removed to Michigan City. In his advertisement he claimed that the press was the best furnished one in northern Indiana, having cost $1,500 in New York three years be- fore, and that it would be an object for a practical printer to continue the business at the old stand. The subscription list of the Whig was then five hundred, which could be easily increased. J. M. Whittem was appointed A. P. Andrew's agent to settle with the patrons of the Whig. Mr. T. A. Stewart, afterwards one of the founders of the Chicago Tribune, succeeded Mr. Andrew as proprietor of the Whig. This was in July, 1840. Sometimes Mr. Stewart was editor as well as proprietor, and sometimes others did the editorial work. In March, 1842, the name of M. H. Orton appears as editor, one of the proprietors of the Herald of 1836. T. A. Stewart still possessed and controlled the paper in the latter part of 1843, but in 1845 John Millikan came into posses- sion of the paper, whose name appears alone on the sheet until May 8, 1847; and sometime be- tween that date and August 7, 1847, Mr. Millikan associated with himself his brother William.

William Millikan was the eldest son of John Millikan, a lieutenant in the war of 1812, and who died in the regular service in March, 1841. William was born on September 22, 1806, and was therefore ninety-seven years old last Septem- ber. In 1809 his father moved with his family to Delaware county, Ohio, where William was brought up. He learned the printer's trade in the Delaware Gasette office with Judge Ezra Gris- wold, and afterward purchased a half interest in the Gazette. At the end of his third year's con- nection with that paper he sold his interest to Judge Griswold, and immediately began the pub-

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lication of the Western Galaxy, at Marion, Ohio. He published that paper four years and then moved to South Bend, Indiana, and established the South Bend Free Press, and after a year was joined in the publication of that paper by his brother, John Millikan, purchasing John's interest a few years later. He was connected with that paper nine years, when he sold it to Schuyler Colfax, and in a few weeks purchased a half in- terest in the Kalamazoo (Michigan), Telegraph. Two years later he sold out and took a half in- terest with his brother in the LaPorte (Indiana), County Whig. He was induced in October, 1858, at Washington Court House to establish a Re- publican newspaper in a village then of but 400 inhabitants, but now one of the most beautiful little cities in Ohio, with a population of approxi- mately 8,000. He called his paper the Fayette County Herald, and it is now published daily and weekly.

Mr. Millikan was twice elected a member of the Indiana legislature from LaPorte county, and served one term as mayor of LaPorte. He was also a member of the Ohio legislature from Fay- ette county in the sixty-second and sixty-fourth general assemblies. It was he who, when a mem- ber of the Ohio house, presented and pushed through the legislature the present law regulating the rates for legal publications in newspapers. He knew what was fair and right to the publishers and worked hard to give them a law which would compensate them for their services.

Until stricken with paralysis Mr. Millikan made regularly daily trips to his newspaper office. Latterly he wrote his editorials at home and sent them to the office. For forty-five years he was at the head of this one paper, which for the past ten years has been published both as a daily and weekly. He has recently passed away and his son, W. W. Millikan, succeeds him in the busi- ness.

But to return to the LaPorte County papers, the issue of August 5. 1848, says, "With the present number we commence the eleventh volume of the LaPorte County Whig. We feel grateful for the generous support which has attended our efforts to serve the public," etc., etc. The names of W. and J. Millikan appear on the title page of the Whig for several years.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 41

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