USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 26
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 26
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Dr. Francis Edward Lister was born near Chalmers, Indiana, December 26, 1866, and was reared on a farm with his brother and sisters. The brother, Professor John Thomas Lister, holds a chair in Eureka (Illinois) College, as teacher of German and French. One sister, Susie, is deceased, and Jennie S. is the wife of George W. Taylor, of Fargo, North Dakota.
After attending the public schools of his home district Dr. Lister was a student in the Brookston high school for a period, and later for four terms went to the Indiana State Normal at Terre Haute. Prior to going to the normal he taught one term of school and afterward also had charge of a school for two terms. Then he matriculated in the Indiana Medical College, and was graduated in 1892. Immediately thereafter he began practicing at Stone Bluff, Indiana, remaining there for three years, since which he has
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been established in Brookston, where he has gained the confidence and good will of all who know him. In 1895 he built a comfortable modern residence near the corner of First and Railroad streets, and here he and his estimable wife love to entertain their numerous friends. The Doctor is a member of the Odd Fellows order, of the Knights of the Maccabees, Modern Woodmen of America, and' Woodmen of the World, and, with his wife, belongs to the Daughters of Rebekah, in which they have both held various offices. In 1898 he was a representative of the local lodge to the grand lodge of the state. He is clerk and examining surgeon of the Modern Woodmen of America, and is record-keeper and examining physician for the Knights of the Maccabees. Politically, he is a Prohibitionist.
January 27, 1892, Dr. Lister married Miss Anna M. Burkholder, and two children-Iva May and Paul B .- have blessed their union. Mrs. Lister's parents, Christopher and Susan (Titwiler) Burkholder, are wealthy and influ- ential farmers of Carroll county, Indiana, and have been life-long residents of that locality. In 1897 the Doctor was chosen assistant secretary of the county Sunday-school association and at present is the president of the town- ship Sunday-school association. Both he and his wife are devoted members of the Baptist church and lend their means and influence to the support of religious enterprises.
WILLIAM H. DAGUE.
In modern ages, and to a large extent in the past, banks have consti- tuted a vital part of organized society, and governments, both monarchical and popular, have depended upon them for material aid in times of depres- sion and trouble. Their influence has extended over the entire world, and their prosperity has been the barometer which has unfalteringly indicated the financial status of all nations. Of this important branch of business William H. Dague is a worthy representative. He is a member of the well- known banking firm of Baldwin & Dague, of Fowler, an institution that is so widely known in Benton county that its proprietors need no introduction to the reader of this volume. The junior partner of the firm belongs to that class of citizens to whom success has come as the reward of their own labors-the outcome of business sagacity, excellent executive ability, indomitable purpose and unflagging industry. His life record should serve to stimulate and inspire others who are forced to wrest fortune from the hand of fate, and in the history of his adopted county he well deserves repre- sentation.
Mr. Dague was born on the 17th of December, 1844, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, his parents being Samuel and Phœbe (Conrad) Dague,
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both of whom were natives of Washington county, where the families were established by German ancestors many generations ago. The parents were married in the Keystone state, and most of their seven children were born there. In 1848 they emigrated to the then "far west," and found a home in the undeveloped country contained in Cass and Fulton counties. The farm was crossed by the dividing line of those counties, but the house stood in the latter. Upon that place the parents spent their remaining days, the father dying in January, 1875, and the other in August of the same year. At the beginning of the year both seemed in excellent health, but before another New Year's day arrived both were deceased. All of their seven children are yet living, the eldest being sixty-two years of age, the youngest forty-seven years of age.
Upon the original homestead of the family William H. Dague spent his boyhood days amid the environments of pioneer life, assisting in the labors of field and meadow through the summer months, while in the winter season he attended the district schools of the neighborhood. His early educational privileges were afterward supplemented by study in the State University of Indiana, in the law department of which he was graduated in the class of 1871. He at once entered upon the practice of law in Logansport, but two years later went to the Pacific coast in search of a location. Fifteen months were spent there, within which time he visited a great portion of the then undeveloped west, but the ties of home and early friendships led him to abandon his plan of living in California, and accordingly he returned to Indiana. His first venture in business life in this state was the purchase of the Monticello Herald, which he conducted successfully for five years, and during four years of that time he was also postmaster of Monticello. He edited his paper in the interests of the Republican party and was fearless and aggressive in his advocacy of its principles. His editorials were not only pertinent and spicy, but were also convincing in their arguments, and his paper secured a wide circulation and accordingly was quite profitable. On disposing of the Herald Mr. Dague also resigned the position of post- master, and then, taking an inventory of his possessions, found that he had cleared seven thousand dollars in the five years. This was practically his first savings, and formed the nucleus around which he has gathered his ample fortune.
On retiring from journalism Mr. Dague opened a law office in Monticello, and also made considerable money there through real-estate dealing and the loan business. The last named also rendered him somewhat familiar with the details of the business which was to become his future life work. In 1880 he came to Fowler and organized the Bank of Fowler, the first banking institution organized in the town. It readily came into popular favor and is
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to-day considered one of the most reliable financial institutions of the state. Associated with Mr. Dague as senior member of the firm, is Daniel P. Bald- win, a non-resident, their individual responsibilities being six hundred thou- sand dollars. These gentlemen are also, conjointly, proprietors of three other banks, two of which are in Benton county-the Bank of Earl Park and the Bank of Ambia, while the Bank of Goodland is in Newton county. In all of these a general banking business is transacted, handling foreign and domestic exchange, making time or short loans, receiving deposits upon which interest is paid, and doing all other kinds of general banking business, A safe, conservative policy has been followed from the first, and under the able management of the successful financiers who stand at its head the bank has enjoyed continuous prosperity. Since 1880 Mr. Dague has given no attention to his law practice, although his knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence is of great value to him in his extensive and intricate banking business.
Mr. Dague was married in Indianapolis, in 1876, to Miss Mary A. Mc- Keehan, a native of Columbus, Indiana. She proved to be a most exemplary wife and mother, and was a devoted Christian woman whose influence lives after her. After eighteen years of happy married union, she departed this life in 1894, leaving the husband and three sons to mourn her loss. The sons are Samuel McKeehan, a graduate of Wabash College, and now a law student in Indianapolis; Maynard Conrad, who was for two years a student in Wabash College, and is now in the gold fields of Alaska; and William H., a promising youth of thirteen, now a pupil in the Fowler high school.
In politics Mr. Dague is a stalwart Republican. He has never held office except to serve as school trustee and a member of the board of educa- tion. His life has been a very busy one, but he finds time to faithfully dis- charge the duties of citizenship and support all measures for the public good, and in manner is cordial and courteous. The strictest integrity has charac- terized his business career, and his name is a synonym for honorable dealing in commercial circles. His well-spent life commends him to the regard and confidence of all, and his friends are many.
JOHN M. SMITH, M. D.
This sterling citizen of Lafayette needs no introduction to the people of this thriving city, for nearly thirty years have sped by since he cast his fort- unes with its inhabitants, and from that time to the present he has been busily occupied in ministering to the needs of the sick and suffering. Fore- most among the physicians of Tippecanoe county, his skill and general ability are recognized by all, and his cheerful, kindly face and manner have
J. M. Smith m. Q.
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a potency in dispelling the gloom of the sick-room and bringing strength and renewed courage to the sufferer. With the practitioner in no profession are genuine sympathy and an assured belief in himself and in the wisdom of the powers of the universe more necessary than in the field of medicine. His strength, his faith, and his goodness of mind and heart are radiated outward beyond his knowledge and are reflected in the patient, and, incidentally, in the minds of the friends of the patient, all acting favorably in the needed direction.
The birth of Dr. John M. Smith took place in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, August 25, 1847. His parents, William A. and Martha S. (Watkins) Smith, who were farmers and early settlers in the Badger state, were natives of New York state, born and reared in Orange county. Doctor Smith grew to manhood upon the parental homestead, and after finishing the course of study in the district schools he entered the Fond du Lac high school, where he remained some time. Agricultural pursuits were not to his taste and he determined to become a physician, and with this idea in view he commenced studying under the direction of a private tutor. Later he entered Hahnemann Medical College, in Chicago, graduating there in 1869.
Immediately after he had completed his medical work in college, Dr. Smith came to Lafayette and opened an office. Success came to him as the result of earnest effort and strict attention to his business, and for years he has found his time fully occupied and has indulged in but little leisure. He is a member of the American Medical Institute, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masonic order. In the last mentioned he has reached the Scottish Rite degree and is a noble of the Mystic Shrine. Religiously, he is a Presbyterian and belongs to the Second Presbyterian church of Lafayette. In politics Dr. Smith is a Republican. In 1870 the Doctor married Miss Margaret Waterman, of this city. To this union two daugh- ters have been born : Fannie and Mariem.
WILLIAM S. WALKER, M. D.
For more than a score of years this leading member of the Tippe- canoe county medical profession has been a resident of Lafayette, where he is justly held in high regard. He is a member of the American Medical Asso- ciation, of the Indiana State Medical Society; and of the Tippecanoe Medi- cal Society; for fifteen years was physician for St. Elizabeth's Hospital of this city and has also served as house physician of St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum in Lafayette. In political circles, no less than in his profession, he has been a leader, his influence being cast in favor of the platform and nom- inees of the Democratic party. He has been a city councilman for two 15
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years; was a school trustee for three years, and was examining surgeon for the pension bureau some four years under President Cleveland's admin- istration.
The Doctor is of Scotch-Irish origin, but for several generations his ancestors have been citizens of America. His paternal grandfather, James Walker, was a native of Virginia and thence removed at an early period to eastern Tennessee. His father, Lovel Walker, was likewise a Virginian. The parents of the Doctor were Rev. Lovel and Amanda J. (Howell) Walker, natives of Virginia and eastern Tennessee, respectively. The mother was a great-granddaughter of one Benjamin Howell, who came from the northern part of Ireland to this continent about 1730 and settled in the eastern por- tion of Tennessee, when it was still a part of North Carolina. Rev. Lovel Walker was a minister of the Missionary Baptist church, a man of strong convictions of right and duty, and from principle opposed to slavery and secession, though he and his ancestors had been reared in the atmosphere of " state rights." In 1863 he left the south in order to escape being called to an account for his openly expressed Union sentiments, and continued to make his home in Newcastle, Indiana, until the war was over, when he returned with his family to eastern Tennessee. From that time until his death, at the age of fifty-eight years, he dwelt at Panther Springs, Tennessee. Had he been physically able he would have joined the Union army, and it was a matter of deep regret to him that he could not fight for his prin- ciples.
The birth of Dr. William S. Walker took place in Morristown, Tennes- see, November 16, 1846. It was his privilege to enjoy an excellent literary education, and he had graduated in Panther Springs Academy and was in his sophomore year at the Baptist College, Mossy Creek, Tennessee, when his father pursuaded him to accompany the family to the north. Returning when hostilities had ceased, young Walker alternately taught school and attended Panther Springs Academy for some time, meanwhile taking up the study of medicine under the guidance of Dr. Harris, of his home town. Later he had for his tutor Dr. Rodifer, an able physician of New · Market, Tennessee, and while there he attended a course of lectures at the New Market Medical College, afterward known as the Jefferson County Medi- cal College. In 1868 he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and attended the Miami Medical College for two terms, after which he resumed his place in the New Market College, and was there graduated with the degree of Doctor of Med- icine. In 1869 he received a like degree from the Miami Medical College, and opened an office at Colburn, Indiana, where he spent seven years. Since leaving that place he has made his home in Lafayette, and has built up a very large practice here. In 1886 he took a post-graduate course in
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the Medical College of Indiana, of which institution he was made a trustee in 1897 and again in 1898. For the past eight or ten years he has given special attention to gynecology and to surgical practice, though he still con- ducts a large general family practice as well. He has always been a great student, which partially accounts for his marked success in his chosen field of labor, and his kindly, sympathetic manner brings comfort to the house of suffering. He stands high in Masonry, being a Mason of the thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite. Religiously, he is a Methodist, belonging to Trinity Methodist Episcocal church of Lafayette.
In 1867 Doctor Walker married Miss Mary E. Goettle, who died three years later, leaving two children, Curtis L. and Elmer C. In 1872 Dr. Walker married Emma A. Dryer, and their two children are Ray S. and Estella E.
GEORGE D. PARKS.
Prominent in the legal profession and in political and social circles is the gentleman whose name forms the heading of this article, and who for the past five years or more has been a resident of Lafayette. Born in Rich- mond, Maine, September 29, 1856, he is a son of George W. and Jane A. (Raudlett) Parks, natives of Maine and Massachusetts, respectively. The father and also the grandfather, Daniel Parks, were both born, and lived and died in Maine, respected and esteemed by all who knew them. The great- grandfather of our subject was one John Parks, a native of Manchester, England, who, in 1772, emigrated to the United States, and in 1774 settled at the head of Swan island, in the Kennebec river, in Maine. Parks' Ferry was named in his honor, and there it was that Benedict Arnold, of Revolutionary fame, camped on his march to Canada. The maternal grand- mother of our subject was a Louise Bradley, a lineal descendant of Albert Morris, who was one of the immortal signers of the Declaration of Inde- pendence. Three of her great uncles died in the British prison-ship, Jersey, during the Revolution. The name Raudlett is, of course, French in origin, and thus, along one line, George D. Parks traces his ancestry to France.
He was reared in Richmond, his birthplace, receiving an excellent edu- cation. Being of a practical turn of mind, he decided to take up the busi- ness of a civil engineer, and accordingly he entered the University of Maine and there pursued a full course, graduating with the degree of C. E. in the Centennial year. For the following three years he practiced his new calling, but in the meantime took up the study of law, which he found more to his liking. In 1879 he was admitted to practice by the supreme court of Maine and established himself in business in Brunswick, that state. During the ten
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years of his residence there he succeeded in building up a fine practice, but, in 1889, on account of his family's health, he removed to Port Payne, Ala- bama, and continued there, engaged in his profession, some four years. In 1893 Mr. Parks removed to Lafayette, where he is prospering as an attorney-at-law and where he has made a wide acquaintance. He has fre- quently been appointed to occupy the bench as special judge, and is master commissioner of the courts of Tippecanoe county.
The Republican party is indebted to Mr. Parks for some very effective work in its behalf. A man of wide information and research, he has the courage of his well founded convictions and he is not afraid to publicly give the reasons "for the faith that is in him." During the memorable cam- paign of 1896 he delivered twenty-eight impressive, eloquent, forceful speeches at different places, and he is justly considered one of the ablest orators of northern Indiana and one of the most thoroughly posted on the points at issue. Fraternally, he is identified with the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
In 1881 Mr. Parks married Anna S. White, of Bowdoinham, Maine, and their two sons are Roscoe W. and Morris R. Mr. and Mrs. Parks are active members of the First Baptist church of this place, he being a trustee and treasurer of the official board.
CLARK COOK, M. D.
Dr. Cook, who for thirteen years has been one of the prominent physi- cians of Fowler, has long since established a professional reputation among the people which places him well up among his brethren. His efforts in the healing art have been crowned with abundant success, and he is recognized as a skillful and successful practitioner.
The Doctor was born in Clarksville, Clinton county, Ohio, on the 22d of March, 1853, a son of William and Elizabeth (Bogan) Cook, both of whom were natives of Virginia. His father was born in 1785, and his mother in 1807, she being the second wife. They were married in Ohio in 1846. His father, whose ancestors were of German and Scotch descent, was by trade a potter and terra-cotta worker, which trade he learned by a regular appren- ticeship of seven years in Baltimore, Maryland. Soon after their marriage the parents located at Clarksville, Ohio, and remained there for three years, eventually removing to Indiana, where both died, the father's death occurring in Clinton county, in 1870, and the mother's some time afterward, in Boone county. By the second marriage above referred to there were two sons- Charles W. and the subject of this sketch. The former is a prosperous farmer living near Thorntown, Indiana. The mother of our subject was descended
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from German and Irish ancestors, and both families were long identified with the Old Dominion state.
Dr. Cook received his elementary education in the public schools of Clinton county, this state, and the county high school of Hamilton county, taking a three-years course in the last named institution. On leaving the high school he engaged in teaching, in which profession eight of his early manhood years were spent, mostly in Boone county, this state.
However, his profession being chosen in his boyhood days before he became fully settled in his mind what he should follow for his life work, he ultimately determined upon the profession of medicine, and accordingly began its study, under the tutorship of Dr. C. H. Smith, of Lebanon, Indi- ana, spending five years in its study while employed in teaching; and these five years were the period from November, 1876, to 1881, including the courses of lectures as follows: a special course at Indiana State Medical Col- lege, at Indianapolis, and two courses at the Kentucky School of Medicine, where he graduated in 1881. Following this he taught one term of school, and then engaged in practice at Earl Park, in Benton county, in 1882. Three years later he came to Fowler and at once entered upon a successful career as a physician.
Dr. Cook is a gentleman of genial manner, easily approachable, and these characteristics secured him warm friends, while the recognition of his professional ability readily brought him a lucrative practice; and this has continued to the full extent of his ambition, his leisure hours indeed being very few. His earnings have been invested in various localities, principally in real estate, which comprises a comfortable home in Fowler, business property in Danville, Indiana, Danville, Illinois, and in Chicago, besides a hundred-acre farm in southern Indiana. This property, valued well up into the thousands, is the accumulated result of his own earnings.
The Doctor has been honored with official positions of a professional character, having been secretary of the Benton county board of health since March, 1888, and in the same year he was appointed a member of the board of United States pension examiners, -a position he has held ever since, with the exception of only one year. For the term of two years -1892-4-he was the coroner for Benton county.
Politically, he has been an ardent and uncompromising Republican from the dawn of his manhood to the present time, in this respect following the footsteps of his father, who was one of the organizers of the renowned and "fire-tested " party. Dr. Cook allowed his name to come before the people of his district as a candidate for nomination as representative from the counties of Benton and Warren; but professional duties and obligations pre- vented his making an active canvass, to which personal advancement he is
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somewhat averse, from principle as well as from feelings, and the "other fellow " carried off the plum. The Doctor has been secretary of the Repub- lican county central committee, commencing in 1888.
He is prominently identified with the social orders, being a member in good standing of the Masonic, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Knights of Honor fraternities; and he and his wife are also members of the Order of the Eastern Star. The religious predilections of the family are for the Christian church.
But in worldly affairs the Doctor is chiefly devoted to his profession, has a fine professional library, and keeps abreast of the onward march of the profession. His inclination is rather toward surgery; but in country practice there is but little call for surgery. He has been surgeon for the Big Four Railroad Company at Fowler for the last twelve years.
March 5, 1876, is the date of the Doctor's marriage, in Lebanon, Indi- ana, to Miss Lucinda Ham, who was born in Montgomery county, this state, November 27, 1852. She is an educated and accomplished lady, a model companion and a devoted mother. Of their two children, Cars, the eldest, was born February 1, 1877, in Lebanon, Indiana, and died in Fowler, Jan- uary 28, 1892. This sore bereavement was a severe blow to the loving and devoted parents. " Ye that e'er lost an angel, pity me," exclaimed the great poet, Young, who lost a young daughter by the hand of death. Ray M. was also born in Lebanon, February 28, 1879, and is now a young man with bright prospects for future success and usefulness. He has enjoyed excellent educational advantages, possesses a keen perception and readily grasps the intricacies met in his high-school work. As a representative of one of the learned professions, in later years, he will no doubt fill an honorable station as the one upon whom devolves the perpetuation of the family history.
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