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 78

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 78

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

for thirty years, this was certainly an interesting coin- cidence. As a public speaker, the power of Mr. Koontz lies in his earnest language, concise statements, and sound logic, devoid of any oratorical display. He has always taken an active part in the temperance work, and is connected with different temperance organiza- tions. He is not a member of any religious denomina- tion, although he attends divine worship, and supports the different Churches of Yorktown. In his public re- lations he is esteemed as possessing a strong sense of truth and justice, and endeavoring to live in accordance with those principles. In 1875 he commenced the study of law, but could not follow it to the extent that he wished on account of his failing sight. He has prac- ticed in the courts of his county, and has met with good success. It is truthfully said of Mr. Koontz that, having undertaken an enterprise, he will push it through to the end. His earnest nature could not fail to inter- est itself actively in politics. He has been connected with the Republican party ever since its organization, and is one of its most influential members in Delaware County. As a business man, he has won the confidence of all who have dealings with him. He cares little for society, but is courteous in all business and social rela- tions. Like all self-made men, he is imbued with the spirit of self-reliance, and every interest intrusted to his care is managed with judgment and tact. As a citizen, he is eminently respected. Mr. Koontz was twice mar- ried. His first marriage occurred June 26, 1853, when he was united to Miss Anna Brown, who died in 1855, leaving one child, a daughter. He was again married, July 24, 1857, to Miss Violetta Sheiner. This marriage has been blessed with a family of five children, four of whom survive.

ACY, JOHN W., was born in Henry County, Indiana, June 6, 1843. His grand-parents on the paternal side were natives of the Island of Nantucket, whence they moved to North Car- olina, and from thence to Tennessee, where his father, David Macy, was born. He married Priscilla Luellen. His father was a strong anti-slavery man in the dark days when it tried men's souls to maintain such princi- ples. John W. Macy's education was limited to the common schools of his native county, and even these opportunities were cut off at the age of fifteen years, when he went to Farmland, Randolph County, begin- ning the trade of wagon-maker at sixteen. This he followed for about three years, when, on the breaking out of the war, he enlisted in the army as first sergeant. He was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga, but remained in the conflict until its close, and was mus- tered out in June, 1865. Being active and industrious in his habits, he at once returned to his trade at Farm-

Walter Marche

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

6th Dist ]

land, where he continued till 1867, when he was ap- pointed deputy by the county auditor. In that position he remained for about two years; and from 1869 to 1871 he served as deputy clerk of the county. At the expiration of this time he went to Edmondson County, Kentucky, as superintendent of the Kentucky Land Company, where he remained till 1875, when he returned to his adopted county, engaging in business for a short time, and was then elected to the office of clerk of the court, a position he now holds with credit to himself and to the county he serves. Mr. Macy is a member of the Masonic Order. He belongs to no Church at present, but was brought up in the society of Friends. In politics, he is an enthusiastic Republican, and, while on good terms with the world, he works hard for the success of his party, and enkindles like enthusiasm in those about him. On December 26, 1871, he married Miss Sarah Edger, of Winchester, by whom he has a family of three children. He has a warm, ardent tem- perament, fine personal appearance, and good social and business standing in the community, in which he is a general favorite.

ARCH, JUDGE WALTER, of Muncie, son of Samuel and Zoa March, was born in Millbury, Massachusetts, August 5, 1814. He is of English descent, his ancestors emigrating from England to Massachusetts in 1635. His father was a farmer, and lived upon a farm that was owned by the family for four generations. He was very industrious, had great pow- ers of endurance, and looked upon labor as a duty and a blessing. He possessed little knowledge of books, but much good common sense. A man of few words, and of regular, temperate habits, he was one of the last of that sturdy race who, despite hostile Indians, a rigor- ous climate, and a sterile soil, made Massachusetts the Attica of the new world, and gave their offspring to be the builders of other states. He died in 1874, at the extreme age of ninety-two. Mr. March's mother was of more delicate physical constitution, but of superior in- tellectual capacity and cultivation. Her death occurred

in 1838, at the age of fifty-four. Both parents had re- ceived only a limited education, but they determined to provide more liberal advantages for their children, who remember with lasting gratitude their exertions to this end. Walter March was early accustomed to labor, and worked with his father until eighteen years old, attend- ing the common school of the town during the winter months. He then studied in the Millbury Academy one year, and at its close (1833) entered Amherst College, where he remained through the whole course, defraying part of his expenses by teaching during the winter. He graduated in 1837, and then became a student of law, first in the office of Clough R. Miles, Esq., of Millbury,

and afterwards in that of Judge Borton, of Worcester. After sufficient time had been spent in preparation, he attended the lectures of Professor Greenleaf and Judge Story, at the Cambridge Law School. During these three years of legal study he helped harvest his father's crops in midsummer, and taught school in the winter- severe recreation, but it made stronger men and better students, and was a thousand-fold preferable to vacations spent in dissipation. Fully appreciating his advantages, Mr. March had studied with great diligence, and was now prepared to enter upon his chosen profession under favorable auspices. Believing that the West offered bet- ter inducements than the East, he came, in 1840, via Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the Ohio River, to Indian- apolis, reaching that city in November. There he passed the winter, and in March of the following spring com- menced the practice of law in Muncie, which, with the exception of a residence of three years in Indianapolis, has since been his home. He who attains any degree of distinction in the legal profession must travel a rug- ged road; and Mr. March was no exception to the rule, though, because of superior culture and capacity, his mind doubtless ranged, at every point of progress, over a wider scope of thought than the minds of many others. Years of hard study and increasing practice passed, and, in 1850, he was selected as the man best qualified for the responsible duties of a member of the State Consti- tutional Convention. In 1852 Mr. March was one of the three commissioners who drafted the Indiana Code of Pleading and Practice. This great improvement upon the verbose forms of the common law is the equal of any state code, and a noble monument to the learning and fidelity of its framers. At the close of this work, in 1852, he was elected Judge of the Common Pleas District composed of the counties of Delaware, Grant, and Blackford. This position he held till 1856, when, by the newly formed Republican party, he was chosen state Senator from the counties above named, and served as such by re-election until 1864. In 1878 Judge March was elected Representative in the Legislature from Del- aware County. Possessing an extensive knowledge of literature and the general principles of the sciences, he was made, in 1877, first president of the Literary and Scientific Association of Muncie. Judge March was a Democrat until. 1854, when the position which his party had gradually assumed with reference to slavery obliged him to seek other political connections; hence, he joined in the movement that resulted in the formation of the Republican party, and has since worked with it in every campaign, though in 1872 he voted for Horace Greeley. He is not a member of any secret society, nor of any religious denomination, but attends the Presbyterian Church, with which his wife is connected. As Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Walter March proved himself possessed of judicial abilities of a high order.

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[6th Dist.

His decisions were just, and evinced careful research and preparation. An untiring worker, a severe student, excelling in the knowledge of law and as a counselor, he is considered one of the ablest lawyers in Eastern In- diana. Through the exercise of these abilities, with wise economy and perseverance, he has gained a for- tune. He enjoys very robust health for one of his years, due in part to his total abstinence from the use of intoxicating liquors and tobacco.

ARINE, REV. ABIJAH, A. M., pastor of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, Richmond, Indi- ana, was born in Wayne County, in this state, November 26, 1832. His father, William T. Marine, of North Carolina, married Mary Williams, a native of Ohio, and settled in Wayne County at an early day. Abijah was the first born of ten children, six of whom are yet living. His opportunities for an educa- tion were superior to those of the average boy of those times. He attended Whitewater College at Centerville, Indiana, for three years, and afterwards the title of A. M. was conferred on him by the faculty of the State University at Greencastle. He entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1855, in which he still continues. His first charge was at Elkhart, Indi- ana, and he has since served five years in the Berry Street and Wayne Street Churches of Fort Wayne, and at present (1878) is on his second term at Grace Church, Richmond. Mr. Marine is a Royal Arch Mason, and belongs to the Order of Ancient Odd-fellows. He is an ardent temperance man, and many eloquent discourses has he delivered in its defense, while his abstemious habits through life enforce the sincerity of his profes- sion. He has endured persecution and obloquy for his outspoken sentiments against the custom of drinking. On one occasion, when stationed at Fort Wayne, through the garbling of his speeches by the press and the slan- ders of a designing politician, he was brought face to face with an indignation meeting of Germans in that city. But he spoke not against any nationality as such, nor against Germans, only so far as they stood in the way of temperance principles. The result was that the speaker vindicated himself, the considerate ones were satisfied, and the reactionary wave stranded the aspir- ant for Congress high and dry on the beach. As a minister of the Gospel, Mr. Marine stands in the front rank in the conference to which he belongs. As a speaker, he is forcible, eloquent, and persuasive, and is often called before public audiences. And when, rising to the height of the occasion and warmed with the subject in hand, in the language of Webster, he has " the clear conception, outrunning the deduction of logic, the high purpose, the firm resolve, the dauntless

spirit, speaking on the tongue, beaming from the eye, informing every feature, and urging the whole man onward, right onward to his object-this, this is elo- quence." Says Sterne: "Great is the power of elo- quence ; but never is it so great as when it pleads along with nature, and the culprit is a child strayed from his duty, and returned to it again with tears." In 1859 he was married to Mary E. Miller, by whom he has a daughter. His wife having died, he married Miss Clara A. Smith, in 1866, by whom he has an infant son. In personal appearance Mr. Marine is of florid complexion, stoutly built, and about medium height, his counte- nance indicating an ardent temperament and unwaver- ing decision of character. He is admired and beloved by his congregation, and is esteemed and respected in the towns in which he has served as preacher.

ARSH, ALBERT O., of Winchester, lawyer and prosecuting attorney for the Circuit Court, the son of Rodney and Phila (Jayne) Marsh, was born in Ashtabula County, Ohio, September 15, I840. His father was from Massachusetts, and his mother from New York state. Aside from the rudi- ments he was taught in his native county, his principal instruction was obtained at the Western Reserve Eclec- tic Institute, of Portage County, Ohio. Here he ac- quired a good English education, including the higher mathematics and some knowledge of Latin. Owing to poverty he left school and began teaching at the age of eighteen years, continuing in this profession, although adding the study of law, till the breaking out of the war, when he entered the army as a private soldier. He first was in the three months' service with the 15th Ohio Volunteers, and then enlisted, in 1862, in the 46th Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a private. In May, 1863, he was commissioned captain of the 59th United States Colored Infantry. He resigned in July, 1865, and re- sumed the study of law, being admitted to the bar in Jackson County, Indiana, in February, 1867. He sus- pended his practice and engaged in life insurance busi- ness until 1872, when he began again at Winchester, Indiana. He was elected prosecuting attorney in 1876. In August, 1878, he was the Republican nominee for Representative. He is not a Church member, and thinks that he has no religious bias. In Masonry he has taken the Royal Arch Degree and is now Master of his lodge. On November 14, 1861, he married Sarah M. Galleher, a native of Ohio. He is ambitious and zealous in his chosen profession, and as a rising young lawyer and politician has a bright future. His good personal appearance and excellent social standing in his community are important considerations in his favor.

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

6th Dist.]

"ARSH, JOHN, cashier of the Citizens' National Bank of Muncie, was born in Preble County, Ohio, August 22, 1811. In his veins the blood of the Anglo-Saxon mingles with that of the Teutonic race. His father, Timothy Marsh, was the son of John Marsh, who came to this country from England, pushed his way far into the wilderness, and settled in what is now Germantown, in Montgomery County, Ohio. He afterward served in the American army all through the Revolution. The mother of the subject of this sketch was Mary Clawson, who was born near the mouth of the Little Miami River, August 22, 1787, and is said to be the first white child born in the territory of Ohio. Cincinnati was not then laid out, and the country was the home of wild beasts and of the red man, whose war-whoop sometimes startled the set- tlers from slumber to scenes of devastation and death. She died at the age of ninety, at the residence of her son, Searing Marsh, near Logansport, Indiana, Septem- ber 15, 1877. Her father was John Clawson, a Ger- man, who settled first in Kentucky and afterward in Ohio, and took part in the long struggle by which the colonies threw off the British yoke. John Marsh was not allowed to spend all his boyhood in school, but only the winter term of every year, the remaining time being employed in work on the farm. Yet the school he attended was the best in the county, and he there obtained a good education in the common English branches. At the age of seventeen he went to Eaton, and served an apprenticeship of five years at the hat- ter's trade. During this period his spare hours were not wasted in the society of the vicious or the frivolous, but were devoted to the acquisition of useful knowl- edge. A friend had given him a ticket granting access to a certain library, and there he read night after night, and every Sunday. At length Mr. Marsh com- menced business as a hatter in Camden, and continued it successfully until 1847, when he entered upon the dry-goods trade. After one year he was elected treas- urer of Preble County, and held the office by re-election three terms. So faithfully and well had he discharged his duties that, at the last election, he received all the votes cast in the county except thirty-six. During this time he was a stockholder and a director of the Preble County branch of the State Bank of Ohio. In October, 1854, he removed to Wayne County, Indiana, and was made president of the Cambridge City Bank, one of those that withstood the crisis of 1857. Mr. Marsh removed to Delaware County in 1856, and or- ganized the Muncie branch of the State Bank of Indi- ana, becoming its president. In 1865 it was converted into the Muncie National Bank, and he remained its president until 1874. He then sold his interest, intend- ing to retire from business; but after a few weeks of recreation, at the urgent solicitation of a number of

prominent men, he organized, with them, in November, 1874, the Citizens' National Bank, and, being given his choice of positions, accepted that of cashier. Mr. Marsh has always been an active politician. His first ballot was cast for Henry Clay ; he aided in the organi- zation of the Republican party, and ever since has been in accord with the principles then set forth. In 1838 he joined the Masonic Fraternity, and ten years later, at Dayton, Ohio, took the Commandery degrees. He has been treasurer of Delaware Lodge, of Muncie Chapter, and of Muncie Commandery, and helped cr- ganize the latter, of which he still is treasurer. Since 1854 he has been connected with the Methodist Episco- pal Church, of which he is now a trustee. Mr. Marsh is an able financier, and has secured a handsome com- petence. Many natures become narrow and selfish in the sunshine of prosperity, but his seems rather to have expanded and taken on warmer hues, for he is one of the most generous and sympathetic of men. The desire for knowledge that impelled him in youth to pore over the volumes of that library has not been lost in the cares of business, and he has gained a large fund of general information. He has no small mental capacity, and might have achieved equal success in other im- portant callings. Few are so endowed with qualities that inspire respect and friendship, and none live in happier domestic relations than Mr. Marsh-his family being a model one, in which perfect harmony exists. He married, May 25, 1835, Miss Margaret, daughter of Nathan and Jane (Carr) Mitchell, both of Maryland, originally, but afterward pioneers of Ohio. Four chil- dren were born of this marriage, two of whom are liv- ing. Their mother died of cholera, July 29, 1849. Mr. Marsh was again united in marriage August 29, 1854, to Mrs. Mary Mutchner, by whom he has four children.

ICKEW, ARTHUR, merchant, miller, and farmer, of Ridgeville, Indiana, was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, August 12, 1819. His parents came to this country from Ireland as young people, and were married in Pennsylvania. Arthur is the oldest of six children; and when he was six weeks of age his parents removed to Fayette County, Indiana. His edu- cation, which, from the nature of his surroundings, was somewhat limited, was obtained in this county from subscription schools when quite a young boy. As he was the oldest child his father frequently took him from these short terms to help him or his mother in the duties of the family; thus even these scant opportuni- ties for an education were seriously interfered with. His father removed to Randolph County when Arthur was about twelve years of age, and settled near where the town of Ridgeville now stands. Here Arthur

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[6th Dist.

worked for his father on the farm, and had compara- tively no privileges of instruction, except that he re- turned to Fayette County and attended one term of about four months, which finished his school education, though by perseverance he continued his studies, until he has been able to carry on an extensive and mixed business of farming, merchandising, milling, etc. His knowledge of mathematics is fair, while he writes an excellent hand. About the age of twenty-one he began for himself, by working on a farm for very low wages. This he continued for some three years, when he of his own accord, without assistance, took up and learned the trade of plasterer. This, with farming, made his busi- ness till twenty-eight years of age. About this time he sold eighty acres of land in Jay County, and bought sixty acres on which Ridgeville . now stands, and opened a store at the cross-roads, which afterwards formed the center of the town. Thus was the founda- tion laid for his future wealth. He did a large and promiscuous business in selling dry-goods, groceries, hardware, boots and shoes, etc., as needed in a new country. He also bought grain, cattle, sheep, hogs, and farm products generally. He was for a number of years the buyer and seller and the general factotum of the place. During these times he drew to himself trade for eight or ten miles in every direction. Much of this was done on the credit system; but his superior judg- ment in buying and selling, and his knowledge of men and things, enabled him to accumulate money rapidly, and with comparatively little loss from his customers. He built a larger store in a better location about 1850. His extensive grain trade decided him to buy the " River Mill" in 1855. It was in poor condition, and he pulled it down and built a new one, introducing steam power in 1866, and selling it in 1870. He still continued his mercantile business successfully ; and in that year he bought a steam mill at Walton, Indiana, and removed it to Ridgeville; but an accident overtook him. His mill, with its contents of some five thousand bushels of corn, besides wheat, flax-seed, oats, and its valuable machinery, including four run of stone, was destroyed by fire on May 5, 1877. This calamity was thought to be accidental. But a man of Mr. McKew's make-up was not to be discouraged by such disasters; and within thirty days he began to rebuild, better and more substantially than ever before; and he now has a handsome brick structure, with metal roof, three stories high, to take the place of the old one. In addition to this he has three extensive warehouses near by, to meet the wants of his large trade in wheat, corn, flax-seed, oats, etc. Aside from stores, mills, town lots, etc., Mr. McKew owns twelve hundred acres of land in one body adjoining the town of Ridgeville. But in this world of sorrow and death man's cup has its bitter draught. By his marriage to Margery Ward, in 1843, six children

were born to them, three of whom died in childhood, and three lived to grow up. Of these he had a bright boy who learned rapidly, and had acquired a good education. But death marked him for his own; and in 1874 he died of the spinal fever, and now " sleeps be- neath the low green tent whose curtains ne'er swung outward." With this cherished boy there were buried, it seems, the hopes of his father. Life seemed worth- less, and business lost its interest to him; and for some two years but little was done, comparatively. His re- maining son is engaged in the business with him. Mr. McKew has used his means liberally for the ad- vancement of education, the building of railroads, etc., etc. Ridgeville College, which was founded in 1866, under the care of the Baptist Church, has received from him about eleven thousand dollars, though he is himself a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is one of the directors of that institution. In politics he was an anti-slavery Whig, and is now an influential Republican. Always of temperate habits, he refuses to keep in his employment any man who drinks alcoholic stimulants when on duty, We trust that his example of industry and integrity may prompt young men to higher and better aims in life, and that, by imitating his virtues, they may enter upon the high road to success.

CRAE, CAPTAIN HAMILTON SAMUEL, son of Franklin and Rachel (Sands) McRae, was born near New Middletown, Harrison County, Indiana, January 2, 1833. A genealogical ac- count of the MacRas was written by John MacRa, some- time minister of Dingwall, in Ross-shire, who died in 1704. This was transcribed and extended by Farquhar MacRa, and, from manuscript received from Scotland, was printed for private circulation by Colin McRae, of Camden, South Carolina. In the account there is a reference to a tradition of a "desperate rencounter be- twixt two of the petty princes of Ireland, in which a certain young man signalized himself by his prowess, defending himself from a particular attack of the en- emy, which others observing said, in Irish words, he was a fortunate son." The spelling of the original name, McRath, was variously modified, according to the pronunciation in the dialect of the particular local- ity. Thus : MacGrath, MacGraw, MacGrow, MacRay, MacRae. Sometimes, from an " ill-founded prejudice," the Mac was dropped, and the name became Craw, Crow, Ray, or Rae. In this country a John McCrea adopted the spelling McCrea, that he might be distin- guished from other John McRaes. Some of the Mac- Ras, adherents of Colin Fitzgerald, came to Scotland as early as 1265. At a somewhat later date, probably, McRas came to Kintail, whence they were widely dif-

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 78

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