A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana, Part 48

Author:
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1474

USA > Indiana > Randolph County > A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana > Part 48
USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana > Part 48

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).

Mr. Turner was united with the Methodist Episcopal church in 1838, was licensed as a local preacher in 1839, and was subsequently ordained by Bishop Jayne an elder. He has been a class leader in the Muncie High street church for the past ten years, and while a member of the local preachers' association for north Indiana, did active and efficient work at the weaker points in Delaware and adjoining counties. His life has been well spent.

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a ALVIN S. WACHTELL, a prominent business man, dealing in harness, etc., in Muncie, Ind., was born near Columbus, Ohio, December 1, 1837, a son of Jonathan and Parmelia (Baxter) Wachtell, natives of Pennsylvania and Mary- land, respectively. They came to Muncie, Ind., in 1839, where the father engaged in the manufacture of furniture and chairs. He and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church and he was instrumental in establishing the first church of that denomination in Mun- cie, and served as deacon and trustee of the same. Politically he was a democrat, and during life firmly upheld the principles of that party. His death occurred in 1850, leaving a wife and six children. His wife survived him until 1891, and five of the children are still living. The family was as follows: Eveline, now Mrs. William Barnes, of Muncie; John A., of Muncie; Andrew J., of Muncie; Henry H., deceased, and Calvin S. Calvin S. Wachtell was brought by his parents to this city when he was but two years of age, and received a public school education. He learned the excellent trade of harness making and has, every since that time, followed the same busi- ness. In 1874 he was called upon by the citi- zens to fill the office of city clerk and auditor, and for twelve years he acceptably filled those positions. In 1879 he established his present harness and wagon business, and is the oldest dealer in those lines in the city. He has become prominent in business circles, as he has been progressive and enterprising. He is the present secretary of the Co-operative Natural Gas company, and is a member of the Citizens' Enterprise company.

Politically Mr. Wachtell is a republican, and is a member of the I. O. O. F. He is recognized as one of the most progressive citizens in the city, and his great financial success has all been attained by his own ef-

forts. He receives, as he deserves, the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens. Mr. Wachtell was married, in 1862, to Miss Susan L. Anderson, daughter of John Anderson, of Niles township, and one son, F. L. Wachtell, has been born of this marriage. F. L. Wach- tell was born in 1863, was educated in the Muncie schools, passing through the high school, and in 1879 was admitted by his father into partnership. In 1888 he married Miss Leonora Deitsch, a daughter of Chief of Police Deitsch of the city of Cincinnati. The two families are among the best in the city of Muncie and enjoy the respect and esteem of all. Mr. Wachtell and wife are members of the Christian church of Muncie, and in this body he holds the offices of deacon and clerk.

Q UINCE WALLING, superintendent of the Muncie Water and Gas com- pany, is a native of Delaware county, born in the city of Muncie, June I, 1865. He received his education in the pub- lic schools of Muncie, which he attended until his sixteenth year, and then accepted a clerk- ship in the grocery house of James Charman, in which capacity he continued for a period of about two years. Severing his connection with the mercantile business, Mr. Walling next took service with the Muncie Artificial Gas company as street lamp lighter, and after a year in that capacity became collector for the concern, which at the time was owned and controlled by the American Water Works & Guarantee company, which operated plants in various parts of the United States. In 1886 he was given charge of the plant at Marion, Ind., where he remained one year, at the end of which time he returned to Muncie and re- sumed the duties of collectorship, continuing the same until his elevation to the superintend-

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ency on the ist of April, 1890. Since that year Mr. Walling has had charge of both plants, gas and water works, and the ability with which he has discharged the duties of the position has won for him the highest encomi- ums from the company with which he is iden- tified, as well as the praise of the public to whose comfort he has so long and so efficiently ministered. Mr. Walling is a young man of much more than ordinary intelligence and business capacity, a gentleman in whom the people repose the most implicit confidence, and he is considered by all one of the wide-awake and substantial citizens of Muncie. He is an active member of the Muncie lodge, No. 74, I. O. O. F., of DeEmber tribe, No. 30, I. O. R. M., and also belongs to the B. P. O. Elks lodge, No. 245. Mr. Walling was married September 19, 1889, to Miss Gertrude A. Shick, daughter of Leonard and Psyche Shick, of Centre township, Delaware county, to which union one child, Helen E., has been born.

ILLIAM WALLING, now living re- tired from active business life, is a well known and highly respected citizen, and an ex-official of Dela- ware county, Ind. He was born in Wayne county, Ind., February 3, 1819, a son of Jos- eph and Mary (Thomas) Walling, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Wales. The parents were among the pioneers of Wayne county, Ind., where they settled about 1817. By trade, Mr. Walling, the elder, was a tanner, and erected tanneries in Wayne county and at Connersville, in Fay- ette county. In 1832 he came to Delaware county and settled in Perry township, where he cleared a farm and also erected a tannery. A tract of land was entered by him in Perry and Centre townships, and this land is now

occupied by the Hemingwray and Over glass companies. He was a stockholder in the Bee Line railroad and was regarded as a safe and sensible business man. Politically, he was a democrat, and his death occurred in 1864. Mrs. Walling survived him until 1883. Jo- seph and Mary Walling reared a family of nine children, as follows: Francis, deceased; Anna, now deceased, was Mrs. William Scott; Thompson, a resident of Henry county, Ind. ; William; Mark, of Muncie; Sarah, now dead, was Mrs. John Powers; John, of Muncie; Jonathan, deceased, and Joseph, deceased.

William Walling accompanied his parents to Delaware county when thirteen years of age, was educated in the common schools, after which he learned the trade of tanner with his father. In 1835, in connection with his father and his brother-in-law, he purchased a tannery in Muncie and enlarged it and operated the same for several years. He also cleared up a farm in Centre township, upon which he resi- ded for a number of years. Mr. Walling has been a very valuable and important citizen and was one of the organizers of the Five Points Gas Well company; is a member of the Citi- zens' Enterprise company, and a stockholder in the Citizen's National bank. Socially he is connected with the I. O. O. F. and politically he is a democrat. Formerly he was a repub- lican, but in late years he views public ques- tions differently, and now votes with the other great party. In 1854 he was elected sheriff of Delaware county, and acceptably filled that position for four years.

In 1843 Mr. Walling married Miss Mary Hamilton, a daughter of Stephen Hamilton, of Hamilton township, but she died in 1858, leav- ing him a family of four children: Salina, Ellen, deceased; Ann, wife of N. B. Powers, of Muncie, and Mary, deceased wife of James Campbell. Mr. Walling next was married, in 1862, to Miss Lucetta Smith, a daughter of

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John Smith, of Centre township, and two sons have been born of this union, John and Mark. Mrs. Walling is a member of the High street Methodist Episcopal church.

OLLIN WARNER, city attotney of Muncie, was born in Blountsville, Henry county, Ind., April 18, 1856, son of Eli and Emily (Bunch) War- ner, natives respectively of New and Vermont, who settled in the above counry about the year 1850. Tbe father was engaged in mer- cantile pursuits for a period of twenty years and departed this life in 1871.

Rollin Warner received his rudimentary education in the township schools, later at- tended the National Normal at Lebanon, Ohio, after which he entered his father's store, and after the latter's death conducted the business for some years. Having early mani- fested a decided preference for the legal pro- fession, he determined to make it his life work; accordingly he began the study of the same in the office of Monks & Thompson of Winches- ter, and was admitted to the bar in the coun- ties of Randolph, Henry and Delaware in the year 1879. For a period of ten years, from 1879 to 1889, he practiced his profession in New Castle, and then removed to Muncie, where he has since remained, having in the meantime built up a large and lucrative business in Delaware and other counties. With a mind naturally capable, well developed and enriched by close study and critical experience, he has become one of the ablest lawyers of Muncie, and his connection with a number of very important cases, here and elsewhere, has gained for him much more than a state repu- tation. He was one of the counsel which de- fended Lake, Smeltzer, Roswell and Smith, who were tried for the murder of Eli Ladd,

and he acquitted himself in that celebrated case with an ability that gave him a high standing as an astute and brilliant lawyer. Mr. Warner has also been retained as counsel in much other important litigation, and his serv- ices are frequently in demand where large and important interests are at stake. He is am- bitious and zealous in his chosen calling, and, in addition to achieving what men call success, has established a reputation for honesty and integrity that has accomplished this laudable aim. In politics Mr. Warner is an active re- publican, and he is often called upon to can- vass the county in the interest of his party being a forcible, effective and eloquent speak- er. He served as attorney for Henry county for two years and resigned the position of city attorney of New Castle upon his removal to Muncie at the date above noted. In 1891 he was made city attorney of Muncie, the duties of which position he has discharged in a very able and satisfactory manner ever since.

In October, 1889, Mr. Warner and Miss Mary V. Cecil, daughter of Gordon and Susan E. Cecil of Perry township, this county, were united in the bonds of wedlock, and their wedded life has been blessed by a family of five interesting children: Etta, Everett, Mabel, Cecil and Emily. Mrs. Warner is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and both she and her husband are prominent factors in the social life of Muncie.

PILLIAM F. WATSON .- Prominent among the representative business men of Delaware county the name of William F. Watson, now prac- tically retired from active life, is worthy of specific mention. Mr. Watson is a native of Ohio, born July 31, 1829, in Licking county, the son of James Watson, a Virginian, who

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settled in the Buckeye state in early manhood. At the age of twenty-one, James Watson married Fanny Francis, daughter of William Francis, of Licking county, and immediately thereafter located on a farm and followed agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in the year 1842. He reared a large family, nine members of which, six sons and three daugh- ters, are yet living, namely: Stephen, William F., James, Strawder, Levi, Abraham, Frances, Lacy and Miranda. Two years after her hus- band's death, Mrs. Watson moved with her family to Delaware county, Ind., and settled on a farm, which Mr. Watson had previously . bought, and there resided until her death in 1854

William F. Watson accompanied his widowed mother to Delaware county in 1844, and was early obliged to contribute his full share to the support of her and the other members of the family. He worked at differ- ent places, principally as a- farmer, until his twenty-fifth year, at which time he married Miss Mary Brown, daughter of Hugh and Ann (Stephenson) Brown, the ceremony which made them man and wife having been solem- nized on the 26th day of March, 1856. After his marriage, Mr. Watson and wife moved to a farm in Monroe township, where he lived for thirty years, giving his entire attention to agri- cultural pursuits, in which his success was sat- isfactory in an eminent degree. For some time he served as supervisor of highways of his township, and in 1866 was elected trustee of the same, which position he filled by succes- sive re-elections for a period of eight years, which fact attested his popularity with his fel- low citizens, and was also a compliment to his ability as an official In 1876 Mr. Watson was elected to the important office of county commissioner, the duties of which responsible position he discharged with creditable ability for a period of fourteen years, and it was dur- i combined with intelligent foresight, mark him

ing his incumbency that the contract for the present beautiful court house, one of the most imposing temples of justice in the state of Indiana, was awarded, and the building fin- ished. While a member of the board he was untiring in his efforts to promote the welfare of the county by judicious legislation, and he became, in truth, a true guardian of the inter- ests of the people. In the year 1881 he re- moved to a farm one and one-half miles south

of Muncie, which he afterward sold and which is now within the corporate limits o' Conger- ville, a suburb of Muncie, and in 1887 moved to the elegant home on east Washington street, where he has since lived.

Mr. Watson still owns his farm in Monroe township, besides other valuable property in the country and city. He was a director in the Delaware County bank for five years, and has since held a similar position in the Delaware County National bank, and is considered one of the financially strong and reliable men of Muncie. In addition to the property enume- rated, he owns a fine farm on the Bethel turn- pike, which he still manages.

Mr. and Mrs. Watson are the parents of five children, namely: Emma, married to Benjamin Rees, died in 1888; Olive, wife of Frank Wilson; Frank, a highly respected young business man of Muncie, who died October 1 3, 1892; Oscar and Hugh Watson. Mr. Watson has been a republican ever since the organiza- tion of the party, and has taken a very active interest in political questions, on all of which he has very decided and intelligent opinions. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow, belonging to Muncie lodge, No. 74. Mr. Watson's business career has been signally successful, and for years he has been recognized as a man of force and character in the affairs of Delaware county and the city of Muncie. His chief character- istics, caution, resolution, and determination,

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as the peer cf any man in Delaware county, and fully justify the high estimate placed upon him by the business community in which for so many years he has been a prominent factor.

J AMES E. WILCOXON, deceased, far- mer and merchant, of Muncie, Ind., was a son of Lloyd Wilcoxon, Sr., and was born in Scioto county, Ohio, March 22, 1818, and in 1832 was brought to Indiana by his parents, who settled on a par- tially cleared farm about three miles east of Muncie. He here attended school in the win- ter until of age, and June 25, 1840, married Miss Jemima E. Moore, daughter of John Moore, and at that time nineteen years old. John Moore had then entered 640 acres on the Smithfield road, all in the woods, excepting a small strip, with numerous red men for neigh- bors. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcoxon began farming near Granville, but, not liking the location, re- turned two years later to a portion of the old Moore homestead, three miles east of Muncie. Here Mr. Wilcoxon became owner of 100 acres, but a few years later sold out and moved six miles north of Muncie and farmed for several years. When the railroad was run through he put in his farm for $5, 000 worth of stock in the road, and then traded his stock for 200 acres of the old Moore place and $1,- 800 to boot. On this farm he lived for some years and prospered; he then went to Selma, formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, William J. Moore, in the grain and general goods business, but three years later, about 1857 or 1858, sold his interest in Selma and joined his father, Lloyd, in the grocery trade at Muncie; later he purchased the Neely farm, now a part of Riverside, and this, in turn, he traded for a stock of dry goods, and entered into the trade on Main street, Muncie, oppo-

site the court house, and so continued until some time after the close of the late war, when he retired from active business, and died June 24, 1872, in the fifty-fifth year of his age. He had been a member of the Metho- dist church since his nineteenth year, was a class leader, and died, triumphant, in the arms of Jesus. He had been a great sufferer for eight years from a complication of disorders, but was patient and uncomplaining under his afflictions, relying upon the promise of a bless- ed immortality, and leaving behind an un- spotted name. His widow, Jemima E. (Moore) Wilcoxon, was born May 5, 1821, was converted to Christ in her fifteenth year, and has been a devout and consistent member of the Methodist church to the present day.

Eight children were born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Wilcoxon, viz: Levi, sales- man in a wholesale grocery in Indianapolis: John S., whose health was impaired by ex- posure while serving in the Twenty-first Indi- ana heavy artillery during the late war, and who died at the age of twenty-eight years; three that died in infancy; Emma F., wife of Marion M. Richie, general superintendent of the Calumet & Blue Island railway at South Chicago; Lloyd Pierce, a contracting painter, at Muncie, and Flora May, wife of J. Russy Smith, plumber, of Muncie.

LOYD WILCOXON was born May II, 1821, in Scioto county, Ohio. His grandparents, both paternal and maternal, were of English birth and owned large tracts of land in that country. His father, Lloyd Wilcoxon, Sr., was a native of Maryland, and served in the war of 1812. He was afterward engaged at the carpenter's trade in Ohio, and died at Muncie, Ind., at the age of seventy-five years. His mother,

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whose maiden name was Elizabeth Truitt, was a native of Pennsylvania, and a lady of Eng- lish antecedents. When in the eleventh year of his age (1832), the subject of this biog- raphy came with his parents to Delaware county, with whose industrial interests he afterward became very prominently identified. Too young when he left Ohio to have enjoyed to any extent the educational privileges of that state, he attended the subscription schools of Delaware county during the winter seasons fol- lowing his arrival. The daily round of labor on the farm occupied the greater portion of his time, and trained thus to early habits of indus- try, he grew up with a character that taught him to love work, rather than to shun it. He soon became the owner of a farm, in the cul- tivation of which he was engaged until 1852. So successful were his labors that, in that year, he was enabled to come to Muncie and engage in the purchase and sale of grain. In 1858 he added the manufacture of flour, erecting a large flouring mill just south of the Bee Line track, on Walnut street. To this he has added substantial improvements from time to time, supplying it with the best ma- chinery and making it, in all respects, a first- class mill. In 1883 the mill burned, was af- terward repaired, and now is used as a hominy mill.

He is a strict temperance man, and carries his principles into his business, employing no man who uses intoxicating liquors as a bever- age. He has been identified with the Meth- odist Episcopal church since he was sixteen years of age, and has proven himself a worthy exemplar of the faith he professes. In 1854, he became a member of the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows; during that year he re- ceived all the degrees of the subordinate lodge and encampment, and, two years later, he was chosen to represent both branches of the order at the grand lodge of Indiana. His early po-

litical training was in the democratic school; but the platform and the principles of the re- puqlican party, at its organization, harmonized with his own views, and he was among the first to join its ranks. March 28, 1842, he was united in marriage with Miss Rhoda, daugh- ter of Lewis Moore, an early settler of Dela- ware county. This union was blessed with nine children-Mary A., now deceased, was the wife of John R. Mason; Sarah E. is the wife of J. Milton Long; Amanda H. is the wife of Henry Bowman; John W., deceased; Martha C., wife of W. H. Long; Charles N .; Lydia J., wife of Thomas O. Cunningham; Zulena and Emma P., who reside with their parents.

........

HARLES FREDERICK WILDER- MUTH, deceased, was born in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, October 26, 1844. He was a son of Gotleib and Friedrica (Rieger) Wildermuth, both natives of Wurtemberg, and born respect- ively in 1814 and 1819. Gotleib was a baker by trade, and in early life married Miss Rie- ger; their union was blessed with five chil- dren, born and named in the following order: Charles Frederick, whose name opens this sketch; Friedrica, now Mrs. Oehler, of Union City, Randolph county, Ind .; Lewis, a farmer near Winamac, Pulaski county, Ind .; Freder- ick, deceased, and Wilhelmina, the wife of Joseph Vogt, a merchant tailor of Muncie. Gotleib Wildermuth resided in the town of Ottmarsheim, Wurtemberg, all his life, and there he reared his children and followed his trade until he reached an advanced age, when he retired, to enjoy in ease and comfort the fruit of an industrious early life. April 27, 1876, he passed away from earth at the age of sixty-two, he being a member of the Lutheran church, and mourned by a large circle of

this Wildman

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friends and acquaintances. In 1878 his widow was wedded to Carl Klein, and the pair there- after made their home in Waldheim, Germany, where they still reside.

Charles Frederick Wildermuth learned the baker's trade in his native city, with his father, beginning his apprenticeship at the age of four- teen. When twenty-one he came to the United States, landing at New York. whence he made his way to Dayton, Ohio, where for a short time he industriously worked at his trade, and then went to New Orleans, where, as is usual with unacclimated residents, he was seized with yellow fever. He was then a vigorous young man, and succeeded in baffling the dreadful disease, and after his recovery he re- turned to Dayton, Ohio, where he again fol- lowed his calling for a short time, and then located permanently in Muncie, which city, however, he had previously visited, and where he worked for Mr. Joseph Hummel, being also otherwise employed for a short time, and then purchased a business place for himself, which he successfully conducted until his death, July 6, 1893.

February 22, 1872, Mr. Wildermuth was most happily married to Miss Fannie Geiger, daughter of Frederick and Christina (Harbold) Geiger, residents of Muncie, but natives re- spectively of Germany and Canada. The union was blessed with three children, Edward, Min- nie, and Lewis, all of whom, with their mother, ire still living.

Mr. Wildermuth was reared a Lutheran, having been confirmed at the age of fourteen. He was a member, also, of Muncie lodge No. 74, I. O. O. F., also of the German Benevo- lent association, and was an upright man. He was of a happy, cheerful disposition, a doting father and loving husband, was easy of ap- proach to all who sought his charity or assist- ance, and was a careful and successful busi- ness man. His loss will be long felt by his

family and the public in general, with whom he had hosts of friends.

AJ. JOHN F. WILDMAN, senior of the firm of Wildman & McClung, proprietors of the Muncie Times, was born near Madison, Jefferson county, Ind., January 1, 1842, and is a son of Enos and Jane M. (Elliott) Wildman. Enos Wildman was a native of Leesburg, Va., and died in Jefferson county, Ind , in 1878. Mrs. Jane M. Wildman, whose father was a soldier in the war of 1812, was born in Dayton, Ohio, and died iu Jefferson county, Ind., in 1880.

John F. Wildman had just entered Han- over college to prepare himself for encounter- ing the realities of life, when the cannon of Fort Sumter summoned him to a sterner en- counter. At almost the first call to arms for the defense of the Union, he volunteered as a private in company E, Third Indiana cavalry, June 28, 1861, and was mustered in, August 22, 1861, and was in continuous service, without being off duty one day, four years and eight days, being mustered out of the service September 4, 1865. His work was that of a faithful soldier, but his acts were brave, and his deeds daring, and in consequence his pro- motion rapid. For meritorious conduct at the battle of Gettysburg, he was promoted from private in the Third Indiana cavalry, and com- missioned adjutant of the One Hundred and Thirtieth Indiana volunteer infantry, Decem- ber 5, 1863, and for meritorious service at the battle of Nashville he was commissioned major of the One Hundred and Fifty-third Indiana volunteer infantry, March 30, 1865.

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A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana, Part 48

Author: Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co. Number of Pages: 1474

Author:
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1474