Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 11

Author: F.A. Battey & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 976

USA > Indiana > Noble County > Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 11
USA > Indiana > LaGrange County > Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 11

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Leonard Roy, Twenty-first Indiana, died; Thomas J. Rambo, Thirtieth Indiana, killed ; William Routson, Forty-fourth Indiana, died at Andersonville Prison ; Robert F. Ramsey, Eighty-eighth Indiana, died ; William Ruff, One Hundredth Indiana, died ; Joel W. Royce, One Hundredth Indiana, died ; Amos Reed, One Hundredth Indiana, died ; Horton R. Ryan, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Indiana, died ; Edward Ream, One Hundred and Twenty- ninth Indiana, died; Dr. Delos W. Rupert, Thirtieth Indiana, died ; Henry Rhoads, Eighth Cavalry, killed; George Rhoads, Eighth Cavalry, died.

Emery. P. Sabins, Eighty-eighth Indiana, died; Oliver Shelly, Eighty-eighth Indiana, died ; William J. Shipley, Eighty-eighth Indiana, died; George K. Sisson, Eighty-eighth Indiana, died ; John Shewman, Eighty-eighth Indi- ana, died; James R. Stevenson, Eighty-eighth Indiana, died ; William Sharp, One Hundredth Indiana, killed; Halbert Starr, One Hundredth Indi- ana, died ; Charles Sharp, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Indiana, died ; James Sharp, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Indiana, died; George W. Schermerhorn, Forty-fourth Indiana, died; Dr. Edward B. Speed, Forty- fourth Indiana, died ; Adam Swartsweller, Thirtieth Indiana, died; Josiah Snyder, Eighty-eighth 'Indiana, killed; David Starner, Thirtieth Indiana, died; Andrew H. Stem, Thirteenth Indiana, killed; Squire A. Storey, Seventh Cavalry, killed; David Seybert, First Michigan Sharp Shooters, died ; William Stevenson, Seventy-eighth New York, killed ; Frank Spellman, Fourth Michigan, killed ; Henry Sharp, Fourth Michigan, killed.

James H. Tincher, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Indiana, died ; Charles Tyler, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Indiana, died of wounds ; Marcus B. Tarner, One Hundred and Fifty-second Indiana, died ; George Trittapoo, Thirtieth Indiana, died.

James B. F. Utley, Thirtieth Indiana, killed.

Rufus Whitney, Eighty-eighth Indiana, died ; Henry Wolford, Thirtieth Indiana, died ; Abraham Wright, Thirtieth Indiana, died of wounds; James C. West, Thirtieth Indiana, died; William W. Wilson, Thirtieth Indiana, died; Benjamin Woolheter, Thirtieth Indiana, died; Eli Wheeler, Thirtieth Indiana, killed ; Jerome Wright, Forty-fourth Indiana, killed ; George S. Wicson, One

John Dances Mol.

MILFORD TP.

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HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

Hundredth Indiana, died ; Edward Whitney, One Hundredth Indiana, killed ; Aaron Wolford, One Hundredth Indiana, killed; David Woodruff, One Hun- dredth Indiana, died ; Samuel Weaver, One Hundredth Indiana, died ; John Weaver, died; George W. Williams, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Indiana, died ; Hiram Wabill, One Hundred and Fifty-second Indiana, died.

Died soon after discharge, from disease contracted in the service : Capt. J. H. Danseur, Company H, Forty-fourth Indiana ; William D. Groves, Com- pany H, Forty-fourth Indiana ; John M. Stoner, Forty-fourth Indiana.

A large number more have died since discharge, of diseases contracted in the service. but there is no record from which to ascertain their names.

The following exhibit shows the amounts expended by La Grange County, and by the several townships for bounty to soldiers enlisting, and for the relief of their families :

BOUNTY.

By the County

$42,000

RELIEF. $39,061 70

Eleven townships each furnishing the same amount.

121,000

11,000 00

Total.

$163,000

$50,061 70

Grand Total

$213,061 70

The enrollment of the militia of the State on the 19th of October, 1862, made the following showing in respect to La Grange County : Total militia, 2,047; volunteers before that date, 750; exempts, 420; conscientiously op- posed to bearing arms, 91; total volunteers in the service, 653; total then sub- ject to draft, 1,536. Adding the volunteers then in the service to the total militia, shows the whole militia of the county at the opening of the war to have been about 2,700. On the 20th of September, 1862, there was a deficiency of 46, for which a draft was ordered.

The quotas and credits of the county under the calls of the President February 1, March 14, and July 18, 1864, were as follows: Enrollment, 1,899; quotas and deficiency, 713. Credits-By new recruits, 552; veterans, 72; draft, 15; deficiency, 74. A draft was ordered for the deficiency.

The quotas and credits of the county under call of December 19, 1864 : The enrollment of the county showed, 1,436; quota, 191. Credit: By new recruits, 97; draft, 86; total, 183; deficiency, 8.

These enrollments show that the county furnished 1,475 men for the war of the rebellion. There were, beside these, probably 100 men who went into the service from the county who were never credited to the county, being cred- ited to other counties, as were some twenty in the Seventeenth Indiana Volun- teers, while a number went to Michigan and other States to enlist and were credited to them. There were, though, a number of men who enlisted twice. All the veterans were twice credited to the county. Estimating the double enlistments at 200 men, would leave 1,375 different men who rendered military service from this county. The annual return of the militia of the State in 1866 by the Adjutant General to the President, in accordance with an act of F

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HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

Congress, gave the county the credit for 3,030 militia, considerably more than at the opening of the war, if both enrollments were correct.

SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION, OF THE WAR OF 1812, AND OF THE MEXICAN WAR.

- Through the kindness of Hon. John B. Howe, we gather the following information in respect to the soldiers of the Revolution and of the war of 1812 who settled in the county, and of volunteers from the county to the war with Mexico. The Revolutionary soldiers who settled in the county were among its first settlers and were Micajah Harding, Nathan Fowler, - Place, Abra- ham Cole, Waitsell Dickenson, all of whom settled in the vicinity of where Lima now is. David Cowan, who settled in the Burr Oak settlement, now Van Buren Township; Morgan Young, who settled on Pretty Prairie, in Greenfield Town- ship. He was a man of remarkable physical vigor, and at the age of ninety years followed the hounds. William McNeil is also believed to have been a Revolutionary soldier. There were also a Frenchman and a German in the poor-house in 1845 who claimed to have been in that war. The Frenchman loved to speak of his service, but the German was very reticent, which was accounted for on the supposition that he was then on the wrong side. The Frenchman was anxious to return to France, and finally received aid and returned to his native land.

Of the war of 1812, the following names are remembered: Jesse Hunts- man (Greenfield township), Daniel Harding, Noah Austin, David Smith, John Kelly, - Palmer, John Perry, Zimri Atwater, James Kinney, Sylvanus Halsey. Daniel Harding was at the taking of Fort Erie. Noah Austin was shot and severely wounded by an ounce ball, while crossing over the river to the battle of Lundy's Lane. The ball lodged behind his ear and he carried it to the day of his death, when, to the great astonishment of all, the ball dropped out just before he expired. John Kelly served under Gen. W. H. Harrison. Palmer was a blacksmith in Lima, and always claimed that he killed Tecumseh, and that Col. Richard M. Johnson had nothing to do with it. James Kinney was in the battle of Plattsburg.

The war with Mexico did not, at the time, meet with much popular favor in the county, but it was not without representation. Frank Flanders, Sylves- ter Haliday and an Irishman, whose name is not recollected, went from Lima and enlisted in Capt. Tollis' company, which rendezvoused at Freedom, St. Joseph Co., Mich., and which was afterward mustered into the Fifteenth United States Infantry. Flanders became Drum Major in this regiment and was noted . as a bugler. The Irishman was said to have been the first or one of the first to enter Fort Chapultepec and to have assaulted Gen. Bravo with his musket, because he made a show of resistance. Israel Lantz, Lorenzo Ingraham and John Davenport are also mentioned as having gone to the Mexican war from the county.

CHAPTER V.

BY JOHN PAUL JONES.

TOWN OF LA GRANGE- FIRST PLAT-EARLY RESIDENTS-THE COUNTY SEAT QUESTION-APPEARANCE OF THE VILLAGE THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS AGO- FORMER MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENTS-GRADUAL GROWTH AND DEVELOP- MENT-INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES -SECRET SOCIETIES-PRESENT BUSINESS OCCUPATIONS -OUTLINE SKETCH OF RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS - CEMETERY.

THE location of the town of La Grange, in the geographical center of the county, would seem to indicate that its projectors were men of shrewd fore. thought, who had in view the possibility of its becoming, at no distant day, the most eligible point for the location of the county seat, as in the early days of the county the strife and efforts put forth by the citizens of different localities to secure that coveted prize and distinction, were not unlike the record in that respect of most other counties. The tract of land comprising the original town site was purchased of the United States by entry, at the Government Land Ofice, in Fort Wayne, in the year 1835, by George F. Whittaker and Theodore Craft. Joshua T. Hobbs subsequently purchased an interest, and thus became one of the proprietors of the town site. It is situated in the south half of Section 19, and was platted on the 18th day of June, 1836, by Reuben J. Dawson, William F. Beavers, George F. Whittaker and James McConnell, none of whom are now living. Mr. Dawson resided in De Kalb County, Ind., and represented his county and that of Steuben in the State Senate in 1850, and was afterward Judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit. He took an active and prominent part in politics, and was a Presidential Elector on the Democratic ticket in 1856. Mr. Whittaker was a merchant at Lima. Mr. Beavers resided in the southern part of the county, and was for several years County Surveyor. James McConnell, the last survivor of these original proprietors, died at Albion in 1881. He was a resident of Eden Township, and was, at an early day, one of the County Commissioners. The original town was laid off into lots 66x132 feet, with a public square, 132x280} feet, streets 66 feet in width, and alleys 16} feet wide, crossing each other at right angles ; the names of the streets being Mountain, High, Detroit, Poplar, Walnut, Sycamore and Canal, running north and south ; Lake, Steuben, Factory, Michigan, Spring, Lafayette and Wayne, run- ning east and west. Detroit became the principal business street, and still retains that prestige. The original proprietors donated several lots to the county, the present site of the court house being a portion of the gift, which was originally the public square. The terms of the grant were as follows:

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HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

" The public grounds designed for and donated to the county from the time of the commencement of the use of the same for the purposes of holding courts and the transaction of other judicial business thereon, and to continue the property of said county of La Grange as long as the same shall be occupied as aforesaid, after which it shall revert to the original proprietors.

" The proprietors hereby reserve to themselves the right to divert the the stream of water which passes through the town, to any place not to exceed one-fourth of a mile from its natural channel, for the use of mills and other machinery."

The town site was covered with heavy forest trees and a thick under- growth of prickly ash, interspersed with briers and shrubbery. The ground was burned over the first year, which was the means of destroying the under- growth ; the large timber was cut down and the inhabitants of the new town would generally engage in the work of clearing and burning the brush, old and young joining in the work at convenient spells, some in one part and some in another, and often continuing until midnight. This afforded amusement and recreation, instead of croquet and such other fashionable diversions of the present day. Shadrack Carney, now a resident of Clay Township, claims to have felled the first tree in preparing to clear off the public square. That work was done by contract with the Commissioners, who unfortunately required all the trees to be cut down, thereby depriving the public of the benefit of the fine shade which this primeval forest would have rendered. A portion of the public square and grounds extending to the south and east for some considerable distance was wet and swampy. A stranger, to travel over the solid ground that now exists instead of the mire, could hardly realize that such could ever have been the condition. Removing the primitive growth and filling with other soil has wrought the change.

Isaac P. Grannis and Thomas Clark built the first two dwelling houses ; they were constructed of logs, one of which was used as a boarding-house for the accommodation of Mr. Grannis, who was one of the sub-contractors and workmen on the court house. The other was occupied by the Clark family, who were of a migratory disposition, fond of hunting and fishing, and who, after a few years, removed to the Far West, where they expected to find game more plentiful. The first frame building was a storehouse erected by William Wigton, on the northeast corner of Detroit and Spring streets, opposite the southeast corner of the court house square. This structure served as a general resort for nearly two years. It was occupied by C. B. Holmes, who kept a general store, consisting of dry goods, groceries, hardware, and an assortment of such goods as was in demand in those early times. Here, also, was the post office, which Mr. Holmes was instrumental in causing to be established, and who officiated as the first Postmaster. Some idea of the magnitude of the business transacted in handling the mails at this office for the first quarter may be formed through the receipts for that period, which amounted to the munifi-

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TOWN OF LA GRANGE.

cent sum of $1.08, quite in contrast with the receipts for the quarter ending September 30, 1881, which showed an aggregate of $644.42. Mr. Holmes seems to have been almost indispensable to the community, for about this time he was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace for Bloomfield Township. At the period of the commencement of the growth of the town, the country was but little else than a vast wilderness, though settlements had been formed to some extent in various localities in the surrounding country, and additions were constantly being made. Yet the farms that had been cleared for cultiva- tion were but mere openings in the vast sea of forest trees that covered the surrounding territory, and game of a great variety was to be found in the immediate vicinity. So plentiful were deer, that it is related that Ans Clark, who prided himself upon his expertness with the rifle, killed, in one day, seven of these animals, and so close to the town that every shot could have been heard at the public square. But a change was to come over the place in the new order of things.

The contract for building the new court house had been let by the Board of Commissioners to Francis F. Jewett, of Lima, and work was formally begun on its erection in 1842. The building was to be a two-story frame, with a court room, jury rooms, and rooms for the several county officers. Mr. Jewett pushed the work with vigor, and completed it December 5, 1843; the cost was $8,000, and the structure was considered a fine one for those primitive times. As was the case elsewhere in the county, the pioneer suffered greatly from chills and fever, and as quinine was a scarce article, they had to resort to such means for relief as could be obtained from barks and herbs, the natural prod- ucts of the soil.

Following the erection of the first two log houses, came other settlers t locate in the new town and build likewise, though the growth was slow for a period. The first two frame dwelling houses were built by Peter H. Fox and George Hopkins. The first one continued in existence until about two years ago, when it was torn down to give place to the commodious and elegant struct- ure, now the residence of Thomas H. Sefton. The other formed a part of the residence of M. L. Punches, and was destroyed by fire. Mr. Hopkins was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and came from Medina County, Ohio, in 1843. He sold this property after two years to Solomon Shattuck, who was the first village blacksmith. Robert McClasky and family came from Ohio in 1843. He was the first boot and shoemaker, and built the third log house on the lot now owned by George P. Robinson, and on which is situated his fine brick res- idence. A few other small dwellings were erected during this season. The locating of the county seat here and the completion of the new court house, fixed the destiny of the embryo town. In 1844, the county officers having been removed from Lima, and the courts holding their sessions here, gave an impetus to the village and caused it to improve rapidly. Simon M. Cutler, who had been elected County Auditor, built the house now owned by Mrs. Will,

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HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

opposite the Methodist Church. Samuel A. Bartlett, County Treasurer, put up the house on the next lot north, now owned by Jacob M. Church. John Kromer and Andrew Ellison built the houses which were recently removed for the purpose of enlarging the court house square. They occupied a strip of ground west of the court house, with a narrow street or lane running between the two. The county purchased this property, vacated the street, and inclosed the land with the court house grounds, thereby increasing the width to 280} feet, corresponding to the width north and south, and thus separating it from any contiguous property, and lending symmetry and beauty to the whole sur- rounding. C. B. Holmes built a residence on Detroit street. Peter L. Mason put up a double log house on the lot now occupied by the Presbyterian Church. The south part of the American House, which was the first hotel building in the place, was put up this year by Frederick Hamilton, who became the first " mine host" to cater to the comfort of the traveling public ; at the same time being Sheriff, he performed a double duty, that of looking after the security of the unruly guests of the county. This building occupied the northeast corner of Detroit and Michigan streets, now the vacant corner lot to the northeast of the court house square. The American House was destroyed by fire in 1874. The once famous Boyd House, built by William S. Boyd, and used as a hotel and for stores and dwellings, for a number of years, was situated opposite the court house, to the east, on Detroit street. This was, in its day, by common selec- tion, the headquarters of the gathering hosts during court sessions, and for the politicians and other "wire-pullers " of the early times. Many were the schemes concocted and matured there for the political and financial aggrandize- ment of those who were ever on the alert for personal preferment. It was finally partly destroyed by fire, and the ruins removed to give place to the fine brick structure erected by Abijah Brown and his three sons, Ira, Jacob S. and Adrian D., for hotel purposes. The building was four stories high, including basement. This, in its time, was one of the best hotels in Northern Indiana, and had a wide reputation as such. This, too, was destroyed by fire in Janu- ary, 1877, the grounds of which are now occupied by the brick buildings owned by Brown Bros., Rose & Williams, and Jacob Newman. Messrs. Bingham & Newman, and Hubbard & Ruick, built the frame business houses now owned by John Will, and occupied by Will & Clugston as a dry goods store, F. M. Ved- der, grocer, and others, on Detroit street. In 1870, the Devor brick block was erected, and the Rice building in 1871. The new jail, a superb structure, built of brick, and inclosed by a substantial iron fence, was put up in 1872, at a cost of $28,000, and serves its purpose quite satisfactorily, though, like all places for the security of prisoners, there have been occasions when it has proved inse- cure, notably in the escape, just previous to this writing, of one Miles, who was confined for bigamy, but was recaptured and received his just deserts by a sen- tence of three years in the penitentiary. Drs. John A. Butler, John Brown, and Isaac Parry were the first physicians having offices or residing in the town ;

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TOWN OF LA GRANGE.

these have all passed away. Dr. Parry went to California in 1850, where he died 1880, and Dr. Brown at his home, on the Haw Patch, several years ago.

C. B. Holmes has been mentioned as inaugurating the mercantile business here by establishing a general store. The second enterprise of merchandising in the town was established in 1843, by Harmon B. McCoy and William S. Boyd, in the Boyd Building. Mr. McCoy was married in the fall of 1845 to Miss Eliza Price, and with his bride went to Ohio, whence he had originally come. They returned in the following spring, when he, in partnership with James B. Caldwell, started a tannery, and commenced the manufacture of leath- er in connection with harness-making. Samuel H. Boyd came in 1843, and started a tannery in the east part of town near the creek; this was the first in- stitution of the kind put in operation in La Grange. The tannery of McCoy & Caldwell changed hands several times, and finally, in about the year 1858, the business was discontinued, and the lots were sold to the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company. This line of business has entirely died out, there being no tanneries now in existence here. McCoy was subsequently engaged in the manufacture of shingles at the Boyd Saw-Mill on Fly Creek, at the northeast of town, where he met a horrible death by accidentally coming in contact with the saw. This saw-mill was built by Delavan Martin, in 1844, and was the first put in operation ; it was fitted up with one of the old fash- ioned upright saws, driven by water-power, with an old style water-wheel. The same water-power was also utilized to drive the first grist-mill, built by William S. Boyd and John Starr, in the year 1857. This mill was a great convenience to the community and surrounding country. It was a two-story frame building, with sufficient capacity to meet the wants of the people. It was destroyed by fire in 1873, being then owned by the Kerr Brothers. The fine steam flouring-mill now owned by Hudson & Peck was erected by William Hudson and Samuel K. Ruick in 1874, also a saw-mill adjoining. The grist- mill has two run of stone, and the capacity of turning out fifty barrels of flour per day. The first regular drug store was started by Rensselaer Rheubottom in 1852, in a small frame building near the Boyd Block. Drs. John H. Rerick and Howard M. Betts were the second to embark in that business; this was in 1860, in the building then owned by Dr. John A. Butler, just north of the American House. They soon after removed to the building on the northwest corner of Detroit and Michigan streets. Dr. Rerick sold out his interest to Dr. Betts in 1861, and entered the service of the United States as Assistant Sur- geon of the Forty-fourth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Dr. Betts still continues the business at the old stand, the entire building being now owned by him, and occupied in part by the Central Hotel. This building was built by John Will in 1855, and occupied by him in the mercantile trade. The first tinware and stove establishment was started by Perry S. Hemminger, in 1855. He built the frame building on the site of the Devor Block in 1857. The business was afterward conducted by Hemminger and J. W. Rheubottom.

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HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

J. P. Jones purchased Hemminger's interest in the concern in 1857, and, in company with Rheubottom, added a general stock of iron, nails and shelf hard- ware, which was the first store of the kind in the village. C. B. Holmes was the pioneer in the family grocery business. Andrew Emminger came in 1844, and inaugurated the industry in the manufacture of chairs. Not until as late as 1872 was there a regularly organized banking institution in the place. In that year the La Grange County Bank was started, the proprietors being Ralph P. Herbert, R. S. Hubbard and Henry M. Herbert. In the following year, Andrew Ellison commenced the banking business ; this he still conducts in con- nection with his son Rollin. In 1874, the La Grange Bank was started by Thomas J. Spaulding, of Lima Township, and R. S. Hubbard. They occu- pied the Devor Building. In September of the same year, the First National Bank was organized, with a capital of $50,000, by many of the same parties interested in the La Grange County and La Grange Bank, these two banks merging their interests into that of the First National, and discontinuing busi- ness. John S. Merritt became the first President, and R. S. Hubbard the first cashier of the new institution. It occupies an eligible business location opposite the court house in the brick building owned by Messrs. Rose & Will- iams. Its present officers are Solomon Rose, President ; J. S. Merritt, Vice President, and H. M. Herbert, Cashier.

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Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 11

Author: F.A. Battey & Co Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago : Battey & Co. Number of Pages: 976

Author: F.A. Battey & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 976