USA > Indiana > Miami County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 9
USA > Indiana > Howard County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 9
USA > Indiana > Cass County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 9
USA > Indiana > Tipton County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 9
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Moses Kellar, the grandfather, was a native of Kentucky, of German descent, a farmer by occupation, had a large number of children, two of whom are yet living and one of these now eighty-two years of age, and he died in his native state at the age of about forty-five years, from sickness that he contracted on the ground of the battle of Tippecanoe, which engagement he witnessed while in the hospital there. His sickness was brought on while nursing his son. Benjamin Garr, Mr. Kellar's maternal grandfather, was a native of Virginia, of German descent, the youngest of twelve children, was a farmer, moved into Kentucky, had a large number of children, and finally died there in the state of his adoption, at the age of eighty-eight years.
Mr. Isaac H. Kellar, of this sketch, was reared on the home farm where he was born, attending the district schools and the duties of the farm, and later in life was a pupil at the high school in Kokomo and the Indiana State University at Bloomington. Arriving at the age of majority he engaged in agriculture independently and on his own account, and continued in this pur- suit, with that success that characterizes industry and good judgment, until 1891, when he engaged in the furniture business in Kokomo, first in partner- ship with M. C. Kitchen, who died in 1892. Mr. Edward B. Kellar then purchased the interest of Mr. Kitchen and the firm name became Kellar & Company. A little later Mr. Charles Kellar was associated with the firm, the name remaining the same. This company handle all kinds of fine furni- ture and are prospering in their operations, by reason of their reliable goods and reliable methods of representing them. Mr. Charles R. Kellar has charge of the undertaking department, and is an accomplished funeral director.
On the 12th day of June, 1878, Mr. Isaac H. Kellar was united in matri- mony with Miss Adda Flora Sellers, daughter of Alfred P. Sellers, and in their family they have no children excepting an adopted daughter, named Lulu. They enjoy a pleasant home at No. 177 West Mulberry street, where their many friends find a cordial welcome. Mr. and Mrs. Kellar are devoted people in religion, being members of the Christian church. Mr. Kellar is a
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member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being connected with Kokomo Lodge, No. 133, Kokomo Encampment, No. 61, and with the lodge of Daughters of Rebekah, to which Mrs. Kellar also belongs. Both also belong to the Tribe of Ben Hur. Politically Mr. Kellar is a believer in the principles promulgated by the Democratic party.
The subject of the foregoing sketch is a thorough business man, and by his affable and genial manners and straightforward dealing has built up a large and rapidly increasing business. The firm has two large rooms filled with the handsomest designs of furniture, and are ready to supply anything in their line on a very short notice.
TUDGE ALBERT COLE .- From early pioneer days the life of Judge J Cole was inseparably connected with the history of Miami county, and he exercised a potent influence in the development and advancement of Peru. He was of early New England stock, his ancestry being traced back to his grandfather, Stephen Cole, who located in Farmington, Connecticut, and died in Kensington of the same state, in 1777. In the latter city Judge Cole was born on the 13th of May, 1790, his father being Stephen Cole, Jr., and his mother Lucy (Deming) Cole. When about twenty-two years of age Albert Cole went to the state of Louisiana, where an elder brother was liv- ing, and participated in the memorable battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815, holding a commission on that occasion. In August of the same year he returned to Connecticut, and the following September married Miss Mary Galpin.
Not long afterward Judge Cole removed with his bride to Zanesville, Ohio, where he purchased a farm and also engaged in the tanning business. In 1833 he became a resident of Goshen, Indiana, and in July, 1834, removed to Peru, where he soon formed a partnership in the mercantile busi- ness with D. R. Bearss, a connection that was maintained for about a year. Judge Cole, however, continued to engage in mercantile pursuits for a num- ber of years, and served as postmaster from 1848 until 1851. He then retired to a farm which he had purchased just north of the city, but after devoting his energies to agricultural pursuits for a time he disposed of that land and invested his capital in city property. From 1834 until his death,
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which occurred in November, 1879, he was one of the leading citizens of Peru, and was intimately connected with its growth and prosperity. He favored all measures of a progressive nature and all movements that had for their object the general welfare. His enterprise and energy were infused into many interests which proved of considerable benefit to the community, and he was also prominent in political affairs. He was elected judge in 1840, when the court was composed of a judge chosen by the state legis- lature and two associate judges, one from each county, elected by the people. He was appointed by William Henry Harrison, then president of the United States, to the position of commissioner for the distribution of surplus revenue, and in all positions which he was called upon to fill discharged his duties with marked fidelity and ability.
In 1857 Judge Cole was united in marriage to Mrs. McClany, of Zanes- ville, Ohio. His children, all of whom were born of his first marriage, were Mrs. Emma A. Bearss; Alphonzo A .; Lucy, who became the wife of Lewis D. Adkinson, and is now deceased; Mary L., who became the wife of James T. Miller, and died a number of years ago; James O., of Peru; and Ellen, wife of H. G. Fetter, also of Peru.
Alphonzo A. Cole, the elder son of the family, was born in Ohio, December 25, 1818, and was sixteen years of age at the time of the removal of the family to Peru in 1834. He was married in this city to Sarah H. Hen- ton, daughter of Benjamin and Rachel (Stinson) Henton, who were natives of Rockingham county, Virginia, and Ross county, Ohio, respectively, com- ing to Peru in 1837. Alphonzo A. Cole was a civil engineer in early life, and later studied law, following that profession until declining health compelled him to give up its practice. His death occurred in 1862, at the compara- tively early age of forty-four years. He was in all respects an exemplary citizen. For four years, beginning with 1847, he represented his county in the state legislature and was an active member of that body. He was a lawyer of superior ability and a most valued and worthy citizen whose loss to the community was widely felt. His wife, whose birth occurred in 1831, is still a resident of Peru. Their surviving children are Richard H. and Charles A. Cole. Another son, James Omar Cole, died at the age of twenty- three years.
James O. Cole, of Peru, the younger son of Judge Albert Cole, was born December 23, 1828, and was in his sixth year when the family emigrated to 6
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Miami county and took up their residence among the pioneers of this locality. He received such educational advantages as were then afforded by the schools of Peru, and remained in his adopted city until the discovery of gold in Cal- ifornia, when he made his way to the Pacific slope, remaining in the mining districts of the Golden state until 1867, when he returned to Peru. He is one of the successful capitalists of the city and since that time has been prominently identified with the business interests of this place, promoting many enterprises which have not only added to his individual prosperity but have also advanced the general prosperity as well. Mr. Cole was married to Miss Rachel Henton, daughter of Sylvester Henton, and her death occurred July 2, 1890. His present wife was formerly Bessie Labont, and his chil- dren, born of the first marriage, are Lewis, of Peru, and Kate, wife of F. S. Porter, also of this city.
C C. WILLITS, a farmer who is a representative and early settler of Howard township, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, December 25, 1827, brought up on a farm and educated in the common schools. His par- ents, William W. and Mary (Fix) Willits, natives of Virginia and of English descent, were married in Wayne county, where Mr. Willits improved a farm and finally died, in 1850. All his life was devoted to agricultural pursuits, and in his character he was an upright, reverential man, but never attached to any church. In politics he was a Republican, but never aspired to office. Of his ten children, three died young and one has died since attaining years of maturity. The living are: Waldo, C. C., Ira L., Ellen, Vashti, Matilda and Sarah.
Mr. Willits, the subject proper of this sketch, grew to manhood in Wayne county, this state, where he was married, and after that event rented a farin one season, and in 1853 came to this county and purchased the land whereon he yet resides. At that time there was a small house upon it and a limited area cleared. Some roads were cut through in the vicinity but they were full of stumps. All the farms in this section of the state were very small, sprinkled through the wilderness at considerable distances apart like oases in a desert. Fever and ague was at every house, and Mr. Willits made his calculations on shaking every year. Even to remain in the country
CASS. MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON COUNTIES.
required considerable nerve. Many people returned east, and many would have gone with them had they even the means or strength to travel. Hard work and ague stared everybody in the face. Mr. Willits outlived that dreadful period, however, holding himself down to the land he had chosen for his home. This place, which is on the pike six miles east of Kokomo, now comprises one hundred and seventy acres of land, of which one hundred and forty acres are ditched and tiled, cleared and in a good state of cultiva- tion. On the place there are also a commodious two-story frame house, a large barn and outbuildings, orchard, etc.
In 1852 Mr. Willits was married to Miss Mary Warman, a lady of intelli- gence and refinement and of an honored pioneer family. She was a daugh- ter of Enoch and Mary (Brockmyer) Warman, of German descent. The Warman family came from Virginia to this state when the Indians were still prowling about in these woods and when all the white settlers kept them- selves within ready reach of the block house. Mr. Warman, a farmer and stockman, died in Wayne county, this state, in 1838. In his politics he was a Democrat. In his family were the following named children: Joshua, Eliza, Thomas, Frank, Enoch, Sarah, Mary (wife of Mr. Willits), Amanda and Catherine. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Willits are: Omar, a farmer; Mrs. Kate A. Toby, and Alice, unmarried. The parents in their religion are members of the "Church of God." Politically, Mr. Willits was a Repub- lican until the campaign of 1896, when he voted for " free silver."
Mr. and Mrs. Willits left the comforts of old Wayne and came to this new and wild country to fight the battle of life together, met all difficulties, experienced many privations and hardships, survived attacks of disease and sickness, and victory is theirs. As the poet Young says, " some start aright, but the black blast blows hard and puffs them wide of hope;" but the family of which we write reached their goal, a happy home surrounded with the comforts of civilization. They have a beautiful and fertile farm, in a beauti- ful and fertile section of " God's country."
W ILLIAM W. LOCKWOOD, the editor and proprietor of the Peru Republican, of Peru, Indiana, is a native of Preble county, Ohio, born December 24, 1835. The Lockwood family is of English origin and was planted on American soil by Robert Lockwood, who emigrated from England
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and took up his residence in the colony of Massachusetts in 1730. The paternal grandfather of our subject, William Lockwood, was born in Dela- ware in 1773, and in 1827 emigrated to Preble county, Ohio, where his death occurred the year following. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Phœbe Dingle, was also a native of Delaware, born in 1775, and died in Ohio in 1840. Their son, George W. Lockwood, was born in Sussex county, Dela- ware, in 1809, and married Belinda Jackson, whose birth occurred in Preble county, Ohio, in 1813. The former met his death by accident in 1837, and the latter died in the county of her nativity in 1840.
The subject of this review is the elder of two brothers, and because of the early death of his parents he was reared by relatives. In his tenth year he came to Miami county, Indiana, with his uncle, Daniel D. Lockwood, and attended the common schools of the neighborhood, afterward supple- menting his early educational privileges by a brief course of study in Wabash College. In 1862 he enlisted in Company E, Eighty-sixth Regiment of Indi- ana Volunteers, and served until the close of the war. From 1865 until 1867 he was employed in the Indianapolis post-office, and in the latter year turned his attention to educational work, successfully engaging in teaching until 1878. His ability in that direction was acknowledged by all who had occasion to observe his work in the school-room, and he has always been a warnı friend of the cause of education, doing all in his power to promote the interests of the schools and extend their field of usefulness.
Mr. Lockwood has been identified with the interests of Peru since 1878, in which year he came to Miami county and purchased a half interest in the Peru Republican, to the editing of which he has since devoted his energies. He has made it an excellent journal, keeping abreast in all particulars with the progress that has been made in the "art preservative of arts," and his con- stantly growing subscription list indicates the favorable opinion of the public. He advocates through its columns the measures of the Republican party, for he has always been a stalwart and zealous advocate of that great political organization since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1 860.
On the 28th of December, 1869, Mr. Lockwood was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Waite, daughter of Sullivan and Margaret (Woods) Waite. She was born in Allen township, Miami county, February 24, 1848, and by her marriage has become the mother of ten children, six sons and four
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daughters. As they have arrived at a suitable age they have been given excellent educational advantages to fit them for life's responsible duties, and several are graduates of the De Pauw University. The eldest, Charles W., is assistant editor of the Republican. George B. is the present private sec- retary for Congressman Steele, and while in Washington is the Indiana cor- respondent for the American Press Association. The others in order of birth are Margaret H., William W., Florence B., Arthur S., Albert L., Edward H., Mary and Dorothy.
Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Lockwood is a valued representative of the Masonic frater- nity of Peru, and of the Grand Army Post, and is a charter member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, of Peru.
B ENJAMIN D. BRADFIELD, M. D .- Back to stanch old Irish stock does Dr. Bradfield trace his lineage, and that in his character abide those sterling qualities which have ever marked the true type of the Irish nation, is manifest when we come to consider the more salient points in his life history, which has been one marked by consecutive industry and invin- cible spirit, which have eventuated inost naturally in securing him a position in the respect and esteem of his fellow-men. The Doctor was born in county Cork, Ireland. July 9, 1850, and is one of a family of six children whose parents were Thomas G. and Mary (Dean) Bradfield, also natives of county Cork. The father came to Logansport, Indiana, in 1850, and was placed in charge of forty-two miles of the Wabash & Erie canal, Logans- port being a midway station on that part of the water-way. He continued in that position for seven years and then removed to a farm south of Logansport, where he carried on agricultural pursuits until his death. In early life he was a civil engineer. He died in 1893. at the age of seventy-six years, and his wife passed away in 1894, at the age of eighty-three years. Of their family of six children all were born on the Emerald Isle with the exception of the youngest.
It was during his infancy that Dr. Bradfield was brought to America, and in Cass county, Indiana, he was reared to manhood. His elementary education was acquired in the common schools near his home and later he
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attended a Presbyterian academy in Logansport, followed by a course in the Logansport high school, in which he was graduated with the class of 1873, He immediately continued his education by pursuing a professional course to fit him for the responsible duties of life, and in 1877 he was graduated in the medical department of the University of Michigan. He began the prac- tice of medicine in Deer Creek, Indiana, and in 1891 he pursued a post- graduate course of study in the Chicago Policlinic, after which he located in Logansport, where he has since enjoyed a large and constantly increasing practice. He is a member of the Cass County Medical and the State Med- ical Associations, and constant reading and study keeps him well abreast of the times and familiarizes him with the progress that is continually being made in the line of his profession.
Socially Dr. Bradfield is affilated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias fraternity. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy, and from 1881 until 1885 he was township trustee of Washington township, Carroll county, while during President Cleveland's second administration he was a member of the Cass county board of pension examiners, serving as president thereof. In 1878 he married Miss Mariette Carney, a member of an hon- ored and respected old family of Cass county, and they now have four living children, two sons and two daughters. As a citizen, no one in Logansport stands higher than the Doctor. Upright and reliable, he commands the respect of all and is known as a supporter of all measures for the public good.
D AVID IRWIN, the energetic, efficient and popular city clerk of Peru, is a native of this city, born January 27, 1847. His parents, Hezekiah and Matilda (Coughenour) Irwin, natives of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, settled in Peru in 1845, more than half a century ago, emigrating to this place by the primitive methods of travel, crossing the Alleghanies in the old-time stage coach, coming down the Ohio river and up the Mississippi to Galena, then by stage coach to Logansport, this state, and from that point to Peru on a canal packet. Although this place was their destination when they left Pennsylvania, they seemed to be disappointed with first appearances here, and Mr. Irwin concluded to look further before determining on a place of
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settlement. Accordingly, he and his wife continued their journey to north- western Ohio; but, finding themselves no better pleased with what they saw there, they began to entertain a desire to return to the old home in the Key- stone state. Before undertaking a trip so tedious and expensive, Mrs. Irwin concluded that it would be better to return to Peru, which, accordingly, they did, and made it their home during the remainder of their lives. Mr. Irwin was born November 1, 1815, was a plasterer by trade, and some of the work he did half a century ago still remains as samples of the permanent quality of his material and thoroughness of execution. His death occurred Novem- ber 10, 1860, and his wife survived for more than thirty years, passing away in 1893. They were married in 1845, but a short time before they started on their long journey to the wilds of the west. They became the parents of four children, of whom David is the eldest. Carrie, the second born, is the wife of John Weist, of Huntington, Indiana. William, the next in order of age, was accidentally killed by a railroad train at Anoka, Indiana, a number of years ago. Samuel, the youngest, is a resident of Peru.
David Irwin, in his boyhood, attended the public school of Peru, when the facilities for education were very meagre compared with those of the present day. After growing up he conducted a meat market for many years, having learned the business of Henry Mack, long since deceased. In 1894 he was elected city clerk of Peru, and has proved a careful and efficient officer. In politics he is a Democrat; he is a worthy member of the fraternal orders of Odd Fellows and of the United Workmen.
September 28, 1876, he was married to Miss Emma N. Stigleman. He has a son (by a former marriage, however), named Harry, who was born Jan- uary 27, 1872.
JUDGE SAMUEL DAVIS, a retired merchant of Kokomo and one of the J best and favorably known citizens of Howard county, is a native of Ohio, born in Miami county, near the village of Milton, August 2, 1813.
His father, John Davis, was a native of Georgia, and his mother, whose name before marriage was Lydia Coate, was a native of South Carolina; and they were married in Miami county, Ohio, about 1809, as Quakers, as they were members of the Society of Friends. They had four sons and one daughter, namely: Henry, who died in Colorado on the very day he was
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eighty years old; Samuel, the subject of this sketch; Isaac, who died in June 1897, in Miami county, Ohio, at eighty years of age or more; Jonathan, now living in Miami county, Ohio, at Laura post-office, and over eighty years of age; and Mary, who died in middle life in Ohio, the wife of Eli Hoover.
Mr. John Davis was a farmer by occupation. He accompanied his father in the emigration from Georgia to Miami county, Ohio, in 1803, while the Indians were still in the vicinity. His father settled upon a tract of six hundred and forty acres, which they proceeded to clear and bring into culti- vation. John Davis, to whom his father had given one hundred and sixty acres, also entered an eighty-acre tract, and, having married a lady who had land, they were in a condition to accumulate considerable property. This lady, the mother of the Judge, our subject, died in 1826, when our subject was thirteen years of age. About 1834 or '35 Mr. Davis married again, tak- ing this time Mrs. Elizabeth Elleman, whose name before marriage was Hay- worth, and by this marriage there were.two children, both of whom are now deceased.
Abiathar Davis, grandfather of our subject, was a native of Pennsyl- vania and a Quaker. Emigrating to Georgia he enjoyed considerable thrift in that state, accumulated land, and married; but, being opposed to slavery, he sold out his interests there and removed to Ohio. He had four sons and five daughters.
Henry Coate, the maternal grandfather of Judge Davis, was a native of South Carolina, who moved to Ohio from the south on account of the evil of slavery. He was a farmer and manufacturer of sickles, enjoyed prosperity, married three times, and had a large number of children.
Judge Davis, with whose name we began this biographical outline, grew up to manhood in Miami county, Ohio. His early schooling was received in the old-time subscription schools, when the teachers " boarded around. " He afterward studied grammar, after night, and read law, in company with John P. Greer, whom he afterward aided in his legal studies and in obtain- ing for him the office of minister plenipotentiary to Mexico. It was while a . young man that he had to work hard and economize. Always energetic, rather than be idle and spend what he happened to have, he cut cord-wood, even when he could get but twenty cents per cord for cutting. In Mont- gomery county he worked for wages as low as six and a fourth cents a day.
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He worked and saved money at twelve and a half to twenty-five cents a day, a part of the time in a brick-yard, until he had earned $102. 50, with which he started to the land office at Cincinnati, distant from Milton about seventy miles, on foot, through the mud, in the spring of the year, and entered eighty acres of land. He paid one hundred dollars for his land and returned home, with only eighteen cents in his pocket! He made the trip in advance of a man who rode there on horseback for the same purpose.
While studying law he began to clerk in a store, and in the fall of 1836 commenced business for himself, in Darke county, Ohio, and later moved to his native town, Milton, where he was engaged in general merchandising for a number of years. Next he moved to Tippecanoe City, in the same county (Miami), where he continued in mercantile business.
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