USA > Indiana > Newton County > A standard history of Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume I > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > A standard history of Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume I > Part 33
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 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
Judge Hanley's family has been one of more than ordinary use- fulness and distinction in Jasper county since the decade of the '50s. His father, William Hanley, was born at Fort Wayne, Indi- ana, August 6, 1838, of Irish parentage. Grandfather Thomas
350
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
Hanley was born in Limerick, Ireland, and there married Mary Hare. Thomas Hanley was a schoolmaster in the old country and also after coming to America. He and his wife came to this country by sailing vessel about the year 1826. William Hanley, who was the youngest of thirteen children, grew up in Fort Wayne, but was left motherless at the age of six years, and from that time until early manhood was reared under the care of an older sister. He received his primary education in the public and parochial schools, and this was supplemented by a course at some Catholic institution of higher learning.
It was in the early '50s that William Hanley came to Jasper County, Indiana, and was first known to the people as a farm hand, one who commended himself by his industry and faithful- ness. After the discovery of gold in Colorado he joined an emi- grant train and went out to that territory, where he lived for some time and his name finds a place in early territorial annals. He was one of the first territorial delegates at the first territorial con- vention, representing the Boulder Camp. In that convention the delegates adopted the criminal laws of the State of Kansas and the civil laws of the State of Nebraska, by resolution, as the laws of Colorado Territory. After several years of this life in the far west William Hanley returned east and stopped in Iowa long enough to marry Elizabeth Peregrine, who was born December 1, 1844, in Scott County, Indiana, and was the daughter of a Christian minister. From Iowa he brought his bride to Indiana, and during a brief residence at Lafayette was employed as clerk in a grocery store. He then came to Gillam Township in Jasper County, and became identified with farming. Not long after the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army as a private in the 38th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. With the expiration of his term of enlistment he returned to Jasper County, resumed farming in Gillam Township until 1888, and then moved to Kniman in Walker Township, which continued to be his home until his death on Febru- ary 25, 1908. His wife survived until July 21, 1913, her death occurring at Chicago. Of their five children four are now living. The late William Hanley was of Catholic parentage but severed his allegiance with the parent church and became identified with the Methodist Episcopal denomination. Some of the qualities of his character deserve mention as a part of his individual record and for the benefit of his descendants. He was a man much above the average in point of intellect and general information, and a great reader. He kept abreast of the times, and was not only well informed as to the current topics of the day but was somewhat of a philosophic student of events as well. Along with powers of keen observation he had the faculty of being able to describe in language what he saw and his discourse was of rare interest. He had the happy faculty of always being in good humor, and was generous to a fault, perhaps for this reason never having been
351
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
accounted among the wealthy men of Jasper County. He was well grounded in music and a great lover of harmony, and one of his great pleasures was in either playing or singing music. He enjoyed the highest esteem of his neighbors and commanded the respect of all who knew him. Two of his children are now living in Jasper County : Ella, the wife of Lester A. Sayers at Wheat- field; and Charles W., of Rensselaer.
Charles W. Hanley, whose career as a lawyer and judge has added to the worthy distinctions associated with the family name, was born in Jasper county July 5, 1865. His primary education came from the public schools of this county, and for one year he was a student in the State Normal School at Terre Haute. The first important vocation of his life was teaching school in Jasper County for four years. With the exception of two years spent in the West, his home has always been in Jasper County. Quite early in life he became interested in local politics, and in 1892 was the successful nominee of the republican party for the office of county sheriff. He served two terms in that position and his service of four years gave him a strong hold upon popular con- fidence. In the meantime he had taken up the study of law prior to his election as sheriff, and continued his studies as opportunity offered and soon after the expiration of his second term of office he was admitted to the bar and began practice at Rensselaer in partnership with Judson J. Hunt. This was a partnership of mutual profit and advantage for six years. It was dissolved when Mr. Hanley was elected judge of the Thirtieth Judicial Circuit, comprising the counties of Jasper and Newton, in 1902. In 1908 his re-election came without opposition, his name being the choice of all political parties. In 1914 he was re-elected for the third term. Beyond the practically unanimous verdict which has kept Judge Hanley in office for so many consecutive years there is no need for any detailed expressions of his qualifications and effici- ency for the judicial office.
Judge Hanley is affiliated with the Masonic Order Lodge No. 125; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge No. 143; and the Knights of Pythias Castle Hall No. 82. His first wife was Josephine Farris, daughter of George W. Farris of Gillam Town- ship. After the death of Mrs. Hanley he was married in Septem- ber, 1893, to Hattie L. Hopkins, of Rensselaer. Judge Hanley has two sons: Cope J. and Emil W. Cope J. is a junior in the law course of the University of Colorado at Boulder City, Colo. He is a graduate of the Rensselaer High School. Emil W. is a freshman in Miami College at Oxford, Ohio, and he is also a graduate of the Rensselaer High School.
STEWART C. HAMMOND AND JOSEPH P. HAMMOND. One of the few remaining pioneers of Jasper County is Stewart C. Hammond of Rensselaer. His has been a life of quiet effectiveness, marked
352
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
by a record of many duties well done and many responsibilities faithfully fulfilled. He is one of the men who developed and made Jasper County what it is. While never in the conspicuous activities of abnormal events, in the round of commonplace accomplishment and in the faithful and intelligent performance of every task allotted to him during his long life, he has a record that may well be envied and admired by the present and future generations.
Stewart C. Hammond was born October 24, 1827. When a child his parents moved to Vermillion County, Indiana, and thence to Vermillion County, Illinois. They had hardly located in the latter county when an epidemic of milk sickness caused them to reload their ox wagons and return to Indiana. They remained at Monticello in White County for a time, and in 1837 moved to Jasper County, where they entered a tract of land from the Govern- ment located about five miles southeast of the present site of the City of Rensselaer in Marion Township. Theirs was one of the early log cabin homes to be erected and to stand as a mark of advancing civilization in this section. Following this came the heavy work of clearing and improving, and thenceforward to the present for a period of more than eight decades the name Hammond has been one of significance in Jasper County. When the family first located there the Indians had been only "officially" removed, and were in fact as numerous as the whites. If the country was not one that flowed with milk and honey, it did furnish many oppor- tunities for the simple livelihood of the pioneer, who could secure wild game in abundance and by his own ingenuity he fashioned nearly all the simple furniture and conveniences necessary for living.
On that old homestead in Marion Township Stewart C. Ham- mond grew to manhood. His education came less from books than from practical contact with the woods and prairies and he became an expert in all the arts required for existence in the early days. On December 13, 1856, he married Rebecca Pillars. About that time they moved to a place about three miles southwest of Rens- selaer, and he subsequently bought the land and developed it as a homestead farm, which he occupied until 1891. Mr. Hammond then removed to Rensselaer and has since lived quietly retired. His wife died November 1, 1899. Their seven children are men- tioned briefly as follows: William ; Emma, Mrs. Marion I. Adams ; Joseph P .; Rose, Mrs. Clarence V. Harold; May, now deceased, who was the wife of Daniel Waymire; Charles G .; and Bertha, Mrs. Clinton Brown.
Stewart C. Hammond has thus lived nearly all his life in Jasper County. His occupation has been that of a farmer. No unusual events have occurred in his career, but he bore his part in the period that brought Jasper County from its primitive condition to one of high civilization. He has been a witness and factor in the many events which are recorded in the progress of this community
353
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
since its first settlement. When he was in young manhood the cradle was considered a great improvement over the old primitive sickle, and then later in his experience came the reaper, and that was finally replaced by the modern harvesting machine. He was doing the work of a man before the first railroad came to this part of Indiana, and the dirt highways furnished the only means of transportation with wagons drawn by oxen or horses. The swamps under his vision have been reclaimed and converted into productive farms and happy homes. His life in its personal features has been a clean one, and the niche allotted unto him has been creditably filled. The satisfaction of having lived a well spent life, of having lived to the best of his ability, and of having practiced the precepts of the Golden Rule, of having the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen, are his in a retrospective view at life's evening. He is a member of the Free Will Baptist Church. While a strong repub- lican in politics, he has never sought nor wanted public office.
Of his children special mention is given in this article to Joseph P. Hammond, who has for many years been a factor in Jasper County life and is now giving conscientious and efficient service as county auditor.
Joseph P. Hammond was born on the old homestead in Jasper County June 2, 1863. His primary education came from the public schools, and he also had the advantage of a course of training in the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York. Many people who recall his earlier activities know him best as a teacher. For twelve years he was engaged in educational work in Jasper County, and of that period three years were spent at Fair Oaks and three years at DeMotte. In 1897 Mr. Hammond was elected county truant officer, and in connection with the duties of that posi- tion handled an insurance business at Rensselaer. In 1900 he moved to Wheatfield to become cashier of the Bank of Wheatfield, in which office he continued until 1908. He then went to Reming- ton as vice president of the First National Bank and remained until the affairs of the institution were liquidated. Returning to Rens- selaer, Mr. Hammond was assistant cashier of the First National Bank of the county seat until January 1, 1912. At that date he assumed the duties of county auditor, to which office he had been elected in the fall of 1910. He was re-elected auditor in 1914, and is now in the fourth year of his service in that important public position.
Mr. Hammond is a republican, a member of the Masonic Order, Prairie Lodge, No. 125, and the Knights of Pythias, Castle Hall, No. 82. He was a charter member of the Wheatfield Lodge. He belongs to the Methodist Church. On June 20, 1892, he married Miss Elizabeth Stackhouse. She died in 1900, and of her three children one died in infancy and the other two are Herbert C. and Bernice, both graduates of the Rensselaer High School. Herbert is associated with his father in the office and will be deputy auditor.
Vol. I-23
354
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
Bernice wedded Leo L. Calvert, a resident of Joliet, Illinois, and one of the Public Service Company. On January 28, 1902, Mr. Hammond married Marie Jensen. By this union there is one son, Maurice.
JAMES N. LEATHERMAN. A resident of Jasper County for more than a quarter of a century, Mr. Leatherman has been engaged in some form of useful service all this time, and was for eight years county auditor. He is now one of the county's most popular bankers, and his broad experience as a county official and his large acquaintance with the people of Jasper County have done much to increase his efficiency and value as cashier of the First National Bank of Rensselaer.
James N. Leatherman is a native of White County, Indiana, where he was born December 1, 1862. His birthplace was Prince- ton Township of that county. James and Elizabeth (Hollenback) Leatherman, his parents, were natives of West Virginia and came to White County in the fall of 1850, being among the early settlers. About 1893 they removed to Rensselaer, where the father died in March, 1912, and the mother in 1898. Seven of their eleven chil- dren are still living.
James N. Leatherman was reared and educated in White County, and a number of his youthful years were spent as a teacher. That calling he pursued principally in the winter months, and spent the summer seasons in farming. On November 18, 1888, he married Miss Juliaetta Randle. In September, 1889, about a year after his marriage, he removed to Jasper County, and in this county con- tinued his work as an educator and was also employed in the county surveyor's office. From 1893 to 1904 he was in the grain office now managed by the firm of Babcock & Hopkins.
Mr. Leatherman has always been a citizen of public spirit and has taken much interest in local affairs, and in 1902 was elected county auditor of Jasper County, assuming the duties of that office in 1904. By reelection he served eight years all told. Following his retirement from the office he spent one year as assistant cashier and in 1913 was elected cashier of the First National Bank of Rensselaer.
Mr. Leatherman is a republican and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, Castle Hall, No. 82, at Rensselaer and he and his wife are both church members. Their two children are: Bethel, de- ceased ; and Helen.
ALEXANDER J. KENT. Those individuals who gave their energy, skill, ambitious vigor, enthusiasm, faith and means, to the building up of a community are benefactors of humanity, and their names cannot be held in too high esteem. In every undertaking there must be a logical beginning, and the man who lays the foundation for what afterwards may become a flourishing city must have the cour-
Rosamond Co. Hent .
C
355
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
age of his convictions and unlimited confidence in the future of the location which he selects as the scene of his endeavors. Few towns in Indiana have their names more worthily bestowed as a permanent tribute to their founders than Kentland. The credit for its estab- lishment belongs to the late Alexander J. Kent, and it was through his planning, liberality and public spirited labors that this has become not only one of the flourishing towns of Northwest Indiana, but it was also due to his leadership in a large degree that community around it prospered and successively endured the many trials and privations which are inseparable from the settlement and develop- ment of a wild and new country.
It is a part of the history of Newton County as well as an appro- priate tribute to the career of the founder of Kentland that some concise account should be contained in this publication of his life.
He was born August 30, 1815, in Oneida County, New York, and died at his home in the suburbs of Kentland May 7, 1882. Be- tween those dates he accomplished a great deal more than the man of average abilities can expect to achieve. He belonged to an old New England family. His parents Carroll C. and Phoebe (Dimock) Kent, both natives of Connecticut, were born in the same year, same month and same day, October 17, 1777, while the war for inde- pendence was being waged against the mother country by the American colonies. Phoebe Dimock was a daughter of Colonel Dimock who attained that rank in the English army. One of the battles of the Revolution made familiar to every American schoolboy was that fought at Oriskany, New York, in which the American leader, the gallant General Herkimer, defeated the nine tribes of Indians. The scene of the battle was land owned by Carroll C. Kent, and afterwards owned by Alexander J. Kent. Carroll C. Kent died at Whitesboro, New York, at the age of eighty-three, while his wife passed away August 21, 1827, aged fifty.
While Alexander J. Kent came of a very substantial family according to the standards of wealth in that time, he built his for- tune largely through his individual talents and wisely directed labors. He had only a common school education, such as nearly all the boys of his generation received. He lived in New York State for a number of years and was first drawn to the West after the discovery of gold in California. In 1849 he equipped a party of five men and furnished them with transportation to Sacramento, California. Not long afterwards he went out himself to the Pacific Coast, and in 1851 became head of the firm of Kent, Fowler & Com- pany at Sacramento. They had a flourishing wholesale grocery business in the California capital, and in spite of the destruction of their plant by fire, they quickly re-established themselves and carried on business even more extensively than before. The part- ners after selling their mercantile enterprise bought a vessel and went into the importing business between San Francisco and China. It is worthy to be recalled that their vessel, the Anna Welsh, on
356
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
its first trip brought to America the first colony of Chinese. After three very profitable voyages the partners sold the vessel, and Mr. Kent then returned to New York.
In the meantime his brother, the late P. M. Kent, had become extensively interested in Indiana and soon induced Alexander to invest in some of the wild land then hardly settled at all in North- western Indiana. During 1853-54 Alexander J. Kent traveled all over the undeveloped sections of Northwestern Indiana, and began the investment which eventually gave him control of more than 25,- 000 acres. In 1855 he engaged in the wholesale grocery trade at New Albany, Indiana, with his brother Bela C. Kent, and in those early days conducted one of the largest establishments of its kind in the state. It was in 1859 that he moved his family from New Albany to what is now Newton County. He owned large tracts of the best land in this county, and did much to encourage settlement and de- velopment. Many pioneers came to the county about that time, bought farms around Kentland and proceeded to undertake the heavy task of development. There were not wanting many cases in which honest industry met with discouragement and misfor- tune. It is said that but for the liberality of Mr. Kent many farmers who later became prosperous would have given up their farms and left the county. He was always patient and considerate in awaiting the settlement of his just claims, and it is doubtful if there was ever a case of deserving need which he did not satisfy. He contributed of his time and means to all deserving people and worthy enterprises. He not only granted liberal extensions of time to his debtors, but went even further with an unostentatious liberality and charity to those who needed money, food or cloth- ing. It is said that he had from $50 to $300 invested in every church in Washington Township. He gave liberally when call came in times of famine from other communities and states. He sent hundreds of bushels of corn out to the suffering people of Kansas during the early '6os, and contributed liberally to the donation taken up for the Nebraska pioneers whose crops were devastated by the grasshopper plague. What he did during the Civil war in his own community should not pass without notice. The outbreak of the war brought distress upon many households, and many who gladly volunteered to serve the cause of the Union had to leave their families almost unprovided. It is related that on one occa- sion when a company, made up of his neighbors and neighbors' boys, were about to leave for the South and were marching to the depot, Mr. Kent came on the scene and directed the captain to give the order to "open rank." The order was obeyed, Mr. Kent passed through from one end of the company to the other and gave to each man a $5 bill. Seldom was a gift more appropriate and timely, since a number of those volunteers had left their families practically in trust to the community.
Those who remember this splendid old citizen recall his more
.
Soha A. Kent
357
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
intimate characteristics. He was always busy, and industry was the keystone of his entire career. It is seldom that he appeared on the street except when called there by urgent business. He was conservative in temper and opinion, and while he exacted so much from himself he was none the less liberal in his sympathy for distress and his tolerance of the good and bad in others. In politics he was one of the pioneer democrats of Newton County.
His first wife was Mary Anna Chesebrough, who died Novem- ber 26, 1856. In 1857 at Whitesboro, New York, he married Miss Rosamond C. Chesebrough. Her parents were Noyes P. and Clara (Moore) Chesebrough, her mother being a niece of the poet, Tom Moore. Mrs. Kent survived her husband several years and passed away December 24, 1886. Both are laid to rest in the Kentland cemetery.
JOHN ALEXANDER KENT. A life marked by splendid purpose, forceful energy, and an integrity of character which has been synonymous with the name during its long and honorable identifi- cation with Newton County, was that of the late John Alexander Kent.
-
Mr. Kent was a son of Alexander J. and Rosamond C. Kent, who established their home in Kentland in 1859. The career of Alexander J. Kent, which figures so largely in the history of these counties, has been sketched on other pages.
John Alexander Kent was born at New Albany, Indiana, October 17, 1858, and was therefore an infant when brought to Kentland. He grew up in that community, gained his education in the local schools, and from an early age began to share the responsibilities of his father's business, especially in looking after the extensive farm and cattle interests of his honored father.
In 1878 at the age of twenty he was given charge of the book- keeping in his father's business. Later he took the management of the large cattle industry of the Kent family and in the early days he accompanied and sold many trainloads of stock in New York. From early years he manifested a soberness and seriousness under responsibilities that made him universally trusted. With his father's death in 1882 he took charge of and settled up the estate, the largest ever probated in Newton County. Thereafter he man- aged the business affairs for his mother and other members of the family until his mother died in 1886.
With the division of the estate John A. Kent acquired a 10,000- acre ranch in Newton and Jasper counties and 400 acres of land near Kentland. From that time forward he was actively identified with the livestock business, employing Mr. A. D. Washburn as manager, until his death which occurred at Phoenix, Arizona, Feb- ruary 12, 1897. Thus his career came to an untimely close before he was forty years of age.
Mr. Kent should be remembered because of his great executive
358
JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES
ability, his dynamic energy and his able leadership in all affairs which required power and judgment of a vigorous self-sustaining manhood. Needless to say he possessed a prompt decision, and though a man of inmost courtesy and kindliness of heart and man- ner was exceedingly forceful in all he undertook. All in all he was one of Newton County's foremost business men and citizens.
CARROLL CAREY KENT, a son of the late Alexander James Kent, founder of Kentland, and Rosamond (Chesebrough) Kent, was born in Newton County June 23, 1864. He is named for his paternal grandfather, reference to whom as well as to his honored father, Alexander J. Kent, is made on other pages.
Mr. C. C. Kent was educated in the Kentland public schools and in the preparatory school of Shobinger and Grant in Chicago, where he finished in 1882. On the death of his father on May 7, 1882, he returned to Kentland, and soon afterwards took charge with his brother, John Alexander, of the large landed interests of the family in Newton County. Mr. Kent has never married, but has none the less been closely identified with the business and civic life of his home town, and is well known in business circles in many of the larger cities of the country.
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.