USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 3
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 3
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 3
USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 3
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 3
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 3
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 3
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WILLIAM R. COFFROTH.
William Randolph Coffroth, of the firm of Langdon & Coffroth, promi- nent lawyers of Lafayette, with their office in the Wallace block, corner of Fourth and Ferry streets, claims Indiana as his native state, his birth having occurred January 26, 1865. His parents, John and Susan (Randolph) Coff- roth, were born in Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively, and their family comprised a son and daughter, - William R. and Bessie. John Coffroth's native town was Greencastle. From there he went to Chambersburg, where he remained until 1849, when he left Pennsylvania to make his home in Indiana. He practiced his profession, that of law, in Huntington and adjoining counties from 1849 to 1870, and then came to Lafayette, where he continued practice until about two years before his death. He was admitted to practice in the United States supreme court in 1866. A talented lawyer and a man whose character was without a blemish, he was an orna- ment to the profession he represented, and those who knew him best trusted him most fully. Among his stanch friends was the late Jeremiah S. Black, one of the most celebrated jurists of America. Always a Democrat, Mr. Coffroth was honored by his party. He was twice a member of the Indiana legislature, and once was a candidate for attorney general. Also, in 1886,
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he was a candidate for supreme judge of Indiana. Subsequently he was appointed one of the supreme court commissioners by the legislature, but the supreme court held the act unconstitutional and he did not serve. For a term of years he was president of the board of trustees of Purdue Uni- versity. He died July 21, 1895, at the age of sixty-seven years lacking a few days. His widow is still living, a resident of Lafayette. She is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was William Coffroth, a native probably of Virginia, of German descent. The Coffroth family, however, dates back many generations in America. He died in the prime of life, some time in the '30s. The maternal grandfather was William Randolph. He was a merchant in Huntington, Indiana, where he was also for some years a justice of the peace and at one time filled the office of mayor. He has passed his eightieth milestone and is still a resident of Huntington. His family consists of two daughters and two sons.
William R. Coffroth has lived in Lafayette ever since he was five years old. He attended the public schools, was two years a student in Purdue University, and then went east and prepared for college at East Hampton, Massachusetts, after which he entered De Pauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, and during his college course he spent one year in the study of law. He continued his law studies in his father's office and was admitted to the bar in 1887. In 1890 he was taken into partnership with his father, under the firm name of Coffroth & Coffroth. Previous to this time the elder Mr. Coffroth had been associated with T. A. Stewart, the firm style being Coff- roth & Stewart. The younger Coffroth was admitted to practice in the state supreme court of Indiana November 18, 1892, and in the United States cir- cuit court of appeals for the seventh circuit in February, 1898. Politically, like his honored father before him, he is an ardent Democrat.
Mr. Coffroth is a Master Mason and belongs to the Sigma Chi college fraternity. His home is at the corner of Ninth and Union streets, Lafayette.
LOUIS BORK.
It is largely due to citizens of the class to which our subject belongs that the state occupies the prominent position she enjoys in our commonwealth. Mr. Bork, a prosperous farmer of Benton county, is a son of Frederick and Margaret (Young) Bork, and was born January 24, 1849, near Tiffin, in Bloom township, Seneca county, Ohio. His father was born in Prussia, June 14, 1808, and grew to manhood in that country. In 1833 he came to America and entered two hundred acres of land in Seneca county, at a cost of one and one-half dollars per acre. Five years later he was married
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to Miss Margaret Young, in New Washington, Ohio. She was born in France, August 7, 1822, and died at her home in Tiffin, Ohio, in 1891, leav- ing eleven children. They are Phillip, who owns two hundred and four acres of land near Tiffin, Ohio, where he resides; Eva is the mother superior of the Orphans' Home at Tiffin, Ohio; Magdaline is the wife of Frederick Buchman, of Fremont, that state; Frank owns one hundred and sixty acres near Tif- fin; Mary was for several years a sister of the Orphans' Home, where she died; Louis, the subject of this sketch; John lives four miles south of Tiffin on his farm of one hundred and forty acres; Louisa died at the age of four years; Nimrod, who owns a farm of two hundred and forty-three acres four miles south of Tiffin; and Minnie and Elizabeth reside at home. The father of this family is now in his ninetieth year and resides at Tiffin. His parents were Philip and Magdaline (Birch) Bork, both natives of Prussia, and emi- grants to America with their son, Frederick. The maternal grandparents were named Young.
Seneca and Broom townships furnished an education to Louis Bork. He was an attendant of the schools in the former four years and in the latter six. He followed the vocation of a farmer, working on his father's farm un- til he was twenty-four years of age, when he entered the matrimonial state, and took his bride to a farm of two hundred and five acres, which was en- tered by David Wagner and later bought by Louis Bork. This was two miles south of the home farm, and six miles south of Tiffin. He cultivated this farm for seventeen years, and then moved to this county in 1889, and purchased three hundred and twenty acres four miles northeast of Dunning- ton. This was wild prairie land in Parish Grove township, and he has im- proved it and placed it in such a state of cultivation that it is one of the finest farms to be found. His residence was constructed at a cost of fifteen hun- dred dollars, while his barn, the largest and finest in the county, cost three thousand seven hundred dollars. He carries on general farming, but also raises large numbers of horses, cattle, sheep and hogs.
Mr. Bork was married February 11, 1873, at Tiffin, to Miss Margaret Kuntz. The marriage rites were performed by Father Miley. The bride was a native of Seneca county, Ohio, and was a daughter of Michael and Catharine (Unser) Kuntz, of Germany. Six children were the fruits of this union: Ida, born October 28, 1874, is the wife of John Martin, of Fowler, Indiana, married November 28, 1895; Lôretta, born June 25, 1877, became November 28, 1895, the wife of Peter Kirsch, a farmer residing four miles west of Dunnington; Lucy, born October 14, 1878, is the wife of John Pit- stick, a farmer near Dunnington, and her marriage took place on the same day as that of her two elder sisters, at St. Mary's church at Dunnington, the marriage rites being performed by Rev. F. J. Lambert; Albert, born Janu-
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uary 15, 1881, died at the age of six weeks; Emma, born November 19, 1882, resides at home; and Leo, born July 8, 1886, is also at home. Mr. Bork is a member of the Catholic church of Dunnington, and was one of the most lib- eral contributors when it was in course of construction. He is a Democrat in political affiliations.
Michael Kuntz was born in Germany, January 1, 1820, and came to America in 1836; and his wife Catharine, nce Unser, was also born in Ger- many March 20, 1822, and came to America in 1833. They were married in 1844, and now reside at Tiffin, Ohio. Their six children are Margaret, who is the wife of Louis Bork; Joseph, Michael, Julius, Henry and Frank, all farmers, near Tiffin.
WILLIAM D. HESTON.
This enterprising young man is an investment broker of Lafayette, Indiana, his office being in the Lahr House Block, 501 Main street. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1871, and belongs to a family which has figured prominently in the Keystone state for many genera- tions, their history in this country covering a period of two hundred years. An extended notice of the Hestons is found in Chambers' Encyclopedia. Edward Heston, the great-great-great-grandfather of William D., came to this country from England at the same time William Penn came, and he settled at Philadelphia, where he became the owner of a tract of land, which remained in the family for a number of years and which is now a part of the present site of Philadelphia and which is called Hestonville. Isaac Heston, the grandfather of our subject, was a well-to-do man and had a number of negroes in his employ, not, however, as slaves. He was the father of a large number of children and lived to the age of seventy-six years. His father, Judge Heston, was a member of the legislature and for two terms was judge of the common-pleas court. The Judge's father was a Revolutionary soldier. The whole family have been of the Quaker faith, and were known at that early day as Free Quakers, who believed in going to war in defense of their country. The parents of our subject are Edward W. and Ella C. (Lodge) Heston, both natives of Philadelphia. Their family comprised four children, three sons and one daughter, namely: Thomas L., of Cynwyd, a suburb of Philadelphia; Isaac J., of the same place; William D., whose name intro- duces this sketch; and Susan E. L. Edward W. Heston was a farmer in his young manhood, but now lives retired at Cynwyd. He clings to the faith of his fathers and maintains a membership in the Society of Friends, while his wife is an Episcopalian.
The maternal grandfather of our subject was Thomas G. Lodge, and he, too, was a native of Pennsylvania and of English descent. He owned a
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large tract of land at Cynwyd, where he spent his life, and where he died at the age of eighty-four years or thereabouts. He had six children, and two of his sons were in the Union army during the civil war, one of them a surgeon.
William D. Heston was reared at Cynwyd and received his early education in the public schools of that place, supplementing the same by a course in the Friends' College at Philadelphia. On leaving college, in 1890, he came west to Lafayette, Indiana, and accepted a position as cashier in the banking establishment of Mortimer Levering, which place he filled until August 1, 1897, when he started in business for himself as investment broker, in which he is meeting with fair success.
Mr. Heston resides at the corner of State and Ninth streets, Lafayette, where he has recently built a most attractive home, in the colonial style of architecture. He was married February 10, 1896, to Miss Mary D. Loomis, daughter of John D. and Ellen (Watson) Loomis.
Mr. Heston is a member of the order of Elks, the Lafayette Club and the Lincoln Club, and his political affiliations are with the Republican party.
JOB WICKERSHAM.
In 1893 Job Wickersham, in partnership with J. H. Watts, embarked in the feed-yard business in Monticello, and also carried on a restaurant here until August, 1894, when he disposed of his interest in the restaurant and has since given his attention to the other line of trade. In 1895 he sold his original feed stand and in February of that year leased the South Side feed store and yard of J. A. Moore, and is still running the business. For thirty- four years he has lived in this county, and no one is more generally esteemed and respected. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of the Macca- bees, and in politics a Democrat.
The paternal great-great-grandfather of our subject, a Scotchman, came to America with William Penn. Then followed, in the line of descent, Job Wickersham, born in Virginia; his son Job, born in Pennsylvania; and our subject's father, who bore the same Christian name. Grandfather Wicker- sham was a farmer and millwright, and was numbered among the early settlers of Columbiana and Logan counties, Ohio, his death occurring in the last named locality when he had passed the prime of life. The parents of Job Wickersham, of whom this sketch is written, were Job and Ann Eliza (Ballinger) Wickersham, natives of Ohio. The father was a farmer and a raiser and shipper of live stock. In 1864 he came to Big Creek township, and after living there a year removed to a farm just north of Monticello. At the end of two years he settled on the Richard Imes farm, on the bank of 36
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the Tippecanoe river five miles northwest of the town, and died there in March, 1874, aged sixty-one years. His widow is still living, and has been a valued member of the Methodist church from early youth. Her father, John Ballinger, was a native of Ohio, a farmer, and his death occurred when he was about sixty-five years old.
Born in Logan county, Ohio, June 12, 1852, Job Wickersham is one of nine children, the others being as follows: Eli L., of Cass township, White county; Alonzo, of Rockwood, Tennessee; Ann Anadelia, wife of Amos Humphreys, of Lima, Ohio; Melissa E., wife of Henry Young, of Shawnee- town, Illinois; Ella M., wife of Lewis C. Reynolds, of Monon township; Perry J., deceased; Mary C., deceased, in her life-time the wife of Harvey Snyder; and Charley, who died at the age of ten years.
When he was twelve years old Job Wickersham came to White county, and since 1865 has lived in Union township. After leaving the district schools he attended the Monticello high school, and subsequently to his father's death he carried on the old homestead, a place of three hundred and twenty acres, for two years, it then being divided among the heirs. The young man then bought the shares of his brothers Alonzo and Perry, and built upon the place and otherwise improved it. In 1891 he sold his farm, which comprised one hundred and five acres; but two years before he had leased the Judge Turpie farm of one hundred and fifty-seven acres, and has lived there since March, 1889, as it is located but a mile north of town and is thus convenient for his business.
The marriage of Mr. Wickersham and Eva Viola, daughter of Randolph and Judith (Crouch) Land, was celebrated December 21, 1876. Their chil- dren are all living save Ernest, who died in infancy, and are named as fol- lows: George R., Job Victor, Earl L., Raymond, Clarence Dale, Nellie J., Donald, Forest and David Turpie. George R. enlisted in Company G, Eleventh United States Infantry, May 21, 1898, and served under Nelson A. Miles at San Juan, Porto Rico, and was honorably discharged after a year's service, and is now in Monticello. . (More about him further on in this sketch.) Mr. Job Wickersham and his wife are members of the Christian church.
The grandfathers of Mrs. Wickersham were John Land and William Crouch, the latter one of Indiana's pioneer farmers. William Crouch was born in Virginia, of English ancestry. He was an old-fashioned Demo- crat, had a plantation, manufactured tobacco and also owned a sawmill. He later lived successively in Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana, dying in Adams, in the latter state, when nearly eighty-six years old. Six of the seven children of his first wife, Judith, née King, lived to maturity. They were Jes- sie, Lewelen, Eliza, May, Matilda and Elizabeth. His second wife, whose maiden name was Mary Cotter, was born in east Tennessee, of Irish
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descent, and died in Indiana when nearly sixty-six years old. Of her eleven children, James, George, Judith and Nancy were born in Tennessee, Melinda, Sally Ann, Rebecca, Martha, William and Jeptha in Kentucky, and Amanda, the youngest, in Indiana. George and Jeptha Crouch were well known for many years in the United States and Canada as extensive dealers in horses. George now lives retired on his farm near Marshall, Missouri, and Jeptha lives at Lafayette, Indiana. He and his son George Roland are importers and breeders of fine horses.
Randolph Land was a native of Kentucky, and his wife, Judith, was from Tennessee. Of their four daughters, Georgia Melinda died at the age of eight years. Artemisia is the wife of William J. Martin, of St. Paul, In- diana; and Harriet Elma is the wife of Frank Lowe, of Rushville, Indiana. Their father was a farmer and general merchant, and for some years was en- gaged in the grain business in St. Paul, this state. He was an early settler of Jefferson county, and for twenty-eight years has resided in White county, seven years in Monticello. Mrs. Land died in August, 1883, aged fifty-four years, and his present wife was formerly Miss Martha Alander. All were members of the Christian church, Mr. Land being a deacon in the same.
George R. Wickersham, in the following letters written while a soldier in the Spanish-American war, shows that he possesses the family traits of keen and accurate observation and strong vitality:
ON BOARD THE TRANSPORT WHITNEY, IN THE CARIBBEAN SEA, August 1, 1898.
Dear Father :- We left Tampa a week ago Saturday. We left docks at 10 o'clock and got out in the gulf at 3 in the afternoon. We did not see land until two days later, when we sighted the southwest point of Cuba. The next morning we saw a large range of mountains on the mainland and later on the Isle of Pines. Two days later we sighted a range of mount- tains in eastern Cuba. About 10 o'clock we came to the wreck of the Christobal Colon, then the Viscaya and then the other two vessels that were sunk near Santiago. It is a coaling station now. We then passed through Windward Passage and the next morning sighted Hayti. We followed its north coast until we arrived at Samana bay, on the eastern shore, Saturday morn- ing. We had orders to meet the whole fleet there, but two of the boats had left and we got orders to move on or follow them to Cape San Juan, on the northeast coast of Porto Rico. We went into the harbor of a small village and stayed all day yesterday, waiting on the other seven boats. The natives brought out cocoanuts, bananas, mangoes, and lemons. I got about twenty-five cents worth-about half a bushel-of lemons. We left there at dark, after sending the mail ashore to wait for a mail boat. We started for the cape, but this morning the gunboat Annapolis met us with orders to go to Ponce, on the south coast, where General Miles landed three days ago. We will get there some time to-night.
This is Tuesday morning. We are in the harbor of Ponce. There are about ten or twelve transports here and a lot of warships-the cruisers Columbia, Prairie, Howard, and a monitor; we passed several last night. There are newsboats here. We met the New York Journal boat (the Echo) Saturday morning and they said they were going to San Juan.
One of our boats, the Decatur H. Miller, has not arrived yet. It has Company F on board; that is the one that Goslee and Van Pelt are on. It stopped in Samana to get water. We anchored alongside the Gussie, the boat that landed the first party in Cuba. It is just like our boat, The natives have brought out several loads of fruit and eggs. Eggs are forty cents
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a dozen. There is a small town at this port; the buildings look like warehouses and factories. Ponce is several miles up the mountains. I see the soldiers on shore unloading the barges. Everything is loaded on barges and then towed ashore. I saw them swinging mules off the top of a vessel into a barge with a derrick. The shore is piled up with boxes, tents, hay and grain. The harbor is full of small boats, some with fruit and tobacco and some with officers.
We had a smooth voyage until we struck the Windward Passage, and there the ship pitched terribly. When we got in the Atlantic it was worse. I was on guard night before last and the wind almost blew me off the deck. We had a litile squall off the west coast of Cuba. We all slept in the cabin that night. We saw a water-spout the same day. We had to sleep on deck on our blankets. It has rained five or six times a day for a day or two. You can see Jack Tars here in every direction; a number of them were painting the Columbia as we came past. I did not get sea-sick, but I got sick of the food we had. I finally got around the of- ficer's cook and he managed to fill my mess pan once a day for twenty-five cents. I lived on that and coffee. I had to do it on the "Schley."
I don't know when we will go ashore. The captain has just gone ashore to find out. Our company and troop B of the Second Cavalry are the only troops on this boat. The natives here don't want Spanish money for their fruit. A fellow called one a d-d Spaniard a while ago, and he threw up his hands and said: "Don't call me a Spaniard or they will kill me on shore."
General Miles is up in the country with five thousand troops. The mountains rise up behind the town several thousand feet, but they say the country is level after you get back of them.
When you write send to Company G, Eleventh Infantry, Ponce, Porto Rico. Give my regards to all; tell any one to write to me, as news is scarce here. Good bye. GEORGE.
LAS MARIAS, PORTO RICO, August 25, 1898.
DEAR MOTHER :- Your letters of the 22d and 28th were received a few days ago, and I will now try and answer them.
We landed at Ponce August 3d and marched about four miles, and camped in a field between the city and Port Ponce. We stayed there until the next Saturday and then Com- panies G and A were ordered to do provost guard duty. We intended to relieve two Illinois companies, but when we reached headquarters we found that it was a mistake and we had to return. We then got orders to march to the train and go to Yauco, a town about twenty-five miles northwest of Ponce. Company F went with us.
The railroads here are not like the ones at home. The track is only about three feet wide and the engines look like big boxes with smoke-stacks. The cars have only four wheels, and the box-car we rode in was crowded with sixteen men. The train did not leave until 10 P. M., and we arrived at Yauco at 11:30. The next day we joined the rest of the companies of the Eleventh and went into camp. The natives were very glad to have us there, and helped all they could. Every one said he was a Porto Rico " Americano," and this, with " Americano very good," is about all the English they know. August 9th we got orders to move, and then our troubles began. We started north toward Mayaguez; our company was the advance guard. I was in the pont all day. The pont is seven men who go about one-half mile ahead of the main body to look out for the enemy. Our native scouts brought back word that there was a large body of Spaniards a short distance ahead; but we did not find them that day.
Then follows a description of the battles and the capture of the Spanish colonel and his staff, which was published in the Monticello paper in letters from other parties. In these George states that he got a piece of flag, a piece of the Spanish colonel's shoulder straps and some Spanish papers, intending to bring them home. He continues:
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It rains about half the time and everybody got sick. Out of one hundred and fifteen men in our company only sixty were able for duty, and they did not feel well. All our sergeants and corporals are in the hospital now. We had nothing but dog tents and some had three men in them. George Wood and a fellow named Smith, from New Haven, Connecticut, were in one with me, and both got sick, so I slept in an ox cart for a few nights. I have been sick ever since we came to Las Marias, but not seriously enough to report at sick call. George Wood and Smith are still here and are very sick with fever and bowel trouble. They will go to the hospital at Mayaguez to-morrow. Fred Schilt, James Rufing, Allen North, Austin Henry and a Reynolds boy from Patton have been sick, but are up town once in a while now, except North, who is pretty sick. Charles Herron is in Company F with Goslee, Van Pelt and Tillet. A centipede bit him on the foot at Yauco, but it did not hurt him much.
I like this country along the coast. It is very productive. All kinds of tropical fruits grow here, and coffee grows in abundance. This town has about two hundred population and is about two hundred years behind the times. We don't know when we will leave, and we get no news except from the letters we receive, and that is two or three weeks old. This town is on the top of a mountain, and the other night I was on picket post above the clouds. The food we get is not very good, but I guess we will get through all right. We have not been paid since we left Tampa, and I don't know when we will. The natives seem glad that we are here, but you can't tell anything about them. GEORGE.
FRANK R. BAXTER.
One of the industrious and prosperous citizens of Prairie township, Warren county, is Frank R. Baxter, whose success in life is truly well deserved. About three decades ago he arrived in this country, a stranger, with no capital save a brave and determined heart and good health. Daunted by nothing, he steadily persevered, ever getting nearer and nearer the goal which he had in view, the honorable one of position and a com- petence, results which he achieved long ago.
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