USA > Indiana > Miami County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 5
USA > Indiana > Howard County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 5
USA > Indiana > Cass County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 5
USA > Indiana > Tipton County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 5
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In the management of his mercantile interests Mr. Shirk exhibited great wisdom in the selection of his employees. He was rarely mistaken in his estimate of the honesty and capacity of a boy. His confidence was seldom or never misplaced. Among the boys whom his intuitive judgment selected was George C. Miller, who entered his store in 1862, was trained in all the departments and details of the business and entrusted with responsibility. In 1873 he was admitted to a partnership and in a few years became manager of the store. His success as a managing merchant is due to the impression made on his youthful mind by the counsel, example and sympathy of his employer. Mr. Shirk's business enterprises were essentially of three classes, banking, mercantile and real estate. He knew every detail of merchandising as a buyer and seller. He was familiar with the theory and practice of banking; in a word he was a broad-minded, far-seeing financier with great mental grasp and remarkable penetration. Had he lived and operated in New York or Chicago his fortune would probably have been far greater, and the achievement would have been less marvelous than the one that crowned his forty years' residence in Peru.
He believed in humanity and maintained a high standard of morality. To those who knew him best his life was much more than a financial success. In politics he was a Whig and Republican, and was always informed on the issues of the day, but left to others the management of party affairs and the contest for official preferment. He was a member of the Baptist church, observant of Christian duties and liberal in his contributions to church and charitable work. When the congregation of which he was a member under- took to build a commodious house of worship he paid half the cost. It is a pleasing commentary on the influence of good example that his family later contributed one-half the cost of the superb edifice built by the same con- gregation in 1894.
Mr. Shirk was rather slight and apparently frail physically, but his nerv- ous energy and will-power were very great. His cordiality and courtesy were unfailing, and his self-control was perfect. His home life was ideal; when he crossed his threshold he put aside all business cares and anxieties and entered heartily into the delights of his own fireside. He delighted to entertain his friends and his hospitality was 'most generous and pleasing.
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After a long, useful and honorable life, he passed away April 8, 1886, and his wife, surviving him several years, died in August, 1894. The surviving members of the family are two sons and two daughters.
Milton Shirk, the eldest, was trained in the details of banking and suc- ceeded his father as president of the First National Bank. His educational advantages were such as the public schools afforded, supplemented by thorough business discipline under his father. In 1867, when but eighteen years of age, he entered the bank of which he is now president, and was soon afterward made cashier, while on the death of his father he succeeded to the presidency, becoming a worthy successor of that able financier. Under the wise management of the son the estate has largely increased in value and the bank is in a most flourishing condition. Milton Shirk is a public-spirited and progressive citizen and occupies a conspicuous place among the representa- tive men of Peru and Miami county. On the 6th of June, 1868, he married Miss Ella Walker, daughter of Hon. Joseph H. Walker, of Worcester, Mas- sachusetts, and they have two sons, -Elbert Walker and Joseph Henry.
Alice Shirk, the elder daughter, was married January 1, 1880, to R. A. Edwards, then professor of English literature in Knox College, of Gales- burg, Illinois, and now cashier of the bank. Their children are Richard Elbert, Milton Arthur, Mary Alice, Clara Ellen and Florence Esther. The younger son, Elbert W. Shirk, married the only daughter of John W. Mur- phy, the oldest wholesale dry-goods inerchant of Indianapolis. He is vice- president of the First National Bank, of Peru, although a resident of Chi- cago, where he has large business interests, including the presidency of a trust company.
C HARLES OGLETHORPE FENTON .- The general public takes great pleasure in following the history of a young man who has started out in his life's career handicapped in innumerable ways, without capital or influen- tial friends, and who, notwithstanding all these obstacles, pushes manfully toward the goal of success which he has set before him. Such a man is the one whose name heads this article, and who is now well and favorably known as the editor and proprietor of the Times, published in Logansport, Indiana. In alınost every respect he is self-made and self-educated; and too much
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credit cannot be given him for the brave and manly way in which he has over- come difficulties that would have made the spirit of most men despondent.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was David Fenton, who was born in Newville, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, January 4, 1798, and in early manhood moved to Ohio, settling in Mantua township, Portage county. David Fenton's father was Samuel Fenton, who came from Ireland when five years of age. His wife was Ann Shannon and they had thirteen children, -eleven sons and two daughters,-the names of the latter being Ann and Polly.
After a busy and useful life spent chiefly at the carpenter's trade and in agricultural pursuits, David Fenton was summoned to his reward, May 9, 1874, at his home in Streetsboro, Ohio. He married Emily Dunscomb, who was born at Wethersfield, that state, July 31, 1801, and died April 1, 1864. Their son Green, father of C. O. Fenton, was born on the old homestead in Mantua township, December 23, 1829, and upon arriving at mature years chose for his companion and helpmate along the journey of life, Miss Louisa Frost, who was born in the same neighborhood, March 12, 1834, a daughter of John and Elvira (Kellogg) Frost, and as children they were constant play- mates and friends. Mrs. Fenton, who died January 16, 1886, was the mother of nine children, of whom all but two survive, our subject being the fourth child.
Charles O. Fenton's birth occurred January 31, 1863, in the same house in which his mother had been born about thirty years previously. The farm on which this house stands is called the " old John Frost place." When he was an infant the parents of our subject removed to Ravenna township, in the same county, and later settled in the township of Streetsboro, also in Portage county. Before he was twelve years old our hero started out from home and for about eighteen months lived with his mother's sister (nick- named " Aunt Tip"), wife of R. O. Halstead, at that time residing upon the farm before mentioned as the "John Frost place." Then for three years or more the lad worked by the month for farmers in the immediate neighbor- hood of his old home in Streetsboro, attending school during the winters, doing chores nights and mornings and working Saturdays for his board and lodging. He made progress in his studies, and, after he had spent a few weeks in the public school in Ravenna in the autumn of 1880, he applied for position as district-school teacher. Successful in his endeavor, he conducted
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the school in his old home district that winter, after which he found employ- ment in a cheese factory carried on by Frank Hurd, near Shalersville Center, Ohio.
Having a desire to see something of the world outside the narrow bound- aries of his own county, he next engaged as book agent for the Central Pub- lishing House, of Cincinnati, and during the succeeding eighteen months travelled in West Virginia, Tennessee and Texas. Upon returning home he resumed his interrupted work as teacher and was in charge of district schools at Mantua Corners, Streetsboro Corners and Twinsburg, Ohio. June 14, 1883, he completed a commercial course in the Northwestern Ohio Normal School, at Ada.
In 1885 he came to Logansport, arriving April 17, with the purpose of further perfecting his education, and met with a sad disappointment. He had been offered his board, room rent and tuition and his general expenses by two proprietors of the American Normal College, in return for which opportunity to finish his college course he was promised a position as editor of a local school paper to be connected with the institution; but upon his arrival here teachers' agency circulars were issued in his name and he found himself obliged to take his choice of two courses, -either to engage in what he regarded as dishonorable work or to entrust his case to the mercy of the Fates, three hundred miles from home, among strangers and with scarcely a dollar in his pocket; and he did not hesitate to choose the latter.
During the following winter Mr. Fenton taught school in Harrison town- ship, Pulaski county, Indiana; then had charge of the Stone school in Clinton township, Cass county, and in the spring of 1888 finished a term at Clymer's Station school, also in Clinton township. The intervals of his work he industriously improved by pursuing his studies at the Amercian Normal College, his last week here being at the head of the commercial department of the institution. For the last six months of his course his forenoons were given to editorial work and reporting for the Logansport Times, for the " munifi- cent " salary of just one dollar per week! May 28, 1888, he purchased the journal of a stock company, paying and assuming nearly a thousand dollars, -the owners, however, receiving cash on the spot. This was an important undertaking for the young man, for, added to all the rest, he had had no practical business experience, very little as a writer, and none whatever as manager of a newspaper or printing establishment. It was a doubtful
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experiment, as he himself afterward realized; but, to the surprise of every one, he has made a remarkable success of the enterprise, and the time of uncertainty as to the result has long since passed. The paper is considered one of the leading periodicals published in Logansport, and its high standing speaks well for the owner and manager. He is painstaking and accurate, and scrupulously prompt in his financial obligations.
Though his father and relatives were all affiliated with the Democratic party, Mr. Fenton had never voted that ticket. Had he been of age at the time, he would have voted for Garfield, and his first presidential ballot was cast for Blaine, but for twelve years he has given his energies to the Prohibition party, and its policy is advocated by the paper which he edits.
When teaching in Harrison township, Pulaski county, this state, Mr. Fenton boarded in the family of S. R. Tyler, whose daughter, Carrie B. he married May 28, 1887; they have one child, born August 17, 1888, named Sagie Velle. The maiden name of Mrs. Fenton's mother was Roxie V. Usher, she being a niece of John P. Usher, secretary of the interior in President Lincoln's cabinet.
EANDER DEWEES, M. D .- The medical profession of Howard county. L Indiana, includes among its ranks Dr. Leander Dewees, whose location is at Hemlock, where he stands in high repute both as a physician and citizen.
Dr. Dewees was ushered into life in Preble county, Ohio, January 15, 1847, and is a son of David B. and Hannah (Hartley) Dewees, the latter of Penn- sylvania-Dutch descent and the former descended from Virginia ancestors. Mr. and Mrs. Dewees were born, reared and married in Ohio, and made two moves to Indiana. On coming here the first time they settled at Richmond, Wayne county. Their stay, however, was not long, and they soon returned to Ohio. In 1854, coming to Indiana again, they took up their abode in Morgan county, near Monrovia, where Mr. Dewees improved a farm and where he spent the rest of his days, successfully engaged in agricultural pur- suits. He died in 1883. His widow is now seventy-five years of age and makes her home with her son at Tipton. She has long been a faithful mem- ber of the Friends' church, to which he also belonged. Mr. Dewees was twice married. By his first wife, whose maiden name was Rachel Kirby, he
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had four children, namely: Thomas, who is engaged in farming in Missouri; Isaac, deceased; William, a farmer; and Hannah, now the wife of F. G. Cooper. The children of his second marriage are: Leander, whose name appears at the head of this review; S. E., Oklahoma; J. A., deceased; H. G., who is engaged in the milling business in Illinois; J. C., a traveling man; A. J., a resident of Plainfield, Indiana; Rachel, wife of A. Harvey; R. M., a mail clerk; and R. N., engaged in farming.
Leander's education, begun in the common schools, was carried forward in Earlham College, Richmond. Indiana. He was reared on the farm and was engaged in farming up to the time he was thirty-five years of age, with the exception of time spent in the army. In June, 1862, when in his sixteenth year, he enlisted in the Union army for three months' service. In October of that year he was honorably discharged, and the following year he re-en- listed, becoming a member of the Seventieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Benjamin Harrison's regiment, and continued in service until the close of the war. He was honorably discharged August 5, 1865, and was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky. At Resaca he was wounded in the face and neck, but soon recovered. This, however, was followed by a siege of typhoid fever, and he was for some time in the hospital. During all his service he was never captured.
Mr. Dewees began the study of medicine under the instructions of Dr. Harvey and Dr. Horton, of Monrovia. For two terms he was a student in the Kentucky School of Medicine, at Louisville, that state, of which institu- tion he is a graduate. Immediately after his graduation he began the prac- tice of his profession at Monrovia, his home, a short time afterward removed to Phlox, Howard county, where he spent one year, and since 1896 he has been at Hemlock. Here he has already established a nice practice and is meeting with well deserved success.
Dr. Dewees has been twice married. In 1871 he wedded Miss Sarah Thompson, who was born and reared near Monrovia, Indiana, daughter of George P. Thompson. Mr. Thompson was a native of North Carolina, who ·came to Indiana in pioneer days and settled in Morgan county, where he carried on farming the rest of his life and where he died. Mrs. Sarah Dewees died in 1889. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1891 the Doctor married Miss Nancy Hornaday, daughter of William and Abigail (Stafford) Hornaday. Mr. Hornaday also was a North Carolinan.
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He settled at Monrovia, Indiana, where he was a farmer and blacksmith, and where he ranks with the substantial and respected citizens of his locality. Mrs. Dewees is the youngest of a family of six, the others being Mary, wife of T. Staton; Ruth, wife of D. W. Overton; Ora, unmarried; D. H., a black- smith; and Viola. By a former marriage Mr. Hornaday has one son, T. B., a resident of Wichita, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Hornaday are Methodists. Dr. and Mrs. Dewees have two children: Kenneth, five years of age; and Herbert K., five months old.
The Doctor was reared in the Friends' church and is a consistent mem- ber of the same, as also is his wife. Politically, he is a Republican, and has served in some local offices, such as township trustee of Monroe township, Morgan county. He maintains fraternal relation with the Masonic order, I. O. O. F. and G. A. R., and is a member of two medical organizations, -the Indiana State Medical Society and the Howard County Medical Society.
UDGE JOHN MITCHELL .- The inevitable law of destiny accords to J tireless energy and industry a successful career, and in no field of endeavor is there greater opportunity for advancement than in that of the law, -a pro- fession whose votaries must, if successful, be endowed with native talent, sterling rectitude of character and singleness of purpose; while equally impor- tant concomitants are close study, careful application and broad general knowledge, in addition to that of a more purely technical order. Judge Mitchell fully meets all these requirements of his chosen profession, and stands to-day among the most distinguished and able members of the bar of northern Indiana.
A work of this character, circumscribed by essential limits, cannot give in detail the life record of such a man as the subject of this review, interest- ing though it would be, but the historian desires to present to the readers of this volume in strong outlines the character of the man and his accomplish- ments, knowing that it will prove of interest to his many friends and be of value as a memorial to those of future generations. The Judge was born in Bristol, England, September 24, 1829, and is of German and English lineage. His father, Samuel Mitchell, was born in Breslau, Germany, February 12, 1790, and having arrived at military age when Napoleon was overrunning Europe with his conquering armies, he joined the Prussian forces organized.
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to resist the encroachments of the French emperor, and at the siege of May- ence on the Rhine was severely wounded and taken prisoner. After his release by the French he was honorably discharged from the Prussian army on account of his wounds, and when he had partially recovered he went to England. He remained there, however, but a short time, crossing the Atlantic to America in 1809, when but nineteen years of age. After three months spent in Norfolk, Virginia, and six months in Halifax, he embarked for England on a sailing vessel and was a resident of London at the time the memorable battle of Waterloo was fought, after which he saw the victorious commander of the English forces, the Duke of Wellington, together with several other famous generals of the allied powers on their return to Great Britain. Samuel Mitchell was married in Bristol, England, in October, 1828, to Elizabeth Maria Heness, a native of that place and a representative of a well known family of Sussex.
In 1832, having decided to make his home in America, he again embarked for the New World, leaving his family to follow when he should have deter- mined upon a favorable location. He first made his home near Philadelphia, and worked at his trade of tailoring. In November, 1833, his wife with their two children, John and Helen, joined the husband and father in their new home. A daughter, Fanny Barnes Mitchell, was born at the home near Philadelphia, and died at the age of five years. Another daughter, Caroline Louisa, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania. The two sisters, Helen and Caroline, are residents of Peru, and, together with the Judge, they con- stitute the surviving members of the family of Samuel Mitchell.
In September, 1839, the parents with their family removed to Wayne county, Indiana, and four years later, October 2, 1843, became residents of Peru. The wife and mother passed away May 5, 1874, at the age of seventy years, her birth having occurrred in March, 1804, and the husband and father, who survived her only a short time, died in January, 1875, at the age of eighty-five years. Samuel Mitchell was an energetic and successful business man, and possessed exceptionally pleasing social qualities. His opportunities for education in his youth were limited, but he had a wide knowledge of the world, and reading and observation largely compensated for his lack of early educational advantages. In his political affiliations he was a Democrat and believed emphatically in the principles of that party as embodied in the teach- ings of Jefferson and Jackson. Believing that the principle of slavery was
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entirely wrong, he opposed the practice of holding the negroes in bondage and adhered to the Union when its destruction was threatened by the south. He was an attendant on the services and a liberal supporter of the Episcopal church, of which all of his family are devout members. His home, as is that of the Judge, was always the abiding place of the bishops on their visits to this part of the diocese, and among these was the famous Bishop Kemper of beloved memory. In all respects he was a most worthy and esteemed citi- zen, and his loss to the community was deeply felt.
Judge Mitchell, the only son of the family, accompanied his parents on their various removals, and in Wayne county, Indiana, was for some time a pupil of Professor Samuel K. Houshour, a famous educator of that day. At Peru his preceptor was the scholarly Godfrey B. Pampell, of Strausberg, Germany, who in his early youth was made permanently lame by being run over by a troop of Napoleon's cavalry as they galloped through the streets of his native city. Under such able instructors Judge Mitchell made consider- able progress in his studies and laid an excellent foundation on which to raise the superstructure of professional knowledge in later life. He learned the tailor's trade with his father and followed that occupation for fourteen and a half years. In the meantime he entered upon the study of law, devoting his spare moments to the acquirement of knowledge that would enable him to enter his chosen profession. In 1861 he was elected justice of the peace and this stimulated his desire to become a member of the bar, so that he continued the study of law with renewed ardor and was admitted to practice in November, 1862. On the Ist of December, 1863, he entered into part- nership with Hon. Harvey J. Shirk, and with the exception of a short inter- val this relation was maintained until the death of Judge Shirk, on the 12th of September, 1889. In October, 1872, Mr. Mitchell was elected common- pleas judge of the twenty-fifth judicial district of Indiana, comprising the counties of Cass, Miami and Pulaski, and served in that capacity until the court was abolished by act of the legislature in March, 1873. He then resumed the private practice of law and his partnership with Judge Shirk. After the death of the latter he was alone in practice until September 10, 1894, when he took into partnership William B. McClintic, son-in-law of Judge Shirk. 'On the Ist of January, 1896, the present firm of Mitchell, Antrim & McClintic was formed, and still continues, holding marked prestige among the law firms of this part of the state.
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On the 24th of February, 1859, Judge Mitchell married Miss Caroline R. Foote, who passed away September 16, 1883. Two sons and two daughters were born of that marriage, one of whom, John Foote, died at the age of nine years. The others are Emily M., Samuel Carter and Mary Foote. On the 3d of October, 1888, the Judge wedded Ellen Shields, his present wife, who in connection with her husband extends the hospitality of their pleasant home to a very large circle of friends.
Judge Mitchell has ever taken a commendable interest in whatever tends to promote the welfare of the community in which he lives, is a warm friend of the cause of education and for eight years served as president of the school board of Peru, in which time he did very effective service in advancing the standard of the schools. He has served as attorney of the First National Bank of the city since 1863, and his long connection therewith indicates his strict fidelity to the interests of his clients, which is one of his most marked characteristics. His law practice has been general and of a very important character, for important litigated interests are never placed in unskilled hands. His marked ability is recognized by the public and the profession, and is the outcome of close study, thorough preparation of his cases, keen analysis of the facts and a logical application of the law that bears upon them. Before a jury or the court he throws himself easily and naturally into the argument. There is no straining after effect, but a precision and clearness in his state- ment, an acuteness and strength in his argument which indicate a mind trained in the severest school of investigation, and to which the closest rea- soning is habitual. During a long and honorable career as a lawyer and citizen, Judge Mitchell has ever had the respect and esteem of his brother members of the bar and of the community at large, and stands to-day among the honored representative men of Miami county.
M ICHAEL WENDLING, one of the most scientific and successful farm- ers of Cass county and one whose advice is greatly sought for in all branches of agriculture and stock-raising, is the worthy subject of this brief biographical account. He is a native of Alsace, France, now a part of Ger- many, born near Strasburg, August 14, 1830, a son of John and Margaret (Schini) Wendling, and was fifteen years of age when he was brought to this
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