USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 26
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 26
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 26
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death, October 17, 1872, at the early age of thirty-six years. His wife, Mary J. (Dodson) Strohm, was born in Logan county, Ohio, March 9, 1846, and came to Newton county in 1851 with her parents, James W. and Rebecca Dodson. She was married to Mr. Strohm in February, 1868. Their only son is Harry A. Strohm. She was during long years a consistent member of the Methodist church and was universally esteemed and beloved. She died June 14, 1899.
CHARLES SCHWARTZ.
Mr. Schwartz is the owner of large tracts of land in the states of both Indiana and Illinois, and has practically retired from the active duties of farm life, though he maintains his residence on his farm in Benton county, Indi- ana. He is the eldest son of Phillip and Mary (Herzog) Schwartz, to whom he was born October 14, 1857, in Bloomington, Illinois. His parents are natives of Baden, Germany, and are now residents of Illinois, living three miles west of our subject. His father came to America in 1853, was married two years later, at Williamsburg, New York, to Miss Mary Herzog, and in 1859 came to the city of Bloomington, Illinois. In 1865 he began farming on one hundred and sixty acres of land near there, and now owns seven hun- dred and sixty acres. He is in his seventieth year; his wife in her sixty- seventh. Six children were born to them: Charles, our subject; George, a resident of Iroquois county, Illinois, five miles from our subject; Frank, deceased; Caroline, Mrs. John Metzinger; Albert, a resident of Salina, Kan- sas; and William, who is on the home farm.
Mr. Schwartz attended school at Prairie Green until he reached his twenty-first year, when he began farming. The first nine years he cultivated his land in Illinois, then he purchased one hundred and fourteen acres, three miles southwest of Dunnington, which he farmed from 1892 until 1896. Since then he has retired from the active duties incident to agricultural life, and rents this land as well as the four hundred and forty-four acres which he owns in Iroquois county.
He chose as his companion through life Miss Magdaline Kirsch, who was born at Sheldon, Illinois, July, 21, 1871, and is a daughter of Peter and Sophie (Hireling) Kirsch, of Luxemburg, Germany. Their marriage was cel- ebrated at Dunnington, Indiana, July 7, 1891, by Father Lambert. Mrs. Schwartz is a most amiable, pleasant lady, and has presented her husband with four bright, attractive children: Frank P. was born November 6, 1892; Mary C. was born March 15, 1894; Sophie E. was born April 16, 1896; and George Albert was born April 24, 1898. Mr. Schwartz is an honored mem- ber of the Dunnington church and contributed liberally toward its erection.
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In politics he is an independent Democrat, but has never been an aspirant to office, although he was elected to the offices of assessor and town collector of Prairie Green, Illinois. He is a highly respected and influential citizen, and his personality has been felt throughout the surrounding country.
MORRIS PEAK.
This gentleman is one of the leading citizens of the older class, and is a man of excellent character. The Peak family was originally of Irish stock. The grandfather of our subject, Joseph Peak, came from Ireland and settled in New Jersey, not far from Philadelphia. His children were Joseph, John, and several daughters whose names are not now obtainable. Mr. Peak was a farmer by occupation, and he died in New Jersey.
John Peak, his son, was the father of Morris, whose name appears above. He was born in New Jersey, September 13, 1796, received a com- mon-school education, became a farmer and blacksmith, and when still a young man moved to Cincinnati, where he followed his trade. Cincinnati at that time was, but a village. After a time Mr. Peak moved to Union county, Indiana, and married there Miss Bernice DuBois. She was born January 1, 1799. Her father, of French stock, was a pioneer farmer of Union county, where he continued to reside until his death. His children were Benjamin, Abijah, Richard, Allen, Smith and Mary.
John Peak continued to reside in Union county after his marriage, bought land and improved it and occupied it for some years. Selling it, he resumed his trade as a blacksmith, in Fairfield, Franklin county, Indiana. After a time he returned to Union county, where he continued at his trade. In 1855 he came to Tippecanoe county and lived with his children until his death, which had occurred when he had attained the age of eighty-six years. He was married twice. By his first wife his children were: Joseph, born January 20, 1820; William, March 5, 1822; John, May 27, 1823; Granville, February 25, 1826; Hannah, July 5, 1828; Morris, February 18, 1831; Smith, August 21, 1833; Mary Ann, April 20, 1836; and Samuel, October 16, 1841,-all born in Union county. By his second marriage John Peak was wedded to Rachel McCrady, and they had three children, all of whom died when very young. In religion, Mr. Peak was liberal, and in politics a Democrat until the great war of the Rebellion, when he became a Repub- lican. He was a hard-working, upright man, respected by all who knew him.
Morris Peak, whose name heads this article, was born February 18, 1831, in Union county, this state, received a common-school education and learned the blacksmith's trade of his father and brother Granville. After
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following his trade for four years at Billingsville, in Union county, he came to Tippecanoe county in 1854, being twenty-three years of age at this time, and for the first year here lived with E. W. Cole, in Lauramie township. In that township, May 7, 1857, he married Miss Eliza Ann Ellis, who was born August 9, 1834, in this township, on the farm adjoining that on which our subject now resides. She was a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Stoner) Ellis. Thomas Ellis was born in Maryland, a son of Rowland Ellis, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Going to Ohio when a young man he there married Elizabeth Stoner, a daughter of Isaac and Barbara Stoner, and of sturdy Pennsylvania Dutch stock. After living for a time on a farm in the Buckeye state, Mr. Ellis moved to Indiana, locating in Tippe- canoe county, in Lauramie township. The family records are as follows: Thomas Ellis, son of Rowland and Frances Ellis, was born February 19, 1792, and died July 30, 1861. His wife, Elizabeth, née Stoner, was born March 13, 1796, and died March 4, 1874. They were married January 22, 1818. Their children were: John, born July 18, 1819; Mahala, born Au- gust 4, 1820, married Joseph Fowler August 23, 1838, and her death occurred July 13, 1862; Joseph, born December 16, 1821; Hannah, born March 9, 1823, married Elisha F. O'Neal June 7, 1840; Mary Magdalena, born Au- gust 11, 1824, married Richard Gladden October 31, 1841; Frances, born September 25, 1826, married Richard Gladden November 8, 1846; Sarah, born August 14, 1828, was married to Solomon B. Russell March 25, 1847, and he died April 21, 1847, after which, on July 9, 1848, she became the wife of Thomas H. O'Neal; James, born December 20, 1830, died June 8, 1859; Barbara Ann, born September 13, 1832; Eliza Ann, born April 2, 1837; Elizabeth, born July 5, 1838, died March 9, 1862.
On arrival here in Tippecanoe county Mr. Ellis located in the wild for- est, erected a log cabin and cleared and cultivated his land. At first he en- tered only a small tract, but by economical industry he added to this by en- tering and purchasing other tracts until he had about four hundred acres altogether of fine farm land, and he became a citizen well-to-do and promi- nent. He fully developed his farm and reared his children here in good style. He was a member of no church, but a man of high moral char- acter. In religious belief he was brought up a Quaker, while his wife was attached to the religion of the "Dunkards," which was the faith of her forefathers, but here, like her husband, she was a member of no church.
By steady industry they prospered, and no man in this county stood higher in the sincere esteem of the people than Thomas Ellis. He was par- ticularly a kindhearted man, and the Ellis family were among the most re- spected of the pioneers.
Morris Peak and wife resided on the Thomas Ellis farm after marriage
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about nine years, renting the large place of four hundred acres. In 1867 he moved to his present homestead, buying one hundred and forty-five acres of improved land and a good residence, which had been built by William Cor- nell. By his industry and economy Mr. Peak prospered, and he now owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty-nine acres. He is a substantial citizen, and he and his faithful wife are numbered among the best members of the community. Their reputation is widely and thoroughly established, and the people who know them are proud to enjoy their acquaintance. Their chil- dren are: Evangeline, born March 4, 1858; Annie, September 16, 1869, and Porter E., July 2, 1871.
WARREN T. McCRAY.
Warren Terry McCray, a conspicuous figure in the business circles of Kentland, is the senior member of the firm of McCray & Morrison, wholesale grain merchants of that place. He was born on a farm near Brook, Newton county, Indiana, February 4, 1865, and is a son of Greenberry and Martha Jane McCray, natives of Indiana. He was four years of age when his father's family removed from the farm to Kentland, and when fifteen years old he was graduated from the public school of that place. For the following six years he was a bookkeeper in the Discount and Deposit Bank, of Kentland, of which his father was president.
On the day on which he attained his majority, Mr. McCray formed a partnership with Willis Kirkpatrick, under the firm name of McCray & Kirk- patrick, and engaged in the grocery business, in which they met with marked success, their receipts amounting to forty thousand dollars annually. In 1889, however, Mr. McCray withdrew from the firm, and, in connection with R. G. Risser, of Kankakee, Illinois, established a grain trade in Kentland, the firm subsequently building elevators at Raub and Effner. In 1893 J. L. Morrison purchased the interest of Mr. Risser, and the firm became McCray & Morrison. They buy corn and oats in Illinois and Iowa, which they clip and clean at their transfer house in Kentland, and they own elevators at Earl Park, Remington, Beaver City and Morocco. Their transfer house has a capacity of fifty car-loads daily, isrun by a two-hundred-and-fifty-horse-power engine and they handle five million bushels of grain annually. The success with which this firm has met is due to the enterprise and spirit, executive ability and well known reputation for fair dealing possessed by its members. The establishment of such a large business has been of great value to Kent- land and the surrounding country, and the farmers of that locality, as well as of neighboring sections, are not slow to avail themselves of the opportunity
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offered for the disposal of their farm products. In addition to his grain busi- ness Mr. McCray also owns about one thousand acres of farming land.
On June 15, 1892, our subject was united in marriage to Miss Ella M. Ade, daughter of John and Adaline W. Ade. They have had two children, Lucile Ade, born October 30, 1893, and Gilbert Ward, who died in infancy.
In politics Mr. McCray is a Republican, and is always ready to perform his duty as a loyal citizen. He served as a member of the village board and during his term of office the electric-light system was put in, the streets were macadamized, stone crossings were made and this was the beginning of an era of improvements in the town of Kentland. In 1895 our subject assisted in organizing the National Grain Dealers' Association and in June, 1897, was chosen president of that body. He makes a most efficient officer, and under his judicious management the association is prospering and proving a valua- ble aid to those engaged in the grain business.
Mr. and Mrs. McCray are members of the Presbyterian church and take an active interest in all its work. Socially, he is past chancellor of Damon Lodge, No. 72, Knights of Pythias. The hospitable home of our subject and his wife is one of the most pleasant in Kentland and they are well known as genial entertainers.
WILLIAM F. STILLWELL.
One of the leading business concerns of Lafayette for many years has been the Henry Taylor Lumber Company, of which W. F. Stillwell is now the president. Under his able management the business has more than doubled in proportions during the past few years, and the company has as large and well selected a stock and as fine an equipment as has any enter- prise of a kindred nature in the state. Success in business does not come as the result of chance circumstances, but as the legitimate outcome of care- fully laid plans well executed, of foresight, energy and good methods. Mr. Stillwell is eminently deserving of prosperity, for he possesses all the neces- sary requisities and more, and devotes his whole time and attention to the conduct of his financial undertakings.
Both of the grandfathers of our subject were of English descent. His paternal grandfather, William Stillwell, was born in Kentucky, whence his ancestors had removed from New Jersey in pioneer days. He followed mill- ing for many years in Maysville, Kentucky, and died when about sixty-five years of age, as the result of an accident. Mr. Stillwell's maternal grand- father, Leonard Fleming, was born in Virginia, and in his early manhood engaged in surveying. In early times he went to Kentucky, where he en- tered large tracts of land and continued to dwell until his death, at three
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score and five years. His father was a man of genius and distinction, at one time lieutentant governor of Virginia, and for a short period governor of that state. He came from England as a surgeon in the British navy, and, after settling in this country, took part in the French and Indian wars, and later in the war of the Revolution.
The parents of William F. Stillwell were John D. and Matilda (Flem- ing) Stillwell, both natives of Kentucky. John D. followed in the occupa- tion of his father and carried on a milling business at Maysville, that state, for a number of years, later engaging in the commission business in Cincin- nati. In 1870 he came to Lafayette and was occupied in farming in this vicinity for several years. He died in August, 1897, at the advanced age of eighty-three years, and is survived by his good wife, who is now seventy-four years old and makes her home in this place. Both were members of the Christian (Disciples) church. They had two children, one of whom, Lizzie, is the wife of E. T. Anderson, of Lafayette.
William F. Stillwell was born in Cincinnati, August 25, 1856, and from fourteen to seventeen years of age he was with his father on the farm in White county, Indiana. He attended the Lafayette high school and gradu- ated at Asbury University, at Greencastle, this state, in 1877. Soon afterward he began the study of law in the office of Judge Coffroth, of the firm of Cof- froth & Stewart, and was admitted to the bar in 1878. After he had been actively in practice for three years he was appointed assistant general solicitor of the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railway Company. A short time subsequently to the death of his father-in-law, Hon. Henry Taylor, Mr. Still- well resigned his position in the railroad service in order to take charge of the extensive lumber business of the deceased. For some time the concern was run as a partnership affair, the parties thereto being Mrs. Taylor and her daughter and Mr. Stillwell. In 1891 the business was merged into a corpo- ration, and Mr. Stillwell became the president, -a position which he still occupies. The company manufacture all kinds of hardwood lumber and make a specialty of ornamental wood-work for the interior of residences and other buildings. Of late years they have supplied material used in the con- struction of numerous large public buildings, such as court-houses, etc., ship- ping great quantities to the east and elsewhere. In this enterprise employ- ment is given to sixty-five persons or more. In 1893 the factory was destroyed by fire, but the next spring a much larger and more convenient building was erected in the place of the old one.
October 26, 1881, Mr. Stillwell married Miss Sallie Belle Taylor, daugh- ter of Henry and Isabella D. (Sample) Taylor, and they have had two children, namely: Henry Taylor, who died from the effects of injuries received by falling from a window when he was two years old; and Isabel
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Fleming. Mrs. Stillwell, who was a most amiable woman, actively inter- ested in all worthy religious and charitable affairs and a great favorite in social circles, died at her home in this city of typhoid pneumonia, April 25, 1898. Her loss is sincerely mourned by the hosts of friends to whom she had endeared herself in a thousand ways. She was a member of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, to which Mr. Stillwell also belongs; was a charter member of Lafayette Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution and was identified with the Monday Afternoon Club. A lady of versatile attainments, she had received her higher education in the Wesleyan Univer- sity at Cincinnati.
Fraternally, Mr. Stillwell is associated with Lafayette Lodge, No. 123, F. & A. M .; Lafayette Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M .; and Lafayette Command- ery, No. 3, K. T., and is a member of the- Lafayette Club and the University Club of Indianapolis. Politically, he is a Democrat, but has never been an office-seeker. He served for two terms as police commissioner, being ap- pointed thereto by Governor Matthews. His home, a pleasant one, is at No. 1109 South street, and is now presided over by Mrs. Isabel Taylor, his deceased wife's mother.
REV. CORNELIUS McCAIN.
Rev. Cornelius McCain, who for many years was a well known and hon- ored educator and is now retired from active life, was born in Lebanon, Ohio, September 28, 1824, his parents being Daniel and Magdalene (Voorhes) Mc- Cain, natives of Warren county. His grandfather was William McCain, who was born in New Jersey, of Scotch ancestry, and removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and later engaged in farming. Daniel McCain was likewise a farmer by oc- cupation, and in 1826 moved to Indiana and settled near Delphi, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying in 1855. To him and his wife were born twelve children, eleven of whom grew to maturity, our subject being the eldest.
Cornelius McCain first saw a school-house when he was nine years old, and he then attended the country schools three months each year, assisting on the farm during the summer, until he reached his twenty-first year. Soon after attaining his majority Mr. McCain identified himself with the Presby- terian church, and to its service he has given the most of his active life. He attended Wabash College, entering the preparatory department January I, 1846, and after completing his junior year he entered Hanover College, from which he was graduated August 6, 1851, being one of a class of eighteen. After obtaining his diploma he went to Missouri and accepted the professor- ship of Grand River College, near Trenton, and also taught in the high
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schools at St. Joseph and Savannah, Missouri. In 1855 he went to Kansas, where he taught in the Iowa and Sauk Indian Mission, and while there re- ceived his license to preach. In the fall of 1855 he returned to Missouri, and in 1857 removed to Iowa Point, Kansas, where he organized a church and assisted in the erection of a fine large building, working on it himself as a laborer until its completion. In 1861 he took charge of churches in Ore- gon and Forest City, Missouri; in 1863 he came to Washington, Indiana, and took charge of the church in that place; and in 1866 went to Savannah, Missouri, where he taught for one year and thereafter preached for three years in Albany, Missouri. He accepted a call in 1870 to Hanover, Indiana, where he taught for one year and filled the pastorates of the Hanover and Monroe churches, at the end of that time going to Huntington and four years later to Kentland, remaining at the latter place until 1882, then going to Jonesboro. In 1883 he was at Valparaiso; in 1885 at Goodland, where he remained for six years; in 1890 at Gallatin, Missouri; and in 1895 he re- turned to Kentland, where he has since lived retired, in the enjoyment of an honorable old age, happy in the knowledge of having spent a useful and busy life.
On September 21, 1851, Mr. McCain was married to Miss Eliza Ann Currey, who was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, February 19, 1829, a daughter of Providence and Amanda F. (Hill) Currey, natives of Morgan county, Kentucky, and Canada, respectively. Mr. Currey was the first law- . yer to locate in Crawfordsville. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McCain, namely: Richard C., of whom a sketch is printed in this work; Francis M., who died in infancy; Ida, who died at the age of seven- teen; Inez, who died in infancy; Ada A .; and Eda L., who married Pro- fessor Albert L. Candy, and died in 1893, leaving one son, Bert McCain Candy.
W. J. HINKLE.
Among the well known and highly respected citizens of Monon, White county, is the subject of this review, who is one of the native sons of this county, his birth having occurred here thirty-five years ago, on the 15th of October, 1863. He is now engaged in the real-estate and loan business and is making a success of his various investments and undertakings. Enterprise and perseverance, two essentials to success, are among his most marked characteristics, and in all his transactions he is strictly just and lionorable, winning the good will and confidence of parties with whom he has finan- cial dealings.
The father of the above named gentleman, W. H. Hinkle, was one of
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the early settlers of this locality and lived to witness vast improvements and progress hereabout. Born in Kentucky in 1821, he passed twenty-two years of his life in that state and then set out to found a new home for himself. Settling in Jasper county, Indiana, he remained there for about two years, after which he came to White county. Purchasing a tract of land three- quarters of a mile south of the present location of Monon, he cultivated the place for two years, then selling out. From that time until 1883 he carried on a general store in Monon, and was thus one of the oldest merchants in the town and county, being known far and wide. The last three years of his life he passed in quiet leisure, enjoying the fruits of his many long years of active life. He died November 14, 1886, respected and loved by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. The Democratic party always received his active and interested support, but he was not one ambitious for public office. For years he was identified with the Masonic order and with the Presbyterian church. Exactly five years after the death of Mrs. Sabina Hinkle, the mother of our subject, his father followed her to the silent land. She was of Scotch extraction and in her girlhood was a Miss Johnson, her birthplace being in Kentucky. Of her eleven children, five grew to maturity. William H. Hinkle, the grandfather of W. J. Hinkle, was of Jewish lineage. A resident of Kentucky, he followed the business of manufacturing saddles and harness, and for his day was a successful man.
In his youth W. J. Hinkle received the advantages of a liberal education in the public schools of Monon. When but nineteen years of age he em- barked in business for himself, managing a general store. For a period of eight years he conducted this enterprise, meeting with marked prosperity, and then, seeing a favorable opening elsewhere, he disposed of the store and soon started in his present line of business. Like his father before him, he is an earnest believer in the principles of the Democratic party, and gives his support to its nominees. Socially he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Uniformed Rank of the Knights of Pythias.
December 21, 1884, Mr. Hinkle married Miss Emma Horner, daughter of C. M. Horner. Mrs. Hinkle was born in this city and is a graduate of the Lafayette high school. The union of our subject and wife is blessed by three daughters, namely: Hope H., Wright S. and Emma L.
JOSEPH H. McCORD.
Joseph H. McCord, a farmer and stock-raiser of Warren. county, was born on the farm where he now resides, in Adams township, October 7, 1855, a son of Robert and Hannah (Rhodes) McCord. James F. McCord, the grandfather, came to Warren county in 1822, locating in Warren township,
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where he lived a short time and then moved to Liberty township and entered the homestead now in possession of Elizabeth Anderson, consisting of eighty acres, for which he paid the regular government fee of a dollar and a quarter an acre. Here he died, at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
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