A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 54

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 887

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years the large business interests connected with his own property and that of his wife's estate have taken much of his time from his profession. The doctor traces his lineage to the historic Mohawk Dutch of the Empire state. Politically he is a Republican, and is a good citizen and a high-minded professional gentleman.

Mrs. Van Ryper is a leading member of the Episcopal church and a strong spirit in reli- gious, charitable and literary circles. She is an earnest member of the Woman's Club, whose mission to create and foster a desire for good literature is being fully realized. The pretty country seat of the family, known as "The Oaks," is one of the most beautifully located in the county, and, being the center of a large circle of sociability and culture, constitutes a happy memorial of the good infl- ence and high standing of the Reynolds fam- ily.

GEORGE W. E. DOUGHTY, a prominent at- torney residing in New Carlisle, Indiana, is so well known throughout the northern por- tion of Indiana that he needs no special intro- duction to the readers of this history of St. Joseph county. A native of King's county, New York, he was born on the 22d of July, 1846, a son of George S. and Eliza A. (Mc- Farland) Doughty. The father traces his' lineage to Scotland, but was born in Rye, Westchester county, New York, August 18, 1811, where he was liberally educated and was a city weigher and gauger. During the Civil war he was a valiant soldier for three years, when he was honorably discharged, and in his political affiliations he was first a Whig and then a Republican. Both he and his wife were valued members of the Baptist church, and she was of Welsh descent. In their family were fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters, but only six of the number are now living, namely: Cath- arine, the wife of Daniel Grant, who has been connected with the American Bank Note Com- pany of Brooklyn, New York, for forty years ; Alfred A., who served as a soldier in the Civil war, is also a resident of Brooklyn, and has become famous in the wholesale trade; Sarah. the wife of Thomas Herron, also of that city, where he is a bookkeeper and ac- countant, and he too served as a valiant sol- dier; George W. E., the subject of this re- view; Emeline, the wife of Louis Tway, a veteran of the Civil war and now a salesman ;

Annie, wife of James Young, of New Dun- ham, New Jersey.

George W. E. Doughty was a little lad of three years when the family home was estab- lished in Brooklyn, and he there remained until the 1st of January, 1860, when he started alone to the west, being then but thir- teen years of age, and his destination was Elk- hart, Indiana. Previous to his removal, how- ever, he had served as a little newsboy and bootblack on Wall street, New York, and was an inmate of the Newsboys' Home. After his arrival in Elkhart city he went out with a farmer for a visit, and his first home was with Archibald Beal, of Mishawaka, with whom he remained for a year, going thence to the farm of Joseph Ammons. After the har- vest he worked in a brickyard in the city, on the site of the old Methodist College, thence returning to the farm, where he worked for 'his board and clothes and was also permitted to attend school. On the 22d of December, 1861, when the tocsin of war sounded throughout the land, Mr. Doughty's young heart was stirred with patriotic zeal and he enlisted in defense of the Union, becoming a member of Company E, Forty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, a South Bend company. He enlisted for three years, and his regiment was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee, with which he proceeded to Corinth, Mississ- ippi, and participated in the battle of Iuka, also those of Port Gibson, Richmond, Jackson, Champion Hills and the charges and assaults of Vicksburg. He was present at the sur- render of the Confederate General Pemberton to Grant. While guarding the rebel paroles on the fortifications he received a severe sunstroke, which incapacitated him for duty and he was sent to the St. Louis Hospital, and three months passed ere he was able to rejoin his regiment at Memphis. With Sherman Mr. Doughty was then sent to Chattanooga to as- sist General Thomas, and was present at the battle of Missionary Ridge, known as the Battle of the Clouds. Continuing on to Ring- gold, Georgia, he was thence set back to Huntsville, Alabama, where he rested for a year. On the expiration of that time he was sent to Cartersville, Georgia, to guard the railroad, and after the battle of Atlanta was with General Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea, which cut a swath across the state of sixty miles, and arriving at Savannah they started across the country to Beaufort,

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North Carolina, but as the country was flood- ed at that time they were obliged to proceed in boats to that city, from whence they pro- ceeded to Goldsboro and Bentonville, where the last battle of the war was fought. Then they went into camp at Raleigh and waited the arrival of General Grant, and as he and Sherman galloped by cheer after cheer greeted them from the noble boys in blue. There the line of march commenced across the Caro- linas and into Virginia, during which Mr. Doughty saw the famous Libby prison, where so many of our brave soldiers were incarcer- ated. During this time, in February, 1863, he had veteranized at Huntsville, Alabama, and he was also present at the surrender of the rebel General, Joe E. Johnston, at Ra- leigh, North Carolina, while at Columbia, South Carolina, he witnessed that memorable destruction of cotton. His discharge was re- ceived at Louisville, Kentucky, July 15, 1865, after a service to his country covering a pe- riod of four years and three months.

Thus with a creditable military record Mr. Doughty returned to his home, where he was again obliged to begin at the bottom round of the ladder as a wage earner in St. Joseph county. As the years grew apace, however, his prosperity increased, and at length he was able to take up the study of law, being admitted to the bar of Indiana on the 17th of May, 1898. His large practice now extends over St. Joseph and Laporte counties, and he has achieved that success which is the result of energy, determination and the ability to recognize and improve the opportunities pre -. sented. During his residence in Laporte county he served as a justice of the peace, to which office he was also elected in St. Joseph county in 1894. He removed from Wills township of the former county to New Carl- isle in 1891, and has ever since been one of its valued residents. In addition to his law practice he also transacts large deals in real estate, pensions, mortgages, etc., and also rep- resents three excellent fire companies, so that his business is a lucrative one. He owns sixty-two acres of rich and fertile land in La- porte county, also his pleasant home in New Carlisle, and in 1895 he made a visit to his old home in New York, which he had not seen for almost a half a century. Mr. Doughty is a stalwart Republican and cast his first vote for Grant, and he has ever since continued to support those principles. He has been selected as delegate to state, county and district con- Vol. II-20.

ventions, has also served as county commit- teeman and as chairman of the township com- mittee of his party, and has ever performed his part in the interests of his party.

Mr. Doughty wedded Miss Nacy E. Myler, and two children, a son and daughter, have been born to them, but the daughter, Elsie, died at the age of nine years. Marvin F., the only son, is a resident of New Carlisle, where he is a commercial traveler for J. B. Weber of South Bend. He received his elementary educational training in the high school and later graduated at the Northern Indiana Nor- mal College of Valparaiso, Indiana. Mrs. Doughty, who is also a native of St. Joseph county, is a daughter of Matthew and Char- lotte (Frame) Myler, both now deceased. She is a consistent member of the Christian church at New Carlisle, is president of the Charity Circle and is a leader in all move- ments which she considers of benefit. She is also president of Olive Court, No. 31, of the Tribe of Ben Hur, and is past president of the' Women's Relief Corps, No. 48. Mr. Doughty is perhaps among the oldest mem- bers of the Grand Army Post in northern St. Joseph county, and has thrice served as com- mander of Deacon Post, G. A. R., No. 115, twice in succession. He, too, is a member of the Christian church. From a little newsboy he has carved his way to affluence alone and unaided, and during all this time he has so lived that as a citizen, as a man of business, as an honorable Christian gentleman no man has a cleaner record or is more highly re- spected than he.

DAVID G. WARREN. The specific history of the west was made by its pioneers; it was emblazoned on the forest trees by the strength of sturdy arms and gleaming axe, and writ- ten on the face of the earth by the track of the primitive plow. The trackless prairie was made to yield its tribute under the effective endeavors of the pioneer, and slowly but surely were laid the steadfast foundations upon which has been builded the magnificent structure of an enlightened commonwealth. The Warren family were one of the first to locate in St. Joseph county, and David G. Warren is numbered among the honored pion- eers who have not only witnessed the remark- able growth and transformation of the region but have been important factors in its prog- ress and advancement. He was born in Miami county, Ohio, November 3, 1833, the second of ten children, four sons and six daughters,

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of David H. and Sarah (Graham) Warren. Nine of the children are now living, four of whom are residents of Indiana, while one brother, Thomas J., is in Omaha, Nebraska, engaged in the agricultural implement busi- ness, another, George W., is a resident of the state of Washington, and William is an agri- culturist of Michigan.

David H. Warren was a native of New Jer- sey, born about 1812, and his death occurred about 1877. He, too, was a lifelong agricul- turist, and he took up his abode in Ohio in a very early day. His marriage was cele- brated in that state, and in 1834 the young couple started in primitive style across the swamps and over bad roads to the Hoosier state, their destination being Olive township, which they reached by blazed trails. The first home of the Warrens was a litle log cabin of the most primitive style, heated with the old- fashioned fireplace, while at that time there were scarcely any highways here. Mr. War- ren rented land for some years, his first pur- chase having been one hundred and twenty acres in Olive township, forty acres of which was timber land. He was first a Whig in his political views, but afterwards became a Jack- sonian Democrat, and, being a well read man, could put forth his views in intelligent argu- ment. Religiously he was a Universalist, and fraternally was a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, exemplifying in his life its beneficent teachings. Mrs. Warren was a native of Ohio, born about the same year as her husband, and was eighty years of age at the time of her death. She was a brave and loving pioneer mother, a beautiful Christian at heart, and her prayers and admonitions will ever live in the minds of her sons. Her father, Graham, lived to the remarkable age of one hundred years, three months and four days. Both Mr. and Mrs. Warren are interred in the New Carlisle cemetery, where a beauitful stone marks their last resting place, on which is en- graved a square and compass. They lived to good old ages, leaving behind them an hon- orable record of which their descendants may well be proud.

David G. Warren, a son of this revered pioneer couple, was only nine months old at the time of the removal of the family to Olive township, and thus for almost seventy-three years he has been an honored citizen of old St. Joseph county. He was reared as a . farmer lad, obtaining his education in an old log cabin school, twenty feet square in size, with

a clapboard roof and heated by a fireplace, while the seats were of the old slab kind, and he has written with the old-fashioned goose quill pen fashioned by the master. These schools were maintained by private subscrip- tions, and convened during three months of each year. In those early days Mr. Warren swung the old-fashioned cradle many a day from early morn until night, and he well re- members the first binder brought into the township, where a man had to walk around the field to rake the grain, but this machine nevertheless created a great deal of excite- ment. He also remembers seeing in St. Joseph county at least five hundred of the Pottawat- omie Indians just acress the road from his father's house. They were friendly, but on one occasion, while his mother was hoeing in the garden, an Indian came up and pointed his musket at her, which greatly frightened both her and the children, although no harm resulted. Mr. Warren began life for himself at the age of twenty-one years, with scarcely any cash capital, and going to Ohio attended school during that year, and the first money which he obtained was from chopping cord wood. Returning to St. Joseph county he be- gan to work by the month for Thomas Vail, while for eight months he was an employe of Granville Woolman. During this time he succeeded in saving one hundred dollars, which he sent to Iowa to enter eighty acres of land, but the man with whom he entrusted the money betrayed the confidence of Mr. Warren and used the entire amount. Going .thence to Marshall county of that state he purchased eighty acres of land, the purchase price being five hundred and twenty dollars, but he let the land lay idle until after his marriage.

On the 2d of January, 1868, Mr. Warren was united in marriage to Miss Eliza A. White, a native of Olive township, St. Joseph county, born December 11, 1843, and a daughter of William M. and Charlotte (Gar- routt) White. They were the parents of nine children, four sons and five daughters, and five of the number are now living, namely: Daniel, a resident of New Carlisle and now serving as a commissioner of St. Joseph county ; Eliza A. is the next in order of birth; Mary E., a resident of New Carlisle; Teresa M., the widow of Mathias Bates and a resi- dent of Chicago, Illinois; and Belle, the wife of James Rush, an agriculturist of Olive town- ship. Mr. White was a native of Ohio, but

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THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

Aster, Lonex and Tildon Foundations. 1909

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HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY.

became an honored early pioneer of Olive township, St. Joseph county, where he was extensively engaged in agricultural pursuits. Both he and his wife were devout members of the Methodist church, and he was also con- nected with the Masonic fraternity. Mrs. White, a native of Ohio, passed away in death on the 14th of October, 1906, aged eighty- nine years, having been tenderly cared for in her later years by her daughter, Mrs. War- ren. Both Mr. and Mrs. White lie buried in Hamilton cemetery, where a beautiful stone stands sacred to their memory.

Mrs. Warren was reared and educated in Olive township, and for almost forty years she and her husband have traveled the path- way of life together, mutually sharing the joys and sorrows which checker the lives of all. About thirty years ago they located on their present farm of eighty acres, and they have remodeled their residence and out build- ings until they bear little resemblance to their first home in St. Joseph county. Mr. War- ren is a Jacksonian Democrat in his political views, having supported that party all his life, and his first presidential vote was cast for Buchanan. He has been selected as a delegate to the county and district conven- tions, and was present in that capacity when Hon. Ben Shively was nominated as a con- gressman of Indiana. He is one of the old- est living Masons in the county, a member of Terre Coupee Lodge, No. 204, of New Carl- isle. Both he and his wife are devout adher- ents of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which they contribute of their means to all worthy benevolences, and their lives are in harmony with its teachings. They are num- bered among the sterling old citizens of St. Joseph county, and we are pleased to present the record of their lives in this history of rep- resentative men and women.

MARK L. BRUMMITT. The gentleman whose name initiates this review is the senior mem- ber of the well-known firm of the Brummitt Mercantile Company of New Carlisle, Indiana. He is a native of Porter county, Indiana, born on his father's farm on the 24th of Janu- ary, 1858, the second of seven children, three sons and four daughters, of William and Mary (Lucas) Brummitt, both natives of Yorkshire, England, and both born in the year 1832. The father, who was educated in his native land, where he also learned the trade of weaving, came to Canada in 1855, and in the following year took up his abode

in Porter county, Indiana. At the time of his arrival in Canada he had only ten dollars in money, and was therefore obliged to begin at the very bottom round of the ladder, but in 1857 he was able to send for his wife, and they afterwards purchased three acres of land in Porter county, going in debt for a portion of it. This little tract formed the nucleus of their afterward large estate, for by exercising the strictest economy and by hard and per- sistent labor they were enabled to add to it from time to time until they finally owned two hundred and sixty acres. In 1886, how- ever, they left the county which had been their home for so many years and came to New Carlisle, where they are still living, but the father has retired from the active cares of a business life to enjoy the fruits of former toil. He owns about five hundred and thirty acres of rich and fertile farming land, and was long numbered among the leading agri- culturists of St. Joseph county. Both Mr. and Mrs. Brummitt are members of the Chris- tian church, and he is a Republican in his political affiliations. Six of their seven chil- dren are now living, namely : Mark L., whose name introduces this review; John, who was educated in the Valparaiso Normal College and is now engaged in the real estate busi- ness in that city ; Maria, wife of J. Augustine, of New Carlisle; Jennie, wife of M. P. Goody- koontz, a resident farmer of Olive township, and both she and her sister were well edu- cated and were members of the teachers' pro- fession before their marriage; Emily, who was also a teacher, is now the wife of H. H. Loring, a prominent attorney of Valparaiso, Indiana; and A. R., the youngest of the fam- ily, is the cashier of the First National Bank of New Carlisle, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Brum- mitt have given their children excellent edu- cational advantages, and all are proving an honor to the honored family name.

Mark L. Brummitt received his elementary education in the common schools, supplement- ing this by attendance at the Northern In- diana Normal College of Valparaiso, and while pursuing his course he and his sisters boarded themselves in order to help defray their expenses while at college. With his edu- cation completed he was engaged for six years thereafter as a teacher in Porter county, but in 1885 he came to New Carlisle and entered into partnership with Edward Thompson, business being conducted under the firm name of Thompson & Brummitt. This hardware

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firm continued in business during the follow- ing ten months, when Mr. Brummitt, Sr., pur- chased Mr. Thompson's interest, and the name was then changed to William Brummitt & Son, thus continuing until 1890. In that year another was admitted to the partner- ship, while in 1892 the father severed his con- nection therewith, and the firm then became known as The Brummitt Hardware Company. During this time they established the private bank known as the Bank of the Brummitt Hardware Company. This institution was es- tablished in the spring of 1897, in the build- ing where their business is now located, and continued until 1900, when it was incorpo- rated as the First National Bank of New Carl- isle, where three years later, in 1903, the Brummitt Hardware Company was incorpo- rated under the name of the Brummitt Mer- cantile Company, with the following officers: President and treasurer, Mark L. Brummitt; secretary, Mrs. J. Augustine; vice-president, A. R. Brummitt. The various members are noted for their business integrity, and the well-known firm needs no further mention than to say it is in the zenith of success. They handle coal, lumber, grain, farm implements and vehicles, as well as a first-class stock of shelf and heavy hardware, and the volume of their business now annually reaches forty thousand dollars. The extensive business re- flects great credit on the president and mana- ger, and in fact the town of New Carlisle may be proud to claim it among its business inter- ests. In addition to this Mr. Brummitt also has extensive landed interests in Laporte county, Indiana, consisting of two hundred and twelve acres.

On the 7th of April, 1886, he was united in marriage to Miss Ida M. Phillips, and they have become the parents of three children, but the eldest, a son Clair, died at the age of nine years ; Loren is in the ninth grade of the New Carlisle public schools, and Helen is in the fourth grade. Mrs. Brummitt is a native of Ohio, but was educated in the schools of New Carlisle, Indiana. She is a member of the Eastern Star, the Ladies of the Macca- bees, and both she and her husband are mem- bers of the Christian church. Mr. Brum- mitt gives his political support to the Repub- lican party, his first presidential vote having been cast for the lamented President Garfield, and he has ever since favored the "Grand Old Party." He is a member of the county council, through whose hands pass the appro-

priations for public expenditures, and he is now serving as president of this important body. During a period of four years he was also a member of the school board of New Carlisle. As the leading merchant and rep- resentative citizen of this city he well de- serves mention in this history of St. Joseph county.

AARON WENGER. Aaron Wenger is num- bered among the old and honored pioneer settlers of St. Joseph county, and he also occupies a leading place among the represen- tative agriculturists of Olive township. It was in the fall of 1865 that the family home was established within the borders of St. Joseph county, to which it was removed from Darke county, Ohio, the native place of Aaron Wenger, where he was born June 28, 1837, the third in a family of seven children, six sons and one daughter, of Joseph and Lydia (Isenham) Wenger. Five of the number are now living, namely: David, who served as a soldier in the Civil war, and is now a farmer and merchant of Missouri; Aaron is the next in order of birth; Sarah, the widow of Michael Cranmer and a resident of New Carlisle; Samuel and William, twins, both of whom served in the Civil war, the former now resid- ing in New Carlisle, while the latter makes his home in Rochester, Indiana.

Joseph Wenger, the father of these chil- dren, was a native of Pennsylvania, where he was reared to manhood and followed farming. He emigrated first to Montgomery county, Ohio, where he resided for several years, was there married and afterward took up his abode in Darke county, this being in the early days and he was numbered among its pioneers. In the fall of 1865 the family sought a new home in St. Joseph county, In- diana, two of the sons driving through with teams, and on reaching their destination in Olive township, the father purchased one hundred and ninety acres of partially im- proved land, and this became the old Wenger homestead. Politically he was an ardent Re- publican, and both he and his wife were exemplary members of the United Brethren church. Both have long since passed away, but their memories are still enshrined in the hearts of their children.

Aaron Wenger, whose name introduces this review, early in life learned the trade of a wagon maker in his native county of Darke, Ohio, but throughout the period of his resi- dence in St. Joseph county has been identi-

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fied with agricultural pursuits. He can re- call many reminiscences of the early days in old St. Joe, when the now great and popu- lous city of South Bend was but a mere ham- let, and he has been an active participant in the subsequent development and improve- ment. He is now the owner of one hundred and eighty-seven acres of rich and fertile land on the Terre Coupee prairie, which is well adapted to the raising of all kinds of grain.

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A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 54

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 887

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 887