USA > Indiana > Porter County > Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 71
USA > Indiana > Lake County > Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 71
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ZERAH F. SUMMERS (deceased), an early settler of Lake County, was born in Vermillion, Erie Co., Ohio, July 16, 1829, and was the eldest of the four children of Benjamin and Julia (Burr) Summers, both natives of Connecticut. His father was a farmer, and in Ohio more gen- erally known as "Judge " Summers, having been Probate Judge and a Representative in the State Legislature. Zerah received a collegiate edu- cation, giving particular attention to surveying and civil engineering. As a surveyor, he located at Crown Point in 1854, where he remained. On August 2, 1860, he was married to Miss Margaret M. Thomas, to whom were born three children-Benjamin Wayland, Jennie and Julia B. (de- ceased). Mrs. Summers was born in Potter, Yates Co., N. Y., Febru- ary 4, 1836, a daughter of Ambrose S. and Jane (McPherson) Thomas, both of whom are deceased. In January, 1876, Mr. Summers contracted a cold from which he never recovered, dying July 31, 1879, just nineteen years from the day of his marriage and the ninth anniversary of his daughter Jen- nie's birthday. Mr. Summers was a leading citizen of Crown Point, fore- most in every enterprise for the good and progress of the peace, and much
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endeared by his consistent honor to every one there living. From 1857 to 1862, he was editor of the Crown Point Register, its success being mainly due to him. He held many offices of trust-from 1858 to 1861 and 1865, School Examiner ; in 1859, Real Estate Appraiser ; from 1859 to 1867, County Clerk ; also Town Trustee four terms. He was a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, and in politics a Republican.
HENRY P. SWARTZ was born in Centre County, Penn., July 12, 1841, and is the third of ten children born to Jacob and Catherine (Mosser) Swartz, both natives of Centre County, Penn. Jacob Swartz was a stonemason, which trade he followed until 1851, when he engaged in agriculture. In 1853, he moved with his family to Kane County, Ill., and purchased eighty acres. This he sold in 1856, and moved to Stephen- son County, Ill., where he purchased 100 acres and resided until his death in March, 1867 ; he was in his fifty-ninth year, and a member of the German Reformed Church. Henry P. Swartz acquired the usual ed- ucation of the time, and worked for his father until his nineteenth year, and one year by the month. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Fifty-second Illinois Volunteers, and served until the close of the war, when he was discharged as Sergeant, at Louisville, Ky., July 18, 1865. Soon after returning, he received a Captain's commission, and di- rectly took a course at the Chicago College of Pharmacy, from which he graduated in December of the same year. He was afterward employed as a drug clerk at Freeport, Ill., for six years. In 1871, he came to Crown Point and opened a drug store with success, it being now the lead- ing one of the county. On November 20, 1868, he was married to Mary F. Bell, a native of Freeport, Ill., and daughter of Addison M. and Mary (Atkins) Bell. Mr. and Mrs. Swartz have four children-Carrie B., Harry D., Mamie C. and Kitty C. Mr. Swartz is Trustee of Centre Township ; he is a member of Lake Lodge, No. 157, A., F. & A. M., Lincoln Chapter, No. 53, R. A. M., and Crown Point Council, No. 44, R. & S. M.
JAMES SWEENEY was born in County Meath, Ireland, Septem- ber 17, 1825, and is the eldest of six children of James and Ann (Blake) Sweeney. His parents were also natives of Ireland; his father came to America in 1825, and brought his family in 1830, stopping one year in Canada and going thence to Madison County, N. Y. In 1849, he came to Lake County, remaining until his death, in 1870; his mother died in Madison County, N. Y., in 1846. James Sweeney, our subject, has been principally a farmer, and in this county, since 1855, he has followed the same occupation ; he now owns 140 acres of good land in this town- ship. On February 17, 1848, he was married in Syracuse, N. Y., to Elizabeth Johnson, also a native of County Meath, Ireland, by whom he
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has had eleven children, five now living-Mary J. (now Mrs. M. Mc- Manus), Rosa (now Mrs. C. H. Meeker), Margaret, John J., and Julia. Mr. Sweeney and family are members of the Catholic Church ; previous to 1874, Mr. Sweeney was a Republican, but is now a Greenbacker, and a nominee of the party. Mrs. Sweeney came to America in 1845.
S. P. VAN WINKLE was born in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., November 9, 1819, and is the only living child of John and Phebe (Jenks) Van Winkle; his father was a saddler, also a soldier of the war of 1812, and died in 1821. After his father's death, S. P. Van Winkle went to Canada to his grandparents, and when twelve years old returned to New York. In 1834, he removed to Newark, N. J., where he learned tailoring. In 1840, he was married to Harriet A. Colt, and in 1844, removed to Charleston, S. C., thence again to Newark, and thence to Bradford County, Penn. In 1850, he moved to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and later emigrated to Indiana, locating at Walkerton, and engag- ing in farming until 1861, when he came to Crown Point. On De- cember 5, 1863, he enlisted in Company G, Twelfth Indiana Cavalry, being finally discharged May 15, 1865; he was engaged in the battle of Murfreesboro. After the war, he was elected Constable, and acted also as Deputy County Sheriff ; he held the former office until 1882. His wife died August 5, 1880, and on August 15, 1882, he mar- ried Mary (Lattin) Marsh, widow of Caleb Marsh ; she is a member of the Presbyterian Church, as was also his former wife. Mr. Van Winkle is a Republican, having been formerly a Whig; he is likewise an Odd Fellow, and in the Encampment.
COL. JOHN WHEELER, deceased, was born in New Milford, Conn., February 6, 1825, and was the eldest of ten children of Johnson and Sally (Burr) Wheeler. Col. Wheeler was liberally educated, and reared to manhood in Ohio, whither his parents moved when he was six months old. In 1846, he married Miss Ann C. Jones, daughter of John D. and Polly Ann (Calkins) Jones. In 1847, the Wheeler and Jones families emigrated to Lake County, Ind., their home thereafter, and located in West Creek Township. In 1853, Col. Wheeler moved to Crown Point, where he became County Surveyor. In 1857, he purchased the Crown Point Register, publishing the same until 1861, when, on July 22, he was elected Captain of Company B, Twentieth Volunteers ; on Febru- ary 16, 1862, he was promoted to Major ; on August 13, advanced to be Lieutenant Colonel ; on February 11, 1863, he was made Colonel, and after the battle of Gettysburg, where he was killed, he would have been made a Brigadier General. He was a brave and efficient officer, and univer- sally applauded and lamented. As a writer, he was cultivated and power- ful; he was also thoroughly informed on public affairs ; he was a Mason
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and an Odd Fellow, and was buried with the peerless rites of Freemason- ry. He was the father of four children ; the eldest, J. J. Wheeler, is present editor and proprietor of the Star. He was born in Lake Coun- ty January 11, 1848, and enlisted May 27, 1864, in Company C, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Indiana Volunteers, and was discharged as Corporal September 30, 1864. He re-enlisted February 18, 1865, as Sergeant of Company E, One Hundred and Fifty-first Indiana Volun- teers, serving until the end of the war. On October 27, 1870, he married Miss Arabella, daughter of James Holton, (a sketch of whom accompanies this work) and grand-daughter of Solon Robinson. Three children followed their union-Harold, Fred and Jennie. In October, 1880, he succeeded Mr. Jouvenat as editor of the Star. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a strong Republican.
OLIVER G. WHEELER was born in Florence, Erie County, Ohio, March 4, 1842, and is one of the ten children of Johnson and Sallie (Burr) Wheeler, both natives of Connecticut. Johnson Wheeler was a Civil Engineer ; was married in Connecticut, and soon after moved to Erie County, Ohio, of which he was a pioneer. He entered 160 acres, on which he made a farm; he was also employed in surveying for several years, and in mercantile business and saw-milling. In 1847, he removed to Lake County, Ind., where he bought a small farm and entered 640 acres adjoining. In 1849, he went to California by the overland route, and engaged in contracting and mining until 1851, when he returned to Lake County and laid out the State ditches in said county. In 1856, he came to Crown Point, where he died in 1870, aged seventy-three years. Oliver G. Wheeler received a fair education and remained with his father as clerk until July, 1862, when he enlisted in Company A, Seventy-third Indiana Volunteers ; he rose to be Second Lieutenant, as which he was discharged. He served through the war, after which he entered a dry goods house in Crown Point. In 1868, he engaged in the hardware trade for himself, and continued, being now the largest dealer in the county. Mr. Wheeler was married in April, 1870, to Alice Clark, of Crown Point. Three children have crowned their union. Mr. Wheeler is a member of Lake Lodge, No. 157, A., F. & A. M., also of Lincoln Chapter, No. 53, R. A. M. He is one of the oldest and most enterprising citizens of the place.
GEORGE WILLEY was born in New London County, Conn., April 3, 1814. He is one of the oldest residents of this county, and one of the eleven children of Jeremiah and Hannah (Staples) Willey. His father was a native of the "Nutmeg State," and descendant of a line of patriots who fought against the "mother country " in 1776; he was also a blacksmith, but went to New York, where he farmed until his death,
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in 1867; he was for years a Deacon in the Presbyterian Church. His mother was an educated lady, a native of Connecticut, and a daughter of Elijah and Elizabeth Staples. George Willey remained with his father until he reached manhood, and enjoyed an academic education. He was admitted to the bar in 1857, but he has not practiced law as a business. In 1838, he came to Indiana, and settled in the western part of this county, where he remained many years. In 1868, he located on his present farm of over four hundred acres; he has, besides, considerable other property. In addition to his farm, he has dealt much in real es- tate. On April 2, 1835, he was married to Miss Clynthia, daughter of Capt. Thomas and Sarah (Fay) Nash, born in Madison County, N. Y., September 24, 1816; her father was a Captain in the war of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Willey have had seven children, four of whom are living-Jo- hanna A. (now Mrs. J. Fisher), George A., Alice A. (now Mrs. C. L. Granger) and Clynthia A. (now Mrs. H. M. Griffin). Mr. Willey is a stanch Democrat, and has served as Revenue Collector of this county for three years, and has held other minor offices.
MARTIN WOOD, the oldest attorney of Crown Point, was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, October 26, 1821, and is one of the eleven chil- dren of Frederick S. and Mary (Burk) Wood, the former a native of Connecticut, the latter of Maryland. His father was a farmer, who re- moved to Ohio, married in Columbiana County, but died, with his wife, in Athens County, Ohio. Martin was reared on a farm, where he ac- quired the best schooling he could, afterward completing the scientific course at Ohio University; he paid his way through college by teaching, which he pursued for ten years. In 1844, he began the study of law at Athens with John Welsh, and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the State in 1847. He began practice at Logan, and subse- quently came to Crown Point, Ind., where he located permanently. In 1843, he was married to Miss Lavina Pilcher, who died in 1845, leaving one son, since deceased. In 1849, he married Miss Susan G. Taylor, of Porter County, Ind., born in Shelby County, Ohio, January 21, 1828, and daughter of George W. and Mary (Hathaway) Taylor, who came to Indiana in 1845, and in 1849 removed to Valparaiso, where Mr. Taylor died. Mr. Wood is an enterprising and valued citizen, having done much to forward the interests of Crown Point, which has been appre- ciated by his election to offices of trust and honor. Among them are Prosecuting Attorney and Legislator. To both positions he was re- elected. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have had eleven children, seven of whom are living-Owen, Cordelia, Helena, Cynthia, Benton, Harvey and George Frederick. Mr. Wood is a member of the Masons and Odd Fellows. The law firm of which he is a member is the oldest in Crown
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Point, and one of the first in Northern Indiana. Mrs. Wood is an active worker in temperance, Sabbath school and missionary causes.
HON. THOMAS J. WOOD, attorney at law, was born in Athens County, Ohio, September 30, 1844, and is a son of Darius C. and Diana S. (Carter) Wood. His parents removed to Indiana when he was nine years old, locating in Vigo County, where his father is yet farming ; he assisted his father until he was twenty-two years of age, beginning as a teacher at nineteen. He attended the schools of the neighborhood and the ward schools of Terre Haute, after which he taught for eight terms, and later entered the law office of William Mack, afterward Speaker of the House of Representatives. After reading one year, he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1867 with first honors. He first located in Lowell, and then removed to Crown Point, where he formed a partnership with Tim- othy Cleveland, and later with his uncle, Martin Wood, which has been continued as the strongest law firm in Northern Indiana. Mr. Thomas J. Wood is a radical Democrat, and was the second Town Treasurer of Crown Point, having served two terms. In 1872, he was elected Prose cuting Attorney of the Thirty-first District, and re-elected in 1874, not- withstanding the Republicanism of said District. In 1878, he was elected State Senator from Porter and Lake Counties, which are Repub- lican by 1,350 majority. In August, 1882, he was nominated for Con- gress, and was elected in the fall. He is a member of the Masonic order, having reached the Council. On May 10, 1870, he was married to Mary E. Pelton, only daughter of Hiram S. Pelton, deceased, and to them have been born five children-Charles H., Flora M., Alice, Ora E. and Willis P.
WILLIAM J. YOUNG was born at Crown Point, Ind., January 21, 1860, and is the third of the four children of Ruggles B. and Eliza (Jus- tus) Young, the former a native of Wilkes Barre, Penn., the latter of Rich- mond, Ind. Ruggles B. Young was an active itinerant minister of the M. E. Church in Michigan. In 1850, he withdrew from the itineracy ; came to Crown Point in 1852, where he engaged in mercantile business, and afterward in the tanning business until 1872 or 1873, after which he lived in retirement until his death, April 26, 1879, in his seventy-sixth year. After his withdrawal from the active ministry, he continued to labor as a local preacher. William J. Young received an ordinary edu- cation, and at the age of seventeen commenced as school teacher, which he pursued for four years. In February, 1881, he engaged in the cloth- ing trade at Crown Point, in which vocation he is still prosperously en- gaged. He carries a large, well-selected stock of goods, and has a grow- ing business.
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CEDAR CREEK TOWNSHIP.
CEDAR CREEK TOWNSHIP.
WILLIAM W. ACKERMAN was born in Oakland County, Mich., February 24, 1827, and is one of three children of John H. and Anna (Wallace) Ackerman, both natives of New York. John H. Ackerman was a shoe-maker, and married his first wife in Truxton, N. Y. In 1826, he emigrated westward, and located in Oakland County, Mich., where he engaged in farming ; he afterward moved to Macomb County, Mich., where he died October 5, 1858; Mrs. Ackerman died March 25, 1829. Mr. Ackerman's second wife was Mrs. Aurelia Nelson, by whom he had five daughters and four sons ; she is yet living in Macomb County, Mich. William W. Ackerman lived in Michigan until he was thirteen years old, when he went to an uncle in Erie County, Penn., where he farmed. Soon after war was declared with Mexico, he enlisted for twelve months in Company G, Thirtieth Ohio Volunteers, under Gen. Curtis, May 21, 1847; he remained in active service until discharged July 2, 1848, at New Orleans, La. In October, 1848, he returned to Indiana, intending to go farther West, but liking the country, and having a land warrant for services in the war, he located 160 acres, which he afterward sold, and purchased the farm he now has in West Creek Township ; he owns in all 720 acres, besides his town property in Lowell. On April 20, 1850, he was married to Mary Pulver, who died July 23, 1867, leaving five chil- dren-Theodore L., William H., Ida M., Jasper L. and Charles D. His second marriage, November 9, 1871, was to Mrs. Betsey (Sanders) Graves. To this union were born three children-Vessie E., Zadie and Zella M. Until 1882, Mr. Ackerman was engaged in farming and stock- raising, when he rented his place and removed to Lowell, where he is doing a large business in agricultural implements ; he still looks after his farm, being one of the best farmers in southern Lake County ; he is a Republican, an old settler and honored citizen. Mrs. Ackerman is a member of the Christian Church.
E. R. BACON, M. D., was born in Orleans County, N. Y., Feb- ruary 22, 1840, and is a son of Benjamin and Louisa M. (Dodd) Bacon, both natives of New York. Benjamin Bacon was a farmer, and was twice married-first to Louisa M. Dodd June 9, 1828, by whom he had six children ; she died in 1843. His second marriage, October 21, 1844, was to Sarah Curtis, by whom he had two children. Mr. Bacon died in New York in 1878, aged seventy-three years ; his widow resides in Wis- consin. Dr. Bacon after his fifth year lived among strangers, with a man named B. G. Merrick, who reared him to manhood. After the usual school education in 1856, he went to Illinois, and, in 1858, to Michigan. In about 1861, he began the study of medicine, and, at the blast of war and call for troops, he enlisted in Company E, Second Michigan Volun-
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teers. After his term of service, he re-enlisted in the One Hundredth Illinois Regiment, and was made Sergeant, and as such took part in the battle of Perryville. In 1862, he was made Hospital Steward at Bowling Green, Ky., and was afterward sent to Hospital No. 14, at Nashville, re- maining until 1864, and continuing on hospital duty until his discharge in 1865. After the war, he went to Lockport, Ill., and, in 1866, came to Lowell, Ind., and began the practice of medicine, having attended lectures at Nashville. In 1872-73, he attended the Chicago Medical College, graduating therefrom March 13, 1873. Dr. Bacon is a close student, and a successful practitioner, and has a lucrative practice. On June 3, 1868, he was married to Miss Martha B. Sanger, daughter of James H. Sanger, deceased. To this union were born two children -- Sylvia L. and Mattie Grace. Dr. Bacon is both a Mason and an Odd Fellow, and, in politics, a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
JACOB BAUGHMAN was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, Octo- ber 21, 1829, and is one of the eight children of Jacob and Sarah (Rit-, ter) Baughman, both natives of Pennsylvania. They came to West Creek Township from Valparaiso in 1851, where both are buried. Jacob Baugh- man, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Ohio, where he received a common school education, and moved with his parents to Valparaiso, Ind., in 1849, and to West Creek Township in 1851, where they built a house and began breaking the prairie; here he remained until 1852, when he took the " gold fever," and, with his brother and two others, went to Califor- nia, via New York and Panama. From San Francisco he went to Dry Creek, and thence to Sierra County, and mined on Yuba River with
good success ; he then mined on Lost Hill and Bush Creek for seven years, and in 1859 returned much better off than he left, and farmed in Kankakee County, Ill., until 1862, when he again went to Idaho by the overland route ; they took the " Bridger route," then but an Indian trail, traveled for sixty days, and, after much suffering, arrived in Virginia City, and began mining in Alder Gulch Diggings. After two months, he went to his old haunts in Nevada County, Cal. In 1864, he went to Salt Lake, and thence to Idaho, where he prospected and found good diggings at Black Gulch ; later, he mined at Helena City and Silver Creek, and returned home via Fort Benton and Missouri River. Mr. Baughman has a mining experience, perhaps not equaled by any man in Lake- County ; he has toiled, suffered, and been rewarded. Until 1870, he farmed in West Creek Township, when he moved to Lowell, where he now resides. Besides town property, he owns forty acres in Cedar Creek Township, 200 in West Creek Township, and 160 in Kankakee County, Ill. On May 28, 1868, he married Miss Emma Dodge, daughter of
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Henry L. and Mary L. (Plummer) Dodge, born November 18, 1846, in Merrimack County, N. H. To this union there has issued one son, Henry Lancaster, born March 21, 1869. Mr. Baughman is one of the self-made and substantial men of Lake County, and a Republican in politics.
ZENAS C. BURNHAM was born in Berlin, Erie Co., Ohio, De- cember 19, 1831, and is a son of Moses K. and Susan (Norton) Burn- ham, both natives of Connecticut, where they were married in 1819, and soon after moved to Erie County, Ohio, where their children were born. Mr. Burnham engaged in farming until 1859, when they came to Lake County, Ind., where Mr. Burnham died, July 27, 1863; Mrs. Burnham died August 21, 1872; the names of the family were as follows: Ells- worth N. (died in Kansas, 1882), Mary A., Kellogg (a Captain in the late war), Daniel T. (killed in battle at Atlanta), Martha J. (wife of R. W. Bacon, of Lowell) and Zenas C., who, after receiving a common school education, learned the trade of a carpenter, at which, and ship-building, he worked in Milan, Erie Co., Ohio, until 1853, when he came with his brother, Kellogg, to Lake County. Zenas went to work at house-build- ing in West Creek Township, but making his permanent home in Lake County. On July 3, 1857, he was married to Miss Martha F. Wheeler, sister of his brother Kellogg's wife, and sister of Col. John Wheeler, de- ceased (a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this work). By this union were born four children-Herman O., Kelley W. (deceased), Jessie L. and Frederick G. Mrs. Burnham is a native of Erie County, Ohio, born September 24, 1839, and daughter of Johnson and Sallie (Burr) Wheeler. After his marriage, Mr. Burnham worked at his trade and farmed in West Creek Township until 1874, when he removed to Lowell, where he has since resided. In politics, he is a Republican.
STANLEY CASTLE was born in Franklin County, Vt., May 25, 1811, and is the third of ten children of John and Clarissa Castle. John Castle was a native of Harrington County, Conn., a farmer, and was twice married. By his first wife he had born to him two children, and to his second, ten, six of whom are living. After his second marriage, he went to Canada, where he remained for a time during the war of 1812. Refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the British Government, he re- turned to the United States and located at Fairfield, Franklin Co., Vt. The war continuing, he served his country in the battle of Plattsburg. In 1844, he and wife removed to Ashtabula County, Ohio, where a son and daughter resided, and there they died. Stanley Castle was reared on a farm and got but spare education. At the age of twenty, he began the carpentering and joining business, at which he continued six years. On May 19, 1837, he was married to Fanny Woodruff. To this union were born three children-Helen M. (deceased), Frederick and Charles; Fred-
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erick served during the late war in the Twelfth Indiana Calvary, and be- came Orderly Sergeant; he married Rachel Ellingsen, and resides in Cedar Creek Township. Charles married Hattie Miller, and also lives in Cedar Creek Township. After his marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Castle lived eight years in Vermont, thence moved to Connecticut, and, about 1846, moved to Porter County, Ind., where Mrs. Castle had a brother. He visited southern Lake County, and purchased the land on which he now lives, and has since been engaged in farming. The country was then new and sparsely settled, and the hardships were almost insurmountable, but Mr. Castle prospered, having owned 744} acres, of which he yet owns 572 acres. Mr. Castle is one of the representative men of southern Lake County. In politics, he is a Republican, but was formerly a Whig.
JABEZ CLARK, deceased, one of the earliest pioneers of southern Lake County, was born at what is now Groton, Tompkins Co., N. Y., December 5, 1808, and was one of the five children of Jabez and Deborah (Backus) Clark, the former of Rhode Island, the latter of Massachusetts. The subject of this memoir was reared in Indiana, received a common school education and chose farming as a vocation. On December 2, 1832, he was married to Miss Marietta E. Barrows, who was born in Mansfield, Conn., January 2, 1812, daughter of Andrew and Polly (Cum- mings) Barrows, both of Connecticut. In 1837, Mr. and Mrs. Clark started for Illinois to found a home, and on the way were induced by one Luman Fowler to look at Lake County, and, being pleased therewith, laid claim to a quarter section of land in Cedar Creek Township; this they sold, and pre-empted land, a part of which is now the village of Lowell. This Mr. Clark improved and farmed, both he and Mrs. Clark undergoing the hardships incident to those days, including fever and ague. Mr. Clark was a man of sturdy energy and private worth, and in . his death, which occurred July 8, 1876, another link of the past and present generation was severed, and so the heroic and early settlers do pass away ; he owned 265 acres in Cedar Creek Township, besides valu- able property in Lowell and 100 acres in Missouri. Mrs. Clark resides in Lowell. They were parents of seven children-Perry D., Cornelia A., Jerome C. (deceased), Milo W., who married Alice Northrop, and. by her had one son, now living-Philo W. (Milo Clark served in the late war, and died from the effects thereof about two years later), Florence C. (deceased), Ambrose B. (deceased) and Homer Emerson (de- ceased). Of the two living-Perry and Cornelia-the former married Sarah J. Thorn, and resides on the old place in Lowell ; they have had four children-Harry E., Franklin (deceased), Wilbur F. and Marietta. Cornelia is the wife of John M. Dwyer, and resides in Newcastle, Ind., and is the mother of seven children-Byron (deceased), Binie E. (de --
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