A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 57

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

USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2 > 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).

James Proud, whose name introduces this review, was reared in his native township and county, and is strictly a St. Joseph citizen. The educational training which he received in the district schools was supplemented by at- tendance at the high school of New Carlisle,

and he also pursued a course at the South Bend Commercial College, so that he was well fitted to engage in the active battle of life. He remained at home until his twenty-first year, giving his time and wage to his parents, and at that age, with a cash capital consisting of one hundred dollars, engaged with his brother Milton in the operation of the old homestead farm, thus continuing for three years, and was very successful in his first business ven- ture. He was married to Miss Anna Borden on the 25th of December, 1894, and their four children are all living, namely : Edson Keith, who is now a member of the fifth grade in the public schools; Theodore S., in the fourth grade; Marguerite, also in school; and James Cecil, the youngest of the family. Mrs. Proud was born in Olive township, on the site of her present home, March 28, 1868, a daughter of Theodore and Eliza ( Whitlock) Borden, who were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, all of whom are living at this writing. She received her elementary education in the New Carlisle schools, after- wards entering De Pauw University, and for two years was one of the well known and successful teachers of Laporte county, Indi- ana. She is now a member of the Harmony Club, whose mission is advancement along lit- erary lines, and both she and her husband are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which she is serving as president of the Ladies' Aid Society.

Mr. and Mrs. Proud began their married life as renters, thus continuing for two years, but in March, 1897, they located on the old Borden homestead, where they have ever since made their home. Their landed possessions now consist of seventy-two acres in Olive township, while they also have fifteen acres of timber land in Berrien county and eighty acres south of their residence in Olive town- ship. Although Mr. Proud's commencement in business life was humble he has by untir- ing effort accumulated one hundred and thir- ty-one acres, with the exception of thirty-six acres inherited by his wife, while in 1905 their present attractive and modern residence was erected, which is finished in Georgia pine, and is a two-story structure, with attic and basement. Their pretty country seat will be known as "The Proud Oaks," and is one of the finest estates of Olive township. In all his work he has been ably assisted by his esti- mable wife, to whom much praise is due.

Mr. Proud gives his political support to the

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Democracy, having cast his first presidential vote for Cleveland, and he has served as a delegate to his county, district and congres- sional conventions. At South Bend in 1905, he was elected vice president of the Farmers' Institute for Olive township, to which posi- tion he was re-elected, and the meetings have been held annually in each township. For six years he was also president of the New Carlisle Creamery Company, which was one of the best in the state. He is accorded a prominent position in the agricultural circles of St. Joseph county, and his career is an honor to the district which has honored him.

GRANVILLE WOOLMAN. For almost three- quarters of a century Granville Woolman has resided within the borders of St. Joseph coun- ty, and during that time has witnessed its transformation from a wilderness to a great manufacturing center. He is a native of Clark county, Ohio, born February 14, 1823, a son of Joseph and Rebecca (Allen) Wool- man. In their family were three children, one son and two daughters, the son Granville being the second in order of birth and the only one now living. Joseph Woolman, the father, was a native of New Jersey, of Eng- lish lineage, and his entire business career was devoted to the tilling of the soil. When twenty-one years of age he went to Ohio. was there married, purchased land, and con- tinued to reside there until 1830, when he came to Indiana on a prospecting tour. About this time the Black Hawk war was breaking out, and in a year or so he again came to In- diana, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of the Indians in Olive township and also eighty acres of government land. The first habitation of the Woolmans here was a little log shack, the door of which was a quilt, and this was afterward used as a stable, while the second cabin, although also of logs, was more pretentious. Mr. Woolman was first a Whig and afterwards a Republican in his political affiliations, and both he and his wife were Quakers, exemplifying that quiet and beautiful faith throughout their entire lives. The father's death occurred in Ohio at the age of fifty-five years, while the mother passed away in St. Joseph county when she had reached the age of sixty years.

Granville Woolman was but a little lad of ten years when in 1834 he came with his par- ents to St. Joseph county, where for seventy- three years he has been an honored resident and has been identified with agricultural pur-

suits. The first school which he attended was in a hewed log cabin near Hudson, sixteen by eighteen feet in size, heated by a stove and seated by board benches and was conducted on the subscription plan, the average session being two months in the year. Thus his chances for an educational training in early life were extremely limited, but by extensive reading and observation in later years he has become a well-informed man. His father died ere he reached his twenty-first year, and he afterward conducted the home farm until his mother's death, his farm implements at that time being of the most primitive sort, for he used the old hook or sickle, the scythe and the turkey wing cradle. all so well remem- bered by the early pioneers. He calls to mind the first binder ever purchased on the Terre Coupee prairie, and in partnership with a neighbor he purchased the second one ever brought to this locality. He used the ox teams in the olden days, and was a resident of the county when the red men were more plentiful than the whites, many of their bark wigwams having been located near his home. But these Indians, of the Pottawatomie tribe, were friendly, although they were ofttimes trouble- some as beggars. Wild animals of all kinds were also plentiful. At the time the family emigrated to Olive township they passed through or near the present city of South Bend, the great manufacturing center of fifty thousand population, but then a little hamlet with a few straggling habitations. He has also witnessed the introduction of all the mod- ern inventions, and thus it will be seen that his name is ineffaceably traced on the history of St. Joseph county.

Mr. Woolman has been twice married. first to Miss Mary Whittaker, by whom he had six children, three sons and three daughters. but only the sons are now living, namely: Burr. a resident of California, who is married and has two children; Edgar, a resident farmer of Olive township, and who is married and has three children : and Allen J., a mechanic of Three Oaks, Michigan. The mother of these children was a native of the state of New York, educated in the common schools and was a successful teacher. After her death Mr. Woolman married Miss Jennie Zigler, a member of one of the prominent pioneer families of Olive township, and here she was reared and educated. Her birth oc- curred on the 25th of March. 1844, and she is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal

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Granville Woolman

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THE NEWYORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

Astor, Lanex and Tiden Foumist ens. 1909

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church. It was about the year 1900 that Mr. and Mrs. Woolman erected their pleasant resi- dence in New Carlisle, and here they are living in quiet retirement. The home is rich in relics of the olden days, and contains a Longfellow clock one hundred and seventy-five years old, which his grandfather brought from New Jersey, and although it has been handed down through many generations it yet keeps excellent time. They also have the double coverlets woven by his mother, who spun the wool and wove the cloth, and have one of the old parchment deeds executed March 15, 1837, by President Martin Van Buren. Mr. Wool- man is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, having cast his vote for its first presidential nominee, General Fremont, but his first vote was cast for the Whig party. During a period of three years he was presi- dent of the St. Joseph County Fair Associa- tion, and at the close of that period he was presented with a beautiful gold-headed cane, which, although highly prized, he never uses, as he is yet erect and well preserved in body. Perhaps no other resident of St. Joseph coun- ty is better known than Granville Woolman, and we are pleased to present this full review of his life to its residents.

Reminiscences of Early Days. By Granville Woolman.

"My father came to this country in 1830 with three of his neighbors to look the coun- try over to learn whether they would like it and could better their condition. On their return my father was the only one that con- cluded to come. He made arrangements to move in '32, but the Black Hawk war had broken out and by the time it had reached us it was to the effect that every white man, woman and child were murdered in the most cruel manner; property all destroyed and the Indians reigned supreme. While that was not the case it had the effect to stop the emigra- tion for the time being. My father, not being entirely satisfied, came in '33 and liked the country still better. He purchased the land where we now live, for which he paid $2.50 per acre, it being Indian land, and moved in '34 in company with Samuel Bates, his brother-in-law. We left Ohio August 20 and arrived here September 4. The roads were quite bad part of the way, especially through the Black Swamp and Grapevine. Conse- quently we made slow progress compared with travel nowadays-about twenty miles a day. My father drove three horses, one of Vol. II-21

which he rode. The leader was driven by a single or jerk line. The roads across the marsh were very bad and continued so most of the way across the prairie. When we arrived at the edge of the prairie father said to mother : 'Here is Terre Coupee, if the bottom has not fallen out.' Not a very pleasant sight, I as- sure you. Mud 12 to 15 inches deep and water frequently standing either side of the road. We finally arrived at Bunker Hill and a far more pleasing sight it seemed. This somewhat overcame the first unfavorable im- pression. There was but one cabin and that was located where the Christian church now stands. That and the land belonged to a fam- ily by the name of Burasaw, a half-breed In- dian. We crossed to the north side of the prairie, where our land was located, and selected a place to build near where the build- ings now stand. The road ran about 15 rods south of the building and remained there for years. We immediately built a shanty in- tended for a stable. With a slab for a table and stools made out of the same material, pins driven in the logs on which to hang wearing apparel, dirt floor and a camp fire, we were quite at home. My father went to the east end of the prairie and bought a quarter of beef. As we had no place to keep it, father climbed up a small tree near the shanty, cut off a limb with mother's help and managed to hang it up. But it served to attract the wolves, which came in large numbers, howl- ing, snarling and snapping around the shanty. The dogs we brought to devour all the wolves in the west came through the door with a rush, slipped under the bed and were very docile until the wolves left. I never could understand why dogs were so afraid of wolves that had never been attacked by them.

"Every one who passed along the road and saw the shanty and covered wagon would stop and inquire where we were from, and if we had come to stay. Mrs. Abbie Druliner, who lived on the Wade Reynolds place, came a few days after we had located, introduced herself and inquired where we were from, hoped we would be satisfied, saying that we needed people to help improve the country, and as we were near neighbors she hoped we would remain as such. 'We have been here two years and anything we have in the way of provisions that you haven't we want to divide with you. I have the material for making soap, come over and help make it and we will divide.' Whether this kind act had

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anything to do with their friendship or not I assure you they were fast friends all their lives. They visited each other, their neigh- bors, the sick and needy. Everyone seemed delighted to have new comers and worked for each other's interest.

"The Indians were quite numerous, pass. ing along the road in squads of two to twen- ty. You may imagine how a boy of ten would feel after hearing all about the depredations the Indians had committed the past two years. It so happened one day in my father's ab- sence that I went down near the road to cut some wood out of a large oak top. We had an old dog, Rover, in some respects like Mary's lamb, wherever I went he was sure to go. He was lying near where I was and commenced growling. His hair standing on end I told him to be quiet. I knew something was up; I commenced looking about and soon discovered two big Indians coming down the road with feathers in cap, belts with toma- hawks and scalping knives. With not much time to think, I bade the old dog be quiet and settled down in the top of the tree, hoping to avoid their notice until they passed. But when they got opposite where I was, one of them straightened up and pulled out a scalp- ing knife. I went out of that tree top like a jack rabbit, outran the old dog, my hat and everything else landed into the shanty half- way across the room. My mother says, 'What's the matter with thee?' 'Two big Indians. I guess they never scalped me.'

"The Indians were quite docile except when they had fire water. Then they would pass along the road in single file, no matter what their number was, whooping and yell- ing, with their ponies at full speed. We soon became accustomed to them and had but little fear. Many of their wigwams were very at- tractive, lined with furs of different kinds, fancy blankets, the squaws sitting on robes doing fancy bead work with papooses lashed to boards hanging to a limb or leaning against a tree. The older ones frisking about prac- ticing with bow and arrow, jumping or run- ning races. The surroundings seemed the height of contentment and they acted very friendly but would never invite you inside."

AUGUSTUS BRADLEY GAROUTTE. The Gar- outte family is so well known throughout northern Indiana that its representative needs no special introduction to the residents of St. Joseph county. The name stands con- spicuously forth on the pages of its political

history, and the father of Augustus B., the Hon. Thomas J. Garoutte, was widely recog- nized as a Democratic leader who labored ear- nestly for the success of his party and for good citizenship. The name Garoutte is of French origin, and the great-grandfather of him whose name introduces this review, Michael Garoutte, came to America from France with General Lafayette to aid Gen- eral Washington in the Revolutionary war. He was one of the heroes of that great strug- gle, and his descendants are therefore entitled to membership in the order of the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution.

Augustus Bradley Garoutte was born in Olive township, St. Joseph county, Indiana, February 14, 1870, a son of Thomas J. and Sarah (Burk) Garoutte. The father, a na- tive of Washington county, Ohio, born on the 19th of December, 1823, was reared to agricultural pursuits, and was a well though self educated man. When a little lad he came with his parents in 1830 to Laporte county, Indiana, locating on the old David Stoner place near Rolling Prairie, their first home being a little log cabin. The red men then roamed at will over the country, and often came to their door for food, while the wolves made the night hideous by their dismal howling. During the winter of 1831, memor- able on account of its severity, the mother was frozen to death, and in 1832 the re- mainder of the family returned to their Ohio home. From the Buckeye state they moved to Greene county, Missouri, in 1838, and in 1844 the Hon. Thomas J. Garoutte rode all the way back to Ohio on horseback. For two years thereafter he attended school, and in 1846 he came to St. Joseph county, Indiana, establishing his home in New Carlisle, where he began at the very bottom round of the lad- der of life, working by the month for eight dollars, but this small beginning served as the foundation on which he builded his subse- quent career. His first purchase consisted of eighty acres of timber land, obtaining it from Elisha Egbert, and it was located on the border of the Terre Coupee prairie.

On the 26th of August, 1850. Mr. Garoutte was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Burk, who was born in Ohio on the 3d of September, 1829, and her death occurred December 4, 1879. Shortly after her birth her parents came to St. Joseph county, where they be- came extensive land owners in Olive town- ship, and they were one of the first families

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to take up their abode in the northwestern part of the county. Mrs. Garoutte was a brave pioneer woman, a devoted wife and a loving mother, and she was a devout member of the Christian church. They became the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, of whom Augustus B. was the youngest in order of birth. Only two of the number are now living, the elder being James B., a resident of Denver, Colorado, where he is extensively engaged in the real estate busi- ness. He attended the common schools and also graduated from the Valparaiso college, and he married Miss Clara Foster, by whom he has one little son, Foster Thomas. A granddaughter of Hon. Garoutte, Miss Mary Agnes Hatfield, daughter of Emma E. (Gar- outte) Hatfield, is a resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan, aged twenty-seven years. She was highly educated, a graduate of the Kalamazoo Young Ladies' Seminary in the class of 1899, and also of Oberlin College. She is a historian and genealogist of more than passing im- portance and is now writing a fine genealogy of the Garoutte family. Hon. Garoutte was an important factor in the political life of St. Joseph county, and was a Jackson Democrat. For twenty-one years he served as the trustee of Olive township, the longest record of any official in St. Joseph county, and during his incumbency many needed improvements were instituted, such as the erection of school houses, the straightening of roads, etc. He was a firm friend of the public schools, and for a number of years also served as the jus- tice of the peace. In 1878-9 he was elected to represent the thirteenth district of St. Joseph county in the state legislature, filling the duties of that office with marked ability and fidelity. He was often selected as delegate to district and congressional conventions, and about 1880 he was a candidate for the office of state senator, being defeated in the race by only seventeen votes. Fraternally he was : prominent Mason, a member of South Bend Commandery, No. 13, K. T., also a charter member of Terre Coupee Lodge, and was an efficient officer and member. He adhered to the Methodist faith. aided in the erection of many churches, and was a kind and benevol- ent man, always ready to aid any enterprise for the good of his fellow men. He was suc- cessful in his business ventures, having accu- mulated two hundred and eighty acres of land in Olive township, also real estate in New Carlisle, and in 1888 he visited Califor-

nia on a pleasure trip. Both Mr. and Mrs. Garoutte are interred in the New Carlisle cemetery, where a beautiful stone marks their last resting place.

Augustus B. Garoutte received his educa- tion in the New Carlisle high school, and the work of the farm has continued as his life occupation. On the 15th of June, 1892, he was united in marriage to Miss Olive Ackley, and six children have been born to them, three sons and three daughters, namely : Paul V., a bright and promising student in the eighth grade of school; Horace A. a member of the seventh grade; Thomas B. and Ella Vivian, both in the third grade; Beatrice A., in the first grade; and Olive Nadine, the youngest of the family. Mrs. Garoutte was born in Laporte county, Indiana, June 2, 1871, the second of three children, one son and two daughters, born to Jacob and Martha E. (Culveyhouse) Ackley. All are yet living : Elias S., a well-known business man of New Carlisle; Olive, the wife of Mr. Garoutte; Ella, the wife of John E. Ayres and an ef- ficient music teacher in New Carlisle, now residing in South Bend. Mr. Ackley, the father, is a native of New York, born May 14, 1843, and is now connected with the elec- tric light plant in New Carlisle. For three years he was a soldier in the Civil war, par- ticipating in a number of its leading battles, and he is one of the oldest members of the New Carlisle Grand Army Post, formerly affiliating with Rolling Prairie Post, and a Mason at New Carlisle. His political support is given to the Republican party. Mrs. Ack- ley, who was born in Laporte county, In- diana, December 10, 1842, is a member of the Christian church. Mrs. Garoutte was reared in both Laporte and St. Joseph coun- ties. receiving her education in the public schools of Rolling Prairie and New Carlisle. Mr. Garoutte follows in the political faith of his father, having cast his first presidential vote for Grover Cleveland, and he has ever since remained true to Democratic principles. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias. No. 441, at New Carlisle, and both he and his wife are members of the Christian church of that city. They reside on the Gar- outte estate of one hundred and twenty acres. and they are worthy representatives of the honored family name.

S. C. LANCASTER is numbered among the honored pioneers who aided in laying the foundation on which the future development

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of this section of the county has been built. He is a native of Fayette county, Pennsyl- vania, born on the 3d of January, 1837, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Grapevine) Lancas- ter. In their family were ten children, our subject being the fifth in order of birth, and only four of the number are now living. Mr. Lancaster, the father, was born in Pennsyl- vania, and was the grandson of a Revolution- ary soldier. About 1843 he removed from his native state to Clark county, Ohio, and in 1849 came to St. Joseph county, Indiana, here. purchasing eighty acres of land three miles south of New Carlisle, which was covered with a dense growth of timber and which with the aid of his sons he cleared and placed under an excellent state of cultivation. Their first home was the primitive log cabin, and those were the good old days of true friend- ship and good cheer. Mr. Lancaster was a Jackson Democrat in his political views, and both he and his wife were stanch Baptists. His death occurred in South Bend, Indiana, in 1867, aged about seventy years. His wife, who was a native of Baltimore, Maryland. had two brothers who were ocean sailors.

S. C. Lancaster, a son of this worthy pioneer couple, was about thirteen years of age when the family home was established in St. Joseph county, but a short time afterward, in 1851, he went to Laporte, Indiana, and learned the saddlery and harness trades. Returning thence to New Carlisle in. 1855 he began work at his chosen occupations, and before he was of age he had saved ten dollars and was also the owner of a cheap watch, the result of his own enterprise and ability, and it may truth- fully be said that he is the architect of his own fortune. In 1886 he sold his store in New Carlisle, but previous to this time it had three times been destroyed by fire, causing severe losses to the young business man, but each time he builded better than before. In 1886, in company with H. V. Compton, Mr. Lancaster embarked in the livery business, the partnership continuing for eleven years, when he sold his interest and since that time has dealt considerably in real estate and in- surance, representing one of the oldest insur- ance companies in the state of Indiana, the Hartford.

On the 19th of December, 1866, Mr. Lan- caster was united in marriage with Miss Myra M. Briggs, a native of Somerset, Niagara county, New York, where she was born on the 1st of May, 1842, a daughter of Thomas and

Elizabeth (Fargo) Briggs. They were the parents of twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, but only two are now living, the sister of Mrs. Lancaster being Alma, the wife of Thomas Merritt, a horticulturist of Grand View, Tennessee. Mr. Briggs, the father, was a native of Herkimer county, New York, where he was a successful agriculturist, and after his removal to the west he became the owner of five hundred acres of land south of Niles. His political support was given to the Whig party. Both he and his wife, who was also a native of Herkimer county, were Baptists, and both died in Lenawee county, Michigan. Mrs. Lancaster was but seven years old when brought by her parents to Niles, Michigan, and three years afterward the family home was removed to Lenawee county, that state. During the long period of forty years she and her husband have traveled the journey of life together, mutually sharing the joys and sorrows which checker the lives of all, and they have won the love and high re- gard of all who have had the pleasure of their acquaintance. They have had no children of their own, but have adopted two, a son and daughter. Rollin, the eldest, is a resident of New Carlisle, where he is well known as a carpenter and joiner. He married Miss Lu- cretia Longfellow, of Galien, Michigan. The daughter, Inez, married Charles D. White, a prominent young business man of New Carl- isle, and died in 1904. Mr. Lancaster cast his first presidential vote for Pierce, and has ever since remained true to the principles of the Democracy. For twenty-six years he served as a justice of the peace in New Carlisle, the longest period of any incumbent in the county, and for three years was also clerk of the school board. In 1896 he was a formidable candidate for the office of county clerk, re- ducing the Republican majority from eighteen hundred to six hundred and twenty-one votes, and he has many times served as a delegate to the county conventions. His fraternal rela- tions connect him with Terre Coupee Lodge. No. 204, of New Carlisle, which he served two terms as worshipful master and has been a delegate to the grand lodge. Mrs. Lancaster is a charter member of the Eastern Star, Lodge No. 320, of which she is treasurer. Both are members of the Episcopal church, in which they are active workers. and Mr. Lan- caster personally solicited funds for the erec- tion of their church building in 1892 and 1893. In addition to the pleasant and com-

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A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 57

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