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 89

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 89

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URME, REV. ARTHUR A., president of the in- corporated firm of Curme, Dunn & Co., Richmond, Indiana, was born September 8, 1835, in Cerne- Abbas, Dorset County, England. His parents, Job Curme and Jane S. Foote, were married in Cerne-Abbas October 24, 1834. They emigrated to this country in April, 1846. Soon after landing at New Orleans young Arthur was entrusted by his father with a large bundle. He led the way through the city and expected his twelve year old son to keep up with him. But having the weight of his bundle and a large stock of curiosity to carry, he soon lost sight of his guide and began to gratify himself by looking at the many sights of the great metropolis. Steam was up, and their boat was about to leave the wharf for the north country, when the parents realized the startling truth that their son was lost. For several hours the captain waited, while the father searched the city for the little wanderer. Just as he was giving up all hope of ever seeing him again, he be-

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held him leisurely sauntering about, in blissful ignorance of the distress of his parents. It may be believed he was quickly hurried on board. From the Crescent City they proceeded to Cincinnati, where they made their home. The subject of this sketch there acquired an education by attending school in winter, while the sum- mer and autumn seasons he improved at work. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to the trade of tanner and currier for the succeeding four and a half years. At fifteen he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church at Salem, now Raper Chapel, corner Elm and Findlay streets, and was elected Sunday-school librarian. After- wards he attached himself to Finley Chapel on Clinton Street, and at the age of seventeen was appointed a Sunday-school teacher in the school. During these years of his life he was frequently called on to speak in Sunday-schools on Christmas and pic-nic occasions, thus inciting his young mind to greater interest in the sub- ject, as well as training him to public speaking, which proved to be of great advantage to him in later life. He was licensed to exhort at the age of eighteen by Rev. Moses Smith and the Board of Finley Chapel, and was also promoted as leader of the young men's prayer meeting. After receiving his license he frequently ac- companied local ministers, and assisted them in con- ducting religious exercises in the suburbs of the city. On October 26, 1856, he married Miss Elizabeth J. Nicholas, daughter of Rev. William Nicholas, of the United Brethren Church of Cincinnati. In 1857 he re- moved to Richmond, Indiana, which place has ever since been his home. On his arrival there his entire capital was less than two hundred dollars, but having established a good moral and Christian character while living in the city, he had no difficulty in getting all the credit he needed for a start in business. His first efforts were in a very limited way, opening a small leather store on North Pearl Street. He soon purchased a lot on the east bank of White Water, in the western part of the city, and resumed his trade of tanning by sinking one single vat. He cautiously increased the number one at a time, as his growing business demanded it, until now he is president of the large incorporated establishment of Curme, Dunn & Co., employing a capital of more thạn one hundred thousand dollars. And notwithstand- ing the introduction of steam and modern appliances of labor saving machinery, they employ constantly about fifty hands. In addition to their tannery they have a large horse-collar factory. From these branches of industry are manufactured goods sent to all parts of the United States, and also to England and Prussia. No firm anywhere has a better commercial standing than that of Curme, Dunn & Co .; and this high char- acter has been fully earned, for through all the times of depression and panic that have swept over the coun- try during the past six years, all of their paper has been

taken up on or before maturity, and every draft promptly honored. Mr. Curme has not only been active and in- dustrious in business, but also in Church affairs, since moving to Richmond. At first he associated himself with Pearl Street Methodist Episcopal Church, where he served the Sunday-school as librarian, and after- wards as teacher. He was one of the founders of Union Chapel, on Main Street, and class-leader in the same for five years; was afterwards class-leader and Sabbath-school superintendent at Central Church. Af- ter this organization was discontinued he joined Grace Church, corner of Seventh and Broadway, of which he is now a member. We clip the following, under the head of "Sabbath-schools in Wayne County :"

" Rev. Arthur A. Curme, who is a local minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, went to the village of Chester . . in the latter part of 1863, and opened a Sabbath-school. He labored faithfully, . . . until suf- ficient interest was awakened to warrant the organiza- tion of a Church. . . . A small neat frame house was completed in the autumn of 1864."

He did a similar work at Dover, in the same county :

"Thus by the efforts of one man two Churches and two Sabbath-schools have been put into operation, with all their influences for good-and this, too, while he was discharging the active duties of a partner in a large and growing mercantile and manufacturing firm."

In this good cause he has worked effectually at Beech Grove, Middleboro, and Sevastopol. During these years he has been an active member of the Independent Or- der of Odd-fellows in Woodward Lodge, No. 212, where he has passed the chairs, and has had the honor of representing in the Grand Lodge. Mr. Curme was one of the originators and a member of the committee on the building of their fine hall, on the corner of Main and Fifth Streets, and is now president of the board of trustees that control the business management of the lodges of Richmond, and has served as deputy grand master of the lodges of Richmond. He is also a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias, and has held various and important positions in the lodge, and now is the second officer in the state. Mr. Curme has been elected three times in succession a member of the city council, and during one year he served as chairman of the board of public improvements. He has been president of the Local Preachers' Association for the past six years. In October, 1877, he was elected vice-president of the National Local Preachers' Associa- tion held at Philadelphia. Through all these promo- tions to office and responsible positions in political, secret, and religious organizations, the subject of this sketch has been regarded as an earnest and industrious worker for the advancement of the cause in which he was engaged. In 1877 Mr. Curme delivered an address before the Local Preachers' Association, at Winchester, Indiana, on "Ministers' Duties and Opportunities,"

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which was highly appreciated, and the association re- quested a copy for publication. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Curme now consists of seven children-two sons and five daughters. The oldest, George Oliver, is now a student in Asbury University. He is a Christian young man of superior intellectual endowments and learning for one of his age. He began teaching in the city schools of Richmond when he was less than eighteen years of age. The Latin professor of the University, writing under date of July 11th, 1877, says :

"Mr. Curme is a young man of very superior attain- ments, standing among the first of his class, and has always exhibited an accuracy and breadth in scholar- ship that has been almost surprising."

His reports sent home show that in belles-lettres, mathematics, Greek, Latin, and in deportment he was perfect, receiving one hundred per cent. He is em- ployed as a Sunday-school teacher in the institution, and teaches half of the time in English, and half in the German language.

AGLE, J. C., A. M., superintendent of the public schools of Union City, Indiana, was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, March 23, 1846. He is the third of seven children born to David B. and Ann (Mason) Eagle. His ancestry on the paternal side were German, while his mother's were Scotch and

Irish. His school privileges were meager till he was about fourteen years of age. Prior to that time he was in the habit of attending a common district school some three months each year, and in the succeeding nine months the little knowledge acquired was almost oblit- erated, or crowded out of the memory, by the scenes and incidents of farm life. At this time of his life there came an awakening of ambition in his mind to be a self- educated man, and to make his mark in the world. Among the influences that stirred an inspiration in his soul, was the reading of an Encyclopædia of English Grammar and hints contained in it for the guidance of students in developing memory. To accomplish these desires he began a systematic study of the Latin and Greek languages. These he pursued for a few months, while his only preceptor during this time was Professor William Sunderland, of Dayton, Ohio, to whom he oc- casionally recited. He was then about fourteen years of age. He was apt in mathematical studies, and so readily did he master the problems in his text' books that he needed no one to instruct him in this branch. If at any time he was puzzled over an example he would carefully review the work gone over to discover the principle that he had failed to master and which was the source of difficulty. At this early age he began to shape his work so as to cover a course of six years'

study in Dennison University, Granville, Ohio. In this he was successful, for his good reasoning faculties, added to a remarkable memory, enabled him almost un- aided and alone to master the difficulties and prepare himself to enter the senior class of that institution. In 1867, a few months after he became twenty-one years of age, he graduated. Prior to this he taught one year, to procure the means of paying his expenses through college, and is a striking illustration of a man educated through self-help. So tenacious was his memory that when a mere boy he committed the whole of the New Testament and the book of Genesis to heart, and pro- posed to memorize the whole of the Bible. But the family physician, fearing sad consequences, advised his mother to restrain him in this, which was done. Pro- fessor Eagle is now thankful for this escape from a lop- sided development, which he believes would have re- sulted from a continuance in that course. After receiving his diploma he taught one year in his native state, then was called as principal of the Clay City Schools of Illinois, and the next year was at the head of the schools of Louisville, the county seat of Clay County. At the expiration of that year he gave up teaching on account of ill health, caused by the malarial influences of that district, and accepted an agency that kept him much in the open air, by which his health was regained. In 1873 he took the position of principal of the Union City School, which he now holds. Professor Eagle is a Master Mason, and an acceptable member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. In 1873 he married Miss Maggie Grant, of Illinois, who is also a member of the same Church. Mr. Eagle is a good judge of human nature, a good organizer, and by self-culture and close application has acquired distinction in his profession. The high character he has won as an educator is suffi- ciently attested by the character and attainments of the pupils he has had under his charge. His abilities in this line are great, and he has great facility for imparting information, while at the same time keeping a steady control over his schools.

ROSE, GENERAL WILLIAM, was born near the mouth of Mad River, Montgomery County, Ohio, December 16, 1812. He is the son of Wil- liam Grose and Sarah (Hubbell) Grose, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of New Jersey. His grandfather, Jacob Grose, was killed in the Revo- lutionary War, and his father served six months under General William Henry Harrison. His grandmother Grose was a remarkable woman, born in 1762 and dying in 1867, at the surprising age of one hundred and five years. Within a few years of her death she was able to relate many incidents of Revolutionary times from

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her own experience. General William Grose was the third of five sons, there being besides two daughters in the family. In the spring of 1817 his father moved to Fayette County, Indiana, after a sojourn of several months in Hamilton County, Ohio. Here, in their new home, they found the country covered with dense forests, which must be subdued by hard work, that the "wil- derness might blossom as the rose." In common with the sons of those hardy pioneers, the subject of this sketch knew what it was to " endure hardness as a good soldier" in the battle of frontier life. When William was about seventeen years of age his father moved with his family to Henry County, Indiana, in which he has ever since lived. Here he had a second installment of frontier life. Game was plenty, but the clearing of lands and other necessary work allowed but little time for hunt- ing to those who were to be successful farmers. Rude log school-houses, slab benches, and slab writing-tables, fastened to the wall, are representations of the oppor- tunities for an education in those days. But both then and later in life he studied hard and mastered many things alone, that laid the foundation for his after suc- cess. He never had the privilege of studying grammar, except during his last term at school, which he attended in his nineteenth year. He continued to help his father on the farm till a few months before he was twenty- one years of age, when his time was given him and he left home to take care of himself. His first work was on a farm at eight dollars per month, including har- vesting. When he was twenty-three years old he mar- ried Miss Rebecca Needham of Henry County. They reared a family of five children, three sons and two daughters. One son and the daughters are married. One of his unmarried sons is in the government revenue service in Cincinnati. The homes of the daughters un- til recently were in Salt Lake City, but they now live in New Castle. After being married Mr. Grose studied law under Judges Elliott and Test, though the most of his reading was done at home. He was admitted to the bar in 1843, and the Supreme and Federal Courts in 1844. In 1846 he moved from New Lisbon to New Castle, since which time he has had all of the law busi- ness he has wanted. As Mr. Grose accumulated money he invested it, largely, in land, which advanced in price and added to his wealth. At present he owns about five hundred acres. Mr. Grose was a Democrat until 1854, and was an elector under President Pierce. He was one of the body which met in Pittsburgh in February, 1856, to organize the Republican party. He was elected to the state Legislature ir 1856, but de- clined a re-election in 1858. In 1860 he was elected Common Pleas Judge. He resigned this place in July, 1861, and was tendered a commission as colonel of the 36th Indiana Volunteer Infantry by Governor Morton, which he accepted. In a few days the regiment was

filled, and with it he left for the front, reporting to General Sherman at Louisville, Kentucky, in Septem- ber. Soon after he, with his regiment, was ordered by General Buell to New Haven, Kentucky, where he re- mained until the regiment was organized with and as part of Ammen's brigade in Nelson's division at Camp Wickliffe, Kentucky. In February, 1862, the division marched to the Ohio River, took boat to the Cumber- land, and up that river to the city of Nashville, arriv- ing there on the 25th of February ; and the 36th with the 6th Ohio was the first body of troops to enter that city ard displace the rebel cavalry. Thence going with the division to Shiloh, his regiment was the only por- tion of Buell's army that took part in the first day of that battle. The second day, April 7, on account of the disability of Colonel Ammen, he became brigade commander, acting as such until the organization of the Army of the Cumberland. He then continued to com- mand the Third Brigade, First Division, Fourth Corps, in that army. With his brigade he was in the first battle at Corinth, Mississippi, thence through Mississippi and Alabama back into Tennessee, and to Louisville, Kentucky, in the battle of Perryville, and thence again to Tennessee. He took part as brigade commander at Stone River, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga, and was with Hooker up Lookout Mountain, "above the clouds," Mission Ridge, and in all the battles of the Atlanta Campaign. While in front of Atlanta, in July, 1864, he was commissioned brigadier-general, and was in com- mand of the brigade, division, and corps alternately un- til the close of the war. He was in the battles of Jonesboro and Lovejoy Station with his corps. He then returned to General Thomas, and took part in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, and in the pursuit of Hood's army to the Tennessee River; and at Hunts- ville, Alabama, in January, 1865, received a commission as major-general of volunteers. Thence he marched to East Tennessee, toward Richmond. But the news of the fall of the latter city, and the surrender of Lee's army to General Grant made it unnecessary to advance further in that direction. Returning to Nashville with his command, all of his men, except the veterans, were mustered out. In June, 1865, by order of General Thomas, he was detailed as president of a court-martial, and thereby relieved of further active command, serving upon the court-martial until January 1, 1866. General Grose then resigned and returned home to his family and friends. He served his country faithfully and gal- lantly, and received the plaudits of the people of Indi- ana for his active and energetic services in their behalf. In May, 1866, he was appointed revenue collector Fif- teenth Indiana District, where he served eight years. There are few persons who have done more for the community in which they have lived, or who enjoy more of its respect, than General Grose.

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ENNINGS, LEVI ALLEN, an enterprising and suc- cessful business man of New Castle, Henry County, was born on the 6th of May, 1834, in Wayne County, Ohio. He is the son of Obadiah and Mary Jen- nings. His father was descended from the Jennings of England, where many of the same name and relationship have attained positions of trust and great personal influ- ence. His mother was of German extraction, coming from that patient and industrious stock that has produced so much of the wealth and stalwart character of the great state of Pennsylvania, of which state both Mr. Jennings' father and mother were natives, and where they con- tinued to reside until their marriage. When Ohio and Indiana were still new, and spoken of by people be- yond the Alleghanies as "the West," Mr. Jennings' parents crossed the mountains, in a wagon drawn by a single horse, and settled in Ohio. There they engaged in farming, or, more properly speaking, in opening and improving a farm, and farming. In these occupations the subject of this sketch spent his boyhood, only alter- nating the labors of the farm with such brief terms of neighborhood schools as offered chances for gaining a little rudimentary learning, until he was eighteen years of age. During these years of his minority, however, his brain was not idle, and the hard toil of his willing hands by no means exhausted his energies or extin- guished his ambition. Nerved by the desire for knowl- edge and the purpose to be and do something worth living for, he made the best use of such limited facili- ties as were afforded for storing his mind with useful information. Thus, like many another ambitious boy who has risen to eminence, he often carried his books with him to the field, and memorized rules and defini- tions as he walked behind the plow. In this way he added to the little gained in the short winter terms of neighborhood schools, until by the time he had reached the proper age to support himself at school he had ac- quired a fair knowledge of the primary branches of learning. He then, with the consent of his parents, entered the college at Hayesville, Ohio, remaining there through two collegiate terms, and going thence to the high school at Ashland, Ohio, where he contin- ued for two and a half years, mastering much of the mathematical and scientific courses, and giving consid- erable study to English language and literature, and also to Latin and Greek, which he began to read and translate with readiness and ease. At the end of this time, however, it became necessary for him to pause in his studies and engage in teaching for a while, to secure the means to enable him to finish his collegiate course. Here was a break in the chain, that was never welded again, and which caused his life-work to be directed into the channel for which nature had most amply fitted and qualified him, and where his restless and deter- mined energy, which had enabled him, under adverse

circumstances and with little to incite his aspirations, to store his mind with useful knowledge and lay the foundations of future successes, might find full play and produce adequate results. For, during the progress of his first winter's term of school, he was offered a posi- tion as principal deputy in the clerk's office of the Com- mon Pleas and District Courts of Ashland County, Ohio, by his uncle, a prominent banker of Ashland, the county seat, who had just been elected to that office. Accepting the offer, he filled the place with fidelity for three years. At the close of his time in the clerk's of- fice he embarked in the boot and shoe trade with a man who, much to Mr. Jennings' surprise and loss, proved to be a bankrupt. Seeing his excellent qualities as a business man, the Ball Reaper & Mower Company soon after this engaged him as their agent, in which capacity he labored for three seasons. In 1867 Mr. Jennings left Ohio and removed to Indiana, and settled in New Castle, where he has since remained; and in that same year began business there in conjunction with his father, and, soon after, with his brother. The next year he opened a planing-mill, lumber-yard, and sash and door factory, which business he has followed ever since, with singular activity, and, at the same time, care and scrupulous attention to all the details and minutiæ of the trade. For several years past he has been exten- sively engaged in the manufacture of furniture, turning out all grades of work, from cheap to very fine and costly, and his lumber trade has assumed large propor- tions. In 1877 he erected a fine brick business house, one hundred and thirty-two feet deep and four stories in height-including the basement-in which he carries on a large and constantly increasing business in furni- ture, carpets, hardware, and house furnishing goods. His sales, altogether, amount to about $150,00 per year. Mr. Jennings lives in a beautiful home, his house being a handsome frame upon the summit of a gentle eleva- tion that overlooks the little city. His grounds are tastefully laid out, planted in forest trees, ornamented with shrubs and flowers, while two beautiful pools of water, fed by a strong spring, add their attractions to the cool and pleasant surroundings. He was married on the 2d of December, 1858, to Miss Martha W. Coffin, a lady of excellent family, good mind, and fine musical ability. She is a woman of pleasant manners and fine personal appearance. The result of their union has been three children, two of whom survive-a son, Winslow De Vere, and a daughter, Helen Ettie. The son, like the father, displays a fondness for business, and exhibits much the same energy that has led to his father's successes ; while the daughter is a highly ac- complished lady and a musician of much excellence and promise. Mr. Jennings is an outspoken, square, prompt business man, who has made his way by indomitable energy and pluck. He takes a deep interest in the

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progress of his adopted town, and has done much to advance its material interests. In politics he is well in- formed and possessed of decided opinions, which he does not seek to conceal. He is a Republican. While not loud or pretentious, he is deeply interested in the spread of religion and morality, and has been an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1871. Mr. Jennings' character stands very high. He is a man of sterling integrity and is widely known and respected.

cGUIRE, EZEKIEL WHITNEY, general agent for the Eaton and Hamilton Railroad Company, of Richmond, Indiana, was born in Saratoga County, New York, December 25, 1813. He is the son of Daniel McGuire and Sarah A. Whitney, and is the fifth of seven children, three sons and four daugh- ters. His father died when he was but ten years of age, leaving the family in destitute circumstances, and at the tender age of thirteen the subject of this sketch left the parental roof to fight life's battles for himself. Says Shakespeare :

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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 89

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