Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 11

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1034

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and finally Harman Wigger removed his family to Marion in 1883, although only a nominal business relation existed between him and his brother, J. H. Wigger. He invested in rental property, and after the death of J. H. Wigger in 1896, the Wigger Buggy and Harness company of which K. R. Wigger is now the head came into existence. For half a century the name Wigger has been in the Marion business directory.

J. H. Wigger accumulated considerable property and he had a happy family, but Mrs. Josie Swartz and Paul Wigger died soon after the death of their father and a few years later Miss Pauline Wigger died, and upon the death of the wife and mother (Ruth Griffin), the Wigger estate went to relatives. "The earth is a stage," although some of the players have but short time in which to act their parts. J. H. Wig- ger's time in Grant county was from 1864 to 1896, and his family is now extinct. John Wigger of Washington township is a brother, and Harman Wigger, who was the first of the family in Grant county, is now the senior Wigger in America. He was born August 31, 1836, in Germany. While J. H. Wigger was the first of "Wigger on the Square," in Marion the Wigger Buggy and Harness Company rounds out the first half century of the Wigger harness trade in Marion.

While Harman Wigger is the senior Wigger in this country, he is also the senior in the Whitson-Ruley family relationship. Changes have come to the Wigger family circle as to the rest of the world. While Grandmother Wigger lived and frequently visited in Grant county, the German language was spoken in the family, but now German is seldom spoken-the Wigger family thoroughly American, and the younger gen- eration not knowing the German tongue. Mr. Wigger's immediate fam- ily circle is his daughter and the family of his son, K. R. Wigger. . Mention of the name Wigger suggests the business Harman Wigger established in the county in 1859-more than half a century ago. When he first handled leather in Jonesboro the demands of the trade were simple and he manufactured everything, and today the Wigger Buggy and Harness Company makes a specialty of hand made harness. A large force of men is employed and Wigger made harness is in great demand among Wigger patrons in Grant county. While the automobile trade is a later feature of the Wigger business and up to date features are everywhere in evidence in the store, the name: "Wigger Buggy and Harness Company" indicates that the company adheres to the old line- caters to the trade that has always had its headquarters at the Wigger store.

The name Wigger has been advertised as widely as any business or firm name in Grant county, and the future policy is to maintain the excellent business reputation. The Wigger Buggy and Harness Company initiated the plan of sending out wagon loads of buggies for sale among farmers, but more recently its policy is to invite all patrons to the "Wig-

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ger on the Square" store where a complete line of luggage articles, trunks, suit cases and valises and all kind of robes and blankets, as well as buggies, carriages, harness and automobiles and accessories are to be found in stock, and a courteous floor service is extended to all. While Mr. Wigger maintains close oversight of his business, he is sur- rounded with competent salesmen and the Wigger Buggy and Harness Company enjoys splendid patronage.

EDMUND CLARK LEACH. On section three of Fairmount township is the home of Edmund Clark Leach. Two hundred and forty acres of some of the finest land to be found in southern Grant county are the basis of his industry as a farmer and stockman, and by his success he stands in the very front rank of producers of agricultural crops. His judgment in farming matters is regarded as almost infallible, and everything about his place attests the progressive and prosperous business man. From a considerable distance his home can be recognized by its large white house, red barn, and silo, and the condition of the fields and the fences is a further evidence of his ability. Mr. Leach grows crops that average sixty bushels of corn to the acre, forty bushels of wheat and other grains in proportion, and everything grown on the place is fed to his cattle and hogs. The Leach family has been identified with this section of Indiana, since pioneer times, and orig- inally came from the old commonwealth of Virginia.

Great-grandfather Rev. Eaton Leach was born in Virginia, not long after the close of the Revolutionary war, and was married in that state. Most of their children were born in Virginia, and those whose names are remembered were: William Archibald, Reuben, James H., Mattie, Rebecca. Early in the year 1800 the family came over the Mountains to Franklin county, Indiana, where they were among the very earliest settlers in what was then northwest territory. Indiana did not become an individual territory for several years later, and did not become a state until 1816. Eaton Leach entered land from the government, and he and his wife spent the rest of their lives in Franklin county. He was a life-long member of the primitive Baptist church, in which faith he was a preacher, and he was a man who exercised great influence and did much for the good of his community. His wife was of the old school Presbyterian church. All his children mentioned above, with the exception of Rebecca lived to be married, and all had children of their own.

. William Leach, grandfather of the Fairmount township farmer, was the oldest, and was born in Virginia, about 1790. HIe enlisted for service in the war of 1812, his participation as a soldier of that war being one of the features in the family history of which his descendants may well be proud. In Franklin county, Indiana, William Leach married Miss Sarah or Sallie Harrison, who was born in Ohio, of the old Ohio family of that name. All the children of William Leach and wife were born in Franklin county, Indiana, and then in the early thirties, they moved to Fairmount township in Grant county. Thus nearly eighty years have passed since the Leach name first became identified with Grant county, and its members have all been effective and honorable citizens of their respective communities. William Leach took up land from the government and eventually acquired by purchase eight tracts of eighty acres each, giving to each one of his eight children, a farm of eighty acres. On the old homestead he continued to make his home throughout the rest of his days, and died about 1848, when less than sixty years of age. His widow survived until a good old age. The first Primitive Baptist church organization was formed

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Jason Willson

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in the home of William Leach, and he was one of the officials and active workers in that society. In politics his support was always given to the Democratic party, and he was in many ways an honored and respected citizen. The eight children of William Leach and wife were as follows: Rachael, Esom, John, Edmund, Jane, Mary (Polly), Martha A., and William Jasper. The last named died young, while all the others married and now have descendants living in this and other parts of the country.

Esom Leach, the oldest son and second child, was born in Franklin county, Indiana, and after coming to Grant county became owner of half a section or three hundred and twenty acres of land in the township of Fairmount. There his death occurred January 17, 1893. His wife, who survived him some years was Lucinda Corn, born in Kentucky, and spending part of her girlhood in Rush county, being still young when her family moved to Grant county. She was fourteen years of age when married to Esom Leach. Their career began in a very humble home, and by their industry and good management they provided well for their children and spent their own years in comfort and prosperity. Lucinda Corn was a daughter of Joseph Corn, one of the early settlers who came from Kentucky to Rush county, and later to Grant county, where he died when a very old man.

Mr. Edmund Clark Leach is one of thirteen children, all of whom married and had families, and eight sons and two daughters are still living. The fifth in this large family, Mr. Leach was born in Fairmount township, May 26, 1849, was reared and educated in his native locality, and has always followed farming with such success as few of his neighbors have attained.

Mr. Leach first married Frances Caskey, who died without children. His second wife was Elizabeth Mann, who was born in North Carolina, but was reared in Grant county, and died in Fairmount in 1885. She left a son, William H., who married Myrtle Payne, who died leaving three children, Harold, Bernice, and Clarkson P. The present wife of Mr. Leach was Miss Zibbie Glass, a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Harrison) Glass. She was born and reared in Rush county, but in early womanhood came to Grant county. Mr. and Mrs. Leach are the parents of eight children, namely: Ethel, Myrtle, Elizabeth, Hattie, Carnetia, George, Wilma, and Wilmer. The three oldest children are all graduates of the Fairmount Academy, and Miss Myrtle is now a special supply teacher. Hattie is a student in the Academy as is also her sister Carnetia, while the three youngest are in the grade schools. Mr. and Mrs. Leach are workers in the Primitive Baptist church at Fowlerton, and in politics he is a Democrat.

JASON WILLSON. The city of Marion, Indiana, has been rarely called upon to mourn the loss of a citizen whose death removed from the com- munity such an important factor in its affairs as did that of the late Jason Willson. For more than a half a century the directing head of the banking firm of Jason Willson & Company, his connection with financial affairs was of such an extensive nature as to give him un- questioned prestige among Indiana bankers, while as a citizen and in private life he ever maintained a reputation as a man of the highest principles and strictest integrity. Mr. Willson was born at Greenwich, New York, November 23, 1826, and was one of the twelve children of Osborn and Susan (Clapp) Willson.

Osborn Willson was born in Vermont, in 1793, and belonged to an early family of the Green Mountain State, whose early spirit of inde- pendence carried them valiantly into the ranks of the Continental army

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during the War of the Revolution. His paternal ancestors were Scotch- Irish and his maternal ancestors were of Scotch birth, the McCrackens', to which family his mother belonged, coming from Scotland and settling in New England during Colonial days. Her grandfather, Col. David McCracken, sacrificed an arm in the cause of American Independence, while the maternal grandfather of Jason Willson, Isaac Clapp, and the latter's brother, also served in the Revolutionary army. In early life Osborn Willson removed to Washington county, New York, where he was married to Susan Clapp, born at Salem, in that county, in 1799, of Welsh descent. This happy union lasted for sixty-three years, and resulted in the birth of twelve children, all of whom reached maturity and occupied honorable and honored positions in life. At the Golden Wedding Anniversary of this couple hundreds of their descendants and friends gathered to do them honor, and this occasion was duplicated when they had passed sixty-two years of married life. Not long after the latter event, Mrs. Willson passed away, in August, 1875, while her husband survived her five years, his death removing from his community a man who had fairly won the highest respect of all who had known him.

Born in the same house in which his eleven brothers and sisters had first seen the light of day, Jason Willson passed his boyhood and youth on the home farm, in the meantime securing a thorough education in the common schools. At the age of eighteen years he embarked upon a career of his own, adopting the profession of educator, in which all of his parents' children were engaged at one time or another. For eight years he was engaged in teaching during the winter months, while in the summer he followed the vocation of farming, but his youthful ambi- tion to better himself in life made him dissatisfied with the small wages and meagre opportunities offered in his calling and eventually he re- linquished it to become a traveling photographer. From 1853 to 1859 he was engaged in making daguerreotypes in various parts of the East, West and South, and while thus engaged, in the year 1859, came to Muncie, Indiana. Constantly on the lookout for a more profitable busi- ness, he recognized the opportunity for the establishment of a grocery business in Muncie, and continued to conduct this with remarkable success, for some two years.

It was while a resident of that city, September 19, 1860, that Mr. Willson was married to Miss Sabrina Wolfe, the estimable daughter of Adam Wolfe, the pioneer banker and merchant of Muncie, and this union was the means of causing Mr. Willson to embark upon the career in which he was to gain such high distinction and so great a success. From young manhood it had been his ambition to become a banker, and when he had confided his aspirations to his father-in-law, the elder man, with rare foresight, recognized in him the qualities which go to make for success in the field of finance. Accordingly, Mr. Wolfe proposed that they enter the banking business as partners, and shortly thereafter, hav- ing secured some experience in the house of his father-in-law, Mr. Will- son came to Marion and became the founder of the firm of Jason Willson & Company. When the Exchange Bank threw open its doors to the public, January 8, 1862, there was not a railroad nor a mile of gravel road in Grant county, and the only sidewalks in the embryo city consisted of a few stones embedded in the grounds surrounding the Court House. Although the enterprise was a success from the very start, it is interesting to note that for three years and four months following its inception Mr. Willson carried on all the work of the bank, from sweeping the floor to · discharging the duties of clerk, bookkeeper, cashier, president and board of directors. At the time he disposed of his interests therein, the bank required the services of no less than six active and experienced men,

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and had ten corresponding banks located in New York, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago, Toledo and Cleveland, and a perusal of the record of the institution shows that the accounts with these banks were at no time overdrawn. Mr. Wolfe continued as a partner in the bank until his death, March 20, 1892, a period of more than thirty years, and after his demise Mr. Willson was associated in business with his sons, Fred W. and Albert J. Willson. In 1883 Mr. Willson erected the Bank block, at that time the best in the city, and his residence, built in 1896, was the largest, handsomest, most substantial and modern in the city for years. At the time of his retirement, about ten years prior to his death, he sold his interests in the bank, which then became known as the Marion National, and continued to live retired until his death, March 10, 1913. Mr. Willson gained his position in the world of finance through no happy chance or adventitious circumstance, but by years of most devoted attention to the routine of the business, by an exacting knowledge of its principles, and after the most thorough test of his firmness, sagacity and integrity. He was a Democrat in politics, but of the kind that seeks the establishment of the right principles of government rather than the acquisition of the honors of office. Essen- tially and pre-eminently a banker, he left to others the task of public service, although the earnestness of his citizenship was never doubted, and in numerous ways he advanced the interests of Marion and its people. The members of the family have always been connected with the Episcopal church.

Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Willson: Grace, who died in 1879, in her seventeenth year; Fred W., a graduate of Racine College, of Racine, Wisconsin, and now a resident of Marion, Indiana; and Albert J., a graduate of Yale University, and now a resident of Marion. The golden wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Willson was celebrated at Muncie, Indiana, in 1910, and many of the people who were at their first wedding were there in attendance. This golden wedding was given at the resi- dence of Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Balls at Muncie, Indiana.

On March 11, 1913, the various banks of Marion passed the following set of resolutions :

"Whereas, those who are still actively associated with the banks of Marion and Grant county are conscious and appreciative of the record of the nestor of the banking business in this city and county. For more than a generation, Jason Willson set the standard of correct business principles in this community from 1862 thenceforward, without the record of an unkind act or a blot upon his name, as a loyal and valuable citizen and banker. It is therefore

"Resolved, by those who succeed him in different interests, represent- ing his pioneer enterprise of a half century ago, that they certify to his high conception and loyalty to his duties as a banker and his obliga- tions as a common citizen. The confidence of the people, and of the public, were never betrayed; what was entrusted to him was ever faith- fully guarded. He was ever faithful and loyal to the confidences that were entrusted to his watchfulness and care.

"Resolved, That the banking institutions of Marion close on Wednes- day afternoon at 1 o'clock for the day in honor of his memory. Marion National Bank, First National Bank, Marion State Bank, Grant Trust & Savings Company, Farmers Trust and Savings Company."

Mr. Willson was exceptionally successful in a material way as was evidenced by his will, which was filed for probate after his death with the county clerk. Very brief and concise, it was nevertheless very thorough, covering all points in the business-like manner which would be expected of a man of Mr. Willson's ability. The first item provided

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for the payment of all just debts, including the funeral expenses. Item two bequeathed to his wife, in fee simple, the magnificent residence property at Ninth and Washington streets, together with all the furni- ture and household goods of every description. The third and final item provided that all other property of the deceased, both real and personal, and the residue therefrom, should become the property of the widow and two sons, to be held in equal shares.

It will not be inappropriate to close this all too inadequate review of the career of this distinguished citizen with a quotation from a local newspaper, which in describing his funeral said in part as follows: "The last rites over the body of Jason Willson, Marion's oldest banker, and reputed to have been for the last ten years the oldest living banker in Indiana, were conducted with impressive solemnity at 2 o'clock, Wednes- day afternoon (March 12, 1913). Services were held at the residence, 908 South Washington street, with Rev. F. B. B. Johnston, rector of Gethsemane Episcopal church, in charge. Following the ceremony the body was laid to rest in the I. O. O. F. cemetery. The funeral was very largely attended. The friends of Mr. Willson filled the residence Wednesday afternoon. A large number of beautiful floral tributes were given by friends. Out of respect for Mr. Willson all banks in the city closed their doors at 1 o'clock Wednesday afternoon for the remainder of the day, and bankers attended the funeral, as did many business men of the city."

SOLOMON DULING. In the annals of early settlement in Grant county one of the names first to be mentioned is that of the Duling family, which for upwards of seventy years has been identified with Fairmount township. Solomon Duling, above named, was born a few years after the settlement of the family in this county, and has thus lived prac- tically all his life in his native community. The Duling name throughout his residence in Grant county has always been associated with solid worth and an industry which brings credit to the possessor and has helped to create the resources and wealth of the community.

The Duling family has always been more or less on the frontier, struggling against the hardships of the wilderness, and making homes first on the Atlantic Coast, and then in different sections of the middle west. First to be mentioned in the family history is William Duling, great-grandfather of Solomon. He spent all his life in Virginia, where he was a farmer. One of the sons of William was Edmund Duling, Sr., grandfather of Solomon, and the next in line of descent was Edmund Duling, Jr. The senior Edward moved from Virginia, early in the nineteenth century and made settlement in Coshocton, Ohio, where he died when past seventy years of age. Ile married, probably in Virginia, Mary Dean. He had a large family of 13 children, all of whom lived so that it was possible for the entire group to be seated at one time about the same family table. Edmund Duling, Sr., was a prosperous farmer, a man of substance for his time, and was especially prominent in the Methodist church. His home was, in fact, a center for Methodist activities in that part of Ohio. Many meetings were held in his barn, and every itinerant minister who went through the country stopped and was fed and lodged in the Duling home. It was one of the old- fashioned log houses, so frequent at that time in Ohio, but its hospitality was unlimited, and it was often filled from cellar to garret with visitors and worshipers who came from a distance, all of them partaking of the generous provisions afforded by the Duling household. Previous to the immigration of the family from Virginia, they had all been slave holders and planters, but the slaves were freed many years before the war.

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Edmund Duling, Jr., father of Solomon Duling, and founder of the family fortunes in Grant county, was the third son in a very large family of children. He with two brothers, Solomon and Thomas, became settlers in Grant county, Indiana, and all of them improved excellent farm estates, were successful agriculturists, and became heads of families. The three brothers are now deceased and also their wives. Edmund Duling, Jr., was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, April 9, 1817 .. He grew up in his native locality, was a farmer boy, and received a meagre education in the public schools of that time. He married Eliza Ann Hubert, who was born in Guernsey county, Ohio. In the spring of 1845 Edmund Duling, Jr., and his brother Thomas rode horseback from Coshocton to Fairmount, erected their log cabin, returned to Ohio for their families and moved out that fall. There Edmund Duling, Jr., made a clearing in the midst of the tall trees, and probably with the help of some of his neighbors hewed out the timbers from which were built a log cabin, eighteen by twenty feet in dimensions and comprising only one room. The roof of this rude house was the old-fashioned clapboards, bound down with shakes, as they were called. The single door swung on wooden hinges. Wooden pins supplied the fastenings where needed, although the tongue and groove were the chief methods by which the timbers were fastened together. However, the home had one distinction, and that was a lumber floor. Among the articles of kitchen furniture which the family brought into Grant county, was one of the old bake-ovens, and that interesting utensil is now in the possession of Solomon Duling. It is a relic interesting in itself, and especially so from the family associations, since practically all the bread consumed in the household was made by the good housewife and baked in that oven, which was heated either in the fireplace or on coals spread out of doors. The pioneer housewife also had her spinning wheel, and from the flax and wool spun the yarn and made the clothes for all the members of the family. Eventually Edmund Duling and wife improved an excellent farm, and replaced the old log cabin with a good frame house standing near what is now known as the Eighth Street Road. There they lived, labored, reared their children and finally passed to their reward.

Edmund Duling died in 1901, when within a few months of being eighty-four years of age. His wife had passed away some twelve or thirteen years previously. She was born in 1818, and though reared in the Presbyterian faith, afterwards became a Protestant Methodist, and both she and her husband died in that faith. He was first a Whig and later a Republican in politics.

The five children of Edmund Duling, Jr., and wife are mentioned as follows: Maria died after her marriage to Joshua Hollingsworth, her death occurring in 1908. The husband is still living. They were the parents of two children, Edmund and Lena. Asa, the second born is deceased and left a family of two sons, Frank and Verlie. Mary J. died at the age of four years. The next among the children is Solomon. Emily, who married Asbury Crabb, who is still living, died soon after the birth of her only daughter Emma, who is now married and has three children, Lulu, Ethel, and Alva.

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Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 11

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1034