Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 58

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 58
USA > Indiana > LaGrange County > Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 58

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).

Two things remain to be noticed concerning the McDougal case: The right of the regulators to take the law into their own hands in the execution of the death sentence upon a fellow-mortal, and the conclusiveness of the testi- mony charging McDougal with murder. In regard to the first, it may be said that society, more especially in a new country, where the law is slack or alto- gether wanting, has always asserted the privilege (or the right) of hanging horse-thieves. While such action is often deprecated, yet the world at large condones and frequently applauds the offense. The servants of the law, knowing the sentiment of the public on this question, submit to the act and secretly say: "I'm glad of it." When, however, the crime of horse-stealing is repeated again and again under peculiarly atrocious circumstances and through many successive years; when numerous assaults coupled with highway

HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.

robbery and burglary are added ; when the infamous career of crime is darkly burdened by one or more distressing murders, and when the law is lifeless and inert-who will undertake to say that society is not entitled to the privilege (and perhaps the right) of calmly, justly and deliberately taking human life ? But it cannot be said that, in 1858, the law could not be executed ; neither was it necessarily inoperative through the preceding twenty years. Nine out of every ten men in the county were honest. Why did they not execute the laws ? It was also seriously doubted at the time, even by the Regulators, whether McDougal was really guilty of murder. One of two things is certain : If McDougal was hung on the testimony that he had committed murder, and would not have been hung if such testimony had not been given, then either the investigating committee were satisfied of the conclusiveness of the testimo- ny, or they willfully perjured themselves, and outraged the public, in recom- mending his execution. The report of the committee does not state that " un- mistakable evidence of McDougal's guilt " was found ; but that " unmistakable evidence charging him with murder " was found, and in consequence of the evidence of the murderous charges his execution was recommended. It is rea- sonably inferred from the report, that the committee were not satisfied that Mc- Dougal had committed murder; but that they recommended his hanging on general principles, because, by his own confession, he was an infamous villain, and because the charge of murder was tolerably well substantiated. Perhaps they also thought that his death would terrify his companions, and break up the gang of blacklegs. This is the view taken of the case by the great majority of citizens. It was afterward ascertained, beyond doubt, that the persons alleged to have been murdered by McDougal were yet living in Canada. In view of this fact, it is said that Halsted must have perjured himself before the commit- tee. One thing is certain : When Halsted visited Ligonier some time after- ward, he left the town in a hurry in fear of being lynched.

Another man, a resident of the county, came very nearly being hanged by the Regulators. The proposition to hang was at first carried by vote ; but was afterward reconsidered and then lost by a small majority. He served a term of two years in the penitentiary. Another notorious rascal, a traitor to his com- . rades, gave a great deal of valuable information to the Regulators. Six or eight of the principal leaders of the blacklegs had managed to escape, and, to capt- ure them, a Central Committee was organized at Kendallville, on the 19th of March, 1858, and empowered to tax subordinate companies for funds to carry on the detection and pursuit. The officers of the Central Committee were: President, Dr. L. Barber; Vice President, J. P. Grannis ; Secretary, M. H. Mott; Treasurer, Ransom Wheeler. They offered a reward of $400 for one man, who was soon afterward brought forward by an enterprising Ohio Sheriff. This man was known as John Wilson, but the name was assumed. He refused to disgrace his parents by having his real name known. His confession was six hours long. He was remarkably crafty, and finally escaped from the Noble

HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.

County Jail. A reward of $500 each was offered for the capture of Perry Randolph and George T. Ulmer. C. P. Bradley, a detective of Chicago, undertook the task, and, after following them over large portions of Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania, finally captured both, and brought them in irons to La Grange County. Both were sent to the penitentiary. Another desperate character was William D. Hill. He fled to Iowa at the first outbreak, but was finally traced by Bradley and another Chicago detective, C. E. Smith, and, after a hard fight of fifteen minutes, was captured and brought to the Noble County Jail. He had often said that he would never be taken alive; he feared the Reg- ulators. He escaped in the night with Wilson from Jail. Much more of inter- est might be said, but this will suffice. The "reign of terror " in Northern Indiana was at an end.

During the spring of either 1859 or 1860, Mr. Judson Palmiter, of Lig- onier, a man of bright intellect, who had previously been connected with the Ligonier Republican in an editorial capacity, went to Kendallville and estab- lished the Noble County Journal, the first newspaper ever published there. The political complexion of the Journal was Republican ; subscription price, $1.50 per year ; and soon a circulation of about five hundred was secured, but was afterward about doubled. The Journal was published by Platt & Mc- Govern. The editor, Mr. Palmiter, was a cautious, forcible writer; and the local columns of the Journal were crowded with terse, spicy news. In the prolonged editorial fight between the Journal and the Standard, the editor of the former was determined, skillful, and often justly wrathful and vindictive. His words were daggers, and his sentences two-edged swords. He conducted the paper with abundant success until the latter part of 1868, when the office was sold to Brillhart & Kimball, and J. S. Cox took the editorial chair. The Journal continued thus until the 1st of January, 1870, when it was purchased by Dr. N. Teal, who, in August of the same year, transferred the entire prop- erty to C. O. Myers, and the Journal was then consolidated with the Standard.

The Kendallville Standard was established in June, 1863, by Dr. C. O. Myers, there being at the time already a newspaper in the town; but the excellent business qualifications, practical experience, and indomitable energy of its founder, soon placed it in the front rank of county journals. The Stand- ard has always been a stalwart Republican paper, fearless and independent ; and from its inception to the present time has received liberal patronage and universal public confidence. Several of its contemporaries and rival publica- tions have gone "where the woodbine twineth," while the Standard has been steadily growing in patronage, power and influence, and now enjoys a larger circulation than any other paper in the county. The Standard editorials were extremely bitter, dealing out invective and denunciation that rankled long in the heart of enemies, while friends were treated with uniform kindness and courtesy. Political and other differences between the Standard and the Jour- nal were fought to the last ditch; and the personal enmity engendered will

Julius Lang COUNTY TREASURER

HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.

long be remembered by the citizens of the county. On the 1st of November, 1880, Dr. Myers sold the Standard office, which he had occupied successfully for seventeen and a half years, to the present proprietor, H. J. Long, an experi- enced newspaper man, who had been connected with the paper since 1865, in the capacity of foreman. Mr. Long has fine business qualifications, vast energy, and carries a cautious, trenchant pen ; and the paper, under his man- agement, is constantly extending its circulation. M. T. Matthews, a young man of fine ability, is local editor of the Standard.

The first issue of the Weekly News appeared on the 13th of November, 1877, the editor and proprietor being Dr. A. S. Parker, an old and respected citizen of Kendallville, where he located in 1857. Nearly two years before the first issue mentioned above, Dr. Parker had purchased the paper, which was then at Garrett, and had continued its publication there until compelled by the pressure of hard times to make a removal, which he did, as stated above. The first issue comprised 200 copies only, as but little effort had been made to secure subscribers, though the 200 copies went permanently into 200 homes. It started out without any special friends to boot or back it up. Without assistance, the editor and his family have labored until at present the circulation reaches nearly one thousand, and new names are added to the roll daily. Its politics is Democratic, though its editor is not so blind a partisan as to believe all that is good politically is within his party. The paper is on a solid financial basis. Two good printers are employed, one being Archie Dodge and the other Wads- worth Parker. The News is a six-column quarto, is newsy, and every citizen should have it. It contains the latest market reports from large cities, and devotes several columns to agriculture and farm interests, and to city and county news. Subscription price, $1.50 per year. It is one of the best papers in the county.

The short-lived papers of Kendallville have been as follows : In 1862, Barron & Stowe issued a small neutral paper, about twelve by fifteen inches, designed to circulate among the many troops then quartered there, making a specialty of war news and incidents of camp life, especially those in the camp at the town, and affording an excellent means for the advertisements of mer- chants and others to reach the ears of the " b(h)oys in blue." The circulation soon ran up to nearly 500, and continued thus for about two years, when the office was sold to Mr. C. O. Myers.

In the latter part of about 1869, Hopkins & Platt began the publication ' of a small paper called the Daily Bulletin ; but, after it had continued a few months with partial success, the official management was greatly altered, the publishers becoming Platt & Hopkins, and Thomas L. Graves taking the edito- rial chair. The paper was re-christened the Independent, came out with a bright face, and designed to be, as its new name indicated-independent. At the expiration of a few months the office was removed to Michigan, and the Independent ceased to exist. Its death occurred in 1870, while the circulation

HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.

was about 300. In about 1872, the Roof Brothers began publishing the Semi- Weekly Times, a small sheet, neutral politically, and designed as an ad- vertising medium. It was issued about six months and then perished. About the time of the great temperance crusade in Kendallville, some ten or twelve years ago, a temperance magazine, published and edited by Shafer & Lash, was issued monthly for about six or eight months. It was an earnest exponent of temperance principles ; but its death was contemporaneous with that of the enthusiasm arising from the crusade.

Rome City has enjoyed the luxury of several newspapers. In May, 1876, the Rome City Review made its appearance under the editorship of Dr. Thornton, who, after a few months, sold the office to J. R. Rheubottom, a printer of twenty-five years' experience. The paper was strongly Republican. In September, 1876, the office was removed to Wolcottville. In March, 1879, Mr. Rheubottom established at Rome City the Rome City Times, an expo- nent of that phase of national politics, known as "Greenbackism." The Times was a small sheet, 22x34 inches, and succeeded in securing a circulation of about 500; Mr. Rheubottom being both editor and publisher. At the ex- piration of about seven months the paper ceased to exist. In February, 1879, Revs. Lowman and Warner established at Rome City a religious periodical, entitled the Herald of Gospel Freedom. It was devoted to the interests of the Northern Indiana eldership of the Church of God. It was issued semi- monthly, at seventy-five cents per year, and was a five-column folio. It was removed to Indianapolis in 1881. For several months during the year 1880, W. T. Grose conducted at Rome City a Republican newspaper called the Rome City Sentinel, but after the October elections of the same year the paper be- came defunct.

In the month of August, 1856, a party of citizens from Ligonier visited Sturgis, Mich., for the purpose of inducing the proprietors of the Sturgis Tribune, Messrs. E. B. Woodward and E. D. Miller, to move their office and paper to Ligonier, offering as an inducement a money consideration, a guaranteed subscription list of 2,500 six-month subscribers, and a liberal patron- age of advertising and job-work, providing they would move immediately, and commence the publication of a thorough Republican paper, and advocate the election of John C. Fremont for President of the United States. The Re- publicans of Ligonier were without an organ at that time, and, thus being forced to submit to the adverse criticisms of a keen Democratic editor in an adjoining town, determined to have their cause (for which there were many radical partisans) upheld and protected. They therefore did as stated above. In less than two weeks after the above offer, the first issue of the Ligonier Republican made its appearance, the mechanical work being done by Messrs. Woodward and Miller, and the paper being ably edited by one of the citizens, Mr. Adrian B. Miller, a man of bright intellect, and a fluent as well as a very sarcastic writer. The Republican was published during the campaign of 1856,

HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.

and about the first of the following year was sold to the leading members of the Republican party at Ligonier ; Mr. J. R. Randall taking the management, editorial and otherwise ; Mr. E. B. Woodward entering the practice of law, and Mr. E. D. Miller (to whom the writer is indebted for this sketch) going to one of the Western States .* Early in 1857, Palmiter (Judson), Arnold and Pierce became editors and publishers, under the direction of a company of about forty stockholders, several of whom resided at Albion, Kendallville, and other por- tions of the county. Some changes were made in the editorship, Oscar P. Hervey occupying the "sanctum " for a short time. Finally, in the spring of 1860 (or perhaps 1859), Mr. Judson Palmiter purchased the office apparatus, except the press, and, moving to Kendallville, began the publication of the Noble County Journal.

During the carly summer of 1861, J. R. Randall, who had been editing the Noble County Herald, at Albion, removed the office to Ligonier, still re- taining the old name of the paper. Mr. Randall was an earnest, though pru- dent writer, careful whom he offended, but fearlessly upholding the Republican cause. He published the paper about two years and a half, securing a circula- tion of about 500, the subscription price being $2. In the fall or winter of 1863, the office was sold to C. O. Myers and H. B. Stowe, the politics remain- ing the same, Mr. Stowe being actual editor. In about a year the office was sold to J. B. Stoll, who changed the name and politics of the paper, or rather issued a new paper. W. T. Kinsey established the Ligonier Republican about the spring of 1867, and continued the paper through the campaign of 1868, and then the venture terminated.

Early in 1880, a number of leading Republicans in Ligonier and vicinity, feeling the need of a party organ in their town, opened a correspondence with Mr. E. G. Thompson, of Michigan, with the view of making the necessary arrangements for issuing a Republican paper at Ligonier. This was effected, and, on the 4th of June, 1880, appeared the first number of the Ligonier Leader, an eight-page, forty-eight column newspaper, Mr. E. G. Thompson editor and publisher. The first edition, numbering 600 copies, was exhausted within three days, the subscription price per annum being $1.50. The Leader began a fearless attack on the erroneous political and social questions of the day, withholding no honest conviction of opposing men and parties, but upholding the Republican banner with ceaseless energy, and to the satisfaction of its patrons. Through the earnest efforts of all interested in the success of the paper, the circulation steadily increased until at the close of Volume I the editor claimed a bona fide circulation of 1,300 copies per week. An interest- ing feature of the paper, and one that has contributed greatly to its success, is the department devoted to local correspondence. The success of the paper is assured, and the Republicans of Ligonier may congratulate themselves on hav-

* Dr. Palmiter, of Ligonier, and several other citizens there say, that Mr. J. R. Randall did not edit this paper as stated in the text. According to Mr. E. D. Miller, Mr. Randall was in for a few weeks, and was then succeeded by Palmiter (Judson), Arnold and Pierce.

HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.

ing so excellent an implement of warfare to attack the powerful Banner. In 1865, Mr. J. B. Stoll, then on a visit to the county from Pennsylvania, was urged by Messrs. Baum, Walter & Co., of Avilla, to establish in Noble County a thorough Democratic newspaper. Prominent members of the Democratic party of the county were conferred with, and an arrangement agreed upon early in 1866, by which the first issue of the National Banner appeared on the 3d of May of the same year. The most active promoters of the project were Messrs. Baum, Walter & Co., Gilbert Sherman, Henry C. Stanley, Samuel E. Alvord, Owen Black, Howard Baldwin, James M. Denny, Jerome Sweet, James Skinner, John A. Bruce, James McConnell, Abraham Pancake, J. J. Knox, E. B. Gerber, C. V. Inks, David Hough, Dr. Parker, F. W. Shinke, Peter Ringle, Reuben Miller and others, who thoroughly canvassed the county and secured a paying list of subscribers for the new paper. As the county had been without a Democratic paper for a number of years, and as the Repub- licans had naturally grown haughty from successes and lack of opposition, the Banner, in its fearless expression of political conviction, in its sweeping and relentless denunciations of opposing party policy, encountered such a storm of opposition, that threats were finally made in the fall of 1866 to mob the office. But, back in the secret recesses of the sanctum, quiet but determined prepara- tions were made to receive the enemy, which, however, failed to appear on time. The paper was edited and published by J. B. Stoll and Thomas J. Smith : subscription, $2.50 per year; but, after the October election in 1866, Mr. Smith sold his interest in the Banner to his partner, who became, and is to this day, sole editor and proprietor. Mr. Smith returned to the Key Stone State, where he still resides, enjoying a lucrative practice as a disciple of , Blackstone. At the beginning of the third volume, the Banner was enlarged to an eight-column folio, and the office supplied with a Campbell power press, the first cylinder newspaper press ever introduced in Noble County. The · paper, immediately after its first issue, became the Democratic party organ in the county, and its editor, to give it strength and permanence, and to infuse new life into the members of his party, proceeded to effect an organization in every township, delivering speeches, and urging his fellow Democrats to present a bold front to the enemy. The Banner soon secured a large circulation, which it has retained until the present, never falling, since 1868, below 1,000. The Democracy of the county, under the stimulus of the dauntless Banner, grew in power, and, of course, in self-esteem. In 1875, the office was supplied with steam. Prior to this-in 1872-Mr. Stoll erected the two-storied brick building in which the Banner is now established, fitting the same expressly for a printing house. In January, 1879, the name of the paper was changed from the National Banner to the Ligonier Banner, a name yet retained; and the paper was enlarged from an eight-column folio to a six-column quarto, or from thirty-six columns to forty-eight columns. The politics of Noble County was revolutionized in the fall of 1870, when most of the candidates on the Demo-

HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.

cratic county ticket were elected. This gave the Banner the official patronage, to the dismay of its competitors. During the fifteen and a half years of the Banner's existence it has never missed a single issue.

John W. Peters, the faithful foreman of the Banner office, has been con- nected with the paper since its first issue, having come with Mr. Stoll from Pennsylvania. Employed in the Banner office as apprentices and job printers have been, among others, James U. Miller, now publisher of the Steuben Republican ; W. K. Slieffer, now publisher of the Angola Herald ; Herbert S. Fassett, one of the present publishers of the South Bend Register ; John H. Eldred, now foreman of the La Porte Argus ; E. G. Fisher, now a citizen of Colorado ; Miss Ida King, now proof-reader in a leading Chicago publishing house, and Jacob Sessler, job printer in Toledo.

Later .- On the 3d of December, 1881, James E. McDonald, of Colum- bia City, purchased a half-interest in the Banner for $3,000, the co-partner- ship, Stoll & McDonald, to date from the 1st of January, 1882, and Mr. Mc- Donald to assume the editorship of the local department, Mr. Stoll still remain- ing general editor. On the 5th of December, 1881, Mr. Stoll purchased two- thirds interest in the Elkhart Daily and Weekly Democrat, the contract to become effective on the 1st of January, 1882.

In the spring of 1849, William H. Austin, of Albion, moved into a va- cant room in the court house a small press and a quantity of second-hand material, and there began the publication of the Noble County Star, a neutral paper, the subscription price of which was $1.50 per annum. A circulation of about three hundred was soon secured. A young printer, named William Norton, was foreman and actual editor. He also wrote largely for the paper original stories, sketches and poems. Norton was a youth of more than ordi- nary talent and literary culture, and his effusions gave to the paper a tone superior to the average of country newspapers at that time. Austin, the pro- prietor, was a genial, jolly fiddler of exceptional skill. He went far and near as the chief musician for dances, and thus made nearly money enough to defray the expenses of his newspaper. During the winter of 1849-50, Mr. Austin sold his press and material to Samuel E. Alvord, a law student from Northern Pennsylvania, who, being on a prolonged visit to an uncle at North- port, was engaged in teaching there and at Rome City. With this sale, the publication of the Noble County Star ceased.

In March, 1850, Mr. Alvord removed the press and materials from the court house to a vacant business building on the northeast corner of York and Jefferson streets, belonging to the estate of Jacob Walters. Having arranged and put up his establishment, found a partner (Homer King, of Fort Wayne) and a foreman (James B. Scott, also of Fort Wayne), the new venture was ready for launching. On the 6th day of June, 1850, appeared the first num- ber of the Albion Observer, a Democratic newspaper; Alvord & King, publish- ers and proprietors ; S. E. Alvord and H. King, editors; the subscription being

HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY.

$1.50 per annum. The Observer was an exponent of that phase of Democratic sentiment called "Free-Soilism," being an advocate of the limitation of slave territory by Democratic agencies. In this, at that time, it was in harmony with the platform of the Indiana Democracy, adopted in 1848. The publica- tion of the Observer by Alvord & King continued until the winter of 1851-52, when King retired and went to California. The paper was continued by S. E. Alvord until December, 1852, when it stopped. Its greatest circulation was about four hundred. Advertising and job patronage was exceedingly "thin," and the paper was not self-supporting. Of the personnel of the Observer during its brief career of thirty months space will not allow much to be said. Homer King, the junior proprietor (not in years), an ex-merchant of Fort Wayne, was a man of good business education, very genial, generous and popular, and withal of a keen, critical mind. His social proclivities were too preponderant for financial success. James B. Scott, the foreman during the first few months, was then a man of thirty-seven, an excellent printer, faithful, prompt and thoroughly honorable and reliable. He had great experience of men and par- ties, and possessed sterling good judgment and a quaintly philosophical turn, which, with his sympathetic nature and ready wit, made him a charming com- panion and a trusted friend. He established a paper at Delphi, Carroll County, about twenty-six years ago, and is still there-an honorable citizen, wealthy, respected, socially and politically influential, and happy in his home. Others, of course, came and went, leaving their varied memories : S. A. Jones, the brilliant writer and speaker, who set type, composed poems, made speeches and wrestled with delirium tremens; the bright, eccentric Buckwalter; the steady, faithful Young, etc., etc. Two apprentices graduated in the office-Charles B. Alvord, who became a fast compositor and who has shown his handiwork in nearly every State and Territory during an erratic career of twenty-eight years as a wandering printer, and Hiram Walters, an excellent printer, now a citizen of Chicago.

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Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 58

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