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 II, Part 111

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1006

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 II > Part 111

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Baptist Church, which she joined about thirty years ago. She is a woman of generous sympathies, and has strong attachments. She has met her duties as second mother to a family of children, with a degree of discretion and good judgment that has secured to her the respect, love, and obedience of the children. She is the mother of four children by her former hus- band. Mr. Hess is mentally as well as physically unim- paired, and retains the force and vigor of mind and memory that characterized him twenty-five years ago. He is a man of pleasing and entertaining conversational powers, and a courteous and agreeable gentleman. Mr. Hess, having resided in the vicinity of Goshen for fifty years, has seen Elkhart, from the condition of a wilder- ness, with a population of about a score, grow to a county of great wealth and prosperity, dotted all over with beautiful and well-cultivated farms, and the rude log-cabins replaced by handsome dwellings, with a population of thirty-four thousand; and the city of Go- shen, as it now stands, from a wilderness with no im- provements, to a city of magnificent business blocks and palatial dwellings. Mr. Hess, in his active, laborious life, has been an important factor in the improvement of the country, and now, in the evening of his days, looks with pride and satisfaction upon the part he has taken.

ESS, WILLIAM B., a prominent lawyer, of Plym- outh, was born September 16, 1841, in Jefferson Township, Knox County, Ohio. His parents, Jo- seph and Mary (Black) Hess, were natives of Penn- sylvania. William Hess enjoyed in early life only such educational advantages as were derived from an irregu- lar attendance at a country school during the winter, aiding his father on the farm the remainder of the time. When he was fifteen years old the death of his father prevented him from enjoying, for two years, even these meager opportunities. With Spartan firmness, however, and a perseverance truly commendable, he struggled on, teaching school and studying alternately, until 1866. Having a natural taste for the legal profession he began reading law in 1861, borrowing books of attorneys and studying at intervals as opportunities afforded. In 1863 he entered the college at New Carlisle and remained one term. In the spring of 1864, when the government is- sued a call for one-hundred-day men, Mr. Hess enlisted, was commissioned second lieutenant of Company E, 138th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and joined the regi- ment at Indianapolis. From there they went to Louis- isville, Kentucky; thence to Anderson, near the line of the states of Tennessee and Alabama, where they guarded railroad and other communications until Sep- tember 22, 1864, when, after a service of nearly five months, they were mustered out and sent home. Dur-

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ing the winter of 1864-65 Mr. Hess resumed his occu- pation of teaching, but in the spring he again enlisted, in response to the call for one-year troops, and March 7 received his commission as lieutenant in Company E, 152d Regiment. After a short service in the Shenan- doah Valley the war closed and they were discharged. Stif adhering to his determination to become a lawyer, Mr. Hess entered the office of J. O. Parks, of Bourbon, and read law about one year, at the end of which time he was admitted to the bar. He began practice at Knox, Starke County, in 1866, but after a year re- moved to Columbia City, where he remained for one year, and then went to Bourbon, Marshall County. In January, 1870, he removed to Plymouth and became associated in the law business with John G. Osborn, under the firm name of Osborn & Hess. This connec- tion continued until the death of Mr. Osborn, October 6, 1873. Mr. Hess has since conducted the business alone, and, by his untiring industry, his fidelity to the just interests of his clients, his promptness, and above all his integrity, has secured a large and lucra- tive practice, and won the confidence and esteem of his numerous patronage. As a lawyer he stands in the front rank of his profession. His success is more the result of his familiarity with the principles of law and their application than of his power as an orator. His good sense and judgment enable him to see the weak as well as the strong points of a question, thus making him a safe counselor. It is said of Mr. Hess that the right never lacks in him a defender, and that the wrong never finds in him an advocate. Honorable and upright in his private business transactions, he carries the same principles into his professional life and practice. These qualities eminently fit him to act the part of conciliator and harmonizer of conflicting views and interests, a fact in which he takes more pride than in pressing litigation to ever so successful an issue. He has been financially successful, and has acquired a com- petence. Having begun life penniless and uneducated, his present assured position is the best indication of his energy, industry, and determination. Mr. Hess is a stanch Republican ; and, although not an office-seeker or professed politician, he has several times been called to official duty. In 1868 he occupied the position of the town trustee of Bourbon. He held the office of prosecuting attorney of the district comprising the counties of Marshall, St. Joseph, Laporte, and Elkhart, during one term, and that of deputy prosecutor for the two following years. He was also city attorney of Plymouth for four years. His administration was marked by its efficiency, and was such as to elicit the commendation alike of his political friends and oppo- nents. He is a member of the Order of Odd-fellows, and has filled all the subordinate official positions in the lodge. He has for many years been an honored F-3

member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, having allied himself with it in childhood. He is a teacher in the Sabbath-school, and by his generosity has aided largely in the material growth and interest of the Church; while by his genial and Christian example he has contributed much to its spiritual and social advance- ment. A man of dignified presence, courteous manners, and integrity in business, Mr. Hess is esteemed by all . who know him. He was married, October 27, 1864, to Miss Annie E. Moore, daughter of George and Mary Moore, pioneers of Kosciusko County. Mrs. Hess is a most exemplary Christian lady, an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for her amiable traits of character and many virtues is loved and honored by a large circle of friends. They have two children, one son and one daughter. Mr. Hess is very strong in his domestic attachments, and is regarded by his family with that high love and respect which he so justly deserves.

OLLEY, SYLVESTER JOSEPH, Justice of the Peace, Argos, Marshall County, was born Sep- tember 1, 1838, in the province of Upper Canada (now Ontario), in the vicinity of Toronto. His mother, Catharine, was a Pennsylvanian, and his father, Joseph, was 'a Canadian ; he was a farmer. When a child his parents removed to Tuscarawas, Ohio, where his father engaged in agriculture, and he was brought up on the farm. He attended the common school, where he received a good and thorough English and German education. As the district was largely Ger- man, he acquired a complete knowledge of that lan- guage-almost equal to his native tongue. On leaving school, at the age of fifteen, he served three years with a jeweler to learn his trade, when he removed to Indi- ana, remaining for some time with an uncle in Miami County, and there teaching school until the outbreak of the war, when he went to Terre Haute and enlisted in the 97th Indiana Infantry Volunteers. He was mus- tered in August 13, 1862, and immediately proceeded to Camp Morton, Indianapolis, from there to Louisville, Kentucky, thence to Memphis, and was there assigned to the Thirteenth Brigade of the Seventeenth Army Corps. June 27, 1863, he received his discharge, by general order, for the purpose of receiving promotion to commissary sergeant of the 59th United States Reg- ulars. He remained with that regiment nearly one year, when he was detailed to the quartermaster's depart- ment at Memphis, Tennessee, where he continued until the end of the war, receiving his discharge in August, 1865, when he returned to his friends, who in the mean time had removed to Huntington County, Indiana. He then, for a short time, engaged in the jewelry business there, and afterward for four years in Missouri. Then

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he went to North Manchester, Indiana, where for four | ing nine states-to which three others were subsequently years he took charge of a large jewelry house, when he added. Here he remained until the close of the war, when he received an honorable discharge. Immediately returning to his home in South Bend, he resumed his medical practice, in which he has since been engaged, as one of the leading physicians and surgeons of North- ern Indiana. Dr. Humphreys served two years as trus- tee of the State University, and four years as commis- sioner of the Hospital for the Insane, at Indianapolis. He also served four years as mayor of the city of South Bend. He is a member of the State Medical Society, and also of the American Medical Association. He married, April 4, 1844, Miss Margaret Pierson, of Coo- perstown, New York. They have two daughters. removed to Argos in 1877, engaging in the same busi- ness on his own account, and still continuing it. In November, 1878, he was elected Justice of the Peace by a small majority, he being a Republican in a strongly Democratic district. Reared a Democrat, his opinions .were changed during the war, and he is now an ardent Republican and faithful worker in the ranks of that party. As a boy of studious habits he made the most of his opportunities to acquire an education, from which in after life he has derived much benefit. He is a man of good personal appearance and pleasant manners ; he is courteous and obliging, and stands high in his com- munity as an honorable, upright man. He was mar- ried, February 14, 1875, to Susie B. Snearly, daughter of George Snearly, a large farmer of Miami County. Mr. Holley has been for four years a member of the Evan- gelical Lutheran Church. He is a member of the Or- der of Odd-fellows, in which order he has taken all the degrees, was Chief Patriarch of the Encampment at Manchester, and is Noble Grand at Argos. He has in his possession, as a memento and relic of the war, the saddle which was given to the wife of a captain who was lost by the explosion of the steamer " Sultana," laden with troops whom Sherman had released from Southern prisons. The saddle was given to the lady by General Buckland, for the purpose of raffling off to raise funds for herself on the loss of her husband. Between five hundred and six hundred soldiers subscribed, and Mr. Holley was the winner.

RWIN, JOHN W., lawyer and banker, of Goshen, Elkhart County, Indiana, was born September 24, 1822, in Elizabeth Township, Alleghany County, Pennsylvania. His parents, Alexander Irwin and Elizabeth (Wycoff) Irwin, were natives of the same state. His ancestors were Protestants of the most or- thodox type, and are supposed to have emigrated from Ireland to enjoy greater freedom of action and thought in religious matters than was there granted them. They settled in Pennsylvania prior to the Revolutionary War. Isaac Irwin, grandfather to John W., was a soldier in the struggle for our national independence. He was in 1776 commissioned a lieutenant in the army, and served on active duty for two years, at which time he was stricken with camp fever and was conveyed to his home, where he lingered for a while, finally yielding to the severity of the attack. He died in the prime of his manhood and usefulness. His son, Alexander, im- bibing something of the spirit of his father, qualified himself in military drill and tactics, and, at the opening of the War with England of 1812, having previously been commissioned major of state militia, joined, as a private, the expedition of General Smythe, at Black Rock, for the contemplated invasion of Canada; but, as the general could not get a sufficient number of volun- teers, the project was abandoned. Mr. Irwin enlisted as a private, serving in the commissary department, where he remained until the abandonment of Black Rock, when he was honorably discharged. In 1832 he emigrated from Pennsylvania to Indiana, and settled about five miles from Goshen upon a farm he had pur- chased, where he lived until his death, August 22, 1835. He was an earnest and devout Christian, and a zealous member of the Presbyterian Church. At the time of his death he was engaged in the organization of a Church of his faith in Elkhart Prairie, having, upon his own responsibility, employed a minister. He was foremost

UMPHREYS, LOUIS, physician and surgeon, of South Bend, was born September 21, 1816. at Springfield, Ohio. He received his early education in the district and high schools of his native town, and in Franklin Academy, at Maysville, Kentucky. He commenced the study of medicine with his brother, Harry Humphreys, in 1834; and graduated from Indi- ana University. He then commenced practice in La- porte, Indiana, where he continued until 1844, when he removed to South Bend and engaged in successful pro- fessional work until the breaking out of the Civil War. He immediately entered the army, being appointed sur- geon of the 29th Indiana Volunteers. After a short time he was promoted to the position of brigade sur- geon ; and served as such until June, 1862, when he was appointed one of the United States medical inspec- tors of the army, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was assigned to duty in the Army of the Potomac, and afterwards at Washington, District of Columbia. In January, 1863, he removed to Louisville, Kentucky, which became his headquarters for the district embrac- ! in all things calculated to promote the interests of the

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community in which he lived, and was, in every way, an exemplary and usetul neighbor and citizen. Al- though sixty years of age, he appeared and looked at least fifteen years younger, always having been in the possession of perfect health. John W. Irwin en- joyed in early life limited educational advantages, such as could be derived from an irregular attendance at a common district school. When he had arrived at the age of twenty years he entered the university at Bloom- ington, Indiana, in the classical department, where he remained for eighteen months; but ill-health com- pelled him to return home, where he stayed for a time, devoting his time to farm labor, until in the spring of 1847 he returned to college, entering the law de- partment under the tuition of Professor McDonald, who afterwards became Judge of the United States Dis- trict Court. Mr. Irwin was there but one term, when ill-health again forced him to retire. In 1849 he came to Goshen and began the practice of law. In 1852 he was appointed deputy county clerk, serving about eighteen months, when he formed a copartnership with Judge Robert Lowry, of Goshen, this relation contin- uing for five years, when Mr. Irwin, having been elected county treasurer, practically closed- his law business and gave his attention to those duties alone. He was re- elected to the position in 1860. In 1862 he was ap- pointed deputy collector of internal revenue for Elkhart County, and resumed" the practice of his profession, which he still continues. In 1868 he resigned the office of collector, that he might devote his time more to his legal and banking business, which he had in connection with General Hascall entered into in 1865, as the suc- cessors of John Cook and T. G. Harris in the Salem Bank of Goshen. The public confidence in the stability and integrity of the house has increased with its four- teen years of successful operation, and it now stands in the estimation of the people in the front rank, and commands its full proportion of business. As an attor- ney-at-law Mr. Irwin has confined himself more espe- cially to office business, and practice in probate cases and in the settlement of estates, and has done but little as an advocate. Although he has met with success in the trial of cases, his chief merit lies in his ability as a counselor. His acknowledged familiarity with the prin- ciples of the law, his good sense and sound judgment, the judicial and independent character of his mind, his ability to see that every question has two sides, and, above all, his integrity, eminently fit him to act the part of a conciliator and harmonizer of conflicting interests, a part in which he takes more satisfaction than in pressing litigation to a successful issue. As a business man he is thoroughly methodical and prompt in all his transactions, and expects faithful fulfillment of contracts. He has been successful in his enterprises, and has ac- quired a liberal competence. He commands the respect

and confidence of all who know him. Mr. Irwin was educated in the Whig school of politics, and was an active adherent to that organization until its abandon- ment in 1854, consequent upon the repeal of the Mis- souri Compromise in 1853. He was one of the foremost in the organization of the Republican party in his county and district, and has ever since been an active and efficient worker in its ranks. He is positive in his political convictions, and earnest in their support and defense. He sees, reads, thinks, and acts for himself ; and a position once assumed by him he knows to be right, and strong proof must be adduced to change his views. He looks intuitively into the merits of a case. Having once found its underlying facts, he is able to deduce from them the results which should naturally follow. His mind is cool and dispassionate during this process; but, having once reached his con- clusions, he is firm and bold in their advocacy. Mr. Irwin was reared by Presbyterian parents at a time when a familiarity with the catechism and an attend- ance at Sabbath-school was a necessity. He thus formed a respect for religion that has never been departed from. He has a high opinion of the work of the Christian ministry. They are the advocates and keepers of ele- vated opinion, and are ever warring on evil and ele- vating man to better conduct, preparatory to a higher life. Yet he has not been able to subscribe to the creeds of any Church, so stands outside; but is an attendant of and a liberal contributor to the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife is a member. He is a practical temperance man, and advocates every thing tending to promote the welfare of the community in which he lives. Mr. Irwin was married, October II, 1855, to Miss Hager Jackson, third daughter of Colonel John Jackson, one of the old pioneers of Elkhart County- a man of strong and energetic character and of marked ability. He was a lieutenant in the army of the War of 1812, and served in the defense of the north and north-western frontiers, and in the wars with the In- dians and their allies. He also filled many civil posi- tions of honor and trust, and was twice elected to the state Legislature. He died July 9, 1871, in the eighty- fourth year of his age, lamented by all who knew him. Mrs. Irwin is an exemplary lady and a devoted and trusting follower of Christ. Her moral and intellectual superiority make her esteemed and influential. She is a worthy mistress of her household, and a mother who wins the strong affection of her children; and much of the success of the husband's business and social life is attributable to the sympathetic encouragement of the wife. They have two children-a son and a daughter : Frank, born August 7, 1856; and May, born April 28, 1862. Mr. Irwin is above the usual stature, stands erect, is firmly but not heavily built, and is of dignified but courteous presence. He is the architect of his own

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fortune, possesses good financial abilities, and his judg- | He assisted many slaves in their efforts to gain a ment seldom errs in regard to matters of business. His is a notable example of those sound and correct busi- ness principles which secure success, and those genial traits of character that retain public confidence and esteem.

land of freedom. He favored the nomination of W. H. Seward in 1860, not having sufficient confidence in the anti-slavery principles of Mr. Lincoln; but at the re-election of President Lincoln, in 1864, Mr. Ir- win was found in the Republican ranks, as his ardent supporter. He has ever since been an adherent of that party, feeling that it better represents his views than any other political organization in the country. He has always declined when tendered political nominations, preferring his business pursuits and the comforts and pleasures of his happy home to the trials and perplexi- ties of public life. Mr. Irwin is an active worker in the temperance cause, as well as in every movement calculated to ameliorate the condition of man. He married, January 2, 1827, Miss Mary Ann Scott, of Wayne County, Ohio. She was a lady of high moral character, an earnest Christian, and a member of the society of Friends, though a passive rather than active worker in its ranks. She died January 10, 1847, deeply regretted by a large circle of friends. Nine children were born of this union-six sons and three daughters: Lewis, born De- cember 28, 1828; Joseph, born March 30, 1830, died January 27, 1847 ; William, born March 3, 1832 ; Matthew, born September 7, 1834; Samuel, born December 19, 1837, died May 2, 1862; Elizabeth, born March 8, 1839; Sarah Ann, born September 9, 1842; Robert, born September 22, 1843; Susan, born December 19, 1845, died February 27, 1848. Mr. Irwin married, March 2, 1848, Mrs. Mary Gaskill, widow of the late Israel Gaskill. They have no children; but her duty as stepmother to a large family has been nobly met and gracefully discharged. She is warm-hearted and benev- olent ; of generous sympathies and strong attachments, her self-control and good judgment enable her to fill the responsible position of second mother with a degree of dignity that secures the respect, love, and obedience of her step-children. Mr. Irwin is of medium height and erect carriage; he has a clear eye and a genial countenance. He is a man of genuine old-fashioned courtesy, hospitable and friendly ; has perfect control of his temper, and weighs all his utterances well.

RWIN, ELISHA, of Bourbon Township, Marshall County, Indiana, is of Irish and Welsh descent, and was born in Fairfield, Columbiana County, Ohio, January 6, 1802. Possessing a strong and inquir- ing mind and a retentive memory, he pursued his studies at leisure times, and continued them into his early manhood, even after marriage, until he felt him- self master of a good common school education. At the age of nineteen he began learning the blacksmith's trade, and at the expiration of one year had acquired a degree of proficiency that enabled him to execute such work as the primitive condition of the country required. He followed his trade for twelve years, and then pur- chased a farm of thirty acres, making the first payment with a span of horses, which comprised his whole avail- able means. Credit was granted on the remaining seven hundred dollars; and the indebtedness was discharged at the end of five years, according to contract. He kept increasing his landed possessions until he was the owner of eighty acres, which he cultivated for seven years, and then removed to Starke County. He remained there until 1847, when he removed to Portage County, and pursued farming on an extensive plan. In 1854 he changed his residence for the third time, and estab- lished himself in Marshall County. From early youth his tastes and inclinations were pastoral, and his success is the best evidence of his fitness for such a life. By in- dustry and economy he has advanced, step by step, to the honorable distinction of wealth and influence. His children, who live in his immediate neighborhood, are respected and prosperous ; and in the quiet of his beau- tiful home, shut out from the whirl and bustle of the busy world, Mr. Irwin is enjoying the ease and comfort of retired life. Mr. Irwin was raised a Quaker, to the tenets of which faith he still adheres. Tolerant and considerate of the views of others, he is a liberal con- tributor to the different denominations of his neighbor- ATCHETTE, ALIQUE C., M. D., physician and surgeon, of Bourbon, was born August 24, 1837, in Abington, Wayne County, Indiana. His parents, Doctor William J. and Eliza (Wasson) Matchette, were natives of Virginia. He enjoyed in early life fair educational advantages, attended a district school in early youth, and, later, entered the Goshen school, in Elkhart County, where he had moved with his father's family in 1842, remaining until he arrived hood; and is foremost in all enterprises promotive of moral and educational interests. Being a Quaker, he was necessarily an Abolitionist, and entered into the work of freeing the bondmen and aiding in their escape with all the energy of his character-believing that in the discharge of this duty he was doing his Master's service. It is said of Mr. Irwin that his de- termined and efficient labors in this line gave him the honorable position of conductor of the train. | at the age of about twenty years, and becoming master

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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 II, Part 111

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1006

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Cincinnati, Ohio : Western Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1006