A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 67

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

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Of course the machines of fifty years ago were crude, unfinished and slow of opera- tion compared with the beautiful, powerful and rapid productions of to-day. The old- fashioned horsepower furnished the motive energy; this was also manufactured by the Rumely brothers. But one has only to see the immense plant and glance over their large annual devoted to the description of their various machines to understand how from these small beginnings great things grew. Among the ma- chines made by the company are several types of the modern traction engine, of utmost power consistent with smoothness of operation, ease of movement and general efficiency ; boilers, water tanks and other accessories to a modern threshing outfit ; and the new Rumely separator, with its band-cutter and self-feeder and wind-stacker, is one of the finest machines ever put on the market and one of the most popular among the farmers of the middle west. Many improvements and in- ventions, suggested by the experience and mechanical skill of the company, have made all parts of the different machines as nearly perfect in operation and clean and rapid handling of grain as twentieth century inventiveness can de- mand.

From the one small building in 1853 the M. Rumely Company plant was built up till several city blocks in the vicinity of the Lake Shore Railroad are now covered with foundry, machine shop, wood-working shops, boiler shops, ware- houses, offices, etc., all commodious brick struc- tures and equipped with everything need- ful for maintaining the reputation of the firm for first-class work. About two hun- dred and seventy-five men are employed, and many of these have been with the company since the days of their apprenticeship. It is especially pleasing to note, as throwing light on one of Mr. Rumely's chief characteristics, that no strikes or other troubles have ever marred the harmonious relations between the company and its employes. Mr. Rumely's kindness to and appreciation of his workmen were indicated by their fidelity to him, through all the years that he used their services, and by their many tributes of

affection at his death. Furthermore, these men are all home-owners and an important addition to LaPorte's citizenship, and in increasing their prosperity and promoting their welfare Meinrad Rumely contributed both wealth and substantial- ity to his adopted city.

The Rumely plant annually manufactures about three hundred threshing engines and out- fits, besides other varieties of industrial and agri- cultural machinery, and for the disposal of this output branch offices are located at Chicago; Fond du Lac, Wisconsin ; Logansport, Indianap- olis, Indiana; Toledo, Ohio; St. Louis, Kansas City, Missouri ; Cairo, Illinois ; Des Moines, Iowa; Lincoln, Nebraska ; Wichita, Kansas; and Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Meinrad Rumely, the late president and head of this monumental enterprise, was born in Adels- berg, near Zell, Baden, Germany, February 9, 1823, being a son of Joseph Rumely, a native of Baden and a farmer and weaver. Meinrad learned the millwright's trade in 'France; this trade included carpentering, cabinet-making, ma- chine. work, and in fact everything in connection with the construction of a mill. In 1848, when a young man of twenty-five and without capital, he came to America, and for a short time lived in Canton, Ohio, and was then employed in a machine shop in Massillon, Ohio. While here his brother John, who had come to this country in 1849 and was also a machinist joined him, and in 1853, after Meinrad had been in a machine shop in Piqua, Ohio, for about a year, the brothers came to LaPorte and made the beginning of the M. Rumely Com- pany. Meinrad Rumely thus lived to see the fiftieth anniversary of his successful enterprise and to enjoy the fruition of the hopes and plans of his youth.

Mr. Rumely was married April 19, 1855, at Canton, Ohio, to Miss Theresa Fierstoss, who was born in Markolsheim, France, January 9, 1835, and came to America with her parents, Frank J. and Mary E. Fierstoss, in 1844. This was a union blessed with all that was noble and good, and had the husband lived another year and twenty days they would have celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their happy marriage. Mrs. Rumely was faithful and devoted to her husband to the very last, ministering his last com- forts in the hours before death, and crowning her heart's great love in helpfulness. Of the nine children born of their marriage, eight, all of whom are an honor to their parents, survive. The four

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sons. William N., Joseph J., Aloysius J. and Meinrad C., are all residents of LaPorte,, and were, respectively, vice president and superin- tendent, secretary and treasurer, assistant super- intendent, and connected with the engine depart- ment, of the plant of which their father was president and general manager. The daughters of the family were: Clara, deceased; Anna, now Mrs. Mayle, of San Francisco; Mrs. Christena Kreidler, of LaPorte; Mrs. Otto Aichner, of Erie. Pennsylvania; and Mary, wife of John Wolf, of LaPorte. There are twenty-two grand- children.

Meinrad Rumely was a man of simple tastes, which are the marks of a great character. His daily work, his home and his religion marked the sphere of his activities. In the words of the Rev. Father Cavanaugh, "he was a model husband and father. He was not a club man, but a father who loved his home. A beautiful exemplification of his home life was the large and honorable family which gathered at the bedside to minister to him in his advanced age. Such devotion has its reward here."

Mr. Rumely was a deeply religious man. His devotion to his church was marked, while his charitable work was unostentatious. He was one of the few remaining charter members of St. Joseph's Catholic church, which was established in 1859. He was always liberal in his gifts to the parish, on one occasion presenting the church with a new bell. He was exceedingly regular in his attendance at divine services, seldom miss- ing mass no matter how stormy the day. He took an active part in the establishment of the Holy Family Hospital, an institution that has proved of great benefit to the injured and sick of LaPorte.

No enumeration of the countless ways in which Mr. Rumely assisted in the upbuilding of his city and community can be here attempted. He was always unselfish, and carried out the fixed ambition of his life to the lasting welfare of LaPorte. All public enterprises received en- couragement from him, and more than one factory has received contributions from him that it might locate at LaPorte. The worth of such of such a man as Mr. Rumely to LaPorte was of in- estimable advantage in the example he set of the domestic virtues, in his religious and business life, and in the great monument he erected for himself and the city through years of toil and of gratify- ing triumph.

JUDGE DANIEL NOYES is one of the distinguished members of the bar of northern Indiana. It is a well known fact that the peace,

prosperity and well-being of every community depend upon the wise interpretation of the laws, as well as upon their judicious framing, and there- fore the records of the various persons who have at different times made up the bar of LaPorte county cannot fail to prove of interest to the readers of this volume. In the American state the great and good lawyer must always be promi- nent, for he is one of the forces that move and control society. Public confidence has generally been reposed in the legal fraternity. It has ever been the defender of popular rights, the champion of freedom regulated by law, the firm support of good government. No political preferment, no mere place, can add to the power or increase the honor which belongs to the pure and educated lawyer. Judge Noyes is one who has been honored by and is an honor to the legal fraternity of northern Indiana. He stands to-day prominent among the leading members of the bar of this part of the state, a position he has attained through ability.

Judge Noyes is a native of Vermont, his birth having occurred at Poultney, that state, in 1830. His father, Moses Noyes, was a prominent lawyer who practiced in New York city prior to his removal to Vermont, where he died in 1832. He had married Clarissa Gay, a native of Connecticut, and her death occurred at the home of Judge Noyes, in LaPorte, only a few years ago. After the death of the husband and father the family removed to Seneca Falls, New York, where Judge Noyes acquired his early education. Later he attended Union College, at Schenectady, New York, where he was graduated with the class of 1848. On the completion of his literary course he took up the study of law in Auburn, New York, in the office of Clark & Underwood, well known legists there, and was admitted to the bar before the supreme court of New York, at Rochester, in 1851.

Believing that the west would offer a better field of labor, he sought a favorable location and after visiting several states decided upon La- Porte, Indiana, where he has lived continuously since, actively connected with the legal profession. In the fifties he was elected judge of the court of common pleas at LaPorte and in 1876 was elected judge of the thirty-second circuit, em- bracing LaPorte and St. Joseph counties. Twice he was re-elected, serving altogether for eighteen consecutive years. At the bar and on the bench he has won high encomiums and marked dis- tinction. A man of unimpeachable character, of strong intellectual endowments, with a thorough

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understanding of the law, patience, urbanity and industry, Judge Noyes took to the bench the very highest qualifications for this responsible office, and his record as a judge was in harmony with his record as a man and a lawyer, distinguished ` by unswerving integrity and a masterful grasp of every problem which presented itself for solu- tion. At the end of his third term he retired from the bench, and has since engaged in the practice of law, having a distinctively representative clien- tage.

In 1870, in Chicago, Illinois, was celebrated the marriage of Judge Noyes and Miss Julia A. Howell, and theirs is one of the hospitable homes of LaPorte. The Judge is a very prominent Mason, ranking with the leading representatives of the fraternity in the country. He was raised to the degree of a Master Mason in May, 1887, in Excelsior Lodge, at LaPorte. He took the chapter degrees in August of the same year and the council degrees in September, while in November, 1887, he became a Knight Templar in LaPorte Commandery No. 12. He received some of the Scottish Rite degrees in the same year, and later attained the thirty-second degree, and on the 18th of September, 1893, he received the degree of the Royal Order of Scotland in the congress of Masons which was held at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. His official career in Masonry began in 1888, when he was installed as worshipful master of Excelsior Lodge, in La- Porte. In 1889 he was re-elected and again in 1890. He later held various offices in the higher degrees represented in LaPorte, and on the 23d of May, 1893, was elected grand master of the grand lodge for the state of Indiana, serving for one term. He is a noted orator and authority on Masonic history, and for several years past his services have been largely in demand at Masonic gatherings, where he has addressed his brethren on many subjects of vital interest to the craft. He is a fluent, earnest and entertaining speaker, is a man of fine character, strong individuality and resolute purpose, and is greatly esteemed in La- Porte and throughout the state, where he has so long been a distinguished member of the legal fraternity.

SETH CRAFT is one of the most enter- prising and progressive agriculturists of Scipio township. Here he has spent his entire life, his birth occurring in LaPorte county on the 3d of April. 1865. His father, Henry Craft, was born in Pennsylvania, April 1, 1826, and through-

out his active business life followed farming with marked success, but is now living a retired life in the city of LaPorte, enjoying the fruits of former toil. In early manhood he married Miss Elizabeth Garwood, who was born in Ohio in 1826, and they became the parents of five chil- dren, as follows: John, who died in infancy; another, who died in infancy unnamed; Jennie, who was born in 1857; Seth ; and Thomas, who was born in 1863.

Seth Craft was reared to agricultural pur- suits upon the home farm and acquired his literary education in the district schools of the neighborhood. Since attaining to man's estate he has continued to follow the occupation of farming, and has resided at his present place since 1885. The old home farm consisted of two hundred and forty acres, which the father divided equally between his two sons for farming, Seth receiving one hundred and twenty acres, upon which he has made many improvements and which he keeps under a high state of culti- vation.

In 1886 Mr. Craft married Miss Fannie Andrews, who was also born in this county, July 1, 1864, and was educated in common schools and LaPorte high school. Her parents were Hiram H. and Lucy (Griffin) Andrews, who were married in LaPorte in 1850. Her father was born September 28, 1828, and is a railroad conductor on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. Her mother's birth occurred at Elkhart, Indiana, August 29, 1828. They had five children, namely : George, born October 27, 1851 ; May, who was born December 27, 1854, and was married in 1874 to D. F. Wagner, a rail- road engineer living in Elkhart; Mattie, who was born February 2, 1861, and died in January, 1869; Fannie, Mrs. Craft; and Hiram, Jr., born March 31, 1870.

By his ballot Mr. Craft supports the men and measures of the Democratic party. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church of Kingsbury, Indiana, take an active and prominent part in church work, and do all within their power to advance the interests of the community in which they live.

WILLIAM C. HUNSLEY. One of the representative farmers and highly esteemed citi- zens of Hanna township is William C. Hunsley, who was born within its borders on the 5th of August, 1864, and has made his home here uninterruptedly. His father, Thomas Hunsley, was a native of England, born in Lincolnshire,

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September 18, 1818, and there grew to man- hood. It was in 1846 that he emigrated to Amer- ica, and after spending three years in Buffalo, New York, he came to LaPorte county, Indiana, and bought a farm in Hanna township, which he at once began to improve and cultivate. He mar- ried Miss Thirzah Lawrence, who was born in Somersetshire, England, and they became the parents of seven children, as follows: Mary B., born July 3, 1855, is now the wife of Anson Canfield, of Wellsboro, this county; George W., born September 25, 1856, is a resident of Hanna, Indiana ; Betsy A., born December 2, 1858, makes her home in Union Mills, Indiana; Rosa V., born February 5, 1861, the wife of Henry Rosebaum, a farmer of Hanna township; William C. is the next in order of birth ; John J., born May 4, 1867, is a a resident of Hanna township; and Joseph L., born March 7, 1870, died in 1872.

William C. Hunsley is indebted to the public schools of this county for the educational ad- vantages he enjoyed during his youth, completing his education in the Hanna high school. Since laying aside his text books he has devoted his entire time and attention to agricultural pursuits, and in 1896 bought his present farm in Hanna township. Good and substantial buildings are surrounded by well tilled fields, and everything about the place denotes the thrift and enterprise of the owner.

On the 12th of November, 1892, Mr. Hunsley was married in LaPorte to Miss Eveline Pike, who was born in Hanna township, July 18, 1872. Two children bless this union, their names and dates of birth being as follows : Ada A., October 25, 1893; and William John, September 29, 1895. William J. Pike, the father of Mrs. Hunsley, was born in Michigan, December 30, 1841, and now makes his home in Donaldson, Marshall county, this state. By occupation he is a farmer. His wife bore the maiden name of Caroline Ben- nett, and was born at Union Mills, this county, on the 24th of December, 1852.

TIMOTHY WEED is a retired farmer now living in Westville, and his rest from labor is the fitting reward of his long life of activity in con- nection with agricultural pursuits. Through long years he has resided in LaPorte county and has witnessed much of its growth and develop- ment. He was born in Schoharie county, New York, September 13, 1828, and traces his ances- try back to England and Wales. He was the third in a family of six children, five sons and a daughter, born to Henry and Catherine (Borst)

Weed. Three of these are now living, the brothers of Mr. Weed being Benjamin, a resi- dent of Alexandria, Indiana ; and Chancellor, of Lafayette, Indiana, who was for three years a soldier of the Civil war and is now a mechanic.

Henry Weed was a native of Connecticut, born about 1798, and his death occurred in 1870. He was a shoemaker by trade and followed that pursuit in his early manhood, but afterward turned turned his attention to farming. He be- came a man of independent means, and for a number of years resided in New York, after which he resolved to seek a home in what was then the far west. Making the journey with wagon and team to Buffalo, he there sailed for Toledo, Ohio, and thence came to LaPorte county, arriving in 1838, when the work of improvement and progress had scarcely been begun here. He purchased eighty acres of partially improved land and erected thereon his first home in Indi- ana. Westville had not then been founded. The township of New Durham was named by Mrs. Benedict, a native of New York, the Benedicts being the first settlers within its borders. With marked energy Henry Weed began to improve his land, and in course of time developed a valu- able property. In early life he was a Jackson Democrat, but afterward became an ardent Re- publican. Both he and his wife held member- ship in the Methodist church. The latter was born in New York in 1807 and died March 27, 1880. She was of German descent.

Timothy Weed was only ten years of age when he came with his parents to LaPorte county, where he has since resided with the ex- ception of a period of five years spent in Illinois and California. He was educated in the schools of New York and Indiana, and was a student in one of the typical schools of the frontier where instruction was largely in the "three R's"- readin', 'ritin' and 'rithmetic. The schoolhouse was built of logs and furnished with slab seats and a fireplace. In his minority he largely as- sisted in the development and operation of the old home farm, and when he started out for himself at the age of twenty-one years he had not a dollar of his own, so he had to begin empty- handed. All that he now possesses has been ac- cumulated through his earnest labor and unre- mitting diligence. He spent twenty-two years of his life in the undertaking business in Westville and was very successful.

Mr. Weed was united in marriage to Miss Hannah J. Crumpacker, on the 19th of May, 1851, and they began their domestic life on a farm

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where the country was new and unimproved.

For nearly ten years Mr. Weed operated a rented farm and then purchased a tract of land. At a later date he sold this and bought another farm, and each time he has bought and sold he has profited by the transaction. He is now the owner of two hundred and twenty-eight acres, of which one hundred and seventy-nine acres lies in Porter county and forty-nine acres adjoins the corporation limits of Westville.

To Mr. and Mrs. Weed were born two sons and a daughter, but only one is now living : Daniel West, who is one of the enterprising merchants of Westville, Indiana. Amenzo, the eldest, died at the age of thirteen years, and Bettie died at the age of four and one-half years. Daniel was born September 1, 1866, completed the course of study in the Westville high school and then attended the Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana, where he took up a scientific course and also the study of law. He is also a telegrapher and was at Blue Island, Illinois, for about ten years as station agent and telegraph operator. He was married January 26, 1901, to Miss Martha Walton, who was educated in the College of Music in Chicago and is a most ac- complished lady. She has been a teacher of both vocal and instrumental music. Daniel W. Weed is a leading young Republican of the county and is very prominent in Masonic circles, having at- tained the Knights Templar degree. He is a member of Calumet Lodge No. 716, A. F. & A. M., Calumet Chapter No. 203, R. A. M., Im- perial Council No. 85, R. & S. M., and St. Bernard Commandery No. 35, Knights Templar, of the city of Chicago. He and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star at Westville, Indiana.

Mrs. Timothy Weed, was born in Union county, Indiana, November 25, 1832, a daughter of Owen and Hannah (Woodford) Crumpacker, in whose family there were nine children, six sons and three daughters. Only three, however, are now living: John, a resident of Oklahoma, is a large landowner and is now eighty-three years of age. Theophilus is a retired farmer liv- ing in Valparaiso, Indiana, and has represented his district in the state legislature. Mrs. Weed was only two years old when brought by her parents to LaPorte county, her family being one of the oldest and most prominent in this part of the state. They located near the city of LaPorte, but afterward sold that property and went to Porter county, but subsequently returned to this county. Her ancestry can be traced back

to Germany, although her immediate ancestors were residents of Virginia. Her father, who was born in 1783, died in 1848. He was a member of the Baptist church, while his wife held mem- bership with the Methodist church.

In 1861 Mr. and Mrs. Weed removed to Kankakee, Illinois, where they spent four years, and in 1865 went to California, but after a short period passed in the latter state they returned to Illinois, on account of Mrs. Weed's health. They have long been residents of this county, and are held in the warmest regard by all who know them. Mr. Weed is now an ardent Republican, but cast his first presidential vote for Franklin Pierce. He has never sought or desired office, but has always been faithful to the principles in which he believes. Fraternally he is a member of West- ville Lodge No. 136, I. O. O. F., and his wife is connected with the Rebekah Lodge No. 183. She also belongs to the Baptist church. They are now living retired in a comfortable home in Westville, respected and honored by many friends.

ABRAHAM TEEGARDEN, M. D., during whose long period of residence and identification with LaPorte county, Indiana, he did so much for the community's progress and to make his own name to be remembered for many generations to come, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, Sep- tember 29, 1813, the son of William and Susanna (Rofelty) Teegarden, both of German descent and natives respectively of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and listed among the pioneers of the state of Ohio, having settled there in 1804.

Their son Abraham passed his early years on the farm, and he had to work hard for the educational advantages which he ulti- mately enjoyed. He was one of five broth- ers who became physicians, and he got his first professional knowledge of· medi- cine in the office of his brother, Dr. Eli, at Mans- field, Ohio. He afterward attended medical lec- tures at Washington College, Ohio, and graduated at the Cincinnati Medical College in 1837. He decided to move west for a field of labor, and in the year of his graduation took up his. residence in LaPorte county, Indiana, and began active practice, so that he was identified with the growth of the county from almost its incipiency till it became one of the most flourishing of the coun- ties of this great state.

Dr. Teegarden's fine ability and worth of char- acter soon brought him into a position of promi- nence with the people, and during the remainder

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 67

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