USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 40
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 40
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 40
USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 40
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 40
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 40
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 40
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years with credit to himself and his constituents. He displayed high ability as a legislator, and was a most satisfactory representative of the people. As prosecuting attorney he was called on to conduct some of the most impor- tant cases ever tried in the circuit.
For more than a quarter of a century Thompson & Brother was the lead- ing law firm in Jasper county, and were deservedly popular, as the firm was public-spirited and did all in its power to advance the public interests. The educational interests of the county owe their advancement in a large measure to Judge Thompson, who, as a teacher and school examiner, was the first to introduce and advocate normal methods of instruction, and his influence as an educator is still manifest in the excellent school system of Jasper county and Rensselaer. His enterprise was also manifested in other improvements, railroads, gravel roads, highways, ditches and public buildings having received substantial aid from him both in time and money. It was largely through his influence that the milldams on the Iroquois river were removed, resulting in a great benefit to public health. He has bought large proper- ties of non-residents and sold to actual settlers. He reclaimed a large tract of swamp land in Union township by the construction of about fifteen miles of ditches, and this land he has divided into a large number of farms, each bearing special names, which he has placed on sale at such easy terms that poor .men are enabled to become land-owners. As a lawyer he is remarkably able and successful. His character is above reproach, and receives the re- spect he so richly merits.
On October 10, 1878, he was married to Miss Mary Foltz, of Oxford, this state. She was born in Tippecanoe county, and is a daughter of Cyrus and Mary Foltz. Their union has been blessed by the birth of five children, viz .: Grace, born August IS, 1879; Parr, born July 28, 1880, and died Au- gust 22 of the same year; Edna, born September 18, 1882; Firman, August 27, 1886, and Simon, February 18, 1893.
GEORGE W. BURNS, M. D.
Forty-four years ago this sterling old citizen of Lafayette came to this place, and during this long period he has been thoroughly identified with what- ever has tended toward the development and prosperity of this section. He has won distinction in his chosen profession in the meantime, and, though now well along in years, he has not given up his practice. In fact, his numer- ous friends and regular patients would hardly permit him to retire from busi- ness, as they are greatly attached to him and have come to rely upon his help- ful sympathy and aid in times of sickness. Four decades ago, when he came to this locality, small improvements had been made in the primeval wilder-
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ness, and little resemblance can be traced in the Tippecanoe county of to-day to that country of long ago. Though there were many difficulties and hard- ships to be encountered by the frontiersmen of that early period, they had their compensations, and never were friends truer and more helpful; and the simple, unostentatious life which they led was filled with quiet enjoyment, after all.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Doctor Burns was born on the 24th of June, I 822. He is a son of Torrence and Barbara (Miller) Burns, who were natives of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, respectively. They had five children, of whom only the Doctor and John M., a farmer of Weston, Illinois, survive. The father ran back and forth on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers with boats for several years, taking freight from points in the Buckeye state to New Orleans. Later in life he removed to Elkhart county, Indiana, and, locating on land near Pine creek, north of Goshen, he improved a farm and reared his family. After a long and useful career he was summoned to the better land, having survived his devoted wife for a number of years. Both were mem- bers of the Methodist church, and were always active in all religious and charitable work. He ceased from his labors in 1885, when he had attained the advanced age of ninety-three years. His wife. whose death took place in the year 1870, was then in her seventy-sixth year. She was a daughter of John Miller, a native of Pennsylvania and a soldier of the war of 1812. He died in the Keystone state when about eighty-two years old. His wife after- ward came to Goshen, Indiana, and there died in 1844, when about four- score and two years. Harvey Burns, the paternal grandfather of the Doctor, was a native of Ireland, of Scotch parentage. He decided to cast in his fortunes with those of the favored sons of America, and fought for the liberty and rights of his adopted land in the war of 1812. Having taken up his abode in Kentucky among the pioneers of that state, he became a wealthy plantation-owner and slave-holder. His children are five in number, four sons and a daughter. Longevity is one of the characteristics of the Burns family, and grandfather Burns lived to the extreme age of one hundred and fifteen years, his death occurring in 1863.
When his parents removed to this state Dr. George W. Burns was but four years old, and thus, to all intents and purposes, he is the son of the Hoosier state. When he was a small boy he commenced attending the old- fashioned subscription school, held in a log school-house. He also was a student in the La Porte schools for one year, and in 1849 was graduated in the medical department of the University of Michigan. He at once began practice in Cassopolis, Cass county, Michigan, remaining there about five years. He then came to Lafayette and established himself in the practice, which has continued up to the present time. Always an earnest student,
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he has kept in touch with modern discoveries and methods in the treatment of disease and has retained the confidence and high regard of his profes- sional brethren, as well as of his patients. In national elections he has always used his right of franchise in favor of the principles and nominees of the Democratic party, and in local affairs he has exercised wise discrimina- tion, voting for the man or measure which he deemed best calculated to promote the welfare of his home community. Although he has passed the usual age of man in length of days, according to the Psalmist, he enjoys good health and is well preserved in body and mind.
October 15, 1852, Doctor Burns married Miss Catherine Purkey, daugh- ter of George W. and Catherine (Richey) Purkey. Eight children came to bless their union, namely : Addie, deceased; Harvey, who married Emma Dealey, of Indianapolis, and has two children, Mabel and Joy; Lucinda E., who married Robert Layton, of Battle Ground, Indiana, and has six chil- dren; John and George W., who are employed in a restaurant; Frank and Willie, who died in infancy; and Annie, unmarried and living at home. The faithful wife and mother was called to the silent land December 31, 1891. She had been for many years a devout member of the United Brethren church and was loved and admired by all who enjoyed the pleas- ure of her acquaintance.
JOSEPH J. GORRELL.
A well known representative of the journalistic interests of northwestern Indiana is Joseph J. Gorrell, editor and proprietor of the Pulaski County Democrat, published at Winamac. His broad experience in the newspaper field well fits him for the publication of a paper that ranks foremost among the journals of this section of the state, and he has gained for the Democrat a most liberal patronage by reason of its high character, its interesting arti- cles and its advocacy of all measures intended to prove of public benefit.
Mr. Gorrell is one of Indiana's native sons, his birth having occurred on a farm near Ossian, Wells county, on the 7th of December, 1852, and his parents being James and Mary Ann (Milliken) Gorrell. The Gorrell family originated in Ireland, and the first of whom we have authentic record is James Gorrell, the great-grandfather of our subject. He was born in Mary- land in 1770, and married Sarah Milholland, a native of the same state, whose parents were emigrants from the little European kingdom of Holland. He had a large family, among them these sons: John, James, Jesse, William, Thomas and Joseph. The last named, who was the seventh son of a seventh son, was born August 3, 1802, in Pennsylvania and married Esther Glass, born September 5, 1800, the wedding being celebrated in Beaver county, of
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the Keystone state. Their children were: James, John Glass, Milo Johnson, William (deceased), Joseph Riddle, twins who died in infancy, Matilda, Andrew G. and Cyrus Vanemon. Of this family James, Milo and Andrew G. served in the Thirty-fourth Indiana Infantry during the civil war; Joseph R. belonged to the One Hundred and Thirtieth Indiana Infantry, and Cyrus V. was in the Seventy-fifth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers.
James Gorrell, the father of our subject, was born on a farm in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, September 3, 1826, and in 1831 his parents removed to their new home in Trumbull county, Ohio. In 1845 he became a resident of Wells county, Indiana, where he purchased a quarter section of land from his father, who had entered a section of government land. The entire family then made their home on this place in Jefferson township. James Gorrell resided here until 1865, when he formed a partnership with John Brown, of Fort Wayne, and built the flouring mill at Ossian. He was associated with Mr. Brown for three years and then became a partner of J. A. Milliken, in connection with whom he operated the mill until 1874, when he exchanged that property for a general store in Ossian. He then admitted his son Joseph to a partnership in the mercantile business, which was conducted under the firm name of Gorrell & Son until the burning of the store in March, 1877. For the past six years he has made his home in Knox, Indi- ana, and is an old gentleman of sterling worth, whose upright life has won him great confidence, respect and veneration. In connection with his brother John he was at one time the proprietor of a paper in Bluffton, Indiana. He has been honored with several local offices, having served as township trustee and assessor, and in 1892 he was elected county assessor. In early life he was a Whig and on the dissolution of that party joined the new Repub- lican party, with which he affiliated until 1872, when he voted for Horace Greeley. Since that time he has advocated the cause of Democracy and is a supporter of its principles as expounded by W. J. Bryan. During the civil war he loyally served his country as a member of Company A, Thirty- fourth Indiana Infantry, enlisting in 1861 and remaining at the front until honorably discharged on account of physical disability. Socially, he is con- nected with the Masonic fraternity, holding his membership in Ossian Lodge, No. 297.
In Wells county, Indiana, James Gorrell was united in marriage, August 8, 1850, to Miss Mary Ann Milliken, who was born in Juniata county, Penn- sylvania, February 17, 1832. With her parents she removed in 1835 to Trumbull county, Ohio, and thence in 1849 to Wells county, Indiana. By her marriage she has become the mother of the following children: Sarah, who died at the age of two years; Joseph, of this review; an infant son; Samuel Mark, editor of the Starke County Democrat, at Knox, Indiana;
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Esther May, wife of David H. Swaim, editor of the Bluffton (Indiana) Chron- icle; Horace Grant, who died at the age of five years; Etta Wilmina, who is engaged in school-teaching in Knox; Daisy Blanche, who died at the age of one year; and James Donaldson, editor of the North Judson (Indiana) News.
The maternal grandfather of our subject was Samuel Milliken, and his children were Mary A., Martha Jane, James Abraham, William, Joseph Rob- ertson, John Calvin, Samuel and Ezra. All of the sons, with the exception of Samuel, served their country in the war of the Rebellion as loyal defend- ers of the Union cause. The Milliken family is of Irish lineage.
Joseph J. Gorrell, who is the subject proper of this biographical record, remained in the county of his nativity until 1881 and then went to Fort Wayne, where he was employed in the shops of the Pittsburg Railway Com- pany, in the carpenter department, for a year. In May, 1882, he entered the Sentinel office to learn the printer's trade, under the direction of E. A. K. Hackett, but in less than a year secured a position on the Wells County Times, at Bluffton. Soon afterward, however, in connection with Captain E. Y. Sturgis and A. G. Gorrell, his uncle, he purchased the Bluffton Ban- ner, but sold his interest to Mr. Sturgis after fourteen months and purchased a newspaper plant at Portland. This he removed to Ridgeville and estab- lished the Ridgeville Banner, which he conducted seven months, when he re- moved to Winchester and began the publication of the Winchester Democrat, really a revival of a paper of the same name which had previously gone down in other hands. This he continued to publish until July 11, 1891, when he sold it. On the 22d of the same month he came to Winamac and purchased the Pulaski County Democrat, of which he has since been editor and pro- prietor. He publishes his paper in the interests of the Democracy, and is a stanch advocate of Bryan and the party principles as enunciated in the Chi- cago platform of 1896.
On the 6th of June, 1878, Joseph J. Gorrell was united in marriage to Miss Emma Jane Lewis, who was born in Jay county, Indiana, April 21, 1861, and is a daughter of David W. and Harriet (Fetters) Lewis. Their children are Edmund Clive, who was born May 23, 1879, and is now his father's assistant in the office; Vivian Frances, born April 19, 1883; Hazel Fay, born February 19, 1887.
Mr. Gorrell's social disposition and genial manner render him a favor- ite in the lodges with which he is connected, and he is accounted one of the leading representatives of the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias and the Royal Arcanum. He became a member of the Masonic order in Ossian Lodge, No. 297, but was afterward demitted to Winchester Lodge and later to Winamac Lodge. He was made a Royal Arch Mason in North Judson Chapter, No. 108, and now belongs to Winamac Chapter,
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No. 116. He is also affiliated with Logansport Council, No. 11, R. & S. M., and St. John's Commandery, No. 24, Knights Templar, both of Logans- port. He also belongs to Winamac Lodge, No. 274, Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor. In the other bodies he has held various and responsible official positions. He is a public-spirited and progressive citizen, giving a loyal and effective support to all measures for the public good, and in business and social circles is highly esteemed for his genuine worth.
S. HERBERT MOORE, M. D.
Among the men who, from a humble beginning, have battled bravely with fate and by their own unaided efforts have climbed to the very pinnacle of success may be mentioned Dr. S. H. Moore, of Rensselaer, Indiana. One of a large family he was compelled to do for himself, and determined early in life to make the practice of medicine his vocation in life, and to this end bent all his energies, teaching school and studying early and late to prepare himself for his chosen profession. How well he has succeeded is well known in this and surrounding counties. His father was a native of Virginia, but came to Randolph county, Indiana, at an early day and there passed the re- mainder of his life. Dr. Moore was born in that county in 1829, and was one of nine children who grew to adult years, the first to die being about fifty years old. Four brothers and one sister are still living.
Until he was fourteen years of age Dr. Moore remained on his father's farm, and was then sent to school at Winchester, Indiana. He remained there four years, working hard to obtain the nucleus of an education. The following year he secured the position of instructor in the Randolph County Seminary, and from there went to Wayne county to accept a similar position. While thus engaged he hoarded up his earnings, and every mo- ment not actually taken up by his duties as teacher was spent in the study of medicine. He first studied under the guidance of Dr. Carver, a promi- nent physician of Wayne county, and later, when his teaching called him to Williamsburg, that county, he read with Dr. Blair, of that place. He was then made principal of an academy at Dublin, that county, and soon after this, thinking himself prepared for a college course, he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He was able to take only a par- tial course at this time, and began practicing at Fairview, Randolph coun- ty. He still continued to study, and took a course of instruction in the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati. He then located in Farmland, in his native county, but feeling that he would never be satisfied with anything less than the best obtainable instruction he returned to Ann Arbor and completed
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the course, graduating with the degree of M. D. He then went to Indian- apolis and formed a partnership with Prof. William Haymond, of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he remained many years, applying himself so closely to the work in hand that his health gave way and he was com- pelled to retire from the business. His work there had been most satisfac- tory, and it was with sincere regret that his many friends saw him depart.
He now located in Washington, Wayne county, this state, where he opened an office, taking life easier than he had hitherto done. While here he was called upon to mourn the death of his wife, formerly a Miss Card, a most estimable woman and a native of Indiana. He now de- cided to visit the Pacific coast, and with his two daughters went to Los Angeles, California, where he practiced two years. He then returned to Indiana and settled at Muncie, where he remained for two years, then went to the state of Missouri, where he spent three years at Carthage and three more at Pittsburg, that state. However successful his business, he found he was not satisfied at any of these places, and returned to his native state, locating at Rensselaer. He soon succeeded in building up a large and lucrative practice, his close application, skillful treatment of disease, and cheery disposition meeting with well-merited recognition. He has been at great pains to keep abreast of the times in all branches of his profession by a systematic course of study and reading, but has made a specialty of certain diseases, in the treatment of which he is unsurpassed. He is the father of three children: a son, William, who died at the age of five years, and two daughters, Edna Belle, the wife of William Watkins, of San Francisco, and Nydia Marie, the wife of Alfonzo Lagarde, a wine merchant and the owner of a large vineyard in Santa Clara county, California. Dr. Moore is a man of high ideals and upright Christian character, and has the confidence and respect of all with whom he comes in contact.
FREDERICK MAIBAUER.
Frederick Maibauer, ex-county commissioner of Pulaski county and one of the leading citizens of Medaryville, was born in the city of Graiswalt, Prussia, July 25, 1842, his parents being John and Gustine (Levering) Mai- bauer. The father was born in Sweden in 1810, a son of John W. Mai- bauer. In early life he was a gardener, and afterward became a game- keeper. He served as a soldier in the Prussian army during the seven years' war against Napoleon, and participated in a number of battles. He was a member of the Black Cavalry, composed of very large men to be used in making charges in special emergencies. He was six feet and two inches in height and weighed two hundred and twenty pounds: hence was well fitted
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for membership in that famous regiment. On one occasion, while making a charge, he was wounded by a saber thrust, whereby he lost two of his fingers. He then left the army, and was made a gamekeeper in one of the royal parks in the northern part of Prussia. In that locality he married Miss Gertrude Levering, who was born September 18, 1816, in northern Prussia, and by their union they became the parents of four children: John, Frederick, May and Ida. In 1856 Mr. Maibauer, with his family, crossed the Atlantic to America, sailing from Hamburg, Germany, on an old-fashioned sailing ves- sel, the Louisa Ripke, which was thirty-seven days in making the voyage to New York, arriving in June. He took up his abode at Danville, Illinois, where he worked on the railroad, and after one year was made section boss. In 1860 he removed to Lafayette, Indiana, where he engaged in gardening and spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 1894, when he had reached the age of seventy-four years. In religious belief he was a Lutheran and served as church trustee. His political support was given the Democ- racy. He was an industrious man, straightforward in all his dealings, and a highly respected citizen.
Frederick Maibauer was a youth of fourteen years when he came with his parents to America. He had attended the common schools of Prussia, and after locating in Danville attended the Sunday-school services of the Lutheran church, which was all the educational training he received in Eng- lish. In that city he learned the shoemaker's trade, and then removed with his parents to Lafayette in 1860. While there he married Miss Annie Walk- nitz, who was born March 17, 1849, in Prussia, a daughter of Frederick and Justina (Schultz) Walknitz. The parents were natives of Prussia, were mar- ried there and became the parents of the following children: Annie, Charles, Julius, Louisa and Julia. In his native land the father was a cattle-drover and after his emigration to America in 1857 he turned his attention to agri- cultural pursuits and became the owner of two hundred acres of land in Cass township, Pulaski county, Indiana. He transformed the wild land into rich and fertile fields and developed an excellent farm whereon he made his home until his life's labors were ended.
After their marriage our subject and his wife began their domestic life in Lafayette, where they remained for about five years, Mr. Maibauer serving on the police force there for four years. In 1874 he came to Medaryville and began working at his trade, not only doing all kinds of shoe-repairing, but also engaging in the manufacture of boots and shoes. His excellent workmanship gained him a good reputation and he therefore secured a liberal patronage.
His sterling worth also led to his selection for public offices of trust and responsibility, and in 1890 he was elected a member of the board of county
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commissioners of Pulaski county. So ably did he discharge his duties that he was re-elected by a good majority and served until 1896. In politics he is a Jacksonian Democrat, unswerving in his advocacy of the principles of his party. He is a secognized leader in political circles, and for the past eighteen years has served as a member of the Democratic county central committee, and he has also been road supervisor for eleven years. In all official positions he has discharged his duties with marked promptness and fidelity. He has labored most earnestly for the upbuilding and advancement of the county, has ever favored good roads, good schools, practical improvements and sup- ported all measures having for their object the general welfare. When he was elected county commissioner there were no iron bridges in the west sec- tion of Pulaski county, and largely through his instrumentality seventy-three iron bridges were constructed. He found the county forty-nine thousand dollars in debt when he became a member of the board, but notwithstanding the great number of bridges built and many other improvements made, this indebtedness was all paid off within the years of his connection with the office. When Mr. Maibauer was county commissioner the new stone court- house was erected at Winamac, at a cost of fifty-two thousand dollars, -the building being an attractive structure. The work of erecting this public building was conducted on correct business principles, and it is a matter of record that not a dollar was misappropriated. There was no "boodling," and honesty and integrity characterized every portion of the work. The commissioners, at Mr. Maibauer's earnest solicitation, stoutly refused all bids that had any savor of jobbery. The county, however, did not fully escape all efforts on the part of rascally men, and was saved from the loss of twenty thousand dollars, for which amount suit had been brought, mainly through the stanch defense made by Mr. Maibauer, who might appropriately have been termed the watch-dog of the county treasury during the time he served on the board of commissioners. In all the large amount of money ex- pended for the court-house and the seventy-three bridges, not one cent was misappropriated. Sturdy honesty is a vital characteristic in the personality of Mr. Maibauer, and the people of Pulaski county owe him a debt of grati- tude for his zealous efforts in its behalf.
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