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 115
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and location of desirable lands in the county, which proved of great service to him. Meanwhile, his study of the law, his rare good judgment, together with the knowledge obtained in his office as surveyor, eminently qualified him for the management of his large landed estate, as well as the general real estate business, in which he so long successfully engaged. In 1844 Mr. Parks was elected Justice of the Peace, an office which he held for a term of three years, when he resigned, in order that he might accept the nomination of his party as Representative to the Legislature, which occurred in 1847. He was re-elected to the same office in 1848. In 1852 he was admitted to the bar, and began general practice before the courts. It is said that during the twenty-seven years of his active life as a lawyer he was in attendance at every session of the Court of Record in his district. In 1858 he was again made Representa- tive, being again chosen to the office in 1859. As a Justice of the Peace, the administration of Mr. Parks was marked by its ability, good sense, and sound, clear judgment. As a legislator, he was industrious, con- scientious, and active in the discharge of his duties. In the session of 1849 he was a member of the special committee for the settlement of the state debt growing out of the construction of the Wabash Canal, and for the disposal of. it to the bond-holders. This action of the com- mittee was consummated by the passage of what is known as the Butler Bill, confirming the report of the commit- tee, and thus relieving the state of a ponderous debt. In the session of 1858 Mr. Parks was chairman of the Committee on Rights and Privileges, and a member of the Committee on Education and Temperance. In the committee room he was noted for his industry, activity, and intelligence. He was foremost in the legislative action which culminated in the passage of a bill, drafted and presented by him, for changing the manage- ment of the public schools from that of three trustees to that of one trustee for each township, thus simplifying the system and adding much to the efficiency of the public schools. He was also instrumental in the passage of an act by which the bank tax fund, the saline fund, and the sinking fund were converted into the general school fund, thus enabling the state to carry forward its free educational projects on the most liberal plan. Mr. Parks has for many years been the school trustee of the town of Bourbon, by virtue of which he is a member of the county board of education. In all of his official positions he has, by his fidelity to his trusts, his sub- servience of party interests to what he considered the highest good of the public, won for himself the respect of both his political friends and opponents. As a prac- ticing lawyer he has met with more than ordinary suc- cess. Although not a fluent speaker he has, by the systematic and thorough preparation of his cases, his watchfulness of the best interests of his clients, and. his
your Heury A Pech Truly
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well-known integrity, made himself an advocate of con- vincing power before courts and jury. He commanded a large and lucrative practice, especially in the settling up of estates both of deceased persons and of bankrupts, absorbing in this line at least one-half of the busi- ness of the county. Mr. Parks has been a member of the Odd-fellows' Fraternity. For more than forty years he has been an honored member of the Pres- byterian Church, having held the office of elder for thirty-two years. By means of his liberal generosity he has contributed largely to its material prosperity, while his excellent Christian example has added much to its moral and spiritual advancement. He is always foremost in whatever tends to improve the moral and temporal condition of the community in which he lives. For years he has been an active and consistent advocate of the temperance reform. As a citizen Mr. Parks is highly esteemed and trusted. He has lived to see Mar- shall County reclaimed from the wilds of a vast wilder- ness, and changed into a well-cultivated country with finely cultivated farms and good dwellings, with a population of more than thirty-five thousand. Mr. Parks was married, October 3, 1836, to Miss Susan Dinwid- die, a lady of high moral and intellectual culture. She is a devout Christian, and a valued member of the Presbyterian Church. She is highly esteemed for her exemplary virtues by a large circle of friends and ac- quaintances. She has filled her trust as wife, mother, and citizen with that conscientious devotion to duty that has characterized all her acts through a long life. There are four children, two sons and two daughters. Mr. Parks is of medium stature, energetic and method- ical in all his movements, his faculties both mental and physical being well preserved. At the age of sixty-six years he exhibits the same sprightliness and activity of mind that characterized him thirty years ago.
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EED, HENRY A., the editor and proprietor of the Plymouth Democrat, of Plymouth, Marshall County, Indiana, was born November 9, 1846, in Clarke Township, Johnson County, Indiana, and is the eldest son of Harrison and America (Clem) Peed, who were natives respectively of Virginia and Kentucky. He attended school and assisted upon his father's farm until the age of seventeen years, when he left and engaged as an apprentice boy in the office of the Franklin Jeffer- sonian, at Franklin, Johnson County, where he remained for three years. He enlisted as a private in the 132d Indiana Infantry, May 3, 1864, under the call of the government for one-hundred-day troops. The regiment was first ordered to guard the railroad communications in Tennessee and Alabama, thus relieving the better disciplined troops that were wanted for General Sher-
man's army in the attack on Atlanta, and subsequent march to the sea. He served until September 7, 1864, when the regiment was mustered out of service. Re- turning to Indiana, he resumed work on his father's farm, where he remained until February 14, 1865, when he again entered service, as first sergeant of Company E, of the 148th Indiana Infantry. The following August he was promoted to the rank of sergeant major of the regiment, in which capacity he served until the close of the war. During the previous months of June and July he was detailed as commander of a squad of men for both guard and construction duty near Pulaski, Tennessee. His regiment was transferred to Columbia, in the same state, about the first of August, where it remained on guard duty until the final discharge at the end of the conflict. He then returned to Indiana and resumed work as a printer in Columbus, continuing there for about four months, when he commenced the study of law in the office of Hill & Richardson (the former being then a member of Congress). He remained there for about ten months, when he went to Edinburg, and after continuing his studies for a time became pro- prietor, in February, 1868, of the Edinburg Journal printing-office, removing it to Dover Hill, then county seat of Martin County, and began to publish a paper under the name of Martin County Herald, issuing the first number February 15, 1868. With the removal of the county seat from Dover Hill to Shoals he moved his press and business, and continued the publication of the Herald until November 1, 1878, when he sold out. During the time that he was editing and publishing his paper he was also engaged in the practice of his pro- fession as a lawyer. January 1, 1879, he removed to Plymouth and bought the press and business of the Plym- outh Democrat, the prosperity of which has been largely increased under his editorial and business management. As an advertising medium the Democrat takes high rank, and as a newspaper it is unsurpassed by any in the county. Mr. Peed is a stanch Democrat, zealous in the support of his political convictions. In January, 1869, he was elected county superintendent of schools for the county of Martin, and organized the system of public exam- inations in the county. He was active in the organiza- tion of a stock company, formed under the state law, for the erection of a building for the first graded school in the county. In 1872 Mr. Peed was elected by his party to represent his district, comprising Martin and Dubois Counties, in the state Legislature, serving at both the special and regular sessions during the term. He was also a member of the Committee on Ways and Means. The resolution passed at that session, calling for plans and specifications for a new state-house, to be submitted at the following session, was prepared and offered by him. In 1874 he was elected to the Senate from his district, consisting of the counties of Martin, Dubois,
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and Orange, and served four years. At the session of 1875 he was an active member of the Judiciary Com- mittee, and in 1877 was appointed chairman of the Committee on Railroads. He was earnest, although unsuccessful, in advocating a measure for the prohibi- tion of exorbitant freight charges on the part of rail- road companies. At the Democratic State Convention in 1878, his name was among those of the other candi- dates for the office of Secretary of State, for which he received a large competitive vote. Mr. Peed is a worthy member of the Masonic Order. He was married, June 18, 1868, to Miss Jennie Trickett, of Edinburg, Indi- ana. They have one daughter, Stella, born October 14, 1871. Mr. Peed commands the confidence and respect of his fellow-citizens, for his business integrity, un- doubted ability, and fine social qualities.
cupation until the present time. In 1877 the furniture factory was closed, and in June of the next year he bought back the hardware store, which he still carries on. Mr. Pope is a highly respected member of the Ma- sonic Fraternity and of the Knights of Honor and Royal Arcanum. Up to the year 1872 he took an ac- tive part in politics, voting the Republican ticket, but since then he has been conservative. He feels a deep interest in education, and was president of the Elkhart school board for one year. On the 9th of October, 1858, he was married, in Battle Creek, to Miss Agnes M. By- ington, daughter of Joel Byington, who is a Presbyte- rian clergyman of that place. They have a family of three children, two girls and one boy. Isabella, the eldest, was born in 1865; William S., in 1868; and Ag- nes Gertrude, in 1871. Mr. Pope is highly esteemed by his neighbors and friends, and has accumulated con- siderable means, not letting his riches, however, inter- fere with his natural kindness of heart, as it does with so many. He is a genial and courteous gentleman.
OPE, ALEXANDER, a well-known hardware mer- chant of Elkhart, Indiana, was born on the 15th of March, 1833, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. His mother was, before marriage, Isabella Center, and his father's name was John. He was an exemplary OWELL, CHARLES GRANDISON, of Laporte, Indiana, was born in Monroe County, New York, December 1, 1829. He was educated in the pub- lic schools of New York State and Laporte County, Indiana, he having removed to the latter place with his father when he was still a boy. Even at an early age he developed a fondness for reading. Until he was twenty-one years old he worked on a farm, after which he was employed five years in a store, in which he was for a time a partner. In 1856 he sold out his interest in the business, and commenced publishing a paper called the Westville Herald. In August, 1859, he re- moved to the city of Laporte and started the Laporte Herald, of which he is editor and sole proprietor. It is the leading Republican paper of the place, and, as it has a large circulation, the editor is doing much to form the political ideas of his town. His journal is much sought after. Mr. Powell was appointed post- master of Laporte by President Hayes in April, 1877. He was one .of the leading spirits in organizing the public library, of which the city is justly proud, he being the one to call a meeting of prominent citizens, who formed themselves into what is known as the Li- brary Association. He became a Mason in 1855, taking an active part in the order, and holding for two years the office of secretary of the lodge at Westville. He has been for twenty years a Unitarian, and assisted in the organization of that Church in Laporte. Mr. Powell was married, June 1, 1856, to Nancy Jane Ireland. They have three boys, aged, respectively, seventeen, eleven, . Christian, delighting in good by stealth, and was from the time that he was sixteen years old a member of the Presbyterian Church, and a ruling elder both in Scot- land and America. His death occurred in Summit County, Ohio, on the 14th of December, 1854. Alex- ander Pope was the seventh of ten children, all of whom lived to attain the age of thirty. When he was five years old his parents removed to America, taking a farm in Summit County, Ohio, on which the boy remained until he was sixteen. The place was near the city of Cleveland, and Alexander received the advantages of both district and private schools. At the age just men- tioned he entered the store of Lyman Putnam, at North- field, as a clerk. Although receiving small wages, he had an opportunity to learn how business was done, which he improved so well that it was not long before he was offered a partnership. Previous to this they had removed to Battle Creek, Michigan. The new firm was known as Putnam & Pope. On the 10th of October, 1863, he removed to Elkhart, Indiana, where he bought from William Brooks the hardware establishment he now owns. Here, as well as in Battle Creek, he was successful, and with the profits accumulated he was soon able to buy a valuable tract of land in the neigh- borhood of Elkhart, although now within its limits, known as the Wooden Farm. This was subsequently bought by J. R. Mather. In 1871 he transferred his hardware business to F. B. Pratt & Co., and soon after- wards began the manufacture of furniture in that city. At the same time he engaged extensively in farming in , and four years. His eldest boy is in the post-office at Northern Indiana and Iowa, and has continued that oc- | Laporte. Mr. Powell is a man of good personal ap-
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pearance, is five feet and six inches in height, with a fine broad forehead and full beard. He is agreeable, intelligent, well read, and well informed in all news- paper matters. He is thoroughly familiar with politics, as well as all the important questions of the day; also with the leading politicians and men of note. He is, in fact, a thorough and prosperous newspaper man. He is a member of the Northern Indiana Editorial Associa- tion, having been its president for four years. He is also an active member of the state association. Mr. Powell has risen to the position which he now occupies by his own energy, having commenced the newspaper business twenty-three years ago, and continued it until he has succeeded in accumulating a comfortable competence. He is well known and appreciated throughout the state. He was one of the delegates to the National Republican Convention held in Chicago in 1868, and also at Phila- delphia. He is an ardent and enthusiastic worker in the Republican ranks. While holding his position as postmaster of Laporte he received many highly compli- mentary notices from the press throughout the state. He possesses a worthy record, an unblemished charac- ter, and is a man who would honor any office he might be called upon to fill.
IXLEY, CHELIUS S., M. D., was born at New Pittsburgh, Wayne County, Indiana, on the 10th of July, 1848. He is the son of Sumner Pixley, M. D. The boy remained in Ohio until 1865, receiving a good education. The years 1866 and 1867 were spent in Ann Arbor, Michigan, preparing for the Latin scientific collegiate course, and in 1868 he began the study of medicine at the Charity Hospital Medical College, Cleveland, Ohio, now the Medical Department of the Wooster University. The next April he entered the office of Professor G. C. E. Weber as a private pupil, and remained with him until the autumn of 1870, when Professor Weber appointed him assistant physician to the hospital, under Doctor George L. Hoag. In February, 1871, he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and on the retirement of Doctor Hoag, shortly after, was ap- pointed his successor. He removed to Elkhart, Indiana, in March, 1872, beginning the practice of medicine as the partner of Doctor J. W. Allen. During the winters of 1872 and 1873 he was demonstrator of anatomy at Wooster University. The spring of 1873 was passed" in New York attending lectures. In the fall of 1875 he married Miss Agnes E. Schutt, a native of Elkhart. The winters of 1876 and 1879 were spent at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, and the inter- vals between the courses, as well as the time since, has been occupied in the practice of medicine, with such surgery as comes to a practitioner in a country town.
EEVE, CHARLES HOWELL, a lawyer of Plym- outh, Marshall County, Indiana, was born in Oneida County, New York, January 15, 1822. His father, Isaac Reeve, was the son of Silah Reeve, one of the earliest inhabitants of Orange County, New York, who, rather than take the oath of allegiance to the En- glish crown, forfeited his property on Long Island when it was taken by the British during the Revolution, and moved up the Hudson, among the Indians. His mother was IIarriet (Howell) Reeve, daughter of a prominent citizen of Orange County. His ancestors located on Long Island in 1640, and the first homestead has remained in the possession of the descendants to the present time, while the coat of arms belonging to the family, which is a very ancient one, is preserved in the heraldic records. The family was always patriotic, earnestly favoring free government. One of them, Judge Tappan Reeve, the founder of the celebrated law school at Litchfield, Connecticut, has left enduring fame in his books, which are now standard works in every good law library. Mr. Reeve's father wasa man of extensive reading and remark- able memory, a gift which the son inherits to a good degree. In the winter of 1838 the parents removed to Laporte, Indiana, where in 1863 the father died, the mother having died in 1829, when her son Charles was but seven years old. Mr. Reeve is mostly self-educated, having had but few educational advantages. He pos- sessed an extraordinary talent for music, and wished to make it his profession; but his father, being unable to give him that degree of education necessary to make him master of his art, and not being satisfied with any thing less for his son, refused to give his consent. At the age of eighteen he was placed in the office of Hon. John H. Bradly, of Laporte, as a law student, under whose instruction, as well as that of others, he studied for a time. Ile was admitted to the bar, after a close examination, before he was of age. He then went to Chicago, and was for a time engaged as a sales- man in a mercantile house, continuing to read law in his spare hours. Later, he opened an office at Laporte, and also Valparaiso; but, finding the profession uncon- genial to him, he entered a wholesale dry-goods house in New York City. In 1845 he returned home on a visit, and finally located at Plymouth as an attorney, where he has since lived. The choice of his profession . was not a voluntary one, and he declares that he has always practiced it under protest ; yet his record shows that he has none the less conscientiously performed all the duties at- tached to it. He has put all his energies into his work, and as a reward he is now in the enjoyment of a lucrative prac- tice, and sustains a reputation that gives him a distin- guished position among his compeers. Mr. Reeve is a pronounced Democrat, always earnest in the defense of his political convictions. In 1849 he was elected prosc- cuting attorney. In 1876 he represented his district in
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the state Senate, serving at the regular and special ses- sions of 1877 and 1879. In his official positions he was actuated more by his convictions of right and wrong than by any motives of policy, trying to live up to his own maxim, that " no man is entitled to thanks for do- ing his duty, and deserves censure for doing less." In 1849 he took a leading part in the organization of the Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad. He was tendered a directorship, but declined. For two years he acted as its attorney, and held other offices in connection with it. He was enthusiastic in the enterprise, and to him more than any other man is due the credit of securing the construction of the line through Marshall County. He was also active in the erection of the county buildings and public school-house of Plymouth. Mr. Reeve is a member of the Order of Odd-fellows. In religion he is termed a freethinker, but is tolerant of the opinions of others, whatever may be their religious convictions. On general subjects he is independent and outspoken to a degree that sometimes gives offense; but his sincerity, his integrity of purpose, and his generous, kind-hearted impulses are undoubted. In January 30, 1850, Mr. Reeve was married to Miss Abbie J. Howe, eldest daughter of Isaac Howe, one of the pioneers of Marshall County. They have three children, two daughters and one son.
IPPEY, MATTHEW, a wealthy farmer and pio- neer of Jackson Township, Elkhart County, In- diana, was born February 20, 1803, in Warren County, near Lebanon, Ohio. His parents, Jo- seph and Elizabeth (Davis) Rippey, were of Scotch and Irish descent, and are supposed to have emigrated to America previous to the Revolutionary War, in order that they might enjoy greater religious freedom. The father of Matthew emigrated from Virginia to Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio, about the year 1799, where he purchased a farm, upon which he remained until 1808, when he removed to Brookville, Franklin County, In- diana, and for a period of three years engaged in the milling business. He subsequently removed to Salis- bury, Wayne County, Indiana, and engaged in the black- smith's trade until 1816, when he resumed farming. Ile was a man of strong religious proclivities, and a worthy member of the Christian Church. He died in 1830, in his fifty-fifth year, deeply lamented. His son, Matthew Rippey, could command but limited opportunities in the way of education, only such as were obtained by an irregular attendance at common schools, and un- der instructors noted for their incompetency. He was obliged to walk three miles to and from school, filling up the intervals with hard work at home. Notwith- standing these adverse circumstances he succeeded in acquiring a good common school education. He taught
school during four terms. In 1826 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of uncultivated land in Rush County, and applied all his native energy to the task of its improvement. After a hard day's work in the forest or field he would devote himself during the evenings to the work of making shoes or boots (he hav- ing previously learned the shoemaker's trade) for some of the neighboring families. He would generally finish one pair of shoes in three evenings, for the payment of which, he would receive one day's labor, which was of great assistance to him in the clearing of his land. After remaining on this farm five years he sold it, and, removing to Elkhart County, located upon a quarter section of land, upon which he has lived for nearly half a century. Beginning with his one hundred and sixty acres of land in Jackson Township, he has, by his industry, thrift, and business capacity, greatly augmented his landed possessions, until he has be- come a wealthy man and a respected and influential citizen. Mr. Rippey was reared a Democrat, and has always adhered to the principles of that party. Notwithstanding the fact that he has been an ac- tive and liberal contributor to the interests of his party, and has held many positions of honor and trust, he is in no sense an avowed politician. He has ac- cepted his nominations more on account of the solicita- tions of personal and political friends than from his own seeking. In 1832 Mr. Rippey was elected trustee for Jackson Township, serving in that position for twelve years. He was at the same time elected Justice of the Peace, being in that capacity for seven years. Before the expiration of his second term he resigned the office, that he might accept the nomination for Representative to the state Legislature, which took place in 1839. He was re-elected in 1840. In 1844 he was chosen by his party to fill a vacancy of one year in the state Senate. In 1848 he was again selected to represent his district for one year in the Lower House of the Legislature. In 1863-64 he again represented his district. In dis- charge of his public duties he was industrious, energetic, and conscientious, always having in view the best inter- ests of his country, and consequently meriting the con- ficence of both his political friends and opponents. During his long experience in the Legislature he served upon many important committees, those of State- prisons, Elections, Railroads, and others. His quick comprehension of the subjects under consideration, his logical reasoning, and, above all, his acknowledged in- tegrity of purpose, gave him a marked influence with his compeers. Mr. Rippey is an honored member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which he has been connected forty years. By his liberality he has added much to its material prosperity. He was mar- ried, August 3, 1826, to Jane P. Montgomery, of Wayne County, Indiana. She is an exemplary and devout
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