USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development, Volume I > Part 25
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34
KELLY FOUNDRY AND MACHINE COMPANY
The Kelly Foundry and Machine Company originated with Frank, Edward, Charles and Clark Kelly, who came from Ohio to take charge of the foundry in the plant of the Walker-Stutz Car- riage Company. That was in 1887. That department so expanded
273
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
that the Kellys secured the plant of the Goshen Machine and Boiler Works and established a general foundry business. Then came the purchase of the Globe Implement Company, located on the present site along the lines of the Big Four division of the New York Central. The foundry now occupied was completed in 1891. Frank Kelly is president of the company, the products of which include boiler fronts and castings, stationary grates, galvanized steel tanks, and grey iron castings for power plants.
GOSHEN NOVELTY AND BRUSH COMPANY
The Goshen Novelty and Brush Company also originated in 1887. It was incorporated in 1901. Its specialties are light furni- ture, furniture novelties and lighting fixtures in wood and metal, and. the lines include library tables, desks, book racks, cabinets, stools, screens, porch novelties and ceiling lamps. H. F. Cosbey is president of the company.
THE SPOHN MEDICAL COMPANY
The large block which is the headquarters of the Spohn Medical Company is located opposite the Hotel Alderman in the business center of Goshen. Mayor S. F. Spohn founded the company. of which he is president, in 1894, and his manufacture is a specific for distemper and colds of live stock. As he was born on a farm in Elkhart County, and he and his three brothers had a model live stock farm for a number of years, the product of his company is the result of long experience and observation.
In 1895 M. C. Dow and Charles E. Gorham formed a part- nership in the manufacture of veneers for furniture, made from both native and foreign woods. The business was incorporated under the name of the Goshen Vencer Company in 1900, with Mr. Dow as president, and Mr. Gorham as vice president. The company operated first in the west end of the city on the Big Four Railroad, but in 1906 purchased the Walker plant, remodeling it, and begin- ning operations in January of that year. Several additions have since been made to the plant. Mr. Dow was president until his death in April, 1911, when Mr. Gorham succeeded him. M. C. Dow, Jr., has been secretary-treasurer from the first. The lines manufactured by the Goshen Veneer Company are built-up panels, Vol. 1-1x
274
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
tops, and a full line of veneers ; in reality, everything that enters into the construction of furniture, shipments being made in the white, and the parts assembled and finished in the furniture factory.
"FAMOUS" CHURNS AND LADDERS
The Goshen Churn and Ladder Company was established and incorporated in October, 1901. Its brand is the "Famous" as applied to the manufacturers implied by the name. J. B. Hager has been president from the first.
THE BANTA FURNITURE
The Banta Furniture Company succeeded the old Nash, Knox & Hubbell firm, after the disastrous fire which overtook the latter in March, 1901. The company erected new buildings and the orig- inal manufactory was placed in operation by the first of the year 1902. The first goods bearing the Banta stamp comprised a com- plete line of extension tables. In 1905 a large addition was made to the plant, and in 1907 still another; the latter, a two-story brick building, was made to accommodate the pronounced expansion in business produced by the broadening of the output in the produc- tion of complete dining room sets. In November, 1912, the com- pany purchased the business and rights of the Ariel Wood Bed Company of Chicago, and after that enterprise was absorbed it was transferred to Goshen. The present plant of the Banta Furniture Company is five times its original size, and represents one of the leading industries of the city. Its officers are: H. F. Banta, pres- ident and general manager; J. F. Banta, vice president and secre- tary ; F. W. Banta, treasurer and assistant manager.
WESTERN RUBBER COMPANY
The Western Rubber Company was organized in April, 1902, and manufactures a general line of rubber goods. Its officers are : B. F. Deahl, president ; H. Oppenheim, vice president; and G. B. Slate secretary-treasurer.
CHICAGO-DETROIT BAG COMPANY
The Chicago-Detroit Bag Company operates one of the largest and most important of the local industries. It employs about 150
275
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
hands and is the latest exposition of bagology ; for its large three- story brick factory not only turns out paper, cotton and burlap bags, but does all the printing to make them complete products. The Goshen concern is a branch of the Cleveland-Akron Bag Company and began operations in August, 1910. The sales headquarters are in Chicago. The burlap is imported from India, the company makes its own papers in its mills at Boston and Cleveland, and the cotton also comes direct from its mills in the South. J. D. Cramer is manager of the Goshen factory.
OTHER PRESENT-DAY INDUSTRIES
Among other manufacturing plants worthy of note may also be mentioned the Goshen Lightning Rod Company which, although it was not organized until 1909, is a leader of wide reputation in its specialty. It is said, in fact, to control the bulk of the business east of the Mississippi River. A. G. Hoovens is the active head of the enterprise, the machinery used in the plant being all specially made from his own designs.
The Lewis & Neville Manufacturing Company, of which R. O. Neville is president, is devoted to the fabrication of the old- fashioned line of horse-drawn vehicles put out in the newest- fashioned styles, and the Rock Run Mills manufacture wool and worsted union suits for men. W. L. Stephenson is the local man- ager.
SUBSTANTIAL NEWSPAPERS
Throughout the history of the local press runs a marked strain of conservatism and substantial ability. They have always fully met the demands of the public for reliable news and free discussion of the vital questions affecting the community. While progressive and uplifting forces they have shown the good sense to avoid set- ting a pace which they could not maintain. The result has been that, considering the fact that the history of the Goshen press extends over a period of almost eighty years, the number of unsuc- cessful ventures and changes in the journalistic field has been sur- prisingly few.
THE GOSHEN EXPRESS
The first newspaper published in Elkhart County was the Goshen Express. the first number of which was issued on January 28. 1837,
276
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
by Charles L. Murray, a younger printer and newspaper man, who had already established the Piqua (Ohio) Courier and boomed Har- rison for the presidency. Anthony Defrees of Goshen and other citizens had heard of him and his energetic abilities, and induced him to come to their place, which was even then ambitious to become an incorporated town. Messrs. Murray and Defrees formed a partnership to found a Goshen newspaper of the whig order, and for that purpose went to Cincinnati and bought such an outfit as they could afford, shipped it to Dayton by canal, and thence trans- ported it in wagons to Fort Wayne and the county seat.
CHARLES L. MURRAY
As stated, the first issue of the Express appeared in January, 1837. In the following May Mr. Defrees sold his interest to Mr. Murray, who continued as its editor until 1840, when President Harrison appointed him postmaster of Goshen and he relinquished all interest in the Express. Thereafter, Mr. Murray engaged in agricultural pursuits and gradually became identified with the State Journal at Indianapolis. He continued to reside on his farm north of Goshen, served in both houses of the State Legislature, was an active figure in the Civil war, and several years after its close re- sumed his connection with the press. The Goshen Democrat, the South Bend Herald and several newspapers of New York and Chicago, welcomed his services, either as editor or contributor, up to the time of his death in South Bend, July 15, 1889. Mr. Murray was justly considered the pioneer journalist of Elkhart County and was a fine credit to his profession.
The Express survived with difficulty after Mr. Murray severed his connection with it in 1840, and the plant was finally moved to Elkhart, and thence, in 1845, to Kosciusko County.
THE GOSHEN DEMOCRAT
About eight months after the first appearance of the Express, the Goshen Democrat entered the local field as an exponent of Jack- sonianism, as democracy was then called. In its Golden Anni- versary issue of May 18, 1887, William A. Beane, who had then been identified with the paper since 1844. wrote as follows: "Today the Goshen Democrat enters upon its fiftieth year. A little history
277
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
of its existence written from memory may be interesting to many of its readers and patrons. In the early part of 1837 the late Ebenezer Brown bought out an old office in Penn Yan, New York, and shipped it to Niles, Michigan, by water, and thence brought it to Goshen by wagons. Thomas H. Bassett, a brilliant but somewhat eccentric young man, was also brought here by Mr. Brown to take charge of the editorial department of the paper. It took eighteen months to complete the first volume of the paper, on account of the many difficulties it had to encounter for want of sufficient support. It ran along until about 1840, when the immortal Dr. E. W. H. Ellis, one of the brightest intellects of the day, came here from South Bend and was placed at its head. He remained with it until 1850, when he was appointed state auditor and moved to Indianapolis. About 1846 Col. M. S. Hascall was a partner with Doctor Ellis for a year or two. About 1849 W. R. Ellis (also a partner) left here and went to South Bend, where he published an Abolition paper for awhile. In 1850 the office passed into the hands of Emerick & Bouton for a time, and from them to Hon. Robert Lowry, who 'controlled it up to 1858, when he sold it to Earle & Heath and finally to J. T. Bennet. From 1850 to 1873 it passed through the hands of several parties, the first being the present pro- prietor, then Beane & Osborne and W. A. Beane & Company, then back to Judge Lowry and to the present proprietor, to LaPorte, Heff- ner, Col. MI. S. Hascall, Murray & Beane, and lastly to W. A. Beane, who has been sole proprietor since 1878, and who has been inti- mately connected with it more years than any man living or dead. We commenced with it in 1844, and with the exception of a very few years have been with it ever since, a fraction over forty-three years.
"Fifty years ago today we were living in Benton and was eight years old and going to school to Old Dantrow, as everybody called the schoolmaster. The name teacher was not yet heard, in that neck of the woods at least. Several years later we commenced our career in the office. The older men around Benton at that time have all passed away, and the boys of that day are now men far advanced in life; such men as John W. Irwin, R. D. and E. D. Irwin, David Darr, Ira and A. C. Jackson, the Weddells, the Longacres, the Butlers, the Kiblingers. Here in Goshen were W. A. Thomas, A. L. Hubbell, Milton Mercer, Joseph D. Knox, John L. Cary, H. W.
278
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
Bissell, Smith Chamberlain, John L. and Abner Blue, all of whom were then in the very flush of young manhood."
With the death of W. A. Beane in 1893, the Democrat passed under the control of his son, Joseph A. Beane, who had been con- nected with the practical work and management of the paper since 1880. From 1893 to 1897 Mr. Beane also held the postmastership of Goshen, and in December of the latter year established the Daily Democrat. Mr. Beane, who has been the editor and proprietor of the Democrat for twenty-three years, is serving his second term as postmaster.
THE GOSHEN TIMES
The third paper to be founded at Goshen was the Times, which was established by E. W. Metcalf in 1855. Mr. Metcalf sold his interest to Dr. E. W. H. Ellis and C. W. Stevens, and in June, 1862, Messrs. Copeland and Cole became proprietors. In November, 1863, H. W. Smith succeeded Mr. Cole, and William M. Starr pur- chased the paper in 1867. A half interest was purchased by Dr. Henry J. Beyerle in 1877, who became sole owner upon Mr. Starr's retirement in 1880. Associated with him, in later years, were his two sons, A. R. and L. H. Beyerle, and finally the newspaper was transferred to Lincoln H. Beyerle. The Times first issued a daily in 1882, which suspended in a few weeks, but was revived August 17, 1886. In September, 1899, W. H. Ragan and W. S. Gard pur- chased the Times plant, Mr. Gard retiring in November, 1900. In the following year it was absorbed by the News Printing Com- pany and the News-Times is the result.
THE GOSHEN NEWS-TIMES
The News Printing Company, which owns and conducts the consolidated publications, was incorporated in 1892, but the busi- ness originated in the establishment of the News, a decade pre- viously. The story of its development up to the time of the News- Times consolidation is told in the historical edition of the Goshen Daily News, of April 15, 1901, from which the facts which follow are extracted.
On February 9, 1882, the first number of the Goshen Weekly News was issued, the name having been changed from the Inde-
279
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
pendent. In size it was a six column quarto, being the largest paper in the county at that time.
The plant which formed the nucleus of the present large estab- lishment had had quite a history prior to the time when the News was first issued. J. P. Prickett started the original paper in Jan- uary, 1875, at Syracuse, Kosciusko County. It was known as the Syracuse Enterprise, an eight column folio, and Thomas A. Starr was employed in its mechanical department. Within a few months the plant was moved to Milford, same county, F. J. McAlpine hav- ing secured the ownership. At that time the name of the paper was changed to the Independent, and in 1876 George T. Ager and O. A. Rhine, both of Goshen, purchased the plant and moved it to that city, where it was continued under that name.
THE STARR BROTHERS
After four years spent in Ohio in the newspaper business, Mr. Starr returned to Goshen in 1882 and purchased the plant in which he had worked in previous years. He used the same old hand press, the same old type and furniture, that had done duty down at Syra- cuse, in preparing and issuing the first copy of the News. But soon a steam power press, new type and furniture, were installed, and within six months the circulation of the new paper showed a marked increase.
Coming from Hicksville, Ohio, in December, 1883, where he had disposed of his interest in the News of that place, Martin V. Starr, brother of the founder of the Goshen Weekly by that name, joined his abilities to those of Thomas A. Starr, and on the 10th of the month named they jointly issued the first number of the Daily.
In 1884 the building at No. 207 South Main Street was erected, and with the business office a small stock of goods and stationery was installed. Within a short time the job printing establishment of Starr Brothers was purchased and embodied in the newspaper plant. In 1886 an addition to the building was erected and a book bindery installed, and two years later a second addition was made.
NEWS PRINTING COMPANY INCORPORATED
On April 8, 1892, the News Printing Company was incorporated with a capital stock of $20,000, and in 1894 the Mid-Weekly was
280
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
launched. Up to 1896, the News was an independent newspaper, but since that year has been republican in politics.
The main facts in the history of the News Printing Company since it purchased the Times in 1901, from the Beyerle Estate, and effected the consolidation under the name of the News-Times, are as follows : The company occupied the building at No. 207 South Main Street until 1911, when it moved across the street to No. 114 into a new modern building erected expressly for its use. On December 12, 1914, a fire which broke out in the basement under the News Book Store caused a heavy loss, but, in rebuilding, a more modern news- paper plant and job printing office were installed than those pre- viously in use. . The book store itself was sold and moved else- where.
Thomas A. Starr disposed of his interest in the business in the late 'gos and Martin V. Starr was editor and manager of the News Printing Company for many years. George W. Kinnison has long been president of the company, and his son, O. M. Kinnison, secre- tary, and editor-manager of the business and newspaper. Charles E. Gorham, the widely known manufacturer, is vice president.
THIE GOSHEN BANKS
The banks of Goshen have always been conservative, substantial and safe, and a bulwark to the healthful progress of its business and industries. That character seemed to have been fixed by that veteran of them all, the Salem Bank, which stood stanchly by its paper in the times when so many of the financial institutions of Indiana were finding it more convenient to repudiate their obliga- tions. Besides the Salem Bank, in the order of their establishment, are the City National Bank, the State Bank of Goshen and the Elk- hart County Trust Company.
THE SALEM BANK
In 1854 the Salem Bank was founded as a state institution at what is now Wakarusa ( then Salem) by John Cook and Thomas G. Harris. They conducted it as a bank of issue until 1863, when it was taxed out of existence, as such, and relinquished its charter. In that year its business was transferred to Goshen and it transacted business as a private institution, under Mr. Cook, for the succeeding
281
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
two years, the location being on the site of the present Masonic Temple. In 1865, John W. Irwin, the well known lawyer and public man, formed a partnership with Gen. Milo S. Hascall in the purchase of the business and good will of the Salem Bank from John Cook. That act accomplished, Mr. Cook soon afterward moved to New York, where he was engaged for about a year in the flour commission business; he then settled at Elkhart and became identified with the First National Bank of that city.
In 1866 Irwin & Hascall, the new proprietors, moved the Salem Bank of Goshen to the location it has since occupied on the south side of the public square. It was at that time that Frank A. Hascall, brother of the general, and cashier these many years, became identi- fied with the steady progress of the bank, and he has since been one of its stanchest pillars. John H. Lesh was for a time associated with Irwin & Hascall in the management of the bank, as in the manufacture of hardwood lumber. In 1890 General Hascall with- drew his interest in the bank and took up his residence in Chicago, and for some years after Mr. Irwin's death in 1898 it was conducted by the estate of the deceased, under the direct management of his son, Frank J. Irwin. Anthony Deahl is now president of the bank, and Frank A. Hascall has been its cashier for half a century.
The capital stock of the Salem Bank is $140,000, and the in- dividual responsibility of the joint owners is over $1,000,000.
CITY NATIONAL BANK
This institution, organized in September, 1872, is the only national bank in Goshen and has always been in that class. It is the city, county and township repository and also the United States depository for postal savings. The City National Bank was organ- ized with a capital of $50,000, H. H. Hitchcock being its first pres- ident. He was succeeded by Dr. A. C. Jackson, J. H. Defrees, A. L. Hubbell, J. M. Latta, W. Jack Latta, F. G. Hubbell (son of A. L.), D. A. Sanders and I. O. Wood. In 1884 the capital of the bank was increased from $50,000 to $77,000 and, in 1902, to $100,000 at which it still stands. Its surplus amounts to $50,000 and its undivided profits to $10,000; assets, $650,000, and average deposits, $360,000. The City National has had only four cashiers : Ira Nash and T. H. Daily previous to 1884; Charles J. Garvin, from
282
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
1884 to 1914, thirty years; and C. E. Cornell, since 1914. Another record of stability.
THE STATE BANK OF GOSHEN
The bank above named had its origin in the Farmers & Citizens Bank, organized in 1874. It was owned and operated by William A. Thomas, president, and LaPorte Heefner, cashier. In 1892 it was incorporated as a state bank under its present name, since which its presidents have been LaPorte Heefner, Charles W. Miller, Frank P. Abbott and Harris Oppenheim. David W. Neidig has continued as cashier during its entire period as a state institution. The cap- ital stock of the State Bank of Goshen is $80,000, its surplus $10,750, and average deposits, $275,000.
ELKHART COUNTY TRUST COMPANY
This was first organized as the Elkhart County Loan & Trust Company at a meeting of stockholders held in April, 1900. They elected directors, who, in turn, named the following officers: Charles W. Miller, president ; I. O. Wood, first vice president ; Lou W. Vail, second vice president; D. W. Neidig, secretary and treasurer. Articles of incorporation were filed the same month. In May, 1903, T. A. Davis was elected secretary and treasurer to succeed Mr. Neidig. For the first six years the company was located in the State Bank, but in May, 1906, purchased the Charnley Corner, at Main and Lincoln streets, and remodeled the building for its purposes. In the meantime the capital of the company had been increased from $50,000 to $75,000, and in April its name had been changed to its present style. In May, a few days after the purchase of its separate quarters, new officers were elected as fol- lows: Charles W. Miller, president; Lou W. Vail, first vice pres- ident : I. O. Wood, second vice president ; Daniel M. Bechtel, secre- tary and treasurer. Mr. Vail was elected president in 1909 and P. R. Judkins in 1912, with Charles A. Pooley as secretary and treasurer. Upon the death of Mr. Judkins in April, 1914, Haines Egbert, the present incumbent, was elected president, and Mr. Pooley continues as secretary and treasurer. In 1914 the rooms of the company were enlarged and otherwise improved to care for the
283
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
steady growth of its business. Besides doing a commercial banking business, the company conducts savings, trust, investment and loan departments. Its surplus is now $29,500; its loans amount to $469,000 and deposits to $627,000.
CHAPTER XIII
RELIGIOUS, CHARITABLE AND CULTURAL
METHODIST AND BAPTIST MISSIONARIES-DAYS OF THE METHO- DIST CIRCUIT RIDERS-THE FIRST M. E. CHURCH OF GOSHEN- FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-A REMARKABLE PASTOR.ATE RECORD-THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH-ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH-THE GERMAN M. E. CHURCH-TRINITY EVANGEL- ICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH - FIRST REFORMED CHURCH - FIRST ENGLISH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH-SHARITII ISRAEL-FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH-MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH-FIRST BRETHREN CHURCH-OTHER CHURCHES- ASSOCIATED CHARITIES OF GOSHEN-LODGES, SOCIETIES AND CLUBS-THE MASONIC BODIES-INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS ORGANIZATIONS-KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS-HOWELL POST NO. 90, GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC-KNIGHTS AND LADIES OF THE MACCABEES-MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA --- OTHER FRATERNITIES-THE WOMEN'S CLUBS.
The social, moral and religious forces at Goshen are solidly marshalled through the activities of numerous churches, societies and institutions; the history of which constitutes a chapter which probably concerns more people in the community than any other topic. In all new American communities of the past century, so largely settled by pioneers from the New England and old Middle states, hardly had bare provision been made for feeding and cloth- ing the body than the emigrant commenced to consider the avail- able means of bringing the comforts, supports and inspirations of religion within his reach. In that connection, the schools and churches ran a neck-and-neck race.
METHODIST AND BAPTIST MISSIONARIES
Itinerant missionaries of the Methodist Church were the first agents of the gospel to bring religion to the settlers of Elkhart
284
285
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
County. About the year 1828 the Ohio conferences of that denom- ination sent a missionary to the St. Joseph Country, but the first to come in contact with the section of that region included within the present county was Isaac McCoy, founder of the Baptist (Carey) Mission at Niles, Michigan. As he first passed through the region, and named Christiana Creek, in 1824, he preceded any actual settlers. It was reserved for the Methodist missionaries to effect an organization of a class, or a society.
DAYS OF THE METHODIST CIRCUIT RIDERS
In 1831, after quite a number of settlers had become citizens of the new county, the Indiana conference sent into that region Nehe- miah Griffeth, a typical pioneer circuit rider, to have charge of a circuit which included Fort Wayne, Mongoqunon, Elkhart Prairie, White Pigeon, Niles and South Bend. In 1832 Rev. Richard I. Robinson was sent to the circuit and organized the church at Goshen. The Goshen Circuit included as many as ten or twelve preaching places, and this organization continued until 1852, when the church at Goshen was made a station with a pastor of its own.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.