USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A twentieth century history of Delaware County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 3
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For the three years following his graduation Mr. White practiced law successfully in St. Paul, Minnesota, and then came to Muncie, after his many years of absence, and formed a partnership with Ira J. Young, under the firm name White & Young, this partnership continuing until 1906, when Mr. White became identified with the administration of Mayor Leonidas A. Guthrie as city attorney. Then he was appointed by the president to be postmaster of Muncie on the joint recommendation of Senators Beveridge and Hemenway, of Indiana, his appointment coming just before the dedica- tion of the handsome new federal building in Muncie, of which he is now, by reason of his office, custodian.
But while Mr. White's life has largely been one of business activity, he has not neglected altogether the social side of it. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of the Independent Order of Red Men and of the Modern Woodmen of America.
He was married in 1896 to Miss Agnes L. McSorley, of Red Wing, Minnesota, where the marriage ceremony was performed.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY
H. C. HAYMOND. One of the leading citizens and influential business men of Muncie is H. C. Haymond, who is now serving as vice president of the Delaware County National Bank and in many other ways is connected with the leading interests of the county. His birth occurred near Fairmont, West Virginia, May 4, 1852, and in that commonwealth his parents, Octa- vius and Elizabeth ( Fleming) Haymond. were also born. The father died when his son H. C. was but nine months old, and when a lad of seventeen years, in 1869, he came to Muncie to make his home with his brother, who was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Delaware county. Completing his education in the schools of this city, Mr. Haymond taught for nine years in the country schools, after which he abandoned the professional for a mer- cantile life and for a time was engaged in merchandising at Cowan, Indiana. He was next employed as a salesman for the firm of Chandler & Taylor, of Indianapolis, and a short time afterwards entered upon his long connection with the Indiana Bridge Company. with which he was associated for eighteen years. In 1905 Mr. Haymond was made the vice president of the Delaware County National Bank, which is regarded as one of the most re- liable financial concerns in this part of the state, and its constantly growing business attests its popularity. He is also interested in other enterprises, being a director of the Muncie Trust & Savings Company and the Mutual Home and Savings Association ; he is also the present city comptroller, and for seven years has served as a member of the city council, while for two terms he has been a member of the school board. He is progressive and resolute in all his transactions, and as the result of his capable management he has gained a place among the substantial citizens and most highly as- teemed business men of his county.
Mr. Haymond was united in marriage in 1877 to Margaret A. Low . thain, of Indiana, and they have four sons. He holds membership relations with the Masonic order in Muncie, with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Knights of Pythias.
REV. JACOB W. HEATH. One of the best-known citizens of Delaware county was Rev. Jacob W. Heath, nearly all of whose life was passed within the borders of this county. He was thoroughly earnest and sincere in all his thoughts, words and deeds, and his noble, manly life proved an inspiration to many of his friends and associates. Though he has passed to his reward, the influence of his conscientious, just career, his kindly, generous heart and sympathetic manner abides.
Itis family was founded in this country by his great-grandfather, who with two brothers came from London, England, and lived for some time in Maryland, where the grandfather Jacob was born and reared. In his young manhood, however, he moved to Guilford county, North Carolina, where Ralph Heath, the father of Jacob W., was born, reared and married, Mary Tomlinson becoming his wife. After the birth of four children, three sons and a daughter, they came to Indiana, making the overland journey by
"Fair Acres" Country Home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Fudge
"Fair Acres" in October
Bhas B. Fudge_
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wagon and arriving in Wayne county in October, 1828. In the following year, however, the husband and father came to Delaware county and en- tered land, this being at a time when the county's voters numbered less than two hundred, and much of the land where Muncie now stands was congress land, subject to entry at one dollar and a quarter an acre. Locating in Salem township, Mr. Ralph Heath erected a little cabin home, and Decem- ber 25. 1829, brought his family hither. This was then a lonely section, where the bears, panthers and other wild animals roamed at will through the dense forests, and the children of the family shared in the rugged pioneer life. Mr. Heath was a Christian man, and his cabin became the preaching place for the Methodist Episcopal missionaries for years.
In this Christian home Rev. Jacob W. Heath learned the lessons of purity, gentleness of manner and integrity of character which characterized his after years, and he lived at home with his parents and attended the dis- trict schools until of age, also working on the farm during the summer months. During the years of 1848-9 he was a student in the Delaware County Academy, and after leaving that institution taught school for some time. Turning his attention from a professional to a business career, he was engaged in farming until 1868, when he came to Muncie and engaged in the grocery, real estate and life insurance business. At the early age of sixteen years Rev. Heath had joined the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he filled the offices of leader, trustee. steward, Sunday-school super- intendent, exhorter, and from 1877 was a local minister. As would be ex- pected of such a man, true in all his relations to his fellows, he was loyal to his duties as a citizen and used his franchise in favor of all noble principles and upright candidates for public office, his sympathies being with the Re- publican party. He was an active and efficient worker in its campaigns, but at all times he was a strong temperance advocate.
In 1850 Rev. Heath was married to Rhoda A., a daughter of Rev. Ab- ner Perdiue, and they became the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters: John B., Frederick W., Perry S., Fletcher S., Cyrus R., Cassie E. and Mary A. Arthur B. W. died in infancy. Rev. Heath exempli- fied in his life the beneficent spirit of the Masonic order, of which he was long a faithful member, having become a member of Delaware lodge, F. and A. M., in 1856. Though he has been called to his home beyond, he is kindly remembered by his many acquaintances and friends of former years.
C. B. FUDGE, engaged in the clothing business, ranks today among the most successful and leading business men of Muncie. Nearly his entire life has been passed within the confines of Delaware county, and his advance- ment has been along the lines of the city's growth, due to progressive, reso- lute purpose and laudable ambition. His birth occurred in Xenia, Ohio, September 24, 1863, a son of John S. and Martha (Booths) Fudge, both also born in that commonwealth. In 1864, however, the family came to Del- aware county, Indiana, establishing their home in Niles township, where the
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father was engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years, retiring to pri- vate life about ten years before his death, which occurred in 1899, aged seventy-one years.
The district schools of Delaware county afforded C. B. Fudge with the educational training which he enjoyed in his youth, and after leaving the schoolroom he spent one year as a clerk in a store in Albany. Returning on 'the expiration of that period to Muncie, he was for twelve years employed as a clerk, and in 1899 formed a partnership with G. W. Bliss in the clothing and gentlemen's outfitting business, the firm name being Bliss & Fudge. Purchasing his partner's interest, Mr. Fudge incorporated the business in 1903, and under his skillful management it has now reached extensive pro- portions, placing its proprietor among the foremost business men of Muncie. Mr. Fudge has also many other interests, but his time is principally devoted to his clothing business.
In June, 1892, occurred the marriage of Mr. Fudge and Nellie M. Armi- tage. She is a daughter of Dr. D. R. Armitage, of Delaware county, and three children have been born to bless the union, Mildred Marie, Robert Armitage and Carl Sellers. Mr. Fudge has membership relations with the Masonic order, belonging to the Muncie lodge, chapter and commandery, and has passed all the chairs in the latter. His religious affiliations are with the Presbyterian church. Success has crowned his well-directed and enter- prising efforts, and it is the wish of his many friends that the master of "Fairacres," a beautiful country seat three miles from Muncie, may be numbered among the valuable citizens of Delaware county for many years to come.
HON. LEONIDAS A. GUTHRIE, a distinguished member of the legal pro- fession, is honored and respected in every class of society and is a leader in the public life of his city and county. His name is a familiar one in political and professional circles, and by reason of his marked intellectual activity he is well fitted to aid in molding the public policy as the mayor of Muncie. For many years the Guthrie family have been closely associated with the progress and development of Delaware county, it having been in a very early day in its history that John Milton Guthrie, the grandfather of Leoni- das, took up his abode within its borders, but soon after the birth of his son James he moved to Iowa, where he spent the remainder of his life and be- came a prominent factor in the community in which he made his home, Guthrie county in that state having been named in his honor. Soon after his death the family returned to Delaware county, and James R. Guthrie, the father of Leonidas, is a well-known merchant of Muncie. He married Martha Inlow, whose father, Walter Inlow, came from Springfield, Ohio, in an early day and was numbered among the old and honored pioneers of this county.
Leonidas A. Guthrie is a native son of Delaware county, his natal day being the 18th of April, 1875, and after completing his education in the
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public schools of Muncie he began the study of shorthand and bookkeeping. His first employment along that line was with the Muncie Glass Company, of Muncie, with which he remained until 1893, when he took up court re- porting and from 1894 until 1897 was the court reporter of Randolph county, Indiana. Going thence to Indianapolis, he served as stenographer of the appellate court until he was made the official reporter of the Delaware circuit court. In the meantime Mr. Guthrie had entered upon the study of law, his preceptors being Gregory, Silverburg & Lotz, and after his ad- mission to the bar in 1897 he served two years as probate commissioner of Delaware county, resigning that position to become mayor of Muncie, to which high office he had been elected in November, 1905. In this position he has been very efficient and faithful, making a most competent officer.
In June, 1905, Mr. Guthrie was united in marriage to Ethel, a daughter of Robert Calvin Peterson, of Delaware county. In his political affiliations Mr. Guthrie has always been a zealous Republican, active in campaign work and laboring earnestly for the adoption of its principles. He is also a mem- ber of the Masonic and other orders, and is widely and favorably known in Muncie and Delaware counties.
W. A. THOMPSON. The work of the legal profession is to formulate, to harmonize, to regulate, to adjust, to administer those rules and principles that underlie and permeate all government and society and control the varied relations of man. As thus viewed there attaches to the legal profes- sion a nobleness that cannot but be reflected in the life of the true lawyer, who, conscious of the greatness of his profession and honest in the pursuit of his purpose, embraces the richness of learning, the profoundness of wis- dom, the firmness of integrity and the purity of morals, together with the courtesy and the general amenities of life. A prominent representative of the bar of Delaware county is W. A. Thompson, who was born in Shelby county, Indiana, August 8, 1840, his parents having been among the early pioneers of that county, where they were also highly respected. Their son, W. A., who was one of fourteen children, spent the early years of his life on a farm, supplementing the instruction which he received in the district school near his home by attendance in the high school at Shelbyville, while later he spent two years in Moore's Hill College. At the age of eighteen he became principal of the graded school of St. Paul, Indiana, and later taught for some time in Shelby county.
When seventeen years of age Mr. Thompson united with the Methodist Episcopal church, and in 1862, when a youth of twenty-two years, he en- tered its ministry, spending seven years in the Southeastern Indiana confer- ence. After the death of his first wife, which occurred in 1865, he returned to Moore's Hill College for one year, after which he again resumed his min- isterial labors, thus continuing until failing health caused him to abandon his chosen labor, and he retired from the ministry in 1870. Shortly after- ward he began the study of the law under the preceptorship of Judge Lamb,
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completing his studies with the firm of Gordon, Browne & Lamb, of In- dianapolis, and in 1871 began practice in association with General Thomas Browne at Winchester, while from 1873 to 1874 he was with Judge J. J. Cheney, from 1874 to 1879 was associated in practice with Judge L. J. Monks, and afterward formed a partnership with Captain A. O. Marsh and his brother, J. W. Thompson, the firm name becoming Thompson. Marsh & Thompson. On the 25th of December, 1889, Mr. Thompson came to Muncie and formed a law partnership with Judge Ryan, but he is now en- gaged in practice with his son, and the firm of Thompson & Thompson is well known in the legal circles throughout this section of the state. From the beginning of his career as a lawyer Mr. Thompson has met with success, his deep research and thorough preparation of every case committed to his care enabling him to meet at once any contingency that may arise. His ar- guments are strong, clear, decided, and follow each other in natural se- quence, forming a chain of reasoning that his opponents find difficult to over- throw. He is an active and ardent Republican, but has at all times refused to accept office, desiring rather to confine his entire attention to his legal practice.
In 1863 Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Mary R. Wilkinson, whose death occurred in 1865, leaving one child, and in 1868 he married Elizabeth S. Lamb, the daughter of Judge Lamb, of Indianapolis. He ranks high at the bar of this section of the state, and Muncie numbers him among her influential and honored adopted sons.
CALVIN S. WACHTELL. For over seventy years Calvin S. Wachtell has traveled life's journey, and now, in the evening of a long, useful and honor- able career, he is enjoying a well-earned rest, in a great measure relieved of the burdens of an active business life. He has been prominent in public life as well as in business circles, and is leaving the impress of his individuality for good upon many lines of progress and advancement in the city where he has so long made his home. He was born near Springfield, Ohio, December 1, 1837, a son of Jonathan and Permelia (Baxter ) Watchell, na- tives respectively of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and the father was of German descent. In 1839 the family came to Muncie, where the father was engaged in the manufacture of chairs and furniture, and his active life was brought to a close in 1850, while his widow survived until 1891. Mr. Wach- tell gave a lifelong support to Democratic principles, and both he and his wife were Presbyterians, they having been instrumental in founding the first church of that denomination in Muncie, in which he served as deacon and trustee.
Calvin S. Wachtell, the youngest of their six children, grew to years of maturity in this city, receiving his education in its early schools, and then learned the trade of harnessmaking. In 1874 he was elected the city clerk and auditor of Muncie, continuing in those offices for twelve years, but in the meantime, in 1879, he had embarked in his present business, dealing in
Og Lotz
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wagons. harness, hardware, etc., and from a small beginning he has advanced its interests to its present large proportions. His is not only one of the largest business concerns in this city, but also one of the oldest, and to him belongs the distinction of being one of the oldest business men in Muncie. At the present time, however, his interests are ably looked after by his son, F. L. Wachtell, the senior Mr. Wachtell thus being relieved of many of his former cares. His interests in this city have been many and varied, and he is now serving as the president of the Muncie Lubricating Company, and is a director and one of the founders of the People's National Bank.
In 1862 Mr. Wachtell was united in marriage to Miss Susan L. Ander- son, a daughter of John Anderson, of Niles township, Delaware county. Mr .. Wachtell has long been numbered among the prominent and progressive citizens of Muncie and has been called to many offices of trust in financial and business circles. He is a Republican in his political affiliations, and fra- ternally is a member of the order of Odd Fellows. The Christian church of Muncie numbers him among its valued members, and he has served as a clerk and deacon therein for many years.
JAMES W. MEEKS, the eldest son of Robert Meeks, one of the best- known and most prominent business men of this city and county, whose biog- raphy appears on another page, was born in Muncie on the 14th of Decem- ber, 1849. After completing his education in the city schools he learned cabinetmaking under his father's efficient supervision, and when twenty-two years of age he became interested in the firm. From that time forward he has devoted his talents and energies to the building up of the business, which with the passing years has constantly developed both in volume and impor- tance and has long been numbered among the leading business institutions of Delaware county.
Mr. Meeks married, in 1876, Miss Louesa C. Hummell, who was born in Connersville, Indiana, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Hummell. Their children are Amelia B., the wife of Ollie J. Campbell ; Sarah M., now Mrs. Alfred C. Danks ; and Robert H., who married Etta Payton. Mr. Meeks has membership relations with the Odd Fellows fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and the Red Men, and is identified with the Republican party. He is a member of and an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as treasurer for fifteen years, and during a similar period has also been treasurer of the Preachers' Aid Society of the Northern Indiana conference.
ORLANDO JAY LOTZ. The name of Orlando J. Lotz is enduringly in- scribed on the pages of Indiana's political history in connection with the records of her jurisprudence. His superior ability won him marked suc- cess, he was crowned with high judicial honors, and in business and private life he won that good name which is rather to be chosen than great riches. He was one of Indiana's native sons, born on the 15th of January, 1852,
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the eldest of nine children born to Jeremiah C. and Melissa (Schuff) Lotz. In 1861 the father received an appointment under Lincoln in the treasury department and took his son Orlando with him to Washington, where the lad attended the public schools for four years. The father still holds the appointment given him in 1861, being one of the oldest men in the service, and he has reached the age of eighty years.
In 1866 Mr. Orlando Lotz returned to his former home and entered the high school at Fort Recovery, Ohio, graduating therefrom in 1870. Two years later, in 1872, he began the study of law, and in 1874 graduated with the highest honors in the National Law School in Washington, D. C. His preparation was thorough and comprehensive, and the favorable judgment which was passed upon him in his early years was never set aside or in any - degree modified during his career at the bar and on the bench. In 1885 he was appointed judge of the Forty-sixth judicial circuit by Governor Gray, and at the election two years later he was returned to the office, although a Democrat in a district with a Republican majority of twenty-five hundred. which speaks volumes for his ability and the high regard in which he was held by his fellow citizens. For eight years Mr. Lotz continued to dis- charge the duties of that office, and in 1892 was elected a member of the appellate court of Indiana, in which he served until January, 1897, when he resigned the office to resume his private practice of law at Muncie, as a member of the firm of Gregory, Silverburg & Lotz, thus continuing until his death on the 5th of February, 1902. He was a man of strong character and of great generosity and exemplary habits, and concerning his life there was never an evil report. He had a keen, analytical mind, quick to grasp and determine disputed questions, and his public opinions as preserved in the appellate court reports are logical and display deliberation and research, also showing a master mind in principles of law and equity. But death, untimely and unexpected, took from Delaware county one of its most prom- inent citizens, where he passed away in the prime of life, but left behind him a pure and noble record of honesty, industry and perseverance. A self- made man, in his efforts to reach the goal of his professional ambition he overcame the obstacles that lay in his path, and his high and splendid ex- ample has left a lasting impression upon the profession in which he won distinction and was universally esteemed.
Mrs. Lotz bore the maiden name of Amanda Inlow and is a native of Delaware county. Her father. Walter Inlow, was numbered among the honored early pioneers of the county, and Inlow Springs, which were found upon his old farm, were named in his honor. Mr. Lotz was an honored mem- ber of both the Masonic order and the Methodist church.
HARVEY MITCHELL, M. D. Over half a century of self-denying labor in the service of suffering humanity is, in brief. the summing up of the life of this beloved and venerable physician of Muncie. now the oldest living member of the medical profession in Delaware county. He was born in
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Greene county, Pennsylvania, July 21, 1825, a son of Thomas and Sarah (Shideler) Mitchell, both natives of Pennsylvania, the father born in 1801 and the mother in 1802, and they were of Irish and German lineage re- spectively. Their marriage was celebrated in 1822, and in 1830 they re- moved from their native commonwealth of Pennsylvania to Miami county, Ohio, where the father followed agricultural pursuits and died in 1861. His widow afterward went to California, where at the home of her only daugh- ter, Mrs. Carl, she passed away in death in 1866. In their family were the following children: John A., deceased; Harvey, whose name intro- duces this review ; Isaac, deceased; Margaret, who married Wesley Carl; Shadrick ; and David.
On his father's farm in Miami county, Ohio, Harvey Mitchell was reared to years of maturity, in the meantime receiving his educational train- ing in the nearby log schoolhouse, and he taught and attended school alter- nately until his graduation from the academy at Troy, Ohio. For three years thereafter he pursued the study of medicine under a practicing physi- cian, whence he took two courses of lectures in the Starling Medical Col- lege at Columbus, Ohio, and in 1850 located for the practice of his chosen profession at Granville, Delaware county. During the long period of four- teen years Dr. Mitchell successfully pursued the practice of medicine in that city, removing at the close of the period, in 1864, to Muncie, where he has ever since remained. About 1900, after half a century of activity, he retired from the profession because of advanced years and also on account of a broken hip. In these days of splendid highways who can recall what it meant to be a pioneer physician, riding far and near in all kinds of weather. On his patient, plodding horse the doctor often visited as many as sixty patients in a day, traversing the muddy roads on many a dark, stormy night, courageously bearing cheer and comfort to the distant patient.
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