A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume I, Part 65

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1038

USA > Indiana > A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume I > Part 65

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CHWARTZKOPF, JOHN G., of Columbus, treas- urer of Bartholomew County, was born in Wür- temberg, Germany, July 27, 1835, and is a son of Joseph and Theresa (Murod) Schwartzkopf. His father was a grain dealer and farmer. He acquired a thorough German education in the Old Country, while his knowledge of the English language has been at- tained by his own energy since his arrival in America. At the age of fifteen, in company with his sister, he emigrated to this country, and settled in Cincinnati. Immediately on his arrival he became a wood-worker in a carriage manufactory, and after serving his time as an apprentice he worked in various shops in the city as a journeyman. July 9, 1856, he removed to Indiana, and established himself at Columbus, where he was occupied at his trade for about a year and a half. He then formed a partnership with Adam Spotz in the manufac- ture of wagons and plows. At the end of seven years he bought his partner's interest, and is still carrying on the business, having added a department for the manu- facture of carriages. In the summer of 1874 he was appointed treasurer of Bartholomew County by the county commissioners, to fill a vacancy. In the fall of "Doctor S. H. Schofield, an old practitioner of this county, is about to remove West. We can recommend him as one of the most successful physicians in this region. The community in which he has so long prac- ticed will feel a loss, but their loss will be the gain of the locality in which he may settle. Doctor Schofield graduated from one of the best medical schools of the United States some thirty years ago, and has always been regarded as a prudent and safe attendant upon the sick and afflicted of this section." the same year he was elected to the same position for the term of two years, and was re-elected in the fall of 1876. In politics he has always been a stanch Demo- crat, and is one of the representative men of the party in the county and city, having several terms dis- charged the duties of councilman. He was reared in the Catholic faith, and is now a member of the Church of Rome. He married, March 12, 1859, Mary Rush, of Cleveland, Ohio. Seven children have been born to The following article also appeared in the same paper : " At a meeting of the members of the Martinsville. Academy of Medicine, on the 17th instant, the follow- ing action was taken relative to the removal of Doctor them, of whom four boys and one girl are now living. Frank X., the eldest son, is his father's deputy in the office. Mr. Schwartzkopf is a man of liberal views, and | Schofield from this city to another field of professional

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labor. We can join with the society in bespeaking for him, as an intelligent and skillful physician, a kind neighbor and friend, a welcome in any community he may select as his future home.

" Whereas, Doctor S. H. Schofield, a deserving mem- ber of the Martinsville Academy of Medicine, contem- plates changing his location ;

" Resolved, That we recognize in Doctor Schofield an experienced and intelligent physician, and bespeak for him the kind offices of the profession and of the com- munity wherever his lot may be cast.

"Resolved, That this resolution be spread upon the record, and a copy be furnished to Doctor Schofield. "E. P. RITCHEY, -

"CLARK ROBBINS, Committee.

"E. V. GREEN, "S. A. TILFORD, President. "W. E. HENDRICKS, Secretary."

Few men are more deserving of a place among the representative men of Indiana than Doctor Schofield. He is firm in his convictions of right and wrong, and takes an exalted view of personal honor. Socially, he is kind, hospitable, and obliging, a student and a gen- tleman.

CHWEITZER, BERNHARD, Representative, of Owen County, was born in Freiburg, Prussia, March 1, 1834. He is the son of M. and Cecilie Schweitzer, both natives of Prussia. He obtained a limited education in the public schools of his native place, and by diligent self-culture has risen to intellect- ual eminence. In 1851 he emigrated to America, and settled in Boston, Massachusetts, where he remained for a time, working at the confectionery trade, In 1853 he took passage from Newport, Rhode Island, on an extensive voyage at sea, on the ship "Neiman," visiting St. Helena, the Sandwich Islands, San Francisco, Spain, Cuba, Central America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. On his return he landed at New York. After a short time in New Haven, Connecticut, he shipped as deck-hand on the steamer " Isaac Newton," then plying on the Hud- son River. The next winter he was employed as a laborer on the Erie Canal. A friend in Syracuse sup- plied him with means enough to reach Buffalo, where he was engaged in a tannery for a month ; from that en- tering the service of the Erie Railroad until spring, when he removed to Niagara Falls, being employed again as a baker and confectioner. There he stayed for a year, when he went on to Detroit. This was an unfortunate step, as he was induced to lend all his hard- earned savings to a supposed friend, who took advan- tage of his kindness and left him with nothing. Noth- ing daunted, he accepted a humble position on the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad, and was subsequently appointed receiver and inspector of timber. He became conductor of the construction train, and then was freight conductor, acting as fireman and engineer. He was

serving in Canada in this capacity when a terrible calamity occurred at Montreal, by the falling of a bridge, by which many lives were lost. This so im- pressed Mr. Schweitzer that he immediately left the business, preferring an occupation less hazardous, if less remunerative. He resumed for a time, in Detroit, his old occupation of baker and confectioner, leaving it to superintend in Chicago the construction of a large steam bakery. He was invited to take a position as a clerk in a store at Joliet, which he filled for a brief time, then going on to St. Louis, and acting as salesman in a large wholesale clothing warehouse. He left this for the St. Louis Savings-bank, but, at the urgent solic- itation of his former employers in the wholesale house, he returned to them. Being sent to Pike's Peak with a stock of goods, he partly disposed of them there, re- moving the rest to Salt Lake City. Having accom- plished his object, and rendered an account to his em- ployers, he visited California, where for a season he was a gold miner. On his return to St. Louis, he re- sumed his former relations with his old firm, and here he met for the first time the amiable and intelli- gent lady whom he afterwards married. He had by strict economy saved about five hundred dollars, but, again responding to the needs of an impecunious friend, this sum was, through duplicity, lost irretrievably. He then removed to Portsmouth, Ohio, and engaged in the confectionery business. After establishing himself he visited Cincinnati and was married to Miss Mary Hecht, taking her to Portsmouth to reside. At the outbreak of the Rebellion he desired to enter the service of the Union, but was rejected by the regimental physicians. He stayed in Portsmouth for seven years, and was suc- cessful in making money, but a disastrous fire at the end of that time swept away about thirteen thousand dollars' worth of property. Nearly penniless, he had to begin the world anew. His health also failed, and he sought to recuperate by traveling for a while. Locating permanently at Spencer, Indiana, he entered into mer- cantile business, and was recovering from the effects of the loss at Portsmouth when another fire consumed most of his savings. He soon after sold out his entire stock to the Grangers, and has since been enabled to give his entire time to the quarrying and the manufac- ture of lime. In this he is still engaged. He built an inclined railroad, at an expense of thirteen thousand dollars, to connect with the Indianapolis and Vincennes Railroad. Mr. Schweitzer employs a large force of men in one of the most important industries of Southern Indiana, and in addition is connected with several other important enterprises of his town. He is a member of the Odd-fellows, having joined in 1869, and became a Mason in 1872. He has always been a steadfast adher- ent of the Democratic party. In 1878 he was the nom- inee for Representative in the state Legislature, and

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was elected by a large majority. In the General Assem- bly he was active and energetic in the cause of the laboring classes, as his official acts clearly show, and was vigilant in the interest of the tax-payers. Socially, Mr. Schweitzer is kind and obliging, and has the esteem of a large circle of friends, who admire him for his strict moral and business principles.

MITH, JOHN WILLIAM, M. D., physician and surgeon, Gosport, was born in Clark County, Ken- tucky, the 11th of May, 1830. His father, Daniel Smith, was a native of Montgomery County, Ken- tucky, where he was born July 7, 1801, and his mother, Eliza A. Smith, a daughter of Thomas Gardner, was born in Clark County, Kentucky, in 1806. His grandfather, William Smith, a son of Enoch Smith, was born in Shen- andoah County, Virginia, in 1772, and moved to Kentucky at an early date. His father and mother went to Trimble County, Kentucky, when he was about two years of age. Mr. Smith was a farmer by occupation, and reared six sons and two daughters. John W. was next to the oldest son, and at the age of four years was attacked with the dis- ease commonly known as white swelling of the hip joint, from which he was a great sufferer for years. At seven years of age he started to school upon his crutches. He soon observed that his parents were disposed to aid him all they could in gaining an education, even at a sacrifice, for such it was, as his father was not able to give him a classical education. So, when young, he resolved to improve every opportunity in order to ac- quire instruction. He attended school at intervals; for their terms at that day were short, only being open three months, although some few reached six months, in the year. He was reared under religious influences. His father and mother were both exemplary Christians and members of the Methodist Church, and at the age of fifteen he attached himself to that organization. At sixteen he commenced teaching. He would teach, say three or six months, and then with the means thus ob- tained would avail himself of a graded school at Bed- ford Springs, in Trimble County, and, indeed, wherever he could find advantages offered for instruction. At eighteen he had acquired a good English education for that day, in that county. So, by the encouragement of friends, he entered upon the study of medicine with Doctor Harvey A. Moore, in Milton, Kentucky, a town situated on the Ohio River, opposite to Madison, Indi- ana. The great barrier to his desired success in this enterprise was his limited means, but he proposed by diligence and work in the drug-store to fight his way through. In the fall of 1850 he entered the Kentucky Medical School, at Louisville, Kentucky, and by econ- amy, and much labor and sacrifice, finished that session.

He returned to his preceptor in the spring of 1851, and remained with him until the fall of 1852. Then he borrowed the money necessary to complete the course, and in the spring of 1853 received the honors of a reg- ular graduate. IIe returned home, not knowing what to do, having exhausted all his resources, and being in debt. On his arrival he found his preceptor in the midst of an epidemic of small-pox, and with him he treated over one hundred cases. He continued in prac- tice with-or, in other words, under-Doctor Moore that summer and fall, but in November, 1853, located in Gosport, Owen County, Indiana, where he met with good success. He soon made sufficient to liquidate the debt made to enable him to attend the medical lectures. His success thus far was due to great effort, and the aim of his life was to fully qualify himself for the profession before entering upon practice. From the religious and moral influences thrown around him from childhood he resolved to do as near right as possible. In order that he might have every safeguard that was possible, he joined the Order of Odd-fellows as soon as he was of age, in which he still continues. When he came to In- diana he brought a letter from the Church he left, and a card from the lodge. He found but two Odd-fellows in Owen County when he arrived. In the year 1854 he was a charter member of Owen Lodge, No. 146, the first one organized in that county, and to this day remains a member of it. In 1855 he represented it in the Grand Lodge. He has been a member of that grand body ever since. He has assisted in organizing the surrounding lodges, and also the encampments, and as representative to the Grand Encampment of the state has been honored by the brotherhood with their highest offices. In 1875 he was elected Grand Patriarch of the state, and then was chosen Grand Representative to the Grand Lodge of the United States, attending his first session, Septem- ber, 1877, at Baltimore, Maryland. He has been en- gaged in the practice of his profession in that place con- tinuously from the 28th of November, 1853, up to this time. He was married to his first wife, Miss Malinda D. Bell, in Nicholas County, Kentucky, in October, 1855. She died in 1857, leaving him with an infant child four weeks old, now twenty-two years of age. In 1858 he married Miss Mary E. Davis, near Cynthiana, Kentucky, daughter of William M. Davis, of that county, and has by this union four children, making five altogether. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church up to. eight years ago, when he and his family attached them- selves to the Methodist Episcopal Church South, on its organization there. IIe is now president of the Owen County Medical Society, and is a member of the State Medical Society. He has been a friend to education, and has wielded his whole influence for its advancement. He has been one of the board of trustees of the Gosport graded school from its organization up to this time, and

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it is in part due to his efforts that they now have a school | has become one of her wealthiest citizens. Mr. Staff is that prepares pupils for a college course proper. Doctor Smith is now fifty years of age, and is busily engaged in attending to his practice, making the eye and surgery a specialty. He is superintendent of the Sabbath-school, and is a class-leader and steward in the Church. He has a farm containing over four hundred acres of land, cultivated under his personal supervision.

TAFF, FREDERICK S., attorney, Franklin, In- diana, is the fifth son of Frederick and Catharine (Knapp) Staff, and was born in Henry County, In- diana, April 29, 1845. His parents emigrated from Germany. His father was a fine scholar, possess- ing a good knowledge of the Latin, English, and Ger- man languages, and having enjoyed such a course of mental training as the institutions of his native country afforded, but died soon after his arrival and settlement in Indiana. The early youth of F. S. Staff, junior, was spent, as is that of so many of the self-made young men of our land, in assisting on the farm in the summer and in attending either private or public schools in winter, thus developing both a physical growth capable of sustain- ing mental toil and a brain development that is to one day shape and influence the destinies of our country, and the throng of humanity that press and touch us on all sides. At the age of sixteen years he entered Earlham College, a Quaker institution, situated at Richmond, Indiana, where he spent three and a half years, taking nearly a full classical course, and lacking only a few months of graduating, the want of the necessary means preventing him from completing his senior year. After teaching one or two terms of school, he entered the state university of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and gradu- ated from the law department in the early part of 1871. He then went to Indianapolis and began. the practice of his profession, desiring, also, to renew his studies with the late Martin M. Ray, one of Indiana's most gifted and distinguished attorneys, whence he re- moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he remained for three years actively engaged. On his return to In- diana he settled in Franklin, where he has since re- sided. He was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the state of Michigan in 1871, and during his residence in Little Rock was licensed as a practitioner be- fore the United States Courts of that state. Since his resi- dence at Franklin, Indiana, he has been actively and ener- getically engaged in the criminal practice, and by his industry and ability is receiving constantly increasing general practice. Mr. Staff -was married, April 21, 1876, to Anna E. Dodge, daughter of Doctor R. L. Dodge, one of the earliest residents of the state of Ar- kansas, who, by a careful and upright business course,

an attendant upon the services of the Presbyterian Church. In politics, he is an active Democrat, having been chairman of the county central committee, a fre- quent delegate to the state conventions of his party, and chairman of the congressional convention that nomi- nated Captain Myers, the successful candidate in 1878. He is regarded as one of the political leaders in his county and district, and a first-class organizer in polit- ical campaigns. In private life he commands at once the respect and confidence of all with whom he is asso- ciated, and is a genial and courteous gentleman.

TANSIFER, SIMEON, of Columbus, Indiana, was born in Kenton County, Kentucky, January 22, 1826. His mother's maiden name was Sarah Herod. His father, John Stansifer, was a farmer, who died when the son was but one year old. Simeon Stansifer enjoyed very limited educational advantages. He ac- quired the rudiments of the elementary studies by at- tending the country schools in the winter, while during the summer months he was compelled to work on a farm. At the age of twenty years he attended the law school at Carrollton, Kentucky, under Judge Prior, having acquired means to pursue his studies by teaching. After remaining at Carrollton two sessions, he entered the law school at Covington, Kentucky, where he re- mained one term. He graduated in 1850, and immedi- ately engaged in the practice of his profession. In De- cember, 1851, he removed to Columbus, Indiana, and formed a partnership with his uncle, Hon. William Herod, an ex-member of Congress. In 1863 he was appointed by President Lincoln provost-marshal of the Third Congressional District; and by his energetic and faithful discharge of his duties was of material aid to the government during that trying period. Just previous to his assassination, President Lincoln appointed Colonel Stansifer collector of the revenue of the Third District, which position he held until the middle of the following year, when he was removed for political reasons by President Johnson, against the earnest protest of Sec- retary McCulloch. He was a member of the town council of Columbus that inaugurated the present school system, and was instrumental in the erection of the school building which now adorns the city. He mar- ried, in 1851, at Frankfort, Kentucky, Elizabeth Finnell. Of their six children, five are now living. In politics Colonel Stansifer has always been a Republican, and is one of the leading county members of that party. The citizens of Columbus speak of him as a gentleman of the old school. He is highly respected, and has been closely identified with the growth and prosperity of his adopted city and county. He does not belong to any

truly yours

vary

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religious denomination, but is an attendant of the Pres- byterian Church, of which his wife is a member. Dur- ing the war he was appointed colonel of rendezvous headquarters at Columbus, and assisted in organizing a great many of the Indiana regiments.

WEENEY, REV. Z. T., pastor of the Christian Church of Columbus, and president of the Indiana Christian Sunday-school Association, was born at Liberty, Casey County, Kentucky, February 10, 1849, of Scotch and Irish parentage. His father, Rev. G. E. Sweeney, was a minister of the Christian Church, and his mother, T. (Campbell) Sweeney, is a relative of the noted Alexander Campbell, the founder of the Christian Reform; she is also a descendant of the Argyle family, of Scotland. His grandfather, Rev. Job Swee- ney, was also a minister of the same denomination, and of his four sons two were ministers. Rev. Z. T. Sweeney has three brothers in the ministry: W. G., the pastor of a Church in Dubuque, Iowa; J. S., minister in charge of the Christian Church in Paris, Kentucky; and G. W., pastor of the First Christian Church, at Chicago. When the subject of this sketch had attained the age of six years his father removed to Macoupin County, Illinois, where he attended the public schools until he was fifteen. He then entered a seminary at Scottsville, and there laid the foundation of a classical education. His father being a poor man, he was obliged to teach school several terms, in order to accumulate sufficient means to enable him to attend college. He entered college at Eureka, Illinois, in the fall of 1868, and remained one year. He afterward attended Asbury University, at Greencastle, Indiana, where he remained two years. During his college life he preached an occa- sional sermon, and upon leaving the university deliv- ered one at Paris, Illinois, receiving an immediate call from that Church, of which he took charge seventeen months. At the end of this time his means were such as to enable him to again enter college, and he became a member of the senior class at Asbury University in the fall of 1871. His health beginning to fail, he was compelled to relinquish his studies, and, to recuperate, spent several months in Kentucky. On his return he stopped one Sabbath at Columbus, Indiana, and preached in the Christian Church, so delighting his hearers that he immediately received a call from them. He assumed charge January 1, 1872, and remained one year, at the end of which time he was called to the Christian Church at Louisville. He accepted, and remained three months, when he returned to Columbus, upon the urgent and constant solicitation of his congregation there. March 10, 1875, he was married to Linnie Irwin, daughter of Hon. Joseph I. Irwin, of Columbus, Indiana, and A -- 20

was granted a year's vacation by his congregation. A daughter, Nettie, has been born to them. During his vacation, Mr. Sweeney received a call from the Chris- tian Church at Augusta, Georgia, which he accepted for one year ; he then returned to Columbus, and again assumed the pastorate of the Church there, which he still retains. Upon taking charge of the Louisville Church, he found it encumbered with a debt of five thousand dollars, but, by his well-known energy and zeal, this large amount was raised, and the Church re- lieved of all indebtedness. At Paris, Illinois, he was instrumental in the erection of a magnificent building for his denomination. At Augusta, Georgia, he en- gineered the raising of means for the completion of the church edifice at a cost of one hundred thousand dollars, and of the building of a parsonage in the same city at a cost of fourteen thousand dollars. When he began his labors in Columbus, in 1872, the congregation numbered two hundred souls; the membership now exceeds five hundred in number; through his labors there has been an accession of two thousand to the Church. Mr. Sweeney has received calls from New York, New Or- leans, Baltimore, and other city Churches, all of which he has respectfully declined, preferring to remain at Columbus, much to the satisfaction of his congregation. He is highly respected and greatly beloved by all classes of people in the home of his adoption, no other man in the city of Columbus being held in such universal esteem. His sermons are clear, concise, practical, and logical, and his eloquence is known all over the state. The church edifice at Columbus is regarded as one of the finest in Indiana, and is, in fact, a model of beauty ; the acoustic properties are fine, and the arrangement of the seats, in comparison with that in many churches, is admirable. Mr. Sweeney has acquired considerable reputation as a lecturer, and is a power in the temper- ance field. His lectures at several universities and col- leges are highly commended, and he is regarded, although comparatively quite a young man, as one of the most able and forcible reasoners in the West.

HOEMAKER, JOHN W., druggist, of Blooming- ton, Indiana, was born at Laporte, Indiana, Sep- tember 22, 1841, and is a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Keith) Shoemaker. His father was a native of New York, and emigrated to Northern Indiana in 1832, locating on a farm near Laporte, where he has since resided. The Captain in his youth assisted his father on the farm during the summer seasons, and at- tended the common schools during the winter months. On the 27th of July, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the 29th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers; and was a participant in the terrible battle of Shiloh. Soon after

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A biographical history of eminent and self-made men of the state of Indiana : with many portrait-illustrations on steel, engraved expressly for this work, Volume I, Part 65

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1038

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1038