A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 79

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 79

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In 1889 he was eleced mayor of Michigan City on the Democratic ticket, to which he was re- elected in 1891 without opposition. While in that office he inaugurated a system of public improve- ments such as had never before been thought of. Streets were paved, sewers constructed, the harbor bridged and a public park created on the shores of Lake Michigan, these steps being taken, however, over the protests of many citizens who thought the town not ripe for such metropolitan progress and who feared that property would be too heav- ily burdened with consequent taxation. All this opposition fell upon the mayor, and in addition to this there was an open rupture in the Democratic party over a local issue, so that when Mr. Krueger was again nominated in 1894 the discontented ele- ment, together with one faction of the Democratic party, joined with the Republicans and defeated him, by a small margin. Four years, however,

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MR. AND MRS. SAMUEL BERRIDGE.

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

were enough to convince the people of Michigan City that a mistake had been made, and in 1898 he was again chosen as mayor by a majority of nearly eight hundred.

He served as chairman of the Democratic congressional convention for the tenth Indiana district in 1896, and after the convention had bal- loted many times without a choice his name was announced and he was nominated. The district was overwhelmingly Republican, but he deemed it his duty to accept and assist in keeping up the organization of his party. He succeeded in greatly reducing the opposition majority, but was of course defeated, carrying two counties in the district, however, that had gone Republican in the preceding elections, including his own. For twe've years he was a member and secretary of the Michigan City school board, but resigned in September, 1898. In 1898 he organized the Lake Michigan Water Company, which built the pres- ent system of waterworks in Michigan City, be- ing its present secretary and treasurer. In 1902 he was again made the mayor of this city, in which position he will have served for eleven and one-half years when his present term expires.

Mr. Krueger was married, in 1879, to Miss Rose Renspies, of Michigan City, and they have three children,-Thomas H., Edward S. and Helen M. The family reside at 1221 Michigan street in a beautiful brick residence erected in 1888.

SAMUEL BERRIDGE. This well known and highly esteemed citizen of Noble township is a self-made man who through his own well directed efforts and the assistance of his estim- able wife, has succeeded in acquiring a good home and competence. His early home was on the other side of the Atlantic, for he was born in Owesby, England, on the 5th of August, 1838, a son of William and Jane (Needham) Berridge, who were life-long residents of that country. His father was born in 1805, and died in Scipio town- ship, LaPorte county, March 3, 1873. His wife was born in 1811, and died in Noble township, August 3, 1858. In their family were the fol- lowing children : Mary Ann, George, Eliza, Sam- uel, John, James William and Betsey.

Samuel Berridge began his education in the schools of his native land, and after coming to this country continued his studies at Union Mills, Indiana, for a time. It was in 1855 that he emi- grated to America, and on landing in this coun- try he came at once to LaPorte county, Indiana, where he has since made his home. For some time he worked as a farm hand, and in 1860 com-

menced farming on his own account on rented land. He made his first purchase in 1886, when he bought an eighty-acre tract in section 16, Noble township, to which he has since added forty acres in section 15, making a good farm of one hundred and twenty acres. He has placed the land under excellent cultivation and has made many improvements which add greatly to the value and attractive appearance of the place. He is a good practical farmer, and well deserves the success that has crowned his efforts.

On the 15th of October, 1859, at LaPorte, Mr. Berridge was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Hockney, also a native of England, who was born in Messingham, Lincolnshire, July 20, 1840, and came to the United States on the 2nd of July, 1853, with her parents, William and Martha (Burrel) Hockney. Her father was born in Eng- land in 1805, and died in Union Mills, Indiana, March 9, 1891. Her mother, who was born in Scotter, England, in 1809, is still living at the ex- treme old age of ninety-four years. She is a daughter of Thomas and Ann Lillie Burrel. The latter was born in 1762 and died May 29, 1877.

Mr. and Mrs. Berridge have two children. Joseph Priestly, the elder, was born September 9, 1860, and now assists his father in the operation of the home farm. He completed the common school course and also was a student two years in the LaPorte high school. Harriet Emily, born March 1, 1863, is the wife of H. Z. Johnson, now living in Boise City, Idaho, a prominent lawyer, and they have two children, Kendrick and Kat- rena. She graduated in the class of 1881 in the LaPorte high school and she taught three years in the city schools of LaPorte and three years in the Austin public schools, of Austin, Illinois. She was a student of Michigan University of Ann Arbor, Michigan, for three years. She was a most successful teacher.

In his political views, Mr. Berridge is a stal- wart Democrat, and he takes an active and com- mendable interest in public affairs. He and his wife are widely and favorably known in the coun- ty where they have so long made their home, and they have a host of warm friends who esteem them highly for their sterling worth.

GEORGE F. SEYMOUR. Occupying an enviable position in business circles, George Fred- erick Seymour is honored and respected by all, not alone on account of the success he has achieved, but also by reason of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever fol- lowed. It is true that he entered upon a business

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already established, but in conducting this and tained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish enlarging its scope many a man of less resolute purpose and of limited business sagacity would have failed, but Mr. Seymour has so directed his efforts that his business interests have grown apace with the progress which dominates the cen- tral west. Connected with real estate, finance and insurance, he is well known in LaPorte.

Mr. Seymour is a native son of this city, his birth having occurred in the house in which he now lives, in 1864. The ancestral history of the Seymour family is a long and interesting one, for it can be traced back to the time of William the Conqueror, and is represented by such distin- guished personages as Lady Jane Seymour and the earls of Yarmouth. The founder of the fam- ily in America settled on the Connecticut river in 1632, and the Seymour farm there is still in pos- session of representatives of the name. There were three families, and Mr. Seymour traces his lineage back to the one that lived in Norwalk, Connecticut.

George S. Seymour, his father, was born in Connecticut, in 1823, and came to the west in 1840, first locating in LaPorte, where he arrived with only five dollars. He had a desire to see Chicago, and after remaining in this city for but a short time he started to walk to the Illinois me- tropolis, but during the latter part of the journey obtained a ride in a peddler's cart. In the office of the clerk of Cook county he obtained a position, and among his other duties was that of taking a school census of Chicago when that city contained a population of only thirteen thousand.

In 1850 Mr. George S. Seymour returned to LaPorte for his bride, and wedded Miss Lydia Cummins Webster, the marriage taking place at une home of Colonel Hathaway, a noted man of that day and afterward a distinguished soldier of the Civil war. Mrs. George S. Seymour is a native of New Hampshire, and belonged to the Webster family of which Daniel Webster was a representative. George S. Seymour was a law- yer by profession, but after 1858 devoted most of his time to the real estate, loan and insurance bus- iness, establishing a business which has been con- tinued since that date. When he went to La- Porte for his bride he had intended to return to Chicago, but, changing his plans, he remained in the former city and became prominent in its bus- iness circles. He wrote for the Home Insurance Company its first five insurance policies issued at LaPorte, and this company is still represented by the office now conducted by George F. Seymour. Mr. G. S. Seymour was a prominent Mason, at-

Rite and assisted in establishing many of the commanderies in this part of the state. In his political views he was a Democrat, but never as- pired to office. He died at LaPorte in 1893, at the age of seventy years, and thus passed away a prominent and influential citizen, who stood as a high type of our sterling American manhood. His widow still survives him and is now living in Chicago.

This worthy couple had every reason to be proud of their sons, who became leading and suc- cessful business men. George F. Seymour has three brothers : Professor Paul H. Seymour, who is now with the Goldsmith Brothers, assayers of Chicago, is a graduate of Ann Arbor University, of Michigan, and he spent a year in studying chemistry and allied sciences in Germany. He afterward became professor of chemistry in the Detroit high school and later in the Lake Forest University, near Chicago. He has also prepared for the Smithsonian Institute of Washington, D. C., some valuable monographs on chemical sub- jects, on which he has become a recognized au- thority. Walter W. Seymour had charge for ten years of the draughting department of the American Bridge Company, of Chicago, but now with the Frederick Post Company of that city. Arthur W. Seymour, of South Bend, Indiana, has charge of the extensive lumber department of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company at that place.

The fourth brother of the family is George F. Seymour, who acquired his preliminary education in LaPorte, and after completing the high school course here he spent one year as a student in the Northwestern University, at Evanston, Illinois. From 1883 until 1887 he held a position in the Merchants' National Bank of Chicago, after which he turned his attention to the life insurance business, traveling throughout Illinois and Indi- ana for two years. He then settled in Indian- apolis, where he continued in the insurance busi- ness until his father's death in 1893, when he re- turned to LaPorte, where he has since conducted the business that is yet carried on under the firm style of G. S. Seymour & Sons. He has made a close study of the insurance business, and thor- oughly understands its work in every `depart- ment, comprising as it does multitudinous details. He is also operating in real estate and loans, and his clientage is extensive and of an important character.

Mr. Seymour was married in Indianapolis, in 1893, to Miss Lucy H. Jacobs, a daughter of

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C. P. Jacobs, a patent attorney of that city. They have two daughters, Helen and Ruth. In La- Porte they have gained many friends and enjoy the hospitality of the best homes of the city. Mr. Seymour is a member of the Business Men's Club, of which he was the treasurer for one year, and he is also a member and was formerly an officer of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks. He belongs to the local board of fire underwriters and the National As- sociation of Local Fire Insurance Agents, and is well known in insurance circles as one of the prominent and prosperous representatives of the business, while his genial, cordial nature and def- erence for the opinions of others have made him popular with all with whom he comes in contact.

SIDNEY BEATTY, who is occupying the position of bookkeeper with the firm of Winter- botham & Sons, contractors of provision cooper- age in Michigan City, was born in LaPorte, In- diana, on the 13th of March, 1842, and is a worthy and well known representative of an hon- ored pioneer family. His paternal grandfather, Dempster Beatty, was a native of Ireland, and on crossing the Atlantic to the new world became a resident of Ohio, where he remained until his re- moval to LaPorte county, Indiana. He cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers here, for at the time of his arrival this country was situated upon the frontier and the work of improvement and progress had scarcely been begun. Much of the land was still wild and uncultivated, and many of the now thriving towns and cities had not yet sprung into existence. Mr. Dempster Beatty was a cabinet-maker by trade and followed that pur- suit in his own home, making many articles of furniture for the pioneer households. His death occurred when he had reached the advanced age of seventy-one years.

John Beatty, the father of Sidney Beatty, was born in Ohio and became a farmer by occupation, residing at Beatty's Corners in Cool Spring town- ship, LaPorte county. He arrived in this county in the winter of 1832-3 and began the develop- ment of a farm, transforming the tract of wild land into richly cultivated fields. For many years he continued to engage in agricultural pursuits there, and his farm became a very valuable and attractive one. He resided thereon until within five years of his death, when he retired from ag- ricultural life, spending his last days in Kos- ciusko county, Indiana, where he passed away on the 5th of July, 1885, at the age of seventy-one

years and three months. He was familiar with the pioneer history of the middle west and was a participant in the Black Hawk war. Indians still visited this part of the country at the time of his arrival, and there was much wild game, but as the years passed great changes were wrought, and Mr. Beatty always took a great pride in what was accomplished here and assisted in a material way in the development and improvement of this . part of the state. He served for many years as a justice of the peace, and his decisions were strictly fair and impartial. He was also township libra- rian. He was an adherent of Democratic prin- ciples up to the time of President Buchanan's ad- ministration, when he joined the ranks of the newly organized Republican party and continued to follow its banners until his death. As a. com- panion and helpmate for life's journey, Mr. John Beatty chose Miss Sarah Bosley, also a native of Ohio, and their marriage was blessed with three children : Sidney ; John A., who died June 10, 1863, at the age of seventeen years; and Sarah E., who died in early childhood. The mother was called to her final rest May 13, 1864, when fifty-three years of age. Both Mr. and Mrs. John Beatty were devoted members of the Baptist church, and their lives were in consistent harmony with their professions.

Sidney Beatty was reared as a farm boy. In retrospect one can see him as he performed the minor duties upon the farm in early boyhood and attended the district schools. He continued his studies until he had largely mastered the common branches of English learning, and while not en- gaged with the duties of the schoolroom he was busy in field or meadow, aiding his father in the development of the home farm and the care of grain and stock. He followed farming and lum- bering until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when, his patriotic spirit being aroused in the at- tempt of the south to overthrow the Union, he enlisted on the 4th of August, 1862, as a member of Company K, Seventy-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered in on the 16th of the same month at Louisville, Kentucky, and was mustered out on the Ist of July, 1865, after al- most three years of service, reaching home on the 9th of August, a victor as well as a veteran. He participated in the siege of Decatur, Alabama, and the battles of Perryville and Walnut Grove, Ken- tucky, and was ever a follower of the old flag and the cause it represented. Being an excellent penman, he was detailed to act as report clerk in the adjutant general's office, and served in that

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capacity for eighteen months, remaining with General Granger until mustered out of the service.

After his return home Mr. Beatty was unable to do any great amount of work for four or five years on account of the effects of a sunstroke which he sustained while in the army. He be- came a constable and deputy collector for the county treasurer, and served from 1865 until 1869, when he accepted the office of guard in the state prison, remaining there until 1876. In the latter year he began working convicts in the yard, and received and shipped goods. On the 6th of November, 1886, he accepted his present position as bookkeeper with the firm of Winterbotham & Sons, and has remained in this capacity continu- ously since, covering a period of seventeen con- secutive years in the office, having entered the employ of the firm, however, in 1876.

On the 10th of August, 1862, Mr. Beatty was united in marriage to Miss Eliza J. Burnham, and to them were born four children : John B., who is a guard at the prison and wedded Mary Ritter, by whom he has three children, Earl, Daisy and Ralph ; Carrie E., the wife of Fred C. Johnson, by whom she has one son, Arthur ; Emma May, who died at the age of fourteen years; and one that died in infancy. The mother of these children passed away in September, 1873, at the age of thirty-two years. She was a member of the Methodist church and was an estimable woman. Many excellent traits of heart and mind endeared her to those with whom she came in contact.

On the 30th of May, 1876, Mr. Beatty was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth R. Andrews, a daughter of John and Lucina T. (Smith) An- drews. To them were born five children, but two of the number died in infancy; Myrtle T., the eldest, is now the wife of William Porter, a resi- dent of Montgomery, Michigan; and Elmer D. and Pearl E., are at home. The family occupy a pleasant residence at 619 Willard avenue, where they have remained for the past twenty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Beatty attend the Congregational church, and he belongs to Michigan City Lodge No. 265, I. O. O. F., to the Royal Arcanum and to George V. Rawson Post No. 46, G. A. R. In politics he is an earnest Republican. No higher testimonial of his efficiency and helpfulness in business could be given than the fact that he has been retained in his present position for almost two decades. In matters of citizenship he is as true and loyal to his country as when he followed the old flag upon southern battlefields of the south.

CALEB HARVEY. Death often calls from our midst those whom we can ill afford to lose, and when it claimed Caleb Harvey the community mourned the loss of a representative citizen, widely and favorably known in agricultural com- munities. He resided upon section 26, Kankakee township, where for many years he had carried on general farming. He is one of Indiana's na- tive sons, his birth occurring in this state at a very early period in its pioneer development. He first opened his eyes to the light of day in Wayne county on the 22d of November, 1827, his parents being John and Christina (Hunt) Harvey, who later became pioneer residents of LaPorte county, Caleb Harvey being but eight years of age at the time of their arrival here.

The family home was established in Kanka- kee township, and he attended the common schools of the neighborhood through the winter months, while in the summer seasons he worked in the fields and assisted in the operation of the farm upon which he was reared and upon which his widow now resides. He always gave his time and energies to the cultivation of the soil and to the raising of stock, and after arriving at years of maturity he carried forward his farm work in such a capable manner that he annually harvested good crops. He took great pride in keeping his farm in excellent condition, and it was a most attractive feature of the landscape, being neat and thrifty in all departments. As an agriculturist he won very desirable and gratifying success.

In 1874 Mr. Harvey was united in marriage to Miss Margaret C. Sleight, who was born in Ulster county, New York, September 22, 1835, a daughter of Adam and Jane (Burger) Sleight, who were natives of New York. They came to LaPorte county in 1844 and settled in Kankakee township. The work of progress and improve- ment here had not been carried forward many years, and Mr. Sleight therefore became a parti- cipant in the work that led to later development and upbuilding. Mrs. Harvey was the eldest daughter in a family of seven children, and was a maiden of nine summers when she came to this portion of the state. Her education was acquired in the public schools, and on the 11th of Novem- ber, 1874, she gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Harvey. Both had been reared in Kankakee township, and were known people and representa- tive citizens of the community.

Mr. Harvey was reared in the faith of the Society of Friends or Quakers, and he molded his life by the most commendable principles, in-

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tegrity and fidelity characterizing his conduct at all times. He gave a strong support to the Re- publican party, took an active part in politics and public affairs, and was ever generous in his contributions to benevolent causes and to church and public schools. He died September 26, 1901, and the work which he had done for LaPorte county made his death deeply mourned through- out this portion of the state. He had endeared himself to many friends, and his memory is yet cherished by those who knew him. Mrs. Harvey now owns a farm of three hundred and eighty acres, to the supervision of which she devotes her energies. She, too, is well known in the county and like her husband is deserving of prom- inent mention in this volume.

JOHN RILEY, whose capacity and efficient service have won him the important and respon- sible position of superintendent of the LaPorte Woolen Mills, at LaPorte, Indiana, was born in Bradford, England, a son of Owen and Mary (Bowen) Riley. His father was a native of Ireland, and in early life engaged in the opera- tion of a hand loom in the weaving of cloth, but wishing to extend the field of his operations he removed to Bradford, England, the great center of the woolen and worsted manufacturing indus- try, becoming a manufacturer in those lines. There he spent his remaining days, active in his chosen field of labor until called to his final rest in 1880. His widow, who was also born in Ire- land, still survives him and yet makes her home in Bradford.

It was in the schools of his native city that John Riley acquired his education, and when he had put aside his text-books he entered upon his business career in the woolen mills, learning the business to which his father had ever devoted his energies. His ambition was to become an expert workman, and this led him to investigate and study woolen-mill construction, operation and management, not only in England but also on the continent. His knowledge became very broad anil thorough, and thinking to utilize it in the business fields of the new world, he crossed the Atlantic in 1886 and established his home in Phil- adelphia, where he embarked in business as a man- ufacturer of woolen goods. He conducted his en- terprise successfully until 1890, when he sold out to the Canton Mill Company, and for eight years managed the business for the company, after which he became connected with the Ed- ward Mills in Philadelphia, which city remained his home until 1901, when he came to LaPorte to

superintend the construction and install the machinery in the new plant of the Laporte Woolen Mills Company, owned by Samuel Fox's Sons. He was retained as superintendent of the mills, and under his guidance the business has since been conducted. He is an expert in the manufacture of fine woolens and worsteds, being familiar with the business in all its departments and in both principle and detail. He was selected for his present position by reason of his skill in management and his ability to maintain a high standard in the quality of the manufactured product.

Mr. Riley was married in Bradford, England, to Miss Mary McNulta, and they have six chil- dren : Mary, Margaret, Katharine, Agnes, Ther- esa and Sarah. Although residents of LaPorte for but a brief period, the family have already won many friends here, and Mr. Riley has gained for himself an excellent position in business cir- cles as a representative of the manufacturing in- terests of the city.

JOHN A. WANBAUGH, a dealer in grain and seeds at Rolling Prairie, and also to some ex- tent in real estate, is a native of Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, his birth having occurred on the 2d of October, 1856. The family was estab- lished in the Buckeye state in pioneer days by his grandfather, who was a farmer by occupation. He married a Miss Forbes, who was a member of the historic family. of that name.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 79

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