USA > Indiana > Miami County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 4
USA > Indiana > Howard County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 4
USA > Indiana > Cass County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 4
USA > Indiana > Tipton County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 4
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 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58
John Wilson, grandfather, was also a native of the north of Ireland and died in middle life, a few days after his arrival in America. He had only two children, -a daughter besides the father of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Wilson's grandfather on his mother's side, James Wallace, was a native of " Erin's green isle," a Presbyterin, and emigrated to this land of promise and opportunity, locating in Tuscarora valley, Pennsylvania, where he passed the remainder of his days, dying at the age of about seventy-five years. His occupation was that of dealing in cattle, driving them mostly to the Philadelphia market.
James Wilson had seven sons and one daughter, of whom four are now living, namely: William, now a resident of Washington, Iowa; Robert Q., who is the subject proper of this biographical mention; Benjamin, a farmer at Wooster, Ohio; and Alexander, residing at Frankfort, Indiana. Dr. Robert Q. Wilson was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, November 23, 1822, and was reared in Concord, that state. His first educational training he received in the old-time log-cabin subscription schools. In 1843 he came to LaFayette, Indiana, where he attended the county seminary; but, con- tracting that tedious malarious disease called ague, he went to Wooster, Ohio, where he enjoyed better conditions and pursued a classical course of instruction under Professor John Rankin; but it required about three years for him to fully recover from his aguish condition!
Having a predilection for the science of medicine, he began his study, in Wooster, under the preceptorship of Dr. Bissell, and completed it under the guidance of his brother, graduating, however, at Rush Medical College in Chicago. Opening out in practice at Rossville, Clinton county, Indiana, he enjoyed good success and remained there eighteen years.
29
CASS, MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON COUNTIES.
In 1866 he removed to Kokomo and has ever since been a resident of this city, doing honor to his profession and enjoying a remunerative patron- age, except that since 1888 he has lived retired from practice.
October 9, 1848, he was united in marriage with Miss Belle Robinson, a daughter of William and Mary (Eaton) Robinson, and he has had five chil- dren, namely: William, Edwin R., Belle, James and Mary, -the last two being twins. Three of these children died when young; Belle died at the age of twenty-two years; and Edwin R., now deceased, married Miss Alice Riblet, daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Reisinger) Riblet, and had seven children, of whom five are living,-Fannie, Edna, Elizabeth, Helen and Lois. In 1888 the Doctor suffered the loss of his worthy and estimable wife. In religious matters Mrs. Wilson was a sincere and consistent member of the Presby- terian church, of which body the Doctor also is an influential member and in which he has served as a ruling elder for many years. They were indeed the prime movers in the establishment and organization of their church here in Kokomo, beginning the work at their own home.
Dr. Wilson is a member of the Masonic order, and in politics is a Repub- lican. He is a fine scholar, Latin being his favorite study and Virgil and Horace his favorite authors. In English the Bible is his first, Shakespeare the second; while in fiction Sir Walter Scott is his favorite. Having been educated by his own efforts, he places a high value on his attainment and constantly advises young people intending to take up a profession to obtain first a good education by all means. He is a graduate of Rush Medical Col- lege, of Chicago, and in his benevolence he has also assisted several other students at that institution.
He has lost all his family, and has taken to his home the family of his son, Edwin, and adopted them as his own, their father being dead.
F LWOOD HAYNES .- Honored and respected by all, there is no man in Kokomo who occupies a more enviable position in industrial and finan- cial circles than Elwood Haynes, not alone on account of the success he has achieved, but also on account of the honorable, straightforward business pol- icy he has ever followed. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of percep- tion, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution; and his
30
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
close application to business and his excellent management have brought to him the prosperity which is to-day his.
Born in Portland, Indiana, on the 14th of October, 1857, he represented one of the pioneer families of this section of this state. His paternal grand- father was a native of Massachusetts and of English descent. By trade he was a carriage-builder and harness-maker, and he spent his entire life in the east, where he reared a large family. In his religious views he was a Con- gregationalist. Judge Jacob M. Haynes, father of our subject, was also born in the Bay state, and at an early day came to Indiana, locating in Muncie, where he studied law and engaged in practice for many years, his ability gaining him a distinctively representative clientage. He was elected com- mon-pleas judge and later was elevated to the circuit bench, whereon he served for many years. He removed from Muncie to Portland almost fifty years ago, and the latter city was his home during the greater part of his judicial service. Although he is practically living retired, during the past year, when eighty years of age, he was called upon to act as judge in some special cases. His knowledge of the law is broad, profound and accurate, which, combined with an inherent love of justice and right, has made him one of the most impartial and capable jurists who have ever sat upon the bench of his district. For about twenty years he has also served as presi- dent of the People's Bank, of Portland. In politics he has always been a Republican. He is now living, at the advanced age of eighty-one years, hon- ored for his upright life and for the excellent work he has accomplished, using the talents with which nature endowed him to the best possible advantage- in a way which not only benefitted himself, but also proved of benefit to his fellowmen.
Judge Haynes was united in marriage to Miss Hilinda S. Haines, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of William Haines, a native of Pennsylvania, and of English descent and Quaker stock. Her father was a tanner by trade and was proprietor of a hotel in Indiana for a number of years. He also specu- lated in land and was of a very energetic nature, but of a somewhat roving disposition. He came to the Hoosier state at a very early day, and died in Portland, where he had resided for many years. He was twice married and reared a very large family. Mrs. Haynes, the mother of our subject, died . in Portland in 1885, at the age of fifty-seven years. The Judge and his wife had a family of ten children, eight of whom are now living, namely: Jose-
31
CASS, MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON COUNTIES.
phine; Susan, wife of C. F. Headington; Walter M., cashier of the People's Bank, of Portland; Sumner W., an attorney; Elwood; Frank; Calvin and. Edward M. All reside in Portland with the exception of our subject.
Elwood Haynes was reared in Portland, and in the public schools of that city acquired his preliminary education, which was supplemented by a course in the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, at Worcester, Massachusetts, where he was graduated in 1881. He then engaged in teaching in the high school in his native city, also the normal in Portland, followed by one year's study, 1884-5, in the Johns Hopkins University, of Baltimore, Maryland, where he pursued a post-graduate course in chemistry and biology, of which branches he afterward made a specialty while teaching in the normal, at Portland. Later he became financially interested in the Portland Natural Gas & Oil Company, serving as its manager from 1887 until 1890. For two years thereafter he was field superintendent of the Columbus Construc- tion Company, and in 1892 became superintendent of the Kokomo division of the Indiana Natural Gas & Oil Company, which position he still fills, his superior business ability, keen discrimination and energy contributing not a little to the success which attends the enterprise. Nor is his ability confined alone to one line of effort Associated with Elmer Apperson, for the past three years he has been engaged in the manufacture of the " Horseless car- riage, " or motor cycle, which is propelled by a gasoline motor, and they are now perfecting arrangements to build these carriages on an extensive scale. Mr. Haynes has also made some analyses of natural gas, which have enabled him to compute its heating value as compared with coal, wood and other fuels, and has also made some practical tests of the heating power of the gas by consuming it in stoves and under boilers, the results being compared with those of wood and coal, showing the great superiority of the gas. His com- prehensive understanding of chemistry has proved of great practical value to him in these experiments, and his broad general information and literary ability have enabled him to produce some interesting as well as very instruct- ive articles for the State Geological Reports and for different encyclopedias. He has also placed upon the market several useful inventions, including a thermostat for controlling the temperature of rooms heated by natural gas.
On the 20th of October, 1887, Mr. Haynes married Miss Bertha Lan- terman, a daughter of W. D. and Mary (Firth) Lanterman. They have had four children, two sons and two daughters: Bernice, March, and two who
32
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
died in infancy. The parents are leading and influential members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Haynes is serving as elder and as teacher of the Bible class. His views on the temperance question lead him to support the Prohibition party, and his influence can ever be counted upon in advo- cacy of any measure or enterprise designed for the public good.
EX J. KIRKPATRICK, ex-circuit judge of the thirty-sixth judicial cir- L cuit of Indiana, composed of Howard and Tipton counties, is the subject of this brief outline. Notwithstanding all the cheap jokes, in newspapers as well as in light conversation generally, the legal profession is as highly hon- ored in this country as in any other in the world. Both the bench and the bar throughout the United States are regarded everywhere as on a par with the corresponding branches of the public service in England, the model of the world. This profession has for many years been honored by the scru- pulous and impartial conduct of Judge Kirkpatrick, both as an attorney and as a judge; and we take pleasure in presenting a brief outline of a few facts, commencing, chronologically, with his parentage, etc.
Judge Kirkpatrick is a native of Indiana, born in Rush county, Septem- ber 6, 1853. His parents, Stephen and Rebecca J. (Jackson) Kirkpatrick, also natives of that county, had three children, -two daughters and a son, - the last mentioned only remaining a survivor. Mr. Stephen Kirkpatrick was born in Rush county, Indiana, February 10, 1832. He has devoted his life to the pursuits of the farm and horticulture. Since 1854 he has been a resi- dent of Howard county, and since 1871 his home has been in Kokomo. He is still an active citizen, and has held various township offices. He is an honored member of the Christian church. His estimable wife is also an influential co-worker with him in all public movements designed for the uplifting of humanity. She was born in Rush county, Indiana, February 14, 1834. John Kirkpatrick, grandfather of the Judge, was a native of Ken- tucky, of Scotch ancestry and an agriculturist. He was born October 23, 1802. The Judge's great-grandfather, William Kirkpatrick, was born June 8, 1776, and died July 13, 1860. Joseph Jackson, the Judge's maternal grandfather, was a native of North Carolina, born March 1, 1794, was a farmer by occupation, and removed to Rush county, Indiana, where he passed the remainder of his life.
Ameerely yours, Lex & Kirkpatrick
33
CASS, MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON COUNTIES.
After attending the public schools in Taylor township, in his native county, the subject of this sketch pursued a curriculum at Oskaloosa (Iowa) College; returned to Kokomo, and attended Howard College, and after that the Central Law College, at Indianapolis, graduating there in June, 1875. The same year he opened out in practice in Kokomo, forming a partnership with J. F. Elliott, Esq., under the firm name of Elliott & Kirkpatrick. This relation was continued until November, 1890, when Mr. Kirkpatrick was elected judge of the thirty-sixth judicial circuit. In this election his popular- ity was demonstrated by his running far ahead of his ticket, as his name was upon the Democratic ticket in a district usually giving heavy Republican majorities. He assumed the duties of his office fourteen days after his elec- tion and served until November, 1896, exhibiting no sign either of partiality or incompetency; rather he was expeditious and direct in his methods, his natural acumen and executive character enabling and impelling him to arrive at the proper results with the least ado. He has tried many important cases, among them the following: The state of Indiana against Calvin Armstrong, deputy county treasurer of Tipton county, for embezzlement, of which charge he was convicted; the state against Augusta Schmidt, a case on change of venue from Logansport, in Cass county, wherein the defendant was convicted of murder; as special judge in January, 1898, at Marion, in Grant county, in the case of the state against Noah Johnson, who was convicted of murdering the object of his matrimonial affections, Miss Tacie Mang, and sentenced for life to the penitentiary; in February, 1897, also as special judge, at Marion, in Grant county, the case of the state against John W. Crum and John C. Evans, the former an insurance agent and the latter the president of the Jonesboro Bank, which was a "green-goods" case: the conviction which resulted was the first of the kind in the state of Indiana, and was brought to issue under the charge of "grand larceny;" the Racer ditch case, as special judge at Hartford City, Blackford county, in December, 1897; the Jacob Cross will-contest case, as special judge at Rushville, Rush county, in March, 1898. He has presided as judge in important cases in the counties of Howard, Tipton, Hamilton, Cass, Miami, Grant, Wells, Blackford and Rush.
On the Ist of December, 1896, Judge Kirkpatrick joined the firm of Morrison & McReynolds, well known and prominent lawyers, the new asso- ciation taking the firm name of Kirkpatrick, Morrison & McReynolds. They occupy beautiful offices in the new building of the Home Building & Loan 3
34
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
Association, and enjoy a lucrative patronage; indeed it is one of the leading law firms in this section of the state.
The 22d day of September, 1881, is the date of the Judge's union in matrimony, with Miss Emma Palmer, of Adrian, Michigan, the daughter of Stephen and Letitia (Saville) Palmer. Stephen House Palmer was born in Monroe county, New York, January 29, 1824. Letitia W. Saville was born in Centerville, Wayne county, Indiana, September 13, 1828. They now reside at Holloway, Michigan. The Judge and his wife are active and influ- ential members of the Christian church, of which ecclesiastical body he is a deacon. For three years he was president of the Indiana State Union of Christian Endeavor, and he is still a member of the state committee of that body, and one of the vice-presidents of the World's Christian Endeavor Union, his term expiring in 1900. He was for thirteen years superintendent of the Kokomo Sunday-school of his church. The school had an average attendance of four hundred and thirty-six for a period of six years. He resigned his position there on account of the pressure of the state work upon his time and attention.
M AURICE WINFIELD .- On the roster of Indiana's able jurists is found the name of Judge Maurice Winfield, who has gained distinctive pre- ferment in the legal profession. The reason is not far to seek. Advance- ment in the "learned professions " depends entirely upon merit; and the intellectual vigor, analytical power and argumentative ability of the Judge have gained him a leading place in the ranks of the fraternity.
New York has sent out her gifted sons into all parts of the Union, and our subject is one of these. He was born in Ulster county, of the Empire state, on the 27th of January, 1841, and is a son of Zenas and Mary (Ter- williger) Winfield. In the common schools he acquired his early education, and at the age of fourteen entered the academy in Montgomery, Orange county, New York, where close application enabled him to complete the preparatory course in a little less than a year. Entering Princeton College, in the fall of 1860, he was graduated in the class of 1865, having been forced to relinquish his studies for an entire year on account of ill health. How- ever, he completed the regular four-years course and won special honors for his proficiency in Greek.
35
CASS, MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON COUNTIES.
In April, 1865, he came to Logansport, where for one year he was engaged in teaching in the Presbyterian Academy. Predilection led him into the study of law, and, under the guidance of Judge Horace P. Biddle, he pursued a course of reading which fitted him for the bar, and he entered upon his professional career in 1867. Possessing the advantages of a colle- giate education, and having a studious nature and a keenly analytical mind, it is not strange that Judge Winfield soon won success at the bar. He dem- onstrated his ability in several well conducted litigated interests and from that time has enjoyed a liberal clientage. He prepares his cases with great thoroughness and care, and never loses sight of an available point that will enhance the interests of his clients. His arguments are forceful, clear and convincing, and his deductions follow in logical sequence.
In his political associations Judge Winfield is a Democrat, but prefers the triumph of principle to the domination of party. In 1882 he was elected judge of the circuit court and two years later assumed the duties on the bench. For five years he acceptably served in that position, and his decis- ions were a full embodiment of the law applicable to the litigated points, and were entirely free from judicial bias. Resigning, he at length resumed the practice of law, and his enviable reputation with the public and the profession is most creditable.
In 1868 Judge Winfield was united in marriage to Miss Jennie M. John- son, a daughter of the late William H. Johnson, one of the leading business men of Logansport. They have one son, Maurice J., a graduate of Prince- ton College, of the class of 1895, and a member of the Cass county bar. In social circles Judge Winfield occupies an enviable position, and he has a strong hold on the confidence and respect of his fellow townsmen, due not less to an irreproachable life than to recognized natural gifts.
499915
M ILTON SHIRK .- Honored and respected by all, there is no man in Peru who occupies a more enviable position than Milton Shirk in finan- cial circles, not alone on account of the brilliant success he has achieved, but also on account of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever followed. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution; and his close application
36
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
to business and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which is to-day his. It is true that he became interested in a business already established, but in controlling and enlarging such an enterprise many a man of even considerable resolute ยท purpose, courage and industry would have failed; and he has demostrated the truth of the saying that success is not the result of genius, but the outcome of a clear judgment and experience.
Milton Shirk was born in Peru, -the present place of his residence, - November 21, 1849, and is the eldest son of Elbert Hamilton Shirk, whose name is so closely interwoven with the commercial interests of Miami county as to become an integral part of its history. He, too, was a native of this state, born in Franklin county, in 1818, a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Stout) Shirk. The former came from Ohio to Indiana, and the latter from Kentucky. In boyhood the father of our subject pursued the ordinary life of the farmer's son in a country where the farms were comparatively new and the advantages limited. He attended the district school through the winter months and after he had attained his majority entered Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, where he remained for two years, studying ancient and modern languages and math- ematics. For the ensuing two years he was employed as instructor in the Rush County Seminary, in Rushville, but the commercial instinct was para- mount in his nature, and he early sought the opportunity of engaging in a vocation more congenial and at the same time more lucrative than that of teaching.
With that purpose in view Elbert H. Shirk located in Peru in 1844 and formed a partnership with John Harlan, an established merchant of the town. From that time until his death, in 1886, his career was one of unbroken prosperity and almost unparalleled success. In June, 1845, he wedded Mary Wright, of Franklin county, a lady of English descent and of rare gentleness yet strength of character. Their home life was ideal in its beauty and harmony, and exerted a strong influence over Mr. Shirk in all his future career. From that time forward the two lives were blended as one in sentiment, in purpose, in domestic tastes, in hope and enjoyment, and no other force in the carcer of Mr. Shirk had such an effect upon him as did the quiet, gentle influence of his home.
He terminated his first mercantile partnership at the end of one year, but in that time he had mastered the principles of mercantile life, and con-
37
CHASS, MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON COUNTIES.
tinued business on his own account. He studied the markets and adapted his purchases to the wants of his customers. He made money rapidly and his profits were clean. Every year witnessed an expansion of trade with corresponding enlargements of substantial wealth. He made the most of his opportunities, which he was quick to note, and at the same time did not lose sight of the possibilities of the future in the work of the present. He was sagacious and far-sighted, and this characteristic was an essential factor in his accumulation of wealth. On one occasion when he visited New York for the purpose of purchasing merchandise, he discovered in the hands of brokers a large number of depreciated land warrants, issued by the govern- ment for services rendered in the Mexican war. Having knowledge of the fertile prairies of the west and foreseeing the rapid development of new states and territories, he invested all of his cash in those land warrants, which he used at par value in the purchase of rich agricultural lands in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. These lands he exchanged at a profit with farmers who desired to go west for valuable improved farms near his home in Indiana. This was the inauguration of a series of real-estate transactions which were continued systematically through all the years that followed and contributed greatly to the colossal fortune he accumulated. While conducting these oper- ations he anticipated the phenomenal growth of Chicago by a concentration of the largest investments in that city.
In 1857 Mr. Shirk opened a private bank for deposits, which was the foundation of the strongest fiscal institution ever established in Indiana. It became the nucleus of the First National Bank of Peru, which he organized in 1864, soon after the enactment of a law by congress authorizing such banks. Although it was incorporated as the First National, it has been pop- ularly known as "Shirk's Bank." As a matter of course its founder was elected president and annually re-elected, no other name ever being con- sidered in connection with the position during his life-time. His banking operations were conducted strictly according to law, and the favorable con- ditions immediately following the war enabled the judicious banker to make large profits. In a few years hundreds of thousands of dollars were added to the surplus and invested in United States securities bearing good rates of interest. Dividends were declared and paid semi-annually with unfailing regularity, and the well established and unassailable reputation of the presi- dent for integrity, sound judgment and financiering ability brought deposits
38
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
to his bank from all sources until the aggregate sometimes amounted to ten times its capital stock; and they sustain about that ratio at the present time.
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.