A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 88

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 88

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

sons and two daughters, five of whom are living, as follows : Joseph, John R., James, George, and Martha, wife of Arthur Gilbert, of Pleasant Lake, Steuben county, Indiana. Both parents of these children were Methodists. Mr. Henry Weaver married for his second wife a Mrs. Abrams. Jacob Martin, the father of the first Mrs. Henry Weaver, was a native of New Jersey, and was one of the pioneer settlers of Galena township, La- Porte county, where he owned a fine farm, and was also justice of the peace for some years.

John R. Weaver was reared on his father's farm in Galena township, and attended the dis- trict schools there. On leaving the farm he went to railroading on the Lake Shore Railroad, first as a passenger brakeman and later as a freight brakeman. In 1878 he was appointed deputy sheriff of LaPorte county under F. D. Bowen, with whom he served four years, then for a simi- lar period with William Everhart, and for a year and a half with A. F. Earl. In 1888 he embarked in the livery business in Michigan City, and has successfully continued that business up to the present time. He has a good establishment, en- joys a fine patronage, and is popular with all classes of citizens. He is now serving as county commissioner, to which office he was elected in November, 1900, and is president of the board. He is a Democrat in politics, and served four years as deputy coroner. He has been efficient and upright in every capacity, whether in public or private life, and his citizenship partakes of the solidity and enterprise which have so much to do with the general welfare and progress.

On June 26, 1883, Mr. Weaver was married to Miss Anna Baldwin, a daughter of Joseph Baldwin. Mrs. Weaver was a teacher in the public schools before her marriage. The chil- dren of this marriage are Guy and Earl, and an adopted daughter, Catherine. Mrs. Weaver is a member of the Methodist church, and Mr. Weaver .. affiliates with the Elks, the Modern Samaritans and the Ben Hur societies.

JOHN M. ADAMS, a long-time resident on section 5, Dewey township, has spent his entire life since childhood in the southern part of La- Porte county, where he has made himself a name for integrity, honest dealings, industry and pros- perity as an advanced and progressive agricul- turist. Not many years ago this part of the coun- ty was thought to be waste and unprofitable land, but such men as Mr. Adams, who have had the foresight to anticipate the development of the land's fertility and the industry and perseverance

to ditch and tile and drain the marsh and swamp flats, have reaped a rich reward and to-day culti- vate as productive fields and harvest as big crops as any in northern Indiana. Mr. Adams has not only been prominent in this work of development and improvement of Dewey township's material resources, but has been at the front in many public affairs, has held various offices of trust, in the discharge of whose duties he has promoted education and other progress toward civic ideals, and altogether is a man whose substantial char- acter and worth as a citizen may be relied upon as the bulwarks of a community and a nation.

Orville Adams, his father, was a native of Litchfield county, Connecticut, and came to La- Porte county in 1868, locating on the place of which a part is the farm of Mr. John Adams. He remained on his farm until November, 1894, when he retired from a busy and successful career, and moved into Union Mills, where he died May 25, 1900, in his seventy-fifth year. He was one of the first settlers of Dewey township. He was a life-long Republican, and a member of the Presbyterian church at Union Mills. He mar- ried Amanda M. Hill, a native of Livingston county, New York, whence she moved to Litch- field county, Connecticut. She is still living in Union Mills. She was the mother of four sons and one daughter, the latter dying in infancy. H. M. is a resident of Union Mills ; George C. is a resident of Allegan county, Michigan ; and A. E. is a resident of Marshall county, Indiana.

John M. Adams was born at Lakeville, Litch- field county, Connecticut, July 28, 1858, and is .the third child and second son of his parents. He came to Dewey township, LaPorte county, at the age of ten, and was reared on the farm where he now resides. He was educated in the dis- trict school and at the school in Wanatah, James O'Brien being one of his teachers. After his marriage he began farming on a part of the home- stead, with a house of three rooms, but since then has built a fine residence, has ditched his land and placed numerous improvements on it, and his farm of two hundred and forty-five acres is one of the model places of the township. The original homestead comprised seven hundred acres.

November 4, 1883, Mr. Adams married Miss Viola Williams, a native of Porter county, Indi- ana, and the daughter of George and Angeline (Lambert) Williams, who came from Berrien county, Michigan, to Porter county about 1861. Mrs. Adams was reared in Porter county, re- ceiving her education in the schools there and in the normal at Valparaiso, and she taught school

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

in Porter county for several years before her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Adams have three sons, all at home and attending school at LaCrosse, as follows : John M., Jr., Arthur L. and Ralph C.

In the public life of the community Mr. Adams has performed his due share. He was trustee of the township from 1894 to 1900, and during his incumbency of this important local office the fine high school building was erected at LaCrosse costing forty-five hundred dollars, and his efforts had much to do with making the school one of the best in the county. He is a Republican in his political views, and fraternally is identified with the Knights of the Maccabees at Wanatah, Wanatah Tent No. 41, and he and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at LaCrosse.

WILLARD PLACE ALLEN, who has been prominently connected with business interests in LaPorte county and is now engaged in the super- vision of two extensive estates, is a representative in both the paternal and materal lines of old, dis- tinguished and honored pioneer families of north- ern Indiana. He was born in LaPorte, June 10, 1847, a son of James M. and Eliza J. (Place) Allen. His paternal grandfather, Israel Allen, came from England during the period of the Revolutionary war and settled in Pennsylvania, whence he afterward removed to Virginia.

The maternal grandfather was Colonel Willard Allen Place, who was born in the state of New York, of a well-to-do family. He ac- quired a good education, and in 1818 removed to Burlington, Ohio, ten miles from Cincinnati, where he learned the cabinet-maker's trade. While living there he was called out to do mili- tary duty and was elected captain of a light rifle company. Subsequently he was made major of the regiment that was organized by William Harrison, a son of General William Henry Harri- son, and afterward was promoted to the rank of colonel of this regiment. On the 20th of July, 1831, he started on an exploring trip to LaPorte county, Indiana, and decided to make this his future home. He then returned to Ohio and brought his family to this county in 1832, set- tling on section 18, Center township. In that year he aided in building the first log cabin in LaPorte, on the site of the present Lake Shore depot. For several years he successfully en- gaged in farming. In 1834 he was elected county commissioner, which office he held for many years, and in 1837 was elected associate judge, acting in that capacity for two years. In 1840

he was elected county treasurer and served for two terms, while in 1848-9 he was a member of the Indiana legislature. Thus in many offices he manifested his loyalty to the welfare of the public by his prompt and faithful discharge of the duties which devolved upon him. He became financially interested in the first railroads that were built through LaPorte county, and for some time was land agent for the Indianapolis, Peru & Chicago Railroad. In 1857, upon the organization of the State Bank of LaPorte, he was elected a director and later served for five years as its president. In 1843 he sold his farm property and removed to the city, remaining an active factor in its financial, business and political circles until his death. He always took an active part in the development of its industrial and financial inter- ests, and was also the president of the LaPorte County Agricultural Society and of the Gas Com- pany. A man of marked ability and strong force of character, he aided largely in the substantial development of his adopted county, and his efforts were of lasting benefit.

James M. Allen, the father of W. P. Allen, was born in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia, in 1813, and at the age of eighteen years left home and came to the west, going first to Chicago. After a short time, however, he came to LaPorte, in 1835, arriving about the same time as the Andrews family, who were among the pioneer settlers of the county. James M. Allen estab- lished a store and carried on merchandising un- til 1852, when he removed to one of the three farms which he had previously purchased and which became known as the Allen place. It is located in Center township and adjoins the city of LaPorte on the south. Here Mr. Allen lived until a few years prior to his death, which oc- curred September 15, 1893, in his home in La- Porte, for his last days were spent in the city. He was well known as a most capable and suc- cessful farmer, applying business principles to the management of his lands. Year by year he added to his possessions, and at the time of his death was a very wealthy man. He built the Allen block on Main street in LaPorte, in 1852, and through the control of his business affairs added largely to the development of the county. He was a man of fine breeding, of superior intelli- gence and of splendid appearance, and, in fact, was a high type of manhood. His wife, who was born in Ohio, came to LaPorte county at five years of age with her parents. Here she spent her remaining days, her death occurring at La- Porte, March 21, 1900.

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Willard P. Allen was five years old when his parents removed to the Allen farm south of the city, and there he was reared, attending the schools of LaPorte. After completing his educa- tion he accepted a position as bookkeeper and later became a teller in the State Bank. Subse- quently he turned his attention to the grocery business, in which he continued for a year or two, after which he resumed farming, locating on a tract of land north of town, given him by his father. There he conducted a successful dairy and stock business for a few years, and upon his return to the city he began dealing in men's furnishing goods, carrying on trade in that line for several years. About 1894 he retired from merchandising in order to look after his father's estate, and since his mother's death he has devoted most of his time to the supervision of his own property interests.

For the last few years he has also been en- gaged in settling up the estate of his uncle, Judge William Homer Allen, deceased, who left valu- able property in LaPorte county and in Helena, Montana. Judge Allen went to Montana in the days of the Virginia City gold excitement, in 1864, and in Last Chance gulch he took up one hundred and sixty acres of land upon which the city of Helena is now located, putting a two-wire fence around it. Later, however, on account of the mining laws, his holdings were reduced to forty acres. He was one of the most prominent figures there in pioneer days, when the vigilantes committee was an active factor in maintaining law and order. For years he was associated with the leading financiers and public men of the state, and his splendid character won him the respect of all. He was kind, just and generous, and at the same time conducted extensive and important business interests that won him great wealth. His death occurred in March, 1899.

In LaPorte, in 1870, Willard P. Allen was married to Miss Thomasine Person, a native of this county and a daughter of Hon. Samuel Per- son, a prominent early settler and at one time the president of the State Bank. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have a daughter, Harriet Crawford. In his political views Mr. Allen, like his father and grandfather, is a Democrat, stanch and con- servative, and as a citizen is deeply and actively interested in the welfare and growth of his na- tive city, contributing generously to many meas- ures for the public good. His business ability is manifest by his capable conduct of important in- vested interests, and in financial circles his name is an honored one, not alone because of his posses-

sions, but also because of the straightforward methods he always follows in commercial trans- . actions.

DR. GEORGE E. WASSER, D. D. S., den- tist at LaPorte, Indiana, and classed among the younger and energetic citizens of that thriving city, was born at Mercer, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1873, being the son of William and Catharine (Snyder) Wasser, both natives of Pennsylvania and still living there. Dr. Wasser had, at the be- ginning, the advantages of a good education. He was graduated from Washington College, Wash- ington, Pennsylvania, with the degree of Bachelor of Science on June 22, 1893. Three years later his alma mater conferred upon him the honorary degree of M. S. He followed out his aptitude for science when he came west, and entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago with the intention of becoming a physician. But after two years of study there he decided to take up the profession of dentistry. Accordingly he entered the Northwestern University School of Dentistry, and in 1896 was graduated with the degree of D .. D. S.

Dr. Wasser first opened his office in Pontiac, Illinois, and from there went to Paducah, Ken- tucky. In 1896 he took up his permanent loca- tion at LaPorte, Indiana, and from the first he took rank among the leaders of his profession, and has enjoyed a very large and increasing patronage from the public; in fact, his success is quite unprecedented in the city of LaPorte. His brother, Dr. A. S. Wasser, is now in partner- ship with him, under the name of Wasser & Wasser.

In 1897 Dr. Wasser was married in LaPorte to Miss Dollie Kramer, the daughter of a promi- nent wholesale merchant of the place. Dr. Was- ser's most important fraternal connection is with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which he is past exalted ruler, and during his incumbency of this office the fraternity had a phenomenal growth. The Elks lodge in LaPorte is representative of the best class of citizenship, and Dr. Wasser has done much to promote its influence and progress. He is also a prominent Mason ; is Master of Excelsior Lodge No. 41, and a member of Commandery No. 12, K. T .; and is Past Chancellor Commander of the Knights of Pythias.

Dr. Wasser is dentist and oral surgeon on the consulting staff of the Interlaken Sanatorium at LaPorte and is in other ways connected with the public life and the social progress of his city.

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LaPorte is rapidly advancing to a place of fore- most importance among the cities of northern Indiana, and among the enterprising younger element that has materially contributed to this result, within the last four years especially, the name of Dr. Wasser deserves particular mention.

ANDREW J. WESTERVELT, a retired farmer of LaPorte and a business man whose energy, capability and sound judgment have brought him affluence, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on the 18th of September, 1837, his parents being Abraham J. and Mary Freeman (Blakely) Westervelt. The family, as the name indicates, is of Holland descent, although many generations ago it was planted on American soil.

Abraham J. Westervelt was born in New York, near Poughkeepsie, and in early life learned the carpenter's trade. When a young man he removed to Brooklyn, and followed car- pentering in that place and in New York city. While in the Empire state he was one of the builders of the "Sailors Snug Harbor" on Staten island. In 1845 he left the Atlantic coast and came to LaPorte county. He purchased a tract of land in Scipio township, and was a successful and prosperous farmer throughout the remainder of his business career. In his earlier years he was noted for his proficiency in carpentering, and after following farming for some time, he re- tired from business cares and spent his last years in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former labor. On emigrating westward he landed at Michigan City, on the 5th of May, 1845, and by harvest time he had his house in Scipio township en- closed, doing nearly all the work himself. He lived an energetic, useful life, and was well and favorably known in LaPorte county. In 1868 he retired from his farm and made his home in the city of LaPorte until his death, which oc- curred March 11, 1888. His wife, who was born in New York city, was a member of the well known Freeman family of New Jersey. She was married to Mr. Westervelt in New York city, and died in La Porte, January 23, 1886.

Andrew J. Westervelt attended school in La- Porte, and later became a student in Racine College, of Racine, Wisconsin, while in a com- mercial college of Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, he prepared for the business world. He has had an interesting and varied career, and although num- bered among the pioneer people of LaPorte county and always active and interested in its affairs, he has also spent much time elsewhere. In 1861 he went to New York city, where he was

engaged in merchandising for some time, and later he became connected in an official capacity with the Pinkerton Detective Agency. He was one of the early associates of William A. Pinker- ton, and remained with the agency for several years. His experiences in that connection would form a most thrilling tale if written out fully and would prove the truth of the old adage that "truth is stranger than fiction." In the meantime, however, Mr. Westervelt retained his interests in farming in LaPorte county, and has spent much of his life in Scipio township upon a farm, con- ducting the home property after his father's removal to the city. There he remained until 1884, when he purchased a residence in LaPorte, where he has since made his home in comfortable retirement from active business cares, save the supervision of his investments. He has always been a successful money-maker, but is liberal almost to a fault and has given largely and gen- erously to religious and charitable objects. Among his benefactions was a donation of two thousand five hundred and twenty-five dollars to the Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago. His farm in Scipio township consists of one hundred and eighty-two acres of very fine land. He continued to manage this farm for several years after his removal to the city, but recently has rented the property. He has never married, and his home is shared by his sister, Mary I. Westervelt. She has always been an influential and earnest Christ- ian worker, and like her brother belongs to the Presbyterian church of LaPorte.

THOMAS J. GARWOOD, one of the pros- perous and highly esteemed citizens of New Dur- ham and Clinton townships, LaPorte county, as an energetic and progressive agriculturist has met with remarkable success, and is to-day the owner of a valuable property of six hundred and fifty acres of as fine farming land as is to be found in the county.

Mr. Garwood is the son of John and Jane (Garwood) Garwood, who, though of the same family name, were not related by blood. John Garwood was born in New Jersey in 1795, and his wife was born in Warren county, Ohio, April II, 1800, and her marriage took place in that state. Mr. John Garwood followed farming throughout his life, and his death occurred in LaPorte county in 1867. In his family were nine children, namely: Benjamin, who was born in 1819 and died in 1860: John, born in 1821 ; William, born in 1823: Mary and Elizabeth, twins, born June 24. 1827: Charlotte, who was

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born in April, 1830, and died in 1898; Thomas J .; Charles, who was born in 1836 and died in 1899; and James, born in 1839.

Thomas J. Garwood was born in Scipio town- ship, LaPorte county, April 11, 1833. He re- mained on the home farm during youth and ac- quired a general education in the schools of the neighborhood. After leaving school he com- menced farming in Scipio township, and in 1864 made his first purchase of land, a tract of eighty- eight acres. As years passed he steadily pros- pered in his farming operations, meeting with the success that usually follows the industrious and enterprising man, and he has added to his prop- erty till he now has six hundred and fifty acres.

January 31, 1866, Mr. Garwood was married at Westville to Miss Elizabeth Conlon, who was born in Ireland, April 17, 1847, and came to America in 1853 with her father's family, who located in LaPorte county. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Garwood, and the family circle is yet unbroken by the hand of death. Frank, a farmer of New Durham township, mar- ried Mrs. Fannie (Rose) Butterfield; William, also of New Durham township, married Miss Maggie Luce; Charles, of Westville, married Miss Myrtle Martin ; Thomas, who lives at home, married Miss Iva Brayton; Edward married Miss Nora Cathcart and resides in Clinton town- ship; Mary Edith and Robert, the youngest, are at home. All the children finished the eighth grade of school, and Edith studied music at the St. Rose Academy at LaPorte.

Mr. Garwood is a Jacksonian Democrat in politics, and his wife and daughter Edith are members of the Precious Blood Catholic church at Wanatah. They have one of the pretty homes of the township, and their many friends delight to frequent its hospitable threshold. As a public- spirited citizen Mr. Garwood gives his support to any movement for the good of the county or the benefit of the people, and he enjoys the confidence and respect of all with whom he comes in contact either in business or social life.

JOHN WALKER LUDLOW. The history of a state, as well as that of a nation, is chiefly the chronicles of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon society, whether in the broad sphere of public labors or in the more circumscribed but not less worthy and valuable realm of individual activity through which the public good is promoted. The name borne by the subject of this sketch is one which has stood exponent for the most sterling

personal characteristics, the deepest appreciation of the rights and privileges of citizenship in our great republic, and one which has been indis- solubly identified with the annals of LaPorte county from an early epoch in its history.

In 1830 John Walker, his maternal grand- father, and a native of Pennsylvania, came to this county, this being just one year after the first white settler had located here, and prior to the county's organization. As the years passed by he became the owner of extensive tracts of land in the central portion of LaPorte county, having at one time owned the land on which the eastern and southern portions of the city of LaPorte now stand, and his excellent business ability and in- defatigable labor secured for him a handsome competence. Several of his sons were also resi- dents of this locality, and as they all had numerous descendants the Walker family was at one time a large and influential one in LaPorte county, but in later years death has claimed many, and the family is now comparatively small.

Oliver P. Ludlow, the father of John W. Ludlow, was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, in 1814. His father, Stephen Ludlow, removed from New Jersey to Cincinnati, and assisted in the establishment of that city and labored earnestly for its promotion and welfare. His maternal uncle, Ogden Ross, was also prominent in the early history of Cincinnati. Oliver P. Ludlow was born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana. As early as 1840 he cast in his lot with the pioneers of LaPorte county where he en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, and he is now spending his declining years on his homestead adjoining LaPorte on the south, which has been his place of residence for a number of years and which was formerly the property of the above mentioned John Walker. In his earlier life Mr. Ludlow took an active interest in political matters as a member of the Whig party, and when the Republican party was organized he joined its ranks, having ever since remained true and loyal to its principles. At one time he served as chair- man of the LaPorte county Republican central committee. As a companion on the journey of life he chose Eliza Crawford Walker, who was born in Shelbyville, Indiana, a daughter of La- Porte county's worthy pioneer, John Walker. This union has been separated by the hand of death, for in 1872 the wife and mother was called to the home beyond. She exerted a broad and beneficial influence upon the community in which she made her home, and the highest tributes of love and respect were paid her.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 88

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