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 57

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 57

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).

"There are those who can never forget the preju- dices, persecutions, toils, and perils amid which he that year planted the Methodist Episcopal Church at Merid- ian, Macon, Columbus, Aberdeen (the home of Bishop Paine, of the Church South), Corinth, Holly Springs, Oxford, Jackson, Brandon, Natchez, Vicksburg, Yazoo City, and other points. With one traveling preacher on trial (sent to him after the work was begun), with the entire state for a district, without a place of worship or a single member to worship with, surrounded by ene- mies, but with God on his side, he began the work: and the year closed with thirty local preachers, thirteen Sun- day-schools, nine churches, three parsonages, and over two thousand three hundred members, and about the same number of Sunday-school scholars. In 1873, only seven years from the beginning, the one trav- eling preacher had grown to one hundred and twenty- three; the eleven Churches to nearly one hundred; the thirty local preachers to three hundred and twenty-nine ; and the two thousand three hundred members to thirty thousand three hundred and forty-three, with a propor- tionate increase in the Sabbath-school work. . Thirty thousand souls in seven years is certainly a fine increase. What other annual conference can show a like increase in the same length of time?"

The next year Mr. Brakeman was transferred to the New Orleans District, Louisiana, and the following ex- tract from the Minutes of the Mississippi Mission Con- ference for 1867, pages 1 and 2, gives the progress of the work in the New Orleans District for that year :

"Number of churches and chapels built during the year, thirteen ; two had been purchased, and Wesleyan

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

10th Dist.]

Hall, a large, substantial school building, belonging to Wesley Chapel, had been built and dedicated -- in all sixteen buildings erected or purchased for God and his cause this year. The erection and completion of the Ames Methodist Episcopal Church in New Or- leans marked an era in the progress of our cause in the Mississippi Mission Conference. It cost $50,000, and will accommodate a thousand hearers. . . . The actual increase of members in the district this year has been over two thousand."

With the organization of the Mississippi Mission Conference, a weekly Church paper-the New Orleans Advocate, now the Southwestern-was established, and Mr. Brakeman was appointed one of its editors, in which position he served three years. His ready and vigorous pen added greatly to its strength and influence. During the severe yellow fever epidemic of 1867, in New Or- leans, Mr. Brakeman was a victim to the scourge, from which he barely escaped with his life. As it was, it brought on asthma, from which he still suffers greatly at times. In 1868 he returned North, and entered his old conference, and was appointed to the First Method- ist Episcopal Church in Lafayette, Indiana. This he served three years, during which time the society built Trinity Church, but did not complete it, owing to the fact that the same organization aided in erecting and finishing another edifice in Chauncy, and set off some forty of its own membership to the Chauncy organi- zation. The Trinity building was completed the next year, and is by far the best in the entire conference. In 1870 Mr. Brakeman was elected, by the faculty, to deliver the annual literary address at Asbury University, at Greencastle, Indiana. Appreciating his general lit- erary abilities and the excellence of the address, the trustees conferred upon him the degree of Master of «-Arts, which he wears with credit alike to himself and the institution which gave it. In 1871 his conference elected him a delegate to the General Conference, which convened in Brooklyn, New York, the following May. That was the most important session of the supreme court of Methodism ever held ; for it admitted lay dele- gation and elected eight bishops. His appointments, since leaving Lafayette, have been Michigan City, Terre Haute, Frankfort, and Valparaiso, where he, as usual, is doing a good work. During the War of the Rebell- ion, and after it, he preached in Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana-most of the time in the last two states. Since entering the ministry, he has built an average of one church per year, received into the Church over four thousand persons, and preached over five thousand sermons. From among those con- verted in his own regiment during the war, and received into the Church, six became ministers of the Gospel, two local preachers, and four gave themselves to the cient work he has always and every-where done, the regular work; namely, Rev. A. Motz, an efficient min- ister in the Protestant Methodist Church ; Rev. A. B.

Roberds, of the United Brethren Church, formerly sta- tioned at Pine Village, Indiana, and then sent as a mis- sionary to Upper Canada (a man of excellent character and standing in his Church) ; the late Rev. W. T. Erwin, of the Indiana Conference (a one-armed soldier), a young man, self-made, and of marked ability, who was early disabled by sickness, visited Europe for his health, but returned only to die ; and Rev. A. M. Danely, who, after the war, graduated at Indiana Asbury Uni- versity, and is now a promising member of the Illinois Conference. In all the varied relations and responsibil- ities in which Mr. Brakeman has been called to serve- civil, military, and ecclesiastical-he has labored dili- gently, successfully, honorably, and is worthily classed among the "eminent and self-made men of Indiana." September 7, 1857, Mr. Brakeman was married to Miss Ibie Louise Beach, of Kalamazoo, Michigan. An only child, a daughter, now in college at Cincinnati, Ohio, has blessed their union. Mrs. Brakeman was ed- ucated at the Kalamazoo Female College, is an accom- plished Christian lady, and a true and worthy helper of her husband. Mr. Brakeman excels both as a writer and speaker, and whether read or heard is at once orig- inal and suggestive, entertaining and instructive. In reporting one of his sermons, the Baltimore American, in 1861, said of him :

" Mr. Brakeman is a bold and earnest speaker, de- voted to his country, and as pious as he is patriotic. He called things by their right names, and preached the truth like a true Christian soldier, feelingly, fear- lessly, forcibly, and at times eloquently. He is the right kind of a chaplain, and is deservedly popular with his men."

The same may be said of him in all the Churches he has served. His sermon on the death of President Lin- coln, first delivered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at the time of the assassination, was published by order of the commanding general at the post, and a copy was sent for by Hon. E. McPherson, the clerk of the House of Representatives (to be preserved in the national archives at Washington), who declared it to be "one of the me- morial sermons for the martyred President worthy of such distinguished honor." He farther said of it : "The sermon is much above the level of those preached on the occasion, of which I have now one hundred and forty. The theme is well grasped and well handled. The sermon has permanent value, and will remain in our literature." The same may be said of other of Mr. Brakeman's sermons, lectures, addresses, and essays, a number of which have already been published. The po- sitions Mr. Brakeman has filled, the important interests from time to time committed to his keeping, the effi- fruit of his arduous labors, the fine audiences uniformly attending his ministrations, the unblemished character he

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[roth Dist.

has borne, all tell more forcibly than words can his in- telligence, integrity, and ability ; his usefulness, influ- ence, and worth to the state and the Church as a man and Christian minister.

ROWN, PROFESSOR HENRY B., founder and principal of the Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute, of Valparaiso, was born October 6, 1847, at Mount Vernon, Knox County, Ohio. His father, Thomas Brown, was born May 3, 1812, at Mount Vernon, Ohio, and his mother, Rachel Brown, February 10, 1818, at Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland. His grand-parents, David and Jane Brown, were natives, respectively, of England and Scot- land. His advantages for an early education were such as were afforded by the district schools in Morrow County, Ohio, where his father's family went in May, 1848. They removed to Wood County in 1860, where they still reside. In 1861, at the age of fourteen, he attended the public high school at Fremont, Ohio, remaining one year ; after which he began teaching in a country district school. During the six following years he divided his time between school-teaching and attending the normal school at Delaware and Leb- anon, Ohio. August 2, 1871, he was engaged to teach in the North-western Normal School, at Republic, Seneca County, Ohio, and remained two years. Desiring a larger field of usefulness, he went to Valparaiso, June 6, 1873, where, at the nominal figure of ten thousand dollars-the original cost having been about forty-five thousand-he bought the fine property consisting of five acres of land and the large and commodious building erected by the Methodist Church for a seminary for higher education, known as the Methodist Male and Female Northern Indiana College, but abandoned for want of encouragement. September 16 of the same year he founded the institute under the present name and title, opening with an attendance of thirty-five stu- dents. Its first anniversary found on the enrollment one hundred and seventy-two students; at the close of the second year it had increased to over six hundred ; the third anniversary showed a register of eleven hundred ; and the fourth year demonstrated the popularity of the institute by exhibiting an enrollment of twenty-one hundred and forty students. It is now confidently esti- mated that the next anniversary will show a record of at least twenty-five hundred. In order to meet the wants of the rapidly increasing attendance, he has been compelled, from time to time, to add to his already spacious buildings, To the school edifice he has added the west wing, giving accommodations to four hundred students, and has remodeled, refitted, and fur- nished the original building at an expense of ten thou-

sand dollars. He has also constructed and furnished four large and three smaller boarding and lodging houses, giving spacious and desirable accommodations to six hundred and fifty students, at an additional cost of fifty thousand seven hundred dollars. The insti- tute embraces in the arrangements all the requisites for a first-class school. It is provided with a chapel, recita- tion-rooms, society room, library, etc., for the accommo- dation of over two thousand students, and is supplied with all necessary instruments and apparatus. The library consists of about four thousand volumes of his- torical and scientific works and poetry, and about two thousand volumes of statistics, reports, etc. He has recently added a commercial department, which now contains over two hundred students, with a reasonable certainty of a speedy increase to twice that number. It is regularly incorporated under the state law of Indiana. The establishment and successful growth of this normal school and business institute for the past four years is unprecedented in the history of like enterprises. The credit belongs alone to Prof. Brown, and is due to his natural adaptability for the work, augmented by his untiring energy and never-flagging industry. When it is understood that every branch of this important and varied business is under his personal supervision, some idea of his executive ability can be formed. We feel justified in saying that no similar private enterprise, anywhere in the West or North, if in America, can compare with this temple of education. The Professor's early tastes led him to teach school, and earnestly and faithfully has he followed those inclinations. His stu- dents all admire him as a man, and love him as their director and instructor. He is also highly esteemed by his neighbors, the citizens of Valparaiso. He is un- married.

LOCH, GOTTHILF, a prominent citizen of Val- paraiso, and a teacher in the Northern Indiana Normal School, was born, March 2, 1838, in Buchau, kingdom of Würtemberg, Germany. His parents, Moses and Nanettie Bloch, were highly respect- able people, but not endowed with much of this world's goods. The father died three years after the birth of Gotthilf, leaving his family in very limited circum- stances. In 1844 the mother married a lawyer, Dr. Samuel Myers, of Hechingen, in the principality of Hohenzollern. At the age of five years, the subject of this sketch was placed at school in one of those public institutions established under the free-school sys- tem of Germany-that system, which was conceived, matured, and put into practice, as an experiment, by the government which to-day stands at the head of all nations and people in the gratuitous diffusion of educa- tion ; that system which, when first propounded, startled

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

roth Dist.]

nations by its boldness, and was denounced as most absurd in principle, but is to-day imitated to a greater or less extent by all governments of the civilized world. Gotthilf Bloch, being a very precocious child, had, at the early age of thirteen years, not only mastered his native language, but become proficient in the knowl- edge of Latin and French. He left school at the above age, and was bound out as apprentice to a com- mercial house in the city of Mannheim, on the River Rhine, for a term of three years. At the expiration of this time, unaccompanied by relatives or near friends, he emigrated to the United States. At the end of a three weeks' voyage he landed in New York City, whence he proceeded to Steubenville, Ohio, and engaged as clerk in a general store. Subsequently he went to Salineville, pursuing the same calling until 1856, when he removed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and entered the store of Frederick Nirdlinger as clerk. With him he remained three years, during which time his devotion to the interests of the business, and his habits of industry and integrity, won from his employer his highest esteem and commendation. In 1859 he came to Valparaiso, where, through the aid of his old employer, Mr. Nird- linger, he was enabled to commence business on his own account. He began by opening a general mercantile store on Main Street, which he carried on until 1877, having thus been engaged in the same business for eighteen years with marked financial success. The spirit of attentive industry that had characterized him as an employé was carried by him into his own business. His is a notable example of those sound, practical business qualities which secure the confidence of the people, and of the personal and social habits that retain public esteem. Mr. Bloch is remarkable for his retentive memory ; names, dates, and events seem as indelibly fixed on his mind as though chiseled in the solid rock. His business enterprises have been eminently successful, and have enabled him to acquire an ample competence. For the past two years Mr. Bloch has been in no regular trade, but has divided his time between instructing his class at the normal school and looking after his property in- terests. In 1871 he was elected by the Legislature one of the directors of the Northern Indiana prison at Mich- igan City, and served two years. He was, in 1872, ap- pointed by Governor Baker as a delegate of the state of Indiana to the International Prison Congress, to be held at London, England. He was absent on the mis- sion for about three months, during which time he vis- ited the home of his childhood. In 1875 Mr. Bloch was again nominated by the Legislature for prison di- rector, but, his party being in the minority, he was not elected. In 1875 he became identified with the North- ern Indiana Normal School as one of the faculty, trustee, and secretary of the board. He is the teacher of a German class of about one hundred students. He be-

came a member of the Independent Order of Odd- fellows in 1859, and . has been an active worker in its behalf. He has passed the chairs, and represented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of Indiana. He is a charter- member of the Encampment of Valparaiso, founded in 1871; and, besides filling with credit all the official po- sitions, has represented his encampment in the Grand Encampment of the state. In politics he is an earnest Democrat, but not a professional politician. He was married, March 22, 1863, to Miss Fanny Graff, of Syra- cuse, New York. They have had ten children, seven of whom are living. They were born as follows : Jennie, September 12, 1864; Moses, December 27, 1865; Benjamin, March 4, 1867 : David, December 20, 1868 ; Nanettie, August 17, 1870; Etta, August 1I, 1873; Sol- omon, April 2, 1876-died December 23, 1877; and Mabel, July 9, 1878. The first children were twins, who died almost within a week after their birth. Prof. Bloch, as a citizen, is highly respected by his neighbors and those with whom he has been associated in business. As a teacher, he is much esteemed by the faculty and admired by his pupils.

URGER, JOHN, banker, of Remington, Jasper County, was born, April 9, 1844, in Hardin County, Ohio. His parents, George and Margaret Burger, died when he was but a child, his father in 1848, and his mother four years after. He received most of his education at home, going but little to the public schools, and preferring to study at home, where at the same time he labored industriously. In March, 1855, he went to live with Joseph L. Cherry, and came West to White County, Indiana. In 1856 Mr. Cherry died, leaving the care and management of his stock and farm, together with his widow and three small children, to John Burger, himself at the time only a boy of twelve years. For ten years he remained as provider for this family, and most faithfully did he perform his sacred trust, occasionally leaving them for a few months to work on a salary, which money was used for the benefit of all. In August, 1862, he enlisted in the 5th Indiana Cav- alry; but, on account of sickness contracted in the serv- ice, he was discharged in the following December, when he returned to the farm. In 1866 he, together with the family of Joseph L. Cherry, removed from the farm in White County to Remington. The people with whom he had made his home so long were now better prepared to care for themselves; and he began his own business career by working on a farm, or acting as a clerk in a store or lumber-yard, always preferring to labor, even at a small salary, rather than be idle. He soon began to accumulate money; and in 1869 entered into a partnership with Robert Parker in the lumber

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

[roth Dist.

they accumulated additional capital, thereby increasing it. In 1873 Mr. Parker sold his interest to B. M. But- ler, but again bought it back in 1876, the firm now being, as before, Burger & Parker, and doing a most prosperous business. They are general bankers and loan and collecting agents, added to which is Mr. Burger's large coal and lumber business, one of the largest in this section of the state. His business mottoes are, "Strict economy," "Expenses never to exceed the in- come." " Freedom from debt," "Owe no man any thing," and "Business before pleasure." He is tem- perate in all things, and always willing to help the : needy, especially those who try to help themselves. In politics he has always been a Republican, yet he is lib- eral in his views. His religious faith teaches him to believe that we are judged and rewarded according to our deeds. He was married, August 8, 1873, to Abbie E. Black. They have had three children, only two of whom are living. He is a man always attentive to his business; and his close attention and untiring industry, together with his careful and conservative disposition, have made him prosperous in his career. Not in any manner disposed to speculate, or take undue risks, he has not accumulated a fortune in a short time ; but with a steady gain, and no losses worth mentioning, he has gained a competence. He : a man of the highest honor and strictest integrity.

and coal trade. Their business proved to be remunera- : dence on the farm he again emigrated westward, and tive, and, being conducted with the strictest economy, ; located in Laporte County, Indiana, where he taught school two terms. He next went to Pulaski County, where, in the office of Dr. J. M. C. Eaton, he was at last enabled to gratify his long-cherished desire of study- ing medicine. Completing his studies at the expiration of three years, he was taken into partnership with his preceptor, which relation was continued until the latter left Pulaski County. The joint practice was con- tinued by Dr. Bliss until 1861, when he received the appointment of battalion quartermaster in the Union army, and was assigned to duty with the 9th Regi- ment of Illinois Cavalry. After thirteen months' serv- ice the office was abolished, and he was mustered out of the army. Returning to Pulaski, he resumed the practice of his profession until the fall of 1865, when he removed to Crown Point, and engaged in the drug business, continuing until 1874, when he closed his trade and entered Bennet Medical College, at Chicago, ¡ for two terms, graduating with honor. He returned to Crown Point, laboring again at his calling. His extensive acquaintance in the community, his known integrity and ability, insured him a large and lucrative practice. Dr. Bliss, as a family physician, possesses many elements of popularity ; in the presence of critical cases he is always cool and collected. He is noted for his kind and genial manner to those in straitened cir- cumstances. In his visiting it is his wont to extend professional service to the poor and friendless, from whom no compensation is ever asked, or could be ex- pected. His business and practice have been eminently successful, both financially and professionally-a com- fortable competence being the result of his labors. As a physician, he takes a prominent position among his professional associates; as a citizen, he is much esteemed by a large circle of friends and acquaintances, and is loved and admired by his family and intimate associates. In politics he is a Republican, but not a politician ; al- though firm in his convictions, he avoids the strife and bitterness of political excitement. Dr. Bliss was mar- ried, November 21, 1860, to Miss Amanda H. Herring, of Laporte, Indiana, who died May 26, 1863, leaving one daughter. He was again married, March 11, 1865, to Miss Sarah Herring. They have three children, two sons and one daughter. He is county physician for the county of Lake. Dr. Bliss is a member of the Masonic Fraternity.

B LISS, MALCOLM G., M. D., physician and sur- geon, of Crown Point, was born, November 24, 1828, in Otego, Otsego County, New York. He 63 is the son of Simeon and Elizabeth (Knapp) Bliss, who were natives, respectively, of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The early educational advantages of Dr. Bliss were extremely limited, and attainable only a por- tion of each winter, the remainder of the time being employed on his father's farm. At the age of twenty- one he entered the academy at Wellsburg, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, where he remained for two terms. Having carly evinced a desire to practice med- icine as a profession, he had given some thought and time to the study of medical works with that end in view ; but in the spring of 1850 he formed a determina- tion to seek his fortune in the gold-fields of California. With him to resolve was to do, and a few months later found him among the eager, restless crowd, drawn to RINGHURST, COLONEL, THOMAS HALL, of Logansport, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, in August, 1819. He is of American and Irish parentage. He received a common school education, and, at the age of sixteen, was apprenticed the Pacific coast by the stories of its fabulous wealth. Here three years were spent in mining and in mercantile life, when he returned to "the States." Although he did not acquire a fortune, his California venture was attended with gratifying success. After a year's resi- ! to a cabinet-maker for five years. He then spent a year

REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF INDIANA.

10th Dist.]

in Alabama, and, from there, removed to Dayton, Ohio, | time paymaster in the army, and remained with him in where, for four years, he worked at his trade. In Jan- that capacity for five years, after which he entered the First National Bank at Newcastle, where he con- tinued for five years. He then went to Crown Point, to assist in establishing the First National Bank, and remained two years as its cashier. In November, 1876, he located at Winamac, where he established a private banking institution known as the Bank of Win- amac, of which he is now cashier. He is a member of the Christian Church. On the 11th of December, 1875, he was married to Frances Marion Mowrer. Mr. Bundy is now enjoying a good business, and has the confidence of the community and the affection of his family. He is a man of sterling integrity and upright character. He votes the Republican ticket. uary, 1845, he removed to Logansport, where he built a saw-mill at the mouth of Eel River, and manufactured fine veneers and lumber for the Eastern market. In May, 1846, he enlisted in the Ist Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, and served under General Taylor in the Mexican War. After returning to Logansport, in 1847, he resumed work at his trade. In 1849, at the solicita- tion of the leading Whigs, he purchased the office of the Logansport Telegraph, and established the Journal, which he edited until 1870. In 1861 he assisted in or- ganizing the 46th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, and was commissioned major by Governor Morton. In May, 1862, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and, in August of the same year, became colonel, owing to the resignation of Colonel Fitch. His regiment was with General Grant on the Mississippi River, as far as Vicksburg ; with General Sherman in the Jackson cam- URSON, GEORGE, a lawyer, of Winamac, was born at New Lisbon, Ohio, February 24, 1837, of Virginian and Quaker descent. His father, James, was a physician, and his mother was Fina (Dickey) Burson. He received his education in the common schools of Ohio and at the Findlay Sem- inary. In 1854 he removed to Indiana, being then seventeen years of age, and for seven years, during the winter months, taught school in Pulaski County. In 1859 he removed to Winamac, where he was appointed deputy- sheriff, and commenced the study of law. In October, 1861, he helped to raise Company H, 46th Indiana, and was commissioned its first lieutenant. During the winter the regiment lay in Kentucky, being in Nelson's division. In the spring of 1862 he, with his company, was transferred to Commerce, Missouri, and attached to General Pope's army, and assisted in the capture of Island No. Ten and New Madrid. He was then promoted to be captain of his company, went down the Mississippi, and was at the capture of Fort Pillow and Memphis; then proceeded up the White River, and was at the taking of St. Charles, returning paign ; and with General Banks in his Louisiana and Texas expeditions, participating in the battles which oc- curred in the investment of Vicksburg, and in the cam- paigns on the Bayou Teche and Red River. He was mustered out in 1865, and returned to Logansport. He immediately resumed his position on the Journal, and continued it until December, 1869, when he was ap- pointed special agent in the Post-office Department. In 1876 he resigned this position, and, in 1877, became a partner in the firm of Charles Kahlo & Co. They leased the building and works of the Logansport Manufactur- ing Company, which had done an extensive business in the manufacture of spokes and other wood materials for wagons and carriages. As editor of the Journal, Mr. Bringhurst speedily attained a leading position in the Whig ranks in his section of the state, which he fully maintained in his subsequent similar relations to the Republican party. As a speaker he is plain and for- cible. He is a thinker and worker, rather than a merely ; entertaining orator. His army record is bright with duty intelligently and faithfully performed. By his kindness to the men of his command, he won their | with his company to Helena, Arkansas, thence to Fort warmest regard, and, by his vigilance, ability, and en- ergy, he secured the esteem of his superiors. The same traits distinguished his connection with the civil service, placing him in the highest ranks of his official grade.

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 II, Part 57

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