USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 2
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 2
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 2
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 2
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 2
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 2
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 2
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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 | Part 59 | Part 60
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
college education or its equivalent without his father's aid. Becoming acquainted with some of the professors of the college, he borrowed text-books from them and educated himself. He became an excellent classical scholar and could read his Greek testament as fluently as the English. All this he accomplished while tilling a farm, and after his marriage he entered the ministry of the Christian church, in which he continued his labors until his death. He was a man of broad culture and a most devout and conscientious Christian,-one whose influence was widely felt and whose memory remains as a blessed benediction to all who knew him. He died upon the farm where he located at the time of his marriage. Sixty-one years of happy married life were allotted to Mr. and Mrs. Wiley, when the latter was called to the home beyond, passing away March 1, 1893, at the age of eighty-five. Rev. Preston P. Wiley, surviving her two years, died August 21, 1895, in his eighty-seventh year.
The Maxwell family, to which Mrs. Lucinda Wiley belonged, were Kentuckians. Her father was a slave-holder, but becoming convinced that slavery was wrong he freed his negroes at a great personal sacrifice and removed to the north, locating on a farm adjoining that of the Wiley estate. To Preston P. and Lucinda W. Wiley were born seven children: Elizabeth J. is the widow of Dr. Samuel Corbett and resides in San Francisco, California. James Edward, the second, accidentally killed himself at the age of twenty years. Susan V. is the widow of Charles Buxton and resides in Jefferson county, Indiana. Mary E. married a Mr. Edson while visiting her sister in San Francisco, but is now widowed and resides on the old parental homestead. Samuel J. died in infancy. Harvey W. was graduated from Hanover College in the same class as the Judge and afterward filled the position of professor of languages in Butler University until 1874, when he accepted the position of professor of natural sciences at the opening of Purdue University, remain- ing with that institution until 1883. In the latter year he was appointed chief chemist in the department of agriculture in Washington, D. C., which position he still fills. He is one of the noted scientists of the United States, is the author of a number of scientific works of great merit and is a lecturer of renown.
Judge Wiley, of this review, secured his collegiate education by dint of hard work and personal sacrifice. He was graduated in the classical depart- ment of Hanover College on the 20th of June, 1867, and then entered upon preparation for his life work. His professional education was equally thor- ough and practical. He entered the law office of Hon. William Wallace, of Indianapolis, a son of ex-Governor Wallace, of Indiana, and a brother of the world-renowned author of " Ben Hur,"-General Lew Wallace. Mr. Wiley pursued a carefully planned course of study, covering a period of two years,
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and spent some time in teaching school, from the proceeds of which he paid his expenses while taking a course in law in Butler University, graduating from the law department of that popular institution in May, 1873.
In October, 1874, Judge Wiley located in Fowler and has since been closely identified with the interests of Benton county. Here he formed a law partnership with Hon. David E. Straight, which was maintained, with mutual pleasure and profit, until 1888, when the Judge bought out his part- ner's interest. In March, 1875, Mr. Wiley was appointed to the office of county attorney, a position which he filled acceptably for two years. In 1882 he was elected a member of the lower house of the state legislature and ably served on various important committees, making an enviable reputation as a wise counselor and leader in Republican circles. During his entire resi- dence in Fowler he has been closely identified with the political interests of Benton county, his marked ability, sound judgment and comprehensive understanding of the political issues and needs of the country well fitting him for leadership. But the full recognition of his ability as an able attorney culminated in his election to the position of appellate judge, the honors of which office he wears with becoming modesty. He served by appointment as circuit judge from August 30, 1892, until elected to that office in Novem- ber following, and in May, 1896, he was nominated by the Republicans as candidate for judge from the fifth judicial district on the appellate bench. He then resigned his office as circuit judge in order to give the people of the district the opportunity of electing his successor on the circuit bench, rather than to have him appointed by a Democratic governor in a Republican dis- trict. In the November election of that year he was chosen appellate judge for a four-years term and is now filling that office. While in active practice Judge Wiley was regarded as one of the most prominent representatives of the profession in Indiana. Thoroughly versed in the science of jurisprudence and equally at home in every branch of the law, his defenses were able, log- ical and convincing. His arguments showed forth preparation, and he lost sight of no fact that might advance his client's interests, and passed by no available point of attack in an opponent's argument. On the bench his rul- ings are ever just, incisive and incapable of misinterpretation. With a full appreciation of the majesty of the law, he exemplifies that justice which is the inherent right of every individual, and fearlessly discharges his duties with a loyalty to principle that knows no wavering. He has the sincere respect of the entire Indiana bar, and has long occupied a place in the fore- most ranks among its distinguished members. The degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws were conferred upon Judge Wiley by Butler Col- lege, and in 1897 Hanover College conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. . In other walks of life the Judge has also attained prominence. In social
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
circles he is widely known, and is one of the leading Masons and Odd Fellows in the state. He joined the latter fraternity in 1875, has taken special interest in the work of the order from the beginning, and has been honored with some of its highest offices. He has served as grand warden, deputy grand master and as grand master in 1891-2. He was representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge in 1893-4, meeting with that body in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. There is scarcely a county in Indiana that he has not visited as a lodge official, and in many has delivered public addresses on the work of the order. In 1883 he joined the Mason fraternity, belongs to the blue lodge in Fowler, the chapter in Monticello, and the consistory in Indianapolis. He has taken the thirty-two degrees of the Scottish Rite Masonry, and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a valued member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity.
On the 6th of May, 1874, Judge Wiley was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Cole, a native of Shelby county, Indiana, and a daughter of Albert B. and Elizabeth (Ross) Cole. The family were early settlers of Shelby county, whence they removed to Noblesville, Indiana, where her father held several important county offices. Later he went to Indianapolis, where for a num- ber of years he was officially connected with Butler University. Both he and his wife died in the capital city. Four children have been born to the Judge and his wife: Carl, who is a graduate of Purdue University, and is now the official stenographer in the appellate court; Nellie E., a graduate of the high school of Fowler, now pursuing a course of music in the Metropolitan College of Music, in Indianapolis; Maxwell H., who is a student in the high school of Fowler; and Ulric, a little lad of five summers.
Strong determination, laudable ambition and great energy, -these have been the salient features in Judge Wiley's career, winning him distinction in professional and social circles. On the bench he fully sustains the majesty of the law, but in private life is a most genial, kindly gentleman, entirely approachable, and in his fellow men manifesting a genuine interest that arises from broad humanitarian principles. Honored by all for his genuine worth, Benton county is proud to claim among her citizens Ulric Zwingle Wiley.
BOLIVAR ROBB.
With perhaps a few exceptions, Bolivar Robb, of West Lebanon, Warren county, is the oldest pioneer of this county, in years of residence here. He has lived in this portion of Indiana for seventy-two years, and in Warren county since 1830, and distinctly remembers the experiences of the pioneers during the '30s and '40s, and the primitive condition of everything here, and the inevitable hardships which had to be endured. He even
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
recalls the Black Hawk war of 1832, and incidents of that notable strife with the red men - one of the last stands of that race against the oncoming tide of civilization east of the Mississippi.
Early in the eighteenth century three brothers, James, William and John Robb, emigrated from the northern part of Ireland (where they were known as Scotch-Irish) to America, and made a settlement at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is supposed that from them are descended all persons bearing the surname of Robb in this country, but from which one of the brothers our subject traces his lineage is not definitely known. The great- grandfather of the subject was one John Robb, and the grandfather was Thomas Robb, both natives of the Keystone state. The latter, born in 1767, married Elizabeth Robb, a second cousin, and in 1800, when their son William (father of our subject) was about two years old, they removed to Erie county, Pennsylvania. Eight years later they went to Washington county, Kentucky, and in 1818 they took up their abode in Brown county, Ohio, settling near Ripley, the county seat. In 1830 Mr. Robb became a resident of Washington township, in the vicinity of Williamsport, Warren county, Indiana, but three years later he continued his journey westward, and died in DeKalb county, Illinois, September 4, 1850. From principle he was strongly opposed to slavery, and the unswerving traits of integrity, justice and honor which had descended to him from his Scotch-Irish ances- tors were among his most noteworthy characteristics. He left the stern old " blue " Presbyterianism in which he and his forefathers had been reared, and until his death rejoiced in the liberty and light of the Disciples or Chris- tian church, with which he early identified himself. While he was never an aspirant to official distinction, he occupied various local positions and was a justice of the peace for years, here and further east. His first wife, Eliza- beth, died in Ohio, and Mr. Robb subsequently married Mrs. Sarah Friel, who survived him a short time. She had one son by her first marriage. Thomas and Elizabeth Robb were the parents of James and John (twins), William, Thomas, Robert, Mary, Anna and Elizabeth, all of whom have passed away. James served in the regular army of the United States for five years, and in the war of 1812 fought under the leadership of General Andrew Jackson, and later took part in the Seminole war. John also was in the war of 1812, fighting under General William H. Harrison. With the exception of Thomas, who died in youth, all of these brothers and sisters married and had families, and all except James and Thomas became resi- dents of Indiana, the former settling in Illinois and the latter dying in Ohio.
William Robb, father of Bolivar Robb, was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburg, November 10, 1798. He accompanied his par- ents to Brown county, Ohio, and there he married Abi Higinbotham, a native
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of that county, born April 14, 1806. In the spring of 1827, William Robb, in company with his brothers-in-law, Joseph S. and Joseph P. Robb, built a small flat-boat and floated down the Ohio river to the mouth of the Wabash, and thence went up this river to Covington, in what is now Fountain county. Having selected and bought a tract of land near Vederburg, William Robb returned home on foot, and in the following autumn he brought his family to the new home in the wilderness, in a one-horse wagon. The family contin- ued to reside on this homestead until March, 1830, when they removed to Warren county. Mr. Robb entered land about three-fourths of a mile west of the present court-house in Williamsport, and here he continued to dwell until his death, June 10, 1885. His venerable wife died January 5, 1899, in her ninety-third year. Politically, he was a Democrat, and three times did he fill the office of sheriff, twice being elected and once being appointed to that position. Once he was appointed to fill out the unexpired term of county clerk, and for many years he was a school director, township trustee, etc. Of his seven children, Bolivar, William W. and Howard are residents of Warren county, and Alfred lives in Tennessee. Those who have entered the silent land are Frank; Eliza Jane, who was the wife of G. W. Armstrong: and Sarah E., who married James Jones, and had a son and daughter, both now deceased.
Bolivar Robb was born April 29, 1826, in Brown county, Ohio, and was but four years old when he came to this county. Here he managed to gain a fair education in the primitive subscription schools of that period, but his advantages were meager in the extreme. When he was eighteen, his father, who had been unfortunate in business, informed him that he could give him only a team of horses with which to make a start in independent life. The young man requested and received the equivalent of the horses in money, and with this he paid his way, as far as possible, in Wabash College. He then taught for six successive winters. Schools were still carried on largely by subscription, at the rate of about two dollars a pupil, for a term, and the last winter that the young pedagogue taught he received fifty dollars for his services, and paid one dollar a week for his board and that of his horse. For thirty years he was engaged in contracting and building, and then he pur- chased the old homestead, which he managed for years and only recently sold. During Cleveland's last administration he was postmaster of West Lebanon, where he has a pleasant home, and is living practically retired. He has always been prominent in the councils of , the Democratic party of this locality. In June, 1843, he joined the Christian church of this village, and from that time to the present he has been one of the most active mem- bers, and was the first superintendent of the Sunday-school here.
On the 25th of July, 1850, Mr. Robb married Sarah A. Acus, a native
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of Iroquois county, Illinois. She died April 8, 1853, and left an infant daugh- ter who lived to the age of nine years. December 7, 1856, Mr. Robb wedded Margaret S. Crawford, and their only child, Clara Jane, married E. S. Walker, who has been commander-in-chief of the Sons of Veterans of Indi- ana. Mrs. Walker, a lovely, well educated lady, died when in her thirtieth year, and left an infant. Her loss has been deeply felt by her many sincere friends and particularly by her devoted parents, who are thus left childless in their declining years.
JUDGE JOHN M. LA RUE.
For almost half a century this prominent citizen of Lafayette has been one of the representative members of the Indiana bar, and his long service on the bench attests his popularity. He is one of the pioneers of Tippeca- noe county, and has been a witness of its development from a wilderness to its present prosperous condition. His friends and acquaintances are legion, few men in this portion of the state having more sincere well wishers. A man of broad mind and strong convictions, he has ever been the exponent of progress and advancement, and his influence has always been cast on the side of good government, reform and improvement in all lines.
As his name indicates, the Judge is of French extraction on the paternal side of his family. His grandfather, Abraham La Rue, was a native of New Jersey and was of French-Huguenot descent. He was a farmer by occupa- tion, reared several children, and died in his native state at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather of our subject was Daniel Doan, a native of Pennsylvania, as it is supposed, and of Welsh descent. He was a farmer, and was one of the pioneers of Switzerland county, Indiana. He was a sol- dier in the war of 1812. His death occurred at his home near Vevay, Switz- erland county, when he was well along in years.
The father of the Judge was Joseph La Rue, a native of New Jersey and a carpenter by trade. He removed to Hamilton county, Ohio, in his early manhood and on the 13th of September, 1830, landed in Tippecanoe county, Indiana. Here he bought a quarter section of land at the present site of Stockwell, and continued to cultivate this property for five years, at the ex- piration of which time he died, aged about forty-two years. His wife, who was born in Pennsylvania, departed this life a few years later, in 1842, at nearly the same age as her husband was at his decease. She was a devout Methodist. Of her four children but two survive. Harriet C., sister of our subject, is the widow of Dr. Carlyle, of Yellville, Arkansas.
The birth of Judge La Rue took place near the town of Harrison, Ham- ilton county, Ohio, November 24, 1826, and he was therefore but four
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
years of age when his parents removed to this state. He was left fatherless at a tender age, and his mother brought him to Lafayette in order that he might have better educational advantages. A few years later death de- prived him of her tender care and love and he went to live with his guardian, Daniel C. Stoner, who sent him to Asbury (now DePauw) University, where the ambitious young man was graduated in 1849. After he had com- pleted his sophomore year, however, he was obliged to stop and teach school for a period in order to have the requisite funds to meet his expenses. Prior to his graduation he took up the study of law, also, being indebted to Samuel A. Huff, afterward Judge Huff, for the use of the necessary law books. After passing an examination before the supreme judges of the state young La Rue was admitted to the bar, June 1, 1850, and from that time until the present has been engaged in practice in this place.
Shortly after his admission to the bar Judge La Rue was appointed by the county commissioners to the office of examiner of applicants for teachers' positions. This position he held until 1856, when he was elected, on the first Republican ticket ever placed before the public of this county, to represent this district in the lower house of the legislature, where he re- mained during one term. In the autumn of 1850 he went into partnership with B. O. Deming, under the firm name of La Rue & Deming, and this connection continued for some four years. In June, 1854, the justly cele- brated law firm of Huff, Baird & La Rue was formed, the other par- ties to the same being Judge Samuel A. Huff and Zebulon Baird, eminent members of the bar. In 1857 our subject and Daniel Royse, under the name of La Rue & Royse, entered into a business alliance which was terminated only by the enlistment of Mr. Royse in the army. Then our sub- ject practiced alone, for the most part, up to 1875, but that year he and Frank B., afterward Judge, Everett, entered upon their pleasant and profit- able association, which was severed in 1880 by the election of Mr. La Rue to the judgeship of the superior court of Tippecanoe county. He was re-elected and served in 1888, when, on account of ill health, he declined a re-election. As early as 1867 he was honored, and his genius fittingly acknowledged, by the public, in his election to the bench in the court of common pleas of Tippe- canoe county. He made a fine record and held the office until the spring of 1873. He was again chosen for high honors when, in 1875, he was selected to represent his district in the senate of Indiana and served in the sessions of 1875 and 1877; and there, as everywhere else, his ability, fidelity to the best interests of the people and ripe statesmanship, were abundantly manifested. For the past ten years he has resolutely declined public office, and has attended solely to his practice. By his energy and well directed efforts he has acquired considerable wealth, though he has never made this his object
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
in life. He owns six residence properties in this city and has a beautiful home, where he delights to extend a most cordial, hospitable welcome to the hosts of friends who have gathered around him during his long residence in this place. In his fraternal relations he is a Mason and an Odd Fellow.
September 18, 1854, Judge La Rue married Miss Mary O. Johnson, daughter of James B. and Rhoda (O'Neall) Johnson. Four children were born to that union, namely: Kate, James, John D. and Mary. James and Mary died in infancy and John D. died when in his twenty-eighth year. The only daughter married Charles Ringleben and is the mother of two children, -Frank L. and Dudley D. They reside in Logansport. Mrs. Mary O. La Rue died in 1860, in the faith of the Society of Friends, in which she had been reared. In October, 1868, the Judge married Mrs. Sarah E. Boulden, widow of Eli N. Boulden and daughter of Martin and Elizabeth Rhoads. The only child by the last marriage was Murray H., who died when a little over a year old.
P. J. WEBER.
Rev. Father Weber, the beloved pastor of St. John's Catholic church, of Earl Park, Indiana, was born in New York city, May 13, 1868, and is a son of Joseph and Regina (Angersbach) Weber, both natives of Germany, the former born in Hesse, the latter in Baden. The father died in New York city in 1868, at the age of thirty-four years, at which time he was serving as superintendent for the Singer Sewing Machine Company; but the mother is still living, at the age of sixty years, and now makes her home in Carlsruhe, Germany. The grandparents were all of German birth and lived to a great age.
The first four years of his life Father Weber spent in his native city and then accompanied his mother on her removal to Carlsruhe, Germany, where he attended the common schools and later the gymnasium, at which he was graduated at the age of eighteen years. He then went to Belgium, where he studied rhetoric for one year and philosophy for the same length of time at St. Nicholas. The following three years and a half were spent in the study of theology at Louvain, where he was ordained as priest January 6, 1891. Three months later he came to the United States, landing at New York city, and soon after he reported to Bishop Dwenger, at Fort Wayne, Indiana, and his first appointment was at Klaasville, Lake county, Indiana, where he remained for four years. At the end of that time he was given charge of the congregation at Earl Park, which pastorate he has since filled to the entire satisfaction of the church and his parishioners.
St. John's church is the oldest Catholic church in the locality, it having
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
been built twenty-five years ago. As a mission services were conducted for the congregation at Earl Park by Father Haas, of St. Anthony's church, generally known as Dehner church, and the mission was called St. John the Baptist. It next fell under the pastorate of Father Maujay, of the Fowler church, under whose charge it remained until 1888, when he was succeeded by Father Vangier, who remained here for seven years, being succeeded at the end of that time by the present pastor, Father Weber. He has added to the church property by buying three lots, on two of which he has built a fine two-story brick parsonage, at a cost of five thousand dollars, and on the corner he plans to erect a new brick church in about three years, to cost six- teen thousand dollars. He then intends to turn the present frame church into a parochial school, as the parish has no school of its own at the present time. The congregation, numbering about one hundred families, is com- posed of French, German and English, and this being the case, Father Weber preaches every Sunday in English, and every other Sunday in French and German. He is an indefatigable worker for his church and the good of the community, and is revered and loved by his own congregation, and honored and esteemed by all who have seen his devotion to his noble calling.
HON. THOMAS L. MERRICK.
Among the professional men of Fowler prominently appears the gentle- man named above, who since 1867 has been enrolled as a member of the Benton county bar, and over twenty-three of the thirty-one years have been spent in Fowler.
Mr. Merrick is a native of the Hoosier state, born in Fayette county, on the 17th of June, 1839. He is a son of Isaac and Margaret (Latchem) Merrick, natives of Camden, Delaware, who were married in their native state in 1834 and moved to Fayette county, Indiana, in 1835, and to Wabash county about 1843. Isaac Merrick was a carriage-maker by trade, but his life in Indiana was spent in agricultural pursuits. His death occurred in Wabash county in December, 1870, and his widow still resides upon the old home farm in Wabash county, where she has lived over fifty years; she was born in Camden, Delaware, in 1810. One of her children died on the same farm in 1897, and one still resides there.
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