USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Elkhart County, Indiana > Part 55
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Charles W. Howell Post No. go, at Goshen, and is actively interested in G. A. R. matters. In 1867 Mr. Watts was elected county surveyor for Kosciusko county, at which time he moved to Warsaw. He later resigned this office and went to Topeka. Kansas, where he lived a short time. He located at Goshen in 1873, and with the exception of four years spent at Butler, this state, has resided here ever since, fol- lowing the vocation of cabinet making. In the spring of 1902 he was elected city treasurer of Goshen, and after one term of very satisfac- tory service in this office his fellow citizens showed their confidence in him by re-electing him in May, 190.4.
Mr. Watts is a stanch Republican, and fraternally is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees, for which order he was record keeper seven years. January 29, 1863, he married Miss Sarah E. Raff, who was born in Ohio. They have three children, Charles D., Maud E. Davis and Bessie D.
DR. WILLIAM A. NEAL.
Dr. William A. Neal is, so far as is known, the oldest native-born resident of Elkhart still living in the city. This is a noteworthy distinc- tion for record in this history of the county, not to mention the fact that Dr. Neal is also entitled to recognition as one of the oldest physicians of the county. He himself has been identified in many ways with the life and affairs of his city and county, and furthermore is a member of a family whose connection with the county dates back to the very pioneer period.
When Dr. Neal was born in Elkhart on January 29. 1836, there was little more than a collection of log houses to mark the site of what was destined to be a thriving city of twenty thousand. Nearly three score and ten years have passed since he was born, and it has been his lot to witness in the meantime almost countless changes in the physical feat- ures which once marked the spot and a development of civic and indus- trial resources which the present generation can hardly realize.
Dr. Neal's father was Henry Neal, a native of Hagerstown, Mary- land, and a son of Welsh parents. When a boy the father accompanied his parents to Ohio, and in 1835 came out to the wilderness of northern Indiana and located in the little village of Elkhart. \ harnessmaker by trade, and a skilled one at that, he had the honor of starting the first harness shop in the county, in partnership with his brother-in-law, G. L. Kiblinger. He continued in business until his death in 1884. A pioneer of the county, he was identified in many ways with its civic affairs. He served as a constable, and in politics was first a Whig and then a Repub- lican. and was a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife. Rebecca Kiblinger, a native of Ohio, died in 1841 at the age of twenty-four, and they had only two children. The daughter. Mar- garet, became the wife of Russell Davis, and died in 1900.
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Dr. Neal, the older of the children and the only one left to represent the family, began his independent career when a boy of thirteen by learn- ing the printer's trade, and for a time worked on the Elkhart Express and the Goshen Democrat. Giving up the printer's trade at the age of fifteen, he learned the drug business and at the same time carried on the study of medicine. He completed his preparation for a professional career at Rush Medical College in Chicago, and began practice in New London, lowa. In October, 1861, he joined the Union army as assistant surgeon, and served three years and ten months, until his discharge in July. 1865. He afterward located at Dayton, Michigan, and practiced there fourteen years. Dr. Neal returned to the city of his birth in 1870 and has ever since been conducting an active practice in this city. He is a member of the Elkhart County and the State Medical societies and also the American Medical Association. He affiliates with Elmer Post of the G. A. R. and is surgeon for the same. He has been a member of the Masonic order since he was twenty-two years old, and has taken the Royal Arch degrees.
In 1857 Dr. Neal married Miss Elizabeth L. Lamb, and they are parents of two children. Harry, the son, is in the printing business in Elkhart. The daughter Eva is the wife of W. N. Sawyer. There is a grandson, Glen R. Sawyer, who is a practicing attorney of Elkhart. so that four generations of the family have been identified with this city in tiseful and honorable activities.
ELMER E. ASH. M. D.
Elmer E. Ash. M. D., has practiced medicine and surgery at Goshen since 1889, during which time he has built up a reputation as one of the ablest and most skillful practitioners of the city. He is constantly busy. has a large general practice both at his office and from house to house. and is one of the wide-awake men of his profession who keep thoroughly abreast of all improvements and scientific progress.
Dr. Ash was born January 3. 1863, on a farm in Wayne county. Ohio. His parents, Josiah and Nancy ( Bidler) Ash, both natives of Pennsylvania, were married in Ohio, and for many years lived in Wayne county, where the father was a prosperous farmer. In later years they moved to Ashland, Ohio, where first the mother and later the father passed away in death.
Reared on a farm, Dr. Ash began his schooling in the country schools, and his opportunities were afterward broadened by the privilege of attending the normal school at Ada, Ohio, and later he attended the Dunkard college at Ashland. Obtaining a teacher's certificate, he taught school five years, thus laying the same basis for professional life which so many successful men have. From his earnings as a teacher he de- frayed his expenses in gaining a medical education, and while he was teaching he was engaged in the study of medicine. He later entered the
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Kentucky School of Medicine at Louisville, and was graduated from that excellent professional school in 1885 with the degree of M. D. A short time after graduation he was appointed assistant superintendent of the insane hospital at Toledo, Ohio, a position he held for eighteen months, and then located at Norwalk, Ohio, and practiced until he came to Goshen in 1889. Here he has made the scene of his endeavors ever since, has found an excellent field for his activity, and the patronage which has been given him is the best proof of his ability. With a large medical library, with a modern and well equipped office suite, with several oper- ating rooms in which to care for his surgical practice, he has all the acces- sories which are needed by the modern physician and surgeon. With progressiveness a keynote of his character and ground for his large suc- cess, he has never been content with present accomplishment. In 1898 he took a post-graduate course in the Chicago Post-Graduate School of Medicine. He is a member of the Elkhart County Medical Society, of the Tri-State Medical Society, and of the American Medical Associa- tion. Also active in fraternal orders, he affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, is a Master Mason, and in politics is a Repub- lican.
Dr. Ash married, in 1886, Miss Mary Kalor, of Toledo. They have two children, Nellie M. and Agnes E.
ELMER ELLSWORTH MUMMERT.
Elmer Ellsworth Mummert, of Goshen, is one of the best known and most prominent men in this county. An able lawyer, honored by his fellow citizens with election to the general assembly of the state, a man of affairs, he has in many ways left the impress of his individuality and action upon his county.
A native of Goshen, where he was born February 14, 1863, Mr. Mummert belongs to a family which has been resident in this country for two centuries and which has included among its members men who have proved stanch and honorable at every post where the destiny of human life has stationed them. The main trunk of the Mummert family tree as it has grown and flourished on American soil originated in Jacob Mummert, who was born in the famous old province of Alsace Lorraine, Germany, in 1650. and who sometime in the course of that century came to America. At Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, his son Adam was born in 1700. Adam in turn had a son Jacob, born in Adams county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1745, and who, among the earliest pioneers, crossed the Alle- ghanies and settled at Canton, Ohio, where, on June 2, 1801, was born his son Adam Mummert, the grandfather of Elmer E. of Goshen.
Also in Canton, Ohio, was born George W. Mummert, on August 6. 1836, the father of Mr. Mummert, subject of this sketch. From Ohio he came to Goshen, and after a residence here of twelve or fifteen years
6,6: Mummert C
Har. E.E. Mummert.
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moved to Millersburg, Elkhart county; from there to Wawaka, in Noble county, where his last days were spent and where his death occurred on .August 6, 1893. just as he had completed his fifty-seven years of life. He had, about 1870, in partnership with the late Dr. E. W. H. Ellis, built and operated a mill at Millersburg and one at Wawaka. The latter mill being destroyed by fire some eight years later, Mr. G. W. Mummert purchased his partner's interest and rebuilt the Wawaka mill, which since his death has been operated by his son. William C. Mummert. While living at Goshen he was manager of the Stauffer flouring mill and later in life was engaged in manufacturing railroad supplies. He was a good business man and in all circles had the respect and esteem of everyone, being well remembered by the early settlers of Elkhart county. In poli- tics he was a Republican and for two terms commissioner of Noble county. A consistent Christian, he was a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church.
George W. Mummert married Louisa J. Zinn, a sister of the late George W. Zinn, who was an early settler of this county and who at one time served as county commissioner of Elkhart county. Louisa Zinn was born in Clark county, Ohio, May 17. 1835, and died at Wawaka, December 30, 1887. She too was a member of the Methodist church, a woman of strong force of character and beloved by all who had the good fortune of an acquaintance with her.
Of such excellent parentage and ancestry, Hon. E. E. Mummert has led a life in keeping with the solid worth and integrity of the past and has maintained his career in accordance with the high standards of the present day. Entering William Taylor University at the youthful age of fifteen, he was graduated therefrom in 1881, the youngest member of his class, five years later being honored with the degree of A. M. from his alma mater: matriculated in the University of Michigan and was graduated from its law department in 1885 with the degree of LL. B. He at once began practice in Goshen. in partnership with Wilber L. Stonex, and soon rose to prominence in his profession and in politics. In 1889 he was appointed to the position of deputy prosecuting attorney. serving as such four years; was later elected city attorney for Goshen. While prosecuting. attorney many important cases were tried, among them two murder cases. In 1900 he became the nominee of the Repub- lican party for state representative, was successful at the polls in that fall, and two years later was re-elected. He represented this county with great credit in the sixty-second and sixty-third sessions of the general assembly, and as a member of important committees and taking a leading part in the discussions and deliberations he left his impress on the legis- lation effected during that period. During his first terin he introduced the general library bill, since known as the " Mummert Law." which is considered one of the best acts of its kind in any state, and upon the strength of which Andrew Carnegie has given between forty and fifty libraries to Indiana. During his second term Representative Mummert
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introduced some of the most important bills considered during the session, among them the general improvement law for cities and towns, and also the law that made possible the magnificent new high school building in Goshen, which, considered both from an architectural standpoint and as an institution, is a lasting credit to this city and one of the finest schools of the kind in this state. Ile has for years been active in local and state politics.
Mr. Mummert did much to establish the Goshen public library in his home city. For a year he importuned Mr. Carnegie to make a con- tribution for that purpose to Goshen, although none but the library com- mittee knew of the quiet and effective efforts being made by him, until the gift was secured and public announcement given to the city. This successful initial step was followed by his securing the library legislation already mentioned, and a short time later he made a second trip cast to interview Mr. Carnegie, by which twenty-five thousand dollars in all was secured for a public library in Goshen. This gave Goshen the distinc- tion of being the first city in Indiana to receive recognition in this man- ner at the hands of the great philanthropist. He was appointed to serve on the first library board. Mr. Mummert, besides being active in pro- moting public affairs, was for five years secretary of the Commercial Exchange ot Goshen, and in this capacity gave much time and effort to the enterprises planned and undertaken during that period. He is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Goshen, and one of the official board for the past fifteen or twenty years. In all things an indefatigable worker, it is to this excellent characteristic that is attributed his rise to his present prominence and usefulness to state and community.
May 14. 1800. Mr. Mummert married Miss Alice N. Nusbaum, a lady of rare accomplishments, prominent in local and state club circles. and an influence for sweetness and light at home and in society. Born in Middlebury township, this county, July 30, 1865, the eldest of four children born to David B. and Harriet Nusbaum, of Swiss-German de- scent, she received her early education in the common schools of Mid- dlebury township and village, and for eight years was one of the success- ful and popular teachers of this county. She taught her first term in Clinton township. in the spring of 1882, and from that time until her marriage taught continuously except one term-teaching from seven to nine and a half months each year and going to school most of the vaca- tion seasons, her later schooling being obtained in the Valparaiso Normal School. Four years of the eight spent in teaching were spent in the Goshen city schools, her duties beginning there in the fall of 1886.
A woman of rare range of abilities, Mrs. Mummert has accom- plished much in more than one sphere of activity. In 1902 she was vice president of the Indiana State Federation of Women's Clubs, in 1903 was chairman of the legislative committee, and as such was instrumental in securing some valuable legislation in the session of the general assem- bly in 1903 affecting movements in the interests of women's clubs. In
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October, 1904, at the convention held in the city of Elkhart, Mrs. Mum- mert received further honors by being elected president of the Indiana Federation of Women's Clubs, and was re-elected to that position at the Sixth Annual Convention held in Vincennes on October 11, 12 and 13, 1905.
As a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Goshen she has served in every capacity, as steward, president of the Ladies' Aid, assistant Sunday-school superintendent, teacher in the Sunday-school, and as a member of important committees. She has been associated with organizations for mutual improvement and for the benefit of the public : has been a member of the executive board of the Woman's Musical Club of Goshen ever since its inception, and is now first vice president of the club, her active interest in music and musical affairs being still main- tained in spite of the engrossing nature of her other duties. She cher- ishes most of all her church and home relations, and when these respon- sibilities have been niet she offers her time and talent for the welfare of the community, especially along educational lines. She possesses an ex- cellent private library, and art, music and literature have each found their proper place in the formation of her character and the rounding out of her life work.
Mr. and Mrs. Mummert have one child. Maurice M .. born Septem- her 13, 1892, who served as a page in the house during the sixty-third general assembly.
GEORGE W. FARRELL.
George W. Farrell, ex-probate commissioner of Elkhart county, has, during the sixty odd years of his lifetime, had a career of singular interest, because of its worthy activity, his patriotic service during the war of the rebellion, his constant striving and ambition looking beyond present attainment to higher reaches of fortune, and the honor and dig- nity which have graced his life in all its phases.
Born in Ashland county, Ohio, September 28, 1843, he was a son of Joseph A. and Ruth ( Fowler ) Farrell, the former a native of Penn- sylvania and the latter of Maryland. Married in Pennsylvania, from that state the parents came to Ohio, settling in Ashland county; went back to Pennsylvania, again returned to Ohio, whence they moved to the father's native county, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, and in 1871 came to DeKalb county, Indiana, where the mother passed away in the follow- ing year. The father was married a second time, and finally moved to Waterford. Elkhart county, where he practically spent the rest of his life, although he died in Nebraska, while on a visit there. in 1887.
Passing his youth in the various places where his parents sojourned, Mr. Farrell grew up without special educational advantages but with an active and energetic spirit. He was living in Pennsylvania when the Civil war came on, and AApril 26, 1861, he enlisted in Cooper's Battery B. First Light Artillery of the Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteer Corps,
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which was organized at Mt. Jackson, Lawrence county ; entered the state service June 8, 1861, and was mustered into the United States service June 28. He was mustered out June 9. 1864, term of three years expir- ing, and re-enlisted February 26, 1865, in the Second Hancock Regiment, Company G. and was mustered out June 27, 1865. The total enrollment of Battery B was 332, and of these 283 were enlisted for three years, and 49 for one year. There were 83 transfers to the battery, and 43 transfers from the battery. The men transferred to the battery were for the purpose of keeping the organization to the full battery complement. The casualties were: 21 killed and died of wounds received in action (which is a greater loss than that sustained by any other volunteer bat- tery in the service) : 17 died of disease, etc., and the different men wounded were 52. Several men were wounded more than once, which makes the number of wounded 101. Some of the men who were trans- ferred back to their regiments were afterward killed and their death noted in the roll. The battery served in the First and Fifth Corps, Army of the Potomac, but, was temporarily attached to the Third Corps of the Army of Virginia during the battles at and in the vicinity of Rull Run. The total ammunition expended during the entire service was over 11.200 pounds. Mr. Farrell was a member of this Battery B, and the engage- ments in which he participated as a member of the battery were: Dranes- ville, Mechanicsville. Gaines Mill. Charles City Cross Roads or Glendale, Malvern Hill, Gainesville, Groveton, second Bull Run, Chantilly, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg. Fitzhugh's Crossing or second Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg. Mine Run. Wilderness. Laurel Hill or Alsop's Farm, Po River, Spottsylvania Court House. North Anna River or Jericho Ford, Totopotomy, Bethesda Church, Cold Harbor. Mr. Farrell followed the fortunes of this battery to the close of his term of enlistment. He entered the Second Hancock Army Corps. February 26, 1865, from which he was honorably discharged June 27. 1865
Mr. Farrell took up his residence in Elkhart county in December. 1868. For a time he was in the merchandise business at the old town of Waterford, Silver Lake, Three Rivers, Warsaw and other places in this section of the state. In 1879 he began farming near Waterford, and was known as an enterprising and successful farmer there until 1886.
A natural fitness led him to the study and practice of the law, although the course that his life had taken prevented him from following his bent. But when his mind was made up to a legal career all ordinary obstacles were as nothing in his path. Having left school when fourteen years old. he had not a very satisfactory literary basis. Therefore, in 1885. when nearing the meridian of his years, hie re-entered school, at- tending the same school in Waterford and being in the same room where his children were pupils. In 188; he graduated from the law school of the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso, and on his admis- sion to the bar soon afterward he located at Goshen. In October, 1901,
Francis @ Baker.
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he was appointed probate commissioner, and held that responsible county office over three years. Always an active Republican, in 1894 he was elected a member of the lower house in the General Assembly, and gave his constituents capable service during one term.
In 1870 Mr. Farrell married Miss Susan. Matilda Latta. Mrs. Far- rell was born in this county, being a daughter of William and Matilda (Layton) Latta. Three children have been born of their marriage, namely. Alonzo M .. Joseph M. and Porter M. Farrell.
FRANCIS E. BAKER.
Francis E. Baker, for twenty years prominent as lawyer and judge and since January, 1902, occupying the high position of judge of the United States seventhi judicial cireuit, is a son of the well known and long honored jurist. Hon. John H. Baker, now living retired in Goshen, in which city Francis E. was born October 20, 1860. His mother, Har- riet E. (DeFrees ) Baker, is also still living, and the family in its connec- tions and activities has long been one of the most prominent in Elkhart county. The career of Hon. John H. Baker has been sketched on other pages of this volume.
Judge Baker went to school in his native city until he was ready to enter college. At the age of sixteen, in 1876, he became a student in the University of Indiana, and two years later entered the University of Michigan, where he was graduated in 1882. after having completed a five years' course in four years. His scholastic career was noteworthy as a brilliant entrance into the larger field of activity in later life. He was class historian in 1880, and during the last year of his course was the literary editor of the college paper, the Chronicle, and was class poet at the commencement exercises of his class, honors bestowed upon him in recognition of his literary ability displayed during four years of constant association with his classmates. Following his graduation he read law two years under his father and his father's law partner, the late Judge Mitchell, of Goshen. In 1885 Judge Mitchell became a judge of the supreme court of Indiana, and the firm of Baker and Mitchell was suc- ceeded by Baker and Baker, father and son. Seven years later the father became judge of the United States district court, and at that time Charles W. Miller ( now attorney general of the state) became a member of the firm, as Baker and Miller, which firm is now continued as Miller. Drakc and Hubbell.
Although an active Republican since casting his first vote, Mr. Baker was never an aspirant for political honors outside the direct line of his profession. His career on the bench, which has been replete with well merited distinction, began in 1898, when he was elected to the supreme court of Indiana, taking his seat on January 2, 1899. Three years later, in December. 1901, he was nominated and in January follow-
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ing assumed his duties as judge of the United States circuit court of the seventh circuit, which sits at Chicago.
Judge Baker married, February. 21, 1888, Miss Mary Irwin, of Goshen, and a daughter of one of the Elkhart county pioneers and hon- ored citizens.
MRS. HANNAH BROTHERS.
Mrs. Hannah Brothers, of Jackson township, is entitled to distinc- tion in more ways than one. She is one of the oldest ladies of the county, and for over half a century has resided in Elkhart county ; both her own family and those of the name she bears have played a conspicuous part in affairs both in this county and elsewhere, and her life has partaken of those qualities of sweetness and light wliich are the highest expressions of woman's character.
Mrs. Brothers was born in Stark county, Ohio, September 22, 1827, being the third in a family of twelve children, four sons and eight daugh- ters, whose parents were Manassa and Sarah (Creighton ) Baer. She is the oldest of the three yet living, her two sisters being: Sarah, wife of L. J. Dyke, who lost an arm in the Civil war and is now a retired resident of Union City, Pennsylvania; and Eliza, wife of H. H. Shaler, a real estate dealer of Saginaw, Michigan.
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