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 97
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ness of fur- buying brought him in contact with the latter most of the time. He has lived to witness the settlement, growth, and great prosperity of the entire North-west, and also to see nearly all of the old Indian traders, hunters, and trappers of early days gathered to the happy hunting grounds.
TOFFAT, REV. DAVID W., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Fort Wayne, was born of Scottish parents, January 9, 1835, in Morris County, New Jersey. His father, David Douglas Moffat, was a farmer. The next year the family em- igrated to Madison, Indiana, and, on a farm on one of those beautiful hills which overlook the city and the Ohio River, the boyhood of David was spent. He attended school in Madison' and afterwards entered Hanover College, where he graduated in 1858, his par- ents meanwhile having removed to the vicinity of Vernon. With but little help from his father, who was in moderate circumstances, he paid his own way at col- lege, principally by teaching part of each year, keeping up with his class by private study. Moved chiefly by the anti-slavery sentiments which had been instilled into his mind from early youth, he took a deep interest in politics and an active part in the great anti-slavery de- bate which was then agitating the country. Having chosen the profession of law while in college, he began, after his graduation, to prepare himself, by private study at Vernon, for entering a law school, and it was while thus engaged that the course of his life was changed. Though religiously trained by Christian parents, he had become indifferent to the personal claims of religion upon him, and in his opinions vibrated between ex- tremely liberal views of Christianity and skepticism. Desirous of settling his views of the Bible and Chris- tianity, he entered upon a systematic study of the Bible and the Christian evidences in connection with his law readings. Becoming, as he progressed, more and more profoundly interested in his Biblical studies, they en- cioached upon, and at length wholly absorbed, the time he had allotted to Blackstone and Kent, and the result was a firm persuasion of the inspiration of the Scriptures, faith in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of men, and a decision to live a Christian life. He united with the Presbyterian Church in July, 1859, his own convic- tions of the teachings of the Bible leading him into the Church of his fathers. The desire to preach sprang up at once and soon overcame his love for the law and for political life. In January, 1860, he entered the Theo- logical Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey, in which the Rev. Doctor James C. Moffat, his oldest and only living brother, has been professor of church history since 1861. He graduated from the seminary in 1862, was licensed
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in June of that year by the Presbytery of Madison, in | session at Hanover, and in April, 1863, was ordained. After preaching some time in Clinton County, and afterwards at Vernon, in Jennings County, in 1866 he accepted a call to the pastorate of the First Presby- terian Church of Madison. In 1870 he was very unex- pectedly called to the Presbyterian Church in George- town, District of Columbia. Although bound to Madison by the strongest ties, it seemed to him his duty to go. Having married Mary J., eldest daughter of Samuel Cochran, Esq., at Madison, he began his work at George- town in February, and two years after returned to In- diana, and in May, 1872, entered upon the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Wayne, in which he has remained until the present time.
YERS, CHARLES O., M. D., Kendallville, was born in Chautauqua County, New York, January 31, 1828. At the age of nine years he emigrated to Indiana, with his brother, and settled in La- porte County, where he worked on a farm for several
years. In 1849 he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and attended the medical college until he graduated, in 1852, after which he practiced medicine in Beardstown, Illi- nois, for two years, and then became connected with the Beardstown Gazette, a Whig paper, as one of its editors and proprietors. In 1856 he went to West Union, Iowa, and established the Fayette Free Press, the first Repub- lican paper in that county. Leaving Iowa in 1860, he came to Lagrange, Lagrange County, this state, and purchased the Lagrange Standard, which he successfully conducted for three years, and in 1863 began the Ken- dallville Standard, of which he has been the editor and proprietor up to the present writing (1880). He has always been an active and zealous Republican, and la- bored faithfully in the interests of that party from its first organization. He was appointed postmaster at Kendallville by President Grant in 1872, and made a very efficient and popular officer. By strict attention to business, and making his paper a readable one, he has received a liberal patronage, and been able to acquire a competency that places him among our most substantial business men. He was married, November 23, 1859, to Miss Estella E. L. Stowe, at West Union, Iowa.
INCHIN, ABNER F., a prominent lawyer of But. ler, De Kalb County, Indiana, was born September 28, 1822, in Ticonderoga, Essex County, New York. His parents, John and Ilinda (Hubbard) Pinchin, were natives of Massachusetts. They were of English descent. Their ancestors emigrated to this coun-
try about the year 1680, and landed at Plymouth, sub- sequently locating in Chesterfield. In early youth Abner enjoyed ordinary educational advantages. At the age of seven years he left the paternal roof-his parents being in straitened circumstances-and made his home with a married sister in Addison County, Vermont, where he attended school regularly, assisting his brother-in-law (Mr. Coll) in his work, until he was sixteen years of age. He then emigrated with the family to Indiana, and located in Troy, De Kalb County, in 1838, where he remained for a year, after which he worked for wages for other people until 1840. He then returned to his parents' home in Ticonderoga, New York, engaging with his father in the blacksmith trade, and continuing it for two years. It was during this time that he met with one of the many miraculous escapes which marked his youth and early manhood. While on a visit to the Ticonderoga falls, which are sixty feet in height, he was accidentally carried over the precipice and plunged into a deep basin formed in the rock by the action of the water, forty feet from the top, twenty feet above the bottom of the fall. He escaped from his perilous position by the aid of a branch of a tree, which extended over the spot within his reach, and with great effort climbed to a point of safety, little the worse for his fearful plunge. In 1842 he went to Racine, Wis- consin, where he was employed upon the harbor im- provements carried on by the government. In 1844 he returned to Troy, De Kalb County, Indiana. During Mr. Pinchin's school-days, which consisted of two terms at the high school, he had, by his energy and perseverance, acquired a thorough education in all the English branches. At this time, he engaged for six winter terms in teach- ing school, four of which were in the same district. In this vocation, he exhibited aptness and adaptability. His thorough mastery of the subjects taught, his watch- fulness and unflagging interest in the advancement of his scholars in their studies, gained the commendation of his employers, the respect of the public, and the esteem and confidence of his pupils. Meanwhile, having been married, he devoted his time and energy, when not teach- ing, to the clearing and tilling of his new farm, which was located in Troy. In 1855 he began reading law under the instructions of John Morris, of Auburn, still residing on the farm, and engaging occasionally in practice before the justice courts. Having been admitted to the bar in Au- gust, 1856, he disposed of his farm and removed to Ham- ilton, Steuben County, Indiana, and gave his time to the practice of his profession for about nine years. He then went to Butler, De Kalb County, where he still continues to reside, and where he now finds himself in the enjoy- ment of a large and constantly increasing law practice. In the trial of suits he has been unusually successful, owing to the careful preparation of his cases, his watch- fulness over the interests of his clients, his eloquence,
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earnestness, and above all his acknowledged honesty. | He also possesses high merit as a counselor. In the late Civil War, Mr. Pinchin was among the first to in- terest himself in behalf of the Union cause, and engaged actively in recruiting men for the service. December 1I, 1863, he enlisted as a private soldier, but still continued in the recruiting service until March, 1864, when, upon `the organization of Company H, 129th Regiment In- cliana Infantry, he was commissioned first lieutenant. On the Ist of April the regiment was ordered to the front, and proceeded to Camp Taylor, at Louisville, Kentucky, arriving there on the 3d of the month. It then left for Knoxville, Tennessee, going by rail to Nashville, thence marched to Charleston, Tennessee, where it was ordered into camp to await supplies. After two weeks' delay it was sent to Blue Springs, thence to Buzzard's Roost, where it arrived May 5, and where the men had their first taste of battle, in a sharp skir- mish with the enemy. The army then marched to Re- saca, Georgia, where began a series of well contested battles, which continued during the whole season. The 129th, being on duty in the flanking corps, not only par- ticipated in numerous raids and attacks of minor im- portance, but was in all of the general battles of the army, and for several months was daily under the enemy's fire. The conflicts of most importance in which the gallant regiment was engaged, were those of Lost Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Franklin, Co- lumbia, Nashville, and many others. On many occasions Lieutenant Pinchin had, by his bravery, intrepidity, and good judgment, attracted not only the attention but the commendations of his superior officers, especially during the battle with General Hood's army at Franklin. The Union soldiers were getting short of ammunition, and without a supply retreat was inevitable. While the men behind their works were comparatively safe, it was all a man's life was worth to attempt to reach the point occupied by the ambulance division. To this point Lieutenant Pinchin volunteered to carry the order, which he safely delivered. On his return to his company, however, he was struck in the neck and shoulder by a ball from the enemy's guns which laid him senseless on the field, from which he was carried off supposed to be mortally wounded. The wound, although painful, proved not to be serious. His anxiety to be at the front led him into active service and into battles long before he had been discharged by the surgeons. Lieutenant Pinchin was not on active duty daily from September 10 until November 14, having been granted sick leave of absence, when he again joined his regiment at Johnsonville, Tennessee. From there the army went to Columbia, falling back to Franklin, and being in the battle there of November 30, and at Nashville, Decem- ber 15 and 16; thence to Franklin, where the engage- ment with Hood took place, which has already been E-13
mentioned ; thence to Clifton. January 7, 1865, Lieuten- ant Pinchin was appointed regimental quartermaster, serving until the 14th of the month, when he was promo- ted to the position of ambulance officer of the First Divi- sion, Twenty-third Army Corps, and assistant quarter- master. The corps was ordered to Washington. Here he was assigned to duty as commander of the ambu- lance train, with headquarters at the city of Washing- ton, where he remained until March 7. While there he attended the second inauguration of President Lin- coln, and was present at the reception. On the 7th of March his train was ordered to Wilmington, North Carolina; from thence to Fort Caswell, Morehead City, Moseley Hall, Raleigh, Greenborough, and lastly to Charlotte, North Carolina, where the regiment was mustered out of service, August 29, and sent to Indian- apolis, Indiana. During Lieutenant Pinchin's army life he won lasting laurels for himself, and a reputation of which he and his posterity may justly feel proud. By his comrades in arms he was regarded as an exemplary man, a brave and faithful soldier, and a kind and effi- cient officer. In politics Mr. P'inchin is a Republican, ready and earnest in the defense of his political convic- tions. He was reared in the old Whig school of poli- tics, and was a stanch supporter of the party as long as it existed. In October, 1869, he was elected prose- cuting attorney of his district, comprising the counties of De Kalb and Steuben, for a term of two years, and in the discharge of the duties of the office was indus- trious, energetic, and conscientious. He is an active and consistent worker in the temperance reform, and is fore- most among those whose public spirit lends honor to the town in which they live. Mr. Pinchin is president of the Union Soldiers' Association, Post No. 2, of But- ler, De Kalb County, Indiana, and ex officio captain of the company. He has also attained the position of Past Grand in the Independent Order of Odd-fellows. He was married, February 9, 1845, to Miss Amelia P., daughter of Roger and Lucy Aldrich, of Troy Town- ship, formerly of Guilford, Windham County, Vermont. She died January 4, 1855, leaving two daughters: Lucy Ilinda, born May 22, 1849, died April 21, 1872; Harriet A., born December 25, 1854, died April 7, 1855. Mr. Pinchin was again married, September 19, 1855, to Harriet Knisely, of Troy Township. They have had four children : Rosetta A., born October 26, 1856, died August 23, 1862; Emma O., born June 24, 1858; John, born July 18, 1861, died October 2, 1862; and Abner E., born May 28, 1864. As a neighbor Mr. Pinchin is charitable and generous. His character is above reproach. He has had a long and varied public career, and it will stand the strictest scrutiny, whether it be examined for his record as a counselor, a soldier, or a party man. He enjoys the respect and esteem of the entire community.
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RENTISS, NELSON, was born in Genesee County, New York, August 16, 1813, and resided there until April, 1835, when he removed to Noble County, Indiana, where he has lived since. His father, Nathaniel Prentiss, was born in Preston, Con- necticut, March 11, 1764, and at the age of fifteen years entered the Continental army, where he served until the expiration of his term of enlistment, when he shipped on a privateer. He was shortly after captured by a British man-of-war, and taken to New York, where he was confined during one winter on the old prison- ship "Jersey," and the following spring was taken to Jamaica, in the West Indies, where he was kept until the close of the war. At the time of his death, which occurred in Noble County, in February, 1839, he was a Revolutionary pensioner. He left a widow, whose maiden name was Margaret Heddon, who lived until 1861. She continued drawing the pension until her death. She was a descendant of the Van Rensselaers, of Albany, New York. Nelson was the sixth child; and his early life was passed in the western frontier of the state, where he had only such chances for education as were afforded in that new country. These, with three terms at the Wyoming Seminary, were all the opportu- nities within his reach, and they were improved with a zeal born of his ardent thirst for knowledge. In all his studies he was foremost in his classes. At the age of sixteen he commenced teaching, which he followed until he was twenty-four years of age. During all this time he was a close student, devoting himself, when not engaged in the school-room, to study and reading. One of his special gifts was his retentive memory, and what he read, if worth recollecting, was never forgotten. Now, at the age of sixty-six years, he can repeat every selection from the "English Reader," a book used in the schools when he was a boy. In 1837 he be- gan the study of law, and in 1842 was admitted to practice in the courts of Indiana. In 1836, when Noble County was organized, he was appointed one of the school examiners of the county, holding either that or the position of superintendent until 1868, when, feeling that a younger man would be more useful, he resigned, and was not officially connected with the schools of his county until June, 1879, when he was again selected as superintendent, in which office he is now actively en- gaged. The cause of education has always been a specialty with him, and during the time that he was not connected with the schools he manifested the same in- terest as when actively engaged in them. In 1849 he was elected clerk of the Noble Circuit Court, and served one term discharging the duties in an acceptable manner. From the time of his admission to the bar he followed the practice of his profession until 1868, when his office was destroyed by fire, and his law library, as well as over six hundred volumes of choice miscellaneous works,
was burned. Being unable to replace the loss, he aban- doned practice, except in a few instances. He has passed all his life in Genesee County, New York, and Noble County, Indiana. In 1846 he joined the Inde- pendent Order of Odd-fellows, and is now a member of North Star Lodge, No. 380. In 1852 he united with the Masonic Order, and was the first Master of Albion Lodge, No. 97, holding that position for twenty consec- utive years, when his brethren, as a testimonial of their regard, publicly presented him with a beautiful cane. Ilis address on receiving this cane was published in the papers at that time, and by order of the lodge was placed among the archives. It was, however, destroyed at the burning of the room in the spring of 1879. Notwithstand- ing that it was delivered without the least opportunity for preparation, the whole matter being carefully con- cealed from him until the presentation of the gift by James M. Denny, it is worthy of a place in Masonic literature. He is frequently called upon for a speech at public gatherings, and is always ready to respond in an appropriate manner. As an extemporaneous speaker he has few superiors. It is due to his efforts that the Old Settlers' Organization of Noble County has been made a success. For the first six years he was president and biographer of the society, and at the present time holds the latter position. He delivered the centennial ad- dress at Albion, July 4, 1876, which is claimed to be the most complete on that subject of any delivered in the state. Following the teachings of his father, he identi- fied himself with the Democratic party until 1854, when he was constrained to sever his connection with it, and espouse the principles advocated by the Republicans. Since that time he has been a radical Republican, and during every contest has fought the battles of the party with an earnestness and sincerity born of a conviction that its principles are correct. For many years he has been a member and a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church, and was a delegate to the General Assembly at Albany in 1868, and at Chicago in 1878. He is strongly Calvinistic in his views, but liberal and tolerant to others of a different opinion. He is an active worker in Sabbath-schools, as well as in the cause of temperance, believing the latter to be next in importance to religion. His addresses on temperance are productive of good, as he adds to his precepts the force of his own example. In his habits he is simple and unassuming, temperate in the indulgence of his appetite, although fond of the good things of the world, enjoys uninterrupted health, and can say he never suffered from headache or rheu- matism. As a financier he can not be pronounced a success, and yet his failure in this respect may arise in part from trusting too much to the honesty of others. In his family he is kind and indulgent, yet firm in his discipline. His children obey the divine injunction, " Honor thy father and thy mother." In his intercourse
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with others he is affable and kind, shunning controversy, and striving to promote harmony and peace in his com- munity, yet ever ready to espouse the cause of the weak as against wrong or oppression, and battling against vice in the palace of the rich as well as in the hovel of the poor.
RESSLER, HENRY CLAY, of Cherubusco, Whit- ley County, Indiana, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, March 5, 1837. His parents, John and Maria (Egolf ) Pressler, were of German and English descent. His father was a farmer. The fam- ily consisted of sixteen children, nine of whom are still living. Henry was the eighth child and fifth son. He removed with his parents to Whitley County in 1846, where he worked on his father's farm until seventeen years of age, and attended school during the winter seasons. He then learned the carpenter's trade in Hun- tington County, at which he worked for about three years, and taught school during the winters. He at- tended school in Columbia City, and also at Antioch one year. In 1860 he entered Heidelberg College, at Tiffin, Ohio, but, after four or five weeks' attendance, was obliged to relinquish his studies on account of sick- ness. In 1861 Mr. Pressler was among the first volun- teers to enlist from Whitley County. He served in Company E, 17th Indiana Volunteers, until April 1862, a little over one year, when he was discharged on ac- count of ill-health. He then worked at his trade until February, 1864, when he re-enlisted in the same company and regiment. He was offered the rank of orderly ser- geant in two different companies, but did not accept. He was mustered out in August, 1865, at Macon, Georgia. In November of the same year he went West, and traveled about in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Michi- gan. During a period of thirteen years he was not six consecutive months in a place. He returned home in 1866, and on December 30 was married, in Whitley County, to Miss Margaret M. Richey. After engaging in trade four years, from the date of his marriage, Mr. Pressler located in Cherubusco, and has since been em- ployed in manufacturing brick and dealing in real estate. He was also in the hardware business for more than two years. Although living in a Republican township, Mr. Pressler is a Democrat. He has been assessor and trus- tee since 1868, having been re-elected to those offices every two years since. He is a member of the Masonic and Odd-fellow Fraternities, and also a member of the Grand Lodge of Odd-fellows. He had a family of four children, three sons and one daughter-two sons and the daughter are still living. When Henry Pressler left home, a bundle of clothes tied up in a handkerchief constituted his worldly possessions, but now he enjoys a
comfortable competence. He is respected by all in the county. Republicans as well as Democrats support him in his office, which he fills to the satisfaction of all.
RICKETT, FIELDING, a lawyer, of Albion, No- ble County, Indiana, was born December 21, 1827, in Brown County, Ohio. His parents were Johiah and Mahala (Pindell) Prickett, natives of Vir- ginia. In 1831 his father, a man of unusual sterling character, removed to Indiana, and located in Benton Township, Elkhart County, where he lived and died greatly beloved by a community over which he had wielded an influence that had been beneficial to a high degree. After Fielding had mastered a good common school education, he entered the academy at Ontario, Lagrange County, where he remained two years. After some experience as a teacher, he worked for a time at the carpenter trade, but subsequently went to Bloom- ington and entered the law department of the univer- sity, from which he graduated in 1853. In the spring of 1854 he opened a law office at Albion, Noble County, where he has since remained, constantly growing in pop- ularity with his patrons as well as the general public. Mr. Prickett possesses pre-eminently those qualities which are requisite in the making of a good lawyer. His legal acumen and judicial fairness are unquestioned, while his varied abilities, which are of a high order, place him in the first rank of his profession. Twenty- six years of uninterrupted practice in one place have resulted in a financial success which is above the aver- age. Mr. Prickett is a Republican, and, although in no sense an aspirant for office, is an earnest worker in the interests of his party. His official record is, brief. He was appointed county clerk by the commissioners for a term of years, but, becoming convinced that official and professional life could not well be made to harmonize, he resigned his position, after a service of six months, preferring the more agreeable and lucrative practice of his profession. He was one of the electors from Indi- ana in the presidential electoral college in 1876. He is an earnest advocate of temperance, a liberal contributor to the Church, and active in the promotion of the tem- poral and educational interests of his neighborhood. Mr. Prickett was married, September 2, 1859, to Martha A. Jackson, daughter of Colonel John Jackson, of Elk- hart County, Indiana. They have only one daughter. In his manners Mr. Prickett is thoroughly unassuming, yet he is so kind and courteous to all, so gifted with excellent qualities of character, that he is deservedly popular with all who know him, personally or only by reputation. In his law practice he is skillful and pains- taking, and his pleasant manners add much to the ease with which he convinces a jury.
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