A twentieth century history of Marshall County, Indiana, Volume II, Part 35

Author: McDonald, Daniel, 1833-1916
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 388


USA > Indiana > Marshall County > A twentieth century history of Marshall County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 35


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BENJAMIN F. MEREDITH. Among the officials of Tippecanoe town- ship is recorded the name of Benjamin F. Meredith, the present incum- bent of the office of trustee, to which he was elected in 1904 as a repre- sentative of the Democratic party. At the election he received a majority of seventy-six votes. He is also numbered among the leading agri- culturists and stockmen of Tippecanoe township, where he owns an estate of eighty-seven acres, where he follows general farming and is also well known as a buyer and shipper of stock.


Tippecanoe township also claims Mr. Meredith among its native sons, his natal day being the 5th of July, 1864, having thus been born amid the stirring times of the Civil war. His father, Job Lewis Mere- dith, now deceased, was long numbered among the prominent business men of Marshall county, having established his home within its borders in an early day in its history, but he was born in Ohio. During the Civil war he served his country with credit and honor as a member of an Indiana regiment. In Fulton county of this state he married Margaret Drudge, who proved to him a faithful and loving companion until his life's labors were ended in death in 1881, when forty-two years of age. They became the parents of three children-B. F., the subject of this review ; John, a business man in New York city ; and Orlando, a stock- man of Mentone, Indiana. The mother now resides in Kosciusko county, Indiana. Mr. Meredith devoted his life's activities to the tilling of the soil. He voted with the Democratic party and was a Baptist in his religious belief.


Benjamin F. Meredith was born on the homestead farm in Tippe- canoe township, and after his father's death he remained at home and assisted his mother with the work of the farm, in the meantime receiving his educational training in the district schools. When he had reached the age of twenty years he married Rosa Emmons, who was born in Fulton county, Indiana, a daughter of William Emmons. Five children have been born to bless their union, namely: Loughly, Lieu, Margaret, Willie and Reatha. Mr. Meredith supports the principles of the Demo-


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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.


cratic party and has many times served as a representative to its con- ventions, and in 1904, as above stated, was its choice for the office of trustee of Tippecanoe township. He is a member of the Odd Fellows fraternity, Lodge No. 715, of Tippecanoe, Indiana.


CHARLES H. NEU has the honor of being one of the pioneer mer- chants of of Bourbon. It was in 1878 that he became a resident of Marshall county, attending school for one year thereafter, and during the following five years he filled a clerical position in the hardware store of Acker & Sons. In partnership with Isaac B. Arnold he then became the proprietor of a hardware store, they having purchased the business of O. F. Ketchum, and one and a half years later Mr. Arnold sold his interest to J. W. Davis, the firm name then becoming Neu & Davis. After a period of ten years Mr. Neu purchased the interest of Mr. Davis and continued as the sole proprietor of the business until 1907, when he sold the store and retired from active business relations. He has been connected with the First State Bank since its organization, and since 1903 has served as its vice-president, and he is also the owner of a farm of two hundred and forty acres of land in Bourbon township. In his business relations he has met with a well merited success.


Although long numbered among the prominent and influential resi- dents of Marshall county, Mr. Neu is a native son of the Empire state of New York, born in Steuben county on the 30th of March, 1854. His father, John N. Neu, was born in Germany, but came to the United States when a young man and became identified with the tanner's trade in New York, from whence he removed to Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1868, and there conducted a hotel for a number of years. In 1878 he followed the tide of emigration to California, but after a residence of a few years in the Golden state returned to the east, and his death later occurred in 1900. Mrs. Neu, who bore the maiden name of Charlotte Bill, also claims Germany as the land of her nativity and she now makes her home with her son in Bourbon.


On the 24th of October, 1884, Charles H. Neu was united in mar- riage to Olive Arnold, a daughter of one of Marshall county's well known residents, Isaac B. Arnold. They have two children, John and Helen, the son being a partner in the hardware firm of Neu & Keller, of Bourbon, and the daughter is a teacher in the schools of North Dakota. Mr. Neu has fraternal relations with the Masonic order, affiliating with Bourbon Lodge No. 227, and also with the Independent Order of Red Men.


J. W. EIDSON, M. D. One of the eminent physicians of northern Indiana and also one of the most conspicuous figures in its political circles is Dr. J. W. Eidson, who is devoting his time to his extensive practice, and at the present time is president of the County Medical Society. A deep interest in the science of medicine and a close study of its principles have gained him prominence among the best representatives of the pro- fession in this section of the state, but at the same time his abilities have won him high political honors. In 1889, as a representative of the Democracy, he was made a member of the state legislature, and in that


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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.


session the school book law, as well as the "Lacey bribery" law were passed. He introduced an act requiring beef to be inspected a certain distance from where slaughtered, which act was passed and signed, but was afterward declared unconstitutional. The doctor has also served his county as its coroner, and is at the present time a member of the town council.


Although so prominently identified with the interests of Marshall county, Dr. Eidson is a native son of Fulton county, Indiana, born on the 12th of March, 1854. His father, B. A. Eidson, claimed Ohio as the commonwealth of his nativity, born in 1817, but in early life he went with his parents to Miami county, and he afterwards went to Fulton county and farmed there during the remainder of his life, which was brought to a close in 1893. His father was William Eidson, a native of the Old Dominion state of Virginia. B. A. Eidson was also quite a politician as well as a farmer, and at one time he held the office of county commissioner, in which he represented the Democracy. His wife bore the maiden name of Sarah A. Deckard and was a native daughter of Indiana.


To their son J. W. they gave a common school education in the Fulton county schools, this being later supplemented by study in the. Valparaiso University, while for eight years thereafter he was a member of the teacher's profession. Deciding upon the practice of medicine, however, as his life work, he entered as a student the Indiana Medical College and graduated therein in 1884. He entered upon the practice of his chosen profession in Bourbon, and from that time forward has min- istered to suffering humanity in this city, his skill and ability winning him a most desirable reputation. He is a close student of the science and is a member of the County, State and American Medical Associations, thus keeping well informed on the progress that is constantly being made along medical lines.


On the 14th of February, 1906, Dr. Eidson married Miss Bertha Staley, a daughter of David Staley, a prominent early resident and farmer of Marshall county. One child, David Arthur, was born to them on the 8th of December, 1906. Mrs. Eidson is a member of the Methodist church.


C. C. VINK. the cashier of the First State Bank of Bourbon, is well and favorably known to the residents of Marshall county, for he has been prominently identified with the business interests of this city for many years, and in 1902 he assisted in the organization of one of its leading financial institutions, the First State Bank. On both the paternal and maternal sides his family have been identified with the making of the history of the country and have been represented in its early wars, both his grandfathers participating in the Mexican war, and his mother's five brothers served throughout the period of the Civil war. They en- tered the ranks of the boys in blue at the commencement of the conflict, and at the expiration of their term of enlistment returned to the front, and two of the five suffered the horrors of Libby prison. The parents of Mr. Vink, William and Minerva (Foulks) Vink, were born in Colum- biana county, Ohio, which was also the birthplace of the son on the 22d


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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.


of June, 1856, and there the father was engaged in farming until his retirement from the business world. His death occurred at the home of C. C. Vink, July 5, 1892, when he had reached the sixtieth milestone on the journey of life. His widow survived until the 22d of February, 1905, dying at the age of seventy-three years. In their family were four children: Angelina, the wife of Frank Carl, of Wisconsin; Milton E., a resident of Cuyahoga county, New York; William L., who also makes his home in Wisconsin ; and C. C.


Mr. C. C. Vink received his educational training in the public schools, and in December, 1876, he came to Bourbon, where he first secured em- ployment with Isaac Arnold on his farm west of town, there remaining for three years. From that time until 1891 he filled a clerkship in this city, and in that year was appointed the deputy county treasurer under Arthur D. Senior, but three and a half years later Mr. Senior died and Mr. Vink was appointed to fill out his unexpired term. At the succeed- ing election he was defeated by one hundred votes to that office, although in 1896 he won the election by a handsome majority of six hundred votes, while two years later he was re-elected to the office. In 1902, with Hiram F. Bowman, he organized the First State Bank of Bourbon, and has ever since served in the important position of its cashier. Mr. Vink has raised the standard grade of fine stock in his county, being a breeder of the Red Polled cattle, registered, and also the pure bred Barred Plymouth Rock chickens.


On the 21st of December, 1882, Mr. Vink was united in marriage to Frances Steinbach, a daughter of Henry Steinbach, whose name is en- rolled among the honored pioneers of Marshall county. Three daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Vink, Bessie, Honora and Katherine, and the eldest is now the wife of John Kester, of Bourbon. Mrs. Kester is now and has been for several years connected with the State Bank of Bourbon as bookkeeper. She received her business training in the South Bend Business College.


Mr. Vink has fraternal relations with the Odd Fellows Lodge No. 207, with the Maccabees Tent No. 162, and with the Knights of Pythias order, Castle Hall Hercules Lodge No. 233. His political relations are with the Democracy, which he represented in the office of town council and as a member of the school board. His great-grandfather Vink was a soldier in the Revolutionary war under Washington and this entitles Mr. Vink and his children to become members of the Sons and Daugh- ters of the Revolutionary war. His grandmother Vink, whose maiden name was Margaret Fisher, was born in Maryland. She was supposed to have been a descendant of Baron Fisher of Germany, who was a wealthy nobleman in the fatherland, and she was in line of inheritance. The battle of Fisher's Hill in Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary war was upon the land owned by one of the descendants of the baron.


Mr. Vink is popular in the city in which he has so long made his home, and is numbered among its most valued business men.


GEORGE D. ETTINGER is prominently connected with the financial interests of Bourbon, which has been his home for a number of years, but his birth occurred in southern Michigan on the 17th of November,


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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.


1857, his parents being F. J. and Lydia (Patrick) Ettinger, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Ohio. She is of Scotch-Irish descent. During the early '50s the father established his home in Michi- gan and became connected with the harness and saddlery business, but in 1860 he removed to Warsaw and has ever since remained a resident of that city.


After completing his education in the public schools of Warsaw, George D. Ettinger worked in the J. D. Thayer flour mill from 1876 until 1883. In that year he came to Bourbon to take charge of the ele- vator which H. G. and J. D. Thayer had purchased in this city, and when the business was organized into a stock company, the Bourbon Elevator & Milling Company, William Erwin became the president, J. C. Erwin treasurer, and George D. Ettinger the secretary. This is one of the leading industrial institutions of Marshall county.


Mr. Ettinger married Effie A. Brindley, of Kosciusko county, In- diana, and they have one daughter, Hope, and two sons, John D. and Mac. Mr. Ettinger holds fraternal relations with the Masonic and the Knights of Pythias orders.


JESSE L. SEE, who is living on section 27, Green township, is widely known as one of the extensive and successful live-stock dealers of this part of the state. He was born in Miami county, Indiana, August 5, 1871, his parents being Lewis and Mary L. (Culp) See. The father, a native of Miami county, is now living and his entire life was devoted to general agricultural pursuits up to the time of his retirement. He now makes his home in Peru, Indiana, and is a member of the Baptist church there. His wife died in September, 1903, and of their family of eleven children three have also passed away. Those still living are: Alonzo J., Noah, Jesse L., Dora, Peter, Sanford, Plenny and Evelyn.


When only eleven years of age Jesse L. See started out to make his own way in the world and has since been dependent upon his labors for the success which he has achieved. He worked in a restaurant at Logans- port, Indiana, and was afterward employed as a farm hand. Before he was twenty-one years of age he had visited nine different states of the Union and soon after his marriage, in the fall of 1897, he and his wife went on a visit to New York. Upon their return from the east they located in Walnut township, where they lived until March, 1898, when they took up their abode upon the old family homestead on section 27, Green township. They own one hundred and ninety-five acres of land, all in Green township. In 1904 Mr. See remodeled the house, making it a modern farm residence, and there are also good outbuildings and other sub- stantial equipments on the place. Since 1897 he has dealt extensively and successfully in stock, handling many sheep. In one year he sold sheep to the amount of thirteen hundred dollars and he has also bought and shipped cattle and hogs to the Chicago market. In his business affairs he is energetic and determined and is meeting with a gratifying measure of prosperity. He is now the superintendent of Green township.


On the 5th of August, 1897, Mr. See was married to Miss Lucy Bartholomew, who was born in Green township, Marshall county, Indiana, December 14, 1868, her parents being Noah and Amanda M. (Douglas)


For


J. L. See


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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.


Bartholomew. The father was born in New Haven, Connecticut, Janu- ary 27, 1815, and died February 9, 1890. With his parents he removed to Chautauqua county, New York, and in 1836 came to Indiana, settling in Green township. He was then twenty-one years of age. He joined Barney Corey in the purchase of a quarter section of timber land on section 27 and they held this land jointly until the death of Mr. Corey. Mr. Bartholomew lived upon that place for fifty years and it was his home at the time of his demise. He held a number of township offices and was prominent and influential in the community, while in matters of public progress he took an active and helpful part. He gave the ground on which the schoolhouse of district No. 9 now stands, this being the place where he first had his home. The Jordan Baptist church stands on land now owned by Mr. Jesse L. See. Mr. Bartholomew cast his first presidential vote for William Henry Harrison and his last vote for Ben- jamin Harrison, the grandson of the Tippecanoe hero. His wife, who was born in Macedonia county, New York, October 1, 1825, died Sep- tember 24, 1890. She was the daughter of Stephen and Aurilla Douglas and was the widow of Ransom Wiser. She married Mr. Bartholomew on the 26th of January, 1865. Unto them were born two children, the younger being Mrs. See. The elder, Reuben, who was named for his grandfather, Reuben Bartholomew, died at the age of seventeen years, eleven months and twenty-four days.


Mr. and Mrs. See were married by the Rev. Andrew E. Babcock, who had also performed the wedding ceremony for her parents. Three chil- dren have been born of this union: George B., Ombra M., and Lloyd A.


Mr. See is a member of Argos Lodge, No. 263, I. O. O. F., and of Lodge No. 399, A. F. & A. M. at Argos, Indiana. He gives his political allegiance to the Republican party. His wife belongs to the Jordan Baptist church and he contributes to its support. His life has been char- acterized by all that is honorable and upright in his relations with his fellowmen and his industry and diligence in business constitute an ex- ample well worthy of emulation.


JAMES BIGGS. One of the best known citizens and business men of Marshall county is James Biggs, who was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, September 15, 1840, a son of John and Lucinda ( Branem) Biggs, both of whom also claimed the Buckeye state as the common- wealth of their nativity, but on the paternal side the family is an old Virginia one. James Biggs was thrown upon his own resources at an early age owing to the death of his father, and during his boyhood days he came with his brother-in-law, Arthur Bland, to Miami county, In- diana, and in 1850 they continued their journey to Marshall county, locating three miles south of Bourbon in Tippecanoe township, where Mr. Biggs purchased two hundred and sixty acres of wild and unim- proved land. At that time Indians were still numerous in this section of the state, and all was new and wild. Mr. Bland died on his old home- stead here, having accumulated during his residence here a large estate, which Mr. Biggs was called upon to settle. In 1857 he bought forty acres of land three miles west of Bourbon, from which he cut and sold the timber, and in time transformed the tract from an unbroken wilder-


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ness to a well cultivated farm, at the same time adding to his possessions until he is now the owner of three hundred and fifteen acres'and also property in Bourbon. As a representative of the Democracy, Mr. Biggs served eight years as the trustee of Bourbon township, having been elected to the office in 1883.


He married, in 1861, Emma Bell, whose father, Henry Bell, came to Marshall county during its pioneer days, and her birth occurred in Ohio. They have become the parents of three children: William, who resides on one of his father's farms; Charles, also an agriculturist in Bourbon township; and Hester, who has become Mrs. Rackett and is a resident of Tippecanoe township, Marshall county. Mr. Biggs is a mem- ber of the fraternal order of Odd Fellows and of the Methodist church.


ISAAC NEWTON ELLIS, deceased, was born in Clinton county, Ohio, July 25, 1836, a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Oglesby) Ellis. After com- pleting his educational training in the schools of his native county he came with his sister, Mrs. Trickel, to Laporte county, Indiana, with whom he lived and worked until his marriage. In the meantime his father had located in Marshall county, having purchased a farm between Bourbon and Plymouth in 1850, and Isaac Newton joined him here and worked on the farm until the early part of the '6os. He then purchased a farm and continued its cultivation and improvement until his life's labors were ended in death. The estate is now owned by his widow and consists of one hundred and sixty acres. At the time of the purchase the land was wild and unimproved, and to his energetic efforts and excellent business ability is due its present state of productiveness. The death of this hon- ored early business man of Marshall county occurred in 1884, while in the prime of life, for he was but forty-eight years of age when death claimed its own.


Mr. Ellis was first married to Mary Payne, who died in 1870, leaving one daughter, Orvilla, now Mrs. Parker, and a resident of Marshall county. In 1872 he married Eda L. Hindle, whose grandfather, Chris- tian Hindle, was one of the first residents of Marshall county, he having established his home here when there was no town nearer than South Bend or Logansport. The old Hindle home was located one mile from Inwood. The father of Mrs. Ellis was Adam Hindle. The second marriage was blessed by the birth of three children: Arvada, the wife of Elza Hite, of Center township; Armetta, the deceased wife of Lester Hite; and one who died in infancy. Mrs. Ellis is a worthy member of the Methodist church, as was also her husband. He was a good man, a kind husband and father, and was loved and honored by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance.


GEORGE W. HATFIELD. Numbered among the business men of Mar- shall county is George W. Hatfield, whose entire life since he was a child has been spent within its borders. He was born in Marion county, Ohio, July 24, 1843, but in 1850 his father, William Hatfield, removed with his family to Bourbon township, Marshall county, where he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land five miles northeast of Bourbon. This was during a very early period of its development, and this early


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pioneer had to cut his way through the woods to his farm and clear a space sufficient to erect his little log cabin. His nearest neighbor was a mile and a half distant, and all was new and wild, but with the passing years he brought his farm under an excellent state of cultivation and there he spent the remainder of his long and active life, dying in 1859 at the age of fifty years. He was a native son of England, coming with his parents to the United States during his boyhood days, and the family home was first established in Marion county, Ohio, where they became farming people. Mrs. Hatfield bore the maiden name of Mary Tharp, and was born in Pennsylvania.


In the old-time log cabin schools of Bourbon township George W. Hatfield received his educational training, and during his early manhood, in August, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, entering the Twenty-first Indiana Battery and continuing as a soldier until the close of the conflict. His services were in Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia, and he participated in all of the engagements in which his regiment took part, while in the battle of Chickamauga he was wounded in the left knee. Receiving his honorable discharge in June, 1865, Mr. Hatfield returned to the work of the farm in Bourbon township, and in 1884 he took up his abode on his present estate of eighty acres, located a few miles from Bourbon, the old home of his wife. He also has property interests in the city, and in 1904 Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield laid aside the active work of the farm and removed to Bourbon to enjoy the rest which their former years of labor had brought them.


They were married in January, 1866, Mrs. Hatfield bearing the maiden name of Susan Hanes, and she is a daughter of Henry Hanes, of Marshall county. Of their children, three daughters and one son are living, namely: Adella, now Mrs. Price, of Illinois; Mary Agnes, now Mrs. Bates, and a resident of Bourbon township; William A .; and Myrtle, now Mrs. Snell, of Bourbon. One daughter, Cora May Pritch, died in 1900, and three children also died in infancy. Mr. Hatfield is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and for thirty-five years he has been an active and valued member of the Methodist church, having served in all of its offices from steward to class leader. He sus- tains his relations with his old army comrades by his membership in Warsaw Post, G. A. R. True to his duties of citizenship, he is an active public worker, and in 1904 was elected the trustee of Bourbon township, while against his wish he was also nominated and elected as the township assessor. As a citizen he is highly respected and esteemed and the family is one of prominence in the community where they have so long resided.


THOMAS B. LEE. To Thomas B. Lee belongs the honor of being one of the earliest residents of Marshall county, and for many years he has been prominently identified with the business interests of Bourbon. He was born in Philadelphia February 14, 1832, a son of Nathan and Urie (Wilson) Lee, natives respectively of Lancaster and Chester coun- ties, Pennsylvania. The father, who was a cabinet-maker, moved to Marion county, Ohio, during the boyhood days of his son Thomas, and he spent the remainder of his life there. The son received his educa- tional training in the schools of Marion county, and one year after his




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