A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 99

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

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His life has been an extremely busy and active one and has been most useful. He has attained success which few men of his age have accom- plished. Opposition has never been to him a source of discouragement, but rather an impetus for renewed effort, and while he has won success he has at the same time gained his possessions so honorably, has used his means so worthily, that the most envious cannot grudge him his success. No adequate history of him can be written until many of the useful enterprises with which he has been connected have completed their full measure of good in the world, and until his personal in- fluence and example have ceased their fruitage in lives of those with whom he has been asso- ciated, and yet there is much that can with profit be set down here as an illustration of what can be attained if a man with a clear brain and will- ing hands but sets himself seriously to the real labors and responsibilities of life.

HUBERT W. WILSON, M. D. For eleven years Dr. Hubert W. Wilson has been engaged in the practice of medicine in Michigan City. and although yet a young man has gained a po- sition in the profession which many an older practitioner might well envy. He located here a young man without experience, being just from college, but has steadily advanced and is now en- joying a profitable patronage.

He was born in LaPorte, July 19, 1870 and is a son of Hardy and Mary (Whorwell) Wilson, the former a native of England and the latter of

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New Jersey. The paternal grandfather, Brockett Wilson, was also a native of England and came to the United States about 1848, but died a few days after his arrival in this country. His widow afterward located in Michigan City, but subse- quently married again and removed to LaPorte. It was' in the latter city that her son, Hardy Wil- son, was reared to manhood, acquiring his edu- cation in the public schools and afterward learn- ing the carriage-making trade, which he followed in his young manhood. He afterward became foreman of the Michael Fanning Mill Company, at LaPorte, and continued to act in that capacity for seventeen years, one of the most trusted em- ployes ever connected with the works. He was but six years of age when he became a resident of LaPorte, and he remained there until 1898, when he came to Michigan City, where he is now liv- ing retired, having well earned rest from further labor. He married Miss Mary Whorwell, a daughter of John Whorwell, who was also born in England. On seeking a home in the United States he settled in New Jersey. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Gardner, and by their marriage they became the parents of six or seven children. Coming to Indiana, Mr. Whorwell died in LaPorte at the age of seventy-six years. To Mr. and Mrs. Hardy Wilson have been born eight children, four sons and four daughters, of whom six are now living, as follows: Hubert W .; Alice, the wife of Fred C. Pritchard, of Charleston, West Virginia ; Leroy A., a practic- ing physician of Michigan City ; William P., May and Henry W., all of this place.

The boyhood days of Dr. Hubert W. Wilson were not particularly eventful. He spent his youth much as other boys of the period, the duties of the schoolroom and the pleasures of the playground largely claiming his attention. He was graduated on the completion of the high school course with the class of 1887, and then went to Tennessee, where he remained for several years, during which time he learned the trade of basket-making. While thus engaged he devoted his leisure hours to the study of medicine, and later entered the medical department of the Uni- versity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in 1892. Thus carefully prepared for his chosen calling, he came to Michigan City, where he has since engaged in practice, making gratifying advance as the years have gone by and his skill and efficiency increased. He is surgeon for the Michigan Central and Lake Erie & Western railroad companies, and in addition has a large private practice.

On the 17th of May, 1893, Dr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Lenna M. Buck, a daughter of James H. and Celia (Oder) Buck. They now have one daughter, Margaret. Dr. and Mrs. Wilson are prominent and active mem- bers of the Presbyterian church, and he is now serving as one of its elders. His fraternal rela- tions connect him with Acme Lodge No. 83, F. & A. M., Michigan City Chapter, No. 25, R. A. M., and he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Indianapolis Consistory, S. P. R. S. He is likewise a member of Michigan City Lodge No. 265, I. O. O. F. and is an honored representative of the Knights of the Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen of America, and is medical examiner for both orders. Political sup -. port is given by him to the Republican party, and while he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day he is not an aspirant for office. In the line of his profession he is con- nected with the City, County and State Medical Societies, also with the American Medical Asso- ciation and the International Association of Rail- way Surgeons. His interest in his profession is deep and sincere, and, while he has a laudable ambition to win financial success in his work, he also puts forth every effort in his power to alle- viate human suffering because of his broad humanitarian principles.

HON. WILLIAM E. HIGGINS, a promi- nent corporation lawyer and counsellor of La- Porte, Indiana, is connected with one of the oldest families in America. The ancestry originated in Wales, and two brothers went there from England, and thence, in 1623, came to America and landed in New Foundland, where one brother remained, but the other came to Connecticut, and was the first of a long line of descendants who have worthily filled their parts .since that time. During the Revolution Cornelius Higgins, great- grandfather of William E. Higgins, held a com- mission as a captain in the continental army, and did his full share toward winning independence. His son David was born at Haddam, Connecticut, August 6, 1761, and he, too, had a share in the Revolution, for, in July, 1779, when the British came to New Haven, he was called out for local defense. He was a student in Dartmouth College for two years, and graduated from Yale in 1785. He became a minister, with his home in various places ; in 1801 he moved to Aurelius (now Auburn) New York, and in 1813 to Bath, Steuben county, New York, where he was pastor of the Presbyterian church until 1831. The wife

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of Rev. David Higgins was Eunice Gilbert, a direct descendant of Matthew Gilbert, who, as a resident of England, had much to do with the organization of the Massachusetts colony, and, on coming to this country, was elected deputy governor of the colony in 1671. He was one of the pillars of the church, and a stanch Puritan.

James G. Higgins, the son of David and Eunice (Gilbert) Higgins, was born in the state of Connecticut, February 22, 1791. He removed with his father to Steuben county, New York, and lived in Bath until 1835, when he set out for the west. Before he settled permanently he was in LaPorte, Indiana, for four weeks, and while there helped build the first court house in the county, his brother having a contract on the structure. From LaPorte he went to Chicago, thence to Ottawa, Illinois, where he had the dis- tinction of being the first merchant in the town. He died at Ottawa in 1840. His wife was Ma- riah Burns, a native of Onondaga county, New York.

Hon. William E. Higgins was the son of the last named parents, born at Ottawa, Illinois, in' 1838. In November, 1840, after his father's death, his mother, who was of Irish ancestry and had been a school teacher for several years in Bath, New York, before her marriage, left Ottawa with her three children and came to La- Porte. Much of the education which Mr. Hig- gins received was at the hands of his intelligent mother, and when he arrived at young manhood he began teaching school, which he continued for. four winters, studying law whenever opportunity offered, at night or in the vacations. In 1859 he entered the office of Hon. Morgan H. Weir, and in April, 1860, was one of a class of five to be admitted to practice, the examination being con- ducted by a committee consisting of the late Judge Bradley, Daniel Noyes and Don J. Wood- ward.

Since that time Mr. Higgins has been prom- inently engaged in practice of his profession. During the subsequent years he built up a large general practice, but more recently has narrowed the scope of his work to counselling and advis- ing, and to his duties as corporation lawyer, he being attorney for several large companies, and leaving the department of court and jury practice to others. For twenty-five years he has been at- torney for the Rumely Manufacturing Company of this city.

Mr. Higgins has also an honorable record in public life. As the Republican party candidate he was elected city attorney in 1866, his opponent

being Judge Bradley, and he has held the same office several different times. At two different times he was deputy prosecuting attorney for the LaPorte circuit. He is also foremost in Odd Fellow circles. He has been through all the chairs of the local lodge and encampment and the grand lodge; for twenty years was one of the trustees and business manager for the local lodge, and had much to do with building it up to its present flourishing condition ; he was one of the trustees when the Odd Fellows building was erected.

Mr. Higgins was married at LaPorte, in Sep- tember, 1863, to Miss Harriet J. Place, daughter of Nelson T. Place, a prominent old-time resi- dent of this county. One daughter has been born of this union, Fannie B., now the wife of Abram Somerfield, of LaPorte. In professional. fra- ternal and social circles Mr. Higgins has risen to a place with the leaders, and his career is one that justifies praise from every point of view.

JACOB WEILER, a retired business man at 115 West Sixth street, Michigan City, is one of the pioneer settlers of this city and one of its most successful and esteemed business men. He came here over a half century ago, with one dollar in his pocket, and his life of industry, honest dealings and good citizenship has been rewarded with a goodly share of worldly possessions and a place of honor among those with whom he has lived so long. He owns some of the handsome and valuable business property of Michigan City, and he has a record of steady progress from un- pretentious beginnings.

Mr. Weiler was born in Würtemberg. Ger- many, January 13, 1830, a son of Joseph and Katharine (Bishcel) Weiler, both natives of Ger- many. The former was the only son of a German farmer, and he also followed farming there, and died in the latter part of the fifties, at the age of seventy-two. The latter, who was one of three children of a farmer in the fatherland, survived her husband about a year, passing away at the age of seventy. They were both members of the Lutheran church. They were the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, and three are now living : Carl, of Germany. Jacob, of Michigan City, and George, of Kingsbury, Indi- ana.

Jacob Weiler lived in Germany until he was twenty years of age, and was educated and learned the trade of shoemaker. With this equip- ment, and with almost no money in his pocket, he arrived in Michigan City in 1850, and has

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Jacob Weiler Pauline Weiler.

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made this his permanent place of business and abode ever since. The town was small then, and all about it was wild and marshy. He was em- ployed in the shoe shop of Squire Dibble for about three years, and then opened a shoe shop and store of his own. He was in business and fol- lowed his trade for thirty-five years, and in 1889 retired with a comfortable competence for the remaining years of his life. Since then he has been sufficiently occupied in attending to his property interests. Besides his beautiful brick home, he has a fine brick business block at the corner of Sixth and Franklin streets, where he had built a two-story and basement building in 1872, to be replaced by the present edifice in 1897. He also owns his old shoe shop property on Franklin street, opposite the Vreeland Hotel.

February 5, 1853, Mr. Weiler married Miss Anna Anger, daughter of George Anger, and seven children were born of this union, as fol- lows: Louis, police sergeant in Michigan City, married Mary Warnke, and they have three chil- dren, Wilhelm, Anna and Henrietta. Mary died at the age of nineteen. Wilhelm, a resident of La- Porte, married Miss Gertrude Seloff, and they have four children, Nettie, William, Carl and Benjamin. George, who runs a shoe store in Michigan City, married Anna Warnke. Frede- rick is a butcher, and by his marriage to Minnie Radke has seven children, Harry, Amelia, Emma, Walter, Richard, Arthur and Mabel. Jacob, a grocery clerk, married Henrietta Cashback. John died at the age of two years. Mrs. Anna Weiler died in 1867, at the age of thirty-five. She was a member of the Lutheran church, and a good wife and mother.

On March 1, 1868, Mr. Weiler married Miss Paulina Schaeuffele, a daughter of John Conrad and Fredericka (Saussele) Schaeuffele. The following children were born of this union : Julia, who married John Strebel and has two children, Irene and Daniel; Paulina, who died when not quite four years old; Albert, who is employed in the Citizens' Bank, and is unmarried; Rudolph, who married Lucinda Lubs, and has one child, Wallace ; Amelia, who died at the age of eight ; Herman, who works on the Michigan Central Railroad.

Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Weiler are members of the Lutheran church, and he is a member of Ger- man Union Lodge No. 265, I. O. O. F. He affiliates with the Democratic party, and has held the office of township trustee for two terms. Mr. Weiler is absolutely a self-made man and has relied upon his own resources for his success.

C. T. DALE, who follows farming on section 15, Kankakee township, was born in Center coun- ty, Pennsylvania, March 27, 1838. His father, Christian Dale, was a native of Pennsylvania, also born in Center county. He was a son of Cornelius Dale, likewise a native of Pennsylvania, and of German descent, and he died at White Pigeon, Michigan, in the ninety-third year of his age. On the Ist of January, 1845, Christian Dale emigrated westward and took up his abode in LaPorte county, Indiana, upon the farm where C. T. Dale now resides. There he lived for some time, but later he retired from business life and took up his abode in the city of LaPorte, where he died at the age of sixty-three years. His wife bore the maiden name of Sarah D. Lee and was a native of Center county, Pennsylvania. Her death occurred in her eighty-fourth year upon the farm which is now the property of her son, C. T. Dale. In the family were seven children, two daughters and five sons.

C. T. Dale is the fourth child and second son, and was in his seventh year when the family came to LaPorte county, Indiana. Here his youth was passed, and in 1852 he went to California, at- tracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast. He made the journey across the plains with a horse team to Placerville, and where he remained for eight months. He was but fourteen years of age at that time, making the trip in com- pany with his father. On their return to LaPorte county they came back together, and C. T. re- mained here until 1859, when he again went to California, this time by way of the water route and the Isthmus of Panama. For three years he remained in the far west, and then returned by way of Greytown to New York and on to La- Porte county. He then remained in this county until 1864, when he went to Montana, where he was engaged in mining and teaming. The three succeeding years-between 1869 and 1872-were spent in this county, and he then went to Eureka, Nevada by railroad. There he was connected with the business of smelting ore, having charge of a furnace. He was paid seven dollars per day by the Richman Mining Company. In 1876, however, he returned to the old homestead in Kan- kakee township and has since followed the occu- pation of farming. Here he owns eighty-two acres of land, which is arable and well improved.

In his political affiliations Mr. Dale is a Dem- ocrat and was elected supervisor of his township. He is a prominent Mason, belonging to Rolling Prairie Lodge No. 291 and for eleven years he has been treasurer of this lodge, a fact which in-

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dicates his trustworthiness and the confidence reposed in him by his brethren of the order. He is well known in the county and takes an active interest in everything pertaining to public pro- gress here.

Edward M. Dale, a brother of Mr. Dale, and who accompanied him and their father across the plains, lives in Deadwood, South Dakota. The other brothers and sisters of Mr. Dale are Eliza- beth, the widow of John Fraser and a resident of Brooklyn, New York; Mary A., the wife of J. C. Ayer, of Chicago, Illinois ; Alfred, deceased; and Samuel, who is a resident of Wilmington, Illinois.

JOHN ERNEST SHULTZ. Honored and respected by all, John Ernest Shultz has been for several years prominently identified with the public affairs of LaPorte county, and is now a well known hotel and restaurant proprietor in Michigan City. He was born in the province of Mecklenburg, Germany, on the 20th of December, 1851. In the fatherland both the maternal and paternal grandparents spent their lives and were finally laid to rest. Mr. Shultz is a son of Christian and Augusta (Miller) Shultz, natives also of Germany, and they became the parents of five children, two sons and three daughters, namely : John Ernest; Martha, the wife of Ed- ward Young, of Batavia, Illinois; August, a resi- dent of South Bend, Indiana; Lydia, the wife of William Ahrens, of Sandwich, Illinois; and Emma, the wife of a Mr. Marcy, also of Sand- wich. The father of this family, who was one of six children, two sons and four daughters, was a gardener by occupation, and came to America in May, 1852. On his arrival in this country he took up his abode in LaPorte, Indiana, where he resumed his chosen calling, and there his death occurred in 1892, when he had reached the age of seventy-three years. His wife survived him until 1896, when she passed away at the age of seventy- two years. Both were members of the German Methodist church.

John Ernest Shultz was but a few months old when he was brought by his parents to America, and the days of his boyhood and youth were spent in LaPorte, where he attended the public schools. Before reaching mature years he em- barked in the hotel and restaurant business in that city, and this has continued his life work since those early days. In January, 1874, he arrived in Michigan City, where he has since been numbered among the progressive and pub- lic-spirited citizens. As a hotel proprietor he

has met with a well merited degree of success, and in the public life of the city he has also borne an active part, being a loyal supporter of Re- publican principles. For four years he served as the alderman of the first ward, and in 1901 was made deputy sheriff of LaPorte county under P. O. Small. The duties of both offices he dis- charged with a promptness and fidelity worthy of all commendation.

On the 8th of April, 1874, Mr. Shultz was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Bunnell, a daughter of Anthony S. and Julia Bunnell. Four children have been born of this union, as follows: Raymond, who died at the age of nine years; Ralph, who died when seven years of age; Ernest, employed in a sugar refinery in Porto Rico; and Edith, a student in the Michigan City high school. In his fraternal relations Mr. Shultz is a member of Acme Lodge No. 83, F. & A. M .; Michigan City Chapter No. 25, R. A. M .; and Michigan City Commandery No. 30, K. T. He also belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, to Washington Lodge No. 94. Knights of Pythias, and is a charter member of the Royal Arcanum and is at present a member of the Supreme Council of the United States and is one of the most prominent members of this order in the country.

GERRITT S. VAN DEUSEN, the prom- inent contractor and business man of Michigan City, has lived here nearly forty years, and his successful career has been worked out here. He began life as a railroad brakeman, and has been steadily advancing in material prosperity and in worthy activity ever since, until now as ex-mayor of the city and one of the leading bankers and in- timately associated with the commercial interests of the city he is one of the most highly respected citizens, and one who enjoys the highest reputa- tion for reliability and integrity.

Mr. Van Deusen is of Holland Dutch descent, but the family has resided for many years in this country. Robert Van Deusen, his grandfather, was a Massachusetts farmer, living near Ashley Falls. His wife was Mary Elizabeth Sharp, and they had a number of children. He lived to be ninety years of age, and his wife upwards of eighty.

Robert R. Van Deusen, father of Gerritt S. Van Deusen, was a native of New York. He was an attorney by profession, and practiced in New York state for a time, but in 1866 came to Michigan City, Indiana, where he practiced un- til his death in 1874, when he was sixty-seven

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years old. He married Elvira Stewart, a native of New York state, and one of a small family of children born to Orlando and Elvira Stewart, the former a farmer of New York and of Scotch descent. She survived her husband until 1889, and was about seventy-five years old at the time of her death. She was a member of the Method- ist church, and he was a Republican in politics, They were parents of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, and nine of them are living: Miss Mary E., of Michigan City; Annie E., the deceased wife of L. P. Gage, of Painesville, Ohio; Setwart A. Van Deusen, of Denver, Colorado; Miss Sarah M., of Michigan City ; Henry C., of Havana, Cuba ; Ella, wife of E. S. Weaver, of Georgetown, Colorado; Robert Scott, who was a private in Company E, Eighty-first New York Volunteer Infantry, and was killed in the battle of Fair Oaks, May 31, 1862; Jay R., of New York city; Gerritt S .; Estella, wife of E. C. Briggs, of Denver, Colorado; and Arthur E., of Denver, Colorado.

Gerritt S. Van Deusen was born in Morris- ville, Madison county, New York, January 7, 1851. He remained in that state until he was fourteen years old, attending the public schools of Madison county. In 1865 he came to Michi- gan City, and finished his education in the high school here. He then began braking on the Mich- igan Central Railroad, but followed this pursuit but a short time, and for the following thirteen years was a traveling salesman. He next began the manufacture of reed and rattan goods in Michigan City, and made a good thing out of this business until 1897, when he severed his connection with the establishment of which he was the founder. Since that time he has been interested in banking. He was one of the organ- izers of the Citizens' Bank and was one of the organizers and is now secretary and treasurer of the Merchants' Mutual Telephone Company. He also carries on a contracting business, and his extensive interests place him in the front rank of the business men of this thriving city.

November 9, 1881, Mr. Van Deusen married Miss Rachel S. Couden, and of the three children born to them, Margaret and Henry died in in- fancy, while Grace Marshall, the second in order of birth, lives at home. Mrs. Van Deusen is a daughter of Reynolds and Margaret (Marshall) Couden, who were natives of Ohio and lived for a number of years in Mahoning county. Her father was one of the earliest settlers of Michi- gan City, arriving in 1834, one year after the city came into existence and a name, and he had

a hardware business here from that date until 1878, when he retired. His wife came here in 1836 from Mahoning county, Ohio, and they met and were married in Michigan City. Their four sons and one daughter were all born here, as fol- lows: William M. Couden, deceased; Albert R., now a captain in the navy and acting rear ad- miral in command of the navy yard at Cavite, Philippine Islands; Chauncey B., of Michigan City ; Rachel S., Mrs. Van Deusen; and J. C. F. Couden, deceased.

Mr. and Mrs. Van Deusen are members of the Methodist church, and he has been president of the board of trustees for many years. He affiliates with Acme Lodge No. 83, F. & A. M., with Michigan City Chapter No. 25, R. A. M., with Michigan City Council No. 56, and with Michigan City Commandery No. 30, K. T .; and is also a member of the Tribe of Ben Hur. Po- litically he is a Republican, and for two years represented his ward as alderman, and was mayor of the city from 1894 to 1898, being one of the most capable and popular officials who ever held that office. He owns a neat modern home at 402 Spring street, and he and his wife and daughter enjoy many friends in the city and elsewhere.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 99

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